…and they hope for His mercy and fear His chastisement…He said:The outer meaning of His mercy is His Paradise, and its inner meaning is the reality of gnosis (ḥaqīqat al-maʿrifa). Then he said:Truly, fear and hope are two restraining ties (zamāmān) for mankind. If they have equal [sway], a person’s condition [lit. states aḥwāl] will be stabilised, but if one of them preponderates, theother will be cancelled out. Notice how the Prophet said: ‘If a believer’s hope and fear were weighed they would balance each other.’ His words, Exalted is He: