Some people became Muslims because they feared that they would be killed. Talha became a Muslim because he wanted to Marry Umm Sulaym. Will you explain it?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Some people may have become Muslims due to fear or other reasons. What matters is whether they believed really after this unwilling belief or not. No matter what the reason is, if a person does not believe sincerely and believes in appearance, he is called a munafiq (hypocrite) in Islamic terminology. A munafiq is a two-faced  person who does not believe in his heart but who says he is a Muslim.

Those who do not believe sincerely and who say they are Muslims due to fear or other interests are warned as follows in the Quran:

“The desert Arabs say, ‘We believe.’ Say, ‘Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say, ´We have submitted our wills to Allah,´ For not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’” (al-Hujurat, 49/14)

Intention is very important in Islam. Intention and viewpoint are so magical that they can transform coal into diamond and diamond into coal. Sajdah (prostration) for Allah is a deed of worship but sajdah for anyone else is aberration.

Hz. Umar narrates: The Prophet (pbuh) said,

“Surely, all actions are but driven by intentions, and verily every man shall have but that which he intended. Thus, he whose migration was for Allah and His messenger, the migration will be for the sake of Allah and his Messenger. And he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to marry a woman, then his migration will be for the sake of whatever he migrated for.” (Bukhari, Nikah, 5; Muslim, Imarah, 155)

The following incident is narrated for the reason why this hadith was uttered: After the Prophet (pbuh) migrated to Madinah, the Muslims started to migrate too. One of them was a woman called Umm Qays. A man wanted to marry her but she said, “I will not marry you if you do not migrate.” Thereupon, he migrated to Madinah and married her. Everybody migrated in order to attain Allah and His Messenger’s consent, but this man migrated in order to marry Umm Qays; therefore, he was given the nickname “Muhajiru Umm Qays (the Migrant of Umm Qays)”.

This person became a sincere Muslim afterwards. As it is also mentioned above, if a person does not believe sincerely through his heart, his appearance and words do not make him a believer. However, if such people believe really afterwards, they will become strong believers.

The same thing is valid for a person who becomes a Muslim due to fear. He can become a real believer afterwards if he remains a Muslim though there is no fear.

Questions on Islam