• Allah has made firm reliance upon Him, together with faith, a well-fortified bastion that shields the servant from Satan’s domination—especially when this is joined to abundant remembrance of Allah and seeking refuge with Him from Satan. The proof is His saying, “Indeed, he has no authority over those who believe and who place their trust in their Lord” ⦗al-Nahl: 99⦘; and His saying, “Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak’ (1)” ⦗al-Falaq: 1⦘ and “Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind’ (1)” ⦗al-Nas: 1⦘, to the end of both surahs.
• Allah has made the key to faith and certitude reflection upon His recited signs and His witnessed signs, and comparing truth with falsehood through sound understanding and penetrating insight. The evidence is His saying, “A blessed Book We have sent down to you so that they may contemplate its verses, and that people of discernment may take heed” ⦗Ṣad: 29⦘, along with the repeated command to ponder the created world in several verses, and His saying, “Indeed, in that are signs for the believers” ⦗al-Ḥijr: 77⦘. Thus reflection is a means to faith, and faith is what enables one to benefit from it.
• Allah has made adherence to the matters of religion a cause for ease in one’s affairs, and neglect of them a cause for hardship. The proof is His saying: “As for him who gives and is mindful of Allah (5) and affirms the ultimate good (6), We shall ease him toward the path of ease (7). But as for him who withholds and deems himself self-sufficient (8) and denies the ultimate good (9), We shall ease him toward the path of hardship (10)” ⦗al-Layl: 5–10⦘.
• Allah has made beneficial knowledge a means of elevation in this world and the Hereafter, as He says, “Allah will raise in degrees those of you who believe and those who have been granted knowledge” ⦗al-Mujādilah: 11⦘.
• Allah has made a servant’s being wholesome—in creed, character, and deed—a cause for entering Paradise and for receiving glad tidings at the moment of death. The evidence is His saying, “You have done well, so enter it to abide forever” ⦗al-Zumar: 73⦘, and His saying, “Those whom the angels take in death while they are good” ⦗al-Nahl: 32⦘.
• Allah has made repaying wrongdoing with beneficence and good character a cause whereby an enemy becomes a friend and a friend’s bond is strengthened. The proof is His saying, “The good deed and the bad deed are not equal; repel with that which…"