Would any of you wish: this is a simile of a state entailing a good deed, be it an [act of] expenditure or otherwise, through which one draws near to God and seeks His satisfaction - as is the case with this category of expenditure. But then his soul manifests itself in this [deed] and stirs so that its stirrings, which are at variance with the motion of the spirit, and its motives, which are different and in opposition to the exigency of the heart, become like a torrent. Satan then exploits its stirrings and makes these a means for his evil whisperings so that he breathes into it [the soul] the seeing of its deed or making a show [of it]. That breath is thus like a fire that consumes his deed, despite his dire need for it, as the commander of the believers ʿAlī, peace be upon him, said: 'O God forgive me that [deed] by which I draw near to You but which my heart then disagrees with'.