and among them is a group that may abandon the recommended acts of deeds without neglecting the obligatory ones, thus they fall short to that extent. and among them is a group that is deceived by what they achieve of breaking the norm—such as unveiling or having a prayer answered contrary to the norm and similar things—so one of them becomes preoccupied with these matters instead of what is commanded of worship and gratitude and the like. these matters and similar ones often present themselves to those who are on the path of spiritual practice and focus, and a servant is only saved from them by adhering to the command of Allāh which He sent His Messenger with at all times, as al-Zuhrī said: those who have passed from our predecessors used to say:

and that is because the sunnah, as Mālik (raḥimahu Allāh) said, is like the Ark of Noah; whoever boards it is saved, and whoever stays behind drowns. worship, obedience, uprightness, adherence to the straight path, and similar names have one purpose, and they have two foundations: the first is that none is worshipped except Allāh. and the second is that He is not worshipped except with what He has commanded and legislated, not with anything else from desires, conjectures, and innovations. Allāh, the Exalted, said (Sūrah al-Kahf, 110): "So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord." and He, the Exalted, said (Sūrah al-Baqarah, 112): "Yes, whoever submits his face to Allāh while being a doer of good will have his reward with his Lord, and there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve." and He, the Exalted, said (Sūrah al-Nisāʾ, 125): "And who is better in religion than one who submits his face to Allāh while being a doer of good and follows the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth? And Allāh took Abraham as an intimate friend."