grieve.”

“Those who believe and are mindful of Allah.”

They are the believers who are mindful of Allah. Such mindfulness consists in doing what Allah has commanded and refraining from what He has forbidden. How, then, can someone who abandons what Allah has commanded and adopts a form of worship that Allah has forbidden be one of them?

In Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Abū Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him—reports from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—that Allah Most High says:

“Whoever shows enmity to an ally of Mine…”—to the end of the hadith.

Thus, He, glorified is He, has made clear that nothing by which a servant draws near to Allah equals fulfilling the duties He has imposed upon him.

Drawing near to Allah through obligatory duties alone is the path of those who take the middle course, the people of the right. Then, drawing nearer through the voluntary acts that Allah loves is the path of the foremost, those brought near to Him. The acts He loves are those that Allah and His Messenger have commanded, whether as obligations or as recommendations—not whatever a person deems desirable according to his own opinion and desires.

And Allah, glorified and exalted is He, knows best.