blessing and affliction. There is no fifth among these.
In each of these four, Allah has a right over you by the rule of His rubūbiyya (lordship), which He will take from you through the right of ʿubūdiyya (servitude). In obedience, His right over you is that you witness the goodness that comes to you from Him. In the matter of māṣiyyat (sin), His right is that you perform tawba (repentance) for the sins you have committed. In the matter of affliction, His right is that you show sabr (patient endurance) in the face of tribulations. In the matter of blessing, His right is that you show shukr (gratitude) for it. Understanding these lifts all these burdens from you. When you realize that obedience is directed towards you and entails mercy and goodness, you must show sabr while performing them.
When you know that persisting in sin and committing sin requires punishment even in this dunyā (world), and that it removes the light of iman (faith) in this world, this becomes a reason for you to abandon it. When you know that the fruit of sabr will return to you and its blessing will reach you, you hasten toward it and trust in it. If you know that shukr, according to the verse, "If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]" (al-Ibrāhīm 14:7), is guaranteed by Allah to bring increase, this becomes a reason for you to persist in gratitude. (Tanwīr, 6)
If a portion of Allah's riḍā (contentment with God's decree) is placed in a person's heart, Allah lets him taste it so that he knows Allah is with him and bestows ihsan (spiritual excellence) upon him. Allah's riḍā is only attained through understanding (fahm), and understanding is only realized through nūr (divine light). Nūr is only attained through dunūw (drawing near), and dunūw is only realized through ʿināya (divine favor). When this servant becomes a possessor of ʿināya, gifts from the treasures of goodness appear for him. When he attains Allah's aid and nūr, his heart is freed from diseases, and with sound perception he tastes the sweetness of iman.
If his heart is heedless of Allah, he cannot taste this sweetness. For sometimes, even sugar tastes bitter to a person suffering from fever, though in ḥaqīqa (inner reality) it is not bitter. When the disease in the hearts is removed, things are perceived as they truly are. Thus, one begins to understand the taste of iman, the sweetness of obedience, and the bitterness of severing ties with Allah. Perceiving these requires tasting the sweetness of iman and witnessing the goodness that comes from Allah. As a result, one begins to seek the means to preserve his iman. Perceiving the sweetness of obedience necessitates persistence in obedience. Witnessing the goodness that comes from Allah requires perceiving the bitterness of ingratitude for blessings and opposition to Allah, hating them, and not inclining toward them. This leads to abandoning sin and striving (gayret) in this matter. Not everyone who strives is able to abandon [sin], and not everyone who abandons does so as a result of his striving. This is so because the nūr of baṣīra (spiritual insight) leads one to understand that opposition to Allah and heedlessness of Him, and the apparent attraction of obedience, are poisonous and destructive to hearts. (Tanwīr, 8)
Obedience is to fulfill the command with good acceptance before beginning any action. For those who fulfill obedience, there is a beautiful promise: deliverance from Hellfire. (Ṣofyavī, 4)
Action is the movement of the body, the heart, and the mind. If action conforms to the sharia (the sacred law), it is called obedience; if it is contrary, it is called māṣiyyat (sin). For this reason, there is consensus that the outward aspects of sharia, the inward aspects of tariqa (a Sufi path/order), and the secrets of ḥaqīqa (inner reality) are all necessary for rectification. (Rihla, 132)
(See also: taqwa/taqwāllāh; warāʿ)