to me. When he refused to be satisfied, he said to him: “The believer is one who, when he does a good deed, is pleased by it and hopes for its reward, and when he does an evil deed, is distressed by it and fears its punishment.”’”
He also said: Ishāq narrated to us: ‘Abd al-Razzāq narrated to us: Ma‘mar narrated to us, from ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Jazarī, from Mujāhid, who reported that Abū Dharr asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about faith. He recited to him, “Righteousness is not that you turn your faces,” to the end of the verse.
He also related, with his chain of transmission, from ‘Ikrima, who said: Al-Hasan ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib was asked about faith upon his return from Syria. He recited:
“Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east and the west.”
Ibn Batta narrated, with his chain of transmission, from Mubārak ibn Hassān, who said: I said to Sālim al-Aftas, “One man obeyed Allah and never disobeyed Him, while another disobeyed Allah and never obeyed Him. The obedient man came before Allah, and He admitted him to Paradise; the disobedient man came before Allah, and He admitted him to the Fire. Do they differ in their degree of faith?”
He replied, “No.”
He continued: I mentioned this to ‘Atā’, who said, “Ask them: Is faith good or evil? For Allah said:
‘So that Allah may distinguish the wicked from the good, place the wicked one upon another, heap them all together, and cast them into Hell. It is they who are the losers.’”
I asked them, but they did not answer me. Some of them said, “Faith is inward, unaccompanied by deeds.” I mentioned this to ‘Atā’, who said, “Glory be to Allah! Do they not read the verse in al-Baqara:
‘Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east and the west, but the truly righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets’?”
He said: Allah then described, under this designation, the deeds necessarily associated with it, saying:
“And gives wealth, despite his love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, and the traveler”—through to His words—“It is they who are truly pious.”
Then he said, “Ask them