And if the People of the Book, along with what we have enumerated of their evils, had believed in the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and in what he brought, and coupled their faith with the piety that is the condition for the success of faith, We would have certainly expiated for them those evils and would not have held them accountable for it, and We would have admitted them with the Muslims into Paradise. And in this is an indication of the enormity of the sins of the Jews and Christians and the multitude of their evils, and a sign of the vast mercy of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and His opening the door of repentance to every sinner, even if their sins are great and reach the level of the sins of the Jews and Christians. And that faith alone does not save. [Mahrud said: 'In it is evidence that faith alone does not save... etc.' Ahmad said: 'He seizes the opportunity from the apparent meaning of this verse to make it evidence for his principle that mere faith does not save from eternal punishment in the Fire until it is accompanied by piety, for Allah, glorified and exalted is He, made the combination in this verse a condition for expiation and for entering Paradise. Its apparent meaning is that unless they are combined, there is no expiation or entry into Paradise. And how could that be, while the consensus and agreement of both groups, the Ahl al-Sunnah and the Mu'tazila, is that mere faith erases what came before it and wipes it out, as the text has come? If we were to assume the death of one who entered into faith immediately after entering it, he would be like the day his mother bore him, by consensus, with his sins expiated and ruled to be in Paradise. This indicates that the combination of the two matters is not a condition. This is if piety is meant as actions.

And if piety is taken in its original sense as fear of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, then this meaning is established for every believer, even if he commits major sins.

In this case, al-Zamakhshari's purpose cannot be fulfilled. This is nothing but insistence and obstinacy in opposing the belief derived from his saying, blessings and peace be upon him, 'Whoever says there is no god but Allah will enter Paradise, even if he commits adultery or theft.' The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, repeated it several times, then said: 'Even if the nose of Abu Dharr is rubbed in the dust,' when he argued with him, may Allah be pleased with him, about that. And we say: 'Even if the nose of the Qadariyyah is rubbed in the dust.'

And nothing brings happiness except when it is accompanied by piety, as al-Hasan said: 'This is the pillar, so where are the ropes?' And if they had established the Torah and the Gospel, they would have established their rulings and limits and what is in them regarding the description of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and what was revealed to them from all the Books of Allah, for they are obligated to believe in all of them, as if they were revealed to them, and it was said: 'It is the Qur'an.' Allah would have expanded their provision upon them, for they had been afflicted with drought. And His saying: 'They would have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet' is an expression of expansion. And in it are three aspects: that He would pour upon them blessings from the heavens and blessings from the earth, and that He would increase the fruitful trees and the abundant crops, and that He would provide them with gardens with ripe fruits from which they would gather what has drooped from the tops of the trees, and they would pick up what has fallen to the ground from beneath their feet. Among them is a moderate community, a group whose condition is like that of nations in their enmity towards the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. It is said that it is the believing group of Abdullah ibn Salam and his companions and forty-eight from the Christians. And how evil is what they do! In it is a sense of astonishment, as if it were said: 'And many of them, how evil is their deed!' And it is said that they are Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf and his companions and the Romans.