al-Hakam, one of the Companions, to Abū Shurayh, saying: “Allah is the Judge, and judgment belongs to Him” (1).

Another example is his prohibition against a slave addressing his master or mistress as “my lord” or “my lady,” and against a master calling his slave “my slave.” Instead, the owner should say “my boy” or “my girl,” and the slave should say “my master” or “my mistress” (2). He said to someone who claimed to be a physician: “You are a gentle caregiver; its physician is the One who created it” (3). Ignorant people call a disbeliever who has some knowledge of an aspect of nature “a wise man,” though he is among the most foolish of all creatures.

Another example is what he said to the preacher who declared, “Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger is rightly guided, and whoever disobeys them has gone astray”: “What a poor preacher you are!” (4).

Likewise, he said: “Do not say (5): ‘What Allah wills and so-and-so wills,’ but say: ‘What