And the power to create opposites is the power to create either one as an alternative to the other. Thus, if He—glorified be He—wills to make a servant move, He does so; and if He wills to make him remain still, He does so. The same applies to faith and disbelief, and to other opposites. It is inconceivable, however, for a servant to possess mutually opposed attributes at the same time: to be a truthful believer among Allah’s pious friends and also a disbeliever and hypocrite among Allah’s enemies. Nevertheless, a branch of faith and a branch of hypocrisy may coexist within him.

The servant must know that Allah’s knowledge, power, wisdom, and mercy are supremely perfect, such that no greater perfection is conceivable. Indeed, every possible perfection free of deficiency necessarily belongs to the Lord Most High. Some servants may know something of His wisdom, while other aspects remain hidden from them. People differ in their knowledge of His wisdom, mercy, and justice.

The more a servant knows the true nature of things, the more he knows of Allah’s wisdom, justice, mercy, and power. He comes to know that Allah bestows upon him the blessing of good deeds—both their performance and their reward—and that whatever punishment he suffers for his sins is through the justice of Allah Most High. He also knows that his very commission of sins—although it falls within what the Lord has decreed—is due to his soul’s inherent deficiency, incapacity, and ignorance; and that whatever goodness is within his soul comes from Allah’s action, kindness, and generosity. He further knows that, although the Lord created the soul, fashioned it, and inspired it with its wickedness and its piety, this inspiration of wickedness and piety took place