The opinion of Ahl al-Sunnah and Jamaat about this:
Ahl al-Sunnah believe that the person who commits a major sin deserves the name Fasiq; Because he is a believer and his debauchery does not drive him out of the faith… and he is not driven out of the faith by committing a major sin, although he is said to be a debaucher by committing a major sin.
Imam Ash’ari, may Allah have mercy on him, says: “If someone asks you to inform us about the transgressor of the people of the Qibla, whether he is a believer or not?” Say: Yes, he is a believer with his faith, and he is a debaucher with his debauchery and great sin.”
The Sunnis agree on this saying and they argue from narrative and rational reasons to prove this point of view, and this is exactly what Imam Ash’ari, may God have mercy on him, emphasized when expressing the position and viewpoint of the Sunnis regarding this issue and mentions their reasons: [Ahl al-Sunnah and Jamaat] agree that a believer in Allah Almighty and other things that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, called him to believe in, no sin will drive him out of his faith in Allah and his actions will not be destroyed by anything other than disbelief. The sinners of people of Qiblah are assigned to other laws and they do not get out of faith with their sins.
Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, expresses the opinion of the Sunnis and the Jamaat as follows: “The religion of the Sunnis and the Jamaat is that the debauchers of this Ummah are not eternal in Hell, as the Mu’tazila and the Khawarij believe, and they are not complete in terms of religion, faith and obedience, rather, they have good and bad qualities, and with one they are deserving of reward and with the other they are deserving of punishment.”
Shareh Tahawiyyah writes: “All the people of the Sunnah and the Jamaat have the same opinion that commits a major sin, not a disbeliever so much as to leave him completely out of Islam, as the Kharijites believe; Because if he became such a disbeliever that he would be expelled from the nation of Islam, he would become an apostate, and whoever becomes an apostate will be killed in any case, and the pardon and forgiveness of the guardian of retribution will not be accepted for him.
The invalidity and corruption of this statement is necessary in the religion of Islam and still happens that he does not leave faith and Islam and does not enter disbelief and does not deserve solitude and eternal survival in hell with the disbelievers; As the Mu’tazila believe, their words are also false, Because Allah Almighty has included the perpetrator of a major sin part of believers.
Allah Almighty says in this matter: «یا أیها الذین آمنوا کتب علیکم القصاص في القتلی» تا جاییکه میفرماید: «فمن عفي له من أخیه شیء فاتباع بالمعروف» (O you who believe, retribution (Qesas) has been decreed for you in regard to the slain… if someone is spared something from his brother’s blood, then [his order] is to follow the good and pay [the blood price] to him with good humor.) In this verse, Allah Almighty did not expel the murderer from the group of believers, but made him the brother of the avenger, and the meaning of this “brotherhood” is undoubtedly religious brotherhood. In another place, Allah the Exalted says: «وإن طائفتان من المؤمنین اقتتلوا فأصلحوا بینهما» تا جاییکه میفرماید: «إنما المؤمنون إخوة فأصلحوا بین أخویکم» (If two groups of believers’ fight, make peace between those two groups… surely the believers are brothers, so make a compromise between your two brothers).
The texts of the book, the Sunnah and the consensus indicate that an adulterous, a thief and a slanderer will not be killed, but he will be punished, so it is clear that he is not an apostate. It is stated in the authentic hadith: “Anyone whose brother’s complaint is because of [taking] his honor or something else against him, then he should ask his brother for permission today, before the day comes when there is neither a dinar nor a dirham, so if a person has righteous and good deeds, the amount of the complainant’s complaint will be taken from his actions, and if that person does not have virtues and good deeds, the complainant’s bad deeds will be put on his shoulders. With this hadith, it was proved that the oppressor has virtues and good deeds, from which the right of the oppressed is completed.”
Allama Nawawi, may God have mercy on him, writes about this: “The religion of the Sunnah and the view of the Ahl al-Haq, including the predecessors and the successors, is that: whoever dies as a monotheist will enter heaven in any case.”