but rather the knowledge, spiritual states, moral qualities, proper conduct, and similar things denoted by the term “Sufi.”

Using these terms in this sense, people have disputed which is better: the faqīr (the practitioner of “poverty”) or the Sufi. One group preferred the Sufi, including Abū Ja'far al-Suhrawardī and others like him, while another preferred the faqīr—as many groups have done. Sometimes one group is associated specifically with zāwiyas and the other with khānqāhs (types of Sufi lodge), and so forth. Most people have preferred the faqīr.

The correct conclusion is that the better of the two is the one who has greater fear of Allah. If the Sufi has greater fear of Allah—meaning that he more diligently does what Allah loves and more thoroughly avoids what He does not love—then he is better than the faqīr. If the faqīr more diligently does what Allah loves and more thoroughly avoids what He does not love, then he is better than the Sufi. If they are equal in doing what Allah loves and avoiding what He does not love, they are equal in rank.

The “allies of Allah” are the believers who fear Him, whether one of them is called a faqīr, a Sufi, a jurist, a scholar, a merchant, a soldier, a craftsman, a ruler, a judge, or anything else. Allah Most High says:

“Indeed, the allies of Allah will have no fear, nor will they grieve—those who believe and fear Allah.”