upon others except in a general sense, whereas he is required to believe in it in detail. Likewise, when a man first embraces Islam, he is required only to make a general affirmation. Then, when the time for prayer comes, he must believe that it is obligatory and perform it. Thus, people are not equal in the faith they have been commanded to have. This is one of the fundamental errors of the Murji’ah: they assume that faith is a single, uniform thing and that all those accountable before Allah are equal in it. They therefore say that the faith of the angels, the prophets, and the most sinful of people is equal, just as, when a sinful person utters the two testimonies of faith or recites the Opening Chapter of the Quran, his words are the same as those of other people.

The response to them is as follows: It has become clear that the faith Allah has made obligatory upon His servants varies in kind and degree, and that they differ greatly in this regard. The angels are required to have faith that is not required of human beings; the prophets are required to have faith that is not required of others; scholars are required to have what is not required of others; and rulers are required to have what is not required of others. This does not mean merely that they are required to perform certain deeds, but also that they are required to give assent and affirmation.

Although people are required to affirm in general everything the Messenger brought, most of them do not know the details of everything he conveyed. How, then, can they be commanded to affirm in detail what they do not know? Nor is a servant obliged to know about deeds he has not been commanded to perform, or to know the commands concerning them. Whoever is commanded to perform Hajj must know the rites of Hajj he has been commanded to perform and believe in them. He is therefore required to have a measure of faith