, all of them exalted. For each attribute He has a beautiful name, so this also entails affirming His most beautiful names. His perfect power necessarily entails that He does whatever He wills. This, in turn, entails His being free of everything contrary to His perfection, including injustice, which is incompatible with His perfect self-sufficiency and perfect knowledge. Injustice proceeds only from someone who is needy or ignorant. As for Him who needs nothing and knows everything—glorified be He—injustice is impossible for Him, just as He cannot be incapable, for that would contradict His perfect power, or ignorant, for that would contradict His perfect knowledge.

Thus, the verse encompasses all this knowledge in the most concise expression, the most eloquent wording, and the clearest meaning. From this you can understand that the verse does not entail punishment for mere passing thoughts. Rather, it entails only that the Lord will call His servant to account for them. Being called to account is broader than being punished, and the broader does not necessarily entail the narrower. After calling His servants to account for these thoughts, He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills. Understood in this way, the verse remains in force and is not abrogated. Those among the early generations who said, “What follows it abrogated it,” meant that the subsequent passage clarified its meaning and intent. Such clarification was called abrogation in the usage of the early generations, just as they called an exception abrogation.

Then the Most High says:

“The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. All believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers.”

This is Allah Most High’s testimony that His Messenger—blessings and peace be upon him—believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord. This entails granting him