whether conjoining a specific term to a general term prevents the general term from encompassing it, or whether it is thereby mentioned twice—a disputed question. Outward words and deeds are the result and necessary consequence of inward acts.

When the term “faith” is used alone, it may encompass both, as in the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him:

“Faith has seventy-odd branches. The highest is saying, ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,’ and the lowest is removing something harmful from the road.”

In this case, Islam falls within the meaning of faith and forms part of it. Thus, “faith” is said to encompass all inward and outward acts of obedience. Another example is his saying, peace and blessings be upon him, to the delegation of ‘Abd al-Qays:

“I command you to have faith in Allah. Do you know what faith in Allah is? To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish prayer, to give zakah, to fast Ramadan, and to pay one-fifth of the spoils.”

This was recorded in the two Sahīh collections. Here he explained faith in the same terms with which he explained Islam, because by the two testimonies he meant bearing witness to them both inwardly and outwardly. He was addressing the delegation of ‘Abd al-Qays, who were among the best of people. They were the first to hold Friday prayer in their own locality after the people of Medina, as Ibn ‘Abbās said:

“The first Friday prayer held in Islam after the Friday prayer in Medina was at Jawāthā, a village in Bahrain.”

They said:

“O Messenger of Allah, between us and you lies this tribe of the unbelievers of Mudar, and we can reach you only during a sacred month. So give us clear, decisive instructions that we may follow and call those we have left behind to follow.”

By this they meant the people of Najd—Tamīm, Asad, Ghatafān, and others—who were unbelievers. These people were sincere and eager to learn the religion, so when the Prophet commanded them