~/writings

**Topic:** Ikhlas (sincerity) — the psychology of riya, the recursive nature of self-deception in worship, and the classical scholars' diagnosis of divided intention. **Sources used:** - Kitab al-Tawhid: chapter 35 (riya) for the Abu Sa'id hadith about hidden shirk being more frightening than the Dajjal; chapter 3 (fear of shirk) for riya as "al-shirk al-asghar" - Madarij al-Salikin: chapter 202 (reality of ikhlas) — this was the richest single chapter I've worked with. Fudayl ibn Iyad's two-ja...

**Topic:** Sabr — its definition, taxonomy, and Quranic grounding. **Sources used:** - Uddat al-Sabirin: chapters 1 (linguistic definition), 2 (reality of sabr), 4 (sabr vs tasabbur vs istibar vs musabara), 11 (noble vs ignoble patience) - Madarij al-Salikin: chapter 249 (definition), chapter 250 (sabr billah/lillah/ma'allah — the three orientations) - Quran: al-Baqarah 2:45, 2:153-157; Aal Imran 3:200; al-Sharh 94:5-6 (read but not quoted directly) - Nawawi's Forty: hadith 19 (Ibn Abbas — "vic...