until one of them said, ‘I am a believer,’ even if he had intercourse with his sister, mother, or daughter. By Allah, I met so many of the Prophet’s Companions, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and not one of them died without fearing hypocrisy for himself.”

Al-Bukhārī related a report to this effect from him in his Sahīh. He said:

“I met thirty of Muhammad’s Companions, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. All of them feared hypocrisy for themselves; not one of them said that his faith was like Gabriel’s faith.”

Al-Baghawī narrated from ‘Abd Allāh ibn Muhammad, from Ibn Mujāhid, who said:

“I was with ‘Atā’ ibn Abī Rabāh when his son Ya‘qūb came and said, ‘Father, some friends of mine claim that their faith is like Gabriel’s faith.’ He replied, ‘My son, the faith of someone who obeys Allah is not like the faith of someone who disobeys Him.’”

I say: His statement that the Murji’ah say prayer and zakah are not part of religion may represent the view of some of them. They all say that these two are not part of faith. As for whether they are part of religion, some have reportedly said, “They are not part of religion, and we make no distinction between faith and religion.” Others say, “Rather, they are part of religion,” distinguishing between the terms “faith” and “religion.” This latter position is the one commonly known from their own accounts of their views. I myself have never seen any prominent author state in his book that deeds are not part of religion. Rather, they say that deeds are not part of faith.

This is also what Abū ‘Ubayd reported from those among them with whom he debated. Abū ‘Ubayd and others argue that deeds are part of religion. He therefore cited Allah’s words:

“Today I have perfected your religion for you,”

noting that this verse was revealed during the Farewell Pilgrimage.

Abū ‘Ubayd said:

“He thus declared that He had only now perfected the religion, at this late stage of Islam, during the pilgrimage of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Yet these people claim that it had been complete before that