Thus, when the intention to petition first comes into a servant’s heart, it is fitting for him to ask Allah by His name “Lord.” If he asks Him by His name “Allah,” which encompasses the name “Lord,” that too is good. But when the intention to worship first comes into his heart, the name “Allah” is more appropriate.

When beginning with praise, he mentions the name “Allah”; when intending to supplicate, he invokes the name “Lord.” Thus Jonah said:

“There is no god but You. Glory be to You! Indeed, I have been among the wrongdoers.”

And Adam said:

“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.”

Jonah, peace be upon him, departed in anger. Allah Most High says:

“So be patient with your Lord’s judgment, and do not be like the man of the fish.”

And He Most High says:

“Then the fish swallowed him while he was blameworthy.”

He had done something for which he deserved blame. It was therefore fitting for his condition that he begin by praising his Lord and acknowledging that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him. He alone deserves to be worshipped, to the exclusion of all others; personal desires must therefore not be obeyed, for following them weakens the worship of Allah alone. It has been reported that Jonah, peace be upon him, regretted that the punishment had been lifted from his people after it had loomed over them. He feared that they would accuse him of lying, and so he became angry.

He acted in a way that called for the words Allah Most High has related, and for the declaration:

“There is no god but You.”

These words entail denying divinity to anything other than Allah, whether its attribution arises from personal desire, obedience to created beings, or anything else. Thus he said:

“Glory be to You! Indeed, I have been among the wrongdoers.”

A servant says words such as these concerning what he supposes when it does not accord with reality, and what he desires when it is not good.