The task of the Messengers is to give glad tidings and to warn; they give glad tidings of Paradise to those who take the straight path and warn people of the Hellfire and of the consequences of criminality and deviating from the path of Allah Most High. Thus, their task is not to insert guidance into the hearts of people, but to guide them to the correct path, as Allah (swt) says:
وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
(And you are truly leading to the Straight Path) (Ash-Shura: 52)
However, He also said to the Prophet (saws):
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاء وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ
(You surely cannot guide whoever you like (O Prophet), but it is Allah Who guides whoever He wills, and He knows best who are (fit to be) guided) (Al-Qassass: 56)
Meaning, you will never be able to insert faith into the hearts of man, but your task is to warn them of the punishment and to give them the glad tidings of Paradise. After that, it is up to their deeds and actions. If they follow the Directional Guidance, Supportive Guidance will come to them.
So, the general guidance is the Directional Guidance. Through it, Allah (swt) directs all of humanity and explains to them the correct path. However, Supportive Guidance will not come except to the one who has chosen to follow this correct path.
( فَمَنْ آمَنَ وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ… ) (…So whoever believes and reforms – there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve): It is not enough for a person to say that he has believed, but rather, he is required to carry out the tasks which prove the faith. What then, are these tasks? They are as the Prophet (saws) has said:
“Not a believer in Me is the one who sleeps with a full stomach while his neighbour next to him is hungry, whereas he knows about it.”[1] And:
“You can only be a true believer when you wish your brother what you wish for yourself”[2] And:
“A woman entered the (Hell) Fire because of a cat which she had tied, neither giving it food nor setting it free to eat from the vermin of the earth.”[3]
So, among the components of faith are not to lie, tattle, backbite, steal, bribe or commit atrocities or obscenities. Since these are the tasks which proof the faith, it follows that ‘to do good’ is a must when a person ‘believes’. This is because, doing good is part of a person’s actions, thus being counted among the actions of the limbs and not the action of the heart. So, when a person says that faith is an act of the heart, this is true. However, when a person has believed in Allah (swt) with his heart, where is the genuineness of this faith? Is he the source of goodness for others? Is he a source of goodness for his neighbours? Is he a source of goodness for his country? Is he a source of goodness for his family? Hence:
( فَمَنْ آمَنَ وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ … ) (…So whoever believes and reforms – there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve): The fear of something which is expected, while the grief due to something which has happened.
[1] Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabir of at-Thabarani: Chapter Alif, Anas Bin Malik Al-Ansari, Hadith No. 751.
[2] Sahih al-Bukhari: The Book of Faith, Chapter of: It is of Faith to wish for a brother what is wished for oneself, Hadith No. 13.
[3] Sahih al-Bukhari: Book of The Beginning of Creation, Chapter: Five kinds of animals are harmful and allowed to be killed in Haram, Hadith No.3140.