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58chapter oneWe learn from 2:286 that Allah set the task of fulfilling religiousobligations in accordance with the strength and ability of eachbeliever. We know from experience that human beings differ in theirabilities and that some people are more pious than others becausethey are given greater spiritual strength. Such diversity, however,contradicts verse 3:102, which orders the believer to ‘fear God as Heshould be feared’. No allowance is given for varying degrees of piety.But a contradiction between text and reality is inconceivable. Howcan we solve this problem?The exact wording of the first verse provides an answer. It beginsby addressing those ‘who believe’ (alladhÊna §manå). Given that theBook distinguishes between two kinds of faith we need to ask whichof the two is meant here. The way the verse ends provides a clue. Itrefers to ‘a state in Islam’, that is, to those who believe in God, inthe Hereafter, and in ‘doing what is righteous’. We infer from thisthat these are the Muslim-Assenters and that the verse addresses onlythe muslimån, whereas the second verse (64:16), ‘fear God as muchas you can’, is addressed to the mu"minån, the believers who believein MuÈammad (ß).The difference is that in al-isl§m faith needs to be rigorously implemented,whereas al-Êm§n allows different degrees of piety and spirituality.In al-isl§m:a)b)c)One possesses belief in the existence of God regardless of one’sstrength or abilities;It is inconceivable that one believes in God for an hour and thenstops doing so in the next;It is impossible to practise falsehood or commit adultery becauseof a lack of strength or ability; for example, it would be frivolousif someone claimed that he did his best not to fornicate but couldnot help it or, even worse, that he tried very hard not to killsomeone but in the end could not avoid it happening. We wouldcertainly never respond to such acts by saying to the perpetrator:‘Never mind, on no soul doth God place a burden greater thanit can bear…."!Therefore, the command to ‘fear God as He should be feared’belongs only to the pillars of al-isl§m and is part of the innate dispositionof humans that guides moral behaviour. This is the reason whythe verse ends by saying: ‘die not except in a state of al-isl§m’.