of Allah’s favor, not out of pride. He then said: “What can my enemies possibly do to me? My Paradise is in my breast”—meaning faith, knowledge, and certainty—“my imprisonment is seclusion; my banishment”—if they expel him from the land—“is travel; and my being killed is martyrdom.”
This is certainty; this is tranquility. If an ordinary person were imprisoned, he would wonder, “What will become of me? What will become of my children, my family, and my people?” Yet Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him—said, “My Paradise is in my breast,” and he spoke the truth.
Perhaps this is the secret behind His—exalted is He—words:
﴿There they will not taste death, except the first death.﴾ [al-Dukhān: 56].
That is, in Paradise they will not taste death except the first death. It is well known that there is no death in Paradise—neither a first nor a second. But because the heart’s bliss extends from this world until one enters Paradise, it is as though this world and the Hereafter are all one Paradise in which there is only a single death.
﴿Well pleased﴾ with the bliss Allah has granted you, and ﴿well pleasing﴾ to Allah—mighty and majestic—as He, exalted is He, says:
﴿Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him.﴾ [al-Mujādila: 22].
﴿So enter among My servants﴾ means: Enter among My righteous servants as one of their number. The righteous are among Allah’s servants whom He has blessed, and they are the finest class of mankind. Mankind consists of three classes: those who have been blessed, those who have incurred wrath, and those who have gone astray. All three classes are mentioned in Sūrat al-Fātiha:
﴿Guide us to the straight path—the path of those whom You have blessed, not those who have incurred wrath, nor those who have gone astray.﴾
The first class comprises those whom Allah has blessed: the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs, and the righteous.
The second is ﴿those who have incurred wrath﴾: the Jews and those who resemble them—namely, everyone who knows the truth but opposes it. Thus, anyone who knows the truth yet opposes it bears a resemblance to the Jews. As Sufyān ibn Uyayna—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “Whoever among our scholars becomes corrupt bears a resemblance to the Jews.”