The third, middle position is that the verse establishes the obligation to follow the believers’ path and the prohibition of following any other path, alongside the prohibition of opposing the Messenger after guidance has become clear to a person. It indicates that each of these two acts is blameworthy, as explained above, but does not rule out their being inseparable, as was discussed regarding obedience to Allah and the Messenger.

We therefore say: censure must attach either to opposing the Messenger alone; to following a path other than the believers’ path alone; to neither act individually, but only to the two together; to each act even when it occurs independently of the other; or to each because it necessarily entails the other.

The first two possibilities are invalid, for if only one of the two were the ground for censure, mentioning the other would serve no purpose. The claim that neither act individually incurs censure is certainly invalid, since opposing the Messenger warrants the threatened punishment irrespective of those who follow him. Nor does the verse establish that each act incurs censure even when it occurs independently of the other, for the threat in it concerns the two together.

The remaining possibility is that each of the two acts warrants the threatened punishment because it necessarily entails the other. The same may be said of disobeying Allah and the Messenger, or of contravening the Quran and Islam. Thus one may say: “Whoever contravenes the Quran and Islam,” or “Whoever departs from the Quran and Islam, is among the people of the Fire.” Similar to this is His statement:

“Whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.”

Disbelief in any one of these foundations necessarily entails disbelief in the others. Thus, whoever disbelieves in Allah disbelieves