“O lodger nestled between my ribs and deepest breast—
though your dwelling-place now lies far away from me—
Have pity on a heart that loves you, lost in its yearning;
if you do not reach it, its very fibres will be torn apart.
Show mercy to a sorrow-stricken soul who, for your sake,
is breathing out his vow, grieving over you while his wishes remain unmet;
He never wakes from passion, and whenever
they try to turn him from you, all his veils are rent.” (1)

Every sufferer reads verses such as these through the lens of his own sorrow, and in them the distressed may draw a measure of comfort. Yet far—far indeed!—the heart will never find true repose until it is placed in its proper place and settles in the only resting-place it has. As it has been said:

If ever you lodge the heart in other than its place,
in a vessel not its own, that heart is cast away.

Under this single line lies a meaning of the highest nobility; I have explained it in a separate booklet (2). And Allah knows best.

This is the end of what the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with him—recorded in this chapter.

All praise belongs to Allah alone, and may blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, his family, and his companions.

Finished.