So may Allah withhold reward from anyone who pins his forgeries onto the school of the Muṭṭalibī Imām (1)—may Allah have mercy on him. He was among the most devoted of Allah’s servants in heart, the straightest in bearing, the best guided in conduct, the deepest in understanding while the least given to over-subtlety, the firmest in upholding the religion, the farthest from affectation, and the sincerest well-wisher to Allah’s creation. May Allah recompense him with the finest reward.

He said:
“I have seen among them people who strive hard in reciting the Quran, preserving its letters, and multiplying their completions of it, yet who then hold regarding it (2) the very belief we have already set forth—a furtive diligence resembling that of the Khawārij.

It has been transmitted (3) with a chain of transmission (4) from Harshah ibn al-Hurr, from Hudhayfah, who said:

‘We believed before we recited the Quran, and there will come a people who will recite the Quran yet not believe.’

He (5) also said that Ibn ʿUmar declared:

‘We used to be granted faith before the Quran.’

Likewise, it is narrated (6) with an isnād (7) from Ibn ʿUmar that he said:

‘We lived for a span of time during which each of us was given faith before he was given the Quran.’

And in another wording:

‘Indeed, (8) we were the vanguard of this community, and a man from among the best and most righteous Companions of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—’