The difference is that the pillars are indispensable: if even one of them collapses, faith itself collapses, for a thing can stand only upon its pillars. When a single pillar is missing, the reality of the thing is lost. The branches, however, are complementary; faith does not disappear when some of them are absent. They are add-ons—some obligatory, others recommended. The obligatory ones bring a believer to the obligatory level of completeness in faith, while the recommended ones perfect the supererogatory level of faith.

Accordingly, when a Muslim neglects one of the obligatory branches or commits something prohibited, his faith does not vanish altogether in the view of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah; rather, its obligatory perfection is removed. He is then a believer whose faith is deficient, or a flagrant sinner (fāsiq). Thus, if he drinks wine, steals, fornicates, or commits any other major sin, he has perpetrated a grave prohibition, yet he does not thereby fall into disbelief or exit the fold of faith. Instead, he is deemed a fāsiq and is subject to the prescribed ḥadd should the offense carry one. The same holds for neglecting an obligation—such as dutifulness to parents or maintaining family ties. These are required acts; forsaking them diminishes faith, and the person is sinful for abandoning an obligation, becoming a sinner either by neglecting what is obligatory, or—