The Reality of the Foundation of Faith and the Variation of People in It
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Is the foundation of faith the same for all believers, or does it vary from person to person? We ask that this be presented due to its importance.
Answer:
The foundation of faith is one, and it is faith in Allah, His messengers, His angels, His books, the Last Day, and in everything that Allah and His Messenger have informed us of. However, it varies. The faith of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and the rest of the Companions is not like the faith of those who came after them. It differs in strength, perfection, completeness, and impact. But its foundation is faith in Allah, His angels, His books, His Messenger, the Last Day, and the divine decree, its good and its evil, and faith in everything that Allah and His Messenger have legislated, and faith in everything that Allah and His Messenger have informed us of regarding the Hereafter, Paradise, the Fire, and so on.
But through knowledge, striving, and understanding of the religion, zeal for the sake of Allah, and fear of Allah, this faith increases and strengthens until the servant performs the obligatory acts and refrains from the forbidden. And through ignorance, turning away, keeping the company of the wicked, and following desires, this faith weakens. For this reason, the scholars said: Faith increases and decreases. It increases through obedience and decreases through sins. So faith is: speech with the tongue, action with the limbs, action with the heart, and belief in it.
So whoever Allah guides to beneficial knowledge, penetrating insight, fear of Allah, reverence for Him, keeping the company of the righteous, and following the path of the righteous; his faith becomes strong, his faith rises, and his faith becomes complete. And whoever is the opposite of that due to his ignorance, or following his desires, or keeping the company of the wicked, or otherwise; these are among the causes that weaken faith. It may weaken greatly until it is completely removed and he apostatizes from his religion—may Allah protect us from that—and it may weaken less than that due to the causes of sins. For this reason, the scholars said: It increases through obedience and decreases through sins.
Is the foundation of faith the same for all believers, or does it vary from person to person? We ask that this be presented due to its importance.
Answer:
The foundation of faith is one, and it is faith in Allah, His messengers, His angels, His books, the Last Day, and in everything that Allah and His Messenger have informed us of. However, it varies. The faith of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and the rest of the Companions is not like the faith of those who came after them. It differs in strength, perfection, completeness, and impact. But its foundation is faith in Allah, His angels, His books, His Messenger, the Last Day, and the divine decree, its good and its evil, and faith in everything that Allah and His Messenger have legislated, and faith in everything that Allah and His Messenger have informed us of regarding the Hereafter, Paradise, the Fire, and so on.
But through knowledge, striving, and understanding of the religion, zeal for the sake of Allah, and fear of Allah, this faith increases and strengthens until the servant performs the obligatory acts and refrains from the forbidden. And through ignorance, turning away, keeping the company of the wicked, and following desires, this faith weakens. For this reason, the scholars said: Faith increases and decreases. It increases through obedience and decreases through sins. So faith is: speech with the tongue, action with the limbs, action with the heart, and belief in it.
So whoever Allah guides to beneficial knowledge, penetrating insight, fear of Allah, reverence for Him, keeping the company of the righteous, and following the path of the righteous; his faith becomes strong, his faith rises, and his faith becomes complete. And whoever is the opposite of that due to his ignorance, or following his desires, or keeping the company of the wicked, or otherwise; these are among the causes that weaken faith. It may weaken greatly until it is completely removed and he apostatizes from his religion—may Allah protect us from that—and it may weaken less than that due to the causes of sins. For this reason, the scholars said: It increases through obedience and decreases through sins.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.