Hayrāt (good deeds), in one respect, are good deeds that are effective due to their very essence; in another, those that are effective due to something other than themselves; and sometimes, those that are effective either due to their essence or due to something else. Thus, they are divided into three categories. In order to fulfill the right of each level, it is necessary to know its degrees.
The good deeds that are effective due to their essence (in themselves) are the happiness of the Hereafter. There is no other aim beyond this goal.
The good deeds that are effective due to something other than themselves are found in wealth, such as dirhams and dinars. If needs did not make them necessary, they would be like pebbles and other base substances.
The good that is sometimes effective due to its essence and sometimes due to something else is exemplified by things like bodily health. For a person—even if he does not need to walk for which the soundness of the feet is desired—still desires the soundness of his feet for the sake of his own well-being. (Mīzān, 91) hayrāt-i dunyawiyya (worldly good deeds): The things that lead to worldly good deeds are of three kinds: The first is to make one love what was previously present and to instill fear regarding what is feared now or in the future. The second is to hope for what is praised (by Allah) and to fear what is condemned. The third is to desire virtue and the perfection (kamāl) of the nafs (the lower self), for the aim is virtue and kamāl, and there is no aim beyond this.
The first of these is a requirement of shahwa (carnal desire) and is the level of the common people. The second is a requirement of ḥayāʾ (modesty) and is the principle of deficient intellect; this is the action of sultans and worldly notables. The third is a requirement of the perfection of the intellect, and this is the action of the awliyāʾ (friends of God), the sages, and those endowed with verifying intellect. (Mīzān, 80)