a servant an inspiration that benefits him? This may happen to anyone; it is not a necessary consequence of this path. Rather, the emptying and clearing of the heart taught by the Messenger means emptying it of what Allah does not love and filling it with what He loves. One empties it of worship of anything other than Allah and fills it with worship of Allah. Likewise, one empties it of love for anything other than Allah and fills it with love for Allah; removes from it fear of anything other than Allah and instils in it fear of Allah Most High; and removes reliance upon anything other than Allah and establishes reliance upon Allah within it.

This is Islam, which encompasses faith—a faith that the Quran nourishes and strengthens, rather than contradicts and negates. As Jundub and Ibn ʿUmar said:

“We learned faith, then learned the Quran, and so increased in faith.”

As for confining oneself to prescribed remembrance alone, such as saying, “There is no god worthy of worship but Allah,” a person may sometimes benefit from this. Yet this remembrance alone, to the exclusion of everything else, is not the path to Allah Most High. Rather, the best bodily act of worship is prayer, followed by recitation of the Quran, then remembrance, then supplication. An otherwise lesser act, performed at its prescribed time, is better than a superior act. Thus, glorifying Allah while bowing and prostrating is better than reciting the Quran, and supplication at the end of prayer is likewise better than recitation.

Moreover, a person may find doors opened to him through a lesser deed that are not opened to him through a superior one. One deed may also be made easy for him while another is not, so the former is better for him because he is unable to perform the superior deed. This is like a hungry person who finds inferior bread readily available while better bread is difficult to obtain