You are my slave and I am Your Lord!”—a slip of the tongue caused by sheer ecstasy. He meant to say, “O Allah, You are my Lord and I am Your slave,” but his overwhelming joy confused him, for when delight becomes intense a person no longer knows what he is saying—just as extreme anger can cloud one’s words. Allah’s joy at the repentance of His believing servant is far greater than this man’s joy at finding his camel. We ask Allah to grant us and you sincere repentance and to bless us with continually turning back to Him.

As for His, exalted be His remembrance, statement: “O My servants, you will never be able to benefit Me so as to benefit Me, nor will you ever be able to harm Me so as to harm Me,” it means that He, glorified and exalted, is independent of His servants; their obedience does not profit Him, nor does their sin harm Him. He, mighty and majestic, says in His Book: “I did not create jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I do not desire any provision from them, nor do I want them to feed Me. Indeed, Allah is the Provider, the Possessor of power, the Strong” (Al-Dhariyat 51:56, 58).

Thus Allah gains no advantage from anyone, nor is He disadvantaged by anyone, for He is utterly free of need. He created creation for a wisdom He willed: that they worship Him. Thereafter He promised the obedient reward and threatened the disobedient with punishment—again out of wisdom—for He created Paradise and Hell and said to each of them that they would be filled. Hell must therefore be filled, and Paradise must also be filled, as He, exalted, says: “For that He created them, and the word of your Lord will surely be fulfilled: ‘I will indeed fill Hell with jinn and humans all together’” (Hud 11:119). Consequently, Allah is not increased by the obedience of the obedient, nor diminished by the disobedience of the disobedient; no one, whatever his might, can inflict the slightest harm upon Him.