fall into this category. For their path contains forms of polytheism and misguidance that none but the Lord of Majesty can enumerate. These philosophers may worship idols, the sun, the moon, and the like. If one of them then begins to discipline his soul through passionate love in order to worship Allah alone, or simply as a form of self-discipline in which he worships none besides Allah, that is better for him than worshipping others besides Allah.

Likewise, the Ittihādīs, who identify Allah with absolute existence or say that He indwells beautiful forms: whenever one of them repents of this and begins to soothe his soul through passionate love for certain forms, while worshipping Allah alone, his condition is better than it was before.

These sins, when accompanied by sound monotheism, are better than corrupt monotheism without these sins. Thus, we find that people prefer kings and others who wrong only themselves by drinking wine, committing illicit sexual intercourse, or engaging in other indecencies, while avoiding injustice towards their subjects and striving to treat them justly, over those who avoid indecencies, wine, and illicit sexual intercourse but set about wronging people in their persons, property, and honour.

In their ignorance, these oppressors may turn their oppression into a religious practice through which they seek nearness to Allah, just as those who wrong themselves may, in their ignorance, turn their conduct into a religious practice through which they seek nearness to Him. Satan has made their evil deeds seem fair to many in both groups, so that they regard them as good.

Yet many people combine both kinds of wrongdoing, for part of the punishment for an evil deed is