is the thief a believer when he steals.’ It is also like what Ibn ‘Abbās said concerning His words:

‘Those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed are indeed the disbelievers.’”

I asked him, “What kind of disbelief is this?”

He replied, “Disbelief that does not take one out of the religion. Just as faith has varying degrees, so does disbelief, until it reaches a point on which there is no disagreement.”

Ibn Abī Shayba said concerning the saying:

“The adulterer does not commit adultery while he is a believer”:

“He does not possess complete faith; his faith is deficient.”

Al-Shālanjī said:

“I also asked Ahmad about faith and Islam. He replied, ‘Faith consists of words and deeds, whereas Islam is acknowledgment.’”

He said, “Abū Khaythama held the same view.”

Ibn Abī Shayba said:

“There can be no Islam without faith, nor faith without Islam. When speaking directly, if someone says, ‘I have accepted faith,’ he has entered Islam; and if he says, ‘I have accepted Islam,’ he has entered faith.”

Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazī said:

“Someone other than those already mentioned related that he had asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal about the Prophet’s saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

‘The adulterer does not commit adultery while he is a believer.’

“He replied, ‘Whoever commits these four acts, acts like them, or graver acts is a Muslim, but I do not call him a believer. Whoever commits something less than that—meaning less than major sins—I call a believer whose faith is deficient.’”

I say: Ahmad ibn Hanbal sometimes maintained this distinction, and at other times mentioned the disagreement and withheld judgment. The latter was his later position.

Abū Bakr al-Athram said in al-Sunnah:

“I heard Abū ‘Abd Allāh being asked, ‘What do you say about qualifying one’s profession of faith with “if Allah wills”?’

“He replied, ‘For my part, I do not criticize it’”—meaning that some people do criticize it.

Abū ‘Abd Allāh said:

“If he says that faith consists of words