يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَعْصِمُ وَيُعَافِي فَضْلًا
Allah guides, protects, and grants well-being to whom He wills, out of His favor.
وَيُضِلُّ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَخْذُلُ وَيَبْتَلِي عَدْلًا
Allah allows whom He wills to go astray, withholds support, and tests, in justice.
The apparent difficulty: If guidance is grace and withholding aid is justice, what should a believer seek?
Resolution: Guidance and protection are divine grace; divine judgment remains just. The servant’s response is supplication, obedience, and correction, not definitive pronouncements about others’ final state.
Inference to avoid: This distinction offers neither an escape from repentance nor authority to declare individuals’ final destiny.
Application: In trial, one should ask for well-being and enabling grace while repairing one’s conduct.