Among the manifestations of His subtle kindness towards a servant whom He loves is that, when the servant inclines towards harmful desires and indulges them, He curtails those pleasures and sours them for him. Hardly any enjoyment of them is free from distress or untainted by bitterness, so that he does not give himself over to them entirely. Likewise, His subtle kindness towards him includes making acts of drawing near to Him delightful and acts of obedience sweet, so that he inclines wholeheartedly towards them.
Among the delicate manifestations of Allah’s subtle kindness towards His servant is that He rewards him for deeds he has not performed but has resolved to perform. He resolves to do something that brings him nearer to Allah, but then, for one reason or another, his resolve weakens and he does not do it; nevertheless, he receives its reward. Consider how Allah shows him subtle kindness by placing that deed in his heart and bringing it to his mind, though He knows that he will not perform it, thereby bringing His bounty and goodness to His servant through every means.
Still subtler is that He arranges for His servant another act of obedience, more beneficial to him than the one he had intended. The servant thus leaves an act that pleases his Lord for another that pleases Him more, receiving the reward of the deed he performs through his action, and of the deed he had intended through his intention. If someone who emigrates to Allah and His Messenger, then dies before reaching his destination, has his reward assured by Allah—even though death interrupts his journey against his will—then what of someone whose noble intention leads him to forgo an act of obedience he had resolved to perform? Allah may bring several acts of obedience to His servant’s mind, each of which he would readily perform if it stood alone, so eager is he to do it. Yet he cannot perform any one of them without missing another. Allah then enables him to weigh them against one another and choose the best to perform, while hoping to receive the reward of them all through his resolve and intention.
Subtler still is that Allah Most High decrees for His servant circumstances that put him to the test by presenting opportunities for sin and making its temptations abundant, while knowing that he will not commit it. Thus, his refraining from that sin, despite having every opportunity to commit it, becomes one of the greatest acts of obedience.
Such was His subtle kindness towards Joseph, peace be upon him, when the woman sought to seduce him. And one of the seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on the Day when there is no shade but His is a man whom a woman of rank and beauty invites to herself, but he says, “I fear