that is never forgiven, a type that does not endure, and a type that is forgiven for its doer.
• The wrong that is never forgiven is to associate partners with Allah; Allah the Exalted says, “Indeed, associating others with Allah is a grievous injustice” ⦗Quran 31:13⦘.
• The wrong that does not endure is the injustice people commit against one another.
• The wrong that is forgiven for its perpetrator is a person’s wrongdoing against his own soul by committing sins and then repenting to his Lord; Allah, through His mercy, pardons him and, by His grace, admits him to Paradise.
A subtle point: Religion and governance are twins, like two brothers born of the same womb. The ruler, therefore, must be vigilant—avoiding whim, innovation, abomination, doubtful matters, and anything that diminishes the Sacred Law. If he discovers that someone under his authority is suspect in his faith or creed, he should summon him, threaten and rebuke him; if the man repents, so be it, otherwise he must punish him and banish him from the province, thereby purifying the realm of his misguidance and innovation and freeing it from the people of capricious desires. In this way Islam will be strengthened, the frontier fortresses will remain inhabited through the dispatch of troops and guardians, and he will strive to exalt the truth and restore the luster of the Prophetic sunnah and the commendable conduct. Thus his policy will be praised by Allah, his awe will be magnified among creation, his enemies will fear his blow, and his rank, splendor, and station will rise—he will loom large in the eyes of his adversaries and grow in stature among his peers.
He must realize that the well-being of the populace lies in the sound conduct of the king. The king, then, should attend to the affairs of his subjects, acquainting himself with their minor and major concerns, their great and their small, while never sharing with them blameworthy matters or ominous deeds. He is obliged to honor the righteous, reward noble actions, prevent vile and pernicious acts, and punish the perpetration of the reprehensible, showing no favoritism to anyone who persists in sin—so that people will aspire to good and beware of evil. Whenever the ruler is without sound policy, fails to restrain the corrupter from his corruption, and leaves him to his own devices, corruption spreads throughout all his lands.
The sages have said that the character of the subjects is the product of the character of their kings: ordinary people merely imitate the great, adopting corruption and growing narrow-eyed with envy in emulation of them—they learn from their superiors and assume their traits. Do you not see that the chronicles record how al-Walid b. ʿAbd al-Malik of the Umayyads devoted his energies to building projects and agriculture, while Sulayman b. ʿAbd al-Malik directed his ambition toward abundant food, exquisite cuisine, the gratification of desires and urgent needs, and the attainment of