and Light, and the like, follow this same pattern. The same applies to “the names of His Messenger”: Muhammad, Ahmad, al-Māhī (the Effacer), al-Hāshir (the Gatherer), al-Muqfī (the Successor), the Prophet of Mercy, the Prophet of Repentance, and the Prophet of Battle. Each name signifies a praiseworthy attribute of his distinct from that signified by another.

The same applies to the accounts recounted repeatedly in the Quran, such as the account of Moses and others. Their purpose is not to provide entertainment, but to convey lessons, as Allah, exalted is He, says:

“There was certainly in their stories a lesson for those of understanding.”

What occurred was a single event with various aspects. It is therefore expressed in different ways, each expression indicating an aspect from which those who reflect may draw a lesson. This is not repetition in any sense.

The same applies to “the names of His religion,” which Allah and His Messenger have commanded. It is called faith, righteousness, piety, goodness, religion, righteous action, the straight path, and the like. In itself it is one, but each name signifies an attribute distinct from that signified by another. That attribute is the primary meaning of the term, while the rest originally followed from it as necessary implications; the term then came to signify the rest through partial signification.

For “faith” is rooted in the faith within the heart, and it necessarily involves “two things”: the heart’s affirmation, acknowledgment, and knowledge. This is called the speech of the heart. Al-Junayd ibn Muhammad said: “Affirming Allah’s oneness is the speech of the heart, and reliance upon Him is the action of the heart.” Thus, faith must include the heart’s speech and action, followed by the body’s speech and action. It must include actions of the heart, such as loving Allah and His Messenger, fearing Allah, loving what Allah and His Messenger love, hating what Allah and His Messenger hate, devoting one’s deeds sincerely to Allah alone, the heart’s reliance upon Allah alone, and other actions of the heart that Allah and His Messenger have made obligatory and included within faith.