any accessible place on earth and then ascend; for wherever he went would be equivalent to his present position or lower, and the celestial sphere would still be above him. Thus, travelling in any of the five directions would merely prolong his journey and cause needless fatigue.

If a man wished to address the sun or the moon, he would address it only by turning upwards, even though the sun and moon rise and set, moving away from the point directly overhead. How much more so with Him who is always above all things, who neither sets nor disappears—glorified and exalted is He!

Just as motion, such as that of a stone, seeks its centre by the shortest route—a straight line—how could the deliberate seeking within the hearts of Allah’s servants turn away from the short, straight path to a long, winding one? Allah Most High has created His servants with an innate disposition towards soundness and uprightness, except those whom the devils have led astray, drawing them away from the innate disposition with which they were created.

The second reason:

If he directed himself downwards without ascending, his course would end at the centre. If he sought what he was seeking in front of him, behind him, to his right or to his left, without directing himself upwards, his course would end somewhere in the air. He must therefore direct himself upwards, whether or not he also proceeds in any of these other directions.

If we supposed that he said, “I shall seek it by going right while ascending, or by going down and then ascending,” this would be like someone saying, “I wish to perform Hajj from the west, so I shall go to Khurāsān and then go to Mecca.” Indeed, it would be like someone saying, “I shall ascend to the celestial spheres, so I shall descend into the earth,