Does saying “Allah is the Lord of hearts” excuse neglecting worship?
2026-10-13
F159 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn
الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين
Original Q&A · Full displayed answer
Keep the distinction between Allah’s cosmic will and His command. The answer rejects using the decree or a claim about the heart to justify disobedience; it does not grant access to another person’s hidden intention. Source footnotes cite the heart hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari no.52 and Sahih Muslim no.1599, and “Taqwa is here” in Sahih Muslim no.2564.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
فضيلة الشيخ، الذي جرنا إلى هذا السؤال أن هناك فريقا من الناس الآن إذا دعي أحدهم إلى العبادة قال: إن الله رب قلوب، وهذا أيضا الذي نريد التعليق عليه؟
الجواب
نحن نقول: إن الله رب القلوب والألسن، وليس رب القلوب فقط، والقلوب لو صلحت لصلحت الجوارح؛ لأن النبي ﷺ يقول: «ألا وإن في الجسد مضغة إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله، وإذا فسدت فسد الجسد كله، ألا وهي القلب»، وهذا الحديث يبطل كل دعوى يدعيها بعض الناس، إذا نصحته في أمر من الأمور مما عصى الله به قال لك: «التقوى هاهنا»، ويشير إلى صدره، وهي كلمة حق أريد بها باطل، والكلمة قد تكون حقا في مدلولها العام، لكن يريد بها القائل أو المتكلم معنى باطلا، ألا ترى إلى قول الله تعالى: ﴿سيقول الذين أشركوا لو شاء الله ما أشركنا ولا آباؤنا ولا حرمنا من شيء﴾ [الأنعام:148]، فهم قالوا: لو شاء الله ما أشركنا، وصدقوا فيما قالوه، فلو شاء الله ما أشركوا، ولكنهم لا يريدون بهذه الكلمة حقا، بل يريدون بها تبرير بقائهم على شركهم، ورفع العقوبة واللوم عنهم، ولهذا قال الله تعالى: ﴿كذلك كذب الذين من قبلهم حتى ذاقوا بأسنا﴾ [الأنعام:148]، فلم ينفعهم الاحتجاج بالقدر حين أرادوا به الاستمرار على شركهم، ورفع اللوم عنهم والعقوبة، أما الواقع فهو كما قالوا ﴿لو شاء الله ما أشركوا﴾ وقال الله تعالى لنبيه ﷺ: ﴿اتبع ما أوحي إليك من ربك لا إله إلا هو وأعرض عن المشركين ولو شاء الله ما أشركوا﴾ [الأنعام:106–107]، لكن هناك فرق بين الحالين، فإن الله تعالى قال لنبيه ﷺ: ﴿ولو شاء الله ما أشركوا﴾؛ ليبين أن شركهم واقع بمشيئته، وأن له حكمة سبحانه وتعالى في وقوع الشرك منهم، وليس ليبين بأن هذا الأمر الواقع منهم بمشيئته وأمره.
فالمهم أن هذا الذي قال حين نصحته: «هاهنا»، قال كلمة حق لكنه أراد بها باطلا، فالذي قال: «التقوى هاهنا»، هو النبي ﷺ، لكن الذي قال: «التقوى هاهنا»، هو الذي قال: «ألا وإن في الجسد مضغة إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله»، فإذا كان في القلب تقوى، لزم أن يكون في الجوارح تقوى، والعمل الظاهر عنوان على العمل الباطن.
English translation
English rendering prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic answer. Not an official translation.
Original question
Esteemed Shaykh, what prompted this question is that some people today, when called to worship, say: “Allah is the Lord of hearts.” We would like you to comment on this as well.
Answer
We say: Allah is the Lord of hearts and tongues, not only the Lord of hearts. If the hearts were sound, the limbs would be sound, because the Prophet ﷺ said: “Indeed, in the body there is a piece of flesh: if it is sound, the whole body is sound; if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Indeed, it is the heart.” This hadith disproves the claims of those who, when advised about something in which they have disobeyed Allah, say, “Taqwa is here,” pointing to their chests. It is a true statement used for a false purpose. A statement may be true in its general meaning while the speaker intends a false meaning by it. Consider Allah’s statement: “Those who associate partners will say: If Allah had willed, neither we nor our forefathers would have associated partners, nor would we have forbidden anything” [al-Anam 6:148]. They said, “If Allah had willed, we would not have associated partners,” and what they said was true: had Allah willed, they would not have associated partners. Yet they did not intend the truth by this statement. They intended to justify remaining upon their association of partners and to remove punishment and blame from themselves. Hence Allah said: “Likewise, those before them denied until they tasted Our punishment” [al-Anam 6:148]. Appealing to the decree did not benefit them when they intended to continue their association of partners and remove blame and punishment from themselves. As a statement of what actually occurred, however, it is as they said: “If Allah had willed, they would not have associated partners.” Allah told His Prophet ﷺ: “Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord; none has the right to be worshipped except Him, and turn away from the polytheists. Had Allah willed, they would not have associated partners” [al-Anam 6:106–107]. But there is a difference between the two situations. Allah told His Prophet, “Had Allah willed, they would not have associated partners,” to explain that their association of partners occurred by His will and that He has wisdom in its occurrence—not to explain that this act of theirs occurred by His will and His command.
The point is that the person who said, “Here,” when advised used a true statement for a false purpose. The one who said, “Taqwa is here,” was the Prophet ﷺ; and the one who said, “Taqwa is here,” was also the one who said, “Indeed, in the body there is a piece of flesh: if it is sound, the whole body is sound.” If there is taqwa in the heart, there must be taqwa in the limbs. Outward action indicates inward action.
Source and editorial notes
Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt, 13th edition, 1441 AH, question 15, pp.34–35
فقه العبادات
Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt
Arabic transcribed and compared against the cited scan and adjacent context.