• The lures of this life will certainly tug at you; identify them, keep your guard up, and no distraction will harm you so long as you are inwardly detached even while outwardly surrounded by it.
• The light of truth is brighter than the sun; little wonder, then, that the bats of inner sight are dazzled by it.
• The road to Allah is empty of skeptics and of those who chase their desires; it is well-trodden by the people of certainty and patience, who stand along the way like signposts: “And We appointed from among them leaders who guided by Our command when they endured patiently and were certain of Our signs” (As-Sajdah 32:24).

A Principle
The testimony that “there is no god but Allah” uttered at the moment of death wields immense power to absolve and erase sins. It issues from a servant who is sure of it and understands its import: his passions have died, his once-rebellious soul has softened; after obstinacy it has yielded, after turning away it has returned, after pride it has been humbled. Greed for this world and its excesses has left him. Before his Lord, Creator, and true Master he is more submissive than ever and more hopeful than ever of His pardon, forgiveness, and mercy. Pure monotheism now stands alone in his heart—every avenue of idolatry cut off, its falsehood laid bare. The inner conflicts that once preoccupied him have vanished, and his concern has converged upon the One to Whom he knows he is about to return. He turns his whole being toward Him, advancing with heart and spirit, surrendering to Him alone outwardly and inwardly until his private and public selves are one. Then he proclaims, “There is no god but Allah,” sincerely from the depths of his heart. His heart is free of attachment to anything but Him, free of even a glance toward anything beside Him. The world has slipped entirely from his heart; he stands on the threshold of meeting his Lord, the fires of desire extinguished, his heart filled with the Hereafter until it stands before his very eyes.