—and no one will so much as listen to him, for his tyranny, arrogance, and aggression have made him an outcast. On the Day of Resurrection the wrongdoer will find not a single helper. Allah the Exalted says, “The wrongdoers will have no supporters” (2:270), meaning that on that Day they will have no allies to defend them or to rescue them from Allah’s punishment.

The compiler—may Allah have mercy on him—next cited the ḥadith of Jābir ibn ʿAbd-Allāh (may Allah be pleased with him), in which the Prophet ﷺ said: “Beware of wrongdoing.” The verb “beware” here means “keep away from” or “avoid.” As explained earlier, wrongdoing may relate to Allah’s right or to the rights of His servants. Thus the Prophet’s words, “Beware of wrongdoing,” instruct us not to wrong anyone—neither ourselves nor others—and not to be deluded into thinking we can escape the consequences. “For wrongdoing will be layers of darkness on the Day of Resurrection.” On that Day there is no light except the light Allah grants; whoever is denied that light will be left without it. A Muslim will have light in proportion to his faith, but if he has been a wrongdoer his light will be diminished to the extent of his injustice, in keeping with the Prophet’s warning: “Beware of wrongdoing, for wrongdoing will be layers of darkness on the Day of Resurrection.”

Among the forms of wrongdoing is for a wealthy person to delay paying what he owes. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Delaying payment by one who is able to pay is wrongdoing.” How many people procrastinate when it comes to others’ rights! The creditor approaches and says, “Give me my due,” and the debtor replies, “Come tomorrow.” The next day he says, “Come the day after,” and so on. Such wrongdoing will turn into layers of darkness for its perpetrator on the Day of Resurrection.