The soundness of all these successive states, then, depends on the soundness of a person’s thoughts and inner promptings, and their corruption follows the corruption of those thoughts.

Right-minded thoughts are those that keep watch over their Patron and God, ascend to Him, and revolve around what pleases Him and what He loves. For—exalted is He—all rectitude comes only through Him; from Him issues every guidance; by His enabling grace every right course is taken; through His protection every preservation is secured; and when He withholds His care and turns away, every misguidance and misery ensue.

Accordingly, the servant attains every good, guidance, and clear-sightedness in proportion to how firmly he fixes the eye of his mind on Allah’s signs and favors, His oneness, the avenues that lead to knowing Him, and the paths of servitude to Him—bringing Him into his awareness as One who is present with him, seeing him, looking upon him, keeping watch over him, fully informed of his thoughts, intentions, and concerns. At that point he is ashamed before His gaze and too reverent to let Him witness from him a disgrace he would hate any fellow creature to behold, or to detect within himself a thought for which the Lord would condemn him.

Whenever the servant accords his Lord this station within his heart, Allah raises him, draws him near, honors him, chooses him, and befriends him. To that same degree He distances the servant from defilement and baseness, from ignoble promptings and lowly ideas. Conversely, the farther the servant strays and turns away, the closer he comes to filth, lowness, and impurity; he is cut off from every perfection and bound to every deficiency.

Thus, the human being is the best of creatures when he draws near to his Maker, adheres to His commands and prohibitions, acts in a manner pleasing to Him, and prefers Him to his own desires; and he is the worst of creatures when he distances himself, while his heart remains unmoved toward closeness, obedience, and seeking His pleasure. Whenever he chooses nearness to Allah and prefers Him to himself and his passions, he has placed the authority of his heart, intellect, and faith over his self and his devil, and given precedence to his right guidance over his misguidance and to his insight over his whim. But whenever he opts to distance himself, he has handed authority to his self, its desires, and his devil over his intellect, heart, and sound judgment.