and neither invoke nor ask anyone other than Him, nor place his trust in anyone other than Him, whether concerning intercession or anything else. He must not rely upon anyone to provide for him, even though Allah brings him his provision through various means. Likewise, he must not rely upon anyone other than Allah to forgive him and have mercy on him in the Hereafter, even though Allah grants him forgiveness and mercy through such means as intercession and others. The intercession that the Quran categorically denies is that which involves associating partners with Allah; such intercession is ruled out altogether. Hence, in several passages, He affirms intercession by His permission. The Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, explained that this is only for those who worship Allah alone with sincere devotion. It is therefore an aspect of monotheism, and those entitled to it are the people of monotheism.

As for “wrongdoing in a qualified sense,” it may refer specifically to a person wronging himself or to people wronging one another, as in the words of Adam, peace be upon him, and Eve:

“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves.”

And the words of Moses:

“My Lord, I have wronged myself.”

And His words, exalted is He:

“And those who, when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins.”

However, the statements of Adam and Moses describe particular events and have no general scope. It is known, praise be to Allah, that these did not constitute disbelief.

As for His words:

“And those who, when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves,”

this is an indefinite expression within a conditional construction, encompassing everything by which a person wrongs himself. If he associates partners with Allah and then repents, Allah accepts his repentance. It has already been explained that, when used without qualification, a person’s wronging himself includes every sin, major or minor. Allah, exalted is He, says:

“Then We gave the Book as an inheritance to those We chose from among Our servants. Among them are those who wrong themselves, those who follow a middle course, and those who are foremost in good deeds.”

Here, wronging oneself is mentioned alongside other categories, so it does not include major polytheism. In the two Sahīh collections:

“Ibn Mas‘ūd reported that when this verse was revealed—‘Those who believe and do not taint their faith with wrongdoing’—this weighed heavily on the Companions of the Prophet