paradise. This utterance is the loftiest of faith’s branches, while “its lowest is removing something harmful from the road,” meaning any object that might injure passers-by—stones, thorns, shards of glass, scraps of cloth, or anything else. Clearing such harm away is itself an act of faith.

“Modesty is a branch of faith,” and in another wording: “Modesty is part of faith.” Modesty (hayāʾ) is the inner feeling that overtakes a person when he does something of which he is ashamed. It is a noble quality that formed part of the Prophet’s character ﷺ; he was more modest than a veiled maiden, yet he never shrank from speaking the truth.

Modesty, then, is praiseworthy, but one must not be shy about the truth, for Allah says, “Allah is not ashamed of the truth” (al-Ahzāb 33:53), and He says, “Indeed, Allah is not ashamed to set forth a parable—even that of a gnat or anything above it” (al-Baqarah 2:26). With truth there is no room for embarrassment, yet beyond the bounds of truth, it is good manners to be modest. Its opposite is shamelessness: a person who feels no shame is indifferent to what he does or says. Hence the hadith, “Among the sayings handed down from the earliest prophecy is this: If you feel no shame, then do as you please.” And Allah is the One who grants success.