Chapter on Ghurra Regarding the Foundation of Taqwa

and he increases if he is able, concerned with taqwa (God-consciousness). So at that point, what was incumbent upon him, he works in hope that God will pardon what has passed of his neglect of the right of God, Mighty and Glorious, and his falling short in his deeds.

Chapter on Delusion from the Mothers of Taqwa

And he perfected the examination of his outward and his inward.

Among them is a group who are people of insight, and observation, and watchfulness over their limbs, and over much of the passing thoughts of their hearts. They seek taqwa and desire it, and they do not consider it proper to begin with anything from deeds other than it.

And supplication to God, Mighty and Glorious, and compassion — it is conveyed to one of them that the punishment is only because of it, and what predominates upon him is that he is deserving of the response without apprehension, and he has no apprehension that he might be among the enemies of God, Mighty and Glorious — whether because of something that preceded from him, or because of some of what arises in his conscience and his limbs, or because of a matter by which his end is sealed, so that he becomes wretched and dies while he is an enemy of God, Mighty and Glorious, in the worst of his states.

I said: How then are they deluded while they hold to taqwa, seeking it and believing in it?

[The answer concerns] the servants' [fulfillment of] the right of God, Mighty and Glorious, in their time.

I said: How then do you dispel their delusion regarding that?

He said: You present their apprehension and their compassion upon the predecessors, then you look at where their apprehension stands in relation to the apprehension of the predecessors, and where their compassion stands in relation to the compassion of the predecessors — for you will find them — along with what they had established of it — that they did not bring even the least of the little of it for God, Mighty and Glorious — had they been beasts, in magnification of the matter and in fear of the Lord, Mighty and Glorious.

And it is with that description that God, Mighty and Glorious, described them, saying: «And those who give what they give while their hearts are trembling».

So let them reflect and consider: what Lord do they worship, and what reward do they seek, and from what punishment [do they flee]?

and what He has enumerated against them of sins, and what lies before them of terrors and the enormity of peril, and that from which they flee — and the precedent decree of God, exalted and glorified, concerning them.

For when they reflect upon that — along with their knowledge of the servants' squandering of the right of God, exalted and glorified, concerning them in their time — they see the worst of the people of their age, and what God, exalted and glorified, has [placed] upon them of acts of obedience and taqwā (God-consciousness) in their time.

As it has been reported from Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, that he said: "A servant does not reach the reality of faith in truth until he looks upon people as though they were camels in the sight of God, exalted and glorified, then he turns back to himself and she is the most contemptible of the contemptible."

And that would be, and the hope [in God], that His majesty [is such that] one cannot fulfill His right, and one cannot know the measure of His greatness, and His blessings cannot be enumerated, and His punishment is a punishment that none can withstand, and His reward is a reward beside which one has no patience — even if one of them were to have the acts of worship of the angels unveiled for him, he would know that they fall short of what is due to God, exalted and glorified. At that point their self-delusion would depart from them, and there would prevail over their hearts — despite their excellence — apprehension and dread, sorrow and caution, and the abandonment of tranquility and repose in anything of their deeds.

They only hope for God, exalted and glorified, and His overlooking [of faults], even if that does not [yet appear], for God, exalted and glorified, has bountifully done that with them, and His favor is upon them in every state, and that there had been from them that by which they had merited punishment.

And since they do not testify to safety for themselves in their deeds — finding no [assurance] due to the frequency of their souls' contention toward what corrupts their works, and not knowing [the extent] of the frequency of their heedlessness — out of fear of God's reckoning, exalted and glorified, against them for what they had been heedless of and had forgotten.

Then there would appear to them what they had not anticipated, just as God, exalted and glorified, has described those who are deluded: deeds they used to regard as good that have turned into evil.

And by that and its like, they negate self-delusion with their deeds.

Chapter on Delusion through the Precedence of Resolve toward Ikhlas (Sincerity) in Deeds, Determination upon Contentment and Tolerance, and Baseness of Character

Among them is the predominant group: they preceded with resolve toward God, glorified is He, in sincerity of deed for Him in all that they do, and determination upon contentment (rida) and tolerance of all things, and abandoning pride, self-admiration, and ill opinion of others, and the like of that, and lying, anger, and venting rage in what is not lawful.

Their souls were not displeased with that resolve and what resembles it, and they counted themselves among the people of these things and among those standing firm for God, Mighty and Exalted, through their resolve upon ikhlas (sincerity). But when deeds were presented, they became heedless and negligent, and their resolves deluded them, so they judged in favor of their own souls regarding that, and they did not examine their souls at that point, nor did they suspect them of squandering it. For they saw that they had been displeased at the resolve upon that, yet they did not fulfill what they had resolved upon, and they were not truthful in most of what they had pledged — out of negligence and forgetfulness.

I said: In what way do they dispel their delusion regarding that?

He said:

By their knowing that resolve upon the deed is not the deed itself, and that resolve upon the deed is of lesser burden upon the soul (nafs) than the deed itself — because resolve involves no toil, no burden upon the soul, and no abandoning of pleasure after having the capacity for it. For the soul may resolve and then squander the deed out of aversion to bearing the burden and toil. It may resolve to abandon pleasure, then indulge in it at the moment of attainment — because the trial at the moment of capacity is more severe upon the soul, since its desire is aroused when it senses its [the pleasure's] affliction and sweetness, and it seizes it.