is not difficult for Allah.”1 He Most High also says: “Whoever follows guidance does so only for his own benefit, and whoever goes astray does so only to his own detriment.”2 He Most High also says: “And when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely grant you more; but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is indeed severe.’ Moses said, ‘If you and everyone on earth were all to be ungrateful, Allah is truly Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.’”3 There are many verses conveying this meaning.

Despite Allah’s—Mighty and Majestic—complete freedom from any need of His servants, their acts of obedience, their supplications, or their repentance, He loves hearing the supplications of those who call upon Him in humble submission, seeing the worship of obedient worshippers, and the repentance of those who turn back to Him. Indeed, He—glorified is He—rejoices more intensely at His servant’s repentance than a man whose mount, carrying his food and drink, strays from him in a barren wilderness. He searches for it until he despairs of finding it and resigns himself to death; then sleep overcomes him, and when he awakens, it is standing beside him. This is the greatest joy a created being can conceive. Yet Allah—glorified is He—rejoices more intensely at His servants’ repentance than this man rejoices upon finding his mount.

This is so despite His—glorified is He—complete freedom from any need of His servants’ obedience or repentance. All the benefit of this returns to them, not to Him. This stems from the perfection of His generosity and kindness toward His servants, and from His love of benefiting them and protecting them from harm. He loves for His servants to know and love Him, to be mindful of Him and fear Him, to obey Him and draw near to Him. He also loves for them to know that He forgives transgressions, answers supplications, pardons lapses, expiates evil deeds, and provides without measure for whomever He wills.