and said: “This is doubt.” Among those who qualified their professions of faith, some considered it obligatory, while others did not, allowing its omission according to the distinction between two situations. This is the soundest view. Both positions are found in the school of Ahmad and elsewhere.

Someone who qualifies his profession because he does not know that he is failing to fulfil the obligations as Allah and His Messenger have commanded has done well. The same applies to someone who qualifies it because he does not know his ultimate outcome, or who does so to make the matter dependent upon Allah’s will, not out of doubt. Someone who makes a definite statement about his present inner state has also done well—for example, someone who knows that he has testified that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and thus affirms what he knows with certainty to be present within himself.

Many disputes concerning faith, religious designations, and rulings are merely verbal disputes. Once the matter is clearly distinguished, uncertainty disappears. Allah, glorified be He, knows best what is correct.

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The Prophet’s words, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,

“Whoever’s migration is to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger,”

are not a mere tautology. Rather, they explain that whoever intends something by his deed receives what he intended. That is, whoever seeks Allah and His Messenger through his migration obtains what he sought, whereas whoever intends to migrate for worldly gain or a woman receives only that. This elaborates on his words:

“Deeds are only according to intentions.”