The former is illustrated by what Muslim narrated in his Sahīh from Abū Hurayrah, from the Prophet, may Allah Most High bless him and grant him peace, who said:

“Allah says, ‘My servant, I fell ill, yet you did not visit Me.’ He replies, ‘How could I visit You when You are the Lord of all worlds?’ He says, ‘Did you not know that My servant so-and-so fell ill? Had you visited him, you would have found Me with him. My servant, I was hungry, yet you did not feed Me.’ He replies, ‘My Lord, how could I feed You when You are the Lord of all worlds?’ He says, ‘Did you not know that My servant so-and-so was hungry? Had you fed him, you would have found that with Me.’”

Thus, He explained that His words in this hadith referred to the hunger of His servant, whom He loves, by saying, “You would have found that with Me.” He did not say, “You would have found that I had eaten it.” Likewise, He said, “You would have found Me with him,” not, “You would have found Me to be him.” This is because the lover and the beloved are in accord: one is pleased with what pleases the other, commands what the other commands, hates what the other hates, dislikes what the other dislikes, and forbids what the other forbids. These are the ones for whose pleasure Allah is pleased, and for whose anger He is angry. The one who is perfect in every respect among them is Muhammad, may Allah Most High bless him and grant him peace.

For this reason, Allah Most High said concerning him:

“Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you are actually pledging allegiance to Allah.”

And He said:

“But Allah and His Messenger are more worthy for them to please Him.”

And He said:

“Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah.”

“In the Gospel in the Christians’ possession, there are statements open to interpretation. If it is true that Christ said them, this is their meaning—as in his saying, ‘I and my Father are one. Whoever has seen me has seen my Father’”—and similar statements