like those who disbelieved and said of their brothers who travelled through the land or went out to battle, ‘Had they stayed with us, they would not have died or been killed,’ so that Allah may make this a source of regret in their hearts.” This is what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade when he said:

“If something befalls you, do not say, ‘If only I had done such and such, this and that would have happened.’ Rather, say, ‘Allah decreed it, and He does whatever He wills,’ for ‘if’ opens the way for Satan’s work.”

That is, it opens the way for grief and distress, which harm you and bring no benefit. Rather, know that whatever befell you could never have missed you, and whatever missed you could never have befallen you. As Allah Most High says:

“No calamity befalls except by Allah’s permission. And whoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart.”

They explained: this is the man who suffers a calamity and knows that it is from Allah, so he is content and submits.

(The second use of “if” is to convey beneficial knowledge, as in the words of Allah Most High:

“Had there been gods besides Allah in the heavens and the earth, both would have fallen into ruin.”

It may also express love of good and the desire to do it, as in the saying, “If I had wealth like so-and-so, I would do as he does.” This and similar expressions are permissible. The Prophet’s saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,

“I wish Moses had been patient, so that Allah might have told us more of their story,”

belongs to this category, as does His saying:

“They wish you would compromise, so that they too would compromise.”

Our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wished that Allah would recount their story. He therefore mentioned them both to express his love for the patience on which that depended, thereby making known what would have happened, because of the benefit in that. This involved neither distress nor grief, nor any abandonment of what