and likewise to gatherings through which a servant’s faith increases—whether by receiving benefit or benefiting others, and the like.
A servant must also have times alone for supplication, remembrance of Allah, prayer, reflection, self-examination, setting his heart right, and attending to personal matters in which no one else shares. These require solitude, whether at home—as Tāwūs said, “What an excellent hermitage a man’s home is: there he restrains his gaze and his tongue”—or elsewhere. To favour mixing with others unconditionally is therefore mistaken, as is favouring solitude unconditionally. How much each person needs of either, and what is best for him in each circumstance, requires individual consideration, as explained earlier.
The same applies to “taking practical means and foregoing them.” Whoever is able to take such means without being distracted from what is more beneficial to his religion is commanded to do so while placing his trust in Allah. This is better for him than accepting from others, even if something comes to him without his asking. For such a person, taking these means is an act of worship of Allah, and he is commanded to worship Allah and put his trust in Him. If, however, he takes these means without a righteous intention, or does not put his trust in Allah, then he is [not] (1) obedient in these two respects, and this is [not] (2) the way of the prophets and the Companions. As for someone among the poor who are restricted in Allah’s cause and are unable to