Your Piety

I have seen you pray in the marketplace

at unprescribed times where everyone will see you.

What are you trying to accomplish?

You might gain a reputation for holiness amongst the widows,

But trust me, my friend,

Allah cares nothing for your piety.

Your prayers do not move Him,

Your almsgiving does not impress Him,

Your pilgrimage wins you no merit in Heaven.

I think you are wasting your time.

So, why, you might ask, did the Prophet

—peace be upon him—command us to practice?

Not to win Allah’s favor,

nor to bolster your dubious reputation

amongst the village folk.

We are commanded to pray, give alms, and go to Mecca

for one reason and one reason only:

to batter down the doors of your stubborn pride.

If you use these things to reinforce those doors,

you are lost.

Listen to Najat, for he will tell you something

that the Imams will never admit.

Allah is only impressed by your willingness to be broken.