in proportion to his conformity with them; for when two people are completely at variance in their religion, every likeness you show to one of them is, to that same extent, a divergence from the other.
The Exalted also says:
“To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Whether you disclose what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it.” (Al-Baqarah 2:284) — to the end of the sūrah.
Muslim relates in his Ṣaḥīḥ from al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from his father, from Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “When the verse
‘To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Whether you disclose what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it.’ (Al-Baqarah 2:284)
was revealed to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, it weighed heavily on the Companions of the Messenger of Allah. They came to him, knelt down on their knees, and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we have been charged only with what we can bear: prayer, fasting, and jihad.’”
(1) In MS T the reading is al-ukhra (“the other”).
(2) Surah al-Baqarah, verse 284.
(3) The printed edition quotes both verses through to the end of the surah.
(4) Al-Alaʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Yaʿqub, a freedman of al-Hurqa from Juhaynah, was a fifth-generation Medinan transmitter. The hadith critics say he is “reliable, though he may err”; trustworthy narrators reported from him, yet some rejected certain narrations. Ahmad ibn Hanbal judged him reliable. He died in the early 130s AH. See: Taqrib al-Tahdhib 2/92–93, no. 286; al-Jarh wa-l-Taʿdil 6/357, s.v. ʿAyn, no. 1974.
(5) ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Yaʿqub (Abu al-Alaʾ), mentioned above, is a Medinan tabiʿi (Successor) who narrated from Abu Hurayrah and Ibn ʿUmar. Taqrib al-Tahdhib describes him as “trustworthy, of the third generation.” See al-Jarh wa-l-Taʿdil 5/301, no. 1428; Taqrib al-Tahdhib 1/503, no. 1159.
(6) Surah al-Baqarah, verse 284.
(7) In Sahih Muslim the wording is: “He said: then it became intense …,” and the same wording appears in Musnad Ahmad.
(8) The printed edition reads: “from the prayer,” whereas Sahih Muslim and Musnad Ahmad preserve the wording cited here.