warning, and that He is not unjust to His servants (1), just as He said in the other verse:

“That is among the accounts of the cities which We relate to you. Some of them still stand, while others have been mown down. We did not wrong them; rather, they wronged themselves. When your Lord’s command came, the gods they invoked besides Allah availed them nothing and only increased them in ruin.”

[Surah Hūd: 100–101]

He—Glorious is He—declared Himself exalted above wronging them and made clear that it was they who wronged themselves through their polytheism. Thus, punishing someone who has not wronged himself would be an injustice from which Allah is exalted.

He also said in the other verse:

“Indeed, the evildoers will abide forever in the punishment of Hell. It will not be lightened for them, and there they will be in despair. We did not wrong them; rather, it was they who were the wrongdoers.”

[Surah al-Zukhruf: 74–76]

As for this injustice from which He declared Himself exalted: if it is something impossible—something that cannot be done—what benefit is there in saying this? Does anyone fear that such a thing will be done to him? And how does this exalt Him above imperfection?

If it is said:

“He only does what He has the power to do,”

it is replied:

This is known to everyone, and no one does anything except what lies within his power. What praise, then, is there in this that distinguishes the Lord—Glorious is He—from all created beings? (2)

(* It is therefore known that among possible acts are some that constitute injustice, from which Allah—Glorious is He—is exalted despite having the power to perform them. It is on this account that He is praised and extolled, for praise and extolment pertain to voluntary matters, whether acts or omissions, as is the case with most expressions of praise in the Quran, whereas gratitude is more specific