the path is the Book of Allah; and the caller above the path is Allah’s admonisher in the heart of every believer.”

In this great hadith—which brings immense benefit to whoever understands it, if granted divine guidance, and spares him the need for much other knowledge—the Prophet explained that there is an admonisher in the heart of every believer. Admonition consists of commands and prohibitions, encouragement and warning. When the heart is filled with piety, matters become clear and manifest to it, unlike a desolate, darkened heart.

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān said:

“In the believer’s heart is a shining lamp.”

An authentic hadith states:

“The Dajjāl has ‘disbeliever’ written between his eyes, which every believer will read, whether literate or illiterate.”

This indicates that the believer perceives what others do not, especially during trials, and that the true character of anyone who lies and fabricates statements about Allah and His Messenger becomes apparent to him. The Dajjāl is the most deceitful of Allah’s creatures, even though Allah causes tremendous events and unsettling displays of deception to occur at his hands, to the point that those who see him are beguiled by him. Yet Allah exposes these things to the believer, so that he becomes convinced of their falsehood and futility.

The stronger faith becomes in the heart, the more clearly matters are disclosed to it, and the better it distinguishes what is true from what is false. The weaker faith becomes, the weaker this discernment grows. It is like the difference between a bright lamp and a dim lamp in a dark house.

For this reason, one of the early generations said, concerning Allah’s words:

“Light upon light”:

“It refers to the believer who speaks wisdom that accords with the truth, even though he has heard no transmitted report concerning it. Then, when he hears a transmitted report concerning it, it becomes light