al-Taliqat al-Mukhtasarah ala Matn al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah - Salih Al-Fawzan - (152)

Faith, then, is to believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers.

Alliance with Allah varies according to one’s deeds: some people enjoy complete friendship, while others are friends only in a limited sense. The latter is the sinning believer—an ally of Allah through his obedience, but an enemy of Allah through his disobedience and defiance. Still others are pure enemies, like the unbeliever and the polytheist.

This is the truth. As for those who maintain that no one is a friend of Allah unless a shrine or mausoleum has been erected over his grave, and that whoever lacks such a tomb is not a saint—as is claimed by the grave-worshippers—this is false.

As stated earlier, the definition of faith is verbal confession, inward affirmation, and bodily action; it increases with obedience and decreases with sin (1). What the author has listed here are its pillars, as the Prophet ﷺ clarified when Gabriel asked him, “Inform me about faith.” He replied, “Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in divine decree, both its good and its evil.” (2)

(1) Al-Bukhari records this hadith in the Book of Iman, under the chapter “The Increase and Decrease of Faith,” together with the divine words: “We increased them in guidance” (18:13), “so that those who believe may increase in faith” (74:31), and “Today I have perfected for you your religion” (5:3). Accordingly, anything that lacks some aspect of perfection is considered deficient. (2) Reported by al-Bukhari, no. 50, and Muslim, no. 10.

والإيمان: هو الإيمان بالله، وملائكته، وكتبه، ورسله، ــ بحسب الأعمال، فمنهم من ولايته كاملة، ومنهم من هو ولي من وجه، وهو المؤمن الفاسق، ولي لله بطاعته، عدو لله بمعصيته ومخالفته. ومنهم من هو عدو خالص كالكافر والمشرك. هذا هو الحق، أما من يرى أنه ليس لله ولي إلا من بُنيَ على قبره مشهد أو ضريح، والذي ليس عليه ضريح هذا فليس بولي؟ كما عند القبوريين! فهذا باطل. تعريف الإيمان هو كما سبق: قول باللسان وتصديق بالقلب وعمل بالجوارح، يزيد بالطاعة وينقص بالعصيان (١) ، وأما ما ذكره المصنف هنا فهي أركانه كما بينها النبي ﷺ لما سأله جبريل "قال: أخبرني عن الإيمان، قال: الإيمان أن تؤمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله واليوم الآخر وتؤمن بالقدر خيره وشره" (٢) .

(١) فقد أخرج البخاري في كتاب الإيمان، باب زيادة الإيمان ونقصانه، وقول الله تعالى: (وزدناهم هدى) (ويزداد الذين آمنوا إيماناً) وقال: (اليوم أكملت لكم دينكم) فإذا ترك شيئاً من الكمال فهو ناقص. (٢) أخرجه البخاري (رقم٥٠) ومسلم رقم (١٠) .