loves except Allāh, worships none but Him, relies only on Him, and seeks from none other than Him. This is the meaning that should be intended by the saying of Shaykh Abū Yazīd when he said: "I want not to want except what He wants," meaning the desired, beloved, and approved will, which is the religious will. The perfection of the servant is to want, love, and be pleased with nothing except what Allāh has willed, approved, and loved, which is what He has commanded, whether obligatory or recommended. He loves only what Allāh loves, such as the angels, prophets, and the righteous. This is the meaning of their saying regarding His statement (Sūrah al-Shuʿarāʾ, 89): "except for one who comes to Allāh with a sound heart." They said: It is the heart that is sound from anything other than Allāh, or from anything other than the worship of Allāh, or from anything other than the will of Allāh, or from anything other than the love of Allāh. The meaning is the same, and this meaning, whether called annihilation or not, is the beginning and end of Islam, and the inner and outer aspect of the religion. As for the second type: it is the annihilation from witnessing anything other than Allāh. This occurs to many of the seekers, for due to the intense attraction of their hearts to the remembrance of Allāh, His worship, and love, and the weakness of their hearts in witnessing anything other than what they worship and seeing anything other than what they intend, nothing other than Allāh crosses their hearts, and they are not aware of anything except Him. As it was said regarding His statement (Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ, 10): "And the heart of the mother of Mūsá became empty."