And the point here is that the Sufi shaykhs and other scholars have explained that some forms of contentment are permissible, while others are not—let alone being recommended or among the qualities of those drawn near to Allah. Abū al-Qāsim also mentioned this in al-Risāla.

If it is said: “What you have mentioned is plain and clear. How, then, did those who said that contentment means not asking Allah for Paradise or seeking His protection from the Fire fall into error? And how did those who approve of such words, whoever they may be, fall into error?”

The answer is that they erred because they considered that someone who is content with something does not seek anything else. Thus, whatever state a servant is in, they regarded not seeking any other state as part of his contentment. They then considered that Paradise is the highest object of desire and the Fire the most dreadful object of aversion, so they said that one should seek nothing, even Paradise, and dislike nothing, even the Fire. This is how they erred, and misguidance entered their thinking in two ways.

First, they assumed that being content with everything that happens is something Allah loves and is pleased with