Moreover, the seeker’s aim is not to ascertain what is lawful and unlawful. Rather, he seeks to know whether this particular deed is better than that one, and that one better than another, and which is most beloved to Allah for him in those circumstances. This is a vast field that none but Allah fully encompasses. Each seeker has circumstances peculiar to him: he may be commanded to do something that another is forbidden to do, or commanded in one situation to do something he is forbidden to do in another.

They therefore said:
“We do good to the best of our ability, by doing what we know we have been commanded to do. We abandon the root of evil, namely, following our own desires. In everything else, we turn to Allah to guide us to what He loves most and finds most pleasing. Whatever He puts us to doing, we hope falls into this category. Then, if we are right, we receive two rewards; otherwise, we receive one reward, and our error is pardoned.”

Such is their position. Now, if we suppose that someone knows what is prescribed and acts upon it, he is better than this person. Yet many who know what is prescribed neither do it nor seek what is most beloved to Allah. Many others do it with an admixture of personal desire. Thus, one has done what is prescribed while following his desires, whereas the other has refrained from what he did not know to be prescribed, without following his desires. The latter has a deficiency in knowledge, and the former a deficiency in action, for acting out of personal desire is a deficiency in action, even when the deed itself is obligatory.

It may therefore be said: If the one who follows his desires repents of doing so, his knowledge will raise him above the other; but if