—it disquiets me”—that is, it stirred my heart. This usage also occurs in the hadith reporting that Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by a gazelle lying curled up and said, “Let no one disturb it”—meaning, let no one cause it to move. Likewise, he said:
“Leave what makes you uneasy for what does not make you uneasy.”
For truthfulness brings tranquillity, while falsehood brings unease. The truthful person’s heart is not agitated, whereas the liar’s heart is agitated. This is not a matter of doubt; rather, it is clear that disquiet is broader in meaning than doubt.
Hence the transmitted supplication:
“O Allah, grant us such fear of You as will come between us and disobedience to You”—and so on to the end of the hadith.
In al-Musnad and al-Tirmidhī, Abū Bakra, may Allah be pleased with him, is reported to have said:
“Ask Allah for certainty and well-being, for nothing better than certainty and well-being has been granted. So ask Allah, glorified and exalted be He, for them.”
The Arabs use the expression mā’ yaqin (still water) when water is calm and motionless. Thus the believer’s heart is tranquil, free of disquiet. This is the meaning of His words, glorified and exalted be He:
“The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then never doubt, and strive with their wealth and their lives in Allah’s cause. It is they who are the truthful.”
In the two Sahīh collections, Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqās, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave to a group of men but gave nothing to a man who was dearer to me than they were. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, why have you passed over so-and-so? By Allah, I consider him a believer.’ He said, ‘Or a Muslim,’ twice or three times. Then he said, ‘I may give to a man although another is dearer to me than he is, for fear that Allah might cast him face down into the Fire.’”
For this reason, Abū Ja‘far al-Bāqir and others among the early generations said: Islam is a circle