This is a subtle point that calls for clarification, so we say:

The prohibited matters are evils and lead to further evil, whereas the commanded duties are goods and lead to further good. All good is in His Hands, exalted is He, and evil is not to be ascribed to Him ⦗1⦘, for no evil enters into His attributes, His acts, or His names. Rather, evil exists only in the things He brings into being, and even then it is evil only in relation to the servant. From the perspective of its relation to the Creator, exalted is He, it is not evil at all.

Thus, the utmost consequence of committing a prohibition is that it produces evil relative to the servant, even though in itself it is not evil. But when a commanded duty is neglected, the good it would have produced is lost, and with the loss of that good its opposite—evil—arises. Since the commanded act is more beloved to Allah, exalted is He, the evil resulting from its omission is correspondingly greater—such as in the case of monotheism and faith.

The secret underlying all these aspects is that the commanded act is what He loves, while the prohibited act is what He dislikes. The occurrence of what He loves is dearer to Him than the avoidance of what He dislikes, and the loss of what He loves is more hateful to Him than the occurrence of what He dislikes.

And Allah knows best.

Section

The structure of the religion rests upon two principles: remembrance and gratitude.

The Exalted said: “So remember Me, and I will remember you; give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful” (152) [al-Baqarah: 152].

The Prophet ﷺ said to Mu‘adh, “By Allah, I truly love you, so do not forget to say after every