for seizing; the foot for walking; the heart for tawḥid (pure monotheism) and knowledge; the spirit for love; and the intellect as an instrument for reflection and deliberation on the consequences of religious and worldly matters, so that one may prefer what ought to be preferred and neglect what ought to be neglected.

• The most ruinous bargain is struck by the one who lets his own self distract him from Allah, and even more ruinous is the one who lets other people distract him from his own self.

• In the Sunan collections, Abu Saʿid reports—traced back to the Prophet—that: “When the son of Adam awakes in the morning, all the limbs defer to the tongue, saying, ‘Fear Allah, for we depend on you; if you are upright, we are upright, and if you swerve, we swerve.’” (1)

The expression “the limbs defer to the tongue” means that they humble themselves before it. In the report concerning the Companions’ visit to the Negus, it is said that they did not “defer” to him—that is, they neither prostrated nor showed such deference—prompting ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs to say, “O King, they do not defer to you.” The limbs humble themselves to the tongue because it is the courier of the heart, its interpreter, and the intermediary between the heart and the rest of the body.

Their words, “we depend on you,” mean that their salvation and their destruction both hinge upon the tongue; hence they say, “If you are upright, we are upright, and if you swerve, we swerve.”

Section

In his statement, “Fear Allah and be moderate in seeking your provision” (2), the Prophet ﷺ joined together what secures benefit in both this world and the Hereafter.