anyone in our time equal him in strength of certainty? That cannot be. Allah, exalted is He, knows best.

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On the Increase and Decrease of Faith

This occurs in three respects: an increase in certainty, an increase in number, and an increase in reward. The last is the least plausible interpretation, for it requires the statement to be understood figuratively, whereas understanding it literally is preferable. It is related that Mālik, may Allah be pleased with him, would affirm without qualification that faith increases, but would refrain from saying that it decreases, since Allah Most High explicitly mentioned only its increase. Yet it is related that, near his death, when Ibn Nāfiʿ asked him about this, he said: “You have wearied me. I have reflected on this matter: whatever increases also decreases. Faith increases and decreases.” This is the correct view. Allah, exalted is He, knows best.

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This, then, is the true account of faith and Islam according to the positions of Ahl al-Sunnah. The Muʿtazilah held that faith consists of performing obligatory acts of worship and refraining from prohibited acts. They maintained that, in religious law, this designation had been transferred, in keeping with its linguistic import, to denote all obligatory acts and abstention from prohibited acts. They therefore declared Muslims disbelievers on account of sins. Some of them held that, in religion, faith denotes all acts of obedience, both obligatory and voluntary. A group among the Murjiʾah held that faith is verbal profession, even in the absence of knowledge. All of this is false and is refuted by the Quran.

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Our statement that the first obligation is faith in Allah Most High follows the position of those who