Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—also said:

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Concerning the words of the Most High:

“And do not argue on behalf of those who betray themselves. Indeed, Allah does not love anyone who is treacherous and sinful.”

His words, “betray themselves,” resemble His words in Sūrat al-Baqarah:

“Allah knew that you were betraying yourselves.”

Ibn Qutaybah and a group of Quran commentators said that this means, “You betray yourselves.” Some added, “You wrong yourselves.” They thus understood “yourselves” as the object of “betray,” and held that a person betrays himself—that is, wrongs himself—by stealing, as Ibn Ubayriq did, or by having intercourse with his wife on a night of fasting, as some of the Companions did.

This view, however, is open to question. Every sin a person commits involves wronging himself, whether he commits it secretly or openly. If betraying oneself means wronging oneself or committing what one has been forbidden to do, then every sinner would be betraying himself, even if he sinned openly; and the disbelief of the disbelievers would be