Continuation on All Good Deeds Being Charity to Souls
All good deeds are charity to souls, whatever the good may be, sensory or spiritual. The believer should therefore act in this according to his Lord’s law rather than his own desire, for he is a commanded servant under his Master’s order. If he goes beyond his Lord’s law in this, he acts only by his own desire. In the eyes of ordinary believers he falls from that lofty degree to a lower one. In the eyes of the knowers he is disobedient.
When a person goes out with his charity, the first needy one he meets is his own soul, before every other needy soul. He has brought out the charity for those in need. If he passes over the first needy one, it is for his own desire rather than for God. God told him, “Begin with yourself,” and his own soul is the first of those in need that he meets.
In showing kindness, the law prescribes beginning with the nearest neighbor, then the next nearest. If he favors a more distant neighbor over a nearer one while their needs are equal, he has followed his desire and failed to keep to his Lord’s limit. This extends to all acts of righteousness. Its cause is heedlessness of God Most High. He therefore commanded the quality that brings him to presence with God, namely prayer.
Continuation on Prayer’s Effect through Its State
One instance of prayer’s effect through its state is God’s saying to the believers, “Remember Me
