a group of the Murji’ah and others. Many of Ahl al-Sunnah have held it to be obligatory. Among the grounds for it are two sound considerations.

The first is that a person cannot be certain that he has fulfilled all the inward and outward requirements of faith that Allah has made obligatory upon him, completely and in the manner commanded. Rather, he may have fallen short in some of them, and so he qualifies his profession of faith for this reason.

The second is that a believer, without qualification, is someone whom Allah knows will die with faith. As for faith followed by apostasy, it is invalid, like a fast or prayer invalidated before its completion. Thus, a person cannot know that he is a believer until he has completed the entire course of his faith, and that occurs only at death.

This is the meaning of the report narrated from Ibn Mas‘ūd: he was told, “So-and-so says that he is a believer.” He said, “Then ask him: Is he in Paradise?” He replied, “Allah knows best.” He said, “Why did you not leave the first matter to Allah’s knowledge, just as you left the second?”

This second consideration is preferred by a group of speculative theologians among the adherents of hadith who incline towards the Murji’ah’s position, such as al-Ash‘arī and others who uphold qualifying one’s profession of faith but do not include deeds within the meaning of faith. They therefore make this qualification refer only to intentions. This is the consideration mentioned by Abū al-Qāsim, through which he explained the words of Abū Bakr al-Wāsitī.

Al-Wāsitī’s words, however, admit both interpretations: having a clear view and insight may concern the reality known to Allah at the present moment, or it may concern the state in which a person will meet his death. As for the words of Abū al-‘Abbās, they clearly indicate that he was considering a person’s final state.