The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 129
128 Ā'ĪNA-E-KAMĀLĀT-E-ISLĀM―DĀFI‘UL-WASĀWIS intentions of Allah, glorified be His eminence, nor have they, as yet, been completely freed from the battle and opposition of their selves, but rather, their self supports some paths leading to God and opposes other such paths. (3) The third group is of[sabiqum bil-khairāt—those who excel in goodness] who constitute the highest rank. They have gained complete victory over their nafs-e-ammārah and have taken the lead in performing good works. In their case, the bitterness and rebelliousness of their egos has disappeared completely. They naturally love the com- mandments of God Almighty, all the paths of His law, all His decrees and predestinations, and everything related to His will and decree, without any pretence or affectation. They leave no stone unturned in their obedience and submission. Obedience to Allah, glorified be His eminence, becomes a part of their disposition and provides comfort to their souls, such that they absolutely cannot live without it. Their soul obeys God Almighty with a cheerfulness that is filled with per- fect delight, yearning, relish, intense inclination, and joyous desire. At no time and under no circumstances do they need to force or compel themselves to act on any divine commandment or carry out the will of God. On the contrary, their soul becomes nafs-e-mutma'innah [the soul at rest], and the intention and will of God Almighty becomes their intention and will; they love the commandments and the will of God Almighty in the same way as God Almighty loves His commandments and will. That is why they do not retreat in times of trials—rather, they advance a few steps forward. Thereafter, Allah, His eminence be glorified, says that My grace is great upon all these three groups. That is, those who are zālim are also the recipients of God's grace and occupy an exalted station and are the beloveds of God Almighty; similarly, so are those of the middle group; and, of course, the case of those who excel in good deeds is self-evident. It is clear that in this verse Allah the Exalted has also included the people who are zālim [harsh on their own selves] among his eminent servants and has declared them to be the recipients of His grace, belov- eds, chosen ones, and the praised ones of God with whom He is very