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There are people who say that faith is words, beliefs and actions, but action is a condition of faith being perfect. They also say that there is no disbelief (kufr) except in terms of beliefs. Is this view the view of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah?
Praise be to Allah.
The one who says that has not understood faith (eemaan) or belief (‘aqeedah). He must study ‘aqeedah with the scholars, and learn about it from its saheeh (sound) sources, then he will know the answer to this question.
When he says “faith is words, beliefs and actions,” then he says “Action is a condition of faith being perfect and sound,” he is contradicting himself! How can he say that action is a part of faith, then say that action is a condition of faith? It is well-known that the condition is separate from the matter for which it is a condition. So this is a contradiction.
What he is trying to do is combine the view of the earlier generations (salaf) with the view of the later generations, and he does not understand the contradiction, because he does not know what the early generations said and he does not know the real meaning of what the later generations said, so he wanted to conflate them. Faith consists of words, actions and beliefs; actions are part of faith and are faith, and they are not one of the conditions of faith being sound or perfect, or any of these other phrases that they promote nowadays. Faith is words on the tongue, beliefs in the heart, and actions of the physical faculties, and it may increase because of righteous deeds or decrease because of sins. End quote.
Al-Ijaabaat al-Muhimmah fi’l-Mashaakil al-Mulimmah (p.74).
Shaykh Saalih ibn Fawzaan al-Fawzaan (may Allah preserve him).