Mentioning the evidence for the condition of intention in declaring someone a disbeliever.

The Shaykh : And I do not know if I mentioned in the previous session, or in the trip that followed it, a hadith, because a hadith like this is mentioned on many occasions. Did we mention the hadith of the one who bequeathed that he be burned in the fire?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Very good. Perhaps many of our brothers present have not heard this hadith, or they heard it and forgot it. So we say, as the Lord of the Worlds said: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Is this faith or disbelief? This is disbelief because it is doubt in the power of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): . The man died and they burned him in the fire, and scattered half of him in the raging sea, and the other half in the raging wind, . Here we take from this hadith what is supported by the correct understanding of the previous verse, which is that this man committed disbelief when he said: . But he did not intend disbelief nor think of it; rather, the awe and fear of the punishment of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) blinded him to the truth of faith, which is that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is capable of all things, when he answered . Because he did not intend the disbelief which is the denial of the truth that appears to the person obligated to obey, then he rejects it and disbelieves in it, as Allah the Exalted said regarding some of the disbelievers: . And you know, if Allah wills, that the origin of disbelief linguistically, and thereby legally, is covering a thing after it has appeared. Therefore, He (the Exalted) said: . The farmers who till the land, then sow the seed, then cover it. So not everyone who falls into disbelief is covered by it and it clings to him; rather, that means he is covered by disbelief if he intends it with his heart. And without doubt, you also know, if Allah wills, that intention is a condition in righteous deeds, even though Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is generous to people and He deals with people in many instances with His grace and not with His justice. His dealing with people with justice is the justice of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and there is no argument about it. But when He deals with them with His grace, that is an addition to justice. So if Allah (Mighty and Majestic), out of His generosity and bounty, deals with His servants with His grace, He will undoubtedly and without doubt deal with them with His justice. And we have understood from the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, and I mentioned one of them just now, that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) only deals with people according to their deeds, as He said in the long Qudsi hadith, and the relevant part of it is: . Do you see if a person does a deed which is disbelief itself, but he did not intend it, do you think that is from the justice of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) which He said: ? And it came in the authentic hadith: . And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned: . And in some narrations: . And there is not, I mean, in the open spaces of the Day of Resurrection, a place of obligation as is the case in this world of this life, but it is a single matter which this Messenger says. And I present an interjected sentence before completing the hadith: this Messenger, as you know, is of the nature of any messenger that he has with him the proof that he was sent by the Most Merciful, so that the argument of this Messenger is established against all people. So if the hadith says: , that means he is a messenger and with him is the proof that he is sent by Allah; that is: as if Allah (Mighty and Majestic), on the tongue of that messenger, says to those to whom the argument of Allah did not reach in worldly life: . And this is very close to His (peace be upon him) saying, which is known to you, if Allah wills: . So if the matter is this clear legally, what is not permissible for us to take as an excuse, or what is not permissible for us to take as a doubt regarding such evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, is that some scholars, whatever the status of these scholars, do not distinguish between the one who intended disbelief, left the religion, and was determined and intending, and the one who did not intend to leave the religion but left it due to an error, for a reason. And for this reason, I mentioned to you the story of that man who bequeathed that unjust bequest, which perhaps will not be repeated, or we will not see its like in the remainder of the life of the world in injustice and distance from reason. I mentioned this so that you do not imagine that the causes which make some people leave the religion without their intention, then the saying of him (peace be upon him) does not apply to them: . And if we stopped at the word: , it would suffice us from all this detail, because we will reflect on the word "replace" and reach the previously mentioned truth, and say: it is not possible to replace one thing with another except with intention. So the one who leaves the religion without intention, this explicit ruling in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) does not befall him: . I think this is sufficient to refute that doubt transmitted from some scholars. And the truth which every student of knowledge must be clear about is that if a student of knowledge delves into the sayings of scholars without having the weapon, or perhaps the softer expression, the means that helps him to distinguish error from truth and right from wrong, he will be lost among the many differences existing among scholars, and especially what is among them in what they call the branches and not the principles.