is a Muslim in all circumstances. Thus, every believer is a Muslim, but not every Muslim is a believer. If you understand the matter in this way, the verses can be interpreted coherently and explained consistently, without any contradiction between them.”

I say: Of the two men to whom al-Khattābī referred, I think the earlier was Muhammad ibn Nasr. Among the scholars of the Sunnah and hadith, he is the one I know to have discussed at length the view that Islam and faith are one and the same. I know of no one before him who treated this subject at length. As for the other, who refuted him, I think he was … (1), but I have not come across his refutation.

The view al-Khattābī preferred is that of those who distinguished between the two, such as Abū Ja'far, Hammād ibn Zayd, and 'Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mahdī. It is also the view of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others. I know of no early scholar who disagreed with them by holding that Islam itself is identical to faith itself. Thus, the general position of Ahl al-Sunnah was the one these scholars expressed, as al-Khattābī mentioned.

Likewise, Abū al-Qāsim al-Taymī al-Asbahānī, his son Muhammad—the commentator on Muslim—and others stated that the preferred view among Ahl al-Sunnah is that the designation “believer” should not be applied without qualification to a thief or a fornicator, as the scriptural text indicates.

In his Commentary on al-Bukhārī, al-Khattābī made statements implying that Islam and faith are inseparable despite their distinct designations. [Al-Baghawī also mentioned this in Sharh al-Sunnah, saying: “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used ‘Islam’ to designate outward deeds and ‘faith’ to designate inward belief. This is not because deeds are not part of faith