and enmity toward His enemies.

“You will not find a people who believe in Allah and the Last Day having affection for those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even if they were their fathers, their sons, their brothers, or their kindred.”

“Had they believed in Allah and the Prophet and what was revealed to him, they would not have taken them as allies.”

This necessary connection is inescapable. Some have erred by supposing that no such connection exists, just as others have erred in considering it possible for a firm resolve to coexist with full ability without action. They have even disputed whether a person is punished for an intention without acting upon it.

We have discussed this at length elsewhere and explained that an intention unaccompanied by whatever action the person is capable of performing is not a firm resolve. A firm resolve must be accompanied by whatever action lies within the person’s ability. Pardon applies to someone who contemplated an evil deed but has not committed it—not to someone who intended it, did what was within his power, but was unable to achieve his aim. An example is someone who intended to kill his companion and fought him until one of them was killed. Such a person is punished because he intended the deed and carried out whatever part of it was within his power. Whoever understands the necessary connections between inward and outward matters will be freed of many doubts concerning issues such as these, over which people have differed greatly.

One question remains: Does the term “faith” designate only the foundation, or both the foundation and its branches?

The precise answer is that the unqualified term encompasses both. When used in conjunction with another term, the name alone may be singled out for that designation; it may also encompass only the foundation when that alone is specified. The designation “tree,” for example, encompasses the root and branches when present. If the branches were cut off, the designation “tree” would encompass the root alone. Likewise, the designation “Hajj” encompasses everything prescribed within it, including essential pillars and obligatory acts