❖ Adultery and Faith: Does a Fornicator Become a Disbeliever?
Source: Fatawa Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question:
Does a person become a disbeliever when committing adultery?
❖ Answer:
Adultery (Zina) is a major sin, but according to the consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamā‘ah, a believer who commits a major sin does not become a disbeliever (kāfir).
Rather, he remains a believer, though his level of faith decreases.
If he dies without repenting, his matter is left to the Will of Allah:
- If Allah wills, He may forgive him,
- Or He may punish him and then admit him to Paradise.
❖ The Prophetic Saying on Loss of Faith During Major Sins:
❀ Sayyiduna Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه reported:
"لا يزني الزاني حين يزني وهو مؤمن..."
"The adulterer does not commit adultery while he is a believer..."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2475; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 57)
This ḥadīth is used by people of innovation (like the Khawārij and Mu‘tazilah) to claim that the one who commits a major sin exits Islam.
However, the correct understanding, as held by Ahl al-Sunnah, is that his faith is diminished, but he does not become a disbeliever.
❀ Imam Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (d. 774 AH) commented under this ḥadīth:
"لا يلزم من ذلك كفره بإجماع المسلمين."
"This does not imply disbelief — and there is consensus among the Muslims on this."
(Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 6/418)
❖ Supporting Hadiths Confirming He Remains a Believer:
❀ Sayyiduna Abū Dharr رضي الله عنه said:
The Prophet ﷺ stated:
"Whoever says: Lā ilāha illa Allah, then dies upon that, will enter Paradise."
Abū Dharr asked: "Even if he committed adultery and theft?"
The Prophet ﷺ replied: "Even if he committed adultery and theft," repeating it three times.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5827; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 94)
❀ Imam Nawawī رحمه الله (d. 676 AH) explained:
"This hadith is evidence for the position of Ahl al-Sunnah: that those who commit major sins are not declared eternally in Hell. If they enter Hell, they will eventually be taken out and finally dwell in Paradise forever."
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2/97)
❖ Another Clear Evidence:
❀ Sayyiduna ‘Ubādah ibn Ṣāmit رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Give me your pledge that you will not commit shirk, adultery, theft, or unlawful killing... Whoever fulfills this pledge, his reward is with Allah. But whoever commits any of these sins and is punished for them in this world, that is an expiation. And whoever commits any of them and Allah conceals it, then his matter is with Allah — if He wills, He may forgive, or He may punish."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 7213; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1709)
❀ Imam Ibn Nasr al-Marwazī رحمه الله (d. 294 AH) said:
"This hadith clearly shows that the thief and adulterer do not exit faith entirely. Why? Because the ḥadd (prescribed punishment) is only an expiation for believers. Also, only a believer can be forgiven and admitted into Paradise. Allah forgives everything except shirk, as stated in:
﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ﴾
(Surah al-Nisā’: 48)
"Verily, Allah does not forgive associating partners with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whomever He wills."
(Taʿẓīm Qadr al-Ṣalāh: 2/616)
❖ Scholarly Consensus of the Early Generations:
There are numerous verses and hadiths confirming this, along with the unanimous agreement of the Companions and the Tābiʿīn that:
◈ The one who commits a major sin is a believer due to his faith,
◈ But he is sinful (fāsiq) due to his act of disobedience.
◈ In the Hereafter, his fate lies with Allah’s Will.
❖ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728 AH) said:
"Those (Khawārij and Muʿtazilah) who claim that people of major sins will remain in Hell eternally and never come out — this is from the beliefs of the people of innovation. The Book of Allah, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Companions and their followers all oppose this view."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 7/670)
✔ Summary & Conclusion:
① Zina is a grave major sin, but does not take a believer out of Islam.
② Faith decreases during the act, but does not vanish completely.
③ The sinner remains a Muslim, and his matter in the Hereafter lies with Allah’s Will.
④ The view that the person becomes a disbeliever or will be in Hell forever is a deviation from Ahl al-Sunnah.
⑤ There is a unanimous scholarly consensus that one who dies upon a major sin (without shirk) may still be forgiven and admitted to Paradise.
