Twenty-first consideration:
Allah, the Exalted, says,
“Indeed, they do not deny you; rather, it is the wrongdoers who reject the signs of Allah.” ⦗1⦘
Thus He negated denial in their case and affirmed rejection. It is evident that verbal denial was not absent from them; therefore, what He denied was denial of the heart. Had the one who knowingly rejects possessed within his heart an inner assertion contradicting his knowledge, they would have been deniers in their hearts. Since the verse rules out denial of the heart, it follows that juhūd—being a form of lying and of denying a known truth—is neither an inward lie nor an inward denial. This proves that a person who knows something does not lie about it, nor does he inwardly assert the opposite of what he knows.
If it is said: A person who knows and recognizes a matter may either believe in it or disbelieve, just as ⦗2⦘ Allah, the Most High, has said: “They rejected it, while their souls were convinced of it.” ⦗3⦘ This refers to the obstinate among the idolaters and the People of the Book, and their disbelief is not due merely to their words, for they