The definition of Piety is to guard yourself against the things that are harmful to you. Whenever two things exist such that one is harmful to the other, they must be different in their meanings, for harm only arises from opposition—just as benefit arises from harmony. He who guards himself against harmful things is truly pious; but he who associates with things harmful to him alongside things beneficial to him is not truly pious at all, neither toward the harmful nor the beneficial.

And he who associates with harmful things while guarding against beneficial things, it may also be said of him: "He is not pious," since he guards against what benefits him and clings to what harms him. There exists nothing among beings that is neither harmful nor beneficial.

If you prefer benefit, O soul, then associate with the things that harmonize with you in your essence. If you prefer harm, then associate with the things that oppose you in your essence. And if you prefer confusion, wandering, association (ishrak), and doubt, then associate with both the beneficial and the harmful things together; for you shall find no state other than what I have inscribed for you.

Be certain of these meanings, O soul: if you are luminous and radiant, do not encounter the darkness. If you are living and rational, do not encounter the dead and the mute. And if you are wise and discerning, do not encounter the ignorant and the blind.