The Report of Muʿādh

He said, “Whoever does not deny anything of His Book is a believer.” Abū Ḥanīfah narrated, “Some scholars told me that when Muʿādh ibn Jabal—may Allah be pleased with him—arrived in the city of Homs, the people gathered around him. A young man asked, ‘What do you say about someone who prays, fasts, performs the pilgrimage to the House, strives in the path of Allah, frees slaves, and pays his zakah, yet entertains doubt about Allah and His Messenger?’ He replied, ‘The Fire is his destiny.’

The youth then asked, ‘What do you say about a person who neither prays, fasts, performs the pilgrimage to the House, nor pays his zakah, yet believes in Allah and His Messenger?’ He answered, ‘I have hope for him, and I fear for him as well.’

The young man said, ‘O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, just as it does not benefit…’