—being commanded by Sāriyah ibn Zunaym. The enemy had surrounded them, yet Allah disclosed their plight to ʿUmar as though he were watching it with his own eyes. He therefore called out to the commander: “O Sāriyah, the mountain!”—meaning, take cover by the mountain. Sāriyah heard him, even though he was in Iraq, and he accordingly withdrew to the mountain and was saved.

Such marvels arise from taqwā, for every karāmah granted to the friends of Allah is a reward for their reverence of Him. The essential point is that among the fruits of taqwā is that Allah, exalted be He, sets up for the God-fearing a furqān, a criterion by which they distinguish truth from falsehood, righteousness from wickedness, and many other matters that only the person of taqwā can grasp.

Benefit Two: “and He will expiate your misdeeds.” Sins are expiated by righteous deeds that erase their opposites, as the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “The five daily prayers, the time from one Friday to the next, and from one Ramadan to the next are an expiation for whatever lies between them, provided the major sins are avoided.” He also said: “From one ʿumrah to the next is an expiation for whatever lies between them.” Expiation, then, is achieved through good deeds, which means that when a person fears Allah, He makes those righteous works easy for him, and thereby wipes out his sins.

Benefit Three: His words, “and He will forgive you,” indicate that He will enable you to seek forgiveness and to repent. This, in itself, is a grace from Allah to His servant: that He makes repentance and seeking forgiveness easy for him.