the mightier will surely expel the weaker from it.” Zayd ibn Arqam informed the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, of this, but some people accused him of lying, until Allah revealed Quranic verses confirming his truthfulness.

The point is that people actually fall into three categories: a “believer”; a “hypocrite,” who is inwardly a disbeliever while outwardly a Muslim; and someone who is a disbeliever both inwardly and outwardly.

When non-Arabs became numerous among the Muslims, they began using the term “zindīq,” which became widespread in the language of the jurists. People debated whether a zindīq’s repentance would be accepted in outward legal judgment. If he is identified as a zindīq and brought before the ruler before repenting, the position of Mālik, Ahmad—in the better-known of the two reports from him—and a group of al-Shāfiʿī’s followers is that his repentance is not accepted. This is also one of the two positions within Abū Hanīfah’s school.

The well-known position of al-Shāfiʿī’s school is that it is accepted, as stated in the other report from Ahmad and the other position within Abū Hanīfah’s school. Some scholars distinguished between different cases.

The point here is that, in these jurists’ usage, a “zindīq” is the same as the hypocrite who existed during the Prophet’s lifetime, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: someone who outwardly professes Islam while inwardly holding something else. This applies whether he secretly follows another religion, such as Judaism, Christianity, or some other religion, or is an atheist who denies the Creator, the Resurrection, and righteous deeds.

Some people say that a “zindīq” is a denier and atheist. Such a person is called