and his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks. Through Me he hears, through Me he sees, through Me he grasps, and through Me he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give him, and if he seeks My protection, I will surely protect him. I have never hesitated over anything I am going to do as I hesitate over taking the soul of My believing servant: he dislikes death, and I dislike causing him distress, yet death is inevitable for him.’”

He has thus made clear that when a servant draws near to Allah through the voluntary acts He loves, after fulfilling the obligatory duties, Allah loves him. Allah’s love for His servant is therefore proportionate to the servant’s doing what Allah loves. His love for the worship and obedience offered to Him follows from His love for Himself. His love for that worship and obedience is the reason He loves His believing servants; thus, His love for the believers follows from His love for Himself.

Although the believers praise and extol their Lord, they cannot fully praise Him. Rather, He is as He has praised Himself. As related in an authentic hadith, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say:

“O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath, in Your pardon from Your punishment, and in You from You. I cannot praise You as You deserve; You are as You have praised Yourself.”

It is also authentically established that he said:

“No one loves praise more than Allah; for that reason, He has praised Himself.”

Al-Aswad ibn Sarīʿ said to him, “I have praised my Lord with words of praise.” He replied, “Your Lord loves praise.”

He loves His servants’ praise of Him, yet His praise of Himself is greater than their praise of Him. He loves their extolling Him, yet His extolling Himself is greater than their extolling Him. The same holds for His love for Himself and His exaltation of Himself. He, glorified be He, knows Himself better than anyone else does, and He possesses attributes of perfection beyond the grasp of created minds. Majesty is His lower garment, and grandeur is His cloak. It is also authentically reported from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,