For Muslim men and women…He said:Faith (īmān) is superior to surrender (islām), but mindfulness of God (taqwā) within faith is superior to faith. Certainty (yaqīn) within mindfulness of God is superior to mindfulness of God, but veracity (ṣidq) within certainty is superior to certainty. Truly, you have taken a firm hold on the lowest (adnā) [of these], so you must not by any means let that escape from you.He also said:Faith in God is established (thābit) in the heart, and certainty is firmly rooted (rāsikh) [in it] through veracity (ṣidq). Veracity of the eye is refraining from looking at all that is forbidden. Veracity of the tongue is relinquishing engagement in that which is meaningless. Veracity of the hand is not extending it to seize what is forbidden. Veracity of the feet is refraining fromwalking in quest of indecent acts. The truth of veracity (ḥaqīqat al-ṣidq) in ⸢the heart⸣ is that it constantly reflects on the past and refrains from regarding what is to come. Verily, God, Exalted is He, has granted the veracious (ṣiddīqūn) so much knowledge that if they spoke of it, the ocean would dry up with their speech. They are hidden and do not appear in public before people, except when it is [absolutely] necessary for them, and until a virtuous [servant] (ṣāliḥ) appears, at which point they make themselves known, and teach the learned (ʿulamāʾ) from their different branches of knowledge.His words, Exalted is He: …and the men who remember God often and the women who remember God often…The one who observes true remembrance (al-dhākir ʿalā’l-ḥaqīqa) is he who is aware that God witnesses him. He perceives Him with his heart as being close to him, and therefore feels shame before Him. Then he gives Him priority over himself and over everything else in every situation.On another occasion Sahl was asked, ‘What is remembrance (dhikr)?’ He said, ‘Obedience (ṭāʿa).’ Then someone asked, ‘What is obedience?’ He replied, ‘Sincerity (ikhlāṣ).’ Then he was asked, ‘What is sincerity?’ and he answered, ‘Witnessing (mushāhada).’ Someone then asked, ‘What is witnessing?’He replied, ‘Servanthood (ʿubūdiyya).’ Then they asked: ‘What is servanthood?’ He answered, ‘Contentment (riḍā).’ Then they asked, ‘What is contentment?’ He replied, ‘Neediness (iftiqār).’ He was asked: ‘What is neediness?’ and he said, ‘It is humble entreaty (taḍarruʿ) and seeking refuge [in Him] (iltijāʾ). Submit! Submit, until death!’Ibn Sālim said:Remembrance is of three kinds: remembrance of the tongue, and that is a good deed (ḥasana) which is rewarded tenfold; remembrance of the heart, and that is a good deed which is rewarded seven-hundred fold; and a form of remembrance whose reward is beyond being weighed, and that is being filled with love [of God] (maḥabba).His words:
