As for Iblīs, Pharaoh, the Jews, and others like them, the disbelief, desire for supremacy, and envy within them prevented them from loving Allah and worshipping Him in their hearts, without which faith cannot be complete. Their hearts harboured such aversion to Allah’s pleasure and pursuit of what angered Him as constituted disbelief, against which knowledge was of no avail.

Section

Faith varies in degree, increasing and decreasing, in several respects:

(The first)

Outward deeds: people differ in these, and their deeds increase and decrease. There is agreement that these admit of increase and decrease; the disagreement concerns whether they fall within the meaning of faith. Those who deny their inclusion say that they are the fruits of faith and what it entails, and are therefore included in it figuratively on that account. This is what they mean by faith increasing and decreasing: its fruits increase and decrease.

The response is that, as explained above, these deeds are necessary consequences of faith and are entailed by it. It is impossible for complete faith to exist in the heart without any outward speech or action. As for whether deeds are a necessary consequence of faith or a part of it, this varies according to whether the term “faith” is used on its own or alongside the terms “Islam” and “deeds,” as explained above. As for their claim that the increase concerns outward deeds, not what gives rise to and entails them, this is mistaken,