And the term “believers” is also mentioned alongside the Jews, Christians, and Sabians. Then He says:

“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous deeds will have their reward with their Lord. No fear will be upon them, nor will they grieve.”

The believers mentioned at the beginning of the passage are distinct from the other three groups, whereas faith as mentioned later encompasses them, just as it encompasses them in His words:

“Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds—they are the best of creation.”

We shall explain this at length, if Allah Most High wills.

(The point here) concerns the broader and narrower senses of faith in relation to its inward and outward aspects. Its broader scope in relation to religious communities, however, is “a separate matter.” Thus, when he mentioned faith alongside Islam, he defined Islam as the outward deeds: the two testimonies of faith, prayer, zakat, fasting, and Hajj. He defined faith as what is in the heart of belief in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, and the Last Day.

Likewise, in the hadith Ahmad narrated from Anas, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Islam is outward, while faith is in the heart.”

When the term “faith” is mentioned on its own, it includes Islam and righteous deeds, as in his words in the hadith concerning the branches of faith:

“Faith has seventy-odd branches. The highest is saying, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,’ and the lowest is removing something harmful from the road.”

The same applies to all the other hadiths in which righteous deeds are counted as part of faith. Furthermore, when “faith” is negated in their absence, this indicates that they are obligatory. If, however, he mentions the excellence of the faith of one who performs them—without negating his faith—this indicates that they are recommended. For Allah and His Messenger