Continuation of the exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And [he said], ‘O my people, why should I call you to salvation while you call me to the Fire?’”

The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: We have previously discussed this phrase and explained that the interrogative in it is for expression of wonder and denial.

And His saying: means salvation from the Fire. He did not say “to Paradise,” even though He said: because they are the ones calling him to destruction, calling him to the Fire. So he contrasted his call with their call, as if he is saying: I call you to salvation from the Fire, and you call me to the Fire. Calling to the Fire does not mean that a person says, “Come to the Fire, O people,” but rather it is calling to the deeds of the people of the Fire. Know that the Fire is surrounded by desires, and Paradise is surrounded by what is disliked. The deeds of the people of the Fire are based on desires or on doubts. That is, either ignorance and misguidance, like the deeds of the Christians, or desires, like the deeds of the Jews. The deeds of the people of the Fire revolve around these two: doubts and desires. The cure for doubts is knowledge, and the cure for desires is resolve and complete will for what Allah loves and is pleased with .