Chapter on What Grief Is Sound for the Servant

because God, exalted and glorified, would be his alone, and He would confirm him to them and entrust him to Him alone, exalted and glorified, and guide him to that which isolates him from the harm of people and their burden, so that they do not refrain from His love.

I said: Has not the questioner and the one who responds made evident the encouragement to seek the love of people?

He said:

There is no harm in desiring their love from God, exalted and glorified, after sidq (sincerity) toward God, exalted and glorified, from him, to Him alone, exalted and glorified. Do you not see his saying: "Renounce this world" — and the love of people's praise is among the greatest of desires in this world, and renouncing the love of their praise is among the greatest forms of zuhd (renunciation) in this world?

So it is established for him that he should renounce their praise and other things of this world, so that God, exalted and glorified, becomes the one who causes their hearts to love him. And moreover, it is a disconnected hadith that is not set against the transmitted reports concerning the prohibition of seeking the praise of creation through obedience to God, exalted and glorified.

Chapter on What Is Sound for the Servant Regarding His Distress When Something of His Sins Becomes Apparent to People

I said: Is it sound that when people come to know some of my sins, I become distressed by that? For there is hardly anyone who is free from distress.

He said:

Distress is the action of nature and natural disposition regarding what accords and what opposes, whether in word or deed or other than that. So when distress arises from natural disposition, it is either ikhlas (sincerity) and sidq (truthfulness), or riya' (ostentation) and lying.

And the meaning is: the motive for the distress at that point may be either ikhlas (sincerity) and sidq (truthfulness), or lying and riya' (ostentation).

the testimony.

And the abandonment of righteousness and reverence for obedience.

If he was impatient before that and grew distressed over it, then he has employed his grief for what diminishes him in his religion.

And if his grief was out of fear that his concealment would be exposed in the Resurrection, because of the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:

"God, Exalted and Glorious, does not conceal a servant in this world except that He conceals him in the Hereafter."

Or he grieved over what his natural disposition (ṭabʿ) opposes him with regarding what he has been tested with, out of fear that it would occupy his intellect from God, Exalted and Glorious — then he has been sincere (ikhlaṣ) and truthful (ṣidq).

And if he employed neither of the two matters, and abandoned the grief that is the action of nature and did not employ it — it would not harm him.

And whoever is occupied with grief over God's knowledge, Exalted and Glorious, of that sin rather than grief over people's knowledge of it — that is more fitting and more excellent.

And whoever is occupied with grief over their knowledge rather than grief over God's knowledge, Exalted and Glorious — that one is the loser.

I said: What is the meaning of his concealing himself from having his disobedience appear before the servants, when it is for God, Exalted and Glorious, manifest?

He was asked about a man whose secret state is like his outward state — is that not good enough? He said: Indeed it was. He said: ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, said to a man: "Your secret state should be like your outward state, «rather, even better»" — meaning: through the work of outward deeds.

He said: O Commander of the Faithful, what is the work of the outward?

He said: That which, if someone were to observe you in it, you would feel ashamed of it.

And Abū Imām al-Khawlānī said: I have never done a deed that I would mind people seeing, except my coming to my wife, and urination and defecation.

But the truthful one (ṣādiq), when afflicted with a sin, conceals it out of ḥayāʾ (shame/modesty) — not out of seeking ostentation — and this accords with what has come from God, Mighty and Majestic, that He does not love the public display of sins, and based on what the Muslims have unanimously agreed upon: that whoever displays evil openly is an impudent transgressor, whereas the one who conceals himself with the concealment of God, Mighty and Majestic, is of greater standing before God, Exalted be He.

As for the ostentatious one (murāʾī), he only conceals that so as to be praised for waraʿ (scrupulous piety), while it is not true piety. He deludes himself that it is for the sake of God, Mighty and Majestic, while it is merely an affectation for the sake of people and ostentation — neither scrupulous piety for God, Mighty and Majestic, nor modesty before people.

Chapter on What Is Praiseworthy and What Is Blameworthy Regarding Modesty

I said:

Every claimant claims ḥayāʾ (modesty) — so is there from modesty that which is weakness, and that which is good?

He said:

Modesty is entirely good, as has come from the Prophet, peace be upon him. And the statement of whoever said "there is weakness in it" — it is only reported in some books, and he does not know what that means.

He said: It was narrated that he said: From so-and-so, from so-and-so, and he said: He said: "By God, I will not narrate to you a hadith today!" — for indeed there is weakness in him — "Shall I narrate to you from the Messenger of God while you narrate to me from the pages?" So what was from the Prophet's household, he is more worthy of it.

And he has said:

"Al-ḥayāʾ (modesty) is a branch of faith."

And he, peace be upon him, said:

"Indeed God loves the modest one, the forbearing one."

Al-ḥayāʾ (modesty) is thus: an act from a noble disposition by which He singles out whomever He wills from His creation. It benefits the disobedient and the obedient alike.

As for the one who is cut off [from it], he has lost every lowly character trait. And as for the immoral person (fāsiq), since he combines with his immorality shamelessness and brazenness, his condition is even more severe.

And even if [damaged]...

God, Exalted and Majestic, punishes both the common people and the elect.

Abū Bakr said: regarding —

"When evil appears and people do not change it, God is soon to envelop them all with His punishment."

That is to say: those who enjoin against the wrong do not attempt to change it.

And Umm Salama said: "O Messenger of God, do the righteous die when calamity appears?" He said: "Yes, when evil appears."

And it is like [damaged] other than that." And a span-like measure.

As for haya' (modesty), it is a noble instinct. At that point, the enemy finds an opening to call toward riya' (ostentation). If the servant obeys it, he adopts ostentation and excuses himself with modesty, while being truthful.

He may be assailed first by modesty, then the prompting of the enemy comes with ostentation, and he accepts it. So he becomes ostentatious, when he shifts from sincerity to his ostentation.

And modesty may be stirred while one desires that God, exalted and glorified, adds to that modesty ikhlas (sincerity) for the sake of God, exalted and glorified.

And this almost never occurs — that his action is done out of modesty, or his abandonment of it is without mention of sincerity or ostentation — yet it is good, because of the Prophet's ﷺ saying:

"Modesty is entirely good, and it is a branch of faith."

There is nothing in that which is more fitting for him than having modesty before God, exalted and glorified.

Modesty is due before every lowly character, whether in religion or worldly matters.

An example of that is like this: a man came to two men and asked one of them for a loan or a gift. One of them had no modesty in his heart, so he refused him, since his soul was not generous enough to give.

The other was asked for something his soul was not generous enough to give, but modesty prevented him, out of miserliness, from refusing it. So he refrained from showing refusal and hastened to act. Then Iblis and the soul found an opening for calling , and he said: "Give it to him lest he say, 'Why did he not give me what I asked him for?' Or give it to him so that he praises you for it and esteems you for it."

And this is the easiest of his affairs: he gave in order that He might reward him for it, or

he believed that and gave, having no doubt that he gave out of hayā' (shame/modesty) before himself, so that the stirring of modesty would appear, and he asks another for what his soul would not be generous with, and he is not strong enough to refuse it due to what stirred in his heart of modesty. Then the thought of riyā' (ostentation) occurred, so he negated it and said: No, rather it is for God, Mighty and Glorious. Or he saw that his soul refrains from refusal on account of modesty. He recalled at that moment the reward of God, Mighty and Glorious, and desired it. Were it not for modesty, he would not have given to his companion, nor would he have withheld while intending the giving for God, Mighty and Glorious.

And even if he were sincere in the giving as gratitude to the One who made his natural disposition such that it is stirred by modesty, or to the One who granted him modesty and did not make him like one who feels no shame — without seeking reward — then God, Mighty and Glorious, would deserve that from him. So how much more so when he seeks the reward!

And another who was asked for things, and modesty stirred in him over what he did not possess, so He gave him resolve upon it, and he did not accept a thought of ostentation, nor did he recall a reward. And how little is that — that a servant gives, or acts, or refrains, except out of desire or fear. If he gave on account of that modesty, or withheld from what he ought not to have given along with the modesty, then it is better than a noble character trait, as long as he did not embrace ostentation.

And along with the gathering together of modesty with the will of God, Mighty and Glorious, and His reward, that is most excellent, because modesty is a noble natural disposition that not everyone is given. And modesty is not stripped away except from a wretched heart.

Among that is what is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ that a man from the people of Yemen wanted to drink a beverage in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ, and he covered himself with his garment from the people. A man said: What is this? So the Prophet ﷺ said:

"This is modesty; God grants it to some people and withholds it from others."

So when that natural inclination is stirred, at that point one either holds the conviction of ikhlas (sincerity) or riya' (ostentation), and acts upon whichever one prevails.

Every person given to ostentation is able to excuse himself by means of haya' (modesty).

It has been reported regarding some of the aspirants that he was [merely] one who felt shame, not truly a person of ostentation. He would feel shame at the neglect of the obligatory duty, and he would feel shame regarding permissible things, such as hastening something, because it constitutes a departure into excess levity and much laughter, so he would fall short out of ostentation and out of anxiety over the loss of khushu' (reverent humility) in their presence.

A person may also do something out of shame before creation, while modesty before God, Mighty and Glorious, in that matter is more fitting. This is like any good deed that is superior to another good deed. For example, a man sees something reprehensible from an elderly Muslim man and wishes to forbid him from it, but feels shame because of his grey hair. Modesty before the one with grey hair, and honoring the elder, is something noble among noble character traits and religion. Likewise is what Abu Musa reported regarding honoring the one with grey hair, as he [the Prophet, peace be upon him] said:

"Indeed, part of glorifying God, Mighty and Glorious, is honoring the one with grey hair among the Muslims."

However, modesty before God, Mighty and Glorious, is more fitting — lest the matter be lost in which one should stand for God, Mighty and Glorious.

So understand what I have described to you regarding modesty, for indeed many people err in this matter and lie about modesty, claiming that it is [genuine] modesty.

And everything that a servant feels shame about which does not result in ostentation, there is no harm in it — such as his feeling shame over the dirtiness of his garment and the dirtiness of his skin, and the grime on his garment and on his skin, and whatever resembles that for you — there is no harm in it so long as it does not result in ostentation in religion.