his prayer, such as reciting al-Fātiha and the like. This resolves the confusion concerning “questions of religious designations and rulings,” namely, the question of faith and the dispute with the Murji’ah and the Khawārij.

For although faith denotes Allah’s religion, which He perfected—as He says:

“Today I have perfected your religion for you”—

and denotes obedience to Allah, righteousness, and righteous deeds, encompassing everything Allah has commanded, this is faith in its full and complete form. Its completeness is of two kinds: the completeness of those brought near to Allah, achieved through recommended acts, and the completeness of those who take the middle course, achieved through obligatory acts alone.

When, concerning such statements as the Prophet’s words, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“The one who commits unlawful sexual intercourse is not a believer while committing it, nor is the thief a believer while stealing,”

and:

“There is no faith in one who is not trustworthy,”

and Allah’s words:

“The believers are only those whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned”—and the rest of the verse;

and His words:

“The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then do not doubt, and strive with their wealth and their lives in the cause of Allah”;

and His words:

“Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west”—the verse continuing to His words:

“Those are the ones who have been truthful, and those are the ones mindful of Allah”—

when someone says concerning such passages, “He is not a believer whose faith is complete,” or denies the completeness of his faith rather than its foundation, what is meant is the obligatory completeness of faith, not its recommended completeness. This is like the case of someone who omits stoning the pillars or commits an act prohibited during ihrām other than sexual intercourse. It is not like our speaking of a complete ritual bath or complete ablution, and saying that the form which merely suffices is not