a slave to it and prayed that he be cast into misery and reversed in fortune, saying: “Perish the slave of the dinar, perish the slave of the dirham! Perish and relapse; and if he is pricked by a thorn, may it never be pulled out.” (1)

All people in this worldly abode are, as it were, poised on the wing of a journey. Every traveller presses on toward his goal and will finally alight with the one who rejoices at his arrival. Whoever seeks Allah and the Abode of the Hereafter is journeying toward Allah during his travel and will come to rest with Him when he arrives; this is the focus of his aspiration both along the road and when it is over.

“O tranquil soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and well-pleasing. Enter, then, among My servants, and enter My Garden.” (89:27-30)

And the wife of Pharaoh said: “My Lord, build for me, with You, a house in Paradise” (66:11). She asked that the house be with Him before asking that it be in Paradise, for the neighbor is dearer than the dwelling.

From the words of Shaykh ʿAlī (2)

It was said to me in a sleep like wakefulness—or a wakefulness like sleep:
• Do not lay bare your need before anyone but Me, lest I multiply it against you in requital for your stepping beyond the bounds of your servitude.
• I afflicted you with poverty so that you might become pure gold; therefore, do not adulterate yourself after the smelting.
• I decreed poverty for you and richness for Myself; so if you connect that poverty to Me, I will connect you