Chapter on Knowing the Distinction Between Two Virtuous Acts

So let him begin with visiting and paying a sick-call if the two coincide at one time — is it for the sake of religion and well-being? If it is so, then the time for one of them has come, so let him begin with the sick-call and the visit in which there is benefit and well-being, or in which there is greater merit for the one being visited. Likewise, he gives precedence to the visit over the sick-call of one who is more entitled to it. That is because he fears missing him.

So the sick-call takes greater priority for him.

Chapter on Knowing How to Distinguish Between Two Virtuous Acts and How the nafs (self) Calls One to That

A person may enter into an act of righteousness that possesses great merit, and his self calls him and invites him to a virtue that is lesser than it. For example, the one praying — his self calls him and invites him to hasten the recitation for the merit of reading more, diverting him from comprehension, due to the heaviness of comprehension upon the self and what enters it when comprehending — the remembrance of promise, threat, and grief — and because of its comfort in thinking about worldly matters and the self's inner talk about its affairs. Yet comprehension is more worthy for him, because of the tenderness of his qalb (heart) and the stirring of his khawf (fear).

Likewise, a person may be praying while strong and energetic, and his self calls him to sleep, saying to him: "You will be stronger for prayer afterward." So he breaks off the prayer, though he has no weakness — he does not recognize any decisive weakness in himself. If he does recognize a decisive weakness, then let him consider at that time: if that weakness would cut him off from something greater in merit than the prayer, then let him pray to the extent that such weakness would not weaken him during the day. But if it would only cut him off from something lesser than the prayer, then he should continue the prayer and not interrupt it.

Likewise with a gathering — there may be in it what benefits him, what he gains from it. Then the self reminds him of a righteous act that is less important than it, so he gets up and interrupts what he is engaged in.

Likewise, a person may be fasting, and he breaks his fast for the joy of a brother — perhaps he would not be aggrieved if he did not break his fast and did not trouble himself with food for his sake. If the preparation of food was done as an obligation for the brother's sake, or if it is known that the brother would be pleased —

unless the breaking of the fast is only because of the brethren, and if it were otherwise — from among the brethren, that would not merit brotherhood — then he should keep it secret and break his fast. Or if he were burdened with that solely on their account, then at that point he should break his fast, in accordance with the hadith. The matter is that it is befitting for him to fulfill the oath.

Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib said: "The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, commanded us to fulfill the oath."

Likewise, one should not abandon a deed — whether fasting, prayer, or other things — cutting it off after having entered into it, out of fear of what may be called riya' (ostentation) and seeking to be seen. For that is an error. Rather, the mujahada (spiritual struggle) incumbent upon him is through refusal and aversion [to such whisperings]. Were he to obey his nafs (soul) in that, no great amount of work would remain for him without ostentation and the like presenting itself to him therein, yet he was not commanded to instruct people regarding that. Or he might cut off the deed in public in order to perform it in secret, yet he has already experienced the deception of the soul: when he resorts to secrecy, he abandons the deed and grows lazy about it. So if God, Exalted and Glorified, has granted him the strength for that, let him perform it in secret, for that is more safeguarding and more meritorious.

Knowledge of abandoning deeds due to spiritual blight, and how it cuts one off and deceives one

One may cut off a deed out of fear of saying "he is showing off" — like a man who prays in the mosque alone while people are seated, or he begins the remembrance of God, Exalted and Glorified, while they are engaged in idle talk, or he remains silent while they are heedless, or food is presented to him while he is fasting and they are not fasting, or he stays the night with a group while God has accustomed him to standing in night prayer — and so he abandons all of that out of fear that they will say: "He is showing off." That is an error. He has abandoned great merit, and his resolve in the abandonment contains more ostentation than [the deed itself], because he loves that their praise of him endure and that they look upon him with the eye of ikhlas (sincerity), not with [the eye of] ostentation. And he has also harbored ill opinion of them.

What Occurs to the Servant in His Prayer from Self-Talk and Other Things

and he has indeed harbored ill opinion." "So that you may rest."

One may be performing the obligatory prayer behind the imam, or praying alone, and the imam recites while one is reflecting upon something other than what the imam is reciting concerning matters of the Hereafter. He has thus neglected what is more fitting for him. It is better for him to comprehend what his imam is reciting, or to recite what he himself recites alone. ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Qays, may God have mercy on him, counted it among the waswās (whisperings) when one reflects during the prayer on matters of the Hereafter that are unrelated to what one is engaged in of the prayer.

One may abandon a deed while he is energetic and perceives in himself neither languor nor weakness, yet his nafs (soul) calls him to abandonment and says: "Persisting in a little is better." This is a deception from the nafs and an inclination toward comfort. Let him seize whatever opportunity for righteousness presents itself to him, as the hadith has come:

When God opens for you a door of goodness, seize it, for you do not know when it will be closed upon you.

Unless, however, he finds weakness in himself—if his abandonment is out of dislike of slackening and hope of perseverance, then at that point it is better. Likewise the hadith has come regarding this from the Prophet, may God bless him:

"The most beloved of deeds to God, Exalted and Glorified, are those which their doer persists in, even if they are few."

And David, upon him be peace, said:

The Chapters on the Foundations of Constant Devotion

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

«Indeed, God does not grow weary until you grow weary.»

That is: moderation and constancy.

And Sufyan said: The worst kind of journeying is al-Hajqaqa [TN: forced, strenuous exertion]. (And he said:)

Do not make your soul despise the worship of God, Mighty and Majestic. (And there may present themselves to it matters in which error enters regarding the Master's preference, like the things we have mentioned before this chapter.)

And (a man) may be such that surplus matters of righteousness present themselves to him, as with a man who is engaged in dhikr (remembrance) of God, Mighty and Majestic, with his tongue through recitation of the Quran or glorification (tasbīḥ), and then his nafs (soul) calls him to idle speech and to seeking relief from it by conversing with people and delving into what does not concern him, so he abandons the remembrance and plunges into superfluous matters. And likewise with a man sitting in the mosque, or in the remembrance of God, Mighty and Majestic, with others, and there presents itself to him the looking at what he desires of permissible things or listening, so he cuts off what he was engaged in and looks and listens, or he rises to [damaged] a thing he wishes to see, and in this situation he has preferred his caprice over obedience to God, Mighty and Majestic, out of error on his part.

And he may be in the prayer (salāh), and he remembers a companion whose conversation he finds restful, and he hopes for no benefit from him except that he will not plunge with him into what is forbidden, so he cuts short the prayer, and it leads him to a deception from the soul—

and in awe of action.

The servant may be engaged in a deed from among the deeds of righteousness, or he may have intended to enter into it, and then his nafs (soul) calls him to cut that off due to a desire for a sin that has presented itself. For example, a man may be engaged in dhikr (remembrance) with his tongue, or he may be silent with a resolve by which he intends safety, and then the mention of ghība (backbiting) presents itself regarding someone with whom he is angry. Or he admires himself for it, or someone else admires him for it, and so he exits from obedience into disobedience. Likewise, there presents itself to him mockery of others, conversation involving lying, or jesting.

Likewise, he may be in the midst of dhikr (remembrance) or ṣalāh (prayer), and he listens to what is not lawful for him, or looks at what is not lawful, and so he cuts off what he was engaged in and passes into disobedience, or he falls short in what he was engaged in and mixes obedience with disobedience. Likewise, he may be reflecting upon the Hereafter, and there presents itself to him a temptation toward a sin, or a wish for it, or a thought about it, and so he reflects or indulges in wishful thinking, or occupies his qalb (heart) with the intention regarding it, and he abandons what he had been engaged in of remembrance of the Hereafter. Likewise, he may be in the obligatory act, and he exits from it into disobedience or something permissible, and so he disobeys by committing the sin.

This is the worst of the states of the servant. The servant who desires to struggle against his nafs (soul), the one devoted to the Book of his Lord — exalted and glorified — and the sunna (practice) of His Prophet, let his endeavor be the taking of his soul to account — muḥāsaba (self-reckoning) — to distinguish among his passing thoughts whether they are for the sake of God — exalted and glorified — or whether they anger Him — exalted and glorified.

Chapter on Two Matters from the Commands of God Most High That Present Themselves, Which One Should Be Commenced First

I said: Explain to me the reasons underlying all of that in a concise statement so that I may understand it.

He said: When two commands from the commands of God — exalted and glorified — present themselves to you, one of which you carry out or come to only after you have fulfilled it as the love of God — exalted and glorified — has made obligatory, then when two obligatory matters present themselves to you, you must always begin with the most obligatory of them. And if two obligatory matters present themselves to him, one of which has a time that will pass, and the other's time has not yet arrived, then [he begins with the one whose time will pass].

So he gives precedence to what God has given precedence, and he defers what God — exalted and glorified — has deferred, and he fulfills what is due in its time, even if he is engaged in a voluntary act. If an obligation (fard) is presented to him that takes precedence over what is below it [in rank], he proceeds to it, and he would be sinful by abandoning what is below it of obligation that God — exalted and glorified — has made incumbent. And if an obligation is presented to him that takes precedence over what he is currently engaged in of voluntary worship, he does not linger in what he entered into, for he would be sinful before God. Then I have written this out for you chapter by chapter.

Likewise, he does not abandon the obligation for the sake of the supererogatory (nafila). And likewise, in supererogatory works he performs what is most meritorious according to what I have written for you.

I said: If two matters are presented, both obligatory, or both meritorious, and it is not clear which is more obligatory or more meritorious?

He said: Let him look at which is lighter upon his heart (qalb). If it is lighter from the perspective of caprice (hawa), then he undertakes the one that is heavier, because it is not safe for the believer to perform that which he fears is [motivated by] the caprice of his soul (nafs) rather than [obedience to] his Lord — exalted and glorified. And if the heart is lighter toward it because it is safer for him, or because it involves more work — and that is rarely found except in the hearts of the strong and truthful ones — then that which is lighter is [preferable in] truth, because worshipping God — exalted and glorified — with eagerness for obedience is superior to worshipping Him with reluctance and struggle. And it is also not safe for him [to be distracted by] wealth and preoccupation from God — exalted and glorified — therein. And also: if it involves less safety and less [spiritual benefit], his heart will not be secure therein, and without security therein, it will not increase in his heart as it would increase in that toward which the heart is energized and for which it is free.

And if it is not clear to him whether he fears [caprice] in it or heaviness, then it is preferable that he undertakes that which is heavier, because it has not become clear to him that the lightness was from the strength of his heart and his seeking of safety and increase in works. So he is closer to caprice than to reverential fear (khashya), because of what the workers [of deeds] have experienced of themselves and what they have been disposed toward — the lightness of what accords with their desires of worldly things, and the heaviness of what their caprices recoil from of the works of the Hereafter.

This is solely because of the saying of God — exalted and glorified — in a verse in which God placed much good: «And it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you» [2:216] — to the end of the verse.

So our hope is in the good that lies in the disliked, and our fear is in the evil that lies in the beloved. Had He — exalted is His praise — willed, He would have said: "It may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you." But He alerted us to that which overwhelms us and upon which our constitution is built and to which we are naturally disposed, for He knows us better [than we know ourselves].

For this reason, we have chosen for the one who acts to be on guard and fearful concerning that which he fears, on account of what our Lord — exalted and most high — has chosen for us. For if the two matters were equal in his sight — that is, equal in lightness — or the lighter of them, such that he could know which is lighter, he cannot be certain that in one of them there is not an obscure, hidden passion; for he cannot know which is weightier until he undertakes it, or comes to know it after carrying it out and finishing with it.

So let him at that point expose his soul to death — meaning, let him love that death come upon him while he is engaged in it. For the believing soul (nafs), even if it was heedless and disobedient, does not desire the meeting of God — exalted and glorified — nor does it wish for anything except the pure good by which it hopes to be saved from the punishment of God — exalted and glorified — and by which it enters His Paradise. For it has no passion at the point of death in this world except what pertains to this world, so long as it remains alive.

If one finds a soul that is alarmed that death should come upon it while it is engaged in one of them, yet is not alarmed that the Hereafter should come upon it, then let him examine: why was it alarmed? For it will scarcely be hidden from him at that point, when he reflects upon it and says: "Why do you fear death coming upon you while engaged in this, and why are you alarmed?" For it will answer — and it will, God willing, revert to him — saying: "Because of such-and-such and such-and-such." Then let him come at that point to that which he does not dislike death on account of.

Do you not hear His saying — exalted and glorified: the Jews said, "We are the beloved of God." So God — exalted and glorified — said — meaning, whoever among you was upon the command of God — exalted and glorified: «Then wish for death, if you are truthful» [2:94] — that is, he who trusts in it does not care that death come upon him while he is engaged in it. So God — exalted and glorified — said: if you were truly My friends, then wish for death if you are truthful. Then He — exalted is His praise — said: «But they will never wish for it because of what their hands have sent ahead» [2:95] — meaning, they knew what they possessed of that which does not please God — exalted and glorified — and what they had previously committed of sins without repenting from it, so they remain upon it still.

It is with such precise details that one may respond to the accusations directed against the works of Imam al-Muhasibi by the likes of Abu Zur'a and others, and their claim that the Muslims have no need of them, sufficing with the Book and the Sunna. For in the Book and the Sunna are the foundations of these matters, yet their details have been left to the community, which is commanded to call to the good, to enjoin the right, and to forbid the wrong.

And he said: As for the saying of Ibn Jurayj regarding the statement of God Most High: They knew that Muhammad is true, yet they concealed it and lied, as has been previously established.

He said: And because He recited upon them: «and you shall be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed» [9:94].

And he attributed it to the Prophet ﷺ:

God, Mighty and Majestic, humbles the son of Adam through death.

So the believer is more deserving that he not be engaged in something that God, Mighty and Majestic, detests when death comes upon him.

Some of the scholars said: Examine every matter that you would hate for death to come upon you while doing it, and abandon it. If a soul is distressed, let it consider over what the souls are distressed — for they do not become distressed except over a tribulation that conceals a desire behind it, and that hardly ever occurs. And if one does not care about the state in which death comes to him, let him begin with whatever he wills, for he has already weighed the deed before it is weighed, and presented it before it is presented, and examined himself before he is examined.

And death will proceed upon every one of God's creation, revealing to them from among their concerns and their whims in their deeds what He has shown them, and making clear their preparedness for it — everything hidden from them of the intention of their limbs — because they are not preparing; he does not deal with people except through what is concealed in the breasts, in which there is no deception and no confusion.

I said: Explain to me the first statement in its entirety, for it is more incumbent and more excellent after your explanation of this, so that I may memorize it concisely along with what you have made clear to me.

He said: When two obligatory matters present themselves to the servant at one time, he begins with the more obligatory before the other. If two obligations present themselves to him, one of which has a time that will lapse, and the other is below it in obligation and its time will not lapse, he begins with that whose time will lapse before the other.

If he is engaged in an obligatory act and a lesser obligatory act presents itself, he does not leave the former for what is below it until he completes it.