Back to search

What is the difference between a believer and a transgressor, especially if both are afflicted by sin?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

"Fisq" (transgression) means departing from something, and a "fasiq" (transgressor) is one who departs from obedience to Allah the Almighty. It is sometimes used to refer to a disbeliever or a hypocrite, as in Allah's saying about Iblis: (So he defiantly disobeyed the command of his Lord). It may also be applied to a disobedient Muslim if they commit a major sin like fornication or drinking alcohol, or if they persist in a minor sin and do not repent from it. The difference between a believer and a fasiq in this sense is that a believer does not commit major sins nor persist in minor ones, whereas a fasiq does so. Whoever is afflicted with fisq must repent, and if they repent, the description of fisq is removed from them.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy