كِتَابُ الْعِلْمِ
Kitābu al-ʿIlmi
The Book of Knowledge
الْحَارِثُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ
Al-Ḥārithu bnu ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyu
Al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī
Source page 81
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ.
Bismi Allāhi al-raḥmāni al-raḥīmi.
In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.
وَبِهِ نَسْتَعِينُ.
Wa-bihi nastaʿīnu.
And from Him we seek help.
قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْحَارِثُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ:
Qāla ʾAbū ʿAbdi Allāhi al-Ḥārithu bnu ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyu, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu:
Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī, may God be pleased with him, said:
الْعِلْمُ عَلَى ثَلَاثَةِ أَنْوَاعٍ: نَوْعٌ عِلْمُ الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ، وَهُوَ عِلْمُ أَحْكَامِ هَذِهِ الدَّارِ، وَهُوَ الْعِلْمُ الظَّاهِرُ.
Al-ʿilmu ʿalā thalāthati ʾanwāʿin: nawʿun ʿilmu al-ḥalāli wa-al-ḥarāmi, wa-huwa ʿilmu ʾaḥkāmi hādhihi al-dāri, wa-huwa al-ʿilmu al-ẓāhiru.
Knowledge is of three kinds. One is knowledge of what is lawful and unlawful: knowledge of the rulings that govern this world. This is outward knowledge.
وَنَوْعٌ آخَرُ وَهُوَ عِلْمُ أَحْكَامِ الْآخِرَةِ، وَهُوَ الْعِلْمُ الْبَاطِنُ.
Wa-nawʿun ʾākharu wa-huwa ʿilmu ʾaḥkāmi al-ʾākhirati, wa-huwa al-ʿilmu al-bāṭinu.
Another is knowledge of the rulings that concern the hereafter. This is inward knowledge.
وَنَوْعٌ ثَالِثٌ وَهُوَ الْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ، وَأَحْكَامِهِ فِي خَلْقِهِ فِي الدَّارَيْنِ.
Wa-nawʿun thālithun wa-huwa al-ʿilmu bi-Allāhi subḥānahu, wa-ʾaḥkāmihi fī khalqihi fī al-dārayni.
A third is knowledge of God, glory be to Him, and of His decrees concerning His creation in both worlds.
Source page 82
فَصْلٌ ١
Faṣlun 1
Section 1
فَالنَّوْعُ الْأَوَّلُ جُزْآنِ: حَلَالٌ وَحَرَامٌ. فَمَنْ ذَهَبَ إِلَى تَطْوِيلِهِ فَإِنَّهُ تَكَلَّمَ فِي خُصُومَاتِ النَّاسِ وَمُجَاذَبَاتِهِمْ.
Fa-al-nawʿu al-ʾawwalu juzʾāni: ḥalālun wa-ḥarāmun. Fa-man dhahaba ʾilā taṭwīlihi fa-ʾinnahu takallama fī khuṣūmāti al-nāsi wa-mujādhabātihim.
The first kind has two parts: the lawful and the unlawful. Anyone who treats it at length discusses people’s disputes and their struggles with one another.
لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ، سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَقَدَّسَتْ أَسْمَاؤُهُ، أَسَّسَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى الْعَدْلِ لِأَنْ تَكُونَ دَارًا يُتَزَوَّدُ مِنْهَا إِلَى دَارِ الْبَقَاءِ.
Li-ʾanna Allāha, subḥānahu wa-taqaddasat ʾasmāʾuhu, ʾassasa al-dunyā ʿalā al-ʿadli li-ʾan takūna dāran yutazawwadu minhā ʾilā dāri al-baqāʾi.
For God, glory be to Him and holy are His names, established this world on justice so that it might be a dwelling from which provisions are taken for the everlasting dwelling.
إِذِ الْخَلْقُ مُنْتَقِلُونَ مِنَ الْأَصْلَابِ إِلَى الْأَرْحَامِ، وَمِنَ الْأَرْحَامِ إِلَى هَذِهِ الدَّارِ، ثُمَّ مِنْهَا مُجْتَازُونَ مُسَافِرُونَ إِلَى مَقَامِ الْعَرْضِ.
ʾIdhi al-khalqu muntaqilūna mina al-ʾaṣlābi ʾilā al-ʾarḥāmi, wa-mina al-ʾarḥāmi ʾilā hādhihi al-dāri, thumma minhā mujtāzūna musāfirūna ʾilā maqāmi al-ʿarḍi.
Created beings pass from loins to wombs, and from wombs into this dwelling. Then they pass through it and travel onward to the place where they will be presented [before God].
فَمَا كَانَ بَيْنَهُمْ مِنَ التَّجَاذُبِ وَالْخُصُومَاتِ فَإِنَّمَا ذَلِكَ لِتَنَاوُلِ شَهَوَاتِهِمْ وَرُكُونِهِمْ إِلَى أَهْوَائِهِمْ.
Fa-mā kāna baynahum mina al-tajādhubi wa-al-khuṣūmāti fa-ʾinnamā dhālika litanāwuli shahawātihim wa-rukūnihim ʾilā ʾahwāʾihim.
Whatever struggles and disputes arise among them stem from their pursuit of their appetites and their surrender to their desires.
فَتَكَلَّمَ الْعُلَمَاءُ فِي هَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءِ الْحَادِثَاتِ إِذْ لَمْ يَتَنَاوَلُوهَا عَلَى التَّزَوُّدِ، وَإِنَّمَا تَنَاوَلُوهَا عَلَى التَّمَتُّعِ.
Fa-takallama al-ʿulamāʾu fī hādhihi al-ʾashyāʾi al-ḥādithāti ʾidh lam yatanāwalūhā ʿalā al-tazawwudi, wa-ʾinnamā tanāwalūhā ʿalā al-tamattuʿi.
Scholars therefore discussed these emerging matters, because people approached them for enjoyment rather than as provisions for the journey.
Source pages 82–83
فَرَدَّهَا الْعُلَمَاءُ إِلَى الْأُصُولِ الْمُحْكَمَةِ مِنْ كِتَابٍ أَوْ سُنَّةٍ. فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أُيِّدَ بِالْفَهْمِ فَبَرَزَ فِي الْعِلْمِ.
Fa-raddahā al-ʿulamāʾu ʾilā al-ʾuṣūli al-muḥkamati min kitābin ʾaw sunnatin. Fa-minhum man ʾuyyida bi-al-fahmi fa-baraza fī al-ʿilmi.
The scholars referred them back to the firmly established foundations in Scripture or the Sunna. Some were aided with understanding and excelled in knowledge.
Source page 83
وَهُوَ عِلْمٌ جَلِيلٌ مَحْمُودٌ لِمَنْ يَتَحَرَّى فِيهِ وَلَا يُسْتَغْنَى عَنْهُ، وَهُوَ فَرْضٌ عَلَى الْكِفَايَةِ.
Wa-huwa ʿilmun jalīlun maḥmūdun liman yataḥarrā fīhi wa-lā yustaghnā ʿanhu, wa-huwa farḍun ʿalā al-kifāyati.
It is a noble branch of knowledge, praiseworthy for those who pursue it conscientiously. It is indispensable, and its pursuit is a collective obligation.
فَصْلٌ ٢
Faṣlun 2
Section 2
وَأَمَّا عِلْمُ أَحْكَامِ الْآخِرَةِ فَهِيَ الْعِبَادَةُ الْبَاطِنَةُ.
Wa-ʾammā ʿilmu ʾaḥkāmi al-ʾākhirati fa-hiya al-ʿibādatu al-bāṭinatu.
As for knowledge of the rulings that concern the hereafter, this is inward worship.
[وَ] مِنْهَا الْوَرَعُ وَالتَّقْوَى وَالزُّهْدُ وَالصَّبْرُ وَالرِّضَى وَالْقَنَاعَةُ وَالتَّوَكُّلُ وَالتَّفْوِيضُ وَالْيَقِينُ وَسَلَامَةُ الصَّدْرِ وَسَخَاوَةُ النَّفْسِ وَرُؤْيَةُ الْمِنَّةِ وَالنِّيَّةُ وَالِاحْتِسَابُ وَالْإِحْسَانُ.
[Wa] minhā al-waraʿu wa-al-taqwā wa-al-zuhdu wa-al-ṣabru wa-al-riḍā wa-al-qanāʿatu wa-al-tawakkulu wa-al-tafwīḍu wa-al-yaqīnu wa-salāmatu al-ṣadri wa-sakhāwatu al-nafsi wa-ruʾyatu al-minnati wa-al-niyyatu wa-al-iḥtisābu wa-al-ʾiḥsānu.
[And] it includes scrupulousness, mindfulness of God, detachment from the world, patience, contentment, being satisfied with what one has, trust in God, entrusting one’s affairs to Him, certainty, a heart free of rancor, generosity of spirit, recognition of [God’s] favor, intention, seeking [God’s] reward, and doing good.
وَحُسْنُ الظَّنِّ وَحُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ وَحُسْنُ الْمُعَاشَرَةِ وَحُسْنُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَحُسْنُ الطَّاعَةِ وَالصِّدْقُ وَالْإِخْلَاصُ. فَهَذِهِ أَجْزَاءٌ قَامَتْ بِإِزَاءِ أَجْزَاءِ الْحَلَالِ.
Wa-ḥusnu al-ẓanni wa-ḥusnu al-khuluqi wa-ḥusnu al-muʿāsharati wa-ḥusnu al-maʿrifati wa-ḥusnu al-ṭāʿati wa-al-ṣidqu wa-al-ʾikhlāṣu. Fa-hādhihi ʾajzāʾun qāmat bi-ʾizāʾi ʾajzāʾi al-ḥalāli.
It also includes thinking well [of God and others], good character, good companionship, sound knowledge, good obedience, truthfulness, and sincerity. These are elements that correspond to the elements of the lawful.
Source page 84
فَصْلٌ ٣
Faṣlun 3
Section 3
وَالْأَجْزَاءُ الْأُخْرَى قَامَتْ بِإِزَاءِ أَجْزَاءِ الْحَرَامِ.
Wa-al-ʾajzāʾu al-ʾukhrā qāmat bi-ʾizāʾi ʾajzāʾi al-ḥarāmi.
The other elements correspond to the elements of the unlawful.
وَهِيَ خَوْفُ الْفَقْرِ وَسَخَطُ الْمَقْدُورِ وَالْغِلُّ وَالْحِقْدُ وَالْحَسَدُ وَالْغِشُّ وَطَلَبُ الْعُلُوِّ وَحُبُّ الْمَنْزِلَةِ وَحُبُّ الثَّنَاءِ وَالْمَحْمَدَةِ وَحُبُّ الْحَيَاةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا.
Wa-hiya khawfu al-faqri wa-sakhaṭu al-maqdūri wa-al-ghillu wa-al-ḥiqdu wa-al-ḥasadu wa-al-ghishshu wa-ṭalabu al-ʿuluwwi wa-ḥubbu al-manzilati wa-ḥubbu al-thanāʾi wa-al-maḥmadati wa-ḥubbu al-ḥayāti fī al-dunyā.
They include fear of poverty, resentment of what has been decreed, rancor, spite, envy, deceit, the pursuit of superiority, love of standing, love of praise and commendation, and love of life in this world.
وَالْكِبْرُ وَالْغَضَبُ وَالْحَمِيَّةُ وَالْأَنَفَةُ وَحُبُّ الرِّئَاسَةِ وَالْعَدَاوَةُ وَالْبَغْضَةُ وَالطَّمَعُ وَالْبُخْلُ وَالشُّحُّ وَالرَّغْبَةُ وَالرَّهْبَةُ وَالْبَذَخُ وَالْأَشَرُ وَالْبَطَرُ.
Wa-al-kibru wa-al-ghaḍabu wa-al-ḥamiyyatu wa-al-ʾanafatu wa-ḥubbu al-riʾāsati wa-al-ʿadāwatu wa-al-baghḍatu wa-al-ṭamaʿu wa-al-bukhlu wa-al-shuḥḥu wa-al-raghbatu wa-al-rahbatu wa-al-badhakhu wa-al-ʾasharu wa-al-baṭaru.
They include arrogance, anger, heated partisanship, haughtiness, love of leadership, hostility, hatred, covetousness, miserliness, grasping avarice, craving, fear, ostentation, insolence, and self-indulgent conceit.
وَالتَّعْظِيمُ لِلْأَغْنِيَاءِ وَالِاسْتِهَانَةُ بِالْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْفَخْرُ وَالْخُيَلَاءُ وَالتَّنَافُسُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْمُبَاهَاةُ وَالرِّيَاءُ وَالسُّمْعَةُ وَالْإِعْرَاضُ عَنِ الْحَقِّ اسْتِكْبَارًا.
Wa-al-taʿẓīmu li-al-ʾaghniyāʾi wa-al-istihānatu bi-al-fuqarāʾi wa-al-fakhru wa-al-khuyalāʾu wa-al-tanāfusu fī al-dunyā wa-al-mubāhātu wa-al-riyāʾu wa-al-sumʿatu wa-al-ʾiʿrāḍu ʿani al-ḥaqqi istikbāran.
They include revering the rich, looking down on the poor, boasting, conceit, rivalry over worldly things, showing off, acting to be seen or spoken well of, and turning away from the truth out of arrogance.
وَالْخَوْضُ فِي مَا لَا يَعْنِي وَكَثْرَةُ الْكَلَامِ وَفُضُولُ الْكَلَامِ وَفُضُولُ النَّظَرِ وَفُضُولُ الطَّعَامِ وَالصَّلَفُ وَاخْتِبَارُ الْأَحْوَالِ وَالتَّمَلُّكُ وَالِاقْتِدَارُ فِي أَمْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالتَّزَيُّنُ لِلْمَخْلُوقِينَ وَالْمُدَاهَنَةُ وَالْعُجْبُ.
Wa-al-khawḍu fī mā lā yaʿnī wa-kathratu al-kalāmi wa-fuḍūlu al-kalāmi wa-fuḍūlu al-naẓari wa-fuḍūlu al-ṭaʿāmi wa-al-ṣalafu wa-ikhtibāru al-ʾaḥwāli wa-al-tamalluku wa-al-iqtidāru fī ʾamri Allāhi taʿālā wa-al-tazayyunu li-al-makhlūqīna wa-al-mudāhanatu wa-al-ʿujbu.
They include meddling in what does not concern one, excessive talk, needless speech, needless looking, excess food, pretension, putting spiritual states to the test, asserting ownership and power in God Most High’s domain, adorning oneself for created beings, compromising one’s principles to please others, and self-admiration.
Source pages 84–85
وَالْمَدْحُ بِمَا لَمْ يَفْعَلْ وَالِاشْتِغَالُ بِعُيُوبِ الْخَلْقِ عَنْ عُيُوبِهِ وَنِسْيَانُ النِّعْمَةِ وَافْتِقَارُ الْقَلْبِ مِنَ الْحُزْنِ وَخُرُوجُ الْخَشْيَةِ مِنْهُ وَالِانْتِصَارُ لِلنَّفْسِ إِذَا نَالَهَا الذُّلُّ وَضَعْفُ الِانْتِصَارِ لِلْحَقِّ.
Wa-al-madḥu bimā lam yafʿal wa-al-ishtighālu biʿuyūbi al-khalqi ʿan ʿuyūbihi wa-nisyānu al-niʿmati wa-iftiqāru al-qalbi mina al-ḥuzni wa-khurūju al-khashyati minhu wa-al-intiṣāru li-al-nafsi ʾidhā nālahā al-dhullu wa-ḍaʿfu al-intiṣāri li-al-ḥaqqi.
They include [accepting] praise for what one has not done, being so occupied with other people’s faults that one neglects one’s own, forgetting blessings, a heart devoid of sorrow, reverent fear departing from it, defending oneself when humiliated, and failing to defend the truth with equal strength.
Source page 85
وَاتِّخَاذُ إِخْوَانِ الْعَلَانِيَةِ عَلَى عَدَاوَةٍ فِي السِّرِّ وَالْأَمْنُ بِأَنْ يُسْلَبَ شَيْئًا أُعْطِيَ وَالِانْقِيَادُ لِلْهَوَى وَالْمُشَارَكَةُ فِي الْأُمُورِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالِاتِّكَالُ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ.
Wa-ittikhādhu ʾikhwāni al-ʿalāniyati ʿalā ʿadāwatin fī al-sirri wa-al-ʾamnu bi-ʾan yuslaba shayʾan ʾuʿṭiya wa-al-inqiyādu li-al-hawā wa-al-mushārakatu fī al-ʾumūri li-llāhi taʿālā wa-al-ittikālu ʿalā al-ṭāʿati.
They include treating people as brothers in public while harboring hostility in secret, feeling secure against being stripped of something one has been given, yielding to desire, claiming a share with God Most High in the ordering of affairs, and relying on one’s own obedience.
وَالْهَرَبُ مِنَ الذُّلِّ وَالْحِرْصُ وَطُولُ الْأَمَلِ وَالتَّجَبُّرُ وَعِزَّةُ النَّفْسِ وَالْتِمَاسُ الْمُغَالَبَةِ لَا لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالْقَسْوَةُ وَالْفَظَاظَةُ وَالْغَفْلَةُ وَالْأَمْنُ وَسُوءُ الْخُلُقِ.
Wa-al-harabu mina al-dhulli wa-al-ḥirṣu wa-ṭūlu al-ʾamali wa-al-tajabburu wa-ʿizzatu al-nafsi wa-iltimāsu al-mughālabati lā li-llāhi ʿazza wa-jalla wa-al-qaswatu wa-al-faẓāẓatu wa-al-ghaflatu wa-al-ʾamnu wa-sūʾu al-khuluqi.
They include fleeing humiliation, greed, endlessly extended hopes, domineering behavior, self-importance, seeking to prevail for reasons other than God, mighty and exalted, hardness of heart, harshness, heedlessness, a sense of security, and bad character.
وَالْفَرَحُ بِالدُّنْيَا وَالْحُزْنُ عَلَى فَوْتِهَا وَالْأُنْسُ بِالْمَخْلُوقِينَ وَالْوَحْشَةُ لِفِرَاقِهِمْ وَالْجَفَاءُ وَالطَّيْشُ وَالْعَجَلَةُ وَالْحِدَّةُ وَقِلَّةُ الْحَيَاءِ وَقِلَّةُ الرَّحْمَةِ. وَهَذِهِ الْأَحْوَالُ قَامَتْ بِإِزَاءِ أَجْزَاءِ الْحَرَامِ.
Wa-al-faraḥu bi-al-dunyā wa-al-ḥuznu ʿalā fawtihā wa-al-ʾunsu bi-al-makhlūqīna wa-al-waḥshatu lifirāqihim wa-al-jafāʾu wa-al-ṭayshu wa-al-ʿajalatu wa-al-ḥiddatu wa-qillatu al-ḥayāʾi wa-qillatu al-raḥmati. Wa-hādhihi al-ʾaḥwālu qāmat bi-ʾizāʾi ʾajzāʾi al-ḥarāmi.
They include joy in worldly things, grief at losing them, finding one’s comfort in created beings, feeling desolate when parted from them, coldness, recklessness, haste, sharpness of temper, too little modesty, and too little compassion. These states correspond to the elements of the unlawful.
Source page 86
فَصْلٌ ٤
Faṣlun 4
Section 4
وَهَذَا الْعِلْمُ لَا يَسْتَغْنِي عَنْهُ أَحَدٌ. وَعِلْمُهُ وَالْعَمَلُ بِهِ فَرْضٌ عَلَى كُلِّ أَحَدٍ حُرٍّ وَعَبْدٍ وَذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ.
Wa-hādhā al-ʿilmu lā yastaghnī ʿanhu ʾaḥadun. Wa-ʿilmuhu wa-al-ʿamalu bihi farḍun ʿalā kulli ʾaḥadin ḥurrin wa-ʿabdin wa-dhakarin wa-ʾunthā fī kulli waqtin.
No one can dispense with this knowledge. Knowing it and acting on it are obligatory at all times for everyone, free or enslaved, male or female.
وَكَذَلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ مَا لَا يَسْتَغْنِي عَنْ عِلْمِهِ وَالْعَمَلِ بِهِ مَنْ عَلِمَهُ.
Wa-ka-dhālika min ʿilmi al-ḥalāli wa-al-ḥarāmi mā lā yastaghnī ʿan ʿilmihi wa-al-ʿamali bihi man ʿalimahu.
Likewise, there is knowledge of the lawful and unlawful that those who know it cannot dispense with knowing and putting into practice.
وَالْعَمَلُ بِهِ فَرْضٌ عَلَى كُلِّ وَاحِدٍ حُرٍّ أَوْ عَبْدٍ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ تَلْزَمُ الْعِبَادَ أَحْكَامُهُ.
Wa-al-ʿamalu bihi farḍun ʿalā kulli wāḥidin ḥurrin ʾaw ʿabdin dhakarin ʾaw ʾunthā fī kulli waqtin talzamu al-ʿibāda ʾaḥkāmuhu.
Acting on it is obligatory for every person, free or enslaved, male or female, whenever its rulings bind God’s servants.
فَأَمَّا مَا تَوَلَّدَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ لِتَنَازُعِ النَّاسِ وَتَجَاذُبِهِمْ لِلدُّنْيَا فَقَدْ يَسْتَغْنِي عَنْهُ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ إِذَا قَامَ بِهِ الْغَيْرُ.
Fa-ʾammā mā tawallada min dhālika litanāzuʿi al-nāsi wa-tajādhubihim li-al-dunyā fa-qad yastaghnī ʿanhu baʿḍu al-nāsi ʾidhā qāma bihi al-ghayru.
As for the questions that arise from people’s disputes and their struggles over worldly things, some people can dispense with knowing them if others take responsibility for them.
وَقَدْ يَكُونُ الرَّجُلُ فِي جَمِيعِ عُمُرِهِ لَا تَنُوبُهُ مَسْأَلَةٌ مِنْ بَعْضِ تِلْكَ الْمَسَائِلِ.
Wa-qad yakūnu al-rajulu fī jamīʿi ʿumurihi lā tanūbuhu masʾalatun min baʿḍi tilka al-masāʾili.
A person may live an entire lifetime without encountering any instance of some of those questions.
Source pages 86–87
فَلَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا تَبَحَّرَ فِي نَحْوِ هَذِهِ الْمَسَائِلِ وَغَاصَ فِي فُنُونِهَا فَقِيلَ لَهُ: «مَا النِّيَّةُ وَمَا عَزِيمَتُهَا وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ مَحَلُّهَا مِنَ الْقَلْبِ وَمَاذَا يَدْخُلُ عَلَيْهَا مِنَ الْفَسَادِ مِنْ قِبَلِ النَّفْسِ وَمِنْ قِبَلِ الْعَدُوِّ؟» أَوْ قِيلَ لَهُ: «مَا الْوَرَعُ؟» عَجَزَ عَنْ جَوَابِهِ.
Fa-law ʾanna rajulan tabaḥḥara fī naḥwi hādhihi al-masāʾili wa-ghāṣa fī funūnihā fa-qīla lahu: «mā al-niyyatu wa-mā ʿazīmatuhā wa-ʾayyu shayʾin maḥalluhā mina al-qalbi wa-mādhā yadkhulu ʿalayhā mina al-fasādi min qibali al-nafsi wa-min qibali al-ʿaduwwi?» ʾaw qīla lahu: «mā al-waraʿu?» ʿajaza ʿan jawābihi.
Suppose someone became deeply learned in such questions and immersed himself in their many branches. If he were asked, “What is intention? What is its resolve? Where in the heart does it reside? What corruption enters it from the lower self and from the Enemy?” or if he were asked, “What is scrupulousness?”, he would be unable to answer.
Source page 87
فَلِلْوَرَعِ مَنَازِلُ يُحْتَاجُ إِلَى مَعْرِفَتِهَا.
Fa-li-al-waraʿi manāzilu yuḥtāju ʾilā maʿrifatihā.
For scrupulousness has stages that one needs to know.
فَهَذِهِ أُصُولٌ مِنْ أُصُولِ الدِّينِ الَّتِي يَحْدُثُ فِيهَا عِنْدَ مُنَازَعَةِ النَّفْسِ وَإِدْخَالِهَا فِيهَا مَا لَيْسَ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَدْخُلَ فِيهَا يَتَفَرَّعُ الْقَوْلُ فِيهَا أَكْثَرَ مِنْ تَفَرُّعِهِ فِي الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ.
Fa-hādhihi ʾuṣūlun min ʾuṣūli al-dīni allatī yaḥduthu fīhā ʿinda munāzaʿati al-nafsi wa-ʾidkhālihā fīhā mā laysa yanbaghī ʾan yadkhula fīhā yatafarraʿu al-qawlu fīhā ʾakthara min tafarruʿihi fī al-ḥalāli wa-al-ḥarāmi.
These are foundations of religion. When the lower self contests them and brings into them what should not enter them, discussion of what arises in them branches out more widely than discussion of the lawful and unlawful.
وَهُوَ أَوْلَى فِي التَّعْلِيمِ وَالْحِفْظِ عَلَى الْأُمَّةِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ. وَالْحَاجَةُ إِلَى هَذَا فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ وَفِي كُلِّ أَمْرٍ أَمَسُّ شَيْءٍ مِنْ ذَلِكَ.
Wa-huwa ʾawlā fī al-taʿlīmi wa-al-ḥifẓi ʿalā al-ʾummati min dhālika. Wa-al-ḥājatu ʾilā hādhā fī kulli waqtin wa-fī kulli ʾamrin ʾamassu shayʾin min dhālika.
It deserves greater priority in teaching and in preserving knowledge for the community. At every moment and in every matter, the need for this is far more pressing than the need for that.
وَإِنَّمَا يَغْفُلُ عَنْ تَعَلُّمِ هَذَا النَّوْعِ مَنْ غَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ هَوَاهُ فِي الْأُمُورِ فَلَا يَدْرِي أَيُّ شَيْءٍ يَدْخُلُ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْفَسَادِ.
Wa-ʾinnamā yaghfulu ʿan taʿallumi hādhā al-nawʿi man ghalaba ʿalayhi hawāhu fī al-ʾumūri fa-lā yadrī ʾayyu shayʾin yadkhulu ʿalayhi mina al-fasādi.
Only someone whose desires have mastered him in his affairs neglects to learn this kind of knowledge, and so he does not recognize the corruption that enters into them.
Source pages 87–88
فَحِفْظُ هَذَا الْعِلْمِ أَوْجَبُ وَتَعَلُّمُهُ أَوْلَى مِنْ حِفْظِ خُصُومَاتِ النَّاسِ. وَإِنَّمَا يُسْأَلُ: «مَاذَا أَرَدْتَ بِهِ؟»
Fa-ḥifẓu hādhā al-ʿilmi ʾawjabu wa-taʿallumuhu ʾawlā min ḥifẓi khuṣūmāti al-nāsi. Wa-ʾinnamā yusʾalu: «mādhā ʾaradta bihi?»
Preserving this knowledge is more obligatory, and learning it has greater priority, than retaining knowledge of people’s disputes. The question he will be asked is simply, “What did you intend by it?”
Source page 88
فَهَذَا كَمَنْ يَبْنِي مَسَاكِنَ غَيْرِهِ وَيَهْدِمُ مَسْكَنَهُ وَيَدُلُّ عَلَى اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَيَهْرُبُ مِنْهُ.
Fa-hādhā kaman yabnī masākina ghayrihi wa-yahdimu maskanahu wa-yadullu ʿalā Allāhi subḥānahu wa-yahrubu minhu.
Such a person is like someone who builds other people’s homes while demolishing his own, who points the way to God, glory be to Him, while fleeing from Him.
وَإِنْ قِيلَ لَهُ: «مَا الْوَرَعُ؟» عَجَزَ عَنْ جَوَابِهِ. وَلِلْوَرَعِ مَنَازِلُ يُحْتَاجُ إِلَى مَعْرِفَتِهَا.
Wa-ʾin qīla lahu: «mā al-waraʿu?» ʿajaza ʿan jawābihi. Wa-li-al-waraʿi manāzilu yuḥtāju ʾilā maʿrifatihā.
If he is asked, “What is scrupulousness?”, he cannot answer. Yet scrupulousness has stages that one needs to know.
فَصْلٌ ٥
Faṣlun 5
Section 5
وَالنَّوْعُ الثَّالِثُ: الْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَتَدْبِيرِهِ فِي خَلْقِهِ. فَهَذَا بَحْرٌ لَا يُدْرَكُ غَوْرُهُ وَإِنَّمَا يَعْلَمُهُ الْعُلَمَاءُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْإِيمَانِ.
Wa-al-nawʿu al-thālithu: al-ʿilmu bi-Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla wa-tadbīrihi fī khalqihi. Fa-hādhā baḥrun lā yudraku ghawruhu wa-ʾinnamā yaʿlamuhu al-ʿulamāʾu min ʾahli al-ʾīmāni.
The third kind is knowledge of God, mighty and exalted, and of His ordering of creation. This is an ocean whose depths cannot be fathomed. Only the learned among the people of faith know it.
فَصْلٌ ٦
Faṣlun 6
Section 6
وَأَبْنَاءُ الْآخِرَةِ عَلَى صِنْفَيْنِ.
Wa-ʾabnāʾu al-ʾākhirati ʿalā ṣinfayni.
Those who belong to the hereafter are of two kinds.
Source pages 88–89
صِنْفٌ رَضُوا بِتَرْكِ الْعُيُوبِ الظَّاهِرَةِ مِنَ الزِّنَا وَالسَّرِقَةِ وَشُرْبِ الْمُسْكِرِ وَالْكَذِبِ وَالْغِيبَةِ وَالنَّمِيمَةِ وَمُقَابَلَةِ النَّاسِ بِالظُّلْمِ.
Ṣinfun raḍū bitarki al-ʿuyūbi al-ẓāhirati mina al-zinā wa-al-sariqati wa-shurbi al-muskiri wa-al-kadhibi wa-al-ghībati wa-al-namīmati wa-muqābalati al-nāsi bi-al-ẓulmi.
One group are content to abandon outward faults: illicit sexual relations, theft, drinking intoxicants, lying, backbiting, malicious gossip, and treating people unjustly.
Source page 89
وَعَمِلُوا بِالطَّاعَاتِ الظَّاهِرَةِ مِنَ الصَّوْمِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَقِرَاءَةِ الْقُرْآنِ وَالْجِهَادِ وَالْحَجِّ وَالْعِتْقِ وَعِيَادَةِ الْمَرْضَى وَتَشْيِيعِ الْجَنَائِزِ وَأَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ الَّتِي هِيَ ظَاهِرَةُ الْأَرْكَانِ.
Wa-ʿamilū bi-al-ṭāʿāti al-ẓāhirati mina al-ṣawmi wa-al-ṣalāti wa-qirāʾati al-Qurʾāni wa-al-jihādi wa-al-ḥajji wa-al-ʿitqi wa-ʿiyādati al-marḍā wa-tashyīʿi al-janāʾizi wa-ʾaʿmāli al-birri allatī hiya ẓāhiratu al-ʾarkāni.
They perform outward acts of obedience: fasting, prayer, reciting the Qurʾān, fighting in God’s cause, pilgrimage, freeing the enslaved, visiting the sick, accompanying funerals, and good works whose essential acts are visible.
وَلَمْ يَصِلُوا إِلَى عِبَادَةِ الْقُلُوبِ وَهِيَ الْحِلْمُ وَمَا ذَكَرْنَا مَعَهُ آنِفًا. فَلَمْ يُقْبِلُوا عَلَى الْعُيُوبِ الْبَاطِنَةِ الَّتِي ذَكَرْنَا.
Wa-lam yaṣilū ʾilā ʿibādati al-qulūbi wa-hiya al-ḥilmu wa-mā dhakarnā maʿahu ʾānifan. Fa-lam yuqbilū ʿalā al-ʿuyūbi al-bāṭinati allatī dhakarnā.
But they have not reached the worship of the heart: forbearance and the other qualities we mentioned earlier. They have therefore not addressed the inward faults we described.
فَإِذَا جَاءَتْ نَوَائِبُ هَذِهِ الْأَحْوَالِ يَظْهَرُ مِنْهُمْ مَا كَانَ كَامِنًا فَيُحْسَبُ أَنَّهُمْ مِنَ الْجُهَّالِ الشُّطَّارِ.
Fa-ʾidhā jāʾat nawāʾibu hādhihi al-ʾaḥwāli yaẓharu minhum mā kāna kāminan fa-yuḥsabu ʾannahum mina al-juhhāli al-shuṭṭāri.
When trials bring these states into play, what had lain hidden in them becomes visible, and one would think them ignorant ruffians.
إِنْ جَاءَتْ نَوَائِبُ الْغَضَبِ ظَهَرَتْ أُمُورٌ لَا تَظْهَرُ إِلَّا مِنَ السُّفَهَاءِ مِنَ الظُّلْمِ وَالِاعْتِدَاءِ وَالتَّجَبُّرِ.
ʾIn jāʾat nawāʾibu al-ghaḍabi ẓaharat ʾumūrun lā taẓharu ʾillā mina al-sufahāʾi mina al-ẓulmi wa-al-iʿtidāʾi wa-al-tajabburi.
If trials provoke anger, they display behavior seen only in fools: injustice, aggression, and domineering conduct.
وَإِنْ جَاءَتْ نَوْبَةُ الذُّلِّ كَادَ أَنْ يُشْرِكَ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَيَتَخَلَّعَ مِنْ دِينِهِ هَرَبًا وَإِقَامَةً لِجَاهِهِ.
Wa-ʾin jāʾat nawbatu al-dhulli kāda ʾan yushrika bi-Allāhi taʿālā wa-yatakhallaʿa min dīnihi haraban wa-ʾiqāmatan lijāhihi.
If humiliation strikes, such a person almost comes to associate partners with God Most High and cast off his religion, trying to escape and preserve his standing.
Source page 90
[…] يُسْخِطُ الْخَالِقَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ. فَإِذَا وُعِظَ فِي ذَلِكَ قَالَ: أُدَارِي! وَهَذَا مُدَاهِنٌ لَا مُدَارٍ.
[…] Yuskhiṭu al-khāliqa ʿazza wa-jalla. Fa-ʾidhā wuʿiẓa fī dhālika qāla: ʾudārī! Wa-hādhā mudāhinun lā mudārin.
[…] he displeases the Creator, mighty and exalted. When admonished about this, he says, “I am being tactful!” But he is compromising his principles, not exercising tact.
إِنَّمَا الْمُدَارِي لَاهٍ بِكَشْفِ هَذَا عَنِ الدِّينِ. وَأَمَّا إِبْقَاءُ الْجَاهِ بِذَهَابِ الدِّينِ فَهِيَ الْمُدَاهَنَةُ. فَلَوْ كَانَ صَادِقًا لَكَفَاهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.
ʾInnamā al-mudārī lāhin bikashfi hādhā ʿani al-dīni. Wa-ʾammā ʾibqāʾu al-jāhi bidhahābi al-dīni fa-hiya al-mudāhanatu. Fa-law kāna ṣādiqan lakafāhu Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla.
“The tactful person is only heedless, removing this from religion” [the printed wording is unclear]. Preserving one’s standing at the cost of one’s religion is compromising one’s principles. If he were sincere, God, mighty and exalted, would suffice him.
فَإِذَا جَاءَ مَوْضِعُ الرِّزْقِ فَكَأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ لِوَعْدِ اللَّهِ (…) قَطُّ حَيْثُ قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: «وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا».
Fa-ʾidhā jāʾa mawḍiʿu al-rizqi fa-kaʾannahu lam yasmaʿ liwaʿdi Allāhi (…) qaṭṭu ḥaythu qāla ʿazza wa-jalla: «wa-mā min dābbatin fī al-ʾarḍi ʾillā ʿalā Allāhi rizquhā».
When livelihood is at issue, it is as though he has never heard God’s promise (…), where He, mighty and exalted, says, “There is no creature on earth whose provision does not rest with God.”
وَتَرَاهُ مُغْتَمًّا مَحْزُونًا يَئِسًا قَنِطًا أَعْمَى عَنْ مِيثَاقِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ذَلِكَ إِلَيْهِ.
Wa-tarāhu mughtamman maḥzūnan yaʾisan qaniṭan ʾaʿmā ʿan mīthāqi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla dhālika ʾilayhi.
You see him distressed, sorrowful, despairing, and despondent, blind to that pledge God, mighty and exalted, has made to him.
Source pages 90–91
فَإِذَا جَاءَ مَوْضِعُ الرِّئَاسَةِ فَرُدَّ عَلَيْهِ بِأَيْسَرِ رَدٍّ سَمَا وَغَضِبَ. فَإِذَا وُعِظَ قَالَ: إِنَّمَا غَضِبْتُ لِأَنَّهُ رَدَّ الْحَقَّ!
Fa-ʾidhā jāʾa mawḍiʿu al-riʾāsati fa-rudda ʿalayhi bi-ʾaysari raddin samā wa-ghaḍiba. Fa-ʾidhā wuʿiẓa qāla: ʾinnamā ghaḍibtu li-ʾannahu radda al-ḥaqqa!
When leadership is at issue, the slightest objection makes him rise up in anger. When admonished, he says, “I was angry only because he rejected the truth!”
Source page 91
فَلَوْ كَانَ صَادِقًا لَكَانَتْ عَلَامَةُ صِدْقِهِ فِي الْبَذْلِ وَالتَّعْلِيمِ وَالتَّوَاضُعِ فِي الرَّدِّ. إِنَّمَا عَلَيْهِ الْبَيَانُ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ الْهِدَايَةُ.
Fa-law kāna ṣādiqan lakānat ʿalāmatu ṣidqihi fī al-badhli wa-al-taʿlīmi wa-al-tawāḍuʿi fī al-raddi. ʾInnamā ʿalayhi al-bayānu wa-ʿalā Allāhi al-hidāyatu.
If he were sincere, his sincerity would show itself in giving freely, teaching, and responding humbly. His responsibility is only to explain; guidance rests with God.
فَمَا مَعْنَى الْغَضَبِ وَهُوَ مَعَ ذَلِكَ فَرِحٌ مُسْتَبْشِرٌ كَأَنَّهُ قَدْ جَازَ الصِّرَاطَ وَجَاءَتْهُ الْبُشْرَى مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِالْفَوْزِ وَالْخَلَاصِ.
Fa-mā maʿnā al-ghaḍabi wa-huwa maʿa dhālika fariḥun mustabshirun kaʾannahu qad jāza al-ṣirāṭa wa-jāʾathu al-bushrā mina Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla bi-al-fawzi wa-al-khalāṣi.
What, then, is the point of anger? Yet all the while he is happy and full of good cheer, as though he had already crossed the Bridge and received glad news from God, mighty and exalted, of triumph and deliverance.
فَقَدْ خَفِيَتْ عَنْهُ هَذِهِ الْعُيُوبُ مَعَ قِلَّةِ ذِكْرِ الْمَعَادِ وَنِسْيَانِ الْمُنْتَهَى. فَهُوَ عِنْدَ نَفْسِهِ صَاحِبُ عِبَادَةٍ وَسَمْتٍ وَصَلَاةٍ وَصَوْمٍ وَالْبَاطِنُ خَرَابٌ.
Fa-qad khafiyat ʿanhu hādhihi al-ʿuyūbu maʿa qillati dhikri al-maʿādi wa-nisyāni al-muntahā. Fa-huwa ʿinda nafsihi ṣāḥibu ʿibādatin wa-samtin wa-ṣalātin wa-ṣawmin wa-al-bāṭinu kharābun.
These faults remain hidden from him, while he seldom remembers the return [to God] and forgets his final destination. He sees himself as a man of worship, dignified conduct, prayer, and fasting, while his inner life lies in ruins.
يَقْدَمُ عَلَى رَبِّهِ وَفِيهِ هَذِهِ الْعُيُوبُ الْبَاطِنَةُ غَيْرَ تَائِبٍ مِنْهَا لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَنْتَبِهْ لَهَا.
Yaqdamu ʿalā rabbihi wa-fīhi hādhihi al-ʿuyūbu al-bāṭinatu ghayra tāʾibin minhā li-ʾannahu lam yantabih lahā.
He comes before his Lord with these inward faults still within him, without having repented of them, because he never became aware of them.
فَيَبْدُو لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ يَحْتَسِبُ إِذْ كَانَ مَغْرُورًا بِظَاهِرِ أَمْرِهِ وَلَمْ يُصَدِّقْهُ بَاطِنُهُ.
Fa-yabdū lahu mina Allāhi mā lam yakun yaḥtasibu ʾidh kāna maghrūran biẓāhiri ʾamrihi wa-lam yuṣaddiqhu bāṭinuhu.
Then there appears to him from God what he had never reckoned with, for he had been deceived by his outward condition, and his inner life had not borne it out.
Source page 92
فَصْلٌ ٧
Faṣlun 7
Section 7
وَأَمَّا الصِّنْفُ الْآخَرُ مِنْهُمْ فَتَرَكَ الْعُيُوبَ الظَّاهِرَةَ وَانْتَبَهَ لِلْعُيُوبِ الْبَاطِنَةِ وَأَقْبَلَ عَلَى النَّفْسِ الْأَمَّارَةِ بِالسُّوءِ.
Wa-ʾammā al-ṣinfu al-ʾākharu minhum fa-taraka al-ʿuyūba al-ẓāhirata wa-intabaha li-al-ʿuyūbi al-bāṭinati wa-ʾaqbala ʿalā al-nafsi al-ʾammārati bi-al-sūʾi.
The other kind abandons outward faults, becomes alert to inward faults, and turns to confront the self that commands evil.
فَرَاضَهَا حَتَّى تَرَكَتْ هَذِهِ الْأَخْلَاقَ وَجَاهَدَهَا حَتَّى أَذْعَنَتْ. فَصَدَقَ فِي مُجَاهَدَتِهَا حَتَّى اسْتَقَامَتْ.
Fa-rāḍahā ḥattā tarakat hādhihi al-ʾakhlāqa wa-jāhadahā ḥattā ʾadhʿanat. Fa-ṣadaqa fī mujāhadatihā ḥattā istaqāmat.
He trains it until it abandons these traits, and struggles against it until it submits. He remains sincere in his struggle until it becomes upright.
فَقَدِمَ عَلَى رَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ طَاهِرًا مُطَهَّرًا تَائِبًا نَازِعًا عَنِ الْعُيُوبِ الظَّاهِرَةِ وَالْبَاطِنَةِ.
Fa-qadima ʿalā rabbihi ʿazza wa-jalla ṭāhiran muṭahharan tāʾiban nāziʿan ʿani al-ʿuyūbi al-ẓāhirati wa-al-bāṭinati.
Then he comes before his Lord, mighty and exalted, pure and purified, repentant, having turned away from outward and inward faults.
فَصْلٌ ٨
Faṣlun 8
Section 8
فَاتَّقِ اللَّهَ، يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ، وَلَا تَدَّعِ الْعِلْمَ بِمَعْرِفَةِ الْفُتْيَا. فَإِنَّ الْعِلْمَ هُوَ الْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.
Fa-ittaqi Allāha, yā ʿabda Allāhi, wa-lā taddaʿi al-ʿilma bimaʿrifati al-futyā. Fa-ʾinna al-ʿilma huwa al-ʿilmu bi-Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla.
So be mindful of God, servant of God, and do not claim knowledge merely because you know how to issue legal opinions. Knowledge is knowledge of God, mighty and exalted.
فَمَنْ ظَنَّ ذَلِكَ فِي نَفْسِهِ فَقَدِ ادَّعَى أَنَّهُ مِنْ وَرَثَةِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ لِقَوْلِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «الْعُلَمَاءُ وَرَثَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ».
Fa-man ẓanna dhālika fī nafsihi fa-qadi iddaʿā ʾannahu min warathati al-ʾanbiyāʾi liqawli rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «al-ʿulamāʾu warathatu al-ʾanbiyāʾi».
Anyone who thinks this of himself has claimed to be one of the prophets’ heirs, because God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “The learned are the heirs of the prophets.”
Source pages 92–93
وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْهُمْ وَرَثَةً دُونَ نَسَبِهِ وَلَا تَعْصِيبٍ وَخَصَّهُمْ بِوِرَاثَتِهِ إِلَّا لِعِلْمِهِمْ بِمِنْهَاجِهِ وَمِثَالِهِ وَطَرِيقَتِهِ وَرُتْبَتِهِ وَقِيَامِهِمْ بِذَلِكَ فِي النَّاسِ وَفِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ.
Wa-lam yajʿalhum warathatan dūna nasabihi wa-lā taʿṣībin wa-khaṣṣahum biwirāthatihi ʾillā liʿilmihim biminhājihi wa-mithālihi wa-ṭarīqatihi wa-rutbatihi wa-qiyāmihim bi-dhālika fī al-nāsi wa-fī ʾanfusihim.
He made them heirs without belonging to his lineage or having an agnatic claim, and singled them out for his inheritance, only because they knew his way, his example, his path, and his rank, and upheld these among people and within themselves.
Source page 93
فَصْلٌ ٩
Faṣlun 9
Section 9
فَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ تَارِكًا لِلدُّنْيَا رَاغِبًا فِي الْآخِرَةِ مُؤْثِرًا لِمَحَبَّةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَى هَوَى نَفْسِهِ بَاذِلًا نَفْسَهُ وَمَا يَمْلِكُ لَا يَضِنُّ بِهِ عَنْهُ وَلَا يَبْخَلُ بِهِ عَلَيْهِ، لَمْ يَكُنْ بِاللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ عَالِمًا وَلَا بِهِ عَارِفًا.
Fa-man lam yakun tārikan li-al-dunyā rāghiban fī al-ʾākhirati muʾthiran limaḥabbati Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla ʿalā hawā nafsihi bādhilan nafsahu wa-mā yamliku lā yaḍinnu bihi ʿanhu wa-lā yabkhalu bihi ʿalayhi, lam yakun bi-Allāhi subḥānahu ʿāliman wa-lā bihi ʿārifan.
Anyone who does not forsake this world and desire the hereafter, prefer the love of God, mighty and exalted, to his own desires, and freely give himself and all he owns, withholding nothing from Him and begrudging Him nothing, is neither learned in God, glory be to Him, nor truly acquainted with Him.
وَلَا بِمَذْهَبِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مُتَمَسِّكًا وَلَا بِطَرِيقِهِ قَائِمًا وَلَا كَانَ مِنْ وَرَثَتِهِ وَلَا مِنْ أُمَنَائِهِ وَكَانَ مِنْ قُطَّاعِ طَرِيقِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَسَبِيلِ طُلَّابِهِ وَمَنْهَجِهِمْ.
Wa-lā bimadhhabi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama mutamassikan wa-lā biṭarīqihi qāʾiman wa-lā kāna min warathatihi wa-lā min ʾumanāʾihi wa-kāna min quṭṭāʿi ṭarīqi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla wa-sabīli ṭullābihi wa-manhajihim.
Nor does he hold fast to the way of God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, or stand firmly on his path. He is neither one of his heirs nor one of those entrusted with his charge. Instead, he is one of those who block the road of God, mighty and exalted, and obstruct the way and path of those who seek Him.
Source pages 93–94
لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَالَ لِدَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: «لَا تَسْتَشِرْ فِي أَمْرِكَ عَالِمًا قَدْ أَسْكَرْتُهُ بِحُبِّ الدُّنْيَا فَإِنَّهُ يَقْطَعُكَ بِسُكْرِهِ عَنْ طَرِيقِ مَحَبَّتِي».
Li-ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla qāla li-Dāwuda ʿalayhi al-salāmu: «lā tastashir fī ʾamrika ʿāliman qad ʾaskartuhu biḥubbi al-dunyā fa-ʾinnahu yaqṭaʿuka bisukrihi ʿan ṭarīqi maḥabbatī».
For God, mighty and exalted, said to David, peace be upon him, “Do not consult about your affairs a scholar whom I have intoxicated with love of this world, for his intoxication will cut you off from the path of My love.”
Source page 94
فَصْلٌ ١٠
Faṣlun 10
Section 10
وَقَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ تَعَالَى: «لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ».
Wa-qāla Allāhu subḥānahu taʿālā: «laqad kāna lakum fī rasūli Allāhi ʾuswatun ḥasanatun».
God, glory be to Him, Most High, said, “You have indeed had in God’s Messenger a beautiful example.”
فَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مُتَأَسِّيًا بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مُقْتَدِيًا بِهَدْيِهِ مُتَّبِعًا أَثَرَهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ عَلَى سُنَّتِهِ.
Fa-man lam yakun mutaʾassiyan birasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama muqtadiyan bihadyihi muttabiʿan ʾatharahu lam yakun ʿalā sunnatihi.
Anyone who does not model himself on God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, take his guidance as an example, and follow in his footsteps is not following his Sunna.
وَكَيْفَ يَظُنُّ أَنَّهُ مِنْ وَرَثَتِهِ وَقَدْ أَعْطَى الشَّيْطَانَ مَقَادَتَهُ وَأَمْكَنَهُ مِنْ زِمَامِهِ أَفْنَى عُمُرَهُ فِي مَرْضَاتِهِ.
Wa-kayfa yaẓunnu ʾannahu min warathatihi wa-qad ʾaʿṭā al-shayṭāna maqādatahu wa-ʾamkanahu min zimāmihi ʾafnā ʿumurahu fī marḍātihi.
How can he imagine that he is one of his heirs when he has handed Satan the reins, let him take control of his bridle, and spent his life pleasing him?
فَقَلْبُهُ الدَّهْرَ مَشْغُولٌ بِالْفِكْرَةِ مَرَّةً بِمُحَاوَلَةِ الزِّيَادَةِ وَالْمُكَاثَرَةِ وَمَرَّةً بِمُحَاوَلَةِ الرِّئَاسَةِ وَالْمُفَاخَرَةِ وَمَرَّةً بِمُحَاوَلَةِ الرِّفْعَةِ وَالْحُظْوَةِ وَالشَّرَفِ غَيْظًا مِنَ الْمُتَدَيِّنِينَ وَالْمُتَفَقِّهِينَ.
Fa-qalbuhu al-dahra mashghūlun bi-al-fikrati marratan bimuḥāwalati al-ziyādati wa-al-mukātharati wa-marratan bimuḥāwalati al-riʾāsati wa-al-mufākharati wa-marratan bimuḥāwalati al-rifʿati wa-al-ḥuẓwati wa-al-sharafi ghayẓan mina al-mutadayyinīna wa-al-mutafaqqihīna.
His heart is forever preoccupied with schemes: now to gain more and outdo others in wealth, now to gain leadership and boast of it, now to achieve elevation, favor, and honor, out of resentment toward the devout and those learned in religion.
Source page 95
فَصْلٌ ١١
Faṣlun 11
Section 11
ذُكِرَ عَنْ زِيَادٍ الْعَجَمِيِّ قَالَ: قَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَمْ يُكْرِمْ عَبْدًا بِشَرَفِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَمْ يُهِنْهُ بِذُلِّهَا وَلَكِنْ يُكْرِمُ أَهْلَ طَاعَتِهِ وَيُهِينُ أَهْلَ مَعْصِيَتِهِ».
Dhukira ʿan Ziyādin al-ʿAjamiyyi qāla: qāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-ʿilmi: «ʾinna Allāha taʿālā lam yukrim ʿabdan bisharafi al-dunyā wa-lam yuhinhu bidhullihā wa-lākin yukrimu ʾahla ṭāʿatihi wa-yuhīnu ʾahla maʿṣiyatihi».
It is related from Ziyād al-ʿAjamī that he said: A certain scholar said, “God Most High does not honor a servant by worldly distinction or demean him by worldly humiliation. Rather, He honors those who obey Him and demeans those who disobey Him.”
وَعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ: «يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ! إِنِّي قَدْ جَعَلْتُ لَكُمْ نَسَبًا فَقُلْتُ: إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ، فَأَبَيْتُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ تَقُولُوا: (…) فُلَانٌ أَكْرَمُ مِنْ فُلَانٍ…
Wa-ʿan ʾAbī Hurayrata, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, qāla: ʾinna Allāha taʿālā yaqūlu yawma al-qiyāmati: «yā ʾayyuhā al-nāsu! ʾInnī qad jaʿaltu lakum nasaban fa-qultu: ʾinna ʾakramakum ʿinda Allāhi ʾatqākum, fa-ʾabaytum ʾillā ʾan taqūlū: (…) fulānun ʾakramu min fulānin…
From Abū Hurayra, may God be pleased with him, it is related that he said: God Most High will say on the Day of Resurrection, “People! I assigned you a lineage and said, ‘The most honored of you before God are those most mindful of Him.’ But you insisted on saying, (…) ‘So-and-so is nobler than so-and-so’…
فَالْيَوْمَ أَضَعُ أَنْسَابَكُمْ وَأَرْفَعُ نَسَبِي! أَيْنَ الْمُتَّقُونَ؟»
Fa-al-yawma ʾaḍaʿu ʾansābakum wa-ʾarfaʿu nasabī! ʾAyna al-muttaqūna?»
Today I lower your lineages and raise My lineage! Where are those who were mindful of Me?”
وَعَنْ أَبِي رَافِعٍ يَرْفَعُ الْحَدِيثَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «قِيلَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ! أَيُّ النَّاسِ شَرٌّ؟
Wa-ʿan ʾAbī Rāfiʿin yarfaʿu al-ḥadītha ʾilā al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama qāla: «qīla: yā rasūla Allāhi! ʾAyyu al-nāsi sharrun?
From Abū Rāfiʿ, tracing the report back to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, it is related that he said: “It was asked, ‘Messenger of God! Which people are the worst?’
فَقَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ غُفْرًا! اسْأَلُونِي عَنِ الْخَيْرِ وَلَا تَسْأَلُونِي عَنِ الشَّرِّ! شَرُّ شَيْءٍ شِرَارُ الْعُلَمَاءِ».
Fa-qāla: Allāhumma ghufran! Isʾalūnī ʿani al-khayri wa-lā tasʾalūnī ʿani al-sharri! Sharru shayʾin shirāru al-ʿulamāʾi».
He replied, ‘O God, forgiveness! Ask me about what is good; do not ask me about what is evil! The worst of all are wicked scholars.’”
Source page 97
فَصْلٌ ١٢
Faṣlun 12
Section 12
[أُولَئِكَ] جَهِلُوا الْمَسَاكِينُ فَغَلِطُوا [فِي] الطَّرِيقِ. أَرَادُوا الدُّنْيَا فَلَمْ يَقْدِرُوا مِنْهَا عَلَى مَا يُرْضِيهِمْ.
[ʾUlāʾika] jahilū al-masākīnu fa-ghaliṭū [fī] al-ṭarīqi. ʾArādū al-dunyā fa-lam yaqdirū minhā ʿalā mā yurḍīhim.
[Those people], poor souls, were ignorant and went wrong [on] the path. They wanted the world but could not obtain enough of it to satisfy them.
وَلَمْ يَنْفَعْهُمُ الَّذِي رُزِقُوا فَحَاوَلُوهَا وَقَلَّبُوا أُمُورَهَا، وَلَمْ يُمْكِنْهُمْ مِنْهَا الَّذِي تَاقَتْ إِلَيْهِ أَنْفُسُهُمْ وَطَمَحَتْ إِلَيْهِ أَبْصَارُهُمْ.
Wa-lam yanfaʿhumu alladhī ruziqū fa-ḥāwalūhā wa-qallabū ʾumūrahā, wa-lam yumkinhum minhā alladhī tāqat ʾilayhi ʾanfusuhum wa-ṭamaḥat ʾilayhi ʾabṣāruhum.
What they had been given did not benefit them, so they pursued the world and tried its various possibilities. Yet what their souls longed for and their eyes aspired to remained beyond their reach.
وَعَجَزَتْ أَنْفُسُهُمْ عَنْ طَلَبِهَا بِأَسْبَابِ طَلَبِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَعَانِيهَا.
Wa-ʿajazat ʾanfusuhum ʿan ṭalabihā bi-ʾasbābi ṭalabi al-dunyā wa-maʿānīhā.
They were unable to pursue it through the means and methods of worldly pursuit.
وَرَأَوْا أَنَّ رَخَاءَ الْعَيْشِ وَالتَّوَسُّعَ فِيهِ وَالتَّقَلُّبَ عَلَيْهَا وَاكْتِسَابَ الْأَمْوَالِ بِأَسْبَابِ الدِّينِ أَسْرَعُ إِلَى مَا يُحِبُّونَ وَأَوْصَلُ بِهِمْ إِلَى نَائِلِهَا وَمَرَافِقِهَا وَأَبْلَغُ لَهُمْ فِي شَرَفِهَا وَرِئَاسَتِهَا وَأَنْجَحُ لَهُمْ فِي الطَّلَبِ.
Wa-raʾaw ʾanna rakhāʾa al-ʿayshi wa-al-tawassuʿa fīhi wa-al-taqalluba ʿalayhā wa-iktisāba al-ʾamwāli bi-ʾasbābi al-dīni ʾasraʿu ʾilā mā yuḥibbūna wa-ʾawṣalu bihim ʾilā nāʾilihā wa-marāfiqihā wa-ʾablaghu lahum fī sharafihā wa-riʾāsatihā wa-ʾanjaḥu lahum fī al-ṭalabi.
They saw that securing an easy and affluent life, moving about in the world, and acquiring wealth through religion would bring them more quickly to what they loved, give them better access to the world’s rewards and comforts, take them further toward its distinction and leadership, and make their pursuit more successful.
فَأَظْهَرُوا التَّزَيُّنَ وَالتَّخَشُّعَ وَزَعَمُوا أَنَّهُمْ طَلَبَةُ الْعِلْمِ وَحَمَلَتُهُ لِيَكُونَ أَرْفَعَ لَهُمْ فِي قُلُوبِ الْعَامَّةِ.
Fa-ʾaẓharū al-tazayyuna wa-al-takhashshuʿa wa-zaʿamū ʾannahum ṭalabatu al-ʿilmi wa-ḥamalatuhu liyakūna ʾarfaʿa lahum fī qulūbi al-ʿāmmati.
So they made a show of adornment and humility, and claimed to be seekers and bearers of knowledge, to raise their standing in ordinary people’s hearts.
فَسَتَرُوا بِهِ مَذَاهِبَهُمْ وَعَمَّوْا بِهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ إِرَادَتَهُمْ. فَتَزَيَّنُوا بِزِينَةِ أَبْنَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ وَأَعْمَالُهُمْ أَعْمَالُ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا.
Fa-satarū bihi madhāhibahum wa-ʿammaw bihi ʿalā al-nāsi ʾirādatahum. Fa-tazayyanū bizīnati ʾabnāʾi al-ʾākhirati wa-ʾaʿmāluhum ʾaʿmālu ʾahli al-dunyā.
They used it to conceal their ways and obscure their intentions from people. They dressed themselves in the adornment of those who belong to the hereafter, while their deeds were those of worldly people.
فَمِثَالُ الصَّالِحِينَ وَفِعَالُ الْجَبَّارِينَ وَأَلْسِنَةُ الصَّادِقِينَ وَفِعَالُ الْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ.
Fa-mithālu al-ṣāliḥīna wa-fiʿālu al-jabbārīna wa-ʾalsinatu al-ṣādiqīna wa-fiʿālu al-mutakabbirīna.
The appearance of the righteous, but the deeds of tyrants; the tongues of the truthful, but the deeds of the arrogant.
Source pages 97–98
أَعَاذَنَا اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ مِنْ هَذِهِ الصِّفَةِ وَأَغْنَانَا وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِفَضْلِهِ وَرَحْمَتِهِ وَطَوْلِهِ وَمِنَّتِهِ عَنْ مِثْلِ مَا طَلَبُوا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا، إِنَّهُ جَوَادٌ كَرِيمٌ.
ʾAʿādhanā Allāhu wa-ʾiyyākum min hādhihi al-ṣifati wa-ʾaghnānā wa-ʾiyyākum bifaḍlihi wa-raḥmatihi wa-ṭawlihi wa-minnatihi ʿan mithli mā ṭalabū mina al-dunyā, ʾinnahu jawādun karīmun.
May God protect us and you from this condition and, through His grace, mercy, bounty, and favor, free us and you from needing the worldly things they sought. He is generous and noble.
Source page 98
فَصْلٌ ١٣
Faṣlun 13
Section 13
وَذُكِرَ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ بْنِ عُيَيْنَةَ قَالَ: «كَتَبَ وَهْبُ ابْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ إِلَى مَكْحُولٍ: أَمَّا بَعْدُ، يَا أَخِي!
Wa-dhukira ʿan Sufyāna bni ʿUyaynata qāla: «kataba Wahbu ibnu Munabbihin ʾilā Makḥūlin: ʾammā baʿdu, yā ʾakhī!
It is related from Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna that he said: “Wahb ibn Munabbih wrote to Makḥūl: ‘Now then, my brother!
فَإِنَّهُ بَلَغَنِي أَنَّكَ أَصَبْتَ بِمَا ظَهَرَ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْإِسْلَامِ (…) مَحَبَّةً عِنْدَ النَّاسِ وَقُرْبَى.
Fa-ʾinnahu balaghanī ʾannaka ʾaṣabta bimā ẓahara min ʿilmi al-ʾislāmi (…) maḥabbatan ʿinda al-nāsi wa-qurbā.
I have heard that through the outward knowledge of Islam (…) you have gained people’s affection and closeness to them.
فَابْتَغِ بِمَا بَطَنَ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْإِسْلَامِ مَحَبَّةً عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَزُلْفَى، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ إِحْدَى الْمَنْزِلَتَيْنِ سَتَمْنَعُكَ الْأُخْرَى.
Fa-ibtaghi bimā baṭana min ʿilmi al-ʾislāmi maḥabbatan ʿinda Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla wa-zulfā, wa-iʿlam ʾanna ʾiḥdā al-manzilatayni satamnaʿuka al-ʾukhrā.
Through the inward knowledge of Islam, seek affection and nearness with God, mighty and exalted. Know that one of these two stations will keep you from the other.
وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ!»
Wa-al-salāmu ʿalayka wa-raḥmatu Allāhi wa-barakātuhu!»
Peace be upon you, and God’s mercy and blessings!’”
Source colophon
Source page 99
تَمَّ الْكِتَابُ بِحَمْدِ اللَّهِ وَعَوْنِهِ وَلُطْفِهِ وَكَرَمِهِ، وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى نَبِيِّهِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ.
Tamma al-kitābu biḥamdi Allāhi wa-ʿawnihi wa-luṭfihi wa-karamihi, wa-ṣallā Allāhu ʿalā nabiyyihi Muḥammadin wa-ʾālihi wa-sallama, wa-lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata ʾillā bi-Allāhi al-ʿaliyyi al-ʿaẓīmi.
The book is complete, with praise to God and through His help, kindness, and generosity. May God bless His Prophet Muḥammad and his family and grant them peace. There is no power and no strength except through God, the Most High, the Magnificent.
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