2. Questions Concerning Zuhd and Other Matters by Al Muhasibi Part 2

الْمَسَائِلُ فِي الزُّهْدِ وَغَيْرِهِ

Al-Masāʾilu fī al-Zuhdi wa-Ghayrihi

Questions Concerning Zuhd and Other Matters

الْحَارِثُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ

Al-Ḥārithu bnu ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyu

Al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī

Source page 24

الرِّيَاءُ وَالْوَسْوَسَةُ

Al-riyāʾu wa-al-waswasatu

Ostentation and whispering

قُلْتُ: الرِّيَاءُ الَّذِي قَلِيلُهُ شِرْكٌ مَا هُوَ؟ وَمَا الرِّيَاءُ الَّذِي لَيْسَ بِشِرْكٍ؟

Qultu: al-riyāʾu alladhī qalīluhu shirkun mā huwa? Wa-mā al-riyāʾu alladhī laysa bishirkin?

I asked: “What is the ostentation of which even a little is associating partners with God? And what ostentation does not amount to that?”

Source page 25

قَالَ: أَمَّا الَّذِي قَلِيلُهُ شِرْكٌ، فَهُوَ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ الْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ فِعْلِهِ مَا لَا يَرْغَبُ بِهِ فِي ثَوَابِ اللَّهِ، وَلَا يَرْهَبُ مِنْ عِقَابِهِ، وَيُسِرَّ فِي نَفْسِهِ الْعِبَادَةَ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ، وَيُظْهِرَ لِلنَّاسِ أَنَّهُ يَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ.

Qāla: ʾammā alladhī qalīluhu shirkun, fa-huwa ʾan yuẓhira al-ʾinsānu min fiʿlihi mā lā yarghabu bihi fī thawābi Allāhi, wa-lā yarhabu min ʿiqābihi, wa-yusirra fī nafsihi al-ʿibādata lighayri Allāhi, wa-yuẓhira li-al-nāsi ʾannahu yaʿbudu Allāha.

He said: “The kind of which even a little is association is displaying deeds through which one neither desires God’s reward nor fears His punishment, while inwardly reserving worship for someone other than God and showing people that one worships God.

فَهَذَا هُوَ الَّذِي قَلِيلُهُ شِرْكٌ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ فِي سِرِّهِ، وَيُرِى أَنَّهُ يَعْبُدُهُ فِي جَهْرِهِ، وَهُوَ مِنْ صِفَةِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ.

Fa-hādhā huwa alladhī qalīluhu shirkun, li-ʾannahu lā yaʿbudu Allāha fī sirrihi, wa-yurī ʾannahu yaʿbuduhu fī jahrihi, wa-huwa min ṣifati al-munāfiqīna.

This is the kind of which even a little is association: inwardly he does not worship God, while outwardly he gives the appearance of worshipping Him. This is a characteristic of hypocrites.

وَأَمَّا الرِّيَاءُ الَّذِي لَيْسَ بِشِرْكٍ، وَصَاحِبُهُ قَائِمٌ عَلَيْهِ، فَهُوَ رِيَاءُ أَهْلِ التَّوْحِيدِ، الَّذِينَ وَحَّدُوا اللَّهَ فِي السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ.

Wa-ʾammā al-riyāʾu alladhī laysa bishirkin, wa-ṣāḥibuhu qāʾimun ʿalayhi, fa-huwa riyāʾu ʾahli al-tawḥīdi, alladhīna waḥḥadū Allāha fī al-sirri wa-al-ʿalāniyati.

The ostentation that is not association, though its practitioner persists in it, is the ostentation of those who affirm God’s oneness inwardly and outwardly.

وَالرِّيَاءُ مِنْهُمْ، أَنَّهُمْ أَظْهَرُوا الْخَيْرَ لَا لِرَغْبَةٍ فِي ثَوَابِ الْآخِرَةِ، غَيْرَ أَنَّهُمْ رَغِبُوا فِيمَا فِي أَيْدِي غَيْرِهِمْ، وَنَظَرُوا إِلَى النَّاسِ يُعَظِّمُونَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا، وَيُثِيبُونَ عَلَى التُّقَى، فَأَظْهَرُوا مَا يَرْجُونَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ النَّاسِ الثَّوَابَ.

Wa-al-riyāʾu minhum, ʾannahum ʾaẓharū al-khayra lā liraghbatin fī thawābi al-ʾākhirati, ghayra ʾannahum raghibū fīmā fī ʾaydī ghayrihim, wa-naẓarū ʾilā al-nāsi yuʿaẓẓimūna baʿḍuhum baʿḍan, wa-yuthībūna ʿalā al-tuqā, fa-ʾaẓharū mā yarjūna ʿalayhi mina al-nāsi al-thawāba.

Their ostentation consists in displaying goodness without seeking reward in the hereafter. Rather, they desire what others possess. They see people honoring one another and rewarding piety, so they display what they hope people will reward.

وَقَدْ سُئِلَ حَكِيمٌ مِنَ الْحُكَمَاءِ: لِمَ رَاءَى النَّاسُ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا؟ فَقَالَ: «مِنْ حَاجَةِ بَعْضِهِمْ لِبَعْضٍ».

Wa-qad suʾila ḥakīmun mina al-ḥukamāʾi: lima rāʾā al-nāsu baʿḍuhum baʿḍan? Fa-qāla: «min ḥājati baʿḍihim libaʿḍin».

A sage was asked: ‘Why do people make a show for one another?’ He replied: ‘Because they need one another.’

وَمِنْ فَضْلِ الرَّجُلِ إِذَا رَاءَى رَجُلًا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ رَاءَاهُ بِمِثْلِ مَذْهَبِهِ، إِنْ كَانَ الدِّينُ مَذْهَبَهُ رَاءَاهُ بِالدِّينِ، وَإِنْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا مَذْهَبَهُ رَاءَاهُ بِهَا، وَإِنْ كَانَتِ الْمَلَاهِي مَذْهَبَهُ فَمَا يُرَائِي.

Wa-min faḍli al-rajuli ʾidhā rāʾā rajulan yaḥtāju ʾilayhi rāʾāhu bimithli madh-habihi, ʾin kāna al-dīnu madh-habahu rāʾāhu bi-al-dīni, wa-ʾin kānati al-dunyā madh-habahu rāʾāhu bihā, wa-ʾin kānati al-malāhī madh-habahu fa-mā yurāʾī.

It is ‘among a man’s accomplishments’ [the printed expression is unusual] that, when he makes a show for someone he needs, he matches that person’s way: if his way is religion, he makes a show of religion; if it is the world, he makes a show of that; and if his way is amusements, ‘he does not make a show’ [the printed conclusion is uncertain].

فَأَهْلُ الدُّنْيَا بِالدُّنْيَا يُرَاؤُونَ، وَأَهْلُ الدِّينِ بِالدِّينِ يُرَاؤُونَ.

Fa-ʾahlu al-dunyā bi-al-dunyā yurāʾūna, wa-ʾahlu al-dīni bi-al-dīni yurāʾūna.

Worldly people make a show through worldly things, and religious people through religion.

فَمَنِ احْتَاجَ إِلَى عَبْدٍ، فَعَظُمَتْ رَغْبَتُهُ فِيمَا فِي يَدَيْهِ، رَاءَاهُ بِأَحَبِّ الْأَشْيَاءِ إِلَيْهِ.

Fa-mani iḥtāja ʾilā ʿabdin, fa-ʿaẓumat raghbatuhu fīmā fī yadayhi, rāʾāhu bi-ʾaḥabbi al-ʾashyāʾi ʾilayhi.

Whoever needs a servant of God and intensely desires what he possesses makes a show for him of whatever that person loves most.

وَمَنْ أَظْهَرَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الدِّينِ لَا يُرِيدُ بِهِ ثَوَابَ الْآخِرَةِ، وَإِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ بِهِ أَنْ يَطْمَئِنَّ النَّاسُ إِلَيْهِ وَيَظْهَرَ لِبَاسُ الدِّينِ عَلَيْهِ، يَتَجَمَّلُ بِمَا يُظْهِرُ مِنْ حُسْنِ فَعَالِهِ، وَيَتَجَنَّبُ أَنْ يَصْغُرَ بِأَقْبَحِ أَعْمَالِهِ، فَهَذَا مُرَاءٍ لَيْسَ رِيَاؤُهُ بِشِرْكٍ.

Wa-man ʾaẓhara shayʾan mina al-dīni lā yurīdu bihi thawāba al-ʾākhirati, wa-ʾinnamā yurīdu bihi ʾan yaṭmaʾinna al-nāsu ʾilayhi wa-yaẓhara libāsu al-dīni ʿalayhi, yatajammalu bimā yuẓhiru min ḥusni faʿālihi, wa-yatajannabu ʾan yaṣghura bi-ʾaqbaḥi ʾaʿmālihi, fa-hādhā murāʾin laysa riyāʾuhu bishirkin.

Someone may display a religious practice without seeking reward in the hereafter, wanting only people to trust him and the garment of religion to appear upon him. He adorns himself with the good conduct he displays and avoids being diminished by his ugliest deeds. This person is ostentatious, but his ostentation is not association.”

قُلْتُ: الرَّجُلُ يَعْمَلُ الْعَمَلَ يُرِيدُ بِهِ الْآخِرَةَ، وَيَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ فِي السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ، غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَظْهَرَ عَلَيْهِ، وَيُنْسَبَ حُسْنُ الْفِعْلِ إِلَيْهِ، أَكُنْ هَذَا مُرَائِيًا؟

Qultu: al-rajulu yaʿmalu al-ʿamala yurīdu bihi al-ʾākhirata, wa-yaʿbudu Allāha fī al-sirri wa-al-ʿalāniyati, ghayra ʾannahu yuḥibbu ʾan yaẓhara ʿalayhi, wa-yunsaba ḥusnu al-fiʿli ʾilayhi, ʾakun hādhā murāʾiyan?

I asked: “A man performs a deed seeking the hereafter and worships God privately and publicly, but likes it to be visible and the good action attributed to him. Is this person ostentatious? [The printed أكن is irregular.]”

قَالَ: النَّاسُ فِي هَذَا ضُرُوبٌ شَتَّى: فَمِنْهُمْ عَالِمٌ، وَمِنْهُمْ جَاهِلٌ.

Qāla: al-nāsu fī hādhā ḍurūbun shattā: fa-minhum ʿālimun, wa-minhum jāhilun.

He said: “People fall into various categories here: some are knowledgeable, others ignorant.

فَإِذَا كَانَ عَالِمًا، فَإِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ أَفْعَالَهُ لِيَقْتَدِيَ بِهَا أَمْثَالُهُ، وَيَظْهَرَ عَلَيْهِ لِبَاسُ التَّقْوَى، فَيَدْعُوَ النَّاسَ إِلَى مَا يَظْهَرُ مِنْ فَعَالِهِ، مَعَ مَا يَظْهَرُ مِنْ مَقَالِهِ، فَهَذَا عَالِمٌ، وَقَدْ أَحْسَنَ وَأَصَابَ إِذَا أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَظْهَرَ عَلَيْهِ لِبَاسُ الدُّعَاءِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَلَيْسَ كَمَا رَغِبَ غَيْرُهُ.

Fa-ʾidhā kāna ʿāliman, fa-ʾinnamā yurīdu ʾan yuẓhira ʾafʿālahu liyaqtadiya bihā ʾamthāluhu, wa-yaẓhara ʿalayhi libāsu al-taqwā, fa-yadʿuwa al-nāsa ʾilā mā yaẓharu min faʿālihi, maʿa mā yaẓharu min maqālihi, fa-hādhā ʿālimun, wa-qad ʾaḥsana wa-ʾaṣāba ʾidhā ʾaḥabba ʾan yaẓhara ʿalayhi libāsu al-duʿāʾi ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā, wa-laysa kamā raghiba ghayruhu.

If he is knowledgeable, he wants to make his deeds visible so that people like him will follow them and the garment of piety will appear upon him. He calls people toward the conduct he displays, together with what he says. Such a person is knowledgeable and has acted well and rightly when he wishes the garment of calling to God Most High to appear upon him. His desire is unlike another’s.

فَعَلَى الْعَالِمِ أَنْ يُحِبَّ أَنْ يُعَظَّمَ، وَلَا يُسْتَخَفَّ بِهِ إِذَا تَكَلَّمَ، أَنْ يُعَظَّمَ لَا لِيَحْمِلَ النَّاسَ عَلَى دُنْيَاهُمْ، وَلَكِنْ لِيَكُونُوا أَقْبَلَ مِنْهُ إِذَا دَعَاهُمْ إِلَى مَا يُحْيِيهِمْ مِنْ دِينِ اللَّهِ.

Fa-ʿalā al-ʿālimi ʾan yuḥibba ʾan yuʿaẓẓama, wa-lā yustakhaffa bihi ʾidhā takallama, ʾan yuʿaẓẓama lā liyaḥmila al-nāsa ʿalā dunyāhum, wa-lākin liyakūnū ʾaqbala minhu ʾidhā daʿāhum ʾilā mā yuḥyīhim min dīni Allāhi.

The knowledgeable person should want to be respected and not treated lightly when he speaks. He seeks respect not to direct people toward their worldly interests, but so that they are more receptive when he calls them to what gives them life in God’s religion.

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وَآخَرُ لَيْسَ مَقَامُهُ مَقَامَ دَاعٍ إِلَى اللَّهِ، لَا يُعْرَفُ بِالدُّعَاءِ، وَلَكِنَّهُ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ طَاعَتَهُ لِلَّهِ، لِأَنْ يُنِيلَهُ النَّاسُ مِنْ دُنْيَاهُمْ، فَقَدْ حَلَّ بِهِ الضَّعْفُ لِسُوءِ إِرَادَتِهِ.

Wa-ʾākharu laysa maqāmuhu maqāma dāʿin ʾilā Allāhi, lā yuʿrafu bi-al-duʿāʾi, wa-lākinnahu yuḥibbu ʾan yuẓhira ṭāʿatahu li-llāhi, li-ʾan yunīlahu al-nāsu min dunyāhum, fa-qad ḥalla bihi al-ḍaʿfu lisūʾi ʾirādatihi.

Another does not occupy the station of one who calls to God and is not known for doing so. He likes to display his obedience to God so that people will give him some of their worldly goods. Weakness has overtaken him because of his bad intention.

وَآخَرُ رَسَخَتْ مِنْهُ الطَّاعَةُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى رَغْبَةً مِنْهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ فِي ثَوَابِهَا، وَالرَّهْبَةُ مِنَ الْمَعْصِيَةِ خَوْفَ عِقَابِهَا، صَحَّ مِنْهُ السِّرُّ وَالْجَهْرُ فِي عِلْمِهِ.

Wa-ʾākharu rasakhat minhu al-ṭāʿatu li-llāhi taʿālā raghbatan minhu ʾilā Allāhi fī thawābihā, wa-al-rahbatu mina al-maʿṣiyati khawfa ʿiqābihā, ṣaḥḥa minhu al-sirru wa-al-jahru fī ʿilmihi.

Another is firmly established in obedience to God Most High out of desire for its reward from God, and in dread of disobedience out of fear of its punishment. His inward and outward conduct are sound in his knowledge.

غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ يَذْكُرُ أَنَّهُ إِذَا نَظَرَ النَّاسُ إِلَيْهِ، وَعَطَفُوا عَلَيْهِ، سَرَّهُ ذَلِكَ، لِأَنَّ حَوَائِجَهُ عِنْدَهُمْ حِينَئِذٍ مَقْضِيَّةٌ. وَإِنْ قُضِيَتْ حَاجَتُهُ، وَأُعْطِىَ عَلَى مَسْأَلَتِهِ لِمَا يَظْهَرُ عِنْدَهُمْ مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ ازْدَادَ لِلَّهِ طَاعَةً، وَعِنْدَ تَعْظِيمِ النَّاسِ لَهُ عَلَى طَاعَتِهِ ازْدَادَ اسْتِكَانَةً، لَيْسَ بِمُسْتَطِيلٍ فِي طَاعَتِهِ.

Ghayra ʾannahu yadhkuru ʾannahu ʾidhā naẓara al-nāsu ʾilayhi, wa-ʿaṭafū ʿalayhi, sarrahu dhālika, li-ʾanna ḥawāʾijahu ʿindahum ḥīnaʾidhin maqḍiyyatun. Wa-ʾin quḍiyat ḥājatuhu, wa-ʾuʿṭiya ʿalā masʾalatihi limā yaẓharu ʿindahum mina al-ṭāʿati izdāda li-llāhi ṭāʿatan, wa-ʿinda taʿẓīmi al-nāsi lahu ʿalā ṭāʿatihi izdāda istikānatan, laysa bimustaṭīlin fī ṭāʿatihi.

Yet he thinks that, when people notice him and treat him kindly, this pleases him because his needs will then be met by them. If his need is met and his request granted because of the obedience they see, he increases in obedience to God. When people honor him for his obedience, he grows more humble, without using his obedience to assert superiority.

وَآخَرُ إِذَا رَأَى تَعْظِيمَ النَّاسِ لَهُ فِي طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ جَدَّ فِيهَا، وَسُرَّ بِمَا يَرَى مِنْ تَعْظِيمِ النَّاسِ عَلَيْهَا، لَيْسَ يُرِيدُ بِحُبِّهِ إِلَّا مَا يُرِيدُ مِنْ تَعْظِيمِ النَّاسِ عَلَى الدِّينِ.

Wa-ʾākharu ʾidhā raʾā taʿẓīma al-nāsi lahu fī ṭāʿati Allāhi jadda fīhā, wa-surra bimā yarā min taʿẓīmi al-nāsi ʿalayhā, laysa yurīdu biḥubbihi ʾillā mā yurīdu min taʿẓīmi al-nāsi ʿalā al-dīni.

Another, seeing people honor him for obedience to God, becomes more earnest in it and is pleased with their honoring him for it. In his love of this, he desires only the honor people accord on account of religion.

وَقَدْ يَكُونُ أَنْ يَصِحَّ الْعَبْدُ فِي طَاعَتِهِ، وَهُوَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُعَظِّمَ أَمَانَتَهُ، فَيُلْبِسَهُ رَبُّهُ السِّتْرَ، وَيَظْهَرَ مِنْهُ حُسْنُ الْفِعْلِ، لِيَكُونَ قَوْلُهُ مَسْمُوعًا، وَفِعْلُهُ مَتْبُوعًا.

Wa-qad yakūnu ʾan yaṣiḥḥa al-ʿabdu fī ṭāʿatihi, wa-huwa yurīdu ʾan yuʿaẓẓima ʾamānatahu, fa-yulbisahu rabbuhu al-sitra, wa-yaẓhara minhu ḥusnu al-fiʿli, liyakūna qawluhu masmūʿan, wa-fiʿluhu matbūʿan.

A servant may be sound in his obedience while wanting to enhance his trustworthiness, so that his Lord clothes him in concealment and good conduct becomes visible in him, making his words heard and his actions followed.

وَإِذَا تَمَّ الْعَبْدُ فِي عَمَلِهِ بِالِاشْتِغَالِ، لَمْ يُذْكَرْ إِلَّا بِصِحَّةِ الْأَعْمَالِ، فَإِذَا قَامَ فِي نِيَّةِ الْأَعْمَالِ لَمْ يَذْكُرْ فِي فِعْلِهِ مِنْ شِدَّةِ شُغْلِهِ بِهِ أَهْلًا وَلَا مَالًا. قَدْ مَلَأَهُ مَا فِيهِ، فَلَيْسَ يَذْكُرُ إِلَّا مَا يَعْنِيهِ يَرَى أَنَّ ذِكْرَهُ غَيْرَ مَا هُوَ فِيهِ نُقْصَانٌ، فَلَا يُرِيدُ مِنْ فِعْلِهِ إِلَّا التَّمَامَ.

Wa-ʾidhā tamma al-ʿabdu fī ʿamalihi bi-al-ishtighāli, lam yudhkar ʾillā biṣiḥḥati al-ʾaʿmāli, fa-ʾidhā qāma fī niyyati al-ʾaʿmāli lam yadhkur fī fiʿlihi min shiddati shughlihi bihi ʾahlan wa-lā mālan. Qad malaʾahu mā fīhi, fa-laysa yadhkuru ʾillā mā yaʿnīhi yarā ʾanna dhikrahu ghayra mā huwa fīhi nuqṣānun, fa-lā yurīdu min fiʿlihi ʾillā al-tamāma.

When the servant becomes fully absorbed in his work, he is spoken of only for the soundness of his deeds. Once established in the intention of his deeds, his intense absorption leaves him thinking of neither family nor wealth while acting. His task fills him; he remembers only what concerns him and regards thinking of anything else as a deficiency. He wants only the completeness of his action.

وَإِذَا تَبَيَّنَ لِلشَّيْطَانِ أَنَّهُ يُرِيدُ بِفِعْلِهِ غَيْرَ اللَّهِ، فَإِنَّهُ يَعْرِضُ لَهُ بِغَيْرِ مَا يَفْعَلُ، لِيَذْكُرَ غَيْرَ الْفِعْلِ الَّذِي هُوَ فِيهِ، لِيَكُونَ ذَلِكَ فِي الْفِعْلِ نَقْصًا.

Wa-ʾidhā tabayyana li-al-shayṭāni ʾannahu yurīdu bifiʿlihi ghayra Allāhi, fa-ʾinnahu yaʿriḍu lahu bighayri mā yafʿalu, liyadhkura ghayra al-fiʿli alladhī huwa fīhi, liyakūna dhālika fī al-fiʿli naqṣan.

When it becomes clear to Satan that he intends someone other than God through his action [as printed; the statement is difficult in context], Satan presents him with something other than his present task, so that he thinks of another action and thereby diminishes the one he is performing.

وَقَدْ يُذَكِّرُ فِعْلَ الطَّاعَةِ الَّذِي يَفْعَلُ، فَيَشْتَغِلُ بِهِ عَنْ تَمَامِ مَا هُوَ فِيهِ.

Wa-qad yudhakkiru fiʿla al-ṭāʿati alladhī yafʿalu, fa-yashtaghilu bihi ʿan tamāmi mā huwa fīhi.

He may even remind him of the obedient act he is performing, so that thinking about it distracts him from completing his present task.

وَإِنْ ذَكَرَ الْعَبْدُ غَيْرَ مَا هُوَ فِيهِ بِنِسْيَانٍ، فَوَسْوَسَتُهُ إِلَى الْعِبَادِ مُخْتَلِفَةٌ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَذَاهِبِهِمْ، وَلَيْسَ كُلُّ النَّاسِ يُوَسْوِسُ إِلَيْهِمْ بِشَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ.

Wa-ʾin dhakara al-ʿabdu ghayra mā huwa fīhi binisyānin, fa-waswasatuhu ʾilā al-ʿibādi mukhtalifatun ʿalā qadri madhāhibihim, wa-laysa kullu al-nāsi yuwaswisu ʾilayhim bishayʾin wāḥidin.

If the servant forgetfully thinks of something other than his present task, Satan’s whispering to servants varies according to their ways. He does not whisper the same thing to everyone.

فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُوَسْوِسُ إِلَيْهِ بِتَرْكِ الطَّاعَةِ الْمَفْرُوضَةِ.

Fa-minhum man yuwaswisu ʾilayhi bitarki al-ṭāʿati al-mafrūḍati.

To some he whispers that they should abandon obligatory obedience.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُوَسْوِسُ إِلَيْهِ بِتَرْكِ النَّفْلِ.

Wa-minhum man yuwaswisu ʾilayhi bitarki al-nafli.

To some he whispers that they should abandon voluntary acts.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُوَسْوِسُ إِلَيْهِ بِالْمَعْصِيَةِ.

Wa-minhum man yuwaswisu ʾilayhi bi-al-maʿṣiyati.

To some he whispers of disobedience.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُوَسْوِسُ إِلَيْهِ بِالشُّبُهَاتِ.

Wa-minhum man yuwaswisu ʾilayhi bi-al-shubuhāti.

To some he whispers of doubtful matters.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُرَاصِدُهُ بِالْوَسْوَسَةِ.

Wa-minhum man yurāṣiduhu bi-al-waswasati.

And some he lies in wait for with whisperings.

Source page 27

فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ يُوَسْوِسُ إِلَيْهِمْ بِتَرْكِ الطَّاعَةِ، فَإِنَّ وَسْوَسَتَهُ عَلَى ضَرْبَيْنِ:

Fa-ʾammā alladhīna yuwaswisu ʾilayhim bitarki al-ṭāʿati, fa-ʾinna waswasatahu ʿalā ḍarbayni:

As for those to whom he whispers of abandoning obedience, his whispering takes two forms.

أَمَّا أَهْلُ الْمَعَاصِي فَيُوَسْوِسُ إِلَيْهِمْ بِتَرْكِ الطَّاعَةِ، بِتَمَثُّلِ مَا بَعُدُوا مِنْهَا، وَبِتَزْيِينِ مَا شَوَّقَتْهُ إِلَيْهِمْ أَنْفُسُهُمْ مِمَّا يَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَيْهِ، قَدْ تَعَوَّدَ مِنْهُمْ سُرْعَةَ الْإِجَابَةِ، فَبَدَأَهُمْ بِالْوَسْوَسَةِ فِي غَيْرِ إِلْحَاحٍ.

ʾAmmā ʾahlu al-maʿāṣī fa-yuwaswisu ʾilayhim bitarki al-ṭāʿati, bitamaththuli mā baʿudū minhā, wa-bitazyīni mā shawwaqat-hu ʾilayhim ʾanfusuhum mimmā yadʿūhum ʾilayhi, qad taʿawwada minhum surʿata al-ʾijābati, fa-badaʾahum bi-al-waswasati fī ghayri ʾilḥāḥin.

To habitual sinners he whispers of abandoning obedience by depicting how far they have moved from it and embellishing the things toward which he calls them and for which their souls have stirred longing. Accustomed to their quick response, he begins whispering without having to insist.

وَأَمَّا أَهْلُ الطَّهَارَةِ فَإِنَّ وَسْوَسَتَهُ إِلَيْهِمْ عَلَى ضَرْبَيْنِ:

Wa-ʾammā ʾahlu al-ṭahārati fa-ʾinna waswasatahu ʾilayhim ʿalā ḍarbayni:

As for people of purity, his whispering to them takes two forms:

إِمَّا بِتَرْكِ النَّافِلَةِ، أَوِ التَّعْرِيضِ بِالْمَعْصِيَةِ، وَلَيْسَتْ وَسْوَسَتُهُ بِالْمَعْصِيَةِ لِأَهْلِ الطَّهَارَةِ كَوَسْوَسَةٍ لِأَهْلِ النَّجَاسَةِ.

ʾImmā bitarki al-nāfilati, ʾawi al-taʿrīḍi bi-al-maʿṣiyati, wa-laysat waswasatuhu bi-al-maʿṣiyati li-ʾahli al-ṭahārati kawaswasatin li-ʾahli al-najāsati.

either abandoning a voluntary act or indirectly suggesting disobedience. His whispering of disobedience to people of purity differs from whispering to people of impurity.

فَوَسْوَسَتُهُ لِأَهْلِ النَّجَاسَةِ بِالتَّزْيِينِ وَحُسْنِ التَّمْثِيلِ.

Fa-waswasatuhu li-ʾahli al-najāsati bi-al-tazyīni wa-ḥusni al-tamthīli.

To people of impurity he whispers by embellishing and presenting things attractively.

وَوَسْوَسَتُهُ إِلَى أَهْلِ الطَّهَارَةِ بِالتَّعْرِيضِ، لِمَعْرِفَتِهِ بِأَنَّ أَهْلَ الطَّهَارَةِ لَا تَتَزَيَّنُ الْمَعَاصِي عِنْدَهُمْ، وَلَا يَسْتَحْسِنُونَ الْمَعْصِيَةَ.

Wa-waswasatuhu ʾilā ʾahli al-ṭahārati bi-al-taʿrīḍi, limaʿrifatihi bi-ʾanna ʾahla al-ṭahārati lā tatazayyanu al-maʿāṣī ʿindahum, wa-lā yastaḥsinūna al-maʿṣiyata.

To people of purity he whispers indirectly, knowing that sins do not appear attractive to them and that they do not admire disobedience.

وَلَكِنَّهُ يَتَرَصَّدُ مَوْضِعَ الْغَفْلَةِ وَالنِّسْيَانِ فَيُحْبِطُ الْعَمَلَ، وَيُعْرِضُوا عَنْ فِعْلِهِمْ، ثُمَّ يَذْكُرُ الْمَعْصِيَةَ، وَإِمَّا بِتَرْكِ نَوَافِلِ الطَّاعَةِ، فَإِنَّهُ يُمَثِّلُ لَهُمُ النَّصَبَ الَّذِي إِلَيْهِ يَصِيرُونَ، وَالرَّاحَةَ الَّتِي يَتْرُكُونَ، وَيُمَثِّلُ لَهُمْ نَافِلَةَ الطَّاعَةِ، إِمَّا بِتَمَثُّلِ النَّصَبِ، أَوْ بِذِكْرِ الرَّاحَةِ، أَوْ بِالتَّسْوِيَةِ، فَعَظُمَتْ فِي الرَّاحَةِ مِنْهُ الْمَعْصِيَةُ وَكَثُرَتْ مِنْهُ الْعَادَةُ.

Wa-lākinnahu yataraṣṣadu mawḍiʿa al-ghaflati wa-al-nisyāni fa-yuḥbiṭu al-ʿamala, wa-yuʿriḍū ʿan fiʿlihim, thumma yadhkuru al-maʿṣiyata, wa-ʾimmā bitarki nawāfili al-ṭāʿati, fa-ʾinnahu yumaththilu lahumu al-naṣaba alladhī ʾilayhi yaṣīrūna, wa-al-rāḥata allatī yatrukūna, wa-yumaththilu lahum nāfilata al-ṭāʿati, ʾimmā bitamaththuli al-naṣabi, ʾaw bidhikri al-rāḥati, ʾaw bi-al-taswiyati, fa-ʿaẓumat fī al-rāḥati minhu al-maʿṣiyatu wa-kathurat minhu al-ʿādatu.

Instead, he watches for a moment of heedlessness and forgetfulness, nullifying the deed, so that they turn away from what they are doing; then he brings disobedience to mind [the printed verb sequence is irregular]. As for abandoning voluntary obedience, he depicts the fatigue they will face and the rest they will leave behind. He represents the voluntary act through imagining fatigue, recalling rest, or treating the two alike. Then ‘disobedience becomes great from him in rest, and habitual practice becomes frequent from him’ [the printed conclusion is obscure].

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُوَسْوِسُ إِلَيْهِمْ بِالشُّبُهَاتِ، وَذَلِكَ لَمَّا عَظُمَتْ رَغْبَتُهُ فِي الطَّاعَةِ، وَقَلَّ مِنْهُ بِهَا الْعِلْمُ، فَوَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِ بِالشُّبُهَاتِ لِيَعْتَقِدَهَا، وَيَنْبِذُ إِلَيْهِ بِهَا لِكَيْلَا يُعَجِّلَ بِرَدِّهَا.

Wa-minhum man yuwaswisu ʾilayhim bi-al-shubuhāti, wa-dhālika lammā ʿaẓumat raghbatuhu fī al-ṭāʿati, wa-qalla minhu bihā al-ʿilmu, fa-waswasa ʾilayhi bi-al-shubuhāti liyaʿtaqidahā, wa-yanbidhu ʾilayhi bihā likaylā yuʿajjila biraddihā.

“To some he whispers doubtful suggestions. When a person’s desire for obedience is great but his knowledge of it is slight, Satan whispers doubtful things so that he will adopt them, casting them before him in a way that keeps him from rejecting them promptly.

فَإِذَا لَمْ يُعَاجِلْهَا بِالرَّدِّ، وَقَامَ مِنْهَا مَقَامَ نَاظِرٍ مُرْتَابٍ، أَلَحَّ عَلَيْهِ بِتَزْيِينِهَا، وَمَثَّلَ لَهُ مِنَ الصَّوَابِ مَا يَسْتَشْهِدُ عَلَيْهِ فِيهَا.

Fa-ʾidhā lam yuʿājilhā bi-al-raddi, wa-qāma minhā maqāma nāẓirin murtābin, ʾalaḥḥa ʿalayhi bitazyīnihā, wa-maththala lahu mina al-ṣawābi mā yastash-hidu ʿalayhi fīhā.

If he does not reject them at once but takes the position of a hesitant examiner, Satan presses on with embellishing them, presenting apparent truths that he can cite in their support.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُرَاصِدُهُ، لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ يَيْأَسُ مِنْهُ، إِلَّا فِي مَوْضِعِ الْغَفْلَةِ، فَلَمَّا كَثُرَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْوَسْوَسَةُ كَثُرَ احْتِرَاسُهُ، وَنَفْيُ وَسَاوِسِهِ، فَيُرَاصِدُهُ بِتَضْيِيعِ الِاحْتِرَاسِ، وَيَحْمِلُ عَلَيْهِ بِالْمَلَاهِي، وَيَنْبِذُ إِلَيْهِ بِهَا.

Wa-minhum man yurāṣiduhu, li-ʾannahu qad yayʾasu minhu, ʾillā fī mawḍiʿi al-ghaflati, fa-lammā kathurat ʿalayhi al-waswasatu kathura iḥtirāsuhu, wa-nafyu wasāwisihi, fa-yurāṣiduhu bitaḍyīʿi al-iḥtirāsi, wa-yaḥmilu ʿalayhi bi-al-malāhī, wa-yanbidhu ʾilayhi bihā.

Some he watches closely because he has given up hope of them except in a moment of heedlessness. As whisperings against such a person increase, so do his vigilance and his rejection of them. Satan therefore waits for him to neglect his guard, attacks him with distractions, and casts them before him.

فَإِنْ نَفَى الْوَسْوَسَةَ، وَصَارَ إِلَى الذِّكْرِ، وَحَسَمَ الْأَشْيَاءَ، خَنَسَ عَنْهُ، وَلَمْ يُلِحَّ عَلَيْهِ، لِأَنَّهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَ عِنْدَ الْوَسْوَسَةِ أَيِسَ مِنَ الْغَفْلَةِ.

Fa-ʾin nafā al-waswasata, wa-ṣāra ʾilā al-dhikri, wa-ḥasama al-ʾashyāʾa, khanasa ʿanhu, wa-lam yuliḥḥa ʿalayhi, li-ʾannahu ʾidhā dhakara ʿinda al-waswasati ʾayisa mina al-ghaflati.

If he rejects the whispering, turns to remembrance, and cuts matters off decisively, Satan withdraws and does not persist. When the servant remembers at the onset of whispering, Satan loses hope of heedlessness.

وَإِنْ أَرَادَ الشَّيْطَانُ الطَّمَعَ فِيهِ بِالْغَفْلَةِ عَنِ الطَّاعَةِ، أَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ اللَّعِينُ بِالْوَسْوَسَةِ كَأَنَّهُ لَمْ يُوَسْوِسْ إِلَيْهِ، وَلَمْ يُرِدْهَا، كَيْلَا يُرَادِدَ الطَّاعَةَ، وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ وَصَفَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَائِفٌ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ تَذَكَّرُوا فَإِذَا هُمْ مُبْصِرُونَ [الْأَعْرَافِ: 201].

Wa-ʾin ʾarāda al-shayṭānu al-ṭamaʿa fīhi bi-al-ghaflati ʿani al-ṭāʿati, ʾaʿraḍa ʿanhu al-laʿīnu bi-al-waswasati ka-ʾannahu lam yuwaswis ʾilayhi, wa-lam yurid-hā, kaylā yurādida al-ṭāʿata, wa-humu alladhīna waṣafahumu Allāhu fī kitābihi ʾidhā massahum ṭāʾifun mina al-shayṭāni tadhakkarū fa-ʾidhā hum mubṣirūna [al-ʾAʿrāfi: 201].

If Satan wants an opening through heedlessness of obedience, the accursed one turns away with his whispering, as though he had never whispered or wanted to, lest the servant return repeatedly to obedience [the printed explanation is difficult]. These are the people God describes in His Book: ‘When a visitation from Satan touches them, they remember, and at once they see clearly’ [Qurʾān, al-Aʿrāf 7:201].

Source page 28

فَإِنْ هُوَ نَبَذَ إِلَيْهِ بِالْمَعْصِيَةِ وَسْوَسَةً، فَرَأَى مِنْهُ إِقْبَالًا عَلَيْهَا، وَاسْتِحْلَاءً مِنْهُ لَهَا فِي قَلْبِهِ، أَلَحَّ عَلَيْهِ بِهَا، فَعِنْدَهَا يَكُونُ سُقُوطُ مَنْ سَقَطَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الطَّهَارَةِ عِنْدَ مَوْضِعِ الْغَفْلَةِ وَالْإِثْمِ بِالْوَسْوَسَةِ.

Fa-ʾin huwa nabadha ʾilayhi bi-al-maʿṣiyati waswasatan, fa-raʾā minhu ʾiqbālan ʿalayhā, wa-istiḥlāʾan minhu lahā fī qalbihi, ʾalaḥḥa ʿalayhi bihā, fa-ʿindahā yakūnu suqūṭu man saqaṭa min ʾahli al-ṭahārati ʿinda mawḍiʿi al-ghaflati wa-al-ʾithmi bi-al-waswasati.

But if he casts a whisper of disobedience before him and sees him turn toward it and savor it in his heart, he presses it upon him. This is where those people of purity who fall do so: at the point of heedlessness and sin through whispering.

فَيَرِيمُ مِنْهُ عِنْدَ الْإِعْرَاضِ لِعِلْمِ الطَّاعَةِ، وَلَمْ تُوهِنْهُ وَسْوَسَتُهُ، فَزَالَتْ عَنْهُ فِي هَذِهِ الطَّاعَةِ الْمُكَابَدَةُ، وَلَمْ يَنْسَ مَقَامَهُ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ.

Fa-yarīmu minhu ʿinda al-ʾiʿrāḍi liʿilmi al-ṭāʿati, wa-lam tūhinhu waswasatuhu, fa-zālat ʿanhu fī hādhihi al-ṭāʿati al-mukābadatu, wa-lam yansa maqāmahu fī al-ʿibādati.

He departs from him when he turns away toward knowledge of obedience [the printed connection is uncertain]. Satan’s whispering has not weakened him; the struggle in this obedience falls away, and he does not forget his station in worship.

وَلَنْ يَتِمَّ الْعَبْدُ فِي طَاعَتِهِ، وَتَحْلُوَ عِنْدَهُ عِبَادَتُهُ، حَتَّى تُزَايِلَهُ مُكَابَدَةُ الْهَوَى.

Wa-lan yatimma al-ʿabdu fī ṭāʿatihi, wa-taḥluwa ʿindahu ʿibādatuhu, ḥattā tuzāyilahu mukābadatu al-hawā.

The servant will not become complete in obedience, nor find sweetness in worship, until the struggle against desire leaves him.”

مُكَابَدَةُ الْهَوَى

Mukābadatu al-hawā

Struggling against desire

وَقَدْ تَكُونُ الْمُكَابَدَةُ عَلَى ضَرْبَيْنِ:

Wa-qad takūnu al-mukābadatu ʿalā ḍarbayni:

Struggle may take two forms.

فَضَرْبٌ يُكَابِدُ هَوَاهُ، وَمَا يَدْعُوهُ إِلَيْهِ الشَّيْطَانُ.

Fa-ḍarbun yukābidu hawāhu, wa-mā yadʿūhu ʾilayhi al-shayṭānu.

One person struggles against his desire and what Satan calls him toward.

وَآخَرُ يُكَابِدُ تَحَمُّلَ الشِّدَّةِ بِطَبِيعَتِهِ، فَيَتَحَمَّلُ مَا حَلَّ بِهِ مِنَ الْآلَامِ، لِمَا اسْتَبْطَنَ مِنَ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي طَلَبِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ، فَلَيْسَ هَذَا مُكَابَدَةً.

Wa-ʾākharu yukābidu taḥammula al-shiddati biṭabīʿatihi, fa-yataḥammalu mā ḥalla bihi mina al-ʾālāmi, limā istabṭana mina al-raghbati fī ṭalabi al-raḥmāni, fa-laysa hādhā mukābadatan.

Another struggles by nature to endure hardship, bearing the pains that befall him because of the inward desire he harbors to seek the All-Merciful. This is not struggle [in the former sense].

فَإِذَا كَانَ لِلْعَبْدِ فِي الطَّاعَةِ رَغْبَةٌ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِغَيْرِهَا ذَاكِرًا، حَلَّتْ بِهِ الرَّاحَةُ، وَزَالَتْ عَنْهُ شِدَّةُ الْكُلْفَةِ. وَإِنْ كَانَ قَدْ زَايَلَهُ الْوَجَلُ، وَصَارَ إِلَى النَّصَبِ وَشِدَّةِ التَّعَبِ، فَإِنَّ فِي عَظِيمِ الرَّغْبَةِ مَا يَجْعَلُهُ يَتَحَمَّلُ مَعَهُ شَدِيدَ الْمُؤْنَةِ.

Fa-ʾidhā kāna li-al-ʿabdi fī al-ṭāʿati raghbatun, wa-lam yakun lighayrihā dhākiran, ḥallat bihi al-rāḥatu, wa-zālat ʿanhu shiddatu al-kulfati. Wa-ʾin kāna qad zāyalahu al-wajalu, wa-ṣāra ʾilā al-naṣabi wa-shiddati al-taʿabi, fa-ʾinna fī ʿaẓīmi al-raghbati mā yajʿaluhu yataḥammalu maʿahu shadīda al-muʾnati.

When a servant desires obedience and thinks of nothing else, repose settles upon him and the severity of the burden leaves him. Even if awe has left him and he has come to fatigue and severe exhaustion, the greatness of his desire enables him to bear a heavy burden.

فَرَاحَةُ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي الطَّاعَةِ الْقَلِيلُ مِنْهَا يُحْتَمَلُ مَعَهُ كَبِيرُ مُؤْنَةِ الْكُلْفَةِ.

Fa-rāḥatu al-raghbati fī al-ṭāʿati al-qalīlu minhā yuḥtamalu maʿahu kabīru muʾnati al-kulfati.

Even a little of the repose found in desiring obedience makes it possible to bear a great burden of hardship.

وَإِنَّمَا تَكُونُ الْمُكَابَدَةُ عَلَى وَجْهَيْنِ:

Wa-ʾinnamā takūnu al-mukābadatu ʿalā wajhayni:

Struggle occurs in two ways.

إِمَّا لِرَجُلٍ لَمْ يَتِمَّ مِنْهُ الْعِلْمُ بِقِيمَةِ مَا يَطْلُبُ، وَعَظِيمِ مِقْدَارِ جَزَاءِ مَا يَتْرُكُ. فَإِذَا ذَكَرَ مَا تَرَكَ، وَلَمْ يَتَمَثَّلْ ثَوَابَهُ، اشْتَدَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الطَّاعَةُ، وَعَظُمَتْ مُكَابَدَتُهُ، إِذَا حَلَّ فِي الطَّاعَةِ لِلَّهِ، مَعَ مَا لَهُ مِنَ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي الرَّاحَةِ.

ʾImmā lirajulin lam yatimma minhu al-ʿilmu biqīmati mā yaṭlubu, wa-ʿaẓīmi miqdāri jazāʾi mā yatruku. Fa-ʾidhā dhakara mā taraka, wa-lam yatamaththal thawābahu, ishtaddat ʿalayhi al-ṭāʿatu, wa-ʿaẓumat mukābadatuhu, ʾidhā ḥalla fī al-ṭāʿati li-llāhi, maʿa mā lahu mina al-raghbati fī al-rāḥati.

It may concern a man whose knowledge of the value of what he seeks, and of the immense recompense for what he leaves, is incomplete. When he remembers what he left without picturing its reward, obedience becomes hard and his struggle grows severe, as he enters obedience to God while still longing for rest.

فَإِذَا تَذَكَّرَ طَاعَتَهُ مُثِّلَتْ فِي قَلْبِهِ رَاحَتُهُ، فَهُوَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَصِيرَ إِلَى الطَّاعَةِ، وَلَا يُفَارِقَ الرَّاحَةَ، وَمَعَهُ مِنَ الْهَوَى دَاعٍ قَدِ اقْتَسَمَهُ فَصَارَ بَيْنَ اثْنَيْنِ، بَيْنَ طَاعَةٍ، وَحُبِّ رَاحَةٍ، فَقَلْبُهُ مُعَذَّبٌ،

Fa-ʾidhā tadhakkara ṭāʿatahu muththilat fī qalbihi rāḥatuhu, fa-huwa yuḥibbu ʾan yaṣīra ʾilā al-ṭāʿati, wa-lā yufāriqa al-rāḥata, wa-maʿahu mina al-hawā dāʿin qadi iqtasamahu fa-ṣāra bayna ithnayni, bayna ṭāʿatin, wa-ḥubbi rāḥatin, fa-qalbuhu muʿadhdhabun,

When he remembers his obedience, his rest is pictured in his heart. He wants to enter obedience without parting from rest. An impulse of desire has divided him, leaving him between two things: obedience and love of rest. His heart is tormented.

فَلَيْسَ يَتْرُكُ الرَّاحَةَ، وَصَارَ لَهُ مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ أَرَبٌ، فَهُوَ مُكَابِدٌ لَيْسَ تَتِمُّ مِنْهُ رَاحَةٌ لِلْقِيَامِ بِطَاعَتِهِ، وَلَيْسَ تَتِمُّ طَاعَتُهُ لِتَذَكُّرِ رَاحَتِهِ، فَهُوَ الَّذِي نَغَّصَ عَلَيْهِ عَيْشَهُ، فَهُوَ الدَّهْرَ مَغْمُومٌ، وَقَلْبُهُ مَعَهُ مَذْمُومٌ.

Fa-laysa yatruku al-rāḥata, wa-ṣāra lahu mina al-ṭāʿati ʾarabun, fa-huwa mukābidun laysa tatimmu minhu rāḥatun li-al-qiyāmi biṭāʿatihi, wa-laysa tatimmu ṭāʿatuhu litadhakkuri rāḥatihi, fa-huwa alladhī naghghaṣa ʿalayhi ʿayshahu, fa-huwa al-dahra maghmūmun, wa-qalbuhu maʿahu madhmūmun.

He will not leave rest, yet he has developed a need for obedience. He struggles: his rest is incomplete because of the call to obey, and his obedience is incomplete because he remembers rest. This spoils his life. He is perpetually distressed, and his heart remains blameworthy in his own company.

لَمْ يَسْتَبْطِنْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا يَتَحَمَّلُ بِهِ مُؤْنَةَ الْعَمَلِ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ مَعَهُ مِنَ الرَّغْبَةِ مَا يَزْجُرُ دَوَاعِيَ الْهَوَى، وَمَا يَقْوَى مِنِ اعْتِيَادِ الرَّجَاءِ، إِلَى أَنْ يَصِيرَ عَادَتَهُ، وَيَتْرُكَ مَا هُوَ فِيهِ.

Lam yastabṭin mina al-ʿilmi mā yataḥammalu bihi muʾnata al-ʿamali, wa-lam yakun maʿahu mina al-raghbati mā yazjuru dawāʿiya al-hawā, wa-mā yaqwā mini iʿtiyādi al-rajāʾi, ʾilā ʾan yaṣīra ʿādatahu, wa-yatruka mā huwa fīhi.

He has not inwardly acquired the knowledge with which to bear the burden of action, nor enough desire to restrain the impulses of passion, nor the strength that comes from repeatedly practicing hope until it becomes his habit and he leaves his present condition.

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وَإِنْ صَارَ إِلَى الْهَوَى، وَلَذِيذِ عَيْشِ الْمُنَى، ثُمَّ دَعَاهُ دَاعِي الْحَقِّ، وَمَا رُغِّبَ إِلَيْهِ فِيهِ مِنَ الصِّدْقِ، مِنْ رَفْضِ الْمَلَاهِي الَّتِي تُعِينُ عَلَى الْمَعَاصِي، فَلَمْ يُحِبَّ لِنَفْسِهِ الْمَقَامَ عَلَى التَّقْصِيرِ، وَلَا الرِّضَى بِالْعَيْشِ الْيَسِيرِ، دُونَ أَنْ يُنَافِسَ الْأَبْرَارَ، وَيَكُونَ شَبِيهَ الْأَحْرَارِ، فَلَا يَزَالُ هَذَا مَقَامَهُ، حَتَّى لَا يَصِيرَ لِلشَّيْطَانِ إِلَى عَمَلِهِ نَصِيبٌ.

Wa-ʾin ṣāra ʾilā al-hawā, wa-ladhīdhi ʿayshi al-munā, thumma daʿāhu dāʿī al-ḥaqqi, wa-mā rughghiba ʾilayhi fīhi mina al-ṣidqi, min rafḍi al-malāhī allatī tuʿīnu ʿalā al-maʿāṣī, fa-lam yuḥibba linafsihi al-maqāma ʿalā al-taqṣīri, wa-lā al-riḍā bi-al-ʿayshi al-yasīri, dūna ʾan yunāfisa al-ʾabrāra, wa-yakūna shabīha al-ʾaḥrāri, fa-lā yazālu hādhā maqāmahu, ḥattā lā yaṣīra li-al-shayṭāni ʾilā ʿamalihi naṣībun.

If he turns toward desire and the pleasant life of wishes, then the call of truth summons him, together with the sincerity commended to him in abandoning amusements that assist sin. He no longer wants to remain negligent or be content with a meager life without competing with the righteous and resembling the free. This remains his station until Satan has no share in his action.

فَإِذَا أَمَاتَ الْهَوَى بِحُسْنِ عَزِيمَتِهِ، وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ إِلَّا الرَّجَاءَ فِي طَاعَتِهِ، وَتَمَثَّلَ مَا يَنَالُ مِنْ حُسْنِ الْعَزِيمَةِ مِنْ آجِلِ الثَّوَابِ وَعَاجِلِهِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا.

Fa-ʾidhā ʾamāta al-hawā biḥusni ʿazīmatihi, wa-lam yadhkur ʾillā al-rajāʾa fī ṭāʿatihi, wa-tamaththala mā yanālu min ḥusni al-ʿazīmati min ʾājili al-thawābi wa-ʿājilihi fī al-ḥayāti al-dunyā.

Then he kills desire through his sound resolve, thinks only of hope in his obedience, and pictures the reward he gains from sound resolve, both deferred and immediate in worldly life.

أَمَّا فِي الْأَجَلِ فَالْحُلُولُ فِي دَارٍ يَزُولُ عَنْهُ فِيهَا النَّصَبُ. وَيُجَانِبُهُ فِيهَا التَّعَبُ. وَأَمَّا فِي الْعَاجِلِ فَيَعْلُوهُ عِزُّ الْوَقَارِ، وَحَلَّتْ بِهِ الرَّاحَةُ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَزَالَتْ عَنْهُ مُؤْنَةُ الْكُلْفَةِ، وَعَلَا قَلْبَهُ الرَّجَاءُ إِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ فِيهِ هَوًى.

ʾAmmā fī al-ʾajali fa-al-ḥulūlu fī dārin yazūlu ʿanhu fīhā al-naṣabu. Wa-yujānibuhu fīhā al-taʿabu. Wa-ʾammā fī al-ʿājili fa-yaʿlūhu ʿizzu al-waqāri, wa-ḥallat bihi al-rāḥatu fī al-dunyā, wa-zālat ʿanhu muʾnatu al-kulfati, wa-ʿalā qalbahu al-rajāʾu ʾidhā lam yakun fīhi hawan.

At the appointed term, he settles in an abode where fatigue leaves him and exhaustion stays away. In the present, the honor of dignity envelops him, repose settles upon him in this world, the burden of hardship leaves him, and hope rises over his heart when desire is absent from it.

فَذَهَبَتْ مِنْهُ الْمُكَابَدَةُ، لَمَّا تَمَّتْ مِنْهُ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ الْعَزِيمَةُ، وَعَظُمَتْ عِنْدَهُ بِهَا الْقِيَامَةُ، فَيَنْظُرُ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ قَدْ حَلَّتْ بِالْغِنَى، إِذَا زَالَ عَنْهَا ذُلُّ الْهَوَى، وَقَدْ لَجَأَ إِلَى أَحْمَى الْحُصُونِ، إِذْ صَارَ إِلَى الطَّاعَةِ مِنْهُ السُّكُونُ، فَحَلَّتْ نَفْسُهُ بِالْأُنْسِ بَعْدَ الْوَحْشَةِ، وَخَادَنَتِ الطَّاعَةَ بَعْدَ حُلُولِهَا بِالْمَعْصِيَةِ،

Fa-dhahabat minhu al-mukābadatu, lammā tammat minhu ʿalā al-ṭāʿati al-ʿazīmatu, wa-ʿaẓumat ʿindahu bihā al-qiyāmatu, fa-yanẓuru ʾilā nafsihi qad ḥallat bi-al-ghinā, ʾidhā zāla ʿanhā dhullu al-hawā, wa-qad lajaʾa ʾilā ʾaḥmā al-ḥuṣūni, ʾidh ṣāra ʾilā al-ṭāʿati minhu al-sukūnu, fa-ḥallat nafsuhu bi-al-ʾunsi baʿda al-waḥshati, wa-khādanati al-ṭāʿata baʿda ḥulūlihā bi-al-maʿṣiyati,

The struggle leaves him once his resolve for obedience becomes complete and the Resurrection grows great in his eyes through it [the printed relation is uncertain]. He sees that his soul has entered wealth as the humiliation of desire leaves it. He has taken refuge in the strongest fortress, for he now rests in obedience. His soul finds companionship after desolation and befriends obedience after dwelling in disobedience.

وَأَبْصَرَتْ فِتْنَةَ الرِّجَالِ لِلْمَعْصِيَةِ فَعَلِمَتْ أَنَّ رَجَاءَ الذَّنْبِ لَيْسَ لَهُ بَقَاءٌ، وَأَنَّ الرَّجَاءَ الَّذِي لَيْسَ لَهُ دَوَامٌ، لَا يَدُومُ مَعَ صَاحِبِهِ الْمَقَامُ، فَصُرِفَ عَنْ رَجَاءِ الدُّنْيَا، وَصَارَ إِلَى الرَّجَاءِ الدَّائِمِ الَّذِي سَقَى بِهِ قَلْبَهُ، فَأَفَاقَ مِنْ رِقِّ الْهَوَى، وَمُنْيَةِ الْأَعْدَاءِ.

Wa-ʾabṣarat fitnata al-rijāli li-al-maʿṣiyati fa-ʿalimat ʾanna rajāʾa al-dhanbi laysa lahu baqāʾun, wa-ʾanna al-rajāʾa alladhī laysa lahu dawāmun, lā yadūmu maʿa ṣāḥibihi al-maqāmu, fa-ṣurifa ʿan rajāʾi al-dunyā, wa-ṣāra ʾilā al-rajāʾi al-dāʾimi alladhī saqā bihi qalbahu, fa-ʾafāqa min riqqi al-hawā, wa-munyati al-ʾaʿdāʾi.

It perceives people’s temptation toward sin and knows that hope attached to sin does not last: hope without permanence cannot remain with its possessor. He turns from worldly hope toward enduring hope, with which he waters his heart. He recovers from slavery to desire and from what his enemies wished for him.

وَقَدْ قَالَتِ الْحُكَمَاءُ: «مَا أَلَذَّ الرَّاحَةَ بَعْدَ النَّصَبِ، وَأَلَذُّ مِنْهَا رَاحَةُ مَنْ قَدْ أَمِنَ بَعْدَهَا الْعَطَبَ».

Wa-qad qālati al-ḥukamāʾu: «mā ʾaladhdha al-rāḥata baʿda al-naṣabi, wa-ʾaladhdhu minhā rāḥatu man qad ʾamina baʿdahā al-ʿaṭaba».

The sages have said: “How sweet is rest after fatigue! Sweeter still is the rest of someone secure from ruin afterward.”

وَقَالُوا: «ارْضَ بِدَنَاءَةِ الْحَالِ، إِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْكَ الْمُقَامُ، وَنَافِسْ فِي جَوْدَةِ الْمَنْزِلِ، إِذَا لَمْ تَكُنْ غَدًا عَنْهُ تَتَحَوَّلُ».

Wa-qālū: «irḍa bidanāʾati al-ḥāli, ʾidhā lam yakun minka al-muqāmu, wa-nāfis fī jawdati al-manzili, ʾidhā lam takun ghadan ʿanhu tataḥawwalu».

They said: “Accept humble circumstances when remaining is not up to you; strive for an excellent dwelling when tomorrow you will not move away from it.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَنْ أَرَادَ التَّخَلُّصَ وَالِابْتِدَاءَ، مَا أَعْوَنُ الْأَشْيَاءِ لَهُ؟

Qultu: fa-man ʾarāda al-takhalluṣa wa-al-ibtidāʾa, mā ʾaʿwanu al-ʾashyāʾi lahu?

I asked: “What helps most someone who wants to break free and make a beginning?”

قَالَ: أَعْوَنُ الْأَشْيَاءِ لَهُ حُسْنُ الْعَزِيمَةِ عَلَى النَّدَامَةِ مِمَّا مَضَى، وَالْعَقْدُ عَلَى أَلَّا يَعُودَ فِي سَبَبِهِ أَبَدًا، وَالْخُرُوجُ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْحُقُوقِ مِنْ حُقُوقِهِمْ.

Qāla: ʾaʿwanu al-ʾashyāʾi lahu ḥusnu al-ʿazīmati ʿalā al-nadāmati mimmā maḍā, wa-al-ʿaqdu ʿalā ʾallā yaʿūda fī sababihi ʾabadan, wa-al-khurūju ʾilā ʾahli al-ḥuqūqi min ḥuqūqihim.

He said: “His greatest help is firm resolve to regret what has passed, a commitment never to return to its cause, and discharging the claims of those to whom he owes them.

وَيُجَانِبُ مِنَ الْخُلَطَاءِ كُلَّ مَنْ كَانَ عَلَى الْعَيْبِ مُقِيمًا، وَيُخَالِطُ مَنْ يُعِينُهُ عَلَى مَا يُرِيدُ.

Wa-yujānibu mina al-khulaṭāʾi kulla man kāna ʿalā al-ʿaybi muqīman, wa-yukhāliṭu man yuʿīnuhu ʿalā mā yurīdu.

He avoids companions who persist in wrongdoing and associates with those who help him pursue his aim.

Source page 30

وَيَجْعَلُ الْمَوْتَ نُصْبَ عَيْنَيْهِ، فَيَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ وَقْتٌ مِنَ الْأَوْقَاتِ إِلَّا وَقَدْ أَخَذَ عَزِيمَتَهُ، فَلَا يَأْمَنُ فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ يَأْتِي عَلَيْهِ الْمَوْتُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَنْقَضِيَ مَا مِنْهُ أَرَادَ.

Wa-yajʿalu al-mawta nuṣba ʿaynayhi, fa-yaʿlamu ʾannahu laysa waqtun mina al-ʾawqāti ʾillā wa-qad ʾakhadha ʿazīmatahu, fa-lā yaʾmanu fī kulli waqtin yaʾtī ʿalayhi al-mawtu qabla ʾan yanqaḍiya mā minhu ʾarāda.

He keeps death before his eyes and knows that no moment passes without ‘its having taken its resolve’ [the printed referent is uncertain]. At no time does he feel safe from death’s coming before what he intended has been completed.

فَلَا يَبِيعُ مِنْ طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ الْمَوْجُودَ، لِأَنَّ كُلَّ مَنْ هَمَّ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ فَهُوَ بَائِعٌ بِهَا ضِدَّهَا مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ، فَلَعَلَّهُ لَا يَنَالُ مَا أَرَادَ مِنَ الْمَعْصِيَةِ، وَقَدْ خَرَجَ مِنْ ثَمَنِ مَا كَانَ فِيهِ مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ، لِأَنَّ الطَّاعَةَ مَوْجُودَةٌ فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ، بِالْعَزِيمَةِ عَلَيْهَا.

Fa-lā yabīʿu min ṭāʿati Allāhi al-mawjūda, li-ʾanna kulla man hamma bimaʿṣiyatin fa-huwa bāʾiʿun bihā ḍiddahā mina al-ṭāʿati, fa-laʿallahu lā yanālu mā ʾarāda mina al-maʿṣiyati, wa-qad kharaja min thamani mā kāna fīhi mina al-ṭāʿati, li-ʾanna al-ṭāʿata mawjūdatun fī kulli waqtin, bi-al-ʿazīmati ʿalayhā.

He does not sell the obedience to God that he already possesses. Everyone who intends a sin sells for it the opposite act of obedience. He may never attain the sin he wanted, though he has already paid away the value of his former obedience. Obedience is available at every moment through resolve to perform it.

وَلَا يُرَدُّ إِلَيْهَا، وَلَا يُحَالُ عَنِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ إِلَّا بِانْتِقَالِهِ إِلَى الطَّاعَةِ، فَمَنْ أَحْسَنَ النَّظَرَ لَمْ يَبِعِ الْمَوْجُودَ مِنْ طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ بِمَا لَا يَدْرِي لَعَلَّهُ لَا يَنَالُهُ مِنْ مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ. فَالطَّاعَةُ مُؤْنَةُ اللَّهِ فِيهَا أَكْبَرُ الْمُؤْنَةِ.

Wa-lā yuraddu ʾilayhā, wa-lā yuḥālu ʿani al-maʿṣiyati ʾillā bi-intiqālihi ʾilā al-ṭāʿati, fa-man ʾaḥsana al-naẓara lam yabiʿi al-mawjūda min ṭāʿati Allāhi bimā lā yadrī laʿallahu lā yanāluhu min maʿṣiyati Allāhi. Fa-al-ṭāʿatu muʾnatu Allāhi fīhā ʾakbaru al-muʾnati.

He is not restored to it or turned away from disobedience except by moving into obedience. Anyone who considers well will not sell the obedience to God he already possesses for a sin he does not know he will attain. As for obedience, ‘God’s burden in it is the greatest burden’ [the printed conclusion is unclear].”

قُلْتُ: مَاذَا يُقَوِّي عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ؟

Qultu: mādhā yuqawwī ʿalā al-ṭāʿati?

I asked: “What strengthens one for obedience?”

قَالَ: يُقَوِّي عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ ضُرُوبٌ:

Qāla: yuqawwī ʿalā al-ṭāʿati ḍurūbun:

He said: “Several things strengthen one for obedience.

فَأَمَّا طَاعَةُ الْقُلُوبِ الَّتِي لَا تَلْزَمُ الْبَدَنَ مِنْهَا شِدَّةٌ، فَبِالْعِلْمِ وَبِالتَّعْظِيمِ، وَهُمَا غِذَاءُ الْقُلُوبِ، وَبِهِمَا تَحْيَا النُّفُوسُ.

Fa-ʾammā ṭāʿatu al-qulūbi allatī lā talzamu al-badana minhā shiddatun, fa-bi-al-ʿilmi wa-bi-al-taʿẓīmi, wa-humā ghidhāʾu al-qulūbi, wa-bihimā taḥyā al-nufūsu.

The obedience of hearts, which imposes no hardship upon the body, is strengthened through knowledge and reverence. These nourish hearts and give souls life.

وَالَّذِي يُقَوِّي عَلَى عِبَادَةِ الْأَبْدَانِ قُوَّةُ الْعَزِيمَةِ، وَقِلَّةُ الِالْتِفَاتِ إِلَى الدَّاعِي مِنَ النَّاسِ، وَهُمُ الْأَكْثَرُ، فَإِنَّمَا يُقْوَى عَلَى الْقُلُوبِ بِالْعِبَادَةِ.

Wa-alladhī yuqawwī ʿalā ʿibādati al-ʾabdāni quwwatu al-ʿazīmati, wa-qillatu al-iltifāti ʾilā al-dāʿī mina al-nāsi, wa-humu al-ʾaktharu, fa-ʾinnamā yuqwā ʿalā al-qulūbi bi-al-ʿibādati.

Bodily worship is strengthened by firm resolve and paying little attention to calls from other people, who are the majority. ‘One gains strength over hearts through worship’ [the printed final construction is uncertain].

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقْوَى عَلَى الْعِبَادَةِ بِالتَّمْثِيلِ لِلثَّوَابِ، وَحُسْنِ الِانْقِلَابِ، وَهُوَ الْحَدِيثُ الَّذِي يُرْوَى: «اعْمَلْ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَى ثَوَابَ رَبِّكَ». فَإِنْ كَانَ الْعَمَلُ لِدِينٍ أَدِينَا، وَأَحَلَّتْهُ الْآلَامُ وَشِدَّتُهَا بِكَثْرَةِ التَّعَبِ، وَصُعُوبَةِ الْخُرُوجِ مِنَ النَّصَبِ، ذَكَرَ مَا يَصِيرُ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الرَّاحَةِ فَاحْتَمَلَ كَثْرَةَ الْمُؤْنَةِ، وَخَفَّ عَلَيْهِ بَذْلُ الْحِيلَةِ.

Wa-minhum man yaqwā ʿalā al-ʿibādati bi-al-tamthīli li-al-thawābi, wa-ḥusni al-inqilābi, wa-huwa al-ḥadīthu alladhī yurwā: «iʿmal ka-ʾannaka tarā thawāba rabbika». Fa-ʾin kāna al-ʿamalu lidīnin ʾadīnā, wa-ʾaḥallat-hu al-ʾālāmu wa-shiddatuhā bikathrati al-taʿabi, wa-ṣuʿūbati al-khurūji mina al-naṣabi, dhakara mā yaṣīru ʾilayhi mina al-rāḥati fa-iḥtamala kathrata al-muʾnati, wa-khaffa ʿalayhi badhlu al-ḥīlati.

Some gain strength for worship by picturing the reward and their good return, as in the transmitted report: ‘Act as though you see your Lord’s reward.’ If the work is ‘for a religion, adīnā’ [the printed phrase is unresolved], and intense pain brings him great exhaustion and difficulty escaping fatigue, he recalls the rest awaiting him. He then bears the great burden, and exerting his resources becomes easy.

وَقَدْ يُسَافِرُ فِي التِّجَارَةِ، فَإِذَا تَذَكَّرَ مَا إِلَيْهِ يَصْبُو، هَانَ عَلَيْهِ مَا يَبْذُلُ، وَاحْتَمَلَ شِدَّةَ الْمُؤْنَةِ، لِعَظِيمِ مَا يَرْجُو مِنْ طُولِ الرَّاحَةِ فِي الْإِيَابِ.

Wa-qad yusāfiru fī al-tijārati, fa-ʾidhā tadhakkara mā ʾilayhi yaṣbū, hāna ʿalayhi mā yabdhulu, wa-iḥtamala shiddata al-muʾnati, liʿaẓīmi mā yarjū min ṭūli al-rāḥati fī al-ʾiyābi.

A person may travel for trade; when he remembers what he longs for, his expenditure seems easy, and he bears the heavy burden because of his great hope for prolonged rest on returning.

وَمِنْ أَقْوَى مَا يُسْتَعَانُ بِهِ عَلَى النَّصَبِ، أَنْ يَذْكُرَ الْوَقْتَ الَّذِي هُوَ فِيهِ، وَسُرْعَةَ زَوَالِهِ، وَحُسْنَ مَا يَرِدُ إِلَيْهِ، وَلَا يَمَلَّ النَّصَبَ، فَإِنَّهُ يَقْطَعُ عَنِ الطَّلَبِ، وَلَكِنْ يَنْظُرَ إِلَى الْأَشْيَاءِ بِالزَّوَالِ، وَسُرْعَةِ الِانْتِقَالِ.

Wa-min ʾaqwā mā yustaʿānu bihi ʿalā al-naṣabi, ʾan yadhkura al-waqta alladhī huwa fīhi, wa-surʿata zawālihi, wa-ḥusna mā yaridu ʾilayhi, wa-lā yamalla al-naṣaba, fa-ʾinnahu yaqṭaʿu ʿani al-ṭalabi, wa-lākin yanẓura ʾilā al-ʾashyāʾi bi-al-zawāli, wa-surʿati al-intiqāli.

Among the strongest aids in bearing fatigue is remembering the present moment, how quickly it passes, and the good toward which one is going. Let him not become weary of fatigue, for that interrupts the quest. Instead, let him view things in light of their passing and rapid change.

فَإِذَا لَمْ يَذْكُرْ إِلَّا حَالَهُ، كَرُمَتْ فَعَالُهُ، وَحَسُنَ احْتِمَالُهُ، لِأَنَّ مَا مَضَى مَفْقُودٌ، وَمَا لَمْ يَأْتِ لَيْسَ بِمَوْجُودٍ، وَإِنَّمَا الْعَبْدُ فِي أَقَلِّ الْأَوْقَاتِ لَا يَذْكُرُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ غَيْرَهُ، فَلَوْ تَضَاعَفَ عَلَيْهِ النَّصَبُ، هَانَ عَلَيْهِ احْتِمَالُهُ، لِسُرْعَةِ زَوَالِهِ، أَوْ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ أَكْثَرُ الرَّجَاءِ، هَانَ عَلَيْهِ فِرَاقُهُ، لِتَغَيُّرِ حَالِهِ.

Fa-ʾidhā lam yadhkur ʾillā ḥālahu, karumat faʿāluhu, wa-ḥasuna iḥtimāluhu, li-ʾanna mā maḍā mafqūdun, wa-mā lam yaʾti laysa bimawjūdin, wa-ʾinnamā al-ʿabdu fī ʾaqalli al-ʾawqāti lā yadhkuru min ʿumurihi ghayrahu, fa-law taḍāʿafa ʿalayhi al-naṣabu, hāna ʿalayhi iḥtimāluhu, lisurʿati zawālihi, ʾaw kāna ʿalayhi ʾaktharu al-rajāʾi, hāna ʿalayhi firāquhu, litaghayyuri ḥālihi.

When he thinks only of his present condition, his conduct becomes noble and his endurance good. What has passed is gone; what has not come does not exist. The servant occupies only the smallest moment, remembering no other part of his life. Even if fatigue multiplies upon him, bearing it becomes easy because it quickly passes. Or if the greatest hope rests upon it, parting from it becomes easy because its condition changes.

فَمَنْ لَمْ يَنْظُرْ إِلَّا إِلَى وَقْتِهِ قَوِيَ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ، وَقَصُرَ مِنْهُ الْأَمَلُ.

Fa-man lam yanẓur ʾillā ʾilā waqtihi qawiya ʿalā al-ʿamali, wa-qaṣura minhu al-ʾamalu.

“Whoever looks only to his present moment gains strength for action, and his horizon of expectation becomes short.”

Source page 31

أَفْضَلُ الْعِبَادَةِ

ʾAfḍalu al-ʿibādati

The finest worship

قُلْتُ: أَيُّ الْعِبَادَةِ أَفْضَلُ؟

Qultu: ʾayyu al-ʿibādati ʾafḍalu?

I asked: “Which worship is best?”

قَالَ: أَفْضَلُ الْعِبَادَةِ الْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَالتَّعْظِيمُ لَهُ، بِمَا وَصَفْتُ مِنَ الْفِكْرِ، وَحُسْنُ الِانْتِقَالِ فِي التَّفَكُّرِ مِنْ حَالٍ إِلَى حَالٍ.

Qāla: ʾafḍalu al-ʿibādati al-ʿilmu bi-Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-al-taʿẓīmu lahu, bimā waṣaftu mina al-fikri, wa-ḥusnu al-intiqāli fī al-tafakkuri min ḥālin ʾilā ḥālin.

He said: “The finest worship is knowing God, mighty and exalted, and magnifying Him through the reflection I have described, moving well from one condition to another in contemplation.

فَإِذَا انْتَظَمَتْ هَذِهِ الْخِصَالُ، فَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ الْأَعْمَالِ الْعَطْفُ عَلَى أَهْلِ الضَّعْفِ. وَقَدْ سُئِلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَيُّ الْأَعْمَالِ أَفْضَلُ؟ فَقَالَ: «أَنْ تُغِيثَ مَلْهُوفًا، أَوْ تَنْصُرَ أَخًا لَكَ».

Fa-ʾidhā intaẓamat hādhihi al-khiṣālu, fa-ʾinna ʾafḍala al-ʾaʿmāli al-ʿaṭfu ʿalā ʾahli al-ḍaʿfi. Wa-qad suʾila al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: ʾayyu al-ʾaʿmāli ʾafḍalu? Fa-qāla: «ʾan tughītha malhūfan, ʾaw tanṣura ʾakhan laka».

Once these qualities are united, the finest deed is compassion toward the weak. The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was asked which deeds are best. He said: ‘To help someone in distress or support a brother of yours.’

وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: «السَّاعِي عَلَى الْأَرْمَلَةِ وَالْمِسْكِينِ كَالْمُجَاهِدِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، الْقَائِمِ لَيْلَهُ، الصَّائِمِ نَهَارَهُ».

Wa-qāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu: «al-sāʿī ʿalā al-ʾarmalati wa-al-miskīni ka-al-mujāhidi fī sabīli Allāhi, al-qāʾimi laylahu, al-ṣāʾimi nahārahu».

He said, peace be upon him: ‘One who works to support a widow and a poor person is like one who strives in God’s path, standing in prayer through the night and fasting through the day.’

وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «الْخَلْقُ عِيَالُ اللَّهِ فَأَحَبُّ الْخَلْقِ إِلَيْهِ أَنْفَعُهُمْ لِعِيَالِهِ».

Wa-qāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «al-khalqu ʿiyālu Allāhi fa-ʾaḥabbu al-khalqi ʾilayhi ʾanfaʿuhum liʿiyālihi».

He said, may God bless him and grant him peace: ‘All creatures are God’s dependents; the most beloved of them to Him are those most beneficial to His dependents.’

فَأَفْضَلُ الْأَعْمَالِ إِدْخَالُ الْمَرَافِقِ فِي الدِّينِ، وَالْعَطْفُ عَلَى الْمَسَاكِينِ، وَهِيَ صِفَةُ النَّبِيِّينَ وَصَالِحِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ.

Fa-ʾafḍalu al-ʾaʿmāli ʾidkhālu al-marāfiqi fī al-dīni, wa-al-ʿaṭfu ʿalā al-masākīni, wa-hiya ṣifatu al-nabiyyīna wa-ṣāliḥi al-muʾminīna.

The finest deeds are providing help in religion and showing compassion to the poor. This is the character of the prophets and the righteous among the believers.

فَقَدْ كَانَ أَفْضَلُ عِبَادَةِ صَدْرِ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ الْجِهَادَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، وَكَانَ أَعْظَمُ الْأَشْيَاءِ مَنْفَعَةً لِلْخَلْقِ فِي دِينِهِمُ الْمُجَاهَدَةَ فِي ثَوَابِهِ، وَالْمُجَاهَدَةَ فِيمَا يُجِيرُهُ مِنْ عِقَابِهِ.

Fa-qad kāna ʾafḍalu ʿibādati ṣadri hādhihi al-ʾummati al-jihāda fī sabīli Allāhi, wa-kāna ʾaʿẓamu al-ʾashyāʾi manfaʿatan li-al-khalqi fī dīnihimu al-mujāhadata fī thawābihi, wa-al-mujāhadata fīmā yujīruhu min ʿiqābihi.

The finest worship of the earliest generation of this community was striving in God’s path. What most benefited creatures in their religion was striving for His reward and striving in what grants protection from His punishment.

ثُمَّ كَانَ أَفْضَلُ الْأَشْيَاءِ بَعْدَ هَذَا إِرْفَاقَ بَعْضِهِمْ بَعْضًا، إِمَّا بِفَرْضٍ، وَإِمَّا بِقَرْضٍ، وَالْإِيثَارَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَقَدْ حَلَّتْ بِهِمُ الْخَصَاصَةُ.

Thumma kāna ʾafḍalu al-ʾashyāʾi baʿda hādhā ʾirfāqa baʿḍihim baʿḍan, ʾimmā bifarḍin, wa-ʾimmā biqarḍin, wa-al-ʾīthāra ʿalā ʾanfusihim wa-qad ḥallat bihimu al-khaṣāṣatu.

After that, the finest things were helping one another, whether through an obligatory payment or a loan, and preferring others to themselves even when need had befallen them.

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فَأَفْضَلُ الْأَعْمَالِ لِكُلِّ أَهْلِ زَمَانٍ مَا كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْأَوَائِلُ مِنْ تَعْلِيمِ السُّنَنِ، وَالْعَطْفِ عَلَى أَهْلِ الْعَدَمِ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ الْغَنِيَّ الْحَمِيدَ لَا يَنْتَفِعُ بِطَاعَةٍ، وَلَا تَضُرُّهُ مَعْصِيَةٌ، وَإِنَّمَا أَمَرَكَ بِطَاعَتِهِ لِيَنْفَعَكَ، فَأَحَبُّ الْأَشْيَاءِ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ طَاعَتِهِ مَا عَادَ نَفْعُهُ عَلَى غَيْرِكَ.

Fa-ʾafḍalu al-ʾaʿmāli likulli ʾahli zamānin mā kānat ʿalayhi al-ʾawāʾilu min taʿlīmi al-sunani, wa-al-ʿaṭfi ʿalā ʾahli al-ʿadami, li-ʾanna Allāha al-ghaniyya al-ḥamīda lā yantafiʿu biṭāʿatin, wa-lā taḍurruhu maʿṣiyatun, wa-ʾinnamā ʾamaraka biṭāʿatihi liyanfaʿaka, fa-ʾaḥabbu al-ʾashyāʾi ʾilayhi min ṭāʿatihi mā ʿāda nafʿuhu ʿalā ghayrika.

For the people of every age, the finest deeds are those practiced by the earliest generations: teaching the established ways and showing compassion to the destitute. God, the Self-Sufficient and Praiseworthy, gains nothing from obedience and suffers no harm from disobedience. He commands you to obey Him only to benefit you. The obedience dearest to Him is therefore that whose benefit reaches others.

وَالنَّفْعُ ضُرُوبٌ:

Wa-al-nafʿu ḍurūbun:

Benefit takes several forms.

فَإِذَا كَانَ عَالِمًا مِمَّنْ قَصَرَ نَفْسَهُ عَلَى الْعِلْمِ، وَلَيْسَ يَخْلُفُهُ أَحَدٌ فِي مَكَانِهِ فَأَفْضَلُ الْأَشْيَاءِ لَهُ أَنْ يُدْخِلَ الْمِرْفَقَ بِعِلْمِهِ عَلَى مَنْ لَا يَعْلَمُهُ، وَتَحْسُنَ نِيَّتُهُ فِيهِ.

Fa-ʾidhā kāna ʿāliman mimman qaṣara nafsahu ʿalā al-ʿilmi, wa-laysa yakhlufuhu ʾaḥadun fī makānihi fa-ʾafḍalu al-ʾashyāʾi lahu ʾan yudkhila al-mirfaqa biʿilmihi ʿalā man lā yaʿlamuhu, wa-taḥsuna niyyatuhu fīhi.

If a scholar has devoted himself to knowledge and no one can take his place, the best thing for him is to help through his knowledge those who do not possess it, with a good intention in doing so.

وَآخَرُ لَيْسَ مَقَامُهُ مَقَامَ عَالِمٍ، فَالْعَالِمُ يَكْفِيهِ حَاجَتَهُ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ، فَأَفْضَلُ الْأَشْيَاءِ لَهُ مُوَاسَاةُ أَهْلِ الْحَاجَةِ، وَالْبَذْلُ لَهُمْ، فَيَخْلُفُ لِلْأَرَامِلِ قُوَّامَهُنَّ، وَلِلْأَيْتَامِ أَبَاهُمْ، وَيَبْذُلُ الْحِيلَةَ فِي ذَلِكَ، وَهِيَ أَشَدُّ مَقَامٍ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ، وَأَشَدُّ الْعِبَادَةِ مَذَلَّةً، إِذْ يَكُونُ قَدْ أَعْطَى نَفْسَهُ الذُّلَّ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَاحْتَاجُوا إِلَيْهِ، فَهُوَ عَزِيزٌ بِاللَّهِ إِذْ صَارُوا لِنَفْعِهِ مُنْتَظِرِينَ، وَذَلِيلٌ إِذْ بَذَلَ نَفْسَهُ لِمَا بِهِ يَنْتَفِعُونَ.

Wa-ʾākharu laysa maqāmuhu maqāma ʿālimin, fa-al-ʿālimu yakfīhi ḥājatahu mina al-ʿilmi, fa-ʾafḍalu al-ʾashyāʾi lahu muwāsātu ʾahli al-ḥājati, wa-al-badhlu lahum, fa-yakhlufu li-al-ʾarāmili quwwāmahunna, wa-li-al-ʾaytāmi ʾabāhum, wa-yabdhulu al-ḥīlata fī dhālika, wa-hiya ʾashaddu maqāmin fī al-ʿibādati, wa-ʾashaddu al-ʿibādati madhallatan, ʾidh yakūnu qad ʾaʿṭā nafsahu al-dhulla li-llāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-iḥtājū ʾilayhi, fa-huwa ʿazīzun bi-Allāhi ʾidh ṣārū linafʿihi muntaẓirīna, wa-dhalīlun ʾidh badhala nafsahu limā bihi yantafiʿūna.

Another does not occupy a scholar’s station, and a scholar meets his need for knowledge. The best thing for him is to share with the needy and give to them, replacing the widows’ providers and the orphans’ father, exerting his resources in doing so. This is the most demanding station of worship and the most humbling worship: he has given himself to lowliness before God, mighty and exalted, while others need him. He is honored through God as they await his help, and lowly as he gives himself to what benefits them.

وَأَفْضَلُ الْخَلْقِ لِلنَّاسِ رَجُلٌ قَصَرَ نَفْسَهُ عَلَى الْعِلْمِ، وَآخَرُ بَذَلَ نَفْسَهُ لِمَؤُونَةِ النَّاسِ، مَؤُونَةِ عَالِمٍ رَعَى الْمُتَعَلِّمِينَ، وَسَاعٍ بَذَلَ نَفْسَهُ لِلْمَسَاكِينِ.

Wa-ʾafḍalu al-khalqi li-al-nāsi rajulun qaṣara nafsahu ʿalā al-ʿilmi, wa-ʾākharu badhala nafsahu limaʾūnati al-nāsi, maʾūnati ʿālimin raʿā al-mutaʿallimīna, wa-sāʿin badhala nafsahu li-al-masākīni.

The most beneficial people are a man who devotes himself to knowledge and another who gives himself to bearing people’s burdens: the burden of a scholar caring for learners and that of a worker giving himself to the poor.

فَعَلَى الْعَالِمِ فِي عِلْمِهِ التَّوَاضُعُ لِمَنِ انْقَطَعَ إِلَيْهِ، وَحُسْنُ الْعَطْفِ عَلَيْهِ، وَشِدَّةُ الْعَمَلِ بِمَا يَأْمُرُ بِهِ، وَإِيثَارُهُ أَصْحَابَهُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ، وَلَيْسَ يَحْمِلُ بِهِ أَنْ يَكْتَسِيَ وَهُمْ يَعْرَوْنَ، وَيَشْبَعَ وَهُمْ يَجُوعُونَ.

Fa-ʿalā al-ʿālimi fī ʿilmihi al-tawāḍuʿu limani inqaṭaʿa ʾilayhi, wa-ḥusnu al-ʿaṭfi ʿalayhi, wa-shiddatu al-ʿamali bimā yaʾmuru bihi, wa-ʾīthāruhu ʾaṣḥābahu ʿalā nafsihi, wa-laysa yaḥmilu bihi ʾan yaktasiya wa-hum yaʿrawna, wa-yashbaʿa wa-hum yajūʿūna.

In his knowledge, the scholar must be humble toward those who devote themselves to him, treat them kindly, diligently practice what he commands, and prefer his companions to himself. ‘It does not bear with him’ that he should be clothed while they go naked or eat his fill while they go hungry [the printed verb is unclear].

وَعَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَتَعَاهَدَ مِنْ أُمُورِهِمْ مَا يُضَيِّعُونَ، فَيَخْلُفَ مَنْ نَأَى مِنْهُمْ فِي عِيَالِهِ، وَيُوَاسِيَهُمْ بِمَالِهِ، وَعَلَيْهِ فِي تَأْدِيبِهِ لَهُمْ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ حَسَنَهُمْ لِيَزْدَادُوا، وَيَكْتُمَ خَطَأَهُمْ لِئَلَّا يَنْقَطِعُوا، وَيَتَلَمَّسَ مِنْ كُلِّ إِنْسَانٍ مَذْهَبَهُ.

Wa-ʿalayhi ʾan yataʿāhada min ʾumūrihim mā yuḍayyiʿūna, fa-yakhlufa man naʾā minhum fī ʿiyālihi, wa-yuwāsiyahum bimālihi, wa-ʿalayhi fī taʾdībihi lahum ʾan yuẓhira ḥasanahum liyazdādū, wa-yaktuma khaṭaʾahum liʾallā yanqaṭiʿū, wa-yatalammasa min kulli ʾinsānin madh-habahu.

He must attend to the affairs they neglect, look after the dependents of those who are away, and share his wealth with them. In educating them, he should make their good qualities visible so that they increase, conceal their mistakes so that they do not give up, and discern each person’s disposition.

فَيُحْسِنُ مُدَارَاتَهُمْ، وَلَا يَتَرَفَّعُ عَنْهُمْ، فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْعَالِمِ قَبِيحٌ، وَلَا يُكْثِرُ الْمُعَاتَبَةَ فَإِنَّهَا تَحْمِلُ عَلَى اللَّجَاجَةِ، وَلَا يُلِحُّ عَلَى وَاحِدٍ دُونَ الْآخَرِ بِإِقْبَالٍ، فَإِنَّهُ مِمَّا يَصْرِفُ عَنْهُ قُلُوبَ الرِّجَالِ، وَلَكِنْ لِيَقْسِمْ بَيْنَهُمُ النَّظَرَ، لِيَكُونُوا عَلَيْهِ أَقْبَلَ.

Fa-yuḥsinu mudārātahum, wa-lā yataraffaʿu ʿanhum, fa-ʾinna dhālika mina al-ʿālimi qabīḥun, wa-lā yukthiru al-muʿātabata fa-ʾinnahā taḥmilu ʿalā al-lajājati, wa-lā yuliḥḥu ʿalā wāḥidin dūna al-ʾākhari bi-ʾiqbālin, fa-ʾinnahu mimmā yaṣrifu ʿanhu qulūba al-rijāli, wa-lākin liyaqsim baynahumu al-naẓara, liyakūnū ʿalayhi ʾaqbala.

He deals with them tactfully and does not place himself above them, for that is ugly in a scholar. He does not rebuke excessively, for that provokes obstinacy, or continually favor one with attention over another, for that turns people’s hearts away from him. Rather, let him distribute his attention among them so they become more receptive to him.

وَعَلَى الْمُتَعَلِّمِينَ فِي مُشَاهَدَةِ الْمُعَلِّمِينَ وَفِي غَيْبَتِهِمْ شِدَّةُ التَّعْظِيمِ فِي الْغَيْبَةِ، وَالْأَدَبُ فِي الْمُشَاهَدَةِ، فَمِنَ الْأَدَبِ فِي مُشَاهَدَةِ الْعَالِمِ سُكُونُ الْجَوَارِحِ عِنْدَهُ، وَحُسْنُ الِاسْتِمَاعِ إِلَيْهِ، وَقِلَّةُ الِالْتِفَاتِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، وَإِظْهَارُ السُّرُورِ عِنْدَ حَدِيثِهِ، وَأَنْ يَكْتُمَ مَا يَرَى مِنْ شَيْنِهِ، وَأَنْ يُظْهِرَ الْمُبَالَغَةَ فِيمَا يُوَافِقُهُ، وَلَا يُلَاجِجَهُ فِيمَا يُخَالِفُهُ.

Wa-ʿalā al-mutaʿallimīna fī mushāhadati al-muʿallimīna wa-fī ghaybatihim shiddatu al-taʿẓīmi fī al-ghaybati, wa-al-ʾadabu fī al-mushāhadati, fa-mina al-ʾadabi fī mushāhadati al-ʿālimi sukūnu al-jawāriḥi ʿindahu, wa-ḥusnu al-istimāʿi ʾilayhi, wa-qillatu al-iltifāti bayna yadayhi, wa-ʾiẓhāru al-surūri ʿinda ḥadīthihi, wa-ʾan yaktuma mā yarā min shaynihi, wa-ʾan yuẓhira al-mubālaghata fīmā yuwāfiquhu, wa-lā yulājijahu fīmā yukhālifuhu.

Learners owe their teachers great respect in their absence and good manners in their presence. Good manners before a scholar include keeping one’s limbs still, listening well, looking around little, and showing pleasure when he speaks. One conceals the faults one notices, shows earnestness in what agrees with him, and does not stubbornly dispute what differs from him.

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وَأَنْ يَتَوَخَّى نَشَاطَهُ، وَيَجْتَنِبَ كَسَلَهُ، فَإِذَا رَأَى مِنْهُ فَتْرَةً رَفَعَ عَنْهُ الْمُذَاكَرَةَ، وَإِنْ رَأَى مِنْهُ نَشَاطًا سَاءَلَهُ عَمَّا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ.

Wa-ʾan yatawakhkhā nashāṭahu, wa-yajtaniba kasalahu, fa-ʾidhā raʾā minhu fatratan rafaʿa ʿanhu al-mudhākarata, wa-ʾin raʾā minhu nashāṭan sāʾalahu ʿammā yaḥtāju ʾilayhi.

One chooses his moments of energy and avoids his moments of weariness. If he seems tired, one relieves him of discussion; if he seems energetic, one asks him about what one needs.”

قُلْتُ: أَيُّ الْعِبَادَةِ أَفْضَلُ بَعْدَ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ وَتَعْظِيمِهِ، وَبَعْدَ إِدْخَالِ الْمِرْفَقِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ؟

Qultu: ʾayyu al-ʿibādati ʾafḍalu baʿda al-ʿilmi bi-Allāhi wa-taʿẓīmihi, wa-baʿda ʾidkhāli al-mirfaqi ʿalā al-ʿibādi?

I asked: “What worship is best after knowing and magnifying God and bringing help to His servants?”

قَالَ: أَفْضَلُ الْعِبَادَةِ بَعْدَ مَا سَأَلْتَ عَنْهُ طُولُ الْمُقَامِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، بِحُسْنِ الْخَبَرِ، وَالْخُشُوعِ لِلَّهِ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ. قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَذَلِكَ فِي الْوَقْتِ الَّذِي زَالَ فِيهِ عَنْ مُحَارَبَةِ الْأَعْدَاءِ: «وَجُعِلَتْ قُرَّةُ عَيْنِي فِي الصَّلَاةِ». أَيْ قَرَرْتُ بِهَا عَيْنًا.

Qāla: ʾafḍalu al-ʿibādati baʿda mā saʾalta ʿanhu ṭūlu al-muqāmi bayna yadayi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, biḥusni al-khabari, wa-al-khushūʿi li-llāhi jalla thanāʾuhu. Qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, wa-dhālika fī al-waqti alladhī zāla fīhi ʿan muḥārabati al-ʾaʿdāʾi: «wa-juʿilat qurratu ʿaynī fī al-ṣalāti». ʾAy qarartu bihā ʿaynan.

He said: “After what you have asked about, the best worship is standing long before God, mighty and exalted, with ‘good report’ [the printed expression is uncertain] and reverence for God, glorious is His praise. When he was no longer engaged in fighting enemies, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘The delight of my eyes has been placed in prayer.’ That is, my eyes found contentment in it.

فَأَفْضَلُ الْأَعْمَالِ بَعْدَ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ، وَالسَّعْيِ عَلَى عِبَادِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الصَّلَاةُ، لِأَنَّهُ يُصَلِّي بِأَكْثَرِ الْأَشْيَاءِ، فَالصَّلَاةُ مُنْتَظِمَةٌ لِأَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ، إِلَّا إِدْخَالَ الْمَرَافِقِ.

Fa-ʾafḍalu al-ʾaʿmāli baʿda al-ʿilmi bi-Allāhi, wa-al-saʿyi ʿalā ʿibādi Allāhi taʿālā al-ṣalātu, li-ʾannahu yuṣallī bi-ʾakthari al-ʾashyāʾi, fa-al-ṣalātu muntaẓimatun li-ʾaʿmāli al-birri, ʾillā ʾidkhāla al-marāfiqi.

After knowing God and working for the servants of God Most High, the finest deed is prayer, for a person prays by means of most things [the phrase is unusual]. Prayer gathers together acts of goodness, except providing practical help.

فَالْمُصَلِّي مُحْرِمٌ، وَالْمُصَلِّي مُلَبٍّ، وَالْمُصَلِّي مُجَاهِدٌ، وَالْمُصَلِّي صَائِمٌ.

Fa-al-muṣallī muḥrimun, wa-al-muṣallī mulabbin, wa-al-muṣallī mujāhidun, wa-al-muṣallī ṣāʾimun.

The person praying is in a state of consecration, answers the call, strives, and fasts.

فَهُوَ مُحْرِمٌ لِأَنَّهُ أَمَّ الْبَيْتَ، وَاحْتَمَى عَمَّا يَحْتَمِي الْمُحْرِمُ.

Fa-huwa muḥrimun li-ʾannahu ʾamma al-bayta, wa-iḥtamā ʿammā yaḥtamī al-muḥrimu.

He is consecrated because he has turned toward the House and refrains from what the consecrated pilgrim refrains from.

وَهُوَ مُلَبٍّ لِأَنَّهُ أَجَابَ الدَّاعِيَ. وَمَعْنَى التَّلْبِيَةِ الْإِجَابَةُ، وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ إِذَا نَهَضَ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ يَقُولُ: «لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ، وَالْخَيْرُ فِي يَدَيْكَ، وَالْمَهْدِيُّ مَنْ هَدَيْتَ، لَبَّيْكَ رَبَّ الْبَيْتِ».

Wa-huwa mulabbin li-ʾannahu ʾajāba al-dāʿiya. Wa-maʿnā al-talbiyati al-ʾijābatu, wa-qad ruwiya ʿan ʿAliyyi bni ʾAbī Ṭālibin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʾannahu kāna ʾidhā nahaḍa ʾilā al-ṣalāti yaqūlu: «labbayka wa-saʿdayka, wa-al-khayru fī yadayka, wa-al-mahdiyyu man hadayta, labbayka rabba al-bayti».

He answers the call because he has responded to the caller: talbiya means response. It is related that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, may God be pleased with him, used to say when rising for prayer: ‘Here I am at Your service, gladly at Your service. Good is in Your hands, and the guided one is whoever You guide. Here I am, Lord of the House.’

وَقَالَ: «مَا هَمَّنِي أَمْرٌ قَطُّ إِلَّا صَلَّيْتُ لَهُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ» يَقُولُ: أَحْلَلْتُ لَهُ بِالْخُشُوعِ وَحُسْنِ الْخُضُوعِ، «فَسَأَلْتُ اللَّهَ الْكَرِيمَ النَّظَرَ إِلَيَّ بِجُودِهِ إِلَّا أُعْطِيتُ مَا سَأَلْتُ».

Wa-qāla: «mā hammanī ʾamrun qaṭṭu ʾillā ṣallaytu lahu rakʿatayni» yaqūlu: ʾaḥlaltu lahu bi-al-khushūʿi wa-ḥusni al-khuḍūʿi, «fa-saʾaltu Allāha al-karīma al-naẓara ʾilayya bijūdihi ʾillā ʾuʿṭītu mā saʾaltu».

He said: ‘No concern has ever troubled me without my praying two prayer cycles for it.’ That is: I entered reverence and willing submission before Him. ‘I asked God the Generous to look upon me with His bounty, and I was always given what I asked.’

قُلْتُ: مَا الْمُحَافَظَةُ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ؟

Qultu: mā al-muḥāfaẓatu ʿalā al-ṣalāti?

I asked: “What is guarding prayer?”

قَالَ: الْمُحَافَظَةُ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ الْقِيَامُ عَلَيْهَا فِي أَوَّلِ وَقْتِهَا، بِشِدَّةِ عِنَايَةٍ وَخُضُوعٍ وَاسْتِكَانَةٍ، وَالتَّهَيُّؤُ لَهَا بِمِثْلِ الدُّخُولِ فِيهَا، بِأَحْسَنِ زِينَةٍ مِنَ الْوَقَارِ وَالسَّكِينَةِ.

Qāla: al-muḥāfaẓatu ʿalā al-ṣalāti al-qiyāmu ʿalayhā fī ʾawwali waqtihā, bishiddati ʿināyatin wa-khuḍūʿin wa-istikānatin, wa-al-tahayyuʾu lahā bimithli al-dukhūli fīhā, bi-ʾaḥsani zīnatin mina al-waqāri wa-al-sakīnati.

He said: “Guarding prayer means attending to it at the beginning of its time with intense care, submission, and humility, preparing for it as though already entering it, adorned with the finest dignity and tranquility.

فَإِذَا اسْتَفْتَحَ جَمَعَ هَمَّهُ، وَأَحْضَرَ ذِهْنَهُ، وَأَشْعَرَ قَلْبَهُ تَعْظِيمَ مَنْ قَامَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، وَجَعَلَ مَوْضِعَ سُجُودِهِ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ، وَأَوْقَعَ بَصَرَهُ عَلَيْهِ. فَإِنَّهُ رُوِيَ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ: «إِذَا قُمْتَ لِلصَّلَاةِ، فَأَوْقِعْ بَصَرَكَ مَوْضِعَ سُجُودِكَ».

Fa-ʾidhā istaftaḥa jamaʿa hammahu, wa-ʾaḥḍara dhihnahu, wa-ʾashʿara qalbahu taʿẓīma man qāma bayna yadayhi, wa-jaʿala mawḍiʿa sujūdihi bayna ʿaynayhi, wa-ʾawqaʿa baṣarahu ʿalayhi. Fa-ʾinnahu ruwiya ʿan ʿAliyyi bni ʾAbī Ṭālibin ʾannahu qāla liʿAbdi Allāhi bni Jaʿfarin: «ʾidhā qumta li-al-ṣalāti, fa-ʾawqiʿ baṣaraka mawḍiʿa sujūdika».

When he begins, he gathers his concern, brings his mind into the present, and fills his heart with reverence for the One before whom he stands. He places the spot of prostration before his eyes and fixes his gaze upon it. It is related that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib said to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar: ‘When you stand for prayer, fix your gaze on the place of your prostration.’

Source page 34

ثُمَّ يَسْتَفْتِحُ الْقِرَاءَةَ فَيَجْعَلُ لِسَانَهُ تَرْجُمَانَ قَلْبِهِ، فَلَا يَغِيبُ قَلْبُهُ عَمَّا يَقُولُ، وَيَحْفَظُ لَفْظَهُ فَلَا يَهْوِى عَمَّا بِهِ يَعْقِلُ قَلْبُهُ لِئَلَّا يَزُولَ، وَيَكُونُ قَلْبُهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا يَقُولُ لِسَانُهُ، لَا يَعْلَمُ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ شَأْنِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا هُوَ فِيهِ مِنْ صَلَاتِهِ، فَلَا يَذْكُرُ فِي تِلَاوَتِهِ غَيْرَ مَا يَتْلُو، وَلَا يَذْكُرُ مِنَ التِّلَاوَةِ مَا لَمْ يَجِئْ، وَإِنَّمَا هَمُّهُ الْآيَةُ الَّتِي يَتْلُو.

Thumma yastaftiḥu al-qirāʾata fa-yajʿalu lisānahu tarjumāna qalbihi, fa-lā yaghību qalbuhu ʿammā yaqūlu, wa-yaḥfaẓu lafẓahu fa-lā yahwī ʿammā bihi yaʿqilu qalbuhu liʾallā yazūla, wa-yakūnu qalbuhu yaʿlamu mā yaqūlu lisānuhu, lā yaʿlamu bishayʾin min shaʾnihi ʾillā bimā huwa fīhi min ṣalātihi, fa-lā yadhkuru fī tilāwatihi ghayra mā yatlū, wa-lā yadhkuru mina al-tilāwati mā lam yajiʾ, wa-ʾinnamā hammuhu al-ʾāyatu allatī yatlū.

Then he begins the recitation, making his tongue the interpreter of his heart. His heart is not absent from what he says. He guards his utterance and does not fall away from what his heart understands through it, lest it wander. His heart knows what his tongue says and is aware of none of his affairs except the prayer he is engaged in. During recitation he thinks only of what he is reciting, not of passages yet to come. His concern is solely the verse he is reciting.

فَإِذَا فَرَغَ مِنَ الْقِرَاءَةِ وَصَارَ إِلَى الرُّكُوعِ، لَمْ يَذْكُرْ إِلَّا التَّكْبِيرَ وَحُسْنَ الْخُضُوعِ، وَكَذَلِكَ إِذَا اعْتَدَلَ فِي الْقِيَامِ لَمْ يَذْكُرِ الرُّكُوعَ، وَكَانَ ذِكْرُهُ السُّجُودَ مَعَ الْخُشُوعِ.

Fa-ʾidhā faragha mina al-qirāʾati wa-ṣāra ʾilā al-rukūʿi, lam yadhkur ʾillā al-takbīra wa-ḥusna al-khuḍūʿi, wa-ka-dhālika ʾidhā iʿtadala fī al-qiyāmi lam yadhkuri al-rukūʿa, wa-kāna dhikruhu al-sujūda maʿa al-khushūʿi.

When he finishes reciting and moves into bowing, he thinks only of magnifying God and submitting well. Likewise, when he stands upright again, he does not think of bowing; his thought is of prostration with reverence.

فَإِذَا فَرَغَ مِنْ رَكْعَةٍ حَفِظَهَا، وَابْتَدَأَ الثَّانِيَةَ، يَفْعَلُ فِيهَا كَمَا صَنَعَ فِي الْأُولَى، وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ غَيْرَ وَقْتِهِ، وَيَحْفَظُ كَمْ رَكْعَةً صَلَّى، إِذْ لَا بُدَّ لَهَا أَنْ تُحْصَى لِئَلَّا يَزْدَادَ فِيهَا، وَلَا يَنْقُصَ مِنْهَا، حَتَّى يُؤَدِّيَ إِلَى اللَّهِ فَرْضَهُ.

Fa-ʾidhā faragha min rakʿatin ḥafiẓahā, wa-ibtadaʾa al-thāniyata, yafʿalu fīhā kamā ṣanaʿa fī al-ʾūlā, wa-lam yadhkur ghayra waqtihi, wa-yaḥfaẓu kam rakʿatan ṣallā, ʾidh lā budda lahā ʾan tuḥṣā liʾallā yazdāda fīhā, wa-lā yanquṣa minhā, ḥattā yuʾaddiya ʾilā Allāhi farḍahu.

When he finishes one prayer cycle, he keeps count of it and begins the second, doing as he did in the first and thinking only of his present moment. He keeps track of how many cycles he has prayed, since they must be counted so that he neither adds nor subtracts, until he fulfills his obligation to God.”

قُلْتُ: كَيْفَ الْإِخْلَاصُ فِي الصَّلَاةِ وَغَيْرِهَا مِنْ أَنْوَاعِ التُّقَى؟

Qultu: kayfa al-ʾikhlāṣu fī al-ṣalāti wa-ghayrihā min ʾanwāʿi al-tuqā?

I asked: “How is sincerity achieved in prayer and other forms of piety?”

قَالَ: الْإِخْلَاصُ ضَرْبَانِ:

Qāla: al-ʾikhlāṣu ḍarbāni:

He said: “Sincerity takes two forms.

أَحَدُهُمَا: التَّوْحِيدُ لِلَّهِ، وَأَلَّا يُرَادَ بِالْعَمَلِ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ.

ʾAḥaduhumā: al-tawḥīdu li-llāhi, wa-ʾallā yurāda bi-al-ʿamali ghayru Allāhi.

One is affirming God’s oneness and intending no one but God through the deed.

وَالْآخَرُ أَنْ يَخْلُصَ الْعَمَلُ. وَإِخْلَاصُهُ أَنْ يُخَلِّصَهُ مِنْ كُلِّ آفَةٍ تَنْقُصُ فَضْلَهُ، وَلَا يَتِمُّ الْعَمَلُ حَتَّى يَتَوَجَّهَ بِهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ، لَا يُرِيدُ فِيهِ غَيْرَهُ، وَتَزُولَ عَنْهُ الْآفَاتُ، مِنَ الْإِصْغَاءِ وَكَثْرَةِ الِالْتِفَاتِ عَنْهُ، وَحَدِيثِ النَّفْسِ بِغَيْرِهِ فِيهِ. فَإِذَا تَحَفَّظَ فِيهِ، تَمَّ وَتَمَّ ثَوَابُهُ وَبِاللَّهِ يُسْتَعَانُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ.

Wa-al-ʾākharu ʾan yakhluṣa al-ʿamalu. Wa-ʾikhlāṣuhu ʾan yukhalliṣahu min kulli ʾāfatin tanquṣu faḍlahu, wa-lā yatimmu al-ʿamalu ḥattā yatawajjaha bihi ʾilā Allāhi, lā yurīdu fīhi ghayrahu, wa-tazūla ʿanhu al-ʾāfātu, mina al-ʾiṣghāʾi wa-kathrati al-iltifāti ʿanhu, wa-ḥadīthi al-nafsi bighayrihi fīhi. Fa-ʾidhā taḥaffaẓa fīhi, tamma wa-tamma thawābuhu wa-bi-Allāhi yustaʿānu ʿalā dhālika.

The other is making the deed pure: freeing it of every defect that reduces its merit. A deed is not complete until one directs it toward God, intending no one else, and removes its defects: listening elsewhere, frequently turning away from it, and inwardly talking about other things during it. When he guards against these, the deed and its reward become complete. God’s help is sought in this.”

قُلْتُ: أَكُلُّ حَدِيثٍ يَعْرِضُ فِي الصَّلَاةِ يَنْقُصُ مِنْهَا؟

Qultu: ʾakullu ḥadīthin yaʿriḍu fī al-ṣalāti yanquṣu minhā?

I asked: “Does every thought that arises during prayer diminish it?”

قَالَ: يَعْرِضُ فِيهَا مِنْ حَدِيثِ النَّفْسِ ضَرْبَانِ:

Qāla: yaʿriḍu fīhā min ḥadīthi al-nafsi ḍarbāni:

He said: “Two kinds of inward discourse arise in it:

خَوَاطِرُ النَّفْسِ، وَآخَرُ مِنْ خَوَاطِرِ الْوَسْوَاسِ.

Khawāṭiru al-nafsi, wa-ʾākharu min khawāṭiri al-waswāsi.

the soul’s passing thoughts, and another kind consisting of whispered suggestions.

فَأَمَّا مَا كَانَ مِنْ حَدِيثِ النَّفْسِ فَيَكُونُ عَلَى تَعَمُّدٍ وَسَهْوٍ.

Fa-ʾammā mā kāna min ḥadīthi al-nafsi fa-yakūnu ʿalā taʿammudin wa-sahwin.

The soul’s inward discourse can be deliberate or inadvertent.

فَأَمَّا مَا كَانَ مِنْ سَهْوٍ فَإِنَّ صَاحِبَهُ يُلْقِي بِهِ، وَلَا يُجَارِيهِ، وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ تَعَمُّدٍ فَإِنَّ صَاحِبَهُ قَدْ أَسَاءَ، وَعَلَيْهِ الِاسْتِغْفَارُ لِمَا مَضَى.

Fa-ʾammā mā kāna min sahwin fa-ʾinna ṣāḥibahu yulqī bihi, wa-lā yujārīhi, wa-mā kāna min taʿammudin fa-ʾinna ṣāḥibahu qad ʾasāʾa, wa-ʿalayhi al-istighfāru limā maḍā.

What arises inadvertently is cast aside without being pursued. As for what is deliberate, its possessor has acted wrongly and must seek forgiveness for what has passed.

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وَالسَّهْوُ عَلَى ضَرْبَيْنِ:

Wa-al-sahwu ʿalā ḍarbayni:

Inadvertence takes two forms:

فَسَهْوٌ أَدَّاهُ إِلَيْهِ حَدِيثُ النَّفْسِ مُتَعَمِّدًا، وَسَهْوٌ قَدْ صَارَ إِلَيْهِ بِجَعْلِ الْغَيْرِ بِغَيْرِ تَعَمُّدٍ، فَمَلُومٌ عَلَى السَّهْوِ الَّذِي أَدَّاهُ إِلَيْهِ التَّعَمُّدُ، وَمَوْضُوعٌ عَنْهُ مَا لَمْ يَتَعَمَّدْ.

Fa-sahwun ʾaddāhu ʾilayhi ḥadīthu al-nafsi mutaʿammidan, wa-sahwun qad ṣāra ʾilayhi bijaʿli al-ghayri bighayri taʿammudin, fa-malūmun ʿalā al-sahwi alladhī ʾaddāhu ʾilayhi al-taʿammudu, wa-mawḍūʿun ʿanhu mā lam yataʿammad.

inadvertence into which deliberate inward discourse has led him, and inadvertence brought about by another without his deliberate intention. He is blameworthy for the inadvertence produced by deliberate intent; what he did not intend is excused.”

وَأَمَّا مَا كَانَ مِنْ خَوَاطِرِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِنَّهُ عَنْهُ مَوْضُوعٌ، مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ مَتْبُوعٌ، فَإِنْ هُوَ إِلَيْهِ أَصْغَى، وَمَالَ إِلَيْهِ بِالْهَوَى، فَعَلَيْهِ بِسُرْعَةِ الرُّجُوعِ، وَلَا يَكُونُ بِالْعَبْدِ بِهِ وَلُوعٌ.

Wa-ʾammā mā kāna min khawāṭiri al-shayṭāni fa-ʾinnahu ʿanhu mawḍūʿun, mā lam yakun lahu matbūʿun, fa-ʾin huwa ʾilayhi ʾaṣghā, wa-māla ʾilayhi bi-al-hawā, fa-ʿalayhi bisurʿati al-rujūʿi, wa-lā yakūnu bi-al-ʿabdi bihi walūʿun.

“As for Satan’s passing suggestions, they are excused so long as they are not followed. If the servant listens and inclines toward them out of desire, he must turn back quickly and not become infatuated with them.”

قُلْتُ: مَا الْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ مَا كَانَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ مِنَ الْوَسْوَسَةِ، وَبَيْنَ حَدِيثِ الْإِنْسَانِ نَفْسَهُ؟

Qultu: mā al-farqu bayna mā kāna mina al-shayṭāni mina al-waswasati, wa-bayna ḥadīthi al-ʾinsāni nafsahu?

I asked: “What distinguishes Satan’s whispering from a person’s own inward discourse?”

قَالَ: يَبِينُ الْفَرْقُ فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَهْلِ اللُّبِّ، وَيَخْفَى عَلَى أَهْلِ الْغَفْلَةِ.

Qāla: yabīnu al-farqu fī dhālika li-ʾahli al-lubbi, wa-yakhfā ʿalā ʾahli al-ghaflati.

He said: “The distinction is clear to people of understanding and hidden from the heedless.

وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ حَدِيثَ النَّفْسِ سَهْلٌ، وَيُرَادُ بِرَوِيَّةٍ وَإِرَادَةٍ وَمُخَاطَبَةٍ، وَبِقَصْدٍ وَتَفَقُّدٍ، وَكُلُّ ذَلِكَ يَكُونُ مِنَ النَّفْسِ، وَلَا يَكُونُ مِنْهَا عَلَى غَيْرِ هَذِهِ الْوُجُوهِ.

Wa-dhālika ʾanna ḥadītha al-nafsi sahlun, wa-yurādu birawiyyatin wa-ʾirādatin wa-mukhāṭabatin, wa-biqaṣdin wa-tafaqqudin, wa-kullu dhālika yakūnu mina al-nafsi, wa-lā yakūnu minhā ʿalā ghayri hādhihi al-wujūhi.

The soul’s inward discourse is readily undertaken and intended through reflection, willing, and self-address, through purpose and examination. All of this comes from the soul, and it occurs from the soul only in these ways.

وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ فَبِإِلْقَائِهِ، لَيْسَ مِنَ النَّفْسِ شَيْءٌ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ، فَإِذَا تَعَاهَدَ الْعَبْدُ هَذَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ مَا قَصَدَ لَهُ، مِمَّا أُلْقِيَ إِلَيْهِ.

Wa-mā kāna mina al-shayṭāni fa-bi-ʾilqāʾihi, laysa mina al-nafsi shayʾun min ṣifātihi, fa-ʾidhā taʿāhada al-ʿabdu hādhā tabayyana lahu mā qaṣada lahu, mimmā ʾulqiya ʾilayhi.

What comes from Satan is cast in by him and has none of the soul’s characteristics. When the servant attends carefully to this, he can distinguish what he intended from what was cast before him.”

قُلْتُ: قَدْ يَكُونُ مِنَ الْإِنْسَانِ الشَّيْءُ ثُمَّ يَنْسَاهُ، وَيَكُونُ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الشَّيْءُ، ثُمَّ يَنْسَى مَا أَلْقَاهُ، ثُمَّ يَتَذَكَّرُهُمَا، وَلَا يَتَذَكَّرُ ابْتِدَاءَهُمَا وَإِلْقَاءَهُمَا، فَبِمَ يَفْصِلُ بَيْنَهُمَا؟

Qultu: qad yakūnu mina al-ʾinsāni al-shayʾu thumma yansāhu, wa-yakūnu mina al-shayṭāni al-shayʾu, thumma yansā mā ʾalqāhu, thumma yatadhakkaruhumā, wa-lā yatadhakkaru ibtidāʾahumā wa-ʾilqāʾahumā, fa-bima yafṣilu baynahumā?

I asked: “Something may arise from the person, who then forgets it, and something may arise from Satan, whose suggestion he then forgets. Later he remembers both but not how they began or were cast before him. How can he distinguish them?”

قَالَ: قَدْ يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَانُ ضُرُوبًا مِنَ الْعِصْيَانِ.

Qāla: qad yulqī al-shayṭānu ḍurūban mina al-ʿiṣyāni.

He said: “Satan may suggest various kinds of disobedience.

فَمِنْهُ مَا يَأْلَفُهُ الْعَبْدُ، وَمِنْهُ مَا تَحِلُّ بِهِ الْوَحْشَةُ عِنْدَ الْإِلْقَاءِ بِهِ، وَمِنْهُ مَا هُوَ مِنْ عَادَتِهِ.

Fa-minhu mā yaʾlafuhu al-ʿabdu, wa-minhu mā taḥillu bihi al-waḥshatu ʿinda al-ʾilqāʾi bihi, wa-minhu mā huwa min ʿādatihi.

Some are familiar to the servant, some cause aversion when suggested, and some belong to his habitual conduct.

فَإِذَا تَذَكَّرَ مَا حَدَّثَ بِهِ مِنَ الشَّيْءِ، ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتَذَكَّرْ أَمِنْهُ كَانَ أَوْ مِنْ عَدُوِّهِ، فَإِنَّهُ يَنْظُرُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ مِمَّا يَأْلَفُهُ فِيمَا مَضَى، أَوْ لَا يَذْكُرُ أَنَّهُ فِي بَعْضِ حَالَاتِهِ اسْتَحْلَاهُ.

Fa-ʾidhā tadhakkara mā ḥaddatha bihi mina al-shayʾi, thumma lam yatadhakkar ʾaminhu kāna ʾaw min ʿaduwwihi, fa-ʾinnahu yanẓuru, fa-ʾin kāna mimmā yaʾlafuhu fīmā maḍā, ʾaw lā yadhkuru ʾannahu fī baʿḍi ḥālātihi istaḥlāhu.

When he remembers what was spoken of but cannot remember whether it came from him or his enemy, he examines it: was it familiar to him in the past, or does he not remember having found it sweet in some former condition? [The printed sentence is incomplete.]

فَإِنْ كَانَ مِمَّا لَمْ يَذْكُرْ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ فِيهِ هَوًى عَلِمَ أَنَّهُ مِنَ الْإِلْقَاءِ، فَإِذَا كَانَ مِمَّا لَا يَأْمَنُ أَنَّهُ مِنَ النَّفْسِ فِيهِ سُكُونٌ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يُخَفِّفُ عَلَيْهَا فِيهِ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَدْرِي لَعَلَّهُ فِي تِلْكَ الْحَالِ الَّتِي ذَكَرَ فِيهَا هَذَا الشَّيْءَ قَدْ كَانَ مِمَّا لَا يَنْتَحِلُهُ.

Fa-ʾin kāna mimmā lam yadhkur min nafsihi fīhi hawan ʿalima ʾannahu mina al-ʾilqāʾi, fa-ʾidhā kāna mimmā lā yaʾmanu ʾannahu mina al-nafsi fīhi sukūnun fa-ʾinnahu lā yukhaffifu ʿalayhā fīhi, li-ʾannahu lā yadrī laʿallahu fī tilka al-ḥāli allatī dhakara fīhā hādhā al-shayʾa qad kāna mimmā lā yantaḥiluhu.

If he remembers no desire for it in himself, he knows it was cast in. But if he cannot be sure the soul had no inclination toward it, he does not let the soul off lightly. He does not know: perhaps, in the state in which he remembered this thing, it was something he did not adopt [the printed final negation makes the reasoning uncertain].

فَإِذَا أَشْكَلَ عَلَيْهِ فَلَمْ يَدْرِ أَمِنْهُ كَانَ أَوْ مِنْ عَدُوِّهِ، فَلْيَكْرَهْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ مَا كَانَ، فَإِنَّهُ إِنْ كَانَ قَبِلَ عَنْهُ فَقَدْ بَرِئَ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنْهُ، وَإِنْ كَانَ لَمْ يَقْبَلْهُ كَانَ قَدْ أَخَذَ بِالْحَزْمِ، وَرَجَعَ اللَّعِينُ بِالْخُسْرَانِ.

Fa-ʾidhā ʾashkala ʿalayhi fa-lam yadri ʾaminhu kāna ʾaw min ʿaduwwihi, fa-l-yakrah min dhālika mā kāna, fa-ʾinnahu ʾin kāna qabila ʿanhu fa-qad bariʾa al-shayṭānu minhu, wa-ʾin kāna lam yaqbalhu kāna qad ʾakhadha bi-al-ḥazmi, wa-rajaʿa al-laʿīnu bi-al-khusrāni.

If the matter remains unclear and he cannot tell whether it came from himself or his enemy, let him reject whatever it was. If he had accepted it from him, ‘Satan has disowned it’ [as printed; the relation is unclear]. If he had not accepted it, he has acted prudently, and the accursed one returns defeated.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا الَّذِي يَنْقُصُ الصَّلَاةَ مِمَّا لَا يَنْقُصُهَا؟

Qultu: fa-mā alladhī yanquṣu al-ṣalāta mimmā lā yanquṣuhā?

I asked: “What diminishes prayer, as distinct from what does not?”

قَالَ: أَمَّا الَّذِي يَنْقُصُ الصَّلَاةَ فَتَرْكُ حُدُودِهَا حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ مِنْهَا، مِنَ التَّكْبِيرِ الْأَوَّلِ، وَالرُّكُوعِ وَالسُّجُودِ، وَالْقِرَاءَةِ.

Qāla: ʾammā alladhī yanquṣu al-ṣalāta fa-tarku ḥudūdihā ḥattā yakhruja minhā, mina al-takbīri al-ʾawwali, wa-al-rukūʿi wa-al-sujūdi, wa-al-qirāʾati.

He said: “What diminishes prayer is omitting its required elements until one finishes: the opening magnification, bowing, prostration, and recitation.

Source page 36

فَإِذَا خَرَجَ مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ وَقَدْ كَانَ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ مِنْ هَذَا، فَعَلَيْهِ الْإِعَادَةُ مُتَعَمِّدًا كَانَ أَوْ نَاسِيًا.

Fa-ʾidhā kharaja mina al-ṣalāti wa-qad kāna minhu shayʾun min hādhā, fa-ʿalayhi al-ʾiʿādatu mutaʿammidan kāna ʾaw nāsiyan.

If he finishes the prayer having done any of this, he must repeat it, whether the omission was deliberate or forgetful.

وَأَمَّا حُدُودُ الصَّلَاةِ فَإِنْ خَرَجَ مِنْهَا، وَلَمْ يَدْرِ أَعَلَى شَفْعٍ أَوْ وِتْرٍ، فَعَلَيْهِ الْإِعَادَةُ.

Wa-ʾammā ḥudūdu al-ṣalāti fa-ʾin kharaja minhā, wa-lam yadri ʾaʿalā shafʿin ʾaw witrin, fa-ʿalayhi al-ʾiʿādatu.

Regarding prayer’s prescribed bounds, if he finishes without knowing whether he ended on an even or odd number, he must repeat it.

وَإِذَا كَانَ فِي الصَّلَاةِ وَلَمْ يَدْرِ أَعَلَى شَفْعٍ أَوْ وِتْرٍ، فَعَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَبْنِيَ عَلَى الْأَقَلِّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يَسْجُدَ لِلسَّهْوِ، فَهَذِهِ الْخَصْلَةُ، إِذَا ذُكِرَتْ فِي الصَّلَاةِ نَقَصَتْهَا، وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ حَدِيثٍ مُتَعَمَّدًا نَقَصَهَا وَأَثِمَ، وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ سَهْوٍ نَقَصَهَا وَلَمْ يَأْثَمْ صَاحِبُهَا.

Wa-ʾidhā kāna fī al-ṣalāti wa-lam yadri ʾaʿalā shafʿin ʾaw witrin, fa-ʿalayhi ʾan yabniya ʿalā al-ʾaqalli min dhālika, thumma yasjuda li-al-sahwi, fa-hādhihi al-khaṣlatu, ʾidhā dhukirat fī al-ṣalāti naqaṣat-hā, wa-mā kāna min ḥadīthin mutaʿammadan naqaṣahā wa-ʾathima, wa-mā kāna min sahwin naqaṣahā wa-lam yaʾtham ṣāḥibuhā.

If he is still praying and does not know whether the number is even or odd, he must proceed on the smaller number and then prostrate for forgetfulness. This lapse, when recalled during prayer, diminishes it. Deliberate inward discourse diminishes it and incurs sin; inadvertence diminishes it without making its possessor sinful.”

قُلْتُ: مَا الْهَمُّ الْمَوْضُوعُ، وَالْهَمُّ الَّذِي يَكُونُ صَاحِبُهُ بِهِ مَأْخُوذًا؟ وَأَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «يَجُوزُ لِأُمَّتِي الْخَطَأُ وَالنِّسْيَانُ وَمَا حَدَّثَتْ بِهِ أَنْفُسُهَا». وَعَنْ قَوْلِهِ: «مَنْ هَمَّ بِسَيِّئَةٍ وَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا لَمْ تُكْتَبْ عَلَيْهِ، وَمَنْ هَمَّ بِحَسَنَةٍ كُتِبَتْ لَهُ».

Qultu: mā al-hammu al-mawḍūʿu, wa-al-hammu alladhī yakūnu ṣāḥibuhu bihi maʾkhūdhan? Wa-ʾakhbirnī ʿan qawlihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «yajūzu li-ʾummatī al-khaṭaʾu wa-al-nisyānu wa-mā ḥaddathat bihi ʾanfusuhā». Wa-ʿan qawlihi: «man hamma bisayyiʾatin wa-lam yaʿmalhā lam tuktab ʿalayhi, wa-man hamma biḥasanatin kutibat lahu».

I asked: “What intention is excused, and what intention makes its possessor accountable? Explain the saying of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: ‘Error, forgetfulness, and what their souls say inwardly are allowed for my community’ [the report’s unusual printed wording is retained]. And his saying: ‘Whoever intends a bad deed but does not do it has nothing recorded against him, while whoever intends a good deed has it recorded for him.’”

قَالَ: أَمَّا الْهَمُّ الْمَوْضُوعُ فَهُوَ التَّرْوِيَةُ إِذَا خَطَرَتِ الْمَعْصِيَةُ، أَيَفْعَلُهَا أَمْ لَا، فَهُوَ يَمِيلُ بَيْنَ الْفِعْلِ وَالتَّرْكِ فَلَا يُكْتَبُ عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ حَتَّى يَصِيرَ إِلَى أَحَدِهِمَا.

Qāla: ʾammā al-hammu al-mawḍūʿu fa-huwa al-tarwiyatu ʾidhā khaṭarati al-maʿṣiyatu, ʾayafʿaluhā ʾam lā, fa-huwa yamīlu bayna al-fiʿli wa-al-tarki fa-lā yuktabu ʿalayhi shayʾun ḥattā yaṣīra ʾilā ʾaḥadihimā.

He said: “The excused intention is deliberation when a sin occurs to him: will he do it or not? He wavers between doing and leaving it, and nothing is recorded against him until he settles on one of the two.

فَإِنْ صَارَ إِلَى الْعَقْدِ زَالَ عَنْهُ الْهَمُّ، وَلَمْ يُسَمَّ هَمًّا، وَصَارَ إِلَى الْعَقْدِ عَلَى الْمَعْصِيَةِ، فَصَارَ إِثْمًا، وَكُتِبَتْ عَلَيْهِ خَطِيئَةٌ.

Fa-ʾin ṣāra ʾilā al-ʿaqdi zāla ʿanhu al-hammu, wa-lam yusamma hamman, wa-ṣāra ʾilā al-ʿaqdi ʿalā al-maʿṣiyati, fa-ṣāra ʾithman, wa-kutibat ʿalayhi khaṭīʾatun.

If he reaches firm resolve, he passes beyond intention; it is no longer called intention but a settled resolve to disobey. It becomes sin, and a misdeed is recorded against him.

وَإِنْ هُوَ صَارَ مِنَ الْهَمِّ إِلَى التَّرْكِ صَارَ إِلَى الطَّاعَةِ، وَكُتِبَتْ لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ. فَهَذَا مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: مَنْ هَمَّ بِسَيِّئَةٍ لَمْ تُكْتَبْ عَلَيْهِ خَطِيئَتُهُ حَتَّى يَعْقِدَ عَلَيْهَا، فَإِنْ تَرَكَهَا كُتِبَتْ لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ، وَهُوَ الْهَمُّ الْمَوْضُوعُ.

Wa-ʾin huwa ṣāra mina al-hammi ʾilā al-tarki ṣāra ʾilā al-ṭāʿati, wa-kutibat lahu ḥasanatun. Fa-hādhā maʿnā qawlihi: man hamma bisayyiʾatin lam tuktab ʿalayhi khaṭīʾatuhu ḥattā yaʿqida ʿalayhā, fa-ʾin tarakahā kutibat lahu ḥasanatun, wa-huwa al-hammu al-mawḍūʿu.

If he moves from intention to leaving the deed, he moves into obedience, and a good deed is recorded for him. This is the meaning of the saying: whoever intends a bad deed has no misdeed recorded against him until he resolves upon it; if he abandons it, a good deed is recorded for him. This is the excused intention.

وَالْهَمُّ الَّذِي يُؤْخَذُ بِهِ صَاحِبُهُ يَكُونُ عَلَى الْمَعَاصِي.

Wa-al-hammu alladhī yuʾkhadhu bihi ṣāḥibuhu yakūnu ʿalā al-maʿāṣī.

The intention for which its possessor is held accountable is directed toward sins.

وَقَوْلُهُ: مَنْ هَمَّ بِحَسَنَةٍ كُتِبَتْ لَهُ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ إِذَا هَمَّ بِفِعْلِ حَسَنَةٍ مِنَ النَّفْلِ كُتِبَتْ لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ، مَا لَمْ يَكُنِ الْعَقْدُ عَلَيْهَا، فَإِذَا عَقَدَ عَلَيْهَا كُتِبَتْ لَهُ عَشْرًا. كَذَلِكَ رُوِيَ عَنْ بَعْضِ أَهْلِ الْحِكْمَةِ.

Wa-qawluhu: man hamma biḥasanatin kutibat lahu, wa-dhālika ʾannahu ʾidhā hamma bifiʿli ḥasanatin mina al-nafli kutibat lahu ḥasanatun, mā lam yakuni al-ʿaqdu ʿalayhā, fa-ʾidhā ʿaqada ʿalayhā kutibat lahu ʿashran. Ka-dhālika ruwiya ʿan baʿḍi ʾahli al-ḥikmati.

His saying, ‘Whoever intends a good deed has it recorded for him,’ means that intending a voluntary good deed brings one recorded good deed before firm resolve. Once he resolves upon it, it is recorded tenfold. This has been related from some people of wisdom.

فَأَمَّا إِذَا هَمَّ بِحَسَنَةٍ مِنَ الْفَرْضِ، أَيَفْعَلُ أَوْ لَا يَفْعَلُ، فَلَيْسَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ، إِنَّمَا الْهَمُّ بِالْحَسَنَةِ الَّذِي يَكُونُ فِيهِ التَّمْثِيلُ هُوَ الْهَمُّ بِالنَّفْلِ، الَّذِي يُؤْجَرُ عَلَيْهِ، لِأَنَّ لِصَاحِبِهِ أَنْ يَتَمَثَّلَ، فَيَفْعَلَ أَوْ لَا يَفْعَلَ.

Fa-ʾammā ʾidhā hamma biḥasanatin mina al-farḍi, ʾayafʿalu ʾaw lā yafʿalu, fa-laysa dhālika min ḥasanatin, ʾinnamā al-hammu bi-al-ḥasanati alladhī yakūnu fīhi al-tamthīlu huwa al-hammu bi-al-nafli, alladhī yuʾjaru ʿalayhi, li-ʾanna liṣāḥibihi ʾan yatamaththala, fa-yafʿala ʾaw lā yafʿala.

But if he considers an obligatory good deed, wondering whether to perform it, this is not itself a good deed. The rewarded intention that allows one to imagine the alternatives concerns voluntary action, for its practitioner may consider doing it or not doing it.

Source page 37

فَأَمَّا الْفَرْضُ فَلَيْسَ لِلنَّاسِ أَنْ يَتَمَثَّلُوا، يَفْعَلُونَ أَوْ لَا يَفْعَلُونَ، فَإِنْ تَمَثَّلُوا أَثِمُوا، وَإِنِ انْصَرَفُوا عَنِ التَّمْثِيلِ إِلَى الْفِعْلِ سَلِمُوا، وَكُتِبَتْ لَهُمُ الْحَسَنَاتُ.

Fa-ʾammā al-farḍu fa-laysa li-al-nāsi ʾan yatamaththalū, yafʿalūna ʾaw lā yafʿalūna, fa-ʾin tamaththalū ʾathimū, wa-ʾini inṣarafū ʿani al-tamthīli ʾilā al-fiʿli salimū, wa-kutibat lahumu al-ḥasanātu.

People may not entertain doing or not doing an obligatory act. If they entertain these alternatives, they sin. If they leave such imagining and act, they are safe, and good deeds are recorded for them.

وَأَمَّا الْخَطَأُ الْمَوْضُوعُ فَهُوَ أَنْ يُرِيدَ الشَّيْءَ ثُمَّ يَتَخَطَّاهُ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ، فَهُوَ عَنْهُ مَوْضُوعٌ، فَهَذَا الْخَطَأُ الْمَوْضُوعُ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَعْقِلُ كَيْفَ ابْتِدَاؤُهُ، وَكَيْفَ مُنْتَهَاهُ، فَيُرْفَعُ بِذَلِكَ عَنْ صَاحِبِهِ التَّكَلُّفُ.

Wa-ʾammā al-khaṭaʾu al-mawḍūʿu fa-huwa ʾan yurīda al-shayʾa thumma yatakhaṭṭāhu ʾilā ghayrihi, fa-huwa ʿanhu mawḍūʿun, fa-hādhā al-khaṭaʾu al-mawḍūʿu, li-ʾannahu lā yaʿqilu kayfa ibtidāʾuhu, wa-kayfa muntahāhu, fa-yurfaʿu bi-dhālika ʿan ṣāḥibihi al-takallufu.

The excused error is intending one thing and then inadvertently passing to another. This is excused because he does not comprehend how it began or how it ended; the burden is therefore lifted from its possessor.

وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْهُ الْقَصْدُ إِلَى الْفِعْلِ، كَانَ بِهِ مَأْخُوذًا.

Wa-law kāna minhu al-qaṣdu ʾilā al-fiʿli, kāna bihi maʾkhūdhan.

Had he deliberately intended the act, he would be held accountable for it.”

الشَّيْطَانُ

Al-shayṭānu

Satan

قُلْتُ: مَا مَعْنَى: الشَّيْطَانُ يَجْرِي مِنِ ابْنِ آدَمَ مَجْرَى الدَّمِ؟

Qultu: mā maʿnā: al-shayṭānu yajrī mini ibni ʾĀdama majrā al-dami?

I asked: “What does it mean that Satan flows through the child of Adam as blood flows?”

قَالَ: يَجْرِي بِالْوَسْوَسَةِ مَجْرَى مَقَامِهِ مَعَ ابْنِ آدَمَ كَمَقَامِهِ مَعَ الدَّمِ، قَالَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ: فَوَسْوَسَ لَهُمَا [الْأَعْرَافِ: 20].

Qāla: yajrī bi-al-waswasati majrā maqāmihi maʿa ibni ʾĀdama kamaqāmihi maʿa al-dami, qāla Allāhu jalla thanāʾuhu: fa-waswasa lahumā [al-ʾAʿrāfi: 20].

He said: “He flows by whispering: his abiding with the child of Adam is like his abiding with the blood [the printed comparison is difficult]. God, glorious is His praise, said: ‘Then he whispered to them both’ [Qurʾān, al-Aʿrāf 7:20].

فَأَجْمَعَ أَهْلُ التَّأْوِيلِ عَلَى أَنَّهُ وَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِمَا وَهُمَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ، وَهُوَ فِي الْأَرْضِ، لِقَوْلِهِ: اخْرُجْ مِنْهَا فَمَا يَكُونُ لَكَ أَنْ تَتَكَبَّرَ فِيهَا [الْأَعْرَافِ: 13] اخْرُجْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ. وَالْقَوْلُ الْآخَرُ: اخْرُجْ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ.

Fa-ʾajmaʿa ʾahlu al-taʾwīli ʿalā ʾannahu waswasa ʾilayhimā wa-humā fī al-samāwāti, wa-huwa fī al-ʾarḍi, liqawlihi: ukhruj minhā fa-mā yakūnu laka ʾan tatakabbara fīhā [al-ʾAʿrāfi: 13] ukhruj mina al-samāʾi. Wa-al-qawlu al-ʾākharu: ukhruj mina al-jannati.

The interpreters agreed that he whispered to them while they were in the heavens and he was on earth, because of His words: ‘Leave it, for you have no right to be proud in it’ [printed wording differs from Qurʾān, al-Aʿrāf 7:13, which begins ‘Descend from it’]. That is, leave heaven. The other interpretation is: leave the Garden.”

قِيلَ: فَهَلْ يَعْلَمُ الشَّيْطَانُ مَا تُحَدِّثُ بِهِ النَّفْسُ؟ فَإِنَّهُ يُعَارِضُهَا بِالصَّدِّ عَنْ ذِكْرِ الْخَيْرِ.

Qīla: fa-hal yaʿlamu al-shayṭānu mā tuḥaddithu bihi al-nafsu? Fa-ʾinnahu yuʿāriḍuhā bi-al-ṣaddi ʿan dhikri al-khayri.

It was asked: “Does Satan know what the soul says inwardly? He obstructs it by turning it away from remembering good.”

قَالَ: إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ طَالَتْ مُقَارَنَتُهُ لِلْإِنْسَانِ، وَتَفَقُّدُهُ لَهُ وَلِأَحْوَالِهِ، حَتَّى لَمْ تَخْفَ عَلَيْهِ حَالُهُ، فَعَرَفَ مَطَالِبَهُ وَمَذَاهِبَهُ، وَقَدِ ابْتُلِىَ بِهِ الْعَبْدُ.

Qāla: ʾinna al-shayṭāna ṭālat muqāranatuhu li-al-ʾinsāni, wa-tafaqquduhu lahu wa-li-ʾaḥwālihi, ḥattā lam takhfa ʿalayhi ḥāluhu, fa-ʿarafa maṭālibahu wa-madhāhibahu, wa-qadi ubtuliya bihi al-ʿabdu.

He said: “Satan’s companionship with the human being and his scrutiny of him and his circumstances have lasted so long that his condition is no longer hidden from him. He knows his pursuits and ways, and the servant has been tested through him.

فَعِنْدَ كُلِّ خَيْرٍ صَدَّهُ عَنْهُ صَدًّا، مِنْ غَيْرِ عِلْمٍ مِنْهُ بِمَا يُحْدِثُ، غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ قَدْ عَلِمَ أَنَّ خَيْرًا قَدْ أَحْدَثَهُ الْعَبْدُ، وَكَذَلِكَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّ شَرًّا قَدْ أَحْدَثَهُ الْعَبْدُ، لَا يَعْلَمُ أَيَّ خَيْرٍ، وَلَا أَيَّ شَرٍّ.

Fa-ʿinda kulli khayrin ṣaddahu ʿanhu ṣaddan, min ghayri ʿilmin minhu bimā yuḥdithu, ghayra ʾannahu qad ʿalima ʾanna khayran qad ʾaḥdathahu al-ʿabdu, wa-ka-dhālika yaʿlamu ʾanna sharran qad ʾaḥdathahu al-ʿabdu, lā yaʿlamu ʾayya khayrin, wa-lā ʾayya sharrin.

At every good act he tries to turn him away, without knowing what he is bringing about. He knows only that the servant has brought about something good; likewise, he knows that the servant has brought about something evil, but not which good or which evil.

فَيُعَارِضُهُ عِنْدَ حُدُوثِ الْخَيْرِ بِالصَّدِّ، وَعِنْدَ حُدُوثِ الشَّرِّ بِالتَّزْيِينِ. لِأَنَّ الْخَيْرَ إِذَا أُحْدِثَ اسْتَنَارَ لَهُ وَجْهُ صَاحِبِهِ عِنْدَهُ، وَإِذَا أُحْدِثَ الشَّرُّ شَانَ وَجْهَهُ.

Fa-yuʿāriḍuhu ʿinda ḥudūthi al-khayri bi-al-ṣaddi, wa-ʿinda ḥudūthi al-sharri bi-al-tazyīni. Li-ʾanna al-khayra ʾidhā ʾuḥditha istanāra lahu wajhu ṣāḥibihi ʿindahu, wa-ʾidhā ʾuḥditha al-sharru shāna wajhahu.

When good occurs, he responds with obstruction; when evil occurs, with embellishment. For when good is done, its doer’s face shines before him; when evil is done, it disfigures his face.

وَكَذَلِكَ الْإِنْسَانُ إِذَا طَالَتْ مُقَارَنَتُهُ لِإِنْسَانٍ آخَرَ فَإِنَّهُ يَهْتَمُّ بِأَمْرِهِ، وَيَعْلَمُ اهْتِمَامَهُ وَسُرُورَهُ، مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَعْلَمَ مَا الَّذِي سَرَّهُ، وَمَا الَّذِي غَمَّهُ، فَتَرَاهُ يَقُولُ إِذَا رَآكَ مَغْمُومًا: فَمَا الَّذِي غَمَّكَ؟ وَإِذَا رَآكَ مَسْرُورًا قَالَ: مَا الَّذِي سَرَّكَ؟

Wa-ka-dhālika al-ʾinsānu ʾidhā ṭālat muqāranatuhu li-ʾinsānin ʾākhara fa-ʾinnahu yahtammu bi-ʾamrihi, wa-yaʿlamu ihtimāmahu wa-surūrahu, min ghayri ʾan yaʿlama mā alladhī sarrahu, wa-mā alladhī ghammahu, fa-tarāhu yaqūlu ʾidhā raʾāka maghmūman: fa-mā alladhī ghammaka? Wa-ʾidhā raʾāka masrūran qāla: mā alladhī sarraka?

Likewise, when one person has long been another’s companion, he takes an interest in him and recognizes his anxiety or joy without knowing what delighted or distressed him. When he sees you troubled, he asks, ‘What has distressed you?’ When he sees you happy, he asks, ‘What has delighted you?’

Source page 38

وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنِ الْحُكَمَاءِ أَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا: «الْحَسَنَةُ زِينَةٌ فِي الْوَجْهِ، وَقُوَّةٌ فِي الْعَقْلِ، وَالسَّيِّئَةُ شَيْنٌ فِي الْوَجْهِ، وَوَهْنٌ فِي الْعَقْلِ».

Wa-qad ruwiya ʿani al-ḥukamāʾi ʾannahum qālū: «al-ḥasanatu zīnatun fī al-wajhi, wa-quwwatun fī al-ʿaqli, wa-al-sayyiʾatu shaynun fī al-wajhi, wa-wahnun fī al-ʿaqli».

It is related that the sages said: ‘A good deed adorns the face and strengthens the intellect; a bad deed disfigures the face and weakens the intellect.’

فَهَذَا الَّذِي يَظْهَرُ لِلشَّيْطَانِ، فَيَكُونُ عِنْدَهُ الصَّدُّ وَالتَّزْيِينُ، وَلَا يَعْلَمُ مِنَ الْإِنْسَانِ الْأَمْرَ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: يَعْلَمُ خَائِنَةَ الْأَعْيُنِ وَمَا تُخْفِي الصُّدُورُ [غَافِرٍ: 19].

Fa-hādhā alladhī yaẓharu li-al-shayṭāni, fa-yakūnu ʿindahu al-ṣaddu wa-al-tazyīnu, wa-lā yaʿlamu mina al-ʾinsāni al-ʾamra, wa-qad qāla Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla: yaʿlamu khāʾinata al-ʾaʿyuni wa-mā tukhfī al-ṣudūru [Ghāfirin: 19].

This is what becomes visible to Satan, prompting obstruction or embellishment; he does not know the person’s actual affair. God, mighty and exalted, has said: ‘He knows the eyes’ treachery and what breasts conceal’ [Qurʾān, Ghāfir 40:19].

فَلَا يَعْلَمُ خَائِنَةَ عَيْنِ عَبْدٍ، وَمَا يُخْفِي صَدْرُهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ، فَهَذَا عِلْمٌ وَصَفَ اللَّهُ بِهِ نَفْسَهُ، فَلَا يَعْلَمُهُ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا مَنْ وَصَفَ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ. قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَى غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَى مِنْ رَسُولٍ [الْجِنِّ: 26]. وَلَيْسَ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنْ رُسُلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

Fa-lā yaʿlamu khāʾinata ʿayni ʿabdin, wa-mā yukhfī ṣadruhu ʾillā Allāhu rabbu al-ʿālamīna, fa-hādhā ʿilmun waṣafa Allāhu bihi nafsahu, fa-lā yaʿlamuhu ʾaḥadun ʾillā man waṣafa min rusulihi. Qāla Allāhu taʿālā: fa-lā yuẓhiru ʿalā ghaybihi ʾaḥadan ʾillā mani irtaḍā min rasūlin [al-Jinni: 26]. Wa-laysa al-shayṭānu min rusuli Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla.

Only God, Lord of the worlds, knows the treachery of a servant’s eye and what his breast conceals. God has described Himself as possessing this knowledge; no one else knows it except those of His messengers whom He has described. God Most High said: ‘He discloses His unseen to no one, except a messenger whom He approves’ [Qurʾān, al-Jinn 72:26–27; the edition cites only verse 26]. Satan is not one of the messengers of God, mighty and exalted.

وَقَالَ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِيمَا أُثْبِتَ مِنْ رِسَالَاتِهِ عَلَى مَنْ دَعَاهُ: وَأُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُونَ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ [آلِ عِمْرَانَ: 49]. فَمَا فِي الْقُلُوبِ أَخْفَى مِمَّا فِي الْبَيْتِ.

Wa-qāla ʿĪsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu fīmā ʾuthbita min risālātihi ʿalā man daʿāhu: wa-ʾunabbiʾukum bimā taʾkulūna wa-mā taddakhirūna fī buyūtikum [ʾĀli ʿImrāna: 49]. Fa-mā fī al-qulūbi ʾakhfā mimmā fī al-bayti.

Jesus, peace be upon him, said, in what is established of his messages to those he called: ‘I tell you what you eat and what you store in your houses’ [Qurʾān, Āl ʿImrān 3:49]. What is in hearts is more hidden than what is in a house.

وَمِنْ حُجَجِ النَّبِيِّينَ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ أَنَّهُمْ يُخْبِرُونَ مَنْ يَدْعُونَ بِمَا يُحَدِّثُونَ بِهِ أَنْفُسَهُمْ بِمَا يُعَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فَلَوْ كَانَ الشَّيَاطِينُ يَعْلَمُونَ دَخَائِلَ النَّاسِ مَا ثَبَتَتْ حُجَجُ النَّبِيِّينَ، مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَقُولَ هَذَا. وَلَوْ عَلِمَتْ مَا فِي الْقُلُوبِ، كَانَ مَا فِي الْأَرْحَامِ أَظْهَرَ مِمَّا فِي الْقُلُوبِ.

Wa-min ḥujaji al-nabiyyīna ʿalayhimu al-salāmu ʾannahum yukhbirūna man yadʿūna bimā yuḥaddithūna bihi ʾanfusahum bimā yuʿallimuhumu Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla, fa-law kāna al-shayāṭīnu yaʿlamūna dakhāʾila al-nāsi mā thabatat ḥujaju al-nabiyyīna, maʿādha Allāhi ʾan taqūla hādhā. Wa-law ʿalimat mā fī al-qulūbi, kāna mā fī al-ʾarḥāmi ʾaẓhara mimmā fī al-qulūbi.

Among the proofs of the prophets, peace be upon them, is that they tell those they call what they say inwardly, through what God, mighty and exalted, teaches them. If devils knew people’s inner secrets, the prophets’ proofs would not stand. God forbid that you should say this! If devils knew what was in hearts, what was in wombs would be more apparent than what was in hearts.

قُلْتُ: هَلْ يَدْعُو الشَّيْطَانُ مُؤْمِنًا إِلَى خَيْرٍ، يُرِيدُ بِهِ الصَّدَّ عَمَّا هُوَ أَكْبَرُ مِنْهُ؟

Qultu: hal yadʿū al-shayṭānu muʾminan ʾilā khayrin, yurīdu bihi al-ṣadda ʿammā huwa ʾakbaru minhu?

I asked: “Does Satan call a believer to something good, intending thereby to turn him away from something greater?”

قَالَ: مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ أَنْ يَكُونَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الشَّيْطَانِ أَوْ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ أَنْ يَدْعُوَ إِلَى خَيْرٍ قَلَّ أَوْ كَثُرَ، وَاللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ يَقُولُ: إِنَّمَا يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالسُّوءِ وَالْفَحْشَاءِ [الْبَقَرَةِ: 169].

Qāla: maʿādha Allāhi ʾan yakūna min ʾaʿmāli al-shayṭāni ʾaw min ṣifātihi ʾan yadʿuwa ʾilā khayrin qalla ʾaw kathura, wa-Allāhu subḥānahu yaqūlu: ʾinnamā yaʾmurukum bi-al-sūʾi wa-al-faḥshāʾi [al-Baqarati: 169].

He said: “God forbid that calling toward good, little or much, should belong to Satan’s actions or characteristics! God, glorified is He, says: ‘He commands you only to evil and indecency’ [Qurʾān, al-Baqara 2:169].

وَهُوَ أَشَدُّ عَدَاوَةً لِابْنِ آدَمَ مِنْ أَنْ يَدْعُوَهُ إِلَى خَيْرٍ، لِعِلْمِهِ بِأَنَّهُ إِذَا فَعَلَ مَا يَدْعُوهُ إِلَيْهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْجُرُهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ، وَلَا يَأْمَنُ أَنْ يَدْعُوَهُ فَيَتَّخِذَهُ عَادَةً، وَلَا يَأْمَنُ أَنْ يَدْعُوَهُ فَيَأْجُرَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى أَحْسَنِ أَحْوَالِهِ، وَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ هَذَا مَنْ قَلَّ عِلْمُهُ بِعَدَاوَةِ الشَّيْطَانِ.

Wa-huwa ʾashaddu ʿadāwatan li-ibni ʾĀdama min ʾan yadʿuwahu ʾilā khayrin, liʿilmihi bi-ʾannahu ʾidhā faʿala mā yadʿūhu ʾilayhi fa-ʾinna Allāha yaʾjuruhu ʿalā dhālika, wa-lā yaʾmanu ʾan yadʿuwahu fa-yattakhidhahu ʿādatan, wa-lā yaʾmanu ʾan yadʿuwahu fa-yaʾjurahu Allāhu ʿalā ʾaḥsani ʾaḥwālihi, wa-ʾinnamā yaqūlu hādhā man qalla ʿilmuhu biʿadāwati al-shayṭāni.

His enmity toward the child of Adam is too intense for him to call him to good. He knows that, if the person does what he suggests, God will reward him for it. He cannot be sure that the person will not make it a habit or that God will not reward him according to his best condition. Only someone with little knowledge of Satan’s enmity says this.”

قُلْتُ: فَهَلْ يَدْعُو إِلَى خَيْرٍ هُوَ أَقَلُّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ آخَرَ، إِذْ زَعَمْتَ أَنَّهُ لَا يَدْعُو إِلَى الزِّيَادَةِ فَيَدْعُوَ إِلَى النُّقْصَانِ؟

Qultu: fa-hal yadʿū ʾilā khayrin huwa ʾaqallu min khayrin ʾākhara, ʾidh zaʿamta ʾannahu lā yadʿū ʾilā al-ziyādati fa-yadʿuwa ʾilā al-nuqṣāni?

I asked: “Might he call toward a good that is less than another good? Since you say he does not call toward an increase, might he call toward a decrease?”

قَالَ: لَا يَدْعُو الْإِنْسَانَ إِلَى فِعْلِ خَيْرٍ قَلَّ أَوْ كَثُرَ، لَا إِلَى زِيَادَةٍ فِي خَيْرٍ، وَلَا إِلَى خَيْرٍ هُوَ أَقَلُّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ.

Qāla: lā yadʿū al-ʾinsāna ʾilā fiʿli khayrin qalla ʾaw kathura, lā ʾilā ziyādatin fī khayrin, wa-lā ʾilā khayrin huwa ʾaqallu min khayrin.

He said: “He does not call a person to perform any good, little or much: neither an increase in good nor a good less than another good.

Source page 39

وَلَكِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ إِذَا عَظُمَتْ رَغْبَتُهُ فِي الطَّاعَةِ، وَمَنَّ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَيْهِ بِالزُّهْدِ، فَعَالِمٌ يَفْعَلُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ الْأَقَلَّ بِدُعَائِهِ لَهُ أَلَّا يَفْعَلَ، وَبِذَلِكَ يَغْفُلُ عَنْ أَنْ يُصِيبَ الْأَكْثَرَ فَيَقْبَلُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْإِنْسَانِ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ تَرْكَ الْأَكْثَرِ،

Wa-lākinna al-ʾinsāna ʾidhā ʿaẓumat raghbatuhu fī al-ṭāʿati, wa-manna Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla ʿalayhi bi-al-zuhdi, fa-ʿālimun yafʿalu mina al-khayri al-ʾaqalla biduʿāʾihi lahu ʾallā yafʿala, wa-bi-dhālika yaghfulu ʿan ʾan yuṣība al-ʾakthara fa-yaqbalu al-shayṭānu mina al-ʾinsāni ʿinda dhālika tarka al-ʾakthari,

But when a person’s desire for obedience grows great and God, mighty and exalted, grants him renunciation, ‘a learned person performs the lesser good through his calling him not to act’ [the printed construction is obscure]. Through this he overlooks attaining the greater good, and Satan then accepts from him the abandonment of the greater.

أَمَّا الْعَبْدُ فَيَكُونُ مَعَهُ مِنَ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي الْعَمَلِ مَا لَا بُدَّ أَنْ يَفْعَلَهُ، وَلَوْ قَدْ ثَقُلَ عَلَيْهِ أَكْثَرُهُ، فَيَتَمَسَّكُ بِالْأَوَّلِ وَيَنْتَقِلُ عَنِ الْأَقَلِّ بِرَدِّ الْأَكْثَرِ.

ʾAmmā al-ʿabdu fa-yakūnu maʿahu mina al-raghbati fī al-ʿamali mā lā budda ʾan yafʿalahu, wa-law qad thaqula ʿalayhi ʾaktharuhu, fa-yatamassaku bi-al-ʾawwali wa-yantaqilu ʿani al-ʾaqalli biraddi al-ʾakthari.

As for the servant, he possesses enough desire for action that he must perform it, even if the greater part has become burdensome. He holds to the first and ‘moves away from the lesser by rejecting the greater’ [the printed relation is uncertain].

فَيَرَى مِنْ قِلَّةِ عِلْمِهِ وَقِلَّةِ تَعَاهُدِهِ لِعِرْفَانِ مَا بَيْنَ فِعْلِهِ وَوَسْوَسَتِهِ، أَنَّهُ لَمَّا صَارَ إِلَى الْأَقَلِّ، يَفْعَلُ الْأَقَلَّ إِذْ أَمَرَهُ الشَّيْطَانُ بِتَرْكِ الْأَكْثَرِ.

Fa-yarā min qillati ʿilmihi wa-qillati taʿāhudihi liʿirfāni mā bayna fiʿlihi wa-waswasatihi, ʾannahu lammā ṣāra ʾilā al-ʾaqalli, yafʿalu al-ʾaqalla ʾidh ʾamarahu al-shayṭānu bitarki al-ʾakthari.

Through his limited knowledge and lack of care in distinguishing his own action from Satan’s whispering, he imagines that, when he turns to the lesser, he performs it because Satan commanded him to abandon the greater.”

الْأَوْرَادُ وَالْأَوْقَاتُ

Al-ʾawrādu wa-al-ʾawqātu

Devotional portions and their times

قُلْتُ: فَالْأَوْقَاتُ وَالْأَوْرَادُ، وَالزِّيَادَةُ فِيهَا وَالنُّقْصَانُ؟

Qultu: fa-al-ʾawqātu wa-al-ʾawrādu, wa-al-ziyādatu fīhā wa-al-nuqṣānu?

I asked: “What about appointed times and devotional portions, and increasing or decreasing them?”

قَالَ: قَدْ كَانَتِ الْأَوَائِلُ لَهُمْ أَوْرَادٌ لَا يَتْرُكُونَهَا وَلَا يَنْقُصُونَ مِنْهَا، غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ يَأْتِي عَلَى الْعَبْدِ أَحْوَالٌ يُحِسُّ فِيهَا الزِّيَادَةَ مَعَ الْإِقْبَالِ، فَيَجْمَعُ هَمَّهُ، وَيَحْسُنُ فَهْمُهُ، وَيَحْضُرُ ذِهْنُهُ، فَيَسْتَبْطِنُ فَهْمَ مَا يَقْرَأُ، وَيُشْرِفُ عَلَى مَعْنَاهُ، وَيُقِيمُ عَلَى حُدُودِهِ، فَتِلْكَ دَوَاعِي الزِّيَادَةِ، وَمَعَهَا تَكْبُرُ الْفَائِدَةُ.

Qāla: qad kānati al-ʾawāʾilu lahum ʾawrādun lā yatrukūnahā wa-lā yanquṣūna minhā, ghayra ʾannahu yaʾtī ʿalā al-ʿabdi ʾaḥwālun yuḥissu fīhā al-ziyādata maʿa al-ʾiqbāli, fa-yajmaʿu hammahu, wa-yaḥsunu fahmuhu, wa-yaḥḍuru dhihnuhu, fa-yastabṭinu fahma mā yaqraʾu, wa-yushrifu ʿalā maʿnāhu, wa-yuqīmu ʿalā ḥudūdihi, fa-tilka dawāʿī al-ziyādati, wa-maʿahā takburu al-fāʾidatu.

He said: “The earliest generations had devotional portions they neither abandoned nor reduced. Yet the servant experiences states in which he feels an increase together with wholehearted attention. He gathers his concern, understands well, and becomes mentally present. He inwardly grasps what he reads, apprehends its meaning, and observes its bounds. These are impulses toward increase, and with them the benefit grows.

فَإِذَا انْتَهَى مِنْ وِرْدِهِ فَشَرِبَ مِنْهُ مَا أَرَادَهُ، فَقَدْ حَلَّ مِنْهُ انْتِهَاؤُهُ. فَيَجِدُ مَعَ فَرَاغِهِ مِنْهُ فَتْرَةً، وَمَعَهُ عَظِيمُ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي الزَّهَادَةِ.

Fa-ʾidhā intahā min wirdihi fa-shariba minhu mā ʾarādahu, fa-qad ḥalla minhu intihāʾuhu. Fa-yajidu maʿa farāghihi minhu fatratan, wa-maʿahu ʿaẓīmu al-raghbati fī al-zahādati.

When he finishes his devotional portion, having drunk from it what he wanted, its conclusion has arrived for him. On finishing, he feels a slackening, though he retains great desire for renunciation.

فَإِنْ كَانَ مِمَّنْ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ عَلَى اللَّيْلِ، فَيَجِبُ أَلَّا يَذْكُرَ مَا بَقِيَ عَلَيْهِ، وَلَا مَا مَضَى مِمَّا كَانَ مِنْهُ، وَلَكِنْ يَذْكُرَ مَا هُوَ فِيهِ، فَإِنَّهُ أَعْوَنُ لَهُ عَلَيْهِ.

Fa-ʾin kāna mimman yurīdu ʾan yaʾtiya ʿalā al-layli, fa-yajibu ʾallā yadhkura mā baqiya ʿalayhi, wa-lā mā maḍā mimmā kāna minhu, wa-lākin yadhkura mā huwa fīhi, fa-ʾinnahu ʾaʿwanu lahu ʿalayhi.

If he wishes to continue through the whole night, he should not think of what remains or what he has already done, but of what he is doing now. That will help him most.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَنْتَهِي إِلَيْهِ وَمَعَهُ قُوَّةُ زَوَائِدِ الرَّغْبَةِ، وَاسْتَحْلَى مَا اسْتَبْطَنَ مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ، فَحِينَئِذٍ لَا يَقْطَعُ مَا بِهِ أَمَدَّهُ اللَّهُ فَإِنَّ تِلْكَ دَوَافِعُ الطَّاعَةِ.

Wa-minhum man yantahī ʾilayhi wa-maʿahu quwwatu zawāʾidi al-raghbati, wa-istaḥlā mā istabṭana mina al-ṭāʿati, fa-ḥīnaʾidhin lā yaqṭaʿu mā bihi ʾamaddahu Allāhu fa-ʾinna tilka dawāfiʿu al-ṭāʿati.

Some reach the end with the strength of growing desire and find sweetness in the obedience they have taken into themselves. They should not then cut off what God has supplied, for these are the impulses driving obedience.

وَقَدْ قَالَ مَنْ قَلَّ عِلْمُهُ: إِنَّهُ لَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَزْدَادَ إِذَا تَمَّ وِرْدُهُ، فَقَطَعَهُ عَنِ الْأَجْرِ مَا قَدْ حَلَّ بِهِ مِنَ الْحِرْمَانِ إِذْ أَغْلَقَ الْبَابَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ.

Wa-qad qāla man qalla ʿilmuhu: ʾinnahu lā yanbaghī ʾan yazdāda ʾidhā tamma wirduhu, fa-qaṭaʿahu ʿani al-ʾajri mā qad ḥalla bihi mina al-ḥirmāni ʾidh ʾaghlaqa al-bāba ʿalā nafsihi.

Someone of little knowledge has said that one should not increase after completing one’s portion. The deprivation that befell him cut him off from reward when he shut the door on himself.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ مِمَّا أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ عَلَى خَلْقِهِ، أَنْ صَيَّرَ مَعَ الطَّاعَةِ فِي الْقَلْبِ رَاحَةً تُجَامِعُهَا فَتِلْكَ دَوَاعِي زَوَائِدِهَا، فَأَقَلُّ قَلِيلِ مَا يَسْكُنُ فِي الْقَلْبِ مِنْ رَاحَةِ الطَّاعَةِ يُحْتَمَلُ مَعَهُ أَكْثَرُ مَا يُحْتَمَلُ مَعَهُ مِنَ الْكُلْفَةِ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾanna mimmā ʾanʿama Allāhu taʿālā bihi ʿalā khalqihi, ʾan ṣayyara maʿa al-ṭāʿati fī al-qalbi rāḥatan tujāmiʿuhā fa-tilka dawāʿī zawāʾidihā, fa-ʾaqallu qalīli mā yaskunu fī al-qalbi min rāḥati al-ṭāʿati yuḥtamalu maʿahu ʾaktharu mā yuḥtamalu maʿahu mina al-kulfati.

Know that among God Most High’s blessings to His creatures is the repose He places in the heart alongside obedience. This prompts its increase. Even the smallest measure of obedience’s repose settling in the heart makes it possible to bear the greatest accompanying hardship.

وَصَيَّرَ مَعَ الْمَعْصِيَةِ فِي الْقَلْبِ شِدَّةً تُجَامِعُهَا، فَتِلْكَ دَوَاعِي زَوَائِدِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ، لِأَنَّ أَقَلَّ قَلِيلِ تِلْكَ الشِّدَّةِ يَنْقُصُ أَكْثَرَ كَثِيرِ تِلْكَ اللَّذَّةِ.

Wa-ṣayyara maʿa al-maʿṣiyati fī al-qalbi shiddatan tujāmiʿuhā, fa-tilka dawāʿī zawāʾidi al-maʿṣiyati, li-ʾanna ʾaqalla qalīli tilka al-shiddati yanquṣu ʾakthara kathīri tilka al-ladhdhati.

He places distress in the heart alongside disobedience. ‘These are impulses toward increases in disobedience’ [as printed; the statement conflicts with the ensuing explanation], for even the smallest measure of that distress diminishes the greatest abundance of its pleasure.

Source page 40

فَيَنْبَغِي لِلْعَبْدِ إِذَا دَعَتْهُ الرَّاحَةُ إِلَى الزِّيَادَةِ أَنْ يُجِيبَهَا، وَإِذَا دَعَتْهُ الشِّدَّةُ إِلَى الْكُلْفَةِ أَنْ يَدْحَرَهَا.

Fa-yanbaghī li-al-ʿabdi ʾidhā daʿat-hu al-rāḥatu ʾilā al-ziyādati ʾan yujībahā, wa-ʾidhā daʿat-hu al-shiddatu ʾilā al-kulfati ʾan yadḥarahā.

When repose calls the servant toward increase, he should respond; when distress calls him toward burdensome effort, he should repel it.”

قُلْتُ: فَأَيُّ أَوْقَاتِ اللَّيْلِ الْوِرْدُ فِيهِ أَفْضَلُ؟

Qultu: fa-ʾayyu ʾawqāti al-layli al-wirdu fīhi ʾafḍalu?

I asked: “At what time of night is the devotional portion best?”

قَالَ: إِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِي مَنْ أَرَادَ الْأَوْرَادَ بِأَخَفِّ الْأَشْيَاءِ عَلَيْهِ.

Qāla: ʾinnamā yahtadī man ʾarāda al-ʾawrāda bi-ʾakhaffi al-ʾashyāʾi ʿalayhi.

He said: “Someone undertaking devotional portions finds his way through what is easiest for him.

وَأَقْوَاهَا لَهُ عَلَيْهِ السُّبُعُ الْأَوَّلُ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ، يُجَزِّئُ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنَ أَسْبَاعًا، ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُ فِي كُلِّ سُبُعٍ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ سُبُعًا مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ حَتَّى يَصِيرَ إِلَى الثُّلُثِ الْأَوَّلِ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ.

Wa-ʾaqwāhā lahu ʿalayhi al-subuʿu al-ʾawwalu mina al-layli, yujazziʾu fīhi al-qurʾāna ʾasbāʿan, thumma yajʿalu fī kulli subuʿin mina al-layli subuʿan mina al-qurʾāni ḥattā yaṣīra ʾilā al-thuluthi al-ʾawwali mina al-layli.

The strongest support for him is the first seventh of the night. He divides the Qurʾān into sevenths and assigns one seventh of the Qurʾān to each seventh of the night until he reaches the first third of the night [the printed numerical scheme is unusual].

فَإِذَا قَوِيَ عَلَى السُّبُعِ الْأَوَّلِ - وَالدَّلِيلُ عَلَى قُوَّتِهِ رَغْبَتُهُ - فَلَا يَمِيلُ بِهِ السَّهَرُ إِلَى أَنْ يَذْكُرَ الرُّجُوعَ إِلَى الرَّاحَةِ أَوِ الْمَيْلَ إِلَى مَا تَرَكَ.

Fa-ʾidhā qawiya ʿalā al-subuʿi al-ʾawwali - wa-al-dalīlu ʿalā quwwatihi raghbatuhu - fa-lā yamīlu bihi al-saharu ʾilā ʾan yadhkura al-rujūʿa ʾilā al-rāḥati ʾawi al-mayla ʾilā mā taraka.

When he has strength for the first seventh, the sign of his strength being his desire, wakefulness does not incline him toward thoughts of returning to rest or turning back to what he left.

فَإِذَا لَمْ يَرْغَبْ فِي الرُّجُوعِ إِلَى مَا تَرَكَ، وَدَعَتْهُ الرَّغْبَةُ إِلَى الزِّيَادَةِ، فَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ بَعْدُ نُقْصَانًا مِنْ وِرْدِهِ لِيَتَحَوَّلَ مِنْ وَقْتِ الْقُرْآنِ إِلَى وَقْتِ الصَّلَاةِ مَثَلًا، فَهَذَا دَلِيلُ الْقُوَّةِ.

Fa-ʾidhā lam yarghab fī al-rujūʿi ʾilā mā taraka, wa-daʿat-hu al-raghbatu ʾilā al-ziyādati, fa-lam yadhkur baʿdu nuqṣānan min wirdihi liyataḥawwala min waqti al-qurʾāni ʾilā waqti al-ṣalāti mathalan, fa-hādhā dalīlu al-quwwati.

If he does not want to return to what he left, and desire calls him toward increase, so that he does not then consider reducing his portion to move, for example, from time devoted to the Qurʾān to time devoted to prayer, this indicates strength.

وَيَنْبَغِي لَهُ حِينَئِذٍ الِانْتِقَالُ وَالزِّيَادَةُ.

Wa-yanbaghī lahu ḥīnaʾidhin al-intiqālu wa-al-ziyādatu.

He should then move onward and increase.

فَإِذَا حَلَّتْ بِهِ الْقُوَّةُ، كَانَتْ كُلُّ أَوْقَاتِ اللَّيْلِ لَهُ مَطِيَّةً.

Fa-ʾidhā ḥallat bihi al-quwwatu, kānat kullu ʾawqāti al-layli lahu maṭiyyatan.

Once strength settles upon him, every time of night becomes a mount to carry him.

فَإِذَا أَتَى عَلَى لَيْلِهِ، فَذَلِكَ كَذَلِكَ.

Fa-ʾidhā ʾatā ʿalā laylihi, fa-dhālika ka-dhālika.

If he continues through his whole night, that is how it is.

وَإِنْ لَمْ يَأْتِ عَلَيْهِ، فَأَفْضَلُ الصَّلَاةِ لِأَهْلِ الْقُوَّةِ الثُّلُثُ الْأَوْسَطُ إِلَى آخِرِهِ، فَإِنَّ الْآخِرَ إِلَى السَّحَرِ، وَيَكُونُ وِتْرُهُ مِمَّا يَلِي الْفَجْرَ.

Wa-ʾin lam yaʾti ʿalayhi, fa-ʾafḍalu al-ṣalāti li-ʾahli al-quwwati al-thuluthu al-ʾawsaṭu ʾilā ʾākhirihi, fa-ʾinna al-ʾākhira ʾilā al-saḥari, wa-yakūnu witruhu mimmā yalī al-fajra.

If he does not continue throughout it, the best prayer for people of strength is in the middle third through its end; the final part extends to the pre-dawn hours, and his odd-numbered closing prayer should be near dawn.”

قُلْتُ: فَصُنْعُ الْقُوتِ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ أَلَّا نَزِيدَ عَلَيْهِ؟

Qultu: fa-ṣunʿu al-qūti mina al-ṭaʿāmi ʾallā nazīda ʿalayhi?

I asked: “As for setting a subsistence portion of food, should we not exceed it?”

قَالَ: إِنَّ هَذَا لَيْسَ مِنْ مَذَاهِبِ الْحُكَمَاءِ، وَلَا رَأْيِ الْعُلَمَاءِ، لِأَنَّ الطَّبَائِعَ تَخْتَلِفُ مِنَ النَّاسِ.

Qāla: ʾinna hādhā laysa min madhāhibi al-ḥukamāʾi, wa-lā raʾyi al-ʿulamāʾi, li-ʾanna al-ṭabāʾiʿa takhtalifu mina al-nāsi.

He said: “This is neither the way of the sages nor the judgment of scholars, for people’s constitutions differ.

فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى الطَّعَامِ فِي وَقْتِ أَكْلِهِ، وَيَسْتَغْنِي عَنْهُ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ الْوَقْتِ فِي يَوْمٍ آخَرَ، وَرُبَّمَا احْتَاجَ إِلَى طَعَامٍ فِي حَالٍ وَيَسْتَغْنِي عَنْ مِثْلِهِ فِي غَيْرِ تِلْكَ الْحَالِ.

Fa-minhum man yaḥtāju ʾilā al-ṭaʿāmi fī waqti ʾaklihi, wa-yastaghnī ʿanhu ʿinda dhālika al-waqti fī yawmin ʾākhara, wa-rubbamā iḥtāja ʾilā ṭaʿāmin fī ḥālin wa-yastaghnī ʿan mithlihi fī ghayri tilka al-ḥāli.

Someone may need food at his mealtime and have no need of it at the same hour on another day. He may need food in one condition and not need the same amount in another.

وَلَكِنْ أَفْضَلُ مَا أُخِذَ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ أَخْذُ مَا تَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ النَّفْسُ، لَيْسَ فِيهِ زِيَادَةٌ وَلَا نُقْصَانٌ، فَيَأْخُذُ مِنْهُ مَا يُعِينُهَا، وَيَدْفَعُ عَنْهَا مَا يُطْغِيهَا.

Wa-lākin ʾafḍalu mā ʾukhidha mina al-ṭaʿāmi ʾakhdhu mā taḥtāju ʾilayhi al-nafsu, laysa fīhi ziyādatun wa-lā nuqṣānun, fa-yaʾkhudhu minhu mā yuʿīnuhā, wa-yadfaʿu ʿanhā mā yuṭghīhā.

The best way to take food is to take what the person needs, neither more nor less: take what supports the soul and keep from it what makes it overstep.

وَلَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ مَذَاهِبِ الْأَوَائِلِ ذِكْرُ الطَّعَامِ، وَلَا الِاسْتِغْنَاءُ بِهِ، فَقَدْ كَانُوا يَجُوعُونَ وَلَا يَشْبَعُونَ.

Wa-lam yakun min madhāhibi al-ʾawāʾili dhikru al-ṭaʿāmi, wa-lā al-istighnāʾu bihi, fa-qad kānū yajūʿūna wa-lā yashbaʿūna.

The earliest generations did not make a practice of dwelling on food or finding sufficiency in it; they would go hungry without eating their fill.

Source page 41

وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ مَنْ قَصُرَ عِلْمُهُ: إِنَّهُ لَا يَنْبَغِي لِصَاحِبِ الْقُوتِ الَّذِي وَضَعَ لِنَفْسِهِ الْقُوتَ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ، أَنْ يَنْقُصَ مِنْهُ، وَإِنْ حَلَّ بِالْمُثْلَةِ، وَحَلَّتْ بِهِ الْكُلْفَةُ، وَلَا يُطْعِمَ مِنْهُ سَائِلًا وَلَا مِسْكِينًا.

Wa-qad qāla baʿḍu man qaṣura ʿilmuhu: ʾinnahu lā yanbaghī liṣāḥibi al-qūti alladhī waḍaʿa linafsihi al-qūta mina al-ṭaʿāmi, ʾan yanquṣa minhu, wa-ʾin ḥalla bi-al-muthlati, wa-ḥallat bihi al-kulfatu, wa-lā yuṭʿima minhu sāʾilan wa-lā miskīnan.

Someone of limited knowledge has said that a person who sets himself a subsistence portion should not reduce it, even if he encounters mutilation and hardship, and should not feed a beggar or a poor person from it [the printed المثلة is unusual here].”

قُلْتُ: أَكْلُ الْفَقِيرِ فِي أَيِّ حَالٍ أَفْضَلُ؟ وَفِي أَيِّ الْأَحْوَالِ يَكُونُ التَّرْكُ أَفْضَلَ؟

Qultu: ʾaklu al-faqīri fī ʾayyi ḥālin ʾafḍalu? Wa-fī ʾayyi al-ʾaḥwāli yakūnu al-tarku ʾafḍala?

I asked: “In what condition is it better for the poor person to eat, and when is refraining better?”

قَالَ: أَفْضَلُ الْأَحْوَالِ الَّتِي يُتْرَكُ فِيهَا مِنْ فُضُولِ الطَّعَامِ أَوِ الشَّرَابِ حَالُ الْأَثَرَةِ، فَيَأْخُذُ الْأَقَلَّ مِنَ الْكِفَايَةِ، وَيُؤْثِرُ بِالْأَكْثَرِ، لِأَنَّ الْأَكْثَرَ لَا يُصَابُ إِلَّا بِالْكُلْفَةِ. وَبَذْلُ الْحِيلَةِ فِي طَلَبِ الْأَكْثَرِ طَلَبًا لِلطَّاعَةِ بِالْإِيثَارِ بِهِ أَفْضَلُ، وَيَأْخُذُ الْأَقَلَّ لِمَا فِيهِ مِنَ الدَّعَةِ وَالرَّاحَةِ، وَلَا يَأْخُذُ الْأَكْثَرَ لِمَا فِيهِ مِنَ التَّعَبِ وَالْمُؤْنَةِ.

Qāla: ʾafḍalu al-ʾaḥwāli allatī yutraku fīhā min fuḍūli al-ṭaʿāmi ʾawi al-sharābi ḥālu al-ʾatharati, fa-yaʾkhudhu al-ʾaqalla mina al-kifāyati, wa-yuʾthiru bi-al-ʾakthari, li-ʾanna al-ʾakthara lā yuṣābu ʾillā bi-al-kulfati. Wa-badhlu al-ḥīlati fī ṭalabi al-ʾakthari ṭalaban li-al-ṭāʿati bi-al-ʾīthāri bihi ʾafḍalu, wa-yaʾkhudhu al-ʾaqalla limā fīhi mina al-daʿati wa-al-rāḥati, wa-lā yaʾkhudhu al-ʾakthara limā fīhi mina al-taʿabi wa-al-muʾnati.

He said: “The best circumstance for forgoing surplus food or drink is giving preference to another [a contextual rendering of the printed al-athara]. One takes the smaller sufficient amount and gives the larger away, because more is obtained only with effort. Exerting one’s resources to obtain more in pursuit of obedience by giving it to others is better. One takes less for the ease and repose it brings, and avoids taking more for the fatigue and burden it entails.

وَلَا يَكُونُ أَخْذُ الْأَقَلِّ أَفْضَلَ لِأَخْذِ الْأَقَلِّ، إِنَّمَا يَكُونُ أَفْضَلَ لِهَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي: لِلْأَثَرَةِ أَوْ لِرَجَاءِ الرَّاحَةِ، وَتَرْكِ التَّعَبِ وَالنَّصَبِ.

Wa-lā yakūnu ʾakhdhu al-ʾaqalli ʾafḍala li-ʾakhdhi al-ʾaqalli, ʾinnamā yakūnu ʾafḍala li-hādhihi al-maʿānī: li-al-ʾatharati ʾaw lirajāʾi al-rāḥati, wa-tarki al-taʿabi wa-al-naṣabi.

Taking less is not better merely because it is less. It is better for these reasons: preferring others [the contextual rendering of printed al-athara], or hoping for repose and leaving exhaustion and fatigue behind.

وَأَمَّا الِاشْتِغَالُ بِطَلَبِ الْأَكْثَرِ عَنْ طَلَبِ الْأَفْضَلِ، فَإِمَّا أَنْ يَتْرُكَهُ لِأَنَّ تَرْكَهُ أَفْضَلُ وَإِمَّا أَلَّا يَتْرُكَهُ لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَنْبَغِي التَّرْكُ وَلَا يَكُونُ.

Wa-ʾammā al-ishtighālu biṭalabi al-ʾakthari ʿan ṭalabi al-ʾafḍali, fa-ʾimmā ʾan yatrukahu li-ʾanna tarkahu ʾafḍalu wa-ʾimmā ʾallā yatrukahu li-ʾannahu lā yanbaghī al-tarku wa-lā yakūnu.

As for seeking more at the expense of seeking what is better, one either abandons it because abandoning it is better, or does not abandon it because abandonment is neither appropriate nor possible.

وَقَدْ قَالَ قَوْمٌ: إِنَّهُ يَتْرُكُ الْفَضْلَ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ، وَيَأْخُذُ الْقُوتَ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يُقْدِمْ عَلَى الْفَضْلِ فَهُوَ أَفْضَلُ، لِأَنَّهُ إِذَا أَخَذَهُ ضَعُفَ عَنِ الطَّاعَةِ، وَدَعَتْهُ نَفْسُهُ إِلَى الْمَعْصِيَةِ فَلَيْسَ عِنْدَهُمْ أَزْجَرُ عَنِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ، وَلَا أَبْعَثُ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ مِنْ قِلَّةِ الطَّعَامِ، وَلَيْسَ هَكَذَا.

Wa-qad qāla qawmun: ʾinnahu yatruku al-faḍla mina al-ṭaʿāmi, wa-yaʾkhudhu al-qūta, wa-ʾin lam yuqdim ʿalā al-faḍli fa-huwa ʾafḍalu, li-ʾannahu ʾidhā ʾakhadhahu ḍaʿufa ʿani al-ṭāʿati, wa-daʿat-hu nafsuhu ʾilā al-maʿṣiyati fa-laysa ʿindahum ʾazjaru ʿani al-maʿṣiyati, wa-lā ʾabʿathu ʿalā al-ṭāʿati min qillati al-ṭaʿāmi, wa-laysa hākadhā.

Some have said that one should leave surplus food and take only subsistence: avoiding the surplus is better because taking it weakens one for obedience and the soul then calls one to sin. In their view, nothing restrains sin or prompts obedience more than eating little. It is not so.

مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ أَنْ يَكُونَ أَحَلَّ شَيْئًا، فَإِذَا أُخِذَ دَعَا إِلَى الْمَعَاصِي وَثَبَّطَ عَنِ الطَّاعَةِ. لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَبْعَثَ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ مِمَّا رَغَّبَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ، وَلَا شَيْءٌ أَزْجَرَ عَنِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ مِمَّا خَوَّفَ اللَّهُ بِهِ مِنَ النَّارِ،

Maʿādha Allāhi ʾan yakūna ʾaḥalla shayʾan, fa-ʾidhā ʾukhidha daʿā ʾilā al-maʿāṣī wa-thabbaṭa ʿani al-ṭāʿati. Laysa shayʾun ʾabʿatha ʿalā al-ṭāʿati mimmā raghghaba Allāhu fīhi mina al-khayri, wa-lā shayʾun ʾazjara ʿani al-maʿṣiyati mimmā khawwafa Allāhu bihi mina al-nāri,

God forbid that He should make something lawful which, when taken, calls to sin and discourages obedience. Nothing prompts obedience more than the good God has encouraged, and nothing restrains sin more than the Fire with which God has warned.

وَقَدْ يَنْبَعِثُ الْخَائِفُ الرَّاجِي بِذِكْرِ مَا وَعَدَ اللَّهُ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ، وَبِذِكْرِ مَا أَوْعَدَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْعِقَابِ فَيَنْزَجِرُ. وَلَوْ كَانَ قِلَّةُ الطَّعَامِ أَبْعَثَ لَكَانَ اللَّهُ قَدْ ذَكَرَهُ فِي الْقُرْآنِ، وَكَرَّرَ ذِكْرَهُ، وَلَكِنَّهُ زَهَّدَ فِيهِ، وَرَغَّبَ فِي تَرْكِهِ.

Wa-qad yanbaʿithu al-khāʾifu al-rājī bidhikri mā waʿada Allāhu ʿalā al-ṭāʿati, wa-bidhikri mā ʾawʿada Allāhu mina al-ʿiqābi fa-yanzajiru. Wa-law kāna qillatu al-ṭaʿāmi ʾabʿatha lakāna Allāhu qad dhakarahu fī al-qurʾāni, wa-karrara dhikrahu, wa-lākinnahu zahhada fīhi, wa-raghghaba fī tarkihi.

The person who fears and hopes is moved by remembering God’s promise for obedience, and restrained by remembering His threat of punishment. If eating little were a stronger incentive, God would have mentioned it repeatedly in the Qurʾān. Instead, He has encouraged renouncing it and leaving it [the printed final pronoun has an uncertain referent].

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ كُلَّ فَضِيلَةٍ نَافِلَةٍ، لَهَا شَبِيهٌ مِنَ الْفَرِيضَةِ مِمَّا فَرَضَ اللَّهُ، يُسْتَدَلُّ بِهَا عَلَى مَا نَفَّلَ. وَلَمْ يَفْرِضِ اللَّهُ الْجُوعَ فَرِيضَةً، وَلَمْ يُرَغِّبْ فِيهِ نَافِلَةً، إِلَّا أَنْ يَجُوعَ لِيُؤْثِرَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بِطُعْمَةِ أَهْلِ الْمَسْكَنَةِ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ مَدَحَ بِذَلِكَ قَوْمًا فَقَالَ: وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ [الْحَشْرِ: 9].

Wa-iʿlam ʾanna kulla faḍīlatin nāfilatin, lahā shabīhun mina al-farīḍati mimmā faraḍa Allāhu, yustadallu bihā ʿalā mā naffala. Wa-lam yafriḍi Allāhu al-jūʿa farīḍatan, wa-lam yuraghghib fīhi nāfilatan, ʾillā ʾan yajūʿa liyuʾthira ʿalā nafsihi biṭuʿmati ʾahli al-maskanati, fa-ʾinna Allāha qad madaḥa bi-dhālika qawman fa-qāla: wa-yuʾthirūna ʿalā ʾanfusihim wa-law kāna bihim khaṣāṣatun [al-Ḥashri: 9].

Know that every voluntary virtue has a counterpart among the duties God has made obligatory, through which the voluntary act is recognized. God has neither imposed hunger as an obligation nor encouraged it as a voluntary act, except when someone goes hungry to prefer the destitute to himself by giving them food. God praised a people for this, saying: ‘They give preference over themselves, even when they are in need’ [Qurʾān, al-Ḥashr 59:9].

Source page 42

فَإِذَا أَشْكَلَ عَلَيْنَا شَيْءٌ مِنْ أَنْوَاعِ النَّفْلِ، فَلَمْ نَدْرِ أَفَضْلٌ هُوَ أَمْ لَيْسَ بِفَضْلٍ، فَانْظُرْ فِي أُصُولِ الْفَرْضِ، فَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ فِي الْفَرْضِ أَصْلٌ فَهُوَ فَضْلٌ، وَإِلَّا فَلَا.

Fa-ʾidhā ʾashkala ʿalaynā shayʾun min ʾanwāʿi al-nafli, fa-lam nadri ʾafaḍlun huwa ʾam laysa bifaḍlin, fa-unẓur fī ʾuṣūli al-farḍi, fa-ʾin kāna lahu fī al-farḍi ʾaṣlun fa-huwa faḍlun, wa-ʾillā fa-lā.

“If a voluntary practice is unclear to us and we do not know whether it has merit, look to the foundations of obligatory practice. If it has a foundation there, it has merit; otherwise it does not.

فَقَدْ رَغَّبَ فِي صَدَقَةِ النَّفْلِ، وَقَدْ فَرَضَهَا فِي الزَّكَاةِ.

Fa-qad raghghaba fī ṣadaqati al-nafli, wa-qad faraḍahā fī al-zakāti.

He has encouraged voluntary charity and made it obligatory in the alms levy.

وَرَغَّبَ فِي الصَّوْمِ وَقَدْ فَرَضَ رَمَضَانَ.

Wa-raghghaba fī al-ṣawmi wa-qad faraḍa Ramaḍāna.

He has encouraged fasting and prescribed Ramadan.

وَرَغَّبَ فِي الْجِهَادِ وَقَدْ فَرَضَ الصَّلَاةَ.

Wa-raghghaba fī al-jihādi wa-qad faraḍa al-ṣalāta.

He has encouraged striving and prescribed prayer [the pairing is printed this way].

وَرَغَّبَ فِي الصَّلَاةِ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ، وَقَدْ فَرَضَ عَلَى نَبِيِّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ صَلَاةَ اللَّيْلِ، وَصَلَاةَ النَّهَارِ.

Wa-raghghaba fī al-ṣalāti bi-al-layli wa-al-nahāri, wa-qad faraḍa ʿalā nabiyyihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ṣalāta al-layli, wa-ṣalāta al-nahāri.

He has encouraged prayer by night and day, having imposed night prayer and daytime prayer upon His Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.

وَلَمْ يَفْرِضْ عَلَيْهِ الْجُوعَ وَلَا الْعَطَشَ.

Wa-lam yafriḍ ʿalayhi al-jūʿa wa-lā al-ʿaṭasha.

He did not impose hunger or thirst upon him.

فَالَّذِي يَنَالُ جُوعًا وَعَطَشًا بِلَا صَوْمٍ فَلَيْسَ بِمَأْجُورٍ وَمَنْ عَطِشَ وَجَاعَ صَائِمًا فَهُوَ مَأْجُورٌ.

Fa-alladhī yanālu jūʿan wa-ʿaṭashan bilā ṣawmin fa-laysa bimaʾjūrin wa-man ʿaṭisha wa-jāʿa ṣāʾiman fa-huwa maʾjūrun.

Someone who undergoes hunger and thirst without fasting is not rewarded, while someone who becomes hungry and thirsty while fasting is rewarded.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا تَمَّ فِي الْعِلْمِ كَانَ مَأْجُورًا، أَوْ تَمَّ فِي أَحْوَالِهِ فِي مُتَقَلَّبِهِ وَمَعَاشِهِ وَفِي يَقَظَتِهِ وَنَوْمِهِ، وَفِي مَطْعَمِهِ وَمَشْرَبِهِ، فَعَلِمَ كَيْفَ يَدَعُ وَيَتْرُكُ وَيَأْخُذُ، فَهُوَ يَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ بِالْأَخْذِ وَالتَّرْكِ، يَأْكُلُ الطَّعَامَ لِأَنَّهُ حَلَالٌ، وَيَدَعُ مَا هُوَ أَطْيَبُ مِنْهُ لِأَنَّهُ حَرَامٌ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾanna al-ʿabda ʾidhā tamma fī al-ʿilmi kāna maʾjūran, ʾaw tamma fī ʾaḥwālihi fī mutaqallabihi wa-maʿāshihi wa-fī yaqaẓatihi wa-nawmihi, wa-fī maṭʿamihi wa-mashrabihi, fa-ʿalima kayfa yadaʿu wa-yatruku wa-yaʾkhudhu, fa-huwa yaʿbudu Allāha bi-al-ʾakhdhi wa-al-tarki, yaʾkulu al-ṭaʿāma li-ʾannahu ḥalālun, wa-yadaʿu mā huwa ʾaṭyabu minhu li-ʾannahu ḥarāmun.

Know that when a servant becomes complete in knowledge, he is rewarded; or when he becomes complete in his conditions, in his activity and livelihood, waking and sleep, food and drink, and knows how to forgo, leave, and take, he worships God through taking and leaving. He eats food because it is lawful and leaves something tastier because it is forbidden.

فَإِذَا أَكَلَ شَيْئًا وَتَرَكَ آخَرَ فَلَوْلَا تَحْلِيلُهُ لَمْ يَأْكُلْهُ، وَيَأْتِي الْهَوَى وَيَدَعُ الْحَرَامَ نِعْمَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى إِتْيَانِهِ الْحَلَالَ، وَتَرْكِ الْآخَرِ. وَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ مَالٌ فَهَذَا الْمَأْجُورُ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ.

Fa-ʾidhā ʾakala shayʾan wa-taraka ʾākhara fa-lawlā taḥlīluhu lam yaʾkulhu, wa-yaʾtī al-hawā wa-yadaʿu al-ḥarāma niʿmatan mina Allāhi taʿālā ʿalā ʾityānihi al-ḥalāla, wa-tarki al-ʾākhari. Wa-ʾin kāna lahu mālun fa-hādhā al-maʾjūru ʿalā kulli ḥālin.

When he eats one thing and leaves another, he would not have eaten it had God not made it lawful. He fulfills desire while leaving the forbidden, through a blessing from God Most High in his taking the lawful and leaving the other. Even if he possesses wealth, this person is rewarded in every condition.

وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنْ بَعْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ رَغَّبَ فِي الْغِشْيَانِ وَأَخْبَرَ بِمَا عَلَيْهِ مِنْ ثَوَابٍ، فَقَالَ قَائِلٌ: يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ، أَنَأْتِي لَذَّاتِنَا وَنُؤْجَرُ عَلَيْهَا؟ فَقَالَ: «أَرَأَيْتُمْ لَوْ كُنْتُمْ فِي خِلَافِهِ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ أَكُنْتُمْ تَأْثَمُونَ»؟ قَالُوا: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: «إِذَا كُنْتُمْ فِي الْحَلَالِ تُؤْجَرُونَ».

Wa-qad ruwiya ʿan baʿḍi al-ʿulamāʾi ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʾannahu raghghaba fī al-ghishyāni wa-ʾakhbara bimā ʿalayhi min thawābin, fa-qāla qāʾilun: yā nabiyya Allāhi, ʾanaʾtī ladhdhātinā wa-nuʾjaru ʿalayhā? Fa-qāla: «ʾaraʾaytum law kuntum fī khilāfihi mina al-ḥarāmi ʾakuntum taʾthamūna»? Qālū: naʿam, qāla: «ʾidhā kuntum fī al-ḥalāli tuʾjarūna».

It is related through a scholar that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, encouraged sexual intercourse and spoke of its reward. Someone asked: ‘Prophet of God, do we enjoy our pleasures and receive reward for them?’ He replied: ‘Consider: if you did the opposite, in the forbidden manner, would you incur sin?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘When you remain within the lawful, you are rewarded.’

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ حَالٌ مِنَ الْأَحْوَالِ إِلَّا وَاللَّهِ فِيهَا تَأْدِيبٌ. فَمَنْ تَرَكَ أَدَبَهُ فِيهَا، فَقَدْ عَصَى رَبَّهُ إِلَّا نَوْمًا أَوْ سَهْوًا أَوْ ذَهَابَ عَقْلٍ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾannahu laysa ḥālun mina al-ʾaḥwāli ʾillā wa-Allāhi fīhā taʾdībun. Fa-man taraka ʾadabahu fīhā, fa-qad ʿaṣā rabbahu ʾillā nawman ʾaw sahwan ʾaw dhahāba ʿaqlin.

Know that there is no condition without, by God, a discipline proper to it. Whoever abandons its proper conduct has disobeyed his Lord, except through sleep, inadvertence, or loss of reason.

فَلِلَّهِ فِي النَّفْلِ أَدَبٌ، كَيْفَ يَأْخُذُونَهُ وَيَتْرُكُونَهُ، فَإِنْ فَعَلُوا النَّفْلَ بِتَأْدِيبِهِ اسْتَوْجَبُوا ثَوَابَهُ، وَإِنْ تَرَكُوا فِيهِ أَدَبَهُ اسْتَوْجَبُوا عِقَابَهُ.

Fa-li-llāhi fī al-nafli ʾadabun, kayfa yaʾkhudhūnahu wa-yatrukūnahu, fa-ʾin faʿalū al-nafla bitaʾdībihi istawjabū thawābahu, wa-ʾin tarakū fīhi ʾadabahu istawjabū ʿiqābahu.

God has prescribed proper conduct in voluntary practice, governing how people undertake it and leave it. If they perform it according to His discipline, they deserve His reward; if they neglect His proper conduct in it, they deserve His punishment.

وَلَمْ يَفْرِضِ اللَّهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ أَنْ يَنْتَفِلُوا، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَنْتَفِلُوا لَمْ يُثَابُوا، وَإِنْ تَنَفَّلُوا عَلَى غَيْرِ مَا نُفِّلُوا عَطِبُوا، وَلَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَعْطَبُوا، وَلَا يَرْكَبُوا مَا فِيهِ عَطَبُهُمْ. ثُمَّ يُؤْجَرُوا، فَلَيْسَ مِنْ أَحْوَالِ ابْنِ آدَمَ حَالٌ إِلَّا وَهُوَ فِيهَا آثِمٌ أَوْ مَأْجُورٌ

Wa-lam yafriḍi Allāhu ʿalā al-nāsi ʾan yantafilū, fa-ʾin lam yantafilū lam yuthābū, wa-ʾin tanaffalū ʿalā ghayri mā nuffilū ʿaṭibū, wa-lā yajūzu ʾan yaʿṭabū, wa-lā yarkabū mā fīhi ʿaṭabuhum. Thumma yuʾjarū, fa-laysa min ʾaḥwāli ibni ʾĀdama ḥālun ʾillā wa-huwa fīhā ʾāthimun ʾaw maʾjūrun

God has not obliged people to perform voluntary acts. If they do not perform them, they receive no reward; if they perform them contrary to what was prescribed for them, they perish. They cannot incur ruin or undertake what ruins them and then be rewarded. There is no condition of the child of Adam in which he is not either sinful or rewarded.

لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي جَمِيعِ الْأُمُورِ بِخَلْقِهِ تَعَبُّدٌ، فَمِنْهُ مَا أَلْزَمَهُمْ فِعْلَهُ، فَحَرَّمَ عَلَيْهِمْ تَرْكَهُ، وَمِنْهُ مَا نَفَّلَهُمْ فِعْلَهُ، وَأَبَاحَ لَهُمْ تَرْكَهُ، وَفَرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ فِيمَا نَفَّلَهُمْ كَيْفَ يَأْخُذُونَ وَكَيْفَ يَتْرُكُونَ.

Li-llāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fī jamīʿi al-ʾumūri bikhalqihi taʿabbudun, fa-minhu mā ʾalzamahum fiʿlahu, fa-ḥarrama ʿalayhim tarkahu, wa-minhu mā naffalahum fiʿlahu, wa-ʾabāḥa lahum tarkahu, wa-faraḍa ʿalayhim fīmā naffalahum kayfa yaʾkhudhūna wa-kayfa yatrukūna.

In every matter God, mighty and exalted, lays requirements of worship upon His creatures. Some He has obliged them to perform and forbidden them to abandon; others He has made voluntary to perform and permitted them to leave. Within what He has made voluntary, He has prescribed how they should undertake it and how they should leave it.”