one of the prohibited acts. If, however, what stands in its place belongs to the category of permissible things—such as being occupied with the soul’s desires and pleasures, including eating, drinking, leadership, and other things, to the neglect of the required faith—then the punishment here is for abandoning faith, not for abandoning this category of things.

It may also be said:

No one abandons faith and monotheism except by turning to disbelief and polytheism, for the soul must have a deity to worship. Whoever does not worship the Most Merciful worships Satan.

The response is:

Worshipping Satan is a broad category. If Satan orders someone to occupy himself with something that prevents him from faith and monotheism, that person is said to have worshipped him. Likewise, whoever obeys Satan has worshipped him, but worship varies in degree. People are of “two types”: seekers of religion and seekers of worldly life. He commands seekers of religion to engage in polytheism and religious innovation, as with the devoted worshippers among the polytheists and the People of the Book; and he commands seekers of worldly life to pursue bodily desires. In a hadith, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“What I fear most for you is the wayward desires of your bellies and private parts, and trials that lead you astray.”

This is why al-Hasan al-Basrī made his remark when he mentioned the hadith:

“Everyone who performs deeds has a period of fervour, and every period of fervour is followed by a lull. If the person concerned pursues what is right and strives to come close to it, have hope for him. But if fingers are pointed at him, do not count him among the righteous.”

They said, “When you pass through the marketplace, you are pointed out