Both groups neglect the righteous intentions and deeds that Allah and His Messenger have commanded, and embrace the corrupt intentions and deeds that Allah and His Messenger have forbidden.

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When Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qādir, his teacher Hammād al-Dabbās, and other upright shaykhs—may Allah be pleased with them—instructed that the seeker should desire nothing whatsoever, and should have no will alongside the will of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, but rather let Allah’s action take effect in him, becoming himself the object of the True One’s will, they meant this only concerning matters in which the servant does not know what Allah and His Messenger have commanded. As for what he knows Allah has commanded, he must will it and act upon it. They explicitly stated this in several places.

Others, however, mistakenly regard conformity to Allah’s will governing creation as perfection, calling it “annihilation in affirming Allah’s oneness in lordship.” They hold that once the spiritual journey reaches this point, the seeker observes the divine commands only for someone else’s sake, or that he no longer needs to observe them. These are corrupt doctrines and paths, which have been discussed elsewhere.

As for those who remain upright on the path, such as the majority of the early shaykhs—including al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyād, Ibrāhīm ibn Adham, Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī, and Ma‘rūf