happy at heart, broad-minded, and content with Allah’s decree and predestination. If something good befalls him, he thanks Allah for it; if the opposite befalls him, he patiently endures it and apologizes to Allah for what he has done. He realizes that it befell him only because of his sins, and so he returns to Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “How remarkable is the affair of the believer! His entire affair is good, and this is true of no one except the believer. If prosperity comes his way, he gives thanks, and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he remains patient, and that is good for him.” (1) The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—spoke the truth.

Therefore, the greatest blessing Allah has sent down upon creation is the blessing of religion, by which human life in this world and the Hereafter is sustained. The true life is the life of the Hereafter. The evidence is the statement of Allah Most High in Sūrat al-Fajr:

﴾He will say, “If only I had sent something ahead for my life!”﴿ [Al-Fajr: 24]

This world is nothing. The life that is truly life is the life of the Hereafter, while one who strives for the Hereafter lives a good life in this world as well. Thus, the believer who performs righteous deeds is the one who gains both lives: the life of this world and the life of the Hereafter. The disbeliever, however, loses both this world and the Hereafter:

﴾Say, “The true losers are those who lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection.” Surely that is the manifest loss.﴿ [Al-Zumar: 15]

﴾Obeyed there﴿ means obeyed in that realm, while ﴾trustworthy﴿ means trustworthy in carrying out what he has been charged with. Gabriel is obeyed—but who obeys him? The scholars said that the angels obey him, because he descends bearing Allah’s command and then commands the angels, who obey him. Thus, he possesses authority over the angels and is obeyed by them.

Likewise, the messengers—peace and blessings be upon them—to whom Gabriel descends with revelation possess authority over those accountable before Allah and are to be obeyed by them:

﴾Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and beware. But if you turn away, then know that Our Messenger’s duty is only to convey the message clearly.﴿ [Al-Mā'idah: 92]

In these verses—﴾Indeed, it is the word of a noble Messenger, endowed with power and held in honor by the Lord of the Throne﴿—Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He—swore that this Quran is the word of this noble Messenger,