taking the soul of My believing servant: he dislikes death, and I dislike causing him distress, yet he must undergo it.”

Notice how He says later in the hadith:

“Through Me he hears, and through Me he sees; and if he asks Me, and if he seeks My protection.”

Thus He distinguishes between the Lord and the servant. Do you not hear the words of the Exalted?

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary.’ But the Messiah said, ‘O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ Whoever associates partners with Allah, Allah has forbidden Paradise to him, and his refuge will be the Fire. The wrongdoers will have no helpers.”

He also says:

“There is no god but One God. If they do not desist from what they say, a painful punishment will surely afflict those among them who disbelieve.”

Then, further on, He says:

“The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger; messengers had passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They both ate food.”

He also says:

“O People of the Scripture, do not go to extremes in your religion, and say nothing about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only Allah’s messenger, His word which He conveyed to Mary, and a spirit from Him.”

Then, further on, He says:

“Those who disdain to worship Him and are arrogant—He will gather them all to Himself.”

Likewise, Muslim narrated in his Sahīh from Abū Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah the Exalted says, ‘O son of Adam, I was ill, but you did not visit Me.’ He replies, ‘My Lord, how could I visit You when You are the Lord of all worlds?’ He says, ‘Did you not know that My servant so-and-so was ill? Had you visited him, you would have found Me with him.’”

He also mentioned similar words concerning hunger and nakedness. Notice how, at the beginning of the hadith, He uses the words