faith,” as [nasr] (1). Indeed, I know of no one among the early generations who said this. What is well known from a number of early and later scholars, however, is that the believer entitled to Allah’s promise is the Muslim entitled to Allah’s promise. Thus every Muslim is a believer, and every believer is a Muslim. The meaning of this is agreed upon by early and later scholars—indeed, by all the sects of the Muslim community. They all say that the believer promised Paradise must be a Muslim, and the Muslim promised Paradise must be a believer. Everyone, from the earliest generations to the latest, who enters Paradise without punishment is both a believer and a Muslim.

Furthermore, Ahl al-Sunnah do not say: “Those who leave the Fire and enter Paradise possess some measure of that.” The dispute concerns only the application of the designation. Reports from the early generations affirming that faith consists of speech and action have been transmitted in such numbers as to establish certainty, whereas no such statement concerning Islam has been transmitted from them. However, the overwhelming majority held that Islam encompasses the entire religion, not merely the verbal profession, contrary to the apparent meaning of what is reported from al-Zuhrī. They therefore said that prayer, zakat, fasting, Hajj, and the other commanded deeds are part of Islam just as they are part of faith. He consequently assumed that they regarded the two as one and the same, but that is not so. They agree that faith necessarily entails Islam, yet the inclusion of Islam within faith does not mean that the two are identical.

As for Islam, he has no evidence that it necessarily entails faith when the term is used without qualification. Whether it entails the faith that is obligatory or the perfection of faith is disputed, and he has no evidence that it necessarily entails faith. Nevertheless, the prophets whom Allah described as Muslims were all believers, and Allah also described them as believers. Even had He not mentioned this about them, we would still know with certainty that all the prophets are believers.