Most High (1); rather, he must refrain from committing them, and if he does commit them, he must repent of them, as Adam did (2).

For this reason, one of the shaykhs said:

(3) “Two committed a sin: Adam and Iblīs (4). Adam repented, so Allah accepted his repentance [and chose him and guided him], whereas Iblīs (5) persisted and invoked predestination as his excuse. Whoever repents of his sin resembles his father Adam, while whoever persists and invokes predestination as his excuse resembles Iblīs.”

Once the distinction between a voluntary agent (6) and one who is not is firmly established among the self-evident principles (7) of reason, the intended point follows. Likewise, it is firmly established among the self-evident principles (8) of reason that voluntary actions cause the human soul to acquire praiseworthy or blameworthy qualities. This is unlike a person’s color, height, and width, for these do not cause him to acquire such qualities.

Thus, beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, prayer properly performed, truthfulness in speech, sincerity in acting for Allah, and similar things engender praiseworthy qualities in the heart.

It is related that Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—said:

“A good deed brings light to the heart, radiance to the face, abundance in provision, strength to the body, and love in people’s hearts. A bad deed brings darkness to the face, gloom (9) to the heart, weakness to the body, diminished provision, and hatred in people’s hearts.”