and He leads astray and distances whomever among them He wills, places a veil over his heart, and leaves him heedless in his stupor and distracted in his misguidance. He removes faith from his breast, wrests Islam from him, causes him to wander through the valleys of bewilderment, and seals his hearing and sight, so that the decree concerning him may reach its appointed term and the Word against him may be fulfilled, in accordance with His prior knowledge of him before He created and brought him into being. Thus His servants may know that repelling and withholding belong to Him alone, and that harm and benefit are in His hand, without any purpose in this for Him or any need of it on His part. He is not questioned about what He does, whereas they will be questioned, since He has disclosed His unseen to no one and has never granted His creation a way to attain knowledge of it. The righteous person did not deserve recompense from Him on account of some means that had preceded from him to Him, nor did the disbeliever have any sin or crime when He decreed and ordained the Fire for him. Whomever He wills to place in one of the two abodes, He inspires him toward it, directs his paths of arrival and departure toward it, and directs his movements, actions, toil, striving, and exertion to it, so that His inevitable promise, His sealed decree, and His concealed unseen may be fulfilled:

“Those who believe are fearful of it and know that it is the truth,” from their Lord. [Surah al-Shura: 18]

“As for those who disbelieve, their allies are false deities, who bring them out of the light into darkness.” [Surah al-Baqarah: 257]

And we bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah alone, who has no partner; who gives life and causes death, brings forth and provides sustenance, originates and restores—a testimony from one who acknowledges his servitude to Him, submits to His divinity, and renounces all power and strength except through Him,