And self-effacement in this is the “self-effacement” commanded and taught by the messengers. It means forsaking worship of anything besides Allah by worshipping Him, obedience to anything besides Him by obeying Him, reliance on anything besides Him by relying on Him, and hope in and fear of anything besides Him by placing one’s hope in Him and fearing Him. One thus remains with the True One, without regard for creation, as Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir said:

“Be with the True One without regard for creation, and with creation without regard for yourself.”

Truly fulfilling the testimony that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah entails that obedience to him is obedience to Allah, and pleasing him is pleasing Allah. Allah’s religion consists of what His Messenger commanded: lawful is what he made lawful, unlawful is what he made unlawful, and religion is what he prescribed. Hence Allah required those who claim to love Him to follow His Messenger, saying:

“Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you.’”

He guaranteed that Allah would love those who follow His Messenger, saying: “Allah will love you.”

Whoever follows him in this way comes to desire only what Allah and His Messenger love, and to dislike only what Allah and His Messenger dislike. Such a person is loved by the True One, as He said:

“My servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary acts of worship until I love him. When I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks. Through Me he hears, through Me he sees, through Me he grasps, and through Me he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give to him; if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely grant him refuge. I have never hesitated over anything I am to do as I hesitate over taking the soul of My believing servant: he dislikes death, and I dislike distressing him, yet he must undergo it.”