anyone or anything else; hoping for Allah’s mercy; fearing His punishment; patiently accepting Allah’s judgment; and submitting to His command. It also includes speaking truthfully, fulfilling covenants, returning trusts to their rightful owners, honouring parents, maintaining family ties, cooperating in righteousness and piety, treating neighbours, orphans, the needy, wayfarers, companions, wives and slaves with kindness, and being just in word and deed. Then comes encouraging noble character, such as maintaining ties with those who sever them with you, giving to those who withhold from you, and pardoning those who wrong you. Allah Most High says:

“The recompense for an evil deed is an evil deed like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation—his reward is with Allah. Indeed, He does not love the wrongdoers.”

“As for those who defend themselves after being wronged, there is no cause to blame them.”

“Blame lies only with those who wrong people and transgress unjustly in the land. They will suffer a painful punishment.”

“But whoever is patient and forgives—that is indeed a matter requiring firm resolve.”

As for the “wrong” that Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, the gravest is associating partners with Allah: invoking another deity alongside Allah, whether the sun, the moon, the stars, an angel, a prophet, a righteous man, one of the jinn, images of these beings, their graves, or anything else that is invoked besides Allah Most High, appealed to for deliverance, or prostrated before. All this and anything like it constitute the association of partners with Allah, which He has forbidden through all His messengers.

Allah has also forbidden taking a life without right and consuming people’s wealth unjustly, whether by