So if they affirmed the shahaadah with their tongues and established the prayers but they refused to give the zakaah then this would have effaced all that came before this obligation and would have violated their affirmation (of the shahaadah) that had preceded just as their aversion to the prayer would have violated their affirmation that preceded. And the testifier to the truth of this was the Jihaad that Abu Bakr fought alongwith the Muhaajiroon and the Ansaar against those Arabs that refused to pay the zakaah, just as the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) made Jihaad against the People of Shirk. There is no difference between these two Jihaads with regards to shedding blood, taking children as captives, and taking the spoils of war. And all the Arabs did was to refuse to give zakaah, not reject its institution.

Then all of the laws of Islaam became like this, each time a law was revealed it became joined to the laws that had preceded, and all of them were included under the appellation of ‘faith’, and those who followed them were named believers.

This is the place in which those who held that faith was merely saying erred that when they heard Allaah calling them believers they attributed complete faith to them. And likewise they erred in their explanation of the hadeeth of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) when he was asked as to what faith was to which he replied, "that you believe in Allaah …." {3} And their explanation of the hadeeth in which he (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) was asked by the one who had a believing slave-girl about freeing her so he ordered that she be free and he called her a believer. {4} These are to be taken to mean, as I have explained to you, their entering faith and their acceptance and belief in what had been revealed from it at that time. And indeed it was revealed in stages, just as the Qur`aan was revealed in stages.

And the witness and evidence for what we say is the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) . So from the Book of Allaah is His Saying,

"And whenever there comes down a chapter (of the Qur’aan) some of them (the hypocrites) say: ‘Which of you has had his faith increased by it?’ As for those that believe, it has increased their faith, and they rejoice." [9:124]

"The believers are those who, when Allaah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His verses are recited unto them, they increase their faith, and they put their trust in their Lord." [8:2]

And other places in the Qur`aan similar to this.

Do you not see that Allaah, the Blessed and Exalted, did not reveal faith as one entity, just as he did not reveal the Qur`aan as one entity? So this is the proof from the Book - that if faith were complete with the affirmation of the shahaadah, then there would be no meaning to ‘increasing faith’ and no need to mention this.

As for the proof from the Sunnah and narrations then they are mutawaatir giving this meaning of increase in the tenants of faith. So in the following hadeeth four (articles of faith) are mentioned, in the next five, in the third nine, and in the fourth even more.

1. As for the hadeeth in which four are mentioned is the hadeeth of ibn Abbaas from the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) that an envoy from Abd al-Qais came to him and said, "O Messenger of Allaah indeed we are tribe from Rabee’ah and between us and you are the unbelievers of Madr who prevent us from coming to you, so we are unable to come to you except in the Sanctified Month, so command us with something that we may perform and call those that we have left behind to." So he said, "I command you with 4, and I forbid you from 4. Faith - then he explained this for them - to testify that none has the right to be worshipped except for Allaah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, to establish the prayer, to give the zakaah, and that you give a fifth of the war-booty. I forbid you from 4:…" {4a}