Why Does Islam Not View That Publicly Committed Sins Make One a Disbeliever?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question 

Why does Islam not hold the Catholic view that publicly committed sins make one a disbeliever?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Major Sins and Disbelief

The belief that major sins (public or private) cause one to leave the fold of the religion was a deviant belief of a very early sect of Islam called the Khawarij. 

This is not the belief of Mainstream Sunni Islam. Allah Most High prohibits His servants from despairing in His mercy regardless of their transgressions.

Allah Most High says, “Say, ˹O Prophet, that Allah says,˺ “O My servants who have exceeded the limits against their souls! Do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy, for Allah certainly forgives all sins. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Qur’an; 39:53]

This verse is explicit regarding that as long as one is still living, there is always a way to turn to God. The door of God’s mercy is open for those who are sincere and repentant.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) also tells us the story of the man who killed 100 people and then sought a path to be forgiven by God, and God forgave him due to his sincerity. [Nawawi, Riyadh al-Salihin]

Dealing With Fellow Sinful Muslims

Ibn Kathir (Allah have mercy on him) narrates in his famous Qur’anic commentary the following:

Yazid bin al-Asamm (Allah have mercy on him) said, “A Syrian man who was afflicted with difficulty used to frequently come to ‘Umar bin al-Khattab (Allah be pleased with him). ‘Umar noticed that the man had not come in some time, so he asked, ‘What happened to so and so?’ They told him, ‘O Leader of the Believers, he fell into drinking (alcohol). So ‘Umar asked for his scribe. He said, ‘Write – from ‘Umar bin al-Khattab to so and so the son of so and so: peace be upon you. Indeed, I declare my praise of Allah to you. He (Allah) is the Forgiver of sins, the accepter of repentance, the severe in punishment, possessor of all might, there is no god save Him and to Him is the final return.’

Thereafter, ‘Umar said to his companions, ‘pray for your fellow Muslim that Allah allows his heart to turn to Him and that Allah accepts his repentance.’ When the letter of ‘Umar reached the man, he read it and repeated its reading over and over and said, “Forgiver of sins, acceptor of repentance, and severe in punishment. Indeed, He has warned mean of His punishment and promised to forgive me.”

In another narration of this story, we find an additional ending, as follows:

“The man continued to repeat (the words of the letter) to himself, he then began to cry and turned away (from his sin) wholeheartedly. When news of this reached ‘Umar, he said, “This is how you should treat your fellow muslim, if he slips: encourage him to uprightness, build up their confidence (in Allah’s mercy), and ask Allah to accept their repentance. Do not be helpers to Satan against him.” [Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Azim]

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) taught us, “One does not have true faith until they love for their fellow muslim what they love for themselves.” [Ahmad]

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

وَقَالَ ابْنُ أَبِي حَاتِمٍ حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ مَرْوَانَ الرقي حدثنا عمر يعني ابن أيوب حَدَّثَنَا جَعْفَرِ بْنِ بُرْقَانَ عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ الْأَصَمِّ قَالَ: كَانَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ ذُو بَأْسٍ وَكَانَ يَفِدُ إِلَى عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَفَقَدَهُ عُمَرُ فَقَالَ مَا فَعَلَ فُلَانُ بْنُ فُلَانٍ، فَقَالُوا يَا أمير المؤمنين تتابع فِي هَذَا الشَّرَابِ. قَالَ فَدَعَا عُمَرُ كَاتِبَهُ: فَقَالَ اكْتُبْ مِنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ إِلَى فلان بن فلان سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ فَإِنِّي أَحْمَدُ إِلَيْكَ اللَّهَ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ غَافِرُ الذَّنْبِ وَقَابِلُ التَّوْبِ شَدِيدُ العقاب ذي الطول لا إله إلا هو إِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ. ثُمَّ قَالَ لِأَصْحَابِهِ ادْعُوَا اللَّهَ لِأَخِيكُمْ أَنْ يُقْبِلَ بِقَلْبِهِ وَأَنْ يَتُوبَ اللَّهُ عليه، فلما بلغ الرجل كتاب عمر رضي الله عنه جَعْلَ يَقْرَؤُهُ وَيُرَدِّدُهُ وَيَقُولُ: غَافِرُ الذَّنْبِ وَقَابِلُ التَّوْبِ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ، قَدْ حَذَّرَنِي عُقُوبَتَهُ وَوَعَدَنِي أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لِي. وَرَوَاهُ الْحَافِظُ أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ مِنْ حَدِيثِ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ بُرْقَانَ وَزَادَ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ يُرَدِّدُهَا عَلَى نَفْسِهِ ثُمَّ بَكَى ثُمَّ نزع فأحسن النزع، فلما بلغ عمر خبره قال هكذا فاصنعوا إذا رأيتم أخا لكم زل زلة فسد دوه ووثقوه وَادْعُوا اللَّهَ لَهُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا تَكُونُوا أَعْوَانًا لِلشَّيْطَانِ عَلَيْهِ.
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ص116 – تفسير ابن كثير ط العلمية – سورة غافر الآيات إلى

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.