Thus, their error has become clear in two respects: they assumed that contentment is religiously prescribed with regard to everything decreed, and they failed to distinguish between supplications prescribed as obligatory or recommended and those that are not prescribed. It is a matter of essential knowledge in Islam that asking Allah for Paradise and seeking refuge in Him from the Fire are among the greatest supplications prescribed for every messenger and prophet, and for all the steadfastly truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. Such supplication is invariably either obligatory or recommended. The path followed by Allah’s allies consists entirely of obligatory and recommended deeds, since everything else is prohibited, disliked, or permissible but of no religious benefit.

Another factor that led them into this error was their observation that many people do not ask Allah to bring them benefits and ward off harm—even when asking for Paradise and seeking refuge from the Fire—on the grounds that this constitutes worship and obedience