44 – Abu ʿAli al-Madaʾini told me: “I used to hear a neighbor of mine calling out in the night:
‘My God, Your goodness keeps descending to me, while my evil keeps ascending to You; how many a noble angel has risen up to You bearing from me a shameful deed! You, though in no need of me, win my affection with blessings, whereas I, in my poverty and dire need of You, make myself hateful to You with sins. Yet through all this You still restore me, conceal me, and provide for me.’”