There is no Faith without Islam nor Islam without Faith
The Imam Abu Hanîfah, may God bless him, said: « There is no faith for a person without Islam nor Islam for a person without faith, they are linked to each other as are the face and the reverse of the same thing. » So the believer is the Muslim and the Muslim is the believer.
Allâh taʿâlâ said:
﴿ وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ ﴾
which means: « the one who takes a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter. » [Sûrat ‘Ali ʿImrân, ’âyah 85]
Allâh Taʿâlâ said in the holy Qur’ân:
﴿ قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللهِ وَاللهُ شَهِيدٌ عَلَى مَا تَعْمَلُونَ ﴾
(Qul yâ ‘ahla l-kitâb lima takfurûna bi ‘âyâti l-Lâhi wa l-Lâhu chahîdun ʿalâ mâ taʿmalûn)
which means: « Say O people of the book why do you disbelieve in the ‘ayah of Allâh while Allâh is witness of what you do. » [Surat ‘Ali ʿImran, ‘ayah 98]. The people of the book means those who claim from book and does not mean that they follow the book.
Allâh Taʿâlâ said in the holy Qur’ân:
﴿ وَلَوْ آمَنَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُم ﴾
(wa law ‘âmana ‘ahlu l-kitâb lakân khayran lahum)
This means: « And if the people of the book had believed it would have been better for them. » [Surat ‘Ali ʿImrân, ‘ayah 110]. People of the book are not believers but they claim from the Torah and the ‘injîl and have falsified them.
Allâh taʿâlâ said in the Qur’ân about the people of the book:
﴿ يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ عَنْ مَوَاضِعِهِ ﴾
This means: « They falsify the expressions of the book. » [Sûrat ‘Ali ʿImrân, ’ayah 46]
There are among the people of the books who are converted to Islam at the time of the Prophet Muhammad such as the king Negus of Abyssinia who was a Christian then he converted to Islam and became a good Muslim and likewise the scholar of the Jews at Medina Abdu lLah ibnu salam who converted to Islam after asking the Prophet Muhammad Salla lLâhy ʿalayhi wa sallam three questions. It is these people of the book who converted to Islam that Qur’ân designates as believers as explained in the tafsir of at-Tabariyy and fakhru d-din ar-Râziyy.
See: Islam is the religion of all the Prophets. Unique True Religion
https://www.islam.ms/en/?p=38
