guidance or turns him away from evil.’ He asked, ‘Which of Your servants is wisest?’ He replied, ‘The one who judges against himself as he judges against others, and rules in favour of others as he rules in his own favour.’”

This report thus mentions love, knowledge, and justice, which together encompass all goodness. Something that must be understood is that, in matters of loving Allah Most High, one must not entertain the notions associated with loving others, such as unfounded reproach, abandonment, estrangement without cause, and the like. Some groups fall into this error, even speaking of love for Him in the same terms they use for loving someone who spurns them and severs ties though they have done no wrong, or who keeps those seeking closeness at a distance. This is not permissible even if some authors have fallen into this error in their treatises, to the point that the substance of their words amounts to making a case against Allah. Rather, to Allah belongs the conclusive argument.

It is established in the two Sahīh collections, on the authority of Abū Hurayrah, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah Most High says: ‘Whoever remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself. Whoever remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than it. Whoever draws near to Me by a handspan, I draw near to him by a cubit. Whoever draws near to Me by a cubit, I draw near to him by an armspan. Whoever comes to Me walking, I come to him running.’”

In some transmitted reports, Allah Most High says:

“Those who remember Me are those who sit in My company; those who thank Me are those who visit Me; those who obey Me are those whom I honour. As for those who disobey Me, I do not make them despair of My mercy. If they repent, I am the One who loves them”—for Allah loves those who repent—“and if they do not repent, I am their physician: I afflict them with hardships until I cleanse them of their faults.”