the two may be undertaken with a righteous intention, they may be pursued merely in obedience to one’s whims, or both motives may converge in the same person.

Thus, in all such matters—and in the financial resources spent on them, whether they come from state revenues, the fayʾ (public booty) and the like, charitable endowments, funds earmarked by bequest or vow, or the many kinds of gifts, alms, and stipends—there are nine possible combinations. All of this amounts to mixing truth with falsehood and blending a sound deed with an unsound one.

The unsound element might issue from someone who is simply mistaken or forgetful, and so is excused, like the qualified scholar who errs yet still receives a reward while his error is forgiven. It might be a minor sin that is expiated by avoiding the major sins. It might be wiped away through repentance or through good deeds that erase bad ones, or through worldly afflictions and the like. Nevertheless, the religion of Allah—revealed in His Books and conveyed by His messengers—consists solely of directing one’s will to Allah alone through righteous action. This is the all-embracing Islam, and Allah accepts nothing else from anyone.

Allah the Exalted says:

“Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers.” (Surah Āl ʿImrān, 85)

He also says:

“Allah bears witness that there is no god but He—as do the angels and those endowed with knowledge—upholding justice; there is no god but He, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. Truly, the religion in Allah’s sight is Islam.” (Surah Āl ʿImrān, 18–19)

Islam, then, brings together two meanings:

1. surrender and compliance, so that a person is never arrogant; and
2. pure devotion, as expressed in His words, “and a man wholly devoted to one master” (Surah az-Zumar, 29).