وَلَقَدْ خَالَطَهُمْ أَمْرٌ عَظِيمٌ! لاَ يَرْضَوْنَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِمُ الْقَلِيلَ، وَلاَ يَسْتَكْثِرُونَ الْكَثِيرَ، فَهُمْ لاِنْفُسِهِمْ مُتَّهِمُونَ، وَمِنْ أَعْمَالِهِمْ مُشْفِقُونَ. إِذَا زُكِّيَ أَحَدٌ مِنْهْمْ خَافَ مِمَّا يُقَالُ لَهُ، فَيَقُولُ: أَنَا أَعْلَمُ بِنَفْسِي مِنْ غَيْرِي، وَرَبِّي أَعْلَمُ مِنِّي بِنَفْسي! اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنِي بِمَا يَقُولُونَ، وَاجْعَلْنِي أَفْضَلَ مِمَّا يَظُنُّونَ، وَاغْفِرْ لِي مَا لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ.
In fact, great concern (i.e., fear) has made them mad. They are not satisfied with their meagre good acts, and do not regard their major acts as great. They always blame themselves and are afraid of their deeds. When anyone of them is spoken of highly, he says: “I know myself better than others, and my Lord knows me better than I know. O Allāh, do not deal with me according to what they say, and make me better than they think of me and forgive me (those shortcomings) which they do not know.”
