Ibn Ata'Allah

. . . persist in that invocation until the unity of the world is subsumed for you in a single sphere, so that with the eye of your heart you will see naught in the two worlds save the One.

Paraphrased: The way of al-Junayd includes among other things abstaining constantly from resisting God Most High in whatever happens to one, whether good or bad. . . .

The signs of the soundness of the servant's love for his Lord are three: absence of self-willing; pleasure in every event which takes place through divine decree; and seeing the perfection of the Beloved in everything and being content with Him in everything through submission to Him in all things.

God Most High says, ". . . if he approaches Me a span, I approach him a cubit; if he approaches Me a cubit, I approach him a fathom; and if he comes to Me walking, I come to him running.

As for those who are firmly established and are at the end of the path, invocation occupies their hearts at all times.

Hadith: God Most High has said, "La ilaha illa'llah is My fortress; whosoever enters My fortress is safe from My chastisement."

If a tablet is not wiped clean of it's figures, nothing can be written upon it. A single heart cannot serve as the place for two things, let alone for several things. If the heart is filled with the forms of sensory perceptions, it is rare that it would perceive the meaning of Allah, even if one were to say Allah a thousand times. When the heart is empty of all that is other-than-God, if one uttered Allah only once, one would find such bliss that the tongue could not describe.

Invoking brings the heart closer to the hereafter and keeps the world away from the heart, even though the world is around it. Invoking warns the heedless heart to abandon its pleasures and deceptions.

When the heart becomes empty, the mimbar of the Divine Oneness is placed therein and the sultan of gnosis sits upon it.

It is impossible that this gnosis resulting in the heart should be achieved by man for any other purpose than to obey God, love Him, and worship Him. This gnosis should be sought for the sake of God, not for any other reason whatsoever, unlike the remaining external acts of devotion, which can be performed for other worldly interests, such as hypocrisy, praise, and commendation.