—and I say that without boasting.

He explained: the words “and I do not boast” mean that I do not vaunt myself by this claim. As for baghy (transgression), it is unjust aggression against another person—whether against his wealth, his body, his family, his standing, or the like. Its forms are many, but they are all summed up in one reality: violating the sanctity of one’s Muslim brother, and this too is forbidden.

The author then cites Allah’s statement, “So do not pronounce yourselves pure; He knows best who is truly God-fearing” (al-Najm 53:32). Here Allah forbids His servants from praising themselves out of pride before others—such as when someone says to his companion, “I am more knowledgeable than you, more obedient than you, wealthier than you,” and similar remarks. This—may Allah protect us—is self-glorification and a kind of boasting.

This does not contradict Allah’s words, “He has succeeded who purifies it” (ash-Shams 91:9), because the self-purification that is forbidden is when a person boasts, exalts himself, and flaunts what Allah has granted him of goodness, worship, and knowledge. In contrast, the verse “He has succeeded who purifies it” is praising the one who actually pursues the path of purification and avoids the path of ruin, as He says immediately after: “and he has failed who corrupts it” (ash-Shams 91:10).

Ambiguous verses of this kind are taken by people of falsehood as a pretext to mislead others. They say, “Look, the Quran sometimes says, ‘So do not pronounce yourselves pure,’ and at other times praises the one who purifies himself.” Yet such people are exactly as Allah describes: those “in whose hearts is deviation”—and we seek refuge in Allah. Allah the Exalted also says, “It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses that are clear and decisive…”