The Shaykh’s return to clarifying that not everyone who falls into disbelief is declared a disbeliever, and that it is obligatory to establish the proof.

The Shaykh: So now, those who denied established legal realities from the Book and the Sunnah, there is no doubt that they have fallen into disbelief. Among them is that man who made that unjust bequest. He did not deny anything, but his bequest, which was carried out, indicates that if his bequest were carried out, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) would not be able to deal with him. But the reality was that it was so, as is explicitly stated in the conclusion of Surat Yasin: to the end. So when this man fell into disbelief, or fell into shirk (associating partners with Allah) out of fear of Allah, Allah dealt with him in a special manner and forgave his shirk, or as you might say, forgave his disbelief; the meaning is the same. So the summary of all this explanation is this: We cannot distinguish between the practical matters and the theoretical matters. It is obligatory to adopt both categories, and it is not permissible to be lenient in neglecting either one. Likewise, it is not permissible to exaggerate by declaring a disbeliever anyone who denies something from the theoretical or practical matters, except after establishing the proof. A student of knowledge can study this matter in more detail than what you have heard in the book "Al-Sawa'iq al-Mursalah" by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him). It contains a very long discussion that refutes the distinction between the principles and the branches, stating that all of it is Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law), and that it is obligatory to treat them with the same treatment, whether from the positive aspect, which is adoption, or from the negative aspect, which is declaring someone a disbeliever with its known condition in the Sunnah or in the Shari'ah. This is the answer to what you asked.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.