I say: Noting this distinction is the decisive criterion in this important matter. I therefore urge young people to read and understand it in Majmuʿ al-Fatawa (12/464–501), which he concluded by saying:
“If this is understood, then declaring a specific individual among these ignorant people and others like them to be a disbeliever—such that one rules that he is among the disbelievers—must not be undertaken unless the proof conveyed by the Messengers has been established against one of them, making clear that they have opposed the Messengers, even though their statement is undoubtedly disbelief. (That is, those who call to innovation.)
“The same applies to declaring any specific individuals to be disbelievers, even though some of these innovations are more serious than others, and some innovators possess a measure of faith that others do not. No one has the right to declare any Muslim a disbeliever—even if he errs and is mistaken—until the proof has been established against him and the clear way has been made plain to him. Whoever’s faith has been established with certainty cannot have it removed by doubt; rather, it can only be removed after the proof has been established and the ambiguity dispelled.”
Furthermore, the hadith provides strong evidence that a person who affirms Allah’s oneness will not remain eternally in the Fire, no matter how far his conduct may conflict with the deeds required and entailed by faith, such as prayer and the other practical pillars. This is further confirmed by the mass-transmitted hadiths on intercession: Allah commands the intercessors to bring out of the Fire whoever has an atom’s weight of faith in his heart. It is also confirmed by the hadith of Abu Saʿid al-Khudri that Allah, Most High, will bring out of the Fire people who never did any good whatsoever. Its documentation and an explanation of how it indicates this will follow; it is among the explicit, authentic proofs that one who abandons the prayer while believing it to be obligatory will likewise leave the Fire and will not remain therein eternally. See no. 3054. *