independent judgment; however, they are not left uncorrected. If this applies to commands and prohibitions, then what of statements of fact?

In the two Sahīhs, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is reported to have said:

“You bring your disputes before me, and some of you may be more eloquent in presenting their case than others. I judge only according to what I hear, taking the speaker to be truthful. If I award anyone something that rightfully belongs to his brother, he must not take it, for I am only allotting him a piece of the Fire.”

What Allah truly promises the prophets and believers is itself something they do not doubt, as He, Most High, says in the account of Noah:

“And Noah called upon his Lord,”

to the end of the verse.

Such an assumption may arise from Satan’s insinuation mentioned in His words:

“We never sent before you any messenger or prophet,”

through to His words:

“a straight path.”

We have discussed this passage elsewhere. There are two well-known views concerning it, following agreement that tamannī here means recitation and reading, as held by the Quranic commentators among the early generations. This is likewise its meaning in His words:

“And among them are unlettered people who know the Scripture only through recitation, and they do nothing but conjecture.”

As for those who interpret the prohibition as referring to wishing in the heart, that calls for a separate discussion, even if it is said that the verse encompasses both senses. The first, however, is the familiar and well-known interpretation in Quranic exegesis. It is the apparent meaning of the Quran and is certainly intended by the verse, because He says thereafter:

“But Allah abolishes what Satan casts in; then Allah makes His verses firm. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise,”

“so that He may make what Satan casts in a trial for those in whose hearts is disease.”

None of this can take place merely within the heart if