sale is prescribed for him in what he is permitted to sell.
(Turning the Permissible into Obedience)
The intelligent, discerning believer considers a time when he is under the ruling of permissibility and says, “I have no profit in this possession, and this world is an abode of trade. Let us sell this permissible thing for an obligation. That is more fitting for me. Let us not lose my time.”
He may be on an outing with his brothers and say, “My Lord, I would like to sell this permissible thing for an obligation.” God says to him, “That is up to you.” He sells the outing for reflection on the indications of God, mighty and majestic, afforded by the beauty and loveliness of that place. He reflects on the beauty, completeness, and loveliness of God’s creation. His outing is more complete and brings his heart more joy, while it no longer belongs to the merely permissible. He has sold it for this obligation.
The Real took sale into account in the believer’s case. He did not take buying into account. The believer owned a robe of permissibility and a robe of obligation. He took off the robe of permissibility and put on the robe of obligation, both of which were his. Taking off the former was called a sale, while putting on the latter was not called a purchase, for it was his property, baggage, and possession. A person does not buy what he owns.
God barred error to His creatures. Those who preferred error to guidance bought error, which they did not own, in exchange for the guidance God had given them to own. “Their trade brought them no profit, nor
Notes
Translator’s note TN2283-1: The “sale” is a change in the character of the act through attention and intention. An outing becomes reflection on God’s creation, which the author treats here as an obligation.
