when Allah’s sacred limits are violated? There is no praiseworthy interpretation of this statement. As for the man who uttered it, perhaps he was bereft of reason at the time, for he frequently lost his reason. If he meant that no one remembers Allah as He deserves, then what He deserves is the worship that is His right over His servants. He does not burden them beyond their capacity. This is what they are commanded to offer, and what Allah accepts from them.

If he meant that they fall short of their duty, then fulfilling part of that duty is better than abandoning it altogether. If, however, this arose from narrowness within himself and constriction in his heart, then it is the kind of jealousy that Allah and His Messenger hate, and it is worse than envy. Something similar is an account once related to him by one of our companions among the spiritual poor—a man possessed of goodness, religious devotion, and knowledge. He was praying at night when another man rose to pray. He said, “I was seized by jealousy.” I told him, “This is envy, narrow-mindedness, and injustice, not jealousy. Jealousy is properly aroused when Allah’s sacred limits are violated. Allah Most High is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing; He encompasses His servants, from the first to the last. He loves such worship, commands it, and calls people to it. How, then, can a believer hate what He loves?”

This occurs frequently among those who experience spiritual states, to the point that some of them kill