know the people of Paradise from the people of the Fire.”

They asked, “By what means, O Messenger of Allah?”

He replied, “By the favorable and unfavorable things people say about them.” (1)

He thus stated that this is one of the means by which the people of Paradise and the people of the Fire may be known. Abū Thawr used to say, “I testify that Ahmad ibn Hanbal is in Paradise,” citing this as evidence. A fuller treatment of this question belongs elsewhere.

According to them, faith varies in degree, so one person’s faith may be more complete than another’s. The Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said:

“The believers whose faith is most complete are those with the finest character.” (2)

They therefore say that His statement:

“Allah accepts only from those who fear Him” [Surah al-Mā’idah: 27]

means those who fear Him in performing that particular deed. It does not mean being entirely free of sins, nor does it merely mean being free of polytheism. Rather, when a person fears Him in performing a deed, He accepts it from him, even if that person has other sins. This is demonstrated by His statement:

“Establish prayer at both ends of the day and in the early hours of the night. Surely good deeds wipe out evil deeds” [Surah Hūd: 114].

If a good deed were not accepted from someone who had committed an evil deed, it could not erase it.

The Quran and the mass-transmitted Sunnah have established (3) that good and evil deeds are weighed against one another. If a major sin nullified good deeds, no good deed would remain to be weighed against it.