or the genuineness of their faith and piety; for the most anyone can claim is that they outwardly professed Islam and adherence to its laws. Not everyone who outwardly professes Islam is inwardly a believer, for those who profess Islam are known to include both believers and hypocrites. Allah Most High has said:

“Among the people are some who say, ‘We believe in Allah and the Last Day,’ yet they are not believers.”

And He Most High has said:

“When the hypocrites come to you, they say, ‘We bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allah.’ Allah knows that you are indeed His Messenger, and Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are liars.”

And He Most High has said:

“The Bedouins say, ‘We believe.’ Say, ‘You have not believed; rather, say, “We have submitted,” for faith has not yet entered your hearts.’”

The scholars, leading authorities, and overwhelming majority of the Muslim community testify that these people were hypocrites and heretics who outwardly professed Islam while inwardly concealing disbelief. Even supposing that some people disagreed with them about this, their faith would then be a matter of well-known dispute. Anyone who attests to their faith is therefore testifying to something of which he has no knowledge, for he has no evidence of their faith comparable to the evidence his opponents possess of their hypocrisy and heresy.

The same applies to their “lineage.” It is well known that the majority of the Muslim community impugn their lineage and state that they are descendants of Magians or Jews. This is widely attested by scholars of the various groups—Hanafīs, Mālikīs, Shāfiʿīs, Hanbalīs, hadith scholars, scholastic theologians, and genealogists—as well as by the common people and others. This matter has been mentioned by most writers who record people’s histories and the events of their times, including even some who might reserve judgment about them, such as Ibn al-Athīr al-Mawsilī in his history and others like him. He recorded what Muslim scholars had written in their own hands impugning their lineage.