and most praiseworthy in its final outcome, whereas lowly souls hover around what is base and alight upon it just as flies settle on filth.

A noble, elevated soul will not accept oppression, indecency, theft, or treachery, for it is too great and too dignified for such things; the ignoble, abject, despicable soul is the exact opposite.

Every soul, then, inclines toward what suits and resembles it. This is the meaning of the Almighty’s words, “Say: each acts according to his own disposition” (al-Isrāʾ 17:84)—that is, according to what is compatible and appropriate for him. A person acts in the manner that matches his character and nature; everyone moves along the path, doctrine, and habit to which he has become accustomed and by which he was fashioned. The profligate behaves in keeping with his way, meeting blessings with sin and turning away from the Benefactor, whereas the believer behaves in keeping with his disposition: thanking the Benefactor, loving Him, praising Him, seeking His good pleasure, feeling modest before Him, watching himself for His sake, and holding Him in reverence and awe.

Section: Whoever does not know his own soul—how can he know his Creator?

Know that Allah, exalted is He, has created within your breast a house—the heart—and within that house He has placed a throne for the knowledge of Him, upon which the loftiest exemplar is seated. He, in His very essence, is established upon His Throne, apart from His creation, while that supreme exemplar—knowing Him, loving Him, and affirming His oneness—is enthroned upon the couch of the heart. Spread upon that couch is a carpet of contentment, and to its right and left He has set armrests of His laws and commands. In this house He has opened a door to the garden of His mercy, intimacy with Him, and longing to meet Him. Upon it He sends the downpour of His speech, from which grow every variety of fragrant blooms and fruit-bearing trees—acts of obedience, the declaration of His oneness, His glorification, His praise, and His sanctification. In the very center of the orchard He planted the Tree of Knowledge, one that “gives its fruit …”