and their enjoyment of various foods and drinks cannot be denied. Yet for someone whom Allah has guided, what evidence does this provide of what He loves and is pleased with, or what He permits and allows?

It is well known that these categories include both the lawful and the unlawful, the good and the reprehensible. Indeed, it would be more consistent with the path of renouncing desires and pleasures and resisting one’s whims to argue that something’s being pleasurable and desirable shows that it is at odds with the path of asceticism and Sufism. Many shaykhs do precisely this, using such reasoning to discourage the pursuit of desires and pleasures in general.

Although this is not, in itself, a valid argument, it is closer to the path of asceticism and Sufism than arguing that something’s being pleasurable makes it a path to Allah.

Both arguments are invalid. Whether something is praiseworthy or blameworthy, lawful or unlawful, can be established only through evidence from the revealed Law—not by whether it is naturally pleasurable or not.

For this reason, those who seek to draw near to Allah by renouncing pleasures altogether are censured. This is illustrated by what he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to those of whom one declared, “As for me, I shall fast without ever breaking my fast”; another said, “As for me, I shall stand in prayer without sleeping”; another said, “As for me, I shall not marry women”; and another said, “As for me, I shall not eat meat.” The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: