Does the one who says: There is no god but Allah enter Paradise? And what are its conditions?

Question:
Your Eminence! This questioner asks: What are the conditions of the word of tawhid, "There is no god but Allah"? And does the one who says only "There is no god but Allah" without performing deeds enter Paradise?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon whoever follows his guidance. As for what follows:
The evidences from the Book and the Sunnah indicate that whoever commits tawhid and dies upon it enters Paradise. Among these is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And among them is the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit: .
... There are many hadiths on this matter indicating that whoever says: "There is no god but Allah" sincerely and as a monotheist, and his words include his disavowal of shirk (associating partners with Allah) and his belief that Allah is the one worthy of worship, he enters Paradise and becomes one of the Muslims, along with believing in the testimony of the prophets that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and believing in everything that Allah and His Messenger informed about that had reached him at that time.
Then he is required to fulfill the legislations of Islam. So if he reaches the age of obligation for prayer, it is obligatory for him to pray, and so it is with zakah, fasting, and Hajj. And if he dies in that state after tawhid, he enters Paradise, meaning if he embraced Islam and died immediately, he enters Paradise because he did not reach the age of performing deeds, nor did he commit any evil, and Islam annuls what came before it, and repentance demolishes what came before it. If he lives until he reaches the age of obligation for prayer, prayer becomes obligatory upon him. If he refuses and denies it, he commits disbelief, and if he does not pray, he commits disbelief.
And so, if he reaches the age of obligation for zakah, zakah becomes obligatory upon him. If he refuses, he becomes a sinner who deserves to enter the Fire. And so, if he reaches the age of obligation for fasting and does not fast, he becomes a sinner who deserves to enter the Fire, except if Allah forgives him. And so, if he commits zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), or steals, or the like, he becomes a sinner who deserves to enter the Fire, except if Allah forgives him, and he becomes under the will of Allah: [Al-Nisa: 48].
The point is: whenever he enters Islam and declares the oneness of Allah, and disavows all shirk, and believes in everything that Allah and His Messenger informed about, he becomes a Muslim. Then he is required to fulfill the rights of Islam, such as prayer and others, and to abandon sins. If he abandons sins and fulfills the rights, his Islam and faith are complete. If he dies immediately before reaching the age of performing any deeds, he has Paradise, because his Islam annulled the evils that came before it. If he lives and commits some sins, or leaves some obligations, he is under the will of Allah. If Allah wills, He forgives him and admits him to Paradise for his tawhid. If He wills, He punishes him according to the sins he died upon, as mentioned in His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Nisa: 48]. This is by the consensus of the Muslims, the consensus of the people of the Sunnah and the community.
The sinner under the will of Allah does not commit disbelief, contrary to the Khawarij, and he does not remain in the Fire eternally as the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah say. No, rather, he is under the will of Allah. If he dies upon zina, theft, undutifulness to parents, drinking intoxicants, or eating riba (usury or interest), but he did not consider them permissible, acknowledging that they are sins, not considering them permissible, but his desires and Satan overcame him, although he knows they are sins, he is under the will of Allah. If Allah wills, He pardons him, and if He wills, He punishes him in the Fire according to the sins he died upon, after purification and testing. Allah takes him out of the Fire by the consensus of the people of the Sunnah and the community. He does not remain in the Fire eternally except the disbelievers, contrary to the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah who say that the sinner who dies upon a sin remains in the Fire eternally, and the Khawarij say that he commits disbelief. Their saying is false according to the people of the Sunnah and the community who refute falsehood. The noble verse refutes them, and it is His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Nisa: 48].
As for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the one who commits zina: The meaning is a threat and a warning, meaning he is not a believer with complete faith; there is a deficiency in his faith. It does not mean that he is a disbeliever, because the verses corroborate each other, and the hadiths corroborate each other, and the Book of Allah does not contradict itself, and the Sunnah does not contradict the Qur'an. Therefore, it is necessary to interpret the texts with the texts; the text is interpreted by the text.
So his saying: means the obligatory, complete faith. If he had complete faith, he would not commit zina, but he has a deficiency, so he fell into zina, and fell into intoxicants due to the deficiency in his faith. It does not mean that he is a disbeliever, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered regarding the one who commits zina that the hadd (fixed punishment) be applied to him, and the hadd is an expiation for him. The one who drinks intoxicants is likewise, the hadd is applied to him, and the hadd is an expiation for him.
And if the one who commits zina dies upon zina after the hadd, he enters Paradise, and the hadd becomes an expiation for him. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the hadith of 'Ubadah in the two Sahihs, when he mentioned the sins: Meaning by the legislated hudud (fixed punishments) As He, the Exalted, said: [Al-Nisa: 48].
So the people of the Sunnah and the community say: the one who commits sins is under the will of Allah, if the sin is less than shirk and he does not consider it permissible, he is under the will of Allah, such as the one who commits zina, the drinker of intoxicants, the eater of riba, the one who is undutiful to his parents, and the like. As for the one who considers sins permissible, who considers zina permissible, and says: "Zina is lawful," the proof is established against him. If the evidence is clarified to him and he persists in saying that zina is lawful, he commits disbelief and becomes a disbeliever with major disbelief. And so, the one who says: "Intoxicants are lawful," and the evidence is clarified to him, and he persists, becomes a disbeliever.
And so, the one who says: "Theft is lawful," or "Riba is lawful," the evidences are clarified to him. If he persists in saying that all riba is lawful, he commits disbelief. And so, the one who says: "Undutifulness to parents is lawful," the matter is clarified to him. If he persists after the evidences, he commits disbelief. And so, the one who says: "Sodomy is lawful," and so on... whoever considers the sins known by necessity from the religion permissible, and the evidence is clarified to him and he persists, he commits disbelief.
As for the one who dies upon a sin while knowing that it is a sin, not considering it permissible, knowing that he is a sinner, dies while committing zina, dies while drinking intoxicants, dies while dealing in riba, and he knows that they are sins, this person is under the will of Allah. If our Lord wills, He forgives him by his good deeds and his tawhid. If He wills, He punishes him according to the crime he died upon, and then after purification and testing in the Fire, Allah takes him out of the Fire.
The hadiths have been mass-transmitted from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that many of the sinners enter the Fire and are punished in it, then Allah takes them out of the Fire when they have been scorched and burned. They are thrown into the River of Life, and they grow as a seed grows in the flood. When their creation is complete, Allah admits them to Paradise. The hadiths have been mass-transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this, and the people of the Sunnah and the community have agreed upon this. No one remains in the Fire eternally except the disbelievers—we ask Allah for safety. As for the sinners, no, they may remain in it, and their stay may be long, and it is called eternal, but it is a temporary eternity that ends. When the duration that Allah has decreed for him is completed, he comes out of the Fire and goes to Paradise for his tawhid and his Islam.
And tawhid has conditions mentioned by some of the scholars, and they are seven. Some said: eight. Some collected them in two verses:
Knowledge, certainty, and sincerity with you
Love, submission, and acceptance of them
And the eighth is your disbelief in what
Other than the Divine, from things, he has made them partners
So if the student of knowledge understands them, masters them, and performs them, this is the perfection of his tawhid and his faith. And if the common person does not know these conditions, but he disavows shirk, believes in Allah, and declares His oneness, that is sufficient. And if he does not know the conditions, whenever he disavows shirk, disavows disbelief, believes in its falsity, believes in Allah, and declares His oneness, that is sufficient.
So his saying: "Knowledge," means: he knows that Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) is the one worthy of worship, and that the meaning of "There is no god but Allah" is: there is no true object of worship except Allah.
"Certainty": he says it with certainty, not with doubt, meaning he declares the oneness of Allah with certainty.
"Sincerity": meaning he did not associate with Allah anyone else, but he was sincere to Allah.
With truthfulness, contrary to the hypocrites who say it while they are liars, the hypocrites. So this is a disbeliever if he says it outwardly and lies inwardly. This is a disbeliever.
With love: with love for Allah, and love for His tawhid. Whoever does not love Allah is a disbeliever, or hates tawhid, and hates faith, is a disbeliever: [Muhammad: 9].
And so, acceptance: that he accepts the religion, accepts the truth, and submits to it. As for if he rejects the truth, does not accept it, and does not submit to the truth, but refuses it and does not declare the oneness of Allah, he falls into shirk and becomes a disbeliever.
And it is necessary to disavow what is worshipped besides Allah, as He, the Exalted, said: [Al-Baqarah: 256]. Meaning: he disavows the worship of other than Allah, meaning he denies it, believes in the falsity of the worship of other than Allah, denies it, and disavows it. This is the meaning of the poet's saying:
And the eighth is your disbelief in what
Other than the Divine, from things, he has made them partners
The point is: the believer knows the truth, believes in it, affirms it, disavows shirk (associating partners with Allah) and its people, submits to the truth, finds peace in it, and loves Allah and His Messenger. This is the believer, even if he does not know the conditions. When he accepts the truth, submits to the tawhid (the oneness of Allah) of Allah, is sincere to Allah, loves Allah, submits to His Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law), and is not a liar like the hypocrites, his faith becomes valid. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good for this clarification, Your Eminence.