passages of the Quran to be revealed.

It has also been said that the final verse to be revealed was the words of Allah Most High:

“Fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be repaid in full for what it earned, and none will be wronged.”

[Surah al-Baqara: 281]

Does fearing that Day consist merely in abandoning shirk, even while committing everything Allah has forbidden and neglecting everything Allah has commanded?

Talq ibn Habīb said the following, though Saīd ibn Jubayr, despite this, used to associate him with irjāʾ:

“Fear of Allah means obeying Allah in the light of guidance from Allah, hoping for Allah’s mercy, and refraining from disobedience to Allah in the light of guidance from Allah, fearing Allah’s punishment.”

In sum, it is common knowledge, passed down among Muslims from generation to generation, that those who fear Allah are the righteous: those who perform (1) the obligatory duties and avoid (2) what is forbidden. Both the Quran and the hadiths entail this (3).

The Murji'ah said:

“As for your argument from the words of Allah Most High:

‘Is one who is a believer like one who is defiantly disobedient? They are not equal.’

[Surah al-Sajda: 18]

It is invalid, because the continuation of the verse indicates that the defiantly disobedient person intended here is the one who denies the truth. For He said:

‘But as for those who were defiantly disobedient, their refuge will be the Fire. Whenever they wish to leave it, they will be returned to it, and it will be said to them, “Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny.”’

[Surah al-Sajda: 20]

Thus, He described them as denying the punishment of the Hereafter. This describes a denier, not merely one who disobeys.”

Together with the majority, they also said to the Khārijites:

“If a person guilty of a major sin were an unbeliever, he would be an apostate and would have to be put to death. Yet Allah Most High commanded that the fornicator be flogged, commanded that the slanderer be flogged, and commanded