and existence—they cease to exist. Accidents undoubtedly cease to exist in the second moment after the moment of their existence.
The Real therefore remains watchful over the world of bodies and substances, higher and lower. Whenever an accident through which something exists disappears, He creates in that moment an accident like it or its opposite, preserving it from nonexistence in every moment. He is perpetually creating, and the world is perpetually in essential need of Him, exalted is He, in the world of accidents and substances. This is the Real’s watchfulness over His creation, preserving its existence. These are the affairs He expresses in His Book by saying that every day He is engaged in an affair.
(Watchfulness over Obligation and Bounds)
The Real has another watchfulness over His servants: His observing them in the commands and prohibitions He has charged them with and the bounds He has prescribed for them. This is watchfulness of grandeur and threat. Over some He appoints those who count everything they do, as in His saying, “He utters no word without a ready watcher beside him” [Qaf 50:18], and “Noble writers, knowing what you do” [al-Infitar 82:11–12]; “We shall write what they said” [Al ʿImran 3:181]; “We have counted everything in a clear register” [Ya Sin 36:12]; and “God is not heedless of what you do” [al-Baqara 2:74]. This is the Real’s watchfulness.
(The Divisions of the Servant’s Watchfulness)
The servant’s watchfulness has three divisions. One is not valid, while two may validly exist from the servant. The invalid watchfulness is the servant’s watching his Lord while knowing neither His Essence nor His relation to the world. It is not conceivable
