What is the meaning of "The fornicator does not commit fornication while he is a believer"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The hadith from the previous lesson: if a person commits fornication, faith rises from him like a canopy.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : That faith rises... from the fornicator... like a canopy.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : What does it mean?
The Shaykh : Its meaning is that faith rises from his heart, but it does not rise completely; it is like something that rises above, above the head of the person.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : It is like a canopy.
The questioner : Does all the faith rise?
The Shaykh : No, not all the faith rises.
The questioner : ... during the act of intercourse.
The Shaykh : Not all the faith rises; that is during the act of intercourse. He does not become a disbeliever. Therefore, if it were assumed that he died while on the woman in the state of fornication, he would be washed, shrouded, and prayed over. It is not said that it rose completely.
The questioner : During the act of intercourse, O Shaykh, what is said about him? Is he a believer?
The Shaykh : It is said he is a believer.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, a Muslim. It is said he is a Muslim?
The questioner : It is not said he is a believer.
The Shaykh : Yes. It is not said he is a believer; it is said he is a Muslim.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : I say: The hadith is general regarding the rising of faith.
The Shaykh : Yes, but its being like a canopy means that traces of it remain; traces remain in the heart. Because a canopy shades the person, it shades the person, but it is not inside the person. Therefore, no one says, for example, if the fornicator dies while on the woman with whom he committed fornication, that he dies a disbeliever, except according to the view of the Khawarij. The people of the Sunnah do not say this. Yes?
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : That faith rises... from the fornicator... like a canopy.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : What does it mean?
The Shaykh : Its meaning is that faith rises from his heart, but it does not rise completely; it is like something that rises above, above the head of the person.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : It is like a canopy.
The questioner : Does all the faith rise?
The Shaykh : No, not all the faith rises.
The questioner : ... during the act of intercourse.
The Shaykh : Not all the faith rises; that is during the act of intercourse. He does not become a disbeliever. Therefore, if it were assumed that he died while on the woman in the state of fornication, he would be washed, shrouded, and prayed over. It is not said that it rose completely.
The questioner : During the act of intercourse, O Shaykh, what is said about him? Is he a believer?
The Shaykh : It is said he is a believer.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, a Muslim. It is said he is a Muslim?
The questioner : It is not said he is a believer.
The Shaykh : Yes. It is not said he is a believer; it is said he is a Muslim.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : I say: The hadith is general regarding the rising of faith.
The Shaykh : Yes, but its being like a canopy means that traces of it remain; traces remain in the heart. Because a canopy shades the person, it shades the person, but it is not inside the person. Therefore, no one says, for example, if the fornicator dies while on the woman with whom he committed fornication, that he dies a disbeliever, except according to the view of the Khawarij. The people of the Sunnah do not say this. Yes?