Qut al Quloob Chapter 32 b by Abu Ṭalib al-Makki

قُوتُ الْقُلُوبِ فِي مُعَامَلَةِ الْمَحْبُوبِ وَوَصْفِ طَرِيقِ الْمُرِيدِ إِلَى مَقَامِ التَّوْحِيدِ

Qūtu al-qulūbi fī muʿāmalati al-maḥbūbi wa-waṣfi ṭarīqi al-murīdi ʾilā maqāmi al-tawḥīdi

Nourishment for Hearts in Dealings with the Beloved and a Description of the Seeker’s Path to the Station of Divine Oneness

Chapter 32 · Stations 6–7

مَقَامَاتُ الْيَقِينِ: الزُّهْدُ وَالتَّوَكُّلُ

Maqāmātu al-yaqīni: al-zuhdu wa-al-tawakkulu

Stations of Certainty: Renunciation and Trust

أَبُو طَالِبٍ الْمَكِّيُّ

Abu Ṭalib al-Makki

شَرْحُ مَقَامِ الزُّهْدِ وَوَصْفُ أَحْوَالِ الزَّاهِدِينَ وَهُوَ الْمَقَامُ السَّادِسُ مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ

sharḥu maqāmi al-zuhdi wawaṣfu ʾaḥwāli al-zāhidīna wahuwa al-maqāmu al-sādisu min maqāmāti al-yaqīni

An exposition of the station of renunciation and a description of the states of those who renounce: the sixth station of certainty

قَدْ سَمَّى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَهْلَ الزُّهْدِ عُلَمَاءَ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى إِذْ وَصَفَ قَارُونَ فَخَرَجَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ فِي زِينَتِهِ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَقَالَ اَلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ وَيْلَكُمْ ثَوَابُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لِمَنْ آمَنَ) الْقَصَصُ: 80. قِيلَ: هُمُ الزَّاهِدُونَ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (أُولَئِكَ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا) الْقَصَصُ: 54، جَاءَ فِي التَّفْسِيرِ صَبَرُوا عَلَى الزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَقَالَ جَلَّ وَعَلَا: (وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يَدْخُلُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ كُلِّ بَابٍ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِمَا صَبَرْتُمْ) الرَّعْدُ: 23–24. قِيلَ عَلَى الْفَقْرِ،

qad sammā Allāhu taʿālā ʾahla al-zuhdi ʿulamāʾa biqawlihi taʿālā ʾidh waṣafa qārūna fakharaja ʿalā qawmihi fī zīnatihi ʾilā qawlihi taʿālā: (waqāla alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma waylakum thawābu Allāhi khayrun liman ʾāmana) al-qaṣaṣu: 80. qīla: humu al-zāhidūna fī al-dunyā, waqāla ʿazza wajalla: (ʾulāʾika yuʾtawna ʾajrahum marratayni bimā ṣabarū) al-qaṣaṣu: 54, jāʾa fī al-tafsīri ṣabarū ʿalā al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā, waqāla jalla waʿalā: (wa-al-malāʾikatu yadkhulūna ʿalayhim min kulli bābin salāmun ʿalaykum bimā ṣabartum) al-raʿdu: 23–24. qīla ʿalā al-faqri,

God Most High has called the people of renunciation “those who know.” In describing Korah, He, Most High, says, “He came out before his people in his finery,” continuing to His words, exalted is He, “Those who had been given knowledge said, ‘Woe to you! God’s reward is better for anyone who believes’” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:80). They are said to be those who renounce this world. The Mighty and Majestic also says, “They will be given their reward twice over because they were steadfast” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:54). The commentary explains that they persevered in renouncing the world. And He, exalted and sublime, says, “The angels will enter upon them through every gate: ‘Peace be upon you for your steadfastness’” (al-Raʿd 13:23–24), meaning, according to one interpretation, their endurance of poverty.

وَيَشْهَدُ لِلصَّبْرِ عَنِ الدُّنْيَا فِي هَاتَيْنِ الْآيَتَيْنِ قَوْلُهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي وَصْفِ الْعُلَمَاءِ الزَّاهِدِينَ لَمَّا قَالَ: (وَقَالَ اَلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ وَيْلَكُمْ ثَوَابُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لِمَنْ آمَنَ) الْقَصَصُ: 80، قَالَ عَقِيبَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي بَقِيَّةِ ثَنَائِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ: (وَلَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الصَّابِرُونَ) الْقَصَصُ: 80، أَيْ عَنْ زِينَةِ الدُّنْيَا، ثُمَّ قَالَ فِي مَدْحِهِمْ بِوَصْفٍ آخَرَ: (يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا) الْقَصَصُ: 54.

wayashhadu li-l-ṣabri ʿani al-dunyā fī hātayni al-ʾāyatayni qawluhu ʿazza wajalla fī waṣfi al-ʿulamāʾi al-zāhidīna lammā qāla: (waqāla alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma waylakum thawābu Allāhi khayrun liman ʾāmana) al-qaṣaṣu: 80, qāla ʿaqība dhālika fī baqiyyati thanāʾihi ʿalayhim: (walā yulaqqāhā ʾillā al-ṣābirūna) al-qaṣaṣu: 80, ʾay ʿan zīnati al-dunyā, thumma qāla fī madḥihim biwaṣfin ʾākhara: (yuʾtawna ʾajrahum marratayni bimā ṣabarū) al-qaṣaṣu: 54.

That these two verses concern patient abstention from the world is supported by the description that He, mighty and majestic, gives of learned renouncers. After saying, “Those who had been given knowledge said, ‘Woe to you! God’s reward is better for anyone who believes’” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:80), He continues His praise of them: “None are granted it except the steadfast” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:80), that is, those who abstain patiently from worldly finery. He then praises them by another description: “They will be given their reward twice over because they were steadfast” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:54).

فَقَدْ حَصَلَ لِلزَّاهِدِ أَجْرَانِ بِصَبْرِهِ عَلَى الْفَقْرِ وَبِوُجُودِ زُهْدِهِ، وَلِلْفَقِيرِ الْمُعْدَمِ أَجْرٌ وَاحِدٌ عَلَى الْغَنِيِّ لِوُجُودِ فَقْرِهِ وَعَدَمِ زُهْدِهِ، وَعَلَى ذَٰلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ الْخَبَرَيْنِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ فِي أَحَدِهِمَا: يَدْخُلُ فُقَرَاءُ أُمَّتِي الْجَنَّةَ قَبْلَ أَغْنِيَائِهِمْ بِأَرْبَعِينَ خَرِيفًا، وَقَالَ فِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ يَدْخُلُ فُقَرَاءُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْجَنَّةَ قَبْلَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ بِخَمْسِمِائَةِ عَامٍ لِأَنَّ الْفَقِيرَ الزَّاهِدَ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ قَبْلَ الْغَنِيِّ الْمُصْلِحِ بِخَمْسِمِائَةِ عَامٍ، وَهَٰؤُلَاءِ خُصُوصُ الْفُقَرَاءِ،

faqad ḥaṣala li-l-zāhidi ʾajrāni biṣabrihi ʿalā al-faqri wabiwujūdi zuhdihi, wa-li-l-faqīri al-muʿdami ʾajrun wāḥidun ʿalā al-ghaniyyi liwujūdi faqrihi waʿadami zuhdihi, waʿalā dhālika taʾwīlu al-khabarayni ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu qāla fī ʾaḥadihimā: yadkhulu fuqarāʾu ʾummatī al-jannata qabla ʾaghniyāʾihim biʾarbaʿīna kharīfan, waqāla fī al-khabari al-ʾākhari yadkhulu fuqarāʾu al-muʾminīna al-jannata qabla al-ʾaghniyāʾi bikhamsimiʾati ʿāmin liʾanna al-faqīra al-zāhida yadkhulu al-jannata qabla al-ghaniyyi al-muṣliḥi bikhamsimiʾati ʿāmin, wahāʾulāʾi khuṣūṣu al-fuqarāʾi,

The renouncer thus receives two rewards, for enduring poverty and for possessing renunciation. A destitute poor person has one advantage in reward over the rich, through possessing poverty but lacking renunciation. The two reports from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, are interpreted accordingly. In one he says, “The poor of my community enter the Garden forty autumns before its rich.” In the other he says, “Poor believers enter the Garden five hundred years before the rich.” A poor renouncer enters the Garden five hundred years before a rich person who acts uprightly; these are the elect among the poor.

وَإِنَّ الْفَقِيرَ غَيْرَ الزَّاهِدِ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ قَبْلَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ بِأَرْبَعِينَ خَرِيفًا لِأَجْلِ فَقْرِهِ فَقَطْ؛ وَهُمْ عُمُومُ الْفُقَرَاءِ، فَصَارَ الْأَغْنِيَاءُ مَفْضُولِينَ فِي الْحَالَيْنِ مَعًا، وَإِنَّ جُمْلَةَ الْفُقَرَاءِ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ قَبْلَهُمْ لِمَكَانِ غِنَاهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَإِنَّ عُمُومَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا وَأَبْنَائِهَا مَوْقُوفُونَ لِلْحِسَابِ وَمُطَالَبُونَ بِالْإِنْفَاقِ وَالِاكْتِسَابِ بِالْخَبَرِ الثَّالِثِ: اِطَّلَعْتُ فِي

waʾinna al-faqīra ghayra al-zāhidi yadkhulu al-jannata qabla al-ʾaghniyāʾi biʾarbaʿīna kharīfan liʾajli faqrihi faqaṭ; wahum ʿumūmu al-fuqarāʾi, faṣāra al-ʾaghniyāʾu mafḍūlīna fī al-ḥālayni maʿan, waʾinna jumlata al-fuqarāʾi yadkhulūna al-jannata qablahum limakāni ghināhum fī al-dunyā, waʾinna ʿumūma al-ʾaghniyāʾi min ʾahli al-dunyā waʾabnāʾihā mawqūfūna li-l-ḥisābi wamuṭālabūna bi-al-ʾinfāqi wa-al-iktisābi bi-al-khabari al-thālithi: iṭṭalaʿtu fī

A poor person without renunciation enters the Garden forty autumns before the rich solely because of poverty; these are the ordinary poor. The rich are therefore surpassed in both cases. All the poor enter the Garden ahead of them because of the riches the latter possessed in this world. The ordinary rich, who belong to the world and are its children, are detained for reckoning and questioned about their spending and their earnings, as in the third report: “I looked into

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٠٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 404

Volume One, page 404

الْجَنَّةِ فَإِذَا أَكْثَرُ أَهْلِهَا الْفُقَرَاءُ وَاِطَّلَعْتُ فِي النَّارِ فَإِذَا أَكْثَرُ أَهْلِهَا الْأَغْنِيَاءُ، وَفِي مَعْنَاهُ الْخَبَرُ الْآخَرُ فَقُلْتُ: أَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءُ؟ فَقَالَ: حَبَسَهُمُ الْجَدُّ أَيِ الْحَظُّ، وَقَدْ سَمَّى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْفُقَرَاءَ الزَّاهِدِينَ مُحْسِنِينَ وَوَضَعَ عَنْهُمُ السَّبِيلَ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (وَلَا عَلَى اَلَّذِينَ لَا يَجِدُونَ مَا يُنْفِقُونَ حَرَجٌ) التَّوْبَةُ: 91، ثُمَّ قَالَ: (مَا عَلَى الْمُحْسِنِينَ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ) التَّوْبَةُ: 91، ثُمَّ نَصَّ عَلَى ذِكْرِ مَنْ عَلَيْهِ الْحُجَّةُ وَالْمُطَالَبَةُ فَقَالَ جَلَّ وَعَلَا: (إِنَّمَا السَّبِيلُ عَلَى اَلَّذِينَ يَسْتَأْذِنُونَكَ وَهُمْ أَغْنِيَاءُ رَضُوا بِأَنْ يَكُونُوا مَعَ الْخَوَالِفِ) التَّوْبَةُ: 93، يَعْنِي النِّسَاءَ.

al-jannati faʾidhā ʾaktharu ʾahlihā al-fuqarāʾu wa-iṭṭalaʿtu fī al-nāri faʾidhā ʾaktharu ʾahlihā al-ʾaghniyāʾu, wafī maʿnāhu al-khabaru al-ʾākharu faqultu: ʾayna al-ʾaghniyāʾu? faqāla: ḥabasahumu al-jaddu ʾayi al-ḥaẓẓu, waqad sammā Allāhu taʿālā al-fuqarāʾa al-zāhidīna muḥsinīna wawaḍaʿa ʿanhumu al-sabīla faqāla taʿālā: (walā ʿalā alladhīna lā yajidūna mā yunfiqūna ḥarajun) al-tawbatu: 91, thumma qāla: (mā ʿalā al-muḥsinīna min sabīlin) al-tawbatu: 91, thumma naṣṣa ʿalā dhikri man ʿalayhi al-ḥujjatu wa-al-muṭālabatu faqāla jalla waʿalā: (ʾinnamā al-sabīlu ʿalā alladhīna yastaʾdhinūnaka wahum ʾaghniyāʾu raḍū biʾan yakūnū maʿa al-khawālifi) al-tawbatu: 93, yaʿnī al-nisāʾa.

“the Garden, and most of its inhabitants were poor; I looked into the Fire, and most of its inhabitants were rich.” Another report has the same meaning: “I asked, ‘Where are the rich?’ He replied, ‘Their fortune has detained them’,” meaning their worldly share. God Most High has called poor renouncers doers of good and exempted them from blame. He, Most High, says, “Nor is there any fault upon those who find nothing to spend” (al-Tawba 9:91), and then, “There is no ground for blame against those who do good” (al-Tawba 9:91). He explicitly identifies those against whom the case stands and who are held accountable, saying, exalted and sublime is He: “There is ground for blame only against those who ask your permission while they are rich, content to remain with those left behind” (al-Tawba 9:93), meaning the women.

وَعَلَى هَٰذَا الْمَعْنَى جَاءَ تَأْوِيلُ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا) الْكَهْفُ: 7، قِيلَ: أَزْهَدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا، فَصَارَ الْإِحْسَانُ مَقَامَ الزَّاهِدِينَ؛ وَهُوَ وَصْفُ الْيَقِينِ، كَذَٰلِكَ فَسَّرَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمَّا سُئِلَ مَا الْإِحْسَانُ؟ فَقَالَ: أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ، يَعْنِي عَلَى الْيَقِينِ وَهُوَ الْمُشَاهَدَةُ، وَلَعَمْرِي أَنَّ الزُّهْدَ حَالُ الْمُوقِنِ لِأَنَّ[هُ] مُقْتَضَى يَقِينِهِ.

waʿalā hādhā al-maʿnā jāʾa taʾwīlu qawlihi taʿālā: (ʾinnā jaʿalnā mā ʿalā al-ʾarḍi zīnatan lahā linabluwahum ʾayyuhum ʾaḥsanu ʿamalan) al-kahfu: 7, qīla: ʾazhadu fī al-dunyā, faṣāra al-ʾiḥsānu maqāma al-zāhidīna; wahuwa waṣfu al-yaqīni, kadhālika fassarahu rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lammā suʾila mā al-ʾiḥsānu? faqāla: ʾan taʿbuda Allāha kaʾannaka tarāhu, yaʿnī ʿalā al-yaqīni wahuwa al-mushāhadatu, walaʿamrī ʾanna al-zuhda ḥālu al-mūqini liʾanna[hu] muqtaḍā yaqīnihi.

This is also the sense of the interpretation of the words of the Most High, “We have made what is on earth an adornment for it, to test which of them is best in deeds” (al-Kahf 18:7): it is said to mean, most renouncing of this world. Excellence in doing good is thus the station of renouncers, and it characterizes certainty. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, explained it in precisely this way when asked, “What is excellence?” He answered, “That you worship God as though you see Him,” meaning with certainty, which is direct witnessing. By my life, renunciation is the state of someone certain, because [it is] what that certainty requires.

وَقَدْ يَحْتَجُّ مُتَوَهِّمٌ بِفَضْلِ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ عَلَى الْفُقَرَاءِ عِنْدَهُ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى مُخْبِرًا عَنِ الْفُقَرَاءِ: (تَوَلَّوْا وَأَعْيُنُهُمْ تَفِيضُ مِنَ الدَّمْعِ حَزَنًا أَلَّا يَجِدُوا مَا يُنْفِقُونَ) التَّوْبَةُ: 92، يَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَٰذَا عِنْدَ أَهْلِ التَّدَبُّرِ لِلْقُرْآنِ مَزِيدًا لِلْفُقَرَاءِ لِتَمَامِ حَالِهِمْ لَمَّا كَانُوا مُحْسِنِينَ كَمَا قَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: (وَسَنَزِيدُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ) الْبَقَرَةُ: 58، فَكَانَ مَزِيدُهُمُ الْحُزْنَ وَالْإِشْفَاقَ وَخَوْفَ التَّقْصِيرِ لِمُشَاهَدَةِ عِظَمِ حَقِّ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ عَلَيْهِمْ حَتَّى كَأَنَّهُمْ مُسِيئُونَ حَتَّى بَشَّرَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِأَنَّهُمْ مُحْسِنُونَ لَمَّا قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (مَا عَلَى الْمُحْسِنِينَ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ) التَّوْبَةُ: 91، لِأَنَّهُ ضَمَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ فِي الْوَصْفِ وَعَطَفَهُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ فِي الْمَعْنَى،

waqad yaḥtajju mutawahhimun bifaḍli al-ʾaghniyāʾi ʿalā al-fuqarāʾi ʿindahu liqawlihi taʿālā mukhbiran ʿani al-fuqarāʾi: (tawallaw waʾaʿyunuhum tafīḍu mina al-damʿi ḥazanan ʾallā yajidū mā yunfiqūna) al-tawbatu: 92, yaʿlamu ʾanna hādhā ʿinda ʾahli al-tadabburi li-l-qurʾāni mazīdan li-l-fuqarāʾi litamāmi ḥālihim lammā kānū muḥsinīna kamā qāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: (wasanazīdu al-muḥsinīna) al-baqaratu: 58, fakāna mazīduhumu al-ḥuzna wa-al-ʾishfāqa wakhawfa al-taqṣīri limushāhadati ʿiẓami ḥaqqi al-rubūbiyyati ʿalayhim ḥattā kaʾannahum musīʾūna ḥattā bashsharahumu Allāhu taʿālā biʾannahum muḥsinūna lammā qāla ʿazza wajalla: (mā ʿalā al-muḥsinīna min sabīlin) al-tawbatu: 91, liʾannahu ḍammahum ʾilayhim fī al-waṣfi waʿaṭafahum ʿalayhim fī al-maʿnā,

Someone laboring under a misconception may argue for what he thinks is the superiority of the rich over the poor, citing the description that God Most High gives of the poor: “They turned away, their eyes overflowing with tears, grieving that they could find nothing to spend” (al-Tawba 9:92). He should understand that, for those who reflect on the Qurʾān, this is an increase granted to the poor to perfect their state, since they were doers of good. As He, glorified and exalted, says, “We shall give the doers of good still more” (al-Baqara 2:58). Their increase was sorrow, apprehension, and fear of falling short, as they witnessed the immense claim of divine lordship upon them. They felt almost like wrongdoers until God Most High gave them glad news that they were doers of good, saying, mighty and majestic is He: “There is no ground for blame against those who do good” (al-Tawba 9:91). He joined them to the latter in description and associated them with them in meaning.

وَأَيْضًا فَلَمْ يَكُنْ بُكَاؤُهُمْ عَلَى فَوْتِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا عَلَى طَلَبِ الْغِنَى، وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَمْدَحُهُمْ بِصَبْرِهِمْ عَنِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَذُمُّ الدُّنْيَا إِلَيْهِمْ، بَلْ حُزْنُهُمْ عَلَى طَلَبِ الْمَزِيدِ مِنَ الْفَقْرِ لِيَجِدُوا الْإِنْفَاقَ فَيُخْرِجُوهُ فَيَفْتَقِرُوا مِنْهُ فَيَزْدَادُونَ فَقْرًا بِبَذْلِهِ إِلَى فَقْرِهِمْ، فَعَلَى كَثْرَةِ الْإِنْفَاقِ وَحَقِيقَةِ الْفَقْرِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا كَانَ حُزْنُهُمْ، فَهَٰذَا فَضْلٌ ثَانٍ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ لَا عَلَى الْجَمْعِ وَالِادِّخَارِ،

waʾayḍan falam yakun bukāʾuhum ʿalā fawti al-dunyā walā ʿalā ṭalabi al-ghinā, wa-Allāhu taʿālā yamdaḥuhum biṣabrihim ʿani al-dunyā wayadhummu al-dunyā ʾilayhim, bal ḥuznuhum ʿalā ṭalabi al-mazīdi mina al-faqri liyajidū al-ʾinfāqa fayukhrijūhu fayaftaqirū minhu fayazdādūna faqran bibadhlihi ʾilā faqrihim, faʿalā kathrati al-ʾinfāqi waḥaqīqati al-faqri mina al-dunyā kāna ḥuznuhum, fahādhā faḍlun thānin li-l-fuqarāʾi lā ʿalā al-jamʿi wa-al-iddikhāri,

Moreover, they were not weeping over missing the world or seeking wealth: God Most High praises their patient abstention from the world and disparages it to them. Rather, their grief arose from seeking still more poverty. They wished to find something to spend, give it away, and become poor through its loss, adding further poverty to their poverty by giving it. Their grief concerned abundant spending and genuine poverty in relation to this world; this is a second merit of the poor. It did not concern amassing and hoarding.

وَالْمَوْضِعُ الْأَعْلَى اَلَّذِي فَضَّلَ الْفُقَرَاءَ مِنْ هَٰذِهِ الْآيَةِ عَنْ أَهْلِ الِاسْتِنْبَاطِ وَالتَّفَكُّرِ وَهُوَ مُشَارَكَتُهُمْ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي حَالِهِ، وَوَصَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى رَسُولَهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمِثْلِ حَالِهِمْ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (قُلْتَ لَا أَجِدُ مَا أَحْمِلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ) التَّوْبَةُ: 92، ثُمَّ نَعَتَهُمْ بِمِثْلِهِ لِأَنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْأَمْثَلُ، فَالْأَمْثَلُ بِهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (أَلَّا يَجِدُوا مَا يُنْفِقُونَ) التَّوْبَةُ: 92، فَمَنْ كَانَ بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَمْثَلَ فَهُوَ أَفْضَلُ،

wa-al-mawḍiʿu al-ʾaʿlā alladhī faḍḍala al-fuqarāʾa min hādhihi al-ʾāyati ʿan ʾahli al-istinbāṭi wa-al-tafakkuri wahuwa mushārakatuhum lirasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī ḥālihi, wawaṣafa Allāhu taʿālā rasūlahu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bimithli ḥālihim fī qawlihi taʿālā: (qulta lā ʾajidu mā ʾaḥmilukum ʿalayhi) al-tawbatu: 92, thumma naʿatahum bimithlihi liʾannahum humu al-ʾamthalu, fa-al-ʾamthalu bihi faqāla taʿālā: (ʾallā yajidū mā yunfiqūna) al-tawbatu: 92, faman kāna birasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾamthala fahuwa ʾafḍalu,

The highest point in this verse that establishes the poor’s excellence, for people of discerning reflection, is that they share the state of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace. God Most High described His Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, in a state like theirs, in His words, exalted is He: “You said, ‘I can find nothing on which to mount you’” (al-Tawba 9:92). He then described them in the same way, since they resemble him most, in descending degrees, saying, exalted is He: “That they could find nothing to spend” (al-Tawba 9:92). Whoever most resembles the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, is most excellent.

كَيْفَ وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ: تُحْفَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ فِي الدُّنْيَا الْفَقْرُ، فَجَعَلَ الْفَقْرَ تَحِيَّةً لَهُ مِنْ ذِي التَّحِيَّاتِ الْمُبَارَكَاتِ مَعَ الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ: الْفَقْرُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِ أَزْيَنُ مِنَ الْعِذَارِ عَلَى خَدِّ الْفَرَسِ الْجَوَادِ، وَالْفَقْرُ اِخْتِيَارُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَشِعَارُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَطَرِيقَةُ عِلْيَةِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالْأَصْفِيَاءِ.

kayfa waqad rawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi: tuḥfatu al-muʾmini fī al-dunyā al-faqru, fajaʿala al-faqra taḥiyyatan lahu min dhī al-taḥiyyāti al-mubārakāti maʿa al-khabari al-mashhūri: al-faqru ʿalā al-muʾmini ʾazyanu mina al-ʿidhāri ʿalā khaddi al-farasi al-jawādi, wa-al-faqru ikhtiyāru rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama washiʿāru al-ʾanbiyāʾi waṭarīqatu ʿilyati al-ṣaḥābati wa-al-ʾaṣfiyāʾi.

How could it be otherwise, when we have transmitted from the Prophet, “The believer’s gift in this world is poverty”? He made poverty a greeting to the believer from the One to whom blessed greetings belong. There is also the well-known report: “Poverty adorns a believer more beautifully than a bridle-strap adorns the cheek of a noble horse.” Poverty is the choice of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, the distinctive garb of the prophets, and the way of the foremost Companions and chosen ones.

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٠٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 405

Volume One, page 405

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ: آخِرُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ دُخُولًا الْجَنَّةَ سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ لِمَكَانِ مُلْكِهِ وَآخِرُ أَصْحَابِي دُخُولًا الْجَنَّةَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ بْنُ عَوْفٍ لِأَجْلِ غِنَاهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ رَأَيْتُهُ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ زَحْفًا، وَلَا نَعْلَمُ فِي الْأُمَّةِ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ طَائِفَتَيْنِ؛ الْمُهَاجِرُونَ وَأَهْلُ الصُّفَّةِ وَجَمِيعًا مَدَحَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالْفَقْرِ، فَقَالَ (لِلْفُقَرَاءِ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ اَلَّذِينَ أُحْصِرُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ) الْبَقَرَةُ: 273، (لِلْفُقَرَاءِ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ اَلَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ) الْحَشْرُ: 8، فَقَدَّمَ وَصْفَهُمْ بِالْفَقْرِ عَلَى أَعْمَالِهِمُ الْهِجْرَةِ وَالْحَصْرِ، وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَا يَمْدَحُ مَنْ يُحِبُّ إِلَّا بِمَا يُحِبُّ وَلَا يَصِفُهُ حَتَّى يُحِبَّهُ.

warawaynā fī al-khabari: ʾākhiru al-ʾanbiyāʾi dukhūlan al-jannata sulaymānu bnu dāwuda limakāni mulkihi waʾākhiru ʾaṣḥābī dukhūlan al-jannata ʿabdu al-raḥmāni bnu ʿawfin liʾajli ghināhu fī al-dunyā, wafī al-khabari al-ʾākhari raʾaytuhu yadkhulu al-jannata zaḥfan, walā naʿlamu fī al-ʾummati ʾafḍala min ṭāʾifatayni; al-muhājirūna waʾahlu al-ṣuffati wajamīʿan madaḥa Allāhu taʿālā bi-al-faqri, faqāla (li-l-fuqarāʾi al-muhājirīna alladhīna ʾuḥṣirū fī sabīli Allāhi) al-baqaratu: 273, (li-l-fuqarāʾi al-muhājirīna alladhīna ʾukhrijū min diyārihim) al-ḥashru: 8, faqaddama waṣfahum bi-al-faqri ʿalā ʾaʿmālihimu al-hijrati wa-al-ḥaṣri, wa-Allāhu taʿālā lā yamdaḥu man yuḥibbu ʾillā bimā yuḥibbu walā yaṣifuhu ḥattā yuḥibbahu.

We have transmitted the report: “The last prophet to enter the Garden will be Solomon son of David, because of his kingship, and the last of my Companions to enter the Garden will be ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, because of his worldly wealth.” Another report says, “I saw him enter the Garden crawling.” We know of no two groups in the community more excellent than the Emigrants and the People of the Portico, and God Most High praised both for poverty: “For the poor Emigrants who are confined in God’s path” (al-Baqara 2:273), and “For the poor Emigrants who were driven out of their homes” (al-Ḥashr 59:8). He placed their description as poor before their deeds of emigration and confinement. God Most High praises those He loves only for what He loves, and He does not describe them [thus] without loving them.

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا) الْأَنْبِيَاءُ: 73، لَمَّا صَبَرُوا، قِيلَ: عَنِ الدُّنْيَا، وَفِي خَبَرٍ: الْعُلَمَاءُ أُمَنَاءُ الرُّسُلِ مَا لَمْ يَدْخُلُوا فِي الدُّنْيَا فَإِذَا دَخَلُوا فِي الدُّنْيَا فَاِحْذَرُوهُمْ عَلَى دِينِكُمْ، وَجَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ لَا يَزَالُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ تَرْفَعُ عَنِ الْعِبَادِ سَخَطَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مَا لَمْ يَنَالُوا مَا نَقَصَ مِنْ دُنْيَاهُمْ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ مَا لَمْ يُؤْثِرُوا صَفْقَةَ دُنْيَاهُمْ عَلَى دِينِهِمْ، فَإِذَا فَعَلُوا ذَٰلِكَ وَقَالُوا: لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: كَذَبْتُمْ لَسْتُمْ بِهَا صَادِقِينَ.

warawaynā fī qawlihi taʿālā: (wajaʿalnāhum ʾaʾimmatan yahdūna biʾamrinā) al-ʾanbiyāʾu: 73, lammā ṣabarū, qīla: ʿani al-dunyā, wafī khabarin: al-ʿulamāʾu ʾumanāʾu al-rusuli mā lam yadkhulū fī al-dunyā faʾidhā dakhalū fī al-dunyā fa-iḥdharūhum ʿalā dīnikum, wajāʾa fī al-ʾathari lā yazālu lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu tarfaʿu ʿani al-ʿibādi sakhaṭa Allāhi taʿālā mā lam yanālū mā naqaṣa min dunyāhum, wafī khabarin ʾākhara mā lam yuʾthirū ṣafqata dunyāhum ʿalā dīnihim, faʾidhā faʿalū dhālika waqālū: lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu qāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla: kadhabtum lastum bihā ṣādiqīna.

Concerning the words of the Most High, “We made them leaders guiding by Our command” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:73), “because they were steadfast,” we have transmitted the interpretation: they abstained patiently from the world. A report says, “The learned are the messengers’ trustees so long as they do not enter into worldly life. If they enter it, beware of them in matters of your religion.” A tradition says, “The declaration ‘There is no god but God’ continues to lift the anger of God Most High from His servants so long as they do not pursue what has diminished of their worldly possessions.” Another report says, “So long as they do not prefer a worldly bargain to their religion. When they do that and say, ‘There is no god but God,’ God, mighty and majestic, says, ‘You lie; you are not speaking it truthfully.’”

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ عَنْ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ: إِذَا أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَبْدًا اِبْتَلَاهُ، فَإِذَا أَحَبَّهُ الْحُبَّ الْبَالِغَ اِقْتَنَاهُ، قِيلَ: وَمَا اِقْتِنَاؤُهُ؟ قَالَ لَمْ يَتْرُكْ لَهُ أَهْلًا وَلَا مَالًا، وَفِي أَخْبَارِ أَهْلِ الْكُتُبِ: أَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى بَعْضِ أَوْلِيَائِهِ: اِحْذَرْ إِذَا مَقَتَكَ فَتَسْقُطَ مِنْ عَيْنِي فَأَصُبَّ عَلَيْكَ الدُّنْيَا صَبًّا،

waqad rawaynā fī khabarin ʿan ʾahli al-bayti: ʾidhā ʾaḥabba Allāhu taʿālā ʿabdan ibtalāhu, faʾidhā ʾaḥabbahu al-ḥubba al-bāligha iqtanāhu, qīla: wamā iqtināʾuhu? qāla lam yatruk lahu ʾahlan walā mālan, wafī ʾakhbāri ʾahli al-kutubi: ʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilā baʿḍi ʾawliyāʾihi: iḥdhar ʾidhā maqataka fatasquṭa min ʿaynī faʾaṣubba ʿalayka al-dunyā ṣabban,

We have also transmitted a report from the Prophet’s household: “When God Most High loves a servant, He tries him. When He loves him with consummate love, He takes him wholly for Himself.” They asked, “What does His taking him wholly mean?” The answer was, “He leaves him neither family nor wealth.” In the accounts of the People of the Scriptures, God Most High reveals to one of His friends: “Beware, if He detests you, lest you fall from My regard and I pour the world upon you in torrents.”

وَيُقَالُ: لَيْسَ عَمَلٌ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ يَجْمَعُ الطَّاعَاتِ كُلَّهَا إِلَّا الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَعَنْ بَعْضِ الصَّحَابَةِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ: تَابَعْنَا الْأَعْمَالَ كُلَّهَا فَلَمْ نَرَ أَبْلَغَ فِي أَمْرِ الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ زُهْدٍ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الصَّحَابَةِ لِصَدْرِ التَّابِعِينَ: أَنْتُمْ أَكْثَرُ أَعْمَالًا وَاِجْتِهَادًا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَهُمْ كَانُوا خَيْرًا مِنْكُمْ، قِيلَ وَلِمَ ذَٰلِكَ؟ قَالَ كَانُوا أَزْهَدَ مِنْكُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَفِي وَصِيَّةِ لُقْمَانَ لِاِبْنِهِ: وَاِعْلَمْ أَنَّ أَعْوَنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ عَلَى الدِّينِ زَهَادَةٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا،

wayuqālu: laysa ʿamalun min ʾaʿmāli al-birri yajmaʿu al-ṭāʿāti kullahā ʾillā al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā, waʿan baʿḍi al-ṣaḥābati raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum: tābaʿnā al-ʾaʿmāla kullahā falam nara ʾablagha fī ʾamri al-ʾākhirati min zuhdin fī al-dunyā, waqāla baʿḍu al-ṣaḥābati liṣadri al-tābiʿīna: ʾantum ʾaktharu ʾaʿmālan wa-ijtihādan min ʾaṣḥābi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wahum kānū khayran minkum, qīla walima dhālika? qāla kānū ʾazhada minkum fī al-dunyā, wafī waṣiyyati luqmāna liibnihi: wa-iʿlam ʾanna ʾaʿwana al-ʾashyāʾi ʿalā al-dīni zahādatun fī al-dunyā,

It is said that no virtuous act encompasses every act of obedience except renunciation of the world. One of the Companions, God be pleased with them, said, “We pursued all good deeds and found nothing more effective for the afterlife than renunciation of this world.” One Companion told the leading Successors, “You perform more deeds and make greater efforts than the Companions of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, yet they were better than you.” Asked why, he replied, “They renounced this world more than you do.” In Luqmān’s counsel to his son: “Know that renouncing the world is what most helps religion.”

وَيُقَالُ: مَنْ زَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا أَجْرَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَنَابِيعَ الْحِكْمَةِ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَأَنْطَقَ بِهَا لِسَانَهُ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ: إِذَا رَأَيْتُمُ الْعَبْدَ قَدْ أُعْطِيَ صَمْتًا وَزُهْدًا فِي الدُّنْيَا فَاِقْتَرِبُوا مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ يُلْقِي الْحِكْمَةَ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (مَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا) الْبَقَرَةُ: 269،

wayuqālu: man zahida fī al-dunyā ʾarbaʿīna yawman ʾajrā Allāhu taʿālā yanābīʿa al-ḥikmati fī qalbihi waʾanṭaqa bihā lisānahu, wafī khabarin ʾākhara: ʾidhā raʾaytumu al-ʿabda qad ʾuʿṭiya ṣamtan wazuhdan fī al-dunyā fa-iqtaribū minhu faʾinnahu yulqī al-ḥikmata, waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā: (man yuʾta al-ḥikmata faqad ʾūtiya khayran kathīran) al-baqaratu: 269,

It is said, “Whoever renounces the world for forty days, God Most High makes springs of wisdom flow in his heart and gives his tongue speech through them.” Another report says, “If you see a servant who has been given silence and renunciation of the world, draw near to him, for he imparts wisdom.” God Most High has said, “Whoever is given wisdom has been given abundant good” (al-Baqara 2:269).

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْآثَارِ جُمَلَ هَٰذِهِ الْأَخْبَارِ: مَنْ أَصْبَحَ وَهَمُّهُ الدُّنْيَا شَتَّتَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ أَمْرَهُ وَفَرَّقَ عَلَيْهِ ضَيْعَتَهُ وَجَعَلَ فَقْرَهُ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَنَلْ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَا كُتِبَ لَهُ، وَمَنْ أَصْبَحَ وَهَمُّهُ الْآخِرَةُ جَمَعَ اللَّهُ هَمَّهُ وَحَفِظَ عَلَيْهِ ضَيْعَتَهُ وَجَعَلَ غِنَاهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَأَتَتْهُ الدُّنْيَا وَهِيَ رَاغِمَةٌ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي مَعْنَى ذَٰلِكَ: (مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الْآخِرَةِ نَزِدْ لَهُ فِي حَرْثِهِ وَمَنْ

warawaynā fī al-ʾāthāri jumala hādhihi al-ʾakhbāri: man ʾaṣbaḥa wahammuhu al-dunyā shattata Allāhu taʿālā ʿalayhi ʾamrahu wafarraqa ʿalayhi ḍayʿatahu wajaʿala faqrahu bayna ʿaynayhi walam yanal mina al-dunyā ʾillā mā kutiba lahu, waman ʾaṣbaḥa wahammuhu al-ʾākhiratu jamaʿa Allāhu hammahu waḥafiẓa ʿalayhi ḍayʿatahu wajaʿala ghināhu fī qalbihi waʾatathu al-dunyā wahiya rāghimatun, waqāla Allāhu taʿālā fī maʿnā dhālika: (man kāna yurīdu ḥartha al-ʾākhirati nazid lahu fī ḥarthihi waman

We have transmitted traditions that bring these reports together: “Whoever wakes with the world as his concern, God Most High scatters his affairs, disperses his livelihood, and sets his poverty before his eyes; he obtains nothing of the world beyond what was decreed for him. Whoever wakes with the afterlife as his concern, God gathers his concerns, preserves his livelihood, and places his wealth in his heart; the world comes to him unwillingly.” God Most High says to this effect, “Whoever desires the harvest of the afterlife, We increase his harvest; and whoever

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٠٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 406

Volume One, page 406

كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا وَمَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ نَصِيبٍ) الشُّورَى: 20. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ قُلْنَا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيُّ النَّاسِ خَيْرٌ؟ قَالَ: مَخْمُومُ الْقَلْبِ صَدُوقُ اللِّسَانِ، قُلْنَا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا مَخْمُومُ الْقَلْبِ؟ قَالَ التَّقِيُّ النَّقِيُّ اَلَّذِي لَا غِلَّ فِيهِ وَلَا غِشَّ وَلَا حَسَدَ وَلَا بَغْيَ، قِيلَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَمَنْ عَلَى أَثَرِهِ؟ قَالَ: اَلَّذِي يَشْنَأُ الدُّنْيَا وَيُحِبُّ الْآخِرَةَ،

kāna yurīdu ḥartha al-dunyā nuʾtihi minhā wamā lahu fī al-ʾākhirati min naṣībin) al-shūrā: 20. waqad rawaynā fī khabarin qulnā: yā rasūla Allāhi ʾayyu al-nāsi khayrun? qāla: makhmūmu al-qalbi ṣadūqu al-lisāni, qulnā: yā rasūla Allāhi wamā makhmūmu al-qalbi? qāla al-taqiyyu al-naqiyyu alladhī lā ghilla fīhi walā ghishsha walā ḥasada walā baghya, qīla: yā rasūla Allāhi faman ʿalā ʾatharihi? qāla: alladhī yashnaʾu al-dunyā wayuḥibbu al-ʾākhirata,

“desires the harvest of this world, We give him something of it, but he has no share in the afterlife” (al-Shūrā 42:20). We have transmitted another report: “We asked, ‘Messenger of God, who is best among people?’ He replied, ‘Someone whose heart is cleansed and whose tongue is truthful.’ We asked, ‘Messenger of God, what is a cleansed heart?’ He answered, ‘The God-fearing, pure heart that contains no rancor, deceit, envy, or aggression.’ He was asked, ‘Messenger of God, who comes next?’ He said, ‘Someone who detests this world and loves the afterlife.’”

وَالشَّيْءُ يُعْرَفُ بِضِدِّهِ كَمَا يُعْرَفُ بِمِثْلِهِ، وَضِدُّ الشَّنَئَانِ الْمَحَبَّةُ وَضِدُّ الزُّهْدِ الرَّغْبَةُ، وَفِي دَلِيلِ خِطَابِهِ: إِنَّ شَرَّ النَّاسِ اَلَّذِي يُحِبُّ الدُّنْيَا وَإِنَّ الرَّاغِبَ فِيهَا هُوَ الْمُحِبُّ لَهَا، وَالْإِقْتِنَاءُ لَهَا وَالِاسْتِكْثَارُ مِنْهَا عَلَامَةُ الرَّغْبَةِ فِيهَا، كَيْفَ وَقَدْ جَاءَ أَيْضًا: إِنْ أَرَدْتَ أَنْ يُحِبَّكَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَاِزْهَدْ فِي الدُّنْيَا،

wa-al-shayʾu yuʿrafu biḍiddihi kamā yuʿrafu bimithlihi, waḍiddu al-shanaʾāni al-maḥabbatu waḍiddu al-zuhdi al-raghbatu, wafī dalīli khiṭābihi: ʾinna sharra al-nāsi alladhī yuḥibbu al-dunyā waʾinna al-rāghiba fīhā huwa al-muḥibbu lahā, wa-al-ʾiqtināʾu lahā wa-al-istikthāru minhā ʿalāmatu al-raghbati fīhā, kayfa waqad jāʾa ʾayḍan: ʾin ʾaradta ʾan yuḥibbaka Allāhu taʿālā fa-izhad fī al-dunyā,

A thing is known by its opposite as it is by its likeness. The opposite of detestation is love; the opposite of renunciation is desire. His words imply that the worst person is one who loves the world, and that whoever desires it loves it. Acquiring it and accumulating more of it are signs of desiring it. Indeed, another report says, “If you want God Most High to love you, renounce the world.”

فَجَعَلَ الزُّهْدَ سَبَبَ مَحَبَّةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَصَارَ الزَّاهِدُ حَبِيبَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ الزُّهْدُ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْأَحْوَالِ إِذِ الْمَحَبَّةُ أَعْلَى الْمَقَامَاتِ، وَفِي دَلِيلِ الْكَلَامِ: إِنَّ مَنْ رَغِبَ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَقَدْ تَعَرَّضَ لِبُغْضِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى اَلَّذِي لَا شَيْءَ أَعْظَمُ مِنْهُ وَأَنَّ الْمُحِبَّ لِلدُّنْيَا بَغِيضُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى،

fajaʿala al-zuhda sababa maḥabbati Allāhi taʿālā faṣāra al-zāhidu ḥabība Allāhi taʿālā, fayanbaghī ʾan yakūna al-zuhdu min ʾafḍali al-ʾaḥwāli ʾidhi al-maḥabbatu ʾaʿlā al-maqāmāti, wafī dalīli al-kalāmi: ʾinna man raghiba fī al-dunyā faqad taʿarraḍa libughḍi Allāhi taʿālā alladhī lā shayʾa ʾaʿẓamu minhu waʾanna al-muḥibba li-l-dunyā baghīḍu Allāhi taʿālā,

He thus made renunciation a cause of the love of God Most High, so the renouncer is the beloved of God Most High. Renunciation must therefore be among the most excellent states, since love is the highest station. The words imply that whoever desires the world exposes himself to the hatred of God Most High, than which nothing is greater, and that the lover of the world is hateful to God Most High.

وَكَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: اِجْعَلُوا أَعْمَالَ الْبِرِّ كُلَّهَا فِي مَوَازِينِ الزُّهَّادِ وَيَكُونُ ثَوَابُ زُهْدِهِمْ زِيَادَةً لَهُمْ، وَقَالَ أَيْضًا: الْعُبَّادُ فِي مَوَازِينِ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَالْعُلَمَاءُ فِي مَوَازِينِ الزُّهَّادِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، فَلَا يَطْمَعَنَّ طَامِعٌ فِي مَحَبَّةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَهُوَ مُحِبٌّ لِلدُّنْيَا لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَمْقُتُهَا،

wakāna ʾabū muḥammadin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: ijʿalū ʾaʿmāla al-birri kullahā fī mawāzīni al-zuhhādi wayakūnu thawābu zuhdihim ziyādatan lahum, waqāla ʾayḍan: al-ʿubbādu fī mawāzīni al-ʿulamāʾi wa-al-ʿulamāʾu fī mawāzīni al-zuhhādi yawma al-qiyāmati, falā yaṭmaʿanna ṭāmiʿun fī maḥabbati Allāhi taʿālā wahuwa muḥibbun li-l-dunyā liʾanna Allāha taʿālā yamqutuhā,

Abū Muḥammad, God Most High have mercy on him, used to say, “Put all virtuous deeds in the renouncers’ scales, and the reward for their renunciation will be an additional portion for them.” He also said, “On Resurrection Day the worshippers are in the scales of the learned, and the learned in the scales of renouncers.” Let no one covet the love of God Most High while loving this world, for God Most High detests it.

وَفِي خَبَرٍ: مَا نَظَرَ إِلَيْهَا مُنْذُ خَلَقَهَا، يَقُولُ لَهَا: اُسْكُتِي يَا لَا شَيْءَ أَنْتِ وَأَهْلُكِ إِلَى النَّارِ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لِلدُّنْيَا مَيِّزُوا مَا كَانَ مِنْهَا لِي وَأَلْقُوا سَائِرَهَا فِي النَّارِ، وَكَذَٰلِكَ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْأَثَرِ: الدُّنْيَا مَلْعُونَةٌ مَلْعُونٌ مَا فِيهَا إِلَّا ذِكْرَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَمَا وَالَاهُ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: فَمَثَلُ الدُّنْيَا مَثَلُ إِبْلِيسَ خَلَقَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِلْبُعْدِ وَاللَّعْنَةِ لِيَبْتَلِيَهُ وَيَبْتَلِيَ بِهِ، وَيُهْلِكَهُ وَيُهْلِكَ بِهِ.

wafī khabarin: mā naẓara ʾilayhā mundhu khalaqahā, yaqūlu lahā: uskutī yā lā shayʾa ʾanti waʾahluki ʾilā al-nāri, wafī al-khabari: yaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā yawma al-qiyāmati li-l-dunyā mayyizū mā kāna minhā lī waʾalqū sāʾirahā fī al-nāri, wakadhālika rawaynā fī al-ʾathari: al-dunyā malʿūnatun malʿūnun mā fīhā ʾillā dhikra Allāhi taʿālā wamā wālāhu, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: famathalu al-dunyā mathalu ʾiblīsa khalaqahu Allāhu taʿālā li-l-buʿdi wa-al-laʿnati liyabtaliyahu wayabtaliya bihi, wayuhlikahu wayuhlika bihi.

A report says, “He has not looked at it since creating it. He says to it, ‘Be silent, you nothing! You and your people are destined for the Fire.’” Another says, “On Resurrection Day God Most High says concerning the world, ‘Separate what belonged to Me within it and throw all the rest into the Fire.’” We have likewise transmitted the tradition, “The world is accursed, and everything in it is accursed except remembrance of God Most High and what accords with it.” Another wording says, “The world is like Iblīs: God Most High created him for banishment and the curse, to try him and try others through him, to destroy him and destroy others through him.”

وَقَدْ شَهِدَ ذَٰلِكَ بَعْضُ الْمُكَاشَفِينَ فَقَالَ: رَأَيْتُ الدُّنْيَا فِي صُورَةِ جِيفَةٍ وَرَأَيْتُ إِبْلِيسَ فِي صُورَةِ كَلْبٍ وَهُوَ جَاثِمٌ عَلَيْهَا، وَمُنَادٍ يُنَادِي مِنْ فَوْقُ: أَنْتَ كَلْبٌ مِنْ كِلَابِي، وَهَٰذِهِ جِيفَةٌ مِنْ خَلْقِي وَقَدْ جَعَلْتُهَا نَصِيبَكَ مِنِّي، فَمَنْ نَازَعَكَ شَيْئًا مِنْهَا فَقَدْ سَلَّطْتُكَ عَلَيْهِ، فَجَاءَ مِنْ هَٰذَا أَنَّهَا مَكَانُهُ فَمَنْ تَمَكَّنَ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْهَا تَسَلَّطَ الْعَدُوُّ بِالْمَكَانَةِ مِنْهُ بِقَدْرِ مَا أَصَابَ مِنْهَا،

waqad shahida dhālika baʿḍu al-mukāshafīna faqāla: raʾaytu al-dunyā fī ṣūrati jīfatin waraʾaytu ʾiblīsa fī ṣūrati kalbin wahuwa jāthimun ʿalayhā, wamunādin yunādī min fawqu: ʾanta kalbun min kilābī, wahādhihi jīfatun min khalqī waqad jaʿaltuhā naṣībaka minnī, faman nāzaʿaka shayʾan minhā faqad sallaṭtuka ʿalayhi, fajāʾa min hādhā ʾannahā makānuhu faman tamakkana fī shayʾin minhā tasallaṭa al-ʿaduwwu bi-al-makānati minhu biqadri mā ʾaṣāba minhā,

One recipient of unveiling witnessed this and said, “I saw the world in the form of a carcass and Iblīs in the form of a dog crouching over it. A caller called from above, ‘You are one of My dogs, and this is a carcass among My creatures. I have made it your portion from Me. Whoever contests any of it with you, I have given you power over him.’” It follows that the world is his domain. Over whoever establishes himself in any part of it, the enemy gains a hold proportionate to what he has acquired of it.

وَقَدْ كُوشِفَ بِهَا بَعْضُ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ فِي صُورَةِ اِمْرَأَةٍ وَرَأَى أَكُفَّ الْخَلْقِ مَمْدُودَةً إِلَيْهَا هِيَ تَجْعَلُ فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ شَيْئًا، قَالَ: فَقُلْتُ لَهُ مَا هُوَ قَالَ قَالَ شَيْءٌ يُلْتَذُّ وَطَائِفَةٌ تَمُرُّ عَلَيْهَا مَكْتُوفِي الْأَيْدِ تُعْطِيهِمْ شَيْئًا، وَكُوشِفَ بِهَا مُوَرِّقٌ الْعِجْلِيُّ فِي صُورَةِ عَجُوزٍ شَمْطَاءَ دَنْدَانِيَّةٍ مُسَمَّجَةٍ عَلَيْهَا أَلْوَانُ الْمُصَبَّغَاتِ وَأَنْوَاعُ الزِّينَةِ، قَالَ: فَقُلْتُ أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْكِ فَقَالَتْ: إِنْ أَرَدْتَ أَنْ يُعِيذَكَ اللَّهُ

waqad kūshifa bihā baʿḍu al-ʾawliyāʾi fī ṣūrati imraʾatin waraʾā ʾakuffa al-khalqi mamdūdatan ʾilayhā hiya tajʿalu fī ʾaydīhim shayʾan, qāla: faqultu lahu mā huwa qāla qāla shayʾun yultadhdhu waṭāʾifatun tamurru ʿalayhā maktūfī al-ʾaydi tuʿṭīhim shayʾan, wakūshifa bihā muwarriqun al-ʿijliyyu fī ṣūrati ʿajūzin shamṭāʾa dandāniyyatin musammajatin ʿalayhā ʾalwānu al-muṣabbaghāti waʾanwāʿu al-zīnati, qāla: faqultu ʾaʿūdhu bi-llāhi minki faqālat: ʾin ʾaradta ʾan yuʿīdhaka Allāhu

To one of the saints the world was unveiled in the form of a woman. He saw people’s palms stretched toward her as she placed something in their hands. He said, “I asked him, ‘What is it?’ He said, he said, ‘Something pleasurable.’ A group passes by her with their hands bound, and she gives them something.” To Muwarriq al-ʿIjlī it was unveiled in the form of a hideous, gray-haired old woman with prominent teeth, wearing garments dyed in many colors and every kind of adornment. He said, “I said, ‘I seek refuge in God from you.’ She replied, ‘If you want God

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٠٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 407

Volume One, page 407

تَعَالَى مِنِّي فَاِبْغَضِ الدِّرْهَمَ، وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: الدُّنْيَا مَوْقُوفَةٌ مُنْذُ خَلَقَهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهَا فَتَقُولُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ: يَا رَبِّ اِجْعَلْنِي لِأَدْنَى أَوْلِيَائِكَ نَصِيبًا الْيَوْمَ فَيَقُولُ: اُسْكُتِي يَا لَا شَيْءَ أَنَا لَمْ أَرْضَكِ لَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَرْضَاكِ لَهُمُ الْيَوْمَ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ الدُّنْيَا دَنِيئَةٌ وَأَدْنَى مِنْهَا قَلْبُ مَنْ يُحِبُّهَا.

taʿālā minnī fa-ibghaḍi al-dirhama, wakadhālika jāʾa fī al-khabari: al-dunyā mawqūfatun mundhu khalaqahā Allāhu taʿālā bayna al-samāʾi wa-al-ʾarḍi lā yanẓuru ʾilayhā fataqūlu yawma al-qiyāmati: yā rabbi ijʿalnī liʾadnā ʾawliyāʾika naṣīban al-yawma fayaqūlu: uskutī yā lā shayʾa ʾanā lam ʾarḍaki lahum fī al-dunyā ʾarḍāki lahumu al-yawma, waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi al-dunyā danīʾatun waʾadnā minhā qalbu man yuḥibbuhā.

“Most High to protect you from me, hate the dirham.’” A report likewise says, “Since God Most High created it, the world has been suspended between heaven and earth, and He does not look at it. On Resurrection Day it will say, ‘Lord, make me today a portion for the least of Your friends.’ He will reply, ‘Be silent, you nothing! I did not deem you worthy of them in worldly life; would I deem you worthy of them today?’” One of the early generations said, “The world is base, and baser still is the heart of someone who loves it.”

وَرُوِيَ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ: الدُّنْيَا جِيفَةٌ، فَمَنْ أَرَادَهَا فَلْيَصْبِرْ عَلَى مُزَاحَمَةِ الْكِلَابِ، وَفِي أَخْبَارِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: إِنْ لَمْ تَلْقَ الْفَقِيرَ بِمِثْلِ مَا تَلْقَى بِهِ الْغَنِيَّ فَاِجْعَلْ كُلَّ عِلْمٍ عَلَّمْتُكَ تَحْتَ التُّرَابِ وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ الْفَقْرَ مُقْبِلًا فَقُلْ: مَرْحَبًا بِشِعَارِ الصَّالِحِينَ وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ الْغِنَى مُقْبِلًا فَقُلْ: ذَنْبٌ عُجِّلَتْ عُقُوبَتُهُ،

waruwiya ʿan ʿaliyyin karrama Allāhu wajhahu: al-dunyā jīfatun, faman ʾarādahā falyaṣbir ʿalā muzāḥamati al-kilābi, wafī ʾakhbāri mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾin lam talqa al-faqīra bimithli mā talqā bihi al-ghaniyya fa-ijʿal kulla ʿilmin ʿallamtuka taḥta al-turābi waʾidhā raʾayta al-faqra muqbilan faqul: marḥaban bishiʿāri al-ṣāliḥīna waʾidhā raʾayta al-ghinā muqbilan faqul: dhanbun ʿujjilat ʿuqūbatuhu,

It is related from ʿAlī, God honor his face: “The world is a carcass. Whoever wants it must endure jostling with dogs.” Among the accounts of Moses, peace be upon him, is this: “If you do not meet the poor as you meet the rich, put all the knowledge I taught you beneath the earth. If you see poverty approaching, say, ‘Welcome to the distinctive garb of the righteous!’ If you see wealth approaching, say, ‘A sin whose punishment has been hastened.’”

وَقَالَ إِمَامُنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ بَعْضِ عُلَمَائِنَا فِي أَخْبَارِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: إِنِّي خَلَقْتُ مُحَمَّدًا لِأَجْلِي وَخَلَقْتُ آدَمَ لِأَجْلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَخَلَقْتُ مَا خَلَقْتُ لِأَجْلِ وَلَدِ آدَمَ، فَمَنِ اِشْتَغَلَ مِنْهُمْ بِمَا خَلَقْتُهُ لِأَجْلِهِ حَجَبْتُهُ عَنِّي وَمَنِ اِشْتَغَلَ مِنْهُمْ بِي سُقْتُ إِلَيْهِ مَا خَلَقْتُهُ لِأَجْلِهِ، وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: الصِّدِّيقُونَ فِي بِدَايَاتِهِمْ طَلَبُوا الدُّنْيَا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَمَنَعَهُمْ فَلَمَّا تَمَكَّنُوا مِنْ أَحْوَالِهِمْ عَرَضَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ فَاِمْتَنَعُوا مِنْهَا،

waqāla ʾimāmunā ʾabū muḥammadin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā warawaynā ʿan baʿḍi ʿulamāʾinā fī ʾakhbāri dāwuda ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾinnī khalaqtu muḥammadan liʾajlī wakhalaqtu ʾādama liʾajli muḥammadin wakhalaqtu mā khalaqtu liʾajli waladi ʾādama, famani ishtaghala minhum bimā khalaqtuhu liʾajlihi ḥajabtuhu ʿannī wamani ishtaghala minhum bī suqtu ʾilayhi mā khalaqtuhu liʾajlihi, wakāna yaqūlu: al-ṣiddīqūna fī bidāyātihim ṭalabū al-dunyā mina Allāhi taʿālā famanaʿahum falammā tamakkanū min ʾaḥwālihim ʿaraḍahā ʿalayhim fa-imtanaʿū minhā,

Our imam Abū Muḥammad, God Most High have mercy on him, said, and we have transmitted from one of our learned teachers among the accounts of David, peace be upon him: “I created Muḥammad for My sake, Adam for Muḥammad’s sake, and everything I created for the sake of Adam’s offspring. Whoever among them busies himself with what I created for his sake, I veil from Myself; whoever busies himself with Me, I bring him what I created for his sake.” He used to say, “At their beginnings, the utterly truthful asked God Most High for the world, and He withheld it. When they became firmly established in their states, He offered it to them and they refused it.”

وَكَانَ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ يَقُولُ لِلدُّنْيَا: إِلَيْكِ عَنِّي يَا خِنْزِيرَةُ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا هَٰذَا الْقَوْلَ عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ مَيْسَرَةَ، وَكَانَ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ الشَّامِ قَالَ: كَانَ أَشْيَاخُنَا يُسَمُّونَ الدُّنْيَا خِنْزِيرَةً وَلَوْ وَجَدُوا لَهَا اِسْمًا شَرًّا مِنْ هَٰذَا سَمَّوْهَا بِهِ قَالَ: وَكَانَتْ إِذَا أَقْبَلَتْ عَلَى أَحَدِهِمُ الدُّنْيَا قَالَ لَهَا: إِلَيْكِ عَنَّا يَا خِنْزِيرَةُ، لَا حَاجَةَ لَنَا بِكِ إِنَّا قَدْ عَرَفْنَا إِلَٰهَنَا عَزَّ وَجَلَّ،

wakāna ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu yaqūlu li-l-dunyā: ʾilayki ʿannī yā khinzīratu, waqad rawaynā hādhā al-qawla ʿan yazīda bni maysarata, wakāna min ʿulamāʾi al-shāmi qāla: kāna ʾashyākhunā yusammūna al-dunyā khinzīratan walaw wajadū lahā isman sharran min hādhā sammawhā bihi qāla: wakānat ʾidhā ʾaqbalat ʿalā ʾaḥadihimu al-dunyā qāla lahā: ʾilayki ʿannā yā khinzīratu, lā ḥājata lanā biki ʾinnā qad ʿarafnā ʾilāhanā ʿazza wajalla,

Jesus, peace be upon him, used to say to the world, “Away from me, you sow!” We have also transmitted this saying from Yazīd ibn Maysara, one of the learned men of Syria. He said, “Our elders used to call the world a sow; had they found a worse name, they would have called it that.” He said, “When the world came toward one of them, he said, ‘Away from us, you sow! We have no need of you. We have come to know our God, mighty and majestic.’”

مَعْنَاهُ قَدْ عَرَفْنَاهُ بِلَا اِبْتِلَاءٍ بِكِ لِيَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ نَعْمَلُ فِي الزُّهْدِ فِيكِ وَالْأَثَرَةِ لَهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى، وَعَرَفْنَاهُ أَيْضًا بِالْمَقْتِ لَكِ فَوَافَقْنَاهُ فِي ذَٰلِكَ وَعَرَفْنَاهُ أَيْضًا فَتَأَلَّهَتْ قُلُوبُنَا إِلَيْهِ أَعْرَضْنَا عَمَّا سِوَاهُ، وَكَذَٰلِكَ كَانَ الْحَسَنُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَصِفُ أَشْيَاخَهُ كَانَ أَحَدُهُمْ يُعْرَضُ عَلَيْهِ الْمَالُ الْحَلَالُ فَيُقَالُ: خُذْهُ فَاِسْتَغْنِ بِهِ فَيَقُولُ لَا حَاجَةَ لِي فِيهِ أَخَافُ أَنْ يُفْسِدَ عَلَيَّ قَلْبِي، فَهَٰذَا كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ صَالِحٌ رَاعَاهُ فَخَافَ تَغَيُّرَهُ كَذَٰلِكَ.

maʿnāhu qad ʿarafnāhu bilā ibtilāʾin biki liyanẓura kayfa naʿmalu fī al-zuhdi fīki wa-al-ʾatharati lahu subḥānahu wataʿālā, waʿarafnāhu ʾayḍan bi-al-maqti laki fawāfaqnāhu fī dhālika waʿarafnāhu ʾayḍan fataʾallahat qulūbunā ʾilayhi ʾaʿraḍnā ʿammā siwāhu, wakadhālika kāna al-ḥasanu raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaṣifu ʾashyākhahu kāna ʾaḥaduhum yuʿraḍu ʿalayhi al-mālu al-ḥalālu fayuqālu: khudhhu fa-istaghni bihi fayaqūlu lā ḥājata lī fīhi ʾakhāfu ʾan yufsida ʿalayya qalbī, fahādhā kāna lahu qalbun ṣāliḥun rāʿāhu fakhāfa taghayyurahu kadhālika.

This means: we have known Him without being tried by you so that He might see how we act in renouncing you and preferring Him, glorified and exalted. We have also known Him through His detestation of you and agreed with Him in that. We have known Him, too, and our hearts have turned to Him in worship; we have turned away from everything else. Al-Ḥasan, God Most High have mercy on him, similarly described his elders: lawful money would be offered to one of them with the words, “Take it and make yourself independent.” He would answer, “I have no need of it; I fear it will corrupt my heart.” Such a man had a sound heart, watched over it, and thus feared its alteration.

رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنَّهُ مَرَّ بِجَدْيٍ مَيِّتٍ أَجْرَبَ فَقَالَ: أَتَرَوْنَ هَٰذَا هَانَ عَلَى أَهْلِهِ قُلْنَا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَنْ هُوَ؟ إِنَّهُ أَلْقَوْهُ فَقَالَ لَلدُّنْيَا أَهْوَنُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ هَٰذَا عَلَى أَهْلِهِ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: أَنَّهُ قَالَ: أَيُّكُمْ يُحِبُّ أَنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُ بِدِرْهَمٍ قُلْنَا: لَا أَيُّنَا وَأَيَّ شَيْءٍ يُسَاوِي هَٰذَا؟ قَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: الدُّنْيَا أَهْوَنُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ هَٰذَا عَلَيْكُمْ،

rawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾinnahu marra bijadyin mayyitin ʾajraba faqāla: ʾatarawna hādhā hāna ʿalā ʾahlihi qulnā: yā rasūla Allāhi man huwa? ʾinnahu ʾalqawhu faqāla la-l-dunyā ʾahwanu ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā min hādhā ʿalā ʾahlihi, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: ʾannahu qāla: ʾayyukum yuḥibbu ʾanna hādhā lahu bidirhamin qulnā: lā ʾayyunā waʾayya shayʾin yusāwī hādhā? qāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-dunyā ʾahwanu ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā min hādhā ʿalaykum,

We have transmitted that the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, passed a dead, mangy kid and said, “Do you think this was of little account to its owners?” We said, “Messenger of God, what is it? They have thrown it away.” He replied, “The world is surely of less account to God Most High than this is to its owners.” Another wording says that he asked, “Which of you would like to have this for a dirham?” We answered, “None of us. What could it be worth?” He, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “The world is of less account to God Most High than this is to you.”

وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَخْبَرَ بِالْغَايَةِ فِي قِلَّتِهَا وَعَدَمِ قِيمَتِهَا بِقَوْلِهِ: وَلَوْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا تَزِنُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ مَا سَقَى كَافِرًا مِنْهَا شَرْبَةَ مَاءٍ، وَضَرَبَ الْمَثَلَ فِي نَتْنِهَا وَاِنْقِلَابِهَا عَلَى أَهْلِهَا بِقَوْلِهِ لِلْأَعْرَابِيِّ: أَرَأَيْتَ مَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَتَشْرَبُونَ أَلَسْتُمْ تَتَغَوَّطُونَ وَتَبُولُونَ؟ قَالَ: بَلَى، قَالَ: فَإِلَى أَيِّ شَيْءٍ يَصِيرُ؟ قَالَ: إِلَى مَا عَلِمْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ أَلَيْسَ يَقْعُدُ أَحَدُكُمْ خَلْفَ بَيْتِهِ فَيَجْعَلُ يَدَهُ عَلَى أَنْفِهِ مِنْ نَتْنِ رِيحِهِ، قَالَ: نَعَمْ قَالَ: فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى جَعَلَ الدُّنْيَا مَثَلًا لِمَا يَخْرُجُ مِنِ اِبْنِ آدَمَ.

wakadhālika ʾakhbara bi-al-ghāyati fī qillatihā waʿadami qīmatihā biqawlihi: walaw kānati al-dunyā tazinu ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā janāḥa baʿūḍatin mā saqā kāfiran minhā sharbata māʾin, waḍaraba al-mathala fī natnihā wa-inqilābihā ʿalā ʾahlihā biqawlihi li-l-ʾaʿrābiyyi: ʾaraʾayta mā taʾkulūna watashrabūna ʾalastum tataghawwaṭūna watabūlūna? qāla: balā, qāla: faʾilā ʾayyi shayʾin yaṣīru? qāla: ʾilā mā ʿalimta yā rasūla Allāhi qāla ʾalaysa yaqʿudu ʾaḥadukum khalfa baytihi fayajʿalu yadahu ʿalā ʾanfihi min natni rīḥihi, qāla: naʿam qāla: faʾinna Allāha taʿālā jaʿala al-dunyā mathalan limā yakhruju mini ibni ʾādama.

He likewise expressed its utter insignificance and worthlessness by saying, “If the world weighed as much as a mosquito’s wing in the sight of God Most High, He would not give an unbeliever a drink of water from it.” He illustrated its stench and its transformation upon its people by asking a Bedouin, “Consider what you eat and drink. Do you not defecate and urinate?” He replied, “Yes.” He asked, “Then what does it become?” The man replied, “What you know, Messenger of God.” He said, “Does not one of you sit behind his house and put his hand over his nose because of its foul smell?” “Yes,” he answered. He said, “God Most High has made the world a likeness of what comes out of the son of Adam.”

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٠٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 408

Volume One, page 408

وَكَذَٰلِكَ رَوَيْنَا فِي تَأْوِيلِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَفِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ) الذَّارِيَاتُ: 21، قِيلَ: مَوَاضِعُ الْغَائِطِ وَالْبَوْلِ، وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: (وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ إِلَّا مَتَاعٌ) الرَّعْدُ: 26، قَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ اللُّغَةِ: مَتَاعٌ أَيْ جِيفَةٌ، سَمِعْتُ عَنِ الْأَصْمَعِيِّ، قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَرَبِ يَقُولُ مَتَعَ اللَّحْمُ إِذَا تَغَيَّرَ وَأَنْتَنَ، وَقَدْ كَانَ الْحَسَنُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ لَمَّا هَبَطَ آدَمُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا كَانَ أَوَّلُ شَيْءٍ عَمِلَ فِيهَا أَنَّهُ أَحْدَثَ. وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: إِنَّهُ نَظَرَ إِلَى مَا خَرَجَ مِنْهُ فَآذَاهُ رِيحُهُ فَاِغْتَمَّ لِذَٰلِكَ

wakadhālika rawaynā fī taʾwīli qawlihi taʿālā: (wafī ʾanfusikum ʾafalā tubṣirūna) al-dhāriyātu: 21, qīla: mawāḍiʿu al-ghāʾiṭi wa-al-bawli, waqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: (wamā al-ḥayātu al-dunyā fī al-ʾākhirati ʾillā matāʿun) al-raʿdu: 26, qāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-lughati: matāʿun ʾay jīfatun, samiʿtu ʿani al-ʾaṣmaʿiyyi, qāla baʿḍu al-ʿarabi yaqūlu mataʿa al-laḥmu ʾidhā taghayyara waʾantana, waqad kāna al-ḥasanu raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu lammā habaṭa ʾādamu ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾilā al-dunyā kāna ʾawwalu shayʾin ʿamila fīhā ʾannahu ʾaḥdatha. warawaynā ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā qāla: ʾinnahu naẓara ʾilā mā kharaja minhu faʾādhāhu rīḥuhu fa-ightamma lidhālika

We have likewise transmitted the interpretation of the words of the Most High, “And within yourselves; do you not see?” (al-Dhāriyāt 51:21): the places from which excrement and urine emerge. He, glorified and exalted, says, “The life of this world, compared with the afterlife, is only a passing enjoyment” (al-Raʿd 13:26). One philologist said that matāʿ means a carcass. I heard it related from al-Aṣmaʿī that some Arabs say mataʿa al-laḥmu when meat has spoiled and begun to stink. Al-Ḥasan, God Most High have mercy on him, used to say that when Adam, peace be upon him, descended into the world, the first thing he did was relieve himself. We have transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās, God be pleased with them both, that Adam looked at what had come out of him; its smell offended him and he was distressed.

فَقَالَ لَهُ جِبْرِيلُ: هَٰذِهِ رَائِحَةُ خَطِيئَتِكَ، فَشَهِدَ الْعُقَلَاءُ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الدُّنْيَا فِي صُورَةِ كَنِيفٍ فَلَمْ يَدْخُلُوا فِيهَا إِلَّا ضَرُورَةً فَكُلَّمَا اِسْتَغْنَيْتَ عَنْ دُخُولِكَ الْكَنِيفَ كَانَ أَفْضَلَ، وَشَهِدَهَا بَعْضُهُمْ جِيفَةً فَلَمْ يَنَالُوا مِنْهَا إِلَّا بُلْغَةً فَكُلَّمَا تَقَلَّلْتَ مِنَ الْجِيفَةِ كَانَ خَيْرًا، وَقَالَ وَهْبُ بْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ: قَرَأْتُ فِي بَعْضِ الْكُتُبِ: يَا اِبْنَ آدَمَ إِنْ تُرِدْنِي اُتْرُكِ الدُّنْيَا وَإِنْ تُرِدِ الدُّنْيَا طَالَ عَنَاكَ، وَفِي بَعْضِ كُتُبِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: يَا اِبْنَ آدَمَ أَنَا بُدُّكَ اللَّازِمُ فَلَا تُؤْثِرْ عَلَيَّ مَا مِنْهُ بُدٌّ،

faqāla lahu jibrīlu: hādhihi rāʾiḥatu khaṭīʾatika, fashahida al-ʿuqalāʾu ʿani Allāhi taʿālā al-dunyā fī ṣūrati kanīfin falam yadkhulū fīhā ʾillā ḍarūratan fakullamā istaghnayta ʿan dukhūlika al-kanīfa kāna ʾafḍala, washahidahā baʿḍuhum jīfatan falam yanālū minhā ʾillā bulghatan fakullamā taqallalta mina al-jīfati kāna khayran, waqāla wahbu bnu munabbihin: qaraʾtu fī baʿḍi al-kutubi: yā ibna ʾādama ʾin turidnī utruki al-dunyā waʾin turidi al-dunyā ṭāla ʿanāka, wafī baʿḍi kutubi Allāhi taʿālā: yā ibna ʾādama ʾanā budduka al-lāzimu falā tuʾthir ʿalayya mā minhu buddun,

Gabriel told him, “This is the smell of your sin.” Those who understand from God Most High witnessed the world in the form of a privy and entered it only of necessity. The more you can dispense with entering a privy, the better. Some witnessed it as a carcass and took from it only enough to subsist; the less you take of a carcass, the better. Wahb ibn Munabbih said, “I read in one of the scriptures: ‘Son of Adam, if you desire Me, leave the world; if you desire the world, your toil will be long.’” In another of the books of God Most High: “Son of Adam, I am your inescapable necessity, so do not prefer to Me what you can do without.”

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْمُخْبِرِينَ عَنِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: إِنَّهُ أَوْحَى إِلَى الدُّنْيَا: اُخْدُمِي مَنْ خَدَمَنِي وَأَتْعِبِي مَنْ خَدَمَكِ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ: وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مُسْنَدًا أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَى الدُّنْيَا: تَمَرَّرِي لِأَوْلِيَائِي حَتَّى تَكُونَ رَغْبَتُهُمْ فِيمَا عِنْدِي وَاِحْلَوْلِي لِأَعْدَائِي حَتَّى يَكْرَهُوا لِقَائِي، وَفِي حَدِيثِ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا: مَنْ أَحَبَّ لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ لِقَاءَهُ، وَمَنْ كَرِهَ لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كَرِهَ اللَّهُ لِقَاءَهُ؛

waqāla baʿḍu al-mukhbirīna ʿani Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā: ʾinnahu ʾawḥā ʾilā al-dunyā: ukhdumī man khadamanī waʾatʿibī man khadamaki, waqāla ʾākharu: waqad rawaynā musnadan ʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilā al-dunyā: tamarrarī liʾawliyāʾī ḥattā takūna raghbatuhum fīmā ʿindī wa-iḥlawlī liʾaʿdāʾī ḥattā yakrahū liqāʾī, wafī ḥadīthi ʿāʾishata raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā: man ʾaḥabba liqāʾa Allāhi taʿālā ʾaḥabba Allāhu liqāʾahu, waman kariha liqāʾa Allāhi taʿālā kariha Allāhu liqāʾahu;

One who related reports from God, glorified and exalted, said that He revealed to the world, “Serve those who serve Me, and weary those who serve you.” Another said, and we have transmitted it with a chain of authorities, that God Most High revealed to the world, “Become bitter to My friends, so that they desire what is with Me; become sweet to My enemies, so that they dislike meeting Me.” In ʿĀʾisha’s report, God be pleased with her: “Whoever loves to meet God Most High, God loves to meet him; whoever dislikes meeting God Most High, God dislikes meeting him.”

فَهَٰذِهِ الْآثَارُ كُلُّهَا، قَاصِمَةٌ لِظَهْرِ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا، مُسْخِنَةٌ لِعَيْنِ مُحِبِّيهَا وَوَأَضْدَادُهَا مِنَ الْأَخْبَارِ الْحُسْنَى فِي فَضْلِ الزُّهْدِ وَشَرَفِ الْفَقْرِ، رَافِعَةٌ لِرُؤُوسِ الْفُقَرَاءِ الصَّادِقِينَ، وَقُرَّةُ عَيْنِ الصَّالِحِينَ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الزَّاهِدِينَ؛ فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ.

fahādhihi al-ʾāthāru kulluhā, qāṣimatun liẓahri ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā, muskhinatun liʿayni muḥibbīhā wawaʾaḍdāduhā mina al-ʾakhbāri al-ḥusnā fī faḍli al-zuhdi washarafi al-faqri, rāfiʿatun liruʾūsi al-fuqarāʾi al-ṣādiqīna, waqurratu ʿayni al-ṣāliḥīna li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla al-zāhidīna; falā taʿlamu nafsun mā ʾukhfiya lahum min qurrati ʾaʿyunin jazāʾan bimā kānū yaʿmalūna.

All these traditions break the backs of the world’s children and bring hot tears to the eyes of its lovers. And, and their counterparts, the excellent reports about the merit of renunciation and the nobility of poverty, lift the heads of the truthful poor and delight the righteous who renounce for God, mighty and majestic: “No soul knows what delights have been hidden for them as a reward for what they used to do.”

وَأَصْلُ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا مِنْ ضَعْفِ الْيَقِينِ لِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَوْ قَوِيَ يَقِينُهُ نَظَرَ بِنُورِهِ إِلَى الْآجِلِ فَغَابَ فِي نَظَرِهِ الْعَاجِلُ فَزَهِدَ فِيمَا غَابَ وَأَحَبَّ الْحَاضِرَ فَآثَرَ مَا هُوَ أَعْوَدُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَبْقَى وَأَنْفَعُ لَهُ وَلِمَوْلَاهُ أَرْضَى، وَقَدَّمَ مَا يَفْنَى وَيَنْقَطِعُ إِلَى مَا يَدُومُ وَيَتَّصِلُ؛ وَهَٰذَا هُوَ صُورَةُ الزُّهْدِ وَشَهَادَةُ الْمُوقِنِ وَإِنَّ الْحَاضِرَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَا غَابَ وَاِنْتَقَلَ: أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى وَصْفِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَلِيَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ قَالَ: لَا أُحِبُّ الْآفِلِينَ، وَالْمُوقِنُ مَأْمُورٌ بِاِتِّبَاعِ مِلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ) الْحَجُّ: 78، أَيْ عَلَيْكُمْ مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَاِتَّبِعُوا مِلَّتَهُ،

waʾaṣlu al-raghbati fī al-dunyā min ḍaʿfi al-yaqīni liʾanna al-ʿabda law qawiya yaqīnuhu naẓara binūrihi ʾilā al-ʾājili faghāba fī naẓarihi al-ʿājilu fazahida fīmā ghāba waʾaḥabba al-ḥāḍira faʾāthara mā huwa ʾaʿwadu ʿalayhi waʾabqā waʾanfaʿu lahu walimawlāhu ʾarḍā, waqaddama mā yafnā wayanqaṭiʿu ʾilā mā yadūmu wayattaṣilu; wahādhā huwa ṣūratu al-zuhdi washahādatu al-mūqini waʾinna al-ḥāḍira lā yuḥibbu mā ghāba wa-intaqala: ʾalam tara ʾilā waṣfihi ʿazza wajalla liʾibrāhīma waliyakūna mina al-mūqinīna qāla: lā ʾuḥibbu al-ʾāfilīna, wa-al-mūqinu maʾmūrun biittibāʿi millati ʾibrāhīma biqawlihi taʿālā: (millata ʾabīkum ʾibrāhīma) al-ḥajju: 78, ʾay ʿalaykum millata ʾabīkum ʾibrāhīma wa-ittabiʿū millatahu,

Desire for the world originates in weak certainty. If a servant’s certainty were strong, he would look by its light toward what is to come; the immediate world would disappear from his sight, and he would renounce what had disappeared and love what was present. He would prefer what is more rewarding, lasting, and beneficial to him, and more pleasing to his Master. He would send ahead what perishes and ends to what endures and continues. This is the form of renunciation and the witnessing of the certain. One who is present does not love what has vanished and passed away. Have you not considered the description God, mighty and majestic, gives of Abraham, “So that he might be among those who are certain”? He said, “I do not love things that set.” The certain person is commanded to follow Abraham’s religion by the words of God Most High, “The religion of your father Abraham” (al-Ḥajj 22:78), meaning, hold fast to your father Abraham’s religion and follow it.

وَلَيْسَ يَشْهَدُ الْوَعْدَ وَالْوَعِيدَ الْآجِلَ بِنُورِ الْعَقْلِ إِنَّمَا يَشْهَدُ بِنُورِ الْيَقِينِ، عَلَى أَنَّا نَقُولُ: إِنَّ الْأَنْوَارَ أَرْبَعَةٌ وَالْقَلْبُ مُوَجَّهٌ جِهَاتٍ أَرْبَعَةً إِلَى الْمُلْكِ وَالْمَلَكُوتِ وَإِلَى الْعِزِّ وَالْجَبَرُوتِ؛ فَبِنُورِ الْعَقْلِ يَشْهَدُ الْمُلْكَ، وَبِنُورِ الْإِيمَانِ يَشْهَدُ الْمَلَكُوتَ وَهُوَ الْآخِرَةُ، وَبِنُورِ الْيَقِينِ يَشْهَدُ الْعِزَّةَ وَهِيَ الصِّفَاتُ، وَبِنُورِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ يَشْهَدُ الْجَبَرُوتَ وَهُوَ الْوَحْدَانِيَّةُ، وَالْجَبَّارُ تَعَالَى فَوْقَ الْقَلْبِ مُحِيطٌ بِهِ يُكَاشِفُهُ بِمَا شَاءَ فَيَغْلِبُ عَلَيْهِ وَجْدُ مَا أَشْهَدَهُ، وَضَعْفُ الْيَقِينِ قَدْ يَدْخُلُ

walaysa yashhadu al-waʿda wa-al-waʿīda al-ʾājila binūri al-ʿaqli ʾinnamā yashhadu binūri al-yaqīni, ʿalā ʾannā naqūlu: ʾinna al-ʾanwāra ʾarbaʿatun wa-al-qalbu muwajjahun jihātin ʾarbaʿatan ʾilā al-mulki wa-al-malakūti waʾilā al-ʿizzi wa-al-jabarūti; fabinūri al-ʿaqli yashhadu al-mulka, wabinūri al-ʾīmāni yashhadu al-malakūta wahuwa al-ʾākhiratu, wabinūri al-yaqīni yashhadu al-ʿizzata wahiya al-ṣifātu, wabinūri al-maʿrifati yashhadu al-jabarūta wahuwa al-waḥdāniyyatu, wa-al-jabbāru taʿālā fawqa al-qalbi muḥīṭun bihi yukāshifuhu bimā shāʾa fayaghlibu ʿalayhi wajdu mā ʾashhadahu, waḍaʿfu al-yaqīni qad yadkhulu

He does not witness the deferred promise and warning by the light of reason, but by the light of certainty. We say, moreover, that there are four lights, and the heart faces four directions: toward the visible dominion and the unseen dominion, and toward might and absolute sovereignty. By reason’s light it witnesses the visible dominion; by faith’s light it witnesses the unseen dominion, which is the afterlife; by certainty’s light it witnesses might, which is the divine attributes; by knowledge’s light it witnesses absolute sovereignty, which is divine oneness. The Compeller, exalted is He, is above the heart, encompassing it. He unveils to it whatever He wills, and the experience of what He has made it witness overwhelms it. Weakness of certainty may enter

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٠٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 409

Volume One, page 409

فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَقُوَّةُ الْيَقِينِ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ فِي كُلِّ عَمَلٍ وَإِلَّا فَهُوَ دُنْيَا يَهْتَدِي إِلَيْهِ بِنُورِ الْعَقْلِ، فَمَنْ لَمْ يُعْطَ نُورَ الْيَقِينِ لَمْ يَرَ الْمُلْكَ الْكَبِيرَ فَاِسْتَهْوَاهُ الْمُلْكُ الصَّغِيرُ فَأَحَبَّ لَا شَيْءَ فَلَمْ تَكُنْ هِمَّتُهُ فِي الْعُلُوِّ وَلَا عِنْدَهُ الْأَعْلَى شَيْئًا.

fī kulli shayʾin, waquwwatu al-yaqīni taḥtāju ʾilayhi fī kulli ʿamalin waʾillā fahuwa dunyā yahtadī ʾilayhi binūri al-ʿaqli, faman lam yuʿṭa nūra al-yaqīni lam yara al-mulka al-kabīra fa-istahwāhu al-mulku al-ṣaghīru faʾaḥabba lā shayʾa falam takun himmatuhu fī al-ʿuluwwi walā ʿindahu al-ʾaʿlā shayʾan.

into everything. You need the strength of certainty in every deed; otherwise it is worldly activity, toward which the light of reason guides one. Whoever is not given the light of certainty does not see the great dominion; the little dominion seduces him, and he comes to love nothing. His aspiration does not reach upward, and the Most High is of no account to him.

ذِكْرُ مَاهِيَّةِ الزُّهْدِ

dhikru māhiyyati al-zuhdi

On the nature of renunciation

أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ لَيْسَ يُمْكِنُ عَبْدًا أَنْ يَعْرِفَ الزُّهْدَ حَتَّى يَعْرِفَ الدُّنْيَا أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هِيَ، فَقَدْ قَالَ النَّاسُ فِي الزُّهْدِ أَشْيَاءَ كَثِيرَةً وَنَحْنُ غَيْرُ مُحْتَاجِينَ إِلَى ذِكْرِ أَقْوَالِهِمْ بِمَا بَيَّنَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَأَغْنَى بِكِتَابِهِ اَلَّذِي جَعَلَ فِيهِ الشِّفَاءَ وَالْغِنَى، وَقَدْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: هُوَ الْحَبْلُ الْمَتِينُ وَالصِّرَاطُ الْمُسْتَقِيمُ مَنْ طَلَبَ الْهُدَى فِي غَيْرِهِ أَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ، وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ تَعَالَى: (وَمَا اِخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَحُكْمُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ) الشُّورَى: 10، وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَعَلَا: (فَهَدَى اللَّهُ اَلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَا اِخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِهِ) الْبَقَرَةُ: 213،

ʾayyu shayʾin huwa laysa yumkinu ʿabdan ʾan yaʿrifa al-zuhda ḥattā yaʿrifa al-dunyā ʾayyu shayʾin hiya, faqad qāla al-nāsu fī al-zuhdi ʾashyāʾa kathīratan wanaḥnu ghayru muḥtājīna ʾilā dhikri ʾaqwālihim bimā bayyana Allāhu taʿālā waʾaghnā bikitābihi alladhī jaʿala fīhi al-shifāʾa wa-al-ghinā, waqad qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: huwa al-ḥablu al-matīnu wa-al-ṣirāṭu al-mustaqīmu man ṭalaba al-hudā fī ghayrihi ʾaḍallahu Allāhu, waqāla subḥānahu taʿālā: (wamā ikhtalaftum fīhi min shayʾin faḥukmuhu ʾilā Allāhi) al-shūrā: 10, waqāla ʿazza waʿalā: (fahadā Allāhu alladhīna ʾāmanū limā ikhtalafū fīhi mina al-ḥaqqi biʾidhnihi) al-baqaratu: 213,

What is it? A servant cannot know renunciation until he knows what the world is. People have said many things about renunciation, but we need not rehearse their sayings, since God Most High has explained the matter and made His Book sufficient, placing healing and sufficiency within it. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “It is the firm rope and the straight path; whoever seeks guidance elsewhere, God sends astray.” He, glorified and exalted, says, “Whatever you differ about, its judgment rests with God” (al-Shūrā 42:10), and He, mighty and exalted, says, “God guided those who believed to the truth about which they differed, by His permission” (al-Baqara 2:213).

فَقَدْ ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ اِسْمُهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ: إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا سَبْعَةُ أَشْيَاءَ وَهُوَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: (زُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ الشَّهَوَاتِ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ وَالْبَنِينَ وَالْقَنَاطِيرِ الْمُقَنْطَرَةِ مِنَ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ وَالْخَيْلِ الْمُسَوَّمَةِ وَالْأَنْعَامِ وَالْحَرْثِ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 14، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى فِي آخِرِهَا: (ذَٰلِكَ مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 14،

faqad dhakara Allāhu jalla ismuhu fī kitābihi: ʾinna al-dunyā sabʿatu ʾashyāʾa wahuwa qawluhu taʿālā: (zuyyina li-l-nāsi ḥubbu al-shahawāti mina al-nisāʾi wa-al-banīna wa-al-qanāṭīri al-muqanṭarati mina al-dhahabi wa-al-fiḍḍati wa-al-khayli al-musawwamati wa-al-ʾanʿāmi wa-al-ḥarthi) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 14, thumma qāla taʿālā fī ʾākhirihā: (dhālika matāʿu al-ḥayāti al-dunyā) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 14,

God, glorious is His name, has stated in His Book that the world consists of seven things, in His words, exalted is He: “Made attractive to people is the love of desired things: women, sons, heaped-up stores of gold and silver, well-marked horses, livestock, and cultivated land” (Āl ʿImrān 3:14). At the end He, Most High, says, “That is the enjoyment of the life of this world” (Āl ʿImrān 3:14).

وَوَصَفَ حُبَّ الشَّهَوَاتِ بِالتَّزَيُّنِ ثُمَّ نَسَقَ الْأَوْصَافَ السَّبْعَةَ عَلَى الْحُبِّ لَهَا ثُمَّ أَشَارَ لَهَا، بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى ذَٰلِكَ فَذَا إِشَارَةٌ إِلَى الْكَافِ وَالْكَافُ كِنَايَةٌ عَنِ الْمَذْكُورِ الْمُتَقَدِّمِ الْمَنْسُوقِ وَاللَّامُ بَيْنَ ذَا وَالْكَافِ لِلتَّمْكِينِ وَالتَّوْكِيدِ، فَحَصَلَ مِنْ تَدَبُّرِ الْخِطَابِ أَنَّ هَٰذِهِ السَّبْعَةَ جُمْلَةُ الدُّنْيَا وَأَنَّ هَٰذِهِ الدُّنْيَا هَٰذِهِ الْأَوْصَافُ السَّبْعَةُ، وَمَا تَفَرَّعَ مِنَ الشَّهَوَاتِ رُدَّ إِلَى أَصْلٍ مِنْ هَٰذِهِ الْجُمَلِ،

wawaṣafa ḥubba al-shahawāti bi-al-tazayyuni thumma nasaqa al-ʾawṣāfa al-sabʿata ʿalā al-ḥubbi lahā thumma ʾashāra lahā, biqawlihi taʿālā dhālika fadhā ʾishāratun ʾilā al-kāfi wa-al-kāfu kināyatun ʿani al-madhkūri al-mutaqaddimi al-mansūqi wa-al-lāmu bayna dhā wa-al-kāfi li-l-tamkīni wa-al-tawkīdi, faḥaṣala min tadabburi al-khiṭābi ʾanna hādhihi al-sabʿata jumlatu al-dunyā waʾanna hādhihi al-dunyā hādhihi al-ʾawṣāfu al-sabʿatu, wamā tafarraʿa mina al-shahawāti rudda ʾilā ʾaṣlin min hādhihi al-jumali,

He describes love of desired things as having been made attractive, then lists the seven categories as objects of that love, and refers back to them when He, Most High, says dhālika, “that.” Dhā is a demonstrative pointing to the kāf; the kāf stands for the preceding coordinated list, and the lām between dhā and kāf gives reinforcement and emphasis. Reflection on the wording thus yields that these seven constitute the whole world, and that this world is these seven categories. Any derivative desire is referred to one of these principal classes.

فَمَنْ أَحَبَّ جَمِيعَهَا فَقَدْ أَحَبَّ جُمْلَةَ الدُّنْيَا نِهَايَةَ الْحُبِّ وَمَنْ أَحَبَّ أَصْلًا مِنْهَا أَوْ فَرْعًا مِنْ أَصْلٍ فَقَدْ أَحَبَّ بَعْضَ الدُّنْيَا فَعَلِمْنَا بِنَصِّ الْكَلَامِ أَنَّ الشَّهْوَةَ دُنْيَا وَفَهِمْنَا مِنْ دَلِيلِهِ أَنَّ الْحَاجَاتِ لَيْسَتْ بِدُنْيَا لِأَنَّهُ تَقَعُ ضَرُورَاتٌ فَإِذَا لَمْ تَكُنِ الْحَاجَةُ دُنْيَا دَلَّ أَنَّهُ لَا تُسَمَّى شَهْوَةً، وَإِنْ كَانَتْ قَدْ تُشْتَهَى لِأَنَّ الشَّهْوَةَ دُنْيَا، وَلِتَفْرِقَةِ الْأَسْمَاءِ لِإِيقَاعِ الْأَحْكَامِ عَلَيْهَا.

faman ʾaḥabba jamīʿahā faqad ʾaḥabba jumlata al-dunyā nihāyata al-ḥubbi waman ʾaḥabba ʾaṣlan minhā ʾaw farʿan min ʾaṣlin faqad ʾaḥabba baʿḍa al-dunyā faʿalimnā binaṣṣi al-kalāmi ʾanna al-shahwata dunyā wafahimnā min dalīlihi ʾanna al-ḥājāti laysat bidunyā liʾannahu taqaʿu ḍarūrātun faʾidhā lam takuni al-ḥājatu dunyā dalla ʾannahu lā tusammā shahwatan, waʾin kānat qad tushtahā liʾanna al-shahwata dunyā, walitafriqati al-ʾasmāʾi liʾīqāʿi al-ʾaḥkāmi ʿalayhā.

Whoever loves them all loves the entire world to the utmost; whoever loves one principal class or a branch of it loves part of the world. The explicit wording teaches us that appetite is worldly, and its implication teaches us that necessities are not worldly, since unavoidable needs occur. If a need is not worldly, this indicates that it is not called an appetite, even though it may be desired, because appetite is worldly. The names are distinguished so that their respective judgments may be applied.

وَاِسْتَنَدَ ذَٰلِكَ إِلَى خَبَرٍ رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِي الْإِسْرَائِيلِيَّاتِ: إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ أَصَابَتْهُ حَاجَةٌ فَذَهَبَ إِلَى صَدِيقٍ يَسْتَقْرِضُ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا فَلَمْ يُقْرِضْهُ فَرَجَعَ مَغْمُومًا فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ: لَوْ سَأَلْتَ خَلِيلَكَ لَأَعْطَاكَ فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ عَرَفْتُ مَقْتَكَ لِلدُّنْيَا فَخَشِيتُ أَنْ أَسْأَلَكَ مِنْهَا فَتَمْقُتَنِي فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ: لَيْسَ الْحَاجَةُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا،

wa-istanada dhālika ʾilā khabarin rawaynāhu ʿani Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā fī al-ʾisrāʾīliyyāti: ʾinna ʾibrāhīma ṣalawātu Allāhi ʿalayhi ʾaṣābathu ḥājatun fadhahaba ʾilā ṣadīqin yastaqriḍu minhu shayʾan falam yuqriḍhu farajaʿa maghmūman faʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi: law saʾalta khalīlaka laʾaʿṭāka faqāla: yā rabbi ʿaraftu maqtaka li-l-dunyā fakhashītu ʾan ʾasʾalaka minhā fatamqutanī faʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi: laysa al-ḥājatu mina al-dunyā,

This is supported by a report about God, glorified and exalted, that we transmitted among the Israelite traditions. Abraham, God’s blessings upon him, fell into need and went to a friend to borrow something. The friend did not lend him anything, so he returned distressed. God Most High revealed to him, “Had you asked your intimate Friend, He would have given to you.” He replied, “Lord, I knew Your detestation of the world and feared asking You for any of it, lest You detest me.” God Most High revealed to him, “Need is not part of the world.”

ثُمَّ سَمِعْنَاهُ تَعَالَى وَجَلَّ قَدْ رَدَّ هَٰذِهِ السَّبْعَةَ الْأَوْصَافِ فِي مَكَانٍ آخَرَ إِلَى خَمْسَةِ مَعَانٍ فَقَالَ جَلَّ مِنْ قَائِلٍ: (اِعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ وَزِينَةٌ وَتَفَاخُرٌ بَيْنَكُمْ وَتَكَاثُرٌ)، فَهَٰذِهِ الْخَمْسَةُ هِيَ وَصْفُ مَنْ أَحَبَّ تِلْكَ السَّبْعَةَ، ثُمَّ اِخْتَصَرَ الْخَمْسَةَ فِي مَعْنَيَيْنِ مِنْهَا

thumma samiʿnāhu taʿālā wajalla qad radda hādhihi al-sabʿata al-ʾawṣāfi fī makānin ʾākhara ʾilā khamsati maʿānin faqāla jalla min qāʾilin: (iʿlamū ʾannamā al-ḥayātu al-dunyā laʿibun walahwun wazīnatun watafākhurun baynakum watakāthurun), fahādhihi al-khamsatu hiya waṣfu man ʾaḥabba tilka al-sabʿata, thumma ikhtaṣara al-khamsata fī maʿnayayni minhā

We then hear Him, exalted and glorious, reduce these seven categories elsewhere to five meanings, saying, glorious is He who speaks: “Know that the life of this world is play, diversion, adornment, boasting among yourselves, and rivalry in increase.” These five describe whoever loves those seven. He then condenses the five into two of their meanings,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤١٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 410

Volume One, page 410

هُمَا جَامِعَانِ لِلسَّبْعَةِ فَقَالَ: إِنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ، ثُمَّ رَدَّ الِاثْنَيْنِ إِلَى وَصْفٍ وَاحِدٍ وَعَبَّرَ عَنْهُ بِمَعْنَيَيْنِ فَصَارَتِ الدُّنْيَا تَرْجِعُ إِلَى شَيْئَيْنِ جَامِعَيْنِ مُخْتَصَرَيْنِ يَصْلُحُ أَنْ يَكُونَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا هُوَ الدُّنْيَا، فَالْوَصْفُ الْوَاحِدُ اَلَّذِي رَدَّ الِاثْنَيْنِ إِلَيْهِ اللَّذَانِ هُمَا اللَّعِبُ وَاللَّهْوُ هُوَ الْهَوَى اِنْدَرَجَتِ السَّبْعَةُ فِيهِ. فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَى فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَى) النَّازِعَاتُ: 40–41، فَصَارَتِ الدُّنْيَا طَاعَةَ النَّفْسِ لِلْهَوَى بِدَلِيلِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (فَأَمَّا مَنْ طَغَى) (وَآثَرَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا) (فَإِنَّ الْجَحِيمَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَى) النَّازِعَاتُ: 37–38–39،

humā jāmiʿāni li-l-sabʿati faqāla: ʾinnamā al-ḥayātu al-dunyā laʿibun walahwun, thumma radda al-ithnayni ʾilā waṣfin wāḥidin waʿabbara ʿanhu bimaʿnayayni faṣārati al-dunyā tarjiʿu ʾilā shayʾayni jāmiʿayni mukhtaṣarayni yaṣluḥu ʾan yakūna kullu wāḥidin minhumā huwa al-dunyā, fa-al-waṣfu al-wāḥidu alladhī radda al-ithnayni ʾilayhi alladhāni humā al-laʿibu wa-al-lahwu huwa al-hawā indarajati al-sabʿatu fīhi. faqāla ʿazza wajalla: (wanahā al-nafsa ʿani al-hawā faʾinna al-jannata hiya al-maʾwā) al-nāziʿātu: 40–41, faṣārati al-dunyā ṭāʿata al-nafsi li-l-hawā bidalīli qawlihi taʿālā: (faʾammā man ṭaghā) (waʾāthara al-ḥayāta al-dunyā) (faʾinna al-jaḥīma hiya al-maʾwā) al-nāziʿātu: 37–38–39,

which encompass the seven: “The life of this world is only play and diversion.” He then reduces the two to a single description and expresses it in two senses. The world thus comes down to two concise, comprehensive things, either of which may properly be called the world. The single description to which He reduces the two, play and diversion, is caprice, under which all seven fall. The Mighty and Majestic says, “And restrained the self from caprice: the Garden will be the refuge” (al-Nāziʿāt 79:40–41). The world is thus the self’s obedience to caprice, as shown by the words of the Most High, “As for whoever transgressed, and preferred the life of this world, the blazing Fire will be the refuge” (al-Nāziʿāt 79:37–39).

فَلَمَّا كَانَتِ الْجَنَّةُ ضِدَّ الْجَحِيمِ كَانَ الْهَوَى هُوَ الدُّنْيَا لِأَنَّ النَّهْيَ عَنْهُ صَدُّ الْإِيثَارِ لَهُ، فَمَنْ نَهَى نَفْسَهُ عَنِ الْهَوَى فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يُؤْثِرِ الدُّنْيَا وَإِذَا لَمْ يُؤْثِرِ الدُّنْيَا فَهَٰذَا هُوَ الزُّهْدُ، كَانَتْ لَهُ الْجَنَّةُ اَلَّتِي هِيَ ضِدُّ الْجَحِيمِ اَلَّتِي هِيَ [لِمَنْ] لَمْ يَنْهَ نَفْسَهُ عَنِ الْهَوَى بِإِيثَارِهِ الدُّنْيَا، فَصَارَتِ الدُّنْيَا هِيَ طَاعَةَ الْهَوَى وَإِيثَارَهُ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ الزُّهْدُ مُخَالَفَةَ الْهَوَى مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ،

falammā kānati al-jannatu ḍidda al-jaḥīmi kāna al-hawā huwa al-dunyā liʾanna al-nahya ʿanhu ṣaddu al-ʾīthāri lahu, faman nahā nafsahu ʿani al-hawā faʾinnahu lam yuʾthiri al-dunyā waʾidhā lam yuʾthiri al-dunyā fahādhā huwa al-zuhdu, kānat lahu al-jannatu allatī hiya ḍiddu al-jaḥīmi allatī hiya [liman] lam yanha nafsahu ʿani al-hawā biʾīthārihi al-dunyā, faṣārati al-dunyā hiya ṭāʿata al-hawā waʾīthārahu fī kulli shayʾin fayanbaghī ʾan yakūna al-zuhdu mukhālafata al-hawā min kulli shayʾin,

Since the Garden is the opposite of the blazing Fire, caprice is the world, because restraining it blocks the preference for it. Whoever restrains his self from caprice has not preferred the world; not preferring the world is renunciation. He receives the Garden, the opposite of the blazing Fire, which belongs to [one who] did not restrain himself from caprice because he preferred the world. The world is therefore obeying and preferring caprice in everything; renunciation must accordingly be opposing caprice in everything.

وَأَمَّا الْمَعْنَى الْآخَرُ اَلَّذِي عَبَّرَ بِهِ عَنْ هَٰذَا الْوَصْفِ اَلَّذِي هُوَ الْهَوَى فَجَعَلَهُ دُنْيَا أَيْضًا فَهُوَ حُبُّ الْبَقَاءِ لِمُتْعَةِ النَّفْسِ، اِسْتَنْبَطْنَا ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا لِمَ كَتَبْتَ عَلَيْنَا الْقِتَالَ لَوْلَا أَخَّرْتَنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ) النِّسَاءُ: 77، فَالْقِتَالُ هُوَ فِرَاقُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا لِأَنَّهُ الْمَشْيُ بِالسَّيْفِ إِلَى السَّيْفِ وَالْفَنَاءُ بَيْنَ السَّيْفَيْنِ فَقَالُوا: هَلَّا أَبْقَيْتَنَا إِلَى وَقْتٍ آخَرَ وَهُوَ أَجَلُنَا بِالْمَوْتِ لَا بِالْقَتْلِ وَهَٰذَا هُوَ حُبُّ الْبَقَاءِ فَفَسَّرَ حُبَّ الْبَقَاءِ بِأَنَّهُ هُوَ الدُّنْيَا، فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (قُلْ مَتَاعُ الدُّنْيَا قَلِيلٌ وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِمَنِ اِتَّقَى) النِّسَاءُ: 77.

waʾammā al-maʿnā al-ʾākharu alladhī ʿabbara bihi ʿan hādhā al-waṣfi alladhī huwa al-hawā fajaʿalahu dunyā ʾayḍan fahuwa ḥubbu al-baqāʾi limutʿati al-nafsi, istanbaṭnā dhālika min qawlihi taʿālā: (waqālū rabbanā lima katabta ʿalaynā al-qitāla lawlā ʾakhkhartanā ʾilā ʾajalin qarībin) al-nisāʾu: 77, fa-al-qitālu huwa firāqu al-ḥayāti al-dunyā liʾannahu al-mashyu bi-al-sayfi ʾilā al-sayfi wa-al-fanāʾu bayna al-sayfayni faqālū: hallā ʾabqaytanā ʾilā waqtin ʾākhara wahuwa ʾajalunā bi-al-mawti lā bi-al-qatli wahādhā huwa ḥubbu al-baqāʾi fafassara ḥubba al-baqāʾi biʾannahu huwa al-dunyā, faqāla taʿālā: (qul matāʿu al-dunyā qalīlun wa-al-ʾākhiratu khayrun limani ittaqā) al-nisāʾu: 77.

The other meaning by which He expresses this description, caprice, also making it worldly, is love of continued existence for the self’s enjoyment. We infer this from the words of the Most High, “They said, ‘Our Lord, why have You prescribed fighting for us? Why not defer us until a near term?’” (al-Nisāʾ 4:77). Fighting means parting from worldly life, since it is advancing with sword against sword and perishing between the two. They said, “Why not let us remain until another time, our appointed end by death rather than killing?” This is love of continued existence. He explains love of continued existence as the world itself, saying, exalted is He: “Say, ‘The enjoyment of this world is little, and the afterlife is better for whoever fears God’” (al-Nisāʾ 4:77).

فَاِنْكَشَفَ النَّاسُ وَاِفْتُضِحَ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَاِبْتُلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ عِنْدَ فَرْضِ الْقِتَالِ وَظَهَرَ الْمُحِبُّونَ اَلَّذِي يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِهِ صَفًّا كَأَنَّهُمْ بُنْيَانٌ مَرْصُوصٌ وَعِنْدَهَا رَبِحَ اَلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَأَمْوَالِهِمْ بَائِعُونَ وَخَسِرَ اَلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا بِالْآخِرَةِ مُشْتَرُونَ لَمَّا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (إِنَّ اللَّهَ اِشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ) التَّوْبَةُ: 111، فَلَمَّا اِشْتَرَاهَا بَاعُوهَا

fa-inkashafa al-nāsu wa-iftuḍiḥa al-munāfiqūna wa-ibtuliya al-muʾminūna ʿinda farḍi al-qitāli waẓahara al-muḥibbūna alladhī yuqātilūna fī sabīlihi ṣaffan kaʾannahum bunyānun marṣūṣun waʿindahā rabiḥa alladhīna hum liʾanfusihim waʾamwālihim bāʾiʿūna wakhasira alladhīna hum li-l-ḥayāti al-dunyā bi-al-ʾākhirati mushtarūna lammā qāla Allāhu taʿālā: (ʾinna Allāha ishtarā mina al-muʾminīna ʾanfusahum waʾamwālahum biʾanna lahumu al-jannata) al-tawbatu: 111, falammā ishtarāhā bāʿūhā

When fighting was prescribed, people’s true states were exposed, the hypocrites were disgraced, and the believers were tried. The lovers became apparent: they fight in His path in a rank as though they were a firmly joined structure. Then those who sold their lives and property profited, while those who bought worldly life at the price of the afterlife lost. God Most High said, “God has bought from the believers their lives and property in exchange for the Garden” (al-Tawba 9:111). When He bought them, they sold them.

وَقَالَ فِي الْمُشْتَرِينَ الْخَاسِرِينَ: (اِشْتَرَوُا الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا بِالْآخِرَةِ) الْبَقَرَةُ: 86، يَعْنِي رَغِبُوا فِي الْبَقَاءِ الْأَدْنَى لَمَّا اِشْتَرَوْهُ بِبَيْعِ الْبَقَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ إِذْ بَاعُوهُ، فَمَنِ اِشْتَرَى ثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً وَأَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً بِأَلْفِ أَلْفٍ وَبِأَبَدِ الْأَبَدِ فَمَا رَبِحَتْ تِجَارَتُهُ وَلَا هُدِيَ سَبِيلَهُ؛

waqāla fī al-mushtarīna al-khāsirīna: (ishtarawu al-ḥayāta al-dunyā bi-al-ʾākhirati) al-baqaratu: 86, yaʿnī raghibū fī al-baqāʾi al-ʾadnā lammā ishtarawhu bibayʿi al-baqāʾi al-ʾākhirati ʾidh bāʿūhu, famani ishtarā thalāthīna sanatan waʾarbaʿīna sanatan biʾalfi ʾalfin wabiʾabadi al-ʾabadi famā rabiḥat tijāratuhu walā hudiya sabīlahu;

Of the losing buyers He said, “They bought the life of this world at the price of the afterlife” (al-Baqara 2:86). That is, they desired lower continuance when they bought it by selling continuance in the afterlife, which they gave up. Whoever purchases thirty or forty years for a million years and endless eternity has made no profit in his trade and has not been guided on his way.

فَهَٰذِهِ تِجَارَةُ مَنْ رَغِبَ فِي حَيَاةِ دُنْيَاهُ فَاِشْتَرَاهَا بِبَقَاءِ الْأَبَدِ فَقَدْ صَارَ بَائِعًا لِلْحَيَاةِ الْعَالِيَةِ بِمَا اِسْتَبْدَلَ بِهِ مِنِ اِشْتِرَاءِ ضِدِّهَا فَهَٰذَا تَدَبُّرُ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (اِشْتَرَوُا الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا) الْبَقَرَةُ: 86، أَيْ بَاعُوا الْحَيَاةَ الْعُلْيَا، وَذَٰلِكَ الْأَوَّلُ تِجَارَةُ مَنْ بَاعَ حَيَاةَ نَفْسِهِ وَفَرَّقَ مَجْمُوعَ مَالِهِ فَاِشْتَرَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنْهُ وَعَوَّضَهُ دَارَهُ وَأَسْكَنَهُ عِنْدَهُ جِوَارَهُ فَقَدْ رَبِحَتْ تِجَارَتُهُ وَاِهْتَدَى سَبِيلَهُ؛ لَمَّا بَاعَ حَيَاةَ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً وَثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً بِحَيَاةِ أَبَدِ الْأَبَدِ؛ فَهَٰذَا رِبْحُ تُجَّارِ الْآخِرَةِ الزَّاهِدِينَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَذَٰلِكَ خُسْرُ تُجَّارِ الدُّنْيَا الرَّاغِبِينَ فِي الْهَوَى، فَشَتَّانَ بَيْنَ التِّجَارَتَيْنِ.

fahādhihi tijāratu man raghiba fī ḥayāti dunyāhu fa-ishtarāhā bibaqāʾi al-ʾabadi faqad ṣāra bāʾiʿan li-l-ḥayāti al-ʿāliyati bimā istabdala bihi mini ishtirāʾi ḍiddihā fahādhā tadabburu qawlihi taʿālā: (ishtarawu al-ḥayāta al-dunyā) al-baqaratu: 86, ʾay bāʿū al-ḥayāta al-ʿulyā, wadhālika al-ʾawwalu tijāratu man bāʿa ḥayāta nafsihi wafarraqa majmūʿa mālihi fa-ishtarāhu Allāhu taʿālā minhu waʿawwaḍahu dārahu waʾaskanahu ʿindahu jiwārahu faqad rabiḥat tijāratuhu wa-ihtadā sabīlahu; lammā bāʿa ḥayāta ʿishrīna sanatan wathalāthīna sanatan biḥayāti ʾabadi al-ʾabadi; fahādhā ribḥu tujjāri al-ʾākhirati al-zāhidīna fī al-dunyā wadhālika khusru tujjāri al-dunyā al-rāghibīna fī al-hawā, fashattāna bayna al-tijāratayni.

Such is the commerce of one who desires his worldly life and buys it for everlasting continuance. He becomes a seller of the higher life through the exchange by which he purchases its opposite. This is the reflective understanding of the words of the Most High, “They bought the life of this world” (al-Baqara 2:86): they sold the higher life. The first transaction, however, is that of someone who sells his own life and disperses his accumulated wealth. God Most High buys it from him, gives him His abode in exchange, and settles him beside Him in His proximity. His trade has profited and he has found his way, for he has sold twenty or thirty years of life for a life of endless eternity. This is the gain of those who trade for the afterlife and renounce this world; the other is the loss of worldly traders who desire caprice. How different the two transactions are!

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤١١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 411

Volume One, page 411

فَمَا أَعْظَمَ حَسْرَةَ الْفَوْتِ عَلَى مَنْ خَسِرَ مَا رَبِحَهُ الزَّاهِدُونَ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ، وَقَدْ كَانَ النَّاسُ مَسْتُورِينَ بِإِظْهَارِ الزُّهْدِ فِي الْبَقَاءِ وَمَظْنُونًا بِهِمْ حُبُّ الْبَاقِي الْأَعْلَى حَتَّى نَزَلَتْ: (أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى اَلَّذِينَ قِيلَ لَهُمْ كُفُّوا أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقِتَالُ إِذَا فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمْ يَخْشَوْنَ النَّاسَ كَخَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ أَوْ أَشَدَّ خَشْيَةً) النِّسَاءُ: 77، الْآيَةَ، وَحَتَّى نَزَلَ: (يَا أَيُّهَا اَلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ) الصَّفُّ: 2، كَانُوا قَالُوا: إِنَّا نُحِبُّ رَبَّنَا وَلَوْ عَلِمْنَا فِي أَيِّ شَيْءٍ مَحَبَّتُهُ لَفَعَلْنَاهُ،

famā ʾaʿẓama ḥasrata al-fawti ʿalā man khasira mā rabiḥahu al-zāhidūna baʿda al-mawti, waqad kāna al-nāsu mastūrīna biʾiẓhāri al-zuhdi fī al-baqāʾi wamaẓnūnan bihim ḥubbu al-bāqī al-ʾaʿlā ḥattā nazalat: (ʾalam tara ʾilā alladhīna qīla lahum kuffū ʾaydiyakum waʾaqīmū al-ṣalāta waʾātū al-zakāta falammā kutiba ʿalayhimu al-qitālu ʾidhā farīqun minhum yakhshawna al-nāsa kakhashyati Allāhi ʾaw ʾashadda khashyatan) al-nisāʾu: 77, al-ʾāyata, waḥattā nazala: (yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū lima taqūlūna mā lā tafʿalūna) al-ṣaffu: 2, kānū qālū: ʾinnā nuḥibbu rabbanā walaw ʿalimnā fī ʾayyi shayʾin maḥabbatuhu lafaʿalnāhu,

How immense is the regret of loss for whoever, after death, has lost what renouncers have gained! People’s real condition had been concealed by their display of renunciation of continued existence; they were presumed to love the Everlasting, Most High. Then this verse was revealed: “Have you not seen those who were told, ‘Restrain your hands, establish prayer, and give the alms’? When fighting was prescribed for them, a group of them feared people as they feared God, or more intensely” (al-Nisāʾ 4:77), and the rest of the verse. And this was revealed: “Believers, why do you say what you do not do?” (al-Ṣaff 61:2). They had said, “We love our Lord; if we knew what He loved, we would do it.”

فَلِذَٰلِكَ قَالَ تَعَالَى: (كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ) (إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ اَلَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِهِ صَفًّا) الصَّفُّ: 3–4، وَلِذَٰلِكَ قَالَ اِبْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: مَا كُنْتُ أَحْسَبُ أَنَّ فِينَا أَحَدًا يُرِيدُ الدُّنْيَا حَتَّى نَزَلَتْ (مِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرِيدُ الدُّنْيَا وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرِيدُ الْآخِرَةَ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 152،

falidhālika qāla taʿālā: (kabura maqtan ʿinda Allāhi ʾan taqūlū mā lā tafʿalūna) (ʾinna Allāha yuḥibbu alladhīna yuqātilūna fī sabīlihi ṣaffan) al-ṣaffu: 3–4, walidhālika qāla ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: mā kuntu ʾaḥsabu ʾanna fīnā ʾaḥadan yurīdu al-dunyā ḥattā nazalat (minkum man yurīdu al-dunyā waminkum man yurīdu al-ʾākhirata) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 152,

Hence God Most High said, “It is greatly hateful to God that you say what you do not do. God loves those who fight in His path in a rank” (al-Ṣaff 61:3–4). Hence too Ibn Masʿūd, God be pleased with him, said, “I did not imagine that any of us wanted the world until ‘Some of you want the world, and some of you want the afterlife’ was revealed” (Āl ʿImrān 3:152).

وَكَذَٰلِكَ قَالَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: حِينَ نَزَلَتْ (وَلَوْ أَنَّا كَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَنِ اُقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ أَوِ اُخْرُجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ مَا فَعَلُوهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ مِنْهُمْ) النِّسَاءُ: 66، قَالَ اِبْنُ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ لِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: قِيلَ لِي: أَنْتَ مِنْهُمْ؛ أَيْ مِنَ الْقَلِيلِ اَلَّذِي كَانَ يَفْعَلُ ذَٰلِكَ،

wakadhālika qālahu rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ḥīna nazalat (walaw ʾannā katabnā ʿalayhim ʾani uqtulū ʾanfusakum ʾawi ukhrujū min diyārikum mā faʿalūhu ʾillā qalīlun minhum) al-nisāʾu: 66, qāla ibnu masʿūdin qāla lī rasūlu Allāhi ʿalayhi al-salāmu: qīla lī: ʾanta minhum; ʾay mina al-qalīli alladhī kāna yafʿalu dhālika,

The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, likewise spoke when this was revealed: “Had We prescribed for them, ‘Kill yourselves or leave your homes,’ only a few of them would have done it” (al-Nisāʾ 4:66). Ibn Masʿūd said, “The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, said to me, ‘I was told: You are one of them’,” meaning one of the few who would have done it.

فَإِذَا كَانَ حُبُّ الْبَقَاءِ هُوَ الدُّنْيَا فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ حُبُّ بَقَاءِ الْبَاقِي هُوَ الزُّهْدُ فَصَارَ الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا هُوَ الزُّهْدَ فِي الْبَقَاءِ، فَمَنْ زَهِدَ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الْفَانِيَةِ وَفِي مَالِهِ الْمَجْمُوعِ بِالْجِهَادِ لِلنَّفْسِ وَالْإِنْفَاقِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ زَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَمَنْ زَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَحَبَّهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى كَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَلِذَٰلِكَ صَارَ الْجِهَادُ أَفْضَلَ الْأَعْمَالِ لِأَنَّهُ حَقِيقَةُ الزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُحِبُّ مَنْ زَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا،

faʾidhā kāna ḥubbu al-baqāʾi huwa al-dunyā fayanbaghī ʾan yakūna ḥubbu baqāʾi al-bāqī huwa al-zuhdu faṣāra al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā huwa al-zuhda fī al-baqāʾi, faman zahida fī al-ḥayāti al-fāniyati wafī mālihi al-majmūʿi bi-al-jihādi li-l-nafsi wa-al-ʾinfāqi fī sabīli Allāhi faqad zahida fī al-dunyā, waman zahida fī al-dunyā ʾaḥabbahu Allāhu taʿālā kamā qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, walidhālika ṣāra al-jihādu ʾafḍala al-ʾaʿmāli liʾannahu ḥaqīqatu al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā waliʾanna Allāha taʿālā yuḥibbu man zahida fī al-dunyā,

If love of continued existence is the world, love of the Everlasting’s continuance must be renunciation. Renunciation of the world thus becomes renunciation of continued existence. Whoever renounces perishing life and accumulated wealth by striving with his self and spending in God’s path has renounced the world. Whoever renounces the world, God Most High loves him, as the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said. Striving therefore became the most excellent deed, because it is the reality of worldly renunciation and because God Most High loves those who renounce the world.

ثُمَّ كَانَ مُخَالَفَةُ الْهَوَى أَفْضَلَ الْجِهَادِ لِأَنَّهُ هُوَ حَقِيقَةُ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَقَدْ عَبَّرَ بِهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا إِذْ قَالَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ الْأَوَّلِ: اِزْهَدْ فِي الدُّنْيَا يُحِبَّكَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، ثُمَّ قَالَ فِي الْخَبَرِ الثَّانِي بِمَعْنَاهُ: اِجْتَنِبِ الْمَحَارِمَ يُحِبَّكَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، وَاِجْتِنَابُهُمْ زُهْدٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا، فَالزَّاهِدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَبِيبُ رَبِّهِ تَعَالَى، وَالرَّاغِبُ فِي حُبِّ الْبَقَاءِ لِنَفْسِهِ مُنَافِقٌ فِي دِينِ رَبِّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمِنْهُ الْخَبَرُ اَلَّذِي جَاءَ: مَنْ مَاتَ وَلَمْ يَغْزُ وَلَمْ يُحَدِّثْ نَفْسَهُ بِغَزْوٍ مَاتَ عَلَى شُعْبَةٍ مِنْ نِفَاقٍ.

thumma kāna mukhālafatu al-hawā ʾafḍala al-jihādi liʾannahu huwa ḥaqīqatu al-raghbati fī al-dunyā, waqad ʿabbara bihi rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿani al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā ʾidh qāla fī al-ḥadīthi al-ʾawwali: izhad fī al-dunyā yuḥibbaka Allāhu taʿālā, thumma qāla fī al-khabari al-thānī bimaʿnāhu: ijtanibi al-maḥārima yuḥibbaka Allāhu taʿālā, wa-ijtinābuhum zuhdun fī al-dunyā, fa-al-zāhidu fī al-dunyā ḥabību rabbihi taʿālā, wa-al-rāghibu fī ḥubbi al-baqāʾi linafsihi munāfiqun fī dīni rabbihi taʿālā, waminhu al-khabaru alladhī jāʾa: man māta walam yaghzu walam yuḥaddith nafsahu bighazwin māta ʿalā shuʿbatin min nifāqin.

Opposing caprice is then the best striving, since caprice is the very reality of desire for the world. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, expressed renunciation through it. In the first report he said, “Renounce the world, and God Most High will love you”; in the second, with the same meaning, “Avoid forbidden things, and God Most High will love you.” Avoiding them is renouncing the world. The renouncer is the beloved of his Lord Most High; someone who desires continued existence for his own sake is a hypocrite in the religion of his Lord Most High. Related to this is the report: “Whoever dies without having fought or contemplated fighting dies with a branch of hypocrisy.”

وَبِهِ كَشَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْكَاذِبِينَ وَوَصَفَهُمْ بِمَرَضِ الْقُلُوبِ. فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: (فَإِذَا أُنْزِلَتْ سُورَةٌ مُحْكَمَةٌ وَذُكِرَ فِيهَا الْقِتَالُ رَأَيْتَ اَلَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ) يَعْنِي نِفَاقًا (يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ نَظَرَ الْمَغْشِيِّ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ، فَأَوْلَى لَهُمْ) مُحَمَّدٌ: 20، تَهَدُّدٌ وَوَعِيدٌ أَيْ وَلَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَقَرُبَ مِنْهُمْ ثُمَّ قَالَ: (طَاعَةٌ وَقَوْلٌ مَعْرُوفٌ فَإِذَا عَزَمَ الْأَمْرُ) مُحَمَّدٌ: 21، وَحَقَّتِ الْحَقَائِقُ كَذَبُوا وَنَكَثُوا، فَلَوْ صَدَقُوا اللَّهَ أَيْ فِي الْوَفَاءِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ، وَهَٰذَا مِنَ الْكَلَامِ الْمُضْمَرِ، فَلِذَٰلِكَ أَشْكَلَ،

wabihi kashafa Allāhu taʿālā al-kādhibīna wawaṣafahum bimaraḍi al-qulūbi. faqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: (faʾidhā ʾunzilat sūratun muḥkamatun wadhukira fīhā al-qitālu raʾayta alladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun) yaʿnī nifāqan (yanẓurūna ʾilayka naẓara al-maghshiyyi ʿalayhi mina al-mawti, faʾawlā lahum) muḥammadun: 20, tahaddudun wawaʿīdun ʾay walahumu al-ʿadhābu waqaruba minhum thumma qāla: (ṭāʿatun waqawlun maʿrūfun faʾidhā ʿazama al-ʾamru) muḥammadun: 21, waḥaqqati al-ḥaqāʾiqu kadhabū wanakathū, falaw ṣadaqū Allāha ʾay fī al-wafāʾi lakāna khayran lahum, wahādhā mina al-kalāmi al-muḍmari, falidhālika ʾashkala,

Through this God Most High exposed the liars and described them as having diseased hearts. He, glorified and exalted, said, “When a firmly determined sūra is sent down and fighting is mentioned in it, you see those whose hearts are diseased,” meaning hypocritical, “looking at you with the look of someone fainting before death. So woe to them!” (Muḥammad 47:20). This is a threat and warning: punishment is theirs and has drawn near them. He then says, “Obedience and honorable speech. When the matter is resolved” (Muḥammad 47:21), and realities become actual, they lie and break their word. “Had they been true to God,” that is, in fulfilling their pledge, “it would have been better for them.” This is elliptical speech, which accounts for its difficulty.

وَالْبَقَاءُ وَالْحَيَاةُ اِسْمَانِ لِمَعْنًى، وَلِذَٰلِكَ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الدُّنْيَا وَصْفًا لِلْحَيَاةِ فَتَكُونُ الدُّنْيَا هِيَ الْحَيَاةَ وَنَعْتُهَا بِالدُّنْيَا نَعْتٌ مُؤَنَّثٌ لِدُخُولِ الْهَاءِ فِي الْإِسْمِ اَلَّتِي هِيَ إِحْدَى عَلَامَاتِ التَّأْنِيثِ، فَصَارَتِ الْحَيَاةُ هِيَ الدُّنْيَا وَصَارَ قَوْلُهُ الدُّنْيَا نَعْتَهَا بِالدَّنَاءَةِ، وَلَوْ كَانَ الْإِسْمُ مُذَكَّرًا مِثْلَ الْبَقَاءِ نَعَتَهُ بِمُذَكَّرٍ فَقَالَ: الْأَدْنَى، وَقَدْ

wa-al-baqāʾu wa-al-ḥayātu ismāni limaʿnan, walidhālika jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā al-dunyā waṣfan li-l-ḥayāti fatakūnu al-dunyā hiya al-ḥayāta wanaʿtuhā bi-al-dunyā naʿtun muʾannathun lidukhūli al-hāʾi fī al-ʾismi allatī hiya ʾiḥdā ʿalāmāti al-taʾnīthi, faṣārati al-ḥayātu hiya al-dunyā waṣāra qawluhu al-dunyā naʿtahā bi-al-danāʾati, walaw kāna al-ʾismu mudhakkaran mithla al-baqāʾi naʿatahu bimudhakkarin faqāla: al-ʾadnā, waqad

“Continuance” and “life” name one meaning. God Most High therefore made “lower” a description of life, so the lower world is life. Its description as dunyā is feminine because the noun contains the hāʾ, one of the signs of the feminine. Life thus becomes the lower world, and His word dunyā describes its baseness. Had the noun been masculine, like baqāʾ, “continuance,” He would have used a masculine adjective, saying adnā, “lower.” He has

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤١٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 412

Volume One, page 412

قَالَ فِي مِثْلِهِ: (يَأْخُذُونَ عَرَضَ هَٰذَا الْأَدْنَى) الْأَعْرَافُ: 169، فَالْأَدْنَى تَذْكِيرُ الدُّنْيَا، وَالدُّنْيَا تَأْنِيثُ أَدْنَى كَالْأَعْيَنِ وَالْأَقْنَى وَالْأَشْعَثِ؛ تَذْكِيرِ عَيْنَاءَ وَقَنْوَاءَ وَشَعْثَاءَ، وَالْعَرَضُ اِسْمٌ لِمَا يَعْرِضُ وَيَقِلُّ بَقَاؤُهُ، فَمَنْ أَحَبَّ ذَٰلِكَ فَقَدْ أَحَبَّ الدُّنْيَا بِحُبِّهِ الْأَدْنَى، وَهَٰذَا يَرْجِعُ إِلَى حُبِّ حَيَاةِ الْأَصْلِ لِأَنَّهُ إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الْعَرَضَ الْأَدْنَى لِأَجْلِ الْحَيَاةِ، فَصَارَ حُبُّ الْبَقَاءِ اَلَّذِي لِأَجْلِهِ يُرِيدُ عَرَضَ الْأَدْنَى هُوَ الدُّنْيَا وَصَارَ حُبُّ الْعَرَضِ لِأَجْلِ الْبَقَاءِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا،

qāla fī mithlihi: (yaʾkhudhūna ʿaraḍa hādhā al-ʾadnā) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 169, fa-al-ʾadnā tadhkīru al-dunyā, wa-al-dunyā taʾnīthu ʾadnā ka-al-ʾaʿyani wa-al-ʾaqnā wa-al-ʾashʿathi; tadhkīri ʿaynāʾa waqanwāʾa washaʿthāʾa, wa-al-ʿaraḍu ismun limā yaʿriḍu wayaqillu baqāʾuhu, faman ʾaḥabba dhālika faqad ʾaḥabba al-dunyā biḥubbihi al-ʾadnā, wahādhā yarjiʿu ʾilā ḥubbi ḥayāti al-ʾaṣli liʾannahu ʾinnamā yurīdu al-ʿaraḍa al-ʾadnā liʾajli al-ḥayāti, faṣāra ḥubbu al-baqāʾi alladhī liʾajlihi yurīdu ʿaraḍa al-ʾadnā huwa al-dunyā waṣāra ḥubbu al-ʿaraḍi liʾajli al-baqāʾi mina al-dunyā,

said in a comparable case, “They take the passing goods of this lower [life]” (al-Aʿrāf 7:169). Adnā is the masculine of dunyā, and dunyā the feminine of adnā, just as aʿyan, aqnā, and ashʿath are masculine forms of ʿaynāʾ, qanwāʾ, and shaʿthāʾ: large-eyed, aquiline-nosed, and disheveled. ʿAraḍ names what comes incidentally and lasts briefly. Whoever loves it loves the world by loving what is lower. This returns to love of life at its root, since one wants lower, passing goods only for life’s sake. Love of continued existence, for which one desires these lower goods, is the world; love of passing goods for continued existence belongs to the world.

فَجَاءَ مِنْ هَٰذَا اَلَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ أَنَّ حَقِيقَةَ الدُّنْيَا حُبُّ الْبَقَاءِ لِطَاعَةِ الْهَوَى وَمُوَافَقَةُ الْهَوَى فِي حُبِّ الْعَرَضِ لِأَجْلِ الْبَقَاءِ، فَدَخَلَ أَحَدُ هَٰذَيْنِ فِي الْآخَرِ لِأَنَّ حُبَّ الْبَقَاءِ لِأَجْلِ الْمُتْعَةِ هُوَ مِنَ الْهَوَى اَلَّذِي هُوَ صِفَةُ النَّفْسِ الْأَمَّارَةِ بِالسُّوءِ وَطَاعَةُ الْهَوَى اَلَّذِي هُوَ عَيْشُ النَّفْسِ إِنَّمَا يَكُونُ لِحُبِّ الْبَقَاءِ، لِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَوْ أَيْقَنَ بِالْمَوْتِ سَاعَتَهُ لَآثَرَ الْحَقَّ عَلَى الْهَوَى وَلَوْ أَيِسَ مِنَ الْبَقَاءِ لَمَا رَغِبَ فِي الْعَرَضِ الْأَدْنَى، فَصَارَ حُبُّ الْبَقَاءِ مِنَ الْهَوَى وَصَارَ إِيثَارُ الْهَوَى إِنَّمَا هُوَ لِحُبِّ الْبَقَاءِ، فَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ حَقِيقَةَ الدُّنْيَا،

fajāʾa min hādhā alladhī dhakarnāhu ʾanna ḥaqīqata al-dunyā ḥubbu al-baqāʾi liṭāʿati al-hawā wamuwāfaqatu al-hawā fī ḥubbi al-ʿaraḍi liʾajli al-baqāʾi, fadakhala ʾaḥadu hādhayni fī al-ʾākhari liʾanna ḥubba al-baqāʾi liʾajli al-mutʿati huwa mina al-hawā alladhī huwa ṣifatu al-nafsi al-ʾammārati bi-al-sūʾi waṭāʿatu al-hawā alladhī huwa ʿayshu al-nafsi ʾinnamā yakūnu liḥubbi al-baqāʾi, liʾanna al-ʿabda law ʾayqana bi-al-mawti sāʿatahu laʾāthara al-ḥaqqa ʿalā al-hawā walaw ʾayisa mina al-baqāʾi lamā raghiba fī al-ʿaraḍi al-ʾadnā, faṣāra ḥubbu al-baqāʾi mina al-hawā waṣāra ʾīthāru al-hawā ʾinnamā huwa liḥubbi al-baqāʾi, fakāna dhālika ḥaqīqata al-dunyā,

What we have said yields that the world’s reality is loving continuance in order to obey caprice, and complying with caprice by loving passing goods in order to continue. Each of these enters into the other: loving continuance for enjoyment belongs to caprice, the characteristic of the self that commands evil; obedience to caprice, which is the self’s livelihood, occurs only because of love of continuance. Were a servant certain of dying that very hour, he would prefer truth to caprice; had he no hope of continuance, he would not desire lower goods. Love of continuance thus belongs to caprice, and preferring caprice is for love of continuance. This is the reality of the world.

وَكَانَ أَقْصَرُ النَّاسِ أَمَلًا لِلْبَقَاءِ أَزْهَدَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَتَّى لَا يَدَّخِرَ شَيْئًا لِغَدٍ لِأَنَّهُ عِنْدَهُ غَيْرُ بَاقٍ إِلَى غَدٍ، وَصَارَ أَرْغَبُ النَّاسِ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَطْوَلَهُمْ أَمَلًا لِأَنَّ رَغْبَتَهُ اِشْتَدَّتْ فِيهَا وَحِرْصَهُ كَثُرَ عَلَيْهَا لِاِمْتِدَادِ أَمَلِهِ لِلْحَيَاةِ فِيهَا إِذْ وَلَوْ قَصُرَ أَمَلُهُ لِغَدٍ لَاِخْتَارَ الْفَقْرَ حِينَئِذٍ وَاِخْتِيَارُ الْفَقْرِ هُوَ الزُّهْدُ.

wakāna ʾaqṣaru al-nāsi ʾamalan li-l-baqāʾi ʾazhadahum fī al-dunyā ḥattā lā yaddakhira shayʾan lighadin liʾannahu ʿindahu ghayru bāqin ʾilā ghadin, waṣāra ʾarghabu al-nāsi fī al-dunyā ʾaṭwalahum ʾamalan liʾanna raghbatahu ishtaddat fīhā waḥirṣahu kathura ʿalayhā liimtidādi ʾamalihi li-l-ḥayāti fīhā ʾidh walaw qaṣura ʾamaluhu lighadin la-ikhtāra al-faqra ḥīnaʾidhin wa-ikhtiyāru al-faqri huwa al-zuhdu.

The person whose hopes for continuance extend the shortest distance is the greatest renouncer: he stores nothing for tomorrow, since he considers himself unlikely to remain until tomorrow. The person most desirous of the world has the longest hopes, for his desire and greed for it intensify as his hope of living in it stretches onward. If his hope did not reach tomorrow, he would then choose poverty; choosing poverty is renunciation.

بَيَانٌ آخَرُ [فِي] الزُّهْدِ

bayānun ʾākharu [fī] al-zuhdi

Another explanation of renunciation

أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ؟ قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: (وَشَرَوْهُ بِثَمَنٍ بَخْسٍ دَرَاهِمَ مَعْدُودَةٍ وَكَانُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ) يُوسُفُ: 20، فَهَٰذِهِ تَسْمِيَةٌ لَهُمْ بِالزُّهْدِ لِتَحَقُّقِهِمْ بِالْمَعْنَى نَحْتَاجُ أَنْ نَكْشِفَهُ لِيَكُونَ مَنْ يَتَحَقَّقُ بِمَعْنَى ذَٰلِكَ زَاهِدًا، قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: وَشَرَوْهُ بَاعُوهُ، الْعَرَبُ تَقُولُ: شَرَيْتُ بِمَعْنَى بِعْتُ لِأَنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ: اِبْتَعْتُ بِمَعْنَى اِشْتَرَيْتُ، فَلَمَّا بَاعُوهُ وَخَرَجَ مِنْ أَيْدِيهِمْ صَارُوا زَاهِدِينَ، كَذَٰلِكَ الْعَبْدُ إِذَا بَاعَ نَفْسَهُ وَمَالَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَخَرَجَ مِنْ هَوَاهُ إِلَى سَبِيلِ مَوْلَاهُ فَهُوَ مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ،

ʾayyu shayʾin huwa? qāla Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā: (washarawhu bithamanin bakhsin darāhima maʿdūdatin wakānū fīhi mina al-zāhidīna) yūsufu: 20, fahādhihi tasmiyatun lahum bi-al-zuhdi litaḥaqquqihim bi-al-maʿnā naḥtāju ʾan nakshifahu liyakūna man yataḥaqqaqu bimaʿnā dhālika zāhidan, qawluhu taʿālā: washarawhu bāʿūhu, al-ʿarabu taqūlu: sharaytu bimaʿnā biʿtu liʾannahum yaqūlūna: ibtaʿtu bimaʿnā ishtaraytu, falammā bāʿūhu wakharaja min ʾaydīhim ṣārū zāhidīna, kadhālika al-ʿabdu ʾidhā bāʿa nafsahu wamālahu mina Allāhi taʿālā wakharaja min hawāhu ʾilā sabīli mawlāhu fahuwa mina al-zāhidīna,

What is it? God, glorified and exalted, says, “They sold him for a paltry price, a few counted dirhams, and they were among those who held him of little worth” (Yūsuf 12:20). He calls them renouncers because they realized a meaning that we must uncover, so that anyone realizing it may be a renouncer. The word of the Most High, sharawhu, means “they sold him.” The Arabs say sharaytu meaning “I sold,” as they say ibtaʿtu meaning “I bought.” Once they had sold him and he had left their hands, they became renouncers. Likewise, when a servant sells his self and wealth to God Most High and leaves his caprice for his Master’s path, he is one of the renouncers.

وَكَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ الْمَوْلَى عَزَّ وَعَلَا: (إِنَّ اللَّهَ اِشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ) التَّوْبَةُ: 111، كَمَا قَالَ عَزَّ مِنْ قَائِلٍ: (وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَى) (فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَى) النَّازِعَاتُ: 40–41، فَإِذَا كَانَ الْعِوَضُ وَاحِدًا وَهُوَ الْجَنَّةُ ذُكِرَ فِي الْمَعْنَيَيْنِ كَانَ بَيْعُ النَّفْسِ وَالْمَالِ وَإِخْرَاجُهُمَا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى بِمَعْنَى النَّهْيِ عَنِ الْهَوَى فِيهِمَا اَلَّذِي هُوَ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَهُوَ اِقْتِنَاؤُهُ النَّفْسَ وَحَبْسُ النَّفْسِ عَلَيْهِ أَعْنِي الْمَالَ،

wakadhālika qāla al-mawlā ʿazza waʿalā: (ʾinna Allāha ishtarā mina al-muʾminīna ʾanfusahum waʾamwālahum biʾanna lahumu al-jannata) al-tawbatu: 111, kamā qāla ʿazza min qāʾilin: (wanahā al-nafsa ʿani al-hawā) (faʾinna al-jannata hiya al-maʾwā) al-nāziʿātu: 40–41, faʾidhā kāna al-ʿiwaḍu wāḥidan wahuwa al-jannatu dhukira fī al-maʿnayayni kāna bayʿu al-nafsi wa-al-māli waʾikhrājuhumā li-llāhi taʿālā bimaʿnā al-nahyi ʿani al-hawā fīhimā alladhī huwa al-ḥayātu al-dunyā wahuwa iqtināʾuhu al-nafsa waḥabsu al-nafsi ʿalayhi ʾaʿnī al-māla,

The Master, mighty and exalted, similarly says, “God has bought from the believers their lives and property in exchange for the Garden” (al-Tawba 9:111), just as He says, mighty is He who speaks, “And restrained the self from caprice: the Garden will be the refuge” (al-Nāziʿāt 79:40–41). Since the compensation mentioned in both cases is the same, the Garden, selling one’s self and wealth and relinquishing both for God Most High means restraining caprice concerning them. That caprice is worldly life: it takes possession of the self and confines the self to it, by which I mean wealth.

فَاِسْتِبْدَالُ ذَٰلِكَ بِضِدِّهِ مِنْ إِخْرَاجِ الْهَوَى مِنَ النَّفْسِ وَإِدْخَالِ الْفَقْرِ عَلَى الْمَالِ هُوَ الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَلَيْسَ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ أَمْرِ النَّفْسِ الْأَمَّارَةِ بِالسُّوءِ لِأَنَّ هَٰذَا نِهَايَةُ الْخَيْرِ فَصَارَ نَهْيًا لَهَا مِنَ الْهَوَى اَلَّذِي هُوَ اِقْتِنَاءُ الْمَالِ لِلْجَمْعِ وَالْمَنْعِ، وَهَٰذَا هُوَ الدُّنْيَا بِوَصْفِ النَّفْسِ الْأَمَّارَةِ بِالسُّوءِ لِأَنَّ هَٰذَا حِينَئِذٍ سُوءٌ كُلُّهُ،

fa-istibdālu dhālika biḍiddihi min ʾikhrāji al-hawā mina al-nafsi waʾidkhāli al-faqri ʿalā al-māli huwa al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā, walaysa dhālika min ʾamri al-nafsi al-ʾammārati bi-al-sūʾi liʾanna hādhā nihāyatu al-khayri faṣāra nahyan lahā mina al-hawā alladhī huwa iqtināʾu al-māli li-l-jamʿi wa-al-manʿi, wahādhā huwa al-dunyā biwaṣfi al-nafsi al-ʾammārati bi-al-sūʾi liʾanna hādhā ḥīnaʾidhin sūʾun kulluhu,

Replacing this with its opposite, expelling caprice from the self and bringing poverty upon wealth, is renouncing the world. This does not arise from the command of the self that commands evil, for it is the utmost good. It restrains the self from caprice, which is acquiring wealth in order to amass and withhold it. This is the world as characterized by the evil-commanding self, for at that point it is wholly evil.

فَمَنْ كَانَ بِهَٰذَا الْوَصْفِ فَنَفْسُهُ غَيْرُ مَرْحُومَةٍ لِأَمْرِهَا بِالسُّوءِ، وَإِذَا لَمْ تَكُنْ مَرْحُومَةً لَمْ يَكُنْ صَاحِبُهَا بَائِعَهَا وَإِذَا لَمْ يَبِعْهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ مُشْتَرَاةً فَلَا يَكُونُ صَاحِبُ هَٰذِهِ النَّفْسِ إِلَّا جَامِعًا لِلْمَالِ مَانِعًا لَهُ رَاغِبًا فِي الدُّنْيَا مُحِبًّا لَهَا وَلَيْسَ هَٰذَا مِنْ صِفَةِ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ.

faman kāna bihādhā al-waṣfi fanafsuhu ghayru marḥūmatin liʾamrihā bi-al-sūʾi, waʾidhā lam takun marḥūmatan lam yakun ṣāḥibuhā bāʾiʿahā waʾidhā lam yabiʿhā lam takun mushtarātan falā yakūnu ṣāḥibu hādhihi al-nafsi ʾillā jāmiʿan li-l-māli māniʿan lahu rāghiban fī al-dunyā muḥibban lahā walaysa hādhā min ṣifati al-muʾmini wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu.

Anyone characterized thus has a self that receives no mercy because it commands evil. If it receives no mercy, its owner has not sold it; if he has not sold it, it has not been purchased. The owner of such a self can only be someone who gathers wealth, withholds it, desires the world, and loves it. This is not a believer’s characteristic. God knows best.

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤١٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 413

Volume One, page 413

وَصْفٌ آخَرُ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ وَالتَّفْصِيلِ

waṣfun ʾākharu mina al-bayāni wa-al-tafṣīli

A further explanatory account in detail

لَمَّا حَقَّقَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الزُّهْدَ بِغِنَى النَّفْسِ وَإِخْرَاجِ الْمَالِ فِي ذِكْرِ الْمَبِيعِ وَالْمُشْتَرَى فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ) التَّوْبَةُ: 111، وَكَانَ الزُّهْدُ هُوَ تَرْكَ طَاعَةِ الْهَوَى وَبَيْعَ النَّفْسِ بِنَهْيِهَا عَنْهُ مِنَ الْمَوْلَى، وَكَانَ الْعِوَضُ مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ الْجَنَّةَ، كَانَ الزَّاهِدُ هُوَ الْخَائِفَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ الْبَائِعَ نَفْسَهُ طَوْعًا قَبْلَ أَنْ يُخْرِجَ نَفْسَهُ إِلَيْهِ كَرْهًا، وَكَانَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى هُوَ الْمَحْبُوبَ لَهُ الْقَرِيبَ مِنْهُ فَصَارَ الْعَبْدُ مُحِبًّا لَهُ، فَجَعَلَهُ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ عِنْدَهُ تَعَالَى،

lammā ḥaqqaqa Allāhu taʿālā al-zuhda bighinā al-nafsi waʾikhrāji al-māli fī dhikri al-mabīʿi wa-al-mushtarā fī qawlihi taʿālā: (yuqātilūna fī sabīli Allāhi fayaqtulūna wayuqtalūna) al-tawbatu: 111, wakāna al-zuhdu huwa tarka ṭāʿati al-hawā wabayʿa al-nafsi binahyihā ʿanhu mina al-mawlā, wakāna al-ʿiwaḍu min dhālika al-jannata, kāna al-zāhidu huwa al-khāʾifa maqāma rabbihi al-bāʾiʿa nafsahu ṭawʿan qabla ʾan yukhrija nafsahu ʾilayhi karhan, wakāna Allāhu tabāraka wataʿālā huwa al-maḥbūba lahu al-qarība minhu faṣāra al-ʿabdu muḥibban lahu, fajaʿalahu mina al-muqarrabīna ʿindahu taʿālā,

God Most High established the reality of renunciation through richness of soul and relinquishing wealth, when speaking of the sale and purchase in His words, exalted is He: “They fight in God’s path, killing and being killed” (al-Tawba 9:111). Renunciation means abandoning obedience to caprice and selling the self to the Master by restraining it from caprice; the compensation is the Garden. The renouncer is therefore the one who fears standing before his Lord and willingly sells his self before being forced to surrender it to Him. God, blessed and exalted, is his Beloved and is near him. The servant thus becomes His lover, and God places him among those brought near to Him, exalted is He.

وَإِذَا كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا هِيَ طَاعَةَ الْهَوَى وَحُبَّ الْحَيَاةِ الدَّنِيَّةِ لِمُتْعَةِ النَّفْسِ الشَّهْوَانِيَّةِ كَانَ الرَّاغِبُ فِي ذَٰلِكَ آمِنًا لِمَكْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مُشْتَرِيًا لِلْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا بَائِعًا بِذَٰلِكَ الْحَيَاةَ الْعُلْيَا فَلَمْ يَكُنْ مُحِبًّا لَهُ، وَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُبْعَدِينَ عَنْهُ بِسُوءِ اِخْتِيَارِهِ وَحَقَّ عَلَيْهِ الْخُسْرَانُ وَالْجَحِيمُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ لِأَنَّهُ ضِدُّ الزَّاهِدِ الْمُقَرَّبِ الظَّافِرِ بِدَارِ الْقُرْبِ فِي جِوَارِ الْحَبِيبِ الْقَرِيبِ.

waʾidhā kānati al-dunyā hiya ṭāʿata al-hawā waḥubba al-ḥayāti al-daniyyati limutʿati al-nafsi al-shahwāniyyati kāna al-rāghibu fī dhālika ʾāminan limakri Allāhi taʿālā mushtariyan li-l-ḥayāti al-dunyā bāʾiʿan bidhālika al-ḥayāta al-ʿulyā falam yakun muḥibban lahu, wakāna mina al-mubʿadīna ʿanhu bisūʾi ikhtiyārihi waḥaqqa ʿalayhi al-khusrānu wa-al-jaḥīmu fī al-ʾākhirati liʾannahu ḍiddu al-zāhidi al-muqarrabi al-ẓāfiri bidāri al-qurbi fī jiwāri al-ḥabībi al-qarībi.

Since the world is obedience to caprice and love of lowly life for the sensual self’s enjoyment, anyone desiring this feels secure against the hidden dealing of God Most High. He purchases worldly life, thereby selling the higher life; he does not love God and is among those kept far from Him through his bad choice. Loss and the blazing Fire become his due in the afterlife, for he is the opposite of the renouncer brought near, who attains the abode of proximity beside the near Beloved.

ذِكْرُ بَيَانِ حَقِيقَةِ الزُّهْدِ وَتَفْصِيلِ أَحْكَامِهِ وَوَصْفِ الزَّاهِدِ

dhikru bayāni ḥaqīqati al-zuhdi watafṣīli ʾaḥkāmihi wawaṣfi al-zāhidi

An explanation of the reality of renunciation, its detailed rulings, and the renouncer’s character

اِعْلَمْ أَنَّ الزُّهْدَ يَكُونُ بِمَعْنَيَيْنِ؛ إِنْ كَانَ الشَّيْءُ مَوْجُودًا فَالزُّهْدُ فِيهِ إِخْرَاجُهُ وَخُرُوجُ الْقَلْبِ مِنْهُ وَلَا يَصِحُّ الزُّهْدُ فِيهِ مَعَ تَبْقِيَتِهِ لِلنَّفْسِ لِأَنَّ ذَٰلِكَ دَلِيلُ الرَّغْبَةِ فِيهِ؛ وَهَٰذَا زُهْدُ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مَوْجُودًا وَكَانَ الْعَدَمُ هُوَ الْحَالَ فَالزُّهْدُ هُوَ الْغِبْطَةُ بِهِ وَالرِّضَا بِالْفَقْدِ؛ وَهَٰذَا هُوَ زُهْدُ الْفُقَرَاءِ، وَكَذَٰلِكَ الْقَوْلُ فِي الزُّهْدِ فِي تَرْكِ الْهَوَى لَا يَصِحُّ إِلَّا بَعْدَ الِابْتِلَاءِ بِهِ وَالْقُدْرَةِ عَلَيْهِ،

iʿlam ʾanna al-zuhda yakūnu bimaʿnayayni; ʾin kāna al-shayʾu mawjūdan fa-al-zuhdu fīhi ʾikhrājuhu wakhurūju al-qalbi minhu walā yaṣiḥḥu al-zuhdu fīhi maʿa tabqiyatihi li-l-nafsi liʾanna dhālika dalīlu al-raghbati fīhi; wahādhā zuhdu al-ʾaghniyāʾi, waʾin lam yakun mawjūdan wakāna al-ʿadamu huwa al-ḥāla fa-al-zuhdu huwa al-ghibṭatu bihi wa-al-riḍā bi-al-faqdi; wahādhā huwa zuhdu al-fuqarāʾi, wakadhālika al-qawlu fī al-zuhdi fī tarki al-hawā lā yaṣiḥḥu ʾillā baʿda al-ibtilāʾi bihi wa-al-qudrati ʿalayhi,

Know that renunciation has two meanings. If a thing is present, renouncing it means letting it go and removing the heart from it. Renunciation is not genuine while one keeps it for oneself, since that proves desire for it. This is the renunciation of the rich. If it is absent and privation is one’s condition, renunciation means delighting in that and being content with the loss. This is the renunciation of the poor. The same applies to renunciation in abandoning caprice: it is genuine only after one has been tested by it and had the ability to act on it.

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ إِخْوَةَ يُوسُفَ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ هَمُّوا بِالزُّهْدِ فِيهِ بِقَوْلِهِمْ: لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَى أَبِينَا مِنَّا، لَمْ يُسَمِّهِمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى زَاهِدِينَ، وَتَكَلَّمُوا بِالزُّهْدِ فِيهِ بِقَوْلِهِمْ: اُقْتُلُوا يُوسُفَ أَوِ اُطْرَحُوهُ أَرْضًا يَخْلُ لَكُمْ وَجْهُ أَبِيكُمْ، وَلَمْ يُسَمَّوْا زَاهِدِينَ، وَأَرَادُوا الزُّهْدَ فِيهِ بِقَوْلِهِمْ: أَرْسِلْهُ مَعَنَا غَدًا يَرْتَعْ وَيَلْعَبْ، وَلَمْ يَتَحَقَّقُوا بِالزُّهْدِ فِيهِ وَعَزَمُوا عَلَى الزُّهْدِ فِيهِ وَأَجْمَعُوا عَلَيْهِ وَلَمْ يُسَمِّهِمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى زَاهِدِينَ مَعَ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى مُخْبِرًا عَنْهُمْ: (فَلَمَّا ذَهَبُوا بِهِ وَأَجْمَعُوا أَنْ يَجْعَلُوهُ فِي غَيَابَتِ الْجُبِّ) يُوسُفُ: 15،

ʾalam tara ʾanna ʾikhwata yūsufa ʿalayhimu al-salāmu hammū bi-al-zuhdi fīhi biqawlihim: layūsufu waʾakhūhu ʾaḥabbu ʾilā ʾabīnā minnā, lam yusammihimu Allāhu taʿālā zāhidīna, watakallamū bi-al-zuhdi fīhi biqawlihim: uqtulū yūsufa ʾawi uṭraḥūhu ʾarḍan yakhlu lakum wajhu ʾabīkum, walam yusammaw zāhidīna, waʾarādū al-zuhda fīhi biqawlihim: ʾarsilhu maʿanā ghadan yartaʿ wayalʿab, walam yataḥaqqaqū bi-al-zuhdi fīhi waʿazamū ʿalā al-zuhdi fīhi waʾajmaʿū ʿalayhi walam yusammihimu Allāhu taʿālā zāhidīna maʿa qawlihi taʿālā mukhbiran ʿanhum: (falammā dhahabū bihi waʾajmaʿū ʾan yajʿalūhu fī ghayābati al-jubbi) yūsufu: 15,

Consider Joseph’s brothers, peace be upon them. They contemplated renouncing him when they said, “Joseph and his brother are surely dearer to our father than we are,” but God Most High did not call them renouncers. They spoke of renouncing him: “Kill Joseph or cast him away in some land, so that your father’s attention may be yours alone”; yet they were not called renouncers. They intended to renounce him when they said, “Send him with us tomorrow to enjoy himself and play,” but they had not realized renunciation of him. They resolved upon renouncing him and agreed on it, but God Most High did not call them renouncers, despite His words, exalted is He, about them, “When they took him away and agreed to place him in the depths of the well” (Yūsuf 12:15).

لِأَنَّ هَٰذَا كُلَّهُ مِنْ أَسْبَابِ الزُّهْدِ وَمُقَدِّمَاتِهِ قَدْ يَلْتَبِسُ وَيُشْكِلُ عَلَى مَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُ حَقِيقَةَ الزُّهْدِ فَيَظُنُّهُ زُهْدًا وَلَيْسَ هُوَ زُهْدًا لِأَنَّهُ فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ فَلَمَّا خَرَجَ مِنْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَاِعْتَاضُوا مِنْهُ سِوَاهُ حَقَّ زُهْدُهُمْ فِيهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى مُخْبِرًا عَنْ حَقِيقَتِهِمْ وَشَرَوْهُ أَيْ بَاعُوهُ: (وَكَانُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ) يُوسُفُ: 20،

liʾanna hādhā kullahu min ʾasbābi al-zuhdi wamuqaddimātihi qad yaltabisu wayushkilu ʿalā man lā yaʿrifu ḥaqīqata al-zuhdi fayaẓunnuhu zuhdan walaysa huwa zuhdan liʾannahu fī ʾaydīhim falammā kharaja min ʾaydīhim wa-iʿtāḍū minhu siwāhu ḥaqqa zuhduhum fīhi faqāla taʿālā mukhbiran ʿan ḥaqīqatihim washarawhu ʾay bāʿūhu: (wakānū fīhi mina al-zāhidīna) yūsufu: 20,

All this belongs to the causes and preliminaries of renunciation. It may confuse and puzzle someone who does not know its reality, so that he mistakes it for renunciation; it is not, because Joseph is still in their hands. When he left their hands and they received something else in exchange, their renunciation of him became real. God Most High then described their reality: “They sold him,” that is, disposed of him, “and they were among those who held him of little worth” (Yūsuf 12:20).

وَكَذَٰلِكَ الثَّوْبُ تَهُمُّ بِبَيْعِهِ وَتُرِيدُ بَيْعَهُ وَيَغْلِبُ عَلَيْكَ بَيْعُهُ وَلَا تَكُونُ زَاهِدًا وَلَٰكِنْ تَكُونُ مَوْصُوفًا بِالْإِرَادَةِ لِلزُّهْدِ حَتَّى تَبِيعَهُ وَتَعْتَاضَ مِنْهُ فَحِينَئِذٍ حَقَّ زُهْدُكَ فِيهِ، فَفِي تَدَبُّرِ الْخِطَابِ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ: وَكَانُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ أَنَّ مَنْ أَخْرَجَ الشَّيْءَ مِنْ يَدِهِ طَوْعًا وَنَفْسُهُ تَتْبَعُهُ فَلَهُ مَقَامٌ فِي الزُّهْدِ بِالْمُجَاهَدَةِ، وَمَنْ أَمْسَكَ الشَّيْءَ وَأَظْهَرَتْ نَفْسُهُ الزُّهْدَ فِيهِ بِالْإِرَادَةِ وَالْهِمَّةِ فَلَا مَقَامَ لَهُ فِي الزُّهْدِ لِأَنَّ الْإِمْسَاكَ عَلَامَةُ الرَّغْبَةِ، وَالرَّغْبَةُ ضِدُّ الزُّهْدِ فَكَيْفَ يُوصَفُ بِالشَّيْءِ وَضِدِّهِ فِي حَالٍ قَائِمَةٍ؟

wakadhālika al-thawbu tahummu bibayʿihi waturīdu bayʿahu wayaghlibu ʿalayka bayʿuhu walā takūnu zāhidan walākin takūnu mawṣūfan bi-al-ʾirādati li-l-zuhdi ḥattā tabīʿahu wataʿtāḍa minhu faḥīnaʾidhin ḥaqqa zuhduka fīhi, fafī tadabburi al-khiṭābi min qawlihi: wakānū fīhi mina al-zāhidīna ʾanna man ʾakhraja al-shayʾa min yadihi ṭawʿan wanafsuhu tatbaʿuhu falahu maqāmun fī al-zuhdi bi-al-mujāhadati, waman ʾamsaka al-shayʾa waʾaẓharat nafsuhu al-zuhda fīhi bi-al-ʾirādati wa-al-himmati falā maqāma lahu fī al-zuhdi liʾanna al-ʾimsāka ʿalāmatu al-raghbati, wa-al-raghbatu ḍiddu al-zuhdi fakayfa yūṣafu bi-al-shayʾi waḍiddihi fī ḥālin qāʾimatin?

The same is true of a garment: you contemplate selling it, want to sell it, and are strongly inclined to sell it, without being a renouncer. You are described as intending renunciation until you sell it and receive something in exchange; only then is your renunciation real. Reflecting on His words, “They were among those who held him of little worth,” shows that whoever willingly releases something from his hand while his self still follows it has a station in renunciation through struggle. Whoever keeps something while his self displays renunciation through intention and aspiration has no station in renunciation. Keeping it signals desire, and desire is renunciation’s opposite. How can someone possess a thing and its opposite in one actual state?

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤١٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 414

Volume One, page 414

فَالْمُمْسِكُ لِلشَّيْءِ الْمُتَوَهِّمُ لِلزُّهْدِ فِيهِ بِإِظْهَارِ نَفْسِهِ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَحَدِ وَصْفَيْنِ؛ إِمَّا أَنْ لَا يَعْرِفَ الزُّهْدَ أَوْ لَا يَعْرِفَ خَفِيَّ شَهْوَةِ النَّفْسِ؛ هَٰذَا إِنْ لَمْ يُمَوِّهْ عَلَى الرَّاغِبِينَ، وَالْمُخْرِجُ لِقَلْبِهِ عَنْهُ هُوَ الْمُتَحَقِّقُ بِالزُّهْدِ فِيهِ، وَهَٰذَا هُوَ اَلَّذِي وَصَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ إِخْوَةَ يُوسُفَ، وَالْمُمْسِكُ لِلشَّيْءِ الْمُغْتَبِطُ بِهِ اَلَّذِي هَمُّهُ فِيهِ وَقَلْبُهُ عَاكِفٌ عَلَيْهِ هُوَ الْمُتَحَقِّقُ بِالرَّغْبَةِ فِيهِ؛

fa-al-mumsiku li-l-shayʾi al-mutawahhimu li-l-zuhdi fīhi biʾiẓhāri nafsihi dhālika biʾaḥadi waṣfayni; ʾimmā ʾan lā yaʿrifa al-zuhda ʾaw lā yaʿrifa khafiyya shahwati al-nafsi; hādhā ʾin lam yumawwih ʿalā al-rāghibīna, wa-al-mukhriju liqalbihi ʿanhu huwa al-mutaḥaqqiqu bi-al-zuhdi fīhi, wahādhā huwa alladhī waṣafa Allāhu taʿālā bihi ʾikhwata yūsufa, wa-al-mumsiku li-l-shayʾi al-mughtabiṭu bihi alladhī hammuhu fīhi waqalbuhu ʿākifun ʿalayhi huwa al-mutaḥaqqiqu bi-al-raghbati fīhi;

Someone who keeps a thing but imagines he renounces it because his self displays that attitude has one of two characteristics: either he does not know renunciation or he does not know the self’s hidden appetite. This assumes that he is not deliberately deceiving those who desire the world. Whoever removes his heart from the thing genuinely renounces it. This is how God Most High described Joseph’s brothers. Whoever keeps something, delights in it, makes it his concern, and fixes his heart upon it genuinely desires it.

وَهَٰذَا وَصْفُ عَزِيزِ مِصْرَ فِي يُوسُفَ لَمَّا اِشْتَرَاهُ فَحَقَّقَهُ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى بِالرَّغْبَةِ فِيهِ لِاِقْتِنَائِهِ لَهُ فَقَالَ مُخْبِرًا عَنْهُ بَعْدَمَا اِشْتَرَاهُ: أَكْرِمِي مَثْوَاهُ عَسَى أَنْ يَنْفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا، وَكَذَٰلِكَ وَصَفَ اِمْرَأَةَ فِرْعَوْنَ فِي رَغْبَتِهَا فِي مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِقَوْلِهَا قُرَّةُ عَيْنٍ لِي وَلَكَ لَا تَقْتُلُوهُ عَسَى أَنْ يَنْفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا، فَكَذَٰلِكَ كُلُّ مَنْ أَمَّلَ شَيْئًا اِدَّخَرَهُ لِنَفْسِهِ لَا يَكُونُ زَاهِدًا فِيهِ حَتَّى يُخْرِجَهُ عَنْ يَدِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ إِذْ لَمْ يَكُنْ ذَٰلِكَ وَصْفَ إِخْوَةِ يُوسُفَ الزَّاهِدِينَ فِيهِ إِلَّا بَعْدَ أَنْ أَخْرَجُوهُ اِسْتِصْغَارًا لَهُ وَتَعَوَّضُوا مِنْهُ.

wahādhā waṣfu ʿazīzi miṣra fī yūsufa lammā ishtarāhu faḥaqqaqahu Allāhu tabāraka wataʿālā bi-al-raghbati fīhi liiqtināʾihi lahu faqāla mukhbiran ʿanhu baʿdamā ishtarāhu: ʾakrimī mathwāhu ʿasā ʾan yanfaʿanā ʾaw nattakhidhahu waladan, wakadhālika waṣafa imraʾata firʿawna fī raghbatihā fī mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu biqawlihā qurratu ʿaynin lī walaka lā taqtulūhu ʿasā ʾan yanfaʿanā ʾaw nattakhidhahu waladan, fakadhālika kullu man ʾammala shayʾan iddakharahu linafsihi lā yakūnu zāhidan fīhi ḥattā yukhrijahu ʿan yadihi waqalbihi ʾidh lam yakun dhālika waṣfa ʾikhwati yūsufa al-zāhidīna fīhi ʾillā baʿda ʾan ʾakhrajūhu istiṣghāran lahu wataʿawwaḍū minhu.

Such was the Egyptian dignitary’s attitude toward Joseph when he bought him. God, blessed and exalted, established his desire for him through his acquisition of him, reporting his words after the purchase: “Give him an honorable lodging; perhaps he will benefit us, or we may adopt him as a son.” He similarly described Pharaoh’s wife’s desire for Moses, peace be upon him, through her words: “A delight to the eyes for me and you. Do not kill him; perhaps he will benefit us, or we may adopt him as a son.” Likewise, anyone who places hope in something and stores it for himself does not renounce it until he removes it from both hand and heart. Joseph’s brothers were not described as renouncing him until they had given him up, considering him of little worth, and taken something in exchange.

بَيَانٌ آخَرُ مُسْتَنْبَطٌ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ

bayānun ʾākharu mustanbaṭun mina al-kitābi

Another explanation inferred from the Book

اِعْلَمْ أَنَّ زُهْدَ إِخْوَةِ يُوسُفَ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ فِي أَخِيهِمْ قَدْ كَانَ يُقَارِبُ زُهْدَهُمْ فِي يُوسُفَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ نَظِيرَهُ عِنْدَ أَبِيهِ وَقَدْ كَانُوا هَمُّوا بِالزُّهْدِ فِيهِ أَيْضًا لِيَخْلُوَ لَهُمْ وَجْهُ أَبِيهِمْ مِنْهُمَا، أَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ إِلَى قَوْلِهِمْ: لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَى أَبِينَا مِنَّا،

iʿlam ʾanna zuhda ʾikhwati yūsufa ʿalayhimu al-salāmu fī ʾakhīhim qad kāna yuqāribu zuhdahum fī yūsufa ʿalayhi al-salāmu liʾannahu kāna naẓīrahu ʿinda ʾabīhi waqad kānū hammū bi-al-zuhdi fīhi ʾayḍan liyakhluwa lahum wajhu ʾabīhim minhumā, ʾalam tasmaʿ ʾilā qawlihim: layūsufu waʾakhūhu ʾaḥabbu ʾilā ʾabīnā minnā,

Know that Joseph’s brothers, peace be upon them, came close to renouncing their other brother as they renounced Joseph, peace be upon him. He had a similar place with his father, and they had also contemplated giving him up so that their father’s attention would be free of both and theirs alone. Have you not heard their words, “Joseph and his brother are surely dearer to our father than we are”?

وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: إِنَّهُمْ أَرَادُوا أَنْ يُلْقُوا أَخَاهُ مَعَهُ فِي الْجُبِّ حَتَّى أَلْقَى نَفْسَهُ عَلَيْهِ يَهُوذَا فَشَفَعَ فِيهِ فَرَحِمَهُ وَمَنَعَهُمْ مِنْهُ وَكَانَ شَدِيدًا مِنْهُمْ مَنِيعًا مَهِيبًا فِيهِمْ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ إِنَّهُ اِسْتَوْهَبَهُ مِنْهُمْ وَقَالَ: دَعُوهُ يَكُونُ فِيهِ سَلْوَةٌ لِلشَّيْخِ الْكَبِيرِ لَا تَفْجَعُوهُ بِهِمَا وَلَا تُفْقِدُوهُ إِيَّاهُمَا مَعًا فَوَهَبُوهُ لَهُ،

wakadhālika jāʾa fī al-khabari: ʾinnahum ʾarādū ʾan yulqū ʾakhāhu maʿahu fī al-jubbi ḥattā ʾalqā nafsahu ʿalayhi yahūdhā fashafaʿa fīhi faraḥimahu wamanaʿahum minhu wakāna shadīdan minhum manīʿan mahīban fīhim, waqad qīla ʾinnahu istawhabahu minhum waqāla: daʿūhu yakūnu fīhi salwatun li-l-shaykhi al-kabīri lā tafjaʿūhu bihimā walā tufqidūhu ʾiyyāhumā maʿan fawahabūhu lahu,

A report likewise says that they intended to cast his brother into the well with him, until Judah threw himself over him, interceded for him, took pity on him, and kept them away. He was strong among them, unassailable and held in awe. It is also said that he asked them to grant him the boy, saying, “Leave him as a consolation for the old man. Do not bereave him of both or deprive him of them together.” They granted him the boy.

ثُمَّ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَمْ يَقُلْ مَعَ إِرَادَتِهِمْ لِذَٰلِكَ وَهَمِّهِمْ بِهِ وَكَانُوا فِيهِمَا مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَتَحَقَّقُوا بِالزُّهْدِ فِيهِ كَالزُّهْدِ فِي أَخِيهِ لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ لَمْ يُخْرِجُوهُ، فَكَذَٰلِكَ أَنْتَ إِذَا كَانَ الشَّيْءُ مَوْجُودًا عِنْدَكَ وَأَنْتَ مُمْسِكُهُ لِنَفْسِكَ ثُمَّ تَوَهَّمْتَ أَنَّكَ زَاهِدٌ فِيهِ لِخَوَاطِرِ الْإِرَادَةِ أَوْ لِإِرَادَةِ الزُّهْدِ فَقَدْ كَذَبْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ بِتَمَسُّكِكَ إِيَّاهَا زَاهِدًا وَكَذَّبَتْكَ نَفْسُكَ بِوُجُودِهَا جَهْلًا مِنْهَا بِالْعِلْمِ زُهْدًا أَوْ كَذَّبَ وَجْدُكَ عَلَى الْعِلْمِ جَهْلًا مِنْكَ بِرَبِّكَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَوْ مَوَّهْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِ غَيْرِكَ مِمَّنْ لَا يَعْرِفُ الزُّهْدَ؛

thumma ʾinna Allāha taʿālā lam yaqul maʿa ʾirādatihim lidhālika wahammihim bihi wakānū fīhimā mina al-zāhidīna min qibali ʾannahum lam yataḥaqqaqū bi-al-zuhdi fīhi ka-al-zuhdi fī ʾakhīhi liʾannahu kāna fī ʾaydīhim lam yukhrijūhu, fakadhālika ʾanta ʾidhā kāna al-shayʾu mawjūdan ʿindaka waʾanta mumsikuhu linafsika thumma tawahhamta ʾannaka zāhidun fīhi likhawāṭiri al-ʾirādati ʾaw liʾirādati al-zuhdi faqad kadhabta ʿalā nafsika bitamassukika ʾiyyāhā zāhidan wakadhdhabatka nafsuka biwujūdihā jahlan minhā bi-al-ʿilmi zuhdan ʾaw kadhdhaba wajduka ʿalā al-ʿilmi jahlan minka birabbika ʿazza wajalla ʾaw mawwahta ʿalā nafsi ghayrika mimman lā yaʿrifu al-zuhda;

Yet despite their intention and contemplation, God Most High did not say, “They were among those who renounced them both.” They had not genuinely renounced him as they had his brother, for he remained in their hands and they had not given him up. The same applies to you: if you possess something and keep it for yourself, then imagine that you renounce it because intentions occur to you or because you intend renunciation, you have deceived yourself by keeping hold of it while claiming to renounce. Your self has belied you by imagining, in its ignorance of knowledge, that it possesses renunciation; or your experience has belied knowledge through your ignorance of your Lord, mighty and majestic; or you have deceived someone else who does not know renunciation.

وَهَٰذَا زُهْدٌ مِنْكَ فِي الزُّهْدِ وَرَغْبَةٌ مِنْكَ أَيْضًا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ الشَّيْءُ اَلَّذِي تَظُنُّ أَنَّكَ زَهِدْتَ فِيهِ وَتَعْتَاضَ مِنْهُ مَحَبَّةَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَطَلَبَ مَرْضَاتِهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَوْ مَا عِنْدَهُ مِنْ ثَوَابِهِ، فَحِينَئِذٍ يَصِحُّ زُهْدُكَ فِيهِ عَلَى الْعِلْمِ، وَعِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ فَتَكُونُ صَادِقًا، فَهُنَاكَ وَصَفَكَ الزَّاهِدُ بِالزُّهْدِ وَسَمَّاكَ الزَّاهِدُونَ زَاهِدًا،

wahādhā zuhdun minka fī al-zuhdi waraghbatun minka ʾayḍan fī al-dunyā ḥattā yakhruja al-shayʾu alladhī taẓunnu ʾannaka zahidta fīhi wataʿtāḍa minhu maḥabbata Allāhi taʿālā waṭalaba marḍātihi tabāraka wataʿālā ʾaw mā ʿindahu min thawābihi, faḥīnaʾidhin yaṣiḥḥu zuhduka fīhi ʿalā al-ʿilmi, waʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi fatakūnu ṣādiqan, fahunāka waṣafaka al-zāhidu bi-al-zuhdi wasammāka al-zāhidūna zāhidan,

This is your renunciation of renunciation, and also your desire for the world, until the thing you think you have renounced leaves you and you take in exchange the love of God Most High, the pursuit of His pleasure, blessed and exalted is He, or the reward He has with Him. Only then will your renunciation be valid by knowledge and in the judgment of the learned, and you will be truthful. Then the renouncer will describe you as renouncing, and renouncers will call you a renouncer.

فَأَمَّا إِذَا لَمْ يَكُنِ الشَّيْءُ مَوْجُودًا لَكَ فَإِنَّ زُهْدَكَ فِيمَا لَا تَمْلِكُ لَا يَصِحُّ وَالزُّهْدُ فِي مَعْدُومٍ بَاطِلٌ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ تَصَرُّفَكَ لَا يَصِحُّ فِيمَا لَا تَمْلِكُ، فَكَذَٰلِكَ لَا يَصِحُّ زُهْدُكَ فِيهِ، وَلَعَلَّهُ لَوْ كَانَ مَوْجُودًا تَغَيَّرَ قَلْبُكَ بِهِ وَتَقَلَّبَ فِيهِ إِذْ لَيْسَ الْخَبَرُ كَالْمُعَايَنَةِ لِأَنَّ الْخَبَرَ قَدْ يَشْتَبِهُ وَيُوهِمُ وَالْمُعَايَنَةَ تَكْشِفُ الْحَقِيقَةَ وَتَحْكُمُ عَلَى الْخِلْقَةِ وَلِأَنَّ النَّفْسَ ذَاتُ بَدَوَاتٍ لِمَا طُبِعَتْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ

faʾammā ʾidhā lam yakuni al-shayʾu mawjūdan laka faʾinna zuhdaka fīmā lā tamliku lā yaṣiḥḥu wa-al-zuhdu fī maʿdūmin bāṭilun min qibali ʾanna taṣarrufaka lā yaṣiḥḥu fīmā lā tamliku, fakadhālika lā yaṣiḥḥu zuhduka fīhi, walaʿallahu law kāna mawjūdan taghayyara qalbuka bihi wataqallaba fīhi ʾidh laysa al-khabaru ka-al-muʿāyanati liʾanna al-khabara qad yashtabihu wayūhimu wa-al-muʿāyanata takshifu al-ḥaqīqata wataḥkumu ʿalā al-khilqati waliʾanna al-nafsa dhātu badawātin limā ṭubiʿat ʿalayhi min

If, however, the thing is not yours, your renunciation of what you do not own is not valid. Renouncing an absent thing is baseless, because you cannot validly dispose of what you do not own; likewise, you cannot validly renounce it. Perhaps, were it present, your heart would change because of it and turn about within it. Hearing is not seeing: a report can be ambiguous and misleading, while direct sight reveals reality and judges one’s constitution. Moreover, the self is subject to sudden impulses because it is naturally disposed to

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤١٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 415

Volume One, page 415

حُبِّ الْمُتْعَةِ بِالرَّفَاهِيَةِ فَكَذَٰلِكَ لَا يَجْعَلُ ظَنًّا مَعْدُومًا كَيَقِينٍ مَوْجُودٍ إِذْ لَوْ كَانَ كَيْفَ كَانَ الْأَمْرُ، وَلَٰكِنْ قَدْ يَكُونُ لَكَ مَقَامٌ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ فِي الْمَعْدُومِ بِقِيَامِكَ بِشَرْطِهِ وَهُوَ أَنْ لَا تُحِبَّ وُجُودَ الشَّيْءِ وَلَا تَأْسَى عَلَى فَقْدِهِ أَوْ تَكُونَ مُغْتَبِطًا بِعَدَمِكَ مَسْرُورًا بِفَقْرِكَ يَعْلَمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ غَيْبِكَ وَيَطَّلِعُ عَلَى سِرِّكَ أَنَّكَ لَا تَفْرَحُ بِوُجُودِهِ لَوْ وَجَدْتَهُ وَتُخْرِجُهُ إِنْ دَخَلَ عَلَيْكَ وَإِنَّ قَلْبَكَ قَانِعٌ بِاللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى رَاضٍ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِحَالِكَ اَلَّتِي هِيَ الْعَدَمُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا غَيْرُ مُحِبٍّ لِلِاِسْتِبْدَالِ بِهَا مِنَ الْغِنَى بِصِدْقِ يَقِينِكَ بِفَضِيلَةِ الزُّهْدِ،

ḥubbi al-mutʿati bi-al-rafāhiyati fakadhālika lā yajʿalu ẓannan maʿdūman kayaqīnin mawjūdin ʾidh law kāna kayfa kāna al-ʾamru, walākin qad yakūnu laka maqāmun mina al-zuhdi fī al-maʿdūmi biqiyāmika bisharṭihi wahuwa ʾan lā tuḥibba wujūda al-shayʾi walā taʾsā ʿalā faqdihi ʾaw takūna mughtabiṭan biʿadamika masrūran bifaqrika yaʿlamu Allāhu taʿālā dhālika min ghaybika wayaṭṭaliʿu ʿalā sirrika ʾannaka lā tafraḥu biwujūdihi law wajadtahu watukhrijuhu ʾin dakhala ʿalayka waʾinna qalbaka qāniʿun bi-llāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā rāḍin ʿani Allāhi taʿālā biḥālika allatī hiya al-ʿadamu mina al-dunyā ghayru muḥibbin li-l-istibdāli bihā mina al-ghinā biṣidqi yaqīnika bifaḍīlati al-zuhdi,

love of enjoyment in comfort. One should therefore not treat an unfounded supposition like an actual certainty: if the thing existed, how would matters stand? Yet you may have a station of renunciation regarding what is absent by fulfilling its condition: not loving its presence or grieving its loss, or delighting in your lack and rejoicing in your poverty. God Most High knows this within your hidden depths and sees your secret: that you would not rejoice in possessing it if you found it, and would give it away if it came to you; that your heart is content with God, glorified and exalted, and satisfied with God Most High in your condition of worldly privation, without wishing to exchange it for wealth, because of your true certainty about renunciation’s excellence.

فَإِذَا كُنْتَ بِهَٰذَا الْوَصْفِ حُسِبَ لَكَ جَمِيعُ ذَٰلِكَ زُهْدًا وَكَانَ لَكَ بِأَحَدِ هَٰذِهِ الْمَعَانِي ثَوَابُ الزَّاهِدِينَ وَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ لِلدُّنْيَا وَاجِدًا وَهَٰذَا زُهْدُ الْفُقَرَاءِ الصَّادِقِينَ وَهُوَ التَّحَقُّقُ بِالْفَقْرِ. وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: حَقِيقَةُ الْفَقِيرِ أَنْ يَكُونَ مُغْتَبِطًا بِفَقْرِهِ خَائِفًا أَنْ يُسْلَبَ الْفَقْرَ كَمَا يَكُونُ الْغَنِيُّ مُغْتَبِطًا بِغِنَاهُ يَخَافُ الْفَقْرَ،

faʾidhā kunta bihādhā al-waṣfi ḥusiba laka jamīʿu dhālika zuhdan wakāna laka biʾaḥadi hādhihi al-maʿānī thawābu al-zāhidīna waʾin lam takun li-l-dunyā wājidan wahādhā zuhdu al-fuqarāʾi al-ṣādiqīna wahuwa al-taḥaqququ bi-al-faqri. waqad qāla baʿḍuhum: ḥaqīqatu al-faqīri ʾan yakūna mughtabiṭan bifaqrihi khāʾifan ʾan yuslaba al-faqra kamā yakūnu al-ghaniyyu mughtabiṭan bighināhu yakhāfu al-faqra,

If this describes you, all this is reckoned as renunciation, and one of these meanings brings you the renouncers’ reward even though you possess nothing worldly. This is the renunciation of the truthful poor, the realization of poverty. Someone said, “The truly poor person delights in his poverty and fears being deprived of it, just as the rich person delights in his wealth and fears poverty.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ مَالِكُ بْنُ دِينَارٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: إِذَا قِيلَ لَهُ إِنَّكَ زَاهِدٌ قَالَ: إِنَّمَا الزَّاهِدُ عُمَرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ جَاءَتْهُ الدُّنْيَا وَمَلَكَهَا فَزَهِدَ فِيهَا، فَأَمَّا أَنَا فَفِي أَيِّ شَيْءٍ زَهِدْتُ؟ وَقَدْ يَصِحُّ الزُّهْدُ لِلْعَارِفِ فِي الشَّيْءِ مَعَ وَجْدِهِ عِنْدَهُ إِذَا لَمْ يَقْتَنِيهِ لِمُتْعَةِ نَفْسِهِ وَلَمْ يَتَمَلَّكْهُ وَيَسْكُنْ إِلَيْهِ بَلْ كَانَ مَوْقُوفًا فِي خِزَانَةِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى، اَلَّتِي هِيَ يَدُهُ مُنْتَظِرًا حُكْمَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِيهِ

waqad kāna māliku bnu dīnārin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: ʾidhā qīla lahu ʾinnaka zāhidun qāla: ʾinnamā al-zāhidu ʿumaru bnu ʿabdi al-ʿazīzi jāʾathu al-dunyā wamalakahā fazahida fīhā, faʾammā ʾanā fafī ʾayyi shayʾin zahidtu? waqad yaṣiḥḥu al-zuhdu li-l-ʿārifi fī al-shayʾi maʿa wajdihi ʿindahu ʾidhā lam yaqtanīhi limutʿati nafsihi walam yatamallakhu wayaskun ʾilayhi bal kāna mawqūfan fī khizānati Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā, allatī hiya yaduhu muntaẓiran ḥukma Allāhi taʿālā fīhi

When Mālik ibn Dīnār, God Most High have mercy on him, was told, “You are a renouncer,” he would reply, “The renouncer was ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. The world came to him and he possessed it, then renounced it. As for me, what have I renounced?” A knower may genuinely renounce a thing while still possessing it, if he does not acquire it for his self’s enjoyment, claim it as his own, or rest content in it. Rather, it is held in the treasury of God, glorified and exalted, namely his hand, awaiting the judgment of God Most High concerning it.

وَمِحْنَةُ ذَٰلِكَ اِسْتِوَاءُ وُجُودِهِ وَعَدَمِهِ وَالْمُسَارَعَةُ إِذَا رَأَى حُكْمَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِلَى تَنْفِيذِهِ فَيَكُونُ فِي ذَٰلِكَ كَأَنَّهُ لِغَيْرِهِ مِنْ عِيلَتِهِ أَوْ إِخْوَانِهِ أَوْ سَبِيلٍ مِنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَهَٰذَا الْمَقَامُ زَائِدٌ عَلَى الزُّهْدِ فَكَذَٰلِكَ لَمْ يَخْرُجْ مِنْهُ بَلْ كَانَ مَخْصُوصًا فِيهِ بِخُصُوصٍ وَهُوَ أَيْضًا مَقَامٌ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ.

wamiḥnatu dhālika istiwāʾu wujūdihi waʿadamihi wa-al-musāraʿatu ʾidhā raʾā ḥukma Allāhi taʿālā ʾilā tanfīdhihi fayakūnu fī dhālika kaʾannahu lighayrihi min ʿīlatihi ʾaw ʾikhwānihi ʾaw sabīlin min sabīli Allāhi taʿālā, wahādhā al-maqāmu zāʾidun ʿalā al-zuhdi fakadhālika lam yakhruj minhu bal kāna makhṣūṣan fīhi bikhuṣūṣin wahuwa ʾayḍan maqāmun mina al-tawakkuli.

The test is that its presence and absence are equal to him, and that when he sees the judgment of God Most High he hastens to carry it out. He treats it as though it belonged to someone else, his dependents, his brothers, or some cause in the path of God Most High. This station exceeds renunciation; he has therefore not departed from it, but has a special distinction within it. It is also a station of trust.

وَبَيَانٌ آخَرُ مُسْتَنْبَطٌ مِنَ السُّنَّةِ فِي مَاهِيَّةِ الزُّهْدِ أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ، الزُّهْدُ أَيْضًا تَقْلِيلُ الدُّنْيَا وَتَقْرِيبُهَا وَاِحْتِقَارُهَا بِالْقَلْبِ وَاِسْتِصْغَارُهَا، مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ الْخَبَرُ اَلَّذِي جَاءَ فِي سَاعَةِ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: هِيَ فِي آخِرِ سَاعَةٍ قَالَ: وَجَعَلَ يُزَهِّدُهَا يُقَلِّلُهَا أَيْ يُقَرِّبُ وَقْتَهَا وَيُدْنِيهِ مِنَ الْغُرُوبِ،

wabayānun ʾākharu mustanbaṭun mina al-sunnati fī māhiyyati al-zuhdi ʾayyu shayʾin huwa, al-zuhdu ʾayḍan taqlīlu al-dunyā wataqrībuhā wa-iḥtiqāruhā bi-al-qalbi wa-istiṣghāruhā, min dhālika al-khabaru alladhī jāʾa fī sāʿati yawmi al-jumuʿati ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: hiya fī ʾākhiri sāʿatin qāla: wajaʿala yuzahhiduhā yuqalliluhā ʾay yuqarribu waqtahā wayudnīhi mina al-ghurūbi,

Another explanation of renunciation’s nature, of what it is, may be inferred from the Sunna. Renunciation also means making little of the world, bringing its measure close, despising it in the heart, and considering it small. An example is the report about the special hour on Friday. The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “It is in the last hour.” The narrator said, “He began making it small,” yuzahhiduhā, that is, reducing it: bringing its time close and drawing it toward sunset.

وَالْمَعْنَى الْآخَرُ فِي الْخَبَرِ الثَّانِي مِنْ قَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِعَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ آيَةُ الْأَمْرِ بِالصَّدَقَةِ لِمُنَاجَاةِ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ لَهُ: كَمْ تَرَى أَنْ نَجْعَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ الصَّدَقَةِ مُقَدَّمَةً لِلْمُنَاجَاةِ فَقَالَ شَعِيرَةً مِنْ ذَهَبٍ قَالَ إِنَّكَ لَزَهِيدٌ أَيْ مُقَلِّلٌ مُصَغِّرٌ لِلدُّنْيَا وَلَٰكِنْ نَجْعَلُ عَلَيْهِمْ دِينَارًا، وَزَهِيدٌ كَأَنَّهُ مَعْدُولٌ مِنْ زَاهِدٍ لِلْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي الْوَصْفِ بِالزُّهْدِ كَمَا عُدِلَ شَهِيدٌ مِنْ شَاهِدٍ وَمَجِيدٌ مِنْ مَاجِدٍ وَكَمَا عُدِلَ عَلِيمٌ وَقَدِيرٌ وَرَحِيمٌ مِنْ عَالِمٍ وَقَادِرٍ وَرَاحِمٍ لِلْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْقُدْرَةِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ.

wa-al-maʿnā al-ʾākharu fī al-khabari al-thānī min qawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama liʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu lammā nazalat ʾāyatu al-ʾamri bi-al-ṣadaqati limunājāti al-rasūli ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faqāla lahu: kam tarā ʾan najʿala ʿalayhim mina al-ṣadaqati muqaddamatan li-l-munājāti faqāla shaʿīratan min dhahabin qāla ʾinnaka lazahīdun ʾay muqallilun muṣaghghirun li-l-dunyā walākin najʿalu ʿalayhim dīnāran, wazahīdun kaʾannahu maʿdūlun min zāhidin li-l-mubālaghati fī al-waṣfi bi-al-zuhdi kamā ʿudila shahīdun min shāhidin wamajīdun min mājidin wakamā ʿudila ʿalīmun waqadīrun waraḥīmun min ʿālimin waqādirin warāḥimin li-l-mubālaghati fī al-ʿilmi wa-al-qudrati wa-al-raḥmati.

Another meaning appears in a second report, the words of the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, to ʿAlī, God be pleased with him, when the verse commanding charity before private consultation with the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, was revealed. He asked him, “How much charity do you think we should impose before consultation?” He replied, “A barleycorn’s weight of gold.” He said, “You are indeed zahīd,” meaning one who minimizes and makes little of worldly things, “but we shall impose a dinar upon them.” Zahīd appears to be an intensive formation from zāhid, emphasizing renunciation, just as shahīd is formed from shāhid and majīd from mājid, and as ʿalīm, qadīr, and raḥīm are formed from ʿālim, qādir, and rāḥim, expressing intensity in knowledge, power, and mercy.

ذِكْرُ وَصْفِ الزَّاهِدِ وَفَضْلِ الزُّهْدِ

dhikru waṣfi al-zāhidi wafaḍli al-zuhdi

The renouncer’s character and the excellence of renunciation

قُوتُ الزُّهْدِ اَلَّذِي لَا بُدَّ مِنْهُ وَبِهِ تَظْهَرُ صِفَةُ الزَّاهِدِ وَيَنْفَصِلُ بِهِ عَنِ الرَّاغِبِ هُوَ أَنْ لَا يَفْرَحَ بِعَاجِلٍ مَوْجُودٍ مِنْ حَظِّ النَّفْسِ وَلَا يَحْزَنَ عَلَى مَفْقُودٍ مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ وَأَنْ يَأْخُذَ الْحَاجَةَ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِنْدَ الْحَاجَةِ إِلَى الشَّيْءِ وَلَا يَتَنَاوَلَ عِنْدَ الْحَاجَةِ إِلَّا سَدَّ الْفَاقَةِ وَلَا يَطْلُبَ الشَّيْءَ قَبْلَ الْحَاجَةِ، وَأَوَّلُ الزُّهْدِ دُخُولُ غَمِّ الْآخِرَةِ فِي الْقَلْبِ ثُمَّ وُجُودُ حَلَاوَةِ الْمُعَامَلَةِ لِلَّهِ

qūtu al-zuhdi alladhī lā budda minhu wabihi taẓharu ṣifatu al-zāhidi wayanfaṣilu bihi ʿani al-rāghibi huwa ʾan lā yafraḥa biʿājilin mawjūdin min ḥaẓẓi al-nafsi walā yaḥzana ʿalā mafqūdin min dhālika waʾan yaʾkhudha al-ḥājata min kulli shayʾin ʿinda al-ḥājati ʾilā al-shayʾi walā yatanāwala ʿinda al-ḥājati ʾillā sadda al-fāqati walā yaṭluba al-shayʾa qabla al-ḥājati, waʾawwalu al-zuhdi dukhūlu ghammi al-ʾākhirati fī al-qalbi thumma wujūdu ḥalāwati al-muʿāmalati li-llāhi

The indispensable sustenance of renunciation, through which the renouncer’s character appears and distinguishes him from the desirous person, is not rejoicing in any immediately available share for the self or grieving over the loss of any such thing. He takes what he needs of each thing when the need arises, takes only enough to fill the want, and does not seek it before needing it. Renunciation begins when sorrow for the afterlife enters the heart, followed by the experience of sweetness in dealing with God

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤١٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 416

Volume One, page 416

تَعَالَى وَلَا يَدْخُلُ غَمُّ الْآخِرَةِ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ هَمُّ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا تَدْخُلُ حَلَاوَةُ الْمُعَامَلَةِ حَتَّى تَخْرُجَ حَلَاوَةُ الْهَوَى، وَكُلُّ مَنْ تَابَ مِنْ ذَنْبٍ وَلَمْ يَجِدْ حَلَاوَةَ الطَّاعَةِ لَمْ يُؤْمَنْ عَلَيْهِ الرُّجُوعُ فِيهِ وَكُلُّ مَنْ تَرَكَ الدُّنْيَا وَلَمْ يَذُقْ حَلَاوَةَ الزُّهْدِ رَجَعَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَا يَدْخُلُ حَلَاوَةُ الْمُعَامَلَةِ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ حَلَاوَةُ الْهَوَى، وَخَالِصُ الزُّهْدِ إِخْرَاجُ الْمَوْجُودِ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ، ثُمَّ إِخْرَاجُ مَا خَرَجَ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ عَنِ الْيَدِ وَهُوَ عَدَمُ الْمَوْجُودِ عَلَى الِاسْتِصْغَارِ لَهُ وَالِاحْتِقَارِ وَالتَّقَالُلِ لِهَوَانِ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَهُ وَصِغَرِهَا فِي عَيْنِهِ فَبِهَٰذَا يَتِمُّ الزُّهْدُ،

taʿālā walā yadkhulu ghammu al-ʾākhirati ḥattā yakhruja hammu al-dunyā walā tadkhulu ḥalāwatu al-muʿāmalati ḥattā takhruja ḥalāwatu al-hawā, wakullu man tāba min dhanbin walam yajid ḥalāwata al-ṭāʿati lam yuʾman ʿalayhi al-rujūʿu fīhi wakullu man taraka al-dunyā walam yadhuq ḥalāwata al-zuhdi rajaʿa fī al-dunyā walā yadkhulu ḥalāwatu al-muʿāmalati ḥattā yakhruja ḥalāwatu al-hawā, wakhāliṣu al-zuhdi ʾikhrāju al-mawjūdi mina al-qalbi, thumma ʾikhrāju mā kharaja mina al-qalbi ʿani al-yadi wahuwa ʿadamu al-mawjūdi ʿalā al-istiṣghāri lahu wa-al-iḥtiqāri wa-al-taqāluli lihawāni al-dunyā ʿindahu waṣigharihā fī ʿaynihi fabihādhā yatimmu al-zuhdu,

Most High. Sorrow for the afterlife does not enter until worldly concern departs; sweetness in dealing with God does not enter until the sweetness of caprice departs. Anyone who repents of a sin without finding the sweetness of obedience remains at risk of returning to it. Anyone who leaves the world without tasting the sweetness of renunciation returns to the world. Sweetness in dealing with God does not enter until the sweetness of caprice departs. Pure renunciation removes the present possession from the heart, then removes from the hand what has left the heart. It is making a possession absent while considering it small, contemptible, and insignificant, because the world is base to him and small in his eyes. This completes renunciation.

ثُمَّ يَنْسَى زُهْدَهُ فِي زُهْدِهِ فَيَكُونُ حِينَئِذٍ زَاهِدًا فِي زُهْدِهِ لِرَغْبَتِهِ فِي مُزَهِّدِهِ، وَبِهَٰذَا يَكْمُلُ الزُّهْدُ؛ وَهَٰذَا لُبُّهُ وَحَقِيقَتُهُ؛ وَهُوَ أَعَزُّ الْأَحْوَالِ فِي مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ، وَهُوَ الزُّهْدُ فِي النَّفْسِ لَا الزُّهْدُ لِأَجْلِ النَّفْسِ وَلَا لِلرَّغْبَةِ فِي الزُّهْدِ لِلزُّهْدِ؛ وَهَٰذِهِ مُشَاهَدَةُ الصِّدِّيقِينَ، وَزُهْدُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ عِنْدَ وَجْدِ عَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ،

thumma yansā zuhdahu fī zuhdihi fayakūnu ḥīnaʾidhin zāhidan fī zuhdihi liraghbatihi fī muzahhidihi, wabihādhā yakmulu al-zuhdu; wahādhā lubbuhu waḥaqīqatuhu; wahuwa ʾaʿazzu al-ʾaḥwāli fī maqāmāti al-yaqīni, wahuwa al-zuhdu fī al-nafsi lā al-zuhdu liʾajli al-nafsi walā li-l-raghbati fī al-zuhdi li-l-zuhdi; wahādhihi mushāhadatu al-ṣiddīqīna, wazuhdu al-muqarrabīna ʿinda wajdi ʿayni al-yaqīni,

He then forgets his renunciation within his renunciation, becoming a renouncer of renunciation itself because he desires the One who makes him renounce. Through this, renunciation reaches perfection. This is its kernel and reality, the rarest of states within the stations of certainty. It is renouncing the self, rather than renouncing for the self’s sake or out of desire for renunciation for its own sake. This is the witnessing of the utterly truthful and the renunciation of those brought near when they experience the eye of certainty.

وَدُونَ هَٰذَا مَقَامَاتُ إِخْرَاجِ الْمَرْغُوبِ فِيهِ عَنِ الْيَدِ مَعَ نَظَرِهِ إِلَيْهِ وَعَلَى مُجَاهَدَةِ النَّفْسِ فِيهِ؛ وَهُوَ زُهْدُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَذَٰلِكَ الْعَمَلُ بِالزُّهْدِ عَقْدٌ وَعَمَلٌ إِذْ كَانَ الزُّهْدُ عَنِ الْإِيمَانِ، وَالْإِيمَانُ قَوْلٌ وَعَمَلٌ، وَكَذَٰلِكَ الزُّهْدُ عَقْدٌ وَعَمَلٌ، فَعَقْدُهُ خُرُوجُ حُبِّ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الْقَلْبِ بِدُخُولِ حُبِّ الْآخِرَةِ فِي الْقَلْبِ، وَالْعَمَلُ بِالزُّهْدِ إِخْرَاجُ الْمَحْبُوبِ مِنَ الْيَدِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مُعْتَاضًا مِنْهُ مَا عِنْدَهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى مِنْ وَجْهِهِ الْكَرِيمِ جَلَّ وَتَعَالَى أَوْ قُرْبِ جِوَارِهِ فِي دَارِهِ

wadūna hādhā maqāmātu ʾikhrāji al-marghūbi fīhi ʿani al-yadi maʿa naẓarihi ʾilayhi waʿalā mujāhadati al-nafsi fīhi; wahuwa zuhdu al-muʾminīna, wadhālika al-ʿamalu bi-al-zuhdi ʿaqdun waʿamalun ʾidh kāna al-zuhdu ʿani al-ʾīmāni, wa-al-ʾīmānu qawlun waʿamalun, wakadhālika al-zuhdu ʿaqdun waʿamalun, faʿaqduhu khurūju ḥubbi al-dunyā mina al-qalbi bidukhūli ḥubbi al-ʾākhirati fī al-qalbi, wa-al-ʿamalu bi-al-zuhdi ʾikhrāju al-maḥbūbi mina al-yadi fī sabīli Allāhi taʿālā muʿtāḍan minhu mā ʿindahu subḥānahu wataʿālā min wajhihi al-karīmi jalla wataʿālā ʾaw qurbi jiwārihi fī dārihi

Below it are the stations of removing the desired thing from the hand while still looking toward it and struggling with the self over it. This is believers’ renunciation. Such practice consists of commitment and action, since renunciation arises from faith, and faith is speech and action. Likewise, renunciation is commitment and action. Its commitment is the departure of worldly love from the heart through the entrance of love of the afterlife; its action is giving the beloved thing out of one’s hand in the path of God Most High, receiving in exchange what is with Him, glorified and exalted: His noble face, exalted and sublime, or the nearness of His company in His abode.

وَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنِ الدُّنْيَا مَوْجُودَةً فَإِنَّ تَرْكَ الْأَسَفِ عَلَيْهَا وَقِلَّةَ الْحِرْصِ فِيهَا، وَتَرْكَ الطَّلَبِ وَالتَّمَنِّي لَهَا، وَسُكُونَ الْقَلْبِ مَعَ الْعَدَمِ وَرِضَاهُ بِيَسِيرِ الْقِسْمِ يُحْسَبُ لِلْعَبْدِ زُهْدًا لِأَنَّ ذَٰلِكَ حَالُ الْفَقِيرِ، فَإِذَا قَامَ بِحُكْمِهِ لَمْ يَجِبْ عَلَيْهِ أَكْثَرُ مِنَ الْقِيَامِ بِهِ، وَالْوَرَعُ هُوَ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ كَمَا الزُّهْدُ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْحَيَاءُ وَالْإِيمَانُ فِي قَرَنٍ وَاحِدٍ، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ إِذَا نُزِعَ أَحَدُهُمَا تَبِعَهُ الْآخَرُ.

waʾin lam takuni al-dunyā mawjūdatan faʾinna tarka al-ʾasafi ʿalayhā waqillata al-ḥirṣi fīhā, watarka al-ṭalabi wa-al-tamannī lahā, wasukūna al-qalbi maʿa al-ʿadami wariḍāhu biyasīri al-qismi yuḥsabu li-l-ʿabdi zuhdan liʾanna dhālika ḥālu al-faqīri, faʾidhā qāma biḥukmihi lam yajib ʿalayhi ʾaktharu mina al-qiyāmi bihi, wa-al-waraʿu huwa mina al-zuhdi kamā al-zuhdu mina al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ḥayāʾu wa-al-ʾīmānu fī qaranin wāḥidin, kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari ʾidhā nuziʿa ʾaḥaduhumā tabiʿahu al-ʾākharu.

If worldly possessions are absent, then ceasing to regret them, having little greed for them, abandoning pursuit and wishes for them, and the heart’s calm amid privation and contentment with a small allotted share are reckoned as renunciation for the servant. That is the poor person’s condition; if he fulfills its requirement, nothing further is incumbent upon him. Scrupulousness belongs to renunciation as renunciation belongs to faith. Modesty and faith are joined in one bond, as the report says: “If one is taken away, the other follows.”

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي ذَٰلِكَ حَدِيثًا مِنْ طُرُقِ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ: الزُّهْدُ وَالْوَرَعُ يَجُولَانِ فِي الْقَلْبِ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ، فَإِنْ صَادَفَا قَلْبًا فِيهِ الْإِيمَانُ وَالْحَيَاءُ أَقَامَا فِيهِ وَإِلَّا اِرْتَحَلَا، وَالْقَنَاعَةُ بَابٌ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ أَيْضًا، وَالرِّضَا بِالْيَسِيرِ مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ حَالٌ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ وَالتَّقَلُّلُ فِي الْأَشْيَاءِ مِفْتَاحُ الزُّهْدِ،

warawaynā fī dhālika ḥadīthan min ṭuruqi ʾahli al-bayti: al-zuhdu wa-al-waraʿu yajūlāni fī al-qalbi kulla laylatin, faʾin ṣādafā qalban fīhi al-ʾīmānu wa-al-ḥayāʾu ʾaqāmā fīhi waʾillā irtaḥalā, wa-al-qanāʿatu bābun mina al-zuhdi ʾayḍan, wa-al-riḍā bi-al-yasīri mina al-ʾashyāʾi ḥālun mina al-zuhdi wa-al-taqallulu fī al-ʾashyāʾi miftāḥu al-zuhdi,

We have transmitted a report about this through the Prophet’s household: “Renunciation and scrupulousness wander through the heart every night. If they encounter a heart containing faith and modesty, they settle there; otherwise they depart.” Contentment is also a gate of renunciation. Being satisfied with little is one of its states, and reducing one’s portion of things is its key.

وَقَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ أَدْهَمَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: قَدْ حُجِبَتْ قُلُوبُنَا بِثَلَاثَةِ أَغْطِيَةٍ فَلَنْ يُكْشَفَ لِلْعَبْدِ الْيَقِينُ حَتَّى تُرْفَعَ هَٰذِهِ الْحُجُبُ الْفَرَحُ بِالْمَوْجُودِ وَالْحُزْنُ عَلَى الْمَفْقُودِ وَالسُّرُورُ بِالْمَدْحِ، فَإِذَا فَرِحْتَ بِالْمَوْجُودِ فَأَنْتَ حَرِيصٌ وَالْحَرِيصُ مَحْرُومٌ، وَإِذَا حَزِنْتَ عَلَى الْمَفْقُودِ فَأَنْتَ سَاخِطٌ وَالسَّاخِطُ مُعَذَّبٌ، وَإِذَا سُرِرْتَ بِالْمَدْحِ فَأَنْتَ مُعْجَبٌ وَالْعُجْبُ يُحْبِطُ الْعَمَلَ،

waqāla ʾibrāhīmu bnu ʾadhama raḥimahu Allāhu: qad ḥujibat qulūbunā bithalāthati ʾaghṭiyatin falan yukshafa li-l-ʿabdi al-yaqīnu ḥattā turfaʿa hādhihi al-ḥujubu al-faraḥu bi-al-mawjūdi wa-al-ḥuznu ʿalā al-mafqūdi wa-al-surūru bi-al-madḥi, faʾidhā fariḥta bi-al-mawjūdi faʾanta ḥarīṣun wa-al-ḥarīṣu maḥrūmun, waʾidhā ḥazinta ʿalā al-mafqūdi faʾanta sākhiṭun wa-al-sākhiṭu muʿadhdhabun, waʾidhā surirta bi-al-madḥi faʾanta muʿjabun wa-al-ʿujbu yuḥbiṭu al-ʿamala,

Ibrāhīm ibn Adham, God have mercy on him, said, “Our hearts have been veiled by three coverings. Certainty will not be unveiled to the servant until these veils are lifted: delight in what is present, grief over what is absent, and pleasure in praise. When you delight in what is present, you are greedy, and the greedy are deprived. When you grieve over what is absent, you are resentful, and the resentful are punished. When you take pleasure in praise, you are self-admiring, and self-admiration nullifies deeds.”

وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (لِكَيْلَا تَأْسَوْا عَلَى مَا فَاتَكُمْ وَلَا تَفْرَحُوا بِمَا آتَاكُمْ) الْحَدِيدُ: 23، أَيْ مِنْهَا، وَهَٰذَانِ الْوَصْفَانِ هُمَا أَتَمُّ حَالٍ فِي الزُّهْدِ مَنْ أُعْطِيَ أَحَدَهُمَا تَبِعَهُ الْآخَرُ لِأَنَّ اَلَّذِي لَا يَأْسَى عَلَى مَا فَاتَهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا، هُوَ اَلَّذِي لَا يَفْرَحُ بِمَا أَتَاهُ مِنْهَا لِأَنَّهُ مِثْلُهُ وَاَلَّذِي لَا يَفْرَحُ بِمَا أَتَاهُ مِنْهَا هُوَ اَلَّذِي لَا يَحْزَنُ عَلَى مَا فَاتَهُ، وَهَٰذَا وَصْفُ عَبْدٍ غَيْرِ مُتَمَلِّكٍ لِمِلْكٍ وَسِيمَا

waqāla Allāhu taʿālā: (likaylā taʾsaw ʿalā mā fātakum walā tafraḥū bimā ʾātākum) al-ḥadīdu: 23, ʾay minhā, wahādhāni al-waṣfāni humā ʾatammu ḥālin fī al-zuhdi man ʾuʿṭiya ʾaḥadahumā tabiʿahu al-ʾākharu liʾanna alladhī lā yaʾsā ʿalā mā fātahu mina al-dunyā, huwa alladhī lā yafraḥu bimā ʾatāhu minhā liʾannahu mithluhu wa-alladhī lā yafraḥu bimā ʾatāhu minhā huwa alladhī lā yaḥzanu ʿalā mā fātahu, wahādhā waṣfu ʿabdin ghayri mutamallikin limilkin wasīmā

God Most High says, “So that you do not grieve over what has escaped you, or rejoice in what He has given you” (al-Ḥadīd 57:23), meaning of the world. These two characteristics are the fullest state of renunciation. Whoever receives one, the other follows it. The person who does not grieve over what he has missed of the world is the one who does not rejoice in what comes to him from it, because the two are alike. The person who does not rejoice in what comes to him is the one who does not grieve over what has escaped him. This describes a servant who claims no ownership of possessions; it is the mark of

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤١٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 417

Volume One, page 417

عَبْدٍ قَائِمٍ بِحُكْمِ رَبٍّ وَنَعْتُ عَبْدٍ مُوقِنٍ مُحِبٍّ قَدْ شَغَلَتْهُ مُشَاهَدَةُ الْآخِرَةِ عَنِ التَّفَرُّغِ لِمُتْعَةِ الدُّنْيَا وَقَدْ فَرَّغَتْهُ مُعَايَنَةُ الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الِاشْتِغَالِ بِمَا يُغْنِي، وَفِي أَحَدِ الْوُجُوهِ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ أَغْنَى وَأَقْنَى) النَّجْمُ: 48، قِيلَ: أَغْنَى أَهْلَ الْآخِرَةِ بِاللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى وَأَغْنَاهُمْ عَنِ الدُّنْيَا بِالْآخِرَةِ وَأَقْنَى أَهْلَ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا أَيْ جَعَلَ لَهُمْ قِنْيَةً وَمُدَّخَرًا وَعُدَّةً

ʿabdin qāʾimin biḥukmi rabbin wanaʿtu ʿabdin mūqinin muḥibbin qad shaghalathu mushāhadatu al-ʾākhirati ʿani al-tafarrughi limutʿati al-dunyā waqad farraghathu muʿāyanatu al-ʾākhirati mina al-ishtighāli bimā yughnī, wafī ʾaḥadi al-wujūhi min qawlihi taʿālā: (waʾannahu huwa ʾaghnā waʾaqnā) al-najmu: 48, qīla: ʾaghnā ʾahla al-ʾākhirati bi-llāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā waʾaghnāhum ʿani al-dunyā bi-al-ʾākhirati waʾaqnā ʾahla al-dunyā mina al-dunyā ʾay jaʿala lahum qinyatan wamuddakharan waʿuddatan

a servant who abides by a Lord’s judgment, and the quality of a certain, loving servant whom witnessing the afterlife has occupied too fully to devote himself to worldly enjoyment. Direct sight of the afterlife has freed him from preoccupation with what enriches. One interpretation of the words of the Most High, “It is He who enriches and grants possessions” (al-Najm 53:48), says: He enriched the people of the afterlife with God, glorified and exalted, making the afterlife suffice them instead of the world, and He gave the people of this world worldly possessions, that is, property, stores, and provisions.

كَمَا وَصَفَ مَنْ ذَمَّهُ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (جَمَعَ مَالًا وَعَدَّدَهُ) الْهُمَزَةُ: 2، أَيْ قَالَ هَٰذَا عُدَّةٌ لِكَذَا وَهَٰذِهِ عُدَّةٌ لِكَذَا فَهَدَّدَهُ بِالْوَيْلِ فَحَصَلَ مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ أَنَّ الزَّاهِدَ فِي الْمَالِ عُدَّتُهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي كُلِّ الْأَحْوَالِ وَكَنْزُهُ وَذُخْرُهُ وَطُوبَى لَهُ وَحُسْنُ مَآبٍ.

kamā waṣafa man dhammahu min qawlihi taʿālā: (jamaʿa mālan waʿaddadahu) al-humazatu: 2, ʾay qāla hādhā ʿuddatun likadhā wahādhihi ʿuddatun likadhā fahaddadahu bi-al-wayli faḥaṣala min dhālika ʾanna al-zāhida fī al-māli ʿuddatuhu Allāhu taʿālā fī kulli al-ʾaḥwāli wakanzuhu wadhukhruhu waṭūbā lahu waḥusnu maʾābin.

So He describes the one He blames in His words, exalted is He: “He amassed wealth and counted it” (al-Humaza 104:2), meaning, he said, “This is provision for this, and this is provision for that.” He threatened him with woe. It follows that God Most High is the wealth-renouncer’s provision in every circumstance, his treasure and reserve. Blessedness and a beautiful return are his.

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَنَّهُ قَالَ: كَفَى بِالْيَقِينِ غِنًى وَكَفَى بِالْعِبَادَةِ شُغْلًا وَكَفَى بِالْمَوْتِ وَاعِظًا؛ وَهَٰذَا جُمْلَةُ وَصْفِ الزَّاهِدِ الْمُوقِنِ، اَلَّذِي هُوَ لِلْمَوْتِ مُرْتَقِبٌ مَعَ الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ، لَيْسَ الْغِنَى عَنْ كَثْرَةِ الْعَرَضِ إِنَّمَا الْغِنَى غِنَى النَّفْسِ،

warawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾannahu qāla: kafā bi-al-yaqīni ghinan wakafā bi-al-ʿibādati shughlan wakafā bi-al-mawti wāʿiẓan; wahādhā jumlatu waṣfi al-zāhidi al-mūqini, alladhī huwa li-l-mawti murtaqibun maʿa al-khabari al-mashhūri, laysa al-ghinā ʿan kathrati al-ʿaraḍi ʾinnamā al-ghinā ghinā al-nafsi,

We have transmitted from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “Certainty suffices as wealth, worship suffices as occupation, and death suffices as admonition.” This comprehensively describes the certain renouncer who awaits death. Alongside it stands the famous report: “Wealth does not consist in abundant possessions; wealth is richness of soul.”

وَقَدْ جَعَلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الزُّهْدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا عَلَمًا لِحَقِيقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ وَقَرَّبَهُ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْإِيقَانِ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ لِحَارِثَةَ: عَرَفْتَ فَاِلْزَمْ عَبْدٌ نَوَّرَ اللَّهُ قَلْبَهُ لَمَّا قَالَ أَنَا مُؤْمِنٌ حَقًّا قَالَ: وَمَا حَقِيقَةُ إِيمَانِكَ، فَاِبْتَدَأَ بِالزُّهْدِ فَقَالَ: عَزَفَتْ نَفْسِي عَنِ الدُّنْيَا فَاِسْتَوَى عِنْدِي حَجَرُهَا وَذَهَبُهَا وَكَأَنِّي بِالْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ وَكَأَنِّي بِعَرْشِ رَبِّي بَارِزًا،

waqad jaʿala al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-zuhda fī al-dunyā ʿalaman liḥaqīqati al-ʾīmāni waqarrabahu bimushāhadati al-ʾīqāni fī qawlihi ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu liḥārithata: ʿarafta fa-ilzam ʿabdun nawwara Allāhu qalbahu lammā qāla ʾanā muʾminun ḥaqqan qāla: wamā ḥaqīqatu ʾīmānika, fa-ibtadaʾa bi-al-zuhdi faqāla: ʿazafat nafsī ʿani al-dunyā fa-istawā ʿindī ḥajaruhā wadhahabuhā wakaʾannī bi-al-jannati wa-al-nāri wakaʾannī biʿarshi rabbī bārizan,

The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, made worldly renunciation a sign of faith’s reality and brought it close through the witnessing of certainty in his words, blessings and peace upon him, to Ḥāritha: “You have known, so hold fast: a servant whose heart God has illuminated.” When he said, “I am truly a believer,” he asked, “What is the reality of your faith?” He began with renunciation: “My self has turned away from the world, so its stones and gold are equal to me. It is as though I see the Garden and the Fire, and my Lord’s throne standing forth.”

وَأَشَدُّ مِنْ هَٰذَا الْخَبَرُ الْآخَرُ اَلَّذِي جَعَلَ النَّبِيُّ الزُّهْدَ مِنْ عَلَامَةِ شَرْحِ الصَّدْرِ بِالنُّورِ، وَهُوَ نُورُ التَّصْدِيقِ اَلَّذِي هُوَ عُمُومُ وَصْفِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لِأَنَّهُ هُوَ فِي التَّحْقِيقِ الْإِسْلَامُ، فَفَسَّرَ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى: (فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ) الْأَنْعَامُ: 125، قِيلَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا هَٰذَا الشَّرْحُ؟ قَالَ: إِنَّ النُّورَ إِذَا دَخَلَ الْقَلْبَ اِنْشَرَحَ لَهُ الصَّدْرُ وَاِنْفَتَحَ،

waʾashaddu min hādhā al-khabaru al-ʾākharu alladhī jaʿala al-nabiyyu al-zuhda min ʿalāmati sharḥi al-ṣadri bi-al-nūri, wahuwa nūru al-taṣdīqi alladhī huwa ʿumūmu waṣfi al-muʾminīna liʾannahu huwa fī al-taḥqīqi al-ʾislāmu, fafassara qawlahu taʿālā: (faman yuridi Allāhu ʾan yahdiyahu yashraḥ ṣadrahu li-l-ʾislāmi) al-ʾanʿāmu: 125, qīla: yā rasūla Allāhi mā hādhā al-sharḥu? qāla: ʾinna al-nūra ʾidhā dakhala al-qalba insharaḥa lahu al-ṣadru wa-infataḥa,

Stronger still is another report in which the Prophet made renunciation a sign of the breast’s expansion through light, the light of assent that generally characterizes believers, since this is, in truth, submission. He explained the words of the Most High, “Whomever God wishes to guide, He expands his breast to submission” (al-Anʿām 6:125). Asked, “Messenger of God, what is this expansion?” he said, “When light enters the heart, the breast expands for it and opens.”

قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ هَلْ لِذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عَلَامَةٍ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ التَّجَافِي عَنْ دَارِ الْغُرُورِ وَالْإِنَابَةُ إِلَى دَارِ الْخُلُودِ وَالِاسْتِعْدَادُ لِلْمَوْتِ قَبْلَ نُزُولِهِ؛ فَهَٰذَا هُوَ الزُّهْدُ جَعَلَهُ شَرْطًا لِحَقِيقَةِ الْإِسْلَامِ. وَأَشَدُّ مِنْ هَٰذَيْنِ الْخَبَرَيْنِ الْخَبَرُ الثَّالِثُ اَلَّذِي فَسَّرَ الْحَيَاءَ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَقَالَ: اِسْتَحْيُوا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى حَقَّ الْحَيَاءِ قُلْنَا: إِنَّا لَنَسْتَحِي قَالَ: تَبْنُونَ مَا لَا

qīla yā rasūla Allāhi hal lidhālika min ʿalāmatin? qāla: naʿam al-tajāfī ʿan dāri al-ghurūri wa-al-ʾinābatu ʾilā dāri al-khulūdi wa-al-istiʿdādu li-l-mawti qabla nuzūlihi; fahādhā huwa al-zuhdu jaʿalahu sharṭan liḥaqīqati al-ʾislāmi. waʾashaddu min hādhayni al-khabarayni al-khabaru al-thālithu alladhī fassara al-ḥayāʾa mina Allāhi taʿālā bi-al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā faqāla: istaḥyū mina Allāhi taʿālā ḥaqqa al-ḥayāʾi qulnā: ʾinnā lanastaḥī qāla: tabnūna mā lā

Asked, “Messenger of God, does it have a sign?” he replied, “Yes: withdrawing from the abode of delusion, turning to the abode of everlasting life, and preparing for death before it arrives.” This is renunciation, which he made a condition of true submission. Stronger than both is a third report, in which he explained modesty before God Most High through renunciation of the world: “Be modest before God Most High with true modesty.” We said, “We certainly are modest.” He said, “You build what you will not

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤١٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 418

Volume One, page 418

تَسْكُنُونَ وَتَجْمَعُونَ مَا لَا تَأْكُلُونَ، وَبِمَعْنَى هَٰذَا تَمَّمَ إِيمَانَ الْوَفْدِ اَلَّذِي سَأَلَهُمْ مَا أَنْتُمْ؟ فَقَالُوا: مُؤْمِنُونَ، قَالَ: وَمَا عَلَامَةُ إِيمَانِكُمْ؟ فَذَكَرُوا الصَّبْرَ عَلَى الْبَلَاءِ وَالشُّكْرَ عِنْدَ الرَّخَاءِ وَالرِّضَا بِمَوَاقِعِ الْقَضَاءِ وَتَرْكَ الشَّمَاتَةِ بِالْمُصِيبَةِ إِذَا نَزَلَتْ بِالْأَعْدَاءِ فَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ: إِنْ كُنْتُمْ كَذَٰلِكَ فَلَا تَجْمَعُوا مَا لَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَلَا تَبْنُوا مَا لَا تَسْكُنُونَ وَلَا تَنَافَسُوا فِيمَا عَنْهُ تَرْحَلُونَ؛ فَهَٰذَا هُوَ الزُّهْدُ جَعَلَهُ تَكْمِلَةَ إِيمَانِهِمْ وَعُلُوَّ مَقَامِهِمْ وَتَمَامًا عَلَى إِحْسَانِهِمْ،

taskunūna watajmaʿūna mā lā taʾkulūna, wabimaʿnā hādhā tammama ʾīmāna al-wafdi alladhī saʾalahum mā ʾantum? faqālū: muʾminūna, qāla: wamā ʿalāmatu ʾīmānikum? fadhakarū al-ṣabra ʿalā al-balāʾi wa-al-shukra ʿinda al-rakhāʾi wa-al-riḍā bimawāqiʿi al-qaḍāʾi watarka al-shamātati bi-al-muṣībati ʾidhā nazalat bi-al-ʾaʿdāʾi faqāla ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu: ʾin kuntum kadhālika falā tajmaʿū mā lā taʾkulūna walā tabnū mā lā taskunūna walā tanāfasū fīmā ʿanhu tarḥalūna; fahādhā huwa al-zuhdu jaʿalahu takmilata ʾīmānihim waʿuluwwa maqāmihim watamāman ʿalā ʾiḥsānihim,

“inhabit, and gather what you will not eat.” With the same meaning he completed the faith of the delegation whom he asked, “What are you?” They answered, “Believers.” He asked, “What is the sign of your faith?” They mentioned patience under affliction, gratitude in prosperity, contentment with the occurrences of the decree, and refraining from gloating when calamity befell enemies. He, blessings and peace upon him, said, “If you are like that, do not gather what you will not eat, build what you will not inhabit, or compete over what you must leave behind.” This is renunciation. He made it the completion of their faith, the elevation of their station, and the finishing of their excellence.

وَأَعْظَمُ مِنْ هَٰذِهِ كُلِّهَا الْخَبَرُ الرَّابِعُ اَلَّذِي جَعَلَ فِيهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الزُّهْدَ مِنْ شَرْطِ إِخْلَاصِ التَّوْحِيدِ فِي حَدِيثٍ رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنِ اِبْنِ الْمُنْكَدِرِ عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ: خَطَبَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: مَنْ جَاءَ بِلَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ لَا يَخْلِطُ مَعَهَا غَيْرَهَا وَجَبَتْ لَهُ الْجَنَّةُ، فَقَامَ إِلَيْهِ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ فَقَالَ: بِأَبِي أَنْتَ وَأُمِّي يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَخْلِطُ بِهَا غَيْرَهَا صِفْهُ لَنَا فَسِّرْهُ لَنَا

waʾaʿẓamu min hādhihi kullihā al-khabaru al-rābiʿu alladhī jaʿala fīhi rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-zuhda min sharṭi ʾikhlāṣi al-tawḥīdi fī ḥadīthin rawaynāhu ʿani ibni al-munkadiri ʿan jābirin qāla: khaṭabanā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faqāla: man jāʾa bilā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu lā yakhliṭu maʿahā ghayrahā wajabat lahu al-jannatu, faqāma ʾilayhi ʿaliyyun karrama Allāhu wajhahu faqāla: biʾabī ʾanta waʾummī yā rasūla Allāhi mā lā yakhliṭu bihā ghayrahā ṣifhu lanā fassirhu lanā

Greater than all these is the fourth report, in which the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, made renunciation a condition of sincere affirmation of oneness. We transmitted it from Ibn al-Munkadir, from Jābir: “The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, addressed us: ‘Whoever comes with “There is no god but God,” mixing nothing else with it, is assured the Garden.’ ʿAlī, God honor his face, rose and said, ‘May my father and mother be your ransom, Messenger of God. What does “mixing nothing else with it” mean? Describe and explain it to us.’

فَقَالَ: حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا وَطَلَبًا لَهَا وَاِتِّبَاعًا لَهَا وَقَوْمٌ يَقُولُونَ قَوْلَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ، وَيَعْمَلُونَ أَعْمَالَ الْجَبَابِرَةِ، فَمَنْ جَاءَ بِلَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ فِيهَا مِنْ هَٰذَا وَجَبَتْ لَهُ الْجَنَّةُ، فَلِذَٰلِكَ كَانَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَجْعَلُ الزُّهْدَ مَقَامًا فِي الصَّبْرِ، وَيَجْعَلُ الصَّبْرَ عُمْدَةَ الْإِيمَانِ فِي حَدِيثَيْنِ رَوَيْنَاهُمَا عَنْهُ؛ أَوَّلُهُمَا قَوْلُهُ فِي الْحَدِيثِ الطَّوِيلِ اَلَّذِي رَوَاهُ عِكْرِمَةُ وَعُتْبَةُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ وَالْحَٰرِثُ الْأَعْوَرُ وَقَبِيصَةُ بْنُ جَابِرٍ الْأَسَدِيُّ فِي مَبَانِي الْإِيمَانِ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: الْإِيمَانُ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ دَعَائِمَ، عَلَى الصَّبْرِ، وَالْيَقِينِ، وَالْعَدْلِ، وَالْجِهَادِ،

faqāla: ḥubbu al-dunyā waṭalaban lahā wa-ittibāʿan lahā waqawmun yaqūlūna qawla al-ʾanbiyāʾi, wayaʿmalūna ʾaʿmāla al-jabābirati, faman jāʾa bilā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu laysa shayʾun fīhā min hādhā wajabat lahu al-jannatu, falidhālika kāna ʿaliyyun raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yajʿalu al-zuhda maqāman fī al-ṣabri, wayajʿalu al-ṣabra ʿumdata al-ʾīmāni fī ḥadīthayni rawaynāhumā ʿanhu; ʾawwaluhumā qawluhu fī al-ḥadīthi al-ṭawīli alladhī rawāhu ʿikrimatu waʿutbatu bnu ḥumaydin wa-al-ḥārithu al-ʾaʿwaru waqabīṣatu bnu jābirin al-ʾasadiyyu fī mabānī al-ʾīmāni ʾannahu qāla: al-ʾīmānu ʿalā ʾarbaʿi daʿāʾima, ʿalā al-ṣabri, wa-al-yaqīni, wa-al-ʿadli, wa-al-jihādi,

He said, ‘Love of the world, seeking it, following it, and people who utter the words of prophets but do the deeds of tyrants. Whoever comes with “There is no god but God,” with none of this in it, is assured the Garden.’” For this reason ʿAlī, God be pleased with him, made renunciation a station within patience and patience the mainstay of faith in two reports we have transmitted from him. The first is his statement in the long report on faith’s foundations transmitted by ʿIkrima, ʿUtba ibn Ḥumayd, al-Ḥārith al-Aʿwar, and Qabīṣa ibn Jābir al-Asadī: “Faith rests on four supports: patience, certainty, justice, and striving.”

ثُمَّ قَالَ فِيهِ: وَالصَّبْرُ مِنْهَا عَلَى أَرْبَعِ شُعَبٍ؛ عَلَى الشَّوْقِ، وَالشَّفَقِ، وَالزَّهَادَةِ، وَالتَّرَقُّبِ، فَمَنِ اِشْتَاقَ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ سَلَا عَنِ الشَّهَوَاتِ، وَمَنْ أَشْفَقَ مِنَ النَّارِ رَجَعَ عَنِ الْمُحَرَّمَاتِ وَمَنْ زَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا هَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْمُصِيبَاتُ، وَمَنْ تَرَقَّبَ الْمَوْتَ سَارَعَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ.

thumma qāla fīhi: wa-al-ṣabru minhā ʿalā ʾarbaʿi shuʿabin; ʿalā al-shawqi, wa-al-shafaqi, wa-al-zahādati, wa-al-taraqqubi, famani ishtāqa ʾilā al-jannati salā ʿani al-shahawāti, waman ʾashfaqa mina al-nāri rajaʿa ʿani al-muḥarramāti waman zahida fī al-dunyā hānat ʿalayhi al-muṣībātu, waman taraqqaba al-mawta sāraʿa fī al-khayrāti.

He continues, “Patience among them has four branches: longing, apprehension, renunciation, and expectation. Whoever longs for the Garden forgets appetites; whoever dreads the Fire turns away from forbidden things; whoever renounces the world finds calamities light; whoever expects death hastens to good deeds.”

وَالْخَبَرُ الْآخَرُ فِي الصَّبْرِ اَلَّذِي جَعَلَهُ عَمُودَ الْإِيمَانِ يَنْهَدِمُ الْإِيمَانُ بِهَدْمِهِ هُوَ قَوْلُهُ: وَالصَّبْرُ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الرَّأْسِ مِنَ الْجَسَدِ، لَا جَسَدَ لِمَنْ لَا رَأْسَ لَهُ، وَلَا إِيمَانَ لِمَنْ لَا صَبْرَ لَهُ، وَرَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ مَقْطُوعٍ: السَّخَاءُ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ وَلَا يَدْخُلُ النَّارَ مُوقِنٌ، وَالْبُخْلُ مِنَ الشَّكِّ وَلَا يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ شَكَّ، فَكَانَ هَٰذَا الْحَدِيثُ مُفَسِّرًا لِلْخَبَرِ الْمُجْمَلِ السَّخِيُّ، قَرِيبٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ، قَرِيبٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ، قَرِيبٌ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ، بَعِيدٌ مِنَ النَّارِ، وَالْبَخِيلُ بَعِيدٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ، بَعِيدٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ، قَرِيبٌ مِنَ النَّارِ،

wa-al-khabaru al-ʾākharu fī al-ṣabri alladhī jaʿalahu ʿamūda al-ʾīmāni yanhadimu al-ʾīmānu bihadmihi huwa qawluhu: wa-al-ṣabru mina al-ʾīmāni bimanzilati al-raʾsi mina al-jasadi, lā jasada liman lā raʾsa lahu, walā ʾīmāna liman lā ṣabra lahu, warawaynā fī khabarin maqṭūʿin: al-sakhāʾu mina al-yaqīni walā yadkhulu al-nāra mūqinun, wa-al-bukhlu mina al-shakki walā yadkhulu al-jannata man shakka, fakāna hādhā al-ḥadīthu mufassiran li-l-khabari al-mujmali al-sakhiyyu, qarībun mina Allāhi, qarībun mina al-nāsi, qarībun mina al-jannati, baʿīdun mina al-nāri, wa-al-bakhīlu baʿīdun mina Allāhi, baʿīdun mina al-nāsi, qarībun mina al-nāri,

The other report about patience, which he made the pillar of faith so that faith collapses when it collapses, is his saying, “Patience is to faith as the head is to the body. Whoever has no head has no body; whoever has no patience has no faith.” We have transmitted a report not traced to the Prophet: “Generosity arises from certainty, and no certain person enters the Fire; miserliness arises from doubt, and no doubter enters the Garden.” This explains the concise report: “The generous person is near God, near people, near the Garden, and far from the Fire; the miser is far from God, far from people, and near the Fire.”

فَسَّرَ فِي ذَٰلِكَ الْخَبَرِ بِأَيِّ مَعْنًى يَكُونُ السَّخِيُّ قَرِيبًا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، قَرِيبًا مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ لِأَنَّ السَّخَاءَ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ وَبِأَيِّ مَعْنًى يَكُونُ الْبَخِيلُ بَعِيدًا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، قَرِيبًا مِنَ النَّارِ لِأَنَّ الْبُخْلَ مِنَ الشَّكِّ، فَالسَّخَاءُ وَصْفُ الزَّاهِدِ وَلَا يَكُونُ الزَّاهِدُ إِلَّا سَخِيًّا، وَالْبُخْلُ وَصْفُ الرَّاغِبِ، وَلَا يَكُونُ الْحَرِيصُ إِلَّا بَخِيلًا وَلَا يَكُونُ الْبَخِيلُ زَاهِدًا لِأَنَّ

fassara fī dhālika al-khabari biʾayyi maʿnan yakūnu al-sakhiyyu qarīban mina Allāhi taʿālā, qarīban mina al-jannati liʾanna al-sakhāʾa mina al-yaqīni wabiʾayyi maʿnan yakūnu al-bakhīlu baʿīdan mina Allāhi taʿālā, qarīban mina al-nāri liʾanna al-bukhla mina al-shakki, fa-al-sakhāʾu waṣfu al-zāhidi walā yakūnu al-zāhidu ʾillā sakhiyyan, wa-al-bukhlu waṣfu al-rāghibi, walā yakūnu al-ḥarīṣu ʾillā bakhīlan walā yakūnu al-bakhīlu zāhidan liʾanna

The former report explains in what sense the generous person is near God Most High and the Garden: generosity arises from certainty. It also explains in what sense the miser is far from God Most High and near the Fire: miserliness arises from doubt. Generosity characterizes the renouncer, who can only be generous. Miserliness characterizes the desirous person; the greedy can only be miserly, and the miser cannot be a renouncer, because

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤١٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 419

Volume One, page 419

الزُّهْدَ يَدْعُو إِلَى إِخْرَاجِ الشَّيْءِ، وَالْبُخْلَ يَدْعُو إِلَى إِمْسَاكِهِ، فَنَفْسُ السَّخَاءِ زُهْدٌ، فَلِذَٰلِكَ ذُمَّ الْبُخْلُ لِأَنَّهُ رَغْبَةٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا، ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْحِرْصَ عَلَامَةُ الْبُخْلِ لِأَنَّهُ دَلِيلُ الرَّغْبَةِ، وَالْقَنَاعَةَ عَلَامَةُ السَّخَاءِ لِأَنَّهَا بَابُ الزُّهْدِ، فَلِذَٰلِكَ قِيلَ: سَخَاءُ النَّفْسِ عَمَّا فِي أَيْدِي النَّفْسِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ سَخَاءِ الْبَذْلِ، ثُمَّ يَفْتَرِقَانِ فِي الْحُكْمِ بَعْدَ اِجْتِمَاعِهِمَا فِي الْإِسْمِ، فَمَنْ جَادَ بِمِلْكِهِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى كَانَ زَاهِدًا فِيهِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَوَقَعَ أَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ، وَمَنْ جَادَ بِمَا لَهُ لِأَجْلِ النَّاسِ كَانَ أَيْضًا زَاهِدًا فِي ذَٰلِكَ مَوْصُوفًا بِالسَّخَاءِ، وَلَٰكِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لِنَفْسِهِ وَلِأَجْلِ هَوَاهُ

al-zuhda yadʿū ʾilā ʾikhrāji al-shayʾi, wa-al-bukhla yadʿū ʾilā ʾimsākihi, fanafsu al-sakhāʾi zuhdun, falidhālika dhumma al-bukhlu liʾannahu raghbatun fī al-dunyā, thumma ʾinna al-ḥirṣa ʿalāmatu al-bukhli liʾannahu dalīlu al-raghbati, wa-al-qanāʿata ʿalāmatu al-sakhāʾi liʾannahā bābu al-zuhdi, falidhālika qīla: sakhāʾu al-nafsi ʿammā fī ʾaydī al-nafsi ʾafḍalu min sakhāʾi al-badhli, thumma yaftariqāni fī al-ḥukmi baʿda ijtimāʿihimā fī al-ʾismi, faman jāda bimilkihi li-llāhi taʿālā kāna zāhidan fīhi li-llāhi taʿālā wawaqaʿa ʾajruhu ʿalā Allāhi, waman jāda bimā lahu liʾajli al-nāsi kāna ʾayḍan zāhidan fī dhālika mawṣūfan bi-al-sakhāʾi, walākinna dhālika linafsihi waliʾajli hawāhu

renunciation calls for giving a thing away, whereas miserliness calls for keeping it. Generosity itself is renunciation. Miserliness is therefore censured because it is desire for the world. Greed is a sign of miserliness because it proves desire; contentment is a sign of generosity because it is a gate of renunciation. Hence the saying, “The self’s generous detachment from what is in the self’s hands is better than generous giving.” Yet the two differ in judgment after sharing a name. Whoever gives his possessions generously for God Most High renounces them for God Most High, and his reward rests with God. Whoever generously gives what he has for people’s sake also renounces it and is called generous, but he does so for his self and caprice.

وَلَا أَجْرَ لَهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِذْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ عُمَّالِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَبَطَلَ أَجْرُهُ لِأَنَّهُ عَمِلَ لِنَفْسِهِ وَحَصَلَ شُكْرُهُ وَذِكْرُهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا لِأَنَّهُ عَمِلَ لِأَجْلِ النَّاسِ. كَمَا قَالَ اِبْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: مَا رَأَيْتُ بَيْنَ الْفُتُوَّةِ وَالْقِرَاءَةِ فَرْقًا إِلَّا فِي شَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ مَا حَظَرَتِ الْقِرَاءَةُ شَيْئًا إِلَّا قَبَّحَتْهُ الْفُتُوَّةُ وَإِنَّمَا يَفْتَرِقَانِ فِي أَنَّ الْقِرَاءَةَ يُرَادُ بِهَا وَجْهُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَالْفُتُوَّةَ يُرَادُ بِهَا وُجُوهُ النَّاسِ وَمَدْحُهُمْ

walā ʾajra lahu ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā ʾidh lam yakun min ʿummāli Allāhi taʿālā fabaṭala ʾajruhu liʾannahu ʿamila linafsihi waḥaṣala shukruhu wadhikruhu fī al-dunyā liʾannahu ʿamila liʾajli al-nāsi. kamā qāla ibnu al-mubāraki raḥimahu Allāhu: mā raʾaytu bayna al-futuwwati wa-al-qirāʾati farqan ʾillā fī shayʾin wāḥidin mā ḥaẓarati al-qirāʾatu shayʾan ʾillā qabbaḥathu al-futuwwatu waʾinnamā yaftariqāni fī ʾanna al-qirāʾata yurādu bihā wajhu Allāhi taʿālā, wa-al-futuwwata yurādu bihā wujūhu al-nāsi wamadḥuhum

He has no reward with God Most High, because he does not work for God Most High. His reward is null because he acted for himself; he obtains thanks and renown in this world because he acted for people. As Ibn al-Mubārak, God have mercy on him, said, “I have seen only one difference between chivalry and Qurʾānic piety. Whatever Qurʾānic piety forbids, chivalry also finds ugly. They differ only in that Qurʾānic piety seeks the face of God Most High, while chivalry seeks people’s faces and praise.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ أُسْتَاذُهُ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: مَنْ لَمْ يُحْسِنْ يَتَفَتَّى لَمْ يُحْسِنْ يَتَقَرَّى أَيْ مَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ أَحْكَامَ التَّفَتِّي فَيَقُومَ بِهَا حَتَّى يَسْتَحِقَّ وَصْفَ فَتًى لَمْ يُحْكِمْ أَوْصَافَ التَّقَرِّي حَتَّى يُوصَفَ بِأَنَّهُ قَارِئٌ،

waqad kāna ʾustādhuhu sufyānu al-thawriyyu raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu: man lam yuḥsin yatafattā lam yuḥsin yataqarrā ʾay man lam yaʿrif ʾaḥkāma al-tafattī fayaqūma bihā ḥattā yastaḥiqqa waṣfa fatan lam yuḥkim ʾawṣāfa al-taqarrī ḥattā yūṣafa biʾannahu qāriʾun,

His teacher Sufyān al-Thawrī, God have mercy on him, used to say, “Whoever cannot practice chivalry well cannot practice Qurʾānic piety well.” That is, someone who does not know and fulfill the requirements of chivalry so as to deserve the name of a chivalrous man will not master the qualities of Qurʾānic piety so as to be called a reciter.

ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ قَدْ يُجَاهِدُ نَفْسَهُ عَلَى الزُّهْدِ كَمَا يُجَاهِدُهَا عَلَى مُخَالَفَةِ الْهَوَى وَكَمَا يُجَاهِدُهَا بِالصَّبْرِ عَلَى الْحَقِّ بِأَنْ يُخْرِجَ الْمَرْغُوبَ وَيُنْفِقَ الْمَحْبُوبَ عَلَى كَرَاهَةٍ مِنَ النَّفْسِ وَحَمْلٍ بِالزُّهْدِ عَلَيْهَا فَيَكُونُ لَهُ مَقَامٌ فِي الزُّهْدِ يَنَالُ الْبِرَّ وَيَسْتَوْجِبُ مَدْحًا مِنَ الْبَرِّ،

thumma ʾinna al-ʿabda qad yujāhidu nafsahu ʿalā al-zuhdi kamā yujāhiduhā ʿalā mukhālafati al-hawā wakamā yujāhiduhā bi-al-ṣabri ʿalā al-ḥaqqi biʾan yukhrija al-marghūba wayunfiqa al-maḥbūba ʿalā karāhatin mina al-nafsi waḥamlin bi-al-zuhdi ʿalayhā fayakūnu lahu maqāmun fī al-zuhdi yanālu al-birra wayastawjibu madḥan mina al-barri,

A servant may struggle with his self over renunciation as he struggles against its caprice and trains it in patient adherence to truth. He relinquishes the desired thing and spends the beloved thing despite the self’s resistance, imposing renunciation upon it. He thereby has a station in renunciation, attains righteousness, and deserves praise from the Beneficent.

وَالْمُتَزَهِّدُ غَيْرُ الزَّاهِدِ، وَهُوَ اَلَّذِي يَتَصَنَّعُ لِلزُّهْدِ وَيَعْمَلُ فِي أَسْبَابِهِ مِنَ التَّقَلُّلِ وَرَثَاثَةِ الْحَالِ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَمَثَلُهُ مَثَلُ الْمُتَصَبِّرِينَ مِنَ الصَّابِرِ اَلَّذِي يَحْمِلُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بِالصَّبْرِ وَيُصَابِرُهَا عَلَى الْعِلْمِ، فَيَكُونُ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مِنَ الصَّبْرِ، وَصَفْوَةُ الزُّهْدِ اِنْتِظَارُ الْمَوْتِ وَقِصَرُ الْأَمَلِ لِأَنَّ فِيهِمَا تَرْكَ الِادِّخَارِ وَتَحْسِينَ الْأَعْمَالِ.

wa-al-mutazahhidu ghayru al-zāhidi, wahuwa alladhī yataṣannaʿu li-l-zuhdi wayaʿmalu fī ʾasbābihi mina al-taqalluli warathāthati al-ḥāli fī kulli shayʾin, famathaluhu mathalu al-mutaṣabbirīna mina al-ṣābiri alladhī yaḥmilu ʿalā nafsihi bi-al-ṣabri wayuṣābiruhā ʿalā al-ʿilmi, fayakūnu lahu maqāmun mina al-ṣabri, waṣafwatu al-zuhdi intiẓāru al-mawti waqiṣaru al-ʾamali liʾanna fīhimā tarka al-iddikhāri wataḥsīna al-ʾaʿmāli.

The person training himself in renunciation is different from the renouncer: he deliberately cultivates it and works at its means, taking little and maintaining a shabby condition in everything. He resembles those who make themselves patient, in relation to the patient person who bears down upon himself with patience and perseveres against it according to knowledge, thereby gaining a station in patience. The pure essence of renunciation is awaiting death and keeping hopes short, for these involve abandoning hoarding and improving deeds.

وَقَالَ اِبْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ: حَدُّ الزُّهْدِ أَنْ يَكُونَ شَاكِرًا عِنْدَ الرَّخَاءِ صَابِرًا عِنْدَ الْبَلَاءِ. وَقَالَ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا هُوَ الزُّهْدُ فِي النَّاسِ، مَنْ زَهِدَ فِيهِمْ فَقَدْ زَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَكَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْحُكَمَاءِ: إِذَا طَلَبَ الزَّاهِدُ النَّاسَ فَاِهْرُبْ مِنْهُ، وَإِذَا هَرَبَ مِنَ النَّاسِ فَاُطْلُبْهُ، وَقِيلَ لِيَحْيَى بْنِ مُعَاذٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: مَتَى يَكُونُ الرَّجُلُ زَاهِدًا؟ فَقَالَ: إِذَا بَلَغَ حِرْصُهُ فِي تَرْكِ الدُّنْيَا حِرْصَ الطَّالِبِ لَهَا كَانَ زَاهِدًا،

waqāla ibnu ʿuyaynata: ḥaddu al-zuhdi ʾan yakūna shākiran ʿinda al-rakhāʾi ṣābiran ʿinda al-balāʾi. waqāla bishru bnu al-ḥārithi raḥimahu Allāhu: al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā huwa al-zuhdu fī al-nāsi, man zahida fīhim faqad zahida fī al-dunyā, wakadhālika qāla baʿḍu al-ḥukamāʾi: ʾidhā ṭalaba al-zāhidu al-nāsa fa-ihrub minhu, waʾidhā haraba mina al-nāsi fa-uṭlubhu, waqīla liyaḥyā bni muʿādhin raḥimahu Allāhu: matā yakūnu al-rajulu zāhidan? faqāla: ʾidhā balagha ḥirṣuhu fī tarki al-dunyā ḥirṣa al-ṭālibi lahā kāna zāhidan,

Ibn ʿUyayna said, “Renunciation is defined by gratitude in prosperity and patience under affliction.” Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith, God have mercy on him, said, “Renouncing the world means renouncing people. Whoever renounces them has renounced the world.” One of the sages similarly said, “If a renouncer seeks people, flee from him; if he flees from people, seek him.” Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh, God have mercy on him, was asked, “When is a man a renouncer?” He answered, “When his eagerness to leave the world equals the eagerness of someone seeking it.”

وَقَالَ قَاسِمٌ الْجُوعِيُّ: الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا هُوَ الزُّهْدُ فِي الْجَوْفِ بِقَدْرِ مَا تَمْلِكُ مِنْ بَطْنِكَ، كَذَٰلِكَ تَمْلِكُ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ فَكَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَهُ الشِّبَعَ وَأَكْلَ الشَّهَوَاتِ، وَقَالَ فُضَيْلُ بْنُ عِيَاضٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: الزُّهْدُ هُوَ الْقَنَاعَةُ فَكَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَهُ هُوَ الْحِرْصَ وَالشَّرَهَ، وَقَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ: الزُّهْدُ هُوَ قِصَرُ الْأَمَلِ فَكَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَهُ طُولَ الْأَمَلِ، وَكَانَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: الدُّنْيَا كُلُّ مَا يَشْغَلُكَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى

waqāla qāsimun al-jūʿiyyu: al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā huwa al-zuhdu fī al-jawfi biqadri mā tamliku min baṭnika, kadhālika tamliku mina al-zuhdi fakānati al-dunyā ʿindahu al-shibaʿa waʾakla al-shahawāti, waqāla fuḍaylu bnu ʿiyāḍin raḥimahu Allāhu: al-zuhdu huwa al-qanāʿatu fakānati al-dunyā ʿindahu huwa al-ḥirṣa wa-al-sharaha, waqāla al-thawriyyu: al-zuhdu huwa qiṣaru al-ʾamali fakānati al-dunyā ʿindahu ṭūla al-ʾamali, wakāna ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: al-dunyā kullu mā yashghaluka ʿani Allāhi taʿālā

Qāsim al-Jūʿī said, “Renouncing the world means renouncing the belly. Your share of renunciation is proportionate to your mastery of your stomach.” For him, the world was satiety and eating desired foods. Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ, God have mercy on him, said, “Renunciation is contentment.” For him, the world was greed and voracity. Al-Thawrī said, “Renunciation is keeping hopes short.” For him, the world was long hopes. Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī, God Most High have mercy on him, used to say, “The world is everything that distracts you from God Most High.”

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٢٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 420

Volume One, page 420

فَكَانَ الزُّهْدُ عِنْدَهُ التَّفَرُّغَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَقَدْ قَالَ: إِنَّمَا الزَّاهِدُ مَنْ تَخَلَّى عَنِ الدُّنْيَا وَاِشْتَغَلَ بِالْعِبَادَةِ وَالِاجْتِهَادِ، فَأَمَّا مَنْ تَرَكَهَا وَتَبَطَّلَ فَإِنَّمَا طَلَبَ الرَّاحَةَ لِنَفْسِهِ، وَكَانَ دَاوُدُ الطَّائِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: كُلُّ مَا شَغَلَكَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ أَهْلٍ أَوْ مَالٍ فَهُوَ عَلَيْكَ شُؤْمٌ. وَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ: مَنْ تَزَوَّجَ أَوْ كَتَبَ الْحَدِيثَ أَوْ طَلَبَ مَعَاشًا فَقَدْ رَكَنَ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا وَقَرَأَ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى: (إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ) الشُّعَرَاءُ: 89، قَالَ: هُوَ الْقَلْبُ اَلَّذِي لَيْسَ فِيهِ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَقَالَ: إِنَّمَا زَهِدُوا فِي الدُّنْيَا لِتَفْرُغَ قُلُوبُهُمْ مِنْ هُمُومِهَا لِلْآخِرَةِ،

fakāna al-zuhdu ʿindahu al-tafarrugha li-llāhi taʿālā, waqad qāla: ʾinnamā al-zāhidu man takhallā ʿani al-dunyā wa-ishtaghala bi-al-ʿibādati wa-al-ijtihādi, faʾammā man tarakahā watabaṭṭala faʾinnamā ṭalaba al-rāḥata linafsihi, wakāna dāwudu al-ṭāʾiyyu raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: kullu mā shaghalaka ʿani Allāhi taʿālā min ʾahlin ʾaw mālin fahuwa ʿalayka shuʾmun. waqāla ʾabū sulaymāna: man tazawwaja ʾaw kataba al-ḥadītha ʾaw ṭalaba maʿāshan faqad rakana ʾilā al-dunyā waqaraʾa qawlahu taʿālā: (ʾillā man ʾatā Allāha biqalbin salīmin) al-shuʿarāʾu: 89, qāla: huwa al-qalbu alladhī laysa fīhi ghayru Allāhi taʿālā, waqāla: ʾinnamā zahidū fī al-dunyā litafrugha qulūbuhum min humūmihā li-l-ʾākhirati,

For him, then, renunciation was freeing oneself for God Most High. He also said, “The renouncer is someone who withdraws from the world and occupies himself with worship and strenuous practice. Someone who leaves it only to remain idle has merely sought rest for himself.” Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī, God Most High have mercy on him, used to say, “Whatever distracts you from God Most High, whether family or wealth, is a misfortune for you.” Abū Sulaymān said, “Whoever marries, writes down hadith, or seeks a livelihood has inclined toward the world.” He recited the words of the Most High, “Except whoever comes to God with a sound heart” (al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:89), and said, “It is the heart that contains nothing but God Most High.” He said, “They renounced the world only to free their hearts from its concerns for the afterlife.”

وَقَدْ قَالَ أُوَيْسٌ الْقَرَنِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: إِذَا خَرَجَ يَطْلُبُ ذَهَبَ الزُّهْدُ، وَكَانَ إِمَامُنَا وَشَيْخُ شَيْخِنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: أَوَّلُ الزُّهْدِ التَّوَكُّلُ وَأَوْسَطُهُ إِظْهَارُ الْقُدْرَةِ وَقَالَ: لَا يَزْهَدُ الْعَبْدُ زُهْدًا حَقِيقِيًّا لَا رَجْعَةَ بَعْدَهُ إِلَّا بَعْدَ مُشَاهَدَةِ قُدْرَةٍ، فَإِنَّ أَوَّلَ الْقُدْرَةِ عِنْدِي أَنْ يَشْهَدَ مَا سَمِعَ مِنْ كَلَامِ الْقَادِرِ الْمُزَهِّدِ إِذْ يَقُولُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى: (وَمِمَّا تُوقِدُونَ عَلَيْهِ فِي النَّارِ اِبْتِغَاءَ حِلْيَةٍ أَوْ مَتَاعٍ زَبَدٌ مِثْلُهُ) الرَّعْدُ: 17،

waqad qāla ʾuwaysun al-qaraniyyu raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā: ʾidhā kharaja yaṭlubu dhahaba al-zuhdu, wakāna ʾimāmunā washaykhu shaykhinā ʾabū muḥammadin sahlu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu: ʾawwalu al-zuhdi al-tawakkulu waʾawsaṭuhu ʾiẓhāru al-qudrati waqāla: lā yazhadu al-ʿabdu zuhdan ḥaqīqiyyan lā rajʿata baʿdahu ʾillā baʿda mushāhadati qudratin, faʾinna ʾawwala al-qudrati ʿindī ʾan yashhada mā samiʿa min kalāmi al-qādiri al-muzahhidi ʾidh yaqūlu tabāraka wataʿālā: (wamimmā tūqidūna ʿalayhi fī al-nāri ibtighāʾa ḥilyatin ʾaw matāʿin zabadun mithluhu) al-raʿdu: 17,

Uways al-Qaranī, God Most High have mercy on him, said, “When he goes out seeking, renunciation departs.” Our imam and our master’s master, Abū Muḥammad Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh, God have mercy on him, used to say, “The beginning of renunciation is trust; its middle is the manifestation of power.” He said, “The servant does not renounce truly, with no return afterward, until he has witnessed power. To me, the beginning of power is that he witnesses what he has heard in the words of the Powerful One who inspires renunciation, as He, blessed and exalted, says: ‘From what you kindle in the fire, seeking ornaments or useful goods, comes similar foam’” (al-Raʿd 13:17).

فَالْحِلْيَةُ الذَّهَبُ وَالْفِضَّةُ؛ وَهُمَا قِيَمُ الْأَشْيَاءِ اللَّذَانِ مَلَكَا النُّفُوسَ وَنَكَّسَا الرُّؤُوسَ فَالْمَتَاعُ مَا سِوَاهُمَا مِنْ مَعَادِنِ الْأَرْضِ، فَإِذَا شَهِدَ الْعَبْدُ الذَّهَبَ اَلَّذِي هُوَ سَبَبُ الدُّنْيَا وَلِأَجْلِهِ أَشْرَكَ مَنْ أَشْرَكَ وَبِحَبَائِلِهِ اِرْتَبَكَ مَنِ اِرْتَبَكَ وَلِوُقُوعِ حَلَاوَتِهِ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَقَعَ مَنْ وَقَعَ، فَإِذَا شَهِدَ جَوْهَرَ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ زَبَدًا طَافِيًا عَلَى وَجْهِ الْمَاءِ لَا نَفْعَ فِيهِ وَلَا غُنْيَةَ بِهِ وَلَا قِيمَةَ لَهُ زَهِدَ فِيهِ حِينَئِذٍ زُهْدًا صَادِقًا فَكَانَ زُهْدُهُ مُعَايَنَةً لَا خَبَرًا

fa-al-ḥilyatu al-dhahabu wa-al-fiḍḍatu; wahumā qiyamu al-ʾashyāʾi alladhāni malakā al-nufūsa wanakkasā al-ruʾūsa fa-al-matāʿu mā siwāhumā min maʿādini al-ʾarḍi, faʾidhā shahida al-ʿabdu al-dhahaba alladhī huwa sababu al-dunyā waliʾajlihi ʾashraka man ʾashraka wabiḥabāʾilihi irtabaka mani irtabaka waliwuqūʿi ḥalāwatihi fī al-qalbi waqaʿa man waqaʿa, faʾidhā shahida jawhara al-dhahabi wa-al-fiḍḍati zabadan ṭāfiyan ʿalā wajhi al-māʾi lā nafʿa fīhi walā ghunyata bihi walā qīmata lahu zahida fīhi ḥīnaʾidhin zuhdan ṣādiqan fakāna zuhduhu muʿāyanatan lā khabaran

The ornaments are gold and silver, the measures of things’ value that have owned souls and bowed heads; useful goods are the earth’s other minerals. When a servant witnesses gold, which is the means of worldly life, for whose sake people have associated partners with God, in whose snares people have become entangled, and through whose sweetness entering the heart people have fallen: when he witnesses the substance of gold and silver as foam floating upon the water, useless, incapable of sufficing, and worthless, he then renounces it truthfully. His renunciation is direct sight, not a report.

وَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَقًّا اَلَّذِينَ وَصَفَهُمُ الْحَقُّ بِالْحَقِّ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا) الْأَنْفَالُ: 2، فَالزُّهْدُ مَزِيدُ الْإِيمَانِ ثُمَّ قَالَ: وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ، فَالزُّهْدُ يَدْخُلُ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ ثُمَّ قَالَ: فَاِتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا وَاِصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ، فَالتَّوَكُّلُ يُوقَفُ عَلَى الصَّبْرِ.

wakāna mina al-muʾminīna ḥaqqan alladhīna waṣafahumu al-ḥaqqu bi-al-ḥaqqi fī qawlihi taʿālā: (ʾidhā dhukira Allāhu wajilat qulūbuhum waʾidhā tuliyat ʿalayhim ʾāyātuhu zādathum ʾīmānan) al-ʾanfālu: 2, fa-al-zuhdu mazīdu al-ʾīmāni thumma qāla: waʿalā rabbihim yatawakkalūna, fa-al-zuhdu yadkhulu fī al-tawakkuli thumma qāla: fa-ittakhidhhu wakīlan wa-iṣbir ʿalā mā yaqūlūna, fa-al-tawakkulu yūqafu ʿalā al-ṣabri.

He becomes one of the true believers whom the Real describes truthfully in His words, exalted is He: “When God is mentioned, their hearts tremble; when His signs are recited to them, they increase them in faith” (al-Anfāl 8:2). Renunciation is the increase of faith. He then says, “And in their Lord they trust.” Renunciation enters into trust. Then He says, “Take Him as trustee, and endure what they say.” Trust depends upon patience.

وَكَانَ هَٰذَا قَدْ سَمِعَ مِنْ كَلَامِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَفَعَلَهُ فَأَبْلَغَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَأْمَنَهُ فِي الْمَقَامِ الْأَمِينِ فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ، وَاِسْتَحَقَّ وَصْفَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالْإِيمَانِ إِذَا تَلَا الْقُرْآنَ بِحَقِيقَةِ الْإِيقَانِ فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (اَلَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَتْلُونَهُ حَقَّ تِلَاوَتِهِ أُولَئِكَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ) الْبَقَرَةُ: 121، وَذَٰلِكَ أَنَّ هَٰذَا الزَّبَدَ تَشْبِيهٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِمَثَلٍ ضَرَبَهُ لِلْحَقِّ وَالْبَاطِلِ، فَالْمَثَلُ هُوَ الْمَاءُ وَالزَّبَدُ فَمَثَّلَ الْحَقَّ فِي نَفْعِهِ وَبَقَائِهِ بِالْمَاءِ، وَمَثَّلَ الْبَاطِلَ فِي ذَهَابِهِ وَقِلَّةِ نَفْعِهِ بِالزَّبَدِ، ثُمَّ شَبَّهَ الذَّهَبَ لِذَهَابِهِ عَنِ الْحَقِيقَةِ بِالزَّبَدِ تَشْبِيهَ مُمَاثَلَةٍ لَا تَشْبِيهَ مَجَازٍ لِقَوْلِهِ: زَبَدٌ مِثْلُهُ، وَالْمُمَاثَلَةُ مُسْتَقْصَاةٌ،

wakāna hādhā qad samiʿa min kalāmi Allāhi taʿālā fafaʿalahu faʾablaghahu Allāhu taʿālā maʾmanahu fī al-maqāmi al-ʾamīni fī jannātin waʿuyūnin, wa-istaḥaqqa waṣfa Allāhi taʿālā bi-al-ʾīmāni ʾidhā talā al-qurʾāna biḥaqīqati al-ʾīqāni faqāla ʿazza wajalla: (alladhīna ʾātaynāhumu al-kitāba yatlūnahu ḥaqqa tilāwatihi ʾulāʾika yuʾminūna bihi) al-baqaratu: 121, wadhālika ʾanna hādhā al-zabada tashbīhun mina Allāhi taʿālā limathalin ḍarabahu li-l-ḥaqqi wa-al-bāṭili, fa-al-mathalu huwa al-māʾu wa-al-zabadu famaththala al-ḥaqqa fī nafʿihi wabaqāʾihi bi-al-māʾi, wamaththala al-bāṭila fī dhahābihi waqillati nafʿihi bi-al-zabadi, thumma shabbaha al-dhahaba lidhahābihi ʿani al-ḥaqīqati bi-al-zabadi tashbīha mumāthalatin lā tashbīha majāzin liqawlihi: zabadun mithluhu, wa-al-mumāthalatu mustaqṣātun,

This person has heard the words of God Most High and acted on them; God Most High has brought him to his place of safety, in a secure station amid gardens and springs. He deserves to be described as faithful by God Most High when he recites the Qurʾān with true certainty. The Mighty and Majestic says, “Those to whom We have given the Book, who recite it as it deserves to be recited, are the ones who believe in it” (al-Baqara 2:121). This foam is a comparison God Most High uses in a likeness He sets forth for truth and falsehood. The likeness is water and foam: He compares truth, in its benefit and permanence, to water, and falsehood, in its disappearance and scant benefit, to foam. He then compares gold, because it disappears from reality, to foam, as an exact likeness rather than a figurative analogy, for He says, “Similar foam.” The resemblance is exhaustive.

ثُمَّ قَالَ: كَذَٰلِكَ يَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلَّذِينَ اِسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمُ الْحُسْنَى أَيِ الْجَنَّةُ وَالْبَقَاءُ. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ مَثَلُ السَّوْءِ) النَّحْلُ: 60، هُمُ الْمُرِيدُونَ لِلْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتِهَا، الرَّاضُونَ الْمُطْمَئِنُّونَ بِهَا، لَيْسَ لَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ إِلَّا النَّارُ، فَسُبْحَانَ مَنْ نَفَذَ بَصَرُهُ الْأَبْصَارَ وَسُبْحَانَ مُقَلِّبِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ، وَسُبْحَانَ مَنْ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ عِنْدَهُ بِمِقْدَارٍ، يُبْصِرُ مَا لَا نُبْصِرُ، كَمَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَى مَا لَا نَقْدِرُ، خَصَّ الْمُشَاهِدِينَ بِمَعْنَى مُشَاهَدَتِهِ كَمَا خَصَّهُمْ

thumma qāla: kadhālika yaḍribu Allāhu al-ʾamthāla li-alladhīna istajābū lirabbihimu al-ḥusnā ʾayi al-jannatu wa-al-baqāʾu. waqāla taʿālā: (li-alladhīna lā yuʾminūna bi-al-ʾākhirati mathalu al-sawʾi) al-naḥlu: 60, humu al-murīdūna li-l-ḥayāti al-dunyā wazīnatihā, al-rāḍūna al-muṭmaʾinnūna bihā, laysa lahum fī al-ʾākhirati ʾillā al-nāru, fasubḥāna man nafadha baṣaruhu al-ʾabṣāra wasubḥāna muqallibi al-layli wa-al-nahāri, wasubḥāna man kullu shayʾin ʿindahu bimiqdārin, yubṣiru mā lā nubṣiru, kamā yaqdiru ʿalā mā lā naqdiru, khaṣṣa al-mushāhidīna bimaʿnā mushāhadatihi kamā khaṣṣahum

He then says, “Thus God sets forth likenesses. For those who respond to their Lord is the finest reward,” meaning the Garden and continuance. He, Most High, says, “Those who do not believe in the afterlife have the evil likeness” (al-Naḥl 16:60). These are those who desire worldly life and its adornment, are satisfied and at ease with it, and have nothing in the afterlife but the Fire. Glory to Him whose sight penetrates all sight! Glory to Him who turns night and day! Glory to Him with whom everything has a measure! He sees what we do not see, just as He has power over what we cannot accomplish. He has singled out those who witness for a share in the meaning of His witnessing, just as He has singled them out

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٢١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 421

Volume One, page 421

بِالْإِحَاطَةِ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ فَأَحَاطَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِمَا شَاءَ، لَمَّا أَحَاطَ لَهُمْ مَا شَاءَ فَكَانَ الذَّهَبُ وَالْفِضَّةُ زَبَدًا طَافِيًا تُفَرِّقُهُ الرِّيَاحُ فَيَكُونُ فَوْقَ الْمَاءِ مُتَجَافِيًا؛ وَهُمَا مِنْ مَعَادِنِ الْجِبَالِ فَكَانَتِ الْجِبَالُ عِنْدَهُمْ أَمْوَاجًا ثَابِتَةً بِإِثْبَاتٍ وَسَاكِنَةً بِتَسْكِينٍ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً، وَهِيَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ صُنْعَ اللَّهِ اَلَّذِي أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَصَارَتِ الْأَرْضُ بَحْرًا عَجَّاجًا يَضْرِبُ بِالْأَمْوَاجِ فَيَظْهَرُ بَيْنَهُمَا مِنَ الْمُدُنِ وَالْقِفَارِ لِلِاِسْتِوَاءِ وَالِاعْوِجَاجِ وَصَارَ الْأَنَامُ يَسْبَحُونَ فِي الْأَسْرَابِ يَدِبُّونَ بَيْنَ الْمَنَاكِبِ وَالْأَحْدَابِ،

bi-al-ʾiḥāṭati bishayʾin min ʿilmihi faʾaḥāṭa ʿalayhim bimā shāʾa, lammā ʾaḥāṭa lahum mā shāʾa fakāna al-dhahabu wa-al-fiḍḍatu zabadan ṭāfiyan tufarriquhu al-riyāḥu fayakūnu fawqa al-māʾi mutajāfiyan; wahumā min maʿādini al-jibāli fakānati al-jibālu ʿindahum ʾamwājan thābitatan biʾithbātin wasākinatan bitaskīnin taḥsabuhā jāmidatan, wahiya tamurru marra al-saḥābi ṣunʿa Allāhi alladhī ʾatqana kulla shayʾin waṣārati al-ʾarḍu baḥran ʿajjājan yaḍribu bi-al-ʾamwāji fayaẓharu baynahumā mina al-muduni wa-al-qifāri li-l-istiwāʾi wa-al-iʿwijāji waṣāra al-ʾanāmu yasbaḥūna fī al-ʾasrābi yadibbūna bayna al-manākibi wa-al-ʾaḥdābi,

for encompassing something of His knowledge. He encompasses them with what He wills, when He encompasses for them what He wills. Gold and silver become floating foam scattered by winds, hovering above the water. Both come from the mountains’ minerals, so the mountains become, in their sight, waves held firm by His making them firm, stilled by His stilling them. “You think them motionless, while they pass like clouds: the making of God, who has perfected everything.” Earth becomes a tumultuous sea striking with waves; between the two appear cities and wildernesses in levelness and crookedness. Creatures swim through channels, creeping between slopes and hills.

أَظْهَرَ فِيهِمَا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مَوْزُونٍ بِمِقْدَارٍ، كَتَنَفُّسِ النَّهَارِ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَكَالْغِشَاءِ عَلَى السَّيْلِ، ذَٰلِكَ لِظُهُورِ حِكْمَتِهِ وَخَفِيِّ قُدْرَتِهِ وَلَطِيفِ صُنْعِهِ وَدَقِيقِ صَنْعَتِهِ ذَٰلِكَ لِشُهُودِ نِعْمَتِهِ مِنَ الْقِيَامِ بِشُكْرِهِ وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ ذَلُولًا فَاِمْشُوا فِي مَنَاكِبِهَا وَكُلُوا مِنْ رِزْقِهِ وَهُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ حَدَبٍ يَنْسِلُونَ، إِنَّ رَبِّي لَطِيفٌ لِمَا يَشَاءُ فَاِجْتَمَعَ الْفَرْقُ وَاِرْتَتَقَ الْفَتْقُ وَغَابَ كُلُّ مُتَفَرِّقٍ وَنَطَقَ وَكَانَ عَرْشُهُ عَلَى الْمَاءِ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ، فَهَٰذِهِ مُشَاهَدَةُ أَبْنَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ هِيَ أَعْلَى مِنْ زُهْدِهِمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا،

ʾaẓhara fīhimā min kulli shayʾin mawzūnin bimiqdārin, katanaffusi al-nahāri fī al-layli wa-ka-al-ghishāʾi ʿalā al-sayli, dhālika liẓuhūri ḥikmatihi wakhafiyyi qudratihi walaṭīfi ṣunʿihi wadaqīqi ṣanʿatihi dhālika lishuhūdi niʿmatihi mina al-qiyāmi bishukrihi wajaʿala lakumu al-ʾarḍa dhalūlan fa-imshū fī manākibihā wakulū min rizqihi wahum min kulli ḥadabin yansilūna, ʾinna rabbī laṭīfun limā yashāʾu fa-ijtamaʿa al-farqu wa-irtataqa al-fatqu waghāba kullu mutafarriqin wanaṭaqa wakāna ʿarshuhu ʿalā al-māʾi liyabluwakum, fahādhihi mushāhadatu ʾabnāʾi al-ʾākhirati hiya ʾaʿlā min zuhdihim fī al-dunyā,

Within both He brings forth every measured thing in due proportion, like day breathing into night and a covering upon a torrent. This manifests His wisdom, His hidden power, His subtle workmanship and minute artistry, so that His blessing may be witnessed through the performance of gratitude. “He made the earth tractable for you, so walk upon its slopes and eat of His provision”; “they hasten down from every hill”; “my Lord is subtle in what He wills.” Separation is gathered, the breach is closed, and every scattered thing disappears and speaks: “His throne was upon the water, to test you.” This is the witnessing of the children of the afterlife, higher than their renunciation of this world.

وَاِفْتَرَقَ الْجَمْعُ وَاِفْتَتَقَ الرَّتْقُ وَظَهَرَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ ظَاهِرٍ وَاِتَّسَعَ الْفَضَاءُ وَاِسْتَتَرَ الْغِطَاءُ وَوُجِدَ التَّفْصِيلُ وَحَكَمَ الْحُسْبَانُ بِالتَّحْصِيلِ، كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ، أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ هَٰذِهِ مُشَاهَدَةُ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا هِيَ أَعْظَمُ عَلَيْهِمْ إِذَا تَيَقَّظُوا مِنْ غَيْبِهِمْ وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ، ذَٰلِكَ مَا كُنْتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ لَقَدْ كُنْتَ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِنْ هَٰذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنْكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ، وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقًا وَالنَّاشِطَاتِ نَشْطًا وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا؛ هَٰذِهِ مُشَاهَدَةُ الْعُمُومِ عِنْدَ الْمَوْتِ فَيُعَظِّمُهُ عَلَيْهِمْ بِالْحَسْرَةِ وَالْفَوْتِ.

wa-iftaraqa al-jamʿu wa-iftataqa al-ratqu waẓahara mina al-māʾi kullu shayʾin ḥayyin ẓāhirin wa-ittasaʿa al-faḍāʾu wa-istatara al-ghiṭāʾu wawujida al-tafṣīlu waḥakama al-ḥusbānu bi-al-taḥṣīli, kānatā ratqan fafataqnāhumā wajaʿalnā mina al-māʾi kulla shayʾin ḥayyin, ʾafalā yuʾminūna hādhihi mushāhadatu ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā hiya ʾaʿẓamu ʿalayhim ʾidhā tayaqqaẓū min ghaybihim wajāʾat sakratu al-mawti bi-al-ḥaqqi, dhālika mā kunta minhu taḥīdu laqad kunta fī ghaflatin min hādhā fakashafnā ʿanka ghiṭāʾaka fabaṣaruka al-yawma ḥadīdun, wa-al-nāziʿāti gharqan wa-al-nāshiṭāti nashṭan wa-al-sābiḥāti sabḥan; hādhihi mushāhadatu al-ʿumūmi ʿinda al-mawti fayuʿaẓẓimuhu ʿalayhim bi-al-ḥasrati wa-al-fawti.

Then gatheredness separates, the closed opens, and every manifest living thing emerges from water. Expanse widens, the covering conceals itself, differentiation appears, and reckoning determines the particulars. “They were closed together, and We opened them apart; We made every living thing from water. Will they not believe?” This is the witnessing of the children of the world, more momentous for them when they wake from their absence. “The stupor of death comes with truth: this is what you used to evade.” “You were heedless of this, so We removed your covering; today your sight is sharp.” “By those that wrench violently, those that draw gently, and those that swim swiftly.” This is the witnessing of ordinary people at death, made grievous to them by regret and loss.

وَقَدْ فَرَغَ الْخُصُوصُ مِنْ نَصِيبِهِمْ لِمُشَاهَدَتِهِ فَهُمْ نَاظِرُونَ إِلَى مُسْتَقْبَلِ الْمَزِيدِ مَشْغُولُونَ بِهِ عَنِ الْعَبِيدِ قَائِمُونَ بِشَاهِدِ الْحَقِّ لَهُمْ مُتَصَرِّفُونَ بِإِشْهَادِهِ إِيَّاهُمْ ظَاهِرًا وَبَاطِنًا وَلَطِيفًا وَمُسْتَتِرًا وَمَعْرُوفًا وَمُنْكَرًا وَاللَّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ، فَمَا غَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ لَا يَظْهَرُ وَمَا غَلَبَهُ عَلَيْهِمْ إِيَّاهُمْ قَهْرٌ، قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَصْدَقُ كَلِمَةٍ قَالَهَا الشَّاعِرُ: أَلَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ مَا خَلَا اللَّهَ بَاطِلٌ،

waqad faragha al-khuṣūṣu min naṣībihim limushāhadatihi fahum nāẓirūna ʾilā mustaqbali al-mazīdi mashghūlūna bihi ʿani al-ʿabīdi qāʾimūna bishāhidi al-ḥaqqi lahum mutaṣarrifūna biʾishhādihi ʾiyyāhum ẓāhiran wabāṭinan walaṭīfan wamustatiran wamaʿrūfan wamunkaran wa-Allāhu ghālibun ʿalā ʾamrihi walākinna ʾakthara al-nāsi lā yaʿlamūna, famā ghalaba ʿalayhi lā yaẓharu wamā ghalabahu ʿalayhim ʾiyyāhum qahrun, qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾaṣdaqu kalimatin qālahā al-shāʿiru: ʾalā kullu shayʾin mā khalā Allāha bāṭilun,

The elect have already finished with their allotted portion through witnessing it. They look toward the increase still to come, occupied with it rather than with servants, sustained by the Real’s witnessing for them and acting through His making them witness: outwardly and inwardly, subtly and concealedly, recognizably and unrecognizably. “God prevails over His affair, but most people do not know.” What He prevails over does not appear; what He makes prevail over them is His overpowering them. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “The truest words a poet ever spoke are: ‘Surely everything apart from God is false.’”

وَقَالَ: فَالْحَقُّ وَالْحَقَّ أَقُولُ: خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَاتٍ وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ، وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا، وَكَانَ اِبْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا يَقُولُ: لَوْ فَسَّرْتُ لَكُمْ هَٰذِهِ الْآيَةَ لَكَفَرْتُمْ قِيلَ: وَكَيْفَ؟ قَالَ: كُنْتُمْ تُنْكِرُونَهَا وَإِنْكَارُكُمْ لَهُ كُفْرٌ بِهَا، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: لَوْ فَسَّرْتُ الْآيَةَ اَلَّتِي فِي سُورَةِ النِّسَاءِ الْقُصْرَى لَرَجَمْتُمُونِي بِالْحِجَارَةِ مَعْنَاهُ لَكَفَّرْتُمُونِي لِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَقْتُلُونَ إِلَّا كَافِرًا عِنْدَهُمْ،

waqāla: fa-al-ḥaqqu wa-al-ḥaqqa ʾaqūlu: khalaqa sabʿa samāwātin wamina al-ʾarḍi mithlahunna yatanazzalu al-ʾamru baynahunna litaʿlamū ʾanna Allāha ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīrun, waʾanna Allāha qad ʾaḥāṭa bikulli shayʾin ʿilman, wakāna ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā yaqūlu: law fassartu lakum hādhihi al-ʾāyata lakafartum qīla: wakayfa? qāla: kuntum tunkirūnahā waʾinkārukum lahu kufrun bihā, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: law fassartu al-ʾāyata allatī fī sūrati al-nisāʾi al-quṣrā larajamtumūnī bi-al-ḥijārati maʿnāhu lakaffartumūnī liʾannahum lā yaqtulūna ʾillā kāfiran ʿindahum,

And He says, “The truth, and the truth I speak”: “He created seven heavens and of the earth their like. The command descends among them so that you may know that God has power over everything and that God encompasses everything in knowledge.” Ibn ʿAbbās, God be pleased with them both, used to say, “If I explained this verse to you, you would disbelieve.” Asked how, he replied, “You would deny it, and your denial of it would be disbelief in it.” Another wording says, “If I explained the verse in the shorter Sūrat al-Nisāʾ, you would stone me.” He means, “You would call me an unbeliever,” since they would kill only someone they considered an unbeliever.

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى جَمِيعًا مِنْهُ قَالَ: فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ اِسْمُ حَرْفٍ مِنْ أَسْمَائِهِ، فَاِسْمُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مِنِ اِسْمِهِ فَإِنَّمَا أَنْتَ بَيْنَ أَسْمَائِهِ وَصِفَاتِهِ وَأَفْعَالِهِ نَاطِقًا بِقُدْرَتِهِ وَظَاهِرًا بِحِكْمَتِهِ وَبِمَعْنَاهُ، كَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَتَأَوَّلُ قَوْلَهُ: مَا نَزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ أَعَزُّ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ فَغَابَتِ السَّبْعُ سَبْعًا فِي السَّبْعِ الْعُلَى وَالسَّبْعِ السُّفْلَى لَمَّا طَوَى نَفْسَ الْهَوَى وَغَابَتْ

warawaynā ʿanhu fī qawlihi taʿālā jamīʿan minhu qāla: fī kulli shayʾin ismu ḥarfin min ʾasmāʾihi, fa-ismu kulli shayʾin mini ismihi faʾinnamā ʾanta bayna ʾasmāʾihi waṣifātihi waʾafʿālihi nāṭiqan biqudratihi waẓāhiran biḥikmatihi wabimaʿnāhu, kāna ʾabū muḥammadin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yataʾawwalu qawlahu: mā nazala mina al-samāʾi ʾaʿazzu mina al-yaqīni faghābati al-sabʿu sabʿan fī al-sabʿi al-ʿulā wa-al-sabʿi al-suflā lammā ṭawā nafsa al-hawā waghābat

We have transmitted from him concerning the words of God Most High, “All from Him”: “In everything is the name of a letter from His names; every thing’s name comes from His name.” You are therefore amid His names, attributes, and acts, speaking by His power, appearing through His wisdom. In this sense, Abū Muḥammad, God Most High have mercy on him, used to interpret his saying, “Nothing rarer than certainty has descended from heaven.” The seven disappeared, sevenfold, within the seven upper and seven lower, when He folded away the self of caprice; and

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٢٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 422

Volume One, page 422

الْعُلْيَا وَالسُّفْلَى فِي مَلَكُوتِ الْعَرْشِ وَالثَّرَى لَمَّا طُوِيَ طَيُّ النَّفْسِ وَغَابَ الْعَرْشُ وَالثَّرَى فِي جَبَرُوتِ الْأَعْلَى لَمَّا مُحِيَ طَيُّ الطَّيِّ وَحَضَرَ الْأَزَلِيُّ الْأَوَّلُ إِذَا غَابَ الْحَدَثَانُ الثَّانِي وَظَهَرَ الْبَاطِنُ الْآخِرُ حِينَ بَطَنَ الظَّاهِرُ السَّاتِرُ فَصَارَ الْعَبْدُ شَهِيدًا لِقَوْلِ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَلَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ مَا خَلَا اللَّهَ بَاطِلٌ،

al-ʿulyā wa-al-suflā fī malakūti al-ʿarshi wa-al-tharā lammā ṭuwiya ṭayyu al-nafsi waghāba al-ʿarshu wa-al-tharā fī jabarūti al-ʾaʿlā lammā muḥiya ṭayyu al-ṭayyi waḥaḍara al-ʾazaliyyu al-ʾawwalu ʾidhā ghāba al-ḥadathānu al-thānī waẓahara al-bāṭinu al-ʾākhiru ḥīna baṭana al-ẓāhiru al-sātiru faṣāra al-ʿabdu shahīdan liqawli al-rasūli ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾalā kullu shayʾin mā khalā Allāha bāṭilun,

the upper and lower disappeared in the unseen dominion of the throne and the soil when the folding of the self was itself folded away. The throne and the soil disappeared in the Most High’s absolute sovereignty when the folding of the folding was effaced. The beginningless First became present when the second, originated realm disappeared. The Hidden Last appeared when the veiling outward became hidden. The servant thus became a witness to the Messenger’s saying, God bless him and grant him peace, “Surely everything apart from God is false.”

وَأَرَاهُ الْآيَاتِ فِي الْآفَاقِ فَتَبَيَّنَ الْحَقُّ بِقَوْلِ الْحَقِّ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: (سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ) فُصِّلَتْ: 53، (أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِمْ أَلَا إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُحِيطٌ) فُصِّلَتْ: 54،

waʾarāhu al-ʾāyāti fī al-ʾāfāqi fatabayyana al-ḥaqqu biqawli al-ḥaqqi subḥānahu wataʿālā: (sanurīhim ʾāyātinā fī al-ʾāfāqi wafī ʾanfusihim ḥattā yatabayyana lahum ʾannahu al-ḥaqqu ʾawalam yakfi birabbika ʾannahu ʿalā kulli shayʾin shahīdun) fuṣṣilat: 53, (ʾalā ʾinnahum fī miryatin min liqāʾi rabbihim ʾalā ʾinnahu bikulli shayʾin muḥīṭun) fuṣṣilat: 54,

He showed him the signs on the horizons, and truth became clear through the words of the Real, glorified and exalted: “We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that He is the Real. Is your Lord not sufficient, as witness over everything?” (Fuṣṣilat 41:53). “They are indeed in doubt about meeting their Lord. He indeed encompasses everything” (Fuṣṣilat 41:54).

وَكَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِلرَّجُلِ اَلَّذِي قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ أَرِنِي الدُّنْيَا كَمَا تَرَاهَا فَقَالَ: لَا تَقُلْ هَٰكَذَا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَا يَرَى الدُّنْيَا كَمَا تَرَاهَا وَلَٰكِنْ قُلْ أَرِنِي الدُّنْيَا كَمَا يَرَاهَا الصَّالِحُ مِنْ عِبَادِكَ؛ وَهَٰذِهِ شَهَادَةُ أَهْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَغَابَتْ فِيهِ الشَّهَادَةُ الْأُولَى كَمَا غَيَّبَتْ تِلْكَ الْأُولَى مُشَاهَدَةَ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا فَكَشْفُ هَٰذَا الْمَقَامِ وَإِظْهَارُ هَٰذِهِ الشَّهَادَةِ لَا تَحِلُّ إِلَّا لِشَهِيدٍ ذِي مَقَامٍ فِي الصِّدِّيقِينَ عَتِيدٍ،

wakadhālika qāla al-rasūlu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama li-l-rajuli alladhī qāla: Allāhumma ʾarinī al-dunyā kamā tarāhā faqāla: lā taqul hākadhā faʾinna Allāha taʿālā lā yarā al-dunyā kamā tarāhā walākin qul ʾarinī al-dunyā kamā yarāhā al-ṣāliḥu min ʿibādika; wahādhihi shahādatu ʾahli Allāhi taʿālā, waghābat fīhi al-shahādatu al-ʾūlā kamā ghayyabat tilka al-ʾūlā mushāhadata ʾahli al-dunyā fakashfu hādhā al-maqāmi waʾiẓhāru hādhihi al-shahādati lā taḥillu ʾillā lishahīdin dhī maqāmin fī al-ṣiddīqīna ʿatīdin,

Likewise, the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, told the man who prayed, “God, show me the world as You see it”: “Do not say that. God Most High does not see the world as you see it. Say instead, ‘Show me the world as the righteous among Your servants see it.’” This is the witnessing of the people of God Most High. The first witnessing disappears within it, just as that first witnessing eclipsed the witnessing of worldly people. Unveiling this station and disclosing this witnessing is lawful only for a witness firmly ready in a station among the utterly truthful.

وَقَالَ الْحَكِيمُ: لَقَدْ عَزَّتْ مَعَانِيهِ فَغَابَتْ عَنِ الْأَبْصَارِ: إِلَّا الشَّهِيدَ وَهُمْ أُولُو الْمُطَّلَعِ فِي الْقُرْآنِ اَلَّذِينَ سَلِمُوا مِنْ هَوْلِ الْمُطَّلَعِ فِي الْعِيَانِ، وَإِفْشَاءُ سِرِّ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ مَعْصِيَةٌ وَإِعْلَانُ سِرِّ السِّرِّ كُفْرٌ وَلَٰكِنْ يَحْتَاجُ هَٰذَا الزَّاهِدُ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ الْمَزْهُودَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الزَّبَدِ إِنْ لَمْ يَبْلُغْ نَظَرُهُ شَهَادَةَ الْمُزَهِّدِ الْأَحَدِ لِيَكُونَ مِنْ أَهْلِ السَّمْعِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيَنْسَى بِذِكْرِ قَلْبِهِ مَعَارِفَهُ وَالْعَادَةَ

waqāla al-ḥakīmu: laqad ʿazzat maʿānīhi faghābat ʿani al-ʾabṣāri: ʾillā al-shahīda wahum ʾulū al-muṭṭalaʿi fī al-qurʾāni alladhīna salimū min hawli al-muṭṭalaʿi fī al-ʿiyāni, waʾifshāʾu sirri al-rubūbiyyati maʿṣiyatun waʾiʿlānu sirri al-sirri kufrun walākin yaḥtāju hādhā al-zāhidu ʾan yashhada al-mazhūda bimanzilati al-zabadi ʾin lam yablugh naẓaruhu shahādata al-muzahhidi al-ʾaḥadi liyakūna min ʾahli al-samʿi wa-al-shahādati fayansā bidhikri qalbihi maʿārifahu wa-al-ʿādata

The sage said, “Its meanings have become so rare that they are hidden from sight, except from the witness.” These possess the vantage point in the Qurʾān and are safe from the terror of coming upon it in direct vision. Divulging the secret of lordship is disobedience; announcing the secret of the secret is disbelief. Yet this renouncer needs to witness the object of renunciation as foam if his sight does not reach the witnessing of the One who inspires renunciation. He can then belong to the people of hearing and witnessing, forgetting his accustomed knowledge and habit through his heart’s remembrance.

يَكُونُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ شَهِيدًا لَهُ أَجْرُهُ وَنُورُهُ كَمَا قَالَ الشَّاهِدُ الْأَعْلَى وَالشُّهَدَاءُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ وَنُورُهُمْ، فَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ شَهِيدًا مَنْ لَمْ يَشْهَدْ بِشَهَادَتِهِ بَلْ كَيْفَ يَشْهَدُ وَصْفَ الْأَوَّلِيَّةِ بِغَيْرِ نُورِهَا أَمْ كَيْفَ يَقُومُ بِشَهَادَتِهِ مَنْ لَمْ يَشْهَدْ قَيُّومِيَّتَهُ بَلْ كَيْفَ يَرَى قَيُّومِيَّتَهُ بِغَيْرِ نُورِ وَحْدَانِيَّتِهِ؟

yakūnu ʿinda Allāhi shahīdan lahu ʾajruhu wanūruhu kamā qāla al-shāhidu al-ʾaʿlā wa-al-shuhadāʾu ʿinda rabbihim lahum ʾajruhum wanūruhum, fakayfa yakūnu shahīdan man lam yashhad bishahādatihi bal kayfa yashhadu waṣfa al-ʾawwaliyyati bighayri nūrihā ʾam kayfa yaqūmu bishahādatihi man lam yashhad qayyūmiyyatahu bal kayfa yarā qayyūmiyyatahu bighayri nūri waḥdāniyyatihi?

He becomes a witness before God, possessing his reward and light, as the Most High Witness says, “The witnesses with their Lord have their reward and their light.” How can someone be a witness if he has not witnessed through His witnessing? How can he witness the attribute of firstness without its light? How can someone uphold His witnessing if he has not witnessed His self-subsisting sustenance? How can he see that sustenance without the light of His oneness?

فَإِنْ لَمْ يَقْرُبْ فِي هَٰذَا الْمَكَانِ فَكَمَا قَالَ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ فَيَسْمَعُ مِنْ مَكَانٍ هُوَ إِلَى جَنْبِ الْقُرْبِ بَعِيدٌ وَيَكُونُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَيَانِ وَالْفِكْرِ كَقَوْلِ الْحَقِّ الْمُبِينِ: (كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ) الْبَقَرَةُ: 219–220، أَيْ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي فَنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا وَزَوَالِهَا وَبَقَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ وَدَوَامِهَا فَتُؤْثِرُونَ الْبَاقِيَ الدَّائِمَ وَتَرْغَبُونَ فِيهِ عَلَى الزَّائِلِ الْفَانِي وَتَزْهَدُونَ فِيهِ لِأَنَّ مَا يَكُونُ آخِرُهُ فَنَاءً يُشْبِهُ آخِرُهُ أَوَّلَ أَمْرِهِ وَأَوَّلُهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ وَمَا يَكُونُ آخِرُهُ بَقَاءً فَكَأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَزَلْ فَأَشْبَهَ أَوَّلُهُ آخِرَهُ فِي الْبَقَاءِ،

faʾin lam yaqrub fī hādhā al-makāni fakamā qāla ʾaw ʾalqā al-samʿa wahuwa shahīdun fayasmaʿu min makānin huwa ʾilā janbi al-qurbi baʿīdun wayakūnu min ʾahli al-bayāni wa-al-fikri kaqawli al-ḥaqqi al-mubīni: (kadhālika yubayyinu lakumu al-ʾāyāti laʿallakum tatafakkarūna fī al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati) al-baqaratu: 219–220, ʾay tatafakkarūna fī fanāʾi al-dunyā wazawālihā wabaqāʾi al-ʾākhirati wadawāmihā fatuʾthirūna al-bāqiya al-dāʾima watarghabūna fīhi ʿalā al-zāʾili al-fānī watazhadūna fīhi liʾanna mā yakūnu ʾākhiruhu fanāʾan yushbihu ʾākhiruhu ʾawwala ʾamrihi waʾawwaluhu lam yakun wamā yakūnu ʾākhiruhu baqāʾan fakaʾannahu lam yazal faʾashbaha ʾawwaluhu ʾākhirahu fī al-baqāʾi,

If he does not attain proximity in this place, then, as He says, “Or gives ear while present as a witness,” he hears from a place far away when set beside proximity. He belongs to the people of explanation and reflection, as the Manifest Real says, “Thus He makes the signs clear to you, so that you may reflect upon this world and the afterlife” (al-Baqara 2:219–220): reflect on this world’s passing and disappearance, and the afterlife’s continuance and permanence. You will then prefer and desire the enduring and permanent over the vanishing and perishing, and renounce the latter. What ends in annihilation has an end resembling its beginning, and at its beginning it did not exist. What ends in continuance is as though it had always been, so its beginning resembles its end in permanence.

وَكَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ: (وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى) الْأَعْلَى: 17، فَوَصَفَهَا لِبَقَائِهَا فِي الْمَآلِ بِوَصْفَيْنِ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ. كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: (وَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى) طَهَ: 73، وَلِأَنَّهُ قَالَ تَعَالَى: (مَا عِنْدَكُمْ يَنْفَدُ وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ بَاقٍ) النَّحْلُ: 96، فَنَسَبَ الدُّنْيَا إِلَيْنَا لِيُذِلَّنَا بِهَا لِأَنَّا أَهْلُ الْفَنَاءِ وَلِيُزَهِّدَنَا فِيهَا، وَأَضَافَ الْآخِرَةَ إِلَيْهِ لِيُعِزَّهَا بِهِ لِأَنَّهُ أَهْلُ الْبَقَاءِ وَلِيُرَغِّبَنَا فِيهَا،

wakadhālika qāla al-ʿalīmu al-ḥakīmu: (wa-al-ʾākhiratu khayrun waʾabqā) al-ʾaʿlā: 17, fawaṣafahā libaqāʾihā fī al-maʾāli biwaṣfayni min ṣifātihi. kamā qāla taʿālā: (wa-Allāhu khayrun waʾabqā) Ṭā Hā: 73, waliʾannahu qāla taʿālā: (mā ʿindakum yanfadu wamā ʿinda Allāhi bāqin) al-naḥlu: 96, fanasaba al-dunyā ʾilaynā liyudhillanā bihā liʾannā ʾahlu al-fanāʾi waliyuzahhidanā fīhā, waʾaḍāfa al-ʾākhirata ʾilayhi liyuʿizzahā bihi liʾannahu ʾahlu al-baqāʾi waliyuraghghibanā fīhā,

The Knowing, Wise One likewise says, “The afterlife is better and more enduring” (al-Aʿlā 87:17). Because it endures in its final outcome, He describes it by two of His own attributes, as He, Most High, says, “God is better and more enduring” (Ṭā Hā 20:73). He, Most High, also says, “What is with you runs out; what is with God remains” (al-Naḥl 16:96). He ascribes the world to us to humble us through it, since we belong to passing away, and to make us renounce it. He ascribes the afterlife to Himself to ennoble it through Him, since permanence belongs to Him, and to make us desire it.

فَإِذَا شَهِدَ الْعَبْدُ بِعَيْنِ قَلْبِهِ وَيَقِينِ إِيمَانِهِ مَا صَدَّقَ بِهِ مِمَّا عَقَلَهُ اَلَّذِي هُوَ فَهْمُ سَمْعِهِ وَإِدْرَاكُ خَبَرِهِ مَا يَفْنَى آخِرُهُ كَأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ وَمَا يَبْقَى آخِرُهُ كَأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَزَلْ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُتَفَكِّرِينَ فِي هَٰذِهِ الْآيَةِ الْمُشَاهِدِينَ لَهَا، وَمِمَّنْ تَلَاهَا حَقَّ

faʾidhā shahida al-ʿabdu biʿayni qalbihi wayaqīni ʾīmānihi mā ṣaddaqa bihi mimmā ʿaqalahu alladhī huwa fahmu samʿihi waʾidrāku khabarihi mā yafnā ʾākhiruhu kaʾannahu lam yakun wamā yabqā ʾākhiruhu kaʾannahu lam yazal kāna mina al-mutafakkirīna fī hādhihi al-ʾāyati al-mushāhidīna lahā, wamimman talāhā ḥaqqa

When the servant witnesses with his heart’s eye and his faith’s certainty what he has affirmed from what he understood, the understanding of what he heard and apprehension of what was reported, that what ultimately perishes is as though it never existed and what ultimately remains is as though it had always been, he becomes one of those who reflect upon this verse and witness it, one of those who recite it with its true

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٢٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 423

Volume One, page 423

تِلَاوَتِهَا فَآمَنَ حَقِيقَةَ الْإِيمَانِ وَزَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَقِيقَةَ الزُّهْدِ وَرَغِبَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ حَقَّ الرَّغْبَةِ وَكَانَ مِنْ أُولِي الْأَيْدِي وَالْأَبْصَارِ أَيْ مِنْ ذَوِي الْقُوَى فِي الدِّينِ وَالْبَصَائِرِ فِي الْيَقِينِ، فَلَمَّا أَبْصَرَ بِقُوَاهُ عَبَرَ الدُّنْيَا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَكَانَ زَادُهُ تَقْوَاهُ،

tilāwatihā faʾāmana ḥaqīqata al-ʾīmāni wazahida fī al-dunyā ḥaqīqata al-zuhdi waraghiba fī al-ʾākhirati ḥaqqa al-raghbati wakāna min ʾulī al-ʾaydī wa-al-ʾabṣāri ʾay min dhawī al-quwā fī al-dīni wa-al-baṣāʾiri fī al-yaqīni, falammā ʾabṣara biquwāhu ʿabara al-dunyā ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā wakāna zāduhu taqwāhu,

recitation. He believes with true faith, renounces the world with true renunciation, and desires the afterlife with true desire. He becomes one of those endowed with strength and sight, meaning strength in religion and insight in certainty. Seeing through his powers, he crosses the world toward God Most High, his provision being his fear of Him.

كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: (وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ) الذَّارِيَاتُ: 49، أَيْ تَذَكَّرُونَ الْفَرْدَ فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ أَيْ مِنَ الْأَشْكَالِ وَالْأَضْدَادِ، وَكَمَا قَالَ: فَاِعْتَبِرُوا يَا أُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ فَعَبَرَ لَمَّا أَبْصَرَ مَعَهُ عِنْدَهَا كَانَ مِمَّنْ أَخَذَ الْكِتَابَ بِقُوَّةٍ قِيلَ: بِعَمَلٍ فِيهِ وَقِيلَ: بِيَقِينٍ فِيهِ وَيُقَالُ: بِجِدٍّ وَاِجْتِهَادٍ، فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ اَلَّذِينَ يُمَسِّكُونَ بِالْكِتَابِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ

kamā qāla taʿālā: (wamin kulli shayʾin khalaqnā zawjayni laʿallakum tadhakkarūna) al-dhāriyātu: 49, ʾay tadhakkarūna al-farda fafirrū ʾilā Allāhi ʾay mina al-ʾashkāli wa-al-ʾaḍdādi, wakamā qāla: fa-iʿtabirū yā ʾulī al-ʾabṣāri faʿabara lammā ʾabṣara maʿahu ʿindahā kāna mimman ʾakhadha al-kitāba biquwwatin qīla: biʿamalin fīhi waqīla: biyaqīnin fīhi wayuqālu: bijiddin wa-ijtihādin, fakāna mina al-muḥsinīna alladhīna yumassikūna bi-al-kitābi waʾaqāmū al-ṣalāta

As God Most High says, “Of everything We created a pair, so that you may remember” (al-Dhāriyāt 51:49), meaning, remember the Unique; “so flee to God,” that is, away from likenesses and opposites. Likewise He says, “Take heed, people of sight.” He crosses over when he sees with Him. Then he is one who takes the Book with strength: interpreted as acting upon it, or having certainty about it, or earnestness and effort. He becomes one of the doers of good who hold fast to the Book and establish prayer.

وَتَلَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: (اَلَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَى جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 191، الْآيَةَ، وَقَالَ: وَيْلٌ لِمَنْ قَرَأَهَا وَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرْ فِيهَا وَيْلٌ لِمَنْ تَلَاهَا وَمَسَحَ بِهَا سَبَلَتَهُ وَذَٰلِكَ أَنَّ السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ عَبَّرَ بِهِمَا عَمَّا وَرَاءَهُمَا مِنْ دَرَجَاتِ الْجَنَّاتِ وَدَرَكَاتِ النِّيرَانِ، وَهُوَ الْمَلَكُوتُ إِلَى الْمُلْكِ الْبَاطِنِ وَالْمُلْكِ الْكَبِيرِ فَكَشَفَ هَٰذَانِ عَمَّا عَلَا وَسَفَلَ وَأَحَاطَ بِهِمَا مِنَ الْعَرْشِ وَالثَّرَى لِمَنْ تَفَكَّرَ فِيهِمَا

watalā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: (alladhīna yadhkurūna Allāha qiyāman waquʿūdan waʿalā junūbihim wayatafakkarūna fī khalqi al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍi) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 191, al-ʾāyata, waqāla: waylun liman qaraʾahā walam yatafakkar fīhā waylun liman talāhā wamasaḥa bihā sabalatahu wadhālika ʾanna al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍa ʿabbara bihimā ʿammā warāʾahumā min darajāti al-jannāti wadarakāti al-nīrāni, wahuwa al-malakūtu ʾilā al-mulki al-bāṭini wa-al-mulki al-kabīri fakashafa hādhāni ʿammā ʿalā wasafala waʾaḥāṭa bihimā mina al-ʿarshi wa-al-tharā liman tafakkara fīhimā

The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, recited, “Those who remember God standing, sitting, and on their sides, and reflect upon the creation of the heavens and earth” (Āl ʿImrān 3:191), and the rest of the verse. He said, “Woe to one who reads it without reflecting on it! Woe to one who recites it and wipes it over his moustache.” The heavens and earth express what lies beyond them: the Garden’s degrees and the Fire’s depths, the unseen dominion leading to the inward dominion and the great dominion. For those who reflect upon them, these two disclose what is above and below them and encompasses them, the throne and the soil.

ثُمَّ كَشَفَ ذَٰلِكَ لَهُ وَرَآهُ مِنَ الْعِزَّةِ وَجَاوَزَ الْأَفْكَارُ الْمَلَكُوتَ لَمَّا شُرِحَتِ الْقُلُوبُ بِأَنْوَارِ الْيَقِينِ إِلَى الْأُفُقِ الْأَعْلَى وَالْجَبَرُوتِ فَنَفَذَتْ أَبْصَارُ الْمُتَفَكِّرِينَ بِقُوَاهَا إِلَى مُشَاهَدَةِ ذَٰلِكَ وَبَقِيَتْ أَنْوَارُ يَقِينِهِمْ مُعَايِنَةً مَا أَحَاطَ بِذَٰلِكَ وَهُوَ مَا قَدَّمْنَا ذِكْرَهُ آنِفًا مِمَّا لَمْ يَظْهَرْ كَشْفُهُ كَنَحْوِ مَا نَبَّهَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْعِبَادَ بِمَا يَشْهَدُونَ إِلَى مَا وَرَاءَهُ مِمَّا بِهِ أَيْقَنُوا.

thumma kashafa dhālika lahu waraʾāhu mina al-ʿizzati wajāwaza al-ʾafkāru al-malakūta lammā shuriḥati al-qulūbu biʾanwāri al-yaqīni ʾilā al-ʾufuqi al-ʾaʿlā wa-al-jabarūti fanafadhat ʾabṣāru al-mutafakkirīna biquwāhā ʾilā mushāhadati dhālika wabaqiyat ʾanwāru yaqīnihim muʿāyinatan mā ʾaḥāṭa bidhālika wahuwa mā qaddamnā dhikrahu ʾānifan mimmā lam yaẓhar kashfuhu kanaḥwi mā nabbaha Allāhu taʿālā al-ʿibāda bimā yashhadūna ʾilā mā warāʾahu mimmā bihi ʾayqanū.

Then He unveils this to him and he sees it through might. Thoughts pass beyond the unseen dominion when hearts are expanded by the lights of certainty toward the highest horizon and absolute sovereignty. The reflective people’s sight penetrates through its powers to witness this, while the lights of their certainty remain directly beholding what encompasses it. This is what we mentioned just above, whose unveiling was not made explicit, just as God Most High alerts servants through what they witness to what lies beyond it, of which they are certain.

وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ مُشَاهَدَةٌ لِلدُّنْيَا قَرِيبَةٌ دُونَ هَٰذِهِ مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْعُقُولِ يَشْهَدُونَ أَنَّهَا عُقُوبَةٌ كَمَا قِيلَ: مَا فُتِحَتِ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى عَبْدٍ إِلَّا مَكْرًا بِهِ وَلَا زُوِيَتْ عَنْهُ إِلَّا نَظَرًا لَهُ. وَسَمِعْنَا فِي أَخْبَارِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَيْهِ: تَدْرِي لِمَ اِبْتَلَيْتُ آدَمَ بِأَكْلِ الشَّجَرَةِ لِأَنِّي جَعَلْتُ مَعْصِيَتَهُ سَبَبًا لِعِمَارَةِ الدُّنْيَا

wa-li-l-muʾminīna mushāhadatun li-l-dunyā qarībatun dūna hādhihi min ṭarīqi al-ʿuqūli yashhadūna ʾannahā ʿuqūbatun kamā qīla: mā futiḥati al-dunyā ʿalā ʿabdin ʾillā makran bihi walā zuwiyat ʿanhu ʾillā naẓaran lahu. wasamiʿnā fī ʾakhbāri dāwuda ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilayhi: tadrī lima ibtalaytu ʾādama biʾakli al-shajarati liʾannī jaʿaltu maʿṣiyatahu sababan liʿimārati al-dunyā

Believers have another, more accessible witnessing of the world, below this one, through reason: they see that it is a punishment. As it is said, “The world is opened to a servant only as a hidden trap for him, and withheld from him only out of care for him.” We heard among the accounts of David, peace be upon him, that God Most High revealed to him, “Do you know why I tried Adam with eating from the tree? Because I made his disobedience a cause of populating the world.”

فَيَنْبَغِي فِي دَلِيلِ الْخِطَابِ أَنْ تَكُونَ الطَّاعَةُ سَبَبَ خَرَابِهَا وَهُوَ الزُّهْدُ فِيهَا، فَصَحَّ بِذَٰلِكَ الْخَبَرُ الْمَشْهُورُ: حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا رَأْسُ كُلِّ خَطِيئَةٍ لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ أَسَاسَهَا وَلَٰكِنْ لَا يَسَعُ ذَٰلِكَ الْعَامَّةَ لِأَنَّهُمْ مُرَادُونَ بِالْعِمَارَةِ وَصَلَحَ لِنَفَرٍ مِنَ الْخَاصَّةِ لِأَنَّ نُقْصَانَ عَدَدِهِمْ مِنَ الْكَافَّةِ لَا يَنْقُصُ عِمَارَةَ الدُّنْيَا إِذِ الْمُرَادُ عِمَارَتُهَا بِأَهْلِهَا،

fayanbaghī fī dalīli al-khiṭābi ʾan takūna al-ṭāʿatu sababa kharābihā wahuwa al-zuhdu fīhā, faṣaḥḥa bidhālika al-khabaru al-mashhūru: ḥubbu al-dunyā raʾsu kulli khaṭīʾatin liʾannahu kāna ʾasāsahā walākin lā yasaʿu dhālika al-ʿāmmata liʾannahum murādūna bi-al-ʿimārati waṣalaḥa linafarin mina al-khāṣṣati liʾanna nuqṣāna ʿadadihim mina al-kāffati lā yanquṣu ʿimārata al-dunyā ʾidhi al-murādu ʿimāratuhā biʾahlihā,

The implication of these words is that obedience should cause its desolation, namely, renunciation of it. This confirms the famous report, “Love of the world is the head of every sin,” since it was its foundation. This is not available to ordinary people, however, because they are intended to populate the world. It suits a few of the elect, whose small number withdrawn from the whole does not lessen worldly habitation, since the purpose is that its people should inhabit it.

وَيُقَالُ عَنْ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: لَمَّا أَكَلَ الشَّجَرَةَ تَحَرَّكَتْ مَعِدَتُهُ لِخُرُوجِ الثُّفْلِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ ذَٰلِكَ مَجْعُولًا فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْ أَطْعِمَةِ الْجَنَّةِ إِلَّا فِي هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ، فَلِذَٰلِكَ نُهِيَا عَنْ أَكْلِهَا قَالَ: فَجَعَلَ يَدُورُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَأَمَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَلَكًا يُخَاطِبُهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ: أَيَّ شَيْءٍ تُرِيدُ؟ فَقَالَ آدَمُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَضَعَ مَا فِي بَطْنِي مِنْ أَذًى فَقِيلَ لِلْمَلَكِ: قُلْ لَهُ فِي أَيِّ مَكَانٍ تَضَعُهُ عَلَى الْفُرُشِ أَمْ عَلَى السُّرُرِ أَمْ عَلَى الْأَنْهَارِ أَمْ تَحْتَ ظِلَالِ الْأَشْجَارِ هَلْ تَرَى هَٰهُنَا مَوْضِعًا يَصْلُحُ لِذَٰلِكَ وَلَٰكِنِ اِهْبِطْ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا،

wayuqālu ʿan ʾādama ʿalayhi al-salāmu: lammā ʾakala al-shajarata taḥarrakat maʿidatuhu likhurūji al-thufli walam yakun dhālika majʿūlan fī shayʾin min ʾaṭʿimati al-jannati ʾillā fī hādhihi al-shajarati, falidhālika nuhiyā ʿan ʾaklihā qāla: fajaʿala yadūru fī al-jannati faʾamara Allāhu taʿālā malakan yukhāṭibuhu faqāla lahu: ʾayya shayʾin turīdu? faqāla ʾādamu ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾurīdu ʾan ʾaḍaʿa mā fī baṭnī min ʾadhan faqīla li-l-malaki: qul lahu fī ʾayyi makānin taḍaʿuhu ʿalā al-furushi ʾam ʿalā al-sururi ʾam ʿalā al-ʾanhāri ʾam taḥta ẓilāli al-ʾashjāri hal tarā hāhunā mawḍiʿan yaṣluḥu lidhālika walākini ihbiṭ ʾilā al-dunyā,

It is said of Adam, peace be upon him, that when he ate from the tree, his stomach stirred to expel waste. This property had been placed in none of the Garden’s foods except that tree, which is why both were forbidden to eat from it. He began walking around the Garden, and God Most High commanded an angel to address him: “What do you want?” Adam, peace be upon him, replied, “I want to put out the offensive matter in my belly.” The angel was told, “Ask him: Where will you put it? On the furnishings, the couches, the rivers, or beneath the trees’ shade? Do you see any suitable place here? Rather, descend into the world.”

قَالَ: وَتَلَطَّفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُ بِهَٰذَا الْمَعْنَى فَأَهْبَطَهُ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَقَدْ نَغَّصَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَاكِهَةَ الدُّنْيَا وَغَيْرَهَا بِحَشْوِ الْعَجَمِ وَالثُّفْلِ لِيُزْهَدَ فِيهَا وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهَا مَقْطُوعَةٌ مَمْنُوعَةٌ لِيُرْغَبَ فِي الدَّائِمِ الْمَوْهُوبِ. وَكَانَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَقُولُ: مَا سَطَعَ لِي زِينَةٌ مِنْ زُخْرُفِ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا كُشِفَ لِي بَاطِنُهُ

qāla: watalaṭṭafa Allāhu taʿālā lahu bihādhā al-maʿnā faʾahbaṭahu ʾilā al-ʾarḍi waqad naghghaṣa Allāhu taʿālā fākihata al-dunyā waghayrahā biḥashwi al-ʿajami wa-al-thufli liyuzhada fīhā waʾakhbara ʾannahā maqṭūʿatun mamnūʿatun liyurghaba fī al-dāʾimi al-mawhūbi. wakāna baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi yaqūlu: mā saṭaʿa lī zīnatun min zukhrufi al-dunyā ʾillā kushifa lī bāṭinuhu

He said: God Most High dealt gently with him through this explanation and sent him down to earth. God Most High has marred the world’s fruit and other food by filling it with pits and waste, so that it may be renounced. He has told us that it is cut off and withheld, so that the lasting gift may be desired. One of the learned used to say, “No adornment of worldly finery ever shone before me without its inward reality being unveiled to me,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٢٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 424

Volume One, page 424

فَظَهَرَ لِي عُزُوفٌ عَنْهُ فَهَٰذِهِ عِنَايَةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِمَنْ وَلِيَهُ مِنْ أَوْلِيَائِهِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ مِنْهُ، فَمَنْ شَهِدَ الدُّنْيَا بِأَوَّلِ وَصْفِهَا لَمْ يَغْتَرَّ بِآخِرِهِ، وَمَنْ عَرَفَهَا بِبَاطِنِ حَقِيقَتِهَا لَمْ يُعْجَبْ بِظَاهِرِهَا، وَمَنْ كُوشِفَ بِعَاقِبَتِهَا لَمْ يَسْتَهْوِهِ زُخْرُفُهَا، وَكَانَ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ يَقُولُ: وَيْلَكُمْ عُلَمَاءَ السُّوءِ مَثَلُكُمْ مَثَلُ قَنَاةِ حُشٍّ ظَاهِرُهَا جِصٌّ وَبَاطِنُهَا نَتَنٌ، وَقَالَ مَالِكُ بْنُ دِينَارٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: اِتَّقُوا السَّحَّارَةَ فَإِنَّهَا تَسْحَرُ قُلُوبَ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَعْنِي الدُّنْيَا،

faẓahara lī ʿuzūfun ʿanhu fahādhihi ʿināyatun mina Allāhi taʿālā biman waliyahu min ʾawliyāʾihi al-muqarrabīna minhu, faman shahida al-dunyā biʾawwali waṣfihā lam yaghtarra biʾākhirihi, waman ʿarafahā bibāṭini ḥaqīqatihā lam yuʿjab biẓāhirihā, waman kūshifa biʿāqibatihā lam yastahwihi zukhrufuhā, wakāna ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu yaqūlu: waylakum ʿulamāʾa al-sūʾi mathalukum mathalu qanāti ḥushshin ẓāhiruhā jiṣṣun wabāṭinuhā natanun, waqāla māliku bnu dīnārin raḥimahu Allāhu: ittaqū al-saḥḥārata faʾinnahā tasḥaru qulūba al-ʿulamāʾi yaʿnī al-dunyā,

“and an aversion to it appeared in me.” This is the care of God Most High for those friends whom He protects and brings near. Whoever witnesses the world in its first description is not deceived by its last; whoever knows its inward reality does not admire its outward appearance; whoever has its outcome unveiled is not seduced by its finery. Jesus, peace be upon him, used to say, “Woe to you, corrupt scholars! You are like a privy’s drain: plaster outside and filth within.” Mālik ibn Dīnār, God have mercy on him, said, “Beware of the enchantress, for she bewitches the hearts of the learned,” meaning the world.

فَمَنْ حَرَصَ عَلَى الدُّنْيَا بِالْبَاطِلِ فَقَدْ قَتَلَ نَفْسَهُ، فَإِنْ قَوِيَ حِرْصُهُ عَلَيْهَا وَاِشْتَدَّ عِشْقُهُ لَهَا قَتَلَ غَيْرَهُ، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (لَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ) النِّسَاءُ: 29، وَقَالَ فِي قَتْلِ غَيْرِهِ بِصَدِّهِ إِيَّاهُ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ: (إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْأَحْبَارِ وَالرُّهْبَانِ لَيَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ) التَّوْبَةُ: 34،

faman ḥaraṣa ʿalā al-dunyā bi-al-bāṭili faqad qatala nafsahu, faʾin qawiya ḥirṣuhu ʿalayhā wa-ishtadda ʿishquhu lahā qatala ghayrahu, qāla Allāhu taʿālā: (lā taʾkulū ʾamwālakum baynakum bi-al-bāṭili walā taqtulū ʾanfusakum) al-nisāʾu: 29, waqāla fī qatli ghayrihi biṣaddihi ʾiyyāhu ʿan sabīli Allāhi: (ʾinna kathīran mina al-ʾaḥbāri wa-al-ruhbāni layaʾkulūna ʾamwāla al-nāsi bi-al-bāṭili wayaṣuddūna ʿan sabīli Allāhi) al-tawbatu: 34,

Whoever covets the world through falsehood has killed himself; if his greed and infatuation intensify, he kills others. God Most High says, “Do not consume one another’s wealth wrongfully, and do not kill yourselves” (al-Nisāʾ 4:29). Concerning killing another by barring him from God’s path, He says, “Many of the rabbis and monks consume people’s wealth wrongfully and bar them from God’s path” (al-Tawba 9:34).

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي أَخْبَارِ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: إِنَّهُ مَرَّ فِي سِيَاحَتِهِ وَمَعَهُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ الْحَوَارِيِّينَ بِذَهَبٍ مَصْبُوبٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَوَقَفَ عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ: هَٰذَا الْقَاتُولُ فَاِحْذَرُوهُ، ثُمَّ عَبَرُوا أَصْحَابَهُ فَتَخَلَّفَ ثَلَاثَةٌ لِأَجْلِ الذَّهَبِ فَأَقَامَ اِثْنَانِ وَدَفَعَا إِلَى وَاحِدٍ شَيْئًا مِنْهُ يَشْتَرِي لَهُمْ مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ مِنْ أَقْرَبِ الْأَمْصَارِ إِلَيْهِمْ فَوَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِمَا الْعَدُوُّ: تَرْضَيَانِ أَنْ يَكُونَ هَٰذَا الْمَالُ بَيْنَكُمْ أَثْلَاثًا اُقْتُلُوا هَٰذَا فَيَكُونَ الْمَالُ بَيْنَكُمْ نِصْفَيْنِ، فَأَجْمَعَا عَلَى قَتْلِهِ إِذَا رَجَعَ إِلَيْهِمَا،

warawaynā fī ʾakhbāri ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾinnahu marra fī siyāḥatihi wamaʿahu ṭāʾifatun mina al-ḥawāriyyīna bidhahabin maṣbūbin fī al-ʾarḍi fawaqafa ʿalayhi thumma qāla: hādhā al-qātūlu fa-iḥdharūhu, thumma ʿabarū ʾaṣḥābahu fatakhallafa thalāthatun liʾajli al-dhahabi faʾaqāma ithnāni wadafaʿā ʾilā wāḥidin shayʾan minhu yashtarī lahum mina al-ṭayyibāti min ʾaqrabi al-ʾamṣāri ʾilayhim fawaswasa ʾilayhimā al-ʿaduwwu: tarḍayāni ʾan yakūna hādhā al-mālu baynakum ʾathlāthan uqtulū hādhā fayakūna al-mālu baynakum niṣfayni, faʾajmaʿā ʿalā qatlihi ʾidhā rajaʿa ʾilayhimā,

We have transmitted among the accounts of Jesus, peace be upon him, that during his wanderings, accompanied by a group of disciples, he passed gold poured out upon the ground. He stopped before it and said, “This is the deadly killer; beware of it.” His companions passed on, but three stayed behind for the gold. Two remained there and gave the third some of it to buy fine food from the nearest town. The enemy whispered to the two, “Are you content for this wealth to be divided in thirds? Kill this man, and it will be divided between you in halves.” They agreed to kill him when he returned.

قَالَ: وَجَاءَ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَى الثَّالِثِ فَوَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِ أَرَضِيتَ لِنَفْسِكَ أَنْ تَأْخُذَ ثُلُثَ الْمَالِ اُقْتُلْهُمَا فَيَكُونَ الْمَالُ كُلُّهُ لَكَ قَالَ: فَاِشْتَرَى سُمًّا فَجَعَلَهُ فِي الطَّعَامِ فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمَا بِهِ وَثَبَا عَلَيْهِ فَقَتَلَاهُ ثُمَّ قَعَدَا يَأْكُلَانِ الطَّعَامَ فَلَمَّا فَرَغَا مَاتَا، فَرَجَعَ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ مِنْ سِيَاحَتِهِ فَنَظَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ حَوْلَ الذَّهَبِ صَرْعَى وَالذَّهَبُ بِحَالِهِ فَعَجِبَ أَصْحَابُهُ وَقَالُوا: مَا شَأْنُ هَٰؤُلَاءِ فَأَخْبَرَهُمْ بِهَٰذِهِ الْقِصَّةِ.

qāla: wajāʾa al-shayṭānu ʾilā al-thālithi fawaswasa ʾilayhi ʾaraḍīta linafsika ʾan taʾkhudha thulutha al-māli uqtulhumā fayakūna al-mālu kulluhu laka qāla: fa-ishtarā summan fajaʿalahu fī al-ṭaʿāmi falammā jāʾahumā bihi wathabā ʿalayhi faqatalāhu thumma qaʿadā yaʾkulāni al-ṭaʿāma falammā faraghā mātā, farajaʿa ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu min siyāḥatihi fanaẓara ʾilayhim ḥawla al-dhahabi ṣarʿā wa-al-dhahabu biḥālihi faʿajiba ʾaṣḥābuhu waqālū: mā shaʾnu hāʾulāʾi faʾakhbarahum bihādhihi al-qiṣṣati.

Satan then came to the third and whispered, “Are you content to take a third of the wealth? Kill them both, and all of it will be yours.” He bought poison and put it in the food. When he brought it back, they sprang upon him and killed him, then sat down to eat. When they finished, they died. Jesus, peace be upon him, returned from his wandering and saw them lying dead around the gold, which remained untouched. His companions marveled and asked, “What happened to these men?” He told them this story.

وَقِيلَ لِاِبْنِ الْمُبَارَكِ: مَنِ النَّاسُ؟ قَالَ: الْعُلَمَاءُ؟ قِيلَ: فَمَنِ الْمُلُوكُ؟ قَالَ: الزَّاهِدُونَ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ اِبْنِ الْمُسَيِّبِ عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ زَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَدْخَلَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى الْحِكْمَةَ قَلْبَهُ وَأَنْطَقَ بِهَا لِسَانَهُ وَبَصَّرَهُ دَاءَ الدُّنْيَا وَدَوَاءَهَا وَأَخْرَجَهُ مِنْهَا سَالِمًا إِلَى دَارِ السَّلَامِ. وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ: الدُّنْيَا دَارُ مَنْ لَا دَارَ لَهُ، وَمَالُ مَنْ لَا مَالَ لَهُ، وَلَهَا يَجْمَعُ مَنْ لَا عَقْلَ لَهُ،

waqīla liibni al-mubāraki: mani al-nāsu? qāla: al-ʿulamāʾu? qīla: famani al-mulūku? qāla: al-zāhidūna, warawaynā ʿani ibni al-musayyibi ʿan ʾabī dharrin qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man zahida fī al-dunyā ʾadkhala Allāhu tabāraka wataʿālā al-ḥikmata qalbahu waʾanṭaqa bihā lisānahu wabaṣṣarahu dāʾa al-dunyā wadawāʾahā waʾakhrajahu minhā sāliman ʾilā dāri al-salāmi. warawaynā fī al-khabari: al-dunyā dāru man lā dāra lahu, wamālu man lā māla lahu, walahā yajmaʿu man lā ʿaqla lahu,

Ibn al-Mubārak was asked, “Who are the people [worthy of the name]?” He replied, “The learned.” “And who are the kings?” “The renouncers,” he answered. We have transmitted from Ibn al-Musayyib, from Abū Dharr, that the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Whoever renounces the world, God, blessed and exalted, places wisdom in his heart, makes his tongue speak it, shows him the world’s disease and remedy, and brings him safely out of it to the Abode of Peace.” Another report we have transmitted says, “The world is the home of one who has no home, the wealth of one who has no wealth; the one who gathers for it has no understanding.”

وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: رَأَيْتُ سَبْعِينَ بَدْرِيًّا كَانُوا وَاللَّهِ فِيمَا أَحَلَّ تَعَالَى لَهُمْ أَزْهَدَ مِنْكُمْ فِيمَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْكُمْ، وَفِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ: كَانُوا بِالْبَلَاءِ وَالشِّدَّةِ تُصِيبُهُمْ أَشَدَّ فَرَحًا مِنْكُمْ بِالْخِصْبِ وَالرَّخَاءِ لَوْ رَأَيْتُمُوهُمْ قُلْتُمْ مَجَانِينُ، وَلَوْ رَأَوْا خِيَارَكُمْ قَالُوا: مَا لِهَٰؤُلَاءِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ وَلَوْ رَأَوْا أَشْرَارَكُمْ قَالُوا مَا يُؤْمِنُ هَٰؤُلَاءِ بِيَوْمِ الْحِسَابِ

wakāna al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: raʾaytu sabʿīna badriyyan kānū wa-Allāhi fīmā ʾaḥalla taʿālā lahum ʾazhada minkum fīmā ḥarrama Allāhu taʿālā ʿalaykum, wafī ḥadīthin ʾākhara: kānū bi-al-balāʾi wa-al-shiddati tuṣībuhum ʾashadda faraḥan minkum bi-al-khiṣbi wa-al-rakhāʾi law raʾaytumūhum qultum majānīnu, walaw raʾaw khiyārakum qālū: mā lihāʾulāʾi min khalāqin walaw raʾaw ʾashrārakum qālū mā yuʾminu hāʾulāʾi biyawmi al-ḥisābi

Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, God Most High have mercy on him, used to say, “I saw seventy men who fought at Badr. By God, they renounced what He, Most High, had made lawful for them more than you renounce what God Most High has forbidden you.” Another report says, “They rejoiced more in affliction and hardship befalling them than you rejoice in abundance and prosperity. Had you seen them, you would have called them mad. Had they seen the best of you, they would have said, ‘These people have no share.’ Had they seen the worst of you, they would have said, ‘These people do not believe in the Day of Reckoning.’”

قَالَ: وَكَانَ أَحَدُهُمْ يُعْرَضُ لَهُ الْمَالُ الْحَلَالُ فَلَا يَأْخُذُهُ وَيَقُولُ: أَخَافُ أَنْ يُفْسِدَ عَلَيَّ قَلْبِي، فَمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ حَفِظَهُ مِنْ فَسَادِهِ وَخَافَ مِنْ تَغَيُّرِهِ وَإِبْعَادِهِ وَعَمِلَ فِي صَلَاحِهِ وَإِرْشَادِهِ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ قَلْبٌ فَهُوَ يَتَقَلَّبُ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْهَوَى فَرُبَّمَا اِنْقَلَبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ خَسِرَ

qāla: wakāna ʾaḥaduhum yuʿraḍu lahu al-mālu al-ḥalālu falā yaʾkhudhuhu wayaqūlu: ʾakhāfu ʾan yufsida ʿalayya qalbī, faman kāna lahu qalbun ḥafiẓahu min fasādihi wakhāfa min taghayyurihi waʾibʿādihi waʿamila fī ṣalāḥihi waʾirshādihi, waman lam yakun lahu qalbun fahuwa yataqallabu fī ẓulumāti al-hawā farubbamā inqalaba ʿalā wajhihi khasira

He said, “Lawful money would be offered to one of them, but he would not take it, saying, ‘I fear it will corrupt my heart.’” Whoever has a heart protects it from corruption, fears its alteration and estrangement, and works to set it right and guide it. Whoever has no heart turns about in the darknesses of caprice; perhaps he turns over onto his face, losing

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٢٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 425

Volume One, page 425

الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةَ، أَوْ يَكُونُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الرِّضَا بِالدُّنْيَا وَأَهْلِ الْغَفْلَةِ عَنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَيَكُونُ قَدْ رَضِيَ بِلَاشَيْءٍ وَآثَرَهُ عَلَى مَنْ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ كَوَصْفِ مَنْ أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ قِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَرَضُوا بِالْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَاطْمَأَنُّوا بِهَا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ آيَاتِنَا غَافِلُونَ) يُونُسَ: 7 فَيَسْتَحِقُّ الْإِعْرَاضَ مِنَ الْحَبِيبِ وَيَسْتَوْجِبُ الْمَقْتَ مِنَ الْقَرِيبِ كَمَثَلِ مَنْ أَمَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالْإِعْرَاضِ عَنْهُمْ وَتَرْكِ الْقَبُولِ مِنْهُمْ إِذْ يَقُولُ عَزَّ مِنْ قَائِلٍ: (فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْ مَنْ تَوَلَّى عَنْ ذِكْرِنَا وَلَمْ يُرِدْ إِلَّا الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا) (ذَلِكَ مَبْلَغُهُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ) النَّجْمِ: 29 - 30 وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَنْ ذِكْرِنَا وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطًا) الْكَهْفِ: 28 أَيْ مُجَاوِزًا لِمَا نُهِيَ عَنْهُ مُقَصِّرًا عَمَّا أُمِرَ بِهِ وَقِيلَ: مُقَدَّمًا إِلَى الْهَلَاكِ،

al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirata, ʾaw yakūnu min ʾahli al-riḍā bi-al-dunyā waʾahli al-ghaflati ʿan ʾāyāti allāhi taʿālā fayakūnu qad raḍiya bilā shayʾin waʾātharahu ʿalā man laysa kamithlihi shayʾun kawaṣfi man ʾakhbara allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu qī qawlihi taʿālā: (waraḍū bi-al-ḥayāti al-dunyā wa-iṭmaʾannū bihā wa-alladhīna hum ʿan ʾāyātinā ghāfilūna) yūnusa: 7 fayastaḥiqqu al-ʾiʿrāḍa mina al-ḥabībi wayastawjibu al-maqta mina al-qarībi kamathali man ʾamara allāhu taʿālā bi-al-ʾiʿrāḍi ʿanhum watarki al-qabūli minhum ʾidh yaqūlu ʿazza min qāʾilin: (faʾaʿriḍ ʿan man tawallā ʿan dhikrinā walam yurid ʾillā al-ḥayāta al-dunyā) (dhālika mablaghuhum mina al-ʿilmi) al-najmi: 29 - 30 waqāla ʿazza wajalla: (walā tuṭiʿ man ʾaghfalnā qalbahu ʿan dhikrinā wa-ittabaʿa hawāhu wakāna ʾamruhu furuṭan) al-kahfi: 28 ʾay mujāwizan limā nuhiya ʿanhu muqaṣṣiran ʿammā ʾumira bihi waqīla: muqaddaman ʾilā al-halāki,

this world and the next. Or he may be one of those content with the present world, heedless of God Most High's signs: content, then, with nothing, and preferring it to Him whom nothing resembles. Such are those of whom God Most High speaks in His words, exalted is He: ‘They are content with the life of this world and feel secure in it, and they are heedless of Our signs’ (Yūnus 10:7). He therefore deserves to be turned away from by the Beloved and to incur the hatred of the One who is near. He resembles those whom God Most High commanded one to disregard and not heed, saying, mighty is the Speaker: ‘So turn away from whoever turns his back on Our remembrance and desires only the life of this world. That is the full extent of their knowledge’ (al-Najm 53:29–30). He, mighty and majestic, also says: ‘Do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who follows his desire, and whose affair has gone beyond bounds’ (al-Kahf 18:28). That is, he exceeds the limits of what he is forbidden and falls short of what he is commanded; another explanation is that he is hastening toward destruction.

وَقَدْ نَهَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى رَسُولَهُ أَنْ يُوَسِّعَ نَظَرَهُ إِلَى أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا مَقْتًا لَهُمْ وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّ مَا أَظْهَرَهُ مِنْ زَهْرَةِ الدُّنْيَا فِتْنَةٌ لَهُمْ وَأَعْلَمَهُ أَنَّ الْقَنَاعَةَ وَالزُّهْدَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى، تَنْتَظِمُ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَلَاتَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَى مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِنْهُمْ زَهْرَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى) طَهَ: 131، قِيلَ: الْقَنَاعَةُ وَقِيلَ: فَوْتُ يَوْمٍ بِيَوْمٍ وَيُقَالُ: الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَهَذَا الْوَجْهُ أَشْبَهُ بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِدَلِيلِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى) الْأَعْلَى: 17 وَكَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: (وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى) طَهَ: 131 يَعْنِي الزُّهْدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَقَالَ أَيْضًا فِي مِثْلِهِ: (بَقِيَّةُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ) هُودٍ: 86 يَعْنِي الْقَنَاعَةَ وَقِيلَ: الْحَلَالَ،

waqad nahā allāhu taʿālā rasūlahu ʾan yuwassiʿa naẓarahu ʾilā ʾahli al-dunyā maqtan lahum waʾakhbara ʾanna mā ʾaẓharahu min zahrati al-dunyā fitnatun lahum waʾaʿlamahu ʾanna al-qanāʿata wa-al-zuhda khayrun waʾabqā, tantaẓimu hādhihi al-maʿānī fī qawlihi taʿālā: (walā tamuddanna ʿaynayka ʾilā mā mattaʿnā bihi ʾazwājan minhum zahrata al-ḥayāti al-dunyā linaftinahum fīhi warizqu rabbika khayrun waʾabqā) ṭā hā: 131, qīla: al-qanāʿatu waqīla: fawtu yawmin biyawmin wayuqālu: al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā wa-hādhā al-wajhu ʾashbahu bikitābi allāhi taʿālā bidalīli qawlihi taʿālā: (wa-al-ʾākhiratu khayrun waʾabqā) al-ʾaʿlā: 17 wa-kadhālika qawluhu taʿālā: (warizqu rabbika khayrun waʾabqā) ṭā hā: 131 yaʿnī al-zuhda fī al-dunyā, waqāla ʾayḍan fī mithlihi: (baqiyyatu allāhi khayrun lakum) hūdin: 86 yaʿnī al-qanāʿata waqīla: al-ḥalāla,

God Most High forbade His Messenger to let his gaze range over the worldly, out of abhorrence for them. He told him that the worldly splendor He had displayed was a trial for them, and taught him that contentment and renunciation are better and more lasting. These meanings are gathered in His words, exalted is He: ‘Do not stretch your eyes toward the splendor of this world's life with which We have allowed various groups of them to enjoy themselves, so that We may test them through it. Your Lord's provision is better and more lasting’ (Ṭā Hā 20:131). This provision has been explained as contentment, or as [sustenance] from one day to the next; it is also said to mean renunciation of the world. The last interpretation accords more closely with God Most High's Book, as shown by His words, exalted is He, ‘The hereafter is better and more lasting’ (al-Aʿlā 87:17). Likewise His saying, exalted is He, ‘Your Lord's provision is better and more lasting’ (Ṭā Hā 20:131) means renunciation of the world. He says similarly, ‘What God leaves you is better for you’ (Hūd 11:86), meaning contentment, or, according to another explanation, lawful earnings.

وَفِي خَبَرٍ: إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَرَّ فِي أَصْحَابِهِ بِعِشَارٍ مِنَ النُّوقِ حُفَّلٍ وَهِيَ الْحَوَامِلُ وَكَانَتْ مِنْ أَحَبِّ أَمْوَالِهِمْ إِلَيْهِمْ وَأَنْفَسِهِ عِنْدَهُمْ لِأَنَّهَا تَجْمَعُ الظَّهْرَ وَاللَّحْمَ وَاللَّبَنَ وَالْوَلَدَ وَالْوَبَرَ؛ وَهِيَ الرَّوَاحِلُ مِنَ الْإِبِلِ الَّتِي ضَرَبَ النَّبِيُّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِهَا مَثَلَ خِيَارِ النَّاسِ فَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ النَّاسُ كَإِبِلٍ مِائَةٍ لَا تَكَادُ تَجِدُ فِيهَا رَاحِلَةً أَيِ الْإِبِلُ كَثِيرَةٌ وَالرَّاحِلَةُ الَّتِي تَجْمَعُ هَذِهِ الْأَوْصَافَ الْخَمْسَةَ مِنَ الْإِبِلِ قَلِيلٌ وَهِيَ الْعِشَارُ الَّتِي ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي قَوْلِهِ: (وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ) التَّكْوِيرِ: 4 أَيْ تَرَكَهَا أَهْلُهَا وَهَرَبُوا لِهَوْلِ قِيَامِ السَّاعَةِ شُغْلًا بِنُفُوسِهِمْ عَنْهَا قَالَ: فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَغَضَّ بَصَرَهُ فَقِيلَ لَهُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ هَذِهِ أَنْفَسُ أَمْوَالِنَا لِمَا تَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهَا؟ فَقَالَ: قَدْ نَهَانِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ تَلَا هَذِهِ الْايَةَ: (لَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ) الْحِجْرِ: 88،

wafī khabarin: ʾinna rasūla allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama marra fī ʾaṣḥābihi biʿishārin mina al-nūqi ḥuffalin wahiya al-ḥawāmilu wakānat min ʾaḥabbi ʾamwālihim ʾilayhim waʾanfasihi ʿindahum liʾannahā tajmaʿu al-ẓahra wa-al-laḥma wa-al-labana wa-al-walada wa-al-wabara; wahiya al-rawāḥilu mina al-ʾibili allatī ḍaraba al-nabiyyu ʿalayhi al-salāmu bihā mathala khiyāri al-nāsi faqāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu al-nāsu kaʾibilin miʾatin lā takādu tajidu fīhā rāḥilatan ʾayi al-ʾibilu kathīratun wa-al-rāḥilatu allatī tajmaʿu hādhihi al-ʾawṣāfa al-khamsata mina al-ʾibili qalīlun wahiya al-ʿishāru allatī dhakara allāhu taʿālā fī qawlihi: (waʾidhā al-ʿishāru ʿuṭṭilat) al-takwīri: 4 ʾay tarakahā ʾahluhā waharabū lihawli qiyāmi al-sāʿati shughlan binufūsihim ʿanhā qāla: faʾaʿraḍa ʿanhā rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waghaḍḍa baṣarahu faqīla lahu: yā rasūla allāhi hādhihi ʾanfasu ʾamwālinā limā tanẓuru ʾilayhā? faqāla: qad nahāniya allāhu taʿālā ʿan dhālika, thumma talā hādhihi al-iyata: (lā tamuddanna ʿaynayka) al-ḥijri: 88,

In a report, God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, passed with his companions by heavy, pregnant she-camels near their term. These were among their dearest and most precious possessions, combining a mount, meat, milk, offspring, and hair. They were the riding camels with which the Prophet, peace be upon him, compared the best people, saying, peace be upon him: ‘People are like a hundred camels: you can scarcely find a good riding camel among them.’ Camels are numerous, but one combining these five qualities is rare. These are the pregnant she-camels mentioned by God Most High: ‘When the pregnant she-camels are abandoned’ (al-Takwīr 81:4). Their owners leave them and flee in terror at the coming of the Hour, too absorbed in their own fate to care for them. The account continues: God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, turned away from them and lowered his eyes. Someone asked, ‘Messenger of God, these are our most precious possessions. Why do you not look at them?’ He replied, ‘God Most High has forbidden me to do so,’ and recited, ‘Do not stretch your eyes’ (al-Ḥijr 15:88).

وَفِي حَدِيثِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ: (وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ) التَّوْبَةِ: 34، قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: تَبًّا لِلدِّينَارِ وَالدِّرْهَمِ قَالَ: فَقُلْنَا نَهَانَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْ كَنْزِ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ فَأَيَّ شَيْءٍ نَدَّخِرُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لِيَتَّخِذْ أَحَدُكُمْ لِسَانًا ذَاكِرًا وَقَلْبًا شَاكِرًا وَزَوْجَةً صَالِحَةً تُعِينُهُ عَلَى أَمْرِ الْآخِرَةِ

wafī ḥadīthi ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: lammā nazalat hādhihi al-ʾāyatu: (wa-alladhīna yaknizūna al-dhahaba wa-al-fiḍḍata) al-tawbati: 34, qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: tabban li-l-dīnāri wa-al-dirhami qāla: faqulnā nahānā allāhu taʿālā ʿan kanzi al-dhahabi wa-al-fiḍḍati faʾayya shayʾin naddakhiru faqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: liyattakhidh ʾaḥadukum lisānan dhākiran waqalban shākiran wazawjatan ṣāliḥatan tuʿīnuhu ʿalā ʾamri al-ʾākhirati

In the report from ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, when the verse ‘Those who hoard gold and silver’ (al-Tawbah 9:34) was revealed, God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Perish gold coins and silver coins!’ We said, ‘God Most High has forbidden us to hoard gold and silver. What, then, should we store up?’ God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, answered, ‘Let each of you acquire a tongue that remembers, a heart that gives thanks, and a righteous wife who helps him in the affairs of the hereafter.’

وَفِي حَدِيثِ حُذَيْفَةَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ آثَرَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى الْآخِرَةِ ابْتَلَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِثَلَاثٍ هَمًّا لَا يُفَارِقُ قَلْبَهُ أَبَدًا وَفَقْرًا لَا يُسْتَغْنَى أَبَدًا وَحِرْصًا لَا يَشْبَعُ أَبَدًا. وَرَوَيْنَا حَدِيثًا مُرْسَلًا عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ مَعْبَدٍ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَلْحَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لَا يَسْتَكْمِلُ الْعَبْدُ الْإِيمَانَ حَتَّى يَكُونَ أَنْ لَا يُعْرَفَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ أَنْ يُعْرَفَ، وَحَتَّى

wafī ḥadīthi ḥudhayfata ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama man ʾāthara al-dunyā ʿalā al-ʾākhirati ibtalāhu allāhu taʿālā bithalāthin hamman lā yufāriqu qalbahu ʾabadan wafaqran lā yustaghnā ʾabadan waḥirṣan lā yashbaʿu ʾabadan. warawaynā ḥadīthan mursalan ʿan ʿaliyyi bni maʿbadin ʿan ʿaliyyi bni ʾabī ṭalḥata qāla: qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: lā yastakmilu al-ʿabdu al-ʾīmāna ḥattā yakūna ʾan lā yuʿrafa ʾaḥabba ʾilayhi min ʾan yuʿrafa, waḥattā

In Ḥudhayfah's report from God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: ‘Whoever prefers this world to the next, God Most High afflicts with three things: anxiety that never leaves his heart, poverty that never finds sufficiency, and a craving that is never satisfied.’ We have transmitted a disconnected report from ʿAlī ibn Maʿbad, from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥah, who said: God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘A servant does not attain complete faith until being unknown is dearer to him than being known, and until

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٢٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 426

Volume One, page 426

يَكُونَ قِلَّةُ الشَّيْءِ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ كَثْرَةِ الشَّيْءِ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: الدُّنْيَا قَنْطَرَةٌ خُلِقَتْ يُعْبَرُ عَلَيْهَا إِلَى الْآخِرَةِ فَاُعْبُرُوهَا وَلَا تَعْمُرُوهَا، وَقَالَ لَهُ رَجُلٌ: احْمِلْنِي مَعَكَ فِي سَاحَتِكَ فَقَالَ: أَخْرِجْ مَالَكَ وَالْحَقْنِي قَالَ: لَا أَسْتَطِيعُ فَقَالَ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِشِدَّةٍ: يَدْخُلُ الْغَنِيُّ الْجَنَّةَ أَوْ قَالَ بِعَجَبٍ: وَقَالُوا لَهُ: لَوْ أَمَرْتَنَا يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ أَنْ نَبْنِيَ بَيْتًا نَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ فِيهِ فَقَالَ: اذْهَبُوا فَابْنُوا بَيْتًا عَلَى الْمَاءِ قَالُوا: كَيْفَ يَسْتَقِيمُ بُنْيَانٌ عَلَى الْمَاءِ قَالَ: فَكَيْفَ تَسْتَقِيمُ عِبَادَةٌ عَلَى حُبِّ الدُّنْيَا وَقَالَ: لَا يَبْلُغُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَقِيقَةَ الْإِيمَانِ حَتَّى لَا يُحِبَّ أَنْ يُحْمَدَ بِعِبَادَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلَايُبَالِيَ مَنْ أَكَلَ الدُّنْيَا،

yakūna qillatu al-shayʾi ʾaḥabba ʾilayhi min kathrati al-shayʾi, warawaynā ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: al-dunyā qanṭaratun khuliqat yuʿbaru ʿalayhā ʾilā al-ʾākhirati fa-uʿburūhā walā taʿmurūhā, waqāla lahu rajulun: iḥmilnī maʿaka fī sāḥatika faqāla: ʾakhrij mālaka wa-ilḥaqnī qāla: lā ʾastaṭīʿu faqāla ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu bishiddatin: yadkhulu al-ghaniyyu al-jannata ʾaw qāla biʿajabin: waqālū lahu: law ʾamartanā yā nabiyya allāhi ʾan nabniya baytan naʿbudu allāha fīhi faqāla: idhhabū fa-ibnū baytan ʿalā al-māʾi qālū: kayfa yastaqīmu bunyānun ʿalā al-māʾi qāla: fakayfa tastaqīmu ʿibādatun ʿalā ḥubbi al-dunyā waqāla: lā yablughu ʾaḥadukum ḥaqīqata al-ʾīmāni ḥattā lā yuḥibba ʾan yuḥmada biʿibādati allāhi taʿālā walā yubāliya man ʾakala al-dunyā,

having little is dearer to him than having much.’ We have transmitted from Jesus, peace be upon him: ‘This world is a bridge, made to be crossed into the next. Cross it; do not settle on it.’ A man said to him, ‘Take me with you on your travels.’ He replied, ‘Give away your possessions and join me.’ ‘I cannot,’ the man answered. Jesus, peace be upon him, said emphatically, or with astonishment, ‘A rich man enters Paradise!’ They said to him, ‘Prophet of God, if only you would tell us to build a house in which to worship God.’ He answered, ‘Go and build a house on water.’ ‘How can a building stand on water?’ they asked. He replied, ‘Then how can worship stand upon love of the world?’ He also said, ‘None of you attains the reality of faith until he no longer wants to be praised for worshipping God Most High and no longer cares who consumes the world's goods.’

وَكَانَ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ يَقُولُ: لَا تَحْسُنُ التَّقْوَى إِلَّا بِزُهْدٍ وَقَالَ مَرَّةً: الْعِبَادَةُ لَا تَلِيقُ بِالْأَغْنِيَاءِ مَثَلُ الْعِبَادَةِ عَلَى الْغَنِيِّ مَثَلُ رَوْضَةٍ عَلَى الْمَزْبَلَةِ، وَمَثَلُ الْعِبَادَةِ عَلَى الْفَقِيرِ مَثَلُ عِقْدِ الْجَوْهَرِ فِي جِيدِ الْحَسْنَاءِ، وَقَدِ اسْتَنْبَطْنَا ذَلِكَ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَمَعْنَى وَصْفِ الْفُقَرَاءِ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ فِي قَوْلِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: (لِلْفُقَرَاءِ الَّذِينَ أُحْصِرُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ) الْبَقَرَةِ: 273 ثُمَّ قَالَ: (تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا) الْفَتْحِ: 29 فَحَسُنَتْ لِبْسَةُ الْعِبَادَةِ عَلَيْهِمْ لِحُسْنِ سِيمَاهُمْ بِالْفَقْرِ،

wakāna bishru bnu al-ḥārithi yaqūlu: lā taḥsunu al-taqwā ʾillā bizuhdin waqāla marratan: al-ʿibādatu lā talīqu bi-al-ʾaghniyāʾi mathalu al-ʿibādati ʿalā al-ghaniyyi mathalu rawḍatin ʿalā al-mazbalati, wamathalu al-ʿibādati ʿalā al-faqīri mathalu ʿiqdi al-jawhari fī jīdi al-ḥasnāʾi, waqadi istanbaṭnā dhālika min kitābi allāhi taʿālā famaʿnā waṣfi al-fuqarāʾi fī al-ʿibādati fī qawlihi subḥānahu wataʿālā: (li-l-fuqarāʾi alladhīna ʾuḥṣirū fī sabīli allāhi) al-baqarati: 273 thumma qāla: (tarāhum rukkaʿan sujjadan) al-fatḥi: 29 faḥasunat libsatu al-ʿibādati ʿalayhim liḥusni sīmāhum bi-al-faqri,

Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith used to say, ‘God-consciousness is made beautiful only by renunciation.’ On one occasion he said, ‘Worship does not sit well upon the wealthy. Worship upon a rich man resembles a garden upon a rubbish heap; worship upon a poor man resembles a necklace of jewels upon a beautiful woman's neck.’ We have drawn this from God Most High's Book. The description of the poor in worship is conveyed in His words, glorified and exalted is He, ‘For the poor who are constrained in God's path’ (al-Baqarah 2:273), and then, ‘You see them bowing and prostrating’ (al-Fatḥ 48:29). The clothing of worship looks beautiful on them because poverty makes their appearance beautiful.

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي وَصِيَّةِ لُقْمَانَ لِابْنِهِ وَهُوَ يُحَذِّرُهُ مَدَاخِلَ الْعَدُوِّ قَالَ: وَإِذَا جَاءَكَ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْفَقْرِ فَأَخْبِرْهُ أَنَّ الْغَنِيَّ مَنْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَالْفَقِيرَ مَنِ انْتَهَكَ مَعْصِيَتَهُ وَإِذَا شَهَّى إِلَيْكَ الْغِنِي فَأَخْبِرْهُ أَنَّهُ لَا يَحْسُنُ جَمْعُ الْغِنَى وَالْقِرَاءَةِ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: أَبِي أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَنْ يَسْمَعُوا الْحِكْمَةَ وَالْوَعْظَ إِلَّا مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَقَالُوا: لَيْسَ أَهْلُ الدُّنْيَا لِذَلِكَ أَهْلًا وَلَا يَلِيقُ بِهِمْ.

warawaynā fī waṣiyyati luqmāna li-ibnihi wahuwa yuḥadhdhiruhu madākhila al-ʿaduwwi qāla: waʾidhā jāʾaka min qibali al-faqri faʾakhbirhu ʾanna al-ghaniyya man ʾaṭāʿa allāha taʿālā wa-al-faqīra mani intahaka maʿṣiyatahu waʾidhā shahhā ʾilayka al-ghinī faʾakhbirhu ʾannahu lā yaḥsunu jamʿu al-ghinā wa-al-qirāʾati, waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: ʾabī ʾahlu al-ʿilmi bi-llāhi taʿālā ʾan yasmaʿū al-ḥikmata wa-al-waʿẓa ʾillā mina al-zāhidīna fī al-dunyā waqālū: laysa ʾahlu al-dunyā li-dhālika ʾahlan walā yalīqu bihim.

We have transmitted, among Luqmān's counsels to his son warning him against the enemy's approaches: ‘If he approaches you through poverty, tell him that the rich man is whoever obeys God Most High, and the poor man whoever trespasses into disobedience to Him. If he makes wealth attractive to you, tell him that amassing wealth and reciting [the sacred text] do not go well together.’ One of the early generations said, ‘Those who know God Most High refused to hear wisdom and exhortation from anyone except those who renounced the world. They said that the worldly were unfit for it and that it did not become them.’

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِيمَا أَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ: يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ ابْكِ أَيَّامَ الْحَيَاةِ بُكَاءَ مَنْ وَدَّعَ الدُّنْيَا وَارْتَفَعَتْ رَغْبَتُهُ إِلَى مَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، اكْتَفِ بِالْبُلْغَةِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا لِيَكْفِكَ مِنْهَا الْجَشْبُ وَالْخَشِنُ بِحَقٍّ أَقُولُ لَكَ مَا أَنْتَ إِلَّا بِيَوْمِكَ وَسَاعَتِكَ مَكْتُوبٌ عَلَيْكَ مَا أَخَذْتَ الدُّنْيَا وَفِيمَا أَنْفَقْتَهُ فَاعْمَلْ عَلَى حَسَبِ هَذَا، فَإِنَّكَ مَسْوُؤلٌ عَنْهُ، لَوْ رَأَيْتَ مَا وَعَدْتُ الصَّالِحِينَ لَزَهَقَتْ نَفْسُكَ،

warawaynā ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu fīmā ʾawḥā allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi: yā ibna ʾādama ibki ʾayyāma al-ḥayāti bukāʾa man waddaʿa al-dunyā wa-irtafaʿat raghbatuhu ʾilā mā ʿinda allāhi taʿālā, iktafi bi-al-bulghati mina al-dunyā liyakfika minhā al-jashbu wa-al-khashinu biḥaqqin ʾaqūlu laka mā ʾanta ʾillā biyawmika wasāʿatika maktūbun ʿalayka mā ʾakhadhta al-dunyā wafīmā ʾanfaqtahu fa-iʿmal ʿalā ḥasabi hādhā, faʾinnaka maswuʾlun ʿanhu, law raʾayta mā waʿadtu al-ṣāliḥīna lazahaqat nafsuka,

We have transmitted from Jesus, peace be upon him, among the things God Most High revealed to him: ‘Son of Adam, weep during life's days as someone who has bid farewell to the world and whose longing has risen to what is with God Most High. Be satisfied with enough of the world to get by; let rough, coarse fare suffice you. Truly I tell you: you have only your day and your hour. What you take from the world and what you spend it on are written against you. Act accordingly, for you will be questioned about it. If you saw what I have promised the righteous, your soul would leave your body.’

فَكَانَ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ يَقُولُ: حَلَاوَةُ الدُّنْيَا مَرَارَةُ الْآخِرَةِ وَجَوْدَةُ الثِّيَابِ خُيَلَاءُ الْقَلْبِ يَعْنِي إِعْجَابَهُ وَكِبْرَهُ وَمِلْءُ الْبَطْنِ جِمَامُ النَّفْسِ يَعْنِي قُوَّتَهَا وَاجْتِمَاعَهَا، بِحَقٍّ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: لَكَمَا لَا يَلَذُّ الْمَرِيضُ بِطَيِّبِ الطَّعَامِ كَذَلِكَ لَا يَجِدُ حَلَاوَةَ الْعِبَادَةِ مَنْ أَحَبَّ الدُّنْيَا، وَمِنَ الزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا تَرْكُ الْمَلْبَسِ النَّاعِمِ وَالْمَنْظُورِ إِلَىْهِ الْمُرْتَفِعِ وَاجْتِنَابُ النُّزْهَاتِ مِنْ لَطَائِفِ الطَّعَامِ وَالتَّفَتُّقِ فِي الشَّهَوَاتِ الَّتِي يَرْغَبُ فِيهَا الْمُتَنَعِّمُونَ

fakāna ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu yaqūlu: ḥalāwatu al-dunyā marāratu al-ʾākhirati wajawdatu al-thiyābi khuyalāʾu al-qalbi yaʿnī ʾiʿjābahu wakibrahu wamilʾu al-baṭni jimāmu al-nafsi yaʿnī quwwatahā wa-ijtimāʿahā, biḥaqqin ʾaqūlu lakum: lakamā lā yaladhdhu al-marīḍu biṭayyibi al-ṭaʿāmi kadhālika lā yajidu ḥalāwata al-ʿibādati man ʾaḥabba al-dunyā, wamina al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā tarku al-malbasi al-nāʿimi wa-al-manẓūri ʾilayhi al-murtafiʿi wa-ijtinābu al-nuzhāti min laṭāʾifi al-ṭaʿāmi wa-al-tafattuqi fī al-shahawāti allatī yarghabu fīhā al-mutanaʿʿimūna

Jesus, peace be upon him, used to say, ‘The sweetness of this world is the bitterness of the next. Fine clothes are the heart's vanity,’ meaning its self-admiration and arrogance, ‘and filling the belly refreshes the lower self,’ meaning that it strengthens and rallies it. ‘Truly I tell you: just as a sick person finds no pleasure in good food, someone who loves the world finds no sweetness in worship.’ Part of renouncing the world is to leave off soft, conspicuously luxurious clothing; to avoid indulgent excursions into delicate foods and the elaboration of appetites desired by those who live in luxury;

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٢٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 427

Volume One, page 427

وَتَرْكُ الزِّينَةِ وَالْمَفَاخِرِ مِنَ الْآلَةِ وَالْأَثَاثِ الَّذِي يَسْتَأْنِسُ فِيهِ الْمُتْرَفُونَ، وَمِنَ الزُّهْدِ أَنْ يَكُونَ الشَّيْءُ الْوَاحِدُ يُسْتَعْمَلُ فِي أَشْيَاءَ كَثِيرَةٍ، كَذَلِكَ كَانَ سِيرَةُ السَّلَفِ فِي الْأَثَاثِ وَهُوَ التَّقَلُّلُ، كَمَا أَنَّ أَبْنَاءَ الدُّنْيَا يَسْتَعْمِلُونَ لِلشَّيْءِ الْوَاحِدِ أَشْيَاءَ كَثِيرَةً؛ وَهُوَ وَصْفٌ مِنَ التَّكَاثُرِ وَذَلِكَ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الدُّنْيَا، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: أَوَّلُ النُّسْكِ الزِّيُّ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: مَنْ رَقَّ ثَوْبُهُ رَقَّ دِينُهُ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: لَا يُشْبِهُ الزِّيُّ الزِّيَّ حَتَّى يُشْبِهَ الْقَلْبُ الْقَلْبَ.

watarku al-zīnati wa-al-mafākhiri mina al-ʾālati wa-al-ʾathāthi alladhī yastaʾnisu fīhi al-mutrafūna, wamina al-zuhdi ʾan yakūna al-shayʾu al-wāḥidu yustaʿmalu fī ʾashyāʾa kathīratin, kadhālika kāna sīratu al-salafi fī al-ʾathāthi wahuwa al-taqallulu, kamā ʾanna ʾabnāʾa al-dunyā yastaʿmilūna li-l-shayʾi al-wāḥidi ʾashyāʾa kathīratan; wahuwa waṣfun mina al-takāthuri wa-dhālika min ʾabwābi al-dunyā, waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: ʾawwalu al-nuski al-ziyyu, waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: man raqqa thawbuhu raqqa dīnuhu, waqāla ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: lā yushbihu al-ziyyu al-ziyya ḥattā yushbiha al-qalbu al-qalba.

and to leave off decorative and ostentatious implements and furnishings in which the affluent take comfort. Another part of renunciation is to use one object for many purposes. This was the early generations' practice with household goods: making do with little. The children of this world, by contrast, use many objects for one purpose. That is an aspect of accumulation, one of the world's avenues. One of the early generations said, ‘The beginning of devotion is one's manner of dress.’ A scholar said, ‘When a man's clothing becomes fine, his religion becomes thin.’ Ibn Masʿūd, God be pleased with him, said, ‘One manner of dress does not come to resemble another until one heart resembles the other.’

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ: الْبَذَاذَةُ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ قِيلَ: هُوَ التَّقَارُبُ فِي اللِّبَاسِ، وَالْحَدِيثُ الْمُفَسِّرُ مَنْ تَرَكَ ثَوْبَ جَمَالٍ وَهُوَ يَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ تَوَاضُعًا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى خَيَّرَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنْ حُلَلِ الْإِيمَانِ أَيَّهَا شَاءَ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: مَنْ تَرَكَ زِينَةً لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَوَضَعَ ثِيَابًا حَسَنَةً تَوَاضُعًا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِهِ كَانَ حَقًّا عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَنْ يَدَّخِرَ لَهُ مِنْ عَبْقَرِيِّ الْجَنَّةِ فِي تَخَاتِ الْيَاقُوتِ،

wafī al-khabari al-mashhūri: al-badhādhatu mina al-ʾīmāni qīla: huwa al-taqārubu fī al-libāsi, wa-al-ḥadīthu al-mufassiru man taraka thawba jamālin wahuwa yaqdiru ʿalayhi tawāḍuʿan li-llāhi taʿālā khayyarahu allāhu taʿālā min ḥulali al-ʾīmāni ʾayyahā shāʾa, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: man taraka zīnatan li-llāhi taʿālā wawaḍaʿa thiyāban ḥasanatan tawāḍuʿan li-llāhi taʿālā wa-ibtighāʾa wajhihi kāna ḥaqqan ʿalā allāhi taʿālā ʾan yaddakhira lahu min ʿabqariyyi al-jannati fī takhāti al-yāqūti,

In the well-known report: ‘Plainness of appearance is part of faith.’ This has been explained as keeping one's clothes modest. The explanatory report says: ‘Whoever leaves off a fine garment, though able to afford it, out of humility before God Most High, God Most High will let him choose whichever robes of faith he wishes.’ Another wording says: ‘Whoever leaves off adornment for God Most High's sake and lays aside fine clothes out of humility before God Most High and in pursuit of His face, God Most High owes it to him to store up for him some of Paradise's sumptuous fabrics in chests of ruby.’

وَلَمَّا أَتَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَهْلَ قُبَاءَ أَتَوْهُ بِشَرْبَةٍ مِنْ لَبَنٍ مَشُوبَةٍ بِعَسَلٍ، فَوَضَعَ الْقَدَحَ مِنْ يَدِهِ قَالَ أَمَا أَنِّي لَسْتُ أُحَرِّمُهُ وَلَكِنِّي أَتْرُكُهُ تَوَاضُعًا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأُتِىَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ بِشَرْبَةٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ بَارِدٍ وَعَسَلٍ فِي يَوْمٍ صَائِفٍ فَقَالَ: اعْزِلُوا عَنِّي حِسَابَهَا، وَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى نَبِيٍّ مِنْ أَنْبِيَائِهِ: قُلْ لِأَوْلِيَائِي: لَا تَلْبَسُوا مَلَابِسَ أَعْدَائِي وَلَا تَدْخُلُوا مَدَاخِلَ أَعْدَائِي فَتَكُونُوا أَعْدَائِي كَمَا هُمْ أَعْدَائِي، وَلَمَّا خَطَبَ بِشْرُ بْنُ مَرْوَانَ عَلَى مِنْبَرِ الْكُوفَةِ قَالَ بَعْضُ الصَّحَابَةِ: اُنْظُرُوا إِلَى أَمِيرِكُمْ يَعِظُ النَّاسَ وَعَلَيْهِ ثِيَابُ لْفُسَّاقِ قُلْتُ: وَمَا كَانَ عَلَيْهِ، ثِيَابٌ رِقَاقٌ،

walammā ʾatā rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾahla qubāʾa ʾatawhu bisharbatin min labanin mashūbatin biʿasalin, fawaḍaʿa al-qadaḥa min yadihi qāla ʾamā ʾannī lastu ʾuḥarrimuhu walakinnī ʾatrukuhu tawāḍuʿan li-llāhi taʿālā waʾutiya ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu bisharbatin min māʾin bāridin waʿasalin fī yawmin ṣāʾifin faqāla: iʿzilū ʿannī ḥisābahā, waʾawḥā allāhu taʿālā ʾilā nabiyyin min ʾanbiyāʾihi: qul liʾawliyāʾī: lā talbasū malābisa ʾaʿdāʾī walā tadkhulū madākhila ʾaʿdāʾī fatakūnū ʾaʿdāʾī kamā hum ʾaʿdāʾī, walammā khaṭaba bishru bnu marwāna ʿalā minbari al-kūfati qāla baʿḍu al-ṣaḥābati: unẓurū ʾilā ʾamīrikum yaʿiẓu al-nāsa waʿalayhi thiyābu lfussāqi qultu: wamā kāna ʿalayhi, thiyābun riqāqun,

When God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, visited the people of Qubāʾ, they brought him a drink of milk mixed with honey. He set the cup down and said, ‘I do not forbid it, but I leave it out of humility before God Most High.’ A drink of cold water and honey was brought to ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, on a summer day. He said, ‘Keep its reckoning away from me.’ God Most High revealed to one of His prophets: ‘Tell My friends: Do not wear My enemies' clothing or enter where My enemies enter, lest you become My enemies as they are.’ When Bishr ibn Marwān preached from the pulpit of Kūfah, one of the Companions said, ‘Look at your governor, exhorting people while dressed in the clothes of the dissolute!’ I asked, ‘What was he wearing?’ Fine, thin clothes.

وَجَاءَ عَامِرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ رَبِيعَةَ إِلَى أَبِي ذَرٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي بِزَّتِهِ فَجَعَلَ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي الزُّهْدِ فَوَضَعَ أَبُو ذَرٍّ رَاحَتَهُ عَلَى فِيهِ وَجَعَلَ يُضَرِّطُ بِهِ فَغَضِبَ عَامِرٌ فَأَتَى ابْنَ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا فَقَالَ: أَلَمْ تَرَ مَا لَقِيتُ مِنْ أَخِيكَ أَبِي ذَرٍّ قَالَ وَمَا ذَاكَ؟ قَالَ: جَعَلْتُ أَقُولُ فِي الزُّهْدِ فَأَخَذَ يَهْزَأُ بِي فَقَالَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ: أَنْتَ صَنَعْتَ بِنَفْسِكَ تَأْتِي أَبَا ذَرٍّ فِي هَذِهِ الْبِزَّةِ وَتَتَكَلَّمُ فِي الزُّهْدِ.

wajāʾa ʿāmiru bnu ʿabdi allāhi bni rabīʿata ʾilā ʾabī dharrin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu fī bizzatihi fajaʿala yatakallamu fī al-zuhdi fawaḍaʿa ʾabū dharrin rāḥatahu ʿalā fīhi wajaʿala yuḍarriṭu bihi faghaḍiba ʿāmirun faʾatā ibna ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā faqāla: ʾalam tara mā laqītu min ʾakhīka ʾabī dharrin qāla wamā dhāka? qāla: jaʿaltu ʾaqūlu fī al-zuhdi faʾakhadha yahzaʾu bī faqāla ibnu ʿumara: ʾanta ṣanaʿta binafsika taʾtī ʾabā dharrin fī hādhihi al-bizzati watatakallamu fī al-zuhdi.

ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rabīʿah came to Abū Dharr, God be pleased with him, in his finery and began speaking about renunciation. Abū Dharr put his palm to his mouth and made farting noises through it. ʿĀmir became angry and went to Ibn ʿUmar, God be pleased with them both. ‘Have you seen how your brother Abū Dharr treated me?’ he asked. ‘What happened?’ ‘I began talking about renunciation, and he started mocking me.’ Ibn ʿUmar answered, ‘You brought it upon yourself: you come to Abū Dharr in this finery and speak of renunciation!’

وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَخَذَ عَلَى أَئِمَّةِ الْهُدَى أَنْ يَكُونُوا فِي مِثْلِ أَدْنَى أَحْوَالِ النَّاسِ لِيَقْتَدِيَ بِهِمُ الْغَنِيُّ وَلَا يُزْرِيَ بِالْفَقِيرِ فَقْرُهُ، وَقَدْ عُوتِبَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ فِي لِبَاسِهِ وَكَانَ يَلْبَسُ الْخَشِنَ مِنَ الْقُطْنِ قِيمَةُ قَمِيصِهِ ثَلَاثَةُ دَرَاهِمَ وَخَمْسَةُ دَرَاهِمَ وَيَقْطَعُ مَا فَضَلَ عَنْ أَطْرَافِ أَصَابِعِهِ وَقَالَ هَذَا أَدْنَى إِلَى التَّوَاضُعِ وَأَجْدَرُ أَنْ يَقْتَدِيَ بِيَ الْمُسْلِمُ، وَأَتَتْ بُرُودٌ مِنَ الْيَمَنِ إِلَى عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَقَسَمَهَا عَلَى أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بُرْدًا بُرْدًا، ثُمَّ صَعِدَ الْمِنِيرَ بَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ فَخَطَبَ النَّاسَ فِي حُلَّةٍ مِنْهَا وَالْحُلَّةُ عِنْدَ الْعَرَبِ ثَوْبَانِ مِنْ جِنْسٍ وَاحِدٍ، وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ أَحْسَنِ زِيِّهِمْ فَقَالَ: أَلَا اسْمَعُوا أَلَا اسْمَعُوا، ثُمَّ

waqāla ʿaliyyun karrama allāhu wajhahu: ʾinna allāha taʿālā ʾakhadha ʿalā ʾaʾimmati al-hudā ʾan yakūnū fī mithli ʾadnā ʾaḥwāli al-nāsi liyaqtadiya bihimu al-ghaniyyu walā yuzriya bi-al-faqīri faqruhu, waqad ʿūtiba ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu fī libāsihi wakāna yalbasu al-khashina mina al-quṭni qīmatu qamīṣihi thalāthatu darāhima wakhamsatu darāhima wayaqṭaʿu mā faḍala ʿan ʾaṭrāfi ʾaṣābiʿihi waqāla hādhā ʾadnā ʾilā al-tawāḍuʿi waʾajdaru ʾan yaqtadiya biya al-muslimu, waʾatat burūdun mina al-yamani ʾilā ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu faqasamahā ʿalā ʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama burdan burdan, thumma ṣaʿida al-minīra bawma al-jumuʿati fakhaṭaba al-nāsa fī ḥullatin minhā wa-al-ḥullatu ʿinda al-ʿarabi thawbāni min jinsin wāḥidin, wakāna dhālika min ʾaḥsani ziyyihim faqāla: ʾalā ismaʿū ʾalā ismaʿū, thumma

ʿAlī, God ennoble his face, said, ‘God Most High has bound the leaders of guidance to live at a level like that of the poorest people, so that the rich may follow their example and a poor man's poverty may not make him feel degraded.’ ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, was reproached about his clothes. He wore coarse cotton; his shirt cost three or five dirhams, and he cut off whatever extended past his fingertips. He said, ‘This is closer to humility and more likely to encourage a Muslim to follow my example.’ Striped cloaks came from Yemen to ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, and he divided them among the companions of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, one cloak each. Then, on Friday, he ascended the pulpit and addressed the people wearing a matching pair of these garments. Among the Arabs, a ḥullah is two garments of the same kind, and this was one of their finest forms of dress. He said, ‘Listen! Listen!’ Then

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٢٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 428

Volume One, page 428

وَعَظَ فَقَامَ سَلْمَانُ فَقَالَ: وَاللَّهِ لَا نَسْمَعُ وَاللَّهِ لَا نَسْمَعُ قَالَ: وَمَا ذَاكَ؟ قَالَ: لِأَنَّكَ قَدْ أَعْطَيْتَنَا ثَوْبًا ثَوْبًا وَرُحْتَ فِي حُلَّةٍ فَقَدْ تَفَضَّلْتَ عَلَيْنَا بِالدُّنْيَا، فَتَبَسَّمَ ثُمَّ قَالَ: عَجِلْتَ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ إِنِّي كُنْتُ غَسَلْتُ ثَوْبِيَ الْحَلَقَ فَاسْتَعَرْتُ بُرْدَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ فَلَبِسْتُهُ مَعَ بُرْدِي: فَقَالَ سَلْمَانُ: قُلِ الْآنَ حَتَّى نَسْمَعَ

waʿaẓa faqāma salmānu faqāla: wa-allāhi lā nasmaʿu wa-allāhi lā nasmaʿu qāla: wamā dhāka? qāla: liʾannaka qad ʾaʿṭaytanā thawban thawban waruḥta fī ḥullatin faqad tafaḍḍalta ʿalaynā bi-al-dunyā, fatabassama thumma qāla: ʿajilta yā ʾabā ʿabdi allāhi raḥimaka allāhu ʾinnī kuntu ghasaltu thawbiya al-ḥalaqa fa-istaʿartu burda ʿabdi allāhi bni ʿumara falabistuhu maʿa burdī: faqāla salmānu: quli al-ʾāna ḥattā nasmaʿa

he exhorted them. Salmān stood and said, ‘By God, we will not listen! By God, we will not listen!’ ‘Why is that?’ he asked. ‘Because you gave us one garment each, but have come out wearing two. You have taken a worldly advantage over us.’ He smiled and replied, ‘You have been hasty, Abū ʿAbd Allāh; God have mercy on you. I washed my worn-out garment, so I borrowed ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar's cloak and put it on with my own.’ Salmān said, ‘Now speak, and we will listen.’

وَنَهَى وَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ التَّنَعُّمِ وَقَالَ: إِنَّ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَيْسُوا بِالْمُتَنَعِّمِينَ وَرُؤِيَ فُضَالَةُ بْنُ عُبَيٍّ وَهُوَ وَالِي مِصْرَ أَشْعَثَ حَافِيًا فَقِيلَ لَهُ: أَنْتَ الْأَمِيرُ وَأَنْتَ هَكَذَا فَقَالَ: نَهَانَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الْأَرْفَاهِ وَأَمَرَنَا أَنْ نَحْتَفِيَ أَحْيَانًا.

wanahā wasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿani al-tanaʿʿumi waqāla: ʾinna ʿibāda allāhi taʿālā laysū bi-al-mutanaʿʿimīna waruʾiya fuḍālatu bnu ʿubayyin wahuwa wālī miṣra ʾashʿatha ḥāfiyan faqīla lahu: ʾanta al-ʾamīru waʾanta hākadhā faqāla: nahānā rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿani al-ʾarfāhi waʾamaranā ʾan naḥtafiya ʾaḥyānan.

God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, forbade luxurious living and said, ‘God Most High's servants are not people who live in luxury.’ Fuḍālah ibn ʿUbayd was seen disheveled and barefoot while governor of Egypt. Someone said, ‘You are the governor, yet you look like this!’ He replied, ‘God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, forbade us excessive comfort and ordered us to go barefoot sometimes.’

وَرَوَيْنَا أَنَّ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ خَطَبَ النَّاسَ فَقَالَ: أَنْشُدُ اللَّهَ رَجُلًا عَلِمَ فِيَّ عَيْبًا لَا أَخْبَرَنِي بِهِ، فَقَامَ شَابٌّ فَقَالَ: فِيكَ عَيْبَانِ اثْنَانِ قَالَ: وَمَا هُمَا رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ؟ قَالَ: تُذِيلُ بَيْنَ الْبُرْدَيْنِ وَتَجْمَعُ بَيْنَ الْأُدْمَيْنِ قَالَ: فَمَا أَذَالَ بَيْنَ الْبُرْدَيْنِ وَمَا جَمَعَ بَيْنَ الْأُدْمَيْنِ حَتَّى لَقِيَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى،

warawaynā ʾanna ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu khaṭaba al-nāsa faqāla: ʾanshudu allāha rajulan ʿalima fiyya ʿayban lā ʾakhbaranī bihi, faqāma shābbun faqāla: fīka ʿaybāni ithnāni qāla: wamā humā raḥimaka allāhu? qāla: tudhīlu bayna al-burdayni watajmaʿu bayna al-ʾudmayni qāla: famā ʾadhāla bayna al-burdayni wamā jamaʿa bayna al-ʾudmayni ḥattā laqiya allāha taʿālā,

We have transmitted that ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, addressed the people: ‘I adjure by God any man who knows a fault in me to tell me.’ A young man stood and said, ‘You have two faults.’ ‘What are they, God have mercy on you?’ ‘You trail two cloaks and combine two condiments.’ He never again trailed two cloaks or combined two condiments until he met God Most High.

هَكَذَا حَدَّثَنَا بِهِ قَالَ الشَّيْخُ: بِإِسْنَادِهِ يُذِيلُ بِالذَّالِ فَمَعْنَاهُ تَجْمَعُ بَيْنَ ذَيْلَيْهِمَا فَيَتَّفِقُ ذَيْلُ الْأَعْلَى عَلَى ذَيْلِ الْأَسْفَلِ مِنْ طُولِ الْبُرْدِ الْأَعْلَى وَأَنَا أَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَعْنَاهُ تُدِيلُ بِالدَّالِ أَيْ تُبَدِّلُ أَحَدَهُمَا بِآخَرَ دَوْلَةَ ذَا وَدَوْلَةَ ذَا وَيَصْلُحُ أَنْ يَكُونَ بِالذَّالِ مِنَ الْإِذَالَةِ أَيِ الْوَضْعِ يُقَالُ: أَشِلْ هَذَا وَأَذِلْ هَذَا مِثْلَ قَوْلِ النَّاسِ مِنْ إِذَالَةِ الْعِلْمِ أَنْ يُجِيبَ الْعَالِمُ عَنْ كُلِّ مَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْهُ كَأَنَّهُ: أَرَادَ تَضَعُهُمَا عِنْدَكَ مَعًا وَهُوَ رَاجِعٌ إِلَى مَعْنَى تُدِيلُ مِنَ الدَّوْلَةِ،

hākadhā ḥaddathanā bihi qāla al-shaykhu: biʾisnādihi yudhīlu bi-al-dhāli famaʿnāhu tajmaʿu bayna dhaylayhimā fayattafiqu dhaylu al-ʾaʿlā ʿalā dhayli al-ʾasfali min ṭūli al-burdi al-ʾaʿlā waʾanā ʾaḥsabu ʾanna maʿnāhu tudīlu bi-al-dāli ʾay tubaddilu ʾaḥadahumā biʾākhara dawlata dhā wadawlata dhā wayaṣluḥu ʾan yakūna bi-al-dhāli mina al-ʾidhālati ʾayi al-waḍʿi yuqālu: ʾashil hādhā waʾadhil hādhā mithla qawli al-nāsi min ʾidhālati al-ʿilmi ʾan yujība al-ʿālimu ʿan kulli mā yusʾalu ʿanhu kaʾannahu: ʾarāda taḍaʿuhumā ʿindaka maʿan wahuwa rājiʿun ʾilā maʿnā tudīlu mina al-dawlati,

This is how our shaykh related it to us with his chain: yudhīlu, with dhāl. Its meaning would be that one brings their two hems together, so the upper hem meets the lower because the upper cloak is long. I think its meaning is tudīlu, with dāl: you exchange one for another, taking a turn with this and a turn with that. It could also be with dhāl, from idhālah in the sense of putting down: one says, ‘Lift this and put that down.’ Similarly people say, ‘It debases knowledge when a scholar answers everything he is asked.’ It is as though he meant, ‘You keep both of them beside you.’ This returns to the meaning of tudīlu, from taking turns.

وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ لِعُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُمَا: إِنْ أَرَدْتَ أَنْ تَلْحَقَ بِصَاحِبَيْكَ فَارْقَعِ الْقَمِيصَ وَنَكِّسِ الْأَزْرَارَ وَاخْصِفِ النَّعْلَ وَكُلْ دُونَ الشِّبَعِ، وَكَانَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ يَقُولُ: اخْلَوْلِقُوا وَاخْشَوْشِنُوا وَتَمَعْدَدُوا وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَزِيَّ الْعَجَمِ كِسْرَى وَقَيْصَرَ، وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ: مَنْ تَزَيَّا بِزِيِّ قَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ. وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَشَدَّ مِنْ هَذَا أَنَّ مِنْ شِرَارِ أُمَّتِي الَّذِي غُذُّوا بِالنَّعِيمِ الَّذِينَ يَطْلُبُونَ أَلْوَانَ الطَّعَامِ وَأَلْوَانَ الثِّيَابِ وَيَتَشَدَّقُونَ فِي الْكَلَامِ،

waqāla ʿaliyyun liʿumara raḍiya allāhu taʿālā ʿanhumā: ʾin ʾaradta ʾan talḥaqa biṣāḥibayka fa-irqaʿi al-qamīṣa wanakkisi al-ʾazrāra wa-ikhṣifi al-naʿla wakul dūna al-shibaʿi, wakāna ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu yaqūlu: ikhlawliqū wa-ikhshawshinū watamaʿdadū waʾiyyākum waziyya al-ʿajami kisrā waqayṣara, waqāla ʿaliyyun raḍiya allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu: man tazayyā biziyyi qawmin fahuwa minhum. warawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾashadda min hādhā ʾanna min shirāri ʾummatī alladhī ghudhdhū bi-al-naʿīmi alladhīna yaṭlubūna ʾalwāna al-ṭaʿāmi waʾalwāna al-thiyābi wayatashaddaqūna fī al-kalāmi,

ʿAlī said to ʿUmar, God Most High be pleased with them both, ‘If you want to join your two companions, patch your shirt, turn down its buttons, mend your sandals, and eat less than your fill.’ ʿUmar, God Most High be pleased with him, used to say, ‘Wear worn clothing, live roughly, and adopt the hardiness of Maʿadd. Beware of the dress of foreigners, Chosroes and Caesar.’ ʿAlī, God Most High be pleased with him, said, ‘Whoever adopts a people's dress belongs to them.’ We have transmitted something stronger from God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: ‘Among the worst of my community are those reared in luxury, who seek varieties of food and varieties of clothing and speak with affected eloquence.’

وَلَمَّا قَدِمَ عُمَيْرُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ أَمِيرُ حِمْصَ عَلَى عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ لَهُ: مَا مَعَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا يَا عُمَيْرُ؟ قَالَ: مَعِيَ عَصَايَ أَتَوَكَّأُ عَلَيْهَا وَأَقْتُلُ بِهَا حَيَّةً إِنْ لَقِيتُهَا وَمَعِيَ جِرَابِي أَحْمِلُ فِيهِ طَعَامِي وَمَعِيَ قَصْعَتِي آكُلُ فِيهَا وَأَعْسِلُ فِيهَا رَأْسِي وَثَوْبِي وَمَعِيَ مِطْهَرَتِي أَحْمِلُ فِيهَا شَرَابِي وَوَضُوئِي لِلصَّلَاةِ يَعْنِي السَّطِيحَةَ، فَمَا كَانَ بَعْدَ هَذَا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا فَهُوَ تَبَعٌ لِمَا مَعِيَ فَقَالَ لَهُ عُمَرُ صَدَقْتَ

walammā qadima ʿumayru bnu saʿdin ʾamīru ḥimṣa ʿalā ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu qāla lahu: mā maʿaka mina al-dunyā yā ʿumayru? qāla: maʿiya ʿaṣāya ʾatawakkaʾu ʿalayhā waʾaqtulu bihā ḥayyatan ʾin laqītuhā wamaʿiya jirābī ʾaḥmilu fīhi ṭaʿāmī wamaʿiya qaṣʿatī ʾākulu fīhā waʾaʿsilu fīhā raʾsī wathawbī wamaʿiya miṭharatī ʾaḥmilu fīhā sharābī wawaḍūʾī li-l-ṣalāti yaʿnī al-saṭīḥata, famā kāna baʿda hādhā mina al-dunyā fahuwa tabaʿun limā maʿiya faqāla lahu ʿumaru ṣadaqta

When ʿUmayr ibn Saʿd, governor of Ḥimṣ, came to ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, he asked him, ‘What do you have of the world, ʿUmayr?’ He replied, ‘I have my staff, which I lean on and use to kill a snake if I meet one. I have my leather bag, in which I carry food; my bowl, from which I eat and in which I wash my head and my clothes; and my water vessel, in which I carry my drink and water for prayer's ablution,’ meaning a flat leather waterskin. ‘Anything else of the world is merely an accessory to what I have.’ ʿUmar replied, ‘You have spoken truly;

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٢٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 429

Volume One, page 429

رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ وَكَانَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَدْ كَتَبَ إِلَى أَهْلِ حِمْصَ أَنْ عُدُّوا لِي فُقَرَاءَكُمْ فَسَمَّوْا لَهُ فِي الْكِتَابِ نَفَرًا وَذَكَرُوا فِيهِمْ سَعِيدَ بْنَ جُذَيْمٍ وَيُقَالُ: بَلْ عُمَيْرَ بْنَ سَعْدٍ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ: مَنْ سَعِيدُ بْنُ جُذَيْمٍ؟ فَقَالُوا أَمِيرُنَا يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، قَالَ: أَوَفَقِيرٌ هُوَ؟ قَالُوا: نَعَمْ مَا فِينَا أَفْقَرُ مِنْهُ، قَالَ: فَمَا فَعَلَ عَطَاؤُهُ قَالُوا: يُخْرِجُهُ كُلَّهُ لَا يَتْرُكُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَلَا لِأَهْلِهِ شَيْئًا مِنْهُ،

raḥimaka allāhu wakāna ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu qad kataba ʾilā ʾahli ḥimṣa ʾan ʿuddū lī fuqarāʾakum fasammaw lahu fī al-kitābi nafaran wadhakarū fīhim saʿīda bna judhaymin wayuqālu: bal ʿumayra bna saʿdin faqāla ʿumaru: man saʿīdu bnu judhaymin? faqālū ʾamīrunā yā ʾamīra al-muʾminīna, qāla: ʾawafaqīrun huwa? qālū: naʿam mā fīnā ʾafqaru minhu, qāla: famā faʿala ʿaṭāʾuhu qālū: yukhrijuhu kullahu lā yatruku linafsihi walā liʾahlihi shayʾan minhu,

God have mercy on you.’ ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, had written to the people of Ḥimṣ, ‘List your poor for me.’ They named several people in their letter, including Saʿīd ibn Judhaym, though another account says it was ʿUmayr ibn Saʿd. ʿUmar asked, ‘Who is Saʿīd ibn Judhaym?’ They answered, ‘Our governor, Commander of the Faithful.’ ‘Is he poor?’ ‘Yes; none of us is poorer.’ ‘What has happened to his stipend?’ ‘He gives it all away, keeping none for himself or his family.’

فَوَجَّهَ إِلَيْهِ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ بِأَرْبَعِمِائَةِ دِينَارٍ وَسَأَلَهُ أَنْ يُنْفِقَهَا عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَأَهْلِهِ، فَلَمَّا وَصَلَتْ إِلَيْهِ دَخَلَ عَلَى زَوْجَتِهِ وَهُوَ يَبْكِي فَقَالَتْ لَهُ مَا شَأْنُكَ؟ مَاتَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ؟ قَالَ: أَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ قَالَتْ: فُتِقَ فَتْقٌ فِي الْمُسْلِمِينَ؟ قَالَ: أَشَدُّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، قَالَتْ: فَمَا هُوَ؟ قَالَ: أَتَتْنِيَ الدُّنْيَا قَدْ كُنْتُ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَلَمْ تُفْتَحِ الدُّنْيَا عَلَيَّ وَكُنْتُ فِي أَيَّامِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَلَمْ تُفْتَحِ الدُّنْيَا عَلَيَّ وَخُلِّفْتُ إِلَى أَيَّامِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَلَا وَشَرُّ أَيَّامِي أَيَّامُ عُمَرَ،

fawajjaha ʾilayhi ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu biʾarbaʿimiʾati dīnārin wasaʾalahu ʾan yunfiqahā ʿalā nafsihi waʾahlihi, falammā waṣalat ʾilayhi dakhala ʿalā zawjatihi wahuwa yabkī faqālat lahu mā shaʾnuka? māta ʾamīru al-muʾminīna? qāla: ʾaʿẓamu min dhālika qālat: futiqa fatqun fī al-muslimīna? qāla: ʾashaddu min dhālika, qālat: famā huwa? qāla: ʾatatniya al-dunyā qad kuntu maʿa rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama falam tuftaḥi al-dunyā ʿalayya wakuntu fī ʾayyāmi ʾabī bakrin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu falam tuftaḥi al-dunyā ʿalayya wakhulliftu ʾilā ʾayyāmi ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾalā washarru ʾayyāmī ʾayyāmu ʿumara,

ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, sent him four hundred dinars and asked him to spend them on himself and his family. When they arrived, he went in to his wife weeping. ‘What is wrong?’ she asked. ‘Has the Commander of the Faithful died?’ ‘Something greater than that.’ ‘Has a breach opened among the Muslims?’ ‘Worse than that.’ ‘What is it, then?’ ‘The world has come to me. I was with God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and the world was not opened to me. I lived in the days of Abū Bakr, God be pleased with him, and the world was not opened to me. I have survived into the days of ʿUmar, God be pleased with him: my worst days are indeed ʿUmar's.’

ثُمَّ حَدَّثَهَا فَقَالَتْ: نَفْسِي فِدَاؤُكَ فَاصْنَعْ بِهَا مَا بَدَا لَكَ فَقَالَ: أَوَتُسَاعِدِينِي عَلَى مَا أُرِيدُ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: أَعْطِينِي خَلَقَ ذَلِكَ الْبُرْدِ قَالَ: فَجَعَلَ يُمَزِّقُهُ وَيَصُرُّهَا فِيهِ صُرَرًا مَا بَيْنَ الْعَشَرَةِ وَالْخَمْسَةِ وَالثَّلَاثَةِ حَتَّى أَفْنَاهَا ثُمَّ جَعَلَهَا فِي مِخْلَاةٍ وَتَأَبَّطَهَا وَخَرَجَ فَاعْتَرَضَ جَيْشًا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ يُرِيدُونَ الْغَزْوَ فَجَعَلَ يَدْفَعُ إِلَيْهِمْ صُرَّةً صُرَّةً عَلَى نَحْوِ مَا يَرَى مِنْ حَالِهِمْ ثُمَّ رَجَعَ وَلَمْ يَتْرُكْ لِأَهْلِهِ مِنْهَا دِينَارًا؛ فَهَذِهِ كَانَتْ شَمَائِلَ جُمْلَةِ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَالتَّابِعِينَ لَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُمْ.

thumma ḥaddathahā faqālat: nafsī fidāʾuka fa-iṣnaʿ bihā mā badā laka faqāla: ʾawatusāʿidīnī ʿalā mā ʾurīdu? qāla: naʿam, qāla: ʾaʿṭīnī khalaqa dhālika al-burdi qāla: fajaʿala yumazziquhu wayaṣurruhā fīhi ṣuraran mā bayna al-ʿasharati wa-al-khamsati wa-al-thalāthati ḥattā ʾafnāhā thumma jaʿalahā fī mikhlātin wataʾabbaṭahā wakharaja fa-iʿtaraḍa jayshan mina al-muslimīna yurīdūna al-ghazwa fajaʿala yadfaʿu ʾilayhim ṣurratan ṣurratan ʿalā naḥwi mā yarā min ḥālihim thumma rajaʿa walam yatruk liʾahlihi minhā dīnāran; fa-hādhihi kānat shamāʾila jumlati ʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wa-al-tābiʿīna lahum biʾiḥsānin raḍiya allāhu taʿālā ʿanhum.

He then told her what had happened. She said, ‘May my life be your ransom! Do with it as you see fit.’ He asked, ‘Will you help me do what I want?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Give me that worn-out cloak.’ He began tearing it up and tying the money into bundles of ten, five, and three dinars until he had used it all. He put them in a feed bag, tucked it under his arm, and went out. He met an army of Muslims setting out on campaign and gave the men one bundle after another according to what he saw of their circumstances. Then he returned, having kept not one dinar for his family. Such, broadly, were the qualities of the companions of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and those who followed them with excellence, God Most High be pleased with them.

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ عِيَاضِ بْنِ غَنْمٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي وَصْفِ الْأَخْيَارِ: إِنَّ مِنْ خِيَارِ أُمَّتِي فِيمَا أَنْبَأَنِيَ الْمَلَأُ الْأَعْلَى قَوْمٌ يَضْحَكُونَ جَهْرًا مِنْ سَعَةِ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيَبْكُونَ سِرًّا مِنْ خَوْفِ عَذَابِهِ مُؤْنَتُهُمْ عَلَى النَّاسِ خَفِيفَةٌ وَعَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ ثَقِيلَةٌ يَلْبَسُونَ الْخُلْقَانَ وَيَتْبَعُونَ الرُّهْبَانَ، أَجْسَامُهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَأَفْئِدَتُهُمْ عِنْدَ الْعَرْشِ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لَمَّا وَصَفَ الْأَبْدَالَ قَالَ: فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: فَكَيْفَ لِيَ أَنْ أَكُونَ بِهَذَا الْوَصْفِ وَأَنَّى لِيَ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِثْلَهُمْ؟ فَقَالَ: يَا ابْنَ أَخِي مَا بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ أَنْ تَكُونَ فِي أَوَّلِ ذَلِكَ وَأَوْسَطِهِ إِلَّا أَنْ تَزْهَدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَتُعَايِنَ الْآخِرَةَ بِقَلْبِكَ فَتَعْمَلَ لَهَا.

warawaynā fī ḥadīthi ʿiyāḍi bni ghanmin ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī waṣfi al-ʾakhyāri: ʾinna min khiyāri ʾummatī fīmā ʾanbaʾaniya al-malaʾu al-ʾaʿlā qawmun yaḍḥakūna jahran min saʿati raḥmati rabbihim wayabkūna sirran min khawfi ʿadhābihi muʾnatuhum ʿalā al-nāsi khafīfatun waʿalā ʾanfusihim thaqīlatun yalbasūna al-khulqāna wayatbaʿūna al-ruhbāna, ʾajsāmuhum fī al-ʾarḍi waʾafʾidatuhum ʿinda al-ʿarshi, wafī ḥadīthi ʾabī al-dardāʾi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu lammā waṣafa al-ʾabdāla qāla: faqultu lahu: fakayfa liya ʾan ʾakūna bi-hādhā al-waṣfi waʾannā liya ʾan ʾakūna mithlahum? faqāla: yā ibna ʾakhī mā baynaka wabayna ʾan takūna fī ʾawwali dhālika waʾawsaṭihi ʾillā ʾan tazhada fī al-dunyā fatuʿāyina al-ʾākhirata biqalbika fataʿmala lahā.

We have transmitted in ʿIyāḍ ibn Ghanm's report from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, describing the good: ‘Among the best of my community, as the highest assembly has told me, are people who laugh openly at the vastness of their Lord's mercy and weep secretly for fear of His punishment. They are a light burden on others and a heavy burden on themselves. They wear worn-out clothes and follow the devoted ascetics. Their bodies are on earth and their hearts at the Throne.’ In the report from Abū al-Dardāʾ, God be pleased with him, after he described the spiritual substitutes, I asked him, ‘How can I acquire these qualities, and how could I be like them?’ He answered, ‘My brother's son, between you and entering the beginning and middle of this there is only that you renounce the world, behold the hereafter with your heart, and work for it.’

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ: أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُحِبُّ الْمُبْتَذَلَ الَّذِي لَا يُبَالِي مَا لَبِسَ، وَقَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ وَفُضَيْلٌ رَحِمَهُمَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: جُعِلَ الشَّرُّ كُلُّهُ فِي بَيْتٍ وَجُعِلَ مِفْتَاحُهُ الرَّغْبَةَ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَجُعِلَ الْخَيْرُكُلُّهُ فِي بَيْتٍ وَجُعِلَ مِفْتَاحُهُ الزُّهْدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَسُئِلَ يُوسُفُ بْنُ أَسْبَاطٍ وَسُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُمَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: أَيُّ الْأَعْمَالِ أَفْضَلُ؟ فَقَالَا: الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَهَذَا مَوْجُودٌ فِي ظَاهِرِ الْخَبَرِ الْمَنْقُولِ عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، وَرَوَيْنَاهُ عَنْ نَبِيِّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا رَأْسُ كُلِّ خَطِيئَةٍ فَفِي تَدَبُّرِهِ أَنَّ بَعْضَهَا رَأْسُ كُلِّ طَاعَةٍ، كَذَلِكَ كَانَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ يَقُولُ:

warawaynā fī al-khabari: ʾanna allāha taʿālā yuḥibbu al-mubtadhala alladhī lā yubālī mā labisa, waqāla al-thawriyyu wafuḍaylun raḥimahumā allāhu taʿālā: juʿila al-sharru kulluhu fī baytin wajuʿila miftāḥuhu al-raghbata fī al-dunyā, wajuʿila al-khayru kulluhu fī baytin wajuʿila miftāḥuhu al-zuhda fī al-dunyā, wasuʾila yūsufu bnu ʾasbāṭin wasufyānu al-thawriyyu raḥimahumā allāhu taʿālā: ʾayyu al-ʾaʿmāli ʾafḍalu? faqālā: al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā wa-hādhā mawjūdun fī ẓāhiri al-khabari al-manqūli ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu, warawaynāhu ʿan nabiyyinā ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ḥubbu al-dunyā raʾsu kulli khaṭīʾatin fafī tadabburihi ʾanna baʿḍahā raʾsu kulli ṭāʿatin, kadhālika kāna baʿḍu al-salafi yaqūlu:

We have transmitted: ‘God Most High loves the unassuming person who does not care what he wears.’ Al-Thawrī and Fuḍayl, God Most High have mercy on them, said, ‘All evil was put in a house, and desire for the world made its key; all good was put in a house, and renunciation of the world made its key.’ Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ and Sufyān al-Thawrī, God Most High have mercy on them both, were asked, ‘Which deeds are best?’ They answered, ‘Renunciation of the world.’ This is present in the plain sense of the report transmitted from Jesus, peace be upon him, which we have also transmitted from our Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: ‘Love of the world is the root of every sin.’ Reflection upon it shows that [hatred of it] is the root of every act of obedience. Thus one of the early generations used to say:

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٣٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 430

Volume One, page 430

كَفَى بِهِ ذَنْبًا لَا يُسْتَغْفَرُ مِنْهُ حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا، وَأَشَدُّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ مَا رَوَاهُ سُفْيَانُ عَنْ يَحْيِي بْنِ سُلَيْمٍ الطَّائِفِيِّ رَفَعَهُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لَوْ أَنَّ عَبْدًا عَبَدَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عِبَادَةَ أَهْلِ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَلَقِيَهُ مُحِبًّا لِلدُّنْيَا لَأَقَامَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي الْمَوْقِفِ مَقَامًا شَهَرَهُ فِيهِ بَيْنَ الْخَلَائِقِ، أَلَا أَنَّ فُلَانَ بْنَ فُلَانٍ قَدْ أَحَبَّ مَا أَبْغَضَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، وَقَالَ يَحْيَى بْنُ جَابِرٍ الطَّائِيُّ: قَالَ عَمْرُو بْنُ الْأَسْوَدِ الْعَنْسِيُّ: لَا أَلْبَسُ مَشْهُورًا أَبَدًا وَلَا أَنَامُ بِلَيْلٍ عَلَى دِثَارٍ أَبَدًا وَلَا أَرْكَبُ عَلَى مَابُورٍ أَبَدًا وَلَا أَمْلَأُ جَوْفِي مِنْ طَعَامٍ أَبَدًا. فَقَالَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: مَنْ سَرَّهُ أَنْ يَنْظُرَ إِلَى هُدَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَلْيَنْظُرْ إِلَى عَمْرِو ابْنِ الْأَسْوَدِ،

kafā bihi dhanban lā yustaghfaru minhu ḥubbu al-dunyā, waʾashaddu min dhālika mā rawāhu sufyānu ʿan yaḥyī bni sulaymin al-ṭāʾifiyyi rafaʿahu ʾilā rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: law ʾanna ʿabdan ʿabada allāha taʿālā ʿibādata ʾahli al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍi walaqiyahu muḥibban li-l-dunyā laʾaqāmahu allāhu taʿālā fī al-mawqifi maqāman shaharahu fīhi bayna al-khalāʾiqi, ʾalā ʾanna fulāna bna fulānin qad ʾaḥabba mā ʾabghaḍa allāhu taʿālā, waqāla yaḥyā bnu jābirin al-ṭāʾiyyu: qāla ʿamru bnu al-ʾaswadi al-ʿansiyyu: lā ʾalbasu mashhūran ʾabadan walā ʾanāmu bilaylin ʿalā dithārin ʾabadan walā ʾarkabu ʿalā mābūrin ʾabadan walā ʾamlaʾu jawfī min ṭaʿāmin ʾabadan. faqāla ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: man sarrahu ʾan yanẓura ʾilā hudā rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama falyanẓur ʾilā ʿamri ibni al-ʾaswadi,

‘Love of the world is enough of a sin, though no forgiveness is sought for it.’ Stronger still is what Sufyān transmitted from Yaḥyā ibn Sulaym al-Ṭāʾifī, attributing it to God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: ‘If a servant worshipped God Most High with the worship of all the inhabitants of the heavens and earth, then met Him loving the world, God Most High would make him stand at the gathering in a place where He exposed him before all creatures: “This man, son of this man, has loved what God Most High hates!”’ Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Ṭāʾī said: ʿAmr ibn al-Aswad al-ʿAnsī said, ‘I will never wear conspicuous clothing, never sleep at night on a coverlet, never ride on a mābūr, and never fill my belly with food.’ ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, said, ‘Whoever would like to see the way of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, should look at ʿAmr ibn al-Aswad.’

وَجَاءَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ سَفَرٍ فَدَخَلَ عَلَى فَاطِمَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهَا فَرَأَى عَلَى بَابِهَا سِتْرًا وَفِي يَدَيْهَا قُلْبَيْنِ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ فَرَجَعَ، فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا أَبُو رَافِعٍ وَهِيَ تَبْكِي، فَأَخْبَرَتْهُ بِرُجُوعِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَسَأَلَهُ فَقَالَ: مِنْ أَجْلِ السِّتْرِ وَالسِّوَارَيْنِ، فَهَتَكَتِ السِّتْرَ وَنَزَعَتِ السِّوَارَيْنِ فَأَرْسَلَتْ بِهِمَا بِلَالًا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقَالَ: قَدْ تَصَدَّقْتُ بِهِ فَضَعْهُ حَيْثُ تَرَى فَقَالَ: اذْهَبْ فَبِعْهُ وَادْفَعْهُ إِلَى أَهْلِ الصُّفَّةِ فَبَاعَ الْقُلْبَيْنِ بِدِرْهَمَيْنِ وَنِصْفٍ وَتَصَدَّقَ بِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا وَقَالَ: بِأَبِي أَنْتِ قَدْ أَحْسَنْتِ،

wajāʾa rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama min safarin fadakhala ʿalā fāṭimata raḍiya allāhu taʿālā ʿanhā faraʾā ʿalā bābihā sitran wafī yadayhā qulbayni min fiḍḍatin farajaʿa, fadakhala ʿalayhā ʾabū rāfiʿin wahiya tabkī, faʾakhbarathu birujūʿi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fasaʾalahu faqāla: min ʾajli al-sitri wa-al-siwārayni, fahatakati al-sitra wanazaʿati al-siwārayni faʾarsalat bihimā bilālan ʾilā rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waqāla: qad taṣaddaqtu bihi faḍaʿhu ḥaythu tarā faqāla: idhhab fabiʿhu wa-idfaʿhu ʾilā ʾahli al-ṣuffati fabāʿa al-qulbayni bidirhamayni waniṣfin wataṣaddaqa bihi ʿalayhim fadakhala ʿalayhā waqāla: biʾabī ʾanti qad ʾaḥsanti,

God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, returned from a journey and went in to Fāṭimah, God Most High be pleased with her. Seeing a curtain over her door and two silver bracelets on her wrists, he turned back. Abū Rāfiʿ went in and found her weeping. She told him that God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, had turned back, and he asked him about it. He answered, ‘Because of the curtain and the bracelets.’ She tore down the curtain, removed the bracelets, and sent Bilāl with them to God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, saying, ‘I have given them in charity. Put them where you see fit.’ He said, ‘Go and sell them and give the proceeds to the people of the Portico.’ Bilāl sold the bracelets for two and a half dirhams and gave the money to them. He then went in to her and said, ‘May my father be your ransom! You have done well.’

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍ لَبِسَ ثَوْبَ شُهْرَةٍ إِلَّا أَعْرَضَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ حَتَّى يَنْزِعَهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ عِنْدَهُ حَبِيبًا، وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ وَغَيْرُهُ: الْبَسْ مِنَ الثِّيَابِ مَا لَمْ يَشْهَرْكَ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَلَايَحْقِرْكَ عِنْدَ الْجُهَّالِ وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ الْفَقِيرَ لَيَمُرُّ بِي وَأَنَا أُصَلِّي فَأَدَعُهُ يَجُوزُ وَيَمُرُّ، بَعْضُ هَؤُلَاءِ مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا وَعَلَيْهِ هَذِهِ الْبِزَّةُ فَأَمْقُتُهُ فَلَا أَدَعُهُ يَجُوزُ،

wafī al-khabari mā min ʿabdin labisa thawba shuhratin ʾillā ʾaʿraḍa allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu ḥattā yanziʿahu waʾin kāna ʿindahu ḥabīban, waqāla sufyānu al-thawriyyu waghayruhu: ilbas mina al-thiyābi mā lam yashharka ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi walāyaḥqirka ʿinda al-juhhāli wakāna yaqūlu: ʾinna al-faqīra layamurru bī waʾanā ʾuṣallī faʾadaʿuhu yajūzu wayamurru, baʿḍu hāʾulāʾi min ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā waʿalayhi hādhihi al-bizzatu faʾamqutuhu falā ʾadaʿuhu yajūzu,

The report says: ‘Whenever a servant wears a garment meant to draw attention, God Most High turns away from him until he takes it off, even if he is dear to Him.’ Sufyān al-Thawrī and others said, ‘Wear clothes that neither make you conspicuous among the learned nor contemptible among the ignorant.’ He used to say, ‘A poor man passes in front of me while I pray, and I let him go by; but one of these worldly people passes wearing such finery, and I detest him and do not let him pass.’

قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: مَا رَأَيْتُ الْغَنِيَّ فِي مَجْلِسٍ قَطُّ أَذَلَّ مِنْهُ فِي مَجْلِسِ الثَّوْرِيِّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَلَا رَأَيْتُ الْفَقِيرَ أَعَزَّ مِنْهُ فِي مَجْلِسِ الثَّوْرِيِّ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ: كُنَّا إِذَا جَلَسْنَا إِلَي سُفْيَانَ تَمَيْنَا أَنَّا كُنَّا فُقَرَاءَ لِمَا نَرَى مِنْ إِقْبَالِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَإِعْظَامِهِ لَهُمْ وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: إِنَّمَا الْعَالِمُ هُوَ الَّذِي يَقُومُ الْفَقِيرُ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ غَنِيًّا وَالْغَنِيُّ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ فَقِيرًا، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ قَوَّمْتُ ثَوْبَيْ سُفْيَانَ وَنَعْلَيْهِ بِدِرْهَمٍ وَأَرْبَعَةِ دَوَانِيقَ،

qāla baʿḍuhum: mā raʾaytu al-ghaniyya fī majlisin qaṭṭu ʾadhalla minhu fī majlisi al-thawriyyi raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā walā raʾaytu al-faqīra ʾaʿazza minhu fī majlisi al-thawriyyi, waqāla ʾākharu: kunnā ʾidhā jalasnā ʾilay sufyāna tamaynā ʾannā kunnā fuqarāʾa limā narā min ʾiqbālihi ʿalayhim waʾiʿẓāmihi lahum waqāla baʿḍuhum: ʾinnamā al-ʿālimu huwa alladhī yaqūmu al-faqīru min ʿindihi ghaniyyan wa-al-ghaniyyu min ʿindihi faqīran, waqāla baʿḍuhum qawwamtu thawbay sufyāna wanaʿlayhi bidirhamin waʾarbaʿati dawānīqa,

Someone said, ‘I never saw a rich man more abased in any gathering than in al-Thawrī's, God Most High have mercy on him, nor a poor man more honored.’ Another said, ‘When we sat with Sufyān, we wished we were poor, seeing the attention and respect he gave them.’ Someone said, ‘The true scholar is one from whose presence a poor man rises rich and a rich man rises poor.’ Another said, ‘I valued Sufyān's two garments and sandals at one dirham and four dāniqs.’

وَقَالَ ابْنُ شُبْرُمَةَ: خَيْرُ الثِّيَابِ مَا خَدَمَنِي وَشَرُّهَا مَا خَدَمْتُهُ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: أَحَبُّ الثِّيَابِ إِلَيَّ مَا لَا يَسْتَخْدِمُنِي وَأَحَبُّ الطَّعَامِ إِلَيَّ مَا لَا أَغْسِلُ يَدِي مِنْهُ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: الْبَسْ مِنَ الثِّيَابِ مَا يَخْلِطُكَ بِالسُّوقَةِ وَلَا تَلْبَسْ مِنْهَا مَا يَشْهَرُكَ فَيُنْظَرَ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ: وَعَدَدْنَا فِي قَمِيصِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَرْبَعَةَ عَشَرَ رُقْعَةً بَعْضُهَا مِنْ أَدَمٍ، وَكَانَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَقُولُ: كَثْرَةُ الثِّيَابِ عَلَى ظَهْرِ ابْنِ آدَمَ عُقُوبَةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَهُ

waqāla ibnu shubrumata: khayru al-thiyābi mā khadamanī washarruhā mā khadamtuhu. waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: ʾaḥabbu al-thiyābi ʾilayya mā lā yastakhdimunī waʾaḥabbu al-ṭaʿāmi ʾilayya mā lā ʾaghsilu yadī minhu, waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: ilbas mina al-thiyābi mā yakhliṭuka bi-al-sūqati walā talbas minhā mā yashharuka fayunẓara ʾilayka qāla: waʿadadnā fī qamīṣi ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾarbaʿata ʿashara ruqʿatan baʿḍuhā min ʾadamin, wakāna baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi yaqūlu: kathratu al-thiyābi ʿalā ẓahri ibni ʾādama ʿuqūbatun mina allāhi taʿālā lahu

Ibn Shubrumah said, ‘The best clothes are those that serve me, and the worst those I serve.’ One of the early generations said, ‘The clothes I love best are those that do not put me to work, and the food I love best is that after which I need not wash my hands.’ A scholar said, ‘Wear clothes that let you mingle with ordinary people; do not wear what makes you conspicuous and draws eyes toward you.’ The account says: ‘We counted fourteen patches in the shirt of ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, some of them leather.’ A scholar used to say, ‘A great many clothes on a son of Adam's back are a punishment from God Most High.’

وَكَانَ الْخَوَّاصُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَا يَلْبَسُ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ قِطْعَتَيْنِ؛ إِزَارَيْنِ أَوْ قَمِيصٍ وَمِئْزَرٍ تَحْتَهُ وَيَعْطِفُ ذَيْلَ قَمِيصِهِ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ وَيَحُلُّهُ فِي وَسَطِهِ فَيُغَطِّي بِهِ رَأْسَهُ، وَكَذَلِكَ اسْتَحَبَّ لِلْفَقِيرِ وَهُوَ حَدُّ اللِّبَاسِ،

wakāna al-khawwāṣu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā lā yalbasu ʾakthara min qiṭʿatayni; ʾizārayni ʾaw qamīṣin wamiʾzarin taḥtahu wayaʿṭifu dhayla qamīṣihi ʿalā raʾsihi wayaḥulluhu fī wasaṭihi fayughaṭṭī bihi raʾsahu, wa-kadhālika istaḥabba li-l-faqīri wahuwa ḥaddu al-libāsi,

Al-Khawwāṣ, God Most High have mercy on him, never wore more than two pieces: two wraps, or a shirt with a waist-wrapper beneath it. He folded his shirt's hem over his head and loosened it at his waist, covering his head with it. He recommended this for a poor man as the limit of clothing.

وَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: الثِّيَابُ ثَلَاثَةٌ، ثَوْبٌ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَثَوْبٌ لِلنَّفْسِ، وَثَوْبٌ لِلنَّاسِ، فَالَّذِي لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى مَا سَتَرَ الْعَوْرَةَ وَأَدَّيْتَ فِيهِ الْفَرِيضَةَ، وَالَّذِي لِلنَّفْسِ مَا طَلَبْتَ لِينَهُ وَنَقَاءَهُ، وَالَّذِي لِلنَّاسِ مَا طَلَبْتَ جَوْهَرَهُ وَحُسْنَهُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: وَقَدْ

waqāla ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā: al-thiyābu thalāthatun, thawbun li-llāhi taʿālā, wathawbun li-l-nafsi, wathawbun li-l-nāsi, fa-alladhī li-llāhi taʿālā mā satara al-ʿawrata waʾaddayta fīhi al-farīḍata, wa-alladhī li-l-nafsi mā ṭalabta līnahu wanaqāʾahu, wa-alladhī li-l-nāsi mā ṭalabta jawharahu waḥusnahu, thumma qāla: waqad

Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī, God Most High have mercy on him, said, ‘Clothes are of three kinds: clothes for God Most High, clothes for the self, and clothes for people. Those for God Most High are what cover one's nakedness and allow one to perform the obligatory prayer. Those for the self are what one seeks for their softness and cleanness. Those for people are what one seeks for the quality of their fabric and their beauty.’ Then he said, ‘Yet

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٣١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 431

Volume One, page 431

يَكُونُ الثَّوْبُ الْوَاحِدُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلِلنَّفْسِ. وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ مِنَ الثِّيَابِ مَا يُجَاوِزُ قِيمَةَ أَرْبَعِينَ دِرْهَمًا وَبَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ: إِلَى الْمِائَةِ وَيَعُدُّ سَرَفًا فِيمَا جَاوَزَهَا، وَكَانَ جُمْهُورُ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَخِيَارُ التَّابِعِينَ قِيمَةُ ثِيَابِهِمْ مَا بَيْنَ الْعِشْرِينَ إِلَى الثَّلَاثِينَ، وَكَانَ الْمُتَقَدِّمُونَ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ أَثْمَانُ إِزَارِهِمُ اثْنَا عَشَرَ دِرْهَمًا، فَكَانُوا يَلْبَسُونَ ثَوْبَيْنِ قِيمَةَ نَيِّفٍ وَعِشْرِينَ دِرْهَمًا، وَاشْتَرَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ثَوْبًا بِأَرْبَعَةِ دَرَاهِمَ وَكَانَ قِيمَةُ ثَوْبَيْهِ عَشَرَةً إِلَى دِينَارٍ، وَكَانَ طُولُ إِزَارِهِ أَرْبَعَةَ أَذْرُعٍ وَنِصْفٌ، وَاشْتَرَى سَرَاوِيلَ بِثَلَاثَةِ دَرَاهِمَ وَكَانَ يَلْبَسُ شَمْلَتَيْنِ بَيْضَاوَيْنِ مِنْ صُوفٍ وَكَانَتْ تُسَمَّى حُلَّةً لِأَنَّهَا ثَوْبَانِ مِنْ جِنْسٍ وَاحِدٍ وَرُبَّمَا لَبِسَ ثَوْبَيْنِ مِنْ جِنْسٍ وَاحِدٍ وَرُبَّمَا لَبِسَ بُرْدَتَيْنِ يَمَانِيَّيْنِ أَوْ سَحُولِيَّيْنِ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْغِلَاظِ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: كَانَ قَمِيصُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَأَنَّهُ قَمِيصُ زَيَّاتٍ

yakūnu al-thawbu al-wāḥidu li-llāhi taʿālā wa-li-l-nafsi. waqad kāna baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi yakrahu ʾan yakūna ʿalā al-rajuli mina al-thiyābi mā yujāwizu qīmata ʾarbaʿīna dirhaman wabaʿḍuhum yaqūlu: ʾilā al-miʾati wayaʿuddu sarafan fīmā jāwazahā, wakāna jumhūru al-ʿulamāʾi wakhiyāru al-tābiʿīna qīmatu thiyābihim mā bayna al-ʿishrīna ʾilā al-thalāthīna, wakāna al-mutaqaddimūna mina al-ṣaḥābati ʾathmānu ʾizārihimu ithnā ʿashara dirhaman, fakānū yalbasūna thawbayni qīmata nayyifin waʿishrīna dirhaman, wa-ishtarā rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama thawban biʾarbaʿati darāhima wakāna qīmatu thawbayhi ʿasharatan ʾilā dīnārin, wakāna ṭūlu ʾizārihi ʾarbaʿata ʾadhruʿin waniṣfun, wa-ishtarā sarāwīla bithalāthati darāhima wakāna yalbasu shamlatayni bayḍāwayni min ṣūfin wakānat tusammā ḥullatan liʾannahā thawbāni min jinsin wāḥidin warubbamā labisa thawbayni min jinsin wāḥidin warubbamā labisa burdatayni yamāniyyayni ʾaw saḥūliyyayni min hādhihi al-ghilāẓi, wafī al-khabari: kāna qamīṣu rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kaʾannahu qamīṣu zayyātin

one garment may be both for God Most High and for the self.’ Some scholars disliked a man's clothes to exceed forty dirhams in value; others allowed up to one hundred and counted anything beyond that as extravagance. Most scholars and the finest Successors wore clothes worth between twenty and thirty dirhams. Among the earlier Companions, a waist-wrapper cost twelve dirhams, so they wore two garments worth twenty-odd dirhams. God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, bought a garment for four dirhams; the value of his two garments was ten dirhams to a dinar. His waist-wrapper was four and a half cubits long. He bought trousers for three dirhams and wore two white woolen wraps, called a ḥullah because they were two garments of the same kind. Sometimes he wore two garments of one kind, and sometimes two coarse striped cloaks from Yemen or Saḥūl. A report says that the shirt of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, looked like an oil seller's shirt.

وَقَدْ لَبِسَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ يَوْمًا وَاحِدًا ثَوْبَ سِيَرَاءَ مِنْ سُنْدُسٍ قِيمَتُهُ مِائَتَا دِرْهَمٍ فَكَانَ أَصْحَابُهُ يَلْمِسُونَ وَيَقُولُونَ: أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْكَ هَذَا مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ تَعَجُّبًا مِنْهُ وَكَانَ قَدْ أَهْدَاهُ إِلَيْهِ الْمُقَوْقِسُ مَلِكُ الْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةِ فَأَرَادَ أَنْ يُكْرِمَهُ بِقَبُولِ هَدِيَّتِهِ وَيَلْبَسَهُ ثُمَّ نَزَعَهُ، وَأَرْسَلَ بِهِ إِلَى رَجُلٍ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَصَلَهُ بِهِ ثُمَّ حَرَّمَ لُبْسَ الْحَرِيرِ وَالدِّيبَاجِ،

waqad labisa ʿalayhi al-salāmu yawman wāḥidan thawba siyarāʾa min sundusin qīmatuhu miʾatā dirhamin fakāna ʾaṣḥābuhu yalmisūna wayaqūlūna: ʾunzila ʿalayka hādhā mina al-jannati taʿajjuban minhu wakāna qad ʾahdāhu ʾilayhi al-muqawqisu maliku al-ʾiskandariyyati faʾarāda ʾan yukrimahu biqabūli hadiyyatihi wayalbasahu thumma nazaʿahu, waʾarsala bihi ʾilā rajulin mina al-mushrikīna waṣalahu bihi thumma ḥarrama lubsa al-ḥarīri wa-al-dībāji,

For one day he, peace be upon him, wore a striped garment of fine silk worth two hundred dirhams. His companions felt it and asked in amazement, ‘Was this sent down to you from Paradise?’ Al-Muqawqis, ruler of Alexandria, had given it to him, and he wished to honor him by accepting his gift and wearing it. Then he took it off and sent it as a gift to a polytheist. Afterward he prohibited wearing silk and brocade.

وَقَدْ يَكُونُ لُبْسُهُ إِيَّاهُ تَوْكِيدًا لِلتَّحْرِيمِ بَعْدَهُ كَمَا لَبِسَ خَاتَمًا مِنْ ذَهَبٍ يَوْمًا وَاحِدًا، ثُمَّ نَزَعَهُ فَحَرَّمَ لُبْسَهُ عَلَى الرِّجَالِ، وَكَمَا قَالَ لِعَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا فِي شَأْنِ بَرِيرَةَ: اشْتَرِطِي لِأَهْلِهَا الْوَلَاءَ، فَلَمَّا اشْتَرَطَتْهُ صَعِدَ الْمِنْبَرَ فَحَرَّمَهُ فَهَذَا يَكُونُ مُؤَكِّدًا لِلتَّحْرِيمِ، وَكَمَا أَبَاحَ الْمُتْعَةَ ثَلَاثًا ثُمَّ حَرَّمَهَا لِتَوْكِيدِ أَمْرِ النِّكَاحِ،

waqad yakūnu lubsuhu ʾiyyāhu tawkīdan li-l-taḥrīmi baʿdahu kamā labisa khātaman min dhahabin yawman wāḥidan, thumma nazaʿahu faḥarrama lubsahu ʿalā al-rijāli, wakamā qāla liʿāʾishata raḍiya allāhu ʿanhā fī shaʾni barīrata: ishtariṭī liʾahlihā al-walāʾa, falammā ishtaraṭathu ṣaʿida al-minbara faḥarramahu fa-hādhā yakūnu muʾakkidan li-l-taḥrīmi, wakamā ʾabāḥa al-mutʿata thalāthan thumma ḥarramahā litawkīdi ʾamri al-nikāḥi,

His wearing it may have served to reinforce the later prohibition, just as he wore a gold ring for one day, then removed it and forbade men to wear one. Likewise, concerning Barīrah, he told ʿĀʾishah, God be pleased with her, ‘Agree to her people's condition concerning the right of patronage.’ Once she had agreed to it, he ascended the pulpit and prohibited it; this reinforces a prohibition. Likewise he allowed temporary marriage for three days and then prohibited it, reinforcing the institution of marriage.

وَقَدْ يَحْتَجُّ بِمِثْلِ هَذَا عُلَمَاءُ الدُّنْيَا وَيُطَرِّقُونَ بِهِ لِنُفُوسِهِمْ وَيَدْعُونَ النَّاسَ مِنْهُ إِلَيْهِمْ وَيُظْهِرُونَ الدَّعْوَةَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى تَأَوُّلًا بِمُتَشَابِهِ الْحَدِيثِ كَمَا تَأَوَّلَ أَهْلُ الزَّيْغِ مُتَشَابِهَ الْقُرْآنِ عَلَى أَهْوَائِهِمْ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَطَلَبًا لِلدُّنْيَا لِأَنَّ حَدِيثَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى مَعَانِي كَلَامِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِيهِ: نَاسِخٌ وَمَنْسُوخٌ وَمُحْكَمٌ وَمُتَشَابِهٌ وَخَاصٌّ وَعَامٌّ، وَعَدَلَ عُلَمَاءُ الدُّنْيَا وَأَهْلُ الْأَهْوَاءِ عَنِ الْمُحْكَمِ السَّائِرِ مِنْ فِعْلِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقَوْلِهِ إِلَى مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ

waqad yaḥtajju bimithli hādhā ʿulamāʾu al-dunyā wayuṭarriqūna bihi linufūsihim wayadʿūna al-nāsa minhu ʾilayhim wayuẓhirūna al-daʿwata ʾilā allāhi taʿālā taʾawwulan bimutashābihi al-ḥadīthi kamā taʾawwala ʾahlu al-zayghi mutashābiha al-qurʾāni ʿalā ʾahwāʾihim ibtighāʾa al-fitnati waṭalaban li-l-dunyā liʾanna ḥadītha rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿalā maʿānī kalāmi allāhi taʿālā fīhi: nāsikhun wamansūkhun wamuḥkamun wamutashābihun wakhāṣṣun waʿāmmun, waʿadala ʿulamāʾu al-dunyā waʾahlu al-ʾahwāʾi ʿani al-muḥkami al-sāʾiri min fiʿli rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waqawlihi ʾilā mā dhakarnāhu

Worldly scholars may use such examples as arguments, opening a way for themselves, drawing people toward themselves through them, and making a show of calling people to God Most High. They interpret ambiguous reports just as people of deviation interpret ambiguous Qurʾānic passages according to their desires, seeking discord and pursuing the world. The reports of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, have the same kinds of meaning as God Most High's words: abrogating and abrogated, definitive and ambiguous, particular and general. Worldly scholars and people of caprice turn away from the definitive, established practice of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, in deed and word, toward the things we have mentioned.

وَقَدْ صَلَّى رَسُو لُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي خَمِيصَةٍ لَهَا عَلَمٌ، فَلَمَّا سَلَّمَ قَالَ: شَغَلَنِي النَّظَرُ إِلَى هَذِهِ اذْهَبُوا بِهَا إِلَى أَبِي جَهْمٍ وَأْتُونِي بِاَنْبِجَانِيَّتِهِ يَعْنِي كِسَاءَهُ فَاخْتَارَ لُبْسَ الْكِسَاءِ عَلَى الثَّوْبِ النَّاعِمِ.

waqad ṣallā rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī khamīṣatin lahā ʿalamun, falammā sallama qāla: shaghalanī al-naẓaru ʾilā hādhihi idhhabū bihā ʾilā ʾabī jahmin waʾtūnī bi-anbijāniyyatihi yaʿnī kisāʾahu fa-ikhtāra lubsa al-kisāʾi ʿalā al-thawbi al-nāʿimi.

God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, once prayed in a patterned woolen garment. When he finished, he said, ‘Looking at this distracted me. Take it to Abū Jahm and bring me his plain woolen cloak.’ He thus chose a plain cloak over fine clothing.

وَرَأَى عَلَى بَابِ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا سِتْرًا فَهَتَكَهُ وَقَالَ: كُلَّمَا رَأَيْتُهُ ذَكَرْتُ الدُّنْيَا: أَرْسِلِي بِهِ إِلَى آلِ فُلَانٍ، وَفَرَشَتْ لَهُ عَائِشَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ فِرَاشًا جَدِيدًا وَكَانَ يَنَامُ عَلَى عَبَاءَةٍ مَثْنِيَّةٍ، فَمَا زَالَ يَتَقَلَّبُ لَيْلَتَهُ فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحَ قَالَ: أَعِيدِي الْعَبَاءَةَ الْخَلَقَةَ وَنَحِّي هَذَا الْفِرَاشَ عَنِّي قَدْ أَسْهَرَنِيَ اللَّيْلَةَ،

waraʾā ʿalā bābi ʿāʾishata raḍiya allāhu ʿanhā sitran fahatakahu waqāla: kullamā raʾaytuhu dhakartu al-dunyā: ʾarsilī bihi ʾilā ʾāli fulānin, wafarashat lahu ʿāʾishatu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhā dhāta laylatin firāshan jadīdan wakāna yanāmu ʿalā ʿabāʾatin mathniyyatin, famā zāla yataqallabu laylatahu falammā ʾaṣbaḥa qāla: ʾaʿīdī al-ʿabāʾata al-khalaqata wanaḥḥī hādhā al-firāsha ʿannī qad ʾasharaniya al-laylata,

He saw a curtain over the door of ʿĀʾishah, God be pleased with her, tore it down, and said, ‘Whenever I see it, I remember the world. Send it to the family of so-and-so.’ One night ʿĀʾishah, God be pleased with her, laid out a new bed for him; he ordinarily slept on a folded coarse cloak. He kept turning all night. In the morning he said, ‘Bring back the worn cloak and remove this bed; it kept me awake tonight.’

وَكَذَلِكَ أَتَتْهُ دَنَانِيرُ خَمْسَةٌ أَوْ سِتَّةٌ عِشَاءً فَبَيَّتَهَا فَسَهِرَ لَيْلَتَهُ حَتَّى آخْرَجَهَا مِنْ آخِرِ اللَّيْلِ، قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ: فَنَامَ حِينَئِذٍ حَتَّى سَمِعْتُ غَطِيطَهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ: مَا ظَنُّ مُحَمَّدٍ بِرَبِّهِ لَوْ لَقِيَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَهَذِهِ عِنْدَهُ، وَكَانَ شِرَاكُ نَعْلِهِ الْعَرَبِيِّ قَدْ أَخْلَقَ فَأُبْدِلَ بِسَيْرٍ جَدِيدٍ، فَصَلَّى فِيهِ فَلَمَّا سَلَّمَ قَالَ: أَعِيدُوا الشِّرَاكَ الْخَلَقَ وَانْزِعُوا هَذَا الْجَدِيدَ فَإِنِّي نَظَرْتُ

wa-kadhālika ʾatathu danānīru khamsatun ʾaw sittatun ʿishāʾan fabayyatahā fasahira laylatahu ḥattā ʾākhrajahā min ʾākhiri al-layli, qālat ʿāʾishatu: fanāma ḥīnaʾidhin ḥattā samiʿtu ghaṭīṭahu thumma qāla: mā ẓannu muḥammadin birabbihi law laqiya allāha taʿālā wa-hādhihi ʿindahu, wakāna shirāku naʿlihi al-ʿarabiyyi qad ʾakhlaqa faʾubdila bisayrin jadīdin, faṣallā fīhi falammā sallama qāla: ʾaʿīdū al-shirāka al-khalaqa wa-inziʿū hādhā al-jadīda faʾinnī naẓartu

Similarly, five or six dinars came to him in the evening. He kept them overnight and lay awake until he gave them away toward the night's end. ʿĀʾishah said, ‘Then he slept, until I heard him breathing heavily.’ He said, ‘What would Muḥammad think of his Lord if he met God Most High with these still in his possession?’ The strap of his Arab sandal had worn out, so it was replaced with a new leather thong. He prayed wearing it, then said when he finished, ‘Put back the old strap and take this new one off, for I looked

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٣٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 432

Volume One, page 432

إِلَيْهِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ وَلَبِسَ خَاتَمًا فَنَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ وَهُوَ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ بِنَظْرَةٍ فَرَمَى بِهِ وَقَالَ: شَغَلَنِي هَذَا عَنْكُمْ نَظْرَةٌ إِلَيْهِ وَنَظْرَةٌ إِلَيْكُمْ، وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى: (قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ) آلِ عِمْرَانَ: 31 وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ أَحَبَّنِي فَلْيَسْتَنَّ بِسُنَّتِي، وَقَالَ فِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ: عَلَيْكُمْ بِسُنَّتِي وَسُنَّةِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ الْمَهْدِيِّينَ مِنْ بَعْدِي عَضُّوا عَلَيْهَا بِالنَّوَاجِذِ،

ʾilayhi fī al-ṣalāti walabisa khātaman fanaẓara ʾilayhi wahuwa ʿalā al-minbari binaẓratin faramā bihi waqāla: shaghalanī hādhā ʿankum naẓratun ʾilayhi wanaẓratun ʾilaykum, waqad qāla taʿālā: (qul ʾin kuntum tuḥibbūna allāha fa-ittabiʿūnī yuḥbibkumu allāhu) ʾāli ʿimrāna: 31 waqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man ʾaḥabbanī falyastanna bisunnatī, waqāla fī al-khabari al-mashhūri: ʿalaykum bisunnatī wasunnati al-khulafāʾi al-rāshidīna al-mahdiyyīna min baʿdī ʿaḍḍū ʿalayhā bi-al-nawājidhi,

at it during prayer.’ He wore a ring and glanced at it while on the pulpit. He threw it away and said, ‘This distracted me from you: a glance at it, then a glance at you.’ The Exalted has said, ‘Say: If you love God, follow me; God will love you’ (Āl ʿImrān 3:31). God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Whoever loves me should follow my practice.’ In the well-known report he said, ‘Hold fast to my practice and the practice of the rightly guided, well-directed caliphs after me. Cling to it with your back teeth.’

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: مِنْ عَلَامَةِ حُبِّ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى حُبُّ النَّبِيِّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، وَمِنْ عَلَامَةِ حُبِّ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حُبُّ السُّنَّةِ وَمِنْ عَلَامَةِ حُبِّ السُّنَّةِ بُغْضُ الدُّنْيَا، وَعَلَامَةُ بُغْضِهَا أَنْ لَا يَأْخُذَ مِنْهَا إِلَّا زَادًا وَبُلْغَةً وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِعَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا: إِنْ أَرَدْتِ اللُّحُوقَ بِي فَإِيَّاكِ وَمُجَالَسَةَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ وَلَا تَنْزِعِي ثَوْبًا حَتَّى تَرْقَعِيهِ،

waqad kāna ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: min ʿalāmati ḥubbi allāhi taʿālā ḥubbu al-nabiyyi ʿalayhi al-salāmu, wamin ʿalāmati ḥubbi al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ḥubbu al-sunnati wamin ʿalāmati ḥubbi al-sunnati bughḍu al-dunyā, waʿalāmatu bughḍihā ʾan lā yaʾkhudha minhā ʾillā zādan wabulghatan waqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama liʿāʾishata raḍiya allāhu ʿanhā: ʾin ʾaradti al-luḥūqa bī faʾiyyāki wamujālasata al-ʾaghniyāʾi walā tanziʿī thawban ḥattā tarqaʿīhi,

Abū Muḥammad Sahl, God have mercy on him, used to say, ‘A sign of love for God Most High is love for the Prophet, peace be upon him; a sign of love for the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, is love for his practice; and a sign of love for that practice is hatred of the world. The sign of hating it is to take from it only provisions for the journey and enough to get by.’ The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said to ʿĀʾishah, God be pleased with her, ‘If you want to join me, beware of sitting with the wealthy, and do not discard a garment until you have patched it.’

وَكَانَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَدِ احْتَذَى نَعْلَيْنِ جَدِيدَتَيْنِ فَأَعْجَبَهُ حُسْنُهُمَا فَخَرَّ سَاجِدًا وَقَالَ: أَعْجَبَنِي حُسْنُهُمَا فَتَوَاضَعْتُ لِرَبِّي خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَمْقُتَنِي، ثُمَّ خَرَجَ بِهِمْ فَدَفَعَهُمَا إِلَى أَوَّلِ مِسْكِينٍ رَآهُ وَأَمَرَ عَلِيًّا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَاحْتَذَى لَهُ نَعْلَيْنِ سِنْدِيَّتَيْنِ قَالَ: فَرَأَيْتُهُ وَقَدْ لَبِسَهُمَا يَعْنِي جَرْدَاوَيْنِ أَيْ مَعْطُوفَتَيْنِ وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنَّ أَقْرَبَ النَّاسِ مِنِّي مَجْلِسًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَنْ كَانَ عَلَى مِثْلِ مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا،

wakāna ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qadi iḥtadhā naʿlayni jadīdatayni faʾaʿjabahu ḥusnuhumā fakharra sājidan waqāla: ʾaʿjabanī ḥusnuhumā fatawāḍaʿtu lirabbī khashyata ʾan yamqutanī, thumma kharaja bihim fadafaʿahumā ʾilā ʾawwali miskīnin raʾāhu waʾamara ʿaliyyan raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu fa-iḥtadhā lahu naʿlayni sindiyyatayni qāla: faraʾaytuhu waqad labisahumā yaʿnī jardāwayni ʾay maʿṭūfatayni waqāla ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾinna ʾaqraba al-nāsi minnī majlisan yawma al-qiyāmati man kāna ʿalā mithli mā ʾanā ʿalayhi mina al-dunyā,

He, God bless him and grant him peace, once put on a new pair of sandals and admired their beauty. He fell in prostration and said, ‘Their beauty pleased me, so I humbled myself before my Lord, fearing that He might detest me.’ Then he went out with them and gave them to the first needy person he saw. He instructed ʿAlī, God be pleased with him, to have a pair of Sindī sandals made for him. The narrator says, ‘I saw him wearing them,’ meaning two jardāwān, that is, folded-over sandals. He, God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘The people seated closest to me on the Day of Resurrection will be those whose worldly condition resembles mine.’

وَكَانَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ رِزْقَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ قُوتًا، وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: لَا يُعَذِّبُ اللَّهُ عَبْدًا جَعَلَ رِزْقَهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا قُوتَ يَوْمٍ بِيَوْمٍ، وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: طُوبَى لِمَنْ هُدِيَ إِلَى الْإِسْلَامِ وَكَانَ رِزْقُهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا قُوتًا وَقَنِعَ بِهِ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: وَصَبَرَ عَلَيْهِ، وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: أَحَدٌ غَنِيٌّ وَلَا فَقِيرٌ إِلَّا وَدَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَنَّ رِزْقَهُ كَانَ فِي الدُّنْيَا قُوتًا.

wakāna ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaqūlu: allāhumma ijʿal rizqa ʾāli muḥammadin qūtan, waqāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu: lā yuʿadhdhibu allāhu ʿabdan jaʿala rizqahu fī al-dunyā qūta yawmin biyawmin, waqāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ṭūbā liman hudiya ʾilā al-ʾislāmi wakāna rizquhu fī al-dunyā qūtan waqaniʿa bihi, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: waṣabara ʿalayhi, waqāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾaḥadun ghaniyyun walā faqīrun ʾillā wadda yawma al-qiyāmati ʾanna rizqahu kāna fī al-dunyā qūtan.

He, God bless him and grant him peace, used to pray, ‘God, make the provision of Muḥammad's family mere subsistence.’ He, peace be upon him, said, ‘God does not punish a servant whose provision in this world He makes the sustenance of one day at a time.’ He, peace be upon him, said, ‘Blessed is the person guided to Islam, whose worldly provision is enough to subsist on, and who is content with it.’ Another wording says, ‘and bears it patiently.’ He, peace be upon him, said, ‘[There is no] rich or poor person who will not wish on the Day of Resurrection that his provision in this world had been mere subsistence.’

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: اللَّهُمَّ مَنْ أَحَبَّنِي وَأَجَابَ دَعْوَتِي فَأَقْلِلْ مَالَهُ وَوَلَدَهُ، مَنْ أَبْغَضَنِي وَلَمْ يُجِبْ دَعْوَتِي فَأَكْثِرْ مَا لَهُ وَوَلَدَهُ وَأَوْطِئْ عَقِبَيْهِ كَثْرَةَ الْأَتْبَاعِ، وَكَانَتْ هَذِهِ دَعْوَةَ الصَّحَابَةِ عَلَى مَنْ مَقَتُوهُ، وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ: نُقْصَانُ الدُّنْيَا زِيَادَةُ الْآخِرَةِ وَزِيَادَةُ الدُّنْيَا نُقْصَانُ الْآخِرَةِ وَفِي الْأَثَرِ: مَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ أُعْطِيَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا شَيْئًا إِلَّا نَقَصَ مِنْ دَرَجَتِهِ وَإِنْ كَانَ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كَرِيمًا.

warawaynā ʿanhu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: allāhumma man ʾaḥabbanī waʾajāba daʿwatī faʾaqlil mālahu wawaladahu, man ʾabghaḍanī walam yujib daʿwatī faʾakthir mālahu wawaladahu waʾawṭiʾ ʿaqibayhi kathrata al-ʾatbāʿi, wakānat hādhihi daʿwata al-ṣaḥābati ʿalā man maqatūhu, warawaynā fī al-khabari: nuqṣānu al-dunyā ziyādatu al-ʾākhirati waziyādatu al-dunyā nuqṣānu al-ʾākhirati wafī al-ʾathari: mā min ʾaḥadin ʾuʿṭiya mina al-dunyā shayʾan ʾillā naqaṣa min darajatihi waʾin kāna ʿalā allāhi taʿālā karīman.

We have transmitted from him, God bless him and grant him peace: ‘God, whoever loves me and answers my call, lessen his wealth and children. Whoever hates me and does not answer my call, increase his wealth and children and let crowds of followers tread at his heels.’ This was the prayer the Companions made against those whom they detested. We have transmitted: ‘A decrease in this world is an increase in the next; an increase in this world is a decrease in the next.’ A transmitted saying states: ‘No one is given anything of this world without his rank being diminished, even if he is honored by God Most High.’

وَقَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ الْخَوَّاصُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ فِي وَصْفِ الْمُدَّعِينَ: وَقَوْمٌ ادَّعَوُا الزُّهْدَ وَلَبِسُوا الْفَاخِرَ مِنَ الثِّيَابِ يُمَوِّهُونَ بِذَلِكَ عَلَى النَّاسِ لِيُهْدُوا إِلَيْهِمْ مِثْلَ لِبَاسِهِمْ وَلِئَلَّا يُنْظَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ بِالْعَيْنِ الَّتِي يُنْظَرُ بِهَا إِلَى الْفُقَرَاءِ فَيُحْتَقَرُونَ فَيُعْطَوْنَ كَمَا يُعْطَى الْمَسَاكِينُ وَيَحْتَجُّونَ لِنُفُوسِهِمْ بِاتِّسَاعِ الْعِلْمِ وَإِنَّهُمْ عَلَى السُّنَّةِ وَإِنَّ الْأَشْيَاءَ دَاخِلَةٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَهُمْ خَارِجُونَ

waqāla ʾibrāhīmu bnu ʾaḥmada al-khawwāṣu raḥimahu allāhu fī waṣfi al-muddaʿīna: waqawmun iddaʿawu al-zuhda walabisū al-fākhira mina al-thiyābi yumawwihūna bi-dhālika ʿalā al-nāsi liyuhdū ʾilayhim mithla libāsihim waliʾallā yunẓara ʾilayhim bi-al-ʿayni allatī yunẓaru bihā ʾilā al-fuqarāʾi fayuḥtaqarūna fayuʿṭawna kamā yuʿṭā al-masākīnu wayaḥtajjūna linufūsihim bi-ittisāʿi al-ʿilmi waʾinnahum ʿalā al-sunnati waʾinna al-ʾashyāʾa dākhilatun ʿalayhim wahum khārijūna

Ibrāhīm ibn Aḥmad al-Khawwāṣ, God have mercy on him, said, describing pretenders: ‘Some people claim renunciation while wearing sumptuous clothes. They mislead people by this so that gifts resembling what they wear will be given to them, and so that they will not be looked upon as the poor are, held in contempt, and given what the needy are given. They argue on their own behalf from the breadth of their knowledge, claim that they follow the prophetic practice, and say that things come into their possession while they stand apart

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٣٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 433

Volume One, page 433

مِنْهَا، وَإِنَّمَا يَأْخُذُونَ بِعِلَّةِ غَيْرِهِمْ، هَذَا إِذَا طُولِبُوا بِالْحَقَائِقِ وَأُلْجِئُوا إِلَى الْمَضَايِقِ، وَكُلُّ هَؤُلَاءِ أَكَلَةُ الدُّنْيَا بِالدِّينِ لَمْ يُعْنَوْا بِتَصْفِيَةِ أَسْرَارِهِمْ وَلَا بِتَهْذِيبِ أَخْلَاقِ نُفُوسِهِمْ فَظَهَرَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ صِفَاتُهُمْ فَغَلَبَتْهُمْ فَادَّعَوْا حَالًا لَهُمْ مَائِلُونَ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا مُتَّبِعُونَ الْهَوَى،

minhā, waʾinnamā yaʾkhudhūna biʿillati ghayrihim, hādhā ʾidhā ṭūlibū bi-al-ḥaqāʾiqi waʾuljiʾū ʾilā al-maḍāyiqi, wakullu hāʾulāʾi ʾakalatu al-dunyā bi-al-dīni lam yuʿnaw bitaṣfiyati ʾasrārihim walā bitahdhībi ʾakhlāqi nufūsihim faẓaharat ʿalayhim ṣifātuhum faghalabathum fa-iddaʿaw ḥālan lahum māʾilūna ʾilā al-dunyā muttabiʿūna al-hawā,

from them, and take them only for someone else's sake. This is what they say when challenged to substantiate their claims and driven into a corner. All of these people consume the world through religion. They have not attended to purifying their inner selves or refining their lower selves' traits, so those traits emerge and overpower them. They claim a spiritual state while inclining toward the world and following desire.’

وَكَانَ الْخَوَّاصُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَا يَلْبَسُ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ قِطْعَتَيْنِ إِزَارَيْنِ وَقَمِيصٍ وَمِئْزَرٍ تَحْتَهُ، وَيَعْطِفُ ذَيْلَ قَمِيصِهِ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ وَيُغَطِّي بِهِ رَأْسَهُ، وَكَذَلِكَ اسْتَحَبَّ لِلْفَقِيرِ هَذَا اللِّبَاسَ وَالْأَخْبَارُ فِي فَضَائِلِ الْفَقْرِ وَفَضْلِ الْفُقَرَاءِ وَفِي ذَمِّ الدُّنْيَا وَنَقْصِ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ أَكْثَرُمِنْ أَنْ تُذْكَرَ وَلَمْ نَقْصِدْ جَمْعَهَا وَلَا كَثْرَةَ الِاسْتِدْلَالِ بِهَا،

wakāna al-khawwāṣu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā lā yalbasu ʾakthara min qiṭʿatayni ʾizārayni waqamīṣin wamiʾzarin taḥtahu, wayaʿṭifu dhayla qamīṣihi ʿalā raʾsihi wayughaṭṭī bihi raʾsahu, wa-kadhālika istaḥabba li-l-faqīri hādhā al-libāsa wa-al-ʾakhbāru fī faḍāʾili al-faqri wafaḍli al-fuqarāʾi wafī dhammi al-dunyā wanaqṣi al-ʾaghniyāʾi ʾaktharu min ʾan tudhkara walam naqṣid jamʿahā walā kathrata al-istidlāli bihā,

Al-Khawwāṣ, God Most High have mercy on him, never wore more than two pieces: two wraps, and a shirt with a waist-wrapper beneath it. He folded the hem of his shirt over his head to cover it. He recommended this dress for the poor. Reports on the merits of poverty, the excellence of the poor, the condemnation of the world, and the deficiencies of the wealthy are too numerous to recount. We have not set out to collect them or to multiply arguments from them.

وَمِنَ الزُّهْدِ تَرْكُ فُضُولِ لِلْبُنْيَانِ وَأَنْ لَايُبْنَى عَالِيًا وَلَا مُشَيَّدًا وَلَا مِنَ الطِّينِ إِلَّا مَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ وَقِيلَ: أَوَّلُ بِدْعَةٍ حَدَثَتْ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْمَنَاخِلُ وَالْمَوَائِدُ، وَأَوَّلُ شَيْءٍ ظَهَرَ مِنْ طُولِ الْأَمَلِ التَّدْرِيزُ وَالتَّشْيِيدُ يَعْنِي دُرُوزَ الثِّيَابِ وَإِنَّمَا كَانَتْ تُشَلُّ شَلًّا وَالْبُنْيَانُ الْجِصُّ وَالْآجُرُّ وَهُوَ التَّشْيِيدُ، وَإِنَّمَا كَانُوا يَبْنُونَ بِالسَّعَفِ وَالْجَرِيدِ.

wamina al-zuhdi tarku fuḍūli li-l-bunyāni waʾan lāyubnā ʿāliyan walā mushayyadan walā mina al-ṭīni ʾillā mā yaḥtāju ʾilayhi waqīla: ʾawwalu bidʿatin ḥadathat baʿda rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-manākhilu wa-al-mawāʾidu, waʾawwalu shayʾin ẓahara min ṭūli al-ʾamali al-tadrīzu wa-al-tashyīdu yaʿnī durūza al-thiyābi waʾinnamā kānat tushallu shallan wa-al-bunyānu al-jiṣṣu wa-al-ʾājurru wahuwa al-tashyīdu, waʾinnamā kānū yabnūna bi-al-saʿafi wa-al-jarīdi.

Part of renunciation is to forgo unnecessary building: not to build high, not to plaster and embellish, and not to build even with clay beyond one's need. It is said that the first innovations after God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, were sieves and dining tables, and that the first signs of far-reaching hopes were careful seaming and plastered construction: seams in clothes, which had formerly only been loosely sewn, and buildings of plaster and fired brick, which are elaborate construction. Previously people built with palm leaves and fronds.

وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ: يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يُوَشُّونَ بَيْنَانَهُمْ كَمَا تُوَشَّى الْبُرُودُ الْيَمَانِيَةُ، وَنَظَرَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي طَرِيقِ الشَّامِ إِلَى صَرْحٍ قَدْ بُنِيَ بِجِصٍّ وَآجُرٍّ فَكَبَّرَ وَقَالَ: مَا كُنْتُ أَظُنُّ أَنَّ فِي هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ مَنْ يَبْنِي بُنْيَانَ هَامَانَ لِفِرْعَوْنَ يَعْنِي قَوْلَ فِرْعَوْنَ فَأَوْقِدْ لِي يَا هَامَانُ عَلَى الطِّينِ يَعْنِي بِهِ الْآجُرَّ، يُقَالُ: أَوَّلُ مَنْ بَنَى بِالْجِصِّ وَالْآجُرِّ فِرْعَوْنُ وَأَوَّلُ مَنْ عَمِلَهُ هَامَانُ ثُمَّ تَبِعَهُمَا الْجَبَابِرَةُ، فَهَذَا هُوَ الزُّخْرُفُ،

waqad jāʾa fī al-ʾathari: yaʾtī ʿalā al-nāsi zamānun yuwashshūna baynānahum kamā tuwashshā al-burūdu al-yamāniyatu, wanaẓara ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu fī ṭarīqi al-shāmi ʾilā ṣarḥin qad buniya bijiṣṣin waʾājurrin fakabbara waqāla: mā kuntu ʾaẓunnu ʾanna fī hādhihi al-ʾummati man yabnī bunyāna hāmāna lifirʿawna yaʿnī qawla firʿawna faʾawqid lī yā hāmānu ʿalā al-ṭīni yaʿnī bihi al-ʾājurra, yuqālu: ʾawwalu man banā bi-al-jiṣṣi wa-al-ʾājurri firʿawnu waʾawwalu man ʿamilahu hāmānu thumma tabiʿahumā al-jabābiratu, fa-hādhā huwa al-zukhrufu,

A transmitted saying states: ‘A time will come when people pattern their buildings as Yemeni cloaks are patterned.’ On the road to Syria, ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, saw a palace built of plaster and fired brick. He proclaimed God's greatness and said, ‘I did not think there was anyone in this community who would build Hāmān's building for Pharaoh.’ He meant Pharaoh's words, ‘Hāmān, fire up [the kiln] for me upon the clay,’ referring to fired brick. It is said that Pharaoh was the first to build with plaster and brick and Hāmān the first to make them; tyrants then followed them. This is ostentatious adornment.

وَذَكَرَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ جَامِعًا فِي بَعْضِ الْأَمْصَارِ فَقَالَ: أَدْرَكْتُ هَذَا الْمَسْجِدَ مَبْنِيًّا مِنَ الْجَرِيدِ وَالسَّعَفِ ثُمَّ رَأَيْتُهُ مَبْنِيًّا مِنْ رُهُوصٍ ثُمَّ رَأَيْتُهُ الْآنَ مَبْنِيًّا بِاللَّبِنِ، فَكَانَ أَصْحَابُ السَّعَفِ خَيْرًا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الرُّهُوصِ، وَكَانَ أَصْحَابُ الرُّهُوصِ خَيْرًا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ اللَّبِنِ، وَقَدْ كَانَ فِي السَّلَفِ مَنْ يَبْنِي دَارَهُ مِرَارًا فِي مُدَّةِ عُمُرِهِ لِضَعْفِ بِنَائِهِ وَقِصَرِ أَمَلِهِ وَلِزُهْدِهِ فِي إِتْقَانِ الْبُنْيَانِ وَكَانَ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ إِذَا حَجَّ أَوْ غَزَا نَزَعَ بَيْتَهُ أَوْ وَهَبَهُ لِجِيرَانِهِ فَإِذَا رَجَعَ أَعَادَهُ، وَكَانَتْ بُيُوتُهُمْ مِنَ الْحَشِيشِ وَالثُّمَامِ وَالْجُلُودِ وَعَلَى ذَلِكَ الْعَرَبُ بِبِلَادِ الْيَمَنِ إِلَى الْيَوْمِ،

wadhakara baʿḍu al-salafi jāmiʿan fī baʿḍi al-ʾamṣāri faqāla: ʾadraktu hādhā al-masjida mabniyyan mina al-jarīdi wa-al-saʿafi thumma raʾaytuhu mabniyyan min ruhūṣin thumma raʾaytuhu al-ʾāna mabniyyan bi-al-labini, fakāna ʾaṣḥābu al-saʿafi khayran min ʾaṣḥābi al-ruhūṣi, wakāna ʾaṣḥābu al-ruhūṣi khayran min ʾaṣḥābi al-labini, waqad kāna fī al-salafi man yabnī dārahu mirāran fī muddati ʿumurihi liḍaʿfi bināʾihi waqiṣari ʾamalihi walizuhdihi fī ʾitqāni al-bunyāni wakāna minhum man ʾidhā ḥajja ʾaw ghazā nazaʿa baytahu ʾaw wahabahu lijīrānihi faʾidhā rajaʿa ʾaʿādahu, wakānat buyūtuhum mina al-ḥashīshi wa-al-thumāmi wa-al-julūdi waʿalā dhālika al-ʿarabu bibilādi al-yamani ʾilā al-yawmi,

One of the early generations mentioned a congregational mosque in a town: ‘I knew this mosque when it was built of palm fronds and leaves. Then I saw it built of rammed earth, and now I see it built of mud bricks. The people of the palm leaves were better than the people of the rammed earth, and the people of the rammed earth were better than the people of the bricks.’ Some of the early generations rebuilt their houses several times in their lives because the buildings were frail, their hopes short, and they had no desire for elaborate construction. Some dismantled their houses or gave them to their neighbors when leaving on pilgrimage or campaign, rebuilding them on their return. Their homes were made of grass, thumām reeds, and hides; the Arabs in Yemen still live in this way today.

وَأَمَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْعَبَّاسَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنْ يَهْدِمَ عُلِّيَّةً كَانَ قَدْ عَلَا بِهَا، وَمَرَّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِجُنْبُذَةٍ مُعَلَّاةٍ فَقَالَ: لِمَنْ هَذِهِ؟ قَالُوا: لِفُلَانٍ، فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُ الرَّجُلُ أَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ يُقْبِلُ عَلَيْهِ كَمَا كَانَ فَسَأَلَ الرَّجُلُ أَصْحَابَهُ عَنْ تَغَيُّرِ وَجْهِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَأَخْبَرُوهُ فَرَجَعَ فَهَدَمَهَا، فَمَرَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْمَوْضِعِ فَلَمْ يَرَهَا فَسَأَلَ عَنْهَا فَأُخْبِرَ أَنَّهُ هَدَمَهَا فَدَعَا لَهُ بِخَيْرٍ،

waʾamara rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-ʿabbāsa raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾan yahdima ʿulliyyatan kāna qad ʿalā bihā, wamarra ʿalayhi al-salāmu bijunbudhatin muʿallātin faqāla: liman hādhihi? qālū: lifulānin, falammā jāʾahu al-rajulu ʾaʿraḍa ʿanhu falam yakun yuqbilu ʿalayhi kamā kāna fasaʾala al-rajulu ʾaṣḥābahu ʿan taghayyuri wajhi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faʾakhbarūhu farajaʿa fahadamahā, famarra rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bi-al-mawḍiʿi falam yarahā fasaʾala ʿanhā faʾukhbira ʾannahu hadamahā fadaʿā lahu bikhayrin,

God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, ordered al-ʿAbbās, God be pleased with him, to pull down an upper room he had built high. He, peace be upon him, passed a lofty domed building and asked, ‘Whose is this?’ They replied, ‘So-and-so's.’ When the man came to him, he turned away and did not receive him as he used to. The man asked his companions why the expression of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, had changed toward him. They told him, and he went back and demolished it. God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, passed the site, did not see it, and asked about it. When told that the man had demolished it, he prayed for his good.

وَكَانَ سَمْكُ بِنَاءِ السَّلَفِ قَامَةَ بَسْطَةٍ وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: كُنْتُ إِذَا دَخَلْتُ بُيُوتَ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ضَرَبْتُ بِيَدِي إِلَى السَّقْفِ، وَقَالَ عَمْرُو بْنُ دِينَارٍ: إِذَا أَعْلَى الْعَبْدُ الْبِنَاءَ فَوْقَ سِتَّةِ أَذْرُعٍ نَادَاهُ مَلَكٌ إِلَى أَيْنَ يَا فَاسِقَ الْفَاسِقِينَ؟ وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ بَنَى فَوْقَ مَا يَكْفِيهِ كُلِّفَ أَنْ يَحْمِلَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

wakāna samku bināʾi al-salafi qāmata basṭatin waqāla al-ḥasanu: kuntu ʾidhā dakhaltu buyūta ʾaṣḥābi al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ḍarabtu biyadī ʾilā al-saqfi, waqāla ʿamru bnu dīnārin: ʾidhā ʾaʿlā al-ʿabdu al-bināʾa fawqa sittati ʾadhruʿin nādāhu malakun ʾilā ʾayna yā fāsiqa al-fāsiqīna? waqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man banā fawqa mā yakfīhi kullifa ʾan yaḥmilahu yawma al-qiyāmati

The height of the early generations' buildings was a man's height with his arm extended. Al-Ḥasan said, ‘When I entered the homes of the companions of the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, I could strike the ceiling with my hand.’ ʿAmr ibn Dīnār said, ‘When a servant raises a building above six cubits, an angel calls to him: “How far, you most wicked of the wicked?”’ God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Whoever builds more than will suffice him will be made to carry it on the Day of Resurrection.’

وَمَرَّ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ بِبَيْتٍ عَالٍ فَقَالَ: أَبَتِ الدَّرَاهِمُ إِلَّا أَنْ تُخْرِجَ رُؤُوسَهَا وَمَرَّ بِعَامِلٍ لَهُ فَرَآهُ قَدْ عَلِّيَ وَشَيَّدَ فَقَالَ لِي: عَلَى كُلِّ خَائِنٍ أَمِينَانِ الْمَاءُ وَالطِّينُ ثُمَّ شَاطَرَهُ مَالَهُ فَجَعَلَهُ فِي بَيْتِ الْمَالِ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: كُلُّ نَفَقَةٍ يُؤْجَرُ عَلَيْهَا الْعَبْدُ إِلَّا مَا

wamarra ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu bibaytin ʿālin faqāla: ʾabati al-darāhimu ʾillā ʾan tukhrija ruʾūsahā wamarra biʿāmilin lahu faraʾāhu qad ʿalliya washayyada faqāla lī: ʿalā kulli khāʾinin ʾamīnāni al-māʾu wa-al-ṭīnu thumma shāṭarahu mālahu fajaʿalahu fī bayti al-māli, wafī al-khabari: kullu nafaqatin yuʾjaru ʿalayhā al-ʿabdu ʾillā mā

ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, passed a tall house and said, ‘The dirhams insist on sticking their heads out!’ He passed one of his officials and saw that he had built high and elaborately. He said to me, ‘Every traitor has two faithful witnesses: water and clay.’ Then he took half the man's wealth and put it in the treasury. The report says, ‘A servant is rewarded for every expenditure except what

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٣٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 434

Volume One, page 434

أَنْفَعَهُ عَلَى الْمَاءِ وَالطِّينِ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ: إِذَا مَقَتَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَالَ عَبْدٍ سَلَّطَ عَلَيْهِ الْمَاءَ وَالطِّينَ،

ʾanfaʿahu ʿalā al-māʾi wa-al-ṭīni. waqad rawaynā ʿan baʿḍi al-salafi: ʾidhā maqata allāhu taʿālā māla ʿabdin sallaṭa ʿalayhi al-māʾa wa-al-ṭīna,

he spends on water and clay.’ We have transmitted from an early authority: ‘When God Most High detests a servant's wealth, He sets water and clay upon it.’

وَقَالَ يَحْيَى بْنُ يَمَانٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: كُنْتُ أَمْشِي مَعَ الثَّوْرِيِّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ فِي طَرِيقٍ فَنَظَرْتُ إِلَى بَابٍ مُشَيَّدٍ قَالَ: لَا تَنْظُرْ إِلَيْهِ فَقُلْتُ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ مَا تَكْرَهُ مِنَ النَّظَرِ قَالَ إِذَا نَظَرْتَ إِلَيْهِ كُنْتَ عَوْنًا لَهُ عَلَى بِنَائِهِ لِأَنَّهُ إِنَّمَا بَنَاهُ لِيُنْظَرَ إِلَيْهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ كُلُّ مَنْ مَرَّ بِهِ لَمْ يَنْظُرْ إِلَيْهِ مَا عَمِلَهُ وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ قَبْلَهُ: وَلَا تَنْظُرْ إِلَى بُنْيَانِهِمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ إِنَّمَا زَخْرَفُوهُ لِأَجْلِكُمْ

waqāla yaḥyā bnu yamānin raḥimahu allāhu: kuntu ʾamshī maʿa al-thawriyyi raḥimahu allāhu fī ṭarīqin fanaẓartu ʾilā bābin mushayyadin qāla: lā tanẓur ʾilayhi faqultu yā ʾabā ʿabdi allāhi mā takrahu mina al-naẓari qāla ʾidhā naẓarta ʾilayhi kunta ʿawnan lahu ʿalā bināʾihi liʾannahu ʾinnamā banāhu liyunẓara ʾilayhi walaw kāna kullu man marra bihi lam yanẓur ʾilayhi mā ʿamilahu waqad qāla baʿḍu al-salafi qablahu: walā tanẓur ʾilā bunyānihim faʾinnahum ʾinnamā zakhrafūhu liʾajlikum

Yaḥyā ibn Yamān, God have mercy on him, said, ‘I was walking along a road with al-Thawrī, God have mercy on him, and looked at an elaborately built doorway. He said, “Do not look at it.” I asked, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, what do you dislike about looking?” He answered, “By looking at it, you help its owner to build it, for he built it only to be looked at. If everyone who passed refused to look, he would not have made it.”’ An earlier authority had already said, ‘Do not look at their buildings, for it is for your sake that they have decorated them.’

وَفِي قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: (تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فَسَادًا) الْقَصَصِ: 83 قِيلَ: حُبُّ الْكَثْرَةِ وَالرِّيَاسَةِ وَالتَّطَاوُلِ فِي الْبُنْيَانِ، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: كُلُّ بِنَاءٍ وَبَالٌ عَلَى صَاحِبِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِلَّا مَا أَكَنَّ مِنْ حَرٍّ أَوْ بَرْدٍ، وَقَالَ لِلرَّجُلِ الَّذِي شَكَا إِلَيْهِ ضِيقَ مَنْزِلِهِ اتَّسِعْ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَيْ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَهَذَا أَحَدُ التَّأْوِيلَيْنِ، وَالثَّانِي اتَّسِعْ فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَلَا تَطْلُبِ اتِّسَاعَ الْمَكَانِ

wafī qawli allāhi taʿālā: (tilka al-dāru al-ʾākhiratu najʿaluhā li-lladhīna lā yurīdūna ʿuluwwan fī al-ʾarḍi walā fasādan) al-qaṣaṣi: 83 qīla: ḥubbu al-kathrati wa-al-riyāsati wa-al-taṭāwuli fī al-bunyāni, wa-kadhālika qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: kullu bināʾin wabālun ʿalā ṣāḥibihi yawma al-qiyāmati ʾillā mā ʾakanna min ḥarrin ʾaw bardin, waqāla li-l-rajuli alladhī shakā ʾilayhi ḍīqa manzilihi ittasiʿ fī al-samāʾi ʾay fī al-jannati wa-hādhā ʾaḥadu al-taʾwīlayni, wa-al-thānī ittasiʿ fī al-maʿrifati walā taṭlubi ittisāʿa al-makāni

Concerning God Most High's words, ‘That final abode We assign to those who desire neither elevation in the earth nor corruption’ (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:83), it has been said that this means love of accumulation, leadership, and rivalry in high buildings. God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, likewise said, ‘Every building will be a burden upon its owner on the Day of Resurrection except what shelters him from heat or cold.’ To a man who complained that his home was cramped, he said, ‘Find spaciousness in heaven,’ meaning in Paradise. This is one interpretation; the other is, ‘Find spaciousness in knowledge of God rather than seeking more physical space.’

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الزُّهْدَ لَا يَنْقُصُ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ وَلَكِنَّهُ يَزِيدُ فِي الصَّبْرِ وَيُدِيمُ الْجُوعَ وَالْفَقْرَ فَيَكُونُ هَذَا رِزْقًا لِلزَّاهِدِ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ عَلَى هَذَا الْوَصْفِ مِنْ حِرْمَانِ نَصِيبِهِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَحِمَايَتِهِ عَنِ التَّكَثُّرِ مِنْهَا وَالتَّوَسُّعِ فِيهَا وَيَكُونُ الزُّهْدُ سَبَبَهُ فَيَكُونُ مَا صَرَفَهُ عَنْهُ وَمَنَعَهُ مِنَ الْغِنَي وَالتَّوَسُّعِ رِزْقَهُ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ وَالدَّجَاتِ الْعُلَى بِحُسْنِ اخْتِيَارٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَحِيطَةِ نَظَرٍ

wa-iʿlam ʾanna al-zuhda lā yanquṣu mina al-rizqi walakinnahu yazīdu fī al-ṣabri wayudīmu al-jūʿa wa-al-faqra fayakūnu hādhā rizqan li-l-zāhidi mina al-ʾākhirati ʿalā hādhā al-waṣfi min ḥirmāni naṣībihi mina al-dunyā waḥimāyatihi ʿani al-takaththuri minhā wa-al-tawassuʿi fīhā wayakūnu al-zuhdu sababahu fayakūnu mā ṣarafahu ʿanhu wamanaʿahu mina al-ghinay wa-al-tawassuʿi rizqahu mina al-ʾākhirati wa-al-dajāti al-ʿulā biḥusni ikhtiyārin mina allāhi taʿālā waḥīṭati naẓarin

Know that renunciation does not diminish one's provision. It increases patience and perpetuates hunger and poverty, which then become the renunciant's provision from the hereafter: he is denied his worldly share and protected from accumulating and expanding it. Renunciation becomes the means to this. What is turned away and withheld from him of wealth and abundance becomes his provision from the hereafter and the highest ranks, through God Most High's gracious choice and watchful care.

كَمَا. حُدِّثْنَا عَنْ بَعْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ: أَنَّ بَقَّالًا جَاءَهُ فَقَالَ: إِنِّي كُنْتُ أَبِيعُ فِي مَحَلَّةٍ لَا بَقَّالَ فِيهَا غَيْرِي، فَكُنْتُ أَبِيعُ الْكَثِيرَ ثُمَّ قَدْ فُتِحَ عَلَيَّ بَقَّالٌ آخَرُ فَهَلْ يَنْقُصُ ذَلِكَ مِنْ رِزْقِي شَيْئًا فَقَالَ: لَا وَلَكِنْ يَزِيدُ فِي بَطَالَتِكَ عَنِ الْبَيْعِ،

kamā. ḥuddithnā ʿan baʿḍi al-ʿulamāʾi: ʾanna baqqālan jāʾahu faqāla: ʾinnī kuntu ʾabīʿu fī maḥallatin lā baqqāla fīhā ghayrī, fakuntu ʾabīʿu al-kathīra thumma qad futiḥa ʿalayya baqqālun ʾākharu fahal yanquṣu dhālika min rizqī shayʾan faqāla: lā wa-lākin yazīdu fī baṭālatika ʿani al-bayʿi,

As we were told of a scholar: a grocer came to him and said, ‘I used to sell in a neighborhood where there was no other grocer, so I sold a great deal. Now another grocer has opened in competition with me. Does that diminish my provision at all?’ He answered, ‘No, but it gives you more idle time away from selling.’

فَلَعَلَّهُ بَطَّالًا لَاعِبًا يَحْتَجُّ لِتَوَسُّعِهِ وَهَوَاهُ وَيُمَوِّهُ عَلَى أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا مِمَّنْ يَتَوَلَّاهُ فَيَقُولُ بِأَنَّ الزُّهْدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا لَمَّا لَمْ يَنْقُصْ مِنْ رِزْقِي شَيْئًا قَدْ صَحَّ مَقَامًا لِي مَعَ التَّوَسُّعِ وَالِاسْتِكْثَارِ وَعَلَى التَّنَعُّمِ وَالرَّفَاهِيَةِ وَالِاسْتِئْثَارِ لِأَنِّي إِنَّمَا آكُلُ رِزْقِي وَآخُذُ قِسْمِي فَلِي فِي الزُّهْدِ مَقَامٌ وَمِنَ الرِّضَا وَالتَّوَكُّلِ حَالٌ أَوْ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ الزُّهْدَ قَدْ يُصْبِحُ مَعَ التَّكَاثُرِ وَالزِّينَةِ يُزَخْرِفُ بِقَوْلِهِ عَلَى مَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُ الزُّهْدَ وَيَغُرُّ بِمَقَالَتِهِ مَنْ لَايَعْرِفُ طَرِيقَ الزَّاهِدِينَ وَلَعَلَّهُ مِمَّنْ يَأْكُلُ الدُّنْيَا بِالدِّينِ أَوْ يُزَخْرِفُ الْقَوْلَ وَيُشَبِّهُ الْعِلْمَ عَلَى الْغَافِلِينَ،

falaʿallahu baṭṭālan lāʿiban yaḥtajju litawassuʿihi wahawāhu wayumawwihu ʿalā ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā mimman yatawallāhu fayaqūlu biʾanna al-zuhda fī al-dunyā lammā lam yanquṣ min rizqī shayʾan qad ṣaḥḥa maqāman lī maʿa al-tawassuʿi wa-al-istikthāri waʿalā al-tanaʿʿumi wa-al-rafāhiyati wa-al-istiʾthāri liʾannī ʾinnamā ʾākulu rizqī waʾākhudhu qismī falī fī al-zuhdi maqāmun wamina al-riḍā wa-al-tawakkuli ḥālun ʾaw yaqūlu: ʾinna al-zuhda qad yuṣbiḥu maʿa al-takāthuri wa-al-zīnati yuzakhrifu biqawlihi ʿalā man lā yaʿrifu al-zuhda wayaghurru bimaqālatihi man lāyaʿrifu ṭarīqa al-zāhidīna walaʿallahu mimman yaʾkulu al-dunyā bi-al-dīni ʾaw yuzakhrifu al-qawla wayushabbihu al-ʿilma ʿalā al-ghāfilīna,

Someone may be idly playing around, arguing for his own abundance and desire and deceiving the worldly people who support him. He says, ‘Since renunciation does not reduce my provision at all, it is a station I truly possess alongside abundance and accumulation, luxury, comfort, and preferential enjoyment. I merely consume my provision and take my allotted share, so I have a station in renunciation and a state of contentment and trust.’ Or he says, ‘Renunciation can coexist with accumulation and adornment.’ With this fine talk he deceives those who do not know renunciation, misleading by his claims those unfamiliar with the renunciants' path. He may be one who consumes the world through religion, or embellishes his words and obscures knowledge for the heedless.

فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَا قَالَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لِلْخَوَارِجِ حِينَ قَالُوا: لَا حُكْمَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ فَقَالَ: كَلِمَةُ حَقٍّ أُرِيدَ بِهَا بَاطِلٌ وَصَدَقَ رِضْوَانُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ لِأَنَّهُمْ أَرَادُوا بِذَلِكَ إِسْقَاطَ حُكْمِ الْأَئِمَّةِ وَتَرْكَ الطَّاعَةِ لِلْإِمَامِ الْعَادِلِ.

famathaluhu kamā qāla ʿaliyyun raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu li-l-khawāriji ḥīna qālū: lā ḥukma ʾillā allāhu faqāla: kalimatu ḥaqqin ʾurīda bihā bāṭilun waṣadaqa riḍwānu allāhi ʿalayhi liʾannahum ʾarādū bi-dhālika ʾisqāṭa ḥukmi al-ʾaʾimmati watarka al-ṭāʿati li-l-ʾimāmi al-ʿādili.

He resembles those to whom ʿAlī, God be pleased with him, said, when the Khārijites declared, ‘Judgment belongs to God alone,’ ‘A true word intended to serve falsehood.’ He spoke truly, God be pleased with him, because they intended to abolish the authority of leaders and obedience to a just imam.

كَمَا أَرَادَ الْقَائِلُ: إِنَّمَا آكُلُ رِزْقِي وَآخُذُ مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ قِسْمِي، الِاحْتِجَاجَ لِنَفْسِهِ بِهَوَاهُ وَالِاعْتِذَارَ عِنْدَ الْجَاهِلِينَ خِيفَةَ لَوْمِهِمْ إِيَّاهُ وَلَا يَعْلَمُ الْمَغْرُورُ بِدَاءِ الْغُرُورِ أَنَّهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ يَأْكُلُ رِزْقَهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَيَأْخُذُ قِسْمَهُ مِنَ الْعَطَاءِ فَبِحُكْمِ النَّقْصِ وَالْبُعْدِ وَبِوَصْفِ الرَّغْبَةِ وَالْحِرْصِ لِأَنَّ السَّارِقَ وَالْغَاصِبَ أَيْضًا يَأْكُلُ رِزْقَهُ وَيَأْخُذُ قِسْمَهُ وَلَكِنْ بِحُكْمِ الْمَقْتِ وَسُوءِ الِاخْتِيَارِ إِذَا كَانَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى يَرْزُقُ الْحَرَامَ لِلظَّالِمِينَ كَمَا يَرْزُقُ الْحَلَالَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

kamā ʾarāda al-qāʾilu: ʾinnamā ʾākulu rizqī waʾākhudhu mina al-ʾashyāʾi qismī, al-iḥtijāja linafsihi bihawāhu wa-al-iʿtidhāra ʿinda al-jāhilīna khīfata lawmihim ʾiyyāhu walā yaʿlamu al-maghrūru bidāʾi al-ghurūri ʾannahu waʾin kāna yaʾkulu rizqahu mina al-dunyā wayaʾkhudhu qismahu mina al-ʿaṭāʾi fabiḥukmi al-naqṣi wa-al-buʿdi wabiwaṣfi al-raghbati wa-al-ḥirṣi liʾanna al-sāriqa wa-al-ghāṣiba ʾayḍan yaʾkulu rizqahu wayaʾkhudhu qismahu wa-lākin biḥukmi al-maqti wasūʾi al-ikhtiyāri ʾidhā kāna allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā yarzuqu al-ḥarāma li-l-ẓālimīna kamā yarzuqu al-ḥalāla li-l-muttaqīna

Similarly, one who says, ‘I only eat my provision and take my share of things,’ means to defend his desire and excuse himself before the ignorant for fear of their reproach. This man, deceived by the disease of delusion, does not know that although he consumes his worldly provision and takes his allotted share, he does so under the rule of deficiency and estrangement, marked by desire and craving. The thief and the usurper also eat their provision and take their share, but under the rule of abhorrence and evil choice, since God, glorified and exalted is He, supplies the unjust with what is unlawful just as He supplies the God-fearing with what is lawful.

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٣٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 435

Volume One, page 435

وَإِنَّمَا بَيْنَهُمَا سُوءُ الْقَضَاءِ وَدَرَكُ الشَّقَاءِ لِلْأَعْدَاءِ، وَحُسْنُ التَّوْفِيقِ وَالِاخْتِيَارِ بِالسَّعَادَةِ لِلْأَوْلِيَاءِ مِنَ الْمَوْلَى الْكَرِيمِ.

waʾinnamā baynahumā sūʾu al-qaḍāʾi wadaraku al-shaqāʾi li-l-ʾaʿdāʾi, waḥusnu al-tawfīqi wa-al-ikhtiyāri bi-al-saʿādati li-l-ʾawliyāʾi mina al-mawlā al-karīmi.

What distinguishes the two is an adverse decree and the attainment of wretchedness for His enemies, or the generous Master's gracious enabling and choice of felicity for His friends.

فَقَدْ حُرِمَ الْمُدَّعِي لِذَلِكَ رِزْقَهُ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ، وَبُخِسَ نَصِيبَهُ الْأَوْفَرَ مِنْ حُبِّ الْفَقْرِ، وَنُقِصَ حَظُّهُ الْأَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ، إِذْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا ضِدَّهَا، وَجُعِلَ مَا صُرِفَ فِيهِ وَمَا صُرِفَ إِلَيْهِ سَبَبًا لِنُقْصَانِ مَرْتَبَتِهِ مِنْ طَرَائِقِ الزَّاهِدِينَ.

faqad ḥurima al-muddaʿī li-dhālika rizqahu mina al-zuhdi, wabukhisa naṣībahu al-ʾawfara min ḥubbi al-faqri, wanuqiṣa ḥaẓẓuhu al-ʾafḍalu mina al-ʾākhirati, ʾidh kānati al-dunyā ḍiddahā, wajuʿila mā ṣurifa fīhi wamā ṣurifa ʾilayhi sababan linuqṣāni martabatihi min ṭarāʾiqi al-zāhidīna.

The person who makes that claim has been deprived of his allotted renunciation, shortchanged in his richer share of love for poverty, and diminished in his better portion of the hereafter, since this world is its opposite. The circumstances into which he has been directed and the things directed toward him have become a cause of his diminished standing on the paths of the renunciants.

وَأَنَّهُ قَدِ اُخْتُبِرَ بِالدُّنْيَا وَبِمَا فُتِحَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ السَّرَّاءِ لِيَظْهَرَ صِدْقُهُ مِنْ كَذِبِهِ، فَوَقَعَ فِي الْفِتْنَةِ وَلَمْ يَفْطَنْ لِلِابْتِلَاءِ، وَصَارَتْ مُشَاهَدَتُهُ هَذِهِ، إِذَا كَانَ صَادِقًا فِيهَا غَيْرَ كَاذِبٍ عَلَى وَجْدِهِ، حِجَابًا لَهُ عَنْ عُلُومِ الْعَارِفِينَ الْمَعْصُومِينَ.

waʾannahu qadi ukhtubira bi-al-dunyā wabimā futiḥa ʿalayhi mina al-sarrāʾi liyaẓhara ṣidquhu min kadhibihi, fawaqaʿa fī al-fitnati walam yafṭan li-l-ibtilāʾi, waṣārat mushāhadatuhu hādhihi, ʾidhā kāna ṣādiqan fīhā ghayra kādhibin ʿalā wajdihi, ḥijāban lahu ʿan ʿulūmi al-ʿārifīna al-maʿṣūmīna.

He has been tested through this world and the prosperity opened to him, so that his truthfulness might be distinguished from his falsehood. He fell into temptation without recognizing the trial. Even if this witnessing of his is genuine and he is not misrepresenting his inward experience, it has become a veil separating him from the knowledge of those knowers whom God protects.

وَاُسْتُدْرِجَ بِعِلْمِهِ هَذَا، لِأَنَّهُ عِلْمٌ مِنْ عُلُومِ الدُّنْيَا يَفْنَى بِفَنَائِهَا، لَا ثَمَرَةَ لَهُ فِي الْبَاقِيَةِ؛ مُكِرَ بِهِ فِيهِ، وَعُدِلَ بِهِ إِلَيْهِ عَنْ عُلُومِ الْخَائِفِينَ وَمُشَاهَدَةِ الْوَرِعِينَ الزَّاهِدِينَ، الَّذِينَ نَظَرُوا مِنَ الْحَلَالِ فِي الدَّقِيقِ، وَصَدَّقُوا الْقَوْلَ فِي تَرْكِ الرَّغْبَةِ بِالْعَمَلِ بِالزُّهْدِ لِلتَّحْقِيقِ.

wa-ustudrija biʿilmihi hādhā, liʾannahu ʿilmun min ʿulūmi al-dunyā yafnā bifanāʾihā, lā thamarata lahu fī al-bāqiyati; mukira bihi fīhi, waʿudila bihi ʾilayhi ʿan ʿulūmi al-khāʾifīna wamushāhadati al-wariʿīna al-zāhidīna, alladhīna naẓarū mina al-ḥalāli fī al-daqīqi, waṣaddaqū al-qawla fī tarki al-raghbati bi-al-ʿamali bi-al-zuhdi li-l-taḥqīqi.

Through this knowledge he has been led on unawares: it belongs to the sciences of this world, perishes when the world perishes, and bears no fruit in the abiding life. A hidden design has overtaken him through it, diverting him toward it and away from the knowledge of the fearful and the witnessing of scrupulous renunciants. They examined the finest details of what is lawful and confirmed their professed abandonment of desire by practicing renunciation in earnest.

وَإِنْ كَانَ كَاذِبًا فِي مُشَاهَدَتِهِ، ظَالِمًا لِنَفْسِهِ بِمَا ادَّعَاهُ مِنْ وَجْدِهِ، فَهُوَ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاءِ الشَّيَاطِينِ وَمِنْ أَئِمَّةِ الْمُضِلِّينَ، قُيِّضَ لِلَّاعِبِينَ وَسِيقَ إِلَيْهِمْ فِتْنَةً لَهُمْ؛ لَيْسَ إِمَامًا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ، بَلْ مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ الْمُضِلِّينَ الْمَحْرُومِينَ، أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا الْغَافِلِينَ، رَغْبَةً فِي الدُّنْيَا وَزُهْدًا فِي طَرَائِقِ السَّلَفِ، لِوُجُودِ الطَّمَعِ وَعَدَمِ الْيَقِينِ.

waʾin kāna kādhiban fī mushāhadatihi, ẓāliman linafsihi bimā iddaʿāhu min wajdihi, fahuwa min ʾawliyāʾi al-shayāṭīni wamin ʾaʾimmati al-muḍillīna, quyyiḍa li-l-lāʿibīna wasīqa ʾilayhim fitnatan lahum; laysa ʾimāman li-l-muttaqīna, bal mina al-ʾaʾimmati al-muḍillīna al-maḥrūmīna, ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā al-ghāfilīna, raghbatan fī al-dunyā wazuhdan fī ṭarāʾiqi al-salafi, liwujūdi al-ṭamaʿi waʿadami al-yaqīni.

If, however, he lies about his witnessing and wrongs himself by his claim to inward experience, he is an ally of devils and a leader of those who mislead. He has been assigned to the frivolous and driven toward them as a temptation. He is no leader of the God-fearing, but one of those deprived, misleading leaders, heedless children of the world who desire this world and turn away from the paths of the early generations because of their greed and lack of certainty.

فَقَدْ مُكِرَ بِهَذَا الْمَعْدُولِ بِهِ عَنْ عُلُومِ الْمُوقِنِينَ وَحَقَائِقِ مُشَاهَدَتِهِمْ عَلَى هَذَا الْوَصْفِ الَّذِي أُرِيدَ بِهِ بِالَّذِي تَقَلَّبَ فِيهِ، وَهُوَ لَا يَشْعُرُ بِالْمَكْرِ وَلَا يَعْرِفُ الِاسْتِدْرَاجَ بِالنِّعَمِ.

faqad mukira bi-hādhā al-maʿdūli bihi ʿan ʿulūmi al-mūqinīna waḥaqāʾiqi mushāhadatihim ʿalā hādhā al-waṣfi alladhī ʾurīda bihi bi-alladhī taqallaba fīhi, wahuwa lā yashʿuru bi-al-makri walā yaʿrifu al-istidrāja bi-al-niʿami.

A hidden design has thus overtaken this person, diverted from the knowledge of those who possess certainty and the realities of their witnessing, through the condition intended for him and the circumstances in which he has moved. He perceives neither the hidden design nor the process of being led on through blessings.

وَأَنَّى لَهُ بِعِلْمِ ذَلِكَ، وَاللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى يَقُولُ: ﴿سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾ الْأَعْرَافِ: 182، قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَكَرُوا مَكْرًا وَمَكَرْنَا مَكْرًا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ﴾ النَّمْلِ: 50.

waʾannā lahu biʿilmi dhālika, wa-allāhu tabāraka wataʿālā yaqūlu: ﴿sanastadrijuhum min ḥaythu lā yaʿlamūna﴾ al-ʾaʿrāfi: 182, qāla taʿālā: ﴿wamakarū makran wamakarnā makran wahum lā yashʿurūna﴾ al-namli: 50.

How could he know it, when God, blessed and exalted, says, “We shall lead them on, step by step, from where they do not know” (al-Aʿrāf 7:182)? He, exalted, also says, “They devised a plot, and We devised a plot, while they were unaware” (al-Naml 27:50).

فَهَيْهَاتَ هَيْهَاتَ أَنْ يَفْطَنَ الْمَمْكُورُ لِمَا مُكِرَ بِهِ، أَوْ يَعْلَمَ الْمُسْتَدْرَجُ مَا دُرِجَ فِيهِ، لِأَنَّ الْمَاكِرَ أَلْطَفُ الْمَاكِرِينَ، وَالْمُدْرِجَ أَحْكَمُ الْحَاكِمِينَ.

fahayhāta hayhāta ʾan yafṭana al-mamkūru limā mukira bihi, ʾaw yaʿlama al-mustadraju mā durija fīhi, liʾanna al-mākira ʾalṭafu al-mākirīna, wa-al-mudrija ʾaḥkamu al-ḥākimīna.

How very far from likely it is that the person caught in a design should recognize what has been devised against him, or that the person being led on should know what he has been drawn into! For the One who devises is the subtlest of devisers, and the One who leads on is the wisest of judges.

نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنَ الِاغْتِرَارِ بِعِلْمِ الْإِظْهَارِ، وَنَسْأَلُهُ الصَّلَاةَ عَلَى نَبِيِّهِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ، وَحُسْنَ التَّوْفِيقِ لِمُشَاهَدَةِ عِلْمِ التَّحْقِيقِ.

naʿūdhu bi-llāhi taʿālā mina al-ightirāri biʿilmi al-ʾiẓhāri, wanasʾaluhu al-ṣalāta ʿalā nabiyyihi muḥammadin waʾālihi ʾajmaʿīna, waḥusna al-tawfīqi limushāhadati ʿilmi al-taḥqīqi.

We seek refuge in God Most High from being deceived by outwardly displayed knowledge. We ask Him to bless His Prophet Muḥammad and all his family, and graciously enable us to witness the knowledge of realization.

وَبِمِثْلِ مَا قُلْنَاهُ جَاءَتِ الْآثَارُ وَكَثُرَتِ الْأَخْبَارُ: إِنَّ مَثَلَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ كَضَرَّتَيْنِ، رِضَا إِحْدَاهُمَا فِي سَخَطِ الْأُخْرَى، وَأَنَّهُمَا بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ، مَنِ اسْتَقْبَلَ أَحَدَهُمَا اسْتَدْبَرَ الْآخَرَ، وَأَنَّهُمَا بِمَنْزِلَةِ كِفَّتَيِ الْمِيزَانِ، رُجْحَانُ إِحْدَاهُمَا بِنُقْصَانِ الْأُخْرَى.

wabimithli mā qulnāhu jāʾati al-ʾāthāru wakathurati al-ʾakhbāru: ʾinna mathala al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati kaḍarratayni, riḍā ʾiḥdāhumā fī sakhaṭi al-ʾukhrā, waʾannahumā bimanzilati al-mashriqi wa-al-maghribi, mani istaqbala ʾaḥadahumā istadbara al-ʾākhara, waʾannahumā bimanzilati kiffatayi al-mīzāni, rujḥānu ʾiḥdāhumā binuqṣāni al-ʾukhrā.

Transmitted sayings and numerous reports support what we have said: this world and the next resemble two co-wives, one pleased only when the other is displeased. They are like east and west: whoever faces one turns his back on the other. They are like the two pans of a balance: one grows heavier as the other grows lighter.

وَكَانَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ: وَاللَّهِ إِنْ هُمَا إِلَّا بِمَنْزِلَةِ قَدَحَيْنِ لَكَ، مُلِئَ أَحَدُهُمَا، فَمَا هُوَ إِلَّا أَنْ تُفْرِغَ أَحَدَهُمَا فِي الْآخَرِ؛ يَعْنِي أَنَّكَ إِنِ امْتَلَأْتَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا تَفَرَّغْتَ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ، وَإِنِ امْتَلَأْتَ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ تَفَرَّغْتَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا.

wakāna ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: wa-allāhi ʾin humā ʾillā bimanzilati qadaḥayni laka, muliʾa ʾaḥaduhumā, famā huwa ʾillā ʾan tufrigha ʾaḥadahumā fī al-ʾākhari; yaʿnī ʾannaka ʾini imtalaʾta mina al-dunyā tafarraghta mina al-ʾākhirati, waʾini imtalaʾta mina al-ʾākhirati tafarraghta mina al-dunyā.

ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, used to say, “By God, they are simply like two cups of yours, one of them filled: you can only empty one into the other.” He meant that if you fill yourself with this world, you empty yourself of the next; if you fill yourself with the next, you empty yourself of this world.

وَإِنْ كَانَ لَكَ ثُلُثُ قَدَحِ الْآخِرَةِ أَدْرَكْتَ ثُلُثَيْ قَدَحِ الدُّنْيَا، وَإِنْ كَانَ لَكَ ثُلُثَا قَدَحِ الْآخِرَةِ يَكُونُ لَكَ ثُلُثُ قَدَحِ الدُّنْيَا. وَهَذَا تَمْثِيلٌ حَسَنٌ إِلَّا أَنَّ فِيهِ شِدَّةً وَتَدْقِيقًا.

waʾin kāna laka thuluthu qadaḥi al-ʾākhirati ʾadrakta thuluthay qadaḥi al-dunyā, waʾin kāna laka thuluthā qadaḥi al-ʾākhirati yakūnu laka thuluthu qadaḥi al-dunyā. wa-hādhā tamthīlun ḥasanun ʾillā ʾanna fīhi shiddatan watadqīqan.

If you have one third of a cup of the hereafter, you obtain two thirds of a cup of this world; if you have two thirds of a cup of the hereafter, you have one third of a cup of this world. This is a fine comparison, although severe and exacting.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: مَثَلُ مَنْ زَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا مَعَ التَّنَعُّمِ فِيهَا كَمَثَلِ مَنْ يَغْسِلُ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ الْغَمَرِ بِسَمَكٍ. وَقَالَ آخَرُ: مَثَلُ مَنْ زَهِدَ وَهُوَ يَطْلُبُ الدُّنْيَا مَثَلُ يُطْفِئُ النَّارَ بِالْحَلْفَاءِ.

waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: mathalu man zahida fī al-dunyā maʿa al-tanaʿʿumi fīhā kamathali man yaghsilu yadayhi mina al-ghamari bisamakin. waqāla ʾākharu: mathalu man zahida wahuwa yaṭlubu al-dunyā mathalu yuṭfiʾu al-nāra bi-al-ḥalfāʾi.

One of the early generations said, “Someone who renounces the world while luxuriating in it is like someone washing grease off his hands with fish.” Another said, “Someone who renounces while seeking the world is like [someone] putting out fire with dry grass.”

وَكَانَ بَعْضُ الزَّاهِدِينَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ يَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَيْهِمْ؛ فَكَانَ رَجَاءُ بْنُ حَيْوَةَ فَقِيهُ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ

wakāna baʿḍu al-zāhidīna min ʾahli al-shāmi yatakallamu ʿalayhim; fakāna rajāʾu bnu ḥaywata faqīhu ʾahli al-shāmi

A Syrian renunciant used to address the people, and Rajāʾ ibn Ḥaywah, the jurist of Syria,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٣٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 436

Volume One, page 436

يَحْضُرُ مَجْلِسَهُ، فَاحْتَبَسَ يَوْمًا عَنْهُمْ وَقَدِ اجْتَمَعُوا، فَتَكَلَّمَ عَلَيْهِمْ مُؤَذِّنُ الْجَامِعِ، فَأَنْكَرَ صَوْتَهُ رَجَاءُ بْنُ حَيْوَةَ فَقَالَ: مَنْ هَذَا؟ فَقَالَ: أَنَا فُلَانٌ. فَقَالَ: اُسْكُتْ عَافَاكَ اللَّهُ، إِنَّا نَكْرَهُ أَنْ نَسْمَعَ الزُّهْدَ إِلَّا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ.

yaḥḍuru majlisahu, fa-iḥtabasa yawman ʿanhum waqadi ijtamaʿū, fatakallama ʿalayhim muʾadhdhinu al-jāmiʿi, faʾankara ṣawtahu rajāʾu bnu ḥaywata faqāla: man hādhā? faqāla: ʾanā fulānun. faqāla: uskut ʿāfāka allāhu, ʾinnā nakrahu ʾan nasmaʿa al-zuhda ʾillā min ʾahlihi.

attended his gathering. One day the renunciant was delayed after they had assembled, so the congregational mosque's caller to prayer addressed them. Rajāʾ ibn Ḥaywah did not recognize his voice and asked, “Who is this?” “I am so-and-so,” he answered. Rajāʾ said, “Be quiet, God keep you well. We dislike hearing about renunciation except from its practitioners.”

وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: إِنَّا نَكْرَهُ أَنْ نَسْمَعَ الْوَعْظَ إِلَّا مِنْ أَهْلِ الزُّهْدِ. وَقَالَ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: لَا تَنْظُرُوا إِلَى أَمْوَالِ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا، فَإِنَّ بَرِيقَ أَمْوَالِهِمْ يَذْهَبُ بِنُورِ إِيمَانِكُمْ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: تَقْلِيبُ الْأَمْوَالِ يَمُصُّ حَلَاوَةَ الْإِيمَانِ.

wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: ʾinnā nakrahu ʾan nasmaʿa al-waʿẓa ʾillā min ʾahli al-zuhdi. waqāla ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: lā tanẓurū ʾilā ʾamwāli ʾahli al-dunyā, faʾinna barīqa ʾamwālihim yadhhabu binūri ʾīmānikum. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: taqlību al-ʾamwāli yamuṣṣu ḥalāwata al-ʾīmāni.

Another version says, “We dislike hearing exhortation except from those who renounce.” Jesus, peace be upon him, said, “Do not look at worldly people's possessions: their glitter takes away the light of your faith.” A scholar said, “Handling wealth sucks away the sweetness of faith.”

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ: لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عِجْلٌ، وَعِجْلُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ الدِّينَارُ وَالدِّرْهَمُ؛ وَكَانَ أَصْلُ الْعِجْلِ مِنَ الْحِلْيَةِ، وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿ابْتِغَاءَ حِلْيَةٍ أَوْ مَتَاعٍ زَبَدٌ مِثْلُهُ﴾ الرَّعْدِ: 17، فَكَانَ فَهْمُ هَذِهِ السُّنَّةِ عَنْ سَمْعِ هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ.

warawaynā fī al-khabari: likulli ʾummatin ʿijlun, waʿijlu hādhihi al-ʾummati al-dīnāru wa-al-dirhamu; wakāna ʾaṣlu al-ʿijli mina al-ḥilyati, waqāla ʿazza wajalla: ﴿ibtighāʾa ḥilyatin ʾaw matāʿin zabadun mithluhu﴾ al-raʿdi: 17, fakāna fahmu hādhihi al-sunnati ʿan samʿi hādhihi al-ʾāyati.

We have transmitted the report, “Every community has a calf, and this community's calf is the gold coin and the silver coin.” The calf originally came from jewelry. God, mighty and majestic, says, “Seeking ornaments or utensils, there is a similar froth” (al-Raʿd 13:17). Thus understanding of this prophetic teaching came through hearing this verse.

يُقَالُ: مَا مِنْ يَوْمٍ ذِي شَارِقَةٍ إِلَّا وَأَرْبَعَةُ أَمْلَاكٍ يُنَادُونَ فِي الْآفَاقِ بِأَرْبَعَةِ أَصْوَاتٍ؛ مَلَكَانِ بِالْمَشْرِقِ وَمَلَكَانِ بِالْمَغْرِبِ، يَقُولُ أَحَدُهُمَا مِنَ الْمَشْرِقِ: يَا بَاغِيَ الْخَيْرِ هَلُمَّ، وَيَا بَاغِيَ الشَّرِّ أَقْصِرْ، وَيَقُولُ الْآخَرُ: اللَّهُمَّ أَعْطِ مُنْفِقًا خَلَفًا، وَأَعْطِ مُمْسِكًا تَلَفًا.

yuqālu: mā min yawmin dhī shāriqatin ʾillā waʾarbaʿatu ʾamlākin yunādūna fī al-ʾāfāqi biʾarbaʿati ʾaṣwātin; malakāni bi-al-mashriqi wamalakāni bi-al-maghribi, yaqūlu ʾaḥaduhumā mina al-mashriqi: yā bāghiya al-khayri halumma, wayā bāghiya al-sharri ʾaqṣir, wayaqūlu al-ʾākharu: Allāhumma ʾaʿṭi munfiqan khalafan, waʾaʿṭi mumsikan talafan.

It is said that no day dawns without four angels calling out across the horizons with four voices: two in the east and two in the west. One in the east says, “Seeker of good, come forward! Seeker of evil, desist!” The other says, “God, give replacement to the one who spends, and destruction to the one who withholds!”

وَيَقُولُ أَحَدُ اللَّذَيْنِ فِي الْمَغْرِبِ: لِدُوا لِلْمَوْتِ، وَاِبْنُوا لِلْخَرَابِ، وَيَقُولُ الْآخَرُ: كُلُوا وَتَمَتَّعُوا لِطُولِ الْحِسَابِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَسَمَ الدُّنْيَا بِالْوَحْشَةِ لِيَجْعَلَ أُنْسَ الْمُطِيعِينَ بِهِ.

wayaqūlu ʾaḥadu alladhayni fī al-maghribi: lidū li-l-mawti, wa-ibnū li-l-kharābi, wayaqūlu al-ʾākharu: kulū watamattaʿū liṭūli al-ḥisābi. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: ʾinna allāha taʿālā wasama al-dunyā bi-al-waḥshati liyajʿala ʾunsa al-muṭīʿīna bihi.

One of the two in the west says, “Give birth for death, and build for ruin!” The other says, “Eat and enjoy yourselves for a long reckoning!” A scholar said, “God Most High stamped the world with loneliness so that the obedient would find their intimacy in Him.”

وَبَلَغَنَا أَنَّ مِنْ دُعَاءِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الذُّلَّ عِنْدَ النَّصَفِ مِنْ نَفْسِي، وَالزُّهْدَ فِيمَا جَاوَزَ الْكَفَافَ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ: مَا مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا وَهُوَ مَطْرُوحٌ فِي الْخَزَائِنِ إِلَّا الْفَقْرَ مَعَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، فَإِنَّهُ مَخْزُومٌ مَخْتُومٌ عَلَيْهِ، لَا يُعْطَاهُ إِلَّا مَنْ طُبِعَ بِطَابَعِ الشُّهَدَاءِ.

wabalaghanā ʾanna min duʿāʾi ʾabī bakrin al-ṣiddīqi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: Allāhumma ʾinnī ʾasʾaluka al-dhulla ʿinda al-naṣafi min nafsī, wa-al-zuhda fīmā jāwaza al-kafāfa. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: mā min shayʾin ʾillā wahuwa maṭrūḥun fī al-khazāʾini ʾillā al-faqra maʿa al-maʿrifati, faʾinnahu makhzūmun makhtūmun ʿalayhi, lā yuʿṭāhu ʾillā man ṭubiʿa biṭābaʿi al-shuhadāʾi.

We have learned that one of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq's prayers, may God be pleased with him, was, “God, I ask You for humility when exacting justice from myself, and for renunciation of whatever exceeds sufficiency.” A knower said, “Everything lies available in the storehouses except poverty joined to knowledge of God: that is secured and sealed, given only to someone stamped with the stamp of the martyrs.”

وَقَدْ يَحْتَجُّ بَعْضُ عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ بِتَفْضِيلِ الْغِنَى عَلَى الْفَقْرِ، بِتَأْوِيلِ الْخَبَرِ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿ذَلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ﴾ الْجُمُعَةِ: 4. وَهَذَا عِنْدَ أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ فِي تَدَبُّرِ الْخِطَابِ مَعْنِيٌّ بِهِ الْفُقَرَاءُ، لِأَنَّهُ قِيلَ لَهُمْ فِي أَوَّلِ الْكَلَامِ: إِنْ فَعَلْتُمْ كَذَا لَمْ يَسْبِقْكُمْ أَحَدٌ قَبْلَكُمْ، وَلَمْ يُدْرِكْكُمْ أَحَدٌ بَعْدَكُمْ.

waqad yaḥtajju baʿḍu ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā liʾanfusihim bitafḍīli al-ghinā ʿalā al-faqri, bitaʾwīli al-khabari min qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿dhālika faḍlu allāhi yuʾtīhi man yashāʾu﴾ al-jumuʿati: 4. wa-hādhā ʿinda ʾulī al-ʾalbābi fī tadabburi al-khiṭābi maʿniyyun bihi al-fuqarāʾu, liʾannahu qīla lahum fī ʾawwali al-kalāmi: ʾin faʿaltum kadhā lam yasbiqkum ʾaḥadun qablakum, walam yudrikkum ʾaḥadun baʿdakum.

Some worldly scholars argue in their own favor that wealth is preferable to poverty, interpreting the report containing the words of God Most High, “That is God's bounty; He gives it to whom He wills” (al-Jumuʿah 62:4). Those of understanding, reflecting on the address, recognize that it refers to the poor, because they were told at the start, “If you do such-and-such, no one before you will surpass you and no one after you will catch up with you.”

فَثَبَتَ هَذَا الْقَوْلُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَصَحَّ، لِأَنَّهُ مَعْصُومٌ فِي قَوْلِهِ كَمَا هُوَ مَعْصُومٌ فِي فِعْلِهِ، فَلَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَنْقُضَ أَوَّلَ الْكَلَامِ آخِرُهُ، فَمَا جَاءَ بَعْدَهُ مَحْمُولٌ عَلَيْهِ، وَلَمْ يَصْلُحْ أَنْ يَنْقَلِبَ، لِأَنَّهُ إِخْبَارٌ عَنْ شَيْءٍ فَلَا يَجُوزُ الرُّجُوعُ عَنْهُ.

fathabata hādhā al-qawlu min rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faṣaḥḥa, liʾannahu maʿṣūmun fī qawlihi kamā huwa maʿṣūmun fī fiʿlihi, falā yanbaghī ʾan yanquḍa ʾawwala al-kalāmi ʾākhiruhu, famā jāʾa baʿdahu maḥmūlun ʿalayhi, walam yaṣluḥ ʾan yanqaliba, liʾannahu ʾikhbārun ʿan shayʾin falā yajūzu al-rujūʿu ʿanhu.

This statement of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, stands firm and true, for he is protected in his words as in his deeds. The end of his speech should not overturn its beginning. What follows must be understood in light of it and cannot be reversed, since it is a statement of fact that cannot be withdrawn.

وَلَمَّا فَعَلَ الْأَغْنِيَاءُ مَا أُمِرَ بِهِ الْفُقَرَاءُ، وَقَفَ الْفُقَرَاءُ فِي نَظَرِ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِمَنْظَرِهِمْ إِلَى مَزِيدِ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمْ بِالْقَوْلِ، فَرَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِ يَسْتَفْتُونَ مِنْهُ مَا أَخْبَرَ بِهِ.

walammā faʿala al-ʾaghniyāʾu mā ʾumira bihi al-fuqarāʾu, waqafa al-fuqarāʾu fī naẓari al-rasūli ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama limanẓarihim ʾilā mazīdi al-ʾaghniyāʾi ʿalayhim bi-al-qawli, farajaʿū ʾilayhi yastaftūna minhu mā ʾakhbara bihi.

When the wealthy performed what the poor had been instructed to do, the poor hesitated over the Messenger's judgment, God bless him and grant him peace, because they saw the wealthy gaining an advantage over them through the same utterances. They returned to ask him for clarification of what he had told them.

قَالَ: لَا تَعْجَلُوا، فَإِنَّ الَّذِي قُلْتُ لَكُمْ كَمَا قُلْتُ، هُوَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ، وَأَنْتُمْ مِمَّنْ شَاءَ أَنْ يُؤْتِيَهُ فَضْلَهُ. فَصَحَّ تَأْوِيلُنَا هَذَا، وَبَطَلَ تَأْوِيلُهُمْ بِدَلِيلِ قَوْلِ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْأَوَّلِ، فَكَانَ قَوْلُهُ الثَّانِي بِالْآخِرِ مُوَاطِئًا لِقَوْلِهِ الْأَوَّلِ، وَلَمْ يُنَاقِضِ الْأَوَّلَ بِالْآخِرِ.

qāla: lā taʿjalū, faʾinna alladhī qultu lakum kamā qultu, huwa faḍlu allāhi taʿālā yuʾtīhi man yashāʾu, waʾantum mimman shāʾa ʾan yuʾtiyahu faḍlahu. faṣaḥḥa taʾwīlunā hādhā, wabaṭala taʾwīluhum bidalīli qawli al-rasūli ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-ʾawwali, fakāna qawluhu al-thānī bi-al-ʾākhiri muwāṭiʾan liqawlihi al-ʾawwali, walam yunāqiḍi al-ʾawwala bi-al-ʾākhiri.

He said, “Do not be hasty. What I told you remains as I said: it is the bounty of God Most High, which He gives to whom He wills, and you are among those to whom He has willed to give His bounty.” Our interpretation is thus sound and theirs invalidated by the first statement of the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. His second, later statement accords with his first; he did not contradict the first with the last.

كَيْفَ وَقَدْ جَاءَ دَلِيلُ مَا قُلْنَا مَكْشُوفًا فِي الْحَدِيثِ الْمُفَسَّرِ الَّذِي رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ عَنْ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: بَعَثَ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَسُولًا، فَقَالَ: إِنَّ رَسُولَ الْفُقَرَاءِ إِلَيْكَ. فَقَالَ: مَرْحَبًا بِكَ وَبِمَنْ جِئْتَ مِنْ عِنْدِهِمْ، مِنْ عِنْدِ قَوْمٍ أُحِبُّهُمْ.

kayfa waqad jāʾa dalīlu mā qulnā makshūfan fī al-ḥadīthi al-mufassari alladhī rawaynāhu ʿan zaydi bni ʾaslama ʿan ʾanasin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu, qāla: baʿatha al-fuqarāʾu ʾilā rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama rasūlan, faqāla: ʾinna rasūla al-fuqarāʾi ʾilayka. faqāla: marḥaban bika wabiman jiʾta min ʿindihim, min ʿindi qawmin ʾuḥibbuhum.

How could it be otherwise, when evidence for our interpretation appears explicitly in the explanatory report we transmitted from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Anas, may God be pleased with him? He said: The poor sent a messenger to God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, who said, “[I am] the poor people's messenger to you.” He answered, “Welcome to you and those who sent you, a people whom I love.”

قَالَ: قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، إِنَّ الْأَغْنِيَاءَ ذَهَبُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ، يَحُجُّونَ وَلَا نَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ، وَيَعْتَمِرُونَ وَلَا نَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ، وَإِذَا مَرِضُوا بَعَثُوا بِفَضْلِ أَمْوَالِهِمْ ذَخِيرَةً لَهُمْ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ

qāla: qālū: yā rasūla allāhi, ʾinna al-ʾaghniyāʾa dhahabū bi-al-jannati, yaḥujjūna walā naqdiru ʿalayhi, wayaʿtamirūna walā naqdiru ʿalayhi, waʾidhā mariḍū baʿathū bifaḍli ʾamwālihim dhakhīratan lahum. faqāla rasūlu

The man said, “They say, ‘Messenger of God, the wealthy have taken Paradise. They perform pilgrimage, which we cannot afford; they perform the lesser pilgrimage, which we cannot afford; and when they fall ill, they send ahead their surplus wealth as treasure for themselves.’” The Messenger of

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٣٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 437

Volume One, page 437

اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَبْلِغْ عَنِّي الْفُقَرَاءَ أَنَّ لِمَنْ صَبَرَ وَاحْتَسَبَ مِنْكُمْ ثَلَاثَ خِصَالٍ لَيْسَتْ لِلْأَغْنِيَاءِ: أَمَّا خَصْلَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ، فَإِنَّ فِي الْجَنَّةِ غُرَفًا يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهَا أَهْلُ الْجَنَّةِ كَمَا يَنْظُرُ أَهْلُ الْأَرْضِ إِلَى نُجُومِ السَّمَاءِ، لَا يَدْخُلُهَا إِلَّا نَبِيٌّ فَقِيرٌ أَوْ شَهِيدٌ فَقِيرٌ أَوْ مُؤْمِنٌ فَقِيرٌ.

allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾabligh ʿannī al-fuqarāʾa ʾanna liman ṣabara wa-iḥtasaba minkum thalātha khiṣālin laysat li-l-ʾaghniyāʾi: ʾammā khaṣlatun wāḥidatun, faʾinna fī al-jannati ghurafan yanẓuru ʾilayhā ʾahlu al-jannati kamā yanẓuru ʾahlu al-ʾarḍi ʾilā nujūmi al-samāʾi, lā yadkhuluhā ʾillā nabiyyun faqīrun ʾaw shahīdun faqīrun ʾaw muʾminun faqīrun.

God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Tell the poor on my behalf that whoever among you is patient and seeks God's reward has three privileges the wealthy do not have. First, there are chambers in Paradise that its inhabitants look toward as people on earth look toward the stars of heaven. Only a poor prophet, a poor martyr, or a poor believer enters them.

وَالثَّانِيَةُ: يَدْخُلُ الْفُقَرَاءُ الْجَنَّةَ قَبْلَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ بِنِصْفِ يَوْمٍ، وَهُوَ خَمْسُمِائَةِ عَامٍ. وَالثَّالِثَةُ: إِذَا قَالَ الْغَنِيُّ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، وَلَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، وَقَالَ الْفَقِيرُ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، لَمْ يَلْحَقِ الْغَنِيُّ الْفَقِيرَ، وَإِنْ أَنْفَقَ فِيهَا عَشَرَةَ آلَافِ دِرْهَمٍ، وَكَذَلِكَ أَعْمَالُ الْبِرِّ كُلُّهَا.

wa-al-thāniyatu: yadkhulu al-fuqarāʾu al-jannata qabla al-ʾaghniyāʾi biniṣfi yawmin, wahuwa khamsumiʾati ʿāmin. wa-al-thālithatu: ʾidhā qāla al-ghaniyyu: subḥāna allāhi, wa-al-ḥamdu li-llāhi, walā ʾilāha ʾillā allāhu, wa-allāhu ʾakbaru, waqāla al-faqīru mithla dhālika, lam yalḥaqi al-ghaniyyu al-faqīra, waʾin ʾanfaqa fīhā ʿasharata ʾālāfi dirhamin, wa-kadhālika ʾaʿmālu al-birri kulluhā.

“Second, the poor enter Paradise half a day before the wealthy, which is five hundred years. Third, if a rich man says, ‘Glory be to God; praise be to God; there is no god but God; God is greatest,’ and a poor man says the same, the rich man cannot catch up with the poor man even if he spends ten thousand dirhams on it. The same holds for all good deeds.”

فَرَجَعَ إِلَيْهِمْ فَقَالُوا: رَضِينَا. فَهَذَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى صِحَّةِ تَأْوِيلِنَا. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَى هَذَا مُجْمَلًا فِي الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ عَيَّاشٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ابْنِ دِينَارٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لِأَصْحَابِهِ: أَيُّ النَّاسِ خَيْرٌ؟

farajaʿa ʾilayhim faqālū: raḍīnā. fa-hādhā yadullu ʿalā ṣiḥḥati taʾwīlinā. waqad rawaynā maʿnā hādhā mujmalan fī al-khabari alladhī rawaynāhu ʿan ʾismāʿīla bni ʿayyāshin ʿan ʿabdi allāhi ibni dīnārin ʿani ibni ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā, ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla liʾaṣḥābihi: ʾayyu al-nāsi khayrun?

The messenger returned to them, and they said, “We are content.” This establishes the soundness of our interpretation. We have transmitted the same meaning in summary in a report from Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dīnār, from Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with them both: the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, asked his companions, “Who are the best people?”

قَالُوا: مُوسِرٌ مِنَ الْمَالِ يُعْطِي حَقَّ اللَّهِ فِي نَفْسِهِ وَمَالِهِ. فَقَالَ: نِعْمَ الرَّجُلُ هَذَا وَلَيْسَ بِهِ. قَالُوا: فَمَنْ خَيْرُ النَّاسِ؟ مُؤْمِنٌ فَقِيرٌ يُعْطِي جُهْدَهُ. فَذَهَبَ الْقَوْمُ إِلَى عِلْمِ الْعَقْلِ، فَرَدَّهُمُ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَى عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ.

qālū: mūsirun mina al-māli yuʿṭī ḥaqqa allāhi fī nafsihi wamālihi. faqāla: niʿma al-rajulu hādhā walaysa bihi. qālū: faman khayru al-nāsi? muʾminun faqīrun yuʿṭī juhdahu. fadhahaba al-qawmu ʾilā ʿilmi al-ʿaqli, faraddahumu al-rasūlu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾilā ʿilmi al-yaqīni.

They answered, “Someone well provided with wealth who gives God His due in his person and his wealth.” He said, “That is a good man, but he is not the one.” They asked, “Who, then, is best?” [He answered,] “A poor believer who gives all he can.” The people had turned to rational knowledge, and the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, returned them to the knowledge of certainty.

فَكَذَلِكَ مَنْ فَضَّلَ حَالَ الْغِنَى عَلَى حَالِ الْفَقْرِ، فَإِنَّهُ يَنْظُرُ فِي الْعِلْمِ بِعَيْنِ الْعَقْلِ، وَإِنَّمَا يَشْهَدُ الْآخِرَةَ وَالْحَقِيقَةَ بِعَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ. وَهَذَا نَصٌّ فِي تَفْضِيلِ حَالِ الْفَقْرِ، فَمَنْ فَضَّلَ الْغِنَى بَعْدَهُ فَقَدْ عَانَدَ السُّنَّةَ إِنْ كَانَ عَالِمًا، فَأَحْسَنُ حَالِهِ الْجَهْلُ بِالْآثَارِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ جَاهِلًا فَمَقَامُهُ فِي الْجَهْلِ أَضَرُّ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ نُطْقِهِ بِالْعِلْمِ بِهَوًى.

fa-kadhālika man faḍḍala ḥāla al-ghinā ʿalā ḥāli al-faqri, faʾinnahu yanẓuru fī al-ʿilmi biʿayni al-ʿaqli, waʾinnamā yashhadu al-ʾākhirata wa-al-ḥaqīqata biʿayni al-yaqīni. wa-hādhā naṣṣun fī tafḍīli ḥāli al-faqri, faman faḍḍala al-ghinā baʿdahu faqad ʿānada al-sunnata ʾin kāna ʿāliman, faʾaḥsanu ḥālihi al-jahlu bi-al-ʾāthāri, waʾin kāna jāhilan famaqāmuhu fī al-jahli ʾaḍarru ʿalayhi min nuṭqihi bi-al-ʿilmi bihawan.

Likewise, anyone who prefers the state of wealth to poverty looks at knowledge with reason's eye, whereas one witnesses the hereafter and reality with certainty's eye. This is an explicit statement preferring the state of poverty. Anyone who prefers wealth afterward opposes the prophetic practice if he knows it; at best, he is ignorant of the transmitted reports. If he is ignorant, his remaining in ignorance harms him more than speaking about knowledge through caprice.

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ: خَيْرُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ فُقَرَاؤُهَا، وَأَسْرَعُهَا تَضَجُّعًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ ضُعَفَاؤُهَا. وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِبِلَالٍ: اِلْقَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَقِيرًا، وَلَا تَلْقَهُ غَنِيًّا. قَالَ: وَكَيْفَ لِي بِذَلِكَ؟ قَالَ: إِذَا سُئِلْتَ فَلَا تَمْنَعْ، وَإِذَا أُعْطِيتَ فَلَا تُخَبِّئْ.

wafī al-khabari al-ʾākhari: khayru hādhihi al-ʾummati fuqarāʾuhā, waʾasraʿuhā taḍajjuʿan fī al-jannati ḍuʿafāʾuhā. waqāla ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama libilālin: ilqa allāha taʿālā faqīran, walā talqahu ghaniyyan. qāla: wakayfa lī bi-dhālika? qāla: ʾidhā suʾilta falā tamnaʿ, waʾidhā ʾuʿṭīta falā tukhabbiʾ.

Another report says, “The best of this community are its poor, and the quickest to recline in Paradise are its weak.” He, God bless him and grant him peace, told Bilāl, “Meet God Most High poor; do not meet Him rich.” “How can I do that?” Bilāl asked. He answered, “When you are asked, do not withhold; when you are given, do not store it away.”

أَفَتَرَاهُ كَانَ يَأْمُرُ بِلَالًا بِأَدْنَى الْحَالَيْنِ؟ فَكَيْفَ وَهُوَ مِنْ أَعْلَى الصَّحَابَةِ؟ فَأَشْبَهَ الْفَقْرُ فِي الْأَحْوَالِ الْيَقِينَ فِي الْإِيمَانِ، كَمَا قَالَ لِابْنِ عُمَرَ: اِعْمَلْ لِلَّهِ بِالرِّضَا وَالْيَقِينِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فَإِنَّ فِي الصَّبْرِ عَلَى مَا تَكْرَهُ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا.

ʾafatarāhu kāna yaʾmuru bilālan biʾadnā al-ḥālayni? fakayfa wahuwa min ʾaʿlā al-ṣaḥābati? faʾashbaha al-faqru fī al-ʾaḥwāli al-yaqīna fī al-ʾīmāni, kamā qāla li-ibni ʿumara: iʿmal li-llāhi bi-al-riḍā wa-al-yaqīni, faʾin lam yakun faʾinna fī al-ṣabri ʿalā mā takrahu khayran kathīran.

Do you suppose he would direct Bilāl to the lower of the two states, when he was one of the highest Companions? Poverty among spiritual states resembles certainty within faith. As he told Ibn ʿUmar, “Work for God with contentment and certainty; if that is not possible, there is much good in patience with what you dislike.”

فَرَفَعَهُ إِلَى الْيَقِينِ لِفَضْلِهِ، كَمَا رَفَعَ بِلَالًا إِلَى الْفَقْرِ لِشَرَفِهِ فِي الْأَحْوَالِ، فَلَمْ يَكُنْ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَرْضَى لِبِلَالٍ إِلَّا مَا يَرْضَاهُ لِنَفْسِهِ. فَصَارَ الْفَقْرُ حَالَ الْمُوقِنِ لِأَنَّهُ يَكْشِفُ الْآخِرَةَ، وَصَارَ الشُّكْرُ فِي الْغِنَى حَالَ الْمُؤْمِنِ لِأَنَّهُ يُوجِدُ الدُّنْيَا.

farafaʿahu ʾilā al-yaqīni lifaḍlihi, kamā rafaʿa bilālan ʾilā al-faqri lisharafihi fī al-ʾaḥwāli, falam yakun ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yarḍā libilālin ʾillā mā yarḍāhu linafsihi. faṣāra al-faqru ḥāla al-mūqini liʾannahu yakshifu al-ʾākhirata, waṣāra al-shukru fī al-ghinā ḥāla al-muʾmini liʾannahu yūjidu al-dunyā.

He raised Ibn ʿUmar to certainty because of its excellence, just as he raised Bilāl to poverty because of its nobility among the states. He would accept for Bilāl only what he accepted for himself, God bless him and grant him peace. Poverty thus became the state of one possessed of certainty, for it unveils the hereafter; gratitude amid wealth became the state of a believer, for it brings this world into his possession.

فَفَضْلُ الْفَقِيرِ الزَّاهِدِ عَلَى الْغَنِيِّ الشَّاكِرِ كَفَضْلِ الْمُوقِنِ الشَّاهِدِ عَلَى الْمُوقِنِ الْمُجَاهِدِ. وَكَذَلِكَ رَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ عَطَاءٍ عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: اللَّهُمَّ تَوَفَّنِي فَقِيرًا وَلَا تَوَفَّنِي غَنِيًّا.

fafaḍlu al-faqīri al-zāhidi ʿalā al-ghaniyyi al-shākiri kafaḍli al-mūqini al-shāhidi ʿalā al-mūqini al-mujāhidi. wa-kadhālika rawaynā fī ḥadīthi ʿaṭāʾin ʿan ʾabī saʿīdin al-khudriyyi ʾanna rasūla allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaqūlu: Allāhumma tawaffanī faqīran walā tawaffanī ghaniyyan.

The poor renunciant's superiority over the grateful rich man is like that of one possessed of certainty who witnesses over one possessed of certainty who struggles. We likewise transmitted in ʿAṭāʾ's report from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī that God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “God, cause me to die poor; do not cause me to die rich.”

وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِيَأْمُرَ بِلَالًا بِأَدْنَى الْحَالَيْنِ فَيَقُولَ: اِلْقَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَقِيرًا، كَمَا لَمْ يَنْدُبِ ابْنَ عُمَرَ إِلَى أَخْفَضِ الْمَقَامَيْنِ لِقَوْلِهِ: اِعْمَلْ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالرِّضَا فِي الْيَقِينِ.

walam yakun liyaʾmura bilālan biʾadnā al-ḥālayni fayaqūla: ilqa allāha taʿālā faqīran, kamā lam yandubi ibna ʿumara ʾilā ʾakhfaḍi al-maqāmayni liqawlihi: iʿmal li-llāhi taʿālā bi-al-riḍā fī al-yaqīni.

He would not direct Bilāl to the lower of the two states by saying, “Meet God Most High poor,” just as he would not summon Ibn ʿUmar to the lower station by saying, “Work for God Most High with contentment in certainty.”

وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ الَّذِي دَعَا فِيهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِنَفْسِهِ أَنْ يُحْيِيَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِسْكِينًا وَيَتَوَفَّاهُ مِسْكِينًا وَيَحْشُرَهُ فِي زُمْرَةِ الْمَسَاكِينِ. كُلُّ ذَلِكَ لِتَفْضِيلِ الْفَقْرِ وَتَشْرِيفِ الْفُقَرَاءِ، مَعَ قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: يَدْخُلُ فُقَرَاءُ أُمَّتِي الْجَنَّةَ قَبْلَ أَغْنِيَائِهِمْ بِنِصْفِ يَوْمٍ، يَعْنِي خَمْسَمِائَةِ عَامٍ.

wa-kadhālika jāʾa fī al-khabari al-mashhūri alladhī daʿā fīhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama linafsihi ʾan yuḥyiyahu allāhu taʿālā miskīnan wayatawaffāhu miskīnan wayaḥshurahu fī zumrati al-masākīni. kullu dhālika litafḍīli al-faqri watashrīfi al-fuqarāʾi, maʿa qawlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: yadkhulu fuqarāʾu ʾummatī al-jannata qabla ʾaghniyāʾihim biniṣfi yawmin, yaʿnī khamsamiʾati ʿāmin.

The well-known report likewise contains his prayer, God bless him and grant him peace, that God Most High let him live needy, die needy, and be raised among the needy. All this establishes poverty's superiority and the honor of the poor, together with his saying, God bless him and grant him peace, “The poor of my community enter Paradise half a day before their rich,” meaning five hundred years.

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: إِنِّي لَأُحِبُّ الْمَسْكَنَةَ وَأُبْغِضُ الْمَالَ لِلْغَنِيِّ، وَإِنَّ فِي الْمَالِ دَاءً كَثِيرًا. قِيلَ: يَا رُوحَ اللَّهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ يَكْتَسِبُهُ مِنْ حَلَالٍ؟ قَالَ: يَشْغَلُهُ كَسْبُهُ عَنْ ذِكْرِ

warawaynā ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾannahu qāla: ʾinnī laʾuḥibbu al-maskanata waʾubghiḍu al-māla li-l-ghaniyyi, waʾinna fī al-māli dāʾan kathīran. qīla: yā rūḥa allāhi, waʾin kāna yaktasibuhu min ḥalālin? qāla: yashghaluhu kasbuhu ʿan dhikri

We have transmitted from Jesus, peace be upon him, that he said, “I love neediness and dislike wealth for the rich, for wealth contains much disease.” Someone asked, “Spirit of God, even if one earns it lawfully?” He answered, “Earning it distracts him from remembering

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٣٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 438

Volume One, page 438

اللَّهِ تَعَالَى. قَالَ وَهْبُ بْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ لِابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: إِنَّا نَجِدُ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ أَنَّ الْفَقِيرَ الْمُصْلِحَ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْغَنِيِّ الْمُصْلِحِ. قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّهُ لَا شَيْءَ أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنَ الْفَقِيرِ إِذَا كَانَ صَالِحًا؟

allāhi taʿālā. qāla wahbu bnu munabbihin li-ibni ʿabbāsin: ʾinnā najidu fī al-tawrāti ʾanna al-faqīra al-muṣliḥa khayrun mina al-ghaniyyi al-muṣliḥi. qāla ibnu ʿabbāsin: ʾamā ʿalimta ʾannahu lā shayʾa ʾaḥabbu ʾilā allāhi taʿālā mina al-faqīri ʾidhā kāna ṣāliḥan?

God Most High.” Wahb ibn Munabbih said to Ibn ʿAbbās, “We find in the Torah that a poor person who does good is better than a rich person who does good.” Ibn ʿAbbās said, “Do you not know that nothing is dearer to God Most High than a poor person who is righteous?”

وَقِيلَ: كَانَ أَحَبُّ الْأَسْمَاءِ إِلَى عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنْ يُدْعَى بِهِ أَنْ يُقَالَ لَهُ: يَا مِسْكِينُ. وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: مِنْ شَرِّ الْغِنَى أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ يَعْصِي لِيَسْتَغْنِيَ، وَلَا يَعْصِي لِيَفْتَقِرَ.

waqīla: kāna ʾaḥabbu al-ʾasmāʾi ʾilā ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾan yudʿā bihi ʾan yuqāla lahu: yā miskīnu. wakāna yaqūlu: min sharri al-ghinā ʾanna al-ʿabda yaʿṣī liyastaghniya, walā yaʿṣī liyaftaqira.

It is said that Jesus's favorite name to be addressed by, peace be upon him, was “needy one.” He used to say, “One evil of wealth is that a servant disobeys to become rich, but does not disobey to become poor.”

وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ حُكَمَائِنَا فِي كَلَامٍ مَنْظُومٍ: يَا عَائِبًا لِلْفَقْرِ تَبْغِي الْغِنَى ... عَيْبُ الْغِنَى أَعْظَمُ لَوْ تَعْتَبِرْ. إِنَّكَ تَعْصِي لِتَنَالَ الْغِنَى ... وَلَسْتَ تَعْصِي اللَّهَ كَيْ تَفْتَقِرْ.

waqad qāla baʿḍu ḥukamāʾinā fī kalāmin manẓūmin: yā ʿāʾiban li-l-faqri tabghī al-ghinā ... ʿaybu al-ghinā ʾaʿẓamu law taʿtabir. ʾinnaka taʿṣī litanāla al-ghinā ... walasta taʿṣī allāha kay taftaqir.

One of our sages expressed this in verse: You who fault poverty and seek wealth, / Wealth's fault is greater, if you reflect. / You disobey to obtain wealth; / You do not disobey God to become poor.

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ عَطَاءٍ عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، لَا تَحْمِلَنَّكُمُ الْعُسْرَةُ وَالْفَاقَةُ عَلَى أَنْ تَطْلُبُوا الرِّزْقَ مِنْ غَيْرِ حِلِّهِ، فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: اللَّهُمَّ تَوَفَّنِي فَقِيرًا وَلَا تَوَفَّنِي غَنِيًّا، وَاُحْشُرْنِي فِي زُمْرَةِ الْمَسَاكِينِ.

warawaynā fī ḥadīthi ʿaṭāʾin ʿan ʾabī saʿīdin al-khudriyyi: yā ʾayyuhā al-nāsu, lā taḥmilannakumu al-ʿusratu wa-al-fāqatu ʿalā ʾan taṭlubū al-rizqa min ghayri ḥillihi, faʾinnī samiʿtu rasūla allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaqūlu: Allāhumma tawaffanī faqīran walā tawaffanī ghaniyyan, wa-uḥshurnī fī zumrati al-masākīni.

We have transmitted in ʿAṭāʾ's report from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī: “People, do not let hardship and need drive you to seek provision unlawfully, for I heard God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘God, cause me to die poor; do not cause me to die rich, and raise me among the needy.’”

وَقَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ: يَا بُنَيَّ، إِنَّ مِنْ أَعْوَنِ الْأَخْلَاقِ عَلَى صَلَاحِ الدِّينِ زُهْدًا فِي الدُّنْيَا؛ مَنْ يَزْهَدْ فِي الدُّنْيَا يَرْغَبْ فِيمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمَنْ يَرْغَبْ فِيمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى يَعْمَلْ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى يَأْجُرْهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى.

waqāla luqmānu li-ibnihi: yā bunayya, ʾinna min ʾaʿwani al-ʾakhlāqi ʿalā ṣalāḥi al-dīni zuhdan fī al-dunyā; man yazhad fī al-dunyā yarghab fīmā ʿinda allāhi taʿālā, waman yarghab fīmā ʿinda allāhi taʿālā yaʿmal li-llāhi taʿālā, waman yaʿmal li-llāhi taʿālā yaʾjurhu allāhu taʿālā.

Luqmān told his son, “My son, among the qualities most helpful to sound religion is renunciation of this world. Whoever renounces this world desires what is with God Most High; whoever desires what is with God Most High works for God Most High, and whoever works for God Most High receives the reward of God Most High.”

وَقَالَ الْحَوَارِيُّونَ: يَا رُوحَ اللَّهِ، نَحْنُ نُصَلِّي كَمَا تُصَلِّي، وَنَصُومُ كَمَا تَصُومُ، وَنَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى كَمَا أَمَرْتَنَا، وَلَا نَقْدِرُ نَمْشِي عَلَى الْمَاءِ كَمَا تَمْشِي أَنْتَ. فَقَالَ: أَخْبِرُونِي كَيْفَ حُبُّكُمْ لِلدُّنْيَا؟ قَالُوا: إِنَّا لَنُحِبُّهَا. فَقَالَ: إِنَّ حُبَّهَا يُفْسِدُ الدِّينَ، لَكِنَّهَا عِنْدِي بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْحَجَرِ وَالْمَدَرِ.

waqāla al-ḥawāriyyūna: yā rūḥa allāhi, naḥnu nuṣallī kamā tuṣallī, wanaṣūmu kamā taṣūmu, wanadhkuru allāha taʿālā kamā ʾamartanā, walā naqdiru namshī ʿalā al-māʾi kamā tamshī ʾanta. faqāla: ʾakhbirūnī kayfa ḥubbukum li-l-dunyā? qālū: ʾinnā lanuḥibbuhā. faqāla: ʾinna ḥubbahā yufsidu al-dīna, lākinnahā ʿindī bimanzilati al-ḥajari wa-al-madari.

The disciples said, “Spirit of God, we pray as you pray, fast as you fast, and remember God Most High as you instructed us, but we cannot walk on water as you do.” He said, “Tell me, how do you love the world?” They answered, “We do indeed love it.” He said, “Loving it corrupts religion, but to me it is like stones and clods of earth.”

وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ: إِنَّهُ رَفَعَ حَجَرًا فَقَالَ: أَيُّهُمَا أَحَبُّ إِلَيْكُمْ، هَذَا أَوِ الدِّينَارُ وَالدِّرْهَمُ؟ قَالُوا: الدِّينَارُ. قَالَ: فَإِنَّهُمَا عِنْدِي سَوَاءٌ. وَيُقَالُ إِنَّ مَنْ صَحَّ زُهْدُهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَتَّى يَسْتَوِيَ عِنْدَهُ الذَّهَبُ وَالْحَجَرُ مَشَى عَلَى الْمَاءِ.

wafī khabarin ʾākhara: ʾinnahu rafaʿa ḥajaran faqāla: ʾayyuhumā ʾaḥabbu ʾilaykum, hādhā ʾawi al-dīnāru wa-al-dirhamu? qālū: al-dīnāru. qāla: faʾinnahumā ʿindī sawāʾun. wayuqālu ʾinna man ṣaḥḥa zuhduhu fī al-dunyā ḥattā yastawiya ʿindahu al-dhahabu wa-al-ḥajaru mashā ʿalā al-māʾi.

Another report says that he lifted a stone and asked, “Which is dearer to you: this, or gold and silver coins?” They answered, “The gold coin.” He said, “They are the same to me.” It is said that anyone whose renunciation of the world is genuine, so that gold and stone become equal in his sight, walks on water.

وَقَدِ اشْتَهَرَ ذَلِكَ فِي الْعَامَّةِ حَتَّى قَالَ الشَّاعِرُ: لَوْ كَانَ زُهْدُكَ فِي الدُّنْيَا كَزُهْدِكَ فِي ... وَصْلِي مَشَيْتَ بِلَا شَكٍّ عَلَى الْمَاءِ.

waqadi ishtahara dhālika fī al-ʿāmmati ḥattā qāla al-shāʿiru: law kāna zuhduka fī al-dunyā kazuhdika fī ... waṣlī mashayta bilā shakkin ʿalā al-māʾi.

This became so widely known that the poet said: If you renounced the world as you renounce / Union with me, you would surely walk on water.

وَرَوَيْنَا أَنَّ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ مَرَّ فِي سِيَاحَتِهِ بِرَجُلٍ نَائِمٍ مُلْتَفٍّ فِي عَبَاءَةٍ، فَأَيْقَظَهُ وَقَالَ: قُمْ يَا نَائِمُ فَاُذْكُرِ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى. فَقَالَ: مَا تُرِيدُ مِنِّي؟ إِنِّي قَدْ تَرَكْتُ الدُّنْيَا لِأَهْلِهَا. فَقَالَ لَهُ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: نَمْ حَبِيبِي، إِذًا نَمْ.

warawaynā ʾanna ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu marra fī siyāḥatihi birajulin nāʾimin multaffin fī ʿabāʾatin, faʾayqaẓahu waqāla: qum yā nāʾimu fa-udhkuri allāha taʿālā. faqāla: mā turīdu minnī? ʾinnī qad taraktu al-dunyā liʾahlihā. faqāla lahu ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: nam ḥabībī, ʾidhan nam.

We have transmitted that Jesus, peace be upon him, encountered a man asleep, wrapped in a cloak, during his wanderings. He woke him and said, “Get up, sleeper, and remember God Most High.” The man answered, “What do you want from me? I have left the world to its people.” Jesus, peace be upon him, said to him, “Sleep, my dear friend; sleep, then.”

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَّهُ مَرَّ بِرَجُلٍ نَائِمٍ عَلَى التُّرَابِ، وَتَحْتَ رَأْسِهِ لَبِنَةٌ، وَوَجْهُهُ وَلِحْيَتُهُ فِي التُّرَابِ، وَهُوَ مُتَّزِرٌ بِشَمَلِ عَبَاءَةٍ، فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ، عَبْدُكَ هَذَا فِي الدُّنْيَا ضَائِعٌ. فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ: يَا مُوسَى، أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنِّي إِذَا نَظَرْتُ إِلَى عَبْدِي بِوَجْهِي كُلِّهِ زَوَيْتُ عَنْهُ الدُّنْيَا كُلَّهَا؟

warawaynā ʿan mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾannahu marra birajulin nāʾimin ʿalā al-turābi, wataḥta raʾsihi labinatun, wawajhuhu waliḥyatuhu fī al-turābi, wahuwa muttazirun bishamali ʿabāʾatin, faqāla: yā rabbi, ʿabduka hādhā fī al-dunyā ḍāʾiʿun. faʾawḥā allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi: yā mūsā, ʾamā ʿalimta ʾannī ʾidhā naẓartu ʾilā ʿabdī biwajhī kullihi zawaytu ʿanhu al-dunyā kullahā?

We have transmitted that Moses, peace be upon him, passed a man sleeping on the ground with a brick beneath his head, his face and beard in the dust, and a worn cloak wrapped around his waist. He said, “My Lord, this servant of Yours is destitute in this world.” God Most High revealed to him, “Moses, do you not know that when I turn My whole face toward My servant, I withdraw the whole world from him?”

وَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى إِلَى نَبِيِّهِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: اُطْلُبْنِي عِنْدَ الْمُنْكَسِرَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ. قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ، وَمَنْ هُمْ؟ قَالَ: الْفُقَرَاءُ الصَّادِقُونَ. فَهَذَا كَأَنَّهُ مُفَسِّرٌ لِخَبَرِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي وَقَوْلِهِ: أَيْنَ أَجِدُكَ؟ قَالَ: عِنْدَ الْمُنْكَسِرَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ.

waʾawḥā allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾilā nabiyyihi ʾismāʿīla ʿalayhi al-salāmu: uṭlubnī ʿinda al-munkasirati qulūbuhum. qāla: yā rabbi, waman hum? qāla: al-fuqarāʾu al-ṣādiqūna. fa-hādhā kaʾannahu mufassirun likhabari mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu fī waqawlihi: ʾayna ʾajiduka? qāla: ʿinda al-munkasirati qulūbuhum.

God, glorified and exalted, revealed to His prophet Ishmael, peace be upon him, “Seek Me among those whose hearts are broken.” He asked, “My Lord, who are they?” He answered, “The truthful poor.” This seems to explain the report of Moses, peace be upon him, and his question, “Where shall I find You?” He answered, “Among those whose hearts are broken.”

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٣٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 439

Volume One, page 439

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَطَاءٍ، وَهُوَ مِنَ الْمُتَأَخِّرِينَ، يُفَضِّلُ حَالَ الْغِنَى عَلَى الْفَقْرِ لِشُبْهَةٍ دَخَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ؛ وَهُوَ أَنَّ بَعْضَ الشُّيُوخِ سَأَلَهُ عَنِ الْوَصْفَيْنِ أَيُّهُمَا أَفْضَلُ؟ قَالَ: الْغَنِيُّ، لِأَنَّهُ صِفَةُ الْحَقِّ. فَقَالَ لَهُ الشَّيْخُ: فَاللَّهُ غَنِيٌّ بِالْأَعْرَاضِ وَالْأَسْبَابِ؟ فَانْقَطَعَ وَلَمْ يَنْطِقْ بِحَرْفٍ.

waqad kāna ʾaḥmadu bnu ʿaṭāʾin, wahuwa mina al-mutaʾakhkhirīna, yufaḍḍilu ḥāla al-ghinā ʿalā al-faqri lishubhatin dakhalat ʿalayhi; wahuwa ʾanna baʿḍa al-shuyūkhi saʾalahu ʿani al-waṣfayni ʾayyuhumā ʾafḍalu? qāla: al-ghaniyyu, liʾannahu ṣifatu al-ḥaqqi. faqāla lahu al-shaykhu: fa-allāhu ghaniyyun bi-al-ʾaʿrāḍi wa-al-ʾasbābi? fa-inqaṭaʿa walam yanṭiq biḥarfin.

Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭāʾ, one of the later masters, preferred the state of wealth to poverty because of a misconception that had occurred to him. A shaykh asked which of the two conditions was better. He answered, “The rich person, because self-sufficiency is an attribute of the Real.” The shaykh replied, “Then is God self-sufficient through contingent properties and external means?” He was silenced and did not utter a word.

وَهَذَا كَمَا قَالَ الشَّيْخُ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى غَنِيٌّ بِوَصْفِهِ؛ فَالْفَقِيرُ أَحَقُّ بِهَذَا الْمَعْنَى، لِأَنَّهُ غَنِيٌّ بِوَصْفِهِ بِالْإِيمَانِ لَا بِالْأَسْبَابِ، لِانْفِرَادِهَا عَنْهُ، فَهُوَ الْأَفْضَلُ. فَأَمَّا الْغَنِيُّ فَإِنَّهُ مُشَتَّتٌ مُجْتَمِعٌ بِالْأَسْبَابِ، فَهُوَ مَفْضُولٌ بِالِارْتِيَابِ.

wa-hādhā kamā qāla al-shaykhu, liʾanna allāha taʿālā ghaniyyun biwaṣfihi; fa-al-faqīru ʾaḥaqqu bi-hādhā al-maʿnā, liʾannahu ghaniyyun biwaṣfihi bi-al-ʾīmāni lā bi-al-ʾasbābi, li-infirādihā ʿanhu, fahuwa al-ʾafḍalu. faʾammā al-ghaniyyu faʾinnahu mushattatun mujtamiʿun bi-al-ʾasbābi, fahuwa mafḍūlun bi-al-irtiyābi.

The shaykh was right, for God Most High is self-sufficient by His own attribute. The poor person has a stronger claim to this meaning, because he is rich through his own quality of faith, rather than through external means, which are absent from him; he is therefore superior. The rich person, by contrast, is scattered, held together by external means, and rendered inferior by uncertainty.

وَقَدْ خَالَفَهُ الْخَوَّاصُ فَوُفِّقَ لِلصَّوَابِ، وَكَانَ فَوْقَهُ فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ، فَقَالَ فِي كِتَابِ شَرَفِ الْفَقْرِ: وَالْفَقْرُ صِفَةُ الْحَقِّ، أَيْ صِفَةٌ مِنْهُ يَصِفُ بِهِ الْفُقَرَاءَ، فَوَافَقَنَا فِي التَّأْوِيلِ؛ يَعْنِي أَنَّهُ تَعَالَى مُتَخَلٍّ عَنِ الْأَشْيَاءِ مُنْفَرِدٌ عَنْهَا.

waqad khālafahu al-khawwāṣu fawuffiqa li-l-ṣawābi, wakāna fawqahu fī al-maʿrifati, faqāla fī kitābi sharafi al-faqri: wa-al-faqru ṣifatu al-ḥaqqi, ʾay ṣifatun minhu yaṣifu bihi al-fuqarāʾa, fawāfaqanā fī al-taʾwīli; yaʿnī ʾannahu taʿālā mutakhallin ʿani al-ʾashyāʾi munfaridun ʿanhā.

Al-Khawwāṣ disagreed with him and was guided to the correct view; he surpassed him in knowledge of God. In The Nobility of Poverty he said, “Poverty is an attribute of the Real,” meaning an attribute proceeding from Him with which He characterizes the poor. He therefore agrees with our interpretation: God Most High is free of things and apart from them.

وَوَجْهٌ آخَرُ مِنَ الْغَلَطِ الَّذِي دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ جِهَةِ الْغِنَى الَّذِي ذَكَرَهُ، لِأَنَّهُ إِنْ كَانَ فَضَّلَ الْغِنَى عَلَى الْفَقْرِ لِأَنَّهُ صِفَةُ الْحَقِّ، فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُفَضِّلَ الْمُتَكَبِّرَ الْجَبَّارَ وَمَنْ أَحَبَّ الْمَدْحَ وَالْعِزَّ وَالْحَمْدَ، لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ كُلَّهُ صِفَةُ الْحَقِّ.

wawajhun ʾākharu mina al-ghalaṭi alladhī dakhala ʿalayhi min jihati al-ghinā alladhī dhakarahu, liʾannahu ʾin kāna faḍḍala al-ghinā ʿalā al-faqri liʾannahu ṣifatu al-ḥaqqi, fayanbaghī ʾan yufaḍḍila al-mutakabbira al-jabbāra waman ʾaḥabba al-madḥa wa-al-ʿizza wa-al-ḥamda, liʾanna dhālika kullahu ṣifatu al-ḥaqqi.

There is another aspect to his mistake concerning the wealth he mentioned. If he prefers wealth to poverty because it is an attribute of the Real, he should also prefer the arrogant tyrant and anyone who loves praise, might, and acclaim, for all these are attributes of the Real.

فَمَا أَجْمَعَ أَهْلُ الْقِبْلَةِ عَلَى ذَمِّ مَنْ كَانَ هَذَا وَصْفَهُ، كَانَ مَنْ وَصْفُهُ الْغِنَى فِي مَعْنَاهُ، لِأَنَّ وَصْفَ الْغِنَى صِفَةَ الْحَقِّ مُقْتَرِنٌ بِالْعِزِّ وَالْكِبْرِ، وَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُسَلِّمَ صِفَاتِ الْحَقِّ لِلْحَقِّ وَلَا يُنَازِعَ إِيَّاهَا وَلَا يُشَارِكَ فِيهَا.

famā ʾajmaʿa ʾahlu al-qiblati ʿalā dhammi man kāna hādhā waṣfahu, kāna man waṣfuhu al-ghinā fī maʿnāhu, liʾanna waṣfa al-ghinā ṣifata al-ḥaqqi muqtarinun bi-al-ʿizzi wa-al-kibri, wayanbaghī ʾan yusallima ṣifāti al-ḥaqqi li-l-ḥaqqi walā yunāziʿa ʾiyyāhā walā yushārika fīhā.

Since the people who face the qiblah unanimously condemn anyone characterized in this way, someone characterized by wealth falls under the same judgment: the attribute of self-sufficiency belonging to the Real is joined to might and greatness. One should leave the Real's attributes to the Real, neither contesting them with Him nor claiming a share in them.

فَبَطَلَ قَوْلُ ابْنِ عَطَاءٍ لِصِحَّةِ قَوْلِ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: الْعِزُّ إِزَارِي وَالْكِبْرِيَاءُ رِدَائِي، مَنْ نَازَعَنِي أَحَدَهُمَا قَصَمْتُهُ فِي النَّارِ.

fabaṭala qawlu ibni ʿaṭāʾin liṣiḥḥati qawli al-rasūli ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: yaqūlu allāhu taʿālā: al-ʿizzu ʾizārī wa-al-kibriyāʾu ridāʾī, man nāzaʿanī ʾaḥadahumā qaṣamtuhu fī al-nāri.

Ibn ʿAṭāʾ's position is invalidated by the truth of the Messenger's saying, God bless him and grant him peace: “God Most High says, ‘Might is My waist-wrapper and grandeur My cloak. Whoever contests either with Me, I shall crush in the Fire.’”

وَقَدْ خَالَفَهُ أَيْضًا وَوَافَقَنَا مَنْ لَا يَشُكُّ الْخَاصُّ وَالْعَامُّ فِي فَضْلِ مَعْرِفَتِهِ عَلَيْهِ، أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، فَقَالَ: مَنْ أَحَبَّ الْغِنَى وَالْبَقَاءَ وَالْعِزَّ فَقَدْ نَازَعَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى صِفَاتِهِ، وَهَذِهِ صِفَاتُ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ يُخَافُ عَلَيْهِ الْهَلَكَةُ.

waqad khālafahu ʾayḍan wawāfaqanā man lā yashukku al-khāṣṣu wa-al-ʿāmmu fī faḍli maʿrifatihi ʿalayhi, ʾabū muḥammadin sahlu bnu ʿabdi allāhi, faqāla: man ʾaḥabba al-ghinā wa-al-baqāʾa wa-al-ʿizza faqad nāzaʿa allāha taʿālā ṣifātihi, wa-hādhihi ṣifātu al-rubūbiyyati yukhāfu ʿalayhi al-halakatu.

Abū Muḥammad Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh also disagreed with him and agreed with us; neither the elite nor ordinary people doubt his superiority in knowledge of God. He said, “Whoever loves wealth, continued existence, and might has contested the attributes of God Most High with Him. These are attributes of lordship, and one fears destruction for such a person.”

فَإِذَا ثَبَتَ ذَلِكَ كَانَ الْفَقْرُ أَفْضَلَ، لِأَنَّهُ وَصْفُ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ، فَمَنْ جَعَلَهُ وَصْفَهُ فَقَدْ تَحَقَّقَ بِالْعُبُودِيَّةِ. وَأَوْصَافُ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ هِيَ أَخْلَاقُ الْإِيمَانِ، وَهِيَ الَّتِي أَحَبَّهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، مِثْلُ الْخَوْفِ وَالذُّلِّ وَالتَّوَاضُعِ، وَالْفَقْرُ مُضَافٌ إِلَيْهَا.

faʾidhā thabata dhālika kāna al-faqru ʾafḍala, liʾannahu waṣfu al-ʿubūdiyyati, faman jaʿalahu waṣfahu faqad taḥaqqaqa bi-al-ʿubūdiyyati. waʾawṣāfu al-ʿubūdiyyati hiya ʾakhlāqu al-ʾīmāni, wahiya allatī ʾaḥabbahā allāhu taʿālā mina al-muʾminīna, mithlu al-khawfi wa-al-dhulli wa-al-tawāḍuʿi, wa-al-faqru muḍāfun ʾilayhā.

Once this is established, poverty is superior because it is a quality of servanthood. Whoever makes it his quality has realized servanthood. The qualities of servanthood are the traits of faith that God Most High loves in believers, such as fear, lowliness, and humility; poverty belongs with them.

وَأَوْصَافُ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ ابْتَلَى بِهِ قُلُوبَ أَعْدَائِهِ الْجَبَّارِينَ وَالْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ، مِثْلُ الْعِزِّ وَالْكِبْرِ وَالْبَقَاءِ، وَالْغِنَى مَضْمُومٌ إِلَيْهَا. وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: مَا رَأَيْتُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى جَعَلَ الْبَقَاءَ إِلَّا لِأَبْغَضِ خَلْقِهِ إِلَيْهِ وَهُوَ إِبْلِيسُ.

waʾawṣāfu al-rubūbiyyati ibtalā bihi qulūba ʾaʿdāʾihi al-jabbārīna wa-al-mutakabbirīna, mithlu al-ʿizzi wa-al-kibri wa-al-baqāʾi, wa-al-ghinā maḍmūmun ʾilayhā. wakāna al-ḥasanu raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: mā raʾaytu allāha taʿālā jaʿala al-baqāʾa ʾillā liʾabghaḍi khalqihi ʾilayhi wahuwa ʾiblīsu.

With the qualities of lordship He has tested the hearts of His tyrannical and arrogant enemies: qualities such as might, greatness, and continued existence; wealth is joined to them. Al-Ḥasan, may God have mercy on him, used to say, “I have seen God Most High grant long continued existence only to the creature most hateful to Him: Iblīs.”

وَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ الْعُلَمَاءُ يَقُولُونَ: لَا تَرْغَبُوا فِي الْبَقَاءِ فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا، فَإِنَّ شِرَارَ الْخَلْقِ أَطْوَلُهُمْ بَقَاءً وَهُمُ الشَّيَاطِينُ، وَالْغِنَى إِنَّمَا يُرَادُ لِلْبَقَاءِ. وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ الْجُنَيْدَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَاهَلَ ابْنَ عَطَاءٍ فِي هَذِهِ الْمَسْأَلَةِ وَدَعَا عَلَيْهِ، لِأَنَّهُ أَنْكَرَ قَوْلَهُ أَشَدَّ الْإِنْكَارِ.

wa-kadhālika kāna al-ʿulamāʾu yaqūlūna: lā targhabū fī al-baqāʾi fī hādhihi al-dunyā, faʾinna shirāra al-khalqi ʾaṭwaluhum baqāʾan wahumu al-shayāṭīnu, wa-al-ghinā ʾinnamā yurādu li-l-baqāʾi. wayuqālu: ʾinna al-junayda raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā bāhala ibna ʿaṭāʾin fī hādhihi al-masʾalati wadaʿā ʿalayhi, liʾannahu ʾankara qawlahu ʾashadda al-ʾinkāri.

The scholars likewise used to say, “Do not desire to remain in this world: the worst creatures remain longest, namely the devils; wealth is sought only to sustain continued existence.” It is said that al-Junayd, may God Most High have mercy on him, challenged Ibn ʿAṭāʾ to a mutual imprecation over this issue and prayed against him, so strongly did he reject his position.

وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: الْفَقِيرُ الصَّابِرُ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْغَنِيِّ الشَّاكِرِ، وَإِنْ تَسَاوَيَا فِي الْقِيَامِ بِحُكْمِ حَالِهِمَا، لِأَنَّ الْغَنِيَّ التَّقِيَّ يُمَتِّعُ نَفْسَهُ وَيُنَعِّمُ صِفَتَهُ، وَالْفَقِيرُ الصَّابِرُ قَدْ أَدْخَلَ عَلَى صِفَتِهِ الْآلَامَ وَالْمَكَارِهَ فَقَدْ زَادَ عَلَيْهِ بِذَلِكَ، وَهَذَا كَمَا قَالَ.

wakāna yaqūlu: al-faqīru al-ṣābiru ʾafḍalu mina al-ghaniyyi al-shākiri, waʾin tasāwayā fī al-qiyāmi biḥukmi ḥālihimā, liʾanna al-ghaniyya al-taqiyya yumattiʿu nafsahu wayunaʿʿimu ṣifatahu, wa-al-faqīru al-ṣābiru qad ʾadkhala ʿalā ṣifatihi al-ʾālāma wa-al-makāriha faqad zāda ʿalayhi bi-dhālika, wa-hādhā kamā qāla.

He used to say, “The patient poor person is superior to the grateful rich person, even if they are equal in fulfilling their respective states' requirements. The devout rich person gives himself enjoyment and makes his condition comfortable, while the patient poor person has admitted pains and hardships into his condition and has surpassed him in that respect.” This is just as he said.

وَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ يَقُولُ: مَا أَعْدِلُ بِالْفَقْرِ شَيْئًا. وَكَانَ يُفَضِّلُ حَالَ الْفَقْرِ، يُعَظِّمُ شَأْنَ الْفَقِيرِ الصَّابِرِ. وَقَالَ الْمَرْوَزِيُّ: وَذَكَرَ بَعْضَ الْفُقَرَاءِ فَجَعَلَ يُمَجِّدُهُ وَيُكْثِرُ السُّؤَالَ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: فَقُلْتُ لَهُ:

wa-kadhālika kāna ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin yaqūlu: mā ʾaʿdilu bi-al-faqri shayʾan. wakāna yufaḍḍilu ḥāla al-faqri, yuʿaẓẓimu shaʾna al-faqīri al-ṣābiri. waqāla al-marwaziyyu: wadhakara baʿḍa al-fuqarāʾi fajaʿala yumajjiduhu wayukthiru al-suʾāla ʿanhu, qāla: faqultu lahu:

Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal likewise used to say, “I consider nothing equal to poverty.” He preferred the state of poverty and held the patient poor person in great esteem. Al-Marwazī said, “He mentioned a certain poor man, extolling him and asking much about him. I said to him,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٤٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 440

Volume One, page 440

يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى عِلْمٍ. فَقَالَ: وَيْحَكَ اُسْكُتْ، صَبْرُهُ عَلَى الْفَقْرِ وَمُقَاسَاتُهُ لِلضُّرِّ فِيهِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: هَؤُلَاءِ خَيْرٌ مِنَّا بِكَثِيرٍ.

yaḥtāju ʾilā ʿilmin. faqāla: wayḥaka uskut, ṣabruhu ʿalā al-faqri wamuqāsātuhu li-l-ḍurri fīhi khayrun min kathīrin mina al-ʿilmi. thumma qāla: hāʾulāʾi khayrun minnā bikathīrin.

‘He needs knowledge.’ He answered, ‘Be quiet, man! His patience with poverty and endurance of its hardship are better than much knowledge.’ Then he said, ‘These people are far better than we are.’”

وَأَقُولُ: إِنَّ مَنْ فَضَّلَ حَالَ الْغِنَى عَلَى الْفَقْرِ فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يَذُقْ مَرَارَةَ الْفَقْرِ وَلَا حَلَاوَتَهُ، فَهُوَ غِرٌّ بِشِدَّتِهِ فَاقِدٌ لِحَلَاوَتِهِ، لِأَنَّهُ لَوْ ذَاقَ مَرَارَتَهُ مِنَ الضُّرِّ وَالْهَمِّ لَفَضَّلَهُ، وَلَوْ أُذِيقَ حَلَاوَتَهُ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ وَالرِّضَا لَمَا فَضَّلَ عَلَيْهِ.

waʾaqūlu: ʾinna man faḍḍala ḥāla al-ghinā ʿalā al-faqri faʾinnahu lam yadhuq marārata al-faqri walā ḥalāwatahu, fahuwa ghirrun bishiddatihi fāqidun liḥalāwatihi, liʾannahu law dhāqa marāratahu mina al-ḍurri wa-al-hammi lafaḍḍalahu, walaw ʾudhīqa ḥalāwatahu mina al-zuhdi wa-al-riḍā lamā faḍḍala ʿalayhi.

I say that anyone who prefers the state of wealth to poverty has tasted neither poverty's bitterness nor its sweetness. He is inexperienced in its severity and deprived of its sweetness. Had he tasted its bitter hardship and anxiety, he would have preferred it; had he been given a taste of its sweet renunciation and contentment, he would have preferred nothing to it.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ: يَقُولُ إِبْلِيسُ: لَمْ يَنْجُ الْغَنِيُّ مِنِّي مِنْ إِحْدَى ثَلَاثِ خِصَالٍ؛ أَنْ أُحَبِّبَ إِلَيْهِ الْمَالَ فَيَكْتَسِبَهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ حَقِّهِ، أَوْ يَضَعَهُ فِي غَيْرِ حَقِّهِ، أَوْ يَمْنَعَهُ مِنْ حَقِّهِ.

waqad rawaynā fī al-khabari: yaqūlu ʾiblīsu: lam yanju al-ghaniyyu minnī min ʾiḥdā thalāthi khiṣālin; ʾan ʾuḥabbiba ʾilayhi al-māla fayaktasibahu min ghayri ḥaqqihi, ʾaw yaḍaʿahu fī ghayri ḥaqqihi, ʾaw yamnaʿahu min ḥaqqihi.

We have transmitted a report in which Iblīs says, “The rich man does not escape me in one of three ways: I make wealth so dear to him that he acquires it unlawfully, spends it where it does not belong, or withholds it from those entitled to it.”

فَلَوْ لَمْ يَعْلَمِ الْعَدُوُّ أَنَّ الْفَقْرَ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْأَحْوَالِ مَا قَعَدَ عَلَى طُرُقِهِ، وَقَدْ قَالَ: لَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ. فَأَخْبَرَ الْخَبَرَ عَنْهُ فَقَالَ: الشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ، أَيْ يُخَوِّفُكُمْ بِهِ، فَجَاءَ الْفَقِيرُ الصَّادِقُ فَسَلَكَ الطَّرِيقَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ إِلَى الْآخِرَةِ، وَاطَّرَحَ تَخْوِيفَ الْعَدُوِّ بِحَوْلِ اللَّهِ وَقُوَّتِهِ.

falaw lam yaʿlami al-ʿaduwwu ʾanna al-faqra min ʾafḍali al-ʾaḥwāli mā qaʿada ʿalā ṭuruqihi, waqad qāla: laʾaqʿudanna lahum ṣirāṭaka al-mustaqīma. faʾakhbara al-khabara ʿanhu faqāla: al-shayṭānu yaʿidukumu al-faqra, ʾay yukhawwifukum bihi, fajāʾa al-faqīru al-ṣādiqu fasalaka al-ṭarīqa al-mustaqīma ʾilā al-ʾākhirati, wa-iṭṭaraḥa takhwīfa al-ʿaduwwi biḥawli allāhi waquwwatihi.

If the enemy did not know that poverty is among the best states, he would not lie in wait along its paths. He said, “I shall lie in wait for them on Your straight path.” God reported this about him, saying, “Satan threatens you with poverty,” meaning that he frightens you with it. The truthful poor person then takes the straight path to the hereafter, rejecting the enemy's intimidation through God's power and strength.

وَقِيلَ: الْأَغْنِيَاءُ الْمُغْتَبِطُونَ بِغِنَاهُمْ تَخْوِيفُ الْعَدُوِّ، فَجَاءَ بَنُو الْفَقْرِ فَحَلَّقَ بِهِمْ مَثَلُ السُّوءِ. مِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ: ﴿إِنَّمَا ذَلِكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ يُخَوِّفُ أَوْلِيَاءَهُ فَلَا تَخَافُوهُمْ وَخَافُونِ﴾ آلِ عِمْرَانَ: 175.

waqīla: al-ʾaghniyāʾu al-mughtabiṭūna bighināhum takhwīfu al-ʿaduwwi, fajāʾa banū al-faqri faḥallaqa bihim mathalu al-sūʾi. min dhālika qawluhu: ﴿ʾinnamā dhālikumu al-shayṭānu yukhawwifu ʾawliyāʾahu falā takhāfūhum wakhāfūni﴾ ʾāli ʿimrāna: 175.

It was said: the wealthy, pleased with their wealth, [accepted] the enemy's intimidation; then came the sons of poverty, and an evil likeness circled over them. Among the evidence is His saying, “That is only Satan frightening his allies. Do not fear them; fear Me” (Āl ʿImrān 3:175).

فَقَبِلُوا تَخْوِيفَ الشَّيْطَانِ وَخَالَفُوا نَدْبَ الرَّحْمَنِ، فَكَانُوا كَمَنْ قِيلَ فِيهِمْ: ﴿وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ عَلَى حَرْفٍ فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُ﴾ الْحَجِّ: 11، الْآيَةَ. فَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ فَضْلِ الزَّاهِدِينَ إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ تَوَسَّطُوا الطَّرِيقَ الَّذِي هَرَبَ النَّاسُ مِنْهُ، وَأَمِنُوا بِالتَّوَكُّلِ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَالرِّضَا عَنْهُ مَا خَافَهُ أَبْنَاءُ الدُّنْيَا، لَكَفَاهُمْ.

faqabilū takhwīfa al-shayṭāni wakhālafū nadba al-raḥmāni, fakānū kaman qīla fīhim: ﴿wamina al-nāsi man yaʿbudu allāha ʿalā ḥarfin faʾin ʾaṣābahu﴾ al-ḥajji: 11, al-ʾāyata. falaw lam yakun min faḍli al-zāhidīna ʾillā ʾannahum tawassaṭū al-ṭarīqa alladhī haraba al-nāsu minhu, waʾaminū bi-al-tawakkuli ʿalā allāhi wa-al-riḍā ʿanhu mā khāfahu ʾabnāʾu al-dunyā, lakafāhum.

They accepted Satan's intimidation and opposed the All-Merciful's invitation, becoming like those of whom it was said, “Among people is one who worships God on an edge; if there befalls him…” (al-Ḥajj 22:11), to the end of the verse. Even if the renunciants' only distinction were that they traveled the very path from which others fled, and through trust in God and contentment with Him felt safe from what the world's children feared, that would suffice them.

ذِكْرُ مَاهِيَّةِ الدُّنْيَا وَكَيْفِيَّةِ الزُّهْدِ فِيهَا وَتَفَاوُتِ الزُّهَّادِ فِي مَقَامَاتِهِمْ

dhikru māhiyyati al-dunyā wakayfiyyati al-zuhdi fīhā watafāwuti al-zuhhādi fī maqāmātihim

The nature of this world, how to renounce it, and the differing stations of the renunciants

ثُمَّ إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا هِيَ نَصِيبُ كُلِّ عَبْدٍ مِنَ الْهَوَى، وَمَا دَنَا مِنْ قَلْبِهِ مِنَ الشَّهَوَاتِ، فَمَنْ زَهِدَ فِي نَصِيبِهِ وَمِلْكِهِ مِنْ هَوَاهُ الْمَذْمُومِ فَهَذَا هُوَ الزُّهْدُ الْمُفْتَرَضُ. وَمَنْ زَهِدَ فِي نَصِيبِهِ مِنَ الْمُبَاحِ، وَهُوَ فُضُولُ الْحَاجَةِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَهَذَا هُوَ الزُّهْدُ الْمُفَضَّلُ.

thumma ʾinna al-dunyā hiya naṣību kulli ʿabdin mina al-hawā, wamā danā min qalbihi mina al-shahawāti, faman zahida fī naṣībihi wamilkihi min hawāhu al-madhmūmi fa-hādhā huwa al-zuhdu al-muftaraḍu. waman zahida fī naṣībihi mina al-mubāḥi, wahuwa fuḍūlu al-ḥājati min kulli shayʾin, fa-hādhā huwa al-zuhdu al-mufaḍḍalu.

This world is each servant's share of caprice and the appetites that draw close to his heart. Whoever renounces his share and possession of blameworthy caprice practices obligatory renunciation. Whoever renounces his share of permissible things, the surplus beyond what he needs of anything, practices meritorious renunciation.

يَرْجِعُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى حُظُوظِ جَوَارِحِهِ الَّتِي هِيَ أَبْوَابُ الدُّنْيَا مِنْهُ وَطُرُقُهَا إِلَيْهِ، فَالزُّهْدُ فِي مُحَرَّمَاتِهَا هُوَ زُهْدُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ بِهِ يَحْسُنُ إِسْلَامُهُمْ، وَالزُّهْدُ فِي شُبُهَاتِهَا هُوَ زُهْدُ الْوَرِعِينَ بِهِ يَكْمُلُ إِيمَانُهُمْ، وَالزُّهْدُ فِي حَلَالِهَا مِنْ فَضْلِ حَاجَاتِ النَّفْسِ هُوَ زُهْدُ الزَّاهِدِينَ بِهِ يَصْفُو يَقِينُهُمْ.

yarjiʿu dhālika ʾilā ḥuẓūẓi jawāriḥihi allatī hiya ʾabwābu al-dunyā minhu waṭuruquhā ʾilayhi, fa-al-zuhdu fī muḥarramātihā huwa zuhdu al-muslimīna bihi yaḥsunu ʾislāmuhum, wa-al-zuhdu fī shubuhātihā huwa zuhdu al-wariʿīna bihi yakmulu ʾīmānuhum, wa-al-zuhdu fī ḥalālihā min faḍli ḥājāti al-nafsi huwa zuhdu al-zāhidīna bihi yaṣfū yaqīnuhum.

This concerns the gratifications of his bodily faculties, which are his gateways to the world and its paths to him. Renouncing its forbidden things is the renunciation of Muslims, through which their submission becomes sound. Renouncing its doubtful things is the renunciation of the scrupulous, through which their faith becomes complete. Renouncing its lawful things beyond the self's needs is the renunciation of the renunciants, through which their certainty becomes clear.

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ عَمْرِو بْنِ مَيْمُونٍ عَنِ الزُّبَيْرِ بْنِ الْعَوَّامِ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لَهُ: يَا زُبَيْرُ، اِجْهَدْ نَفْسَكَ عِنْدَ نُزُولِ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَالشُّبُهَاتِ بِالْوَرَعِ الصَّادِقِ عَنْ مَحَارِمِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، تَدْخُلِ الْجَنَّةَ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ.

warawaynā fī ḥadīthi ʿamri bni maymūnin ʿani al-zubayri bni al-ʿawwāmi ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla lahu: yā zubayru, ijhad nafsaka ʿinda nuzūli al-shahawāti wa-al-shubuhāti bi-al-waraʿi al-ṣādiqi ʿan maḥārimi allāhi ʿazza wajalla, tadkhuli al-jannata bighayri ḥisābin.

We have transmitted in ʿAmr ibn Maymūn's report from al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām that the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, told him, “Zubayr, exert yourself when appetites and doubtful matters arise, scrupulously avoiding what God, mighty and majestic, has forbidden, in all sincerity, and you will enter Paradise without reckoning.”

وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ يَقُولُ فِي فَضَائِلِ الزُّهْدِ وَأَعْلَى مَقَامَاتِهِ: لَا يَتِمُّ زُهْدُ عَبْدٍ حَتَّى يَزْهَدَ فِي هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثِ؛ فِي الدِّرْهَمِ الَّذِي يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُنْفِقَهُ فِي أَبْوَابِ الْبِرِّ يَتَقَرَّبُ بِذَلِكَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَيَزْهَدَ فِي الثِّيَابِ الَّتِي تَسْتُرُ بَدَنَهُ فِي الطَّاعَاتِ، وَيَزْهَدَ فِي قُوتِهِ الَّذِي يَسْتَعِينُ بِهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادَةِ.

wakāna sahlun yaqūlu fī faḍāʾili al-zuhdi waʾaʿlā maqāmātihi: lā yatimmu zuhdu ʿabdin ḥattā yazhada fī hādhihi al-thalāthi; fī al-dirhami alladhī yurīdu ʾan yunfiqahu fī ʾabwābi al-birri yataqarrabu bi-dhālika ʾilā allāhi taʿālā, wayazhada fī al-thiyābi allatī tasturu badanahu fī al-ṭāʿāti, wayazhada fī qūtihi alladhī yastaʿīnu bihi ʿalā al-ʿibādati.

Sahl used to say about renunciation's excellences and highest stations, “A servant's renunciation is not complete until he renounces these three: the dirham he intends to spend on good works to draw near to God Most High; the clothing that covers his body during acts of obedience; and the food that sustains his worship.”

وَإِنَّمَا قَالَ هَذَا لِأَنَّ عِنْدَهُ حَقِيقَةَ الزُّهْدِ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْمَقَامَاتِ كُلِّهَا، لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ: يُعْطَى الزَّاهِدُ جَمِيعَ ثَوَابِ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَالْعُبَّادِ، ثُمَّ يُقْسَمُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ثَوَابُ أَعْمَالِهِ. وَقَالَ: لَا يُوَافِي الْقِيَامَةَ أَحَدٌ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ ذِي زُهْدٍ وَعِلْمٍ وَرِعٍ.

waʾinnamā qāla hādhā liʾanna ʿindahu ḥaqīqata al-zuhdi min ʾafḍali al-maqāmāti kullihā, liʾannahu kāna yaqūlu: yuʿṭā al-zāhidu jamīʿa thawābi al-ʿulamāʾi wa-al-ʿubbādi, thumma yuqsamu ʿalā al-muʾminīna thawābu ʾaʿmālihi. waqāla: lā yuwāfī al-qiyāmata ʾaḥadun ʾafḍalu min dhī zuhdin waʿilmin wariʿin.

He said this because, in his view, the reality of renunciation is among the best of all stations. He used to say, “The renunciant is given the entire reward of the scholars and worshippers; then the reward of his deeds is distributed among the believers.” He also said, “No one comes to the Resurrection better than a person of renunciation and scrupulous knowledge.”

وَقَالَ أَيْضًا: لَا يُنَالُ الزُّهْدُ إِلَّا بِالْخَوْفِ، لِأَنَّ مَنْ خَافَ تَرَكَ، فَجَعَلَ الزُّهْدَ مَقَامًا فِي الْخَوْفِ، رَفَعَهُ مَزِيدًا لَهُمْ عَلَيْهِ. وَقَدْ رَوَى مَسْرُوقٌ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ: رَكْعَتَانِ مِنْ زَاهِدٍ قَلْبُهُ خَيْرٌ لَهُ وَأَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ

waqāla ʾayḍan: lā yunālu al-zuhdu ʾillā bi-al-khawfi, liʾanna man khāfa taraka, fajaʿala al-zuhda maqāman fī al-khawfi, rafaʿahu mazīdan lahum ʿalayhi. waqad rawā masrūqun ʿani ibni masʿūdin: rakʿatāni min zāhidin qalbuhu khayrun lahu waʾaḥabbu ʾilā allāhi

He also said, “Renunciation is attained only through fear, for whoever fears relinquishes.” He thus made renunciation a station within fear, elevating it as a further attainment beyond fear for its people. Masrūq reported from Ibn Masʿūd, “Two units of prayer from someone whose heart renounces are better for him and dearer to God

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٤١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 441

Volume One, page 441

تَعَالَى مِنْ عِبَادَةِ الْمُتَعَبِّدِينَ الْمُجْتَهِدِينَ إِلَى آخِرِ الدَّهْرِ أَبَدًا سَرْمَدًا. وَلَا نِهَايَةَ لِلزُّهْدِ عِنْدَ طَائِفَةٍ مِنَ الْعَارِفِينَ، لِأَنَّهُ يَقَعُ عَنْ نِهَايَةِ مَعَارِفِهِمْ بِدَقَائِقِ أَبْوَابِ الدُّنْيَا وَخَفَايَا لَوَائِحِ الْهَوَى.

taʿālā min ʿibādati al-mutaʿabbidīna al-mujtahidīna ʾilā ʾākhiri al-dahri ʾabadan sarmadan. walā nihāyata li-l-zuhdi ʿinda ṭāʾifatin mina al-ʿārifīna, liʾannahu yaqaʿu ʿan nihāyati maʿārifihim bidaqāʾiqi ʾabwābi al-dunyā wakhafāyā lawāʾiḥi al-hawā.

Most High than the worship of devoted, striving worshippers until the end of time, forever and ever.” For one group of knowers there is no end to renunciation, since it arises from the furthest reach of their knowledge of the world's subtle avenues and the hidden intimations of caprice.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: نِهَايَةُ الزُّهْدِ أَنْ تَزْهَدَ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَتَتَوَرَّعَ عَنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لِلنَّفْسِ فِيهِ مُتْعَةٌ وَبِهِ رَاحَةٌ. فَهَذَا كَمَا رُوِيَ عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَّهُ وَضَعَ تَحْتَ رَأْسِهِ حَجَرًا، فَكَأَنَّهُ لَمَّا ارْتَفَعَ رَأْسُهُ عَنِ الْأَرْضِ اسْتَرَاحَ بِذَلِكَ.

waqāla baʿḍuhum: nihāyatu al-zuhdi ʾan tazhada fī kulli shayʾin, watatawarraʿa ʿan kulli shayʾin li-l-nafsi fīhi mutʿatun wabihi rāḥatun. fa-hādhā kamā ruwiya ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾannahu waḍaʿa taḥta raʾsihi ḥajaran, fakaʾannahu lammā irtafaʿa raʾsuhu ʿani al-ʾarḍi istarāḥa bi-dhālika.

One of them said, “Renunciation's utmost limit is to renounce everything and scrupulously avoid anything in which the self finds enjoyment or comfort.” This resembles the report that Jesus, peace be upon him, placed a stone beneath his head, apparently finding comfort when it was raised from the ground.

فَعَارَضَهُ إِبْلِيسُ فَقَالَ: يَا ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ، أَلَسْتَ تَزْعُمُ أَنَّكَ قَدْ زَهِدْتَ فِي الدُّنْيَا؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ. قَالَ: فَهَذَا الَّذِي وَطَّأْتَهُ تَحْتَ رَأْسِكَ مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ؟ قَالَ: فَرَمَى عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِالْحَجَرِ، وَقَالَ: هَذَا لَكَ مَعَ مَا تَرَكْتُ.

faʿāraḍahu ʾiblīsu faqāla: yā ibna maryama, ʾalasta tazʿumu ʾannaka qad zahidta fī al-dunyā? qāla: naʿam. qāla: fa-hādhā alladhī waṭṭaʾtahu taḥta raʾsika min ʾayyi shayʾin huwa? qāla: faramā ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu bi-al-ḥajari, waqāla: hādhā laka maʿa mā taraktu.

Iblīs confronted him and said, “Son of Mary, do you not claim to have renounced the world?” He answered, “Yes.” Iblīs said, “Then what is this thing you have laid beneath your head?” Jesus, peace be upon him, threw the stone away and said, “This is yours too, along with what I have left behind.”

وَمِثْلَهُ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ زَكَرِيَّا عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ أَنَّهُ لَبِسَ الْمُسُوحَ حَتَّى نُقِبَ جِلْدُهُ، فَسَأَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ أَنْ يَنْزِعَ مِدْرَعَتَهُ الشَّعْرَ وَيَلْبَسَ مَكَانَهَا جُبَّةً مِنْ صُوفٍ، فَفَعَلَ. فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ: يَا يَحْيَى، آثَرْتَ عَلَيَّ الدُّنْيَا. قَالَ: فَبَكَى وَنَزَعَ الصُّوفَ وَرَدَّ مِدْرَعَتَهُ الشَّعْرَ عَلَى جَسَدِهِ.

wamithlahu rawaynā ʿan yaḥyā bni zakariyyā ʿalayhimā al-salāmu ʾannahu labisa al-musūḥa ḥattā nuqiba jilduhu, fasaʾalathu ʾummuhu ʾan yanziʿa midraʿatahu al-shaʿra wayalbasa makānahā jubbatan min ṣūfin, fafaʿala. faʾawḥā allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi: yā yaḥyā, ʾātharta ʿalayya al-dunyā. qāla: fabakā wanazaʿa al-ṣūfa waradda midraʿatahu al-shaʿra ʿalā jasadihi.

We have transmitted a similar account of John son of Zechariah, peace be upon them both: he wore haircloth until it wore through his skin. His mother asked him to remove his haircloth tunic and put on a woolen robe instead, and he did so. God Most High revealed to him, “John, you have preferred the world to Me.” He wept, removed the wool, and put the haircloth tunic back on his body.

وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ: أَدْرَكْتُ سَبْعِينَ مِنَ الْأَخْيَارِ مَا لِأَحَدِهِمْ إِلَّا ثَوْبُهُ، وَمَا وَضَعَ أَحَدُهُمْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْأَرْضِ ثَوْبًا قَطُّ؛ كَانَ إِذَا أَرَادَ النَّوْمَ بَاشَرَ الْأَرْضَ بِجِسْمِهِ وَجَعَلَ ثَوْبَهُ فَوْقَهُ.

wakāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu: ʾadraktu sabʿīna mina al-ʾakhyāri mā liʾaḥadihim ʾillā thawbuhu, wamā waḍaʿa ʾaḥaduhum baynahu wabayna al-ʾarḍi thawban qaṭṭu; kāna ʾidhā ʾarāda al-nawma bāshara al-ʾarḍa bijismihi wajaʿala thawbahu fawqahu.

Al-Ḥasan used to say, “I knew seventy virtuous men, each owning only his garment. None ever placed a garment between himself and the ground: when he wanted to sleep, he laid his body directly on the earth and put his garment over himself.”

وَاعْلَمْ أَنِّي رَأَيْتُ جُمَلَ النِّعَمِ ثَلَاثًا وَتَمَامَهَا بِالزُّهْدِ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ أَصْلَ النِّعَمِ كُلِّهَا الْإِسْلَامُ، لِأَنَّ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ مَقَامَاتٍ كَثِيرَةً أَخْطَأُوا فِيهَا حَقِيقَةَ التَّوْحِيدِ. ثُمَّ النِّعْمَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ السُّنَّةُ، إِذْ مِنْ وَرَائِهَا بِدَعٌ كَثِيرَةٌ كُلُّهُمْ أَخْطَأُوا حَقِيقَةَ السُّنَّةِ.

wa-iʿlam ʾannī raʾaytu jumala al-niʿami thalāthan watamāmahā bi-al-zuhdi, wa-dhālika ʾanna ʾaṣla al-niʿami kullihā al-ʾislāmu, liʾanna min warāʾihi maqāmātin kathīratan ʾakhṭaʾū fīhā ḥaqīqata al-tawḥīdi. thumma al-niʿmatu al-thāniyatu al-sunnatu, ʾidh min warāʾihā bidaʿun kathīratun kulluhum ʾakhṭaʾū ḥaqīqata al-sunnati.

Know that I have found blessings to fall into three main groups, completed by renunciation. The foundation of all blessings is Islam, for beyond it lie many positions whose adherents have missed the reality of God's oneness. The second blessing is the prophetic practice, for beyond it lie many innovations whose adherents have all missed the reality of that practice.

وَالنِّعْمَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ الْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى، لِأَنَّ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ جَهْلًا كَثِيرًا بِعَظَمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَقُدْرَتِهِ. ثُمَّ الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا، فَمَنْ أُعْطِيَهُ مَعَ الثَّلَاثِ تَمَّتْ عَلَيْهِ النِّعَمُ، فَكَانَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ، أَيْ تَمَّتْ نِعْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِمْ، لِأَنَّ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ حِرْصًا كَثِيرًا عَلَى الشُّبُهَاتِ وَرَغْبَةً عَظِيمَةً فِي الشَّهَوَاتِ.

wa-al-niʿmatu al-thālithatu al-ʿilmu bi-llāhi taʿālā, liʾanna min warāʾihi jahlan kathīran biʿaẓamati allāhi taʿālā waqudratihi. thumma al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā, faman ʾuʿṭiyahu maʿa al-thalāthi tammat ʿalayhi al-niʿamu, fakāna maʿa alladhīna ʾanʿama allāhu taʿālā ʿalayhim mina al-nabiyyīna wa-al-ṣiddīqīna wa-al-shuhadāʾi wa-al-ṣāliḥīna, ʾay tammat niʿmatu allāhi ʿalayhim, liʾanna min warāʾihi ḥirṣan kathīran ʿalā al-shubuhāti waraghbatan ʿaẓīmatan fī al-shahawāti.

The third blessing is knowledge of God Most High, for beyond it lies much ignorance of the greatness and power of God Most High. Then comes renunciation of this world. Whoever is given it along with those three has received blessings in their fullness and joins those whom God Most High has blessed: the prophets, the utterly truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. That is, God's blessing upon them is complete, for beyond renunciation lie much covetousness for doubtful things and intense desire for appetites.

وَقَدْ كَانَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَجْعَلُ الزُّهْدَ مِنْ شَرْطِ السُّنَّةِ وَالِاتِّبَاعِ، لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي﴾ آلِ عِمْرَانَ: 31. قَالَ: فَمِنَ السُّنَّةِ اتِّبَاعُ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَكَانَ زَاهِدًا.

waqad kāna sahlun raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā yajʿalu al-zuhda min sharṭi al-sunnati wa-al-ittibāʿi, liqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿qul ʾin kuntum tuḥibbūna allāha fa-ittabiʿūnī﴾ ʾāli ʿimrāna: 31. qāla: famina al-sunnati ittibāʿu al-rasūli ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, wakāna zāhidan.

Sahl, may God Most High have mercy on him, made renunciation a condition of prophetic practice and following the Prophet, citing the words of God Most High, “Say: If you love God, follow me” (Āl ʿImrān 3:31). He said, “Part of the prophetic practice is to follow the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and he was a renunciant.”

ثُمَّ تَفَاوَتَ الزَّاهِدُونَ لِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ زَهِدُوا مَقَامَاتٍ عَلَى نَحْوِ عُلُوِّ الْمُشَاهَدَاتِ؛ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ زَهِدَ إِجْلَالًا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ زَهِدَ حَيَاءً مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ زَهِدَ خَوْفًا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ زَهِدَ رَجَاءَ مَوْعُودِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ زَهِدَ مُسَارَعَةً مِنْهُ لِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ زَهِدَ حُبًّا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَهُوَ أَعْلَاهُمْ.

thumma tafāwata al-zāhidūna liʾayyi shayʾin zahidū maqāmātin ʿalā naḥwi ʿuluwwi al-mushāhadāti; faminhum man zahida ʾijlālan li-llāhi taʿālā, waminhum man zahida ḥayāʾan mina allāhi taʿālā, waminhum man zahida khawfan mina allāhi taʿālā, waminhum man zahida rajāʾa mawʿūdi allāhi taʿālā, waminhum man zahida musāraʿatan minhu liʾamri allāhi taʿālā, waminhum man zahida ḥubban li-llāhi taʿālā, wahuwa ʾaʿlāhum.

Renunciants differ in their stations according to why they renounce and how elevated their witnessing is. Some renounce out of reverence for God Most High; some out of shame before God Most High; some out of fear of God Most High; some in hope of the promise of God Most High; some in eagerness to obey the command of God Most High; and some out of love for God Most High. These last are the highest.

وَأَدْنَاهُمْ مَنْ زَهِدَ مَخَافَةَ طُولِ الْوُقُوفِ وَمُنَاقَشَةِ الْحِسَابِ، كَمَا قِيلَ: ذُو الدِّرْهَمَيْنِ أَشَدُّ حِسَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ ذِي الدِّرْهَمِ، وَلِأَنَّ طَرِيقَ الْمُتَّقِينَ لَا يَسْلُكُهُ مَنْ مَلَكَ فِي الدُّنْيَا زَوْجَيْنِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ. مَا أَحَدٌ يُعْطَى مِنَ الدُّنْيَا شَيْئًا إِلَّا قِيلَ: خُذْهُ عَلَى ثَلَاثَةِ أَثْلَاثٍ؛ ثُلْثٌ هَمٌّ، وَثُلْثٌ شُغْلٌ، وَثُلْثٌ حِسَابٌ.

waʾadnāhum man zahida makhāfata ṭūli al-wuqūfi wamunāqashati al-ḥisābi, kamā qīla: dhū al-dirhamayni ʾashaddu ḥisāban yawma al-qiyāmati min dhī al-dirhami, waliʾanna ṭarīqa al-muttaqīna lā yaslukuhu man malaka fī al-dunyā zawjayni min shayʾin. mā ʾaḥadun yuʿṭā mina al-dunyā shayʾan ʾillā qīla: khudhhu ʿalā thalāthati ʾathlāthin; thulthun hammun, wathulthun shughlun, wathulthun ḥisābun.

The lowest are those who renounce for fear of a long standing and a searching reckoning. As it is said, “The person with two dirhams faces a harder reckoning on Resurrection Day than the person with one,” and, “No one who owns a pair of anything in this world travels the path of the God-fearing.” No one is given anything of this world without being told, “Take it in three portions: one third anxiety, one third preoccupation, and one third reckoning.”

وَأَنَّ الرَّجُلَ مِنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ لَيُوقَفُ لِلْحِسَابِ مَا لَوْ وَرَدَ مِائَةُ بَعِيرٍ عِطَاشٍ عَلَى عَرَقِهِ لَصَدَرْنَ رِوَاءً، وَإِنَّهُ لَيَرَى مَنَازِلَهُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ. فَلَمَّا وَقَرَ هَذَا فِي قُلُوبِ الْوَرِعِينَ أَشْفَقُوا مِنْ طُولِ الْحِسَابِ، فَزَهِدُوا فِي الْجَمْعِ وَالْمَنْعِ، وَفَارَقُوا فُضُولَ الْآمَالِ طَلَبًا لِخِفَّةِ السُّؤَالِ وَسُرْعَةِ

waʾanna al-rajula mina al-ʾaghniyāʾi layūqafu li-l-ḥisābi mā law warada miʾatu baʿīrin ʿiṭāshin ʿalā ʿaraqihi laṣadarna riwāʾan, waʾinnahu layarā manāzilahu mina al-jannati. falammā waqara hādhā fī qulūbi al-wariʿīna ʾashfaqū min ṭūli al-ḥisābi, fazahidū fī al-jamʿi wa-al-manʿi, wafāraqū fuḍūla al-ʾāmāli ṭalaban likhiffati al-suʾāli wasurʿati

A rich man will be kept standing for the reckoning so long that a hundred thirsty camels could drink from his sweat and depart fully watered, while he can see his dwellings in Paradise. Once this took root in the hearts of the scrupulous, they feared the length of the reckoning, renounced accumulation and withholding, and abandoned excessive hopes, seeking an easier questioning and a shorter

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٤٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 442

Volume One, page 442

الْوُقُوفِ فِي الْأَهْوَالِ. وَمِنَ الزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا حُبُّ الْفَقْرِ وَأَهْلِهِ، وَمُجَالَسَةُ الْمَسَاكِينِ فِي أَوْطَانِهِمْ، وَالتَّذَلُّلُ لَهُمْ، كَمَا كَانَ مُطَرِّفٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يُجَالِسُ الْمَسَاكِينَ فِي بِزَّتِهِ يَتَقَرَّبُ بِذَلِكَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ.

al-wuqūfi fī al-ʾahwāli. wamina al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā ḥubbu al-faqri waʾahlihi, wamujālasatu al-masākīni fī ʾawṭānihim, wa-al-tadhallulu lahum, kamā kāna muṭarrifun raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā yujālisu al-masākīna fī bizzatihi yataqarrabu bi-dhālika ʾilā rabbihi.

standing amid the terrors. Part of renouncing the world is to love poverty and its people, sit with the needy in their own places, and humble oneself before them. Muṭarrif, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to sit with the needy in his attire, seeking through this to draw near to his Lord.

وَكَانَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ الْأَصْفَهَانِيُّ عَالِمًا زَاهِدًا، وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ كَانَ يُفَضِّلُهُ عَلَى الثَّوْرِيِّ رَحِمَهُمَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ كَانَ يُؤْثِرُ الْخُمُولَ، فَلَمْ يَكُنْ يَعْرِفُهُ إِلَّا الْعُلَمَاءُ، وَكَانَ مِنْ حُسْنِ رِعَايَتِهِ وَشِدَّةِ يَقَظَتِهِ يَعْمَلُ فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ أَفْضَلَ مَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ فِي ذَلِكَ الْوَقْتِ.

wakāna muḥammadu bnu yūsufa al-ʾaṣfahāniyyu ʿāliman zāhidan, wamina al-nāsi man kāna yufaḍḍiluhu ʿalā al-thawriyyi raḥimahumā allāhu taʿālā, ʾillā ʾannahu kāna yuʾthiru al-khumūla, falam yakun yaʿrifuhu ʾillā al-ʿulamāʾu, wakāna min ḥusni riʿāyatihi washiddati yaqaẓatihi yaʿmalu fī kulli waqtin ʾafḍala mā yaqdiru ʿalayhi fī dhālika al-waqti.

Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-Aṣfahānī was a scholar and renunciant; some preferred him to al-Thawrī, may God Most High have mercy on them both. He chose obscurity, however, so only scholars knew him. Such were his careful attentiveness and intense vigilance that at every moment he performed the best action he could at that time.

فَلَمَّا طَلَبَهُ ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ بِالْمِصِّيصَةِ قَالَ لَهُ بَعْضُ مَنْ يَعْرِفُ حَالَهُ: إِنَّ ذَاكَ لَا يَكُونُ فِي الْمِصْرِ إِلَّا فِي أَفْضَلِ مَوْضِعٍ فِيهِ. قَالَ: فَهُوَ إِذًا فِي الْجَامِعِ. فَطَلَبَهُ فَقِيلَ لَهُ: إِنَّهُ لَا يَقْعُدُ إِلَّا فِي أَفْضَلِ مَكَانٍ. قَالَ: فَطَلَبَهُ عِنْدَ الْفُقَرَاءِ فَإِذَا هُوَ دَسَّ رَأْسَهُ وَأَخْمَلَ نَفْسَهُ مَعَ الْمَسَاكِينِ.

falammā ṭalabahu ibnu al-mubāraki bi-al-miṣṣīṣati qāla lahu baʿḍu man yaʿrifu ḥālahu: ʾinna dhāka lā yakūnu fī al-miṣri ʾillā fī ʾafḍali mawḍiʿin fīhi. qāla: fahuwa ʾidhan fī al-jāmiʿi. faṭalabahu faqīla lahu: ʾinnahu lā yaqʿudu ʾillā fī ʾafḍali makānin. qāla: faṭalabahu ʿinda al-fuqarāʾi faʾidhā huwa dassa raʾsahu waʾakhmala nafsahu maʿa al-masākīni.

When Ibn al-Mubārak looked for him in al-Miṣṣīṣah, someone acquainted with his state said, “He will be nowhere in the town except its best place.” Ibn al-Mubārak said, “Then he is in the congregational mosque.” He looked for him there and was told, “He sits only in the best spot.” He looked among the poor and found him with his head lowered, making himself inconspicuous among the needy.

فَكَانَ عِنْدَهُ أَنَّ أَفْضَلَ وَطَنٍ فِي الْمِصْرِ الْجَامِعُ، لِأَنَّهُ يُقَالُ: إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ فِيهِ بِخَمْسِينَ صَلَاةً، وَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ الْأَمَاكِنِ مَوْضِعُ الْفُقَرَاءِ مِنَ الْجَامِعِ، وَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ الْأَحْوَالِ الْخُمُولُ؛ فَلِذَلِكَ أَخْمَلَ نَفْسَهُ فِيمَا بَيْنَ الْفُقَرَاءِ فِي الْجَامِعِ لِيَحُوزَ فَوَاضِلَ الْأَعْمَالِ.

fakāna ʿindahu ʾanna ʾafḍala waṭanin fī al-miṣri al-jāmiʿu, liʾannahu yuqālu: ʾinna al-ṣalāta fīhi bikhamsīna ṣalātan, waʾinna ʾafḍala al-ʾamākini mawḍiʿu al-fuqarāʾi mina al-jāmiʿi, waʾinna ʾafḍala al-ʾaḥwāli al-khumūlu; fa-li-dhālika ʾakhmala nafsahu fīmā bayna al-fuqarāʾi fī al-jāmiʿi liyaḥūza fawāḍila al-ʾaʿmāli.

He considered the congregational mosque the town's best place, because it is said that one prayer there equals fifty prayers; the mosque's best spot was where the poor sat, and the best condition was obscurity. He therefore made himself inconspicuous among the poor in the mosque to gain the excellences of these deeds together.

وَمِنَ الزُّهْدِ أَنْ يَكُونَ بِفَقْرِهِ مُغْتَبِطًا، مُشَاهِدًا لِعَظِيمِ نِعْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ بِهِ، يَخَافُ أَنْ يُسْلَبَ فَقْرَهُ وَيُحَوَّلَ عَنْ زُهْدِهِ، كَمَا يَكُونُ الْغَنِيُّ مُغْتَبِطًا بِغِنَاهُ يَخَافُ الْفَقْرَ.

wamina al-zuhdi ʾan yakūna bifaqrihi mughtabiṭan, mushāhidan liʿaẓīmi niʿmati allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhi bihi, yakhāfu ʾan yuslaba faqrahu wayuḥawwala ʿan zuhdihi, kamā yakūnu al-ghaniyyu mughtabiṭan bighināhu yakhāfu al-faqra.

Part of renunciation is to delight in one's poverty, witnessing the great blessing of God Most High through it and fearing that one might be stripped of poverty and turned away from renunciation, just as the rich person delights in wealth and fears poverty.

ثُمَّ وُجُودُ حَلَاوَةِ الزُّهْدِ حَتَّى يَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنْ قَلْبِهِ أَنَّ الْقِلَّةَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الْكَثْرَةِ، وَأَنَّ الذُّلَّ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الْعِزِّ، وَأَنَّ الْوَحْدَةَ آثَرُ عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الْجَمَاعَةِ، وَأَنَّ الْخُمُولَ أَعْجَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الِاشْتِهَارِ، فَهَذَا مِنْ إِخْلَاصِهِ فِي زُهْدِهِ.

thumma wujūdu ḥalāwati al-zuhdi ḥattā yaʿlama allāhu taʿālā min qalbihi ʾanna al-qillata ʾaḥabbu ʾilayhi mina al-kathrati, waʾanna al-dhulla ʾaḥabbu ʾilayhi mina al-ʿizzi, waʾanna al-waḥdata ʾātharu ʿindahu mina al-jamāʿati, waʾanna al-khumūla ʾaʿjabu ʾilayhi mina al-ishtihāri, fa-hādhā min ʾikhlāṣihi fī zuhdihi.

Then comes tasting renunciation's sweetness, until God Most High knows from his heart that little is dearer to him than much, lowliness dearer than distinction, solitude preferable to company, and obscurity more pleasing than fame. This is part of his sincerity in renunciation.

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَعَنْ نَبِيِّنَا عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: أَرْبَعٌ لَا يُدْرَكْنَ إِلَّا بِعَجَبٍ: الصَّمْتُ، وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ الْعِبَادَةِ، وَالتَّوَاضُعُ، وَكَثْرَةُ الذِّكْرِ، وَقِلَّةُ الشَّيْءِ. وَقَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: لَا يَكُونُ الرَّجُلُ عَالِمًا حَتَّى يَعُدَّ الْبَلَاءَ نِعْمَةً وَالرَّخَاءَ عُقُوبَةً.

warawaynā ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu waʿan nabiyyinā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾarbaʿun lā yudrakna ʾillā biʿajabin: al-ṣamtu, wahuwa ʾawwalu al-ʿibādati, wa-al-tawāḍuʿu, wakathratu al-dhikri, waqillatu al-shayʾi. waqāla al-thawriyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā: lā yakūnu al-rajulu ʿāliman ḥattā yaʿudda al-balāʾa niʿmatan wa-al-rakhāʾa ʿuqūbatan.

We have transmitted from Jesus, peace be upon him, and from our Prophet, peace be upon him, “Four things are attained only as a marvel: silence, which is the beginning of worship; humility; abundant remembrance; and few possessions.” Al-Thawrī, may God Most High have mercy on him, said, “A man is not a scholar until he regards affliction as a blessing and ease as a punishment.”

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: لَا يَفْقَهُ الْعَبْدُ كُلَّ الْفِقْهِ حَتَّى يَكُونَ الْفَقْرُ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الْغِنَى وَالذُّلُّ آثَرَ عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الْعِزِّ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا خَبَرًا مَقْطُوعًا: لَا يَبْلُغُ الْعَبْدُ حَقِيقَةَ الْإِيمَانِ حَتَّى يَكُونَ أَنْ لَا يُعْرَفَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ أَنْ يُعْرَفَ، وَحَتَّى يَكُونَ قِلَّةُ الشَّيْءِ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ كَثْرَتِهِ.

waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: lā yafqahu al-ʿabdu kulla al-fiqhi ḥattā yakūna al-faqru ʾaḥabba ʾilayhi mina al-ghinā wa-al-dhullu ʾāthara ʿindahu mina al-ʿizzi. waqad rawaynā khabaran maqṭūʿan: lā yablughu al-ʿabdu ḥaqīqata al-ʾīmāni ḥattā yakūna ʾan lā yuʿrafa ʾaḥabba ʾilayhi min ʾan yuʿrafa, waḥattā yakūna qillatu al-shayʾi ʾaḥabba ʾilayhi min kathratihi.

One of the early generations said, “A servant does not attain full understanding until poverty is dearer to him than wealth and lowliness preferable to distinction.” We have transmitted a report stopping short of the Prophet: “A servant does not reach the reality of faith until being unknown is dearer to him than being known, and having little is dearer to him than having much.”

وَكَانَ السَّلَفُ الصَّالِحُ يَقُولُونَ: نِعْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْنَا فِيمَا صَرَفَ عَنَّا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا أَعْظَمُ مِنْ نِعْمَتِهِ فِيمَا صَرَفَ إِلَيْنَا. وَكَانَ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: الدُّنْيَا دَارُ الْتِوَاءٍ لَا دَارُ اسْتِوَاءٍ، وَدَارُ تَرَحٍ لَا مَنْزِلُ فَرَحٍ؛ مَنْ عَرَفَهَا لَمْ يَفْرَحْ بِرَخَاءٍ وَلَمْ يَحْزَنْ عَلَى شَقَاءٍ.

wakāna al-salafu al-ṣāliḥu yaqūlūna: niʿmatu allāhi ʿalaynā fīmā ṣarafa ʿannā mina al-dunyā ʾaʿẓamu min niʿmatihi fīmā ṣarafa ʾilaynā. wakāna al-thawriyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: al-dunyā dāru iltiwāʾin lā dāru istiwāʾin, wadāru taraḥin lā manzilu faraḥin; man ʿarafahā lam yafraḥ birakhāʾin walam yaḥzan ʿalā shaqāʾin.

The righteous early generations used to say, “God's blessing upon us in what He has turned away from us of this world is greater than His blessing in what He has directed toward us.” Al-Thawrī, may God Most High have mercy on him, said, “This world is a dwelling of crookedness, not straightness; a dwelling of sorrow, not a home of joy. Whoever knows it neither rejoices at ease nor grieves at hardship.”

وَكَانَ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: لَا يَصِحُّ التَّعَبُّدُ لِأَحَدٍ وَلَا يَخْلُصُ لَهُ عَمَلٌ حَتَّى لَا يَجْزَعَ وَلَا يَفِرَّ مِنْ أَرْبَعَةِ أَشْيَاءَ: الْجُوعِ، وَالْعُرْيِ، وَالْفَقْرِ، وَالذُّلِّ.

wakāna sahlu bnu ʿabdi allāhi raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: lā yaṣiḥḥu al-taʿabbudu liʾaḥadin walā yakhluṣu lahu ʿamalun ḥattā lā yajzaʿa walā yafirra min ʾarbaʿati ʾashyāʾa: al-jūʿi, wa-al-ʿuryi, wa-al-faqri, wa-al-dhulli.

Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh, may God have mercy on him, used to say, “No one's devotion is sound or action sincere until he neither panics at nor flees from four things: hunger, nakedness, poverty, and lowliness.”

كَمَا رَوَيْنَا أَنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ التَّمِيمِيَّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى دُفِعَ إِلَيْهِ خَمْسُونَ أَلْفَ دِرْهَمٍ فَرَدَّهَا، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: لِمَ رَدَدْتَهَا؟ فَقَالَ: أَكْرَهُ أَنْ أَمْحُوَ اسْمِي مِنْ دِيوَانِ الْفُقَرَاءِ بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْفًا. وَمِنَ الزُّهْدِ عِنْدَ الزَّاهِدِينَ تَرْكُ فُضُولِ الْعُلُومِ الَّتِي مَعْلُومَاتُهَا تَؤُولُ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا وَتَدْعُو إِلَى الْجَاهِ

kamā rawaynā ʾanna ʾibrāhīma al-tamīmiyya raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā dufiʿa ʾilayhi khamsūna ʾalfa dirhamin faraddahā, faqīla lahu: lima radadtahā? faqāla: ʾakrahu ʾan ʾamḥuwa ismī min dīwāni al-fuqarāʾi bikhamsīna ʾalfan. wamina al-zuhdi ʿinda al-zāhidīna tarku fuḍūli al-ʿulūmi allatī maʿlūmātuhā taʾūlu ʾilā al-dunyā watadʿū ʾilā al-jāhi

Thus we have transmitted that Ibrāhīm al-Tamīmī, may God Most High have mercy on him, was given fifty thousand dirhams and returned them. Asked why, he said, “I dislike erasing my name from the register of the poor for fifty thousand.” For the renunciants, part of renunciation is abandoning superfluous sciences whose subject matter leads back to this world and encourages prestige

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٤٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 443

Volume One, page 443

وَالْمَنْزِلَةِ عِنْدَ أَبْنَائِهَا، وَفِيمَا لَا نَفْعَ فِيهِ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَلَا قُرْبَةَ بِهِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَقَدْ تَشْغَلُ عَنْ عِبَادَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَتُفَرِّقُ الْهَمَّ عَنِ اجْتِمَاعِهِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَتُقَسِّي الْقَلْبَ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَتَحْجُبُ عَنِ التَّفَكُّرِ فِي آلَائِهِ وَعَظَمَتِهِ.

wa-al-manzilati ʿinda ʾabnāʾihā, wafīmā lā nafʿa fīhi fī al-ʾākhirati walā qurbata bihi ʿinda allāhi taʿālā, waqad tashghalu ʿan ʿibādati allāhi taʿālā watufarriqu al-hamma ʿani ijtimāʿihi bayna yadayi allāhi taʿālā, watuqassī al-qalba ʿan dhikri allāhi taʿālā wataḥjubu ʿani al-tafakkuri fī ʾālāʾihi waʿaẓamatihi.

and standing among its children, concerning matters that provide no benefit in the hereafter and no nearness to God Most High. Such sciences may distract from worship of God Most High, scatter one's concern instead of gathering it in the presence of God Most High, harden the heart against remembrance of God Most High, and veil one from reflecting on His blessings and greatness.

وَقَدْ أُحْدِثَتْ عُلُومٌ كَثِيرَةٌ لَمْ تَكُنْ تُعْرَفُ فِيمَا سَلَفَ، اتَّخَذَهَا الْغَافِلُونَ عِلْمًا وَجَعَلَهَا الْبَطَّالُونَ شُغْلًا، انْقَطَعُوا بِهَا عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَحُجِبُوا بِهَا عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ عِلْمِ الْحَقِيقَةِ. لَا نَسْتَطِيعُ ذِكْرَهَا لِكَثْرَةِ أَهْلِهَا، إِلَّا أَنْ نُسْأَلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ مِنْهَا:

waqad ʾuḥdithat ʿulūmun kathīratun lam takun tuʿrafu fīmā salafa, ittakhadhahā al-ghāfilūna ʿilman wajaʿalahā al-baṭṭālūna shughlan, inqaṭaʿū bihā ʿani allāhi taʿālā waḥujibū bihā ʿan mushāhadati ʿilmi al-ḥaqīqati. lā nastaṭīʿu dhikrahā likathrati ʾahlihā, ʾillā ʾan nusʾala ʿan shayʾin minhā:

Many sciences have been introduced that were unknown in earlier times. The heedless have adopted them as knowledge, and the idle have made them an occupation, cutting themselves off from God Most High and becoming veiled from witnessing the knowledge of reality. We cannot name them because their adherents are so numerous, unless we are asked about a particular one:

أَعِلْمٌ هُوَ أَمْ كَلَامٌ؟ أَمْ حَقٌّ أَوْ تَشْبِيهٌ؟ أَوْ صِدْقٌ وَحِكْمَةٌ أَوْ زُخْرُفٌ وَغُرُورٌ؟ أَمْ سُنَّةٌ هُوَ عَتِيقٌ أَوْ مُحْدَثٌ وَتَشْدِيقٌ؟ فَحِينَئِذٍ نُخْبِرُ بِصَوَابِ ذَلِكَ.

ʾaʿilmun huwa ʾam kalāmun? ʾam ḥaqqun ʾaw tashbīhun? ʾaw ṣidqun waḥikmatun ʾaw zukhrufun waghurūrun? ʾam sunnatun huwa ʿatīqun ʾaw muḥdathun watashdīqun? faḥīnaʾidhin nukhbiru biṣawābi dhālika.

Is it knowledge or mere talk? Truth or a misleading resemblance? Truthfulness and wisdom, or ornament and deception? Is it established prophetic practice, ancient, or something newly introduced and bombastic? Then we shall state the correct judgment about it.

وَمِنْ أَفْضَلِ الزُّهْدِ: الزُّهْدُ فِي الرِّيَاسَةِ عَلَى النَّاسِ، وَفِي الْمَنْزِلَةِ وَالْجَاهِ عِنْدَهُمْ، وَالزُّهْدُ فِي حُبِّ الثَّنَاءِ وَالْمَدْحِ مِنْهُمْ، لِأَنَّ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِيَ هِيَ مِنْ أَكْثَرِ أَبْوَابِ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ، فَالزُّهْدُ فِيهَا هُوَ زُهْدُ الْعُلَمَاءِ.

wamin ʾafḍali al-zuhdi: al-zuhdu fī al-riyāsati ʿalā al-nāsi, wafī al-manzilati wa-al-jāhi ʿindahum, wa-al-zuhdu fī ḥubbi al-thanāʾi wa-al-madḥi minhum, liʾanna hādhihi al-maʿāniya hiya min ʾakthari ʾabwābi al-dunyā ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi, fa-al-zuhdu fīhā huwa zuhdu al-ʿulamāʾi.

Among the finest forms of renunciation are renouncing leadership over people, standing and prestige among them, and love of their praise and acclaim. These are among the most prevalent avenues of worldliness for scholars, so renouncing them is the scholars' renunciation.

كَانَ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: الزُّهْدُ فِي الرِّيَاسَةِ وَمَدْحِ الْخَلْقِ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ فِي الدِّينَارِ وَالدِّرْهَمِ. قَالَ: لِأَنَّ الدِّينَارَ وَالدِّرْهَمَ قَدْ يُبْذَلَانِ فِي طَلَبِ ذَلِكَ. وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: هَذَا بَابٌ غَامِضٌ لَا يُبْصِرُهُ إِلَّا سَمَاسِرَةُ الْعُلَمَاءِ.

kāna al-thawriyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: al-zuhdu fī al-riyāsati wamadḥi al-khalqi ʾashaddu mina al-zuhdi fī al-dīnāri wa-al-dirhami. qāla: liʾanna al-dīnāra wa-al-dirhama qad yubdhalāni fī ṭalabi dhālika. wakāna yaqūlu: hādhā bābun ghāmiḍun lā yubṣiruhu ʾillā samāsiratu al-ʿulamāʾi.

Al-Thawrī, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say, “Renouncing leadership and people's praise is harder than renouncing gold and silver coins, for gold and silver may be spent in pursuit of those things.” He also said, “This is an obscure subject, perceived only by the expert appraisers among scholars.”

وَقَالَ الْفُضَيْلُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: نَقْلُ الصُّخُورِ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ أَيْسَرُ مِنْ إِزَالَةِ رِيَاسَةٍ قَدْ ثَبَتَتْ فِي قَلْبِ جَاهِلٍ. وَذَهَبَ أُوَيْسٌ الْقَرَنِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى أَنَّ الزُّهْدَ هُوَ تَرْكُ الطَّلَبِ لِلْمَضْمُونِ.

waqāla al-fuḍaylu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā: naqlu al-ṣukhūri mina al-jibāli ʾaysaru min ʾizālati riyāsatin qad thabatat fī qalbi jāhilin. wadhahaba ʾuwaysun al-qaraniyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā ʾilā ʾanna al-zuhda huwa tarku al-ṭalabi li-l-maḍmūni.

Al-Fuḍayl, may God Most High have mercy on him, said, “Moving rocks from mountains is easier than removing a love of leadership that has taken root in an ignorant person's heart.” Uways al-Qaranī, may God Most High have mercy on him, held that renunciation means abandoning the pursuit of what has been guaranteed.

قَالَ هَرَمُ بْنُ حَبَّانَ: لَقِيتُهُ عَلَى شَاطِئِ الْفُرَاتِ يَغْسِلُ كِسَرًا وَخِرَقًا قَدِ الْتَقَطَهَا مِنَ الْمَنْبُوذِ، وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ أَكْلَهُ وَلِبَاسَهُ. قَالَ: فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الزُّهْدِ أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ؟ فَقَالَ: فِي أَيِّ شَيْءٍ خَرَجْتَ؟ قُلْتُ: أَطْلُبُ الْمَعَاشَ. فَقَالَ: إِذَا وَقَعَ الطَّلَبُ ذَهَبَ الزُّهْدُ.

qāla haramu bnu ḥabbāna: laqītuhu ʿalā shāṭiʾi al-furāti yaghsilu kisaran wakhiraqan qadi iltaqaṭahā mina al-manbūdhi, wakāna dhālika ʾaklahu walibāsahu. qāla: fasaʾaltuhu ʿani al-zuhdi ʾayyu shayʾin huwa? faqāla: fī ʾayyi shayʾin kharajta? qultu: ʾaṭlubu al-maʿāsha. faqāla: ʾidhā waqaʿa al-ṭalabu dhahaba al-zuhdu.

Haram ibn Ḥabbān said, “I met him on the Euphrates bank washing scraps of bread and rags he had picked out of discarded refuse; these were his food and clothing. I asked him what renunciation was. He said, ‘Why have you gone out?’ I answered, ‘To seek a livelihood.’ He replied, ‘When seeking begins, renunciation departs.’”

وَكَانَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ: لَا زُهْدَ إِلَّا زُهْدُ أُوَيْسٍ؛ بَلَغَ بِهِ الْعُرْيُ حَتَّى قَعَدَ فِي قَوْصَرَّةٍ. وَكَانَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: الزُّهْدُ فِي النِّسَاءِ أَنْ تَخْتَارَ الْمَرْأَةَ الدُّونَ أَوِ الْيَتِيمَةَ عَلَى الْمَرْأَةِ الْجَمِيلَةِ وَالْمَرْأَةِ الشَّرِيفَةِ. وَذَهَبَ إِلَى هَذَا مَالِكُ بْنُ دِينَارٍ.

wakāna ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: lā zuhda ʾillā zuhdu ʾuwaysin; balagha bihi al-ʿuryu ḥattā qaʿada fī qawṣarratin. wakāna ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: al-zuhdu fī al-nisāʾi ʾan takhtāra al-marʾata al-dūna ʾawi al-yatīmata ʿalā al-marʾati al-jamīlati wa-al-marʾati al-sharīfati. wadhahaba ʾilā hādhā māliku bnu dīnārin.

Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God be pleased with him, used to say, “There is no renunciation like Uways's: his lack of clothing went so far that he sat in a basket.” Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say, “Renunciation regarding women means choosing a woman of humble station or an orphan over a beautiful woman or one of noble lineage.” Mālik ibn Dīnār held the same view.

وَقَالَ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: لَا يَصِحُّ الزُّهْدُ فِي النِّسَاءِ، لِأَنَّهُنَّ قَدْ حُبِّبْنَ إِلَى سَيِّدِ الزَّاهِدِينَ. وَوَافَقَهُ ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ فَقَالَ: لَيْسَ فِي كَثْرَةِ النِّسَاءِ ذَنْبٌ، لِأَنَّ أَزْهَدَ الصَّحَابَةِ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، وَكَانَ لَهُ أَرْبَعُ نِسْوَةٍ وَبِضْعَةَ عَشَرَ سُرِّيَّةً.

waqāla sahlu bnu ʿabdi allāhi raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā: lā yaṣiḥḥu al-zuhdu fī al-nisāʾi, liʾannahunna qad ḥubbibna ʾilā sayyidi al-zāhidīna. wawāfaqahu ibnu ʿuyaynata faqāla: laysa fī kathrati al-nisāʾi dhanbun, liʾanna ʾazhada al-ṣaḥābati ʿaliyyu bnu ʾabī ṭālibin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu, wakāna lahu ʾarbaʿu niswatin wabiḍʿata ʿashara surriyyatan.

Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh, may God Most High have mercy on him, said, “Renouncing women is not sound, because they were made dear to the master of renunciants.” Ibn ʿUyaynah agreed, saying, “There is no sin in having many women, for the most renunciant Companion was ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, may God be pleased with him, and he had four wives and more than ten enslaved concubines.”

وَكَانَ الْجُنَيْدُ يَقُولُ: أُحِبُّ لِلْمُرِيدِ الْمُبْتَدِئِ أَنْ لَا يَشْغَلَ قَلْبَهُ بِهَذِهِ الثَّلَاثِ وَإِلَّا تَغَيَّرَ حَالُهُ: التَّكَسُّبِ، وَطَلَبِ الْحَدِيثِ، وَالتَّزَوُّجِ. وَقَالَ: أُحِبُّ لِلصُّوفِيِّ أَنْ لَا يَقْرَأَ وَلَا يَكْتُبَ، لِأَنَّهُ أَجْمَعُ لِهَمِّهِ.

wakāna al-junaydu yaqūlu: ʾuḥibbu li-l-murīdi al-mubtadiʾi ʾan lā yashghala qalbahu bi-hādhihi al-thalāthi waʾillā taghayyara ḥāluhu: al-takassubi, waṭalabi al-ḥadīthi, wa-al-tazawwuji. waqāla: ʾuḥibbu li-l-ṣūfiyyi ʾan lā yaqraʾa walā yaktuba, liʾannahu ʾajmaʿu lihammihi.

Al-Junayd used to say, “I prefer that a beginning aspirant not occupy his heart with these three things, or his state will change: earning a livelihood, seeking hadith, and marrying.” He also said, “I prefer that the Sufi neither read nor write, because that better gathers his concern into one.”

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: إِنَّمَا الزُّهْدُ أَنْ تَكُونَ بِمَا فِي يَدِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى أَوْثَقَ مِنْكَ بِمَا فِي يَدَيْكَ، فَهَذَا مَقَامُ التَّوَكُّلِ. وَذَهَبَ قَوْمٌ إِلَى أَنَّ الزُّهْدَ تَرْكُ الِادِّخَارِ، وَكَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَهُمْ هُوَ الْجَمْعُ.

wafī al-khabari: ʾinnamā al-zuhdu ʾan takūna bimā fī yadi allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾawthaqa minka bimā fī yadayka, fa-hādhā maqāmu al-tawakkuli. wadhahaba qawmun ʾilā ʾanna al-zuhda tarku al-iddikhāri, wakānati al-dunyā ʿindahum huwa al-jamʿu.

A report says, “Renunciation means trusting what is in the hand of God, glorified and exalted, more than what is in your own hands.” This is the station of trust. Some held that renunciation means abandoning the storing of provisions; for them, worldliness meant accumulation.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: الدُّنْيَا هُوَ مَا شَغَلَ الْقَلْبَ وَاهْتَمَّ بِهِ. فَجَعَلُوا الزُّهْدَ تَرْكَ الِاهْتِمَامِ وَطَرْحَ النَّفْسِ تَحْتَ تَصْرِيفِ الْأَحْكَامِ، وَهَذَا هُوَ التَّفْوِيضُ وَالرِّضَا.

waqāla baʿḍuhum: al-dunyā huwa mā shaghala al-qalba wa-ihtamma bihi. fajaʿalū al-zuhda tarka al-ihtimāmi waṭarḥa al-nafsi taḥta taṣrīfi al-ʾaḥkāmi, wa-hādhā huwa al-tafwīḍu wa-al-riḍā.

Others said, “The world is whatever occupies the heart and concerns it.” They therefore understood renunciation as abandoning anxious concern and placing the self under the operation of God's decrees. This is entrusting one's affairs to Him and contentment.

وَقَالَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ أَبِي الْحَوَارِيِّ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيِّ: إِنَّ مَالِكَ بْنَ دِينَارٍ قَالَ لِلْمُغِيرَةِ: اِذْهَبْ إِلَى الْبَيْتِ فَخُذِ الرَّكْوَةَ الَّتِي كُنْتَ أَهْدَيْتَهَا لِي، فَإِنَّ الْعَدُوَّ يُوَسْوِسُ إِلَيَّ أَنَّ اللِّصَّ قَدْ أَخَذَهَا. فَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ: هَذَا

waqāla ʾaḥmadu bnu ʾabī al-ḥawāriyyi: qultu liʾabī sulaymāna al-dārāniyyi: ʾinna mālika bna dīnārin qāla li-l-mughīrati: idhhab ʾilā al-bayti fakhudhi al-rakwata allatī kunta ʾahdaytahā lī, faʾinna al-ʿaduwwa yuwaswisu ʾilayya ʾanna al-liṣṣa qad ʾakhadhahā. faqāla ʾabū sulaymāna: hādhā

Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī said, “I told Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī that Mālik ibn Dīnār had said to al-Mughīrah, ‘Go to the house and take the water vessel you gave me; the enemy whispers to me that a thief has taken it.’ Abū Sulaymān said, ‘This

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٤٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 444

Volume One, page 444

مِنْ ضَعْفِ قُلُوبِ الصُّوفِيِّينَ، هُوَ قَدْ زَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا، مَا عَلَيْهِ مَنْ أَخَذَهَا؟ فَأَرَادَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ مِنْهُ حَقِيقَةَ الرِّضَا بِجَرَيَانِ الْأَحْكَامِ، وَأَرَادَ مَالِكٌ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ حَقِيقَةَ الزُّهْدِ بِأَنْ يَصْرِفَ عَنْ قَلْبِهِ الِاهْتِمَامَ.

min ḍaʿfi qulūbi al-ṣūfiyyīna, huwa qad zahida fī al-dunyā, mā ʿalayhi man ʾakhadhahā? faʾarāda ʾabū sulaymāna minhu ḥaqīqata al-riḍā bijarayāni al-ʾaḥkāmi, waʾarāda mālikun min nafsihi ḥaqīqata al-zuhdi biʾan yaṣrifa ʿan qalbihi al-ihtimāma.

is a weakness of Sufis' hearts. He has renounced the world; what does it matter to him who takes it?’” Abū Sulaymān wanted him to realize contentment with the course of God's decrees, while Mālik wanted to realize renunciation by removing concern from his heart.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: الدُّنْيَا هُوَ الْعَمَلُ بِالرَّأْيِ وَالْمَعْقُولِ، وَالزُّهْدُ إِنَّمَا هُوَ اتِّبَاعُ الْعِلْمِ وَلُزُومُ السُّنَّةِ، وَهَذِهِ طَرِيقَةُ أَهْلِ الْحَدِيثِ. وَهَذَا الْقَوْلُ مِنَ الظَّوَاهِرِ يُشْبِهُ قَوْلَ عُلَمَاءِ الظَّاهِرِ، كَمَا رَوَيْنَا عَنْ سُفْيَانَ قَالَ: قَالُوا لِلزُّهْرِيِّ: مَا الزُّهْدُ؟ قَالَ: مَا لَا يَغْلِبُ الْحَرَامُ صَبْرَهُ وَلَا يَمْنَعُ الْحَلَالُ شُكْرَهُ.

waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: al-dunyā huwa al-ʿamalu bi-al-raʾyi wa-al-maʿqūli, wa-al-zuhdu ʾinnamā huwa ittibāʿu al-ʿilmi waluzūmu al-sunnati, wa-hādhihi ṭarīqatu ʾahli al-ḥadīthi. wa-hādhā al-qawlu mina al-ẓawāhiri yushbihu qawla ʿulamāʾi al-ẓāhiri, kamā rawaynā ʿan sufyāna qāla: qālū li-l-zuhriyyi: mā al-zuhdu? qāla: mā lā yaghlibu al-ḥarāmu ṣabrahu walā yamnaʿu al-ḥalālu shukrahu.

Some scholars said, “Worldliness is acting on personal opinion and rational inference; renunciation is following knowledge and adhering to the prophetic practice.” This is the way of the hadith scholars. This statement concerns outward matters and resembles the position of scholars of the outward. As we transmitted from Sufyān, people asked al-Zuhrī, “What is renunciation?” He answered, “That forbidden things do not overcome one's patience and lawful things do not prevent one's gratitude.”

يَعْنِي أَنْ يَكُونَ الْعَبْدُ صَابِرًا عَنِ الْحَرَامِ حَتَّى لَا تَغْلِبَهُ شَهْوَةُ الْحَرَامِ، وَيَكُونَ شَاكِرًا فِي الْحَلَالِ حَتَّى لَا يَغْلِبَهُ الْحَلَالُ فَيَشْغَلَهُ عَنِ الشُّكْرِ. وَأَمَّا الْحَسَنُ فَإِنَّهُ قَالَ: الزَّاهِدُ هُوَ الَّذِي إِذَا رَأَى أَحَدًا قَالَ: هَذَا أَفْضَلُ مِنِّي، فَذَهَبَ إِلَى أَنَّ الزُّهْدَ هُوَ التَّوَاضُعُ.

yaʿnī ʾan yakūna al-ʿabdu ṣābiran ʿani al-ḥarāmi ḥattā lā taghlibahu shahwatu al-ḥarāmi, wayakūna shākiran fī al-ḥalāli ḥattā lā yaghlibahu al-ḥalālu fayashghalahu ʿani al-shukri. waʾammā al-ḥasanu faʾinnahu qāla: al-zāhidu huwa alladhī ʾidhā raʾā ʾaḥadan qāla: hādhā ʾafḍalu minnī, fadhahaba ʾilā ʾanna al-zuhda huwa al-tawāḍuʿu.

He meant that the servant patiently refrains from what is forbidden until desire for it cannot overcome him, and is grateful amid lawful things until they cannot overwhelm him and distract him from gratitude. Al-Ḥasan, however, said, “The renunciant is someone who, whenever he sees another person, says, ‘This person is better than I am.’” He therefore understood renunciation as humility.

وَكَانَ الْفُضَيْلُ يَقُولُ: الْقَنَاعَةُ هُوَ الزُّهْدُ. وَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ: الْوَرَعُ هُوَ أَوَّلُ الزُّهْدِ. وَقَالَ أَحْمَدُ ابْنُ أَبِي الْحَوَارِيِّ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي هِشَامٍ الْمَغَازِلِيِّ: أَيُّ شَيْءٍ الزُّهْدُ؟ قَالَ: قَطْعُ الْآمَالِ، وَإِعْطَاءُ الْمَجْهُودِ، وَخَلْعُ الرَّاحَةِ.

wakāna al-fuḍaylu yaqūlu: al-qanāʿatu huwa al-zuhdu. waqāla ʾabū sulaymāna: al-waraʿu huwa ʾawwalu al-zuhdi. waqāla ʾaḥmadu ibnu ʾabī al-ḥawāriyyi: qultu liʾabī hishāmin al-maghāziliyyi: ʾayyu shayʾin al-zuhdu? qāla: qaṭʿu al-ʾāmāli, waʾiʿṭāʾu al-majhūdi, wakhalʿu al-rāḥati.

Al-Fuḍayl used to say, “Contentment with little is renunciation.” Abū Sulaymān said, “Scrupulousness is the beginning of renunciation.” Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī said, “I asked Abū Hishām al-Maghāzilī what renunciation was. He answered, ‘Cutting off hopes, giving all one's effort, and putting aside comfort.’”

وَكَانَ يُوسُفُ بْنُ أَسْبَاطٍ يَقُولُ: مَنْ صَبَرَ عَلَى الْأَذَى وَتَرَكَ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَأَكَلَ الْخُبْزَ مِنْ حَلَالِهِ فَقَدْ أَخَذَ بِأَصْلِ الزُّهْدِ. وَقَالَ أَحْمَدُ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي صَفْوَانَ الرُّعَيْنِيِّ: مَا الدُّنْيَا الَّتِي ذَمَّهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي الْقُرْآنِ، وَيَنْبَغِي لِلْعَاقِلِ أَنْ يَجْتَنِبَهَا؟

wakāna yūsufu bnu ʾasbāṭin yaqūlu: man ṣabara ʿalā al-ʾadhā wataraka al-shahawāti waʾakala al-khubza min ḥalālihi faqad ʾakhadha biʾaṣli al-zuhdi. waqāla ʾaḥmadu: qultu liʾabī ṣafwāna al-ruʿayniyyi: mā al-dunyā allatī dhammahā allāhu taʿālā fī al-qurʾāni, wayanbaghī li-l-ʿāqili ʾan yajtanibahā?

Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ used to say, “Whoever patiently endures harm, abandons appetites, and eats lawfully obtained bread has grasped the root of renunciation.” Aḥmad said, “I asked Abū Ṣafwān al-Ruʿaynī, ‘What is the world that God Most High condemned in the Qurʾān and that a sensible person should avoid?’”

قَالَ: كُلُّ مَا عَمِلْتَ فِي الدُّنْيَا تُرِيدُ بِهِ الدُّنْيَا فَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ، وَكُلُّ مَا أَصَبْتَ فِيهَا تُرِيدُ بِهِ الْآخِرَةَ فَلَيْسَ مِنْهَا. فَحَدَّثْتُ بِهِ مَرْوَانَ فَقَالَ: الْفِقْهُ مَا قَالَ أَبُو صَفْوَانَ. إِنَّمَا قَالَ ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الدُّنْيَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا الْإِخْلَاصَ، فَمَا وَافَقَ الْعِلْمَ فَهُوَ مُبَاحٌ، وَمَا خَالَفَهُ فَهَوًى.

qāla: kullu mā ʿamilta fī al-dunyā turīdu bihi al-dunyā fahuwa madhmūmun, wakullu mā ʾaṣabta fīhā turīdu bihi al-ʾākhirata falaysa minhā. faḥaddathtu bihi marwāna faqāla: al-fiqhu mā qāla ʾabū ṣafwāna. ʾinnamā qāla dhālika liʾanna al-dunyā kullu shayʾin ʾillā al-ʾikhlāṣa, famā wāfaqa al-ʿilma fahuwa mubāḥun, wamā khālafahu fahawan.

“He answered, ‘Everything you do in this world seeking this world is blameworthy; everything you obtain in it seeking the hereafter does not belong to it.’ I related this to Marwān, who said, ‘What Abū Ṣafwān said is true understanding.’” He said this because everything is worldliness except sincerity. Whatever accords with knowledge is permissible; whatever contradicts it is caprice.

وَالْهَوَى حَظُّ النَّفْسِ، الْإِخْلَاصُ حَظُّ الرَّبِّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فَالْمُخْلِصُونَ بَيِّنَةُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ عَلَى عَدُوِّهِ، وَهُمْ أَهْلُ الْآخِرَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا. وَكَانَ ابْنُ السَّمَّاكِ يَقُولُ: الزَّاهِدُ قَدْ خَرَجَتِ الْأَفْرَاحُ وَالْأَحْزَانُ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ، فَهُوَ لَا يَفْرَحُ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا أَتَاهُ وَلَا يَحْزَنُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِنْهَا، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يُبَالِي عَلَى عُسْرٍ أَصْبَحَ أَمْ عَلَى يُسْرٍ.

wa-al-hawā ḥaẓẓu al-nafsi, al-ʾikhlāṣu ḥaẓẓu al-rabbi ʿazza wajalla, fa-al-mukhliṣūna bayyinatu allāhi ʿazza wajalla min ʿibādihi ʿalā ʿaduwwihi, wahum ʾahlu al-ʾākhirati fī al-dunyā. wakāna ibnu al-sammāki yaqūlu: al-zāhidu qad kharajati al-ʾafrāḥu wa-al-ʾaḥzānu min qalbihi, fahuwa lā yafraḥu bishayʾin mina al-dunyā ʾatāhu walā yaḥzanu ʿalā shayʾin minhā, faʾinnahu lā yubālī ʿalā ʿusrin ʾaṣbaḥa ʾam ʿalā yusrin.

Caprice is the self's portion; sincerity is the Lord's portion, mighty and majestic. The sincere are the evidence of God, mighty and majestic, from among His servants against His enemy, and they are people of the hereafter living in this world. Ibn al-Sammāk used to say, “Joys and sorrows have left the renunciant's heart. He neither rejoices at anything worldly that comes to him nor grieves over anything of it; he does not care whether he wakes in hardship or ease.”

وَقَالَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ بْنُ الْأَعْرَابِيِّ عَنْ أَشْيَاخِهِ الصُّوفِيَّةِ: إِنَّمَا الزُّهْدُ عِنْدَهُمْ خُرُوجُ قَدْرِ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الْقَلْبِ، إِذْ هِيَ لَا شَيْءَ، وَلَا يَكُونُ فِي نَفْسِهِ زَاهِدًا، لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَتْرُكْ شَيْئًا إِذْ كَانَتْ لَا شَيْءَ.

waqāla ʾabū saʿīdin bnu al-ʾaʿrābiyyi ʿan ʾashyākhihi al-ṣūfiyyati: ʾinnamā al-zuhdu ʿindahum khurūju qadri al-dunyā mina al-qalbi, ʾidh hiya lā shayʾa, walā yakūnu fī nafsihi zāhidan, liʾannahu lam yatruk shayʾan ʾidh kānat lā shayʾa.

Abū Saʿīd ibn al-Aʿrābī said of his Sufi teachers, “For them, renunciation means the world's importance leaving the heart, since it is nothing. One does not regard oneself as a renunciant, because one has given up nothing, the world being nothing.”

وَهَذَا لَعَمْرِي هُوَ الزُّهْدُ فِي الزُّهْدِ، لِأَنَّهُ زَهِدَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَنْظُرْ إِلَى زُهْدِهِ فَزَهِدَهُ، إِذْ لَمْ يَرَ شَيْئًا لِأَنَّهُ زَهِدَ فِي لَا شَيْءَ. وَهَذَا يُشْبِهُ مَا نَقُولُ: إِنَّ حَقِيقَةَ الزُّهْدِ هُوَ الزُّهْدُ فِي النَّفْسِ، لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ يَزْهَدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا لِنَفْسِهِ طَلَبًا لِلْعِوَضِ، فَيَكُونُ ذَلِكَ رَغْبَةً عَلَى صِفَةٍ.

wa-hādhā laʿamrī huwa al-zuhdu fī al-zuhdi, liʾannahu zahida thumma lam yanẓur ʾilā zuhdihi fazahidahu, ʾidh lam yara shayʾan liʾannahu zahida fī lā shayʾa. wa-hādhā yushbihu mā naqūlu: ʾinna ḥaqīqata al-zuhdi huwa al-zuhdu fī al-nafsi, liʾannahu qad yazhadu fī al-dunyā linafsihi ṭalaban li-l-ʿiwaḍi, fayakūnu dhālika raghbatan ʿalā ṣifatin.

By my life, this is renouncing renunciation: he renounced, then did not look at his renunciation and so renounced it, seeing nothing because he had renounced nothing. This resembles our statement that true renunciation is renouncing the self. One may renounce the world for the self's sake, seeking compensation, and that is still a form of desire.

فَإِذَا زَهِدَ فِي النَّفْسِ الَّتِي يُرِيدُ لَهَا الْأَعْوَاضَ عَلَى الزُّهْدِ فَهُوَ حَقِيقَةُ الزُّهْدِ. وَهَذَا يُشْبِهُ قَوْلَ مَنْ قَالَ: إِنَّ حَقِيقَةَ الزُّهْدِ فِي الْفَنَاءِ هُوَ الزُّهْدُ فِي الْبَقَاءِ، لِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ رُبَّمَا زَهِدَ فِي الْفَنَاءِ فَلَمْ يَزْهَدْ فِي الْبَقَاءِ فَيَكُونُ فِيهِ بَقِيَّةٌ مِنَ الرَّغْبَةِ؛ فَإِذَا زَهِدَ فِي الْبَقَاءِ فَهُوَ حَقِيقَةُ الزُّهْدِ فِي الْفَنَاءِ، إِذْ كَانَ الْفَنَاءُ يُرَادُ لِلْبَقَاءِ.

faʾidhā zahida fī al-nafsi allatī yurīdu lahā al-ʾaʿwāḍa ʿalā al-zuhdi fahuwa ḥaqīqatu al-zuhdi. wa-hādhā yushbihu qawla man qāla: ʾinna ḥaqīqata al-zuhdi fī al-fanāʾi huwa al-zuhdu fī al-baqāʾi, liʾanna al-ʿabda rubbamā zahida fī al-fanāʾi falam yazhad fī al-baqāʾi fayakūnu fīhi baqiyyatun mina al-raghbati; faʾidhā zahida fī al-baqāʾi fahuwa ḥaqīqatu al-zuhdi fī al-fanāʾi, ʾidh kāna al-fanāʾu yurādu li-l-baqāʾi.

When he renounces the self for which he seeks compensation for renunciation, that is true renunciation. This resembles the saying, “True renunciation in passing away is renouncing abiding.” A servant may renounce in passing away without renouncing abiding, leaving a remnant of desire. When he renounces abiding, this is true renunciation in passing away, since passing away is sought for the sake of abiding.

فَصْلٌ آخَرُ

faṣlun ʾākharu

Another section

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٤٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 445

Volume One, page 445

إِنَّ الرَّغْبَةَ فِي الْهَوَى حَقِيقَةُ الدُّنْيَا، وَإِنْ كَانَ الْعَبْدُ زَاهِدًا فِي الْمَالِ، مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّهُ يُعْطَى الزُّهْدَ فِي شَيْءٍ دُونَ شَيْءٍ، كَمَا يَزْهَدُ فِي الثَّنَاءِ وَلَا يَزْهَدُ فِي الْمَالِ، وَلَا يُعْطَى الزُّهْدَ فِي الْأَطْعِمَةِ، وَقَدْ يُعْطَى الزُّهْدَ فِي الْمَالِ وَلَا يُعْطَى الزُّهْدَ فِي مَنْصِبِهِ لِغَلَبَةِ الْهَوَى.

ʾinna al-raghbata fī al-hawā ḥaqīqatu al-dunyā, waʾin kāna al-ʿabdu zāhidan fī al-māli, min qibali ʾannahu yuʿṭā al-zuhda fī shayʾin dūna shayʾin, kamā yazhadu fī al-thanāʾi walā yazhadu fī al-māli, walā yuʿṭā al-zuhda fī al-ʾaṭʿimati, waqad yuʿṭā al-zuhda fī al-māli walā yuʿṭā al-zuhda fī manṣibihi lighalabati al-hawā.

Desire for one's own caprice is the reality of worldliness, even when a servant renounces wealth. He may be granted renunciation in one thing but not another: he may renounce praise but not wealth, or not be granted renunciation in foods. He may be granted renunciation in wealth but not in his position, because caprice prevails.

فَإِذَا أُعْطِيَ الزُّهْدَ فِي الْهَوَى كَائِنًا مَا، فَقَدْ أُعْطِيَ حَقِيقَةَ الزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَهَذَا هُوَ الزُّهْدُ فِي النَّفْسِ، لِأَنَّ النَّفْسَ عَيْنُ الرَّغْبَةِ وَالْهَوَى رُوحُ النَّفْسِ، فَاعْرِفْ هَذَا.

faʾidhā ʾuʿṭiya al-zuhda fī al-hawā kāʾinan mā, faqad ʾuʿṭiya ḥaqīqata al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā, wa-hādhā huwa al-zuhdu fī al-nafsi, liʾanna al-nafsa ʿaynu al-raghbati wa-al-hawā rūḥu al-nafsi, fa-iʿrif hādhā.

When he is granted renunciation of caprice, whatever form it takes, he has been granted true renunciation of the world. This is renunciation of the self, for the self is desire itself, and caprice is the self's spirit. Understand this.

وَكَانَ يُونُسُ بْنُ مَيْسَرَةَ الْجِيلَانِيُّ يَقُولُ: لَيْسَ الزَّهَادَةُ فِي الدُّنْيَا بِتَحْرِيمِ الْحَلَالِ وَلَا إِضَاعَةِ الْمَالِ، وَلَكِنِ الزَّهَادَةُ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَنْ تَكُونَ بِمَا فِي يَدِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَوْثَقَ مِنْكَ بِمَا فِي يَدَيْكَ، وَأَنْ يَكُونَ حَالُكَ فِي الْمُصِيبَةِ وَحَالُكَ إِذَا لَمْ تُصَبْ بِهَا سَوَاءً، وَأَنْ يَكُونَ ذَامُّكَ وَمَادِحُكَ فِي الْحَقِّ سَوَاءً.

wakāna yūnusu bnu maysarata al-jīlāniyyu yaqūlu: laysa al-zahādatu fī al-dunyā bitaḥrīmi al-ḥalāli walā ʾiḍāʿati al-māli, wa-lākini al-zahādatu fī al-dunyā ʾan takūna bimā fī yadi allāhi taʿālā ʾawthaqa minka bimā fī yadayka, waʾan yakūna ḥāluka fī al-muṣībati waḥāluka ʾidhā lam tuṣab bihā sawāʾan, waʾan yakūna dhāmmuka wamādiḥuka fī al-ḥaqqi sawāʾan.

Yūnus ibn Maysarah al-Jīlānī used to say, “Renouncing the world does not mean forbidding lawful things or wasting wealth. It means trusting what is in the hand of God Most High more than what is in your own hands; being in the same state during an affliction as when you are not afflicted; and treating your critic and your praiser equally where truth is concerned.”

وَقَالَ سَلَّامُ ابْنُ أَبِي مُطِيعٍ رَحِمَهُمَا اللَّهُ: الزُّهْدُ عَلَى ثَلَاثَةِ أَوْجُهٍ؛ وَاحِدٌ أَنْ تُخْلِصَ الْعَمَلَ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالْقَوْلَ، فَلَا يُرَادَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْهُ الدُّنْيَا، وَالثَّانِي تَرْكُ مَا لَا يَصْلُحُ وَالْعَمَلُ بِمَا يَصْلُحُ، وَالثَّالِثُ الْحَلَالُ أَنْ يُزْهَدَ فِيهِ وَهُوَ تَطَوُّعٌ.

waqāla sallāmu ibnu ʾabī muṭīʿin raḥimahumā allāhu: al-zuhdu ʿalā thalāthati ʾawjuhin; wāḥidun ʾan tukhliṣa al-ʿamala li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla wa-al-qawla, falā yurāda bishayʾin minhu al-dunyā, wa-al-thānī tarku mā lā yaṣluḥu wa-al-ʿamalu bimā yaṣluḥu, wa-al-thālithu al-ḥalālu ʾan yuzhada fīhi wahuwa taṭawwuʿun.

Sallām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ, may God have mercy on them both, said, “Renunciation has three forms. First, dedicating one's deeds and words sincerely to God, mighty and majestic, so that none seeks this world. Second, abandoning what is unfit and doing what is fitting. Third, renouncing lawful things, which is voluntary.”

وَكَانَ إِمَامُنَا فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ أَدْهَمَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: الزُّهْدُ ثَلَاثَةُ أَصْنَافٍ: زُهْدُ فَرْضٍ، وَزُهْدُ فَضْلٍ، وَزُهْدُ سَلَامَةٍ؛ فَالزُّهْدُ الْفَرْضُ فِي الْحَرَامِ، وَالزُّهْدُ الْفَضْلُ وَالسَّلَامَةُ الزُّهْدُ فِي الشُّبُهَاتِ.

wakāna ʾimāmunā fī hādhā al-ʿilmi ʾibrāhīmu bnu ʾadhama raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: al-zuhdu thalāthatu ʾaṣnāfin: zuhdu farḍin, wazuhdu faḍlin, wazuhdu salāmatin; fa-al-zuhdu al-farḍu fī al-ḥarāmi, wa-al-zuhdu al-faḍlu wa-al-salāmatu al-zuhdu fī al-shubuhāti.

Our leader in this knowledge, Ibrāhīm ibn Adham, may God have mercy on him, used to say, “Renunciation has three kinds: obligatory renunciation, meritorious renunciation, and renunciation for safety. Obligatory renunciation concerns what is forbidden; meritorious renunciation and renunciation for safety concern doubtful things.”

وَأَمَّا أَيُّوبُ السَّخْتِيَانِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ فَكَانَ يَقُولُ: الزُّهْدُ أَنْ يَقْعُدَ أَحَدُكُمْ فِي مَنْزِلِهِ، فَإِنْ كَانَ قُعُودُهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى رِضًا وَإِلَّا خَرَجَ، وَإِنْ يَخْرُجْ فَإِنْ كَانَ خُرُوجُهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى رِضًا وَإِلَّا رَجَعَ، فَإِنْ كَانَ رُجُوعُهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى رِضًا وَإِلَّا سَاحَ.

waʾammā ʾayyūbu al-sakhtiyāniyyu raḥimahu allāhu fakāna yaqūlu: al-zuhdu ʾan yaqʿuda ʾaḥadukum fī manzilihi, faʾin kāna quʿūduhu li-llāhi taʿālā riḍan waʾillā kharaja, waʾin yakhruj faʾin kāna khurūjuhu li-llāhi taʿālā riḍan waʾillā rajaʿa, faʾin kāna rujūʿuhu li-llāhi taʿālā riḍan waʾillā sāḥa.

Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī, may God have mercy on him, used to say, “Renunciation is for one of you to sit at home: if his sitting pleases God Most High, [he stays]; otherwise he goes out. If he goes out and his going pleases God Most High, [he continues]; otherwise he returns. If his return pleases God Most High, [he stays]; otherwise he wanders abroad.

وَيُخْرِجُ دِرْهَمَهُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ إِخْرَاجُهُ لِلَّهِ رِضًا وَإِلَّا حَبَسَهُ، وَيَحْبِسُهُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ حَبْسُهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى رِضًا وَإِلَّا رَمَى بِهِ، وَيَتَكَلَّمُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ كَلَامُهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى رِضًا وَإِلَّا سَكَتَ، فَإِنْ كَانَ سُكُوتُهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى رِضًا وَإِلَّا تَكَلَّمَ.

wayukhriju dirhamahu, faʾin kāna ʾikhrājuhu li-llāhi riḍan waʾillā ḥabasahu, wayaḥbisuhu, faʾin kāna ḥabsuhu li-llāhi taʿālā riḍan waʾillā ramā bihi, wayatakallamu, faʾin kāna kalāmuhu li-llāhi taʿālā riḍan waʾillā sakata, faʾin kāna sukūtuhu li-llāhi taʿālā riḍan waʾillā takallama.

“He gives out his dirham: if giving it pleases God, [he gives it]; otherwise he keeps it. He keeps it: if keeping it pleases God Most High, [he keeps it]; otherwise he casts it away. He speaks: if his speech pleases God Most High, [he speaks]; otherwise he is silent. If his silence pleases God Most High, [he remains silent]; otherwise he speaks.”

فَقِيلَ: هَذَا صَعْبٌ. فَقَالَ: هَذَا الطَّرِيقُ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَإِلَّا فَلَا تَلْعَبُوا. فَقَدْ ذَهَبَ إِلَى أَنَّ الزُّهْدَ هُوَ الْمُرَاقَبَةُ، وَالْمُرَاقَبَةُ هِيَ الْإِخْلَاصُ. وَسُئِلَ حَاتِمٌ الْأَصَمُّ صَاحِبُ شَقِيقٍ الْبَلْخِيِّ رَحِمَهُمَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنِ الزُّهْدِ فَقَالَ: أَوَّلُهُ الثِّقَةُ، وَأَوْسَطُهُ الصَّبْرُ، وَآخِرُهُ الْإِخْلَاصُ.

faqīla: hādhā ṣaʿbun. faqāla: hādhā al-ṭarīqu ʾilā allāhi ʿazza wajalla, waʾillā falā talʿabū. faqad dhahaba ʾilā ʾanna al-zuhda huwa al-murāqabatu, wa-al-murāqabatu hiya al-ʾikhlāṣu. wasuʾila ḥātimun al-ʾaṣammu ṣāḥibu shaqīqin al-balkhiyyi raḥimahumā allāhu taʿālā ʿani al-zuhdi faqāla: ʾawwaluhu al-thiqatu, waʾawsaṭuhu al-ṣabru, waʾākhiruhu al-ʾikhlāṣu.

Someone said, “This is hard.” He replied, “This is the path to God, mighty and majestic; otherwise, do not play at it.” He thus understood renunciation as watchfulness, and watchfulness as sincerity. Ḥātim al-Aṣamm, the companion of Shaqīq al-Balkhī, may God Most High have mercy on them both, was asked about renunciation and said, “Its beginning is confidence, its middle patience, and its end sincerity.”

فَإِذَا كَانَ الْإِخْلَاصُ عِنْدَهُمْ هُوَ آخِرَ الزُّهْدِ، فَكَيْفَ يَصِحُّ لِعَبْدٍ آخِرُ الزُّهْدِ قَبْلَ أَوَّلِهِ؟ أَمْ كَيْفَ يُجَاوِزُ الْإِخْلَاصَ إِلَى مَقَامَاتِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ؟ فَقَدْ صَارَ آخِرُ الزُّهْدِ عِنْدَهُمْ أَوَّلَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ.

faʾidhā kāna al-ʾikhlāṣu ʿindahum huwa ʾākhira al-zuhdi, fakayfa yaṣiḥḥu liʿabdin ʾākhiru al-zuhdi qabla ʾawwalihi? ʾam kayfa yujāwizu al-ʾikhlāṣa ʾilā maqāmāti al-maʿrifati? faqad ṣāra ʾākhiru al-zuhdi ʿindahum ʾawwala al-maʿrifati.

If sincerity is renunciation's end for them, how can a servant genuinely attain its end before its beginning? And how can he pass beyond sincerity to the stations of knowledge of God? For them, the end of renunciation has become the beginning of that knowledge.

وَذَهَبَتْ طَائِفَةٌ إِلَى أَنَّ الزُّهْدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، لِأَنَّ حَقِيقَةَ الْإِخْلَاصِ هُوَ الزُّهْدُ عِنْدَهُمْ، فَأَوْجَبُوهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَوْجَبُوا عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْإِخْلَاصَ. وَمَالَ إِلَى هَذَا الْقَوْلِ عَبْدُ الرَّحِيمِ بْنُ يَحْيَى الْأَسْوَدُ.

wadhahabat ṭāʾifatun ʾilā ʾanna al-zuhda fī al-dunyā farīḍatun ʿalā al-muʾminīna, liʾanna ḥaqīqata al-ʾikhlāṣi huwa al-zuhdu ʿindahum, faʾawjabūhu min ḥaythu ʾawjabū ʿalā al-muʾminīna al-ʾikhlāṣa. wamāla ʾilā hādhā al-qawli ʿabdu al-raḥīmi bnu yaḥyā al-ʾaswadu.

One group held that renouncing this world is obligatory for believers, because for them the reality of sincerity is renunciation. They made it obligatory on the same basis as they made sincerity obligatory for believers. ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Yaḥyā al-Aswad inclined to this view.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَاهُ عَنِ الْإِمَامِ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ. قِيلَ لِأَحْمَدَ: بِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ ذُكِرَ الْقَوْمُ وَصَارُوا أَئِمَّةً؟ فَقَالَ: بِالصِّدْقِ. قَالُوا: وَمَا الصِّدْقُ؟ قَالَ: الْإِخْلَاصُ. قِيلَ: وَمَا الْإِخْلَاصُ؟ قَالَ: هُوَ الزُّهْدُ. قِيلَ: وَمَا الزُّهْدُ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ؟ فَأَطْرَقَ ثُمَّ قَالَ: سَلُوا الزُّهَّادَ،

waqad rawaynā maʿnāhu ʿani al-ʾimāmi ʾaḥmada bni ḥanbalin raḥimahu allāhu. qīla liʾaḥmada: biʾayyi shayʾin dhukira al-qawmu waṣārū ʾaʾimmatan? faqāla: bi-al-ṣidqi. qālū: wamā al-ṣidqu? qāla: al-ʾikhlāṣu. qīla: wamā al-ʾikhlāṣu? qāla: huwa al-zuhdu. qīla: wamā al-zuhdu yā ʾabā ʿabdi allāhi? faʾaṭraqa thumma qāla: salū al-zuhhāda,

We have transmitted the same meaning from Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God have mercy on him. Aḥmad was asked, “Through what did these people become renowned and become leaders?” He answered, “Truthfulness.” They asked, “What is truthfulness?” “Sincerity,” he said. “And what is sincerity?” “Renunciation.” “And what is renunciation, Abū ʿAbd Allāh?” He lowered his head, then said, “Ask the renunciants;

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٤٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 446

Volume One, page 446

سَلُوا بِشْرَ بْنَ الْحَارِثِ. وَقَالَ قَوْمٌ: الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا طَلَبُ الْحَلَالِ، وَإِنَّهُ وَاجِبٌ مُفْتَرَضٌ فِي مِثْلِ زَمَانِنَا هَذَا لِاخْتِلَاطِ الْأَشْيَاءِ وَغَلَبَةِ الشُّبُهَاتِ. قَالُوا: فَقَدْ تَعَيَّنَ فَرْضُ الزُّهْدِ. وَهَذَا مَذْهَبُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ابْنِ أَدْهَمَ وَوُهَيْبِ بْنِ الْوَرْدِ وَسُلَيْمَانَ الْخَوَّاصِ وَجَمَاعَةٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ.

salū bishra bna al-ḥārithi. waqāla qawmun: al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā ṭalabu al-ḥalāli, waʾinnahu wājibun muftaraḍun fī mithli zamāninā hādhā li-ikhtilāṭi al-ʾashyāʾi waghalabati al-shubuhāti. qālū: faqad taʿayyana farḍu al-zuhdi. wa-hādhā madhhabu ʾibrāhīma ibni ʾadhama wawuhaybi bni al-wardi wasulaymāna al-khawwāṣi wajamāʿatin min ʾahli al-shāmi.

ask Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith.” Some said, “Renunciation of the world means seeking what is lawful. This is a binding duty in a time like ours because things have become mixed and doubtful matters predominate.” They said, “The obligation of renunciation has therefore become individually incumbent.” This was the position of Ibrāhīm ibn Adham, Wuhayb ibn al-Ward, Sulaymān al-Khawwāṣ, and a group of Syrians.

وَقَدْ كَانَ سَهْلٌ يَقُولُ: أَزْهَدُ النَّاسِ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَصْفَاهُمْ مَطْعَمًا. وَقَالَ: أَقْصَى مَقَامٍ فِي الْوَرَعِ أَدْنَى مَقَامٍ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ يُوسُفَ بْنِ أَسْبَاطٍ وَوَكِيعٍ رَحِمَهُمَا اللَّهُ قَالَا: لَوْ زَهِدَ عَبْدٌ فِي زَمَانِنَا هَذَا حَتَّى يَكُونَ كَأَبِي ذَرٍّ وَأَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ مَا سَمَّيْنَاهُ زَاهِدًا، لِأَنَّ الزُّهْدَ عِنْدَنَا إِنَّمَا هُوَ فِي الْحَلَالِ الْمَحْضِ، وَلَا نَعْرِفُ الْحَلَالَ الْمَحْضَ الْيَوْمَ.

waqad kāna sahlun yaqūlu: ʾazhadu al-nāsi fī al-dunyā ʾaṣfāhum maṭʿaman. waqāla: ʾaqṣā maqāmin fī al-waraʿi ʾadnā maqāmin mina al-zuhdi. waqad rawaynā ʿan yūsufa bni ʾasbāṭin wawakīʿin raḥimahumā allāhu qālā: law zahida ʿabdun fī zamāninā hādhā ḥattā yakūna kaʾabī dharrin waʾabī al-dardāʾi mā sammaynāhu zāhidan, liʾanna al-zuhda ʿindanā ʾinnamā huwa fī al-ḥalāli al-maḥḍi, walā naʿrifu al-ḥalāla al-maḥḍa al-yawma.

Sahl used to say, “Those who most renounce the world are those whose food is purest.” He also said, “The furthest station of scrupulousness is the lowest station of renunciation.” We have transmitted from Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ and Wakīʿ, may God have mercy on them both: “Even if a servant in our time renounced until he resembled Abū Dharr and Abū al-Dardāʾ, we would not call him a renunciant. For us, renunciation concerns only the purely lawful, and we do not know the purely lawful today.”

وَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ إِمَامُ الْأَئِمَّةِ يَقُولُ: لَا شَيْءَ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ رَفْضِ الدُّنْيَا. وَقَالَ الْفُضَيْلُ بْنُ ثَوْرٍ: قُلْتُ لِلْحَسَنِ: يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ، رَجُلَانِ، يَطْلُبُ أَحَدُهُمَا الدُّنْيَا بِحَلَالِهَا فَأَصَابَهَا فَوَصَلَ بِهَا رَحِمَهُ وَقَدَّمَ مِنْهَا لِنَفْسِهِ، وَرَجُلٌ رَفَضَ الدُّنْيَا. قَالَ: أَحَبُّهُمَا إِلَيَّ الَّذِي رَفَضَ الدُّنْيَا.

wa-kadhālika kāna al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu raḥimahu allāhu ʾimāmu al-ʾaʾimmati yaqūlu: lā shayʾa ʾafḍalu min rafḍi al-dunyā. waqāla al-fuḍaylu bnu thawrin: qultu li-l-ḥasani: yā ʾabā saʿīdin, rajulāni, yaṭlubu ʾaḥaduhumā al-dunyā biḥalālihā faʾaṣābahā fawaṣala bihā raḥimahu waqaddama minhā linafsihi, warajulun rafaḍa al-dunyā. qāla: ʾaḥabbuhumā ʾilayya alladhī rafaḍa al-dunyā.

Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, the leader of leaders, may God have mercy on him, likewise used to say, “Nothing is better than rejecting the world.” Al-Fuḍayl ibn Thawr said, “I asked al-Ḥasan, ‘Abū Saʿīd, consider two men. One seeks the world lawfully and obtains it, maintains his kinship ties with it, and sends some ahead for himself. The other rejects the world.’ He answered, ‘The one dearer to me is the one who rejects the world.’”

قُلْتُ: يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ، هَذَا طَلَبَهَا بِحَلَالِهَا فَأَصَابَهَا فَوَصَلَ بِهَا رَحِمَهُ وَقَدَّمَ مِنْهَا لِنَفْسِهِ. قَالَ: أَحَبُّهُمَا إِلَيَّ الَّذِي جَانَبَ الدُّنْيَا. وَإِنَّمَا شَرَّفَ الْحَسَنُ الَّذِي رَفَضَ الدُّنْيَا لِأَنَّ مَقَامَ الزُّهْدِ يَجْمَعُ التَّوَكُّلَ وَالرِّضَا.

qultu: yā ʾabā saʿīdin, hādhā ṭalabahā biḥalālihā faʾaṣābahā fawaṣala bihā raḥimahu waqaddama minhā linafsihi. qāla: ʾaḥabbuhumā ʾilayya alladhī jānaba al-dunyā. waʾinnamā sharrafa al-ḥasanu alladhī rafaḍa al-dunyā liʾanna maqāma al-zuhdi yajmaʿu al-tawakkula wa-al-riḍā.

“I said, ‘Abū Saʿīd, this man sought it lawfully and obtained it, maintained his kinship ties with it, and sent some ahead for himself.’ He answered, ‘The one dearer to me is the one who keeps apart from the world.’” Al-Ḥasan honored the one who rejected the world because the station of renunciation combines trust and contentment.

أَلَا تَسْمَعُ إِلَى الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي جَاءَ: الزُّهْدُ أَنْ تَكُونَ بِمَا فِي يَدِ اللَّهِ أَوْثَقَ مِنْكَ بِمَا فِي يَدِكَ، فَهَذَا هُوَ التَّوَكُّلُ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: وَأَنْ تَكُونَ بِثَوَابِ الْمُصِيبَةِ أَفْرَحَ مِنْكَ وَلَوْ أَنَّهَا بَقِيَتْ لَكَ، وَهَذَا هُوَ الرِّضَا. ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْمَعْرِفَةَ وَالْمَحَبَّةَ بَعْدَ الزُّهْدِ دَاخِلَانِ عَلَيْهِ، فَأَيُّ مَقَامٍ أَعْلَى مِنْ مَقَامٍ جَمَعَ هَذِهِ الْأَرْبَعَةَ وَهِيَ غَايَةُ الطَّالِبِينَ؟

ʾalā tasmaʿu ʾilā al-khabari alladhī jāʾa: al-zuhdu ʾan takūna bimā fī yadi allāhi ʾawthaqa minka bimā fī yadika, fa-hādhā huwa al-tawakkulu. thumma qāla: waʾan takūna bithawābi al-muṣībati ʾafraḥa minka walaw ʾannahā baqiyat laka, wa-hādhā huwa al-riḍā. thumma ʾinna al-maʿrifata wa-al-maḥabbata baʿda al-zuhdi dākhilāni ʿalayhi, faʾayyu maqāmin ʾaʿlā min maqāmin jamaʿa hādhihi al-ʾarbaʿata wahiya ghāyatu al-ṭālibīna?

Have you not heard the report, “Renunciation means trusting what is in God's hand more than what is in your own hand”? That is trust. It continues, “And being happier with the reward of an affliction than you would be if the thing lost had remained yours.” That is contentment. Knowledge of God and love then come to join renunciation. What station is higher than one that combines these four, the ultimate goal of seekers?

وَلَعَمْرِي أَنَّهُ هَكَذَا، لِأَنَّهُ رُوِيَ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا حَدِيثٌ فِيهِ شِدَّةٌ، قَالَ: يُؤْتَى بِالدُّنْيَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِي صُورَةِ عَجُوزٍ شَمْطَاءَ زَرْقَاءَ، أَنْيَابُهَا بَادِيَةٌ، مُشَوَّهٍ خَلْقُهَا، فَتُشْرِفُ عَلَى الْخَلَائِقِ فَيُقَالُ: أَتَعْرِفُونَ هَذِهِ؟ فَيَقُولُونَ: نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ مَعْرِفَةِ هَذِهِ.

walaʿamrī ʾannahu hākadhā, liʾannahu ruwiya ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā ḥadīthun fīhi shiddatun, qāla: yuʾtā bi-al-dunyā yawma al-qiyāmati fī ṣūrati ʿajūzin shamṭāʾa zarqāʾa, ʾanyābuhā bādiyatun, mushawwahin khalquhā, fatushrifu ʿalā al-khalāʾiqi fayuqālu: ʾataʿrifūna hādhihi? fayaqūlūna: naʿūdhu bi-llāhi taʿālā min maʿrifati hādhihi.

By my life, it is indeed so. A stern report is transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with them both: “On Resurrection Day the world is brought in the form of a gray-haired, blue-eyed old woman, her fangs showing and her appearance disfigured. She overlooks the creatures, and they are asked, ‘Do you recognize her?’ They answer, ‘We seek refuge in God Most High from knowing her.’”

فَيُقَالُ: هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا الَّتِي تَفَاخَرْتُمْ عَلَيْهَا، بِهَا تَقَاطَعْتُمُ الْأَرْحَامَ، وَبِهَا تَحَاسَدْتُمْ وَتَبَاغَضْتُمْ وَاغْتَرَرْتُمْ. ثُمَّ تُقْذَفُ فِي جَهَنَّمَ فَتُنَادِي: أَيْ رَبِّ، أَتْبَاعِي وَأَشْيَاعِي! فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ: أَلْحِقُوا بِهَا أَتْبَاعَهَا وَأَشْيَاعَهَا.

fayuqālu: hādhihi al-dunyā allatī tafākhartum ʿalayhā, bihā taqāṭaʿtumu al-ʾarḥāma, wabihā taḥāsadtum watabāghaḍtum wa-ightarartum. thumma tuqdhafu fī jahannama fatunādī: ʾay rabbi, ʾatbāʿī waʾashyāʿī! fayaqūlu allāhu: ʾalḥiqū bihā ʾatbāʿahā waʾashyāʿahā.

“They are told, ‘This is the world over which you boasted against one another. Because of it you severed kinship ties, envied and hated one another, and were deceived.’ Then she is hurled into Hell and cries, ‘My Lord, my followers and partisans!’ God says, ‘Send her followers and partisans after her.’”

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَدِيثًا أَشَدَّ مِنْ هَذَا: حُدِّثْنَا عَنْ عَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ عَنْ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لَيَجِيئَنَّ أَقْوَامٌ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَأَعْمَالُهُمْ كَجِبَالِ تِهَامَةَ، فَيُؤْمَرُ بِهِمْ إِلَى النَّارِ.

waqad rawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ḥadīthan ʾashadda min hādhā: ḥuddithnā ʿan ʿabdi al-wāḥidi bni zaydin ʿani al-ḥasani ʿan ʾanasin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu, qāla: qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: layajīʾanna ʾaqwāmun yawma al-qiyāmati waʾaʿmāluhum kajibāli tihāmata, fayuʾmaru bihim ʾilā al-nāri.

We have transmitted an even sterner report from God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. It was related to us from ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd, from al-Ḥasan, from Anas, may God be pleased with him, who said that God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “People will come on Resurrection Day with deeds like the mountains of Tihāmah, yet they will be ordered into the Fire.”

قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، مُصَلِّينَ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، كَانُوا يُصَلُّونَ وَيَصُومُونَ وَيَأْخُذُونَ هَنَةً مِنَ اللَّيْلِ، فَإِذَا عَرَضَ لَهُمْ شَيْءٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَثَبُوا عَلَيْهِ. وَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ الْحَرْثُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: إِنَّمَا الزُّهْدُ إِسْقَاطُ قِيمَةِ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الْقَلْبِ، وَأَنْ لَا يَكُونَ لِشَيْءٍ عَاجِلٍ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَزْنٌ، فَإِذَا سَقَطَتْ قِيَمُ الْأَشْيَاءِ وَاسْتَوَتْ فِي الْقَلْبِ فَهُوَ الزُّهْدُ.

qālū: yā rasūla allāhi, muṣallīna? qāla: naʿam, kānū yuṣallūna wayaṣūmūna wayaʾkhudhūna hanatan mina al-layli, faʾidhā ʿaraḍa lahum shayʾun mina al-dunyā wathabū ʿalayhi. wa-kadhālika kāna al-ḥarthu bnu ʾasadin al-muḥāsibiyyu raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: ʾinnamā al-zuhdu ʾisqāṭu qīmati al-dunyā mina al-qalbi, waʾan lā yakūna lishayʾin ʿājilin fī al-qalbi waznun, faʾidhā saqaṭat qiyamu al-ʾashyāʾi wa-istawat fī al-qalbi fahuwa al-zuhdu.

They asked, “Messenger of God, even though they prayed?” He answered, “Yes. They prayed, fasted, and took a little of the night [for worship]; but whenever anything worldly presented itself, they pounced upon it.” Al-Ḥarth ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī, may God have mercy on him, likewise used to say, “Renunciation is removing the world's value from the heart, so that nothing immediate carries any weight there. When things lose their value and become equal in the heart, that is renunciation.”

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٤٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 447

Volume One, page 447

فَأَمَّا أَبُو يَزِيدَ الْبِسْطَامِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ فَإِنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ: لَيْسَ الزَّاهِدُ مَنْ لَا يَمْلِكُ شَيْئًا، إِنَّمَا الزَّاهِدُ مَنْ لَا يَمْلِكُهُ شَيْءٌ. وَقَالَ عَالِمٌ مِثْلَهُ فِي مَعْنَاهُ: الزَّاهِدُ مَنْ لَا يَتَمَلَّكُ الْأَشْيَاءَ وَلَمْ يَسْكُنْ إِلَيْهَا. وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: الزَّاهِدُ قُوتُهُ مَا وَجَدَ، وَثَوْبُهُ مَا سَتَرَ، وَبَيْتُهُ مَا آوَاهُ، وَحَالُهُ وَقْتُهُ.

faʾammā ʾabū yazīda al-bisṭāmiyyu raḥimahu allāhu faʾinnahu kāna yaqūlu: laysa al-zāhidu man lā yamliku shayʾan, ʾinnamā al-zāhidu man lā yamlikuhu shayʾun. waqāla ʿālimun mithlahu fī maʿnāhu: al-zāhidu man lā yatamallaku al-ʾashyāʾa walam yaskun ʾilayhā. wakāna yaqūlu: al-zāhidu qūtuhu mā wajada, wathawbuhu mā satara, wabaytuhu mā ʾāwāhu, waḥāluhu waqtuhu.

Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī, may God have mercy on him, used to say, “The renunciant is not someone who owns nothing, but someone whom nothing owns.” A scholar of similar standing expressed the same meaning: “The renunciant is someone who takes no possession of things and does not find repose in them.” He used to say, “The renunciant's food is whatever he finds, his garment whatever covers him, his home whatever shelters him, and his state his present moment.”

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ: الزُّهْدُ إِنَّمَا هُوَ تَرْكُ التَّدْبِيرِ وَالِاخْتِيَارِ، وَالرِّضَا وَالتَّسْلِيمُ لِاخْتِيَارِهِ، شِدَّةً كَانَ أَوْ رَخَاءً. وَهَذَا طَرِيقُ الْخَوَّاصِ وَالثَّوْرِيِّ وَذِي النُّونِ رَحِمَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى. وَقَالَ أَبُو يَزِيدَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ مَرَّةً: إِنَّمَا الزَّاهِدُ مَنْ لَا يَمْلِكُ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَمْلِكُهُ شَيْءٌ.

waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: al-zuhdu ʾinnamā huwa tarku al-tadbīri wa-al-ikhtiyāri, wa-al-riḍā wa-al-taslīmu li-ikhtiyārihi, shiddatan kāna ʾaw rakhāʾan. wa-hādhā ṭarīqu al-khawwāṣi wa-al-thawriyyi wadhī al-nūni raḥimahumu allāhu taʿālā. waqāla ʾabū yazīda raḥimahu allāhu marratan: ʾinnamā al-zāhidu man lā yamliku shayʾan walā yamlikuhu shayʾun.

A knower said, “Renunciation means abandoning one's own management and choice, being content with His choice, and submitting to it, whether hardship or ease.” This is the path of al-Khawwāṣ, al-Thawrī, and Dhū al-Nūn, may God Most High have mercy on them. Abū Yazīd, may God have mercy on him, once said, “The renunciant is someone who owns nothing and whom nothing owns.”

وَقَالَ: حَقِيقَةُ الزُّهْدِ لَا يَكُونُ إِلَّا عِنْدَ ظُهُورِ الْقُدْرَةِ، وَالْعَاجِزُ لَا يَصِحُّ زُهْدُهُ؛ هُوَ أَنْ يُعْطِيَهُ كُنْ وَيُطْلِعَهُ عَلَى الِاسْمِ، وَيُقْدِرَهُ عَلَى الْأَشْيَاءِ بِإِظْهَارِ الْكَوْنِ، فَيَزْهَدَ فِي ذَلِكَ حَيَاءً مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَيَتْرُكَهُ حُبًّا لَهُ.

waqāla: ḥaqīqatu al-zuhdi lā yakūnu ʾillā ʿinda ẓuhūri al-qudrati, wa-al-ʿājizu lā yaṣiḥḥu zuhduhu; huwa ʾan yuʿṭiyahu kun wayuṭliʿahu ʿalā al-ismi, wayuqdirahu ʿalā al-ʾashyāʾi biʾiẓhāri al-kawni, fayazhada fī dhālika ḥayāʾan mina allāhi taʿālā wayatrukahu ḥubban lahu.

He said, “True renunciation exists only when power appears; the powerless person's renunciation is not genuine. It is that He grants him ‘Be,’ discloses the Name to him, and enables him to act upon things by bringing created being into manifestation; he then renounces this out of shame before God Most High and abandons it out of love for Him.”

وَكَانَ يَسْتَعِيذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ أَرْبَعَةٍ وَعِشْرِينَ مَقَامًا مِنْ إِظْهَارِ الْقُدْرَةِ. وَقَالَ لِأَبِي مُوسَى عَبْدِ الرَّحِيمِ: فِي أَيِّ شَيْءٍ تَتَكَلَّمُ؟ قُلْتُ: فِي الزُّهْدِ. قَالَ: فِي أَيِّ شَيْءٍ؟ قُلْتُ: فِي الدُّنْيَا. قَالَ: فَنَفَضَ يَدَهُ وَقَالَ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي الزُّهْدِ فِي شَيْءٍ؛ الدُّنْيَا لَا شَيْءَ، أَيْشْ تَزْهَدُ فِيهِ؟

wakāna yastaʿīdhu bi-llāhi min ʾarbaʿatin waʿishrīna maqāman min ʾiẓhāri al-qudrati. waqāla liʾabī mūsā ʿabdi al-raḥīmi: fī ʾayyi shayʾin tatakallamu? qultu: fī al-zuhdi. qāla: fī ʾayyi shayʾin? qultu: fī al-dunyā. qāla: fanafaḍa yadahu waqāla: ẓanantu ʾannahu yatakallamu fī al-zuhdi fī shayʾin; al-dunyā lā shayʾa, ʾaysh tazhadu fīhi?

He used to seek refuge in God from twenty-four stations involving the manifestation of power. He said to Abū Mūsā ʿAbd al-Raḥīm, “What do you speak about?” “Renunciation,” I answered. “Of what?” “The world.” He shook his hand and said, “I thought he was talking about renouncing something. The world is nothing. What is there in it to renounce?”

وَذَهَبَ إِلَى هَذَا الْمَعْنَى سَهْلٌ وَغَيْرُهُ، وَقَالَ: سَبْعَةَ عَشَرَ مَقَامًا فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ، أَدْنَاهَا الْمَشْيُ عَلَى الْمَاءِ وَفِي الْهَوَاءِ وَظُهُورُ كُنُوزِ الْأَرْضِ، وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ مِنْ زُخْرُفِ الدُّنْيَا.

wadhahaba ʾilā hādhā al-maʿnā sahlun waghayruhu, waqāla: sabʿata ʿashara maqāman fī al-maʿrifati, ʾadnāhā al-mashyu ʿalā al-māʾi wafī al-hawāʾi waẓuhūru kunūzi al-ʾarḍi, wa-hādhā kulluhu min zukhrufi al-dunyā.

Sahl and others adopted this meaning. He spoke of seventeen stations in knowledge of God, the lowest of which involve walking on water and through the air and the disclosure of the earth's treasures. All this belongs to the world's glitter.

وَقَدْ حُكِيَ لَنَا مَعْنَى هَذَا عَنِ الْجُنَيْدِ، قَالَ: اجْتَمَعَ أَرْبَعَةٌ مِنَ الْأَبْدَالِ فِي جَامِعِ الْمَنْصُورِ لَيْلَةَ الْعِيدِ، فَلَمَّا أَسْحَرُوا قَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ: أَمَّا أَنَا فَقَدْ نَوَيْتُ أَنْ أُصَلِّيَ الْعِيدَ فِي بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ. وَقَالَ الْآخَرُ: أَمَّا أَنَا فَقَدْ نَوَيْتُ أَنْ أُصَلِّيَ الْعِيدَ بِطَرَسُوسَ. وَقَالَ الثَّالِثُ: أَمَّا أَنَا فَقَدْ نَوَيْتُ أَنْ أُصَلِّيَ الْعِيدَ بِمَكَّةَ.

waqad ḥukiya lanā maʿnā hādhā ʿani al-junaydi, qāla: ijtamaʿa ʾarbaʿatun mina al-ʾabdāli fī jāmiʿi al-manṣūri laylata al-ʿīdi, falammā ʾasḥarū qāla ʾaḥaduhum: ʾammā ʾanā faqad nawaytu ʾan ʾuṣalliya al-ʿīda fī bayti al-maqdisi. waqāla al-ʾākharu: ʾammā ʾanā faqad nawaytu ʾan ʾuṣalliya al-ʿīda biṭarasūsa. waqāla al-thālithu: ʾammā ʾanā faqad nawaytu ʾan ʾuṣalliya al-ʿīda bimakkata.

An account conveying this meaning was related to us from al-Junayd: “Four of the spiritual substitutes gathered in al-Manṣūr's congregational mosque on the eve of the festival. At dawn one said, ‘I intend to perform the festival prayer in Jerusalem.’ Another said, ‘I intend to perform it in Tarsus.’ The third said, ‘I intend to perform it in Mecca.’”

وَسَكَتَ الرَّابِعُ وَكَانَ أَعْرَفَهُمْ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: أَنْتَ أَيَّ شَيْءٍ نَوَيْتَ؟ فَقَالَ: أَمَّا أَنَا فَقَدْ نَوَيْتُ الْيَوْمَ تَرْكَ الشَّهَوَاتِ، لَا أُصَلِّي إِلَّا فِي هَذَا الْمَسْجِدِ الَّذِي بِتُّ فِيهِ. فَقَالُوا: أَنْتَ أَعْلَمُنَا، فَقَعَدُوا عِنْدَهُ.

wasakata al-rābiʿu wakāna ʾaʿrafahum, faqīla lahu: ʾanta ʾayya shayʾin nawayta? faqāla: ʾammā ʾanā faqad nawaytu al-yawma tarka al-shahawāti, lā ʾuṣallī ʾillā fī hādhā al-masjidi alladhī bittu fīhi. faqālū: ʾanta ʾaʿlamunā, faqaʿadū ʿindahu.

“The fourth, who knew God best, remained silent. They asked, ‘And you, what have you intended?’ He answered, ‘Today I intend to abandon appetites. I shall pray only in this mosque where I spent the night.’ They said, ‘You are the most knowledgeable of us,’ and stayed with him.”

فَصَارَ عِنْدَ هَؤُلَاءِ كَمَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ آنِفًا أَنَّ هَذِهِ الْآيَاتِ هِيَ مِنَ الشَّهَوَاتِ، إِذْ لَيْسَتْ حَاجَاتِ مَقَامَاتٍ، وَالشَّهْوَةُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا لِأَنَّهَا مِنَ الْهَوَى، وَأَيْضًا فَفِيهَا تَدْبِيرٌ وَاخْتِيَارٌ.

faṣāra ʿinda hāʾulāʾi kamā dhakarnāhu ʾānifan ʾanna hādhihi al-ʾāyāti hiya mina al-shahawāti, ʾidh laysat ḥājāti maqāmātin, wa-al-shahwatu mina al-dunyā liʾannahā mina al-hawā, waʾayḍan fafīhā tadbīrun wa-ikhtiyārun.

For these people, as we mentioned earlier, such extraordinary signs are appetites, since they are not necessities of spiritual stations. Appetite belongs to the world because it springs from caprice. Moreover, these signs involve personal planning and choice.

وَعِنْدَ الزُّهَّادِ الْعَارِفِينَ وَالْمُحِبِّينَ أَنَّ هَذَا مَكْرٌ وَخِدَاعٌ يُبْتَلَوْنَ بِهِ وَيُقْتَطَعُونَ، لِيُنْظَرَ كَيْفَ يَعْمَلُونَ، إِذْ ابْتِلَاءُ كُلِّ عَبْدٍ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَرْتَبَتِهِ وَحَالِهِ، فَيَلْزَمُهُ الزُّهْدُ فِيهِ. وَيُقَالُ: هِيَ فِي الْمَقَامِ السَّابِعِ عَشَرَ مِنَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، فَمَنْ سُلِكَ بِهِ الطَّرِيقُ رَآهَا فِيهِ، وَفَوْقَهَا نَيِّفٌ وَسَبْعُونَ مَقَامًا أَفْضَلُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ.

waʿinda al-zuhhādi al-ʿārifīna wa-al-muḥibbīna ʾanna hādhā makrun wakhidāʿun yubtalawna bihi wayuqtaṭaʿūna, liyunẓara kayfa yaʿmalūna, ʾidh ibtilāʾu kulli ʿabdin ʿalā qadri martabatihi waḥālihi, fayalzamuhu al-zuhdu fīhi. wayuqālu: hiya fī al-maqāmi al-sābiʿi ʿashara mina al-maʿrifati, faman sulika bihi al-ṭarīqu raʾāhā fīhi, wafawqahā nayyifun wasabʿūna maqāman ʾafḍalu min dhālika.

Renunciants who know and love God regard this as a hidden design and deception through which they are tested and drawn aside, to see how they act. Each servant's trial accords with his rank and state, so he must renounce it. It is said that these signs occur in the seventeenth station of knowledge of God: whoever is led along the path sees them there, and above them lie more than seventy superior stations.

وَقَدْ سُئِلَ الْجُنَيْدُ عَنِ الزُّهْدِ فَقَالَ: مَعْنَيَانِ: ظَاهِرٌ وَبَاطِنٌ؛ فَالظَّاهِرُ بُغْضُ مَا فِي الْأَيْدِي مِنَ الْأَمْلَاكِ وَتَرْكُ طَلَبِ الْمَفْقُودِ، وَالْبَاطِنُ زَوَالُ الرَّغْبَةِ عَنِ الْقَلْبِ وَوُجُودُ الْعُزُوفِ وَالِانْصِرَافِ عَنْ ذِكْرِ ذَلِكَ. فَإِذَا تَحَقَّقَ بِذَلِكَ رَزَقَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْإِشْرَافَ عَلَى الْآخِرَةِ وَالنَّظَرَ إِلَيْهَا بِقَلْبِهِ.

waqad suʾila al-junaydu ʿani al-zuhdi faqāla: maʿnayāni: ẓāhirun wabāṭinun; fa-al-ẓāhiru bughḍu mā fī al-ʾaydī mina al-ʾamlāki watarku ṭalabi al-mafqūdi, wa-al-bāṭinu zawālu al-raghbati ʿani al-qalbi wawujūdu al-ʿuzūfi wa-al-inṣirāfi ʿan dhikri dhālika. faʾidhā taḥaqqaqa bi-dhālika razaqahu allāhu taʿālā al-ʾishrāfa ʿalā al-ʾākhirati wa-al-naẓara ʾilayhā biqalbihi.

Al-Junayd was asked about renunciation and answered, “It has two aspects, outward and inward. Outwardly, it is disliking the possessions in one's hands and abandoning the pursuit of what one lacks. Inwardly, it is desire leaving the heart, an experience of disinclination, and turning away even from recollecting those things. When one realizes this, God Most High grants him a view of the hereafter and the ability to look upon it with his heart.”

فَحِينَئِذٍ يَجِدُّ فِي الْعِلْمِ بِتَقْصِيرِ الْأَمَلِ وَتَقْرِيبِ الْأَجَلِ، لِأَنَّ الْأَسْبَابَ عَنْ قَلْبِهِ مُنْقَطِعَةٌ، وَالْقَلْبُ مُنْفَرِدٌ بِالْآخِرَةِ، وَحَقِيقَةُ الزُّهْدِ قَدْ خَلَصَتْ إِلَى قَلْبِهِ فَامْتَلَأَ مِنَ الذِّكْرِ الْخَالِصِ لِرَبِّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى. فَالزُّهْدُ عَنْ حَقِيقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ، وَالْمُشَاهَدَةُ لِلْآخِرَةِ تَكُونُ بَعْدَ الزُّهْدِ وَاسْتِوَاءِ الْأَشْيَاءِ،

faḥīnaʾidhin yajiddu fī al-ʿilmi bitaqṣīri al-ʾamali wataqrībi al-ʾajali, liʾanna al-ʾasbāba ʿan qalbihi munqaṭiʿatun, wa-al-qalbu munfaridun bi-al-ʾākhirati, waḥaqīqatu al-zuhdi qad khalaṣat ʾilā qalbihi fa-imtalaʾa mina al-dhikri al-khāliṣi lirabbihi subḥānahu wataʿālā. fa-al-zuhdu ʿan ḥaqīqati al-ʾīmāni, wa-al-mushāhadatu li-l-ʾākhirati takūnu baʿda al-zuhdi wa-istiwāʾi al-ʾashyāʾi,

“Then he becomes earnest in knowledge, shortening his hopes and regarding his appointed end as near, because external means have been severed from his heart and the heart is devoted solely to the hereafter. The reality of renunciation has reached his heart, filling it with pure remembrance of his Lord, glorified and exalted.” Renunciation proceeds from the reality of faith; witnessing the hereafter comes after renunciation and the equalization of things,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٤٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 448

Volume One, page 448

فَيَكُونُ عَدَمُهَا كَوُجُودِهَا بَعْدَ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ لِاسْتِوَاءِ الْقَلْبِ، وَمَعَهُ يَسْتَوِي الْمَدْحُ وَالذَّمُّ لِسُقُوطِ النَّفْسِ وَذَهَابِ رُؤْيَةِ الْخَلْقِ. فَعِنْدَهَا خَلَصَ الْإِخْلَاصُ إِلَى قَلْبِهِ لِصَفَاءِ الزُّهْدِ، وَثَبَتَ الزُّهْدُ لِسُقُوطِ النَّفْسِ.

fayakūnu ʿadamuhā kawujūdihā baʿda al-mushāhadati li-istiwāʾi al-qalbi, wamaʿahu yastawī al-madḥu wa-al-dhammu lisuqūṭi al-nafsi wadhahābi ruʾyati al-khalqi. faʿindahā khalaṣa al-ʾikhlāṣu ʾilā qalbihi liṣafāʾi al-zuhdi, wathabata al-zuhdu lisuqūṭi al-nafsi.

so that after witnessing, their absence is like their presence because the heart remains even. Praise and blame also become equal, as the self falls away and regard for creatures disappears. Then sincerity reaches his heart through the purity of renunciation, and renunciation becomes firmly established through the self's falling away.

دَلِيلُ ذَلِكَ: الْخَبَرُ الَّذِي رَوَيْنَاهُ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لِرَجُلٍ: هَلِ اسْتَوَيْتَ؟ قَالَ: وَكَيْفَ أَسْتَوِي؟ قَالَ: يَسْتَوِي عِنْدَكَ الْمَدْحُ وَالذَّمُّ؟ وَقَوْلُ حَارِثَةَ لَمَّا سَأَلَهُ عَنْ حَقِيقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ: عَزَفَتْ نَفْسِي عَنِ الدُّنْيَا.

dalīlu dhālika: al-khabaru alladhī rawaynāhu ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla lirajulin: hali istawayta? qāla: wakayfa ʾastawī? qāla: yastawī ʿindaka al-madḥu wa-al-dhammu? waqawlu ḥārithata lammā saʾalahu ʿan ḥaqīqati al-ʾīmāni: ʿazafat nafsī ʿani al-dunyā.

Evidence for this is the report we transmitted that the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, asked a man, “Have you become even?” He answered, “How would I become even?” The Prophet asked, “Are praise and blame equal in your sight?” Another is Ḥārithah's statement when asked about the reality of faith: “My self has turned away from the world.”

فَابْتَدَأَ بِالزُّهْدِ ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ الِاسْتِوَاءَ لِحَجَرِهَا وَذَهَبِهَا، ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ الْمُشَاهَدَةَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ، الْحَدِيثَ. وَهَذِهِ كُلُّهَا مَقَامَاتٌ فِي الزُّهْدِ، وَكُلُّ مَنْ جَعَلَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا مَبْلَغَ عِلْمِهِ وَعُلُوَّ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ جَعَلَ الزُّهْدَ ضِدَّهُ.

fa-ibtadaʾa bi-al-zuhdi thumma dhakara al-istiwāʾa liḥajarihā wadhahabihā, thumma dhakara al-mushāhadata baʿda dhālika, al-ḥadītha. wa-hādhihi kulluhā maqāmātun fī al-zuhdi, wakullu man jaʿala shayʾan mina al-dunyā mablagha ʿilmihi waʿuluwwa mushāhadatihi jaʿala al-zuhda ḍiddahu.

He began with renunciation, then mentioned the equality of the world's stones and gold, then mentioned witnessing, as the report continues. All these are stations of renunciation. Whoever makes some worldly thing the furthest reach of his knowledge and the height of his witnessing defines renunciation as its opposite.

وَقَدْ نَوَّعَ أَهْلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ الْإِيمَانَ فِي الْقَلْبِ عَلَى مَقَامَيْنِ، فَجَعَلَ لَهُمَا زُهْدَيْنِ، فَقَالَ: إِذَا تَعَلَّقَ الْإِيمَانُ بِظَاهِرِ الْقَلْبِ أَحَبَّ الْعَبْدُ الدُّنْيَا وَأَحَبَّ الْآخِرَةَ وَعَمِلَ لَهُمَا، فَإِذَا بَطَنَ الْإِيمَانُ فِي سُوَيْدَاءِ الْقَلْبِ وَبَاشَرَهُ أَبْغَضَ الدُّنْيَا فَلَمْ يَنْظُرْ إِلَيْهَا وَلَمْ يَعْمَلْ لَهَا.

waqad nawwaʿa ʾahlu al-maʿrifati al-ʾīmāna fī al-qalbi ʿalā maqāmayni, fajaʿala lahumā zuhdayni, faqāla: ʾidhā taʿallaqa al-ʾīmānu biẓāhiri al-qalbi ʾaḥabba al-ʿabdu al-dunyā waʾaḥabba al-ʾākhirata waʿamila lahumā, faʾidhā baṭana al-ʾīmānu fī suwaydāʾi al-qalbi wabāsharahu ʾabghaḍa al-dunyā falam yanẓur ʾilayhā walam yaʿmal lahā.

The people of knowledge of God distinguished two stations of faith in the heart and assigned them two forms of renunciation. It was said, “When faith attaches to the heart's outward surface, the servant loves this world and the hereafter and works for both. When faith penetrates the heart's innermost center and touches it directly, he hates this world, no longer looks toward it, and no longer works for it.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ يَقُولُ: مَنْ شُغِلَ بِنَفْسِهِ شُغِلَ عَنِ النَّاسِ، وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْعَامِلِينَ؛ وَمَنْ شُغِلَ بِرَبِّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى شُغِلَ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ، وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْعَارِفِينَ.

waqad kāna ʾabū sulaymāna yaqūlu: man shughila binafsihi shughila ʿani al-nāsi, wa-hādhā maqāmu al-ʿāmilīna; waman shughila birabbihi subḥānahu wataʿālā shughila ʿan nafsihi, wa-hādhā maqāmu al-ʿārifīna.

Abū Sulaymān used to say, “Whoever is occupied with himself is kept from preoccupation with people; this is the station of those who practice. Whoever is occupied with his Lord, glorified and exalted, is kept from preoccupation with himself; this is the station of the knowers.”

وَلِهَذَيْنِ الْمَقَامَيْنِ دَلِيلٌ مِنَ السُّنَّةِ: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سُئِلَ: أَيُّ النَّاسِ خَيْرٌ؟ فَقَالَ: مَنْ يَشْنَأُ الدُّنْيَا وَيُحِبُّ الْآخِرَةَ. فَأَوْقَعَ الشَّنَآنَ لِلدُّنْيَا لِوُقُوعِ ضِدِّهِ مِنْ حُبِّ الْآخِرَةِ. وَالْمَقَامُ الْأَعْلَى دَلِيلُهُ: مَنْ جَعَلَ الْهُمُومَ هَمًّا وَاحِدًا كَفَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَمْرَ آخِرَتِهِ وَدُنْيَاهُ.

wa-li-hādhayni al-maqāmayni dalīlun mina al-sunnati: ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama suʾila: ʾayyu al-nāsi khayrun? faqāla: man yashnaʾu al-dunyā wayuḥibbu al-ʾākhirata. faʾawqaʿa al-shanaʾāna li-l-dunyā liwuqūʿi ḍiddihi min ḥubbi al-ʾākhirati. wa-al-maqāmu al-ʾaʿlā dalīluhu: man jaʿala al-humūma hamman wāḥidan kafāhu allāhu taʿālā ʾamra ʾākhiratihi wadunyāhu.

Both stations have evidence in the prophetic practice. The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, was asked, “Who are the best people?” He answered, “Those who hate this world and love the hereafter.” He assigned hatred to this world because its opposite, love of the hereafter, was present. Evidence for the higher station is: “Whoever makes his concerns a single concern, God Most High takes care of his affairs in the hereafter and this world.”

وَالْهَمُّ الْوَاحِدُ بِوَجْدٍ وَاحِدٍ لِرَبٍّ وَاحِدٍ هُوَ وَصْفُ عَبْدٍ مُتَوَحِّدٍ لِوَاحِدٍ، مَقَالُهُ إِلَى وَاحِدٍ، وَقَدْ وَهَبَ لَهُ خُلُقًا مِنْ أَخْلَاقِهِ، فَهُوَ الْأَحَدُ بِوَحْدَانِيَّةِ صِفَتِهِ، وَعَبْدٌ مُتَوَحِّدٌ بِوَجْدِهِ بَيْنَ خَلْقِهِ، فَهُوَ مُنْفَرِدُ الْهَمِّ مُجْتَمِعُ الْقَلْبِ.

wa-al-hammu al-wāḥidu biwajdin wāḥidin lirabbin wāḥidin huwa waṣfu ʿabdin mutawaḥḥidin liwāḥidin, maqāluhu ʾilā wāḥidin, waqad wahaba lahu khuluqan min ʾakhlāqihi, fahuwa al-ʾaḥadu biwaḥdāniyyati ṣifatihi, waʿabdun mutawaḥḥidun biwajdihi bayna khalqihi, fahuwa munfaridu al-hammi mujtamiʿu al-qalbi.

A single concern, with a single inward experience, for a single Lord: this describes a servant wholly devoted to the One, whose speech is directed to the One. He has bestowed upon him a quality from His own qualities. He is the One in the singularity of His attribute; and there is a servant made single by his inward experience among His creatures, with one concern and a gathered heart.

وَانْفِرَادُ الْهَمِّ يَكُونُ بَعْدَ مَحْوِ الْهَوَى، وَمَحْوُهُ بَعْدَ امْتِحَانِ الْقَلْبِ لِلتَّقْوَى، وَاجْتِمَاعُ الْقَلْبِ يَكُونُ مَعَ طِيبِ النَّفْسِ وَطُمَأْنِينَتِهَا بِالْإِيمَانِ أَوْ فَلَاحِهَا بِالتَّزْكِيَةِ وَالرِّضَا، كَمَا قَالَ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: طِيبُ النَّفْسِ مِنَ النَّعِيمِ.

wa-infirādu al-hammi yakūnu baʿda maḥwi al-hawā, wamaḥwuhu baʿda imtiḥāni al-qalbi li-l-taqwā, wa-ijtimāʿu al-qalbi yakūnu maʿa ṭībi al-nafsi waṭumaʾnīnatihā bi-al-ʾīmāni ʾaw falāḥihā bi-al-tazkiyati wa-al-riḍā, kamā qāla al-rasūlu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ṭību al-nafsi mina al-naʿīmi.

Singleness of concern comes after the erasure of caprice, and its erasure after the heart has been tested for God-consciousness. The heart's gathering comes with the self's well-being and reassurance through faith, or its flourishing through purification and contentment. As the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “A cheerful soul is part of blessed ease.”

وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا﴾ الشَّمْسِ: 9، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً﴾ الْفَجْرِ: 28، فَيَكُونُ مُتَوَحِّدًا بِالرُّوحِ مُخَلَّقَةً بِأَخْلَاقِ الْإِيمَانِ، مُوَاطِئَةً لِلْقَلْبِ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْيَقِينِ.

waqāla allāhu taʿālā: ﴿qad ʾaflaḥa man zakkāhā﴾ al-shamsi: 9, waqāla taʿālā: ﴿rāḍiyatan marḍiyyatan﴾ al-fajri: 28, fayakūnu mutawaḥḥidan bi-al-rūḥi mukhallaqatan biʾakhlāqi al-ʾīmāni, muwāṭiʾatan li-l-qalbi bimushāhadati al-yaqīni.

God Most High says, “Successful is the one who purifies it” (al-Shams 91:9), and He, exalted, says, “Content and well pleasing” (al-Fajr 89:28). The servant thus becomes unified through the spirit, the spirit adorned with the qualities of faith and in accord with the heart through the witnessing of certainty.

وَقَالَ وَهْبُ بْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ: وَجَدْتُ فِيمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: مَنْ أَحَبَّ الدُّنْيَا أَبْغَضَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، وَمَنْ أَبْغَضَهَا أَحَبَّهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، وَمَنْ أَكْرَمَ الدُّنْيَا أَهَانَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، وَمَنْ أَهَانَهَا أَكْرَمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى.

waqāla wahbu bnu munabbihin: wajadtu fīmā ʾanzala allāhu taʿālā ʿalā mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: man ʾaḥabba al-dunyā ʾabghaḍahu allāhu taʿālā, waman ʾabghaḍahā ʾaḥabbahu allāhu taʿālā, waman ʾakrama al-dunyā ʾahānahu allāhu taʿālā, waman ʾahānahā ʾakramahu allāhu taʿālā.

Wahb ibn Munabbih said, “I found among what God Most High revealed to Moses, peace be upon him: ‘Whoever loves the world, God Most High hates; whoever hates it, God Most High loves. Whoever honors the world, God Most High humiliates; whoever humiliates it, God Most High honors.’”

وَأَمَّا عُلَمَاءُ الظَّاهِرِ فَقَالُوا: الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا هُوَ مُوَافَقَةُ الْعِلْمِ، وَالْقِيَامُ بِأَحْكَامِ الشَّرْعِ، وَأَخْذُ الشَّيْءِ مِنْ وَجْهِهِ وَوَضْعُهُ فِي حَقِّهِ، وَمَا خَالَفَ الْعِلْمَ فَهُوَ هَوًى كُلُّهُ. فَذَكَرُوا فَرْضَ الزُّهْدِ وَظَاهِرَهُ وَلَمْ يَعْرِفُوا دَقَائِقَهُ وَبَوَاطِنَهُ.

waʾammā ʿulamāʾu al-ẓāhiri faqālū: al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā huwa muwāfaqatu al-ʿilmi, wa-al-qiyāmu biʾaḥkāmi al-sharʿi, waʾakhdhu al-shayʾi min wajhihi wawaḍʿuhu fī ḥaqqihi, wamā khālafa al-ʿilma fahuwa hawan kulluhu. fadhakarū farḍa al-zuhdi waẓāhirahu walam yaʿrifū daqāʾiqahu wabawāṭinahu.

The scholars of the outward, however, said, “Renunciation of the world means conforming to knowledge, carrying out the Sacred Law's rulings, obtaining things through their proper avenues, and placing them where they belong. Whatever contradicts knowledge is entirely caprice.” They described obligatory renunciation and its outward aspect without knowing its subtleties and inward dimensions.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ سُفْيَانَ بْنِ عُيَيْنَةَ وَالثَّوْرِيِّ مَعْنَى هَذَا أَنَّهُمَا سُئِلَا: أَيَكُونُ الرَّجُلُ زَاهِدًا وَلَهُ مَالٌ؟ قَالَا: نَعَمْ، إِذَا كَانَ إِذَا اُبْتُلِيَ فَصَبَرَ، وَإِذَا أُنْعِمَ عَلَيْهِ شَكَرَ. قَالَ ابْنُ أَبِي الْحَوَارِيِّ:

waqad rawaynā ʿan sufyāna bni ʿuyaynata wa-al-thawriyyi maʿnā hādhā ʾannahumā suʾilā: ʾayakūnu al-rajulu zāhidan walahu mālun? qālā: naʿam, ʾidhā kāna ʾidhā ubtuliya faṣabara, waʾidhā ʾunʿima ʿalayhi shakara. qāla ibnu ʾabī al-ḥawāriyyi:

We have transmitted this meaning from Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah and al-Thawrī. They were asked, “Can a man be a renunciant while possessing wealth?” They answered, “Yes, if, when tested, he is patient, and when blessed, he is grateful.” Ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī said,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٤٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 449

Volume One, page 449

فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ، يَعْنِي ابْنَ عُيَيْنَةَ، قَدْ أُنْعِمَ عَلَيْهِ فَشَكَرَ، وَاُبْتُلِيَ فَصَبَرَ، وَحَبَسَ النِّعْمَةَ، كَيْفَ يَكُونُ زَاهِدًا؟ فَضَرَبَنِي بِيَدِهِ وَقَالَ: اُسْكُتْ، مَنْ لَمْ تَمْنَعْهُ النَّعْمَاءُ مِنَ الشُّكْرِ وَلَا الْبَلْوَى عَنِ الصَّبْرِ فَذَلِكَ الزَّاهِدُ. وَوَافَقَهُمَا الزُّهْرِيُّ فَقَالَ كَذَلِكَ.

faqultu lahu: yā ʾabā muḥammadin, yaʿnī ibna ʿuyaynata, qad ʾunʿima ʿalayhi fashakara, wa-ubtuliya faṣabara, waḥabasa al-niʿmata, kayfa yakūnu zāhidan? faḍarabanī biyadihi waqāla: uskut, man lam tamnaʿhu al-naʿmāʾu mina al-shukri walā al-balwā ʿani al-ṣabri fa-dhālika al-zāhidu. wawāfaqahumā al-zuhriyyu faqāla kadhālika.

“I said to him, ‘Abū Muḥammad,’ meaning Ibn ʿUyaynah, ‘he has been blessed and given thanks, tested and remained patient, but he has kept the blessing. How can he be a renunciant?’ He struck me with his hand and said, ‘Be quiet! Someone whom prosperity does not prevent from gratitude, nor affliction from patience, is a renunciant.’” Al-Zuhrī agreed with the two and said the same.

وَقَدْ فَصَّلَ ذَلِكَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ، فَقَالَ ابْنُ أَبِي الْحَوَارِيِّ: قُلْتُ لَهُ: أَكَانَ دَاوُدُ الطَّائِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى زَاهِدًا؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ. قُلْتُ: بَلَغَنِي أَنَّهُ وَرِثَ مِنْ أَبِيهِ عِشْرِينَ دِينَارًا فَأَنْفَقَهَا فِي عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً، فَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ زَاهِدًا وَهُوَ يُمْسِكُ الدَّنَانِيرَ؟ فَقَالَ: أَرَدْتَ مِنْهُ أَنْ يَبْلُغَ حَقِيقَةَ الزُّهْدِ.

waqad faṣṣala dhālika ʾabū sulaymāna, faqāla ibnu ʾabī al-ḥawāriyyi: qultu lahu: ʾakāna dāwudu al-ṭāʾiyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā zāhidan? qāla: naʿam. qultu: balaghanī ʾannahu waritha min ʾabīhi ʿishrīna dīnāran faʾanfaqahā fī ʿishrīna sanatan, fakayfa yakūnu zāhidan wahuwa yumsiku al-danānīra? faqāla: ʾaradta minhu ʾan yablugha ḥaqīqata al-zuhdi.

Abū Sulaymān made a distinction here. Ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī said, “I asked him, ‘Was Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī a renunciant, may God Most High have mercy on him?’ He answered, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘I have heard that he inherited twenty dinars from his father and spent them over twenty years. How could he be a renunciant while keeping the dinars?’ He replied, ‘You wanted him to reach the reality of renunciation.’”

وَلَعَمْرِي أَنَّا رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: نِعْمًا بِالْمَالِ الصَّالِحِ لِلْمَرْءِ الصَّالِحِ. وَالْمَالُ الصَّالِحُ هُوَ الْحَلَالُ، وَالْمَرْءُ الصَّالِحُ الْمُنْفِقُ مَالَهُ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاتِهِ، كَمَا وَصَفَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَمَدَحَهُ.

walaʿamrī ʾannā rawaynā ʿan rasūlin ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: niʿman bi-al-māli al-ṣāliḥi li-l-marʾi al-ṣāliḥi. wa-al-mālu al-ṣāliḥu huwa al-ḥalālu, wa-al-marʾu al-ṣāliḥu al-munfiqu mālahu bi-al-layli wa-al-nahāri sirran waʿalāniyatan fī sabīli allāhi ibtighāʾa marḍātihi, kamā waṣafahu allāhu taʿālā wamadaḥahu.

By my life, we have transmitted from the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, “How excellent is sound wealth for a righteous person!” Sound wealth is lawful wealth; the righteous person spends his wealth by night and day, secretly and openly, in God's path, seeking His pleasure, as God Most High has described and praised him.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُعْطِي الدُّنْيَا مَنْ يُحِبُّ وَمَنْ لَا يُحِبُّ، وَلَا يُعْطِي الدِّينَ إِلَّا مَنْ يُحِبُّ. وَالَّذِي يُحِبُّهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِمَّنْ أَعْطَاهُ الدُّنْيَا لَا يُخَالِفُ حَبِيبَهُ إِلَى هَوَاهُ، وَلَا يُؤْثِرُ نَفْسَهُ عَلَى مَحَبَّةِ مَوْلَاهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى، إِذْ قَدْ تَوَلَّاهُ فِيمَا أَعْطَاهُ.

waqad rawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾanna allāha taʿālā yuʿṭī al-dunyā man yuḥibbu waman lā yuḥibbu, walā yuʿṭī al-dīna ʾillā man yuḥibbu. wa-alladhī yuḥibbuhu allāhu taʿālā mimman ʾaʿṭāhu al-dunyā lā yukhālifu ḥabībahu ʾilā hawāhu, walā yuʾthiru nafsahu ʿalā maḥabbati mawlāhu tabāraka wataʿālā, ʾidh qad tawallāhu fīmā ʾaʿṭāhu.

We have transmitted from God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, “God Most High gives this world to those He loves and those He does not love, but gives religion only to those He loves.” A person whom God Most High loves among those granted worldly goods does not oppose his Beloved by following caprice or prefer himself to love of his Master, blessed and exalted, for He has taken him into His care through what He has given him.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: الطَّاعِمُ الشَّاكِرُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الصَّائِمِ الصَّابِرِ. وَالطَّاعِمُ الشَّاكِرُ هُوَ الَّذِي يَسْتَعِينُ بِطُعْمَتِهِ عَلَى خِدْمَةِ مَوْلَاهُ وَيَعْبُدُهُ شُكْرًا لِمَا أَوْلَاهُ.

waqad rawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: al-ṭāʿimu al-shākiru bimanzilati al-ṣāʾimi al-ṣābiri. wa-al-ṭāʿimu al-shākiru huwa alladhī yastaʿīnu biṭuʿmatihi ʿalā khidmati mawlāhu wayaʿbuduhu shukran limā ʾawlāhu.

We have transmitted that the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “The grateful person who eats has the standing of the patient person who fasts.” The grateful eater uses his food to sustain his service of his Master and worships Him in gratitude for what He has bestowed.

وَقَدْ قَالُوا فِي الزُّهْدِ وَصْفَانِ جَامِعَانِ لِأَحْوَالِ الْقُلُوبِ. قَالَ مُضَاءُ بْنُ عِيسَى: قُلْتُ لِلسَّبَاعِ الْمَوْصِلِيِّ: يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ، إِلَى أَيِّ شَيْءٍ أَفْضَى بِهِمُ الزُّهْدُ؟ قَالَ: إِلَى الْأُنْسِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى. وَقَالَ عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عُمَارَةَ: كَانَ يُقَالُ: الْوَرَعُ يَبْلُغُ بِالْعَبْدِ إِلَى الزُّهْدِ، وَالزُّهْدُ يَبْلُغُ بِهِ حُبَّ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.

waqad qālū fī al-zuhdi waṣfāni jāmiʿāni liʾaḥwāli al-qulūbi. qāla muḍāʾu bnu ʿīsā: qultu li-l-sabāʿi al-mawṣiliyyi: yā ʾabā muḥammadin, ʾilā ʾayyi shayʾin ʾafḍā bihimu al-zuhdu? qāla: ʾilā al-ʾunsi bi-llāhi taʿālā. waqāla ʿuthmānu bnu ʿumārata: kāna yuqālu: al-waraʿu yablughu bi-al-ʿabdi ʾilā al-zuhdi, wa-al-zuhdu yablughu bihi ḥubba allāhi taʿālā.

They have given two descriptions of renunciation that encompass the states of hearts. Muḍāʾ ibn ʿĪsā said, “I asked al-Sabāʿ al-Mawṣilī, ‘Abū Muḥammad, where has renunciation brought them?’ He answered, ‘To intimacy with God Most High.’” ʿUthmān ibn ʿUmārah said, “It used to be said: scrupulousness brings the servant to renunciation, and renunciation brings him to love of God Most High.”

فَهَذَانِ الْحَالَانِ غَايَةُ الطَّالِبِينَ: الْحُبُّ لِلْجَلِيلِ وَالْأُنْسُ بِاللَّطِيفِ. فَمَنْ لَمْ يَتَحَقَّقْ بِالزُّهْدِ لَمْ يَبْلُغْ مَقَامَ الْحُبِّ وَلَمْ يُدْرِكْ حَالَ الْأُنْسِ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ سَرَائِرَ الْغُيُوبِ فِي مَقَامِ الْحُبِّ وَالْخُلَّةِ، وَفِي حَالِ الْأُنْسِ وَالْقُرْبَةِ.

fa-hādhāni al-ḥālāni ghāyatu al-ṭālibīna: al-ḥubbu li-l-jalīli wa-al-ʾunsu bi-al-laṭīfi. faman lam yataḥaqqaq bi-al-zuhdi lam yablugh maqāma al-ḥubbi walam yudrik ḥāla al-ʾunsi, thumma ʾinna sarāʾira al-ghuyūbi fī maqāmi al-ḥubbi wa-al-khullati, wafī ḥāli al-ʾunsi wa-al-qurbati.

These two states are the seekers' ultimate goal: love for the Majestic and intimacy with the Subtle. Whoever has not realized renunciation does not reach the station of love or attain the state of intimacy. The innermost mysteries of the unseen lie in the station of love and intimate friendship, and in the state of intimacy and nearness.

وَفَّقَنَا اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ لِمَا يُحِبُّ، وَبَلَّغَنَا مَا نُؤَمِّلُ بِفَضْلِهِ وَرَحْمَتِهِ، وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ. وَهَذَا آخِرُ كِتَابِ الزُّهْدِ.

waffaqanā allāhu waʾiyyākum limā yuḥibbu, waballaghanā mā nuʾammilu bifaḍlihi waraḥmatihi, walā ḥawla walā quwwata ʾillā bi-llāhi al-ʿaliyyi al-ʿaẓīmi. wa-hādhā ʾākhiru kitābi al-zuhdi.

May God guide us and you to what He loves and bring us to what we hope for through His bounty and mercy. There is no power and no strength except through God, the Most High, the Tremendous. This is the end of the Book of Renunciation.

تَمَّ الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ مِنْ قُوتِ الْقُلُوبِ، وَيَلِيهِ الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي أَوَّلُهُ شَرْحُ مَقَامِ التَّوَكُّلِ وَوَصْفُ أَحْوَالِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ. / / بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ. شَرْحُ مَقَامِ التَّوَكُّلِ وَوَصْفُ أَحْوَالِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ. انْتَهَى الْمُجَلَّدُ الْأَوَّلُ.

tamma al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu min qūti al-qulūbi, wayalīhi al-juzʾu al-thānī ʾawwaluhu sharḥu maqāmi al-tawakkuli wawaṣfu ʾaḥwāli al-mutawakkilīna. / / bismi allāhi al-raḥmāni al-raḥīmi. sharḥu maqāmi al-tawakkuli wawaṣfu ʾaḥwāli al-mutawakkilīna. intahā al-mujalladu al-ʾawwalu.

The first volume of Nourishment of Hearts is complete. It is followed by the second volume, beginning with an explanation of the station of trust and a description of the states of those who trust. / / In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. Explanation of the station of trust and description of the states of those who trust. The first volume has ended.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي

al-juzʾu al-thānī

Volume Two

قُوتُ الْقُلُوبِ

qūtu al-qulūbi

Nourishment of Hearts

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 3

Volume Two, page 3

شَرْحُ مَقَامِ التَّوَكُّلِ وَوَصْفُ أَحْوَالِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ وَهُوَ الْمَقَامُ السَّابِعُ مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ

sharḥu maqāmi al-tawakkuli wawaṣfu ʾaḥwāli al-mutawakkilīna wahuwa al-maqāmu al-sābiʿu min maqāmāti al-yaqīni

An exposition of the station of trust and the states of those who trust: the seventh station of certainty

التَّوَكُّلُ مِنْ أَعْلَى مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ وَأَشْرَفِ أَحْوَالِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ. قَالَ اللَّهُ الْحَقُّ الْمُبِينُ: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ﴾ آلِ عِمْرَانَ 159، فَجَعَلَ الْمُتَوَكِّلَ حَبِيبَهُ وَأَلْقَى عَلَيْهِ مَحَبَّتَهُ. وَقَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ﴾ إِبْرَاهِيمَ 12، يَرْفَعُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ إِلَيْهِ وَجَعَلَ مَزِيدَهُمْ مِنْهُ. وَقَالَ جَلَّتْ قُدْرَتُهُ: ﴿وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ﴾ الطَّلَاقِ: 3، أَيْ كَافِيهِ مِمَّا سِوَاهُ.

al-tawakkulu min ʾaʿlā maqāmāti al-yaqīni waʾashrafi ʾaḥwāli al-muqarrabīna. qāla Allāhu al-ḥaqqu al-mubīnu: ﴿ʾinna Allāha yuḥibbu al-mutawakkilīna﴾ ʾāli ʿimrāna 159, fajaʿala al-mutawakkila ḥabībahu waʾalqā ʿalayhi maḥabbatahu. waqāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla: ﴿waʿalā Allāhi falyatawakkali al-mutawakkilūna﴾ ʾibrāhīma 12, yarfaʿu al-mutawakkilīna ʾilayhi wajaʿala mazīdahum minhu. waqāla jallat qudratuhu: ﴿waman yatawakkal ʿalā Allāhi fahuwa ḥasbuhu﴾ al-ṭalāqi: 3, ʾay kāfīhi mimmā siwāhu.

Trust is among the highest stations of certainty and the noblest states of those brought near. God, the manifest Truth, says, “God loves those who trust” (Āl ʿImrān 3:159). He thus makes the trusting servant His beloved and casts His love upon him. God, mighty and majestic, says, “In God let those who trust put their trust” (Ibrāhīm 14:12), raising them toward Himself and making their increase come from Him. He whose power is exalted says, “Whoever trusts in God, He is sufficient for him” (al-Ṭalāq 65:3): He suffices him in place of everything else.

فَمَنْ كَانَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى كَافِيهِ فَهُوَ شَافِيهِ وَمُعَافِيهِ وَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا هُوَ فِيهِ. فَقَدْ صَارَ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ عِبَادِ الرَّحْمَنِ الَّذِينَ أَضَافَهُمْ إِلَى وَصْفِ الرَّحْمَةِ، وَمِنْ عِبَادِ التَّخْصِيصِ الَّذِينَ ضَمِنَ لَهُمُ الْكِفَايَةَ، وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ وَصَفَهُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ بِقَوْلِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ: ﴿وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا﴾ الْفُرْقَانِ: 63، إِلَى آخِرِ أَوْصَافِهِمْ.

faman kāna Allāhu taʿālā kāfīhi fahuwa shāfīhi wamuʿāfīhi walā yusʾalu ʿammā huwa fīhi. faqad ṣāra al-mutawakkilu ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā min ʿibādi al-raḥmāni alladhīna ʾaḍāfahum ʾilā waṣfi al-raḥmati, wamin ʿibādi al-takhṣīṣi alladhīna ḍamina lahumu al-kifāyata, wahumu alladhīna waṣafahum fī al-kitābi biqawlihi subḥānahu: ﴿waʿibādu al-raḥmāni alladhīna yamshūna ʿalā al-ʾarḍi hawnan﴾ al-furqāni: 63, ʾilā ʾākhiri ʾawṣāfihim.

When God Most High suffices someone, He heals him and grants him well-being; no question need be asked about his condition. The one who trusts in God Most High has become one of the servants of the All-Merciful, whom He associates with the attribute of mercy, and one of the specially chosen servants for whom He guarantees sufficiency. These are those He describes in the Book, saying, glory be to Him, “The servants of the All-Merciful are those who walk gently upon the earth” (al-Furqān 25:63), through the remainder of their description.

وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَاهُمْ فِي هَذِهِ الدَّارِ الْمُهِمَّاتِ وَوَقَاهُمْ بِتَفْوِيضِهِمْ إِلَيْهِ السَّيِّئَاتِ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِكَافٍ عَبْدَهُ﴾ الزُّمَرِ: 36، وَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَأُفَوِّضُ أَمْرِي إِلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ﴾ ﴿فَوَقَاهُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِ مَا مَكَرُوا﴾ غَافِرٍ: 44–45. وَلَيْسَ هَؤُلَاءِ مِنْ عِبَادِ الْعَدَدِ فَقَطِ الَّذِينَ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿إِنْ كُلُّ مَنْ فِي السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِلَّا آتِي الرَّحْمَنِ عَبْدًا﴾ ﴿لَقَدْ أَحْصَاهُمْ وَعَدَّهُمْ عَدًّا﴾ مَرْيَمَ 93–94.

wahumu alladhīna kafāhum fī hādhihi al-dāri al-muhimmāti wawaqāhum bitafwīḍihim ʾilayhi al-sayyiʾāti biqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿ʾalaysa Allāhu bikāfin ʿabdahu﴾ al-zumari: 36, waqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿waʾufawwiḍu ʾamrī ʾilā Allāhi ʾinna Allāha baṣīrun bi-al-ʿibādi﴾ ﴿fawaqāhu Allāhu sayyiʾāti mā makarū﴾ ghāfirin: 44–45. walaysa hāʾulāʾi min ʿibādi al-ʿadadi faqaṭi alladhīna qāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla: ﴿ʾin kullu man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍi ʾillā ʾātī al-raḥmāni ʿabdan﴾ ﴿laqad ʾaḥṣāhum waʿaddahum ʿaddan﴾ maryama 93–94.

They are those whose pressing needs He meets in this abode and whom He protects from evils because they entrust their affairs to Him, as He says, exalted is He, “Does God not suffice His servant?” (al-Zumar 39:36), and, exalted is He, “I entrust my affair to God; God sees the servants,” followed by, “So God protected him from the evils of their plotting” (Ghāfir 40:44–45). They are not merely servants included in the count, of whom God, mighty and majestic, says, “Everyone in the heavens and earth comes to the All-Merciful as a servant. He has encompassed them and counted them precisely” (Maryam 19:93–94).

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الصَّحَابَةِ وَغَيْرُهُ مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ: التَّوَكُّلُ نِظَامُ التَّوْحِيدِ وَجِمَاعُ الْأَمْرِ. وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ بَعْضَ الْعُبَّادِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ فِي الْمَنَامِ فَقُلْتُ: مَا فَعَلَ اللَّهُ بِكَ؟ قَالَ: غَفَرَ لِي وَأَدْخَلَنِي الْجَنَّةَ. قُلْتُ: فَأَيَّ الْأَعْمَالِ وَجَدْتَ هُنَاكَ أَفْضَلَ؟ قَالَ: التَّوَكُّلَ وَقِصَرَ الْأَمَلِ فَعَلَيْكَ بِهِمَا.

waqāla baʿḍu al-ṣaḥābati waghayruhu mina al-tābiʿīna: al-tawakkulu niẓāmu al-tawḥīdi wajimāʿu al-ʾamri. waḥaddathūnā ʿan baʿḍi al-salafi qāla: raʾaytu baʿḍa al-ʿubbādi min ʾahli al-baṣrati fī al-manāmi faqultu: mā faʿala Allāhu bika? qāla: ghafara lī waʾadkhalanī al-jannata. qultu: faʾayya al-ʾaʿmāli wajadta hunāka ʾafḍala? qāla: al-tawakkula waqiṣara al-ʾamali faʿalayka bihimā.

One of the Companions, and others among the Successors, said, “Trust is the thread that holds affirmation of God's oneness together, and the sum of the matter.” They related to us from one of the early predecessors: “I saw a devout worshipper from Basra in a dream and asked, ‘What did God do with you?’ He said, ‘He forgave me and admitted me to the Garden.’ I asked, ‘Which deeds did you find best there?’ He said, ‘Trust and keeping one's hopes short. Hold fast to both.’”

وَقَالَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ: ذِرْوَةُ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِخْلَاصِ وَالتَّوَكُّلِ وَالِاسْتِسْلَامِ لِلرَّبِّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ. وَكَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: لَيْسَ فِي الْمَقَامَاتِ أَعَزُّ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ، وَقَدْ ذَهَبَ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ بِحَقِيقَتِهِ، وَبَقِيَ مِنْهُ صُبَابَةٌ اِنْتَشَقَهَا الصِّدِّيقُونَ وَالشُّهَدَاءُ، فَمَنْ تَعَلَّقَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْهُ فَهُوَ صِدِّيقٌ أَوْ شَهِيدٌ.

waqāla ʾabū al-dardāʾi: dhirwatu al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʾikhlāṣi wa-al-tawakkuli wa-al-istislāmi li-l-rabbi ʿazza wajalla. wakāna ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu: laysa fī al-maqāmāti ʾaʿazzu mina al-tawakkuli, waqad dhahaba al-ʾanbiyāʾu biḥaqīqatihi, wabaqiya minhu ṣubābatun intashaqahā al-ṣiddīqūna wa-al-shuhadāʾu, faman taʿallaqa bishayʾin minhu fahuwa ṣiddīqun ʾaw shahīdun.

Abū al-Dardāʾ said, “The pinnacle of faith, sincerity, trust, and surrender to the Lord, mighty and majestic.” Abū Muḥammad Sahl, God have mercy on him, used to say, “Among the stations there is none more precious than trust. The prophets took its full reality with them; a little remainder was left, which the utterly truthful and the martyrs drew in. Whoever lays hold of anything of it is utterly truthful or a martyr.”

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 4

Volume Two, page 4

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ وَهُوَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ: فِي كُلِّ الْمَقَامَاتِ لِي قَدَمٌ إِلَّا هَذَا التَّوَكُّلَ الْمُبَارَكَ، فَمَا لِي مِنْهُ إِلَّا مَشَامُّ الرِّيحِ. وَقَالَ لُقْمَانُ فِي وَصِيَّتِهِ لِاِبْنِهِ: وَمِنَ الْإِيمَانِ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَى اللَّهِ، فَإِنَّ التَّوَكُّلَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يُحَبِّبُ الْعَبْدَ، وَإِنَّ التَّفْوِيضَ إِلَى اللَّهِ مِنْ هَدْيِ اللَّهِ، وَبِهَدْيِ اللَّهِ يُوَافِقُ الْعَبْدُ رِضْوَانَ اللَّهِ، وَبِمُوَافَقَةِ رِضْوَانِ اللَّهِ يَسْتَوْجِبُ الْعَبْدُ كَرَامَةَ اللَّهِ.

waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna wahuwa ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu: fī kulli al-maqāmāti lī qadamun ʾillā hādhā al-tawakkula al-mubāraka, famā lī minhu ʾillā mashāmmu al-rīḥi. waqāla luqmānu fī waṣiyyatihi li-ibnihi: wamina al-ʾīmāni bi-Allāhi ʿazza wajalla al-tawakkulu ʿalā Allāhi, faʾinna al-tawakkula ʿalā Allāhi yuḥabbibu al-ʿabda, waʾinna al-tafwīḍa ʾilā Allāhi min hadyi Allāhi, wabihadyi Allāhi yuwāfiqu al-ʿabdu riḍwāna Allāhi, wabimuwāfaqati riḍwāni Allāhi yastawjibu al-ʿabdu karāmata Allāhi.

One of the knowers, Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī, said, “I have a foothold in every station except this blessed trust; of that I have only a whiff upon the wind.” In his counsel to his son, Luqmān said, “Part of faith in God, mighty and majestic, is trust in God. Trust in God makes the servant beloved. Entrusting one's affairs to God comes from God's guidance; through His guidance the servant accords with God's good pleasure, and by according with His good pleasure the servant merits God's honoring.”

وَقَالَ لُقْمَانُ أَيْضًا: وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ، وَيُسَلِّمْ لِقَضَاءِ اللَّهِ، وَيُفَوِّضْ إِلَى اللَّهِ، وَيَرْضَى بِقَدَرِ اللَّهِ، فَقَدْ أَقَامَ الدِّينَ وَفَرَّغَ يَدَيْهِ وَرِجْلَيْهِ لِكَسْبِ الْخَيْرِ، وَأَقَامَ الْأَخْلَاقَ الصَّالِحَةَ الَّتِي تُصْلِحُ لِلْعَبْدِ أَمْرَهُ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَاءِ الْأَبْدَالِ، وَهُوَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ: الْعِلْمُ كُلُّهُ بَابٌ مِنَ التَّعَبُّدِ، وَالتَّعَبُّدُ كُلُّهُ بَابٌ مِنَ الْوَرَعِ، وَالْوَرَعُ كُلُّهُ بَابٌ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ، وَالزُّهْدُ كُلُّهُ بَابٌ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ. قَالَ: فَلَيْسَ لِلتَّوَكُّلِ حَدٌّ وَلَا غَايَةٌ تَنْتَهِي إِلَيْهِ.

waqāla luqmānu ʾayḍan: waman yatawakkal ʿalā Allāhi, wayusallim liqaḍāʾi Allāhi, wayufawwiḍ ʾilā Allāhi, wayarḍā biqadari Allāhi, faqad ʾaqāma al-dīna wafarragha yadayhi warijlayhi likasbi al-khayri, waʾaqāma al-ʾakhlāqa al-ṣāliḥata allatī tuṣliḥu li-l-ʿabdi ʾamrahu. waqāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾi al-ʾabdāli, wahuwa ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun: al-ʿilmu kulluhu bābun mina al-taʿabbudi, wa-al-taʿabbudu kulluhu bābun mina al-waraʿi, wa-al-waraʿu kulluhu bābun mina al-zuhdi, wa-al-zuhdu kulluhu bābun mina al-tawakkuli. qāla: falaysa li-l-tawakkuli ḥaddun walā ghāyatun tantahī ʾilayhi.

Luqmān also said, “Whoever trusts in God, submits to God's decree, entrusts his affairs to God, and is content with God's ordainment has upheld religion, freed his hands and feet to acquire goodness, and established the good qualities that set a servant's affairs right.” One of the learned among the spiritual substitutes, Abū Muḥammad Sahl, said, “All knowledge is one doorway into worship; all worship, one doorway into scrupulousness; all scrupulousness, one doorway into renunciation; and all renunciation, one doorway into trust.” He said, “Trust has neither a boundary nor an ultimate limit at which it ends.”

وَقَالَ أَيْضًا فِي قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا﴾ هُودٍ: 7، قَالَ: أَصْدَقُ تَوَكُّلًا. وَقَالَ: التَّقْوَى وَالْيَقِينُ مِثْلُ كَفَّتَيِ الْمِيزَانِ وَالتَّوَكُّلُ لِسَانُهُ، بِهِ تُعْرَفُ الزِّيَادَةُ وَالنُّقْصَانُ. وَسُئِلَ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿فَاِتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اِسْتَطَعْتُمْ﴾ التَّغَابُنِ: 16، قَالَ: بِإِظْهَارِ الْفَقْرِ وَالْفَاقَةِ إِلَيْهِ. وَسُئِلَ عَنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿اِتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ﴾ آلِ عِمْرَانَ 102، فَقَالَ: اُعْبُدُوهُ بِالتَّوَكُّلِ.

waqāla ʾayḍan fī qawli Allāhi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿liyabluwakum ʾayyukum ʾaḥsanu ʿamalan﴾ hūdin: 7, qāla: ʾaṣdaqu tawakkulan. waqāla: al-taqwā wa-al-yaqīnu mithlu kaffatayi al-mīzāni wa-al-tawakkulu lisānuhu, bihi tuʿrafu al-ziyādatu wa-al-nuqṣānu. wasuʾila ʿan qawli Allāhi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿fa-ittaqū Allāha mā istaṭaʿtum﴾ al-taghābuni: 16, qāla: biʾiẓhāri al-faqri wa-al-fāqati ʾilayhi. wasuʾila ʿan qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿ittaqū Allāha ḥaqqa tuqātihi﴾ ʾāli ʿimrāna 102, faqāla: uʿbudūhu bi-al-tawakkuli.

Of God's words, mighty and majestic, “To test which of you is best in deed” (Hūd 11:7), he also said, “Most truthful in trust.” He said, “Godfearingness and certainty are like the two pans of a balance, and trust is its pointer: through it increase and decrease become known.” Asked about God's words, mighty and majestic, “Fear God as much as you can” (al-Taghābun 64:16), he said, “By displaying your poverty and need before Him.” Asked about His words, exalted is He, “Fear God as He ought to be feared” (Āl ʿImrān 3:102), he answered, “Worship Him through trust.”

وَقَالَ أَبُو يَعْقُوبَ السُّوسِيُّ: لَا تَطْعَنُوا عَلَى أَهْلِ التَّوَكُّلِ، فَإِنَّهُمْ خَاصَّةُ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ خُصُّوا بِالْخُصُوصِيَّةِ، فَسَكَنُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ، وَاِكْتَفَوْا بِهِ، وَاِسْتَرَاحُوا مِنْ هُمُومِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ. وَقَالَ: مَنْ طَعَنَ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ، فَقَدْ طَعَنَ فِي الْإِيمَانِ لِأَنَّهُ مَقْرُونٌ بِهِ، وَمَنْ أَحَبَّ أَهْلَ التَّوَكُّلِ فَقَدْ أَحَبَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى. فَأَوَّلُ التَّوَكُّلِ الْمَعْرِفَةُ بِالْوَكِيلِ وَأَنَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ، يُعْطِي لِعِزِّهِ، وَيَمْنَعُ لِحُكْمِهِ، فَيَعْتَزُّ الْعَبْدُ بِعِزِّهِ وَيَرْضَى بِحُكْمِهِ.

waqāla ʾabū yaʿqūba al-sūsiyyu: lā taṭʿanū ʿalā ʾahli al-tawakkuli, faʾinnahum khāṣṣatu Allāhi alladhīna khuṣṣū bi-al-khuṣūṣiyyati, fasakanū ʾilā Allāhi, wa-iktafaw bihi, wa-istarāḥū min humūmi al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati. waqāla: man ṭaʿana fī al-tawakkuli, faqad ṭaʿana fī al-ʾīmāni liʾannahu maqrūnun bihi, waman ʾaḥabba ʾahla al-tawakkuli faqad ʾaḥabba Allāha taʿālā. faʾawwalu al-tawakkuli al-maʿrifatu bi-al-wakīli waʾannahu ʿazīzun ḥakīmun, yuʿṭī liʿizzihi, wayamnaʿu liḥukmihi, fayaʿtazzu al-ʿabdu biʿizzihi wayarḍā biḥukmihi.

Abū Yaʿqūb al-Sūsī said, “Do not disparage the people of trust. They are God's chosen ones, specially distinguished: they rest in God, find Him sufficient, and are relieved of the cares of this world and the next.” He said, “Whoever attacks trust attacks faith, for it is joined to faith; whoever loves the people of trust loves God Most High.” Trust begins with knowing the Trustee, and that He is mighty and wise: He gives through His might and withholds according to His judgment. The servant therefore finds strength in His might and contentment in His judgment.

وَكَذَلِكَ أَخْبَرَ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَنَبَّهَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ: ﴿وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ﴾ الْأَنْفَالِ: 49، عَزَّ مَنْ أَعَزَّ بِعَطِيَّتِهِ وَنَظَرَ لِمَنْ مَنَعَهُ بِحِكْمَتِهِ. فَإِذَا شَهِدَ الْعَبْدُ الذَّلِيلُ الْمَلِكَ الْجَلِيلَ قَائِمًا بِالْقِسْطِ وَالتَّدْبِيرِ وَالتَّقْدِيرِ، عِنْدَهُ خَزَائِنُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ عِنْدَهُ بِمِقْدَارٍ لَا يُنْزِلُهُ إِلَّا بِقَدَرٍ مَعْلُومٍ، وَشَهِدَ الْوَكِيلَ قَابِضًا عَلَى نَوَاصِي الْمَمَالِيكِ لَهُ خَزَائِنُ السَّمَٰوَاتِ مِنَ الْأَحْكَامِ وَالْأَقْدَارِ الْغَائِبَاتِ، وَلَهُ خَزَائِنُ الْأَرْضِ مِنَ الْأَيْدِي وَالْقُلُوبِ وَالْأَسْبَابِ الْمُشَاهَدَاتِ،

wa-kadhālika ʾakhbara ʿan nafsihi wanabbaha al-mutawakkilīna ʿalayhi faqāla subḥānahu: ﴿waman yatawakkal ʿalā Allāhi faʾinna Allāha ʿazīzun ḥakīmun﴾ al-ʾanfāli: 49, ʿazza man ʾaʿazza biʿaṭiyyatihi wanaẓara liman manaʿahu biḥikmatihi. faʾidhā shahida al-ʿabdu al-dhalīlu al-malika al-jalīla qāʾiman bi-al-qisṭi wa-al-tadbīri wa-al-taqdīri, ʿindahu khazāʾinu kulli shayʾin, wakullu shayʾin ʿindahu bimiqdārin lā yunziluhu ʾillā biqadarin maʿlūmin, washahida al-wakīla qābiḍan ʿalā nawāṣī al-mamālīki lahu khazāʾinu al-samāwāti mina al-ʾaḥkāmi wa-al-ʾaqdāri al-ghāʾibāti, walahu khazāʾinu al-ʾarḍi mina al-ʾaydī wa-al-qulūbi wa-al-ʾasbābi al-mushāhadāti,

Thus He speaks of Himself and draws the attention of those who trust to Himself, saying, glory be to Him, “Whoever trusts in God, God is mighty and wise” (al-Anfāl 8:49). Mighty is He who grants might through His gift and considers the welfare of those from whom He withholds through His wisdom. When the humble servant witnesses the majestic King maintaining justice, governance, and ordainment, holding the treasuries of everything, everything with Him measured and sent down only in a known measure; when he witnesses the Trustee grasping His bondservants by their forelocks, possessing heaven's treasuries of unseen judgments and decrees, and earth's treasuries of visible hands, hearts, and means—

فَخَزَائِنُ السَّمَٰوَاتِ مَا قَسَمَهُ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ، وَخَزَائِنُ الْأَرْضِ مَا جَعَلَهُ عَلَى أَيْدِي الْخَلْقِ، وَفِي السَّمَاءِ رِزْقُكُمْ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ، وَفِي الْأَرْضِ آيَاتٌ لِلْمُوقِنِينَ، وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ، فَأَيْقَنَ الْعَبْدُ أَنَّ فِي يَدِهِ مَلَكُوتَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَأَنَّهُ يَمْلِكُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَيُقَلِّبُ الْقُلُوبَ وَالْأَيْدِي تَقْلِيبَ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ، وَأَنَّهُ حَسَنُ التَّدْبِيرِ وَالْأَحْكَامِ لِلْمُوقِنِينَ، وَأَنَّهُ أَحْكَمُ الْحَاكِمِينَ وَخَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ،

fakhazāʾinu al-samāwāti mā qasamahu mina al-rizqi, wakhazāʾinu al-ʾarḍi mā jaʿalahu ʿalā ʾaydī al-khalqi, wafī al-samāʾi rizqukum wamā tūʿadūna, wafī al-ʾarḍi ʾāyātun li-l-mūqinīna, wa-lākinna al-munāfiqīna lā yafqahūna, faʾayqana al-ʿabdu ʾanna fī yadihi malakūta kulli shayʾin waʾannahu yamliku al-samʿa wa-al-ʾabṣāra wayuqallibu al-qulūba wa-al-ʾaydī taqlība al-layli wa-al-nahāri, waʾannahu ḥasanu al-tadbīri wa-al-ʾaḥkāmi li-l-mūqinīna, waʾannahu ʾaḥkamu al-ḥākimīna wakhayru al-rāziqīna,

Heaven's treasuries being the provision He apportions, and earth's treasuries what He places in creatures' hands: “In heaven is your provision and what you are promised”; “On earth are signs for those with certainty”; “But the hypocrites do not understand”—then the servant becomes certain that in His hand is the dominion of everything, that He owns hearing and sight and turns hearts and hands as He turns night and day; that His governance and judgments are good for those with certainty; and that He is the wisest judge and best provider.

وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حُكْمًا لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ، ثُمَّ اِسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ، مَا مِنْ شَفِيعٍ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ، عِنْدَهَا نَظَرَ الْعَبْدُ الذَّلِيلُ إِلَى سَيِّدِهِ الْعَزِيزِ، فَقَوِيَ بِنَظَرِهِ إِلَيْهِ، وَعَزَّ بِقُوَّتِهِ بِهِ، وَاِسْتَغْنَى بِقُرْبِهِ مِنْهُ، وَشَرُفَ بِحُضُورِهِ عِنْدَهُ.

waman ʾaḥsanu mina Allāhi ḥukman liqawmin yūqinūna, thumma istawā ʿalā al-ʿarshi yudabbiru al-ʾamra, mā min shafīʿin ʾillā min baʿdi ʾidhnihi, ʿindahā naẓara al-ʿabdu al-dhalīlu ʾilā sayyidihi al-ʿazīzi, faqawiya binaẓarihi ʾilayhi, waʿazza biquwwatihi bihi, wa-istaghnā biqurbihi minhu, washarufa biḥuḍūrihi ʿindahu.

“Who is better than God in judgment for a people who are certain?” “Then He established Himself upon the Throne, governing the affair. No one intercedes except after His permission.” At that point the humble servant looks toward his mighty Master: looking toward Him makes him strong; the strength he finds through Him gives him honor; nearness to Him makes him rich; and his presence with Him ennobles him.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٥

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 5

Volume Two, page 5

وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: كَفَى بِالْيَقِينِ غِنًى. حِينَئِذٍ نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَوَثِقَ بِهِ، وَاِعْتَمَدَ عَلَيْهِ دُونَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَقَنِعَ مِنْهُ بِأَدْنَى شَيْءٍ، وَصَبَرَ عَلَيْهِ، وَرَضِيَ عَنْهُ، إِذْ لَا بُدَّ لَهُ مِنْهُ، فَثَمَّ لَا يَطْمَعُ فِي سِوَاهُ، وَلَا يَرْجُو إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ، وَلَا يَشْهَدُ فِي الْعَطَاءِ إِلَّا يَدَهُ، وَلَا يَرَى فِي الْمَنْعِ إِلَّا حِكْمَتَهُ، وَلَا يُعَايِنُ فِي الْقَبْضِ وَالْبَسْطِ إِلَّا قُدْرَتَهُ.

wa-kadhālika jāʾa fī al-khabari: kafā bi-al-yaqīni ghinan. ḥīnaʾidhin naẓara ʾilayhi fī kulli shayʾin, wawathiqa bihi, wa-iʿtamada ʿalayhi dūna kulli shayʾin, waqaniʿa minhu biʾadnā shayʾin, waṣabara ʿalayhi, waraḍiya ʿanhu, ʾidh lā budda lahu minhu, fathamma lā yaṭmaʿu fī siwāhu, walā yarjū ʾillā ʾiyyāhu, walā yashhadu fī al-ʿaṭāʾi ʾillā yadahu, walā yarā fī al-manʿi ʾillā ḥikmatahu, walā yuʿāyinu fī al-qabḍi wa-al-basṭi ʾillā qudratahu.

The report likewise says, “Certainty is wealth enough.” Then he looks to Him in everything, places confidence in Him, relies on Him to the exclusion of everything else, is content with the least thing from Him, endures patiently with Him, and is pleased with Him, since he cannot do without Him. At that point he covets nothing besides Him and hopes only in Him; in giving he witnesses only His hand, in withholding sees only His wisdom, and in contraction and expansion beholds only His power.

هُنَاكَ حَقَّتْ عِبَادَتُهُ وَخَلَصَ تَوْحِيدُهُ، فَعَرَفَ الْخَلْقَ مِنْ مَعْرِفَةِ خَالِقِهِ، وَطَلَبَ الرِّزْقَ عِنْدَ مَعْبُودِهِ وَرَازِقِهِ، وَقَامَ بِشَهَادَةِ مَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ عِبَادٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ﴾ الْأَعْرَافِ: 194. قَالَ: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ لَكُمْ رِزْقًا فَاِبْتَغُوا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الرِّزْقَ وَاُعْبُدُوهُ﴾ الْعَنْكَبُوتِ: 17.

hunāka ḥaqqat ʿibādatuhu wakhalaṣa tawḥīduhu, faʿarafa al-khalqa min maʿrifati khāliqihi, waṭalaba al-rizqa ʿinda maʿbūdihi warāziqihi, waqāma bishahādati mā qāla taʿālā: ﴿ʾinna alladhīna tadʿūna min dūni Allāhi ʿibādun ʾamthālukum﴾ al-ʾaʿrāfi: 194. qāla: ﴿ʾinna alladhīna taʿbudūna min dūni Allāhi lā yamlikūna lakum rizqan fa-ibtaghū ʿinda Allāhi al-rizqa wa-uʿbudūhu﴾ al-ʿankabūti: 17.

There his worship becomes true and his affirmation of oneness becomes pure. He understands creation through knowing his Creator, seeks provision with the One he worships and who provides for him, and lives in witness to His words, exalted is He: “Those you call upon apart from God are servants like yourselves” (al-Aʿrāf 7:194). He says, “Those you worship apart from God possess no provision for you. Seek provision with God, and worship Him” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:17).

فَعِنْدَهَا لَمْ يَحْمَدْ خَلْقًا وَلَمْ يَذُمَّهُ وَلَمْ يَمْدَحْهُ لِأَجْلِ أَنَّهُ مَنَعَهُ أَوْ أَنَّهُ أَعْطَاهُ إِنْ كَانَ اللَّهُ هُوَ الْأَوَّلَ الْمُعْطِيَ، وَلَمْ يَشْكُرْهُ إِلَّا لِأَنَّ مَوْلَاهُ مَدَحَهُ وَأَمَرَهُ بِالشُّكْرِ لَهُ تَخَلُّقًا بِأَخْلَاقِهِ، وَاِتِّبَاعًا لِسُنَّةِ رَسُولِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. فَإِنْ ذَمَّهُ أَوْ مَقَتَهُ فَلِأَجْلِ مُخَالَفَتِهِ لِمَوْلَاهُ بِمُوَافَقَتِهِ هَوَاهُ، لِأَنَّهُ تَعَالَى قَدْ مَدَحَ الْمُنْفِقِينَ وَذَمَّ الْبَاخِلِينَ.

faʿindahā lam yaḥmad khalqan walam yadhummahu walam yamdaḥhu liʾajli ʾannahu manaʿahu ʾaw ʾannahu ʾaʿṭāhu ʾin kāna Allāhu huwa al-ʾawwala al-muʿṭiya, walam yashkurhu ʾillā liʾanna mawlāhu madaḥahu waʾamarahu bi-al-shukri lahu takhalluqan biʾakhlāqihi, wa-ittibāʿan lisunnati rasūlihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama. faʾin dhammahu ʾaw maqatahu faliʾajli mukhālafatihi limawlāhu bimuwāfaqatihi hawāhu, liʾannahu taʿālā qad madaḥa al-munfiqīna wadhamma al-bākhilīna.

Then he neither praises a creature, blames him, nor commends him because he withheld something or gave it, if God is the first giver. He thanks the creature only because his Master has praised him and commanded gratitude toward him, cultivating His qualities and following the practice of His Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. If he blames or detests him, it is because he opposed his Master by following his own desire, for the Exalted has praised those who spend and censured the miserly.

وَالْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ الْحَمْدِ وَالشُّكْرِ: أَنَّ الْحَمْدَ مُفْرَدٌ لَا يَنْبَغِي إِلَّا لِلَّهِ، وَهُوَ الْاِعْتِرَافُ بِأَنَّ النِّعْمَةَ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَحُسْنُ الْمُعَامَلَةِ بِهَا لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ فِيهِ. وَلِذَلِكَ قَالَ: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، أَيِ الْحَمْدُ كُلُّهُ لَا يَكُونُ وَلَا يَنْبَغِي إِلَّا لِلَّهِ، لِأَنَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ. وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: الْحَمْدُ رِدَاءُ الرَّحْمَنِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ. وَالشُّكْرُ إِظْهَارُ الثَّنَاءِ، وَإِسْرَارُ الدُّعَاءِ لِلْأَوَاسِطِ، فَهَذَا مُشْتَرَكٌ يَدْخُلُ فِيهِ الْوَالِدَانِ، وَهُوَ أَيْضًا مَخْصُوصٌ لِمَنْ هُوَ أَهْلٌ أَنْ يُشْكَرَ مِنَ النَّاسِ.

wa-al-farqu bayna al-ḥamdi wa-al-shukri: ʾanna al-ḥamda mufradun lā yanbaghī ʾillā li-llāhi, wahuwa al-iʿtirāfu biʾanna al-niʿmata mina Allāhi ʿazza wajalla, waḥusnu al-muʿāmalati bihā liwajhi Allāhi lā sharīka lahu fīhi. wali-dhālika qāla: al-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi al-ʿālamīna, ʾayi al-ḥamdu kulluhu lā yakūnu walā yanbaghī ʾillā li-llāhi, liʾannahu rabbu al-ʿālamīna. wafī al-khabari: al-ḥamdu ridāʾu al-raḥmāni ʿazza wajalla. wa-al-shukru ʾiẓhāru al-thanāʾi, waʾisrāru al-duʿāʾi li-l-ʾawāsiṭi, fa-hādhā mushtarakun yadkhulu fīhi al-wālidāni, wahuwa ʾayḍan makhṣūṣun liman huwa ʾahlun ʾan yushkara mina al-nāsi.

The difference between praise and gratitude is this: praise belongs exclusively to God. It acknowledges that the blessing comes from God, mighty and majestic, and puts it to good use for God's sake, with no partner to Him in it. Thus He says, “Praise belongs to God, Lord of the worlds”: all praise belongs and is fitting only to God, because He is Lord of the worlds. The report says, “Praise is the cloak of the All-Merciful, mighty and majestic.” Gratitude is to express commendation openly and pray privately for intermediaries. It is shared, including one's parents, and is also reserved for those people who deserve thanks.

حَدَّثُونَا عَنْ يُوسُفَ بْنِ أَسْبَاطٍ قَالَ: قَالَ لِي الثَّوْرِيُّ: لَا تَشْكُرْ إِلَّا مَنْ عَرَفَ مَوْضِعَ الشُّكْرِ. قُلْتُ: وَكَيْفَ ذَاكَ؟ قَالَ: إِذَا أَوْلَيْتُكَ مَعْرُوفًا، فَكُنْتُ بِهِ أَسَرَّ مِنْكَ، وَكُنْتُ مِنْكَ أَشَدَّ اِسْتِحْيَاءً، فَاُشْكُرْ وَإِلَّا فَلَا. وَسَأَلَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَجُلًا مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ دِرْهَمَيْنِ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ مَعَهُ، فَأَخْرَجَ فَتًى فِي مَجْلِسِهِ كِيسًا فِيهِ مِائَتَا دِرْهَمٍ، فَعَرَضَهُ عَلَيْهِ فَلَمْ يَقْبَلْهُ.

ḥaddathūnā ʿan yūsufa bni ʾasbāṭin qāla: qāla lī al-thawriyyu: lā tashkur ʾillā man ʿarafa mawḍiʿa al-shukri. qultu: wakayfa dhāka? qāla: ʾidhā ʾawlaytuka maʿrūfan, fakuntu bihi ʾasarra minka, wakuntu minka ʾashadda istiḥyāʾan, fa-ushkur waʾillā falā. wasaʾala ʾibrāhīmu rajulan min ʾaṣḥābihi dirhamayni falam yakun maʿahu, faʾakhraja fatan fī majlisihi kīsan fīhi miʾatā dirhamin, faʿaraḍahu ʿalayhi falam yaqbalhu.

They related to us from Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ: “Al-Thawrī told me, ‘Thank only someone who understands where gratitude belongs.’ I asked, ‘How is that?’ He said, ‘If I do you a kindness and am happier about it than you, and feel greater shame before you, then thank me; otherwise, do not.’” Ibrāhīm asked one of his companions for two dirhams, but he had none with him. A young man in the gathering took out a purse containing two hundred dirhams and offered it to him, but he did not accept it.

وَقَالَ: أَوَكُلُّ مَنْ بَذَلَ لَنَا شَيْئًا قَبِلْنَاهُ مِنْهُ؟ لَا نَقْبَلُ إِلَّا مِمَّنْ نَرَى نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ فِيمَا أَعْطَى أَعْظَمَ مِنْ نِعْمَتِهِ عَلَيْنَا فِيمَا نَأْخُذُ. وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنِ الْحَسَنِ فِي قِصَّةٍ طَوِيلَةٍ أَنَّ رَجُلًا بَذَلَ لَهُ جُمْلَةً مِنَ الْمَالِ فَرَدَّهُ،

waqāla: ʾawakullu man badhala lanā shayʾan qabilnāhu minhu? lā naqbalu ʾillā mimman narā niʿmata Allāhi ʿalayhi fīmā ʾaʿṭā ʾaʿẓama min niʿmatihi ʿalaynā fīmā naʾkhudhu. waḥaddathūnā ʿani al-ḥasani fī qiṣṣatin ṭawīlatin ʾanna rajulan badhala lahu jumlatan mina al-māli faraddahu,

He said, “Do we accept something from everyone who offers it? We accept only from someone upon whom we see God's blessing in his giving as greater than His blessing upon us in our receiving.” They related to us, in a long account about al-Ḥasan, that a man offered him a sum of money and he declined.

فَلَمَّا اِنْصَرَفَ قَالَ لَهُ هَاشِمٌ الْأَوْقَصُ: عَجِبْتُ مِنْكَ يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ، رَدَدْتَ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ كَرَامَتَهُ، فَاِنْصَرَفَ حَزِينًا، وَأَنْتَ تَأْخُذُ مِنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ وَمُحَمَّدِ بْنِ وَاسِعٍ الشَّيْءَ بَعْدَ الشَّيْءِ. فَقَالَ لَهُ الْحَسَنُ: وَيْحَكَ، إِنَّ مَالِكًا وَاِبْنَ وَاسِعٍ يَنْظُرَانِ إِلَى اللَّهِ فِيمَا نَأْخُذُ مِنْهُمَا، فَعَلَيْنَا أَنْ نَقْبَلَ،

falammā inṣarafa qāla lahu hāshimun al-ʾawqaṣu: ʿajibtu minka yā ʾabā saʿīdin, radadta ʿalā al-rajuli karāmatahu, fa-inṣarafa ḥazīnan, waʾanta taʾkhudhu min māliki bni dīnārin wamuḥammadi bni wāsiʿin al-shayʾa baʿda al-shayʾi. faqāla lahu al-ḥasanu: wayḥaka, ʾinna mālikan wa-ibna wāsiʿin yanẓurāni ʾilā Allāhi fīmā naʾkhudhu minhumā, faʿalaynā ʾan naqbala,

After the man left, Hāshim al-Awqaṣ said, “You surprise me, Abū Saʿīd. You turned away the man's mark of respect, and he left sad, although you repeatedly accept things from Mālik ibn Dīnār and Muḥammad ibn Wāsiʿ.” Al-Ḥasan answered him, “Have a care! Mālik and Ibn Wāsiʿ look to God in what we receive from them, so it is incumbent on us to accept,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٦

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 6

Volume Two, page 6

وَإِنَّ هَذَا الْمِسْكِينَ يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْنَا فِيمَا يُعْطِي، فَرَدَدْنَا عَلَيْهِ صِلَتَهُ. وَعِنْدَهَا لَا تَذُمُّ أَحَدًا وَلَا تُبْغِضُهُ لِأَجْلِ أَنَّهُ كَانَ سَبَبًا لِمَنْعِهِ إِذْ كَانَ اللَّهُ هُوَ الْمَانِعَ الْأَوَّلَ، وَإِذْ لَهُ فِي الْمَنْعِ مِنَ الْحِكْمَةِ مِثْلُ مَا لَهُ مِنَ الْعَطَاءِ مِنَ النِّعْمَةِ، وَلَكِنْ نَذُمُّهُ وَنَنْقُصُهُ وَنُبْغِضُهُ إِنْ كَانَ اِسْتَوْجَبَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ مَوْلَاهُ، فَيَكُونُ مُوَافِقًا لَهُ.

waʾinna hādhā al-miskīna yanẓuru ʾilaynā fīmā yuʿṭī, faradadnā ʿalayhi ṣilatahu. waʿindahā lā tadhummu ʾaḥadan walā tubghiḍuhu liʾajli ʾannahu kāna sababan limanʿihi ʾidh kāna Allāhu huwa al-māniʿa al-ʾawwala, waʾidh lahu fī al-manʿi mina al-ḥikmati mithlu mā lahu mina al-ʿaṭāʾi mina al-niʿmati, wa-lākin nadhummuhu wananquṣuhu wanubghiḍuhu ʾin kāna istawjaba dhālika min mawlāhu, fayakūnu muwāfiqan lahu.

whereas this poor man looks toward us in what he gives; so we returned his gift.” At that point you neither blame nor hate anyone because he was a means of withholding, since God is the first withholder, and His withholding contains wisdom just as His giving contains blessing. Yet we blame, disparage, and hate him if he has deserved that from his Master, so that this accords with Him.

وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى يُشْهِدُ يَدَهُ فِي الْعَطَاءِ، وَيَمْدَحُ الْمُنْفِقِينَ نِهَايَةً فِي كَرَمِهِ، وَيُشْهِدُ فِي الْمَنْعِ وَالْمَكْرُوهِ مَشِيئَتَهُ، وَيَذُمُّ الْبَاخِلِينَ وَالْعَاصِينَ قُدْرَةً مِنْ حِكْمَتِهِ وَحُكْمًا مِنْ تَقْدِيرِهِ، لِإِظْهَارِ الْأَحْكَامِ وَتَفْصِيلِ الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ وَعَوْدِ الثَّوَابِ وَالْعِقَابِ عَلَى الْأَنَامِ، فَقَدْ أَظْهَرَ الْأَمْرَ وَاِسْتَأْثَرَ بِسِرِّ الْقَدَرِ، فَعَمِلَ الْمُؤْمِنُ بِمَا أَمَرَ وَسَلَّمَ لَهُ مَا اِسْتَأْثَرَ.

wa-Allāhu taʿālā yushhidu yadahu fī al-ʿaṭāʾi, wayamdaḥu al-munfiqīna nihāyatan fī karamihi, wayushhidu fī al-manʿi wa-al-makrūhi mashīʾatahu, wayadhummu al-bākhilīna wa-al-ʿāṣīna qudratan min ḥikmatihi waḥukman min taqdīrihi, liʾiẓhāri al-ʾaḥkāmi watafṣīli al-ḥalāli wa-al-ḥarāmi waʿawdi al-thawābi wa-al-ʿiqābi ʿalā al-ʾanāmi, faqad ʾaẓhara al-ʾamra wa-istaʾthara bisirri al-qadari, faʿamila al-muʾminu bimā ʾamara wasallama lahu mā istaʾthara.

God Most High makes His hand witnessed in giving, yet praises those who spend, carrying His generosity to its utmost. He makes His will witnessed in withholding and adversity, yet censures the miserly and disobedient, as power arising from His wisdom and judgment arising from His ordainment, to manifest the rulings, distinguish lawful from unlawful, and bring reward and punishment upon humankind. He has made the command manifest and kept the secret of destiny to Himself. The believer therefore acts on what He commanded and yields to Him what He has kept to Himself.

وَرَوَى بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: لَوْ أَنَّ اِبْنَ آدَمَ لَمْ يَخَفْ غَيْرِي مَا أَخَفْتُهُ مِنْ غَيْرِي، وَلَوْ أَنَّ اِبْنَ آدَمَ لَمْ يَرْجُ غَيْرِي مَا وَكَلْتُهُ إِلَى غَيْرِي. وَرَوَى أَعْظَمَ مِنْ هَذَا قَالَ: وُضِعَ الْعَبْدُ فِي قَبْرِهِ مُثِّلَ لَهُ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ كَانَ يَخَافُهُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُفَزِّعُهُ فِي قَبْرِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ. وَقَالَ الْفُضَيْلُ بْنُ عِيَاضٍ: مَنْ خَافَ اللَّهَ خَافَ مِنْهُ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ.

warawā baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi ʿani Allāhi taʿālā: law ʾanna ibna ʾādama lam yakhaf ghayrī mā ʾakhaftuhu min ghayrī, walaw ʾanna ibna ʾādama lam yarju ghayrī mā wakaltuhu ʾilā ghayrī. warawā ʾaʿẓama min hādhā qāla: wuḍiʿa al-ʿabdu fī qabrihi muththila lahu kullu shayʾin kāna yakhāfuhu min dūni Allāhi ʿazza wajalla yufazziʿuhu fī qabrihi ʾilā yawmi al-qiyāmati. waqāla al-fuḍaylu bnu ʿiyāḍin: man khāfa Allāha khāfa minhu kullu shayʾin.

One of the learned related from God Most High, “Had the son of Adam feared none but Me, I would not have made him afraid of another; had the son of Adam hoped in none but Me, I would not have entrusted him to another.” He related something still more momentous: “The servant is placed in his grave; everything he used to fear apart from God, mighty and majestic, is made present to him, terrifying him in his grave until the Day of Resurrection.” Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ said, “Everything fears the one who fears God.”

وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ الْخَوْفَ مِنَ الْمَخْلُوقَاتِ عُقُوبَةُ نُقْصَانِ الْخَوْفِ مِنَ الْخَالِقِ، وَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ قِلَّةِ الْفِقْهِ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى. وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْقَائِلِينَ فِي مَعْنَاهُ: ﴿لَأَنْتُمْ أَشَدُّ رَهْبَةً فِي صُدُورِهِمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ﴾ الْحَشْرِ: 13. فَكَانَ الْعَبْدُ إِذَا تَمَّ خَوْفُهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، أَزَالَ ذَلِكَ الْخَوْفُ خَوْفَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ عَنْ قَلْبِهِ، وَحَوَّلَ ذَلِكَ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمَخْلُوقَاتِ فَصَارَتْ هِيَ تَخَافُهُ إِنْ لَمْ يَخَفْهَا هُوَ،

wayuqālu: ʾinna al-khawfa mina al-makhlūqāti ʿuqūbatu nuqṣāni al-khawfi mina al-khāliqi, waʾinna dhālika min qillati al-fiqhi ʿani Allāhi taʿālā. waqad qāla Allāhu ʾaḥsanu al-qāʾilīna fī maʿnāhu: ﴿laʾantum ʾashaddu rahbatan fī ṣudūrihim mina Allāhi dhālika biʾannahum qawmun lā yafqahūna﴾ al-ḥashri: 13. fakāna al-ʿabdu ʾidhā tamma khawfuhu mina Allāhi taʿālā, ʾazāla dhālika al-khawfu khawfa al-makhlūqīna ʿan qalbihi, waḥawwala dhālika fī qulūbi al-makhlūqāti faṣārat hiya takhāfuhu ʾin lam yakhafhā huwa,

It is said that fear of creatures is punishment for deficient fear of the Creator, and that this comes from little understanding of God Most High. God, the best of speakers, has expressed its meaning: “You arouse greater dread in their hearts than God does; that is because they are a people who do not understand” (al-Ḥashr 59:13). When the servant's fear of God Most High becomes complete, that fear removes fear of creatures from his heart and transfers it to the creatures' hearts, so that they fear him when he does not fear them,

كَمَا إِذَا كَمُلَتْ مُشَاهَدَةُ الْعَبْدِ وَقَامَ بِشَهَادَتِهِ وَغَيَّبَتْ تِلْكَ الْمُشَاهَدَةُ وُجُودَ الْكَوْنِ مَعَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَلَمْ يَرَهَا، وَقَامَ لَهُ الْقَيُّومُ بِنَصِيبِهِ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ لَمَّا تَفَرَّغَ قَلْبُهُ لِمُعَايَنَةِ الْمَلِكِ. وَقَالَ سُنَيْدٌ عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ: مَكْتُوبٌ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ: مَلْعُونٌ مَنْ ثِقَتُهُ مَخْلُوقٌ مِثْلُهُ. وَقَالَ سُنَيْدٌ: يَعْنِي أَنْ يَقُولَ: لَوْلَا فُلَانٌ هَلَكْتُ، وَلَوْلَا كَذَا مَا كَانَ كَذَا.

kamā ʾidhā kamulat mushāhadatu al-ʿabdi waqāma bishahādatihi waghayyabat tilka al-mushāhadatu wujūda al-kawni maʿa Allāhi ʿazza wajalla falam yarahā, waqāma lahu al-qayyūmu binaṣībihi mina al-mulki lammā tafarragha qalbuhu limuʿāyanati al-maliki. waqāla sunaydun ʿan yaḥyā bni ʾabī kathīrin: maktūbun fī al-tawrāti: malʿūnun man thiqatuhu makhlūqun mithluhu. waqāla sunaydun: yaʿnī ʾan yaqūla: lawlā fulānun halaktu, walawlā kadhā mā kāna kadhā.

just as, when the servant's witnessing becomes complete and he fulfills his testimony, that witnessing conceals the existence of created being alongside God, mighty and majestic, so that he no longer sees it. The Self-Subsisting then attends to his portion of the kingdom for him, because his heart has become free to behold the King. Sunayd related from Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr, “It is written in the Torah: ‘Accursed is one whose confidence rests in a creature like himself.’” Sunayd said, “This means saying, ‘Without so-and-so I would have perished,’ or, ‘Without this, that would not have happened.’”

وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ قَوْلَ الْعَبْدِ لَوْلَا كَذَا مَا كَانَ كَذَا مِنَ الشِّرْكِ، وَقَالَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: إِيَّاكُمْ وَلَوْ فَإِنَّهُ يَفْتَحُ عَمَلَ الشَّيْطَانِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: سَوْفَ جُنْدٌ مِنْ جُنُودِ إِبْلِيسَ. وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿فَلَمَّا نَجَّاهُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ إِذَا هُمْ يُشْرِكُونَ﴾ الْعَنْكَبُوتِ: 65، قَالُوا: كَانَ الْمَلَّاحُ فَارِهًا، وَمِثْلُهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِاللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُمْ مُشْرِكُونَ﴾ يُوسُفَ 106، قِيلَ: قَالُوا: لَوْلَا نُبَاحُ الْكِلَابِ وَزُقَاءُ الدِّيَكَةِ لَأَخَذَنَا السُّرَّقُ.

wayuqālu: ʾinna qawla al-ʿabdi lawlā kadhā mā kāna kadhā mina al-shirki, waqāla fī al-khabari: ʾiyyākum walaw faʾinnahu yaftaḥu ʿamala al-shayṭāni. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: sawfa jundun min junūdi ʾiblīsa. waqad jāʾa fī tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿falammā najjāhum ʾilā al-barri ʾidhā hum yushrikūna﴾ al-ʿankabūti: 65, qālū: kāna al-mallāḥu fārihan, wamithluhu fī qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿wamā yuʾminu ʾaktharuhum bi-Allāhi ʾillā wahum mushrikūna﴾ yūsufa 106, qīla: qālū: lawlā nubāḥu al-kilābi wazuqāʾu al-diyakati laʾakhadhanā al-surraqu.

It is said that a servant's saying, “Without this, that would not have happened,” is associating partners with God. The report says, “Beware of ‘if only,’ for it opens the work of Satan.” One of the learned said, “‘Soon’ is a soldier in Iblīs's army.” In explanation of His words, exalted is He, “When He brings them safely to land, they immediately associate partners” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:65), it is related that they said, “The sailor was skillful.” Likewise, concerning His words, exalted is He, “Most of them believe in God only while associating partners” (Yūsuf 12:106), it was said that they said, “Without the dogs barking and the cocks crowing, the thieves would have taken us.”

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنِ اِعْتَزَّ بِالْعَبِيدِ أَذَلَّهُ اللَّهُ. وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: لَوْ تَوَكَّلْتُمْ عَلَى اللَّهِ حَقَّ تَوَكُّلِهِ لَرَزَقَكُمْ كَمَا يَرْزُقُ الطَّيْرَ تَغْدُو خِمَاصًا وَتَرُوحُ بِطَانًا، وَلَزَالَتْ بِدُعَائِكُمُ الْجِبَالُ. وَقَدْ كَانَ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ يَقُولُ: اُنْظُرُوا إِلَى الطَّيْرِ لَا تَزْرَعُ وَلَا تَحْصُدُ وَلَا تَدَّخِرُ وَاللَّهُ يَرْزُقُهَا يَوْمًا بِيَوْمٍ، فَإِنْ

warawaynā ʿan ʿumara raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mani iʿtazza bi-al-ʿabīdi ʾadhallahu Allāhu. waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari: law tawakkaltum ʿalā Allāhi ḥaqqa tawakkulihi larazaqakum kamā yarzuqu al-ṭayra taghdū khimāṣan watarūḥu biṭānan, walazālat biduʿāʾikumu al-jibālu. waqad kāna ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu yaqūlu: unẓurū ʾilā al-ṭayri lā tazraʿu walā taḥṣudu walā taddakhiru wa-Allāhu yarzuquhā yawman biyawmin, faʾin

We have related from ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “Whoever seeks might through servants, God will abase him.” The report says, “Were you to trust in God as He ought to be trusted, He would provide for you as He provides for birds: they go out hungry and return full, and mountains would move through your prayers.” Jesus, peace be upon him, used to say, “Look at the birds: they neither sow, reap, nor store away, and God provides for them day by day. If

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٧

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 7

Volume Two, page 7

قُلْتُمْ نَحْنُ أَكْبَرُ بُطُونًا مِنَ الطَّيْرِ فَاُنْظُرُوا إِلَى الْأَنْعَامِ كَيْفَ قَيَّضَ اللَّهُ لَهَا هَذَا الْخَلْقَ. وَيُقَالُ: لَا يَدَّخِرُ مِنَ الدَّوَابِّ إِلَّا ثَلَاثَةٌ: النَّمْلَةُ وَالْفَأْرَةُ وَاِبْنُ آدَمَ. وَقَالَ أَبُو يَعْقُوبَ السُّوسِيُّ: الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَجْرِي أَرْزَاقُهُمْ بِعِلْمِ اللَّهِ وَاِخْتِيَارِهِ عَلَى يَدِ خُصُوصِ عِبَادِهِ بِلَا شُغْلٍ وَلَا تَعَبٍ، وَغَيْرُهُمْ مَكْدُودُونَ مَشْغُولُونَ. وَقَالَ أَيْضًا: الْمُتَوَكِّلُ إِذَا رَأَى السَّبَبَ أَوْ ذَمَّ أَوْ مَدَحَ فَهُوَ مُدَّعٍ لَا يَصِحُّ لَهُ التَّوَكُّلُ.

qultum naḥnu ʾakbaru buṭūnan mina al-ṭayri fa-unẓurū ʾilā al-ʾanʿāmi kayfa qayyaḍa Allāhu lahā hādhā al-khalqa. wayuqālu: lā yaddakhiru mina al-dawābbi ʾillā thalāthatun: al-namlatu wa-al-faʾratu wa-ibnu ʾādama. waqāla ʾabū yaʿqūba al-sūsiyyu: al-mutawakkilūna ʿalā Allāhi tajrī ʾarzāquhum biʿilmi Allāhi wa-ikhtiyārihi ʿalā yadi khuṣūṣi ʿibādihi bilā shughlin walā taʿabin, waghayruhum makdūdūna mashghūlūna. waqāla ʾayḍan: al-mutawakkilu ʾidhā raʾā al-sababa ʾaw dhamma ʾaw madaḥa fahuwa muddaʿin lā yaṣiḥḥu lahu al-tawakkulu.

you say, ‘Our bellies are larger than those of birds,’ look at the livestock and how God has appointed these creatures to serve them.” It is said that only three living creatures store away: the ant, the mouse, and the son of Adam. Abū Yaʿqūb al-Sūsī said, “The provisions of those who trust in God flow, through God's knowledge and choice, at the hands of His chosen servants, without preoccupation or toil, while others are worn down and preoccupied.” He also said, “When one who claims trust sees the means, blames, or praises, he is a pretender whose trust is not sound.”

وَأَوَّلُ التَّوَكُّلِ تَرْكُ الْاِخْتِيَارِ، وَالْمُتَوَكِّلُ عَلَى صِحَّةٍ قَدْ رَفَعَ أَذَاهُ عَنِ الْخَلْقِ، لَا يَشْكُو مَا بِهِ إِلَيْهِمْ، وَلَا يَذُمُّ أَحَدًا مِنْهُمْ لِأَنَّهُ يَرَى الْمَنْعَ وَالْعَطَاءَ مِنْ وَاحِدٍ، فَقَدْ شَغَلَهُ عَمَّا سِوَاهُ. وَقِيلَ لِسَهْلٍ: مَا أَدْنَى التَّوَكُّلِ؟ قَالَ: تَرْكُ الْأَمَانِيِّ، وَأَوْسَطُهُ تَرْكُ الْاِخْتِيَارِ. قِيلَ: فَمَا أَعْلَاهُ؟ قَالَ: لَا يَعْرِفُهُ إِلَّا مَنْ تَوَسَّطَ التَّوَكُّلَ وَتَرَكَ الْاِخْتِيَارَ، أَعْطَى فَذَكَرَ كَلَامًا طَوِيلًا.

waʾawwalu al-tawakkuli tarku al-ikhtiyāri, wa-al-mutawakkilu ʿalā ṣiḥḥatin qad rafaʿa ʾadhāhu ʿani al-khalqi, lā yashkū mā bihi ʾilayhim, walā yadhummu ʾaḥadan minhum liʾannahu yarā al-manʿa wa-al-ʿaṭāʾa min wāḥidin, faqad shaghalahu ʿammā siwāhu. waqīla lisahlin: mā ʾadnā al-tawakkuli? qāla: tarku al-ʾamāniyyi, waʾawsaṭuhu tarku al-ikhtiyāri. qīla: famā ʾaʿlāhu? qāla: lā yaʿrifuhu ʾillā man tawassaṭa al-tawakkula wataraka al-ikhtiyāra, ʾaʿṭā fadhakara kalāman ṭawīlan.

Trust begins with relinquishing one's own choice. Someone whose trust is sound has ceased causing creatures trouble: he does not complain to them of his condition or blame any of them, because he sees withholding and giving as coming from One, who occupies him to the exclusion of all else. Sahl was asked, “What is trust's lowest degree?” He said, “Relinquishing wishes; its middle degree is relinquishing choice.” Asked, “Then what is its highest degree?” he said, “Only one who has reached the middle of trust and relinquished choice knows it.” He gave—then he spoke at length.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ: الْعَبِيدُ كُلُّهُمْ يَأْكُلُونَ أَرْزَاقَهُمْ مِنَ الْمَوْلَى، ثُمَّ يَفْتَرِقُونَ فِي الْمُشَاهَدَاتِ، فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَأْكُلُ رِزْقَهُ بِذُلٍّ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَأْكُلُ رِزْقَهُ بِاِمْتِهَانٍ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَأْكُلُ رِزْقَهُ بِاِنْتِظَارٍ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَأْكُلُ رِزْقَهُ بِعِزٍّ لَا مِهْنَةَ وَلَا اِنْتِظَارَ وَلَا ذِلَّةَ. فَأَمَّا الَّذِي يَأْكُلُونَ أَرْزَاقَهُمْ بِذُلٍّ، فَالسُّؤَّالُ يَشْهَدُونَ أَيْدِ الْخَلْقِ فَيَذِلُّونَ لَهُمْ، وَالَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ بِاِمْتِهَانٍ، فَالصُّنَّاعُ يَأْكُلُ أَحَدُهُمْ رِزْقَهُ بِمِهْنَةٍ وَكُرْهٍ،

waqāla baʿḍu hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati: al-ʿabīdu kulluhum yaʾkulūna ʾarzāqahum mina al-mawlā, thumma yaftariqūna fī al-mushāhadāti, faminhum man yaʾkulu rizqahu bidhullin, waminhum man yaʾkulu rizqahu bi-imtihānin, waminhum man yaʾkulu rizqahu bi-intiẓārin, waminhum man yaʾkulu rizqahu biʿizzin lā mihnata walā intiẓāra walā dhillata. faʾammā alladhī yaʾkulūna ʾarzāqahum bidhullin, fa-al-suʾʾālu yashhadūna ʾaydi al-khalqi fayadhillūna lahum, wa-alladhīna yaʾkulūna bi-imtihānin, fa-al-ṣunnāʿu yaʾkulu ʾaḥaduhum rizqahu bimihnatin wakurhin,

One of this company said, “All servants consume provision from the Master, yet differ in what they witness. Some eat their provision in abasement, some through drudgery, some in waiting, and some with dignity, without labor, waiting, or humiliation. Those who eat their provision in abasement are beggars: they witness creatures' hands and abase themselves before them. Those who eat through drudgery are artisans, each consuming his provision through labor and hardship.

وَالَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ أَرْزَاقَهُمْ بِاِنْتِظَارٍ، فَالتُّجَّارُ يَنْتَظِرُ أَحَدُهُمْ نَفَاقَ سِلْعَتِهِ فَهُوَ مَتْعُوبُ الْقَلْبِ مُعَذَّبٌ بِاِنْتِظَارِهِ، وَالَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ أَرْزَاقَهُمْ بِعِزٍّ مِنْ غَيْرِ مِهْنَةٍ وَلَا اِنْتِظَارٍ وَلَا ذُلٍّ فَالصُّوفِيَّةُ، يَشْهَدُونَ الْعَزِيزَ فَيَأْخُذُونَ قِسْمَهُمْ مِنْ يَدِهِ بِعِزَّةٍ. فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ مِنْ أَرْبَابِ السَّلَاطِينِ فَبَاعُوا أَرْوَاحَهُمْ فَتِلْكَ قِسْمَةٌ خَاسِرَةٌ وَقَعُوا فِي الذُّلِّ الْوَاضِحِ.

wa-alladhīna yaʾkulūna ʾarzāqahum bi-intiẓārin, fa-al-tujjāru yantaẓiru ʾaḥaduhum nafāqa silʿatihi fahuwa matʿūbu al-qalbi muʿadhdhabun bi-intiẓārihi, wa-alladhīna yaʾkulūna ʾarzāqahum biʿizzin min ghayri mihnatin walā intiẓārin walā dhullin fa-al-ṣūfiyyatu, yashhadūna al-ʿazīza fayaʾkhudhūna qismahum min yadihi biʿizzatin. faʾammā alladhīna yaʾkulūna min ʾarbābi al-salāṭīni fabāʿū ʾarwāḥahum fatilka qismatun khāsiratun waqaʿū fī al-dhulli al-wāḍiḥi.

Those who eat their provision in waiting are merchants: each waits for his merchandise to sell, his heart wearied and tormented by waiting. Those who eat their provision with dignity, without labor, waiting, or abasement, are the Sufis. They witness the Mighty and take their allotted portion from His hand with dignity. As for those who eat from the lords of political power, they have sold their souls. That is a losing allotment: they have fallen into manifest abasement.”

وَسُئِلَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَنْ مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ الْمَأْثُورِ: الْخَلْقُ عِيَالُ اللَّهِ فَأَحَبُّهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ أَنْفَعُهُمْ لِعِيَالِهِ، فَقَالَ: هَذَا مَخْصُوصٌ وَعِيَالُ اللَّهِ خَاصَّتُهُ. قِيلَ: كَيْفَ؟ قَالَ: لِأَنَّ النَّاسَ أَرْبَعَةُ أَقْسَامٍ: تُجَّارٌ وَتِجَارَةٌ وَصُنَّاعٌ وَزِرَاعَةٌ، فَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْهُمْ فَهُوَ مِنْ عِيَالِ اللَّهِ، فَأَحَبُّ الْخَلْقِ إِلَى اللَّهِ أَنْفَعُهُمْ لِهَؤُلَاءِ. وَهَذَا كَمَا قَالَ: لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى أَوْجَبَ الْحُقُوقَ وَفَرَضَ الزَّكَاةَ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ لِهَؤُلَاءِ لِأَنَّهُ جَعَلَ مِنْ عِيَالِهِ مَنْ لَا تِجَارَةَ لَهُ وَلَا صَنْعَةَ فَجَعَلَ مَعَاشَهُمْ عَلَى التُّجَّارِ وَالصُّنَّاعِ.

wasuʾila baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi ʿan maʿnā al-khabari al-maʾthūri: al-khalqu ʿiyālu Allāhi faʾaḥabbuhum ʾilā Allāhi ʾanfaʿuhum liʿiyālihi, faqāla: hādhā makhṣūṣun waʿiyālu Allāhi khāṣṣatuhu. qīla: kayfa? qāla: liʾanna al-nāsa ʾarbaʿatu ʾaqsāmin: tujjārun watijāratun waṣunnāʿun wazirāʿatun, faman lam yakun minhum fahuwa min ʿiyāli Allāhi, faʾaḥabbu al-khalqi ʾilā Allāhi ʾanfaʿuhum li-hāʾulāʾi. wa-hādhā kamā qāla: liʾanna Allāha subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾawjaba al-ḥuqūqa wafaraḍa al-zakāta fī al-ʾamwāli li-hāʾulāʾi liʾannahu jaʿala min ʿiyālihi man lā tijārata lahu walā ṣanʿata fajaʿala maʿāshahum ʿalā al-tujjāri wa-al-ṣunnāʿi.

One of the learned was asked about the transmitted report, “Creatures are God's dependants; the most beloved of them to God are those most helpful to His dependants.” He answered, “This has a particular scope: God's dependants are His special ones.” Asked how, he said, “People fall into four divisions: merchants, trade, artisans, and agriculture. Whoever does not belong to these is among God's dependants, and the creatures most beloved to God are those most helpful to them.” It is as he said: God, glorified and exalted, imposed financial dues and obligatory alms for these people, counting those without trade or craft among His dependants and placing their livelihood upon merchants and artisans.

أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّ الزَّكَاةَ لَا تَجُوزُ عَلَى تَاجِرٍ وَلَا صَانِعٍ لِقَوْلِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لَا تَحِلُّ الصَّدَقَةُ لِغَنِيٍّ وَلَا لِقَوِيٍّ مُكْتَسِبٍ، فَأَقَامَ الْاِكْتِسَابَ مَقَامَ الْغِنَى. وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَجَعَلْنَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا مَعَايِشَ وَمَنْ لَسْتُمْ لَهُ بِرَازِقِينَ﴾ الْحِجْرِ 20، فَكَانَ مِنْ تَدَبُّرِ الْخِطَابِ أَنَّ مَنْ لَيْسُوا لَهُ بِرَازِقِينَ هُوَ مَنْ لَيْسَ لَهُ فِيهَا مَعِيشَةٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ.

ʾalā tarā ʾanna al-zakāta lā tajūzu ʿalā tājirin walā ṣāniʿin liqawli rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: lā taḥillu al-ṣadaqatu lighaniyyin walā liqawiyyin muktasibin, faʾaqāma al-iktisāba maqāma al-ghinā. waqāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿wajaʿalnā lakum fīhā maʿāyisha waman lastum lahu birāziqīna﴾ al-ḥijri 20, fakāna min tadabburi al-khiṭābi ʾanna man laysū lahu birāziqīna huwa man laysa lahu fīhā maʿīshatun fī al-ʾarḍi.

Do you not see that obligatory alms may not be given to a merchant or artisan, because God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Charity is not lawful for a rich person or a strong person able to earn”? He thus placed earning in the position of wealth. God Most High says, “We have placed livelihoods for you in it, and those for whom you are not providers” (al-Ḥijr 15:20). Reflection upon this address shows that those for whom you are not providers are those who have no livelihood there, upon the earth.

وَقَالَ عَامِرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ: قَرَأْتُ ثَلَاثَ آيَاتٍ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ اِسْتَعَنْتُ بِهِنَّ عَلَى مَا أَنَا فِيهِ، فَاِسْتَعَنْتُ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَإِنْ يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُ إِلَّا هُوَ وَإِنْ يُرِدْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَلَا رَادَّ

waqāla ʿāmiru bnu ʿabdi Allāhi: qaraʾtu thalātha ʾāyātin min kitābi Allāhi ʿazza wajalla istaʿantu bihinna ʿalā mā ʾanā fīhi, fa-istaʿantu qawlahu taʿālā: ﴿waʾin yamsaska Allāhu biḍurrin falā kāshifa lahu ʾillā huwa waʾin yuridka bikhayrin falā rādda

ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh said, “I read three verses from the Book of God, mighty and majestic, and took strength from them in my present condition. I sought help in His words, exalted is He: ‘If God touches you with harm, none can remove it but He; and if He intends good for you, none can repel

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٨

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 8

Volume Two, page 8

لِفَضْلِهِ﴾ يُونُسَ: 107، فَقُلْتُ: إِنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَضُرَّنِي لَمْ يَقْدِرْ أَحَدٌ أَنْ يَنْفَعَنِي، وَإِنْ أَعْطَانِي لَمْ يَقْدِرْ أَحَدٌ أَنْ يَمْنَعَنِي، وَقَوْلِهِ: ﴿فَاُذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ﴾ الْبَقَرَةِ: 152، فَاِشْتَغَلْتُ بِذِكْرِهِ عَنْ ذِكْرِ مَنْ سِوَاهُ، وَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا﴾ هُودٍ: 6، فَوَاللَّهِ مَا اِهْتَمَمْتُ بِرِزْقِي مُنْذُ قَرَأْتُهَا فَاِسْتَرَحْتُ.

lifaḍlihi﴾ yūnusa: 107, faqultu: ʾin ʾarāda ʾan yaḍurranī lam yaqdir ʾaḥadun ʾan yanfaʿanī, waʾin ʾaʿṭānī lam yaqdir ʾaḥadun ʾan yamnaʿanī, waqawlihi: ﴿fa-udhkurūnī ʾadhkurkum﴾ al-baqarati: 152, fa-ishtaghaltu bidhikrihi ʿan dhikri man siwāhu, waqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿wamā min dābbatin fī al-ʾarḍi ʾillā ʿalā Allāhi rizquhā﴾ hūdin: 6, fawa-al-lahi mā ihtamamtu birizqī mundhu qaraʾtuhā fa-istaraḥtu.

His bounty’ (Yūnus 10:107). I said, ‘If He intends to harm me, no one can benefit me; if He gives to me, no one can withhold from me.’ And His words, ‘Remember Me, and I shall remember you’ (al-Baqara 2:152): remembering Him occupied me instead of remembering anyone besides Him. And His words, exalted is He, ‘There is no living creature upon the earth whose provision does not rest with God’ (Hūd 11:6). By God, since reading it I have not worried about my provision, and I have found rest.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ يَقُولُ: الْمُتَوَكِّلُ إِذَا رَأَى السَّبَبَ فَهُوَ مُدَّعٍ. وَقَالَ: لَيْسَ مَعَ الْإِيمَانِ أَسْبَابٌ، إِنَّمَا الْأَسْبَابُ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ؛ مَعْنَاهُ لَيْسَ فِي حَقِيقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ رُؤْيَةُ الْأَسْبَابِ وَالسُّكُونُ إِلَيْهَا، إِنَّمَا رُؤْيَتُهَا وَالطَّمَعُ فِي الْخَلْقِ يُوجَدُ فِي مَقَامِ الْإِسْلَامِ. وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ مَا قَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِاِبْنِهِ: لِلْإِيمَانِ أَرْبَعَةُ أَرْكَانٍ: لَا يَصْلُحُ إِلَّا بِهِنَّ كَمَا لَا يَصْلُحُ الْجَسَدُ إِلَّا بِالْيَدَيْنِ وَالرِّجْلَيْنِ: التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَى اللَّهِ، وَالتَّسْلِيمُ لِقَضَائِهِ، وَالتَّفْوِيضُ إِلَى اللَّهِ، وَالرِّضَا بِقَدَرِ اللَّهِ.

waqad kāna sahlu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi yaqūlu: al-mutawakkilu ʾidhā raʾā al-sababa fahuwa muddaʿin. waqāla: laysa maʿa al-ʾīmāni ʾasbābun, ʾinnamā al-ʾasbābu fī al-ʾislāmi; maʿnāhu laysa fī ḥaqīqati al-ʾīmāni ruʾyatu al-ʾasbābi wa-al-sukūnu ʾilayhā, ʾinnamā ruʾyatuhā wa-al-ṭamaʿu fī al-khalqi yūjadu fī maqāmi al-ʾislāmi. wamin dhālika mā qāla luqmānu li-ibnihi: li-l-ʾīmāni ʾarbaʿatu ʾarkānin: lā yaṣluḥu ʾillā bihinna kamā lā yaṣluḥu al-jasadu ʾillā bi-al-yadayni wa-al-rijlayni: al-tawakkulu ʿalā Allāhi, wa-al-taslīmu liqaḍāʾihi, wa-al-tafwīḍu ʾilā Allāhi, wa-al-riḍā biqadari Allāhi.

Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh used to say, “When one who claims trust sees the means, he is a pretender.” He said, “There are no means alongside faith; means belong to submission.” This means that faith in its reality contains neither regarding means nor resting in them; regarding them and coveting what creatures possess occur in the station of submission. So too Luqmān told his son, “Faith has four pillars, without which it cannot be sound, just as the body cannot be sound without its hands and feet: trust in God, submission to His decree, entrusting affairs to God, and contentment with God's ordainment.”

فَحَالُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ سُكُونُ الْقَلْبِ عَنِ الْاِسْتِشْرَافِ إِلَى الْعَبِيدِ وَالتَّطَلُّعِ، وَقَطْعُ الْهَمِّ عَنِ الْفِكْرَةِ فِيمَا بِأَيْدِيهِمْ مِنَ التَّطَمُّعِ، عَاكِفُ الْقَلْبِ عَلَى الْمُقَلِّبِ الْمُدَبِّرِ، مَشْغُولُ الْفِكْرِ بِقُدْرَةِ الْمُصَرِّفِ الْمُقَدِّرِ، لَا يَحْمِلُهُ عَدَمُ الْأَسْبَابِ عَلَى مَا حَظَرَهُ الْعِلْمُ عَلَيْهِ وَذَمَّهُ، وَلَا يَمْنَعُهُ أَنْ يَقُولَ الْحَقَّ وَأَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ أَوْ يُوَالِيَ فِي اللَّهِ وَيُعَادِيَ فِيهِ جَرَيَانُ الْأَسْبَابِ عَلَى أَيْدِي الْخَلْقِ، فَيَتْرُكَ الْحَقَّ حَيَاءً مِنْهُمْ أَوْ طَمَعًا فِيهِمْ أَوْ خَشْيَةَ قَطْعِ الْمَنَافِعِ الْمُعْتَادَةِ،

faḥālu al-mutawakkili sukūnu al-qalbi ʿani al-istishrāfi ʾilā al-ʿabīdi wa-al-taṭalluʿi, waqaṭʿu al-hammi ʿani al-fikrati fīmā biʾaydīhim mina al-taṭammuʿi, ʿākifu al-qalbi ʿalā al-muqallibi al-mudabbiri, mashghūlu al-fikri biqudrati al-muṣarrifi al-muqaddiri, lā yaḥmiluhu ʿadamu al-ʾasbābi ʿalā mā ḥaẓarahu al-ʿilmu ʿalayhi wadhammahu, walā yamnaʿuhu ʾan yaqūla al-ḥaqqa waʾan yaʿmala bihi ʾaw yuwāliya fī Allāhi wayuʿādiya fīhi jarayānu al-ʾasbābi ʿalā ʾaydī al-khalqi, fayatruka al-ḥaqqa ḥayāʾan minhum ʾaw ṭamaʿan fīhim ʾaw khashyata qaṭʿi al-manāfiʿi al-muʿtādati,

The trusting person's state is a heart at rest from looking expectantly toward servants, and an end to anxious, covetous thought about what their hands hold. His heart is devoted to the One who turns and governs things; his thought is occupied with the power of the One who directs and ordains. The absence of means does not lead him into what sacred knowledge forbids and censures. Nor does the flow of means through creatures' hands keep him from speaking and acting upon truth, or loving and opposing for God's sake, so that he abandons truth out of embarrassment before them, desire for what they have, or fear of losing accustomed benefits,

وَلَا تُدْخِلُهُ نَوَازِلُ الْحَاجَاتِ وَطَوَارِقُ الْفَاقَاتِ فِي الْاِنْحِطَاطِ فِي أَهْوَاءِ النَّاسِ وَالْمَيْلِ إِلَى الْبَاطِلِ أَوِ الصَّمْتِ عَنْ حَقٍّ لَزِمَهُ، أَوْ يُوَالِيَ فِي اللَّهِ عَدُوًّا أَوْ يُعَادِيَ وَلِيًّا، لِيَرُبَّ بِذَلِكَ حَالَهُ عِنْدَهُمْ، أَوْ يَشْكُرَ بِذَلِكَ مَا أَسْدَوْهُ إِلَيْهِ بِالْكَفِّ عَنْهُمْ، وَلَا يَرُبُّ الصَّنْعَةَ الَّتِي قَدْ عُرِفَ بِهَا لِنَظَرِهِ إِلَى الصَّانِعِ، وَلَا يَتَصَنَّعُ لِمَصْنُوعٍ دَخَلَهُ لِعِلْمِهِ بِسَبْقِ الصُّنْعِ لِدَوَامِ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ،

walā tudkhiluhu nawāzilu al-ḥājāti waṭawāriqu al-fāqāti fī al-inḥiṭāṭi fī ʾahwāʾi al-nāsi wa-al-mayli ʾilā al-bāṭili ʾawi al-ṣamti ʿan ḥaqqin lazimahu, ʾaw yuwāliya fī Allāhi ʿaduwwan ʾaw yuʿādiya waliyyan, liyarubba bi-dhālika ḥālahu ʿindahum, ʾaw yashkura bi-dhālika mā ʾasdawhu ʾilayhi bi-al-kaffi ʿanhum, walā yarubbu al-ṣanʿata allatī qad ʿurifa bihā linaẓarihi ʾilā al-ṣāniʿi, walā yataṣannaʿu limaṣnūʿin dakhalahu liʿilmihi bisabqi al-ṣunʿi lidawāmi mushāhadatihi,

nor do pressing needs and sudden poverty bring him down into people's desires, incline him toward falsehood, or silence him about a truth binding upon him. He does not befriend an enemy in relation to God or oppose a friend in order to cultivate his standing with people, or repay their favors by refraining from challenging them. He does not cultivate the workmanship by which he has become known, because he looks to the Maker; nor does he put on an appearance for a made thing that has entered him, knowing that the making precedes it, through his constant witnessing,

وَلَا يَسْكُنُ إِلَى عَادَةٍ مِنْ خَلْقٍ، وَلَا يَثِقُ بِمُعْتَادٍ مِنْ مَخْلُوقٍ؛ إِذْ قَدْ أَيْقَنَ بِرِزْقِهِ وَنَفْعِهِ وَضَرِّهِ مِنْ وَاحِدٍ. فَهَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي مِنْ فَرْضِ التَّوَكُّلِ، فَإِنْ وُجِدَتْ فِي عَبْدٍ خَرَجَ بِهَا عَنْ حَدِّ التَّوَكُّلِ دُونَ فَضَائِلِهِ وَتُدْخِلُهُ فِي ضَعْفِ الْيَقِينِ. وَقَدْ كَانَ الْأَقْوِيَاءُ إِذَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ شَيْءٌ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأَهْوَاءِ الْمُفْسِدَةِ لِتَوَكُّلِهِمْ، قَطَعُوا تِلْكَ الْأَسْبَابَ، وَحَسَمُوا أُصُولَهَا وَاِعْتَقَدُوا تَرْكَهَا، وَعَمِلُوا فِي مُفَارَقَةِ الْأَمْصَارِ وَالتَّغَرُّبِ عَنِ الْأَوْطَانِ وَتَرْكِ الْآلَافِ وَالْإِيلَافِ،

walā yaskunu ʾilā ʿādatin min khalqin, walā yathiqu bimuʿtādin min makhlūqin; ʾidh qad ʾayqana birizqihi wanafʿihi waḍarrihi min wāḥidin. fa-hādhihi al-maʿānī min farḍi al-tawakkuli, faʾin wujidat fī ʿabdin kharaja bihā ʿan ḥaddi al-tawakkuli dūna faḍāʾilihi watudkhiluhu fī ḍaʿfi al-yaqīni. waqad kāna al-ʾaqwiyāʾu ʾidhā dakhala ʿalayhim shayʾun min hādhihi al-ʾahwāʾi al-mufsidati litawakkulihim, qaṭaʿū tilka al-ʾasbāba, waḥasamū ʾuṣūlahā wa-iʿtaqadū tarkahā, waʿamilū fī mufāraqati al-ʾamṣāri wa-al-tagharrubi ʿani al-ʾawṭāni watarki al-ʾālāfi wa-al-ʾīlāfi,

He does not rest in a creature's habitual behavior or place confidence in what he is accustomed to receive from a creature, for he is certain that his provision, benefit, and harm come from One. These matters belong to obligatory trust. If they are found in a servant, he departs through them from trust's bounds, even before its excellences, and they bring him into weak certainty. When any of these desires that corrupt trust entered the strong, they severed those means, cut off their roots, resolved to abandon them, and set about leaving cities, living away from their homelands, and relinquishing familiar companions and attachments,

فَأَخْرَجُوا ذَلِكَ مِنْ حَيْثُ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَوَضَعُوا عَلَيْهِ دَوَاءَهُ وَضِدَّهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ تَطَرَّقَ إِلَيْهِمْ، حَتَّى رُبَّمَا فَارَقُوا ظَاهِرَ الْعِلْمِ وَخَالَفُوا عِلْمَ أَهْلِ الظَّاهِرِ إِلَى عُلُومِ الْبَاطِنِ وَحُكْمِ مُشَاهَدَتِهِمْ وَقِيَامِهِمْ بِحَقِّ أَحْوَالِهِمْ، إِذْ لَيْسَ أَهْلُ الظَّاهِرِ حُجَّةً عَلَيْهِمْ فِي شَيْءٍ إِلَّا وَهُمْ عَلَيْهِ حُجَّةٌ فِي مِثْلِهِ، لِأَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ ظَاهِرٌ وَبَاطِنٌ، وَالْعِلْمَ مُحْكَمٌ وَمُتَشَابِهٌ، وَلِأَنَّ أَهْلَ الْحَقِّ أَقْرَبُ إِلَى التَّوْفِيقِ وَأَوْفَقُ لِإِصَابَةِ الْحَقِيقَةِ،

faʾakhrajū dhālika min ḥaythu dakhala ʿalayhim, wawaḍaʿū ʿalayhi dawāʾahu waḍiddahu min ḥaythu taṭarraqa ʾilayhim, ḥattā rubbamā fāraqū ẓāhira al-ʿilmi wakhālafū ʿilma ʾahli al-ẓāhiri ʾilā ʿulūmi al-bāṭini waḥukmi mushāhadatihim waqiyāmihim biḥaqqi ʾaḥwālihim, ʾidh laysa ʾahlu al-ẓāhiri ḥujjatan ʿalayhim fī shayʾin ʾillā wahum ʿalayhi ḥujjatun fī mithlihi, liʾanna al-ʾīmāna ẓāhirun wabāṭinun, wa-al-ʿilma muḥkamun wamutashābihun, waliʾanna ʾahla al-ḥaqqi ʾaqrabu ʾilā al-tawfīqi waʾawfaqu liʾiṣābati al-ḥaqīqati,

expelling the trouble by the way it had entered and applying its remedy and opposite at its point of entry. Sometimes they even departed from outward knowledge and diverged from the knowledge of those concerned with externals, turning to inward sciences, the judgment of their witnessing, and the fulfillment of their states' due. For the people of externals hold no argument against them in any matter without their holding a corresponding argument in its like. Faith has an outward and an inward dimension; knowledge includes the firmly established and the ambiguous; and the people of truth are nearer to divine enabling and better suited to attaining reality,

كُلُّ ذَلِكَ رِعَايَةً لِصِحَّةِ تَوَكُّلِهِمْ وَوَفَاءً بِحُسْنِ عَهْدِهِمْ وَعَمَلًا بِأَحْكَامِ حَالِهِمْ لِئَلَّا تَسْكُنَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ، وَلَا تَقِفَ هِمَمُهُمْ مَعَ سِوَى اللَّهِ، وَلَا تَطْمَئِنَّ نُفُوسُهُمْ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ، وَلَا يَتَّخِذُوا سَكَنًا سِوَاهُ، وَلَا يَسْكُنُوا إِلَى أَهْوَاءِ النُّفُوسِ وَيَنْخَدِعُوا لِسُكُونِهَا عَنْ سُكُونِ الْقَلْبِ، فَيُسِيءَ ذَلِكَ يَقِينَهُمْ

kullu dhālika riʿāyatan liṣiḥḥati tawakkulihim wawafāʾan biḥusni ʿahdihim waʿamalan biʾaḥkāmi ḥālihim liʾallā taskuna qulūbuhum lighayri Allāhi, walā taqifa himamuhum maʿa siwā Allāhi, walā taṭmaʾinna nufūsuhum ʾilā ghayrihi, walā yattakhidhū sakanan siwāhu, walā yaskunū ʾilā ʾahwāʾi al-nufūsi wayankhadiʿū lisukūnihā ʿan sukūni al-qalbi, fayusīʾa dhālika yaqīnahum

all to preserve the soundness of their trust, fulfill their covenant faithfully, and act according to their state's demands: lest their hearts rest in other than God, their aspirations stop with anything besides God, their souls find reassurance in another, or they take any refuge besides Him; lest they settle into the souls' desires and be deceived by their repose into missing the heart's repose, so that this damages their certainty

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٩

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 9

Volume Two, page 9

وَيُوهِنَ إِيمَانَهُمُ الَّذِي هُوَ الْأَصْلُ، وَيَسْتَأْسِرَ قُلُوبَهُمُ الَّتِي هِيَ الْمَكَانُ لِلْكَشْفِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ، فَيَخْسَرُوا رَأْسَ الْمَالِ فَتَفُوتَهُمْ حَقِيقَةُ الْحَالِ، فَمَاذَا يَرْتَجُونَ وَبِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ يَقُومُونَ؟ وَهَذَا لَا يَفْطَنُ لَهُ إِلَّا الْعَاقِلُونَ وَلَا تَشْهَدُهُ الْعُيُونُ. وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ فِي حَقِيقَةِ التَّوَكُّلِ لَمَّا سُئِلَ عَنْهُ فَقَالَ: هُوَ الْفِرَارُ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ، يَعْنِي تَرْكَ السُّكُونِ إِلَى الْمَقَامِ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ؛ أَيْ يَتَوَكَّلُ وَلَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَى تَوَكُّلِهِمْ إِنَّهُ لِأَجْلِهِ يُكْفَى أَوْ يُعَافَى أَوْ يُوقَى،

wayūhina ʾīmānahumu alladhī huwa al-ʾaṣlu, wayastaʾsira qulūbahumu allatī hiya al-makānu li-l-kashfi wa-al-shahādati, fayakhsarū raʾsa al-māli fatafūtahum ḥaqīqatu al-ḥāli, famādhā yartajūna wabiʾayyi shayʾin yaqūmūna? wa-hādhā lā yafṭanu lahu ʾillā al-ʿāqilūna walā tashhaduhu al-ʿuyūnu. waqad qāla baʿḍu al-muqarrabīna fī ḥaqīqati al-tawakkuli lammā suʾila ʿanhu faqāla: huwa al-firāru mina al-tawakkuli, yaʿnī tarka al-sukūni ʾilā al-maqāmi mina al-tawakkuli; ʾay yatawakkalu walā yanẓuru ʾilā tawakkulihim ʾinnahu liʾajlihi yukfā ʾaw yuʿāfā ʾaw yūqā,

and weakens their faith, which is the foundation, and takes captive their hearts, which are the place of unveiling and witnessing. They would lose their capital and miss the reality of the state: what, then, would they hope for, and by what could they stand? Only those with understanding perceive this; eyes do not witness it. Asked about trust's reality, one of those brought near said, “It is fleeing from trust.” He meant ceasing to rest in the station of trust: one trusts, without regarding their trust as the reason one is provided for, granted well-being, or protected,

فَجَعَلَ نَظَرَهُ إِلَى تَوَكُّلِهِ عِلَّةً فِي تَوَكُّلِهِ يَلْزَمُهُ الْفِرَارُ مِنْهَا حَتَّى يَدُومَ نَظَرُهُ إِلَى الْوَكِيلِ وَحْدَهُ بِلَا خَلَلٍ، وَيَقُومَ لَهُ بِشَهَادَةٍ مِنْهُ بِلَا مَلَلٍ، فَلَا يَكُونَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْوَكِيلِ شَيْءٌ يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ، أَوْ يُعَوِّلُ عَلَيْهِ، أَوْ يُدِلُّ بِهِ، حَتَّى التَّوَكُّلُ أَيْضًا الَّذِي هُوَ طَرِيقُهُ. وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ قَبْلَهُ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿أَمَّنْ يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ﴾ النَّمْلِ: 26،

fajaʿala naẓarahu ʾilā tawakkulihi ʿillatan fī tawakkulihi yalzamuhu al-firāru minhā ḥattā yadūma naẓaruhu ʾilā al-wakīli waḥdahu bilā khalalin, wayaqūma lahu bishahādatin minhu bilā malalin, falā yakūna baynahu wabayna al-wakīli shayʾun yanẓuru ʾilayhi, ʾaw yuʿawwilu ʿalayhi, ʾaw yudillu bihi, ḥattā al-tawakkulu ʾayḍan alladhī huwa ṭarīquhu. wa-kadhālika qāla qablahu baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna fī maʿnā qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿ʾamman yujību al-muḍṭarra ʾidhā daʿāhu﴾ al-namli: 26,

thus making attention to one's own trust a defect in that trust, from which one must flee until one's gaze remains upon the Trustee alone without disruption, and one stands before Him in witnessing received from Him, without weariness. Nothing should stand between oneself and the Trustee to which one looks, on which one relies, or in which one takes pride, including even trust itself, one's path. Likewise, an earlier knower explained His words, mighty and majestic, “Who answers the one in desperate need when he calls upon Him?” (al-Naml 26),

فَقَالَ: الْمُضْطَرُّ الَّذِي يَقِفُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ مَوْلَاهُ فَيَرْفَعُ إِلَيْهِ يَدَيْهِ بِالْمَسْأَلَةِ فَلَا يَرَى بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ حَسَنَةً يَسْتَحِقُّ بِهَا شَيْئًا، فَيَقُولُ: هَبْ لِي مَوْلَايَ بِلَا شَيْءٍ، فَتَكُونُ بِضَاعَتُهُ عِنْدَ مَوْلَاهُ الْإِفْلَاسَ، وَيَصِيرُ حَالُهُ مَعَ كُلِّ الْأَعْمَالِ الْإِفْلَاسَ، فَهَذَا هُوَ الْمُضْطَرُّ. فَهَؤُلَاءِ الْقَوْمُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ وَصَفَهُمُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِالتَّقْوَى وَالْمَخَافَةِ، وَجَعَلَهُمْ أَهْلًا لِلدَّعْوَةِ وَالنِّذَارَةِ، وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُمْ لَا يَرَوْنَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُمْ سَبَبًا يَلِيهِمْ وَلَا شَفَاعَةً،

faqāla: al-muḍṭarru alladhī yaqifu bayna yaday mawlāhu fayarfaʿu ʾilayhi yadayhi bi-al-masʾalati falā yarā baynahu wabayna Allāhi ḥasanatan yastaḥiqqu bihā shayʾan, fayaqūlu: hab lī mawlāya bilā shayʾin, fatakūnu biḍāʿatuhu ʿinda mawlāhu al-ʾiflāsa, wayaṣīru ḥāluhu maʿa kulli al-ʾaʿmāli al-ʾiflāsa, fa-hādhā huwa al-muḍṭarru. fa-hāʾulāʾi al-qawmu mina alladhīna waṣafahumu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla bi-al-taqwā wa-al-makhāfati, wajaʿalahum ʾahlan li-l-daʿwati wa-al-nidhārati, waʾakhbara ʾannahum lā yarawna baynahu wabaynahum sababan yalīhim walā shafāʿatan,

saying, “The one in desperate need stands before his Master, raises his hands in petition to Him, and sees between himself and God no good deed entitling him to anything. He says, ‘My Master, give to me for nothing.’ His merchandise before his Master is bankruptcy; despite all his deeds, his condition becomes bankruptcy. Such is the one in desperate need.” These people are among those whom God, mighty and majestic, describes as Godfearing and fearful, makes fit for the call and warning, and declares to see between Him and themselves no means protecting them and no intercession,

فَقَالَ تَعَالَى يَأْمُرُ رَسُولَهُ بِإِنْذَارِهِمْ بِكَلَامِهِ فَجَعَلَهُمْ وِجْهَةً لِخَلْقِهِ وَمَكَانًا لِكَلِمِهِ، كَمَا جَعَلَ رَسُولَهُ وِجْهَةً لَهُمْ وَمَكَانًا لِتَكْلِيمِهِمْ، فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَأَنْذِرْ بِهِ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْ يُحْشَرُوا إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ وَلِيٌّ وَلَا شَفِيعٌ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ﴾ الْاَنْعَامِ: 51. ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ أَمْثَالِنَا مِنْ أَهْلِ اللَّعِبِ وَاللَّهْوِ وَالْغِرَّةِ وَالسَّهْوَةِ مُتَهَدِّدًا لَنَا مُتَوَعِّدًا: ﴿وَذَرِ الَّذِينَ اِتَّخَذُوا دِينَهُمْ لَعِبًا وَلَهْوًا وَغَرَّتْهُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا﴾ الْاَنْعَامِ: 70.

faqāla taʿālā yaʾmuru rasūlahu biʾindhārihim bikalāmihi fajaʿalahum wijhatan likhalqihi wamakānan likalimihi, kamā jaʿala rasūlahu wijhatan lahum wamakānan litaklīmihim, faqāla taʿālā: ﴿waʾandhir bihi alladhīna yakhāfūna ʾan yuḥsharū ʾilā rabbihim laysa lahum min dūnihi waliyyun walā shafīʿun laʿallahum yattaqūna﴾ al-ʾanʿāmi: 51. thumma qāla taʿālā fī waṣfi ʾamthālinā min ʾahli al-laʿibi wa-al-lahwi wa-al-ghirrati wa-al-sahwati mutahaddidan lanā mutawaʿʿidan: ﴿wadhari alladhīna ittakhadhū dīnahum laʿiban walahwan wagharrathumu al-ḥayātu al-dunyā﴾ al-ʾanʿāmi: 70.

and He, exalted is He, commands His Messenger to warn them through His speech, making them an orientation for His creation and a place for His words, just as He makes His Messenger an orientation for them and a place for addressing them. He says, exalted is He, “Warn by it those who fear being gathered to their Lord, having apart from Him neither protector nor intercessor, so that they may become Godfearing” (al-Anʿām 6:51). Then He, exalted is He, describing people like us, given to play, diversion, delusion, and heedlessness, He threatens and warns us: “Leave those who take their religion as play and diversion, whom worldly life has deceived” (al-Anʿām 6:70).

وَقِيلَ لِبَعْضِ عُلَمَائِنَا: مَا التَّوَكُّلُ؟ قَالَ: التَّبَرِّي مِنَ الْحَوْلِ وَالْقُوَّةِ؛ وَالْحَوْلُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقُوَّةِ، يَعْنِي بِالْحَوْلِ الْحَرَكَةَ، وَالْقُوَّةُ الثَّبَاتُ عَلَى الْحَرَكَةِ، وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ الْفِعْلِ، يَعْنِي بِهَذَا لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَى حَرَكَتِكَ مَعَ الْمُحَرِّكِ إِذْ هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَلَا إِلَى ثَبَاتِكَ أَيْضًا بَعْدَ الْحَرَكَةِ فِي تَثْبِيتِهِ إِذْ هُوَ الْمُثَبِّتُ الْآخِرُ، فَتَكُونُ الْأَوَّلِيَّةُ وَالْآخِرِيَّةُ حَقِيقَةَ شَهَادَتِكَ لَهُ بِهِ أَنَّهُ الْأَوَّلُ الْآخِرُ بِعَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ؛ أَيْ فَعِنْدَهَا صَحَّ تَوَكُّلُكَ بِشَهَادَةِ الْوَكِيلِ.

waqīla libaʿḍi ʿulamāʾinā: mā al-tawakkulu? qāla: al-tabarrī mina al-ḥawli wa-al-quwwati; wa-al-ḥawlu ʾashaddu mina al-quwwati, yaʿnī bi-al-ḥawli al-ḥarakata, wa-al-quwwatu al-thabātu ʿalā al-ḥarakati, wahuwa ʾawwalu al-fiʿli, yaʿnī bi-hādhā lā yanẓuru ʾilā ḥarakatika maʿa al-muḥarriki ʾidh huwa al-ʾawwalu walā ʾilā thabātika ʾayḍan baʿda al-ḥarakati fī tathbītihi ʾidh huwa al-muthabbitu al-ʾākhiru, fatakūnu al-ʾawwaliyyatu wa-al-ʾākhiriyyatu ḥaqīqata shahādatika lahu bihi ʾannahu al-ʾawwalu al-ʾākhiru biʿayni al-yaqīni; ʾay faʿindahā ṣaḥḥa tawakkuluka bishahādati al-wakīli.

One of our learned men was asked, “What is trust?” He answered, “Disavowing power and strength. Power is more intense than strength.” By power he meant movement, and by strength, steadiness in movement, which is the beginning of action. His meaning is that one does not regard your movement alongside the Mover, since He is the First, nor your steadiness after movement within His making you steady, since He is the Last who makes steady. Firstness and lastness thus become the reality of your witnessing Him through Him as the First and the Last, with the eye of certainty. Then your trust becomes sound through witnessing the Trustee.

وَقَالَ مَرَّةً: التَّوَكُّلُ تَرْكُ التَّدْبِيرِ، وَأَصْلُ كُلِّ تَدْبِيرٍ مِنَ الرَّغْبَةِ، وَأَصْلُ كُلِّ رَغْبَةٍ مِنْ طُولِ الْأَمَلِ، وَطُولُ الْأَمَلِ مِنْ حُبِّ الْبَقَاءِ؛ وَهَذَا هُوَ الشِّرْكُ، يَعْنِي أَنَّكَ شَارَكْتَ الرُّبُوبِيَّةَ فِي وَصْفِ الْبَقَاءِ. وَقَالَ: اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ خَلَقَ الْخَلْقَ وَلَمْ يَحْجُبْهُمْ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ، وَإِنَّمَا جَعَلَ حِجَابَهُمْ تَدْبِيرَهُمْ. وَقَدْ كَثُرَ قَوْلُهُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ فِي تَرْكِ التَّدْبِيرِ، وَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُعْرَفَ مَا مَعْنَاهُ، لَيْسَ يَعْنِي بِتَرْكِ التَّدْبِيرِ تَرْكَ التَّصَرُّفِ فِيمَا وُجِّهَ الْعَبْدُ فِيهِ وَأُبِيحَ لَهُ،

waqāla marratan: al-tawakkulu tarku al-tadbīri, waʾaṣlu kulli tadbīrin mina al-raghbati, waʾaṣlu kulli raghbatin min ṭūli al-ʾamali, waṭūlu al-ʾamali min ḥubbi al-baqāʾi; wa-hādhā huwa al-shirku, yaʿnī ʾannaka shārakta al-rubūbiyyata fī waṣfi al-baqāʾi. waqāla: Allāhu subḥānahu khalaqa al-khalqa walam yaḥjubhum ʿan nafsihi, waʾinnamā jaʿala ḥijābahum tadbīrahum. waqad kathura qawluhu raḥimahu Allāhu fī tarki al-tadbīri, wayanbaghī ʾan yuʿrafa mā maʿnāhu, laysa yaʿnī bitarki al-tadbīri tarka al-taṣarrufi fīmā wujjiha al-ʿabdu fīhi waʾubīḥa lahu,

He once said, “Trust is relinquishing planning. All planning arises from desire; every desire arises from long hopes; and long hopes arise from love of remaining. This is associating partners.” He meant that you have claimed a share in lordship's attribute of permanence. He said, “God, glory be to Him, created creatures and did not veil them from Himself; He made their planning their veil.” He spoke often, God have mercy on him, of abandoning planning, and his meaning must be understood. He does not mean abandoning action in matters toward which the servant is directed and which are permitted to him,

كَيْفَ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ: مَنْ طَعَنَ عَلَى التَّكَسُّبِ فَقَدْ طَعَنَ عَلَى السُّنَّةِ، وَمَنْ طَعَنَ فِي تَرْكِ التَّكَسُّبِ فَقَدْ طَعَنَ عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ، إِنَّمَا يَعْنِي بِتَرْكِ التَّدْبِيرِ تَرْكَ الْأَمَانِيِّ، وَقَوْلِهِ: لِمَ كَانَ كَذَا؟ إِذَا وَقَعَ، وَلِمَ لَا يَكُونُ كَذَا؟ أَوْ لَوْ كَانَ كَذَا فِيمَا لَا يَقَعُ، لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ اِعْتِرَاضٌ وَجَهْلٌ بِسَبْقِ الْعِلْمِ، وَذَهَابٌ عَنْ نَفَاذِ الْقُدْرَةِ وَشَهَادَةِ الْحِكْمَةِ، وَغَفْلَةٌ عَنْ رُؤْيَةِ الْمَشِيئَةِ وَجَرَيَانِ الْحُكْمِ بِهَا، وَيَعْنِي تَرْكَ

kayfa wahuwa yaqūlu: man ṭaʿana ʿalā al-takassubi faqad ṭaʿana ʿalā al-sunnati, waman ṭaʿana fī tarki al-takassubi faqad ṭaʿana ʿalā al-tawḥīdi, ʾinnamā yaʿnī bitarki al-tadbīri tarka al-ʾamāniyyi, waqawlihi: lima kāna kadhā? ʾidhā waqaʿa, walima lā yakūnu kadhā? ʾaw law kāna kadhā fīmā lā yaqaʿu, liʾanna dhālika iʿtirāḍun wajahlun bisabqi al-ʿilmi, wadhahābun ʿan nafādhi al-qudrati washahādati al-ḥikmati, waghaflatun ʿan ruʾyati al-mashīʾati wajarayāni al-ḥukmi bihā, wayaʿnī tarka

for how could he, when he says, “Whoever disparages earning disparages the prophetic practice; whoever disparages abandoning earning disparages affirmation of God's oneness”? By abandoning planning he means abandoning wishes and saying, “Why did this happen?” when it happens, or “Why does this not happen?” or “If only this had happened,” about what does not happen. Such speech is objection and ignorance of knowledge's precedence, departure from awareness of power's effective reach and the witnessing of wisdom, and heedlessness of seeing the will and judgment's proceeding through it. He also means abandoning

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ١٠

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 10

Volume Two, page 10

التَّدْبِيرِ فِيمَا بَقِيَ وَمَا يَأْتِي بَعْدُ، أَيْ لَا تَشْتَغِلْ بِالْفِكْرِ فِيهِ بِعَقْلِكَ وَعِلْمِكَ فَيَقْطَعَكَ عَنْ حَالِكَ فِي الْوَقْتِ الَّذِي هُوَ أَلْزَمُ لَكَ وَأَوْجَبُ عَلَيْكَ حَتَّى قَطَعَكَ فِيمَا يَأْتِي مِنَ الْأَحْكَامِ. وَالتَّصْرِيفُ فِي تَرْكِ التَّدْبِيرِ وَالتَّقْدِيرِ لَهَا بِالزِّيَادَةِ وَالنُّقْصَانِ، أَوْ نَقْلِهَا مِنْ وَقْتٍ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ أَوْ مِنْ عَبْدٍ أَيِّ آخَرَ، بِالتَّقْدِيمِ وَالتَّأْخِيرِ، تَكُونُ فِي ذَلِكَ كَمَا كُنْتَ فِيمَا قَدْ مَضَى، أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَا يُدَبِّرُ مَا قَدْ مَضَى؟

al-tadbīri fīmā baqiya wamā yaʾtī baʿdu, ʾay lā tashtaghil bi-al-fikri fīhi biʿaqlika waʿilmika fayaqṭaʿaka ʿan ḥālika fī al-waqti alladhī huwa ʾalzamu laka waʾawjabu ʿalayka ḥattā qaṭaʿaka fīmā yaʾtī mina al-ʾaḥkāmi. wa-al-taṣrīfu fī tarki al-tadbīri wa-al-taqdīri lahā bi-al-ziyādati wa-al-nuqṣāni, ʾaw naqlihā min waqtin ʾilā ghayrihi ʾaw min ʿabdin ʾayyi ʾākhara, bi-al-taqdīmi wa-al-taʾkhīri, takūnu fī dhālika kamā kunta fīmā qad maḍā, ʾalā tarā ʾanna al-ʾinsāna lā yudabbiru mā qad maḍā?

planning about what remains and what is still to come: do not occupy your intellect and knowledge with thinking about it so that it cuts you off from your state in the present moment, which binds you more closely and is more obligatory for you, until it cuts you off concerning the rulings still to come. And directing things lies in leaving off planning and apportioning them through increase and decrease, transferring them from one time to another or from a servant—“any other”—by advancing or delaying. In this be as you were with what has already passed. Do you not see that a person does not plan what has already passed?

قَالَ: فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ فِيمَا يَسْتَقْبِلُ تَارِكًا لِلتَّدْبِيرِ لَهُ، تَارِكًا لِلْأَمَانِيِّ فِيهِ بِمَعَانِي مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ، كَتَرْكِهِ إِيَّاهُ فِيمَا مَضَى، فَيَسْتَوِيَ عِنْدَهُ الْحَالَانِ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ أَحْكَمُ الْحَاكِمِينَ، وَلِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ مُسْلِمٌ لِلْأَحْكَامِ وَالْأَفْعَالِ، رَاضٍ عَنْ مَوْلَاهُ فِي الْأَقْدَارِ، مَعَ جَهْلِهِ بِعَوَاقِبِ الْمَآلِ. وَتَرْكُ التَّدْبِيرِ بِهَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي هُوَ الْيَقِينُ، وَالْيَقِينُ هُوَ مَكَانُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، إِذْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَلْبَ الْمُوقِنِ مَكَانًا يُمَكَّنُ فِيهِ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْمَكَانِ مَا يَلِيقُ بِهِ.

qāla: fayanbaghī ʾan yakūna fīmā yastaqbilu tārikan li-l-tadbīri lahu, tārikan li-l-ʾamāniyyi fīhi bimaʿānī mā dhakarnāhu, katarkihi ʾiyyāhu fīmā maḍā, fayastawiya ʿindahu al-ḥālāni, liʾanna Allāha ʾaḥkamu al-ḥākimīna, waliʾanna al-ʿabda muslimun li-l-ʾaḥkāmi wa-al-ʾafʿāli, rāḍin ʿan mawlāhu fī al-ʾaqdāri, maʿa jahlihi biʿawāqibi al-maʾāli. watarku al-tadbīri bi-hādhihi al-maʿānī huwa al-yaqīnu, wa-al-yaqīnu huwa makānu al-maʿrifati, ʾidh jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā qalba al-mūqini makānan yumakkanu fīhi ʿalā qadri al-makāni mā yalīqu bihi.

He said, “With respect to the future he should abandon planning for it and wishing about it, in the senses we have explained, just as he leaves it alone with respect to the past. The two conditions then become alike for him, because God is the wisest of judges, and because the servant submits to judgments and acts, content with his Master's decrees despite his ignorance of their eventual outcomes.” Abandoning planning in these senses is certainty, and certainty is the place of knowing: God Most High makes the heart of the certain person a place in which what befits it is established in proportion to its capacity.

وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: يَا مِسْكِينُ كَانَ وَلَمْ تَكُنْ وَيَكُونُ وَلَا تَكُونُ، فَلَمَّا كُنْتَ الْيَوْمَ قُلْتَ أَنَا وَأَنَا، كُنْ فِيمَا أَنْتَ الْآنَ كَمَا لَمْ تَكُنْ، فَإِنَّهُ هُوَ الْيَوْمَ كَمَا كَانَ. وَكَانَ يَقُولُ أَيْضًا: الزُّهْدُ إِنَّمَا هُوَ تَرْكُ التَّدْبِيرِ، فَهَذَا يَعْنِي بِهِ تَرْكَ الْأَسْبَابِ الَّتِي تُوجِبُ التَّدْبِيرَ، وَإِخْرَاجَ السَّبَبِ الَّذِي يَجِبُ تَدْبِيرُهُ، لَا أَنَّهُ يَكُونُ مُسَبِّبًا مُتَيَقِّنًا لِلْأَسْبَابِ وَهُوَ تَرْكُ تَدْبِيرِهَا،

wakāna yaqūlu: yā miskīnu kāna walam takun wayakūnu walā takūnu, falammā kunta al-yawma qulta ʾanā waʾanā, kun fīmā ʾanta al-ʾāna kamā lam takun, faʾinnahu huwa al-yawma kamā kāna. wakāna yaqūlu ʾayḍan: al-zuhdu ʾinnamā huwa tarku al-tadbīri, fa-hādhā yaʿnī bihi tarka al-ʾasbābi allatī tūjibu al-tadbīra, waʾikhrāja al-sababi alladhī yajibu tadbīruhu, lā ʾannahu yakūnu musabbiban mutayaqqinan li-l-ʾasbābi wahuwa tarku tadbīrihā,

He used to say, “Poor man, He was when you were not, and He will be when you will not. Yet when you exist today you say, ‘I, I!’ Be in your present condition as though you were not, for He is today as He always was.” He also said, “Renunciation is simply abandoning planning.” By this he means relinquishing the means that require planning and removing the means that must be managed; not that one remains a producer of means, certain of the means, while this is abandoning their management,

لِأَنَّ التَّدْبِيرَ فِي هَذَا الْمَوْضِعِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ التَّمْيِيزُ وَالْقِيَامُ بِالْأَحْكَامِ وَوَضْعُ الْأَشْيَاءِ مَوَاضِعَهَا، فَكَيْفَ لَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ كَذَلِكَ مَعَ وُجُودِ الْأَشْيَاءِ وَهُوَ عَاقِلٌ مُمَيِّزٌ مُتَعَبَّدٌ بِالْعِلْمِ مُطَالَبٌ بِالْأَحْكَامِ؟ وَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ: اُتْرُكِ الْأَشْيَاءَ الْمُدَبَّرَةَ وَاِزْهَدْ فِي الْأَسْبَابِ الْمُمَيَّزَةِ حَتَّى يَسْقُطَ عَنْكَ التَّدْبِيرُ وَالتَّقْدِيرُ، فَيَكُونُ بِتَرْكِهَا تَارِكًا لِلتَّدْبِيرِ بِسُقُوطِ أَحْكَامِهَا عَنْكَ، وَاِسْتِرَاحَتِكَ مِنَ الْقِيَامِ بِهَا، وَالنَّظَرِ فِيهَا؛ فَهَذَا هُوَ تَفْصِيلُ جُمْلَةِ قَوْلِهِ فِي تَرْكِ التَّدْبِيرِ،

liʾanna al-tadbīra fī hādhā al-mawḍiʿi ʾinnamā huwa al-tamyīzu wa-al-qiyāmu bi-al-ʾaḥkāmi wawaḍʿu al-ʾashyāʾi mawāḍiʿahā, fakayfa lā yakūnu al-ʿabdu kadhālika maʿa wujūdi al-ʾashyāʾi wahuwa ʿāqilun mumayyizun mutaʿabbadun bi-al-ʿilmi muṭālabun bi-al-ʾaḥkāmi? waʾinnamā yaqūlu: utruki al-ʾashyāʾa al-mudabbarata wa-izhad fī al-ʾasbābi al-mumayyazati ḥattā yasquṭa ʿanka al-tadbīru wa-al-taqdīru, fayakūnu bitarkihā tārikan li-l-tadbīri bisuqūṭi ʾaḥkāmihā ʿanka, wa-istirāḥatika mina al-qiyāmi bihā, wa-al-naẓari fīhā; fa-hādhā huwa tafṣīlu jumlati qawlihi fī tarki al-tadbīri,

for planning here is simply discernment, observing rulings, and putting things in their proper places. How could the servant fail to do this while things remain, when he is rational and discerning, bound to worship according to knowledge, and answerable to the rulings? He is only saying, “Leave the things that require management and renounce the means requiring discrimination, until management and apportionment fall away from you.” By relinquishing them, one relinquishes management because their rulings cease to bind you and you gain respite from attending to them and considering them. This unpacks his general statement about abandoning planning,

وَهَذَا هُوَ حَالُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ، وَالْمُتَوَكِّلُ لَا يَهْتَمُّ بِمَا قَدْ كُفِيَ كَمَا لَا يَهْتَمُّ الصَّحِيحُ بِالدَّوَاءِ إِذَا عُوفِيَ، وَلَكِنْ قَدْ يَحْتَمِي قَبْلَ النِّزَالِ كَمَا يَحْتَمِي الْمُعَافَى قَبْلَ وُرُودِ الْعِلَلِ. قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ: ﴿وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا﴾ هُودٍ: 6، ﴿وَكَأَيِّنْ مِنْ دَابَّةٍ لَا تَحْمِلُ رِزْقَهَا اللَّهُ يَرْزُقُهَا وَإِيَّاكُمْ﴾ الْعَنْكَبُوتِ: 60. فَالْمُتَوَكِّلُ قَدْ عَلِمَ بِيَقِينِهِ، إِذْ كُلُّ مَا يَنَالُهُ مِنَ الْعَطَاءِ مِنْ ذَرَّةٍ فَمَا فَوْقَهَا، أَنَّ ذَلِكَ رِزْقُهُ مِنْ خَالِقِهِ،

wa-hādhā huwa ḥālu al-mutawakkilīna, wa-al-mutawakkilu lā yahtammu bimā qad kufiya kamā lā yahtammu al-ṣaḥīḥu bi-al-dawāʾi ʾidhā ʿūfiya, wa-lākin qad yaḥtamī qabla al-nizāli kamā yaḥtamī al-muʿāfā qabla wurūdi al-ʿilali. qāla Allāhu subḥānahu: ﴿wamā min dābbatin fī al-ʾarḍi ʾillā ʿalā Allāhi rizquhā﴾ hūdin: 6, ﴿wakaʾayyin min dābbatin lā taḥmilu rizqahā Allāhu yarzuquhā waʾiyyākum﴾ al-ʿankabūti: 60. fa-al-mutawakkilu qad ʿalima biyaqīnihi, ʾidh kullu mā yanāluhu mina al-ʿaṭāʾi min dharratin famā fawqahā, ʾanna dhālika rizquhu min khāliqihi,

and this is the condition of those who trust. The trusting person does not worry about what has already been provided for, just as someone healthy does not worry about medicine once well. Yet he may take precautions before the encounter, as a healthy person observes precautions before illness arrives. God, glory be to Him, says, “No living creature upon earth has its provision anywhere but with God” (Hūd 11:6); “How many creatures do not carry their provision! God provides for them and for you” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:60). Through certainty the trusting person knows that every gift reaching him, from a speck upward, is his provision from his Creator,

وَأَنَّ رِزْقَهُ هُوَ لَهُ وَأَنَّ مَا لَهُ وَاصِلٌ إِلَيْهِ لَا مَحَالَةَ عَلَى أَيِّ حَالٍ كَانَ، وَإِنَّ مَا لَهُ لَا يَكُونُ لِغَيْرِهِ أَبَدًا، وَكَذَلِكَ مَا لِغَيْرِهِ مِنَ الْقِسَمِ وَالْعَطَاءِ لَا يَكُونُ لِهَذَا أَبَدًا. فَقَدْ نَظَرَ إِلَى قِسْمِهِ وَنَصِيبِهِ مِنْ مَوْلَاهُ بِعَيْنِ يَقِينِهِ الَّذِي بِهِ تَوَلَّاهُ مِنْ إِحْدَى ثَلَاثِ مُشَاهَدَاتٍ، وَإِنْ دَنَتْ مُشَاهَدَتُهُ نَظَرَ إِلَى قِسْمِهِ مِنَ الْعَطَاءِ فِي الصَّحِيفَةِ الَّتِي كُتِبَتْ لَهُ عِنْدَ تَصْوِيرِ خَلْقِهِ، فَكُتِبَ فِيهَا رِزْقُهُ وَأَجَلُهُ وَأَثَرُهُ، وَشَقِيٌّ أَوْ سَعِيدٌ،

waʾanna rizqahu huwa lahu waʾanna mā lahu wāṣilun ʾilayhi lā maḥālata ʿalā ʾayyi ḥālin kāna, waʾinna mā lahu lā yakūnu lighayrihi ʾabadan, wa-kadhālika mā lighayrihi mina al-qisami wa-al-ʿaṭāʾi lā yakūnu li-hādhā ʾabadan. faqad naẓara ʾilā qismihi wanaṣībihi min mawlāhu biʿayni yaqīnihi alladhī bihi tawallāhu min ʾiḥdā thalāthi mushāhadātin, waʾin danat mushāhadatuhu naẓara ʾilā qismihi mina al-ʿaṭāʾi fī al-ṣaḥīfati allatī kutibat lahu ʿinda taṣwīri khalqihi, fakutiba fīhā rizquhu waʾajaluhu waʾatharuhu, washaqiyyun ʾaw saʿīdun,

and that his provision belongs to him, that what belongs to him will inevitably reach him in whatever condition he may be, and that what belongs to him will never belong to another. Likewise, another's allotted portions and gifts will never belong to this one. He has looked upon his portion and share from his Master with the eye of his certainty, through which He has taken him into His care, in one of three forms of witnessing. If his witnessing is lower, he looks upon his allotted gift in the record written for him when his created form was shaped: in it were written his provision, lifespan, trace, and whether he is wretched or blessed,

فَكَمَا لَا يَقْدِرُ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ أَنْ يَجْعَلَهُ سَعِيدًا إِنْ كَانَ قِسْمُهُ شَقِيًّا، فَلَا يَقْدِرُ أَحَدٌ أَنْ يَجْعَلَهُ شَقِيًّا إِنْ كَانَ قِسْمُهُ سَعِيدًا، كَذَلِكَ لَا يَقْدِرُ أَحَدٌ أَنْ يَمْنَعَهُ مَا أَعْطَاهُ مَوْلَاهُ مِنَ الْقِسْمِ، فَيَجْعَلَهُ مَحْرُومًا، وَلَا يُعْطِيَهُ مَا مَنَعَهُ مِنَ الْحُكْمِ فَيَجْعَلَهُ مَرْزُوقًا، لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ قَدْ كُتِبَ كَتْبًا وَاحِدًا وَجُعِلَ مَجْعَلًا سَوَاءً، فَإِنِ اِرْتَفَعَتْ مُشَاهَدَتُهُ نَظَرَ إِلَى هَذَا فِي اللَّوْحِ الْمَحْفُوظِ مَفْرُوغًا لَهُ

fakamā lā yaqdiru ʾaḥadun mina al-khalqi ʾan yajʿalahu saʿīdan ʾin kāna qismuhu shaqiyyan, falā yaqdiru ʾaḥadun ʾan yajʿalahu shaqiyyan ʾin kāna qismuhu saʿīdan, kadhālika lā yaqdiru ʾaḥadun ʾan yamnaʿahu mā ʾaʿṭāhu mawlāhu mina al-qismi, fayajʿalahu maḥrūman, walā yuʿṭiyahu mā manaʿahu mina al-ḥukmi fayajʿalahu marzūqan, liʾanna dhālika qad kutiba katban wāḥidan wajuʿila majʿalan sawāʾan, faʾini irtafaʿat mushāhadatuhu naẓara ʾilā hādhā fī al-lawḥi al-maḥfūẓi mafrūghan lahu

and just as no creature can make him blessed if his allotment is wretched, so no one can make him wretched if his allotment is blessed. Likewise, no one can withhold the portion his Master has given him and make him deprived, or give him what His judgment has withheld and make him provided for, because this has been written in one inscription and established in an equal establishment. If his witnessing rises, he looks upon this in the Preserved Tablet, already settled for him

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ١١

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 11

Volume Two, page 11

مِنْهُ، وَهُوَ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ الَّذِي اُسْتُنْسِخَ مِنْهُ هَذِهِ الصَّحِيفَةُ، فَكَانَ يَقِينُهُ بِكَتْبِ رِزْقِهِ فِي اللَّوْحِ، وَأَنَّهُ لَا يُزَادُ فِيهِ بِحَوْلٍ وَلَا حِيلَةٍ وَلَا يُنْقَصُ مِنْهُ لِعَجْزٍ وَلَا سَكِينَةٍ، كَيَقِينِهِ بِمَا كُتِبَ فِيهِ مِنْ أَنَّهُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَهُوَ دَاخِلُهَا لَا مَحَالَةَ، وَإِنْ عَمِلَ أَيَّ عَمَلٍ بَعْدَ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدْ كُتِبَ اِسْمُهُ فِي اللَّوْحِ وَجُعِلَ لَهُ فِيهَا أَثَرٌ، كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِي الزَّبُورِ مِنْ بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ﴾ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ: 105.

minhu, wahuwa ʾummu al-kitābi alladhī ustunsikha minhu hādhihi al-ṣaḥīfatu, fakāna yaqīnuhu bikatbi rizqihi fī al-lawḥi, waʾannahu lā yuzādu fīhi biḥawlin walā ḥīlatin walā yunqaṣu minhu liʿajzin walā sakīnatin, kayaqīnihi bimā kutiba fīhi min ʾannahu min ʾahli al-jannati fahuwa dākhiluhā lā maḥālata, waʾin ʿamila ʾayya ʿamalin baʿda ʾan yakūna qad kutiba ismuhu fī al-lawḥi wajuʿila lahu fīhā ʾatharun, kaqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿walaqad katabnā fī al-zabūri min baʿdi al-dhikri ʾanna al-ʾarḍa yarithuhā ʿibādiya al-ṣāliḥūna﴾ al-ʾanbiyāʾi: 105.

within it. It is the Mother of the Book, from which this record was copied. His certainty that his provision is inscribed in the Tablet and is not increased by power or ingenuity nor decreased through incapacity or stillness, is like his certainty about what is written there: that he belongs to the people of the Garden and will inevitably enter it, whatever deed he may do after his name has been written in the Tablet and a trace assigned to him in it, as He says, exalted is He, “We wrote in the Psalms, after the Reminder, that My righteous servants shall inherit the earth” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:105).

فَقَدْ كُتِبَتِ الْآثَارُ وَالْأَرْزَاقُ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ كَتْبًا وَاحِدًا فِي ثَلَاثِ مَوَاضِعَ، تَوْكِيدًا لِلْعِلْمِ وَتَسْكِينًا لِلْقَلْبِ فِي الْقِسْمِ، كُتِبَ ذَلِكَ فِي الذِّكْرِ الْأَوَّلِ وَهُوَ اللَّوْحُ الْمَحْفُوظُ ثُمَّ فِي الزُّبُرِ الْأُولَى وَهِيَ الصُّحُفُ، ثُمَّ أُنْزِلَ ذَلِكَ فِي كِتَابِنَا هَذَا الَّذِي بِهِ عَرَفْنَا مَا سَلَفَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، وَإِنْ عَلَتْ مُشَاهَدَةُ كُلِّ عَبْدٍ عَنْ مَقَامِهِ وَمِنْ مَعْبُودِهِ وَمِنْ مَكَانِهِ فِي دُنُوِّهِ وَعُلُوِّهِ يَشْهَدُ هَذَا الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ مَعْلُومًا فِي عِلْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى قَبْلَ خَلْقِ اللَّوْحِ،

faqad kutibati al-ʾāthāru wa-al-ʾarzāqu min kulli shayʾin katban wāḥidan fī thalāthi mawāḍiʿa, tawkīdan li-l-ʿilmi wataskīnan li-l-qalbi fī al-qismi, kutiba dhālika fī al-dhikri al-ʾawwali wahuwa al-lawḥu al-maḥfūẓu thumma fī al-zuburi al-ʾūlā wahiya al-ṣuḥufu, thumma ʾunzila dhālika fī kitābinā hādhā alladhī bihi ʿarafnā mā salafa min dhālika, waʾin ʿalat mushāhadatu kulli ʿabdin ʿan maqāmihi wamin maʿbūdihi wamin makānihi fī dunuwwihi waʿuluwwihi yashhadu hādhā alladhī dhakarnāhu maʿlūman fī ʿilmi Allāhi taʿālā qabla khalqi al-lawḥi,

The traces and provisions of everything have been written in one inscription in three places, to confirm knowledge and still the heart concerning its allotted portion. This was written in the first Reminder, the Preserved Tablet, then in the earlier scriptures, the scrolls; then it was sent down in this Book of ours, through which we know what preceded it. If each servant's witnessing rises above his station, and from his worshipped One and from his place in its lowliness and height, he witnesses what we have mentioned as known within God Most High's knowledge before the Tablet's creation,

فَسَكَنَ قَلْبُهُ وَاِطْمَأَنَّ إِلَى عِلْمِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى وَمَا سَبَقَ لَهُ مِنْهُ. وَلِهَذَا جَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ أَنَّ الزُّهْدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَنْ تَكُونَ بِمَا فِي يَدِ اللَّهِ أَوْثَقَ مِنْكَ بِمَا فِي يَدِكَ، وَأَنْ يَكُونَ ثَوَابُ الْمُصِيبَةِ أَرْغَبَ مِنْكَ فِيهَا لَوْ أَنَّهَا بَقِيَتْ لَكَ، أَيْ فَيَقِلُّ حِرْصُكَ لِنَفَاذِ شَهَادَتِكَ وَيَذْهَبُ فِي الْخَلْقِ طَمَعُكَ؛ فَهَذَا هُوَ الرِّضَا وَالزُّهْدُ، فَقَدْ جَمَعَ التَّوَكُّلُ الْمَقَامَيْنِ مَعًا، فَمَا فِي يَدِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى هُوَ رِزْقُكَ الْوَاصِلُ إِلَيْكَ، لَا شَكَّ فِيهِ عَلَى أَيِّ حَالٍ،

fasakana qalbuhu wa-iṭmaʾanna ʾilā ʿilmi Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā wamā sabaqa lahu minhu. wali-hādhā jāʾa fī al-ʾathari ʾanna al-zuhda fī al-dunyā ʾan takūna bimā fī yadi Allāhi ʾawthaqa minka bimā fī yadika, waʾan yakūna thawābu al-muṣībati ʾarghaba minka fīhā law ʾannahā baqiyat laka, ʾay fayaqillu ḥirṣuka linafādhi shahādatika wayadhhabu fī al-khalqi ṭamaʿuka; fa-hādhā huwa al-riḍā wa-al-zuhdu, faqad jamaʿa al-tawakkulu al-maqāmayni maʿan, famā fī yadi Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā huwa rizquka al-wāṣilu ʾilayka, lā shakka fīhi ʿalā ʾayyi ḥālin,

and his heart rests, reassured by the knowledge of God, glorified and exalted, and what has preceded for him from it. Thus the transmitted saying describes renunciation of the world as having greater confidence in what is in God's hand than in what is in yours, and the reward for an affliction being more desirable than your desire for the lost thing had it remained yours. That is, your greed diminishes through the penetrating reach of your witnessing, and your covetousness toward creatures disappears. This is contentment and renunciation: trust gathers both stations together. What is in God's hand, glorified and exalted, is your provision, which will reach you without doubt under every condition,

وَهُوَ الَّذِي لَكَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ، وَهُوَ مَعْلُومُ عِلْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الَّذِي لَا يَنْقَلِبُ، وَذَلِكَ أَحَدُ ثَلَاثَةِ أَشْيَاءَ: مَا أَكَلْتَ فَأَفْنَيْتَ أَوْ لَبِسْتَ فَأَبْلَيْتَ، أَوْ تَصَدَّقْتَ فَأَمْضَيْتَ، فَهَذَا هُوَ الَّذِي لَكَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ. وَلِذَلِكَ قَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: يَقُولُ اِبْنُ آدَمَ مَالِي، تَعَجُّبٌ مِنْ جَهْلِ اِبْنِ آدَمَ وَغَفْلَتِهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: إِنَّمَا لَكَ مِنْ مَالِكَ، فَذَكَرَ هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثَ وَاِشْتَرَطَ مَعَ كُلِّ وَاحِدَةٍ آخِرَ غَايَتِهَا،

wahuwa alladhī laka ʿinda Allāhi, wahuwa maʿlūmu ʿilmi Allāhi taʿālā alladhī lā yanqalibu, wa-dhālika ʾaḥadu thalāthati ʾashyāʾa: mā ʾakalta faʾafnayta ʾaw labista faʾablayta, ʾaw taṣaddaqta faʾamḍayta, fa-hādhā huwa alladhī laka fī al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati. wali-dhālika qāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: yaqūlu ibnu ʾādama mālī, taʿajjubun min jahli ibni ʾādama waghaflatihi, thumma qāla: ʾinnamā laka min mālika, fadhakara hādhihi al-thalātha wa-ishtaraṭa maʿa kulli wāḥidatin ʾākhira ghāyatihā,

and it is what you have with God, known in God Most High's unchanging knowledge. It is one of three things: what you eat and consume, what you wear and wear out, or what you give in charity and send onward. This is what belongs to you in this world and the next. Thus he said, God bless him and grant him peace, “The son of Adam says, ‘My wealth!’”—an expression of wonder at the son of Adam's ignorance and heedlessness. He then said, “Of your wealth, only this belongs to you,” and mentioned these three, specifying the final completion of each,

فَقَالَ: مَا أَكَلْتَ فَأَفْنَيْتَ، أَوْ لَبِسْتَ فَأَبْلَيْتَ، أَوْ تَصَدَّقْتَ فَأَمْضَيْتَ، فَاِشْتَرَطَ الْإِفْنَاءَ وَالْإِبْلَاءَ وَالْإِمْضَاءَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ: وَمَا سِوَى ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ مَالُ الْوَارِثِ، فَهَذِهِ الثَّلَاثُ عَلَى هَذِهِ الْأَوْصَافِ هِيَ رِزْقُ الْعَبْدِ، وَهِيَ الَّتِي فِي يَدِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَهُ، الْوَاصِلَةُ إِلَيْهِ، فَأَمَّا مَا جَعَلَهُ فِي يَدِ الْعَبْدِ فَقَدْ لَا يَكُونُ لَهُ، وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ مُسْتَوْدَعٌ إِيَّاهُ وَمُسْتَخْلَفٌ فِيهِ، وَإِنْ تَمَلَّكَهُ وَحَازَهُ خَمْسِينَ سَنَةً،

faqāla: mā ʾakalta faʾafnayta, ʾaw labista faʾablayta, ʾaw taṣaddaqta faʾamḍayta, fa-ishtaraṭa al-ʾifnāʾa wa-al-ʾiblāʾa wa-al-ʾimḍāʾa, thumma qāla baʿda dhālika: wamā siwā dhālika fahuwa mālu al-wārithi, fa-hādhihi al-thalāthu ʿalā hādhihi al-ʾawṣāfi hiya rizqu al-ʿabdi, wahiya allatī fī yadi Allāhi ʿazza wajalla lahu, al-wāṣilatu ʾilayhi, faʾammā mā jaʿalahu fī yadi al-ʿabdi faqad lā yakūnu lahu, waʾinnamā huwa mustawdaʿun ʾiyyāhu wamustakhlafun fīhi, waʾin tamallakahu waḥāzahu khamsīna sanatan,

saying, “What you eat and consume, wear and wear out, or give in charity and send onward.” He made consumption, wearing out, and sending onward conditions. Then he said, “Everything else is the heir's wealth.” These three, with these qualifications, are the servant's provision: what lies for him in the hand of God, mighty and majestic, and reaches him. What He places in the servant's hand, however, may not be his; he is merely entrusted with it and made its steward, even if he owns and possesses it for fifty years,

وَإِنَّمَا لِلْعَبْدِ مَا فَرَغَ مِنْهُ الْعَبْدُ وَهُوَ الَّذِي فُرِغَ لَهُ مِنْهُ لِمَا سَبَقَ لَهُ بِهِ، فَإِنْ تَمَلَّكَ سِوَى هَذَا وَاِدَّعَاهُ لِأَجْلِ أَنَّهُ فِي خِزَانَتِهِ، أَوْ قَبْضِ يَدِهِ فَذَلِكَ لِجَهْلِهِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَقِلَّةِ فِقْهِهِ عَنِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَغَفْلَتِهِ عَنْ حِكْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي أَرْضِهِ، يُودِعُهَا مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَى الْوَقْتِ الَّذِي يَشَاءُ، حَتَّى يَسْتَقِرَّ إِلَى كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ، فَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿فَمُسْتَقَرٌّ وَمُسْتَوْدَعٌ﴾ الْأَنْعَامِ: 98، وَقَالَ: ﴿لِكُلِّ نَبَإٍ مُسْتَقَرٌّ﴾ الْأَنْعَامِ: 67، وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ: ﴿وَخَزَائِنُ السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ﴾ الْأَنْعَامِ: 7، وَهَكَذَا

waʾinnamā li-l-ʿabdi mā faragha minhu al-ʿabdu wahuwa alladhī furigha lahu minhu limā sabaqa lahu bihi, faʾin tamallaka siwā hādhā wa-iddaʿāhu liʾajli ʾannahu fī khizānatihi, ʾaw qabḍi yadihi fa-dhālika lijahlihi bi-Allāhi taʿālā waqillati fiqhihi ʿani Allāhi subḥānahu waghaflatihi ʿan ḥikmati Allāhi taʿālā fī ʾarḍihi, yūdiʿuhā man yashāʾu ʾilā al-waqti alladhī yashāʾu, ḥattā yastaqirra ʾilā kayfa yashāʾu, faqad qāla taʿālā: ﴿famustaqarrun wamustawdaʿun﴾ al-ʾanʿāmi: 98, waqāla: ﴿likulli nabaʾin mustaqarrun﴾ al-ʾanʿāmi: 67, waqāla subḥānahu: ﴿wakhazāʾinu al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍi﴾ al-ʾanʿāmi: 7, wa-hākadhā

for only what the servant has finished with belongs to him: what was settled for him because it had previously been assigned to him. If he owns anything else and claims it because it is in his storehouse or the grasp of his hand, this comes from ignorance of God Most High, little understanding of God, glory be to Him, and heedlessness of God Most High's wisdom upon His earth. He entrusts it to whomever He wills until the time He wills, until it settles as He wills. He says, exalted is He, “A settled place and a deposit” (al-Anʿām 6:98); “Every announcement has a settled fulfillment” (al-Anʿām 6:67); and, glory be to Him, “And the treasuries of the heavens and earth” (al-Anʿām 7). Likewise,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ١٢

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 12

Volume Two, page 12

رَوَيْنَا عَنْ نَبِيِّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّ الرِّزْقَ لَيَطْلُبُ الْعَبْدَ كَمَا يَطْلُبُهُ أَجَلُهُ. وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ رِزْقًا هُوَ آتِيهِ لَا مَحَالَةَ، فَمَنْ قَنِعَ بِهِ وَرَضِيَ بُورِكَ لَهُ فِيهِ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَقْنَعْ بِهِ وَلَمْ يَرْضَ لَمْ يُبَارَكْ لَهُ فِيهِ وَلَمْ يَسَعْهُ. وَيُقَالُ: لَوْ هَرَبَ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ رِزْقِهِ كَمَا لَوْ هَرَبَ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ لَأَدْرَكَهُ،

rawaynā ʿan nabiyyinā ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾanna al-rizqa layaṭlubu al-ʿabda kamā yaṭlubuhu ʾajaluhu. waqāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: waʾinna likulli ʿabdin rizqan huwa ʾātīhi lā maḥālata, faman qaniʿa bihi waraḍiya būrika lahu fīhi, waman lam yaqnaʿ bihi walam yarḍa lam yubārak lahu fīhi walam yasaʿhu. wayuqālu: law haraba al-ʿabdu min rizqihi kamā law haraba mina al-mawti laʾadrakahu,

we have related from our Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, that provision seeks the servant just as his appointed end seeks him. He said, God bless him and grant him peace, “Every servant has provision that will inevitably reach him. Whoever is content with it and pleased has it blessed for him; whoever is neither content nor pleased has no blessing in it, and it does not suffice him.” It is said, “Were the servant to flee his provision as he might flee death, it would overtake him.”

وَفِي وَصِيَّةِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِاِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: إِذَا سَأَلْتَ فَاِسْأَلِ اللَّهَ، وَإِذَا اِسْتَعَنْتَ فَاِسْتَعِنْ بِاللَّهِ، وَاِعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْخَلَائِقَ لَوْ جَهَدُوا أَنْ يَنْفَعُوكَ بِمَا لَمْ يَكْتُبْهُ اللَّهُ لَكَ مَا قَدَرُوا عَلَى ذَلِكَ، وَلَوْ جَهَدُوا أَنْ يَضُرُّوكَ بِشَيْءٍ لَمْ يَكْتُبْهُ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ لَكَ لَمْ يَقْدِرُوا عَلَى ذَلِكَ، طُوِيَتِ الصُّحُفُ وَجَفَّتِ الْأَقْلَامُ. فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هَذِهِ مُشَاهَدَتَهُ فِي الْقِسْمِ الْمَعْلُومِ سَقَطَ عَنْهُ جُمْلَةٌ مِنَ الْهُمُومِ وَاِسْتَرَاحَ مِنَ النَّظَرِ إِلَى الْخَلْقِ وَاِسْتَرَاحَ الْخَلْقُ، وَمِنْ أَذَاهُ،

wafī waṣiyyati al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama li-ibni ʿabbāsin: ʾidhā saʾalta fa-isʾali Allāha, waʾidhā istaʿanta fa-istaʿin bi-Allāhi, wa-iʿlam ʾanna al-khalāʾiqa law jahadū ʾan yanfaʿūka bimā lam yaktubhu Allāhu laka mā qadarū ʿalā dhālika, walaw jahadū ʾan yaḍurrūka bishayʾin lam yaktubhu Allāhu subḥānahu laka lam yaqdirū ʿalā dhālika, ṭuwiyati al-ṣuḥufu wajaffati al-ʾaqlāmu. faman kānat hādhihi mushāhadatahu fī al-qismi al-maʿlūmi saqaṭa ʿanhu jumlatun mina al-humūmi wa-istarāḥa mina al-naẓari ʾilā al-khalqi wa-istarāḥa al-khalqu, wamin ʾadhāhu,

In the Prophet's counsel, God bless him and grant him peace, to Ibn ʿAbbās, he says: “When you ask, ask God; when you seek help, seek God's help. Know that if all creatures strove to benefit you with what God has not written for you, they could not; if they strove to harm you with something God, glory be to Him, has not written for you, they could not. The records have been folded and the pens have dried.” Whoever witnesses his known allotment in this way loses a whole range of cares, gains respite from looking toward creatures, and the creatures gain respite—and from his harm,

وَشُغِلَ عَنْهُمْ بِخِدْمَةِ مَوْلَاهُ، وَكَانَ قَدْ فَهِمَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الْخِطَابِ، وَمِمَّنْ أَقْبَلَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَرِيمِ بِصَالِحِ مَا دَعَاهُ إِلَيْهِ وَاِسْتَجَابَ، كَمَا رُوِيَ أَنَّ رَجُلًا لَزِمَ بَابَ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كُلَّ غَدَاةٍ فَشَهِدَ عُمَرُ مِنْهُ مَجِيئَهُ لِأَجْلِ الطَّلَبِ فَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا هَذَا هَاجَرْتَ إِلَى عُمَرَ، أَوْ إِلَى اللَّهِ؟ إِذْهَبْ فَتَعَلَّمِ الْقُرْآنَ، فَإِنَّهُ سَيُغْنِيكَ عَنْ بَابِ عُمَرَ. فَذَهَبَ الرَّجُلُ فَغَابَ زَمَانًا حَتَّى اِفْتَقَدَهُ عُمَرُ،

washughila ʿanhum bikhidmati mawlāhu, wakāna qad fahima shayʾan mina al-khiṭābi, wamimman ʾaqbala ʿalā Allāhi al-karīmi biṣāliḥi mā daʿāhu ʾilayhi wa-istajāba, kamā ruwiya ʾanna rajulan lazima bāba ʿumara bni al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu kulla ghadātin fashahida ʿumaru minhu majīʾahu liʾajli al-ṭalabi faqāla lahu: yā hādhā hājarta ʾilā ʿumara, ʾaw ʾilā Allāhi? ʾidhhab fataʿallami al-qurʾāna, faʾinnahu sayughnīka ʿan bābi ʿumara. fadhahaba al-rajulu faghāba zamānan ḥattā iftaqadahu ʿumaru,

and he is occupied with serving his Master instead of them. He has understood something of the address and is among those who turn toward the generous God with the righteous response to which He called them. It is related that a man stood at ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb's door every morning, God be pleased with him. ʿUmar perceived that he came to ask for something and said, “You there, did you emigrate to ʿUmar or to God? Go and learn the Qurʾān; it will free you from needing ʿUmar's door.” The man went away and remained absent for a time, until ʿUmar missed him,

فَسَأَلَ عَنْهُ فَدُلَّ عَلَيْهِ فَأَتَاهُ، فَإِذَا هُوَ قَدِ اِعْتَزَلَ النَّاسَ وَأَقْبَلَ عَلَى الْعِبَادَةِ فَقَالَ لَهُ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: إِنِّي قَدِ اِفْتَقَدْتُكَ حَتَّى اِشْتَقْتُ إِلَيْكَ، فَمَا الَّذِي شَغَلَكَ عَنَّا؟ فَقَالَ: إِنِّي قَدْ قَرَأْتُ الْقُرْآنَ فَأَغْنَانِي عَنْ عُمَرَ وَعَنْ آلِ عُمَرَ. فَقَالَ لَهُ عُمَرُ: رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ فَمَا الَّذِي وَجَدْتَ فِيهِ؟ فَقَالَ: وَجَدْتُ فِيهِ وَفِي السَّمَاءِ رِزْقُكُمْ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ فَقُلْتُ: رِزْقِي فِي السَّمَاءِ وَأَنَا أَطْلُبُهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ،

fasaʾala ʿanhu fadulla ʿalayhi faʾatāhu, faʾidhā huwa qadi iʿtazala al-nāsa waʾaqbala ʿalā al-ʿibādati faqāla lahu ʿumaru raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: ʾinnī qadi iftaqadtuka ḥattā ishtaqtu ʾilayka, famā alladhī shaghalaka ʿannā? faqāla: ʾinnī qad qaraʾtu al-qurʾāna faʾaghnānī ʿan ʿumara waʿan ʾāli ʿumara. faqāla lahu ʿumaru: raḥimaka Allāhu famā alladhī wajadta fīhi? faqāla: wajadtu fīhi wafī al-samāʾi rizqukum wamā tūʿadūna faqultu: rizqī fī al-samāʾi waʾanā ʾaṭlubuhu fī al-ʾarḍi,

asked about him, was directed to him, and went to him. He found that the man had withdrawn from people and devoted himself to worship. ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, said, “I missed you so much that I longed to see you. What has kept you from us?” He answered, “I have read the Qurʾān, and it freed me from needing ʿUmar or ʿUmar's family.” ʿUmar asked, “God have mercy on you, what did you find in it?” He said, “I found, ‘In heaven is your provision and what you are promised,’ and said, ‘My provision is in heaven, yet I seek it on earth.’”

فَبَكَى عُمَرُ، وَكَانَتْ مَوْعِظَةً لَهُ مِنْهُ، فَكَانَ عُمَرُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ يُشَابِهُ فِي الْأَحَايِينِ فَيَجْلِسُ إِلَيْهِ وَيَسْتَمِعُ مِنْهُ. وَجَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى بِشْرِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ فَقَالَ: إِنِّي قَدْ عَزَمْتُ عَلَى سَفَرٍ إِلَى الشَّامِ وَلَيْسَ عِنْدِي زَادٌ فَمَا تَرَى؟ فَقَالَ: يَا هَذَا أَخْرِجْ فِيمَا قَصَدْتَ لَهُ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يُعْطِكَ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ لَمْ يَمْنَعْكَ مَا لَكَ. وَشَكَا رَجُلٌ إِلَى فُضَيْلٍ حَالَهُ فَقَالَ: يَا هَذَا مُدَبِّرٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ تُرِيدُ؟ وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ: التَّوَكُّلُ هُوَ الرِّضَا.

fabakā ʿumaru, wakānat mawʿiẓatan lahu minhu, fakāna ʿumaru baʿda dhālika yushābihu fī al-ʾaḥāyīni fayajlisu ʾilayhi wayastamiʿu minhu. wajāʾa rajulun ʾilā bishri bni al-ḥārithi faqāla: ʾinnī qad ʿazamtu ʿalā safarin ʾilā al-shāmi walaysa ʿindī zādun famā tarā? faqāla: yā hādhā ʾakhrij fīmā qaṣadta lahu, faʾin lam yuʿṭika mā laysa laka lam yamnaʿka mā laka. washakā rajulun ʾilā fuḍaylin ḥālahu faqāla: yā hādhā mudabbirun ghayru Allāhi turīdu? wakāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu: al-tawakkulu huwa al-riḍā.

ʿUmar wept; the man's words were an admonition to him. Thereafter ʿUmar would “resemble” from time to time, sit with him, and listen to him. A man came to Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith and said, “I have resolved to travel to Syria but have no provisions. What do you advise?” He answered, “You there, go forth for your intended purpose. If He does not give you what is not yours, He will not withhold what is yours.” A man complained of his condition to Fuḍayl, who said, “You there, do you want a director other than God?” Al-Ḥasan used to say, “Trust is contentment.”

وَفِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَا أَقْوَاتَهَا﴾ فُصِّلَتْ: 10، قَالَ: خَلَقَ الْأَرْزَاقَ قَبْلَ الْأَجْسَامِ بِأَلْفَيْ عَامٍ، فَالْمُتَوَكِّلُ لَا يُطَالِبُ مَوْلَاهُ بِرِزْقِ غَدٍ كَمَا لَا يُطَالِبُهُ مَوْلَاهُ بِعَمَلِ غَدٍ. فَأَمَّا الْمُتَوَكِّلُ فِي الْمَضْمُونِ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ الْمَعْلُومِ مِنَ الْقِسْمِ فَهُوَ تَوَكُّلُ الْعُمُومِ يَسْتَحِي الْخُصُوصُ مِنْ ذِكْرِهِ، وَيَتَكَرَّمُونَ عَنْ نَشْرِهِ إِذَا كَانَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَدْ أَقْسَمَ بِنَفْسِهِ أَنَّ الرِّزْقَ فِي السَّمَاءِ حَقٌّ،

wafī tafsīri qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿waqaddara fīhā ʾaqwātahā﴾ fuṣṣilat: 10, qāla: khalaqa al-ʾarzāqa qabla al-ʾajsāmi biʾalfay ʿāmin, fa-al-mutawakkilu lā yuṭālibu mawlāhu birizqi ghadin kamā lā yuṭālibuhu mawlāhu biʿamali ghadin. faʾammā al-mutawakkilu fī al-maḍmūni mina al-rizqi al-maʿlūmi mina al-qismi fahuwa tawakkulu al-ʿumūmi yastaḥī al-khuṣūṣu min dhikrihi, wayatakarramūna ʿan nashrihi ʾidhā kāna Allāhu taʿālā qad ʾaqsama binafsihi ʾanna al-rizqa fī al-samāʾi ḥaqqun,

Explaining His words, mighty and majestic, “He apportioned its sustenance in it” (Fuṣṣilat 41:10), he said, “He created provisions two thousand years before bodies.” The trusting person does not demand tomorrow's provision from his Master, just as his Master does not demand tomorrow's work from him. As for trusting in guaranteed provision and the known allotment, that is the trust of ordinary believers: the specially chosen feel ashamed to mention it and too noble to publicize it, since God Most High has sworn by Himself that provision in heaven is true,

كَمَا أَقْسَمَ بِنَفْسِهِ أَنَّ كَلَامَهُ حَقٌّ، فَجَمَعَ بَيْنَهُمَا فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ بِالْقَسَمِ بِالذَّاتِ دُونَ سَائِرِ الْأَفْعَالِ لِتَسْكُنَ بِذَلِكَ نُفُوسُ الْخَلِيقَةِ عَنِ النَّظَرِ إِلَى الْأَدَوَاتِ، لِيَرْتَفِعَ الشَّكُّ فِيهِمَا وَيَحْصُلَ الْيَقِينُ بِحَقِيقَتِهِمَا، فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ: ﴿فَوَرَبِّ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ﴾

kamā ʾaqsama binafsihi ʾanna kalāmahu ḥaqqun, fajamaʿa baynahumā fī al-ḥaqīqati bi-al-qasami bi-al-dhāti dūna sāʾiri al-ʾafʿāli litaskuna bi-dhālika nufūsu al-khalīqati ʿani al-naẓari ʾilā al-ʾadawāti, liyartafiʿa al-shakku fīhimā wayaḥṣula al-yaqīnu biḥaqīqatihimā, faqāla subḥānahu: ﴿fawarabbi al-samāʾi wa-al-ʾarḍi ʾinnahu laḥaqqun﴾

Just as He has sworn by Himself that His speech is true, bringing both together in reality by swearing by the Essence rather than other acts, so that creatures' souls might rest from looking to instruments, doubt about both might disappear, and certainty of their reality be attained. He says, glory be to Him, “By the Lord of heaven and earth, it is indeed true.”

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ١٣

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 13

Volume Two, page 13

الذَّارِيَاتِ: 23، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَيَسْتَنْبِئُونَكَ أَحَقٌّ هُوَ قُلْ إِي وَرَبِّي إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ﴾ يُونُسَ: 53. وَلَيْسَ فِي الْقُرْآنِ قَسَمٌ بِالذَّاتِ فِيمَا سَبَرْنَاهُ إِلَّا خَمْسَةٌ: الْقَسَمُ الَّذِي فِي سُورَةِ النِّسَاءِ عَلَى تَسْلِيمِ الْأَحْكَامِ ﴿فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ﴾ النِّسَاءِ: 65 الْآيَةَ، وَفِي سُورَةِ التَّغَابُنِ عَلَى بَعْثِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَأَبْنَائِهِمْ ﴿زَعَمَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنْ لَنْ يُبْعَثُوا قُلْ بَلَى وَرَبِّي لَتُبْعَثُنَّ﴾ التَّغَابُنِ: 7،

al-dhāriyāti: 23, kamā qāla taʿālā: ﴿wayastanbiʾūnaka ʾaḥaqqun huwa qul ʾī warabbī ʾinnahu laḥaqqun﴾ yūnusa: 53. walaysa fī al-qurʾāni qasamun bi-al-dhāti fīmā sabarnāhu ʾillā khamsatun: al-qasamu alladhī fī sūrati al-nisāʾi ʿalā taslīmi al-ʾaḥkāmi ﴿falā warabbika lā yuʾminūna ḥattā yuḥakkimūka fīmā shajara baynahum﴾ al-nisāʾi: 65 al-ʾāyata, wafī sūrati al-taghābuni ʿalā baʿthi al-kāfirīna waʾabnāʾihim ﴿zaʿama alladhīna kafarū ʾan lan yubʿathū qul balā warabbī latubʿathunna﴾ al-taghābuni: 7,

(Al-Dhāriyāt 51:23), just as He says, exalted is He, “They ask you whether it is true. Say, ‘Yes, by my Lord, it is indeed true’” (Yūnus 10:53). In our examination, the Qurʾān contains only five oaths by the Essence: the oath in Sūrat al-Nisāʾ concerning submission to judgments, “No, by your Lord, they do not believe until they make you judge concerning what arises between them” (al-Nisāʾ 4:65), through the verse; and in Sūrat al-Taghābun concerning the resurrection of unbelievers and their sons, “The unbelievers claim they will not be raised. Say, ‘Yes, by my Lord, you shall surely be raised’” (al-Taghābun 64:7),

وَفِي سُورَةِ الْمَعَارِجِ مِنْ ﴿سَأَلَ سَائِلٌ﴾ الْمَعَارِجِ: 1، فِي تَبْدِيلِ الْخَلْقِ خَلْقًا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ ﴿فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِرَبِّ الْمَشَارِقِ وَالْمَغَارِبِ﴾ الْمَعَارِجِ: 40، إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: ﴿بِمَسْبُوقِينَ﴾ الْمَعَارِجِ: 41، وَهَٰذَانِ الْقَسَمَانِ الْمُتَقَدِّمَانِ وَسَائِرُ الْأَقْسَامِ بِالْأَفْعَالِ، وَلِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ قَدْ وُكِّلَ بِرِزْقِهِ مَنْ يَقُومُ لَهُ بِهِ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يُرْزَقْ مِنْ كَسْبِهِ وَعَنْ يَدِهِ رُزِقَ مِنْ كَسْبِ غَيْرِهِ وَيَدِهِ،

wafī sūrati al-maʿāriji min ﴿saʾala sāʾilun﴾ al-maʿāriji: 1, fī tabdīli al-khalqi khalqan khayran minhum ﴿falā ʾuqsimu birabbi al-mashāriqi wa-al-maghāribi﴾ al-maʿāriji: 40, ʾilā qawlihi: ﴿bimasbūqīna﴾ al-maʿāriji: 41, wahādhāni al-qasamāni al-mutaqaddimāni wasāʾiru al-ʾaqsāmi bi-al-ʾafʿāli, waliʾanna al-ʿabda qad wukkila birizqihi man yaqūmu lahu bihi mina al-khalqi, faʾin lam yurzaq min kasbihi waʿan yadihi ruziqa min kasbi ghayrihi wayadihi,

and in Sūrat al-Maʿārij, beginning “A questioner asked” (al-Maʿārij 70:1), concerning replacing creatures with a creation better than they: “No, I swear by the Lord of the easts and wests” (al-Maʿārij 70:40), through “outstripped” (70:41); and the two oaths already mentioned. All other oaths are by acts. Moreover, someone among creatures has been appointed to attend to the servant's provision for him. If he is not provided for through his own earnings and hand, he is provided for through another's earnings and hand,

وَلَكِنْ شُغِلَ الْخُصُوصُ بِأَعْمَالِ الْآخِرَةِ، وَمَا يَفُوتُهُمْ مِنَ الْقُرُبَاتِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَبِالْخِدْمَةِ لِلْمَوْلَى الَّذِي وُكِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَقُومُوا بِهِ لَمْ يَقُمْ بِهِ غَيْرُهُمْ لَهُمْ، وَلَمْ يَنُبْ غَيْرُهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا مَنَابَهُ، لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى﴾ النَّجْمِ: 93، وَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَاعِمَةٌ﴾ ﴿لِسَعْيِهَا رَاضِيَةٌ﴾ الْغَاشِيَةِ: 8–9، وَلِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى﴾ الْأَعْلَى: 71، وَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَاللَّهُ يُرِيدُ الْآخِرَةَ﴾ الْاَنْفَالِ: 76،

wa-lākin shughila al-khuṣūṣu biʾaʿmāli al-ʾākhirati, wamā yafūtuhum mina al-qurubāti ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla, wabi-al-khidmati li-l-mawlā alladhī wukkila ʾilayhim, faʾin lam yaqūmū bihi lam yaqum bihi ghayruhum lahum, walam yanub ghayruhu mina al-dunyā manābahu, liqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿waʾan laysa li-l-ʾinsāni ʾillā mā saʿā﴾ al-najmi: 93, waqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿wujūhun yawmaʾidhin nāʿimatun﴾ ﴿lisaʿyihā rāḍiyatun﴾ al-ghāshiyati: 8–9, waliqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿wa-al-ʾākhiratu khayrun waʾabqā﴾ al-ʾaʿlā: 71, waqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿wa-Allāhu yurīdu al-ʾākhirata﴾ al-ʾanfāli: 76,

but the specially chosen are occupied with works for the next world, the acts bringing them near to God, mighty and majestic, that they may miss, and service to the Master entrusted to them. If they do not fulfill it, no one else will fulfill it for them, nor can anything worldly take its place. For He says, exalted is He, “A person has only what he strives for” (al-Najm 93); and He says, exalted is He, “Faces that day are radiant, pleased with their striving” (al-Ghāshiya 88:8–9); and He says, exalted is He, “The next world is better and more enduring” (al-Aʿlā 71); and He says, exalted is He, “God desires the next world” (al-Anfāl 76),

وَلِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الْآخِرَةِ نَزِدْ لَهُ فِي حَرْثِهِ﴾ الشُّورَى: 2، وَلَمْ يَقُلْ هَذَا فِي أَرْزَاقِ الدُّنْيَا، وَمَعْنَى الزِّيَادَةِ أَنْ لَا يُحَاسِبَهُ عَلَى مَا يُعْطِيهِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا إِذْ لَا زِيَادَةَ فِي الْقِسْمِ. وَقَدْ قِيلَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُعْطِي الدُّنْيَا عَلَى نِيَّةِ الْآخِرَةِ وَلَا يُعْطِي الْآخِرَةَ عَلَى نِيَّةِ الدُّنْيَا، وَهَذَا لِعُلُوِّ الْآخِرَةِ وَدَنَاءَةِ الدُّنْيَا، وَكَانَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ: إِلَّا أَنَّ حَرْثَ الدُّنْيَا الْمَالُ، وَحَرْثَ الْآخِرَةِ الْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ،

waliqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿man kāna yurīdu ḥartha al-ʾākhirati nazid lahu fī ḥarthihi﴾ al-shūrā: 2, walam yaqul hādhā fī ʾarzāqi al-dunyā, wamaʿnā al-ziyādati ʾan lā yuḥāsibahu ʿalā mā yuʿṭīhi mina al-dunyā ʾidh lā ziyādata fī al-qismi. waqad qīla: ʾinna Allāha taʿālā yuʿṭī al-dunyā ʿalā niyyati al-ʾākhirati walā yuʿṭī al-ʾākhirata ʿalā niyyati al-dunyā, wa-hādhā liʿuluwwi al-ʾākhirati wadanāʾati al-dunyā, wakāna ʿaliyyun raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: ʾillā ʾanna ḥartha al-dunyā al-mālu, waḥartha al-ʾākhirati al-ʿamalu al-ṣāliḥu,

and His saying, exalted is He, “Whoever desires the harvest of the next world, We increase his harvest” (al-Shūrā 2). He did not say this of worldly provisions. “Increase” means not calling him to account for what He gives him of worldly things, since the allotted portion admits no increase. It is said, “God Most High gives this world for an intention directed to the next, but does not give the next world for an intention directed to this one.” This is because of the next world's loftiness and this world's lowliness. ʿAlī, God be pleased with him, used to say, “Except that the harvest of this world is wealth, and the harvest of the next world is righteous action.”

وَقَدْ قِيلَ: إِنَّ الزِّيَادَةَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ رِفْعَةُ الدَّرَجَاتِ لِمَنْ كَانَتْ نِيَّتُهُ وَقَصْدُهُ وَلَهَا يَعْمَلُ، فَشُغِلَ الْخُصُوصُ بِمَا وُكِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَبِمَا لَا يَعْمَلُهُ غَيْرُهُمْ لَهُمْ عَمَّا تُكُفِّلَ بِهِ لَهُمْ، فَأُقِيمَ غَيْرُهُمْ فِيهِ مَقَامَهُمْ وَنَابَ أَيْضًا عَنْهُ مِثْلُهُ مِنْ أَسْبَابِ دُنْيَاهُمْ، كَمَا رُوِيَ فِي أَخْبَارِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: إِنِّي خَلَقْتُ مُحَمَّدًا لِأَجْلِي، وَخَلَقَ آدَمَ لِأَجْلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَخَلَقْتُ مَا خَلَقْتُ لِأَجْلِ آدَمَ، فَمَنِ اِشْتَغَلَ مِنْهُمْ بِمَا خَلَقْتُهُ لِأَجْلِهِ حَجَبْتُهُ عَنِّي، وَمَنِ اِشْتَغَلَ مِنْهُمْ بِي سُقْتُ إِلَيْهِ مَا خَلَقْتُهُ لِأَجْلِهِ،

waqad qīla: ʾinna al-ziyādata fī al-ʾākhirati rifʿatu al-darajāti liman kānat niyyatuhu waqaṣduhu walahā yaʿmalu, fashughila al-khuṣūṣu bimā wukkila ʾilayhim wabimā lā yaʿmaluhu ghayruhum lahum ʿammā tukuffila bihi lahum, faʾuqīma ghayruhum fīhi maqāmahum wanāba ʾayḍan ʿanhu mithluhu min ʾasbābi dunyāhum, kamā ruwiya fī ʾakhbāri dāwūda ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾinnī khalaqtu muḥammadan liʾajlī, wakhalaqa ʾādama liʾajli muḥammadin, wakhalaqtu mā khalaqtu liʾajli ʾādama, famani ishtaghala minhum bimā khalaqtuhu liʾajlihi ḥajabtuhu ʿannī, wamani ishtaghala minhum bī suqtu ʾilayhi mā khalaqtuhu liʾajlihi,

It is also said that increase in the next world means higher degrees for someone whose intention and purpose are directed to it and who works for it. The specially chosen are occupied with what is entrusted to them and what no one else can do for them, instead of what has been guaranteed them, where others are put in their place and equivalent worldly means also substitute for it. Reports concerning David, peace be upon him, relate: “I created Muḥammad for My sake, and He created Adam for Muḥammad's sake, and I created what I created for Adam's sake. Whoever becomes occupied with what I created for his sake, I veil from Myself; whoever becomes occupied with Me, I bring to him what I created for his sake.”

وَتَوَكُّلُ الْخُصُوصِ أَيْضًا فِي الصَّبْرِ عَلَى الْأَذَى مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَالْفِعْلِ، إِذْ كَانَ أَمَرَ بِذَلِكَ الرَّسُولَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿فَاِتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا﴾ ﴿وَاِصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ﴾ الْمُزَّمِّلِ: 9–1، مَعَ قَوْلِ الرُّسُلِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ: وَلَنَصْبِرَنَّ عَلَى مَا آذَيْتُمُونَا وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ، وَكَذَلِكَ أَمَرَ نَبِيَّهُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لَمَّا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ فَبِهُدَاهُمُ اِقْتَدِهْ﴾ الْأَنْعَامِ: 90، فَأَمَرَهُ بِاِتِّبَاعِهِمْ وَقَالَ: ﴿وَدَعْ أَذَاهُمْ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ﴾،

watawakkulu al-khuṣūṣi ʾayḍan fī al-ṣabri ʿalā al-ʾadhā mina al-qawli wa-al-fiʿli, ʾidh kāna ʾamara bi-dhālika al-rasūla fī qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿fa-ittakhidhhu wakīlan﴾ ﴿wa-iṣbir ʿalā mā yaqūlūna﴾ al-muzzammili: 9–1, maʿa qawli al-rusuli ʿalayhimu al-salāmu: walanaṣbiranna ʿalā mā ʾādhaytumūnā waʿalā Allāhi falyatawakkali al-mutawakkilūna, wa-kadhālika ʾamara nabiyyahu ʿalayhi al-salāmu lammā qāla taʿālā: ﴿ʾulāʾika alladhīna hadā Allāhu fabihudāhumu iqtadih﴾ al-ʾanʿāmi: 90, faʾamarahu bi-ittibāʿihim waqāla: ﴿wadaʿ ʾadhāhum watawakkal ʿalā Allāhi﴾,

The trust of the specially chosen also concerns patiently bearing harm in word and deed, since He commanded the Messenger to do this in His words, exalted is He, “Take Him as Trustee,” and “Bear patiently what they say” (al-Muzzammil 9–1), together with the messengers' words, peace be upon them, “We shall surely bear patiently the harm you do us; in God let those who trust put their trust.” Likewise He commanded His Prophet, peace be upon him, when He said, exalted is He, “Those are the ones God has guided, so follow their guidance” (al-Anʿām 6:90), commanding him to follow them, and said, “Disregard their harm and trust in God,”

إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: ﴿فَاِصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُولُو الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ وَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلْ لَهُمْ﴾ الْاَحْقَافِ 35. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ: لَا يَثْبُتُ لِأَحَدٍ مَقَامٌ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ حَتَّى يَسْتَوِيَ عِنْدَهُ الْمَدْحُ وَالذَّمُّ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ فَيَسْقُطَانِ، وَحَتَّى يُؤْذَى فَيَصْبِرَ عَلَى الْأَذَى، يُسْتَخْرَجُ بِذَلِكَ مِنْهُ رَفْعُ السُّكُونِ إِلَى

ʾilā qawlihi: ﴿fa-iṣbir kamā ṣabara ʾulū al-ʿazmi mina al-rusuli walā tastaʿjil lahum﴾ al-ʾaḥqāfi 35. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: lā yathbutu liʾaḥadin maqāmun fī al-tawakkuli ḥattā yastawiya ʿindahu al-madḥu wa-al-dhammu mina al-khalqi fayasquṭāni, waḥattā yuʾdhā fayaṣbira ʿalā al-ʾadhā, yustakhraju bi-dhālika minhu rafʿu al-sukūni ʾilā

through His words, “Be patient as the messengers of firm resolve were patient, and do not seek to hasten matters for them” (al-Aḥqāf 46:35). One of the knowers said, “No one's station in trust becomes established until creatures' praise and blame are equal to him and both fall away, and until he is harmed and bears the harm patiently. Through this, there is drawn from him the removal of resting in

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ١٤

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 14

Volume Two, page 14

الْخَلْقِ، وَالنَّظَرُ إِلَى عِلْمِ الْخَالِقِ الَّذِي سَبَقَ، ثُمَّ التَّوَكُّلُ فِي الصَّبْرِ عَلَى حُسْنِ الْمُعَامَلَةِ، وَتَرْكِ الطَّلَبِ لِلْمُعَارَضَةِ حَيَاءً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَإِجْلَالًا لَهُ وَتَخَوُّفًا مِنْهُ وَحُبًّا لَهُ، فَقَدْ وَصَفَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ ظَاهِرًا وَبَاطِنًا، فَالظَّاهِرُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿نِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ﴾ ﴿الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ﴾ الْعَنْكَبُوتِ: 58–59، فَلَمَّا عَلِمُوا صَبَرُوا عَلَى عِلْمِهِمْ، ثُمَّ تَوَكَّلُوا عَلَيْهِ فِي جَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ، فَأَنْعَمَ أَجْرَهُمْ وَأَجْزَلَ ذُخْرَهُمْ،

al-khalqi, wa-al-naẓaru ʾilā ʿilmi al-khāliqi alladhī sabaqa, thumma al-tawakkulu fī al-ṣabri ʿalā ḥusni al-muʿāmalati, watarki al-ṭalabi li-l-muʿāraḍati ḥayāʾan mina Allāhi waʾijlālan lahu watakhawwufan minhu waḥubban lahu, faqad waṣafahum bi-dhālika ẓāhiran wabāṭinan, fa-al-ẓāhiru qawluhu taʿālā: ﴿niʿma ʾajru al-ʿāmilīna﴾ ﴿alladhīna ṣabarū waʿalā rabbihim yatawakkalūna﴾ al-ʿankabūti: 58–59, falammā ʿalimū ṣabarū ʿalā ʿilmihim, thumma tawakkalū ʿalayhi fī jamīʿi dhālika, faʾanʿama ʾajrahum waʾajzala dhukhrahum,

creatures, and attention to the Creator's knowledge, which preceded all things.” Then comes trust in patiently maintaining good dealings, and in abandoning the demand for recompense, out of shame before God, reverence for Him, fear of Him, and love for Him. He has described them in these terms, outwardly and inwardly. The outward description is His saying, exalted is He, “Excellent is the reward of those who act,” “who are patient and put their trust in their Lord” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:58–59). When they knew, they persevered in their knowledge and trusted Him in all this, so He made their reward gracious and their stored recompense abundant.

وَالْبَاطِنُ فِيمَا أَخْبَرَ عَنْهُمْ: إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنْكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا، فَقَطَعَهُمُ الْخَوْفُ عَنِ الطَّلَبِ، فَفِي قَوْلِهِ: مِنْكُمْ، وَجْهٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ، وَهُوَ بَاطِنُ الْآيَةِ، قَدْ يَكُونُ بِمَعْنَى لَا نُرِيدُ بَدَلًا مِنْكُمْ، كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَلَوْ نَشَاءُ لَجَعَلْنَا مِنْكُمْ مَلَائِكَةً فِي الْأَرْضِ يَخْلُفُونَ﴾ الزُّخْرُفِ: 60، لَيْسَ أَنَّهُ جَعَلَ مِنَ الْبَشَرِ وَمِنْكُمْ مَلَائِكَةً، وَلَٰكِنِ الْمَعْنَى بَدَلًا، هَذَا أَحَدُ الْوَجْهَيْنِ فِي الْآيَةِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَاهُمَا،

wa-al-bāṭinu fīmā ʾakhbara ʿanhum: ʾinnamā nuṭʿimukum liwajhi Allāhi lā nurīdu minkum jazāʾan walā shukūran, faqaṭaʿahumu al-khawfu ʿani al-ṭalabi, fafī qawlihi: minkum, wajhun ḥasanun gharībun, wahuwa bāṭinu al-ʾāyati, qad yakūnu bimaʿnā lā nurīdu badalan minkum, kaqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿walaw nashāʾu lajaʿalnā minkum malāʾikatan fī al-ʾarḍi yakhlufūna﴾ al-zukhrufi: 60, laysa ʾannahu jaʿala mina al-bashari waminkum malāʾikatan, walākini al-maʿnā badalan, hādhā ʾaḥadu al-wajhayni fī al-ʾāyati wahuwa ʾaʿlāhumā,

The inward description lies in what He reports them saying: “We feed you only for God's face; we desire from you neither recompense nor thanks.” Fear has cut them off from seeking anything. In His words “from you” there is a fine, uncommon interpretation, the verse's inward meaning: it may mean “we desire no replacement for you,” as in His saying, exalted is He, “If We willed, We would appoint angels in your place on earth to succeed” (al-Zukhruf 43:60). It does not mean that He made angels from human beings, from you; it means “in place of.” This is one of the verse's two interpretations, and the higher one.

وَالْوَجْهُ الظَّاهِرُ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْكَافُ وَالْمِيمُ أَسْمَاءَ الْمُطْعَمِينَ، أَيْ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنْ عِنْدِكُمْ جَزَاءً أَيْ مُكَافَأَةً وَلَا شُكُورًا أَيْ حُسْنَ ثَنَاءٍ، فَلَمَّا لَمْ يَطْلُبُوا الْعِوَضَ مِنْ أَجْلِهِمْ وَلَا الْمُكَافَأَةَ مِنْ عِنْدِهِمْ وَقَالُوا: إِنَّا نَخَافُ مِنْ رَبِّنَا، جَزَاهُمْ أَفْضَلَ الْجَزْءِ، وَأَحْسَنَ لَهُمْ غَايَةَ الْعَطَاءِ، فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَسَقَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ شَرَابًا طَهُورًا﴾ ﴿إِنَّ هَذَا كَانَ لَكُمْ جَزَاءً وَكَانَ سَعْيُكُمْ مَشْكُورًا﴾ الدَّهْرِ: 21–22، إِذْ لَمْ يَطْلُبُوا جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا جَعَلَ جَزَاءَهُمْ شَرَابًا طَهُورًا، وَجَعَلَ سَعْيَهُمْ لَدَيْهِ مَشْكُورًا،

wa-al-wajhu al-ẓāhiru ʾan yakūna al-kāfu wa-al-mīmu ʾasmāʾa al-muṭʿamīna, ʾay lā nurīdu min ʿindikum jazāʾan ʾay mukāfaʾatan walā shukūran ʾay ḥusna thanāʾin, falammā lam yaṭlubū al-ʿiwaḍa min ʾajlihim walā al-mukāfaʾata min ʿindihim waqālū: ʾinnā nakhāfu min rabbinā, jazāhum ʾafḍala al-jazʾi, waʾaḥsana lahum ghāyata al-ʿaṭāʾi, faqāla taʿālā: ﴿wasaqāhum rabbuhum sharāban ṭahūran﴾ ﴿ʾinna hādhā kāna lakum jazāʾan wakāna saʿyukum mashkūran﴾ al-dahri: 21–22, ʾidh lam yaṭlubū jazāʾan walā shukūran jaʿala jazāʾahum sharāban ṭahūran, wajaʿala saʿyahum ladayhi mashkūran,

The outward interpretation is that kāf and mīm designate those being fed: “We desire no recompense from you,” meaning repayment, “nor thanks,” meaning gracious praise. Since they sought neither compensation for their sake nor repayment from them, and said, “We fear our Lord,” He rewarded them with the finest portion and bestowed the utmost gift upon them. He said, exalted is He, “Their Lord gave them a purifying drink,” “This is your recompense, and your striving has been appreciated” (al-Dahr 76:21–22). Since they sought neither recompense nor thanks, He made their recompense a purifying drink and their striving something appreciated with Him.

ثُمَّ التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَيْهِ فِي تَسْلِيمِ الْحُكْمِ وَالرِّضَا بِهِ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُ يَعْقُوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ حِينَ سَلَّمَ الْحُكْمَ تَوَكُّلًا عَلَى الْوَكِيلِ الْحَاكِمِ: إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ، عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ، لِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا كَانَ مُرِيدَ الْمُرَادِ نَفْسَهُ مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ قَدْ لَا يُوجَدُ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ إِرَادَتُهُ، ثُمَّ هُوَ عَلَى يَقِينٍ مِنْ إِرَادَةِ مَوْلَاهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَأَنَّ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ مُرَادٌ لِوَكِيلِهِ، فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُرِيدَ مَا يُرِيدُ مَوْلَاهُ إِذَا لَمْ يَتَّفِقْ لَهُ مَا يُرِيدُ،

thumma al-tawakkulu ʿalayhi fī taslīmi al-ḥukmi wa-al-riḍā bihi, waminhu qawlu yaʿqūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu ḥīna sallama al-ḥukma tawakkulan ʿalā al-wakīli al-ḥākimi: ʾini al-ḥukmu ʾillā li-llāhi, ʿalayhi tawakkaltu, liʾanna al-ʿabda ʾidhā kāna murīda al-murādi nafsahu mina al-ʾashyāʾi qad lā yūjadu fī kulli shayʾin ʾirādatuhu, thumma huwa ʿalā yaqīnin min ʾirādati mawlāhu likulli shayʾin, waʾanna kulla shayʾin murādun liwakīlihi, fayanbaghī ʾan yurīda mā yurīdu mawlāhu ʾidhā lam yattafiq lahu mā yurīdu,

Then comes trusting Him by surrendering judgment to Him and being content with it. An instance is Jacob's saying, peace be upon him, when he surrendered judgment in trust to the Trustee who judges: “Judgment belongs to God alone; in Him I put my trust.” For when a servant desires the very object desired among things, his wish may not be realized in everything. Yet he is certain that his Master wills everything and that everything is willed by his Trustee. He should therefore desire what his Master desires when what he desires does not come about.

بَلْ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ مُرَادُ مَوْلَاهُ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ وَأَبَرَّ عِنْدَهُ، لِأَنَّ مَا أَرَادَهُ مَوْلَاهُ مِمَّا لَا عُقُوبَةَ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ فِيهِ، وَلَا مَسْخَطَةَ لِمَوْلَاهُ، فَإِنَّهُ مَحْبُوبٌ لِلَّهِ مُخْتَارٌ لَهُ، فَلْتَكُنْ مَحَبَّةُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مُقَدَّمَةً لَدَيْهِ عَلَى مَحَبَّتِهِ هُوَ وَاِخْتِيَارِهِ، إِذْ لِلَّهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ، وَقَدْ شَرَّفَ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَنَزَّهَهُمْ عَنْ أُمُورِ الْعَاجِلَةِ الدَّنِيَّةِ بِقَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ﴾ الْقَصَصِ: 83،

bal yanbaghī ʾan yakūna murādu mawlāhu ʾaḥabba ʾilayhi waʾabarra ʿindahu, liʾanna mā ʾarādahu mawlāhu mimmā lā ʿuqūbata ʿalā al-ʿabdi fīhi, walā maskhaṭata limawlāhu, faʾinnahu maḥbūbun li-llāhi mukhtārun lahu, faltakun maḥabbatu Allāhi ʿazza wajalla muqaddamatan ladayhi ʿalā maḥabbatihi huwa wa-ikhtiyārihi, ʾidh li-llāhi ʿāqibatu al-ʾumūri, waqad sharrafa al-muttaqīna wanazzahahum ʿan ʾumūri al-ʿājilati al-daniyyati biqawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿wa-al-ʿāqibatu li-l-muttaqīna﴾ al-qaṣaṣi: 83,

Indeed, what his Master desires should be dearer to him and regarded as more beneficent, for whatever his Master wills that brings the servant no punishment and incurs no displeasure from his Master is something God loves and chooses for him. Let God's love, mighty and majestic is He, take precedence with him over his own love and choice, for the final outcome of all things belongs to God. He has honored the God-fearing and raised them above the affairs of this lowly, fleeting life by saying, mighty and majestic is He, “The final outcome belongs to the God-fearing” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:83).

وَكَمَا رُوِيَ فِي أَخْبَارِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: إِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ مَا تُرِيدُ فَرِدْ مَا يَكُونُ، فَإِنْ أَبَيْتَ إِلَّا مَا تُرِيدُ أَتْعَبْتُكَ فِيمَا تُرِيدُ وَلَا يَكُونُ إِلَّا مَا أُرِيدُ. وَرُوِيَ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ: وَدِدْتُ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْبَصْرَةِ فِي عِيَالِي وَأَنَّ حَبَّةً بِدِينَارٍ، وَهَذَا مِنْ نِهَايَةِ التَّوَكُّلِ، وَلَيْسَ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا فِي تَسْلِيمِ الْأَحْكَامِ وَالرِّضَا بِهَا كَيْفَ جَرَتْ بِهِمْ، لِأَنَّ هَذَا كَلَامٌ قَدْ جَاوَزَ الْمَعْقُولَ،

wakamā ruwiya fī ʾakhbāri mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾidhā lam yakun mā turīdu farid mā yakūnu, faʾin ʾabayta ʾillā mā turīdu ʾatʿabtuka fīmā turīdu walā yakūnu ʾillā mā ʾurīdu. waruwiya ʿani al-ḥasani: wadidtu ʾanna ʾahla al-baṣrati fī ʿiyālī waʾanna ḥabbatan bidīnārin, wa-hādhā min nihāyati al-tawakkuli, walaysa dhālika ʾillā fī taslīmi al-ʾaḥkāmi wa-al-riḍā bihā kayfa jarat bihim, liʾanna hādhā kalāmun qad jāwaza al-maʿqūla,

As is related in reports concerning Moses, peace be upon him: “If what you desire does not happen, desire what does happen. If you insist on nothing but what you desire, I shall exhaust you in pursuing it, and nothing will happen except what I desire.” Al-Ḥasan is reported to have said, “I wish the people of Basra were my dependants, even if one grain cost a dinar.” This belongs to the utmost degree of trust. It can only concern surrendering to the decrees and being content with them however they run their course among people, for these words have passed beyond ordinary reasoning.

وَقَدْ كَانَ وُهَيْبُ بْنُ الْوَرْدِ الْمَكِّيُّ يَقُولُ: لَوْ كَانَتِ السَّمَاءُ نُحَاسًا، وَالْأَرْضُ رَصَاصًا، ثُمَّ اِهْتَمَمْتُ بِرِزْقِي لَظَنَنْتُ أَنِّي مُشْرِكٌ، وَيُقَالُ: مَنِ اِهْتَمَّ بِرِزْقِ غَدٍ وَعِنْدَهُ الْيَوْمَ قُوتُ غَدٍ فَهِيَ خَطِيئَةٌ تُكْتَبُ عَلَيْهِ، وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ: الصَّائِمُ إِذَا اِهْتَمَّ فِي أَوَّلِ النَّهَارِ بِعَشَائِهِ كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِ خَطِيئَةٌ، وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ ذَلِكَ يَنْقُصُ مِنْ صَوْمِهِ، وَقَالَ: أَعْرِفُ فِي الْبَصْرَةِ

waqad kāna wuhaybu bnu al-wardi al-makkiyyu yaqūlu: law kānati al-samāʾu nuḥāsan, wa-al-ʾarḍu raṣāṣan, thumma ihtamamtu birizqī laẓanantu ʾannī mushrikun, wayuqālu: mani ihtamma birizqi ghadin waʿindahu al-yawma qūtu ghadin fahiya khaṭīʾatun tuktabu ʿalayhi, waqāla sufyānu: al-ṣāʾimu ʾidhā ihtamma fī ʾawwali al-nahāri biʿashāʾihi kutiba ʿalayhi khaṭīʾatun, wakāna sahlun yaqūlu: ʾinna dhālika yanquṣu min ṣawmihi, waqāla: ʾaʿrifu fī al-baṣrati

Wuhayb ibn al-Ward al-Makkī used to say, “If the sky were copper and the earth lead, and I then worried about my provision, I would think myself an associator.” It is said, “Whoever worries about tomorrow's provision when he already has tomorrow's sustenance today has a sin recorded against him.” Sufyān said, “When someone fasting worries at the beginning of the day about his supper, a sin is recorded against him.” Sahl used to say, “That diminishes his fast.” He also said, “I know in Basra

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ١٥

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 15

Volume Two, page 15

مَقْبَرَةً عَظِيمَةً يُغْدَى عَلَى مَوْتَاهُمْ بِرِزْقِهِمْ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ بُكْرَةً وَعَشِيَّةً، يَرَوْنَ مَنَازِلَهُمْ مِنَ الْجِنَانِ، وَعَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ الْغُمُومِ وَالْكُرُوبِ مَا لَوْ قُسِمَ عَلَى أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ لَمَاتُوا أَجْمَعِينَ، قِيلَ: وَلِمَ؟ قَالَ: كَانُوا إِذَا تَغَدَّوْا قَالُوا بِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ نَتَعَشَّى؟ وَإِذَا تَعَشَّوْا قَالُوا بِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ نَتَغَدَّى؟ وَقَالَ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى: لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ نَصِيبٌ،

maqbaratan ʿaẓīmatan yughdā ʿalā mawtāhum birizqihim mina al-jannati bukratan waʿashiyyatan, yarawna manāzilahum mina al-jināni, waʿalayhim mina al-ghumūmi wa-al-kurūbi mā law qusima ʿalā ʾahli al-baṣrati lamātū ʾajmaʿīna, qīla: walima? qāla: kānū ʾidhā taghaddaw qālū biʾayyi shayʾin nataʿashshā? waʾidhā taʿashshaw qālū biʾayyi shayʾin nataghaddā? waqāla marratan ʾukhrā: lam yakun lahum mina al-tawakkuli naṣībun,

a vast cemetery whose dead are brought their provision from Paradise morning and evening. They see their dwellings in the gardens, yet bear sorrows and anguish which, if distributed among the people of Basra, would kill them all.” Asked why, he replied, “When they had eaten their morning meal, they used to ask, ‘What shall we have for supper?’ And when they had eaten supper, they asked, ‘What shall we have for our morning meal?’” On another occasion he said, “They had no share of trust.”

وَهَذِهِ الْمَقَامَاتُ مِنْ فَضَائِلِ التَّوَكُّلِ، وَفَوْقَهَا مَا لَا يَصْلُحُ رَسْمُهُ فِي كِتَابٍ مِنْ مُكَاشَفَاتِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَمُشَاهَدَاتِ الْعَارِفِينَ، مِنْهَا أَنَّهُ أَعْطَاهُمْ كُنْ بِإِطْلَاعِهِ إِيَّاهُمْ عَلَى الِاسْمِ فَزَهِدُوا فِي كَوْنِ كُنْ لِأَجْلِ كَانَ، تَوَكُّلًا عَلَيْهِ وَحَيَاءً مِنْهُ أَنْ يُعَارِضُوهُ فِي قُدْرَتِهِ، وَيَرْغَبُوا عَنْ تَقْدِيرِهِ، أَوْ يُضَاهُوهُ فِي تَكْوِينِهِ، لِأَنَّ تَدْبِيرَهُ عِنْدَهُمْ أَحْكَمُ وَأَيْقَنُ، وَهُمْ بِالْعَوَاقِبِ أَعْلَمُ، وَأَخْبَرُ، وَهُمْ لَهُ أَشَدُّ إِجْلَالًا وَإِعْظَامًا مِمَّا نَقْدِرُ نَحْنُ وَنَعْلَمُ،

wa-hādhihi al-maqāmātu min faḍāʾili al-tawakkuli, wafawqahā mā lā yaṣluḥu rasmuhu fī kitābin min mukāshafāti al-ṣiddīqīna wamushāhadāti al-ʿārifīna, minhā ʾannahu ʾaʿṭāhum kun biʾiṭlāʿihi ʾiyyāhum ʿalā al-ismi fazahidū fī kawni kun liʾajli kāna, tawakkulan ʿalayhi waḥayāʾan minhu ʾan yuʿāriḍūhu fī qudratihi, wayarghabū ʿan taqdīrihi, ʾaw yuḍāhūhu fī takwīnihi, liʾanna tadbīrahu ʿindahum ʾaḥkamu waʾayqanu, wahum bi-al-ʿawāqibi ʾaʿlamu, waʾakhbaru, wahum lahu ʾashaddu ʾijlālan waʾiʿẓāman mimmā naqdiru naḥnu wanaʿlamu,

These stations belong to the excellences of trust. Above them lie disclosures granted to the supremely truthful and visions of the knowers which are unsuitable for recording in a book. Among them is His giving them “Be!” by acquainting them with the Name. Yet they renounce the being brought about by “Be!” for the sake of “He was,” trusting Him and feeling ashamed to oppose His power, turn away from His ordainment, or rival His bringing into being. His governance is, to them, wiser and more certain. They are better informed about outcomes and more experienced; their reverence and veneration for Him exceed what we can conceive or know.

فَأَمَّا التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَيْهِ فِي الْقُوتِ فَإِنَّهُ عِنْدَهُمْ فَرْضُ التَّوَكُّلِ يَسْتَحْيُونَ مِنْ ذِكْرِهِ مَعَ الْوَكِيلِ، وَكَذَلِكَ التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَيْهِ فِي تَسْلِيمِ الْأَقْدَارِ حُلْوِهَا وَمُرِّهَا خَيْرِهَا وَشَرِّهَا مِنَ اللَّهِ حِكْمَةً وَعَدْلًا، كَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: كُلُّ شَيْءٍ بِقَضَاءٍ وَقَدَرٍ حَتَّى الْعَجْزِ وَالْكَيْسِ، وَكَمَا قَالَ: تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ مَا أَخْطَأَكَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُصِيبَكَ وَأَنَّ مَا أَصَابَكَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُخْطِئَكَ، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَكُلُّ صَغِيرٍ وَكَبِيرٍ مُسْتَطَرٌ﴾ الْقَمَرِ: 53،

faʾammā al-tawakkulu ʿalayhi fī al-qūti faʾinnahu ʿindahum farḍu al-tawakkuli yastaḥyūna min dhikrihi maʿa al-wakīli, wa-kadhālika al-tawakkulu ʿalayhi fī taslīmi al-ʾaqdāri ḥulwihā wamurrihā khayrihā washarrihā mina Allāhi ḥikmatan waʿadlan, kamā qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: kullu shayʾin biqaḍāʾin waqadarin ḥattā al-ʿajzi wa-al-kaysi, wakamā qāla: taʿlamu ʾanna mā ʾakhṭaʾaka lam yakun liyuṣībaka waʾanna mā ʾaṣābaka lam yakun liyukhṭiʾaka, wa-kadhālika qāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla: ﴿wakullu ṣaghīrin wakabīrin mustaṭarun﴾ al-qamari: 53,

As for trusting Him concerning sustenance, they regard that as trust's obligatory minimum and feel ashamed even to mention it to the Trustee. The same holds for trusting Him by accepting all decrees, sweet and bitter, good and evil, as proceeding from God's wisdom and justice. As God's Messenger said, God bless him and grant him peace, “Everything is by decree and ordainment, even incapacity and resourcefulness”; and as he said, “You know that what missed you could never have struck you, and what struck you could never have missed you.” Likewise God, mighty and majestic is He, said, “Everything small and great is inscribed” (al-Qamar 54:53).

فَالْعِلْمُ بِهَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءِ، وَطُمَأْنِينَةُ الْقَلْبِ بِهَا، وَسَكِينَةُ الْعَقْلِ عِنْدَ وُرُودِهَا، وَأَنْ لَا يَضْطَرِبَ بِالرَّأْيِ وَالْمَعْقُولِ، وَلَا يُنَازِعَ بِالتَّشْبِيهِ وَالتَّمْثِيلِ، فَإِنَّ هَذَا عِنْدَهُمْ مِنْ فَرَائِضِ الْإِيمَانِ، لَا يَصِحُّ إِيمَانُ عَبْدٍ حَتَّى يُسَلِّمَ ذَلِكَ كُلَّهُ، وَلَيْسَ هَذَا مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ فِي شَيْءٍ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: الْقَدَرُ نِظَامُ التَّوْحِيدِ، فَمَنْ وَحَّدَ اللَّهَ وَكَذَّبَ بِالْقَدَرِ كَانَ تَكْذِيبُهُ بِالْقَدَرِ نَقْصًا لِتَوْحِيدِهِ،

fa-al-ʿilmu bi-hādhihi al-ʾashyāʾi, waṭumaʾnīnatu al-qalbi bihā, wasakīnatu al-ʿaqli ʿinda wurūdihā, waʾan lā yaḍṭariba bi-al-raʾyi wa-al-maʿqūli, walā yunāziʿa bi-al-tashbīhi wa-al-tamthīli, faʾinna hādhā ʿindahum min farāʾiḍi al-ʾīmāni, lā yaṣiḥḥu ʾīmānu ʿabdin ḥattā yusallima dhālika kullahu, walaysa hādhā mina al-tawakkuli fī shayʾin, waminhu qawlu ibni ʿabbāsin: al-qadaru niẓāmu al-tawḥīdi, faman waḥḥada Allāha wakadhdhaba bi-al-qadari kāna takdhībuhu bi-al-qadari naqṣan litawḥīdihi,

Knowing these things, finding reassurance in them, keeping the mind calm when they occur, and neither becoming unsettled through personal reasoning and rational inference nor disputing them through analogies and comparisons: all this, in their view, belongs to faith's obligations. No servant's faith is sound until he accepts it all, and this has no part in trust itself. Hence Ibn ʿAbbās's saying: “Ordainment is the thread of divine unity. Whoever affirms God's unity but denies ordainment diminishes his affirmation of unity through that denial.”

فَجَعَلَ الْإِيمَانَ بِالْأَقْدَارِ كُلِّهَا أَنَّهَا مِنَ اللَّهِ مَشِيئَةً وَحُكْمًا بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْخَيْطِ الَّذِي يَنْتَظِمُ عَلَيْهِ الْحَبُّ، وَأَنَّ التَّوْحِيدَ مُنْتَظِمٌ فِيهِ، يَقُولُ: إِذَا اِنْقَطَعَ الْخَيْطُ سَقَطَ الْحَبُّ، قَالَ: كَذَلِكَ إِذَا كَذَّبَ بِالْقَدَرِ ذَهَبَ الْإِيمَانُ، فَالتَّوَكُّلُ فَرْضٌ وَفَضْلٌ، فَفَرْضُهُ مَنُوطٌ بِالْإِيمَانِ، وَهُوَ تَسْلِيمُ الْأَقْدَارِ كُلِّهَا لِلْقَادِرِ وَاِعْتِقَادُ أَنَّ جَمِيعَهَا قَضَاؤُهُ وَقَدَرُهُ،

fajaʿala al-ʾīmāna bi-al-ʾaqdāri kullihā ʾannahā mina Allāhi mashīʾatan waḥukman bimanzilati al-khayṭi alladhī yantaẓimu ʿalayhi al-ḥabbu, waʾanna al-tawḥīda muntaẓimun fīhi, yaqūlu: ʾidhā inqaṭaʿa al-khayṭu saqaṭa al-ḥabbu, qāla: kadhālika ʾidhā kadhdhaba bi-al-qadari dhahaba al-ʾīmānu, fa-al-tawakkulu farḍun wafaḍlun, fafarḍuhu manūṭun bi-al-ʾīmāni, wahuwa taslīmu al-ʾaqdāri kullihā li-l-qādiri wa-iʿtiqādu ʾanna jamīʿahā qaḍāʾuhu waqadaruhu,

He thus likened believing that every decree comes from God's will and judgment to the thread upon which beads are strung, with the affirmation of divine unity strung upon it. He says, “When the thread breaks, the beads fall.” He said, “Likewise, when someone denies ordainment, faith departs.” Trust therefore has an obligatory aspect and an aspect of excellence. Its obligation is bound to faith: surrendering all decrees to the All-Powerful and believing that they are all His decree and ordainment.

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَيْفَ أَقْسَمَ بِنَفْسِهِ فِي نَفْيِ الْإِيمَانِ عَمَّنْ لَمْ يُحَكِّمِ الرَّسُولَ فِيمَا اِخْتَلَفَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ حَالِهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا﴾ النِّسَاءِ: 65، فَكَيْفَ بِالْحَاكِمِ الْأَوَّلِ وَالْقَاضِي الْأَجَلِّ؟

ʾalam tara ʾilā rabbika kayfa ʾaqsama binafsihi fī nafyi al-ʾīmāni ʿamman lam yuḥakkimi al-rasūla fīmā ikhtalafa ʿalayhi min ḥālihi faqāla taʿālā: ﴿falā warabbika lā yuʾminūna ḥattā yuḥakkimūka fīmā shajara baynahum thumma lā yajidū fī ʾanfusihim ḥarajan mimmā qaḍayta wayusallimū taslīman﴾ al-nisāʾi: 65, fakayfa bi-al-ḥākimi al-ʾawwali wa-al-qāḍī al-ʾajalli?

Have you not considered how your Lord swore by Himself to deny faith to anyone who failed to make the Messenger judge in disputed matters concerning him? He said, exalted is He, “No, by your Lord, they do not believe until they make you judge in what has arisen between them, then find no unease within themselves over your judgment and submit completely” (al-Nisāʾ 4:65). How much more, then, with the first Judge, the most majestic Arbiter?

فَأَمَّا فَضْلُ التَّوَكُّلِ فَإِنَّهُ يَكُونُ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْوَكِيلِ فَإِنَّهُ فِي مَقَامِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ يَنْظُرُ عَيْنَ الْيَقِينِ، كَمَا قَالَ الْعَبْدُ الصَّالِحُ: فَكِيدُونِي جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ لَا تُنْظِرُونِ، فَظَهَرَتْ مِنْهُ قُوَّةٌ عَظِيمَةٌ بِقَوِيٍّ، وَأَخْبَرَ عَنْ عَزِيزٍ بِعِزٍّ، فَكَأَنَّهُ قِيلَ: وَلِمَ ذَاكَ وَأَنْتَ بَشَرٌ مِثْلُنَا ضَعِيفٌ؟ فَقَالَ: إِنِّي تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ رَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمْ، فَكَأَنَّهُ سُئِلَ عَنْ تَفْسِيرِ تَوَكُّلِهِ كَيْفَ سَبَبُهُ، فَأَخْبَرَ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ يَدِ الْوَكِيلِ آخِذَةً

faʾammā faḍlu al-tawakkuli faʾinnahu yakūnu ʿan mushāhadati al-wakīli faʾinnahu fī maqāmi al-maʿrifati yanẓuru ʿayna al-yaqīni, kamā qāla al-ʿabdu al-ṣāliḥu: fakīdūnī jamīʿan thumma lā tunẓirūni, faẓaharat minhu quwwatun ʿaẓīmatun biqawiyyin, waʾakhbara ʿan ʿazīzin biʿizzin, fakaʾannahu qīla: walima dhāka waʾanta basharun mithlunā ḍaʿīfun? faqāla: ʾinnī tawakkaltu ʿalā Allāhi rabbī warabbikum, fakaʾannahu suʾila ʿan tafsīri tawakkulihi kayfa sababuhu, faʾakhbara bimushāhadati yadi al-wakīli ʾākhidhatan

As for trust's excellence, it arises from witnessing the Trustee. In the station of knowledge of God, the servant beholds certainty directly. Thus the righteous servant said, “Plot against me, all of you, then give me no respite.” Great strength appeared in him through One who is strong, and with might he told of One who is mighty. It was as if he were asked, “Why is that, when you are a weak human being like us?” He replied, “I have trusted in God, my Lord and your Lord.” It was then as if he were asked to explain his trust and what brought it about, and he told of witnessing the Trustee's hand grasping

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ١٦

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 16

Volume Two, page 16

بِنَوَاصِي دَوَابِّ الْأَرْضِ، فَقَالَ: مَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهَا، ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَ عَنْ عَدْلِهِ فِي ذَلِكَ وَقِيَامِ حِكْمَتِهِ، وَإِنَّهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ آخِذًا بِنَوَاصِي الْعِبَادِ فِي الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ وَالنَّفْعِ وَالضَّرِّ، فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ مُسْتَقِيمٌ فِي عَدْلِهِ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّ رَبِّي عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ،

binawāṣī dawābbi al-ʾarḍi, faqāla: mā min dābbatin ʾillā huwa ʾākhidhun bināṣiyatihā, thumma ʾakhbara ʿan ʿadlihi fī dhālika waqiyāmi ḥikmatihi, waʾinnahu waʾin kāna ʾākhidhan binawāṣī al-ʿibādi fī al-khayri wa-al-sharri wa-al-nafʿi wa-al-ḍarri, faʾinna dhālika mustaqīmun fī ʿadlihi, faqāla: ʾinna rabbī ʿalā ṣirāṭin mustaqīmin,

the forelocks of earth's creatures, saying, “There is no creature whose forelock He does not grasp.” He then spoke of God's justice in this and the firmness of His wisdom: although He grasps the servants' forelocks in good and evil, benefit and harm, all this accords with His justice. He said, “My Lord is on a straight path.”

وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي فَرْضِ التَّوَكُّلِ: ﴿وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُوا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ﴾ الْمَائِدَةِ: 23، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي مِثْلِهِ: ﴿إِنْ كُنْتُمْ آمَنْتُمْ بِاللَّهِ فَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلُوا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُسْلِمِينَ﴾ يُونُسَ: 84، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي فَضْلِهِ: ﴿وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ﴾ إِبْرَاهِيمَ: 12، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ﴾ آلِ عِمْرَانَ: 159.

waqāla taʿālā fī farḍi al-tawakkuli: ﴿waʿalā Allāhi fatawakkalū ʾin kuntum muʾminīna﴾ al-māʾidati: 23, waqāla taʿālā fī mithlihi: ﴿ʾin kuntum ʾāmantum bi-Allāhi faʿalayhi tawakkalū ʾin kuntum muslimīna﴾ yūnusa: 84, waqāla taʿālā fī faḍlihi: ﴿waʿalā Allāhi falyatawakkali al-mutawakkilūna﴾ ʾibrāhīma: 12, waqāla taʿālā: ﴿ʾinna Allāha yuḥibbu al-mutawakkilīna﴾ ʾāli ʿimrāna: 159.

Concerning trust's obligation, He said, exalted is He, “Put your trust in God, if you are believers” (al-Māʾida 5:23). Likewise He said, exalted is He, “If you have believed in God, then trust in Him, if you are submitters” (Yūnus 10:84). Concerning trust's excellence, He said, exalted is He, “In God let those who trust put their trust” (Ibrāhīm 14:12). And He said, exalted is He, “God loves those who trust” (Āl ʿImrān 3:159).

ذِكْرُ إِثْبَاتِ الْأَسْبَابِ وَالْأَوَاسِطِ لِمَعَانِي الْحِكْمَةِ وَنَفْيِ أَنَّهَا تَحْكُمُ وَتَجْعَلُ لِثُبُوتِ الْحُكْمِ وَالْقُدْرَةِ

dhikru ʾithbāti al-ʾasbābi wa-al-ʾawāsiṭi limaʿānī al-ḥikmati wanafyi ʾannahā taḥkumu watajʿalu lithubūti al-ḥukmi wa-al-qudrati

Affirming causes and intermediaries as expressions of wisdom, while denying that they rule or bring about effects, since judgment and power are established [for God]

اِعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ذُو قُدْرَةٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ، فَأَظْهَرَ أَشْيَاءَ عَنْ وَصْفِ الْقُدْرَةِ، وَأَجْرَى أَشْيَاءَ عَنْ مَعَانِي الْحِكْمَةِ، فَلَا يُسْقِطُ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ مَا أَثْبَتَ مِنْ حِكْمَتِهِ لِأَجْلِ مَا شَهِدَ هُوَ مِنْ قُدْرَتِهِ، مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى حَكِيمٌ، فَالْحِكْمَةُ صِفَتُهُ، وَلَا يُثْبِتُ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ الْأَشْيَاءَ حَاكِمَةً جَاعِلَةً نَافِعَةً ضَارَّةً، فَيُشْرِكَ فِي تَوْحِيدِهِ، مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَادِرٌ وَالْقُدْرَةُ صِفَتُهُ،

iʿlam ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wajalla dhū qudratin waḥikmatin, faʾaẓhara ʾashyāʾa ʿan waṣfi al-qudrati, waʾajrā ʾashyāʾa ʿan maʿānī al-ḥikmati, falā yusqiṭu al-mutawakkilu mā ʾathbata min ḥikmatihi liʾajli mā shahida huwa min qudratihi, min qibali ʾanna Allāha taʿālā ḥakīmun, fa-al-ḥikmatu ṣifatuhu, walā yuthbitu al-mutawakkilu al-ʾashyāʾa ḥākimatan jāʿilatan nāfiʿatan ḍārratan, fayushrika fī tawḥīdihi, min qibali ʾanna Allāha qādirun wa-al-qudratu ṣifatuhu,

Know that God, mighty and majestic is He, possesses power and wisdom. He manifests some things through the attribute of power and makes others run their course through the meanings of wisdom. One who trusts must not discard what God has established through His wisdom because of the power he himself has witnessed, for God Most High is wise, and wisdom is His attribute. Nor should he affirm that things rule, bring about effects, benefit, or harm, thus introducing association into his affirmation of unity, for God is powerful, and power is His attribute.

وَأَنَّهُ حَاكِمٌ جَاعِلٌ ضَارٌّ نَافِعٌ، لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ فِي أَسْمَائِهِ، وَلَا ظَهِيرَ لَهُ فِي أَحْكَامِهِ، كَمَا قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ﴾ يُوسُفَ: 40، وَقَوْلُهِ: ﴿وَلَا يُشْرِكُ فِي حُكْمِهِ أَحَدًا﴾ الْكَهْفِ: 26، وَكَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِنْ شِرْكٍ وَمَا لَهُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ ظَهِيرٍ﴾ سَبَأٍ: 22، الظَّهِيرُ الْمُعِينُ عَلَى الشَّيْءِ،

waʾannahu ḥākimun jāʿilun ḍārrun nāfiʿun, lā sharīka lahu fī ʾasmāʾihi, walā ẓahīra lahu fī ʾaḥkāmihi, kamā qāla ʿazza wajalla: ﴿ʾini al-ḥukmu ʾillā li-llāhi﴾ yūsufa: 40, waqawluhi: ﴿walā yushriku fī ḥukmihi ʾaḥadan﴾ al-kahfi: 26, wakamā qāla taʿālā: ﴿wamā lahum fīhimā min shirkin wamā lahu minhum min ẓahīrin﴾ sabaʾin: 22, al-ẓahīru al-muʿīnu ʿalā al-shayʾi,

He is the One who judges, brings about effects, harms, and benefits. He has no partner in His names and no helper in His judgments. As He said, mighty and majestic is He, “Judgment belongs to God alone” (Yūsuf 12:40); and, “He associates no one in His judgment” (al-Kahf 18:26); and, exalted is He, “They have no share in either, and He has no helper among them” (Sabaʾ 34:22). A helper is someone who assists with a thing.

فَالْمُتَوَكِّلُ مَعَ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ قُدْرَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْأَشْيَاءِ وَأَنَّهُ مُنْفَرِدٌ بِالتَّقْدِيرِ وَالتَّدْبِيرِ قَائِمٌ بِالْمُلْكِ وَالْمَمْلُوكِ، هُوَ أَيْضًا عَالِمٌ بِوُجُوهِ الْحِكْمَةِ فِي التَّصْرِيفِ وَالتَّقْلِيبِ بِإِظْهَارِ الْأَسْبَابِ الْأَوَاسِطِ لِإِظْهَارِ الْأَشْخَاصِ وَالْأَشْبَاحِ لِإِيقَاعِ الْأَحْكَامِ عَلَى الْمَحْكُومِ وَعَوْدِ الثَّوَابِ وَالْعِقَابِ عَلَى الْمَرْسُومِ، مِنْ حَيْثُ كَانَ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ قَائِمًا بِأَحْكَامِ الشَّرِيعَةِ مُلْتَزِمًا لِمُطَالَبَاتِ الْعِلْمِ، مَعَ تَسْلِيمِهِ الْحُكْمَ الْأَوَّلَ لِلَّهِ، وَاِعْتِرَافِهِ أَنَّ كُلًّا بِقَدَرِ اللَّهِ، إِذْ سَمِعَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ،

fa-al-mutawakkilu maʿa mushāhadatihi qudrata Allāhi ʿalā al-ʾashyāʾi waʾannahu munfaridun bi-al-taqdīri wa-al-tadbīri qāʾimun bi-al-mulki wa-al-mamlūki, huwa ʾayḍan ʿālimun biwujūhi al-ḥikmati fī al-taṣrīfi wa-al-taqlībi biʾiẓhāri al-ʾasbābi al-ʾawāsiṭi liʾiẓhāri al-ʾashkhāṣi wa-al-ʾashbāḥi liʾīqāʿi al-ʾaḥkāmi ʿalā al-maḥkūmi waʿawdi al-thawābi wa-al-ʿiqābi ʿalā al-marsūmi, min ḥaythu kāna al-mutawakkilu qāʾiman biʾaḥkāmi al-sharīʿati multaziman limuṭālabāti al-ʿilmi, maʿa taslīmihi al-ḥukma al-ʾawwala li-llāhi, wa-iʿtirāfihi ʾanna kullan biqadari Allāhi, ʾidh samiʿa Allāha taʿālā yaqūlu: lā yusʾalu ʿammā yafʿalu wahum yusʾalūna,

Alongside witnessing God's power over things, His sole ordainment and governance, and His sustaining both dominion and what is possessed, the one who trusts also knows wisdom's forms in God's disposing and transforming: He manifests intermediary causes so that persons and bodies appear, judgments fall upon those subject to them, and reward and punishment return to those addressed by the command. For the one who trusts observes the Law's rulings and fulfills knowledge's demands, while surrendering the first judgment to God and acknowledging that everything is by God's ordainment, having heard God Most High say, “He is not questioned about what He does, but they are questioned.”

وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فِي جَمِيعِ مَا أَظْهَرَ أَخْفَى قُدْرَتَهُ فِي حُكْمِهِ، فَظَهَرَتْ حِكْمَتُهُ فِي الْأَشْيَاءِ لِعَوْدِ الْأَحْكَامِ عَلَى الْمُظْهِرِينَ لَهَا، وَبَطَنَتْ قُدْرَتُهُ فِي الْأَشْيَاءِ لِرُجُوعِ الْأَمْرِ كُلِّهِ إِلَيْهِ وَلِإِتْقَانِ الصَّنْعَةِ الظَّاهِرَةِ لِصُنْعِ الْبَاطِنِ. فَلِذَلِكَ قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿صُنْعَ اللَّهِ الَّذِي أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ﴾ النَّمْلِ: 88، أَيْ صُنْعُهُ الْبَاطِنُ أَتْقَنَ صُنْعَهُ الظَّاهِرَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَإِلَيْهِ يَرْجِعُ الْأَمْرُ كُلُّهُ﴾ هُودٍ: 123، مِنَ الظَّاهِرِ وَالْبَاطِنِ فَاُعْبُدْهُ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ فِي جَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ،

waʾanna Allāha taʿālā fī jamīʿi mā ʾaẓhara ʾakhfā qudratahu fī ḥukmihi, faẓaharat ḥikmatuhu fī al-ʾashyāʾi liʿawdi al-ʾaḥkāmi ʿalā al-muẓhirīna lahā, wabaṭanat qudratuhu fī al-ʾashyāʾi lirujūʿi al-ʾamri kullihi ʾilayhi waliʾitqāni al-ṣanʿati al-ẓāhirati liṣunʿi al-bāṭini. fali-dhālika qāla ʿazza wajalla: ﴿ṣunʿa Allāhi alladhī ʾatqana kulla shayʾin﴾ al-namli: 88, ʾay ṣunʿuhu al-bāṭinu ʾatqana ṣunʿahu al-ẓāhira, thumma qāla taʿālā: ﴿waʾilayhi yarjiʿu al-ʾamru kulluhu﴾ hūdin: 123, mina al-ẓāhiri wa-al-bāṭini fa-uʿbudhu watawakkal ʿalayhi fī jamīʿi dhālika,

In everything He has manifested, God Most High has hidden His power within His judgment. His wisdom appears in things so that rulings return to those who manifest them, while His power remains hidden in things so that the whole affair returns to Him, and because the outward workmanship is perfected through inward making. Hence He said, mighty and majestic is He, “God's making, who has perfected everything” (al-Naml 27:88): that is, His inward making perfected His outward making. Then He said, exalted is He, “To Him the whole affair returns” (Hūd 11:123), outward and inward. So worship Him and trust Him in all of it.

فَلِلْعَارِفِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ مِنَ الصُّنْعِ الْبَاطِنِ شَهَادَةٌ هُوَ قَائِمٌ بِهَا، وَلَهُ فِي الْحِكْمَةِ الظَّاهِرَةِ عِلْمُ شَرْعٍ وَتَسْلِيمُ اِسْمٍ وَرَسْمٍ هُوَ عَامِلٌ بِهِ، وَهَذَا هُوَ شَهَادَةُ التَّوْحِيدِ فِي عِبَادَةِ التَّفْضِيلِ، وَهُوَ مَقَامُ الْعُلَمَاءِ الرَّبَّانِيِّينَ، وَكُلُّ مُؤْمِنٍ بِاللَّهِ مُتَوَكِّلٌ عَلَى اللَّهِ،

fali-l-ʿārifi al-mutawakkili mina al-ṣunʿi al-bāṭini shahādatun huwa qāʾimun bihā, walahu fī al-ḥikmati al-ẓāhirati ʿilmu sharʿin wataslīmu ismin warasmin huwa ʿāmilun bihi, wa-hādhā huwa shahādatu al-tawḥīdi fī ʿibādati al-tafḍīli, wahuwa maqāmu al-ʿulamāʾi al-rabbāniyyīna, wakullu muʾminin bi-Allāhi mutawakkilun ʿalā Allāhi,

The knower who trusts has a witnessing of inward making in which he remains steadfast. In outward wisdom he has knowledge of revealed law and acceptance of name and prescribed form, upon which he acts. This is the witnessing of unity within the worship of preferment, the station of scholars devoted to the Lord. Everyone who believes in God trusts in God.

وَلَكِنَّ تَوَكُّلَ كُلِّ عَبْدٍ عَلَى قَدْرِ يَقِينِهِ، فَتَوَكُّلُ الْخُصُوصِ مَا قَدَّمْنَاهُ مِنْ ذِكْرِ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ وَمَعَانِي الرِّضَا، وَتَوَكُّلُ الْعُمُومِ مَا عَقَّبْنَاهُ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ بِالْأَقْدَارِ خَيْرِهَا وَشَرِّهَا، وَقَدْ أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنَّهُ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ، كَمَا هُوَ الْخَالِقُ، كَمَا هُوَ الْمُحْيِي الْمُمِيتُ، فَقَرَنَ بَيْنَ

wa-lākinna tawakkula kulli ʿabdin ʿalā qadri yaqīnihi, fatawakkulu al-khuṣūṣi mā qaddamnāhu min dhikri al-mushāhadati wamaʿānī al-riḍā, watawakkulu al-ʿumūmi mā ʿaqqabnāhu mina al-ʾīmāni bi-al-ʾaqdāri khayrihā washarrihā, waqad ʾakhbara Allāhu taʿālā ʾannahu huwa al-razzāqu, kamā huwa al-khāliqu, kamā huwa al-muḥyī al-mumītu, faqarana bayna

But each servant's trust accords with his certainty. The trust of the specially chosen is what we described first: witnessing and the meanings of contentment. The trust of the generality is what we set after it: belief in decrees, both good and evil. God Most High has told us that He is the Provider, just as He is the Creator and the One who gives life and brings death. He thus joined together

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ١٧

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 17

Volume Two, page 17

هَذِهِ الْأَرْبَعِ فِي قَرَنٍ وَاحِدٍ مَعَ تَرْتِيبِ الْحِكْمَةِ وَالْقُدْرَةِ، فَكَيْفَ يَخْتَلِفُ حُكْمُهَا أَوْ يَتَبَعَّضُ وَصْفُهَا لِظُهُورِ الْأَسْبَابِ وَوُجُودِ الْأَوَاسِطِ؟ فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: ﴿اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ ثُمَّ رَزَقَكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ﴾ الرُّومِ: 4، فَكَمَا لَيْسَ فِي الثَّلَاثِ الْأُخَرِ جَاعِلٌ وَمُظْهِرٌ إِلَّا الْوَاحِدُ، فَكَذَا لَيْسَ فِي الرَّابِعَةِ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ إِلَّا هُوَ،

hādhihi al-ʾarbaʿi fī qaranin wāḥidin maʿa tartībi al-ḥikmati wa-al-qudrati, fakayfa yakhtalifu ḥukmuhā ʾaw yatabaʿʿaḍu waṣfuhā liẓuhūri al-ʾasbābi wawujūdi al-ʾawāsiṭi? faqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: ﴿Allāhu alladhī khalaqakum thumma razaqakum thumma yumītukum thumma yuḥyīkum﴾ al-rūmi: 4, fakamā laysa fī al-thalāthi al-ʾukhari jāʿilun wamuẓhirun ʾillā al-wāḥidu, fakadhā laysa fī al-rābiʿati mina al-rizqi ʾillā huwa,

these four in a single bond, with wisdom and power set in order. How, then, could their ruling differ or their description be divided because causes appear and intermediaries exist? He said, glory and exaltation be His, “God is the One who created you, then provided for you, then causes you to die, then gives you life” (al-Rūm 4). Just as in the other three there is no agent who brings forth and manifests except the One, so in the fourth, provision, there is only He.

أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّكَ لَا تَقُولُ: خَلَقَنِي أَبِي وَإِنْ كَانَ هُوَ سَبَبَ خَلْقِكَ؟ وَلَا تَقُولُ: أَحْيَانِي وَأَمَاتَنِي فُلَانٌ وَإِنْ كَانَ أَوَاسِطَ فِي الْإِحْيَاءِ وَالْقَتْلِ، لِأَنَّ هَذَا شِرْكٌ ظَاهِرٌ اِشْتَهَرَ قُبْحُهُ فَتُرِكَ؟ وَلِذَلِكَ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا تُمْنُونَ﴾ ﴿أَأَنْتُمْ تَخْلُقُونَهُ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْخَالِقُونَ﴾ الْوَاقِعَةِ: 58–59، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا تَحْرُثُونَ﴾ ﴿أَأَنْتُمْ تَزْرَعُونَهُ أَمْ نَحْنُ الزَّارِعُونَ﴾ الْوَاقِعَةِ: 63–64،

ʾalā tarā ʾannaka lā taqūlu: khalaqanī ʾabī waʾin kāna huwa sababa khalqika? walā taqūlu: ʾaḥyānī waʾamātanī fulānun waʾin kāna ʾawāsiṭa fī al-ʾiḥyāʾi wa-al-qatli, liʾanna hādhā shirkun ẓāhirun ishtahara qubḥuhu faturika? wali-dhālika qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿ʾafaraʾaytum mā tumnūna﴾ ﴿ʾaʾantum takhluqūnahu ʾam naḥnu al-khāliqūna﴾ al-wāqiʿati: 58–59, wa-kadhālika qāla taʿālā: ﴿ʾafaraʾaytum mā taḥruthūna﴾ ﴿ʾaʾantum tazraʿūnahu ʾam naḥnu al-zāriʿūna﴾ al-wāqiʿati: 63–64,

Do you not see that you do not say, “My father created me,” even though he was the cause of your creation? Nor do you say, “So-and-so gave me life and caused me to die,” even if he served among the intermediaries in giving life and killing, since this is manifest association, whose ugliness is well known and which is therefore abandoned? Hence God Most High said, “Have you considered what you emit? Do you create it, or are We the Creator?” (al-Wāqiʿa 56:58–59). Likewise He said, exalted is He, “Have you considered what you till? Do you make it grow, or do We?” (al-Wāqiʿa 56:63–64).

فَأَضَافَ الْإِمْنَاءَ وَالْحَرْثَ إِلَيْنَا، لِأَنَّهَا أَعْمَالٌ وَنَحْنُ عَبِيدٌ عُمَّالٌ، وَلِأَنَّهَا صِفَاتُنَا وَأَحْكَامُهَا عَائِدَةٌ عَلَيْنَا، وَأَضَافَ الْخَلْقَ وَالزَّرْعَ إِلَيْهِ لِأَنَّهَا آيَاتٌ عَنْ قُدْرَتِهِ، وَحِكْمَتِهِ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْقَادِرُ الْحَكِيمُ، وَكَذَلِكَ كُلُّ مَا ذُكِرَ فِي الْكِتَابِ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ وَالِاكْتِسَابِ أُضِيفَ إِلَى الْجَوَارِحِ الْمُجْتَرِحَةِ، وَنُسِبَ إِلَى الْأَدَوَاتِ الْمُكْتَسِبَةِ، وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْقُدْرَةِ وَالْإِرَادَةِ وَصَفَ نَفْسَهُ بِهِ، لِأَنَّهُ الْمُرِيدُ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْقَادِرُ الْأَعْلَى، فَاِفْهَمْ عَنِ اللَّهِ خِطَابَهُ كَيْلَا يَزِيغَ قَلْبُكَ فِيمَا تَشَابَهَ،

faʾaḍāfa al-ʾimnāʾa wa-al-ḥartha ʾilaynā, liʾannahā ʾaʿmālun wanaḥnu ʿabīdun ʿummālun, waliʾannahā ṣifātunā waʾaḥkāmuhā ʿāʾidatun ʿalaynā, waʾaḍāfa al-khalqa wa-al-zarʿa ʾilayhi liʾannahā ʾāyātun ʿan qudratihi, waḥikmatihi wa-Allāhu huwa al-qādiru al-ḥakīmu, wa-kadhālika kullu mā dhukira fī al-kitābi mina al-ʾaʿmāli wa-al-iktisābi ʾuḍīfa ʾilā al-jawāriḥi al-mujtariḥati, wanusiba ʾilā al-ʾadawāti al-muktasibati, wamā kāna mina al-qudrati wa-al-ʾirādati waṣafa nafsahu bihi, liʾannahu al-murīdu al-ʾawwalu wa-al-qādiru al-ʾaʿlā, fa-ifham ʿani Allāhi khiṭābahu kaylā yazīgha qalbuka fīmā tashābaha,

He ascribed emission and tilling to us because they are actions and we are servants who act, and because they are our attributes, whose rulings return upon us. He ascribed creating and making crops grow to Himself because they are signs of His power and wisdom; God is the Powerful, the Wise. Likewise, every act and acquisition mentioned in the Book is ascribed to the limbs that perform it and attributed to the instruments that acquire it. What concerns power and will He attributes to Himself, for He is the first to will and the supremely powerful. Understand God's address, then, so your heart does not deviate amid what is ambiguous.

ثُمَّ قَدْ يَقُولُ الْعَبْدُ: أَعْطَانِي وَمَنَعَنِي فُلَانٌ لِأَنَّ هَذَا شِرْكٌ خَفِيٌّ، وَلِأَنَّ الْأَسْبَابَ تَظْهَرُ عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ، وَتَجْرِي بِأَوَاسِطِهِمْ، فَحُجِبُوا بِهَا عَنِ الْمُسَبِّبِ وَاِسْتَتَرَ عَنْهُمُ الْمُعْطِي الْمَانِعُ، فَقَبُحَ هَذَا أَيْضًا عِنْدَ الْمُوقِنِينَ كَقُبْحِ ذَاكَ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى نَفَى الرِّزْقَ عَنْ سِوَاهُ كَمَا نَفَى الْخَلْقَ، فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿هَلْ مِنْ خَالِقٍ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَرْزُقُكُمْ﴾ فَاطِرٍ: 3،

thumma qad yaqūlu al-ʿabdu: ʾaʿṭānī wamanaʿanī fulānun liʾanna hādhā shirkun khafiyyun, waliʾanna al-ʾasbāba taẓharu ʿalā ʾaydīhim, watajrī biʾawāsiṭihim, faḥujibū bihā ʿani al-musabbibi wa-istatara ʿanhumu al-muʿṭī al-māniʿu, faqabuḥa hādhā ʾayḍan ʿinda al-mūqinīna kaqubḥi dhāka, liʾanna Allāha taʿālā nafā al-rizqa ʿan siwāhu kamā nafā al-khalqa, faqāla taʿālā: ﴿hal min khāliqin ghayru Allāhi yarzuqukum﴾ fāṭirin: 3,

Yet the servant may say, “So-and-so gave to me or withheld from me,” because this is hidden association, and because causes appear through people's hands and operate through their intermediacy. They are thus veiled by them from the Causer, and the Giver and Withholder is concealed from them. To those who possess certainty this, too, is as ugly as the other, for God Most High denied provision to anyone besides Himself just as He denied creation, saying, exalted is He, “Is there any creator other than God who provides for you?” (Fāṭir 35:3).

وَلَمْ يَرُدَّ اللَّفْظَ عَلَى اللَّفْظِ وَإِنْ حَسُنَ فَيَقُولَ: يَخْلُقُكُمْ، لِأَنَّهُ أَرَادَ سُبْحَانَهُ أَنْ يُفِيدَنَا فَضْلَ بَيَانٍ وَيُعَلِّمَنَا اِقْتِرَانَ الرِّزْقِ بِالْخِلْقَةِ، وَأَنَّهُمَا مُسَبَّبَانِ عَنِ الْقُدْرَةِ، فَالْمُتَوَكِّلُ قَدْ أَيْقَنَ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ عَلَى اللَّهِ أَنْ يَخْلُقَهُ، فَلَمَّا خَلَقَهُ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَرْزُقَهُ، وَهَكَذَا رُوِيَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: أَأَخْلُقُ خَلْقًا وَلَا أَرْزُقُهُ؟ وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لَا مَانِعَ لِمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَلَا مُعْطِيَ لِمَا مَنَعْتَ وَلَا يَنْفَعُ ذَا الْجَدِّ مِنْكَ الْجَدُّ،

walam yarudda al-lafẓa ʿalā al-lafẓi waʾin ḥasuna fayaqūla: yakhluqukum, liʾannahu ʾarāda subḥānahu ʾan yufīdanā faḍla bayānin wayuʿallimanā iqtirāna al-rizqi bi-al-khilqati, waʾannahumā musabbabāni ʿani al-qudrati, fa-al-mutawakkilu qad ʾayqana ʾannahu lam yakun ʿalā Allāhi ʾan yakhluqahu, falammā khalaqahu kāna ʿalayhi ʾan yarzuqahu, wa-hākadhā ruwiya ʿani Allāhi taʿālā: ʾaʾakhluqu khalqan walā ʾarzuquhu? waqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: lā māniʿa limā ʾaʿṭayta walā muʿṭiya limā manaʿta walā yanfaʿu dhā al-jaddi minka al-jaddu,

He did not repeat the same expression, although it would have been fitting, by saying “who creates you.” For He wished, glory be His, to give us further clarification and teach us that provision accompanies creation and that both result from power. One who trusts is certain that God was not obliged to create him, but, having created him, undertook to provide for him. Thus it is related from God Most High: “Would I create a creature and not provide for it?” The Prophet said, God bless him and grant him peace, “None can withhold what You give; none can give what You withhold; and fortune does not avail the fortunate against You.”

رَدًّا عَلَيْهِمْ حِينَ قَالُوا: جَدِّي فِي كَذَا وَجَدِّي فِي كَذَا، يَعْنُونَ صُنُوفَ الْأَسْبَابِ، فَنَفَى ذَلِكَ بِقَوْلِهِ هَذَا فِي صَلَاتِهِ وَأَسْمَعَهُمْ إِيَّاهُ خَشْيَةَ دُخُولِ الشِّرْكِ عَلَيْهِمْ، أَيْ جَدُّ الْعَبْدِ لَا يَنْفَعُهُ مِنْكَ شَيْئًا، فَهَذَا كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا﴾ النَّجْمِ: 28.

raddan ʿalayhim ḥīna qālū: jaddī fī kadhā wajaddī fī kadhā, yaʿnūna ṣunūfa al-ʾasbābi, fanafā dhālika biqawlihi hādhā fī ṣalātihi waʾasmaʿahum ʾiyyāhu khashyata dukhūli al-shirki ʿalayhim, ʾay jaddu al-ʿabdi lā yanfaʿuhu minka shayʾan, fa-hādhā kamā qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿ʾinna al-ẓanna lā yughnī mina al-ḥaqqi shayʾan﴾ al-najmi: 28.

This answered those who said, “My fortune lies in this; my fortune lies in that,” meaning the various kinds of causes. He denied this through these words in his prayer, letting them hear it for fear that association might enter into them. That is, the servant's fortune avails him nothing against You. This resembles God's saying, exalted is He, “Conjecture avails nothing against truth” (al-Najm 53:28).

قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِي مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ: مَنْ جَدَّ فِي الطَّلَبِ وَحَرَصَ وَجَدَ مِنْكَ الْمَنْعَ لَمْ يَنْفَعْهُ جِدُّهُ فِي طَلَبِهِ وَحِرْصِهِ شَيْئًا، وَقَالَ أَيْضًا فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَيَمْحُو اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيُثْبِتُ﴾ الرَّعْدِ: 39، قَالَ: يَمْحُو الْأَسْبَابَ مِنْ قُلُوبِ الْعَارِفِينَ وَيُثْبِتُ الْقُدْرَةَ، وَيَمْحُو الْمُشَاهَدَةَ مِنْ قُلُوبِ الْغَافِلِينَ وَيُثْبِتُ الْأَسْبَابَ فِي صُدُورِهِمْ،

qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi fī maʿnā dhālika: man jadda fī al-ṭalabi waḥaraṣa wajada minka al-manʿa lam yanfaʿhu jidduhu fī ṭalabihi waḥirṣihi shayʾan, waqāla ʾayḍan fī maʿnā qawli Allāhi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿wayamḥū Allāhu mā yashāʾu wayuthbitu﴾ al-raʿdi: 39, qāla: yamḥū al-ʾasbāba min qulūbi al-ʿārifīna wayuthbitu al-qudrata, wayamḥū al-mushāhadata min qulūbi al-ghāfilīna wayuthbitu al-ʾasbāba fī ṣudūrihim,

One scholar explained: “Whoever strives earnestly and eagerly in seeking, but encounters withholding from You, gains nothing from the earnestness of his seeking and eagerness.” He also explained God's words, mighty and majestic is He, “God erases what He wills and confirms” (al-Raʿd 13:39): “He erases causes from the knowers' hearts and confirms power; He erases witnessing from heedless hearts and establishes causes within their breasts.”

وَقَالَ هَذَا أَيْضًا: خَلَقَ اللَّهُ النَّفْسَ مُتَحَرِّكَةً ثُمَّ أَمَرَهَا بِالسُّكُونِ، وَهَذَا هُوَ الِابْتِلَاءُ، فَإِنْ تَدَارَكَهَا بِالْعِصْمَةِ سَكَنَتْ وَهَذَا خُصُوصٌ، وَإِنْ تَرَكَهَا تَحَرَّكَتْ بِطَبْعِهَا وَجِبِلَّتِهَا وَهَذَا هُوَ الْخُذْلَانُ، وَفِي وَصِيَّةِ لُقْمَانَ لِاِبْنِهِ: يَا بُنَيَّ، اُرْدُدْ رَغْبَتَكَ إِلَى اللَّهِ، إِنْ شَاءَ أَعْطَاكَ وَإِنْ شَاءَ مَنَعَكَ، فَإِنَّ حِيلَتَكَ لَنْ تَزِيدَكَ وَلَنْ

waqāla hādhā ʾayḍan: khalaqa Allāhu al-nafsa mutaḥarrikatan thumma ʾamarahā bi-al-sukūni, wa-hādhā huwa al-ibtilāʾu, faʾin tadārakahā bi-al-ʿiṣmati sakanat wa-hādhā khuṣūṣun, waʾin tarakahā taḥarrakat biṭabʿihā wajibillatihā wa-hādhā huwa al-khudhlānu, wafī waṣiyyati luqmāna li-ibnihi: yā bunayya, urdud raghbataka ʾilā Allāhi, ʾin shāʾa ʾaʿṭāka waʾin shāʾa manaʿaka, faʾinna ḥīlataka lan tazīdaka walan

The same man also said, “God created the self in motion, then commanded it to be still. This is the trial. If He comes to its aid with protection, it becomes still: this is special favor. If He leaves it, it moves according to its nature and innate disposition: this is abandonment.” In Luqmān's counsel to his son: “My son, turn your desire back to God. If He wills, He will give to you; if He wills, He will withhold from you. Your ingenuity will neither increase you nor

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ١٨

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 18

Volume Two, page 18

تَنْقُصَكَ مِنْ قِسْمَةِ اللَّهِ الَّتِي قَسَمَ لَكَ، وَاِعْتَبِرْ رِزْقَكَ بِخَلْقِكَ، فَإِنِ اِسْتَطَعْتَ أَنْ تَزِيدَ فِي خَلْقِكَ بِحِيلَتِكَ فَإِنَّكَ إِذًا تَزِيدُ فِي رِزْقِكَ، وَإِلَّا فَاِعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الَّذِي عَدَّلَ الْخَلْقَ وَقَسَمَ الرِّزْقَ، فَلَنْ تَسْتَطِيعَ أَنْ تَزِيدَ فِي أَحَدٍ مِنْهَا، فَإِنَّ مِنْهُمُ الْمُحْتَالَ الْجَلْدَ الْبَطُوشَ وَلَا يَزْدَادُ إِلَّا فَقْرًا، وَمِنْهُمُ الْمُعْيِيَ الْوَاهِنَ الْمَهِينَ وَلَا يَزْدَادُ مَالُهُ إِلَّا كَثْرَةً، وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنَ الْحِيلَةِ لَسَبَقَ الْقَوِيُّ الضَّعِيفَ إِلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَخْلُقُ وَيَرْزُقُ وَلَا يَمْلِكُ الْعِبَادُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا،

tanquṣaka min qismati Allāhi allatī qasama laka, wa-iʿtabir rizqaka bikhalqika, faʾini istaṭaʿta ʾan tazīda fī khalqika biḥīlatika faʾinnaka ʾidhan tazīdu fī rizqika, waʾillā fa-iʿlam ʾanna Allāha huwa alladhī ʿaddala al-khalqa waqasama al-rizqa, falan tastaṭīʿa ʾan tazīda fī ʾaḥadin minhā, faʾinna minhumu al-muḥtāla al-jalda al-baṭūsha walā yazdādu ʾillā faqran, waminhumu al-muʿyiya al-wāhina al-mahīna walā yazdādu māluhu ʾillā kathratan, walaw kāna mina al-ḥīlati lasabaqa al-qawiyyu al-ḍaʿīfa ʾilā kulli shayʾin, wa-lākinna Allāha yakhluqu wayarzuqu walā yamliku al-ʿibādu min dhālika shayʾan,

decrease you in the portion God has allotted you. Judge your provision by your creation: if your ingenuity can add to your created form, then it can add to your provision. Otherwise, know that God is the One who fashioned creation proportionately and divided provision, and you cannot add to any of it. Among people are the resourceful, hardy, forceful, who only grow poorer; among them are the exhausted, frail, and lowly, whose wealth only grows more abundant. If it depended on ingenuity, the strong would precede the weak in everything. But God creates and provides, and the servants control none of it.”

وَهَكَذَا حَكَى أَنَّ بَعْضَ الْأَكَاسِرَةِ سَأَلَ حَكِيمًا فِي زَمَانِهِ فَقَالَ: مَا بَالِي أَرَى الْعَاقِلَ مَحْرُومًا وَالْأَحْمَقَ مَرْزُوقًا؟ فَقَالَ: أَرَادَ الصَّانِعُ أَنْ يَدُلَّ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ، وَلَوْ كَانَ كُلُّ عَاقِلٍ مَرْزُوقًا، وَكُلُّ أَحْمَقَ مَحْرُومًا، لَوَقَعَ فِي الْعُقُولِ، إِنَّ الْعَاقِلَ يَرْزُقُ نَفْسَهُ وَالْأَحْمَقَ حَرَمَ نَفْسَهُ، فَلَمَّا رَأَوُا الْأَمْرَ بِخِلَافِ هَذَا عَلِمُوا أَنَّ الصَّانِعَ هُوَ الرَّازِقُ.

wa-hākadhā ḥakā ʾanna baʿḍa al-ʾakāsirati saʾala ḥakīman fī zamānihi faqāla: mā bālī ʾarā al-ʿāqila maḥrūman wa-al-ʾaḥmaqa marzūqan? faqāla: ʾarāda al-ṣāniʿu ʾan yadulla ʿalā nafsihi, walaw kāna kullu ʿāqilin marzūqan, wakullu ʾaḥmaqa maḥrūman, lawaqaʿa fī al-ʿuqūli, ʾinna al-ʿāqila yarzuqu nafsahu wa-al-ʾaḥmaqa ḥarama nafsahu, falammā raʾawu al-ʾamra bikhilāfi hādhā ʿalimū ʾanna al-ṣāniʿa huwa al-rāziqu.

Thus he related that one of the Persian kings asked a sage of his time, “Why do I see the intelligent deprived and the fool provided for?” He replied, “The Maker wished to make Himself known. If every intelligent person were provided for and every fool deprived, people would suppose that the intelligent person provided for himself and the fool deprived himself. When they saw things turn out otherwise, they knew that the Maker is the Provider.”

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ اِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ: فِي إِعْطَاءِ هَذَا الْمَالِ فِتْنَةٌ، وَفِي مَنْعِهِ فِتْنَةٌ، إِنْ أُعْطِيَهُ عَبْدٌ مَدَحَ غَيْرَ الَّذِي أَعْطَاهُ، وَإِنْ مُنِعَهُ عَبْدٌ ذَمَّ غَيْرَ الَّذِي مَنَعَهُ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَاهُ فِي حَدِيثِ مُطَرِّفٍ عَنْ بَعْضِ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ خَطَبَ فَقَالَ: أَلَا إِنَّ فِي إِعْطَاءِ هَذَا الْمَالِ فِتْنَةً، وَفِي مَنْعِهِ فِتْنَةً، يَغْدُو الرَّجُلُ إِلَى اِبْنِ عَمِّهِ فَيَسْأَلُهُ الْحَاجَةَ الَّتِي قَدْ كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ لَهُ فَلَا يَمْلِكُ مَنْعَهُ فَيُعْطِيهِ مَا كُتِبَ لَهُ فَيَظَلُّ يَشْكُرُهُ وَيُثْنِي عَلَيْهِ بِهَا خَيْرًا،

warawaynā ʿani ibni masʿūdin: fī ʾiʿṭāʾi hādhā al-māli fitnatun, wafī manʿihi fitnatun, ʾin ʾuʿṭiyahu ʿabdun madaḥa ghayra alladhī ʾaʿṭāhu, waʾin muniʿahu ʿabdun dhamma ghayra alladhī manaʿahu, waqad rawaynā maʿnāhu fī ḥadīthi muṭarrifin ʿan baʿḍi ʾaṣḥābi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu khaṭaba faqāla: ʾalā ʾinna fī ʾiʿṭāʾi hādhā al-māli fitnatan, wafī manʿihi fitnatan, yaghdū al-rajulu ʾilā ibni ʿammihi fayasʾaluhu al-ḥājata allatī qad katabahā Allāhu lahu falā yamliku manʿahu fayuʿṭīhi mā kutiba lahu fayaẓallu yashkuruhu wayuthnī ʿalayhi bihā khayran,

We have related from Ibn Masʿūd: “There is a trial in giving this wealth and a trial in withholding it. If a servant is given it, he praises someone other than the One who gave it; if it is withheld, he blames someone other than the One who withheld it.” We have related its meaning in Muṭarrif's report from one of the Prophet's Companions, God bless him and grant him peace, that he delivered a sermon, saying: “There is indeed a trial in giving this wealth and a trial in withholding it. A man goes to his cousin and asks for the need God has assigned him. The cousin cannot withhold it, so gives him what was assigned, and the man keeps thanking him and speaking well of him for it.

ثُمَّ يَعُودُ إِلَيْهِ الْعَامَ الْمُقْبِلَ فَيَسْأَلُهُ الْحَاجَةَ الَّتِي لَمْ يَكْتُبْهَا اللَّهُ لَهُ فَلَا يَمْلِكُ أَنْ يُعْطِيَهُ كَمَا لَمْ يَمْلِكْ فِي الْعَامِ الْأَوَّلِ أَنْ يَمْنَعَهُ فَيَمْنَعُهُ مَا لَمْ يُكْتَبْ لَهُ، فَيَرْجِعُ فَيَحْتَقِبُهَا عَلَيْهِ ذَنْبًا، وَيُثْنِي عَلَيْهِ بِهَا شَرًّا، إِلَّا أَنَّ فِي إِعْطَاءِ هَذَا الْمَالِ فِتْنَةً وَفِي مَنْعِهِ فِتْنَةً، وَاللَّفْظُ لِلْخَبَرِ وَلَمْ آلُ، يَعْنِي بِالْفِتْنَةِ الِاخْتِبَارَ، وَصَدَقَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، يُخْتَبَرُ بِذَلِكَ الْمُوقِنُونَ لِلْخَيْرِ وَالْغَافِلُونَ لِيَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ يَعْمَلُونَ،

thumma yaʿūdu ʾilayhi al-ʿāma al-muqbila fayasʾaluhu al-ḥājata allatī lam yaktubhā Allāhu lahu falā yamliku ʾan yuʿṭiyahu kamā lam yamlik fī al-ʿāmi al-ʾawwali ʾan yamnaʿahu fayamnaʿuhu mā lam yuktab lahu, fayarjiʿu fayaḥtaqibuhā ʿalayhi dhanban, wayuthnī ʿalayhi bihā sharran, ʾillā ʾanna fī ʾiʿṭāʾi hādhā al-māli fitnatan wafī manʿihi fitnatan, wa-al-lafẓu li-l-khabari walam ʾālu, yaʿnī bi-al-fitnati al-ikhtibāra, waṣadaqa ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, yukhtabaru bi-dhālika al-mūqinūna li-l-khayri wa-al-ghāfilūna liyanẓura kayfa yaʿmalūna,

Then he returns the following year and asks for the need God has not assigned him. The cousin cannot give it, just as in the first year he could not withhold it. He withholds what was not assigned, and the man returns, storing it up against him as a fault and speaking ill of him for it. Except that there is a trial in giving this wealth and a trial in withholding it.” The wording belongs to the report, and I have spared no effort. “Trial” means testing. He spoke truly, God bless him and grant him peace: through this the people of certainty are tested for good, and the heedless are tested, so that He may see how they act.

فَأَمَّا أَهْلُ الْيَقِينِ فَيَعْتَبِرُونَ بِالْأَسْبَابِ وَيَعْجَبُونَ مِنَ التَّسَبُّبِ فَيَزْدَادُونَ بِذَلِكَ هُدًى وَإِيمَانًا لِشُهُودِهِمُ الْمُعْطِيَ الْمَانِعَ وَاحِدًا فِي الْعَطَاءِ وَالْمَنْعِ، وَلِمَعْرِفَتِهِمْ بِجَرَيَانِ الْحِكْمَةِ فِيمَا جَادَتْ بِهِ الشَّرِيعَةُ ثَبَتَ لَهُمْ مَقَامَانِ: الشُّكْرُ لَهُ وَالصَّبْرُ عَلَيْهِ، وَأَمَّا الْغَافِلُونَ فَيَضْطَرِبُونَ لِذَلِكَ وَيَثْبُتُونَ بِنَظَرِهِمْ إِلَى الْأَسْبَابِ وَالْأَيْدِي، فَيَمْدَحُونَ الْمُعْطِينَ وَيَذُمُّونَ الْمَانِعِينَ عِنْدَهُمْ فَيَنْقُصُونَ ذَلِكَ، فَقَدْ صَارَ الْمَالُ فِتْنَةً لِلْفَرِيقَيْنِ يَكْشِفُ إِيمَانَهُمْ وَتُمْتَحَنُ لِلتَّقْوَى قُلُوبُهُمْ،

faʾammā ʾahlu al-yaqīni fayaʿtabirūna bi-al-ʾasbābi wayaʿjabūna mina al-tasabbubi fayazdādūna bi-dhālika hudan waʾīmānan lishuhūdihimu al-muʿṭiya al-māniʿa wāḥidan fī al-ʿaṭāʾi wa-al-manʿi, walimaʿrifatihim bijarayāni al-ḥikmati fīmā jādat bihi al-sharīʿatu thabata lahum maqāmāni: al-shukru lahu wa-al-ṣabru ʿalayhi, waʾammā al-ghāfilūna fayaḍṭaribūna li-dhālika wayathbutūna binaẓarihim ʾilā al-ʾasbābi wa-al-ʾaydī, fayamdaḥūna al-muʿṭīna wayadhummūna al-māniʿīna ʿindahum fayanquṣūna dhālika, faqad ṣāra al-mālu fitnatan li-l-farīqayni yakshifu ʾīmānahum watumtaḥanu li-l-taqwā qulūbuhum,

The people of certainty take instruction from causes and marvel at how they are brought about. Thus they grow in guidance and faith, witnessing the Giver and Withholder as one in giving and withholding. Through knowing how wisdom operates in what the Law has bestowed, two stations become established for them: gratitude to Him and patience with Him. The heedless, however, become unsettled by this and remain fixed through looking at causes and hands. They praise those they regard as givers and blame those they regard as withholders, thereby diminishing that. Wealth thus becomes a trial for both groups, revealing their faith and testing their hearts for God-fearingness.

وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَهُمُّ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ بِالْأَمْرِ مِنْ أُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ التِّجَارَةِ وَغَيْرِهَا الَّذِي لَوْ فَعَلَهُ كَانَ فِيهِ هَلَكَتُهُ، فَيَنْظُرُ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ فَوْقِ عَرْشِهِ فَيَصْرِفُهُ عَنْهُ فَيُصْبِحُ كَئِيبًا حَزِينًا يَتَطَيَّرُ بِجَارِهِ وَبِاِبْنِ عَمِّهِ: مَنْ سَبَقَنِي؟ مَنْ دَهَانِي؟ وَمَا هُوَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ بِهَا، وَعَنِ اِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: مِنَ الْإِخْلَاصِ أَنْ لَا تُحِبَّ أَنْ يَحْمَدَكَ النَّاسُ عَلَى عِبَادَةِ اللَّهِ وَأَنْ لَا تَمْدَحَهُمْ عَلَى مَا رَزَقَكَ اللَّهُ.

wa-kadhālika jāʾa fī al-khabari: ʾinna al-ʿabda layahummu mina al-layli bi-al-ʾamri min ʾumūri al-dunyā mina al-tijārati waghayrihā alladhī law faʿalahu kāna fīhi halakatuhu, fayanẓuru Allāhu ʾilayhi min fawqi ʿarshihi fayaṣrifuhu ʿanhu fayuṣbiḥu kaʾīban ḥazīnan yataṭayyaru bijārihi wabi-ibni ʿammihi: man sabaqanī? man dahānī? wamā huwa ʾillā raḥmatun raḥimahu Allāhu bihā, waʿani ibni masʿūdin ʾannahu qāla: mina al-ʾikhlāṣi ʾan lā tuḥibba ʾan yaḥmadaka al-nāsu ʿalā ʿibādati Allāhi waʾan lā tamdaḥahum ʿalā mā razaqaka Allāhu.

Likewise a report says, “At night a servant may contemplate some worldly undertaking, in trade or elsewhere, which would destroy him if he carried it out. God looks upon him from above His Throne and turns him away from it. He awakes dejected and sorrowful, taking his neighbor and cousin as ill omens: ‘Who got ahead of me? Who brought this calamity upon me?’ Yet it is nothing but a mercy God has shown him.” Ibn Masʿūd said, “Part of sincerity is not liking people to praise you for worshiping God, and not praising them for what God has provided you.”

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَعَنِ اِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ وَغَيْرِهِ: أَنَّ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ أَنْ لَا تَحْمَدَ أَحَدًا عَلَى مَا أَعْطَاكَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَذُمَّهُ عَلَى مَا لَمْ يُؤْتِكَ اللَّهُ، وَقَالَ: الصَّبْرُ نِصْفُ الْإِيمَانِ وَالشُّكْرُ نِصْفُ الْإِيمَانِ، وَالْيَقِينُ الْإِيمَانُ كُلُّهُ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ الْإِفْكِ الَّذِي رَوَاهُ مَعْمَرُ بْنُ

waqad rawaynā ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu waʿani ibni masʿūdin waghayrihi: ʾanna mina al-yaqīni ʾan lā taḥmada ʾaḥadan ʿalā mā ʾaʿṭāka Allāhu walā tadhummahu ʿalā mā lam yuʾtika Allāhu, waqāla: al-ṣabru niṣfu al-ʾīmāni wa-al-shukru niṣfu al-ʾīmāni, wa-al-yaqīnu al-ʾīmānu kulluhu, wafī ḥadīthi al-ʾifki alladhī rawāhu maʿmaru bnu

We have related from Jesus, peace be upon him, and from Ibn Masʿūd and others, that part of certainty is praising no one for what God gives you and blaming no one for what God does not give you. He said, “Patience is half of faith, gratitude is half of faith, and certainty is faith in its entirety.” In the report of the slander transmitted by Maʿmar ibn

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ١٩

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 19

Volume Two, page 19

أَبَانَ عَنْ حَمْدَانَ الزُّهْرِيِّ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ: فَقَامَ إِلَيَّ أَبَوَايَ فَقَبَّلَانِي فِي صُدُورِهِمَا فَقُلْتُ: بِغَيْرِ حَمْدِكُمَا وَلَا حَمْدِ صَاحِبِكُمَا، أَحْمَدُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى الَّذِي عَزَّزَنِي وَبَرَّأَنِي، وَفِي حَدِيثِ غَيْرِهِ فَقَالَ لَهَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ: قُومِي فَقَبِّلِي رَأْسَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَالَتْ: وَاللَّهِ لَا أَفْعَلُ وَلَا أَحْمَدُ إِلَّا اللَّهَ، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: دَعْهَا يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ،

ʾabāna ʿan ḥamdāna al-zuhriyyi ʿan ʿurwata ʿan ʿāʾishata raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā ʾannahā qālat: faqāma ʾilayya ʾabawāya faqabbalānī fī ṣudūrihimā faqultu: bighayri ḥamdikumā walā ḥamdi ṣāḥibikumā, ʾaḥmadu Allāha taʿālā alladhī ʿazzazanī wabarraʾanī, wafī ḥadīthi ghayrihi faqāla lahā ʾabū bakrin: qūmī faqabbilī raʾsa rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, faqālat: wa-Allāhi lā ʾafʿalu walā ʾaḥmadu ʾillā Allāha, faqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: daʿhā yā ʾabā bakrin,

Abān, from Ḥamdān al-Zuhrī, from ʿUrwa, from ʿĀʾisha, God be pleased with her, she said: “My parents rose toward me and kissed me against their breasts. I said, ‘With no praise for you or for your companion, I praise God Most High, who strengthened and vindicated me.’” In another transmitter's report, Abū Bakr said to her, “Rise and kiss the head of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace.” She replied, “By God, I will not, and I praise none but God.” The Prophet said, God bless him and grant him peace, “Leave her, Abū Bakr.”

فَهَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي الَّتِي قَدَّمْنَاهَا تَكُونُ مِنْ ضَعْفِ الْيَقِينِ، وَنُقْصَانِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، فَإِذَا اِنْطَوَتْ فِي سِرِّ الْعَبْدِ وَخَلَدِهِ وَكَثُرَتْ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ وَفِعْلِهِ أَذْهَبَتْ حَقِيقَةَ الْإِيمَانِ، كَمَا قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ: إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَخْرُجُ مِنْ مَنْزِلِهِ وَمَعَهُ إِيمَانُهُ فَيَرْجِعُ إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِ وَلَيْسَ مَعَهُ مِنْ إِيمَانِهِ شَيْءٌ، يَلْقَى الرَّجُلَ لَا يَمْلِكُ لَهُ ضَرًّا وَلَا نَفْعًا، فَيَقُولُ: إِنَّكَ لَذَيْتَ وَذَيْتَ، وَيَلْقَى الْآخَرَ كَذَلِكَ حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِ، وَلَعَلَّهُ لَمْ يَخْلُ مِنْهُ بِشَيْءٍ وَقَدْ أَسْخَطَ اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ.

fa-hādhihi al-maʿānī allatī qaddamnāhā takūnu min ḍaʿfi al-yaqīni, wanuqṣāni al-maʿrifati, faʾidhā inṭawat fī sirri al-ʿabdi wakhaladihi wakathurat min qawlihi wafiʿlihi ʾadhhabat ḥaqīqata al-ʾīmāni, kamā qāla ʿabdu Allāhi: ʾinna al-ʿabda layakhruju min manzilihi wamaʿahu ʾīmānuhu fayarjiʿu ʾilā manzilihi walaysa maʿahu min ʾīmānihi shayʾun, yalqā al-rajula lā yamliku lahu ḍarran walā nafʿan, fayaqūlu: ʾinnaka ladhayta wadhayta, wayalqā al-ʾākhara kadhālika ḥattā yarjiʿa ʾilā manzilihi, walaʿallahu lam yakhlu minhu bishayʾin waqad ʾaskhaṭa Allāha ʿalayhi.

These dispositions we have described arise from weak certainty and deficient knowledge. When they become lodged in the servant's innermost consciousness and recur in his speech and action, they remove the reality of faith. As ʿAbd Allāh said, “A servant leaves home with his faith and returns with none of it. He meets a man who controls neither harm nor benefit for him, and says, ‘You are truly such-and-such.’ He meets another and does the same, until he returns home. Perhaps he has not been free of him in anything, yet he has drawn God's displeasure upon himself.”

وَسُئِلَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا عَنْ مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ الْمَنْقُولِ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ: مَنْ تَوَاضَعَ لِغَنِيٍّ ذَهَبَ ثُلُثَا دِينِهِ، فَقَالَ: لِأَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ عَقْدٌ وَفِعْلٌ وَقَوْلٌ، فَإِذَا تَوَاضَعَ لِلْغَنِيِّ لِأَجْلِ دُنْيَاهُ بِالثَّنَاءِ وَالْحَرَكَةِ إِلَيْهِ، ذَهَبَ ثُلُثَا إِيمَانِهِ وَبَقِيَ الثُّلُثُ وَهُوَ الْعَقْدُ، فَإِنْ جَعَلْتَ الْأَوَاسِطَ فِي الرِّزْقِ أَوَائِلَ فِي الْجَعْلِ لِثُبُوتِهَا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ أَظْهَرَهَا أَسْبَابًا وَأَثْبَتَ نَفْسَهُ فِيهَا،

wasuʾila baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā ʿan maʿnā al-khabari al-manqūli mina al-tawrāti: man tawāḍaʿa lighaniyyin dhahaba thuluthā dīnihi, faqāla: liʾanna al-ʾīmāna ʿaqdun wafiʿlun waqawlun, faʾidhā tawāḍaʿa li-l-ghaniyyi liʾajli dunyāhu bi-al-thanāʾi wa-al-ḥarakati ʾilayhi, dhahaba thuluthā ʾīmānihi wabaqiya al-thuluthu wahuwa al-ʿaqdu, faʾin jaʿalta al-ʾawāsiṭa fī al-rizqi ʾawāʾila fī al-jaʿli lithubūtihā faʾinna Allāha taʿālā qad ʾaẓharahā ʾasbāban waʾathbata nafsahu fīhā,

One of our scholars was asked about the meaning of the report transmitted from the Torah: “Whoever humbles himself before a rich person loses two-thirds of his religion.” He answered, “Because faith is conviction, action, and speech. If he humbles himself before the wealthy for their worldly possessions, praising them and going toward them, two-thirds of his faith depart, while one-third remains: conviction.” If you treat intermediaries in provision as first agents in bringing things about because they are established, God Most High has indeed manifested them as causes and affirmed Himself within them.

فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿قُلْ يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ الَّذِي وُكِّلَ بِكُمْ﴾ السَّجْدَةِ: 11، ثُمَّ رَفَعَهُ وَأَظْهَرَ نَفْسَهُ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿اللَّهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنْفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا﴾ الزُّمَرِ: 42، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ: ﴿أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا تَحْرُثُونَ﴾ الْوَاقِعَةِ: 63، فَذَكَرَ الْأَوَاسِطَ ثُمَّ قَالَ: ﴿أَنَّا صَبَبْنَا الْمَاءَ صَبًّا﴾ ﴿ثُمَّ شَقَقْنَا الْأَرْضَ شَقًّا﴾ عَبَسَ: 25–26،

faqāla taʿālā: ﴿qul yatawaffākum malaku al-mawti alladhī wukkila bikum﴾ al-sajdati: 11, thumma rafaʿahu waʾaẓhara nafsahu faqāla taʿālā: ﴿Allāhu yatawaffā al-ʾanfusa ḥīna mawtihā﴾ al-zumari: 42, wa-kadhālika qāla: ﴿ʾafaraʾaytum mā taḥruthūna﴾ al-wāqiʿati: 63, fadhakara al-ʾawāsiṭa thumma qāla: ﴿ʾannā ṣababnā al-māʾa ṣabban﴾ ﴿thumma shaqaqnā al-ʾarḍa shaqqan﴾ ʿabasa: 25–26,

He said, exalted is He, “Say: The angel of death entrusted with you takes you” (al-Sajda 32:11). Then He removed him from view and manifested Himself, saying, exalted is He, “God takes souls at their death” (al-Zumar 39:42). Likewise He said, “Have you considered what you till?” (al-Wāqiʿa 56:63), mentioning the intermediaries, then said, “We poured down water abundantly,” “then split the earth open” (ʿAbasa 80:25–26).

وَقَالَ فِي التَّفْصِيلِ: ﴿فَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا﴾ مَرْيَمَ: 17، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى فِي التَّوْحِيدِ: ﴿فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ رُوحِنَا﴾ الْاَنْبِيَاءِ: 91، وَكَانَ النَّافِخُ جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿فَإِذَا قَرَأْنَاهُ فَاِتَّبِعْ قُرْآنَهُ﴾ الْقِيَامَةِ: 18. قَالَ أَهْلُ التَّفْسِيرِ: فَإِذَا قَرَأَهُ عَلَيْكَ جِبْرِيلُ فَخُذْهُ عَنْهُ بَعْدَ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿لَا تُحَرِّكْ بِهِ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعْجَلَ بِهِ﴾ الْقِيَامَةِ: 16،

waqāla fī al-tafṣīli: ﴿faʾarsalnā ʾilayhā rūḥanā﴾ maryama: 17, thumma qāla taʿālā fī al-tawḥīdi: ﴿fanafakhnā fīhā min rūḥinā﴾ al-ʾanbiyāʾi: 91, wakāna al-nāfikhu jibrīla ʿalayhi al-salāmu, kamā qāla taʿālā: ﴿faʾidhā qaraʾnāhu fa-ittabiʿ qurʾānahu﴾ al-qiyāmati: 18. qāla ʾahlu al-tafsīri: faʾidhā qaraʾahu ʿalayka jibrīlu fakhudhhu ʿanhu baʿda qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿lā tuḥarrik bihi lisānaka litaʿjala bihi﴾ al-qiyāmati: 16,

Speaking in terms of differentiation, He said, “We sent to her Our spirit” (Maryam 19:17); then, speaking in terms of unity, He said, exalted is He, “We breathed into her of Our spirit” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:91), although the one who breathed was Gabriel, peace be upon him. Likewise He said, exalted is He, “When We recite it, follow its recitation” (al-Qiyāma 75:18). The exegetes said: “When Gabriel recites it to you, receive it from him,” after His saying, exalted is He, “Do not move your tongue with it to hasten it” (al-Qiyāma 75:16).

وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ جِبْرِيلُ: لِأَهَبَ لَكِ غُلَامًا زَكِيًّا، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَهَبَ لَهُ أَنْ يَهَبَ لَهَا، فَذَكَرَ نَفْسَهُ وَهُوَ يَشْهَدُ رَبَّهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ فِي الْحَرْفِ الْآخَرِ: لِيَهَبَ لَكِ يَعْنِي اللَّهَ تَعَالَى، وَمِثْلُهُ قَوْلُ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: لَا أَمْلِكُ إِلَّا نَفْسِي وَأَخِي، لِأَجْلِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَالَ: ﴿وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ مِنْ رَحْمَتِنَا أَخَاهُ﴾ مَرْيَمَ: 53، وَهُوَ فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ لَا يَمْلِكُ نَفْسَهُ وَلَا أَخَاهُ إِذْ لَا مَالِكَ أَصْلًا إِلَّا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ،

wa-kadhālika qāla jibrīlu: liʾahaba laki ghulāman zakiyyan, liʾanna Allāha taʿālā wahaba lahu ʾan yahaba lahā, fadhakara nafsahu wahuwa yashhadu rabbahu thumma qāla fī al-ḥarfi al-ʾākhari: liyahaba laki yaʿnī Allāha taʿālā, wamithluhu qawlu mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: lā ʾamliku ʾillā nafsī waʾakhī, liʾajli ʾanna Allāha taʿālā qāla: ﴿wawahabnā lahu min raḥmatinā ʾakhāhu﴾ maryama: 53, wahuwa fī al-ḥaqīqati lā yamliku nafsahu walā ʾakhāhu ʾidh lā mālika ʾaṣlan ʾillā Allāhu ʿazza wajalla,

Likewise Gabriel said, “That I may give you a pure boy,” because God Most High granted him the giving to her. He mentioned himself while witnessing his Lord. In the other reading he said, “That He may give you,” meaning God Most High. Similar is Moses's saying, peace be upon him, “I have control only over myself and my brother,” because God Most High said, “We granted him, of Our mercy, his brother” (Maryam 19:53). In reality he controls neither himself nor his brother, for there is no owner at all except God, mighty and majestic is He.

وَهَذَا عَلَى أَحَدِ الْوَجْهَيْنِ إِذَا كَانَ وَأَخِي فِي مَوْضِعِ نَصْبٍ، وَالْوَجْهُ الْآخَرُ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَوْلُهُ وَأَخِي فِي مَوْضِعِ رَفْعٍ فَيَكُونُ الْمَعْنَى وَأَخِي أَيْضًا لَا يَمْلِكُ إِلَّا نَفْسَهُ، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ فِي التَّفْصِيلِ وَالْأَمْرِ: ﴿اُقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ﴾ التَّوْبَةِ: 5، وَقَالَ فِي مِثْلِهِ مِنْ ذِكْرِ وَاسِطَةِ الْأَمْرِ: ﴿قَاتِلُوهُمْ يُعَذِّبْهُمُ اللَّهُ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ﴾ التَّوْبَةِ: 14،

wa-hādhā ʿalā ʾaḥadi al-wajhayni ʾidhā kāna waʾakhī fī mawḍiʿi naṣbin, wa-al-wajhu al-ʾākharu ʾan yakūna qawluhu waʾakhī fī mawḍiʿi rafʿin fayakūnu al-maʿnā waʾakhī ʾayḍan lā yamliku ʾillā nafsahu, wa-kadhālika qāla subḥānahu fī al-tafṣīli wa-al-ʾamri: ﴿uqtulū al-mushrikīna﴾ al-tawbati: 5, waqāla fī mithlihi min dhikri wāsiṭati al-ʾamri: ﴿qātilūhum yuʿadhdhibhumu Allāhu biʾaydīkum﴾ al-tawbati: 14,

This follows one of the two grammatical analyses, when “and my brother” occupies an accusative position. The other analysis gives “and my brother” a nominative position, making the meaning, “My brother, too, controls only himself.” Likewise He said, glory be His, in differentiation and command, “Kill the associators” (al-Tawba 9:5). Similarly, mentioning an intermediary of the command, He said, “Fight them; God will punish them by your hands” (al-Tawba 9:14).

ثُمَّ قَالَ فِي التَّوْحِيدِ: ﴿فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ﴾ الْأَنْفَالِ: 71، وَقَالَ فِي إِثْبَاتِ الْأَسْبَابِ وَرَفْعِ حَقَائِقِهَا: ﴿وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمَى﴾ الْأَنْفَالِ: 17، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي ذِكْرِ الْأَوَاسِطِ: ﴿فَلَا تُعْجِبْكَ أَمْوَالُهُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُهُمْ إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ

thumma qāla fī al-tawḥīdi: ﴿falam taqtulūhum wa-lākinna Allāha qatalahum﴾ al-ʾanfāli: 71, waqāla fī ʾithbāti al-ʾasbābi warafʿi ḥaqāʾiqihā: ﴿wamā ramayta ʾidh ramayta wa-lākinna Allāha ramā﴾ al-ʾanfāli: 17, waqāla taʿālā fī dhikri al-ʾawāsiṭi: ﴿falā tuʿjibka ʾamwāluhum walā ʾawlāduhum ʾinnamā yurīdu Allāhu

Then, in unity, He said, “You did not kill them, but God killed them” (al-Anfāl 71). Affirming causes while removing their independent reality, He said, “You did not throw when you threw, but God threw” (al-Anfāl 8:17). And, mentioning intermediaries, He said, exalted is He, “Let neither their wealth nor their children impress you. God only desires

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٠

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 20

Volume Two, page 20

لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ بِهَا﴾ التَّوْبَةِ: 55، وَقَالَ فِي مِثْلِهِ: ﴿الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ﴾ الْعَلَقِ: 4، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿الرَّحْمَنُ﴾ ﴿عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ﴾ الرَّحْمَنِ: 1 - 2، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ﴾ الرَّحْمَنِ: 4، ثُمَّ قَالَ: إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهُ، وَقَالَ فِي تَثْبِيتِ الْأَمْلَاكِ وَبَيْعِهَا مِنْهُ بِالْأَعْوَاضِ كَرَمًا مِنْهُ وَفَضْلًا: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اِشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ، فَجَازَ ذَلِكَ لَمَّا مَلَّكَهُمْ مَا لَهُ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِلَّا مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ﴾ النِّسَاءِ: 24،

liyuʿadhdhibahum bihā﴾ al-tawbati: 55, waqāla fī mithlihi: ﴿alladhī ʿallama bi-al-qalami﴾ al-ʿalaqi: 4, thumma qāla taʿālā: ﴿al-raḥmānu﴾ ﴿ʿallama al-qurʾāna﴾ al-raḥmāni: 1 - 2, waqāla taʿālā: ﴿ʿallamahu al-bayāna﴾ al-raḥmāni: 4, thumma qāla: ʾinna ʿalaynā bayānahu, waqāla fī tathbīti al-ʾamlāki wabayʿihā minhu bi-al-ʾaʿwāḍi karaman minhu wafaḍlan: ʾinna Allāha ishtarā mina al-muʾminīna ʾanfusahum waʾamwālahum, fajāza dhālika lammā mallakahum mā lahu kaqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿ʾillā mā malakat ʾaymānukum﴾ al-nisāʾi: 24,

to punish them through these” (al-Tawba 9:55). Similarly He said, “Who taught by the pen” (al-ʿAlaq 96:4), then, exalted is He, “The All-Merciful taught the Qurʾān” (al-Raḥmān 55:1–2), and He, exalted is He, said, “He taught him expression” (al-Raḥmān 55:4). Then He said, “Its explanation rests with Us.” Affirming ownership and the sale of what is owned to Him in exchange for compensation, out of His generosity and favor, He said, “God has purchased from the believers their lives and their possessions.” This is valid because He granted them ownership of what is His, as in His saying, exalted is He, “Except those whom your right hands possess” (al-Nisāʾ 4:24).

وَعِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ أَنْ لَا فَاعِلَ حَقِيقَةً إِلَّا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، لِأَنَّ حَقِيقَةَ الْفَاعِلِ هُوَ الَّذِي لَا يَسْتَعِينُ بِغَيْرِهِ بِآلَةٍ وَلَا سَبَبٍ، وَعِنْدَهُمْ إِنَّ فِعْلًا لَا يَتَأَتَّى مِنْ فَاعِلَيْنِ وَإِلَّا كَانَ شِرْكًا، لِأَنَّ الْفَاعِلَ الثَّانِيَ الْمُظْهَرَ الَّذِي فَعَلَ بِيَدِهِ وَأَجْرَى الْفِعْلَ بِوَاسِطَتِهِ هُوَ ثَانٍ وَمُحْدَثٌ، وَالْأَوَّلُ الْقَدِيمُ هُوَ الْفَاعِلُ الْأَصْلِيُّ،

waʿinda ʾahli al-maʿrifati ʾan lā fāʿila ḥaqīqatan ʾillā Allāhu ʿazza wajalla, liʾanna ḥaqīqata al-fāʿili huwa alladhī lā yastaʿīnu bighayrihi biʾālatin walā sababin, waʿindahum ʾinna fiʿlan lā yataʾattā min fāʿilayni waʾillā kāna shirkan, liʾanna al-fāʿila al-thāniya al-muẓhara alladhī faʿala biyadihi waʾajrā al-fiʿla biwāsiṭatihi huwa thānin wamuḥdathun, wa-al-ʾawwalu al-qadīmu huwa al-fāʿilu al-ʾaṣliyyu,

For the people of spiritual knowledge, there is no agent in reality except God, mighty and majestic. A true agent is one who seeks no assistance from another, whether through an instrument or a cause. In their view, a single act cannot proceed from two agents; otherwise there would be association of partners with God. The second, outwardly manifested agent, through whose hand He acted and through whose mediation He brought the act about, is secondary and originated in time. The First, the Eternal, is the primary agent.

كَمَا أَنَّ عِنْدَهُمْ أَنَّ حَقِيقَةَ الْمَالِكِ هُوَ خَالِقُ الشَّيْءِ، وَمَنْ جُعِلَ فِي يَدِهِ فَهُوَ مُمَلَّكٌ، لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَخْلُقْ مَا بِيَدِهِ كَمَا الْمُجْرَى عَلَى يَدِهِ الْفِعْلُ مَفْعُولٌ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ الْقَيُّومُ بِنَفْسِهِ لَا يَسْتَعِينُ بِغَيْرِهِ، وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ أَيْضًا بِحِكْمَتِهِ وَعِزَّتِهِ لِلْخِلْقَةِ وَالْحَيَاةِ وَاسِطَةً وَهُوَ مَلَكُ الْأَرْحَامِ،

kamā ʾanna ʿindahum ʾanna ḥaqīqata al-māliki huwa khāliqu al-shayʾi, waman juʿila fī yadihi fahuwa mumallakun, liʾannahu lam yakhluq mā biyadihi kamā al-mujrā ʿalā yadihi al-fiʿlu mafʿūlun, liʾanna Allāha taʿālā huwa al-ʾawwalu al-qayyūmu binafsihi lā yastaʿīnu bighayrihi, waqad jaʿala Allāhu ʾayḍan biḥikmatihi waʿizzatihi li-l-khilqati wa-al-ḥayāti wāsiṭatan wahuwa malaku al-ʾarḥāmi,

Likewise, in their view the true owner of a thing is its creator. The person into whose hand it is placed has merely been granted ownership, since he did not create what he holds; similarly, the one through whose hand an act is brought about is himself acted upon. God Most High is the First, self-subsisting, seeking no assistance from another. Yet in His wisdom and might God has also appointed an intermediary for formation and life: the angel of the wombs.

فِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّهُ يَدْخُلُ الرَّحِمَ فَيَأْخُذُ النُّطْفَةَ فِي يَدِهِ ثُمَّ يُصَوِّرُهَا جَسَدًا فَيَقُولُ: يَا رَبِّ أَذَكَرٌ أَمْ أُنْثَى؟ أَسَوِيٌّ أَمْ مُعْوَجٌّ؟ فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ مَا شَاءَ وَيُصَوِّرُ الْمَلَكُ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: يَخْلُقُ الْمَلَكُ ثُمَّ يَنْفُخُ فِيهَا الرُّوحَ بِالشَّقَاوَةِ أَوْ بِالسَّعَادَةِ، وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ الْمَلَكَ الَّذِي يُقَالُ لَهُ الرُّوحُ هُوَ الَّذِي يُولِجُ الْأَرْوَاحَ فِي الْأَجْسَادِ، وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّهُ يَتَنَفَّسُ بِوَصْفِهِ، فَيَكُونُ كُلُّ نَفَسٍ مِنْ أَنْفَاسِهِ رُوحًا يَلِجُ فِي جِسْمٍ، وَلِذَلِكَ سُمِّيَ الرُّوحَ.

fī al-khabari ʾannahu yadkhulu al-raḥima fayaʾkhudhu al-nuṭfata fī yadihi thumma yuṣawwiruhā jasadan fayaqūlu: yā rabbi ʾadhakarun ʾam ʾunthā? ʾasawiyyun ʾam muʿwajjun? fayaqūlu Allāhu mā shāʾa wayuṣawwiru al-malaku, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: yakhluqu al-malaku thumma yanfukhu fīhā al-rūḥa bi-al-shaqāwati ʾaw bi-al-saʿādati, wayuqālu: ʾinna al-malaka alladhī yuqālu lahu al-rūḥu huwa alladhī yūliju al-ʾarwāḥa fī al-ʾajsādi, wayuqālu: ʾinnahu yatanaffasu biwaṣfihi, fayakūnu kullu nafasin min ʾanfāsihi rūḥan yaliju fī jismin, wali-dhālika summiya al-rūḥa.

A report says that he enters the womb, takes the drop of seed in his hand, and then forms it into a body, saying, “My Lord, male or female? Sound in form or misshapen?” God says what He wills, and the angel gives it form. Another wording says, “The angel creates,” then breathes the spirit into it, with wretchedness or blessedness. It is said that the angel called the Spirit is the one who brings spirits into bodies. It is also said that he breathes in accordance with his own nature, and each of his breaths becomes a spirit entering a body. Hence he is called the Spirit.

وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ نَفْسِهِ: ﴿الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ﴾ الْحَشْرِ: 24، كَمَا قَالَ الْخَالِقُ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ﴾ الْمُلْكِ: 2، وَقَدْ جَعَلَ لِلْإِحْيَاءِ وَاسِطَةً كَمَا جَعَلَ لِلْمَوْتِ وَهُوَ إِسْرَافِيلُ صَاحِبُ الصُّورِ يَنْفُخُ فِي النَّفْخَةِ الثَّانِيَةِ فَيَحْيَا كُلُّ مَيِّتٍ ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، فَقَالَ: يَوْمَ يُنْفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ، وَوَصَفَ نَفْسَهُ بِأَنَّهُ الْمُحْيِي الْمُمِيتُ،

waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā fī waṣfi nafsihi: ﴿al-bāriʾu al-muṣawwiru﴾ al-ḥashri: 24, kamā qāla al-khāliqu, waqāla taʿālā: ﴿khalaqa al-mawta wa-al-ḥayāta﴾ al-mulki: 2, waqad jaʿala li-l-ʾiḥyāʾi wāsiṭatan kamā jaʿala li-l-mawti wahuwa ʾisrāfīlu ṣāḥibu al-ṣūri yanfukhu fī al-nafkhati al-thāniyati fayaḥyā kullu mayyitin thumma yarfaʿuhu Allāhu taʿālā, faqāla: yawma yunfakhu fī al-ṣūri, wawaṣafa nafsahu biʾannahu al-muḥyī al-mumītu,

Yet God Most High describes Himself as “the Maker, the Giver of Form” (al-Ḥashr 59:24), just as He calls Himself the Creator. The Exalted says, “He created death and life” (al-Mulk 67:2). He has appointed an intermediary for bringing to life, as He has for death: Isrāfīl, bearer of the trumpet, who sounds the second blast so that every dead being comes to life. Then God Most High removes mention of him, saying, “The day when the trumpet is blown,” and describes Himself as the Giver of Life and the Giver of Death.

وَفِي بَعْضِ الْأَخْبَارِ أَنَّ مَلَكَ الْمَوْتِ وَمَلَكَ الْحَيَاةِ تَنَاظَرَا، فَقَالَ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ: أَنَا أُمِيتُ الْأَحْيَاءَ، وَقَالَ مَلَكُ الْحَيَاةِ: أَنَا أُحْيِي كُلَّ مَيِّتٍ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِمَا كُونَا عَلَى عَمَلِكُمَا وَمَا سُخِّرْتُمَا لَهُ مِنَ الصُّنْعِ، فَأَنَا الْمُمِيتُ وَأَنَا الْمُحْيِي وَلَا مُمِيتَ وَلَا مُحْيِيَ سِوَايَ، وَكَذَلِكَ أَيْضًا قِيلَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: أَنَا الدَّلِيلُ عَلَى نَفْسِي وَلَا دَلِيلَ عَلَيَّ أَدَلُّ مِنِّي،

wafī baʿḍi al-ʾakhbāri ʾanna malaka al-mawti wamalaka al-ḥayāti tanāẓarā, faqāla malaku al-mawti: ʾanā ʾumītu al-ʾaḥyāʾa, waqāla malaku al-ḥayāti: ʾanā ʾuḥyī kulla mayyitin, faʾawḥā Allāhu ʾilayhimā kūnā ʿalā ʿamalikumā wamā sukhkhirtumā lahu mina al-ṣunʿi, faʾanā al-mumītu waʾanā al-muḥyī walā mumīta walā muḥyiya siwāya, wa-kadhālika ʾayḍan qīla ʿani Allāhi taʿālā: ʾanā al-dalīlu ʿalā nafsī walā dalīla ʿalayya ʾadallu minnī,

Some reports relate that the angel of death and the angel of life debated. The angel of death said, “I cause the living to die,” and the angel of life said, “I bring every dead being to life.” God revealed to them, “Keep to your work and the task to which you have been assigned. I am the Giver of Death and the Giver of Life; none gives death or life except Me.” Likewise, it is related from God Most High: “I am the guide to Myself, and no guide to Me points more clearly than I do.”

وَلَمْ يَمْنَعْ وُجُودُ هَذِهِ الْأَوَاسِطِ أَنْ يَكُونَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ هُوَ الْأَوَّلَ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَهُوَ الْفَاعِلُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ فِي شَيْءٍ، وَلَمْ يَقُلْ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ: الْمَلَكُ خَلَقَنِي وَلَا عِزْرَائِيلُ أَمَاتَنِي وَلَا إِسْرَافِيلُ قَدْ أَحْيَانِي كَذَلِكَ، أَيْضًا لَا يَصْلُحُ أَنْ يَقُولَ الْمُوقِنُ الْمُشَاهِدُ لِلتَّوْحِيدِ: فُلَانٌ أَعْطَانِي أَوْ مَنَعَنِي، كَمَا لَا يَقُولُ فُلَانٌ رَزَقَنِي وَلَا فُلَانٌ قَدَّرَ عَلَيَّ،

walam yamnaʿ wujūdu hādhihi al-ʾawāsiṭi ʾan yakūna Allāhu subḥānahu huwa al-ʾawwala fī kulli shayʾin, wahuwa al-fāʿilu likulli shayʾin, waḥdahu lā sharīka lahu fī shayʾin, walam yaqul ʾaḥadun mina al-muslimīna: al-malaku khalaqanī walā ʿizrāʾīlu ʾamātanī walā ʾisrāfīlu qad ʾaḥyānī kadhālika, ʾayḍan lā yaṣluḥu ʾan yaqūla al-mūqinu al-mushāhidu li-l-tawḥīdi: fulānun ʾaʿṭānī ʾaw manaʿanī, kamā lā yaqūlu fulānun razaqanī walā fulānun qaddara ʿalayya,

The existence of these intermediaries does not prevent God, glory be His, from being the First in everything and the agent of everything, alone, with no partner in anything. No Muslim has said, “The angel created me,” or “ʿIzrāʾīl caused me to die,” or “Isrāfīl brought me to life.” Likewise, a person of certainty who witnesses divine unity should not say, “So-and-so gave to me or withheld from me,” just as he does not say, “So-and-so provided for me,” or “So-and-so decreed my lot.”

وَإِنْ جُعِلَ وَاسِطَةً فِي ذَلِكَ وَأَجْرَى عَلَى يَدَيْهِ ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْعَطَاءَ هُوَ الرِّزْقُ وَالْمَنْعَ هُوَ الْقَدَرُ، وَلَا كَانَ عِنْدَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ فِي أَسْمَاءِ اللَّهِ غَيْرُهُ إِذْ كَانَ اللَّهُ هُوَ الْمُعْطِيَ الْمَانِعَ الضَّارَّ النَّافِعَ كَمَا هُوَ الْمُحْيِي الْمُمِيتُ، لَا شَرِيكَ

waʾin juʿila wāsiṭatan fī dhālika waʾajrā ʿalā yadayhi dhālika liʾanna al-ʿaṭāʾa huwa al-rizqu wa-al-manʿa huwa al-qadaru, walā kāna ʿindahum shurakāʾu fī ʾasmāʾi Allāhi ghayruhu ʾidh kāna Allāhu huwa al-muʿṭiya al-māniʿa al-ḍārra al-nāfiʿa kamā huwa al-muḥyī al-mumītu, lā sharīka

This remains so even if someone has been made an intermediary and the act has been brought about through his hands, because giving is provision and withholding is decree. In their view, no one besides God shares His names: God is the Giver, the Withholder, the Bringer of Harm, and the Benefactor, just as He is the Giver of Life and the Giver of Death. He has no partner

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢١

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 21

Volume Two, page 21

لَهُ فِي مُلْكِهِ وَلَا ظَهِيرَ لَهُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ فِي خَلْقِهِ وَرِزْقِهِ، وَهَذَا عِنْدَهُمْ يَقْدَحُ فِي حَقِيقَةِ التَّوْحِيدِ لِلْعَبْدِ وَهُوَ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ الْخَفِيِّ الَّذِي جَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ: الشِّرْكُ فِي أُمَّتِي أَخْفَى مِنْ دَبِيبِ النَّمْلِ فِي اللَّيْلَةِ الْمُظْلِمَةِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِاللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُمْ مُشْرِكُونَ﴾ يُوسُفَ: 106، قَالَ مُؤْمِنٌ بِالْإِقْرَارِ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْمُقَدِّرُ الْمُدَبِّرُ، وَمُشْرِكٌ فِي الِاعْتِمَادِ عَلَى الْأَسْبَابِ وَرَدِّ الْأَفْعَالِ إِلَيْهَا،

lahu fī mulkihi walā ẓahīra lahu min ʿibādihi fī khalqihi warizqihi, wa-hādhā ʿindahum yaqdaḥu fī ḥaqīqati al-tawḥīdi li-l-ʿabdi wahuwa mina al-shirki al-khafiyyi alladhī jāʾa fī al-ʾathari: al-shirku fī ʾummatī ʾakhfā min dabībi al-namli fī al-laylati al-muẓlimati. waqāla baʿḍuhum fī maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿wamā yuʾminu ʾaktharuhum bi-Allāhi ʾillā wahum mushrikūna﴾ yūsufa: 106, qāla muʾminun bi-al-ʾiqrāri: ʾinna Allāha huwa al-muqaddiru al-mudabbiru, wamushrikun fī al-iʿtimādi ʿalā al-ʾasbābi waraddi al-ʾafʿāli ʾilayhā,

in His sovereignty, nor any helper among His servants in His creating and providing. In their view, attributing such things to others compromises the servant's realization of divine unity. It belongs to the hidden association of partners mentioned in the transmitted saying: “The association of partners in my community is subtler than ants creeping on a dark night.” Someone explained His saying, exalted is He, “Most of them believe in God only while associating partners with Him” (Yūsuf 12:106), as follows: a person believes by acknowledging that God decrees and governs, yet associates partners by depending upon causes and attributing acts to them.

وَمِنَ الْإِخْلَاصِ عِنْدَ الْمُخْلِصِينَ بِلَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَلَا مُعْطِيَ وَلَا مَانِعَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَا هَادِيَ وَلَا مُضِلَّ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، كَمَا لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، هَذَا عِنْدَهُمْ فِي قَرَنٍ وَاحِدٍ وَمُشَاهَدَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ، وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ التَّوْحِيدِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ قَدْ جَعَلَ هَادِينَ وَمُضِلِّينَ وَمُعْطِينَ وَمَانِعِينَ وَلَكِنْ بَعْدَ إِذْنِهِ وَمِنْ بَعْدِ مَشِيئَتِهِ وَحُكْمِهِ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ﴾ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ: 14، ﴿خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ﴾ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ: 72،

wamina al-ʾikhlāṣi ʿinda al-mukhliṣīna bilā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu, walā muʿṭiya walā māniʿa ʾillā Allāhu walā hādiya walā muḍilla ʾillā Allāhu, kamā lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu, hādhā ʿindahum fī qaranin wāḥidin wamushāhadatin wāḥidatin, wahuwa ʾawwalu al-tawḥīdi, waʾin kāna qad jaʿala hādīna wamuḍillīna wamuʿṭīna wamāniʿīna wa-lākin baʿda ʾidhnihi wamin baʿdi mashīʾatihi waḥukmihi, kamā qāla taʿālā: ﴿ʾaḥsanu al-khāliqīna﴾ al-muʾminūna: 14, ﴿khayru al-rāziqīna﴾ al-muʾminūna: 72,

For those who are sincere, sincerity in “There is no god but God” includes “There is no giver or withholder but God, and no guide or misleader but God,” just as there is no god but God. They hold these together in a single bond and a single witnessing: this is the beginning of divine unity. He has indeed appointed those who guide and mislead, give and withhold, but only after His permission and in accordance with His will and judgment. Thus the Exalted says, “The best of creators” (al-Muʾminūn 23:14), and “The best of providers” (al-Muʾminūn 23:72).

لِأَنَّهُ خَلَقَهُمْ وَخَلَقَ خَلْقَهُمْ وَرَزَقَهُمْ وَرَزَقَ رِزْقَهُمْ، وَكَذَلِكَ هُوَ هَدَاهُمْ وَهَدَى بِهِمْ، وَأَضَلَّهُمْ وَأَضَلَّ بِهِمْ، فَعَنْ هِدَايَتِهِ هَدَوْا بِهِ، وَعَنْ إِضْلَالِهِ ضَلُّوا بَعْدَ إِرَادَتِهِ، كَمَا عَنْ خَلْقِهِ خُلِقُوا، وَمِنْ رِزْقِهِ رُزِقُوا، وَكَيْفَ وَقَدْ فَسَّرَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ بِقَوْلِهِ: وَإِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ بِإِذْنِي وَبِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿لَوْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ لَهَدَيْنَاكُمْ﴾ إِبْرَاهِيمَ: 21، وَقَالَ فِي مِثْلِهِ: ﴿فَأَغْوَيْنَاكُمْ إِنَّا كُنَّا غَاوِينَ﴾ الصَّافَّاتِ: 32،

liʾannahu khalaqahum wakhalaqa khalqahum warazaqahum warazaqa rizqahum, wa-kadhālika huwa hadāhum wahadā bihim, waʾaḍallahum waʾaḍalla bihim, faʿan hidāyatihi hadaw bihi, waʿan ʾiḍlālihi ḍallū baʿda ʾirādatihi, kamā ʿan khalqihi khuliqū, wamin rizqihi ruziqū, wakayfa waqad fassara mā dhakarnāhu biqawlihi: waʾidh takhluqu mina al-ṭīni kahayʾati al-ṭayri biʾidhnī wabiqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿law hadānā Allāhu lahadaynākum﴾ ʾibrāhīma: 21, waqāla fī mithlihi: ﴿faʾaghwaynākum ʾinnā kunnā ghāwīna﴾ al-ṣāffāti: 32,

For He created them and created what they create; He provided for them and supplied what they provide. Likewise He guided them and guided through them, led them astray and led others astray through them. Through His guidance they guided by Him, and through His leading astray they went astray, following His will, just as through His creating they were created and from His provision they were provided for. How could it be otherwise, when He explains our point by saying, “When you create out of clay something shaped like a bird, by My permission,” and by His saying, exalted is He, “Had God guided us, we would have guided you” (Ibrāhīm 14:21)? Similarly He says, “We led you into error, for we ourselves were in error” (al-Ṣāffāt 37:32).

فَبِمُشَاهَدَةِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ يَخْرُجُ الْعَبْدُ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ الْخَفِيِّ وَهُوَ تَحْقِيقُ قَوْلِهِ: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ بَعْدَ التَّصْدِيقِ، أَيْ لَيْسَ مَنْ تَأْلَهُ الْقُلُوبُ وَتَأْلَهُ إِلَيْهِ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ مَعَهَا: وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، أَيْ وَحْدَهُ فِي قُدْرَتِهِ وَتَوْحِيدِهِ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ فِي مُلْكِهِ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ، ثُمَّ وَكَّدَ ذَلِكَ بِقَوْلِهِ: لَهُ الْمُلْكُ، أَيْ جَمِيعُ مَا أَظْهَرَ، وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي جَمِيعِ مَا أَعْطَى وَمَنَعَ، يَسْتَحِقُّ الْحَمْدَ كُلَّهُ، فَهُوَ لَا يَسْتَحِقُّهُ غَيْرُهُ،

fabimushāhadati mā dhakarnāhu yakhruju al-ʿabdu mina al-shirki al-khafiyyi wahuwa taḥqīqu qawlihi: lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu baʿda al-taṣdīqi, ʾay laysa man taʾlahu al-qulūbu wataʾlahu ʾilayhi ʾillā Allāhu, thumma yaqūlu maʿahā: waḥdahu lā sharīka lahu, ʾay waḥdahu fī qudratihi watawḥīdihi lā sharīka lahu fī mulkihi min khalqihi, thumma wakkada dhālika biqawlihi: lahu al-mulku, ʾay jamīʿu mā ʾaẓhara, walahu al-ḥamdu fī jamīʿi mā ʾaʿṭā wamanaʿa, yastaḥiqqu al-ḥamda kullahu, fahuwa lā yastaḥiqquhu ghayruhu,

By witnessing what we have described, the servant emerges from hidden association of partners. This realizes, beyond merely assenting to it, his saying, “There is no god but God”: there is none whom hearts worship and toward whom they yearn except God. He adds, “Alone, with no partner”: alone in His power and unity, with none of His creatures sharing His sovereignty. He further confirms this by saying, “His is the sovereignty,” meaning everything He has brought forth, and “His is the praise,” for everything He has given and withheld. He deserves all praise; no one else deserves it.

وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ أَيْ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ وَالْأَمْرِ، فَالْقُدْرَةُ كُلُّهَا لَهُ وَالْخَلْقُ كُلُّهُ لَهُ يَحْكُمُ فِي خَلْقِهِ بِأَمْرِهِ مَا شَاءَ كَيْفَ شَاءَ، وَمَثَلُ الْأَوَاسِطِ مَثَلُ الْآلَةِ بِيَدِ الصَّانِعِ، أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّهُ لَا يُقَالُ: الشَّفْرَةُ حَذَتِ النَّعْلَ وَلَا السَّوْطُ ضَرَبَ الْعَبْدَ، إِنَّمَا يُقَالُ: الْحَذَّاءُ حَذَّ النَّعْلَ وَفُلَانٌ ضَرَبَ عَبْدَهُ بِالسَّوْطِ، وَإِنْ كَانَتْ هَذِهِ الْأَوَاسِطُ مُبَاشِرَةً لِلْأَفْعَالِ إِلَّا أَنَّهَا آلَةٌ بِيَدِ صَانِعِهَا،

wahuwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīrun ʾay mina al-khalqi wa-al-ʾamri, fa-al-qudratu kulluhā lahu wa-al-khalqu kulluhu lahu yaḥkumu fī khalqihi biʾamrihi mā shāʾa kayfa shāʾa, wamathalu al-ʾawāsiṭi mathalu al-ʾālati biyadi al-ṣāniʿi, ʾalā tarā ʾannahu lā yuqālu: al-shafratu ḥadhati al-naʿla walā al-sawṭu ḍaraba al-ʿabda, ʾinnamā yuqālu: al-ḥadhdhāʾu ḥadhdha al-naʿla wafulānun ḍaraba ʿabdahu bi-al-sawṭi, waʾin kānat hādhihi al-ʾawāsiṭu mubāshiratan li-l-ʾafʿāli ʾillā ʾannahā ʾālatun biyadi ṣāniʿihā,

“And He has power over everything”: everything belonging to creation and command. All power is His and all creation is His; through His command He governs His creation as He wills, in whatever way He wills. Intermediaries resemble a tool in a craftsman's hand. Notice that one does not say, “The blade fashioned the sandal,” or “The whip struck the slave.” One says, “The shoemaker cut out the sandal,” and “So-and-so struck his slave with a whip.” Although these intermediaries are directly involved in the acts, they are tools in their maker's hand.

وَكَذَلِكَ الْخَلِيقَةُ يُبَاشِرُونَ الْأَسْبَابَ فِي ظَاهِرِ الْعِيَانِ، وَاللَّهُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ مُحِيطٌ، الْقَادِرُ الْفَاعِلُ بِلَطَائِفِ الْقُدْرَةِ وَخَفَايَا الْمَشِيئَةِ، أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى قَوْلِهِمْ: الْأَمِيرُ أَعْطَانِي كَذَا وَخَلَعَ عَلَيَّ كَذَا؟ وَإِنْ لَمْ يُنَاوِلْهُ بِيَدِهِ وَلَا يَصْلُحُ أَنْ يَقُولَ: خَادِمُ الْأَمِيرِ أَعْطَانِي لِأَجْلِ أَنَّهُ جَرَى عَلَى يَدِهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ بَاشَرَ الْعَطَاءَ بِنَفْسِهِ، إِذْ قَدْ عُلِمَ أَنَّ الْخَادِمَ لَا يَمْلِكُ وَلَا يَتَصَرَّفُ فِي مُلْكِ الْأَمِيرِ،

wa-kadhālika al-khalīqatu yubāshirūna al-ʾasbāba fī ẓāhiri al-ʿiyāni, wa-Allāhu min warāʾihim muḥīṭun, al-qādiru al-fāʿilu bilaṭāʾifi al-qudrati wakhafāyā al-mashīʾati, ʾalam tara ʾilā qawlihim: al-ʾamīru ʾaʿṭānī kadhā wakhalaʿa ʿalayya kadhā? waʾin lam yunāwilhu biyadihi walā yaṣluḥu ʾan yaqūla: khādimu al-ʾamīri ʾaʿṭānī liʾajli ʾannahu jarā ʿalā yadihi, waʾin kāna bāshara al-ʿaṭāʾa binafsihi, ʾidh qad ʿulima ʾanna al-khādima lā yamliku walā yataṣarrafu fī mulki al-ʾamīri,

Likewise, creatures visibly engage with causes, while God encompasses them from beyond: He is the powerful agent working through the subtleties of power and the hidden workings of will. Consider the expressions “The ruler gave me such-and-such” and “He bestowed such-and-such a robe of honor upon me,” although he did not hand it over himself. One should not say, “The ruler's servant gave it to me,” simply because it passed through his hand, even if he personally delivered the gift. It is understood that the servant neither owns nor independently disposes of the ruler's property.

إِلَّا أَنْ يُسْأَلَ الْإِنْسَانُ: بِيَدِ مَنْ أَعْطَاكَ الْأَمِيرُ؟ أَوْ عَلَى يَدِ مَنْ وَجَّهَ إِلَيْكَ بِالْعَطَاءِ؟ لِبُغْيَةٍ تَكُونُ لِلسَّائِلِ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ أَيِّ عَبْدٍ جَاءَ بِهِ، فَيَجُوزُ أَنْ يَقُولَ حِينَئِذٍ: بِيَدِ عَبْدِهِ فُلَانٍ، فَإِمَّا أَنْ يَبْتَدِئَ الْمُعْطَى مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يُسْأَلَ إِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ الْعَطَاءَ فَيَقُولَ الْأَمِيرُ أَعْطَانِي عَلَى يَدِ عَبْدِهِ فُلَانٍ، فَإِنَّ هَذَا لَغْوٌ لَا يُحْتَاجُ إِلَى ذِكْرِ الْعَبْدِ مَعَ ذِكْرِ الْمَلِكِ، لِأَنَّ الْبُغْيَةَ إِظْهَارُ الْعَطَاءِ مِنَ الْمَلِكِ الْمُعْطِي، فَلَا مَعْنَى لِذِكْرِ الْعَبْدِ الَّذِي جَرَى الْعَطَاءُ عَلَى يَدِهِ فَاِفْهَمْ،

ʾillā ʾan yusʾala al-ʾinsānu: biyadi man ʾaʿṭāka al-ʾamīru? ʾaw ʿalā yadi man wajjaha ʾilayka bi-al-ʿaṭāʾi? libughyatin takūnu li-l-sāʾili fī maʿrifati ʾayyi ʿabdin jāʾa bihi, fayajūzu ʾan yaqūla ḥīnaʾidhin: biyadi ʿabdihi fulānin, faʾimmā ʾan yabtadiʾa al-muʿṭā min ghayri ʾan yusʾala ʾidhā ʾarāda ʾan yuẓhira al-ʿaṭāʾa fayaqūla al-ʾamīru ʾaʿṭānī ʿalā yadi ʿabdihi fulānin, faʾinna hādhā laghwun lā yuḥtāju ʾilā dhikri al-ʿabdi maʿa dhikri al-maliki, liʾanna al-bughyata ʾiẓhāru al-ʿaṭāʾi mina al-maliki al-muʿṭī, falā maʿnā lidhikri al-ʿabdi alladhī jarā al-ʿaṭāʾu ʿalā yadihi fa-fham,

An exception is when someone is asked, “By whose hand did the ruler give it to you?” or “Through whom did he send you the gift?” because the questioner has some reason to know which servant brought it. He may then say, “Through his servant so-and-so.” But if the recipient volunteers, without being asked, “The ruler gave me this through his servant so-and-so,” when he wishes to announce the gift, that is superfluous. There is no need to mention the servant along with the king, since the point is to acknowledge the gift from the king who gave it. Mentioning the servant through whose hand it passed adds nothing. Understand this.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٢

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 22

Volume Two, page 22

وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِلرَّجُلِ الَّذِي نَاوَلَهُ التَّمْرَةَ: خُذْهَا، لَوْ لَمْ تَأْتِهَا لَأَتَتْكَ، وَالتَّمْرَةُ لَا تَأْتِي، وَلَمْ يَقُلْ: لَجَاءَكَ بِهَا رَجُلٌ إِذْ لَا بُغْيَةَ فِي ذِكْرِ ذَلِكَ، وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِلرَّجُلِ الَّذِي قَالَ: أَتُوبُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَلَا أَتُوبُ إِلَى مُحَمَّدٍ فَقَالَ: عَرَفَ الْحَقَّ لِأَهْلِهِ،

wamin dhālika qawlu al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama li-l-rajuli alladhī nāwalahu al-tamrata: khudhhā, law lam taʾtihā laʾatatka, wa-al-tamratu lā taʾtī, walam yaqul: lajāʾaka bihā rajulun ʾidh lā bughyata fī dhikri dhālika, wamin hādhā qawluhu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama li-l-rajuli alladhī qāla: ʾatūbu ʾilā Allāhi walā ʾatūbu ʾilā muḥammadin faqāla: ʿarafa al-ḥaqqa liʾahlihi,

An example is the Prophet's saying, God bless him and grant him peace, to the man to whom he handed a date: “Take it. Had you not come to it, it would have come to you.” A date does not come by itself, but he did not say, “A man would have brought it to you,” since mentioning that served no purpose. Another example is his response, God bless him and grant him peace, to the man who said, “I repent to God, and I do not repent to Muḥammad”: “He has recognized to whom the right belongs.”

وَإِنَّمَا ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْأَسْبَابَ لِأَنَّ الْأَسْمَاءَ مُتَعَلِّقَةٌ بِهَا وَالْأَحْكَامَ عَائِدَةٌ عَلَى الْأَسْمَاءِ بِالثَّوَابِ وَالْعِقَابِ، فَلَمْ يَصْلُحْ أَنْ لَا تُذْكَرَ فَتَعُودَ الْأَحْكَامُ عَلَى الْحَاكِمِ تَعَالَى عَنْ هَذَا، أَنَّهُ هُوَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ، يُبْدِئُ الْأَحْكَامَ مِنَ الْحَاكِمِ وَيُعِيدُهَا عَلَى الْمَحْكُومِ، وَهَذَا هُوَ سَبَبُ إِظْهَارِ الْمَكَانِ مِنَ الْمَوَاتِ وَالْحَيَوَانِ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ تَعَالَى مَحْكُومًا وَهُوَ الْحَاكِمُ وَلَا يَكُونَ مَأْمُورًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْآمِرُ، فَعَادَتْ عَلَى الْمَحْكُومَاتِ الْمَأْمُورَاتِ،

waʾinnamā dhakara Allāhu taʿālā al-ʾasbāba liʾanna al-ʾasmāʾa mutaʿalliqatun bihā wa-al-ʾaḥkāma ʿāʾidatun ʿalā al-ʾasmāʾi bi-al-thawābi wa-al-ʿiqābi, falam yaṣluḥ ʾan lā tudhkara fataʿūda al-ʾaḥkāmu ʿalā al-ḥākimi taʿālā ʿan hādhā, ʾannahu huwa yubdiʾu wayuʿīdu, yubdiʾu al-ʾaḥkāma mina al-ḥākimi wayuʿīduhā ʿalā al-maḥkūmi, wa-hādhā huwa sababu ʾiẓhāri al-makāni mina al-mawāti wa-al-ḥayawāni liʾallā yakūna taʿālā maḥkūman wahuwa al-ḥākimu walā yakūna maʾmūran wahuwa al-ʿazīzu al-ʾāmiru, faʿādat ʿalā al-maḥkūmāti al-maʾmūrāti,

God Most High mentions causes only because designations attach to them, and judgments of reward and punishment fall upon those designations. They must therefore be mentioned, lest the judgments fall upon the Judge, exalted beyond such a thing. He originates and brings back: He originates judgments from the Judge and directs them back upon what is judged. This is why He brings forth a locus among inanimate and animate things, so that He, exalted is He, is not subject to judgment while being the Judge, nor subject to command while being the Mighty Commander. The judgments thus fall upon things judged and commanded.

وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿مَا عِنْدَكُمْ يَنْفَدُ وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ بَاقٍ﴾ النَّحْلِ: 96، فَجَمِيعًا عِنْدَهُ، وَفِي خَزَائِنِهِ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ أَضَافَ الدُّنْيَا إِلَيْنَا لِرُجُوعِ الْأَحْكَامِ عَلَيْنَا وَلِيُزَهِّدَنَا فِيهَا وَأَضَافَ الْآخِرَةَ إِلَيْهِ تَخْصِيصًا لَهَا، وَتَفْضِيلًا لِيُرَغِّبَنَا فِيهَا، وَكَمَا أَخْبَرَ عَنْ عِيسَى: وَإِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ الطِّينِ، وَمِثْلُهُ: فَاُرْزُقُوهُمْ فِيهَا، فَسَمَّاهُ خَالِقًا، إِذْ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ عَلَى يَدِهِ وَسَمَّاهُمْ رَازِقِينَ لَمَّا أَجْرَى عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ رِزْقَ أَهْلِيهِمْ،

wamin hādhā qawluhu taʿālā: ﴿mā ʿindakum yanfadu wamā ʿinda Allāhi bāqin﴾ al-naḥli: 96, fajamīʿan ʿindahu, wafī khazāʾinihi, ʾillā ʾannahu ʾaḍāfa al-dunyā ʾilaynā lirujūʿi al-ʾaḥkāmi ʿalaynā waliyuzahhidanā fīhā waʾaḍāfa al-ʾākhirata ʾilayhi takhṣīṣan lahā, watafḍīlan liyuraghghibanā fīhā, wakamā ʾakhbara ʿan ʿīsā: waʾidh takhluqu mina al-ṭīni, wamithluhu: fa-rzuqūhum fīhā, fasammāhu khāliqan, ʾidh khalaqa Allāhu ʿalā yadihi wasammāhum rāziqīna lammā ʾajrā ʿalā ʾaydīhim rizqa ʾahlīhim,

An example is His saying, exalted is He, “What you have will run out, while what God has endures” (al-Naḥl 16:96). Both are with Him, in His treasuries. He attributes this world to us because its judgments fall upon us and to make us renounce it. He attributes the next world to Himself to distinguish and honor it, so that we may desire it. Likewise, He says of Jesus, “When you create out of clay,” and similarly, “Provide for them from it.” He calls him a creator because God created through his hand, and calls them providers because He brought their dependents' provision through their hands.

فَهُوَ عِنْدِي كَقَوْلِهِ لِمَرْيَمَ: ﴿وَهُزِّي إِلَيْكِ بِجِذْعِ النَّخْلَةِ تُسَاقِطْ عَلَيْكِ رُطَبًا جَنِيًّا﴾ مَرْيَمَ: 25، وَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ الرُّطَبَ لَمْ يَتَسَاقَطْ بِهَزِّهَا وَلَا جَعْلَ وَلَا فِعْلَ لِهَزِّهَا فِي الرُّطَبِ، وَلَكِنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ كَرَامَتَهَا وَيَجْعَلَ الْآلَةَ مِنْهُ بِيَدِهَا، وَمِثْلُهُ: ﴿اُرْكُضْ بِرِجْلِكَ هَذَا مُغْتَسَلٌ بَارِدٌ وَشَرَابٌ﴾ ص: 42، فَنَبَعَتْ عَيْنَانِ فَشَرِبَ مِنْ إِحْدَاهُمَا وَاِغْتَسَلَ مِنَ الْأُخْرَى وَلَا فِعْلَ لِرِجْلِهِ فِي إِظْهَارِ الْعَيْنَيْنِ، وَقَدْ نَفَى لَبِيدٌ مَا سِوَى اللَّهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ:

fahuwa ʿindī kaqawlihi limaryama: ﴿wahuzzī ʾilayki bijidhʿi al-nakhlati tusāqiṭ ʿalayki ruṭaban janiyyan﴾ maryama: 25, waqad ʿalimta ʾanna al-ruṭaba lam yatasāqaṭ bihazzihā walā jaʿla walā fiʿla lihazzihā fī al-ruṭabi, wa-lākin ʾarāda ʾan yuẓhira karāmatahā wayajʿala al-ʾālata minhu biyadihā, wamithluhu: ﴿urkuḍ birijlika hādhā mughtasalun bāridun washarābun﴾ Ṣād: 42, fanabaʿat ʿaynāni fashariba min ʾiḥdāhumā wa-ghtasala mina al-ʾukhrā walā fiʿla lirijlihi fī ʾiẓhāri al-ʿaynayni, waqad nafā labīdun mā siwā Allāhi fī qawlihi:

To my mind, this resembles His saying to Mary, “Shake the trunk of the palm toward you; it will drop freshly ripened dates upon you” (Maryam 19:25). You know that the dates did not fall through her shaking: her shaking had no productive power or effect upon them. He wished to manifest her special favor and place His instrument in her hand. Similarly: “Strike with your foot: here is cool water for washing and drinking” (Ṣād 38:42). Two springs gushed forth; he drank from one and washed in the other, while his foot had no effect in bringing forth the springs. Labīd likewise negated everything besides God when he said:

أَلَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ مَا خَلَا اللَّهَ بَاطِلٌ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمَّا أُنْشِدَ ذَلِكَ صَدَقَ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ إِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: أَصْدَقُ بَيْتٍ قَالَهُ الشَّاعِرُ: أَلَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ مَا خَلَا اللَّهَ بَاطِلٌ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّ فِي الْأَشْيَاءِ أَوَاسِطَ حَقٍّ وَأَسْبَابَ صِدْقٍ، ثُمَّ لَمْ يَمْنَعْهُ ذَلِكَ أَنْ قَالَ أَصْدَقُ بَيْتٍ قَالَهُ الشَّاعِرُ: كَذَا، إِيثَارًا مِنْهُ لِلتَّوْحِيدِ وَتَوْحِيدًا لِلْمُتَوَحِّدِ،

ʾalā kullu shayʾin mā khalā Allāha bāṭilun faqāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lammā ʾunshida dhālika ṣadaqa, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara ʾinna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: ʾaṣdaqu baytin qālahu al-shāʿiru: ʾalā kullu shayʾin mā khalā Allāha bāṭilun wahuwa yaʿlamu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾanna fī al-ʾashyāʾi ʾawāsiṭa ḥaqqin waʾasbāba ṣidqin, thumma lam yamnaʿhu dhālika ʾan qāla ʾaṣdaqu baytin qālahu al-shāʿiru: kadhā, ʾīthāran minhu li-l-tawḥīdi watawḥīdan li-l-mutawaḥḥidi,

“Indeed, everything apart from God is vain.” When this was recited, the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “He spoke truly.” Another wording has the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, say, “The truest verse a poet has uttered is: ‘Indeed, everything apart from God is vain.’” He knew, God bless him and grant him peace, that among things there are real intermediaries and genuine causes. Yet this did not prevent him from calling that the truest verse a poet had uttered, giving precedence to divine unity and affirming the oneness of the One who alone is one.

هَذَا مَعَ قُرْبِ عَهْدِهِمْ بِتَكْذِيبِ الرُّسُلِ وَإِبْطَالِ الْكُتُبِ، وَلَكِنْ لَمَّا كَانَتِ الْأَشْيَاءُ بَعْدَ أَنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ وَلَا تَكُونُ، بَعْدَ أَنْ كَانَتْ أَشْبَهَتِ الْبَاطِلَ الَّذِي لَا حَقِيقَةَ لَهُ أَوَّلِيَّةً، وَلَا ثَبَاتَ لَهُ آخِرِيَّةً، وَكَانَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْأَوَّلَ الْأَزَلِيَّ، الْآخِرَ الْأَبَدِيَّ، فَهُوَ الْحَقُّ وَلَا هَكَذَا سِوَاهُ، وَمِثْلُهُ الْأَسْبَابُ أَيْضًا فِي ثَوَانِيهَا وَأَوَاسِطِهَا إِلَى جَنْبِ الْأَوَّلِ الْمُسَبِّبِ،

hādhā maʿa qurbi ʿahdihim bitakdhībi al-rusuli waʾibṭāli al-kutubi, wa-lākin lammā kānati al-ʾashyāʾu baʿda ʾan lam takun walā takūnu, baʿda ʾan kānat ʾashbahati al-bāṭila alladhī lā ḥaqīqata lahu ʾawwaliyyatan, walā thabāta lahu ʾākhiriyyatan, wakāna Allāhu taʿālā al-ʾawwala al-ʾazaliyya, al-ʾākhira al-ʾabadiyya, fahuwa al-ḥaqqu walā hākadhā siwāhu, wamithluhu al-ʾasbābu ʾayḍan fī thawānīhā waʾawāsiṭihā ʾilā janbi al-ʾawwali al-musabbibi,

This was so even though their former denial of the messengers and rejection of the scriptures lay only recently behind them. But things come to be after not being and cease to be after being. They therefore resemble what is vain, lacking a reality without beginning or an endurance without end. God Most High is the First, without beginning, and the Last, without end. He is the Real, and nothing besides Him is like this. The same holds for causes in their secondary and intermediary roles beside the First, who brings causes into being.

مِثْلَ مَا يَقُولُ فِي الْقُرْآنِ: قَالَ اللَّهُ كَذَا، وَلَكَ أَنْ تَقُولَ قَالَ نُوحٌ، وَقَالَ يُوسُفُ كَذَا، فَكُلٌّ صَوَابٌ، فَإِذَا قُلْتَ قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فَهُوَ الْقَائِلُ الْأَوَّلُ قَبْلَ الْقَائِلِينَ، مُتَكَلِّمًا بِوَصْفِهِ مُخْبِرًا عَنْ عِلْمِهِ بِغَيْرِ وَقْتٍ لِمُوَقَّتٍ وَلَا حَدٍّ لِمَحْدُودٍ وَلَا حَدَثَانٍ، وَإِنْ قُلْتَ قَالَ صَالِحٌ وَقَالَ شُعَيْبٌ فَقَدْ قَالُوهُ بِأَنَّهُمْ ثَوَانٍ فِي الْقَوْلِ وَأَوَاسِطُ بِهِ، وَقَالُوا ذَلِكَ عَنْهُ بِحُدُوثِ أَوْقَاتٍ وَظُهُورِ أَسْبَابٍ، كَذَلِكَ الْأَسْبَابُ فِي

mithla mā yaqūlu fī al-qurʾāni: qāla Allāhu kadhā, walaka ʾan taqūla qāla nūḥun, waqāla yūsufu kadhā, fakullun ṣawābun, faʾidhā qulta qāla Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā fahuwa al-qāʾilu al-ʾawwalu qabla al-qāʾilīna, mutakalliman biwaṣfihi mukhbiran ʿan ʿilmihi bighayri waqtin limuwaqqatin walā ḥaddin limaḥdūdin walā ḥadathānin, waʾin qulta qāla ṣāliḥun waqāla shuʿaybun faqad qālūhu biʾannahum thawānin fī al-qawli waʾawāsiṭu bihi, waqālū dhālika ʿanhu biḥudūthi ʾawqātin waẓuhūri ʾasbābin, kadhālika al-ʾasbābu fī

Thus one says of the Qurʾān, “God said such-and-such,” while one may also say, “Noah said,” or “Joseph said such-and-such.” All are correct. When you say, “God, glory be His and exalted is He, said,” He is the First Speaker before all speakers, speaking through His attribute and declaring His knowledge, without a time assigned to something temporal, a limit assigned to something bounded, or any temporal origination. If you say, “Ṣāliḥ said,” or “Shuʿayb said,” they did say it, but as secondary speakers and intermediaries in speech. They spoke it from Him as times came into being and causes appeared. Likewise, causes in

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٣

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 23

Volume Two, page 23

أَوَاسِطِهَا فَهِيَ ثَوَانٍ عَنِ الْأَوَّلِ الْمُبْدِئِ، وَمِنْ هَهُنَا، وَفِي مِثْلِهِ دَخَلَتِ الشُّبْهَةُ عَلَى الْمُبْتَدِعِينَ فَقَالُوا بِخَلْقِ الْقُرْآنِ، فَلَوْ لَمْ يَدْخُلْ عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ جَعَلُوا قَوْلَ الْقَائِلِينَ قَبْلَ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ أَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ، فَأَثْبَتُوا قَبْلَ قَوْلِهِ قِيلًا وَهُوَ الْقَوْلُ مِنْهُمْ لِنَفْيِهِمْ قِدَمَ الْكَلَامِ، فَوَقَعُوا بِجَهْلِهِمْ فِي أَعْظَمَ مِمَّا هَرَبُوا مِنْهُ لِأَنَّهُمْ هَرَبُوا مِنْ إِثْبَاتِ قَدِيمٍ آخَرَ بِزَعْمِهِمْ، فَوَقَعُوا فِي إِثْبَاتِ حَدَثٍ أَوَّلًا وَإِحْدَاثِ قِدَمٍ ثَانِيًا،

ʾawāsiṭihā fahiya thawānin ʿani al-ʾawwali al-mubdiʾi, wamin hahunā, wafī mithlihi dakhalati al-shubhatu ʿalā al-mubtadiʿīna faqālū bikhalqi al-qurʾāni, falaw lam yadkhul ʿalayhim ʾillā ʾannahum jaʿalū qawla al-qāʾilīna qabla qawli Allāhi ʾaḥkami al-ḥākimīna, faʾathbatū qabla qawlihi qīlan wahuwa al-qawlu minhum linafyihim qidama al-kalāmi, fawaqaʿū bijahlihim fī ʾaʿẓama mimmā harabū minhu liʾannahum harabū min ʾithbāti qadīmin ʾākhara bizaʿmihim, fawaqaʿū fī ʾithbāti ḥadathin ʾawwalan waʾiḥdāthi qidamin thāniyan,

their intermediary roles are secondary to the First, the Originator. Here, and in similar matters, ambiguity overtook the innovators, who maintained that the Qurʾān was created. Even if their only error had been to place the speakers' speech before the speech of God, the wisest of judges, they thereby posited an utterance preceding His: their own speech, through their denial of the eternity of speech. In their ignorance they fell into something greater than what they sought to escape. Claiming to avoid affirming another eternal reality, they ended up affirming a temporal occurrence first and bringing eternity into existence afterward.

تَعَالَى اللَّهُ عَمَّا يَقُولُ الظَّالِمُونَ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا وَسُبْحَانَهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا، وَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا بِجَهْلِهِمْ أَنَّهُمْ إِنَّمَا قَالُوا بَعْدَ قَوْلِهِ، فَصَارَ قَوْلُهُمْ عَنْ قَوْلِهِ، وَكَانَ هُوَ الْأَوَّلَ فِي الْقَوْلِ مِنْ حَيْثُ كَانَ هُوَ الْأَوَّلَ بِالْقِدَمِ وَالسَّابِقَ بِالْعِلْمِ، وَصَارُوا هُمْ ثَوَانِيَ فِي الْمَقَالِ مِنْ حَيْثُ كَانُوا حَوَادِثَ مِنَ الْأَفْعَالِ،

taʿālā Allāhu ʿammā yaqūlu al-ẓālimūna ʿuluwwan kabīran wasubḥānahu bukratan waʾaṣīlan, walam yaʿlamū bijahlihim ʾannahum ʾinnamā qālū baʿda qawlihi, faṣāra qawluhum ʿan qawlihi, wakāna huwa al-ʾawwala fī al-qawli min ḥaythu kāna huwa al-ʾawwala bi-al-qidami wa-al-sābiqa bi-al-ʿilmi, waṣārū hum thawāniya fī al-maqāli min ḥaythu kānū ḥawāditha mina al-ʾafʿāli,

Exalted is God, far above what the wrongdoers say, and glory be His morning and evening. In their ignorance they did not understand that they spoke only after His speech, so their speech derived from His. He was the First in speech because He was the First in eternity and antecedent in knowledge. They were secondary in utterance because they were temporally originated products of His acts.

فَكَذَلِكَ أَيْضًا تَدْخُلُ الشُّبْهَةُ عَلَى الْغَافِلِينَ مِنْ ضَعْفِ الْيَقِينِ لِشُهُودِ الْمَانِعِينَ وَالْمُنْفِقِينَ أَوَائِلَ فِي الْفِعْلِ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَظْهَرَ الْعَطَاءَ وَالْمَنْعَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ، فَشَهِدُوهُمْ مُعْطِينَ مَانِعِينَ لِنُقْصَانِ تَوْحِيدِهِمْ فَأَشْرَكُوا فِي أَسْمَاءِ اللَّهِ كَمَا أَشْرَكَتِ الْمُبْتَدِعَةُ فِي صِفَاتِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنْ حُجِبُوا عَنْ شَهَادَةِ سَبْقِ عِلْمِ اللَّهِ كَمَا حُجِبَ الزَّائِغُونَ عَنْ حَقِيقَةِ تَوْحِيدِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى،

fa-kadhālika ʾayḍan tadkhulu al-shubhatu ʿalā al-ghāfilīna min ḍaʿfi al-yaqīni lishuhūdi al-māniʿīna wa-al-munfiqīna ʾawāʾila fī al-fiʿli min qabli ʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʾaẓhara al-ʿaṭāʾa wa-al-manʿa biʾaydīhim, fashahidūhum muʿṭīna māniʿīna linuqṣāni tawḥīdihim faʾashrakū fī ʾasmāʾi Allāhi kamā ʾashrakati al-mubtadiʿatu fī ṣifāti Allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʾan ḥujibū ʿan shahādati sabqi ʿilmi Allāhi kamā ḥujiba al-zāʾighūna ʿan ḥaqīqati tawḥīdi Allāhi taʿālā,

Similarly, ambiguity overtakes the heedless through weakness of certainty. They see those who withhold or spend as primary agents because God Most High has manifested giving and withholding through their hands. Their deficient realization of unity leads them to see these people as givers and withholders. They associate partners in God's names, as the innovators associated partners in the attributes of God, mighty and majestic, being veiled from witnessing the precedence of God's knowledge, just as those who deviated were veiled from the reality of God Most High's unity.

إِلَّا إِنَّ شِرْكَ الزَّائِغِينَ ضَلَالٌ يَنْقُلُ عَنِ الْمِلَّةِ وَهُوَ شِرْكٌ جَلِيٌّ وَشِرْكُ ضُعَفَاءِ الْيَقِينِ غَفْلَةٌ وَجَهْلٌ لَا يَنْقُلُ عَنِ الْمِلَّةِ لِأَنَّهُ شِرْكٌ خَفِيٌّ، وَحُكِيَ أَنَّ بَعْضَ الْعُلَمَاءِ صَلَّى خَلْفَ رَجُلٍ، فَلَمَّا اِنْفَتَلَ الْإِمَامُ نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ فِي زِيِّ غَيْرِ مُكْتَسِبٍ فَقَالَ: يَا شَيْخُ مِنْ أَيْنَ تَأْكُلُ؟ فَقَالَ: اِصْبِرْ حَتَّى أُعِيدَ الصَّلَاةَ الَّتِي صَلَّيْتُهَا خَلْفَكَ ثُمَّ أُجِيبُكَ،

ʾillā ʾinna shirka al-zāʾighīna ḍalālun yanqulu ʿani al-millati wahuwa shirkun jaliyyun washirku ḍuʿafāʾi al-yaqīni ghaflatun wajahlun lā yanqulu ʿani al-millati liʾannahu shirkun khafiyyun, waḥukiya ʾanna baʿḍa al-ʿulamāʾi ṣallā khalfa rajulin, falammā infatala al-ʾimāmu naẓara ʾilayhi fī ziyyi ghayri muktasibin faqāla: yā shaykhu min ʾayna taʾkulu? faqāla: iṣbir ḥattā ʾuʿīda al-ṣalāta allatī ṣallaytuhā khalfaka thumma ʾujībuka,

The difference is that the deviants' association of partners is an error that removes them from the religious community, being manifest association; the association of those weak in certainty is heedlessness and ignorance that does not remove them from the community, because it is hidden association. It is related that a scholar prayed behind a man. When the imam turned around, he saw him dressed as someone who did not earn a living and asked, “Shaykh, where does your food come from?” He replied, “Wait until I repeat the prayer I prayed behind you, and then I will answer.”

وَحَدَّثُونَا فِي مَعْنَاهُ عَنْ آخَرَ أَنَّهُ لَزِمَ الْعُكُوفَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ ذَا مَعْلُومٍ مِنْ عَيْشٍ فَقَالَ لَهُ الْإِمَامُ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي بِالنَّاسِ: لَوْ تَكَسَّبْتَ وَتَعَبَّسْتَ كَانَ أَفْضَلَ لَكَ فَلَمْ يُجِبْهُ، فَأَعَادَ عَلَيْهِ وَقْتًا آخَرَ نَحْوَ ذَلِكَ، فَقَالَ يَهُودِيٌّ فِي جِوَارِ الْمَسْجِدِ قَدْ ضَمِنَ لِي كُلَّ يَوْمٍ رَغِيفَيْنِ فَقَنِعْتُ بِذَلِكَ وَتَرَكْتُ التَّكَسُّبَ، فَقَالَ الْإِمَامُ: إِنْ كَانَ صَادِقًا فِي ضَمَانِهِ فَإِنَّ عُكُوفَكَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ خَيْرٌ لَكَ، فَقَالَ لَهُ الرَّجُلُ: يَا هَذَا أَنْتَ لَوْ لَمْ تَكُنْ إِمَامًا لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ تَقُومُ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ لِنَقْصِ تَوْحِيدِكَ كَانَ خَيْرًا لَكَ.

waḥaddathūnā fī maʿnāhu ʿan ʾākhara ʾannahu lazima al-ʿukūfa fī al-masjidi walam yakun dhā maʿlūmin min ʿayshin faqāla lahu al-ʾimāmu alladhī yuṣallī bi-al-nāsi: law takassabta wataʿabbasta kāna ʾafḍala laka falam yujibhu, faʾaʿāda ʿalayhi waqtan ʾākhara naḥwa dhālika, faqāla yahūdiyyun fī jiwāri al-masjidi qad ḍamina lī kulla yawmin raghīfayni faqaniʿtu bi-dhālika wataraktu al-takassuba, faqāla al-ʾimāmu: ʾin kāna ṣādiqan fī ḍamānihi faʾinna ʿukūfaka fī al-masjidi khayrun laka, faqāla lahu al-rajulu: yā hādhā ʾanta law lam takun ʾimāman li-l-muslimīna taqūmu baynahum wabayna Allāhi linaqṣi tawḥīdika kāna khayran laka.

They related a similar story about another man who remained in devotional retreat in the mosque without a fixed livelihood. The imam who led the people in prayer told him, “It would be better for you to earn a living and endure its hardship.” He did not answer. When the imam said something similar another time, he replied, “A Jew living beside the mosque has guaranteed me two loaves each day. I am content with that and have stopped earning.” The imam said, “If he is true to his guarantee, then staying in the mosque is better for you.” The man replied, “Sir, given the deficiency of your realization of unity, it would be better if you were not an imam for the Muslims, standing between them and God.”

وَحُدِّثْتُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَى بَعْضِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ: أَدْرِكْ لِي لُطْفَ الْفِطْنَةِ وَخَفِيَّ اللُّطْفِ فَإِنِّي أُحِبُّ ذَلِكَ، قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ وَمَا لُطْفُ الْفِطْنَةِ؟ قَالَ: إِنْ وَقَعَتْ عَلَيْكَ ذُبَابَةٌ فَاِعْلَمْ أَنِّي أَوْقَعْتُهَا فَسَلْنِي أَرْفَعْهَا، قَالَ وَمَا خَفِيُّ اللُّطْفِ؟ قَالَ: إِنْ أَتَتْكَ فُولَةٌ مُسَوَّسَةٌ فَاِعْلَمْ أَنِّي قَدْ ذَكَرْتُكَ بِهَا،

waḥuddithtu ʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilā baʿḍi al-ṣiddīqīna: ʾadrik lī luṭfa al-fiṭnati wakhafiyya al-luṭfi faʾinnī ʾuḥibbu dhālika, qāla: yā rabbi wamā luṭfu al-fiṭnati? qāla: ʾin waqaʿat ʿalayka dhubābatun fa-ʿlam ʾannī ʾawqaʿtuhā fasalnī ʾarfaʿhā, qāla wamā khafiyyu al-luṭfi? qāla: ʾin ʾatatka fūlatun musawwasatun fa-ʿlam ʾannī qad dhakartuka bihā,

I was told that God Most High revealed to one of the utterly truthful: “Attain for Me subtle discernment and hidden kindness, for I love that.” He asked, “My Lord, what is subtle discernment?” He said, “If a fly lands on you, know that I made it land; ask Me to remove it.” He asked, “And what is hidden kindness?” He said, “If a worm-eaten bean comes to you, know that I have remembered you through it.”

وَهَذَا الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى هُوَ الْمُعْطِي الْمَانِعُ الضَّارُّ النَّافِعُ حَيْثُ كَانَ، هُوَ الْخَالِقُ الرَّازِقُ كَيْفَ شَاءَ، وَمَتَى شَاءَ، وَبِمَنْ شَاءَ، هُوَ فِي عُقُودِ عُمُومِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَفِي عِلْمِهِمْ، أَلَا إِنَّ فِيهِمْ جَهْلًا بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَغَفْلَةً عَنِ الْحَاكِمِ، يُحِيلُونَ ذَلِكَ إِلَى عَادَاتِهِمْ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَكُونَ رِزْقُهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ مُعْتَادِهِمْ، أَوْ مِنْ حَيْثُ مَعْقُولِهِمْ بِاِخْتِيَارِهِمْ وَمَعْقُولِهِمْ بِالْعِزِّ وَالْفَخْرِ وَالتَّطَاوُلِ وَالْأَنَفَةِ، لَا عَلَى الذُّلِّ وَالتَّوَاضُعِ وَالْفَقْرِ وَالْمَسْكَنَةِ، وَلَا يَكِلُونَ أُمُورَهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَيَرْضَوْنَ بِتَدْبِيرِهِ وَتَقْدِيرِهِ أَنْ يَرْزُقَهُمْ كَيْفَ شَاءَ وَبِيَدِ مَنْ شَاءَ فَيُؤْثِرُونَ

wa-hādhā alladhī dhakarnāhu min ʾanna Allāha subḥānahu wataʿālā huwa al-muʿṭī al-māniʿu al-ḍārru al-nāfiʿu ḥaythu kāna, huwa al-khāliqu al-rāziqu kayfa shāʾa, wamatā shāʾa, wabiman shāʾa, huwa fī ʿuqūdi ʿumūmi al-muʾminīna wafī ʿilmihim, ʾalā ʾinna fīhim jahlan bi-al-ḥikmati waghaflatan ʿani al-ḥākimi, yuḥīlūna dhālika ʾilā ʿādātihim wayurīdūna ʾan yakūna rizquhum min ḥaythu muʿtādihim, ʾaw min ḥaythu maʿqūlihim bi-khtiyārihim wamaʿqūlihim bi-al-ʿizzi wa-al-fakhri wa-al-taṭāwuli wa-al-ʾanafati, lā ʿalā al-dhulli wa-al-tawāḍuʿi wa-al-faqri wa-al-maskanati, walā yakilūna ʾumūrahum ʾilā Allāhi wayarḍawna bitadbīrihi wataqdīrihi ʾan yarzuqahum kayfa shāʾa wabiyadi man shāʾa fayuʾthirūna

What we have described is part of ordinary believers' convictions and knowledge: that God, glory be His and exalted is He, is the Giver, the Withholder, the Bringer of Harm, and the Benefactor wherever this occurs; that He creates and provides however, whenever, and through whomever He wills. Yet they are ignorant of the wisdom and heedless of the Judge. They refer these things to their habits, wanting their provision to come through familiar or intelligible channels, in accordance with their own choice and understanding, with standing, pride, self-importance, and disdain, rather than lowliness, humility, poverty, and need. They do not entrust their affairs to God and accept His governance and decree that He provide for them however and through whomever He wills. Thus they prefer

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٤

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 24

Volume Two, page 24

أَخْلَاقَ الْجَبَابِرَةِ عَلَى أَخْلَاقِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، لِبُعْدِهِمْ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْيَقِينِ وَلِاسْتِيلَاءِ أَخْلَاقِ النَّفْسِ عَلَيْهِمْ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ نُفُوسَهُمْ مَعَ عِلْمِهِمْ أَنَّ الْخَلْقَ وَالْأَرْضَ كُلَّهُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَأَنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالْمُلْكَ لَهُ، قَدْ تَطْمَعُ فِي غَيْرِ اللَّهِ وَتَرْجُو سِوَاهُ، وَقَدْ تَضْطَرِبُ بِجِبِلَّتِهَا عَنْ أَثْقَالِ الْحَقَائِقِ، وَقُلُوبُهُمْ لَا تَطْمَئِنُّ بَلْ تَنْزَعِجُ عِنْدَ الِابْتِلَاءِ بِالْمَصَائِبِ وَالْفَاقَاتِ، وَلَا تَصْبِرُ لِلْخَالِقِ،

ʾakhlāqa al-jabābirati ʿalā ʾakhlāqi al-muʾminīna, libuʿdihim min mushāhadati al-yaqīni walistīlāʾi ʾakhlāqi al-nafsi ʿalayhim, thumma ʾinna nufūsahum maʿa ʿilmihim ʾanna al-khalqa wa-al-ʾarḍa kullahu li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla, waʾanna al-ḥamda wa-al-mulka lahu, qad taṭmaʿu fī ghayri Allāhi watarjū siwāhu, waqad taḍṭaribu bijibillatihā ʿan ʾathqāli al-ḥaqāʾiqi, waqulūbuhum lā taṭmaʾinnu bal tanzaʿiju ʿinda al-ibtilāʾi bi-al-maṣāʾibi wa-al-fāqāti, walā taṣbiru li-l-khāliqi,

the character of tyrants to that of believers, because they are far from witnessing certainty and are ruled by the self's dispositions. Although they know that all creation and the earth belong to God, mighty and majestic, and that praise and sovereignty are His, their selves may covet and hope in something other than God. Their natural disposition may recoil beneath the weight of realities. Their hearts find no repose, but grow agitated when tested by misfortunes and need, and fail to endure patiently for the Creator.

وَإِنَّ أَلْسِنَتَهُمْ قَدْ تَسْبِقُ بِالْمَدْحِ وَالْفَرَحِ مَعَ رُؤْيَةِ الْأَوَاسِطِ أَوْ بِالذَّمِّ وَالْأَسَى عَلَى فَوْتِ الْعَطَاءِ لِوُجُودِ الْغَفْلَةِ وَذَهَابِهِمْ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ مَا يَعْلَمُونَ، فَهَذَا دَلِيلُ نَقْصِ تَوْحِيدِهِمْ وَضَعْفِ يَقِينِهِمْ، وَإِنَّ مَعْرِفَتَهُمْ مَعْرِفَةُ سَمْعٍ وَخَبَرٍ لَا مَعْرِفَةُ شَهَادَةٍ وَخُبْرٍ، وَقَدْ شَرِكَهُمُ الْمُوقِنُونَ بِتَسْلِيمِ ذَلِكَ لِلَّهِ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْقُدْرَةِ وَإِثْبَاتِ الْأَوَاسِطِ وَالْأَسْبَابِ لِمَجَارِي الْحِكْمَةِ وَعَوْدِ الثَّوَابِ وَالْعِقَابِ عَلَى الْخَلِيقَةِ،

waʾinna ʾalsinatahum qad tasbiqu bi-al-madḥi wa-al-faraḥi maʿa ruʾyati al-ʾawāsiṭi ʾaw bi-al-dhammi wa-al-ʾasā ʿalā fawti al-ʿaṭāʾi liwujūdi al-ghaflati wadhahābihim ʿan mushāhadati mā yaʿlamūna, fa-hādhā dalīlu naqṣi tawḥīdihim waḍaʿfi yaqīnihim, waʾinna maʿrifatahum maʿrifatu samʿin wakhabarin lā maʿrifatu shahādatin wakhubrin, waqad sharikahumu al-mūqinūna bitaslīmi dhālika li-llāhi fī al-ʿilmi wa-al-qudrati waʾithbāti al-ʾawāsiṭi wa-al-ʾasbābi limajārī al-ḥikmati waʿawdi al-thawābi wa-al-ʿiqābi ʿalā al-khalīqati,

Their tongues may rush into praise and joy at the sight of intermediaries, or into blame and sorrow over a gift not received, because they are heedless and have lost sight of what they know. This shows the deficiency of their realization of unity and the weakness of their certainty. Their knowledge comes from hearing and reports, not from witnessing and experience. The people of certainty share with them the acknowledgment that knowledge and power belong to God, while affirming intermediaries and causes as channels of wisdom through which reward and punishment fall upon creation.

وَلَكِنْ زَادُوا عَلَيْهِمْ بِحُسْنِ الْيَقِينِ وَقُوَّةِ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ وَجَمِيلِ الصَّبْرِ وَحَقِيقَةِ الرِّضَا، فَسَكَنَتِ الْقُلُوبُ وَاِطْمَأَنَّتِ النُّفُوسُ عِنْدَ النَّوَازِلِ وَالْبُؤْسِ، وَثَبَتُوا فِي الِابْتِلَاءِ لِشُهُودِ الْمُبْلِي يُدَبِّرُ الْخَلَائِقَ كَيْفَ شَاءَ، فَحَصَلَ لَهُمْ فِي الْيَقِينِ وَحَالٌ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ وَنَصِيبٌ مِنَ الرِّضَا، وَخَرَجَ أُولَئِكَ مِنْ حَقَائِقِ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي وَدَخَلُوا فِي عُمُومِهَا، وَدَخَلَ عُمُومُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مَعَ الْمُوقِنِينَ فِي فَرْضِ التَّوَكُّلِ،

wa-lākin zādū ʿalayhim biḥusni al-yaqīni waquwwati al-mushāhadati wajamīli al-ṣabri waḥaqīqati al-riḍā, fasakanati al-qulūbu wa-ṭmaʾannati al-nufūsu ʿinda al-nawāzili wa-al-buʾsi, wathabatū fī al-ibtilāʾi lishuhūdi al-mublī yudabbiru al-khalāʾiqa kayfa shāʾa, faḥaṣala lahum fī al-yaqīni waḥālun mina al-tawakkuli wanaṣībun mina al-riḍā, wakharaja ʾulāʾika min ḥaqāʾiqi hādhihi al-maʿānī wadakhalū fī ʿumūmihā, wadakhala ʿumūmu al-muʾminīna maʿa al-mūqinīna fī farḍi al-tawakkuli,

But they surpass them in the soundness of certainty, the strength of witnessing, beautiful patience, and genuine contentment. Their hearts become still and their selves find repose amid calamity and distress. They stand firm under trial because they witness the One who tests, governing creatures as He wills. They thus attain something in certainty, a state of trust, and a portion of contentment. The others remain outside the realized depths of these meanings, though included in their general sense. Ordinary believers share with the people of certainty the obligatory degree of trust.

قَدْ جَاوَزَهُمُ الْمُوقِنُونَ فَاِرْتَفَعُوا عَلَيْهِمْ وَعَلَوْا فِي فَضْلِهِ وَوَقَفَ الْعُمُومُ وَنَكَصُوا عَنِ الْعُلُوِّ لِقُعُودِ الْيَقِينِ بِهِمْ وَحَجْبِ الْأَسْبَابِ لَهُمْ، وَسَبَقَ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ إِلَى الْفَضْلِ، وَيُؤْتِ كُلَّ ذِي فَضْلٍ فَضْلَهُ، هُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ، وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: اِحْتَجَبَ عَنِ الْعُمُومِ بِالْأَسْبَابِ فَهُمْ يَرَوْنَهَا، وَحَجَبَ الْأَسْبَابَ بِنَفْسِهِ عَنِ الْخُصُوصِ فَهُمْ يَرَوْنَهَا وَلَا يَرَوْنَهَا،

qad jāwazahumu al-mūqinūna fa-rtafaʿū ʿalayhim waʿalaw fī faḍlihi wawaqafa al-ʿumūmu wanakaṣū ʿani al-ʿuluwwi liquʿūdi al-yaqīni bihim waḥajbi al-ʾasbābi lahum, wasabaqa al-muqarrabūna ʾilā al-faḍli, wayuʾti kulla dhī faḍlin faḍlahu, hum darajātun ʿinda Allāhi, wa-Allāhu baṣīrun bimā yaʿmalūna, waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: iḥtajaba ʿani al-ʿumūmi bi-al-ʾasbābi fahum yarawnahā, waḥajaba al-ʾasbāba binafsihi ʿani al-khuṣūṣi fahum yarawnahā walā yarawnahā,

The people of certainty have gone beyond them, rising above them in the excellence of trust. Ordinary believers have halted and drawn back from ascent because their certainty fails to carry them and causes veil them. Those brought near have advanced toward excellence: “He grants every person of excellence his due,” and “They have degrees with God, and God sees what they do.” A scholar said, “He veils Himself from ordinary people by causes, so they see them. From the elect He veils causes by Himself, so they see them and do not see them.”

وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ سَرِيٍّ السَّقَطِيِّ قَالَ: ثَلَاثٌ يَسْتَبِينُ بِهِنَّ الْيَقِينُ، الْقِيَامُ بِالْحَقِّ فِي مَوَاطِنِ الْهَلَكَةِ، وَالتَّسْلِيمُ لِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ عِنْدَ نُزُولِ الْبَلَاءِ، وَالرِّضَا بِالْقَضَاءِ عَنْ زَوَالِ النِّعْمَةِ، وَقَالَ يُوسُفُ بْنُ أَسْبَاطٍ قَبْلَهُ: كَانَ يُقَالُ: ثَلَاثٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ اِسْتَكْمَلَ إِيمَانَهُ، مَنْ إِذَا رَضِيَ لَمْ يُخْرِجْهُ رِضَاهُ إِلَى بَاطِلٍ، وَإِذَا غَضِبَ لَمْ يُخْرِجْهُ غَضَبُهُ عَنْ حَقٍّ، وَإِذَا قَدَرَ لَمْ يَتَنَاوَلْ مَا لَيْسَ لَهُ.

waḥaddathūnā ʿan sariyyin al-saqaṭiyyi qāla: thalāthun yastabīnu bihinna al-yaqīnu, al-qiyāmu bi-al-ḥaqqi fī mawāṭini al-halakati, wa-al-taslīmu liʾamri Allāhi ʿinda nuzūli al-balāʾi, wa-al-riḍā bi-al-qaḍāʾi ʿan zawāli al-niʿmati, waqāla yūsufu bnu ʾasbāṭin qablahu: kāna yuqālu: thalāthun man kunna fīhi istakmala ʾīmānahu, man ʾidhā raḍiya lam yukhrijhu riḍāhu ʾilā bāṭilin, waʾidhā ghaḍiba lam yukhrijhu ghaḍabuhu ʿan ḥaqqin, waʾidhā qadara lam yatanāwal mā laysa lahu.

They related from Sarī al-Saqaṭī: “Three things reveal certainty: upholding the truth where destruction threatens, submitting to God's command when affliction descends, and accepting the decree when a blessing disappears.” Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ said before him: “It used to be said that whoever possesses three traits has perfected his faith: when pleased, his pleasure does not lead him into falsehood; when angry, his anger does not drive him away from truth; and when he has power, he does not take what is not his.”

ذِكْرُ التَّكَسُّبِ وَالتَّصَرُّفِ فِي الْمَعَايِشِ

dhikru al-takassubi wa-al-taṣarrufi fī al-maʿāyishi

On Earning and Engaging in Livelihoods

وَلَا يَضُرُّ التَّصَرُّفُ وَالتَّكَسُّبُ لِمَنْ صَحَّ تَوَكُّلُهُ وَلَا يَقْدَحُ فِي مَقَامِهِ وَلَا يَنْقُصُ مِنْ حَالِهِ قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ: ﴿وَجَعَلْنَا النَّهَارَ مَعَاشًا﴾ النَّبَإِ: 11، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَجَعَلْنَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا مَعَايِشَ قَلِيلًا مَا تَشْكُرُونَ﴾ الْأَعْرَافِ: 10، وَرُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَحَلُّ مَا أَكَلَ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ كَسْبِ يَدِهِ وَكُلُّ بَيْعٍ مَبْرُورٍ،

walā yaḍurru al-taṣarrufu wa-al-takassubu liman ṣaḥḥa tawakkuluhu walā yaqdaḥu fī maqāmihi walā yanquṣu min ḥālihi qāla Allāhu subḥānahu: ﴿wajaʿalnā al-nahāra maʿāshan﴾ al-nabaʾi: 11, waqāla taʿālā: ﴿wajaʿalnā lakum fīhā maʿāyisha qalīlan mā tashkurūna﴾ al-ʾaʿrāfi: 10, waruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾaḥallu mā ʾakala al-ʿabdu min kasbi yadihi wakullu bayʿin mabrūrin,

Engaging in work and earning a living do not harm someone whose trust is sound; they neither compromise his station nor diminish his state. God, glory be His, says, “We made the day a time for livelihood” (al-Nabaʾ 78:11), and the Exalted says, “We established livelihoods for you on it; how little thanks you give” (al-Aʿrāf 7:10). It is related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “The most lawful food a servant eats comes from the work of his own hands and from every honest sale.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ الصَّانِعُ بِيَدِهِ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنَ التَّاجِرِ، وَالتَّاجِرُ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنَ الْبَطَّالِ، وَقَالَ اِبْنُ مَسْعُودٍ: إِنِّي لَأَكْرَهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ الرَّجُلُ بَطَّالًا لَيْسَ فِي عَمَلِ دُنْيَا، وَلَا فِي عَمَلِ آخِرَةٍ، وَلِأَنَّ التَّوَكُّلَ مِنْ شَرْطِ الْإِيمَانِ وَوَصْفِ الْإِسْلَامِ، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنْ كُنْتُمْ آمَنْتُمْ بِاللَّهِ فَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلُوا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُسْلِمِينَ﴾ يُونُسَ: 84، فَاِشْتَرَطَ فِي الْإِيمَانِ بِهِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ لَهُ التَّوَكُّلَ عَلَيْهِ،

waqad kāna al-ṣāniʿu biyadihi ʾaḥabba ʾilayhim mina al-tājiri, wa-al-tājiru ʾaḥabba ʾilayhim mina al-baṭṭāli, waqāla ibnu masʿūdin: ʾinnī laʾakrahu ʾan yakūna al-rajulu baṭṭālan laysa fī ʿamali dunyā, walā fī ʿamali ʾākhiratin, waliʾanna al-tawakkula min sharṭi al-ʾīmāni wawaṣfi al-ʾislāmi, qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿ʾin kuntum ʾāmantum bi-Allāhi faʿalayhi tawakkalū ʾin kuntum muslimīna﴾ yūnusa: 84, fa-shtaraṭa fī al-ʾīmāni bihi wa-al-ʾislāmi lahu al-tawakkula ʿalayhi,

They preferred a craftsman working with his hands to a merchant, and a merchant to an idle man. Ibn Masʿūd said, “I dislike a man being idle, engaged neither in work for this world nor in work for the next.” Trust is a condition of faith and a characteristic of submission. God Most High says, “If you believe in God, place your trust in Him, if you are those who submit” (Yūnus 10:84). He thus makes trust in Him a condition of believing in Him and submitting to Him.

فَإِنْ كَانَ حَالُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ التَّصَرُّفَ فِيمَا قَدْ وُجِّهَ فِيهِ وَدَخَلَ فِي الْأَسْبَابِ وَهُوَ نَاظِرٌ إِلَى الْمُسَبِّبِ فِي تَصْرِيفِهِ، مُعْتَمِدٌ عَلَيْهِ وَاثِقٌ بِهِ فِي حَرَكَتِهِ، مُتَسَبِّبٌ فِيمَا يُقَلِّبُهُ فِيهِ مَوْلَاهُ، مُتَعَيِّشٌ

faʾin kāna ḥālu al-mutawakkili al-taṣarrufa fīmā qad wujjiha fīhi wadakhala fī al-ʾasbābi wahuwa nāẓirun ʾilā al-musabbibi fī taṣrīfihi, muʿtamidun ʿalayhi wāthiqun bihi fī ḥarakatihi, mutasabbibun fīmā yuqallibuhu fīhi mawlāhu, mutaʿayyishun

Suppose the trusting person's state calls for activity in the work to which he has been directed. He engages with causes while looking to the One who brings causes about as He directs affairs, relying upon Him and confident in Him as he acts, using the means amid which his Master moves him and earning his livelihood

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٥

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 25

Volume Two, page 25

فِيمَا يُسَبِّبُهُ لَهُ وَيُوَجِّهُهُ فِيهِ، عَالِمٌ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ أَوْدَعَ الْأَشْيَاءَ مَنَافِعَ خَلْقِهِ وَجَعَلَهَا خَزَائِنَ حِكْمَتِهِ وَمَفَاتِحَ رِزْقِهِ، وَيَكُونُ أَيْضًا مُتَّبِعًا لِلسُّنَّةِ وَالْأَثَرِ تَارِكًا التَّرَفُّهَ وَالتَّنَعُّمَ، فَهُوَ فِي تَكَسُّبِهِ وَتَصَرُّفِهِ أَفْضَلُ مِمَّنْ دَخَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْعِلَلُ فِي تَوَكُّلِهِ فَسَاكَنَهَا، وَقَدْ ذُكِرَ لَنَا عَنْ بَعْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ أَنَّهُ رُئِيَ يَطْحَنُ بِرِجْلِهِ، وَكَانَ قَدْ تَرَكَ الْعَمَلَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً فَقِيلَ لَهُ: دَخَلْتَ فِي التَّكَسُّبِ بَعْدَ أَنْ كُنْتَ قَدْ تَرَكْتَهُ؟ فَقَالَ: يَا هَذَا، إِذَا عَدِمْنَا عِزَّ التَّوَكُّلِ لَمْ نَصْبِرْ عَلَى ذُلِّ الِاسْتِشْرَافِ،

fīmā yusabbibuhu lahu wayuwajjihuhu fīhi, ʿālimun biʾanna Allāha taʿālā qad ʾawdaʿa al-ʾashyāʾa manāfiʿa khalqihi wajaʿalahā khazāʾina ḥikmatihi wamafātiḥa rizqihi, wayakūnu ʾayḍan muttabiʿan li-l-sunnati wa-al-ʾathari tārikan al-taraffuha wa-al-tanaʿʿuma, fahuwa fī takassubihi wataṣarrufihi ʾafḍalu mimman dakhalat ʿalayhi al-ʿilalu fī tawakkulihi fasākanahā, waqad dhukira lanā ʿan baʿḍi al-ʿulamāʾi ʾannahu ruʾiya yaṭḥanu birijlihi, wakāna qad taraka al-ʿamala ʾarbaʿīna sanatan faqīla lahu: dakhalta fī al-takassubi baʿda ʾan kunta qad taraktahu? faqāla: yā hādhā, ʾidhā ʿadimnā ʿizza al-tawakkuli lam naṣbir ʿalā dhulli al-istishrāfi,

through what He makes available and directs him toward. He knows that God Most High has placed benefits for His creatures within things, making them treasuries of His wisdom and keys to His provision. He also follows the Sunna and transmitted practice, abandoning ease and luxury. In his earning and activity, he is better than someone whose trust has become infected by defects with which he has made his peace. We were told of a scholar seen working a mill with his foot after having abandoned work for forty years. Asked why he had returned to earning, he replied, “Sir, when we lack the dignity of trust, we will not endure the humiliation of looking expectantly to others.”

فَكَذَلِكَ الْأَمْرُ فِيمَنْ دَخَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْآفَةُ فِي تَرْكِ التَّكَسُّبِ، فَلْيَخْرُجْ مِنْهَا إِلَى الِاحْتِرَافِ، وَمَنْ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ الْيَقِينُ فَاِقْتَطَعَهُ فَلْيَقْعُدْ عَنِ الِاكْتِسَابِ، فَالتَّكَسُّبُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ التَّشَرُّفِ إِلَى الْخَلْقِ وَاِعْتِيَادِ الْمَسْأَلَةِ، وَسَالِكٌ عَلَى طَرِيقٍ فَهُوَ يَصِلُ وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي طَرِيقِهِ بُعْدٌ، وَالتَّوَكُّلُ لِمَنْ أَقْعَدَ بِهِ نَاظِرٌ إِلَى الْوَكِيلِ أَفْضَلُ لِمَنْ صَحَّ لَهُ لِفَرَاغِ قَلْبِهِ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ وَشُغْلِهِ بِالْخَالِقِ، وَهُوَ طَرِيقٌ قَرِيبٌ فَصَاحِبُهُ مُقَرَّبٌ،

fa-kadhālika al-ʾamru fīman dakhalat ʿalayhi al-ʾāfatu fī tarki al-takassubi, falyakhruj minhā ʾilā al-iḥtirāfi, waman dakhala ʿalayhi al-yaqīnu fa-qtaṭaʿahu falyaqʿud ʿani al-iktisābi, fa-al-takassubu khayrun mina al-tasharrufi ʾilā al-khalqi wa-ʿtiyādi al-masʾalati, wasālikun ʿalā ṭarīqin fahuwa yaṣilu waʾin kāna fī ṭarīqihi buʿdun, wa-al-tawakkulu liman ʾaqʿada bihi nāẓirun ʾilā al-wakīli ʾafḍalu liman ṣaḥḥa lahu lifarāghi qalbihi mina al-khalqi washughlihi bi-al-khāliqi, wahuwa ṭarīqun qarībun faṣāḥibuhu muqarrabun,

The same applies to anyone whose abandonment of earning has brought on a spiritual fault: let him leave it for a trade. Whoever is overtaken and wholly claimed by certainty should refrain from earning. Earning is better than looking expectantly to creatures and becoming accustomed to asking; its practitioner travels a road and will arrive, however long that road may be. For someone who refrains from work while looking to the Trustee, trust is better, provided it is sound in him: his heart is free of creatures and occupied with the Creator. This road is short, and its traveler is brought near.

وَالتَّارِكُ لِلتَّكَسُّبِ طَمَعًا فِي الْخَلْقِ وَتَرَفُّهًا لِلنَّفْسِ وَحُبًّا لِلْمَسْأَلَةِ وَاِتِّبَاعًا لِلْهَوَى، سَالِكٌ عَلَى غَيْرِ طَرِيقٍ لَا قَرِيبٍ وَلَا بَعِيدٍ هُوَ عَنِ الْمَحَجَّةِ جَائِرٌ، كَمَا رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لَأَنْ يَأْخُذَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَأْسَهُ وَحَبْلَهُ فَيَذْهَبَ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ فَيَحْتَطِبَ فَيَأْكُلَ وَيَتَصَدَّقَ، خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يَسْأَلَ النَّاسَ أَعْطَوْهُ أَوْ مَنَعُوهُ،

wa-al-tāriku li-l-takassubi ṭamaʿan fī al-khalqi wataraffuhan li-l-nafsi waḥubban li-l-masʾalati wa-ttibāʿan li-l-hawā, sālikun ʿalā ghayri ṭarīqin lā qarībin walā baʿīdin huwa ʿani al-maḥajjati jāʾirun, kamā ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: laʾan yaʾkhudha ʾaḥadukum faʾsahu waḥablahu fayadhhaba ʾilā al-jabali fayaḥtaṭiba fayaʾkula wayataṣaddaqa, khayrun lahu min ʾan yasʾala al-nāsa ʾaʿṭawhu ʾaw manaʿūhu,

Someone who abandons earning out of covetousness toward creatures, a desire for personal comfort, love of asking, or obedience to whim travels no road, near or far; he has strayed from the clear way. It is related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “For one of you to take his axe and rope, go to the mountain, gather firewood, and thereby eat and give charity is better than asking people, whether they give to him or refuse him.”

وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: اِسْتَغْنُوا عَنِ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ بِشَوْصِ السِّوَاكِ يَعْنِي بِمَضْغِهِ، وَقَالَ: مَنْ يَضْمَنُ لِي خَصْلَةً وَاحِدَةً، أَضْمَنْ لَهُ الْجَنَّةَ، لَا يَسْأَلُ النَّاسَ شَيْئًا، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا: مَنْ أَنْكَرَ التَّكَسُّبَ فَقَدْ طَعَنَ فِي السُّنَّةِ، وَمَنْ أَنْكَرَ الْقُعُودَ عَنِ التَّكَسُّبِ فَقَدْ طَعَنَ فِي التَّوْحِيدِ،

waqāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: istaghnū ʿani al-nāsi walaw bishawṣi al-siwāki yaʿnī bimaḍghihi, waqāla: man yaḍmanu lī khaṣlatan wāḥidatan, ʾaḍman lahu al-jannata, lā yasʾalu al-nāsa shayʾan, waqāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā: man ʾankara al-takassuba faqad ṭaʿana fī al-sunnati, waman ʾankara al-quʿūda ʿani al-takassubi faqad ṭaʿana fī al-tawḥīdi,

He said, God bless him and grant him peace, “Be independent of people, even by chewing a tooth-stick,” meaning chewing it. He also said, “Whoever guarantees me one practice, I guarantee him Paradise: that he ask people for nothing.” One of our scholars said, “Whoever rejects earning has impugned the Sunna; whoever rejects abstaining from earning has impugned divine unity.”

وَقَالَ: بُعِثَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَى الْخَلْقِ وَهُمْ أَصْنَافٌ كَمَا هُمْ الْيَوْمَ، مِنْهُمُ التَّاجِرُ، وَالصَّانِعُ، وَالْقَاعِدُ، وَمَنْ يَسْأَلُ النَّاسَ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْأَلِ النَّاسَ، فَمَا قَالَ لِلتَّاجِرِ اُتْرُكْ تِجَارَتَكَ وَلَا قَالَ لِلْقَاعِدِ: اِكْتَسِبْ وَاِصْنَعْ، بَلْ جَاءَهُمْ بِالْإِيمَانِ وَالْيَقِينِ فِي جَمِيعِ أَحْوَالِهِمْ وَتَرَكَهُمْ مَعَ اللَّهِ فِي التَّدْبِيرِ، فَعَمِلَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ بِعَمَلِهِ فِي حَالِهِ،

waqāla: buʿitha al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾilā al-khalqi wahum ʾaṣnāfun kamā hum al-yawma, minhumu al-tājiru, wa-al-ṣāniʿu, wa-al-qāʿidu, waman yasʾalu al-nāsa, waman lam yasʾali al-nāsa, famā qāla li-l-tājiri utruk tijārataka walā qāla li-l-qāʿidi: iktasib wa-ṣnaʿ, bal jāʾahum bi-al-ʾīmāni wa-al-yaqīni fī jamīʿi ʾaḥwālihim watarakahum maʿa Allāhi fī al-tadbīri, faʿamila kullu wāḥidin biʿamalihi fī ḥālihi,

He continued, “The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, was sent to people of different kinds, as they are today: merchants, craftsmen, those who refrain from work, those who ask people, and those who do not. He did not tell the merchant to abandon his trade or the one refraining from work to earn and practice a craft. He brought them faith and certainty in all their circumstances and left the ordering of their affairs between them and God. Each continued his own work in his own condition.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ يَقُولُ: مَنْ لَمْ يَصْبِرْ عَلَى جُوعِ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ أَخَافُ أَنْ لَا يَسَعَهُ تَرْكُ الْعَمَلِ إِذَا وَجَدَهُ، وَقَالَ أَيْضًا: مَنْ فَقَدَ الْأَسْبَابَ فَضَعُفَ قَلْبُهُ، أَوْ كَانَ وُجُودُهَا أَسْكَنَ لِقَلْبِهِ مِنْ عَدَمِهَا، لَمْ يَصِحَّ لَهُ الْقُعُودُ عَنِ الْمَكَاسِبِ لِأَنَّ فِيهِ اِنْتِظَارًا لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: مَنْ طَرَقَتْهُ فَاقَةُ تِسْعَةِ أَيَّامٍ، فَتَصَوَّرَ فِي قَلْبِهِ طَمَعٌ فِي خَلْقٍ أَوِ اِسْتِشْرَافٌ إِلَى عَبْدٍ، فَالسُّوقُ أَفْضَلُ لَهُ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ،

waqad kāna baʿḍu al-mutawakkilīna yaqūlu: man lam yaṣbir ʿalā jūʿi thalāthati ʾayyāmin ʾakhāfu ʾan lā yasaʿahu tarku al-ʿamali ʾidhā wajadahu, waqāla ʾayḍan: man faqada al-ʾasbāba faḍaʿufa qalbuhu, ʾaw kāna wujūduhā ʾaskana liqalbihi min ʿadamihā, lam yaṣiḥḥa lahu al-quʿūdu ʿani al-makāsibi liʾanna fīhi intiẓāran lighayri Allāhi, waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: man ṭaraqathu fāqatu tisʿati ʾayyāmin, fataṣawwara fī qalbihi ṭamaʿun fī khalqin ʾawi istishrāfun ʾilā ʿabdin, fa-al-sūqu ʾafḍalu lahu mina al-masjidi,

One of those who trust used to say, “If someone cannot patiently endure three days of hunger, I fear he is not permitted to leave work when he can find it.” He also said, “Someone whose heart weakens when means disappear, or whose heart is calmer when they are present than when they are absent, cannot properly refrain from earning, because he is awaiting something other than God.” A scholar said, “If someone suffers nine days of want and begins to harbor covetousness toward a creature or expectation of a servant, the marketplace is better for him than the mosque.”

وَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ: لَا خَيْرَ فِي عَبْدٍ لَزِمَ الْقُعُودَ فِي الْبَيْتِ وَقَلْبُهُ مُعَلَّقٌ بِقَرْعِ الْبَابِ مَتَى يُطْرَقُ بِسَبَبٍ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا: إِذَا اِسْتَوَى عِنْدَهُ وُجُودُ السَّبَبِ وَعَدَمُهُ، وَكَانَ قَلْبُهُ سَاكِنًا مُطْمَئِنًّا عِنْدَ الْعَدَمِ، لَمْ يَشْغَلْهُ ذَلِكَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَلَمْ يَتَفَرَّقْ هَمُّهُ، فَتَرْكُ التَّكَسُّبِ وَالْقُعُودُ لِهَذَا، أَفْضَلُ لِشُغْلِهِ بِحَالِهِ وَتَزَوُّدِهِ لِمَعَادِهِ، وَقَدْ صَحَّ لَهُ مَقَامٌ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ،

waqāla ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu: lā khayra fī ʿabdin lazima al-quʿūda fī al-bayti waqalbuhu muʿallaqun biqarʿi al-bābi matā yuṭraqu bisababin, waqāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā: ʾidhā istawā ʿindahu wujūdu al-sababi waʿadamuhu, wakāna qalbuhu sākinan muṭmaʾinnan ʿinda al-ʿadami, lam yashghalhu dhālika ʿani Allāhi taʿālā, walam yatafarraq hammuhu, fatarku al-takassubi wa-al-quʿūdu li-hādhā, ʾafḍalu lishughlihi biḥālihi watazawwudihi limaʿādihi, waqad ṣaḥḥa lahu maqāmun fī al-tawakkuli,

Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī said, “There is no good in a servant who keeps to his house while his heart hangs on the knock at the door, waiting for some means of support to arrive.” One of our scholars said, “When the presence and absence of a means are equal to him, and his heart is still and tranquil in its absence, without distraction from God Most High or dispersal of his concern, then leaving earning and refraining from work are better for him. He can attend to his spiritual state and gather provision for his return. He has attained a sound station in trust.”

وَقَالَ سَهْلٌ وَقَدْ سُئِلَ: مَتَى يَصِحُّ لِلْعَبْدِ التَّوَكُّلُ؟ فَقَالَ: إِذَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ الضُّرُّ فِي جَسَدِهِ، وَالنَّقْصُ فِي مَالِهِ، فَلَمْ

waqāla sahlun waqad suʾila: matā yaṣiḥḥu li-l-ʿabdi al-tawakkulu? faqāla: ʾidhā dakhala ʿalayhi al-ḍurru fī jasadihi, wa-al-naqṣu fī mālihi, falam

Sahl was asked, “When does trust become sound in a servant?” He answered, “When harm afflicts his body and loss diminishes his wealth, yet he does not

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٦

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 26

Volume Two, page 26

يَلْتَفِتْ إِلَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَحْزَنْ عَلَيْهِ شُغْلًا بِحَالِهِ وَيَنْظُرُ إِلَى قِيَامِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ، وَقَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْخَوَّاصُ وَهُوَ إِمَامُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ مِنَ الْمُتَأَخِّرِينَ: ثَلَاثَةُ مَوَاطِنَ حَمْلُ الزَّادِ فِيهِنَّ مِنْ آدَابِ التَّوَكُّلِ: الْقُعُودُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ وَالرُّكُوبُ فِي سَفِينَةٍ وَصُحْبَةُ الْقَافِلَةِ، وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ: الْعَالِمُ إِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ مَعِيشَةٌ صَارَ وَكِيلًا لِلظَّلَمَةِ، وَالْعَابِدُ إِذَا لَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ مَعِيشَةٌ أَكَلَ بِدِينِهِ، وَالْجَاهِلُ إِذَا لَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ مَعِيشَةٌ كَانَ سَفِيرًا لِلْفُسَّاقِ،

yaltafit ʾilayhi walam yaḥzan ʿalayhi shughlan biḥālihi wayanẓuru ʾilā qiyāmi Allāhi ʿalayhi, waqāla ʾibrāhīmu al-khawwāṣu wahuwa ʾimāmu al-mutawakkilīna mina al-mutaʾakhkhirīna: thalāthatu mawāṭina ḥamlu al-zādi fīhinna min ʾādābi al-tawakkuli: al-quʿūdu fī al-masjidi wa-al-rukūbu fī safīnatin waṣuḥbatu al-qāfilati, waqāla sufyānu al-thawriyyu: al-ʿālimu ʾidhā lam yakun lahu maʿīshatun ṣāra wakīlan li-l-ẓalamati, wa-al-ʿābidu ʾidhā lam takun lahu maʿīshatun ʾakala bidīnihi, wa-al-jāhilu ʾidhā lam takun lahu maʿīshatun kāna safīran li-l-fussāqi,

turn toward it or grieve over it, being occupied with his spiritual state and looking to God's sustaining care for him.” Ibrāhīm al-Khawwāṣ, a leader among the later people of trust, said, “In three circumstances, carrying provisions belongs to the proper conduct of trust: remaining in a mosque, traveling aboard a ship, and accompanying a caravan.” Sufyān al-Thawrī said, “A scholar without a livelihood becomes an agent for oppressors; a worshipper without a livelihood eats by means of his religion; and an ignorant man without a livelihood becomes an intermediary for the dissolute.”

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ: النَّاسُ ثَلَاثَةٌ، رَجُلٌ شَغَلَهُ مَعَادُهُ عَنْ مَعَاشِهِ فَهَذِهِ دَرَجَةُ الْفَائِزِينَ، وَرَجُلٌ شَغَلَهُ مَعَاشُهُ لِمَعَادِهِ فَتِلْكَ حَالُ النَّاجِينَ، وَآخَرُ شَغَلَهُ مَعَاشُهُ عَنْ مَعَادِهِ فَهَذِهِ صِفَةُ الْهَالِكِينَ.

waqāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-maʿrifati: al-nāsu thalāthatun, rajulun shaghalahu maʿāduhu ʿan maʿāshihi fa-hādhihi darajatu al-fāʾizīna, warajulun shaghalahu maʿāshuhu limaʿādihi fatilka ḥālu al-nājīna, waʾākharu shaghalahu maʿāshuhu ʿan maʿādihi fa-hādhihi ṣifatu al-hālikīna.

One of the people of spiritual knowledge said, “People are of three kinds: a man whose return to the next world occupies him instead of his livelihood, which is the degree of those who triumph; a man occupied with his livelihood for the sake of his return, which is the state of those who are saved; and another whose livelihood distracts him from his return, which is the character of those who perish.”

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ الرِّزْقُ رِزْقَانِ: رِزْقٌ يَطْلُبُكَ وَرِزْقٌ تَطْلُبُهُ، فَفَسَّرَهُ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ فَقَالَ: الرِّزْقُ الَّذِي يَطْلُبُكَ هُوَ رِزْقُ الْغِذَاءِ، وَالرِّزْقُ الَّذِي تَطْلُبُهُ رِزْقُ التَّمْلِيكِ، وَهُوَ طَلَبُ فُضُولِ الْقُوتِ، وَقَالَ أَبُو يَعْقُوبَ السُّوسِيُّ وَقَدْ كَانَ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَكِينٌ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ: التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَى ثَلَاثَةِ مَقَامَاتٍ، عَامٌّ وَخَاصٌّ عَامٌّ وَخَاصٌّ خَاصٌّ،

warawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu al-rizqu rizqāni: rizqun yaṭlubuka warizqun taṭlubuhu, fafassarahu baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi faqāla: al-rizqu alladhī yaṭlubuka huwa rizqu al-ghidhāʾi, wa-al-rizqu alladhī taṭlubuhu rizqu al-tamlīki, wahuwa ṭalabu fuḍūli al-qūti, waqāla ʾabū yaʿqūba al-sūsiyyu waqad kāna lahu maqāmun makīnun fī al-tawakkuli: al-tawakkulu ʿalā thalāthati maqāmātin, ʿāmmun wakhāṣṣun ʿāmmun wakhāṣṣun khāṣṣun,

We have related from ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him: “Provision is of two kinds: provision that seeks you, and provision that you seek.” A scholar explained, “The provision that seeks you is nourishment; the provision you seek is acquisition of possessions, the pursuit of what exceeds subsistence.” Abū Yaʿqūb al-Sūsī, who held a firmly established station in trust, said, “Trust has three stations: the general, the general within the particular, and the particular within the particular.”

فَمَنْ دَخَلَ فِي الْأَسْبَابِ وَاِسْتَعْمَلَ الْعِلْمَ وَتَوَكَّلَ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلَمْ يَتَحَقَّقْ بِالْيَقِينِ فَهُوَ عَامٌّ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ الْأَسْبَابَ وَتَوَكَّلَ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَحَقَّقَ فِي الْيَقِينِ فَهُوَ خَاصٌّ عَامٌّ، وَمَنْ خَرَجَ مِنَ الْأَسْبَابِ عَلَى حَقِيقَتِهِ لِوُجُودِ الْيَقِينِ، ثُمَّ دَخَلَ فِي الْأَسْبَابِ فَتَصَرَّفَ لِغَيْرِهِ فَهَذَا خَاصٌّ خَاصٌّ، وَهَذَا وَصْفُ الطَّبَقَةِ الْعُلْيَا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْعَشَرَةِ وَغَيْرِهِمْ،

faman dakhala fī al-ʾasbābi wa-staʿmala al-ʿilma watawakkala ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā walam yataḥaqqaq bi-al-yaqīni fahuwa ʿāmmun, waman taraka al-ʾasbāba watawakkala ʿalā Allāhi waḥaqqaqa fī al-yaqīni fahuwa khāṣṣun ʿāmmun, waman kharaja mina al-ʾasbābi ʿalā ḥaqīqatihi liwujūdi al-yaqīni, thumma dakhala fī al-ʾasbābi fataṣarrafa lighayrihi fa-hādhā khāṣṣun khāṣṣun, wa-hādhā waṣfu al-ṭabaqati al-ʿulyā min ʾaṣḥābi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-ʿasharati waghayrihim,

“Whoever engages with causes, acts according to knowledge, and trusts in God Most High without realizing certainty belongs to the general station. Whoever leaves causes, trusts in God, and becomes established in certainty belongs to the general within the particular. Whoever truly withdraws from causes because certainty is present, then reenters them and acts for someone else, belongs to the particular within the particular.” This describes the highest rank of the companions of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: the Ten and others.

جَرَّدَهُمُ الْيَقِينُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا فَأَدْخَلَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ فِي الْأَسْبَابِ لِغَيْرِهِمْ رُدَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَحْوَالُ الْغَيْرِ، وَاِتَّسَعُوا بِالْعِلْمِ عَلَى حَقِيقَةِ الْيَقِينِ، وَلِذَلِكَ كَانَ الْخَوَّاصُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: دُخُولُ الْخُصُوصِ فِي الْأَسْبَابِ لِغَيْرِهِمْ رُدَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَحْوَالُ الْغَيْرِ وَجُعِلُوا رَازِقِينَ لَهُمْ، فَتَصَرَّفُوا فِيهَا لِأَجْلِهِمْ وَهُمْ بَرِيئُونَ مِنَ التَّعَلُّقِ بِهَا،

jarradahumu al-yaqīnu mina al-dunyā faʾadkhalahumu al-ʿilmu fī al-ʾasbābi lighayrihim ruddat ʿalayhim ʾaḥwālu al-ghayri, wa-ttasaʿū bi-al-ʿilmi ʿalā ḥaqīqati al-yaqīni, wali-dhālika kāna al-khawwāṣu raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: dukhūlu al-khuṣūṣi fī al-ʾasbābi lighayrihim ruddat ʿalayhim ʾaḥwālu al-ghayri wajuʿilū rāziqīna lahum, fataṣarrafū fīhā liʾajlihim wahum barīʾūna mina al-taʿalluqi bihā,

Certainty stripped them of the world, and knowledge brought them back into causes for others. Other people's conditions were returned to their care, and knowledge gave them breadth while they remained grounded in genuine certainty. Hence al-Khawwāṣ, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say, “The elect enter into causes for others: the conditions of others are returned to their care, and they are made providers for them. They act through causes for their sake while remaining free of attachment to them.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ الْحَدَّادُ شَيْخُ الْجُنَيْدِ أَحَدَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ وَقَالَ: أَخْفَيْتُ التَّوَكُّلَ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً وَلَا فَارَقْتُ السُّوقَ، أَكْتَسِبُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ دِينَارًا وَعَشَرَةَ دَرَاهِمَ، لَا أُبَيِّتُ مِنْهُ دَانَقًا وَلَا أَسْتَرِيحُ فِيهِ إِلَى قِيرَاطٍ، أَدْخُلُ بِهِ الْحَمَّامَ بَلْ أُخْرِجُهُ كُلَّهُ قَبْلَ اللَّيْلِ، وَكَانَ الْجُنَيْدُ لَا يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ بِحَضْرَةِ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ يَقُولُ: أَسْتَحْيِي مِنَ اللَّهِ أَنْ أَتَكَلَّمَ فِي مَقَامِهِ وَهُوَ حَاضِرٌ،

waqad kāna ʾabū jaʿfarin al-ḥaddādu shaykhu al-junaydi ʾaḥada al-mutawakkilīna waqāla: ʾakhfaytu al-tawakkula ʿishrīna sanatan walā fāraqtu al-sūqa, ʾaktasibu fī kulli yawmin dīnāran waʿasharata darāhima, lā ʾubayyitu minhu dānaqan walā ʾastarīḥu fīhi ʾilā qīrāṭin, ʾadkhulu bihi al-ḥammāma bal ʾukhrijuhu kullahu qabla al-layli, wakāna al-junaydu lā yatakallamu fī al-tawakkuli biḥaḍrati ʾabī jaʿfarin yaqūlu: ʾastaḥyī mina Allāhi ʾan ʾatakallama fī maqāmihi wahuwa ḥāḍirun,

Abū Jaʿfar al-Ḥaddād, al-Junayd's teacher, was one of the people of trust. He said, “I concealed my trust for twenty years without leaving the marketplace. Every day I earn a dinar and ten dirhams, yet I keep not even a dānaq overnight and find no comfort in even a qīrāṭ with which to enter the bathhouse. I give it all away before nightfall.” Al-Junayd would not discuss trust in Abū Jaʿfar's presence, saying, “I am ashamed before God to speak about his station while he is present.”

وَقَدْ شَرَطَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِلْعَطَاءِ تَرْكَ الْمَسْأَلَةِ وَالِاسْتِشْرَافِ تَنْزِيهًا لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَرَدًّا لَهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، لِأَنَّ فِي مَسْأَلَةِ الْعَبْدِ الْفَقِيرِ ذُلًّا ذَلِيلًا وَحِرْصًا عَلَى الدُّنْيَا جَلِيلًا، وَفِي الِاسْتِشْرَافِ إِلَى الْعَبِيدِ طَمَعًا فِي غَيْرِ مَطْمَعٍ، وَنَظَرًا إِلَى غَيْرِ اللَّهِ، وَإِتْيَانَ الْبُيُوتِ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَبْوَابِهَا، وَمِنْهُ مَا رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَسْأَلَةُ النَّاسِ مِنَ الْفَوَاحِشِ مَا أُحِلَّ مِنَ الْفَوَاحِشِ غَيْرُهَا،

waqad sharaṭa al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama li-l-ʿaṭāʾi tarka al-masʾalati wa-al-istishrāfi tanzīhan li-l-fuqarāʾi waraddan lahum ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā, liʾanna fī masʾalati al-ʿabdi al-faqīri dhullan dhalīlan waḥirṣan ʿalā al-dunyā jalīlan, wafī al-istishrāfi ʾilā al-ʿabīdi ṭamaʿan fī ghayri maṭmaʿin, wanaẓaran ʾilā ghayri Allāhi, waʾityāna al-buyūti min ghayri ʾabwābihā, waminhu mā ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: masʾalatu al-nāsi mina al-fawāḥishi mā ʾuḥilla mina al-fawāḥishi ghayruhā,

The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, made refraining from asking and from looking expectantly to others a condition for accepting gifts, to preserve the poor from abasement and turn them back to God Most High. For a poor servant, asking involves abject humiliation and great greed for this world. Looking expectantly to servants involves coveting where nothing should be coveted, looking to something other than God, and entering houses by places other than their doors. Related to this is the report from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “Asking people is among the shameful things; none of the shameful things besides it has been made lawful.”

وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنِ اِسْتَغْنَى أَغْنَاهُ اللَّهُ، وَمَنِ اِسْتَعَفَّ أَعَفَّهُ اللَّهُ، وَمَنْ فَتَحَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَابَ مَسْأَلَةٍ فَتَحَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ بَابَ فَقْرٍ، فَكَأَنَّ الْفُقَرَاءَ الصَّادِقِينَ جُعِلَ لَهُمْ أَخْذُ الْعَطَاءِ، بَلْ نُدِبُوا إِلَى قَبُولِهِ عِوَضًا لَهُمْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ لَمَّا مُنِعُوا مِنَ الِاسْتِشْرَافِ وَالسُّؤَالِ تَنْزِيهًا لَهُمْ وَتَفْضِيلًا، فَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ مَثَلُ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ جُعِلَ لَهُمْ خُمُسُ الْخُمُسِ مِنَ الْغَنَائِمِ لَمَّا حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الصَّدَقَةُ تَفْضِيلًا لَهُمْ وَتَشْرِيفًا،

waqāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mani istaghnā ʾaghnāhu Allāhu, wamani istaʿaffa ʾaʿaffahu Allāhu, waman fataḥa ʿalā nafsihi bāba masʾalatin fataḥa Allāhu ʿalayhi bāba faqrin, fakaʾanna al-fuqarāʾa al-ṣādiqīna juʿila lahum ʾakhdhu al-ʿaṭāʾi, bal nudibū ʾilā qabūlihi ʿiwaḍan lahum min dhālika lammā muniʿū mina al-istishrāfi wa-al-suʾāli tanzīhan lahum watafḍīlan, famathaluhum fī dhālika mathalu ʾahli al-bayti juʿila lahum khumusu al-khumusi mina al-ghanāʾimi lammā ḥurrimat ʿalayhimu al-ṣadaqatu tafḍīlan lahum watashrīfan,

He said, God bless him and grant him peace, “Whoever seeks independence, God makes independent; whoever seeks chastened self-restraint, God grants it. Whoever opens for himself a door of asking, God opens for him a door of poverty.” It is as though the truthful poor were allowed to accept gifts, and indeed encouraged to accept them, as compensation for being forbidden to look expectantly to others or to ask, a prohibition intended to preserve and honor them. Their position resembles that of the Prophet's household, who were assigned one-fifth of the fifth of spoils when alms were forbidden to them, as a distinction and honor.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٧

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 27

Volume Two, page 27

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ أَمَرَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ الْمَرْوَزِيَّ أَنْ يُعْطِيَ بَعْضَ الْفُقَرَاءِ شَيْئًا فِيهِ فَضْلٌ عَمَّا كَانَ اِسْتَأْجَرَهُ عَلَيْهِ فَرَدَّهُ، فَلَمَّا وَلَّى قَالَ لَهُ أَحْمَدُ: اِلْحَقْهُ فَاِدْفَعْهُ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْخُذُهُ قَالَ: فَلَحِقَهُ الْمَرْوَزِيُّ فَدَفَعَهُ إِلَيْهِ فَأَخَذَ، فَسَأَلَ أَحْمَدَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ: كَيْفَ رَدَّ فِي الْأَوَّلِ وَأَخَذَ فِي الثَّانِي؟ فَقَالَ: إِنَّهُ كَانَ قَدِ اِسْتَشْرَفَ لِذَلِكَ فَرَدَّهُ، وَقَدْ أَحْسَنَ فَلَمَّا اِنْصَرَفَ أَيِسَتْ نَفْسُهُ مِنْهُ فَلِذَلِكَ قَبِلَ،

waqad kāna ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin raḥimahu Allāhu ʾamara ʾabā bakrin al-marwaziyya ʾan yuʿṭiya baʿḍa al-fuqarāʾi shayʾan fīhi faḍlun ʿammā kāna istaʾjarahu ʿalayhi faraddahu, falammā wallā qāla lahu ʾaḥmadu: ilḥaqhu fa-dfaʿhu faʾinnahu yaʾkhudhuhu qāla: falaḥiqahu al-marwaziyyu fadafaʿahu ʾilayhi faʾakhadha, fasaʾala ʾaḥmada ʿan dhālika: kayfa radda fī al-ʾawwali waʾakhadha fī al-thānī? faqāla: ʾinnahu kāna qadi istashrafa li-dhālika faraddahu, waqad ʾaḥsana falammā inṣarafa ʾayisat nafsuhu minhu fali-dhālika qabila,

Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God have mercy on him, once instructed Abū Bakr al-Marwazī to give a poor man something beyond the wage for which he had hired him. The man refused it. When he turned away, Aḥmad said, “Catch up with him and give it to him; he will accept it.” Al-Marwazī caught up with him, offered it, and he accepted. He asked Aḥmad why the man had refused the first time and accepted the second. Aḥmad replied, “He had been looking expectantly toward it, so he refused it, and rightly so. When he left, his self lost hope of it; that is why he accepted.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ الْخَوَّاصُ إِذَا نَظَرَ إِلَى عَبْدٍ فِي الْعَطَاءِ أَوْ خَافَ اِعْتِيَادَ النَّفْسِ لَهُ، لَمْ يَقْبَلْ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا، وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: صُوفِيٌّ لَا يَكُونُ بِحَرِيفٍ، وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ يَحْسُنُ فِي حَالِ الْمُنْفَرِدِ، فَأَمَّا ذُو الْعِيَالِ فَالْأَمْرُ عَلَيْهِ وَاسِعٌ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، وَلَا بَأْسَ أَنْ يَأْخُذَ لِعِيَالِهِ كَمَا أَخَذَ لِأَجْلِ غَيْرِهِ مِنَ النَّاسِ، لِأَنَّ عِيَالَهُ عِيَالُ اللَّهِ عِنْدَهُ، قَدْ وَكَّلَهُ بِهِمْ وَأَجْرَى أَرْزَاقَهُمْ عَلَى يَدِهِ، فَإِنْ طَلَبَ لَهُمْ وَحَثَّ عَلَى اِسْتِخْرَاجِ حَقِّهِمْ مِمَّا أَوْجَبَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ لَمْ يَنْقُصْ ذَلِكَ مِنْ حَالِهِ،

waqad kāna al-khawwāṣu ʾidhā naẓara ʾilā ʿabdin fī al-ʿaṭāʾi ʾaw khāfa iʿtiyāda al-nafsi lahu, lam yaqbal minhu shayʾan, wakāna yaqūlu: ṣūfiyyun lā yakūnu biḥarīfin, wa-hādhā kulluhu yaḥsunu fī ḥāli al-munfaridi, faʾammā dhū al-ʿiyāli fa-al-ʾamru ʿalayhi wāsiʿun min dhālika, walā baʾsa ʾan yaʾkhudha liʿiyālihi kamā ʾakhadha liʾajli ghayrihi mina al-nāsi, liʾanna ʿiyālahu ʿiyālu Allāhi ʿindahu, qad wakkalahu bihim waʾajrā ʾarzāqahum ʿalā yadihi, faʾin ṭalaba lahum waḥaththa ʿalā istikhrāji ḥaqqihim mimmā ʾawjaba Allāhu lahum lam yanquṣ dhālika min ḥālihi,

When al-Khawwāṣ found himself looking to a servant for a gift, or feared that his self was becoming accustomed to it, he accepted nothing from him. He would say, “A Sufi must not become someone's regular customer.” All this is appropriate for someone without dependents. A person with a family has more latitude: he may accept on his family's behalf, just as he may accept for other people. He regards his dependents as God's dependents, entrusted to him, their provision passing through his hand. Seeking for them and pressing for the delivery of the rights God has established for them does not diminish his state.

وَآخَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَيْنَ سَعْدِ بْنِ الرَّبِيعِ وَبَيْنَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَوْفٍ، فَقَالَ لَهُ سَعْدٌ: أُشَاطِرُكَ مَالِي وَأَهْلِي، فَقَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ: بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لَكَ فِي أَهْلِكَ وَمَالِكَ، دُلُّونِي عَلَى السُّوقِ، فَعَمِلَ يَوْمَهُ ذَلِكَ فَرَاحَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ سَمْنٍ وَأَقِطٍ، فَلَوْ كَانَ التَّكَسُّبُ فِي الْأَسْوَاقِ يَنْقُصُ التَّوَكُّلَ لَمْ يَخْتَرْ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ وَهُوَ إِمَامُ الْأَئِمَّةِ مَا يَنْقُصُ تَوَكُّلَهُ، وَلَكِنَّهُ أَحَبَّ إِدْخَالَ الْمَشَقَّةِ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَكَرِهَ التَّنَعُّمَ،

waʾākhā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bayna saʿdi bni al-rabīʿi wabayna ʿabdi al-raḥmāni bni ʿawfin, faqāla lahu saʿdun: ʾushāṭiruka mālī waʾahlī, faqāla ʿabdu al-raḥmāni: bāraka Allāhu laka fī ʾahlika wamālika, dullūnī ʿalā al-sūqi, faʿamila yawmahu dhālika farāḥa bishayʾin min samnin waʾaqiṭin, falaw kāna al-takassubu fī al-ʾaswāqi yanquṣu al-tawakkula lam yakhtar ʿabdu al-raḥmāni wahuwa ʾimāmu al-ʾaʾimmati mā yanquṣu tawakkulahu, walakinnahu ʾaḥabba ʾidkhāla al-mashaqqati ʿalā nafsihi wakariha al-tanaʿʿuma,

The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, established brotherhood between Saʿd ibn al-Rabīʿ and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf. Saʿd told him, “I will share my property and household with you.” ʿAbd al-Raḥmān replied, “May God bless your household and property. Show me the marketplace.” He worked that day and returned with some clarified butter and dried curds. If earning in the markets diminished trust, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, a leader among leaders, would not have chosen what diminished his trust. He preferred to impose hardship on himself and disliked luxury.

كَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِمُعَاذٍ: إِيَّاكَ وَالتَّنَعُّمَ؛ فَإِنَّ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ لَيْسُوا بِالْمُتَنَعِّمِينَ، وَرُئِيَ فَضَالَةُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ أَشْعَثَ أَغْبَرَ جَافِيًا وَهُوَ أَمِيرُ مِصْرٍ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: لِمَ أَنْتَ هَكَذَا؟ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَهَانَا عَنِ الْإِرْفَاهِ وَأَمَرَنَا أَنْ نَحْتَفِيَ أَحْيَانًا، ثُمَّ اِخْتَارَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ أَيْضًا إِيثَارَ أَخِيهِ بِمَا أَبَرَّهُ بِهِ رِعَايَةً لِحَقِّ إِخْوَتِهِ وَلِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ نَدَبَ إِلَى الْإِيثَارِ وَوَصَفَ بِهِ الْأَحْبَابَ،

kamā qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama limuʿādhin: ʾiyyāka wa-al-tanaʿʿuma; faʾinna ʿibāda Allāhi laysū bi-al-mutanaʿʿimīna, waruʾiya faḍālatu bnu ʿubaydin ʾashʿatha ʾaghbara jāfiyan wahuwa ʾamīru miṣrin, faqīla lahu: lima ʾanta hākadhā? faqāla: ʾinna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama nahānā ʿani al-ʾirfāhi waʾamaranā ʾan naḥtafiya ʾaḥyānan, thumma ikhtāra ʿabdu al-raḥmāni ʾayḍan ʾīthāra ʾakhīhi bimā ʾabarrahu bihi riʿāyatan liḥaqqi ʾikhwatihi waliʾanna Allāha taʿālā qad nadaba ʾilā al-ʾīthāri wawaṣafa bihi al-ʾaḥbāba,

Thus the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, told Muʿādh, “Beware of luxury, for God's servants are not people of luxury.” Faḍāla ibn ʿUbayd was seen disheveled, dusty, and rough in appearance while serving as governor of Egypt. Asked why, he said, “The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, forbade us constant refinement and told us to go barefoot sometimes.” ʿAbd al-Raḥmān also chose to leave his brother the benefit of what he had kindly offered, respecting the right of their brotherhood, since God Most High commends preferring others and describes His beloved ones by it.

وَأَعْلَى مِنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ مَقَامًا إِمَامُ الْأَئِمَّةِ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، لَمَّا بُويِعَ بِالْخِلَافَةِ أَخَذَ الْأَثْوَابَ تَحْتَ حِضْنِهِ وَدَخَلَ السُّوقَ يُنَادِي: هَذَا فِي أَتَمِّ أَحْوَالِهِ، حِينَ أُهِّلَ لِلْخِلَافَةِ وَأُقِيمَ مَقَامَ النُّبُوَّةِ، حَتَّى اِجْتَمَعَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ فَكَرِهُوا لَهُ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ: لَا تَشْغَلُونِي عَنْ عِيَالِي، فَإِنِّي إِنْ أَضَعْتُهُمْ كُنْتُ لِمَا سِوَاهُمْ أَضْيَعَ، حَتَّى فَرَضُوا لَهُ قُوتَ أَهْلِ بَيْتٍ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، لَا وَكْسَ وَلَا شَطَطَ،

waʾaʿlā min ʿabdi al-raḥmāni maqāman ʾimāmu al-ʾaʾimmati ʾabū bakrin al-ṣiddīqu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, lammā būyiʿa bi-al-khilāfati ʾakhadha al-ʾathwāba taḥta ḥiḍnihi wadakhala al-sūqa yunādī: hādhā fī ʾatammi ʾaḥwālihi, ḥīna ʾuhhila li-l-khilāfati waʾuqīma maqāma al-nubuwwati, ḥattā ijtamaʿa al-muslimūna fakarihū lahu dhālika faqāla: lā tashghalūnī ʿan ʿiyālī, faʾinnī ʾin ʾaḍaʿtuhum kuntu limā siwāhum ʾaḍyaʿa, ḥattā faraḍū lahu qūta ʾahli baytin mina al-muslimīna, lā waksa walā shaṭaṭa,

Higher in station than ʿAbd al-Raḥmān was the leader of leaders, Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may God be pleased with him. When allegiance was pledged to him as caliph, he tucked garments under his arm and entered the marketplace calling out his wares. This was at the height of his spiritual condition, when he had been deemed fit for the caliphate and placed in succession to the prophetic office. The Muslims gathered and objected, but he said, “Do not distract me from my dependents. If I neglect them, I will neglect others even more.” They therefore allotted him the support of an ordinary Muslim household, without deficiency or excess.

فَلَمَّا رَضُوا جَمِيعًا بِذَلِكَ وَأَنْفَقُوا عَلَيْهِ، تَرَكَ السُّوقَ لِشُغْلِهِ بِهِمْ وَبِأُمُورِهِمْ؛ أَلَا تَرَاهُ كَيْفَ آثَرَ الْقِيَامَ بِحَقِّهِ وَمَا أَوْجَبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ لِأَهْلِهِ، وَتَوَاضَعَ لِلَّهِ فِي حَالِ رِفْعَتِهِ، وَأَسْقَطَ الْخَلْقَ عَنْ عَيْنِهِ، حَتَّى كَرِهَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ ذَلِكَ فَتَرَكَهُ بِحُكْمٍ ثَانٍ، فَكَذَلِكَ التَّوَكُّلُ لَا يَزَالُ مَعَ الْحُكْمِ الْأَوَّلِ، حَتَّى يَنْهَجَ اللَّهُ لَهُ طَرِيقًا آخَرَ فَيَسْلُكَهُ بِطَرِيقٍ ثَانٍ، وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَاءِ السَّلَفِ يَجْمَعُ إِلَيْهِ النَّاسَ لِلْكَلَامِ عَلَيْهِمْ فَكَانَ يَقُولُ: لَوْ أَعْلَمُ

falammā raḍū jamīʿan bi-dhālika waʾanfaqū ʿalayhi, taraka al-sūqa lishughlihi bihim wabiʾumūrihim; ʾalā tarāhu kayfa ʾāthara al-qiyāma biḥaqqihi wamā ʾawjaba Allāhu ʿalayhi liʾahlihi, watawāḍaʿa li-llāhi fī ḥāli rifʿatihi, waʾasqaṭa al-khalqa ʿan ʿaynihi, ḥattā kariha al-muslimūna dhālika fatarakahu biḥukmin thānin, fa-kadhālika al-tawakkulu lā yazālu maʿa al-ḥukmi al-ʾawwali, ḥattā yanhaja Allāhu lahu ṭarīqan ʾākhara fayaslukahu biṭarīqin thānin, waqad kāna baʿḍu ʿulamāʾi al-salafi yajmaʿu ʾilayhi al-nāsa li-l-kalāmi ʿalayhim fakāna yaqūlu: law ʾaʿlamu

When they all accepted this and provided for him, he left the marketplace to attend to them and their affairs. Notice how he preferred to fulfill his duty and God's obligation toward his household, humbled himself before God in his elevated position, and let creatures fall from his regard. Only when the Muslims objected did he leave his work under a second ruling. Trust likewise remains subject to the first ruling until God opens another road, to be followed under a second course. One of the early scholars used to gather people to address them and would say, “If I knew

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٨

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 28

Volume Two, page 28

أَنَّ أَهْلِي يَحْتَاجُونَ إِلَى بَاقَةِ بَقْلٍ مَا تَكَلَّمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ، فَفِي هَذَا بَيَانٌ وَبُرْهَانٌ لِمَنْ لَمْ تَسْتَهْوِهِ الْأَهْوَاءُ فِي إِنْكَارِ التَّكَسُّبِ عَلَى أَهْلِ التَّوَكُّلِ اِحْتِجَاجًا لِنَفْسِهِ وَاِعْتِذَارًا مِنْ بَطَالَتِهِ، وَلَا يَسَعُ الْعُلَمَاءَ فِي الدِّينِ إِلَّا الْبَيَانُ وَكَشْفُ حَقِيقَةِ الْعِلْمِ بِالْبُرْهَانِ، فَالتَّكَسُّبُ وَالْأَسْبَابُ طُرُقٌ أَوْدَعَهَا اللَّهُ الْعَطَاءَ وَالْأَرْزَاقَ لَا هِيَ تُعْطِي وَتَرْزُقُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْأَوَاسِطِ مِنَ الْأَشْخَاصِ،

ʾanna ʾahlī yaḥtājūna ʾilā bāqati baqlin mā takallamtu ʿalaykum, fafī hādhā bayānun waburhānun liman lam tastahwihi al-ʾahwāʾu fī ʾinkāri al-takassubi ʿalā ʾahli al-tawakkuli iḥtijājan linafsihi wa-ʿtidhāran min baṭālatihi, walā yasaʿu al-ʿulamāʾa fī al-dīni ʾillā al-bayānu wakashfu ḥaqīqati al-ʿilmi bi-al-burhāni, fa-al-takassubu wa-al-ʾasbābu ṭuruqun ʾawdaʿahā Allāhu al-ʿaṭāʾa wa-al-ʾarzāqa lā hiya tuʿṭī watarzuqu bimanzilati al-ʾawāsiṭi mina al-ʾashkhāṣi,

that my household needed a bunch of greens, I would not be addressing you.” This offers clarification and proof to anyone whose desires have not drawn him into condemning earning among people of trust in order to defend himself and excuse his idleness. Scholars of religion have no choice but to explain and disclose the reality of knowledge through proof. Earning and causes are paths within which God has placed gifts and provision; they do not themselves give or provide, any more than individual human intermediaries do.

فَالْمُتَوَكِّلُ الْمُتَسَبِّبُ مُوقِنٌ أَنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ هُوَ الْمُعْطِي وَالْمَانِعُ، وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ الْمُسَبِّبُ الرَّازِقُ، وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ فِي التَّصْرِيفِ وَالْآخِرُ فِي التَّقْلِيبِ، فَقَلْبُهُ نَاظِرٌ إِلَى الْقَسَّامِ، وَنَفْسُهُ سَاكِنَةٌ إِلَى الْقَسْمِ، وَقَلْبُهُ قَانِعٌ رَاضٍ بِالْمَقْسُومِ، وَجِسْمُهُ مُتَحَرِّكٌ فِي الْمَعْلُومِ الَّذِي وُجِّهَ فِيهِ وَسُبِّبَ لَهُ، وَهُوَ عَارِفٌ بِمَقَامِهِ، وَبِالْمُرَادِ مِنْهُ، رَاضٍ بِحَالِهِ وَمَا قَدِ اُسْتُسْعِيَ فِيهِ وَأُلْزِمَ إِيَّاهُ،

fa-al-mutawakkilu al-mutasabbibu mūqinun ʾanna Allāha subḥānahu huwa al-muʿṭī wa-al-māniʿu, waʾannahu huwa al-musabbibu al-rāziqu, waʾannahu huwa al-ʾawwalu fī al-taṣrīfi wa-al-ʾākhiru fī al-taqlībi, faqalbuhu nāẓirun ʾilā al-qassāmi, wanafsuhu sākinatun ʾilā al-qasmi, waqalbuhu qāniʿun rāḍin bi-al-maqsūmi, wajismuhu mutaḥarrikun fī al-maʿlūmi alladhī wujjiha fīhi wasubbiba lahu, wahuwa ʿārifun bimaqāmihi, wabi-al-murādi minhu, rāḍin biḥālihi wamā qadi ustusʿiya fīhi waʾulzima ʾiyyāhu,

The trusting person who uses means is certain that God, glory be His, is the Giver and Withholder, the One who brings causes about and provides, the First in directing affairs and the Last in turning them about. His heart looks to the Apportioner, his self rests in the apportionment, and his heart is content and satisfied with what has been apportioned. His body acts within the established livelihood to which he has been directed and for which means have been provided. He knows his station and what is required of him, content with his condition and the work he has been made to pursue and undertake.

وَالَّذِي يَنْقُصُ الْمُتَوَكِّلَ، وَيُخْرِجُهُ مِنْ حَدِّ التَّوَكُّلِ، اِكْتِسَابُ الشُّبُهَاتِ لِلِاسْتِكْثَارِ، أَوِ السَّعْيُ بِالتَّكَسُّبِ لِلْجَمْعِ وَالِافْتِخَارِ، أَوِ الْحِرْصُ عَلَى طَلَبِ مَا حَظَرَهُ الْعِلْمُ عَلَيْهِ أَوْ لِطَلَبِ مَا يُكْرَهُ الْمَنَالُ مِنْهُ، أَوِ التَّسَخُّطُ لِلْأَقْدَارِ إِذَا لَمْ تُؤَاتِهِ عَلَى مَا قَدَّرَ، أَوْ تَرْكُ النُّصْحِ لِمَنْ عَامَلَهُ بِأَنْ يَحْتَالَ عَلَيْهِ، أَوْ يُدَبِّرَ أَوِ التَّشَرُّفُ إِلَى الْخَلْقِ أَوِ الطَّمَعُ فِي سَبَبٍ؛ فَهَذَا كُلُّهُ لَا يَصِحُّ مَعَهُ التَّوَكُّلُ،

wa-alladhī yanquṣu al-mutawakkila, wayukhrijuhu min ḥaddi al-tawakkuli, iktisābu al-shubuhāti li-l-istikthāri, ʾawi al-saʿyu bi-al-takassubi li-l-jamʿi wa-al-iftikhāri, ʾawi al-ḥirṣu ʿalā ṭalabi mā ḥaẓarahu al-ʿilmu ʿalayhi ʾaw liṭalabi mā yukrahu al-manālu minhu, ʾawi al-tasakhkhuṭu li-l-ʾaqdāri ʾidhā lam tuʾātihi ʿalā mā qaddara, ʾaw tarku al-nuṣḥi liman ʿāmalahu biʾan yaḥtāla ʿalayhi, ʾaw yudabbira ʾawi al-tasharrufu ʾilā al-khalqi ʾawi al-ṭamaʿu fī sababin; fa-hādhā kulluhu lā yaṣiḥḥu maʿahu al-tawakkulu,

What diminishes a trusting person and takes him outside the bounds of trust is acquiring doubtful gains to increase his wealth, earning in order to amass and boast, eagerly pursuing what knowledge forbids him or what it is reprehensible to obtain, resenting decrees when they do not accord with his plans, abandoning good faith toward someone with whom he deals by tricking or scheming against him, looking expectantly to creatures, or coveting a particular means. Sound trust is incompatible with all of these.

وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا دَخَلَ السُّوقَ لِلتَّكَسُّبِ فَكَانَ دِرْهَمُهُ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ دِرْهَمِ غَيْرِهِ، لَمْ يَنْصَحْ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ فِي الْمُبَايَعَةِ، وَهَذَا عِنْدَهُ يُخْرِجُهُ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ وَدُخُولُ الْآفَاتِ وَمُسَاكَنَتُهَا، لِقُصُورِ عِلْمٍ أَوْ غَلَبَةِ هَوًى يُخْرِجُ الْعَبْدَ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ، وَهُوَ أَنْ يَكُونَ مُتَوَكِّلًا عَلَى النَّاسِ بِأَنْ يَطْمَعَ فِيهِمْ، أَوْ يَتَصَدَّى لَهُمْ بِالتَّعَرُّضِ وَالتَّصَنُّعِ،

waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: ʾinna al-ʿabda ʾidhā dakhala al-sūqa li-l-takassubi fakāna dirhamuhu ʾaḥabba ʾilayhi min dirhami ghayrihi, lam yanṣaḥ li-l-muslimīna fī al-mubāyaʿati, wa-hādhā ʿindahu yukhrijuhu mina al-tawakkuli wadukhūlu al-ʾāfāti wamusākanatuhā, liquṣūri ʿilmin ʾaw ghalabati hawan yukhriju al-ʿabda mina al-tawakkuli, wahuwa ʾan yakūna mutawakkilan ʿalā al-nāsi biʾan yaṭmaʿa fīhim, ʾaw yataṣaddā lahum bi-al-taʿarruḍi wa-al-taṣannuʿi,

A scholar said, “If a servant enters the marketplace to earn, and his own dirham is dearer to him than another person's dirham, he does not deal faithfully with Muslims in buying and selling.” In that scholar's view, this takes him outside trust. The intrusion of faults and settling down with them, through deficient knowledge or overpowering desire, likewise takes a servant outside trust. This includes trusting in people by coveting what they have or putting oneself in their way with calculated displays and affectation.

أَوْ يَكُونَ مُتَوَكِّلًا عَلَى صِحَّةِ جِسْمِهِ وَدَوَامِ عَوَافِيهِ وَأَنَّهُ لَا يُرْزَقُ إِلَّا مِنْ كَدِّهِ، أَوْ يَكُونَ مُتَوَكِّلًا عَلَى مَالِهِ بِأَنْ يَثِقَ بِهِ وَيَطْمَئِنَّ إِلَيْهِ وَيَحْسَبَ أَنَّهُ إِنِ اِفْتَقَرَ اِنْقَطَعَ رِزْقُهُ، وَعَلَامَةُ ذَلِكَ ضِنَّتُهُ بِهِ وَإِعْدَادُهُ لَهُ؛ عُدَّةً لِكَذَا وَعُدَّةً لِكَذَا، فَهَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي تُخْرِجُ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ، فَقَدْ تَخْفَى دَقَائِقُهَا وَتَدِقُّ حَقَائِقُهَا إِلَّا عَلَى جَهَابِذَةِ الْعُلَمَاءِ الرَّابِحِينَ فِي الْعِلْمِ، الْمُتَضَلِّعِينَ بِالْيَقِينِ، الْقَائِمِينَ عَلَى الدَّوَامِ بِالشَّهَادَةِ؛

ʾaw yakūna mutawakkilan ʿalā ṣiḥḥati jismihi wadawāmi ʿawāfīhi waʾannahu lā yurzaqu ʾillā min kaddihi, ʾaw yakūna mutawakkilan ʿalā mālihi biʾan yathiqa bihi wayaṭmaʾinna ʾilayhi wayaḥsaba ʾannahu ʾini iftaqara inqaṭaʿa rizquhu, waʿalāmatu dhālika ḍinnatuhu bihi waʾiʿdāduhu lahu; ʿuddatan likadhā waʿuddatan likadhā, fa-hādhihi al-maʿānī tukhriju mina al-tawakkuli, faqad takhfā daqāʾiquhā watadiqqu ḥaqāʾiquhā ʾillā ʿalā jahābidhati al-ʿulamāʾi al-rābiḥīna fī al-ʿilmi, al-mutaḍalliʿīna bi-al-yaqīni, al-qāʾimīna ʿalā al-dawāmi bi-al-shahādati;

It also includes relying on one's bodily health and continued well-being, supposing that provision comes only through one's labor; or relying on one's wealth, trusting and resting in it, and thinking that poverty would cut off one's provision. The sign is a jealous hold on that wealth and setting it aside: a reserve for this and a reserve for that. These attitudes take one outside trust. Their subtleties may remain hidden and their realities elusive except to discerning masters among scholars, those who profit from knowledge, are filled with certainty, and continually sustain witnessing.

فَمَنْ نَظَرَ إِلَى هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي مِنَ الْأَسْبَابِ وَالْأَشْخَاصِ أَوْ سَكَنَ إِلَيْهَا سُكُونَ أُنْسٍ، فَيَقْوَى قَلْبُهُ بِوُجُودِهَا فَإِنَّهُ يَضْطَرِبُ وَيَسْتَوْحِشُ أَوْ يَضْعُفُ قَلْبُهُ لِفَقْدِهَا فَهِيَ عِلَّةٌ فِي تَوَكُّلِهِ.

faman naẓara ʾilā hādhihi al-maʿānī mina al-ʾasbābi wa-al-ʾashkhāṣi ʾaw sakana ʾilayhā sukūna ʾunsin, fayaqwā qalbuhu biwujūdihā faʾinnahu yaḍṭaribu wayastawḥishu ʾaw yaḍʿufu qalbuhu lifaqdihā fahiya ʿillatun fī tawakkulihi.

If someone looks to these things among causes and persons, or rests in them with the comfort of familiarity so that their presence strengthens his heart, he will become agitated and desolate, or his heart will weaken, when they are absent. They are therefore a defect in his trust.

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ بِشْرِ بْنِ الْحَٰرِثِ قَالَ: إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَقْرَأُ، إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ، فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: كَذَبْتَ، مَا إِيَّايَ تَعْبُدُ وَلَا بِي تَسْتَعِينُ؛ لَوْ كُنْتَ تَعْبُدُ إِيَّايَ لَمْ تُؤْثِرْ هَوَاكَ عَلَى رِضَايَ، وَلَوْ كُنْتَ بِي تَسْتَعِينُ لَمْ تَسْكُنْ إِلَى حَوْلِكَ وَلَا قُوَّتِكَ وَلَا إِلَى مَالِكَ وَنَفْسِكَ،

warawaynā ʿan bishri bni al-ḥārithi qāla: ʾinna al-ʿabda layaqraʾu, ʾiyyāka naʿbudu waʾiyyāka nastaʿīnu, fayaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā: kadhabta, mā ʾiyyāya taʿbudu walā bī tastaʿīnu; law kunta taʿbudu ʾiyyāya lam tuʾthir hawāka ʿalā riḍāya, walaw kunta bī tastaʿīnu lam taskun ʾilā ḥawlika walā quwwatika walā ʾilā mālika wanafsika,

We have related from Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith: “A servant recites, ‘You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help,’ and God Most High says, ‘You have lied. You do not worship Me or seek help from Me. If you worshipped Me, you would not prefer your desire to My good pleasure. If you sought help from Me, you would not rest in your own resources or strength, or in your wealth and self.’”

وَإِنَّ التَّارِكَ لِلتَّكَسُّبِ وَالتَّصَرُّفِ فِي الْأَسْوَاقِ إِذَا كَانَ فِي أَدْنَى كِفَايَةٍ وَأُعِينَ بِالصَّبْرِ وَالْقَنَاعَةِ، فِي مِثْلِ زَمَانِنَا هَذَا أَفْضَلُ وَأَتَمُّ حَالًا مِنَ الْمُتَكَسِّبِ إِذَا خَافَ أَنْ لَا يَنَالَ الْمَعِيشَةَ إِلَّا بِمَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ مِنْ دُخُولِهِ فِي شُبْهَةٍ عِيَانًا أَوْ خِيَانَةٍ لِإِخْوَانِهِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَلِأَنَّهُ قَدْ تَعَذَّرَ الْقِيَامُ بِشَرَائِطِ الْعِلْمِ مَعَ مُبَاشَرَةِ الْأَسْبَابِ وَكَثْرَةِ دُخُولِ الْآفَاتِ وَالْفَسَادِ فِي الِاكْتِسَابِ، فَتَرْكُ مُلَابَسَةِ أَهْلِ

waʾinna al-tārika li-l-takassubi wa-al-taṣarrufi fī al-ʾaswāqi ʾidhā kāna fī ʾadnā kifāyatin waʾuʿīna bi-al-ṣabri wa-al-qanāʿati, fī mithli zamāninā hādhā ʾafḍalu waʾatammu ḥālan mina al-mutakassibi ʾidhā khāfa ʾan lā yanāla al-maʿīshata ʾillā bimaʿṣiyati Allāhi min dukhūlihi fī shubhatin ʿiyānan ʾaw khiyānatin liʾikhwānihi al-muslimīna, waliʾannahu qad taʿadhdhara al-qiyāmu bisharāʾiṭi al-ʿilmi maʿa mubāsharati al-ʾasbābi wakathrati dukhūli al-ʾāfāti wa-al-fasādi fī al-iktisābi, fatarku mulābasati ʾahli

In times such as ours, someone who abandons earning and activity in the markets, has even minimal sufficiency, and is helped by patience and contentment is better and more complete in state than an earner who fears he cannot obtain a livelihood without disobeying God through visibly doubtful dealings or betrayal of his Muslim brothers. It has become difficult to meet knowledge's requirements while directly engaging with causes, given how frequently faults and corruption enter earning. Thus refraining from dealings with the people of

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٩

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 29

Volume Two, page 29

الْأَسْوَاقِ وَمُخَالَطَتِهِمْ عَلَى هَذَا الْوَصْفِ الْمَكْرُوهِ أَقْرَبُ إِلَى السَّلَامَةِ لِبُعْدِهِ مِنْ رُؤْيَةِ الْأَشْيَاءِ، وَفَقْدِهِ مُبَاشَرَتَهَا، لِأَنَّ الْحُكْمَ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِالرُّؤْيَةِ، وَمَثَلُ الْحَرَامِ مَثَلُ الْمُنْكَرِ إِذَا لَمْ تَرَهُ سَقَطَ عَنْكَ حُكْمُهُ، وَلَيْسَ الْخَبَرُ كَالْمُعَايَنَةِ وَلَا الْمُجَاوَرَةُ كَالْمُبَاشَرَةِ وَلَا الْمُعَايِنُ كَالْمُخْبَرِ، وَذَلِكَ كَخَبَرِ مَنْ زَلَّ عَنْ حَقِيقَةِ الْكَعْبَةِ عَلَى الْبُعْدِ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ مُتَوَجِّهٌ إِلَى الشَّطْرِ، فَصَلَاتُهُ جَائِزَةٌ وَلَوْ زَلَّ عَنْهُ أُنْمُلَةً مَعَ الْمُعَايَنَةِ لَهَا بَطَلَتْ صَلَاتُهُ،

al-ʾaswāqi wamukhālaṭatihim ʿalā hādhā al-waṣfi al-makrūhi ʾaqrabu ʾilā al-salāmati libuʿdihi min ruʾyati al-ʾashyāʾi, wafaqdihi mubāsharatahā, liʾanna al-ḥukma mutaʿalliqun bi-al-ruʾyati, wamathalu al-ḥarāmi mathalu al-munkari ʾidhā lam tarahu saqaṭa ʿanka ḥukmuhu, walaysa al-khabaru ka-al-muʿāyanati walā al-mujāwaratu ka-al-mubāsharati walā al-muʿāyinu ka-al-mukhbari, wa-dhālika kakhabari man zalla ʿan ḥaqīqati al-kaʿbati ʿalā al-buʿdi ʾillā ʾannahu mutawajjihun ʾilā al-shaṭri, faṣalātuhu jāʾizatun walaw zalla ʿanhu ʾunmulatan maʿa al-muʿāyanati lahā baṭalat ṣalātuhu,

the markets, and from mixing with them under these objectionable conditions, is closer to safety. One is removed from seeing those things and from direct involvement with them, for the ruling attaches to seeing. The unlawful resembles a wrong action: if you do not see it, the obligation concerning it falls away. A report is not like firsthand sight, proximity is not direct involvement, and an eyewitness is not someone merely informed. This resembles the case of a person far away whose direction misses the Kaʿba itself while still facing its general quarter: his prayer is valid. Were he to deviate by a fingertip while seeing it directly, his prayer would be invalid.

وَالتَّكَسُّبُ لَيْسَ بِفَرْضٍ وَقَدْ يُفْتَرَضُ بِأَحَدِ مَعْنَيَيْنِ بِوُجُودِ الْعِيَالِ وَعَدَمِ كِفَايَتِهِمْ مِنْ وَجْهٍ مِنَ الْوُجُوهِ الْمُبَاحَةِ، أَوْ بِأَنْ يَقْطَعَ عَدَمُهُ عَنْ فَرْضٍ وَيُضْعِفَ عَنْهُ مَعَ فَقْدِ مَا يُقَامُ بِهِ الْفَرْضُ مِمَّا لَا بُدَّ مِنْهُ، وَقَدْ كَانَ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحَٰرِثِ تَرَكَ التَّكَسُّبَ، وَكَانَ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي الْحَلَالِ وَيُشَدِّدُ فِيهِ فَقِيلَ لَهُ: يَا أَبَا نَصْرٍ، فَأَنْتَ مِنْ أَيْنَ تَأْكُلُ؟ فَقَالَ: مِنْ حَيْثُ تَأْكُلُونَ، وَلَكِنْ لَيْسَ مَنْ يَأْكُلُ وَهُوَ يَبْكِي مِثْلَ مَنْ يَأْكُلُ وَهُوَ يَضْحَكُ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً: وَلَكِنْ يَدٌ أَقْصَرُ مِنْ يَدٍ وَلُقْمَةٌ أَصْغَرُ مِنْ لُقْمَةٍ،

wa-al-takassubu laysa bifarḍin waqad yuftaraḍu biʾaḥadi maʿnayayni biwujūdi al-ʿiyāli waʿadami kifāyatihim min wajhin mina al-wujūhi al-mubāḥati, ʾaw biʾan yaqṭaʿa ʿadamuhu ʿan farḍin wayuḍʿifa ʿanhu maʿa faqdi mā yuqāmu bihi al-farḍu mimmā lā budda minhu, waqad kāna bishru bnu al-ḥārithi taraka al-takassuba, wakāna yatakallamu fī al-ḥalāli wayushaddidu fīhi faqīla lahu: yā ʾabā naṣrin, faʾanta min ʾayna taʾkulu? faqāla: min ḥaythu taʾkulūna, wa-lākin laysa man yaʾkulu wahuwa yabkī mithla man yaʾkulu wahuwa yaḍḥaku, waqāla marratan: wa-lākin yadun ʾaqṣaru min yadin waluqmatun ʾaṣgharu min luqmatin,

Earning is not obligatory in itself, but may become obligatory in either of two circumstances: when one has dependents who lack sufficient support from any lawful source, or when its absence prevents or weakens the performance of an obligation because indispensable means for fulfilling it are missing. Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith had left earning and spoke rigorously about lawful livelihood. Someone asked, “Abū Naṣr, where do you eat from?” He answered, “From where you eat. But someone who eats while weeping is not like someone who eats while laughing.” On another occasion he said, “But one hand reaches less far than another, and one mouthful is smaller than another.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ لِلثَّوْرِيِّ خَمْسُونَ دِينَارًا يُتَّجَرُ لَهُ بِهَا، ثُمَّ أَخَذَهَا فِي آخِرِ أَمْرِهِ فَفَرَّقَهَا عَلَى إِخْوَانِهِ وَتَرَكَ التَّكَسُّبَ، وَيُقَالُ إِنَّهُ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ لَمَّا مَاتَ عِيَالُهُ، وَلَيْسَ لِلْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَحْمِلَ حَالَ عِيَالِهِ عَلَى حَالِهِ إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ اِخْتِيَارُهُمْ كَاِخْتِيَارِهِ، وَصَبْرُهُمْ عَلَى فَقْرِهِمْ وَمَعْرِفَتُهُمْ بِفَضْلِهِ كَمَعْرِفَتِهِ، فَجَائِزٌ حِينَئِذٍ أَنْ يَسِيرَ بِهِمْ سَيْرَهُ، وَيَسْقُطُ عَنْهُ التَّكَسُّبُ لِأَجْلِهِمْ، لِأَنَّهُمْ كَهُوَ فِي الْحَالِ مَعَ سُقُوطِ الْمُطَالَبَةِ مِنْهُمْ بِحُقُوقِهِمْ عَلَيْهِ، وَقَدْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ السَّلَفِ،

waqad kāna li-l-thawriyyi khamsūna dīnāran yuttajaru lahu bihā, thumma ʾakhadhahā fī ʾākhiri ʾamrihi fafarraqahā ʿalā ʾikhwānihi wataraka al-takassuba, wayuqālu ʾinnahu faʿala dhālika lammā māta ʿiyāluhu, walaysa li-l-ʿabdi ʾan yaḥmila ḥāla ʿiyālihi ʿalā ḥālihi ʾillā ʾan yakūna ikhtiyāruhum ka-khtiyārihi, waṣabruhum ʿalā faqrihim wamaʿrifatuhum bifaḍlihi kamaʿrifatihi, fajāʾizun ḥīnaʾidhin ʾan yasīra bihim sayrahu, wayasquṭu ʿanhu al-takassubu liʾajlihim, liʾannahum kahuwa fī al-ḥāli maʿa suqūṭi al-muṭālabati minhum biḥuqūqihim ʿalayhi, waqad faʿala dhālika jamāʿatun mina al-salafi,

Al-Thawrī had fifty dinars that were traded on his behalf. Near the end of his life he took them, distributed them among his brothers, and stopped earning. It is said that he did so after his dependents died. A servant may not impose his own spiritual condition upon his dependents unless their choice is like his, and their patience with poverty and knowledge of its excellence match his knowledge. He may then lead them along his own course, and earning for them ceases to be incumbent upon him, since they share his condition and no longer press their claims upon him. A number of the early generations acted in this way.

وَبَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ يُفَضِّلُونَ مَنْ لَا مَعْلُومَ لَهُ عَلَى مَنْ لَهُ مَعْلُومٌ، وَهُمْ لَا يَرَوْنَ تَرْكَ التَّكَسُّبِ أَفْضَلَ لِأَنَّهُ مَعْلُومٌ، وَيَعُدُّ هَؤُلَاءِ سُكُونَ الْقَلْبِ مَعَ وُجُودِ الْمَعْلُومِ عِلَّةً، وَلَكِنْ إِذَا سَكَنَ قَلْبُهُ مَعَ غَيْرِ مَعْلُومٍ، وَاِجْتَمَعَ هَمُّهُ وَاِنْقَطَعَ طَمَعُهُ فِي حَالِ الْمَعْدُومِ؛ فَهَذَا هُوَ الْمَقَامُ وَتَفْصِيلُ هَذَا فِي التَّوَسُّطِ مِنَ الْمَقَالِ عِنْدِي وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَا يُفَضَّلُ بِنَفْسِ عَدَمِ الْمَعْلُومِ، كَمَا لَا يُفَضَّلُ بِنَفْسِ الْقُعُودِ عَنِ الْمَكَاسِبِ، وَإِنَّمَا يُفَضَّلُ بِحَالِهِ مِنْ مَقَامِهِ؛

wabaʿḍu al-ʿārifīna yufaḍḍilūna man lā maʿlūma lahu ʿalā man lahu maʿlūmun, wahum lā yarawna tarka al-takassubi ʾafḍala liʾannahu maʿlūmun, wayaʿuddu hāʾulāʾi sukūna al-qalbi maʿa wujūdi al-maʿlūmi ʿillatan, wa-lākin ʾidhā sakana qalbuhu maʿa ghayri maʿlūmin, wa-jtamaʿa hammuhu wa-nqaṭaʿa ṭamaʿuhu fī ḥāli al-maʿdūmi; fa-hādhā huwa al-maqāmu watafṣīlu hādhā fī al-tawassuṭi mina al-maqāli ʿindī wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu ʾanna al-ʿabda lā yufaḍḍalu binafsi ʿadami al-maʿlūmi, kamā lā yufaḍḍalu binafsi al-quʿūdi ʿani al-makāsibi, waʾinnamā yufaḍḍalu biḥālihi min maqāmihi;

Some knowers prefer a person without an established provision to one who has it, yet do not consider leaving earning superior merely because earning is a known means. They regard the heart's repose when an established provision exists as a defect. If his heart rests without any such provision, his concern is gathered, and his covetousness ends even in the absence of means, that is the station. My considered, balanced account, and God knows best, is that a servant is not superior merely because he lacks an established provision, just as he is not superior merely because he refrains from earning. His excellence lies in the state arising from his station.

فَإِذَا كَانَ ذُو الْمَعْلُومِ أَحْسَنَ مَعْرِفَةً وَأَقْوَى يَقِينًا، فُضِّلَ عَلَى مَنْ لَا مَعْلُومَ لَهُ، وَلَا يَكُونُ سُكُونُ الْقَلْبِ وَطُمَأْنِينَةُ النَّفْسِ أَيْضًا مَعَ وُجُودِ الْمَعْلُومِ عِلَّةً فِي الْحَالِ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْمَقَامِ، وَلَكِنْ لَا يَكُونُ مَقَامًا يُرْفَعُ بِهِ وَلَا حَالًا يُفَضَّلُ فِيهِ، إِلَّا أَنَّ الطَّمَعَ فِي الْخَلْقِ وَتَشَتُّتَ الْقَلْبِ مَعَ وُجُودِ مَعْلُومِ الْكِفَاءَةِ نُقْصَانٌ عِنْدَ الْكُلِّ وَعِنْدِي، وَقَطْعُ الطَّمَعِ فِي الْخَلْقِ وَاِجْتِمَاعُ الْقَلْبِ مَعَ الْعَدَمِ أَفْضَلُ وَأَعْلَى دَرَجَةً عِنْدَ الْجَمَاعَةِ.

faʾidhā kāna dhū al-maʿlūmi ʾaḥsana maʿrifatan waʾaqwā yaqīnan, fuḍḍila ʿalā man lā maʿlūma lahu, walā yakūnu sukūnu al-qalbi waṭumaʾnīnatu al-nafsi ʾayḍan maʿa wujūdi al-maʿlūmi ʿillatan fī al-ḥāli ʿalā qadri al-maqāmi, wa-lākin lā yakūnu maqāman yurfaʿu bihi walā ḥālan yufaḍḍalu fīhi, ʾillā ʾanna al-ṭamaʿa fī al-khalqi watashattuta al-qalbi maʿa wujūdi maʿlūmi al-kifāʾati nuqṣānun ʿinda al-kulli waʿindī, waqaṭʿu al-ṭamaʿi fī al-khalqi wa-jtimāʿu al-qalbi maʿa al-ʿadami ʾafḍalu waʾaʿlā darajatan ʿinda al-jamāʿati.

If someone with an established provision has better spiritual knowledge and stronger certainty, he is superior to someone without it. Nor must the heart's repose and the self's tranquility in the presence of provision be a defect in the state, depending on the station. Yet this alone is neither a station by which one is raised nor a state by which one is distinguished. Coveting creatures and having a scattered heart even when sufficient established provision exists is a deficiency according to everyone, including me. Abandoning covetousness toward creatures and gathering the heart when provision is absent is better and higher in degree according to the whole community.

وَفِي حَدِيثِ حَيَّةَ وَسَوَّارٍ اِبْنَيْ خَالِدٍ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لَهُمَا: لَا تَيْأَسَا مِنَ الرِّزْقِ مَا تَهَزَّزَتْ رُؤُوسُكُمَا، فَإِنَّ اِبْنَ آدَمَ تَلِدُهُ أُمُّهُ أَحْمَرَ لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ قِشْرٌ ثُمَّ يَرْزُقُهُ اللَّهُ بَعْدُ، وَقَالَ

wafī ḥadīthi ḥayyata wasawwārin ibnay khālidin ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla lahumā: lā tayʾasā mina al-rizqi mā tahazzazat ruʾūsukumā, faʾinna ibna ʾādama taliduhu ʾummuhu ʾaḥmara laysa ʿalayhi qishrun thumma yarzuquhu Allāhu baʿdu, waqāla

In the report of Ḥayya and Sawwār, the sons of Khālid, the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, told them, “Do not despair of provision while your heads still move. A human being is born from his mother red, with no covering upon him, and then God provides for him afterward.” He also said,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٠

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 30

Volume Two, page 30

صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، لِلرَّجُلِ الَّذِي نَاوَلَهُ التَّمْرَةَ لَوْ لَمْ تَأْتِهَا لَأَتَتْكَ، وَيُقَالُ إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَوْ هَرَبَ مِنْ رِزْقِهِ لَأَدْرَكَهُ كَمَا لَوْ هَرَبَ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ لَأَدْرَكَهُ الْمَوْتُ، وَأَنَّ الرِّزْقَ لَا يَنْقَطِعُ عَنِ الْعَبْدِ حَتَّى يَظْهَرَ لَهُ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ، فَحِينَئِذٍ يَنْقَطِعُ عَنْهُ رِزْقُ الدُّنْيَا وَيَدْخُلُ فِي رِزْقِ الْآخِرَةِ، فَيَكُونُ أَوَّلُ رِزْقِ الْآخِرَةِ آخِرَ رِزْقِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا آخِرَ لِهَذَا الرِّزْقِ،

ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, li-l-rajuli alladhī nāwalahu al-tamrata law lam taʾtihā laʾatatka, wayuqālu ʾinna al-ʿabda law haraba min rizqihi laʾadrakahu kamā law haraba mina al-mawti laʾadrakahu al-mawtu, waʾanna al-rizqa lā yanqaṭiʿu ʿani al-ʿabdi ḥattā yaẓhara lahu malaku al-mawti, faḥīnaʾidhin yanqaṭiʿu ʿanhu rizqu al-dunyā wayadkhulu fī rizqi al-ʾākhirati, fayakūnu ʾawwalu rizqi al-ʾākhirati ʾākhira rizqi al-dunyā walā ʾākhira li-hādhā al-rizqi,

God bless him and grant him peace, to the man to whom he handed a date, “Had you not come to it, it would have come to you.” It is said that if a servant fled his provision, it would overtake him, just as death would overtake him if he fled death. Provision does not cease for the servant until the angel of death appears to him. His worldly provision then ends and he enters the provision of the next world. The beginning of the next world's provision thus coincides with the end of this world's, and that provision has no end.

وَقَالَ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الدَّسْتُوَائِيُّ: لَوْ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ سَأَلَ اللَّهَ أَنْ لَا يَرْزُقَهُ لَمْ يَسْتَجِبْ لَهُ وَلَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا جَاهِلُ، أَنَا خَلَقْتُكَ وَلَا بُدَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَرْزُقَكَ أَبَدًا، وَقَالَ وَقَدْ سُئِلَ عَنِ الْقُوتِ فَقَالَ: هُوَ الْحَيُّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ فَقِيلَ: إِنَّمَا سَأَلْتُكَ عَنِ الْقِوَامِ، فَقَالَ: الْقِوَامُ هُوَ الْعِلْمُ، قِيلَ: سَأَلْنَاكَ عَنِ الْغِذَاءِ، فَقَالَ: الْغِذَاءُ هُوَ الذِّكْرُ،

waqāla sahlu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi al-dastuwāʾiyyu: law ʾanna al-ʿabda saʾala Allāha ʾan lā yarzuqahu lam yastajib lahu walaqāla lahu: yā jāhilu, ʾanā khalaqtuka walā budda min ʾan ʾarzuqaka ʾabadan, waqāla waqad suʾila ʿani al-qūti faqāla: huwa al-ḥayyu alladhī lā yamūtu faqīla: ʾinnamā saʾaltuka ʿani al-qiwāmi, faqāla: al-qiwāmu huwa al-ʿilmu, qīla: saʾalnāka ʿani al-ghidhāʾi, faqāla: al-ghidhāʾu huwa al-dhikru,

Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Dastuwāʾī said, “If a servant asked God not to provide for him, He would not answer that request, but would say, ‘Ignorant one, I created you, and I must always provide for you.’” Asked about sustenance, he answered, “It is the Living One who does not die.” He was told, “I meant what sustains us.” He replied, “What sustains us is knowledge.” They said, “We asked you about nourishment.” He replied, “Nourishment is remembrance.”

قِيلَ: سَأَلْنَاكَ عَنْ طُعْمَةِ الْجَسَدِ، فَقَالَ: مَا لَكَ وَلِلْجَسَدِ، دَعْ مَنْ تَوَلَّاهُ أَوَّلًا يَتَوَلَّاهُ آخِرًا، إِذَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ عِلَّةٌ فَرُدَّهُ إِلَى صَانِعِهِ؛ أَمَا رَأَيْتَ الصَّنْعَةَ إِذَا عَابَتْ رَدُّوهَا إِلَى صَانِعِهَا حَتَّى يُصْلِحَهَا، وَقَالَ الْخَوَّاصُ وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ سَهْلٍ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُلْقِي عَلَى الْخُصُوصِ الْفَاقَةَ وَيُحْوِجُهُمْ إِلَى الْخَلْقِ بِالطَّمَعِ فِيهِمْ، وَيُلْقِي فِي قُلُوبِ الْخَلْقِ الْمَنْعَ لَهُمْ فَيَحْرِمُهُمْ مَا فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ لِيَرُدَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ فَإِذَا رَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِ آيِسِينَ مُنْقَادِينَ رَزَقَهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُونَ،

qīla: saʾalnāka ʿan ṭuʿmati al-jasadi, faqāla: mā laka wali-l-jasadi, daʿ man tawallāhu ʾawwalan yatawallāhu ʾākhiran, ʾidhā dakhala ʿalayhi ʿillatun faruddahu ʾilā ṣāniʿihi; ʾamā raʾayta al-ṣanʿata ʾidhā ʿābat raddūhā ʾilā ṣāniʿihā ḥattā yuṣliḥahā, waqāla al-khawwāṣu waqad rawaynā ʿan sahlin: ʾinna Allāha taʿālā yulqī ʿalā al-khuṣūṣi al-fāqata wayuḥwijuhum ʾilā al-khalqi bi-al-ṭamaʿi fīhim, wayulqī fī qulūbi al-khalqi al-manʿa lahum fayaḥrimuhum mā fī ʾaydīhim liyaruddahum ʾilayhi faʾidhā rajaʿū ʾilayhi ʾāyisīna munqādīna razaqahum min ḥaythu lā yaḥtasibūna,

They said, “We asked about food for the body.” He answered, “What concern have you with the body? Leave the One who cared for it at first to care for it at last. If illness enters it, return it to its Maker. Have you not seen how a faulty piece of workmanship is returned to its maker for repair?” Al-Khawwāṣ said, and we have also related it from Sahl, “God Most High casts need upon the elect and makes them need creatures through coveting what they have. He puts refusal into those creatures' hearts, denying them what is in their hands in order to turn them back to Him. When they return to Him, despairing of others and submissive, He provides for them from where they do not expect.”

وَمِنْ عَلَامَةِ الْخُصُوصِ أَنَّهُمْ إِذَا اِسْتَشْرَفُوا إِلَى شَيْءٍ حُرِمُوا ذَلِكَ الشَّيْءَ وَإِذَا سَكَنُوا إِلَى عَبْدٍ سُلِّطَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَرْفَعَ سُكُونَهُمْ إِلَيْهِ، وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِذَا جَاءَهُ السَّبَبُ بَعْدَ تَطَلُّعٍ إِلَيْهِ رَدَّهُ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَانَ يُخْرِجُهُ وَلَا يَتَنَاوَلُ مِنْهُ عُقُوبَةً لِنَفْسِهِ، وَكَانَ ذُو النُّونِ الْمِصْرِيُّ يَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَى إِخْوَانِهِ فِي عِلْمِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ فَسَأَلَهُ غُلَامٌ شَابٌّ عَنِ الْخُبْزِ: مِنْ أَيْنَ هُوَ؟ فَقَالَ: خُذُوا بِيَدِهِ وَاِذْهَبُوا بِهِ إِلَى الصُّوفِيَّةِ حَتَّى يُعَلِّمُوهُ الْأَدَبَ،

wamin ʿalāmati al-khuṣūṣi ʾannahum ʾidhā istashrafū ʾilā shayʾin ḥurimū dhālika al-shayʾa waʾidhā sakanū ʾilā ʿabdin sulliṭa ʿalayhim liyarfaʿa sukūnahum ʾilayhi, waqad kāna baʿḍuhum ʾidhā jāʾahu al-sababu baʿda taṭalluʿin ʾilayhi raddahu, waminhum man kāna yukhrijuhu walā yatanāwalu minhu ʿuqūbatan linafsihi, wakāna dhū al-nūni al-miṣriyyu yatakallamu ʿalā ʾikhwānihi fī ʿilmi al-tawḥīdi wa-al-maʿrifati fasaʾalahu ghulāmun shābbun ʿani al-khubzi: min ʾayna huwa? faqāla: khudhū biyadihi wa-dhhabū bihi ʾilā al-ṣūfiyyati ḥattā yuʿallimūhu al-ʾadaba,

A sign of the elect is that when they look expectantly toward something, they are deprived of it; and when they rest in a servant, that servant is given power over them to remove their reliance on him. Some used to reject a means of support if it came after they had coveted it. Others gave it away without taking anything from it, as a discipline for the self. Dhū al-Nūn al-Miṣrī was speaking to his brothers about the knowledge of divine unity and spiritual knowledge when a young man asked where bread comes from. He said, “Take him by the hand and bring him to the Sufis so that they may teach him proper conduct.”

وَقَدْ حُكِيَ عَنْ مَعْرُوفٍ أَبِي مَحْفُوظٍ الْكَرْخِيِّ أَنَّهُ ذُكِرَ لَهُ اِنْقِبَاضُ بِشْرٍ عَنِ الْأَسْبَابِ الَّتِي تُفْتَتَحُ لَهُ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ أَخِي بِشْرًا قَبَضَهُ الْوَرَعُ، وَأَنَا نَشَّطَتْنِي الْمَعْرِفَةُ، إِلَّا أَنَّ مَعْرُوفًا كَانَ لَا يَأْخُذُ السَّبَبَ إِلَّا عِنْدَ الْحَاجَةِ، وَيَأْخُذُ مِنْهُ مَا لَا بُدَّ لَهُ مِنْهُ، وَكَانَ لَا يَدَّخِرُ، وَكَانَ قَصِيرَ الْأَمَلِ لَمْ يَكُنْ يَأْمُلُ الْبَقَاءَ مِنْ وَقْتِ صَلَاةٍ إِلَى صَلَاةٍ أُخْرَى؛ كَانَ إِذَا صَلَّى الظُّهْرَ يَقُولُ لِلْجِيرَانِ: اُطْلُبُوا لَكُمْ مَنْ يُصَلِّي صَلَاةَ الْعَصْرِ،

waqad ḥukiya ʿan maʿrūfin ʾabī maḥfūẓin al-karkhiyyi ʾannahu dhukira lahu inqibāḍu bishrin ʿani al-ʾasbābi allatī tuftataḥu lahu faqāla: ʾinna ʾakhī bishran qabaḍahu al-waraʿu, waʾanā nashshaṭatnī al-maʿrifatu, ʾillā ʾanna maʿrūfan kāna lā yaʾkhudhu al-sababa ʾillā ʿinda al-ḥājati, wayaʾkhudhu minhu mā lā budda lahu minhu, wakāna lā yaddakhiru, wakāna qaṣīra al-ʾamali lam yakun yaʾmulu al-baqāʾa min waqti ṣalātin ʾilā ṣalātin ʾukhrā; kāna ʾidhā ṣallā al-ẓuhra yaqūlu li-l-jīrāni: uṭlubū lakum man yuṣallī ṣalāta al-ʿaṣri,

It is related of Maʿrūf Abū Maḥfūẓ al-Karkhī that, when Bishr's reluctance to accept the means of support opened to him was mentioned, he said, “Scrupulousness has held my brother Bishr back, while spiritual knowledge has given me freedom to act.” Yet Maʿrūf accepted support only when he needed it, took only what was indispensable, and stored nothing. His expectation of life was short: he did not expect to survive from one prayer to the next. After praying the noon prayer, he would tell his neighbors, “Find someone to lead you in the afternoon prayer.”

وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: إِنَّمَا أَنَا ضَيْفٌ فِي دَارِ مَوْلَايَ إِنْ أَطْعَمَنِي أَكَلْتُ مَتَى أَطْعَمَنِي، وَإِنْ أَجَاعَنِي صَبَرْتُ حَتَّى يُطْعِمَنِي، وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ يَقُولُ: الْمُتَوَكِّلُ لَا يَسْأَلُ وَلَا يَرُدُّ وَلَا يَحْتَكِرُ.

wakāna yaqūlu: ʾinnamā ʾanā ḍayfun fī dāri mawlāya ʾin ʾaṭʿamanī ʾakaltu matā ʾaṭʿamanī, waʾin ʾajāʿanī ṣabartu ḥattā yuṭʿimanī, waqad kāna ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun yaqūlu: al-mutawakkilu lā yasʾalu walā yaruddu walā yaḥtakiru.

He used to say, “I am only a guest in my Master's house. If He feeds me, I eat whenever He feeds me. If He leaves me hungry, I endure patiently until He feeds me.” Abū Muḥammad Sahl used to say, “The person who trusts does not ask, does not refuse, and does not hoard.”

ذِكْرُ الِادِّخَارِ مَعَ التَّوَكُّلِ

dhikru al-iddikhāri maʿa al-tawakkuli

On Storing Provisions While Trusting in God

وَلَا يَضُرُّ الِادِّخَارُ مَعَ صِحَّةِ التَّوَكُّلِ إِذَا كَانَ مُدَّخِرًا لِلَّهِ وَفِيهِ، وَكَانَ مَالُهُ مَوْقُوفًا عَلَى

walā yaḍurru al-iddikhāru maʿa ṣiḥḥati al-tawakkuli ʾidhā kāna muddakhiran li-llāhi wafīhi, wakāna māluhu mawqūfan ʿalā

Storing provisions does not harm sound trust if a person stores them for God and in His service, and his wealth is reserved for

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣١

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 31

Volume Two, page 31

رِضَا مَوْلَاهُ لَا مُدَّخِرًا لِحُظُوظِ نَفْسِهِ وَهَوَاهُ، فَهُوَ حِينَئِذٍ مُدَّخِرًا لِحُقُوقِ اللَّهِ الَّتِي أَوْجَبَهَا عَلَيْهِ، فَإِذَا رَآهَا بَذَلَ مَالَهُ فِيهَا، وَالْقِيَامُ بِحُقُوقِ اللَّهِ لَا يَنْقُصُ مَقَامَاتِ الْعَبْدِ بَلْ يَزِيدُهَا عُلُوًّا، وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ بَعْضِ أَصْحَابِ بِشْرِ بْنِ الْحَٰرِثِ قَالَ: كُنْتُ عِنْدَهُ ضَحْوَةً مِنَ النَّهَارِ، فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ كَهْلٌ أَسْمَرُ خَفِيفُ الْعَارِضَيْنِ، فَقَامَ إِلَيْهِ بِشْرٌ قَالَ: وَمَا رَأَيْتُهُ قَامَ لِأَحَدٍ غَيْرِهِ،

riḍā mawlāhu lā muddakhiran liḥuẓūẓi nafsihi wahawāhu, fahuwa ḥīnaʾidhin muddakhiran liḥuqūqi Allāhi allatī ʾawjabahā ʿalayhi, faʾidhā raʾāhā badhala mālahu fīhā, wa-al-qiyāmu biḥuqūqi Allāhi lā yanquṣu maqāmāti al-ʿabdi bal yazīduhā ʿuluwwan, waḥaddathūnā ʿan baʿḍi ʾaṣḥābi bishri bni al-ḥārithi qāla: kuntu ʿindahu ḍaḥwatan mina al-nahāri, fadakhala ʿalayhi kahlun ʾasmaru khafīfu al-ʿāriḍayni, faqāma ʾilayhi bishrun qāla: wamā raʾaytuhu qāma liʾaḥadin ghayrihi,

his Master's good pleasure, rather than stored for the appetites and desires of his self. He is then storing for the claims God has made incumbent upon him; when those claims appear, he spends his wealth on them. Fulfilling God's claims does not diminish a servant's stations, but raises them higher. They related from one of Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith's companions: “I was with him one morning when a middle-aged man of dark complexion, with sparse hair on his cheeks, entered. Bishr rose to greet him. I had never seen him rise for anyone else.”

قَالَ: وَدَفَعَ إِلَيَّ كَفًّا مِنْ دَرَاهِمَ فَقَالَ: اِشْتَرِ لَنَا مِنْ أَطْيَبِ مَا تَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ وَالطِّيبِ، قَالَ: وَمَا قَالَ لِي قَطُّ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، قَالَ: فَجِئْتُ بِالطَّعَامِ فَوَضَعْتُهُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، فَأَكَلَ مَعَهُ، وَمَا رَأَيْتُهُ أَكَلَ مَعَ غَيْرِهِ، قَالَ: فَأَكَلْنَا حَاجَتَنَا وَبَقِيَ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ شَيْءٌ كَثِيرٌ، فَأَخَذَهُ الرَّجُلُ فَجَمَعَهُ فِي ثَوْبِهِ فَجَعَلَهُ تَحْتَ يَدِهِ وَاِنْصَرَفَ،

qāla: wadafaʿa ʾilayya kaffan min darāhima faqāla: ishtari lanā min ʾaṭyabi mā taqdiru ʿalayhi mina al-ṭaʿāmi wa-al-ṭībi, qāla: wamā qāla lī qaṭṭu mithla dhālika, qāla: fajiʾtu bi-al-ṭaʿāmi fawaḍaʿtuhu bayna yadayhi, faʾakala maʿahu, wamā raʾaytuhu ʾakala maʿa ghayrihi, qāla: faʾakalnā ḥājatanā wabaqiya mina al-ṭaʿāmi shayʾun kathīrun, faʾakhadhahu al-rajulu fajamaʿahu fī thawbihi fajaʿalahu taḥta yadihi wa-nṣarafa,

He continued, “He handed me a handful of dirhams and said, ‘Buy us the finest food and perfume you can find.’ He had never told me anything like that before. I brought the food and set it before him, and he ate with the visitor. I had never seen him eat with anyone else. We ate our fill, and a great deal of food remained. The man gathered it into his garment, tucked it under his arm, and left.”

قَالَ: فَعَجِبْتُ مِنْ فِعْلِهِ ذَلِكَ وَكَرِهْتُهُ لَهُ إِذْ لَمْ يَأْمُرْهُ بِشْرٌ بِذَلِكَ وَلَا هُوَ اِسْتَأْذَنَهُ فِيهِ، فَقَالَ لِي بِشْرٌ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ: لَعَلَّكَ أَنْكَرْتَ فِعْلَهُ ذَلِكَ، قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ، أَخَذَ بَقِيَّةَ الطَّعَامِ مِنْ غَيْرِ إِذْنٍ، فَقَالَ: تَعْرِفُهُ؟ قُلْتُ لَا، قَالَ: ذَلِكَ أَخُونَا فَتْحٌ الْمَوْصِلِيُّ، زَارَنَا الْيَوْمَ مِنَ الْمَوْصِلِ، وَإِنَّمَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يُعَلِّمَنَا أَنَّ التَّوَكُّلَ إِذَا صَحَّ لَمْ يَضُرَّ مَعَهُ الِادِّخَارُ،

qāla: faʿajibtu min fiʿlihi dhālika wakarihtuhu lahu ʾidh lam yaʾmurhu bishrun bi-dhālika walā huwa istaʾdhanahu fīhi, faqāla lī bishrun baʿda dhālika: laʿallaka ʾankarta fiʿlahu dhālika, qultu: naʿam, ʾakhadha baqiyyata al-ṭaʿāmi min ghayri ʾidhnin, faqāla: taʿrifuhu? qultu lā, qāla: dhālika ʾakhūnā fatḥun al-mawṣiliyyu, zāranā al-yawma mina al-mawṣili, waʾinnamā ʾarāda ʾan yuʿallimanā ʾanna al-tawakkula ʾidhā ṣaḥḥa lam yaḍurra maʿahu al-iddikhāru,

“I was surprised and disapproved, since Bishr had not told him to do that and he had not asked permission. Bishr later said to me, ‘Perhaps you objected to what he did.’ I said, ‘Yes. He took the remaining food without permission.’ He asked, ‘Do you know him?’ I said no. He replied, ‘That is our brother Fatḥ al-Mawṣilī. He visited us today from Mosul. He only wished to teach us that when trust is sound, storing provisions does not harm it.’”

وَتَرْكُ الِادِّخَارِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ حَالٌ مِنْ مَقَامِهِ قِصَرُ الْأَمَلِ، وَقَدْ يَصِحُّ التَّوَكُّلُ مَعَ تَأْمِيلِ الْبَقَاءِ، فَإِنْ كَانَ أَمَلُهُ لِلْحَيَاةِ لِطَاعَةِ مَوْلَاهُ وَخِدْمَتِهِ وَالْجِهَادِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَضُلَ ذَلِكَ، وَهَذَا طَرِيقُ طَائِفَةٍ مِنَ الرَّاجِينَ وَالْمُسْتَأْنِسِينَ، وَإِنْ كَانَ أَمَلُهُ لِلْحَيَاةِ لِأَجْلِ مُتْعَةِ نَفْسِهِ، وَأَخْذِ حُظُوظِهَا مِنْ دُنْيَاهُ، نَقَصَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ زُهْدِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا، فَسَرَى النَّقْصُ إِلَى تَوَكُّلِهِ، وَمَا نَقَصَ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ نَقَصَ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ بِحِسَابِهِ،

watarku al-iddikhāri ʾinnamā huwa ḥālun min maqāmihi qiṣaru al-ʾamali, waqad yaṣiḥḥu al-tawakkulu maʿa taʾmīli al-baqāʾi, faʾin kāna ʾamaluhu li-l-ḥayāti liṭāʿati mawlāhu wakhidmatihi wa-al-jihādi fī sabīli Allāhi faḍula dhālika, wa-hādhā ṭarīqu ṭāʾifatin mina al-rājīna wa-al-mustaʾnisīna, waʾin kāna ʾamaluhu li-l-ḥayāti liʾajli mutʿati nafsihi, waʾakhdhi ḥuẓūẓihā min dunyāhu, naqaṣa dhālika min zuhdihi fī al-dunyā, fasarā al-naqṣu ʾilā tawakkulihi, wamā naqaṣa mina al-zuhdi naqaṣa mina al-tawakkuli biḥisābihi,

Refraining from storage is a state whose underlying station is a short expectation of life. Trust may be sound alongside the expectation of continued life. If one hopes to live in order to obey and serve one's Master and strive in God's path, that is excellent. This is the way of a group among those who hope and find intimacy with Him. If one hopes to live for personal enjoyment and worldly gratification, that diminishes one's renunciation of the world, and the deficiency spreads to one's trust. Whatever renunciation loses, trust loses in corresponding measure.

وَلَيْسَ مَا زَادَ فِي الزُّهْدِ يَزِيدُ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ بِحِسَابِهِ، لِأَنَّ الزُّهْدَ مِنْ شَرْطِ خُصُوصِ التَّوَكُّلِ، وَلَيْسَ التَّوَكُّلُ مِنْ شَرْطِ عُمُومِ الزُّهْدِ، فَكُلُّ مُتَوَكِّلٍ ذِي مَقَامٍ زَاهِدٌ لَا مَحَالَةَ، وَلَيْسَ كُلُّ زَاهِدٍ فِي مَقَامٍ مُتَوَكِّلًا لِأَنَّ التَّوَكُّلَ مَقَامٌ وَالزُّهْدَ حَالٌ، وَالْمَقَامَاتُ لِلْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَالْأَحْوَالُ فِي أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ إِلَّا أَنَّ مَنْ أُعْطِيَ حَقِيقَةَ الزُّهْدِ فَإِنَّهُ يُعْطَى التَّوَكُّلَ لَا مَحَالَةَ، لِأَنَّ حَقَائِقَ الْأَحْوَالِ وَثُبُوتَهَا، وَدَوَامَ اِسْتِقَامَةِ أَهْلِهَا فِيهَا، وَلُزُومَهَا لِقُلُوبِهِمْ هِيَ مَقَامَاتٌ؛

walaysa mā zāda fī al-zuhdi yazīdu fī al-tawakkuli biḥisābihi, liʾanna al-zuhda min sharṭi khuṣūṣi al-tawakkuli, walaysa al-tawakkulu min sharṭi ʿumūmi al-zuhdi, fakullu mutawakkilin dhī maqāmin zāhidun lā maḥālata, walaysa kullu zāhidin fī maqāmin mutawakkilan liʾanna al-tawakkula maqāmun wa-al-zuhda ḥālun, wa-al-maqāmātu li-l-muqarrabīna wa-al-ʾaḥwālu fī ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni ʾillā ʾanna man ʾuʿṭiya ḥaqīqata al-zuhdi faʾinnahu yuʿṭā al-tawakkula lā maḥālata, liʾanna ḥaqāʾiqa al-ʾaḥwāli wathubūtahā, wadawāma istiqāmati ʾahlihā fīhā, waluzūmahā liqulūbihim hiya maqāmātun;

But an increase in renunciation does not necessarily increase trust in corresponding measure. Renunciation is a condition of the particular degree of trust, whereas trust is not a condition of renunciation in its general sense. Every trusting person established in a station is necessarily a renunciant, but not every renunciant in a station is a person of trust: trust is a station and renunciation a state. Stations belong to those brought near, while states occur among the companions of the right. Yet whoever is given the reality of renunciation is necessarily given trust, because states in their full reality and stability, their possessors' continued uprightness in them, and their abiding presence in the heart constitute stations.

فَإِذَا جَازَ لِلْمُتَوَكِّلِ تَأْمِيلُ الْبَقَاءِ لِشَهْرٍ أَوْ شَهْرَيْنِ جَازَ لَهُ الِادِّخَارُ لِذَلِكَ، إِلَّا أَنَّ طُولَ الْأَمَلِ يُخْرِجُ مِنْ حَقِيقَةِ التَّوَكُّلِ عِنْدَ الْخَوَاصِّ وَلَا يُخْرِجُهُ مِنْ حَدِّهِ عِنْدِي، وَأَكْرَهُ لِلْمُتَوَكِّلِ الِادِّخَارَ لِأَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا، كَمَا يُكْرَهُ تَأْمِيلُ الْبَقَاءِ لِأَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَرْبَعِينَ، وَمَنِ اِدَّخَرَ لِصَلَاحِ قَلْبِهِ وَتَسْكِينِ نَفْسِهِ وَقَطْعِ تَشَرُّفِهِ إِلَى النَّاسِ؛ إِنْ كَانَ مَقَامُهُ السُّكُونَ مَعَ الْمَعْلُومِ، فَالِادِّخَارُ لَهُ أَفْضَلُ،

faʾidhā jāza li-l-mutawakkili taʾmīlu al-baqāʾi lishahrin ʾaw shahrayni jāza lahu al-iddikhāru li-dhālika, ʾillā ʾanna ṭūla al-ʾamali yukhriju min ḥaqīqati al-tawakkuli ʿinda al-khawāṣṣi walā yukhrijuhu min ḥaddihi ʿindī, waʾakrahu li-l-mutawakkili al-iddikhāra liʾakthara min ʾarbaʿīna yawman, kamā yukrahu taʾmīlu al-baqāʾi liʾakthara min ʾarbaʿīna, wamani iddakhara liṣalāḥi qalbihi wataskīni nafsihi waqaṭʿi tasharrufihi ʾilā al-nāsi; ʾin kāna maqāmuhu al-sukūna maʿa al-maʿlūmi, fa-al-iddikhāru lahu ʾafḍalu,

If a trusting person may expect to remain alive for a month or two, he may store provisions for that period. In the view of the elect, a long expectation of life removes one from the reality of trust, though in my view it does not remove one from its bounds. I dislike a trusting person's storing for more than forty days, just as expecting to survive more than forty days is disliked. If a person stores provisions to set his heart right, calm his self, and end his expectation of people, and his station is repose with an established provision, then storage is better for him.

فَأَمَّا مَنِ اِدَّخَرَ لِعِيَالِهِ لِتَسْكُنَ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَلِوُجُودِ رِضَاهُمْ عَنِ اللَّهِ، وَلِسُقُوطِ حُكْمِهِمْ عَنْهُ لِيَتَفَرَّغَ لِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ، فَهُوَ فَاضِلٌ فِي اِدِّخَارِهِ اِتَّفَقُوا عَلَيْهِ، وَلِأَنَّهُ فِي ذَلِكَ قَائِمٌ بِحُكْمِ رَبِّهِ رَاعٍ لِرَعِيَّتِهِ الَّتِي هُوَ مَسْؤُولٌ عَنْهَا، وَقَدِ اِدَّخَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِعِيَالِهِ قُوتَ سَنَةٍ لِيَسُنَّ ذَلِكَ،

faʾammā mani iddakhara liʿiyālihi litaskuna qulūbuhum waliwujūdi riḍāhum ʿani Allāhi, walisuqūṭi ḥukmihim ʿanhu liyatafarragha liʿibādati rabbihi, fahuwa fāḍilun fī iddikhārihi ittafaqū ʿalayhi, waliʾannahu fī dhālika qāʾimun biḥukmi rabbihi rāʿin liraʿiyyatihi allatī huwa masʾūlun ʿanhā, waqadi iddakhara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama liʿiyālihi qūta sanatin liyasunna dhālika,

As for someone who stores for his dependents so that their hearts may rest and they may be content with God, and so that their claims upon him may be discharged, leaving him free to worship his Lord, they agree that his storage is meritorious. He thereby carries out his Lord's ruling and cares for the flock for which he is responsible. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, stored a year's provision for his family to establish that practice.

وَقَدْ نَهَى أُمَّ أَيْمَنَ وَغَيْرَهَا أَنْ تَدَّخِرَ شَيْئًا لِغَدٍ، وَنَهَى بِلَالًا أَيْضًا عَنِ الِادِّخَارِ لِيَقْتَدِيَ بِهِ أَهْلُ الْمَقَامَاتِ فِي ذَلِكَ، كَمَا رُوِيَ أَنَّهُ قُبِضَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَهُ بُرْدَانِ فِي الْحَفِّ يُنْسَجَانِ، وَقَدْ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَقْصَرَ

waqad nahā ʾumma ʾaymana waghayrahā ʾan taddakhira shayʾan lighadin, wanahā bilālan ʾayḍan ʿani al-iddikhāri liyaqtadiya bihi ʾahlu al-maqāmāti fī dhālika, kamā ruwiya ʾannahu qubiḍa ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama walahu burdāni fī al-ḥaffi yunsajāni, waqad kāna ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾaqṣara

Yet he forbade Umm Ayman and others to store anything for the following day, and also forbade Bilāl to store, so that people of spiritual stations might follow his example in this. It is likewise related that when he died, God bless him and grant him peace, two cloaks belonging to him were still being woven on the loom. Yet his expectation of life, peace be upon him, had been shorter

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٢

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 32

Volume Two, page 32

أَمَلًا مِنْ ذَلِكَ، كَانَ يَبُولُ فَيَتَيَمَّمُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَصِلَ إِلَى الْمَاءِ، فَيُقَالُ لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ إِنَّ الْمَاءَ مِنْكَ قَرِيبٌ، فَقَالَ: وَمَا يُدْرِينِي لَعَلِّي لَا أَبْلُغُهُ، وَلَكِنْ فَعَلَهُ لِئَلَّا يَهْلِكَ مَنْ طَالَ أَمَلُهُ مِنْ أُمَّتِهِ، فَجَعَلَ فِعْلَهُ نَجَاةً لَهُ، فَهَذَا يَدُلُّكَ أَنَّ الِادِّخَارَ يَتَّسِعُ وَيَضِيقُ عَلَى قَدْرِ مُشَاهَدَاتِ الْعَارِفِينَ، مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ الشَّرِيعَةَ جَاءَتْ بِالرُّخْصَةِ وَالْعَزِيمَةِ؛ فَالْعَزَائِمُ مِنَ الدِّينِ لِلْأَقْوِيَاءِ الْحَامِلِينَ، وَالرُّخَصُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا لِلضُّعَفَاءِ الْمَخْمُولِينَ،

ʾamalan min dhālika, kāna yabūlu fayatayammamu qabla ʾan yaṣila ʾilā al-māʾi, fayuqālu lahu fī dhālika ʾinna al-māʾa minka qarībun, faqāla: wamā yudrīnī laʿallī lā ʾablughuhu, wa-lākin faʿalahu liʾallā yahlika man ṭāla ʾamaluhu min ʾummatihi, fajaʿala fiʿlahu najātan lahu, fa-hādhā yadulluka ʾanna al-iddikhāra yattasiʿu wayaḍīqu ʿalā qadri mushāhadāti al-ʿārifīna, min qibali ʾanna al-sharīʿata jāʾat bi-al-rukhṣati wa-al-ʿazīmati; fa-al-ʿazāʾimu mina al-dīni li-l-ʾaqwiyāʾi al-ḥāmilīna, wa-al-rukhaṣu mina al-dunyā li-l-ḍuʿafāʾi al-makhmūlīna,

than that. He would urinate and perform dry ablution before reaching water. When told that the water was close, he said, “How do I know? Perhaps I will not reach it.” Yet he undertook the other act so that members of his community with longer expectations would not perish, making his action a means of deliverance for them. This shows that the allowance for storage widens and narrows according to the knowers' witnessing. The revealed law brings both concession and strict resolve: strict requirements in religion are for the strong who bear them, while worldly concessions are for the weak and obscure.

وَقَدْ كَانَ الْخَوَّاصُ يُدَقِّقُ فِي أَحْوَالِ التَّوَكُّلِ وَيَذْكُرُ أَنَّ الِادِّخَارَ يُخْرِجُ مِنْ حَدِّ التَّوَكُّلِ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ يُفَارِقُهُ أَرْبَعَةُ أَشْيَاءَ، وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: اِدِّخَارُهَا مِنْ تَمَامِ حَالِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ لِأَنَّهَا مِنْ أُمُورِ الدِّينِ؛ الرَّكْوَةُ وَالْحَبْلُ وَالْإِبْرَةُ وَالْخُيُوطُ وَالْمِقْرَاضُ، وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ يَضْرِبُ لِمُدَّخِرٍ مَثَلًا فِي قِصَرِ الْأَمَلِ وَطُولِهِ فَيَقُولُ: مَثَلُ مَنْ يَتْرُكُ الِادِّخَارَ مَثَلُ رَجُلٍ يَقُولُ: أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَخْرُجَ إِلَى الْأَيْلَةِ فَيُقَالُ لَهُ: خُذْ رَغِيفًا،

waqad kāna al-khawwāṣu yudaqqiqu fī ʾaḥwāli al-tawakkuli wayadhkuru ʾanna al-iddikhāra yukhriju min ḥaddi al-tawakkuli, walam yakun yufāriquhu ʾarbaʿatu ʾashyāʾa, wakāna yaqūlu: iddikhāruhā min tamāmi ḥāli al-mutawakkili liʾannahā min ʾumūri al-dīni; al-rakwatu wa-al-ḥablu wa-al-ʾibratu wa-al-khuyūṭu wa-al-miqrāḍu, wakāna sahlun yaḍribu limuddakhirin mathalan fī qiṣari al-ʾamali waṭūlihi fayaqūlu: mathalu man yatruku al-iddikhāra mathalu rajulin yaqūlu: ʾurīdu ʾan ʾakhruja ʾilā al-ʾaylati fayuqālu lahu: khudh raghīfan,

Al-Khawwāṣ scrutinized the states of trust and said that storage takes one outside its bounds. Yet four things never left him, and he said that keeping them completed the trusting person's state because they belonged to the affairs of religion: a water vessel, a rope, a needle and thread, and scissors. Sahl illustrated short and long expectations for someone storing provisions: “The one who leaves storage is like a man who says, ‘I want to go to al-Ayla,’ and is told, ‘Take a loaf.’”

فَإِنْ قَالَ: أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَخْرُجَ إِلَى عَبَّادَانَ قِيلَ لَهُ خُذْ رَغِيفَيْنِ فَإِنْ قَالَ: أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَخْرُجَ إِلَى الْعَسْكَرِ قِيلَ لَهُ: خُذْ أَرْبَعَةَ أَرْغِفَةٍ قَالَ: فَكَذَلِكَ تَرْكُ الِادِّخَارِ عَلَى قَدْرِ قِصَرِ الْأَمَلِ وَطُولِهِ، وَأَعْجَبُ مَا سَمِعْتُ فِي اِنْقِطَاعِ الْأَمَلِ مَا حُكِيَ أَنَّ مُوسَى وَالْخَضِرَ اِجْتَمَعَا، فَشَكَا مُوسَى إِلَى الْخَضِرِ الْجُوعَ فَقَالَ: اُقْعُدْ فَقَعَدَ، فَتَكَلَّمَ الْخَضِرُ بِشَيْءٍ فَأَقْبَلَ ظَبْيٌ مَخِيضٌ حَتَّى وَقَفَ بَيْنَهُمَا،

faʾin qāla: ʾurīdu ʾan ʾakhruja ʾilā ʿabbādāna qīla lahu khudh raghīfayni faʾin qāla: ʾurīdu ʾan ʾakhruja ʾilā al-ʿaskari qīla lahu: khudh ʾarbaʿata ʾarghifatin qāla: fa-kadhālika tarku al-iddikhāri ʿalā qadri qiṣari al-ʾamali waṭūlihi, waʾaʿjabu mā samiʿtu fī inqiṭāʿi al-ʾamali mā ḥukiya ʾanna mūsā wa-al-khaḍira ijtamaʿā, fashakā mūsā ʾilā al-khaḍiri al-jūʿa faqāla: uqʿud faqaʿada, fatakallama al-khaḍiru bishayʾin faʾaqbala ẓabyun makhīḍun ḥattā waqafa baynahumā,

“If he says, ‘I want to go to ʿAbbādān,’ he is told, ‘Take two loaves.’ If he says, ‘I want to go to al-ʿAskar,’ he is told, ‘Take four loaves.’” He said, “Abandoning storage likewise depends upon how short or long one's expectation is.” The most remarkable thing I have heard about the ending of expectation is the account of Moses and al-Khaḍir meeting. Moses complained to al-Khaḍir of hunger. He said, “Sit down,” and Moses sat. Al-Khaḍir uttered something, and a gazelle described as makhīḍ approached and stood between them.

فَوَقَعَ نِصْفَيْنِ نِصْفُهُ إِلَى الْخَضِرِ مَشْوِيًّا وَنِصْفُهُ إِلَى مُوسَى نِيئًا، فَقَالَ لَهُ الْخَضِرُ: قُمْ فَاِقْدَحْ نَارًا وَاِشْوِ نَصِيبَكَ، وَأَخَذَ الْخَضِرُ يَأْكُلُ، فَفَعَلَ ذَلِكَ مُوسَى ثُمَّ سَأَلَهُ: لِمَ وَقَعَ نِصْفُهُ إِلَيْكَ مَشْوِيًّا؟ فَقَالَ: إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَبْقَ لِي فِي الدُّنْيَا أَمَلٌ، وَعَلَى ذَلِكَ فَإِنَّ الِادِّخَارَ يَنْقُصُ مِنْ فَضَائِلِ الزَّاهِدِينَ بِمِقْدَارِ مَا يَمْنَعُ مِنْ حَقِيقَةِ الزُّهْدِ،

fawaqaʿa niṣfayni niṣfuhu ʾilā al-khaḍiri mashwiyyan waniṣfuhu ʾilā mūsā nīʾan, faqāla lahu al-khaḍiru: qum fa-qdaḥ nāran wa-shwi naṣībaka, waʾakhadha al-khaḍiru yaʾkulu, fafaʿala dhālika mūsā thumma saʾalahu: lima waqaʿa niṣfuhu ʾilayka mashwiyyan? faqāla: ʾinnahu lam yabqa lī fī al-dunyā ʾamalun, waʿalā dhālika faʾinna al-iddikhāra yanquṣu min faḍāʾili al-zāhidīna bimiqdāri mā yamnaʿu min ḥaqīqati al-zuhdi,

It fell into two halves, the half toward al-Khaḍir roasted and the half toward Moses raw. Al-Khaḍir told him, “Get up, kindle a fire, and roast your share,” and began to eat. Moses did so, then asked, “Why did your half fall to you already roasted?” He replied, “No expectation of continued life in this world remains in me.” Accordingly, storage diminishes the virtues of renunciants to the extent that it prevents genuine renunciation.

وَفِي حَدِيثِ شَهْرِ بْنِ حَوْشَبٍ عَنْ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ فِي ذِكْرِ الْفَقِيرِ الَّذِي أَمَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلِيًّا وَأُسَامَةَ، فَغَسَّلَاهُ وَكَفَّنَهُ بِبُرْدَتِهِ فَلَمَّا دَفَنَهُ قَالَ لِأَصْحَابِهِ: إِنَّهُ يُبْعَثُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَوَجْهُهُ كَالْقَمَرِ لَيْلَةَ الْبَدْرِ، وَلَوْلَا خَصْلَةٌ كَانَتْ فِيهِ لَبُعِثَ وَجْهُهُ كَالشَّمْسِ الضَّاحِيَةِ فَقُلْنَا: وَمَا هِيَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ: إِنَّهُ كَانَ صَوَّامًا قَوَّامًا كَثِيرَ الذِّكْرِ لِلَّهِ،

wafī ḥadīthi shahri bni ḥawshabin ʿan ʾabī ʾumāmata fī dhikri al-faqīri alladhī ʾamara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿaliyyan waʾusāmata, faghassalāhu wakaffanahu biburdatihi falammā dafanahu qāla liʾaṣḥābihi: ʾinnahu yubʿathu yawma al-qiyāmati wawajhuhu ka-al-qamari laylata al-badri, walawlā khaṣlatun kānat fīhi labuʿitha wajhuhu ka-al-shamsi al-ḍāḥiyati faqulnā: wamā hiya yā rasūla Allāhi qāla: ʾinnahu kāna ṣawwāman qawwāman kathīra al-dhikri li-llāhi,

In Shahr ibn Ḥawshab's report from Abū Umāma, a poor man is mentioned for whom the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, instructed ʿAlī and Usāma to perform the washing; he then shrouded him in his cloak. After burying him, he told his companions, “He will be raised on the Day of Resurrection with a face like the full moon. Had it not been for one trait in him, he would have been raised with a face like the sun shining brightly.” We asked, “What was it, Messenger of God?” He said, “He fasted much, prayed much at night, and remembered God often.”

غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ إِذَا جَاءَهُ الشِّتَاءُ اِدَّخَرَ حُلَّةَ الصَّيْفِ لِصَيْفِهِ، وَإِذَا جَاءَهُ الصَّيْفُ اِدَّخَرَ حُلَّةَ الشِّتَاءِ لِشِتَائِهِ مِنْ قَابِلٍ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: مِنْ أَقَلِّ مَا أُوتِيتُمُ الْيَقِينُ وَعَزِيمَةُ الصَّبْرِ، وَمَنْ أُعْطِيَ حَظَّهُ مِنْهَا لَمْ يُبَالِ مَا فَاتَهُ مِنْ قِيَامِ اللَّيْلِ وَصِيَامِ النَّهَارِ، وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ بَعْضِ الْعَارِفِينَ قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ فِي النَّوْمِ كَأَنَّ الْقِيَامَةَ قَدْ قَامَتْ، وَكَانَ النَّاسُ

ghayra ʾannahu kāna ʾidhā jāʾahu al-shitāʾu iddakhara ḥullata al-ṣayfi liṣayfihi, waʾidhā jāʾahu al-ṣayfu iddakhara ḥullata al-shitāʾi lishitāʾihi min qābilin, thumma qāla: min ʾaqalli mā ʾūtītumu al-yaqīnu waʿazīmatu al-ṣabri, waman ʾuʿṭiya ḥaẓẓahu minhā lam yubāli mā fātahu min qiyāmi al-layli waṣiyāmi al-nahāri, waḥaddathūnā ʿan baʿḍi al-ʿārifīna qāla: raʾaytu fī al-nawmi kaʾanna al-qiyāmata qad qāmat, wakāna al-nāsu

“But when winter came he stored his summer outfit for the following summer, and when summer came he stored his winter outfit for the following winter.” He then said, “Among the things of which you have been given least are certainty and resolute patience. Whoever receives his share of these need not worry about the night prayer and daytime fasting he has missed.” They related from a knower: “In sleep I saw what seemed to be the Resurrection already taking place. People were

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٣

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 33

Volume Two, page 33

يُسَاقُونَ زُمْرَةً زُمْرَةً إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ عَلَى طَبَقَاتٍ، قَالَ: فَنَظَرْتُ إِلَى طَبَقَةٍ أَحْسَنِ النَّاسِ هَيْئَةً، وَأَعْلَاهُمْ مُرْتَقًى، وَأَسْرَعِهِمْ سَبْقًا، فَقُلْتُ هَذِهِ أَفْضَلُهُمْ، أَكُونُ فِيهِمْ قَالَ: فَذَهَبْتُ لِأَخْطُوَ إِلَيْهِمْ، وَأَدْخُلَ مَعَهُمْ فِي طَرِيقِهِمْ، فَإِذَا بِمَلَائِكَةٍ حَوْلَهُمْ قَدْ مَنَعُونِي، وَقَالُوا: قِفْ مَكَانَكَ حَتَّى يَجِيءَ أَصْحَابُكَ فَتَدْخُلَ مَعَهُمْ فَقُلْتُ: تَمْنَعُونِي أَنْ أَكُونَ مَعَ هَؤُلَاءِ السَّابِقِينَ،

yusāqūna zumratan zumratan ʾilā al-jannati ʿalā ṭabaqātin, qāla: fanaẓartu ʾilā ṭabaqatin ʾaḥsani al-nāsi hayʾatan, waʾaʿlāhum murtaqan, waʾasraʿihim sabqan, faqultu hādhihi ʾafḍaluhum, ʾakūnu fīhim qāla: fadhahabtu liʾakhṭuwa ʾilayhim, waʾadkhula maʿahum fī ṭarīqihim, faʾidhā bimalāʾikatin ḥawlahum qad manaʿūnī, waqālū: qif makānaka ḥattā yajīʾa ʾaṣḥābuka fatadkhula maʿahum faqultu: tamnaʿūnī ʾan ʾakūna maʿa hāʾulāʾi al-sābiqīna,

being led into Paradise group after group, in different ranks. I saw a rank whose people had the finest appearance, the highest ascent, and the swiftest advance. I said, ‘These are the best; I will be among them.’ I moved to step toward them and join their path, but angels surrounding them stopped me. They said, ‘Stay where you are until your companions come, and enter with them.’ I asked, ‘Are you preventing me from joining these forerunners?’”

فَقَالُوا: هَذَا طَرِيقٌ لَا يَسْلُكُهُ إِلَّا مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ إِلَّا قَمِيصٌ وَاحِدٌ، وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَاحِدٌ، وَأَنْتَ لَكَ قَمِيصَانِ وَمِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ زَوْجَانِ، قَالَ: فَاِنْتَبَهْتُ بَاكِيًا حَزِينًا فَجَعَلْتُ عَلَى نَفْسِي أَنْ لَا أَمْلِكَ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا وَاحِدًا، وَقَدْ كَانَ حُذَيْفَةُ الْمَرْعَشِيُّ يَقُولُ: مُنْذُ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً لَمْ أَمْلِكْ إِلَّا قَمِيصًا وَاحِدًا، وَكَانَ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ السَّلَفِ إِذَا اِسْتَجَدَّ ثَوْبًا أَوْ شَيْئًا أَخْرَجَ الْأَوَّلَ مِنْهُمَا، وَكَانُوا يَسْتَعْمِلُونَ الشَّيْءَ الْوَاحِدَ مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ الْكَثِيرَةِ؛ وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ دَاخِلٌ فِي التَّحَقُّقِ بِالزُّهْدِ وَهُوَ مِنْ فَضَائِلِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ،

faqālū: hādhā ṭarīqun lā yaslukuhu ʾillā man lam yakun lahu ʾillā qamīṣun wāḥidun, wamin kulli shayʾin wāḥidun, waʾanta laka qamīṣāni wamina al-ʾashyāʾi zawjāni, qāla: fa-ntabahtu bākiyan ḥazīnan fajaʿaltu ʿalā nafsī ʾan lā ʾamlika min kulli shayʾin ʾillā wāḥidan, waqad kāna ḥudhayfatu al-marʿashiyyu yaqūlu: mundhu ʾarbaʿīna sanatan lam ʾamlik ʾillā qamīṣan wāḥidan, wakāna kathīrun mina al-salafi ʾidhā istajadda thawban ʾaw shayʾan ʾakhraja al-ʾawwala minhumā, wakānū yastaʿmilūna al-shayʾa al-wāḥida mina al-ʾashyāʾi al-kathīrati; wa-hādhā kulluhu dākhilun fī al-taḥaqquqi bi-al-zuhdi wahuwa min faḍāʾili al-mutawakkilīna,

“They replied, ‘Only those who owned one shirt and one of every other thing travel this road. You have two shirts and two of other things.’ I awoke weeping and sad, and bound myself to own only one of each thing.” Ḥudhayfa al-Marʿashī used to say, “For forty years I have owned only one shirt.” Many of the early generations, when acquiring a new garment or other object, gave away the old one. They used a single item out of the many available. All this belongs to realizing renunciation and is among the virtues of those who trust.

وَالْخَبَرُ الْمَشْهُورُ أَنَّ رَجُلًا مِنْ أَهْلِ الصُّفَّةِ تُوُفِّيَ فَمَا وَجَدُوا لَهُ كَفَنًا، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: فَتِّشُوا ثَوْبَهُ قَالَ فَوَجَدْنَا دَاخِلَ إِزَارِهِ دِينَارَيْنِ، فَقَالَ: كَيَّتَانِ، وَقَدْ كَانَ غَيْرُهُ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ يَمُوتُ وَيُخَلِّفُ عُدَّةً، فَلَا يَقُولُ لَهُ ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ هَذَا كَانَ حَالُهُ الزُّهْدَ وَإِظْهَارَ الْفَقْرِ فَعَابَهُ الِادِّخَارُ.

wa-al-khabaru al-mashhūru ʾanna rajulan min ʾahli al-ṣuffati tuwuffiya famā wajadū lahu kafanan, faqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: fattishū thawbahu qāla fawajadnā dākhila ʾizārihi dīnārayni, faqāla: kayyatāni, waqad kāna ghayruhu mina al-muslimīna yamūtu wayukhallifu ʿuddatan, falā yaqūlu lahu dhālika liʾanna hādhā kāna ḥāluhu al-zuhda waʾiẓhāra al-faqri faʿābahu al-iddikhāru.

The well-known report tells of a man from the people of the Ṣuffa who died, and they found no shroud for him. The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Search his garment.” The narrator says, “We found two dinars inside his waist-wrapper.” He said, “Two burns.” Other Muslims died leaving reserves, and he did not say this about them, because this man's state was renunciation and the outward profession of poverty; storing therefore marred him.

ذِكْرُ التَّدَاوِي وَتَرْكِهِ لِلْمُتَوَكِّلِ

dhikru al-tadāwī watarkihi li-l-mutawakkili

On Seeking or Forgoing Treatment for the Person Who Trusts

وَتَفْصِيلُ ذَلِكَ وَلَا يَنْقُصُ التَّدَاوِي أَيْضًا تَوَكُّلَ الْعَبْدِ لِأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَمَرَ بِهِ، وَأَخْبَرَ عَنْ حِكْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِيهِ فَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَا مِنْ دَاءٍ إِلَّا وَلَهُ دَوَاءٌ عَرَفَهُ مَنْ عَرَفَهُ وَجَهِلَهُ مَنْ جَهِلَهُ إِلَّا السَّأْمَ يَعْنِي الْمَوْتَ، وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ تَدَاوَوْا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ، وَسُئِلَ عَنِ الدَّوَاءِ وَالرُّقَى، هَلْ يَرُدُّ مِنْ قَدَرٍ؟ فَقَالَ: هِيَ مِنْ قَدَرِ اللَّهِ،

watafṣīlu dhālika walā yanquṣu al-tadāwī ʾayḍan tawakkula al-ʿabdi liʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾamara bihi, waʾakhbara ʿan ḥikmati Allāhi taʿālā fīhi faqāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mā min dāʾin ʾillā walahu dawāʾun ʿarafahu man ʿarafahu wajahilahu man jahilahu ʾillā al-saʾma yaʿnī al-mawta, waqāla ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu tadāwaw ʿibāda Allāhi, wasuʾila ʿani al-dawāʾi wa-al-ruqā, hal yaruddu min qadarin? faqāla: hiya min qadari Allāhi,

To explain this in detail: seeking treatment likewise does not diminish a servant's trust, for the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, commanded it and spoke of God Most High's wisdom in it. He said, God bless him and grant him peace, “There is no illness without a remedy, known by those who know it and unknown to those who do not, except al-saʾm,” meaning death. He said, blessings and peace be upon him, “Seek treatment, servants of God.” Asked whether medicine and healing recitations repel anything decreed, he replied, “They are part of God's decree.”

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ: مَا مَرَرْتُ بِمَلَإٍ مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ إِلَّا قَالُوا: مُرْ أُمَّتَكَ بِالْحِجَامَةِ، وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ أَنَّهُ أَمَرَ بِهَا فَقَالَ: اِحْتَجِمُوا السَّبْعَ عَشْرَةَ وَتِسْعَ عَشْرَةَ وَإِحْدَى وَعِشْرِينَ، وَلَا يَبِيغُ بِكُمُ الدَّمُ فَيَقْتُلَكُمْ، وَفِي ذِكْرِ تَبَيُّغِ الدَّمِ دَلِيلٌ عَلَى تَوْقِيتِ هَذَا الْعَدَدِ مِنَ الْأَيَّامِ لِلْحِجَامَةِ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ أُرِيدَ بِهِ هَذِهِ الْأَيَّامُ مِنَ الشَّهْرِ،

wafī al-khabari al-mashhūri: mā marartu bimalaʾin mina al-malāʾikati ʾillā qālū: mur ʾummataka bi-al-ḥijāmati, wafī al-ḥadīthi ʾannahu ʾamara bihā faqāla: iḥtajimū al-sabʿa ʿashrata watisʿa ʿashrata waʾiḥdā waʿishrīna, walā yabīghu bikumu al-damu fayaqtulakum, wafī dhikri tabayyughi al-dami dalīlun ʿalā tawqīti hādhā al-ʿadadi mina al-ʾayyāmi li-l-ḥijāmati, ʾillā ʾannahu ʾurīda bihi hādhihi al-ʾayyāmu mina al-shahri,

The well-known report says, “I passed no assembly of angels without their saying, ‘Instruct your community to undergo cupping.’” Another report says that he ordered it: “Undergo cupping on the seventeenth, nineteenth, and twenty-first, lest the blood surge within you and kill you.” Mention of the blood's surging indicates the appointment of these numbered days for cupping, meaning those days of the month.

وَأَحْسَبُهُ لِأَهْلِ الْحِجَازِ خَاصَّةً لِشِدَّةِ حَرِّ الْبَلَدِ، كَقَوْلِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي الْمَاءِ الْمُشَمَّسِ أَنَّهُ يُورِثُ الْبَرَصَ، سَمِعْتُ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ فِي أَرْضِ الْحِجَازِ خَاصَّةً، وَكَانَ مِنْ

waʾaḥsabuhu liʾahli al-ḥijāzi khāṣṣatan lishiddati ḥarri al-baladi, kaqawli ʿumara raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu fī al-māʾi al-mushammasi ʾannahu yūrithu al-baraṣa, samiʿtu ʾanna dhālika fī ʾarḍi al-ḥijāzi khāṣṣatan, wakāna min

I suppose this applies specifically to the people of the Ḥijāz because of the country's intense heat. It resembles ʿUmar's saying, may God be pleased with him, that water heated in the sun causes leprosy. I have heard that this applies specifically to the land of the Ḥijāz. It was part of

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٤

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 34

Volume Two, page 34

سِيرَةِ السَّلَفِ أَنْ يَحْتَجِمُوا فِي كُلِّ شَهْرٍ مَرَّةً إِلَى أَنْ يُجَاوِزَ الرَّجُلُ الْأَرْبَعِينَ وَكَانُوا يَسْتَحِبُّونَ الْحِجَامَةَ فِي آخِرِ الشَّهْرِ، وَقَدْ يُرْوَى فِي خَبَرٍ مُنْقَطِعٍ: مَنِ اِحْتَجَمَ يَوْمَ الثُّلَاثَاءِ لِسَبْعَ عَشْرَةَ مِنَ الشَّهْرِ كَانَ لَهُ دَوَاءً مِنْ دَاءِ سَنَةٍ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مِنْ طَرِيقِ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يَكْتَحِلُ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ وَيَحْتَجِمُ كُلَّ شَهْرٍ وَيَشْرَبُ دَوَاءً كُلَّ سَنَةٍ،

sīrati al-salafi ʾan yaḥtajimū fī kulli shahrin marratan ʾilā ʾan yujāwiza al-rajulu al-ʾarbaʿīna wakānū yastaḥibbūna al-ḥijāmata fī ʾākhiri al-shahri, waqad yurwā fī khabarin munqaṭiʿin: mani iḥtajama yawma al-thulāthāʾi lisabʿa ʿashrata mina al-shahri kāna lahu dawāʾan min dāʾi sanatin, waqad rawaynā min ṭarīqi ʾahli al-bayti ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kāna yaktaḥilu kulla laylatin wayaḥtajimu kulla shahrin wayashrabu dawāʾan kulla sanatin,

the early generations' practice to undergo cupping once each month until a man passed forty. They preferred cupping at the end of the month. A report with a broken chain of transmission relates: “Whoever undergoes cupping on a Tuesday that is the seventeenth of the month will have a remedy against a year's illness.” Through the Prophet's household we have related that the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, applied kohl every night, underwent cupping every month, and drank medicine every year.

وَالتَّدَاوِي رُخْصَةٌ وَسَعَةٌ، وَتَرْكُهُ ضِيقٌ وَعَزِيمَةٌ، وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُؤْخَذَ بِرُخْصَةٍ كَمَا يُحِبُّ أَنْ تُؤْتَى عَزَائِمُهُ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ﴾ الْحَجِّ: 78 أَيْ ضِيقٍ، وَرُبَّمَا كَانَ الْمُتَدَاوِي فَاضِلًا فِي ذَلِكَ لِمَعْنَيَيْنِ: أَحَدُهُمَا أَنْ يَنْوِيَ اِتِّبَاعَ السُّنَّةِ، وَالْأَخْذَ بِرُخْصَةِ اللَّهِ، وَقَبُولَ مَا جَاءَتْ بِهِ الْحَنِيفِيَّةُ السَّمْحَةُ،

wa-al-tadāwī rukhṣatun wasaʿatun, watarkuhu ḍīqun waʿazīmatun, wa-Allāhu yuḥibbu ʾan yuʾkhadha birukhṣatin kamā yuḥibbu ʾan tuʾtā ʿazāʾimuhu, waqad qāla Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā: ﴿wamā jaʿala ʿalaykum fī al-dīni min ḥarajin﴾ al-ḥajji: 78 ʾay ḍīqin, warubbamā kāna al-mutadāwī fāḍilan fī dhālika limaʿnayayni: ʾaḥaduhumā ʾan yanwiya ittibāʿa al-sunnati, wa-al-ʾakhdha birukhṣati Allāhi, waqabūla mā jāʾat bihi al-ḥanīfiyyatu al-samḥatu,

Seeking treatment is a concession and an allowance; forgoing it is constriction and strict resolve. God loves a concession to be taken just as He loves His strict requirements to be fulfilled. God, glory be His and exalted is He, says, “He has imposed no hardship upon you in religion” (al-Ḥajj 22:78), meaning constriction. The person seeking treatment may even gain excellence through it for two reasons. The first is intending to follow the Sunna, take God's concession, and accept what the generous, upright religion has brought.

وَقَدْ أَمَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ غَيْرَ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ بِالتَّدَاوِي وَالْحِمْيَةِ، وَقَطَعَ لِبَعْضِهِمْ عِرْقًا، وَكَوَى آخَرَ، وَقَالَ لِعَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، وَكَانَ رَمِدَ الْعَيْنِ: لَا تَأْكُلْ مِنْ هَذَا يَعْنِي الرُّطَبَ، وَكُلْ مِنْ هَذَا فَإِنَّهُ أَوْفَقُ لَكَ، يَعْنِي سِلْقًا قَدْ طُبِخَ بِدَقِيقٍ أَوْ شَعِيرٍ، وَقَدْ تَدَاوَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي غَيْرِ حَدِيثٍ مِنَ الْعَقْرَبِ وَغَيْرِهَا،

waqad ʾamara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ghayra wāḥidin mina al-ṣaḥābati bi-al-tadāwī wa-al-ḥimyati, waqaṭaʿa libaʿḍihim ʿirqan, wakawā ʾākhara, waqāla liʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, wakāna ramida al-ʿayni: lā taʾkul min hādhā yaʿnī al-ruṭaba, wakul min hādhā faʾinnahu ʾawfaqu laka, yaʿnī silqan qad ṭubikha bidaqīqin ʾaw shaʿīrin, waqad tadāwā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī ghayri ḥadīthin mina al-ʿaqrabi waghayrihā,

The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, instructed several companions to seek treatment and follow dietary restrictions. He opened a vein for one of them and cauterized another. He told ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him, whose eye was inflamed, “Do not eat this,” meaning fresh dates, “but eat this, for it is more suitable for you,” meaning chard cooked with flour or barley. More than one report describes the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, receiving treatment for a scorpion sting and other ailments.

وَرُوِيَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ إِذَا نَزَلَ عَلَيْهِ الْوَحْيُ صُدِّعَ رَأْسُهُ فَكَانَ يُغَلِّفُهُ بِالْحِنَّاءِ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّهُ كَانَ إِذَا خَرَجَتْ بِهِ قُرْحَةٌ جَعَلَ عَلَيْهَا حِنَّاءً: وَهُوَ أَعْلَى الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ، وَأَقْوَى الْأَقْوِيَاءِ، فَإِنْ قِيلَ إِنَّمَا تَدَاوَى لِغَيْرِهِ، وَلِيَسُنَّ ذَلِكَ، قُلْنَا: فَلَا نَرْغَبُ عَنْ سُنَّتِهِ، وَلَا نَزْهَدُ فِي بُغْيَتِهِ، إِذَا كَانَ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ لَنَا، لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ فِعْلًا لَغْوًا، وَتَكُونَ الرَّغْبَةُ عَنْ سُنَّتِهِ إِلَى تَوَهُّمِ حَقِيقَةِ التَّوَكُّلِ طَعْنًا فِي الشَّرْعِ،

waruwiya ʾannahu kāna ʾidhā nazala ʿalayhi al-waḥyu ṣuddiʿa raʾsuhu fakāna yughallifuhu bi-al-ḥinnāʾi, wafī al-khabari ʾannahu kāna ʾidhā kharajat bihi qurḥatun jaʿala ʿalayhā ḥinnāʾan: wahuwa ʾaʿlā al-mutawakkilīna, waʾaqwā al-ʾaqwiyāʾi, faʾin qīla ʾinnamā tadāwā lighayrihi, waliyasunna dhālika, qulnā: falā narghabu ʿan sunnatihi, walā nazhadu fī bughyatihi, ʾidhā kāna faʿala dhālika lanā, liʾallā yakūna fiʿlan laghwan, watakūna al-raghbatu ʿan sunnatihi ʾilā tawahhumi ḥaqīqati al-tawakkuli ṭaʿnan fī al-sharʿi,

It is related that when revelation descended upon him, his head ached and he would cover it with henna. A report says that when a sore appeared on him, he applied henna to it. Yet he was the highest of those who trust and the strongest of the strong. If someone says that he sought treatment only for others' sake and to establish the practice, we answer: then we should not turn away from his Sunna or disregard his purpose, since he did this for us, lest his action be rendered pointless. Turning from his Sunna toward an imagined realization of trust would impugn the revealed law.

وَقَدْ كَانَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ظَاهِرُهُ لِلْخَلْقِ لِيَقْتَفُوا آثَارَهُ، مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ صَامَ فِي السَّفَرِ فِي شِدَّةِ الْحَرِّ، فَكَانَ يَصُبُّ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ الْمَاءَ، وَيَسْتَظِلُّ بِالشَّجَرِ، لِيَسُنَّ بِذَلِكَ الرُّخْصَةَ فِي التَّبَرُّدِ بِالْمَاءِ لِلصَّائِمِ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: إِنَّ قَوْمًا صَامُوا وَقَدْ شَقَّ عَلَيْهِمْ، فَدَعَا بِقَدَحٍ فِيهِ مَاءٌ فَشَرِبَ، فَأَفْطَرَ النَّاسُ فَتَرَكَ حَالَهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِأَجْلِهِمْ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: إِنَّ قَوْمًا لَمْ يُفْطِرُوا فَقَالَ: أُولَئِكَ الْعُصَاةُ،

waqad kāna ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ẓāhiruhu li-l-khalqi liyaqtafū ʾāthārahu, min dhālika ʾannahu ṣāma fī al-safari fī shiddati al-ḥarri, fakāna yaṣubbu ʿalā raʾsihi al-māʾa, wayastaẓillu bi-al-shajari, liyasunna bi-dhālika al-rukhṣata fī al-tabarrudi bi-al-māʾi li-l-ṣāʾimi, faqīla lahu: ʾinna qawman ṣāmū waqad shaqqa ʿalayhim, fadaʿā biqadaḥin fīhi māʾun fashariba, faʾafṭara al-nāsu fataraka ḥālahu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama liʾajlihim, faqīla lahu: ʾinna qawman lam yufṭirū faqāla: ʾulāʾika al-ʿuṣātu,

His outward conduct, God bless him and grant him peace, was for people to follow his example. For instance, he fasted while traveling in intense heat, pouring water on his head and sheltering beneath trees, thereby establishing permission for a fasting person to cool himself with water. He was told that some people were fasting with great difficulty, so he called for a cup of water and drank, and the people broke their fast. He gave up his own state, God bless him and grant him peace, for their sake. When told that some had not broken their fast, he said, “Those are the disobedient.”

وَالْمَعْنَى الثَّانِي الَّذِي يُفَضَّلُ بِهِ الْمُتَدَاوِي، أَنَّهُ يُحِبُّ سُرْعَةَ الْبُرْءِ لِلطَّاعَةِ وَلِخِدْمَةِ مَوْلَاهُ، وَالسَّعْيِ فِي أَوَامِرِهِ، إِذْ كَانَتِ الْعِلَلُ قَاطِعَةً عَنِ التَّصَرُّفِ فِي الْعَمَلِ وَمَشْغَلَةً لِلنَّفْسِ عَنِ الشُّغْلِ بِالْآخِرَةِ، وَذَكَرَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا أَنَّ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ اِعْتَلَّ عِلَّةً، فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ، فَعَرَفُوا عِلَّتَهُ، فَقَالُوا: لَوْ تَدَاوَيْتَ بِكَذَا لَبَرِئْتَ، فَقَالَ: لَا أَتَدَاوَى حَتَّى يُعَافِيَنِي هُوَ مِنْ غَيْرِ دَوَاءٍ،

wa-al-maʿnā al-thānī alladhī yufaḍḍalu bihi al-mutadāwī, ʾannahu yuḥibbu surʿata al-burʾi li-l-ṭāʿati walikhidmati mawlāhu, wa-al-saʿyi fī ʾawāmirihi, ʾidh kānati al-ʿilalu qāṭiʿatan ʿani al-taṣarrufi fī al-ʿamali wamashghalatan li-l-nafsi ʿani al-shughli bi-al-ʾākhirati, wadhakara baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā ʾanna mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu iʿtalla ʿillatan, fadakhala ʿalayhi banū ʾisrāʾīla, faʿarafū ʿillatahu, faqālū: law tadāwayta bikadhā labariʾta, faqāla: lā ʾatadāwā ḥattā yuʿāfiyanī huwa min ghayri dawāʾin,

The second reason treatment may confer excellence is that the patient desires a speedy recovery in order to obey and serve his Master and fulfill His commands. Illness prevents active work and occupies the self away from concern for the next world. One of our scholars related that Moses, peace be upon him, fell ill. The Israelites visited, recognized his illness, and said, “If you took such-and-such a remedy, you would recover.” He replied, “I will not seek treatment until He Himself heals me without medicine.”

قَالَ: فَطَالَتْ عِلَّتُهُ، فَقَالُوا لَهُ: إِنَّ دَوَاءَ هَذِهِ الْعِلَّةِ مَعْرُوفٌ مُجَرَّبٌ وَإِنْ تَتَدَاوَ بِهِ تَبْرَأْ، فَقَالَ: لَا أَتَدَاوَى، فَدَامَتْ عِلَّتُهُ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَيْهِ: وَعِزَّتِي لَا أَبْرَأْتُكَ حَتَّى تَتَدَاوَى بِمَا ذَكَرُوهُ لَكَ، فَقَالَ لَهُمْ: دَاوُونِي بِمَا ذَكَرْتُمْ فَدَاوَوْهُ، فَبَرِئَ فَأَوْجَسَ فِي نَفْسِهِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ: أَرَدْتَ أَنْ تُبْطِلَ حِكْمَتِي لِتَوَكُّلِكَ عَلَيَّ؟ مَنْ أَوْدَعَ الْعَقَاقِيرَ مَنَافِعَ الْأَشْيَاءِ؟

qāla: faṭālat ʿillatuhu, faqālū lahu: ʾinna dawāʾa hādhihi al-ʿillati maʿrūfun mujarrabun waʾin tatadāwa bihi tabraʾ, faqāla: lā ʾatadāwā, fadāmat ʿillatuhu, faʾawḥā Allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʾilayhi: waʿizzatī lā ʾabraʾtuka ḥattā tatadāwā bimā dhakarūhu laka, faqāla lahum: dāwūnī bimā dhakartum fadāwawhu, fabariʾa faʾawjasa fī nafsihi min dhālika, faʾawḥā Allāhu ʾilayhi: ʾaradta ʾan tubṭila ḥikmatī litawakkulika ʿalayya? man ʾawdaʿa al-ʿaqāqīra manāfiʿa al-ʾashyāʾi?

His illness persisted. They told him, “The remedy for this illness is known and tested. If you take it, you will recover.” He said, “I will not seek treatment,” and the illness continued. God, mighty and majestic, revealed to him, “By My might, I will not heal you until you take the remedy they have described.” He told them, “Treat me with what you mentioned.” They treated him and he recovered, but he felt inward unease about it. God revealed to him, “Did you intend to nullify My wisdom through your trust in Me? Who placed the beneficial properties of things in medicinal substances?”

وَفِي بَعْضِ الْأَخْبَارِ: شَكَا نَبِيٌّ مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عِلَّةً يَجِدُهَا، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ: كُلِ الْبَيْضَ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ إِنَّ نَبِيًّا مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ شَكَا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الضَّعْفَ فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ: كُلِ اللَّحْمَ بِاللَّبَنِ فَإِنَّ فِيهِمَا الْقُوَّةَ، قَالَ الشَّيْخُ أَحْسَبُهُ الضَّعْفَ عَنِ الْجِمَاعِ، وَذَكَرَ وَهْبُ بْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ

wafī baʿḍi al-ʾakhbāri: shakā nabiyyun mina al-ʾanbiyāʾi ʾilā Allāhi ʿillatan yajiduhā, faʾawḥā Allāhu ʾilayhi: kuli al-bayḍa, wafī khabarin ʾākhara ʾinna nabiyyan mina al-ʾanbiyāʾi shakā ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā al-ḍaʿfa faʾawḥā Allāhu ʾilayhi: kuli al-laḥma bi-al-labani faʾinna fīhimā al-quwwata, qāla al-shaykhu ʾaḥsabuhu al-ḍaʿfa ʿani al-jimāʿi, wadhakara wahbu bnu munabbihin

One report says that a prophet complained to God of an ailment, and God revealed to him, “Eat eggs.” Another says that a prophet complained to God Most High of weakness, and God revealed to him, “Eat meat with milk, for strength is found in them.” The shaykh said, “I suppose this means weakness in sexual intercourse.” Wahb ibn Munabbih related

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٥

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 35

Volume Two, page 35

أَنَّ مَلِكًا مِنَ الْمُلُوكِ اِعْتَلَّ عِلَّةً وَكَانَ حَسَنَ السِّيرَةِ فِي أَهْلِ مَمْلَكَتِهِ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى شَعْيَاءَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قُلْ لَهُ: اِشْرَبْ مَاءَ التِّينِ فَإِنَّهُ شِفَاءٌ مِنْ عِلَّتِكَ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا أَعْجَبَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ قَوْمًا شَكَوْا إِلَى نَبِيِّهِمْ قُبْحَ أَوْلَادِهِمْ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ مُرْهُمْ أَنْ يُطْعِمُوا نِسَاءَهُمُ الْحَبَالَى السَّفَرْجَلَ، فَإِنَّهُ يُحَسِّنُ الْوَلَدَ،

ʾanna malikan mina al-mulūki iʿtalla ʿillatan wakāna ḥasana al-sīrati fī ʾahli mamlakatihi, faʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilā shaʿyāʾa al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qul lahu: ishrab māʾa al-tīni faʾinnahu shifāʾun min ʿillatika, waqad rawaynā ʾaʿjaba min dhālika ʾanna qawman shakaw ʾilā nabiyyihim qubḥa ʾawlādihim, faʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi murhum ʾan yuṭʿimū nisāʾahumu al-ḥabālā al-safarjala, faʾinnahu yuḥassinu al-walada,

that a king fell ill who had governed his subjects well. God Most High revealed to the prophet Isaiah, God bless him and grant him peace, “Tell him: drink fig water, for it is a cure for your illness.” We have related something more remarkable: a people complained to their prophet of their children's unattractive appearance. God Most High revealed to him, “Tell them to feed quince to their pregnant women, for it makes the child beautiful.”

فَقَدْ كَانُوا يُطْعِمُونَ الْحَبَالَى السَّفَرْجَلَ وَالنُّفَسَاءَ الرُّطَبَ، وَهَذَا وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ يَكُونُ فِي الشَّهْرِ الثَّالِثِ وَالرَّابِعِ مِنْ حَمْلِهَا، وَعَلَى ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ فَإِنَّ تَرْكَ التَّدَاوِي أَفْضَلُ لِلْأَقْوِيَاءِ، وَهُوَ مِنْ عَزَائِمِ الدِّينِ، وَطَرِيقَةُ أُولِي الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ، لِأَنَّ فِي الدِّينِ طَرِيقَيْنِ: طَرِيقَ تَبَتُّلٍ وَعَزِيمَةٍ، وَطَرِيقَ تَوَسُّعٍ وَرُخْصَةٍ، فَمَنْ قَوِيَ سَلَكَ الطَّرِيقَ الْأَشَدَّ فَهُوَ أَقْرَبُ وَأَعْلَى، وَهَذِهِ لِلْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَهُمُ السَّابِقُونَ،

faqad kānū yuṭʿimūna al-ḥabālā al-safarjala wa-al-nufasāʾa al-ruṭaba, wa-hādhā wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu yakūnu fī al-shahri al-thālithi wa-al-rābiʿi min ḥamlihā, waʿalā dhālika kullihi faʾinna tarka al-tadāwī ʾafḍalu li-l-ʾaqwiyāʾi, wahuwa min ʿazāʾimi al-dīni, waṭarīqatu ʾulī al-ʿazmi mina al-ṣiddīqīna, liʾanna fī al-dīni ṭarīqayni: ṭarīqa tabattulin waʿazīmatin, waṭarīqa tawassuʿin warukhṣatin, faman qawiya salaka al-ṭarīqa al-ʾashadda fahuwa ʾaqrabu waʾaʿlā, wa-hādhihi li-l-muqarrabīna wahumu al-sābiqūna,

They used to feed quince to pregnant women and fresh dates to women after childbirth. This, God knows best, would be in the third and fourth months of pregnancy. Despite all this, forgoing treatment is better for the strong: it belongs to religion's strict disciplines and the way of those of firm resolve among the utterly truthful. Religion has two roads, one of complete dedication and strict resolve, the other of breadth and concession. Whoever is strong follows the more demanding road, which is nearer and higher. It belongs to those brought near, the forerunners.

وَمَنْ ضَعُفَ سَلَكَ الطَّرِيقَ الْأَرْفَهَ وَهُوَ الْأَوْسَطُ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ أَبْعَدُ، وَهُوَ لِأَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ وَهُمُ الْمُقْتَصِدُونَ، وَفِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَقْوِيَاءُ وَضُعَفَاءُ وَلَيِّنُونَ وَأَشِدَّاءُ.

waman ḍaʿufa salaka al-ṭarīqa al-ʾarfaha wahuwa al-ʾawsaṭu ʾillā ʾannahu ʾabʿadu, wahuwa liʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni wahumu al-muqtaṣidūna, wafī al-muʾminīna ʾaqwiyāʾu waḍuʿafāʾu walayyinūna waʾashiddāʾu.

Whoever is weak follows the easier road, the middle course, though it is more distant. This belongs to the companions of the right, those who follow a measured course. Among believers there are the strong and the weak, the gentle and the stern.

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: الْمُؤْمِنُ الْقَوِيُّ أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِ الضَّعِيفِ وَفِي كُلٍّ خَيْرٌ، وَرُوِيَ عَنْهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: فِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ فِي اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنَ الْحِجَارَةِ، وَفِيهِمْ مَنْ هُوَ أَلْيَنُ مِنَ اللَّبَنِ، وَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِ الْأَقْوِيَاءِ: مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِ كَمَثَلِ النَّخْلَةِ لَا يَسْقُطُ وَرَقُهَا، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ: ﴿أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ﴾ إِبْرَاهِيمَ: 24،

warawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-muʾminu al-qawiyyu ʾaḥabbu ʾilā Allāhi mina al-muʾmini al-ḍaʿīfi wafī kullin khayrun, waruwiya ʿanhu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: fī al-muʾminīna man huwa ʾashaddu fī Allāhi ʿazza wajalla mina al-ḥijārati, wafīhim man huwa ʾalyanu mina al-labani, waqāla fī waṣfi al-ʾaqwiyāʾi: mathalu al-muʾmini kamathali al-nakhlati lā yasquṭu waraquhā, waqāla Allāhu taʿālā fī maʿnā dhālika: ﴿ʾaṣluhā thābitun wafarʿuhā fī al-samāʾi﴾ ʾibrāhīma: 24,

We have related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “The strong believer is more beloved to God than the weak believer, though there is good in each.” It is also related from him, God bless him and grant him peace: “Among believers are those firmer for God's sake, mighty and majestic, than stone, and those softer than milk.” Describing the strong, he said, “The believer is like the palm tree: its leaves do not fall.” God Most High says something of this meaning: “Its root is firm and its branch is in the sky” (Ibrāhīm 14:24).

وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِ كَمَثَلِ السُّنْبُلَةِ تُفِيئُهَا الرِّيَاحُ يَمِينًا وَشِمَالًا، وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي وَصْفَةِ الْمُؤْمِنِ الْمُطْعِمِ مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِ؛ كَمَثَلِ النَّخْلَةِ أَكَلَتْ طَيِّبًا وَوَضَعَتْ طَيِّبًا، وَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِ الْمُسْتَطْعِمِ: مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِ كَمَثَلِ النَّمْلَةِ تَجْمَعُ فِي صَيْفِهَا لِشِتَائِهَا،

waqāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mathalu al-muʾmini kamathali al-sunbulati tufīʾuhā al-riyāḥu yamīnan washimālan, waqāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu fī waṣfati al-muʾmini al-muṭʿimi mathalu al-muʾmini; kamathali al-nakhlati ʾakalat ṭayyiban wawaḍaʿat ṭayyiban, waqāla fī waṣfi al-mustaṭʿimi: mathalu al-muʾmini kamathali al-namlati tajmaʿu fī ṣayfihā lishitāʾihā,

He said, God bless him and grant him peace, “The believer is like an ear of grain that the winds bend right and left.” Describing the believer who feeds others, he said, peace be upon him, “The believer is like the palm: it consumes what is wholesome and produces what is wholesome.” Describing the one who seeks food, he said, “The believer is like the ant: it gathers in its summer for its winter.”

فَأَوْصَافُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مُتَفَاوِتَةٌ فِي الضَّعْفِ وَالْقُوَّةِ، وَفِي الْجُبْنِ وَالشَّجَاعَةِ، وَفِي الصَّبْرِ وَالْجَزَعِ فَشَتَّانَ بَيْنَ مَنْ شُبِّهَ فِي الْقُوَّةِ وَالْعُلُوِّ بِالنَّخْلَةِ؛ قَلْبُهُ ثَابِتٌ، وَهَمُّهُ فِي السَّمَاءِ، يُطْعِمُ جَنَاهُ وَلَا يَدَّخِرُ، إِلَى مَنْ شُبِّهَ بِالنَّمْلَةِ فِي الضَّعْفِ وَالَّذِي يَسْتَطْعِمُ وَيَحْتَكِرُ،

faʾawṣāfu al-muʾminīna mutafāwitatun fī al-ḍaʿfi wa-al-quwwati, wafī al-jubni wa-al-shajāʿati, wafī al-ṣabri wa-al-jazaʿi fashattāna bayna man shubbiha fī al-quwwati wa-al-ʿuluwwi bi-al-nakhlati; qalbuhu thābitun, wahammuhu fī al-samāʾi, yuṭʿimu janāhu walā yaddakhiru, ʾilā man shubbiha bi-al-namlati fī al-ḍaʿfi wa-alladhī yastaṭʿimu wayaḥtakiru,

Believers' characteristics differ in weakness and strength, fearfulness and courage, patience and distress. How great the distance between one compared in strength and height to the palm, his heart firm and his concern in heaven, feeding others with his fruit and storing nothing, and one compared in weakness to the ant, seeking food and hoarding it.

وَقَدْ فَضَّلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَوْمًا وَمَدَحَهُمْ أَنَّهُمْ لَا يَسْتَرْقُونَ، وَلَا يَكْتَوُونَ، وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ، وَذَكَرَ أَنَّهُمْ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ، فَعَلَّلَ بِالتَّوَكُّلِ وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُمْ تَرَكُوا ذَلِكَ تَوَكُّلًا، ثُمَّ سَأَلَهُ عُكَّاشَةُ أَنْ يَدْعُوَ اللَّهَ أَنْ يَجْعَلَهُ مِنْهُمْ، فَفَعَلَ، لِأَنَّهُ رَأَى ذَلِكَ طَرِيقَهُ وَرَأَى

waqad faḍḍala rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qawman wamadaḥahum ʾannahum lā yastarqūna, walā yaktawūna, waʿalā rabbihim yatawakkalūna, wadhakara ʾannahum yadkhulūna al-jannata bighayri ḥisābin, faʿallala bi-al-tawakkuli waʾakhbara ʾannahum tarakū dhālika tawakkulan, thumma saʾalahu ʿukkāshatu ʾan yadʿuwa Allāha ʾan yajʿalahu minhum, fafaʿala, liʾannahu raʾā dhālika ṭarīqahu waraʾā

The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, singled out a people for excellence and praised them because they do not seek healing recitations, do not undergo cauterization, and place their trust in their Lord. He said that they enter Paradise without reckoning, giving trust as the reason and explaining that they abandoned those practices out of trust. ʿUkkāsha then asked him to pray that God make him one of them. He did so because he saw that this was his path and saw

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٦

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 36

Volume Two, page 36

مَعَهُ زَادَهُ، وَشَهِدَ فِيهِ الْقُوَّةَ فَأَهَّلَهُ لِذَلِكَ، فَلَمَّا قَالَ لَهُ الْآخَرُ: اُدْعُ اللَّهَ أَنْ يَجْعَلَنِي مِنْهُمْ، وَالْمَقَامَاتُ لَا يُقْتَدَى بِهَا وَلَا يُتَمَثَّلُ فِيهَا، كَمَا لَا تُدَّعَى، لِأَنَّهَا مَوَاجِيدُ قُلُوبٍ بِاِتِّحَادِ قَرِيبٍ وَمُشَاهَدَاتُ غُيُوبٍ بِإِشْهَادِ حَبِيبٍ، فَلَمَّا لَمْ يَرَ ذَلِكَ طَرِيقَهُ وَلَمْ يَشْهَدْ مَعَهُ زَادَهُ لَمْ يُؤَهِّلْهُ لِذَلِكَ، فَأَوْقَفَهُ عَلَى حَدِّهِ وَحَكَمَ عَلَيْهِ بِضَعْفِهِ،

maʿahu zādahu, washahida fīhi al-quwwata faʾahhalahu li-dhālika, falammā qāla lahu al-ʾākharu: udʿu Allāha ʾan yajʿalanī minhum, wa-al-maqāmātu lā yuqtadā bihā walā yutamaththalu fīhā, kamā lā tuddaʿā, liʾannahā mawājīdu qulūbin bi-ttiḥādi qarībin wamushāhadātu ghuyūbin biʾishhādi ḥabībin, falammā lam yara dhālika ṭarīqahu walam yashhad maʿahu zādahu lam yuʾahhilhu li-dhālika, faʾawqafahu ʿalā ḥaddihi waḥakama ʿalayhi biḍaʿfihi,

that he had the provisions for it. He recognized his strength and deemed him fit for it. When the other man said to him, “Pray to God to make me one of them,” the stations were not things one could acquire by following a model or imitating someone, any more than by claiming them. They are experiences found by hearts through union with One who is near, and visions of unseen things through a beloved One's granting of sight. Since he did not see this as the man's path, or find him equipped for it, he did not deem him fit for it. He held him to his limit and judged him according to his weakness.

فَرَدَّهُ رَدًّا جَمِيلًا، لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ حَبِيبًا كَرِيمًا، فَقَالَ: سَبَقَكَ بِهَا عُكَّاشَةُ، فَهَذَا كَمَا يَقُولُ الْحَاكِمُ الْحَكِيمُ: إِذَا ضَعُفَ أَحَدُ الشَّاهِدَيْنِ زِدْنِي شَاهِدًا آخَرَ، وَلَا يُصَرِّحُ بِجَرْحِ الشَّاهِدِ وَلَوْ عَدَّلَهُ لَقَبِلَهُ، وَلَمْ يَطْلُبِ الزِّيَادَةَ، وَإِلَّا فَالْمَقَامَاتُ لَا تَضِيقُ لِمَنْ سَبَقَ إِلَيْهَا، وَالرَّسُولُ غَيْرُ بَخِيلٍ مَعَ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى شَاهِدًا لَهُ: ﴿وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ﴾ التَّكْوِيرِ: 42،

faraddahu raddan jamīlan, liʾannahu kāna ḥabīban karīman, faqāla: sabaqaka bihā ʿukkāshatu, fa-hādhā kamā yaqūlu al-ḥākimu al-ḥakīmu: ʾidhā ḍaʿufa ʾaḥadu al-shāhidayni zidnī shāhidan ʾākhara, walā yuṣarriḥu bijarḥi al-shāhidi walaw ʿaddalahu laqabilahu, walam yaṭlubi al-ziyādata, waʾillā fa-al-maqāmātu lā taḍīqu liman sabaqa ʾilayhā, wa-al-rasūlu ghayru bakhīlin maʿa qawlihi taʿālā shāhidan lahu: ﴿wamā huwa ʿalā al-ghaybi biḍanīnin﴾ al-takwīri: 42,

He turned him away graciously, being loving and generous, and said, “ʿUkkāshah has got there before you.” This resembles the wise judge who says, when one of two witnesses is weak, “Bring me another witness,” without explicitly impugning that witness. Had he considered him reliable, he would have accepted him and not asked for an additional witness. Otherwise, these stations do not become too crowded for someone because another has reached them first. Nor is the Messenger miserly: the Most High Himself bears witness to him, saying, “He is not withholding concerning the unseen” (al-Takwīr, 42).

وَلَكِنْ لَمْ يَرَ فِيهِ شَاهِدَ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْقُوَّةِ، وَتَبَيَّنَ فِيهِ الضَّعْفَ عَنِ الْحَمْلِ فَلَمْ يُخَاطِرْ بِهِ، وَقَدْ نَهَى عَنِ الْكَيِّ فِي غَيْرِ حَدِيثٍ وَقَالَ لِرَجُلٍ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُدَاوِيَ أَخَاهُ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ مَاتَ مِنْ عِلَّتِهِ، فَقَالَ: أَمَا لَوْ بَرَأَ لَقُلْتَ بَرَأْتُهُ لِعِلْمِهِ بِمَا يَهْجِسُ فِي بَعْضِ النُّفُوسِ أَنَّ الشِّفَاءَ وَالنَّفْعَ مِنْ فِعْلِ الدَّوَاءِ، وَذَلِكَ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ فَكَرِهَ الْمُحَقِّقُونَ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ التَّدَاوِيَ خَشْيَةَ دُخُولِ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ.

wa-lākin lam yara fīhi shāhida dhālika mina al-quwwati, watabayyana fīhi al-ḍaʿfa ʿani al-ḥamli falam yukhāṭir bihi, waqad nahā ʿani al-kayyi fī ghayri ḥadīthin waqāla lirajulin ʾarāda ʾan yudāwiya ʾakhāhu ʾillā ʾannahu māta min ʿillatihi, faqāla: ʾamā law baraʾa laqulta baraʾtuhu liʿilmihi bimā yahjisu fī baʿḍi al-nufūsi ʾanna al-shifāʾa wa-al-nafʿa min fiʿli al-dawāʾi, wa-dhālika mina al-shirki fakariha al-muḥaqqiqūna bi-al-tawḥīdi al-tadāwiya khashyata dukhūli dhālika ʿalayhim.

Rather, he did not see in him the strength that would testify to it. He discerned his inability to bear it and did not expose him to that risk. He forbade cauterization in more than one report. To a man who had wanted to treat his brother, who nevertheless died of his illness, he said, “Had he recovered, you would have said, ‘I cured him.’” He knew the thought that stirs in some souls: that healing and benefit are the medicine's own action. That is a form of associating partners with God. Those who had realized divine unity therefore disliked medical treatment, fearing that this might enter their hearts.

وَرُوِيَ عَنْ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: يَا رَبِّ مِمَّنِ الدَّوَاءُ وَالشِّفَاءُ؟ قَالَ: مِنِّي، قَالَ: فَمَا يَصْنَعُ الْأَطِبَّاءُ؟ قَالَ: يَأْكُلُونَ أَرْزَاقَهُمْ، وَيُطَيِّبُونَ نُفُوسَ عِبَادِي، حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ شِفَائِي أَوْ قَبْضِي، وَقَدْ كَانَ اِبْنُ حَنْبَلٍ يَقُولُ: أُحِبُّ لِمَنِ اِعْتَقَدَ التَّوَكُّلَ، وَسَلَكَ هَذَا الطَّرِيقَ تَرْكَ التَّدَاوِي مِنَ الْأَشْرِبَةِ وَغَيْرِهَا، وَاِعْتَلَّ عِمْرَانُ بْنُ حُصَيْنٍ فَأَشَارُوا عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَكْتَوِيَ فَاِمْتَنَعَ،

waruwiya ʿan mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: yā rabbi mimmani al-dawāʾu wa-al-shifāʾu? qāla: minnī, qāla: famā yaṣnaʿu al-ʾaṭibbāʾu? qāla: yaʾkulūna ʾarzāqahum, wayuṭayyibūna nufūsa ʿibādī, ḥattā yaʾtiya shifāʾī ʾaw qabḍī, waqad kāna ibnu ḥanbalin yaqūlu: ʾuḥibbu limani iʿtaqada al-tawakkula, wasalaka hādhā al-ṭarīqa tarka al-tadāwī mina al-ʾashribati waghayrihā, wa-ʿtalla ʿimrānu bnu ḥuṣaynin faʾashārū ʿalayhi ʾan yaktawiya fa-mtanaʿa,

It is related of Moses, peace be upon him, that he asked, “Lord, from whom do medicine and healing come?” He said, “From Me.” Moses asked, “Then what do physicians do?” He said, “They consume their allotted provisions and comfort My servants' souls until My healing comes, or I take them.” Ibn Ḥanbal used to say, “For someone committed to trust who follows this path, I prefer that he leave aside treatment with medicinal drinks and other remedies.” When ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn fell ill, people advised him to undergo cauterization, but he refused.

فَلَمْ يَزَالُوا بِهِ، وَعَزَمَ عَلَيْهِ زِيَادٌ بِذَلِكَ، وَكَانَ أَمِيرًا حَتَّى اِكْتَوَى، فَكَانَ يَقُولُ: كُنْتُ أَرَى نُورًا، وَأَسْمَعُ صَوْتًا، وَأَسْمَعُ تَسْلِيمَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ عَلَيَّ، فَلَمَّا اِكْتَوَيْتُ اِنْقَطَعَ ذَلِكَ عَنِّي، وَفِي خَبَرٍ كَانَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ تَزُورُهُ فَيَأْنَسُ بِهَا حَتَّى اِكْتَوَى، فَكَانَ يَقُولُ: اِكْتَوَيْنَا كَيَّاتٍ، فَوَاللَّهِ مَا أَفْلَحْنَا وَلَا أَنْجَحْنَا، ثُمَّ تَابَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، وَأَنَابَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَرَدَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ مَا كَانَ يَجِدُ مِنْ أَمْرِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ،

falam yazālū bihi, waʿazama ʿalayhi ziyādun bi-dhālika, wakāna ʾamīran ḥattā iktawā, fakāna yaqūlu: kuntu ʾarā nūran, waʾasmaʿu ṣawtan, waʾasmaʿu taslīma al-malāʾikati ʿalayya, falammā iktawaytu inqaṭaʿa dhālika ʿannī, wafī khabarin kānati al-malāʾikatu tazūruhu fayaʾnasu bihā ḥattā iktawā, fakāna yaqūlu: iktawaynā kayyātin, fawa-Allāhi mā ʾaflaḥnā walā ʾanjaḥnā, thumma tāba min dhālika, waʾanāba ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā, faradda Allāhu ʿalayhi mā kāna yajidu min ʾamri al-malāʾikati,

They persisted, and Ziyād, who was the governor, insisted, until he underwent cauterization. He used to say, “I would see a light, hear a voice, and hear the angels greeting me. When I underwent cauterization, that ceased.” In another report, the angels used to visit him, and he found comfort in their company, until he underwent cauterization. He would say, “We underwent several cauterizations. By God, we neither prospered nor succeeded.” He then repented of it and turned back to God Most High, and God restored his former experience of the angels.

وَقَالَ لِمُطَرِّفِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ: أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ الْكَرَامَةَ الَّتِي كَانَ أَكْرَمَنِيَ اللَّهُ بِهَا قَدْ رَدَّهَا عَلَيَّ؟ بَعْدَ أَنْ كَانَ أَخْبَرَهُ بِفَقْدِهَا، فَلَوْلَا أَنَّ ذَلِكَ كَانَ عِنْدَهُ ذَنْبًا لَهُ، لَمَا نَدِمَ عَلَيْهِ وَتَابَ مِنْهُ، وَلَوْلَا أَنَّ ذَلِكَ كَانَ نَقْصًا مَا صُرِفَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عَنْهُ، وَمَرِضَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَقِيلَ لَهُ: لَوْ دَعَوْنَا لَكَ طَبِيبًا، فَقَالَ: قَدْ نَظَرَ إِلَيَّ الطَّبِيبُ، فَقَالَ: إِنِّي فَعَّالٌ لِمَا أُرِيدُ،

waqāla limuṭarrifi bni ʿabdi Allāhi: ʾalam tara ʾanna al-karāmata allatī kāna ʾakramaniya Allāhu bihā qad raddahā ʿalayya? baʿda ʾan kāna ʾakhbarahu bifaqdihā, falawlā ʾanna dhālika kāna ʿindahu dhanban lahu, lamā nadima ʿalayhi watāba minhu, walawlā ʾanna dhālika kāna naqṣan mā ṣurifati al-malāʾikatu ʿanhu, wamariḍa ʾabū bakrin al-ṣiddīqu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu faqīla lahu: law daʿawnā laka ṭabīban, faqāla: qad naẓara ʾilayya al-ṭabību, faqāla: ʾinnī faʿʿālun limā ʾurīdu,

He said to Muṭarrif ibn ʿAbd Allāh, after having told him that he had lost it, “Have you heard? The special favor God had bestowed on me has been restored.” Had he not considered it a sin on his part, he would not have regretted it and repented of it. Had it not been a deficiency, the angels would not have been turned away from him. When Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may God be pleased with him, was ill, someone said, “Why do we not call a physician for you?” He answered, “The Physician has already examined me and said, ‘I do whatever I will.’”

وَقِيلَ لِأَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ فِي مَرَضِهِ: مَا تَشْتَكِي؟ قَالَ ذُنُوبِي، قِيلَ: فَمَا تَشْتَهِي؟ قَالَ: مَغْفِرَةَ رَبِّي، قِيلَ: أَفَلَا نَدْعُو لَكَ طَبِيبًا؟ قَالَ: الطَّبِيبُ أَمْرَضَنِي، وَقِيلَ لِأَبِي ذَرٍّ وَقَدْ رَمِدَتْ عَيْنَاهُ: لَوْ دَاوَيْتَهُمَا، فَقَالَ: إِنِّي عَنْهُمَا لَمَشْغُولٌ، قِيلَ: فَلَوْ سَأَلْتَ اللَّهَ أَنْ يُعَافِيَكَ، فَقَالَ: أَسْأَلُهُ فِيمَا هُوَ أَهَمُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْهُمَا،

waqīla liʾabī al-dardāʾi fī maraḍihi: mā tashtakī? qāla dhunūbī, qīla: famā tashtahī? qāla: maghfirata rabbī, qīla: ʾafalā nadʿū laka ṭabīban? qāla: al-ṭabību ʾamraḍanī, waqīla liʾabī dharrin waqad ramidat ʿaynāhu: law dāwaytahumā, faqāla: ʾinnī ʿanhumā lamashghūlun, qīla: falaw saʾalta Allāha ʾan yuʿāfiyaka, faqāla: ʾasʾaluhu fīmā huwa ʾahammu ʾilayya minhumā,

Abū al-Dardāʾ was asked during his illness, “What troubles you?” “My sins,” he replied. “Then what do you desire?” “My Lord's forgiveness.” “Shall we not call a physician for you?” “The Physician made me ill.” When Abū Dharr's eyes were inflamed, someone said, “Why do you not treat them?” He replied, “I am occupied with something other than them.” “Then why do you not ask God to heal you?” He answered, “I ask Him about something more important to me than my eyes.”

وَقِيلَ لِأَبِي مُحَمَّدٍ: مَتَى يَصِحُّ لِعَبْدٍ التَّوَكُّلُ؟ قَالَ: إِذَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ الضُّرُّ فِي جِسْمِهِ، وَالنَّقْصُ فِي مَالِهِ، فَلَمْ يَلْتَفِتْ إِلَيْهِ شُغْلًا بِحَالِهِ لِلنَّظَرِ إِلَى قِيَامِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ، وَقَدْ كَانَ أَصَابَ الرَّبِيعَ بْنَ خَيْثَمٍ الْفَالِجُ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: لَوْ تَدَاوَيْتَ فَقَالَ: قَدْ هَمَمْتُ، ثُمَّ ذَكَرْتُ عَادًا وَثَمُودًا وَقُرُونًا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ كَثِيرًا كَانَتْ فِيهِمْ

waqīla liʾabī muḥammadin: matā yaṣiḥḥu liʿabdin al-tawakkulu? qāla: ʾidhā dakhala ʿalayhi al-ḍurru fī jismihi, wa-al-naqṣu fī mālihi, falam yaltafit ʾilayhi shughlan biḥālihi li-l-naẓari ʾilā qiyāmi Allāhi ʿalayhi, waqad kāna ʾaṣāba al-rabīʿa bna khaythamin al-fāliju, faqīla lahu: law tadāwayta faqāla: qad hamamtu, thumma dhakartu ʿādan wathamūdan waqurūnan bayna dhālika kathīran kānat fīhim

Abū Muḥammad was asked, “When is a servant's trust sound?” He replied, “When bodily suffering and loss of wealth come upon him, and he pays them no heed, being occupied with his inward state and with seeing how God sustains him.” Al-Rabīʿ ibn Khaytham had suffered paralysis. When someone suggested treatment, he answered, “I considered it. Then I remembered ʿĀd, Thamūd, and many generations between them, among whom there were

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٧

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 37

Volume Two, page 37

الْأَوْجَاعُ، وَكَانَتْ فِيهِمُ الْأَطِبَّاءُ، فَهَلَكَ الْمُدَاوِي وَالْمُدَاوَى وَلَمْ تُغْنِ الرُّقَى شَيْئًا، وَقَدْ أَصَابَ عَبْدَ الْوَاحِدِ بْنَ زَيْدٍ الْفَالِجُ فَعُطِّلَ عَنِ الْقِيَامِ، فَسَأَلَ اللَّهَ أَنْ يُطْلِقَهُ فِي أَوْقَاتِ الصَّلَاةِ ثُمَّ يَرُدَّهُ إِلَى حَالِهِ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ، فَكَانَ إِذَا جَاءَ وَقْتُ الصَّلَاةِ فَكَأَنَّمَا أُنْشِطَ مِنْ عِقَالٍ، فَإِذَا قَضَى الصَّلَاةَ رَجَعَ إِلَيْهِ الْفَالِجُ وَكَمَا كَانَ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ،

al-ʾawjāʿu, wakānat fīhimu al-ʾaṭibbāʾu, fahalaka al-mudāwī wa-al-mudāwā walam tughni al-ruqā shayʾan, waqad ʾaṣāba ʿabda al-wāḥidi bna zaydin al-fāliju faʿuṭṭila ʿani al-qiyāmi, fasaʾala Allāha ʾan yuṭliqahu fī ʾawqāti al-ṣalāti thumma yaruddahu ʾilā ḥālihi baʿda dhālika, fakāna ʾidhā jāʾa waqtu al-ṣalāti fakaʾannamā ʾunshiṭa min ʿiqālin, faʾidhā qaḍā al-ṣalāta rajaʿa ʾilayhi al-fāliju wakamā kāna qabla dhālika,

illnesses, and among whom there were physicians. Healer and patient alike perished, and incantations availed nothing.” ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd also suffered paralysis and was unable to stand. He asked God to release him at the times of prayer and then return him to his condition afterward. Whenever prayer time came, it was as though he had been freed from a tether. Once he finished praying, the paralysis returned, just as it had been before.

وَمَنْ لَمْ يَتَدَاوَ مِنَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالسَّلَفِ الصَّالِحِ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ أَنْ يُحْصَى، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ مَخْصُوصٌ لِمَخْصُوصِينَ؛ أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمَّا ذَكَرَ السَّبْعِينَ أَلْفًا الَّذِينَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ، ثُمَّ وَصَفَهُمْ بِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَكْتَوُونَ، وَلَا يَسْتَرْقُونَ، فَقَامَ إِلَيْهِ عُكَّاشَةُ بْنُ مِحْصَنٍ الْأَسَدِيُّ فَقَالَ: اُدْعُ اللَّهَ أَنْ يَجْعَلَنِي مِنْهُمْ، فَدَعَا لَهُ،

waman lam yatadāwa mina al-ṣiddīqīna wa-al-salafi al-ṣāliḥi ʾaktharu min ʾan yuḥṣā, ʾillā ʾannahu makhṣūṣun limakhṣūṣīna; ʾalam tara ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lammā dhakara al-sabʿīna ʾalfan alladhīna yadkhulūna al-jannata bighayri ḥisābin, thumma waṣafahum biʾannahum lā yaktawūna, walā yastarqūna, faqāma ʾilayhi ʿukkāshatu bnu miḥṣanin al-ʾasadiyyu faqāla: udʿu Allāha ʾan yajʿalanī minhum, fadaʿā lahu,

The utterly truthful and the righteous predecessors who did not seek treatment are too numerous to count. Yet this is a special practice for particular people. Consider how the Messenger of God, God's blessings and peace be upon him, spoke of the seventy thousand who enter the Garden without reckoning and described them as people who neither undergo cauterization nor ask for healing incantations. ʿUkkāshah ibn Miḥṣan al-Asadī then stood before him and said, “Pray to God to make me one of them,” and he prayed for him.

فَقَامَ رَجُلٌ آخَرُ فَقَالَ: اُدْعُ اللَّهَ أَنْ يَجْعَلَنِي مِنْهُمْ، فَقَالَ: سَبَقَكَ بِهَا عُكَّاشَةُ، فَلَمْ يَمْنَعْهُ مِنَ الدُّعَاءِ بُخْلًا عَلَيْهِ، إِلَّا أَنَّ طَرِيقَ الْخُصُوصِ الْأَقْوِيَاءِ لَا يَسْلُكُهُ الْعُمُومُ الضُّعَفَاءُ، كَمَا أَنَّ طَرِيقَ الْعُمُومِ قَدْ زَهِدَ فِيهِ الْخُصُوصُ. وَأَعْجَبُ مَا سَمِعْتُ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ: أَصْفَى مَا أَكُونُ قَلْبًا إِذَا كُنْتُ مَحْمُومًا، أَوْ مِنْ مَوَاجِيدِ الْعَارِفِينَ مَا حُكِيَ لَنَا أَنَّ مُوسَى وَالْخَضِرَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ اِجْتَمَعَا فِي فَلَاةٍ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ،

faqāma rajulun ʾākharu faqāla: udʿu Allāha ʾan yajʿalanī minhum, faqāla: sabaqaka bihā ʿukkāshatu, falam yamnaʿhu mina al-duʿāʾi bukhlan ʿalayhi, ʾillā ʾanna ṭarīqa al-khuṣūṣi al-ʾaqwiyāʾi lā yaslukuhu al-ʿumūmu al-ḍuʿafāʾu, kamā ʾanna ṭarīqa al-ʿumūmi qad zahida fīhi al-khuṣūṣu. waʾaʿjabu mā samiʿtu qāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: ʾaṣfā mā ʾakūnu qalban ʾidhā kuntu maḥmūman, ʾaw min mawājīdi al-ʿārifīna mā ḥukiya lanā ʾanna mūsā wa-al-khaḍira ʿalayhimā al-salāmu ijtamaʿā fī falātin mina al-ʾarḍi,

Another man stood up and said, “Pray to God to make me one of them.” He replied, “ʿUkkāshah has got there before you.” He did not withhold the prayer out of miserliness toward him. Rather, the path of the strong among the elect is not one the weak among the generality can follow, just as the elect have renounced the generality's path. Among the most remarkable things I have heard is a knower's saying, “My heart is clearest when I am feverish.” Or, among the knowers' experiences, there is the account told to us that Moses and al-Khaḍir, peace be upon them both, met in a wilderness.

فَشَكَا مُوسَى إِلَى الْخَضِرِ الْجُوعَ فَقَالَ لَهُ الْخَضِرُ: اِجْلِسْ بِنَا حَتَّى نَدْعُوَ، فَتَكَلَّمَ الْخَضِرُ بِشَيْءٍ، فَأَقْبَلَ ظَبْيٌ حَتَّى وَقَعَ بَيْنَهُمَا نِصْفَيْنِ: نِصْفُهُ إِلَى الْخَضِرِ مَشْوِيًّا وَنِصْفُهُ إِلَى مُوسَى نِيئًا، فَقَالَ لَهُ الْخَضِرُ: قُمْ فَاِحْمِلْ هُمُومًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَ هُمُومَهَا، فَأَوْقِدْ نَارًا وَاِشْوِ نَصِيبَكَ وَكُلْ، قَالَ: فَقَدَحَ مُوسَى نَارًا وَأَشْعَلَ حَطَبًا وَسَوَّى نَصِيبَهُ،

fashakā mūsā ʾilā al-khaḍiri al-jūʿa faqāla lahu al-khaḍiru: ijlis binā ḥattā nadʿuwa, fatakallama al-khaḍiru bishayʾin, faʾaqbala ẓabyun ḥattā waqaʿa baynahumā niṣfayni: niṣfuhu ʾilā al-khaḍiri mashwiyyan waniṣfuhu ʾilā mūsā nīʾan, faqāla lahu al-khaḍiru: qum fa-ḥmil humūman kamā ḥamalta humūmahā, faʾawqid nāran wa-shwi naṣībaka wakul, qāla: faqadaḥa mūsā nāran waʾashʿala ḥaṭaban wasawwā naṣībahu,

Moses complained of hunger to al-Khaḍir. Al-Khaḍir said, “Sit with me, and let us pray.” Al-Khaḍir uttered something, and a gazelle came and fell between them in two halves: the half toward al-Khaḍir was roasted, and the half toward Moses was raw. Al-Khaḍir said, “Get up and shoulder some cares, since you have shouldered its cares. Light a fire, roast your portion, and eat.” Moses struck a fire, kindled some wood, and cooked his portion.

فَلَمَّا فَرَغَ قَالَ لِلْخَضِرِ: كَيْفَ وَقَعَ نِصْفُهُ إِلَيْكَ مَشْوِيًّا؟ قَالَ: إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَبْقَ لِي فِي الدُّنْيَا أَمَلٌ، وَقِيلَ عَنْهُ أَيْضًا مَرَّةً أُخْرَى: إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لِي فِي هَذِهِ الْخَلْقِ حَاجَةٌ، وَقَدْ كَانَ مَذْهَبُ سَهْلٍ أَنَّ تَرْكَ التَّدَاوِي، وَإِنْ أَضْعَفَ عَنِ الطَّاعَاتِ، وَقَصَّرَ عَنِ الْفَرَائِضِ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ التَّدَاوِي لِأَجْلِ الطَّاعَاتِ، وَكَانَتْ بِهِ عِلَّةٌ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ يَتَدَاوَى مِنْهَا، وَقَدْ كَانَ يُدَاوِي النَّاسَ مِنْهَا،

falammā faragha qāla li-l-khaḍiri: kayfa waqaʿa niṣfuhu ʾilayka mashwiyyan? qāla: ʾinnahu lam yabqa lī fī al-dunyā ʾamalun, waqīla ʿanhu ʾayḍan marratan ʾukhrā: ʾinnahu laysa lī fī hādhihi al-khalqi ḥājatun, waqad kāna madhhabu sahlin ʾanna tarka al-tadāwī, waʾin ʾaḍʿafa ʿani al-ṭāʿāti, waqaṣṣara ʿani al-farāʾiḍi ʾafḍalu mina al-tadāwī liʾajli al-ṭāʿāti, wakānat bihi ʿillatun falam yakun yatadāwā minhā, waqad kāna yudāwī al-nāsa minhā,

When he finished, he asked al-Khaḍir, “How did your half reach you roasted?” He replied, “I have no remaining hopes in this world.” Another version of his reply is also related: “I have no need of these creatures.” Sahl's position was that forgoing treatment, even when it leaves one too weak for acts of obedience and unable to fulfill obligatory duties, is better than seeking treatment for the sake of performing those acts. He had an illness for which he did not treat himself, although he treated other people for it.

وَكَانَ إِذَا رَأَى الْعَبْدَ يُصَلِّي مِنْ قُعُودٍ، أَوْ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ أَعْمَالَ الْبِرِّ مِنَ الْأَمْرَاضِ، فَيَتَدَاوَى لِلْقِيَامِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ، وَالنُّهُوضِ إِلَى الطَّاعَةِ، يَعْجَبُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَيَقُولُ: صَلَاتُهُ مِنْ قُعُودٍ مَعَ رِضَاهُ بِحَالِهِ أَفْضَلُ لَهُ مِنَ التَّدَاوِي لِلْقُوَّةِ، وَيُصَلِّي مِنْ قِيَامٍ،

wakāna ʾidhā raʾā al-ʿabda yuṣallī min quʿūdin, ʾaw lā yastaṭīʿu ʾaʿmāla al-birri mina al-ʾamrāḍi, fayatadāwā li-l-qiyāmi fī al-ṣalāti, wa-al-nuhūḍi ʾilā al-ṭāʿati, yaʿjabu min dhālika wayaqūlu: ṣalātuhu min quʿūdin maʿa riḍāhu biḥālihi ʾafḍalu lahu mina al-tadāwī li-l-quwwati, wayuṣallī min qiyāmin,

When he saw a servant praying seated, or unable to perform good works because of illness, then seeking treatment so that he could stand in prayer and rise to acts of obedience, he would find this surprising. He would say, “Praying seated while content with his condition is better for him than taking treatment to regain strength and then praying standing.”

وَسُئِلَ عَنْ شُرْبِ الدَّوَاءِ فَقَالَ: كُلُّ مَنْ دَخَلَ إِلَى شَيْءٍ مِنَ الدَّوَاءِ فَإِنَّمَا هُوَ سَعَةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ لِأَهْلِ الضَّعْفِ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَدْخُلْ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْهُ فَهُوَ أَفْضَلُ، لِأَنَّهُ إِنْ أَخَذَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الدَّوَاءِ وَلَوْ كَانَ الْمَاءَ الْبَارِدَ سُئِلَ عَنْهُ: لِمَ أَخَذْتَ؟ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَأْخُذْ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ سُؤَالٌ، وَقَالَ: مَنْ لَمْ

wasuʾila ʿan shurbi al-dawāʾi faqāla: kullu man dakhala ʾilā shayʾin mina al-dawāʾi faʾinnamā huwa saʿatun mina Allāhi liʾahli al-ḍaʿfi, waman lam yadkhul fī shayʾin minhu fahuwa ʾafḍalu, liʾannahu ʾin ʾakhadha shayʾan mina al-dawāʾi walaw kāna al-māʾa al-bārida suʾila ʿanhu: lima ʾakhadhta? waman lam yaʾkhudh falaysa ʿalayhi suʾālun, waqāla: man lam

Asked about drinking medicine, he said, “For anyone who resorts to any medicine, this is simply a latitude God has granted to people who are weak. Someone who resorts to none of it is better, because if he takes any medicine, even cold water, he will be questioned about it: ‘Why did you take it?’ Whoever takes nothing has no question to answer.” He also said, “Whoever does not

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٨

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 38

Volume Two, page 38

يَأْخُذِ الْمَاءَ الْبَارِدَ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ سُؤَالٌ، وَقَالَ: مَنْ يَأْخُذِ الْمَاءَ الْبَارِدَ عَلَى سَبِيلِ الدَّوَاءِ سُئِلَ، وَأَصْلُهُ فِي هَذَا أَنَّ عِنْدَهُ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْأَعْمَالِ أَنْ يُضْعِفَ الْعَبْدُ قُوَّتَهُ، حَتَّى لَا يَكُونَ لِنَفْسِهِ حَرَاكٌ لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَإِنَّ ذَرَّةً مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ؛ مِثْلِ التَّوَكُّلِ وَالرِّضَا وَالصَّبْرِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ جِبَالٍ مِنْ عَمَلِ الْجَوَارِحِ،

yaʾkhudhi al-māʾa al-bārida falaysa ʿalayhi suʾālun, waqāla: man yaʾkhudhi al-māʾa al-bārida ʿalā sabīli al-dawāʾi suʾila, waʾaṣluhu fī hādhā ʾanna ʿindahu min ʾafḍali al-ʾaʿmāli ʾan yuḍʿifa al-ʿabdu quwwatahu, ḥattā lā yakūna linafsihi ḥarākun liʾajli Allāhi taʿālā, waʾinna dharratan min ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi; mithli al-tawakkuli wa-al-riḍā wa-al-ṣabri ʾafḍalu min ʾaʿmāli jibālin min ʿamali al-jawāriḥi,

take cold water has no question to answer.” He said, “Anyone who takes cold water as a medicine will be questioned.” His principle here is that he considers it among the finest deeds for a servant to weaken his own strength until his lower self can no longer stir, doing so for God Most High. A single particle of the heart's works, such as trust, contentment, and patience, is better than mountains of works performed by the bodily limbs.

وَهَذَا مَذْهَبُ الْبَصْرِيِّينَ فِي إِسْقَاطِ الْقُوَّةِ بِالتَّجَوُّعِ الطَّوِيلِ وَالطَّيِّ الْكَثِيرِ لِتَضْعُفَ النَّفْسُ، لِأَنَّ عِنْدَهُمْ أَنَّ فِي قُوَّةِ النَّفْسِ قُوَّةَ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَغَلَبَةَ الصِّفَاتِ، وَفِي ذَلِكَ وُجُودُ الْمَعَاصِي وَكَثْرَةُ الْهَوَى وَطُولُ الرَّغْبَةِ وَالْحِرْصُ عَلَى الدُّنْيَا وَحُبُّ الْبَقَاءِ، يَقُولُ: إِذَا أَدْخَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهَا الْأَمْرَاضَ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَحْتَسِبُ، فَلَا يَتَعَالَجْ لِرَفْعِ الْأَمْرَاضِ عَنْهَا، فَإِنَّ الْمَرَضَ مِنْ نِهَايَةِ الضَّعْفِ وَمِنْ أَبْلَغِ مَا يَنْقُصُ بِهِ الشَّهْوَةُ،

wa-hādhā madhhabu al-baṣriyyīna fī ʾisqāṭi al-quwwati bi-al-tajawwuʿi al-ṭawīli wa-al-ṭayyi al-kathīri litaḍʿufa al-nafsu, liʾanna ʿindahum ʾanna fī quwwati al-nafsi quwwata al-shahawāti waghalabata al-ṣifāti, wafī dhālika wujūdu al-maʿāṣī wakathratu al-hawā waṭūlu al-raghbati wa-al-ḥirṣu ʿalā al-dunyā waḥubbu al-baqāʾi, yaqūlu: ʾidhā ʾadkhala Allāhu ʿalayhā al-ʾamrāḍa min ḥaythu lā taḥtasibu, falā yataʿālaj lirafʿi al-ʾamrāḍi ʿanhā, faʾinna al-maraḍa min nihāyati al-ḍaʿfi wamin ʾablaghi mā yanquṣu bihi al-shahwatu,

This is the Basrans' position on exhausting one's strength through prolonged hunger and frequent stretches without food, so that the lower self becomes weak. In their view, strength in the lower self means strong appetites and dominant personal traits; these bring disobedience, abundant caprice, lasting desire, eagerness for the world, and love of continued life. He says, “When God brings illnesses upon it from an unexpected quarter, one should not seek treatment to lift them from it. Illness is an extreme of weakness and one of the most effective things by which appetite is diminished.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ يَقُولُ: عِلَلُ الْأَجْسَامِ رَحْمَةٌ وَعِلَلُ الْقُلُوبِ عُقُوبَةٌ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً: أَمْرَاضُ الْجِسْمِ لِلصِّدِّيقِينَ، وَقَدْ كَانَ اِبْنُ مَسْعُودٍ يَقُولُ: تَجِدُ الْمُؤْمِنَ أَصَحَّ شَيْءٍ قَلْبًا وَأَمْرَضَهُ جِسْمًا، وَتَجِدُ الْمُنَافِقَ أَصَحَّ شَيْءٍ جِسْمًا وَأَمْرَضَهُ قَلْبًا، وَعَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: تُحِبُّونَ أَنْ تَكُونُوا كَالْحُمُرِ الصَّيَّالَةِ؛ لَا تَمْرَضُونَ وَلَا تَسْقَمُونَ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ: لَا يَخْلُو الْمُؤْمِنُ مِنْ عِلَّةٍ فِي جِسْمِهِ أَوْ قِلَّةٍ فِي مَالِهِ، وَقِيلَ: لَا يَخْلُو مِنْ غَلَبَةٍ أَوْ ذِلَّةٍ،

waqad kāna yaqūlu: ʿilalu al-ʾajsāmi raḥmatun waʿilalu al-qulūbi ʿuqūbatun, waqāla marratan: ʾamrāḍu al-jismi li-l-ṣiddīqīna, waqad kāna ibnu masʿūdin yaqūlu: tajidu al-muʾmina ʾaṣaḥḥa shayʾin qalban waʾamraḍahu jisman, watajidu al-munāfiqa ʾaṣaḥḥa shayʾin jisman waʾamraḍahu qalban, waʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: tuḥibbūna ʾan takūnū ka-al-ḥumuri al-ṣayyālati; lā tamraḍūna walā tasqamūna, waqad qīla: lā yakhlū al-muʾminu min ʿillatin fī jismihi ʾaw qillatin fī mālihi, waqīla: lā yakhlū min ghalabatin ʾaw dhillatin,

He used to say, “Illnesses of the body are mercy; illnesses of the heart are punishment.” On another occasion he said, “Bodily illnesses are for the utterly truthful.” Ibn Masʿūd used to say, “You find the believer with the soundest heart and the sickest body, and the hypocrite with the soundest body and the sickest heart.” It is related from the Messenger of God, God's blessings and peace be upon him: “Would you like to be like charging donkeys, never falling ill or becoming sick?” It has been said, “A believer is never without bodily illness or a shortage of wealth,” and, “He is never free of being overcome or humbled.”

وَلِلْعَبْدِ إِنْ لَمْ يَتَدَاوَ أَعْمَالٌ حَسَنَةٌ؛ مِنْهَا أَنْ يَنْوِيَ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى بَلَاءِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَالرِّضَا بِقَضَائِهِ وَالتَّسْلِيمَ لِحُكْمِهِ إِذْ قَدْ حَسُنَ عِنْدَهُ لِأَنَّهُ مُوقِنٌ وَإِذْ قَدْ عَرَفَ الْحِكْمَةَ فِي ذَلِكَ وَالْخِيَرَةَ فِي الْعَاقِبَةِ، لِأَنَّهُ حَكِيمٌ، وَمِنْهَا أَنَّ مَوْلَاهُ أَعْلَمُ بِهِ مِنْهُ وَأَحْسَنُ نَظَرًا وَاِخْتِيَارًا، وَقَدْ حَبَسَهُ وَقَيَّدَهُ بِالْأَمْرَاضِ عَنِ الْمَعَاصِي،

wali-l-ʿabdi ʾin lam yatadāwa ʾaʿmālun ḥasanatun; minhā ʾan yanwiya al-ṣabra ʿalā balāʾi Allāhi taʿālā, wa-al-riḍā biqaḍāʾihi wa-al-taslīma liḥukmihi ʾidh qad ḥasuna ʿindahu liʾannahu mūqinun waʾidh qad ʿarafa al-ḥikmata fī dhālika wa-al-khiyarata fī al-ʿāqibati, liʾannahu ḥakīmun, waminhā ʾanna mawlāhu ʾaʿlamu bihi minhu waʾaḥsanu naẓaran wa-khtiyāran, waqad ḥabasahu waqayyadahu bi-al-ʾamrāḍi ʿani al-maʿāṣī,

If the servant does not seek treatment, good deeds remain available to him. He may intend patience under God Most High's trial, contentment with His decree, and submission to His judgment, which he recognizes as good because he has certainty. He has recognized the wisdom in it and the favorable choice in its outcome, because He is wise. He may also recognize that his Master knows him better than he knows himself and takes better care in looking after him and choosing for him. Through illness, He has confined and restrained him from disobedience.

كَمَا رُوِيَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: الْفَقْرُ سِجْنِي وَالْمَرَضُ قَيْدِي، أَحْبِسُ بِذَلِكَ مَنْ أُحِبُّ مِنْ خَلْقِي، فَلَا يَأْمَنُ إِنْ تَدَاوَى فَعُوفِيَ أَنْ تَقْوَى النَّفْسُ فَيُفْسِدَهُ هَوَاهَا، لِأَنَّ الْمَعَاصِيَ فِي الْعَوَافِي، وَعِلَّةُ سَنَةٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْ مَعْصِيَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ، لَقِيَ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ بَعْضَ الْعَارِفِينَ، فَقَالَ لَهُ وَالْعَارِفُ: كَيْفَ كُنْتَ بَعْدِي؟ قَالَ: فِي عَافِيَةٍ فَقَالَ: إِنْ كُنْتَ لَمْ تَعْصِ اللَّهَ فَأَنْتَ فِي عَافِيَةٍ،

kamā ruwiya ʿani Allāhi taʿālā: al-faqru sijnī wa-al-maraḍu qaydī, ʾaḥbisu bi-dhālika man ʾuḥibbu min khalqī, falā yaʾmanu ʾin tadāwā faʿūfiya ʾan taqwā al-nafsu fayufsidahu hawāhā, liʾanna al-maʿāṣiya fī al-ʿawāfī, waʿillatu sanatin khayrun min maʿṣiyatin wāḥidatin, laqiya baʿḍu al-nāsi baʿḍa al-ʿārifīna, faqāla lahu wa-al-ʿārifu: kayfa kunta baʿdī? qāla: fī ʿāfiyatin faqāla: ʾin kunta lam taʿṣi Allāha faʾanta fī ʿāfiyatin,

As it is related from God Most High: “Poverty is My prison, and illness My fetter. With them I confine those of My creatures whom I love.” If he seeks treatment and recovers, he cannot be sure that his lower self will not grow strong and corrupt him through its desires: disobedience occurs in times of well-being, and a year of illness is better than a single act of disobedience. A man met one of the knowers. The knower asked him, “How have you been since we met?” “In good health,” he replied. The knower said, “If you have not disobeyed God, then you are in good health.

وَإِنْ كُنْتَ قَدْ عَصَيْتَهُ فَأَيُّ دَاءٍ أَدْوَى مِنَ الْمَعْصِيَةِ مَا عُوفِيَ مَنْ عَصَى، وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لَمَّا رَأَى زِينَةَ النَّبَطِ بِالْعِرَاقِ يَوْمَ عِيدِهِمْ: مَا هَذَا الَّذِي أَظْهَرُوهُ؟ قَالُوا: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، هَذَا يَوْمُ عِيدٍ لَهُمْ، فَقَالَ: كُلُّ يَوْمٍ لَا يُعْصَى اللَّهُ فِيهِ فَهُوَ عِيدٌ لَنَا. وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَهُوَ أَصْدَقُ الْقَائِلِينَ: ﴿وَعَصَيْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا أَرَاكُمْ مَا تُحِبُّونَ﴾ آلِ عِمْرَانَ: 125 قِيلَ: الْعَوَافِي وَالْغِنَى،

waʾin kunta qad ʿaṣaytahu faʾayyu dāʾin ʾadwā mina al-maʿṣiyati mā ʿūfiya man ʿaṣā, waqāla ʿaliyyun raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu lammā raʾā zīnata al-nabaṭi bi-al-ʿirāqi yawma ʿīdihim: mā hādhā alladhī ʾaẓharūhu? qālū: yā ʾamīra al-muʾminīna, hādhā yawmu ʿīdin lahum, faqāla: kullu yawmin lā yuʿṣā Allāhu fīhi fahuwa ʿīdun lanā. waqāla Allāhu taʿālā wahuwa ʾaṣdaqu al-qāʾilīna: ﴿waʿaṣaytum min baʿdi mā ʾarākum mā tuḥibbūna﴾ ʾāli ʿimrāna: 125 qīla: al-ʿawāfī wa-al-ghinā,

But if you have disobeyed Him, what sickness is more sickening than disobedience? Whoever disobeys has not been made well.” When ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him, saw the festive adornments of the Nabateans in Iraq, he asked, “What is this they have displayed?” They answered, “Commander of the Faithful, this is their festival day.” He said, “Every day on which God is not disobeyed is a festival for us.” God Most High, the truest of speakers, says, “And you disobeyed after He had shown you what you love” (Āl ʿImrān, 125). It has been interpreted as well-being and wealth.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: إِنَّمَا حَمَلَ فِرْعَوْنَ أَنْ قَالَ: أَنَا رَبُّكُمُ الْأَعْلَى طُولُ الْعَوَافِي، لَبِثَ أَرْبَعَمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ لَمْ يُصَدَّعْ لَهُ رَأْسٌ، وَلَمْ يُحَمَّ لَهُ جِسْمٌ، وَلَمْ يُضْرَبْ عَلَيْهِ عِرْقٌ، فَاِدَّعَى الرُّبُوبِيَّةَ، وَلَوْ أَخَذَتْهُ الشَّقِيقَةُ وَالْمَلِيلَةُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ لَشَغَلَهُ ذَلِكَ عَنْ دَعْوَى الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ

waqāla baʿḍuhum: ʾinnamā ḥamala firʿawna ʾan qāla: ʾanā rabbukumu al-ʾaʿlā ṭūlu al-ʿawāfī, labitha ʾarbaʿamiʾati sanatin lam yuṣaddaʿ lahu raʾsun, walam yuḥamma lahu jismun, walam yuḍrab ʿalayhi ʿirqun, fa-ddaʿā al-rubūbiyyata, walaw ʾakhadhathu al-shaqīqatu wa-al-malīlatu fī kulli yawmin lashaghalahu dhālika ʿan daʿwā al-rubūbiyyati

One of them said, “What drove Pharaoh to say, ‘I am your highest lord,’ was prolonged well-being. He lived for four hundred years without a headache, a fever in his body, or a throbbing vein, and so he claimed lordship. Had migraine and feverish aching seized him every day, they would have kept him too occupied to claim lordship.”

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٩

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 39

Volume Two, page 39

وَاِعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ قَدْ يَطْغَى بِالْعَوَافِي كَمَا يَطْغَى بِالْمَالِ، لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ يَسْتَغْنِي بِالْعَافِيَةِ كَمَا يَسْتَغْنِي بِالْمَالِ، وَكُلٌّ فِيهِ فِتْنَةٌ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿كَلَّا إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَيَطْغَى﴾ ﴿أَنْ رَآهُ اِسْتَغْنَى﴾ الْعَلَقِ: 6–7، وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: نِعْمَتَانِ مَغْبُونٌ فِيهِمَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ؛ الصِّحَّةُ وَالْفَرَاغُ،

wa-ʿlam ʾanna al-ʾinsāna qad yaṭghā bi-al-ʿawāfī kamā yaṭghā bi-al-māli, liʾannahu qad yastaghnī bi-al-ʿāfiyati kamā yastaghnī bi-al-māli, wakullun fīhi fitnatun, waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿kallā ʾinna al-ʾinsāna layaṭghā﴾ ﴿ʾan raʾāhu istaghnā﴾ al-ʿalaqi: 6–7, waqāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: niʿmatāni maghbūnun fīhimā kathīrun mina al-nāsi; al-ṣiḥḥatu wa-al-farāghu,

Know that a person may become tyrannical through well-being just as through wealth: he may feel self-sufficient because of good health just as because of money. Each contains a trial. God Most High has said, “No indeed, the human being oversteps all bounds when he sees himself as self-sufficient” (al-ʿAlaq, 6–7). The Messenger of God, God's blessings and peace be upon him, said, “There are two blessings in which many people are losers: health and free time.”

وَالْعِصْمَةُ فِي حَالِ الْعَافِيَةِ نِعْمَةٌ ثَانِيَةٌ، كَالْعِصْمَةِ فِي الْغِنَى نِعْمَةِ النِّعْمَةِ، وَهَذَا أَحَدُ الْوُجُوهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿أَذْهَبْتُمْ طَيِّبَاتِكُمْ فِي حَيَاتِكُمْ﴾ الْأَحْقَافِ: 20 وَمِنْهَا أَنَّ الْأَمْرَاضَ مُكَفِّرَةٌ لِلسَّيِّئَاتِ؛ فَإِذَا كَرِهَ الْأَمْرَاضَ بَقِيَتْ ذُنُوبُهُ عَلَيْهِ مَوْفُورَةً، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: لَا تَزَالُ الْحُمَّى وَالْمَلِيلَةُ بِالْعَبْدِ حَتَّى يَمْشِيَ عَلَى وَجْهِ الْأَرْضِ وَمَا عَلَيْهِ خَطِيئَةٌ،

wa-al-ʿiṣmatu fī ḥāli al-ʿāfiyati niʿmatun thāniyatun, ka-al-ʿiṣmati fī al-ghinā niʿmati al-niʿmati, wa-hādhā ʾaḥadu al-wujūhi fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿ʾadhhabtum ṭayyibātikum fī ḥayātikum﴾ al-ʾaḥqāfi: 20 waminhā ʾanna al-ʾamrāḍa mukaffiratun li-l-sayyiʾāti; faʾidhā kariha al-ʾamrāḍa baqiyat dhunūbuhu ʿalayhi mawfūratan, wafī al-khabari: lā tazālu al-ḥummā wa-al-malīlatu bi-al-ʿabdi ḥattā yamshiya ʿalā wajhi al-ʾarḍi wamā ʿalayhi khaṭīʾatun,

Protection from sin while in good health is a second blessing, just as protection amid wealth is the blessing within a blessing. This is one interpretation of His words, mighty and majestic is He: “You used up your good things in your life” (al-Aḥqāf, 20). Another benefit is that illnesses expiate misdeeds. If someone detests illnesses, his sins remain upon him in full. A report says, “Fever and feverish aching continue to afflict the servant until he walks upon the earth with no sin remaining upon him.”

وَفِي خَبَرٍ: حُمَّى يَوْمٍ كَفَّارَةُ سَنَةٍ، وَأَحْسَنُ مَا سَمِعْتُ فِي مَعْنَاهُ، قَالَ: لِأَنَّ حُمَّى يَوْمٍ تَهُدُّ قُوَّةَ سَنَةٍ، وَقِيلَ: فِي الْإِنْسَانِ ثَلَاثُمِائَةٍ وَسِتُّونَ مَفْصِلًا، يَدْخُلُ حُمَّى يَوْمٍ فِي جَمِيعِ الْمَفَاصِلِ فَيَكُونُ لَهُ بِكُلِّ مَفْصِلٍ كَفَّارَةُ يَوْمٍ، وَلَمَّا ذَكَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: كَفَّارَةَ الذُّنُوبِ بِالْحُمَّى، سَأَلَ زَيْدُ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ رَبَّهُ أَنْ لَا يَزَالَ مَحْمُومًا،

wafī khabarin: ḥummā yawmin kaffāratu sanatin, waʾaḥsanu mā samiʿtu fī maʿnāhu, qāla: liʾanna ḥummā yawmin tahuddu quwwata sanatin, waqīla: fī al-ʾinsāni thalāthumiʾatin wasittūna mafṣilan, yadkhulu ḥummā yawmin fī jamīʿi al-mafāṣili fayakūnu lahu bikulli mafṣilin kaffāratu yawmin, walammā dhakara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: kaffārata al-dhunūbi bi-al-ḥummā, saʾala zaydu bnu thābitin rabbahu ʾan lā yazāla maḥmūman,

Another report says, “A single day's fever expiates a year.” The finest explanation I have heard was this: “Because a day's fever demolishes a year's strength.” It has also been said that the human body has three hundred and sixty joints. A day's fever enters every joint, so for each joint a day's sins are expiated. When the Messenger of God, God's blessings and peace be upon him, mentioned the expiation of sins through fever, Zayd ibn Thābit asked his Lord to keep him continually feverish.

قَالَ: فَلَمْ تَكُنِ الْحُمَّى تُفَارِقُهُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ حَتَّى مَاتَ، وَسَأَلَ ذَلِكَ طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ، وَكَذَلِكَ لَمَّا ذَكَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ أَذْهَبَ اللَّهُ كَرِيمَتَهُ لَمْ يَرْضَ لَهُ ثَوَابًا دُونَ الْجَنَّةِ، قَالَ: فَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ الْأَنْصَارَ يَتَمَنَّوْنَ الْعَمَى، وَلَمَّا جَاءَتِ الْحُمَّى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْتَأْذِنُ عَلَيْهِ قَالَ: اِذْهَبِي إِلَى أَهْلِ قُبَاءَ،

qāla: falam takuni al-ḥummā tufāriquhu fī kulli yawmin ḥattā māta, wasaʾala dhālika ṭāʾifatun mina al-ʾanṣāri, wa-kadhālika lammā dhakara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man ʾadhhaba Allāhu karīmatahu lam yarḍa lahu thawāban dūna al-jannati, qāla: faqad raʾaytu al-ʾanṣāra yatamannawna al-ʿamā, walammā jāʾati al-ḥummā rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama tastaʾdhinu ʿalayhi qāla: idhhabī ʾilā ʾahli qubāʾa,

The narrator said, “Fever never left him on any day until he died.” A group of the Anṣār asked for the same. Likewise, when the Messenger of God, God's blessings and peace be upon him, stated, “If God takes away someone's precious eye, He is not content to give him any reward short of the Garden,” the narrator said, “I saw the Anṣār wishing for blindness.” When fever came to the Messenger of God, God's blessings and peace be upon him, asking permission to visit him, he said, “Go to the people of Qubāʾ.”

وَهَذَا أَحَدُ الْوَجْهَيْنِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿فِيهِ رِجَالٌ يُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يَتَطَهَّرُوا﴾ التَّوْبَةِ: 108 أَيْ بِالْأَمْرَاضِ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ، وَعَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ يَقُولُ: لَا يَكُونُ عَالِمًا مَنْ لَمْ يَفْرَحْ بِدُخُولِ الْمَصَائِبِ عَلَى جَسَدِهِ، وَمَالِهِ لِمَا يَرْجُو فِي ذَلِكَ مِنْ كَفَّارَةِ خَطَايَاهُ، وَالصِّدِّيقُونَ يُبْتَلَوْنَ بِعِلَلِ الْجَوَارِحِ، وَالْمُنَافِقُونَ يُبْتَلَوْنَ بِأَمْرَاضِ الْقُلُوبِ،

wa-hādhā ʾaḥadu al-wajhayni fī qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿fīhi rijālun yuḥibbūna ʾan yataṭahharū﴾ al-tawbati: 108 ʾay bi-al-ʾamrāḍi mina al-dhunūbi, waʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu yaqūlu: lā yakūnu ʿāliman man lam yafraḥ bidukhūli al-maṣāʾibi ʿalā jasadihi, wamālihi limā yarjū fī dhālika min kaffārati khaṭāyāhu, wa-al-ṣiddīqūna yubtalawna biʿilali al-jawāriḥi, wa-al-munāfiqūna yubtalawna biʾamrāḍi al-qulūbi,

This is one of the two interpretations of His words, exalted is He: “In it are men who love to purify themselves” (al-Tawbah, 108), meaning purification from sins through illnesses. It is related that Jesus, peace be upon him, said, “No one is learned who does not rejoice when afflictions befall his body and wealth, because of the expiation of his sins that he hopes for through them.” The utterly truthful are tried with ailments of the limbs, while hypocrites are tried with diseases of the heart.

لِأَنَّ فِي أَمْرَاضِ الْأَجْسَامِ ضَعْفَهَا عَنِ الْآثَامِ وَالطُّغْيَانِ، وَفِي أَمْرَاضِ الْقُلُوبِ ضَعْفَهَا عَنْ أَعْمَالِ الْآخِرَةِ وَالْإِيقَانِ وَفِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً﴾ لُقْمَانَ: 2، قِيلَ: ظَاهِرَةً الْعَوَافِي وَبَاطِنَةً الْبَلَاوِي لِأَنَّهَا نِعَمُ الْآخِرَةِ، وَرُوِيَ أَنَّ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ نَظَرَ إِلَى عَبْدٍ عَظِيمِ الْبَلَاءِ فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ اِرْحَمْهُ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَيْهِ: كَيْفَ أَرْحَمُهُ؟ مِمَّا بِهِ أَرْحَمُهُ؟ وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ وَهُوَ

liʾanna fī ʾamrāḍi al-ʾajsāmi ḍaʿfahā ʿani al-ʾāthāmi wa-al-ṭughyāni, wafī ʾamrāḍi al-qulūbi ḍaʿfahā ʿan ʾaʿmāli al-ʾākhirati wa-al-ʾīqāni wafī maʿnā qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿waʾasbagha ʿalaykum niʿamahu ẓāhiratan wabāṭinatan﴾ luqmāna: 2, qīla: ẓāhiratan al-ʿawāfī wabāṭinatan al-balāwī liʾannahā niʿamu al-ʾākhirati, waruwiya ʾanna mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu naẓara ʾilā ʿabdin ʿaẓīmi al-balāʾi faqāla: yā rabbi irḥamhu, faʾawḥā Allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʾilayhi: kayfa ʾarḥamuhu? mimmā bihi ʾarḥamuhu? waqad qāla Allāhu wahuwa

Bodily illnesses weaken the body against sins and tyranny, while illnesses of the heart weaken it against the works of the hereafter and against certainty. His words, mighty and majestic is He, “He has lavished His blessings upon you, outward and inward” (Luqmān, 2), have been explained as outward blessings of well-being and inward blessings of affliction, because these are blessings of the hereafter. It is related that Moses, peace be upon him, saw a severely afflicted servant and said, “Lord, have mercy on him.” God, mighty and majestic is He, revealed to him, “How should I have mercy on him? Should I show him mercy by removing what afflicts him?” God has said, and He is

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٠

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 40

Volume Two, page 40

أَصْدَقُ الْقَائِلِينَ فِي تَصْدِيقِ هَذَا الْمَعْنَى: ﴿وَلَوْ رَحِمْنَاهُمْ وَكَشَفْنَا مَا بِهِمْ مِنْ ضُرٍّ لَلَجُّوا فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ﴾ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ: 75 فَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّ فِي تَرْكِ الرَّحْمَةِ لَهُمْ لُطْفًا وَرَحْمَةً. وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ فِي نَفَرٍ مِنْ إِخْوَانِهِ إِلَى بَعْضِ نَوَاحِي الْبَصْرَةِ، فَآوَاهُمُ الْمَسِيرُ إِلَى كَهْفِ جَبَلٍ، فَإِذَا فِيهِ عَبْدٌ مُقَطَّعٌ بِالْجُذَامِ يَسِيلُ جَسَدُهُ قَيْحًا وَصَدِيدًا لَا طَبَاخَ بِهِ،

ʾaṣdaqu al-qāʾilīna fī taṣdīqi hādhā al-maʿnā: ﴿walaw raḥimnāhum wakashafnā mā bihim min ḍurrin lalajjū fī ṭughyānihim yaʿmahūna﴾ al-muʾminūna: 75 faʾakhbara ʾanna fī tarki al-raḥmati lahum luṭfan waraḥmatan. warawaynā ʿan ʿabdi al-wāḥidi ʾannahu kharaja fī nafarin min ʾikhwānihi ʾilā baʿḍi nawāḥī al-baṣrati, faʾāwāhumu al-masīru ʾilā kahfi jabalin, faʾidhā fīhi ʿabdun muqaṭṭaʿun bi-al-judhāmi yasīlu jasaduhu qayḥan waṣadīdan lā ṭabākha bihi,

the truest of speakers, confirming this meaning: “If We had mercy on them and removed their suffering, they would persist in their tyranny, wandering blindly” (al-Muʾminūn, 75). He thus declares that withholding mercy from them contains kindness and mercy. We have related from ʿAbd al-Wāḥid that he set out with some of his brothers for an area around Basra. Their journey brought them to shelter in a mountain cave. There they found a servant of God whose body was ravaged by leprosy and oozed pus and foul discharge; he had no strength to move.

فَقَالُوا: يَا هَذَا، لَوْ دَخَلْتَ الْبَصْرَةَ فَتَعَالَجْتَ مِنْ هَذَا الدَّاءِ الَّذِي بِكَ، فَرَفَعَ طَرْفَهُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ، وَقَالَ: سَيِّدِي، بِأَيِّ ذَنْبٍ سَلَّطْتَ هَؤُلَاءِ عَلَيَّ يُسَخِّطُونِي عَلَيْكَ، وَيُكَرِّهُونَ إِلَيَّ قَضَاءَكَ، سَيِّدِي أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الذَّنْبِ، لَكَ الْعُتْبَى إِنِّي لَا أَعُودُ فِيهِ أَبَدًا، قَالَ ثُمَّ أَعْرَضَ بِوَجْهِهِ فَاِنْصَرَفْنَا وَتَرَكْنَاهُ،

faqālū: yā hādhā, law dakhalta al-baṣrata fataʿālajta min hādhā al-dāʾi alladhī bika, farafaʿa ṭarfahu ʾilā al-samāʾi, waqāla: sayyidī, biʾayyi dhanbin sallaṭta hāʾulāʾi ʿalayya yusakhkhiṭūnī ʿalayka, wayukarrihūna ʾilayya qaḍāʾaka, sayyidī ʾastaghfiruka min dhālika al-dhanbi, laka al-ʿutbā ʾinnī lā ʾaʿūdu fīhi ʾabadan, qāla thumma ʾaʿraḍa biwajhihi fa-nṣarafnā wataraknāhu,

They said, “Good man, why do you not go into Basra and seek treatment for this disease?” He raised his eyes to heaven and said, “My Master, for what sin have You set these people upon me, making me resent You and dislike Your decree? My Master, I ask Your forgiveness for that sin. I seek Your satisfaction; I will never return to it.” The narrator said, “Then he turned his face away, and we departed and left him.”

وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ: نَحْنُ مَعَاشِرَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ بَلَاءً ثُمَّ الْأَمْثَلُ فَالْأَمْثَلُ، يُبْتَلَى الْعَبْدُ عَلَى قَدْرِ إِيمَانِهِ؛ فَإِنْ كَانَ صُلْبَ الْإِيمَانِ شُدِّدَ عَلَيْهِ الْبَلَاءُ، وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي إِيمَانِهِ ضَعْفٌ خُفِّفَ عَلَيْهِ الْبَلَاءُ، كَمَا يُجَرِّبُ أَحَدُكُمْ ذَهَبَهُ بِالنَّارِ؛ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَخْرُجُ كَالذَّهَبِ الْإِبْرِيزِ، وَمِنْهُمْ دُونَ ذَلِكَ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَخْرُجُ أَسْوَدَ مُحْتَرِقًا،

wafī al-ḥadīthi: naḥnu maʿāshira al-ʾanbiyāʾi ʾashaddu al-nāsi balāʾan thumma al-ʾamthalu fa-al-ʾamthalu, yubtalā al-ʿabdu ʿalā qadri ʾīmānihi; faʾin kāna ṣulba al-ʾīmāni shuddida ʿalayhi al-balāʾu, waʾin kāna fī ʾīmānihi ḍaʿfun khuffifa ʿalayhi al-balāʾu, kamā yujarribu ʾaḥadukum dhahabahu bi-al-nāri; faminhum man yakhruju ka-al-dhahabi al-ʾibrīzi, waminhum dūna dhālika, waminhum man yakhruju ʾaswada muḥtariqan,

A hadith says, “We prophets suffer the severest trials of all people; then come those most excellent after us, in descending order. The servant is tried in proportion to his faith. If his faith is firm, the trial is intensified; if his faith contains weakness, the trial is lightened, just as one of you tests his gold in fire. Some emerge like pure gold, some fall short of that, and some emerge black and burned.”

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا حَدِيثًا مِنْ طَرِيقِ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ: إِذَا أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ عَبْدًا اِبْتَلَاهُ؛ فَإِنْ صَبَرَ اِجْتَبَاهُ، وَإِنْ رَضِيَ اِصْطَفَاهُ، وَمِنْهَا أَنَّ الْمَلَكَ يَكْتُبُ لَهُ مِثْلَ أَعْمَالِهِ الصَّالِحَةِ الَّتِي كَانَ يَعْمَلُهَا فِي صِحَّتِهِ، وَأَنَّهُ يُجْرِي لَهُ الْحَسَنَاتِ، مِثْلَ مَا كَانَ يُجْرِي لَهُ عَلَى أَعْمَالِهِمْ، فَيَكْتُبُ الْمَلَكُ لَهُ أَعْمَالًا صَالِحَةً خَيْرًا لَهُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِ، لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ يَدْخُلُهَا الْفَسَادُ،

waqad rawaynā ḥadīthan min ṭarīqi ʾahli al-bayti: ʾidhā ʾaḥabba Allāhu ʿabdan ibtalāhu; faʾin ṣabara ijtabāhu, waʾin raḍiya iṣṭafāhu, waminhā ʾanna al-malaka yaktubu lahu mithla ʾaʿmālihi al-ṣāliḥati allatī kāna yaʿmaluhā fī ṣiḥḥatihi, waʾannahu yujrī lahu al-ḥasanāti, mithla mā kāna yujrī lahu ʿalā ʾaʿmālihim, fayaktubu al-malaku lahu ʾaʿmālan ṣāliḥatan khayran lahu min ʾaʿmālihi, liʾannahu qad yadkhuluhā al-fasādu,

We have related a hadith through the Prophet's Household: “When God loves a servant, He tries him. If he is patient, He draws him near; if he is content, He chooses him for Himself.” Another benefit is that the angel records for him the equivalent of the good deeds he used to perform when healthy, and credits him with good deeds as he used to be credited for their works. The angel thus records righteous works better for him than his own deeds, since corruption may enter those deeds.

وَاِخْتِيَارُ اللَّهِ لَهُ أَنْ يَسْتَعْمِلَهُ بِالْأَوْجَاعِ، خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنِ اِخْتِيَارِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ أَنْ يَسْتَقِلَّ إِلَى اللَّهِ بِالْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَةِ، وَهَذَا أَحَدُ الْمَعْنَيَيْنِ، فِي مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ: أَفْضَلُ الْأَعْمَالِ مَا أُكْرِهَتْ عَلَيْهِ النُّفُوسُ، قِيلَ: هُوَ مَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا مِنَ الْمَصَائِبِ فِي الْأَنْفُسِ وَالْأَمْوَالِ، فَهِيَ تَكْرَهُ ذَلِكَ وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهَا، وَمِنْ هَذَا الْمَعْنَى قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَعَسَى أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَعَسَى أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ﴾ الْبَقَرَةِ: 216،

wa-khtiyāru Allāhi lahu ʾan yastaʿmilahu bi-al-ʾawjāʿi, khayrun lahu mini ikhtiyārihi linafsihi ʾan yastaqilla ʾilā Allāhi bi-al-ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥati, wa-hādhā ʾaḥadu al-maʿnayayni, fī maʿnā al-khabari: ʾafḍalu al-ʾaʿmāli mā ʾukrihat ʿalayhi al-nufūsu, qīla: huwa mā dakhala ʿalayhā mina al-maṣāʾibi fī al-ʾanfusi wa-al-ʾamwāli, fahiya takrahu dhālika wahuwa khayrun lahā, wamin hādhā al-maʿnā qawluhu taʿālā: ﴿waʿasā ʾan takrahū shayʾan wahuwa khayrun lakum waʿasā ʾan tuḥibbū shayʾan wahuwa sharrun lakum﴾ al-baqarati: 216,

God's choice to employ him through suffering is better for him than his own choice to advance toward God through righteous works. This is one of the two meanings of the report, “The best deeds are those to which souls are compelled.” It has been explained as the afflictions that befall them in their persons and possessions: they dislike them, yet they are good for them. His words, exalted is He, carry this meaning: “You may dislike something that is good for you, and you may love something that is bad for you” (al-Baqarah, 216).

قَدْ يَكْرَهُ الْعَبْدُ الْفَقْرَ وَالْعَيْلَةَ وَالضُّرَّ وَالْخُمْلَةَ، وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَأَحْمَدُ عَاقِبَةً، وَقَدْ يُحِبُّ الْغِنَى وَالْعَوَافِيَ وَالشُّهْرَةَ وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَأَسْوَأُ عَاقِبَةً. وَفِي الْخَبَرِ أَيْضًا يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِمَلَائِكَتِهِ: اُكْتُبُوا لِعَبْدِي صَالِحَ مَا كَانَ يَعْمَلُ فَإِنَّهُ فِي وَثَاقٍ؛ إِنْ أَطْلَقْتُهُ أَبْدَلْتُهُ لَحْمًا خَيْرًا مِنْ لَحْمِهِ، وَدَمًا خَيْرًا مِنْ دَمِهِ، وَإِنْ تَوَفَّيْتُهُ تَوَفَّيْتُهُ إِلَى رَحْمَتِي،

qad yakrahu al-ʿabdu al-faqra wa-al-ʿaylata wa-al-ḍurra wa-al-khumlata, wahuwa khayrun lahu fī al-ʾākhirati waʾaḥmadu ʿāqibatan, waqad yuḥibbu al-ghinā wa-al-ʿawāfiya wa-al-shuhrata wahuwa sharrun lahu ʿinda Allāhi waʾaswaʾu ʿāqibatan. wafī al-khabari ʾayḍan yaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā limalāʾikatihi: uktubū liʿabdī ṣāliḥa mā kāna yaʿmalu faʾinnahu fī wathāqin; ʾin ʾaṭlaqtuhu ʾabdaltuhu laḥman khayran min laḥmihi, wadaman khayran min damihi, waʾin tawaffaytuhu tawaffaytuhu ʾilā raḥmatī,

A servant may dislike poverty, destitution, suffering, and obscurity, although these are better for him in the hereafter and have a more praiseworthy outcome. He may love wealth, well-being, and fame, although these are worse for him before God and have a worse outcome. Another report says that God Most High tells His angels, “Record for My servant the good he used to do, for he is in bonds. If I release him, I shall replace his flesh with better flesh and his blood with better blood. If I take him in death, I shall take him into My mercy.”

فَإِبْدَالُ صِفَةٍ لِحُسْنِ اِخْتِيَارِ اللَّهِ لَهُ، خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَمِنْ شَهْوَتِهِ، وَالْأَصْلُ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ وَتَرْكِهِ، أَنَّ الْمُتَوَكِّلَ عَلَى اللَّهِ قَدْ عَلِمَ فِي تَوَكُّلِهِ أَنَّ لِلْعِلَّةِ وَقْتًا إِذَا اِنْتَهَتْ إِلَيْهِ بَرَأَ الْعَلِيلُ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ لَا مَحَالَةَ، وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَدْ يَحْكُمُ أَنَّهُ إِنْ تَدَاوَى شَفَاهُ

faʾibdālu ṣifatin liḥusni ikhtiyāri Allāhi lahu, khayrun lahu mina al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati wamin shahwatihi, wa-al-ʾaṣlu fī al-tawakkuli watarkihi, ʾanna al-mutawakkila ʿalā Allāhi qad ʿalima fī tawakkulihi ʾanna li-l-ʿillati waqtan ʾidhā intahat ʾilayhi baraʾa al-ʿalīlu biʾidhni Allāhi lā maḥālata, walākinna Allāha ʿazza wajalla qad yaḥkumu ʾannahu ʾin tadāwā shafāhu

Thus the changing of an attribute, through God's good choice for him, is better for him than this world and the hereafter, and than his own desire. The principle concerning trust and leaving it aside is that the one who trusts in God knows, in his trust, that an illness has an appointed time: when it reaches that time, the sick person will inevitably recover by God's permission. Yet God, mighty and majestic is He, may decree that if he takes treatment, He will heal him

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤١

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 41

Volume Two, page 41

فِي عَشَرَةِ أَيَّامٍ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَتَدَاوَ أَبْرَأَهُ فِي عِشْرِينَ يَوْمًا، لِيَتَرَخَّصَ الْعَلِيلُ بِمَا أَبَاحَهُ اللَّهُ لَهُ، فَيَطْمَعَ فِي تَعْجِيلِ الْبُرْءِ فِي عَشَرَةِ أَيَّامٍ، لِيَكُونَ أَسْرَعَ لِشِفَائِهِ، وَأَقْرَبَ إِلَى عَاقِبَتِهِ، عَلَى أَنَّهُ مُعْتَقِدٌ أَنَّ الدَّوَاءَ لَا يَشْفِي وَإِنَّ التَّدَاوِيَ لَا يَنْفَعُ لِعَيْنِهِ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الشَّافِي وَهُوَ النَّافِعُ فَالشِّفَاءُ وَالنَّفْعُ فِعْلُهُ لِعَبْدِهِ وَجَعْلُهُ فِي الدَّوَاءِ مِنْ لَطَائِفِ حِكْمَتِهِ،

fī ʿasharati ʾayyāmin, waʾin lam yatadāwa ʾabraʾahu fī ʿishrīna yawman, liyatarakhkhaṣa al-ʿalīlu bimā ʾabāḥahu Allāhu lahu, fayaṭmaʿa fī taʿjīli al-burʾi fī ʿasharati ʾayyāmin, liyakūna ʾasraʿa lishifāʾihi, waʾaqraba ʾilā ʿāqibatihi, ʿalā ʾannahu muʿtaqidun ʾanna al-dawāʾa lā yashfī waʾinna al-tadāwiya lā yanfaʿu liʿaynihi, liʾanna Allāha huwa al-shāfī wahuwa al-nāfiʿu fa-al-shifāʾu wa-al-nafʿu fiʿluhu liʿabdihi wajaʿluhu fī al-dawāʾi min laṭāʾifi ḥikmatihi,

in ten days, whereas if he takes no treatment, He will cure him in twenty. The sick person may avail himself of what God has permitted and hope to hasten recovery to ten days, making his healing swifter and its outcome nearer. He must nevertheless believe that medicine does not itself heal and that treatment is not beneficial in its own essence. God is the Healer and the Benefactor. Healing and benefit are His action for His servant; His placing them in medicine is among the subtleties of His wisdom.

لَا يَجْعَلُهُ سِوَاهُ وَلَا يَفْعَلُهُ إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ، إِذْ كَانَتِ الْعَقَاقِيرُ مَطْبُوعَةً مَجْبُولَةً عَلَى خَلْقِهَا، فَجَاعِلُ الْأَسْبَابِ فِيهَا هُوَ جَابِلُهَا، لِأَنَّ الْجَعْلَ فِيهَا وَالْخَاصِّيَّةَ مِنْهَا لَيْسَ مِنْ عَمَلِ الْمُتَطَبِّبِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ يَعْمَلُ بِهَا وَيَجْمَعُ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ الْعَلِيلِ لِأَنَّهُ ظَهَرَ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ سَبَبًا لِرِزْقِهِ، فَاللَّهُ خَالِقُ جَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ وَفَاعِلُهُ، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ﴾ الصَّافَّاتِ: 96،

lā yajʿaluhu siwāhu walā yafʿaluhu ʾillā ʾiyyāhu, ʾidh kānati al-ʿaqāqīru maṭbūʿatan majbūlatan ʿalā khalqihā, fajāʿilu al-ʾasbābi fīhā huwa jābiluhā, liʾanna al-jaʿla fīhā wa-al-khāṣṣiyyata minhā laysa min ʿamali al-mutaṭabbibi, waʾin kāna yaʿmalu bihā wayajmaʿu baynahā wabayna al-ʿalīli liʾannahu ẓahara ʿalā yadayhi sababan lirizqihi, fa-Allāhu khāliqu jamīʿi dhālika wafāʿiluhu, wa-kadhālika qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿wa-Allāhu khalaqakum wamā taʿmalūna﴾ al-ṣāffāti: 96,

No one besides Him places it there, and none but Him brings it about. Drugs are constituted and fashioned according to their created nature, so the One who places causal properties in them is the One who fashions them. Their properties and the endowment placed in them are not the physician's work, although he uses them and brings them to the patient: their effect appears at his hands as a means of his livelihood. God is the Creator and Agent of all of this. Thus God Most High says, “God created you and what you do” (al-Ṣāffāt, 96).

وَكَذَلِكَ أَيْضًا عِنْدَ الْعَارِفِينَ أَنَّ الْخُبْزَ لَا يُشْبِعُ وَأَنَّ الْمَاءَ لَا يُرْوِي كَمَا أَنَّ الْمَالَ لَا يُغْنِي، وَالْعَدَمَ لَا يُفْقِرُ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْمُطْعِمُ الْمُسْقِي وَهُوَ الْمُشْبِعُ وَالْمُرْوِي، كَمَا هُوَ الْمُغْنِي الْمُفْقِرُ بِمَا شَاءَ، كَيْفَ شَاءَ وَهُوَ جَاعِلُ الشِّبَعِ وَالرِّيِّ فِي الْمَطْعُومِ وَالْمَشْرُوبِ، وَفِي النَّفْسِ بِالْغِنَى وَالْفَقْرِ لِحِكْمَتِهِ وَرَحْمَتِهِ،

wa-kadhālika ʾayḍan ʿinda al-ʿārifīna ʾanna al-khubza lā yushbiʿu waʾanna al-māʾa lā yurwī kamā ʾanna al-māla lā yughnī, wa-al-ʿadama lā yufqiru, liʾanna Allāha huwa al-muṭʿimu al-musqī wahuwa al-mushbiʿu wa-al-murwī, kamā huwa al-mughnī al-mufqiru bimā shāʾa, kayfa shāʾa wahuwa jāʿilu al-shibaʿi wa-al-riyyi fī al-maṭʿūmi wa-al-mashrūbi, wafī al-nafsi bi-al-ghinā wa-al-faqri liḥikmatihi waraḥmatihi,

Likewise, the knowers hold that bread does not itself satisfy hunger and water does not itself quench thirst, just as money does not itself enrich and its absence does not itself impoverish. God is the One who feeds and gives drink, who satisfies hunger and quenches thirst, just as He enriches and impoverishes through whatever He wills, however He wills. He places satiety and refreshment in food and drink, and in the soul through wealth and poverty, in accordance with His wisdom and mercy.

كَمَا أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى هُوَ الْمُجِيعُ الْمُظْمِئُ، فَيُدْخِلُ الطَّعَامَ وَالشَّرَابَ عَلَى الْجُوعِ وَالْعَطَشِ الَّذَيْنِ جَعَلَهُمَا فَيُذْهِبُهُمَا بِمَا أَدْخَلَ عَلَيْهِمَا، كَمَا يُدْخِلُ اللَّيْلَ عَلَى النَّهَارِ، وَيُدْخِلُ النَّهَارَ عَلَى اللَّيْلِ، فَيَغْلِبُ سُلْطَانُ كُلِّ وَاحِدٍ عَلَى الْآخَرِ فَيُذْهِبُهُ، فَسَوَاءٌ هَذَا عِنْدَ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ مِنْ وَصْفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ، وَمِنَ الْعِلَلِ وَالْأَدْوِيَةِ يَتَسَلَّطُ الشَّيْءُ عَلَى ضِدِّهِ فَيُزِيلُهُ بِقَلْبِهِ، فَهَذِهِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ،

kamā ʾanna Allāha taʿālā huwa al-mujīʿu al-muẓmiʾu, fayudkhilu al-ṭaʿāma wa-al-sharāba ʿalā al-jūʿi wa-al-ʿaṭashi alladhayni jaʿalahumā fayudhhibuhumā bimā ʾadkhala ʿalayhimā, kamā yudkhilu al-layla ʿalā al-nahāri, wayudkhilu al-nahāra ʿalā al-layli, fayaghlibu sulṭānu kulli wāḥidin ʿalā al-ʾākhari fayudhhibuhu, fasawāʾun hādhā ʿinda al-muwaḥḥidīna min waṣfi al-layli wa-al-nahāri, wamina al-ʿilali wa-al-ʾadwiyati yatasallaṭu al-shayʾu ʿalā ḍiddihi fayuzīluhu biqalbihi, fa-hādhihi biʾidhni Allāhi,

God Most High is also the One who causes hunger and thirst. He brings food and drink to the hunger and thirst He has created, and removes them through what He introduces. Similarly, He brings night upon day and day upon night, so that each one's dominion overcomes and removes the other. For those who affirm divine unity, the relation is the same whether one speaks of night and day or of illnesses and medicines: one thing gains power over its opposite and removes it by reversing it. These things occur by God's permission.

وَالشِّرْكُ فِي هَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءِ فِي الْعُمُومِ أَخْفَى مِنْ دَبِيبِ النَّمْلِ عَلَى الصَّفَا، وَالْمُوقِنُونَ الصَّحِيحُو التَّوْحِيدِ مِنْ جَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ بُرَآءُ، وَعَلَى هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي أَحَدُ الْوَجْهَيْنِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿الَّذِي أَعْطَى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَى﴾ طٰهٰ: 50 أَيْ أَعْطَى كُلَّ لَوْنٍ وَجِنْسٍ خِلْقَتَهُ وَطَبْعَهُ أَيْ صُورَةَ الشَّيْءِ، وَوَصْفَهُ لِلضُّرِّ وَالنَّفْعِ،

wa-al-shirku fī hādhihi al-ʾashyāʾi fī al-ʿumūmi ʾakhfā min dabībi al-namli ʿalā al-ṣafā, wa-al-mūqinūna al-ṣaḥīḥū al-tawḥīdi min jamīʿi dhālika burāʾu, waʿalā hādhihi al-maʿānī ʾaḥadu al-wajhayni fī qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿alladhī ʾaʿṭā kulla shayʾin khalqahu thumma hadā﴾ Ṭā Hā: 50 ʾay ʾaʿṭā kulla lawnin wajinsin khilqatahu waṭabʿahu ʾay ṣūrata al-shayʾi, wawaṣfahu li-l-ḍurri wa-al-nafʿi,

Among ordinary people, associating partners with God in these matters is more hidden than an ant's footfall on smooth stone. Those with certainty and sound realization of divine unity are free of all of it. These meanings underlie one of the two interpretations of His words, exalted is He: “He who gave everything its creation, then guided it” (Ṭā Hā, 50): He gave every kind and species its constitution and nature, meaning the thing's form and its character for harm and benefit.

فَإِنْ تَعَجَّلَ الْعَلِيلُ الْبُرْءَ بِالتَّدَاوِي فَبَرَأَ، كَانَ ذَلِكَ بِقَضَاءِ اللَّهِ وَقَدَرِهِ، عَلَى وَصْفِ السُّرْعَةِ مِنَ الْمُعَافَاةِ، فَإِنْ كَانَ نَاوِيًا فِي تَدَاوِيهِ وَاِسْتِعْجَالِهِ شِفَاءَهُ الطَّاعَةَ لِمَوْلَاهُ، وَالْقِيَامَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ لِلْخِدْمَةِ، كَانَ مُثَابًا عَلَى ذَلِكَ فَاضِلًا فِيهِ غَيْرَ مَنْقُوصٍ فِي مَقَامِ تَوَكُّلِهِ، وَإِنْ أَرَادَ بِذَلِكَ صِحَّةَ جِسْمِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ وَالنَّعِيمَ بِالْعَوَافِي كَانَ ذَلِكَ بَابًا مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الدُّنْيَا، وَدُخُولًا فِيمَا أُبِيحَ لَهُ مِنْهَا،

faʾin taʿajjala al-ʿalīlu al-burʾa bi-al-tadāwī fabaraʾa, kāna dhālika biqaḍāʾi Allāhi waqadarihi, ʿalā waṣfi al-surʿati mina al-muʿāfāti, faʾin kāna nāwiyan fī tadāwīhi wa-stiʿjālihi shifāʾahu al-ṭāʿata limawlāhu, wa-al-qiyāma bayna yadayhi li-l-khidmati, kāna muthāban ʿalā dhālika fāḍilan fīhi ghayra manqūṣin fī maqāmi tawakkulihi, waʾin ʾarāda bi-dhālika ṣiḥḥata jismihi linafsihi wa-al-naʿīma bi-al-ʿawāfī kāna dhālika bāban min ʾabwābi al-dunyā, wadukhūlan fīmā ʾubīḥa lahu minhā,

If the sick person hastens recovery through treatment and recovers, this takes place by God's decree and determination, in the form of a speedy restoration to health. If his intention in taking treatment and hastening his cure is to obey his Master and stand before Him in service, he is rewarded and acts virtuously, without any diminution in his station of trust. If he seeks bodily health for his own sake and enjoyment of well-being, this is one of the pursuits of worldly life, an entry into what has been permitted him of it.

وَهُوَ يُخْرِجُهُ مِنْ فَضِيلَةِ التَّوَكُّلِ، وَحَقِيقَتِهِ بِمِقْدَارِ مَا نَقَصَهُ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ وَالنَّعِيمِ، وَإِنْ أَرَادَ بِاِسْتِعْجَالِ الْعَوَافِي قُوَّةَ النَّفْسِ لِأَجْلِ الْهَوَى، وَلِيَسْعَى فِي مُخَالَفَةِ الْمَوْلَى، كَانَ مَأْزُورًا لِسُوءِ نِيَّتِهِ وَوُجُودِ عَزِيمَتِهِ وَخَرَجَ مِنَ الْمُبَاحِ إِلَى الْمَحْظُورِ، وَذَلِكَ يُخْرِجُهُ مِنْ حَدِّ التَّوَكُّلِ وَأَوَّلِهِ، وَهَذَا مِنْ مَذْمُومِ أَبْوَابِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَمْقُوتِهَا،

wahuwa yukhrijuhu min faḍīlati al-tawakkuli, waḥaqīqatihi bimiqdāri mā naqaṣahu mina al-zuhdi fī al-ḥayāti wa-al-naʿīmi, waʾin ʾarāda bi-stiʿjāli al-ʿawāfī quwwata al-nafsi liʾajli al-hawā, waliyasʿā fī mukhālafati al-mawlā, kāna maʾzūran lisūʾi niyyatihi wawujūdi ʿazīmatihi wakharaja mina al-mubāḥi ʾilā al-maḥẓūri, wa-dhālika yukhrijuhu min ḥaddi al-tawakkuli waʾawwalihi, wa-hādhā min madhmūmi ʾabwābi al-dunyā wamamqūtihā,

This removes him from the excellence and reality of trust to the extent that it diminishes his renunciation of life and pleasure. If, in hastening well-being, he wants to strengthen his lower self for the sake of desire and to pursue disobedience to his Master, he incurs sin through his evil intention and firm resolve. He has crossed from the permitted into the forbidden, leaving even the boundary and first stage of trust. This belongs to the blameworthy and detested pursuits of worldly life.

وَإِنْ كَانَتْ نِيَّتُهُ فِي تَعْجِيلِ الْعَوَافِي التَّصَرُّفَ فِي الْمَعَايِشِ وَالتَّكَسُّبَ لِلْإِنْفَاقِ وَالْجَمْعِ، نُظِرَ فِي شَأْنِهِ؛ فَإِنْ كَانَ يَسْعَى فِي كَفَافٍ وَعَلَى عِيلَةٍ ضِعَافٍ، وَعَنْ حَاجَةٍ وَإِجْحَافٍ لَحِقَ هَذَا بِالطَّبَقَةِ الْأُولَى، وَهَذَا بَابٌ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الْآخِرَةِ وَهُوَ مَأْجُورٌ عَلَيْهِ، وَلَا يُخْرِجُهُ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ يَسْعَى فِي تَكَاثُرِهِ، وَتَفَاخُرٍ، وَلَا يُبَالِي مِنْ أَيْنَ كَسَبَ، وَفِيمَا أَنْفَقَ، لَحِقَ هَذَا فِي الطَّبَقَةِ الثَّالِثَةِ مِنَ الْعَاصِينَ، وَهَذَا مِنْ أَكْبَرِ الدُّنْيَا الْمُبَعِّدَةِ عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ

waʾin kānat niyyatuhu fī taʿjīli al-ʿawāfī al-taṣarrufa fī al-maʿāyishi wa-al-takassuba li-l-ʾinfāqi wa-al-jamʿi, nuẓira fī shaʾnihi; faʾin kāna yasʿā fī kafāfin waʿalā ʿīlatin ḍiʿāfin, waʿan ḥājatin waʾijḥāfin laḥiqa hādhā bi-al-ṭabaqati al-ʾūlā, wa-hādhā bābun min ʾabwābi al-ʾākhirati wahuwa maʾjūrun ʿalayhi, walā yukhrijuhu mina al-tawakkuli, waʾin kāna yasʿā fī takāthurihi, watafākhurin, walā yubālī min ʾayna kasaba, wafīmā ʾanfaqa, laḥiqa hādhā fī al-ṭabaqati al-thālithati mina al-ʿāṣīna, wa-hādhā min ʾakbari al-dunyā al-mubaʿʿidati ʿani Allāhi ʿazza

If his intention in hastening well-being is to pursue a livelihood and earn money for spending and accumulation, his circumstances must be considered. If he works for sufficiency and for weak dependents, out of need and straitened circumstances, he belongs to the first class. This is a pursuit of the hereafter, for which he is rewarded, and it does not remove him from trust. If he works to accumulate more and boast, without caring how he earns or on what he spends, he joins the third class, the disobedient. This is among the greatest worldly pursuits that distance one from God, mighty

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٢

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 42

Volume Two, page 42

وَجَلَّ، فَهَذِهِ نِيَّاتُ النَّاسِ فِي التَّدَاوِي الْمَحْمُودَةُ وَالْمَذْمُومَةُ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَتَدَاوَ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ تَسْلِيمًا لِلْوَكِيلِ وَسُكُونًا تَحْتَ حُكْمِهِ وَرِضًا بِاِخْتِيَارِهِ وَصُنْعِهِ، إِذْ قَدْ أَيْقَنَ أَنَّ لِلْعِلَّةِ وَقْتًا إِذَا جَاءَ بَرِئَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، إِلَّا أَنَّهَا بَعْدَ عِشْرِينَ يَوْمًا، فَيَصْبِرُ وَيَرْضَى وَيَحْمِلُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ أَلَمَ عَشَرَةِ أَيَّامٍ رِضًا بِقَضَاءِ اللَّهِ، وَصَبْرًا عَلَى بَلَائِهِ، وَحُسْنَ ظَنٍّ بِاِخْتِيَارِهِ لَهُ،

wajalla, fa-hādhihi niyyātu al-nāsi fī al-tadāwī al-maḥmūdatu wa-al-madhmūmatu, faʾin lam yatadāwa al-mutawakkilu taslīman li-l-wakīli wasukūnan taḥta ḥukmihi wariḍan bi-khtiyārihi waṣunʿihi, ʾidh qad ʾayqana ʾanna li-l-ʿillati waqtan ʾidhā jāʾa bariʾa biʾidhni Allāhi taʿālā, ʾillā ʾannahā baʿda ʿishrīna yawman, fayaṣbiru wayarḍā wayaḥmilu ʿalā nafsihi ʾalama ʿasharati ʾayyāmin riḍan biqaḍāʾi Allāhi, waṣabran ʿalā balāʾihi, waḥusna ẓannin bi-khtiyārihi lahu,

and majestic is He. Such are people's praiseworthy and blameworthy intentions in taking treatment. If the person who trusts refrains from treatment in submission to the Trustee, resting under His judgment and content with His choice and action, he does so knowing with certainty that the illness has a time when he will recover by God Most High's permission, though that comes after twenty days. He bears it patiently and contentedly, taking upon himself ten additional days of pain in contentment with God's decree, patience under His trial, and good opinion of His choice for him.

وَلَا يَتَّهِمُهُ فِي قَضَائِهِ عَلَيْهِ، فَهَذَا هُوَ أَحَدُ الْوُجُوهِ فِي حُسْنِ الظَّنِّ بِاِخْتِيَارِ اللَّهِ أَنْ لَا يَتَّهِمَ اللَّهَ فِي فَضِيلَةٍ، كَيْفَ، وَقَدْ رُوِيَ فِيهِ نَصٌّ أَنَّ رَجُلًا قَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، أَوْصِنِي، فَقَالَ: لَا تَتَّهِمِ اللَّهَ فِي شَيْءٍ قَضَاهُ عَلَيْكَ. وَقَدْ رُوِيَ فِي مَعْنَى هَذَا خَبَرٌ فِيهِ شِدَّةٌ، يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: مَنْ لَمْ يَصْبِرْ عَلَى بَلَائِي وَيَرْضَ بِقَضَائِي وَيَشْكُرْ نَعْمَائِي فَلْيَتَّخِذْ رَبًّا سِوَايَ،

walā yattahimuhu fī qaḍāʾihi ʿalayhi, fa-hādhā huwa ʾaḥadu al-wujūhi fī ḥusni al-ẓanni bi-khtiyāri Allāhi ʾan lā yattahima Allāha fī faḍīlatin, kayfa, waqad ruwiya fīhi naṣṣun ʾanna rajulan qāla: yā rasūla Allāhi, ʾawṣinī, faqāla: lā tattahimi Allāha fī shayʾin qaḍāhu ʿalayka. waqad ruwiya fī maʿnā hādhā khabarun fīhi shiddatun, yaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā: man lam yaṣbir ʿalā balāʾī wayarḍa biqaḍāʾī wayashkur naʿmāʾī falyattakhidh rabban siwāya,

He does not suspect Him of wrong in what He decrees for him. This is one aspect of thinking well of God's choice: not to suspect God concerning a merit. How could one, when an explicit report relates that a man said, “Messenger of God, counsel me,” and he answered, “Do not suspect God in anything He has decreed for you”? A severe report conveying this meaning has also been related. God Most High says, “Whoever is not patient under My trial, content with My decree, and grateful for My blessings should take a lord other than Me.”

وَهَذَا بَابٌ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا بِمِقْدَارِ مَا نَقَصَ مِنَ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي نَعِيمِ النَّفْسِ، لِأَنَّ الْجِسْمَ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ فَمَا نَقَصَ مِنْهُ نَقَصَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا، وَالْقَلْبَ مِنَ الْمَلَكُوتِ فَمَا زَادَ فِيهِ زَادَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَهُوَ بَابٌ مِنَ الصَّبْرِ بِقَدْرِ مَا صَبَرَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ النَّقْصِ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ﴾ الْبَقَرَةِ: 155 يَعْنِي أَمْرَاضَهَا وَأَسْقَامَهَا، وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ وَنَقْصُ الْأَمْوَالِ إِقْلَالُهَا وَإِذْهَابُهَا،

wa-hādhā bābun mina al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā bimiqdāri mā naqaṣa mina al-raghbati fī naʿīmi al-nafsi, liʾanna al-jisma mina al-mulki famā naqaṣa minhu naqaṣa mina al-dunyā, wa-al-qalba mina al-malakūti famā zāda fīhi zāda fī al-ʾākhirati wahuwa bābun mina al-ṣabri biqadri mā ṣabara ʿalayhi mina al-naqṣi, kamā qāla taʿālā: ﴿wanaqṣin mina al-ʾamwāli wa-al-ʾanfusi﴾ al-baqarati: 155 yaʿnī ʾamrāḍahā waʾasqāmahā, wabashshiri al-ṣābirīna wanaqṣu al-ʾamwāli ʾiqlāluhā waʾidhhābuhā,

This is a form of renunciation of worldly life in proportion to the diminished desire for the lower self's pleasure. The body belongs to the visible dominion, so what is diminished in it is diminished in worldly life; the heart belongs to the unseen dominion, so what increases in it increases in the hereafter. It is also a form of patience in proportion to the loss one patiently bears. As the Most High says, “And a loss of possessions and lives” (al-Baqarah, 155), meaning their illnesses and ailments; “and give glad tidings to the patient.” Loss of possessions means their reduction and disappearance.

فَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاهُ زُهْدًا لِاِقْتِرَانِهِ بِالْمَالِ، وَمَعَ هَذَا فَهُوَ لَا يَأْمَنُ فِي تَعْجِيلِ الْعَوَافِي مِنَ الْمَعَاصِي، فَإِذَا اِنْتَهَى وَقْتُ الْعِلَّةِ، بَرِئَ مِنْ غَيْرِ دَوَاءٍ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ، وَلَهُ فِي الْأَمْرَاضِ تَجْدِيدُ التَّوْبَةِ، وَالْحُزْنُ عَلَى الذُّنُوبِ، وَكَثْرَةُ الْاسْتِغْفَارِ، وَحُسْنُ التَّذْكِرَةِ، وَقِصَرُ الْأَمَلِ، وَكَثْرَةُ ذِكْرِ الْمَوْتِ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: أَكْثِرُوا مِنْ ذِكْرِ هَادِمِ اللَّذَّاتِ،

fa-kadhālika jaʿalnāhu zuhdan li-qtirānihi bi-al-māli, wamaʿa hādhā fahuwa lā yaʾmanu fī taʿjīli al-ʿawāfī mina al-maʿāṣī, faʾidhā intahā waqtu al-ʿillati, bariʾa min ghayri dawāʾin biʾidhni Allāhi, walahu fī al-ʾamrāḍi tajdīdu al-tawbati, wa-al-ḥuznu ʿalā al-dhunūbi, wakathratu al-istighfāri, waḥusnu al-tadhkirati, waqiṣaru al-ʾamali, wakathratu dhikri al-mawti, wafī al-khabari: ʾakthirū min dhikri hādimi al-ladhdhāti,

Accordingly, we have counted this as renunciation because it is coupled with possessions. Moreover, in hastening well-being he cannot be sure of avoiding disobedience. When the appointed period of illness ends, he recovers without medicine, by God's permission. Illness offers him renewed repentance, sorrow over sins, frequent seeking of forgiveness, beneficial recollection, shortened hopes, and frequent remembrance of death. A report says, “Remember often the destroyer of pleasures.”

وَمِنْ أَبْلَغِ مَا يُذْكَرُ بِهِ الْمَوْتُ وَتَوَقُّعُ نُزُولِهِ الْأَمْرَاضُ فَقَدْ قِيلَ: الْحُمَّى بَرِيدُ الْمَوْتِ، وَفِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿أَوَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَنَّهُمْ يُفْتَنُونَ فِي كُلِّ عَامٍ مَرَّةً أَوْ مَرَّتَيْنِ﴾ التَّوْبَةِ: 126 الْآيَةَ، قِيلَ: بِالْأَمْرَاضِ وَالْأَسْقَامِ يُخْتَبَرُونَ بِهَا، وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا مَرِضَ مَرْضَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُبْ قَالَ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ: يَا غَافِلُ، جَاءَكَ مِنِّي رَسُولٌ بَعْدَ رَسُولٍ فَلَمْ تَقْبَلْ،

wamin ʾablaghi mā yudhkaru bihi al-mawtu watawaqquʿu nuzūlihi al-ʾamrāḍu faqad qīla: al-ḥummā barīdu al-mawti, wafī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿ʾawalā yarawna ʾannahum yuftanūna fī kulli ʿāmin marratan ʾaw marratayni﴾ al-tawbati: 126 al-ʾāyata, qīla: bi-al-ʾamrāḍi wa-al-ʾasqāmi yukhtabarūna bihā, wayuqālu: ʾinna al-ʿabda ʾidhā mariḍa marḍatayni thumma lam yatub qāla malaku al-mawti: yā ghāfilu, jāʾaka minnī rasūlun baʿda rasūlin falam taqbal,

Illnesses are among the most forceful reminders of death and the expectation of its arrival. It has been said, “Fever is death's courier.” His words, mighty and majestic is He, “Do they not see that they are tried once or twice every year?” (al-Tawbah, 126, the verse) have been explained as trials through illnesses and sicknesses. It is said that when a servant has been ill twice and still does not repent, the angel of death says, “Heedless one, messenger after messenger came to you from me, but you did not heed them.”

وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَسْتَوْحِشُونَ إِذَا خَرَجَ عَنْهُمْ عَامٌ لَمْ يُصَابُوا فِيهِ بِنَقْصٍ أَوْ مَالٍ، وَيُقَالُ: لَا يَخْلُو الْمُؤْمِنُ فِي كُلِّ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا أَنْ يُرَوَّعَ بِرَوْعَةٍ أَوْ يُصَابَ بِنَكْبَةٍ، فَكَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ فَقْدَ ذَلِكَ فِي ذَهَابِ هَذَا الْعَدَدِ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يُصَابُوا فِيهِ بِشَيْءٍ، وَرُوِيَ أَنَّ عَمَّارًا تَزَوَّجَ اِمْرَأَةً فَلَمْ تَكُنْ تَمْرَضُ فَطَلَّقَهَا،

waqad kānū yastawḥishūna ʾidhā kharaja ʿanhum ʿāmun lam yuṣābū fīhi binaqṣin ʾaw mālin, wayuqālu: lā yakhlū al-muʾminu fī kulli ʾarbaʿīna yawman ʾan yurawwaʿa birawʿatin ʾaw yuṣāba binakbatin, fakānū yakrahūna faqda dhālika fī dhahābi hādhā al-ʿadadi min ghayri ʾan yuṣābū fīhi bishayʾin, waruwiya ʾanna ʿammāran tazawwaja imraʾatan falam takun tamraḍu faṭallaqahā,

They used to feel uneasy if a year passed without their suffering a loss or being afflicted in their property. It is said, “In every forty days a believer is bound to suffer a fright or be struck by a misfortune.” They therefore disliked the absence of this, when that number of days passed without anything befalling them. It is related that ʿAmmār married a woman who did not fall ill, so he divorced her.

وَأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عُرِضَتْ عَلَيْهِ اِمْرَأَةٌ فَذُكِرَ مِنْ وَصْفِهَا حَتَّى هَمَّ أَنْ يَتَزَوَّجَهَا، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: إِنَّهَا مَا مَرِضَتْ قَطُّ فَقَالَ: لَا حَاجَةَ لِي فِيهَا، وَذَكَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: الْأَوْجَاعَ مِنَ الصُّدَاعِ وَغَيْرِهِ، فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ: وَمَا الصُّدَاعُ؟ مَا

waʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿuriḍat ʿalayhi imraʾatun fadhukira min waṣfihā ḥattā hamma ʾan yatazawwajahā, faqīla lahu: ʾinnahā mā mariḍat qaṭṭu faqāla: lā ḥājata lī fīhā, wadhakara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-ʾawjāʿa mina al-ṣudāʿi waghayrihi, faqāla rajulun: wamā al-ṣudāʿu? mā

It is also related that a woman was proposed to the Prophet, God's blessings and peace be upon him, and her qualities were described until he considered marrying her. Then he was told, “She has never been ill,” and he said, “I have no need of her.” The Messenger of God, God's blessings and peace be upon him, mentioned pains, such as headaches and other ailments. A man asked, “What is a headache? I do not

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٣

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 43

Volume Two, page 43

أَعْرِفُهُ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِلَيْكَ عَنِّي، مَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَنْظُرَ إِلَى رَجُلٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ إِلَى هَذَا، لِأَنَّ فِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّ الْحُمَّى حَظُّ الْمُؤْمِنِ مِنْ نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَنَسٍ وَعَائِشَةَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، هَلْ يَكُونُ مَعَ الشُّهَدَاءِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ غَيْرُهُمْ؟ فَقَالَ: نَعَمْ، مَنْ ذَكَرَ الْمَوْتَ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ عِشْرِينَ مَرَّةً، وَفِي لَفْظِ الْحَدِيثِ الْآخَرِ: الَّذِي يَذْكُرُ ذُنُوبَهُ فَتُحْزِنُهُ،

ʾaʿrifuhu faqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾilayka ʿannī, man ʾarāda ʾan yanẓura ʾilā rajulin min ʾahli al-nāri falyanẓur ʾilā hādhā, liʾanna fī al-khabari ʾanna al-ḥummā ḥaẓẓu al-muʾmini min nāri jahannama, wafī ḥadīthi ʾanasin waʿāʾishata: yā rasūla Allāhi, hal yakūnu maʿa al-shuhadāʾi yawma al-qiyāmati ghayruhum? faqāla: naʿam, man dhakara al-mawta fī kulli yawmin ʿishrīna marratan, wafī lafẓi al-ḥadīthi al-ʾākhari: alladhī yadhkuru dhunūbahu fatuḥzinuhu,

know it.” The Prophet, God's blessings and peace be upon him, said, “Away from me! Whoever wants to look at a man of the Fire should look at this man.” For a report states that fever is the believer's share of the fire of Hell. In the hadith of Anas and ʿĀʾishah, they asked, “Messenger of God, will anyone besides the martyrs be with them on the Day of Resurrection?” He answered, “Yes: whoever remembers death twenty times every day.” Another report's wording is, “The one who remembers his sins and is saddened by them.”

وَإِنْ تَرَكَ التَّدَاوِيَ وَبَرِئَ بِغَيْرِ دَوَاءٍ، كَانَ هَذَا مِنْ قَضَاءِ اللَّهِ وَقَدَرِهِ عَلَى وَصْفِ الْإِبْطَاءِ، وَقَدِ اِخْتَلَفَ رَأْيُ الصَّحَابَةِ فِي مِثْلِ هَذَا الْمَعْنَى، عَامَ خَرَجَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ إِلَى الشَّامِ، فَلَمَّا بَلَغُوا الْجَابِيَةَ اِنْتَهَى إِلَيْهِمْ خَبَرُ الشَّامِ أَنَّ بِهِ وَبَاءً عَظِيمًا وَمَوْتًا ذَرِيعًا، فَوَقَفَ النَّاسُ وَاِفْتَرَقُوا فِرْقَتَيْنِ، فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ: لَا نَدْخُلُ عَلَى الْوَبَاءِ نُلْقِي بِأَيْدِينَا إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ فَنَكُونَ سَبَبًا لِإِهْلَاكِ أَنْفُسِنَا،

waʾin taraka al-tadāwiya wabariʾa bighayri dawāʾin, kāna hādhā min qaḍāʾi Allāhi waqadarihi ʿalā waṣfi al-ʾibṭāʾi, waqadi ikhtalafa raʾyu al-ṣaḥābati fī mithli hādhā al-maʿnā, ʿāma kharaja ʿumaru raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʾilā al-shāmi, falammā balaghū al-jābiyata intahā ʾilayhim khabaru al-shāmi ʾanna bihi wabāʾan ʿaẓīman wamawtan dharīʿan, fawaqafa al-nāsu wa-ftaraqū firqatayni, faminhum man qāla: lā nadkhulu ʿalā al-wabāʾi nulqī biʾaydīnā ʾilā al-tahlukati fanakūna sababan liʾihlāki ʾanfusinā,

If he leaves treatment aside and recovers without medicine, this too is God's decree and determination, in the form of a slower recovery. The Companions differed over a similar issue in the year when ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, set out for Syria. When they reached al-Jābiyah, news arrived that Syria was suffering a terrible epidemic and widespread death. The people halted and divided into two groups. Some said, “We will not enter the epidemic and cast ourselves into destruction, becoming the cause of our own deaths.”

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى: بَلْ نَدْخُلُ وَنَتَوَكَّلُ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَلَا نَهْرُبُ مِنْ قَدَرِهِ، وَلَا نَفِرُّ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ فَنَكُونَ كَمَنْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ خَرَجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ وَهُمْ أُلُوفٌ حَذَرَ الْمَوْتِ﴾ الْبَقَرَةِ: 243، فَرَجَعَ الْجَمِيعُ إِلَى عُمَرَ فَسَأَلُوهُ عَنْ رَأْيِهِ، فَوَافَقَ عُمَرُ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا نَرْجِعُ وَلَا نَدْخُلُ عَلَى الْوَبَاءِ،

waqālat ṭāʾifatun ʾukhrā: bal nadkhulu wanatawakkalu ʿalā Allāhi walā nahrubu min qadarihi, walā nafirru mina al-mawti fanakūna kaman qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿ʾalam tara ʾilā alladhīna kharajū min diyārihim wahum ʾulūfun ḥadhara al-mawti﴾ al-baqarati: 243, farajaʿa al-jamīʿu ʾilā ʿumara fasaʾalūhu ʿan raʾyihi, fawāfaqa ʿumaru alladhīna qālū narjiʿu walā nadkhulu ʿalā al-wabāʾi,

Another group said, “Rather, we will enter and trust in God. We will not flee His determination or run from death, becoming like those of whom God Most High says, ‘Have you not considered those who left their homes in their thousands, fearing death?’” (al-Baqarah, 243). They all turned to ʿUmar and asked his opinion. ʿUmar agreed with those who said, “We should return and not enter the epidemic.”

فَقَالَ لَهُ آخَرُونَ: أَنَفِرُّ مِنْ قَدَرِ اللَّهِ؟ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ: نَعَمْ، نَفِرُّ إِلَى قَدَرِ اللَّهِ، ثُمَّ ضَرَبَ لَهُمْ مَثَلًا فَقَالَ: أَرَأَيْتُمْ لَوْ كَانَ لِأَحَدِكُمْ غَنَمٌ وَلَهُ شُعْبَتَانِ، إِحْدَاهُمَا مُخْصِبَةٌ وَالْأُخْرَى مُجْدِبَةٌ، أَلَيْسَ إِنْ رَعَى الْخِصْبَةَ رَعَاهَا بِقَدَرِ اللَّهِ، وَإِنْ رَعَى الْمُجْدِبَةَ رَعَاهَا بِقَدَرِ اللَّهِ؟ فَسَكَتُوا، ثُمَّ دَعَا عُمَرُ بِعَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَوْفٍ يَسْأَلُهُ عَنْ رَأْيِهِ فَقِيلَ: هُوَ غَائِبٌ، قَدْ تَأَخَّرَ فِي الْمَنْزِلِ الَّذِي نَزَلْنَا فِيهِ،

faqāla lahu ʾākharūna: ʾanafirru min qadari Allāhi? faqāla ʿumaru: naʿam, nafirru ʾilā qadari Allāhi, thumma ḍaraba lahum mathalan faqāla: ʾaraʾaytum law kāna liʾaḥadikum ghanamun walahu shuʿbatāni, ʾiḥdāhumā mukhṣibatun wa-al-ʾukhrā mujdibatun, ʾalaysa ʾin raʿā al-khiṣbata raʿāhā biqadari Allāhi, waʾin raʿā al-mujdibata raʿāhā biqadari Allāhi? fasakatū, thumma daʿā ʿumaru biʿabdi al-raḥmāni bni ʿawfin yasʾaluhu ʿan raʾyihi faqīla: huwa ghāʾibun, qad taʾakhkhara fī al-manzili alladhī nazalnā fīhi,

Others asked him, “Are we fleeing God's determination?” ʿUmar replied, “Yes, we flee to God's determination.” He gave them an example: “Suppose one of you had sheep and two valleys, one fertile and the other barren. If he grazed them in the fertile valley, would he not do so by God's determination? And if he grazed them in the barren one, would he not do so by God's determination?” They fell silent. ʿUmar then called for ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf to ask his opinion, but was told, “He is absent; he stayed behind at the place where we camped.”

فَثَبَتَ عُمَرُ وَأَصْحَابُهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ الرَّأْيِ، وَعَلَى أَنْ يَسْأَلَ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ عَنْ رَأْيِهِ فِيهِ، فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحُوا جَاءَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَوْفٍ فَسَأَلَهُ عُمَرُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ، فَقَالَ: عِنْدِي فِيهِ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، شَيْءٌ سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَالَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ يَقُولُ: إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ بِالْوَبَاءِ فِي أَرْضٍ فَلَا تَقْدَمُوا عَلَيْهِ، وَإِذَا وَقَعَ فِي أَرْضٍ وَأَنْتُمْ بِهَا فَلَا تَخْرُجُوا فِرَارًا مِنْهُ، فَفَرِحَ عُمَرُ بِذَلِكَ إِذْ وَافَقَ رَأْيَهُ فَرَجَعَ بِالنَّاسِ مِنَ الْجَابِيَةِ.

fathabata ʿumaru waʾaṣḥābuhu ʿalā dhālika al-raʾyi, waʿalā ʾan yasʾala ʿabda al-raḥmāni ʿan raʾyihi fīhi, falammā ʾaṣbaḥū jāʾa ʿabdu al-raḥmāni bnu ʿawfin fasaʾalahu ʿumaru ʿan dhālika, faqāla: ʿindī fīhi yā ʾamīra al-muʾminīna, shayʾun samiʿtuhu min rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, faqāla ʿumaru raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: Allāhu ʾakbaru yaqūlu: ʾidhā samiʿtum bi-al-wabāʾi fī ʾarḍin falā taqdamū ʿalayhi, waʾidhā waqaʿa fī ʾarḍin waʾantum bihā falā takhrujū firāran minhu, fafariḥa ʿumaru bi-dhālika ʾidh wāfaqa raʾyahu farajaʿa bi-al-nāsi mina al-jābiyati.

ʿUmar and his companions maintained their opinion and their intention to ask ʿAbd al-Raḥmān what he thought. In the morning ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf arrived, and ʿUmar asked him about it. He said, “Commander of the Faithful, I have something on this that I heard from the Messenger of God, God's blessings and peace be upon him.” ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, exclaimed, “God is greatest!” He said, “If you hear of an epidemic in a land, do not enter it. If it occurs in a land where you already are, do not leave to flee it.” ʿUmar rejoiced because this agreed with his opinion, and he led the people back from al-Jābiyah.

بَيَانٌ آخَرُ مِنَ التَّمْثِيلِ فِي التَّدَاوِي وَتَرْكِهِ

bayānun ʾākharu mina al-tamthīli fī al-tadāwī watarkihi

Another explanatory analogy concerning treatment and leaving it aside

وَمَثَلُ التَّدَاوِي وَتَرْكِهِ فِي أَنَّهُمَا مُبَاحَانِ، وَأَنَّ أَحَدَهُمَا طَرِيقُ الْأَقْوِيَاءِ الصَّابِرِينَ وَهُوَ تَرْكُهُ، مَثَلُ التَّكَسُّبِ وَتَرْكِهِ أَنَّ التَّكَسُّبَ عِنْدَ الْجُوعِ الَّذِي هُوَ عِلَّةُ الْجِسْمِ لِيَسْتَعْجِلَ الْعَبْدُ الدَّوَاءَ بِالْخُبْزِ جَائِزٌ لَهُ، لَا يَقْدَحُ فِي تَوَكُّلِهِ لِأَنَّهُ مُبَاحٌ لَهُ مَأْمُورٌ بِهِ، فَإِنْ نَوَى بِالتَّكَسُّبِ الْقُوَّةَ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ وَالسَّعْيَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُعَاوَنَةَ عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى، كَانَ فَاضِلًا فِيهِ، وَإِنْ نَوَى

wamathalu al-tadāwī watarkihi fī ʾannahumā mubāḥāni, waʾanna ʾaḥadahumā ṭarīqu al-ʾaqwiyāʾi al-ṣābirīna wahuwa tarkuhu, mathalu al-takassubi watarkihi ʾanna al-takassuba ʿinda al-jūʿi alladhī huwa ʿillatu al-jismi liyastaʿjila al-ʿabdu al-dawāʾa bi-al-khubzi jāʾizun lahu, lā yaqdaḥu fī tawakkulihi liʾannahu mubāḥun lahu maʾmūrun bihi, faʾin nawā bi-al-takassubi al-quwwata ʿalā al-ṭāʿati wa-al-saʿya fī sabīli Allāhi wa-al-muʿāwanata ʿalā al-birri wa-al-taqwā, kāna fāḍilan fīhi, waʾin nawā

Treatment and abstaining from it are both permitted, while one of them, abstention, is the path of the strong and patient. Their analogy is earning a livelihood and refraining from it. When hunger, an ailment of the body, strikes, it is permissible for the servant to earn in order to hasten its treatment with bread. This does not impair his trust, since it is permitted and enjoined upon him. If through earning he intends strength for obedience, effort in God's path, and cooperation in goodness and reverence, he acts virtuously. But if he intends

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٤

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 44

Volume Two, page 44

بِالتَّكَسُّبِ الْأَكْلَ لِلشَّهَوَاتِ وَالْقِيَامَ بِحُظُوظِ النَّفْسِ مِنَ الرَّفَاهِيَةِ نَقَصَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ تَوَكُّلِهِ وَأَخْرَجَهُ مِنْ حَقِيقَتِهِ، فَكَانَ طَرِيقًا مِنْ طُرُقَاتِ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا أَنَّهُ مُبَاحٌ، وَإِنْ قَصَدَ بِتَكَسُّبِهِ التَّكَاثُرَ وَالْحِرْصَ لِلْجَمْعِ وَالْمَنْعِ كَانَ عَاصِيًا بِكَسْبِهِ مُخَالِفًا لِرَبِّهِ، وَهَذَا مِنْ أَكْبَرِ طُرُقِ الْهَوَى، ثُمَّ إِنْ لَمْ يَتَكَسَّبْ وَصَبَرَ عَلَى الْجُوعِ وَرَضِيَ بِالْقِلَّةِ وَالْفَقْرِ، فَإِنَّ رِزْقَهُ يَأْتِيهِ لَا مَحَالَةَ لِمَجِيءِ وَقْتِهِ،

bi-al-takassubi al-ʾakla li-l-shahawāti wa-al-qiyāma biḥuẓūẓi al-nafsi mina al-rafāhiyati naqaṣa dhālika min tawakkulihi waʾakhrajahu min ḥaqīqatihi, fakāna ṭarīqan min ṭuruqāti al-dunyā ʾillā ʾannahu mubāḥun, waʾin qaṣada bitakassubihi al-takāthura wa-al-ḥirṣa li-l-jamʿi wa-al-manʿi kāna ʿāṣiyan bikasbihi mukhālifan lirabbihi, wa-hādhā min ʾakbari ṭuruqi al-hawā, thumma ʾin lam yatakassab waṣabara ʿalā al-jūʿi waraḍiya bi-al-qillati wa-al-faqri, faʾinna rizqahu yaʾtīhi lā maḥālata limajīʾi waqtihi,

through earning to eat for appetite's sake and provide the lower self its share of comfort, this diminishes his trust and removes him from its reality. It becomes a worldly path, though still permitted. If through earning he seeks ever more possessions and greedily accumulates and withholds, he sins by his earning and disobeys his Lord. This is among the greatest paths of caprice. If, however, he does not earn, patiently bears hunger, and is content with little and with poverty, his provision will inevitably come when its time arrives,

وَإِنْ كَانَ قَلِيلًا دُونَ سَعَةٍ، وَلَٰكِنَّهُ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى فَضْلِ صَبْرٍ، وَحُسْنِ رِضًا، وَسُكُونِ نَفْسٍ، وَطُمَأْنِينَةِ قَلْبٍ، فَإِنْ وَجَدَ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِيَ فَهَذَا هُوَ التَّوَكُّلُ، وَكَانَ فَاضِلًا فِي تَرْكِ التَّكَسُّبِ بِحُسْنِ يَقِينِهِ وَثِقَتِهِ بِرَازِقِهِ وَشُغْلِهِ بِمَا هُوَ أَفْضَلُ وَأَنْفَعُ لَهُ فِي عَاقِبَتِهِ، وَإِنْ تَشَتَّتَ هِمَّتُهُ، وَاِضْطَرَبَتْ نَفْسُهُ، وَتَكَرَّهَ قَضَاءَ رَبِّهِ، فَأَخْرَجَهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْجَزَعِ وَالْهَلَعِ وَالتَّبَرُّمِ وَالشَّكْوَى، فَالتَّكَسُّبُ لِهَذَا أَفْضَلُ وَهُوَ مَنْقُوصٌ بِتَرْكِهِ،

waʾin kāna qalīlan dūna saʿatin, walākinnahu yaḥtāju ʾilā faḍli ṣabrin, waḥusni riḍan, wasukūni nafsin, waṭumaʾnīnati qalbin, faʾin wajada hādhihi al-maʿāniya fa-hādhā huwa al-tawakkulu, wakāna fāḍilan fī tarki al-takassubi biḥusni yaqīnihi wathiqatihi birāziqihi washughlihi bimā huwa ʾafḍalu waʾanfaʿu lahu fī ʿāqibatihi, waʾin tashattata himmatuhu, wa-ḍṭarabat nafsuhu, watakarraha qaḍāʾa rabbihi, faʾakhrajahu dhālika ʾilā al-jazaʿi wa-al-halaʿi wa-al-tabarrumi wa-al-shakwā, fa-al-takassubu li-hādhā ʾafḍalu wahuwa manqūṣun bitarkihi,

even if it is little rather than abundant. He needs exceptional patience, gracious contentment, a still soul, and a tranquil heart. If he finds these qualities, that is trust. In refraining from earning he acts virtuously through sound certainty, confidence in his Provider, and occupation with what is better and more beneficial for his final outcome. If his resolve becomes scattered, his soul agitated, and he resents his Lord's decree, so that he falls into distress, panic, vexation, and complaint, then earning is better for him, and abstaining diminishes him.

كَذَلِكَ أَيْضًا مَنْ أَكْثَرَ الشَّكْوَى مِنْ عِلَّتِهِ وَتَسَخَّطَ حُكْمَ رَبِّهِ وَتَبَرَّمَ وَضَجِرَ وَسَطَا عَلَى النَّاسِ، وَسَاءَ خُلُقُهُ بِمَرَضِهِ فَإِنَّ الْأَفْضَلَ لِهَذَا أَنْ يَتَدَاوَى وَهُوَ نَاقِصٌ بِتَرْكِهِ. وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ قَيْسٍ عَنْ عَطِيَّةَ عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، أَنَّ مِنْ ضَعْفِ الْيَقِينِ أَنْ تُرْضِيَ النَّاسَ بِسَخَطِ اللَّهِ،

kadhālika ʾayḍan man ʾakthara al-shakwā min ʿillatihi watasakhkhaṭa ḥukma rabbihi watabarrama waḍajira wasaṭā ʿalā al-nāsi, wasāʾa khuluquhu bimaraḍihi faʾinna al-ʾafḍala li-hādhā ʾan yatadāwā wahuwa nāqiṣun bitarkihi. warawaynā ʿan ʿamri bni qaysin ʿan ʿaṭiyyata ʿan ʾabī saʿīdin al-khudriyyi ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, ʾanna min ḍaʿfi al-yaqīni ʾan turḍiya al-nāsa bisakhaṭi Allāhi,

Similarly, if someone complains often of his illness, resents his Lord's judgment, becomes vexed and irritable, lashes out at people, and grows ill-tempered through sickness, it is better for him to seek treatment; abstaining diminishes him. We have related through ʿAmr ibn Qays, from ʿAṭiyyah, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, from the Prophet, God's blessings and peace be upon him: “It is a sign of weak certainty to please people at the cost of God's displeasure,

وَأَنْ تَحْمَدَهُمْ عَلَى رِزْقِ اللَّهِ، وَأَنْ تَذُمَّهُمْ عَلَى مَا لَمْ يُؤْتِكَ اللَّهُ، إِنَّ رِزْقَ اللَّهِ لَا يَجُرُّهُ حِرْصُ حَرِيصٍ، وَلَا يَرُدُّهُ كُرْهُ كَارِهٍ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِحِلْمِهِ وَجَلَالِهِ جَعَلَ الرَّوْحَ وَالْفَرَحَ فِي الرِّضَا وَالْيَقِينِ، وَجَعَلَ الْغَمَّ وَالْحُزْنَ فِي الشَّكِّ وَالسَّخَطِ.

waʾan taḥmadahum ʿalā rizqi Allāhi, waʾan tadhummahum ʿalā mā lam yuʾtika Allāhu, ʾinna rizqa Allāhi lā yajurruhu ḥirṣu ḥarīṣin, walā yarudduhu kurhu kārihin, ʾinna Allāha biḥilmihi wajalālihi jaʿala al-rawḥa wa-al-faraḥa fī al-riḍā wa-al-yaqīni, wajaʿala al-ghamma wa-al-ḥuzna fī al-shakki wa-al-sakhaṭi.

and praise them for God's provision, and blame them for what God has not given you. God's provision is neither drawn in by a greedy person's greed nor repelled by a resentful person's resentment. God, in His forbearance and majesty, has placed ease and joy in contentment and certainty, and distress and sorrow in doubt and resentment.”

ذِكْرُ اِسْتِوَاءِ شَهَادَةِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ مَعَ اِخْتِلَافِ ظُهُورِ الْأَسْبَابِ

dhikru istiwāʾi shahādati al-mutawakkili maʿa ikhtilāfi ẓuhūri al-ʾasbābi

How the perception of one who trusts remains the same despite the different ways causes appear

وَيَسْتَوِي عِنْدَ الْخُصُوصِ بِعَيْنِ يَقِينِهِمْ مَا جَاءَهُمْ بِوَاسِطَةِ أَيْدِيهِمْ، وَأَسْبَابِ كَسْبِهِمْ وَمَا جَاءَهُمْ بِأَيْدِي غَيْرِهِمْ وَبِغَيْرِ كَسْبِهِمْ إِذَا كَانَ الْمُعْطِي عِنْدَهُمْ وَاحِدًا وَالْعَطَاءُ كُلُّهُ رِزْقًا إِذْ كَانَتِ الْأَيْدِي ظُرُوفَ الْعَطَاءِ فَيَسْتَوِي وَكَأَنَّ الظَّرْفَ يَدُكَ أَوْ يَدُ غَيْرِكَ، وَسَوَاءٌ كَانَ الْكَسْبُ كَسْبَكَ أَوْ كَسْبَ غَيْرِكَ لَكَ إِذْ جَمِيعُهُ رِزْقُكَ، وَلِأَنَّ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ حُكْمًا وَفِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حِكْمَةً وَبِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ نِعْمَةً،

wayastawī ʿinda al-khuṣūṣi biʿayni yaqīnihim mā jāʾahum biwāsiṭati ʾaydīhim, waʾasbābi kasbihim wamā jāʾahum biʾaydī ghayrihim wabighayri kasbihim ʾidhā kāna al-muʿṭī ʿindahum wāḥidan wa-al-ʿaṭāʾu kulluhu rizqan ʾidh kānati al-ʾaydī ẓurūfa al-ʿaṭāʾi fayastawī wakaʾanna al-ẓarfa yaduka ʾaw yadu ghayrika, wasawāʾun kāna al-kasbu kasbaka ʾaw kasba ghayrika laka ʾidh jamīʿuhu rizquka, waliʾanna likulli shayʾin ḥukman wafī kulli shayʾin ḥikmatan wabikulli shayʾin niʿmatan,

Through the eye of their certainty, the elect view alike what reaches them through their own hands and means of earning and what reaches them through other people's hands without their earning it. For them the Giver is one, and all that is given is provision. Hands are vessels of the gift, so the result is the same, as though the vessel were your hand or someone else's. Whether the earning is yours or another's on your behalf, it is all your provision. Everything has its ruling, wisdom is present in everything, and through everything comes a blessing.

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِرَمَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ﴾ ﴿الَّتِي لَمْ يُخْلَقْ مِثْلُهَا فِي الْبِلَادِ﴾ الْفَجْرِ: 7–8 فَأَضَافَهَا إِلَيْهِ فِي الْخَلْقِ بَعْدَ أَنْ بَنَوْهَا بِأَيْدِيهِمْ وَفَرَغُوا مِنْهَا، وَمِثْلَ هَٰذَيْنِ أَيْضًا يَسْتَوِي عِنْدَهُمْ مَا ظَهَرَ بِيَدِ الْقُدْرَةِ لَا خَلْقَ فِيهِ وَلَا وَاسِطَةَ بِهِ، وَمَا ظَهَرَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ عَنِ الْحِكْمَةِ وَتَرْتِيبِ الْعُرْفِ، لِأَنَّ الْقُدْرَةَ أَيْضًا بِمَنْزِلَةِ ظَرْفٍ لِلْعَطَاءِ ظَهَرَ الْعَطَاءُ بِهَا،

qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿ʾirama dhāti al-ʿimādi﴾ ﴿allatī lam yukhlaq mithluhā fī al-bilādi﴾ al-fajri: 7–8 faʾaḍāfahā ʾilayhi fī al-khalqi baʿda ʾan banawhā biʾaydīhim wafaraghū minhā, wamithla hādhayni ʾayḍan yastawī ʿindahum mā ẓahara biyadi al-qudrati lā khalqa fīhi walā wāsiṭata bihi, wamā ẓahara biʾaydīhim ʿani al-ḥikmati watartībi al-ʿurfi, liʾanna al-qudrata ʾayḍan bimanzilati ẓarfin li-l-ʿaṭāʾi ẓahara al-ʿaṭāʾu bihā,

God Most High says, “Iram of the pillars, whose like was never created in the lands” (al-Fajr, 7–8). He attributes its creation to Himself after they built and completed it with their own hands. Just like these two cases, they view alike what appears through the hand of divine power, with no creature or intermediary involved, and what appears through their own hands according to wisdom and the customary order. Divine power too is like a vessel for the gift through which the gift appears.

فَهِيَ كَأَيْدِي الْعِبَادِ مِنْ يَدِ الْإِنْسَانِ نَفْسِهِ أَوْ يَدِ غَيْرِهِ، إِذِ الْقُدْرَةُ وَالْحِكْمَةُ خِزَانَتَانِ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْمَلَكُوتِ وَالْمُلْكِ، فَهَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي الثَّلَاثُ أَعْنِي مَا ظَهَرَ عَنْ يَدِكَ وَتَكَسُّبِكَ، وَمَا ظَهَرَ بِيَدِ غَيْرِكَ، وَعَنْ كَسْبِهِ لَكَ، وَمَا أَظْهَرَتْهُ الْقُدْرَةُ عَنْ غَيْرِ عُرْفٍ مُعْتَادٍ وَلَا وَاسِطَةٍ مَرَّتْ بِهِ، هَذَا كُلُّهُ عِنْدَ الْمُوقِنِينَ سَوَاءٌ، لَا يَتَرَجَّحُ بَعْضُهُ عَلَى بَعْضٍ لِرُجْحَانِ إِيمَانِهِمْ وَقُوَّةِ يَقِينِهِمْ وَنَفَاذِ

fahiya kaʾaydī al-ʿibādi min yadi al-ʾinsāni nafsihi ʾaw yadi ghayrihi, ʾidhi al-qudratu wa-al-ḥikmatu khizānatāni min khazāʾini al-malakūti wa-al-mulki, fa-hādhihi al-maʿānī al-thalāthu ʾaʿnī mā ẓahara ʿan yadika watakassubika, wamā ẓahara biyadi ghayrika, waʿan kasbihi laka, wamā ʾaẓharathu al-qudratu ʿan ghayri ʿurfin muʿtādin walā wāsiṭatin marrat bihi, hādhā kulluhu ʿinda al-mūqinīna sawāʾun, lā yatarajjaḥu baʿḍuhu ʿalā baʿḍin lirujḥāni ʾīmānihim waquwwati yaqīnihim wanafādhi

It is thus like the servants' hands, whether one's own hand or another's. Power and wisdom are two treasuries among the treasuries of the unseen and visible dominions. These three modes, then, are what appears through your own hand and earning, what appears through someone else's hand and earning for you, and what divine power manifests outside the familiar customary order, without any intermediary through which it passes. For those with certainty, all are equal; none outweighs another because of their weighty faith, strong certainty, and penetrating

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٥

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 45

Volume Two, page 45

مَشَاهِدِهِمْ، إِذْ كُلُّهُ حِكْمَةٌ بَالِغَةٌ وَقُدْرَةٌ نَافِذَةٌ عَنْ حَكِيمٍ وَاحِدٍ وَقَادِرٍ وَاحِدٍ.

mashāhidihim, ʾidh kulluhu ḥikmatun bālighatun waqudratun nāfidhatun ʿan ḥakīmin wāḥidin waqādirin wāḥidin.

visions: all of it is consummate wisdom and effective power, proceeding from one Wise One and one Powerful One.

وَمِمَّا يَدُلُّكَ عَلَى اِسْتِوَاءِ مَا ظَهَرَ بِيَدِ الْأَوَاسِطِ وَمَا أَظْهَرَتْهُ الْقُدْرَةُ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ

wamimmā yadulluka ʿalā istiwāʾi mā ẓahara biyadi al-ʾawāsiṭi wamā ʾaẓharathu al-qudratu ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi

Among the things that show you how learned people regard what appears through intermediaries and what divine power manifests as equal is this:

أَنَّ كُلَّ مَنْ جَمَعَ كَرَامَاتِ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ وَإِجَابَاتِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ ذَكَرَ فِيهَا مَا ظَهَرَ لَهُمْ عَنِ الْقُدْرَةِ، وَمَا ظَهَرَ لَهُمْ عَلَى أَيْدِي الْخَلْقِ مِنَ الْإِنْفَاقِ عِنْدَ وَقْتِ الْفَاقَاتِ عَنْ غَيْرِ مَسْأَلَةٍ وَلَا اِسْتِشْرَافِ نَفْسٍ، فَسَوَّوْا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي الْكَرَامَاتِ وَجَعَلُوهُمَا وَاحِدًا مِنَ الْإِجَابَاتِ، وَحَسِبُوا كُلَّ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْآيَاتِ، عَلَى أَنَّ الْعَارِفِينَ يَشْهَدُونَ مَا يُوصِلُ الْعَبِيدُ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ أَقْسَامِ رِزْقِهِمْ، إِنَّهَا وَدَائِعُ لَهُمْ عِنْدَهُمْ وَإِنَّهُ حَقٌّ لَهُمْ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ يُؤَدُّونَهُ إِلَيْهِمْ قَلِيلًا قَلِيلًا،

ʾanna kulla man jamaʿa karāmāti al-ʾawliyāʾi waʾijābāti al-ṣiddīqīna dhakara fīhā mā ẓahara lahum ʿani al-qudrati, wamā ẓahara lahum ʿalā ʾaydī al-khalqi mina al-ʾinfāqi ʿinda waqti al-fāqāti ʿan ghayri masʾalatin walā istishrāfi nafsin, fasawwaw baynahumā fī al-karāmāti wajaʿalūhumā wāḥidan mina al-ʾijābāti, waḥasibū kulla dhālika mina al-ʾāyāti, ʿalā ʾanna al-ʿārifīna yashhadūna mā yūṣilu al-ʿabīdu ʾilayhim min ʾaqsāmi rizqihim, ʾinnahā wadāʾiʿu lahum ʿindahum waʾinnahu ḥaqqun lahum biʾaydīhim yuʾaddūnahu ʾilayhim qalīlan qalīlan,

everyone who has compiled accounts of the saints' miracles and the answers granted to the utterly truthful includes both what divine power manifested for them and what appeared through people's hands as support at times of need, without their asking or inwardly looking for it. They treated both alike as miracles, counted them as one kind of answer, and reckoned all of them signs. Moreover, the knowers see the portions of their provision that other servants deliver to them as deposits belonging to them in those people's keeping, their rightful due in those people's hands, which they deliver little by little.

وَيُوَفُّونَهُمْ إِيَّاهُ شَيْئًا فَشَيْئًا إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ لَا يَسْأَلُونَهُمْ إِيَّاهُ وَلَا يُطَالِبُونَهُمْ بِهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُمْ عِنْدَهُمْ حُسْنَ أَدَبٍ فِيهِمْ وَحُسْنَ اِقْتِضَاءٍ لِأَنَّ مِنْ حُسْنِ الِاقْتِضَاءِ تَرْكَ الطَّلَبِ، وَلِقُوَّةِ يَقِينِهِمْ بِرَازِقِهِمْ أَنَّهُ يُوَفِّيهِمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ غَيْرَ مَنْقُوصٍ، فَقَدْ سَكَنُوا إِلَى قَدِيمِ وَعْدِهِ كَمَا نَظَرُوا إِلَى بَسْطِ يَدِهِ،

wayuwaffūnahum ʾiyyāhu shayʾan fashayʾan ʾillā ʾannahum lā yasʾalūnahum ʾiyyāhu walā yuṭālibūnahum bihi, waʾin kāna lahum ʿindahum ḥusna ʾadabin fīhim waḥusna iqtiḍāʾin liʾanna min ḥusni al-iqtiḍāʾi tarka al-ṭalabi, waliquwwati yaqīnihim birāziqihim ʾannahu yuwaffīhim naṣībahum ghayra manqūṣin, faqad sakanū ʾilā qadīmi waʿdihi kamā naẓarū ʾilā basṭi yadihi,

They pay it to them in full, bit by bit. Yet the knowers neither ask them for it nor demand it, even though it belongs to them in their keeping, out of good manners toward them and graciousness in receiving their due. Part of graciously receiving one's due is not asking for it. They also have strong certainty in their Provider that He will give them their portion in full, undiminished. They rest in His ancient promise just as they contemplate His outstretched hand.

وَكَذَلِكَ مُشَاهَدَةُ الْعَالِمِينَ الْمُوصِلِينَ إِلَيْهِمْ قِسْمَهُمُ الدَّافِعِينَ إِلَيْهِمْ حُقُوقَهُمْ، يَشْهَدُونَ أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ خَرَجُوا إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ حَقِّهِمْ وَأَدَّوْا إِلَيْهِمْ وَدَائِعَهُمْ، فَيَسْتَرِيحُونَ إِلَى إِخْرَاجِ ذَلِكَ، وَيَفْرَحُونَ بِأَدَائِهِ إِلَى أَرْبَابِهِ وَيَشْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ عَلَى حُسْنِ تَوْفِيقِهِ وَإِعَانَتِهِمْ عَلَى سُقُوطِ ذَلِكَ عَنْهُمْ، كَمَا يَفْرَحُ مَنْ عَلَيْهِ الدَّيْنُ الثَّقِيلُ إِذَا أَدَّاهُ فَسَقَطَ عَنْهُ حُكْمُهُ وَقَضَاؤُهُ، وَهَذَا مَقَامٌ لِلْمُوصِلِينَ فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَحَالٌ لَهُمْ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ حَسَنَةٌ، وَهُوَ مُشَاهَدَةٌ عَالِيَةٌ لِلْآخِذِينَ مِنَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ.

wa-kadhālika mushāhadatu al-ʿālimīna al-mūṣilīna ʾilayhim qismahumu al-dāfiʿīna ʾilayhim ḥuqūqahum, yashhadūna ʾannahum qad kharajū ʾilayhim min ḥaqqihim waʾaddaw ʾilayhim wadāʾiʿahum, fayastarīḥūna ʾilā ʾikhrāji dhālika, wayafraḥūna biʾadāʾihi ʾilā ʾarbābihi wayashkurūna Allāha ʿalā ḥusni tawfīqihi waʾiʿānatihim ʿalā suqūṭi dhālika ʿanhum, kamā yafraḥu man ʿalayhi al-daynu al-thaqīlu ʾidhā ʾaddāhu fasaqaṭa ʿanhu ḥukmuhu waqaḍāʾuhu, wa-hādhā maqāmun li-l-mūṣilīna fī al-maʿrifati waḥālun lahum mina al-yaqīni ḥasanatun, wahuwa mushāhadatun ʿāliyatun li-l-ʾākhidhīna mina al-mutawakkilīna.

Similarly, the learned people who deliver their portions and pay them their rights perceive that they have discharged what was due and handed over their deposits. They find relief in parting with it, rejoice in delivering it to its rightful owners, and thank God for granting them success and helping release them from that obligation, just as someone burdened by a heavy debt rejoices when he pays it and its claim and obligation fall away. For those who deliver the provision, this is a station of knowledge and a fine state of certainty; for those who receive it in trust, it is a lofty perception.

ذِكْرُ تَشْبِيهِ التَّوَكُّلِ بِالزُّهْدِ

dhikru tashbīhi al-tawakkuli bi-al-zuhdi

The resemblance between trust and renunciation

اِعْلَمْ أَنَّ التَّوَكُّلَ لَا يَنْقُصُ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ شَيْئًا، وَلَٰكِنَّهُ يَزِيدُ فِي الْفَقْرِ وَيَزِيدُ فِي الْجُوعِ وَالْفَاقَةِ، فَيَكُونُ هَذَا رِزْقَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ وَرِزْقَ الزَّاهِدِ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ، عَلَى هَذَا الْوَصْفِ الْخُصُوصِ مِنْ حِرْمَانِ نَصِيبِ الدُّنْيَا وَحِمَايَتِهِ عَنِ التَّكَاثُرِ مِنْهَا، وَالتَّوَسُّعِ فِيهَا فَيَكُونُ التَّوَكُّلُ وَالزُّهْدُ سَبَبَ ذَلِكَ، فَيَكُونُ مَا صَرَفَهُ عَنْهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا زِيَادَةً لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى،

iʿlam ʾanna al-tawakkula lā yanquṣu mina al-rizqi shayʾan, walākinnahu yazīdu fī al-faqri wayazīdu fī al-jūʿi wa-al-fāqati, fayakūnu hādhā rizqa al-mutawakkili warizqa al-zāhidi mina al-ʾākhirati, ʿalā hādhā al-waṣfi al-khuṣūṣi min ḥirmāni naṣībi al-dunyā waḥimāyatihi ʿani al-takāthuri minhā, wa-al-tawassuʿi fīhā fayakūnu al-tawakkulu wa-al-zuhdu sababa dhālika, fayakūnu mā ṣarafahu ʿanhu mina al-dunyā ziyādatan lahu fī al-ʾākhirati mina al-darajāti al-ʿulā,

Know that trust subtracts nothing from one's provision, but increases poverty, hunger, and need. This becomes the provision in the hereafter of the one who trusts and of the renunciant, in this particular form: being deprived of a worldly share and protected from accumulating and expanding it. Trust and renunciation become the cause of this, so that what God turns away from him of worldly life becomes an increase for him in the lofty degrees of the hereafter.

وَكَذَلِكَ رُوِيَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: نُقْصَانُ الدُّنْيَا زِيَادَةُ الْآخِرَةِ، وَزِيَادَةُ الدُّنْيَا نُقْصَانُ الْآخِرَةِ، وَمَنْ أُعْطِيَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا شَيْئًا نَقَصَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ مَنْزِلَتِهِ فِي الْآخِرَةِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَرِيمًا، وَقِيلَ إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةَ مِثْلُ ضَرَّتَيْنِ، مَنْ أَرْضَى إِحْدَاهُمَا أَسْخَطَ الْأُخْرَى، وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ لِبَعْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ: كُنْتُ فِي مَحَلَّةٍ لَيْسَ فِيهَا بَقَّالٌ غَيْرِي، فَفَتَحَ إِلَى جَنْبِي بَقَّالٌ آخَرُ فَأَخَافُ أَنْ يَنْقُصَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ رِزْقِي شَيْئًا،

wa-kadhālika ruwiya ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: nuqṣānu al-dunyā ziyādatu al-ʾākhirati, waziyādatu al-dunyā nuqṣānu al-ʾākhirati, waman ʾuʿṭiya mina al-dunyā shayʾan naqaṣa dhālika min manzilatihi fī al-ʾākhirati, waʾin kāna ʿalā Allāhi karīman, waqīla ʾinna al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirata mithlu ḍarratayni, man ʾarḍā ʾiḥdāhumā ʾaskhaṭa al-ʾukhrā, waqāla rajulun libaʿḍi al-ʿulamāʾi: kuntu fī maḥallatin laysa fīhā baqqālun ghayrī, fafataḥa ʾilā janbī baqqālun ʾākharu faʾakhāfu ʾan yanquṣa dhālika min rizqī shayʾan,

Thus it is related from the Messenger of God, God's blessings and peace be upon him: “A decrease in this world is an increase in the hereafter, and an increase in this world is a decrease in the hereafter. Whatever worldly thing someone is given reduces his rank in the hereafter, even if he is honored before God.” It has been said that this world and the hereafter resemble two co-wives: pleasing one angers the other. A man told a learned person, “I lived in a neighborhood where I was the only grocer. Another grocer has opened beside me, and I fear this will diminish my provision.”

فَقَالَ: لَيْسَ يَنْقُصُ مِنْ رِزْقِكَ شَيْئًا وَلَكِنْ يَزِيدُ فِي بَطَالَتِكَ، تَقْعُدُ كَثِيرًا لَا تَبِيعُ شَيْئًا، وَقَدْ غَلِطَ فِي هَذَا الطَّرِيقِ قَوْمٌ اِدَّعَوُا التَّوَكُّلَ وَالزُّهْدَ وَاِتَّسَعُوا فِي الْمَآكِلِ وَالْمَلَابِسِ، عَلَى أَنَّ ذَلِكَ لَا يَنْقُصُهُمْ مِنْ رِزْقِهِمْ شَيْئًا، فَمَوَّهُوا عَلَى دُونِهِمْ مِمَّنْ لَا يَعْرِفُ طَرِيقَ الزُّهْدِ وَالتَّوَكُّلِ.

faqāla: laysa yanquṣu min rizqika shayʾan wa-lākin yazīdu fī baṭālatika, taqʿudu kathīran lā tabīʿu shayʾan, waqad ghaliṭa fī hādhā al-ṭarīqi qawmun iddaʿawu al-tawakkula wa-al-zuhda wa-ttasaʿū fī al-maʾākili wa-al-malābisi, ʿalā ʾanna dhālika lā yanquṣuhum min rizqihim shayʾan, famawwahū ʿalā dūnihim mimman lā yaʿrifu ṭarīqa al-zuhdi wa-al-tawakkuli.

He replied, “It will not diminish your provision at all, but it will increase your idle time: you will sit for long stretches selling nothing.” Some people have erred on this path, claiming trust and renunciation while indulging in food and clothing on the ground that this does not diminish their provision. They have thereby deceived those below them who do not know the path of renunciation and trust.

ذِكْرُ كَتْمِ الْأَمْرَاضِ وَجَوَازِ إِظْهَارِهَا

dhikru katmi al-ʾamrāḍi wajawāzi ʾiẓhārihā

Concealing illnesses and the permissibility of disclosing them

الْأَفْضَلُ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَتَدَاوَ أَنْ يُخْفِيَ عِلَلَهُ لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ كُنُوزِ الْبِرِّ وَلِأَنَّهَا مُعَامَلَاتٌ بَيْنَهُ

al-ʾafḍalu liman lam yatadāwa ʾan yukhfiya ʿilalahu liʾanna dhālika min kunūzi al-birri waliʾannahā muʿāmalātun baynahu

For someone who does not seek treatment, it is better to conceal his ailments, because this is among the hidden treasures of goodness and because they are dealings between him

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٦

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 46

Volume Two, page 46

وَبَيْنَ خَالِقِهِ، فَسَتْرُهَا أَفْضَلُ وَأَسْلَمُ لَهُ إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ نِيَّةٌ فِي الْإِظْهَارِ أَوْ يَكُونَ إِمَامًا يُسْتَمَعُ إِلَيْهِ وَيُقْتَبَسُ مِنْهُ الْآثَارُ، وَيَكُونَ مَكِينًا فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ يُخْبِرُ بِعِلَّتِهِ وَقَلْبُهُ رَاضٍ عَنِ اللَّهِ فِيمَا قَدَّرَهُ، أَوْ يَكُونَ مِمَّنْ يَشْهَدُ الْبَلَاءَ نِعْمَةً فَيَكُونَ إِخْبَارُهُ بِمَثَابَةِ التَّحَدُّثِ بِنِعْمَةِ اللَّهِ، وَإِلَّا فَإِظْهَارُ الْعِلَلِ لِمَنْ لَا يَتَدَاوَى نَقْصٌ لِحَالِهِ، وَدَاخِلٌ فِي الشِّكَايَةِ لِمَوْلَاهُ،

wabayna khāliqihi, fasatruhā ʾafḍalu waʾaslamu lahu ʾillā ʾan yakūna lahu niyyatun fī al-ʾiẓhāri ʾaw yakūna ʾimāman yustamaʿu ʾilayhi wayuqtabasu minhu al-ʾāthāru, wayakūna makīnan fī al-maʿrifati yukhbiru biʿillatihi waqalbuhu rāḍin ʿani Allāhi fīmā qaddarahu, ʾaw yakūna mimman yashhadu al-balāʾa niʿmatan fayakūna ʾikhbāruhu bimathābati al-taḥadduthi biniʿmati Allāhi, waʾillā faʾiẓhāru al-ʿilali liman lā yatadāwā naqṣun liḥālihi, wadākhilun fī al-shikāyati limawlāhu,

and his Creator. Concealing them is better and safer for him, unless he has a proper intention in revealing them, or is a leader whom people listen to and from whom they learn transmitted teaching, firmly established in knowledge of God, who speaks of his illness while his heart is content with God's decree. Or he may be someone who sees affliction as a blessing, so that speaking of it amounts to recounting God's blessing. Otherwise, disclosing ailments when one does not seek treatment diminishes one's state and enters into complaint concerning one's Master.

لِأَنَّ فِي الشَّكْوَى اِسْتِرَاحَةَ النَّفْسِ مِنَ الْبَلْوَى كَالِاسْتِرَاحَةِ بِالدَّوَاءِ، وَهَذَا لَا يَفْعَلُهُ عَالِمٌ لِأَنَّ الِاسْتِرَاحَةَ بِالدَّوَاءِ الَّذِي أَبَاحَهُ لَهُ الْمَوْلَى خَيْرٌ مِنِ اِسْتِرَاحَتِهِ إِلَى الْعَبِيدِ بِالشَّكْوَى، عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَا يَأْمَنُ دُخُولَ الْآفَاتِ عَلَيْهِ فِي الْإِخْبَارِ مِنَ التَّصَنُّعِ أَوِ التَّزَيُّدِ فِي الْعِلَّةِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ، وَقِيلَ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ﴾ يُوسُفَ: 18، قَالَ: لَا شَكْوَى فِيهِ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: مَنْ بَثَّ شَكْوَاهُ فَلَمْ يَصْبِرْ،

liʾanna fī al-shakwā istirāḥata al-nafsi mina al-balwā ka-al-istirāḥati bi-al-dawāʾi, wa-hādhā lā yafʿaluhu ʿālimun liʾanna al-istirāḥata bi-al-dawāʾi alladhī ʾabāḥahu lahu al-mawlā khayrun mini istirāḥatihi ʾilā al-ʿabīdi bi-al-shakwā, ʿalā ʾannahu lā yaʾmanu dukhūla al-ʾāfāti ʿalayhi fī al-ʾikhbāri mina al-taṣannuʿi ʾawi al-tazayyudi fī al-ʿillati waghayri dhālika, waqīla fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿faṣabrun jamīlun﴾ yūsufa: 18, qāla: lā shakwā fīhi, waqāla baʿḍuhum: man baththa shakwāhu falam yaṣbir,

Complaining gives the soul relief from affliction, like the relief obtained through medicine. A learned person does not do this, because relief through medicine permitted by the Master is better than seeking relief among His servants through complaint. Furthermore, in reporting his condition he cannot be sure of avoiding faults such as affectation, exaggerating his illness, and the like. His words, mighty and majestic is He, “So, beautiful patience” (Yūsuf, 18), have been explained as patience containing no complaint. One of them said, “Whoever broadcasts his complaint has not been patient.”

وَقِيلَ لِيَعْقُوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: مَا الَّذِي أَذْهَبَ بَصَرَكَ؟ فَقَالَ: مِنَ الزَّمَانِ وَطُولِ الْأَحْزَانِ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ: تَفَرَّغْتَ تَشْكُونِي إِلَى خَلْقِي؟ فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ، أَتُوبُ إِلَيْكَ، وَعَنْ طَاوُوسٍ وَمُجَاهِدٍ: يُكْتَبُ عَلَى الْمَرِيضِ أَنِينُهُ فِي مَرَضِهِ، قَالَ: وَكَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ أَنِينَ الْمَرِيضِ لِأَنَّهُ إِظْهَارُ مَعْنًى يَدُلُّ عَلَى شَكْوَى، قِيلَ: مَا أَصَابَ إِبْلِيسُ مِنْ أَيُّوبَ إِلَّا أَنِينَهُ فِي مَرَضِهِ، فَجَعَلَ الْأَنِينَ حَظَّهُ مِنْهُ،

waqīla liyaʿqūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu: mā alladhī ʾadhhaba baṣaraka? faqāla: mina al-zamāni waṭūli al-ʾaḥzāni, faʾawḥā Allāhu ʾilayhi: tafarraghta tashkūnī ʾilā khalqī? faqāla: yā rabbi, ʾatūbu ʾilayka, waʿan ṭāwūsin wamujāhidin: yuktabu ʿalā al-marīḍi ʾanīnuhu fī maraḍihi, qāla: wakānū yakrahūna ʾanīna al-marīḍi liʾannahu ʾiẓhāru maʿnan yadullu ʿalā shakwā, qīla: mā ʾaṣāba ʾiblīsu min ʾayyūba ʾillā ʾanīnahu fī maraḍihi, fajaʿala al-ʾanīna ḥaẓẓahu minhu,

Jacob, peace be upon him, was asked, “What took away your sight?” He replied, “The passing of time and prolonged sorrows.” God revealed to him, “Have you found leisure to complain about Me to My creatures?” He answered, “Lord, I repent to You.” It is related from Ṭāwūs and Mujāhid, “A sick person's groaning in illness is recorded against him.” The narrator said that they disliked a sick person's groaning, since it outwardly expresses something suggestive of complaint. It was said, “Iblīs gained nothing from Job except his groaning during his illness,” and so groaning became his share of him.

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: إِذَا مَرِضَ الْعَبْدُ أَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ: اُنْظُرَا إِلَى عَبْدِي مَا يَقُولُ لِعُوَّادِهِ فَإِنْ حَمِدَ اللَّهَ وَأَثْنَى عَلَيْهِ بِخَيْرٍ، اُدْعُوا لَهُ وَإِنْ شَكَا وَذَكَرَ شَرًّا قَالَا: لَا، كَذَلِكَ يَكُونُ، وَإِنَّمَا كَرِهَ بَعْضُ الْعُبَّادِ الْعِيَادَةَ خَشْيَةَ الشِّكَايَةِ وَخَوْفَ الزِّيَادَةِ فِي الْقَوْلِ أَنْ يُخْبِرَ عَنِ الْعِلَّةِ بِأَكْثَرَ مِنْهَا فَيَكُونَ فِي ذَلِكَ كُفْرًا لِنِعْمَةٍ بَيْنَ بَلَاءَيْنِ،

wafī al-khabari: ʾidhā mariḍa al-ʿabdu ʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilā al-malakayni: unẓurā ʾilā ʿabdī mā yaqūlu liʿuwwādihi faʾin ḥamida Allāha waʾathnā ʿalayhi bikhayrin, udʿū lahu waʾin shakā wadhakara sharran qālā: lā, kadhālika yakūnu, waʾinnamā kariha baʿḍu al-ʿubbādi al-ʿiyādata khashyata al-shikāyati wakhawfa al-ziyādati fī al-qawli ʾan yukhbira ʿani al-ʿillati biʾakthara minhā fayakūna fī dhālika kufran liniʿmatin bayna balāʾayni,

A report says, “When the servant falls ill, God Most High reveals to the two angels: ‘Observe what My servant says to his visitors.’ If he praises God and speaks well of Him, ‘Pray for him.’ If he complains and speaks of evil, they say, ‘No; so shall it be.’” Some worshippers disliked receiving visits when ill because they feared complaining or overstating their words, describing the illness as greater than it was and thereby showing ingratitude for a blessing between two afflictions.

وَكَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِذَا مَرِضَ أَغْلَقَ بَابَهُ فَلَمْ يَدْخُلْ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ حَتَّى يَبْرَأَ، فَيَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِمْ، مِنْهُمْ فُضَيْلٌ وَوُهَيْبٌ، وَبِشْرٌ كَانَ يَقُولُ: أَشْتَهِي أَنْ أَمْرَضَ بِلَا عُوَّادٍ، وَقَالَ فُضَيْلٌ: مَا أَكْرَهُ الْعِلَّةَ إِلَّا لِأَجْلِ الْعُوَّادِ، وَقَدْ رَأَيْنَا مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ مَنْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ مِمَّنْ هُوَ إِمَامٌ وَقُدْوَةٌ، وَلَا يَنْقُصُ تَوَكُّلَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ إِخْبَارُهُ بِعِلَّتِهِ عَلَى مَعْنَى التَّحَدُّثِ بِهَا مَعَ فَقْدِ آفَاتِ النُّفُوسِ،

wakāna baʿḍuhum ʾidhā mariḍa ʾaghlaqa bābahu falam yadkhul ʿalayhi ʾaḥadun ḥattā yabraʾa, fayakhruja ʾilayhim, minhum fuḍaylun wawuhaybun, wabishrun kāna yaqūlu: ʾashtahī ʾan ʾamraḍa bilā ʿuwwādin, waqāla fuḍaylun: mā ʾakrahu al-ʿillata ʾillā liʾajli al-ʿuwwādi, waqad raʾaynā mina al-ṣāliḥīna man faʿala dhālika mimman huwa ʾimāmun waqudwatun, walā yanquṣu tawakkula al-mutawakkili ʾikhbāruhu biʿillatihi ʿalā maʿnā al-taḥadduthi bihā maʿa faqdi ʾāfāti al-nufūsi,

When some of them fell ill, they closed their doors and admitted no one until they recovered and went out to the people. Fuḍayl and Wuhayb were among them. Bishr used to say, “I wish I could be ill without visitors.” Fuḍayl said, “I dislike illness only because of the visitors.” We have seen righteous people do this who were leaders and examples. A person's trust is not diminished by speaking of his illness simply to describe it, provided the faults of the lower self are absent.

إِذَا كَانَ قَلْبُهُ شَاكِرًا لِلَّهِ رَاضِيًا بِقَضَائِهِ، وَيَكُونُ بِذَلِكَ مُظْهِرًا لِلِافْتِقَارِ وَالْعَجْزِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ مَوْلَاهُ أَوْ رَاغِبًا فِي دُعَاءِ إِخْوَانِهِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، أَوْ يَشْهَدُ ذَلِكَ نِعْمَةً فَيُحَدِّثُ بِهَا شُكْرًا، وَقَدْ حُكِيَ أَنَّ بِشْرَ بْنَ الْحَارِثِ كَانَ يُخْبِرُ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ الْمُتَطَبِّبَ بِأَوْجَاعِهِ، فَيَصِفُ لَهُ أَشْيَاءَ، وَقِيلَ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يُخْبِرُ بِأَمْرَاضِهِ وَيَقُولُ: إِنَّمَا أَصِفُ قُدْرَةَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِيَّ. وَرُوِيَ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ الْبَصْرِيِّ: إِذَا حَمِدَ الْمَرِيضُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَشَكَرَهُ ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ عِلَّتَهُ، لَمْ

ʾidhā kāna qalbuhu shākiran li-llāhi rāḍiyan biqaḍāʾihi, wayakūnu bi-dhālika muẓhiran li-l-iftiqāri wa-al-ʿajzi bayna yaday mawlāhu ʾaw rāghiban fī duʿāʾi ʾikhwānihi al-muʾminīna, ʾaw yashhadu dhālika niʿmatan fayuḥaddithu bihā shukran, waqad ḥukiya ʾanna bishra bna al-ḥārithi kāna yukhbiru ʿabda al-raḥmāni al-mutaṭabbiba biʾawjāʿihi, fayaṣifu lahu ʾashyāʾa, waqīla ʿan ʾaḥmada bni ḥanbalin ʾannahu kāna yukhbiru biʾamrāḍihi wayaqūlu: ʾinnamā ʾaṣifu qudrata Allāhi taʿālā fiyya. waruwiya ʿani al-ḥasani al-baṣriyyi: ʾidhā ḥamida al-marīḍu Allāha ʿazza wajalla washakarahu thumma dhakara ʿillatahu, lam

His heart must be grateful to God and content with His decree. By speaking, he may be expressing neediness and helplessness before his Master, seeking the prayers of his believing brothers, or recognizing the illness as a blessing and recounting it in gratitude. It is related that Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith used to tell ʿAbd al-Raḥmān the physician of his pains, and he would prescribe things for him. It is said that Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal spoke of his illnesses and said, “I am only describing God Most High's power at work in me.” It is related from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī: “If the sick person praises God, mighty and majestic is He, and thanks Him, then mentions his illness, that is not

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٧

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 47

Volume Two, page 47

يَكُنْ ذَلِكَ شَكْوَى، وَقَدْ كَانَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ لَا يُخْبِرُ بِأَمْرَاضِهِ إِذَا سُئِلَ عَنْهَا، ثُمَّ رَجَعَ إِلَى قَوْلِ الْحَسَنِ هَذَا، فَكَانَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ يَحْمَدُ اللَّهَ وَيُثْنِي عَلَيْهِ وَيَقُولُ: أَجِدُ كَذَا وَأَجِدُ كَذَا، وَرُوِيَ أَنَّهُ قِيلَ لِعَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي مَرَضِهِ: كَيْفَ أَنْتَ؟ فَقَالَ: بِشَرٍّ، فَنَظَرَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ كَأَنَّهُمْ كَرِهُوا ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ: أَتَجَلَّدُ عَلَى اللَّهِ، كَأَنَّهُ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ اِفْتِقَارَهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ،

yakun dhālika shakwā, waqad kāna ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin lā yukhbiru biʾamrāḍihi ʾidhā suʾila ʿanhā, thumma rajaʿa ʾilā qawli al-ḥasani hādhā, fakāna baʿda dhālika yaḥmadu Allāha wayuthnī ʿalayhi wayaqūlu: ʾajidu kadhā waʾajidu kadhā, waruwiya ʾannahu qīla liʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu fī maraḍihi: kayfa ʾanta? faqāla: bisharrin, fanaẓara baʿḍuhum ʾilā baʿḍin kaʾannahum karihū dhālika faqāla: ʾatajalladu ʿalā Allāhi, kaʾannahu ʾaḥabba ʾan yuẓhira iftiqārahu ʾilā Allāhi,

complaint.” Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal used not to speak of his illnesses when asked about them. He later adopted this saying of al-Ḥasan, and thereafter would praise God, extol Him, and say, “I feel this and I feel that.” It is related that ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him, was asked during his illness, “How are you?” He answered, “Unwell.” Some of them looked at one another as though they disliked his answer. He said, “Am I to put on a show of toughness before God?” It seems that he wished to show his neediness before God.

وَأَرَادَ أَيْضًا أَنْ يُعَلِّمَهُمْ أَنَّهُ لَا بَأْسَ بِذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ مَنْ يَقُولُ: بِخَيْرٍ إِذَا سُئِلَ كَثِيرٌ، كَمَا قَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ: إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ الرُّخْصَةُ مِنْ ثِقَةٍ، فَأَمَّا التَّشْدِيدُ فَكُلُّ أَحَدٍ يُحْسِنُهُ، فَكَانَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَتَحَقَّقَ بِتَأْدِيبِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَهُ وَنَهْيِهِ إِيَّاهُ عَنْ إِظْهَارِ الْقُوَى، لِأَنَّهُ رُوِيَ أَنَّهُ مَرِضَ فَسَمِعَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: اللَّهُمَّ، صَبِّرْنِي عَلَى الْبَلَاءِ فَقَالَ: لَقَدْ سَأَلْتَ اللَّهَ الْبَلَاءَ وَلَكِنْ سَلِ اللَّهَ الْعَافِيَةَ،

waʾarāda ʾayḍan ʾan yuʿallimahum ʾannahu lā baʾsa bi-dhālika liʾanna man yaqūlu: bikhayrin ʾidhā suʾila kathīrun, kamā qāla al-thawriyyu: ʾinnamā al-ʿilmu al-rukhṣatu min thiqatin, faʾammā al-tashdīdu fakullu ʾaḥadin yuḥsinuhu, fakāna ʿaliyyun raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʾarāda ʾan yataḥaqqaqa bitaʾdībi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lahu wanahyihi ʾiyyāhu ʿan ʾiẓhāri al-quwā, liʾannahu ruwiya ʾannahu mariḍa fasamiʿahu al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaqūlu: Allāhumma, ṣabbirnī ʿalā al-balāʾi faqāla: laqad saʾalta Allāha al-balāʾa wa-lākin sali Allāha al-ʿāfiyata,

He also wished to teach them that there was no harm in this, since many people answer, “Well,” when asked. As al-Thawrī said, “Knowledge is a concession transmitted by someone trustworthy; anyone can impose strictness.” ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him, apparently wished to embody the training the Prophet, God's blessings and peace be upon him, had given him and his prohibition against displaying strength. For it is related that when he was ill, the Prophet, God's blessings and peace be upon him, heard him say, “O God, make me patient under affliction,” and said, “You have asked God for affliction. Ask Him for well-being instead.”

وَمِنْ هُنَا قَالَ مُطَرِّفٌ: لَأَنْ أُعَافَى فَأَشْكُرَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أُبْتَلَى فَأَصْبِرَ، لِأَنَّ الْبَلَاءَ طَرِيقُ الْأَقْوِيَاءِ، وَكَرِهَ أَهْلُ الْإِشْفَاقِ وَالْخَشْيَةِ إِظْهَارَ الْجَلَدِ وَالْقُوَّةِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ الْقَوِيِّ الْعَزِيزِ، وَقَدْ حُكِيَ أَنَّ الشَّافِعِيَّ مَرِضَ مَرْضَةً شَدِيدَةً بِمِصْرَ فَكَانَ يَقُولُ: اللَّهُمَّ، إِنْ كَانَ فِي هَذَا رِضَاكَ فَزِدْنِي مِنْهُ،

wamin hunā qāla muṭarrifun: laʾan ʾuʿāfā faʾashkura ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min ʾan ʾubtalā faʾaṣbira, liʾanna al-balāʾa ṭarīqu al-ʾaqwiyāʾi, wakariha ʾahlu al-ʾishfāqi wa-al-khashyati ʾiẓhāra al-jaladi wa-al-quwwati bayna yadayi al-qawiyyi al-ʿazīzi, waqad ḥukiya ʾanna al-shāfiʿiyya mariḍa marḍatan shadīdatan bimiṣra fakāna yaqūlu: Allāhumma, ʾin kāna fī hādhā riḍāka fazidnī minhu,

For this reason Muṭarrif said, “I would rather be granted well-being and give thanks than be afflicted and endure patiently,” for affliction is the path of the strong. Those marked by apprehension and awe disliked displaying toughness and strength before the Strong, the Mighty. It is related that al-Shāfiʿī became gravely ill in Egypt and would say, “O God, if Your good pleasure lies in this, give me more of it.”

فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَهُوَ إِدْرِيسُ بْنُ يَحْيَى الْمَعَافِرِيُّ، يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، لَسْتَ مِنْ رِجَالِ الْبَلَاءِ فَسَلِ اللَّهَ الْعَافِيَةَ، فَرَجَعَ عَنْ قَوْلِهِ هَذَا وَاِسْتَغْفَرَ مِنْهُ، فَبَعْدَ هَذَا وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ، لَعَلَّهُ مَا حُكِيَ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ فِي دُعَائِهِ: اللَّهُمَّ اِجْعَلْ خِيَرَتِي فِيمَا أَحْبَبْتُ.

fakataba ʾilayhi baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi wahuwa ʾidrīsu bnu yaḥyā al-maʿāfiriyyu, yā ʾabā ʿabdi Allāhi, lasta min rijāli al-balāʾi fasali Allāha al-ʿāfiyata, farajaʿa ʿan qawlihi hādhā wa-staghfara minhu, fabaʿda hādhā wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu, laʿallahu mā ḥukiya ʿanhu ʾannahu kāna yaqūlu fī duʿāʾihi: Allāhumma ijʿal khiyaratī fīmā ʾaḥbabtu.

A learned man, Idrīs ibn Yaḥyā al-Maʿāfirī, wrote to him, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, you are not one of the men of affliction. Ask God for well-being.” He retracted that saying and sought forgiveness for it. Perhaps it was after this, and God knows best, that he made the supplication related of him: “O God, place what is best for me in what I love.”

ذِكْرُ فَضْلِ التَّارِكِ لِلتَّكَسُّبِ

dhikru faḍli al-tāriki li-l-takassubi

The merit of one who refrains from earning

قَدْ يَفْضُلُ التَّارِكُ لِلتَّكَسُّبِ شُغْلًا بِالْعِبَادَةِ عَنِ الْمُتَكَسِّبِ، مِنْ حَيْثُ فَضَّلَ الْمُتَقَدِّمُونَ الزَّاهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا عَلَى كَاسِبِ الْمَالِ حَلَالًا وَمُنْفِقِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، وَسُئِلَ الْحَسَنُ عَنْ رَجُلَيْنِ، أَحَدُهُمَا مُحْتَرِفٌ وَالْآخَرُ مَشْغُولٌ بِالتَّعَبُّدِ: أَيُّهُمَا أَفْضَلُ؟ فَقَالَ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ مَا اِعْتَدَلَ الرَّجُلَانِ الْمُتَفَرِّغُ لِعِبَادَةٍ أَفْضَلُهُمَا، وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: كَفَى بِالْمَوْتِ وَاعِظًا وَبِالتَّقْوَى غِنًى وَبِالْعِبَادَةِ شُغْلًا،

qad yafḍulu al-tāriku li-l-takassubi shughlan bi-al-ʿibādati ʿani al-mutakassibi, min ḥaythu faḍḍala al-mutaqaddimūna al-zāhida fī al-dunyā ʿalā kāsibi al-māli ḥalālan wamunfiqihi fī sabīli Allāhi, wasuʾila al-ḥasanu ʿan rajulayni, ʾaḥaduhumā muḥtarifun wa-al-ʾākharu mashghūlun bi-al-taʿabbudi: ʾayyuhumā ʾafḍalu? faqāla: subḥāna Allāhi mā iʿtadala al-rajulāni al-mutafarrighu liʿibādatin ʾafḍaluhumā, waqad ruwiya ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: kafā bi-al-mawti wāʿiẓan wabi-al-taqwā ghinan wabi-al-ʿibādati shughlan,

Someone who refrains from earning because he is occupied with worship may surpass someone who earns, in the same way that the early authorities preferred the renunciant to one who earns lawful wealth and spends it in God's path. Al-Ḥasan was asked which of two men was better: one practiced a trade, while the other was occupied with worship. He replied, “Glory be to God! The two are not equal. The one free to devote himself to worship is better.” It is related from the Messenger of God, God's blessings and peace be upon him: “Death suffices as an admonisher, reverence as wealth, and worship as an occupation.”

وَقَدْ عَلِمَ التَّارِكُ لِلتَّكَسُّبِ تَوَكُّلًا عَلَى اللَّهِ وَثِقَةً بِهِ وَرِعَايَةً لِمَقَامِهِ وَصَبْرًا عَلَى فَقْرِهِ وَشُغْلًا بِمَعَادِهِ عَنْ مَعَاشِهِ وَمُقَاسَاةِ الْفِتْنَةِ، إِنَّ مَوْلَاهُ قَدْ تَكَفَّلَ لَهُ بِرِزْقِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَقَدْ وَكَلَ إِلَيْهِ عَمَلَ الْآخِرَةِ، وَأَنَّهُ إِنْ شُغِلَ بِمَا وَكَلَهُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ عَمَلِ آخِرَتِهِ أَقَامَ لَهُ مَنْ يَقُومُ بِكِفَايَتِهِ مِنْ دُنْيَاهُ، فَلَوْ لَمْ يَتَصَرَّفِ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ تَصَرَّفَ لَهُ غَيْرُهُ،

waqad ʿalima al-tāriku li-l-takassubi tawakkulan ʿalā Allāhi wathiqatan bihi wariʿāyatan limaqāmihi waṣabran ʿalā faqrihi washughlan bimaʿādihi ʿan maʿāshihi wamuqāsāti al-fitnati, ʾinna mawlāhu qad takaffala lahu birizqihi fī al-dunyā waqad wakala ʾilayhi ʿamala al-ʾākhirati, waʾannahu ʾin shughila bimā wakalahu ʾilayhi min ʿamali ʾākhiratihi ʾaqāma lahu man yaqūmu bikifāyatihi min dunyāhu, falaw lam yataṣarrafi al-mutawakkilu taṣarrafa lahu ghayruhu,

The person who refrains from earning out of trust in God, confidence in Him, care for his spiritual station, patience with poverty, and occupation with his return to God rather than his livelihood and the ordeal of temptation knows that his Master has guaranteed his worldly provision while entrusting him with the work of the hereafter. If he is occupied with the work for his hereafter that God has entrusted to him, God appoints someone to meet his worldly needs. If the one who trusts does not transact for himself, someone else transacts for him.

وَإِنَّ عَمَلَ آخِرَتِهِ الَّذِي وَكَلَهُ إِلَيْهِ هَذَا فَلَمْ إِنْ لَمْ يَعْمَلْهُ لَمْ يَقُمْ غَيْرُهُ مَقَامَهُ، وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَكَفَّلَ لَهُ بِعَمَلِ الدُّنْيَا، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَعْمَلْ لَعَمِلَ لَهُ سِوَاهُ كَيْفَ شَاءَ، فَهَذَا هُوَ الْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ مَا تَكَفَّلَ لَهُ بِهِ مِنْ عَمَلِ الدُّنْيَا وَبَيْنَ مَا وَكَلَهُ بِهِ مِنْ عَمَلِ الْآخِرَةِ، قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ فِي رِزْقِ الدُّنْيَا الَّذِي تَكَفَّلَ بِهِ: ﴿وَكَأَيِّنْ

waʾinna ʿamala ʾākhiratihi alladhī wakalahu ʾilayhi hādhā falam ʾin lam yaʿmalhu lam yaqum ghayruhu maqāmahu, waʾinna Allāha takaffala lahu biʿamali al-dunyā, faʾin lam yaʿmal laʿamila lahu siwāhu kayfa shāʾa, fa-hādhā huwa al-farqu bayna mā takaffala lahu bihi min ʿamali al-dunyā wabayna mā wakalahu bihi min ʿamali al-ʾākhirati, qāla Allāhu subḥānahu fī rizqi al-dunyā alladhī takaffala bihi: ﴿wakaʾayyin

As for this work for his hereafter that God has entrusted to him, then if he does not perform it, no one else will take his place. God, however, has guaranteed him the work of worldly life; if he does not work, someone else will work for him as God wills. This is the difference between the worldly work God has guaranteed for him and the work of the hereafter that He has entrusted to him. Concerning the worldly provision He has guaranteed, God, glorified is He, says: “How many

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٨

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 48

Volume Two, page 48

مِنْ دَابَّةٍ لَا تَحْمِلُ رِزْقَهَا اللَّهُ يَرْزُقُهَا وَإِيَّاكُمْ﴾ الْعَنْكَبُوتِ: 60 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي رِزْقِ الْآخِرَةِ الَّذِي وَكَلَ بِهِ: ﴿وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى﴾ النَّجْمِ: 39، ثُمَّ قَدْ عَلِمَ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ بَعْدَ تَوْحِيدِهِ أَنَّ هَذِهِ الْأَرْبَعَةَ الْأَشْيَاءَ مُنْتَظِمَةٌ فِي سِلْكٍ وَاحِدٍ، كَشَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ يَقَعُ وَقْعَةً وَاحِدَةً رِزْقٌ مَقْسُومٌ لَا يُزَادُ فِيهِ فِي وَقْتٍ مَعْلُومٍ وَلَا يَتَقَدَّمُ وَلَا يَتَأَخَّرُ بِسَبَبٍ مَحْكُومٍ، لَا يَنْقَلِبُ عِنْدَ أَثَرٍ مَكْتُوبٍ وَلَا يَتَغَيَّرُ،

min dābbatin lā taḥmilu rizqahā Allāhu yarzuquhā waʾiyyākum﴾ al-ʿankabūti: 60 waqāla taʿālā fī rizqi al-ʾākhirati alladhī wakala bihi: ﴿waʾan laysa li-l-ʾinsāni ʾillā mā saʿā﴾ al-najmi: 39, thumma qad ʿalima al-mutawakkilu baʿda tawḥīdihi ʾanna hādhihi al-ʾarbaʿata al-ʾashyāʾa muntaẓimatun fī silkin wāḥidin, kashayʾin wāḥidin yaqaʿu waqʿatan wāḥidatan rizqun maqsūmun lā yuzādu fīhi fī waqtin maʿlūmin walā yataqaddamu walā yataʾakhkharu bisababin maḥkūmin, lā yanqalibu ʿinda ʾatharin maktūbin walā yataghayyaru,

creatures do not carry their own provision! God provides for them and for you” (al-ʿAnkabūt, 60). Concerning the provision of the hereafter with which He has charged one, the Most High says, “A human being has only what he has striven for” (al-Najm, 39). Having realized divine unity, the one who trusts knows that these four things are strung on a single thread, like one thing occurring in a single event: allotted provision that cannot be increased, at an appointed time that neither advances nor recedes, through a decreed cause that does not reverse, at a written outcome that does not change.

فَالرِّزْقُ بِفَضْلِ الرَّازِقِ وَالْوَقْتُ الَّذِي يَظْهَرُ فَضْلُ الْعَطَاءِ لَا يَقَعُ إِلَّا فِي ظَرْفٍ، وَالسَّبَبُ حِكْمَةُ الْقَاسِمِ وَالْأَثَرُ حَدُّ الْمَرْزُوقِ، فَلَمَّا أَيْقَنَ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ بِهَذَا كَانَ إِنْ تَصَرَّفَ بِحُكْمٍ، وَإِنْ قَعَدَ قَعَدَ بِعِلْمٍ، فَاِسْتَوَى تَصَرُّفُهُ وَقُعُودُهُ لِأَنَّهُ قَائِمٌ بِحُكْمِ مَا يُقْتَضَى مِنْهُ فِي عِلْمِ حَالِهِ عَالِمٌ بِحُكْمِ مُصَرِّفِهِ وَمُقْعِدِهِ،

fa-al-rizqu bifaḍli al-rāziqi wa-al-waqtu alladhī yaẓharu faḍlu al-ʿaṭāʾi lā yaqaʿu ʾillā fī ẓarfin, wa-al-sababu ḥikmatu al-qāsimi wa-al-ʾatharu ḥaddu al-marzūqi, falammā ʾayqana al-mutawakkilu bi-hādhā kāna ʾin taṣarrafa biḥukmin, waʾin qaʿada qaʿada biʿilmin, fa-stawā taṣarrufuhu waquʿūduhu liʾannahu qāʾimun biḥukmi mā yuqtaḍā minhu fī ʿilmi ḥālihi ʿālimun biḥukmi muṣarrifihi wamuqʿidihi,

Provision comes through the Provider's bounty; time is when the bounty of giving appears, for it occurs only within a vessel. The cause is the Apportioner's wisdom, and the outcome is the limit set for the recipient. Once the person who trusts is certain of this, if he acts, he acts according to a ruling; if he stays still, he stays still with knowledge. His action and inaction become equal, because he fulfills the ruling of what is required of him as he understands his state, knowing the ruling of the One who makes him act or remain still.

فَإِنْ شَغَلَهُ مَوْلَاهُ بِخِدْمَتِهِ عَنْ خِدْمَةِ مَنْ سِوَاهُ، فَصَرَفَهُ فِي مُعَامَلَتِهِ دُونَ مُعَامَلَةِ الْعَبِيدِ سَاقَ إِلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ كَيْفَ شَاءَ مِنَ الْوُجُوهِ وَبِيَدِ مَنْ شَاءَ مِنَ الْعَبِيدِ، بِحِفْظِهِ لَهُ عَنْ مُجَاوَزَةِ الْحُدُودِ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿حَافِظَاتٌ لِلْغَيْبِ بِمَا حَفِظَ اللَّهُ﴾ النِّسَاءِ: 34، وَبِتَوَلِّيهِ لَهُ وَعِصْمَتِهِ إِيَّاهُ عَنِ التَّوَرُّطِ فِي مَحْظُورٍ، كَمَا أَخْبَرَ عَنْ أَوْلِيَائِهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَهُوَ يَتَوَلَّى الصَّالِحِينَ﴾ الْأَعْرَافِ: 196،

faʾin shaghalahu mawlāhu bikhidmatihi ʿan khidmati man siwāhu, faṣarafahu fī muʿāmalatihi dūna muʿāmalati al-ʿabīdi sāqa ʾilayhi rizqahu kayfa shāʾa mina al-wujūhi wabiyadi man shāʾa mina al-ʿabīdi, biḥifẓihi lahu ʿan mujāwazati al-ḥudūdi, kamā qāla taʿālā: ﴿ḥāfiẓātun li-l-ghaybi bimā ḥafiẓa Allāhu﴾ al-nisāʾi: 34, wabitawallīhi lahu waʿiṣmatihi ʾiyyāhu ʿani al-tawarruṭi fī maḥẓūrin, kamā ʾakhbara ʿan ʾawliyāʾihi fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿wahuwa yatawallā al-ṣāliḥīna﴾ al-ʾaʿrāfi: 196,

If his Master occupies him with His service rather than serving anyone else, directing him to deal with Himself rather than with other servants, He brings his provision to him by whatever means and through whichever servants He wills. He guards him against crossing the limits, as the Most High says, “Guarding what is unseen through God's guarding” (al-Nisāʾ, 34). He takes him into His care and protects him from becoming entangled in anything forbidden, as He says of His friends, mighty and majestic is He: “He takes the righteous into His care” (al-Aʿrāf, 196).

وَكَانَ الْعَبْدُ فَاضِلًا فِي قُعُودِهِ لِشُغْلِهِ عَنِ الْعَبِيدِ بِمَعْبُودِهِ، بِاِنْقِطَاعِهِ إِلَى مُعَامَلَةِ الْمَلِكِ دُونَ مَا يَقْطَعُهُ مِنْ مُعَامَلَةِ الْمُلُوكِ، وَبِهِمَّةِ الْآخِرَةِ عَنِ الدُّنْيَا، وَكَانَ دَاخِلًا فِي وَصْفِ مَا أَخْبَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ أَهْلِ كِفَايَةِ اللَّهِ، فِيمَا رُوِيَ عَنْهُ: مَنْ جَعَلَ الْهُمُومَ هَمًّا وَاحِدًا، كَفَاهُ اللَّهُ آخِرَتَهُ، وَخَارِجًا عَنْ وَصْفِ مَنْ قَطَعَهُ عَنِ اللَّهِ بِهِمَّةِ غَيْرِهِ وَعَرَّضَهُ لِلْهَلَكَةِ فِي أَوْدِيَةِ الْهُمُومِ،

wakāna al-ʿabdu fāḍilan fī quʿūdihi lishughlihi ʿani al-ʿabīdi bimaʿbūdihi, bi-nqiṭāʿihi ʾilā muʿāmalati al-maliki dūna mā yaqṭaʿuhu min muʿāmalati al-mulūki, wabihimmati al-ʾākhirati ʿani al-dunyā, wakāna dākhilan fī waṣfi mā ʾakhbara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿan ʾahli kifāyati Allāhi, fīmā ruwiya ʿanhu: man jaʿala al-humūma hamman wāḥidan, kafāhu Allāhu ʾākhiratahu, wakhārijan ʿan waṣfi man qaṭaʿahu ʿani Allāhi bihimmati ghayrihi waʿarraḍahu li-l-halakati fī ʾawdiyati al-humūmi,

The servant is then virtuous in remaining still, occupied with the One he worships rather than with other servants, devoted to dealing with the King rather than being distracted through dealings with kings, and concerned with the hereafter rather than this world. He falls within the description the Messenger of God, God's blessings and peace be upon him, gave of those for whom God suffices, as related from him: “Whoever makes his concerns a single concern, God will suffice him concerning his hereafter.” He falls outside the description of one whom concern for another cuts off from God and exposes to destruction in the valleys of anxieties.

فِي قَوْلِهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: مَنْ أَصْبَحَ وَهَمُّهُ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ اللَّهِ، وَفِي قَوْلِهِ: وَمَنْ تَشَعَّبَتْ بِهِ الْهُمُومُ لَمْ يُبَالِ اللَّهُ فِي أَيِّ أَوْدِيَتِهَا هَلَكَ، فَإِنْ كَانَ حَالُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ أَنْ يَجْرِيَ رِزْقُهُ عَلَى يَدِ نَفْسِهِ وَكَسْبِ جَارِحَتِهِ فَهُوَ خِزَانَةٌ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْمَلِكِ وَهُوَ عَبْدٌ مِنْ عَبِيدِ الْمَلِكِ، يُوصَلُ إِلَيْهِ عَنْ يَدِ نَفْسِهِ بِمَا يُوصِلُهُ إِلَيْهِ عَنْ يَدِ غَيْرِهِ وَسِوَاهُ،

fī qawlihi ʿalayhi al-salāmu: man ʾaṣbaḥa wahammuhu ghayru Allāhi falaysa mina Allāhi, wafī qawlihi: waman tashaʿʿabat bihi al-humūmu lam yubāli Allāhu fī ʾayyi ʾawdiyatihā halaka, faʾin kāna ḥālu al-mutawakkili ʾan yajriya rizquhu ʿalā yadi nafsihi wakasbi jāriḥatihi fahuwa khizānatun min khazāʾini al-maliki wahuwa ʿabdun min ʿabīdi al-maliki, yūṣalu ʾilayhi ʿan yadi nafsihi bimā yūṣiluhu ʾilayhi ʿan yadi ghayrihi wasiwāhu,

This is expressed in his saying, peace be upon him, “Whoever begins the morning concerned with something other than God has no part with God,” and, “If concerns scatter a person, God does not care in which of their valleys he perishes.” If the state of the person who trusts is that his provision flows through his own hand and the earning of his bodily limb, he himself is a treasury among the King's treasuries and a servant among the King's servants. Through his own hand there is delivered to him what is delivered through another's hand, someone other than himself.

سَاقَ إِلَيْهِ الرِّزْقَ أَوْ سَاقَهُ إِلَى الرِّزْقِ بَعْدَ أَنْ يَرْزُقَهُ، لِأَنَّ مَا لَقِيتَهُ فَقَدْ لَقِيَكَ، وَالْعَبْدُ مُتَوَكِّلٌ عَلَى اللَّهِ فِي الْحَالَيْنِ، نَاظِرٌ إِلَيْهِ بِالْمَعْنَيَيْنِ، قَائِمٌ بِحُكْمِ حَالِهِ فِي الْأَمْرَيْنِ، عَارِفٌ بِحُسْنِ اِخْتِيَارِ اللَّهِ لَهُ فِي الْحُكْمَيْنِ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ التَّكَسُّبَ لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ ثِقَةً بِهِ وَسُكُونًا إِلَيْهِ أَوْ لِدُخُولِ الْآثَامِ وَتَعَذُّرِ الْقِيَامِ بِالْأَحْكَامِ، فَحُسْنُهُ كَحُسْنِ مَنْ عَمِلَ شَيْئًا لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ،

sāqa ʾilayhi al-rizqa ʾaw sāqahu ʾilā al-rizqi baʿda ʾan yarzuqahu, liʾanna mā laqītahu faqad laqiyaka, wa-al-ʿabdu mutawakkilun ʿalā Allāhi fī al-ḥālayni, nāẓirun ʾilayhi bi-al-maʿnayayni, qāʾimun biḥukmi ḥālihi fī al-ʾamrayni, ʿārifun biḥusni ikhtiyāri Allāhi lahu fī al-ḥukmayni, waman taraka al-takassuba liʾajli Allāhi thiqatan bihi wasukūnan ʾilayhi ʾaw lidukhūli al-ʾāthāmi wataʿadhdhuri al-qiyāmi bi-al-ʾaḥkāmi, faḥusnuhu kaḥusni man ʿamila shayʾan liʾajli Allāhi,

Whether He brings provision to him or brings him to provision, the result is that He provides for him: whatever you meet has also met you. The servant trusts in God in both states, looks to Him in both senses, fulfills the ruling of his state in both cases, and recognizes the goodness of God's choice in both judgments. Whoever refrains from earning for God's sake, out of confidence in Him and repose in Him, or because sins intrude and observing the rulings becomes impossible, does something as good as someone who performs a deed for God's sake.

لِأَنَّ التَّرْكَ عَمَلٌ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى نِيَّةٍ صَالِحَةٍ وَأَفْضَلُ النَّاسِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاهُمْ لَهُ وَأَتْقَاهُمْ لَهُ أَعْرَفُهُمْ بِهِ مُتَصَرِّفًا كَانَ أَوْ قَاعِدًا، هَذَا هُوَ فَصْلُ الْخِطَابِ. وَرَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ مَيْمُونٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَتَدْرُونَ مَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ؟ قَالُوا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ، قَالَ: حِينَ اِسْتَوَى عَلَى عَرْشِهِ وَنَظَرَ إِلَى خَلْقِهِ:

liʾanna al-tarka ʿamalun yaḥtāju ʾilā niyyatin ṣāliḥatin waʾafḍalu al-nāsi ʿinda Allāhi ʾatqāhum lahu waʾatqāhum lahu ʾaʿrafuhum bihi mutaṣarrifan kāna ʾaw qāʿidan, hādhā huwa faṣlu al-khiṭābi. warawaynā fī ḥadīthi ʿabdi Allāhi bni dīnārin ʿan ʿamri bni maymūnin ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾatadrūna mā qāla rabbukum? qālū: Allāhu warasūluhu ʾaʿlamu, qāla: ḥīna istawā ʿalā ʿarshihi wanaẓara ʾilā khalqihi:

Abstention is a deed that requires a sound intention. The best people before God are those most reverent toward Him, and those most reverent toward Him are those who know Him best, whether they are active or remain still. This is the decisive word. We have related in the hadith of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dīnār, from ʿAmr ibn Maymūn, from the Prophet, God's blessings and peace be upon him: “Do you know what your Lord said?” They answered, “God and His Messenger know best.” He said, “When He established Himself upon His Throne and looked upon His creation:

عِبَادِي، أَنْتُمْ خَلْقِي وَأَنَا رَبُّكُمْ أَرْزَاقُكُمْ بِيَدِي، فَلَا تُتْعِبُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ فِيمَا تَكَفَّلْتُ لَكُمْ بِهِ، وَاُطْلُبُوا أَرْزَاقَكُمْ مِنِّي وَاِنْصِبُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ لِي، وَاِرْفَعُوا حَوَائِجَكُمْ إِلَيَّ أَصُبَّ عَلَيْكُمْ أَرْزَاقَكُمْ، أَتَدْرُونَ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ؟ قَالُوا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ، قَالَ: عَبْدِي أَنْفِقْ أُنْفِقْ عَلَيْكَ وَوَسِّعْ

ʿibādī, ʾantum khalqī waʾanā rabbukum ʾarzāqukum biyadī, falā tutʿibū ʾanfusakum fīmā takaffaltu lakum bihi, wa-ṭlubū ʾarzāqakum minnī wa-nṣibū ʾanfusakum lī, wa-rfaʿū ḥawāʾijakum ʾilayya ʾaṣubba ʿalaykum ʾarzāqakum, ʾatadrūna mādhā qāla rabbukum? qālū: Allāhu warasūluhu ʾaʿlamu, qāla: ʿabdī ʾanfiq ʾunfiq ʿalayka wawassiʿ

‘My servants, you are My creation, and I am your Lord. Your provisions are in My hand. Do not exhaust yourselves over what I have guaranteed for you. Seek your provisions from Me, devote your exertions to Me, and raise your needs to Me; I shall pour your provisions upon you.’ Do you know what else your Lord said?” They answered, “God and His Messenger know best.” He said, “My servant, spend, and I will spend on you; give generously,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٩

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 49

Volume Two, page 49

أُوَسِّعْ عَلَيْكَ، وَلَا تُضَيِّقْ فَأُضَيِّقَ عَلَيْكَ، إِنَّ أَبْوَابَ الرِّزْقِ بِالْعَرْشِ لَا تُغْلَقُ لَيْلًا وَلَا نَهَارًا، فَأُنَزِّلُ الرِّزْقَ مِنْهَا لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ عَلَى قَدْرِ نِيَّتِهِ وَعَالَتِهِ وَصَدَقَتِهِ وَنَفَقَتِهِ، فَمَنْ أَكْثَرَ أُكْثِرَ لَهُ وَمَنْ أَقْلَلَ أُقْلِلَ لَهُ، وَمَنْ أَمْسَكَ أُمْسِكَ عَلَيْهِ،

ʾuwassiʿ ʿalayka, walā tuḍayyiq faʾuḍayyiqa ʿalayka, ʾinna ʾabwāba al-rizqi bi-al-ʿarshi lā tughlaqu laylan walā nahāran, faʾunazzilu al-rizqa minhā likulli ʿabdin ʿalā qadri niyyatihi waʿālatihi waṣadaqatihi wanafaqatihi, faman ʾakthara ʾukthira lahu waman ʾaqlala ʾuqlila lahu, waman ʾamsaka ʾumsika ʿalayhi,

and I will give generously to you; do not restrict, lest I restrict you. The doors of provision at the Throne are never closed by night or day. From them I send provision down to every servant according to his intention, his dependants, his charity, and his spending. Whoever gives more is given more; whoever gives less is given less; and whoever withholds has it withheld from him.

يَا زُبَيْرُ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْإِنْفَاقَ وَيُبْغِضُ الْإِقْتَارَ، فَكُلْ وَأَطْعِمْ وَلَا تُقْتِرْ فَيُقْتِرَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ وَلَا تُعَسِّرْ فَيُعَسِّرَ عَلَيْكَ، أَطْعِمِ الْإِخْوَانَ وَوَقِّرِ الْأَخْيَارَ وَصِلِ الْجَارَ وَلَا تُمَاشِ الْفُجَّارَ تَدْخُلِ الْجَنَّةَ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ، فَهَذِهِ وَصِيَّةُ اللَّهِ لِي وَوَصِيَّتِي لَكَ يَا زُبَيْرُ بْنَ الْعَوَّامِ.

yā zubayru, ʾinna Allāha yuḥibbu al-ʾinfāqa wayubghiḍu al-ʾiqtāra, fakul waʾaṭʿim walā tuqtir fayuqtira Allāhu ʿalayka walā tuʿassir fayuʿassira ʿalayka, ʾaṭʿimi al-ʾikhwāna wawaqqiri al-ʾakhyāra waṣili al-jāra walā tumāshi al-fujjāra tadkhuli al-jannata bighayri ḥisābin, fa-hādhihi waṣiyyatu Allāhi lī wawaṣiyyatī laka yā zubayru bna al-ʿawwāmi.

Zubayr, God loves generosity in spending and hates stinginess. Eat and feed others. Do not be stingy, lest God stint you; do not make things difficult, lest He make them difficult for you. Feed your brothers, honor the good, maintain your neighborly ties, and do not walk with the wicked: you will enter the Garden without reckoning. This is God's counsel to me and my counsel to you, Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām.”

وَالْأَسْوَاقُ مَوَائِدُ الْآبَاقِ يُطْعِمُ الْمَوْلَى مِنْهَا مَنْ أَبَقَ مِنْ خِدْمَتِهِ وَهَرَبَ مِنْ مُجَالَسَتِهِ وَوَهَنَ عَنْ مُعَامَلَتِهِ وَجَبُنَ فِي مُتَاجَرَتِهِ، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ﴾ ﴿مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ يُطْعِمُونِ﴾ الذَّارِيَاتِ: 56–57،

wa-al-ʾaswāqu mawāʾidu al-ʾābāqi yuṭʿimu al-mawlā minhā man ʾabaqa min khidmatihi waharaba min mujālasatihi wawahana ʿan muʿāmalatihi wajabuna fī mutājaratihi, qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿wamā khalaqtu al-jinna wa-al-ʾinsa ʾillā liyaʿbudūni﴾ ﴿mā ʾurīdu minhum min rizqin wamā ʾurīdu ʾan yuṭʿimūni﴾ al-dhāriyāti: 56–57,

Markets are the tables spread for runaway servants. From them the Master feeds those who flee His service, run away from sitting with Him, grow weak in their dealings with Him, and lose courage in trading with Him. God Most High said, “I created jinn and human beings only to worship Me. I desire no provision from them, nor do I desire them to feed Me” (al-Dhāriyāt 56–57).

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ مِنَ الْقُدَمَاءِ: مَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ يَرْزُقُوا خَلْقِي إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ، أَيْ لَهُمْ لَا يُطَالِبُهُمْ أَنْ يَرْزُقُوا نُفُوسَهُمْ إِذَا خَدَمُوهُ، فَذَكَرَ اللَّهُ الْوُجُوهَ الثَّلَاثَةَ وَاخْتَارَ لِنَفْسِهِ أَحَدَهَا وَهِيَ الْخِدْمَةُ، وَعَلَيْهِ الْكِفَايَةُ، وَاخْتَارَ مِنَ الْعَبِيدِ أَحَدَهُمْ فَجَعَلَهُ عَابِدَهُ وَتَنَزَّهَ عَنْ أَحَدِهَا وَتَعَالَى عَنْهُ وَهُوَ الْإِطْعَامُ مِنَ الْعَبِيدِ لَهُ،

waqāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-ʿarabiyyati mina al-qudamāʾi: mā ʾurīdu ʾan yarzuqū khalqī ʾinna Allāha huwa al-razzāqu, ʾay lahum lā yuṭālibuhum ʾan yarzuqū nufūsahum ʾidhā khadamūhu, fadhakara Allāhu al-wujūha al-thalāthata wakhtāra linafsihi ʾaḥadahā wahiya al-khidmatu, waʿalayhi al-kifāyatu, wakhtāra mina al-ʿabīdi ʾaḥadahum fajaʿalahu ʿābidahu watanazzaha ʿan ʾaḥadihā wataʿālā ʿanhu wahuwa al-ʾiṭʿāmu mina al-ʿabīdi lahu,

An early scholar of Arabic said, “I do not desire them to provide for My creatures. God Himself is the Provider,” meaning their Provider: He does not demand that they provide for themselves when they serve Him. God thus mentioned the three possibilities and chose one for Himself: service, with sufficiency resting upon Him. He chose one of the servants and made him His worshipper. He declared Himself free of another possibility and exalted above it: the servants feeding Him.

وَصَرَفَ عُمُومَ الْعَبِيدِ فِي الْوَجْهِ الثَّالِثِ مِنَ الْإِطْعَامِ لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَهُوَ التَّكَسُّبُ، وَضَرَبَ هَذَا مَثَلًا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ خَلْقِهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَهُ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَى فِي السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ، فَبَقِيَ الْعَبِيدُ مَعَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِحُكْمَيْنِ، أَحَدُهُمَا مَا اخْتَارَهُ لِنَفْسِهِ مِنَ الْعِبَادَةِ وَهِيَ الْمُعَامَلَةُ وَعَلَيْهِ الرِّزْقُ كَيْفَ شَاءَ وَمَتَى شَاءَ وَهَؤُلَاءِ عِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ لَا عَبِيدُ الدُّنْيَا،

waṣarafa ʿumūma al-ʿabīdi fī al-wajhi al-thālithi mina al-ʾiṭʿāmi liʾanfusihim wahuwa al-takassubu, waḍaraba hādhā mathalan baynahu wabayna khalqihi fī al-ʾarḍi walahu al-mathalu al-ʾaʿlā fī al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍi, fabaqiya al-ʿabīdu maʿa Allāhi taʿālā biḥukmayni, ʾaḥaduhumā mā ikhtārahu linafsihi mina al-ʿibādati wahiya al-muʿāmalatu waʿalayhi al-rizqu kayfa shāʾa wamatā shāʾa wa-hāʾulāʾi ʿibādu al-raḥmāni lā ʿabīdu al-dunyā,

He set the general body of servants to the third possibility, feeding themselves through earning. He made this an example of the relationship between Himself and His creatures on earth; to Him belongs the highest example in the heavens and the earth. The servants therefore remain with God Most High under two arrangements. One is the worship He chose for Himself, the dealings with Him, with provision resting upon Him however and whenever He wills. These are the worshippers of the All-Merciful, not the slaves of this world.

وَالثَّانِي مَا صَرَفَ الْعَبِيدَ فِيهِ مِنَ التَّكَسُّبِ لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَجَعَلَ ذَلِكَ رِزْقًا مِنْهُ لَهُمْ بِجَوَارِحِهِمْ وَمَدَحَهُمْ عَلَى هَذَا الْوَصْفِ، وَهَؤُلَاءِ عُمُومُ الْعَبِيدِ مِنْهُمْ عَبِيدُ الدُّنْيَا وَعَبِيدُ الْهَوَى وَبَقِيَ الْمَوْلَى مَعَ الْعَبِيدِ عَلَى الْأَحْكَامِ الثَّلَاثَةِ الَّتِي أَبَاحَهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُمْ وَضَرَبَ بِهَا الْمَثَلَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُمْ، أَيَّهَا اخْتَارَهُ كَانَ ذَلِكَ لَهُمْ،

wa-al-thānī mā ṣarafa al-ʿabīda fīhi mina al-takassubi liʾanfusihim wajaʿala dhālika rizqan minhu lahum bijawāriḥihim wamadaḥahum ʿalā hādhā al-waṣfi, wa-hāʾulāʾi ʿumūmu al-ʿabīdi minhum ʿabīdu al-dunyā waʿabīdu al-hawā wabaqiya al-mawlā maʿa al-ʿabīdi ʿalā al-ʾaḥkāmi al-thalāthati allatī ʾabāḥahā Allāhu taʿālā lahum waḍaraba bihā al-mathala baynahu wabaynahum, ʾayyahā ikhtārahu kāna dhālika lahum,

The second is the earning for themselves to which He directed the servants, making it provision from Him for them through their limbs and praising them in this description. These are the general body of servants, among whom are slaves of this world and slaves of desire. The master remains with his servants under the three arrangements God Most High permitted them and made an example of the relationship between Himself and them. Whichever he chooses is their arrangement.

وَتَفْسِيرُ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ لِلْمَوْلَى مِنَ الْخَلْقِ أَنْ يَقُولَ لِعَبْدِهِ: اذْهَبْ فَأَطْعِمْنِي لِأَنَّكَ عَبْدِي وَمِلْكُ يَدِي، فَأَنَا أَمْلِكُ كَسْبَكَ كَمَا أَمْلِكُ نَفْسَكَ، وَهَذَا هُوَ الْوَجْهُ الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَنَزَّهَ عَنْهُ وَتَعَالَى عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿مَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ يُطْعِمُونِ﴾ الذَّارِيَاتِ: 57، كَمَا يُرِيدُ الْمَوَالِي مِنْ عَبِيدِهِمْ هَذَا

watafsīru dhālika ʾanna li-l-mawlā mina al-khalqi ʾan yaqūla liʿabdihi: idhhab faʾaṭʿimnī liʾannaka ʿabdī wamilku yadī, faʾanā ʾamliku kasbaka kamā ʾamliku nafsaka, wa-hādhā huwa al-wajhu alladhī dhakarnāhu ʾanna Allāha tanazzaha ʿanhu wataʿālā ʿuluwwan kabīran faqāla taʿālā: ﴿mā ʾurīdu ʾan yuṭʿimūni﴾ al-dhāriyāti: 57, kamā yurīdu al-mawālī min ʿabīdihim hādhā

The explanation is that a master among created beings may say to his servant, “Go and feed me, for you are my servant and my possession. I own your earnings just as I own your person.” This is the possibility we mentioned from which God declared Himself free and far exalted above. He Most High said, “I do not desire them to feed Me” (al-Dhāriyāt 57), as masters desire this of their servants.

ثُمَّ يَقُولُ الْمَوْلَى مِنَّا لِعَبْدِهِ: اذْهَبْ فَأَطْعِمْ نَفْسَكَ وَاسْعَ فِي قُوتِكَ فَقَدْ أَبَحْتُ لَكَ ذَلِكَ، وَوَهَبْتُ لَكَ كَسْبَكَ فَهُوَ رِزْقٌ مِنِّي لَكَ وَتَفَضُّلٌ مِنِّي عَلَيْكَ، وَبِهَذَا صَارَ الْمُكَاتِبُ لِعَبْدِهِ فِي فِكَاكِ عِتْقِهِ كَالْمُعْتِقِ بِأَنْ كَانَ لَهُ الْوَلَاءُ وَقَدْ يَكُونُ لَهُ الْمِيرَاثُ فِي حَالٍ، لِأَنَّهُ مُنْعِمٌ عَلَيْهِ بِالْكِتَابَةِ لَهُ كَالْمُعْتِقِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ الْعَبْدُ هُوَ الَّذِي سَعَى فِي فِكَاكِ رَقَبَةِ

thumma yaqūlu al-mawlā minnā liʿabdihi: idhhab faʾaṭʿim nafsaka wasʿa fī qūtika faqad ʾabaḥtu laka dhālika, wawahabtu laka kasbaka fahuwa rizqun minnī laka watafaḍḍulun minnī ʿalayka, wabi-hādhā ṣāra al-mukātibu liʿabdihi fī fikāki ʿitqihi ka-al-muʿtiqi biʾan kāna lahu al-walāʾu waqad yakūnu lahu al-mīrāthu fī ḥālin, liʾannahu munʿimun ʿalayhi bi-al-kitābati lahu ka-al-muʿtiqi, waʾin kāna al-ʿabdu huwa alladhī saʿā fī fikāki raqabati

Then a master among us may say to his servant, “Go, feed yourself, and work for your sustenance. I have permitted you this and given you your earnings. It is provision from me to you and a favor I bestow upon you.” This is why the master who contracts with his servant to purchase his freedom is like the one who emancipates him: he retains the patronage tie and may, in some circumstances, inherit from him. By granting him that contract he benefits him like one who emancipates him, even though it is the servant who works to free his own

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٥٠

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 50

Volume Two, page 50

نَفْسِهِ بِكَسْبِهِ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ الْمَوْلَى يَسْتَحِقُّ عَلَيْهِ كَسْبَهُ وَيَمْلِكُ رَقَبَتَهُ، فَلَمَّا مَلَّكَ عَبْدَهُ ذَلِكَ صَارَ مُحْسِنًا إِلَيْهِ فَهَذَا حَالُ عُمُومِ الْعَبِيدِ مَعَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، لِأَنَّهُ مَوْلَاهُمُ الْحَقُّ وَهُمْ عَبِيدُهُ، قِنٌّ فَقَالَ: اذْهَبُوا فَتَكَسَّبُوا، وَأَطْعِمُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ فَقَدْ رَزَقْتُكُمْ ذَلِكَ وَوَهَبْتُهُ لَكُمْ،

nafsihi bikasbihi min qibali ʾanna al-mawlā yastaḥiqqu ʿalayhi kasbahu wayamliku raqabatahu, falammā mallaka ʿabdahu dhālika ṣāra muḥsinan ʾilayhi fa-hādhā ḥālu ʿumūmi al-ʿabīdi maʿa Allāhi taʿālā, liʾannahu mawlāhumu al-ḥaqqu wahum ʿabīduhu, qinnun faqāla: idhhabū fatakassabū, waʾaṭʿimū ʾanfusakum faqad razaqtukum dhālika wawahabtuhu lakum,

person through his earnings. This is because the master is entitled to those earnings and owns his person; by making them his servant's property he becomes his benefactor. Such is the condition of the general body of servants with God Most High: He is their true Master and they are His servants, His absolute property. He says, “Go, earn, and feed yourselves. I have provided you with this and bestowed it upon you.”

وَهَذَا هُوَ الْوَجْهُ الثَّانِي الَّذِي نَزَّهَ الْخُصُوصَ عَنْهُ تَفْضِيلًا لَهُمْ، فَلَمْ يَسْتَسْعِهِمْ وَقَطَعَهُمْ فَشَغَلَهُمْ بِخِدْمَتِهِ عَنْ خِدْمَةِ نُفُوسِهِمْ وَخَلِيقَتِهِ، وَتَوَكَّلَ لَهُمْ بِكِفَايَتِهِمْ وَلَمْ يُوَكِّلْهُمْ فِيهَا كَمَا وَكَّلَ غَيْرَهُمْ، بَلْ وَكَّلَ بِأَرْزَاقِهِمْ مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَهُوَ مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ﴾ الذَّارِيَاتِ: 57 لِنُفُوسِهِمْ بِدَلِيلِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ﴾ الذَّارِيَاتِ: 58،

wa-hādhā huwa al-wajhu al-thānī alladhī nazzaha al-khuṣūṣa ʿanhu tafḍīlan lahum, falam yastasʿihim waqaṭaʿahum fashaghalahum bikhidmatihi ʿan khidmati nufūsihim wakhalīqatihi, watawakkala lahum bikifāyatihim walam yuwakkilhum fīhā kamā wakkala ghayrahum, bal wakkala biʾarzāqihim man yashāʾu min ʿibādihi wahuwa maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿mā ʾurīdu minhum min rizqin﴾ al-dhāriyāti: 57 linufūsihim bidalīli qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿ʾinna Allāha huwa al-razzāqu﴾ al-dhāriyāti: 58,

This is the second possibility, from which He exempts the elect as a mark of favor. He does not require them to earn. He sets them apart, occupying them with His service instead of serving themselves and His creation. He undertakes to suffice them and does not put them in charge of this as He does others. Instead, He places their provisions in the charge of whichever servants He wills. This is the meaning of His saying, exalted is He, “I desire no provision from them” (al-Dhāriyāt 57), for themselves, as demonstrated by His saying, exalted is He, “God Himself is the Provider” (al-Dhāriyāt 58):

أَيْ لَهُمْ بِإِقَامَةِ غَيْرِهِمْ وَبِإِظْهَارِهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ: وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ يُطْعِمُونِ، فَكَانَتْ هَذِهِ الْيَاءُ اسْمَهُ مُكَنًّى بِهَا وَهَذِهِ إِرَادَةٌ مَخْصُوصَةٌ لَا عَامَّةٌ لِكُلِّ مُرَادٍ، فَهِيَ إِرَادَةُ ابْتِلَاءٍ وَمَحَبَّةٍ بِمَعْنَى مَا أُحِبُّ، وَمَخْصُوصَةٌ بِمَخْصُوصِينَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ، كَمَا كَانَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ﴾ الذَّارِيَاتِ: 56، كَانَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ مَخْصُوصَةً لِمَنْ عَبَدَهُ مِنْهُمْ مَعْنَاهَا: مُؤْمِنِي الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ لَا عَامَّةً لِجَمِيعِ خَلْقِهِ،

ʾay lahum biʾiqāmati ghayrihim wabiʾiẓhārihi fī qawlihi: wamā ʾurīdu ʾan yuṭʿimūni, fakānat hādhihi al-yāʾu ismahu mukannan bihā wa-hādhihi ʾirādatun makhṣūṣatun lā ʿāmmatun likulli murādin, fahiya ʾirādatu ibtilāʾin wamaḥabbatin bimaʿnā mā ʾuḥibbu, wamakhṣūṣatun bimakhṣūṣīna min ʿibādihi, kamā kāna qawluhu taʿālā: ﴿wamā khalaqtu al-jinna wa-al-ʾinsa ʾillā liyaʿbudūni﴾ al-dhāriyāti: 56, kānat hādhihi al-ʾāyatu makhṣūṣatan liman ʿabadahu minhum maʿnāhā: muʾminī al-jinni wa-al-ʾinsi lā ʿāmmatan lijamīʿi khalqihi,

that is, their Provider, by appointing others and by making Himself explicit in His saying, “Nor do I desire them to feed Me.” This yāʾ serves as the pronoun denoting Him. This is a particular will, not one encompassing everything willed: it is a will of trial and love, meaning “I do not love,” and is particular to certain servants. Likewise, His saying, exalted is He, “I created jinn and human beings only to worship Me” (al-Dhāriyāt 56), is particular to those among them who worship Him. It means the believers among jinn and human beings, not all His creatures generally.

وَالْوَجْهُ الثَّالِثُ أَنْ يَقُولَ الْمَوْلَى مِنَّا لِعَبْدِهِ: اُخْدُمْنِي وَعَلَيَّ طُعْمَتُكَ، تَقُومُ خِدْمَتُكَ لِي مَقَامَ كَسْبِكَ لِنَفْسِكَ، وَهَذَا هُوَ الْوَجْهُ الْأَعْلَى الَّذِي اخْتَارَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، وَأَحَبَّهُ لِمَنْ يُحِبُّهُ وَاخْتَارَ لَهُ مَنْ عَبَدَهُ مِنَ الْعَبِيدِ مِنْ خُصُوصِ الْعَامِلِينَ لَهُ، وَهُمُ الْعَالِمُونَ بِهِ دُونَ مَنْ صَرَفَهُ فِي رِزْقِ نَفْسِهِ بِنَفْسِهِ،

wa-al-wajhu al-thālithu ʾan yaqūla al-mawlā minnā liʿabdihi: ukhdumnī waʿalayya ṭuʿmatuka, taqūmu khidmatuka lī maqāma kasbika linafsika, wa-hādhā huwa al-wajhu al-ʾaʿlā alladhī ikhtārahu Allāhu taʿālā, waʾaḥabbahu liman yuḥibbuhu wakhtāra lahu man ʿabadahu mina al-ʿabīdi min khuṣūṣi al-ʿāmilīna lahu, wahumu al-ʿālimūna bihi dūna man ṣarafahu fī rizqi nafsihi binafsihi,

The third possibility is that a master among us says to his servant, “Serve me, and I will provide your food. Your service to me will take the place of earning for yourself.” This is the highest possibility, which God Most High chose and loved for those He loves. For it He chose those servants who worship Him, the elect who work for Him and know Him, as distinct from those He directs to providing for themselves by their own efforts.

وَهُوَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ﴾ ﴿مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ﴾ الذَّارِيَاتِ: 56–57، أَيْ أَنْ يَرْزُقُوا نُفُوسَهُمْ بِكَسْبِهِمُ الَّذِي أَبَحْتُهُ لَهُمْ، فَيَكُونُوا كَغَيْرِهِمْ مِمَّنْ قُلْتُ لَهُ: اذْهَبْ فَتَكَسَّبْ، فَقَدْ أَرَدْتُ مِنْكَ الرِّزْقَ لِنَفْسِكَ بِكَسْبِكَ وَقَدْ وَهَبْتُهُ لَكَ، أَيْ أَنَا أُرِيدُ مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ الْعِبَادَةَ وَلَهَا خَلَقْتُهُمْ فَكُلٌّ مُيَسَّرٌ لِمَا خُلِقَ لَهُ،

wahuwa qawluhu taʿālā: ﴿ʾillā liyaʿbudūni﴾ ﴿mā ʾurīdu minhum min rizqin﴾ al-dhāriyāti: 56–57, ʾay ʾan yarzuqū nufūsahum bikasbihimu alladhī ʾabaḥtuhu lahum, fayakūnū kaghayrihim mimman qultu lahu: idhhab fatakassab, faqad ʾaradtu minka al-rizqa linafsika bikasbika waqad wahabtuhu laka, ʾay ʾanā ʾurīdu min hāʾulāʾi al-ʿibādata walahā khalaqtuhum fakullun muyassarun limā khuliqa lahu,

This is His saying, exalted is He, “Only to worship Me; I desire no provision from them” (al-Dhāriyāt 56–57): that is, that they should provide for themselves through the earnings I have permitted them, becoming like others to whom I said, “Go and earn. I desire you to provide for yourself through your earnings, which I have bestowed upon you.” Rather, I desire worship from these people and created them for it. Each person is made ready for what he was created for.

فَمَنْ كَانَتْ صَنْعَتُهُ الْعِبَادَةَ وَخُلِقَ لَهَا، يُسِّرَتْ لَهُ، وَمَنْ كَانَتْ صَنْعَتُهُ الدُّنْيَا وَخُلِقَ لَهَا، يُسِّرَتْ لَهُ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى خَلَقَ كُلَّ صَانِعٍ وَصَنْعَتَهُ، وَيُقَالُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَمَّا أَظْهَرَ الْخَلْقَ فِي الْعَدَمِ أَظْهَرَ لَهُمُ الصَّنَائِعَ كُلَّهَا، ثُمَّ خَيَّرَهُمْ فَاخْتَارَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ صَنْعَتَهُ، فَلَمَّا أَبْدَاهُمْ فِي الْوُجُودِ أَجْرَى عَلَى كُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مَا اخْتَارَ لِنَفْسِهِ

faman kānat ṣanʿatuhu al-ʿibādata wakhuliqa lahā, yussirat lahu, waman kānat ṣanʿatuhu al-dunyā wakhuliqa lahā, yussirat lahu, wafī al-khabari ʾanna Allāha taʿālā khalaqa kulla ṣāniʿin waṣanʿatahu, wayuqālu ʾinna Allāha taʿālā lammā ʾaẓhara al-khalqa fī al-ʿadami ʾaẓhara lahumu al-ṣanāʾiʿa kullahā, thumma khayyarahum fakhtāra kullu wāḥidin ṣanʿatahu, falammā ʾabdāhum fī al-wujūdi ʾajrā ʿalā kulli wāḥidin mā ikhtāra linafsihi

For those whose occupation is worship and who were created for it, worship is made easy. For those whose occupation is this world and who were created for it, this world is made easy. A report says that God Most High created every artisan and his craft. It is said that when God Most High brought creatures forth in nonexistence, He showed them all the crafts and gave them a choice. Each chose his craft. When He brought them forth into existence, He made each pursue what he had chosen for himself.

قَالَ: وَانْفَرَدَتْ طَائِفَةٌ فَلَمْ تَخْتَرْ شَيْئًا، فَقَالَ لَهَا: اخْتَارِي فَقَالَتْ: مَا أَعْجَبَنَا شَيْءٌ رَأَيْنَاهُ فَنَخْتَارَهُ قَالَ: فَأَظْهَرَ مَقَامَاتِ الْعِبَادَاتِ فَقَالَتْ: قَدِ اخْتَرْنَا خِدْمَتَكَ فَقَالَ: وَعِزَّتِي وَجَلَالِي لَأُخْدِمَنَّكُمْ إِيَّاهُمْ وَلَأُسَخِّرَنَّهُمْ لَكُمْ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: أَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى الدُّنْيَا: اُخْدُمِي مَنْ خَدَمَنِي، وَأَتْعِبِي مَنْ خَدَمَكِ فَالْعِبَادَةُ هِيَ الْخِدْمَةُ، وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُمْ: إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَلَكَ نُصَلِّي وَنَسْجُدُ، وَإِلَيْكَ

qāla: wanfaradat ṭāʾifatun falam takhtar shayʾan, faqāla lahā: ikhtārī faqālat: mā ʾaʿjabanā shayʾun raʾaynāhu fanakhtārahu qāla: faʾaẓhara maqāmāti al-ʿibādāti faqālat: qadi ikhtarnā khidmataka faqāla: waʿizzatī wajalālī laʾukhdimannakum ʾiyyāhum walaʾusakhkhirannahum lakum, wafī al-khabari: ʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilā al-dunyā: ukhdumī man khadamanī, waʾatʿibī man khadamaki fa-al-ʿibādatu hiya al-khidmatu, wamin dhālika qawluhum: ʾiyyāka naʿbudu walaka nuṣallī wanasjudu, waʾilayka

He said: A group stood apart and chose nothing. He said to them, “Choose.” They replied, “Nothing we saw pleased us enough to choose it.” He then revealed the stations of worship. They said, “We choose Your service.” He said, “By My might and majesty, I will make them serve you and subject them to you.” A report says that God Most High revealed to the world, “Serve whoever serves Me, and weary whoever serves you.” Worship, then, is service. This is the meaning of their words, “You alone we worship; to You we pray and prostrate; toward You

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٥١

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 51

Volume Two, page 51

نَسْعَى وَنَحْفِدُ، أَيْ إِلَيْكَ نَعْمَلُ وَنَخْدِمُ مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً﴾ النَّحْلِ: 72 أَيْ خَدَمًا فِي أَحَدِ الْوُجُوهِ وَالْعِبَادَةُ هِيَ الْخِدْمَةُ بِذُلٍّ وَتَوَاضُعٍ، وَالْعَرَبُ تَقُولُ: طَرِيقٌ مُعَبَّدٌ إِذَا كَانَ مُذَلَّلًا مُمَهَّدًا وَمَوْطُوءًا بِالْأَقْدَامِ، وَيَقُولُونَ: بَعِيرٌ مُعَبَّدٌ إِذَا كَانَ مُمْتَهَنًا بِالْكَدِّ نِضْوًا مِنَ السَّيْرِ وَالْحَمْلِ عَلَيْهِ،

nasʿā wanaḥfidu, ʾay ʾilayka naʿmalu wanakhdimu mithla qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿banīna waḥafadatan﴾ al-naḥli: 72 ʾay khadaman fī ʾaḥadi al-wujūhi wa-al-ʿibādatu hiya al-khidmatu bidhullin watawāḍuʿin, wa-al-ʿarabu taqūlu: ṭarīqun muʿabbadun ʾidhā kāna mudhallalan mumahhadan wamawṭūʾan bi-al-ʾaqdāmi, wayaqūlūna: baʿīrun muʿabbadun ʾidhā kāna mumtahanan bi-al-kaddi niḍwan mina al-sayri wa-al-ḥamli ʿalayhi,

we strive and hasten,” meaning, “Toward You we work and serve.” Similarly, His saying, exalted is He, “Sons and ḥafada” (al-Naḥl 72), means servants according to one interpretation. Worship is service with lowliness and humility. The Arabs call a road muʿabbad when it is made passable, leveled, and trodden by feet. They call a camel muʿabbad when it is worn by toil and emaciated from traveling and carrying loads.

وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُ الْقِبْطِ: أَنُؤْمِنُ لِبَشَرَيْنِ مِثْلِنَا وَقَوْمُهُمَا لَنَا عَابِدُونَ، يَعْنُونَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ، خَدَمُنَا نَسْتَذِلُّهُمْ وَنَمْتَهِنُهُمْ بِالْكَدِّ وَالْعَمَلِ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى اطَّلَعَ عَلَى قُلُوبِ طَائِفَةٍ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ فَلَمْ يَرَهَا تَصْلُحُ لِمَعْرِفَتِهِ وَلَا مَوْضِعًا لِمُشَاهَدَتِهِ، فَرَحِمَهَا فَوَهَبَ لَهَا الْعِبَادَاتِ وَالْأَعْمَالَ الصَّالِحَاتِ،

waminhu qawlu al-qibṭi: ʾanuʾminu libasharayni mithlinā waqawmuhumā lanā ʿābidūna, yaʿnūna banī ʾisrāʾīla, khadamunā nastadhilluhum wanamtahinuhum bi-al-kaddi wa-al-ʿamali, waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: ʾinna Allāha subḥānahu wataʿālā iṭṭalaʿa ʿalā qulūbi ṭāʾifatin min ʿibādihi falam yarahā taṣluḥu limaʿrifatihi walā mawḍiʿan limushāhadatihi, faraḥimahā fawahaba lahā al-ʿibādāti wa-al-ʾaʿmāla al-ṣāliḥāti,

The Copts' saying has this meaning: “Shall we believe two human beings like ourselves, when their people serve us?” They mean the Children of Israel: our servants, whom we subjugate and wear down with toil and labor. One of the knowers said, “God, glorified and exalted, looked into the hearts of a group of His servants and did not find them fit to know Him or to be a place of witnessing Him. He had mercy on them and bestowed acts of worship and righteous deeds upon them.

ثُمَّ اطَّلَعَ عَلَى قُلُوبِ طَائِفَةٍ أُخْرَى مِنْ خَلْقِهِ فَلَمْ يَرَ جَوَارِحَهُمْ تَصْلُحُ لِخِدْمَتِهِ وَلَا مَوْضِعًا لِمُعَامَلَتِهِ، فَاسْتَعْمَلَهُمْ لِلدُّنْيَا وَعَبَّدَهُمْ لِأَهْلِهَا، وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: تَعِسَ عَبْدُ الدِّينَارِ وَالدِّرْهَمِ، تَعِسَ عَبْدُ الزَّوْجَةِ، تَعِسَ عَبْدُ الْخَمِيصَةِ؛ أَيِ الَّذِينَ يَذِلُّونَ لِهَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءِ وَيَسْعَوْنَ لَهَا،

thumma iṭṭalaʿa ʿalā qulūbi ṭāʾifatin ʾukhrā min khalqihi falam yara jawāriḥahum taṣluḥu likhidmatihi walā mawḍiʿan limuʿāmalatihi, fastaʿmalahum li-l-dunyā waʿabbadahum liʾahlihā, wamin hādhā qawlu al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: taʿisa ʿabdu al-dīnāri wa-al-dirhami, taʿisa ʿabdu al-zawjati, taʿisa ʿabdu al-khamīṣati; ʾayi alladhīna yadhillūna li-hādhihi al-ʾashyāʾi wayasʿawna lahā,

Then He looked into the hearts of another group of His creatures and did not find their limbs fit for His service or a place for dealing with Him. He employed them for this world and made them servants of its people.” This is the meaning of the Prophet's saying, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Wretched is the slave of the dinar and dirham! Wretched is the slave of his wife! Wretched is the slave of the fine cloak!” It means those who humble themselves to these things and strive for them.

وَفِي أَخْبَارِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: إِنِّي خَلَقْتُ مُحَمَّدًا لِأَجْلِي وَخَلَقْتُ آدَمَ لِأَجْلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَخَلَقْتُ جَمِيعَ مَا خَلَقْتُ لِأَجْلِ وَلَدِ آدَمَ، فَمَنِ اشْتَغَلَ مِنْهُمْ بِمَا خَلَقْتُهُ لِأَجْلِهِ حَجَبْتُهُ عَنِّي، وَمَنِ اشْتَغَلَ مِنْهُمْ بِي سُقْتُ لَهُ مَا خَلَقْتُهُ لِأَجْلِهِ.

wafī ʾakhbāri dāwūda ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾinnī khalaqtu muḥammadan liʾajlī wakhalaqtu ʾādama liʾajli muḥammadin, wakhalaqtu jamīʿa mā khalaqtu liʾajli waladi ʾādama, famani ishtaghala minhum bimā khalaqtuhu liʾajlihi ḥajabtuhu ʿannī, wamani ishtaghala minhum bī suqtu lahu mā khalaqtuhu liʾajlihi.

Among the reports of David, peace be upon him, is this: “I created Muḥammad for My sake and Adam for Muḥammad's sake. I created everything I created for Adam's descendants. Whoever among them becomes occupied with what I created for his sake, I veil from Me. Whoever among them becomes occupied with Me, I bring him what I created for his sake.”

ذِكْرُ حُكْمِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ إِذَا كَانَ ذَا بَيْتٍ

dhikru ḥukmi al-mutawakkili ʾidhā kāna dhā baytin

The Conduct of One Who Trusts When He Has a House

فَإِنْ كَانَ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ ذَا بَيْتٍ فَلْيُغْلِقْهُ إِذَا خَرَجَ، إِحْرَازًا لَهُ لِأَجْلِ الْأَمْرِ بِالْحَذَرِ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ السُّنَّةِ وَالْأَثَرِ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا خُذُوا حِذْرَكُمْ﴾ النِّسَاءِ: 71، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنُوكَ﴾ الْمَائِدَةِ: 49، وَقَدْ يُرْوَى فِي خَبَرٍ: اعْقِلْهَا وَتَوَكَّلْ

faʾin kāna al-mutawakkilu dhā baytin falyughliqhu ʾidhā kharaja, ʾiḥrāzan lahu liʾajli al-ʾamri bi-al-ḥadhari walittibāʿi al-sunnati wa-al-ʾathari qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū khudhū ḥidhrakum﴾ al-nisāʾi: 71, waqāla taʿālā: ﴿waḥdharhum ʾan yaftinūka﴾ al-māʾidati: 49, waqad yurwā fī khabarin: iʿqilhā watawakkal

If the person who trusts has a house, he should lock it when he goes out, safeguarding it in obedience to the command to be cautious and in following the Sunna and transmitted practice. God Most High said, “You who believe, take your precautions” (al-Nisāʾ 71), and the Exalted said, “Beware of them, lest they tempt you away” (al-Māʾida 49). A report relates, “Tie her, and trust.”

وَلَا يَنْقُصُ ذَلِكَ تَوَكُّلَهُ إِذَا كَانَ سَاكِنَ الْقَلْبِ إِلَى اللَّهِ لَا إِلَى خَلْقِهِ، نَاظِرًا إِلَى حُسْنِ تَدْبِيرِهِ فِي تَبْقِيَةِ رَحْلِهِ أَوْ إِذْهَابِهِ لَا إِلَى إِحْرَازِهِ، غَيْرَ مُخْتَارٍ لِبَقَاءِ مَا فِي بَيْتِهِ عَلَى اخْتِيَارِ اللَّهِ لَهُ لِحُسْنِ أَحْكَامِهِ عِنْدَهُ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى إِذَا رَفَعَ عَبْدًا إِلَى مَقَامِ التَّوَكُّلِ عَلَيْهِ فِي شَيْءٍ أَعْطَاهُ التَّوَكُّلَ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ،

walā yanquṣu dhālika tawakkulahu ʾidhā kāna sākina al-qalbi ʾilā Allāhi lā ʾilā khalqihi, nāẓiran ʾilā ḥusni tadbīrihi fī tabqiyati raḥlihi ʾaw ʾidhhābihi lā ʾilā ʾiḥrāzihi, ghayra mukhtārin libaqāʾi mā fī baytihi ʿalā ikhtiyāri Allāhi lahu liḥusni ʾaḥkāmihi ʿindahu, liʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʾidhā rafaʿa ʿabdan ʾilā maqāmi al-tawakkuli ʿalayhi fī shayʾin ʾaʿṭāhu al-tawakkula fī kulli shayʾin,

This does not diminish his trust if his heart rests in God rather than His creatures, looking to the goodness of His management in preserving his belongings or taking them away, rather than to his own safeguarding. He does not prefer the continued presence of what is in his house over God's choice for him, because he regards His decrees as good. When God Most High raises a servant to the station of trusting Him in one thing, He grants him trust in everything.

كَمَا لَا يَكُونُ تَوَّابًا يُحِبُّهُ اللَّهُ حَتَّى يَتُوبَ إِلَى اللَّهِ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَفِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَيْ يَرْجِعَ إِلَيْهِ بِالْأَشْيَاءِ وَفِيهَا، فَلِذَلِكَ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ﴾ آلِ عِمْرَانَ: 159، كَمَا قَالَ: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ﴾ الْبَقَرَةِ: 222، مَعَ قَوْلِهِ: ﴿وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ﴾ إِبْرَاهِيمَ: 12،

kamā lā yakūnu tawwāban yuḥibbuhu Allāhu ḥattā yatūba ʾilā Allāhi bikulli shayʾin wafī kulli shayʾin ʾay yarjiʿa ʾilayhi bi-al-ʾashyāʾi wafīhā, fali-dhālika qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿ʾinna Allāha yuḥibbu al-mutawakkilīna﴾ ʾāli ʿimrāna: 159, kamā qāla: ﴿ʾinna Allāha yuḥibbu al-tawwābīna﴾ al-baqarati: 222, maʿa qawlihi: ﴿waʿalā Allāhi falyatawakkali al-mutawakkilūna﴾ ʾibrāhīma: 12,

Similarly, a person is not one who turns repeatedly in repentance and whom God loves until he turns to God with everything and in everything, returning to Him with things and within them. Thus God Most High said, “God loves those who trust” (Āl ʿImrān 159), just as He said, “God loves those who turn repeatedly in repentance” (al-Baqara 222), together with His saying, “In God let those who trust place their trust” (Ibrāhīm 12).

أَيْ لِيَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ فِي شَيْءٍ، هَذَا أَحْسَنُ وُجُوهِهِ، وَالْوَجْهُ الْآخَرُ وَعَلَيْهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلْ فِي كُلِّ تَوَكُّلِهِ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ فِي الْأَشْيَاءِ لِأَنَّ

ʾay liyatawakkal ʿalayhi fī kulli shayʾin man tawakkala ʿalayhi fī shayʾin, hādhā ʾaḥsanu wujūhihi, wa-al-wajhu al-ʾākharu waʿalayhi falyatawakkal fī kulli tawakkulihi man tawakkala ʿalayhi fī al-ʾashyāʾi liʾanna

That is, whoever trusts Him in one thing should trust Him in everything. This is its best interpretation. The other interpretation is: whoever trusts Him in things should place every act of his trust in Him, because

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٥٢

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 52

Volume Two, page 52

الْوَكِيلَ فِي شَيْءٍ وَاحِدٌ، فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَيْهِ وَاحِدًا فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَالتَّوَكُّلُ مَقَامٌ رَفِيعٌ مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَمِنْ أَعَالِي دَرَجِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ؛ مَنْ تَحَقَّقَ بِهِ فَقَدْ تَحَقَّقَ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ وَكَمُلَ إِيمَانُهُ وَكَانَ عَلَى مَزِيدٍ، وَانْتَفَى عَنْهُ دَقَائِقُ الشِّرْكِ وَخَفَايَا تَوَلِّي الْعَدُوِّ فَانْقَطَعَ سُلْطَانُهُ عَنْهُ،

al-wakīla fī shayʾin wāḥidun, fayanbaghī ʾan yakūna al-tawakkulu ʿalayhi wāḥidan fī kulli shayʾin, fa-al-tawakkulu maqāmun rafīʿun min maqāmāti al-ʾanbiyāʾi wamin ʾaʿālī daraji al-ṣiddīqīna wa-al-shuhadāʾi; man taḥaqqaqa bihi faqad taḥaqqaqa bi-al-tawḥīdi wakamula ʾīmānuhu wakāna ʿalā mazīdin, wantafā ʿanhu daqāʾiqu al-shirki wakhafāyā tawallī al-ʿaduwwi fanqaṭaʿa sulṭānuhu ʿanhu,

the Trustee in any one thing is one. Trust in Him should therefore be one in everything. Trust is an exalted station among the stations of the prophets and one of the highest degrees of the utterly truthful and the witnesses. Whoever realizes it has realized the affirmation of God's oneness; his faith is complete and continues to increase. The subtleties of associating partners and the hidden forms of allegiance to the enemy leave him, and the enemy's authority over him is cut off.

قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ﴾ ﴿إِنَّمَا سُلْطَانُهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ يَتَوَلَّوْنَهُ﴾ النَّحْلِ: 99–100 يَعْنِي الْعَدُوَّ، وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بِهِ مُشْرِكُونَ يَعْنِي اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ، فَلَمْ يَشْتَرِطْ نَفْيَ سُلْطَانِ الْعَدُوِّ بِالْإِيمَانِ مُجَرَّدًا حَتَّى يُقِيمَهُ فِي مَقَامِ التَّوَكُّلِ فِي الْيَقِينِ،

qāla Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā: ﴿ʾinnahu laysa lahu sulṭānun ʿalā alladhīna ʾāmanū waʿalā rabbihim yatawakkalūna﴾ ﴿ʾinnamā sulṭānuhu ʿalā alladhīna yatawallawnahu﴾ al-naḥli: 99–100 yaʿnī al-ʿaduwwa, wa-alladhīna hum bihi mushrikūna yaʿnī Allāha subḥānahu, falam yashtariṭ nafya sulṭāni al-ʿaduwwi bi-al-ʾīmāni mujarradan ḥattā yuqīmahu fī maqāmi al-tawakkuli fī al-yaqīni,

God, glorified and exalted, said, “He has no authority over those who believe and trust in their Lord. His authority extends only over those who take him as their ally” (al-Naḥl 99–100), meaning the enemy, “and those who associate partners with Him,” meaning God, glorified be He. He did not make faith alone the condition for removing the enemy's authority: He also establishes the servant in the station of trust within certainty.

فَلِذَلِكَ فَصَّلْنَا شَرْحَهُ وَأَطْلَقْنَا تَفْصِيلَهُ لِأَنَّ مَنْ أُعْطِيَ مَقَامًا مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ عَلَى حَقِيقَةِ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْوَكِيلِ انْتَظَمَ لَهُ جُمَلُ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ وَأَحْوَالِ الْمُتَّقِينَ، كَمَا قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ: التَّوَكُّلُ جِمَاعُ الْإِيمَانِ وَقَدْ يُبْتَلَى الْمُتَوَكِّلُ فِي تَوَكُّلِهِ بِالْأَسْبَابِ وَالْأَشْخَاصِ وَالْأَغْرَاضِ وَضُرُوبِ الْمَعَانِي، كَمَا يُبْتَلَى سَائِرُ أَهْلِ الْمَقَامَاتِ

fali-dhālika faṣṣalnā sharḥahu waʾaṭlaqnā tafṣīlahu liʾanna man ʾuʿṭiya maqāman mina al-tawakkuli ʿalā ḥaqīqati mushāhadati al-wakīli intaẓama lahu jumalu maqāmāti al-yaqīni waʾaḥwāli al-muttaqīna, kamā qāla ʿabdu Allāhi bnu masʿūdin: al-tawakkulu jimāʿu al-ʾīmāni waqad yubtalā al-mutawakkilu fī tawakkulihi bi-al-ʾasbābi wa-al-ʾashkhāṣi wa-al-ʾaghrāḍi waḍurūbi al-maʿānī, kamā yubtalā sāʾiru ʾahli al-maqāmāti

This is why we have explained it at length and set out its details freely. Whoever is given a station of trust in the reality of witnessing the Trustee has the whole of certainty's stations and the states of the reverently fearful drawn together for him. As ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd said, “Trust gathers faith together.” A person may be tested in his trust through means, people, aims, and various circumstances, just as all the others who possess stations are tested.

وَيَبْقَى عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْعَدُوِّ نَزْغٌ وَطَيْفٌ لَا غَيْرُ دُونَ الِاقْتِرَانِ وَالِاسْتِحْوَاذِ، يُخْتَبَرُ بِذَلِكَ صِدْقُهُ فِي تَوَكُّلِهِ حَتَّى يَرُدَّ فِي جَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ نَظَرَهُ إِلَى وَكِيلِهِ لِيُجْزَى جَزَاءَ الصَّادِقِينَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ، أَوْ لِيُكْشَفَ لَهُ دَعْوَاهُ فَيَعْلَمَ كَذِبَ نَفْسِهِ، فَيَكُونَ مَرْدُودًا إِلَى التَّوْبَةِ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿لِيَجْزِيَ اللَّهُ الصَّادِقِينَ بِصِدْقِهِمْ﴾ الْأَحْزَابِ: 24،

wayabqā ʿalayhi mina al-ʿaduwwi nazghun waṭayfun lā ghayru dūna al-iqtirāni wa-al-istiḥwādhi, yukhtabaru bi-dhālika ṣidquhu fī tawakkulihi ḥattā yarudda fī jamīʿi dhālika naẓarahu ʾilā wakīlihi liyujzā jazāʾa al-ṣādiqīna al-muqarrabīna, ʾaw liyukshafa lahu daʿwāhu fayaʿlama kadhiba nafsihi, fayakūna mardūdan ʾilā al-tawbati, kamā qāla taʿālā: ﴿liyajziya Allāhu al-ṣādiqīna biṣidqihim﴾ al-ʾaḥzābi: 24,

All that remains for the enemy against him is a prompting or a passing disturbance, without attachment or mastery. Through this his sincerity in trust is tested, until in all of it he directs his gaze back to his Trustee and receives the reward of the truthful who are brought near. Or his pretension is exposed to him, so that he recognizes his own falsehood and is sent back to repentance. As the Most High said, “So that God may reward the truthful for their truthfulness” (al-Aḥzāb 24).

وَحَسْبُ جَزَاءِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ أَنْ يَكُونَ الصَّادِقُ حَسْبَهُمْ وَأَنْ يَكُونَ خِلْعَةُ الصِّدْقِ شِعَارَهُمْ ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَيُعَذِّبَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ إِنْ شَاءَ أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ﴾ الْأَحْزَابِ: 24، فَأَحْسَنُ حَالِ الْمُدَّعِينَ التَّوْبَةُ بِهَا يَخْرُجُونَ مِنْ ظُلْمِهِمْ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَنْ يُتْرَكُوا أَنْ يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ﴾ الْعَنْكَبُوتِ: 2،

waḥasbu jazāʾi al-mutawakkilīna ʾan yakūna al-ṣādiqu ḥasbahum waʾan yakūna khilʿatu al-ṣidqi shiʿārahum thumma qāla taʿālā: ﴿wayuʿadhdhiba al-munāfiqīna ʾin shāʾa ʾaw yatūba ʿalayhim﴾ al-ʾaḥzābi: 24, faʾaḥsanu ḥāli al-muddaʿīna al-tawbatu bihā yakhrujūna min ẓulmihim, waqāla taʿālā: ﴿ʾaḥasiba al-nāsu ʾan yutrakū ʾan yaqūlū ʾāmannā wahum lā yuftanūna﴾ al-ʿankabūti: 2,

It is reward enough for those who trust that the Truthful One should suffice them and that truthfulness should be their robe of honor, worn next to the skin. Then He Most High said, “And punish the hypocrites if He wills, or turn toward them in mercy” (al-Aḥzāb 24). The best state for pretenders is repentance, through which they leave their wrongdoing. The Most High said, “Do people suppose they will be left to say, ‘We believe,’ without being tested?” (al-ʿAnkabūt 2).

ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَ بِسُنَّتِهِ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ فِي عِبَادِهِ فَقَالَ: وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ، وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا، فَلْيَقُلِ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ عِنْدَ خُرُوجِهِ مِنْ مَنْزِلِهِ مُعْتَقِدًا لِذَلِكَ بَعْدَ غَلْقِ بَابِهِ لِلْأَمْرِ وَالسُّنَّةِ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّ جَمِيعَ مَا فِي مَنْزِلِي إِنْ سَلَّطْتَ عَلَيْهِ مَنْ يَأْخُذُهُ فَهُوَ فِي سَبِيلِكَ صَدَقَةٌ مِنِّي عَلَى مَنْ أَخَذَهُ،

thumma ʾakhbara bisunnatihi allatī qad khalat fī ʿibādihi faqāla: walaqad fatannā alladhīna min qablihim falayaʿlamanna Allāhu alladhīna ṣadaqū walayaʿlamanna al-kādhibīna, walan tajida lisunnati Allāhi tabdīlan, falyaquli al-mutawakkilu ʿinda khurūjihi min manzilihi muʿtaqidan li-dhālika baʿda ghalqi bābihi li-l-ʾamri wa-al-sunnati: Allāhumma ʾinna jamīʿa mā fī manzilī ʾin sallaṭta ʿalayhi man yaʾkhudhuhu fahuwa fī sabīlika ṣadaqatun minnī ʿalā man ʾakhadhahu,

He then told of His established way among His servants: “We tested those before them, and God will surely know those who are truthful and surely know the liars.” You will find no change in God's way. When the person who trusts leaves home, having locked his door in obedience to the command and the Sunna, he should say with firm conviction, “O God, everything in my house, if You give someone power to take it, is for Your sake, a charitable gift from me to whoever takes it.”

فَإِنْ أُخِذَ مَا فِي مَنْزِلِهِ كَانَ لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ سَبْعُ مُعَامَلَاتٍ: إِحْدَاهَا قَبُولُ تَوَكُّلِهِ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِتَدْبِيرِ اللَّهِ أَمْرَهُ كَيْفَ شَاءَ، وَاخْتِيَارِ اللَّهِ لَهُ نُقْصَانَ الدُّنْيَا، وَإِذْهَابِ مَا لَعَلَّهُ يُفْتَتَنُ بِتَبْقِيَتِهِ، وَالثَّانِيَةُ اخْتِيَارُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِعَبْدِهِ وَابْتِلَاؤُهُ إِيَّاهُ بِفَقْدِ مَحْبُوبِهِ لِيُظْهِرَ صِدْقَهُ وَمَسْأَلَتَهُ، أَوْ لِيَسْتَبِينَ لِلْعَبْدِ كَذِبُهُ،

faʾin ʾukhidha mā fī manzilihi kāna lahu fī dhālika sabʿu muʿāmalātin: ʾiḥdāhā qabūlu tawakkulihi ʿalā Allāhi bitadbīri Allāhi ʾamrahu kayfa shāʾa, wakhtiyāri Allāhi lahu nuqṣāna al-dunyā, waʾidhhābi mā laʿallahu yuftatanu bitabqiyatihi, wa-al-thāniyatu ikhtiyāru Allāhi taʿālā liʿabdihi wabtilāʾuhu ʾiyyāhu bifaqdi maḥbūbihi liyuẓhira ṣidqahu wamasʾalatahu, ʾaw liyastabīna li-l-ʿabdi kadhibuhu,

If what is in his house is taken, he has seven dealings with God in this. The first is the acceptance of his trust in God, through God's managing his affairs however He wills, choosing a reduction of this world for him, and removing something whose continued presence might tempt him. The second is God Most High's choice for His servant and His testing him through the loss of what he loves, to reveal his truthfulness and his plea, or to make his falsehood plain to the servant.

فَإِنْ حَمِدَ اللَّهَ وَشَكَرَهُ عَلَى حُسْنِ بَلَائِهِ وَلَمْ تَضْطَرِبْ نَفْسُهُ أُعْطِيَ ثَوَابَ الشَّاكِرِينَ الرَّاضِينَ، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْعِلْمِ الْمَكْنُونِ عَنْ بَعْضِ أَنْبِيَائِهِ قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ مَنْ أَوْلِيَاؤُكَ؟ قَالَ: الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَخَذْتُ مِنْهُ الْمَحْبُوبَ سَالَمَنِي، وَالثَّالِثَةُ إِنِ اضْطَرَبَتْ نَفْسُهُ وَجَزِعَتْ جَاهَدَهَا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّمْتِ وَحُسْنِ الثَّنَاءِ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَتَرْكِ الشِّكَايَةِ إِلَى عَبِيدِهِ، فَأُعْطِيَ ثَوَابَ الصَّابِرِينَ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ،

faʾin ḥamida Allāha washakarahu ʿalā ḥusni balāʾihi walam taḍṭarib nafsuhu ʾuʿṭiya thawāba al-shākirīna al-rāḍīna, kamā jāʾa fī al-ʿilmi al-maknūni ʿan baʿḍi ʾanbiyāʾihi qāla: yā rabbi man ʾawliyāʾuka? qāla: alladhīna ʾidhā ʾakhadhtu minhu al-maḥbūba sālamanī, wa-al-thālithatu ʾini iḍṭarabat nafsuhu wajaziʿat jāhadahā bi-al-ṣabri wa-al-ṣamti waḥusni al-thanāʾi ʿalā Allāhi watarki al-shikāyati ʾilā ʿabīdihi, faʾuʿṭiya thawāba al-ṣābirīna al-mujāhidīna,

If he praises God and thanks Him for the goodness of His trial, without his soul being disturbed, he receives the reward of those who give thanks and are content. As related in the hidden knowledge from one of His prophets, who asked, “Lord, who are Your friends?” He replied, “Those who, when I take from one of them what he loves, remain at peace with Me.” The third is that, if his soul is disturbed and distressed, he struggles with it through patience, silence, praising God well, and refraining from complaint to His servants. He receives the reward of those who endure patiently and struggle.

وَالرَّابِعَةُ إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي هَذَا الْمَقَامِ وَلَا فِي الْمَقَامِ الْأَوَّلِ انْكَشَفَ لَهُ بُطْلَانُ دَعْوَاهُ وَظَهَرَ لَهُ خَفِيُّ كَذِبِهِ فِي حَيَاتِهِ، فَاعْتَرَفَ بِذَلِكَ وَاعْتَذَرَ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَاسْتَكَانَ وَخَضَعَ، فَيَكُونُ هَذَا أَيْضًا مَزِيدَ مِثْلِهِ عَلَى مَعْنَى الْإِعْلَامِ وَالْبَيَانِ، فَيَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ

wa-al-rābiʿatu ʾin lam yakun fī hādhā al-maqāmi walā fī al-maqāmi al-ʾawwali inkashafa lahu buṭlānu daʿwāhu waẓahara lahu khafiyyu kadhibihi fī ḥayātihi, faʿtarafa bi-dhālika waʿtadhara ʾilā Allāhi wastakāna wakhaḍaʿa, fayakūnu hādhā ʾayḍan mazīda mithlihi ʿalā maʿnā al-ʾiʿlāmi wa-al-bayāni, fayaʿlamu ʾannahu

The fourth is that, if he is neither in this station nor in the first, the emptiness of his pretension is exposed to him, and his hidden falsehood becomes apparent to him during his lifetime. He acknowledges it, offers his excuse to God, and becomes humble and submissive. This too is an increase appropriate to someone like him, through being informed and shown the truth. He learns that he is

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٥٣

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كَذَّابٌ لِكَرَاهِيَةِ مَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَقِلَّةِ صَبْرِهِ أَوْ بِسَخَطِهِ مَا حَوَّلَهُ اللَّهُ مِنْ خِزَانَتِهِ الَّتِي هِيَ فِي يَدِهِ إِلَى خِزَانَتِهِ الْأُخْرَى الَّتِي هِيَ فِي يَدِ غَيْرِهِ، إِذْ قَدْ عَلِمَ أَنَّ يَدَهُ خِزَانَةُ مَوْلَاهُ، وَأَنَّ مَا حَوَّلَهُ مِنْهَا لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ وَإِنَّمَا

kadhdhābun likarāhiyati mā qaḍā Allāhu waqillati ṣabrihi ʾaw bisakhaṭihi mā ḥawwalahu Allāhu min khizānatihi allatī hiya fī yadihi ʾilā khizānatihi al-ʾukhrā allatī hiya fī yadi ghayrihi, ʾidh qad ʿalima ʾanna yadahu khizānatu mawlāhu, waʾanna mā ḥawwalahu minhā lam yakun lahu waʾinnamā

a liar, because he dislikes what God has decreed and has little patience, or resents God's transfer of something from His treasury in his own hand to His other treasury in someone else's hand. He already knows that his hand is his Master's treasury and that what He transferred from it did not belong to him, but had only

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٥٤

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كَانَ قَدِ اسْتَوْدَعَهُ، فَحَزِنَ وَسَاءَهُ حِينَ اسْتَرْجَعَ مِنْهُ مَا أَوْدَعَهُ وَأَعَارَهُ وَأَوْدَعَهَا غَيْرَهُ أَوْ دَفَعَهَا إِلَى مَنْ هِيَ رِزْقُهُ، وَكَانَتْ لَهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ، أَنَّ الْمُتَوَكِّلَ قَدْ عَلِمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى إِذَا وَهَبَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا لِلْأَجْسَامِ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ وَشَيْئًا مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْمَلَكُوتِ وَصَارَ ذَلِكَ رِزْقًا لِلْمُتَوَكِّلِ فِي آخِرَتِهِ،

kāna qadi istawdaʿahu, faḥazina wasāʾahu ḥīna istarjaʿa minhu mā ʾawdaʿahu waʾaʿārahu waʾawdaʿahā ghayrahu ʾaw dafaʿahā ʾilā man hiya rizquhu, wakānat lahu min qablu, ʾanna al-mutawakkila qad ʿalima ʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʾidhā wahaba shayʾan mina al-dunyā li-l-ʾajsāmi mina al-mulki washayʾan mina al-ʾākhirati mina al-malakūti waṣāra dhālika rizqan li-l-mutawakkili fī ʾākhiratihi,

been entrusted to him. Yet he grieves and is distressed when what was deposited with him and lent to him is reclaimed and entrusted to someone else, or given to the person whose provision it is and to whom it belonged beforehand. The person who trusts already knows that when God Most High bestows something of this world upon bodies from the realm of possessions, and something of the hereafter from the spiritual kingdom, and that becomes provision for the person who trusts in his hereafter,

فَآثَرَ لِضَعْفِ يَقِينِهِ رِزْقَ دُنْيَاهُ عَلَى رِزْقِ آخِرَتِهِ لِنُقْصَانِ زُهْدِهِ، لَيْسَ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا لِلطَّمَعِ فِيهِ، وَفَضْلِ الرَّغْبَةِ وَالشَّرَهِ إِذْ قَدْ عَلِمَ أَنَّ مَا أُخِذَ مِنْهُ كَانَ وَدِيعَةً لِغَيْرِهِ عِنْدَهُ، فَهَذِهِ كُلُّهَا ذُنُوبٌ عِنْدَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ مُوجِبَاتٌ لِلتَّوْبَةِ وَالِاسْتِغْفَارِ عِنْدَ الْمُوقِنِينَ،

faʾāthara liḍaʿfi yaqīnihi rizqa dunyāhu ʿalā rizqi ʾākhiratihi linuqṣāni zuhdihi, laysa dhālika ʾillā li-l-ṭamaʿi fīhi, wafaḍli al-raghbati wa-al-sharahi ʾidh qad ʿalima ʾanna mā ʾukhidha minhu kāna wadīʿatan lighayrihi ʿindahu, fa-hādhihi kulluhā dhunūbun ʿinda al-mutawakkilīna mūjibātun li-l-tawbati wa-al-istighfāri ʿinda al-mūqinīna,

yet through weak certainty he prefers his worldly provision to his provision in the hereafter because his renunciation is deficient, this can only arise from coveting it and excessive desire and greed. He already knows that what was taken from him was someone else's deposit in his keeping. All these things are sins for those who trust, requiring repentance and seeking forgiveness among those possessed of certainty.

مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ الْمُتَوَكِّلَ قَدْ عَلِمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ إِذَا وَهَبَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الْمُلْكِ فِي الدُّنْيَا لِلْأَجْسَامِ أَوْ شَيْئًا مِنْ مَلَكُوتِ الْآخِرَةِ فِي الْقُلُوبِ، لَمْ يَأْخُذْهُ أَبَدًا؛ فَمَا كَانَ فِي الدُّنْيَا بَقِيَ لِصَاحِبِهِ إِلَى آخِرِ أَثَرِهِ حَتَّى يُفْنِيَهُ وَيُبْلِيَهُ، وَمَا وَهَبَهُ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْعِلْمِ وَالْعَمَلِ لَمْ يَأْخُذْهُ أَبَدًا بَلْ يُنْمِيهِ وَيَزِيدُهُ فِيهِ إِلَى أَبَدِ الْأَبَدِ فِي دَارِ الْأَبَدِ،

min qibali ʾanna al-mutawakkila qad ʿalima ʾanna Allāha ʾidhā wahaba shayʾan mina al-mulki fī al-dunyā li-l-ʾajsāmi ʾaw shayʾan min malakūti al-ʾākhirati fī al-qulūbi, lam yaʾkhudhhu ʾabadan; famā kāna fī al-dunyā baqiya liṣāḥibihi ʾilā ʾākhiri ʾatharihi ḥattā yufniyahu wayubliyahu, wamā wahabahu mina al-ʾākhirati mina al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿamali lam yaʾkhudhhu ʾabadan bal yunmīhi wayazīduhu fīhi ʾilā ʾabadi al-ʾabadi fī dāri al-ʾabadi,

For the person who trusts knows that when God bestows something from the world's realm of possessions upon bodies, or something from the hereafter's spiritual kingdom within hearts, He never takes it back. What belongs to this world remains with its owner to its last trace, until he uses it up and wears it out. What He bestows of the hereafter, faith, knowledge, and action, He never takes back. He nurtures it and increases it within him forever and ever in the abode of eternity.

وَلَكِنْ قَدْ يُعِيرُ وَيَسْتَوْدِعُ مِنْ أُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَأُمُورِ الْآخِرَةِ، فَهَذَا النَّوْعُ لَا بُدَّ أَنْ يَسْتَرِدَّهُ وَيَسْتَرْجِعَهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا لِأَنَّ حِكْمَتَهُ أَوْجَبَتْ رَدَّهُ كَمَا أَوْجَبَ كَرَمُهُ تَبْقِيَةَ مَا وَهَبَهُ، فَلَا يَنْبَغِي لِلْمُتَوَكِّلِ الْمُوقِنِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ أَنْ يُحْزِنَهُ مَا حَوَّلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ خِزَانَتِهِ الَّتِي فِي يَدِهِ مِمَّا أَعَارَهُ وَاسْتَوْدَعَهُ إِلَى خِزَانَتِهِ الْأُخْرَى الَّتِي هِيَ يَدُ غَيْرِهِ،

wa-lākin qad yuʿīru wayastawdiʿu min ʾumūri al-dunyā waʾumūri al-ʾākhirati, fa-hādhā al-nawʿu lā budda ʾan yastariddahu wayastarjiʿahu fī al-dunyā liʾanna ḥikmatahu ʾawjabat raddahu kamā ʾawjaba karamuhu tabqiyata mā wahabahu, falā yanbaghī li-l-mutawakkili al-mūqini mā dhakarnāhu ʾan yuḥzinahu mā ḥawwala Allāhu min khizānatihi allatī fī yadihi mimmā ʾaʿārahu wastawdaʿahu ʾilā khizānatihi al-ʾukhrā allatī hiya yadu ghayrihi,

But He may lend and entrust things of this world and of the hereafter. This kind must be reclaimed and taken back in this world, because His wisdom requires its return, just as His generosity requires that what He gives remain. The person who trusts and is certain of what we have explained should therefore not be saddened when God transfers what He lent and deposited from His treasury in his hand to His other treasury, someone else's hand,

مِمَّنْ لَعَلَّهُ يَهَبُهُ لَهُ أَوْ يَبْتَلِيهِ بِأَحْكَامِهِ فِيهِ، فَيَخْرُجُ أَيْضًا مِنْ يَدِهِ إِلَى يَدِ غَيْرِهِ لِأَنَّهُ مَا خَرَجَ مِنَ الدَّارِ شَيْءٌ، وَلِلَّهِ حِكْمَةٌ وَابْتِلَاءٌ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ؛ فَالْحُزْنُ وَالْأَسَفُ عَلَى فَوْتِ مِثْلِ هَذَا عِنْدَ الْعَارِفِينَ جِنَايَةٌ، وَمِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ خِيَانَةٌ، يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ اللَّهَ وَيَتُوبُونَ إِلَيْهِ كَمَا يَتُوبُونَ مِنَ الْمَعَاصِي، لِأَنَّهُمْ قَدْ شَهِدُوا مَا بَيَّنَّاهُ

mimman laʿallahu yahabuhu lahu ʾaw yabtalīhi biʾaḥkāmihi fīhi, fayakhruju ʾayḍan min yadihi ʾilā yadi ghayrihi liʾannahu mā kharaja mina al-dāri shayʾun, wa-li-llāhi ḥikmatun wabtilāʾun fī kulli shayʾin; fa-al-ḥuznu wa-al-ʾasafu ʿalā fawti mithli hādhā ʿinda al-ʿārifīna jināyatun, wamina al-muʾminīna khiyānatun, yastaghfirūna Allāha wayatūbūna ʾilayhi kamā yatūbūna mina al-maʿāṣī, liʾannahum qad shahidū mā bayyannāhu

someone to whom He may give it outright or whom He may test through His rulings concerning it, so that it leaves that person's hand for another's in turn. Nothing has left the household. God has wisdom and a trial in everything. Grief and regret over losing something like this are an offense among the knowers and a betrayal on the part of believers. They seek God's forgiveness and repent to Him just as they repent of sins, because they have witnessed what we have explained.

وَلِأَنَّهُ قَدْ أَمَرَهُمْ بِتَرْكِ الْأَسَى عَلَى فَائِتِ الدُّنْيَا وَقِلَّةِ الْفَرَحِ بِمَا أَتَى مِنْهَا، إِذْ لَا بُدَّ مِنْ كَوْنِهِمَا لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ عَلِمَهُ وَبَعْدَ عِلْمِهِ قَدْ كَتَبَهُ وَبَعْدَ كَتْبِهِ قَدْ أَعْلَمَ بِهِ، فَكَشَفَ لَهُمُ الْيَقِينُ عَنِ الْكِتَابِ الْمُسْتَبِينِ؛ أَنْ مَا أَصَابَ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَبْرَأَهَا،

waliʾannahu qad ʾamarahum bitarki al-ʾasā ʿalā fāʾiti al-dunyā waqillati al-faraḥi bimā ʾatā minhā, ʾidh lā budda min kawnihimā liʾannahu qad ʿalimahu wabaʿda ʿilmihi qad katabahu wabaʿda katbihi qad ʾaʿlama bihi, fakashafa lahumu al-yaqīnu ʿani al-kitābi al-mustabīni; ʾan mā ʾaṣāba min muṣībatin fī al-ʾarḍi walā fī ʾanfusikum ʾillā fī kitābin min qabli ʾan nabraʾahā,

He has also commanded them to abandon sorrow over what escapes them of this world and to take little joy in what comes from it. Both must occur, for He already knew it, then wrote it after knowing it, then made it known after writing it. Certainty thus revealed to them the clear Book's declaration: “No affliction befalls the earth or yourselves except that it is in a Book before We bring it into being.”

فَمَا ظَهَرَ مِنَ الْمَصَائِبِ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ فَقَدْ سَبَقَ قَبْلَ خَلْقِ الْخَلْقِ، وَهَذَا قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَبْرَأَهَا﴾ الْحَدِيدِ: 22، قِيلَ: مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَخْلُقَ الْخَلِيقَةَ وَقَبْلَ أَنْ نَبْرَأَ الْأَرْضَ وَقِيلَ: مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَبْرَأَ الْأَنْفُسَ، وَقِيلَ: مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَبْرَأَ الْمُصِيبَةَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿لِكَيْلَا تَأْسَوْا عَلَى مَا فَاتَكُمْ وَلَا تَفْرَحُوا بِمَا آتَاكُمْ﴾ الْحَدِيدِ: 23،

famā ẓahara mina al-maṣāʾibi fī al-ʾamwāli wa-al-ʾanfusi faqad sabaqa qabla khalqi al-khalqi, wa-hādhā qawluhu taʿālā: ﴿min qabli ʾan nabraʾahā﴾ al-ḥadīdi: 22, qīla: min qabli ʾan nakhluqa al-khalīqata waqabla ʾan nabraʾa al-ʾarḍa waqīla: min qabli ʾan nabraʾa al-ʾanfusa, waqīla: min qabli ʾan nabraʾa al-muṣībata, thumma qāla taʿālā: ﴿likaylā taʾsaw ʿalā mā fātakum walā tafraḥū bimā ʾātākum﴾ al-ḥadīdi: 23,

Every affliction that appears in possessions or persons was already determined before creatures were created. This is His saying, exalted is He, “Before We bring it into being” (al-Ḥadīd 22). It has been explained as “before We create creation,” or “before We bring the earth into being,” or “before We bring souls into being,” or “before We bring the affliction into being.” Then He Most High said, “So that you do not sorrow over what escapes you or rejoice in what He gives you” (al-Ḥadīd 23).

فَالْأَسَى عَلَى فَقْدِ الشَّيْءِ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْفَرَحِ بِوُجُودِهِ، أَفَلَا يَسْتَحْيِي الْعَبْدُ أَنْ يَكُونَ عَلَى ضِدِّ مَا أُمِرَ بِهِ أَوْ بِخِلَافِ مَا يُحِبُّهُ مِنْهُ مَوْلَاهُ؟ فَيَأْسَى عَلَى مَا لَيْسَ لَهُ وَيَحْزَنُ عَلَى مَا أُخِذَ مِنْهُ وَاسْتُودِعَهُ، أَوْ يَفْرَحُ بِمَا لَيْسَ لَهُ لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ قَدْ وُهِبَ لَهُ، فَيَبْقَى عَلَيْهِ، أَوْ قَدْ أُعِيرَهُ فَيُؤْخَذَ مِنْهُ،

fa-al-ʾasā ʿalā faqdi al-shayʾi ʿalā qadri al-faraḥi biwujūdihi, ʾafalā yastaḥyī al-ʿabdu ʾan yakūna ʿalā ḍiddi mā ʾumira bihi ʾaw bikhilāfi mā yuḥibbuhu minhu mawlāhu? fayaʾsā ʿalā mā laysa lahu wayaḥzanu ʿalā mā ʾukhidha minhu wastūdiʿahu, ʾaw yafraḥu bimā laysa lahu liʾannahu lā yaʿlamu ʾannahu qad wuhiba lahu, fayabqā ʿalayhi, ʾaw qad ʾuʿīrahu fayuʾkhadha minhu,

Sorrow over losing something is proportionate to joy in possessing it. Does the servant not feel ashamed to act against what he was commanded, or contrary to what his Master loves from him? He sorrows over what is not his and grieves for what was taken from him after being deposited with him. Or he rejoices in what is not his, since he does not know whether it was given outright to remain with him or lent to be taken back.

فَلَمَّا اسْتَرْجَعَهُ مِنْ يَدِهِ الَّتِي هِيَ يَدُهُ تَعَالَى قَبَضَهُ، أَيْقَنَ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ وَأَنَّهُ إِنَّمَا كَانَ وَدِيعَةً عِنْدَهُ فَحَزِنَ وَسَاءَ، فَهَذَا لَمَّا أَيْقَنَ شَكَّ، وَلَمَّا عَلِمَ جَهِلَ وَرَغِبَ فِيمَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَزْهَدَ فِيهِ، فَأَيَّ شَكٍّ مَعَ ذَلِكَ يَتَوَهَّمُ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَيَدَّعِي مَنَازِلَ الْأَقْوِيَاءِ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ بِاللَّهِ، الشَّاهِدِينَ لِمَجَارِي قَدَرِ اللَّهِ فِي تَصَارِيفِ حُكْمِهِ،

falammā istarjaʿahu min yadihi allatī hiya yaduhu taʿālā qabaḍahu, ʾayqana ʾannahu lam yakun lahu waʾannahu ʾinnamā kāna wadīʿatan ʿindahu faḥazina wasāʾa, fa-hādhā lammā ʾayqana shakka, walammā ʿalima jahila waraghiba fīmā yanbaghī ʾan yazhada fīhi, faʾayya shakkin maʿa dhālika yatawahhamu al-mutawakkilu ʿalā Allāhi wayaddaʿī manāzila al-ʾaqwiyāʾi al-ʾaghniyāʾi bi-Allāhi, al-shāhidīna limajārī qadari Allāhi fī taṣārīfi ḥukmihi,

When He reclaims it from his hand, which is His hand, exalted be He, and takes possession of it, the servant becomes certain that it was never his, but only a deposit with him; yet he grieves and is distressed. Thus, just when he becomes certain, he doubts; when he knows, he acts ignorantly and desires what he ought to renounce. What doubt does the person trusting in God imagine alongside this, while claiming the stations of the strong who are rich through God and witness the courses of God's decree through the workings of His judgment?

فَإِذَا عَلِمَ الْعَبْدُ أَنَّهُ كَاذِبٌ اسْتَكَانَ اسْتِكَانَةَ الْكَذَّابِينَ وَتَابَ تَوْبَةَ الْمُدَّعِينَ، وَلَمْ يَنْطِقْ بِكَلَامِ الصَّادِقِينَ وَلَا يُدِلُّ إِدْلَالَ الْمَحْبُوبِينَ، فَيَكُونُ تَعْرِيفُ اللَّهِ إِيَّاهُ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي تَأْدِيبًا لَهُ وَمَزِيدَ مِثْلِهِ، وَهَذَا مَزِيدُ النَّاقِصِينَ.

faʾidhā ʿalima al-ʿabdu ʾannahu kādhibun istakāna istikānata al-kadhdhābīna watāba tawbata al-muddaʿīna, walam yanṭiq bikalāmi al-ṣādiqīna walā yudillu ʾidlāla al-maḥbūbīna, fayakūnu taʿrīfu Allāhi ʾiyyāhu hādhihi al-maʿānī taʾdīban lahu wamazīda mithlihi, wa-hādhā mazīdu al-nāqiṣīna.

When the servant knows that he is lying, he humbles himself as liars do and repents as pretenders do. He does not speak the words of the truthful or presume upon affection as those who are loved do. God's making these meanings known to him then becomes his discipline and the increase appropriate to someone like him. This is the increase of the deficient.

وَالْمُعَامَلَةُ الْخَامِسَةُ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ بِكُلِّ دِرْهَمٍ تَلِفَ سَبْعُمِائَةِ دِرْهَمٍ، كَأَنَّهُ قَدْ أَنْفَقَهُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، حُسِبَ لَهُ ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ كَانَ نَوَاهُ، وَكَذَلِكَ إِنْ لَمْ يُؤْخَذْ مَا فِي بَيْتِهِ اسْتِنْبَاطًا مِنْ قَوْلِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِيمَنْ تَرَكَ الْعَزْلَ فَأَقَرَّ النُّطْفَةَ قَرَارَهَا:

wa-al-muʿāmalatu al-khāmisatu ʾan yakūna lahu bikulli dirhamin talifa sabʿumiʾati dirhamin, kaʾannahu qad ʾanfaqahu fī sabīli Allāhi, ḥusiba lahu dhālika liʾannahu qad kāna nawāhu, wa-kadhālika ʾin lam yuʾkhadh mā fī baytihi istinbāṭan min qawli rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fīman taraka al-ʿazla faʾaqarra al-nuṭfata qarārahā:

The fifth dealing is that for every dirham lost he receives seven hundred dirhams, as though he had spent it for God's sake. This is credited to him because he intended it. The same applies even if nothing in his house is taken. This is inferred from the saying of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, concerning someone who refrains from withdrawal and lets the drop of semen remain in its resting place:

إِنَّ لَهُ أَجْرَ غُلَامٍ وُلِدَ لَهُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الْجِمَاعِ وَعَاشَ فَقُتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ لَمْ يُولَدْ لَهُ فَقَالَ: أَنْتَ تَخْلُقُهُ؟ وَأَنْتَ تَرْزُقُهُ؟ إِلَيْكَ مَحْيَاهُ؟ إِلَيْكَ مَمَاتُهُ؟ أَقِرَّهَا قَرَارَهَا وَلَكَ ذَلِكَ.

ʾinna lahu ʾajra ghulāmin wulida lahu min dhālika al-jimāʿi waʿāsha faqutila fī sabīli Allāhi, waʾin kāna lam yūlad lahu faqāla: ʾanta takhluquhu? waʾanta tarzuquhu? ʾilayka maḥyāhu? ʾilayka mamātuhu? ʾaqirrahā qarārahā walaka dhālika.

“He has the reward of a boy born to him from that intercourse who lives and is then killed for God's sake,” even if no child is born to him. He said, “Do you create him? Do you provide for him? Is his life in your hands? Is his death in your hands? Leave it in its resting place, and that reward is yours.”

وَالْمُعَامَلَةُ السَّادِسَةُ أَنْ لَا يَأْثَمَ أَخُوهُ الَّذِي أَخَذَ رَحْلَهُ إِنْ كَانَ قَدْ جَعَلَهُ صَدَقَةً عَلَيْهِ، فَيُؤْجَرُ أَجْرًا ثَانِيًا لِإِشْفَاقِهِ عَلَى أَخِيهِ، وَحُسْنِ نَظَرِهِ لِلْعُصَاةِ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ تَخَلُّقًا بِأَخْلَاقِ مَوْلَاهُ، وَيَنَالُ بِعَفْوِهِ عَنْ ظَالِمِهِ دَرَجَةَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ، وَيَتَحَقَّقُ بِمَقَامِ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَيَكُونُ مِمَّنْ وَقَعَ أَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ، فَيُخْفَى لَهُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مِنْ قُرَّةِ الْعَيْنِ

wa-al-muʿāmalatu al-sādisatu ʾan lā yaʾthama ʾakhūhu alladhī ʾakhadha raḥlahu ʾin kāna qad jaʿalahu ṣadaqatan ʿalayhi, fayuʾjaru ʾajran thāniyan liʾishfāqihi ʿalā ʾakhīhi, waḥusni naẓarihi li-l-ʿuṣāti min ḥaythu lā yaʿlamūna takhalluqan biʾakhlāqi mawlāhu, wayanālu biʿafwihi ʿan ẓālimihi darajata al-muḥsinīna, wayataḥaqqaqu bimaqāmi al-muttaqīna wayakūnu mimman waqaʿa ʾajruhu ʿalā Allāhi, fayukhfā lahu mā lā taʿlamu nafsun min qurrati al-ʿayni

The sixth dealing is that his brother who took his belongings incurs no sin if he has made them a charitable gift to him. He is rewarded a second time for compassion toward his brother and for kindly considering sinners without their knowing it, adopting his Master's qualities. By pardoning the person who wronged him, he attains the degree of those who do good, realizes the station of the reverently fearful, and becomes one whose reward rests with God. A delight unknown to any soul is kept hidden for him.

وَلِأَنَّهُ قَدْ عَلِمَ كَيْفَ جَرَى الْأَمْرُ وَأَنَّ الْآخِذَ مُبْتَلًى بِسُوءِ الْقَضَاءِ، وَأَنَّهُ قَدْ عُوفِيَ إِذْ لَمْ يَكُنْ هُوَ ذَلِكَ الْعَبْدَ فَيَرْحَمُ أَهْلَ الْبَلَاءِ حِينَئِذٍ، وَيَحْمَدُ اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا عَافَاهُ فَيَشْغَلُهُ الشُّكْرُ لِلَّهِ عَنِ الدُّعَاءِ عَلَى ظَالِمِهِ، قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ لِبَعْضِ أَصْحَابِهِ: لِمَ أَسْقَطَ أَهْلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ اللَّائِمَةَ عَنِ الظَّالِمِينَ لَهُمْ؟ فَقُلْتُ: لَا أَدْرِي قَالَ: لِعِلْمِهِمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَصَدَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ وَابْتَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ بِهِمْ فَرَحِمُوهُمْ،

waliʾannahu qad ʿalima kayfa jarā al-ʾamru waʾanna al-ʾākhidha mubtalan bisūʾi al-qaḍāʾi, waʾannahu qad ʿūfiya ʾidh lam yakun huwa dhālika al-ʿabda fayarḥamu ʾahla al-balāʾi ḥīnaʾidhin, wayaḥmadu Allāha ʿalā mā ʿāfāhu fayashghaluhu al-shukru li-llāhi ʿani al-duʿāʾi ʿalā ẓālimihi, qāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna libaʿḍi ʾaṣḥābihi: lima ʾasqaṭa ʾahlu al-maʿrifati al-lāʾimata ʿani al-ẓālimīna lahum? faqultu: lā ʾadrī qāla: liʿilmihim ʾanna Allāha qaṣadahum bi-dhālika wabtalā al-ẓālimīna bihim faraḥimūhum,

He also knows how the matter unfolded: the taker is being tested by an adverse decree, while he himself has been spared, since he is not that servant. He therefore has mercy on those undergoing trial and praises God for sparing him. Gratitude to God occupies him instead of praying against the person who wronged him. One of the knowers asked a companion, “Why do the people of knowledge remove blame from those who wrong them?” I replied, “I do not know.” He said, “Because they know that God intended them through this and tested the wrongdoers through them, so they had mercy on them.”

وَذَلِكَ دَاخِلٌ فِي نَصْرِ أَخِيهِ الظَّالِمِ لِنَفْسِهِ، وَطَاعَةٌ لِأَمْرِ رَسُولِهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ: اُنْصُرْ أَخَاكَ ظَالِمًا أَوْ مَظْلُومًا؛ أَيْ تَمْنَعُهُ عَنِ الظُّلْمِ فَإِذَا عَفَا عَنْهُ فَقَدْ مَنَعَهُ مِنَ الظُّلْمِ، لِأَنَّهُ لَوْ رَآهُ مَنَعَهُ مِنْ أَخْذِهِ أَوْ وَهَبَهُ لَهُ فَيَقُومُ عَفْوُهُ عَنْهُ مَقَامَ رُؤْيَتِهِ.

wa-dhālika dākhilun fī naṣri ʾakhīhi al-ẓālimi linafsihi, waṭāʿatun liʾamri rasūlihi fī qawlihi: unṣur ʾakhāka ẓāliman ʾaw maẓlūman; ʾay tamnaʿuhu ʿani al-ẓulmi faʾidhā ʿafā ʿanhu faqad manaʿahu mina al-ẓulmi, liʾannahu law raʾāhu manaʿahu min ʾakhdhihi ʾaw wahabahu lahu fayaqūmu ʿafwuhu ʿanhu maqāma ruʾyatihi.

This comes under helping one's brother who wrongs himself and obeying the Messenger's command, “Help your brother, whether he wrongs or is wronged,” meaning that you prevent him from wrongdoing. By pardoning him, he has prevented him from wrongdoing. Had he seen him, he would have stopped him from taking it or given it to him. His pardon thus takes the place of seeing him.

وَالْمُعَامَلَةُ السَّابِعَةُ تَحَقُّقُهُ فِي الزُّهْدِ فِيمَا ذَهَبَ، وَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ لَمَّا بَلَغَهُ عَنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِلْمُغِيرَةِ: اذْهَبْ فَخُذْ تِلْكَ الرَّكْوَةَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ فَلَا حَاجَةَ لِي بِهَا، وَكَانَ قَدْ أَهْدَاهَا إِلَيْهِ وَقَبِلَهَا مِنْهُ فَقَالَ: وَلِمَ؟ قَالَ: يُوَسْوِسُ إِلَيَّ الْعَدُوُّ أَنَّ اللِّصَّ قَدْ أَخَذَهَا

wa-al-muʿāmalatu al-sābiʿatu taḥaqququhu fī al-zuhdi fīmā dhahaba, waqāla ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu lammā balaghahu ʿan māliki bni dīnārin ʾannahu qāla li-l-mughīrati: idhhab fakhudh tilka al-rakwata mina al-bayti falā ḥājata lī bihā, wakāna qad ʾahdāhā ʾilayhi waqabilahā minhu faqāla: walima? qāla: yuwaswisu ʾilayya al-ʿaduwwu ʾanna al-liṣṣa qad ʾakhadhahā

The seventh dealing is his realization of renunciation regarding what has gone. Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī spoke when he heard that Mālik ibn Dīnār had said to al-Mughīra, “Go and take that water vessel from the house; I have no need of it.” He had given it to Mālik, who had accepted it from him. He asked, “Why?” Mālik said, “The enemy whispers to me that a thief has taken it.”

وَكَانَ مَالِكٌ لَا يُغْلِقُ بَابَهُ إِنَّمَا كَانَ يَشُدُّهُ بِشَرِيطٍ وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: لَوْلَا الْكِلَابُ مَا شَدَدْتُهُ أَيْضًا، فَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ: هَذَا مِنْ ضَعْفِ قُلُوبِ الصُّوفِيِّينَ، هُوَ قَدْ زَهِدَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا فَمَا عَلَيْهِ بِمَنْ أَخَذَهَا، وَهَذَا كَمَا قَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ: لِأَنَّ الزُّهْدَ إِذَا صَحَّ دَخَلَ الرِّضَا فِيهِ، وَلِقَوْلِ مَالِكٍ أَيْضًا وَجْهٌ كَأَنَّهُ كَرِهَ أَنْ يُعْصَى اللَّهُ بِهِ، فَيَكُونَ هُوَ سَبَبَ مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ،

wakāna mālikun lā yughliqu bābahu ʾinnamā kāna yashudduhu bisharīṭin wakāna yaqūlu: lawlā al-kilābu mā shadadtuhu ʾayḍan, faqāla ʾabū sulaymāna: hādhā min ḍaʿfi qulūbi al-ṣūfiyyīna, huwa qad zahida mina al-dunyā famā ʿalayhi biman ʾakhadhahā, wa-hādhā kamā qāla ʾabū sulaymāna: liʾanna al-zuhda ʾidhā ṣaḥḥa dakhala al-riḍā fīhi, waliqawli mālikin ʾayḍan wajhun kaʾannahu kariha ʾan yuʿṣā Allāhu bihi, fayakūna huwa sababa maʿṣiyati Allāhi,

Mālik did not lock his door; he merely fastened it with a cord, saying, “If it were not for the dogs, I would not even fasten it.” Abū Sulaymān said, “This comes from the weakness of the Sufis' hearts. He has renounced this world, so what does it matter to him who takes it?” The matter is as Abū Sulaymān said, because sound renunciation includes contentment. Mālik's saying also has a reasonable interpretation: he disliked that God should be disobeyed through him, making him a cause of disobedience to God.

وَلَكِنْ قَوْلُ أَبِي سُلَيْمَانَ أَعْلَى لِأَجْلِ التَّوَكُّلِ وَالرِّضَا، وَهَذَا الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ مَا فِي الْبَيْتِ هُوَ لِكُلِّ مَنْ ذَهَبَ لَهُ مَالٌ فِي سَفَرٍ أَوْ حَضَرٍ، وَلِكُلِّ مَنْ أُصِيبَ بِمُصِيبَةٍ فِي نَفْسٍ أَوْ أَهْلٍ هَذِهِ الْمُعَامَلَاتُ كُلُّهَا إِذَا اعْتَقَدَهَا بِقَلْبِهِ

wa-lākin qawlu ʾabī sulaymāna ʾaʿlā liʾajli al-tawakkuli wa-al-riḍā, wa-hādhā alladhī dhakarnāhu min dhahābi mā fī al-bayti huwa likulli man dhahaba lahu mālun fī safarin ʾaw ḥaḍarin, walikulli man ʾuṣība bimuṣībatin fī nafsin ʾaw ʾahlin hādhihi al-muʿāmalātu kulluhā ʾidhā iʿtaqadahā biqalbihi

But Abū Sulaymān's saying is higher because of trust and contentment. What we have explained about the loss of things from a house applies to anyone who loses property while traveling or at home, and to anyone afflicted in his own person or his family. All these dealings belong to him if he holds them firmly in his heart

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٥٥

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 55

Volume Two, page 55

وَكَانَتْ فِي خَلَدِهِ وَوِجْدِهِ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَنْطِقْ بِهَا أَوْ يُظْهِرْهَا: فَأَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ إِيمَانًا وَأَحْسَنُهُمْ يَقِينًا أَقَلُّهُمْ غَمًّا وَأَيْسَرُهُمْ أَسًى عَلَى مَا فَاتَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا، وَأَحْسَنُهُمْ رِضًا وَأَنْفَذُهُمْ شَهَادَةً مَنْ رَأَى أَنَّ ذَلِكَ نِعْمَةٌ أَوْجَبَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ شُكْرًا، وَأَقَلُّ النَّاسِ إِيمَانًا وَأَضْعَفُهُمْ يَقِينًا أَشَدُّهُمْ أَسًى وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ غَمًّا عَلَى مَا فَاتَ، وَأَطْوَلُهُمْ شَكْوَى وَأَقَلُّهُمْ شُكْرًا،

wakānat fī khaladihi wawijdihi, waʾin lam yanṭiq bihā ʾaw yuẓhirhā: faʾaktharu al-nāsi ʾīmānan waʾaḥsanuhum yaqīnan ʾaqalluhum ghamman waʾaysaruhum ʾasan ʿalā mā fāta mina al-dunyā, waʾaḥsanuhum riḍan waʾanfadhuhum shahādatan man raʾā ʾanna dhālika niʿmatun ʾawjabat ʿalayhim shukran, waʾaqallu al-nāsi ʾīmānan waʾaḍʿafuhum yaqīnan ʾashadduhum ʾasan waʾaktharuhum ghamman ʿalā mā fāta, waʾaṭwaluhum shakwā waʾaqalluhum shukran,

and they are present in his mind and feeling, even if he does not voice or display them. Those with the most faith and finest certainty grieve least and sorrow most lightly over what they miss of this world. Those with the finest contentment and most penetrating witnessing see it as a blessing requiring gratitude from them. Those with the least faith and weakest certainty sorrow most deeply and grieve most over what they miss, complaining longest and giving thanks least.

فَالْمَصَائِبُ مِحْنَةٌ تَكْشِفُ الزُّهْدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالرَّغْبَةَ، أَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ إِلَى الْحَدِيثِ الَّذِي جَاءَ فِيهِ هَذَا الدُّعَاءُ: وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ مَا تُهَوِّنُ بِهِ عَلَيْنَا مَصَائِبَ الدُّنْيَا، فَشِدَّةُ الْغَمِّ عَلَى فَوْتِ الدُّنْيَا دَلِيلٌ عَلَى حُبِّهَا وَعَلَامَةُ ضَعْفِ الْيَقِينِ بِمَحْبُوبِهِ وَسُهُولَةُ الْغَمِّ عَلَى فَوْتِهَا دَلِيلٌ عَلَى الزُّهْدِ فِيهَا وَقُوَّةِ الْيَقِينِ بِرَبِّهِ،

fa-al-maṣāʾibu miḥnatun takshifu al-zuhda fī al-dunyā wa-al-raghbata, ʾalam tasmaʿ ʾilā al-ḥadīthi alladhī jāʾa fīhi hādhā al-duʿāʾu: waʾasʾaluka mina al-yaqīni mā tuhawwinu bihi ʿalaynā maṣāʾiba al-dunyā, fashiddatu al-ghammi ʿalā fawti al-dunyā dalīlun ʿalā ḥubbihā waʿalāmatu ḍaʿfi al-yaqīni bimaḥbūbihi wasuhūlatu al-ghammi ʿalā fawtihā dalīlun ʿalā al-zuhdi fīhā waquwwati al-yaqīni birabbihi,

Afflictions are a test that reveals renunciation of this world or desire for it. Have you not heard the hadith containing this supplication: “And I ask You for such certainty as will make this world's afflictions easy for us”? Intense grief over losing this world proves love for it and indicates weak certainty in one's Beloved. Lightness of grief over its loss proves renunciation of it and strong certainty in one's Lord.

فَإِنْ وَجَدَ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ رَحْلَهُ بِحَالِهِ لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ بِتَبْقِيَتِهِ شَيْءٌ وَكَانَ لَهُ أَجْرُ مَا قَدْ نَوَى مِنَ الْمُعَامَلَاتِ، وَلَا أَعْلَمُ هَذَا الْقَوْلَ وَاعْتِقَادَهُ عِنْدَ خُرُوجِ الْعَبْدِ مِنْ مَنْزِلِهِ أَوْ تَرْكِهِ لِرَحْلِهِ أَوْ خُرُوجِهِ فِي سَفَرٍ يَنْفَعُهُ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَضُرُّهُ، وَلَا يُقَدِّمُ ضَيَاعَ شَيْءٍ حَكَمَ اللَّهُ بِبَقَائِهِ لَهُ وَلَا يُؤَخِّرُ تَرْكُ الْعَقْدِ لِهَذَا تَبْقِيَةَ مَا حَكَمَ اللَّهُ بِذَهَابِهِ،

faʾin wajada al-mutawakkilu raḥlahu biḥālihi lam yaḍurrahu bitabqiyatihi shayʾun wakāna lahu ʾajru mā qad nawā mina al-muʿāmalāti, walā ʾaʿlamu hādhā al-qawla waʿtiqādahu ʿinda khurūji al-ʿabdi min manzilihi ʾaw tarkihi liraḥlihi ʾaw khurūjihi fī safarin yanfaʿuhu shayʾan walā yaḍurruhu, walā yuqaddimu ḍayāʿa shayʾin ḥakama Allāhu bibaqāʾihi lahu walā yuʾakhkhiru tarku al-ʿaqdi li-hādhā tabqiyata mā ḥakama Allāhu bidhahābihi,

If the person who trusts finds his belongings unchanged, their remaining does him no harm, and he receives the reward of the dealings he intended. I do not know that saying this and holding this conviction when leaving one's house, leaving one's belongings, or setting out on a journey benefits him at all, nor does it harm him. It does not hasten the loss of anything God has decreed should remain with him; nor does abandoning this resolve defer the retention of what God has decreed should go.

وَمَعَ ذَلِكَ فَيَكُونُ لَهُ حَالٌ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ وَمَقَامَاتٌ فِي الْمُعَامَلَاتِ إِلَّا شَيْئًا وَاحِدًا مِنْ بَابِ نُقْصَانِ الدُّنْيَا مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْوَرَعِ، فَإِنَّهُ يَنْقُصُهُ وَهُوَ أَنَّهُ إِنْ أُخِذَ مَا تَوَكَّلَ عَلَى اللَّهِ فِيهِ، وَفَوَّضَ إِلَيْهِ أَمْرَهُ بِهِ، ثُمَّ رُدَّ عَلَيْهِ، لَمْ يُسْتَحَبَّ لَهُ فِي الْوَرَعِ أَنْ يَتَمَلَّكَهُ، وَلَا أَنْ يَرْجِعَ فِيهِ فِي حُسْنِ الْأَدَبِ، لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ كَانَ جَعَلَهُ صَدَقَةً فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ،

wamaʿa dhālika fayakūnu lahu ḥālun mina al-tawakkuli wamaqāmātun fī al-muʿāmalāti ʾillā shayʾan wāḥidan min bābi nuqṣāni al-dunyā min ṭarīqi al-waraʿi, faʾinnahu yanquṣuhu wahuwa ʾannahu ʾin ʾukhidha mā tawakkala ʿalā Allāhi fīhi, wafawwaḍa ʾilayhi ʾamrahu bihi, thumma rudda ʿalayhi, lam yustaḥabba lahu fī al-waraʿi ʾan yatamallakahu, walā ʾan yarjiʿa fīhi fī ḥusni al-ʾadabi, liʾannahu qad kāna jaʿalahu ṣadaqatan fī sabīli Allāhi,

Nevertheless, he gains a state of trust and stations in his dealings, with one exception involving a reduction of worldly goods through scrupulousness. This does diminish what he has: if the property concerning which he trusted God and entrusted its affair to Him is taken and then returned, scrupulousness does not commend taking ownership of it again, nor does good conduct commend reclaiming it, since he had already made it a charitable gift for God's sake.

فَإِنْ رَجَعَ فِيهِ لَمْ يَنْقُصْ ذَلِكَ تَوَكُّلَهُ، لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ صَحَّ تَفْوِيضُهُ إِلَى الْوَكِيلِ فِي الْحَالَيْنِ مَعًا، فَيَكُونُ رَدُّهُ عَلَيْهِ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ كَانَ وَهَبَهُ لَهُ بِمَنْزِلَتِهِ ابْتِدَاءَ عَطَاءٍ مِنْهُ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا أَنَّ ابْنَ عُمَرَ سُرِقَتْ نَاقَتُهُ فَطَلَبَهَا حَتَّى أَعْيَا، ثُمَّ قَالَ: فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، فَدَخَلَ الْمَسْجِدَ وَصَلَّى رَكْعَتَيْنِ

faʾin rajaʿa fīhi lam yanquṣ dhālika tawakkulahu, liʾannahu qad ṣaḥḥa tafwīḍuhu ʾilā al-wakīli fī al-ḥālayni maʿan, fayakūnu radduhu ʿalayhi liʾannahu qad kāna wahabahu lahu bimanzilatihi ibtidāʾa ʿaṭāʾin minhu. waqad rawaynā ʾanna ibna ʿumara suriqat nāqatuhu faṭalabahā ḥattā ʾaʿyā, thumma qāla: fī sabīli Allāhi, fadakhala al-masjida waṣallā rakʿatayni

If he does reclaim it, that does not diminish his trust, because his entrusting the matter to the Trustee was sound in both circumstances. Its return to him, since He had given it to him, is like a fresh gift from Him. We have related that Ibn ʿUmar's she-camel was stolen. He searched for it until exhausted, then said, “For God's sake.” He entered the mosque and prayed two cycles.

فَجَاءَهُ رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، إِنَّ نَاقَتَكَ فِي مَكَانِ كَذَا، فَلَبِسَ نَعْلَهُ وَقَامَ ثُمَّ نَزَعَهَا، ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ، وَجَلَسَ فَقِيلَ لَهُ: أَلَا تَذْهَبُ فَتَأْخُذُهَا؟ فَقَالَ: إِنِّي قَدْ كُنْتُ قُلْتُ: فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ بَعْضِهِمْ قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ بَعْضَ إِخْوَانِي فِي النَّوْمِ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِ فَقُلْتُ: مَا فَعَلَ اللَّهُ بِكَ؟

fajāʾahu rajulun faqāla: yā ʾabā ʿabdi al-raḥmāni, ʾinna nāqataka fī makāni kadhā, falabisa naʿlahu waqāma thumma nazaʿahā, thumma qāla: ʾastaghfiru Allāha, wajalasa faqīla lahu: ʾalā tadhhabu fataʾkhudhuhā? faqāla: ʾinnī qad kuntu qultu: fī sabīli Allāhi, waḥuddithtu ʿan baʿḍihim qāla: raʾaytu baʿḍa ʾikhwānī fī al-nawmi baʿda mawtihi faqultu: mā faʿala Allāhu bika?

A man came and said, “Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, your she-camel is in such-and-such a place.” He put on his sandal and stood up, then took it off, said, “I seek God's forgiveness,” and sat down. He was asked, “Will you not go and take it?” He replied, “I had already said, ‘For God's sake.’” I was told from someone who said, “I saw one of my brothers in a dream after his death and asked, ‘What did God do with you?’

فَقَالَ: غَفَرَ لِي وَأَدْخَلَنِي الْجَنَّةَ، وَعُرِضَتْ عَلَيَّ مَنَازِلِي فِيهَا فَرَأَيْتُهَا، قَالَ وَهُوَ فِي ذَلِكَ كَئِيبٌ حَزِينٌ فَقُلْتُ: قَدْ دَخَلْتَ الْجَنَّةَ وَغُفِرَ لَكَ وَأَنْتَ حَزِينٌ، فَتَنَفَّسَ الصُّعَدَاءَ ثُمَّ قَالَ: نَعَمْ إِنِّي لَا أَزَالُ حَزِينًا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، قُلْتُ: وَلِمَ ذَلِكَ؟ قَالَ: إِنِّي لَمَّا رَأَيْتُ مَنَازِلِي مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ رُفِعَتْ لِي مَقَامَاتٌ فِي عِلِّيِّينَ مَا رَأَيْتُ مِثْلَهَا فِيمَا رَأَيْتُ، فَفَرِحْتُ بِهَا،

faqāla: ghafara lī waʾadkhalanī al-jannata, waʿuriḍat ʿalayya manāzilī fīhā faraʾaytuhā, qāla wahuwa fī dhālika kaʾībun ḥazīnun faqultu: qad dakhalta al-jannata waghufira laka waʾanta ḥazīnun, fatanaffasa al-ṣuʿadāʾa thumma qāla: naʿam ʾinnī lā ʾazālu ḥazīnan ʾilā yawmi al-qiyāmati, qultu: walima dhālika? qāla: ʾinnī lammā raʾaytu manāzilī mina al-jannati rufiʿat lī maqāmātun fī ʿilliyyīna mā raʾaytu mithlahā fīmā raʾaytu, fafariḥtu bihā,

“He replied, ‘He forgave me and admitted me to the Garden. My dwellings there were shown to me, and I saw them.’ He added that the man was downcast and sad. I said, ‘You have entered the Garden and been forgiven, yet you are sad?’ He sighed deeply and replied, ‘Yes. I will remain sad until the Day of Resurrection.’ I asked, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘When I saw my dwellings in the Garden, stations in ʿIlliyyīn were raised into view for me, unlike anything else I had seen. I rejoiced in them.

فَلَمَّا هَمَمْتُ بِدُخُولِهَا، نَادَى مُنَادٍ مِنْ فَوْقِهَا: اصْرِفُوهُ عَنْهَا فَلَيْسَتْ هَذِهِ لَهُ، إِنَّمَا هَذِهِ لِمَنْ أَمْضَى السَّبِيلَ فَقُلْتُ: وَمَا أَمْضَى السَّبِيلَ؟ قِيلَ لِي: قَدْ كُنْتَ تَقُولُ لِلشَّيْءِ إِذَا ذَهَبَ مِنْكَ: فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، ثُمَّ تَرْجِعُ فِيهِ فَلَوْ كُنْتَ أَمْضَيْتَ السَّبِيلَ لَأَمْضَيْنَاهَا لَكَ،

falammā hamamtu bidukhūlihā, nādā munādin min fawqihā: iṣrifūhu ʿanhā falaysat hādhihi lahu, ʾinnamā hādhihi liman ʾamḍā al-sabīla faqultu: wamā ʾamḍā al-sabīla? qīla lī: qad kunta taqūlu li-l-shayʾi ʾidhā dhahaba minka: fī sabīli Allāhi, thumma tarjiʿu fīhi falaw kunta ʾamḍayta al-sabīla laʾamḍaynāhā laka,

“‘When I was about to enter them, a caller called from above them, “Turn him away; these are not his. They belong only to those who carry through what they dedicate for God's sake.” I asked, “What does carrying it through mean?” I was told, “When something was lost to you, you would say, ‘For God's sake,’ then take it back. Had you carried through your dedication, We would have granted these to you.”’”

وَقَدْ حَدَّثُونَا أَنَّ الرَّبِيعَ بْنَ خُثَيْمٍ سُرِقَ فَرَسُهُ وَكَانَ ثَمَنُهُ عِشْرِينَ أَلْفًا، وَكَانَ قَائِمًا يُصَلِّي فَلَمْ يَقْطَعْ صَلَاتَهُ وَلَمْ يَنْزَعِجْ لِطَلَبِهِ فَجَاءَهُ النَّاسُ يُعَزُّونَهُ فَقَالَ: أَمَا إِنِّي قَدْ كُنْتُ رَأَيْتُهُ وَهُوَ

waqad ḥaddathūnā ʾanna al-rabīʿa bna khuthaymin suriqa farasuhu wakāna thamanuhu ʿishrīna ʾalfan, wakāna qāʾiman yuṣallī falam yaqṭaʿ ṣalātahu walam yanzaʿij liṭalabihi fajāʾahu al-nāsu yuʿazzūnahu faqāla: ʾamā ʾinnī qad kuntu raʾaytuhu wahuwa

We were told that al-Rabīʿ ibn Khuthaym's horse was stolen. It was worth twenty thousand. He was standing in prayer, and neither broke off his prayer nor became agitated in pursuing it. People came to console him. He said, “I had indeed seen him while he was

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٥٦

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 56

Volume Two, page 56

يَحُلُّهُ، قِيلَ: وَمَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تَزْجُرَهُ؟ قَالَ: كُنْتُ فِيمَا هُوَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ ذَاكَ يَعْنِي الصَّلَاةَ قَالَ: فَجَعَلُوا يَدْعُونَ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ: لَا تَفْعَلُوا وَقُولُوا خَيْرًا فَإِنِّي قَدْ جَعَلْتُهَا صَدَقَةً عَلَيْهِ، وَقِيلَ لِبَعْضِهِمْ فِي شَيْءٍ قَدْ كَانَ سُرِقَ لَهُ: أَلَا تَدْعُو عَلَى ظَالِمِكَ؟ فَقَالَ: مَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَكُونَ عَوْنًا لِلشَّيْطَانِ عَلَيْهِ،

yaḥulluhu, qīla: wamā manaʿaka ʾan tazjurahu? qāla: kuntu fīmā huwa ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min dhāka yaʿnī al-ṣalāta qāla: fajaʿalū yadʿūna ʿalayhi faqāla: lā tafʿalū waqūlū khayran faʾinnī qad jaʿaltuhā ṣadaqatan ʿalayhi, waqīla libaʿḍihim fī shayʾin qad kāna suriqa lahu: ʾalā tadʿū ʿalā ẓālimika? faqāla: mā ʾuḥibbu ʾan ʾakūna ʿawnan li-l-shayṭāni ʿalayhi,

untying it.” He was asked, “What kept you from rebuking him?” He replied, “I was occupied with something I love more than that,” meaning prayer. They began praying against the thief. He said, “Do not do that; speak well. I have made it a charitable gift to him.” Someone else, from whom something had been stolen, was asked, “Will you not pray against the person who wronged you?” He replied, “I do not want to help Satan against him.”

قِيلَ: أَفَرَأَيْتَ لَوْ رُدَّتْ إِلَيْكَ سَرِقَتُكَ أَكُنْتَ تَأْخُذُهَا؟ قَالَ: وَلَا كُنْتُ أَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهَا إِنِّي قَدْ كُنْتُ أَحْلَلْتُهُ مِنْهَا، وَقِيلَ لِآخَرَ: اُدْعُ اللَّهَ عَلَى مَنْ ظَلَمَكَ، قَالَ: مَا ظَلَمَنِي أَحَدٌ ثُمَّ قَالَ: إِنَّمَا ظَلَمَ نَفْسَهُ فَلَا يَكْفِيهِ الْمِسْكِينَ ظُلْمُهُ لِنَفْسِهِ حَتَّى أَزِيدَهُ شَرًّا،

qīla: ʾafaraʾayta law ruddat ʾilayka sariqatuka ʾakunta taʾkhudhuhā? qāla: walā kuntu ʾanẓuru ʾilayhā ʾinnī qad kuntu ʾaḥlaltuhu minhā, waqīla liʾākhara: udʿu Allāha ʿalā man ẓalamaka, qāla: mā ẓalamanī ʾaḥadun thumma qāla: ʾinnamā ẓalama nafsahu falā yakfīhi al-miskīna ẓulmuhu linafsihi ḥattā ʾazīdahu sharran,

He was asked, “Suppose your stolen property were returned to you: would you take it?” He replied, “I would not even look at it. I have already released him from any claim to it.” Another was told, “Ask God to punish whoever wronged you.” He replied, “No one wronged me.” Then he said, “He wronged only himself. Does his wrongdoing against himself not suffice the poor man, without my adding further harm?”

وَذَهَبَ لِبَعْضِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مَالٌ فَجَاءَ قَوْمٌ يُعَزُّونَهُ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ: مَا تُعَزُّونِي عَلَى أَمْرِ الدُّنْيَا، فَوَاللَّهِ مَا حَزِنْتُ عَلَى ذَهَابِهَا فَكَيْفَ عَلَى ذَهَابِ شَيْءٍ مِنْهَا؟ قِيلَ: وَلِمَ؟ قَالَ: شَغَلَنِي الشُّكْرُ عَلَيْهِ عَنِ الْحُزْنِ، وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَقُولُونَ إِذَا ظُلِمُوا مِنَ الْغَصْبِ وَالسَّرِقَةِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ: هَذِهِ نِعْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْنَا إِذْ لَمْ يَجْعَلْنَا ظَالِمِينَ بَلْ مَظْلُومِينَ وَجَعَلَنَا أَعْظَمَ مِمَّا فَاتَنَا مِنَ الظُّلَامَةِ،

wadhahaba libaʿḍi al-muslimīna mālun fajāʾa qawmun yuʿazzūnahu ʿalayhi faqāla: mā tuʿazzūnī ʿalā ʾamri al-dunyā, fawa-Allāhi mā ḥazintu ʿalā dhahābihā fakayfa ʿalā dhahābi shayʾin minhā? qīla: walima? qāla: shaghalanī al-shukru ʿalayhi ʿani al-ḥuzni, waqad kānū yaqūlūna ʾidhā ẓulimū mina al-ghaṣbi wa-al-sariqati waghayri dhālika: hādhihi niʿmatu Allāhi ʿalaynā ʾidh lam yajʿalnā ẓālimīna bal maẓlūmīna wajaʿalanā ʾaʿẓama mimmā fātanā mina al-ẓulāmati,

A Muslim lost some property, and people came to console him. He said, “Why console me over a matter of this world? By God, I have not grieved over losing the world itself, so how could I grieve over losing something within it?” He was asked, “Why?” He replied, “Gratitude for it has occupied me instead of grief.” When wronged through seizure, theft, or other means, they would say, “This is God's blessing upon us: He made us the wronged rather than wrongdoers, and made us greater than what we lost through the wrong.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ السَّلَفُ يَخَافُونَ أَنْ يَذْكُرُوا الظَّالِمَ بِالسَّبِّ لَهُ وَالدُّعَاءِ عَلَيْهِ فَيَكُونَ ذَلِكَ زِيَادَةً عَلَى مَظْلَمَتِهِمْ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا: مَنْ دَعَا عَلَى ظَالِمِهِ فَقَدِ انْتَصَرَ، وَأَكْثَرَ بَعْضُهُمْ بِشَتْمِ الْحَجَّاجِ عِنْدَ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ فَقَالَ لَهُ: لَا تُغْرِقْ فِي شَتْمَتِهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يَنْتَصِفُ لِلْحَجَّاجِ مِمَّنِ انْتَهَكَ عِرْضَهُ كَمَا يَنْتَصِفُ مِنْهُ لِمَنْ أَخَذَ مَالَهُ،

waqad kāna al-salafu yakhāfūna ʾan yadhkurū al-ẓālima bi-al-sabbi lahu wa-al-duʿāʾi ʿalayhi fayakūna dhālika ziyādatan ʿalā maẓlamatihim. waqad rawaynā: man daʿā ʿalā ẓālimihi faqadi intaṣara, waʾakthara baʿḍuhum bishatmi al-ḥajjāji ʿinda baʿḍi al-salafi faqāla lahu: lā tughriq fī shatmatihi faʾinna Allāha yantaṣifu li-l-ḥajjāji mimmani intahaka ʿirḍahu kamā yantaṣifu minhu liman ʾakhadha mālahu,

The early generations feared that insulting a wrongdoer and praying against him might exceed the wrong they had suffered. We have related, “Whoever prays against the person who wronged him has taken redress.” Someone repeatedly reviled al-Ḥajjāj in the presence of an elder, who told him, “Do not go too far in reviling him. God will secure redress for al-Ḥajjāj from whoever violated his honor, just as He secures redress against him for those whose property he took.”

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيُظْلَمُ الْمَظْلَمَةَ، فَلَا يَزَالُ يَشْتُمُ ظَالِمَهُ وَيَسُبُّهُ حَتَّى يَكُونَ بِمِقْدَارِ مَا ظَلَمَهُ، ثُمَّ يَبْقَى لِلظَّالِمِ عَلَيْهِ مُطَالَبَةٌ بِمَا زَادَ عَلَيْهِ يُقْتَصُّ لَهُ مِنَ الْمَظْلُومِ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ لِرَجُلٍ وَقَدْ كَانَ شَكَا إِلَيْهِ قَطْعَ الطَّرِيقِ وَأَخْذَ مَالِهِ فَقَالَ لَهُ: إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ غَمُّكَ أَنَّهُ قَدْ صَارَ فِي الْمُسْلِمِينَ مَنْ يَسْتَحِلُّ هَذَا أَكْثَرَ مِنْ غَمِّكَ بِمَالِكَ فَمَا نَصَحْتَ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ،

wafī al-khabari ʾanna al-ʿabda layuẓlamu al-maẓlamata, falā yazālu yashtumu ẓālimahu wayasubbuhu ḥattā yakūna bimiqdāri mā ẓalamahu, thumma yabqā li-l-ẓālimi ʿalayhi muṭālabatun bimā zāda ʿalayhi yuqtaṣṣu lahu mina al-maẓlūmi, waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi lirajulin waqad kāna shakā ʾilayhi qaṭʿa al-ṭarīqi waʾakhdha mālihi faqāla lahu: ʾin lam yakun ghammuka ʾannahu qad ṣāra fī al-muslimīna man yastaḥillu hādhā ʾakthara min ghammika bimālika famā naṣaḥta li-l-muslimīna,

A report says that a servant suffers a wrong and keeps cursing and insulting the wrongdoer until his abuse equals the wrong. The wrongdoer then has a claim against him for whatever exceeds it, and redress is taken for him from the person wronged. A learned man said to someone who complained that he had been waylaid and robbed, “If your grief that there are now Muslims who regard this as permissible is not greater than your grief over your property, you have not wished Muslims well.”

وَسُرِقَتْ مِنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْفُضَيْلِ دَنَانِيرُ وَهُوَ يَطُوفُ بِالْبَيْتِ فَرَآهُ أَبُوهُ وَهُوَ يَبْكِي وَيَحْزَنُ فَقَالَ: أَعَلَى الدَّنَانِيرِ تَبْكِي؟ فَقَالَ: لَا وَاللَّهِ، وَلَكِنْ عَلَى الْمِسْكِينِ، أَنَّهُ يُسْأَلُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِهِمْ وَلَا يَكُونُ لَهُ حُجَّةٌ، وَقِيلَ لِبَعْضِهِمْ فِي مَعْنَى هَذَا: اُدْعُ عَلَى مَنْ ظَلَمَكَ، فَقَالَ: إِنِّي مَشْغُولٌ بِالْحُزْنِ عَلَيْهِ عَنِ الدُّعَاءِ عَلَيْهِ؛

wasuriqat min ʿaliyyi bni al-fuḍayli danānīru wahuwa yaṭūfu bi-al-bayti faraʾāhu ʾabūhu wahuwa yabkī wayaḥzanu faqāla: ʾaʿalā al-danānīri tabkī? faqāla: lā wa-Allāhi, wa-lākin ʿalā al-miskīni, ʾannahu yusʾalu yawma al-qiyāmati bihim walā yakūnu lahu ḥujjatun, waqīla libaʿḍihim fī maʿnā hādhā: udʿu ʿalā man ẓalamaka, faqāla: ʾinnī mashghūlun bi-al-ḥuzni ʿalayhi ʿani al-duʿāʾi ʿalayhi;

Dinars were stolen from ʿAlī ibn al-Fuḍayl while he was circling the House. His father saw him weeping and grieving, and asked, “Are you weeping over the dinars?” He replied, “No, by God, but over the poor man: he will be questioned about them on the Day of Resurrection and have no defense.” In the same spirit, someone was told, “Pray against the person who wronged you.” He replied, “Grief for him occupies me instead of praying against him.”

فَإِنْ رُدَّ عَلَى الْمُتَوَكِّلِ كُلُّ مَا أُخِذَ مِنْهُ فَالْأَفْضَلُ لَهُ أَنْ لَا يَتَمَلَّكَهُ، إِنْ كَانَ قَدْ جَعَلَهُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لِيُمْضِيَ السَّبِيلَ، فَإِنْ كَانَ قَدْ جَعَلَهُ صَدَقَةً عَلَى الْآخِذِ نَظَرَ فِي ذَلِكَ فَإِنْ كَانَ فَقِيرًا حَمَلَهُ فَقْرُهُ عَلَى السَّرِقَةِ وَالْخِيَانَةِ وَالْحَاجَةِ أَمْضَى صَدَقَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ صَرَفَهَا إِلَى فَقِيرٍ،

faʾin rudda ʿalā al-mutawakkili kullu mā ʾukhidha minhu fa-al-ʾafḍalu lahu ʾan lā yatamallakahu, ʾin kāna qad jaʿalahu fī sabīli Allāhi liyumḍiya al-sabīla, faʾin kāna qad jaʿalahu ṣadaqatan ʿalā al-ʾākhidhi naẓara fī dhālika faʾin kāna faqīran ḥamalahu faqruhu ʿalā al-sariqati wa-al-khiyānati wa-al-ḥājati ʾamḍā ṣadaqatahu ʿalayhi, waʾin kāna ghayra dhālika ṣarafahā ʾilā faqīrin,

If everything taken from the person who trusts is returned to him, it is better not to take ownership of it if he had dedicated it for God's sake, so that he carries that dedication through. If he had made it a charitable gift to the taker, he should consider the case. If the person is poor and poverty drove him to theft, betrayal, and need, he should carry out his charitable gift to him. Otherwise, he should give it to a poor person.

وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِذَا أُخِذَ لَهُ الشَّيْءُ يَشْتَرِطُ فَيَقُولُ: إِنْ كَانَ فَقِيرًا فَهُوَ صَدَقَةٌ عَلَيْهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ مُحْتَاجًا فَهُوَ فِي حِلٍّ، وَقَدْ أَخْبَرَنِي بَعْضُ الْأَشْيَاخِ عَنْ شَيْخٍ كَانَ بِمَكَّةَ مِنَ الْعُبَّادِ أَنَّهُ اتَّهَمَهُ بَعْضُ الْحُجَّاجِ بِسَرِقَةِ هِمْيَانِهِ لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ قَائِمًا إِلَى جَانِبِهِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: كَمْ كَانَ فِيهِ؟ فَأَخْبَرَهُ، فَحَمَلَهُ إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِ فَوَزَنَ لَهُ مِنَ الْمَالِ،

waqad kāna baʿḍuhum ʾidhā ʾukhidha lahu al-shayʾu yashtariṭu fayaqūlu: ʾin kāna faqīran fahuwa ṣadaqatun ʿalayhi, waʾin kāna muḥtājan fahuwa fī ḥillin, waqad ʾakhbaranī baʿḍu al-ʾashyākhi ʿan shaykhin kāna bimakkata mina al-ʿubbādi ʾannahu ittahamahu baʿḍu al-ḥujjāji bisariqati himyānihi liʾannahu kāna qāʾiman ʾilā jānibihi, faqāla lahu: kam kāna fīhi? faʾakhbarahu, faḥamalahu ʾilā manzilihi fawazana lahu mina al-māli,

When something was taken from them, some would stipulate, “If he is poor, it is a charitable gift to him; if he is in need, he is released from my claim.” An elder told me about an old worshipper in Mecca whom a pilgrim accused of stealing his purse because he had been standing beside him. The worshipper asked, “How much was in it?” He told him, and the worshipper took him home and weighed out the money for him.

ثُمَّ إِنَّ أَصْحَابَهُ أَعْلَمُوهُ أَنَّهُمْ مَزَحُوا مَعَهُ وَحَلُّوا هِمْيَانَهُ وَهُوَ نَائِمٌ، فَجَاءَ هُوَ وَأَصْحَابُهُ إِلَيْهِ فَرَدُّوا عَلَيْهِ مَالَهُ، فَقَالَ: مَا كَانَتْ لِتَعُودَ إِلَيَّ بَعْدَ إِذْ خَرَجَتْ هِيَ

thumma ʾinna ʾaṣḥābahu ʾaʿlamūhu ʾannahum mazaḥū maʿahu waḥallū himyānahu wahuwa nāʾimun, fajāʾa huwa waʾaṣḥābuhu ʾilayhi faraddū ʿalayhi mālahu, faqāla: mā kānat litaʿūda ʾilayya baʿda ʾidh kharajat hiya

Then the pilgrim's companions told him they had been joking with him and had untied his purse while he slept. He and his companions came to the worshipper and returned his money. He said, “It cannot come back to me after it has gone out. It belongs

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٥٧

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 57

Volume Two, page 57

لَكُمْ، فَقُلْنَا: لَا حَاجَةَ لَنَا فِيهَا فَقَالَ: خُذُوهَا، قَالَ: فَأَبَيْنَا، فَقَالَ: يَا بُنَيَّ، وَدَعَا ابْنًا لَهُ وَجَعَلَ يَصُرُّهَا صُرَرًا وَيَبْعَثُ بِهَا إِلَى قَوْمٍ حَتَّى فَرَغَ مِنْهَا، وَهَذَا كَانَتْ نِيَّتُهُ إِخْرَاجَهَا لِلَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ فَلَمْ يَعُدْ فِيمَا أَخْرَجَهُ،

lakum, faqulnā: lā ḥājata lanā fīhā faqāla: khudhūhā, qāla: faʾabaynā, faqāla: yā bunayya, wadaʿā ibnan lahu wajaʿala yaṣurruhā ṣuraran wayabʿathu bihā ʾilā qawmin ḥattā faragha minhā, wa-hādhā kānat niyyatuhu ʾikhrājahā li-llāhi subḥānahu falam yaʿud fīmā ʾakhrajahu,

to you.” We said, “We have no need of it.” He said, “Take it.” The narrator continued, “We refused,” so he called, “My son!” He summoned a son of his and began tying the money into small bundles and sending them to people until he had disposed of it all. His intention had been to give it away for God, glorified be He, so he did not take back what he had given.

كَمَا نَقُولُ فِيمَنْ أَخْرَجَ رَغِيفًا إِلَى سَائِلٍ أَوْ أَعَدَّ دِرْهَمًا لِفَقِيرٍ فَلَمْ يُصَادِفْهُ: إِنَّا نَسْتَحِبُّ أَنْ لَا يَرْجِعَ إِلَى مِلْكِهِ بَلْ يَعْزِلَهُ لِسَائِلٍ آخَرَ أَوْ فَقِيرٍ غَيْرِهِ، لَمْ يَزَلْ هَذَا مِنْ أَخْلَاقِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَقَدْ رَأَيْنَا مَنْ كَانَ بِهَذَا الْوَصْفِ وَهَذَا طَرِيقٌ قَدْ عَفَا أَثَرُهُ وَدَرَسَ خَبَرُهُ، فَمَنْ عَمِلَ بِهِ فَقَدْ أَحْيَاهُ وَأَظْهَرَهُ وَقَدْ كَانَ قَدِيمًا طَرِيقًا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ السَّابِلَةُ مِنَ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ.

kamā naqūlu fīman ʾakhraja raghīfan ʾilā sāʾilin ʾaw ʾaʿadda dirhaman lifaqīrin falam yuṣādifhu: ʾinnā nastaḥibbu ʾan lā yarjiʿa ʾilā milkihi bal yaʿzilahu lisāʾilin ʾākhara ʾaw faqīrin ghayrihi, lam yazal hādhā min ʾakhlāqi al-muʾminīna, waqad raʾaynā man kāna bi-hādhā al-waṣfi wa-hādhā ṭarīqun qad ʿafā ʾatharuhu wadarasa khabaruhu, faman ʿamila bihi faqad ʾaḥyāhu waʾaẓharahu waqad kāna qadīman ṭarīqan ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhi al-sābilatu mina al-ʾawliyāʾi.

Likewise, we say that when someone takes out a loaf for a beggar or sets aside a dirham for a poor person but does not find him, we prefer that it not return to his ownership. He should put it aside for another beggar or poor person. This has always been among believers' qualities, and we have seen people who embody it. This path's traces have faded and its story has been effaced. Whoever practices it revives it and brings it to light. Long ago it was a road to God Most High traveled by His friends.

ذِكْرُ بَيَانٍ آخَرَ مِنْ أَحْكَامِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ

dhikru bayānin ʾākhara min ʾaḥkāmi al-mutawakkili

A Further Explanation of the Conduct of One Who Trusts

اعْلَمْ أَنَّ التَّوَكُّلَ عَلَى اللَّهِ فِي الْأَسْبَابِ لَا يُوجِبُ بَقَاءَهَا لِلْعَبْدِ وَلَا إِيثَارَهُ بِهَا وَلَا حِفْظَهَا عَلَيْهِ، وَلَا يُقَدِّمُ شَيْئًا عَنْ شَيْءٍ وَلَا يُؤَخِّرُهُ لِصَلَاحِ دُنْيَا أَوِ اخْتِيَارِ عَبْدٍ، بَلْ هُوَ إِلَى الْإِذْهَابِ وَالْإِتْلَافِ أَقْرَبُ لِأَنَّ التَّوَكُّلَ قَرِينُ الزُّهْدِ، هَكَذَا هُوَ عِنْدَ الْخُصُوصِ وَلِأَجْلِ اخْتِبَارِ الْعَبْدِ وَتَحْقِيقِ صِدْقِهِ مِحْنَةً لَهُ،

iʿlam ʾanna al-tawakkula ʿalā Allāhi fī al-ʾasbābi lā yūjibu baqāʾahā li-l-ʿabdi walā ʾīthārahu bihā walā ḥifẓahā ʿalayhi, walā yuqaddimu shayʾan ʿan shayʾin walā yuʾakhkhiruhu liṣalāḥi dunyā ʾawi ikhtiyāri ʿabdin, bal huwa ʾilā al-ʾidhhābi wa-al-ʾitlāfi ʾaqrabu liʾanna al-tawakkula qarīnu al-zuhdi, hākadhā huwa ʿinda al-khuṣūṣi waliʾajli ikhtibāri al-ʿabdi wataḥqīqi ṣidqihi miḥnatan lahu,

Know that trusting God regarding means does not ensure that they will remain with the servant, that he will be favored with them, or that they will be preserved for him. It does not bring one thing before another or delay it for worldly benefit or a servant's preference. Rather, it is closer to removal and loss, for trust accompanies renunciation. So it is among the elect, and this serves to test the servant and establish his truthfulness through a trial.

وَلِأَجْلِ مَنْ نَفَى الشَّيْءَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا، قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: ﴿فَمَا أُوتِيتُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَمَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ﴾ الشُّورَى: 36 فَإِنْ ذَهَبَ مَالُهُ فَصَبَرَ أَوْ شَكَرَ أَوْ رَضِيَ، كَانَ صَادِقًا فِي تَوَكُّلِهِ، وَهَذِهِ أَحْوَالُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ إِنْ كَانُوا صَادِقِينَ، وَإِنْ عَجَزَ وَاضْطَرَبَ كَانَ كَاذِبًا فِي تَوَهُّمِهِ لِلتَّوَكُّلِ

waliʾajli man nafā al-shayʾa mina al-dunyā, qāla Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā: ﴿famā ʾūtītum min shayʾin famatāʿu al-ḥayāti﴾ al-shūrā: 36 faʾin dhahaba māluhu faṣabara ʾaw shakara ʾaw raḍiya, kāna ṣādiqan fī tawakkulihi, wa-hādhihi ʾaḥwālu al-mutawakkilīna fī al-tawakkuli ʾin kānū ṣādiqīna, waʾin ʿajaza waḍṭaraba kāna kādhiban fī tawahhumihi li-l-tawakkuli

It is also for the sake of one who rejects a worldly thing. God, glorified and exalted, said, “Whatever you are given is the enjoyment of life” (al-Shūrā 36). If his property goes and he is patient, grateful, or content, he is truthful in his trust. These are the states of those who trust, if they are truthful. If he falters and becomes disturbed, he is false in imagining that he trusts.

وَيَلْزَمُهُ مِنْ مُجَاهَدَةِ النَّفْسِ عِنْدَ اضْطِرَابِهَا بَعْدَ عَدَمِ الْأَشْيَاءِ مَا يَلْزَمُهُ مِنْ مُجَاهَدَاتِهَا وَنَفْيِ الْآفَاتِ فِي سَائِرِ الْأَعْمَالِ، فَإِنْ حُفِظَ عَلَيْهِ مَالُهُ فَقَدْ رُفِقَ بِهِ فِي ذَلِكَ وَسُتِرَ عَلَيْهِ عَنْ كَشْفِ حَقِيقَةِ حَالِهِ بِتَلَفِ ذَلِكَ، وَجُعِلَتْ كَرَامَةً مِنَ الدُّنْيَا لَهُ لِيَطْمَئِنَّ بِذَلِكَ فِي حَالِهِ وَيَسْكُنَ بِهِ قَلْبُهُ فِي طَرِيقِهِ، وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الضُّعَفَاءِ،

wayalzamuhu min mujāhadati al-nafsi ʿinda iḍṭirābihā baʿda ʿadami al-ʾashyāʾi mā yalzamuhu min mujāhadātihā wanafyi al-ʾāfāti fī sāʾiri al-ʾaʿmāli, faʾin ḥufiẓa ʿalayhi māluhu faqad rufiqa bihi fī dhālika wasutira ʿalayhi ʿan kashfi ḥaqīqati ḥālihi bitalafi dhālika, wajuʿilat karāmatan mina al-dunyā lahu liyaṭmaʾinna bi-dhālika fī ḥālihi wayaskuna bihi qalbuhu fī ṭarīqihi, wa-hādhā maqāmu al-ḍuʿafāʾi,

When his soul becomes disturbed after things are lost, he must struggle with it just as he must struggle with it and remove afflictions in all other actions. If his property is preserved, he has been treated gently and shielded from having the reality of his condition exposed through its loss. This has been made a worldly favor for him, so that he may feel reassured in his state and his heart may rest through it on his path. This is the station of the weak.

وَإِنْ نَقَصَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا فَقَدْ أُقِيمَ مَقَامَ أَهْلِ الْبَلَاءِ، الْأَمْثَلِ فَالْأَمْثَلِ بِالْأَنْبِيَاءِ، وَلَوْلَا الِامْتِحَانُ لَكَثُرَ الصَّادِقُونَ وَكَذَلِكَ التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَى اللَّهِ فِي تَرْكِ الدَّوَاءِ لَا يَجْلِبُ الْعَوَافِيَ وَلَا يُعَجِّلُهَا، وَلَا يَنْقُصُ مِنَ الْأَمْرَاضِ وَلَا يُذْهِبُهَا، بَلْ هُوَ إِلَى الِازْدِيَادِ مِنْهَا أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّمْحِيصِ وَالِابْتِلَاءِ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَلِيُمَحِّصَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَيَمْحَقَ الْكَافِرِينَ﴾ آلِ عِمْرَانَ: 141،

waʾin naqaṣa mina al-dunyā faqad ʾuqīma maqāma ʾahli al-balāʾi, al-ʾamthali fa-al-ʾamthali bi-al-ʾanbiyāʾi, walawlā al-imtiḥānu lakathura al-ṣādiqūna wa-kadhālika al-tawakkulu ʿalā Allāhi fī tarki al-dawāʾi lā yajlibu al-ʿawāfiya walā yuʿajjiluhā, walā yanquṣu mina al-ʾamrāḍi walā yudhhibuhā, bal huwa ʾilā al-izdiyādi minhā ʾaqrabu li-l-tamḥīṣi wa-al-ibtilāʾi, waminhu qawluhu ʿazza wajalla: ﴿waliyumaḥḥiṣa Allāhu alladhīna ʾāmanū wayamḥaqa al-kāfirīna﴾ ʾāli ʿimrāna: 141,

If his worldly goods diminish, he has been placed in the station of those undergoing trial, those most like the prophets, then those next most like them. Were it not for testing, the truthful would be many. Likewise, trusting God in refraining from medicine does not bring or hasten recovery, diminish illness, or remove it. Rather, it is closer to increasing illness for purification and testing. This is part of His saying, mighty and majestic, “So that God may purify those who believe and efface the unbelievers” (Āl ʿImrān 141).

فَمَنْ لَمْ يَشْهَدْ نُقْصَانَ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ النَّفْسِ وَالْمَالِ نِعْمَةً تُوجِبُ عَلَيْهِ الشُّكْرَ، وَيَرَى الْمَنْعَ عَطَاءً فَقَدْ جَهِلَ تِلْكَ النِّعْمَةَ بِإِضَاعَةِ شُكْرِهَا، فَمَا فَاتَهُ مِنْ جَهْلِ النِّعْمَةِ وَتَرْكِ الشُّكْرِ أَعْظَمُ مِمَّا يَتْرُكُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الدُّنْيَا، وَأَخَافُ عَلَيْهِ لَطِيفَةً مِنَ الْمَحْقِ، وَالْمَحْقُ نُقْصَانُ الشَّيْءِ إِلَى ذَهَابِ جُمْلَتِهِ عِنْدَ الْكُفْرِ بِنِعْمَتِهِ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: وَيَمْحَقَ الْكَافِرِينَ

faman lam yashhad nuqṣāna al-dunyā mina al-nafsi wa-al-māli niʿmatan tūjibu ʿalayhi al-shukra, wayarā al-manʿa ʿaṭāʾan faqad jahila tilka al-niʿmata biʾiḍāʿati shukrihā, famā fātahu min jahli al-niʿmati watarki al-shukri ʾaʿẓamu mimmā yatruku min jamīʿi al-dunyā, waʾakhāfu ʿalayhi laṭīfatan mina al-maḥqi, wa-al-maḥqu nuqṣānu al-shayʾi ʾilā dhahābi jumlatihi ʿinda al-kufri biniʿmatihi liqawlihi taʿālā: wayamḥaqa al-kāfirīna

Whoever does not see a worldly reduction in person or property as a blessing requiring gratitude, and withholding as giving, has failed to recognize that blessing by neglecting to thank for it. What he loses through not recognizing the blessing and abandoning gratitude is greater than whatever he leaves of the entire world. I fear for him a subtle form of effacement. Effacement is the reduction of a thing until it disappears altogether when its blessing is denied, as in His saying, exalted is He, “And efface the unbelievers.”

فَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ أَيَّ شَيْءٍ يَمْحَقُهُ وَيَنْقُصُهُ، بِمِقْدَارِ مَا كَفَرَ شُكْرَ نِعْمَتِهِ، وَقَدْ قَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ: ﴿وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ﴾ الْبَقَرَةِ: 155 فَهَذَا النَّقْصُ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْخَمْسِ الَّتِي الْمَزِيدُ مِنْهَا هُوَ جُمْلَةُ الدُّنْيَا، هُوَ الْمَزِيدُ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ لَا ضِدُّ الدُّنْيَا

fa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu ʾayya shayʾin yamḥaquhu wayanquṣuhu, bimiqdāri mā kafara shukra niʿmatihi, waqad qāla subḥānahu: ﴿walanabluwannakum bishayʾin mina al-khawfi wa-al-jūʿi wanaqṣin mina al-ʾamwāli wa-al-ʾanfusi wa-al-thamarāti wabashshiri al-ṣābirīna﴾ al-baqarati: 155 fa-hādhā al-naqṣu min hādhihi al-khamsi allatī al-mazīdu minhā huwa jumlatu al-dunyā, huwa al-mazīdu mina al-ʾākhirati lā ḍiddu al-dunyā

God knows best what He effaces and diminishes, in proportion to the person's denial of gratitude for His blessing. He, glorified be He, has said, “We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a reduction of possessions, lives, and fruits. Give good news to the patient” (al-Baqara 155). This reduction in these five things, increase in which constitutes the whole of worldly life, is increase in the hereafter, not the opposite of worldly life,

كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ﴾ الشُّورَى: 36 فَصَبَرُوا عَلَى مَصَائِبِهِمْ تَوَكُّلًا عَلَى رَبِّهِمْ، ثُمَّ تَوَكَّلُوا رَبَّهُمْ لِشَهَادَةِ وَكِيلِهِمْ

kamā qāla taʿālā: ﴿wamā ʿinda Allāhi khayrun waʾabqā li-lladhīna ʾāmanū waʿalā rabbihim yatawakkalūna﴾ al-shūrā: 36 faṣabarū ʿalā maṣāʾibihim tawakkulan ʿalā rabbihim, thumma tawakkalū rabbahum lishahādati wakīlihim

as the Most High said, “What is with God is better and more lasting for those who believe and trust in their Lord” (al-Shūrā 36). They therefore endured their afflictions patiently, trusting in their Lord. Then they trusted their Lord through witnessing their Trustee

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٥٨

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 58

Volume Two, page 58

وَلِحُسْنِ ظَنِّهِمْ بِهِ، ثُمَّ صَبَرُوا عَلَى تَوَكُّلِهِمْ لِتَمَامِ حَالِهِمْ، وَيَعْلُو بِذَلِكَ فِيهِ مَقَامُهُمْ: فَالصَّبْرُ أَوَّلُ مَقَامٍ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ وَهُوَ عِنْدَ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْقَضَاءِ بَلَاءً، وَالشُّكْرُ أَعْلَى مِنْ ذَلِكَ هُوَ شُهُودُ الْبَلَاءِ نِعْمَةً، وَالرِّضَا فَوْقَ ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَى التَّوَكُّلِ وَهُوَ مَقَامُ الْمُحِبِّينَ مِنَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ،

waliḥusni ẓannihim bihi, thumma ṣabarū ʿalā tawakkulihim litamāmi ḥālihim, wayaʿlū bi-dhālika fīhi maqāmuhum: fa-al-ṣabru ʾawwalu maqāmin fī al-tawakkuli wahuwa ʿinda mushāhadati al-qaḍāʾi balāʾan, wa-al-shukru ʾaʿlā min dhālika huwa shuhūdu al-balāʾi niʿmatan, wa-al-riḍā fawqa dhālika kullihi wahuwa ʾaʿlā al-tawakkuli wahuwa maqāmu al-muḥibbīna mina al-mutawakkilīna,

and thinking well of Him. They then persevered in their trust to perfect their state, and through this their station within it rises. Patience is the first station in trust, when one witnesses the decree as a trial. Gratitude is higher: witnessing trial as a blessing. Contentment stands above all of this and is the highest trust, the station of lovers among those who trust.

قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي وَصْفِ عُمُومِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ: ﴿وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ﴾ الْقَصَصِ: 60، فَمَنِ اتَّقَى اللَّهَ وَعَقَلَ خِطَابَهُ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ فِيمَا أَصَابَهُ، فَلَمْ يَيْأَسْ عَلَى مَا فَاتَ وَلَمْ يَفْرَحْ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَا هُوَ آتٍ وَهَذَا أَوْسَطُ الزُّهْدِ وَأَوَّلُ التَّوَكُّلِ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ الْخُصُوصِ: ﴿وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ﴾ الشُّورَى: 36

qāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla fī waṣfi ʿumūmi al-mutawakkilīna: ﴿wamā ʿinda Allāhi khayrun waʾabqā ʾafalā taʿqilūna﴾ al-qaṣaṣi: 60, famani ittaqā Allāha waʿaqala khiṭābahu tawakkala ʿalayhi fīmā ʾaṣābahu, falam yayʾas ʿalā mā fāta walam yafraḥ mina al-dunyā bimā huwa ʾātin wa-hādhā ʾawsaṭu al-zuhdi waʾawwalu al-tawakkuli, waqāla taʿālā fī waṣfi al-khuṣūṣi: ﴿wamā ʿinda Allāhi khayrun waʾabqā li-lladhīna ʾāmanū waʿalā rabbihim yatawakkalūna﴾ al-shūrā: 36

God, mighty and majestic, described the general body of those who trust: “What is with God is better and more lasting. Will you not understand?” (al-Qaṣaṣ 60). Whoever fears God and understands His address trusts Him regarding whatever befalls him. He does not despair over what is gone or rejoice in what of this world is coming. This is the middle of renunciation and the beginning of trust. Describing the elect, He Most High said, “What is with God is better and more lasting for those who believe and trust in their Lord” (al-Shūrā 36).

فَأَهْلُ الْعَقْلِ عَنِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُتَّقُونَ لَهُ هُمُ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ عَلَيْهِ، وَقَدْ زَهَّدَهُمْ فِيمَا يَفْنَى بِتَرْغِيبِهِ إِيَّاهُمْ فِيمَا يَبْقَى حِينَ فَهِمُوا الْخِطَابَ، إِذْ هُمْ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ أَضَافَ مَا عِنْدَهُ إِلَيْهِ وَوَصَفَهُ بِالْبَقَاءِ لِيَرْغَبُوا فِيهِ، لِأَنَّهُمْ قَدْ تَوَكَّلُوا عَلَيْهِ وَأَضَافَ مَا عِنْدَهُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ لِيَزْهَدُوا فِيهِ، وَوَصَفَهُ بِالْفَنَاءِ لِأَنَّهُمْ قَدْ زَهِدُوا فِي نُفُوسِهِمْ، إِذْ قَدْ بَاعُوهَا مِنْهُ،

faʾahlu al-ʿaqli ʿani Allāhi wa-al-muttaqūna lahu humu al-mutawakkilūna ʿalayhi, waqad zahhadahum fīmā yafnā bitarghībihi ʾiyyāhum fīmā yabqā ḥīna fahimū al-khiṭāba, ʾidh hum ʾulū al-ʾalbābi wa-dhālika ʾannahu ʾaḍāfa mā ʿindahu ʾilayhi wawaṣafahu bi-al-baqāʾi liyarghabū fīhi, liʾannahum qad tawakkalū ʿalayhi waʾaḍāfa mā ʿindahum ʾilayhim liyazhadū fīhi, wawaṣafahu bi-al-fanāʾi liʾannahum qad zahidū fī nufūsihim, ʾidh qad bāʿūhā minhu,

Those who understand from God and fear Him are those who trust Him. He made them renounce what passes away by encouraging them to desire what remains, once they understood the address, for they possess understanding. He ascribed what is with Him to Himself and described it as lasting, so that they might desire it, because they had trusted Him. He ascribed what is with them to them, so that they might renounce it, and described it as passing away. They have renounced their own selves, having sold them to Him:

فَكَيْفَ يَتَمَلَّكُونَ مَا عِنْدَهَا؟ وَالْعَبْدُ وَمَالُهُ لِسَيِّدِهِ وَهُوَ تَعَالَى قَدِ اشْتَرَاهَا مِنْهُمْ لِرَغْبَتِهِمْ فِيهِ، وَعَوَّضَهُمْ مِنْهَا مَا يَبْقَى لَهُمْ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿مَا عِنْدَكُمْ يَنْفَدُ وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ بَاقٍ﴾ النَّحْلِ: 96.

fakayfa yatamallakūna mā ʿindahā? wa-al-ʿabdu wamāluhu lisayyidihi wahuwa taʿālā qadi ishtarāhā minhum liraghbatihim fīhi, waʿawwaḍahum minhā mā yabqā lahum faqāla taʿālā: ﴿mā ʿindakum yanfadu wamā ʿinda Allāhi bāqin﴾ al-naḥli: 96.

How then could they take ownership of what those selves possess? The servant and his property belong to his master. He Most High has purchased their selves from them because of their desire for Him and compensated them with what remains theirs. He Most High said, “What is with you runs out; what is with God remains” (al-Naḥl 96).

ذِكْرُ بَيَانٍ آخَرَ مِنْ فَضِيلَةِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ

dhikru bayānin ʾākhara min faḍīlati al-mutawakkili

A Further Explanation of the Excellence of One Who Trusts

اعْلَمْ يَقِينًا أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَوْ جَعَلَ الْخَلَائِقَ كُلَّهُمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرَضِينَ عَلَى عِلْمِ أَعْلَمِهِمْ بِهِ، وَعَقْلِ أَعْقَلِهِمْ عَنْهُ وَحِكْمَةِ أَحْكَمِهِمْ عِنْدَهُ، ثُمَّ زَادَ كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الْخَلَائِقِ مِثْلَ عَدَدِ جَمِيعِهِمْ وَأَضْعَافَهُ عِلْمًا وَحِكْمَةً وَعَقْلًا، ثُمَّ كَشَفَ لَهُمُ الْعَوَاقِبَ وَأَطْلَعَهُمْ عَلَى السَّرَائِرِ وَأَعْلَمَهُمْ بَوَاطِنَ النِّعَمِ، وَعَرَّفَهُمْ دَقَائِقَ الْعُقُوبَاتِ وَأَوْقَفَهُمْ عَلَى خَفَايَا اللُّطْفِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ،

iʿlam yaqīnan ʾanna Allāha taʿālā law jaʿala al-khalāʾiqa kullahum min ʾahli al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾaraḍīna ʿalā ʿilmi ʾaʿlamihim bihi, waʿaqli ʾaʿqalihim ʿanhu waḥikmati ʾaḥkamihim ʿindahu, thumma zāda kulla wāḥidin mina al-khalāʾiqi mithla ʿadadi jamīʿihim waʾaḍʿāfahu ʿilman waḥikmatan waʿaqlan, thumma kashafa lahumu al-ʿawāqiba waʾaṭlaʿahum ʿalā al-sarāʾiri waʾaʿlamahum bawāṭina al-niʿami, waʿarrafahum daqāʾiqa al-ʿuqūbāti waʾawqafahum ʿalā khafāyā al-luṭfi fī al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati,

Know with certainty: if God Most High gave all creatures in the heavens and the earths the knowledge of the one who knows Him best, the understanding of the one who best understands from Him, and the wisdom of the wisest in His sight, then increased each creature in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding by the number of them all and many times more; if He then disclosed outcomes to them, let them see secrets, taught them the hidden aspects of blessings, made them know the subtleties of punishments, and showed them the hidden forms of His kindness in this world and the hereafter,

ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُمْ: دَبِّرُوا الْمُلْكَ بِمَا أَعْطَيْتُكُمْ مِنَ الْعُلُومِ وَالْعُقُولِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَتِكُمْ عَوَاقِبَ الْأُمُورِ، ثُمَّ أَعَانَهُمْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَقَوَّاهُمْ لَهُ، لَمَا زَادَ تَدْبِيرُهُمْ عَلَى مَا يَرَاهُ مِنْ تَدْبِيرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ وَالنَّفْعِ وَالضُّرِّ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ، وَلَا نَقَصَ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ وَلَا أَوْجَبَتِ الْعُقُولُ الْمُكَاشَفَاتُ وَلَا الْعُلُومُ الْمُشَاهَدَاتُ غَيْرَ هَذَا التَّدْبِيرِ،

thumma qāla lahum: dabbirū al-mulka bimā ʾaʿṭaytukum mina al-ʿulūmi wa-al-ʿuqūli ʿan mushāhadatikum ʿawāqiba al-ʾumūri, thumma ʾaʿānahum ʿalā dhālika waqawwāhum lahu, lamā zāda tadbīruhum ʿalā mā yarāhu min tadbīri Allāhi taʿālā mina al-khayri wa-al-sharri wa-al-nafʿi wa-al-ḍurri janāḥa baʿūḍatin, walā naqaṣa janāḥa baʿūḍatin walā ʾawjabati al-ʿuqūlu al-mukāshafātu walā al-ʿulūmu al-mushāhadātu ghayra hādhā al-tadbīri,

then said to them, “Manage the kingdom with the knowledge and understanding I have given you, from your witnessing of how matters end,” and helped and strengthened them to do so, their management would not add a mosquito's wing to what is seen of God Most High's management in good and evil, benefit and harm, nor subtract a mosquito's wing. Neither minds to which things are disclosed nor knowledge attained through witnessing would require any management other than this,

وَلَا قَضَتْ بِغَيْرِ هَذَا التَّقْدِيرِ الَّذِي يُعَايِنُهُ وَيُقَلَّبُ فِيهِ، وَلَكِنْ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ لِأَنَّهُ أَجْرَاهُ عَلَى تَرْتِيبِ الْعُقُولِ وَعَلَى مَعَانِي الْعُرْفِ وَالْمُعْتَادِ مِنَ الْأُمُورِ، بِالْأَسْبَابِ الْمَعْرُوفَةِ وَالْأَوَاسِطِ الْمَشْهُورَةِ عَلَى مِعْيَارِ مَا طَبَعَ الْعُقُولَ فِيهِ وَجَبَلَ الْعُقُولَ عَلَيْهِ، ثُمَّ غَيَّبَ مَعَ ذَلِكَ الْعَوَاقِبَ وَحَجَبَ السَّرَائِرَ وَأَخْفَى الْمَثَاوِبَ، فَغَابَ بِعَيْنِهَا حُسْنُ التَّدْبِيرِ وَجَمِيلُ التَّقْدِيرِ فَجَهِلَ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ الْحِكَمَ إِلَّا الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ وَمَا يَعْقِلُهَا إِلَّا الْعَالِمُونَ،

walā qaḍat bighayri hādhā al-taqdīri alladhī yuʿāyinuhu wayuqallabu fīhi, wa-lākin lā yubṣirūna liʾannahu ʾajrāhu ʿalā tartībi al-ʿuqūli waʿalā maʿānī al-ʿurfi wa-al-muʿtādi mina al-ʾumūri, bi-al-ʾasbābi al-maʿrūfati wa-al-ʾawāsiṭi al-mashhūrati ʿalā miʿyāri mā ṭabaʿa al-ʿuqūla fīhi wajabala al-ʿuqūla ʿalayhi, thumma ghayyaba maʿa dhālika al-ʿawāqiba waḥajaba al-sarāʾira waʾakhfā al-mathāwiba, faghāba biʿaynihā ḥusnu al-tadbīri wajamīlu al-taqdīri fajahila ʾaktharu al-nāsi al-ḥikama ʾillā al-mutawakkilīna wamā yaʿqiluhā ʾillā al-ʿālimūna,

nor judge in favor of any decree other than the one a person sees and through which he is moved. Yet they do not perceive it, because He makes it proceed according to the ordering of minds and the familiar, customary meanings of things, through known causes and familiar intermediaries, in the measure to which He fashioned and disposed their minds. Alongside this He conceals outcomes, veils secrets, and hides rewards. The goodness of His management and beauty of His determination are therefore hidden in those very things. Most people, except those who trust, fail to know these wisdoms; only those who know understand them.

وَيُقَالُ: أَصْغَرُ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْحَيَوَانِ وَالْمَوَاتِ الْبَعُوضَةُ وَالْخَرْدَلَةُ، وَفِي كُلِّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِنْهَا ثَلَاثُمِائَةٍ وَسِتُّونَ حِكْمَةً، ثُمَّ يَتَزَايَدُ الْحِكَمُ فِي الْمَخْلُوقَاتِ عَلَى قَدْرِ تَفَاوُتِهَا فِي الْعِظَمِ وَالْمَنَافِعِ وَمَزِيدٌ آخَرُ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْبَيَانِ لَوْ تَمَنَّى أَهْلُ النُّهَى مِنْ أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ الَّذِينَ كُشِفَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمُ الْحِجَابُ نِهَايَةَ أَمَانِيِّهِمْ، فَكُوِّنَتْ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ عَلَى مَا تَمَنَّوْا لَكَانَ رِضَاهُمْ عَنِ اللَّهِ فِي

wayuqālu: ʾaṣgharu mā khalaqa Allāhu mina al-ḥayawāni wa-al-mawāti al-baʿūḍatu wa-al-khardalatu, wafī kulli wāḥidatin minhā thalāthumiʾatin wasittūna ḥikmatan, thumma yatazāyadu al-ḥikamu fī al-makhlūqāti ʿalā qadri tafāwutihā fī al-ʿiẓami wa-al-manāfiʿi wamazīdun ʾākharu mina al-hudā wa-al-bayāni law tamannā ʾahlu al-nuhā min ʾulī al-ʾalbābi alladhīna kushifa ʿan qulūbihimu al-ḥijābu nihāyata ʾamāniyyihim, fakuwwinat ʾamāniyyuhum ʿalā mā tamannaw lakāna riḍāhum ʿani Allāhi fī

It is said that the smallest things God created among living and lifeless things are the mosquito and the mustard seed, and each contains three hundred and sixty wisdoms. The wisdoms in created things increase with their differences in size and benefit. A further increase in guidance and clarification: if people of reason and understanding, from whose hearts the veil has been lifted, wished for their utmost desires and those desires came into being just as they wished, their contentment with God in

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٥٩

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 59

Volume Two, page 59

تَدْبِيرِهِ وَمَعْرِفَتُهُمْ بِحُسْنِ تَقْدِيرِهِ لَهُمْ، خَيْرٌ لَهُمْ مِنْ كَوْنِ أَمَانِيِّهِمْ، وَأَفْضَلُ لَهُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَحْكَمُ الْحَاكِمِينَ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى مُوَبِّخًا لِلْإِنْسَانِ مُجَهِّلًا لِلتَّمَنِّي لِقِلَّةِ الْإِيقَانِ: ﴿أَمْ لِلْإِنْسَانِ مَا تَمَنَّى﴾ ﴿فَلِلَّهِ الْآخِرَةُ وَالْأُولَى﴾ النَّجْمِ: 24–25 أَيْ يَحْكُمُ فِيهِمَا بِتَرْكِ الْأَمَانِيِّ لِأَنَّهُ قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَلَوِ اتَّبَعَ الْحَقُّ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ لَفَسَدَتِ السَّمَٰوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ﴾ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ: 71

tadbīrihi wamaʿrifatuhum biḥusni taqdīrihi lahum, khayrun lahum min kawni ʾamāniyyihim, waʾafḍalu lahum ʿinda Allāhi min qibali ʾanna Allāha ʾaḥkamu al-ḥākimīna, waqāla taʿālā muwabbikhan li-l-ʾinsāni mujahhilan li-l-tamannī liqillati al-ʾīqāni: ﴿ʾam li-l-ʾinsāni mā tamannā﴾ ﴿fa-li-llāhi al-ʾākhiratu wa-al-ʾūlā﴾ al-najmi: 24–25 ʾay yaḥkumu fīhimā bitarki al-ʾamāniyyi liʾannahu qāla taʿālā: ﴿walawi ittabaʿa al-ḥaqqu ʾahwāʾahum lafasadati al-samāwātu wa-al-ʾarḍu waman fīhinna﴾ al-muʾminūna: 71

His management and their recognition of the goodness of His determination for them would be better for them than the realization of their desires, and more excellent for them with God, because God is the wisest of judges. Rebuking the human being and exposing the ignorance of wishing born from little certainty, He Most High said, “Does the human being have whatever he wishes? To God belong the hereafter and the first life” (al-Najm 24–25), meaning that He rules in both without regard for wishes, for He Most High said, “If truth followed their desires, the heavens, the earth, and everyone in them would be corrupted” (al-Muʾminūn 71).

فَالْمُتَوَكِّلُ مُحِبٌّ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى مَسْرُورٌ بِرَبِّهِ فَرِحٌ لَهُ بِمُلْكِهِ، بِأَنَّ لَهُ الْآخِرَةَ وَالْأُولَى يَحْكُمُ فِيهِمَا كَيْفَ شَاءَ، وَالْعَبْدُ عَاجِزٌ لَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ، فَهَذَا أَوَّلُ مَقَامٍ فِي الْمَحَبَّةِ، فَقَدْ كُفِيَ الْخَلَائِقُ هَذَا كُلَّهُ بِحُسْنِ تَدْبِيرِ الْخَالِقِ الْعَلِيمِ الْخَبِيرِ الْبَصِيرِ، وَإِنَّمَا يَحْتَاجُونَ إِلَى مَعْرِفَةٍ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَمُشَاهَدَةٍ لِلْحُكْمِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ، وَإِلَى بَصِيرَةٍ وَيَقِينٍ يَسْكُنُ عِنْدَهَا قُلُوبُهُمْ وَلَا يَضْطَرِبُ،

fa-al-mutawakkilu muḥibbun li-llāhi taʿālā masrūrun birabbihi fariḥun lahu bimulkihi, biʾanna lahu al-ʾākhirata wa-al-ʾūlā yaḥkumu fīhimā kayfa shāʾa, wa-al-ʿabdu ʿājizun lā yaqdiru ʿalā shayʾin, fa-hādhā ʾawwalu maqāmin fī al-maḥabbati, faqad kufiya al-khalāʾiqu hādhā kullahu biḥusni tadbīri al-khāliqi al-ʿalīmi al-khabīri al-baṣīri, waʾinnamā yaḥtājūna ʾilā maʿrifatin bi-al-ḥikmati wamushāhadatin li-l-ḥukmi wa-al-raḥmati, waʾilā baṣīratin wayaqīnin yaskunu ʿindahā qulūbuhum walā yaḍṭaribu,

The person who trusts loves God Most High, delights in his Lord, and rejoices for Him in His kingship: the hereafter and the first life belong to Him, and He rules in them however He wills. The servant is powerless and can do nothing. This is the first station in love. Creatures have been spared all this through the good management of the Creator, the Knowing, the All-Aware, the All-Seeing. They need only knowledge of wisdom, witnessing of judgment and mercy, and insight and certainty in which their hearts can rest without disturbance.

هَذَا الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ عِنْدَ الْمُوقِنِينَ وَسَتَطَّلِعُ الْعُمُومُ عَلَى سِرِّ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ لَطِيفِ التَّدْبِيرِ وَبَاطِنِ التَّقْدِيرِ، وَهُوَ سِرُّ الْقَدَرِ وَلَطَائِفُ الْمُقَدِّرِ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عِنْدَ الْمُعَايَنَةِ، وَقَدْ كُشِفَ الْغِطَاءُ وَظَهَرَ مَا تَحْتَهُ مِنْ عَجَائِبِ الْخَبْءِ فِي السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ، وَقَدْ أَطْلَعَ اللَّهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ الْعُلَمَاءَ بِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَهُوَ مَحْمُودٌ مَشْكُورٌ عَلَى مَا أَظْهَرَ وَأَخْفَى،

hādhā alladhī dhakarnāhu ʿinda al-mūqinīna wasataṭṭaliʿu al-ʿumūmu ʿalā sirri mā dhakarnāhu min laṭīfi al-tadbīri wabāṭini al-taqdīri, wahuwa sirru al-qadari walaṭāʾifu al-muqaddiri fī al-ʾākhirati ʿinda al-muʿāyanati, waqad kushifa al-ghiṭāʾu waẓahara mā taḥtahu min ʿajāʾibi al-khabʾi fī al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍi, waqad ʾaṭlaʿa Allāhu ʿalā dhālika al-ʿulamāʾa bihi fī al-dunyā wahuwa maḥmūdun mashkūrun ʿalā mā ʾaẓhara waʾakhfā,

What we have described is present among those possessed of certainty. The general body will discover the secret of the subtle management and hidden determination we have described, the secret of decree and the subtleties of the One who decrees, in the hereafter, when they see directly, the covering has been removed, and the wonders hidden beneath it in the heavens and the earth have appeared. God has already shown this in this world to those who know Him. He is praised and thanked for what He reveals and what He conceals.

فَفِي كُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا نِعْمَةٌ، وَمَعَ كُلِّ وَاصِفٍ مِنْهَا حِكْمَةٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ، وَلَكِنْ قَدْ خَلَّقَ اللَّهُ الْعُلَمَاءَ بِأَخْلَاقِهِ فَلَيْسَ يَكْشِفُونَ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِقَدْرِ مَا كَشَفَ، وَلَيْسَ يُعَرِّفُونَ مِنْ سِرِّ قَدَرِهِ إِلَّا بِمِعْيَارِ مَا عَرَّفَ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَإِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا عِنْدَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُ إِلَّا بِقَدَرٍ مَعْلُومٍ﴾ الْحِجْرِ: 21 فَقَدْ تَأَدَّبُوا بِهَذَا الْخِطَابِ وَوَقَفُوا عِنْدَهُ،

fafī kulli wāḥidin minhumā niʿmatun, wamaʿa kulli wāṣifin minhā ḥikmatun waraḥmatun, wa-lākin qad khallaqa Allāhu al-ʿulamāʾa biʾakhlāqihi falaysa yakshifūna min ʿilmihi ʾillā biqadri mā kashafa, walaysa yuʿarrifūna min sirri qadarihi ʾillā bimiʿyāri mā ʿarrafa, waqāla taʿālā: ﴿waʾin min shayʾin ʾillā ʿindanā khazāʾinuhu wamā nunazziluhu ʾillā biqadarin maʿlūmin﴾ al-ḥijri: 21 faqad taʾaddabū bi-hādhā al-khiṭābi wawaqafū ʿindahu,

In each of the two there is a blessing, and with every describer of them there is wisdom and mercy. But God has formed the scholars with His qualities: they reveal of His knowledge only as much as He reveals and make known of the secret of His decree only in the measure He makes known. He Most High said, “There is nothing whose treasuries are not with Us, and We send it down only in a known measure” (al-Ḥijr 21). They have learned proper conduct from this address and stopped at its limit.

وَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ: إِذَا لَاحَظْتَ الْأَشْيَاءَ مِنْ فَوْقُ وَجَدْتَ لَهَا طَعْمًا آخَرَ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ: إِذَا رَأَيْتَ الْأَشْيَاءَ كُلَّهَا كَشَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ مِنْ مَعْدِنٍ وَاحِدٍ، رَأَيْتَ مَا لَمْ تَسْمَعْ وَفَهِمْتَ مَا لَمْ تَفْهَمِ الْخَلْقُ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: لَا تَرَى الْعَجَبَ حَتَّى تَرَى عَجَبًا فَإِنْ لَمْ تَرَ عَجَبًا رَأَيْتَ الْعَجَبَ.

waqāla ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu: ʾidhā lāḥaẓta al-ʾashyāʾa min fawqu wajadta lahā ṭaʿman ʾākhara, waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: ʾidhā raʾayta al-ʾashyāʾa kullahā kashayʾin wāḥidin min maʿdinin wāḥidin, raʾayta mā lam tasmaʿ wafahimta mā lam tafhami al-khalqu, waqāla baʿḍuhum: lā tarā al-ʿajaba ḥattā tarā ʿajaban faʾin lam tara ʿajaban raʾayta al-ʿajaba.

Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī said, “When you look at things from above, you find they have another taste.” One of the knowers said, “When you see all things as one thing, from one source, you see what you have not heard and understand what creatures have not understood.” Another said, “You do not see wonder until you see something wondrous. If you do not see something wondrous, you see wonder.”

ذِكْرُ بَيَانٍ آخَرَ مِنْ وَصْفِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ

dhikru bayānin ʾākhara min waṣfi al-mutawakkilīna

A Further Explanation of the Description of Those Who Trust

اعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْعُلَمَاءَ بِاللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ لَمْ يَتَوَكَّلُوا عَلَيْهِ لِأَجْلِ أَنْ يَحْفَظَ لَهُمْ دُنْيَاهُمْ، وَلَا لِأَجْلِ تَبْلِيغِهِمْ مُرَادَهُمْ، وَلَا لِيَشْتَرِطُوا عَلَيْهِ حُسْنَ الْقَضَاءِ بِمَا يُحِبُّونَ، وَلَا لِيُبَدِّلَ لَهُمْ جَرَيَانَ أَحْكَامِهِ عَمَّا يَكْرَهُونَ وَلَا لِيُغَيِّرَ لَهُمْ سَابِقَ مَشِيئَتِهِ إِلَى مَا يَعْقِلُونَ، وَلَا لِيُحَوِّلَ عَنْهُمْ سُنَّتَهُ الَّتِي خَلَتْ فِي عِبَادِهِ مِنَ الِابْتِلَاءِ وَالِاخْتِبَارِ،

iʿlam ʾanna al-ʿulamāʾa bi-Allāhi subḥānahu lam yatawakkalū ʿalayhi liʾajli ʾan yaḥfaẓa lahum dunyāhum, walā liʾajli tablīghihim murādahum, walā liyashtariṭū ʿalayhi ḥusna al-qaḍāʾi bimā yuḥibbūna, walā liyubaddila lahum jarayāna ʾaḥkāmihi ʿammā yakrahūna walā liyughayyira lahum sābiqa mashīʾatihi ʾilā mā yaʿqilūna, walā liyuḥawwila ʿanhum sunnatahu allatī khalat fī ʿibādihi mina al-ibtilāʾi wa-al-ikhtibāri,

Know that those who know God, glorified be He, do not trust Him to preserve their worldly life, bring them what they desire, or impose upon Him a favorable decree of what they love. They do not trust Him to change the course of His rulings away from what they dislike, alter His prior will to suit their understanding, or turn from them His established way of trying and testing His servants.

هُوَ أَجَلُّ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَهُمْ أَعْقَلُ عَنْهُ وَأَعْرَفُ بِهِ مِنْ هَذَا، لَوِ اعْتَقَدَ عَارِفٌ بِاللَّهِ أَحَدَ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي مَعَ اللَّهِ فِي تَوَكُّلِهِ كَانَ كَبِيرَةً تُوجِبُ عَلَيْهِ التَّوْبَةَ وَكَانَ تَوَكُّلُهُ مَعْصِيَةً، وَإِنَّمَا أَخَذُوا نُفُوسَهُمْ بِالصَّبْرِ عَلَى أَحْكَامِهِ كَيْفَ جَرَتْ، فَطَالَبُوا قُلُوبَهُمْ بِالرِّضَا عَنْهُ كَيْفَ جَرَتْ،

huwa ʾajallu fī qulūbihim min dhālika wahum ʾaʿqalu ʿanhu waʾaʿrafu bihi min hādhā, lawi iʿtaqada ʿārifun bi-Allāhi ʾaḥada hādhihi al-maʿānī maʿa Allāhi fī tawakkulihi kāna kabīratan tūjibu ʿalayhi al-tawbata wakāna tawakkuluhu maʿṣiyatan, waʾinnamā ʾakhadhū nufūsahum bi-al-ṣabri ʿalā ʾaḥkāmihi kayfa jarat, faṭālabū qulūbahum bi-al-riḍā ʿanhu kayfa jarat,

He is too exalted in their hearts for that, and they understand from Him and know Him better than this. Were someone who knows God to hold any of these meanings in his trust, it would be a grave sin requiring repentance, and his trust would be disobedience. They have instead required their souls to endure His rulings however they unfold and demanded of their hearts contentment with Him however those rulings proceed.

وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ لِمَالِكِ بْنِ أَنَسٍ: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، إِنِّي تَعَلَّقْتُ بِأَسْتَارِ الْكَعْبَةِ فَتُبْتُ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ وَحَلَفْتُ أَنْ لَا أَعْصِيَ اللَّهَ فِيمَا أَسْتَقْبِلُ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: وَيْحَكَ، وَمَنْ أَعْظَمُ مَعْصِيَةً مِنْكَ تَتَأَلَّى عَلَى اللَّهِ أَنْ لَا يَنْفُذَ حُكْمُهُ فِيكَ، وَأَنْشَدَنَا بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ لِبَعْضِ الْحُكَمَاءِ:

waqāla rajulun limāliki bni ʾanasin: yā ʾabā ʿabdi Allāhi, ʾinnī taʿallaqtu biʾastāri al-kaʿbati fatubtu min kulli dhanbin waḥalaftu ʾan lā ʾaʿṣiya Allāha fīmā ʾastaqbilu, faqāla lahu: wayḥaka, waman ʾaʿẓamu maʿṣiyatan minka tataʾallā ʿalā Allāhi ʾan lā yanfudha ḥukmuhu fīka, waʾanshadanā baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi libaʿḍi al-ḥukamāʾi:

A man said to Mālik ibn Anas, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, I clung to the coverings of the Kaʿba, repented of every sin, and swore that I would not disobey God in the future.” He replied, “Woe to you! Who commits a greater disobedience than you, swearing an oath concerning God that His decree shall not take effect in you?” One of the scholars recited to us these verses by a sage:

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٦٠

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 60

Volume Two, page 60

لَمَّا رَأَيْتُ الْقَضَا جَارِيًا ... لَا شَكَّ فِيهِ وَلَا مِرْيَةَ تَوَكَّلْتُ حَقًّا عَلَى خَالِقِي ... وَأَلْقَيْتُ نَفْسِي مَعَ الْجِرْيَةِ

lammā raʾaytu al-qaḍā jāriyan ... lā shakka fīhi walā miryata tawakkaltu ḥaqqan ʿalā khāliqī ... waʾalqaytu nafsī maʿa al-jiryati

When I saw the decree flowing on, beyond doubt or dispute, I placed true trust in my Creator and cast myself into its current.

وَإِنَّمَا كَرِهُوا مَا كَرِهَ اللَّهُ طَاعَةً لِلَّهِ، فَذَلِكَ كَرَاهَةُ مَا كَرِهَ حُبًّا لِلَّهِ وَاكْتِرَامًا لِحُكْمِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ، لَا كَرَاهَةَ مَا قَضَى إِذْ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ أَنْ يَقُولُوا: فَلِمَ قَضَيْتَ مَا تَكْرَهُ وَلِمَ كَرِهْتَ مَا قَضَيْتَ؟ هُوَ أَجَلُّ وَأَعْظَمُ، وَفِي نُفُوسِهِمْ أَخْوَفُ وَأَهْيَبُ أَنْ يُوَاجِهُوهُ بِهَذَا الْخِطَابِ فِي قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَقْدٍ، بَلْ عَرَفُوا حِكْمَتَهُ فِيهِ وَصَبَرُوا عَلَى حُكْمِهِ بِهِ،

waʾinnamā karihū mā kariha Allāhu ṭāʿatan li-llāhi, fa-dhālika karāhatu mā kariha ḥubban li-llāhi waktirāman liḥukmihi ʿalayhim, lā karāhata mā qaḍā ʾidh laysa lahum ʾan yaqūlū: falima qaḍayta mā takrahu walima karihta mā qaḍayta? huwa ʾajallu waʾaʿẓamu, wafī nufūsihim ʾakhwafu waʾahyabu ʾan yuwājihūhu bi-hādhā al-khiṭābi fī qawlin ʾaw ʿaqdin, bal ʿarafū ḥikmatahu fīhi waṣabarū ʿalā ḥukmihi bihi,

They dislike what God dislikes only in obedience to God. Their dislike is for what He dislikes, out of love for God and in honor of His judgment over them, not dislike of what He decrees. It is not for them to say, “Why did You decree what You dislike, and why did You dislike what You decreed?” He is too exalted and great, too feared and awe-inspiring in their souls, for them to confront Him with this address in words or conviction. They recognize His wisdom in it and patiently endure His judgment through it.

وَإِنَّمَا تَوَكَّلَ الْعُلَمَاءُ بِهِ عَلَيْهِ لِأَجْلِ أَنَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ وَلِأَجْلِ أَنَّهُ يَسْتَحِقُّ التَّفْوِيضَ إِلَيْهِ وَيَسْتَوْجِبُ التَّسْلِيمَ لَهُ، إِذْ كَانَ هُوَ الْوَكِيلَ الْأَوَّلَ وَالْكَفِيلَ الْآجِلَ حِينَ سَمِعُوهُ يَقُولُ: وَاللَّهُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ، ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ مَا مِنْ شَفِيعٍ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ، وَحِينَ فَقِهُوا قَوْلَهُ: وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حُكْمًا لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ،

waʾinnamā tawakkala al-ʿulamāʾu bihi ʿalayhi liʾajli ʾannahu yuḥibbu al-mutawakkilīna waliʾajli ʾannahu yastaḥiqqu al-tafwīḍa ʾilayhi wayastawjibu al-taslīma lahu, ʾidh kāna huwa al-wakīla al-ʾawwala wa-al-kafīla al-ʾājila ḥīna samiʿūhu yaqūlu: wa-Allāhu ʿalā shayʾin wakīlun, thumma istawā ʿalā al-ʿarshi yudabbiru al-ʾamra mā min shafīʿin ʾillā min baʿdi ʾidhnihi, waḥīna faqihū qawlahu: waman ʾaḥsanu mina Allāhi ḥukman liqawmin yūqinūna,

Those who know Him trust Him because He loves those who trust, because He deserves that matters be entrusted to Him and submission be offered to Him. He is the First Trustee and the Surety for what is to come. They heard Him say, “God is trustee over a thing”; “Then He established Himself upon the Throne, directing the affair; no intercessor acts except after His permission.” They understood His saying, “Who is better than God in judgment for people who are certain?”

وَلَمَّا عَقَلُوا مِنْ خِطَابِهِ: أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ أَوْ لِأَجْلِ أَنَّهُ أَمَرَ بِالتَّوَكُّلِ، وَنَدَبَ إِلَيْهِ وَحَقَّقَ الْإِيمَانَ بِهِ؛ إِذْ سَمِعُوهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: أَفَمَنْ هُوَ قَائِمٌ عَلَى كُلِّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ، أَمَّنْ يَمْلِكُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَمَنْ يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ؟ وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا، وَفِي السَّمَاءِ رِزْقُكُمْ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ،

walammā ʿaqalū min khiṭābihi: ʾalaysa Allāhu biʾaḥkami al-ḥākimīna ʾaw liʾajli ʾannahu ʾamara bi-al-tawakkuli, wanadaba ʾilayhi waḥaqqaqa al-ʾīmāna bihi; ʾidh samiʿūhu taʿālā yaqūlu: ʾafaman huwa qāʾimun ʿalā kulli nafsin bimā kasabat, ʾamman yamliku al-samʿa wa-al-ʾabṣāra waman yudabbiru al-ʾamra? wamā min dābbatin fī al-ʾarḍi ʾillā ʿalā Allāhi rizquhā, wafī al-samāʾi rizqukum wamā tūʿadūna,

They understood from His address, “Is God not the wisest of judges?” Or they trust because He commanded trust, encouraged it, and made faith real through it. They heard Him Most High say, “Is He who watches over every soul for what it earns”; “Who controls hearing and sight, and who directs the affair?”; “There is no creature on earth whose provision does not rest with God”; and, “In heaven is your provision and what you are promised.”

ثُمَّ أَقْسَمَ عَلَيْهِ بِنَفْسِهِ أَنَّهُ حَقٌّ فَتَوَكَّلُوا عَلَيْهِ اسْتِحْيَاءً مِنْهُ وَلِوُجُودِ الْيَقِينِ الَّذِي رَفَعَ خَفَايَا الشَّكِّ وَحَذَّرَ مِنَ التُّهْمَةِ لَهُ وَتَوْثِقَةً بِالِاعْتِقَادِ عَلَيْهِ؛ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ لِأَجْلِ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي كُلِّهَا، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ لِمُشَاهَدَةِ بَعْضِهَا فَكُلُّ عَبْدٍ تَوَكُّلُهُ عَنِ الْوَصْفِ الَّذِي بِهِ عَرَفَهُ، وَكُلٌّ عَرَفَهُ عَنِ الْعُذْرِ الْمُتَجَلِّي الَّذِي عَرَفَهُ؛

thumma ʾaqsama ʿalayhi binafsihi ʾannahu ḥaqqun fatawakkalū ʿalayhi istiḥyāʾan minhu waliwujūdi al-yaqīni alladhī rafaʿa khafāyā al-shakki waḥadhdhara mina al-tuhmati lahu watawthiqatan bi-al-iʿtiqādi ʿalayhi; faminhum man tawakkala ʿalayhi liʾajli hādhihi al-maʿānī kullihā, waminhum man tawakkala ʿalayhi limushāhadati baʿḍihā fakullu ʿabdin tawakkuluhu ʿani al-waṣfi alladhī bihi ʿarafahu, wakullun ʿarafahu ʿani al-ʿudhri al-mutajallī alladhī ʿarafahu;

Then He swore by Himself that it is true. They trusted Him out of shame before Him, through the presence of certainty that removed hidden doubts and warned against suspecting Him, and as confirmation of their reliance upon Him. Some trusted Him because of all these meanings, and some because they witnessed some of them. Each servant's trust arises from the attribute through which he knows Him, and each knows Him through the manifest justification by which he came to know Him.

فَكُلٌّ يُطِيعُهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ قُرْبِهِ مِنْهُ، وَكُلٌّ يَقْرُبُ عَلَى قَدْرِ عِلْمِهِ بِقُرْبِهِ مِنْهُ بِقَدْرِ مَا يَعْرِفُ مِنْ كَيْنُونِيَّةٍ فِي مَكْنُونِ كِيَانِهِ، وَكُلٌّ بِعِلْمِهِ عَلَى قَدْرِ عِنَايَتِهِ بِهِ وَمِنْ وَرَائِهِ سِرُّ الْقَدَرِ، فَمُشَاهَدَةُ كُلِّ عَبْدٍ مِنْ مَقَامِهِ وَحَالِهِ عَنْ وَجْدِ شَهَادَتِهِ وَجَزَاؤُهُ نَحْوُ مُعَامَلَتِهِ، وَاللَّهُ يُضَاعِفُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ هُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ، وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ،

fakullun yuṭīʿuhu ʿalā qadri qurbihi minhu, wakullun yaqrubu ʿalā qadri ʿilmihi biqurbihi minhu biqadri mā yaʿrifu min kaynūniyyatin fī maknūni kiyānihi, wakullun biʿilmihi ʿalā qadri ʿināyatihi bihi wamin warāʾihi sirru al-qadari, famushāhadatu kulli ʿabdin min maqāmihi waḥālihi ʿan wajdi shahādatihi wajazāʾuhu naḥwu muʿāmalatihi, wa-Allāhu yuḍāʿifu liman yashāʾu hum darajātun ʿinda Allāhi, wa-Allāhu baṣīrun bimā yaʿmalūna,

Each obeys Him in proportion to his nearness to Him, and each draws near in proportion to his knowledge of His nearness to him, according to what he knows of being within the hidden depth of his existence. Each, through his knowledge, stands in proportion to His care for him; beyond this lies the secret of decree. Each servant's witnessing, from his station and state, arises from the experience of his testimony, and his reward corresponds to his dealings. “God multiplies for whom He wills.” “They are degrees with God, and God sees what they do.”

لَهُمْ دَارُ السَّلَامِ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَهُوَ وَلِيُّهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ، فَدَارُ السَّلَامِ جَامِعَةٌ لَهُمْ وَهُمْ مُتَفَاوِتُونَ فِي دَرَجَاتِهَا كَدَارِ الدُّنْيَا تَجْمَعُهُمْ، وَهُوَ يَرْفَعُهُمْ لَدَيْهِ فِي مَلَكُوتِهَا بِتَخْصِيصِ التَّوَلِّي وَحُسْنِ الْوِلَايَاتِ عَنْ تَحْسِينِ الْمُعَامَلَاتِ، اللَّهُ يَجْتَبِي إِلَيْهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي إِلَيْهِ مَنْ يُنِيبُ، وَمِنَ الْخُصُوصِ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ تَعْظِيمًا لَهُ وَإِجْلَالًا،

lahum dāru al-salāmi ʿinda rabbihim wahuwa waliyyuhum bimā kānū yaʿmalūna, fadāru al-salāmi jāmiʿatun lahum wahum mutafāwitūna fī darajātihā kadāri al-dunyā tajmaʿuhum, wahuwa yarfaʿuhum ladayhi fī malakūtihā bitakhṣīṣi al-tawallī waḥusni al-wilāyāti ʿan taḥsīni al-muʿāmalāti, Allāhu yajtabī ʾilayhi man yashāʾu wayahdī ʾilayhi man yunību, wamina al-khuṣūṣi man tawakkala ʿalayhi taʿẓīman lahu waʾijlālan,

“For them is the abode of peace with their Lord, and He is their Protector because of what they did.” The abode of peace gathers them together, though their degrees within it differ, just as the abode of this world gathers them. He raises them in His presence within its kingdom through particular care and beautiful forms of protection arising from the improvement of their dealings. “God chooses for Himself whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back.” Among the elect, some trust Him out of reverence and veneration for Him.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ يَقِينًا بِوَعْدِهِ لِيُحَقِّقَ صِدْقَهُ كَأَنَّهُ قَدْ أَخَذَ الْمَوْعُودَ بِيَدِهِ إِذْ يَقُولُ تَعَالَى: وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ وَعْدُهُ مَأْتِيًّا، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ اسْتِسْلَامًا لِمَا شَهِدَ مِنْ قَهْرِ عِزِّهِ وَعَظِيمِ قَدْرِهِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ لِيَحْفَظَ عَلَيْهِ مَا لَهُ فِيهِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ لِيَحْفَظَ لَهُ مَا اُسْتُحْفِظَهُ وَيَعْصِمَهُ فِيمَا لَهُ عَلَيْهِ،

waminhum man tawakkala ʿalayhi yaqīnan biwaʿdihi liyuḥaqqiqa ṣidqahu kaʾannahu qad ʾakhadha al-mawʿūda biyadihi ʾidh yaqūlu taʿālā: waman ʾawfā biʿahdihi mina Allāhi ʾinnahu kāna waʿduhu maʾtiyyan, waminhum man tawakkala ʿalayhi istislāman limā shahida min qahri ʿizzihi waʿaẓīmi qadrihi, waminhum man tawakkala ʿalayhi liyaḥfaẓa ʿalayhi mā lahu fīhi, waminhum man tawakkala ʿalayhi liyaḥfaẓa lahu mā ustuḥfiẓahu wayaʿṣimahu fīmā lahu ʿalayhi,

Some trust Him with certainty in His promise, realizing its truth as though they had already taken the promised thing in hand, since He Most High says, “Who fulfills His covenant more faithfully than God?” and, “His promise is certain to be fulfilled.” Some trust Him in surrender to the overwhelming might and immense power they have witnessed. Some trust Him to preserve for them what they have with Him. Others trust Him to safeguard what they have been entrusted to keep and protect them regarding what He has a claim to from them.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٦١

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 61

Volume Two, page 61

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ لِقِيَامِهِ بِشَهَادَتِهِ عَنْ حُسْنِ مَعْرِفَتِهِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ تَسْلِيمًا لَهُ عَنْ جَمِيلِ مُعَامَلَتِهِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ فَوَّضَ إِلَيْهِ لِحُسْنِ تَدْبِيرِهِ عِنْدَهُ وَبِحُكْمِ تَقْدِيرِهِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ لِأَنَّ تَوْحِيدَهُ لَهُ وَشَهَادَةَ قَيُّومِيَّتِهِ ذَلِكَ يَقْتَضِيهِ، فَهَذِهِ كَانَتْ مَوَاجِيدَ أَوْلِيَائِهِ وَمَنَاهِجَ أَحْبَابِهِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْقُرْبِ وَمَعْرِفَةِ الْقَرِيبِ،

waminhum man tawakkala ʿalayhi liqiyāmihi bishahādatihi ʿan ḥusni maʿrifatihi, waminhum man tawakkala ʿalayhi taslīman lahu ʿan jamīli muʿāmalatihi, waminhum man fawwaḍa ʾilayhi liḥusni tadbīrihi ʿindahu wabiḥukmi taqdīrihi, waminhum man tawakkala ʿalayhi liʾanna tawḥīdahu lahu washahādata qayyūmiyyatihi dhālika yaqtaḍīhi, fa-hādhihi kānat mawājīda ʾawliyāʾihi wamanāhija ʾaḥbābihi ʿan mushāhadati al-qurbi wamaʿrifati al-qarībi,

Some trust Him because they stand in witnessing Him through sound knowledge of Him. Some trust Him in submission, through His beautiful dealings with them. Some entrust matters to Him because they regard His management as good and submit to His determination. Some trust Him because affirming His oneness and witnessing His self-subsisting care require it. Such are the experiences of His friends and the paths of those He loves, arising from witnessing nearness and knowing the Near One.

وَبَعْضُهُمْ أَعْلَى مَقَامًا مِنْ بَعْضٍ، وَبَعْضُ هَذِهِ الْمُشَاهَدَاتِ أَقْرَبُ وَأَرْفَعُ فَأَعْلَاهَا مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ لِلْإِجْلَالِ وَالتَّعْظِيمِ، وَأَوْسَطُهَا مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ لِلْمَحَبَّةِ وَالْخَوْفِ، وَأَدْنَاهَا مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ تَسْلِيمًا لَهُ وَتَحَبُّبًا إِلَيْهِ، وَقَدْ ذَكَرْنَا أَيْضًا مِنْ تَوَكُّلِ الْعُمُومِ مَا يَسْتَحْيِي الْعَارِفُونَ مِنْ ذِكْرِهِ، وَيُنَزِّهُونَ قُلُوبَهُمْ عَنْ فِكْرِهِ، وَهُوَ التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَيْهِ فِي الْقُوتِ،

wabaʿḍuhum ʾaʿlā maqāman min baʿḍin, wabaʿḍu hādhihi al-mushāhadāti ʾaqrabu waʾarfaʿu faʾaʿlāhā man tawakkala ʿalayhi li-l-ʾijlāli wa-al-taʿẓīmi, waʾawsaṭuhā man tawakkala ʿalayhi li-l-maḥabbati wa-al-khawfi, waʾadnāhā man tawakkala ʿalayhi taslīman lahu wataḥabbuban ʾilayhi, waqad dhakarnā ʾayḍan min tawakkuli al-ʿumūmi mā yastaḥyī al-ʿārifūna min dhikrihi, wayunazzihūna qulūbahum ʿan fikrihi, wahuwa al-tawakkulu ʿalayhi fī al-qūti,

Some stand higher than others, and some of these forms of witnessing are nearer and more elevated. The highest is trust out of veneration and reverence; the middle is trust out of love and fear; the lowest is trust in submission and in seeking His love. We have also mentioned a kind of trust among ordinary people that the knowers are ashamed to mention and keep their hearts free from thinking about: trusting Him for sustenance.

وَقَدْ طَوَيْنَا ذِكْرَ تَوَكُّلِ خُصُوصِ الْخُصُوصِ مِنْ صِدِّيقِي الْمُقَرَّبِينَ لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَحْتَمِلُهُ عَقْلُ عَاقِلٍ وَلَا يَسَعُ أَنْ يُسْتَوْدَعَ فِي كِتَابِ النَّاقِلِ إِذْ رُبَّمَا نَظَرَ فِيهِ مُنْكِرٌ جَاهِلٌ، وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ فَدَخَلَ مَنْ عَرَفَهُ فِيمَا يُحِبُّ لِأَجْلِهِ، وَرَغِبُوا فِيمَا مَدَحَ لِوَصْفِهِ لِيَحْصُلَ لَهُمْ وَصْفٌ يُعْطِيهِمْ بِهِ الْوَلِيُّ حُسْنَ ثَنَاءٍ، يَنَالُونَ بِذَلِكَ قُرْبَةً مِنْهُ وَمَحَبَّةً لَدَيْهِ.

waqad ṭawaynā dhikra tawakkuli khuṣūṣi al-khuṣūṣi min ṣiddīqī al-muqarrabīna liʾannahu lā yaḥtamiluhu ʿaqlu ʿāqilin walā yasaʿu ʾan yustawdaʿa fī kitābi al-nāqili ʾidh rubbamā naẓara fīhi munkirun jāhilun, wa-Allāhu al-mustaʿānu fadakhala man ʿarafahu fīmā yuḥibbu liʾajlihi, waraghibū fīmā madaḥa liwaṣfihi liyaḥṣula lahum waṣfun yuʿṭīhim bihi al-waliyyu ḥusna thanāʾin, yanālūna bi-dhālika qurbatan minhu wamaḥabbatan ladayhi.

We have left unmentioned the trust of the elect of the elect among the utterly truthful who are brought near, because the mind of a rational person cannot bear it and it cannot be deposited in a transmitter's book, which an ignorant denier might read. God is the One whose help is sought. Those who know Him enter what He loves for His sake and desire what He praises for its quality, so that they may acquire a quality for which the Protector gives them beautiful praise, attaining nearness to Him and love in His presence.

ذِكْرُ بَيَانٍ آخَرَ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ وَمَا لَا يَنْقُصُ الْمُتَوَكِّلَ

dhikru bayānin ʾākhara fī al-tawakkuli wamā lā yanquṣu al-mutawakkila

A Further Explanation of Trust and What Does Not Diminish the Person Who Trusts

وَلَا يَنْقُصُ الْمُتَوَكِّلَ عَلَى اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ مَسْأَلَةُ مَوْلَاهُ فِيمَا أَحَبَّ مِنْ صَالِحِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَزِيدِ الْآخِرَةِ، إِذْ لَمْ يَقْصِدْ غَيْرَ مَطْلُوبٍ، وَكَانَ مُفَوِّضًا إِلَى اللَّهِ الْأُمُورَ، وَلَكِنْ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى مَعْرِفَةِ الْإِجَابَةِ؛ فَقَدْ يَكُونُ الْمَنْعُ إِجَابَةً وَقُرْبًا إِذَا كَانَ الْعَطَاءُ شُغْلًا عَنْهُ وَبُعْدًا لِأَنَّ الْخِيَرَةَ فِيمَا لَا يَعْلَمُ الْعَبْدُ،

walā yanquṣu al-mutawakkila ʿalā Allāhi subḥānahu masʾalatu mawlāhu fīmā ʾaḥabba min ṣāliḥi al-dunyā wamazīdi al-ʾākhirati, ʾidh lam yaqṣid ghayra maṭlūbin, wakāna mufawwiḍan ʾilā Allāhi al-ʾumūra, wa-lākin yaḥtāju ʾilā maʿrifati al-ʾijābati; faqad yakūnu al-manʿu ʾijābatan waqurban ʾidhā kāna al-ʿaṭāʾu shughlan ʿanhu wabuʿdan liʾanna al-khiyarata fīmā lā yaʿlamu al-ʿabdu,

A person's trust in God, glorified be He, is not diminished by asking his Master for the worldly good and increase in the hereafter that he loves, provided he has aimed at nothing beyond what is sought and has entrusted matters to God. But he needs to recognize an answer: withholding may be an answer and a means of nearness if giving would distract him from God and bring distance. The best choice lies in what the servant does not know.

وَقَدْ يَكُونُ فِيمَا يَكْرَهُ مِمَّا يَعْلَمُ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ حُسْنَ عَاقِبَتِهِ، لَا فِيمَا يَعْقِلُ الْعَبْدُ عَاجِلَ مَنْفَعَتِهِ، فَعَلَيْهِ التَّسْلِيمُ لِحُكْمِ الْحَاكِمِ وَالرِّضَا بِقَسْمِ الْقَاسِمِ، فَإِنْ سَأَلَ تَكَاثُرًا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا، أَوْ مَا لَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ، وَمَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ صَلَاحُ قَلْبِهِ، وَلَا قُرْبَةٌ إِلَى رَبِّهِ، أَخْرَجَهُ مِنْ حَقِيقَةِ التَّوَكُّلِ بِمِقْدَارِ مَا يُخْرِجُهُ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ؛

waqad yakūnu fīmā yakrahu mimmā yaʿlamu Allāhu subḥānahu ḥusna ʿāqibatihi, lā fīmā yaʿqilu al-ʿabdu ʿājila manfaʿatihi, faʿalayhi al-taslīmu liḥukmi al-ḥākimi wa-al-riḍā biqasmi al-qāsimi, faʾin saʾala takāthuran mina al-dunyā, ʾaw mā lā yaḥtāju ʾilayhi, wamā laysa fīhi ṣalāḥu qalbihi, walā qurbatun ʾilā rabbihi, ʾakhrajahu min ḥaqīqati al-tawakkuli bimiqdāri mā yukhrijuhu mina al-zuhdi;

It may lie in what he dislikes, whose good outcome God, glorified be He, knows, rather than in what the servant understands to be immediately useful. He must submit to the Judge's judgment and be content with the Apportioner's division. If he asks to accumulate worldly things, or for what he does not need and what neither benefits his heart nor brings him nearer his Lord, it removes him from the reality of trust to the extent that it removes him from renunciation.

وَإِنِ انْقَطَعَ بِالذِّكْرِ عَنِ الْمَسْأَلَةِ أَعْطَاهُ فَوْقَ عَطَاءِ مَنْ سَأَلَهُ، وَإِنْ سَكَتَ حَيَاءً مِنَ الْوَكِيلِ إِذْ هُوَ حَسْبُهُ فَشَهِدَ الْكِفَايَةَ وَرَضِيَ بِجَمِيعِ التَّصَرُّفِ، فَهَذَا مَقَامٌ مِنَ الْمُوَاجَهَةِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْقَيُّومِيَّةِ وَهُوَ حَالُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ، وَلَا يَقْدَحُ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ تَشَرُّفُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ إِلَى رِزْقِهِ لِأَنَّهُ خُلِقَ ضَعِيفًا ذَا فَاقَةٍ، وَرِزْقُهُ مَعْلُومٌ لَا بُدَّ مِنْهُ،

waʾini inqaṭaʿa bi-al-dhikri ʿani al-masʾalati ʾaʿṭāhu fawqa ʿaṭāʾi man saʾalahu, waʾin sakata ḥayāʾan mina al-wakīli ʾidh huwa ḥasbuhu fashahida al-kifāyata waraḍiya bijamīʿi al-taṣarrufi, fa-hādhā maqāmun mina al-muwājahati ʿan mushāhadati al-qayyūmiyyati wahuwa ḥālu al-muqarrabīna, walā yaqdaḥu fī al-tawakkuli tasharrufu al-mutawakkili ʾilā rizqihi liʾannahu khuliqa ḍaʿīfan dhā fāqatin, warizquhu maʿlūmun lā budda minhu,

If remembrance occupies him apart from asking, He gives him more than He gives the person who asks. If he keeps silent out of shame before the Trustee, who suffices him, witnesses that sufficiency, and is content with every disposition, this is a station of direct encounter arising from witnessing God's sustaining care, the state of those brought near. Looking forward to one's provision does not impair trust, for the person who trusts was created weak and needy; his provision is known and must come.

وَالْمَعْلُومُ مَقْسُومٌ فَتَشَرُّفُهُ إِلَى الْقِسْمِ تَشَرُّفٌ مِنْهُ إِلَى الْقَاسِمِ، وَمَنْ تَشَرَّفَ إِلَى مَوْلَاهُ شَرَّفَهُ وَتَوَلَّاهُ، وَلَكِنْ إِنْ تَشَرَّفَ إِلَى الزِّيَادَةِ، وَخَرَجَ مِنَ الْقَنَاعَةِ، وَطَلَبَ الْعَادَةَ، وَأَرَادَ الشَّيْءَ قَبْلَ وَقْتِهِ، أَوْ كَرِهَ تَأَخُّرَهُ عَنْهُ إِلَى وَقْتِ مَقْدُورِهِ، فَإِنَّ هَذَا يَقْدَحُ فِي تَوَكُّلِهِ وَيَنْقُصُ مِنْ زُهْدِهِ،

wa-al-maʿlūmu maqsūmun fatasharrufuhu ʾilā al-qismi tasharrufun minhu ʾilā al-qāsimi, waman tasharrafa ʾilā mawlāhu sharrafahu watawallāhu, wa-lākin ʾin tasharrafa ʾilā al-ziyādati, wakharaja mina al-qanāʿati, waṭalaba al-ʿādata, waʾarāda al-shayʾa qabla waqtihi, ʾaw kariha taʾakhkhurahu ʿanhu ʾilā waqti maqdūrihi, faʾinna hādhā yaqdaḥu fī tawakkulihi wayanquṣu min zuhdihi,

What is known is apportioned. His looking forward to the portion is therefore a looking toward the Apportioner. Whoever looks toward his Master is honored and cared for by Him. But if he looks for more, leaves contentment with enough, seeks what he is accustomed to, wants something before its time, or dislikes its being delayed until its decreed time, this impairs his trust and diminishes his renunciation.

وَلَوْ كَانَ الشَّرَفُ إِلَى الرِّزْقِ مِنْهَا وَالتَّطَلُّعُ إِلَى الرِّزْقِ مُجْمَلًا يَنْقُصُ التَّوَكُّلَ لَعَلَّلْنَا مَنْ بَاعَ وَاشْتَرَى وَجَهَّلْنَا مَنْ تَعَالَجَ مِنْ عِلَلِهِ بِالدَّوَاءِ، لِأَنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ تَشَرُّفًا إِلَى الرِّزْقِ وَتَطَلُّعًا إِلَى الْبُرْءِ، فَجَاءَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ تَضْعِيفُ التَّابِعِينَ وَطَعْنٌ عَلَى الْمُتَدَاوِينَ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالسَّلَفِ الصَّالِحِ، وَأَخْرَجَهُمْ ذَلِكَ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ وَالزُّهْدِ، فَلَهُمْ مِنْهَا مَقَامَاتٌ،

walaw kāna al-sharafu ʾilā al-rizqi minhā wa-al-taṭalluʿu ʾilā al-rizqi mujmalan yanquṣu al-tawakkula laʿallalnā man bāʿa washtarā wajahhalnā man taʿālaja min ʿilalihi bi-al-dawāʾi, liʾanna fī dhālika tasharrufan ʾilā al-rizqi wataṭalluʿan ʾilā al-burʾi, fajāʾa min dhālika taḍʿīfu al-tābiʿīna waṭaʿnun ʿalā al-mutadāwīna mina al-ṣaḥābati wa-al-salafi al-ṣāliḥi, waʾakhrajahum dhālika mina al-tawakkuli wa-al-zuhdi, falahum minhā maqāmātun,

If looking toward provision in this way, and looking forward to provision generally, diminished trust, we would find fault with those who buy and sell and call ignorant those who treat their illnesses with medicine. These involve looking toward provision and hoping for recovery. That would mean declaring the Successors deficient, attacking the Companions and righteous predecessors who used treatment, and excluding them from trust and renunciation, although they possess stations in these.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٦٢

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 62

Volume Two, page 62

وَلَا يُخْرِجُهُ مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ مُطَالَعَتُهُ لِلْعِوَضِ عَلَى مُعَامَلَتِهِ مِنْ جَزَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ، لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ شُوِّقَ إِلَى ذَلِكَ وَنُدِبَ إِلَيْهِ، وَلَكِنْ لَا يُدْخِلُهُ ذَلِكَ فِي حَقِيقَةِ الْإِخْلَاصِ وَلَا يَرْفَعُهُ إِلَى عُلُوِّ دَرَجَةِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ مِنَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ مَزِيدًا عَلَى قَدْرِ حَالِهِ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ لَا يُدْخِلُهُ فِي إِخْلَاصِ الْمُحِبِّينَ، وَلَا يَرْفَعُهُ فِي دَرَجَاتِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ،

walā yukhrijuhu mina al-tawakkuli muṭālaʿatuhu li-l-ʿiwaḍi ʿalā muʿāmalatihi min jazāʾi al-ʾākhirati, liʾannahu qad shuwwiqa ʾilā dhālika wanudiba ʾilayhi, wa-lākin lā yudkhiluhu dhālika fī ḥaqīqati al-ʾikhlāṣi walā yarfaʿuhu ʾilā ʿuluwwi darajati al-ṣiddīqīna mina al-mutawakkilīna, waqad yakūnu mazīdan ʿalā qadri ḥālihi, ʾillā ʾannahu lā yudkhiluhu fī ʾikhlāṣi al-muḥibbīna, walā yarfaʿuhu fī darajāti al-muqarrabīna,

Looking toward compensation for his dealings, in the reward of the hereafter, does not remove him from trust, because he has been encouraged to long for it and invited to seek it. But this does not admit him to the reality of sincerity or raise him to the lofty degree of the utterly truthful among those who trust. It may be an increase appropriate to his state, yet it does not admit him to the sincerity of lovers or raise him among the degrees of those brought near.

وَلَا يَصِحُّ التَّوَكُّلُ إِلَّا بِزُهْدِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَأَوَّلُ الزُّهْدِ تَرْكُ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي الْحَرَامِ، وَأَوَّلُ أَحْوَالِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ فِي الْقُوتِ ثُمَّ الصَّبْرُ عَلَى حُكْمِ الْحَيِّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ، وَأَعْلَى التَّوَكُّلِ التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَيْهِ فِي الِاسْتِسْلَامِ لِلْأَحْكَامِ وَالرِّضَا عَنْهُ فِي الْمُسَابَقَةِ بَيْنَ الْأَقْدَامِ، وَهُوَ اطِّرَاحُ النَّفْسِ وَنِسْيَانُهَا شُغْلًا مِنْهُ عَنْهَا بِنَفْسِهَا وَحُبًّا لَهُ،

walā yaṣiḥḥu al-tawakkulu ʾillā bizuhdihi fī al-dunyā, waʾawwalu al-zuhdi tarku al-raghbati fī al-ḥarāmi, waʾawwalu ʾaḥwāli al-mutawakkili fī al-qūti thumma al-ṣabru ʿalā ḥukmi al-ḥayyi alladhī lā yamūtu, waʾaʿlā al-tawakkuli al-tawakkulu ʿalayhi fī al-istislāmi li-l-ʾaḥkāmi wa-al-riḍā ʿanhu fī al-musābaqati bayna al-ʾaqdāmi, wahuwa iṭṭirāḥu al-nafsi wanisyānuhā shughlan minhu ʿanhā binafsihā waḥubban lahu,

Trust is sound only through renunciation of this world. Renunciation begins with abandoning desire for what is forbidden. The trusting person's states begin with sustenance, followed by patience with the judgment of the Living One who does not die. The highest trust is trusting Him in surrender to His rulings and contentment with Him in the race between the feet. It is casting the self aside and forgetting it, being occupied away from it through the self itself and out of love for Him.

وَحَقِيقَةُ التَّوَكُّلِ بَعْدَ مُشَاهَدَةِ يَدِ الْوَكِيلِ، فَإِذَا ظَهَرَتْ يَدُهُ غَابَتِ الْأَيْدِي فِيهَا، فَعِنْدَهَا تَوَكَّلْتَ عَلَيْهِ بِتَدَلُّلٍ فَقَبِلَ تَوَكُّلَكَ، وَاسْتَسْلَمْتَ إِلَيْهِ فَسَلَّمَكَ، فَإِنَّهُ يَتَجَلَّى لَكَ بِوَصْفٍ يُلْزِمُكَ حُكْمًا، يَضْطَرُّكَ الْحُكْمُ إِلَى الْحَاكِمِ وَيُوقِفُكَ الْوَصْفُ عَلَى الْوَكِيلِ، كَمَا يَضْطَرُّكَ الْحَاكِمُ إِلَى الْحُكْمِ وَيُجْرِي لَكَ وَعَلَيْكَ مَا شَاءَ مِنَ الْقَسْمِ،

waḥaqīqatu al-tawakkuli baʿda mushāhadati yadi al-wakīli, faʾidhā ẓaharat yaduhu ghābati al-ʾaydī fīhā, faʿindahā tawakkalta ʿalayhi bitadallulin faqabila tawakkulaka, wastaslamta ʾilayhi fasallamaka, faʾinnahu yatajallā laka biwaṣfin yulzimuka ḥukman, yaḍṭarruka al-ḥukmu ʾilā al-ḥākimi wayūqifuka al-waṣfu ʿalā al-wakīli, kamā yaḍṭarruka al-ḥākimu ʾilā al-ḥukmi wayujrī laka waʿalayka mā shāʾa mina al-qasmi,

The reality of trust comes after witnessing the Trustee's hand. When His hand appears, other hands disappear within it. Then you trust Him with affectionate confidence, and He accepts your trust; you surrender to Him, and He delivers you safely. He reveals Himself to you through an attribute that imposes a judgment upon you. The judgment compels you toward the Judge, and the attribute brings you to the Trustee, just as the Judge compels you toward the judgment and brings about for you and against you whatever apportionment He wills.

فَأَعْلَى تَوَكُّلِكَ عَلَيْهِ حَيَاءٌ مِنْهُ، وَإِشْهَادُهُ إِيَّاكَ تَوَكُّلَهُ لَكَ بِحُسْنِ التَّدْبِيرِ، لَمْ يَكِلْكَ إِلَى سِوَاهُ وَلَمْ يُوَلِّكَ إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ: فَإِمَّا أَنْ يَقْتَضِيَكَ تَصَبُّرًا لَهُ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَقْتَضِيَكَ تَفْوِيضًا إِلَيْهِ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَقْتَضِيَكَ رِضًا عَنْهُ أَوْ تَسْلِيمًا لَهُ أَوِ اسْتِرَاحَةً مِنْ تَدْبِيرِكَ لِنَفْسِكَ، أَوْ يُسْقِطَ عَنْكَ اهْتِمَامَكَ بِتَقْدِيرِكَ وَأَمَانِيِّكَ،

faʾaʿlā tawakkulika ʿalayhi ḥayāʾun minhu, waʾishhāduhu ʾiyyāka tawakkulahu laka biḥusni al-tadbīri, lam yakilka ʾilā siwāhu walam yuwallika ʾillā ʾiyyāhu: faʾimmā ʾan yaqtaḍiyaka taṣabburan lahu, waʾimmā ʾan yaqtaḍiyaka tafwīḍan ʾilayhi, waʾimmā ʾan yaqtaḍiyaka riḍan ʿanhu ʾaw taslīman lahu ʾawi istirāḥatan min tadbīrika linafsika, ʾaw yusqiṭa ʿanka ihtimāmaka bitaqdīrika waʾamāniyyika,

Your highest trust in Him is shame before Him, and His showing you His undertaking for you through good management. He has not left you to anyone else or appointed anyone over you but Himself. He may require you to practice patience for Him, entrust matters to Him, be content with Him, surrender to Him, or rest from managing yourself. Or He may remove your preoccupation with your own planning and wishes.

وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ، وَالْحَسْبُ أَيِ الْحَسْبُ يَجْعَلُهُ مَا شَاءَ كَيْفَ شَاءَ، فَقَدْ قِيلَ: حَسْبُهُ أَيِ التَّوَكُّلُ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ: التَّوَكُّلُ حَسْبُهُ مِنْ سَائِرِ الْمَقَامَاتِ، وَقِيلَ: اللَّهُ حَسْبُهُ أَيْ يَكْفِيهِ مِمَّنْ سِوَاهُ، قَالَ تَعَالَى مُعَرِّفًا لِلْكَافَّةِ مُسَلِّيًا لِلْجَمَاعَةِ: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ﴾ الطَّلَاقِ: 3؛ أَيْ مُنْفِذٌ حُكْمَهُ فِيمَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ وَفِيمَنْ لَمْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ،

waman yatawakkal ʿalā Allāhi fahuwa ḥasbuhu, wa-al-ḥasbu ʾayi al-ḥasbu yajʿaluhu mā shāʾa kayfa shāʾa, faqad qīla: ḥasbuhu ʾayi al-tawakkulu, waqad qīla: al-tawakkulu ḥasbuhu min sāʾiri al-maqāmāti, waqīla: Allāhu ḥasbuhu ʾay yakfīhi mimman siwāhu, qāla taʿālā muʿarrifan li-l-kāffati musalliyan li-l-jamāʿati: ﴿ʾinna Allāha bālighu ʾamrihi﴾ al-ṭalāqi: 3; ʾay munfidhun ḥukmahu fīman tawakkala ʿalayhi wafīman lam yatawakkal ʿalayhi,

“Whoever trusts in God, He suffices him.” Sufficiency, that is, sufficiency, He makes it whatever He wills, however He wills. It has been said, “His sufficiency means trust.” It has also been said that trust suffices him in place of the other stations, or that God suffices him, meaning He is enough for him against all others. Making it known to everyone and consoling the community, the Most High said, “God accomplishes His purpose” (al-Ṭalāq 3): He executes His judgment concerning those who trust Him and those who do not.

إِلَّا أَنَّ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ يَكُونُ اللَّهُ حَسْبَهُ أَيْ يَكْفِيهِ أَيْضًا مُهِمَّ الْآخِرَةِ وَالدُّنْيَا، وَلَا يَزِيدُ مَنْ لَمْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ فِي قِسْمِهِ، كَمَا لَا يَنْقُصُ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ ذَرَّةً مِنْ رِزْقِهِ، لَكِنْ يَزِيدُ مَنْ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ هُدًى إِلَى هُدَاهُ وَيَرْفَعُهُ مَقَامًا فِي الْيَقِينِ عَلَى تَقْوَاهُ، وَيُعِزُّهُ بِعِزِّهِ وَيَنْقُصُ مَنْ لَمْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ، وَيَزِيدُهُ مِنَ التَّعَبِ وَالْهَمِّ مَا يُشَتِّتُ قَلْبَهُ وَيَشْغَلُ فِكْرَهُ،

ʾillā ʾanna man tawakkala ʿalayhi yakūnu Allāhu ḥasbahu ʾay yakfīhi ʾayḍan muhimma al-ʾākhirati wa-al-dunyā, walā yazīdu man lam yatawakkal ʿalayhi janāḥa baʿūḍatin fī qismihi, kamā lā yanquṣu man tawakkala ʿalayhi dharratan min rizqihi, lākin yazīdu man tawakkala ʿalayhi hudan ʾilā hudāhu wayarfaʿuhu maqāman fī al-yaqīni ʿalā taqwāhu, wayuʿizzuhu biʿizzihi wayanquṣu man lam yatawakkal ʿalayhi mina al-yaqīni, wayazīduhu mina al-taʿabi wa-al-hammi mā yushattitu qalbahu wayashghalu fikrahu,

But for whoever trusts Him, God is sufficient: He also suffices him concerning the affairs of the hereafter and this world. The person who does not trust Him adds not a mosquito's wing to his allotted portion, just as the person who trusts Him loses not an atom of his provision. Rather, He adds guidance to the guidance of whoever trusts Him, raises him a station in certainty according to his reverent fear, and honors him through His might. He diminishes the certainty of the person who does not trust Him and increases the fatigue and anxiety that scatter his heart and occupy his thoughts.

وَالْمُتَوَكَّلُ عَلَيْهِ يُوجِبُ لَهُ بِذَلِكَ تَكْفِيرَ سَيِّئَاتِهِ، وَيُلْقِي عَلَيْهِ رِضَاهُ وَمَحَبَّاتِهِ، وَالْكِفَايَةُ فَقَدْ ضَمِنَهَا تَعَالَى لِمَنْ صَدَقَ فِي تَوَكُّلِهِ عَلَيْهِ، وَالْوِقَايَةُ فَقَدْ وَهَبَهَا لِمَنْ أَحْسَنَ تَفْوِيضَهُ إِلَيْهِ، إِلَّا أَنَّ الِاخْتِيَارَ وَعِلْمَ الِاسْتِئْثَارِ إِلَيْهِ وَالْكِفَايَةَ وَالْوِقَايَةَ يَجْعَلُ ذَلِكَ مَا شَاءَ كَيْفَ شَاءَ وَأَيْنَ شَاءَ وَمَتَى شَاءَ مِنْ أُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَأُمُورِ الْآخِرَةِ،

wa-al-mutawakkalu ʿalayhi yūjibu lahu bi-dhālika takfīra sayyiʾātihi, wayulqī ʿalayhi riḍāhu wamaḥabbātihi, wa-al-kifāyatu faqad ḍaminahā taʿālā liman ṣadaqa fī tawakkulihi ʿalayhi, wa-al-wiqāyatu faqad wahabahā liman ʾaḥsana tafwīḍahu ʾilayhi, ʾillā ʾanna al-ikhtiyāra waʿilma al-istiʾthāri ʾilayhi wa-al-kifāyata wa-al-wiqāyata yajʿalu dhālika mā shāʾa kayfa shāʾa waʾayna shāʾa wamatā shāʾa min ʾumūri al-dunyā waʾumūri al-ʾākhirati,

The One in whom he trusts thereby grants him the expiation of his misdeeds and bestows His good pleasure and loving favors upon him. He Most High has guaranteed sufficiency to whoever is truthful in trusting Him and bestowed protection upon whoever entrusts his affairs to Him well. Yet the choice and the knowledge He reserves belong to Him. He makes sufficiency and protection whatever He wills, however, wherever, and whenever He wills, in the affairs of this world and the hereafter,

وَمِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُ لِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ مَوْجُودٌ، فَتَجْرِي عَلَيْهِ الْأَحْكَامُ فِي الدَّارَيْنِ، وَفَقِيرٌ مُحْتَاجٌ إِلَى اللُّطْفِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ وَالرِّفْقِ فِي الْمَكَانَيْنِ، وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ الْمُبْدِئُ الْمُعِيدُ، وَقِيلَ لِأَبِي مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٍ: مَتَى يَصِحُّ لِلْعَبْدِ التَّوَكُّلُ؟ فَقَالَ: إِذَا عَلِمَ أَنَّ تَدْبِيرَ مَوْلَاهُ لَهُ خَيْرٌ مِنْ تَدْبِيرِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ، فَإِنَّ نَظَرَ مَوْلَاهُ لَهُ أَحْسَنُ مِنْ نَظَرِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ،

wamin ḥaythu lā yaʿlamu liʾanna al-ʿabda mawjūdun, fatajrī ʿalayhi al-ʾaḥkāmu fī al-dārayni, wafaqīrun muḥtājun ʾilā al-luṭfi wa-al-raḥmati wa-al-rifqi fī al-makānayni, wa-Allāhu huwa al-ghaniyyu al-ḥamīdu al-mubdiʾu al-muʿīdu, waqīla liʾabī muḥammadin sahlin: matā yaṣiḥḥu li-l-ʿabdi al-tawakkulu? faqāla: ʾidhā ʿalima ʾanna tadbīra mawlāhu lahu khayrun min tadbīrihi linafsihi, faʾinna naẓara mawlāhu lahu ʾaḥsanu min naẓarihi linafsihi,

and from where he does not know. The servant exists, so rulings apply to him in both abodes; he is poor and needs kindness, mercy, and gentleness in both places. God is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy, the Originator, the Restorer. Abū Muḥammad Sahl was asked, “When is a servant's trust sound?” He replied, “When he knows that his Master's management for him is better than his own management of himself, for his Master's care for him is better than his own care for himself.

فَيَتْرُكُ التَّفَكُّرَ فِيمَا كَانَ وَالتَّمَنِّيَ لِمَا يَكُونُ، فَيَتْرُكُ التَّدْبِيرَ وَلِلَّهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ مَحْمُودٌ شَكُورٌ.

fayatruku al-tafakkura fīmā kāna wa-al-tamanniya limā yakūnu, fayatruku al-tadbīra wa-li-llāhi ʿāqibatu al-ʾumūri wahuwa ʿalā kulli ḥālin maḥmūdun shakūrun.

“He then abandons brooding over what has happened and wishing for what is to come; he abandons management. To God belongs the outcome of all affairs, and in every circumstance He is Praiseworthy, Appreciative.”