you were called to faith but disbelieved.’” This indicates that His love and abhorrence are in recompense for their deeds, and that He loves them when they are mindful of Him and fight. He therefore encourages them to act by promising them this, just as He encourages them through everything else He promises them. Recompense for a deed comes after the deed. Likewise, His words:

“When you were called to faith but disbelieved.”

He, glory be to Him, abhors them when they are called to faith but disbelieve. Similar to this are His words:

“Allah was certainly pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquillity upon them and rewarded them with a victory near at hand.”

His words, “Allah was certainly pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you,” make clear that He was pleased with them at that time. The particle idh (“when”) denotes a time in the past. Thus, it is known that He was pleased with them at that time because of that deed, and rewarded them for it. An effect cannot precede its cause, and something assigned to a particular time cannot precede that time.

Even if He was pleased with them in some respect, this particular pleasure resulting from the pledge came about only then. As established in an authentic hadith, He will say to the people of Paradise:

“O people of Paradise, are you pleased?”

They will reply: “Our Lord, how could we not be pleased when You have given us what You have given no one else among Your creation?”

He will say: “Shall I not give you something better than that?”

They will reply: “Our Lord, what could be better than that?”

He will say: “I bestow My pleasure upon you, and I shall never be displeased with you thereafter.”

This indicates that it is at that time that they receive this pleasure, which will never be followed by displeasure. It also indicates that other instances of His pleasure may be followed by displeasure.

In the two Sahīh collections, in the hadith of intercession, each of the messengers says:

“My Lord has become angry today with an anger the like of which He has never had before and will never have again.”

And in the authentic hadith collections, it is narrated through several chains from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,