UAE Friday sermon: Only Allah can judge one’s faith

Do not accuse a believer of being an apostate as the task of assessing one’s faith is left to Allah, worshippers will be told on Friday.

Do not accuse a believer of being an apostate, because the task of assessing one’s faith is left to Allah, worshippers will be told on Friday.

The sermon starts by outlining that “faith is that you believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in Fate [Qadar], both in its good and in its evil aspects”, according to Prophet Mohammed.

Therefore, anyone who believes in these pillars is a Muslim regardless of his or her failure to practise their duties as a believer.

The sermon says faith is embraced in the heart and that only Allah is capable of truly knowing the faith of a believer. Therefore, it is forbidden to raise doubt about one being a Muslim so long as he or she recites the profession of faith.

The sermon refers to a recitation about Osama bin Zaid, one of Prophet Mohammed’s followers, when he killed a captured man in battle despite the man’s declaration of faith.

After the battle, Osama bin Zaid told the Prophet of what he had done, reasoning that the man had professed only out of fear.

The Prophet replied, saying: “Did you tear open his heart in order to find out whether it had professed or not?”