What is religion in Islam?

The questioner : ... What is religion in Islam?

The Shaykh : Religion is the belief in what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has legislated of the rulings of the Shari'ah, and these rulings are divided into two categories: practical rulings and creedal rulings. This is what religion is.
If a person does not have firm belief in his heart in what Allah has legislated through the tongue of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and does not act upon what is contained therein, then his religion is deficient. For this reason, he (peace be upon him) said, pointing to his statement: . Religion, then, means Islam; does it encompass everything that came from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) through the tongue of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? However, the word "religion" may come with another meaning. For example, we recite every day in Surat al-Fatihah: . Here, "religion" has a different meaning.

The questioner : The Day of Reckoning.

The Shaykh : Yes, so means the Owner of the Day of Resurrection, on which all people are judged, both the righteous and the wicked. Thus, the word "religion" here has a meaning different from the one we explained earlier, which is in the saying of Allah the Exalted: . Religion, in the first meaning, is equivalent to Islam, but it may also come to mean the judging and accounting of others, and this second meaning is what is intended in our saying in Surat al-Fatihah: .