the command, or else weakens and diminishes it; as Allah—exalted is He—made clear when He forbade wine and gambling on the grounds that they “distract you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer” (Al-Māʾidah: 91). The prohibitions, then, are barriers and obstacles that block a person from carrying out the commands or from perfecting them. Their prohibition is therefore sought for the sake of something else, whereas the commands themselves are sought for their own sake.

A fifth consideration further clarifies this point: performing the commanded duties preserves, strengthens, and maintains the power of faith, while abstaining from the forbidden matters is like a regimen that protects that power from whatever would disturb it and throw it off balance. Preserving the strength itself takes precedence over the protective regimen; whenever that strength grows, it expels harmful substances, but when it weakens, those corrupt substances prevail. Abstinence is thus desired only for the sake of safeguarding, augmenting, and maintaining this strength. Accordingly, the stronger the power of faith becomes, the more effectively it repels base influences and prevents them from gaining ascendancy in proportion to its own vigor or weakness; when it wanes, the corrupt elements rise to dominance. Reflect well on this.

The sixth consideration is that carrying out the commands is the very life of the heart—its nourishment, adornment, delight, coolness of the eye, pleasure, and bliss—whereas mere abstention from the prohibitions brings none of these benefits. If a person were to avoid every forbidden act yet fail to embrace faith and the deeds he has been commanded to perform, that abstention would not benefit him in the least; he would remain eternally in the Fire.

This becomes even clearer in the seventh consideration: someone who both performs the commands and falls into the prohibitions will ultimately be saved. He may be saved immediately if his good deeds outweigh his misdeeds, or he may be saved after those he wronged have been compensated and he has been punished for his sins; in either case, his final outcome is salvation—and that is due to his performance of the commanded duties. By contrast, one who abandons both the commands and the prohibitions is doomed and will not be saved. Deliverance is attained only through the commanded act, namely tawḥīd, affirming Allah’s oneness.