his soul’s anguish and devastation reveals the love that was already there. Love necessarily entails awareness; thus, the soul necessarily has an awareness of certain things. Yet a person may be unaware of this within himself, especially since Satan conceals things from him. His sins, too, remain as a stain upon his heart. Allah Most High says:

“No! Rather, their hearts have been stained by what they used to earn.”

“No! Indeed, that Day they will be veiled from their Lord.”

Al-Tirmidhī and others relate, through al-Qa‘qā‘ ibn Hakīm, from Abū Sālih, from Abū Hurayrah, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“When a servant sins, a black mark is placed upon his heart. If he repents, desists, and seeks forgiveness, his heart is polished clean. But if he sins further, the mark grows until it covers his heart. That is the stain of which Allah says: ‘No! Rather, their hearts have been stained by what they used to earn.’”

Al-Tirmidhī said: “A good and authentic hadith.”

Another example is His saying, Most High:

“They say, ‘Our hearts are covered.’ Rather, Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so little do they believe.”

He also says:

“Indeed, when those who fear Allah are touched by a suggestion from Satan, they remember, and at once they see clearly.”

When those who fear Allah are afflicted by this passing suggestion that circles about their hearts, they recall what they already knew. The suggestion then vanishes, and they see the truth that was already known to them, but which the suggestion had prevented them from seeing. Allah Most High says:

“But their brethren draw them further into error, and never desist.”

Thus, the brethren of