does not conflict with His dislike of this opposite.
We therefore answer the questioner: Their staying behind is hateful to Him. Here, however, are two things that He—glorified is He—dislikes, one more intensely than the other because it entails greater harm. Their staying behind is displeasing to Him, but their setting out in the manner He described is still more displeasing. One of these two displeasing outcomes was inevitable, so He averted the greater through the lesser. The harm of their staying behind was less than that of their accompanying him: the former affected only themselves, whereas the latter would have affected the believers. Reflect carefully on this point.
You might ask: “Why, then, did He not enable them to set out in the manner He loves and approves of—the manner in which the believers set out?”
I answer: Questions of this kind have already been answered repeatedly. His wisdom—glorified is He—precludes granting divine assistance where it does not belong or to those unworthy of it. Allah knows best where to bestow His guidance, assistance, and bounty. Not every recipient is suited to this, and placing something where it does not belong is inconsistent with His wisdom.
You might say: “On that basis, He has made all recipients suitable.”
I answer: The perfection of His lordship and sovereignty, and the manifestation of the effects of heaven and His attributes in creation and command, preclude this. Had He—glorified is He—done so, it would have been beloved to Him, for He must be remembered, thanked, obeyed, worshipped alone, and acknowledged as One. Yet placing all creatures on an equal footing in obedience and faith would entail losing what is dearer to Him: His love of the jihāz of His enemies and of exacting retribution from them; displaying the standing and honour of His allies; singling them out for His bounty; their sacrificing their lives for Him in opposing those who oppose Him; and the manifestation of His might, power, overwhelming force, severe seizure, and painful punishment. Beyond these are many times as many wise purposes, which created beings could never encompass, even if they attained the utmost knowledge and understanding. What they have grasped of these purposes, compared with what remains hidden from them, is like the water a sparrow takes in one dip of its beak into the sea.
[Surah al-Tawbah (9): verse 103]
“Take charity from their wealth to purify and cleanse them thereby, and pray for them. Your prayers are a source of reassurance for them. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” (103)
The basic linguistic meaning of this word, salāh, goes back to two senses: supplication and invoking blessings, on the one hand, and worship, on the other.
Examples of the first sense include:
9:103: “Take charity from their wealth to purify and cleanse them thereby, and pray for them. Your prayers are a source of reassurance for them.”
And His words concerning the hypocrites:
9:84: “Never pray over any of them who dies, nor stand at his grave.”
The Prophet’s words—peace and blessings be upon him—“When one of you is invited to a meal, let him accept. If he is fasting, let him pray,” have been interpreted in both senses «1». Some explain this as invoking blessings upon the hosts; others explain it as performing prayer in their home instead of eating.
Another view is that salāh linguistically means supplication. Supplication is of two kinds: supplication through worship and supplication through asking. The worshipper is calling upon Allah, just as the petitioner is. Both senses have been given in explaining His words:
40:60: “Your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will answer you.’”
Some explain this as: “Obey Me, and I will reward you”; others as: “Ask Me, and I will give to you.” Both senses have likewise been given in explaining His words:
2:186: “When My servants ask you about Me, I am indeed near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls upon Me.”
The correct view is that calling upon Allah encompasses both kinds. The term has a single shared meaning, rather than separate, unrelated meanings.
Examples of its use for calling upon Allah through worship include His words:
34:22: “Say, ‘Call upon those whom you claim to be gods besides Allah. They possess not even an atom’s weight in the heavens or on earth.’”
And His words:
16:20: “Those they call upon besides Allah create nothing, while they themselves are created.”
And His words:
25:77: “Say, ‘What would my Lord care for you were it not for your calling upon Him?’”
The correct of the two interpretations is: Were you not to call upon Him and worship Him, what concern would He have for you? Thus, the verbal noun is attributed to its subject—the ones performing the action.
Allah also says:
7:55, 56: “Call upon your Lord humbly and privately. He does not love those who transgress. Do not spread corruption on earth after it has been set right, and call upon Him with fear and hope.”
And Allah says, speaking of His prophets