279 — Jaʿfar al-Sandalī related to us: al-Fadl ibn Ziyād related to us: I heard that Abū ʿAbd Allāh approved of qualifying one’s affirmation of faith with “if Allah wills.” A man said to him, “People fall into only two categories: believer and unbeliever.” Abū ʿAbd Allāh replied, “Then what of His statement, Most High: ‘And there are others deferred until Allah’s command: He may punish them, or He may turn to them in mercy’ [al-Tawbah: 106]?”