It is also reported from al-Sha‘bī:

“People are among the things that grow from the earth: whoever enters Paradise is noble, and whoever enters the Fire is base.”

The Quran indicates that some people are noble in Allah’s sight and He honors them, while others He humiliates. He, Most High, says:

“Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.”

He, Most High, also says:

“Whomever Allah humiliates, none can honor. Indeed, Allah does whatever He wills.”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal:

“Beware of taking the choicest of their possessions, and beware the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and Allah.”

The choicest possessions are those dear to their owners because they need them and benefit from them, whether livestock or other property.

He, glory be to Him, has declared that He is “the Most Generous,” using the superlative with the definite article. This indicates that He alone is the Most Generous, unlike saying, “Your Lord is more generous,” which would not indicate exclusivity. His saying “the Most Generous” does indicate exclusivity. Nor did He say, “more generous than such-and-such.” Rather, He left the name unrestricted to make clear that He is the Most Generous absolutely, without qualification. This indicates that He possesses the utmost generosity, beyond which there is nothing greater and in which there is no deficiency.

Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: “Then He, Most High, said to him, ‘Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous,’ by way of