Understanding of the Scholars regarding who is a Muslim?
1. Abu Bakr Al-Saddiq (RA):
When writing a letter to an apostate tribe, explaining how he became a Muslim:
“I praise the true God, besides whom there is none to be worshipped. I declare that Allah is One, without partner, and Muhammad is His servant and messenger. We affirm the message of Allah which he brought us. He who denies it, is a kafir.” (Tarikh Tabari, Vol. l, part 4, p. 38)
Narrated by Maimun ibn Siyah, that he asked Anas ibn Malik (RA), "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have." (Sahih Bukhari, Vol. l, Book 8, Hadith 387)
3. Sheikh ul-Islam Imam ibn Taymiyyah (RA):
The proof of someone’s Islam should be based upon something which can be known to all alike. If this had been determined by the knowledge possessed by the Messenger of God (ﷺ), then all the hypocrites would have been included in the disbelievers. If they had been killed on this basis, they would have got an opportunity to discredit Islam by saying that the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) killed his own friends. Hence, the mere confession of the Kalima by tongue was made the criterion of embracing Islam, and the commencement and the end of war against disbelievers was made dependent on just this Kalima.” (Kitab-ul-Iman, p. 172)
“He who says, ‘There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger’, with the tongue but does not confirm it in his heart, there is no doubt that in the Hereafter he shall be included among the unbelievers, and shall enter hell. But there is also no doubt that, so far as affairs of this world are concerned, the religious and secular authorities shall include him among the Muslims because it is not known what is in his heart, and we are obliged to accept what is on his tongue.” (Ihya al-Ulum, p.97)
Shibli Nomani a Hanafi scholar from India subcontinent in his biography of Imam Ghazali (RA), writes: “What were Islamic doctrines according to Ghazali? The principle of Islam is only two sentences: There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. However, in explaining the details of these, differences arose and many sects sprang up.” (Al-Ghazali by Shibli, p. 102)
5. Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (RA):
“When the commandments were formalised by the Shari’ah, the word “Iman” (faith), came to be applied to the ‘two testimonies’, this is “La ilaha ill-Allah, Muhammad-ur RasulAllah” and the word “Kufr” (unbelief), to the denial of these two. Bearing this terminology in mind, we can say that “Iman” is to acknowledge with the tongue, and “Kufr” is to deny these two with the tongue.” (Al-Khair al-Kasir, p. 440)
According to the Shari’ah, there are two grades of (a person’s commitment to) Islam. One extent of professing Islam is below the level of faith, and that is confession with the tongue and reciting the Kalima. That assures protection of life. In this case, the question of the correctness of belief does not arise. The Quranic verse pointing to this grade of Islam is: ‘The desert Arabs say, we have faith. Tell them, you do not have faith, you should just say we are Muslims. The other grade of Islam is that which is above the level of faith, and that is that, besides professing the Kalima with the tongue, there should be faith in the heart and the person should show fidelity in practice and submit to the decrees of God. This grade of Islam is referred to in the following mention of Abraham: ‘When his Lord said to him, submit, he said, I submit to the Lord of the worlds.’ And it is referred to in the following: ‘Surely the religion with God is Islam’.” (Mufradat of Raghib)
7. Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (RA):
“He who wishes to be from among the community of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, must say with his tongue, there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and affirm its meaning in his heart. He is then a Muslim, even though he may not know about the duties and prohibitions.” (Da'irat al-Mu'arif al-Nizamiyyah, p. 34)
“The principles that form the basis of Islam are Tawheed (belief in the Unity of God) and Nubuwwah [belief in the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ). Whoever said “La ilaha ill-Allah”, he entered the garden of Islam. This is Islam, simple, clear and short. This simplicity is Islam’s mark of distinction as compared to other religions, and a European scholar has expressed his opinion about this simplicity in the following words: “If a Christian thinker will cast a look at the lengthy and complicated beliefs of his religion, he will exclaim, why could not my religion be so clear and simple that I could be a believer by declaring something as simple as belief in one God and His messenger Muhammad (ﷺ). In fact, these were the only two statements by reciting which, and by expressing belief in which, a kafir became a Muslim, a wicked became a righteous, a vicious one became auspicious, and a reprobate became a chosen one.” (Ilm-ul-kalam aur Al-kalam, p. 273)
