His words, Exalted is He:

By those that race forward,

He said:

This means the spirits of the believers which raced to be the first in [doing] good (khayr) and [acting in] conformity (muwāfaqa), and raced to be the first to respond to the Angel of Death out of longing (shawq) for their Lord. Subsequently, they departed with the most beautiful scent and the fullest joy.

His words, Exalted is He:

When his Lord called out to him in the holy valley of Ṭuwa? ^{1The Prophet is being asked if he has heard the story of Moses, which is here alluded to briefly. It is related more fully in 20:10–6; 27:7–9; and 28:31–5.}

He said:

Moses starved himself, emaciating himself (ṭāwiyan), devoting himself (ʿābidan) to God, Exalted is He. Then his Lord called him so that he would be closer to Him.

His words, Exalted is He:

as for him who was rebellious and preferred the life of this world,

He said:

That is, he forswore the rights (ḥuqūq) of God, was ungrateful for His blessings and preferred this world, following the craving of [his] lusts and pursuing his whims.

Then he said:

Every person upon whom the sun has risen or set is ignorant (jāhil), except for the one who prefers God, Exalted is He, over himself, his spirit, his life in this world and his Hereafter.

He was asked, ‘What is the sign of hatred (bughḍ) for this world?’ He replied:

It is that the afflictions (maṣāʾib) [of this world] are easy for a person to bear, even those which [affect] him personally or his children. So it is that Muslim b. Yasār said on the death of his son, ‘O my son, my grief for you has distracted me from grieving over [my loss of] you. O God, I have transferred to him the reward [which You have granted] me concerning him.’^{1i.e. ‘I hereby wish to transfer over to my son whatever reward which You give me for not grieving over my own suffering in the loss of my son.’} The second sign is that the happiness of this world becomes insignificant in his eyes, even though it gives him ease. The third sign is that there is nothing closer to him than God, Mighty and Majestic is He, as [is indicated by] the saying of ʿĀmir b. ʿAbd al-Qays, ‘I never regarded anything without seeing God as closer to it than myself.’^{2In other words, God was between him and every object. This saying appears in Tirmidhī, Nawādir al-uṣūl, vol. 4, p. 74.}

His words, Exalted is He:

But as for him who feared the standing before his Lord, and restrained his soul from [pursuing its] desire,

He said:

No one is safe from his desire except a prophet and some of the veracious (ṣiddīqūn), though not all of them. The only one who is safe from his desire (hawā) is the one who imposes propriety (adab) upon himself. The only ones who are purified in their propriety are the prophets عليهم السلام and some of the veracious; and it is the same case regarding character (akhlāq).

One day Ibn al-Sammāk went out to meet his companions, who had gathered to see him, and said, ‘I have already given you so many admonitions. Would you like my remedy for you?’ They said, ‘Yes’. He said, ‘Oppose your desires (ahwāʾ)!’

But God, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows best.