someone were to say, “I do not know where the disbeliever will end up.” He replied, “Such a man is rejecting the Book of Allah Most High, and he is himself a disbeliever.”

The ruling concerning one who doubts his own faith

I then asked him, “What would you say about a man who is asked, ‘Are you a believer?’ and he answers, ‘Allah knows best’?” He said, “He is uncertain about his faith.”

I said, “Is there any position between kufr (disbelief) and iman (faith) other than nifaq (hypocrisy)? For people fall into one of three categories: believer, disbeliever, or hypocrite.” He responded, “No. Whoever doubts his own faith is not a hypocrite.”

I asked, “Why not?” He answered, “Because of the hadith involving the companion of Muʿādh ibn Jabal and Ibn Masʿūd. Ḥammād narrated to me from Ḥārith ibn Mālik—who had been one of Muʿādh ibn Jabal al-Anṣārī’s companions—that when death approached him, he wept…"