in need. There is nothing between the Lord and the servant but pure servitude: the more perfectly the servant fulfils it, the closer he draws to Him. For He, glorified is He, is kind, generous and beneficent, giving the servant what befits him. The greater his need of Him, the richer he becomes; and the greater his humility before Him, the more honour he attains. The soul, with its varied desires and Satan’s enticements, grows distant from Allah until it becomes accursed, far removed from mercy.

A “curse” means being removed far away. Among the soul’s gravest sins is the desire for exaltation on earth, whereas prostration brings it to the utmost lowliness. Allah Most High says:

“Indeed, those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell in humiliation.”

An authentic hadith states:

“No one who has an atom’s weight of pride in his heart will enter Paradise.”

He said to Iblīs:

“Then descend from it! It is not for you to be arrogant therein.”

And He said:

“And the word of Allah is supreme.”

This is an established attribute of His word. Yet whoever seeks to raise anything else above it is fought. The Prophet said:

“Whoever fights so that the word of Allah may be supreme is fighting in the cause of Allah.”

The “word of Allah” comprises His statements and His commands: His command is to be obeyed and given precedence over anyone else’s command, and His statements are to be heeded and given precedence over anyone else’s statements. He also said:

“And all worship is devoted to Allah alone.”

“Dīn” means worship, obedience, submission and the like. One says, “I subdued him, and he submitted,” meaning, “I humbled him, and he became humble.” As the poet said:

He subdued al-Rabāb when they spurned submission,
with raid upon raid and fierce assault.
Then al-Rabāb submitted;
the punishment dealt by kings was like torment.