In sum, the good and evil that occur together in this matter and others like it must be weighed against one another, considering both their presence and their absence, as I have explained in discussing the principle governing conflicts between evil and good. Intoxication and sobriety may fall within this category, as may brokenness and sobriety in inward experiences of faith and ecstatic experiences of spiritual knowledge.

Among those following the spiritual path, some gain benefit and faith when they experience intoxication, despite the deficiencies and lack of discernment it involves, which leave them in need of reason. Such intoxication is better than a sobriety marked only by heedlessness of the remembrance of Allah, hardness of heart, disbelief, wickedness, arrogance, and similar forms of neglecting good deeds and committing evil ones.

As for sobriety accompanied by knowledge and faith, in which a person tastes faith and finds its sweetness, it is undoubtedly better than intoxication. You must therefore weigh these inward and outward states and deeds against one another, until their similarities and differences in merit become clear to you, as does the correspondence between the states of those devoted to inward spiritual experiences and those devoted to outward deeds. This is especially important in these later times, when mixing righteous deeds with evil ones has become prevalent among all groups, so that, when two good things compete and cannot both be attained, we give preference to the better of them, and when two evils coincide, we ward off the worse of them