In their hearts is a sickness; and God has increased their sickness; and there awaits them a painful chastisement because they used to lie. In the hearts of the hypocrites is the sickness of making partners [with God] shirk and God increases their sickness in their imagining that they have been saved by deceiving the Muslims. The pain of their grievous punishment will reach them in the end. The allusion pertains to whoever has confused his ultimate objective qaṣd with his worldly concerns ḥaẓẓ and mixed his spiritual desire irāda with his whims hawā taking one step forward with spiritual desire and one step backward with worldly con- cerns and following the lower self. He is neither a sincere seeker murīd nor permanently neglectful. If the hypocrites had been sincere in their beliefs they would have been safe from the punishment in the hereafter just as they were safe from paying the jizya tax and the like in this world in the manner of polytheists and dhimmīs. Similarly if the seeker murīd had been sincere in his spiritual desire he would have reached out in his heart to the realities of the communion [of lovers] and the blessings of sincerity would have reached him and he [would have] attained what he desired. But his state is as it has been said: We have not been firm but justice will be firm with us without bending. If we had been sincere khalaṣnā we would have been saved takhallaṣnā from tribulation. There is a barrier between one whose worship has become weak and the degrees of the gardens darajāt al-jannāt. There is a barrier between one whose spiritual desire has become weak and the intimate communications of nearness and whispered confidences muwāṣalāt al-qurb wa-l-munājāt. As for those who rely on this world and follow [their] whims their reliance on the abode of illusion is an illness of their hearts. The increase in their disease will increase as their greed increases. The more they find something from [this world] the more their greed multiplies for what they have not found hastening the punishment for them. Among [their] immediate punishments are the dissipation of their aims and then the loss of all pleasure in their lives. They are kept by [these punishments] from their Protector mawlā. There will be no enjoyment for them nor rest in what they have preferred when [they] follow their own whims.
