1. Adab al Nufoos: The Disciplines of the Souls by Al Muhasibi part 1

آدَابُ النُّفُوسِ

ʾĀdābu al-Nufūsi

The Disciplines of the Souls  (that is, the education by which the lower selves are disciplined and made upright)

الْحَارِثُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ

Al-Ḥārithu bnu ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyu

Al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī

Source page 31

مُعَامَلَةُ اللَّهِ

Muʿāmalatu Allāhi

Conduct toward God

دَلَائِلُ مَعْرِفَةِ اللَّهِ

Dalāʾilu maʿrifati Allāhi

Signs of knowing God

رُوِيَ عَنْ بَعْضِ الْحُكَمَاءِ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: أُوصِيكَ وَنَفْسِي وَمَنْ سَمِعَ كَلَامِي بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْعِبَادَ، وَإِلَيْهِ الْمَعَادُ، وَبِهِ السَّدَادُ وَالرَّشَادُ.

Ruwiya ʿan baʿḍi al-ḥukamāʾi ʾannahu qāla: ʾūṣīka wa-nafsī wa-man samiʿa kalāmī bitaqwā Allāhi alladhī khalaqa al-ʿibāda, wa-ʾilayhi al-maʿādu, wa-bihi al-sadādu wa-al-rashādu.

One of the sages is reported to have said: I counsel you, myself, and everyone who hears my words to be mindful of God, who created His servants, to whom they will return, and through whom sound judgment and right guidance come.

فَاتَّقِهِ يَا أَخِي تَقْوَى مَنْ قَدْ عَرَفَ قُرْبَ اللَّهِ مِنْهُ وَقُدْرَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ.

Fa-ittaqihi yā ʾakhī taqwā man qad ʿarafa qurba Allāhi minhu wa-qudratahu ʿalayhi.

Be mindful of Him, my brother, as someone who knows how near God is to him and the power He has over him.

وَآمِنْ بِهِ إِيمَانَ مَنْ قَدْ أَقَرَّ لَهُ بِالْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ وَالْفَرْدَانِيَّةِ وَالْأَزَلِيَّةِ، لِمَا ظَهَرَ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ مَلَكُوتِهِ وَشَوَاهِدِ سُلْطَانِهِ وَكَثْرَةِ الدَّلَائِلِ عَلَيْهِ، وَالْآيَاتِ الَّتِي تَدُلُّ عَلَى رُبُوبِيَّتِهِ وَنَفَاذِ مَشِيئَتِهِ وَإِحْكَامِ صَنْعَتِهِ وَبَيَانِ قُدْرَتِهِ عَلَى جَمِيعِ خَلْقِهِ وَحُسْنِ تَدْبِيرِهِ: أَلَا لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالْأَمْرُ، تَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

Wa-ʾāmin bihi ʾīmāna man qad ʾaqarra lahu bi-al-waḥdāniyyati wa-al-fardāniyyati wa-al-ʾazaliyyati, limā ẓahara min mushāhadati malakūtihi wa-shawāhidi sulṭānihi wa-kathrati al-dalāʾili ʿalayhi, wa-al-ʾāyāti allatī tadullu ʿalā rubūbiyyatihi wa-nafādhi mashīʾatihi wa-ʾiḥkāmi ṣanʿatihi wa-bayāni qudratihi ʿalā jamīʿi khalqihi wa-ḥusni tadbīrihi: ʾalā lahu al-khalqu wa-al-ʾamru, tabāraka Allāhu rabbu al-ʿālamīna.

Believe in Him with the faith of someone who acknowledges His oneness, His uniqueness, and His existence without beginning, in view of what has become evident through witnessing His dominion, the testimonies to His sovereignty, the many proofs of Him, and the signs that point to His lordship, His unfailing will, the perfection of His workmanship, the manifest power He has over all His creation, and His wise governance: surely creation and command belong to Him; blessed is God, Lord of all worlds.

وَثِقْ بِهِ يَا أَخِي ثِقَةَ مَنْ قَدْ حَسُنَ ظَنُّهُ بِهِ وَقَلَّتْ تُهْمَتُهُ لَهُ، وَصَدَّقَ بِوَعْدِهِ وَوَثِقَ بِضَمَانِهِ، وَسَكَنَ قَلْبُهُ عَنِ الِاضْطِرَابِ إِلَى وَعْدِهِ، وَعَظُمَ وَعِيدُهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ.

Wa-thiq bihi yā ʾakhī thiqata man qad ḥasuna ẓannuhu bihi wa-qallat tuhmatuhu lahu, wa-ṣaddaqa biwaʿdihi wa-wathiqa biḍamānihi, wa-sakana qalbuhu ʿani al-iḍṭirābi ʾilā waʿdihi, wa-ʿaẓuma waʿīduhu fī qalbihi.

Trust Him, my brother, as someone who thinks well of Him and scarcely entertains suspicion of Him, believes His promise and relies on His guarantee, whose heart has found rest from turmoil in His promise, and for whom His warning weighs heavily in the heart.

وَاُشْكُرْهُ يَا أَخِي شُكْرَ مَنْ قَدْ عَرَفَ فَضْلَهُ وَكَثُرَتْ أَيَادِيهِ عِنْدَهُ وَبِرَّهُ بِهِ.

Wa-ushkurhu yā ʾakhī shukra man qad ʿarafa faḍlahu wa-kathurat ʾayādīhi ʿindahu wa-birrahu bihi.

Thank Him, my brother, as someone who recognizes His bounty, the many favors He has bestowed upon him, and His kindness toward him.

وَتَعَرَّفْ نِعَمَهُ الظَّاهِرَةَ وَالْبَاطِنَةَ، الْخَاصَّةَ مِنْهَا وَالْعَامَّةَ، وَأَخْلِصْ لَهُ إِخْلَاصَ مَنْ قَدْ عَرَفَ أَنَّهُ لَا يَقْبَلُ لَهُ عَمَلًا إِلَّا بَعْدَ تَخْلِيصِهِ مِنَ الْآفَاتِ وَإِخْلَاصِهِ لِلَّهِ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَلَا يُشْرِكُ فِي عَمَلِهِ أَحَدًا سِوَاهُ.

Wa-taʿarraf niʿamahu al-ẓāhirata wa-al-bāṭinata, al-khāṣṣata minhā wa-al-ʿāmmata, wa-ʾakhliṣ lahu ʾikhlāṣa man qad ʿarafa ʾannahu lā yaqbalu lahu ʿamalan ʾillā baʿda takhlīṣihi mina al-ʾāfāti wa-ʾikhlāṣihi li-llāhi lā sharīka lahu, wa-lā yushriku fī ʿamalihi ʾaḥadan siwāhu.

Recognize His outward and inward blessings, those particular to you and those shared by all. Be sincere toward Him as someone who knows that He accepts none of his deeds until he has freed them of their defects and devoted them sincerely to God, who has no partner, associating no one else with Him in his work.

وَاِعْلَمْ يَا أَخِي أَنَّ إِشْرَاكَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ فِي الْعَمَلِ أَنْ يَتَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْعَبْدُ فِي مَوَاطِنِ الِامْتِحَانِ، فَيَكْذِبَ فِي عَمَلِهِ أَوْ يُرَائِيَ لِيُكْرَمَ وَيُعَظَّمَ لِجَمِيلِ قَوْلِهِ وَمَحَاسِنِ مَا يُظْهِرُ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ، وَهُوَ يَعْرِفُ ذٰلِكَ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ أَوْ يَجْهَلُهُ مِنْهَا.

Wa-iʿlam yā ʾakhī ʾanna ʾishrāka al-makhlūqīna fī al-ʿamali ʾan yatazayyana lahumu al-ʿabdu fī mawāṭini al-imtiḥāni, fa-yakdhiba fī ʿamalihi ʾaw yurāʾiya liyukrama wa-yuʿaẓẓama lijamīli qawlihi wa-maḥāsini mā yuẓhiru min ʿamalihi, wa-huwa yaʿrifu dhālika min nafsihi ʾaw yajhaluhu minhā.

Know, my brother, that associating created beings with God in one's work means presenting oneself attractively to them in situations that put one to the test, being false in one's actions or showing off so as to be honored and esteemed for one's fine words and the good deeds one displays, whether one recognizes this in oneself or remains unaware of it.

Source pages 31–32

وَلَا يَسْلَمُ يَا أَخِي مِنْ شَرِّهِ إِلَّا مَنْ هَرَبَ مِنْ مَوَاطِنِهِ، وَعَمِلَ وَهُوَ لَا يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَطَّلِعَ لَهُ مَخْلُوقٌ عَلَى عَمَلٍ. وَإِنِ اطَّلَعَ لَهُ مَخْلُوقٌ عَلَى عَمَلٍ وَهُوَ لَا يُحِبُّ اطِّلَاعَهُ، فَمِنْ صِدْقِهِ أَلَّا يُحِبَّ أَنْ يَحْمَدَهُ ذٰلِكَ الْمَخْلُوقُ عَلَى مَا اطَّلَعَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ.

Wa-lā yaslamu yā ʾakhī min sharrihi ʾillā man haraba min mawāṭinihi, wa-ʿamila wa-huwa lā yuḥibbu ʾan yaṭṭaliʿa lahu makhlūqun ʿalā ʿamalin. Wa-ʾini iṭṭalaʿa lahu makhlūqun ʿalā ʿamalin wa-huwa lā yuḥibbu iṭṭilāʿahu, fa-min ṣidqihi ʾallā yuḥibba ʾan yaḥmadahu dhālika al-makhlūqu ʿalā mā iṭṭalaʿa ʿalayhi min ʿamalihi.

No one escapes its evil, my brother, except someone who flees the situations that foster it and acts without wishing any created being to discover his deeds. If someone does discover a deed of his, without his wanting it discovered, his sincerity requires that he not want that person to praise him for what they have seen of his work.

Source page 32

وَإِنْ حَمِدَهُ أَحَدٌ وَهُوَ لَا يُحِبُّ حَمْدَهُ، فَلَا يُسَرُّ بِحَمْدِهِ لَهُ عَلَى عَمَلِهِ؛ فَإِنْ سَرَّهُ، فَلَا يُسَرَّنَّ لِمَعْنَى الدُّنْيَا بِسَبَبٍ مِنَ الْأَسْبَابِ.

Wa-ʾin ḥamidahu ʾaḥadun wa-huwa lā yuḥibbu ḥamdahu, fa-lā yusarru biḥamdihi lahu ʿalā ʿamalihi; fa-ʾin sarrahu, fa-lā yusarranna limaʿnā al-dunyā bisababin mina al-ʾasbābi.

If someone praises him, although he does not want that praise, he should take no pleasure in being praised for his deed. If it does please him, he must never let that pleasure be for any worldly consideration, for any reason whatsoever.

ثُمَّ اُصْدُقْ يَا أَخِي فِي قَوْلِكَ وَفِعْلِكَ صِدْقَ مَنْ قَدْ عَرَفَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ مُطَّلِعٌ عَلَى دَخِيلَةِ أَمْرِهِ وَسِرِّهِ وَعَلَانِيَتِهِ وَمَا طَوَى عَلَيْهِ ضَمِيرَهُ.

Thumma uṣduq yā ʾakhī fī qawlika wa-fiʿlika ṣidqa man qad ʿarafa ʾanna Allāha muṭṭaliʿun ʿalā dakhīlati ʾamrihi wa-sirrihi wa-ʿalāniyatihi wa-mā ṭawā ʿalayhi ḍamīrahu.

Then be truthful, my brother, in word and deed, with the truthfulness of someone who knows that God sees the innermost reality of his affairs, what he conceals and what he reveals, and what he has folded away within his conscience.

وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ يَا أَخِي تَوَكُّلَ مَنْ قَدْ وَثِقَ بِوَعْدِهِ وَاطْمَأَنَّ إِلَى ضَمَانِهِ، ثِقَةً مِنْهُ بِوَفَائِهِ وَرِضًا مِنْهُ بِقَضَائِهِ وَاسْتِسْلَامًا مِنْهُ لِأَمْرِهِ وَإِيمَانًا بِقَدَرِهِ وَيَقِينًا صَادِقًا مِنْهُ بِجَنَّتِهِ وَنَارِهِ.

Wa-tawakkal ʿalayhi yā ʾakhī tawakkula man qad wathiqa biwaʿdihi wa-iṭmaʾanna ʾilā ḍamānihi, thiqatan minhu biwafāʾihi wa-riḍan minhu biqaḍāʾihi wa-istislāman minhu li-ʾamrihi wa-ʾīmānan biqadarihi wa-yaqīnan ṣādiqan minhu bijannatihi wa-nārihi.

Rely on Him, my brother, as someone who trusts His promise and rests assured in His guarantee: trusting that He will fulfill it, accepting His decree, surrendering to His command, believing in His determination of all things, and holding true certainty of His Garden and His Fire.

وَخَفْهُ يَا أَخِي خَوْفَ مَنْ قَدْ عَرَفَ سَطْوَتَهُ وَشِدَّةَ نِقْمَتِهِ وَأَلِيمَ عَذَابِهِ وَمُثْلَتِهِ وَآثَارِهِ وَوَقَائِعِهِ لِمَنْ خَالَفَ أَمْرَهُ وَعَصَاهُ.

Wa-khafhu yā ʾakhī khawfa man qad ʿarafa saṭwatahu wa-shiddata niqmatihi wa-ʾalīma ʿadhābihi wa-muthlatihi wa-ʾāthārihi wa-waqāʾiʿihi liman khālafa ʾamrahu wa-ʿaṣāhu.

Fear Him, my brother, as someone who knows His might, the severity of His retribution, His painful punishment and exemplary chastisement, and the traces of the calamities He has inflicted on those who defied His command and disobeyed Him.

وَتَعَرَّفْ يَا أَخِي أَنَّهُ لَا تَمَسُّكَ لِأَحَدٍ خَذَلَهُ، وَلَا صَنِيعَةَ عَلَى أَحَدٍ وَفَّقَهُ وَسَدَّدَهُ وَحَاطَهُ وَحَفِظَهُ، وَأَنَّهُ لَا صَبْرَ لِأَحَدٍ عَلَى عُقُوبَتِهِ وَنَكَالِهِ وَتَغَيُّرِ نِعَمِهِ.

Wa-taʿarraf yā ʾakhī ʾannahu lā tamassuka li-ʾaḥadin khadhalahu, wa-lā ṣanīʿata ʿalā ʾaḥadin waffaqahu wa-saddadahu wa-ḥāṭahu wa-ḥafiẓahu, wa-ʾannahu lā ṣabra li-ʾaḥadin ʿalā ʿuqūbatihi wa-nakālihi wa-taghayyuri niʿamihi.

Recognize, my brother, that no one He abandons can hold firm, and that there is no “favor” against anyone whom He grants success, guides aright, surrounds with His care, and protects [the sense of this printed phrase is unclear]; and that no one can endure His punishment, His exemplary chastisement, or the withdrawal of His blessings.

وَاُرْجُهُ يَا أَخِي رَجَاءَ مَنْ قَدْ صَدَّقَ بِوَعْدِهِ وَعَايَنَ ثَوَابَهُ.

Wa-urjuhu yā ʾakhī rajāʾa man qad ṣaddaqa biwaʿdihi wa-ʿāyana thawābahu.

Place your hope in Him, my brother, with the hope of someone who believes His promise and has seen His reward with his own eyes.

وَاُشْكُرْهُ يَا أَخِي شُكْرَ مَنْ قَدْ قَبِلَ مِنْهُ مَحَاسِنَهُ وَأَصْلَحَ عَمَلَهُ وَحَبَاهُ مِنْ مَزِيدِ أَيَادِيهِ وَأَنَالَهُ مِنْ مَزِيدِ كَرَامَاتِهِ مَا لَمْ يَسْتَأْهِلْهُ بِعَمَلِهِ.

Wa-ushkurhu yā ʾakhī shukra man qad qabila minhu maḥāsinahu wa-ʾaṣlaḥa ʿamalahu wa-ḥabāhu min mazīdi ʾayādīhi wa-ʾanālahu min mazīdi karāmātihi mā lam yastaʾhilhu biʿamalihi.

Thank Him, my brother, as someone whose good deeds He has accepted, whose work He has set right, and whom He has favored with still more of His gifts and granted still more honors that his own deeds did not earn.

وَاِسْتَحْيِهِ يَا أَخِي حَيَاءَ مَنْ قَدْ تَعَرَّفَ كَثْرَةَ تَفَضُّلِهِ وَجَزِيلَ مَوَاهِبِهِ، وَعَرَفَ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ التَّقْصِيرَ فِي شُكْرِهِ وَقِلَّةَ الْوَفَاءِ مِنْهُ بِعَهْدِهِ وَالْعَجْزَ عَنِ الْقِيَامِ بِأَدَاءِ مَا لَزِمَهُ مِنْ حَقِّهِ، ثُمَّ لَا يَتَعَرَّفُ مِنْ خَالِقِهِ إِلَّا جَمِيلَ سَتْرِهِ وَعَظِيمَ الْعَافِيَةِ وَتَتَابُعَ النِّعَمِ وَدَوَامَ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَيْهِ وَعَظِيمَ الْحِلْمِ وَالصَّفْحِ عَنْهُ.

Wa-istaḥyihi yā ʾakhī ḥayāʾa man qad taʿarrafa kathrata tafaḍḍulihi wa-jazīla mawāhibihi, wa-ʿarafa min nafsihi al-taqṣīra fī shukrihi wa-qillata al-wafāʾi minhu biʿahdihi wa-al-ʿajza ʿani al-qiyāmi bi-ʾadāʾi mā lazimahu min ḥaqqihi, thumma lā yataʿarrafu min khāliqihi ʾillā jamīla satrihi wa-ʿaẓīma al-ʿāfiyati wa-tatābuʿa al-niʿami wa-dawāma al-ʾiḥsāni ʾilayhi wa-ʿaẓīma al-ḥilmi wa-al-ṣafḥi ʿanhu.

Feel shame before Him, my brother, as someone who recognizes His abundant generosity and immense gifts, while knowing his own shortcoming in thanking Him, his poor fulfillment of His covenant, and his inability to discharge what he owes Him. Yet from his Creator he encounters only gracious concealment of his faults, great well-being, blessings one after another, unceasing kindness toward him, and immense forbearance and pardon.

Source pages 32–33

ثُمَّ اِعْلَمْ يَا أَخِي أَنَّ اللَّهَ جَلَّ ذِكْرُهُ قَدِ افْتَرَضَ فَرَائِضَ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً، وَشَرَعَ لَكَ شَرَائِعَ دَلَّكَ عَلَيْهَا وَأَمَرَكَ بِهَا، وَوَعَدَكَ عَلَى حُسْنِ أَدَائِهَا جَزِيلَ الثَّوَابِ، وَأَوْعَدَكَ عَلَى تَضْيِيعِهَا أَلِيمَ الْعِقَابِ رَحْمَةً لَكَ، وَحَذَّرَكَ نَفْسَهُ شَفَقَةً مِنْهُ عَلَيْكَ.

Thumma iʿlam yā ʾakhī ʾanna Allāha jalla dhikruhu qadi iftaraḍa farāʾiḍa ẓāhiratan wa-bāṭinatan, wa-sharaʿa laka sharāʾiʿa dallaka ʿalayhā wa-ʾamaraka bihā, wa-waʿadaka ʿalā ḥusni ʾadāʾihā jazīla al-thawābi, wa-ʾawʿadaka ʿalā taḍyīʿihā ʾalīma al-ʿiqābi raḥmatan laka, wa-ḥadhdharaka nafsahu shafaqatan minhu ʿalayka.

Then know, my brother, that God, exalted be His remembrance, has laid down outward and inward obligations. He has prescribed ordinances for you, shown them to you, and commanded you to observe them. He has promised you an ample reward for carrying them out well and threatened you with painful punishment for neglecting them, out of mercy toward you; He has warned you of Himself out of compassionate concern for you.

Source page 33

فَقُمْ يَا أَخِي بِفَرَائِضِهِ، وَاِلْزَمْ شَرَائِعَهُ، وَوَافِقْ سُنَّةَ نَبِيِّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَاتَّبِعْ آثَارَ أَصْحَابِ نَبِيِّهِ، وَاِلْزَمْ سِيرَتَهُمْ، وَتَأَدَّبْ بِآدَابِهِمْ، وَاُسْلُكْ طَرِيقَهُمْ، وَاهْتَدِ بِهُدَاهُمْ، وَتَوَسَّلْ إِلَى اللَّهِ بِحُبِّهِمْ وَحُبِّ مَنْ أَحَبَّهُمْ، فَهُمُ الَّذِينَ أَنَابُوا إِلَيْهِ وَقَصَدُوا قَصْدَهُ، وَاخْتَارَهُمْ لِصُحْبَةِ نَبِيِّهِ فَجَعَلَهُمْ لَهُ أَحْبَابًا وَأَخْدَانًا.

Fa-qum yā ʾakhī bifarāʾiḍihi, wa-ilzam sharāʾiʿahu, wa-wāfiq sunnata nabiyyihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, wa-ittabiʿ ʾāthāra ʾaṣḥābi nabiyyihi, wa-ilzam sīratahum, wa-taʾaddab bi-ʾādābihim, wa-usluk ṭarīqahum, wa-ihtadi bihudāhum, wa-tawassal ʾilā Allāhi biḥubbihim wa-ḥubbi man ʾaḥabbahum, fa-humu alladhīna ʾanābū ʾilayhi wa-qaṣadū qaṣdahu, wa-ikhtārahum liṣuḥbati nabiyyihi fa-jaʿalahum lahu ʾaḥbāban wa-ʾakhdānan.

Fulfill His obligations, my brother, and adhere to His ordinances. Conform to the practice of His Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace. Follow the precedents of the Prophet's companions, adhere to their way of life, school yourself in their manners, walk their path, and follow their guidance. Seek nearness to God through love for them and for those who love them, for they are the ones who turned back to Him and directed themselves toward Him. He chose them to accompany His Prophet and made them his beloved and intimate friends.

حَقِيقَةُ التَّوَسُّلِ بِحُبِّ الصَّالِحِينَ

Ḥaqīqatu al-tawassuli biḥubbi al-ṣāliḥīna

The reality of seeking nearness through love for the righteous

وَاِعْلَمْ يَا أَخِي أَنَّ عَلَامَةَ حُبِّكَ إِيَّاهُمْ لُزُومُكَ مَحَجَّتَهُمْ مَعَ اسْتِقَامَةِ قَلْبِكَ وَصِحَّةِ عَمَلِكَ وَصِدْقِ لِسَانِكَ وَحُسْنِ سَرِيرَتِكَ لِأَمْرِ دُنْيَاكَ وَآخِرَتِكَ كَمَا كَانَ الْقَوْمُ فِي هٰذِهِ الْأَحْوَالِ، فَهٰذَا يُحَقِّقُ مِنْكَ صِدْقَ دَعْوَاكَ لِحُبِّهِمْ وَالتَّمَسُّكِ بِسُنَّتِهِمْ.

Wa-iʿlam yā ʾakhī ʾanna ʿalāmata ḥubbika ʾiyyāhum luzūmuka maḥajjatahum maʿa istiqāmati qalbika wa-ṣiḥḥati ʿamalika wa-ṣidqi lisānika wa-ḥusni sarīratika li-ʾamri dunyāka wa-ʾākhiratika kamā kāna al-qawmu fī hādhihi al-ʾaḥwāli, fa-hādhā yuḥaqqiqu minka ṣidqa daʿwāka liḥubbihim wa-al-tamassuki bisunnatihim.

Know, my brother, that the sign of your love for them is your adherence to their clear path, together with an upright heart, sound deeds, a truthful tongue, and a good inward disposition in the affairs of this world and the next, just as they themselves possessed these qualities. This establishes the truth of your claim to love them and hold fast to their practice.

فَإِذَا صَحَّتْ فِيكَ وَمِنْكَ هٰذِهِ الْخِلَالُ كَصِحَّتِهَا مِنْهُمْ وَفِيهِمْ، كُنْتَ صَادِقًا فِي حُبِّ الْقَوْمِ وَحُسْنِ الِاتِّبَاعِ لَهُمْ.

Fa-ʾidhā ṣaḥḥat fīka wa-minka hādhihi al-khilālu kaṣiḥḥatihā minhum wa-fīhim, kunta ṣādiqan fī ḥubbi al-qawmi wa-ḥusni al-ittibāʿi lahum.

When these qualities are genuinely present in you and expressed by you, as they were genuinely expressed by them and present in them, you are sincere in loving those people and following them well.

وَإِنْ كُنْتَ مُدَّعِيًا لِحُبِّهِمْ وَأَنْتَ مُخَالِفٌ لِأَفَاعِيلِهِمْ، عَادِلٌ عَنْ سَبِيلِ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ لِطَرِيقِ الْمَحَجَّةِ الَّتِي كَانُوا عَلَيْهَا، فَأَنْتَ مَائِلٌ إِلَى مُوَافَقَةِ هَوَاكَ، عَادِلٌ عَنْ مَسِيرَتِهِمْ، وَلَسْتَ بِصَادِقٍ فِي دَعْوَاكَ.

Wa-ʾin kunta muddaʿiyan liḥubbihim wa-ʾanta mukhālifun li-ʾafāʿīlihim, ʿādilun ʿan sabīli al-istiqāmati liṭarīqi al-maḥajjati allatī kānū ʿalayhā, fa-ʾanta māʾilun ʾilā muwāfaqati hawāka, ʿādilun ʿan masīratihim, wa-lasta biṣādiqin fī daʿwāka.

But if you claim to love them while acting contrary to their deeds and turning aside from steadfast adherence to the clear path they followed, then you are inclining toward the demands of your own desire and turning away from their course. Your claim is not truthful.

فَلَا تَجْمَعَنَّ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ الْخِلَافَ لِمَحَجَّتِهِمْ وَالدَّعْوَى أَنَّكَ عَلَى سَبِيلِهِمْ، فَمَتَى فَعَلْتَ ذٰلِكَ صَحَّ مِنْكَ جَهْلٌ وَكَذِبٌ، وَتَعَرَّضْتَ لِلْمَقْتِ مِنَ اللَّطِيفِ الْخَبِيرِ.

Fa-lā tajmaʿanna ʿalā nafsika al-khilāfa limaḥajjatihim wa-al-daʿwā ʾannaka ʿalā sabīlihim, fa-matā faʿalta dhālika ṣaḥḥa minka jahlun wa-kadhibun, wa-taʿarraḍta li-al-maqti mina al-laṭīfi al-khabīri.

Do not burden yourself both with departing from their clear path and with claiming that you are on their way. Whenever you do that, your ignorance and falsehood are established, and you expose yourself to the abhorrence of the All-Subtle, the All-Aware.

وَلٰكِنْ إِقْرَارًا وَاسْتِغْفَارًا، فَذٰلِكَ أَوْلَى بِمَنْ كَانَتْ هٰذِهِ صِفَتَهُ.

Wa-lākin ʾiqrāran wa-istighfāran, fa-dhālika ʾawlā biman kānat hādhihi ṣifatahu.

Instead, acknowledge your fault and seek forgiveness: that is more fitting for someone in this condition.

وَلْيَكُنْ لَكَ يَا أَخِي فِي الْحَقِّ نَصِيبٌ، فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ قِيلَ: لَيَأْتِيَنَّ عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يَكُونُ الْمُقِرُّ فِيهِ بِالْحَقِّ نَاجِيًا.

Wa-l-yakun laka yā ʾakhī fī al-ḥaqqi naṣībun, fa-ʾinnahu qad qīla: layaʾtiyanna ʿalā al-nāsi zamānun yakūnu al-muqirru fīhi bi-al-ḥaqqi nājiyan.

Have a share in the truth, my brother, for it has been said: a time will surely come upon people when whoever acknowledges the truth will be saved.

Source page 34

سِيَاسَةُ النَّفْسِ

Siyāsatu al-nafsi

Governing the self

فَإِذَا أَنْتَ عَرَفْتَ الْحَقَّ فَأَقْرَرْتَ بِهِ، وَدَلَّكَ الْحَقُّ عَلَى أَنَّ لِلَّهِ عَلَيْكَ مَعَ الْفَرَائِضِ الظَّاهِرَةِ فَرْضًا بَاطِنًا هُوَ تَصْحِيحُ السَّرَائِرِ وَاسْتِقَامَةُ الْإِرَادَةِ وَصِدْقُ النِّيَّةِ وَمُفَاتَشَةُ الْهِمَّةِ وَنَقَاءُ الضَّمِيرِ مِنْ كُلِّ مَا يَكْرَهُ اللَّهُ، وَعَقْدُ النَّدَمِ عَلَى جَمِيعِ مَا مَضَى مِنَ التَّوَاثُبِ بِالْقَلْبِ وَالْجَوَارِحِ عَلَى مَا نَهَى اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.

Fa-ʾidhā ʾanta ʿarafta al-ḥaqqa fa-ʾaqrarta bihi, wa-dallaka al-ḥaqqu ʿalā ʾanna li-llāhi ʿalayka maʿa al-farāʾiḍi al-ẓāhirati farḍan bāṭinan huwa taṣḥīḥu al-sarāʾiri wa-istiqāmatu al-ʾirādati wa-ṣidqu al-niyyati wa-mufātashatu al-himmati wa-naqāʾu al-ḍamīri min kulli mā yakrahu Allāhu, wa-ʿaqdu al-nadami ʿalā jamīʿi mā maḍā mina al-tawāthubi bi-al-qalbi wa-al-jawāriḥi ʿalā mā nahā Allāhu ʿanhu.

When you have recognized the truth and acknowledged it, the truth shows you that, alongside the outward obligations, you owe God an inward obligation: to put your inner dispositions right, make your will upright and your intention sincere, examine your purpose, clear your conscience of everything God dislikes, and settle firmly upon remorse for every past occasion when your heart and limbs rushed toward what God has forbidden.

وَهٰذَا أَمْرٌ جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ مُهَيْمِنًا عَلَى أَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ، فَمَا كَانَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْعَبْدِ مِنْ عَمَلٍ ظَاهِرٍ قُوبِلَ بِهِ مِنَ الْبَاطِنِ، فَمَا صَحَّ وَوَافَقَ بَاطِنَهُ صَلَحَ وَقُبِلَ ظَاهِرُهُ، وَمَا خَالَفَ وَفَسَدَ بَاطِنُهُ رُدَّتْ عَلَيْهِ أَعْمَالُ ظَاهِرِهِ وَإِنْ كَثُرَتْ، وَخَسِرَ ظَاهِرُهَا لِفَسَادِ بَاطِنِهَا.

Wa-hādhā ʾamrun jaʿalahu Allāhu muhayminan ʿalā ʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi, fa-mā kāna min ʾaʿmāli al-ʿabdi min ʿamalin ẓāhirin qūbila bihi mina al-bāṭini, fa-mā ṣaḥḥa wa-wāfaqa bāṭinahu ṣalaḥa wa-qubila ẓāhiruhu, wa-mā khālafa wa-fasada bāṭinuhu ruddat ʿalayhi ʾaʿmālu ẓāhirihi wa-ʾin kathurat, wa-khasira ẓāhiruhā lifasādi bāṭinihā.

God has made this govern the deeds of the limbs. Every outward deed a servant performs is measured against what corresponds to it inwardly. Whatever is sound and accords with its inward reality has a sound outward form and is accepted. When it conflicts and its inward reality is corrupt, his outward deeds are rejected, however numerous they may be, and their outward value is lost because of their inward corruption.

وَيُحَقِّقُ ذٰلِكَ كُلَّهُ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَذَرُوا ظَاهِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَبَاطِنَهُ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْسِبُونَ الْإِثْمَ سَيُجْزَوْنَ بِمَا كَانُوا يَقْتَرِفُونَ﴾.

Wa-yuḥaqqiqu dhālika kullahu qawlu Allāhi taʿālā: ﴿wa-dharū ẓāhira al-ʾithmi wa-bāṭinahu ʾinna alladhīna yaksibūna al-ʾithma sayujzawna bimā kānū yaqtarifūna﴾.

All this is confirmed by the words of God Most High: “Leave both outward and inward sin. Those who earn sin will be repaid for what they used to commit.”

وَقَوْلُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِنَّمَا الْعَمَلُ بِالنِّيَّةِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِامْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى».

Wa-qawlu al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «ʾinnamā al-ʿamalu bi-al-niyyati, wa-ʾinnamā li-imriʾin mā nawā».

And by the words of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Action is only by intention, and a person has only what he intended.”

وَقَوْلُهُ: فِي ابْنِ آدَمَ مُضْغَةٌ، إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ سَائِرُ جَسَدِهِ، وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ سَائِرُ جَسَدِهِ، يُرِيدُ عَمَلَهُ، أَلَا وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ.

Wa-qawluhu: fī ibni ʾĀdama muḍghatun, ʾidhā ṣalaḥat ṣalaḥa sāʾiru jasadihi, wa-ʾidhā fasadat fasada sāʾiru jasadihi, yurīdu ʿamalahu, ʾalā wa-hiya al-qalbu.

And his words: In the human being there is a piece of flesh. When it is sound, the rest of his body is sound; when it is corrupt, the rest of his body is corrupt, meaning his actions. Indeed, it is the heart.

وَقَوْلُهُ: إِنَّ الْمَلَكَ لَيُكَثِّرُ أَعْمَالَ الْعَبْدِ بَعْدَ وَفَاتِهِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَيَقُولُ: عَبْدُكَ، لَمْ أَزَلْ مَعَهُ حَتَّى تَوَفَّيْتَهُ. ثُمَّ يَذْكُرُ مَحَاسِنَ عَمَلِهِ فَيُكَثِّرُهَا وَيُطَيِّبُهَا وَيُحْسِنُ الثَّنَاءَ عَلَيْهِ،

Wa-qawluhu: ʾinna al-malaka layukaththiru ʾaʿmāla al-ʿabdi baʿda wafātihi ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā, fa-yaqūlu: ʿabduka, lam ʾazal maʿahu ḥattā tawaffaytahu. Thumma yadhkuru maḥāsina ʿamalihi fa-yukaththiruhā wa-yuṭayyibuhā wa-yuḥsinu al-thanāʾa ʿalayhi,

And his words: An angel will make much of a servant's deeds before God Most High after his death, saying, “Your servant: I remained with him until You took him in death.” Then the angel recounts his good deeds, makes much of them, praises their goodness, and speaks highly of him.

فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: أَنْتَ كُنْتَ حَفِيظًا عَلَى عَمَلِ عَبْدِي، وَأَنَا كُنْتُ رَقِيبًا عَلَى قَلْبِهِ، وَإِنَّ عَمَلَهُ الَّذِي كَثَّرْتَهُ وَطَيَّبْتَهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِي خَالِصًا، وَلَسْتُ أَقْبَلُ مِنْ عَبْدِي إِلَّا مَا كَانَ لِي خَالِصًا.

fa-yaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā: ʾanta kunta ḥafīẓan ʿalā ʿamali ʿabdī, wa-ʾanā kuntu raqīban ʿalā qalbihi, wa-ʾinna ʿamalahu alladhī kaththartahu wa-ṭayyabtahu lam yakun lī khāliṣan, wa-lastu ʾaqbalu min ʿabdī ʾillā mā kāna lī khāliṣan.

God Most High says, “You were a keeper of My servant's actions, while I watched over his heart. The work you have made so much of and praised was not devoted purely to Me, and I accept from My servant only what is devoted purely to Me.”

Source pages 34–35

فَاِعْرِفْ يَا أَخِي نَفْسَكَ، وَتَفَقَّدْ أَحْوَالَهَا، وَابْحَثْ عَنْ عُقَدِ ضَمِيرِهَا بِعِنَايَةٍ مِنْكَ وَشَفَقَةٍ مِنْكَ عَلَيْهَا، مَخَافَةَ تَلَفِهَا، فَلَيْسَ لَكَ نَفْسٌ غَيْرُهَا، فَإِنْ هَلَكَتْ فَهِيَ الطَّامَّةُ الْكُبْرَى وَالدَّاهِيَةُ الْعُظْمَى.

Fa-iʿrif yā ʾakhī nafsaka, wa-tafaqqad ʾaḥwālahā, wa-ibḥath ʿan ʿuqadi ḍamīrihā biʿināyatin minka wa-shafaqatin minka ʿalayhā, makhāfata talafihā, fa-laysa laka nafsun ghayruhā, fa-ʾin halakat fa-hiya al-ṭāmmatu al-kubrā wa-al-dāhiyatu al-ʿuẓmā.

Know your own self, my brother. Inspect its states and search the knots of its conscience, taking care of it and showing it compassion for fear that it may perish. You have no other self; if it perishes, that is the greatest catastrophe and the most terrible disaster.

Source page 35

فَأَحِدَّ النَّظَرَ إِلَيْهَا يَا أَخِي بِعَيْنٍ نَافِذَةِ الْبَصَرِ حَدِيدَةِ النَّظَرِ، حَتَّى تَعْرِفَ آفَاتِ عَمَلِهَا وَفَسَادَ ضَمِيرِهَا، وَتَعْرِفَ مَا يَتَحَرَّكُ بِهِ لِسَانُهَا، ثُمَّ خُذْ بِعِنَانِ هَوَاهَا فَاِكْبَحْهَا بِحَكَمَةِ الْخَوْفِ وَصِدْقِ الْخِلَافِ عَلَيْهَا،

Fa-ʾaḥidda al-naẓara ʾilayhā yā ʾakhī biʿaynin nāfidhati al-baṣari ḥadīdati al-naẓari, ḥattā taʿrifa ʾāfāti ʿamalihā wa-fasāda ḍamīrihā, wa-taʿrifa mā yataḥarraku bihi lisānuhā, thumma khudh biʿināni hawāhā fa-ikbaḥhā biḥakamati al-khawfi wa-ṣidqi al-khilāfi ʿalayhā,

Look sharply at it, my brother, with a penetrating, keen-sighted eye, until you recognize the defects in its actions, the corruption of its conscience, and what sets its tongue in motion. Then seize the reins of its desire and curb it with the bridle of fear and resolute opposition.

وَرُدَّهَا بِجَمِيلِ الرِّفْقِ إِلَى مُرَاجَعَةِ الْإِخْلَاصِ فِي عَمَلِهَا وَتَصْحِيحِ الْإِرَادَةِ فِي ضَمِيرِهَا وَصِدْقِ الْمَنْطِقِ فِي لَفْظِهَا وَاسْتِقَامَةِ النِّيَّةِ فِي قَلْبِهَا وَغَضِّ الْبَصَرِ عَمَّا كَرِهَ مَوْلَاهَا، مَعَ تَرْكِ فُضُولِ النَّظَرِ إِلَى مَا قَدْ أُبِيحَ النَّظَرُ إِلَيْهِ مِمَّا يَجْلِبُ عَلَى الْقَلْبِ اعْتِقَادَ حُبِّ الدُّنْيَا.

wa-ruddahā bijamīli al-rifqi ʾilā murājaʿati al-ʾikhlāṣi fī ʿamalihā wa-taṣḥīḥi al-ʾirādati fī ḍamīrihā wa-ṣidqi al-manṭiqi fī lafẓihā wa-istiqāmati al-niyyati fī qalbihā wa-ghaḍḍi al-baṣari ʿammā kariha mawlāhā, maʿa tarki fuḍūli al-naẓari ʾilā mā qad ʾubīḥa al-naẓaru ʾilayhi mimmā yajlibu ʿalā al-qalbi iʿtiqāda ḥubbi al-dunyā.

Gently and graciously bring it back to sincerity in its work, a rightly directed will within its conscience, truthfulness in its speech, upright intention within its heart, and lowering its gaze from what its Master dislikes. Let it also give up needless looking at things it is permitted to see when such looking brings an attachment to the love of this world into the heart.

وَخُذْهَا بِالصَّمَمِ عَنِ اسْتِمَاعِ شَيْءٍ مِمَّا كَرِهَ مَوْلَاهَا مِنَ الْهَوَى وَالْخَنَا، وَفِي تَنَاوُلِهَا وَقَبْضِهَا وَبَسْطِهَا، وَفِي فَرَحِهَا وَحُزْنِهَا.

Wa-khudh-hā bi-al-ṣamami ʿani istimāʿi shayʾin mimmā kariha mawlāhā mina al-hawā wa-al-khanā, wa-fī tanāwulihā wa-qabḍihā wa-basṭihā, wa-fī faraḥihā wa-ḥuznihā.

Require it to turn a deaf ear to anything its Master dislikes, to the talk of desire and obscenity; discipline it in what it takes, in its withholding and giving, and in its joy and sorrow.

وَخُذْهَا بِتَصْحِيحِ مَا يَصِلُ إِلَى بَطْنِهَا مِنْ غِذَائِهَا وَمَا تَسْتُرُ بِهِ عَوْرَتَهَا.

Wa-khudh-hā bitaṣḥīḥi mā yaṣilu ʾilā baṭnihā min ghidhāʾihā wa-mā tasturu bihi ʿawratahā.

Require it to put right the food that reaches its stomach and the clothing with which it covers its nakedness.

وَخُذْهَا بِجَمِيعِ هَمِّهَا كُلِّهَا.

Wa-khudh-hā bijamīʿi hammihā kullihā.

Hold it to account for all its concern, in its entirety.

وَاِمْنَعْ فَرْجَهَا عَنْ جَمِيعِ مَا كَرِهَ مَوْلَاهَا.

Wa-imnaʿ farjahā ʿan jamīʿi mā kariha mawlāhā.

Restrain its sexual organ from everything its Master dislikes.

وَلْيَكُنْ مَعَ ذٰلِكَ مِنْكَ تَيَقُّظٌ وَإِزَالَةٌ لِلْغَفَلَاتِ عَنْ قَلْبِكَ عِنْدَ كُلِّ حَرَكَةٍ تَكُونُ مِنْكَ وَسُكُونٍ، وَعِنْدَ الصَّمْتِ وَالْمَنْطِقِ وَالْمَدْخَلِ وَالْمَخْرَجِ وَالْمَنْشَطِ وَالْحُبِّ وَالْبُغْضِ وَالضَّحِكِ وَالْبُكَاءِ.

Wa-l-yakun maʿa dhālika minka tayaqquẓun wa-ʾizālatun li-al-ghafalāti ʿan qalbika ʿinda kulli ḥarakatin takūnu minka wa-sukūnin, wa-ʿinda al-ṣamti wa-al-manṭiqi wa-al-madkhali wa-al-makhraji wa-al-manshaṭi wa-al-ḥubbi wa-al-bughḍi wa-al-ḍaḥiki wa-al-bukāʾi.

Along with this, be alert and clear heedlessness from your heart in every movement you make and every moment of stillness, in silence and speech, in coming in and going out, in moments of energy, in love and hate, and in laughter and weeping.

فَتَعَاهَدْهَا يَا أَخِي فِي ذٰلِكَ كُلِّهِ، فَإِنَّ لَهَا فِي كُلِّ نَوْعٍ ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ كُلِّهِ سَبَبًا لِهَوَاهَا وَسَبَبًا لِطَاعَتِهَا وَسَبَبًا لِمَعْصِيَتِهَا.

Fa-taʿāhad-hā yā ʾakhī fī dhālika kullihi, fa-ʾinna lahā fī kulli nawʿin dhakarnāhu min dhālika kullihi sababan lihawāhā wa-sababan liṭāʿatihā wa-sababan limaʿṣiyatihā.

Keep watch over it in all of this, my brother. In every kind of activity we have mentioned, it has an opening for its desire, an opening for its obedience, and an opening for its disobedience.

فَإِنْ غَفَلْتَ وَوَافَقْتَ هَوَاهَا وَغَفَلْتَ عَنْ مُفَاتَشَةِ هِمَمِهَا، كَانَ جَمِيعُ مَا ذَكَرْتُ لَكَ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ كُلِّهِ مَعَاصِيَ مِنْهَا. وَإِنْ أَنْتَ سَقَطْتَ بِالْغَفْلَةِ ثُمَّ رَجَعْتَ بِالتَّيَقُّظِ إِلَى خِلَافِ هَوَاهَا، فَكَانَ مَعَكَ النَّدَمُ عَلَى غَفْلَتِكَ وَسَقْطَتِكَ، رَجَعَ ذٰلِكَ كُلُّهُ إِحْسَانًا وَطَاعَاتٍ لَكَ.

Fa-ʾin ghafalta wa-wāfaqta hawāhā wa-ghafalta ʿan mufātashati himamihā, kāna jamīʿu mā dhakartu laka min dhālika kullihi maʿāṣiya minhā. Wa-ʾin ʾanta saqaṭta bi-al-ghaflati thumma rajaʿta bi-al-tayaqquẓi ʾilā khilāfi hawāhā, fa-kāna maʿaka al-nadamu ʿalā ghaflatika wa-saqṭatika, rajaʿa dhālika kulluhu ʾiḥsānan wa-ṭāʿātin laka.

If you are heedless, yield to its desire, and neglect to examine its purposes, everything I have mentioned to you becomes an act of disobedience on its part. But if you fall through heedlessness, then return through alertness to opposing its desire, accompanied by remorse for your heedlessness and your fall, all of this turns into goodness and acts of obedience for you.

فَتَفَقَّدْهَا يَا أَخِي بِالْعِنَايَةِ الْمُتَحَرِّكَةِ مِنْكَ لَهَا، مَخَافَةَ تَلَفِهَا، فَإِنَّكَ تَقْطَعُ عَنْ إِبْلِيسَ طَرِيقَ الْمَعَاصِي وَتَفْتَحُ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ بَابَ الْخَيْرَاتِ، وَمَا التَّوْفِيقُ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ.

Fa-tafaqqad-hā yā ʾakhī bi-al-ʿināyati al-mutaḥarrikati minka lahā, makhāfata talafihā, fa-ʾinnaka taqṭaʿu ʿan ʾIblīsa ṭarīqa al-maʿāṣī wa-taftaḥu ʿalā nafsika bāba al-khayrāti, wa-mā al-tawfīqu ʾillā bi-Allāhi al-ʿaliyyi al-ʿaẓīmi.

Inspect it, my brother, with the active care you show it for fear that it may perish. In doing so, you cut off Iblis's route to disobedience and open the door of good things for yourself. Success comes only through God, the Most High, the Magnificent.

Source page 36

بَيْنَ اللِّسَانِ وَالْقَلْبِ

Bayna al-lisāni wa-al-qalbi

Between the tongue and the heart

خَطَرُ اللِّسَانِ

Khaṭaru al-lisāni

The danger of the tongue

اِتَّهِمْ يَا أَخِي نَفْسَكَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ، أَشَدَّ مِنْ تُهْمَتِكَ أَعْدَى عَدُوٍّ لَكَ.

Ittahim yā ʾakhī nafsaka ʿalā nafsika, ʾashadda min tuhmatika ʾaʿdā ʿaduwwin laka.

Suspect your own self, my brother, where your own welfare is concerned, more deeply than you suspect your fiercest enemy.

وَخَفْ يَا أَخِي مِنْ لِسَانِكَ أَشَدَّ مِنْ خَوْفِكَ مِنَ السَّبُعِ الضَّارِي الْقَرِيبِ الْمُتَمَكِّنِ مِنْ أَخْذِكَ، فَإِنَّ قَتِيلَ السَّبُعِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْإِيمَانِ ثَوَابُهُ الْجَنَّةُ، وَقَتِيلَ اللِّسَانِ عُقُوبَتُهُ النَّارُ، إِلَّا أَنْ يَعْفُوَ اللَّهُ.

Wa-khaf yā ʾakhī min lisānika ʾashadda min khawfika mina al-sabuʿi al-ḍārī al-qarībi al-mutamakkini min ʾakhdhika, fa-ʾinna qatīla al-sabuʿi min ʾahli al-ʾīmāni thawābuhu al-jannatu, wa-qatīla al-lisāni ʿuqūbatuhu al-nāru, ʾillā ʾan yaʿfuwa Allāhu.

Fear your tongue, my brother, more than you fear a ravenous beast close enough to seize you. A believer killed by a beast has the Garden as his reward; someone killed by his tongue has the Fire as his punishment, unless God pardons him.

فَإِيَّاكَ يَا أَخِي وَالْغَفْلَةَ عَنِ اللِّسَانِ، فَإِنَّهُ سَبُعٌ ضَارٍ وَأَوَّلُ فَرِيسَتِهِ صَاحِبُهُ.

Fa-ʾiyyāka yā ʾakhī wa-al-ghaflata ʿani al-lisāni, fa-ʾinnahu sabuʿun ḍārin wa-ʾawwalu farīsatihi ṣāḥibuhu.

Beware, my brother, of neglecting your tongue. It is a ravenous beast, and its first prey is its owner.

فَأَغْلِقْ بَابَ الْكَلَامِ مِنْ نَفْسِكَ بِغَلَقٍ وَثِيقٍ، ثُمَّ لَا تَفْتَحْهُ إِلَّا فِيمَا لَا بُدَّ لَكَ مِنْهُ، فَإِذَا فَتَحْتَهُ فَاحْذَرْ، وَخُذْ مِنَ الْكَلَامِ حَاجَتَكَ الَّتِي لَا بُدَّ لَكَ مِنْهَا، وَأَغْلِقِ الْبَابَ.

Fa-ʾaghliq bāba al-kalāmi min nafsika bighalaqin wathīqin, thumma lā taftaḥhu ʾillā fīmā lā budda laka minhu, fa-ʾidhā fataḥtahu fa-iḥdhar, wa-khudh mina al-kalāmi ḥājataka allatī lā budda laka minhā, wa-ʾaghliqi al-bāba.

Fasten the door of your speech with a secure lock, and open it only for what you cannot do without. When you open it, be on your guard: take from speech only what you need and cannot do without, then close the door.

وَإِيَّاكَ وَالْغَفْلَةَ عَنْ ذٰلِكَ وَالتَّمَادِيَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ وَأَنْ يَسْتَمِدَّ بِكَ الْكَلَامُ فَتُهْلِكَ نَفْسَكَ، فَإِنَّهُ يُرْوَى عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِمُعَاذٍ: وَهَلْ يَكُبُّ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَنَاخِرِهِمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ إِلَّا حَصَائِدُ أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ؟

Wa-ʾiyyāka wa-al-ghaflata ʿan dhālika wa-al-tamādiya fī al-ḥadīthi wa-ʾan yastamidda bika al-kalāmu fa-tuhlika nafsaka, fa-ʾinnahu yurwā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʾannahu qāla li-Muʿādhin: wa-hal yakubbu al-nāsa ʿalā manākhirihim fī jahannama ʾillā ḥaṣāʾidu ʾalsinatihim?

Beware of forgetting this, of going on and on in conversation, and of letting speech carry you further until you destroy yourself. It is reported that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said to Muʿādh: “What throws people onto their noses in Hell but the harvests of their tongues?”

وَسَأَلَهُ رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ: مَا أَتَّقِي؟ فَقَالَ: هٰذَا، يَعْنِي لِسَانَكَ.

Wa-saʾalahu rajulun fa-qāla: mā ʾattaqī? Fa-qāla: hādhā, yaʿnī lisānaka.

A man asked him, “What should I guard against?” He said, “This,” meaning your tongue.

وَقَالَ لَهُ رَجُلٌ: مَا أَخْوَفُ مَا تَخَافُ عَلَيَّ؟ فَقَالَ: هٰذَا. وَأَخَذَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِلِسَانِ نَفْسِهِ.

Wa-qāla lahu rajulun: mā ʾakhwafu mā takhāfu ʿalayya? Fa-qāla: hādhā. Wa-ʾakhadha rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama bilisāni nafsihi.

A man said to him, “What do you fear most for me?” He replied, “This,” and the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, took hold of his own tongue.

وَقَالَ لَهُ آخَرُ: مَا النَّجَاةُ؟ فَقَالَ: أَمْسِكْ عَلَيْكَ لِسَانَكَ، وَلْيَسَعْكَ بَيْتُكَ، وَابْكِ عَلَى خَطِيئَتِكَ.

Wa-qāla lahu ʾākharu: mā al-najātu? Fa-qāla: ʾamsik ʿalayka lisānaka, wa-l-yasaʿka baytuka, wa-ibki ʿalā khaṭīʾatika.

Another asked him, “What is salvation?” He replied, “Hold back your tongue, let your house be enough for you, and weep over your sin.”

وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ صَمَتَ نَجَا.

Wa-qāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: man ṣamata najā.

He also said, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Whoever keeps silent is saved.”

وَقَالَ: مَنْ سَرَّهُ أَنْ يَسْلَمَ فَلْيَلْزَمِ الصَّمْتَ.

Wa-qāla: man sarrahu ʾan yaslama fa-l-yalzami al-ṣamta.

And he said: “Whoever would be glad to remain safe should keep to silence.”

Source page 37

وَوَرَدَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ عَلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا وَهُوَ آخِذٌ بِطَرَفِ لِسَانِهِ يُبَصْبِصُهُ، فَقَالَ: مَا تَصْنَعُ؟ فَقَالَ: هٰذَا أَوْرَدَنِي الْمَوَارِدَ.

Wa-warada ʿUmaru bnu al-Khaṭṭābi ʿalā ʾAbī Bakrin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā wa-huwa ʾākhidhun biṭarafi lisānihi yubaṣbiṣuhu, fa-qāla: mā taṣnaʿu? Fa-qāla: hādhā ʾawradanī al-mawārida.

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb came upon Abū Bakr, may God be pleased with them both, holding the tip of his tongue and moving it about. He asked, “What are you doing?” Abū Bakr replied, “This has brought me into perilous places.”

وَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ: لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَحَقَّ بِطُولِ سَجْنٍ مِنْ لِسَانٍ، إِلَى أَخْبَارٍ كَثِيرَةٍ فِي اللِّسَانِ.

Wa-qāla ʿAbdu Allāhi bnu Masʿūdin: laysa shayʾun ʾaḥaqqa biṭūli sajnin min lisānin, ʾilā ʾakhbārin kathīratin fī al-lisāni.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd said, “Nothing deserves prolonged imprisonment more than a tongue.” There are many further reports about the tongue.

فَإِيَّاكَ يَا أَخِي وَالْغَفْلَةَ عَنْهُ، فَإِنَّهُ أَعْظَمُ جَوَارِحِكَ عَلَيْكَ جِنَايَةً، وَأَكْثَرُ مَا تَجِدُ فِي صَحِيفَةِ أَعْمَالِكَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنَ الشَّرِّ مَا أَمْلَاهُ عَلَيْكَ لِسَانُكَ، وَأَكْثَرُ مَا تَجِدُهُ فِي صَحِيفَتِكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ مَا اكْتَسَبَهُ قَلْبُكَ.

Fa-ʾiyyāka yā ʾakhī wa-al-ghaflata ʿanhu, fa-ʾinnahu ʾaʿẓamu jawāriḥika ʿalayka jināyatan, wa-ʾaktharu mā tajidu fī ṣaḥīfati ʾaʿmālika yawma al-qiyāmati mina al-sharri mā ʾamlāhu ʿalayka lisānuka, wa-ʾaktharu mā tajiduhu fī ṣaḥīfatika mina al-khayri mā iktasabahu qalbuka.

Beware of neglecting it, my brother, for none of your limbs does you greater harm. Most of the evil you find in the record of your deeds on the Day of Resurrection will be what your tongue dictated against you, while most of the good you find in your record will be what your heart acquired.

فَضْلُ عَمَلِ الْقَلْبِ عَلَى عَمَلِ اللِّسَانِ

Faḍlu ʿamali al-qalbi ʿalā ʿamali al-lisāni

The superiority of the heart's work over the tongue's work

وَذٰلِكَ أَنَّ اكْتِسَابَ قُلُوبِ الْحُكَمَاءِ وَأَهْلِ الْبَصَائِرِ لِلْخَيْرِ أَعْمَالٌ خَفِيَّةٌ تَخْفَى عَلَى إِبْلِيسَ وَعَلَى الْحَفَظَةِ، فَهِيَ أَعْمَالٌ نَقِيَّةٌ مِنَ الْفَسَادِ زَاكِيَةٌ، قَدْ حَصَلَتْ مَعَ خِفَّةِ مُؤْنَةٍ عَلَى أَهْلِهَا جَزِيلَةَ الثَّوَابِ، مُخْلَصَاتٍ مِنْ عَوَارِضِ الْعَدُوِّ وَمِنْ هَوَى النَّفْسِ.

Wa-dhālika ʾanna iktisāba qulūbi al-ḥukamāʾi wa-ʾahli al-baṣāʾiri li-al-khayri ʾaʿmālun khafiyyatun takhfā ʿalā ʾIblīsa wa-ʿalā al-ḥafaẓati, fa-hiya ʾaʿmālun naqiyyatun mina al-fasādi zākiyatun, qad ḥaṣalat maʿa khiffati muʾnatin ʿalā ʾahlihā jazīlata al-thawābi, mukhlaṣātin min ʿawāriḍi al-ʿaduwwi wa-min hawā al-nafsi.

This is because the good acquired by the hearts of the wise and those with insight consists of hidden deeds, concealed from Iblis and from the recording angels. These deeds are pure, free of corruption, and flourishing. They are achieved with little burden on those who perform them, yet carry an ample reward, kept clear of the enemy's intrusions and of the self's desire.

وَذٰلِكَ لِأَنَّهَا أَعْمَالٌ مَسْتُورَةٌ عَنْ أَعْيُنِ الْعِبَادِ خَامِلَةٌ، لِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ يَصِلُ إِلَيْهَا قَائِمًا وَقَاعِدًا وَمُضْطَجِعًا، فَأُولٰئِكَ هُمْ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَى جُنُوبِهِمْ، وَأَكْثَرُ ذِكْرِهِمُ التَّفَكُّرُ. قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ﴾.

Wa-dhālika li-ʾannahā ʾaʿmālun mastūratun ʿan ʾaʿyuni al-ʿibādi khāmilatun, li-ʾanna al-ʿabda yaṣilu ʾilayhā qāʾiman wa-qāʿidan wa-muḍṭajiʿan, fa-ʾulāʾika hum ʾulū al-ʾalbābi alladhīna yadhkurūna Allāha qiyāman wa-quʿūdan wa-ʿalā junūbihim, wa-ʾaktharu dhikrihimu al-tafakkuru. Qāla taʿālā: ﴿wa-yatafakkarūna fī khalqi al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍi﴾.

They are deeds hidden from people's eyes and attracting no notice, because a servant can attain them standing, sitting, or lying down. Such people are the ones of understanding who remember God standing, sitting, and on their sides; most of their remembrance consists of reflection. The Most High says: “And they reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth.”

فَهُمْ أَهْلُ الْإِخْمَالِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ عَبَدُوا اللَّهَ عِبَادَةً لَمْ تَظْهَرْ مِنْهُمْ.

Fa-hum ʾahlu al-ʾikhmāli mina al-muʾminīna alladhīna ʿabadū Allāha ʿibādatan lam taẓhar minhum.

They are those among the believers who remain unnoticed, worshipping God with a worship that does not show outwardly.

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سِيَاسَةُ الْقَلْبِ

Siyāsatu al-qalbi

Governing the heart

تَصْفِيَةُ الْقَلْبِ عَنِ الْحِرْصِ عَلَى الدُّنْيَا

Taṣfiyatu al-qalbi ʿani al-ḥirṣi ʿalā al-dunyā

Purifying the heart of greed for this world

وَتَعَاهَدْ يَا أَخِي قَلْبَكَ بِأَسْبَابِ الْآخِرَةِ، وَعَرِّضْهُ لِذٰلِكَ، وَصُنْهُ مِنْ أَسْبَابِ الدُّنْيَا وَمِنْ ذِكْرٍ يَجُرُّ إِلَى الْحِرْصِ وَالرَّغْبَةِ.

Wa-taʿāhad yā ʾakhī qalbaka bi-ʾasbābi al-ʾākhirati, wa-ʿarriḍhu li-dhālika, wa-ṣunhu min ʾasbābi al-dunyā wa-min dhikrin yajurru ʾilā al-ḥirṣi wa-al-raghbati.

Tend your heart, my brother, with the means of the next life, and bring it into contact with them. Protect it from the preoccupations of this world and from talk that leads to greed and longing.

وَلَا تَأْذَنْ لِقَلْبِكَ فِي اسْتِصْحَابِ مَا يَعْسُرُ طَلَبُهُ وَيَنْطَفِئُ نُورُ الْقَلْبِ مِنْ أَجْلِهِ، وَكُنْ فِي تَأْلِيفِ مَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ مَحْمُودِ الْعَوَاقِبِ حَرِيصًا، وَخَوِّفْ نَفْسَكَ عُقُوبَةَ مَا فِي يَدَيْهِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَقِلَّةَ أَدَائِكَ لِمَا يَجِبُ عَلَيْكَ فِيهِ مِنَ الشُّكْرِ.

Wa-lā taʾdhan liqalbika fī istiṣḥābi mā yaʿsuru ṭalabuhu wa-yanṭafiʾu nūru al-qalbi min ʾajlihi, wa-kun fī taʾlīfi mā baynahu wa-bayna maḥmūdi al-ʿawāqibi ḥarīṣan, wa-khawwif nafsaka ʿuqūbata mā fī yadayhi mina al-dunyā wa-qillata ʾadāʾika limā yajibu ʿalayka fīhi mina al-shukri.

Do not let your heart keep company with things difficult to obtain, for whose sake its light is extinguished. Be eager to bring it into harmony with outcomes worthy of praise. Make yourself fear the punishment connected with the worldly goods in hand and with your inadequate fulfillment of the gratitude you owe for them.

وَاسْتَكْثِرْ مَا فِي يَدَيْكَ لِمَا تَعْلَمُ مِنْ ضَعْفِ شُكْرِكَ، فَتَشْتَغِلَ النَّفْسُ بِمَا فِي يَدَيْهَا عَنِ الْفِكْرِ فِي أَمْرِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْمَحَبَّةِ لِلزِّيَادَةِ مِنْهَا.

Wa-istakthir mā fī yadayka limā taʿlamu min ḍaʿfi shukrika, fa-tashtaghila al-nafsu bimā fī yadayhā ʿani al-fikri fī ʾamri al-dunyā wa-al-maḥabbati li-al-ziyādati minhā.

Regard what you have as abundant, knowing how weak your gratitude is, so that the self is occupied with what it already has rather than thinking about worldly affairs and loving to acquire more.

فَإِذَا أَجْمَمْتَهَا مِنْ ذِكْرِ الزِّيَادَةِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَحَمَلْتَهَا عَلَى دَرَجَةِ الْخَوْفِ مِمَّا فِي يَدَيْهَا، قَنِعَتْ وَرَضِيَتْ وَعَفَّتْ عَنْ طَلَبِ الدُّنْيَا بِالْحِرْصِ وَالرَّغْبَةِ، وَرَجَعَتْ إِلَى الْآخِرَةِ بِالْحِرْصِ عَلَيْهَا وَالرَّغْبَةِ فِيهَا، فَإِنَّ النَّفْسَ مَبْنِيَّةٌ عَلَى أَسَاسِ الطَّمَعِ.

Fa-ʾidhā ʾajmamtahā min dhikri al-ziyādati mina al-dunyā wa-ḥamaltahā ʿalā darajati al-khawfi mimmā fī yadayhā, qaniʿat wa-raḍiyat wa-ʿaffat ʿan ṭalabi al-dunyā bi-al-ḥirṣi wa-al-raghbati, wa-rajaʿat ʾilā al-ʾākhirati bi-al-ḥirṣi ʿalayhā wa-al-raghbati fīhā, fa-ʾinna al-nafsa mabniyyatun ʿalā ʾasāsi al-ṭamaʿi.

When you give it a rest from thinking about acquiring more of this world and bring it to the station of fearing what it already holds, it becomes content and satisfied, refrains from pursuing this world with greed and longing, and turns back to the next life with eagerness and desire for it. The self is built upon a foundation of wanting more.

أَخْطَارُ الطَّمَعِ عَلَى الْقَلْبِ

ʾAkhṭāru al-ṭamaʿi ʿalā al-qalbi

The dangers of covetousness for the heart

وَمَخْرَجُ الْحِرْصِ وَالرَّغْبَةِ مِنَ الطَّمَعِ، وَبِنَاءُ الْأَنْفُسِ قَائِمٌ عَلَى قَوَاعِدِ الطَّمَعِ. أَمَّا الطَّمَعُ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَيَسْتَعْمِلُ أَدَاةَ الطَّمَعِ فِي طَلَبِ الزِّيَادَةِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا، وَأَمَّا الطَّمَعُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ فَيَسْتَعْمِلُ أَدَاةَ الطَّمَعِ فِي طَلَبِ الزِّيَادَةِ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْآخِرَةِ بِالْحِرْصِ عَلَيْهَا وَالرَّغْبَةِ فِيهَا.

Wa-makhraju al-ḥirṣi wa-al-raghbati mina al-ṭamaʿi, wa-bināʾu al-ʾanfusi qāʾimun ʿalā qawāʿidi al-ṭamaʿi. ʾAmmā al-ṭamaʿu fī al-dunyā fa-yastaʿmilu ʾadāta al-ṭamaʿi fī ṭalabi al-ziyādati mina al-dunyā, wa-ʾammā al-ṭamaʿu fī al-ʾākhirati fa-yastaʿmilu ʾadāta al-ṭamaʿi fī ṭalabi al-ziyādati min ʾaʿmāli al-ʾākhirati bi-al-ḥirṣi ʿalayhā wa-al-raghbati fīhā.

Eagerness and desire spring from wanting more, and selves are constructed upon its foundations. When that wanting is directed toward this world, it employs its means to seek more of this world; when it is directed toward the next life, it employs its means to seek more deeds for the next life, with eagerness and desire for them.

قِيلَ لِحَكِيمٍ: فَمَا آلَةُ الطَّمَعِ وَجِمَاعُ آفَاتِهِ؟ قَالَ: الشَّرَهُ وَالْحِرْصُ وَهَيَجَانُ الرَّغْبَةِ، فَعَلَى أَيِّهَا أَوْقَعَتِ (النَّفْسُ) طَمَعَهَا أَحْضَرَتْ أَدَاتَهَا وَجَمَعَتْ آلَتَهَا وَجَدَّتْ فِي طَلَبِهَا.

Qīla liḥakīmin: fa-mā ʾālatu al-ṭamaʿi wa-jimāʿu ʾāfātihi? Qāla: al-sharahu wa-al-ḥirṣu wa-hayajānu al-raghbati, fa-ʿalā ʾayyihā ʾawqaʿati (al-nafsu) ṭamaʿahā ʾaḥḍarat ʾadātahā wa-jamaʿat ʾālatahā wa-jaddat fī ṭalabihā.

A sage was asked, “What are the instruments of covetousness and the sum of its defects?” He replied, “Voracity, greed, and surging desire. Whichever of these (the self) directs its covetousness toward, it brings its means to bear, assembles its instruments, and pursues its object earnestly.”

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فَإِذَا قَهَرَتْ صَاحِبَهَا عَلَى مُوَافَقَةِ هَوَاهَا اسْتَعْبَدَتْهُ، فَأَذْهَلَتْهُ وَأَذَلَّتْهُ وَأَدْهَشَتْهُ وَأَتْعَبَتْهُ وَطَيَّشَتْ عَقْلَهُ وَدَنَّسَتْ عِرْضَهُ وَأَخْلَقَتْ مُرُوءَتَهُ وَفَتَنَتْهُ عَنْ دِينِهِ. وَإِنْ كَانَ عَالِمًا لَبِيبًا كَيِّسًا فَطِينًا فَصِيحًا حَكِيمًا فَقِيهًا، لَوَّثَتْهُ وَأَسْقَطَتْهُ وَفَضَحَتْهُ، فَاحْتَمَلَ لَهَا ذٰلِكَ كُلَّهُ وَهُوَ الْأَرِيبُ الْعَالِمُ الْأَدِيبُ، فَصَيَّرَتْهُ بَعْدَ الْعِلْمِ جَاهِلًا سَفِيهًا أَحْمَقَ خَفِيفًا.

Fa-ʾidhā qaharat ṣāḥibahā ʿalā muwāfaqati hawāhā istaʿbadat-hu, fa-ʾadh-halat-hu wa-ʾadhallat-hu wa-ʾad-hashat-hu wa-ʾatʿabat-hu wa-ṭayyashat ʿaqlahu wa-dannasat ʿirḍahu wa-ʾakhlaqat murūʾatahu wa-fatanat-hu ʿan dīnihi. Wa-ʾin kāna ʿāliman labīban kayyisan faṭīnan faṣīḥan ḥakīman faqīhan, lawwathat-hu wa-ʾasqaṭat-hu wa-faḍaḥat-hu, fa-iḥtamala lahā dhālika kullahu wa-huwa al-ʾarību al-ʿālimu al-ʾadību, fa-ṣayyarat-hu baʿda al-ʿilmi jāhilan safīhan ʾaḥmaqa khafīfan.

When it forces its owner to comply with its desire, it enslaves him: it distracts and humiliates him, bewilders and exhausts him, unsettles his reason, stains his honor, wears away his dignity, and tempts him away from his religion. Even if he is learned, discerning, intelligent, perceptive, eloquent, wise, and versed in religious understanding, it soils him, brings him down, and disgraces him. He puts up with all this for its sake, though he is intelligent, learned, and cultivated. After knowledge, it makes him ignorant, foolish, senseless, and frivolous.

وَذٰلِكَ أَنَّهَا سَقَتْهُ مِنْ مُوَافَقَةِ هَوَاهَا كَأْسًا سُمًّا صِرْفًا، فَاسْتَمَالَتْهُ فَمَالَ بِعِلْمِهِ وَعَقْلِهِ وَفَهْمِهِ وَنَفَاذِ حِكْمَتِهِ وَبَصَرِهِ، فَأَجْرَاهُ مَجْرَى هَوَى نَفْسِهِ، فَعَجَّلَتْ لَهُ الْفَضِيحَةَ فِي عَاجِلِ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَ حُكَمَائِهَا وَعُقَلَائِهَا، وَأَسْقَطَتْهُ مِنْ عَيْنِ اللَّهِ وَأَعْيُنِ عِبَادِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَصَائِرِ، وَأَخَّرَتْ لَهُ آجِلَ النَّدَامَةِ الطَّوِيلَةِ عِنْدَ مُفَارَقَةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي عَرَصَاتِ الْقِيَامَةِ.

Wa-dhālika ʾannahā saqat-hu min muwāfaqati hawāhā kaʾsan summan ṣirfan, fa-istamālat-hu fa-māla biʿilmihi wa-ʿaqlihi wa-fahmihi wa-nafādhi ḥikmatihi wa-baṣarihi, fa-ʾajrāhu majrā hawā nafsihi, fa-ʿajjalat lahu al-faḍīḥata fī ʿājili al-dunyā ʿinda ḥukamāʾihā wa-ʿuqalāʾihā, wa-ʾasqaṭat-hu min ʿayni Allāhi wa-ʾaʿyuni ʿibādihi min ʾahli al-baṣāʾiri, wa-ʾakhkharat lahu ʾājila al-nadāmati al-ṭawīlati ʿinda mufāraqati al-dunyā wa-fī ʿaraṣāti al-qiyāmati.

It has given him a cup of compliance with its desire to drink, pure poison. It draws him toward itself, and he bends his knowledge, reason, understanding, penetrating wisdom, and insight to its purposes, making them run in the course of his own desire. It hastens his disgrace in this present world before its wise and intelligent people, makes him fall in God's sight and in the eyes of His insightful servants, and reserves for him the long remorse to come when he leaves this world and stands in the open spaces of the Resurrection.

قَهْرُ النَّفْسِ عَلَى طَلَبِ الْآخِرَةِ

Qahru al-nafsi ʿalā ṭalabi al-ʾākhirati

Compelling the self to seek the next life

فَإِذَا قَطَعَ عَلَيْهَا الْعَبْدُ الطَّمَعَ مِنْ أَسْبَابِ الدُّنْيَا وَغَلَبَ بِعَقْلِهِ هَوَاهَا، رَجَعَتْ بِطَمَعِهَا إِلَى أَسْبَابِ الْآخِرَةِ لَا مَحَالَةَ، لِأَنَّهَا بُنِيَتْ عَلَى الطَّمَعِ.

Fa-ʾidhā qaṭaʿa ʿalayhā al-ʿabdu al-ṭamaʿa min ʾasbābi al-dunyā wa-ghalaba biʿaqlihi hawāhā, rajaʿat biṭamaʿihā ʾilā ʾasbābi al-ʾākhirati lā maḥālata, li-ʾannahā buniyat ʿalā al-ṭamaʿi.

When the servant cuts off its hope of gaining worldly things and overcomes its desire through his reason, it inevitably turns its wanting toward the means of the next life, because it was built upon wanting more.

فَإِذَا تَجَرَّدَتْ مِنْ أَسْبَابِ الدُّنْيَا وَأَقْبَلَتْ عَلَى نَفْسِهَا بِالْإِيَاسِ مِنَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ، رَجَعَتْ بِرَغْبَتِهَا وَطَمَعِهَا إِلَى أَسْبَابِ الْآخِرَةِ، فَجَدَّتْ فِي طَلَبِهَا وَاجْتَهَدَتْ وَعَزَفَتْ عَنِ الدُّنْيَا وَبَايَنَتِ الْهَوَى وَخَالَفَتِ الْعَدُوَّ وَتَبِعَتِ الْعِلْمَ، وَكَانَتْ مَطِيَّةً لِلْعَقْلِ صَابِرَةً عَلَى مُرِّ مَا يَدُلُّ عَلَيْهِ الْحَقُّ، فَنَجَتْ وَأَنْجَتْ.

Fa-ʾidhā tajarradat min ʾasbābi al-dunyā wa-ʾaqbalat ʿalā nafsihā bi-al-ʾiyāsi mina al-makhlūqīna, rajaʿat biraghbatihā wa-ṭamaʿihā ʾilā ʾasbābi al-ʾākhirati, fa-jaddat fī ṭalabihā wa-ijtahadat wa-ʿazafat ʿani al-dunyā wa-bāyanati al-hawā wa-khālafati al-ʿaduwwa wa-tabiʿati al-ʿilma, wa-kānat maṭiyyatan li-al-ʿaqli ṣābiratan ʿalā murri mā yadullu ʿalayhi al-ḥaqqu, fa-najat wa-ʾanjat.

When it frees itself from worldly attachments and turns inward, giving up hope in created beings, it turns its desire and its wanting toward the means of the next life. It pursues them earnestly and diligently, turns away from this world, parts company with desire, opposes the enemy, and follows knowledge. It becomes a mount for reason, patiently enduring the bitterness of what truth points to, and so is saved and brings salvation.

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الْخَوْفُ وَالْحُزْنُ

Al-khawfu wa-al-ḥuznu

Fear and sorrow

وَسِيلَةُ تَحْصِيلِ الْخَوْفِ وَالْحُزْنِ

Wasīlatu taḥṣīli al-khawfi wa-al-ḥuzni

The means of acquiring fear and sorrow

وَتَعَاهَدْ يَا أَخِي قَلْبَكَ عِنْدَ هِمَمِهِ، وَأَلْزِمْهُ الْفِكْرَةَ فِي أَمْرِ الْمَعَادِ فَلَا تُفَارِقُ قَلْبَكَ،

Wa-taʿāhad yā ʾakhī qalbaka ʿinda himamihi, wa-ʾalzimhu al-fikrata fī ʾamri al-maʿādi fa-lā tufāriqu qalbaka,

Watch over your heart, my brother, as its purposes arise. Require it to reflect on the return to God, so that this reflection does not leave your heart.

وَتَوَهَّمْ بِقَلْبِكَ هَوْلَ الْمُطَّلَعِ عِنْدَ مُفَارَقَةِ الدُّنْيَا وَتَرْكِ مَا قَدْ بَذَلَ أَهْلُهَا فِيهِ مُهَجَ نُفُوسِهِمْ وَتَدْنِيسَ أَعْرَاضِهِمْ وَإِخْلَاقَ مُرُوءَاتِهِمْ وَانْتِقَاصَ أَدْيَانِهِمْ،

wa-tawahham biqalbika hawla al-muṭṭalaʿi ʿinda mufāraqati al-dunyā wa-tarki mā qad badhala ʾahluhā fīhi muhaja nufūsihim wa-tadnīsa ʾaʿrāḍihim wa-ʾikhlāqa murūʾātihim wa-intiqāṣa ʾadyānihim,

Picture in your heart the terror of what first comes into view when you leave this world and abandon the things for which its people spent their very lifeblood, stained their honor, wore away their dignity, and diminished their religion.

ثُمَّ تَرَكُوا ذٰلِكَ كُلَّهُ وَقَدِمُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ فُرَادَى آحَادًا، مَعَ مَا قَدْ وَرَدُوا عَلَيْهِ مِنْ وَحْشَةِ الْقَبْرِ وَسُؤَالِ مُنْكَرٍ وَنَكِيرٍ وَأَهْوَالِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَالْوُقُوفِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُسَاءَلَةِ عَنْ جَمِيعِ مَا كَانَ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ فِعْلٍ مِنْ مِثْلِ مَثَاقِيلِ الذَّرِّ وَمَوَازِينِ الْخَرْدَلِ،

thumma tarakū dhālika kullahu wa-qadimū ʿalā Allāhi furādā ʾāḥādan, maʿa mā qad waradū ʿalayhi min waḥshati al-qabri wa-suʾāli Munkarin wa-Nakīrin wa-ʾahwāli al-qiyāmati wa-al-wuqūfi bayna yadayi Allāhi wa-al-musāʾalati ʿan jamīʿi mā kāna minhum min qawlin ʾaw fiʿlin min mithli mathāqīli al-dharri wa-mawāzīni al-khardali,

Then they left it all and came before God alone, one by one, facing the loneliness of the grave, the questioning of Munkar and Nakir, the terrors of the Resurrection, standing before God, and being questioned about everything they said or did, down to the weight of tiny particles and mustard seeds.

وَسُؤَالِهِ عَنِ الشَّبَابِ فِيمَ أَبْلَى شَبَابَهُ، وَعَنِ الْعُمْرِ فِيمَ أَفْنَى عُمْرَهُ، وَعَنِ الْمَالِ مِنْ أَيْنَ اكْتَسَبَ وَعَمَّنْ مَنَعَ وَفِيمَ أَنْفَقَ، وَعَنِ الْعِلْمِ مَاذَا عَمِلَ فِيهِ، وَعَنْ جَمِيعِ الْأَعْمَالِ الَّتِي صَدَقُوا فِيهَا وَالَّتِي كَذَبُوا فِيهَا.

wa-suʾālihi ʿani al-shabābi fīma ʾablā shabābahu, wa-ʿani al-ʿumri fīma ʾafnā ʿumrahu, wa-ʿani al-māli min ʾayna iktasaba wa-ʿamman manaʿa wa-fīma ʾanfaqa, wa-ʿani al-ʿilmi mādhā ʿamila fīhi, wa-ʿan jamīʿi al-ʾaʿmāli allatī ṣadaqū fīhā wa-allatī kadhabū fīhā.

Picture His questioning each person about his youth and how he wore it out; his lifetime and how he spent it; his wealth, where he acquired it, from whom he withheld it, and on what he spent it; his knowledge and what he did with it; and all the deeds in which they were truthful and those in which they were false.

فَإِنَّكَ يَا أَخِي إِنْ شَغَلْتَ قَلْبَكَ بِذٰلِكَ وَأَسْكَنْتَهُ إِيَّاهُ، وَكَانَ فِيكَ شَيْءٌ مِنْ صِحَّةِ تَرْكِيبِ الْعَقْلِ، فَإِنَّهُ سَيَكِلُّ مِنْكَ لِسَانُكَ، وَلَا يُعْدِمُكَ الْخَوْفَ اللَّازِمَ مَعَ الْحُزْنِ الدَّائِمِ وَالشُّغْلِ الْمُحِيطِ بِقَلْبِكَ.

Fa-ʾinnaka yā ʾakhī ʾin shaghalta qalbaka bi-dhālika wa-ʾaskantahu ʾiyyāhu, wa-kāna fīka shayʾun min ṣiḥḥati tarkībi al-ʿaqli, fa-ʾinnahu sayakillu minka lisānuka, wa-lā yuʿdimuka al-khawfa al-lāzima maʿa al-ḥuzni al-dāʾimi wa-al-shughli al-muḥīṭi biqalbika.

If you occupy your heart with this, my brother, and settle it within your heart, and if your reason has any soundness in its constitution, your tongue will grow weary, and this will not leave you without abiding fear, lasting sorrow, and a preoccupation encompassing your heart.

إِبْلِيسُ يَهْوَى الْقُلُوبَ الْخَرِبَةَ

ʾIblīsu yahwā al-qulūba al-kharibata

Iblis loves ruined hearts

وَإِنَّ إِبْلِيسَ إِنَّمَا يَسُورُ عَلَيْكَ فِي الْآثَامِ مِنْ وَسْوَسَةِ نَفْسِكَ وَخَرَابِ قَلْبِكَ.

Wa-ʾinna ʾIblīsa ʾinnamā yasūru ʿalayka fī al-ʾāthāmi min waswasati nafsika wa-kharābi qalbika.

Iblis assaults you with sins only through the whispering of your own self and the ruin of your heart.

وَخَرَابُهُ إِنَّمَا يَكُونُ إِذَا كَانَ فَارِغًا مِنَ الْخَوْفِ اللَّازِمِ وَالْحُزْنِ الدَّائِمِ، فَحِينَئِذٍ يَنْفُثُ فِيهِ بِالْوَسْوَسَةِ لِآمَالِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْجَمْعِ لَهَا مَخَافَةَ فَقْرِهَا، مَعَ لُزُومِ طُولِ الْأَمَلِ لِقَلْبِكَ وَإِعْرَاضِهِ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَانْقِطَاعِ مَوَادِّ عَظَمَةِ اللَّهِ مِنْهُ وَفَرَاغِهِ مِنَ الْهَيْبَةِ وَالْحَيَاءِ مِنْهُ.

Wa-kharābuhu ʾinnamā yakūnu ʾidhā kāna fārighan mina al-khawfi al-lāzimi wa-al-ḥuzni al-dāʾimi, fa-ḥīnaʾidhin yanfuthu fīhi bi-al-waswasati li-ʾāmāli al-dunyā wa-al-jamʿi lahā makhāfata faqrihā, maʿa luzūmi ṭūli al-ʾamali liqalbika wa-ʾiʿrāḍihi ʿani Allāhi taʿālā wa-inqiṭāʿi mawāddi ʿaẓamati Allāhi minhu wa-farāghihi mina al-haybati wa-al-ḥayāʾi minhu.

Its ruin comes when it is empty of abiding fear and lasting sorrow. Then he breathes into it whispers of worldly hopes and of amassing worldly things for fear of poverty, while far-reaching expectations cling to your heart. It turns away from God Most High, the sources that nourish its sense of God's greatness are cut off, and it is emptied of awe and shame before Him.

فَإِذَا وَجَدَ الْقَلْبَ عَامِرًا خَنَسَ وَنَفَرَ مِنْهُ، وَلَمْ يَجِدْ فِيهِ مَسَاغًا وَلَا مِنْ جَوَانِبِهِ مَدْخَلًا، لِأَنَّ الْقَلْبَ عَامِرٌ بِالْخَوْفِ وَالْأَحْزَانِ وَالْفِكَرِ، فَهُوَ مُنِيرٌ مُضِيءٌ.

Fa-ʾidhā wajada al-qalba ʿāmiran khanasa wa-nafara minhu, wa-lam yajid fīhi masāghan wa-lā min jawānibihi madkhalan, li-ʾanna al-qalba ʿāmirun bi-al-khawfi wa-al-ʾaḥzāni wa-al-fikari, fa-huwa munīrun muḍīʾun.

But when he finds the heart well inhabited, he retreats and flees from it, finding no passage within it and no entrance from its sides. The heart is inhabited by fear, sorrows, and reflections, and so it is radiant and full of light.

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يَرَى الْعَبْدُ بِنُورِ قَلْبِهِ مَدَاخِلَ إِبْلِيسَ، فَيَرْمِيهِ بِالْإِنْكَارِ لِمَا يَدْعُو إِلَيْهِ، وَيَعْتَصِمُ بِمَا أَيَّدَهُ اللَّهُ بِهِ مِنْ نُورِ قَلْبِهِ، فَيَدْحَرُهُ عَنْهُ، فَوَلَّى الْخَبِيثُ إِلَى قَلْبٍ قَدْ فَقَدَ الْخَوْفَ فَخَرِبَ وَأَظْلَمَ فَلَا نُورَ فِيهِ.

Yarā al-ʿabdu binūri qalbihi madākhila ʾIblīsa, fa-yarmīhi bi-al-ʾinkāri limā yadʿū ʾilayhi, wa-yaʿtaṣimu bimā ʾayyadahu Allāhu bihi min nūri qalbihi, fa-yadḥaruhu ʿanhu, fa-wallā al-khabīthu ʾilā qalbin qad faqada al-khawfa fa-khariba wa-ʾaẓlama fa-lā nūra fīhi.

By the light of his heart, the servant sees Iblis's ways of entering and drives him back by rejecting what he calls him to. He takes refuge in the light of heart with which God has strengthened him and repels him. The evil one then turns toward a heart that has lost its fear and become ruined and dark, with no light in it.

فَلَا شَيْءَ أَثْقَلُ عَلَى الْخَبِيثِ مِنَ النُّورِ، فَإِذَا وَجَدَهُ خَنَسَ وَنَفَرَ مِنْهُ.

Fa-lā shayʾa ʾathqalu ʿalā al-khabīthi mina al-nūri, fa-ʾidhā wajadahu khanasa wa-nafara minhu.

Nothing is more burdensome to the evil one than light. When he encounters it, he retreats and flees from it.

فَلَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا مِنْ قِبَلِ الْغَفْلَةِ مِنَ الْعَبْدِ.

Fa-lā yaqdiru ʿalayhi ʾillā min qibali al-ghaflati mina al-ʿabdi.

He can gain power over it only through heedlessness on the servant's part.

وَنُورُ الْقَلْبِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ مِنْ ‹يتعظه› وَحَيَاتِهِ، فَإِذَا غَفَلَ مَاتَ وَأَظْلَمَ وَطَفِئَ نُورُهُ، فَيَلْتَبِسُ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ مَا يُدْخِلُهُ عَلَيْهِ الْعَدُوُّ أَوْ يُكَدِّرُ عَلَيْهِ،

Wa-nūru al-qalbi ʾinnamā huwa min ‹ytʿẓh› wa-ḥayātihi, fa-ʾidhā ghafala māta wa-ʾaẓlama wa-ṭafiʾa nūruhu, fa-yaltabisu ʿalā al-ʿabdi mā yudkhiluhu ʿalayhi al-ʿaduwwu ʾaw yukaddiru ʿalayhi,

The heart's light comes only from [an unclear word, perhaps “its wakefulness”] and its life. When it becomes heedless, it dies and grows dark, and its light goes out. The servant can no longer distinguish what the enemy brings into it or what he clouds it with.

فَاخْتَلَسَ إِبْلِيسُ مِنَ الْعَبْدِ، وَاسْتَدَامَ الْقَلْبَ بِالْغَفْلَةِ، فَتَسَوَّرَ عَلَيْهِ بِالْآثَامِ، فَإِذَا أَصَرَّ عَلَى الْإِقَامَةِ عَلَيْهَا وَرَضِيَ بِهَا عَلَاهُ الرَّيْنُ فَأَظْلَمَهُ، وَاسْتَقَرَّ إِبْلِيسُ فِيهِ، ثُمَّ سَلَكَ بِهِ سَبِيلَ الْآثَامِ إِلَى أَنْ يُوصِلَهُ وَيُوقِعَهُ فِي الْكَبَائِرِ.

fa-ikhtalasa ʾIblīsu mina al-ʿabdi, wa-istadāma al-qalba bi-al-ghaflati, fa-tasawwara ʿalayhi bi-al-ʾāthāmi, fa-ʾidhā ʾaṣarra ʿalā al-ʾiqāmati ʿalayhā wa-raḍiya bihā ʿalāhu al-raynu fa-ʾaẓlamahu, wa-istaqarra ʾIblīsu fīhi, thumma salaka bihi sabīla al-ʾāthāmi ʾilā ʾan yūṣilahu wa-yūqiʿahu fī al-kabāʾiri.

Iblis steals from the servant, keeps the heart in heedlessness, and scales its defenses with sins. When the servant persists in remaining with them and is content with them, a coating of rust covers and darkens the heart. Iblis settles within it and leads it along the path of sins until he brings it to, and casts it into, the major sins.

وَلَا شَيْءَ أَعْجَبُ إِلَى إِبْلِيسَ مِنْ ظُلْمَةِ الْقَلْبِ وَسَوَادِهِ وَانْطِفَاءِ نُورِهِ وَتَرَاكُبِ الرَّيْنِ عَلَيْهِ، وَلَا شَيْءَ أَثْقَلُ عَلَى الْخَبِيثِ مِنَ النُّورِ وَالْبَيَاضِ وَالنَّقَاءِ وَالصَّفَاءِ، وَإِنَّمَا مَأْوَاهُ الظُّلْمَةُ، وَإِلَّا فَلَا مَأْوَى لَهُ وَلَا قَرَارَ فِي النُّورِ وَالْبَيَاضِ.

Wa-lā shayʾa ʾaʿjabu ʾilā ʾIblīsa min ẓulmati al-qalbi wa-sawādihi wa-inṭifāʾi nūrihi wa-tarākubi al-rayni ʿalayhi, wa-lā shayʾa ʾathqalu ʿalā al-khabīthi mina al-nūri wa-al-bayāḍi wa-al-naqāʾi wa-al-ṣafāʾi, wa-ʾinnamā maʾwāhu al-ẓulmatu, wa-ʾillā fa-lā maʾwā lahu wa-lā qarāra fī al-nūri wa-al-bayāḍi.

Nothing pleases Iblis more than the heart's darkness and blackness, the extinction of its light, and the layers of rust upon it. Nothing is more burdensome to the evil one than light, whiteness, purity, and clarity. Darkness alone is his refuge; without it he has no refuge and no resting place in light and whiteness.

وَلَقَدْ بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْبَيْتَ الْمُظْلِمَ حَتَّى يُضَاءَ لَهُ فِيهِ بِمِصْبَاحٍ.

Wa-laqad balaghanī ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama kāna yakrahu ʾan yadkhula al-bayta al-muẓlima ḥattā yuḍāʾa lahu fīhi bimiṣbāḥin.

It has reached me that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, disliked entering a dark house until a lamp had been lit for him inside.

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مُرَاقَبَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى

Murāqabatu Allāhi taʿālā

Watchful awareness of God Most High

مَا يُعِينُ عَلَى الْمُرَاقَبَةِ

Mā yuʿīnu ʿalā al-murāqabati

What helps cultivate watchful awareness

يُرْوَى عَنْ بَعْضِ الْحُكَمَاءِ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: إِنَّ مِنْ أَشْرَفِ الْمَقَامَاتِ وَأَفْضَلِهَا الْمُرَاقَبَةَ لِلَّهِ.

Yurwā ʿan baʿḍi al-ḥukamāʾi ʾannahu qāla: ʾinna min ʾashrafi al-maqāmāti wa-ʾafḍalihā al-murāqabata li-llāhi.

One of the sages is reported to have said: among the noblest and finest spiritual stations is watchful awareness of God.

وَمِنْ أَحْسَنِ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْعَبْدُ مُرَاقِبًا بِالشُّكْرِ عَلَى النِّعَمِ وَالِاعْتِرَافِ بِالْإِسَاءَةِ وَالتَّعَرُّضِ لِلْعَفْوِ عَنِ الْإِسَاءَةِ، فَيَكُونَ قَلْبُهُ لَازِمًا لِهٰذَا الْمَقَامِ فِي كُلِّ أَعْمَالِهِ، فَمَتَى مَا غَفَلَ رَدَّهُ إِلَى هٰذَا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ.

Wa-min ʾaḥsani al-murāqabati ʾan yakūna al-ʿabdu murāqiban bi-al-shukri ʿalā al-niʿami wa-al-iʿtirāfi bi-al-ʾisāʾati wa-al-taʿarruḍi li-al-ʿafwi ʿani al-ʾisāʾati, fa-yakūna qalbuhu lāziman li-hādhā al-maqāmi fī kulli ʾaʿmālihi, fa-matā mā ghafala raddahu ʾilā hādhā bi-ʾidhni Allāhi.

Among its best forms is for the servant to remain watchful through gratitude for blessings, acknowledgment of wrongdoing, and seeking pardon for that wrongdoing. His heart then adheres to this station in all his deeds; whenever it becomes heedless, he brings it back to this, by God's leave.

وَمِمَّا يُعِينُ عَلَى هٰذَا تَرْكُ الذُّنُوبِ وَالتَّفَرُّغُ مِنَ الْأَشْغَالِ وَالْعِنَايَةُ بِالْمُرَاجَعَةِ.

Wa-mimmā yuʿīnu ʿalā hādhā tarku al-dhunūbi wa-al-tafarrughu mina al-ʾashghāli wa-al-ʿināyatu bi-al-murājaʿati.

What helps with this is abandoning sins, freeing oneself from distractions, and taking care to return to this awareness.

وَمِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقَلْبِ الَّتِي يَزْكُو بِهَا وَلَا يَسْتَغْنِي عَنْهَا الْإِخْلَاصُ وَالثِّقَةُ وَالشُّكْرُ وَالتَّوَاضُعُ وَالِاسْتِسْلَامُ وَالنَّصِيحَةُ وَالْحُبُّ فِي اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالْبُغْضُ فِيهِ.

Wa-min ʾaʿmāli al-qalbi allatī yazkū bihā wa-lā yastaghnī ʿanhā al-ʾikhlāṣu wa-al-thiqatu wa-al-shukru wa-al-tawāḍuʿu wa-al-istislāmu wa-al-naṣīḥatu wa-al-ḥubbu fī Allāhi taʿālā wa-al-bughḍu fīhi.

Among the heart's deeds through which it grows pure, and which it cannot do without, are sincerity, trust, gratitude, humility, surrender, goodwill toward others, love for the sake of God Most High, and aversion for His sake.

وَقَالَ: أَقَلُّ النُّصْحِ الَّذِي يُحْرِجُكَ تَرْكُهُ وَلَا يَسَعُكَ إِلَّا الْعَمَلُ بِهِ، فَمَتَى قَصَّرْتَ عَنْهُ كُنْتَ مُصِرًّا عَلَى مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي تَرْكِ النَّصِيحَةِ لِعِبَادِهِ.

Wa-qāla: ʾaqallu al-nuṣḥi alladhī yuḥrijuka tarkuhu wa-lā yasaʿuka ʾillā al-ʿamalu bihi, fa-matā qaṣṣarta ʿanhu kunta muṣirran ʿalā maʿṣiyati Allāhi taʿālā fī tarki al-naṣīḥati liʿibādihi.

He said: there is a minimum of goodwill whose neglect makes you culpable and which you have no choice but to practice. Whenever you fall short of it, you persist in disobeying God Most High by withholding goodwill from His servants.

فَأَقَلُّ ذٰلِكَ أَلَّا تُحِبَّ لِأَحَدٍ مِنَ النَّاسِ شَيْئًا مِمَّا يَكْرَهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَلَا تَكْرَهَ لَهُمْ مَا أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

Fa-ʾaqallu dhālika ʾallā tuḥibba li-ʾaḥadin mina al-nāsi shayʾan mimmā yakrahu Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-lā takraha lahum mā ʾaḥabba Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla.

That minimum is not to wish for anyone anything that God, mighty and majestic, dislikes, and not to dislike for them what God, mighty and majestic, loves.

فَهٰذِهِ الْحَالُ الَّتِي وَصَفْنَا وَاجِبَةٌ عَلَى الْخَلْقِ، لَا يَسَعُ تَرْكُهَا طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ بِضَمِيرٍ وَلَا بِفِعْلِ جَوَارِحَ.

Fa-hādhihi al-ḥālu allatī waṣafnā wājibatun ʿalā al-khalqi, lā yasaʿu tarkuhā ṭarfata ʿaynin biḍamīrin wa-lā bifiʿli jawāriḥa.

This disposition we have described is obligatory for all people. It may not be abandoned for the blink of an eye, either inwardly or in the actions of the limbs.

وَحَالٌ أُخْرَى فَوْقَ هٰذِهِ، وَهِيَ فَضِيلَةٌ لِلْعَبْدِ: أَنْ يَكْرَهَ لَهُمْ مَا كَرِهَ اللَّهُ، وَأَنْ يُحِبَّ لَهُمْ مَا أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى.

Wa-ḥālun ʾukhrā fawqa hādhihi, wa-hiya faḍīlatun li-al-ʿabdi: ʾan yakraha lahum mā kariha Allāhu, wa-ʾan yuḥibba lahum mā ʾaḥabba Allāhu taʿālā.

There is another disposition above this, a higher virtue for the servant: actively to dislike for them what God dislikes and to love for them what God Most High loves.

قَالَ: وَجَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْمُبَارَكِ فَقَالَ لَهُ: أَوْصِنِي. فَقَالَ: رَاقِبِ اللَّهَ. فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ: وَمَا مُرَاقَبَةُ اللَّهِ؟ فَقَالَ: أَنْ يَسْتَحْيِيَ مِنَ اللَّهِ.

Qāla: wa-jāʾa rajulun ʾilā ʿAbdi Allāhi bni al-Mubāraki fa-qāla lahu: ʾawṣinī. Fa-qāla: rāqibi Allāha. Fa-qāla al-rajulu: wa-mā murāqabatu Allāhi? Fa-qāla: ʾan yastaḥyiya mina Allāhi.

He said: a man came to ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak and said, “Counsel me.” He replied, “Remain watchfully aware of God.” The man asked, “What is watchful awareness of God?” He replied, “To feel shame before God.”

الْمُرَاقَبَةُ وَالْمُنَاجَاةُ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ

Al-murāqabatu wa-al-munājātu mina al-yaqīni

Watchful awareness and intimate prayer arise from certainty

قَالَ: فَالْمُنَاجَاةُ وَالْمُرَاقَبَةُ مِنْ حَيْثُ تَضَعُ قَلْبَكَ، وَهُوَ أَنْ تَضَعَهُ دُونَ الْعَرْشِ فَتُنَاجِيَ مِنْ هُنَاكَ.

Qāla: fa-al-munājātu wa-al-murāqabatu min ḥaythu taḍaʿu qalbaka, wa-huwa ʾan taḍaʿahu dūna al-ʿarshi fa-tunājiya min hunāka.

He said: intimate prayer and watchful awareness depend on where you place your heart: you place it beneath the Throne and address God intimately from there.

Source page 43

وَفِي رَدِّ الْقَلْبِ إِلَى الْمُرَاقَبَةِ مُرَاجَعَتَانِ.

Wa-fī raddi al-qalbi ʾilā al-murāqabati murājaʿatāni.

There are two ways of returning when bringing the heart back to watchful awareness.

أُولَاهُمَا مُرَاقَبَةُ النَّظَرِ مَعَ تَذَكُّرِ الْعِلْمِ. قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ﴾، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُ﴾.

ʾŪlāhumā murāqabatu al-naẓari maʿa tadhakkuri al-ʿilmi. Qāla taʿālā: ﴿ʾinnahu ʿalīmun bidhāti al-ṣudūri﴾, wa-qāla taʿālā: ﴿yaʿlamu mā fī ʾanfusikum fa-iḥdharūhu﴾.

The first is awareness of His gaze together with remembrance of His knowledge. The Most High says: “He knows what lies within the breasts.” And the Most High says: “He knows what is within yourselves, so beware of Him.”

ثُمَّ تَذَكُّرُ الْعَظَمَةِ لِوُجُودِ الْحَلَاوَةِ.

Thumma tadhakkuru al-ʿaẓamati liwujūdi al-ḥalāwati.

Then comes remembrance of His greatness, so that sweetness may be found.

وَالْقَوْلُ الْآخَرُ: يُرْوَى أَنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ أَوْصَى إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ، تَدْرِي لِمَ اتَّخَذْتُكَ خَلِيلًا؟ قَالَ: لَا يَا رَبِّ. قَالَ: لِطُولِ قِيَامِكَ بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ. قَالَ: فَقِيلَ إِنَّمَا كَانَ قِيَامُهُ بِالْقَلْبِ وَلَيْسَ بِالصَّلَاةِ.

Wa-al-qawlu al-ʾākharu: yurwā ʾanna Allāha subḥānahu ʾawṣā ʾilā ʾIbrāhīma ʿalayhi al-salāmu: yā ʾIbrāhīmu, tadrī lima ittakhadhtuka khalīlan? Qāla: lā yā rabbi. Qāla: liṭūli qiyāmika bayna yadayya. Qāla: fa-qīla ʾinnamā kāna qiyāmuhu bi-al-qalbi wa-laysa bi-al-ṣalāti.

The other account is this: it is reported that God, glory be to Him, conveyed this instruction to Abraham, peace be upon him: “Abraham, do you know why I took you as an intimate friend?” He replied, “No, my Lord.” God said, “Because of your long standing before Me.” He said: it was explained that his standing was with the heart, not in ritual prayer.

وَهٰذَا يُوَافِقُ الْقُرْآنَ. قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّا أَخْلَصْنَاهُمْ بِخَالِصَةٍ ذِكْرَى الدَّارِ﴾.

Wa-hādhā yuwāfiqu al-Qurʾāna. Qāla taʿālā: ﴿ʾinnā ʾakhlaṣnāhum bikhāliṣatin dhikrā al-dāri﴾.

This accords with the Qurʾān. The Most High says: “We singled them out with a pure quality: remembrance of the final abode.”

وَحَدِيثُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «اُعْبُدِ اللَّهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ».

Wa-ḥadīthu al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «uʿbudi Allāha kaʾannaka tarāhu».

And with the report of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Worship God as though you see Him.”

وَحَدِيثُ حَارِثَةَ وَقَوْلُهُ: «كَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى عَرْشِ رَبِّي بَارِزًا».

Wa-ḥadīthu Ḥārithata wa-qawluhu: «kaʾannī ʾanẓuru ʾilā ʿarshi rabbī bārizan».

And with the report of Ḥāritha and his words: “It is as though I am looking at my Lord's Throne, plainly in view.”

مِنْ آدَابِ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ

Min ʾādābi al-murāqabati

Some disciplines of watchful awareness

وَقَالَ: أَعْلَى الْأَعْمَالِ فِي الدَّرَجَاتِ أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ عَلَى السُّرُورِ بِمَوْلَاكَ، ثُمَّ عَلَى التَّعْظِيمِ لَهُ، ثُمَّ عَلَى الشُّكْرِ، ثُمَّ عَلَى الْخَوْفِ، وَآخِرُ الْأَعْمَالِ الَّتِي تَكُونُ بِالصَّبْرِ.

Wa-qāla: ʾaʿlā al-ʾaʿmāli fī al-darajāti ʾan taʿbuda Allāha ʿalā al-surūri bimawlāka, thumma ʿalā al-taʿẓīmi lahu, thumma ʿalā al-shukri, thumma ʿalā al-khawfi, wa-ʾākhiru al-ʾaʿmāli allatī takūnu bi-al-ṣabri.

He said: the highest deeds in rank are to worship God out of joy in your Master, then out of reverence for Him, then out of gratitude, and then out of fear. Last are the deeds performed through patience.

Source pages 43–44

وَالصَّبْرُ عَلَى وُجُوهٍ: تَصَبُّرٌ وَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ، ثُمَّ تَخْرُجُ إِلَى الْخَوْفِ وَالشُّكْرِ، ثُمَّ إِلَى التَّعْظِيمِ، ثُمَّ السُّرُورِ.

Wa-al-ṣabru ʿalā wujūhin: taṣabburun wa-ṣabrun jamīlun, thumma takhruju ʾilā al-khawfi wa-al-shukri, thumma ʾilā al-taʿẓīmi, thumma al-surūri.

Patience has different forms: making yourself endure, and beautiful patience. Then you advance to fear and gratitude, then to reverence, and then to joy.

Source page 44

وَمَنْ أَرَادَ الزُّهْدَ فَلْيَكُنِ الْكَثِيرُ مِمَّا فِي أَيْدِي النَّاسِ عِنْدَهُ قَلِيلًا، وَلْيَكُنِ الْقَلِيلُ عِنْدَهُ مِنْ دُنْيَاهُ كَثِيرًا، وَلْيَكُنِ الْعَظِيمُ مِنْهُمْ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الْأَذَى صَغِيرًا، وَلْيَكُنِ الصَّغِيرُ مِنْهُ إِلَيْهِمْ عِنْدَهُ عَظِيمًا.

Wa-man ʾarāda al-zuhda fa-l-yakuni al-kathīru mimmā fī ʾaydī al-nāsi ʿindahu qalīlan, wa-l-yakuni al-qalīlu ʿindahu min dunyāhu kathīran, wa-l-yakuni al-ʿaẓīmu minhum ʾilayhi mina al-ʾadhā ṣaghīran, wa-l-yakuni al-ṣaghīru minhu ʾilayhim ʿindahu ʿaẓīman.

Whoever seeks detachment from this world should regard the great amount others possess as little, and the little he possesses of this world as much. He should regard the great harm they do him as small, and the small harm he does them as great.

وَقَالَ: إِذَا دَعَتْكَ نَفْسُكَ إِلَى مَا تَنْقَطِعُ بِهِ عِنْدَ حَظِّكَ، فَاجْعَلْ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهَا حَكَمًا مِنَ الْحَيَاءِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.

Wa-qāla: ʾidhā daʿatka nafsuka ʾilā mā tanqaṭiʿu bihi ʿinda ḥaẓẓika, fa-ijʿal baynaka wa-baynahā ḥakaman mina al-ḥayāʾi mina Allāhi taʿālā.

He said: when your self calls you to something that stops you at your own personal advantage, appoint shame before God Most High as the judge between you and it.

وَقَالَ: إِنَّ الْأَكْيَاسَ إِذَا دَعَتْهُمُ النُّفُوسُ إِلَى أَنْ تَقْطَعَهُمْ بِخَدَائِعِهَا عَنْ سَبِيلِ نَجَاتِهِمْ، حَاكَمُوهَا إِلَى الْحَيَاءِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَأَذَلَّهَا حُكْمُ الْحَيَاءِ.

Wa-qāla: ʾinna al-ʾakyāsa ʾidhā daʿat-humu al-nufūsu ʾilā ʾan taqṭaʿahum bikhadāʾiʿihā ʿan sabīli najātihim, ḥākamūhā ʾilā al-ḥayāʾi mina Allāhi taʿālā, fa-ʾadhallahā ḥukmu al-ḥayāʾi.

He said: when their selves entice discerning people with tricks that would cut them off from the path of salvation, they bring them before the judgment of shame before God Most High, and shame's judgment humbles them.

وَقَالَ: مَخْرَجُ الْغُرُورِ مِنْ حُسْنِ ظَنِّ الْقَلْبِ، وَمَخْرَجُ حُسْنِ ظَنِّ الْقَلْبِ مِنَ الْقِيَامِ لِلَّهِ عَلَى مَا يَكْرَهُ، ثُمَّ مِنْ كَذِبِ النَّفْسِ.

Wa-qāla: makhraju al-ghurūri min ḥusni ẓanni al-qalbi, wa-makhraju ḥusni ẓanni al-qalbi mina al-qiyāmi li-llāhi ʿalā mā yakrahu, thumma min kadhibi al-nafsi.

He said: delusion springs from the heart's favorable estimation, and the heart's favorable estimation springs from undertaking for God what one dislikes, then from the self's falsehood.

وَقَالَ: مِنَ النُّصْحِ أَنْ تُحِبَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ النَّاسُ كُلُّهُمْ خَيْرًا مِنْكَ.

Wa-qāla: mina al-nuṣḥi ʾan tuḥibba ʾan yakūna al-nāsu kulluhum khayran minka.

He said: part of goodwill is to wish that all people should be better than you.

وَقَالَ: ذُكِرَ عِنْدَ ابْنِ الْمُبَارَكِ عَابِدٌ تَعَبَّدَ بِلَا فِقْهٍ، فَقَالَ: لَيْتَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُ بَحْرًا.

Wa-qāla: dhukira ʿinda ibni al-Mubāraki ʿābidun taʿabbada bilā fiqhin, fa-qāla: layta baynī wa-baynahu baḥran.

He said: a devout worshipper who practiced without religious understanding was mentioned in Ibn al-Mubārak's presence. He said, “I wish there were a sea between him and me.”

وَقَالَ: مَنِ انْقَطَعَ إِلَى اللَّهِ لَمْ يَصْبِرْ عَلَى النَّاسِ، وَمَنِ انْقَطَعَ إِلَى غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَمْ يَصْبِرْ عَنِ النَّاسِ.

Wa-qāla: mani inqaṭaʿa ʾilā Allāhi lam yaṣbir ʿalā al-nāsi, wa-mani inqaṭaʿa ʾilā ghayri Allāhi lam yaṣbir ʿani al-nāsi.

He said: whoever devotes himself entirely to God cannot bear people's company, while whoever devotes himself to something other than God cannot bear to be apart from people.

وَقَالَ: مَنْ قَرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ، مَا لَهُ وَلِكَلَامِ النَّاسِ؟

Wa-qāla: man qaraʾa al-Qurʾāna, mā lahu wa-likalāmi al-nāsi?

He said: whoever reads the Qurʾān, what has he to do with people's talk?

وَقَالَ: إِنَّمَا هِيَ أَيَّامٌ قَلَائِلُ، فَمَا عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ لَوْ وَهَبَ نَفْسَهُ لِلَّهِ؟

Wa-qāla: ʾinnamā hiya ʾayyāmun qalāʾilu, fa-mā ʿalā al-ʾinsāni law wahaba nafsahu li-llāhi?

He said: it is only a few short days. What would it cost a person to give himself to God?

وَقَالَ: التَّوَاضُعُ لِلَّهِ ذُلُّ الْقَلْبِ.

Wa-qāla: al-tawāḍuʿu li-llāhi dhullu al-qalbi.

He said: humility toward God is the heart's lowliness.

وَقَالَ: أَوَّلُ النِّعَمِ مَعْرِفَةُ الْعِلْمِ الَّذِي بِهِ تُؤَدِّي فَرَائِضَ اللَّهِ، ثُمَّ الصِّحَّةُ وَالْغِنَى، ثُمَّ الْعَقْلُ.

Wa-qāla: ʾawwalu al-niʿami maʿrifatu al-ʿilmi alladhī bihi tuʾaddī farāʾiḍa Allāhi, thumma al-ṣiḥḥatu wa-al-ghinā, thumma al-ʿaqlu.

He said: the first blessing is knowing the knowledge by which you fulfill God's obligations, then health and sufficiency, and then reason.

وَقَالَ: لَيْسَ لِلْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَرُدَّ عَلَى مَوْلَاهُ شَيْئًا مِنْ أَحْكَامِهِ، وَعَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَرْضَى بِمَا وَرَدَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ حُكْمِ مَوْلَاهُ، وَيَجِبُ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَصْبِرَ. فَلِلْعَبْدِ حَالَانِ: حَالٌ يُوَافِقُ مِنْهُ رِضًا عَلَى مَا يُحِبُّ، وَحَالٌ يُوَافِقُ مِنْهُ صَبْرًا عَلَى مَا يَكْرَهُ.

Wa-qāla: laysa li-al-ʿabdi ʾan yarudda ʿalā mawlāhu shayʾan min ʾaḥkāmihi, wa-ʿalayhi ʾan yarḍā bimā warada ʿalayhi min ḥukmi mawlāhu, wa-yajibu ʿalayhi ʾan yaṣbira. Fa-li-al-ʿabdi ḥālāni: ḥālun yuwāfiqu minhu riḍan ʿalā mā yuḥibbu, wa-ḥālun yuwāfiqu minhu ṣabran ʿalā mā yakrahu.

He said: a servant may not reject any of his Master's judgments. He must accept whatever judgment of his Master comes upon him, and he is obliged to be patient. The servant therefore has two states: one calls forth acceptance from him regarding what he loves, and the other calls forth patience from him regarding what he dislikes.

Source page 45

الْعَدْلُ وَالْفَضْلُ

Al-ʿadlu wa-al-faḍlu

Justice and excellence

شَرَائِعُ الْعَدْلِ وَشَرَائِعُ الْفَضْلِ

Sharāʾiʿu al-ʿadli wa-sharāʾiʿu al-faḍli

The ordinances of justice and of excellence

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ. يُرْوَى عَنْ بَعْضِ الْحُكَمَاءِ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: طَرِيقُ الْآخِرَةِ وَاحِدٌ، وَالنَّاسُ فِيهِ صِنْفَانِ، فَصِنْفٌ أَهْلُ الْعَدْلِ وَصِنْفٌ أَهْلُ الْفَضْلِ.

Bismi Allāhi al-raḥmāni al-raḥīmi. Yurwā ʿan baʿḍi al-ḥukamāʾi ʾannahu qāla: ṭarīqu al-ʾākhirati wāḥidun, wa-al-nāsu fīhi ṣinfāni, fa-ṣinfun ʾahlu al-ʿadli wa-ṣinfun ʾahlu al-faḍli.

In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. One of the sages is reported to have said: the path to the next life is one, and the people on it are of two kinds: the people of justice and the people of excellence.

وَالْعَدْلُ عَدْلَانِ: عَدْلٌ ظَاهِرٌ فِيمَا بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ النَّاسِ، وَعَدْلٌ بَاطِنٌ فِيمَا بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ.

Wa-al-ʿadlu ʿadlāni: ʿadlun ẓāhirun fīmā baynaka wa-bayna al-nāsi, wa-ʿadlun bāṭinun fīmā baynaka wa-bayna Allāhi.

Justice has two forms: outward justice between you and other people, and inward justice between you and God.

وَطَرِيقُ الْعَدْلِ طَرِيقُ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ، وَطَرِيقُ الْفَضْلِ طَرِيقُ طَلَبِ الزِّيَادَةِ.

Wa-ṭarīqu al-ʿadli ṭarīqu al-istiqāmati, wa-ṭarīqu al-faḍli ṭarīqu ṭalabi al-ziyādati.

The path of justice is the path of uprightness; the path of excellence is the path of seeking what is beyond it.

وَالَّذِي عَلَى النَّاسِ لُزُومُ الْعَمَلِ بِهِ طَرِيقُ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ، وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهِمْ لُزُومُ طَرِيقِ الْفَضْلِ.

Wa-alladhī ʿalā al-nāsi luzūmu al-ʿamali bihi ṭarīqu al-istiqāmati, wa-laysa ʿalayhim luzūmu ṭarīqi al-faḍli.

What people are obliged to adhere to in practice is the path of uprightness; they are not obliged to adhere to the path of excellence.

وَالصَّبْرُ وَالْوَرَعُ مَعَ الْعَدْلِ وَهُمَا وَاجِبَانِ، وَالزُّهْدُ وَالرِّضَى مَعَ الْفَضْلِ وَلَيْسَا بِوَاجِبَيْنِ، وَالْإِنْصَافُ مَعَ الْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانُ مَعَ الْفَضْلِ.

Wa-al-ṣabru wa-al-waraʿu maʿa al-ʿadli wa-humā wājibāni, wa-al-zuhdu wa-al-riḍā maʿa al-faḍli wa-laysā biwājibayni, wa-al-ʾinṣāfu maʿa al-ʿadli wa-al-ʾiḥsānu maʿa al-faḍli.

Patience and scrupulous restraint belong with justice and are obligatory. Detachment from this world and contentment belong with excellence and are not obligatory. Fairness belongs with justice, and beneficence with excellence.

وَمَنْ شَغَلَهُ الْعَدْلُ عَنِ الْفَضْلِ فَمَعْذُورٌ، وَمَنْ شَغَلَهُ الْفَضْلُ عَنِ الْعَدْلِ فَهُوَ مَخْدُوعٌ مُتَّبِعٌ لِهَوَى نَفْسِهِ. وَعَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ مَعْرِفَةُ الْعَدْلِ، وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ مَعْرِفَةُ الْفَضْلِ إِلَّا تَبَرُّعًا.

Wa-man shaghalahu al-ʿadlu ʿani al-faḍli fa-maʿdhūrun, wa-man shaghalahu al-faḍlu ʿani al-ʿadli fa-huwa makhdūʿun muttabiʿun lihawā nafsihi. Wa-ʿalā al-ʾinsāni maʿrifatu al-ʿadli, wa-laysa ʿalayhi maʿrifatu al-faḍli ʾillā tabarruʿan.

Whoever is kept from excellence by attending to justice is excused. Whoever is kept from justice by attending to excellence is deceived, following his own desire. A person is obliged to know justice; learning about excellence is a voluntary undertaking.

وَهٰكَذَا كُلُّ عَمَلٍ لَا يَجِبُ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ فِعْلُهُ لَا يَجِبُ عَلَيْهِ عِلْمُهُ.

Wa-hākadhā kullu ʿamalin lā yajibu ʿalā al-ʿabdi fiʿluhu lā yajibu ʿalayhi ʿilmuhu.

The same applies to every deed the servant is not obliged to perform: he is not obliged to know it.

Source page 46

صِفَاتُ أَهْلِ الْعَدْلِ

Ṣifātu ʾahli al-ʿadli

The qualities of the people of justice

وَلَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعَدْلِ إِلَّا بِثَلَاثِ خِصَالٍ: بِالْعِلْمِ حَتَّى يَعْلَمَ مَا لَهُ مِمَّا عَلَيْهِ، وَبِالْفِعْلِ، وَبِالصَّبْرِ.

Wa-lā yakūnu al-ʿabdu min ʾahli al-ʿadli ʾillā bithalāthi khiṣālin: bi-al-ʿilmi ḥattā yaʿlama mā lahu mimmā ʿalayhi, wa-bi-al-fiʿli, wa-bi-al-ṣabri.

A servant belongs to the people of justice only through three qualities: knowledge, so that he can distinguish what is his due from what he owes; action; and patience.

فَمِفْتَاحُ الْعَدْلِ وَأَوْلَاهُ بِالْعَبْدِ وَأَوْجَبُهُ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَعْرِفَ قَدْرَ نَفْسِهِ، فَلَا يَكُونَ لَهَا عِنْدَهُ قَدْرٌ فَوْقَ مَنْزِلَتِهَا، وَأَنْ تُشْبِهَ سَرِيرَتُهُ عَلَانِيَتَهُ.

Fa-miftāḥu al-ʿadli wa-ʾawlāhu bi-al-ʿabdi wa-ʾawjabuhu ʿalayhi ʾan yaʿrifa qadra nafsihi, fa-lā yakūna lahā ʿindahu qadrun fawqa manzilatihā, wa-ʾan tushbiha sarīratuhu ʿalāniyatahu.

The key to justice, its most fitting and most binding requirement for the servant, is that he know his own worth, giving his self no greater standing than it deserves, and that his inward state should resemble his outward appearance.

وَأَحْزَمُ النَّاسِ فِيهِ وَأَقْرَبُهُمْ مِنْهُ مَأْخَذًا الْمُرَاجِعُ لِنَفْسِهِ فِي كُلِّ خَطْرَةٍ تَهْوَاهَا نَفْسُهُ أَوْ تَكْرَهُهَا، فَيَنْظُرُ فِي ذٰلِكَ أَنْ لَوِ اطَّلَعَ النَّاسُ عَلَى حَالَتِهِ هٰذِهِ فَاسْتَحْيَا أَوْ كَرِهَهَا، تَحَوَّلَ مِنْ تِلْكَ الْحَالَةِ إِلَى حَالَةٍ لَا يُسْتَحْيَا مِنْهَا، فَإِنَّ الَّذِي لَا يُسْتَحْيَا مِنْهُ ضِدُّ الَّذِي يُسْتَحْيَا مِنْهُ.

Wa-ʾaḥzamu al-nāsi fīhi wa-ʾaqrabuhum minhu maʾkhadhan al-murājiʿu linafsihi fī kulli khaṭratin tahwāhā nafsuhu ʾaw takrahuhā, fa-yanẓuru fī dhālika ʾan lawi iṭṭalaʿa al-nāsu ʿalā ḥālatihi hādhihi fa-istaḥyā ʾaw karihahā, taḥawwala min tilka al-ḥālati ʾilā ḥālatin lā yustaḥyā minhā, fa-ʾinna alladhī lā yustaḥyā minhu ḍiddu alladhī yustaḥyā minhu.

The most prudent person in this, and the one who takes hold of it most readily, is someone who reexamines himself at every passing thought his self desires or dislikes. He considers whether, if people discovered his present state, he would feel ashamed or dislike it. If so, he moves from that state to one that causes no shame, for what causes no shame is the opposite of what does.

فَإِذَا تَحَوَّلَ وَاسْتَمَرَّ فَلْيَنْظُرْ، فَإِنِ اشْتَهَتْ نَفْسُهُ أَنْ يَطَّلِعَ النَّاسُ عَلَيْهِ تَحَوَّلَ مِنْهُ إِلَى مَا لَا تَشْتَهِيهِ نَفْسُهُ، فَإِنَّ الَّذِي تَشْتَهِيهِ ضِدُّهُ، فَيَكُونُ أَبَدًا فِي ضِدِّ مَا تَشْتَهِيهِ نَفْسُهُ.

Fa-ʾidhā taḥawwala wa-istamarra fa-l-yanẓur, fa-ʾini ishtahat nafsuhu ʾan yaṭṭaliʿa al-nāsu ʿalayhi taḥawwala minhu ʾilā mā lā tashtahīhi nafsuhu, fa-ʾinna alladhī tashtahīhi ḍidduhu, fa-yakūnu ʾabadan fī ḍiddi mā tashtahīhi nafsuhu.

Once he has moved and settled into that state, let him examine it. If his self desires that people should discover it, he should move from it to what his self does not desire, for what it desires is its opposite. In this way he will always be opposing what his self desires.

أَبْعَدُ النَّاسِ مِنَ الْعَدْلِ

ʾAbʿadu al-nāsi mina al-ʿadli

Those furthest from justice

وَأَبْعَدُ النَّاسِ مِنَ الْعَدْلِ أَشَدُّهُمْ غَفْلَةً عَنْ هٰذَا وَأَقَلُّهُمْ مُحَاسَبَةً لِنَفْسِهِ، وَأَبْعَدُ النَّاسِ مِنَ الْعَدْلِ وَأَطْوَلُهُمْ غَفْلَةً عَنْ هٰذَا أَشَدُّهُمْ تَهَاوُنًا بِهِ.

Wa-ʾabʿadu al-nāsi mina al-ʿadli ʾashadduhum ghaflatan ʿan hādhā wa-ʾaqalluhum muḥāsabatan linafsihi, wa-ʾabʿadu al-nāsi mina al-ʿadli wa-ʾaṭwaluhum ghaflatan ʿan hādhā ʾashadduhum tahāwunan bihi.

Those furthest from justice are the most heedless of this and the least inclined to call themselves to account. Those furthest from justice, and longest heedless of this, are the ones who treat it most lightly.

وَلَوْ عَقَلْتَ مَنِ الَّذِي تُرَاقِبُ، ثُمَّ تَقَطَّعَتْ أَعْضَاؤُكَ قِطَعًا وَانْشَقَّ قَلْبُكَ أَوْ سِحْتَ فِي الْأَرْضِ، لَكُنْتَ بِذٰلِكَ مَحْمُوقًا.

Wa-law ʿaqalta mani alladhī turāqibu, thumma taqaṭṭaʿat ʾaʿḍāʾuka qiṭaʿan wa-inshaqqa qalbuka ʾaw siḥta fī al-ʾarḍi, lakunta bi-dhālika maḥmūqan.

If you understood who it is of whom you are watchfully aware, and then your limbs were torn to pieces, your heart split apart, or you wandered the earth, you would thereby be [maḥmūq: an unclear term here].

فَلَمَّا لَمْ تَعْقِلْ لَمْ تَجِدْ مَسَّ الْحَيَاءِ وَالْخَوْفِ فِي مُرَاقَبَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَمُطَالَعَتِهِ عَلَى ضَمِيرِكَ وَعِلْمِهِ بِمَا تَجْلِبُهُ حَوَاسُّكَ عَلَى قَلْبِكَ وَقُدْرَتِهِ الْمُحِيطَةِ بِكَ،

Fa-lammā lam taʿqil lam tajid massa al-ḥayāʾi wa-al-khawfi fī murāqabati Allāhi taʿālā wa-muṭālaʿatihi ʿalā ḍamīrika wa-ʿilmihi bimā tajlibuhu ḥawāssuka ʿalā qalbika wa-qudratihi al-muḥīṭati bika,

Because you did not understand, you felt no touch of shame or fear in being watchfully aware of God Most High, of His scrutiny of your conscience, His knowledge of what your senses bring into your heart, and His power encompassing you.

ثُمَّ أَعْرَضْتَ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ كَالْمُتَهَاوِنِ بِهِ إِلَى مُرَاقَبَةِ مَنْ لَا يَطَّلِعُ عَلَى سِرِّكَ وَلَا عِلْمَ لَهُ بِمَا فِي ضَمِيرِكَ، فَقُلْتَ: لَوِ اطَّلَعَ النَّاسُ عَلَى مَا فِي قَلْبِي لَقَلَوْنِي وَمَقَتُونِي.

thumma ʾaʿraḍta baʿda dhālika ka-al-mutahāwini bihi ʾilā murāqabati man lā yaṭṭaliʿu ʿalā sirrika wa-lā ʿilma lahu bimā fī ḍamīrika, fa-qulta: lawi iṭṭalaʿa al-nāsu ʿalā mā fī qalbī laqalawnī wa-maqatūnī.

Then you turned away, as though treating Him lightly, toward watching those who cannot see your secret and have no knowledge of what is within your conscience. You said, “If people discovered what is in my heart, they would loathe and detest me.”

فَمَسَّكَ الْحَيَاءُ وَالْخَوْفُ مِنْهُمْ حَذَرًا مِنْ نُقْصَانِ جَاهِكَ وَسُقُوطِ مَنْزِلَتِكَ عِنْدَهُمْ، فَكُنْتَ لَهُمْ مُرَاقِبًا وَمِنْهُمْ خَائِفًا وَمِنْ مَقْتِهِمْ مُشْفِقًا، إِذْ لَمْ تَجِدْ مَقْتَ اللَّهِ لَكَ وَسُقُوطَ مَنْزِلَتِكَ وَجَاهِكَ عِنْدَهُ، وَمَقْتُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ.

Fa-massaka al-ḥayāʾu wa-al-khawfu minhum ḥadharan min nuqṣāni jāhika wa-suqūṭi manzilatika ʿindahum, fa-kunta lahum murāqiban wa-minhum khāʾifan wa-min maqtihim mushfiqan, ʾidh lam tajid maqta Allāhi laka wa-suqūṭa manzilatika wa-jāhika ʿindahu, wa-maqtu Allāhi ʾakbaru.

Shame and fear of them touched you, lest your prestige diminish and your standing with them collapse. You watched them, feared them, and dreaded their abhorrence, while feeling nothing of God's abhorrence of you or of the loss of your standing and esteem with Him. Yet God's abhorrence is greater.

Source pages 46–47

ثُمَّ إِذَا عَمِلْتَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الطَّاعَاتِ الَّتِي تُقَرِّبُ إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى، فَإِنْ هُمْ اطَّلَعُوا عَلَيْهَا عَقَدْتَ بِقَلْبِكَ حُبَّ حَمْدِهِمْ عَلَى ذٰلِكَ وَأَحْبَبْتَ اتِّخَاذَ الْمَنْزِلَةِ عِنْدَهُمْ بِذٰلِكَ.

Thumma ʾidhā ʿamilta shayʾan mina al-ṭāʿāti allatī tuqarribu ʾilā Allāhi zulfā, fa-ʾin hum iṭṭalaʿū ʿalayhā ʿaqadta biqalbika ḥubba ḥamdihim ʿalā dhālika wa-ʾaḥbabta ittikhādha al-manzilati ʿindahum bi-dhālika.

Then, when you perform an act of obedience that brings you near to God, if they discover it you fasten within your heart a love of their praise for it, and you want to gain standing with them through it.

Source page 47

وَإِنْ كَانَ شَيْئًا يُتَقَرَّبُ بِهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ مِنْ طَاعَةٍ بِعَقْدِ ضَمِيرٍ أَوِ اكْتِسَابِ جَوَارِحَ، فَإِنْ كَانَ ذٰلِكَ سِرًّا أَحْبَبْتَ أَنْ يَطَّلِعُوا عَلَيْهِ لِيَحْمَدُوكَ وَيَقُومَ بِهِ جَاهُكَ.

Wa-ʾin kāna shayʾan yutaqarrabu bihi ʾilā Allāhi min ṭāʿatin biʿaqdi ḍamīrin ʾawi iktisābi jawāriḥa, fa-ʾin kāna dhālika sirran ʾaḥbabta ʾan yaṭṭaliʿū ʿalayhi liyaḥmadūka wa-yaqūma bihi jāhuka.

If it is something by which nearness to God is sought, an act of obedience in an inward resolve or in the deeds of the limbs, and it is secret, you want them to discover it so that they will praise you and your prestige will be established through it.

فَلَمْ تَقْنَعْ بِاطِّلَاعِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلَا بِثَوَابِهِ فِي عَمَلِ السِّرِّ وَلَا فِي عَمَلِ الْعَلَانِيَةِ، وَأَنْتَ قَانِعٌ بِذٰلِكَ رَاضٍ بِهِ، غَافِلٌ مُتَمَادٍ، مُغْتَرٌّ مَخْدُوعٌ، وَكَانَتْ هٰذِهِ الْحَالَةُ عِنْدَكَ أَحْسَنَ أَحْوَالِكَ وَأَحْزَمَ أُمُورِكَ.

Fa-lam taqnaʿ bi-iṭṭilāʿi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla wa-lā bithawābihi fī ʿamali al-sirri wa-lā fī ʿamali al-ʿalāniyati, wa-ʾanta qāniʿun bi-dhālika rāḍin bihi, ghāfilun mutamādin, mughtarrun makhdūʿun, wa-kānat hādhihi al-ḥālatu ʿindaka ʾaḥsana ʾaḥwālika wa-ʾaḥzama ʾumūrika.

You are not content that God, mighty and majestic, sees you, or with His reward, either in secret deeds or in public ones. Yet you are content and satisfied with this condition, heedless and persisting, deluded and deceived, and you regard it as your finest state and your most prudent course.

وَلَوِ اسْتَغْنَيْتَ بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ وَبِاطِّلَاعِهِ عَلَيْكَ وَبِجَزِيلِ ثَوَابِهِ لِأَهْلِ طَاعَتِهِ وَمَحَبَّتِهِ لَهُمْ وَتَوْفِيقِهِ لَهُمْ وَتَسْدِيدِهِ إِيَّاهُمْ، وَرَاقَبْتَهُ، لَأَغْنَاكَ ذٰلِكَ عَمَّنْ لَا يَمْلِكُ لَكَ وَلَا لِنَفْسِهِ ضَرًّا وَلَا نَفْعًا.

Wa-lawi istaghnayta bi-Allāhi waḥdahu wa-bi-iṭṭilāʿihi ʿalayka wa-bijazīli thawābihi li-ʾahli ṭāʿatihi wa-maḥabbatihi lahum wa-tawfīqihi lahum wa-tasdīdihi ʾiyyāhum, wa-rāqabtahu, laʾaghnāka dhālika ʿamman lā yamliku laka wa-lā linafsihi ḍarran wa-lā nafʿan.

If you found sufficiency in God alone, in His seeing you, in His ample reward for those who obey Him, His love for them, His granting them success, and His guiding them aright, and if you remained watchfully aware of Him, that would make you independent of those who have no power to harm or benefit either you or themselves.

وَقَدْ رَضِيَ مِنْكَ بِذٰلِكَ، وَلَيْتَكَ تَضْبِطُهُ.

Wa-qad raḍiya minka bi-dhālika, wa-laytaka taḍbiṭuhu.

He is satisfied with this from you. If only you could hold fast to it.

فَأَوْلَى الْفَضَائِلِ بِكَ وَأَنْفَعُهَا لَكَ أَنْ تَكُونَ نَفْسُكَ عِنْدَكَ دُونَ قَدْرِهَا، وَأَنْ تَكُونَ سَرِيرَتُكَ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ عَلَانِيَتِكَ، وَأَنْ تَبْذُلَ لِلنَّاسِ حُقُوقَهُمْ وَلَا تَأْخُذَ مِنْهُمْ حَقَّكَ، وَتَتَجَاوَزَ عَمَّا يَكُونُ مِنْهُمْ، وَتُنْصِفَهُمْ مِنْ نَفْسِكَ وَلَا تَطْلُبَ الْإِنْصَافَ مِنْهُمْ.

Fa-ʾawlā al-faḍāʾili bika wa-ʾanfaʿuhā laka ʾan takūna nafsuka ʿindaka dūna qadrihā, wa-ʾan takūna sarīratuka ʾafḍala min ʿalāniyatika, wa-ʾan tabdhula li-al-nāsi ḥuqūqahum wa-lā taʾkhudha minhum ḥaqqaka, wa-tatajāwaza ʿammā yakūnu minhum, wa-tunṣifahum min nafsika wa-lā taṭluba al-ʾinṣāfa minhum.

The virtues most fitting and most beneficial for you are to regard your self as below its actual worth, to have an inward state better than your outward appearance, to give people their rights without exacting your own from them, to overlook what they do, and to deal fairly with them without demanding fairness from them.

وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ التَّطْهِيرُ ثُمَّ الْعَمَلُ، وَالتَّطْهِيرُ أَوْلَى بِنَا مِنَ الْعَمَلِ.

Wa-ʾinnamā huwa al-taṭhīru thumma al-ʿamalu, wa-al-taṭhīru ʾawlā binā mina al-ʿamali.

The order is purification first, then action. Purification has a greater claim on us than action.

Source page 48

التَّطْهِيرُ وَالْعَمَلُ

Al-taṭhīru wa-al-ʿamalu

Purification and action

أَهَمِّيَّةُ التَّطَهُّرِ مِنَ الْآفَاتِ قَبْلَ الْعَمَلِ

ʾAhammiyyatu al-taṭahhuri mina al-ʾāfāti qabla al-ʿamali

The importance of purification from defects before action

وَالتَّطْهِيرُ هُوَ الِانْتِقَالُ عَنِ الشَّرِّ إِلَى الْأَسَاسِ الَّذِي يُبْنَى عَلَيْهِ الْخَيْرُ، وَقَدْ يُمْكِنُ أَنْ يَسْقُطَ الْبِنَاءُ وَيَبْقَى الْأَسَاسُ، وَلَا يُمْكِنُ أَنْ يَسْقُطَ الْأَسَاسُ وَيَبْقَى الْبِنَاءُ.

Wa-al-taṭhīru huwa al-intiqālu ʿani al-sharri ʾilā al-ʾasāsi alladhī yubnā ʿalayhi al-khayru, wa-qad yumkinu ʾan yasquṭa al-bināʾu wa-yabqā al-ʾasāsu, wa-lā yumkinu ʾan yasquṭa al-ʾasāsu wa-yabqā al-bināʾu.

Purification is moving away from evil to the foundation on which good is built. A building can fall while its foundation remains, but the foundation cannot fall while the building remains.

وَمَنْ لَمْ يَتَطَهَّرْ قَبْلَ الْعَمَلِ، فَإِنَّ الشَّرَّ يَمْنَعُ الْعَبْدَ مِنْ مَنْفَعَةِ الْخَيْرِ، فَتَرْكُ الشَّرِّ أَوْلَى بِالْعَبْدِ، ثُمَّ يَطْلُبُ الْخَيْرَ بَعْدُ.

Wa-man lam yataṭahhar qabla al-ʿamali, fa-ʾinna al-sharra yamnaʿu al-ʿabda min manfaʿati al-khayri, fa-tarku al-sharri ʾawlā bi-al-ʿabdi, thumma yaṭlubu al-khayra baʿdu.

For someone who does not purify himself before acting, evil prevents him from benefiting from good. Abandoning evil therefore has the first claim on the servant; afterward, he seeks good.

وَالنَّفْسُ تَجْزَعُ مِنَ التَّطْهِيرِ وَتَفِرُّ إِلَى أَعْمَالِ الطَّاعَاتِ، لِثِقَلِ التَّطْهِيرِ عَلَيْهَا وَخِفَّةِ الْعَمَلِ بِالطَّاعَاتِ بِلَا طَهَارَةٍ.

Wa-al-nafsu tajzaʿu mina al-taṭhīri wa-tafirru ʾilā ʾaʿmāli al-ṭāʿāti, lithiqali al-taṭhīri ʿalayhā wa-khiffati al-ʿamali bi-al-ṭāʿāti bilā ṭahāratin.

The self recoils from purification and flees toward acts of obedience, because purification weighs heavily upon it while performing acts of obedience without purification is easy.

فَإِذَا كَانَتِ الطَّهَارَاتُ مُتَقَدِّمَةً أَمَامَ الْعَمَلِ بِالطَّاعَاتِ، بَعُدَ خِفَّتُهُ عَلَيْهَا لِمَكَانِ الطَّهَارَةِ، فَالْحَاجَةُ إِلَى مَعْرِفَةِ الْأَسْبَابِ الَّتِي يُطْلَبُ مِنْهَا الْخَيْرُ وَتُوصِلُ إِلَى اللَّهِ شَدِيدَةٌ.

Fa-ʾidhā kānati al-ṭahārātu mutaqaddimatan ʾamāma al-ʿamali bi-al-ṭāʿāti, baʿuda khiffatuhu ʿalayhā limakāni al-ṭahārati, fa-al-ḥājatu ʾilā maʿrifati al-ʾasbābi allatī yuṭlabu minhā al-khayru wa-tūṣilu ʾilā Allāhi shadīdatun.

When acts of purification come first, ahead of acts of obedience, the latter cease to be easy for the self because of the purification involved [reading uncertain]. There is therefore an urgent need to know the means through which good is sought and which lead to God.

فَمَنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ عِنَايَةٌ بِنَفْسِهِ وَخَافَ عَلَيْهَا التَّلَفَ طَلَبَ لَطَائِفَ الْأَسْبَابِ بِدَقَائِقِ الْفِطَنِ وَغَائِصِ الْفَهْمِ حَتَّى يَصِلَ إِلَيْهَا، فَإِذَا وَصَلَ إِلَيْهَا تَمَسَّكَ بِهَا وَعَمِلَ عَلَيْهَا، لِأَنَّ الْمَعْرِفَةَ لِآفَاتِ الْعَمَلِ تَكُونُ قَبْلَ الْعَمَلِ، وَمَعْرِفَةَ الطَّرِيقِ قَبْلَ سُلُوكِهِ، وَحَاجَةَ الْعَبْدِ إِلَى مَعْرِفَةِ نَفْسِهِ وَهَوَاهَا وَعَدُوِّهِ وَمَعْرِفَةِ الشَّرِّ أَشَدُّ إِنْ كَانَ كَيِّسًا، وَهُوَ إِلَى ذٰلِكَ أَفْقَرُ إِنْ كَانَ فَطِنًا مَعْنِيًّا بِنَفْسِهِ.

Fa-man kānat lahu ʿināyatun binafsihi wa-khāfa ʿalayhā al-talafa ṭalaba laṭāʾifa al-ʾasbābi bidaqāʾiqi al-fiṭani wa-ghāʾiṣi al-fahmi ḥattā yaṣila ʾilayhā, fa-ʾidhā waṣala ʾilayhā tamassaka bihā wa-ʿamila ʿalayhā, li-ʾanna al-maʿrifata li-ʾāfāti al-ʿamali takūnu qabla al-ʿamali, wa-maʿrifata al-ṭarīqi qabla sulūkihi, wa-ḥājata al-ʿabdi ʾilā maʿrifati nafsihi wa-hawāhā wa-ʿaduwwihi wa-maʿrifati al-sharri ʾashaddu ʾin kāna kayyisan, wa-huwa ʾilā dhālika ʾafqaru ʾin kāna faṭinan maʿniyyan binafsihi.

Whoever cares for his own self and fears its ruin seeks the subtle means with fine discernment and penetrating understanding until he reaches them. Once he reaches them, he holds fast to them and acts upon them, because knowledge of the defects of an action must precede the action, and knowledge of the path must precede traveling it. If the servant is discerning, his need to know his self, its desire, his enemy, and evil itself is more pressing; if he is perceptive and concerned for himself, his dependence on that knowledge is greater.

لِأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ الْعَمَلُ بِكُلِّ الْخَيْرِ يَلْزَمُ الْعَبْدَ، وَالشَّرُّ كُلُّهُ لَازِمٌ لِلْعَبْدِ تَرْكُهُ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ الشَّرَّ وَقَعَ فِي الْخَيْرِ، وَلَيْسَ كُلُّ مَنْ عَمِلَ بِالْخَيْرِ كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ.

Li-ʾannahu laysa al-ʿamalu bikulli al-khayri yalzamu al-ʿabda, wa-al-sharru kulluhu lāzimun li-al-ʿabdi tarkuhu, wa-man taraka al-sharra waqaʿa fī al-khayri, wa-laysa kullu man ʿamila bi-al-khayri kāna min ʾahlihi.

The servant is not obliged to perform every good deed, whereas he is obliged to abandon every evil. Whoever abandons evil enters into good, but not everyone who performs good deeds belongs to the people of good.

وَمَعْرِفَةُ الْعَبْدِ لِلشَّرِّ فِيهَا عِلْمُ الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ، وَلَيْسَ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ الْخَيْرِ الْعِلْمَانِ جَمِيعًا، لِأَنَّ كُلَّ مَنْ مَيَّزَ الْخَيْرَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ فَعَزَلَهُ وَاعْتَزَلَهُ، فَكُلُّ مَا بَقِيَ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ كُلُّهُ.

Wa-maʿrifatu al-ʿabdi li-al-sharri fīhā ʿilmu al-khayri wa-al-sharri, wa-laysa fī maʿrifati al-khayri al-ʿilmāni jamīʿan, li-ʾanna kulla man mayyaza al-khayra mina al-sharri fa-ʿazalahu wa-iʿtazalahu, fa-kullu mā baqiya baʿda dhālika fa-huwa khayrun kulluhu.

The servant's knowledge of evil includes knowledge of both good and evil; knowledge of good does not include both kinds of knowledge. Anyone who distinguishes good from evil, separates the evil out, and keeps away from it is left with what is entirely good.

Source pages 48–49

وَقَدْ يُمْكِنُ أَنْ يَعْلَمَ الْخَيْرَ وَلَا يُحْسِنَ أَنْ يُمَيِّزَ مَا فِيهِ مِنَ الشَّرِّ مِنَ الْآفَاتِ الَّتِي تُفْسِدُهُ وَتُبْطِلُهُ، لِأَنَّ الْخَيْرَ مَشُوبٌ مُمَازَجٌ بِالشَّرِّ، وَالشَّرُّ شَرٌّ كُلُّهُ.

Wa-qad yumkinu ʾan yaʿlama al-khayra wa-lā yuḥsina ʾan yumayyiza mā fīhi mina al-sharri mina al-ʾāfāti allatī tufsiduhu wa-tubṭiluhu, li-ʾanna al-khayra mashūbun mumāzajun bi-al-sharri, wa-al-sharru sharrun kulluhu.

But someone may know good without knowing how to distinguish the evil within it, the defects that corrupt and invalidate it. Good is mingled and mixed with evil, while evil is entirely evil.

Source page 49

الشَّيْطَانُ يُضِلُّ النَّاسَ بِالْخَيْرِ وَبِالشَّرِّ

Al-shayṭānu yuḍillu al-nāsa bi-al-khayri wa-bi-al-sharri

Satan leads people astray through good and through evil

وَقَدْ أَضَلَّ الْعَدُوُّ الْخَبِيثُ عَنِ اللَّهِ كَثِيرًا مِنَ النَّاسِ بِالْخَيْرِ، وَأَضَلَّ كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ بِالشَّرِّ، وَإِنَّمَا أَضَلَّ مَنْ أَضَلَّ مِنْهُمْ بِالْخَيْرِ لِقِلَّةِ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ بِمَا يُمَازِجُ الْخَيْرَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ، فَجَهِلُوا مَعْرِفَةَ ذٰلِكَ، وَأَوْهَمَتْهُمْ أَنْفُسُهُمْ أَنَّهُمْ عَلَى خَيْرٍ وَهُدًى وَطَرِيقِ مَحَبَّةٍ وَسَبِيلٍ وَاسْتِقَامَةٍ، وَهُمْ ضَالُّونَ عَنِ اللَّهِ، عَادِلُونَ عَنْ طَرِيقِ مَحَبَّتِهِ وَسَبِيلِ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ إِلَيْهِ.

Wa-qad ʾaḍalla al-ʿaduwwu al-khabīthu ʿani Allāhi kathīran mina al-nāsi bi-al-khayri, wa-ʾaḍalla kathīran minhum bi-al-sharri, wa-ʾinnamā ʾaḍalla man ʾaḍalla minhum bi-al-khayri liqillati maʿrifatihim bimā yumāziju al-khayra mina al-sharri, fa-jahilū maʿrifata dhālika, wa-ʾawhamat-hum ʾanfusuhum ʾannahum ʿalā khayrin wa-hudan wa-ṭarīqi maḥabbatin wa-sabīlin wa-istiqāmatin, wa-hum ḍāllūna ʿani Allāhi, ʿādilūna ʿan ṭarīqi maḥabbatihi wa-sabīli al-istiqāmati ʾilayhi.

The evil enemy has led many people away from God through good, and many others through evil. Those he led astray through good were misled only because they knew so little of the evil mingled with it. They did not know how to recognize this, and their selves made them imagine that they possessed goodness and guidance, a path of love, a way, and uprightness, while they were straying from God and turning aside from the path of His love and the way of uprightness toward Him.

وَإِنَّمَا ذٰلِكَ مِنْ كَثْرَةِ الْآفَاتِ الَّتِي تَلْحَقُ الْأَعْمَالَ وَقِلَّةِ عِلْمِ الْعُمَّالِ بِهَا، فَإِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ.

Wa-ʾinnamā dhālika min kathrati al-ʾāfāti allatī talḥaqu al-ʾaʿmāla wa-qillati ʿilmi al-ʿummāli bihā, fa-ʾinnā li-llāhi wa-ʾinnā ʾilayhi rājiʿūna.

This comes only from the many defects that attach themselves to deeds and the little that those who perform them know about those defects. We belong to God, and to Him we return.

الطَّلَبُ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ

Al-ṭalabu ʿalā qadri al-maʿrifati

Seeking in proportion to knowledge

مَا أَغْفَلَ النَّاسَ عَنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَهْوَائِهِمْ وَعَنْ عَدُوِّهِمْ، فَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الْغَفْلَةِ وَالسَّهْوِ وَالنِّسْيَانِ الَّذِي يُرْدِي وَيُفْسِدُ الْأَعْمَالَ.

Mā ʾaghfala al-nāsa ʿan ʾanfusihim wa-ʿan ʾahwāʾihim wa-ʿan ʿaduwwihim, fa-naʿūdhu bi-Allāhi mina al-ghaflati wa-al-sahwi wa-al-nisyāni alladhī yurdī wa-yufsidu al-ʾaʿmāla.

How heedless people are of themselves, their desires, and their enemy! We seek refuge in God from the heedlessness, inattention, and forgetfulness that bring ruin and corrupt deeds.

وَالْحَرِيُّ أَنَّ تَارِكَ الشَّرِّ يَكُونُ تَرْكُهُ لَهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَا يَعْرِفُ مِنْ ضَرَرِهِ، وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ بِفَرْضٍ تُقَرِّبُ إِقَامَتُهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ زُلْفَى، وَطَالِبَ الْخَيْرِ يَكُونُ طَلَبُهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَا يَرْجُو وَيَعْرِفُ مِنْ مَنْفَعَتِهِ.

Wa-al-ḥariyyu ʾanna tārika al-sharri yakūnu tarkuhu lahu ʿalā qadri mā yaʿrifu min ḍararihi, wa-huwa qāʾimun bifarḍin tuqarribu ʾiqāmatuhu mina Allāhi zulfā, wa-ṭāliba al-khayri yakūnu ṭalabuhu ʿalā qadri mā yarjū wa-yaʿrifu min manfaʿatihi.

It is to be expected that someone who abandons evil does so in proportion to what he knows of its harm. He is fulfilling an obligation whose fulfillment brings him near to God. Someone who seeks good seeks it in proportion to the benefit he hopes for and knows it brings.

وَمِنْ أَنَّ الْعِلْمَ شَيْءٌ وَالْعَمَلَ شَيْءٌ وَالْمَنْفَعَةَ شَيْءٌ، وَرُبَّمَا كَانَ عِلْمٌ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ صَاحِبُهُ بِهِ عَامِلًا، وَرُبَّمَا كَانَ عِلْمٌ وَعَمَلٌ وَلَمْ تَكُنْ مَنْفَعَةٌ، وَرُبَّمَا كَانَ عِلْمٌ وَعَمَلٌ وَمَنْفَعَةٌ ثُمَّ يَكُونُ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ إِبْطَالٌ وَإِحْبَاطٌ، وَرُبَّمَا عَلِمَ الْعَبْدُ وَعَمِلَ وَانْتَفَعَ وَسَلِمَ وَتَمَّ.

Wa-min ʾanna al-ʿilma shayʾun wa-al-ʿamala shayʾun wa-al-manfaʿata shayʾun, wa-rubbamā kāna ʿilmun wa-lam yakun ṣāḥibuhu bihi ʿāmilan, wa-rubbamā kāna ʿilmun wa-ʿamalun wa-lam takun manfaʿatun, wa-rubbamā kāna ʿilmun wa-ʿamalun wa-manfaʿatun thumma yakūnu baʿda dhālika ʾibṭālun wa-ʾiḥbāṭun, wa-rubbamā ʿalima al-ʿabdu wa-ʿamila wa-intafaʿa wa-salima wa-tamma.

And [consider] that knowledge is one thing, action another, and benefit another. There may be knowledge whose possessor does not act upon it. There may be knowledge and action without benefit. There may be knowledge, action, and benefit, followed afterward by invalidation and the loss of all reward. Or the servant may know, act, benefit, remain safe, and bring the work to completion.

Source page 50

الْخِصَالُ الَّتِي يُطْلَبُ مِنْهَا الْخَيْرُ

Al-khiṣālu allatī yuṭlabu minhā al-khayru

The qualities through which good is sought

وَطَالِبُ الْخَيْرِ لَا يَسْتَغْنِي عَنْ خَمْسِ خِصَالٍ، سِوَى مَا يَحْتَاجُ فِيهِ إِلَى عِلْمِ حُدُودِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَأَحْكَامِهَا وَأَدَائِهَا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى خَالِصَةً مُخْلَصَةً مَشُوبَةً بِالصِّدْقِ كَمَا أَمَرَ وَفَرَضَ وَسَنَّ فِي الْأَوْقَاتِ الَّتِي أَمَرَ وَفَرَضَ.

Wa-ṭālibu al-khayri lā yastaghnī ʿan khamsi khiṣālin, siwā mā yaḥtāju fīhi ʾilā ʿilmi ḥudūdi al-ʾaʿmāli wa-ʾaḥkāmihā wa-ʾadāʾihā ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā khāliṣatan mukhlaṣatan mashūbatan bi-al-ṣidqi kamā ʾamara wa-faraḍa wa-sanna fī al-ʾawqāti allatī ʾamara wa-faraḍa.

The seeker of good cannot do without five qualities, apart from his need to know the limits and rulings of deeds and to offer them to God Most High pure, purified, and infused with truthfulness, as He has commanded, made obligatory, and established in practice, at the times He has commanded and prescribed.

وَصَاحِبُ الْخَيْرِ الْعَامِلُ بِهِ لَا يَسْتَغْنِي عَنِ الصِّدْقِ وَالصَّوَابِ وَالشُّكْرِ وَالرَّجَاءِ وَالْخَوْفِ.

Wa-ṣāḥibu al-khayri al-ʿāmilu bihi lā yastaghnī ʿani al-ṣidqi wa-al-ṣawābi wa-al-shukri wa-al-rajāʾi wa-al-khawfi.

The person devoted to good who acts upon it cannot do without truthfulness, right practice, gratitude, hope, and fear.

الصَّوَابُ

Al-ṣawābu

Right practice

أَمَّا الصَّوَابُ فَالسُّنَّةُ، وَالسُّنَّةُ لَيْسَ بِكَثْرَةِ الصَّلَاةِ تُدْرَكُ، وَلَا بِكَثْرَةِ الصِّيَامِ وَالصَّدَقَةِ، وَلَا بِالْعَقْلِ وَالْفَهْمِ، وَلَا بِغَرَائِبِ الْحِكْمَةِ، وَلَا بِالْبَلَاغِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ، وَلٰكِنْ بِالِاتِّبَاعِ وَالِاسْتِسْلَامِ لِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَسُنَّةِ رَسُولِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَالْأَئِمَّةِ الرَّاشِدِينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ.

ʾAmmā al-ṣawābu fa-al-sunnatu, wa-al-sunnatu laysa bikathrati al-ṣalāti tudraku, wa-lā bikathrati al-ṣiyāmi wa-al-ṣadaqati, wa-lā bi-al-ʿaqli wa-al-fahmi, wa-lā bigharāʾibi al-ḥikmati, wa-lā bi-al-balāghi wa-al-mawʿiẓati, wa-lākin bi-al-ittibāʿi wa-al-istislāmi likitābi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla wa-sunnati rasūlihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama wa-al-ʾaʾimmati al-rāshidīna min baʿdihi.

Right practice is the Sunna. The Sunna is not attained by much prayer, much fasting and charity, reason and understanding, unusual pieces of wisdom, or eloquent preaching and admonition. It is attained by following and surrendering to the Book of God, mighty and majestic, the Sunna of His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the rightly guided leaders after him.

وَلَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَشَدَّ تُهْمَةً وَلَا أَكْثَرَ ضَرَرًا عَلَى السُّنَّةِ مِنَ الْعَقْلِ، فَمَتَى أَرَادَ (الْعَبْدُ) أَنْ يَسْلُكَ سَبِيلَ السُّنَّةِ بِالْعَقْلِ وَالْفَهْمِ خَالَفَهَا وَأَخَذَ فِي غَيْرِ طَرِيقِهَا.

Wa-laysa shayʾun ʾashadda tuhmatan wa-lā ʾakthara ḍararan ʿalā al-sunnati mina al-ʿaqli, fa-matā ʾarāda (al-ʿabdu) ʾan yasluka sabīla al-sunnati bi-al-ʿaqli wa-al-fahmi khālafahā wa-ʾakhadha fī ghayri ṭarīqihā.

Nothing is more suspect or more harmful to the Sunna than reason. Whenever (the servant) intends to follow the way of the Sunna through reason and understanding, he departs from it and takes a different path.

الصِّدْقُ

Al-ṣidqu

Truthfulness

وَأَمَّا الصِّدْقُ فَفِي أَرْبَعَةِ أَشْيَاءَ.

Wa-ʾammā al-ṣidqu fa-fī ʾarbaʿati ʾashyāʾa.

Truthfulness concerns four things.

Source pages 50–51

تَعْمَلُ الْعَمَلَ ثُمَّ لَا تُرِيدُ عَلَى ذٰلِكَ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا إِلَّا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَلَا تُبْطِلُهُ بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَى. وَمِنْهُ صِدْقُ اللِّسَانِ فِي الْحَدِيثِ، وَقَدْ يَصْدُقُ فِي حَالِهِ بِلِسَانِهِ وَهُوَ عَاصٍ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي صِدْقِهِ، وَهُوَ الْمُغْتَابُ وَالنَّمَّامُ.

Taʿmalu al-ʿamala thumma lā turīdu ʿalā dhālika jazāʾan wa-lā shukūran ʾillā mina Allāhi taʿālā, wa-lā tubṭiluhu bi-al-manni wa-al-ʾadhā. Wa-minhu ṣidqu al-lisāni fī al-ḥadīthi, wa-qad yaṣduqu fī ḥālihi bilisānihi wa-huwa ʿāṣin li-llāhi taʿālā fī ṣidqihi, wa-huwa al-mughtābu wa-al-nammāmu.

You perform the deed and then want neither recompense nor thanks for it except from God Most High, and you do not invalidate it by reminding others of your favor or causing harm. Truthfulness also includes speaking truthfully in conversation. Yet someone may speak truthfully about a matter while disobeying God Most High in that very truthfulness: such is the backbiter and the talebearer.

Source page 51

الشُّكْرُ

Al-shukru

Gratitude

وَأَمَّا الشُّكْرُ فَمَعْرِفَةُ الْبَلْوَى، فَإِذَا عَرَفَ أَنَّ كُلَّ نِعْمَةٍ فَهِيَ مِنَ اللَّهِ لَا غَيْرِهِ، وَإِنَّمَا هِيَ بَلْوَى يَخْتَبِرُ بِهَا عَبْدَهُ، شَكَرَ أَمْ كَفَرَ، وَكُلُّ سُوءٍ صُرِفَ عَنِ الْعَبْدِ فَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى صَرَفَهُ لِيَشْكُرَهُ عَبْدُهُ أَوْ يَكْفُرَهُ، فَهٰذَا مِنَ الشُّكْرِ.

Wa-ʾammā al-shukru fa-maʿrifatu al-balwā, fa-ʾidhā ʿarafa ʾanna kulla niʿmatin fa-hiya mina Allāhi lā ghayrihi, wa-ʾinnamā hiya balwā yakhtabiru bihā ʿabdahu, shakara ʾam kafara, wa-kullu sūʾin ṣurifa ʿani al-ʿabdi fa-Allāhu taʿālā ṣarafahu liyashkurahu ʿabduhu ʾaw yakfurahu, fa-hādhā mina al-shukri.

Gratitude is recognizing the trial. When the servant recognizes that every blessing comes from God and no one else, and is a trial by which He tests whether His servant gives thanks or is ungrateful, and that every evil diverted from the servant was diverted by God Most High so that His servant might thank Him or be ungrateful to Him, this is part of gratitude.

فَإِذَا عَرَفَ الْعَبْدُ هٰذَا أَنَّهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ، وَعَدَّهُ مِنْ نِعَمِهِ عَلَيْهِ، وَلَمْ يُدْخِلْ فِيهِ أَحَدًا، نَفْسَهُ وَلَا غَيْرَهَا، فَقَدْ شَكَرَهُ. فَالشُّكْرُ مُتَفَاوِتٌ، وَالنَّاسُ فِيهِ مُتَبَايِنُونَ مُتَصَاعِدُونَ، وَهٰذَا أَدْنَاهُ، وَأَمَّا أَعْلَاهُ فَلَا يَبْلُغُهُ أَحَدٌ وَلَيْسَ لَهُ حَدٌّ.

Fa-ʾidhā ʿarafa al-ʿabdu hādhā ʾannahu mina Allāhi, wa-ʿaddahu min niʿamihi ʿalayhi, wa-lam yudkhil fīhi ʾaḥadan, nafsahu wa-lā ghayrahā, fa-qad shakarahu. Fa-al-shukru mutafāwitun, wa-al-nāsu fīhi mutabāyinūna mutaṣāʿidūna, wa-hādhā ʾadnāhu, wa-ʾammā ʾaʿlāhu fa-lā yablughuhu ʾaḥadun wa-laysa lahu ḥaddun.

When the servant recognizes that this comes from God, counts it among His blessings upon him, and credits no one else with it, neither himself nor anyone other than himself, he has thanked Him. Gratitude has different degrees, and people differ and rise through them. This is its lowest degree; no one reaches its highest, for it has no limit.

وَمِنْهُ أَيْضًا، وَهُوَ يُشْبِهُ مَا وَصَفْنَا إِلَّا أَنَّهُ أَصْلُ الشُّكْرِ، أَنْ يَعْرِفَ الْعَبْدُ أَنَّ مَا بِهِ مِنْ نِعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ بِقَلْبِهِ عِلْمَ يَقِينٍ لَا تُخَالِطُهُ الشُّكُوكُ، فَإِذَا عَرَفَ بِقَلْبِهِ ذٰلِكَ ذَكَرَهُ بِلِسَانِهِ فَحَمِدَهُ عَلَيْهِ، ثُمَّ لَمْ يَسْتَعِنْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ نِعَمِ الْمُنْعِمِ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِمَّا يَكْرَهُ الْمُنْعِمُ.

Wa-minhu ʾayḍan, wa-huwa yushbihu mā waṣafnā ʾillā ʾannahu ʾaṣlu al-shukri, ʾan yaʿrifa al-ʿabdu ʾanna mā bihi min niʿmatin fa-mina Allāhi biqalbihi ʿilma yaqīnin lā tukhāliṭuhu al-shukūku, fa-ʾidhā ʿarafa biqalbihi dhālika dhakarahu bilisānihi fa-ḥamidahu ʿalayhi, thumma lam yastaʿin bishayʾin min niʿami al-munʿimi ʿalā shayʾin mimmā yakrahu al-munʿimu.

Another part of it resembles what we have described, but is the very foundation of gratitude: the servant knows in his heart, with certain knowledge unmixed with doubt, that whatever blessing he has comes from God. When he knows this in his heart, he mentions Him with his tongue and praises Him for it; then he uses none of the Benefactor's blessings to assist him in anything the Benefactor dislikes.

وَأَعْلَى مِنْ ذٰلِكَ مِنَ الشُّكْرِ أَنْ تَعُدَّ كُلَّ بَلَاءٍ نَزَلَ بِكَ نِعْمَةً، لِأَنَّ لِلَّهِ مِنَ الْبَلَاءِ مَا أَنْزَلَهُ بِغَيْرِكَ أَشَدَّ وَأَعْظَمَ مِنَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَهُ بِكَ.

Wa-ʾaʿlā min dhālika mina al-shukri ʾan taʿudda kulla balāʾin nazala bika niʿmatan, li-ʾanna li-llāhi mina al-balāʾi mā ʾanzalahu bighayrika ʾashadda wa-ʾaʿẓama mina alladhī ʾanzalahu bika.

A higher degree of gratitude is to count every affliction that befalls you as a blessing, because among God's afflictions are those He has sent upon others that are harsher and greater than what He has sent upon you.

وَالنَّاسُ يَحْتَاجُونَ عِنْدَ ذٰلِكَ إِلَى الصَّبْرِ وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ بِالشُّكْرِ.

Wa-al-nāsu yaḥtājūna ʿinda dhālika ʾilā al-ṣabri wa-huwa qāʾimun bi-al-shukri.

Where others need patience, such a person is practicing gratitude.

الرَّجَاءُ

Al-rajāʾu

Hope

وَأَمَّا الرَّجَاءُ فَهُوَ أَنْ تَرْجُوَ قَبُولَ الْأَعْمَالِ وَجَزِيلَ الثَّوَابِ عَلَيْهَا، وَتَخَافَ مَعَ ذٰلِكَ أَنْ يُرَدَّ عَلَيْكَ عَمَلُكَ أَوْ يَكُونَ قَدْ دَخَلَتْهُ آفَةٌ أَفْسَدَتْهُ عَلَيْكَ.

Wa-ʾammā al-rajāʾu fa-huwa ʾan tarjuwa qabūla al-ʾaʿmāli wa-jazīla al-thawābi ʿalayhā, wa-takhāfa maʿa dhālika ʾan yuradda ʿalayka ʿamaluka ʾaw yakūna qad dakhalat-hu ʾāfatun ʾafsadat-hu ʿalayka.

Hope means hoping that your deeds will be accepted and amply rewarded, while also fearing that your deed may be rejected or that some defect may have entered and spoiled it for you.

Source page 52

وَالرَّاجُونَ ثَلَاثَةٌ.

Wa-al-rājūna thalāthatun.

Those who hope are of three kinds.

رَجُلٌ عَمِلَ حَسَنَةً وَهُوَ صَادِقٌ فِي عَمَلِهَا مُخْلِصٌ فِيهَا، يُرِيدُ اللَّهَ بِهَا وَيَطْلُبُ ثَوَابَهُ، فَهُوَ يَرْجُو قَبُولَهَا وَثَوَابَهَا وَمَعَهُ الْإِشْفَاقُ فِيهَا.

Rajulun ʿamila ḥasanatan wa-huwa ṣādiqun fī ʿamalihā mukhliṣun fīhā, yurīdu Allāha bihā wa-yaṭlubu thawābahu, fa-huwa yarjū qabūlahā wa-thawābahā wa-maʿahu al-ʾishfāqu fīhā.

One is a person who does a good deed truthfully and sincerely, intending God through it and seeking His reward. He hopes for its acceptance and reward, while remaining apprehensive about it.

وَرَجُلٌ عَمِلَ سَيِّئَةً ثُمَّ تَابَ مِنْهَا إِلَى اللَّهِ، فَهُوَ يَرْجُو قَبُولَ تَوْبَتِهِ وَثَوَابَهَا، وَيَرْجُو الْعَفْوَ عَنْهَا وَالْمَغْفِرَةَ لَهَا، وَمَعَهُ الْإِشْفَاقُ أَلَّا يُعَاقِبَهُ عَلَيْهَا.

Wa-rajulun ʿamila sayyiʾatan thumma tāba minhā ʾilā Allāhi, fa-huwa yarjū qabūla tawbatihi wa-thawābahā, wa-yarjū al-ʿafwa ʿanhā wa-al-maghfirata lahā, wa-maʿahu al-ʾishfāqu ʾallā yuʿāqibahu ʿalayhā.

Another is a person who commits an evil deed and then repents of it to God. He hopes that his repentance will be accepted and rewarded, and hopes for pardon and forgiveness for the deed, while anxiously hoping that He will not punish him for it.

وَأَمَّا الثَّالِثُ فَهُوَ الرَّجُلُ يَتَمَادَى فِي الذُّنُوبِ وَفِيمَا لَا يُحِبُّهُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَلَا يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَلْقَى اللَّهَ بِهِ، وَيَرْجُو الْمَغْفِرَةَ مِنْ غَيْرِ تَوْبَةٍ، وَهُوَ مَعَ ذٰلِكَ غَيْرُ تَائِبٍ مِنْهَا وَلَا مُقْلِعٍ عَنْهَا، وَهُوَ مَعَ ذٰلِكَ يَرْجُو.

Wa-ʾammā al-thālithu fa-huwa al-rajulu yatamādā fī al-dhunūbi wa-fīmā lā yuḥibbuhu linafsihi wa-lā yuḥibbu ʾan yalqā Allāha bihi, wa-yarjū al-maghfirata min ghayri tawbatin, wa-huwa maʿa dhālika ghayru tāʾibin minhā wa-lā muqliʿin ʿanhā, wa-huwa maʿa dhālika yarjū.

The third is someone who persists in sins and in conduct he does not wish for himself and does not wish to meet God with. He hopes for forgiveness without repentance, although he neither repents of those sins nor gives them up. Yet he continues to hope.

فَهٰذَا يُقَالُ لَهُ ‹مفتر›، مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِالرَّجَاءِ الْكَاذِبِ وَالْأَمَانِيِّ الْكَاذِبَةِ وَالطَّمَعِ الْكَاذِبِ.

Fa-hādhā yuqālu lahu ‹mftr›, mutaʿalliqun bi-al-rajāʾi al-kādhibi wa-al-ʾamāniyyi al-kādhibati wa-al-ṭamaʿi al-kādhibi.

This person is called [an unclear term, apparently “deluded”], clinging to false hope, false wishes, and false expectations.

وَالْقِيَامُ عَلَى هٰذَا يَقْطَعُ مَوَادَّ عَظَمَةِ اللَّهِ مِنْ قَلْبِ الْعَبْدِ، فَيَدُومُ إِعْرَاضُهُ عَنْهُ، وَيَأْنَسُ بِجَانِبِ مَكْرِ اللَّهِ وَيَأْمَنُ تَعْجِيلَ الْعُقُوبَةِ، وَهٰذَا هُوَ ‹المفتر› الْمَخْدُوعُ الْمُسْتَدْرَجُ.

Wa-al-qiyāmu ʿalā hādhā yaqṭaʿu mawādda ʿaẓamati Allāhi min qalbi al-ʿabdi, fa-yadūmu ʾiʿrāḍuhu ʿanhu, wa-yaʾnasu bijānibi makri Allāhi wa-yaʾmanu taʿjīla al-ʿuqūbati, wa-hādhā huwa ‹al-mftr› al-makhdūʿu al-mustadraju.

Persisting in this cuts off from the servant's heart the sources that nourish his sense of God's greatness. His turning away from Him continues; he grows comfortable in the face of God's hidden plan and feels safe from punishment coming swiftly. This is the [one described by the same unclear term], deceived and being drawn on step by step.

وَأَمَّا أَمْثَالُنَا مِنَ النَّاسِ فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ الْخَوْفُ عِنْدَهُمْ أَكْثَرَ مِنَ الرَّجَاءِ، لِأَنَّ الرَّجَاءَ الصَّادِقَ إِنَّمَا يَكُونُ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْعَمَلِ بِالطَّاعَاتِ.

Wa-ʾammā ʾamthālunā mina al-nāsi fa-yanbaghī ʾan yakūna al-khawfu ʿindahum ʾakthara mina al-rajāʾi, li-ʾanna al-rajāʾa al-ṣādiqa ʾinnamā yakūnu ʿalā qadri al-ʿamali bi-al-ṭāʿāti.

For people like us, fear should be greater than hope, because truthful hope is only in proportion to one's acts of obedience.

الْخَوْفُ

Al-khawfu

Fear

وَالْخَوْفُ عَلَى قَدْرِ الذُّنُوبِ، فَلَوْ كَانَ الرَّجَاءُ يَسْتَقِيمُ بِلَا عَمَلٍ لَكَانَ الْمُحْسِنُ وَالْمُسِيءُ فِي الرَّجَاءِ سَوَاءً، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا وَجَاهَدُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أُولٰئِكَ يَرْجُونَ رَحْمَةَ اللَّهِ﴾، وَقَالَ: ﴿إِنَّ رَحْمَةَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ﴾.

Wa-al-khawfu ʿalā qadri al-dhunūbi, fa-law kāna al-rajāʾu yastaqīmu bilā ʿamalin lakāna al-muḥsinu wa-al-musīʾu fī al-rajāʾi sawāʾan, wa-qad qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿ʾinna alladhīna ʾāmanū wa-alladhīna hājarū wa-jāhadū fī sabīli Allāhi ʾulāʾika yarjūna raḥmata Allāhi﴾, wa-qāla: ﴿ʾinna raḥmata Allāhi qarībun mina al-muḥsinīna﴾.

Fear is in proportion to sins. If hope could be sound without action, the doer of good and the doer of evil would be equal in hope. God Most High has said: “Those who believe, and those who emigrate and strive in God's way: they hope for God's mercy.” And He has said: “God's mercy is near to those who do good.”

Source pages 52–53

وَمَعْنَى الْحَدِيثِ الَّذِي جَاءَ: لَوْ وُزِنَ رَجَاءُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَخَوْفُهُ لَاعْتَدَلَا، يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ خَاصًّا بَيْنَ أَهْلِهِ، وَهُوَ قَبْلَ الْحَدِيثِ الْآخَرِ: الْمُؤْمِنُ كَذِي قَلْبَيْنِ، قَلْبٍ يَرْجُو بِهِ وَقَلْبٍ يَخَافُ بِهِ، فَإِنَّمَا هُوَ إِذَا أَحْسَنَ رَجَا، وَإِذَا أَسَاءَ خَافَ مَعَ التَّوْبَةِ وَالنَّدَمِ وَالْإِقْلَاعِ.

Wa-maʿnā al-ḥadīthi alladhī jāʾa: law wuzina rajāʾu al-muʾmini wa-khawfuhu la-iʿtadalā, yanbaghī ʾan yakūna khāṣṣan bayna ʾahlihi, wa-huwa qabla al-ḥadīthi al-ʾākhari: al-muʾminu kadhī qalbayni, qalbin yarjū bihi wa-qalbin yakhāfu bihi, fa-ʾinnamā huwa ʾidhā ʾaḥsana rajā, wa-ʾidhā ʾasāʾa khāfa maʿa al-tawbati wa-al-nadami wa-al-ʾiqlāʿi.

The meaning of the transmitted report, “If a believer's hope and fear were weighed, they would balance,” should be understood as applying specifically to those qualified for it. It comes before the other report: “The believer is like someone with two hearts: a heart with which he hopes and a heart with which he fears.” What this means is that when he does good, he hopes, and when he does evil, he fears, together with repentance, remorse, and giving up the sin.

Source page 53

فَأَمَّا مَنْ عَرَفَ نَفْسَهُ بِكَثْرَةِ الْإِسَاءَةِ فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ خَوْفُهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ ذٰلِكَ، وَرَجَاؤُهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَا يَعْرِفُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ مِنَ الْإِحْسَانِ، لِأَنَّ الرَّجَاءَ عَلَى قَدْرِ الطَّلَبِ وَالْخَوْفَ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْهَرَبِ.

Fa-ʾammā man ʿarafa nafsahu bikathrati al-ʾisāʾati fa-yanbaghī ʾan yakūna khawfuhu ʿalā qadri dhālika, wa-rajāʾuhu ʿalā qadri mā yaʿrifu min nafsihi mina al-ʾiḥsāni, li-ʾanna al-rajāʾa ʿalā qadri al-ṭalabi wa-al-khawfa ʿalā qadri al-harabi.

Someone who knows that he has done much wrong should have fear in proportion to that, and hope in proportion to the good he knows in himself. Hope is in proportion to seeking, and fear in proportion to fleeing.