as was set out in the ḥadith of Gabriel, when the angel questioned the Prophet ﷺ about these three levels and the Prophet answered him about each one. When the exchange ended, the Prophet ﷺ said to his Companions, “This was Gabriel who came to teach you your religion.” In that report he mentioned the levels step-by-step: beginning with the lowest, then what is higher, and then what is higher still.

When some Bedouins first came to the Prophet ﷺ at the outset of their entry into Islam, they claimed for themselves a rank they had not yet attained. They entered as Muslims yet laid claim to the rank of faith (īmān), a degree they had not reached. For that reason Allah, exalted be He, refuted them, saying: “The Bedouins say, ‘We believe.’ Say: ‘You have not believed; rather say, “We have submitted,” for faith has not yet entered your hearts’” (Al-Ḥujurāt 14). At that initial stage, faith had not yet become firmly rooted in their hearts, even though they possessed faith of a sort—weak or scant.

From His words, “for faith has not yet entered your hearts,” we understand that it will enter in the future; thus they were neither unbelievers nor hypocrites. They were Muslims who possessed a measure of faith, but so little that they were not yet deserving of the title “believers.” In due course faith would take firm hold in their hearts, as indicated by His words, “for faith has not yet entered your hearts.”

When Islam and faith (īmān) are mentioned together, they are distinguished from each other: Islam has its own specific meaning and īmān has its own specific meaning. This is clear in the ḥadith of Gabriel, in which he asked the Prophet ﷺ about Islam and the Prophet replied, “Islam is that you testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, that you establish the prayer, give the zakāh, fast Ramaḍān, and make pilgrimage to the House.”