benefit for them and the manifest victory.

Another instance is His command to keep their hands from fighting before the Messenger emigrated to Madinah, for at that point engaging in combat would have caused greater harm than remaining patient and inclining toward calm, all while continuing to convey the message, establish the proof, and wage the greater jihad through the Quran.

Perhaps the same meaning is implied in His words in Surah al-Aʿla: “So remind, if the reminder will benefit” (al-Aʿla 87:9)—namely, that if it would cause harm, then abandoning a reminder that would bring about considerable harm becomes the necessary course. Verses of this kind are exceedingly numerous.

A third example is His statement in Surah al-Baqarah: “They ask you about wine and gambling. Say: In them there is great sin and [some] benefit for people, but their sin is greater than their benefit” (al-Baqarah 2:219).

This functions as a general rationale: whenever the harm and sin of a thing outweigh its benefit, the mercy and wisdom of Allah inevitably dictate that it be forbidden to His servants.

This great principle is therefore affirmed by revelation, and it is also self-evident to human reason; people are innately disposed to approve of it and to implement it in both religious and worldly matters. Allah knows best.