He then asked, “Which of Your servants is the most knowledgeable?” He replied, “The one who seeks other people’s knowledge in addition to his own, searching for a single word that may guide him to right guidance or turn him back from error.”
Moses said, “Which of Your servants is the most judicious?” He answered, “The one who rules against himself just as he rules against others, and who rules in favor of others just as he rules in favor of himself.”
Thus, this ḥadīth mentions love, knowledge, and justice—qualities that together comprise the sum of all goodness. One must pay careful attention, however, not to imagine in the matter of loving Allah what one imagines when loving created beings: notions of caprice, abandonment, or severing ties for no reason. Certain groups stumble here, portraying the love of Allah in the same images they use for loving someone who rebuffs and cuts off without cause, or who distances himself from those who draw near to him. Some writers have been mistaken in their treatises to the point that their words, in effect, amount to establishing proof against Allah—whereas it is Allah alone who possesses the decisive proof.
It is authentically reported in both Ṣaḥīḥ compilations, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “Allah, Exalted is He, says: ‘Whoever remembers Me within himself, I remember him within Myself; and whoever remembers Me in an assembly, I remember him in an assembly better than it. Whoever draws near to Me a handspan, I draw near to him an arm’s length; whoever draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom; and whoever comes to Me walking, I come to him running.’”
In another report Allah, Exalted is He, says: “The people of My remembrance are those who sit with Me; the people of My gratitude are those whom I visit; the people of My obedience are those whom I honor. As for the people of disobedience, I cause them to despair of My mercy. If they repent, I am their Beloved, for Allah loves those who repent; but if they do not repent, I am their Physician: I test them with afflictions so that I may purify them of their faults.”
He, Exalted, also says: “Whoever does righteous deeds while having faith shall fear neither wrongdoing nor curtailment” (Q 20:112). It has been said that “wrongdoing” (ẓulm) is to have another’s sins laid upon him, while “curtailment” (haḍm) is to have something deducted from his own good deeds. He likewise says: “We did not wrong them, but it was they who wronged themselves” (Q 11:101).
In the authentic ḥadīth narrated by Abu Dharr—may Allah be pleased with him—Allah, Exalted is He, says: “O My servants, I have forbidden injustice to Myself and made it forbidden among you, so do not wrong one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except those I guide, so ask Me for guidance and I shall guide you. O My servants, all of you are hungry except those I feed, so ask Me for food and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are unclothed except those I clothe, so ask Me for clothing and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek My forgiveness and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will never reach a point where you can harm Me, nor will you reach a point where you can benefit Me. O My servants, were the first and the last of you, humans and jinn alike, to have hearts as God-fearing as the most God-fearing among you, that would add nothing to My dominion. O My servants, were the first and the last of you, humans and jinn alike, to have hearts as wicked as the most wicked among you, that would diminish nothing from My dominion. O My servants, were the first and the last of you, humans and jinn alike, to gather upon a single plain…"