And for this reason, the disagreements, fighting, and sins that have occurred within this community are not evidence of its inferiority. Rather, it is the best of communities. What has occurred among its members is inherent in human nature, and occurs more frequently and more severely in other communities. Other communities have less goodness; this community has more goodness and less evil. Thus, every good found in another community is greater in this one, and every evil found in this community is greater in others.

As for individual members of this community receiving what was sought in the supplication, it does not follow that every sinner must receive it, since he has not fulfilled his obligations. Nevertheless, a sinner may receive some of it in proportion to his obedience to Allah Most High. That forgiveness, pardon, and mercy are granted in proportion to faith and obedience is clear, since these are matters of divine decree governing creation, belonging to the same category as the promise of reward and the threat of punishment. They vary according to faith and righteous deeds. However, exemption from accountability for mistakes and forgetfulness, and the lifting of burdens, may present a difficulty, since these concern the rulings of religious law—the rulings of command and prohibition.

It may therefore be said:

The exemption granted to the community for mistakes and forgetfulness extends to its sinful members, for a sinner incurs no sin through mistakes or forgetfulness. If he eats forgetfully, he continues his fast, whether he is otherwise obedient or sinful. This is precisely where the difficulty lies, and there are two answers to it. (The first is that sins and acts of disobedience may cause a lack of knowledge of the upright monotheistic faith