His words, Exalted is He:

[then] a soul will know what it has sent ahead and [what it has] left behind.

That is, what it has sent forward, the good or bad, and what it left behind in the form of an evil practice that it initiated (sayyiʾa sannathā) and whatever [part of that practice] was emulated [by others afterwards].^{1This is according to the ḥadīth which states: ‘Whoever establishes in Islam a good sunna (precedent or exemplary practice) will earn the reward for it and the reward for those who practise it after him, without their reward being reduced in any way. Similarly, whoever establishes a bad sunna will earn the punishment for it and for all those who practise it after him…’ The ḥadīth is listed in Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitāb al-Zakāt’, and ‘Kitāb al-ʿIlm’.}

His words, Exalted is He:

O mankind! What has deceived you with regard to your Generous Lord?

He said:

That is, ‘What has lured you away to other than Him, and severed you from Him, in spite of His graciousness (luṭf) and generosity (karam)?’

He was asked, ‘What is it that cuts the servant off [from God]?’ He replied:

The servant belongs to God, and God is there for His servant. There is nothing closer to Him than the heart of the believer, and if anything else comes into his heart, that becomes a veil (ḥijāb) [for him]. Whoever looks upon (naẓara) God with his heart, will become distanced from all besides Him, and whoever seeks the means to [attain] His good pleasure (marḍā), will be made satisfied by God through His clemency (ḥilm).

Furthermore, whoever surrenders his heart to God, Exalted is He, [will find that] God takes care of his bodily members so they remain in rectitude (istiqāma). Yet at the same time, their hearts’ witnessing is in proportion to how much they safeguard their bodily members.

Then he said:

Keep a check on your hearts. We are created and our Creator is with us. Do not tire in your works, for truly God watches over you wherever you are. Place your needs before Him and stand at His door.^{1MS F638, f. 63b only has qūmū instead of mūtū, which latter would translate as ‘die at His door’.} Say: ‘We are ignorant, but our Teacher (ʿālimunā) is with us. We are weak, but the One who gives us strength (muqawwiyyunā) is with us. We are helpless, but our All-Powerful One (Qādirunā) is with us.’ Truly, whoever adheres to this will find that air, space, earth and sky will become of equal consequence [to him].^{2i.e he will attain detachment from all that is in the universe.}

ʿUmar b. Wāṣil, a student of Sahl, said, ‘When [Sahl] would recite this verse, he [Sahl] would say:

It is ignorance that has lured me away [from You] ⸢O Lord⸣,^{3Added on the basis of all three MSS: Z515, f. 129b, F638, f. 63b and F3488, f. 311b.} due to Your withdrawing Your protection from me.

His words, Mighty and Majestic is He:

As for the righteous, they will be in bliss (naʿīm).

He said:

The bliss of the elect among His servants who are the righteous (abrār) is the encounter (liqāʾ) with Him and the witnessing (mushāhada) of Him, just as their bliss in this world was in the witnessing (mushāhada) of Him and proximity (qurb) with Him. But God knows best.