to this; and we would never have been guided had Allah not guided us. The messengers of our Lord certainly came with the truth.” No created being is capable of any of this.

And (another difference is that His blessings upon His servants are too numerous to count. Even if worship were repayment for these blessings, it would not suffice to give thanks for even a few of them. How, then, could it do so when worship itself is also one of His blessings?

And (another difference is that His servants continually fall short and need His pardon and forgiveness. No one will enter Paradise by virtue of his deeds, and everyone has sins for which he needs Allah’s forgiveness:

“If Allah were to take people to task for what they have earned, He would not leave a single living creature on the earth.”

The Prophet’s statement, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,

“None of you will enter Paradise by virtue of his deeds,”

does not contradict the statement of the Most High:

“As a reward for what they used to do.”

The negation uses the preposition bā’ to denote recompense and exchange, as when one says, “I sold this for that.” The affirmation uses the same preposition to denote causation. Deeds are not equivalent to the reward, even though they are a cause of receiving it. Thus, anyone who thinks that he has fulfilled all his obligations and has no need of the Lord’s forgiveness and pardon is astray. As authentically reported, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“No one will enter Paradise by virtue of his deeds.” They asked, “Not even you, Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “Not even me, unless Allah envelops me in mercy and bounty from Him.” A variant reads, “in His forgiveness.”

Another example is the hadith recorded in the Sunan collections, in which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“If Allah were to punish the inhabitants of His heavens and His earth, He would punish them without wronging them. And if He were to have mercy on them, His mercy towards them would be better than their deeds.”

The hadith continues.

If someone says, “Rather, a created being has a right over Allah,” this is correct if he means the right announced by