those who know Allah, and the highest station of His utterly truthful friends). And (some think that adherence to the divine will expressed in commands and prohibitions belongs to the spiritual journey and its beginnings, whereas at its culmination nothing remains but the will expressed in the divine decree. In reality, this amounts to claiming that worship and obedience are no longer required. For worship of Allah and obedience to Him and His Messenger consist in complying with the commands of the revealed Law, not in going along with whatever is decreed, even if it is disbelief, wickedness, or disobedience. This is how many spiritual wayfarers have become helpers and protectors of the disbelievers and the wicked: they perceived the divine decree as being on their side, but disregarded the commands and prohibitions of the revealed Law.

Some of these people say:

“Whoever witnesses the divine decree is no longer subject to blame.”

They say that al-Khidr ceased to be subject to blame only because he witnessed the divine decree. Someone devoted to witnessing the divine decree may be granted dominion through extraordinary means—disclosure of hidden things and power over events—and imagine this to be perfection in friendship with Allah. Yet these “extraordinary feats” may have arisen only through satanic means and personal desires.

Perfection in friendship with Allah consists only in using extraordinary feats to uphold the commands and prohibitions of the revealed Law, with both being attained through doing what is commanded and refraining from what is forbidden. If these feats arise through means not sanctioned by the revealed Law, they are blameworthy. If they arise through means sanctioned by the revealed Law but are used to attain something forbidden, they are blameworthy. If they are used to attain something permissible