What is the explanation of the hadith that says: (The fornicator does not commit fornication while he is a believer), and what is the meaning of faith here?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Sahih al-Bukhari 6782!
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Is it not included in faith and Islam?
The Shaykh : Yes, but the topic shifts here regarding faith; faith increases and decreases, faith increases and decreases. So the hadith is understood in this sense:Sahih al-Bukhari 6782 complete faith, because if his faith had been complete, he would not have committed fornication, nor would he have stolen or plundered, and so on as mentioned in the hadith. Faith, according to the scholars of the Muslims, their predecessors and the Salaf, except for those who deviated, increases and decreases. It increases with righteous deeds and decreases with evil deeds. So the more a Muslim increases in righteous deeds, the more his faith increases, and the opposite is exactly the case. Therefore, if we know this reality, we say: Let us not understand from every hadith that denies faith from a person who violated the Shari'ah in a certain matter that this is disbelief, because this is the path of the Khawarij. For example, he (peace be upon him) said in another hadith: Mishkat al-Masabih 35Hasan (Zubair `Aliza'i), Mishkat al-Masabih 35Hasan (Zubair `Aliza'i) Understand them with this detail: He does not have complete faith; it is not that all faith is denied. It is not reasonable to deny faith from one who believes in Allah and His Messenger, the Resurrection, and the Hereafter, and affirms everything that came from the Messenger (peace be upon him). But the soul overpowers him, so he betrays the trust and does not fulfill it. So this means that his faith is deficient. Islam has expressions where denial is used, saying: Mishkat al-Masabih 35Hasan (Zubair `Aliza'i), by way of warning against betrayal in fulfilling the trust. But it does not mean that if, hypothetically, Islam is one hundred parts and he acts upon ninety-nine parts and leaves one part, then with that one percent his faith is deficient. So for the sake of that one percent of faith, we do not deny the ninety-nine. We do not say: This is a believer and his faith predominates over the deficiency of his faith, because the value of the deficiency is one percent. So when the Wise Lawgiver says: Mishkat al-Masabih 35Hasan (Zubair `Aliza'i), it means that it is the right of every Muslim to be trustworthy with the trusts of the Muslims and to fulfill them and not betray them, but we do not understand that he is a disbeliever.
When (a person) an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse then he is not a believer at the time he is doing it
لا يزني الزاني حين يزني وهو مؤمنThe Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Is it not included in faith and Islam?
The Shaykh : Yes, but the topic shifts here regarding faith; faith increases and decreases, faith increases and decreases. So the hadith is understood in this sense:
When (a person) an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse then he is not a believer at the time he is doing it
لا يزني الزاني حين يزني وهو مؤمنHe who is not trustworthy has no faith, and he who does not keep his covenant has no religion.
لا إيمانَ لِمَن لا أمانةَ له ، ولا دينَ لِمَن لا عهدَ لهHe who is not trustworthy has no faith
لا إيمانَ لِمَن لا أمانةَ لهHe who is not trustworthy has no faith
لا إيمانَ لِمَن لا أمانةَ لهHe who is not trustworthy has no faith
لا إيمانَ لِمَن لا أمانةَ له
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.