(one takes a person outside the religion) and (the other does not take a person outside the religion). Likewise, associating partners with Allah is of “two kinds”: associating partners with Him in His oneness, which takes a person outside the religion, and associating partners with Him in deeds, which does not take a person outside the religion. The latter is showing off. Allah Most High said:
“So whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do righteous deeds and associate no one in the worship of his Lord.”
What is meant here is showing off through righteous deeds. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Taking evil omens is associating partners with Allah.”
Muhammad ibn Nasr said:
These, then, are two positions, both broadly reported from Ahmad ibn Hanbal among the hadith scholars who shared his views. Ismā‘īl ibn Sa‘īd al-Shālanjī related that he asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal about someone who persists in major sins, pursuing them with all his effort, yet has not abandoned prayer, zakat, or fasting: “Is someone in this condition considered persistent in sin?”
He replied: “He is persistent in sin. His case is like that described in the Prophet’s words:
‘An adulterer does not commit adultery while he is a believer.’
“He leaves the sphere of faith and comes within the sphere of Islam. It is also like his words:
‘He does not drink wine while he is a believer, nor does he steal while he is a believer.’
“And it is like the statement of Ibn ‘Abbās concerning Allah’s words:
‘Those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed—it is they who are the disbelievers.’”
I said to him: “What is this disbelief?”
He replied: “Disbelief that does not take a person outside the religion. Just as faith has degrees, some lower than others, so too does disbelief, until it reaches something concerning which there is no disagreement.”
Ibn Abī Shaybah said, concerning the words, “An adulterer does not commit adultery while he is a believer”: “He does not possess complete faith; rather, his faith is deficient.”
He said: “I also asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal about ‘Islam and faith.’ He replied: ‘Faith consists of speech and deeds, while Islam is affirmation.’”
He said: “Abū Khaythamah held the same view. Ibn Abī Shaybah said: ‘There can be no Islam without faith, and no faith without Islam.’”