of any reward for your deeds. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ * The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then never doubt, and strive with their wealth and their lives in Allah’s cause. It is they who are truthful.”

Some have said that these people had outwardly accepted Islam while remaining hypocrites. Most, however, have said that they were Muslims, not hypocrites, but had not attained the reality of faith, for Allah said concerning them:

“If you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not deprive you of any reward for your deeds. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

The hypocrite’s deeds, by contrast, are rendered void and are not accepted by Allah. The Prophet’s words, peace and blessings be upon him, likewise fall under this heading:

“The adulterer is not a believer while committing adultery; the thief is not a believer while stealing; and the one who drinks wine is not a believer while drinking it.”

There are other hadiths of this kind that have been discussed elsewhere. The question of faith, unbelief, and hypocrisy is connected with the questions of the first religious obligation, the obligation of rational reflection, the status of a sinful Muslim, declaring adherents of religious innovations to be unbelievers, and other issues that people have discussed.