That which is possible for the common people...

That which is possible for the common people, too, is the delight of eyes of “the people of knowledge” [ ahl-i ma‛rifat ].

So, it is a must for the sālik on the road to the other world to act very seriously to rid his knowledge [ ma‛ārif ] and rites [ manāsik ] of the intrusion of Satan and the commanding soul [ nafs-i ammārah ], and to go deep into his doings, quests and desires, with strictness and examination, so as to find out the ultimate objective of his journey, learning the principles of his inner activities and spiritual nutrition.

He is not to neglect the tricks of the soul and Satan, as well as the snares of the commanding soul and Iblīs . He is always to distrust his self in all his doings and activities, and never to let it go willfully. It is quite possible that, with a little negligence, it may overcome man, knock him down and drive him to perdition and annihilation.

If the spiritual foods were not free from Satan's intrusion, and if he shared in preparing them, the souls and hearts would not be educated with them nor can they reach their becoming perfection, let alone the irreparable insufficiency that would befall them. Such foods may probably cause man to join the group of Satans or the quadruped and beasts of prey.

Then whatever is the capital of happiness, the source of the human perfection and the means of attaining to high ranks, results in the opposite, and drives man to the dark abyss of misfortune. Actually we did come across some of the so called gnostics who had been led astray because of their deep indulgence in the gnostic terminology, such that their hearts became inverted and their interiors were darkened.

Their gnostic practices strengthened their selfishness and Oneness, and they uttered improper allegations and abnormal expressions. Similarly, among the ascetics and the devotees there were persons who practiced asceticism and self-purification, yet their exercises only aggravated their hearts' impurity and their interiors' darkness.

This is because they did not keep on their divine spiritual journey and migration to Allah, and their scholarly and ascetic sulūk (journey) was subject to the intrusion of Satan and the self's desire, and so, it was to Satan and self.