Loving to Sin is not Disbelief

9-9-2018 | IslamWeb

Question:

I was wondering, is someone who loves commiting a sin a kafir? I read this by ibn qayyim:But if he does not hate them and does not fear Allah with regard to them and does not hope for His mercy, then this is not a believer under any circumstances; rather he is a kaafir or a hypocrite. End quote from Qaa‘idah fi’l-Mahabbah, p. 104 I was wondering, is this considered true?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

A person’s inclination to commit sins and loving it, is a natural love that does not take a person out of the fold of Islam. Undoubtedly, everyone who has committed a sin, loved that sin by nature (and therefore committed it).

As for what takes a person out of the fold of Islam, it is when he considers the sin lawful or when he hates what Allah has revealed, and other matters that necessitate disbelief.

Anyone who hates what Allah has revealed because it is the Law of Allah and not because of his inclination to commit the sin, then he is a Kaafir (a non-Muslim) without doubt. The same applies to the one who does not seek the reward of Allah and does not fear His Punishment at all.

From the above you know that what you mentioned is true, but it does not apply to the one who loves the sin a natural love. Such a person is disobedient if he believes in the prohibition of the disobedience he committed and he does not hate what Allah has revealed.

It should be mentioned that what you stated in the question is quoted from Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah and it is by reading the entire statement of the Shaykh that one can understand what he meant by it.

Allah knows best.