Which is better: practical rulings or creedal rulings?

The questioner : Is it correct to say that some practical rulings are more important than some creedal matters, such as some rulings regarding prayer, or that the ruling on prayer is more important than knowing that Adam was a prophet or a messenger, and similar creedal matters in which there was disagreement among the Salaf?

The Shaykh : Your question reminds me, as well, of some of my discussions with those people. I once said that if it were permissible to distinguish between the hadiths of rulings and the hadiths of creed, the opposite would be the correct view. This is because practical rulings include two things: creed and action. If action is devoid of creed, it becomes scattered dust. Therefore, the condition they claimed for rulings is more appropriate for creed, because every practical ruling becomes invalid if it is stripped of creed. As for creeds, they are creeds, meaning they are separate from any action. In other words, there are two types of action: action of the heart and action of the body. The rulings of the Shari'ah contain both the action of the heart and the action of the body. So if that condition were applied, transferring it from there to here would be more appropriate and more fitting. However, we do not distinguish between this and that.

The questioner : But the question remains: are there some practical rulings that are more important?

The Shaykh : This is the answer.

The questioner: Yes.