ing degrees of His nearness are infinite. A true lover is always trying to draw nearer and nearer to Him. "A thin veil covers my heart," says the Prophet, "then I ask for His forgiveness seventy times in day and night."[1] This means that the Prophet was always ascending the scales of his nearness, asking for His forgiveness at every stage which was found lower than the next one.
There is another fear of over confidence which slackens the efforts and mars progress. Hope with fear should be the guide of love. Some Sufis say that he who worships God without fear is liable to err and fall; he who worships him with fear turns gloomy and is cast off, but he who lovingly worships him with hope and fear is admitted by him and favoured. Therefore lovers should fear him and those who fear him should love him. Even excess of his love contains an inkling of fear: it is like salt in food. For human nature can-
- ↑ See Bukhari.
