He has bestowed upon them of knowledge of Him; those who race on the noble mounts of deeds toward His good pleasure; the righteous through the kindness with which He has flooded them; the doers of good through the grandeur He has made them witness; those chosen from among creatures through His selection; those made uppermost through raising His word above the word of His enemies; and those brought near, between His names and His prophets.
They reflect upon the obscure wisdom He has hidden within His rulings; they remind those who have forgotten their acknowledgement of His lordship when He took His compact; and they support the people of His religion against those who, seeking to contend with Him, oppose them in it, even though their opposition occurs by His decree.
These are God's servants over whom no one has authority, because they possess the conclusive argument, speaking on His behalf in His speech. He is therefore their tongue, their hearing, their sight, and their hand, in His light and His darknesses.
If we were to investigate exhaustively what God has mentioned in His Book of the attributes of His friends and explain what is particular to them, time would not suffice. Since moderation through brevity is unavoidable, let what we have mentioned suffice: in general and in detail, with fixed limits and without them.
(Knowledge of God and the Relations of the Names)
Know that whoever has caught a scent of knowledge of God does not say, “Why did He do this, and why did He not do that?” How could one who knows God say, “Why did He do this?” when he knows that He is the Cause which required everything that has appeared and will appear, everything He has put first and put last
Notes
Translator’s note TN3433-1: “The noble mounts of deeds” retains the image in nujub al-aʿmāl: excellent deeds are pictured as mounts carrying those who race toward divine good pleasure. The following unvocalized phrase is uncertain: read as al-muqarrabūn, it places “those brought near” between His names and His prophets, as translated here; read actively as al-muqarribūn, it could mean “those who bring His names and His prophets into proximity.” The supplied consonantal wording does not settle the reading.
