The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 81
Faith, Certainty and Insight 81 these states have been described by God Almighty as garments. Righteousness too has been described as a garment, as Allah says: لبَاسُ التَّقْوى 7. The flesh with which the bones are clothed has also been described as a garment, as Allah says: فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظْمَ لَحْمًا " . . . . It should be remembered that the fifth stage is the final stage of the spiritual journey. When that stage reaches perfection, it is followed by the sixth stage, which is a pure bounty, and is bestowed upon the believer without any further effort or toil. Effort has nothing to do with it. In other words, just as the believer forsakes his self for the sake of God, and is granted a new soul. . . . ; in the same way, a believer who dedicates his life to the cause of God out of personal love for God, is honoured with the spirit of God's personal love which is accompanied by the Holy Spirit. God's personal love is a spirit and the Holy Spirit is not something apart from it; there is no separation between God's love and the. Holy Spirit. That is why we have mostly mentioned. God's personal love without mentioning the Holy Spirit, inasmuch as the two are essential to each other. When this spirit descends upon a believer, worship ceases to be a burden, and he is invested with such strength and pleasure that it prompts him to worship and remember. God out of the eagerness of love and not through conscious effort. Such a believer continuously attends upon 70 Raiment of Righteousness. '-Al-A'raf 7:27 [Publisher] 71 Then We clothed the bones with flesh. '-Al-Mu'minun. -23:15 [Publisher]