have no doubt.”

“The believers are only those whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned.”

And in the words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“You do not believe until you are such-and-such.”

And in His words, exalted is He:

“You will not find people who believe in Allah and the Last Day showing affection to those who oppose Allah and His Messenger.”

And in His words:

“Had they believed in Allah, the Prophet, and what was revealed to him, they would not have taken them as allies.”

There are many such examples in the Book and Sunnah, including his words, peace be upon him:

“The adulterer is not a believer while committing adultery.”

And his words:

“He does not believe whose neighbour is not safe from his harm.”

And other similar statements. He has thus explained to them that the affirmation without which a person cannot be a believer must be affirmation of this kind. This is clear in the Quran and Sunnah, without any alteration of the language or transfer of its terms to new meanings.

(The thirteenth point): One may instead say: He did transfer these terms to new meanings and alter their usage.

As for his statement, “Had He done so, it would have been established through mass transmission,” the response is: Yes, and it has indeed been established through mass transmission that by prayer, zakah, fasting, and Hajj, He intended their familiar meanings. By faith, He intended what He explained in His Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger as indispensable for a servant to be a believer, as in His words:

“The believers are only those…”

This is established through mass transmission in “the Quran and the collections of Sunnah.” It is likewise established through mass transmission that no one was accorded the status of a believer unless he fulfilled the obligatory duties. It is also established through mass transmission from the Prophet that he stated that whoever dies a believer will enter Paradise without being punished, whereas the defiantly sinful are not entitled to that; rather, they are liable to punishment.

Thus, the meanings and rulings associated with the term faith have been transmitted from him through more numerous independent routes than those concerning other terms. What mass transmission could be more conclusive than this? There has been every incentive to transmit and make this known, and all praise belongs to Allah. No one can transmit anything from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that contradicts this. He did, however, state that whoever possesses any measure of faith will come out of the Fire. He did not say: