and all three are indispensable in every faith and religion, as Allah Most High says:

“Indeed, the believers, the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabeans—whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous deeds—will have their reward with their Lord. No fear will be upon them, nor will they grieve.”

Something similar appears in Sūrat al-Mā’idah.

Thus, He mentions these three foundations: belief in Allah, belief in the Last Day, and righteous deeds. The other three, subsidiary subjects are included within these. The Quran’s accounts of the conditions of the blessed and the wretched in the Hereafter elaborate upon belief in the Last Day. Its discussion of maintaining the path falls under righteous deeds. Its debates and arguments complete its exposition of these three foundations: when it sets them forth, it presents the signs and proofs that establish them, mentions the specious arguments of those who deny them, and exposes their unsoundness.

Abū Hāmid himself mentioned this, saying:

“The section devoted to disputing and debating with the unbelievers, exposing their shameful failings through clear proof, and laying bare their falsehoods and illusory notions.

“Their falsehoods are of three kinds:

“First: speaking of Allah in ways unbefitting Him, claiming that the angels are His daughters, that He has a child as a partner, and that He is the third of three.

“Second: describing the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as a sorcerer, a soothsayer, and a poet, and denying his prophethood.

“Third: denying the Last Day and rejecting the resurrection, the rising of the dead, Paradise, and Hell, and denying the consequences of obedience and disobedience.”

As for its accounts of the circumstances of believers and unbelievers in this world—which is what Abū Hāmid meant by mentioning the circumstances of those who respond and those who turn aside—this forms part of