THE THIRTY-FIFTH DISCOURSE On pious caution

Abstinence from unlawful things is incumbent on you otherwise the rope of destruction is coiled round you. You can never get out of its tangle unless God covers you with His mercy. There is an authentic report of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that the foundation of religion is abstinence from unlawful things and its destruction is in greed, and that whoever goes round a protected pastureland is only too likely to help himself to it as cattle pasturing freely by the side of a cornfield are only too likely to stretch their mouth towards it. It is unlikely that the cornfield would remain safe from them. Umar Ibn Khattab (may God be pleased with him) is reported to have said: "We used to abstain from nine-tenth of lawful things in the fear lest we should fall in the zone of unlawful things." It is reported of Abu Bakr Siddiq (may God be pleased with him) that he said: "We used to avoid seventy doors of permissible things for fear of getting involved in sin." These exalted personages did so just to be away from any proximity to unlawful things; and in doing so they acted on the saying of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Beware! verily every king has a protected pasture-land and the pasture-land of God is His forbidden things." Thus whoever goes round the pasture-land is likely to get into it; but one who enters the fort of the king and passes through the first, then the second and then the third gate till he approaches the threshold, is better than one who stands at the first door which is contiguous to the open countryside. So if the third door is shut against him it will not harm him as he is still behind two doors of the palace and he has the treasury of the king and his army near him. But as for the man who is at the first gate, if this one is closed upon him, he remains alone in the open land and he may be seized by wolves and enemies and may be among the destroyed ones. Similarly, if one who treads the path of God's appointed duties and makes it incumbent upon himself and the help of power and concession is taken away from him and he is cut off from these, he will still be on leave; and he will not be outside the law. So when death overtakes him he will be found on obedience and service and his good work will be borne testimony to. If one stands on leave and permission and does not advance towards the obligatory duties, and if the resource is snatched away and he is cut off from His help, low desires and passions of the animal self will overpower him; he will indulge in unlawful things and get out of the law and join the company of devils who are the enemies of God and shall have gone astray from the right path. So if death overtakes him before repentance, he will be among the perished ones unless God covers him with His mercy and favours. So every danger lies in standing on leave and permission and every safety in standing on obligatory duties.