3. Al Qasd Wal Ruju : Aim and return attributed to Al Muhasibi Part 3

الْقَصْدُ وَالرُّجُوعُ إِلَى اللّٰهِ

Al-Qaṣdu wa-al-Rujūʿu ʾilā Allāhi

Aiming for God and Returning to Him

نَصٌّ بَاقٍ مَنْسُوبٌ إِلَى الْحَارِثِ بْنِ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيِّ

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

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

Source page 279

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٢١

Masʾalatun 21

Question 21

فِي صِفَةِ وُرُودِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ إِلَى قُلُوبِ الْعَارِفِينَ

Fī ṣifati wurūdi al-maʿrifati ʾilā qulūbi al-ʿārifīna

How knowledge of God enters the hearts of those who know Him

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، كَيْفَ وُرُودُهَا إِلَى الْقُلُوبِ، سَاكِنَةً أَوْ مُتَحَرِّكَةً؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, kayfa wurūduhā ʾilā al-qulūbi, sākinatan ʾaw mutaḥarrikatan?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, how does it enter hearts: in stillness or in motion?”

قَالَ: أَمَّا هِيَ فِي الْأَصْلِ فَسَاكِنَةٌ بِالْإِقْرَارِ بِالْعُبُودِيَّةِ بِمَعْرِفَةِ التَّوْحِيدِ، وَأَمَّا فِي هَيَجَانِ وُرُودِهَا فَمُتَحَرِّكَةٌ غَيْرُ سَاكِنَةٍ، كَحُدُورِ الْمَاءِ مِنْ مَجَارِيهِ إِلَى مَفِيضِهِ، حَتَّى يَسْكُنَ، فَإِذَا سَكَنَ رَاقَ وَصَفَا.

Qāla: ʾammā hiya fī al-ʾaṣli fa-sākinatun bi-al-ʾiqrāri bi-al-ʿubūdiyyati bimaʿrifati al-tawḥīdi, wa-ʾammā fī hayajāni wurūdihā fa-mutaḥarrikatun ghayru sākinatin, kaḥudūri al-māʾi min majārīhi ʾilā mafīḍihi, ḥattā yaskuna, fa-ʾidhā sakana rāqa wa-ṣafā.

He said, “At its root it is still, through acknowledgment of servitude in knowledge of God's oneness. But in the surge of its arrival it is moving, not still, like water descending from its channels to its basin until it settles. Once it settles, it becomes clear and pure.

وَهٰكَذَا يَا فَتَى الْمَعْرِفَةُ، مُضْطَرِبَةٌ غَيْرُ سَاكِنَةٍ فِي حُدُورِهَا إِلَى الْقُلُوبِ، حَتَّى تَسْكُنَ فِي مَفِيضِهَا كَسُكُونِ الْمَاءِ فِي مَفِيضِهِ، فَعِنْدَ ذٰلِكَ يَكُونُ مِنَ الْعَبْدِ الْهُدُوءُ وَالْعِلْمُ وَالْحِلْمُ، وَالْأَنَاةُ وَحُسْنُ الظَّنِّ بِمَوْعُودِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَتَصْدِيقُ الْقُلُوبِ بِمَا وَقَعَ بِهِ مِنَ الْوَعْدِ وَالْوَعِيدِ.

Wa-hākadhā yā fatā al-maʿrifatu, muḍṭaribatun ghayru sākinatin fī ḥudūrihā ʾilā al-qulūbi, ḥattā taskuna fī mafīḍihā kasukūni al-māʾi fī mafīḍihi, fa-ʿinda dhālika yakūnu mina al-ʿabdi al-hudūʾu wa-al-ʿilmu wa-al-ḥilmu, wa-al-ʾanātu wa-ḥusnu al-ẓanni bimawʿūdi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-taṣdīqu al-qulūbi bimā waqaʿa bihi mina al-waʿdi wa-al-waʿīdi.

“Likewise, young man, knowledge of God is stirred and unsettled as it descends into hearts, until it settles in its basin as water settles in its basin. Then the servant shows calm, knowledge, forbearance, deliberation, trust in the promise of God, mighty and majestic, and the hearts' belief in what it brings of promise and warning.”

قُلْتُ: الْغَالِبُ عَلَى قُلُوبِ الْعَارِفِينَ مَا هُوَ؟

Qultu: al-ghālibu ʿalā qulūbi al-ʿārifīna mā huwa?

I asked, “What predominates in the hearts of those who know God?”

قَالَ: أَشْيَاءُ كَثِيرَةٌ، مِنْهَا: دَوَامُ الْخَوْفِ وَالرَّجَاءِ وَالْحَيَاءِ، وَكُلُّ حَالَةٍ جَمِيلَةٍ.

Qāla: ʾashyāʾu kathīratun, minhā: dawāmu al-khawfi wa-al-rajāʾi wa-al-ḥayāʾi, wa-kullu ḥālatin jamīlatin.

He said, “Many things, including constant fear, hope, shame, and every beautiful state.”

قُلْتُ: بِسُكُونٍ أَوِ اضْطِرَابٍ؟

Qultu: bisukūnin ʾawi iḍṭirābin?

I asked, “With stillness or agitation?”

Source pages 279–280

قَالَ: لِهٰذِهِ الْحَالَاتِ يَا فَتَى هَيَاجٌ فِي حَرَكَاتِهَا، وَسُكُونٌ فِي وَطَنَاتِهَا، وَاسْتِعْمَالٌ فِي خَلَوَاتِهَا، وَوُجُودٌ فِي غَدَوَاتِهَا، وَمَسِيرٌ إِلَى مَنَاهِلِهَا، وَفَوَائِدُ فِي زَوَائِدِهَا، وَفِطْنَةٌ فِي بَصَائِرِهَا، وَنَفَاذُ وَهْمٍ فِي اسْتِدْرَاكِ مُرَادِهَا.

Qāla: li-hādhihi al-ḥālāti yā fatā hayājun fī ḥarakātihā, wa-sukūnun fī waṭanātihā, wa-istiʿmālun fī khalawātihā, wa-wujūdun fī ghadawātihā, wa-masīrun ʾilā manāhilihā, wa-fawāʾidu fī zawāʾidihā, wa-fiṭnatun fī baṣāʾirihā, wa-nafādhu wahmin fī istidrāki murādihā.

He said, “These states, young man, have a surge in their movements, stillness in their settled places, practice in their seclusions, presence in their mornings, a journey to their watering places, benefits in their increases, discernment in their insights, and a penetrating imagination in apprehending their aim.”

Source page 280

قُلْتُ: فَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ يَعْقِدُ الْمَعْرِفَةَ بِالْقُلُوبِ بَعْدَ جَوَلَانِهَا، وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ تُوَلِّدُهُ بَعْدَ هَيَجَانِهَا، وَمَا الَّذِي تُورِثُهُ وَتُخَلِّفُهُ بَعْدَ سُكُونِهَا وَهُدُوئِهَا؟

Qultu: fa-ʾayyu shayʾin yaʿqidu al-maʿrifata bi-al-qulūbi baʿda jawalānihā, wa-ʾayyu shayʾin tuwalliduhu baʿda hayajānihā, wa-mā alladhī tūrithuhu wa-tukhallifuhu baʿda sukūnihā wa-hudūʾihā?

I asked, “What binds knowledge of God to hearts after its roaming? What does it produce after its surge, and what does it bequeath and leave behind after its stillness and calm?”

قَالَ: خِصَالٌ سِتٌّ غَيْرُ مَعْدُومَةٍ عِنْدَ أَهْلِهَا.

Qāla: khiṣālun sittun ghayru maʿdūmatin ʿinda ʾahlihā.

He said, “Six qualities that are never absent from those who possess it.”

قُلْتُ: اذْكُرْ لِي مِنْهَا.

Qultu: udhkur lī minhā.

I said, “Name some for me.”

قَالَ: الْخَوْفُ الْمُبَرِّحُ لِصَفَاءِ مَعْرِفَتِهَا، وَالصَّفَاءُ الدَّائِمُ لِمَا رَأَتْ مِنْ أَلْطَافِ سَيِّدِهَا، وَكَثْرَةُ الْعِلْمِ وَالْحِلْمِ، وَطُولُ الْأَلَمِ وَالْأَسَى وَخَوْفِ الْفَوْتِ، وَحُبُّ فِرَاقِ الدُّنْيَا، وَالتَّوَحُّشُ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا.

Qāla: al-khawfu al-mubarriḥu liṣafāʾi maʿrifatihā, wa-al-ṣafāʾu al-dāʾimu limā raʾat min ʾalṭāfi sayyidihā, wa-kathratu al-ʿilmi wa-al-ḥilmi, wa-ṭūlu al-ʾalami wa-al-ʾasā wa-khawfi al-fawti, wa-ḥubbu firāqi al-dunyā, wa-al-tawaḥḥushu min ʾahlihā.

He said, “Piercing fear because of the clarity of their knowledge; lasting purity because of the kindnesses they have seen from their Master; abundant knowledge and forbearance; prolonged pain, sorrow, and fear of loss; love of departing from this world; and estrangement from its people.”

قُلْتُ: أَجْمِلْ لِي حَالَاتِ الْعَارِفِينَ مَا هِيَ؟

Qultu: ʾajmil lī ḥālāti al-ʿārifīna mā hiya?

I asked, “Sum up for me the states of those who know God. What are they?”

قَالَ: عَنْ أَيِّ حَالَاتِ الْعَارِفِينَ تَسْأَلُ؟

Qāla: ʿan ʾayyi ḥālāti al-ʿārifīna tasʾalu?

He said, “About which states of those who know God are you asking?”

قُلْتُ: أُرِيدُ أَنْ تَدُلَّنِي مِنْهَا عَلَى حَالَةٍ تُثَبِّتُنِي فِي التَّوَاضُعِ، وَتُكَمِّلُ لِيَ الْحَيَاءَ، وَتَجْمَعُ لِيَ الرِّعَايَةَ، وَتَمْزُجُ لِيَ السُّرُورَ بِالْمَقْدُورِ، وَتُسْقِطُ عَنِّي كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْإِعْجَابِ، وَيَدْخُلُ عَلَيَّ مِنْهَا مَطَالِعُ الِامْتِنَاعِ عَنْ كُلِّ سَبَبٍ يَجُرُّ إِلَى دَوَاعِي فِتْنَتِهِ.

Qultu: ʾurīdu ʾan tadullanī minhā ʿalā ḥālatin tuthabbitunī fī al-tawāḍuʿi, wa-tukammilu liya al-ḥayāʾa, wa-tajmaʿu liya al-riʿāyata, wa-tamzuju liya al-surūra bi-al-maqdūri, wa-tusqiṭu ʿannī kathīran mina al-ʾiʿjābi, wa-yadkhulu ʿalayya minhā maṭāliʿu al-imtināʿi ʿan kulli sababin yajurru ʾilā dawāʿī fitnatihi.

I said, “I want you to show me a state that will establish me in humility, perfect my shame, bring together my watchful care, mingle my joy with what is decreed, remove much self-admiration from me, and open for me ways of refraining from every cause that draws one toward incitements to temptation.”

قَالَ: الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِي وَفَّقَكَ لِلصَّوَابِ، وَدَلَّكَ عَلَى الرَّشَادِ، وَكَشَفَ عَنْ قَلْبِكَ غِطَاءَ ظُلْمَةِ الْجَهْلِ. الْآنَ رَجَوْتُ أَنْ تَكُونَ قَدْ قَرُبْتَ مِنَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، وَوَصَلْتَ إِلَى بَابِهَا.

Qāla: al-ḥamdu li-llāhi alladhī waffaqaka li-al-ṣawābi, wa-dallaka ʿalā al-rashādi, wa-kashafa ʿan qalbika ghiṭāʾa ẓulmati al-jahli. Al-ʾāna rajawtu ʾan takūna qad qarubta mina al-maʿrifati, wa-waṣalta ʾilā bābihā.

He said, “Praise belongs to God, who has enabled you to find what is right, directed you to guidance, and lifted from your heart the covering of ignorance's darkness. Now I hope that you have drawn near to knowledge of God and reached its door.

Source page 281

يَا فَتَى، إِنَّ الْحَالَةَ الَّتِي تَجْمَعُ لَكَ الْحَالَاتِ هِيَ كُلُّهَا فِي حَالَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ: هِيَ الْمُرَاقَبَةُ، فَأَلْزِمْ نَفْسَكَ وَقَلْبَكَ دَوَامَ الْعِلْمِ بِنَظَرِ اللّٰهِ إِلَيْكَ فِي حَرَكَاتِكَ وَسُكُونِكَ وَقُعُودِكَ، وَذَهَابِكَ وَمَجِيئِكَ، فَإِنَّكَ بِعَيْنِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فِي جَمِيعِ مُنْقَلَبِكَ، وَإِنَّكَ فِي قَبْضَتِهِ حَيْثُ كُنْتَ، وَإِنَّ عَيْنَ اللّٰهِ عَلَى قَلْبِكَ، فَنَاظِرٌ إِلَى سِرِّكَ وَعَلَانِيَتِكَ.

Yā fatā, ʾinna al-ḥālata allatī tajmaʿu laka al-ḥālāti hiya kulluhā fī ḥālatin wāḥidatin: hiya al-murāqabatu, fa-ʾalzim nafsaka wa-qalbaka dawāma al-ʿilmi binaẓari Allāhi ʾilayka fī ḥarakātika wa-sukūnika wa-quʿūdika, wa-dhahābika wa-majīʾika, fa-ʾinnaka biʿayni Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, fī jamīʿi munqalabika, wa-ʾinnaka fī qabḍatihi ḥaythu kunta, wa-ʾinna ʿayna Allāhi ʿalā qalbika, fa-nāẓirun ʾilā sirrika wa-ʿalāniyatika.

“Young man, the state that brings all the states together for you is contained in one state: watchfulness. Bind your self and your heart to constant awareness that God looks upon you in your movements, stillness, sitting, going, and coming. You are under the eye of God, mighty and majestic, wherever you turn, and in His grasp wherever you are. God's eye is upon your heart; He looks at your secret and your public life.

وَهٰذِهِ الصِّفَةُ يَا فَتَى بَحْرٌ لَيْسَ لَهُ شُطْآنٌ، بَحْرٌ تَجْرِي مِنْهُ السَّوَاقِي وَالْأَنْهَارُ وَتَسْرِي فِيهِ الْمَرَاكِبُ إِلَى مَعَادِنِ الْغَنِيمَةِ.

Wa-hādhihi al-ṣifatu yā fatā baḥrun laysa lahu shuṭʾānun, baḥrun tajrī minhu al-sawāqī wa-al-ʾanhāru wa-tasrī fīhi al-marākibu ʾilā maʿādini al-ghanīmati.

“This quality, young man, is a sea without shores, a sea from which channels and rivers flow and upon which ships sail toward sources of treasure.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا مَعْنَى قَوْلِكَ فِي الْبَحْرِ، وَالتَّمْثِيلِ بِهِ؟

Qultu: fa-mā maʿnā qawlika fī al-baḥri, wa-al-tamthīli bihi?

I asked, “What do you mean by speaking of the sea and using it as an image?”

قَالَ: أَمَّا الْبَحْرُ فَهُوَ الْعِلْمُ الَّذِي وَصَفْتُهُ لَكَ، وَهُوَ الْعِلْمُ الَّذِي لَيْسَتْ لَهُ نِهَايَةٌ وَلَا غَايَةٌ، وَهُوَ عِلْمُ الْقَلْبِ بِقُرْبِ الرَّبِّ، وَهُوَ الْعِلْمُ الَّذِي يُؤَدِّي إِلَى الْعَظَمَةِ، وَهُوَ الْبَحْرُ الَّذِي لَيْسَ لَهُ حَدٌّ وَلَا نِهَايَةٌ.

Qāla: ʾammā al-baḥru fa-huwa al-ʿilmu alladhī waṣaftuhu laka, wa-huwa al-ʿilmu alladhī laysat lahu nihāyatun wa-lā ghāyatun, wa-huwa ʿilmu al-qalbi biqurbi al-rabbi, wa-huwa al-ʿilmu alladhī yuʾaddī ʾilā al-ʿaẓamati, wa-huwa al-baḥru alladhī laysa lahu ḥaddun wa-lā nihāyatun.

He said, “The sea is the knowledge I have described to you: knowledge without end or limit; the heart's knowledge of the Lord's nearness; knowledge that leads to majesty. It is the sea without boundary or end.

حَصِرَتْ قُلُوبُ الْعَارِفِينَ عَنِ التَّفْتِيشِ بِكَيْفِيَّتِهِ، وَانْقَطَعَتْ أَوْهَامُ الْمُوقِنِينَ بِاسْتِدْرَاكِهَا بِالْكُلِّيَّةِ، وَرَجَعَتْ أَبْصَارُ قُلُوبِهِمْ خَاسِئَةً هَائِبَةً، إِجْلَالًا وَتَعْظِيمًا لَمَّا سَارَتْ أَوْهَامُهَا فِي بَحْرِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، وَلَجَّجَتْ فِي تَيَّارِهَا، وَأَقْلَعَتْ بِهَا شُرُعُهَا، رَجَاءَ سُرْعَةِ السَّيْرِ إِلَى كُنُوزِ الْعِلْمِ مِنْهَا.

Ḥaṣirat qulūbu al-ʿārifīna ʿani al-taftīshi bikayfiyyatihi, wa-inqaṭaʿat ʾawhāmu al-mūqinīna bi-istidrākihā bi-al-kulliyyati, wa-rajaʿat ʾabṣāru qulūbihim khāsiʾatan hāʾibatan, ʾijlālan wa-taʿẓīman lammā sārat ʾawhāmuhā fī baḥri al-maʿrifati, wa-lajjajat fī tayyārihā, wa-ʾaqlaʿat bihā shuruʿuhā, rajāʾa surʿati al-sayri ʾilā kunūzi al-ʿilmi minhā.

“The hearts of those who know God are unable to investigate its how, and the imaginations of those with certainty fail to grasp it completely. The eyes of their hearts return humbled and awestruck, in veneration and reverence, after their imaginations have traveled upon the sea of knowledge, ventured deep into its current, and been carried away by their sails, hoping to journey swiftly to its treasures of knowledge.”

قُلْتُ: أَيَّ شَيْءٍ بَلَغُوا مِنْ ذٰلِكَ؟

Qultu: ʾayya shayʾin balaghū min dhālika?

I asked, “What did they attain of that?”

قَالَ: إِنَّمَا مَبْلَغُهُمْ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ عَلَى مَا طَابَ لَهُمُ الرِّيحُ، وَسَارَتْ بِهِمُ الرِّيحُ، وَاسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الِاسْتِوَاءِ حَتَّى وَصَلُوا إِلَى مَعَادِنِ الْجَوَاهِرِ، فَتَخَيَّرُوا مِنْهَا نُورًا يَسْطَعُ بِالْهِدَايَةِ.

Qāla: ʾinnamā mablaghuhum min dhālika ʿalā mā ṭāba lahumu al-rīḥu, wa-sārat bihimu al-rīḥu, wa-istaqāmū ʿalā al-istiwāʾi ḥattā waṣalū ʾilā maʿādini al-jawāhiri, fa-takhayyarū minhā nūran yasṭaʿu bi-al-hidāyati.

He said, “They attain only as much as the wind favors them and carries them, while they hold a steady course, until they reach the sources of jewels and choose from them a light that shines with guidance.”

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، قَدْ صَعَّبْتَ عَلَيَّ الْأَنْوَارَ، وَدَقَّقْتَ عَلَيَّ الْمَذَاهِبَ وَأَبْعَدْتَ عَلَيَّ الشُّقَّةَ، بَعْدَ أَنْ رَجَوْتُ بُلُوغَهَا، وَحَدَّثَتْنِي نَفْسِي بِطُولِ الْمُدَّةِ قَبْلَ بُلُوغِ الْغَايَةِ.

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, qad ṣaʿʿabta ʿalayya al-ʾanwāra, wa-daqqaqta ʿalayya al-madhāhiba wa-ʾabʿadta ʿalayya al-shuqqata, baʿda ʾan rajawtu bulūghahā, wa-ḥaddathatnī nafsī biṭūli al-muddati qabla bulūghi al-ghāyati.

I said, “May God have mercy on you, you have made these lights difficult for me, their paths too subtle, and the journey too distant, after I had hoped to reach them. My self has begun telling me how long it will take to reach the goal.”

Source page 282

قَالَ: لَا تَعْجَلْ، إِنَّمَا قَرَّبْتُ عَلَيْكَ الْبَعِيدَ، وَسَهَّلْتُ عَلَيْكَ الشَّدِيدَ.

Qāla: lā taʿjal, ʾinnamā qarrabtu ʿalayka al-baʿīda, wa-sahhaltu ʿalayka al-shadīda.

He said, “Do not be hasty. I have only brought the distant near for you and made the difficult easy.”

قُلْتُ: وَقَدْ سَمِعْتُ مَا وَصَفْتَ؟

Qultu: wa-qad samiʿtu mā waṣafta?

I said, “Yet I have heard what you described?”

قَالَ: حَيْثُ رَجَوْتُ أَنْ تَكُونَ قَدْ فَهِمْتَ عَنِّي، وَيْحَكَ!! عَجَزْتَ، بَعْدَئِذٍ دَلَلْتُكَ عَلَى كُنُوزِهَا، وَأَبَنْتُ لَكَ الْمَنَارَ عَلَى الْمَحَجَّةِ عَلَيْهَا، وَقَرَّبْتُكَ إِلَى بَابِهَا، وَزِدْتُ فِي تَحْرِيضِكَ عَلَى الْهُجُومِ.

Qāla: ḥaythu rajawtu ʾan takūna qad fahimta ʿannī, wayḥaka!! ʿAjazta, baʿdaʾidhin dalaltuka ʿalā kunūzihā, wa-ʾabantu laka al-manāra ʿalā al-maḥajjati ʿalayhā, wa-qarrabtuka ʾilā bābihā, wa-zidtu fī taḥrīḍika ʿalā al-hujūmi.

He said, “Just when I hoped you had understood me, poor you, you have faltered! After that I showed you its treasures, made the beacon on the road to it clear, brought you near its door, and urged you all the more to advance.

وَيْحَكَ!! لَا يَضِقْ قَلْبُكَ، وَلَا يَفْتُرْ عَزْمُكَ، وَلَا تُحَدِّثْ نَفْسَكَ بِالضَّعْفِ فِي أَمْرِكَ، إِنَّ الْمَعُونَةَ مُتَأَلِّقَةٌ إِلَى مَنْ طَلَبَهَا، وَمُنْصَبَّةٌ إِلَى مَنْ أَشْفَقَ عَلَيْهَا.

Wayḥaka!! Lā yaḍiq qalbuka, wa-lā yaftur ʿazmuka, wa-lā tuḥaddith nafsaka bi-al-ḍaʿfi fī ʾamrika, ʾinna al-maʿūnata mutaʾalliqatun ʾilā man ṭalabahā, wa-munṣabbatun ʾilā man ʾashfaqa ʿalayhā.

“Poor you! Do not let your heart narrow or your resolve slacken. Do not tell yourself that you are too weak for your undertaking. Help shines toward those who seek it and pours down toward those anxiously concerned for it.

فَلْيَكُنْ مَثَلُكَ فِي طَلَبِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ مَثَلَ الرَّاعِي الشَّفِيقِ الْكَيِّسِ الرَّفِيقِ الْمُحْتَالِ الْمُتَأَدِّبِ إِذَا نَفَرَتْ عَنْهُ الْغَنَمُ فِي رُؤُوسِ الْجِبَالِ، وَبُطُونِ الْأَوْدِيَةِ، صَاحَ بِهَا صَيْحَةَ مَنْ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَذُودَهَا عَنْ مَرَاتِعِ الْهَلَكَةِ، فَاسْتَجْمَعَتْ لَهُ وَلَحِقَ آخِرُهَا بِأَوَّلِهَا، فَسَارَ بِهَا حَيْثُ يُرِيدُ.

Fa-l-yakun mathaluka fī ṭalabi al-maʿrifati mathala al-rāʿī al-shafīqi al-kayyisi al-rafīqi al-muḥtāli al-mutaʾaddibi ʾidhā nafarat ʿanhu al-ghanamu fī ruʾūsi al-jibāli, wa-buṭūni al-ʾawdiyati, ṣāḥa bihā ṣayḥata man yurīdu ʾan yadhūdahā ʿan marātiʿi al-halakati, fa-istajmaʿat lahu wa-laḥiqa ʾākhiruhā bi-ʾawwalihā, fa-sāra bihā ḥaythu yurīdu.

“In seeking knowledge of God, be like a caring, intelligent, gentle, resourceful, well-trained shepherd. When his sheep scatter onto mountaintops and into valley bottoms, he calls out as someone who wants to drive them away from pastures of ruin. They gather for him, the last catching up with the first, and he leads them where he wishes.

فَهٰكَذَا يَا فَتَى إِذَا أَرَدْتَ الْمَعْرِفَةَ وَجَمْعَهَا، فَكُنْ حَرِيصًا عَلَيْهَا، مَعْنِيًّا فِي طَلَبِهَا، مُتَفَقِّدًا أَحْوَالَهَا، عَامِلًا فِي مَعَانِيهَا، رَاغِبًا فِيهَا رَغْبَةَ مَنْ قَدْ عَرَفَ قَدْرَ مَنَافِعِهَا، حَتَّى إِذَا وَصَلْتَ إِلَى شَيْءٍ مِنْهَا، دَلَّكَ أَوَّلُهَا عَلَى آخِرِهَا، وَاسْتَجْمَعَتْ لَكَ بِرِفْقِكَ بِهَا، وَحُسْنِ صَبْرِكَ عَلَيْهَا، كَمَا اسْتَجْمَعَتِ الْغَنَمُ لِرَاعِيهَا، فَسِرْتَ فِي مَحَجَّةِ الْأَبْرَارِ، إِلَى مَنَازِلِ الْأَخْيَارِ.

Fa-hākadhā yā fatā ʾidhā ʾaradta al-maʿrifata wa-jamʿahā, fa-kun ḥarīṣan ʿalayhā, maʿniyyan fī ṭalabihā, mutafaqqidan ʾaḥwālahā, ʿāmilan fī maʿānīhā, rāghiban fīhā raghbata man qad ʿarafa qadra manāfiʿihā, ḥattā ʾidhā waṣalta ʾilā shayʾin minhā, dallaka ʾawwaluhā ʿalā ʾākhirihā, wa-istajmaʿat laka birifqika bihā, wa-ḥusni ṣabrika ʿalayhā, kamā istajmaʿati al-ghanamu lirāʿīhā, fa-sirta fī maḥajjati al-ʾabrāri, ʾilā manāzili al-ʾakhyāri.

“Likewise, young man, if you seek knowledge of God and wish to gather it together, be eager for it, attentive in seeking it, watchful over its states, active in its meanings, and desirous of it as one who knows the worth of its benefits. When you reach something of it, its beginning will point you toward its end. Through your gentleness and good patience, it will gather for you as sheep gather for their shepherd, and you will travel the road of the righteous to the stations of the good.”

Source pages 282–283

قُلْتُ: الْآنَ شَرَحْتَ قَلْبِي، وَكَشَفْتَ عَنِّي كَرْبِي، وَزِدْتَ فِي رَغْبَتِي وَنَشَاطِي لِلِازْدِيَادِ فِي مُرَادِي، فَاصْبِرْ لِي، وَاحْتَسِبِ الثَّوَابَ فِيَّ، فَإِنِّي قَدْ رَجَوْتُ أَنْ تَكُونَ سَبَبًا لِصَحْوِ قَلْبِي، وَالْبُرْءِ مِنْ سَقَمِي، وَالْفَرَجِ مِنْ كَرْبِي، وَالْحَيَاةِ مِنْ مَوْتِ قَلْبِي، فَلَا تُبْعِدَنَّ عَلَيَّ.

Qultu: al-ʾāna sharaḥta qalbī, wa-kashafta ʿannī karbī, wa-zidta fī raghbatī wa-nashāṭī li-al-izdiyādi fī murādī, fa-iṣbir lī, wa-iḥtasibi al-thawāba fiyya, fa-ʾinnī qad rajawtu ʾan takūna sababan liṣaḥwi qalbī, wa-al-burʾi min saqamī, wa-al-faraji min karbī, wa-al-ḥayāti min mawti qalbī, fa-lā tubʿidanna ʿalayya.

I said, “Now you have opened my heart, lifted my distress, and increased my desire and energy to gain more of what I seek. Be patient with me and seek reward for helping me. I hope you will be a means of awakening my heart, curing my sickness, relieving my distress, and bringing my dead heart to life. Do not make the way seem remote to me.”

Source page 283

قَالَ: اصْبِرْ عَلَى جَفْوَةِ الطَّبِيبِ الْمُتَفَقِّدِ، وَالدَّلِيلِ الْمُرْشِدِ، تَجِدِ الْمَنْفَعَةَ عِنْدَ عَوَاقِبِ أُمُورِكَ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنِّي إِنَّمَا أَكْوِيكَ لِأُبْرِئَكَ، وَأُدَاوِيكَ لِأَشْفِيَكَ، وَأُجَرِّعُكَ الْمَرَارَةَ لِتُعْقِبَكَ الْحَلَاوَةَ، وَأَحْمِلُكَ عَلَى الشِّدَّةِ لِتَصِيرَ إِلَى مَوْضِعِ الرَّاحَةِ، وَأُحْضِرُ بِكَ الْخُشُونَةَ لِتَصِيرَ إِلَى مَوْضِعِ اللِّينِ وَالسُّهُولَةِ.

Qāla: iṣbir ʿalā jafwati al-ṭabībi al-mutafaqqidi, wa-al-dalīli al-murshidi, tajidi al-manfaʿata ʿinda ʿawāqibi ʾumūrika, wa-iʿlam ʾannī ʾinnamā ʾakwīka li-ʾubriʾaka, wa-ʾudāwīka li-ʾashfiyaka, wa-ʾujarriʿuka al-marārata lituʿqibaka al-ḥalāwata, wa-ʾaḥmiluka ʿalā al-shiddati litaṣīra ʾilā mawḍiʿi al-rāḥati, wa-ʾuḥḍiru bika al-khushūnata litaṣīra ʾilā mawḍiʿi al-līni wa-al-suhūlati.

He said, “Bear patiently the sternness of the attentive physician and the directing guide. You will find the benefit in the outcome of your affairs. Know that I cauterize you only to cure you, treat you to heal you, and make you swallow bitterness so that sweetness may follow. I make you bear hardship so that you may reach rest, and bring you to roughness so that you may reach gentleness and ease.”

قُلْتُ: أَفْهِمْنِي مَعْنَى مَا تَقُولُ.

Qultu: ʾafhimnī maʿnā mā taqūlu.

I said, “Help me understand what you mean.”

قَالَ: أَوَ لَمْ تَفْهَمْ مَعْنَى قَوْلِي لَكَ؟ إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَنْ تَكُونَ قَدْ أَتْعَبْتَنِي.

Qāla: ʾawa lam tafham maʿnā qawlī laka? ʾInnī ʾakhāfu ʾan takūna qad ʾatʿabtanī.

He said, “Have you not understood what I said to you? I fear that you have worn me out.”

قُلْتُ: قَدْ فَهِمْتُ عَنْكَ، إِلَّا أَنِّي قَدْ طَلَبْتُ الزِّيَادَةَ مِنْ حُسْنِ شَرْحِكَ، لِيَزْدَادَ فَهْمِي بِتَكْرِيرِ الْأَلْفَاظِ مِنْكَ إِلَيَّ، لِأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ الشَّاهِدُ الْوَاحِدُ مِثْلَ الِاثْنَيْنِ، وَلَا الْخَبَرُ مِثْلَ الْمُعَايَنَةِ.

Qultu: qad fahimtu ʿanka, ʾillā ʾannī qad ṭalabtu al-ziyādata min ḥusni sharḥika, liyazdāda fahmī bitakrīri al-ʾalfāẓi minka ʾilayya, li-ʾannahu laysa al-shāhidu al-wāḥidu mithla al-ithnayni, wa-lā al-khabaru mithla al-muʿāyanati.

I said, “I have understood you, but I seek more of your fine explanation, so that hearing your words repeated may deepen my understanding. One witness is not like two, and a report is not like seeing for oneself.”

فَقَالَ: أَحْسَنْتَ. ثُمَّ سَكَتَ سَكْتَةً، ثُمَّ قَالَ: لَا يَغُرَّنَّكَ ثَنَائِي عَلَيْكَ، وَحُسْنُ الْأَلْفَاظِ مِنِّي إِلَيْكَ، فَإِنِّي إِنَّمَا أَضَعُ لَكَ الْأَسَاسَ لِتَرْفَعَ الْبِنَاءَ، وَلَا تَفْرَحْ بِالْوَصْفِ دُونَ الْعَمَلِ، وَلَا تَعْمَلِ الْعَمَلَ بِغَيْرِ وَجَلٍ، وَلَا تَسْتَحْسِنِ الْوَصْفَ لِاسْتِكْثَارِ الْعِلْمِ، وَعَلَيْكَ بِالْجُهْدِ وَالِاجْتِهَادِ، وَدَوَامِ الْكَدِّ وَالْمُبَادَرَةِ، وَالِانْكِمَاشِ، فَإِنَّكَ مَطْلُوبٌ، فَاعْمَلْ عَلَى الْيَقِينِ، وَاتْرُكِ الشُّكُوكَ، وَكُنْ وَصِيَّ نَفْسِكَ، وَلَا تُؤَخِّرِ الْيَوْمَ لِغَدٍ، وَلَا تَتَوَانَ فِي التَّوْبَةِ، فَإِنَّ الْمَوْتَ يَأْتِي بَغْتَةً.

Fa-qāla: ʾaḥsanta. Thumma sakata saktatan, thumma qāla: lā yaghurrannaka thanāʾī ʿalayka, wa-ḥusnu al-ʾalfāẓi minnī ʾilayka, fa-ʾinnī ʾinnamā ʾaḍaʿu laka al-ʾasāsa litarfaʿa al-bināʾa, wa-lā tafraḥ bi-al-waṣfi dūna al-ʿamali, wa-lā taʿmali al-ʿamala bighayri wajalin, wa-lā tastaḥsini al-waṣfa li-istikthāri al-ʿilmi, wa-ʿalayka bi-al-juhdi wa-al-ijtihādi, wa-dawāmi al-kaddi wa-al-mubādarati, wa-al-inkimāshi, fa-ʾinnaka maṭlūbun, fa-iʿmal ʿalā al-yaqīni, wa-utruki al-shukūka, wa-kun waṣiyya nafsika, wa-lā tuʾakhkhiri al-yawma lighadin, wa-lā tatawāna fī al-tawbati, fa-ʾinna al-mawta yaʾtī baghtatan.

He said, “Well said.” He paused, then continued: “Do not let my praise or my kind words deceive you. I am only laying the foundation so that you may raise the building. Do not rejoice in description without action, act without apprehension, or admire description merely to accumulate knowledge. Devote yourself to effort and striving, constant toil, promptness, and energetic application, for you are being pursued. Act upon certainty, abandon doubts, and be your own executor. Do not put off today's work until tomorrow or delay repentance, for death comes suddenly.

Source pages 283–284

أَلَا وَأَنَّ الدُّنْيَا مَيْدَانُ السَّابِقِينَ، وَسِجْنُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَرَوْضَةُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي الدُّنْيَا عَلَى رِحْلَةٍ إِلَى الْآخِرَةِ بَعُدَتْ عَلَيْهِ الشُّقَّةُ، وَطَالَتْ عَلَيْهِ الطَّرِيقُ، وَتَحَيَّرَ بِحَصْرِ الضِّيقِ. وَكُنْ نَاصِحًا لِلّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي نَفْسِكَ وَفِي غَيْرِكَ.

ʾAlā wa-ʾanna al-dunyā maydānu al-sābiqīna, wa-sijnu al-muʾminīna, wa-rawḍatu al-munāfiqīna, wa-man lam yakun fī al-dunyā ʿalā riḥlatin ʾilā al-ʾākhirati baʿudat ʿalayhi al-shuqqatu, wa-ṭālat ʿalayhi al-ṭarīqu, wa-taḥayyara biḥaṣri al-ḍīqi. Wa-kun nāṣiḥan li-llāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fī nafsika wa-fī ghayrika.

“Know that this world is the racecourse of those who strive ahead, the prison of believers, and the garden of hypocrites. Whoever is not journeying through this world toward the hereafter will find the distance vast and the road long, and become bewildered in the confinement of straits. Be faithful to God, mighty and majestic, in your dealings with yourself and others.”

Source page 285

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٢٢

Masʾalatun 22

Question 22

فِي مَعْنَى الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَبَيَانِهَا

Fī maʿnā al-maʿrifati wa-bayānihā

The meaning of knowledge of God and its explanation

قُلْتُ: يَرْحَمُكَ اللّٰهُ، مَا مَعْنَى الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَبَيَانُهَا؟

Qultu: yarḥamuka Allāhu, mā maʿnā al-maʿrifati wa-bayānuhā?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, what does knowledge of God mean, and how is it explained?”

قَالَ: تَعْرِفُ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِمَا عَرَّفَكَ بِهِ نَفْسَهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى.

Qāla: taʿrifu Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla bimā ʿarrafaka bihi nafsahu subḥānahu wa-taʿālā.

He said, “You know God, mighty and majestic, through what He has made known to you of Himself, glorified and exalted is He.”

قُلْتُ: كَيْفَ ذٰلِكَ؟ اشْرَحْ لِي.

Qultu: kayfa dhālika? Ishraḥ lī.

I asked, “How is that? Explain it to me.”

قَالَ: تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ اللّٰهَ عَفُوٌّ قَدِيرٌ، جَبَّارٌ كَرِيمٌ، عَظِيمٌ حَلِيمٌ، الْأَوَّلُ قَبْلَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَالْآخِرُ بَعْدَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، يَعْلَمُ دَبِيبَ حَرَكَةِ الصَّغِيرِ، وَحَزَازَ حَرَكَاتِ الْفِطَنِ، وَمَعَانِيَ تَوَاتُرِ الْهُمُومِ، وَيَعْلَمُ خَفِيَّ خَفِيَّاتِ السَّرَائِرِ، وَمَكْنُونَ مَا خَطَرَ فِي الضَّمَائِرِ.

Qāla: taʿlamu ʾanna Allāha ʿafuwwun qadīrun, jabbārun karīmun, ʿaẓīmun ḥalīmun, al-ʾawwalu qabla kulli shayʾin, wa-al-ʾākhiru baʿda kulli shayʾin, yaʿlamu dabība ḥarakati al-ṣaghīri, wa-ḥazāza ḥarakāti al-fiṭani, wa-maʿāniya tawāturi al-humūmi, wa-yaʿlamu khafiyya khafiyyāti al-sarāʾiri, wa-maknūna mā khaṭara fī al-ḍamāʾiri.

He said, “Know that God is Pardoning, Powerful, Compelling, Generous, Magnificent, and Forbearing; the First before everything and the Last after everything. He knows the creeping movement of the small, the stirrings of keen perceptions, and the meanings of successive concerns. He knows the hidden depths of inward secrets and the concealed thoughts that cross minds.

يَا فَتَى، مَنْ يَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ يَصِفَ أَقَلَّ الْقَلِيلِ مِنْ حُسْنِ صُنْعِهِ، وَنَفَاذِ قُدْرَتِهِ فِي خَلْقِهِ، وَكَثْرَةِ أَيَادِيهِ وَمِنَّتِهِ؟

Yā fatā, man yastaṭīʿu ʾan yaṣifa ʾaqalla al-qalīli min ḥusni ṣunʿihi, wa-nafādhi qudratihi fī khalqihi, wa-kathrati ʾayādīhi wa-minnatihi?

“Young man, who can describe even the least part of His beautiful workmanship, the effect of His power within His creation, and the abundance of His favors and grace?

Source pages 285–286

تَكِلُّ الْأَلْسِنَةُ، وَتَحْصَرُ الْقُلُوبُ، وَتَحَطَّمُ النُّفُوسُ، وَيَتَلَاشَى الْفِكْرُ، وَتَضْمَحِلُّ الْعُلُومُ، وَتَتَحَيَّرُ الْعُقُولُ، وَتَتَسَاقَطُ الْأَوْهَامُ، وَيَنْقَطِعُ مَبْلَغُ مُنْتَهَى النَّفْسِ عَنْ إِرَادَةِ الدُّخُولِ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ الْجَلِيلِ جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ، وَعَظِيمِ عَظَمَتِهِ، وَكَبِيرِ كِبْرِيَائِهِ.

Takillu al-ʾalsinatu, wa-taḥṣaru al-qulūbu, wa-taḥaṭṭamu al-nufūsu, wa-yatalāshā al-fikru, wa-taḍmaḥillu al-ʿulūmu, wa-tataḥayyaru al-ʿuqūlu, wa-tatasāqaṭu al-ʾawhāmu, wa-yanqaṭiʿu mablaghu muntahā al-nafsi ʿan ʾirādati al-dukhūli fī maʿrifati al-jalīli jalla jalāluhu, wa-ʿaẓīmi ʿaẓamatihi, wa-kabīri kibriyāʾihi.

“Tongues grow weary, hearts are constrained, selves shatter, thought dissolves, branches of knowledge fade, intellects become bewildered, and imaginations fall away. The self at its furthest reach falls short of seeking entry into knowledge of the Majestic One, exalted is His majesty, His immense greatness, and His vast grandeur.

Source page 286

وَلَوِ اجْتَهَدَتْ قُلُوبُ الْعَارِفِينَ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ بِحِدَّةِ فُهُومِهِمْ، وَإِثْبَاتِ يَقِينِهِمْ، وَقُوَّةِ عُلُومِهِمْ، وَخَفِيِّ مُرَادِهِمْ وَقُرْبِ ذِهْنِهِمْ، وَسَعَةِ فِطْنَتِهِمْ، وَكَشْفِ عَيْنِهِمْ وَنَفَاذِ هِمَمِهِمْ إِلَى اسْتِدْرَاكِ مُرَادِهِمْ، وَغَمَائِصِ الْفِتْنَةِ مِنْ بَصِيرَتِهِمْ، وَحُسْنِ عُقُولِهِمْ، وَفَرَاغِ قُلُوبِهِمْ لِمُطَالَبَةِ إِرَادَتِهِمْ، وَإِصَابَةِ تَوْفِيقِهِمْ، لَكَانَ مَا نَالُوهُ عِنْدَمَا لَمْ يَنَالُوا مِنْ جَمِيعِ مَا أَرَادُوا كَلَا شَيْءَ.

Wa-lawi ijtahadat qulūbu al-ʿārifīna al-ʾawliyāʾi biḥiddati fuhūmihim, wa-ʾithbāti yaqīnihim, wa-quwwati ʿulūmihim, wa-khafiyyi murādihim wa-qurbi dhihnihim, wa-saʿati fiṭnatihim, wa-kashfi ʿaynihim wa-nafādhi himamihim ʾilā istidrāki murādihim, wa-ghamāʾiṣi al-fitnati min baṣīratihim, wa-ḥusni ʿuqūlihim, wa-farāghi qulūbihim limuṭālabati ʾirādatihim, wa-ʾiṣābati tawfīqihim, lakāna mā nālūhu ʿindamā lam yanālū min jamīʿi mā ʾarādū kalā shayʾa.

“Even if the hearts of God's knowing friends strove with the sharpness of their understanding, the firmness of their certainty, the strength of their knowledge, their hidden aim, the readiness of their minds, their wide discernment, their unveiled sight, the penetration of their aspirations toward grasping what they seek, ‘the hidden faults of temptation in their insight’ [the phrase is uncertain], the excellence of their intellects, the freedom of their hearts to pursue their intention, and the success of their divinely granted help, all they attained would be as nothing beside what they did not attain of everything they sought.

فَسُبْحَانَهُ جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ وَثَنَاؤُهُ، وَتَقَدَّسَتْ أَسْمَاؤُهُ، حَصِرَتْ قُلُوبُ أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ عَنِ التَّفْتِيشِ فِي ذٰلِكَ بِكَيْفِيَّتِهِ، وَانْقَطَعَتْ أَوْهَامُهُمْ عَنْ مَبْلَغِ اسْتِدْرَاكِ عُلُومِهِمْ بِكُلِّيَّتِهِ، وَرَجَعَتْ أَبْصَارُ قُلُوبِهِمْ خَاسِئَةً إِجْلَالًا لِعَظَمَتِهِ، بِقُدْرَتِهِ كَوَّنَ الْأَسْبَابَ تَكْوِينًا، وَأَتْقَنَ الصُّنْعَ إِتْقَانًا مَتِينًا، وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ كَانَ فَهُوَ قَبْلَهُ، وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ يَكُونُ فَهُوَ بَعْدَهُ.

Fa-subḥānahu jalla jalāluhu wa-thanāʾuhu, wa-taqaddasat ʾasmāʾuhu, ḥaṣirat qulūbu ʾūlī al-ʾalbābi ʿani al-taftīshi fī dhālika bikayfiyyatihi, wa-inqaṭaʿat ʾawhāmuhum ʿan mablaghi istidrāki ʿulūmihim bikulliyyatihi, wa-rajaʿat ʾabṣāru qulūbihim khāsiʾatan ʾijlālan liʿaẓamatihi, biqudratihi kawwana al-ʾasbāba takwīnan, wa-ʾatqana al-ṣunʿa ʾitqānan matīnan, wa-kullu shayʾin kāna fa-huwa qablahu, wa-kullu shayʾin yakūnu fa-huwa baʿdahu.

“Glory be to Him! Exalted are His majesty and praise, and holy are His names. The hearts of people of understanding cannot investigate how this is; their imaginations fall short of fully grasping it through their knowledge; and the eyes of their hearts return humbled in reverence for His greatness. By His power He brought causes into being and perfected His workmanship firmly. He precedes everything that has been, and outlasts everything that will be.

خَلَقَ الْأَشْيَاءَ بِدَلَالَةِ مُسْتَدِلٍّ تَدُلُّ عَلَى دَلَالَتِهِ، وَأَحْكَمَهَا صُنْعًا بِغَيْرِ مِثَالٍ سَبَقَتْ بِدَايَتُهُ، وَكَانَ أَعْظَمُ الْأَشْيَاءِ لَا شَيْءَ حِينَ لَا شَيْءَ، وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ كَانَ فَمِنْ مَشِيئَتِهِ، شَاءَ الْأَشْيَاءَ بِلَا مَشِيئَةٍ شِيئَتْ مِنْ غَيْرِ مَشِيئَتِهِ.

Khalaqa al-ʾashyāʾa bidalālati mustadillin tadullu ʿalā dalālatihi, wa-ʾaḥkamahā ṣunʿan bighayri mithālin sabaqat bidāyatuhu, wa-kāna ʾaʿẓamu al-ʾashyāʾi lā shayʾa ḥīna lā shayʾa, wa-kullu shayʾin kāna fa-min mashīʾatihi, shāʾa al-ʾashyāʾa bilā mashīʾatin shīʾat min ghayri mashīʾatihi.

“He created things ‘by the indication of one who infers, which points to His indication’ [the wording is uncertain], and perfected their making without any model whose beginning preceded them. ‘The greatest of things was nothing when there was nothing’ [the wording is uncertain]. Everything that came to be came from His will. He willed things without any will being willed apart from His will.

فَتَبَارَكَ مُنْشِئُ الْأَشْيَاءِ وَهُوَ شَاءَهَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمَيَّزَهَا، وَتَبَارَكَ مَنْ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ.

Fa-tabāraka munshiʾu al-ʾashyāʾi wa-huwa shāʾahā min qablu wa-mayyazahā, wa-tabāraka man laysa kamithlihi shayʾun wa-huwa al-samīʿu al-baṣīru.

“Blessed is the Originator of things, who willed them beforehand and distinguished them. Blessed is He whom nothing resembles, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.

Source page 287

فَإِذَا عَرَفْتَهُ هٰذِهِ الْمَعْرِفَةَ، لَزِمَتْ قَلْبَكَ الرَّغْبَةُ وَالرَّهْبَةُ، وَعَظَّمْتَهُ وَاسْتَحْيَيْتَ مِنْهُ وَرَاقَبْتَهُ.

Fa-ʾidhā ʿaraftahu hādhihi al-maʿrifata, lazimat qalbaka al-raghbatu wa-al-rahbatu, wa-ʿaẓẓamtahu wa-istaḥyayta minhu wa-rāqabtahu.

“When you know Him in this way, longing and dread remain in your heart, and you revere Him, feel shame before Him, and keep watch in awareness of Him.”

قُلْتُ: بِمَ يَتَزَايَدُ النَّاسُ فِي ذٰلِكَ؟

Qultu: bima yatazāyadu al-nāsu fī dhālika?

I asked, “How do people grow in this?”

قَالَ: عَلَى قَدْرِ لُزُومِ الْقَلْبِ لِنَفَاذِ الْقُدْرَةِ، وَإِتْقَانِ الصُّنْعِ.

Qāla: ʿalā qadri luzūmi al-qalbi linafādhi al-qudrati, wa-ʾitqāni al-ṣunʿi.

He said, “According to how steadily the heart attends to the effect of divine power and the perfection of the workmanship.”

قُلْتُ: فَبِمَ يَتَقَوَّى عَلَى ذٰلِكَ؟

Qultu: fa-bima yataqawwā ʿalā dhālika?

I asked, “What strengthens it for that?”

قَالَ: بِحُسْنِ الذِّكْرِ وَالِاعْتِبَارِ.

Qāla: biḥusni al-dhikri wa-al-iʿtibāri.

He said, “Through good remembrance and reflective consideration.”

Source page 288

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٢٣

Masʾalatun 23

Question 23

فِي بَيَانِ مَعْنَى الِاعْتِبَارِ

Fī bayāni maʿnā al-iʿtibāri

Explaining the meaning of reflective consideration

قُلْتُ: مَا مَعْنَى الِاعْتِبَارِ؟

Qultu: mā maʿnā al-iʿtibāri?

I asked, “What does reflective consideration mean?”

قَالَ: الِاسْتِدْلَالُ بِالشَّيْءِ عَلَى الشَّيْءِ.

Qāla: al-istidlālu bi-al-shayʾi ʿalā al-shayʾi.

He said, “Inferring one thing from another.”

قُلْتُ: مَا مَعْنَى الِاسْتِدْلَالِ بِالشَّيْءِ عَلَى الشَّيْءِ؟

Qultu: mā maʿnā al-istidlāli bi-al-shayʾi ʿalā al-shayʾi?

I asked, “What does inferring one thing from another mean?”

قَالَ: هُوَ أَنْ تَنْظُرَ بِقَلْبِكَ إِلَى الشَّيْءِ الْمُتْقَنِ، فَيَلْحَقَ قَلْبَكَ التَّعَجُّبُ مِنْ نَفَاذِ الْقُدْرَةِ، وَإِتْقَانِ الصُّنْعِ، وَحُسْنِ التَّدْبِيرِ فِيهِ، ثُمَّ لَمْ تَقَعْ عَيْنُكَ عَلَى شَيْءٍ إِلَّا دَلَّكَ الشَّيْءُ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ.

Qāla: huwa ʾan tanẓura biqalbika ʾilā al-shayʾi al-mutqani, fa-yalḥaqa qalbaka al-taʿajjubu min nafādhi al-qudrati, wa-ʾitqāni al-ṣunʿi, wa-ḥusni al-tadbīri fīhi, thumma lam taqaʿ ʿaynuka ʿalā shayʾin ʾillā dallaka al-shayʾu ʿalā ghayrihi.

He said, “Looking with your heart at something finely made, so that your heart is filled with wonder at the effective power, the perfection of workmanship, and the beautiful ordering within it. Then your eye falls upon nothing without that thing pointing you toward something else.”

قُلْتُ: كَيْفَ ذٰلِكَ؟ اشْرَحْهُ لِي.

Qultu: kayfa dhālika? Ishraḥhu lī.

I asked, “How is that? Explain it to me.”

قَالَ: يَدُلُّكَ الْمَفْطُورُ عَلَى أَنَّ لَهُ فَاطِرًا.

Qāla: yadulluka al-mafṭūru ʿalā ʾanna lahu fāṭiran.

He said, “What has been brought into being shows you that it has an Originator.”

قُلْتُ: أَوَ لَمْ أَعْلَمْ قَبْلَ ذٰلِكَ أَنْ لَهُ فَاطِرٌ؟

Qultu: ʾawa lam ʾaʿlam qabla dhālika ʾan lahu fāṭirun?

I asked, “Did I not already know that it has an Originator?”

Source pages 288–289

قَالَ: بَلَى، وَلٰكِنْ هٰذَا مِنْ طَرِيقِ التَّنْبِيهِ فِي الْفُرُوعِ، وَذَاكَ مِنِ اعْتِقَادِ الْقُلُوبِ، لِأَنَّ الِاعْتِقَادَ إِنَّمَا هُوَ تَطْرِيَةٌ لِلْفِكْرِ، وَزِيَادَةٌ فِي الْإِيمَانِ، وَيَدُلُّكَ الْمَفْطُورُ وَيَدُلُّكَ الْمَخْلُوقُ عَلَى الزِّيَادَةِ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ الْخَالِقِ، وَيَدُلُّكَ الْمَصْنُوعُ عَلَى الزِّيَادَةِ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ الصَّانِعِ، لِيَكُونَ مِنْكَ التَّعْظِيمُ لَهُ، وَتَزْدَادَ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ الْقُدْرَةِ، فَتَنْظُرَ إِلَى الْأَشْيَاءِ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ بِخَالِقِهَا، وَإِلَى الْمَصْنُوعِ بِصَانِعِهِ، وَإِلَى الْمَفْطُورِ بِالْفَاطِرِ، فَتَنْظُرَ إِلَى الْأَشْيَاءِ بِعَوَاقِبِهَا.

Qāla: balā, wa-lākin hādhā min ṭarīqi al-tanbīhi fī al-furūʿi, wa-dhāka mini iʿtiqādi al-qulūbi, li-ʾanna al-iʿtiqāda ʾinnamā huwa taṭriyatun li-al-fikri, wa-ziyādatun fī al-ʾīmāni, wa-yadulluka al-mafṭūru wa-yadulluka al-makhlūqu ʿalā al-ziyādati fī maʿrifati al-khāliqi, wa-yadulluka al-maṣnūʿu ʿalā al-ziyādati fī maʿrifati al-ṣāniʿi, liyakūna minka al-taʿẓīmu lahu, wa-tazdāda fī maʿrifati al-qudrati, fa-tanẓura ʾilā al-ʾashyāʾi baʿda dhālika bikhāliqihā, wa-ʾilā al-maṣnūʿi biṣāniʿihi, wa-ʾilā al-mafṭūri bi-al-fāṭiri, fa-tanẓura ʾilā al-ʾashyāʾi biʿawāqibihā.

He said, “Yes, but this comes through being awakened in particular matters, while that comes from the hearts' conviction. Conviction refreshes thought and increases faith. What is originated and created points you toward greater knowledge of the Creator; what is made points you toward greater knowledge of the Maker, so that you revere Him and increase in knowledge of His power. You then look at things through their Creator, at what is made through its Maker, and at what is originated through the Originator, seeing things in light of their outcomes.

Source page 289

ثُمَّ يَدُلُّكَ وُجُودُ مَا عَلِمْتَ مِنْهَا عَلَى الشَّيْءِ الْمُغَيَّبِ عَنْهَا، أَنَّهُ أَعْجَبُ مِمَّا رَأَيْتَ وَعَلِمْتَ، وَأَنَّ مَا عَلِمْتَ عِنْدَ مَا لَمْ تَعْلَمْ كَلَا شَيْءَ فِي لَا شَيْءَ.

Thumma yadulluka wujūdu mā ʿalimta minhā ʿalā al-shayʾi al-mughayyabi ʿanhā, ʾannahu ʾaʿjabu mimmā raʾayta wa-ʿalimta, wa-ʾanna mā ʿalimta ʿinda mā lam taʿlam kalā shayʾa fī lā shayʾa.

“The existence of what you know of them then points you toward what is concealed beyond them: that it is more wondrous than what you have seen and known, and that what you know beside what you do not know is as nothing within nothing.”

قُلْتُ: وَكَيْفَ ذٰلِكَ؟

Qultu: wa-kayfa dhālika?

I asked, “How is that?”

قَالَ: إِنَّمَا تَنْظُرُ عَلَى قَدْرِ عَقْلِكَ، وَمَا سَمَتْ إِلَيْهِ هِمَّتُكَ، وَأَصَابَ وَهْمُكَ.

Qāla: ʾinnamā tanẓuru ʿalā qadri ʿaqlika, wa-mā samat ʾilayhi himmatuka, wa-ʾaṣāba wahmuka.

He said, “You see only according to the capacity of your intellect, the height to which your aspiration rises, and what your imagination reaches.”

قُلْتُ: النَّاسُ مُتَفَاوِتُونَ فِي الِاعْتِبَارِ؟

Qultu: al-nāsu mutafāwitūna fī al-iʿtibāri?

I asked, “Do people differ in reflective consideration?”

قَالَ: نَعَمْ، عَلَى قَدْرِ صِحَّةِ الْعُقُولِ، وَقُوَّةِ الْإِيمَانِ، وَمَا وَرَدَ عَلَيَّ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ عَلَى قَدْرِ اتِّسَاعِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ.

Qāla: naʿam, ʿalā qadri ṣiḥḥati al-ʿuqūli, wa-quwwati al-ʾīmāni, wa-mā warada ʿalayya min dhālika ʿalā qadri ittisāʿi al-maʿrifati.

He said, “Yes, according to the soundness of their intellects and the strength of their faith. What has come to me of this is in proportion to the breadth of knowledge.”

قُلْتُ: شَيْءٌ غَيْرُ هٰذَا؟

Qultu: shayʾun ghayru hādhā?

I asked, “Anything else?”

قَالَ: نَعَمْ، عَلَى قَدْرِ طَهَارَةِ الْقُلُوبِ، لِأَنَّ مَخْرَجَ الِاعْتِبَارِ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ، فَإِذَا خَرَجَ مِنْ قَلْبٍ طَاهِرٍ نَفَذَ فِي الْغَيْبِ، وَسَمَتْ بِهِ الْهِمَّةُ، وَتَرَاقَى بِهِ الْفِكْرُ، وَلَمْ يَمْنَعْهُ مَانِعٌ مِنَ الْأَدْنَاسِ، فَوَافَقَ مُرَادَ الْقَلْبِ، وَصَفَّى مَعْرِفَةَ النَّفْسِ،

Qāla: naʿam, ʿalā qadri ṭahārati al-qulūbi, li-ʾanna makhraja al-iʿtibāri mina al-qalbi, fa-ʾidhā kharaja min qalbin ṭāhirin nafadha fī al-ghaybi, wa-samat bihi al-himmatu, wa-tarāqā bihi al-fikru, wa-lam yamnaʿhu māniʿun mina al-ʾadnāsi, fa-wāfaqa murāda al-qalbi, wa-ṣaffā maʿrifata al-nafsi,

He said, “Yes, according to the purity of their hearts. Reflective consideration springs from the heart. When it comes from a pure heart, it penetrates the unseen; aspiration rises with it and thought ascends with it. No stain obstructs it, so it accords with the heart's aim and purifies the self's knowledge.

Source pages 289–290

كَمَا قَالَ وَهْبُ بْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ: قَالَ الْحَوَارِيُّونَ: يَا عِيسَى، مَنْ أَوْلِيَاءُ اللّٰهِ الَّذِينَ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ؟ فَقَالَ عِيسَى: هُمُ الَّذِينَ نَظَرُوا إِلَى بَاطِنِ الدُّنْيَا، حِينَ نَظَرَ النَّاسُ إِلَى ظَاهِرِهَا، وَإِلَى آجِلِ الدُّنْيَا، حِينَ نَظَرَ النَّاسُ إِلَى عَاجِلِهَا، وَأَمَاتُوا مَا يَخْشَوْنَ أَنْ يُمِيتَهُمْ، وَتَرَكُوا مِنْهَا مَا عَلِمُوا أَنَّهُ سَيَتْرُكُهُمْ،

Kamā qāla Wahbu bnu Munabbihin: qāla al-ḥawāriyyūna: yā ʿĪsā, man ʾawliyāʾu Allāhi alladhīna lā khawfun ʿalayhim wa-lā hum yaḥzanūna? Fa-qāla ʿĪsā: humu alladhīna naẓarū ʾilā bāṭini al-dunyā, ḥīna naẓara al-nāsu ʾilā ẓāhirihā, wa-ʾilā ʾājili al-dunyā, ḥīna naẓara al-nāsu ʾilā ʿājilihā, wa-ʾamātū mā yakhshawna ʾan yumītahum, wa-tarakū minhā mā ʿalimū ʾannahu sayatrukuhum,

“As Wahb ibn Munabbih related: The disciples asked, ‘Jesus, who are God's friends, who have no fear and will not grieve?’ Jesus replied, ‘They are those who looked at the inward aspect of this world when people looked at its outward aspect, and at its later outcome when people looked at its immediate pleasures. They put to death what they feared would put them to death, and left behind what they knew would leave them.

Source page 290

فَصَارَ اسْتِكْثَارُهُمْ مِنْهَا اسْتِقْلَالًا، وَطَلَبُهُمْ لِمَا أَدْرَكُوا مِنْهَا قُوتًا، وَفَرَحُهُمْ بِمَا أَصَابُوا مِنْهَا حُزْنًا، فَمَا عَارَضَهُمْ مِنْ نَائِلِهَا رَفَضُوهُ، وَمَا عَارَضَهُمْ مِنْ رِفْعَتِهَا بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَضَعُوهُ، وَخَلِقَتِ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَهُمْ فَلَيْسَ يُحْيُونَهَا، فَيَبْنُونَ بِهَا آخِرَتَهُمْ، وَيَبِيعُونَ دُنْيَاهُمْ، فَيَشْتَرُونَ بِهَا مَا يَبْقَى لَهُمْ.

Fa-ṣāra istikthāruhum minhā istiqlālan, wa-ṭalabuhum limā ʾadrakū minhā qūtan, wa-faraḥuhum bimā ʾaṣābū minhā ḥuznan, fa-mā ʿāraḍahum min nāʾilihā rafaḍūhu, wa-mā ʿāraḍahum min rifʿatihā bighayri al-ḥaqqi waḍaʿūhu, wa-khaliqati al-dunyā ʿindahum fa-laysa yuḥyūnahā, fa-yabnūna bihā ʾākhiratahum, wa-yabīʿūna dunyāhum, fa-yashtarūna bihā mā yabqā lahum.

“‘Their accumulation of it became taking little, their seeking what they could obtain of it became seeking subsistence, and their joy in what they gained from it became sorrow. Whatever of its bounty presented itself, they rejected; whatever unrightful elevation it offered, they brought low. The world became worn out in their eyes, and they do not revive it. They build their hereafter with it, sell their world, and buy with it what will remain for them.

رَفَضُوهَا فَكَانُوا بِرَفْضِهَا هُمُ الْفَرِحِينَ، وَنَظَرُوا إِلَى أَهْلِهَا غَرْقَى قَدْ حَلَّتْ بِهِمُ الْمَثُلَاتُ، فَأَحْيَوْا ذِكْرَ الْمَوْتِ، وَأَمَاتُوا ذِكْرَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا، يُحِبُّونَ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَيُحِبُّونَ ذِكْرَهُ، وَيَسْتَضِيئُونَ بِنُورِهِ.

Rafaḍūhā fa-kānū birafḍihā humu al-fariḥīna, wa-naẓarū ʾilā ʾahlihā gharqā qad ḥallat bihimu al-mathulātu, fa-ʾaḥyaw dhikra al-mawti, wa-ʾamātū dhikra al-ḥayāti al-dunyā, yuḥibbūna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-yuḥibbūna dhikrahu, wa-yastaḍīʾūna binūrihi.

“‘They rejected it, and in rejecting it they were the ones who rejoiced. They saw its people drowning, overtaken by exemplary punishments. They kept remembrance of death alive and put remembrance of worldly life to death. They love God, mighty and majestic, love remembering Him, and seek illumination through His light.

لَهُمْ خَبَرٌ عَجِيبٌ، وَعِنْدَهُمْ أَعْجَبُ الْخَبَرِ، بِهِمْ قَامَ الْكِتَابُ وَبِهِ قَامُوا، وَبِهِمْ نَطَقَ الْكِتَابُ، وَبِهِ نَطَقُوا، وَبِهِمْ عُلِمَ الْكِتَابُ وَبِهِ عُلِّمُوا، لَيْسَ يَرَوْنَ نَائِلًا مَعَ مَا نَالُوا، وَلَا أَمَانًا دُونَ مَا يَرْتَجُونَ، وَلَا خَوْفًا دُونَ مَا يَحْذَرُونَ.

Lahum khabarun ʿajībun, wa-ʿindahum ʾaʿjabu al-khabari, bihim qāma al-kitābu wa-bihi qāmū, wa-bihim naṭaqa al-kitābu, wa-bihi naṭaqū, wa-bihim ʿulima al-kitābu wa-bihi ʿullimū, laysa yarawna nāʾilan maʿa mā nālū, wa-lā ʾamānan dūna mā yartajūna, wa-lā khawfan dūna mā yaḥdharūna.

“‘Their story is wondrous, and with them is the most wondrous knowledge. Through them the Book stands, and through it they stand. Through them the Book speaks, and through it they speak. Through them the Book is known, and through it they are taught. They see no gain beside what they have gained, no safety short of what they hope for, and no fear short of what they guard against.’”

Source page 291

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٢٤

Masʾalatun 24

Question 24

فِي طَهَارَةِ الْقَلْبِ

Fī ṭahārati al-qalbi

Purity of the heart

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، أَجْمَلُ مَا تَرَاهُ الْقُلُوبُ فِي طُولِ عَادَاتِهَا الَّتِي تُطَهِّرُهَا وَتَجْلُوهَا مِنْ صَدَئِهَا وَتُقَوِّيهَا عَلَى دَفْعِ هَوَاهَا، مَا هُوَ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, ʾajmalu mā tarāhu al-qulūbu fī ṭūli ʿādātihā allatī tuṭahhiruhā wa-tajlūhā min ṣadaʾihā wa-tuqawwīhā ʿalā dafʿi hawāhā, mā huwa?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, what is the finest thing hearts find in their long-established practices that purifies them, polishes away their rust, and strengthens them to repel their desire?”

قَالَ: قَطْعُ الشَّهْوَةِ، وَعَدَمُ الْمَيْلِ إِلَى الرُّخْصَةِ، وَالْفِرَارُ مِنْ تَأْوِيلِ الْغِرَّةِ، مَعَ التَّقَلُّلِ مِنَ الْمَطْعَمِ وَالْمَشْرَبِ، وَإِصْلَاحِ الْقُوتِ.

Qāla: qaṭʿu al-shahwati, wa-ʿadamu al-mayli ʾilā al-rukhṣati, wa-al-firāru min taʾwīli al-ghirrati, maʿa al-taqalluli mina al-maṭʿami wa-al-mashrabi, wa-ʾiṣlāḥi al-qūti.

He said, “Cutting off appetite, not inclining toward license, and fleeing deceptive interpretation, along with reducing food and drink and putting one's sustenance right.”

قُلْتُ: وَبِالتَّقَلُّلِ تَطْهُرُ الْقُلُوبُ؟

Qultu: wa-bi-al-taqalluli taṭhuru al-qulūbu?

I asked, “Do hearts become pure through taking little?”

قَالَ: نَعَمْ، لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَجْلَى لِلْقُلُوبِ مِنْ صَدَئِهَا مِثْلَ الْجُوعِ، لِأَنَّ الْجُوعَ أَقْطَعُ أَسْبَابِ دَوَاعِي النُّفُوسِ لِلشَّهَوَاتِ.

Qāla: naʿam, laysa shayʾun ʾajlā li-al-qulūbi min ṣadaʾihā mithla al-jūʿi, li-ʾanna al-jūʿa ʾaqṭaʿu ʾasbābi dawāʿī al-nufūsi li-al-shahawāti.

He said, “Yes. Nothing polishes the rust from hearts like hunger, because hunger most decisively cuts off the causes that incite selves toward appetites.”

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، لَا يُبْعِدْكَ عَنِّي مَا سَمِعْتَ مِنِّي، وَلٰكِنْ رَغْبَتِي فِي الْفَقْرِ إِلَيْكَ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَعْرِفَتِكَ بِحَاجَتِي إِلَيْكَ.

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, lā yubʿidka ʿannī mā samiʿta minnī, wa-lākin raghbatī fī al-faqri ʾilayka ʿalā qadri maʿrifatika biḥājatī ʾilayka.

I said, “May God have mercy on you, do not let what you have heard from me drive you away. My desire to depend upon you is in proportion to your knowledge of my need for you.”

قَالَ: فَاجْمَعْ إِذَنْ هَمَّكَ، وَأَحْضِرْ قَلْبَكَ وَجَدِّدْ فَهْمَكَ، وَأَصْغِ بِسَمْعِكَ، وَأَصْغِ بِقَلْبِكَ، وَاعْتَقِدِ الْقَبُولَ كَمَا أَقُولُ لَكَ، فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ بَعْضَ الْحُكَمَاءِ يَقُولُ: مَا هَلَكَ مِنَ الْمُرِيدِينَ بَعْدَ تَعَشُّقِهِمْ إِلَّا لِمُخَالَفَتِهِمْ أُسْتَاذَهُمْ.

Qāla: fa-ijmaʿ ʾidhan hammaka, wa-ʾaḥḍir qalbaka wa-jaddid fahmaka, wa-ʾaṣghi bisamʿika, wa-ʾaṣghi biqalbika, wa-iʿtaqidi al-qabūla kamā ʾaqūlu laka, fa-ʾinnī samiʿtu baʿḍa al-ḥukamāʾi yaqūlu: mā halaka mina al-murīdīna baʿda taʿashshuqihim ʾillā limukhālafatihim ʾustādhahum.

He said, “Then gather your concern, bring your heart to attention, renew your understanding, listen with your ears, and listen with your heart. Resolve to accept what I tell you. I heard a wise man say, ‘Seekers who perished after becoming deeply enamored did so only because they opposed their teacher.’

Source page 292

وَإِيَّاكَ وَالْمُخَالَفَةَ، فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ خَالَفَ الطَّبِيبَ طَالَ سَقَمُهُ، فَأَقْبِلْ عَلَى اللّٰهِ بِقَلْبِكَ، وَاجْمَعْ لِي كُلَّكَ فِي كُلِّكَ، فَإِنِّي وَاصِفٌ لِمَا تَسْمَعُ، وَاللّٰهُ الْمُوَفِّقُ لِفَهْمِ قَلْبِكَ، وَاسْتَعِنْ بِاللّٰهِ عَلَى بُعْدِكَ، وَارْغَبْ إِلَى اللّٰهِ فِي رُشْدِهِ.

Wa-ʾiyyāka wa-al-mukhālafata, fa-ʾinnahu man khālafa al-ṭabība ṭāla saqamuhu, fa-ʾaqbil ʿalā Allāhi biqalbika, wa-ijmaʿ lī kullaka fī kullika, fa-ʾinnī wāṣifun limā tasmaʿu, wa-Allāhu al-muwaffiqu lifahmi qalbika, wa-istaʿin bi-Allāhi ʿalā buʿdika, wa-irghab ʾilā Allāhi fī rushdihi.

“Beware of opposition: whoever disregards the physician prolongs his illness. Turn your heart toward God and gather your whole self wholly before me. I will describe what you are to hear, and God grants understanding to your heart. Seek God's help against your remoteness, and ask God for His guidance.

يَا فَتَى، لَعَلَّ نَفْسَكَ نَظَرَتْ إِلَى خَفِيِّ اسْتِشْرَافِ مُطَالَعَةِ طِبَاعِكَ، فَحَرَّكَتْ عَلَيْكَ عَادَاتِهَا، فَذَكَّرَتْكَ مَوَاضِعَ رَفَاهَاتِهَا، فَتَاقَتْ إِلَى ذٰلِكَ نَفْسُكَ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَعْلَمُ، أَوْ مِنْ حَيْثُ تَعْلَمُ، فَدَقَّ عَلَيْكَ عِلْمُ ذٰلِكَ، فَأَخَذَتْ فِي قَلْبِكَ بِقِسْطِ مَا مِلْتَ إِلَيْهِ، فَحَجَبَكَ ذَاكَ عَنْ فَهْمِ الْمُخَاطَبَةِ،

Yā fatā, laʿalla nafsaka naẓarat ʾilā khafiyyi istishrāfi muṭālaʿati ṭibāʿika, fa-ḥarrakat ʿalayka ʿādātihā, fa-dhakkaratka mawāḍiʿa rafāhātihā, fa-tāqat ʾilā dhālika nafsuka min ḥaythu lā taʿlamu, ʾaw min ḥaythu taʿlamu, fa-daqqa ʿalayka ʿilmu dhālika, fa-ʾakhadhat fī qalbika biqisṭi mā milta ʾilayhi, fa-ḥajabaka dhāka ʿan fahmi al-mukhāṭabati,

“Young man, perhaps your self has looked toward the hidden anticipation of inspecting your natural dispositions [the expression is uncertain], stirred its habits against you, and reminded you of the places of its comforts. Your self then longed for that, whether you knew it or not. Recognizing this became too subtle for you, and it took a share in your heart proportionate to what you inclined toward, veiling you from understanding the discourse.

فَارْجِعْ إِلَى اللّٰهِ فِي سِرِّكَ، وَاسْتَعِنْ بِهِ عَلَى أَمْرِكَ، وَاخْتَرْ نَصِيحَةَ النَّاصِحِ لَكَ فِي رُشْدِكَ، وَالْمُشِيرِ بِذٰلِكَ إِلَى مَنْهَجِ النَّجَاةِ، وَسَبِيلِ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ فِي مَرْكَبِ السَّلَامَةِ.

Fa-irjiʿ ʾilā Allāhi fī sirrika, wa-istaʿin bihi ʿalā ʾamrika, wa-ikhtar naṣīḥata al-nāṣiḥi laka fī rushdika, wa-al-mushīri bi-dhālika ʾilā manhaji al-najāti, wa-sabīli al-istiqāmati fī markabi al-salāmati.

“Return inwardly to God, seek His help in your undertaking, and choose the counsel of one who sincerely guides you toward right conduct and points you toward the road of salvation and the path of uprightness aboard the vessel of safety.

سَلْ يَا فَتَى عَلَى اسْمِ اللّٰهِ، وَاكْشِفْ عَمَّا تُرِيدُ، وَاللّٰهُ الْمُوَفِّقُ لِإِصَابَةِ الْحَقِّ فِي رَدِّ الْجَوَابِ.

Sal yā fatā ʿalā ismi Allāhi, wa-ikshif ʿammā turīdu, wa-Allāhu al-muwaffiqu li-ʾiṣābati al-ḥaqqi fī raddi al-jawābi.

“Ask, young man, in God's name, and make clear what you want. God grants success in giving a true answer.”

Source page 293

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٢٥

Masʾalatun 25

Question 25

فِي شَرْحِ الْحِكْمَةِ وَبَيَانِهَا

Fī sharḥi al-ḥikmati wa-bayānihā

Expounding wisdom and explaining it

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، رَجُلٌ يَقُومُ الْحَقُّ فِي قَلْبِهِ، وَضَرْبُ الْأَمْثَالِ فِي صَدْرِهِ، وَبَصَائِرُ الْهُدَى عِنْدَ عَقْلِهِ، يَرَاهُ وَيَعْلَمُهُ، وَلَا يُحْسِنُ أَنْ يَصِفَهُ بِلِسَانِهِ، أَيُّ مَقَامٍ هٰذَا، وَأَيُّ حَالَةٍ، وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ أَوْصَلَهُ إِلَى هٰذَا؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, rajulun yaqūmu al-ḥaqqu fī qalbihi, wa-ḍarbu al-ʾamthāli fī ṣadrihi, wa-baṣāʾiru al-hudā ʿinda ʿaqlihi, yarāhu wa-yaʿlamuhu, wa-lā yuḥsinu ʾan yaṣifahu bilisānihi, ʾayyu maqāmin hādhā, wa-ʾayyu ḥālatin, wa-ʾayyu shayʾin ʾawṣalahu ʾilā hādhā?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, consider a man in whose heart truth stands, whose breast contains illustrations, and whose intellect possesses insights of guidance. He sees and knows it but cannot describe it well with his tongue. What station is this, what state, and what has brought him to it?”

قَالَ: أَرْجُو أَنْ يَكُونَ هٰذَا الرَّجُلُ قَدْ قَارَبَ إِصَابَةَ الصَّوَابِ، وَمَرَّتْ سَحَائِبُ الْحِكْمَةِ عَلَى فَهْمِ جِسْمِهِ، فَأَمْطَرَتْ قَلْبَهُ شُرْبًا يَنْبُتُ بِهِ الْعُشْبُ.

Qāla: ʾarjū ʾan yakūna hādhā al-rajulu qad qāraba ʾiṣābata al-ṣawābi, wa-marrat saḥāʾibu al-ḥikmati ʿalā fahmi jismihi, fa-ʾamṭarat qalbahu shurban yanbutu bihi al-ʿushbu.

He said, “I hope this man has come close to reaching what is right, and that clouds of wisdom have passed over his body's understanding [the wording is unusual], raining upon his heart a drink through which grass grows.

إِنَّ الْحَالَةَ الَّتِي أَوْصَلَتْهُ إِلَى هٰذَا اسْتِعْمَالُ الصِّدْقِ، وَعُزُوفُ النَّفْسِ عَنِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَذَّاتِهَا، وَحِفْظُ الْقَلْبِ وَالْجَوَارِحِ، وَتَرْكُ مَا لَا يَعْنِي، وَجَمْعُ الْهَمِّ، وَتَلَقِّي الْفَهْمِ عَنْ دَوَاعِي الْحَقِّ، وَهٰذَا مِيرَاثُ الزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَقَدْ شَابَهُ وَمَازَجَهُ رَوْحُ الْيَقِينِ.

ʾInna al-ḥālata allatī ʾawṣalat-hu ʾilā hādhā istiʿmālu al-ṣidqi, wa-ʿuzūfu al-nafsi ʿani al-dunyā wa-ladhdhātihā, wa-ḥifẓu al-qalbi wa-al-jawāriḥi, wa-tarku mā lā yaʿnī, wa-jamʿu al-hammi, wa-talaqqī al-fahmi ʿan dawāʿī al-ḥaqqi, wa-hādhā mīrāthu al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā, wa-qad shābahu wa-māzajahu rawḥu al-yaqīni.

“The state that brought him here consists of practicing sincerity, the self's turning away from this world and its pleasures, guarding the heart and limbs, leaving what does not concern him, gathering his concern, and receiving understanding from the promptings of truth. This is the fruit of renouncing this world, mixed and mingled with the refreshing breath of certainty.

Source pages 293–294

وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِذَا رَأَيْتُمُ الْعَبْدَ يَزْهَدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَاقْتَرِبُوا مِنْهُ، فَإِنَّهُ يُلَقَّى الْحِكْمَةَ». وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِذَا زَهِدَ الْعَبْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَرِثَ ثَلَاثَ خِصَالٍ: عِزًّا مِنْ غَيْرِ عَشِيرَةٍ، وَغِنًى مِنْ غَيْرِ مَالٍ، وَعِلْمًا مِنْ غَيْرِ تَعَلُّمٍ».

Wa-qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «ʾidhā raʾaytumu al-ʿabda yazhadu fī al-dunyā fa-iqtaribū minhu, fa-ʾinnahu yulaqqā al-ḥikmata». Wa-qāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «ʾidhā zahida al-ʿabdu fī al-dunyā waritha thalātha khiṣālin: ʿizzan min ghayri ʿashīratin, wa-ghinan min ghayri mālin, wa-ʿilman min ghayri taʿallumin».

“The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘When you see a servant renouncing this world, draw near to him, for wisdom is imparted to him.’ And he, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘When a servant renounces this world, he inherits three qualities: power without a clan, wealth without possessions, and knowledge without study.’

Source page 294

وَكَتَبَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ إِلَى أُمَرَاءِ الْأَجْنَادِ: «احْفَظُوا مِنَ الْمُطِيعِينَ مَا يَقُولُونَ، فَإِنَّهُمْ تَتَجَلَّى لَهُمْ أُمُورٌ صَادِقَةٌ».

Wa-kataba ʿUmaru raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʾilā ʾumarāʾi al-ʾajnādi: «iḥfaẓū mina al-muṭīʿīna mā yaqūlūna, fa-ʾinnahum tatajallā lahum ʾumūrun ṣādiqatun».

“ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, wrote to the commanders of the armies: ‘Remember what obedient people say, for true matters become clear to them.’

وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: إِذَا زَهِدَ الْعَبْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَكَّلَ اللّٰهُ بِهِ مَلَكًا يَغْرِسُ مِنْ إِنَاءِ الْحِكْمَةِ فِي قَلْبِهِ، كَمَا يَغْرِسُ أَحَدُكُمْ مِنْ طَرَفِ الْأَشْجَارِ فِي بُسْتَانِهِ.

Wa-qāla baʿḍuhum: ʾidhā zahida al-ʿabdu fī al-dunyā wakkala Allāhu bihi malakan yaghrisu min ʾināʾi al-ḥikmati fī qalbihi, kamā yaghrisu ʾaḥadukum min ṭarafi al-ʾashjāri fī bustānihi.

“Someone said: When a servant renounces this world, God assigns an angel to plant from the vessel of wisdom in his heart, just as one of you plants cuttings from trees in his garden.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَتَى يُطْلِقُهَا عَلَى لِسَانِهِ؟ وَمَا الَّذِي حَجَبَهُ عَنْ وَصْفِ مَا يَجِدُ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِنْ إِصَابَةِ الْحَقِّ فِي وَهْمِهِ.

Qultu: fa-matā yuṭliquhā ʿalā lisānihi? Wa-mā alladhī ḥajabahu ʿan waṣfi mā yajidu fī qalbihi min ʾiṣābati al-ḥaqqi fī wahmihi.

I asked, “When will he give it voice through his tongue? What has prevented him from describing the grasp of truth he finds in his heart and apprehension?”

قَالَ: مَثَلُ هٰذَا كَمَثَلِ شَجَرَةٍ غُرِسَتْ فَطَابَتْ، وَطَابَ ثَمَرُهَا، وَغَاصَتْ عُرُوقُهَا، وَعَلَتْ فُرُوعُهَا، وَجَرَى مَاؤُهَا فِيهَا، وَأَخْضَرَ وَرَقَهَا، وَخَرَجَ ثَمَرُهَا، إِلَّا أَنَّهَا لَمْ تُدْرِكْ، وَلَمْ تَصْلُحْ، وَلَمْ تَسْتَحْكِمْ، وَلَمْ تَبْلُغْ وَقْتَ جَنَاهَا، حَتَّى إِذَا اسْتَحْكَمَتْ وَصَلَحَتْ لِلْجَانِي، جَنَى مِنْهَا جَنَاهَا صَاحِبُهَا.

Qāla: mathalu hādhā kamathali shajaratin ghurisat fa-ṭābat, wa-ṭāba thamaruhā, wa-ghāṣat ʿurūquhā, wa-ʿalat furūʿuhā, wa-jarā māʾuhā fīhā, wa-ʾakhḍara waraqahā, wa-kharaja thamaruhā, ʾillā ʾannahā lam tudrik, wa-lam taṣluḥ, wa-lam tastaḥkim, wa-lam tablugh waqta janāhā, ḥattā ʾidhā istaḥkamat wa-ṣalaḥat li-al-jānī, janā minhā janāhā ṣāḥibuhā.

He said, “He is like a tree that was planted and grew well, with good fruit, roots that went deep, branches that rose high, and sap that flowed within it and made its leaves green. Its fruit appeared, but it had not yet ripened, become ready, grown firm, or reached harvest time. Once it grew firm and became ready for the picker, its owner gathered its harvest.

وَهٰكَذَا يَا فَتَى هٰذَا الرَّجُلُ، لَمْ يَسْتَحْكِمْ فِي حِكْمَتِهِ، وَلَمْ يَصْلُحْ أَنْ يُسْتَفَادَ وَيُقْتَبَسَ مِنْهُ، حَتَّى إِذَا اسْتَحْكَمَ فِي حَالَاتِهَا، وَتَمَّ فِي بُلُوغِ مَقَامَاتِهَا، انْصَبَّتِ الْحِكْمَةُ وَجَرَتْ عَلَى لِسَانِهِ، وَتَفَجَّرَتْ يَنَابِيعُهَا مِنْ قَلْبِهِ، وَتَمَكَّنَ فِي حَالَاتِهَا، وَانْتَفَعَ بِهِ الْمُقْتَبِسُ وَالْمُسْتَفِيدُ.

Wa-hākadhā yā fatā hādhā al-rajulu, lam yastaḥkim fī ḥikmatihi, wa-lam yaṣluḥ ʾan yustafāda wa-yuqtabasa minhu, ḥattā ʾidhā istaḥkama fī ḥālātihā, wa-tamma fī bulūghi maqāmātihā, inṣabbati al-ḥikmatu wa-jarat ʿalā lisānihi, wa-tafajjarat yanābīʿuhā min qalbihi, wa-tamakkana fī ḥālātihā, wa-intafaʿa bihi al-muqtabisu wa-al-mustafīdu.

“So it is with this man, young man. He has not yet become firm in his wisdom or ready for others to learn and draw from him. When he becomes firm in its states and fully reaches its stations, wisdom pours down and flows upon his tongue, its springs burst from his heart, and he becomes established in its states. Those who seek to draw from him and learn then benefit from him.”

قُلْتُ: فَالْحَالَةُ الَّتِي يَسْتَحْكِمُ بِهَا مَا هِيَ؟

Qultu: fa-al-ḥālatu allatī yastaḥkimu bihā mā hiya?

I asked, “What is the state through which he becomes firm?”

Source pages 294–295

قَالَ: تَعَاهُدُ أَخْلَاقِهَا، وَاتِّبَاعُ مُرُوءَةِ مَعْرِفَتِهَا، وَاحْتِيَاطُ الْقَلْبِ بِضَبْطِهَا، وَمَعْرِفَةُ قَدْرِهَا، وَالْحِرْصُ عَلَى جَمْعِهَا، وَالرَّغْبَةُ فِي بُلُوغِهَا، وَصِيَانَاتُ كَرَامَاتِهَا، وَدَوَامُ الشُّكْرِ عَلَيْهَا، وَالتَّوَاضُعُ فِي وَقْتِ وُرُودِهَا، وَالْخُضُوعُ فِي حَالَاتِهَا، وَاسْتِعْمَالُهَا فِي نَفْسِهَا، وَكَثْرَةُ الْمُعَادَاتِ فِي مُشَاهَدَتِهَا، وَتَكْرِيرُ الْقَلْبِ لِضَرْبِ أَمْثَالِهَا، وَنَشْرُهَا فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ، وَعَرْضُهَا عَلَى الْمُوَافَقَةِ فِي إِصَابَتِهَا، فَهٰذَا الَّذِي يُمَكِّنُهُ مِنَ الْقُوَّةِ عَلَى نَشْرِهَا.

Qāla: taʿāhudu ʾakhlāqihā, wa-ittibāʿu murūʾati maʿrifatihā, wa-iḥtiyāṭu al-qalbi biḍabṭihā, wa-maʿrifatu qadrihā, wa-al-ḥirṣu ʿalā jamʿihā, wa-al-raghbatu fī bulūghihā, wa-ṣiyānātu karāmātihā, wa-dawāmu al-shukri ʿalayhā, wa-al-tawāḍuʿu fī waqti wurūdihā, wa-al-khuḍūʿu fī ḥālātihā, wa-istiʿmāluhā fī nafsihā, wa-kathratu al-muʿādāti fī mushāhadatihā, wa-takrīru al-qalbi liḍarbi ʾamthālihā, wa-nashruhā fī kulli waqtin, wa-ʿarḍuhā ʿalā al-muwāfaqati fī ʾiṣābatihā, fa-hādhā alladhī yumakkinuhu mina al-quwwati ʿalā nashrihā.

He said, “Tending its character; following the noble conduct of knowing it; the heart's care to keep hold of it; knowing its worth; eagerness to gather it; desire to reach it; safeguarding its honors; constant gratitude for it; humility when it arrives; submission in its states; putting it itself into practice; repeatedly returning to witness it [a contextual interpretation of an uncertain printed term]; the heart's repetition of its illustrations; spreading it at every time; and testing its attainment against accord with the truth. This is what gives him the strength to spread it.

Source page 295

فَإِذَا اسْتَحْكَمَ فِي حَالَاتِهَا، تَفَجَّرَتْ عَلَى لِسَانِهِ إِلَى مَعَادِنِهَا، وَهَطَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ مُزْنُ سَحَائِبِ صَيِّبِهَا، وَنَظَرَ إِلَى إِصَابَةِ الْحَقِّ فِي تَوْفِيقِهَا.

Fa-ʾidhā istaḥkama fī ḥālātihā, tafajjarat ʿalā lisānihi ʾilā maʿādinihā, wa-haṭalat ʿalayhi muznu saḥāʾibi ṣayyibihā, wa-naẓara ʾilā ʾiṣābati al-ḥaqqi fī tawfīqihā.

“When he becomes firm in its states, it bursts forth upon his tongue toward its sources. The rain clouds of its downpour shower upon him, and he sees the attainment of truth in its divinely granted success.”

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، قَدْ وَصَفْتَ لِي مَا رَجَوْتُ أَنْ يَكُونَ حَيَاةً لِقَلْبِي، وَتَنْبِيهًا لِعَقْلِي، وَاتِّسَاعًا فِي مَعْرِفَتِي، وَرَغْبَةً فِي ازْدِيَادِي لِإِرَادَتِي، وَحِرْصًا عَلَى جَمْعِي لِهِمَّتِي، وَاسْتِدْرَاكِ مَطَالِبِي، فَخَبِّرْنِي الْآنَ لِمَ سُمِّيَتْ حِكْمَةً؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, qad waṣafta lī mā rajawtu ʾan yakūna ḥayātan liqalbī, wa-tanbīhan liʿaqlī, wa-ittisāʿan fī maʿrifatī, wa-raghbatan fī izdiyādī li-ʾirādatī, wa-ḥirṣan ʿalā jamʿī lihimmatī, wa-istidrāki maṭālibī, fa-khabbirnī al-ʾāna lima summiyat ḥikmatan?

I said, “May God have mercy on you, you have described what I hope will give life to my heart, awaken my intellect, broaden my knowledge, deepen my desire to increase in what I seek, and make me eager to gather my aspiration and attain my aims. Now tell me: why is it called wisdom, ḥikma?”

قَالَ: لِأَنَّهَا مُحْكَمَةٌ مِنْ حَكِيمٍ إِلَى قَلْبِ حَلِيمٍ، تُشَيِّعُهَا بَصَائِرُ الْهُدَى وَتَسْبِقُهَا، وَيَشْفَعُهَا رَشَادُ التَّوْفِيقِ، وَتَكْلَؤُهَا حِيَاطَةُ السَّلَامَةِ.

Qāla: li-ʾannahā muḥkamatun min ḥakīmin ʾilā qalbi ḥalīmin, tushayyiʿuhā baṣāʾiru al-hudā wa-tasbiquhā, wa-yashfaʿuhā rashādu al-tawfīqi, wa-taklaʾuhā ḥiyāṭatu al-salāmati.

He said, “Because it is firmly fashioned, muḥkama, from a Wise One to a forbearing heart. Insights of guidance escort and precede it, the right direction of divine enabling accompanies it, and the guardianship of safety watches over it.”

قُلْتُ: مَا مَعْنَى مُحْكَمَةٍ؟

Qultu: mā maʿnā muḥkamatin?

I asked, “What does firmly fashioned mean?”

قَالَ: مُتْقَنَةٌ.

Qāla: mutqanatun.

He said, “Perfectly made.”

قُلْتُ: مَا مَعْنَى مُتْقَنَةٍ؟

Qultu: mā maʿnā mutqanatin?

I asked, “What does perfectly made mean?”

قَالَ: لَيْسَ فِيهَا شَيْنٌ يَشِينُهَا.

Qāla: laysa fīhā shaynun yashīnuhā.

He said, “There is no blemish in it to disfigure it.”

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، زِدْنِي فِي صِفَتِهَا، وَأَوْقِفْنِي عَلَى بَيَانِ شَرْحِهَا.

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, zidnī fī ṣifatihā, wa-ʾawqifnī ʿalā bayāni sharḥihā.

I said, “May God have mercy on you, describe it further and help me grasp its explanation.”

قَالَ: إِنَّ الْحِكْمَةَ تُبِينُ عَنْ نَفْسِهَا، فَلَا تَحْتَاجُ أَنْ يُعَادَ عَلَيْهَا.

Qāla: ʾinna al-ḥikmata tubīnu ʿan nafsihā, fa-lā taḥtāju ʾan yuʿāda ʿalayhā.

He said, “Wisdom makes itself clear and needs no repeated explanation.”

قُلْتُ: وَمَا هِيَ فِي نَفْسِهَا؟

Qultu: wa-mā hiya fī nafsihā?

I asked, “What is it in itself?”

قَالَ: إِصَابَةُ الْحَقِّ.

Qāla: ʾiṣābatu al-ḥaqqi.

He said, “Attaining the truth.”

قُلْتُ: مَا عَلَامَتُهَا إِذَا وَرَدَتْ؟

Qultu: mā ʿalāmatuhā ʾidhā waradat?

I asked, “What is its sign when it arrives?”

Source pages 295–296

قَالَ: تُبَيِّنُ الْحَقَّ، وَتَكْشِفُ سِتْرَ الْجَهْلِ، وَتَدُلُّ عَلَى مَكَامِنِ الْهُدَى، وَفَضِيحَةِ الْجِنَايَةِ، وَتَزِيدُ فِي الْبَصِيرَةِ، وَتُوَسِّعُ فِي الْفِطْنَةِ، وَتُقَوِّى الرَّغْبَةَ، وَتَشُدُّ الْيَقِينَ، وَتَفْطِمُ حِرْصَ الْقَلْبِ، وَتُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ الْحَقِّ وَالْبَاطِلِ، وَتُطَهِّرُ الْقُلُوبَ مِنْ أَدْنَاسِهَا، وَتُبَيِّنُ مَوَاضِعَ تَخَلُّفِهَا، وَتُثْبِتُ حُجَّتَهَا عَلَى نَفْسِهَا.

Qāla: tubayyinu al-ḥaqqa, wa-takshifu sitra al-jahli, wa-tadullu ʿalā makāmini al-hudā, wa-faḍīḥati al-jināyati, wa-tazīdu fī al-baṣīrati, wa-tuwassiʿu fī al-fiṭnati, wa-tuqawwī al-raghbata, wa-tashuddu al-yaqīna, wa-tafṭimu ḥirṣa al-qalbi, wa-tufarriqu bayna al-ḥaqqi wa-al-bāṭili, wa-tuṭahhiru al-qulūba min ʾadnāsihā, wa-tubayyinu mawāḍiʿa takhallufihā, wa-tuthbitu ḥujjatahā ʿalā nafsihā.

He said, “It clarifies truth, lifts the veil of ignorance, points to the hidden places of guidance and the disgrace of wrongdoing, increases insight, broadens discernment, strengthens desire, fortifies certainty, weans the heart from greed, distinguishes truth from falsehood, purifies hearts of their stains, shows where they fall short, and establishes their case against themselves.”

Source page 296

قُلْتُ: مِنْ أَيْنَ صِحَّةُ مَخْرَجِهَا قَبْلَ نَسَقِهَا؟

Qultu: min ʾayna ṣiḥḥatu makhrajihā qabla nasaqihā?

I asked, “What establishes the soundness of its source before it is set into words?”

قَالَ: بِشَاهِدٍ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فِي سِرِّهَا، وَقَائِمٍ مِنَ الْحَقِّ فِي إِصَابَةِ وَجْهِهَا، وَبَصَائِرَ مِنَ الْهُدَى فِي نَشْرِهَا.

Qāla: bishāhidin mina al-ʿilmi fī sirrihā, wa-qāʾimin mina al-ḥaqqi fī ʾiṣābati wajhihā, wa-baṣāʾira mina al-hudā fī nashrihā.

He said, “A witness from knowledge within its secret, a standing proof from truth in grasping its proper aspect, and insights of guidance in spreading it.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا عَلَامَةُ الْحَكِيمِ عِنْدَ السُّؤَالِ عَنْهَا؟

Qultu: fa-mā ʿalāmatu al-ḥakīmi ʿinda al-suʾāli ʿanhā?

I asked, “What is the sign of the wise person when asked about it?”

قَالَ: التَّثَبُّتُ عِنْدَ الْجَوَابِ فِيهَا، مَعَ كَشْفِ بَيَانِ الْحَقِّ بِالْحُجَّةِ الْبَالِغَةِ عَنْهَا، وَإِصَابَةِ الْحَقِّ مِنَ الْجَوَابِ فِيهَا.

Qāla: al-tathabbutu ʿinda al-jawābi fīhā, maʿa kashfi bayāni al-ḥaqqi bi-al-ḥujjati al-bālighati ʿanhā, wa-ʾiṣābati al-ḥaqqi mina al-jawābi fīhā.

He said, “Careful deliberation in answering about it, together with making the truth clear through a conclusive proof concerning it and attaining the truth in the answer.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا عَلَامَةُ الِاسْتِوَاءِ فِيهَا، وَإِطْلَاقِهَا، وَالْإِصَابَةِ فِي الْفِطْنَةِ مِنْهَا؟

Qultu: fa-mā ʿalāmatu al-istiwāʾi fīhā, wa-ʾiṭlāqihā, wa-al-ʾiṣābati fī al-fiṭnati minhā?

I asked, “What is the sign of being established in it, giving it expression, and attaining sound discernment through it?”

قَالَ: تَبْتَدِئُ الْأَلْفَاظُ كَالسِّهَامِ الصَّوَائِبِ مِنْهَا، وَتُذْعِنُ قُلُوبُ الْمُسْتَمِعِينَ لَهَا إِيمَانًا بِهَا، وَتَحْصَرُ أَوْهَامُ الْمُعْتَرِضِينَ عَلَيْهَا، بِإِثْبَاتِ الْحُجَّةِ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ، وَتَبْصِرَةِ الصَّوَابِ الَّتِي تَأَكَّدَتْ عِنْدَهُمْ مِنْ ضَرْبِ أَمْثَالِهَا، وَغَرَائِبِ عِلْمِهَا، لَا يَقْدِرُونَ عَلَى التَّخَلُّفِ عَنِ الِاسْتِجَابَةِ لَهَا.

Qāla: tabtadiʾu al-ʾalfāẓu ka-al-sihāmi al-ṣawāʾibi minhā, wa-tudhʿinu qulūbu al-mustamiʿīna lahā ʾīmānan bihā, wa-taḥṣaru ʾawhāmu al-muʿtariḍīna ʿalayhā, bi-ʾithbāti al-ḥujjati ʿalā qulūbihim, wa-tabṣirati al-ṣawābi allatī taʾakkadat ʿindahum min ḍarbi ʾamthālihā, wa-gharāʾibi ʿilmihā, lā yaqdirūna ʿalā al-takhallufi ʿani al-istijābati lahā.

He said, “Its words begin like arrows that hit their mark. The hearts of listeners yield to it in belief, while the imaginations of those who object are constrained by the proof established against their hearts and the vision of what is right confirmed for them through its illustrations and the wonders of its knowledge. They cannot hold back from responding to it.”

قُلْتُ: شَيْءٌ غَيْرُ هٰذَا؟

Qultu: shayʾun ghayru hādhā?

I asked, “Anything else?”

قَالَ: تَنْبِيهُ الْقُلُوبِ مِنْ غَفَلَاتِهَا، وَتُوقِظُ الْأَوْهَامَ إِلَى اسْتِدْرَاكِهَا، وَتَزِيدُ فِي رَغْبَةِ الْحِرْصِ عَلَى الِاسْتِفَادَةِ مِنْهَا، وَتُحْيِي الْقُلُوبَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَوْتِهَا، كَمَا قَالَ الْحَكِيمُ لِابْنِهِ: يَا بُنَيَّ، جَالِسِ الْحُكَمَاءَ، وَزَاحِمْهُمْ بِرُكْبَتَيْكَ، فَإِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُحْيِي الْقُلُوبَ الْمَيِّتَةَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ، كَمَا يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ الْمَيِّتَةَ بِوَابِلِ السَّمَاءِ.

Qāla: tanbīhu al-qulūbi min ghafalātihā, wa-tūqiẓu al-ʾawhāma ʾilā istidrākihā, wa-tazīdu fī raghbati al-ḥirṣi ʿalā al-istifādati minhā, wa-tuḥyī al-qulūba min baʿdi mawtihā, kamā qāla al-ḥakīmu li-ibnihi: yā bunayya, jālisi al-ḥukamāʾa, wa-zāḥimhum birukbatayka, fa-ʾinna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla yuḥyī al-qulūba al-mayyitata bi-al-ḥikmati, kamā yuḥyī al-ʾarḍa al-mayyitata biwābili al-samāʾi.

He said, “Awakening hearts from heedlessness. It rouses imaginations to grasp it, increases eagerness to benefit from it, and revives hearts after their death. As the wise man said to his son, ‘My dear son, sit with the wise and press close to them with your knees. God, mighty and majestic, revives dead hearts through wisdom as He revives dead earth through rain pouring from the sky.’”

Source page 297

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٢٦

Masʾalatun 26

Question 26

فِي اعْتِقَادِ الْقُلُوبِ وَبَيَانِهِ

Fī iʿtiqādi al-qulūbi wa-bayānihi

The heart's inward resolve and its explanation

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، وَرُبَّمَا عَارَضَ الْهَوَى النُّفُوسَ، وَالْقُلُوبُ بِهِ وَاهِيَةٌ، فَتَسْتَرِيحُ النُّفُوسُ وَالْقُلُوبُ إِلَى مُوَاطَأَتِهِ، وَتَعْتَقِدُ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ، وَلَا تَعْمَلُ بِمَا دَعَا الْهَوَى إِلَيْهِ، هَلْ يَضُرُّهُ ذٰلِكَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, wa-rubbamā ʿāraḍa al-hawā al-nufūsa, wa-al-qulūbu bihi wāhiyatun, fa-tastarīḥu al-nufūsu wa-al-qulūbu ʾilā muwāṭaʾatihi, wa-taʿtaqidu ʿalā al-ʿamali, wa-lā taʿmalu bimā daʿā al-hawā ʾilayhi, hal yaḍurruhu dhālika baynahu wa-bayna Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, desire may present itself to selves while hearts are weakened by it. Selves and hearts find comfort in agreeing with it and resolve upon the deed, but do not carry out what desire calls them to. Does this harm a person in his relationship with God, mighty and majestic?”

قَالَ: نَعَمْ، إِذَا لَمْ يَحُلَّ إِصْرَارَ الْقَلْبِ، وَكَانَ عَازِمًا عَلَى الْفِعْلِ وَهُوَ مُقِيمٌ عَلَى عَقْدِ قَلْبِهِ، وَسُوءِ نِيَّتِهِ، وَوَحْشَةِ إِصْرَارِهِ، فَهُوَ فِعْلٌ، وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ، وَهُوَ عَاصٍ لِلّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَقَدْ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «هَلَكَ الْمُصِرُّونَ قُدُمًا».

Qāla: naʿam, ʾidhā lam yaḥulla ʾiṣrāra al-qalbi, wa-kāna ʿāziman ʿalā al-fiʿli wa-huwa muqīmun ʿalā ʿaqdi qalbihi, wa-sūʾi niyyatihi, wa-waḥshati ʾiṣrārihi, fa-huwa fiʿlun, wa-huwa madhmūmun, wa-huwa ʿāṣin li-llāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-qad qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «halaka al-muṣirrūna quduman».

He said, “Yes. If he does not undo the heart's insistence and remains resolved to act, persisting in his heart's commitment, his evil intention, and the estrangement of his obstinacy, then this is an action. He is blameworthy and disobedient to God, mighty and majestic. The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Those who persist in sin have rushed headlong to ruin.’”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا تَقُولُ فِي قَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «عُفِيَ عَنْ أُمَّتِي مَا حَدَّثَتْ بِهِ أَنْفُسَهَا»؟

Qultu: fa-mā taqūlu fī qawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «ʿufiya ʿan ʾummatī mā ḥaddathat bihi ʾanfusahā»?

I asked, “What do you say, then, about the saying of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: ‘My community is pardoned for what it says within itself’?”

قَالَ: افْهَمْ عَنِّي، وَلَا تَكُنْ مِنَ الْغَلَّاطِينَ. إِنَّ حَدِيثَ النَّفْسِ غَيْرُ اعْتِقَادِ الْقَلْبِ، وَإِنَّمَا سَأَلْتَنِي الْآنَ عَنِ اعْتِقَادِ الْقَلْبِ.

Qāla: ifham ʿannī, wa-lā takun mina al-ghallāṭīna. ʾInna ḥadītha al-nafsi ghayru iʿtiqādi al-qalbi, wa-ʾinnamā saʾaltanī al-ʾāna ʿani iʿtiqādi al-qalbi.

He said, “Understand me, and do not be among those who keep making mistakes. The self's inner talk is different from the heart's resolve. You have just asked me about the heart's resolve.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا الْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ اعْتِقَادِ الْقَلْبِ وَوَسْوَسَةِ النَّفْسِ؟

Qultu: fa-mā al-farqu bayna iʿtiqādi al-qalbi wa-waswasati al-nafsi?

I asked, “What is the difference between the heart's resolve and the self's whispering?”

Source page 298

قَالَ: أَمَّا اعْتِقَادُ الْقَلْبِ عَلَى الْفِعْلِ السُّوءِ فَمَذْمُومٌ فِي كِتَابِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولٰئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْؤُولًا﴾.

Qāla: ʾammā iʿtiqādu al-qalbi ʿalā al-fiʿli al-sūʾi fa-madhmūmun fī kitābi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fī qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿wa-lā taqfu mā laysa laka bihi ʿilmun ʾinna al-samʿa wa-al-baṣara wa-al-fuʾāda kullu ʾulāʾika kāna ʿanhu masʾūlan﴾.

He said, “The heart's resolve to do evil is condemned in the Book of God, mighty and majestic, in what He Most High says: ‘Do not pursue what you have no knowledge of. Hearing, sight, and heart: all of these will be questioned.’

وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿... وَلَا تَكْتُمُوا الشَّهَادَةَ وَمَنْ يَكْتُمْهَا فَإِنَّهُ آثِمٌ قَلْبُهُ...﴾.

Wa-qāla ʿazza wa-jalla: ﴿... Wa-lā taktumū al-shahādata wa-man yaktumhā fa-ʾinnahu ʾāthimun qalbuhu...﴾.

“He, mighty and majestic, also says, ‘...Do not conceal testimony. Whoever conceals it has a sinful heart...’

وَقَالَ: ﴿لَا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللّٰهُ بِاللَّغْوِ فِي أَيْمَانِكُمْ وَلٰكِنْ يُؤَاخِذُكُمْ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ...﴾.

Wa-qāla: ﴿lā yuʾākhidhukumu Allāhu bi-al-laghwi fī ʾaymānikum wa-lākin yuʾākhidhukum bimā kasabat qulūbukum...﴾.

“And He says, ‘God does not call you to account for idle words in your oaths, but He calls you to account for what your hearts have earned...’

هٰذَا وَأَشْبَاهُهُ فِي كِتَابِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بَيَّنَهُ اللّٰهُ بِمَا يَطُولُ الْكِتَابُ بِذِكْرِهِ.

Hādhā wa-ʾashbāhuhu fī kitābi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla bayyanahu Allāhu bimā yaṭūlu al-kitābu bidhikrihi.

“God has made this and similar matters clear in the Book of God, mighty and majestic, in passages whose citation would lengthen this book.

وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى».

Wa-qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «ʾinnamā al-ʾaʿmālu bi-al-niyyāti, wa-ʾinnamā likulli imriʾin mā nawā».

“The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Actions are only by intentions, and each person has only what he intended.’

وَقَالَ: «إِذَا الْتَقَى الْمُسْلِمَانِ بِسَيْفَيْهِمَا فَالْقَاتِلُ وَالْمَقْتُولُ فِي النَّارِ». قِيلَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ، هٰذَا الْقَاتِلُ، فَمَا بَالُ الْمَقْتُولِ؟ قَالَ: «لِأَنَّهُ أَرَادَ قَتْلَ صَاحِبِهِ».

Wa-qāla: «ʾidhā iltaqā al-muslimāni bisayfayhimā fa-al-qātilu wa-al-maqtūlu fī al-nāri». Qīla: yā rasūla Allāhi, hādhā al-qātilu, fa-mā bālu al-maqtūli? Qāla: «li-ʾannahu ʾarāda qatla ṣāḥibihi».

“He also said, ‘When two Muslims meet with their swords, both the killer and the killed are in the Fire.’ He was asked, ‘Messenger of God, we understand about the killer, but why the one killed?’ He replied, ‘Because he intended to kill his companion.’

أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّهُ بِإِرَادَةِ قَلْبِهِ قَتْلَ صَاحِبِهِ شَهِدَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالنَّارِ، وَلَمْ يَقْتُلْ وَقَدْ نَوَى، وَاللّٰهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُؤَاخِذُهُ بِبَاطِنِهِ، وَبِعَقْدِ قَلْبِهِ، إِذَا كَانَ مُقِيمًا عَلَى الْفِعْلِ، وَهُوَ مُصِرٌّ عَلَى ذٰلِكَ.

ʾAlā tarā ʾannahu bi-ʾirādati qalbihi qatla ṣāḥibihi shahida lahu al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama bi-al-nāri, wa-lam yaqtul wa-qad nawā, wa-Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla yuʾākhidhuhu bibāṭinihi, wa-biʿaqdi qalbihi, ʾidhā kāna muqīman ʿalā al-fiʿli, wa-huwa muṣirrun ʿalā dhālika.

“Do you not see that because his heart intended to kill his companion, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, testified that he would be in the Fire? He did not kill, but he intended to. God, mighty and majestic, holds him accountable for his inward state and the resolve of his heart when he remains committed to the deed and persists in that.”

قُلْتُ: اكْشِفْ لِي عَنْ إِصْرَارِ الْقَلْبِ وَكَسْبِهِ الْمَذْمُومِ.

Qultu: ikshif lī ʿan ʾiṣrāri al-qalbi wa-kasbihi al-madhmūmi.

I said, “Explain the heart's insistence and its blameworthy earning.”

قَالَ: مِثْلُ الْحَسَدِ وَهُوَ فِي الْقَلْبِ، وَالْكِبْرِ بِالْقَلْبِ، وَالنِّفَاقِ بِالْقَلْبِ، وَسُوءِ الظَّنِّ بِالْقَلْبِ. وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَذَرُوا ظَاهِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَبَاطِنَهُ...﴾ فَأَخْبَرَنَا أَنَّهُ إِثْمٌ، وَأَنَّهُ بَاطِنٌ.

Qāla: mithlu al-ḥasadi wa-huwa fī al-qalbi, wa-al-kibri bi-al-qalbi, wa-al-nifāqi bi-al-qalbi, wa-sūʾi al-ẓanni bi-al-qalbi. Wa-qāla ʿazza wa-jalla: ﴿wa-dharū ẓāhira al-ʾithmi wa-bāṭinahu...﴾ fa-ʾakhbaranā ʾannahu ʾithmun, wa-ʾannahu bāṭinun.

He said, “Such things as envy, which is in the heart; pride in the heart; hypocrisy in the heart; and suspicion in the heart. He, mighty and majestic, says, ‘Abandon outward sin and inward sin...’ He tells us that it is sin and that it is inward.

Source page 299

وَبَعْدُ.. لَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا عَزَمَ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ أَنْ يَقْتُلَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللّٰهُ، أَوْ يَفْعَلَ فَاحِشَةً بِحُرْمَةِ مُسْلِمٍ، أَوْ يَكْفُرَ بِاللّٰهِ إِذَا هُوَ أَصْبَحَ، وَنَوَى ذٰلِكَ بِقَلْبِهِ، ثُمَّ مَاتَ عَلَى تِلْكَ النِّيَّةِ، وَذٰلِكَ الْإِصْرَارِ، حَشَرَهُ اللّٰهُ عَلَى مَا عَقَدَ عَلَيْهِ وَنَوَى، كَمَا قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «يُحْشَرُ الْخَلَائِقُ عَلَى نِيَّاتِهِمْ».

Wa-baʿdu.. Law ʾanna rajulan ʿazama mina al-layli ʾan yaqtula al-nafsa allatī ḥarrama Allāhu, ʾaw yafʿala fāḥishatan biḥurmati muslimin, ʾaw yakfura bi-Allāhi ʾidhā huwa ʾaṣbaḥa, wa-nawā dhālika biqalbihi, thumma māta ʿalā tilka al-niyyati, wa-dhālika al-ʾiṣrāri, ḥasharahu Allāhu ʿalā mā ʿaqada ʿalayhi wa-nawā, kamā qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «yuḥsharu al-khalāʾiqu ʿalā niyyātihim».

“Furthermore, if a man resolved at night to kill a person whose life God has made inviolable, to violate a Muslim's honor through an indecent act, or to disbelieve in God when morning came, intending this in his heart, and then died with that intention and insistence, God would raise him according to what he had resolved and intended. As the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Creatures are raised according to their intentions.’”

قُلْتُ: فَإِذَا حَلَّ الْإِصْرَارَ عَنِ الْقَلْبِ، وَعَزَمَ أَلَّا يَفْعَلَ، وَنَدِمَ عَلَى مَا كَانَ مِنْهُ، كَيْفَ يَكُونُ حَالُهُ عِنْدَكَ؟

Qultu: fa-ʾidhā ḥalla al-ʾiṣrāra ʿani al-qalbi, wa-ʿazama ʾallā yafʿala, wa-nadima ʿalā mā kāna minhu, kayfa yakūnu ḥāluhu ʿindaka?

I asked, “If he releases the heart from its insistence, resolves not to act, and regrets what came from him, what, in your view, is his state?”

قَالَ: هٰذَا تَائِبٌ إِلَى اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مَأْجُورٌ إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰهُ، لِاعْتِقَادِهِ الْخَيْرَ، وَالْفِرَارِ مِنْ مَوَاطِنِ الشَّرِّ، كَمَا قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «نِيَّةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ».

Qāla: hādhā tāʾibun ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla maʾjūrun ʾin shāʾa Allāhu, li-iʿtiqādihi al-khayra, wa-al-firāri min mawāṭini al-sharri, kamā qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «niyyatu al-muʾmini khayrun min ʿamalihi».

He said, “He is repentant toward God, mighty and majestic, and rewarded, if God wills, for resolving upon good and fleeing the places of evil. As the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘The believer's intention is better than his action.’

أَوْ قَالَ: «خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَجْزَاءِ عَمَلِهِ».

ʾAw qāla: «khayrun min ʾajzāʾi ʿamalihi».

“Or he said, ‘Better than the parts of his action.’”

Source page 300

مَسْأَلَةٌ ٢٧

Masʾalatun 27

Question 27

فِي حَدِيثِ النَّفْسِ وَبَيَانِهِ

Fī ḥadīthi al-nafsi wa-bayānihi

The self's inner talk and its explanation

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، بَيِّنْ لِي حَدِيثَ النَّفْسِ مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ؟ وَحَدِيثُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «عُفِيَ عَنْ أُمَّتِي مَا حَدَّثَتْ بِهِ نُفُوسَهَا». مَا هُوَ؟ وَمِثْلُ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, bayyin lī ḥadītha al-nafsi min ʾayyi shayʾin huwa? Wa-ḥadīthu al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «ʿufiya ʿan ʾummatī mā ḥaddathat bihi nufūsahā». Mā huwa? Wa-mithlu ʾayyi shayʾin huwa?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, explain the self's inner talk to me. What kind of thing is it? What is meant by the report of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: ‘My community is pardoned for what it says within itself’? What is an example of it?”

قَالَ: هُوَ مِثْلُ حَدِيثِ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ مَظْعُونٍ حَيْثُ قَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ نَفْسِي تُحَدِّثُنِي أَنْ أُطَلِّقَ خَوْلَةَ. فَقَالَ: «مَهْلًا، فَإِنَّ مِنْ سُنَّتِي النِّكَاحَ». قَالَ: نَفْسِي تُحَدِّثُنِي أَنْ أَجُبَّ نَفْسِي. قَالَ: «مَهْلًا، إِنَّ خِصَاءَ أُمَّتِي: دُؤُوبُ الصِّيَامِ».

Qāla: huwa mithlu ḥadīthi ʿUthmāna bni Maẓʿūnin ḥaythu qāla: yā rasūla Allāhi nafsī tuḥaddithunī ʾan ʾuṭalliqa Khawlata. Fa-qāla: «mahlan, fa-ʾinna min sunnatī al-nikāḥa». Qāla: nafsī tuḥaddithunī ʾan ʾajubba nafsī. Qāla: «mahlan, ʾinna khiṣāʾa ʾummatī: duʾūbu al-ṣiyāmi».

He said, “It is like the report about ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn, who said, ‘Messenger of God, my self suggests that I divorce Khawla.’ He replied, ‘Wait. Marriage is part of my practice.’ He said, ‘My self suggests that I castrate myself.’ He replied, ‘Wait. My community's equivalent of castration is persistent fasting.’

قَالَ: نَفْسِي تُحَدِّثُنِي أَنْ أَتَرَهَّبَ بِنَفْسِي. قَالَ: «مَهْلًا، رَهْبَانِيَّةُ أُمَّتِي الْحَجُّ وَالْجِهَادُ». قَالَ: نَفْسِي تُحَدِّثُنِي أَنْ أَتْرُكَ اللَّحْمَ. قَالَ: «مَهْلًا، فَإِنِّي أُحِبُّهُ، وَلَوْ أَصَبْتُهُ لَأَكَلْتُهُ، وَلَوْ سَأَلْتُهُ رَبِّي لَأَطْعَمَنِي».

Qāla: nafsī tuḥaddithunī ʾan ʾatarahhaba binafsī. Qāla: «mahlan, rahbāniyyatu ʾummatī al-ḥajju wa-al-jihādu». Qāla: nafsī tuḥaddithunī ʾan ʾatruka al-laḥma. Qāla: «mahlan, fa-ʾinnī ʾuḥibbuhu, wa-law ʾaṣabtuhu laʾakaltuhu, wa-law saʾaltuhu rabbī laʾaṭʿamanī».

“He said, ‘My self suggests that I become a solitary monk.’ He replied, ‘Wait. My community's monasticism is pilgrimage and striving in God's cause.’ He said, ‘My self suggests that I give up meat.’ He replied, ‘Wait. I love it. If I had it, I would eat it; and if I asked my Lord for it, He would feed me.’

أَلَا تَرَى يَا فَتَى أَنَّ قَوْلَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَهْلًا، حَيْثُ يَقُولُ عُثْمَانُ: نَفْسِي تُحَدِّثُنِي. فَحَدِيثُ النَّفْسِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ تَرْوِيَةٌ. وَالدَّلِيلُ عَلَى أَنَّهُ تَرْوِيَةٌ: أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَفْعَلْ، وَلَمْ يَمْضِ فِيمَا حَدَّثَ بِهِ نَفْسَهُ حَتَّى وَقَعَتْ بِهِ الْمَشُورَةُ عَلَى ذٰلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُرَوِّي فِعْلَهُ، دَلِيلٌ عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَسْتَوْطِنِ اعْتِقَادَ الْفِعْلِ بِقَلْبِهِ، وَلَمْ تَسْكُنِ النَّفْسُ إِلَى ذٰلِكَ، وَإِنَّمَا يَحِلُّ بِقَلْبِهِ خَطَرَاتٌ بِغَيْرِ اسْتِيطَانٍ.

ʾAlā tarā yā fatā ʾanna qawla al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: mahlan, ḥaythu yaqūlu ʿUthmānu: nafsī tuḥaddithunī. Fa-ḥadīthu al-nafsi ʾinnamā huwa tarwiyatun. Wa-al-dalīlu ʿalā ʾannahu tarwiyatun: ʾannahu lam yafʿal, wa-lam yamḍi fīmā ḥaddatha bihi nafsahu ḥattā waqaʿat bihi al-mashūratu ʿalā dhālika min rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama yurawwī fiʿlahu, dalīlun ʿalā ʾannahu lam yastawṭini iʿtiqāda al-fiʿli biqalbihi, wa-lam taskuni al-nafsu ʾilā dhālika, wa-ʾinnamā yaḥillu biqalbihi khaṭarātun bighayri istīṭānin.

“Do you not see, young man, that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, says ‘Wait’ when ʿUthmān says, ‘My self suggests’? Inner talk is only deliberation. The evidence is that he did not act or proceed with what he had suggested to himself until he consulted the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, while considering his action. This shows that he had not settled the resolve to act in his heart and that his self had not become at rest with it. Thoughts merely alighted in his heart without settling there.

Source page 301

وَإِنَّمَا قَالَ: نَفْسِي تُحَدِّثُنِي، وَلَمْ يَقُلْ: اعْتَقَدْتُ بِقَلْبِي، فَصَادَفَ نَهْيُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ دَفْعَ الْقَلْبِ بِحَدِيثِ النَّفْسِ.

Wa-ʾinnamā qāla: nafsī tuḥaddithunī, wa-lam yaqul: iʿtaqadtu biqalbī, fa-ṣādafa nahyu al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama dafʿa al-qalbi biḥadīthi al-nafsi.

“He only said, ‘My self suggests,’ not ‘I have resolved in my heart.’ The prohibition of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, thus met the heart's rejection of the inner thought [the printed construction is uncertain].

وَأَمَّا إِذَا اعْتَقَدَ بِقَلْبِهِ وَأَصَرَّ عَلَى الذُّنُوبِ، فَهُوَ عَاصٍ لِلّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فَاسِقٌ غَافِلٌ عَنِ اعْتِقَادِ الْخَيْرِ بِاعْتِقَادِ السُّوءِ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَكُونُ قَلْبٌ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَ نِيَّتَيْنِ: مُصِرٌّ عَلَى مَعْصِيَتِهِ، مُسْتَعْمَلٌ بِكَمَالِ الطَّاعَةِ. وَهٰذَا يَسْتَحِيلُ، لِأَنَّ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَالَ: ﴿مَا جَعَلَ اللّٰهُ لِرَجُلٍ مِنْ قَلْبَيْنِ فِي جَوْفِهِ...﴾.

Wa-ʾammā ʾidhā iʿtaqada biqalbihi wa-ʾaṣarra ʿalā al-dhunūbi, fa-huwa ʿāṣin li-llāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, fāsiqun ghāfilun ʿani iʿtiqādi al-khayri bi-iʿtiqādi al-sūʾi, li-ʾannahu lā yakūnu qalbun yajmaʿu bayna niyyatayni: muṣirrun ʿalā maʿṣiyatihi, mustaʿmalun bikamāli al-ṭāʿati. Wa-hādhā yastaḥīlu, li-ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla qāla: ﴿mā jaʿala Allāhu lirajulin min qalbayni fī jawfihi...﴾.

“But if he resolves in his heart and persists in sins, he is disobedient to God, mighty and majestic, a transgressor whose resolve upon evil makes him heedless of resolving upon good. A heart cannot combine two intentions: persisting in disobedience and being employed in complete obedience. That is impossible, for God, mighty and majestic, says, ‘God has not placed two hearts inside any man...’

فَإِذَا كَانَ مُشْتَغِلًا بِالْإِصْرَارِ عَمِىَ عَنِ الْبَصِيرَةِ، وَلَا يَرَى حَسَنًا تَتُوقُ نَفْسُهُ إِلَيْهِ رَغْبَةً، وَلَا قَبِيحًا يَتَجَنَّبُهُ رَهْبَةً، وَجَرَّتْهُ أَسْبَابُ الْفِتْنَةِ إِلَى مَصَارِعِ الْهَلَكَةِ.

Fa-ʾidhā kāna mushtaghilan bi-al-ʾiṣrāri ʿamiya ʿani al-baṣīrati, wa-lā yarā ḥasanan tatūqu nafsuhu ʾilayhi raghbatan, wa-lā qabīḥan yatajannabuhu rahbatan, wa-jarrat-hu ʾasbābu al-fitnati ʾilā maṣāriʿi al-halakati.

“When he is occupied with persistence in sin, he is blind to insight. He sees no good that his self longs for in desire and no evil that he avoids in dread. The causes of temptation draw him to places of ruin.”

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مَسْأَلَةٌ ٢٨

Masʾalatun 28

Question 28

فِي صِفَةِ الْحُزْنِ وَبَيَانِهِ

Fī ṣifati al-ḥuzni wa-bayānihi

Describing sorrow and explaining it

قُلْتُ: قَدْ رُوِيَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: «مَا حَزِنَ عَبْدِي فِي الدُّنْيَا، إِلَّا فَرَّحْتُهُ غَدًا فِي الْآخِرَةِ». «وَلَا سُرَّ مُؤْمِنٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا أَحْزَنَهُ اللّٰهُ غَدًا فِي الْآخِرَةِ». فَمَا هٰذَا الْحُزْنُ أَكْرَمَكَ اللّٰهُ؟

Qultu: qad ruwiya fī al-khabari: «mā ḥazina ʿabdī fī al-dunyā, ʾillā farraḥtuhu ghadan fī al-ʾākhirati». «Wa-lā surra muʾminun fī al-dunyā ʾillā ʾaḥzanahu Allāhu ghadan fī al-ʾākhirati». Fa-mā hādhā al-ḥuznu ʾakramaka Allāhu?

I asked, “A report relates: ‘Whenever My servant grieves in this world, I will make him rejoice tomorrow in the hereafter.’ And: ‘No believer rejoices in this world without God making him grieve tomorrow in the hereafter.’ What is this sorrow, may God honor you?”

قَالَ: إِذَا حَزِنَ فِي الدُّنْيَا لِلْآخِرَةِ فَهُوَ الْمَفْرُوحُ غَدًا فِي جِوَارِ اللّٰهِ، وَإِذَا حَزِنَ فِي الدُّنْيَا لِلدُّنْيَا فَهُوَ الْقَاصِي عَنْ قُرْبِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

Qāla: ʾidhā ḥazina fī al-dunyā li-al-ʾākhirati fa-huwa al-mafrūḥu ghadan fī jiwāri Allāhi, wa-ʾidhā ḥazina fī al-dunyā li-al-dunyā fa-huwa al-qāṣī ʿan qurbi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla.

He said, “If he grieves in this world for the hereafter, he is the one made joyful tomorrow in God's presence. If he grieves in this world for this world, he is far removed from nearness to God, mighty and majestic.”

قُلْتُ: رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ، فَبِمَ يُسْتَجْلَبُ هٰذَا الْحُزْنُ، وَمَا السَّبِيلُ إِلَى مَقَامِ الْحُزْنِ؟

Qultu: raḥimaka Allāhu, fa-bima yustajlabu hādhā al-ḥuznu, wa-mā al-sabīlu ʾilā maqāmi al-ḥuzni?

I asked, “May God have mercy on you, how is this sorrow drawn forth, and what is the way to its station?”

قَالَ: ثَلَاثُ خِصَالٍ: الْفِكْرُ فِي الذُّنُوبِ السَّالِفَةِ، وَالْقُدُومِ عَلَى اللّٰهِ بِغَيْرِ زَادٍ.

Qāla: thalāthu khiṣālin: al-fikru fī al-dhunūbi al-sālifati, wa-al-qudūmi ʿalā Allāhi bighayri zādin.

He said, “Three qualities: reflecting on past sins and on coming before God without provisions.

وَالثَّانِيَةُ: أَخْذُ الْقُلُوبِ بِحُقُوقِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الْوَاجِبَةِ، وَالْفَرَائِضِ اللَّازِمَةِ، فَهُوَ يُورِثُ الْأَحْزَانَ الدَّائِمَةَ.

Wa-al-thāniyatu: ʾakhdhu al-qulūbi biḥuqūqi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla al-wājibati, wa-al-farāʾiḍi al-lāzimati, fa-huwa yūrithu al-ʾaḥzāna al-dāʾimata.

“The second is holding hearts to the binding rights and obligatory duties of God, mighty and majestic. This produces lasting sorrows.

Source pages 302–303

وَالثَّالِثَةُ: مَعْرِفَةُ الْخِلَافِ عَلَى اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، لِأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنْ عَارِفٍ يَذْكُرُ خِلَافَهُ عَلَى اللّٰهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى إِلَّا أَخَذَتِ الْأَحْزَانُ بِقَلْبِهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ نَادِمًا تَارِكًا لِمَا يَكْرَهُ اللّٰهُ، مُحْسِنًا.

Wa-al-thālithatu: maʿrifatu al-khilāfi ʿalā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, li-ʾannahu laysa min ʿārifin yadhkuru khilāfahu ʿalā Allāhi tabāraka wa-taʿālā ʾillā ʾakhadhati al-ʾaḥzānu biqalbihi, wa-ʾin kāna nādiman tārikan limā yakrahu Allāhu, muḥsinan.

“The third is recognizing one's opposition to God, mighty and majestic. No one who knows God remembers his opposition to God, blessed and exalted is He, without sorrows seizing his heart, even if he is repentant, has abandoned what God dislikes, and is doing good.”

Source page 303

قُلْتُ: مِنْ أَيْنَ مَخْرَجُ الْحُزْنِ؟

Qultu: min ʾayna makhraju al-ḥuzni?

I asked, “Where does sorrow arise from?”

قَالَ: عِلْمُهُمْ بِعِلْمِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِيهِمْ: أَنَّهُ قَدْ رَآهُمْ فِي مَوَاطِنَ يَكْرَهُهَا، فَهُمْ غَيْرُ آمِنِينَ، لَا تَقَرُّ لَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ، وَلَا يَنْشَطُونَ لِفَرَحٍ، لِمَا غَلَبَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مِنَ الْأَحْزَانِ.

Qāla: ʿilmuhum biʿilmi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fīhim: ʾannahu qad raʾāhum fī mawāṭina yakrahuhā, fa-hum ghayru ʾāminīna, lā taqarru lahum ʾaʿyunun, wa-lā yanshaṭūna lifaraḥin, limā ghalaba ʿalā qulūbihim mina al-ʾaḥzāni.

He said, “Their knowledge of what God, mighty and majestic, knows of them: that He has seen them in places He dislikes. They do not feel secure; their eyes find no rest and they have no energy for rejoicing, because sorrow has overwhelmed their hearts.”

قُلْتُ: مَا نَعْتُ الْحُزْنِ فِي الْقَلْبِ؟

Qultu: mā naʿtu al-ḥuzni fī al-qalbi?

I asked, “How is sorrow in the heart described?”

قَالَ: انْكِسَارٌ فِي بَاطِنِهِ يَكْسِرُ الْجَوَارِحَ عَنِ الِانْبِسَاطِ.

Qāla: inkisārun fī bāṭinihi yaksiru al-jawāriḥa ʿani al-inbisāṭi.

He said, “An inward brokenness that restrains the limbs from expansive ease.”

قُلْتُ: سَاكِنٌ أَوْ مُتَحَرِّكٌ؟

Qultu: sākinun ʾaw mutaḥarrikun?

I asked, “Is it still or moving?”

قَالَ: مُتَحَرِّكٌ فِي أَوَائِلِهِ.

Qāla: mutaḥarrikun fī ʾawāʾilihi.

He said, “Moving at its beginning.”

قُلْتُ: مِنْ أَيْنَ حَرَكَتُهُ؟

Qultu: min ʾayna ḥarakatuhu?

I asked, “Where does its movement come from?”

قَالَ: مُتَحَرِّكٌ لِأَنَّهُ مَمْزُوجٌ بِالْخَوْفِ، فَإِذَا دَامَ ذٰلِكَ وَتَفَاقَمَ سَكَنَ.

Qāla: mutaḥarrikun li-ʾannahu mamzūjun bi-al-khawfi, fa-ʾidhā dāma dhālika wa-tafāqama sakana.

He said, “It moves because it is mixed with fear. When this continues and grows intense, it becomes still.”

قُلْتُ: مِنْ أَيْنَ سُكُونُهُ فِي آخِرِهِ؟

Qultu: min ʾayna sukūnuhu fī ʾākhirihi?

I asked, “Where does its stillness at the end come from?”

قَالَ: لِأَنَّهُ مَمْزُوجٌ بِالْكَمَدِ، وَالْكَمَدُ سَاكِنٌ غَيْرُ مُتَحَرِّكٍ.

Qāla: li-ʾannahu mamzūjun bi-al-kamadi, wa-al-kamadu sākinun ghayru mutaḥarrikin.

He said, “Because it is mixed with inward grief, and inward grief is still, not moving.”

قُلْتُ: فَمَا عَلَامَةُ الْحُزْنِ.

Qultu: fa-mā ʿalāmatu al-ḥuzni.

I asked, “What, then, is the sign of sorrow?”

قَالَ: الْكَمَدُ الَّذِي يُسَكِّنُهُ.

Qāla: al-kamadu alladhī yusakkinuhu.

He said, “The inward grief that stills it.”

قُلْتُ: بِمَ يَتَزَايَدُ الْحُزْنُ؟

Qultu: bima yatazāyadu al-ḥuznu?

I asked, “What makes sorrow increase?”

Source pages 303–304

قَالَ: عَلَى قَدْرِ الْمُصِيبَةِ، كُلَّمَا عَظُمَتِ الْمُصِيبَةُ عِنْدَهُمْ عَظُمَتِ الْأَحْزَانُ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ، وَكُلَّمَا تَجَدَّدَ خَوْفُ الْفِرَاقِ تَزَايَدُوا فِي الْأَحْزَانِ، وَهٰذَا أَشْرَفُ الْحَالَيْنِ.

Qāla: ʿalā qadri al-muṣībati, kullamā ʿaẓumati al-muṣībatu ʿindahum ʿaẓumati al-ʾaḥzānu fī qulūbihim, wa-kullamā tajaddada khawfu al-firāqi tazāyadū fī al-ʾaḥzāni, wa-hādhā ʾashrafu al-ḥālayni.

He said, “It is in proportion to the affliction. The greater the affliction seems to them, the greater the sorrows in their hearts. Whenever fear of separation is renewed, they increase in sorrow. This is the nobler of the two states.”

Source page 304

قُلْتُ: مَتَى يَجِدُ الْمَحْزُونُ سُرُورًا فِي نَفْسِ حُزْنِهِ؟

Qultu: matā yajidu al-maḥzūnu surūran fī nafsi ḥuznihi?

I asked, “When does the sorrowful person find joy within his sorrow itself?”

قَالَ: إِذَا مَزَجَ حُزْنَهُ بِمُلَاطَفَةٍ.

Qāla: ʾidhā mazaja ḥuznahu bimulāṭafatin.

He said, “When he mingles his sorrow with gentle kindness.”

قُلْتُ: مَا مَعْنَى الْمُلَاطَفَةِ؟

Qultu: mā maʿnā al-mulāṭafati?

I asked, “What does gentle kindness mean?”

قَالَ: أَنْ يَقْرَعَ التَّنْبِيهُ قَلْبَهُ، فَيَدُلَّهُ عَلَى الَّذِي أَحْزَنَهُ، فَيَرَى أَنَّ قَلِيلًا مِمَّا مَعَهُ مِنَ الْحُزْنِ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ عَطَاءِ مَوْلَاهُ فِي الْحُزْنِ، وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ الَّذِي ابْتَدَأَهُ بِالْحُزْنِ لُطْفًا مِنْهُ، فَعِنْدَهَا يَكُونُ فِي نَفْسِ حُزْنِهِ شَجًا، رَحِمَكَ اللّٰهُ.

Qāla: ʾan yaqraʿa al-tanbīhu qalbahu, fa-yadullahu ʿalā alladhī ʾaḥzanahu, fa-yarā ʾanna qalīlan mimmā maʿahu mina al-ḥuzni kathīrun min ʿaṭāʾi mawlāhu fī al-ḥuzni, wa-ʾannahu huwa alladhī ibtadaʾahu bi-al-ḥuzni luṭfan minhu, fa-ʿindahā yakūnu fī nafsi ḥuznihi shajan, raḥimaka Allāhu.

He said, “An awakening strikes his heart and points him toward the One who made him sorrowful. He sees that his little sorrow is a great gift from his Master in sorrow, and that He first bestowed sorrow upon him out of kindness. Then his very sorrow brings a lump to his throat [the connection with the preceding question is uncertain]. May God have mercy on you.”