embraced Islam (1) after al-Hudaybiyya does not equal half a mudd spent by the early forerunners.

The great, far-reaching benefit achieved by ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz is well known: he restored people’s rights and governed them justly. Yet even if everything he gave them had been his own property, which he then bestowed upon them in charity, it would have equaled only a small portion of what the early forerunners spent (2). But where could anyone obtain gold equal to Mount Uhud to spend, when even that would not equal half a mudd?

Hence, some of the early Muslims would say:

“The dust that entered [into] (3) Muʿāwiyah’s nose while he accompanied the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was better than the [deeds of] (4) ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz.”

This question requires a fuller and more exact treatment, but this is not the place for it. The point here is that good deeds are among the things by which Allah—Glorified is He—erases bad deeds, and that good deeds vary in merit according to the faith and piety in the heart of the one who performs them. It therefore becomes clear that even someone below the rank of the Companions may have good deeds that erase faults comparable to those for which one of them is criticized—[how much more so the Companions?] (5)

[The fourth cause: the believers’ supplication] (6). The Muslims’ funeral prayer for the deceased and their supplication on his behalf are among the causes of forgiveness. The same applies to their supplication and pleas for forgiveness outside the funeral prayer. As for the Companions, the Muslims have never ceased supplicating for them.

[The fifth cause: the Prophet’s supplication and pleas for forgiveness during his lifetime and after his death], such as his intercession on the Day of Resurrection. They are the people most especially favored by his supplication and intercession during his life (7) and after his death.