الحسن بن عثمان

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Saʿdī related to us. He said: al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUthmān related to us, from one of his teachers, who said: Khārija was asked: “May I say that I am a believer in God’s sight?” He replied: “Yes. If you are truthful, it will not harm you.” “What if I am asked: Is your faith like the faith of Gabriel, Michael and the angels?” He said: “Say to the person asking: Describe to me the faith of Gabriel and Michael. If they describe affirmation of God’s oneness and acknowledgment, say: This is our faith. If He wills, He will forgive me, and if He wills, He will punish me for my sins. I fear my sins; I do not fear my faith.” Ibrāhīm ibn Ṭahmān also said, concerning those who qualify their faith by saying, “I am a believer, if God wills”: Ibn Ṭahmān said: “If they had sins such as illicit intercourse and theft, that would be better than what they say.” I heard ʿAbd al-Majīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī Rawwād say: “When you are asked, Are you truly a believer? say: Yes. One cannot be falsely a believer.”