were to forget himself regardless of whether he remembered Allah or forgot Him, his forgetting himself would not be caused by his forgetting his Lord. Since the verse indicates that a person’s forgetting himself is caused by his forgetting his Lord, it follows that whoever remembers his Lord does not experience this forgetfulness of himself. Remembrance includes recalling what one already knows. Thus, whoever recalls what he knows of his Lord recalls what he knows of himself.

He was born with the innate disposition that entails knowing his Lord, loving Him, and affirming His oneness. If he does not forget his Lord, whom he has known, but instead remembers Him in a manner that entails loving Him, knowing Him, and affirming His oneness, he remembers himself. He then perceives the knowledge of Allah, love for Him, and affirmation of His oneness that were previously within him.

When the adherents of innovation—the Jahmiyyah and others like them—turned away from the prescribed remembrance of Allah, which was present in the innate disposition and brought by the revealed Law, and which includes knowing Him, loving Him, and affirming His oneness, they forgot Allah in this respect. He therefore made them forget themselves in this respect: they forgot the innate knowledge, innate love, and innate affirmation of His oneness that were within them.

A number of Quran commentators have said:

“They forgot Allah” means that they neglected Allah’s command; “so He made them forget themselves” means their own best interests, since they had sent ahead no good for themselves. This is the wording used by a number of them, including al-Baghawī.

The wording used by others, including Ibn al-Jawzī, is:

“When they failed to obey Him.”

Both said that “They forgot Allah” means that they neglected Allah’s command.