that a believer would enter it, nor did he say that the defiantly sinful are believers. He did, however, include them within the designation of faith in certain passages, just as he included hypocrites under that designation in certain passages, with qualifications. As for the unqualified designation, whose bearers are promised Paradise, neither group is included in it.

(The fourteenth point): Regarding his statement, “There is no reason to depart from the apparent meaning of the verses indicating that it is Arabic,” the response is:

The verses that explain what a believer is and deny faith to those who do not act are more explicit, clearer, and more numerous than these verses. Moreover, even if these verses establish that it is Arabic, what he has mentioned does not make it cease to be Arabic. Thus, when He addressed them using the terms prayer, Hajj, and others, they did not say, “This is not Arabic.” Indeed, He addressed them using the designation “hypocrites,” although linguists have stated that this designation was unknown in the pre-Islamic period. Yet they did not say that it was not Arabic, because munāfiq (hypocrite) is derived from nafaqa, meaning “to exit.” When a word is derived from their language, and its speaker adapts its usage in accordance with their customary linguistic practices, it does not thereby cease to be Arabic.

(The fifteenth point): Even if it were assumed that these expressions were not Arabic, restricting the general scope of these expressions would be no greater a departure than removing the term faith from the meaning indicated by the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the early generations. For the texts denying faith to someone who does not love Allah and His Messenger, does not fear Allah or remain mindful of Him, performs none of the obligatory duties, and refrains from none of the forbidden things are numerous and explicit. Thus, even supposing that a verse contradicted them, restricting the scope of a few general expressions would be preferable to rejecting the many explicit texts.