—the blessing of guidance—yet he would neither thank Him for it, nor praise Him because of it, nor show Him love; accordingly, He does not will it for him, the vessel being unfit. Allah, exalted is He, says: “And thus We tested some of them by means of others so that they might say, ‘Are these the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor from among us?’ Does not Allah know best those who are grateful?” (Qur’an 6:53). And He says: “Had Allah known any good in them, He would have made them hear” (Qur’an 8:23).
Hence, when He decrees misguidance and sin for such souls, that is pure justice—just as, when He decrees that a snake be killed, or a scorpion, or a vicious dog (1), that too is justice in their case, even though they were created in that very form.
We have treated this matter in full in our extensive work on decree and predestination (2).
The point is that his—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—statement, “Your judgment over me is carried out; Your decree concerning me is just,” refutes two sects:
- the Qadariyyah, who deny that Allah’s decrees encompass His servant, exclude human actions from being within His decree and destiny, and reduce qadar to mere commands and prohibitions; and
- the Jabriyyah, who claim that everything within His power is automatically just, leaving no benefit to the phrase “Your decree concerning me is just,” for in their view justice is whatever can possibly occur and injustice is what is intrinsically impossible. It is as though he were merely saying, “Your decree concerning me is in force and unopposed,” which is exactly the first view in another guise.
• His words, “I ask You by every Name that is Yours …” and so forth, constitute a plea made through all of His Names—those the servant knows and those he does not. This is the most beloved means of approach to Him, for it—