All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of The Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
A believer in Allah the Almighty and His Messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) is the one who believes in all that the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) came with. It is stated in {Et-haaf Al-Moreed Jawharat At-Tawheed, P.87}:"Faith was interpreted as believing Prophet Mohammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the indisputably established facts of the religion/of Islam that he came with."
Following the orders of Allah and avoiding His prohibitions is an obligation upon every legally commissioned person. Consequently, it is incumbent upon every Muslim to accept the religion of Mohammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) with the fullest conviction, which is the sign of reaching perfection of faith. Allah the Almighty says {What means}:"But no, by the Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make thee judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against Thy decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction."{An-Nisa`, 65}.
As for committing sins, such as abandoning prayer and fasting, this is forbidden from the perspective of Sharia and it is considered a major sin. However, it doesn`t drive a person out of the fold of Islam nor negates his faith totally; rather, it decreases it, but he remains a believing Muslim whose blood and property are inviolable. This is according to the consensus of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah . Imam Saifuldin Al-Amidi (May Allah have mercy on him) said: "Scholars have differed regarding the legal ruling on the believer who committed major sins and died without repenting. According to the consensus of the Muslims, such person died as a believer."{Ibkar Al-Afkaar Fi Usul Al-Din Vol.4:P.360}.
As for a Muslim`s dislike of some of the rulings of Sharia while believing in them, this doesn`t befit a Muslim who has reached perfection of faith. Rather, a believer must accept them with the fullest conviction. However, this so called dislike may be normal in the sense of not wanting to be fatigued and preferring comfort over performing acts of worship, so this isn`t considered disbelieving in Allah. Consequently, a believer must strive to strengthen his faith through loving to perform acts of devotion and disliking sins to draw closer to Allah the Almighty. Allah says {What means}:"But God has endeared the Faith to you, and has made it beautiful in your hearts, and He has made hateful to you Unbelief, wickedness, and rebellion: such indeed are those who walk in righteousness;-"{Al-Hujurat,7}.
In fact, this normal dislike was experienced by some of the companions (May Allah have mercy on them); particularly in relation to difficult things, such as sacrificing self and wealth, where Allah told that these companions disliked to fight in the battle of Badr and preferred to get the booty. Allah says {What means}:"Just as thy Lord ordered thee out of thy house in truth, even though a party among the Believers disliked it,"{Al-Anfal,5}. Allah also told that fighting in His cause is disliked by some of the believers as this is human nature. He the Almighty says {What means}:"Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But God knoweth, and ye know not."{Al-Baqarah, 216}. He also says {What means}:"The life of this world is but play and amusement: and if ye believe and guard against Evil, He will grant you your recompense, and will not ask you (to give up) your possessions. If He were to ask you for all of them, and press you, ye would covetously withhold, and He would bring out all your ill-feeling."{Mohammad, 36-37}.
Some of those who hasten to accuse Muslims of disbelief (Kufr) might fancy that a Muslim`s dislike of some of the teachings of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) justify labelling them as Kafir (disbelievers) and driving them out of the fold of Islam. This implies that some companions and most Muslims are accused of disbelief, because performing some acts of worship with dislike is something factual and normal as the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) told us about it, and not an act of Kufr. On the contrary, it is a reason for increasing a Muslim`s reward and elevating his/her rank in the sight of Allah. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Should I not direct you to something by which Allah obliterates the sins and elevates (your) ranks." They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah". He said, "Performing Wudu' properly, even in difficulty, frequently going to the mosque, and waiting eagerly for the next Salat (prayer) after a Salat is over; indeed, that is Ar- Ribat".[Muslim].
This group also uses the verse (That is because they hate the Revelation of God; so He has made their deeds fruitless, {Mohammad,9})as evidence for accusing Muslims of disbelief. However, they have overlooked the fact that this verse is about the disbelievers and the hypocrites who hated the Revelation of God because they disbelieved and denied it, which isn`t a normal dislike. Therefore, it isn`t permissible to apply this verse on the believers because it doesn`t address them in the first place.
In conclusion, a Muslim`s dislike of some of the rulings of Sharia is normal and doesn`t negate his/her faith. However, the Muslim who has reached the perfection of faith loves Allah, His Messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him), the rulings of Sharia, and accepts them with the fullest conviction where his/her love to Allah and His Messenger outweighs the love of what he/she craves for. And Allah the Almighty knows best.
[1] Adherents to the Sunnah and the community; abbr. ASWJ)
