thing from him. Doing good here means carrying out what is commanded, whether the good is done to others or to oneself. The greatest forms of goodness are faith, affirming Allah’s oneness, turning back to Allah Most High, devoting oneself to Him, relying upon Him, and worshipping Him as though one sees Him—with reverence, awe, modesty, love, and fear. This is the station of “excellence,” as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said when Gabriel, peace be upon him, asked him about excellence:

“To worship Allah as though you see Him.”

Since this is excellence, His mercy is near to the person who embodies it. “Is the reward for good anything but good?” This means: is the reward for someone who worships his Lord well anything but that his Lord should bestow goodness upon him? Ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: “Is the reward for someone who says, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,’ and acts upon what Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, brought anything but Paradise?”

Ibn Abī Shaybah and others related a hadith through al-Zubayr ibn ‘Adī, from Anas ibn Mālik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited, ‘Is the reward for good anything but good?’ Then he said, ‘Do you know what your Lord has said?’

“They replied, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’

“He said, ‘Is the reward for someone upon whom I have bestowed the blessing of affirming My oneness anything but Paradise?’”

Here ends the discussion of the two verses. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah bless Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, and grant them peace.