For all these people have considered the desirable qualities in such things while overlooking the blameworthy qualities they entail. The impairment of reason and knowledge, the corruption of character and religion, and the distraction from religious and worldly interests caused by passionate love far outweigh whatever praiseworthy qualities it contains.

The most reliable testimony to this is what is known of the circumstances of nations and the accounts heard of people’s experiences in this regard. These suffice without having to witness or experience it oneself. Anyone who has experienced or witnessed it has ample grounds for taking heed. Never has there been a passionate love whose harm did not outweigh its benefit.

For this reason, Abū al-Qāsim al-Qushayrī said in his Treatise: “Among the gravest afflictions on this path is keeping company with youths. Whoever Allah afflicts with any of this is, by the unanimous agreement of the spiritual masters, a servant whom Allah has humiliated and forsaken. Indeed, He has distracted him from Himself, even if He has deemed him worthy of a million miraculous gifts. Suppose he attains the rank of the martyrs, as the report hints—has this not occupied that heart