📘 For Muslim men and women�He said:Faith (īmān) is superior to surrender (islām), but mindfulness of God (taqwā) within faith is superior to faith. Certainty (yaqīn) within mindfulness of God is superior to mindfulness of God, but veracity (ṣidq) within certainty is superior to certainty. Truly, you have taken a firm hold on the lowest (adnā) [of these], so you must not by any means let that escape from you.He also said:Faith in God is established (thābit) in the heart, and certainty is firmly rooted (rāsikh) [in it] through veracity (ṣidq). Veracity of the eye is refraining from looking at all that is forbidden. Veracity of the tongue is relinquishing engagement in that which is meaningless. Veracity of the hand is not extending it to seize what is forbidden. Veracity of the feet is refraining fromwalking in quest of indecent acts. The truth of veracity (ḥaqīqat al-ṣidq) in ⸢the heart⸣ is that it constantly reflects on the past and refrains from regarding what is to come. Verily, God, Exalted is He, has granted the veracious (ṣiddīqūn) so much knowledge that if they spoke of it, the ocean would dry up with their speech. They are hidden and do not appear in public before people, except when it is [absolutely] necessary for them, and until a virtuous [servant] (ṣāliḥ) appears, at which point they make themselves known, and teach the learned (ʿulamāʾ) from their different branches of knowledge.His words, Exalted is He:�and the men who remember God often and the women who remember God often�The one who observes true remembrance (al-dhākir ʿalā�l-ḥaqīqa) is he who is aware that God witnesses him. He perceives Him with his heart as being close to him, and therefore feels shame before Him. Then he gives Him priority over himself and over everything else in every situation.On another occasion Sahl was asked, �What is remembrance (dhikr)?� He said, �Obedience (ṭāʿa).� Then someone asked, �What is obedience?� He replied, �Sincerity (ikhlāṣ).� Then he was asked, �What is sincerity?� and he answered, �Witnessing (mushāhada).� Someone then asked, �What is witnessing?�He replied, �Servanthood (ʿubūdiyya).� Then they asked: �What is servanthood?� He answered, �Contentment (riḍā).� Then they asked, �What is contentment?� He replied, �Neediness (iftiqār).� He was asked: �What is neediness?� and he said, �It is humble entreaty (taḍarruʿ) and seeking refuge [in Him] (iltijāʾ). Submit! Submit, until death!�Ibn Sālim said:Remembrance is of three kinds: remembrance of the tongue, and that is a good deed (ḥasana) which is rewarded tenfold; remembrance of the heart, and that is a good deed which is rewarded seven-hundred fold; and a form of remembrance whose reward is beyond being weighed, and that is being filled with love [of God] (maḥabba).His words:

📘 �and God�s commandment is an inexorable destiny,That is, it is known before it befalls you. Is anyone able to avoid what is determined [for him]? ʿUmar said after he was stabbed, ��And God�s commandment is an inexorable destiny. Indeed, the Messenger of God informed me that they would do this to me.� It was related from al-Ḍaḥḥāk that two angels descend from heaven, one of them carrying a scroll with writing on it and the other one carrying a scroll without any writing on it. [The latter] records the servant�s actions and what he leaves behind. When he [the latter] intends to ascend again, he says to his companion [carrying the scroll with writing on it], �Show me [what is in your scroll]� and he shows him, [and he sees] that there are no mistakes, not even as to a letter. His words:

📘 God has not placed two hearts inside any man�He said:The one who has directed himself to God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and is intent upon (qaṣdan) [Him], [does not] avert his gaze (iltifāt) [from Him]. For whoever pays attention to anything other than God is not truly intent upon his Lord. Indeed God, Exalted is He, says, God has not placed two hearts inside any man�It has been said:[That is, he does not have] one heart (qalb) with which he approaches God, and another heart with which he manages the affairs of this world. [On the other hand], the intellect (ʿaql) does have two natures (ṭabʿān): a nature which is orientated towards this world, and a nature which is orientated towards the Hereafter. The nature which is orientated to the Hereafter is in coalition (mūʾtalif) with the spiritual self (nafs al-rūḥ), whereas [the intellect�s] worldly-orientated nature is in coalition with the lustful self (nafs shahwāniyya). It was due to this that the Prophet [prayed], �Do not leave me to my self for the blinking of an eye.� For truly the servant, ⸢as long as he is occupied with God, will be veiled from himself, and⸣ as long as he is occupied with himself will be veiled from God, Mighty and Majestic is He.His words, Exalted is He:

📘 The Prophet is closer to the believers than their [own] souls� He said:Whoever does not see himself [or his soul] as belonging to the Messenger and does not see the patronage (wilāya) of the Messenger in every situation, has in no way tasted the sweetnessof his Sunna. This is because the Prophet is the closest to the believers, and the Prophet says, �None of you believes until I am dearer to him than his soul, his wealth, his children and everyone else.� His words, Exalted is He:

📘 He will rectify your deeds for you and forgive you your sins�He said:When God gives someone success in enabling him to perform good deeds, this is a sign that he is forgiven, for God, Exalted is He, has said: He will rectify your deeds for you and forgive you your sins. But God, Transcendent and Exalted is He, knows best.His words, Exalted is He:

📘 so that He may question the truthful (ṣādiqīn) about their veracity. And he has prepared for those who disbelieve a painful chastisement. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Zayd said:Veracity (ṣidq) is being faithful (wafāʾ) to God in your act[s].Sahl was asked about veracity and said:Veracity is fear concerning [our] end (khātima), and patience (ṣabr) is the proof [lit. witness (shāhid)] of veracity. Truly, veracity is hard for the veracious (ṣiddīqūn), sincerity (ikhlāṣ) is hard for the sincere (mukhliṣūn), and repentance (tawba) is hard for the repentant (tāʾibūn), for these three require [extraordinary] exertion of the spirit (badhl al-rūḥ). Aḥmad b. Mattā was asked about its meaning [ṣidq] and said:It is that there no longer remains a share for a person�s lower self.Sahl said:No one will get a whiff of the fragrance of veracity as long as he panders to his lower self or to others. Rather, veracity is that a person feels in his innermost secret (sirr) that there is no one on the face of the earth from whom God has demanded servanthood besides him. Furthermore, his hope is his fear, and his fear is [of] his demise (intiqāl). Then when God, Exalted is He, sees them [the veracious] in this state, He takes upon himself the care of their affairs (tawallā umūrahum) and suffices for them (kafāhum), and every hair on their bodies speaks [as one] with God (maʿa�Llāh) in gnosis (maʿrifa). Thereafter God, Exalted is He, says to them on the Day of Judgement, �For whom did you work, and what did you desire?� They will reply, �We worked for You, and You alone did we desire.� He will say to them, �You have spoken the truth.� And by His Might, His words of testimony affirming their veracity are a greater source of joy to them than the bliss of Paradise.Aḥmad b. Mattā was asked about the meaning of his [Sahl�s] saying, that the hope of veracity is his fear, and that his fear is [of] his demise (intiqāl). He said:It is because veracity (ṣidq) is their hope and what they seek, but they fear that they are not veracious in their quest (ṭalab), so that God will not accept it from them. He has said regarding this: and [those] who give what they give while their hearts tremble [with awe] [23:60], meaning that they are in trepidation while doing acts of obedience, for fear that they will suffer rejection.His words: