Hell—an evil destination.” And in His saying, Most High:

“They swear by Allah that they are indeed of you, but they are not of you; rather, they are people who are afraid.”

This is frequently addressed in the Quran and Sunnah, and it is something upon which people everywhere agree. They even say in their popular proverbs:

“He offers neither a spear-thrust nor a bowl of food.”

And they say:

“Neither a horseman nor a notable among the Arabs.”

Yet people have divided into three groups in this regard.

One group is dominated by a love of supremacy in the land and corruption. They give no thought to their ultimate fate in the Hereafter. They consider that authority cannot be maintained without giving, and that giving may be impossible without extracting wealth unlawfully. Thus they become lavish plunderers and lavish givers.

These people say that no one can govern others unless he takes for himself and gives to others. If a scrupulous man assumes office who neither takes nor gives, the leaders become displeased with him and remove him—if they do not also harm him personally or seize his wealth. These people attend to their immediate worldly interests while neglecting the longer-term consequences in both this world and the Hereafter. Their eventual outcome is therefore bad in both worlds, unless repentance or something similar sets their final affairs right.

Another group possesses fear of Allah Most High and religious commitment that restrains them from what they believe to be reprehensible: wronging people and committing forbidden acts. This is good and obligatory. Yet they may also believe that governance cannot be carried out without the forbidden practices of the first group, and so they abstain from it altogether. Their religious commitment may also be accompanied by cowardice, miserliness, or ill temper. Thus they sometimes neglect an obligation whose neglect is