and it is birr and taqwā (1), the two that encompass the whole of the religion (2). When either of the two terms is mentioned on its own, the meaning of the other is automatically included (3), whether by implication or by necessary entailment; the inclusion by implication is more obvious, for birr forms part of what taqwā denotes, and taqwā in turn forms part of what birr denotes (4). The fact that one does not enter the other when they are paired together does not mean that it is excluded when it is cited alone (5).

The same relationship is found in such pairings as “faith and Islam,” “faith and righteous deeds,” “the poor and the destitute,” “defiance and disobedience,” and “wrongdoing and obscenity” (6), among many others.

This is an important principle: whoever comprehends it will be relieved (7) of numerous problems that have perplexed (8) large segments of people. Let us mention just one example that may serve as a model for the rest—namely, birr and taqwā.

In its essence, birr is the perfection sought in a thing—the benefits and goodness it contains (9), as indicated by the root of the word and its various derivatives in the language.