No apostasy because of major sins
2-11-2010 | IslamWeb
Question:
There are Hadeeths that negate the faith of someone who commits a sin; does this mean that he has become a disbeliever?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
Faith is made up of several branches as indicated in the Hadeeth on the authority of Abu Hurayrah 
where the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, mentioned that faith is made up of more than sixty branches and modesty is one of them. [Al-Bukhari] Moreover, each of these branches is known as faith, for instance, prayer and all the other external acts are known as faith. At the same time, modesty, reliance on Allaah The Almighty, hope for His mercy and other internal acts that are related to the heart are also known as faith.
Some of these branches result in apostasy if they are abandoned, like the Two Testimonies of Faith, whereas others do not, like the removal of harmful things from the road. In between these two branches, there are others that vary greatly in their degree of importance. Some of them are closer in importance to the Two Testimonies of Faith and others are closer to the removal of harmful objects from the road. This fact is made clear in the Quran, for Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):
• {That they would increase in faith along with their [present] faith.}[Quran 48:4]
• {And when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith.}[Quran 8:2]
• {Those to whom hypocrites said, "Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them." But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, "Sufficient for us is Allaah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs."}[Quran 3:173]
These noble verses indicate that faith is liable to increase and decrease and this is what the followers of the Sunnah believe. Hence, scholars believe that the Hadeeths which negate the faith of someone who commits a certain sin only refer to the imperfection of his faith, not to the absence of faith altogether.
There is also the Hadeeth, for instance, where the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that no one will be a believer until he comes to love the Prophet more than his son, father and anyone else. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Moreover, there is the Hadeeth on the authority of Abu Hurayrah where the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the fornicator is not a believer when he is committing fornication, and the thief is not a believer when he is committing theft, and the drunkard is not a believer when he is drinking alcohol. He added that the door of repentance is always open. [Muslim, Abu Daawood, An-Nasaa’i and At-Tirmithi]
Likewise, there is also the Hadeeth on the authority of Anas where the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the one who does not render the trust to whom it is due is not a believer and so is the one who does not fulfill his promise. [Ahmad and Ibn Hibbaan]
Actually, these Hadeeths indicate that the person who commits such sins is not in a state of perfect faith when he commits them. In other words, they negate the required perfection of faith, just like saying that there is no knowledge except that which is beneficial, and there is no wealth unless it is camels, and there is no life except that of the Hereafter.
“Perfection” is a commonly used term in the Sunnah. In a Hadeeth on the authority of Abu Sa‘eed the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the believer with the most perfect faith is the one with the best morals. [Mu‘jam At-Tabaraani Al-Awsat]
Hence, the one who does not commit sins has more perfect faith than the one who commits them. Furthermore, the one who observes the performance of non-obligatory good deeds, such as voluntary and recommended acts of worship, has better faith than the one who only performs what is obligatory. By the same token, believers vary in their degree of faith. The faith of the sincere lovers of truth is unlike the faith of others who do not enjoy the same level of certitude. They have, indeed, reached the degree of faith that made them acknowledge the unseen in their hearts as if they had seen it with their own eyes.
Faith increases when people meditate on the great signs of Allaah The Almighty, both in His Quran and in His universe. This is clear in the noble Quran, for Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):
• {Do they not look into the realm of the heavens and the earth and everything that Allaah has created and [think] that perhaps their appointed time has come near? So in what statement hereafter will they believe?}[Quran 7:185]
• {And thus did We show Ibraaheem (Abraham) the realm of the heavens and the earth that he would be among the certain [in faith].}[Quran 6:75]
• {The believers are only those who, when Allaah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely.}[Quran 8:2]
Believers who commit grave major sins will not be in Hell for eternity because the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the one who has the least amount of faith in his heart will not enter Hell. [Muslim, Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah] The word “enter” in the Hadeeth means “remain forever”, for even if the faithful enter Hell, they will not stay there forever.
And Allaah Knows best.