5. Khalwah: Seclusion by Al Muhasibi Part 5

الْخَلْوَةُ وَالتَّنَقُّلُ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ وَدَرَجَاتُ الْعَابِدِينَ

Al-Khalwatu wa-al-Tanaqqulu fī al-ʿIbādati wa-Darajātu al-ʿĀbidīna

Seclusion, Movement (advancement) within Worship, and the Degrees of the Worshippers

الْحَارِثُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ

Al-Ḥārithu bnu ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyu

Al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī

Source page 49

فَإِذَا شَكَرَ الْقَلْبُ الْيَقِينَ وَالشُّكْرَ وَالْخَوْفَ نَفَرَ عَنِ الْقَلْبِ الرَّيْبُ وَالْكَذِبُ وَخَالَفَهُ الْإِيمَانُ وَكَانَ الْقَلْبُ مُنَوَّرًا بِالْيَقِينِ مُرَبِّيًا بِالشُّكْرِ مَعْصُومًا بِالْخَوْفِ مُسْتَعْمَلًا بِالرَّجَا مُشْتَاقًا إِلَى مَا بِهِ قَدْ أَيْقَنَ زَاهِدًا فِي كُلِّ مَا هُوَ دُونَهُ.

Fa-ʾidhā shakara al-qalbu al-yaqīna wa-al-shukra wa-al-khawfa nafara ʿani al-qalbi al-raybu wa-al-kadhibu wa-khālafahu al-ʾīmānu wa-kāna al-qalbu munawwaran bi-al-yaqīni murabbiyan bi-al-shukri maʿṣūman bi-al-khawfi mustaʿmalan bi-al-rajā mushtāqan ʾilā mā bihi qad ʾayqana zāhidan fī kulli mā huwa dūnahu.

When the heart ‘thanks certainty, gratitude, and fear,’ doubt and falsehood flee from it, and faith ‘opposes it’ [the two printed expressions are unexpected]. The heart is illumined by certainty, nurturing through gratitude [the printed participle is active], protected by fear, put to work by hope, longing for what it is certain of, and detached from everything beneath it.

فَإِذَا كَانَ لِلْقَلْبِ عَلَى مَا وَصَفْنَا وَجَدْتَ صَاحِبَهُ مُمْسِكًا عَنْ وَصْفِ مَا يَعْرِفُ وَذٰلِكَ كُلُّهُ مِنْ فَنِّهِ.

Fa-ʾidhā kāna li-al-qalbi ʿalā mā waṣafnā wajadta ṣāḥibahu mumsikan ʿan waṣfi mā yaʿrifu wa-dhālika kulluhu min fannihi.

When the heart is as we have described, you find its owner refraining from describing what he knows. All of this belongs to its way.

فَإِذَا جَاءَتِ الْخَطَرَاتُ الَّتِي تُحَرِّكُهُ لِمَا فِيهِ عِنْدَ حَقَائِقِ الِامْتِحَانِ ظَهَرَ مَا فِي الْقَلْبِ مِنَ الصِّدْقِ فِي أَوَانِهِ وَمِنَ التَّقْوَى فِي أَوَانِهِ وَمِنَ الْخَوْفِ فِي أَوَانِهِ وَمِنَ الْإِخْلَاصِ فِي أَوَانِهِ وَمِنَ الشُّكْرِ فِي أَوَانِهِ.

Fa-ʾidhā jāʾati al-khaṭarātu allatī tuḥarrikuhu limā fīhi ʿinda ḥaqāʾiqi al-imtiḥāni ẓahara mā fī al-qalbi mina al-ṣidqi fī ʾawānihi wa-mina al-taqwā fī ʾawānihi wa-mina al-khawfi fī ʾawānihi wa-mina al-ʾikhlāṣi fī ʾawānihi wa-mina al-shukri fī ʾawānihi.

When thoughts come that stir what is within it during real tests, the heart's truthfulness appears at the proper time, as do its reverence, fear, sincerity, and gratitude, each at its proper time.

وَمِنَ التَّوَاضُعِ فِي امْتِحَانِهِ وَمِنْ قَوْلِ الْحَقِّ فِي مَوَاطِنِ امْتِحَانِهِ وَمِنْ حُسْنِ التَّوَكُّلِ فِي أَوَانِهِ وَمِنْ كَرَاهِيَتِهِ لِلْمَدْحِ وَحُسْنِ الثَّنَا وَقِلَّةِ مَحَبَّتِهِ الرِّيَاسَةَ وَالتَّعْظِيمَ فِي أَوَانِهِ وَمِنْ حُبِّهِ إِخْمَالَ نَفْسِهِ فِي أَوَانِهِ وَذٰلِكَ كُلُّهُ كَامِنٌ فِيهِ.

Wa-mina al-tawāḍuʿi fī imtiḥānihi wa-min qawli al-ḥaqqi fī mawāṭini imtiḥānihi wa-min ḥusni al-tawakkuli fī ʾawānihi wa-min karāhiyatihi li-al-madḥi wa-ḥusni al-thanā wa-qillati maḥabbatihi al-riyāsata wa-al-taʿẓīma fī ʾawānihi wa-min ḥubbihi ʾikhmāla nafsihi fī ʾawānihi wa-dhālika kulluhu kāminun fīhi.

Its humility appears when tested; it speaks truth when tested, relies well on God at the proper time, dislikes praise and flattering commendation, has little love for leadership and veneration, and loves to keep itself obscure, each in its season. All of this lies hidden within it.

فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنْتُ مَا فَسَدَ الْقَلْبُ بِالْمَعْنَى الَّذِي وَصَفْنَا كَثُرَ عَلَيَّ دَعْوَى الصِّدْقِ بَعْدَ مَعْرِفَتِي نَفْسِي وَقُلْتُ كَيْفَ بِالْجَرَاءَةِ مِنِّي عَلَى هٰذِهِ الدَّعْوَى.

Fa-lammā tabayyantu mā fasada al-qalbu bi-al-maʿnā alladhī waṣafnā kathura ʿalayya daʿwā al-ṣidqi baʿda maʿrifatī nafsī wa-qultu kayfa bi-al-jarāʾati minnī ʿalā hādhihi al-daʿwā.

When I discerned the heart's corruption in the manner we have described, claiming truthfulness seemed too much for me after knowing myself. I asked, “How could I dare make this claim?”

فَدَانِيَ الْعَمَلُ عَلَى أَنَّ دَعْوَاكَ الصِّدْقَ تَأْكُلُ مَا فَاتَكَ مِنَ الْكَذِبِ فَمَعَهُ حَرْدُكَ عَلَى دَعْوَاكَ فَصَدَّقْتُهُ.

Fa-dāniya al-ʿamalu ʿalā ʾanna daʿwāka al-ṣidqa taʾkulu mā fātaka mina al-kadhibi fa-maʿahu ḥarduka ʿalā daʿwāka fa-ṣaddaqtuhu.

Then action ‘came close to me’ on the basis that “your claim to truthfulness consumes what you missed of falsehood, and with it is your anger over your claim,” and I believed it [the printed passage is unclear].’

قُلْتُ قَدْ فَهِمْتُ عَنْكَ مَا وَصَفْتَهُ مِنْ فَسَادِ الْعَمَلِ وَذٰلِكَ لِأَنَّ مَخْرَجَهُ مِنْ فَسَادِ الْقَلْبِ ثُمَّ أَيَّسْتَنِي مِنْ إِصْلَاحِهِ إِلَّا بِالْخَوْفِ الصَّادِقِ ثُمَّ أَخْبَرْتَنِي أَنَّ الْخَوْفَ الصَّادِقَ لَا يَكُونُ إِلَّا مِنَ الْيَقِينِ.

Qultu qad fahimtu ʿanka mā waṣaftahu min fasādi al-ʿamali wa-dhālika li-ʾanna makhrajahu min fasādi al-qalbi thumma ʾayyastanī min ʾiṣlāḥihi ʾillā bi-al-khawfi al-ṣādiqi thumma ʾakhbartanī ʾanna al-khawfa al-ṣādiqa lā yakūnu ʾillā mina al-yaqīni.

I said, ‘I have understood your description of corrupted action and how it springs from a corrupted heart. You then made me despair of repairing it except through true fear, and told me that true fear comes only from certainty.

وَقَدْ عَلِمْتُ أَنَّ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ مَا هُوَ أَكْثَرُ مِنْهُ ثُمَّ لَا مُنْتَهَى لِعَظَمَةِ اللّٰهِ فَصِفْ لِي أَقَلَّهُ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتُ أَنَّ بِأَقَلِّهِ قَدْ يُدْرِكُ الْآدَمِيُّ كُلَّ الْمَنَافِعِ عَلَى قَدْرِهِ.

Wa-qad ʿalimtu ʾanna mina al-yaqīni mā huwa ʾaktharu minhu thumma lā muntahā liʿaẓamati Allāhi fa-ṣif lī ʾaqallahu fa-qad ʿalimtu ʾanna bi-ʾaqallihi qad yudriku al-ʾādamiyyu kulla al-manāfiʿi ʿalā qadrihi.

I know that some certainty exceeds other certainty, and God's greatness has no end. Describe its least degree to me, for I know that even through its least degree a human being may attain all benefits in proportion to it.’

قَالَ صَدَقْتَ فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْيَقِينَ نُورٌ يَجْعَلُهُ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى فِي قَلْبِ عَبْدِهِ فَيُشَاهِدُ بِهِ الْقَلْبُ أُمُورَ الْآخِرَةِ كَالْمُشَاهِدِ لَهَا بِالْغَيْبِ عَنْهَا فَيَرَى مَا هُنَالِكَ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ وَعَظِيمِ مَلَكُوتِ السَّمَاوَاتِ بِرُويَةِ نُورِ الْقَلْبِ بِمَا هُوَ أَنْفَذُ مِنْ رُويَةِ الْأَعْيُنِ لِمُشَاهَدَةِ الدُّنْيَا.

Qāla ṣadaqta fa-iʿlam ʾanna al-yaqīna nūrun yajʿaluhu Allāhu taʿālā fī qalbi ʿabdihi fa-yushāhidu bihi al-qalbu ʾumūra al-ʾākhirati ka-al-mushāhidi lahā bi-al-ghaybi ʿanhā fa-yarā mā hunālika mina al-jannati wa-al-nāri wa-ʿaẓīmi malakūti al-samāwāti birūyati nūri al-qalbi bimā huwa ʾanfadhu min rūyati al-ʾaʿyuni limushāhadati al-dunyā.

He replied, ‘You are right. Know that certainty is a light God Most High places in His servant's heart. Through it the heart witnesses the affairs of the next life as though seeing them while absent from them. It sees Paradise, Hell, and the immense kingdom of the heavens through the heart's light, with a vision more penetrating than the eyes' sight of this world.

ثُمَّ يَرْجِعُ إِلَى الْقَلْبِ بِالشَّهَادَةِ عَلَى مَا قَدْ نَفَدَ فِيهِ نُورُ قَلْبِهِ فَيَمْلَأُ الْقَلْبَ بِأَقَلِّ مَا فِيهِ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ نُورًا يَنْفِي عَنِ الْقَلْبِ كُلَّ ظُلْمَةٍ.

Thumma yarjiʿu ʾilā al-qalbi bi-al-shahādati ʿalā mā qad nafada fīhi nūru qalbihi fa-yamlaʾu al-qalba bi-ʾaqalli mā fīhi mina al-yaqīni nūran yanfī ʿani al-qalbi kulla ẓulmatin.

It then returns to the heart bearing witness to what the heart's light has ‘been exhausted in’ [the printed verb is unexpected]. Even the least certainty within it fills the heart with a light that drives out every darkness.

فَهُوَ قَوْلُ اللّٰهِ فِي كِتَابِهِ «أَوَ مَنْ كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ» لَيْسَ يَعْنِي مَيْتَةَ الْأَمْوَاتِ وَذَاكَ أَنَّ اللّٰهَ لَمْ يُرَدِّدْ مَيْتًا مَاتَ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا وَلٰكِنْ مَيْتَةَ الْأَحْيَا وَهِيَ الظُّلْمَةُ الَّتِي كَانَتْ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ فَأَنَارَهُمُ اللّٰهُ بِالْيَقِينِ فَهِيَ حَيَاتُهَا.

Fa-huwa qawlu Allāhi fī kitābihi «ʾawa man kāna maytan fa-ʾaḥyaynāhu» laysa yaʿnī maytata al-ʾamwāti wa-dhāka ʾanna Allāha lam yuraddid maytan māta ʾilā al-dunyā wa-lākin maytata al-ʾaḥyā wa-hiya al-ẓulmatu allatī kānat fī qulūbihim fa-ʾanārahumu Allāhu bi-al-yaqīni fa-hiya ḥayātuhā.

This is God's saying in His Book, “One who was dead and whom We brought to life.” He does not mean the death of the dead, for God has not returned a person who died to this world, but the death of the living: the darkness that was in their hearts. God illumined them with certainty, and that is their hearts' life.

Source pages 49–50

وَمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَتْرُكَهُ مَيْتًا وَهُوَ حَيٌّ يَمْشِي بَيْنَ ظَهْرَانَيِ النَّاسِ وَهُوَ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ وَعِنْدَ الْمُوقِنِينَ الْأَحْيَا لِلظُّلْمَةِ الَّتِي فِي قَلْبِهِ تَرَكَهُ اللّٰهُ فِي ظُلْمَةٍ لَا يُطَالِعُ بِظُلْمَةِ قَلْبِهِ شَيْئًا مِنْ شَوَاهِدِ الْآخِرَةِ قَدْ حَالَتِ الْحُجُبُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ مَطَالِعِهَا.

Wa-man ʾarāda ʾan yatrukahu maytan wa-huwa ḥayyun yamshī bayna ẓahrānayi al-nāsi wa-huwa ʿinda Allāhi wa-ʿinda al-mūqinīna al-ʾaḥyā li-al-ẓulmati allatī fī qalbihi tarakahu Allāhu fī ẓulmatin lā yuṭāliʿu biẓulmati qalbihi shayʾan min shawāhidi al-ʾākhirati qad ḥālati al-ḥujubu baynahu wa-bayna maṭāliʿihā.

Whoever He wishes to leave dead, though alive and walking among people, is ‘with God and with the living people of certainty’ because of the darkness in his heart [the printed predicate is missing]. God leaves him in darkness. With his darkened heart he cannot look upon any signs of the next life; veils have come between him and the places from which they appear.

Source page 50

فَهُوَ يَقُولُ مَا يَقُولُ الْمُوقِنُونَ وَيَصِفُ صِفَاتِهِمْ وَالْقَلْبُ مُظْلِمٌ لَا نُورَ لَهُ فَلَيْسَ لِوَصْفِهِ حَلَاوَةٌ وَلَا لِأَعْمَالِهِ نُورٌ.

Fa-huwa yaqūlu mā yaqūlu al-mūqinūna wa-yaṣifu ṣifātihim wa-al-qalbu muẓlimun lā nūra lahu fa-laysa liwaṣfihi ḥalāwatun wa-lā li-ʾaʿmālihi nūrun.

He says what people of certainty say and describes their qualities, but his heart is dark and has no light. His description has no sweetness, and his deeds have no light.

فَقَالَ «أَوَ مَنْ كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ» فَهُوَ الْكَافِرُ وَالْمُنَافِقُ وَالْجَاهِلُ فَأَخْرَجَ الْكَافِرَ مِنْ كُفْرِهِ وَالْمُنَافِقَ مِنْ نِفَاقِهِ وَالْجَاهِلَ مِنْ جَهْلِهِ فَهِيَ حَيَاتُهُمْ.

Fa-qāla «ʾawa man kāna maytan fa-ʾaḥyaynāhu» fa-huwa al-kāfiru wa-al-munāfiqu wa-al-jāhilu fa-ʾakhraja al-kāfira min kufrihi wa-al-munāfiqa min nifāqihi wa-al-jāhila min jahlihi fa-hiya ḥayātuhum.

He said, “One who was dead and whom We brought to life”: this means the unbeliever, hypocrite, and ignorant person. He brings the unbeliever out of disbelief, the hypocrite out of hypocrisy, and the ignorant out of ignorance. That is their life.

ثُمَّ قَالَ «وَجَعَلَ لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ كَمَنْ مَثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِنْهَا» أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنْ تَرَكَهُ اللّٰهُ فِي ظُلْمَتِهِ مَنْ يَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ يُخْرِجَهُ مِنْهَا إِلَّا الَّذِي تَرَكَهُ فِيهَا؟

Thumma qāla «wa-jaʿala lahu nūran yamshī bihi fī al-nāsi kaman mathaluhu fī al-ẓulumāti laysa bikhārijin minhā» ʾafaraʾayta man tarakahu Allāhu fī ẓulmatihi man yastaṭīʿu ʾan yukhrijahu minhā ʾillā alladhī tarakahu fīhā?

Then He said, “And He made for him a light by which he walks among people, like one whose likeness is in the darkness, unable to emerge from it” [the quotation's “He made” differs from standard Qurʾānic wording]. Consider someone God has left in darkness: who can bring him out except the One who left him there?

فَأَخْبَرَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِنَ الظُّلْمَةِ فَقَالَتِ الْجَهَلَةُ مِمَّنْ يَدَّعِي الِاسْتِطَاعَةَ بَلْ نَحْنُ لَنَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ نَخْرُجَ مِنْهَا وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِنْهَا حَقًّا وَادَّعَى الْآدَمِيُّ الْجَاهِلُ أَنَّهُ يَسْتَطِيعُ حَقًّا مِنْهُ.

Fa-ʾakhbara Allāhu taʿālā ʾannahu laysa bikhārijin mina al-ẓulmati fa-qālati al-jahalatu mimman yaddaʿī al-istiṭāʿata bal naḥnu lanastaṭīʿu ʾan nakhruja minhā wa-qāla Allāhu taʿālā laysa bikhārijin minhā ḥaqqan wa-iddaʿā al-ʾādamiyyu al-jāhilu ʾannahu yastaṭīʿu ḥaqqan minhu.

God Most High has declared that he cannot emerge from the darkness. Yet ignorant people who claim independent ability say, “We certainly can emerge from it.” God Most High truly says he cannot emerge, while the ignorant human claims that he truly can.

فَلَوْ عَلِمَ الْمِسْكِينُ أَنَّهُ إِنَّمَا صَارَ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ كَثِيرًا مِمَّا تُرِيدُ مِنْ أَحْوَالِهِ فِي دَعْوَاهُ الِاسْتِطَاعَةَ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الِاسْتِطَاعَةِ كَيْ يَسْتَطِيعَ (وَبِلْجَا) إِلَى الَّذِي يَمْلِكُ ضُرَّهُ وَنَفْعَهُ فِي الطَّاعَاتِ وَالْمَعَاصِي لِيُعِينَهُ عَلَى مَا لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ.

Fa-law ʿalima al-miskīnu ʾannahu ʾinnamā ṣāra lā yastaṭīʿu kathīran mimmā turīdu min ʾaḥwālihi fī daʿwāhu al-istiṭāʿata kathīrun mina al-istiṭāʿati kay yastaṭīʿa (wa-biljā) ʾilā alladhī yamliku ḍurrahu wa-nafʿahu fī al-ṭāʿāti wa-al-maʿāṣī liyuʿīnahu ʿalā mā lā yastaṭīʿu.

If only the poor man knew that he has become unable to do much of what ‘you want’ of his states, while claiming ability, ‘much ability so that he can, and bi-ljā’ [the printed sentence is corrupt], toward the One who controls his harm and benefit in obedience and disobedience, to help him with what he cannot do.

وَنَعُودُ إِلَى ذِكْرِ الْيَقِينِ قَالَ قَايِلٌ الْيَقِينُ إِذَا أَوْصَلَ إِلَى الْقَلْبِ عَلَا الْقَلْبَ نُورًا وَيَنْفِي عَنْهُ كُلَّ الرِّيَبِ فَيَمْتَلِي بِأَقَلِّهِ الْقَلْبُ شُكْرًا وَمِنَ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى خَوْفًا.

Wa-naʿūdu ʾilā dhikri al-yaqīni qāla qāyilun al-yaqīnu ʾidhā ʾawṣala ʾilā al-qalbi ʿalā al-qalba nūran wa-yanfī ʿanhu kulla al-riyabi fa-yamtalī bi-ʾaqallihi al-qalbu shukran wa-mina Allāhi taʿālā khawfan.

We return to certainty. Someone said, “When certainty reaches the heart, it rises over the heart as light and drives out every doubt. Even its least degree fills the heart with gratitude and fear of God Most High.”

وَذٰلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْيَقِينَ مَعْرِفَةُ عَظَمَةِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى قَدْرَ عَظَمَةِ اللّٰهِ وَعِظَمُ قَدْرِ مَعْرِفَةِ عِظَمِ اللّٰهِ فَذٰلِكَ يَكُونُ قَدْرَ الْخَوْفِ مِنْ عَظَمَةِ اللّٰهِ.

Wa-dhālika li-ʾanna al-yaqīna maʿrifatu ʿaẓamati Allāhi taʿālā qadra ʿaẓamati Allāhi wa-ʿiẓamu qadri maʿrifati ʿiẓami Allāhi fa-dhālika yakūnu qadra al-khawfi min ʿaẓamati Allāhi.

Certainty is knowing the greatness of God Most High. The measure of God's greatness and the magnitude of one's knowledge of that greatness determine the measure of one's fear before it [the printed construction is compressed].

وَبِقَدْرِ كَثْرَةِ الْخَوْفِ لِلّٰهِ يَحْتَجِزُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ مَعْصِيَةِ اللّٰهِ وَيَصْدُقُ فِي الْأَعْمَالِ مِنْ طَاعَةِ اللّٰهِ فَإِذَا صَحَّ الْيَقِينُ فِي الْقَلْبِ صَحَّ الْخَوْفُ فِيهِ وَعَمَرَ خَرَابَهُ فَإِذَا قَلَّ الْخَوْفُ خَرِبَ الْقَلْبُ وَقَلَّ عُمْرَانُهُ.

Wa-biqadri kathrati al-khawfi li-llāhi yaḥtajizu al-ʿabdu min maʿṣiyati Allāhi wa-yaṣduqu fī al-ʾaʿmāli min ṭāʿati Allāhi fa-ʾidhā ṣaḥḥa al-yaqīnu fī al-qalbi ṣaḥḥa al-khawfu fīhi wa-ʿamara kharābahu fa-ʾidhā qalla al-khawfu khariba al-qalbu wa-qalla ʿumrānuhu.

In proportion to his fear of God, the servant restrains himself from disobeying Him and acts truthfully in obedience. When certainty becomes sound in the heart, fear becomes sound within it and rebuilds its ruins. When fear diminishes, the heart falls into ruin and its thriving life diminishes.

قَالَ قُلْتُ فَمَا عُمْرَانُ الْخَوْفِ فِي الْقَلْبِ قَالَ الْحُزْنُ الدَّائِمُ وَالِاعْتِبَارُ بِمَا يَرَى وَالِاخْتِبَارُ بِمَا تَسْمَعُ قُلْتُ فَمَا خَرَابُهُ قَالَ إِذَا لَمْ يَسْكُنْ فِيهِ مَا وَصَفْنَا.

Qāla qultu fa-mā ʿumrānu al-khawfi fī al-qalbi qāla al-ḥuznu al-dāʾimu wa-al-iʿtibāru bimā yarā wa-al-ikhtibāru bimā tasmaʿu qultu fa-mā kharābuhu qāla ʾidhā lam yaskun fīhi mā waṣafnā.

He said: I asked, “What is fear's building up of the heart?” He replied, “Lasting sorrow, taking lessons from what he sees, and testing by what you hear.” I asked, “What is its ruin?” He replied, “When what we have described does not dwell within it.”

قُلْتُ فَإِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي الْقَلْبِ الْخَوْفُ وَالْحُزْنُ فَمَا الَّذِي يَخْلُفُهُ وَيَعْمُرُهُ قَالَ الْأَمْنُ مِنْهُ وَالسُّرُورُ بِالدُّنْيَا وَالْفَرَحُ وَمِنَ الْفَرَحِ وَالسُّرُورِ تَنْتُجُ الْقَسْوَةُ وَالْغَفْلَةُ وَمِنْ بَيْنِهِمَا يَنْتُجُ الْعُجْبُ وَمِنَ الْعُجْبِ يَخْرُجُ الْكِبْرُ.

Qultu fa-ʾidhā lam yakun fī al-qalbi al-khawfu wa-al-ḥuznu fa-mā alladhī yakhlufuhu wa-yaʿmuruhu qāla al-ʾamnu minhu wa-al-surūru bi-al-dunyā wa-al-faraḥu wa-mina al-faraḥi wa-al-surūri tantuju al-qaswatu wa-al-ghaflatu wa-min baynihimā yantuju al-ʿujbu wa-mina al-ʿujbi yakhruju al-kibru.

I asked, “If fear and sorrow are absent from the heart, what replaces them and inhabits it?” He replied, “Feeling secure from Him, delight in the world, and joy. Joy and delight produce hardness and heedlessness; between them conceit is born, and from conceit comes arrogance.

كَقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَخْوَفُ مَا أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ شُحًّا مُطَاعًا وَهَوًى مُتَّبَعًا وَإِعْجَابَ كُلِّ ذِي رَأْيٍ بِرَأْيِهِ.

Kaqawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʾakhwafu mā ʾakhāfu ʿalaykum shuḥḥan muṭāʿan wa-hawan muttabaʿan wa-ʾiʿjāba kulli dhī raʾyin biraʾyihi.

As in the saying of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, ‘What I fear most for you is miserliness obeyed, desire followed, and every opinion-holder's admiration of his own opinion.’

وَإِذَا سَكَنَ فِي الْقَلْبِ الْعُجْبُ وَرَّثَهُ الْكِبْرَ وَكَانَ غَامِرَهُ حِينَئِذٍ حُبُّ التَّعْظِيمِ وَحُبُّ الثَّنَا وَحُبُّ الرِّيَاسَةِ وَالْمَدْحِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يُفْعَلْ ذٰلِكَ بِهِ انْتَفَخَتْ أَوْدَاجُهُ وَاحْمَرَّ مَحَالِيقُ عَيْنَيْهِ غَضَبًا وَذٰلِكَ مَحْضُ الْكِبْرِ.

Wa-ʾidhā sakana fī al-qalbi al-ʿujbu warrathahu al-kibra wa-kāna ghāmirahu ḥīnaʾidhin ḥubbu al-taʿẓīmi wa-ḥubbu al-thanā wa-ḥubbu al-riyāsati wa-al-madḥi fa-ʾin lam yufʿal dhālika bihi intafakhat ʾawdājuhu wa-iḥmarra maḥālīqu ʿaynayhi ghaḍaban wa-dhālika maḥḍu al-kibri.

When conceit dwells in the heart, it begets arrogance. Love of veneration, commendation, leadership, and praise then fills it. If these are not given to him, his neck veins swell and the circles around his eyes redden with anger. That is sheer arrogance.”

قُلْتُ فَإِذَا صَحَّ الْقَلْبُ بِتَصْحِيحِ الْخَوْفِ فِيهِ صَحَّتِ الْأَعْمَالُ قَالَ فَمَا ظَنُّكَ بِالدَّابَّةِ أَجْهَدَهَا قَايِدُهَا وَحَثَّهَا سَايِقُهَا تُقَصِّرُ فِي السَّيْرِ طَاقَتَهَا وَمَجْهُودَهَا قُلْتُ لَا.

Qultu fa-ʾidhā ṣaḥḥa al-qalbu bitaṣḥīḥi al-khawfi fīhi ṣaḥḥati al-ʾaʿmālu qāla fa-mā ẓannuka bi-al-dābbati ʾajhadahā qāyiduhā wa-ḥaththahā sāyiquhā tuqaṣṣiru fī al-sayri ṭāqatahā wa-majhūdahā qultu lā.

I asked, “When the heart becomes sound by making its fear sound, do deeds become sound?” He replied, “What do you think of a riding animal whose leader presses it and whose driver urges it on: does it fall short in its journey of its capacity and effort?” I said, “No.”

Source pages 50–51

قَالَ فَلِذٰلِكَ لَا يَسْتَكِنُّ فِي هٰذِهِ النَّفْسِ الْمَعْيُوبَةِ إِذْ أَفَادَهَا الْحَقُّ وَسَاقَهَا الْخَوْفُ الصَّادِقُ أَنَّهَا لَا تُقَصِّرُ فِي أَعْمَالِ الطَّاعَاتِ بِالِاسْتِقَامَةِ خَوْفَ الْعَاقِبَةِ.

Qāla fa-li-dhālika lā yastakinnu fī hādhihi al-nafsi al-maʿyūbati ʾidh ʾafādahā al-ḥaqqu wa-sāqahā al-khawfu al-ṣādiqu ʾannahā lā tuqaṣṣiru fī ʾaʿmāli al-ṭāʿāti bi-al-istiqāmati khawfa al-ʿāqibati.

He replied, “Thus, ‘it does not lie hidden in this faulty self,’ when truth has benefited it and true fear drives it, that it does not fall short in upright acts of obedience, fearing the outcome [the opening printed connection is unclear].

Source page 51

فَانْظُرْ مَتَى يَخْرُجُ الْأَمْنُ وَالِاسْتِهَانَةُ مِنْ قَلْبِكَ فَكَيْفَ بِوُجُوبِ الطَّاعَاتِ فِيهِ إِنَّ الْعُقُوبَاتِ تَعَجَّلَتْ مَعَ الْوُثُوبِ عَلَى الْمَعَاصِي لَأَقْصَرْنَا عَنِ الْمَعَاصِي وَلَاسْتَمْرَيْنَا حُسْنَ السِّيرَةِ مِنَ الْأَخْلَاقِ وَالْآدَابِ لِأُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَجَدَّتْ بِنَا الِاسْتِقَامَةُ لِأَعْمَالِ الْآخِرَةِ.

Fa-unẓur matā yakhruju al-ʾamnu wa-al-istihānatu min qalbika fa-kayfa biwujūbi al-ṭāʿāti fīhi ʾinna al-ʿuqūbāti taʿajjalat maʿa al-wuthūbi ʿalā al-maʿāṣī laʾaqṣarnā ʿani al-maʿāṣī wa-la-istamraynā ḥusna al-sīrati mina al-ʾakhlāqi wa-al-ʾādābi li-ʾumūri al-dunyā wa-jaddat binā al-istiqāmatu li-ʾaʿmāli al-ʾākhirati.

Consider when security and carelessness leave your heart; what, then, of obedience becoming obligatory within it? Had punishments come immediately with the leap into sins, we would have desisted from sins, found good conduct in character and manners agreeable in worldly affairs, and been earnestly carried by uprightness toward deeds for the next life [the conditional wording is irregular as printed].

وَلٰكِنَّ الْعُقُوبَاتِ تَأَخَّرَتْ فَاسْتَمْرَيْنَا قَبِيحَ السِّيرَةِ مِنَ الْأَخْلَاقِ وَالْآدَابِ لِأُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا فَفَقَدْنَا الْخَوْفَ وَقَعَدَ بِنَا الْأَمْنُ وَالِاجْتِهَادُ عَنِ اسْتِقَامَةِ أَعْمَالِ الْآخِرَةِ.

Wa-lākinna al-ʿuqūbāti taʾakhkharat fa-istamraynā qabīḥa al-sīrati mina al-ʾakhlāqi wa-al-ʾādābi li-ʾumūri al-dunyā fa-faqadnā al-khawfa wa-qaʿada binā al-ʾamnu wa-al-ijtihādu ʿani istiqāmati ʾaʿmāli al-ʾākhirati.

But punishments were delayed, so we found ugly conduct in character and manners agreeable in worldly affairs. We lost fear, and security and ‘earnest striving’ held us back from upright deeds for the next life [the final noun is unexpected in context].

وَلٰكِنْ مِنْ ثِقَةٍ مِنَّا بِصَبْرِنَا عَلَى وَعِيدِهِ وَعِقَابِهِ لَبِسْنَا ثَوْبَ الِاسْتِهَانَةِ وَلٰكِنْ مِنْ قِلَّةِ يَقِينِنَا إِنَّمَا حُذِّرُوا مِنْ عِقَابِهِ فَإِنَّا لِلّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ.

Wa-lākin min thiqatin minnā biṣabrinā ʿalā waʿīdihi wa-ʿiqābihi labisnā thawba al-istihānati wa-lākin min qillati yaqīninā ʾinnamā ḥudhdhirū min ʿiqābihi fa-ʾinnā li-llāhi wa-ʾinnā ʾilayhi rājiʿūna.

‘From confidence in our endurance of His threat and punishment’ we put on the garment of carelessness; rather, from our scant certainty, ‘they were only warned of His punishment’ [the printed connections and pronoun are disordered]. We belong to God, and to Him we return.”

وَقَالَ قَايِلٌ مَتَّعَنَا اللّٰهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِالنِّعْمَةِ وَالْعَافِيَةِ وَمَنَّ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَيْكُمْ بِشُكْرٍ يَجْلِبُ الْمَزِيدَ وَوَفَّقَنَا وَإِيَّاكُمْ لِامْتِيَازِ الْحِكْمَةِ وَالْفَهْمِ وَلِإِيثَارِ الْمُبَادَرَةِ عَلَى حُسْنِ الشُّكْرِ مِنَّا عَلَيْهِ.

Wa-qāla qāyilun mattaʿanā Allāhu wa-ʾiyyākum bi-al-niʿmati wa-al-ʿāfiyati wa-manna ʿalaynā wa-ʿalaykum bishukrin yajlibu al-mazīda wa-waffaqanā wa-ʾiyyākum li-imtiyāzi al-ḥikmati wa-al-fahmi wa-li-ʾīthāri al-mubādarati ʿalā ḥusni al-shukri minnā ʿalayhi.

Someone said, “May God grant us and you the enjoyment of blessings and well-being, favor us and you with gratitude that brings increase, and guide us and you to discern wisdom and understanding and prefer promptness in offering Him good gratitude.

إِنِّي لِلْعِنَايَةِ بِنَفْسِي وَمَنْ أُعْنَى بِهِ صَرَفْتُ مَا عَلِمْتُ لِأَخْتَبِرَ بِهِ مَا جَهِلْتُ.

ʾInnī li-al-ʿināyati binafsī wa-man ʾuʿnā bihi ṣaraftu mā ʿalimtu li-ʾakhtabira bihi mā jahiltu.

Out of concern for myself and those I care for, I applied what I knew to test what I did not know.

فَلَمْ أَجِدْ أَحْبَطَ لِلْأَعْمَالِ الْمَسْتُورَةِ وَلَا أَفْسَدَ لِلْقُلُوبِ الْخَامِدَةِ وَلَا أَضَرَّ بِالْحِكْمَةِ الْبَالِغَةِ وَلَا أَجْمَعَ فِي هَلَكَةِ الْعَبْدِ الْمُرِيدِ وَلَا أَدْوَمَ عَلَى إِضْرَارِ الْمُوَفَّقِ وَلَا أَبْعَدَ عَنِ الْإِنْصَافِ وَلَا أَقْرَبَ مِنَ الْجَوْرِ فِي الْحُكْمِ.

Fa-lam ʾajid ʾaḥbaṭa li-al-ʾaʿmāli al-mastūrati wa-lā ʾafsada li-al-qulūbi al-khāmidati wa-lā ʾaḍarra bi-al-ḥikmati al-bālighati wa-lā ʾajmaʿa fī halakati al-ʿabdi al-murīdi wa-lā ʾadwama ʿalā ʾiḍrāri al-muwaffaqi wa-lā ʾabʿada ʿani al-ʾinṣāfi wa-lā ʾaqraba mina al-jawri fī al-ḥukmi.

I found nothing more ruinous to hidden deeds, more corrupting to dormant hearts, more harmful to profound wisdom, more comprehensive in destroying the aspiring servant, more persistent in harming the one granted success, farther from fairness, or closer to injustice in judgment;

وَلَا أَلْزَمَ لِمَحَبَّةِ الْعُجْبِ وَلَا آثَرَ لِجَلْبِ الْهَوَى وَلَا أَجْهَلَ لِإِصَابَةِ الْحَقِّ وَلَا أَعْمَلَ بِالرِّيَا وَالتَّزَيُّنِ وَلَا أَبْرَكَ لِخَالِصِ النُّصْحِ وَلَا أَعْمَلَ بِمُوَافَقَةِ الْهَوَى وَلَا أَشَدَّ مِنْ (كَلِمَةٌ نَاقِصَةٌ مِنْ قَلَمِ النَّاسِخِ) سَخَطًا لَهُ إِذَا هُوَ خَالَفَ مِنْهُ الْهَوَى.

Wa-lā ʾalzama limaḥabbati al-ʿujbi wa-lā ʾāthara lijalbi al-hawā wa-lā ʾajhala li-ʾiṣābati al-ḥaqqi wa-lā ʾaʿmala bi-al-riyā wa-al-tazayyuni wa-lā ʾabraka likhāliṣi al-nuṣḥi wa-lā ʾaʿmala bimuwāfaqati al-hawā wa-lā ʾashadda min (kalimatun nāqiṣatun min qalami al-nāsikhi) sakhaṭan lahu ʾidhā huwa khālafa minhu al-hawā.

More attached to loving conceit, more intent on attracting desire, more ignorant of attaining truth, more active in ostentation and self-adornment, ‘more blessed for pure counsel’ [the printed adjective is unexpected], more compliant with desire, or more intensely displeased with [a word is missing from the copyist's text] when he opposes its desire;

وَلَا أَبْعَدَ مِنْ حُسْنِ السِّيرَةِ وَلَا أَقْرَبَ مِنْ قُبْحِهَا وَلَا أَحْسَنَ ظَاهِرًا وَلَا أَقْبَحَ بَاطِنًا مِنْ غَفْلَةِ الرَّجُلِ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَقِلَّةِ مَعْرِفَتِهِ بِهَا سِيَّمَا إِنْ كَانَ عَاقِلًا مُرِيدًا فَأَجَابَتْهُ نَفْسُهُ حِينَئِذٍ إِلَى احْتِمَالِ مُونِ الطَّاعَاتِ.

Wa-lā ʾabʿada min ḥusni al-sīrati wa-lā ʾaqraba min qubḥihā wa-lā ʾaḥsana ẓāhiran wa-lā ʾaqbaḥa bāṭinan min ghaflati al-rajuli ʿan nafsihi wa-qillati maʿrifatihi bihā siyyamā ʾin kāna ʿāqilan murīdan fa-ʾajābat-hu nafsuhu ḥīnaʾidhin ʾilā iḥtimāli mūni al-ṭāʿāti.

Farther from good conduct, closer to ugly conduct, better in outward appearance, or uglier inwardly than a man's heedlessness of his self and scant knowledge of it. This is especially so if he is intelligent and aspiring, and his self responds by bearing the burdens of obedience.

أَوْ عَالِمًا مُؤَدَّبًا فَأَدْرَكَ بِعِلْمِهِ فَضِيلَةً لَمْ تَكُنْ نَفْسُهُ بِأَمَلِهَا وَلَا سَلَغَهَا عَلَكَ مِنْ مُلْكِ الدُّنْيَا عِظَمُ نَفْسِهِ حِينَئِذٍ تَرْصُدُهُ إِرْصَادَ نَصِيٍّ لَهُ أَصْبَا السَّبُعِ فِي الْمَكَانِ الْخَفِيِّ كَيْ تَنَالَ حَظَّهَا مِنْهُ فِي جَهْلِهِ بِهَا.

ʾAw ʿāliman muʾaddaban fa-ʾadraka biʿilmihi faḍīlatan lam takun nafsuhu bi-ʾamalihā wa-lā salaghahā ʿalaka min mulki al-dunyā ʿiẓamu nafsihi ḥīnaʾidhin tarṣuduhu ʾirṣāda naṣiyyin lahu ʾaṣbā al-sabuʿi fī al-makāni al-khafiyyi kay tanāla ḥaẓẓahā minhu fī jahlihi bihā.

Or he is a learned, disciplined man whose knowledge brings him an excellence his self had not hoped for: ‘nor salaghahā ʿalaka from worldly dominion, the greatness of his self.’ Then it watches him, ‘the watch of a naṣiyy, aṣbā the beast’ in a hidden place, to win its share from him through his ignorance of it [the printed sequence is corrupt; the obscure words are retained without reconstruction].

فَتَنْشَبُ عَلَيْهِ وَثْبَةً تَمْلِكُهُ بِهَوَاهَا وَتَأْسِرُهُ بِمُوَافَقَتِهَا فَحِينَئِذٍ (×) الْعَبْدُ فِي جَهْلِهِ بِهَا وَيَنْشَطُ فِي مُسَاعَدَتِهَا وَإِنْ كَانَ يَدَّعِي أَنَّهُ لَا يَثِقُ بِهَا.

Fa-tanshabu ʿalayhi wathbatan tamlikuhu bihawāhā wa-taʾsiruhu bimuwāfaqatihā fa-ḥīnaʾidhin (×) al-ʿabdu fī jahlihi bihā wa-yanshaṭu fī musāʿadatihā wa-ʾin kāna yaddaʿī ʾannahu lā yathiqu bihā.

It fastens upon him in a leap, masters him through its desire, and captures him through compliance with it. Then (×) the servant in his ignorance of it [the printed clause is incomplete] becomes eager to assist it, even while claiming not to trust it.

فَلَا يَغْضَبُ إِلَّا لَهَا وَلَا يَرْضَى إِلَّا لَهَا وَلَا يَحْتَمِلُ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ إِلَّا مَا وَافَقَ هَوَاهَا وَإِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ خِلَافُ الْحَقِّ.

Fa-lā yaghḍabu ʾillā lahā wa-lā yarḍā ʾillā lahā wa-lā yaḥtamilu mina al-ʾaʿmāli ʾillā mā wāfaqa hawāhā wa-ʾin kāna fīhi khilāfu al-ḥaqqi.

He becomes angry only for its sake, pleased only for its sake, and bears only those deeds that suit its desire, even when they oppose the truth.

وَمَعَ ذٰلِكَ يُفْقَدُ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ الْخَوْفُ إِلَّا بِالدَّعْوَى وَيَقِلُّ مِنْهُ الْخُشُوعُ وَالْحَيَا وَيَكْثُرُ فِيهِ التَّزَيُّنُ وَالرِّيَا وَذٰلِكَ غَفْلَةُ الْعَبْدِ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَجَهْلُهُ بِهَا.

Wa-maʿa dhālika yufqadu min mithlihi al-khawfu ʾillā bi-al-daʿwā wa-yaqillu minhu al-khushūʿu wa-al-ḥayā wa-yakthuru fīhi al-tazayyunu wa-al-riyā wa-dhālika ghaflatu al-ʿabdi ʿan nafsihi wa-jahluhu bihā.

In such a person, fear is absent except as a claim; humble attentiveness and shame diminish, while self-adornment and ostentation multiply. This is the servant's heedlessness of his self and ignorance of it.

Source pages 51–52

وَيَظْهَرُ مِنْهُ عِنْدَ ذٰلِكَ الرَّجَا الْكَاذِبُ وَالْخَوْفُ الْكَاذِبُ وَيَحْسُنُ ظَاهِرُهُ وَكَلَامُهُ وَيَفْسُدُ وَيَقْبُحُ بَاطِنُهُ وَهِمَّتُهُ وَإِشَارَةُ ذٰلِكَ فِي مِثْلِهِ أَنْ يَقِلَّ الْإِنْصَافُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ لِغَيْرِهِ وَيَلْتَمِسَ التَّعَصُّبَ لِنَفْسِهِ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ.

Wa-yaẓharu minhu ʿinda dhālika al-rajā al-kādhibu wa-al-khawfu al-kādhibu wa-yaḥsunu ẓāhiruhu wa-kalāmuhu wa-yafsudu wa-yaqbuḥu bāṭinuhu wa-himmatuhu wa-ʾishāratu dhālika fī mithlihi ʾan yaqilla al-ʾinṣāfu min nafsihi lighayrihi wa-yaltamisa al-taʿaṣṣuba linafsihi min ghayrihi.

False hope and false fear then appear from him. His appearance and speech become attractive, while his inward self and purpose grow corrupt and ugly. A sign of this is that he offers others little fairness from himself while seeking others' partisanship for himself.

Source page 52

إِنَّهُ مَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ نَفْسَهُ فَهُوَ مِنِ اسْتِقَامَةِ نَفْسِهِ فِي اعْوِجَاجٍ وَمِنْ دُنْيَاهُ عَلَى قُبْحٍ وَفَسَادٍ وَمِنْ دِينِهِ عَلَى غُرُورٍ.

ʾInnahu man lam yaʿrif nafsahu fa-huwa mini istiqāmati nafsihi fī iʿwijājin wa-min dunyāhu ʿalā qubḥin wa-fasādin wa-min dīnihi ʿalā ghurūrin.

Whoever does not know his self is crooked with regard to setting it upright, in ugliness and corruption in his worldly affairs, and deluded about his religion.

وَإِنِّي اسْتَرْشَدْتُ الْعِلْمَ وَالْعَقْلَ أَنْ يَقْنَانِي عَلَى مَعْرِفَتِي بِنَفْسِي وَبِمَاذَا أَخْتَبِلُهُ فَأَرْشَدَانِي بِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَا يَصِلُ إِلَى مَعْرِفَةِ نَفْسِهِ إِلَّا بِصِدْقِ الْخَوْفِ وَاسْتِدْرَاكِ مَا مَضَى مِنْ سَيِّي أَعْمَالِهِ السَّالِفَةِ وَإِصْرَارِهِ عَلَى مَسَاوِيهِ وَالْمُقَامِ عَلَيْهَا.

Wa-ʾinnī istarshadtu al-ʿilma wa-al-ʿaqla ʾan yaqnānī ʿalā maʿrifatī binafsī wa-bimādhā ʾakhtabiluhu fa-ʾarshadānī bi-ʾanna al-ʿabda lā yaṣilu ʾilā maʿrifati nafsihi ʾillā biṣidqi al-khawfi wa-istidrāki mā maḍā min sayyī ʾaʿmālihi al-sālifati wa-ʾiṣrārihi ʿalā masāwīhi wa-al-muqāmi ʿalayhā.

I sought guidance from knowledge and reason, that they might ‘yaqnānī’ in knowing my self and show me how to ‘akhtabiluhu’ [the printed verbs are unclear]. They guided me: the servant reaches knowledge of his self only through truthful fear and making amends for past bad deeds, persistence in faults, and remaining in them.

فَقُلْتُ أَمَّا مَا مَضَى مِنَ الْإِسَاةِ فَإِنِ اسْتَدْرَكَهَا فَلَعَلَّهُ أَنْ يَتَعَرَّفَ بَعْضَهَا وَأَمَّا الْمَسَاوِي الَّتِي هُوَ مُقِيمٌ عَلَيْهَا فَقَدْ عَازَهُ بِمَعْرِفَتِهَا قَالَ إِنَّمَا عَازَهُ مَعْرِفَتُهَا لِجَهْلِهِ بِعُيُوبِ نَفْسِهِ وَلَا يَتَلَافَهُ بِهَا.

Fa-qultu ʾammā mā maḍā mina al-ʾisāti fa-ʾini istadrakahā fa-laʿallahu ʾan yataʿarrafa baʿḍahā wa-ʾammā al-masāwī allatī huwa muqīmun ʿalayhā fa-qad ʿāzahu bimaʿrifatihā qāla ʾinnamā ʿāzahu maʿrifatuhā lijahlihi biʿuyūbi nafsihi wa-lā yatalāfahu bihā.

I said, ‘As for past wrongdoing, if he makes amends for it, perhaps he may recognize some of it. But he lacks knowledge of the faults in which he persists.’ He replied, ‘He lacks knowledge of them only because he is ignorant of his self's faults and “does not remedy him through them” [the final printed expression is unclear].’

قَالَ قُلْتُ فَكَيْفَ مَعْرِفَتُهَا عُيُوبَهَا فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ قِيلَ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ تَعَالَى إِذَا أَرَادَ لِعَبْدٍ خَيْرًا عَرَّفَهُ عُيُوبَ نَفْسِهِ فَالنَّفْسُ هَلْ تَنْفَرِدُ بِعُيُوبٍ دُونَ الْعَبْدِ وَهَلْ لَهَا مِنْ عُيُوبٍ غَيْرُ الْعُيُوبِ الظَّاهِرَةِ مِنَ الْمَعَاصِي كَالْفُجُورِ وَالسَّرْقِ وَشُرْبِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْغِيبَةِ وَمَا شَاكَلَ ذٰلِكَ مِمَّا يَظْهَرُ لِلْمَخْلُوقِينَ؟

Qāla qultu fa-kayfa maʿrifatuhā ʿuyūbahā fa-ʾinnahu qad qīla ʾinna Allāha taʿālā ʾidhā ʾarāda liʿabdin khayran ʿarrafahu ʿuyūba nafsihi fa-al-nafsu hal tanfaridu biʿuyūbin dūna al-ʿabdi wa-hal lahā min ʿuyūbin ghayru al-ʿuyūbi al-ẓāhirati mina al-maʿāṣī ka-al-fujūri wa-al-sarqi wa-shurbi al-khamri wa-al-ghībati wa-mā shākala dhālika mimmā yaẓharu li-al-makhlūqīna?

He said: I asked, ‘How does it know its faults? It has been said that when God Most High intends good for a servant, He makes him know his own faults. Does the self have faults separate from the servant? Does it have faults other than outward sins, such as wickedness, theft, drinking wine, backbiting, and similar things visible to creatures?’

قَالَ لَهَا مَعَاصِي بَاطِنَةٌ تَخْفَى عَلَى الْعَبْدِ وَعَلَى الْمَخْلُوقِينَ فَأَذَاهَا أَضَرُّ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ مِنَ التَّظَالُمِ مِنَ الْمَعَاصِي الظَّاهِرَةِ.

Qāla lahā maʿāṣī bāṭinatun takhfā ʿalā al-ʿabdi wa-ʿalā al-makhlūqīna fa-ʾadhāhā ʾaḍarru ʿalā al-ʿabdi mina al-taẓālumi mina al-maʿāṣī al-ẓāhirati.

He replied, ‘It has inward sins hidden from the servant and other creatures. Their harm is more damaging to the servant than the mutual wrongs of outward sins.’

قُلْ قُلْتُ ثَبِّتْ لِي عِلْمَ ذٰلِكَ فِي التَّنْزِيلِ أَوْ فِي السُّنَّةِ أَوْ فِي الْآثَارِ قَالَ إِنْ كَانَ مُقْنِعَكَ خَمْسُونَ حُجَّةً وَإِلَّا زِدْتُكَ قُلْتُ خَمْسٌ مِنْ خَمْسِينَ.

Qul qultu thabbit lī ʿilma dhālika fī al-tanzīli ʾaw fī al-sunnati ʾaw fī al-ʾāthāri qāla ʾin kāna muqniʿaka khamsūna ḥujjatan wa-ʾillā zidtuka qultu khamsun min khamsīna.

‘Say, I said’ [the printed introductory formula is irregular]: ‘Establish knowledge of this for me from revelation, the Sunna, or transmitted reports.’ He replied, ‘If fifty proofs will satisfy you; otherwise I shall give you more.’ I said, ‘Five out of fifty.’

قَالَ أَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ قَوْلَ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى «إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ» وَقَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى «وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَى» وَفِي قِصَّةِ وَلَدِ آدَمَ «فَطَوَّعَتْ لَهُ نَفْسُهُ قَتْلَ أَخِيهِ فَقَتَلَهُ»؟

Qāla ʾalam tasmaʿ qawla Allāhi taʿālā «ʾinna al-nafsa laʾammāratun bi-al-sūʾi» wa-qawlahu taʿālā «wa-ʾammā man khāfa maqāma rabbihi wa-nahā al-nafsa ʿani al-hawā» wa-fī qiṣṣati waladi ʾĀdama «fa-ṭawwaʿat lahu nafsuhu qatla ʾakhīhi fa-qatalahu»?

He replied, ‘Have you not heard the words of God Most High, “The self persistently commands evil,” and what He Most High says, “As for one who fears standing before his Lord and restrains the self from desire,” and in the account of Adam's son, “His self made killing his brother seem acceptable to him, so he killed him”?

قَالَ «بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنْفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ» وَقَالَ «مَا خَطْبُكَ يَا سَامِرِيُّ» إِلَى قَوْلِهِ «سَوَّلَتْ لِي نَفْسِي».

Qāla «bal sawwalat lakum ʾanfusukum ʾamran fa-ṣabrun jamīlun» wa-qāla «mā khaṭbuka yā Sāmiriyyu» ʾilā qawlihi «sawwalat lī nafsī».

He said, “Your selves have enticed you to something; so beautiful patience,” and He said, “What is your affair, Sāmirī?” down to “My self enticed me.”

وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَجَعْتُمْ مِنَ الْجِهَادِ الْأَصْغَرِ إِلَى الْجِهَادِ الْأَكْبَرِ مُجَاهَدَةِ النُّفُوسِ وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مَا أَفْضَلُ الْجِهَادِ قَالَ مُجَاهَدَتُكَ نَفْسَكَ وَهَوَاكَ.

Wa-qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama rajaʿtum mina al-jihādi al-ʾaṣghari ʾilā al-jihādi al-ʾakbari mujāhadati al-nufūsi wa-qāla rajulun mā ʾafḍalu al-jihādi qāla mujāhadatuka nafsaka wa-hawāka.

The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “You have returned from the lesser struggle to the greater struggle: struggling against the selves.” A man asked, “What is the best struggle?” He replied, “Your struggle against your own self and desire.”

وَيُقَالُ أَكُلُّ شَيْ نَفْسٌ وَنَفْسُ النَّفْسِ الْهَوَى وَنَفْسُ الْهَوَى الشَّهَوَاتُ.

Wa-yuqālu ʾakullu shay nafsun wa-nafsu al-nafsi al-hawā wa-nafsu al-hawā al-shahawātu.

It is said, “Does everything have a self? The self of the self is desire, and the self of desire is appetites” [the printed opening has an interrogative form].

وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ حَادِثُوا هٰذِهِ الْقُلُوبَ بِذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ فَإِنَّهَا سَرِيعَةُ الدُّثُورِ وَاقْدَعُوا هٰذِهِ الْأَنْفُسَ فَإِنَّهَا طُلَعَةٌ وَقَالَ يُونُسُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ الْيَ وَجَدْتُ نَفْسِي تَحْمِلُ لِي مُوُونَةَ الصَّوْمِ فِي الْحَرِّ الشَّدِيدِ بِالْبَصِيرَةِ وَلَا تَحْمِلُ لِي تَرْكَ كَلِمَةٍ لَا يَعْنِيهَا.

Wa-qāla al-Ḥasanu ḥādithū hādhihi al-qulūba bidhikri Allāhi fa-ʾinnahā sarīʿatu al-duthūri wa-iqdaʿū hādhihi al-ʾanfusa fa-ʾinnahā ṭulaʿatun wa-qāla Yūnusu bnu ʿUbaydin al-ya wajadtu nafsī taḥmilu lī muwūnata al-ṣawmi fī al-ḥarri al-shadīdi bi-al-baṣīrati wa-lā taḥmilu lī tarka kalimatin lā yaʿnīhā.

Al-Ḥasan said, “Refresh these hearts with remembrance of God, for they quickly fall into neglect; restrain these selves, for they are eager to peer into everything.” Yūnus ibn ʿUbayd said, “‘Al-ya’ [an unclear printed opening], I found my self bearing for me the burden of fasting in intense heat with insight, yet it will not bear for me the abandonment of a word that does not concern it.”

وَقَالَ أَوْحَى اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ يَا دَاوُدُ عَادِ نَفْسَكَ فِي وُدِّي بِعَدَاوَتِهَا وَكَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَصْحَابُهُ يَعُوذُونَ بِاللّٰهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ.

Wa-qāla ʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilā Dāwuda ʿalayhi al-salāmu yā Dāwudu ʿādi nafsaka fī wuddī biʿadāwatihā wa-kāna al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama wa-ʾaṣḥābuhu yaʿūdhūna bi-Allāhi min shurūri ʾanfusihim.

He said, ‘God Most High revealed to David, peace be upon him, “David, oppose your self in love of Me, through enmity toward it.” The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and his companions used to seek refuge in God from the evils of their selves.

Source pages 52–53

فَإِنَّ النَّفْسَ مَطْبُوعَةٌ عَلَى الْمَيْلِ إِلَى حُبِّ هَوَاهَا مَا لَمْ يَحْفِرْهَا الْخَوْفُ وَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى هَوَاهَا فِي الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَيَحْسُبُكَ مِنْ مَعْرِفَتِكَ بِشَرِّهَا أَنَّ اللّٰهَ تَعَالَى جَعَلَ هَوَاهَا ضِدَّ الْحَقِّ وَهِيَ قَابِلَةٌ مِنْ هَوَاهَا.

Fa-ʾinna al-nafsa maṭbūʿatun ʿalā al-mayli ʾilā ḥubbi hawāhā mā lam yaḥfirhā al-khawfu wa-qad ḥarrama Allāhu taʿālā hawāhā fī al-kitābi wa-al-sunnati wa-yaḥsubuka min maʿrifatika bisharrihā ʾanna Allāha taʿālā jaʿala hawāhā ḍidda al-ḥaqqi wa-hiya qābilatun min hawāhā.

The self is formed to incline toward loving its desire unless fear ‘digs into it’ [the printed verb is unexpected]. God Most High has forbidden its desire in the Book and the Sunna. It is enough for you to recognize its evil that God Most High made its desire the opposite of truth, while it accepts what comes from its desire [the printed verb “yaḥsubuka” is irregular].

Source page 53

قَالَ اللّٰهُ عَزَّ ذِكْرُهُ «يَا دَاوُدُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاكَ خَلِيفَةً فِي الْأَرْضِ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعِ الْهَوَى فَيُضِلَّكَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللّٰهِ».

Qāla Allāhu ʿazza dhikruhu «yā Dāwudu ʾinnā jaʿalnāka khalīfatan fī al-ʾarḍi fa-uḥkum bayna al-nāsi bi-al-ḥaqqi wa-lā tattabiʿi al-hawā fa-yuḍillaka ʿan sabīli Allāhi».

God, exalted in remembrance, said, “David, We have made you a successor on earth, so judge between people in truth and do not follow desire, lest it lead you away from God's path.”

وَقَالَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَخْوَفُ مَا أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ طُولُ الْأَمَلِ وَاتِّبَاعُ الْهَوَى فَأَمَّا طُولُ الْأَمَلِ فَيُنْسِي الْآخِرَةَ وَأَمَّا اتِّبَاعُ الْهَوَى فَيَصُدُّ عَنِ الْحَقِّ.

Wa-qāla ʾamīru al-muʾminīna ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾakhwafu mā ʾakhāfu ʿalaykum ṭūlu al-ʾamali wa-ittibāʿu al-hawā fa-ʾammā ṭūlu al-ʾamali fa-yunsī al-ʾākhirata wa-ʾammā ittibāʿu al-hawā fa-yaṣuddu ʿani al-ḥaqqi.

The Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, said, “What I fear most for you is long expectation and following desire. Long expectation makes one forget the next life, while following desire turns one away from truth.”

وَقَالَ قَايِلٌ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ بَلَايَا شُحًّا مُطَاعًا وَهَوًى مُتَّبَعًا وَإِعْجَابَ الْمَرْ بِنَفْسِهِ.

Wa-qāla qāyilun ʾakhāfu ʿalaykum balāyā shuḥḥan muṭāʿan wa-hawan muttabaʿan wa-ʾiʿjāba al-mar binafsihi.

Someone said, “I fear afflictions for you: miserliness obeyed, desire followed, and a person's admiration of himself.”

قُلْتُ فَالْآنَ أَرْجِعُ مُضْطَرًّا إِلَى مَعْرِفَةِ النَّفْسِ وَعُيُوبِهَا إِذْ كُنْتُ لَا أَسْلَمُ عَلَيْهَا فِي أَعْمَالِ الشَّرِّ وَأَرْجِعُ مُضْطَرًّا إِلَى عِلْمِ مَعْنَى قَوْلِ (سَبْعِينَ؟) إِذَا عَرَفَ الْعَبْدُ نَفْسَهُ لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ مَا قِيلَ فِيهِ مِنْ ذَمٍّ وَمَا عَمِلَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْخَيْرِ سِرًّا وَجَهْرًا.

Qultu fa-al-ʾāna ʾarjiʿu muḍṭarran ʾilā maʿrifati al-nafsi wa-ʿuyūbihā ʾidh kuntu lā ʾaslamu ʿalayhā fī ʾaʿmāli al-sharri wa-ʾarjiʿu muḍṭarran ʾilā ʿilmi maʿnā qawli (sabʿīna?) ʾidhā ʿarafa al-ʿabdu nafsahu lam yaḍurrahu mā qīla fīhi min dhammin wa-mā ʿamila min ʾaʿmāli al-khayri sirran wa-jahran.

I said, ‘Now I am driven back to knowing the self and its faults, since I am not safe from it in evil deeds. I am driven back to understanding the saying of “seventy?” [the uncertain printed reading]: when a servant knows his self, neither what is said in criticism of him nor the good deeds he performs privately and openly harm him.

وَقَدْ سَمِعْتُكَ تَقُولُ كُلُّ مَا لَا يَضُرُّ فَهُوَ يَنْفَعُ فَمَا أَدْرِي مِنَ الْعِلْمِ بَعْدَ الْعَمَلِ أَعْوَدَ نَفْعًا عَلَى الْعَبْدِ مِنْ مَعْرِفَتِهِ بِنَفْسِهِ فَاشْرَحْ لِي مِنْ ذٰلِكَ مَا يَرْجِعُ بِي إِلَى النَّفْعِ فِي أَعْمَالِي وَيُبَصِّرُنِي فَسَادَ أَعْمَالِي وَصَلَاحَهَا.

Wa-qad samiʿtuka taqūlu kullu mā lā yaḍurru fa-huwa yanfaʿu fa-mā ʾadrī mina al-ʿilmi baʿda al-ʿamali ʾaʿwada nafʿan ʿalā al-ʿabdi min maʿrifatihi binafsihi fa-ishraḥ lī min dhālika mā yarjiʿu bī ʾilā al-nafʿi fī ʾaʿmālī wa-yubaṣṣirunī fasāda ʾaʿmālī wa-ṣalāḥahā.

I have heard you say that whatever does not harm benefits. I know of no knowledge, after acting upon it, more beneficial to the servant than knowing his self. Explain what will bring benefit to my deeds and show me their corruption and soundness.’

قَالَ مَا أَزَالُ تَعْقِلُ مَا سَأَلْتَ عَنْهُ لَقَدْ سَأَلْتَ عَنْ أَصْلِ الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ وَفُرُوعِهَا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ مَا يُعْقَلُ مِنْهُ وَمَا يُجْهَلُ.

Qāla mā ʾazālu taʿqilu mā saʾalta ʿanhu laqad saʾalta ʿan ʾaṣli al-khayri wa-al-sharri wa-furūʿihā mā ẓahara minhā wa-mā baṭana mā yuʿqalu minhu wa-mā yujhalu.

He replied, ‘“I continue, you understand what you asked about” [the opening is irregular as printed]. You have asked about the root of good and evil and their branches, outward and inward, what is understood and what is unknown.

وَسَأَلْتَ عَنْ عِلْمٍ لَا يُحْتَمَلُ الْيَوْمَ وَمَنِ احْتَمَلَهُ فَبِعِبَارَةِ الْقَوْلِ مِنْهُ فَقَطْ وَالْعَجْزِ عَنِ احْتِمَالِهِ لِلْعَمَلِ.

Wa-saʾalta ʿan ʿilmin lā yuḥtamalu al-yawma wa-mani iḥtamalahu fa-biʿibārati al-qawli minhu faqaṭ wa-al-ʿajzi ʿani iḥtimālihi li-al-ʿamali.

You have asked about a knowledge people today cannot bear. Whoever bears it does so only by expressing it in words, while being unable to bear putting it into practice.

وَذٰلِكَ أَنَّ فِيهِ عِلْمَ الصَّبْرِ وَالْمَكْرُوهِ وَالنُّزُوعِ عَنْ ظَاهِرِ الشَّرِّ وَبَاطِنِهِ وَاحْتِمَالِ ظَاهِرِ الْخَيْرِ وَبَاطِنِهِ يَعْنِي حَقِيقَةَ الصِّدْقِ فِي الْقَوْلِ وَالْإِخْلَاصِ فِي الْعَمَلِ وَهُوَ التَّوْبَةُ النَّصُوحُ وَالْخَوْفُ الْبَاطِنُ وَالْحُزْنُ الدَّائِمُ وَالْفِكْرُ فِي الْمَعَادِ.

Wa-dhālika ʾanna fīhi ʿilma al-ṣabri wa-al-makrūhi wa-al-nuzūʿi ʿan ẓāhiri al-sharri wa-bāṭinihi wa-iḥtimāli ẓāhiri al-khayri wa-bāṭinihi yaʿnī ḥaqīqata al-ṣidqi fī al-qawli wa-al-ʾikhlāṣi fī al-ʿamali wa-huwa al-tawbatu al-naṣūḥu wa-al-khawfu al-bāṭinu wa-al-ḥuznu al-dāʾimu wa-al-fikru fī al-maʿādi.

It contains knowledge of patience, hardship, withdrawal from outward and inward evil, and bearing outward and inward good. This means real truthfulness in speech and sincerity in action, sincere repentance, inward fear, lasting sorrow, and reflection on the return to God.

وَهَيْهَاتَ أَنْ يَصِلَ الْعَبْدُ إِلَى مَعْرِفَةِ عُيُوبِ نَفْسِهِ إِلَّا بِعَقْلٍ وَعِلْمٍ غَزِيرٍ وَمَعْرِفَةٍ شَافِيَةٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ بَالِغَةٍ وَبَصِيرَةٍ ثَاقِبَةٍ بِمَعْرُوفِهِ أَنَّ فِيهِ خَالِصَ الدِّينِ.

Wa-hayhāta ʾan yaṣila al-ʿabdu ʾilā maʿrifati ʿuyūbi nafsihi ʾillā biʿaqlin wa-ʿilmin ghazīrin wa-maʿrifatin shāfiyatin wa-ḥikmatin bālighatin wa-baṣīratin thāqibatin bimaʿrūfihi ʾanna fīhi khāliṣa al-dīni.

Far from reaching knowledge of his own faults is a servant without reason, abundant learning, healing understanding, profound wisdom, and penetrating insight, ‘through what he knows, that in it lies pure religion’ [the printed final connection is unclear].

وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى لِنَبِيِّهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ «قُلِ اللّٰهَ أَعُدُّ مُخْلِصًا لَهُ دِينِي».

Wa-qāla Allāhu taʿālā linabiyyihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama «quli Allāha ʾaʿuddu mukhliṣan lahu dīnī».

God Most High said to His Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, “Say: God I count, making my religion sincere for Him” [the edition prints “I count” where the standard Qurʾānic wording has “I worship”].

فَلَا تَكْبُرَنَّ عَلَيْكَ الْآنَ إِذْ سَأَلْتَ عَنِ الْأَمْرِ الْعَظِيمِ أَنْ رَجَعْتُ عَلَيْكَ الْمَسْأَلَةَ بِالْجَوَابِ الْعَظِيمِ وَالْوَصْفِ الشَّدِيدِ فَإِنَّكَ لَوْ عَلِمْتَ مَا عَنْهُ سَأَلْتَ لَأَعْدَدْتَ لِرُجُوعِ الْجَوَابِ جِلْبَابَ الصَّبْرِ وَاحْتِمَالَ أَعْظَمِ الْمَؤُونَةِ لِجَزِيلِ الثَّوَابِ.

Fa-lā takburanna ʿalayka al-ʾāna ʾidh saʾalta ʿani al-ʾamri al-ʿaẓīmi ʾan rajaʿtu ʿalayka al-masʾalata bi-al-jawābi al-ʿaẓīmi wa-al-waṣfi al-shadīdi fa-ʾinnaka law ʿalimta mā ʿanhu saʾalta laʾaʿdadta lirujūʿi al-jawābi jilbāba al-ṣabri wa-iḥtimāla ʾaʿẓami al-maʾūnati lijazīli al-thawābi.

Now that you have asked about something immense, do not find it too much if I return your question with an immense answer and a stern description. Had you known what you were asking about, you would have prepared a cloak of patience and readiness to bear the greatest burden for the abundant reward.

وَالْمَعْرِفَةُ النَّفْسَ تَفْسِيرٌ يَكْثُرُ لَا يُمْكِنُ الْمُسْتَمِعَ مَعْرِفَةُ ذٰلِكَ إِلَّا بِالْإِيجَازِ إِلَّا مَنْ قَدَّمَ فَرَاغَ الْقَلْبِ لَهُ وَالنَّظَرَ فِيهِ وَمُرَاجَعَةَ السُّوَالِ عَنْهُ.

Wa-al-maʿrifatu al-nafsa tafsīrun yakthuru lā yumkinu al-mustamiʿa maʿrifatu dhālika ʾillā bi-al-ʾījāzi ʾillā man qaddama farāgha al-qalbi lahu wa-al-naẓara fīhi wa-murājaʿata al-suwāli ʿanhu.

Knowing the self requires extensive explanation. The listener cannot grasp this except through brevity, unless he has first freed his heart for it, reflected on it, and returned to asking about it [the printed opening is awkward].

فَإِنِّي وَجَدْتُ تَأْسِيسَ ابْنِ آدَمَ عَلَى تَأْسِيسِ التَّجَارِبِ فَمِنْ أَجْلِ ذٰلِكَ رُكِّبَ فِيهِ مَا رُكِّبَ فِيهِ مِنَ الْأَدَاةِ لِدَفْعِ شَرِّ مَا سُلِّطَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْعَدُوِّ.

Fa-ʾinnī wajadtu taʾsīsa ibni ʾĀdama ʿalā taʾsīsi al-tajāribi fa-min ʾajli dhālika rukkiba fīhi mā rukkiba fīhi mina al-ʾadāti lidafʿi sharri mā sulliṭa ʿalayhi mina al-ʿaduwwi.

I have found that Adam's child is founded upon the foundation of trials. For this reason he has been equipped with the instruments placed within him to repel the evil of the enemy given power against him.

Source pages 53–54

أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّهُ يَقُولُ «إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا» فَاعْقِلْ عَنِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى مَا حَذَّرَكَ مِنْ عَدَاوَتِكَ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ إِرَادَةَ إِبْلِيسَ وَسِلَاحَهُ الَّذِي يَصِلُ بِهِ إِلَى الظَّفَرِ بِكَ هُوَ آثَرُ الْأَشْيَا عِنْدَكَ وَهُوَ هَوَاكَ.

ʾAlā tarā ʾannahu yaqūlu «ʾinna al-shayṭāna lakum ʿaduwwun fa-ittakhidhūhu ʿaduwwan» fa-iʿqil ʿani Allāhi taʿālā mā ḥadhdharaka min ʿadāwatika wa-iʿlam ʾanna ʾirādata ʾIblīsa wa-silāḥahu alladhī yaṣilu bihi ʾilā al-ẓafari bika huwa ʾātharu al-ʾashyā ʿindaka wa-huwa hawāka.

Do you not see that He says, “Satan is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy”? Understand from God Most High His warning concerning ‘your enmity’ [the printed pronoun is retained]. Know that Iblīs's aim and the weapon by which he gains victory over you are the thing you prize most: your desire.

Source page 54

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ مَحَبَّتَكَ لِلطَّاعَةِ الْمُحَارِبَةِ لِعَدُوِّكَ وَالْمُجَاهَدَةِ لِنَفْسِكَ وَالْمُخَالَفَةِ لِهَوَاكَ سِيَّمَا إِذَا كَانَتْ نَفْسُكَ مُوَافِقَةً لِهَوَاهَا وَكَانَ هَوَاكَ سَهْمَ إِبْلِيسَ الْمَسْمُومَ بِهِ يَصِلُ إِلَى قَلْبِكَ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾanna maḥabbataka li-al-ṭāʿati al-muḥāribati liʿaduwwika wa-al-mujāhadati linafsika wa-al-mukhālafati lihawāka siyyamā ʾidhā kānat nafsuka muwāfiqatan lihawāhā wa-kāna hawāka sahma ʾIblīsa al-masmūma bihi yaṣilu ʾilā qalbika.

Know that your love of obedience, fighting your enemy, struggling against your self, and opposing your desire, especially when your self agrees with its desire and your desire is Iblīs's poisoned arrow through which he reaches your heart … [the printed construction is incomplete].

وَهُوَ كَلَامٌ إِنْ فَرَّعْنَاهُ تَفَنَّنَ وَتَفَرَّعَ وَتَكَثَّرَ وَمَعْرِفَةُ نَوْعٍ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الْأُصُولِ الَّتِي يُسْتَدَلُّ بِهَا عَلَى الْفُرُوعِ أَثْقَلُ عَلَى إِبْلِيسَ مِنْ مَعْرِفَةِ أَلْفِ مَسْأَلَةٍ.

Wa-huwa kalāmun ʾin farraʿnāhu tafannana wa-tafarraʿa wa-takaththara wa-maʿrifatu nawʿin wāḥidin mina al-ʾuṣūli allatī yustadallu bihā ʿalā al-furūʿi ʾathqalu ʿalā ʾIblīsa min maʿrifati ʾalfi masʾalatin.

If we develop this discussion, it takes many forms, branches out, and multiplies. Knowing one kind of foundation from which branches can be inferred weighs more heavily on Iblīs than knowing a thousand questions.

يُحَقِّقُ ذٰلِكَ قَوْلُ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ لَبَابٌ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ أُصْلِحُ بِهِ فَسَادَ قَلْبِي وَفَسَادَ قَلْبِ مَنْ يَأْوِي إِلَيَّ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ صَلَاةِ حَوْلٍ مَبْرُورَةٍ وَصِيَامِ حَوْلٍ مَبْرُورٍ.

Yuḥaqqiqu dhālika qawlu ʾAbī Hurayrata labābun mina al-ʿilmi ʾuṣliḥu bihi fasāda qalbī wa-fasāda qalbi man yaʾwī ʾilayya ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min ṣalāti ḥawlin mabrūratin wa-ṣiyāmi ḥawlin mabrūrin.

Abū Hurayra's saying confirms this: “A chapter of knowledge through which I repair the corruption of my heart and the heart of someone who comes to me is dearer to me than a year of accepted prayer and a year of accepted fasting.”

لِأَنَّ فَسَادَ الْأَعْمَالِ كُلِّهَا إِنَّمَا يُوتَى الْعَبْدُ فِيهَا مِنْ جَهْلِهِ بِفَسَادِ قَلْبِهِ وَمَصْلَحَةِ فَسَادِ قَلْبِهِ وَلَوْ عَرَفَ فَسَادَ قَلْبِهِ مِنْ أَيْنَ أَتَى لَعَرَفَ صَلَاحَهُ مِنْ أَيْنَ يُوتَى.

Li-ʾanna fasāda al-ʾaʿmāli kullihā ʾinnamā yūtā al-ʿabdu fīhā min jahlihi bifasādi qalbihi wa-maṣlaḥati fasādi qalbihi wa-law ʿarafa fasāda qalbihi min ʾayna ʾatā laʿarafa ṣalāḥahu min ʾayna yūtā.

The corruption of all deeds comes upon the servant through ignorance of his heart's corruption and its remedy. If he knew where his heart's corruption came from, he would know from where its repair comes.

اعْلَمِ الْآنَ أَنَّ مَعْرِفَةَ عِلْمِ النَّفْسِ عِلْمٌ صَغِيرٌ وَأَنَّهُ مَوْجُودٌ وَإِنْ سَمِعَهُ مَنْ يَدَّعِي عَقْلًا أَنَّهُ بِعَقْلِهِ فَإِنَّ عَقْلَهُ فِي الظَّاهِرِ أَنَّهُ يُصَدِّقُ بِهِ فِي الْبَاطِنِ أَوْ أَنْ أَقَرَّ بِهِ فِي الْمَشَاهِدِ أَنَّهُ يُقِرُّ بِهِ فِي الْوَحْدَةِ كَلَّا إِنَّهُ أَعَزُّ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ.

Iʿlami al-ʾāna ʾanna maʿrifata ʿilmi al-nafsi ʿilmun ṣaghīrun wa-ʾannahu mawjūdun wa-ʾin samiʿahu man yaddaʿī ʿaqlan ʾannahu biʿaqlihi fa-ʾinna ʿaqlahu fī al-ẓāhiri ʾannahu yuṣaddiqu bihi fī al-bāṭini ʾaw ʾan ʾaqarra bihi fī al-mashāhidi ʾannahu yuqirru bihi fī al-waḥdati kallā ʾinnahu ʾaʿazzu min dhālika.

Know now that knowing the science of the self is ‘a small knowledge, and it exists’; if someone claiming reason hears it, ‘that through his reason, his reason outwardly, he affirms it inwardly,’ or acknowledges it in public, that he acknowledges it in solitude: no, it is rarer than that [the printed passage's assertions and connections are disordered].

وَالَّذِي يَدُلُّ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ أَنَّهُ قَدْ صَحَّ مِثْلُ قَوْلِ سُفْيَانَ إِنَّهُ مَنْ عَرَفَ نَفْسَهُ لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ مَا قِيلَ فِيهِ مِنْ خَيْرٍ أَوْ شَرٍّ فَاعْلَمْ عِلْمًا غَيْرَ ذِي شَكٍّ أَنَّهُ إِذَا لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ أَنَّهُ قَدْ نَفَعَهُ.

Wa-alladhī yadullu ʿalā ghayrihi ʾannahu qad ṣaḥḥa mithlu qawli Sufyāna ʾinnahu man ʿarafa nafsahu lam yaḍurrahu mā qīla fīhi min khayrin ʾaw sharrin fa-iʿlam ʿilman ghayra dhī shakkin ʾannahu ʾidhā lam yaḍurrahu ʾannahu qad nafaʿahu.

What points to something different is the established truth of sayings such as Sufyān's: “Whoever knows his self is not harmed by the good or evil said about him.” Know without doubt that, if it does not harm him, it has benefited him.

فَمَا ظَنُّكَ الْآنَ بِرَجُلٍ يَبْلُغُ فِي الْعِلْمِ دَرَجَةً يَنْفَعُهُ مَا يَضُرُّ غَيْرَهُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ عَالِمًا وَلَا عَابِدًا عَلَى وَجْهِ الْأَرْضِ مِمَّنْ نَعْرِفُهُ الْآنَ وَهُوَ يَضُرُّهُ مَا قِيلَ فِيهِ مِنْ خَيْرٍ أَوْ شَرٍّ.

Fa-mā ẓannuka al-ʾāna birajulin yablughu fī al-ʿilmi darajatan yanfaʿuhu mā yaḍurru ghayrahu wa-lā ʾaʿlamu ʿāliman wa-lā ʿābidan ʿalā wajhi al-ʾarḍi mimman naʿrifuhu al-ʾāna wa-huwa yaḍurruhu mā qīla fīhi min khayrin ʾaw sharrin.

What do you now think of a man who reaches a degree of knowledge at which what harms others benefits him? I know no scholar or worshiper on earth among those we know today, ‘and he is harmed’ by the good or evil said about him [the printed negative and conjunction connect awkwardly].

إِنْ مُدِحَ بِخَيْرٍ فَتَنَهُ ذٰلِكَ الْمَدْحُ فَضَرَّهُ وَإِنْ مُدِحَ بِشَرٍّ فَتَنَهُ فَضَرَّهُ الْمَدْحُ وَإِنْ ذُمَّ بِحَقٍّ أَحْزَنَهُ وَفَتَنَهُ فَضَرَّهُ الذَّمُّ.

ʾIn mudiḥa bikhayrin fatanahu dhālika al-madḥu fa-ḍarrahu wa-ʾin mudiḥa bisharrin fatanahu fa-ḍarrahu al-madḥu wa-ʾin dhumma biḥaqqin ʾaḥzanahu wa-fatanahu fa-ḍarrahu al-dhammu.

If praised for good, that praise tempts and harms him. If praised for evil, praise tempts and harms him. If truthfully criticized, criticism saddens, tempts, and harms him.

فَأَمَّا مَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُ فَلَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَى أَنْ يَعْصِيَ فَيَجُوزَ فِي الْحُكْمِ ذٰلِكَ لِيُعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَا أَعْرِفُ مَنْ يَعْرِفُ نَفْسَهُ وَلَا أَعْرِفُ مَنْ يَعْقِلُ كَيْفَ يَنْبَغِي لَهُ أَنْ يَعْرِفَ نَفْسَهُ.

Fa-ʾammā man lā yaʿrifu fa-lā yaqdiru ʿalā ʾan yaʿṣiya fa-yajūza fī al-ḥukmi dhālika liyuʿlama ʾannī lā ʾaʿrifu man yaʿrifu nafsahu wa-lā ʾaʿrifu man yaʿqilu kayfa yanbaghī lahu ʾan yaʿrifa nafsahu.

As for one who does not know, ‘he cannot disobey, so that this may be permissible in judgment’ [the printed clause is unclear]. Let it be known that I know no one who knows his self, nor anyone who understands how he ought to know it.

لَا وَلَا أَعْرِفُ مَنْ إِنِ اخْتَبَرْتَهُ بِقِيلِهِ أَوْ بِفِعْلِهِ فَمِنْ ذٰلِكَ صِرْنَا مَا قِيلَ فِينَا مِنْ خَيْرٍ أَوْ شَرٍّ وَاللّٰهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَى إِغَاظَتِنَا وَعَلَى قِلَّةِ هِدَايَتِنَا لِمَعْرِفَتِهِ.

Lā wa-lā ʾaʿrifu man ʾini ikhtabartahu biqīlihi ʾaw bifiʿlihi fa-min dhālika ṣirnā mā qīla fīnā min khayrin ʾaw sharrin wa-Allāhu al-mustaʿānu ʿalā ʾighāẓatinā wa-ʿalā qillati hidāyatinā limaʿrifatihi.

No, I know no one whom, if you tested his speech or action … ‘from that we have become what is said of us, good or evil’ [the printed sentence is incomplete]. God's help is sought against what angers us and our scant guidance toward knowing Him.

وَإِنَّ وَصْفَ مَعْرِفَةِ النَّفْسِ عِنْدِيَ الْيَوْمَ لَخَطَرٌ عَظِيمٌ عِنْدَ مَنْ يَدَّعِي الْعَقْلَ وَالْمَعْرِفَةَ وَالْعَمَلَ قَالَ ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ:

Wa-ʾinna waṣfa maʿrifati al-nafsi ʿindiya al-yawma lakhaṭarun ʿaẓīmun ʿinda man yaddaʿī al-ʿaqla wa-al-maʿrifata wa-al-ʿamala qāla ibnu al-Mubāraki:

In my view today, even describing knowledge of the self is a great danger among those claiming reason, understanding, and action. Ibn al-Mubārak said:

تَغَرَّبَ الْحَقُّ حَتَّى وَصْفُهُ خَطَرٌ عِنْدَ الْحَلِيمِ وَعِنْدَ الْعَالِمِ الْخَبِرِ.

Tagharraba al-ḥaqqu ḥattā waṣfuhu khaṭarun ʿinda al-ḥalīmi wa-ʿinda al-ʿālimi al-khabiri.

Truth has become a stranger: even describing it is dangerous before the forbearing and the learned, experienced scholar.

وَقَدْ صَحَّ عِنْدِي أَنَّهُ مَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ نَفْسَهُ فَهُوَ مِنْ دِينِهِ عَلَى غَرَرٍ وَمِنْ سِيرَةِ دُنْيَاهُ عَلَى أَقْبَحِ السِّيَرِ.

Wa-qad ṣaḥḥa ʿindī ʾannahu man lam yaʿrif nafsahu fa-huwa min dīnihi ʿalā ghararin wa-min sīrati dunyāhu ʿalā ʾaqbaḥi al-siyari.

I have become certain that whoever does not know his self is exposed to danger in his religion and follows the ugliest course in his worldly conduct.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ مَنْ ضَرَّهُ مَا قِيلَ فِيهِ مِنْ خَيْرٍ أَوْ شَرٍّ فِي سِرٍّ أَوْ عَلَانِيَةٍ فَهُوَ يَضُرُّهُ مَا عَمِلَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْخَيْرِ أَوِ الشَّرِّ وَكُلُّ هٰذَا لَا يُوجَدُ إِلَّا بِمَعْرِفَةِ الرَّجُلِ نَفْسَهُ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾannahu man ḍarrahu mā qīla fīhi min khayrin ʾaw sharrin fī sirrin ʾaw ʿalāniyatin fa-huwa yaḍurruhu mā ʿamila min ʾaʿmāli al-khayri ʾawi al-sharri wa-kullu hādhā lā yūjadu ʾillā bimaʿrifati al-rajuli nafsahu.

Know that whoever is harmed by good or evil said about him privately or publicly is harmed by the good or evil deeds he performs. All this is discovered only through a person's knowledge of his self.

Source pages 54–55

وَإِنِّي لَمَّا تَدَبَّرْتُ دَلَالَاتِ الْعِلْمِ وَالْعِلْمِ لِأَقَعَ عَلَى مَعْرِفَةِ نَفْسِي أَصَبْتُ وَصْفِي وَوَصْفَ مَنْ أَعْرِفُ مِنْ أَهْلِ زَمَانِي أَنْ قَدْ ظَهَرَ مِنْ أَهْلِ زَمَانِي الْوَحْشَةُ وَالتَّقَاطُعُ وَالتَّدَابُرُ وَالتَّبَايُنُ وَالْحَسَدُ لِأُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْغَفْلَةُ وَالتَّسْوِيفُ لِأُمُورِ الْآخِرَةِ.

Wa-ʾinnī lammā tadabbartu dalālāti al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿilmi li-ʾaqaʿa ʿalā maʿrifati nafsī ʾaṣabtu waṣfī wa-waṣfa man ʾaʿrifu min ʾahli zamānī ʾan qad ẓahara min ʾahli zamānī al-waḥshatu wa-al-taqāṭuʿu wa-al-tadāburu wa-al-tabāyunu wa-al-ḥasadu li-ʾumūri al-dunyā wa-al-ghaflatu wa-al-taswīfu li-ʾumūri al-ʾākhirati.

When I reflected on the guidance of ‘knowledge and knowledge’ [the repetition is printed] to arrive at self-knowledge, I found a description of myself and those I know in my age. Estrangement, severed relations, turning away, division, and envy over worldly matters have appeared among them, along with heedlessness and procrastination concerning the next life.

Source page 55

فَاسْتَوْحَشْتُ لِذٰلِكَ وَسَا ظَنِّي وَإِنِّي فِي طُولِ الْفِكْرَةِ فِيهِ حَتَّى غَلَبَ عَلَيَّ هَمُّهُ فَوَجَدْتُ دَلَالَاتِ الْعِلْمِ وَنَظَايِرَ الْحِكْمَةِ وَفِطَنَ الْقُلُوبِ قَدْ نَعَوْا إِلَيْنَا أَزْمِنَةَ الْخَيْرِ وَذَكَرُوا إِدْبَارَ دَوْلَتِهِ وَحَذَّرُونَا وَأَنْذَرُونَا هُجُومَ الشَّرِّ وَإِقْبَالَ دَوْلَتِهِ.

Fa-istawḥashtu li-dhālika wa-sā ẓannī wa-ʾinnī fī ṭūli al-fikrati fīhi ḥattā ghalaba ʿalayya hammuhu fa-wajadtu dalālāti al-ʿilmi wa-naẓāyira al-ḥikmati wa-fiṭana al-qulūbi qad naʿaw ʾilaynā ʾazminata al-khayri wa-dhakarū ʾidbāra dawlatihi wa-ḥadhdharūnā wa-ʾandharūnā hujūma al-sharri wa-ʾiqbāla dawlatihi.

This made me feel estranged and darkened my expectations. I reflected on it for so long that its concern overwhelmed me. I found that the guidance of knowledge, the parallels of wisdom, and the insights of hearts had announced to us the passing of good times, described the retreat of goodness's reign, and warned us of evil's assault and approaching reign.

وَإِنِّي لَأَرَى زَمَانًا قَدِ اسْتَدَارَ أَهْلُهُ وَدَارَتْ رَحَاهُ بِالشَّرِّ وَغَلَبَةِ الْهَوَى فَرَأَيْتُ الْجَاهِلِيَّةَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الدِّينِ وَأَهْلِ زَمَانِي مِمَّنْ أَعْرِفُ قَدْ تَبَاغَضَتْ وَتَنَافَرَتْ.

Wa-ʾinnī laʾarā zamānan qadi istadāra ʾahluhu wa-dārat raḥāhu bi-al-sharri wa-ghalabati al-hawā fa-raʾaytu al-jāhiliyyata min ʾahli al-dīni wa-ʾahli zamānī mimman ʾaʿrifu qad tabāghaḍat wa-tanāfarat.

I see an age whose people have turned about and whose millstone turns with evil and the domination of desire. I see the ignorant among religious people and the people of my age whom I know hating and recoiling from one another.

فَالْقُلُوبُ مِنْهُمْ قَدِ اخْتَلَفَتْ وَالْأَهْوَا فِيهِمْ قَدْ تَفَرَّقَتْ وَبَعْضُهَا مِنْ بَعْضٍ قَدْ تَبَرَّأَتْ وَالْعُلَمَاءُ مِنْهُ قَدْ فَنَتْ وَإِلَى الدُّنْيَا قَدْ رَكَنَتْ.

Fa-al-qulūbu minhum qadi ikhtalafat wa-al-ʾahwā fīhim qad tafarraqat wa-baʿḍuhā min baʿḍin qad tabarraʾat wa-al-ʿulamāʾu minhu qad fanat wa-ʾilā al-dunyā qad rakanat.

Their hearts are divided, their desires scattered, and some disown others. Its scholars have passed away and have inclined toward the world [the printed number and gender shift].

وَقُرَّاوُهَا قَدْ تَحَيَّرَتْ وَلِدُنْيَاهَا قَدْ آثَرَتْ وَعَلَى ذَهَبِهَا وَفِضَّتِهَا قَدْ حَرِصَتْ وَعَنْ آخِرَتِهَا قَدْ غَفَلَتْ وَالْقُلُوبُ مِنْهَا قَدْ فَسَدَتْ وَشَكَرَتْ وَعِنَادُهَا قَدْ جَهِلَتْ فَتَعَظَّمَتْ وَتَكَبَّرَتْ.

Wa-qurrāwuhā qad taḥayyarat wa-lidunyāhā qad ʾātharat wa-ʿalā dhahabihā wa-fiḍḍatihā qad ḥariṣat wa-ʿan ʾākhiratihā qad ghafalat wa-al-qulūbu minhā qad fasadat wa-shakarat wa-ʿināduhā qad jahilat fa-taʿaẓẓamat wa-takabbarat.

Its reciters are bewildered, prefer its worldly life, crave its gold and silver, and neglect its next life. Its hearts have become corrupt and ‘given thanks,’ and ‘its stubbornness has become ignorant,’ so they magnify themselves and grow arrogant [the quoted wording is uncertain in context].

وَالْعُهُودُ مِنْهُمْ مَرِحَتْ وَالْأَمَانَةُ فِيهِمْ قَدْ قَلَّتْ وَفُقِدَتْ وَالْعُقُولُ مِنْهُمْ قَدْ نَقَصَتْ وَأَهْوَاوُهُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ قَدْ غَلَبَتْ وَالْأَحْلَامُ فِيهِمْ قَدْ غَرَبَتْ وَالْمُرُوَّاتُ وَالْآدَابُ مِنْهُمْ قَدْ ذَهَبَتْ.

Wa-al-ʿuhūdu minhum mariḥat wa-al-ʾamānatu fīhim qad qallat wa-fuqidat wa-al-ʿuqūlu minhum qad naqaṣat wa-ʾahwāwuhum ʿalayhim qad ghalabat wa-al-ʾaḥlāmu fīhim qad gharabat wa-al-muruwwātu wa-al-ʾādābu minhum qad dhahabat.

Their covenants have ‘grown exultant’ [the printed verb is unusual]; trustworthiness has diminished and disappeared, reason has declined, desires have mastered them, forbearance has departed, and honorable conduct and manners have gone.

وَالسَّكِينَةُ وَالْوَقَارُ مِنْهُمْ قَدْ قَلَّتْ وَالْجَفَا وَالْقَسْوَةُ وَالْوَحْشَةُ لَدَيْهِمْ قَدْ ظَهَرَتْ وَبَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَلَى الْمُدَاهَنَةِ قَدِ احْتَمَلَتْ.

Wa-al-sakīnatu wa-al-waqāru minhum qad qallat wa-al-jafā wa-al-qaswatu wa-al-waḥshatu ladayhim qad ẓaharat wa-baʿḍuhum libaʿḍin ʿalā al-mudāhanati qadi iḥtamalat.

Tranquility and dignity have diminished among them, while callousness, hardness, and estrangement have appeared. They tolerate one another through flattery.

وَذٰلِكَ أَنِّي وَجَدْتُ الدُّنْيَا قَدْ سَقَتْ أَهْلَهَا مِنْ حُبِّهَا كَأْسًا صِرْفًا سَرَقَتْ لَهُ عُقُولَهُمْ وَأَبْدَتْ فِيهِ هَوَاهُمْ فَعَادُوا إِلَى هٰذَا الْوَصْفِ فَلَا تَسْأَلَنَّ عَمَّا وَرَاهُ.

Wa-dhālika ʾannī wajadtu al-dunyā qad saqat ʾahlahā min ḥubbihā kaʾsan ṣirfan saraqat lahu ʿuqūlahum wa-ʾabdat fīhi hawāhum fa-ʿādū ʾilā hādhā al-waṣfi fa-lā tasʾalanna ʿammā warāhu.

I found that the world has given its people an unmixed cup of love for it, stealing their minds and revealing their desire. They have returned to this condition; do not ask what lies beyond it.

فَلِنُفُوسِ الْهَوَى بِمُوَافَقَةِ النُّفُوسِ فِي أَعْرَاضِ الْقُلُوبِ أَنْفَذُ سِهَامًا مِنْ دَلَالَاتِ الْعُقُولِ وَلِإِصَابَةِ الْحَقِّ مُخَالَفَةٌ فِي أَهْدَافِ النُّفُوسِ.

Fa-linufūsi al-hawā bimuwāfaqati al-nufūsi fī ʾaʿrāḍi al-qulūbi ʾanfadhu sihāman min dalālāti al-ʿuqūli wa-li-ʾiṣābati al-ḥaqqi mukhālafatun fī ʾahdāfi al-nufūsi.

The ‘selves of desire,’ through agreement with the selves, send arrows more penetrating into hearts' exposed sides than the guidance of reason. Attaining truth meets opposition within the selves' aims [the printed construction is irregular].

يُحَقِّقُ ذٰلِكَ قَوْلُ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ أَنْتُمُ الْيَوْمَ فِي زَمَانٍ الْحَقُّ فِيهِ قَايِدُهُ الْهَوَى وَسَيَأْتِي بَعْدَكُمْ زَمَانٌ يَقُودُ الْهَوَى فِيهِ أَعْمَالَ الْحَقِّ وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ:

Yuḥaqqiqu dhālika qawlu ibni Masʿūdin ʾantumu al-yawma fī zamānin al-ḥaqqu fīhi qāyiduhu al-hawā wa-sayaʾtī baʿdakum zamānun yaqūdu al-hawā fīhi ʾaʿmāla al-ḥaqqi wa-qāla ibnu ʿAbbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu:

Ibn Masʿūd's saying confirms this: “You live today in an age when truth, its leader is desire; after you will come an age when desire leads the deeds of truth” [the first clause is unexpected as printed]. Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, said:

وَمَا النَّاسُ بِالنَّاسِ الَّذِينَ عَهِدْتُهُمْ وَمَا الدَّارُ بِالدَّارِ الَّتِي كُنْتُ أَعْرِفُ.

Wa-mā al-nāsu bi-al-nāsi alladhīna ʿahidtuhum wa-mā al-dāru bi-al-dāri allatī kuntu ʾaʿrifu.

The people are not the people I once knew, nor is the dwelling the dwelling I used to know.

وَسُمِعَ صَوْتٌ حِينَ قُتِلَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ:

Wa-sumiʿa ṣawtun ḥīna qutila ʿUmaru raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu:

A voice was heard when ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, was killed:

لِيَبْكِ عَلَى الْإِسْلَامِ مَنْ كَانَ بَاكِيًا فَقَدْ أَوْشَكُوا هُلْكًا وَلَيْسُوا عَلَى الْعَهْدِ.

Liyabki ʿalā al-ʾislāmi man kāna bākiyan fa-qad ʾawshakū hulkan wa-laysū ʿalā al-ʿahdi.

Let whoever would weep weep for Islam: they have come close to ruin and no longer keep the covenant.

وَأَدْبَرَتِ الدُّنْيَا وَأَدْبَرَ خَيْرُهَا وَقَدْ مَلَّهَا مَنْ كَانَ يُوقِنُ بِالْوَعْدِ.

Wa-ʾadbarati al-dunyā wa-ʾadbara khayruhā wa-qad mallahā man kāna yūqinu bi-al-waʿdi.

The world has turned away, and its goodness has turned away; whoever was certain of the promise has grown weary of it.

فَاعْقِلْ مَتَى قِيلَ هٰذَا فَإِنِّي وَجَدْتُ هٰذِهِ الْأَنْفُسَ الْأَمَّارَةَ بِالسُّوءِ حُكُومَاتِ جَوْرٍ خَفِيَّةً يَخْفَى أَكْثَرُ ذٰلِكَ مِنَ الْمَرْءِ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ فَضْلًا عَنْ أَنْ يَتَعَرَّفَهُ مِنْهَا.

Fa-iʿqil matā qīla hādhā fa-ʾinnī wajadtu hādhihi al-ʾanfusa al-ʾammārata bi-al-sūʾi ḥukūmāti jawrin khafiyyatan yakhfā ʾaktharu dhālika mina al-marʾi ʿan nafsihi faḍlan ʿan ʾan yataʿarrafahu minhā.

Understand when this was said. I have found these selves that command evil to be hidden governments of injustice. Most of this is concealed from a person within his own self, let alone recognized by him in it.

Source pages 55–56

حَتَّى إِنَّ الْكَلِمَةَ مِمَّا يُرَوِّجُهَا وَيُوَافِقُ هَوَاهَا وَيُخَالِفُ الْحَقَّ بِهِ لَيَسْتَخْرِجُهَا وَإِنَّ الْغَضْبَةَ لَتُظْهِرُ كِبْرَهَا فَإِنَّ الْمَطْمَعَ الْكَاذِبَ لَيَمْحُوا وَرَعَهَا وَيُبْطِلُ تَقْوَاهَا.

Ḥattā ʾinna al-kalimata mimmā yurawwijuhā wa-yuwāfiqu hawāhā wa-yukhālifu al-ḥaqqa bihi layastakhrijuhā wa-ʾinna al-ghaḍbata latuẓhiru kibrahā fa-ʾinna al-maṭmaʿa al-kādhiba layamḥū waraʿahā wa-yubṭilu taqwāhā.

A word that promotes it and suits its desire while opposing truth draws it out [the printed pronouns are difficult]. A burst of anger reveals its arrogance, and a false object of desire erases its scrupulousness and nullifies its reverence.

Source page 56

وَإِنَّ الْأَعْمَالَ الظَّاهِرَةَ لِبَاسًا يُعْرَفُ بِهِ أَهْلُهَا إِذْ كَانُوا صَادِقِينَ أَوْ يَقْصِدُونَهُ إِذَا كَانُوا كَاذِبِينَ وَإِنَّ أَعْمَالَ الْجَوَارِحِ تَصْحِيحُهَا ضَمَايِرُ الْقُلُوبِ أَوْ تُفْسِدُهَا فَإِنَّ الْقُلُوبَ مُهَيْمِنَةٌ عَلَى الْجَوَارِحِ.

Wa-ʾinna al-ʾaʿmāla al-ẓāhirata libāsan yuʿrafu bihi ʾahluhā ʾidh kānū ṣādiqīna ʾaw yaqṣidūnahu ʾidhā kānū kādhibīna wa-ʾinna ʾaʿmāla al-jawāriḥi taṣḥīḥuhā ḍamāyiru al-qulūbi ʾaw tufsiduhā fa-ʾinna al-qulūba muhayminatun ʿalā al-jawāriḥi.

Outward deeds are a garment by which their people are recognized when truthful, or which they deliberately put on when false [the printed predicate is irregularly inflected]. The correction of the limbs’ deeds lies in the hearts’ intentions, or these corrupt them, for hearts govern limbs [the printed syntax is irregular].

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّا وَافَقْنَا الصَّالِحَ مِنَ الْمَاضِينَ فِي أَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ وَخَالَفْنَاهُمْ بِالْهِمَمِ وَالْقُلُوبِ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ فَنَفَرَتْ عِنْدَ الْأَحْزَانِ إِلَّا بِالتَّكَلُّفِ وَحُزْنُ التَّكَلُّفِ لَا يَلْبَثُ أَوْ يَتَصَرَّمُ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾannā wāfaqnā al-ṣāliḥa mina al-māḍīna fī ʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi wa-khālafnāhum bi-al-himami wa-al-qulūbi mina al-khawfi fa-nafarat ʿinda al-ʾaḥzāni ʾillā bi-al-takallufi wa-ḥuznu al-takallufi lā yalbathu ʾaw yataṣarramu.

Know that we have matched the righteous of the past in bodily deeds but differed from them in our purposes and hearts concerning fear. Our hearts recoil from sorrows except when forced, and forced sorrow does not last: it soon breaks off.

وَلَمْ يُعْقَلِ التَّوَاضُعُ إِلَّا بِإِظْهَارِ السِّيمَا فِي تَقْصِيرِ الثِّيَابِ وَحَفِّ الشَّوَارِبِ وَالْمِيَاهِ فِي اللِّبَاسِ.

Wa-lam yuʿqali al-tawāḍuʿu ʾillā bi-ʾiẓhāri al-sīmā fī taqṣīri al-thiyābi wa-ḥaffi al-shawāribi wa-al-miyāhi fī al-libāsi.

Humility is understood only through displaying its signs in shortened clothes, trimmed mustaches, and ‘waters in clothing’ [the last printed word is unclear in context].

فَتَحَابَيْنَا فِي الْأَلْسُنِ الْمُوَافَقَةِ عَلَى الْمُدَاهَنَةِ وَتَبَاغَضْنَا بِالْقُلُوبِ لِاخْتِلَافِ الْقُلُوبِ وَعَادَى بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا عَلَى الْمُصَادَقَةِ وَأَلِفَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا عَلَى الْمُبَايَنَةِ فِي الْعِشْرَةِ فَتَنَافَرَتِ الْقُلُوبُ وَوَقَعَتْ فِيهَا الْوَحْشَةُ.

Fa-taḥābaynā fī al-ʾalsuni al-muwāfaqati ʿalā al-mudāhanati wa-tabāghaḍnā bi-al-qulūbi li-ikhtilāfi al-qulūbi wa-ʿādā baʿḍunā baʿḍan ʿalā al-muṣādaqati wa-ʾalifa baʿḍunā baʿḍan ʿalā al-mubāyanati fī al-ʿishrati fa-tanāfarati al-qulūbu wa-waqaʿat fīhā al-waḥshatu.

We show mutual love with tongues agreeing in flattery, while hating one another inwardly because our hearts differ. We show enmity within friendship and familiarity amid estrangement in our dealings. Hearts recoil from one another, and loneliness settles within them.

فَسِيَانَا سِيَا الْكَاذِبِينَ تُزَيِّنُهُ فِينَا الصَّادِقُونَ فَأَصْبَحْنَا مَعَ قُبْحِ الْوَصْفِ وَسَمَاجَةِ هٰذِهِ الْآدَابِ لَا نَسْتَأْهِلُ خُرُوجًا عَنْ بَعْضٍ وَلَا دُخُولًا فِي زِيَادَةٍ.

Fa-siyānā siyā al-kādhibīna tuzayyinuhu fīnā al-ṣādiqūna fa-ʾaṣbaḥnā maʿa qubḥi al-waṣfi wa-samājati hādhihi al-ʾādābi lā nastaʾhilu khurūjan ʿan baʿḍin wa-lā dukhūlan fī ziyādatin.

‘Our siyā is the siyā of the false, adorned among us by the truthful’ [the printed phrase is unclear]. With this ugly description and these graceless manners, we have become unworthy of leaving some of it behind or entering into increase.

فَمَا تَلْقَى مِنَّا إِلَّا ذَامًّا لِغَيْرِهِ مَذْمُومًا عِنْدَ غَيْرِهِ مُسْتَوْحِشًا مِنْهُ غَيْرُهُ غَيْرَ وَاثِقٍ بِغَيْرِهِ وَلَا هُوَ مَوْثُوقٌ عِنْدَ غَيْرِهِ إِلَّا مَعَ مُوَافَقَةِ الْهَوَى عَلَى الْغِشِّ وَالْإِدْهَانِ.

Fa-mā talqā minnā ʾillā dhāmman lighayrihi madhmūman ʿinda ghayrihi mustawḥishan minhu ghayruhu ghayra wāthiqin bighayrihi wa-lā huwa mawthūqun ʿinda ghayrihi ʾillā maʿa muwāfaqati al-hawā ʿalā al-ghishshi wa-al-ʾid-hāni.

You meet none of us but someone who criticizes another and is criticized by another, from whom another feels estranged, who trusts no other and is trusted by no other, except when desire agrees upon deceit and flattery.

لَا نَجِدُ صِدِّيقًا فَنَتَأَسَّى بِهِ وَنَقْتَدِي وَلَا خَايِفًا فَيُلْزِمَنَا الْخَوْفُ وَلَا مَحْزُونًا بِعِلْمٍ وَعَقْلٍ فَبَقِينَا حَيَارَى نَطْلُبُ الصِّدْقَ وَمَا إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلٌ.

Lā najidu ṣiddīqan fa-nataʾassā bihi wa-naqtadī wa-lā khāyifan fa-yulzimanā al-khawfu wa-lā maḥzūnan biʿilmin wa-ʿaqlin fa-baqīnā ḥayārā naṭlubu al-ṣidqa wa-mā ʾilayhi sabīlun.

We find no utterly truthful person to emulate and follow, no fearful person whose example makes fear bind us, and no one sorrowful through knowledge and reason. We remain bewildered, seeking truthfulness with no path to it.

أَفَتَعْلَمُ يَا عَاقِلُ وَصْفَ مَنْ هٰذَا هٰذَا وَصْفُ عُيُونِ أَهْلِ زَمَانِكَ مِنْ مُقْرِيهِمْ وَعُلَمَائِهِمْ وَعُبَّادِهِمْ وَالْمُدَّعِينَ لِلْعُقُولِ مِنْهُمْ.

ʾAfataʿlamu yā ʿāqilu waṣfa man hādhā hādhā waṣfu ʿuyūni ʾahli zamānika min muqrīhim wa-ʿulamāʾihim wa-ʿubbādihim wa-al-muddaʿīna li-al-ʿuqūli minhum.

Do you know, person of reason, whose description this is? It describes the leading people of your age: their reciters, scholars, worshipers, and those claiming intelligence.

مُشْتَهِرِينَ فِي رِضَاهُمْ مُتَنَكِّرِينَ عِنْدَ خِلَافِ أَهْوَايِهِمْ أَهْلَ سَفَهٍ وَغُلُوٍّ وَجَهَالَةٍ عِنْدَ غَضَبِهِمْ أَهْلَ حِرْصٍ وَرَغْبَةٍ وَدَنَاءَةِ نَفْسٍ عِنْدَ إِطْمَاعِهِمْ.

Mushtahirīna fī riḍāhum mutanakkirīna ʿinda khilāfi ʾahwāyihim ʾahla safahin wa-ghuluwwin wa-jahālatin ʿinda ghaḍabihim ʾahla ḥirṣin wa-raghbatin wa-danāʾati nafsin ʿinda ʾiṭmāʿihim.

Prominent when pleased, unrecognizable when their desires are opposed; foolish, excessive, and ignorant when angry; greedy, desirous, and base of soul when their hopes are stirred.

حُبُّهُمْ بِالْمُصَافَحَةِ بِالْأَيْدِي وَمَوَدَّتُهُمْ مُكَاشَرَةٌ عِنْدَ التَّلَاقِي وَفِي الْقُلُوبِ دَا دَفِينٌ صِفَةُ أَخْلَاقِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ.

Ḥubbuhum bi-al-muṣāfaḥati bi-al-ʾaydī wa-mawaddatuhum mukāsharatun ʿinda al-talāqī wa-fī al-qulūbi dā dafīnun ṣifatu ʾakhlāqi al-munāfiqīna.

Their love consists of handshakes, their affection of smiling at meetings, while a buried disease lies in their hearts: the character of hypocrites.

قَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ كُنَّا نَعْرِفُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ عَلَى عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا لَقُونَا بَدَاوُنَا بِالْمُصَافَحَةِ بِالْأَيْدِي وَالْمُكَاشَرَةِ فَإِذَا مَضَيْنَا هَمَزُوا لَنَا وَلَمَزُونَا.

Qāla Ḥudhayfatu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu kunnā naʿrifu al-munāfiqīna ʿalā ʿahdi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʾidhā laqūnā badāwunā bi-al-muṣāfaḥati bi-al-ʾaydī wa-al-mukāsharati fa-ʾidhā maḍaynā hamazū lanā wa-lamazūnā.

Ḥudhayfa, may God be pleased with him, said, “We recognized the hypocrites in the time of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: when they met us, they began by shaking hands and smiling; once we passed, they mocked and disparaged us.”

وَذٰلِكَ أَنِّي وَجَدْتُ مَنْ أَعْرِفُ مِنْ أَهْلِ زَمَانِي مَشْغُوفُونَ بِالْأَلْسُنِ يَأْمُرُونَ بِهِ مَا وَافَقَ ذٰلِكَ أَهْوَاءً بَاطِلَةً فِيمَا خَالَفَ أَهْوَائِنَا وَاحْتَفُّونَ لِلزَّهَادَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا بِالْأَلْسُنِ عَامِلُونَ فِيهَا بِالْحِرْصِ وَالرَّغْبَةِ بِالْجَوَارِحِ وَالْقُلُوبِ.

Wa-dhālika ʾannī wajadtu man ʾaʿrifu min ʾahli zamānī mashghūfūna bi-al-ʾalsuni yaʾmurūna bihi mā wāfaqa dhālika ʾahwāʾan bāṭilatan fīmā khālafa ʾahwāʾinā wa-iḥtaffūna li-al-zahādati fī al-dunyā bi-al-ʾalsuni ʿāmilūna fīhā bi-al-ḥirṣi wa-al-raghbati bi-al-jawāriḥi wa-al-qulūbi.

I found those I know in my age enamored of tongues, commanding through them what suits false desires in what opposes our desires, and ‘iḥtaffūn’ for detachment from the world with their tongues, while acting in it with greed and desire through their limbs and hearts [the printed connections and quoted form are unclear].

يَدْفَعُهَا عَنَّا فِي الظَّاهِرِ بِالْقَوْلِ وَيَخْتَارُهَا إِلَيْنَا بِالْأَيْدِي وَالْأَرْجُلِ فِي الْبَاطِنِ فَبَدَّلْنَا الْخَوْفَ مِنْ أَهْوَالِ الْآخِرَةِ خَوْفَ الْفَقْرِ قَبْلَ نُزُولِهِ.

Yadfaʿuhā ʿannā fī al-ẓāhiri bi-al-qawli wa-yakhtāruhā ʾilaynā bi-al-ʾaydī wa-al-ʾarjuli fī al-bāṭini fa-baddalnā al-khawfa min ʾahwāli al-ʾākhirati khawfa al-faqri qabla nuzūlihi.

‘He pushes it away from us’ outwardly in words and ‘chooses it toward us’ inwardly through hands and feet [the printed verbs and pronouns are irregular]. We have exchanged fear of the next life's terrors for fear of poverty before it arrives.

وَبَدَّلْنَا مَكَانَ الصِّدْقِ فِي الْأَعْمَالِ جَزِيلَ الثَّوَابِ مِنَ اللّٰهِ لِلتَّزَيُّنِ عِنْدَ خَلْقِهِ لِيُعَظِّمُوهُ وَيَقْبَلُوا مِنَّا وَيُحْسِنُوا عَلَيْنَا الثَّنَا فَصَيَّرْنَا مَكَانَ الشُّكْرِ لِلّٰهِ عَلَى نِعَمِهِ وَجَمِيلِ سَتْرِهِ طَلَبَ الشُّكْرِ مِنَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ.

Wa-baddalnā makāna al-ṣidqi fī al-ʾaʿmāli jazīla al-thawābi mina Allāhi li-al-tazayyuni ʿinda khalqihi liyuʿaẓẓimūhu wa-yaqbalū minnā wa-yuḥsinū ʿalaynā al-thanā fa-ṣayyarnā makāna al-shukri li-llāhi ʿalā niʿamihi wa-jamīli satrihi ṭalaba al-shukri mina al-makhlūqīna.

We have exchanged truthfulness in deeds and abundant reward from God for adorning ourselves before His creatures, so that they ‘magnify him,’ accept from us, and praise us well [the printed pronoun shifts]. In place of gratitude to God for His blessings and beautiful concealment, we have sought gratitude from creatures.

Source pages 56–57

فَأَحْبَبْنَا تَعْجِيلَ ثَوَابِ أَعْمَالِنَا مِنَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَنَزْعُمُ أَنَّا نَلْتَمِسُ ثَوَابَهَا مِنَ اللّٰهِ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللّٰهُ ذٰلِكَ عَلَى خَلْقِهِ.

Fa-ʾaḥbabnā taʿjīla thawābi ʾaʿmālinā mina al-makhlūqīna fī al-dunyā wa-nazʿumu ʾannā naltamisu thawābahā mina Allāhi fī al-ʾākhirati wa-qad ḥarrama Allāhu dhālika ʿalā khalqihi.

We have loved receiving our deeds' reward immediately from creatures in this world, while claiming to seek their reward from God in the next. God has forbidden this to His creatures.

Source page 57

فَطَلَبْنَا الصِّدْقَ بِالثَّنَا وَبِالِاخْتِلَاقِ الدَّنِيَّةِ وَبِالْكَذِبِ فِي الْقَلْبِ فَهٰذِهِ صِفَةُ أَهْلِ زَمَانِنَا.

Fa-ṭalabnā al-ṣidqa bi-al-thanā wa-bi-al-ikhtilāqi al-daniyyati wa-bi-al-kadhibi fī al-qalbi fa-hādhihi ṣifatu ʾahli zamāninā.

We have sought truthfulness through praise, ‘base fabrication,’ and falsehood in the heart [the printed agreement of “fabrication” is irregular]. This is the description of the people of our age.

فَأَعْلَمُهُمْ مُسْتَحْوَذٌ عَلَيْهِ هَوَاهُ وَأَعْقَلُهُمْ حَزِينٌ مُجَانِبٌ لِعِلْمِهِ وَأَحْلَمُهُمْ يَسْفَهُ فِيمَا يَحْلُمُ عَنْهُ الصَّبِيُّ وَأَبْلَغُهُمْ فِي مَنْطِقِهِ مُتَأَوِّلٌ وَأَصْفَاهُمْ بِالِاسْتِمَاعِ يَرْصُدُكَ الْغَوَايِلَ.

Fa-ʾaʿlamuhum mustaḥwadhun ʿalayhi hawāhu wa-ʾaʿqaluhum ḥazīnun mujānibun liʿilmihi wa-ʾaḥlamuhum yasfahu fīmā yaḥlumu ʿanhu al-ṣabiyyu wa-ʾablaghuhum fī manṭiqihi mutaʾawwilun wa-ʾaṣfāhum bi-al-istimāʿi yarṣuduka al-ghawāyila.

Their most learned is mastered by desire; their most intelligent is sorrowful but estranged from his knowledge; their most forbearing behaves foolishly where a child would show restraint; their most eloquent twists interpretations; and their most attentive listener watches for ways to harm you.

وَأَنْفَدُهُمْ رَأْيًا يَعْمَى عَنْ عُيُوبِ نَفْسِهِ وَأَشَدُّهُمُ اجْتِهَادًا مَفْتُونٌ مُعْجَبٌ وَأَثْبَتُهُمْ عَقْلًا جَايِرٌ عَنْ مَحَجَّةِ الْحَقِّ مُتَمَسِّكٌ بِرِشَا الضَّلَالَةِ وَأَكْمَلُهُمْ بَصِيرَةً عَاجِزٌ عَنِ الْعَمَلِ بِبَصِيرَتِهِ.

Wa-ʾanfaduhum raʾyan yaʿmā ʿan ʿuyūbi nafsihi wa-ʾashadduhumu ijtihādan maftūnun muʿjabun wa-ʾathbatuhum ʿaqlan jāyirun ʿan maḥajjati al-ḥaqqi mutamassikun birishā al-ḍalālati wa-ʾakmaluhum baṣīratan ʿājizun ʿani al-ʿamali bibaṣīratihi.

The one most ‘exhaustive in judgment’ [the printed adjective is unusual] is blind to his own faults; the most diligent is deluded and conceited; the firmest in reason strays from truth's highway, clinging to misguidance's rope; and the most complete in insight cannot act on his insight.

وَجَاهِلُنَا ذِيبٌ مُخْتَلِسٌ مُسْتَصْغِرٌ لِمَنْ لَيْسَ فِي دَرَجَتِهِ مُسْتَدْرَجٌ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُ وَعَابِدُنَا جَبَّارٌ لَا يُكَلَّمُ فَقَدْ أَحَاطَ بِنَا الْجَهْلُ وَنَحْنُ لَا نَعْلَمُ.

Wa-jāhilunā dhībun mukhtalisun mustaṣghirun liman laysa fī darajatihi mustadrajun min ḥaythu lā yaʿlamu wa-ʿābidunā jabbārun lā yukallamu fa-qad ʾaḥāṭa binā al-jahlu wa-naḥnu lā naʿlamu.

Our ignorant man is a snatching wolf, belittling anyone outside his rank, gradually drawn to ruin without knowing it. Our worshiper is a tyrant to whom one cannot speak. Ignorance has surrounded us, and we do not know it.

هَيْهَاتَ مَا أَبْعَدَكَ وَعِظَمَ مَا تَرَى وَكُلَّ مَنْ يُرَى مِنَ التَّمَسُّكِ بِعُرَى الْإِسْلَامِ قَالَ ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ:

Hayhāta mā ʾabʿadaka wa-ʿiẓama mā tarā wa-kulla man yurā mina al-tamassuki biʿurā al-ʾislāmi qāla ibnu al-Mubāraki:

How far away! How distant you are, and how great what you see, and everyone seen to hold fast to Islam's bonds [the printed sentence is incomplete]. Ibn al-Mubārak said:

تَغَرَّبَ الْحَقُّ حَتَّى مَا لَهُ عَلَمٌ يُوتَى إِلَيْهِ وَلَا يُرْجَى لَهُ أَحَدٌ.

Tagharraba al-ḥaqqu ḥattā mā lahu ʿalamun yūtā ʾilayhi wa-lā yurjā lahu ʾaḥadun.

Truth has become a stranger, with no standard to which one comes, and no one from whom it can be hoped for.

وَقَالَ أَيْضًا تَغَرَّبَ الْحَقُّ حَتَّى وَصْفُهُ خَطَرٌ عِنْدَ الْحَكِيمِ وَعِنْدَ الْعَالِمِ الْخَبِرِ.

Wa-qāla ʾayḍan tagharraba al-ḥaqqu ḥattā waṣfuhu khaṭarun ʿinda al-ḥakīmi wa-ʿinda al-ʿālimi al-khabiri.

He also said: Truth has become a stranger; even describing it is dangerous before the wise and the learned, experienced scholar.

فَإِذَا كُنْتَ فِي زَمَانٍ وَصْفُ الْحَقِّ فِيهِ خَطَرٌ عِنْدَ مَنْ يَدَّعِي الْعِلْمَ فَمَا ظَنُّكَ بِمَعْرِفَتِهِ وَالْعِلْمِ بِهِ؟

Fa-ʾidhā kunta fī zamānin waṣfu al-ḥaqqi fīhi khaṭarun ʿinda man yaddaʿī al-ʿilma fa-mā ẓannuka bimaʿrifatihi wa-al-ʿilmi bihi?

If you live in an age when describing truth is dangerous among those claiming knowledge, what do you think of knowing and understanding it?

فَأَنْتَ فِي بَحْرٍ تَضْطَرِبُ عَلَيْكَ أَمْوَاجُهُ فَسَاحِجْهُمْ كَمْ يَثْبُتُ حَتَّى يُعْرَفَ وَمَنْ لَا سِبَاحَةَ لَهُ فَهُوَ رَاسِبٌ فَالْيَوْمَ طَالِبُ التَّمَسُّكِ وَهَيْهَاتَ وَكَيْفَ لَهُ بِالتَّمَنِّي فِيهِ وَالتَّسْوِيفِ وَإِنْ كَانَ يَأْتِيهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ وِجْهَةٍ.

Fa-ʾanta fī baḥrin taḍṭaribu ʿalayka ʾamwājuhu fa-sāḥijhum kam yathbutu ḥattā yuʿrafa wa-man lā sibāḥata lahu fa-huwa rāsibun fa-al-yawma ṭālibu al-tamassuki wa-hayhāta wa-kayfa lahu bi-al-tamannī fīhi wa-al-taswīfi wa-ʾin kāna yaʾtīhi min ghayri wijhatin.

You are in a sea whose waves surge against you: ‘rub against them, how long he remains until recognized’ [the printed phrase is unclear]. Whoever cannot swim sinks. Today there is the seeker of firm adherence, but how far away it is! How can he attain it through wishes and procrastination, even if it comes to him from no proper direction?

وَكَيْفَ لَهُ إِنْ كَانَ عَالِمًا بَصِيرًا عَازِمًا صَابِرًا زَكِيًّا فَطِنًا أَنْ يَقُومَ عَلَى فِطَامِ سِتِّينَ سَنَةً أَوْ خَمْسِينَ سَنَةً قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِسُوَيْدَا قَلْبِهِ فَاشْتَدَّ عَلَيْهِ عَظْمُهُ وَنَبَتَ عَلَيْهِ لَحْمُهُ وَشَابَ فِيهِ أَصْدَاغُهُ وَقَرِحَ فِيهِ نَابُهُ ثُمَّ هَمَّ بِالْهُوَيْنَى وَقِلَّةِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالصَّبْرِ يُرِيدُهُ الْآنَ؟

Wa-kayfa lahu ʾin kāna ʿāliman baṣīran ʿāziman ṣābiran zakiyyan faṭinan ʾan yaqūma ʿalā fiṭāmi sittīna sanatan ʾaw khamsīna sanatan qad ʾaḥāṭa bisuwaydā qalbihi fa-ishtadda ʿalayhi ʿaẓmuhu wa-nabata ʿalayhi laḥmuhu wa-shāba fīhi ʾaṣdāghuhu wa-qariḥa fīhi nābuhu thumma hamma bi-al-huwaynā wa-qillati al-maʿrifati wa-al-ṣabri yurīduhu al-ʾāna?

Even if learned, discerning, resolute, patient, pure, and perceptive, how can he undertake weaning from sixty or fifty years of habits that have enclosed his heart's core, strengthened his bones, grown his flesh, grayed his temples, and worn his tooth? Yet now he sets about seeking it gently, with little knowledge or patience.

فَإِنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُهُ فَلْيَحْسِرْ عَنْ ذِرَاعِهِ وَلْيُشَمِّرْ عَنْ سَاقَيْهِ وَلْيَلِجْ بَابَهُ وَلْيَعَضَّ عَلَى خِيَارِ الضَّمِيرِ وَلْيَجِدَّ فِي الطَّلَبِ إِنْ كَانَ رَاغِبًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَهَارِبًا مِنَ النَّارِ وَمُحِبًّا لِلّٰهِ تَعَالَى وَلْيَتَأَهَّبْ وَلْيَتَدَرَّعْ.

Fa-ʾin kāna yurīduhu fa-l-yaḥsir ʿan dhirāʿihi wa-l-yushammir ʿan sāqayhi wa-l-yalij bābahu wa-l-yaʿaḍḍa ʿalā khiyāri al-ḍamīri wa-l-yajidda fī al-ṭalabi ʾin kāna rāghiban fī al-jannati wa-hāriban mina al-nāri wa-muḥibban li-llāhi taʿālā wa-l-yataʾahhab wa-l-yatadarraʿ.

If he wants it, let him bare his forearm, roll up his garment above his shins, enter its gate, hold tightly to the best inward resolve, and seek earnestly, if he desires Paradise, flees the Fire, and loves God Most High. Let him prepare and put on armor.

فَإِنَّ مُبَاشَرَةَ أَلْفٍ بِتَدَجُّجٍ يُصْحِرُونَ لَهُ أَيْسَرُ مِنْ وَاحِدٍ قَدْ كَمَنَ لَهُ لَا يَدْرِي مِنْ أَيِّ وَجْهٍ يَهْجُمُ عَلَيْهِ.

Fa-ʾinna mubāsharata ʾalfin bitadajjujin yuṣḥirūna lahu ʾaysaru min wāḥidin qad kamana lahu lā yadrī min ʾayyi wajhin yahjumu ʿalayhi.

Facing a thousand armored men who come into the open against him is easier than facing one lying in ambush, when he does not know from which direction the attack will come.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ هٰذَا كِتَابٌ لَا يَعْقِلُهُ عَاقِلُهُ إِلَّا عَقَلَ مَعَادَهُ وَلَا يَقْبَلُهُ مَنْ سَمِعَهُ إِلَّا قَبُولَ تَعَجُّبٍ وَإِقْرَارِهِ بِلِسَانِهِ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ وَمَنْ يُرِيدُهُ وَيَجْهَلُهُ أَكْثَرُ فَأَمَّا مَنْ يُرِيدُهُ لِلْعَمَلِ فَلَا أَعْرِفُهُ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾanna hādhā kitābun lā yaʿqiluhu ʿāqiluhu ʾillā ʿaqala maʿādahu wa-lā yaqbaluhu man samiʿahu ʾillā qabūla taʿajjubin wa-ʾiqrārihi bilisānihi ʾannahu al-ḥaqqu wa-man yurīduhu wa-yajhaluhu ʾaktharu fa-ʾammā man yurīduhu li-al-ʿamali fa-lā ʾaʿrifuhu.

Know that whoever understands this book thereby understands his return to God. Those who hear it accept it only with amazement and a verbal acknowledgment that it is true. Those who desire it without understanding it are more numerous. As for someone who desires it in order to act, I know no such person.

وَإِنَّمَا رَأَيْتُهُ عِلْمًا مَهْجُورًا لَا لَا يُقْبَلُ وَمَنْ قَبِلَهُ لَا يَعْقِلُهُ وَمَنْ قَبِلَهُ وَعَقَلَهُ فَغَايَتُهُ الْمُبَاهَاةُ بِهِ.

Wa-ʾinnamā raʾaytuhu ʿilman mahjūran lā lā yuqbalu wa-man qabilahu lā yaʿqiluhu wa-man qabilahu wa-ʿaqalahu fa-ghāyatuhu al-mubāhātu bihi.

I have found it an abandoned knowledge: ‘no, not accepted’ [the repeated negation is printed]. Whoever accepts it does not understand it, and whoever accepts and understands it aims only to boast of it.

Source pages 57–58

فَلَقَدْ هَمَمْتُ بِتَرْكِهِ لِأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنْ عِلْمِ زَمَانِكَ وَلَا حَاجَةَ لَهُمْ بِهِ لِأَنَّهُ عِلْمٌ يَرُدُّ بِأَهْلِهِ إِلَى مُخَالَفَةِ هَوَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَمُجَاهِدِيهَا وَالْخَلْقُ إِلَّا مَنْ عَصَمَ اللّٰهُ دِعَايَتُهُمْ الْيَوْمَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ وَالْعِبَادَةِ هَوَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَنَسْأَلُ اللّٰهَ عَفْوَهُ وَعَافِيَتَهُ وَالْمَعُونَةَ مِنْهُ تَفَضُّلًا وَرَحْمَةً بِنَا.

Fa-laqad hamamtu bitarkihi li-ʾannahu laysa min ʿilmi zamānika wa-lā ḥājata lahum bihi li-ʾannahu ʿilmun yaruddu bi-ʾahlihi ʾilā mukhālafati hawā ʾanfusihim wa-mujāhidīhā wa-al-khalqu ʾillā man ʿaṣama Allāhu diʿāyatuhum al-yawma mina al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿibādati hawā ʾanfusihim wa-nasʾalu Allāha ʿafwahu wa-ʿāfiyatahu wa-al-maʿūnata minhu tafaḍḍulan wa-raḥmatan binā.

I have considered abandoning it, because it is not the knowledge of your age and people have no use for it. It brings its people back to opposing their selves' desires and ‘those who struggle against them’ [the printed coordination is irregular]. Except for those God protects, people's summons today in knowledge and worship is their own desire. We ask God for His pardon, well-being, and help, as grace and mercy toward us.’

Source page 58

وَقَالَ لَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الثَّغْرِ غَزَوْا كُلُّهُمْ وَقَامُوا صُفُوفًا هَا هُنَا يُرِيدُونَ خَرَابَ هٰذَا الدِّينِ لَرَأَيْتَ الْحُزْنَ هَا هُنَا لِصَلَاحِ النَّفْسِ أَوْجَبَ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ مِنَ الْحَرْبِ فِي فَسَادِهَا يُرِيدُونَ.

Wa-qāla law ʾanna ʾahla al-thaghri ghazaw kulluhum wa-qāmū ṣufūfan hā hunā yurīdūna kharāba hādhā al-dīni laraʾayta al-ḥuzna hā hunā liṣalāḥi al-nafsi ʾawjaba ʿalā al-rajuli mina al-ḥarbi fī fasādihā yurīdūna.

He said, ‘If all the frontier people went to war and stood here in ranks intending this religion's destruction, you would see that sorrow here for the self's reform is more binding upon a man than warfare in its corruption, “they intend” [the printed conclusion is unclear].

ثُمَّ قَالَ أَرَأَيْتَ لَوْ كَانَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ أَمِيرًا وَالنَّاسُ كُلُّهُمْ مِثْلَ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَى غَيْرِ مَا يَنْبَغِي مَا فَعَلَ صَلَاحُهُمْ بِفَسَادِكَ؟

Thumma qāla ʾaraʾayta law kāna ʾAbū Bakrin al-Ṣiddīqu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʾamīran wa-al-nāsu kulluhum mithla ʿUmara raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu wa-ʾanta ʿalā ghayri mā yanbaghī mā faʿala ṣalāḥuhum bifasādika?

Then he said, ‘Suppose Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may God be pleased with him, were ruler, and everyone were like ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, while you were not as you ought to be. What would their righteousness do for your corruption?

أَلَمْ تَكُنْ عَلَى عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا وَزَمَانِهِمْ قَوْمٌ لَمْ تَنْفَعْهُمْ بَرَكَةُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَا صَلَاحُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَزَمَانِهِمْ؟

ʾAlam takun ʿalā ʿahdi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama wa-ʾAbī Bakrin wa-ʿUmara raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā wa-zamānihim qawmun lam tanfaʿhum barakatu al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama wa-lā ṣalāḥu ʾAbī Bakrin wa-ʿUmara wa-zamānihim?

Were there not, in the time of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, may God be pleased with them both, people who benefited neither from the blessing of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, nor from the righteousness of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar and their age?’

ثُمَّ قَالَ إِذَا لَمْ يَنْفَعْهُمْ صَلَاحُ أُولٰئِكَ فَمَا يُغْنِيكَ الْيَوْمَ صَلَاحُ غَيْرِكَ؟

Thumma qāla ʾidhā lam yanfaʿhum ṣalāḥu ʾulāʾika fa-mā yughnīka al-yawma ṣalāḥu ghayrika?

Then he said, ‘If those people's righteousness did not benefit them, what use is another person's righteousness to you today?’

ثُمَّ قَالَ عُدَّ أَنَّكَ قُمْتَ وَجَهَدْتَ عَلَى أَنْ أَقَمْتَ النَّاسَ عَلَى حَدٍّ كَمَا يَنْبَغِي الْخَادِمَ الصَّغِيرَ وَالْكَبِيرَ وَلَمْ يَهُمَّ لِنَفْسِكَ فَمَا تُغْنِيكَ إِقَامَتُهُمْ عَلَى الْحَدِّ؟

Thumma qāla ʿudda ʾannaka qumta wa-jahadta ʿalā ʾan ʾaqamta al-nāsa ʿalā ḥaddin kamā yanbaghī al-khādima al-ṣaghīra wa-al-kabīra wa-lam yahumma linafsika fa-mā tughnīka ʾiqāmatuhum ʿalā al-ḥaddi?

Then he said, ‘Suppose you rose and strove until you set people upon the proper limit, the young servant and the old, yet “he did not care for your self” [the printed person is irregular]. What benefit does setting them upon the limit bring you?

أَوَ لَيْسَ الْعَجَبُ تَرَكْتُمْ نَفْسَكَ وَهِيَ أَعَزُّ الْأَنْفُسِ عَلَيْكَ وَأَقْبَلْتَ عَلَى هَمِّ غَيْرِكَ أَوَ لَيْسَ هٰذَا الْعَجَبَ؟

ʾAwa laysa al-ʿajabu taraktum nafsaka wa-hiya ʾaʿazzu al-ʾanfusi ʿalayka wa-ʾaqbalta ʿalā hammi ghayrika ʾawa laysa hādhā al-ʿajaba?

Is it not astonishing that “you all left your self,” dearest of selves to you, and turned toward concern for another? Is this not astonishing [the printed address shifts from plural to singular]?’

وَقَالَ انْظُرْ زَمَانَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ وَنَفَقَاتِهِمْ وَتَوَهَّمْ وَأَرِحِ النَّفَقَةَ فِي ذٰلِكَ الزَّمَانِ (رُبَّمَا أَسْقَطَ النَّاسِخُ بَعْضَ الْكَلِمَاتِ فِي هٰذِهِ الْجُمْلَةِ) كَانَ يَرْفَعُ صَاحِبَهُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ حَيًّا فِي الْمَثَلِ.

Wa-qāla unẓur zamāna al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʾamwālahum wa-nafaqātihim wa-tawahham wa-ʾariḥi al-nafaqata fī dhālika al-zamāni (rubbamā ʾasqaṭa al-nāsikhu baʿḍa al-kalimāti fī hādhihi al-jumlati) kāna yarfaʿu ṣāḥibahu ʾilā al-samāʾi ḥayyan fī al-mathali.

He said, ‘Consider the time of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, their wealth and expenditures, and imagine, “give rest to expenditure in that age” [the copyist may have omitted some words in this sentence]. It would raise its owner alive to heaven, figuratively speaking.

لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ أَمْوَالُهُمْ وَأَخْبَارُهُمْ وَنَفَقَاتُهُمْ ظَاهِرَةً وَكَانَ فِي ذٰلِكَ الزَّمَانِ الْفَقِيرُ خَيْرًا مِنَ الْغَنِيِّ فَكَيْفَ تَرَى الْيَوْمَ حَيْثُ فَسَدَتِ الْأَمْوَالُ وَالْأَنْفُسُ وَالزَّمَانُ وَالنِّيَّةُ؟

Li-ʾannahu kāna ʾamwāluhum wa-ʾakhbāruhum wa-nafaqātuhum ẓāhiratan wa-kāna fī dhālika al-zamāni al-faqīru khayran mina al-ghaniyyi fa-kayfa tarā al-yawma ḥaythu fasadati al-ʾamwālu wa-al-ʾanfusu wa-al-zamānu wa-al-niyyatu?

Their wealth, reports, and expenditures were open. In that age the poor person was better than the rich. What, then, do you think of today, when wealth, selves, the age, and intention have become corrupt?’

ثُمَّ قَالَ لَا أَعْلَمُ الْيَوْمَ شَيْئًا خَيْرًا مِنَ الْفَقْرِ حَتَّى لَا يَبْلُغَ شَيْ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ النَّافِلَةِ مِثْلَ الْحَجِّ وَالْغَزْوِ وَغَيْرِ ذٰلِكَ.

Thumma qāla lā ʾaʿlamu al-yawma shayʾan khayran mina al-faqri ḥattā lā yablugha shay min ʾaʿmāli al-birri al-nāfilati mithla al-ḥajji wa-al-ghazwi wa-ghayri dhālika.

Then he said, ‘I know nothing today better than poverty, so that no voluntary righteous deed reaches it, such as pilgrimage, military expedition, or anything similar.’

ثُمَّ قَالَ أَرَأَيْتَ لَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا قَامَ هَا هُنَا مِنْ خِيَارِ هٰذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ وَآخَرَ مِنْ شِرَارِ هٰذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ فَيُطَاوِلُ هٰذَا الْخَيِّرُ عَلَى هٰذَا الرَّجُلِ السُّوءِ فَمَا يُغْنِيهِ خَيْرُهُ وَعِبَادَتُهُ وَلَوْ كَانَ قَدْ عَبَدَ اللّٰهَ مَايَةَ سَنَةٍ؟

Thumma qāla ʾaraʾayta law ʾanna rajulan qāma hā hunā min khiyāri hādhihi al-ʾummati wa-ʾākhara min shirāri hādhihi al-ʾummati fa-yuṭāwilu hādhā al-khayyiru ʿalā hādhā al-rajuli al-sūʾi fa-mā yughnīhi khayruhu wa-ʿibādatuhu wa-law kāna qad ʿabada Allāha māyata sanatin?

Then he said, ‘Suppose a man from the best of this community stood here, and another from its worst, and the good man lorded himself over the bad man. What use would his goodness and worship be, even if he had worshiped God for a hundred years?

فَإِذَا لَمْ نَسْتَقِمْ لِلْخَيِّرِ أَنْ يَتَطَاوَلَ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ السُّوءِ فَكَيْفَ تَرَى حَالَ مَنْ يَتَطَاوَلُ عَلَى مَنْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِنْهُ أَمْرَهُ؟

Fa-ʾidhā lam nastaqim li-al-khayyiri ʾan yataṭāwala ʿalā al-rajuli al-sūʾi fa-kayfa tarā ḥāla man yataṭāwalu ʿalā man huwa khayrun minhu ʾamrahu?

If “we do not stand right” for the good man to lord himself over the bad man, what do you think of someone who lords himself over a person better than he is in condition [the printed opening is irregular]?

وَقَدْ بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ ثَلٰثَةَ أَشْيَا تُقَسِّي الْقَلْبَ كَثْرَةُ الْكَلَامِ فِي غَيْرِ ذَاتِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى وَالذُّنُوبُ إِذَا حُمِلَ بَعْضُهَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ وَمِلْءُ الْبَطْنِ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ.

Wa-qad balaghanā ʾanna thalāthata ʾashyā tuqassī al-qalba kathratu al-kalāmi fī ghayri dhāti Allāhi taʿālā wa-al-dhunūbu ʾidhā ḥumila baʿḍuhā ʿalā baʿḍin wa-milʾu al-baṭni mina al-ṭaʿāmi.

It has reached us that three things harden the heart: much speech about matters other than God Most High, sins heaped upon one another, and filling the stomach with food.’

وَقَالَ احْفَظْ لِسَانَكَ وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ إِلَّا حَقًّا وَاسْكُتْ فَإِنَّكَ إِذَا فَعَلْتَ ذٰلِكَ أَدْخَلَكَ فِي أَصْنَافِ الْخَيْرِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ وَحْدَهُ وَصَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ وَهُوَ حَسْبِي وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ.

Wa-qāla iḥfaẓ lisānaka wa-lā taqūlanna ʾillā ḥaqqan wa-uskut fa-ʾinnaka ʾidhā faʿalta dhālika ʾadkhalaka fī ʾaṣnāfi al-khayri wa-al-ḥamdu li-llāhi waḥdahu wa-ṣallā Allāhu ʿalā sayyidinā Muḥammadin wa-ʾālihi ʾajmaʿīna wa-huwa ḥasbī wa-niʿma al-wakīlu.

He said, ‘Guard your tongue, speak only truth, and remain silent. If you do this, it will bring you into the various forms of good. Praise belongs to God alone. May God bless our master Muḥammad and all his family. He is sufficient for me and is the finest guardian.’

Colophon

بَلَغَ مُقَابَلَةً بِحَمْدِ اللّٰهِ.

Balagha muqābalatan biḥamdi Allāhi.

Collation completed, praise be to God.