“It may also mean that your shaming of your brother for his sin is a greater and more severe sin than his sin for what it has of self-righteousness, jingoism, and inflation of the ego, as if proclaiming its own purity from sin, and that your brother is the only one who has fallen into it. In contrast, perhaps his being crushed by his sin, humility, meekness, self-reckoning, distance from the ailment of pretension, of arrogance and egotism, and his standing before God Almighty with his head down and body humble and heart broken, is more beneficial and better for him than your self-righteousness and ostentation, and [implied] expression of favor upon God and his creation.
How near to God is such a sinner from the mercy of God and how near to God's wrath is such a braggart. For a sin that brings humility is dearer to Him than a righteous act accompanied by boastful self-righteousness. That you spend the night sleeping and wake up lamenting is better for you than if you spend the night standing in prayer and wake up self-righteous.
For a self-righteous man's deed is not raised [to heaven]. That you laugh and acknowledge your sins is better than if you weep and boast. The groan of sinners is dearer to Him than the proud, self-satisfied hum of worshippers. Perhaps God made him fall into this sin as a cure that brings out a lethal illness, but your illness still resides within undetected.”
[Madārij al-Sālikīn, vol. 1, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīyyah, translated by Ovamir Anjum in his splendid translation “Ranks of the Divine Seekers A Parallel English-Arabic Text. Volume 1 (Islamic Translation) (English and Arabic Edition)
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