What is the ruling on the statement that faith, linguistically, is belief?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
What do you say about the author's statement that faith in the language of the Arabs is merely belief?
Answer:
This is its origin, but belief is expressed through speech and through action; it is with the tongue and with the deeds. The Arabs say, "He made a sincere charge," when he strives in fighting the disbelievers, his charge becomes a sincere one. So when he acts, he becomes truthful in his speech. The one who says, "Prayer is obligatory," and performs it, is the truthful one. And if he says, "It is obligatory," but does not perform it, his speech becomes weak; he is not truthful with complete truthfulness until he acts. And if he says, "Zakah is a right," but does not act upon it, his speech becomes deficient, and his faith becomes deficient, until he pays it.
Q: On this basis, is faith, linguistically, firm belief?
A: Belief is through speech, and it is also through action. It is also belief through action in terms of language. The one who makes a strong charge against the disbelievers is called truthful, and the one who makes a weak charge and retreats is not truthful. The one who says, "I honor the guest, and honoring the guest is a right," but then does not honor him, is not truthful. If he honors the guest, he becomes truthful, meaning truthful through action. If he says, "The guest has a right—the right of honor—and he must be honored," but he does not honor him, he is not truthful; rather, his speech is weak. He is a liar regarding his action, and his action is a liar regarding his speech.
Q: Is not belief the opposite of lying?
A: It is with the heart, with the tongue, and with the action. This is belief in language and in the Shari'ah.
Q: But in pure language, is not belief the opposite of lying, and faith the opposite of disbelief?
A: Yes, and lying is also through action. The one who says, "Honoring the guest is a right," but then does not honor him and insults him, is a liar. His action lies about his speech.
What do you say about the author's statement that faith in the language of the Arabs is merely belief?
Answer:
This is its origin, but belief is expressed through speech and through action; it is with the tongue and with the deeds. The Arabs say, "He made a sincere charge," when he strives in fighting the disbelievers, his charge becomes a sincere one. So when he acts, he becomes truthful in his speech. The one who says, "Prayer is obligatory," and performs it, is the truthful one. And if he says, "It is obligatory," but does not perform it, his speech becomes weak; he is not truthful with complete truthfulness until he acts. And if he says, "Zakah is a right," but does not act upon it, his speech becomes deficient, and his faith becomes deficient, until he pays it.
Q: On this basis, is faith, linguistically, firm belief?
A: Belief is through speech, and it is also through action. It is also belief through action in terms of language. The one who makes a strong charge against the disbelievers is called truthful, and the one who makes a weak charge and retreats is not truthful. The one who says, "I honor the guest, and honoring the guest is a right," but then does not honor him, is not truthful. If he honors the guest, he becomes truthful, meaning truthful through action. If he says, "The guest has a right—the right of honor—and he must be honored," but he does not honor him, he is not truthful; rather, his speech is weak. He is a liar regarding his action, and his action is a liar regarding his speech.
Q: Is not belief the opposite of lying?
A: It is with the heart, with the tongue, and with the action. This is belief in language and in the Shari'ah.
Q: But in pure language, is not belief the opposite of lying, and faith the opposite of disbelief?
A: Yes, and lying is also through action. The one who says, "Honoring the guest is a right," but then does not honor him and insults him, is a liar. His action lies about his speech.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.