Thus He counted them among the chosen—even though they had wronged themselves. Had a single sin been able to wipe out the whole of faith, none who wronged himself would have remained among the elect; such a person would instead have been classed with the unbelievers. The Muʿtazilites flaunt the title of “the people of justice,” yet what justice is there in claiming that one misdeed can nullify many good deeds that surpass it in both magnitude and merit?

Moreover, the sound collections contain the ḥadīth of Abū Dharr:

“…even if he commits adultery and steals” (1).

If adultery and theft constituted disbelief that expunges every vestige of faith, the statement would necessarily have read, “…even if he disbelieves.” (2)

Since sins (3) do not eradicate all good deeds, do they erase an equivalent portion (of good deeds) (4)? Can a transgression short of unbelief annul certain good deeds? Among those who claim adherence to the Sunnah, there are two views on this matter: some categorically deny (any nullification at all, saying, “There is no nullification—neither of the whole record nor of any part of it”) (5), whereas others affirm it (with respect to part of the record) (6), as indicated by