declare him an unbeliever on account of sins; the author then concluded that (1) disbelief is the opposite of gratitude. He assumed that once deeds are deemed an expression of gratitude, the absence of deeds must entail the absence of gratitude, and whenever gratitude disappears it is replaced by disbelief. Hence he said that they built, on this basis, the doctrine of pronouncing disbelief for sins, and for that reason he attributed to Ahl al-Sunnah the view that deeds lie outside the scope of gratitude.

I said: In the same way many scholastic theologians have excluded deeds from faith for this very reason.

He replied: This is mistaken, because disbelief (2) is of two kinds: first, ingratitude for blessings, and second, disbelief in Allah. The disbelief that stands opposite gratitude is ingratitude for blessings alone, not disbelief in Allah; therefore, when gratitude is removed, it is ingratitude for blessings that takes its place, not disbelief in Allah (3).

I said: Moreover, even if it were the opposite (4) of disbelief in Allah, then whoever abandons deeds while remaining grateful with his heart and tongue has still fulfilled part of gratitude—indeed its essence. Disbelief is established only when gratitude is wholly absent, just as Ahl al-Sunnah affirm that a person who abandons the branches of faith is not deemed an unbeliever until he abandons the root (5) of faith, namely inner conviction. The disappearance of the branches (6) of a composite reality that possesses various facets and parts does not necessitate the disappearance of its name, just as a man is still called a human being if his hand is cut off, and a tree is still called a tree even if some of its limbs are lopped off.