who prescribed a religion for them. They then disparage servitude to Allah and claim that the spiritual elite transcend it, just as the Christians claim concerning the Messiah. They attribute to this elite a share in divinity of the same kind that the Christians attribute to the Messiah and his mother. There are other such errors whose explanation would be too lengthy here.
The true religion consists only in fully realizing servitude to Allah in every respect, which means fully realizing love for Allah at every degree. As servitude becomes more complete, so too does the servant’s love for his Lord and the Lord’s love for His servant. As the former diminishes, so does the latter. Whenever the heart contains love for something other than Allah, it contains a corresponding degree of servitude to something other than Allah; and whenever it contains servitude to something other than Allah, it contains a corresponding degree of love for something other than Allah. Every love that is not for Allah’s sake is vain, and every deed through which Allah’s Face is not sought is vain. This world is accursed, and everything in it is accursed, except what is for Allah. Nothing is for Allah unless Allah and His Messenger love it—that is, unless it is prescribed in His religion.
Thus, any deed intended for someone other than Allah is not for Allah, and any deed that does not conform to Allah’s law is not for Allah. Rather, nothing is for Allah unless it combines both qualities: it must be for Allah’s sake, and it must accord with what Allah and His Messenger love—namely, what is obligatory or recommended.
As He says:
“So whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do righteous deeds and associate no one in the worship of his Lord.”
Righteous deeds—those that are obligatory or recommended—are therefore indispensable, and they must be devoted sincerely to seeking the Face of Allah Most High. As He, Most High, says:
“Yes, whoever submits himself to Allah while doing good will have his reward with his Lord. No fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.”
And there are the words of