If you say, “They were commanded to have faith before those deeds became obligatory,” then before those deeds became obligatory, they were not part of faith. They possessed the faith required of them before the additional obligations were imposed upon them. Once the command was revealed, however, if they did not acknowledge its obligatory nature, they were not believers. Hence Allah Most High says:

“Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to Allah by those who are able to make their way there. But whoever disbelieves—Allah is indeed free of need of all creation.”

This is why Hajj is not mentioned in most hadiths that mention Islam and faith, such as the hadith of the delegation of ‘Abd al-Qays, the hadith of the man from Najd said to have been Dimām ibn Tha‘labah, and others. Hajj is mentioned in the hadiths of Ibn ‘Umar and Gabriel because it was the last of the five obligations to be prescribed. Before it became obligatory, it was not included in faith or Islam. Once it became obligatory, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) included it within faith when that term was used on its own, and within Islam whether that term was mentioned alongside faith or used on its own. We shall mention, Allah willing, when Hajj became obligatory.

Likewise, their statement, “Someone who believed and died before deeds became obligatory upon him died a believer,” is correct. He fulfilled the faith required of him, while deeds had not yet become obligatory upon him. This must be understood, for it dispels a misconception that has arisen among both groups.

Thus, when it is said, “Obligatory deeds are part of faith,” the faith that is obligatory varies; it is not one and the same for everyone.

The people of the Sunnah and hadith say: “All good deeds, both obligatory and recommended, are part of faith”—that is, part of faith made complete through recommended deeds, not obligatory faith. A distinction is drawn between obligatory faith and complete faith