Is a person who performs the five pillars of Islam considered a Muslim even if he does not apply other rulings, such as letting the beard grow and shortening the garment, and is he not a believer?
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The questioner : Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
The honorable Shaykh, some of the brothers say: that whoever performs the five pillars of Islam becomes a Muslim, and if he does not apply the Prophetic Sunnah of trimming the mustache, letting the beard grow, and shortening the garment, he does not become a believer or upright. Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : This is correct. If a person performs the five pillars of Islam, he is a Muslim, even if he shaves his beard or lets his garment hang below the ankles; he is a Muslim. In fact, he is a believer, but his faith is deficient due to his committing this sin and persisting in it. Because if you said: he is not a Muslim, you would have expelled him from Islam, and expelling someone from Islam is not a light matter. It is not permissible for us to expel a person from Islam except with evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, or the consensus of the Ummah, because expelling someone from Islam is a ruling among the rulings of Allah, and it entails great issues. So if it is not permissible for us to say: this is forbidden, except with evidence, or this is obligatory, except with evidence, then it is not permissible for us to say: this is disbelief, except with evidence, nor to say: this person is a disbeliever, except with evidence. The Islamic Ummah was not divided except by such a statement based on illusion. Why did the Khawarij rebel against the Imams and corrupt many things in the Ummah, except because they declared major sins as disbelief, and said: whoever commits a major sin is a disbeliever who will remain in the Fire forever, and he must be fought. And whoever reads history knows what great harms occurred from their emergence.
So the conclusion is: that disbelief is not a light matter. A person may commit many sins, but he remains a believer, although he is a believer with deficient faith. If I asked you: what is the greatest thing of aggression against the children of Adam?
The answer would be: killing. Killing is greater than taking wealth, and yet Allah the Exalted made the killer a brother to the one killed, and He said:[Al-Baqarah 2:104].
The honorable Shaykh, some of the brothers say: that whoever performs the five pillars of Islam becomes a Muslim, and if he does not apply the Prophetic Sunnah of trimming the mustache, letting the beard grow, and shortening the garment, he does not become a believer or upright. Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : This is correct. If a person performs the five pillars of Islam, he is a Muslim, even if he shaves his beard or lets his garment hang below the ankles; he is a Muslim. In fact, he is a believer, but his faith is deficient due to his committing this sin and persisting in it. Because if you said: he is not a Muslim, you would have expelled him from Islam, and expelling someone from Islam is not a light matter. It is not permissible for us to expel a person from Islam except with evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, or the consensus of the Ummah, because expelling someone from Islam is a ruling among the rulings of Allah, and it entails great issues. So if it is not permissible for us to say: this is forbidden, except with evidence, or this is obligatory, except with evidence, then it is not permissible for us to say: this is disbelief, except with evidence, nor to say: this person is a disbeliever, except with evidence. The Islamic Ummah was not divided except by such a statement based on illusion. Why did the Khawarij rebel against the Imams and corrupt many things in the Ummah, except because they declared major sins as disbelief, and said: whoever commits a major sin is a disbeliever who will remain in the Fire forever, and he must be fought. And whoever reads history knows what great harms occurred from their emergence.
So the conclusion is: that disbelief is not a light matter. A person may commit many sins, but he remains a believer, although he is a believer with deficient faith. If I asked you: what is the greatest thing of aggression against the children of Adam?
The answer would be: killing. Killing is greater than taking wealth, and yet Allah the Exalted made the killer a brother to the one killed, and He said: