۞

« He was asked about the words: [6:52] Do not drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, desiring His coun- tenance... That is, they desire (arādū) the countenance of God and His good pleasure and they are not absent from Him for a moment. Then he said: The ‘most ascetic’ (azhad)1 of people are those who have the purest source of food; the most devout (aʿbad) of people are those who are most earnest in their effort to uphold His com- mandments and prohibitions; and the most beloved (aḥabb) of them to God are those who are the sincerest (anṣaḥuhum) towards His creatures.2 »