and exact retribution for Allah’s sake. Anas likewise reported that he would forgo his personal claims. As for Allah’s prescribed limits, he said:

“By Him in whose hand is my soul, if Fātimah, the daughter of Muhammad, were to steal, I would cut off her hand.”

This was narrated in Sahīh al-Bukhārī and Sahīh Muslim. This is perfection of will: he willed the faith and righteous deeds that Allah loves and is pleased with, and commanded them; he hated the disbelief, wickedness, and disobedience that Allah hates, and forbade them. Thus Allah Most High described him, saying:

“My mercy encompasses all things. I shall ordain it for those who are mindful of Me, give zakah, and believe in Our signs.”

“Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find described in the Torah and the Gospel they possess. He commands them to do what is right and forbids them from doing what is wrong; he makes good things lawful for them and forbids them impure things; and he relieves them of their burdens and the shackles that bound them. So those who believe in him, honour him, support him, and follow the light sent down with him—it is they who will prosper.”

As for his own personal claims, he would neither punish nor exact retribution. Rather, he would uphold his Lord’s right and forgo his own claims. In matters concerning his own claims, he would look to divine decree, saying:

“Had something been decreed, it would have happened.”

But where Allah’s right was concerned, he would uphold the command, doing what Allah had commanded and striving in Allah’s cause to the fullest extent possible. He first strove against them with his tongue, through the Quran revealed to him, as Allah Most High said:

“Had We willed, We could have sent a warner to every town.”

“So do not obey the disbelievers, but strive mightily against them with it.”

Then, when