their mission, and loves Allah and His Messenger, will certainly love them. His love for them is thus a sign of the faith in his heart. Whoever hates them lacks the faith that Allah has required of him. Likewise, anyone whose heart does not hate what Allah and His Messenger hate—the wrongs they have forbidden, including disbelief, wickedness and disobedience—lacks the faith that Allah has required of him. If he has no hatred whatsoever for anything forbidden, then he has no faith whatsoever, as we shall explain, if Allah Most High wills.

Likewise, whoever does not love for his fellow believer what he loves for himself lacks the faith that Allah has required of him. Whenever Allah denies faith to someone, it can only be because of a deficiency in the faith required of him. Such a person is liable to the threatened punishment, rather than entitled to the unqualified promise of reward.

The same applies to his saying, peace and blessings be upon him:

“Whoever cheats us is not one of us, and whoever takes up arms against us is not one of us.”

All of this falls into the same category. He says this only of someone who has neglected what Allah has required of him or done what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. Such a person has neglected an obligatory aspect of faith on account of which the designation of believer is denied him. He is therefore not among the believers who are entitled to the promised reward and safe from the threatened punishment.

Likewise, Allah Most High says:

“They say, ‘We believe in Allah and in the Messenger, and we obey.’ Then a group of them turns away after that. Those are not believers.”

“When they are called to Allah and His Messenger so that he may judge between them, a group of them turns away.”

“But if the right is theirs, they come to him in submission.”

“Is there disease in their hearts? Or have they doubted? Or do they fear that Allah and His Messenger will treat them unjustly? Rather, it is they who are the wrongdoers.”