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Fleeing to Allah
Part One, Chapters 4–6 & Conclusion — A study of the inseparable bond between inward faith and outward conduct, the transformative power of beneficial knowledge, and the fruits of sound creed upon the heart and character.
Spiritual Knowledge
Part One Summary
Chapter 4
The Inseparable Connection Between Inward & Outward Servitude
Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) explains that the straight path encompasses both internal matters — beliefs, intentions, and states of the heart — and external matters: speech, actions, worship, and everyday habits. These two dimensions are deeply interconnected: what arises in the heart necessitates outward action, and outward action in turn shapes the heart's states.
Al-Shāṭibī
"Outward deeds in the religion serve as evidence of what is inward. If the exterior is corrupt, the inner self is judged corrupt; if upright, the inner self is judged upright."
Ibn al-Qayyim
"Faith has both an outward and inward aspect. The outward is the speech of the tongue and actions of the limbs; the inward is the heart's affirmation, compliance, and love."
The Principle
Outward action without inward corollary does not benefit. Inward state without outward manifestation is insufficient — except under incapability, coercion, or fear of death.
The Four Foundations of ʿUbūdiyyah (Servitude)
Ibn al-Qayyim explains that iyyāka naʿbudu — "You alone we worship" — rests on four foundations, each essential to true servitude:
1
Speech of the Heart
Belief in what Allah has informed about Himself — His names, attributes, actions, angels, and the meeting with Him.
2
Speech of the Tongue
Informing, calling to, defending, clarifying falsehood of innovations, engaging in dhikr, and conveying His commands.
3
Action of the Heart
Love, reliance, fear, hope, sincerity, patience, contentment, allegiance, humility — more obligatory than the actions of the limbs.
4
Action of the Limbs
Prayer, jihad, attending congregations, assisting the incapable, and being good to creation — the outward expression of inward faith.
Two Deviant Extremes — and the Middle Path
Ibn al-Qayyim identifies two groups in opposition. The first neglects the servitude of the heart, so the servitude of their limbs is corrupted. The second neglects the servitude of the limbs, claiming the heart's service is sufficient — so the servitude of their hearts is corrupted.
The Balanced Believer
"The believers who know Allah and His commands perform the essence of servitude outwardly and inwardly. They give precedence to the service of their hearts, making the limbs subordinate to them — thus making both the king and his army serve the One they worship."
— Ibn al-Qayyim
The Core Principle
The heart's actions are the spirit and core of servitude. Actions of the limbs devoid of the heart's engagement are like a dead body without a soul.
The servitude of the heart is more tremendous, greater, and more lasting — obligatory at all times. Faith is the duty of the heart at all times; Islam is the duty of the limbs at certain times.
The goal of all deeds — outward and inward — is the rectification and perfection of the heart in its servitude before its Lord.
Chapter 5
The Effect of Beneficial Knowledge on the Heart & Behavior
Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī (V) observed: "When a man sought knowledge, it would not be long before it could be seen in his humility, sight, speech, hands, prayers, and asceticism." Dignified character is both a prerequisite for beneficial knowledge and its fruit.
What Scholars Required of Students of Knowledge
Al-Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ (d. 533 AH)
"Every student of knowledge must, before embarking on it, adopt the manners of its people, adhere to their attire, show etiquette according to the traditions of his teachers, along with calmness and dignity."
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī (d. 463 AH)
Students of Hadith must be the most well-mannered, most humble, most upright in integrity — due to constant exposure to the Prophet's character (H), the biography of the righteous predecessors, and the ways of the narrators. They should follow what is most beautiful and avoid what is vile.
On Conduct in Gatherings
"It is necessary to avoid frivolity, tomfoolery, loud laughter, and addiction to jesting. Excessive jesting and laughing reduce a person's worth and remove manhood." — Al-Khaṭīb
Two Pillars of Beneficial Knowledge
Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī (d. 795 AH) defines beneficial knowledge as pointing to two essential matters:
Knowing Allah
Knowing His most beautiful names, lofty attributes, and extraordinary actions — necessitating honor, veneration, fear, love, hope, trust, contentment with His decree, and patience with His tests.
Knowing His Commands
Knowing what He loves and is pleased with, and what He detests — of beliefs, outward and inward actions, and statements. This causes the knower to race toward Allah's pleasure and distance himself from what He dislikes.
"When knowledge is beneficial and settles in the heart, then the heart becomes humble and serene — broken and tamed out of respect, majesty, fear, love, and veneration." — Ibn Rajab
The Fruits of Beneficial Knowledge
When Knowledge Is Beneficial
  • A humble and serene heart
  • Contentment with a small amount of lawful sustenance
  • Detachment from wealth, status, and worldly excess
  • A special familiarity between the servant and his Lord
  • Answered supplications and divine closeness
  • Sweetness in remembrance, duʿāʾ, and private devotion
When Knowledge Is Harmful
  • Pomposity, pride, and boastfulness
  • Seeking worldly exaltation and prestige
  • Contending with scholars and disputing with the foolish
  • Turning people's faces toward oneself
  • Increased desire for the world rather than detachment
  • Unanswered supplications due to disobedience
"His knowledge becomes a punishment and a proof against him." — Ibn Rajab

Knowledge taken from other than the Book and the Sunnah is not intrinsically beneficial — its harm is greater than its benefit.
Chapter 6
Sound Creed & Its Effect on the Heart & Moral Character
The scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah consistently concluded their treatises on creed by enumerating the moral and behavioral qualities that sound belief produces. From al-Muzanī (d. 263 AH) to Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH), the connection between correct ʿaqīdah and upright character is a defining hallmark of the tradition.
How the Scholars of Creed Described the People of Sunnah
01
Al-Muzanī (d. 263 AH)
Concluded his creed treatise by emphasizing: careful fulfillment of obligations, avoidance of gossip, lying, backbiting, and transgression; caution in earnings, food, drink, and clothing; and avoiding desires that lead to prohibitions.
02
Abul Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (d. 324 AH)
Concluded his Maqālāt by stating the people of Sunnah believe in: avoiding callers to innovation, humility, good manners, doing good, preventing harm, avoiding backbiting and tale-bearing, and inspecting what one eats and drinks.
03
Al-Ismāʿīlī (d. 371 AH)
They avoid innovated heresy, sins, arrogance, and pride; they prevent harm and avoid backbiting — except regarding those who openly propagate innovation.
04
Al-Ṣābūnī (d. 449 AH)
They encourage night prayer, maintaining kinship ties, spreading salām, feeding others, showing mercy to the poor and orphans, enjoining good, forbidding evil, fearing greed, and loving and hating for the sake of religion.
05
Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH)
"They command patience in calamity and gratitude in prosperity. They call for noble manners and good deeds. They believe: 'The most perfect of believers in faith are those with the best manners.'"
The Fruits of Sound Belief — Al-Saʿdī (d. 1376 AH)
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saʿdī provides a comprehensive account of how correct beliefs produce lofty character:
Security & Tranquility
Sound beliefs fill the heart with security, faith, certainty, light, and guidance — and tranquility in knowing Allah and remembering Him.
Strength in Adversity
Faith acts as a strong fortress. When fears surround the believer, his heart finds peace. Sincere believers display patience and steadfastness that a tenth of which is not found in those without faith.
Liberation from Creation
True faith liberates the servant from the bondage of creation. He neither fears nor hopes in anyone other than Allah, attaining strength and courage of heart unattainable by others.
Justice & Fairness
Faith commands justice in all dealings and fulfillment of rights. It prohibits injustice in matters of life, property, and honor. Any foundation built on other than faith is crumbling.
The Portrait of the True Believer
The Believer
  • Heart free from deceit, malice, and hatred
  • Truthful in speech, good in conduct
  • Forbearance, dignity, patience, mercy, loyalty
  • Does not lower himself except for Allah
  • Combines striving with trust in Allah
  • Receives blessings with gratitude; adversity with patience
  • Humble toward creation and the truth
The Denier
  • Arrogance toward the truth and creation
  • Self-admiration; offers no sincere advice
Al-Saʿdī's Conclusion
"Faith is not about pretense and wishful thinking. Rather, faith is what settles in the hearts and is confirmed by deeds upon scrutiny and verification. The test will reveal the liar and the truthful in faith."
Any material advancement not accompanied by faith is decline and destruction. These noble characteristics — can one attain them without faith?
Part One Conclusion
The Hallmarks of Spiritual Knowledge & Its Possessors
Since the early generations, impactful knowledge of the spiritual journey has been called al-maʿrifah — spiritual recognition and realization. Its possessors are called ʿārifūn. Both maʿrifah and ʿilm are used for this purpose in the Qurʾān and Sunnah. What follows explores the key characteristics and effects of this knowledge upon the worshipper.
"The people of this world left the world without tasting the best thing in it." They asked: "And what is it?" He said: "Knowing Allah." — Mālik b. Dīnār (d. 130 AH)
Two Types of Knowledge of Allah
Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH) distinguishes between two fundamentally different kinds of knowledge:
General Acknowledgement
Knowledge shared by all people — the righteous and the wicked, the obedient and the disobedient. It is mere recognition of Allah's existence without transformative effect.
Special Recognition (Maʿrifah)
Knowledge that necessitates shyness of Allah, love for Him, attachment of the heart to Him, longing to meet Him, fear, turning to Him, finding solace in Him, and fleeing from creation to Him. Their varying degrees in it can only be measured by the One who made them know Him.
"The souls have no greater need than their need for knowledge about their Creator — loving Him, remembrance of Him, rejoicing in Him, seeking the means to Him. There is no way to this except through the knowledge of His attributes and names." — Ibn al-Qayyim
Signs of Maʿrifah — The Knower's Characteristics
Ibn al-Qayyim and the scholars of the spiritual path describe the true ʿārif (knower) in detail. A knower is one who:
Knows Allah through His names, attributes, and actions — then truthfully engages with Allah in all interactions
Dedicates intentions purely to Allah, discards ruinous characteristics, and purifies himself from violations
Patiently bears Allah's foreordainment in blessings and tribulations, invites to Allah with clear understanding
Focuses his call solely on what the Messenger (H) brought — without mixing it with the opinions, preferences, or rationalizations of men
Does not grieve over what is lost nor rejoice over what is to come — seeing all things through the lens of impermanence
The Knower's Inner States
Awe (Haybah)
The more a servant's knowledge of his Lord increases, the more his awe and fear increase. "Only those who have knowledge from among His servants fear Allah." — Qurʾān 35:28
Tranquility (Sakīnah)
"Recognition results in tranquility. The more one's recognition grows, the more their tranquility increases." His living becomes untainted; his life becomes pleasant.
Comfort with Allah (Uns)
The knower finds companionship with Allah in solitude. He finds comfort in Him, feels discomfort with the people, and his heart is not confined by worldly circumstances.
Shyness (Ḥayāʾ)
"I would love to not die until I know my Lord — not merely acknowledging Him, but such knowledge that when you know Him, you become shy in front of Him." — Aḥmad b. ʿĀṣim
Ever-Increasing Longing
"Knowledge does not have an end point at which the knower's heart becomes still from seeking. Whenever he reaches a station, his longing for what lies beyond intensifies. The more he increases in knowledge, the more his longing increases." — Ibn al-Qayyim
Heart as Mirror
"The sign of a knower is that their heart becomes a mirror. According to its clarity, Allah, the Hereafter, Paradise and Hell, the angels, and the messengers appear within it."
Al-Junayd on True Maʿrifah
"A knower is not truly a knower until he is like the earth, trodden upon by the righteous and the wicked alike, like the clouds that shade everything, and like the rain that waters what he loves and what he does not love."
When asked about those claiming maʿrifah who abandoned righteous deeds, al-Junayd replied: "The one who steals and commits adultery is in a better state than one who says this. Those who truly know Allah took their actions from Allah and return to Him through them. Even if I lived a thousand years, I would not lessen my righteous deeds by an iota until prevented from doing them."

True maʿrifah never leads to abandoning outward deeds — it deepens and intensifies them. The knower's servitude is complete: inward and outward, heart and limbs, in every moment.
Ibn Rajab on the Origin of Khushūʿ (Fearful Humility)
Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Rajab (d. 795 AH) comprehensively summarizes the effects of this knowledge:
From Knowing Allah's Nearness
Some are humble due to their strong observation of Allah's nearness to His servant and His awareness of the servant's secrets — necessitating shyness and constant watchfulness.
From Knowing Allah's Majesty
Others are humble due to their observation of Allah's majesty, magnificence, and greatness — necessitating reverential awe.
From Knowing Allah's Beauty
Others are humble due to their observation of His perfection and beauty — necessitating immersion in His love and longing to meet Him.
From Knowing Allah's Power
Some are humble due to their observation of the severity of His striking, vengeance, and punishment — necessitating fear of Him.
"He is the healer of hearts that are broken for His sake, and He draws close to the fearfully humble hearts as He draws close to those who converse with Him in prayer and press their faces in the dust in prostration." — Ibn Rajab
The Knower's Two Steps on the Path
Ibn al-Qayyim explains that the knower "secludes himself from creation in his relationship with Allah, so much so that they seem as if they are dead to him — unable to harm or benefit him. He distances himself from his ego in his relationship with creation, so that he becomes selfless among them." The knower is also called ibn waqtihi — the son of his time — occupied with the duties of his present moment, unconcerned with what has passed or what has not yet come.
Closing Reflections: The Gift of Maʿrifah
"There is no life more pleasant in this world or the hereafter than that of those who know Allah. The knower finds companionship with Allah in solitude. If a blessing is extended, he recognizes who granted it. If he experiences bitterness, it becomes sweet in his mouth because of his knowledge of the One who tests." — Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597 AH)
A Divine Gift
"How many scholars and ascetics have been granted only as much maʿrifah as a lazy layperson! And how many laypersons have been granted what scholars have not received despite their efforts. Truly, these are divine gifts: 'That is the grace of Allah, which He bestows on whom He wills.'"
The Goal of ʿIlm al-Sulūk
To establish al-ʿUbūdiyyah to the extent that the journeyer reaches the level of the ṣiddīqīn — genuine believers — attaining Iḥsān (excellence) in worship: the highest level of the religion.
The Three Pillars of Maʿrifah
Ibn ʿAṭāʾ said: "Knowledge (maʿrifah) is based on three pillars: reverence (haybah), shyness (ḥayāʾ), and intimate familiarity (uns)."