purifies himself.” If, hypothetically, the verse meant, “Successful is the one whose soul Allah has purified,” it would contain neither a command nor a prohibition, no incentive and no warning.

Whenever the Quran issues commands or prohibitions it does not cite sheer divine decree (qadar); it never says, “the one whom Allah made a believer.” Rather, it says:

“Successful indeed are the believers,
those who are humble in their prayers,”

and

“Successful indeed is he who purifies himself,
remembers the name of his Lord, and prays.”

Mentioning mere decree ⦗in contexts of command, prohibition, encouragement, and warning⦘ ⦗1⦘ would contradict the purpose and would not befit even the simplest minds—how much less the speech of Allah, exalted be He. Do you not see that, whenever He commands or forbids, promises or threatens, He brings what suits that setting of promise and threat, praise and blame, exhortation and intimidation ⦗2⦘?

He refers to decree only when reminding people of His favors: either favors unrelated to their own actions, or His favor of granting them faith and righteous deeds. He does so while highlighting His power and will. In the context of command, He mentions decree only as a blessing, as in His words:

“Were it not for Allah’s bounty upon you and His mercy, none of you would ever have been purified; but Allah purifies whom He wills” (Al-Nur 24:21)—a statement fully appropriate there.

By contrast, His saying,

“Successful indeed is he who purifies himself,”

conveys a different meaning altogether; this verse belongs to the second category, not