Therefore, a person must act as the physician of his own heart, discerning whether fear or hope ought to predominate. If he finds himself leaning toward hope in a way that leads to laxity in fulfilling obligations and to violating prohibitions on the assumption of Allah’s forgiveness and mercy, he must turn away from that path. Conversely, if he detects obsessive misgivings and imagines that Allah will never accept anything from him, he must likewise steer away from that course.