And these people are worse than the Qadarī Muʿtazilites, who acknowledge commands and prohibitions, the promise of reward and the threat of punishment, but deny divine decree. The latter resemble the Magians, whereas the former resemble the polytheists who reject the prophets and revealed laws. They are thus among the worst of people. These matters have been discussed at length elsewhere.

“The point here” is that the outward must have an inward reality that gives it substance, confirms it, and accords with it. Whoever observes the outward forms of religion without inward belief is a hypocrite, while whoever claims an inward reality that contradicts its outward forms is a disbeliever and a hypocrite. Rather, the inward reality of religion gives substance to its outward forms, confirms them, and accords with them; its outward forms likewise accord with its inward reality, confirm it, and give it substance. Just as a human being must have both a soul and a body that are in harmony, a person’s religion must have outward and inward aspects that are in harmony. The inward aspect pertains to a person’s inner self, and the outward aspect to their outward self.

The Quran is full of statements concerning the inward and outward aspects of religion, and the inward is the foundation of the outward. As Abū Hurayrah said:

“The heart is king, and the bodily members are its troops. If the king is good, its troops are good; if the king is corrupt, its troops are corrupt.”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Indeed, in the body there is a piece of flesh: if it is sound, the rest of the body is sound because of it; if it is corrupt, the rest of the body is corrupt because of it. Indeed, it is the heart.”

It is also reported in the Musnad that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Islam is outwardly manifest, while faith is in the heart.”

And Allah Most High said:

“Those are the ones in whose hearts He has inscribed