only an arm’s length, and then the decree overtakes him.’ What people witness in such a man is the behavior of the people of Paradise; yet had those deeds truly been accepted, righteous, and beloved to Allah—fit for Paradise—He would not have nullified them.

Someone may object that the Prophet’s words, ‘there remains between him and it only an arm’s length,’ conflict with this understanding. The reply is that deeds are judged by their conclusions. This worker could not persevere in his course until it was sealed for him. A latent defect—a hidden flaw—lay within him, and at the end of his life he was abandoned because of it. That concealed malady and inward calamity betrayed him at the very moment he needed steadfastness, so he reverted to what it demanded and it took effect. Had there been neither deceit nor hidden illness, Allah would not have turned his faith into unbelief and apostasy (1) while he was truthful and sincere, with no cause on his part that required its corruption. Allah knows the inner secrets of His servants in a way they do not know one another.

With regard to Iblīs, Allah the Exalted said to the angels, ‘I know what you do not know’ (al-Baqarah 2:30). The Lord—glorified be He—knew what lay in Iblīs’s heart of disbelief, pride, and envy, which the angels did not perceive. When they were commanded to prostrate, what filled their hearts—obedience, love, awe, and submission—became manifest, and they hastened to comply. Likewise, what filled His enemy’s heart—arrogance, treachery, and envy—was exposed; he refused, grew proud, and thus became one of the unbelievers.

As for the fear that Allah’s friends have of His plotting, it is well-founded: they fear that, because of their sins and transgressions, He may forsake them and they would then be doomed. Their fear, therefore, concerns their own sins, while their hope is placed in His mercy.

His words, ‘Do they, then, feel secure against the plotting of Allah?’ (al-Aʿrāf 7:99) apply only to