are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, establish prayer, give zakah, and obey Allah and His Messenger. It is they upon whom Allah will have mercy.” (Surah al-Tawbah, 71)

Likewise, his statement, “Rather, the True One has a greater claim over things in the decrees He passes upon them,” falls short in its treatment of the Lord’s creation and command. His expression “a greater claim” could suggest that He has a partner. Yet there is no creator but Allah and no Lord besides Him:

“Say: Call upon those whom you claim besides Allah. They possess not even an atom’s weight in the heavens or on earth, nor do they have any share in either, nor does He have any helper among them. Intercession does not benefit anyone with Him except those for whom He gives permission…” (Surah Saba’, 22–23)

As for His command, He, glorified be He, has given His servants commands and prohibitions. The servant must therefore do what He has commanded him to do, including showing protective indignation and other duties. If He has commanded him to feel indignation when His sacred limits are violated, and to oppose evil with his hand, tongue, or heart, as he is able, but he fails to do so, then he is simply disobeying his Lord’s command—not refraining from sharing in His authority, since he has [no] way of sharing in it under any circumstances. He, glorified be He, is the only deity, alone, without partner. To Him belongs sovereignty, and to Him belongs all praise, and He has power over all things.

Thus, invoking His greater claim over His creation than that of the servant as grounds for abandoning what He has commanded—what He loves and is pleased with, and obedience to Him and worship of Him through enjoining what is right and forbidding