and His friendship except by following him inwardly and outwardly in words and deeds: in the heart’s affirmations and beliefs, its states and realities, the speech of the tongue, and the actions of the limbs. No one is a close friend of Allah unless he follows him inwardly and outwardly, believing what he has reported about the unseen and committing himself to obeying him in what he has enjoined upon creation: fulfilling obligations and abstaining from prohibitions.

Whoever does not believe what he has reported and commit himself to obeying what he has made obligatory and commanded, both in the inward matters of the heart and in outward bodily actions, is not a believer, let alone a close friend of Allah, however extraordinary the feats he may perform. If he neglects to do what is commanded and to abstain from what is forbidden—including fulfilling obligations such as prayer and other duties, with their requisite purification and obligatory elements—then his states can only be satanic states, which distance him from Allah and bring him nearer to His wrath and punishment.

As for children and the insane who are not religiously accountable, the pen of accountability has been lifted from them, so they are not punished. They do not possess the inward and outward faith in Allah and piety that would place them among Allah’s pious close friends, His successful party, and His victorious forces. They are, however, included within Islam by virtue of their parents’ affiliation, as the Most High says:

“And those who believe and whose descendants follow them in faith—We will join their descendants with them, without diminishing the reward of their deeds in any way. Every person is held in pledge for what he has earned.”