He said:

307 — Abū Bakr ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Hamīd al-Wāsitī narrated to us, saying: Yūsuf ibn Mūsā al-Qattān narrated to us, saying: Yahyā ibn Sulaym al-Tāʾifī narrated to us, saying: Nāfiʿ ibn ʿUmar al-Qurashī narrated to us, saying:

“We were with Ibn Abī Mulaykah when one of his companions said to him, ‘O Abū Muhammad, some people who sit with you claim that their faith is like the faith of Gabriel and Michael.’ ʿAbd Allah ibn Abī Mulaykah became angry and said, ‘Allah, Mighty and Majestic, was not satisfied with anything less for Gabriel, peace be upon him, than to praise him above Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He said:

‘Indeed, it is the word of a noble messenger, possessed of power and held in honor before the Lord of the Throne, obeyed there and trustworthy. And your companion is not mad.’ [al-Takwīr: 20]

“Meaning Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.” Ibn Abī Mulaykah said, “Am I then to make ⦗689⦘ the faith of Gabriel and Michael like the faith of Fahdān? No—neither as an honor nor out of affection.”

Nāfiʿ said, “I saw Fahdān. He was a man who never sobered up from drinking.”

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, may Allah Most High have mercy on him, said: Whoever says this has uttered a monstrous lie against Allah, Mighty and Majestic, opposed the truth, and advanced a claim repudiated by all scholars. For the proponent of this doctrine claims that whoever says, “There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah,” will not be harmed by committing major sins or perpetrating indecencies. In his view, the righteous, God-fearing person who commits none of these things and the wicked sinner are equal. This is reprehensible. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:

“Or do those who commit evil deeds think that We will make them like those who believe and perform righteous deeds, equal in their life and their death? Evil indeed is their judgment.” [al-Jāthiyah: 21]

And He, Mighty and Majestic, says:

“Or should We make those who believe and perform righteous deeds like those who spread corruption on earth? Or should We make the God-fearing like the wicked?” [Sād: 28]

Say to the proponent of this reprehensible doctrine: “O misguided one! O misleader! Allah, Mighty and Majestic, did not treat even the two groups of believers as equal in their righteous deeds; rather, He raised some of them above others in rank.” Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:

“Those among you who spent before the Conquest and fought are not equal. They are greater in rank than ⦗690⦘ those who spent afterward and fought, though Allah has promised each the finest reward. Allah is All-Aware of what you do.” [al-Hadīd: 10]

Thus Allah, Mighty and Majestic, promised all of them the finest reward after having favored some over others. He, Mighty and Majestic, also says:

“Those believers who remain behind—except those with disabilities—are not equal to those who strive in Allah’s cause with their wealth and their lives. Allah has favored those who strive with their wealth and their lives over those who remain behind by one degree.” [al-Nisāʾ: 95]

Then He said:

“To each Allah has promised the finest reward.” [al-Nisāʾ: 95]

How, then, can this deviant in religion equate his own faith with the faith of Gabriel and Michael and claim that he is truly a believer?