he will attain them, and perhaps he will never attain them. In this hadith we are urged to seize every opportunity and to ensure that not a single moment of our time is spent except in what pleases Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and to abandon laziness, negligence, and idle wishfulness—for wishful thinking yields nothing. As al-Hasan al-Basri (d. 110 AH) said: “Faith is not achieved by idle wishes or by outward display; rather, faith is what settles in the heart and is confirmed by deeds.” Therefore, dear brothers, let us make the most of every opportunity that brings us closer to Allah by carrying out His commands and avoiding His prohibitions, so that when we arrive before Allah we are in the best possible state. We ask Allah to assist us and you in remembering Him, thanking Him, and worshipping Him in the finest manner. 67—The Eighth: On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Part of a person’s excellence in Islam is that he leaves alone whatever does not concern him.” A sound hadith narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others. Explanation A person’s Islam is his surrender to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, both outwardly and inwardly. The inward surrender is the servant’s yielding to his Lord by rectifying his creed and his heart—namely, by believing in everything that must be believed, as detailed previously in the hadith of Gabriel.