Muslim by birth is not always better than a revert

25-9-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is this quote proven from Ibn Taymiyyah? To believe that a person who was born Muslim originally (i.e. to a muslim family) is better than a revert is wrong. Rather it is all about the actions and the end (time of death) and Taqwa. - Aadaab ash-Sharee'ah of Ibn Muflih

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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.

After searching at length in Ibn Muflih’s Al-Aadaab Ash-Shar‘iyyah and the books of Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah available to us – many as they are – we did not find the statement that comprehends the meaning referred to in the question.

However, the meaning is correct; the only criterion of superiority by which people are regarded as superior to others is piety. Ibn Taymiyyah said, “One may embrace Islam late but becomes a better Muslim than those who had embraced Islam before him. Like the case with ‘Umar; he embraced Islam at the age of forty while ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, Talhah, Az-Zubayr, Sa‘ad, and ‘Abd Ar-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf all embraced Islam at the hands of Abu Bakr before 'Umar, and the virtues of 'Umar outweigh theirs. . .” May Allaah be pleased with all the Companions.

Allaah Knows best.