or not? For this reason, later jurists posited a case that cannot actually occur: if a man acknowledges that prayer is obligatory, but refuses when called upon to pray, is summoned to repent three times under threat of execution, and still does not pray until he is put to death, does he die an unbeliever or a sinful Muslim? They hold two views on this.

This hypothetical case is untenable. It is contrary to human nature for a man to believe that Allah has made prayer obligatory upon him and will punish him for abandoning it, yet submit to being killed rather than prostrate once before Allah, without any excuse for not doing so. No human being would ever do this. Indeed, anyone who acknowledges that prayer is obligatory will pray if beaten; matters will not reach the point of execution. The reason is that being killed is so grave a harm that a person will endure it only for something of great importance, such as remaining faithful to a religion which he believes he would be lost if he abandoned. He therefore remains steadfast until he is killed, whether that religion is true or false. But if he believes that the act is obligatory upon him, both inwardly and outwardly, performing the prayer can never be harder for him than enduring execution.

A comparable example would be to suppose that a man from Ahl al-Sunnah is told, “Ask Allah to be pleased with Abū Bakr and ʿUmar,” but refuses until he is killed, despite loving them both, believing in their excellence, and having no excuse that prevents him from asking Allah to be pleased with them. This would never happen.

Likewise, suppose that a man bears witness, inwardly and outwardly, that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and is asked to make that declaration, with no fear or desire prompting him to refuse, yet refuses until he is killed. It is impossible for such a person inwardly to bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. This is why outward profession is part of the faith without which a person cannot be saved, according to the general body of earlier and later scholars, from the first generations to the last, except for the Jahmiyyah—Jahm and those who agreed with him. If, however, he is assumed to have an excuse because he is unable to speak, or because he is afraid of people who, if