1. Al Qasd Wal Ruju : Aim and return attributed to Al Muhasibi Part 1

الْقَصْدُ وَالرُّجُوعُ إِلَى اللّٰهِ

Al-Qaṣdu wa-al-Rujūʿu ʾilā Allāhi

Aiming for God and Returning to Him

نَصٌّ بَاقٍ مَنْسُوبٌ إِلَى الْحَارِثِ بْنِ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيِّ

Naṣṣun bāqin mansūbun ʾilā al-Ḥārithi bni ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyi

Surviving text attributed to al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī

Source page 219

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismi Allāhi al-raḥmāni al-raḥīmi

In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful

وَبِهِ ثِقَتِي

Wa-bihi thiqatī

In Him I place my trust

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ: أَبُو عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ الْحَارِثُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ، رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ وَأَرْضَاهُ:

Qāla al-shaykhu: ʾAbū ʿAbdi Allāhi al-Ḥārithu bnu ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyu, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu wa-ʾarḍāhu:

The shaykh Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī, may God be pleased with him and grant him contentment, said:

إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَا أَبْتَدِئُ بِهِ مِنَ الْكَلَامِ: ذِكْرُ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَالثَّنَاءُ عَلَيْهِ، فَإِنَّهُ بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «كُلُّ أَمْرٍ ذِي بَالٍ لَا يُبْدَأُ فِيهِ بِذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ فَهُوَ أَقْطَعُ». وَيُقَالُ: «بِالْحَمْدِ فَهُوَ أَجْذَمُ».

ʾInna khayra mā ʾabtadiʾu bihi mina al-kalāmi: dhikru Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-al-thanāʾu ʿalayhi, fa-ʾinnahu balaghanā ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama qāla: «kullu ʾamrin dhī bālin lā yubdaʾu fīhi bidhikri Allāhi fa-huwa ʾaqṭaʿu». Wa-yuqālu: «bi-al-ḥamdi fa-huwa ʾajdhamu».

The best way for me to begin speaking is to remember God, mighty and majestic, and praise Him. We have received the report that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Every important undertaking that does not begin with the remembrance of God is cut short.” Another wording has “with praise” and “is maimed.”

الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ، وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ.

Al-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi al-ʿālamīna, wa-al-ʿāqibatu li-al-muttaqīna, wa-lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata ʾillā bi-Allāhi al-ʿaliyyi al-ʿaẓīmi.

Praise belongs to God, Lord of all worlds. The final outcome belongs to those who are mindful of Him. There is no power or strength except through God, the Most High, the Magnificent.

وَصَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ، وَعَلَى آلِهِ الطَّيِّبِينَ، وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

Wa-ṣallā Allāhu ʿalā Muḥammadin khātami al-nabiyyīna, wa-ʿalā ʾālihi al-ṭayyibīna, wa-sallama taslīman kathīran ʾilā yawmi al-dīni.

May God bless Muḥammad, the seal of the prophets, and his pure family, and grant them abundant peace until the Day of Judgment.

وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِي حَسَّنَ الْوُجُوهَ وَزَيَّنَهَا بِدَارَةِ الْحَدَقِ، وَأَذِنَ لِلِّسَانِ بِفَصِيحِ الْكَلَامِ فَنَطَقَ،

Wa-al-ḥamdu li-llāhi alladhī ḥassana al-wujūha wa-zayyanahā bidārati al-ḥadaqi, wa-ʾadhina li-al-lisāni bifaṣīḥi al-kalāmi fa-naṭaqa,

Praise belongs to God, who made faces beautiful and adorned them with the roundness of their eyes, and allowed the tongue to speak eloquently, so that it spoke;

Source pages 219–220

وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِي تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ الرِّمَالُ، وَتَسْجُدُ لَهُ الظِّلَالُ، وَتَتَدَكْدَكُ مِنْ مَهَابَتِهِ صُمُّ الْجِبَالِ، الَّذِي لَا يُوَارَى عَنْ بَصَرِهِ سَوَادُ لَيْلٍ دَاجٍ، وَلَا مَا انْطَوَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْبِحَارُ وَالْأَمْوَاجُ، عَالِمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْأَبْرَاجِ، وَمَا اسْتَقَرَّ فِي قَعْرِ بَحْرٍ عَجَّاجٍ،

Wa-al-ḥamdu li-llāhi alladhī tusabbiḥu lahu al-rimālu, wa-tasjudu lahu al-ẓilālu, wa-tatadakdaku min mahābatihi ṣummu al-jibāli, alladhī lā yuwārā ʿan baṣarihi sawādu laylin dājin, wa-lā mā inṭawat ʿalayhi al-biḥāru wa-al-ʾamwāju, ʿālimu mā fī al-samāʾi dhāti al-ʾabrāji, wa-mā istaqarra fī qaʿri baḥrin ʿajjājin,

and praise belongs to God, whom the sands glorify, before whom the shadows prostrate, and in awe of whom the solid mountains crumble. Neither the blackness of a dark night nor what the seas and waves enfold can be concealed from His sight. He knows what is in the sky with its constellations and what rests at the bottom of a surging sea;

Source page 220

الَّذِي أَعْذَبَ أَلْسِنَةَ الذَّاكِرِينَ بِحَلَاوَةِ ذِكْرِهِ، وَأَرْهَبَ قُلُوبَ الْمُتَفَكِّرِينَ مِنْ مَخَافَةِ مَكْرِهِ، وَوَهَبَ الْمَزِيدَ مِنْ نِعَمِهِ لِمُدِيمِ شُكْرِهِ، وَرَحِمَ أَهْلَ الْمَعَاصِي تَكَرُّمًا فِي خَفِيِّ سِرِّهِ، وَعَادَ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ بِحِلْمِهِ، وَسَتَرَ مَا أَبْطَنُوا بِعِلْمِهِ.

Alladhī ʾaʿdhaba ʾalsinata al-dhākirīna biḥalāwati dhikrihi, wa-ʾarhaba qulūba al-mutafakkirīna min makhāfati makrihi, wa-wahaba al-mazīda min niʿamihi limudīmi shukrihi, wa-raḥima ʾahla al-maʿāṣī takarruman fī khafiyyi sirrihi, wa-ʿāda ʿalā al-ʿibādi biḥilmihi, wa-satara mā ʾabṭanū biʿilmihi.

He who sweetened the tongues of those who remember Him with the sweetness of His remembrance; filled the hearts of those who reflect with dread of His hidden devising; granted more of His blessings to those who continually thank Him; showed sinners mercy through His generosity in the hiddenness of His secret; returned to His servants with forbearance; and, knowing what they concealed within, kept it covered.

الَّذِي عَلِمَ مَا يَكُونُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَكُونَ، وَسَبَقَ عِلْمُهُ بَلَجَ الْعُيُونِ، وَاطَّلَعَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ الْمَكْنُونِ، وَلَمْ تَبْلُغْهُ الْأَوْهَامُ وَالظُّنُونُ.

Alladhī ʿalima mā yakūnu qabla ʾan yakūna, wa-sabaqa ʿilmuhu balaja al-ʿuyūni, wa-iṭṭalaʿa ʿalā al-ghaybi al-maknūni, wa-lam tablugh-hu al-ʾawhāmu wa-al-ẓunūnu.

He who knew what would be before it came to be, whose knowledge preceded the clarity of what eyes behold, who comprehended the concealed unseen, and whom imaginations and conjectures cannot reach.

عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى، وَعَلَى الْمُلْكِ احْتَوَى، فَلَا يُرَى، وَقَرُبَ فَشَهِدَ النَّجْوَى، يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى مَا هُوَ أَخْفَى، مَا لَمْ يَقَعْ فِي وَهْمِ الضَّمِيرِ مِنْ حَبِيسِ خَطَرَاتِ الْعَارِفِينَ، وَمَعَانِي ضَمَائِرِ الصَّامِتِينَ، وَمَذَاهِبِ نِيَّاتِ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ، الَّذِي لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ، وَهُوَ خَالِقُ الْأَشْيَاءِ حِينَ لَا شَيْءَ.

ʿAlā al-ʿarshi istawā, wa-ʿalā al-mulki iḥtawā, fa-lā yurā, wa-qaruba fa-shahida al-najwā, yaʿlamu al-sirra wa-ʾakhfā mā huwa ʾakhfā, mā lam yaqaʿ fī wahmi al-ḍamīri min ḥabīsi khaṭarāti al-ʿārifīna, wa-maʿānī ḍamāʾiri al-ṣāmitīna, wa-madhāhibi niyyāti al-mutakallimīna, alladhī laysa kamithlihi shayʾun, wa-huwa khāliqu al-ʾashyāʾi ḥīna lā shayʾa.

He established Himself upon the Throne and encompassed dominion, yet is not seen. He drew near and witnessed secret conversations. He knows the secret and the most hidden of what is hidden: what has not entered the inward imagination, the thoughts held within those who know Him, the meanings within the silent, and the directions of the intentions of those who speak. Nothing is like Him. He is the creator of things when there was nothing.

قَسَمَ بِيَدِ خَلْقِهِمْ أَقْوَاتَهُمْ، وَاخْتَرَعَ لَهُمْ مِثَالَاتِ أَشْكَالِهَا، وَاخْتِلَافَ صُوَرِ إِنْشَائِهَا، فَلَمْ يُعْيِهِ خَلْقُ الْخَلَائِقِ كُلِّهِمْ، وَلَمْ تَشْتَبِهْ عَلَيْهِ مِثَالَاتُ صُوَرِهِمْ، وَلَا تَمْيِيزُ لُغَاتِهِمْ، وَاخْتِلَافُ مَذَاهِبِهِمْ، وَلَا تَلْوِينُ أَجْسَادِهِمْ، وَلَا مُشْكِلَاتُ مَعَانِي أَلْفَاظِ أَصْوَاتِهِمْ، وَلَا تَغْيِيرُ نَغَمِ أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ، وَلَا دَقِيقُ خَفِيِّ مَا بَطَنَ مِنْهُمْ.

Qasama biyadi khalqihim ʾaqwātahum, wa-ikhtaraʿa lahum mithālāti ʾashkālihā, wa-ikhtilāfa ṣuwari ʾinshāʾihā, fa-lam yuʿyihi khalqu al-khalāʾiqi kullihim, wa-lam tashtabih ʿalayhi mithālātu ṣuwarihim, wa-lā tamyīzu lughātihim, wa-ikhtilāfu madhāhibihim, wa-lā talwīnu ʾajsādihim, wa-lā mushkilātu maʿānī ʾalfāẓi ʾaṣwātihim, wa-lā taghyīru naghami ʾalsinatihim, wa-lā daqīqu khafiyyi mā baṭana minhum.

He apportioned their provisions “by the hand of their creation” [the wording is uncertain], and originated for them the patterns of its shapes and the variety of the forms in which it was made. Creating all creatures did not exhaust Him. He was never confused by the patterns of their forms, the distinctions between their languages, their different ways, the coloring of their bodies, the difficult meanings of the words they utter, the changes in the tones of their tongues, or the subtle, hidden things within them.

Source pages 220–221

وَكَيْفَ يَعْجِزُ عَنْ ذٰلِكَ وَهُوَ خَلْقُهُ، وَهُوَ فِي قَبْضَتِهِ وَأَمْرِهِ، فَكَوَّنَهُمْ بَيْنَ الْكَافِ وَالنُّونِ، لِقَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿إِنَّمَا قَوْلُنَا لِشَيْءٍ إِذَا أَرَدْنَاهُ أَنْ نَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ﴾.

Wa-kayfa yaʿjizu ʿan dhālika wa-huwa khalquhu, wa-huwa fī qabḍatihi wa-ʾamrihi, fa-kawwanahum bayna al-kāfi wa-al-nūni, liqawlihi ʿazza wa-jalla: ﴿ʾinnamā qawlunā lishayʾin ʾidhā ʾaradnāhu ʾan naqūla lahu kun fa-yakūnu﴾.

How could He be incapable of this when it is His creation and lies within His grasp and command? He brought them into being between the kāf and the nūn, as He, mighty and majestic, says: “Our only word to a thing, when We will it, is to say to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.”

Source page 221

فَتَبَارَكَ مَنْ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ، اللّٰهُ الَّذِي مَا كَانَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنْ عَطَائِهِ، وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِنْ بَلْوَائِهِ، الْمَعْبُودُ فِي أَرْضِهِ وَسَمَائِهِ، الْمُحْتَجِبُ عَنْ أَبْصَارِ النَّاظِرِينَ فَلَا عَيْنٌ تَرَاهُ، وَلَا بَصَرٌ يُدْرِكُهُ، وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَنْعَمُ بِالنَّظَرِ إِلَيْهِ فِي جَنَّاتِ النَّعِيمِ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ.

Fa-tabāraka man laysa kamithlihi shayʾun wa-huwa al-samīʿu al-baṣīru, Allāhu alladhī mā kāna min ḥasanatin fa-min ʿaṭāʾihi, wa-mā kāna min sayyiʾatin fa-min balwāʾihi, al-maʿbūdu fī ʾarḍihi wa-samāʾihi, al-muḥtajibu ʿan ʾabṣāri al-nāẓirīna fa-lā ʿaynun tarāhu, wa-lā baṣarun yudrikuhu, wa-huwa alladhī yanʿamu bi-al-naẓari ʾilayhi fī jannāti al-naʿīmi ʾawliyāʾuhu.

Blessed is He whom nothing resembles, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing: God, from whose giving comes every good thing and from whose testing comes every ill; worshipped in His earth and heaven; veiled from the eyes of those who look, so that no eye sees Him and no sight comprehends Him. His friends will enjoy gazing upon Him in the Gardens of Bliss.

وَأَسْأَلُهُ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ الَّذِي انْتَخَبَهُ لِطَاعَتِهِ، وَاصْطَفَاهُ لِرِسَالَتِهِ، فَبَلَّغَ الرِّسَالَةَ، وَأَدَّى الْأَمَانَةَ، وَاسْتَوْجَبَ الْوَسِيلَةَ، صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

Wa-ʾasʾaluhu ʾan yuṣalliya ʿalā al-nabiyyi alladhī intakhabahu liṭāʿatihi, wa-iṣṭafāhu lirisālatihi, fa-ballagha al-risālata, wa-ʾaddā al-ʾamānata, wa-istawjaba al-wasīlata, ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama.

I ask Him to bless the Prophet whom He chose for obedience to Him and selected for His message. He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and merited the highest station of nearness. May God bless him and grant him peace.

أَمَّا بَعْدُ...

ʾAmmā baʿdu...

To proceed...

فَهٰذِهِ مَسَائِلُ فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ، وَعِلْمِ طَرِيقِ الْآخِرَةِ، وَالْقَصْدِ وَالرُّجُوعِ إِلَى اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى، حَيْثُ أَرَادَ اللّٰهُ، وَمِنَ اللّٰهِ التَّوْفِيقُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰهُ.

Fa-hādhihi masāʾilu fī al-maʿrifati, wa-ʿilmi ṭarīqi al-ʾākhirati, wa-al-qaṣdi wa-al-rujūʿi ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā, ḥaythu ʾarāda Allāhu, wa-mina Allāhi al-tawfīqu ʾin shāʾa Allāhu.

These are questions concerning knowledge of God, knowledge of the path to the hereafter, and directing oneself and returning to God Most High as God wills. Success comes from God, if God wills.

وَرُوِيَ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِذَا أَتَى عَلَيَّ يَوْمٌ لَا أَزْدَادُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا يُقَرِّبُنِي إِلَى اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فَلَا بُورِكَ لِي فِي طُلُوعِ شَمْسِ ذٰلِكَ الْيَوْمِ».

Wa-ruwiya ʿan ʿĀʾishata raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā ʾannahā qālat: qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «ʾidhā ʾatā ʿalayya yawmun lā ʾazdādu fīhi ʿilman yuqarribunī ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, fa-lā būrika lī fī ṭulūʿi shamsi dhālika al-yawmi».

It is reported that ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her, said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “If a day comes to me in which I gain no knowledge that brings me nearer to God, mighty and majestic, may the rising of that day's sun bring me no blessing.”

وَبَلَغَنِي عَنِ الضَّحَّاكِ بْنِ مُزَاحِمٍ قَالَ: «أَوَّلُ بَابٍ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ الصَّمْتُ، وَالثَّانِي اسْتِمَاعُهُ، وَالثَّالِثُ الْعَمَلُ بِهِ، وَالرَّابِعُ نَشْرُهُ».

Wa-balaghanī ʿani al-Ḍaḥḥāki bni Muzāḥimin qāla: «ʾawwalu bābin mina al-ʿilmi al-ṣamtu, wa-al-thānī istimāʿuhu, wa-al-thālithu al-ʿamalu bihi, wa-al-rābiʿu nashruhu».

I have received this saying of al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim: “The first doorway to knowledge is silence; the second is listening to it; the third, acting on it; and the fourth, spreading it.”

Source page 222

مَسْأَلَةٌ ١

Masʾalatun 1

Question 1

فِي شَرْحِ بَيَانِ ابْتِدَاءِ التَّوْبَةِ وَالْقَصْدِ إِلَى اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِالْإِنَابَةِ

Fī sharḥi bayāni ibtidāʾi al-tawbati wa-al-qaṣdi ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla bi-al-ʾinābati

Explaining how repentance begins and how to seek God, mighty and majestic, by turning back to Him

قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ مُوسَى، قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، مَا أَوَّلُ مَا أَبْتَدِئُ بِهِ الطَّرِيقَ إِلَى اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ؟

Qāla: saʾaltu ʾAbā Jaʿfarin Muḥammada bna Mūsā, qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, mā ʾawwalu mā ʾabtadiʾu bihi al-ṭarīqa ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla?

He said: I asked Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Mūsā, “May God have mercy on you, what should I begin with on the path to God, mighty and majestic?”

قَالَ: الرُّجُوعُ إِلَى اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى، مِنْ حَيْثُ أَرَادَ اللّٰهُ ذِكْرَهُ.

Qāla: al-rujūʿu ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā, min ḥaythu ʾarāda Allāhu dhikrahu.

He said, “Returning to God Most High, from where God wished it to be mentioned [the wording is uncertain].”

قُلْتُ: وَمَا مَعْنَى الرُّجُوعِ إِلَى اللّٰهِ؟

Qultu: wa-mā maʿnā al-rujūʿi ʾilā Allāhi?

I asked, “What does returning to God mean?”

قَالَ: التَّوْبَةُ يَا فَتَى، كَمَا قَالَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ جُبَيْرٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿فَإِنَّهُ كَانَ لِلْأَوَّابِينَ غَفُورًا﴾ قَالَ: يَعْنِي: الرَّاجِعِينَ إِلَى اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

Qāla: al-tawbatu yā fatā, kamā qāla Saʿīdu bnu Jubayrin fī qawlihi ʿazza wa-jalla: ﴿fa-ʾinnahu kāna li-al-ʾawwābīna ghafūran﴾ qāla: yaʿnī: al-rājiʿīna ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla.

He said, “Repentance, young man. As Saʿīd ibn Jubayr said about the words of God, mighty and majestic, ‘He is ever forgiving to those who repeatedly turn back’: ‘This means those who return to God, mighty and majestic.’”

قُلْتُ: وَمَا مَعْنَى التَّوْبَةِ؟

Qultu: wa-mā maʿnā al-tawbati?

I asked, “What does repentance mean?”

Source pages 222–223

قَالَ: النَّدَمُ عَلَى مَا كَانَ مِنَ الْفِعْلِ الْقَبِيحِ، وَالْعَزْمُ عَلَى أَلَّا تَعُودَ إِلَى مَا كُنْتَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ حَالِ الْإِصْرَارِ عَلَى الْعُقُودِ، وَالْفَزَعُ مِنْ عَارِضِ دَاعِي الذَّنْبِ، لِأَنَّ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَقُولُ: ﴿وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ﴾.

Qāla: al-nadamu ʿalā mā kāna mina al-fiʿli al-qabīḥi, wa-al-ʿazmu ʿalā ʾallā taʿūda ʾilā mā kunta ʿalayhi min ḥāli al-ʾiṣrāri ʿalā al-ʿuqūdi, wa-al-fazaʿu min ʿāriḍi dāʿī al-dhanbi, li-ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla yaqūlu: ﴿wa-lam yuṣirrū ʿalā mā faʿalū wa-hum yaʿlamūna﴾.

He said, “Regret for the ugly deeds you have committed; resolve not to return to your former state of obstinately clinging to your commitments [the expression is uncertain]; and alarm when an incitement to sin arises. For God, mighty and majestic, says, ‘They do not knowingly persist in what they have done.’”

Source page 223

قُلْتُ: بِمَ يَبْتَدِئُ الرَّجُلُ مِنَ التَّوْبَةِ؟

Qultu: bima yabtadiʾu al-rajulu mina al-tawbati?

I asked, “Where should a person begin with repentance?”

قَالَ: بِتَرْكِ الذَّنْبِ مِنْ فِعْلِهِ، وَالْخِيَانَةِ مِنْ ضَمِيرِهِ، وَالْمُدَاهَنَةِ فِي مُعَامَلَتِهِ، وَالْمُوَارَاةِ فِي مَذْهَبِهِ، وَبِرَدِّ الْمَظَالِمِ عَلَى أَهْلِهَا، وَيُؤَدِّي كُلَّ مَا كَانَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ حَقٍّ لِلّٰهِ وَلِلْعِبَادِ، لِأَنَّ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَقُولُ: ﴿إِلَّا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَأَصْلَحُوا وَبَيَّنُوا فَأُولٰئِكَ أَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَنَا التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ﴾.

Qāla: bitarki al-dhanbi min fiʿlihi, wa-al-khiyānati min ḍamīrihi, wa-al-mudāhanati fī muʿāmalatihi, wa-al-muwārāti fī madh-habihi, wa-biraddi al-maẓālimi ʿalā ʾahlihā, wa-yuʾaddī kulla mā kāna ʿalayhi min ḥaqqin li-llāhi wa-li-al-ʿibādi, li-ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla yaqūlu: ﴿ʾillā alladhīna tābū wa-ʾaṣlaḥū wa-bayyanū fa-ʾulāʾika ʾatūbu ʿalayhim wa-ʾanā al-tawwābu al-raḥīmu﴾.

He said, “By abandoning sin in his actions, treachery in his inner self, dishonest accommodation in his dealings, and concealment in his way of life; by restoring what was wrongfully taken to its owners; and by discharging every obligation he owes to God and to His servants. For God, mighty and majestic, says, ‘Except those who repent, make amends, and make things clear: to them I turn in mercy, for I am the Ever-Relenting, the Ever-Merciful.’”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا الَّذِي يَجِبُ عَلَيْهِ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ؟

Qultu: fa-mā alladhī yajibu ʿalayhi baʿda dhālika?

I asked, “What must he do after that?”

قَالَ: إِصْلَاحُ الْقُوتِ، لِأَنَّ مَنْزِلَةَ الْقُوتِ مِنَ الدِّينِ كَمَنْزِلَةِ الرَّأْسِ مِنَ الْجَسَدِ، فَإِذَا أَصْلَحَ الرَّأْسَ صَلَحَ جَمِيعُ الْجَسَدِ، وَكَذٰلِكَ يَا فَتَى إِذَا صَلَحَ الْقُوتُ فِي الدِّينِ، زَكَتِ الْجَوَارِحُ بِأَعْمَالِ الْمُطِيعِينَ.

Qāla: ʾiṣlāḥu al-qūti, li-ʾanna manzilata al-qūti mina al-dīni kamanzilati al-raʾsi mina al-jasadi, fa-ʾidhā ʾaṣlaḥa al-raʾsa ṣalaḥa jamīʿu al-jasadi, wa-ka-dhālika yā fatā ʾidhā ṣalaḥa al-qūtu fī al-dīni, zakati al-jawāriḥu bi-ʾaʿmāli al-muṭīʿīna.

He said, “Putting his sustenance right. Sustenance stands in relation to religion as the head does to the body: when he puts the head right, the whole body is sound. In the same way, young man, when sustenance is sound in religion, the limbs become pure through the deeds of the obedient.”

قُلْتُ: ثُمَّ مَاذَا يَجِبُ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ؟

Qultu: thumma mādhā yajibu baʿda dhālika?

I asked, “Then what must follow?”

Source pages 223–224

قَالَ: الْأَسَى عَلَى مَا فَاتَ، وَإِصْلَاحُ مَا هُوَ آتٍ، وَالِاسْتِغْفَارُ بِاللِّسَانِ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ الَّتِي مَضَتْ، وَحَلُّ الْإِصْرَارِ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ، وَالْعَزْمُ عَلَى تَرْكِ الْعَوْدِ إِلَى مَا لَا يَحِلُّ، وَالنَّدَمُ عَلَى مَا كَانَ مِنْهُ، مَعَ الِاسْتِغْفَارِ. فَإِذَا دَامَ عَلَى ذٰلِكَ كَانَ مِنَ الرَّاجِينَ لِقَبُولِ الْعُذْرِ بِالتَّوْبَةِ.

Qāla: al-ʾasā ʿalā mā fāta, wa-ʾiṣlāḥu mā huwa ʾātin, wa-al-istighfāru bi-al-lisāni mina al-dhunūbi allatī maḍat, wa-ḥallu al-ʾiṣrāri mina al-qalbi, wa-al-ʿazmu ʿalā tarki al-ʿawdi ʾilā mā lā yaḥillu, wa-al-nadamu ʿalā mā kāna minhu, maʿa al-istighfāri. Fa-ʾidhā dāma ʿalā dhālika kāna mina al-rājīna liqabūli al-ʿudhri bi-al-tawbati.

He said, “Sorrow over what has passed; setting right what is to come; asking forgiveness with the tongue for past sins; unbinding the heart's insistence on sin; resolving not to return to what is unlawful; and regretting what he has done while asking forgiveness. If he persists in this, he may hope that his plea will be accepted through repentance.”

Source page 224

قُلْتُ: فَمَا يُزْعِجُ الْعَبْدَ إِلَى التَّوْبَةِ؟ وَمَتَى يَسْتَقِرُّ عِنْدِي أَنَّ التَّوْبَةَ فَرْضٌ عَلَيَّ؟ وَمَتَى أَخَافُ التَّخَلُّفَ عَنْهَا؟

Qultu: fa-mā yuzʿiju al-ʿabda ʾilā al-tawbati? Wa-matā yastaqirru ʿindī ʾanna al-tawbata farḍun ʿalayya? Wa-matā ʾakhāfu al-takhallufa ʿanhā?

I asked, “What rouses a servant to repent? When will I become firmly convinced that repentance is obligatory for me? And when will I fear failing to repent?”

قَالَ: بِالْفَهْمِ عَنِ اللّٰهِ: أَنَّهُ فَرَضَهَا. فَأَمَّا بَيَانُ فَرْضِهَا فَإِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَالَ: ﴿وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللّٰهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴾.

Qāla: bi-al-fahmi ʿani Allāhi: ʾannahu faraḍahā. Fa-ʾammā bayānu farḍihā fa-ʾinna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla qāla: ﴿wa-tūbū ʾilā Allāhi jamīʿan ʾayyuhā al-muʾminūna laʿallakum tufliḥūna﴾.

He said, “By understanding from God that He has made it obligatory. As for the statement of that obligation, God, mighty and majestic, says, ‘Turn to God in repentance, all of you, believers, so that you may prosper.’

وَقَالَ ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللّٰهِ تَوْبَةً نَصُوحًا﴾.

Wa-qāla ﴿yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū tūbū ʾilā Allāhi tawbatan naṣūḥan﴾.

“And He says, ‘You who believe, turn to God in sincere repentance.’

يَا فَتَى، إِنَّهُ مَنْ عَدِمَ الْفَهْمَ عَنِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى لَمْ يُحْسِنْ أَنْ يَسْتَجْلِبَ وَعْظَ حَكِيمٍ، أَمَا سَمِعْتَ قَوْلَ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَمَنْ لَمْ يَتُبْ فَأُولٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ﴾.

Yā fatā, ʾinnahu man ʿadima al-fahma ʿani Allāhi taʿālā lam yuḥsin ʾan yastajliba waʿẓa ḥakīmin, ʾamā samiʿta qawla Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla: ﴿wa-man lam yatub fa-ʾulāʾika humu al-ẓālimūna﴾.

“Young man, someone who lacks understanding of God Most High does not know how to draw benefit from a wise person's counsel. Have you not heard the words of God, mighty and majestic: ‘Those who do not repent are the wrongdoers’?

فَفَرَضَ التَّوْبَةَ عَلَيْكَ، وَنَسَبَكَ إِلَى الظُّلْمِ إِذَا تَخَلَّفْتَ عَنْهَا، فَلِذٰلِكَ أَوْجَبَهَا الْعَبْدُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ، وَأَلْزَمَهَا خَوْفَ التَّخَلُّفِ عَنْهَا.

Fa-faraḍa al-tawbata ʿalayka, wa-nasabaka ʾilā al-ẓulmi ʾidhā takhallafta ʿanhā, fa-li-dhālika ʾawjabahā al-ʿabdu ʿalā nafsihi, wa-ʾalzamahā khawfa al-takhallufi ʿanhā.

“He has made repentance obligatory for you and counted you among wrongdoers if you fail to repent. That is why the servant takes it upon himself as a duty and requires his soul to fear failing to repent.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا الَّذِي يُقَوِّينِي عَلَى هٰذَا الطَّلَبِ لِلتَّوْبَةِ؟

Qultu: fa-mā alladhī yuqawwīnī ʿalā hādhā al-ṭalabi li-al-tawbati?

I asked, “What will strengthen me in this pursuit of repentance?”

Source pages 224–225

قَالَ: دَوَامُ عِلْمِ الْقَلْبِ بِقُرْبِ الْأَجَلِ، وَأَخْذِ الْمَوْتِ بِالْكَظَمِ بَغْتَةً، وَخَوْفُ فَوْتِ الْمَأْمُولِ مِنَ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَخَوْفُ الْعِقَابِ لِمَنْ قَدِمَ عَلَى اللّٰهِ مُصِرًّا عَلَى الذَّنْبِ. قَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ: «يَا بُنَيَّ، لَا تُؤَخِّرِ التَّوْبَةَ، فَإِنَّ الْمَوْتَ يَأْتِي بَغْتَةً».

Qāla: dawāmu ʿilmi al-qalbi biqurbi al-ʾajali, wa-ʾakhdhi al-mawti bi-al-kaẓami baghtatan, wa-khawfu fawti al-maʾmūli mina Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-khawfu al-ʿiqābi liman qadima ʿalā Allāhi muṣirran ʿalā al-dhanbi. Qāla Luqmānu li-ibnihi: «yā bunayya, lā tuʾakhkhiri al-tawbata, fa-ʾinna al-mawta yaʾtī baghtatan».

He said, “The heart's constant awareness that its appointed end is near and that death may suddenly seize it by the throat; fear of missing what one hopes for from God, mighty and majestic; and fear of punishment for whoever comes before God while persisting in sin. Luqmān said to his son, ‘My dear son, do not postpone repentance, for death comes suddenly.’

Source page 225

وَيُقَوِّيكَ أَيْضًا عَلَى طَلَبِ التَّوْبَةِ ثَلَاثُ خِصَالٍ:

Wa-yuqawwīka ʾayḍan ʿalā ṭalabi al-tawbati thalāthu khiṣālin:

“Three qualities will also strengthen you in seeking repentance:

أُولَاهَا: ذِكْرُ الذُّنُوبِ السَّالِفَةِ، وَقِلَّةُ الْمَطْعَمِ وَالْمَشْرَبِ، مَعَ تَرْكِ الْكَثِيرِ مِنَ الشَّهَوَاتِ.

ʾŪlāhā: dhikru al-dhunūbi al-sālifati, wa-qillatu al-maṭʿami wa-al-mashrabi, maʿa tarki al-kathīri mina al-shahawāti.

“First, remembering past sins and eating and drinking little, while giving up many desires.

وَالثَّانِيَةُ: جَمْعُ الْهَمِّ لِمَا تَطْلُبُ، مَعَ دَوَامِ ذِكْرِ الْمَوْتِ.

Wa-al-thāniyatu: jamʿu al-hammi limā taṭlubu, maʿa dawāmi dhikri al-mawti.

“Second, concentrating your concern on what you seek, while constantly remembering death.

وَالثَّالِثَةُ: لُزُومُ الْعِلْمِ بِذِكْرِ مَا قَدَّمْتَ، وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُطْوَى عَلَيْكَ ذِكْرُ مَا ذَكَرْتَ.

Wa-al-thālithatu: luzūmu al-ʿilmi bidhikri mā qaddamta, wa-huwa alladhī yuṭwā ʿalayka dhikru mā dhakarta.

“Third, holding fast to knowledge by remembering what you have sent ahead: it is that through which the remembrance of what you recalled is folded over you [the meaning of this clause is uncertain].”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا الَّذِي حَرَّكَهُ إِلَى التَّوْبَةِ، وَأَيْقَظَهُ وَقَطَعَهُ عَنِ الْغَفْلَةِ؟

Qultu: fa-mā alladhī ḥarrakahu ʾilā al-tawbati, wa-ʾayqaẓahu wa-qaṭaʿahu ʿani al-ghaflati?

I asked, “What moved him to repent, awakened him, and broke his heedlessness?”

قَالَ: دَوَامُ الْخَوْفِ، وَرَجَاءُ الْمَوْعُودِ، لِأَنَّ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ دَعَا خَلْقَهُ بِالرَّغْبَةِ وَالرَّهْبَةِ، فَرَهَّبَهُمْ بِخَوْفِ الْوَعِيدِ، وَرَغَّبَهُمْ بِشَوْقِ رَجَاءِ الْمَوْعُودِ. فَهٰذَا الَّذِي يُزْعِجُ الْعَبْدَ، وَيُهَيِّجُهُ عَلَى إِصْلَاحِ شَأْنِهِ، وَمَا هُوَ أَوْلَى بِهِ.

Qāla: dawāmu al-khawfi, wa-rajāʾu al-mawʿūdi, li-ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla daʿā khalqahu bi-al-raghbati wa-al-rahbati, fa-rahhabahum bikhawfi al-waʿīdi, wa-raghghabahum bishawqi rajāʾi al-mawʿūdi. Fa-hādhā alladhī yuzʿiju al-ʿabda, wa-yuhayyijuhu ʿalā ʾiṣlāḥi shaʾnihi, wa-mā huwa ʾawlā bihi.

He said, “Constant fear and hope for what has been promised. God, mighty and majestic, calls His creatures through longing and dread: He makes them dread His threat and awakens their longing through hope for His promise. This is what rouses the servant and spurs him to set his affairs right and attend to what matters most for him.”

قُلْتُ: وَمَا عَلَامَةُ الصَّادِقِ فِي تَوْبَتِهِ؟

Qultu: wa-mā ʿalāmatu al-ṣādiqi fī tawbatihi?

I asked, “What is the sign of someone sincere in repentance?”

قَالَ: دَوَامُ الْأَسَى عَلَى الْعُمُرِ الَّذِي انْقَضَى مِنْهُ فِي الْبَطَالَةِ وَاللَّعِبِ، وَالْإِشْفَاقُ عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَا يَدْرِي: قُبِلَ مِنْهُ التَّوْبَةُ أَمْ لَا، وَاسْتِقْلَالُ مَا عَمِلَ لِلّٰهِ، مَعَ دَوَامِ الِانْكِسَارِ وَالْحُزْنِ، وَالِاجْتِهَادِ وَالِانْكِمَاشِ، وَالْمُسَارَعَةِ، مَعَ الْفَزَعِ مِنْ عَارِضِ الْهَوَى وَالذُّنُوبِ، حَتَّى تَضِيقَ عَلَيْهِ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ، وَيَعْلَمَ أَنَّهُ لَا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ اللّٰهِ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ،

Qāla: dawāmu al-ʾasā ʿalā al-ʿumuri alladhī inqaḍā minhu fī al-baṭālati wa-al-laʿibi, wa-al-ʾishfāqu ʿalā ʾannahu lā yadrī: qubila minhu al-tawbatu ʾam lā, wa-istiqlālu mā ʿamila li-llāhi, maʿa dawāmi al-inkisāri wa-al-ḥuzni, wa-al-ijtihādi wa-al-inkimāshi, wa-al-musāraʿati, maʿa al-fazaʿi min ʿāriḍi al-hawā wa-al-dhunūbi, ḥattā taḍīqa ʿalayhi al-ʾarḍu bimā raḥubat, wa-yaʿlama ʾannahu lā maljaʾa mina Allāhi ʾillā ʾilayhi,

He said, “Continual sorrow over the years spent in idleness and play; anxiety because he does not know whether his repentance has been accepted; and considering what he has done for God to be little, along with constant brokenheartedness and grief, striving, energetic application, and haste, and alarm when desire and sins present themselves, until the earth, for all its vastness, becomes narrow for him and he knows there is no refuge from God except in Him.

Source pages 225–226

كَمَا قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَعَلَى الثَّلَاثَةِ الَّذِينَ خُلِّفُوا حَتَّى إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنْفُسُهُمْ وَظَنُّوا أَنْ لَا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ اللّٰهِ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوا إِنَّ اللّٰهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ﴾.

Kamā qāla ʿazza wa-jalla: ﴿wa-ʿalā al-thalāthati alladhīna khullifū ḥattā ʾidhā ḍāqat ʿalayhimu al-ʾarḍu bimā raḥubat wa-ḍāqat ʿalayhim ʾanfusuhum wa-ẓannū ʾan lā maljaʾa mina Allāhi ʾillā ʾilayhi thumma tāba ʿalayhim liyatūbū ʾinna Allāha huwa al-tawwābu al-raḥīmu﴾.

“As He, mighty and majestic, says: ‘And to the three who were left behind, until the earth, for all its vastness, became narrow for them, and their own souls became narrow for them, and they realized that there was no refuge from God except in Him; then He turned to them so that they might repent. God is indeed the Ever-Relenting, the Ever-Merciful.’

Source page 226

فَهٰذِهِ صِفَةُ التَّائِبِ الصَّادِقِ فِي تَوْبَتِهِ.

Fa-hādhihi ṣifatu al-tāʾibi al-ṣādiqi fī tawbatihi.

“This describes the repentant person who is sincere in his repentance.”

قُلْتُ: شَيْءٌ غَيْرُ هٰذَا؟

Qultu: shayʾun ghayru hādhā?

I asked, “Is there anything else?”

قَالَ: نَعَمْ، ثُمَّ يَبْتَدِئُ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ دَوَامُ عِلْمِ الْقَلْبِ لِمِنَّةِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي التَّوْبَةِ، وَتَوْفِيقِهِ لَهَا، فَيَعْتَقِدُ الْقَلْبُ دَوَامَ الْعَمَلِ لِلّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، لَعَلَّهُ الْفَرَحُ الَّذِي دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ فِي التَّوْبَةِ، مِنْ رَوْحِ مَعْرِفَةِ النِّعْمَةِ الَّتِي ابْتَدَأَهُ بِهَا مِنَ التَّوْبَةِ.

Qāla: naʿam, thumma yabtadiʾu min qalbihi dawāmu ʿilmi al-qalbi liminnati Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fī al-tawbati, wa-tawfīqihi lahā, fa-yaʿtaqidu al-qalbu dawāma al-ʿamali li-llāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, laʿallahu al-faraḥu alladhī dakhala ʿalayhi fī al-tawbati, min rawḥi maʿrifati al-niʿmati allatī ibtadaʾahu bihā mina al-tawbati.

He said, “Yes. Then there begins within his heart a constant awareness that God, mighty and majestic, has favored him with repentance and enabled him to attain it. The heart resolves to act continually for God, mighty and majestic. Perhaps it is the joy that entered him in repentance, from the relief of recognizing the blessing of repentance that God first bestowed on him [the connection of this final clause is uncertain].”

قُلْتُ: فَإِذَا بَلَغَ مِنَ التَّوْبَةِ إِلَى هٰذِهِ الدَّرَجَةِ، يَجِبُ عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ؟

Qultu: fa-ʾidhā balagha mina al-tawbati ʾilā hādhihi al-darajati, yajibu ʿalayhi shayʾun?

I asked, “When he reaches this degree of repentance, does anything remain obligatory for him?”

قَالَ: نَعَمْ، مَا لَا غِنَى بِهِ عَنْهُ: الشُّكْرُ لِلّٰهِ عَلَى مَوَاهِبِهِ لَهُ فِي التَّوْبَةِ، إِيجَابًا عَلَيْهِ مِنَ اللّٰهِ.

Qāla: naʿam, mā lā ghinā bihi ʿanhu: al-shukru li-llāhi ʿalā mawāhibihi lahu fī al-tawbati, ʾījāban ʿalayhi mina Allāhi.

He said, “Yes, something he cannot do without: thanking God for His gifts to him in repentance, as a duty God has laid upon him.”

Source page 227

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٢

Masʾalatun 2

Question 2

فِي صِفَةِ الْفَتْرَةِ وَشَرْحِهَا وَبَيَانِ مَعَانِيهَا

Fī ṣifati al-fatrati wa-sharḥihā wa-bayāni maʿānīhā

Describing spiritual slackness, explaining it, and clarifying its meanings

قُلْتُ: فَمَا الَّذِي بَعْدَ التَّوْبَةِ؟

Qultu: fa-mā alladhī baʿda al-tawbati?

I asked, “What comes after repentance?”

قَالَ: الرُّجُوعُ إِلَى الْفَتْرَةِ.

Qāla: al-rujūʿu ʾilā al-fatrati.

He said, “A return to slackness.”

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، فَمَا أَوَّلُ الرُّجُوعِ إِلَى الْفَتْرَةِ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, fa-mā ʾawwalu al-rujūʿi ʾilā al-fatrati?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, how does the return to slackness begin?”

قَالَ: هُوَ: أَنْ تَعْرِضَ دَوَاعِي الْهَوَى، فَتَسْتَجِيبَ لَهُ النَّفْسُ، فَتَسْتَرِيحَ إِلَى الْفَتْرَةِ، بِرَوْحِ تَرْكِ الْكَدِّ وَالِاجْتِهَادِ.

Qāla: huwa: ʾan taʿriḍa dawāʿī al-hawā, fa-tastajība lahu al-nafsu, fa-tastarīḥa ʾilā al-fatrati, birawḥi tarki al-kaddi wa-al-ijtihādi.

He said, “The promptings of desire present themselves, the self responds to it, and finds comfort in slackness through the relief of abandoning toil and effort.”

قُلْتُ: فَمِنْ أَيْنَ تَزَايَدَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْفَتْرَةُ؟

Qultu: fa-min ʾayna tazāyadat ʿalayhi al-fatratu?

I asked, “What makes his slackness grow?”

قَالَ: مِنْ قِلَّةِ مَعْرِفَةِ مَا فَاتَهُ مِنَ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَاسْتِقْلَالِهِ عَظِيمَ الْمَوَاهِبِ مِنَ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

Qāla: min qillati maʿrifati mā fātahu mina Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-istiqlālihi ʿaẓīma al-mawāhibi mina Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla.

He said, “His lack of awareness of what he has missed from God, mighty and majestic, and his belittling the great gifts of God, mighty and majestic.”

قُلْتُ: فَمِنْ أَيْنَ لَحِقَهُ ذٰلِكَ؟

Qultu: fa-min ʾayna laḥiqahu dhālika?

I asked, “How does that come upon him?”

قَالَ: مِنْ تَخْلِيطِ الْقَلْبِ فِي أَوْدِيَةِ الدُّنْيَا، وَأَخْذِهِ الرُّخْصَةَ مِنْهَا، فَعِنْدَهَا مَالَ إِلَى الْفَتْرَةِ، وَاسْتَلَبَتْهُ الْغَفْلَةُ، فَصَارَ أَسِيرًا فِيهَا.

Qāla: min takhlīṭi al-qalbi fī ʾawdiyati al-dunyā, wa-ʾakhdhihi al-rukhṣata minhā, fa-ʿindahā māla ʾilā al-fatrati, wa-istalabat-hu al-ghaflatu, fa-ṣāra ʾasīran fīhā.

He said, “From the heart's confused wandering in the valleys of this world and its taking license from it. Then he inclines toward slackness, heedlessness carries him off, and he becomes its prisoner.”

Source page 228

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، فَمَا عَلَامَةُ الْفَتْرَةِ، وَهَلْ يَعْرِفُهَا الْقَلْبُ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, fa-mā ʿalāmatu al-fatrati, wa-hal yaʿrifuhā al-qalbu?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, what is the sign of slackness? Can the heart recognize it?”

قَالَ: نَعَمْ يَا فَتَى، أَوَّلُ الْفَتْرَةِ: الْكَسَلُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ لِلرِّعَايَةِ عَلَيْهِ سُلْطَانٌ تَلَاشَى الْكَسَلُ، وَإِلَّا تَزَايَدَ حَتَّى يَصِيرَ جَزَعًا، فَإِنْ كَانَ لِلْإِشْفَاقِ عَلَيْهِ مَانِعٌ، وَإِلَّا تَزَايَدَ حَتَّى يَصِيرَ نُفُورًا مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ، فَإِنْ كَانَ لِلنِّيَّةِ فِي قَلْبِهِ مَوْضِعٌ وَإِلَّا صَارَ شُرُودًا، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللّٰهِ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ.

Qāla: naʿam yā fatā, ʾawwalu al-fatrati: al-kasalu, fa-ʾin kāna li-al-riʿāyati ʿalayhi sulṭānun talāshā al-kasalu, wa-ʾillā tazāyada ḥattā yaṣīra jazaʿan, fa-ʾin kāna li-al-ʾishfāqi ʿalayhi māniʿun, wa-ʾillā tazāyada ḥattā yaṣīra nufūran mina al-ṭāʿati, fa-ʾin kāna li-al-niyyati fī qalbihi mawḍiʿun wa-ʾillā ṣāra shurūdan, wa-naʿūdhu bi-Allāhi min dhālika.

He said, “Yes, young man. Slackness begins with laziness. If watchful care has authority over him, laziness dissolves; otherwise it grows into impatience. Unless anxious concern restrains him, it grows into aversion to obedience. Unless intention still has a place in his heart, it becomes a flight away. We seek refuge in God from that.

فَإِذَا صَارَ إِلَى الشُّرُودِ خَرَجَ مِنْ سُلْطَانِ الْخَوْفِ إِلَى غِرَّةِ الْأَمْنِ، فَاتَّسَعَتْ بِهِ الْخُطَا إِلَى مَوَاطِنِ الْهَلَكَةِ، فَكُشِفَ عَنْهُ سِتْرُ الْعَدَالَةِ، وَفَضَحَتْهُ شَوَاهِدُ الْعِزَّةِ، وَذٰلِكَ مِنْ قِلَّةِ مُحَاسَبَةِ النَّفْسِ.

Fa-ʾidhā ṣāra ʾilā al-shurūdi kharaja min sulṭāni al-khawfi ʾilā ghirrati al-ʾamni, fa-ittasaʿat bihi al-khuṭā ʾilā mawāṭini al-halakati, fa-kushifa ʿanhu sitru al-ʿadālati, wa-faḍaḥat-hu shawāhidu al-ʿizzati, wa-dhālika min qillati muḥāsabati al-nafsi.

“Once he takes flight, he leaves the authority of fear for the delusion of safety. His strides lengthen toward places of ruin; the covering of uprightness is stripped from him, and the signs of divine might expose him. This comes from failing to take the self to account.”

Source page 229

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٣

Masʾalatun 3

Question 3

فِي مُحَاسَبَةِ النَّفْسِ وَدَفْعِ الْهَوَى مِنْ ضَمَائِرِ الْقُلُوبِ

Fī muḥāsabati al-nafsi wa-dafʿi al-hawā min ḍamāʾiri al-qulūbi

Taking the self to account and driving desire from the inner depths of hearts

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، مَا مَعْنَى الْمُحَاسَبَةِ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, mā maʿnā al-muḥāsabati?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, what does taking account mean?”

قَالَ: قِيَامُ الْعَقْلِ عَلَى حِرَاسَةِ النُّفُوسِ مِنْ خِيَانَتِهَا، لِتَفَقُّدٍ مِنْهَا زِيَادَتَهَا مِنْ نُقْصَانِهَا.

Qāla: qiyāmu al-ʿaqli ʿalā ḥirāsati al-nufūsi min khiyānatihā, litafaqqudin minhā ziyādatahā min nuqṣānihā.

He said, “The intellect's standing guard over souls against their treachery, so as to examine their gain and distinguish it from their loss.”

قُلْتُ: زِدْنِي فِي شَرْحِ الْبَيَانِ فِي الْمُحَاسَبَةِ أَجْلَى مِنْ هٰذَا.

Qultu: zidnī fī sharḥi al-bayāni fī al-muḥāsabati ʾajlā min hādhā.

I said, “Explain taking account more clearly for me than this.”

قَالَ: تُقَدِّمُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ كُلِّ فِعْلٍ تَفْعَلُهُ: لِمَ؟ وَلِمَنْ؟ فَإِنْ كَانَ لِلّٰهِ مَضَيْتَ فِيهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ لِغَيْرِ اللّٰهِ امْتَنَعْتَ عَنْهُ، وَلُمْتَ نَفْسَكَ عَلَى إِشَارَتِهَا إِلَى رَوْحِ دَوَاعِي الْهَوَى، وَعَاقَبْتَهَا عَلَى ذٰلِكَ، وَأَثْبَتَّ عَلَيْهَا جَهْلَهَا، وَبَيَّنْتَ عِنْدَ الْعَقْلِ فَضِيحَتَهَا، وَعَرَفْتَ أَنَّهَا عَدُوَّةٌ لَكَ، لِسُوءِ فِعْلِهَا، وَمَا دَعَتْكَ إِلَى مَا يَقْطَعُكَ عَنْ خَالِقِهَا.

Qāla: tuqaddimu bayna yaday kulli fiʿlin tafʿaluhu: lima? Wa-liman? Fa-ʾin kāna li-llāhi maḍayta fīhi, wa-ʾin kāna lighayri Allāhi imtanaʿta ʿanhu, wa-lumta nafsaka ʿalā ʾishāratihā ʾilā rawḥi dawāʿī al-hawā, wa-ʿāqabtahā ʿalā dhālika, wa-ʾathbatta ʿalayhā jahlahā, wa-bayyanta ʿinda al-ʿaqli faḍīḥatahā, wa-ʿarafta ʾannahā ʿaduwwatun laka, lisūʾi fiʿlihā, wa-mā daʿatka ʾilā mā yaqṭaʿuka ʿan khāliqihā.

He said, “Before every action you undertake, put the questions: ‘Why?’ and ‘For whom?’ If it is for God, go ahead. If it is for something other than God, refrain. Reproach your self for pointing toward the comfort offered by the promptings of desire, punish it for that, establish its ignorance against it, and expose its disgrace before the intellect. Recognize it as your enemy because of its evil conduct and its calling you to what cuts you off from its creator.”

قُلْتُ: فَمِنْ أَيْنَ مَخْرَجُ الْمُحَاسَبَةِ؟

Qultu: fa-min ʾayna makhraju al-muḥāsabati?

I asked, “Where does taking account arise from?”

قَالَ: مِنْ مَخَاوِفِ النَّقْصِ، وَشَيْنِ الْبَخْسِ، وَالرَّغْبَةِ فِي زِيَادَةِ الْأَرْبَاحِ، لِأَنَّ الشَّرِيكَ إِنَّمَا يُحَاسِبُ شَرِيكَهُ مَخَافَةَ الْبَخْسِ وَالْخُسْرَانِ، وَأَمَلَ رَجَاءِ كَثْرَةِ الْأَرْبَاحِ، وَكَثْرَةِ زِيَادَةِ الْبِضَاعَةِ، كَمَا قَالَ ذُو النُّونِ، لِبَعْضِ الْعَابِدَاتِ: «بِمَ تَجِدِينَ الزِّيَادَةَ؟ قَالَتْ: بِالتَّفَقُّدِ وَالْمُحَاسَبَةِ».

Qāla: min makhāwifi al-naqṣi, wa-shayni al-bakhsi, wa-al-raghbati fī ziyādati al-ʾarbāḥi, li-ʾanna al-sharīka ʾinnamā yuḥāsibu sharīkahu makhāfata al-bakhsi wa-al-khusrāni, wa-ʾamala rajāʾi kathrati al-ʾarbāḥi, wa-kathrati ziyādati al-biḍāʿati, kamā qāla Dhū al-Nūni, libaʿḍi al-ʿābidāti: «bima tajidīna al-ziyādata? Qālat: bi-al-tafaqqudi wa-al-muḥāsabati».

He said, “From fear of loss and the disgrace of being shortchanged, and from the desire for greater profit. A business partner calls his partner to account only from fear of being cheated and losing, and from hope of abundant profits and a great increase in merchandise. As Dhū al-Nūn asked a woman devoted to worship, ‘How do you find increase?’ She replied, ‘Through examination and taking account.’”

Source page 230

قُلْتُ: فَمَا مَعْنَى قَوْلِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ: «زِنُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ قَبْلَ أَنْ تُوزَنُوا؟».

Qultu: fa-mā maʿnā qawli ʿUmara bni al-Khaṭṭābi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: «zinū ʾanfusakum qabla ʾan tūzanū?».

I asked, “What is the meaning of the saying of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may God be pleased with him: ‘Weigh yourselves before you are weighed’?”

قَالَ: يَزِنُهَا وَزْنَ مَنْ لَا يَدَعُهَا تَمِيلُ إِلَى الْبَاطِلِ وَزْنَ مِثْقَالِ ذَرَّةٍ.

Qāla: yazinuhā wazna man lā yadaʿuhā tamīlu ʾilā al-bāṭili wazna mithqāli dharratin.

He said, “He weighs it as someone who does not let it incline toward falsehood by even an atom's weight.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا مِيرَاثُ الْمُحَاسَبَةِ؟

Qultu: fa-mā mīrāthu al-muḥāsabati?

I asked, “What does taking account yield?”

قَالَ: زِيَادَةٌ فِي الْبَصِيرَةِ، وَكَيْسٌ فِي الْفِطْنَةِ، وَسُرْعَةٌ إِلَى إِثْبَاتِ الْحُجَّةِ، وَاتِّسَاعٌ فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ، وَهٰذَا عَلَى قَدْرِ لُزُومِ الْقَلْبِ لِلتَّفْتِيشِ.

Qāla: ziyādatun fī al-baṣīrati, wa-kaysun fī al-fiṭnati, wa-surʿatun ʾilā ʾithbāti al-ḥujjati, wa-ittisāʿun fī al-maʿrifati, wa-hādhā ʿalā qadri luzūmi al-qalbi li-al-taftīshi.

He said, “Greater insight, intelligent discernment, swiftness in establishing proof, and broader knowledge. All this is in proportion to the heart's persistence in examination.”

قُلْتُ: بِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ يَقْوَى الْعَبْدُ عَلَى مُحَاسَبَةِ نَفْسِهِ؟

Qultu: bi-ʾayyi shayʾin yaqwā al-ʿabdu ʿalā muḥāsabati nafsihi?

I asked, “What gives a servant strength to take his self to account?”

قَالَ: بِثَلَاثِ خِصَالٍ:

Qāla: bithalāthi khiṣālin:

He said, “Three qualities:

أُولَاهَا: قَطْعُ الْعَلَائِقِ الَّتِي تَشْغَلُهُ عَنْ جَمْعِ الْهَمِّ عَلَى الْمُحَاسَبَةِ، لِأَنَّ مَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُحَاسِبَ غَرِيمَهُ فَرَّغَ قَلْبَهُ مِنَ الْأَشْغَالِ.

ʾŪlāhā: qaṭʿu al-ʿalāʾiqi allatī tashghaluhu ʿan jamʿi al-hammi ʿalā al-muḥāsabati, li-ʾanna man ʾarāda ʾan yuḥāsiba gharīmahu farragha qalbahu mina al-ʾashghāli.

“First, cutting the attachments that distract him from concentrating on taking account. Someone who wants to settle accounts with his debtor frees his heart from other concerns.

وَالثَّانِيَةُ: التَّفَرُّدُ لَهَا عَنْ غَيْرِهَا اخْتِيَارًا مِنْهُ، لِخَوْفِ الْفَوْتِ لِمَا أَمَّلَ مِنَ الْمُحَاسَبَةِ.

Wa-al-thāniyatu: al-tafarrudu lahā ʿan ghayrihā ikhtiyāran minhu, likhawfi al-fawti limā ʾammala mina al-muḥāsabati.

“Second, willingly setting himself apart for it, away from other things, out of fear of missing what he hopes to gain from taking account.

وَالثَّالِثَةُ: الْخَوْفُ مِنَ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنْ يُسَائِلَهُ عَمَّا فَرَّطَ فِيمَا بَلَّغَهُ عَلَى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ حَيْثُ قَالَ: «لِلْمُؤْمِنِ أَنْ يُرَى فِي أَرْبَعِ سَاعَاتٍ: سَاعَةٍ يُحَاسِبُ فِيهَا نَفْسَهُ». الْحَدِيثَ.

Wa-al-thālithatu: al-khawfu mina Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla ʾan yusāʾilahu ʿammā farraṭa fīmā ballaghahu ʿalā lisāni nabiyyihi ʿalayhi al-salāmu ḥaythu qāla: «li-al-muʾmini ʾan yurā fī ʾarbaʿi sāʿātin: sāʿatin yuḥāsibu fīhā nafsahu». Al-ḥadītha.

“Third, fear that God, mighty and majestic, will question him about his neglect of what He conveyed to him through His Prophet, peace be upon him, who said, ‘A believer is to be seen in four periods [the wording is uncertain]: a period in which he takes himself to account.’ The report continues.”

قُلْتُ: لِمَ تَخَلَّفَتِ الْقُلُوبُ عَنْ مُحَاسَبَةِ النَّفْسِ؟

Qultu: lima takhallafati al-qulūbu ʿan muḥāsabati al-nafsi?

I asked, “Why do hearts fail to take the self to account?”

Source pages 230–231

قَالَ: مِنْ غَلَبَةِ الْهَوَى وَالشَّهْوَةِ، لِأَنَّهُمَا ضِدُّ النَّظَرِ وَالْعِلْمِ وَالْبَيَانِ، فَمِنْ ثَمَّ تَخَلَّفَتْ عَنْ مُحَاسَبَةِ النُّفُوسِ، وَعَمِيَتْ عَنِ النَّظَرِ، فَلَا تَرَى النَّفْسُ جَمِيلًا تَرْغَبُ فِيهِ، وَلَا قَبِيحًا تَأْنَفُ عَنْهُ.

Qāla: min ghalabati al-hawā wa-al-shahwati, li-ʾannahumā ḍiddu al-naẓari wa-al-ʿilmi wa-al-bayāni, fa-min thamma takhallafat ʿan muḥāsabati al-nufūsi, wa-ʿamiyat ʿani al-naẓari, fa-lā tarā al-nafsu jamīlan targhabu fīhi, wa-lā qabīḥan taʾnafu ʿanhu.

He said, “Because desire and appetite prevail. They are opposed to reflection, knowledge, and clarity. That is why hearts fail to take their selves to account and become blind to reflection. The self then sees neither anything beautiful to desire nor anything ugly to disdain.”

Source page 231

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، أَخْبِرْنِي عَنِ الْهَوَى الَّذِي حَجَبَهَا عَنِ الْمُحَاسَبَةِ.

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, ʾakhbirnī ʿani al-hawā alladhī ḥajabahā ʿani al-muḥāsabati.

I said, “May God have mercy on you, tell me about the desire that veils them from taking account.”

قَالَ: الْهَوَى هُوَ: تَعَلُّقُ النُّفُوسِ بِالشَّهَوَاتِ، وَمَيْلُهَا إِلَى الرَّاحَاتِ، فَعَلَى قَدْرِ الشَّهَوَاتِ يَتَمَكَّنُ مِنْهَا الضَّعْفُ، فَيَسْتَوْلِي عَلَيْهَا الْهَوَى.

Qāla: al-hawā huwa: taʿalluqu al-nufūsi bi-al-shahawāti, wa-mayluhā ʾilā al-rāḥāti, fa-ʿalā qadri al-shahawāti yatamakkanu minhā al-ḍaʿfu, fa-yastawlī ʿalayhā al-hawā.

He said, “Desire is the attachment of selves to appetites and their inclination toward comforts. In proportion to their appetites, weakness gains a hold on them, and desire takes control.”

قُلْتُ: كَيْفَ أُعَاقِبُ نَفْسِي عَلَى مَا جَنَتْ؟

Qultu: kayfa ʾuʿāqibu nafsī ʿalā mā janat?

I asked, “How do I discipline my self for what it has done wrong?”

قَالَ: تُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ مَحَابِّهَا، وَتَأْخُذُ سَوْطَ الْخَشْيَةِ لَهَا، بِدَوَامِ الرِّعَايَةِ لَهَا فِي سَعْيِهَا، وَتُضَاعِفُ عَلَيْهَا أَوْرَادَهَا، وَتَزِيدُ فِي كَدِّهَا، وَتَنْقُصُ مِنْ غِذَائِهَا، وَتَقْطَعُهَا عَنْ مَلَاذِّهَا، وَتُجَرِّعُهَا غَيْظَ التَّهْدِيدِ زَجْرًا لَهَا، حَتَّى يَغْلِبَ سُلْطَانُ رِعَايَتِكَ سُلْطَانَ كِبْرِهَا،

Qāla: tufarriqu baynahā wa-bayna maḥābbihā, wa-taʾkhudhu sawṭa al-khashyati lahā, bidawāmi al-riʿāyati lahā fī saʿyihā, wa-tuḍāʿifu ʿalayhā ʾawrādahā, wa-tazīdu fī kaddihā, wa-tanquṣu min ghidhāʾihā, wa-taqṭaʿuhā ʿan malādhdhihā, wa-tujarriʿuhā ghayẓa al-tahdīdi zajran lahā, ḥattā yaghliba sulṭānu riʿāyatika sulṭāna kibrihā,

He said, “Separate it from what it loves, and take up the whip of awe for it by constantly watching over its endeavors. Double its regular devotions, increase its toil, reduce its food, cut it off from its pleasures, and make it swallow the anger of your warnings as a rebuke, until the authority of your watchfulness overcomes the authority of its pride.

فَعِنْدَ ذٰلِكَ يَا فَتَى تَذِلُّ فِي نَفْسِهَا، وَتَخْضَعُ بَعْدَ كِبْرِهَا، وَتَسْقُطُ عَنْ كَلَبِهَا وَشَرِّهَا، وَتَمُرُّ عَلَى الِاسْتِقَامَةِ إِلَى خَالِقِهَا، وَمِنَ اللّٰهِ التَّوْفِيقُ.

Fa-ʿinda dhālika yā fatā tadhillu fī nafsihā, wa-takhḍaʿu baʿda kibrihā, wa-tasquṭu ʿan kalabihā wa-sharrihā, wa-tamurru ʿalā al-istiqāmati ʾilā khāliqihā, wa-mina Allāhi al-tawfīqu.

“Then, young man, it becomes humble within itself, submits after its pride, falls away from its ravenous fury and evil, and proceeds uprightly toward its creator. Success comes from God.”

Source page 232

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٤

Masʾalatun 4

Question 4

فِي مُخَالَفَةِ الْعَدُوِّ وَدَفْعِ نَزَغَاتِهِ

Fī mukhālafati al-ʿaduwwi wa-dafʿi nazaghātihi

Opposing the enemy and repelling his incitements

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، قَدْ بَيَّنْتَ لِي فِي مُخَالَفَةِ النَّفْسِ وَالْهَوَى، فَمَا السَّبَبُ الَّذِي يَقْوَى عَلَى مُخَالَفَةِ الْعَدُوِّ وَإِبْلِيسَ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, qad bayyanta lī fī mukhālafati al-nafsi wa-al-hawā, fa-mā al-sababu alladhī yaqwā ʿalā mukhālafati al-ʿaduwwi wa-ʾIblīsa?

I said, “May God have mercy on you, you have explained to me how to oppose the self and desire. What means gives strength to oppose the enemy and Iblīs?”

قَالَ: أَنَّ أَوْلَى الْأَسْبَابِ وَأَقْوَاهَا عَلَى مُخَالَفَةِ الْعَدُوِّ وَإِبْلِيسَ: فَرْضُ اللّٰهِ اللَّازِمُ الَّذِي أَمَرَ بِمُحَارَبَتِهِ، لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا﴾. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَنْ يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ﴾.

Qāla: ʾanna ʾawlā al-ʾasbābi wa-ʾaqwāhā ʿalā mukhālafati al-ʿaduwwi wa-ʾIblīsa: farḍu Allāhi al-lāzimu alladhī ʾamara bimuḥārabatihi, liqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿ʾinna al-shayṭāna lakum ʿaduwwun fa-ittakhidhūhu ʿaduwwan﴾. Wa-qāla taʿālā: ﴿wa-man yattabiʿ khuṭuwāti al-shayṭāni fa-ʾinnahu yaʾmuru bi-al-faḥshāʾi﴾.

He said that the foremost and strongest means of opposing the enemy and Iblīs is God's binding obligation, by which He commanded fighting him, as He Most High says: “Satan is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy.” And He Most High says: “Whoever follows Satan's footsteps, he commands indecency.”

فَهٰذَا دَلِيلٌ عَلَى أَنَّ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَرَضَ عَدَاوَتَهُ، وَأَمَرَ بِمُحَارَبَتِهِ، وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُقَوِّيكَ عَلَى مُخَالَفَتِهِ، لِخَوْفِ التَّخَلُّفِ عَمَّا أَمَرَكَ بِهِ.

Fa-hādhā dalīlun ʿalā ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla faraḍa ʿadāwatahu, wa-ʾamara bimuḥārabatihi, wa-huwa alladhī yuqawwīka ʿalā mukhālafatihi, likhawfi al-takhallufi ʿammā ʾamaraka bihi.

“This proves that God, mighty and majestic, has made enmity toward him obligatory and commanded fighting him. This is what strengthens you to oppose him, for fear of falling short of what God has commanded you.

أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّهُ فَرَضَ عَلَيْكَ عَدَاوَتَهُ، وَأَمَرَكَ بِمُحَارَبَتِهِ، وَمَعْرِفَتُكَ بِذٰلِكَ تُقَوِّيكَ عَلَى مُخَالَفَتِهِ، وَتَشُدُّ غَيْظَكَ عَلَيْهِ، وَيَكْثُرُ هَمُّكَ بِحِرَاسَةِ نَفْسِكَ، وَيَعْظُمُ مِنْكَ الْإِشْفَاقُ خَوْفًا أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدْ نَزَغَكَ الْعَدُوُّ، وَدَعَاكَ إِلَى حَالَةٍ لَعَلَّ نَفْسَكَ مَالَتْ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ حَيْثُ تَعْلَمُ، أَوْ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَعْلَمُ، فَيَدِقَّ عَلَيْكَ عِلْمُ ذٰلِكَ، فَيَنْقُصَ بِذٰلِكَ قَدْرُكَ عِنْدَ سَيِّدِكَ، وَيَشِينَ إِيمَانَكَ، وَيُضَيِّعَ يَقِينَكَ، وَيَقْصُرَ بِهِ صِدْقُكَ عَنْ مُخَالَفَتِكَ لِعَدُوِّكَ.

ʾAlā tarā ʾannahu faraḍa ʿalayka ʿadāwatahu, wa-ʾamaraka bimuḥārabatihi, wa-maʿrifatuka bi-dhālika tuqawwīka ʿalā mukhālafatihi, wa-tashuddu ghayẓaka ʿalayhi, wa-yakthuru hammuka biḥirāsati nafsika, wa-yaʿẓumu minka al-ʾishfāqu khawfan ʾan yakūna qad nazaghaka al-ʿaduwwu, wa-daʿāka ʾilā ḥālatin laʿalla nafsaka mālat ʾilayhā min ḥaythu taʿlamu, ʾaw min ḥaythu lā taʿlamu, fa-yadiqqa ʿalayka ʿilmu dhālika, fa-yanquṣa bi-dhālika qadruka ʿinda sayyidika, wa-yashīna ʾīmānaka, wa-yuḍayyiʿa yaqīnaka, wa-yaqṣura bihi ṣidquka ʿan mukhālafatika liʿaduwwika.

“Do you not see that He has obliged you to be his enemy and commanded you to fight him? Knowing this strengthens you to oppose him and intensifies your anger against him. You become more concerned with guarding your self and more anxious, fearing that the enemy may have incited you and called you to a state toward which your self has perhaps inclined, knowingly or unknowingly. Recognizing this may become too subtle for you; your standing before your Master may then diminish, your faith be disfigured, your certainty wasted, and your sincerity fall short in opposing your enemy.”

Source page 233

قُلْتُ: صِفْ لِي حَالَةً تُعِينُنِي عَلَى مُخَالَفَتِهِ، وَدَفْعِ نَزَغَاتِهِ، وَزِدْنِي فِي شَرْحِ بَيَانِ ذٰلِكَ.

Qultu: ṣif lī ḥālatan tuʿīnunī ʿalā mukhālafatihi, wa-dafʿi nazaghātihi, wa-zidnī fī sharḥi bayāni dhālika.

I said, “Describe a state that will help me oppose him and repel his incitements, and explain this further for me.”

قَالَ: افْهَمْ وَفَرِّقْ بَيْنَ الدَّاعِيَيْنِ: إِلَى مَا دَعَا اللّٰهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَإِلَى مَا دَعَا إِبْلِيسُ.

Qāla: ifham wa-farriq bayna al-dāʿiyayni: ʾilā mā daʿā Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-ʾilā mā daʿā ʾIblīsu.

He said, “Understand and distinguish between the two callers: what God, mighty and majestic, calls you to, and what Iblīs calls you to.

ثُمَّ انْظُرْ أَيُّهُمَا أَحَقُّ أَنْ تُجِيبَهُ: مَنْ دَعَاكَ إِلَى هَلَكَتِكَ، وَتَلَفِ نَفْسِكَ فِي طُولِ مُدَّتِكَ، وَأَتْعَبَكَ فِي ثُبُوتِ أَسْبَابِ حِيلَتِكَ، وَوَعَدَكَ الْفَقْرَ فِي أُمْنِيَّتِكَ، أَوْ تُجِيبَ مَنْ بَدَأَكَ بِنِعْمَتِهِ، وَلَمْ يَنْسَكَ فِي قَدِيمِ وَحْدَانِيَّتِهِ، وَخَصَّكَ بِالْإِيمَانِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ فِي دَوَامِ أَزَلِيَّتِهِ، وَدَعَاكَ إِلَى جَنَّتِهِ، وَحُسْنِ كَرَامَتِهِ، وَلَطِيفِ بِرِّهِ، وَتَمَامِ نِعْمَتِهِ.

Thumma unẓur ʾayyuhumā ʾaḥaqqu ʾan tujībahu: man daʿāka ʾilā halakatika, wa-talafi nafsika fī ṭūli muddatika, wa-ʾatʿabaka fī thubūti ʾasbābi ḥīlatika, wa-waʿadaka al-faqra fī ʾumniyyatika, ʾaw tujība man badaʾaka biniʿmatihi, wa-lam yansaka fī qadīmi waḥdāniyyatihi, wa-khaṣṣaka bi-al-ʾīmāni fī ʿilmi al-ghaybi fī dawāmi ʾazaliyyatihi, wa-daʿāka ʾilā jannatihi, wa-ḥusni karāmatihi, wa-laṭīfi birrihi, wa-tamāmi niʿmatihi.

“Then consider which has the better claim to your response: the one who calls you to ruin and the destruction of your self throughout your life, exhausts you in securing the means of your schemes, and promises you poverty amid your hopes; or the One who first bestowed His blessing upon you, did not forget you in His beginningless oneness, singled you out for faith in His knowledge of the unseen in the continuance of His eternity, and called you to His Garden, His generous honor, His gentle kindness, and the fullness of His blessing.

وَإِنَّمَا الْعَدُوُّ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَقْطَعَكَ عَنِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، مَوْلَاكَ وَسَيِّدِكَ، بِسُوءِ ظُنُونِهِ وَقُنُوطِهِ، وَشُكُوكِهِ وَخِدَعِهِ، وَحَبَائِلِ مَصَائِدِهِ، وَكَثْرَةِ غُرُورِهِ، وَيُزَيِّنُ لَكَ الْعَمَلَ فِي نَفْسِكَ. قَالَ اللّٰهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ﴾.

Wa-ʾinnamā al-ʿaduwwu yurīdu ʾan yaqṭaʿaka ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, mawlāka wa-sayyidika, bisūʾi ẓunūnihi wa-qunūṭihi, wa-shukūkihi wa-khidaʿihi, wa-ḥabāʾili maṣāʾidihi, wa-kathrati ghurūrihi, wa-yuzayyinu laka al-ʿamala fī nafsika. Qāla Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla: ﴿wa-zayyana lahumu al-shayṭānu ʾaʿmālahum fa-ṣaddahum ʿani al-sabīli﴾.

“The enemy only wants to cut you off from God, mighty and majestic, your Protector and Master, through his evil suspicions and despair, his doubts and tricks, the snares of his traps, and his many deceptions. He makes your deeds seem beautiful to you in your own eyes. God, mighty and majestic, says, ‘Satan made their deeds seem beautiful to them and turned them away from the path.’

وَيُرِيدُ أَنْ يُبْعِدَكَ عَنِ اللّٰهِ مَوْلَاكَ، وَعَنِ الْحَظِّ الْجَزِيلِ مِنَ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَالنِّعْمَةِ الْقُصْوَى، وَيُعْطِيَكَ الشُّكُوكَ، وَيَأْخُذَ مِنْكَ السُّكُونَ وَيُعْطِيَكَ الِاضْطِرَابَ، وَيَأْخُذَ مِنْكَ الصَّبْرَ وَيُعْطِيَكَ الْجَزَعَ، وَيَأْخُذَ مِنْكَ الرِّضَا وَيُعْطِيَكَ السُّخْطَ، وَيَأْخُذَ مِنْكَ الْجِدَّ وَيُعْطِيَكَ الْهَزْلَ.

Wa-yurīdu ʾan yubʿidaka ʿani Allāhi mawlāka, wa-ʿani al-ḥaẓẓi al-jazīli mina Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-al-niʿmati al-quṣwā, wa-yuʿṭiyaka al-shukūka, wa-yaʾkhudha minka al-sukūna wa-yuʿṭiyaka al-iḍṭirāba, wa-yaʾkhudha minka al-ṣabra wa-yuʿṭiyaka al-jazaʿa, wa-yaʾkhudha minka al-riḍā wa-yuʿṭiyaka al-sukhṭa, wa-yaʾkhudha minka al-jidda wa-yuʿṭiyaka al-hazla.

“He wants to distance you from God, your Protector, from the generous share that comes from God, mighty and majestic, and from the highest blessing. He wants to give you doubts, take away your calm and give you agitation, take away your patience and give you panic, take away your contentment and give you resentment, and take away your earnestness and give you frivolity.

يَمْنَعُكَ أَنْ تَرُوحَ بِالثِّقَةِ، وَتَطْمَئِنَّ إِلَى الْعِدَةِ، وَيُسَلِّطُ عَلَيْكَ الْحِرْصَ، وَيُخَوِّفُكَ الْفَقْرَ وَطُولَ الْأَمَلِ، وَسُوءَ الظَّنِّ بِمَوْعُودِ الرَّبِّ، وَيُثَبِّطُ عَلَيْكَ نِيَّتَكَ، وَيَفْسَخُ عَلَيْكَ عَزْمَكَ، وَيُسَوِّفُ لَكَ فِي التَّوْبَةِ، وَيَقْطَعُكَ عَنِ الِانْكِمَاشِ وَالْمُبَادَرَةِ إِلَى مَا دَعَاكَ اللّٰهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَيُرِيدُ أَنْ يَفْضَحَكَ عِنْدَ خَالِقِكَ وَمَوْلَاكَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى.

Yamnaʿuka ʾan tarūḥa bi-al-thiqati, wa-taṭmaʾinna ʾilā al-ʿidati, wa-yusalliṭu ʿalayka al-ḥirṣa, wa-yukhawwifuka al-faqra wa-ṭūla al-ʾamali, wa-sūʾa al-ẓanni bimawʿūdi al-rabbi, wa-yuthabbiṭu ʿalayka niyyataka, wa-yafsakhu ʿalayka ʿazmaka, wa-yusawwifu laka fī al-tawbati, wa-yaqṭaʿuka ʿani al-inkimāshi wa-al-mubādarati ʾilā mā daʿāka Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-yurīdu ʾan yafḍaḥaka ʿinda khāliqika wa-mawlāka tabāraka wa-taʿālā.

“He prevents you from finding relief in trust and resting in the promise. He sets greed over you, frightens you with poverty, long hopes, and distrust of the Lord's promise [the connection of these phrases is uncertain]. He weakens your intention, undoes your resolve, encourages you to delay repentance, and cuts you off from energetic application and hastening toward what God, mighty and majestic, calls you to. He wants to disgrace you before your Creator and Protector, blessed and exalted is He.

Source page 234

فَإِذَا عَرَفْتَهُ بِهٰذِهِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، وَعَادَيْتَهُ بِهٰذِهِ الْعَدَاوَةِ، تَوَحَّشْتَ مِنْهُ أَشَدَّ مِنْ تَوَحُّشِكَ بِظَاهِرِ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ، وَخِفْتَ أَنْ تَمِيلَ إِلَى مُصَالَحَتِهِ، فَيُعْقِبَكَ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ الْعَطَبَ.

Fa-ʾidhā ʿaraftahu bi-hādhihi al-maʿrifati, wa-ʿādaytahu bi-hādhihi al-ʿadāwati, tawaḥḥashta minhu ʾashadda min tawaḥḥushika biẓāhiri mushāhadatihi, wa-khifta ʾan tamīla ʾilā muṣālaḥatihi, fa-yuʿqibaka min dhālika al-ʿaṭaba.

“When you know him in this way and oppose him with this enmity, you recoil from him more strongly than you would from seeing him outwardly. You fear inclining toward making peace with him, lest he bring ruin upon you as a result.”

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، يَكُونُ أَحَدٌ يَقْبَلُ مِمَّنْ يُبْغِضُهُ، وَيُطِيعُ مَنْ يُهْلِكُهُ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, yakūnu ʾaḥadun yaqbalu mimman yubghiḍuhu, wa-yuṭīʿu man yuhlikuhu?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, can anyone accept counsel from someone who hates him and obey someone who destroys him?”

قَالَ: تَلْحَقُهُ هٰذِهِ الْفُرُوعُ لِعِلَّةِ الْغَفْلَةِ، وَيُخَالِفُهُ فِي الْأُصُولِ لِمَعْرِفَتِهِ، لِأَنَّهُ فِي عَقْدِ الْإِيمَانِ مُبْغِضٌ لَهُ، مُعْتَقِدٌ لَهُ الْعَدَاوَةَ، وَلَا يَقْبَلُ مِنْهُ نَصِيحَةً، وَلَا يُجِيبُهُ إِلَى نَزْغَةٍ وَلَا خَطْرَةٍ.

Qāla: talḥaquhu hādhihi al-furūʿu liʿillati al-ghaflati, wa-yukhālifuhu fī al-ʾuṣūli limaʿrifatihi, li-ʾannahu fī ʿaqdi al-ʾīmāni mubghiḍun lahu, muʿtaqidun lahu al-ʿadāwata, wa-lā yaqbalu minhu naṣīḥatan, wa-lā yujībuhu ʾilā nazghatin wa-lā khaṭratin.

He said, “These secondary failures befall him because of heedlessness, while in fundamentals he opposes him because he knows him. In the conviction of faith he hates him, holds him as an enemy, accepts no counsel from him, and responds to no incitement or passing suggestion from him.”

وَأَمَّا فِي الْفُرُوعِ فَإِنَّهُ يُقْبِلُ عَلَيْهِ بِمُطَالَبَتِهِ، وَيُرِيهِ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ بِضَارٍّ مَا يَدْعُو إِلَيْهِ، وَقَدْ غَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ الْهَوَى، وَجَرَّتْهُ أَسْبَابُ الرُّخْصَةِ، وَأَسَرَتْهُ الْفِتْنَةُ، فَعَمِيَ عَنِ الْبَصِيرَةِ، وَانْقَادَ لَهُ بِالْغَفْلَةِ، مِنْ مُوَاطَأَتِهِ فِي الْفُرُوعِ، وَهُوَ مُعْتَقِدٌ مُخَالَفَتَهُ فِي الْأُصُولِ.

Wa-ʾammā fī al-furūʿi fa-ʾinnahu yuqbilu ʿalayhi bimuṭālabatihi, wa-yurīhi ʾannahu laysa biḍārrin mā yadʿū ʾilayhi, wa-qad ghalaba ʿalayhi al-hawā, wa-jarrat-hu ʾasbābu al-rukhṣati, wa-ʾasarat-hu al-fitnatu, fa-ʿamiya ʿani al-baṣīrati, wa-inqāda lahu bi-al-ghaflati, min muwāṭaʾatihi fī al-furūʿi, wa-huwa muʿtaqidun mukhālafatahu fī al-ʾuṣūli.

“In secondary matters, however, the enemy approaches him with his demands and makes what he calls him to seem harmless. Desire has overcome him, the attractions of license have drawn him along, and temptation has taken him captive. He loses his insight and, through heedlessness, submits to the enemy by cooperating with him in secondary matters while remaining convinced that he opposes him in fundamentals.

فَالنَّجَاةُ فِي لُزُومِ دَوَامِ مُخَالَفَتِهِ، وَالْحَذَرِ مِنْهُ، ثُمَّ لُزُومِ الْوَرَعِ.

Fa-al-najātu fī luzūmi dawāmi mukhālafatihi, wa-al-ḥadhari minhu, thumma luzūmi al-waraʿi.

“Salvation lies in persisting in opposition to him, being on guard against him, and then holding fast to scrupulous restraint.”

Source page 235

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٥

Masʾalatun 5

Question 5

فِي بَيَانِ الْوَرَعِ وَمَعْنَاهُ

Fī bayāni al-waraʿi wa-maʿnāhu

Explaining scrupulous restraint and its meaning

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، فَمَا مَعْنَى الْوَرَعِ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, fa-mā maʿnā al-waraʿi?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, what does scrupulous restraint mean?”

قَالَ: وُقُوفُ الْقَلْبِ عِنْدَ هُجُومِهِ لِلْفِعْلِ، حَتَّى يُفَرِّقَ بَيْنَ الْحَقِّ وَالْبَاطِلِ.

Qāla: wuqūfu al-qalbi ʿinda hujūmihi li-al-fiʿli, ḥattā yufarriqa bayna al-ḥaqqi wa-al-bāṭili.

He said, “The heart's stopping when it is about to plunge into an action, until it distinguishes truth from falsehood.”

قُلْتُ: أَفِيهِ جَوَابٌ غَيْرُ هٰذَا؟

Qultu: ʾafīhi jawābun ghayru hādhā?

I asked, “Is there another answer?”

قَالَ: نَعَمْ، إِسْقَاطُ مَا حَاكَ فِي الْقَلْبِ، مَعَ تَرْكِ مَا اشْتَبَهَ عَلَيْكَ.

Qāla: naʿam, ʾisqāṭu mā ḥāka fī al-qalbi, maʿa tarki mā ishtabaha ʿalayka.

He said, “Yes: casting aside what troubles the heart, while leaving what seems doubtful to you.”

قُلْتُ: زِدْنِي فِي الشَّرْحِ، وَاكْشِفْ لِي عَنْ بَيَانِ مَا تَقُولُ.

Qultu: zidnī fī al-sharḥi, wa-ikshif lī ʿan bayāni mā taqūlu.

I said, “Explain further, and make the meaning of what you say clear to me.”

قَالَ: جَمِيعُ الْوَرَعِ فِي تَرْكِ مَا يَرِيبُكَ إِلَى مَا لَا يَرِيبُكَ.

Qāla: jamīʿu al-waraʿi fī tarki mā yarībuka ʾilā mā lā yarībuka.

He said, “All scrupulous restraint consists in leaving what makes you doubtful for what does not.”

Source page 236

قُلْتُ: مِنْ أَيْنَ مَخْرَجُ الْوَرَعِ؟

Qultu: min ʾayna makhraju al-waraʿi?

I asked, “Where does scrupulous restraint come from?”

قَالَ: الْوَرَعُ مُشْتَقٌّ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ، كَمَا تَقُولُ الْعَرَبُ: رَاعَنِي فُلَانٌ، وَرَوَّعَنِي: خَوَّفَنِي فُلَانٌ، وَخِفْتُ مِنْ فُلَانٍ. فَالْوَرَعُ مُشْتَقٌّ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ.

Qāla: al-waraʿu mushtaqqun mina al-khawfi, kamā taqūlu al-ʿarabu: rāʿanī fulānun, wa-rawwaʿanī: khawwafanī fulānun, wa-khiftu min fulānin. Fa-al-waraʿu mushtaqqun mina al-khawfi.

He said, “Scrupulous restraint, waraʿ, is derived from fear, as the Arabs say, ‘So-and-so startled me,’ rāʿanī, and ‘terrified me,’ rawwaʿanī: ‘So-and-so frightened me, and I feared him.’ Thus scrupulous restraint is derived from fear.”

قُلْتُ: مَا عَلَامَةُ الْوَرَعِ؟

Qultu: mā ʿalāmatu al-waraʿi?

I asked, “What is the sign of scrupulous restraint?”

قَالَ: تَرْكُ حَزَازَاتِ الْقُلُوبِ فِي بَاطِنِهَا، وَالتَّفْتِيشُ عَنْ مَثَاقِيلِ الذَّرِّ فِي ظَاهِرِهَا.

Qāla: tarku ḥazāzāti al-qulūbi fī bāṭinihā, wa-al-taftīshu ʿan mathāqīli al-dharri fī ẓāhirihā.

He said, “Inwardly, leaving what causes qualms in hearts; outwardly, searching out even the weight of tiny particles.”

قُلْتُ: اكْشِفْ لِي عَنْ هٰذَا.

Qultu: ikshif lī ʿan hādhā.

I said, “Make this clear to me.”

قَالَ: إِنَّ مِنْ دَقِيقِ الْوَرَعِ وَأَعْلَاهُ: تَرْكَ مَا لَيْسَ بِهِ بَأْسٌ، مَخَافَةَ أَنْ يَلْحَقَهُ مَا بِهِ الْبَأْسُ.

Qāla: ʾinna min daqīqi al-waraʿi wa-ʾaʿlāhu: tarka mā laysa bihi baʾsun, makhāfata ʾan yalḥaqahu mā bihi al-baʾsu.

He said, “Among the most subtle and highest forms of scrupulous restraint is leaving what is harmless for fear that what is harmful may follow it.”

قُلْتُ: مَا الَّذِي يُقَوِّي الْوَرَعَ وَيُثَبِّتُهُ؟

Qultu: mā alladhī yuqawwī al-waraʿa wa-yuthabbituhu?

I asked, “What strengthens scrupulous restraint and makes it firm?”

قَالَ: إِنَّ الْحَالَةَ الَّتِي تَزِيدُ فِي قَدْرِ الْخَوْفِ، هِيَ الْحَالَةُ الَّتِي تَزِيدُ فِي قَدْرِ الْوَرَعِ.

Qāla: ʾinna al-ḥālata allatī tazīdu fī qadri al-khawfi, hiya al-ḥālatu allatī tazīdu fī qadri al-waraʿi.

He said, “The state that increases the degree of fear is the state that increases the degree of scrupulous restraint.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا الْحَالَةُ الَّتِي تَزِيدُ فِي قَدْرِ الْخَوْفِ؟

Qultu: fa-mā al-ḥālatu allatī tazīdu fī qadri al-khawfi?

I asked, “What state increases the degree of fear?”

قَالَ: عِلْمُ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْقَلْبِ لِسَطَوَاتِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَنِقْمَتِهِ.

Qāla: ʿilmu mushāhadati al-qalbi lisaṭawāti Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla wa-niqmatihi.

He said, “The knowledge that comes from the heart's witnessing the mighty onslaughts of God, mighty and majestic, and His retribution.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا الَّذِي يَزِيدُ فِي قَدْرِ هٰذَا؟

Qultu: fa-mā alladhī yazīdu fī qadri hādhā?

I asked, “What increases the degree of that?”

Source page 237

قَالَ: هٰذَا يَا فَتَى مُشْتَقٌّ مِنَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، فَعَلَى قَدْرِ لُزُومِ الْقَلْبِ لِلْمَعْرِفَةِ يَكُونُ الْخَوْفُ، وَعَلَى قَدْرِ هَيَجَانِ الْخَوْفِ يَكُونُ الْوَرَعُ.

Qāla: hādhā yā fatā mushtaqqun mina al-maʿrifati, fa-ʿalā qadri luzūmi al-qalbi li-al-maʿrifati yakūnu al-khawfu, wa-ʿalā qadri hayajāni al-khawfi yakūnu al-waraʿu.

He said, “This, young man, arises from knowledge of God. Fear is in proportion to the heart's adherence to that knowledge, and scrupulous restraint is in proportion to the stirring of fear.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا الَّذِي يَشِينُ الْوَرَعَ وَيُوهِنُهُ؟

Qultu: fa-mā alladhī yashīnu al-waraʿa wa-yūhinuhu?

I asked, “What disfigures scrupulous restraint and weakens it?”

قَالَ: الرَّغْبَةُ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَكَثْرَةُ الطَّمَعِ فِيهَا، وَدَوَامُ الْحِرْصِ عَلَيْهَا، بِجَمْعِ مَا لَا يَضُرُّ فَقْدُهُ.

Qāla: al-raghbatu fī al-dunyā, wa-kathratu al-ṭamaʿi fīhā, wa-dawāmu al-ḥirṣi ʿalayhā, bijamʿi mā lā yaḍurru faqduhu.

He said, “Desire for this world, great covetousness for it, and constant greed for it, through accumulating things whose absence would cause no harm.”

قُلْتُ: فَإِلَى أَيِّ حَالَةٍ يَصِيرُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ دَرَجَةِ الْوَرَعِ؟

Qultu: fa-ʾilā ʾayyi ḥālatin yaṣīru al-ʿabdu min darajati al-waraʿi?

I asked, “To what state does the servant pass from the degree of scrupulous restraint?”

قَالَ: آخِرُ دَرَجَةٍ مِنَ الْوَرَعِ أَوَّلُ دَرَجَةٍ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ.

Qāla: ʾākhiru darajatin mina al-waraʿi ʾawwalu darajatin mina al-zuhdi.

He said, “The final degree of scrupulous restraint is the first degree of renunciation.”

Source page 238

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٦

Masʾalatun 6

Question 6

فِي بَيَانِ الزُّهْدِ وَمَعْنَاهُ

Fī bayāni al-zuhdi wa-maʿnāhu

Explaining renunciation and its meaning

قُلْتُ: فَمَا مَعْنَى الزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا؟

Qultu: fa-mā maʿnā al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā?

I asked, “What does renouncing this world mean?”

قَالَ: اخْتَلَفَ النَّاسُ فِي مَعْنَى الزُّهْدِ.

Qāla: ikhtalafa al-nāsu fī maʿnā al-zuhdi.

He said, “People have differed about the meaning of renunciation.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا الْجَوَابُ عِنْدَكَ؟

Qultu: fa-mā al-jawābu ʿindaka?

I asked, “What is your answer?”

قَالَ: هُوَ الْعُزُوفُ عَنِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَذَّاتِهَا وَشَهَوَاتِهَا.

Qāla: huwa al-ʿuzūfu ʿani al-dunyā wa-ladhdhātihā wa-shahawātihā.

He said, “It is turning away from this world, its pleasures, and its desires.”

قُلْتُ: مَا مَعْنَى الْعُزُوفِ؟

Qultu: mā maʿnā al-ʿuzūfi?

I asked, “What does turning away mean?”

قَالَ: انْصِرَافُ النَّفْسِ، وَاعْتِوَارُ الْهَمِّ.

Qāla: inṣirāfu al-nafsi, wa-iʿtiwāru al-hammi.

He said, “A turning of the self and a change in one's concern.”

قُلْتُ: مَا مَعْنَى انْصِرَافِ النَّفْسِ؟

Qultu: mā maʿnā inṣirāfi al-nafsi?

I asked, “What does a turning of the self mean?”

قَالَ: هُوَ أَنْ تَمِيلَ إِلَى مَا دَعَا اللّٰهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَيْهِ بِنِسْيَانِ مَا وَقَعَ بِهَا مِنْ طِبَاعِهَا.

Qāla: huwa ʾan tamīla ʾilā mā daʿā Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla ʾilayhi binisyāni mā waqaʿa bihā min ṭibāʿihā.

He said, “That it inclines toward what God, mighty and majestic, calls it to, by forgetting what its natural dispositions have brought upon it.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا اعْتِوَارُ الْهَمِّ؟

Qultu: fa-mā iʿtiwāru al-hammi?

I asked, “What is a change in one's concern?”

قَالَ: الِانْقِطَاعُ إِلَى خِدْمَةِ الْمَوْلَى.

Qāla: al-inqiṭāʿu ʾilā khidmati al-mawlā.

He said, “Devoting oneself exclusively to the service of the Master.”

قُلْتُ: اكْشِفْ لِي عَنْ هٰذَا، وَزِدْنِي فِي شَرْحِ الْبَيَانِ، لِأَعْرِفَ مَعْنَى قَوْلِكَ فِي الزُّهْدِ.

Qultu: ikshif lī ʿan hādhā, wa-zidnī fī sharḥi al-bayāni, li-ʾaʿrifa maʿnā qawlika fī al-zuhdi.

I said, “Make this clear to me and explain further, so that I can understand what you mean by renunciation.”

Source pages 238–239

قَالَ: الزُّهْدُ هُوَ: التَّرْكُ وَالْقِلَى وَالْبُغْضُ. قَالَ اللّٰهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَمَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَى﴾. أَيْ: مَا تَرَكَكَ رَبُّكَ وَأَبْغَضَكَ. وَيَتَفَاوَتُ النَّاسُ فِي تَرْكِ الدُّنْيَا.

Qāla: al-zuhdu huwa: al-tarku wa-al-qilā wa-al-bughḍu. Qāla Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla: ﴿wa-mā waddaʿaka rabbuka wa-mā qalā﴾. ʾAy: mā tarakaka rabbuka wa-ʾabghaḍaka. Wa-yatafāwatu al-nāsu fī tarki al-dunyā.

He said, “Renunciation means abandonment, aversion, and hatred. God, mighty and majestic, says, ‘And your Lord has not forsaken you, nor has He detested you.’ That is, your Lord has not abandoned you or hated you. People differ in their abandonment of this world.”

Source page 239

قُلْتُ: أَخْبِرْنِي: مَا الَّذِي يُقَوِّينِي عَلَى الزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا بِمَا حَضَرَ مِنَ الْجَوَابِ عِنْدَكَ.

Qultu: ʾakhbirnī: mā alladhī yuqawwīnī ʿalā al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā bimā ḥaḍara mina al-jawābi ʿindaka.

I said, “Tell me, with whatever answer comes to you, what will strengthen me in renouncing this world.”

قَالَ: إِنَّ الَّذِي يُقَوِّى عَلَى تَرْكِ الدُّنْيَا: مَعْرِفَةُ الْقَلْبِ بِسُوءِ عَوَاقِبِهَا، وَكَثْرَةِ الْوُقُوفِ لِلْحِسَابِ عَلَى مَا أَخَذَ مِنْهَا، مَعَ دَوَامِ الِاشْتِغَالِ بِهَا عَنْ خَالِقِهَا، وَخَوْفِ الْعِقَابِ عَلَى مَثَاقِيلِ الذَّرِّ مِنْهَا.

Qāla: ʾinna alladhī yuqawwī ʿalā tarki al-dunyā: maʿrifatu al-qalbi bisūʾi ʿawāqibihā, wa-kathrati al-wuqūfi li-al-ḥisābi ʿalā mā ʾakhadha minhā, maʿa dawāmi al-ishtighāli bihā ʿan khāliqihā, wa-khawfi al-ʿiqābi ʿalā mathāqīli al-dharri minhā.

He said, “What gives strength to abandon this world is the heart's awareness of its evil consequences and of the many occasions on which one must stand to account for what one takes from it, together with constant preoccupation with it to the neglect of its creator, and fear of punishment over even the tiniest particles of it.”

قُلْتُ: صِفْ لِي حَالَةً أَجِدُ الْعُذُوبَةَ بِهَا فِي تَرْكِهَا بِلَا مُكَابَدَةٍ.

Qultu: ṣif lī ḥālatan ʾajidu al-ʿudhūbata bihā fī tarkihā bilā mukābadatin.

I said, “Describe a state through which I can find sweetness in leaving it without struggle.”

قَالَ: بِتَرْكِهَا مُوَافَقَةً لِلّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي تَرْكِهَا، رَجَاءً وَأَمَلًا فِي الْوُصُولِ إِلَى النَّعِيمِ فِي جِوَارِ اللّٰهِ، وَالْأُنْسِ بِقُرْبِهِ.

Qāla: bitarkihā muwāfaqatan li-llāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fī tarkihā, rajāʾan wa-ʾamalan fī al-wuṣūli ʾilā al-naʿīmi fī jiwāri Allāhi, wa-al-ʾunsi biqurbihi.

He said, “By leaving it in accord with God, mighty and majestic, hoping and aspiring to reach bliss in God's presence and the intimacy of nearness to Him.”

قُلْتُ: دُلَّنِي عَلَى حَالَةٍ مِنْ غَيْرِ مَا وَصَفْتَ، تَزِيدُ عَلَى قَدْرِ عِلْمِي، لِيَتَوَحَّشَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا قَلْبِي، وَأَعْلَمَ أَنَّ النَّاسَ مُتَفَاوِتُونَ فِي تَرْكِهَا.

Qultu: dullanī ʿalā ḥālatin min ghayri mā waṣafta, tazīdu ʿalā qadri ʿilmī, liyatawaḥḥasha mina al-dunyā qalbī, wa-ʾaʿlama ʾanna al-nāsa mutafāwitūna fī tarkihā.

I said, “Show me a state beyond what you have described, greater than the measure of my knowledge, so that my heart may recoil from this world and I may know how people differ in leaving it.”

Source pages 239–240

قَالَ: يَا فَتَى، قَلْبٌ قَرَعَهُ التَّنْبِيهُ، فَدَلَّهُ وَأَرَاهُ ذُلَّ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ لَهَا، فَضَنَّ بِنَفْسِهِ عَنْ خِدْمَتِهَا، فَاسْتَحْيَا مِنَ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنْ يَرَاهُ خَادِمًا لَهَا، فَرَمَى بِهَا عَنْ قَلْبِهِ، وَانْقَطَعَ إِلَى خِدْمَةِ سَيِّدِهِ، وَتَعَزَّزَ بِمُلْكِ رَبِّهِ، فَرَحَلَتِ الدُّنْيَا عَنْ قَلْبِهِ،

Qāla: yā fatā, qalbun qaraʿahu al-tanbīhu, fa-dallahu wa-ʾarāhu dhulla al-ʿubūdiyyati lahā, fa-ḍanna binafsihi ʿan khidmatihā, fa-istaḥyā mina Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla ʾan yarāhu khādiman lahā, fa-ramā bihā ʿan qalbihi, wa-inqaṭaʿa ʾilā khidmati sayyidihi, wa-taʿazzaza bimulki rabbihi, fa-raḥalati al-dunyā ʿan qalbihi,

He said, “Young man, consider a heart struck by an awakening that guides it and shows it the humiliation of slavery to this world. He values himself too highly to serve it and feels ashamed before God, mighty and majestic, that He should see him as its servant. He casts it from his heart, devotes himself to serving his Master, and gains strength through his Lord's sovereignty. The world departs from his heart,

Source page 240

إِذْ عَلِمَ أَنَّ فِي خِدْمَتِهِ لَهَا شُغْلًا عَنْ خِدْمَةِ غَيْرِهِ، فَأَلْبَسَهُ اللّٰهُ رِدَاءَ عَمَلِهِ، وَاسْتَغْنَى بِخُرُوجِ خَوْفِ الْفَقْرِ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ، وَنَفَى التَّعَبَ فِي ثُبُوتِ أَسْبَابِ الْحِيلَةِ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ، فَأَعْتَقَهَا مِنْ رِقِّ عُبُودِيَّتِهَا، وَاعْتَزَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ خَادِمًا لَهَا بِعِزَّةِ الْعَزِيزِ الَّذِي أَعَزَّهُ بِالِاعْتِزَازِ عَنْهَا.

ʾIdh ʿalima ʾanna fī khidmatihi lahā shughlan ʿan khidmati ghayrihi, fa-ʾalbasahu Allāhu ridāʾa ʿamalihi, wa-istaghnā bikhurūji khawfi al-faqri min qalbihi, wa-nafā al-taʿaba fī thubūti ʾasbābi al-ḥīlati ʿan nafsihi, fa-ʾaʿtaqahā min riqqi ʿubūdiyyatihā, wa-iʿtazza ʾan yakūna khādiman lahā biʿizzati al-ʿazīzi alladhī ʾaʿazzahu bi-al-iʿtizāzi ʿanhā.

“since he knows that serving it distracts him from serving another [the pronoun's reference is uncertain]. God clothes him in the robe of his action, and he becomes self-sufficient as fear of poverty leaves his heart. He removes from himself the toil of securing the means of resourcefulness, frees his self from bondage to the world, and rises above serving it through the might of the Mighty One, who honors him by making him rise above it.

فَصَارَ غَنِيًّا مِنْ غَيْرِ مَالٍ، وَعَزِيزًا مِنْ غَيْرِ عَشِيرَةٍ، وَجَرَتْ يَنَابِيعُ الْحِكْمَةِ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ، وَنَفَذَتْ بَصِيرَتُهُ، وَسَمَتْ هِمَّتُهُ، وَقَرُبَ مِنْ مَحَبَّتِهِ، وَقَطَعَ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ أَسْبَابَ حِيلَتِهِ، وَوَصَلَ الْوَهْمُ إِلَى مُنْتَهَى مُنْيَتِهِ، فَتَرَاقَى، وَارْتَفَعَ، وَوَصَلَ إِلَى رَوْحِ الْفَرَجِ مِنْ هُمُومِ الْأَطْمَاعِ، وَعَذَابِ الْحِرْصِ.

Fa-ṣāra ghaniyyan min ghayri mālin, wa-ʿazīzan min ghayri ʿashīratin, wa-jarat yanābīʿu al-ḥikmati min qalbihi, wa-nafadhat baṣīratuhu, wa-samat himmatuhu, wa-qaruba min maḥabbatihi, wa-qaṭaʿa ʿan nafsihi ʾasbāba ḥīlatihi, wa-waṣala al-wahmu ʾilā muntahā munyatihi, fa-tarāqā, wa-irtafaʿa, wa-waṣala ʾilā rawḥi al-faraji min humūmi al-ʾaṭmāʿi, wa-ʿadhābi al-ḥirṣi.

“He becomes rich without wealth and powerful without a clan. Springs of wisdom flow from his heart; his insight penetrates, his aspiration rises, and he draws near to His love. He cuts himself off from the means of his own scheming, and his imagination reaches the furthest goal of his desire. He ascends, rises, and reaches the ease of release from the anxieties of covetousness and the torment of greed.”

قُلْتُ: مَا عَلَامَةُ عَذَابِ الْحِرْصِ؟

Qultu: mā ʿalāmatu ʿadhābi al-ḥirṣi?

I asked, “What is the sign of the torment of greed?”

Source pages 240–241

قَالَ: الطَّمَعُ فِيمَا لَا يَسْتَحِقُّهُ، وَاشْتِغَالُ الْقَلْبِ بِمَا لَا يَنَالُهُ كَمَا قَالَ ابْنُ شُبْرُمَةَ:

Qāla: al-ṭamaʿu fīmā lā yastaḥiqquhu, wa-ishtighālu al-qalbi bimā lā yanāluhu kamā qāla Ibnu Shubrumata:

He said, “Coveting what one has no right to and occupying the heart with what one cannot attain, as Ibn Shubruma said:

Source page 241

حَتَّى مَتَى أَنْتَ فِي دُنْيَاكَ مُشْتَغِلٌ وَعَامِلُ اللّٰهِ عَنْ دُنْيَاكَ مَشْغُولٌ

Ḥattā matā ʾanta fī dunyāka mushtaghilun wa-ʿāmilu Allāhi ʿan dunyāka mashghūlun

“How long will you remain absorbed in your world, while the one who works for God is too occupied for your world?”

Source page 242

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٧

Masʾalatun 7

Question 7

فِي بَيَانِ مَا يُفْسِدُ الزُّهْدَ وَفَرْضِ الزُّهْدِ

Fī bayāni mā yufsidu al-zuhda wa-farḍi al-zuhdi

Explaining what corrupts renunciation and the obligation of renunciation

قُلْتُ: مَا الَّذِي يُفْسِدُ الزُّهْدَ؟

Qultu: mā alladhī yufsidu al-zuhda?

I asked, “What corrupts renunciation?”

قَالَ: اسْتِرْوَاحُ النَّفْسِ وَمَيْلُهَا لِرُخَصِ التَّأْوِيلِ مِنْ سَمَاعِ الْعِلْمِ وَالْأَقَاوِيلِ فِي أَخْذِ مَا لَا يَضُرُّ فَقْدُهُ، وَدَوَامُ السَّعْيِ فِي فُضُولِ الْمُبَاحِ، فَوَلَّدَ عَلَيْهِ ذٰلِكَ الرَّغْبَةَ الْخَفِيَّةَ، فَآسَرَ مَحَبَّةَ نَفْسِهِ عَلَى مَحَبَّةِ رَبِّهِ، فَكَدَّرَ عَلَيْهِ الْعَيْشَ فِي زُهْدِهِ،

Qāla: istirwāḥu al-nafsi wa-mayluhā lirukhaṣi al-taʾwīli min samāʿi al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʾaqāwīli fī ʾakhdhi mā lā yaḍurru faqduhu, wa-dawāmu al-saʿyi fī fuḍūli al-mubāḥi, fa-wallada ʿalayhi dhālika al-raghbata al-khafiyyata, fa-ʾāsara maḥabbata nafsihi ʿalā maḥabbati rabbihi, fa-kaddara ʿalayhi al-ʿaysha fī zuhdihi,

He said, “The self's seeking comfort and inclining toward permissive interpretations drawn from hearing learning and sayings about taking things whose absence would cause no harm, and continually pursuing superfluous permissible things. This breeds hidden desire in him, and he ‘takes captive’ love of himself over love of his Lord [the printed verb's sense is uncertain], clouding his life of renunciation.

وَأَخَذَتِ الرُّخْصَةُ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ وَمِنْ مِيرَاثِ زُهْدِهِ بِقَدْرِ مَا رَغِبَ إِلَى فُضُولِهَا، فَوَلَّدَ عَلَيْهِ الْمَسْأَلَةَ فِي قَلْبِهِ، فَغَطَّتْ بَصِيرَةَ الْقَلْبِ، لِأَنَّ إِرَادَةَ الدُّنْيَا ظُلْمَةٌ فِي الْقَلْبِ، وَالزُّهْدُ نُورٌ لِمَنْ صَدَقَ فِي تَأْدِيبِ نَفْسِهِ بِتَرْكِ زِينَةِ الدُّنْيَا الَّتِي لَا يَضُرُّ فَقْدُهَا.

Wa-ʾakhadhati al-rukhṣatu min qalbihi wa-min mīrāthi zuhdihi biqadri mā raghiba ʾilā fuḍūlihā, fa-wallada ʿalayhi al-masʾalata fī qalbihi, fa-ghaṭṭat baṣīrata al-qalbi, li-ʾanna ʾirādata al-dunyā ẓulmatun fī al-qalbi, wa-al-zuhdu nūrun liman ṣadaqa fī taʾdībi nafsihi bitarki zīnati al-dunyā allatī lā yaḍurru faqduhā.

“License takes from his heart and from the fruits of his renunciation in proportion to his desire for superfluities. This breeds asking within his heart, which covers the heart's insight. Desire for this world is darkness in the heart, while renunciation is light for anyone sincere in disciplining his self by leaving the world's adornments whose absence would cause no harm.

فَهٰذَا الْمَعْنَى الَّذِي أَفْسَدَ عَلَيْهِ زُهْدَهُ وَأَوْهَنَهُ، وَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللّٰهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ: «مَنْ أَرَادَ الدُّنْيَا أَضَرَّ بِالْآخِرَةِ، وَمَنْ أَرَادَ الْآخِرَةَ أَضَرَّ بِالدُّنْيَا، فَأَضِرُّوا بِالْفَانِي لِلْبَاقِي».

Fa-hādhā al-maʿnā alladhī ʾafsada ʿalayhi zuhdahu wa-ʾawhanahu, wa-qāla ʿAbdu Allāhi bnu Masʿūdin: «man ʾarāda al-dunyā ʾaḍarra bi-al-ʾākhirati, wa-man ʾarāda al-ʾākhirata ʾaḍarra bi-al-dunyā, fa-ʾaḍirrū bi-al-fānī li-al-bāqī».

“This is what corrupts and weakens his renunciation. ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd said, ‘Whoever desires this world harms the hereafter, and whoever desires the hereafter harms this world. So sacrifice what passes away for what remains.’”

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، الزُّهْدُ فَرْضٌ أَوْ نَافِلَةٌ أَوْ فَضِيلَةٌ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, al-zuhdu farḍun ʾaw nāfilatun ʾaw faḍīlatun?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, is renunciation an obligation, a voluntary practice, or an excellence?”

قَالَ: اخْتَلَفَ النَّاسُ فِي الزُّهْدِ.

Qāla: ikhtalafa al-nāsu fī al-zuhdi.

He said, “People have differed about renunciation.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا الْجَوَابُ عِنْدَكَ؟

Qultu: fa-mā al-jawābu ʿindaka?

I asked, “What is your answer?”

Source page 243

قَالَ: الزُّهْدُ عَلَى وَجْهَيْنِ: فَرْضٌ، وَفَضِيلَةٌ. فَالْفَرْضُ مِنْهُ: تَرْكُ الْحَرَامِ وَرَفْضُهُ، وَأَمَّا الْفَضِيلَةُ فَهُوَ: الزُّهْدُ فِي الْحَلَالِ. وَهُوَ قَوْلُ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الْبَصْرِيِّ وَغَيْرِهِ.

Qāla: al-zuhdu ʿalā wajhayni: farḍun, wa-faḍīlatun. Fa-al-farḍu minhu: tarku al-ḥarāmi wa-rafḍuhu, wa-ʾammā al-faḍīlatu fa-huwa: al-zuhdu fī al-ḥalāli. Wa-huwa qawlu al-Ḥasani bni ʾAbī al-Ḥasani al-Baṣriyyi wa-ghayrihi.

He said, “Renunciation has two forms: obligation and excellence. Its obligatory form is leaving and rejecting what is forbidden. Its excellent form is renouncing what is lawful. This is the view of al-Ḥasan ibn Abī al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and others.

وَبَلَغَنِي أَنَّ أَبَا بَرْزَةَ الْأَسْلَمِيَّ قَالَ أَيَّامَ الْجَمَلِ: «اللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّي أَصْبَحْتُ عَاتِبًا عَلَى أَحْيَاءِ قُرَيْشٍ كُلِّهَا، أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ يُرِيدُونَ الدُّنْيَا، وَأَهْلُ الْعِرَاقِ يُرِيدُونَ الدُّنْيَا، وَأَهْلُ الشَّامِ يُرِيدُونَ الدُّنْيَا، وَاللّٰهِ مَا أَعْلَمُ عِصَابَةً خَيْرًا مِنْ عِصَابَةٍ أَصْبَحَتْ مُلَبَّدَةً رُؤُوسُهُمْ، خَمِيصَةً بُطُونُهُمْ، خَفِيفَةً ظُهُورُهُمْ مِنْ دِمَاءِ النَّاسِ وَأَمْوَالِهِمْ».

Wa-balaghanī ʾanna ʾAbā Barzata al-ʾAslamiyya qāla ʾayyāma al-Jamali: «Allāhumma ʾinnī ʾaṣbaḥtu ʿātiban ʿalā ʾaḥyāʾi Qurayshin kullihā, ʾahlu al-Madīnati yurīdūna al-dunyā, wa-ʾahlu al-ʿIrāqi yurīdūna al-dunyā, wa-ʾahlu al-Shāmi yurīdūna al-dunyā, wa-Allāhi mā ʾaʿlamu ʿiṣābatan khayran min ʿiṣābatin ʾaṣbaḥat mulabbadatan ruʾūsuhum, khamīṣatan buṭūnuhum, khafīfatan ẓuhūruhum min dimāʾi al-nāsi wa-ʾamwālihim».

“I have received the report that Abū Barza al-Aslamī said during the days of the Camel: ‘O God, I have come to reproach all the clans of Quraysh. The people of Medina want this world, the people of Iraq want this world, and the people of Syria want this world. By God, I know no group better than a group whose heads are matted, whose bellies are empty, and whose backs bear little burden of people's blood and property.’”

Source page 244

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٨

Masʾalatun 8

Question 8

فِي بَيَانِ الزُّهْدِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ

Fī bayāni al-zuhdi fī al-ḥayāti

Explaining renunciation of life

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، فَيَكُونُ زُهْدٌ فِي غَيْرِ الْمَطْعَمِ وَالْمَشْرَبِ وَالْمَلْبَسِ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, fa-yakūnu zuhdun fī ghayri al-maṭʿami wa-al-mashrabi wa-al-malbasi?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, can renunciation concern something other than food, drink, and clothing?”

قَالَ: نَعَمْ، الزُّهْدُ فِي الْحَيَاةِ.

Qāla: naʿam, al-zuhdu fī al-ḥayāti.

He said, “Yes: renunciation of life.”

قُلْتُ: وَكَيْفَ ذٰلِكَ؟

Qultu: wa-kayfa dhālika?

I asked, “How is that?”

قَالَ: تَبَرُّمًا بِالدُّنْيَا، وَبِالْبَقَاءِ فِيهَا، وَالنَّظَرِ إِلَى أَهْلِهَا وَأَبْنَائِهَا فِي دَارِ الْعَاصِينَ، وَحُبَّ الْقُدُومِ عَلَى اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَرَغْبَةً فِي جِوَارِهِ مَعَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ.

Qāla: tabarruman bi-al-dunyā, wa-bi-al-baqāʾi fīhā, wa-al-naẓari ʾilā ʾahlihā wa-ʾabnāʾihā fī dāri al-ʿāṣīna, wa-ḥubba al-qudūmi ʿalā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-raghbatan fī jiwārihi maʿa al-muqarrabīna.

He said, “Through weariness with this world, with remaining in it, and with looking upon its people and children in the abode of the disobedient; love of coming before God, mighty and majestic; and longing to dwell near Him with those brought close.”

قُلْتُ: قُلْ لِي فِيهِ قَوْلًا يَبْلُغُهُ فَهْمِي، وَيَحْتَمِلُهُ عَقْلِي، وَيَقْوَى بِهِ إِيمَانِي، وَيَضْبِطُهُ قَلْبِي، وَتَقُومُ بِهِ جَوَارِحِي.

Qultu: qul lī fīhi qawlan yablughuhu fahmī, wa-yaḥtamiluhu ʿaqlī, wa-yaqwā bihi ʾīmānī, wa-yaḍbiṭuhu qalbī, wa-taqūmu bihi jawāriḥī.

I said, “Tell me something about it that my understanding can grasp and my intellect can bear, that will strengthen my faith, that my heart can hold fast, and that my limbs can carry out.”

قَالَ: احْمِلْ نَفْسَكَ عَلَى مَا قَامَتْ بِهِ الرَّغْبَةُ، وَنَدَبَ إِلَيْهِ الْعِلْمُ، وَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِمَّنْ يُحَدِّثُ نَفْسَهُ بِالْفَتْرَةِ.

Qāla: iḥmil nafsaka ʿalā mā qāmat bihi al-raghbatu, wa-nadaba ʾilayhi al-ʿilmu, wa-lā takūnanna mimman yuḥaddithu nafsahu bi-al-fatrati.

He said, “Urge your self toward what longing sustains and knowledge commends. Do not be among those who entertain thoughts of slackness.”

قُلْتُ: فَبِمَ أَبْتَدِئُ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ؟

Qultu: fa-bima ʾabtadiʾu min dhālika?

I asked, “Where should I begin?”

قَالَ: بِتَرْكِ الشَّهَوَاتِ لِتَسْتَرِيحَ مِنْ ضَرَرِهَا، وَتُلْزِمَ قَلْبَكَ قَنَاعَةَ الْمُتَخَلِّصِ بِنَفْسِهِ مِنْ آفَاتِهَا.

Qāla: bitarki al-shahawāti litastarīḥa min ḍararihā, wa-tulzima qalbaka qanāʿata al-mutakhalliṣi binafsihi min ʾāfātihā.

He said, “By abandoning appetites so that you may find relief from their harm, and by binding your heart to the contentment of one who frees himself from their afflictions.”

Source page 245

قُلْتُ: شَيْءٌ غَيْرُ هٰذَا؟

Qultu: shayʾun ghayru hādhā?

I asked, “Anything else?”

قَالَ: خَلْعُ الرَّاحَةِ، وَبَذْلُ الْمَجْهُودِ.

Qāla: khalʿu al-rāḥati, wa-badhlu al-majhūdi.

He said, “Casting off comfort and giving all your effort.”

Source page 246

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٩

Masʾalatun 9

Question 9

فِي الزُّهْدِ فِي النَّاسِ وَحُبِّ الْمَنْزِلَةِ وَالرِّئَاسَةِ وَالشَّرَفِ وَبَيَانِ تَفَاوُتِ النَّاسِ فِي الزُّهْدِ

Fī al-zuhdi fī al-nāsi wa-ḥubbi al-manzilati wa-al-riʾāsati wa-al-sharafi wa-bayāni tafāwuti al-nāsi fī al-zuhdi

Renouncing people and the love of standing, leadership, and distinction, and explaining differences in renunciation

قُلْتُ: إِذَا اسْتَوْطَنَتِ الْمَعْرِفَةُ قُلُوبَ الْعَارِفِينَ بِتَرْكِ الدُّنْيَا، هَلْ يَحْتَاجُونَ إِلَى أَنْ يَزْهَدُوا فِي غَيْرِهَا؟

Qultu: ʾidhā istawṭanati al-maʿrifatu qulūba al-ʿārifīna bitarki al-dunyā, hal yaḥtājūna ʾilā ʾan yazhadū fī ghayrihā?

I asked, “When knowledge has settled in the hearts of those who know God through leaving this world, do they need to renounce anything else?”

قَالَ: نَعَمْ، الزُّهْدُ فِي النَّاسِ وَالْمَنْزِلَةِ وَالرِّئَاسَةِ، وَفِي إِقَامَةِ الْجَاهِ وَالشَّرَفِ، وَاخْتِيَارُ التَّوَاضُعِ، وَالْفِرَارُ مِنْ حُبِّ الدُّنْيَا، وَلُزُومُ قِصَرِ الْأَمَلِ، وَمِلَاكُ هٰذَا الْأَمْرِ: الْخُمُولُ، وَتَلْبِيسُ الظَّاهِرِ، وَإِظْهَارُ أَخْلَاقِ التَّوَسُّطِ فِي الْإِيمَانِ، وَالدُّخُولُ فِي جُمْلَةِ الْعَامَّةِ، لِيَسْتُرَ مَذْهَبَهُ، وَيُخْفِيَ زُهْدَهُ، وَيُخْفِيَ أَنَّهُ مِمَّنْ يُخْفِي زُهْدَهُ.

Qāla: naʿam, al-zuhdu fī al-nāsi wa-al-manzilati wa-al-riʾāsati, wa-fī ʾiqāmati al-jāhi wa-al-sharafi, wa-ikhtiyāru al-tawāḍuʿi, wa-al-firāru min ḥubbi al-dunyā, wa-luzūmu qiṣari al-ʾamali, wa-milāku hādhā al-ʾamri: al-khumūlu, wa-talbīsu al-ẓāhiri, wa-ʾiẓhāru ʾakhlāqi al-tawassuṭi fī al-ʾīmāni, wa-al-dukhūlu fī jumlati al-ʿāmmati, liyastura madh-habahu, wa-yukhfiya zuhdahu, wa-yukhfiya ʾannahu mimman yukhfī zuhdahu.

He said, “Yes: renouncing people, standing, leadership, and the cultivation of influence and distinction; choosing humility; fleeing the love of this world; and keeping hopes short. The key to all this is obscurity, disguising one's outward appearance, displaying the character of someone of middling faith, and joining the common people, so as to conceal one's way, hide one's renunciation, and even hide the fact that one hides one's renunciation.”

فَعِنْدَهَا يَتَبَرَّمُ بِالدُّنْيَا وَالْحَيَاةِ، وَتَضِيقُ عَلَيْهِ الدُّنْيَا، يَخْتَارُ الْوَحْدَةَ، وَيَتَوَحَّشُ مِنْ مُعَاشَرَةِ الْبَطَّالِينَ، وَيَأْنَسُ بِرَوْحِ مُوَافَقَةِ الزَّاهِدِينَ.

Fa-ʿindahā yatabarramu bi-al-dunyā wa-al-ḥayāti, wa-taḍīqu ʿalayhi al-dunyā, yakhtāru al-waḥdata, wa-yatawaḥḥashu min muʿāsharati al-baṭṭālīna, wa-yaʾnasu birawḥi muwāfaqati al-zāhidīna.

“Then he becomes weary of the world and life, and the world feels narrow to him. He chooses solitude, recoils from the company of the idle, and finds intimacy in the relief of being in accord with those who renounce the world.”

قُلْتُ: كَيْفَ يَتَفَاوَتُ النَّاسُ فِي الزُّهْدِ؟

Qultu: kayfa yatafāwatu al-nāsu fī al-zuhdi?

I asked, “How do people differ in renunciation?”

Source page 247

قَالَ: عَلَى قَدْرِ صِحَّةِ الْعُقُولِ، وَتَوَحُّشِ الدُّنْيَا فِي الْقُلُوبِ، وَقُوَّةِ الْعِلْمِ الَّذِي يَبْعَثُ عَلَى الْهُجُومِ عَلَى الْعُزُوفِ عَنِ الدُّنْيَا، وَعَلَى قَدْرِ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ بِسُوءِ عَوَاقِبِهَا، وَسُرْعَةِ فَنَائِهَا، وَكَثْرَةِ ضَرَرِهَا، وَفَسَادِ عِلَلِهَا، وَعَلَى قَدْرِ مَا اسْتَوْلَى عَلَى الْقُلُوبِ مِنَ الْهَيْبَةِ لِلّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِيمَا حَذَّرَ مِنْهَا، وَعَلَى قَدْرِ قِصَرِ الْأَمَلِ فِيهَا.

Qāla: ʿalā qadri ṣiḥḥati al-ʿuqūli, wa-tawaḥḥushi al-dunyā fī al-qulūbi, wa-quwwati al-ʿilmi alladhī yabʿathu ʿalā al-hujūmi ʿalā al-ʿuzūfi ʿani al-dunyā, wa-ʿalā qadri maʿrifatihim bisūʾi ʿawāqibihā, wa-surʿati fanāʾihā, wa-kathrati ḍararihā, wa-fasādi ʿilalihā, wa-ʿalā qadri mā istawlā ʿalā al-qulūbi mina al-haybati li-llāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fīmā ḥadhdhara minhā, wa-ʿalā qadri qiṣari al-ʾamali fīhā.

He said, “In proportion to the soundness of their intellects, the estrangement of the world within their hearts, and the strength of the knowledge that drives them to turn decisively away from it; in proportion to their knowledge of its evil consequences, its swift passing, its great harm, and its corrupt motives; in proportion to the awe of God, mighty and majestic, that takes hold of their hearts concerning what He warns against in it; and in proportion to the shortness of their hopes within it.”

قُلْتُ: وَمَا تَصْحِيحُ مَا وَصَفْتَ مِنْ تَفَاوُتِهِمْ؟

Qultu: wa-mā taṣḥīḥu mā waṣafta min tafāwutihim?

I asked, “What establishes the differences you have described?”

قَالَ: تَفَاوُتُ الزَّاهِدِينَ عَلَى قَدْرِ صِحَّةِ الْعُقُولِ، وَطَهَارَةِ الْقُلُوبِ. فَأَفْضَلُهُمْ: أَعْقَلُهُمْ، وَأَعْقَلُهُمْ أَفْهَمُهُمْ عَنِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَأَفْهَمُهُمْ عَنِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: أَخْوَفُهُمْ مِنَ اللّٰهِ، وَأَخْوَفُهُمْ مِنَ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى: أَحْسَنُهُمْ قَبُولًا عَنِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَأَحْسَنُهُمْ قَبُولًا عَنِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: أَسْرَعُهُمْ إِلَى مَا دَعَا اللّٰهُ إِلَيْهِ، وَأَسْرَعُهُمْ إِلَى مَا دَعَا اللّٰهُ إِلَيْهِ أَزْهَدُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَأَزْهَدُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا: أَرْغَبُهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ.

Qāla: tafāwutu al-zāhidīna ʿalā qadri ṣiḥḥati al-ʿuqūli, wa-ṭahārati al-qulūbi. Fa-ʾafḍaluhum: ʾaʿqaluhum, wa-ʾaʿqaluhum ʾafhamuhum ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-ʾafhamuhum ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla: ʾakhwafuhum mina Allāhi, wa-ʾakhwafuhum mina Allāhi taʿālā: ʾaḥsanuhum qabūlan ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-ʾaḥsanuhum qabūlan ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla: ʾasraʿuhum ʾilā mā daʿā Allāhu ʾilayhi, wa-ʾasraʿuhum ʾilā mā daʿā Allāhu ʾilayhi ʾazhaduhum fī al-dunyā, wa-ʾazhaduhum fī al-dunyā: ʾarghabuhum fī al-ʾākhirati.

He said, “Those who renounce the world differ according to the soundness of their intellects and the purity of their hearts. The best of them has the greatest understanding; the one with the greatest understanding best understands what comes from God, mighty and majestic. The one who best understands what comes from God, mighty and majestic, fears God most. The one who most fears God Most High is most receptive to God, mighty and majestic. The one most receptive to God, mighty and majestic, is quickest to what God calls him to. The one quickest to what God calls him to renounces this world most fully, and the one who renounces this world most fully desires the hereafter most strongly.

فَمِنْ ثَمَّ تَفَاوَتُوا فِي الْعُقُولِ.

Fa-min thamma tafāwatū fī al-ʿuqūli.

“This is how they differ in intellect.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا غَايَةُ الزُّهْدِ؟

Qultu: fa-mā ghāyatu al-zuhdi?

I asked, “What is the furthest reach of renunciation?”

قَالَ: الزُّهْدُ مُتَفَاوِتٌ فِي قُلُوبِ الزَّاهِدِينَ. فَكُلُّ رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ زُهْدُهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَعْرِفَتِهِ، وَمَعْرِفَتُهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ عَقْلِهِ، وَعَقْلُهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ إِيمَانِهِ.

Qāla: al-zuhdu mutafāwitun fī qulūbi al-zāhidīna. Fa-kullu rajulin minhum zuhduhu ʿalā qadri maʿrifatihi, wa-maʿrifatuhu ʿalā qadri ʿaqlihi, wa-ʿaqluhu ʿalā qadri ʾīmānihi.

He said, “Renunciation differs within the hearts of those who practice it. Each one's renunciation is in proportion to his knowledge, his knowledge to his intellect, and his intellect to his faith.

فَرَجُلٌ اسْتَوْلَى عَلَى قَلْبِهِ وَهَمِّهِ كَشْفُ عِلْمِ الْآخِرَةِ، وَنَبَّهَهُ التَّصْدِيقُ عَلَى الْقُدُومِ عَلَيْهَا، وَتَبَيَّنَ لِقَلْبِهِ عَوَارُ الدُّنْيَا، وَدَلَّتْهُ بَصَائِرُ الْهُدَى عَلَى سُوءِ عَوَاقِبِهَا، وَمَحَبَّةِ اخْتِيَارِ اللّٰهِ عَلَى تَرْكِهَا، وَمُوَافَقَةِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي الْعُزُوفِ عَنْهَا، فَرَحَلَتِ الدُّنْيَا عَنْ قَلْبِ هٰذَا الْمُوَفَّقِ.

Fa-rajulun istawlā ʿalā qalbihi wa-hammihi kashfu ʿilmi al-ʾākhirati, wa-nabbahahu al-taṣdīqu ʿalā al-qudūmi ʿalayhā, wa-tabayyana liqalbihi ʿawāru al-dunyā, wa-dallat-hu baṣāʾiru al-hudā ʿalā sūʾi ʿawāqibihā, wa-maḥabbati ikhtiyāri Allāhi ʿalā tarkihā, wa-muwāfaqati Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fī al-ʿuzūfi ʿanhā, fa-raḥalati al-dunyā ʿan qalbi hādhā al-muwaffaqi.

“There is a person whose heart and concern are taken over by the unveiling of knowledge of the hereafter. Belief awakens him to his coming arrival there. The world's defect becomes clear to his heart, and the insights of guidance show him its evil consequences, love for God's choice concerning leaving it [the wording is uncertain], and accord with God, mighty and majestic, in turning away from it. The world departs from the heart of this person granted success.”