about everything that has happened to him.
This, and all that preceded is blameworthy since by it, you seek high rank and reputation in people’s hearts.
As for the cure of it, you should know that showing-off is man’s nature when he is a child. You can only manage to tame it by intense effort.
There are two stations in its cure: The first is to pluck it out by its roots. These are love of the pleasure of being praised, flight from the pain of criticism, and greed for what other people have. The second is to repel it immediately whenever it comes to mind.
The remedy is to know that showing-off is harmful and corrupts the heart. It prevents success and prevents position with God Most High. It brings punishment and disgrace to the extent that when you are in front of people, there will be shouts of, “You shameless liar! You two-faced deceiver! Why weren’t you ashamed when you sold obedience to God Most High for God’s hatred out of desire for the world and love of high rank among people? You sought their pleasure in exchange for the wrath of God, and you sought nearness to them in exchange for distance from God.”
If you reflect on this shame, you have no alternative but to turn away from showing-off together with turning your attention in this world to dispelling your concern for consideration in the hearts of others. Pleasing people is a goal which you will never attain. If you seek to please them in exchange for the wrath of God, God will be angry with you.
The cure for the greed for what others have is that God Most High is the One who subjects the hearts to withholding or giving. If you bring the bliss of the next world to your heart, you think very little of anything connected to creation. You direct your heart to God. By acts of unveiling, things are opened to you which increase you in intimacy with God—glory be to Him!—and alienate you from creation. This is the knowledge-cure.
As far as the action-cure is concerned, it is to make yourself conceal your acts of ‘ibada until your heart is content with the knowledge of God Most High.
The action-cure for the second station is to repel any of it that appears, repelling it through dislike of it.
Turning away with regret from all acts of rebellion (tawba)
Tawba is one of the praiseworthy attributes which you must acquire. God Most High said, “Turn in tawba to God altogether, oh believers so you might prosper” (Q 24:31).
Its reality is freeing the heart from wrong actions which you have done out of desire to exalt God, the Mighty, the Majestic, and to flee from His wrath. This is not the result of worldly desire, nor is it out of fear of people, out of seeking praise and renown, or out of weakness.
That which will help you in it consists of three parts: The first is to remember the end of ugly wrong actions. The second is to remember the intensity of God’s punishment. The third is to remember the weakness of your body. When you persevere in remembering these three, good counsel will move you to repentance (tawba), God willing.
You should know that in general, wrong actions are of three types: One of them is to abandon your obligations to God Most High—prayer, fasting, zakat, kaffara (reparation), or anything else of that nature. You fulfil whatever you can of them. The second are wrong actions between you and God—glory be to Him! Like drinking wine, playing wood-wind pipes, consuming usury, and things like that. You regret those actions and keep it in your heart never again to repeat it. The third are wrong actions between you and the slaves of God. They are more difficult, and fall into various categories. The wrong action may be concerned with property, the self, reputation, respect, or the religion. You make reparation lawful for all you can of these things which were mentioned. If you cannot, you turn to God with humility and sincerity so that He may be pleased with you on the Day of Rising.
Zuhd (doing-without) in this world
Zuhd is one of the praiseworthy qualities which you must acquire. God Most High said, “Do not extend your eyes to what We have given pairs of them to enjoy, the flower of this life” (Q 20:131).
Know that there are two types of doing-without: one is a doing-without which is decreed for you, and the other is a doing-without which is not decreed for you. The one which is decreed for you has three things: The first is to abandon seeking what is lost of this world. The second is to part from what you have of it. The third is to abandon will and choice.
The doing-without which is not decreed for you is coolness in the heart towards this world. What will help you in it is to remember the harm of this world. The decisive word is that this world is the enemy of God while you are His lover. If you love someone, you hate his enemy. If you say, “What is the rule of doing-without in this world? Is it obligatory or supererogatory?” Know that doing without the haram is obligatory, and doing without the halal is supererogatory. If you say, “We must have a certain amount of this world in order to maintain our strength and proper condition, so how can we do without it?” Know that doing-without concerns the superfluous since your proper condition and strength has no need of this superfluity. The goal is strength and vigour. The goal is not only food, drink, and pleasure.
Taqwa (safeguarding out of fear) of God, the Mighty
Taqwa is one of the praiseworthy qualities which you must acquire. God Most High said, “Whoever obeys God and His Messenger and fears God and guards himself out of fear of Him, those, they are the successful” (Q 24:52).
Its reality is freeing the heart from the wrong actions which you have done in the past. It has four stages: The first is safeguarding yourself from idol-worship. The second is safeguarding yourself from acts of rebellion. The third is safeguarding yourself from innovation. The fourth means to avoid the superfluous.
What will help you in it is to guard these five limbs which are the roots. They are: the eye, the ear, the tongue, the heart, and the belly. You should be careful of them and guard them from whatever you fear will harm you in your religion—acts of rebellion, the haram, superfluity, and extravagance on the halal. When you attain to safeguarding these limbs, the hope is that it will give you all the support you need.
Tawakkul (trust and reliance) in God Most High
Tawakkul is one of the praiseworthy qualities which you must acquire. God Most High says, “Whoever relies on God, He is enough for him” (Q 65:3).
Its reality is the heart’s confidence, calm, and the realization that the sustaining of your physical structure is only by God, the Majestic, the Mighty. It is not by anyone other than God, and it is not by any of the debris of this world or by any one cause.
What will help you in it is to remember that God Most High guarantees provision, and that His knowledge and power are perfect, and that He is disconnected from creation and far removed from forgetfulness and from incapacity.
Entrusting the affair to God
Entrusting the affair to God is one of the praiseworthy qualities which you must acquire. God Most High says, “I have entrusted my affair to God” (Q 40:44).
Its reality is your desire for God to preserve you from all that has danger in it and against which you have no security.
What will help you in it is to remember the danger of all affairs, and the possibility of your destruction and corruption. In all of that, you must remember your own incapacity to guard yourself against the blows of danger.
