The imam recited this verse in the Tarawih prayer, the saying of Allah the Exalted:
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The questioner : He says:The questioner : Your Eminence, the imam recited this verse in the Tarawih prayer tonight, the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Adh-Dhariyat 51:35-36] Why did Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, use the term "believers" at the beginning of this verse and the term "Muslims" at the end, in the account of the people of Lut? And how do we reconcile these two terms in this verse?
The Shaykh : Allah the Exalted said:[Adh-Dhariyat 51:35-36] Meaning, he is asking: What is the wisdom in saying first: . And in the second instance saying: [Adh-Dhariyat 51:36]?
I say: Some scholars held that His saying: means the same as His saying: and that Islam and faith are one and the same, so it is as if He said: So We brought out from it those who believed, and We found therein no one except a household of believers.
But this view is weak, and the correct view is that there is a difference between faith and Islam, due to the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:[Al-Hujurat 49:14] And because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when Jibril asked him about Islam, explained it as: that you testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and establish prayer, and give zakah, and fast Ramadan, and perform Hajj to the House. And he explained faith as: that you believe in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers and the Last Day and divine decree, its good and its evil. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) distinguished between Islam and faith. And so we say in the noble verse that there is a difference between His saying: and His saying: .
The difference is: that Allah the Exalted brought out from it the believers who believed in Lut outwardly and inwardly, as for the household, which is the household of Lut, in it were Muslims, and these Muslims in the household are of two types: a type who are believers, and they are those whom Allah brought out and saved, and a type who are Muslims, and they are those who were not brought out and were not saved, and that is the wife of Lut, because the wife of Lut pretends to be a Muslim, and for this reason Allah the Exalted said:[At-Tahrim 66:10]. Meaning, they betrayed them in disbelief, not in immorality. So the wife of Lut is a disbeliever, but she pretends to be what? A Muslim. So she became a Muslim, but she is not a believer. The household of Lut includes Lut and his family and his wife, so the household is a household of Islam, not a household of disbelief? A household of Islam, but those who went out and were saved are the believers, and for this reason Allah commanded Lut to depart with his family in the last part of the night, except his wife, who was among those who remained behind.
So this is the secret in Allah the Exalted saying:[Adh-Dhariyat 51:36]. And saying: [Adh-Dhariyat 51:35]. Yes.
The questioner : He says:The questioner : Your Eminence, is it permissible for a woman to ..
The Shaykh : I think this is clear. Is it clear or not clear?
The student: It is clear.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, and Allah knows best the secrets.
(35) So We brought out whoever was in the cities of the believers. (36) And We found not within them other than a [single] house of Muslims.
فأخرجنا من كان فيها من المؤمنين فما وجدنا فيها غير بيت من المسلمينThe Shaykh : Allah the Exalted said:
(35) So We brought out whoever was in the cities of the believers. (36) And We found not within them other than a [single] house of Muslims.
فأخرجنا من كان فيها من المؤمنين فما وجدنا فيها غير بيت من المسلمينfrom the believers
من المؤمنينother than a [single] house of Muslims.
غير بيت من المسلمينI say: Some scholars held that His saying:
from among the Muslims.
من المسلمينof the believers
من المؤميننBut this view is weak, and the correct view is that there is a difference between faith and Islam, due to the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:
The bedouins say, "We have believed." Say, "You have not [yet] believed; but say [instead], 'We have submitted,'
قالت الأعراب آمنا قل لم تؤمنوا ولكن قولوا أسلمناfrom the believers
من المؤمنينfrom among the Muslims.
من المسلمينThe difference is: that Allah the Exalted brought out from it the believers who believed in Lut outwardly and inwardly, as for the household, which is the household of Lut, in it were Muslims, and these Muslims in the household are of two types: a type who are believers, and they are those whom Allah brought out and saved, and a type who are Muslims, and they are those who were not brought out and were not saved, and that is the wife of Lut, because the wife of Lut pretends to be a Muslim, and for this reason Allah the Exalted said:
Allah presents an example of those who disbelieved: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. They were under two of Our righteous servants but betrayed them
ضرب الله مثلاً للذين كفروا امرأة نوح وامرأة لوط كانتا تحت عبدين من عبادنا صالحين فخانتاهماSo this is the secret in Allah the Exalted saying:
And We found not within them other than a [single] house of Muslims.
ما وجدنا فيها غير بيت من المسلمينSo We brought out whoever was in the cities of the believers.
أخرجنا من كان فيها من المؤمنينThe questioner : He says:The questioner : Your Eminence, is it permissible for a woman to ..
The Shaykh : I think this is clear. Is it clear or not clear?
The student: It is clear.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, and Allah knows best the secrets.