the Companions, as many whose insight Allah has blinded suppose. Whoever understands that these are pursued for the sake of other ends knows that the Companions, who understood their intended purpose, are superior to those whose understanding of that purpose falls short of theirs, even if they excel in the means.

The same applies to extraordinary occurrences. Many in later generations have come to regard them as ends in themselves. They therefore devote themselves to extensive worship, hunger, sleeplessness, and seclusion, seeking some form of disclosures and extraordinary effects, just as a person strives to acquire power and wealth. Many people revere spiritual masters only for this reason, just as kings and the wealthy are revered for their power and possessions.

People of this kind may consider such masters superior to the Companions. Thus, among those with this inverted outlook, departures from the revealed message and from the commands of Allah and His Messenger are frequent. They hold fast to their own spiritual experiences and inclinations (1), rather than to obedience to Allah and His Messenger. They are afflicted by being stripped of their spiritual states, then their deeds, then their performance of obligatory duties, and finally their faith.

Similarly, [whoever] (2) is granted authority and wealth, but in exercising them departs from the Sharia and obedience to Allah and His Messenger, follows his own desires, and wrongs people, is punished for this: by removal from office, by fear and enemies, by need and poverty, or by some other means.

What is sought for its own sake in this world is steadfast adherence, inwardly and outwardly, to what Allah approves of and loves. The more closely a person follows what Allah and His Messenger approve of, and the more fully he obeys Allah and His Messenger, the better he is. Whoever attains the intended goal of faith, certainty, and obedience without an extraordinary occurrence has no need of one.