the king is corrupt, its troops are corrupt.” This accords with the hadith of al-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr, recorded by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim, in which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Indeed, there is a piece of flesh in the body: when it is sound, the whole body is sound, and when it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Truly, it is the heart.”

The heart’s soundness or corruption necessarily entails the soundness or corruption of the body. This therefore belongs to what a person manifests, not what he conceals. Everything Allah has made obligatory upon His servants necessarily places an obligation upon the heart, for it is the foundation, even when other faculties bear that obligation by extension. It is the heart of the servant subject to commands and prohibitions that knows those commands and prohibitions, and it is the heart that is addressed by the requirement to obey and comply. Knowledge of what is commanded and compliance precede the performance of the commanded act, such as prayer, zakat, and fasting. When the servant turns away from knowing the command and from intending to comply, disobedience begins in the heart; indeed, the heart itself is disobedient, and the rest follows it in this.

Hence He says of the wretched:

“He neither believed nor prayed, but denied and turned away,”

and the verses that follow. He says of the blessed, in numerous places:

“Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds.”

What is commanded is of two kinds. One kind consists of outward deeds performed by the limbs. These can occur only with the heart’s knowledge and will, so the heart is their foundation. Examples include ablution and ritual bathing; the movements of prayer, such as standing, bowing, and prostrating; and the rites of Hajj, such as standing and circumambulation.