Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Thalabah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Abu Qilabah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The messenger who asked Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me: I ask you by Allah, do you know that during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), people were of three types: those who were believers both inwardly and outwardly, those who were disbelievers both inwardly and outwardly, and those who were outwardly believers but inwardly disbelievers. The narrator says: Hazrat Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Indeed, it was so. He said: So I ask you by Allah, which of these three types were you? The narrator says that he (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: Certainly, I was a believer both inwardly and outwardly. I was a believer. Abu Ishaq (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I met Hazrat Abdullah bin Ma’qil (may Allah have mercy on him) and I said: Indeed, some of the righteous people criticize me for saying, “I am a believer.” So Hazrat Abdullah bin Ma’qil (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Surely, you have failed and are deprived if you are not a believer.