have interpreted the Prophet’s hadiths—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—in which he described certain sinful acts, such as abandoning prayer and fighting Muslims, as disbelief, as referring to ingratitude for blessings. It is therefore clear that they do describe sins, broadly speaking, as ingratitude for blessings. Thus, they agree with al-Hasan rather than disagree with him.

Ibn al-Murahhal then said again:

I am quoting this from the work. A report may be questioned, but its transmission cannot be disallowed.

Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn said:

If the choice is between attributing a false doctrine to Ahl al-Sunnah and attributing an alteration in the report to the person reporting their views, it is more appropriate to attribute the alteration to the reporter than to attribute falsehood to the people of truth. Moreover, they have explicitly stated in several places that gratitude is expressed through speech, deeds, and belief. This is too evident to require attribution to any particular individual.

Furthermore, we know beyond doubt that excluding deeds from gratitude to Allah is not among the principles of the people of truth. Indeed, the jurists have explicitly stated that zakat is gratitude for the blessing of wealth. The evidence for this is too abundant to require citation. The explanation of gratitude as being expressed through speech and deeds, as given in books discussing the terms “praise” and “gratitude”—such as works of Quranic commentary and lexicography