of. Through these two principles, they distinguished themselves from all groups of disbelievers and all misguided sects that deviate concerning Allah’s names and attributes.

Then they said:

“We hear and obey.”

This is their affirmation of the two pillars without which faith cannot stand. The first is hearing that entails acceptance—not merely the perception of sound, which believers and disbelievers share, but hearing with understanding and acceptance. The second is obedience that entails complete submission and compliance with the command. This is the opposite of the words of the nation that incurred Allah’s wrath: “We hear and disobey.”

These words thus encompass the completeness of their faith, acceptance, and submission. Then they said:

“We seek Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the final return.”

They knew that they had not fulfilled the demands of faith, together with the obedience and submission it required of them. They also knew that overpowering natural inclinations and human impulses would inevitably lead them to fall short in some of the obligations of faith, and that nothing but Allah’s forgiveness could remedy these shortcomings. They therefore asked Him for His forgiveness, which is their ultimate happiness and the culmination of their perfection. For the ultimate goal of every believer is forgiveness from Allah Most High. Thus they said:

“We seek Your forgiveness, our Lord.”

Then they acknowledged that their final destination and return were to their true Master, and that they must inevitably return to Him. They said:

“And to You is the final return.”

These words thus encompass their faith in Him and their submission to Him in obedience and servitude