all of it—lies in their union, while evil lies in their separation.
• The pollination of lofty aspiration is sound intention; when the two come together, the servant attains the utmost of what is sought.

Principle
The servant has two standings before Allah: one before Him in the prayer, and one before Him on the Day he meets Him. Whoever fulfills the right of the first standing will find the second made easy for him; but whoever belittles this standing and does not give it its due will find that standing made severe.

The Exalted says: “And during part of the night prostrate yourself to Him and glorify Him long into the night. Indeed, these people love the fleeting life and leave behind them a heavy Day.” (al-Insān 76:26–27)

Principle
Pleasure, in and of itself, is sought by human beings—indeed by every living creature—so it is not to be condemned merely because it is pleasure. Rather, it is condemned, and forsaking it becomes better and more beneficial, when it entails the loss of a pleasure greater and more complete than itself, or when it is followed by a pain whose presence is greater than the pain of giving it up. Here the difference between the intelligent and perceptive and the ignorant fool becomes evident: whenever the mind recognizes the disparity between two pleasures or two pains, and that one is in no way comparable to the other, it becomes easy to abandon the lesser pleasure to obtain the greater, and to bear the lighter pain to avert the greater.

Once this principle is established, the pleasure of the Hereafter is greater and more enduring, whereas the pleasure of this world is lesser and shorter-lived; the same holds true for the pain of the Hereafter and the pain of this world.

All of this hinges on faith and certainty: when certainty grows strong and takes hold of the heart, a person prefers the higher over the lower in the matter of pleasure, and endures the lighter pain