Section: Defining the limits of certain terms that recur in the Qur’an—whether they come in the form of a command, a prohibition, praise, or censure.

Allah, exalted is He, has praised those who grasp the limits of what He revealed to His Messenger and has rebuked those who remain ignorant of them. These are noble expressions whose precise scope every seeker of knowledge must understand, so that he may know what falls under each term and what lies outside it. Many of the words used in commands overlap in meaning, yet fine distinctions can still be drawn among them; the same is true of the words used in prohibitions. This is part of the Qur’an’s flawless composition—its verses confirm one another—“Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found in it much inconsistency” (4:82).

• Islam and faith (īmān)
– Islam: the heart’s submission and turning to Allah, together with observance of His outward and inward prescriptions.
– Faith: complete affirmation and acknowledgment of the fundamentals Allah has ordered us to believe in. Such affirmation is not complete without the deeds of the heart and the deeds of the limbs. For this reason Allah calls many outward and inward acts of worship “faith,” and in a number of verses He states that they are among the requirements of faith.

Accordingly, when the term faith is mentioned on its own, Islam is included within it, and vice-versa. However, when the two are mentioned together, faith refers to the inward affirmation, acknowledgment, and everything that follows from them, while Islam refers to fulfilling all aspects of servitude to Allah, both outward and inward.

• Excellence (iḥsān) is of two kinds:
– Excellence in worshipping the Creator: striving to perfect and beautify the act of worship, and fulfilling all its outward and inward rights.