so when he commits adultery, he passes from faith into Islam.’ Al-Zuhrī said—meaning, when Sa‘d’s hadith, ‘Or a Muslim,’ was narrated—‘We therefore consider Islam to be verbal profession and faith to be deeds.’ Ahmad said: ‘This is a hadith whose meaning is interpreted, and Allah knows best.’”

Thus, he mentioned the statements of the Successors without preferring any one of them. This, and Allah knows best, is because everything they said is true, and he agrees with all of it. Elsewhere, he likewise stated that a person passes from faith into Islam, and made similar statements. By “interpretation,” Ahmad and others like him among the early generations do not mean diverting an expression from its apparent meaning. Rather, interpretation, for them, is explanation and clarification of what an expression ultimately signifies. An example is the statement of ‘Ā’isha, may Allah be pleased with her:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would frequently say while bowing and prostrating, ‘Glory and praise be to You, O Allah. O Allah, forgive me,’ thereby putting the Quran into practice.”

What the Successors mentioned does not contradict the apparent meaning of the hadith; rather, it agrees with it. Ahmad’s words, “It is interpreted,” mean that its meaning is explained, even though that explanation agrees with its apparent meaning, lest an innovator suppose that it means the person has become a disbeliever with no faith whatsoever, as the Khawārij claim. The hadith does not indicate this. The very one who denied these people faith regarded them as Muslims, not as believers.

Al-Marwadhī said:

“Abū ‘Abd Allāh was asked, ‘Do we say, “We are the believers”?’

“He replied, ‘We say, “We are the Muslims.”’

“I said to Abū ‘Abd Allāh, ‘Do we say, “We are believers”?’

“He replied, ‘Rather, we say, “We are Muslims.”’”

This is because one of his principles is to qualify declarations of faith by saying “if Allah wills,” since a person does not know whether he is fulfilling everything Allah has commanded him to do. Such a declaration is therefore like saying, “I am righteous,” “I am God-fearing,” or “I am a friend of Allah,” as will be discussed in