unlike someone who refrains from them while acknowledging the excellence of those who perform them at that stage and esteeming their spiritual state. Such a person is not blameworthy, although the one who performs them is nevertheless better than he is. Or the former may be among the foremost, who are brought near to Allah, while the latter is among those who take a middle course, the people of the right.

Some of these people think that adherence to the Sharia—its commands and prohibitions—is obligatory only until they attain knowledge or a spiritual state. Once they attain it, they believe they are no longer obliged to adhere to the prophetic Sharia. Rather, they may then follow the reality of the created order as determined by divine decree, or act according to their spiritual taste, ecstasy, unveiling, and personal opinion, without holding fast to the Quran and Sunnah. Some of these people are punished by being deprived of their spiritual state, until they become deficient, powerless, and deprived. Others are punished by being deprived of obedience, until they become defiantly sinful. Still others are punished by being deprived of faith, until they become apostates and hypocrites, or accursed disbelievers. Such people are very numerous, and many of them appeal to the account of Moses and al-Khidr.

As for their appeal to the words of the Most High:

“And worship your Lord until certainty comes to you,”

this verse is evidence against them, not in their favor. Al-Hasan al-Basrī said, “Allah has set no endpoint for the deeds of the believers short of death,” and he recited His words:

“And worship your Lord until certainty comes to you.”

This is because “certainty” here means death and what follows it, by agreement of the Muslim scholars. These are among those who possess certainty.

This resembles His words:

“What brought you into Saqar?”

“They will say, ‘We were not among those who prayed’”—up to His words—

“‘And we used to engage in vain discourse with those who did so.’”