Thus, Ahmad regarded anyone who called a person a Muslim despite his failure to fulfil the five pillars as contradicting the hadith, even though Ahmad himself said that Islam is acknowledgment. This indicates that acknowledgment marks one’s initial entry into Islam, and that one has not fulfilled the obligations of Islam until one fulfils the five pillars. Applying the designation is conditional upon fulfilling them, for he censured anyone who did not follow the hadith of Gabriel.

Moreover, in most of his answers, he judged someone who abandoned prayer to be a disbeliever; indeed, he also did so for abandoning other pillars. Muslims unanimously agree that a disbeliever is not a Muslim. It is therefore clear that he did not mean that Islam consists merely of speech without deeds. Even supposing that he did mean this, it would imply that abandoning any of the four pillars does not constitute disbelief. Most reports from him, however, indicate the contrary. Those who do not judge someone who abandons these pillars to be a disbeliever—such as al-Shāfi‘ī, Mālik, Abū Hanīfa and others—nevertheless regard them as part of Islam. How, then, could Ahmad not regard them as part of Islam, when his position on their inclusion in Islam is stronger than that of others?

It has also been reported that he considered the hadith of Sa‘d to conflict with the hadith of ‘Umar and gave preference to the hadith of Sa‘d. Al-Hasan ibn ‘Alī said:

“I asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal: ‘Which is stronger: faith or Islam?’ He replied: ‘There is this hadith of ‘Umar, but I prefer the hadith of Sa‘d.’”

It seems that he understood the hadith of ‘Umar to indicate that deeds are what the term Islam denotes, which would make what it denotes superior, whereas the hadith of Sa‘d indicates that what the term faith denotes is superior. Yet the hadith of ‘Umar mentions only outward deeds in its description of Islam. These do not constitute faith unless accompanied by the heart’s faith in Allah, His angels, His Books and His messengers. They then constitute part of faith, so what the term faith denotes is superior, as the hadith of Sa‘d indicates. There is therefore no contradiction between the two hadiths.

As for Ahmad’s distinction between Islam and faith, he would sometimes affirm it, and at other times report