to Our paths of sincerity.

No one can prevail in open combat against his outward enemy unless he has first fought these inner enemies; whoever is granted victory over them will be granted victory over his external foe, and whoever is overcome by them will likewise be overcome by his foe.

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Allah, exalted is He, has set enmity between Satan and the angel, between reason and desire, and between the commanding soul and the heart. He has tried the servant with all of these, gathered them around him, and supplied every faction with troops and auxiliaries. Thus the war is continuous, fortunes alternating between the two camps, until one gains mastery over the other and the loser is subdued. When the turn of triumph comes to the heart, the intellect, and the angel, there arise joy and bliss, delight and elation, gladness, the cooling of the eye, a wholesome life, an open breast, and the winning of spoils. But when the turn belongs to the lower self, capricious desire, and Satan, there follow griefs and anxieties, sorrows of every kind, distresses, constricted chests, and the imprisonment of the king.

Now imagine a king upon whom his enemy has seized: he has been dragged down from the throne of his sovereignty, taken captive, imprisoned, cut off from his treasuries, stores, and servants, which have all been handed over to the foe—yet the king does not stir to reclaim his rights, nor cry out to one who could rescue him, nor seek help from one who could aid him!

Above this king, however, stands another King—invincible, irresistible, unconquerable—who sends word to him: “If you seek My victory, I will grant it; if you call upon Me for relief, I will relieve you; if you take refuge in Me, I will avenge you; and if you flee to Me and seek shelter with Me, I will empower you over your enemy and deliver him into your captivity.”