and if he conceals it, and what he conceals entails abandoning faith in Allah and the Messenger—such as doubting or hating what the Messenger brought—he is subject to punishment for concealing that within himself, because he has abandoned the faith without which there is neither salvation nor happiness. If, however, it is an intrusive thought that the servant detests, then this is pure faith, as expressly stated in the Sahīh.

These “intrusive thoughts” assail the heart without a person’s choosing. If the servant detests and rejects them, his aversion is pure faith. Some of the Companions feared punishment for such thoughts, so Allah Most High said:

“Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity.”

Wus‘ (capacity) is a verbal form used in the sense of its object: that which the soul can accommodate. Allah does not burden it with what is too much for it to accommodate; rather, this means what lies within its power and ability. Some people have said that “capacity” denotes what accommodates a person without constraining him. This is not so. Rather, what accommodates a person is permissible for him, while what he cannot accommodate is not commanded of him. What he can accommodate may be commanded of him; as for what he cannot accommodate, that is what is permissible.

One says, “I have room to do such-and-such,” and, “I have no room to do such-and-such.” What is permissible affords room; the related expression bāhat al-dār means the open courtyard of a house. Thus, what you are permitted to do affords you room, and you do not go beyond it. Hence the saying: “May Allah have mercy on someone who finds sufficient room within the Sunnah and does not go beyond it into innovation”—that is, in what Allah has commanded and what