6 An Nasaih al Diniyah: The Religious Counsels by Al Muhasibi part 6

النَّصَائِحُ الدِّينِيَّةُ

Al-Naṣāʾiḥu al-Dīniyyatu

The Religious Counsels (counsels offered in sincerity to set right a person's dīn)

الْوَصَايَا

Al-Waṣāyā

The Testaments

الْحَارِثُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ

Al-Ḥārithu bnu ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyu

Al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī

Source page 197

الْبَابُ الثَّامِنُ وَالثَّلَاثُونَ

Al-bābu al-thāminu wa-al-thalāthūna

Chapter Thirty-Eight

فِي وُجُوبِ تَفَقُّدِ الْقُلُوبِ

Fī wujūbi tafaqqudi al-qulūbi

The duty to examine hearts

إِخْوَانِي: إِذَا تَوَرَّعَ النَّاسُ عَنْ ذُنُوبِ الْجَوَارِحِ الظَّاهِرَةِ، فَغُضُّوا الْأَبْصَارَ، وَأَنْصِتُوا عَنِ الْغِيبَةِ، وَكُفُّوا عَنِ الظُّلْمِ، وَاتْرُكُوا الْخَوْضَ فِي الْآثَامِ، وَتَخَلَّصُوا مِنْ تَنَاوُلِ الْحَرَامِ، وَكُونُوا مِنْ أَتْرَكِهِمْ لَهُمْ.

ʾIkhwānī: ʾidhā tawarraʿa al-nāsu ʿan dhunūbi al-jawāriḥi al-ẓāhirati, fa-ghuḍḍū al-ʾabṣāra, wa-ʾanṣitū ʿani al-ghībati, wa-kuffū ʿani al-ẓulmi, wa-utrukū al-khawḍa fī al-ʾāthāmi, wa-takhallaṣū min tanāwuli al-ḥarāmi, wa-kūnū min ʾatrakihim lahum.

My brothers, when people guard against the sins of their outward limbs, lower your eyes, keep silent rather than backbite, refrain from injustice, abandon involvement in sins, and free yourselves from taking what is forbidden. Be among those most ready to leave them [the pronoun’s reference is unclear].

يَا قَوْمِ: تَفَقَّدُوا مَعَ ذَلِكَ ذُنُوبَ الْقُلُوبِ، فَإِنَّهُنَّ الْمُهْلِكَاتُ الْقَاصِمَاتُ.

Yā qawmi: tafaqqadū maʿa dhālika dhunūba al-qulūbi, fa-ʾinnahunna al-muhlikātu al-qāṣimātu.

People, examine the sins of hearts as well, for they are the destructive, back-breaking ones.

وَقَدْ بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «فِي ابْنِ آدَمَ مُضْغَةٌ فَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، وَإِذَا أُصْلِحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ، أَلَا وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ».

Wa-qad balaghanā ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama qāla: “Fī ibni ʾĀdama muḍghatun fa-ʾidhā fasadat fasada al-jasadu kulluhu, wa-ʾidhā ʾuṣliḥat ṣalaḥa al-jasadu, ʾalā wa-hiya al-qalbu.”

We have received a report that God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Within the child of Adam is a morsel of flesh. If it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt; if it is set right, the body becomes sound. Take heed: it is the heart.”

وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: «مَنْ أَصْلَحَ جَوَانِبَهُ، أَصْلَحَ اللَّهُ بَرَّانِيَّهُ، وَمَنْ أَصْلَحَ سَرِيرَتَهُ، أَصْلَحَ اللَّهُ عَلَانِيَتَهُ».

Wa-qāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu: “Man ʾaṣlaḥa jawānibahu, ʾaṣlaḥa Allāhu barrāniyyahu, wa-man ʾaṣlaḥa sarīratahu, ʾaṣlaḥa Allāhu ʿalāniyatahu.”

He, upon him be peace, also said: “Whoever sets his sides right [as printed], God sets his outward self right. Whoever sets his inward state right, God sets his outward conduct right.”

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ: «السَّرَائِرُ الَّتِي تَخْفَى عَلَى النَّاسِ وَهُنَّ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ بَوَادٍ: اطْلُبُوا دَوَاءَهُنَّ، وَمَا دَوَاؤُهُنَّ إِلَّا أَنْ تَتُوبُوا وَتَعْدِلُوا». وَبَلَغَنَا أَنَّ سُلَيْمَانَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ قَالَ: «مَنْ أَفْسَدَ جَوَانِبَهُ، أَفْسَدَ بَرَّانِيَّهُ».

Wa-qāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-ʿilmi: “Al-sarāʾiru allatī takhfā ʿalā al-nāsi wa-hunna ʿinda Allāhi bawādin: uṭlubū dawāʾahunna, wa-mā dawāʾuhunna ʾillā ʾan tatūbū wa-taʿdilū.” Wa-balaghanā ʾanna Sulaymāna ʿalayhi al-salāmu qāla: “Man ʾafsada jawānibahu, ʾafsada barrāniyyahu.”

One of the learned said: “The inward things hidden from people are plain before God. Seek their remedy; their only remedy is that you repent and act justly.” We have also received a report that Solomon, upon him be peace, said: “Whoever corrupts his sides [as printed] corrupts his outward self.”

Source pages 197–198

أَلَا فَتَدَبَّرُوا عَظِيمَ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ، فَإِنَّ مِنْهَا: الشَّكَّ وَالشِّرْكَ، وَالنِّفَاقَ وَالْكُفْرَ، وَمِنْهَا: الِاغْتِرَارُ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَالْأَمْنُ مِنْ مَكْرِ اللَّهِ، وَالْقُنُوطُ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ.

ʾAlā fa-tadabbarū ʿaẓīma maʿāṣī al-qulūbi, fa-ʾinna minhā: al-shakka wa-al-shirka, wa-al-nifāqa wa-al-kufra, wa-minhā: al-ightirāru bi-Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-al-ʾamnu min makri Allāhi, wa-al-qunūṭu min raḥmati Allāhi.

Take heed and consider the grave sins of hearts. Among them are doubt, associating partners with God, hypocrisy, and unbelief. They include presumption about God, mighty and majestic, feeling secure from His hidden design, and despairing of His mercy.

Source page 198

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: احْتِقَارُ الذُّنُوبِ وَالتَّسْوِيفُ بِالْإِنَابَةِ، وَقِلَّةُ الِاكْتِرَاثِ بِتَرَاكُمِ الْأَوْزَارِ، وَالْإِصْرَارُ عَلَى الْمَعَاصِي، وَالتِّيهُ وَالرِّيَاءُ، وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: الْعُجْبُ وَالنِّفَاقُ، وَالتَّفَاخُرُ وَحُبُّ الزِّينَةِ، وَالْمُبَاهَاةُ فِي الدُّنْيَا.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: iḥtiqāru al-dhunūbi wa-al-taswīfu bi-al-ʾinābati, wa-qillatu al-iktirāthi bi-tarākumi al-ʾawzāri, wa-al-ʾiṣrāru ʿalā al-maʿāṣī, wa-al-tīhu wa-al-riyāʾu, wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: al-ʿujbu wa-al-nifāqu, wa-al-tafākhuru wa-ḥubbu al-zīnati, wa-al-mubāhātu fī al-dunyā.

The sins of hearts include belittling sins, putting off repentance, caring little about mounting burdens of guilt, persisting in disobedience, conceit, and ostentation. They include self-admiration, hypocrisy, mutual boasting, love of adornment, and rivalry in worldly display.

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: التَّعَزُّزُ، وَالتَّكَبُّرُ، وَالزَّهْوُ، وَالْأَنَفَةُ مِنَ الْمَسْكَنَةِ وَمِنْ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ الْحَلَالِ [الَّتِي] يَرْضَاهَا اللَّهُ وَيُحِبُّهَا، وَالْعَبْدُ يَأْنَفُهَا.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: al-taʿazzuzu, wa-al-takabburu, wa-al-zahwu, wa-al-ʾanafatu mina al-maskanati wa-min kathīrin mina al-ʾaʿmāli al-ḥalāli [allatī] yarḍāhā Allāhu wa-yuḥibbuhā, wa-al-ʿabdu yaʾnafuhā.

The sins of hearts include putting on airs of importance, arrogance, vanity, and disdaining poverty and many lawful kinds of work [that] God approves and loves, though the servant scorns them.

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: النَّكْثُ وَالْخِيَانَةُ وَالْغَدْرُ.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: al-nakthu wa-al-khiyānatu wa-al-ghadru.

The sins of hearts include breaking pledges, betrayal, and treachery.

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: الْحَسَدُ وَالْغِلُّ وَالْحِقْدُ، وَالشَّمَاتَةُ وَالْعَدَاوَةُ وَالْبَغْضَاءُ، وَسُوءُ الظَّنِّ وَالتَّجَسُّسُ، وَإِضْمَارُ السُّوءِ وَالتَّرَبُّصُ بِالدَّوَائِرِ.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: al-ḥasadu wa-al-ghillu wa-al-ḥiqdu, wa-al-shamātatu wa-al-ʿadāwatu wa-al-baghḍāʾu, wa-sūʾu al-ẓanni wa-al-tajassusu, wa-ʾiḍmāru al-sūʾi wa-al-tarabbuṣu bi-al-dawāʾiri.

The sins of hearts include envy, malice, resentment, gloating over misfortune, enmity, hatred, suspicion, spying, harboring evil intentions, and waiting for calamities to befall others.

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: مُسَاعَدَةُ الْهَوَى، وَمُخَالَفَةُ الْحَقِّ.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: musāʿadatu al-hawā, wa-mukhālafatu al-ḥaqqi.

The sins of hearts include helping one’s passions and opposing the truth.

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: الرِّضَى بِالْهَوَى، وَالْحُبُّ وَالْبُغْضُ بِالْهَوَى.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: al-riḍā bi-al-hawā, wa-al-ḥubbu wa-al-bughḍu bi-al-hawā.

The sins of hearts include being content with passion, and loving and hating according to passion.

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: الْجَفَاءُ وَالْقَطِيعَةُ، وَالْقَسْوَةُ وَقِلَّةُ الرَّحْمَةِ.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: al-jafāʾu wa-al-qaṭīʿatu, wa-al-qaswatu wa-qillatu al-raḥmati.

The sins of hearts include harshness, severing ties, hardness, and a lack of mercy.

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: الْأَمَانِيُّ، وَالْحِرْصُ وَالسُّتْرَةُ، وَالطَّمَعُ وَالطِّيَرَةُ.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: al-ʾamāniyyu, wa-al-ḥirṣu wa-al-sutratu, wa-al-ṭamaʿu wa-al-ṭiyaratu.

The sins of hearts include wishful hopes, greed, concealment [the printed word is uncertain here], covetousness, and belief in omens.

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: الطُّغْيَانُ بِالْمَالِ، وَالْفَرَحُ بِإِقْبَالِ الدُّنْيَا.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: al-ṭughyānu bi-al-māli, wa-al-faraḥu bi-ʾiqbāli al-dunyā.

The sins of hearts include becoming tyrannical through wealth and rejoicing when worldly fortune arrives.

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: اسْتِقْلَالُ الرِّزْقِ، وَاحْتِقَارُ النِّعَمِ، وَاسْتِبْطَاءُ اللَّهِ فِي الْقَطِيعَةِ.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: istiqlālu al-rizqi, wa-iḥtiqāru al-niʿami, wa-istibṭāʾu Allāhi fī al-qaṭīʿati.

The sins of hearts include considering one’s provision meager, despising blessings, and thinking God slow in allotting one’s portion [a provisional sense of the printed noun].

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: الْغَفْلَةُ عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَالِاحْتِقَارُ بِمَصَائِبِ الدِّينِ.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: al-ghaflatu ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-al-iḥtiqāru bi-maṣāʾibi al-dīni.

The sins of hearts include heedlessness of God, mighty and majestic, and treating calamities in one’s religion as insignificant.

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: اسْتِعْظَامُ الدُّنْيَا، وَالْحُزْنُ عَلَى مَا فَاتَ مِنْهَا.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: istiʿẓāmu al-dunyā, wa-al-ḥuznu ʿalā mā fāta minhā.

The sins of hearts include magnifying this world’s importance and grieving over what one has missed of it.

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ: الْأَسَفُ عَلَى فَوَاتِ أَهْوَائِهَا، وَالسُّتْرَةُ بِمُوَافَقَةِ شَهَوَاتِهَا الْمُرْدِيَةِ.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi: al-ʾasafu ʿalā fawāti ʾahwāʾihā, wa-al-sutratu bi-muwāfaqati shahawātihā al-murdiyati.

The sins of hearts include sorrow at missing its desired pleasures, and concealment through indulging its destructive appetites [the printed phrase is unclear].

Source page 199

وَمِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ الِاسْتِهَانَةُ بِعِلْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِمَسَاوِئِهَا.

Wa-min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi al-istihānatu bi-ʿilmi Allāhi taʿālā bi-masāwiʾihā.

The sins of hearts include making light of God Most High’s knowledge of their faults.

وَمِنْهَا: قِلَّةُ الْحَيَاءِ مِنِ اطِّلَاعِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا.

Wa-minhā: qillatu al-ḥayāʾi mini iṭṭilāʿi Allāhi ʿalayhā.

They also include having little shame that God sees them.

وَلَقَدْ بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا قَالَ: «يَا صَاحِبَ الذَّنْبِ، لَا تَأْمَنْ مَنْ لَا يُؤْمَنُ، وَلَا تَأْمَنْ مِنْ تَتَبُّعِ الذَّنْبِ، [فَإِنَّهُ مِنْ] قِلَّةِ حَيَائِكَ مِمَّنْ عَلَى الْيَمِينِ وَعَلَى الشِّمَالِ مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ، وَأَنْتَ عَلَى الذَّنْبِ أَعْظَمُ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ إِذَا عَلِمْتَهُ وَعَمِلْتَهُ.

Wa-la-qad balaghanā ʾanna ibna ʿAbbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā qāla: “Yā ṣāḥiba al-dhanbi, lā taʾman man lā yuʾmanu, wa-lā taʾman min tatabbuʿi al-dhanbi, [fa-ʾinnahu min] qillati ḥayāʾika mimman ʿalā al-yamīni wa-ʿalā al-shimāli mina al-malāʾikati, wa-ʾanta ʿalā al-dhanbi ʾaʿẓamu mina al-dhanbi ʾidhā ʿalimtahu wa-ʿamiltahu.

We have received a report that Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with her [feminine pronoun as printed], said: “You who commit sin, do not feel safe from the One from whom no one can feel safe, and do not feel safe from pursuing sin. [For this comes from] your lack of shame before the angels on your right and left while you are sinning, something greater than the sin when you know it and commit it [the printed construction is disordered].

وَفَزَعُكَ مِنَ الرِّيحِ إِذَا هَبَّتْ وَحَرَّكَتْ سِتْرَ بَابِكَ، وَأَنْتَ عَلَى الذَّنْبِ، وَلَا يَفْرَقُ فُؤَادُكَ مِنْ نَظَرِ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكَ أَعْظَمُ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ إِذَا عَمِلْتَهُ».

Wa-fazaʿuka mina al-rīḥi ʾidhā habbat wa-ḥarrakat sitra bābika, wa-ʾanta ʿalā al-dhanbi, wa-lā yafraqu fuʾāduka min naẓari Allāhi ʾilayka ʾaʿẓamu mina al-dhanbi ʾidhā ʿamiltahu.”

Your alarm at the wind when it blows and moves the curtain at your door while you are sinning, although your heart does not tremble at God’s watching you, is greater than the sin when you commit it.”

وَتَدَبَّرْ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ أَيُّهَا الْمَغْرُورُ، فَإِنَّكَ تَزْعُمُ أَنَّكَ عِنْدَ الذَّنْبِ تَسْتَحِي مِنَ الْآدَمِيِّينَ وَأَرَاكَ تَسْتَحِي مِنَ الْكِرَامِ الْكَاتِبِينَ. وَأَنْتَ تُخْفِي ذُنُوبَكَ مِنَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ، وَأَرَاكَ لَا تَكْتَرِثُ لِاطِّلَاعِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، تُرِيدُ بِزَعْمِكَ ثَوَابَ الصَّادِقِينَ وَمُرَافَقَةَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ.

Wa-tadabbar hādhā al-ḥadītha ʾayyuhā al-maghrūru, fa-ʾinnaka tazʿumu ʾannaka ʿinda al-dhanbi tastaḥī mina al-ʾādamiyyīna wa-ʾarāka tastaḥī mina al-kirāmi al-kātibīna. Wa-ʾanta tukhfī dhunūbaka mina al-makhlūqīna, wa-ʾarāka lā taktarithu li-iṭṭilāʿi rabbi al-ʿālamīna, turīdu bi-zaʿmika thawāba al-ṣādiqīna wa-murāfaqata al-mursalīna.

Consider this report, deluded one. You claim that when sinning you feel shame before human beings, and I see you feeling shame before the noble recording angels [affirmative as printed]. You hide your sins from creatures, yet I see you indifferent to the Lord of all worlds seeing them. You claim to want the reward of the truthful and the company of the messengers.

أُفٍّ لَكَ!! وَيْحَكَ!! مَا أَعْظَمَ جَهْلَكَ!! لَا أَنْتَ مِنْ مَلَائِكَةِ الرَّبِّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ تَسْتَحِي، وَلَا أَنْتَ بِنَظَرِ الْجَبَّارِ إِلَيْكَ تُبَالِي.

ʾUffin laka!! Wayḥaka!! Mā ʾaʿẓama jahlaka!! Lā ʾanta min malāʾikati al-rabbi ʿazza wa-jalla tastaḥī, wa-lā ʾanta bi-naẓari al-jabbāri ʾilayka tubālī.

Shame on you! Have a care! How great your ignorance! You feel no shame before the angels of the Lord, mighty and majestic, and pay no heed to the Compeller watching you.

يَا قَوْمِ: فَتَدَبَّرُوا مَا أَصِفُ لَكُمْ مِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ، فَإِنَّ الْعَامِلِينَ بِهَا قَلِيلٌ، وَالْمُتَفَقِّدِينَ لَهَا فِي الثَّرَى نَازِلِينَ، فَرَاقِبُوا اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِخْوَانِي، وَتَوَرَّعُوا مِنْ مَعَاصِي الْقُلُوبِ، وَتَفَقَّدُوا خَفِيَّاتِ آثَامِهَا، وَاعْتِقَادَ مَعَاصِيهَا، وَسُوءَ ضَمَائِرِهَا، وَدَقَائِقَ شَهَوَاتِهَا، مَكْنُونَ أَهْوَائِهَا،

Yā qawmi: fa-tadabbarū mā ʾaṣifu lakum min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi, fa-ʾinna al-ʿāmilīna bihā qalīlun, wa-al-mutafaqqidīna lahā fī al-tharā nāzilīna, fa-rāqibū Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla ʾikhwānī, wa-tawarraʿū min maʿāṣī al-qulūbi, wa-tafaqqadū khafiyyāti ʾāthāmihā, wa-iʿtiqāda maʿāṣīhā, wa-sūʾa ḍamāʾirihā, wa-daqāʾiqa shahawātihā, maknūna ʾahwāʾihā,

People, consider the sins of hearts that I describe to you. Those who practice them are few [as printed], and those who examined them lie in the dust. My brothers, be mindful of God, mighty and majestic, and guard against the sins of hearts. Examine their hidden offenses, their resolve upon sins, their evil intentions, the subtleties of their appetites, and their concealed passions.

فَجَاهِدُوا عَلَى نَفْيِ مَا خَالَفَ رِضْوَانَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ سَرَائِرِكُمْ، فَمَا عُصِمْتُمْ مِنْهُ فَاحْمَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ، وَمَا بُلِيتُمْ بِهِ فَبَادِرُوا بِالْإِنَابَةِ وَالِانْتِقَالِ [مِنْهُ]، وَتَضَرَّعُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي الْعِصْمَةِ وَالْعَفْوِ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ، وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا تَكْتُمُونَ، إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ.

Fa-jāhidū ʿalā nafyi mā khālafa riḍwāna Allāhi taʿālā min sarāʾirikum, fa-mā ʿuṣimtum minhu fa-iḥmadū Allāha ʿalayhi, wa-mā bulītum bihi fa-bādirū bi-al-ʾinābati wa-al-intiqāli [minhu], wa-taḍarraʿū ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fī al-ʿiṣmati wa-al-ʿafwi, fa-ʾinna Allāha taʿālā yaʿlamu sirrakum wa-jahrakum, wa-yaʿlamu mā tubdūna wa-mā taktumūna, ʾinnahu ʿalīmun bi-dhāti al-ṣudūri.

Struggle to remove from your inward lives whatever conflicts with God Most High’s pleasure. Praise God for whatever you have been protected from, and hasten to repent and turn away [from] whatever has afflicted you. Beseech God, mighty and majestic, for protection and pardon. God Most High knows your secret and your open conduct, what you reveal and what you conceal. He knows what lies within breasts.

Source pages 199–200

إِخْوَانِي: فَمَتَى سَلِمْتُمْ مِنْ آثَامِ الْقُلُوبِ، فَأَنْتُمُ النَّاجُونَ مِنْ عَذَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَإِنْ أَصْرَرْتُمْ عَلَى خُبْثِ السَّرَائِرِ، فَمَا أَقَلَّ عَنَاءَ الْجَوَارِحِ.

ʾIkhwānī: fa-matā salimtum min ʾāthāmi al-qulūbi, fa-ʾantumu al-nājūna min ʿadhābi Allāhi taʿālā ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-ʾin ʾaṣrartum ʿalā khubthi al-sarāʾiri, fa-mā ʾaqalla ʿanāʾa al-jawāriḥi.

My brothers, when you are free of the sins of hearts, you are saved from the punishment of God Most High, mighty and majestic. If you persist in inward wickedness, how little the toil of the limbs [avails]!

Source page 200

وَهَذَا فَضْلُ مَا بَيْنَ الرَّجُلَيْنِ: أَحَدُهُمَا يَتَوَرَّعُ عَنِ الْمَعَاصِي الْمَعْرُوفَةِ عِنْدَهُ، وَعَسَاهُ جَاهِلٌ بِعِظَمِ الضَّمِيرِ، فَيَنْطَوِي عَلَى كَبَائِرَ تَأْتِي عَلَيْهِ وَمَا يَشْعُرُ. وَالْآخَرُ عَالِمٌ بِأَهْوَاءِ النُّفُوسِ، مُتَفَقِّدٌ لِأَحْوَالِ سَرَائِرِهِ، مُجَانِبٌ لِمَكَارِهِ اللَّهِ فِي ظَاهِرِ الْأُمُورِ وَبَاطِنِهَا، فَهَذَا أَوْزَنُ مِنْ صَاحِبِهِ كَثِيرًا. وَفَّقَنَا اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ لِكُلِّ خَيْرٍ بِرَحْمَتِهِ آمِينَ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

Wa-hādhā faḍlu mā bayna al-rajulayni: ʾaḥaduhumā yatawarraʿu ʿani al-maʿāṣī al-maʿrūfati ʿindahu, wa-ʿasāhu jāhilun bi-ʿiẓami al-ḍamīri, fa-yanṭawī ʿalā kabāʾira taʾtī ʿalayhi wa-mā yashʿuru. Wa-al-ʾākharu ʿālimun bi-ʾahwāʾi al-nufūsi, mutafaqqidun li-ʾaḥwāli sarāʾirihi, mujānibun li-makārihi Allāhi fī ẓāhiri al-ʾumūri wa-bāṭinihā, fa-hādhā ʾawzanu min ṣāḥibihi kathīran. Waffaqanā Allāhu wa-ʾiyyākum li-kulli khayrin bi-raḥmatihi ʾāmīna yā rabba al-ʿālamīna.

This is the difference between the two men: one guards against the sins he recognizes, yet may be ignorant of the gravity of what is inward, harboring major sins that destroy him without his realizing it. The other knows the soul’s passions, examines the conditions of his inward life, and avoids what God dislikes in both the outward and inward aspects of things. This man carries far more weight than his companion. May God, in His mercy, grant us and you every good. Amen, Lord of all worlds.

Source page 201

الْبَابُ التَّاسِعُ وَالثَّلَاثُونَ

Al-bābu al-tāsiʿu wa-al-thalāthūna

Chapter Thirty-Nine

فِي التَّقَرُّبِ بِطَاعَاتِ الْقُلُوبِ

Fī al-taqarrubi bi-ṭāʿāti al-qulūbi

Drawing near through the heart’s acts of obedience

إِخْوَانِي: وَإِذَا تَقَرَّبَ النَّاسُ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِأَنْوَاعِ الْبِرِّ الظَّاهِرَةِ مِثْلِ الْحَجِّ، وَالْجِهَادِ، وَالصَّوْمِ، وَالصَّلَاةِ، وَالصَّدَقَةِ، وَالزَّكَاةِ، وَتِلَاوَةِ الْقُرْآنِ، وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ. فَنَافِسُوهُمْ فِيهَا، وَاجْعَلُوا أَعْظَمَ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي طَاعَةِ الْقُلُوبِ، الَّتِي لَا يَطَّلِعُ عَلَيْهَا الْإِنْسُ وَلَا الْمَلَائِكَةُ، وَلَا يَعْلَمُهَا غَيْرُ عَلَّامِ الْغُيُوبِ، فَإِنَّ الْقَلِيلَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ كَثِيرٌ [إِذَا كَانَ مِنَ الْقُلُوبِ].

ʾIkhwānī: wa-ʾidhā taqarraba al-nāsu ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla bi-ʾanwāʿi al-birri al-ẓāhirati mithli al-ḥajji, wa-al-jihādi, wa-al-ṣawmi, wa-al-ṣalāti, wa-al-ṣadaqati, wa-al-zakāti, wa-tilāwati al-qurʾāni, wa-ghayri dhālika. Fa-nāfisūhum fīhā, wa-ijʿalū ʾaʿẓama al-raghbati fī ṭāʿati al-qulūbi, allatī lā yaṭṭaliʿu ʿalayhā al-ʾinsu wa-lā al-malāʾikatu, wa-lā yaʿlamuhā ghayru ʿallāmi al-ghuyūbi, fa-ʾinna al-qalīla min ʾaʿmāli al-birri kathīrun [ʾidhā kāna mina al-qulūbi].

My brothers, when people draw near to God, mighty and majestic, through outward acts of goodness such as pilgrimage, jihad, fasting, prayer, charity, zakāt, reciting the Qurʾān, and other deeds, compete with them in these. But direct your greatest desire toward the heart’s obedience, unseen by humans and angels and known only to the Knower of hidden things. A little goodness is much [when it comes from hearts].

بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «الذِّكْرُ الَّذِي لَا يَكْتُبُهُ الْحَفَظَةُ يَزِيدُ عَلَى الذِّكْرِ الَّذِي تَكْتُبُهُ الْحَفَظَةُ بِسَبْعِينَ ضِعْفًا».

Balaghanā ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama qāla: “Al-dhikru alladhī lā yaktubuhu al-ḥafaẓatu yazīdu ʿalā al-dhikri alladhī taktubuhu al-ḥafaẓatu bi-sabʿīna ḍiʿfan.”

We have received a report that God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Remembrance that the recording angels do not write down surpasses the remembrance they record seventyfold.”

أَلَا فَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِطَاعَةِ الْقُلُوبِ، فَإِنَّ فِيهَا الْمَعْرِفَةَ بِعَظَمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَكِبْرِيَائِهِ وَجَلَالِهِ وَقُدْرَتِهِ وَعَظِيمِ قَدْرِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ. فَأَيْنَ الْعَالِمُ بِتَعْظِيمِ الرَّبِّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِجْلَالِهِ وَتَكَرُّمِهِ، وَالْهَيْبَةِ لَهُ، وَالِاسْتِحْيَاءِ مِنْهُ، وَأَنَّى يَكُونُ لَهُ ذَلِكَ.

ʾAlā fa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-ṭāʿati al-qulūbi, fa-ʾinna fīhā al-maʿrifata bi-ʿaẓamati Allāhi taʿālā wa-kibriyāʾihi wa-jalālihi wa-qudratihi wa-ʿaẓīmi qadrihi subḥānahu. Fa-ʾayna al-ʿālimu bi-taʿẓīmi al-rabbi ʿazza wa-jalla ʾijlālihi wa-takarrumihi, wa-al-haybati lahu, wa-al-istiḥyāʾi minhu, wa-ʾannā yakūnu lahu dhālika.

Take heed and draw near to God through the heart’s obedience. It includes knowing God Most High’s greatness, majesty, glory, power, and tremendous worth, glory be to Him. Where is the one who understands magnifying the Lord, mighty and majestic, reverence for Him and His generosity [the printed connection is unclear], awe of Him and shame before Him? How could he attain this?

فَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِمَحَابِّ اللَّهِ، وَبُغْضِ مَكَارِهِهِ، وَالرِّضَى وَالْغَضَبِ لَهُ وَفِيهِ. وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِشِدَّةِ الْحُبِّ لَهُ، وَالْحُبِّ فِيهِ، وَالْبُغْضِ مِنْ أَجْلِهِ.

Fa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-maḥābbi Allāhi, wa-bughḍi makārihihi, wa-al-riḍā wa-al-ghaḍabi lahu wa-fīhi. Wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā bi-shiddati al-ḥubbi lahu, wa-al-ḥubbi fīhi, wa-al-bughḍi min ʾajlihi.

Draw near to God through what He loves, hating what He dislikes, and being pleased or angry for Him and on His account. Draw near to God Most High through intense love for Him, loving for His sake, and hating for His sake.

Source page 202

وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِالْمَعْرِفَةِ بِأَيَادِيهِ الْحَسَنَةِ، وَنِعَمِهِ الظَّاهِرَةِ وَالْبَاطِنَةِ، وَأَفْعَالِهِ الْجَمِيلَةِ، وَمِنَّتِهِ الْمُتَوَاتِرَةِ عَلَى تَوَاتُرِ الْإِسَاءَةِ مِنَّا، وَهُوَ يَعُودُ بِأَنْوَاعِ النِّعَمِ عَلَيْنَا.

Wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-al-maʿrifati bi-ʾayādīhi al-ḥasanati, wa-niʿamihi al-ẓāhirati wa-al-bāṭinati, wa-ʾafʿālihi al-jamīlati, wa-minnatihi al-mutawātirati ʿalā tawāturi al-ʾisāʾati minnā, wa-huwa yaʿūdu bi-ʾanwāʿi al-niʿami ʿalaynā.

Draw near to God by recognizing His gracious favors, His outward and inward blessings, His beautiful acts, and His continual kindness despite our continual wrongdoing. He keeps returning to us with every kind of blessing.

أَلَا. فَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالْخَوْفِ مِنْ زَوَالِ النِّعَمِ، وَشِدَّةِ الْحَيَاءِ مِنَ التَّقْصِيرِ فِي الشُّكْرِ، وَتَقَرَّبُوا بِالْوَجَلِ مِنْ مَكْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَالْإِشْفَاقِ عَلَى إِيمَانِكُمْ.

ʾAlā. Fa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā bi-al-khawfi min zawāli al-niʿami, wa-shiddati al-ḥayāʾi mina al-taqṣīri fī al-shukri, wa-taqarrabū bi-al-wajali min makri Allāhi taʿālā, wa-al-ʾishfāqi ʿalā ʾīmānikum.

Take heed! Draw near to God Most High by fearing the loss of blessings and feeling profound shame over falling short in gratitude. Draw near by trembling before God Most High’s hidden design and fearing for your faith.

وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِشِدَّةِ الْخَوْفِ مِنْهُ، وَحَقِيقَةِ الرَّجَاءِ فِيهِ، وَالسُّرُورِ بِذِكْرِهِ وَمُنَاجَاتِهِ وَالشَّوْقِ إِلَيْهِ، وَالرَّغْبَةِ فِي جِوَارِهِ.

Wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā bi-shiddati al-khawfi minhu, wa-ḥaqīqati al-rajāʾi fīhi, wa-al-surūri bi-dhikrihi wa-munājātihi wa-al-shawqi ʾilayhi, wa-al-raghbati fī jiwārihi.

Draw near to God Most High through intense fear of Him, genuine hope in Him, joy in remembering Him and speaking intimately with Him, longing for Him, and desire to dwell near Him.

وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِصِدْقِ الْيَقِينِ، وَالتَّوَكُّلِ عَلَيْهِ، وَالثِّقَةِ بِهِ، وَالطُّمَأْنِينَةِ إِلَيْهِ، وَالْأُنْسِ بِهِ، وَالِانْقِطَاعِ إِلَيْهِ. وَأَيْنَ أُولَئِكَ؟

Wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā bi-ṣidqi al-yaqīni, wa-al-tawakkuli ʿalayhi, wa-al-thiqati bihi, wa-al-ṭumaʾnīnati ʾilayhi, wa-al-ʾunsi bihi, wa-al-inqiṭāʿi ʾilayhi. Wa-ʾayna ʾulāʾika?

Draw near to God Most High through true certainty, reliance on Him, trust in Him, finding peace in Him, intimacy with Him, and devotion to Him alone. Where are those people?

أَلَا فَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالْوَفَاءِ، وَلِينِ الْجَنَاحِ وَالتَّوَاضُعِ وَالْخُشُوعِ وَالْخُضُوعِ، وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِالْحِلْمِ وَالِاحْتِمَالِ، وَكَظْمِ الْغَيْظِ، وَتَجَرُّعِ الْمَرَارَةِ.

ʾAlā fa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā bi-al-wafāʾi, wa-līni al-janāḥi wa-al-tawāḍuʿi wa-al-khushūʿi wa-al-khuḍūʿi, wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-al-ḥilmi wa-al-iḥtimāli, wa-kaẓmi al-ghayẓi, wa-tajarruʿi al-marārati.

Take heed and draw near to God Most High through faithfulness, gentleness, humility, reverence, and submission. Draw near to God through forbearance, endurance, restraining anger, and swallowing bitterness.

وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِسَلَامَةِ الصُّدُورِ، وَإِرَادَةِ الْخَيْرِ لِلْأُمَّةِ، وَكَرَاهَةِ الشَّرِّ لَهُمْ، وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِالرَّأْفَةِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ، وَالشَّفَقَةِ وَالْحَوْطَةِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ.

Wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-salāmati al-ṣudūri, wa-ʾirādati al-khayri li-al-ʾummati, wa-karāhati al-sharri lahum, wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-al-raʾfati wa-al-raḥmati, wa-al-shafaqati wa-al-ḥawṭati ʿalā al-muslimīna.

Draw near to God through hearts free of ill will, wanting good for the community and disliking harm for them. Draw near to God through kindness, mercy, compassion, and protective care for Muslims.

أَلَا وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِالْجُودِ وَالْكَرَمِ، وَالتَّفَضُّلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ، وَصِدْقِ الْوَفَاءِ.

ʾAlā wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-al-jūdi wa-al-karami, wa-al-tafaḍḍuli wa-al-ʾiḥsāni, wa-ṣidqi al-wafāʾi.

Take heed and draw near to God through openhandedness, generosity, graciousness, kindness, and true faithfulness.

أَلَا. وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِغَنَاءِ النُّفُوسِ، وَالْقَنَاعَةِ وَالْكَفَافِ وَالرِّضَى بِالْبُلْغَةِ، وَالْيَأْسِ مِنْ نَائِلِ النَّاسِ.

ʾAlā. Wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā bi-ghanāʾi al-nufūsi, wa-al-qanāʿati wa-al-kafāfi wa-al-riḍā bi-al-bulghati, wa-al-yaʾsi min nāʾili al-nāsi.

Take heed! Draw near to God Most High through inward sufficiency, contentment, having just enough, being satisfied with bare sustenance, and abandoning hope of gifts from people.

أَلَا وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِالتَّثَبُّتِ وَالْعِبْرَةِ، وَالتَّأَنِّي وَالنَّظَرِ.

ʾAlā wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-al-tathabbuti wa-al-ʿibrati, wa-al-taʾannī wa-al-naẓari.

Take heed and draw near to God through careful deliberation, taking lessons, patience, and reflection.

وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِاسْتِكْثَارِ نِعَمِهِ لَدَيْكُمْ.

Wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-istikthāri niʿamihi ladaykum.

Draw near to God by recognizing how abundant His blessings to you are.

وَتَقَرَّبُوا بِالتَّدَبُّرِ لِكِتَابِهِ، وَالْإِضْمَارِ عَلَى الْقِيَامِ بِحُدُودِهِ، وَإِخْلَاصِ الْأَعْمَالِ لَهُ.

Wa-taqarrabū bi-al-tadabburi li-kitābihi, wa-al-ʾiḍmāri ʿalā al-qiyāmi bi-ḥudūdihi, wa-ʾikhlāṣi al-ʾaʿmāli lahu.

Draw near by reflecting on His Book, inwardly resolving to observe its limits, and making your deeds sincere for Him.

وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِمُجَاهَدَةِ الشَّيْطَانِ عَنْ دِينِكُمْ، وَمُخَالَفَةِ الْهَوَى فِي سَرِيرَتِكُمْ وَالتَّفَقُّدِ لِأَحْوَالِكُمْ، وَالتَّقْوَى فِي كُلِّ أُمُورِكُمْ، وَالنَّدَمِ عَلَى مَا أَسْلَفْتُمْ.

Wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-mujāhadati al-shayṭāni ʿan dīnikum, wa-mukhālafati al-hawā fī sarīratikum wa-al-tafaqqudi li-ʾaḥwālikum, wa-al-taqwā fī kulli ʾumūrikum, wa-al-nadami ʿalā mā ʾaslaftum.

Draw near to God by struggling against Satan to defend your religion, opposing passion within yourselves, examining your condition, observing piety in all your affairs, and regretting what you have done in the past.

Source page 203

أَلَا. وَارْغَبُوا فِي مَكَارِمِ الْأَخْلَاقِ، وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِأَدَاءِ الْأَمَانَةِ إِلَى مَنْ خَانَكُمْ، وَالْإِحْسَانِ إِلَى مَنْ أَسَاءَ إِلَيْكُمْ، وَالْإِيثَارِ عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ، وَإِنْ كَانَ بِكُمْ خَصَاصَةٌ.

ʾAlā. Wa-irghabū fī makārimi al-ʾakhlāqi, wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-ʾadāʾi al-ʾamānati ʾilā man khānakum, wa-al-ʾiḥsāni ʾilā man ʾasāʾa ʾilaykum, wa-al-ʾīthāri ʿalā ʾanfusikum, wa-ʾin kāna bikum khaṣāṣatun.

Take heed! Desire noble character, and draw near to God by returning a trust even to someone who betrayed you, being kind to someone who wronged you, and preferring others to yourselves even when you are in need.

وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِيثَارِ الْوَضْعَةِ عَلَى الرِّفْعَةِ، وَإِيثَارِ الشِّدَّةِ فِي اللَّهِ عَلَى الرَّخَاءِ، وَإِيثَارِ الْفَقْرِ عَلَى الْغِنَى، وَأَنَّى لَكُمْ ذَلِكَ.

Wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-ʾīthāri al-waḍʿati ʿalā al-rifʿati, wa-ʾīthāri al-shiddati fī Allāhi ʿalā al-rakhāʾi, wa-ʾīthāri al-faqri ʿalā al-ghinā, wa-ʾannā lakum dhālika.

Draw near to God by preferring lowliness to elevation, hardship for God’s sake to ease, and poverty to wealth. But how could you attain that?

وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِالْفَرَحِ بِمَصَائِبِ الدُّنْيَا، وَالسُّرُورِ بِنَظَرِ اللَّهِ، وَاخْتِيَارِهِ فِيمَا بُلِيَ وَأَوْلَى، وَأَنَّى لَكُمُ السُّرُورُ بِذَلِكَ.

Wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-al-faraḥi bi-maṣāʾibi al-dunyā, wa-al-surūri bi-naẓari Allāhi, wa-ikhtiyārihi fī-mā buliya wa-ʾawlā, wa-ʾannā lakumu al-surūru bi-dhālika.

Draw near to God by rejoicing in worldly afflictions and taking delight in God’s regard and His choice, in what one is tried with and what He grants [the printed verbal connection is uncertain]. But how could you delight in that?

وَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِذِكْرِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْبَعْثِ دَائِمًا، وَطُولِ الْوُقُوفِ دَهْرًا طَوِيلًا، وَبِمَاذَا تُجِيبُونَ عِنْدَ السُّؤَالِ، وَذِكْرِ الْوُرُودِ حَقًّا عَلَيْهَا، وَعُبُورِكُمْ عَلَى جُسُورِ الصِّرَاطِ.

Wa-taqarrabū ʾilā Allāhi bi-dhikri al-mawti wa-al-baʿthi dāʾiman, wa-ṭūli al-wuqūfi dahran ṭawīlan, wa-bi-mādhā tujībūna ʿinda al-suʾāli, wa-dhikri al-wurūdi ḥaqqan ʿalayhā, wa-ʿubūrikum ʿalā jusūri al-ṣirāṭi.

Draw near to God by continually remembering death and resurrection, the long standing through a lengthy age, what you will answer when questioned, your certain arrival at [the Fire], and your crossing over the bridges of the ṣirāṭ.

إِخْوَانِي: فَارْغَبُوا فِيمَا نُصَّتْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ وَطَاعَتِهَا، فَإِنَّ الْعَارِفِينَ بِهَا قَلِيلٌ، وَالْعَامِلِينَ بِهَا عَزِيزٌ، وَقَدْ جَاءَتِ الْأَنْبَاءُ عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِفَضْلِ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ. وَقَدْ بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ يَقُولُ:

ʾIkhwānī: fa-irghabū fī-mā nuṣṣat lakum min ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi wa-ṭāʿatihā, fa-ʾinna al-ʿārifīna bihā qalīlun, wa-al-ʿāmilīna bihā ʿazīzun, wa-qad jāʾati al-ʾanbāʾu ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama bi-faḍli ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi. Wa-qad balaghanā ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla thanāʾuhu yaqūlu:

My brothers, desire the heart’s deeds and acts of obedience that have been set out for you [a provisional reading of the printed verb]. Few know them, and those who practice them are rare. Reports have come from God, mighty and majestic, through God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, concerning the merit of the heart’s deeds. We have received a report that God, mighty and exalted is His praise, says:

«لَسْتُ أَنْظُرُ فِي كَلَامِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ، وَلَكِنْ أَنْظُرُ إِلَى هِمَمِكُمْ وَإِلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ، فَأَيُّمَا قَلْبٍ وَافَقَتْ هِمَّتُهُ مَحَبَّتِي، جَعَلْتُ ضِمْنَهُ تَسْبِيحًا وَتَهْلِيلًا وَتَقْدِيسًا».

“Lastu ʾanẓuru fī kalāmikum wa-ʾaʿmālikum, wa-lākin ʾanẓuru ʾilā himamikum wa-ʾilā qulūbikum, fa-ʾayyumā qalbin wāfaqat himmatuhu maḥabbatī, jaʿaltu ḍimnahu tasbīḥan wa-tahlīlan wa-taqdīsan.”

“I do not look at your speech and deeds, but at your aspirations and your hearts. Whatever heart has an aspiration in harmony with My love, I place within it glorification, declaration of My oneness, and sanctification.”

Source pages 203–204

وَبَعْدُ: فَإِنَّ طَاعَاتِ الْجَوَارِحِ بِالْقُلُوبِ صَلَاحُهَا، وَفِي فَسَادِ الْقُلُوبِ تَضْيِيعٌ لِطَاعَاتِ الْجَوَارِحِ، فَلَا تُضَيِّعُوا حَظَّكُمْ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ السَّرَائِرِ، فَفِيهَا الْحَزْمُ، وَالْفَضْلُ الْعَظِيمُ. فَهَذَا الْوَصْفُ يَقْصُرُ عَنْ قَدْرِهَا عَنْ تَحْصِيلِ مَا فِي الصُّدُورِ. وَالنَّاسُ عَنْهَا غَافِلُونَ.

Wa-baʿdu: fa-ʾinna ṭāʿāti al-jawāriḥi bi-al-qulūbi ṣalāḥuhā, wa-fī fasādi al-qulūbi taḍyīʿun li-ṭāʿāti al-jawāriḥi, fa-lā tuḍayyiʿū ḥaẓẓakum min ʾaʿmāli al-sarāʾiri, fa-fīhā al-ḥazmu, wa-al-faḍlu al-ʿaẓīmu. Fa-hādhā al-waṣfu yaqṣuru ʿan qadrihā ʿan taḥṣīli mā fī al-ṣudūri. Wa-al-nāsu ʿanhā ghāfilūna.

Furthermore, the soundness of the limbs’ acts of obedience depends on hearts; corrupt hearts squander the limbs’ obedience. Do not waste your share of inward deeds, for in them lie sound resolve and tremendous merit. This description falls short of their worth, short of fully setting out what lies within breasts, while people remain heedless of them.

Source page 204

يَا قَوْمِ: فَمَا آتَاكُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْهَا شَكَرْتُمْ، وَمَا قَصَّرْتُمْ عَنْهُ حَزِنْتُمْ، وَتَضَرَّعْتُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ فِي الْفَضْلِ وَالتَّسْدِيدِ لِرِضْوَانِهِ.

Yā qawmi: fa-mā ʾātākumu Allāhu minhā shakartum, wa-mā qaṣṣartum ʿanhu ḥazintum, wa-taḍarraʿtum ʾilā Allāhi fī al-faḍli wa-al-tasdīdi li-riḍwānihi.

People, be grateful for whatever God gives you of these deeds, grieve over what you fall short of, and beseech God for grace and guidance toward His pleasure.

فَهَذَا فَضْلُ مَا بَيْنَ الرَّجُلَيْنِ: أَحَدُهُمَا يَسْتَكْثِرُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ الظَّاهِرَةِ، وَعَسَاهُ مَخْرُوبٌ مِنْ جَوَانِبِ الْبَاطِنِ. وَالْآخَرُ يَسْتَكْثِرُ مِنْ أَنْوَاعِ الْبِرِّ وَيَعْتَقِدُ جَوَانِحَهُ الْبَاطِنَةَ وَمَثَالِبَهَا، مُتَحَرٍّ فِي مَسَرَّاتِ اللَّهِ فِيهَا، فَهُوَ أَوْزَنُ مِنْ صَاحِبِهِ كَثِيرًا، وَأَعْلَى عِنْدَ اللَّهِ قَدْرًا.

Fa-hādhā faḍlu mā bayna al-rajulayni: ʾaḥaduhumā yastakthiru min ʾaʿmāli al-birri al-ẓāhirati, wa-ʿasāhu makhrūbun min jawānibi al-bāṭini. Wa-al-ʾākharu yastakthiru min ʾanwāʿi al-birri wa-yaʿtaqidu jawāniḥahu al-bāṭinata wa-mathālibahā, mutaḥarrin fī masarrāti Allāhi fīhā, fa-huwa ʾawzanu min ṣāḥibihi kathīran, wa-ʾaʿlā ʿinda Allāhi qadran.

This is the difference between the two men: one multiplies outward good deeds, yet may be inwardly ruined. The other multiplies kinds of goodness and holds his inward faculties and their faults [in mind; the printed verb is uncertain], carefully seeking what pleases God within them. He carries far more weight than his companion and stands higher before God.

فَهَذَا وَنَحْوُهُ مِنْ فَضْلِ الْعِلْمِ وَالْعَقْلِ، وَفَضْلِ النِّيَّةِ وَالْإِرَادَةِ، وَفَرْقِ مَا بَيْنَ الْعِبَادَةِ، وَقَدْ يَسْتَوِي فِيهَا الرَّجُلَانِ فِي الْوَرَعِ وَالْعَقْلِ وَالْبِرِّ، وَأَحَدُهُمَا أَرْجَحُ مِنَ الْآخَرِ عَقْلًا، وَأَشَدُّ تَحَرِّيًا لِمَسَرَّاتِ اللَّهِ، وَأَبْلَغُ فِي رِضْوَانِهِ، وَهَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا وَلَكُمْ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا، وَعَقْلًا رَاجِحًا، إِنَّهُ جَوَادٌ كَرِيمٌ، رَؤُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ.

Fa-hādhā wa-naḥwuhu min faḍli al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿaqli, wa-faḍli al-niyyati wa-al-ʾirādati, wa-farqi mā bayna al-ʿibādati, wa-qad yastawī fīhā al-rajulāni fī al-waraʿi wa-al-ʿaqli wa-al-birri, wa-ʾaḥaduhumā ʾarjaḥu mina al-ʾākhari ʿaqlan, wa-ʾashaddu taḥarriyan li-masarrāti Allāhi, wa-ʾablaghu fī riḍwānihi, wahaba Allāhu lanā wa-lakum ʿilman nāfiʿan, wa-ʿaqlan rājiḥan, ʾinnahu jawādun karīmun, raʾūfun raḥīmun.

This and the like show the merit of knowledge and understanding, the merit of intention and resolve, and the distinctions within worship. Two men may be equal in it in scrupulousness, understanding, and goodness, yet one has sounder understanding, seeks more carefully what pleases God, and goes further in winning His pleasure. May God grant us and you beneficial knowledge and sound understanding. He is bountiful, generous, tender, and merciful.

Source page 205

الْبَابُ الْأَرْبَعُونَ

Al-bābu al-ʾarbaʿūna

Chapter Forty

فِي آفَاتِ الْعِلْمِ

Fī ʾāfāti al-ʿilmi

The dangers of knowledge

إِخْوَانِي: وَسَأَلْتُمْ عَنْ أَحْوَالِ الَّذِينَ أَظْهَرُوا الْعِلْمَ وَأَعْمَالَ الْبِرِّ، وَمَا أَرَادُوا بِإِظْهَارِهِ.

ʾIkhwānī: wa-saʾaltum ʿan ʾaḥwāli alladhīna ʾaẓharū al-ʿilma wa-ʾaʿmāla al-birri, wa-mā ʾarādū bi-ʾiẓhārihi.

My brothers, you have asked about those who make their knowledge and good deeds public, and what they intend by displaying them.

وَسَأَلْتُمْ عَنْ أَحْوَالِ الَّذِينَ أَسَرُّوا الْعِلْمَ وَأَحْوَالَ الْبِرِّ، وَرَغِبُوا فِي خُمُولِ الذِّكْرِ، مَا أَرَادُوا بِذَلِكَ مِنْ سِرِّهِ.

Wa-saʾaltum ʿan ʾaḥwāli alladhīna ʾasarrū al-ʿilma wa-ʾaḥwāla al-birri, wa-raghibū fī khumūli al-dhikri, mā ʾarādū bi-dhālika min sirrihi.

You have also asked about those who conceal their knowledge and states of goodness and desire obscurity: what secret purpose they intend by this [the final wording is unclear].

إِخْوَانِي: لَقَدْ سَأَلْتُمْ عَنْ أَهْوَاءٍ مُخْتَلِفَةٍ، وَإِرَادَاتٍ مُتَبَايِنَةٍ، وَعُقُولٍ مُتَفَاوِتَةٍ وَسَأَصِفُ بَعْضَ أَحْوَالِهِمْ بِمَنِّ اللَّهِ وَإِرْشَادِهِ.

ʾIkhwānī: la-qad saʾaltum ʿan ʾahwāʾin mukhtalifatin, wa-ʾirādātin mutabāyinatin, wa-ʿuqūlin mutafāwitatin wa-sa-ʾaṣifu baʿḍa ʾaḥwālihim bi-manni Allāhi wa-ʾirshādihi.

My brothers, you have asked about differing inclinations, divergent intentions, and unequal capacities of understanding. With God’s favor and guidance, I will describe some of their conditions.

أَحْوَالُ الْعُلَمَاءِ:

ʾAḥwālu al-ʿulamāʾi:

The conditions of scholars

وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُظْهِرُ مَا عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ وَالْعَمَلِ، لِيَنَالَ بِهِ مِنْ عَرَضِ الدُّنْيَا، أَعَاذَنَا اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ.

Wa-dhālika ʾanna minhum man yuẓhiru mā ʿindahu mina al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿamali, li-yanāla bihi min ʿaraḍi al-dunyā, ʾaʿādhanā Allāhu wa-ʾiyyākum min dhālika.

Some display the knowledge and deeds they possess in order to obtain worldly goods. May God protect us and you from that.

وَمِنْهُمْ ضَعِيفُ الرَّأْيِ لَا يُقَادُ بِعِلْمِهِ، جَاهِلٌ بِأَدْوَاءِ النُّفُوسِ، قَلِيلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِمَكَائِدِ الشَّيْطَانِ، وَهُوَ يُظْهِرُ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْعِلْمِ وَالْعَمَلِ، رَغْبَةً فِي ثَوَابِ إِرْشَادِ النَّاسِ، وَقَدْ غَرِقَ فِي بِحَارِ الْفِتَنِ وَالْجَهْلِ، وَأَتَتْ عَلَيْهِ مَكَائِدُ الشَّيْطَانِ وَمَا يَشْعُرُ.

Wa-minhum ḍaʿīfu al-raʾyi lā yuqādu bi-ʿilmihi, jāhilun bi-ʾadwāʾi al-nufūsi, qalīlu al-maʿrifati bi-makāʾidi al-shayṭāni, wa-huwa yuẓhiru kathīran mina al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿamali, raghbatan fī thawābi ʾirshādi al-nāsi, wa-qad ghariqa fī biḥāri al-fitani wa-al-jahli, wa-ʾatat ʿalayhi makāʾidu al-shayṭāni wa-mā yashʿuru.

Another has weak judgment and is not guided by his knowledge. He is ignorant of the soul’s diseases and knows little of Satan’s schemes, yet displays much knowledge and practice, desiring the reward of guiding people. He has drowned in seas of temptation and ignorance, and Satan’s schemes have destroyed him without his realizing it.

Source page 206

وَمِنْهُمْ مُتَدَاهٍ فِي نَفْسِهِ، مُدَّعٍ لِلْعِلْمِ وَالْفِطْنَةِ بِمَكَائِدِ الشَّيْطَانِ، فَيُظْهِرُ كَثِيرًا مِنْ أَعْمَالِ بِرِّهِ، وَعِلْمِهِ، لِلِاقْتِدَاءِ [بِهِ]، لِيَكُونَ لَهُ مِثْلُ أُجُورِ الْقَابِلِينَ مِنْهُ، فَنَصَبَ لِذَلِكَ نَفْسَهُ، وَسَهِرَ لَيْلَهُ وَنَهَارَهُ، وَاشْتَدَّ عَلَيْهِ حِرْصُهُ، وَهُوَ بِهِ مَسْرُورٌ،

Wa-minhum mutadāhin fī nafsihi, muddaʿin li-al-ʿilmi wa-al-fiṭnati bi-makāʾidi al-shayṭāni, fa-yuẓhiru kathīran min ʾaʿmāli birrihi, wa-ʿilmihi, li-al-iqtidāʾi [bihi], li-yakūna lahu mithlu ʾujūri al-qābilīna minhu, fa-naṣaba li-dhālika nafsahu, wa-sahira laylahu wa-nahārahu, wa-ishtadda ʿalayhi ḥirṣuhu, wa-huwa bihi masrūrun,

Another considers himself clever, claiming knowledge and insight into Satan’s schemes. He displays many of his good deeds and much of his knowledge so that others will follow [him] and he will receive rewards like those of people who learn from him. He sets himself up for this, stays awake night and day, and is gripped by ever more intense eagerness, delighted with it.

نَفْسُهُ تُمَنِّيهِ أَنَّ الَّذِي هُوَ فِيهِ مِنْ أَعْلَى الْأَعْمَالِ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ، وَأَنَّهُ مَأْجُورٌ عَلَى حِرْصِهِ، وَسُرُورِهِ بِاجْتِمَاعِ النَّاسِ إِلَيْهِ لِلْمَنَافِعِ الَّتِي أَنَالَهُمُ اللَّهُ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ بِزَعْمِهِ فِيمَا يَرَى، فَلَا يَشُكُّ أَنَّهُ كَذَلِكَ فِي مَبْلَغِ عِلْمِهِ، وَإِنَّهُ نَاظِرٌ لِنَفْسِهِ بِزَعْمِهِ،

Nafsuhu tumannīhi ʾanna alladhī huwa fīhi min ʾaʿlā al-ʾaʿmāli ʿinda rabbihi, wa-ʾannahu maʾjūrun ʿalā ḥirṣihi, wa-surūrihi bi-ijtimāʿi al-nāsi ʾilayhi li-al-manāfiʿi allatī ʾanālahumu Allāhu ʿalā yadayhi bi-zaʿmihi fī-mā yarā, fa-lā yashukku ʾannahu ka-dhālika fī mablaghi ʿilmihi, wa-ʾinnahu nāẓirun li-nafsihi bi-zaʿmihi,

His soul fills him with hopes that what he is doing is among the highest deeds before his Lord, and that he is rewarded for his eagerness and his delight at people gathering around him for the benefits that, as he claims and sees it, God has granted them through him. Within the limits of his knowledge, he has no doubt that this is so and that he is looking after his own interests, as he claims.

يَرَى الْفَضْلَ بِإِظْهَارِ مَا أَحْسَنَ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ وَفِعْلِهِ، يُؤَثِّلُ الْعَزْمَ فِي أَمْرِهِ، وَيَطْمَعُ فِي دَفْعِ الْفِتْنَةِ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ، وَيَنْفِي الْآفَاتِ عَنْ عِلْمِهِ، يَرْتَجِي الصِّدْقَ وَالْإِخْلَاصَ فِي أَحْوَالِهِ، وَعَسَاهُ كَالَّذِي بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَقُولُ: «مَنْ زَعَمَ مِنْ وَلَدِ آدَمَ أَنَّهُ بِعِلْمِهِ امْتَنَعَ مِنِّي، فَبِجَهْلِهِ وَقَعَ فِي حَبَائِلِي».

Yarā al-faḍla bi-ʾiẓhāri mā ʾaḥsana min qawlihi wa-fiʿlihi, yuʾaththilu al-ʿazma fī ʾamrihi, wa-yaṭmaʿu fī dafʿi al-fitnati ʿan nafsihi, wa-yanfī al-ʾāfāti ʿan ʿilmihi, yartajī al-ṣidqa wa-al-ʾikhlāṣa fī ʾaḥwālihi, wa-ʿasāhu ka-alladhī balaghanā ʾanna al-shayṭāna yaqūlu: “Man zaʿama min waladi ʾĀdama ʾannahu bi-ʿilmihi imtanaʿa minnī, fa-bi-jahlihi waqaʿa fī ḥabāʾilī.”

He sees merit in displaying the good he has done in word and deed, strengthens his resolve in his undertaking, hopes to ward off temptation from himself, and removes dangers from his knowledge, hoping for truthfulness and sincerity in his condition. Yet he may be like the person described in the saying we have received from Satan: “Whoever among Adam’s children claims that his knowledge protects him from me has fallen into my snares through his ignorance.”

فَالْجَهْلُ أَوْلَى بِهِ إِذَا ادَّعَى النَّفَاذَ فِي عِلْمِهِ، وَالْقُوَّةَ فِي عَقْلِهِ وَفِعْلِهِ، يَتَصَنَّعُ فِيمَا أَظْهَرَ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَالْعَمَلِ، كَيْمَا يُؤَكِّدَ بِهِ أَمْرَهُ، وَيُصَوِّبَ بِهِ فِعْلَهُ، وَيَتَبَاهَى فِي الْآفَاقِ لِمَنَافِعِ النَّاسِ بِزَعْمِهِ، فَيُقْتَبَسُ ذَلِكَ عَنْهُ، وَيَعْلُو بِهِ ذِكْرُهُ، وَكَذَلِكَ أُمْنِيَّتُهُ وَمَا يَشْعُرُ.

Fa-al-jahlu ʾawlā bihi ʾidhā iddaʿā al-nafādha fī ʿilmihi, wa-al-quwwata fī ʿaqlihi wa-fiʿlihi, yataṣannaʿu fī-mā ʾaẓhara mina al-qawli wa-al-ʿamali, kaymā yuʾakkida bihi ʾamrahu, wa-yuṣawwiba bihi fiʿlahu, wa-yatabāhā fī al-ʾāfāqi li-manāfiʿi al-nāsi bi-zaʿmihi, fa-yuqtabasu dhālika ʿanhu, wa-yaʿlū bihi dhikruhu, wa-ka-dhālika ʾumniyyatuhu wa-mā yashʿuru.

Ignorance better describes him when he claims penetrating knowledge and strength of understanding and action. He puts on a show in his public speech and deeds to reinforce his position and vindicate his conduct, boasting far and wide for people’s benefit, as he claims. Others borrow this from him, and his reputation rises through it. That is precisely his wish, though he does not realize it.

وَعَسَاهُ كَبَعْضِ الْمُغْتَرِّينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ، فَإِنَّهُ بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ حَكِيمًا مِنَ الْحُكَمَاءِ، قَرَأَ ثَلَاثَمِائَةٍ وَسِتِّينَ مُصْحَفًا، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى نَبِيِّ زَمَانِهِ، قُلْ لَهُ: إِنَّكَ مَلَأْتَ الْأَرْضَ نِفَاقًا، وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمْ يَقْبَلْ مِنْ نِفَاقِكَ شَيْئًا.

Wa-ʿasāhu ka-baʿḍi al-mughtarrīna min qablihi, fa-ʾinnahu balaghanā ʾanna ḥakīman mina al-ḥukamāʾi, qaraʾa thalāthamiʾatin wa-sittīna muṣḥafan, fa-ʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilā nabiyyi zamānihi, qul lahu: ʾinnaka malaʾta al-ʾarḍa nifāqan, wa-ʾinna Allāha lam yaqbal min nifāqika shayʾan.

He may be like some of the deluded people before him. We have received a report of a sage who read three hundred and sixty codices. God Most High revealed to the prophet of his time: “Tell him: You have filled the earth with hypocrisy, and God has accepted none of your hypocrisy.”

وَعَسَاهُ يَحْتَمِلُ النَّصَبَ وَالتَّعَبَ لِإِظْهَارِ عِلْمِهِ، وَإِصْرَافِ وُجُوهِ النَّاسِ إِلَيْهِ، لَا يَعْدِلُ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُؤْثِرُ عَلَيْهِ بِرًّا.

Wa-ʿasāhu yaḥtamilu al-naṣaba wa-al-taʿaba li-ʾiẓhāri ʿilmihi, wa-ʾiṣrāfi wujūhi al-nāsi ʾilayhi, lā yaʿdilu bihi shayʾan wa-lā yuʾthiru ʿalayhi birran.

He may endure toil and exhaustion to display his knowledge and turn people’s faces toward him, valuing nothing as its equal and preferring no other good deed to it.

Source page 207

وَعَسَاهُ مَشْغُولٌ بِهِ عَمَّا وَجَبَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ، وَهُوَ مَعَ ذَلِكَ لَا يَأْلُو فِي حُسْنِ النُّطْقِ، وَإِتْقَانِ الْكَلِمِ [جُهْدًا]، وَيَزْعُمُ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ حِكْمَةٌ تَجْرِي عَلَى لِسَانِهِ، وَعَسَى ذَلِكَ تَجْوِيدٌ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ لِكَلَامِهِ وَمَا يَشْعُرُ،

Wa-ʿasāhu mashghūlun bihi ʿammā wajaba ʿalayhi min ʾamrihim, wa-huwa maʿa dhālika lā yaʾlū fī ḥusni al-nuṭqi, wa-ʾitqāni al-kalimi [juhdan], wa-yazʿumu ʾanna dhālika ḥikmatun tajrī ʿalā lisānihi, wa-ʿasā dhālika tajwīdun min nafsihi li-kalāmihi wa-mā yashʿuru,

He may be so occupied with this that he neglects his obligations concerning them. Even so, he spares no [effort] in elegant speech and carefully crafted words, claiming that wisdom flows on his tongue. Perhaps it is only his own soul polishing his speech, without his realizing it.

يَظُنُّ بِلَا شَكٍّ أَنَّ الْقَابِلِينَ مِنْهُ رَغْبَتَهُمْ [إِنَّمَا هِيَ] فِي عِلْمِهِ، وَرِضَاهُمْ إِنَّمَا هُوَ لِصِدْقِهِ وَإِخْلَاصِهِ، وَنَفَاذِ عِلْمِهِ، وَلَوْلَا ذَلِكَ مَا قَبِلُوا مِنْهُ، فَقَدْ دَهَاهُ الشَّيْطَانُ وَمَا يَشْعُرُ. وَهُوَ يُكْثِرُ حَمْدَ اللَّهِ فِيمَا أَجْرَى مِنَ الْمَنَافِعِ عَلَى لِسَانِهِ.

Yaẓunnu bi-lā shakkin ʾanna al-qābilīna minhu raghbatahum [ʾinnamā hiya] fī ʿilmihi, wa-riḍāhum ʾinnamā huwa li-ṣidqihi wa-ʾikhlāṣihi, wa-nafādhi ʿilmihi, wa-lawlā dhālika mā qabilū minhu, fa-qad dahāhu al-shayṭānu wa-mā yashʿuru. Wa-huwa yukthiru ḥamda Allāhi fī-mā ʾajrā mina al-manāfiʿi ʿalā lisānihi.

He is certain that those who learn from him desire [only] his knowledge, and that their approval is due solely to his truthfulness, sincerity, and penetrating knowledge. Otherwise, he thinks, they would not learn from him. Satan has deceived him without his realizing it, while he repeatedly praises God for the benefits He has caused to flow through his tongue.

وَعَسَاهُ هُنَالِكَ لَهُ أَمْرٌ وَأَمَارَةٌ يَتَنَعَّمُ بِهَا لِنَفْسِهِ، يُكْرِمُ مَنْ صَوَّبَ فِعْلَهُ، وَيَبَرُّ مَنْ حَمِدَ أَمْرَهُ، وَيَنْقَبِضُ عَمَّنْ خَالَفَهُ؛ وَيَجْفُو مَنِ اسْتَفَادَ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ، وَيَعْصِي مَنْ خَالَفَ هَوَاهُ، وَيَجِدُ عَلَى مَنْ رَدَّ شَيْئًا مِنْ قَوْلِهِ،

Wa-ʿasāhu hunālika lahu ʾamrun wa-ʾamāratun yatanaʿʿamu bihā li-nafsihi, yukrimu man ṣawwaba fiʿlahu, wa-yabarru man ḥamida ʾamrahu, wa-yanqabiḍu ʿamman khālafahu; wa-yajfū mani istafāda min ghayrihi, wa-yaʿṣī man khālafa hawāhu, wa-yajidu ʿalā man radda shayʾan min qawlihi,

Perhaps he now possesses authority and a badge of status [a contextual reading of the printed word], which he enjoys for his own sake. He honors those who approve his conduct, is kind to those who praise his undertaking, draws back from anyone who disagrees with him, treats harshly anyone who learns from someone else, disobeys anyone who opposes his desires, and grows angry with anyone who rejects a word he says.

مُتَجَبِّرٌ فِي غَضَبِهِ، مُسْتَنْصِرٌ لِنَفْسِهِ، يَشْقَى بِذَلِكَ، وَ[يَظُنُّ] غَضَبَهُ لِرَبِّهِ، تَأْدِيبًا لِمَنْ خَالَفَهُ، وَقَدْ دُهِيَ وَمَا يَشْعُرُ.

Mutajabbirun fī ghaḍabihi, mustanṣirun li-nafsihi, yashqā bi-dhālika, wa-[yaẓunnu] ghaḍabahu li-rabbihi, taʾdīban li-man khālafahu, wa-qad duhiya wa-mā yashʿuru.

Tyrannical in his anger and seeking victory for himself, he makes himself wretched through this, yet [thinks] his anger is for his Lord, to discipline whoever disagrees with him. He has been deceived without realizing it.

وَعَسَاهُ يُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَ أَصْحَابِهِ عَلَى بَعْضٍ، لَا يُسَاوِي بَيْنَهُمْ فِي الْقَدْرِ عِنْدَهُ، وَيَزْعُمُ أَنَّ أخطاهم† لَدَيْهِ أَفْضَلُهُمْ عِلْمًا وَدِينًا، وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ الْمُقَدَّمُ عِنْدَهُ، وَأَعَزُّهُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَبَرَّهُمْ بِهِ، وَأَشَدَّهُمْ مُوَافَقَةَ هَوَاهُ، [وَتَعْظِيمًا] لَهُ، وَتَزْيِينًا لِأَمْرِهِ وَهَذَا مِنْ خَبَايَا النُّفُوسِ، وَالْعَالِمُ فِي غَفْلَةٍ وَمَا يَشْعُرُ.

Wa-ʿasāhu yufaḍḍilu baʿḍa ʾaṣḥābihi ʿalā baʿḍin, lā yusāwī baynahum fī al-qadri ʿindahu, wa-yazʿumu ʾanna ʾkhṭāhm† ladayhi ʾafḍaluhum ʿilman wa-dīnan, wa-ʾinnamā kāna al-muqaddamu ʿindahu, wa-ʾaʿazzuhum ʿalayhi ʾabarrahum bihi, wa-ʾashaddahum muwāfaqata hawāhu, [wa-taʿẓīman] lahu, wa-tazyīnan li-ʾamrihi wa-hādhā min khabāyā al-nufūsi, wa-al-ʿālimu fī ghaflatin wa-mā yashʿuru.

He may favor some companions over others, giving them unequal standing in his eyes, while claiming that whoever is [unresolved printed description] in his estimation is the best in knowledge and religion. In reality, the one he gives precedence to and holds dearest is the one kindest to him, most compliant with his wishes, most lavish in honoring him [conjectural reading of a defective printed word], and most flattering to his undertaking. These are among the soul’s hidden workings, while the scholar remains heedless and unaware.

وَعَسَاهُ يَلْبَثُ بِذَلِكَ عُمُرَهُ، أَوْ بُرْهَةً مِنْ عُمُرِهِ، مُمَوَّهًا عَلَيْهِ فِي أَمْرِهِ، يَلْتَمِسُ الْأَجْرَ فِي غَيْرِهِ، وَيُضَيِّعُ الْحَزْمَ فِي خَاصَّةِ نَفْسِهِ، وَيَطْمَعُ أَنْ يَكُونَ بِمَا هُوَ فِيهِ [نَائِلًا] مِنَ الثَّوَابِ مَا يُكَفِّرُ آثَامَهُ، وَيَكُونُ فِيهِ عِوَضٌ مِمَّا ضَيَّعَ مِنْ شَأْنِهِ، وَقَدْ دُهِيَ وَمَا يَشْعُرُ.

Wa-ʿasāhu yalbathu bi-dhālika ʿumrahu, ʾaw burhatan min ʿumrihi, mumawwahan ʿalayhi fī ʾamrihi, yaltamisu al-ʾajra fī ghayrihi, wa-yuḍayyiʿu al-ḥazma fī khāṣṣati nafsihi, wa-yaṭmaʿu ʾan yakūna bi-mā huwa fīhi [nāʾilan] mina al-thawābi mā yukaffiru ʾāthāmahu, wa-yakūnu fīhi ʿiwaḍun mimmā ḍayyaʿa min shaʾnihi, wa-qad duhiya wa-mā yashʿuru.

He may spend his whole life, or a stretch of it, like this, his condition disguised from him. He seeks reward through others while neglecting sound care for his own soul, hoping that what he is doing will [win him] enough reward to atone for his sins and compensate for the attention he has failed to give himself. He has been deceived without realizing it.

Source page 208

وَعَسَى الْأَخَاوِيضُ تَكْبُرُ فِي أَمْرِهِ، فَقَوْمٌ يَتَعَمَّقُونَ عَلَيْهِ، وَيَعِيبُونَ لَهُ فِعْلَهُ، وَآخَرُونَ يُحَقِّقُونَ فِعْلَهُ، وَيُحْسِنُونَ بِهِ الظَّنَّ، كَحُسْنِ ظَنِّهِ بِنَفْسِهِ، وَقَوْمٌ مَسْتُورٌ عَنْهُمْ شَأْنُهُ، كَمَا كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْتُورًا دَوَاءُ نَفْسِهِ، فَهُوَ مَسْتُورٌ بِالْمُخْتَلِفِينَ إِلَيْهِ، شَدِيدُ الْإِعْجَابِ بِالْقَابِلِينَ.

Wa-ʿasā al-ʾakhāwīḍu takburu fī ʾamrihi, fa-qawmun yataʿammaqūna ʿalayhi, wa-yaʿībūna lahu fiʿlahu, wa-ʾākharūna yuḥaqqiqūna fiʿlahu, wa-yuḥsinūna bihi al-ẓanna, ka-ḥusni ẓannihi bi-nafsihi, wa-qawmun mastūrun ʿanhum shaʾnuhu, ka-mā kāna ʿanhu mastūran dawāʾu nafsihi, fa-huwa mastūrun bi-al-mukhtalifīna ʾilayhi, shadīdu al-ʾiʿjābi bi-al-qābilīna.

Perhaps discussion about him grows [a provisional sense of the unusual printed noun]. Some scrutinize him deeply and criticize his conduct; others affirm his conduct and think as well of him as he thinks of himself. His true condition is concealed from some people, just as his own remedy was concealed from him. Those who frequent him provide a covering for him, and he is deeply impressed by those who accept his teaching.

وَعَسَاهُ يُحَقِّقُ صِدْقَهُمْ، وَيُصَحِّحُ إِخْلَاصَهُمْ، وَيُزَيِّنُ أَفْعَالَهُمْ، وَأَصْحَابُهُ فِي ذَلِكَ مَسْتُورُونَ عَنْهُ بِحَالَتِهِمْ عِنْدَهُ، يُعْجَبُونَ بِمَنَازِلِهِمْ مِنْهُ، فَاتَّفَقَتْ أَهْوَاؤُهُمْ عَلَى تَزْكِيَةِ بَعْضِهِمْ بَعْضًا.

Wa-ʿasāhu yuḥaqqiqu ṣidqahum, wa-yuṣaḥḥiḥu ʾikhlāṣahum, wa-yuzayyinu ʾafʿālahum, wa-ʾaṣḥābuhu fī dhālika mastūrūna ʿanhu bi-ḥālatihim ʿindahu, yuʿjabūna bi-manāzilihim minhu, fa-ittafaqat ʾahwāʾuhum ʿalā tazkiyati baʿḍihim baʿḍan.

He may affirm their truthfulness, certify their sincerity, and embellish their deeds. His companions’ true condition is concealed from him by their standing with him, while they admire their own closeness to him. Their desires thus agree on endorsing one another.

وَبَعْدُ: فَإِنْ عَلَا فِي النَّاسِ أَمْرُهُمْ، وَاضْطَرَبَ الصَّوْتُ بِهِمْ، وَحُمِدَ بَعْضُ شَأْنِهِمْ، وَوَصَلَتِ النُّفُوسُ إِلَى أُمْنِيَّتِهَا مِنِ اضْطِرَابِ الصَّوْتِ، وَعُلُوِّ الذِّكْرِ، وَكَادَتِ النُّفُوسُ تَسْتَصْغِرُ مَنْ لَيْسَ مِنْ شَأْنِهِمْ، وَتَسْتَجْهِلُ مَنْ جَهِلَ عِلْمَهُمْ، وَتَزْدَرِي بِمِثْلِ مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي مِثْلِ أَحْوَالِهِمْ، وَمَا يَعْلَمُ الْقَوْمُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ [شَيْئًا] مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ، قَدْ دُهُوا وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ.

Wa-baʿdu: fa-ʾin ʿalā fī al-nāsi ʾamruhum, wa-iḍṭaraba al-ṣawtu bihim, wa-ḥumida baʿḍu shaʾnihim, wa-waṣalati al-nufūsu ʾilā ʾumniyyatihā mini iḍṭirābi al-ṣawti, wa-ʿuluwwi al-dhikri, wa-kādati al-nufūsu tastaṣghiru man laysa min shaʾnihim, wa-tastajhilu man jahila ʿilmahum, wa-tazdarī bi-mithli man lam yakun fī mithli ʾaḥwālihim, wa-mā yaʿlamu al-qawmu min dhālika [shayʾan] min ʾanfusihim, qad duhū wa-mā yashʿurūna.

Furthermore, if their standing rises among people, clamor spreads around them, some of their affairs receive praise, and their souls reach their desired clamor and lofty reputation, those souls nearly begin to belittle anyone unlike them, deem ignorant anyone unfamiliar with their knowledge, and despise people whose condition is not like theirs. Yet they recognize [nothing] of this within themselves. They have been deceived without realizing it.

مَكَائِدُ الشَّيْطَانِ لِلْعُلَمَاءِ:

Makāʾidu al-shayṭāni li-al-ʿulamāʾi:

Satan’s schemes against scholars

وَبَعْدُ: فَإِنَّ قَدِيمَ الْحِيَلِ يَسْتَقِلُّ لَهُمْ مَا قَدْ دَهَاهُمْ بِهِ، فَيَجِدُ لَهُمْ مَكَائِدَ مُوبِقَاتٍ، وَعَسَاهُ يَأْتِي الْكَبِيرَ، وَالْمَنْظُورَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْهُمْ كَهَيْئَةِ النَّاصِحِ لَهُ، فَيُخْطِرُ بِقَلْبِهِ أَنَّكَ قَدْ أُوتِيتَ حَظًّا مِنَ الْعِلْمِ، وَأَخَذْتَ مِنْهُ بِحَمْدِ اللَّهِ نَصِيبًا، فَمَا لَكَ وَالشُّهْرَةُ، وَالتَّعَرُّضُ لِلْفِتْنَةِ، شَأْنَكَ وَالْعَمَلَ بِمَا عَلِمْتَ.

Wa-baʿdu: fa-ʾinna qadīma al-ḥiyali yastaqillu lahum mā qad dahāhum bihi, fa-yajidu lahum makāʾida mūbiqātin, wa-ʿasāhu yaʾtī al-kabīra, wa-al-manẓūra ʾilayhi minhum ka-hayʾati al-nāṣiḥi lahu, fa-yukhṭiru bi-qalbihi ʾannaka qad ʾūtīta ḥaẓẓan mina al-ʿilmi, wa-ʾakhadhta minhu bi-ḥamdi Allāhi naṣīban, fa-mā laka wa-al-shuhratu, wa-al-taʿarruḍu li-al-fitnati, shaʾnaka wa-al-ʿamala bi-mā ʿalimta.

Furthermore, the veteran deceiver considers the traps he has already laid for them too little, and finds destructive schemes to use against them. He may approach their elder, the one they look up to, in the guise of an adviser, prompting this thought in his heart: “You have been given a share of knowledge and, praise be to God, have acquired some of it. What have you to do with fame and exposure to temptation? Attend to yourself and act on what you know.”

وَيْحَهُ!! لَقَدْ دَهَاهُ، وَعَرَّضَهُ لِلْهَلَاكِ، وَمَا يَشْعُرُ.

Wayḥahu!! La-qad dahāhu, wa-ʿarraḍahu li-al-halāki, wa-mā yashʿuru.

Poor man! Satan has deceived him and exposed him to destruction, without his realizing it.

فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ يَنْفَرِدُ مِنْ أَكَابِرِهِمْ فِي عِصَابَةٍ أَتْبَعُوهُ مِنْ أَصَاغِرِهِمْ، فَاعْتَزَلَ إِعْجَابًا بِمَا وَصَلَ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ وَالْعِبَادَةِ، وَمَا يَشْعُرُ بِإِعْجَابِهِ، وَلَا يَشُكُّ أَنَّ الصَّوَابَ فِي اعْتِزَالِهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ وَفِعْلِهِ، وَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَا قَدْ دُهِيَ بِهِ،

Fa-ʿinda dhālika yanfaridu min ʾakābirihim fī ʿiṣābatin ʾatbaʿūhu min ʾaṣāghirihim, fa-iʿtazala ʾiʿjāban bi-mā waṣala ʾilayhi mina al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿibādati, wa-mā yashʿuru bi-ʾiʿjābihi, wa-lā yashukku ʾanna al-ṣawāba fī iʿtizālihi fī qawlihi wa-fiʿlihi, wa-lā yaʿlamu mā qad duhiya bihi,

At that point, one of their leaders withdraws with a group of lesser followers who have followed him. He retires in admiration of the knowledge and worship he has attained, unaware of his self-admiration. He has no doubt that his withdrawal is right in word and deed, and does not know how he has been deceived.

Source pages 208–209

فَحِينَئِذٍ يُخَالِفُ الشَّيْطَانُ بَيْنَ أَهْوَائِهِمْ، وَيُفَرِّقُ شَمْلَهُمْ، وَيُشَتِّتُ جَمْعَهُمْ، وَيَجْعَلُهُمْ أَحْزَابًا، وَيُزَيِّنُ عِنْدَ كُلِّ صِنْفٍ مِنْهُمْ شَأْنَهُ، وَيَعِيبُ عِنْدَهُمْ أَحْوَالَ مَنْ يُخَالِفُهُمْ، فَأَغْوَى بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ، وَدَلَّ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى عَثَرَاتِ بَعْضٍ، وَلَقَّنَ بَعْضَهُمْ حُجَجًا عَلَى بَعْضٍ كَهَيْئَةِ النَّاصِحِ لَهُمْ، فَيَكِيدُ جَمْعَهُمْ بِمَكَائِدِهِ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ.

Fa-ḥīnaʾidhin yukhālifu al-shayṭānu bayna ʾahwāʾihim, wa-yufarriqu shamlahum, wa-yushattitu jamʿahum, wa-yajʿaluhum ʾaḥzāban, wa-yuzayyinu ʿinda kulli ṣinfin minhum shaʾnahu, wa-yaʿību ʿindahum ʾaḥwāla man yukhālifuhum, fa-ʾaghwā baʿḍahum bi-baʿḍin, wa-dalla baʿḍahum ʿalā ʿatharāti baʿḍin, wa-laqqana baʿḍahum ḥujajan ʿalā baʿḍin ka-hayʾati al-nāṣiḥi lahum, fa-yakīdu jamʿahum bi-makāʾidihi wa-mā yashʿurūna.

Then Satan sets their desires against one another, breaks their unity, scatters their company, and divides them into factions. He makes each group’s own condition seem attractive and discredits those who differ from them. He leads them astray through one another, points each to the others’ lapses, and teaches them arguments against one another in the guise of an adviser. He schemes against their whole company without their realizing it.

Source page 209

وَعَسَى الْقَوْمُ يُبْدُونَ مَا فِي النُّفُوسِ، وَيَطْلُبُونَ الْعَثَرَاتِ وَيُظْهِرُونَ الْعُيُوبَ، وَيَتَفَكَّهُونَ بِالْغِيبَةِ وَبِقَوْلِ الزُّورِ، وَيَتَرَامَوْنَ بِالْبُهْتَانِ، وَيَشْهَدُ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ بِالْعَظَائِمِ، وَيَنْسِبُهُ إِلَى الْكُفْرِ وَالضَّلَالِ، أَعَاذَنَا اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ مِمَّا حَلَّ بِهِمْ.

Wa-ʿasā al-qawmu yubdūna mā fī al-nufūsi, wa-yaṭlubūna al-ʿatharāti wa-yuẓhirūna al-ʿuyūba, wa-yatafakkahūna bi-al-ghībati wa-bi-qawli al-zūri, wa-yatarāmawna bi-al-buhtāni, wa-yash-hadu baʿḍuhum ʿalā baʿḍin bi-al-ʿaẓāʾimi, wa-yansibuhu ʾilā al-kufri wa-al-ḍalāli, ʾaʿādhanā Allāhu wa-ʾiyyākum mimmā ḥalla bihim.

They may expose what is within their souls, seek out lapses, uncover faults, amuse themselves with backbiting and lies, and hurl slander at one another. Some testify to grave accusations against others and charge them with unbelief and error. May God protect us and you from what has befallen them.

إِخْوَانِي: لَوْ شُغِلَ الْقَوْمُ بَيْنَهُمْ وَوَضَعُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ، وَأَنْزَلُوهَا مَنَازِلَ الِاسْتِفَادَةِ مِنْ غَيْرِهِمْ، وَاقْتَبَسُوا الْعِلْمَ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ، لَكَانُوا أَوْلَى الْبُلُوغِ الْجَيِّدِ أَجْرًا.

ʾIkhwānī: law shughila al-qawmu baynahum wa-waḍaʿū ʾanfusahum, wa-ʾanzalūhā manāzila al-istifādati min ghayrihim, wa-iqtabasū al-ʿilma min ʾahlihi, la-kānū ʾawlā al-bulūghi al-jayyidi ʾajran.

My brothers, if these people were occupied among themselves [wording uncertain], humbled themselves, placed themselves in the position of learning from others, and acquired knowledge from its possessors, they would be more deserving of attaining a good reward [the printed syntax is uncertain].

وَيْحَكُمْ!! لَقَدْ سَلَكَ بِهِمُ الشَّيْطَانُ فِي أَوْدِيَةِ الْمَكَارِهِ، وَغَرَّهُمْ بِفُنُونٍ مِنَ الْحَسَنَاتِ، أَوْقَعَهُمْ بِهَا فِي بَاطِلِ السَّيِّئَاتِ، وَفِي [مَكَائِدِ] النُّفُوسِ مِنَ الْمُوبِقَاتِ، وَرَقَى بِهِمْ فِيمَا يَحْسَبُونَ إِلَى الدَّرَجَاتِ، وَلَقَدْ حَطَّهُمْ بِمَكَائِدِهِ فِي الدَّرَكَاتِ، فَجَمَعَهُمْ فِي سَفِينَةٍ تَتَلَاطَمُ بِهِمُ الْأَمْوَاجُ، وَجَهِلُوا أَدْوَاءَ النُّفُوسِ، وَمَكَائِدَ الشَّيْطَانِ، إِلَّا مَنْ عَصَمَ اللَّهُ، وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ.

Wayḥakum!! La-qad salaka bihimu al-shayṭānu fī ʾawdiyati al-makārihi, wa-gharrahum bi-funūnin mina al-ḥasanāti, ʾawqaʿahum bihā fī bāṭili al-sayyiʾāti, wa-fī [makāʾidi] al-nufūsi mina al-mūbiqāti, wa-raqā bihim fī-mā yaḥsabūna ʾilā al-darajāti, wa-la-qad ḥaṭṭahum bi-makāʾidihi fī al-darakāti, fa-jamaʿahum fī safīnatin tatalāṭamu bihimu al-ʾamwāju, wa-jahilū ʾadwāʾa al-nufūsi, wa-makāʾida al-shayṭāni, ʾillā man ʿaṣama Allāhu, wa-mā yashʿurūna.

Have a care! Satan has led them through valleys of abominations and deceived them with varieties of good deeds, using these to plunge them into evil wrongdoing and the destructive [schemes] of their souls. They think he has raised them to lofty ranks, but through his schemes he has cast them into the depths. He has gathered them into a ship tossed about by clashing waves. They are ignorant of the soul’s diseases and Satan’s schemes, except those God protects, and they do not realize it.

وَلَعَمْرِي لَئِنْ أَيْقَظَهُمْ مِنْ رَقْدَةِ الْغَفْلَةِ، وَنَبَّهَهُمْ مِنْ حَيْرَةِ الْهَوَى، وَعَرَفُوا أَدْوَاءَ السَّرَائِرِ، وَالْأَهْوَاءَ الْخَفِيَّةَ، وَتَدَبَّرُوا أَمْرَهُمْ وَنَصَحُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ لَيَجِدُونَ إِخْمَالَ الذِّكْرِ، وَإِخْفَاءَ عَمَلِ الْبِرِّ لَهُمْ أَوْلَى وَأَقْرَبَ إِلَى اللَّهِ،

Wa-la-ʿamrī la-ʾin ʾayqaẓahum min raqdati al-ghaflati, wa-nabbahahum min ḥayrati al-hawā, wa-ʿarafū ʾadwāʾa al-sarāʾiri, wa-al-ʾahwāʾa al-khafiyyata, wa-tadabbarū ʾamrahum wa-naṣaḥū ʾanfusahum la-yajidūna ʾikhmāla al-dhikri, wa-ʾikhfāʾa ʿamali al-birri lahum ʾawlā wa-ʾaqraba ʾilā Allāhi,

By my life, if they are awakened from the sleep of heedlessness and roused from the bewilderment of passion, recognize their inward diseases and hidden desires, consider their condition, and deal honestly with themselves, they will indeed find obscurity and the concealment of good deeds more fitting for them and nearer to God.

Source pages 209–210

وَلَيَجِدُونَ النُّفُوسَ مُنَغَّصَةً لِتَفَقُّدِ أَسْوَائِهَا، نَافِرَةً مِنْ مُخَالَفَةِ أَهْوَائِهَا، مُسْتَحْسِنَةً لِمَا ظَهَرَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ بِرِّهَا، حَائِدَةً عَنْ خَالِصِ فِعْلِهَا، مُلَبَّسًا عَلَيْهَا أَمْرُهَا، مُبْغِضَةً لِكَثِيرٍ مِنْ حُقُوقِ رَبِّهَا، مُتَهَاوِنَةً بِالْوَرَعِ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنْ أَحْوَالِهَا، قَاهِرَةً لِعُقُولِهَا، مُتَقَلِّبَةً فِي شَهَوَاتِ قَذَرِهَا،

Wa-la-yajidūna al-nufūsa munaghghaṣatan li-tafaqqudi ʾaswāʾihā, nāfiratan min mukhālafati ʾahwāʾihā, mustaḥsinatan li-mā ẓahara min ʾaʿmāli birrihā, ḥāʾidatan ʿan khāliṣi fiʿlihā, mulabbasan ʿalayhā ʾamruhā, mubghiḍatan li-kathīrin min ḥuqūqi rabbihā, mutahāwinatan bi-al-waraʿi fī kathīrin min ʾaḥwālihā, qāhiratan li-ʿuqūlihā, mutaqallibatan fī shahawāti qadharihā,

They will find their souls distressed at having their faults examined, averse to resisting their desires, admiring their public good deeds, turning away from sincere action, confused about their own condition, hating many of their Lord’s rights, careless about scrupulousness in much of their conduct, overpowering their understanding, and wallowing in filthy appetites.

Source page 210

لَمْ تُصَحِّحْ حَلَالَهَا، مُسَوِّفَةً بِالْإِنَابَةِ مِنْ أَسْوَاءِ سَرَائِرِهَا، وَمِنْ تَبِعَاتِ الْعِبَادِ لَدَيْهَا، مَطْوِيَّةً عَلَى أَدْوَاءٍ قَصُرَ عِلْمُهُمْ عَنْهَا، وَلَمْ يَنْتَبِهِ الْقَوْمُ مِنْ رَقْدَةِ الْهَوَى، لِيَعْرِفُوا فَقْرَهُمْ إِلَى الْإِنَابَةِ مِنْ أَعْمَالٍ اسْتَحْسَنُوهَا، وَالْتَمَسُوا عَلَيْهَا ثَوَابًا، وَعَسَى الْعُقُوبَةُ أَوْلَى بِهِمْ فِيهَا.

Lam tuṣaḥḥiḥ ḥalālahā, musawwifatan bi-al-ʾinābati min ʾaswāʾi sarāʾirihā, wa-min tabiʿāti al-ʿibādi ladayhā, maṭwiyyatan ʿalā ʾadwāʾin qaṣura ʿilmuhum ʿanhā, wa-lam yantabihi al-qawmu min raqdati al-hawā, li-yaʿrifū faqrahum ʾilā al-ʾinābati min ʾaʿmālin istaḥsanūhā, wa-iltamasū ʿalayhā thawāban, wa-ʿasā al-ʿuqūbatu ʾawlā bihim fīhā.

They have not ensured the lawfulness of their affairs. They put off repenting of their inward faults and the claims others have against them, harboring diseases beyond the reach of their knowledge. These people have not awakened from the sleep of passion to recognize their need to repent of deeds they admired and for which they sought reward, though punishment may be more fitting for them on account of those very deeds.

أَلَا فَاحْذَرُوا مَا نُعِتَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَدْوَاءِ النُّفُوسِ، وَمَكَائِدِ الشَّيْطَانِ، فَإِنَّ فِي الْقَوْلِ وَالْعَمَلِ الْمَكْتُومِ فِينَا لَهَوًى وَشَهَوَاتٍ، وَإِرَادَةً فِي النُّفُوسِ كَثِيرَةً، فَمَا ظَنُّكُمْ بِأَدْوَاءِ النُّفُوسِ إِذَا ظَهَرَتْ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْعِبَادَةِ؟

ʾAlā fa-iḥdharū mā nuʿita lakum min ʾadwāʾi al-nufūsi, wa-makāʾidi al-shayṭāni, fa-ʾinna fī al-qawli wa-al-ʿamali al-maktūmi fīnā la-hawan wa-shahawātin, wa-ʾirādatan fī al-nufūsi kathīratan, fa-mā ẓannukum bi-ʾadwāʾi al-nufūsi ʾidhā ẓaharat fī al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿibādati?

Take heed and beware the soul’s diseases and Satan’s schemes that have been described to you. Even in speech and deeds kept hidden within us there are passion, appetites, and much inward desire. What, then, do you think of the soul’s diseases when they emerge in knowledge and worship?

يَا قَوْمِ: فَلَا تَعْدِلُوا بِالسَّلَامَةِ شَيْئًا وَاقْبَلُوا النَّصِيحَ الشَّفِيقَ عَلَيْكُمْ، وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ، وَاللَّهُ شَهِيدٌ عَلَى مَا تَعْمَلُونَ، وَفَّقَنَا اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ لِكُلِّ خَيْرٍ بِرَحْمَتِهِ بِمُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِهِ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

Yā qawmi: fa-lā taʿdilū bi-al-salāmati shayʾan wa-iqbalū al-naṣīḥa al-shafīqa ʿalaykum, wa-lā yunabbiʾuka mithlu khabīrin, wa-Allāhu shahīdun ʿalā mā taʿmalūna, waffaqanā Allāhu wa-ʾiyyākum li-kulli khayrin bi-raḥmatihi bi-Muḥammadin wa-ʾālihi yā rabba al-ʿālamīna.

People, value nothing as highly as safety, and accept the sincere adviser who cares for you. No one informs you like one who knows. God is witness to what you do. May God, in His mercy, grant us and you every good, through Muḥammad and his family, O Lord of all worlds.

Source page 211

الْبَابُ الْحَادِي وَالْأَرْبَعُونَ

Al-bābu al-ḥādī wa-al-ʾarbaʿūna

Chapter Forty-One

فِي خُمُولِ الذِّكْرِ وَإِخْفَاءِ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ

Fī khumūli al-dhikri wa-ʾikhfāʾi ʾaʿmāli al-birri

Obscurity and concealing good deeds

إِخْوَانِي: وَسَأَلْتُمْ عَمَّنْ رَغِبَ فِي خُمُولِ الذِّكْرِ، وَأَخْفَى أَعْمَالَ الْبِرِّ، أُولَئِكَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ الَّذِينَ أَفَادَهُمُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ عِلْمِهِ، وَكَانَ الْغَالِبُ عَلَى هِمَمِهِمْ وَعَزْمَةِ قُلُوبِهِمْ، وَإِرَادَتِهِمْ وَأُمْنِيَّتِهِمْ، أَلَّا يَطَّلِعَ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى شَيْءٍ مَحْمُودٍ [مِنْ] أَمْرِهِمْ، فَمَا أَسَرُّوهُ فَبِالرَّشَادِ، وَإِنْ أَعْلَنُوا شَيْئًا فَبِالسَّدَادِ، وَهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ أَصْنَافٌ.

ʾIkhwānī: wa-saʾaltum ʿamman raghiba fī khumūli al-dhikri, wa-ʾakhfā ʾaʿmāla al-birri, ʾulāʾika ʾulū al-ʾalbābi alladhīna ʾafādahumu Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla min khazāʾini ʿilmihi, wa-kāna al-ghālibu ʿalā himamihim wa-ʿazmati qulūbihim, wa-ʾirādatihim wa-ʾumniyyatihim, ʾallā yaṭṭaliʿa ghayru Allāhi taʿālā ʿalā shayʾin maḥmūdin [min] ʾamrihim, fa-mā ʾasarrūhu fa-bi-al-rashādi, wa-ʾin ʾaʿlanū shayʾan fa-bi-al-sadādi, wa-hum fī dhālika ʾaṣnāfun.

My brothers, you have asked about those who desire obscurity and conceal their good deeds. They are people of understanding whom God, mighty and majestic, has benefited from the treasures of His knowledge. Their prevailing aspiration, heartfelt resolve, intention, and wish is that no one but God Most High should know anything praiseworthy [about] them. What they conceal is concealed with right guidance; if they make anything public, they do so rightly. Within this, they fall into several categories.

أَنْوَاعُ النَّاسِ فِي إِخْفَاءِ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ:

ʾAnwāʿu al-nāsi fī ʾikhfāʾi ʾaʿmāli al-birri:

Types of people who conceal good deeds

فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُخْفِي أَعْمَالَهُ وَجَلًا مِنْ مَكَائِدِ عَدُوِّهِ، الَّذِي يُوقِعُهُ فِي الْفِتَنِ، وَيُحْبِطُ الْأَعْمَالَ وَيُخَيِّبُ سَعْيَ الْعَامِلِينَ، لَوْ يَجِدُ الْعَالِمُ الْمُتَحَرِّزُ سَبِيلًا إِلَى أَنْ يُسِرَّ أَعْمَالَهُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَعَدُوِّهِ، لَفَعَلَ ذَلِكَ خَوْفًا مِنْ أَعْدَاءِ دِينِهِ، وَعَجْزًا عَنْ مُجَاهَدَةِ نَفْسِهِ وَعَدُوِّهِ، فَلَمْ يَعْدِلْ بِالسَّلَامَةِ شَيْئًا.

Fa-minhum man yukhfī ʾaʿmālahu wajalan min makāʾidi ʿaduwwihi, alladhī yūqiʿuhu fī al-fitani, wa-yuḥbiṭu al-ʾaʿmāla wa-yukhayyibu saʿya al-ʿāmilīna, law yajidu al-ʿālimu al-mutaḥarrizu sabīlan ʾilā ʾan yusirra ʾaʿmālahu ʿan nafsihi wa-ʿaduwwihi, la-faʿala dhālika khawfan min ʾaʿdāʾi dīnihi, wa-ʿajzan ʿan mujāhadati nafsihi wa-ʿaduwwihi, fa-lam yaʿdil bi-al-salāmati shayʾan.

Some conceal their deeds in fear of their enemy’s schemes, for he plunges them into temptations, renders deeds fruitless, and frustrates the efforts of those who act. If the cautious scholar could find a way to hide his deeds even from his own soul and his enemy, he would do so, fearing the enemies of his religion and unable to contend with his soul and his enemy. He values nothing as highly as safety.

Source page 212

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُخْفِي أَمْرَهُ إِيثَارًا لِخُمُولِ الذِّكْرِ، وَرَغْبَةً فِي فَضْلِ ثَوَابِ السِّرِّ مَعَ طَلَبِ السَّلَامَةِ، فَأَسَرَّ أَحْوَالَهُ بِمَجْهُودِهِ، وَقَدْ بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ بَعْضَ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ قَالَ: «مَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ يَعْرِفَنِي بِطَاعَتِهِ غَيْرُهُ».

Wa-minhum man yukhfī ʾamrahu ʾīthāran li-khumūli al-dhikri, wa-raghbatan fī faḍli thawābi al-sirri maʿa ṭalabi al-salāmati, fa-ʾasarra ʾaḥwālahu bi-majhūdihi, wa-qad balaghanā ʾanna baʿḍa ʾahli al-ʿilmi qāla: “Mā ʾuḥibbu ʾan yaʿrifanī bi-ṭāʿatihi ghayruhu.”

Some conceal their condition because they prefer obscurity and desire the greater reward of secrecy as well as safety. They exert themselves to keep their affairs hidden. We have received a report that one of the learned said: “I do not wish anyone but Him to know me through my obedience to Him.”

وَبَعْدُ: فَإِنْ ظَهَرَ أَمْرُهُ بِمَكَانٍ، فَرَّ بِدِينِهِ إِلَى مَوْطِنِ خُمُولِ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ وَجَدَ إِلَى الْفِرَارِ سَبِيلًا.

Wa-baʿdu: fa-ʾin ẓahara ʾamruhu bi-makānin, farra bi-dīnihi ʾilā mawṭini khumūli al-dhikri ʾin wajada ʾilā al-firāri sabīlan.

Furthermore, if his condition becomes known somewhere, he flees with his religion to a place where he can remain obscure, if he finds a way to escape.

مَتَى يُبَاحُ إِظْهَارُ الْعَمَلِ:

Matā yubāḥu ʾiẓhāru al-ʿamali:

When making a deed public is permitted

وَقَدْ تَحْدُثُ أُمُورٌ يُضْطَرُّ الْمَرْءُ فِيهَا إِلَى إِظْهَارِ بَعْضِ قَوْلِهِ لِحَاجَتِهِ إِلَى مَعْرِفَةِ مَا اضْطُرَّ إِلَيْهِ، وَلِحَاجَةِ مُضْطَرٍّ إِلَيْهِ، فَيُبْدِي عَلَى الضَّرُورَةِ بِقَدْرِ الْحَاجَةِ مُسْتَفِيدًا وَمُفِيدًا، يَتَضَرَّعُ فِي خِلَالِ ذَلِكَ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فِي السَّلَامَةِ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهُ، كَفِعْلِ الْمُحِبِّينَ لِخُمُولِ الذِّكْرِ،

Wa-qad taḥduthu ʾumūrun yuḍṭarru al-marʾu fīhā ʾilā ʾiẓhāri baʿḍi qawlihi li-ḥājatihi ʾilā maʿrifati mā iḍṭurra ʾilayhi, wa-li-ḥājati muḍṭarrin ʾilayhi, fa-yubdī ʿalā al-ḍarūrati bi-qadri al-ḥājati mustafīdan wa-mufīdan, yataḍarraʿu fī khilāli dhālika ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, fī al-salāmati min fitnati mā ẓahara minhu, ka-fiʿli al-muḥibbīna li-khumūli al-dhikri,

Circumstances may compel a person to make some of his speech public, because he needs to learn something necessary to him or because someone urgently needs him. Under necessity, he reveals only as much as is needed, both learning and teaching. Throughout this, he beseeches God, mighty and majestic, for safety from the temptation of what has become visible of him, as those who love obscurity do.

فَنَالَ ثَوَابَ حُبِّ الْإِخْمَالِ وَثَوَابَ السِّرِّ، وَوَصَلَ إِلَى مَعْرِفَةِ مَا أَرَادَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ، وَهَذَا عَلَى سَبِيلِ السَّلَامِ مِنَ الْفِتْنَةِ، بِعِصْمَةِ اللَّهِ وَتَأْيِيدِهِ.

Fa-nāla thawāba ḥubbi al-ʾikhmāli wa-thawāba al-sirri, wa-waṣala ʾilā maʿrifati mā ʾarāda mina al-ʿilmi, wa-hādhā ʿalā sabīli al-salāmi mina al-fitnati, bi-ʿiṣmati Allāhi wa-taʾyīdihi.

He thus gains the reward of loving obscurity and the reward of secrecy, while attaining the knowledge he sought. This is a path to safety from temptation, through God’s protection and support.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَحْفُوظٌ بِجَوَاهِرِ الْفَوَائِدِ، مُسَدَّدٌ فِي فِعْلِهِ، طَاهِرٌ فِي أَحْوَالِهِ، مُجَانِبُ الْآثَامِ وَاللَّغْوِ، مُتَبَرِّئٌ مِنَ الْأَسْوَاءِ، مُنَزَّهٌ عَنِ الْأَدْنَاسِ، قَبَضَ الْجَوَارِحَ عَنِ الْمُهَيْمِنَاتِ وَالتَّبِعَاتِ، وَرَفَضَ الْحَرَامَ وَالشُّبُهَاتِ، وَتَطَهَّرَ مِنَ الِاغْتِيَابِ، وَتَقَلَّلَ مِنَ الشَّهَوَاتِ، وَاقْتَصَرَ عَلَى الْبُلْغَةِ مِنَ الْأَقْوَاتِ،

Wa-minhum maḥfūẓun bi-jawāhiri al-fawāʾidi, musaddadun fī fiʿlihi, ṭāhirun fī ʾaḥwālihi, mujānibu al-ʾāthāmi wa-al-laghwi, mutabarriʾun mina al-ʾaswāʾi, munazzahun ʿani al-ʾadnāsi, qabaḍa al-jawāriḥa ʿani al-muhaymināti wa-al-tabiʿāti, wa-rafaḍa al-ḥarāma wa-al-shubuhāti, wa-taṭahhara mina al-ightiyābi, wa-taqallala mina al-shahawāti, wa-iqtaṣara ʿalā al-bulghati mina al-ʾaqwāti,

Another is protected by precious insights, rightly guided in his conduct, pure in his condition, avoiding sins and idle talk, free of faults, and cleansed of defilement. He restrains his limbs from overmastering impulses and liabilities, rejects the forbidden and the doubtful, purifies himself of backbiting, reduces his appetites, and limits his food to bare sustenance.

وَجُلِيَ الدِّينُ عَنِ الْقَلْبِ بِالتَّدَبُّرِ وَالِاعْتِبَارِ، فَعَايَنَ مَا فِي الدَّارَيْنِ مِنَ الْجَزَاءِ مِنَ السَّعَادَةِ وَالشَّقَاءِ، وَجَدَّ فِي الْهَرَبِ فَمَا أَبْقَى، وَانْكَمَشَ فِي طَلَبِ مَا رَجَا، وَشُغِلَ بِهِمَا عَنْ نَعِيمِ الدُّنْيَا، فَاحْتَمَلَ مِنْ أَجْلِهَا النَّصَبَ، وَتَجَرَّعَ مِنْ أَجْلِهَا الْمَرَارَةَ،

Wa-juliya al-dīnu ʿani al-qalbi bi-al-tadabburi wa-al-iʿtibāri, fa-ʿāyana mā fī al-dārayni mina al-jazāʾi mina al-saʿādati wa-al-shaqāʾi, wa-jadda fī al-harabi fa-mā ʾabqā, wa-inkamasha fī ṭalabi mā rajā, wa-shughila bihimā ʿan naʿīmi al-dunyā, fa-iḥtamala min ʾajlihā al-naṣaba, wa-tajarraʿa min ʾajlihā al-marārata,

“Religion” is cleared from the heart through reflection and taking lessons [the printed noun makes the phrase uncertain]. He sees before him the recompense in the two abodes, happiness and misery, and strives to flee, sparing nothing. He applies himself intently to seeking what he hopes for. These two concerns occupy him instead of worldly comfort; for its sake he bears toil and swallows bitterness.

Source pages 212–213

وَجَاهَدَ فِي اللَّهِ الْعَدُوَّ، فَلَمْ يُصِرَّ طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ عَلَى مَعْصِيَةٍ عَلِمَهَا، وَلَمْ يَلْبَثْ سَاعَةً فِي زَلَّةٍ عَرَفَهَا، فَاسْتَغْفَرَ مِنْ كُلِّ سَيِّئَةٍ جَهِلَهَا، وَلَمْ يَرْضَ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ بِالتَّقْصِيرِ فِي رِضْوَانِ اللَّهِ، وَلَمْ يُهْمِلْ نَفْسَهُ فَتَغْفُلَ عَنْ رَبِّهَا، فَارْتَقَى بِعِلْمِهِ، وَعَمِلَ فِي الْوَعِيدِ بِقَلْبٍ مُوقِنٍ بِوَعِيدِ اللَّهِ، هَارِبًا مِنْ مَسَاخِطِهِ، خَاشِعًا مُشْفِقًا وَجِلًا مِنْ عِقَابِهِ وَعَذَابِهِ،

Wa-jāhada fī Allāhi al-ʿaduwwa, fa-lam yuṣirra ṭarfata ʿaynin ʿalā maʿṣiyatin ʿalimahā, wa-lam yalbath sāʿatan fī zallatin ʿarafahā, fa-istaghfara min kulli sayyiʾatin jahilahā, wa-lam yarḍa min nafsihi bi-al-taqṣīri fī riḍwāni Allāhi, wa-lam yuhmil nafsahu fa-taghfula ʿan rabbihā, fa-irtaqā bi-ʿilmihi, wa-ʿamila fī al-waʿīdi bi-qalbin mūqinin bi-waʿīdi Allāhi, hāriban min masākhiṭihi, khāshiʿan mushfiqan wajilan min ʿiqābihi wa-ʿadhābihi,

He struggles against the enemy for God’s sake, does not persist for the blink of an eye in a sin he recognizes or remain an hour in a lapse he knows, and asks forgiveness for every wrong he does not know. He is not content to fall short in seeking God’s pleasure, nor does he neglect his soul and let it become heedless of its Lord. Through his knowledge he rises. He acts in response to the warning with a heart certain of God’s warning, fleeing what angers Him, humble, anxious, and trembling at His punishment and torment.

Source page 213

وَعَمِلَ فِي وَعْدِهِ بِقَلْبٍ مُوقِنٍ بِثَوَابِ اللَّهِ، رَاغِبٌ مُخْلِصٌ، مُجِدٌّ مُنْكَمِشٌ.

Wa-ʿamila fī waʿdihi bi-qalbin mūqinin bi-thawābi Allāhi, rāghibun mukhliṣun, mujiddun munkamishun.

He acts in response to His promise with a heart certain of God’s reward: eager, sincere, earnest, and intent.

وَعَمِلَ فِي ضَمَانِ اللَّهِ بِكَفَالَةِ الْأَرْزَاقِ، بِقَلْبٍ مُوقِنٍ بِوَفَائِهِ، مُتَوَكِّلٌ وَاثِقٌ مُعْتَمِدٌ، وَعَمِلَ فِيمَا يَنْزِلُ مِنَ الْمَكَارِهِ بِالصَّبْرِ وَالرِّضَى، وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ بِحُسْنِ النَّظَرِ مِنَ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ، وَالِاخْتِيَارِ لَهُ.

Wa-ʿamila fī ḍamāni Allāhi bi-kafālati al-ʾarzāqi, bi-qalbin mūqinin bi-wafāʾihi, mutawakkilun wāthiqun muʿtamidun, wa-ʿamila fī-mā yanzilu mina al-makārihi bi-al-ṣabri wa-al-riḍā, wa-al-maʿrifati bi-ḥusni al-naẓari mina Allāhi subḥānahu, wa-al-ikhtiyāri lahu.

He acts upon God’s guarantee to provide sustenance, with a heart certain that He will fulfill it: reliant, trusting, and depending on Him. He meets the hardships that befall him with patience and contentment, recognizing the gracious care and choice that God, glory be to Him, has made for him.

وَعَمِلَ فِي تَوَاتُرِ النَّعْمَاءِ عَلَيْهِ بِقَلْبٍ عَالِمٍ بِعَظِيمِ النِّعَمِ، عَارِفٍ بِتَقْصِيرِهِ فِي الشُّكْرِ، لَا يَحْقِرُ شَيْئًا يَتَحَبَّبُ بِهِ إِلَى مَوْلَاهُ، وَلَا يَسْتَكْثِرُ شَيْئًا يَعْمَلُ بِهِ لِرَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

Wa-ʿamila fī tawāturi al-naʿmāʾi ʿalayhi bi-qalbin ʿālimin bi-ʿaẓīmi al-niʿami, ʿārifin bi-taqṣīrihi fī al-shukri, lā yaḥqiru shayʾan yataḥabbabu bihi ʾilā mawlāhu, wa-lā yastakthiru shayʾan yaʿmalu bihi li-rabbihi ʿazza wa-jalla.

He responds to the succession of blessings with a heart aware of their greatness and conscious of his shortcomings in gratitude. He considers nothing too small by which to seek his Master’s love, and nothing he does for his Lord, mighty and majestic, too much.

وَعَمِلَ فِي مَحَابِّ اللَّهِ بِالزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْإِيثَارِ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ، مَسْرُورًا بِالْمَصَائِبِ، فَرِحًا بِالْمَكَارِهِ، مُتَيَقِّظًا مِنَ الْغَفْلَةِ، كَلَامُهُ ذِكْرٌ، وَصِحَّتُهُ فِكْرٌ، وَنَظَرُهُ عِبَرٌ، عَالِمًا بِمَا يُحِبُّ وَيَكْرَهُ، عَالِمًا بِمَا يَفْضُلُ الْخُمُولُ لِلذِّكْرِ، وَإِخْفَاءُ الْعَمَلِ،

Wa-ʿamila fī maḥābbi Allāhi bi-al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā wa-al-ʾīthāri ʿalā nafsihi, masrūran bi-al-maṣāʾibi, fariḥan bi-al-makārihi, mutayaqqiẓan mina al-ghaflati, kalāmuhu dhikrun, wa-ṣiḥḥatuhu fikrun, wa-naẓaruhu ʿibarun, ʿāliman bi-mā yuḥibbu wa-yakrahu, ʿāliman bi-mā yafḍulu al-khumūlu li-al-dhikri, wa-ʾikhfāʾu al-ʿamali,

He pursues what God loves through renouncing this world and preferring others to himself, glad amid afflictions, rejoicing in hardship, and awake from heedlessness. His speech is remembrance, his health is reflection [as printed], and his looking yields lessons. He knows what He loves and dislikes, and knows the merit of obscurity rather than renown and of concealing deeds [the printed comparison is irregular].

عَلِمَ بِفَقْرِ الْعِبَادِ إِلَى مَعْرِفَةِ حُدُودِ الدِّينِ، فَيُبْدِي لَهُمْ حَاجَتَهُمْ إِلَيْهِ بِمَبْلَغِ الْحَاجَةِ، وَجَلًا مِنْ كِتْمَانِ عِلْمِهِ عَنْ أَهْلِهِ، مُشْفِقًا عَلَى إِرْشَادِهِمْ إِذَا اسْتَرْشَدُوهُ، صَابِرًا مُحْتَسِبًا، وَنَبَّهَ إِلَيْهِ الْعِبَادَ. فَإِنَّهُ بَلَغَنَا - وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ - أَنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَى دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ:

ʿAlima bi-faqri al-ʿibādi ʾilā maʿrifati ḥudūdi al-dīni, fa-yubdī lahum ḥājatahum ʾilayhi bi-mablaghi al-ḥājati, wajalan min kitmāni ʿilmihi ʿan ʾahlihi, mushfiqan ʿalā ʾirshādihim ʾidhā istarshadūhu, ṣābiran muḥtasiban, wa-nabbaha ʾilayhi al-ʿibāda. Fa-ʾinnahu balaghanā - wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu - ʾanna Allāha subḥānahu wa-taʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilā Dāwuda ʿalayhi al-salāmu:

He recognizes people’s need to know the limits of religion, so he makes known to them what they need from him, only to the extent of that need. He fears concealing his knowledge from those entitled to it, cares about guiding them when they seek guidance, and is patient, seeking reward. He alerts people to Him. For we have received a report, and God knows best, that God, glorified and exalted, revealed to David, upon him be peace:

«إِنْ صَلَحَ عَلَى يَدَيْكَ عَبْدٌ مِنْ عِبِيدِي، كَتَبْتُكَ عِنْدِي جَهِيدًا، وَمَنْ كَتَبْتُهُ جَهِيدًا، فَلَا وَحْشَةَ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا فَاقَةَ، يَا دَاوُدُ لَا تَرُدَّ عَبْدًا أبقى† مِنِّي إِلَيَّ، [فَذَلِكَ] أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ تَلْقَانِي بِعِبَادَةِ سَبْعِينَ صِدِّيقًا».

“ʾIn ṣalaḥa ʿalā yadayka ʿabdun min ʿabīdī, katabtuka ʿindī jahīdan, wa-man katabtuhu jahīdan, fa-lā waḥshata ʿalayhi wa-lā fāqata, yā Dāwudu lā tarudda ʿabdan ʾbqā† minnī ʾilayya, [fa-dhālika] ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min ʾan talqānī bi-ʿibādati sabʿīna ṣiddīqan.”

“If one of My servants becomes upright through you, I will record you with Me as one worn out with effort [the printed epithet is uncertain]. Whoever I record as one worn out with effort will suffer neither loneliness nor want. David, do not turn away a servant [unresolved printed verb] from Me to Me [the connection is defective]. [That] is dearer to Me than your meeting Me with the worship of seventy utterly truthful people.”

Source pages 213–214

فَرَغِبَ الْمُوقِنُ فِي إِرْشَادِ الْعِبَادِ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ، وَعَمِلَ بِالْمُرَاقَبَةِ لِلَّهِ فِي خَاصَّةِ نَفْسِهِ، وَنَفَحَ لِلَّهِ فِي خَلْقِهِ، وَقَامَ بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ فِي عِبَادِهِ يَعْمَلُ بِعِلْمٍ نَافِعٍ، وَوَرَعٍ صَادِقٍ، صَبَرَ فِيهِمْ عَلَى الْأَذَى وَكَظَمَ لَهُمْ، وَرَدَّ عَنْهُمُ الْغَضَبَ، وَلَقِيَهُمْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ،

Fa-raghiba al-mūqinu fī ʾirshādi al-ʿibādi ʾilā rabbihim, wa-ʿamila bi-al-murāqabati li-Allāhi fī khāṣṣati nafsihi, wa-nafaḥa li-Allāhi fī khalqihi, wa-qāma bi-ʾamri Allāhi fī ʿibādihi yaʿmalu bi-ʿilmin nāfiʿin, wa-waraʿin ṣādiqin, ṣabara fīhim ʿalā al-ʾadhā wa-kaẓama lahum, wa-radda ʿanhumu al-ghaḍaba, wa-laqiyahum bi-allatī hiya ʾaḥsanu,

The person of certainty therefore desires to guide servants to their Lord. He practices watchfulness before God in his own soul, gives generously for God’s sake among His creatures, and carries out God’s command among His servants, acting with beneficial knowledge and genuine scrupulousness. He patiently bears their harm, restrains himself for them, holds back his anger from them, and meets them in the best manner.

Source page 214

هَاشًّا لَهُمْ، طَلْقًا سَهْلًا مُتَكَرِّمًا، جَوَادًا قَرِيبًا، مُتَوَاضِعًا لَطِيفًا بِهِمْ فِي مُعَاشَرَتِهِمْ، رَفِيقًا بِهِمْ فِي التَّأْدِيبِ لَهُمْ، وَنَاظِرًا فِيمَا اشْتَبَهَ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَقِيلَ مَا وَرَدَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْحَقِّ، وَلَانَ لَهُمْ فِي الْمُذَاكَرَةِ، وَحَدَّدَ لَهُمْ ذِكْرَ أَيَادِي الْكَرِيمِ وَقَدِيمِ إِحْسَانِهِ، وَتَوَاتُرِ النِّعَمِ عَلَى قِلَّةِ الشُّكْرِ مِنَ الْعِبَادِ،

Hāshshan lahum, ṭalqan sahlan mutakarriman, jawādan qarīban, mutawāḍiʿan laṭīfan bihim fī muʿāsharatihim, rafīqan bihim fī al-taʾdībi lahum, wa-nāẓiran fī-mā ishtabaha ʿalayhim, wa-qīla mā warada ʿalayhi mina al-ḥaqqi, wa-lāna lahum fī al-mudhākarati, wa-ḥaddada lahum dhikra ʾayādī al-karīmi wa-qadīmi ʾiḥsānihi, wa-tawāturi al-niʿami ʿalā qillati al-shukri mina al-ʿibādi,

He is cheerful with them, open, easygoing, gracious, generous, approachable, humble, and gentle in his dealings. He is kind when disciplining them and examines what they find confusing. The truth that reaches him is spoken [as printed; the connection is uncertain]. He is gentle with them in discussion and gives them a precise account of the Generous One’s favors, His long-standing kindness, and His successive blessings despite His servants’ scant gratitude.

وَذَكَّرَهُمْ حِلْمَ الْإِلَهِ، وَتَأَنِّيهِ بِهِمْ عَلَى تَعَرُّضِهِمْ لِمَسَاخِطِهِ، وَحَذَّرَهُمْ مِنْ مَسَاخِطِ اللَّهِ وَنَعْمَائِهِ، وَنَدَبَهُمْ إِلَى التَّحَبُّبِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِمَحَابِّهِ، فَلَمْ يَزَلْ فِي تَحْبِيبِ اللَّهِ إِلَى خَلْقِهِ، وَتَحْبِيبِ الْعِبَادِ إِلَى خَالِقِهِمْ، فَفِي اللَّهِ أَحَبَّهُمْ، وَفِي اللَّهِ أَبْغَضَهُمْ وَمِنْ أَجْلِهِ سَخِطَ عَلَيْهِمْ،

Wa-dhakkarahum ḥilma al-ʾilāhi, wa-taʾannīhi bihim ʿalā taʿarruḍihim li-masākhiṭihi, wa-ḥadhdharahum min masākhiṭi Allāhi wa-naʿmāʾihi, wa-nadabahum ʾilā al-taḥabbubi ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla bi-maḥābbihi, fa-lam yazal fī taḥbībi Allāhi ʾilā khalqihi, wa-taḥbībi al-ʿibādi ʾilā khāliqihim, fa-fī Allāhi ʾaḥabbahum, wa-fī Allāhi ʾabghaḍahum wa-min ʾajlihi sakhiṭa ʿalayhim,

He reminds them of God’s forbearance and patience with them despite their exposing themselves to His displeasure. He warns them of God’s displeasure and blessings [as printed], and urges them to seek the love of God, mighty and majestic, through what He loves. He continually makes God beloved to His creatures and His servants beloved to their Creator. For God’s sake he loves them, for God’s sake he hates them, and for His sake he is displeased with them.

فَعَمِلَ بِرِضْوَانِ اللَّهِ فِي عِبَادِهِ، وَلَمْ يَعْدُ أَمْرَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي نَفْسِهِ خَاصَّةً، وَفِي كُلِّ أَحْوَالِهِ فَهُوَ الْعَارِفُ بِرَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، الْمُتَأَسِّي بِنَبِيِّهِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَهُوَ مَوْضِعُ الِاقْتِدَاءِ بِهِ، وَهُوَ الْمُسَدَّدُ فِي أَمْرِهِ، وَالْمُوَفَّقُ فِيمَا أَسَرَّ وَأَعْلَنَ مِنْ فِعْلِهِ وَقَوْلِهِ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ الْأَثَرُ بِنَعْتِهِ.

Fa-ʿamila bi-riḍwāni Allāhi fī ʿibādihi, wa-lam yaʿdu ʾamra Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fī nafsihi khāṣṣatan, wa-fī kulli ʾaḥwālihi fa-huwa al-ʿārifu bi-rabbihi ʿazza wa-jalla, al-mutaʾassī bi-nabiyyihi Muḥammadin ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, wa-huwa mawḍiʿu al-iqtidāʾi bihi, wa-huwa al-musaddadu fī ʾamrihi, wa-al-muwaffaqu fī-mā ʾasarra wa-ʾaʿlana min fiʿlihi wa-qawlihi, wa-qad jāʾa al-ʾatharu bi-naʿtihi.

He acts among God’s servants in pursuit of His pleasure and does not transgress the command of God, mighty and majestic, in his own private life or in any of his circumstances. He knows his Lord, mighty and majestic, and follows his Prophet Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace. He is worthy of being followed, rightly guided in his affairs, and granted success in his private and public deeds and words. A transmitted report describes him.

بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ بَعْضَ الْقَارِئِينَ تَلَا هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ: ﴿وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِمَّنْ دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنِّي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ﴾.

Balaghanā ʾanna baʿḍa al-qāriʾīna talā hādhihi al-ʾāyata: “Wa-man ʾaḥsanu qawlan mimman daʿā ʾilā Allāhi wa-ʿamila ṣāliḥan wa-qāla ʾinnī mina al-muslimīna.”

We have received a report that one of the reciters read this verse: “Who speaks better than someone who calls to God, acts righteously, and says, ‘I am one of those who submit’?” [The print has ʾinnī where Qurʾān 41:33 has ʾinnanī.]

قَالَ: «هَذَا حَبِيبُ اللَّهِ، هَذَا صَفْوَةُ اللَّهِ، هَذَا خِيرَةُ اللَّهِ، هَذَا أَحَبُّ أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ إِلَى اللَّهِ، أَجَابَ اللَّهَ فِي الدُّنْيَا فِي دَعْوَتِهِ، وَدَعَا النَّاسَ إِلَى مَا أَجَابَ اللَّهَ فِي دَعْوَتِهِ، وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فِي إِجَابَتِهِ، وَقَالَ إِنِّي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، إِنَّ هَذَا خَلِيفَةُ اللَّهِ».

Qāla: “Hādhā ḥabību Allāhi, hādhā ṣafwatu Allāhi, hādhā khīratu Allāhi, hādhā ʾaḥabbu ʾahli al-ʾarḍi ʾilā Allāhi, ʾajāba Allāha fī al-dunyā fī daʿwatihi, wa-daʿā al-nāsa ʾilā mā ʾajāba Allāha fī daʿwatihi, wa-ʿamila ṣāliḥan fī ʾijābatihi, wa-qāla ʾinnī mina al-muslimīna, ʾinna hādhā khalīfatu Allāhi.”

He said: “This is God’s beloved, God’s chosen one, God’s selection, the dearest of earth’s people to God. In this world he answered God’s call, called people to what he had answered in God’s call, acted righteously in his response, and said, ‘I am one of those who submit.’ This is God’s vicegerent.”

إِخْوَانِي: هَذَا نَعْتُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ وَالْخُلَفَاءِ الْمَهْدِيِّينَ، فَهَذَا الْوَصْفُ لَا يَلِيقُ بِنَا وَلَا يُشْبِهُ أَمْثَالَنَا، فَلَا تَجْهَلُوا أَمْرَكُمْ، وَتَذَاكَرُوا الَّذِي تَعْلَمُونَ مِنْ أَسْوَاءِ أَنْفُسِكُمْ، وَانْتَبِهُوا مِنَ الْغَفْلَةِ الَّتِي دَهَتْكُمْ، فَإِنْ أَخَذَ الْإِلَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ، فَإِنَّكُمْ بِالرَّجْمِ أَوْلَى مِنَ الِاقْتِدَاءِ بِكُمْ.

ʾIkhwānī: hādhā naʿtu al-mursalīna wa-al-khulafāʾi al-mahdiyyīna, fa-hādhā al-waṣfu lā yalīqu binā wa-lā yushbihu ʾamthālanā, fa-lā tajhalū ʾamrakum, wa-tadhākarū alladhī taʿlamūna min ʾaswāʾi ʾanfusikum, wa-intabihū mina al-ghaflati allatī dahatkum, fa-ʾin ʾakhadha al-ʾilāhu ʿalaykum, fa-ʾinnakum bi-al-rajmi ʾawlā mina al-iqtidāʾi bikum.

My brothers, this is the description of messengers and rightly guided successors. It does not befit us or resemble people like us. Do not be ignorant of your own condition. Remind one another of the faults you know within yourselves, and awaken from the heedlessness that has overtaken you. If God calls you to account, you deserve stoning more than to be followed as examples.

Source page 215

فَاقْبَلُوا نُصْحَ الشَّفِيقِ عَلَيْكُمْ، وَأَسِرُّوا أَمْرَكُمْ بِمَجْهُودِكُمْ، وَارْغَبُوا فِي خُمُولِ ذِكْرِكُمْ، فَإِنَّ السَّلَفَ الصَّالِحَ لَمْ يَعْدِلُوا بِالسَّلَامَةِ شَيْئًا، وَهُمُ الْأَخْيَارُ فِي زَمَانِ الْأَخْيَارِ.

Fa-iqbalū nuṣḥa al-shafīqi ʿalaykum, wa-ʾasirrū ʾamrakum bi-majhūdikum, wa-irghabū fī khumūli dhikrikum, fa-ʾinna al-salafa al-ṣāliḥa lam yaʿdilū bi-al-salāmati shayʾan, wa-humu al-ʾakhyāru fī zamāni al-ʾakhyāri.

Accept the advice of someone who cares for you, do your utmost to conceal your affairs, and desire obscurity. The righteous predecessors valued nothing as highly as safety, though they were the best people in an age of the best people.

وَكَيْفَ بِكُمْ [وَأَنْتُمْ] مِنْ نُفَايَةِ الْأُمَّةِ بَيْنَ صَرْعِ الدُّنْيَا.

Wa-kayfa bikum [wa-ʾantum] min nufāyati al-ʾummati bayna ṣarʿi al-dunyā.

What, then, of you, [who are] among the community’s refuse amid the havoc wrought by this world [the printed noun is uncertain here]?

وَبَعْدُ: فَلَوْ وَافَقَ الْأَخْيَارُ دَهْرَكُمْ هَذَا، لَكَانُوا أَشَدَّ مِنْكُمْ فِرَارًا وَأَبْعَدَ آثَارًا، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ: «لَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا مِنَ السَّلَفِ الصَّالِحِ أُنْشِرَ مِنْ قَبْرِهِ، فَنَظَرَ إِلَى قُرَّائِكُمْ، مَا كَلَّمَهُمْ، وَلَقَالَ لِسَائِرِ النَّاسِ: مَا يُؤْمِنُ هَؤُلَاءِ بِيَوْمِ الْحِسَابِ». وَعَنْ بَعْضِهِمْ قَالَ: «لَا خَيْرَ فِي الذِّكْرِ إِذَا أُعْلِنَ».

Wa-baʿdu: fa-law wāfaqa al-ʾakhyāru dahrakum hādhā, la-kānū ʾashadda minkum firāran wa-ʾabʿada ʾāthāran, wa-qad qāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-ʿilmi: “Law ʾanna rajulan mina al-salafi al-ṣāliḥi ʾunshira min qabrihi, fa-naẓara ʾilā qurrāʾikum, mā kallamahum, wa-la-qāla li-sāʾiri al-nāsi: mā yuʾminu hāʾulāʾi bi-yawmi al-ḥisābi.” Wa-ʿan baʿḍihim qāla: “Lā khayra fī al-dhikri ʾidhā ʾuʿlina.”

Furthermore, if those good people had lived in this age of yours, they would have fled more urgently than you and gone farther away. One of the learned said: “If a man from the righteous predecessors were raised from his grave and looked at your reciters, he would not speak to them. He would tell everyone else: ‘These people do not believe in the Day of Reckoning.’” Another is reported to have said: “There is no good in renown when it is made public [dhikr here may also mean devotional remembrance].”

وَيَا قَوْمِ: فَارْغَبُوا فِي خُمُولِ الذِّكْرِ، وَلَا تَعْدِلُوا بِالسَّلَامَةِ شَيْئًا.

Wa-yā qawmi: fa-irghabū fī khumūli al-dhikri, wa-lā taʿdilū bi-al-salāmati shayʾan.

People, desire obscurity, and value nothing as highly as safety.

وَهَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا وَلَكُمُ السَّلَامَ فِي جَمِيعِ أَحْوَالِنَا، آمِينَ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

Wahaba Allāhu lanā wa-lakumu al-salāma fī jamīʿi ʾaḥwālinā, ʾāmīna yā rabba al-ʿālamīna.

May God grant us and you peace in all our circumstances. Amen, Lord of all worlds.

Source colophon

تَمَّ بِحَمْدِ اللَّهِ وَعَوْنِهِ

Tamma bi-ḥamdi Allāhi wa-ʿawnihi

Completed with praise to God and His help

وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

Wa-ṣallā Allāhu ʿalā sayyidinā Muḥammadin wa-ʿalā ʾālihi wa-ṣaḥbihi wa-sallama.

May God bless our master Muḥammad, his family, and his companions, and grant them peace.