and their worship; rather, the benefit of all that comes back to them alone: “Whoever does good, it is only for his own soul” (Fussilat 41:46).

Ibn al-Jawzi said: “Whoever realizes that this world is a racetrack for earning virtues, and that every time his rank in knowledge and deeds rises, his station in the Abode of Recompense rises accordingly, will snatch up his time and will not leave a single attainable virtue without securing it.”