and this also applies to what is lawful and unlawful: a person is not forbidden anything that he cannot forgo, such that what remains permissible would be too restricted to accommodate his needs.

This being so, it should be understood that hearts have a capacity in matters of knowledge and intellectual conviction, in matters of will and intention, and in bodily movement as well.

Error and forgetfulness pertain to knowledge: they occur when acquiring knowledge is either impossible or difficult for a person. Allah has said:

“He has placed no hardship upon you in religion.” [Sūrat al-Hajj 78]

And He has said:

“Allah intends ease for you, not hardship.” [Sūrat al-Baqarah 185]

In the hadith recorded by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Muʿādh and Abū Mūsā when he sent them to Yemen:

“Make things easy, not difficult; give glad tidings, and do not drive people away. Cooperate with one another, and do not differ.”

This being so, whatever a person is unable to practise and believe, such that he mistakenly or forgetfully believes and says the opposite, is forgiven him. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“When a judge exercises his judgment and reaches the correct decision, he receives two rewards; and when he exercises his judgment and errs,