between one with whom Allah is pleased and one who incurs His displeasure; nor between one whom Allah loves and one whom He detests; nor between justice and injustice, dutifulness and disobedience, the deeds of the people of Paradise and those of the people of Hell, or the righteous and the wicked. For they perceive what all beings share: the prior decree, the unfailingly effective will, the all-encompassing power, and the creation of all things. They perceive what created beings have in common but are blind to what distinguishes them.
Thus they become among those addressed by His words, Most High:
“Shall We then treat the Muslims like the criminals?”
“What is the matter with you? How do you judge?”
And His words, Most High:
“Or shall We treat those who believe and do righteous deeds like those who spread corruption on earth? Or shall We treat the God-fearing like the wicked?”
And His words, Most High:
“Or do those who commit evil deeds think that We will make them like those who believe and do righteous deeds?”
“And your Lord’s gracious word was fulfilled for the Children of Israel because of their patience.”
Another example is the saying of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:
“I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah, beyond which neither the righteous nor the wicked can pass, from the evil of what He has created, brought forth, and fashioned; from the evil of what descends from heaven and what ascends into it; from the evil of what He has brought forth in the earth and what emerges from it; from the evil of the trials of night and day; and from the evil of every visitor by night, except one who comes with good, O Most Merciful.”
The words beyond which neither the righteous nor the wicked can pass are not His commands and prohibitions in religious law, for the wicked have disobeyed His commands and prohibitions. Rather, they are the words through which things come into being.
As for the words pertaining to religion, which contain His commands and prohibitions in religious law, these include the divine scriptures: the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the Quran. And He said: