O you who believe it is not lawful for you to inherit women against their will; neither debar them so that you may go off with part of what you have given them except when they commit flagrant lewdness. Consort with them in kindness; for if you hate them it may happen that you hate a thing wherein God has set much good. To deceive those who are vulnerable al-talbīs ʿalā l-mustaḌʿafīn and to cheat innocent and peaceable Muslims wa-l-tadlīs ʿalā ahli al-salāmati wa-l-widāʿati min al-muslimīn is not praiseworthy before God who will take revenge on those who engage in this. He will not bless them in what they have taken for themselves through deception and trickery from other people's wealth. Whoever deems the other party insignificant before God- the very least punishment God will enact on him will be to hold him back from reaching what he hopes for and loves. Consort with them in kindness: that is according to the teachings of the religion behaving in the best manner taÌaddub with the noble traits akhlāq of those who submit and keeping good company in spite of any dislikes of the lower self. It [means] that you tolerate any offense on their part that you do not burden them with serving you and that you shut your eyes to the occasions of their embarrassment. For if you hate them it may happen that you hate a thing...: That which is most difficult for the lower self [in the beginning] brings the most joy and is the most pleasant in the end. Knowthatthe Realسبحانهhasnotshownanyonewhatis unseen. Humankind [does not understand] that most of what they feel an aversion to has more good than not in it. God سبحانه has decreed that opposition to the lower self will bring its master to a higher station while the reverse will be the case for those who align themselves with [their lower selves]. Opposition to the heart [that is the higher self] leads to the blindness of the faculty of insight while the reverse will be the case for those who align themselves with [the heart].
