Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (14/119)

A fuller discussion of this belongs elsewhere.

“The point here” is that the heart is the foundation of all deeds and words. The outward deeds Allah has commanded necessarily require the heart’s knowledge and intention. The same applies to the words He has commanded and everything discussed above. Punishment for prohibited words and deeds is incurred only when they proceed from the heart’s intention. As for the applicability of certain rulings—such as liability for loss of life or destruction of property caused by someone who is insane, asleep, mistaken, or forgetful—this concerns justice in upholding people’s rights, not punishment.

Thus, as we have mentioned, what is commanded is of “two kinds”: outward acts performed by the limbs and inward acts within the heart.

“The second kind” comprises what takes place inwardly in the heart, such as sincerity, love for Allah and His Messenger, reliance upon Him, fear of Him, and the heart’s faith itself and its affirmation of what the Messenger has conveyed. The connection of this kind to the heart is evident, for the heart is its seat. This kind is the foundation of the first and has a greater impact, for good or evil, than the first.

No outwardly commanded act is complete without the heart’s faith, its love and reverence for Allah, its fear and hope, its reliance upon Him, and its sincere devotion to Him. Indeed, if someone performed outward deeds without these, he would be a hypocrite. These inward qualities themselves necessarily give rise to corresponding outward deeds in the person who possesses them, and they are nobler than the deeds that branch from them, as Allah Most High says:

وَبَسْطُ الْكَلَامِ عَلَى هَذَا لَهُ مَوْضِعٌ آخَرُ. وَ " الْمَقْصُودُ هُنَا " أَنَّ الْقَلْبَ هُوَ الْأَصْلُ فِي جَمِيعِ الْأَفْعَالِ وَالْأَقْوَالِ فَمَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ مِنْ الْأَفْعَالِ الظَّاهِرَةِ فَلَا بُدَّ فِيهِ مِنْ مَعْرِفَةِ الْقَلْبِ وَقَصْدِهِ وَمَا أَمَرَ بِهِ مِنْ الْأَقْوَالِ وَكُلُّ مَا تَقَدَّمَ وَالْمَنْهِيُّ عَنْهُ مِنْ الْأَقْوَالِ وَالْأَفْعَالِ إنَّمَا يُعَاقَبُ عَلَيْهِ إذَا كَانَ بِقَصْدِ الْقَلْبِ وَأَمَّا ثُبُوتُ بَعْضِ الْأَحْكَامِ كَضَمَانِ النُّفُوسِ وَالْأَمْوَالِ إذَا أَتْلَفَهَا مَجْنُونٌ أَوْ نَائِمٌ أَوْ مُخْطِئٌ أَوْ نَاسٍ فَهَذَا مِنْ بَابِ الْعَدْلِ فِي حُقُوقِ الْعِبَادِ لَيْسَ هُوَ مِنْ بَابِ الْعُقُوبَةِ. فَالْمَأْمُورُ بِهِ كَمَا ذَكَرْنَا " نَوْعَانِ " نَوْعٌ ظَاهِرٌ عَلَى الْجَوَارِحِ وَنَوْعٌ بَاطِنٌ فِي الْقَلْبِ. " النَّوْعُ الثَّانِي " مَا يَكُونُ بَاطِنًا فِي الْقَلْبِ كَالْإِخْلَاصِ وَحَبِّ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالتَّوَكُّلِ عَلَيْهِ وَالْخَوْفِ مِنْهُ وَكَنَفْسِ إيمَانِ الْقَلْبِ وَتَصْدِيقِهِ بِمَا أَخْبَرَ بِهِ الرَّسُولُ فَهَذَا النَّوْعُ تَعَلُّقُهُ بِالْقَلْبِ ظَاهِرٌ فَإِنَّهُ مَحَلُّهُ وَهَذَا النَّوْعُ هُوَ أَصْلُ النَّوْعِ الْأَوَّلِ وَهُوَ أَبْلَغُ فِي الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ مِنْ الْأَوَّلِ فَنَفْسُ إيمَانِ الْقَلْبِ وَحُبِّهِ وَتَعْظِيمِهِ لِلَّهِ وَخَوْفِهِ وَرَجَائِهِ وَالتَّوَكُّلِ عَلَيْهِ وَإِخْلَاصِ الدِّينِ لَهُ لَا يَتِمُّ شَيْءٌ مِنْ الْمَأْمُورِ بِهِ ظَاهِرًا إلَّا بِهَا وَإِلَّا فَلَوْ عَمِلَ أَعْمَالًا ظَاهِرَةً بِدُونِ هَذِهِ كَانَ مُنَافِقًا وَهِيَ فِي أَنْفُسِهَا تُوجِبُ لِصَاحِبِهَا أَعْمَالًا ظَاهِرَةً تُوَافِقُهَا وَهِيَ أَشْرَفُ مِنْ فُرُوعِهَا كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: