Faith consists of both words and deeds. It includes what one says in one’s heart, words uttered on the tongue, deeds of the heart, physical deeds and deeds of the tongue. It has many parts and branches, by means of which people may vary in virtue. In this hadith, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) explained that the branches and characteristics of faith are 60-odd in number. The word translated here as “-odd” refers to a number between 3 and 10. What is meant is that faith has many characteristics and is composed of many deeds, including: deeds of the heart, such as affirming the oneness of Allah (Tawhid), putting one’s trust in Him, hope and fear; deeds of the tongue, such as uttering the twin declaration of faith, remembering Allah (dhikr), supplication (du‘a’) and reading and reciting Qur’an, and so on; and physical deeds, such as prayer, fasting, helping the desperate and standing up for one who has been wronged. The report narrated by Muslim explains the highest and lowest characteristics of faith: “The highest is saying La ilaha illa Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah) and the lowest is removing a harmful thing from the road.” Then the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) explained how important the characteristic of decency (haya’) is, and said that it is one of the characteristics of faith. Decency is a characteristic that motivates one to avoid what is reprehensible and prevents one from falling short in giving others their due rights. It is of two types: innate and religiously prescribed. What is referred to in this hadith is the type of decency that is prescribed in Islamic teachings, which makes one feel too shy before Allah (may He be exalted), lest He sees you where He has forbidden you to be, or He does not see you where He has commanded you to be. In this sense, decency is the strongest motive to do good and the greatest deterrent against doing evil. Hence it is part of faith; in fact it is a sign of perfect faith. Decency is singled out for mention here because it is something natural [to many people], and many may not realize that it is a part of faith. This indicates that good manners and attitudes are also connected to faith and to the various levels of faith. The branches of faith are referred to briefly in this hadith, but they are explained and discussed in detail in other hadith texts. The mention of a particular number does not mean that they are limited to 60-odd or 70-odd; rather it indicates that there are many deeds of faith. This hadith clearly states that deeds are part of faith..