is love. Thus, whoever loves anything apart from Allah will, on the Day of Resurrection, be given over by Allah to whatever he attached himself to, and Allah will consign him to Hell—an evil destination. Whoever loves something for other than Allah’s sake suffers harm whether it is present or absent. If it is absent, he is tormented by separation and suffers pain; if it is present, it brings him more pain than pleasure. This is known through reflection and observation. Whoever loves anything apart from Allah, for other than His sake, finds that its harm outweighs its benefit. Created things thus become a source of misery for him, except where his attachment is for Allah’s sake and in devotion to Him; such attachment perfects and beautifies the servant.
This is the meaning of the saying reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him:
“This world is accursed, and accursed is everything in it, except the remembrance of Allah and whatever is connected with it.”
Reported by al-Tirmidhī and others.
The fifth aspect:
Depending upon a created being and placing one’s trust in it brings harm from that very source, for it is there that one will be let down. This, too, is known through reflection and observation. Whenever the servant places his hope and trust in anyone other than Allah, he is disappointed from that quarter; whenever he seeks support from anyone other than Allah, he is forsaken.
Allah Most High has said:
“They have taken gods besides Allah to be a source of strength for them.”
“No! They will disown their worship and turn against them.”
These two aspects concerning created things correspond to the created servant’s worship and seeking help. Thus, when He said:
“You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help,”
the servant’s well-being lay in worshipping Allah and seeking His help, whereas worshipping anything else and seeking its help brought him harm, ruin and corruption.
The sixth aspect:
Allah, glorified be He, is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy, Generous, possessed of abundance, and Merciful. He bestows kindness upon His servant despite having no need of him. He wishes him well and removes harm from him, not to obtain any benefit from the servant or to ward off any harm to Himself, but out of mercy and kindness. Created servants, however, cannot conceivably act except for some benefit of their own. The most they can offer the servant is to love and honour him, and to bring