As for those who maintain that such people remain eternally in the Fire—such as the Khawārij and the Muʿtazilah, who hold that no one among the people of the qiblah who enters the Fire will ever leave it, and that neither the Messenger nor anyone else can intercede for those guilty of major sins, whether before or after they enter the Fire—they maintain that a single person cannot combine reward and punishment, or good deeds and evil deeds. Rather, whoever is rewarded is not punished, and whoever is punished is not rewarded.

The evidence for this principle from the Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the early generations of the Muslim community is abundant. This is not the place to discuss it; we have explained it at length in its appropriate places. Many matters follow from this. Thus, whoever possesses genuine faith must possess a measure of these deeds proportionate to his faith, even if he has sins. As al-Bukhārī narrated in his Sahīh from ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him:

“There was a man nicknamed Himār who used to make the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, laugh. He would drink wine, and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would have him flogged. Once, when he was brought forward, a man said, ‘May Allah curse him! How often he is brought before the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace!’ The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, ‘Do not curse him, for he loves Allah and His Messenger.’”

This shows that someone who sins by drinking or otherwise may nevertheless love Allah and His Messenger, and love for Allah and His Messenger is the strongest bond of faith. Likewise, a devout ascetic may incur the displeasure of Allah and His Messenger on account of the religious innovation and hypocrisy in his heart, in that respect. This is related through numerous reports in the Sahīh collections and elsewhere, from the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib, Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, and others, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace, who mentioned the Khawārij and said:

“One would regard as insignificant