Thus He, glorified be He, commands the servant to praise Allah for whatever good he finds, and to blame no one but himself if he finds evil.

Many people speak in the language of “reality” without distinguishing between the reality of creation and divine decree, which concerns His creation and will, and the reality of religion and divine command, which concerns His pleasure and love. Nor do they distinguish between someone who adheres to religious reality in accordance with what Allah commanded through His messengers, and someone who follows his own spiritual experience and inward perception without assessing them against the Quran and Sunnah.

Likewise, many people use the term “Sharia” without distinguishing between the law revealed by Allah Most High—the Quran and Sunnah with which Allah sent His Messenger—and the law embodied in a judge’s ruling. No created being is permitted to depart from the revealed law, and none departs from it except a disbeliever. A judge, however, sometimes rules correctly and sometimes errs.

This is when he is knowledgeable and just. Otherwise, it is reported in the Sunan collections that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“There are three kinds of judges: two are in the Fire and one is in Paradise. A man who knows the truth and judges accordingly is in Paradise. A man who judges people’s cases in ignorance is in the Fire. And a man who knows the truth but rules contrary to it is in the Fire.”

The finest of all knowledgeable and just judges is the foremost of Adam’s descendants, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. It is authentically reported from him in the two Sahīh collections that he said:

“You bring your disputes before me, and some of you may present their arguments more eloquently than others. I judge only on the basis of what I hear. So whoever