Likewise, every person whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) congratulated with Paradise, or informed that he was already forgiven, never understood—nor did any of the other Companions understand—that this constituted blanket permission to sin or a waiver of the obligatory duties. Rather, after receiving such glad tidings they became even more diligent, cautious, and fearful than they had been beforehand—just like the Ten who were given a definitive testimony of Paradise. Abū Bakr remained intensely wary and apprehensive, and so did ʿUmar, because they all knew that an apparently unconditional promise is in fact bound by its conditions, by remaining upon them until death, and by the absence of anything that would nullify it. No one among them took those promises as an open licence to do whatever they wished.

A Weighty Benefit

Allah the Exalted says: “He is the One who made the earth tractable for you; so walk in its pathways and eat of His provision, and to Him is the resurrection.” (Al-Mulk 67:15)

He, glorified be He, tells us that He has made the earth compliant—yielding to being walked upon, dug, ploughed, and built over—and that He has not rendered it refractory or unmanageable for those who wish to do such things. He further informs us that He has made it a cradle, a bed, a carpet, a place of settlement, and an all-embracing receptacle. He has spread it and levelled it, drawn forth from it its water and its pasture, anchored it with mountains, cut through it mountain passes and roads, caused rivers and springs to flow within it, blessed it, and apportioned within it its means of sustenance.

Among its blessings is that every creature, along with its nourishment and provisions, originates from it. Another of its blessings is that you entrust it with a single grain and it returns to you many times over. Yet another of its blessings is that, though it bears all manner of filth upon its surface, it brings forth from its depths the finest and most beneficial things: it conceals everything unsightly and produces all that is fair. Still another blessing is that it hides a servant’s refuse and bodily waste, conceals them, gathers him in and shelters him, and produces for him his food and drink. Thus it bears more harm than anything else and yields greater benefit. Therefore, nothing fashioned from earth is better than it, more distant from harm, or nearer to