and a time to be alone with his pleasures in what is lawful and becoming.” Thus, he mentioned lawfulness and beauty.

This supports the jurists’ statement that uprightness consists in sound religious commitment and dignified conduct. They said: “Dignified conduct means doing what adorns and embellishes a person and avoiding what sullies and disgraces him.” This comes back to goodness and ugliness in deeds, and to the fact that deeds—deeds themselves—can be good or ugly, even if goodness means what is fitting and beneficial, and ugliness means what is incompatible. A thing is perfected, beautified, and improved by what suits it, accords with it, benefits it, and gives it pleasure, just as it is corrupted and made ugly by what conflicts with it, harms it, and causes it pain. Righteous deeds are those that accord with human nature, while corrupt deeds are those that conflict with it.

Thus, when a Bedouin said, “My praise adorns, and my censure disgraces,” the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “That is true of Allah.” His praise adorns a person in His sight because He praises him justly, and His censure disgraces him because it is just.

This goodness and beauty that righteous deeds produce in the heart spread to the face, and the ugliness and disgrace that corrupt deeds produce in the heart