Allah has bestowed no greater honor upon His servant than conformity to what He loves and is pleased with: obedience to Him and His Messenger, allegiance to His allies, and enmity toward His enemies. These are the allies of Allah of whom He says:

“Unquestionably, the allies of Allah will have no fear, nor will they grieve.”

If they conform to what He has made obligatory upon them, they are among those who follow the middle course. If they conform both to what He has made obligatory and to what He loves, they are among those brought near to Him—although everything obligatory is beloved to Him, not everything beloved to Him is obligatory.

As for the ease with which Allah tests His servant, whether through extraordinary occurrences or otherwise, or the adversity with which He tests him, this is not because the servant is honored or despised by his Lord. Rather, some may attain felicity through these trials if they obey Him in them, while others may come to misery through them if they disobey Him in them.

Allah Most High says:

“As for man, when his Lord tests him by honoring him and granting him blessings, he says, ‘My Lord has honored me.’

“But when He tests him by restricting his provision, he says, ‘My Lord has humiliated me.’ No!”

Thus, with regard to these matters, people fall into “three categories”:

Those whose ranks are raised through extraordinary occurrences when they use them in obedience to Allah; those who expose themselves to Allah’s punishment when they use them in disobedience to Allah, such as Balaam and others; and those for whom they have the status of permissible things.