A Pearl of Wisdom from al-Ḥakam

al-Ḥakam said:

إذا كثرت ذنوب العبد ولم يكن له من العمل ما يكفرها عنه ابتلاه الله بالحزن ليكفرها عنه

“When one’s sins are many, and he does not have good deeds to expiate for them, Allāh may afflict one with sadness so that they be expiated.”

(Ibn Abī al-Dunyā’s Tawbah, 130)