fulfil it. Beware: lying leads to immorality, and immorality leads to the Fire, whereas truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. The truthful one is praised: “He has spoken truly and acted righteously,” while the liar is reproached: “He has lied and behaved immorally.” Muhammad ﷺ informed us that a person continues to speak the truth until he is recorded with Allah as truly truthful, and that he continues to lie until he is recorded with Allah as a liar. (1)

• The truest speech is the Book of Allah; the firmest handhold is the word of godfearingness; the finest faith is the faith of Abraham; the best way is the sunnah of Muhammad ﷺ; the best guidance is the guidance of the prophets; the noblest discourse is the remembrance of Allah; and the most excellent of stories is the Quran. The best matters are those whose outcomes are good, and the worst matters are the newly introduced ones. What is little yet sufficient is better than what is abundant yet distracting, and a soul you rescue is better than a governorship you cannot even tally. The worst excuse is the excuse offered when death arrives, and the worst remorse is the remorse of the Day of Resurrection. The worst misguidance is to go astray after having been guided. The best wealth is contentment of the soul; the best provision is piety; the best thing cast into the heart is certainty, while doubt springs from disbelief. The worst blindness is the blindness of the heart. Wine is the root of every sin, and women are Satan’s snares; youth is a branch of madness; and wailing over the dead is a practice of the Age of Ignorance. Among people are those who do not come to Friday prayer until it is nearly over and who remember Allah only with idle chatter. The gravest of sins is lying. Whoever pardons, Allah will pardon him; whoever suppresses his anger, Allah will reward him; whoever forgives, Allah will forgive him; and whoever is patient with affliction, Allah will compensate him. The worst earnings are those gained from usury, and the worst food is the property of an orphan. It is enough for any one of you to have that with which his soul is content, for in the end he will occupy no more than four cubits of earth. Every matter is judged by its conclusion, and the worth of a deed is determined by its final act. The most honourable death is the death of martyrs.