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95 



and I am well instructed in knowledge." But thou, with- 

 out being puffed up by this deceitful language of the soul, 

 must constantly look to all its thoughts and states. If it is 

 walking in the path of the law and of the prophets and 

 saints, it is well ! and happy is he that is faithful to his 

 word ! But if the soul begin to have an inclination for 

 self-indulgence, to explain away or exceed the limits of the 

 law and to contradict clear and plain knowledge, you must 

 regard it as a machination of the devil and a temptation 

 to the soul. In short, man, until he descends to the grave, 

 must always watch over his soul with attention, to discover 

 in what degree it is obedient to the holy law and in har- 

 mony with knowledge. Whoever does not thus watch over 

 and guard himself, is most surely in a delusion and in the 

 way of a just destruction. It is the first step in Islamism, 

 that a man should keep his soul subject to the law. 



The seventh form of error, beloved, is that of the class 

 whose mistakes arise from ignorance and carelessness, 

 while they have never heard any thing of these doubts of 

 which we have been speaking. They merely wear the 

 garments, cap and quilted robes of the mystics (soofees), 

 and after learning some of their words and phrases, they 

 pretend to have attained saintship and supernatural powers. 

 And although apparently they have no evil intentions, yet 

 because they do not properly respect the holy law, but 

 practice their devotions in a lax way, their course leads 

 them to corrupt doctrines and errors. They are always in- 

 clined to do whatsoever their corrupt disposition would lead 

 them to do, such as yielding to the love of frivolous prac- 

 tices, or to sensual indulgences, or assenting to transgression 

 and sin. In the presence of the multitude, they put on a holy 

 mien and do not approve of error and sin, but they do not 

 withdraw their hearts from the pleasure of wine, nor from 

 adulterous and licentious society, nor withdraw their hands 

 from the business of gaining the world. Although in 



