My objection to this question is the description of such a person as a Muslim. Islam is not a matter of birth or belonging to a family or a nation. We cannot describe a person as Muslim simply on the basis that he is born to Muslim parents or that he belongs to a Muslim tribe or community. Being a Muslim is a matter of conscious and free choice. A person is a Muslim because he chooses to believe in Islam and accepts its tenets [ideology] and beliefs. If someone asks what brings a person into the fold of Islam, the answer is the declaration that God is the only deity in the universe. He makes a conscious choice to believe in his religion. If he accepts Islam only because he is brought up as a Muslim, his faith remains deficient.

This person has been expressing doubts about basic Islamic beliefs. It is clear that he does not accept these. How is he to be considered a Muslim? The proper thing to do with him is to require him to come clean and own to his beliefs. If he says that he does not believe in God and His messenger, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, then he is not a Muslim.

Once the Prophet asked a delegation who came to him in Madinah representing a tribe how they defined themselves. They said: "We are indeed believers." The Prophet said: "Everything has a substance, so what do you define as the substance of your belief?" They said to him: "We have fifteen characteristics. Five we have been told by your representative to believe in, and five you have ordered us to do and five are among our traditions. We will maintain [them] unless you instruct us to the contrary."

The Prophet asked them about these. They told him that they believed in God, His angels, His revealed books, His messengers and in resurrection after death. Those were the five beliefs taught to them by the Prophet's representatives. The ones he instructed them to do were the declaration that there is no deity save God, prayers, zakah, fasting in Ramadhan and pilgrimage. The five among their traditions were: To be grateful in time of plenty, to be patient in adversity, to accept God's will whatever it may be, to remain steadfast in battle and not to show pleasure when calamity befalls an enemy.

The Prophet commended them on these and added five more to make their total twenty. He said to them: If you are truly as you say, then do not amass what you cannot eat, or build what you do not reside in, nor compete in what you will soon abandon. Fear God to whom you shall return and work for what you will soon be facing."

Here we have an example where the Prophet makes it clear that there should be a practical interpretation of beliefs. Otherwise, it will remain theoretical. Hence, he defines faith as: "Something that is well established in people's minds and hearts, and to which credence is given by practice." So, faith cannot be treated as an academic theory or an abstract idea. Its practical effect has to be seen so that the claim of being a believer is seen to be true. Hence, Islam is embodied in statements and practices. The Prophet says: "Islam is built on five (pillars): the declaration that there is no deity save God and Muhammad is His messenger, regular attendance to prayer, the payment of zakah, the fasting in Ramadhan and pilgrimage to the Sacred House when a person is able to do so."

People who claim to be Muslims only because they have been born in Muslim families do not provide a practical proof of their claim. Yet, if they genuinely believe in the Oneness of God and the message of Muhammad, they are considered Muslims. If they do not go beyond that declaration, they are doing badly because of their negligence. They should be advised that their faith is not complete unless they attend to their Islamic duties.

On the other hand, we must not allow ourselves to assume the mantle of judges who pass judgment on people, claiming that certain people are true Muslims while others are not. If a person tells us that he is a Muslim, we take his statement at its face value. But if he does not confirm his statement by doing the duties God has imposed on Muslims, we advise him that he is exposing himself to the risk of God's punishment. Some of these people say that God is too merciful to punish them They are not doing anything bad, they are simply not attending to their duties. This is a false argument.

I appreciate the clarity and the honesty with which this letter has been written. I have chosen to publish it in full because it expresses the feelings of many an honest non-Muslim who may be irritated by the thought that every virtue has to be Islamic in order to be acceptable to God. Hence the accusation of patronization of God that is sometime leveled at Muslims.

This question can only be sorted out if we go back to basic belief. The question of believing in God is inherent in human nature. However, it is an aspect of God's grace that we do not have to rely on this intrinsic tendency in our nature to formulate our concept of Him. He sent messengers and warners to educate mankind and teach them how to believe in God.

All these messengers emphasized God's Oneness and formulated the same concept of the Godhead, warning their people against associating partners with Him. Messengers were sent to all nations and communities.

God tells us in the Qur'an: "You are but a warner; We have sent you as an announcer and a warner about the truth. There has been no community unless some warner has passed among them." (35; 23-4)

This means that there were numerous prophets, messengers and warners who explained to mankind how to conduct their lives in a way which would be acceptable to God. There are about twenty-five of these mentioned by name in the Qur'an. However, God states in the Qur'an that He has mentioned some of His messengers to His Prophet Muhammad, while some He has chosen not to mention. Therefore, the great teachers of mankind who strove to establish faith among their communities and to lay down concepts of morality might have been prophets and even messengers. But we certainly cannot say with any degree of certainty, because certainty about such matters can only be stated by God Himself. Since He has chosen not to tell us about those people and their status, we cannot say anything in this connection. We simply limit ourselves to the certain knowledge God has revealed in the Qur'an. We do respect those great teachers of mankind and what they have done.

However, God makes it clear that the Qur'an is His final message to mankind, and He undertakes to keep it intact for the rest of time. "We ourselves have sent down the reminder and We will indeed safeguard it." (15; 9) "It is for us to gather it and to cause it to be read (as it ought to be read)." (75; 17)

But God also tells us in the Qur'an that earlier messages suffered distortion and twisting of texts. This applies particularly to Torah and the Gospel. Therefore, although we believe that these two books were originally revealed by God to the great prophets, Moses and Jesus Christ, peace be upon them both, we also believe that any fundamental difference between either of them and the Qur'an is the result of willful distortion.

The very fact that God has sent so many messengers and prophets to mankind to teach them how to believe and conduct their lives makes it clear that it is from Him alone that we should derive our concepts of God, faith, the position of man and how he should believe in his Lord. The Qur'an denounces the pagan Arabs for having adopted the concept of polytheism, establishing for themselves so many deities whom they considered intermediaries between themselves and God. They did not reject God altogether, but felt that He was too great for them to put their address to Him directly. Therefore, they associated with Him partners whom they worshipped so that those partners could bring them nearer to God. That was totally unacceptable to Him.

When we speak of believing in God, we have to acknowledge the fact that in order to be true believers, we have to believe in Him in the way He likes. That is to say, the concept we formulate of God should be the one He Himself outlines.

This He did through the prophets and messengers He sent in all periods of history, up to the final messenger, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. There can simply be no conflict between what every one of those messengers preached about God. It is true that there can be only one God. Different religions may offer different concepts of Him, but there can only be one true concept.

That is the one He Himself has laid down in His messages to mankind. Since these were subject to distortion, then that concept can only be derived from the message He guaranteed to keep intact, namely, Islam. Hence, true believers must reject any concept that is not in total agreement with the monotheistic concept of God stated clearly in the Qur'an. There can be no truth in any concept of duality, trinity or plurality of the Godhead.

The other part of your question tries to distinguish between a Muslim and being a believer. The Qur'an also makes this distinction. Reflect, if you will, on the Qur'anic verse which may be translated as follows: "The desert Arabs say: We believe. Say: You have not believed, but say instead: We submit. Yet belief has not penetrated your hearts. If you obey God and His messenger, He will not slight you in any of your actions. God is much-forgiving, merciful." {49; 14)

The Arabic term used for the expression, "We submit," is "Aslamna," which is the verb used to indicate acceptance of Islam. As you are probably aware the term "Islam" means "submission to God." The Qur'anic verse thus distinguishes between submission, or Islam, which is a practical attitude and having faith, or "iman" which indicates a conscious belief and a conceptual attitude. What the faith of Islam requires of all people is far more than the practical attitude. It is to have faith deeply entrenched in one's mind and heart.

It is true that some Muslims may not give, in their action and practices, full credence to their faith. Some may not even distinguish between what is forbidden and what is lawful. Some may have very little knowledge of right and wrong. The very fact that they were born into a Muslim family does not ensure their salvation. Islam requires of everyone to have a conscious belief in God, His Oneness and all His attributes. Therefore, true faith can only come through deep thinking, reflective study and conscious acceptance of the basic principles of faith. It then requires that everyone should conduct his or her life in accordance with Islamic teachings. Salvation can only be ensured through faith and action. Neither one is sufficient on its own.

There is no doubt that there are among the followers of other religions people of integrity, honesty, high caliber and serious morality. Even among the pagan Arabs there were some of these. The Prophet was asked: "Who are the best people?" He gave his questioners one answer after another, but those answers were not the one they sought. He then confirmed that they were asking about the different types of people. He then said to them: "The best of them in pre-Islamic days are the best after having accepted Islam; if they would learn it properly."