the Murji’ah—with any verse more conclusive than His words:
“They were commanded only to worship Allah with sincere devotion to Him, inclining to truth, to establish prayer and give zakah. That is the upright religion.”’”
In al-Umm, in the chapter “Intention in Prayer,” al-Shāfi‘ī, may Allah be pleased with him, cited the hadith narrated by ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as evidence that no prayer is valid without an intention:
“Actions are only by intentions.”
He then said: “The Companions, the Successors after them, and those whom we have known unanimously held that faith consists of speech, deeds and intention; none of these three suffices without the others.”
Hanbal said: “Al-Humaydī narrated to us, saying: ‘I was informed that some people say: Whoever acknowledges the obligation of prayer, zakah, fasting and Hajj, yet does none of these until he dies, and prays with his back to the qiblah until he dies, is nevertheless a believer so long as he does not deny their obligation—if he knows that, despite abandoning these things, he still has faith, provided that he acknowledges the obligatory duties and the requirement to face the qiblah.’
“I said: ‘This is blatant disbelief, contrary to the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, and the scholars of the Muslims. Allah Most High said:
“They were commanded only to worship Allah with sincere devotion to Him,”
“to the end of the verse.’”
Hanbal said: “I heard Abū ‘Abd Allāh Ahmad ibn Hanbal say: ‘Whoever says this has disbelieved in Allah, rejected His command, and rejected what the Messenger brought from Allah.’”
I say: As for their citing his statement concerning the slave woman, “Free her, for she is a believer,” this is one of their well-known arguments. Ibn Kullāb also cited it as evidence. He held that faith consists of both inward assent and verbal profession, so his position was closer to the truth than that of Jahm and his followers. This, however, provides no proof, because