2. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad and al-Husayn ibn Muhammad from Mu’alla ibn Muhammad all from al-Washsha’ who has said the following: “I heard abu Al-Hassan (a.s.) saying, ‘Belief is above Islam by one degree. Piety is above belief by one degree. Certainty is above piety by one degree. Nothing is distributed so little among people as certainty is.’”

3. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Al-Hassan ibn Mahbub from Ali ibn Ri’ab from Humran ibn ‘A’Yun who has said the following: “I heard abu Ja’far (a.s.) saying, ‘Allah has given superiority to belief over Islam by one degree just as He has given superiority to al-Ka’ba over the Sacred Mosque.’”

4. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from Harun ibn al-Jahm or others from ‘Amr ibn Aban ibn al-Kalbi from ‘Abd al-Hamid al-Wasiti from abu Basir who has said the following: “Once Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) said to me, ‘O abu Muhammad, Islam is a high status.’ I said, ‘Yes, indeed it is.’ The Imam said, ‘Belief is above Islam by one degree.’ I said, ‘Yes, it is.’ The Imam said, ‘Piety is above belief by one degree.’ I said, ‘Yes, it is.’ The Imam said, ‘Certainty is above piety by one degree.’ I said, ‘Yes, it is.’ The Imam said, ‘Nothing is given to people as little as certainty is. What you are holding to is very little of Islam. Pay attention not to lose it.’”

5. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Yunus who has said the following: “I asked abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.) about belief and Islam and he said, abu Ja’far (a.s.) has said the following: ‘There is Islam. Belief is one degree higher above Islam, and piety is one degree higher above belief. Certainty is by one degree higher above piety and nothing is distributed among people so little as certainty is.’ I then said, ‘What then is certainty?’ The Imam said, ‘It is trust in Allah, submission to Allah, accepting the decision of Allah and allowing Allah to be the person in charge of one’s affairs.’ I then said, ‘What then is the interpretation of that?’ The Imam said, ‘This is how abu Ja’far (a.s.) said it is.’”