from false suppositions and corrupt beliefs. Yet even if one of us hesitates over a matter because he does not know its outcome, what Allah has described Himself with is not comparable to what any one of us is described with. For there is nothing like Allah, whether in His essence, His attributes, or His actions. Moreover, that premise is itself false.

One of us sometimes hesitates because he does not know the consequences, and sometimes because of the benefits and harms involved in the two courses of action. He desires an action for its benefit and dislikes it for its harm, not because he is ignorant of it. One and the same thing may be loved in one respect and disliked in another, as the poet said:

Gray hair I dislike, yet I dislike parting with it too;
Marvel at something loved despite being hated!

This is like a sick person wanting his unpleasant medicine. Indeed, all the righteous deeds a servant wishes to perform despite his soul’s aversion to them fall into this category. An authentic hadith states:

“Hellfire is surrounded by desires, and Paradise is surrounded by hardships.”

Allah Most High says:

“Fighting has been prescribed for you, though it is hateful to you.”

And so the verse continues.

This makes clear the meaning of the hesitation mentioned in this hadith, for He said:

“My servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary acts of worship until I love him.”

The servant whose condition is such has become beloved to the True Lord and loves Him in return, drawing near to Him first through the obligatory duties, which He