good things. Thus, he wronged himself without wronging anyone else. Moses, peace be upon him, said, in the account of the man who was his enemy:

“He killed him and said, ‘This is of Satan’s doing. He is indeed an enemy who clearly leads astray.’”

“He said, ‘My Lord, I have wronged myself, so forgive me.’ So He forgave him.”

He thus acknowledged that he had wronged himself by harming another without having been commanded to do so. Jonah, peace be upon him, said:

“There is no deity except You. Glory be to You! Indeed, I have been among the wrongdoers.”

The Sahīh records the supplication that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, taught Abū Bakr to recite in his prayer:

“O Allah, I have greatly wronged myself, and none forgives sins except You. Grant me forgiveness from Yourself and have mercy upon me. You are indeed the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.”

This supplication corresponds to Adam’s supplication in acknowledging wrongdoing against oneself and asking for forgiveness and mercy.

“When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had settled on his mount and praised Allah, glorified Him, and proclaimed His greatness, he would say, ‘There is no deity except You. Glory be to You! I have wronged myself, so forgive me.’ Then he would laugh.”

This is preserved in a hadith narrated by Alī ibn Abī Tālib.

Accordingly, wrongdoing is of two kinds: neglecting what is due and overstepping the limits, as I have explained in several places. Failing to perform an obligation is wrongdoing, just as committing something prohibited is wrongdoing. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“For someone able to repay a debt to delay doing so is wrongdoing.”

Reported by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim. He thus declared that delaying repayment is wrongdoing—so what, then, of failing to repay altogether?