In summary, iḥsān comprises two degrees:

1. The degree of inner witnessing: you worship Allah as though you actually see Him—so firm is your certainty and faith that it is as if you behold Him with your very eyes.

2. The second degree, which is lower: you worship Allah knowing that He sees you and is fully aware of you, so you neither disobey Him nor contradict His command.

This is the station of iḥsān, the highest tier of the religion. Whoever reaches it has attained the loftiest level. Below it is the level of īmān, and below that the level of islām.

Thus, the religion may be illustrated as concentric circles:

• The first circle is islām. It is so broad that even a hypocrite lies within its bounds; he is called a Muslim and treated as one because he has outwardly submitted. This circle also embraces the weak believer whose īmān is no more than the weight of a mustard seed.

• The second circle, narrower and more exclusive, is īmān. A person harboring doctrinal hypocrisy can never enter this circle.