that the very foundation of the religion, in truth, lies in the inward realities—knowledge and deeds of the heart—and that outward acts are of no avail without them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the report recorded by Ahmad: “Islam is outward, while faith is in the heart.”

For this reason the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also declared: “The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear, and between the two are ambiguous matters unknown to many people. Whoever keeps away from the ambiguous safeguards his honour and his religion; whoever falls into the ambiguous falls into the unlawful, like a shepherd who grazes around a sanctuary, soon to enter it. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and the sanctuary of Allah is His prohibitions. Indeed, in the body there is a morsel of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt—verily, it is the heart.”

Abu Hurayrah said, “The heart is the king and the limbs are its troops: when the king is good, the troops are good, and when the king is corrupt, the troops are corrupt.”

These inward works—love of Allah, sincerity to Him, reliance upon Him, contentment with Him, and the like—are required of both the elite and the common folk. Abandoning them is never praiseworthy under any circumstance, no matter how high a person’s station may be.

As for grief, Allah did not command it, nor did His Messenger; rather, it is expressly forbidden in several passages, even when it arises in connection with religious matters, such as His words: “Do not lose heart or grieve; you will be superior if you are true believers” (Āl ʿImrān 3:139); “Do not grieve over them, nor be distressed by their schemes” (al-Naḥl 16:127); “He said to his companion, ‘Do not grieve; Allah is with us’” (al-Tawbah 9:40); “Let not their words grieve you” (Yūnus 10:65); and “So that you may not grieve over what has escaped you nor exult in what He has given you” (al-Ḥadīd 57:23). Verses of this purport are many. The reason is that grief brings no benefit, wards off no harm, and serves no useful purpose; and Allah does not command what is useless.

Of course, a person is not sinful for grief itself so long as it is unaccompanied by something forbidden, such as his natural sorrow over misfortunes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Allah does not hold one accountable for the tear of the eye or the grief of the heart; He holds one accountable for this”—and he pointed to his tongue—“yet He also shows mercy.” He further said, “The eye weeps and the heart grieves, but we say only what pleases the Lord.”

Likewise are the words of Allah about Jacob: “He turned away from them and said, ‘Alas for Joseph!’ and his eyes turned white with grief, for he was choked with sorrow” (Yūsuf 12:84).

Grief may be accompanied by matters for which its bearer is rewarded and praised and thus becomes commendable from that aspect, not from the aspect of grief itself—such as the person who is saddened by a calamity in his religion or by the hardships that befall the Muslims in general. Such a person is rewarded for the love of good and the hatred of evil that reside in his heart and for the attendant sentiments. However, when that grief leads him to neglect an obligatory duty—patience, striving, securing benefit or warding off harm—