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The sign that one’s resolve is sound is that the seeker’s only concern is his Lord’s good pleasure: he readies himself to meet Him, grieves over any moment that has passed without earning His approval, and is distressed at being distant from Him and from intimacy with Him. In short, he greets the morning and ends the evening with no concern but Allah.

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• If people take the world as their sufficiency, let your sufficiency be in Allah; if they rejoice in the world, rejoice in Allah; if they find companionship in those they love, make your companionship Allah; and if they ingratiate themselves with kings and dignitaries, drawing near to them for honor and elevation, then you draw near to Allah and endear yourself to Him, and you will attain the very pinnacle of honor and elevation.
• One of the ascetics said, “I cannot imagine that anyone who has heard of Paradise and Hell allows an hour to pass without obeying Allah in it—through remembrance, prayer, recitation, or an act of kindness.” A man said to him, “I weep a great deal.” He replied, “If you laugh while acknowledging your sin, that is better than crying while being conceited about your deeds, for the conceited person’s deeds do not rise above his own head.” The man then asked, “Give me counsel.” He said, “Leave this world to its people just as they have left the Hereafter to its people. In this life be like the bee: when it eats, it eats what is wholesome; when it feeds, it feeds what is wholesome; and when it lands on something it neither breaks it nor scratches it.”

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Renunciation (zuhd) is of several kinds: renunciation of what is forbidden, which is an individual obligation; renunciation of doubtful matters, and this varies with the degree of doubt—if the doubt is strong it becomes obligatory, if it is weak it is recommended; renunciation of excess; renunciation of whatever does not concern one—whether in speech, looking, questioning, socializing, or the like; renunciation of people; and renunciation of