Qut al Quloob Chapter 32 a 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 1–5

مَقَامَاتُ الْيَقِينِ: التَّوْبَةُ وَالصَّبْرُ وَالشُّكْرُ وَالرَّجَاءُ وَالْخَوْفُ

Maqāmātu al-yaqīni: al-tawbatu wa-al-ṣabru wa-al-shukru wa-al-rajāʾu wa-al-khawfu

Stations of Certainty: Repentance, Patience, Gratitude, Hope, and Fear

أَبُو طَالِبٍ الْمَكِّيُّ

Abu Ṭalib al-Makki

الْفَصْلُ الثَّانِي وَالثَّلَاثُونَ فِيهِ شَرْحُ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ وَأَحْوَالِ الْمُوقِنِينَ

al-faṣlu al-thānī wa-al-thalāthūna fīhi sharḥu maqāmāti al-yaqīni waʾaḥwāli al-mūqinīna

Chapter Thirty-Two: An explanation of the stations of certainty and the states of those who possess certainty

أُصُولُ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ الَّتِي تُرَدُّ إِلَيْهَا فُرُوعُ أَحْوَالِ الْمُتَّقِينَ تِسْعَةٌ ، أَوَّلُهَا التَّوْبَةُ ، وَالصَّبْرُ ، وَالشُّكْرُ ، وَالرَّجَاءُ ، وَالْخَوْفُ ، وَالزُّهْدُ ، وَالتَّوَكُّلُ ، وَالرِّضَا ، وَالْمَحَبَّةُ وَهَذِهِ مَحَبَّةُ الْخُصُوصِ وَهِيَ مَحَبَّةُ الْمَحْبُوبِ .

ʾuṣūlu maqāmāti al-yaqīni allatī turaddu ʾilayhā furūʿu ʾaḥwāli al-muttaqīna tisʿatun , ʾawwaluhā al-tawbatu , wa-al-ṣabru , wa-al-shukru , wa-al-rajāʾu , wa-al-khawfu , wa-al-zuhdu , wa-al-tawakkulu , wa-al-riḍā , wa-al-maḥabbatu wa-hādhihi maḥabbatu al-khuṣūṣi wahiya maḥabbatu al-maḥbūbi .

The fundamental stations of certainty, to which the branching states of the God-fearing return, are nine. The first is repentance, followed by patience, gratitude, hope, fear, renunciation, trust in God, contentment, and love. This is the love of the elect: love of the Beloved.

ذِكْرُ فُرُوضِ التَّوْبَةِ وَشَرْحُ فَضَائِلِهَا وَوَصْفُ التَّوَّابِينَ

dhikru furūḍi al-tawbati washarḥu faḍāʾilihā wawaṣfu al-tawwābīna

An account of the obligations of repentance, an explanation of its virtues, and a description of those who repeatedly repent

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي الْبَيَانِ الْأَوَّلِ مِنْ خِطَابِ الْعُمُومِ : ( وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ) النُّورُ : 31 مَعْنَاهُ : اِرْجِعُوا إِلَيْهِ مِنْ هَوَى نُفُوسِكُمْ وَمِنْ وُقُوفِكُمْ مَعَ شَهَوَاتِكُمْ عَسَى أَنْ تَظْفَرُوا بِبُغْيَتِكُمْ فِي الْمَعَادِ وَكَيْ تَبْقَوْا بَقَاءَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي نَعِيمٍ لَا زَوَالَ لَهُ وَلَا نَفَادَ وَلِكَيْ تَفُوزُوا وَتَسْعَدُوا بِدُخُولِ الْجَنَّةِ وَتَنْجُوا مِنَ النَّارِ فَهَذَا هُوَ الْفَلَاحُ ،

qāla Allāhu taʿālā fī al-bayāni al-ʾawwali min khiṭābi al-ʿumūmi : ( watūbū ʾilā Allāhi jamīʿan ʾayyuhā al-muʾminūna laʿallakum tufliḥūna ) al-nūru : 31 maʿnāhu : irjiʿū ʾilayhi min hawā nufūsikum wamin wuqūfikum maʿa shahawātikum ʿasā ʾan taẓfarū bibughyatikum fī al-maʿādi wakay tabqaw baqāʾa Allāhi ʿazza wajalla fī naʿīmin lā zawāla lahu walā nafāda walikay tafūzū watasʿadū bidukhūli al-jannati watanjū mina al-nāri fa-hādhā huwa al-falāḥu ,

God Most High says in the first explanation, addressed to everyone: “Turn to God in repentance, all of you believers, so that you may prosper” (al-Nūr 31). This means: return to Him from the whims of your own souls and from lingering with your desires, so that you may attain what you seek in the life to come, and so that you may endure as God, mighty and majestic, endures, in bliss that neither passes away nor runs out; so that you may triumph and find happiness by entering the Garden and be saved from the Fire. This is prosperity.

وَقَالَ فِي الْبَيَانِ الثَّانِي مِنْ مُخَاطَبَتِهِ الْخُصُوصَ : ( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَصُوحًا عَسَى رَبُّكُمْ أَنْ يُكَفِّرَ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ ) التَّحْرِيمُ : 8 ، فَنَصُوحًا مِنَ النُّصْحِ جَاءَ عَلَى وَزْنِ فَعُولٍ لِلْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي النُّصْحِ ،

waqāla fī al-bayāni al-thānī min mukhāṭabatihi al-khuṣūṣa : ( yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū tūbū ʾilā Allāhi tawbatan naṣūḥan ʿasā rabbukum ʾan yukaffira ʿankum sayyiʾātikum wayudkhilakum jannātin tajrī min taḥtihā al-ʾanhāru ) al-taḥrīmu : 8 , fanaṣūḥan mina al-nuṣḥi jāʾa ʿalā wazni faʿūlin li-l-mubālaghati fī al-nuṣḥi ,

In the second explanation, in His address to the elect, He says: “You who believe, turn to God in sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will erase your evil deeds and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow” (al-Taḥrīm 8). Naṣūḥ, “sincere,” comes from nuṣḥ, “sincerity,” and follows the pattern faʿūl to express sincerity in its fullest degree.

وَقَدْ قُرِئَتْ نُصُوحًا بِضَمِّ النُّونِ فَتَكُونُ حِينَئِذٍ مَصْدَرَ نَصَحْتُ لَهُ نُصْحًا وَنُصُوحًا فَمَعْنَاهُ خَالِصَةً لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَقِيلَ اِشْتِقَاقُهُ مِنَ النِّصَاحِ وَهُوَ الْخَيْطُ أَيْ مُجَرَّدَةً لَا تَتَعَلَّقُ بِشَيْءٍ وَلَا يَتَعَلَّقُ بِهَا شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ الِاسْتِقَامَةُ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ مِنْ غَيْرِ رَوَغَانٍ إِلَى مَعْصِيَةٍ كَمَا تَرُوغُ الثَّعَالِبُ وَأَنْ لَا يُحَدِّثَ نَفْسَهُ بِعَوْدٍ إِلَى ذَنْبٍ مَتَى قَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنْ يَتْرُكَ الذَّنْبَ لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى خَالِصًا لِوَجْهِهِ كَمَا اِرْتَكَبَهُ لِأَجْلِ هَوَاهُ مُجْمِعًا عَلَيْهِ بِقَلْبِهِ وَشَهْوَتِهِ ،

waqad quriʾat nuṣūḥan biḍammi al-nūni fatakūnu ḥīnaʾidhin maṣdara naṣaḥtu lahu nuṣḥan wanuṣūḥan famaʿnāhu khāliṣatan li-llāhi taʿālā waqīla ishtiqāquhu mina al-niṣāḥi wahuwa al-khayṭu ʾay mujarradatan lā tataʿallaqu bishayʾin walā yataʿallaqu bihā shayʾun wahuwa al-istiqāmatu ʿalā al-ṭāʿati min ghayri rawaghānin ʾilā maʿṣiyatin kamā tarūghu al-thaʿālibu waʾan lā yuḥadditha nafsahu biʿawdin ʾilā dhanbin matā qadara ʿalayhi waʾan yatruka al-dhanba liʾajli Allāhi taʿālā khāliṣan liwajhihi kamā irtakabahu liʾajli hawāhu mujmiʿan ʿalayhi biqalbihi washahwatihi ,

It has also been read nuṣūḥan, with a u on the letter nūn. In that case it is the verbal noun in naṣaḥtu lahu nuṣḥan wa-nuṣūḥan, “I was sincere toward him”; its meaning is repentance devoted purely to God Most High. It is also said to derive from niṣāḥ, a thread: that is, repentance stripped bare, attached to nothing and with nothing attached to it. This means remaining upright in obedience without slipping toward disobedience as foxes slip away; not telling oneself that one will return to a sin whenever able; and abandoning sin for God Most High alone, purely for His sake, just as one committed it for the sake of one’s desire, wholly intent on it in heart and appetite.

فَمَتَى أَتَى اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ مِنَ الْهَوَى وَعِلْمٍ خَالِصٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ عَلَى السُّنَّةِ فَقَدْ خُتِمَ لَهُ بِحُسْنِ الْخَاتِمَةِ ، فَحِينَئِذٍ أَدْرَكَتْهُ الْحُسْنَى السَّابِقَةُ وَهَذَا هُوَ التَّوْبَةُ النَّصُوحُ وَهَذَا الْعَبْدُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الْمُتَطَهِّرُ الْحَبِيبُ وَهَذَا إِخْبَارٌ عَمَّنْ سَبَقَتْ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ الْحُسْنَى وَمَنْ تَدَارَكَهُ نِعْمَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ رَحِمَهُ بِهَا مِنْ تَلَوُّثِ السَّوْأَى وَهُوَ وَصْفٌ لِمَنْ قَصَدَهُ بِخِطَابِهِ إِذْ يَقُولُ فِي كِتَابِهِ :

famatā ʾatā Allāha ʿazza wajalla biqalbin salīmin mina al-hawā waʿilmin khāliṣin mustaqīmin ʿalā al-sunnati faqad khutima lahu biḥusni al-khātimati , faḥīnaʾidhin ʾadrakathu al-ḥusnā al-sābiqatu wa-hādhā huwa al-tawbatu al-naṣūḥu wa-hādhā al-ʿabdu huwa al-tawwābu al-mutaṭahhiru al-ḥabību wa-hādhā ʾikhbārun ʿamman sabaqat lahu mina Allāhi al-ḥusnā waman tadārakahu niʿmatun min rabbihi raḥimahu bihā min talawwuthi al-sawʾā wahuwa waṣfun liman qaṣadahu bikhiṭābihi ʾidh yaqūlu fī kitābihi :

Whenever someone comes to God, mighty and majestic, with a heart free of desire and with pure knowledge conforming to the Sunna, his life has been sealed with a good ending. At that point the good already decreed for him has reached him. This is sincere repentance, and this servant is the ever-repentant, purified, beloved one. This tells of someone for whom good has already been decreed by God, and whom a blessing from his Lord has overtaken, through which He has mercifully protected him from being stained by evil. It describes the one He intends in His address when He says in His Book:

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٠٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 303

Volume One, page 303

( إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 222 ، وَكَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : التَّائِبُ حَبِيبُ اللَّهِ وَالتَّائِبُ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ كَمَنْ لَا ذَنْبَ لَهُ ، وَسُئِلَ الْحَسَنُ عَنِ التَّوْبَةِ النَّصُوحِ : فَقَالَ هِيَ نَدَمٌ بِالْقَلْبِ وَاسْتِغْفَارٌ بِاللِّسَانِ وَتَرْكٌ بِالْجَوَارِحِ وَإِضْمَارُ أَنْ لَا يَعُودَ إِلَيْهِ .

( ʾinna Allāha yuḥibbu al-tawwābīna wayuḥibbu al-mutaṭahhirīna ) al-baqaratu : 222 , wakamā qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : al-tāʾibu ḥabību Allāhi wa-al-tāʾibu mina al-dhanbi kaman lā dhanba lahu , wasuʾila al-ḥasanu ʿani al-tawbati al-naṣūḥi : faqāla hiya nadamun bi-al-qalbi wastighfārun bi-al-lisāni watarkun bi-al-jawāriḥi waʾiḍmāru ʾan lā yaʿūda ʾilayhi .

“God loves those who repeatedly repent and loves those who purify themselves” (al-Baqara 222). As the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “The penitent is God’s beloved, and one who repents of a sin is like one who has no sin.” Al-Ḥasan was asked about sincere repentance. He said: “It is remorse in the heart, seeking forgiveness with the tongue, abandoning sin with the limbs, and inwardly resolving not to return to it.”

وَقَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ أَوْجَبُ عَلَى هَذَا الْخَلْقِ مِنَ التَّوْبَةِ وَلَا عُقُوبَةَ أَشَدَّ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ فَقْدِ عِلْمِ التَّوْبَةِ وَقَدْ جَهِلَ النَّاسُ عِلْمَ التَّوْبَةِ وَقَالَ : مَنْ يَقُولُ إِنَّ التَّوْبَةَ لَيْسَتْ بِفَرْضٍ فَهُوَ كَافِرٌ ، وَمَنْ رَضِيَ بِقَوْلِهِ فَهُوَ كَافِرٌ وَقَالَ : التَّائِبُ الَّذِي يَتُوبُ مِنْ غَفْلَتِهِ فِي الطَّاعَاتِ فِي كُلِّ طَرْفَةٍ وَنَفَسٍ ،

waqāla ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu laysa mina al-ʾashyāʾi ʾawjabu ʿalā hādhā al-khalqi mina al-tawbati walā ʿuqūbata ʾashadda ʿalayhim min faqdi ʿilmi al-tawbati waqad jahila al-nāsu ʿilma al-tawbati waqāla : man yaqūlu ʾinna al-tawbata laysat bifarḍin fahuwa kāfirun , waman raḍiya biqawlihi fahuwa kāfirun waqāla : al-tāʾibu alladhī yatūbu min ghaflatihi fī al-ṭāʿāti fī kulli ṭarfatin wanafasin ,

Abū Muḥammad Sahl, may God have mercy on him, said: “Nothing is more obligatory for these creatures than repentance, and no punishment is harsher for them than losing knowledge of repentance. People have become ignorant of the knowledge of repentance.” He said: “Anyone who says that repentance is not an obligation is an unbeliever, and anyone satisfied with his statement is an unbeliever.” He also said: “The penitent is the one who repents, with every blink and breath, of his heedlessness during acts of obedience.”

وَقَدْ جَعَلَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ تَرْكَ التَّوْبَةِ مَقَامًا فِي الْعَمَى وَقَرَنَهُ بِاتِّبَاعِ الظَّنِّ وَنِسْيَانِ الذِّكْرِ فَقَالَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ الطَّوِيلِ : وَمَنْ عَمِيَ نَسِيَ الذِّكْرَ وَاتَّبَعَ الظَّنَّ وَطَلَبَ الْمَغْفِرَةَ بِلَا تَوْبَةٍ وَلَا اسْتِكَانَةٍ فَفَرْضُ التَّوْبَةِ الَّذِي لَا بُدَّ لِلتَّائِبِ مِنْهُ وَلَا يَكُونُ مُحِقًّا صَادِقًا إِلَّا بِهِ الْإِقْرَارُ بِالذَّنْبِ وَالِاعْتِرَافُ بِالظُّلْمِ وَمَقْتُ النَّفْسِ عَلَى الْهَوَى وَحَلُّ الْإِصْرَارِ الَّذِي كَانَ عَقَدَهُ عَلَى أَعْمَالِ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَإِطَابَةُ الْغِذَاءِ بُغْيَةَ مَا

waqad jaʿala ʿaliyyun karrama Allāhu wajhahu tarka al-tawbati maqāman fī al-ʿamā waqaranahu bittibāʿi al-ẓanni wanisyāni al-dhikri faqāla fī al-ḥadīthi al-ṭawīli : waman ʿamiya nasiya al-dhikra wattabaʿa al-ẓanna waṭalaba al-maghfirata bilā tawbatin walā istikānatin fafarḍu al-tawbati alladhī lā budda li-l-tāʾibi minhu walā yakūnu muḥiqqan ṣādiqan ʾillā bihi al-ʾiqrāru bi-al-dhanbi wa-al-iʿtirāfu bi-al-ẓulmi wamaqtu al-nafsi ʿalā al-hawā waḥallu al-ʾiṣrāri alladhī kāna ʿaqadahu ʿalā ʾaʿmāli al-sayyiʾāti waʾiṭābatu al-ghidhāʾi bughyata mā

ʿAlī, may God honor his countenance, made abandoning repentance a station of blindness, and paired it with following conjecture and forgetting remembrance. In the long report he said: “Whoever becomes blind forgets remembrance, follows conjecture, and seeks forgiveness without repentance or humble submission.” The obligatory repentance that the penitent cannot do without, and without which he cannot be genuine and truthful, is acknowledging his sin, admitting his wrongdoing, detesting his own soul for its desire, undoing the persistent resolve he had bound himself to in committing evil deeds, and making his food wholesome to the extent that

يَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ لِأَنَّ الطُّعْمَةَ أَسَاسُ الصَّالِحِينَ ثُمَّ النَّدَمُ عَلَى مَا فَاتَ مِنَ الْجِنَايَاتِ . وَحَقِيقَةُ النَّدَمِ إِنْ كَانَ حَقًّا إِذْ لِكُلِّ حَقٍّ حَقِيقَةٌ أَنْ لَا يُعَاوِدَ إِلَى مِثْلِ مَا وَقَعَ النَّدَمُ عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ اِعْتِقَادُ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ عَلَى الْأَمْرِ وَمُجَانَبَةُ النَّهْيِ وَحَقِيقَةُ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ أَنْ لَا يُقَابِلَ مَا اِسْتَقْبَلَ مِنْ عُمْرِهِ بِمِثْلِ مَا وَقَعَ الِاعْوِجَاجُ بِهِ وَأَنْ يَتَّبِعَ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَأَنْ لَا يَصْحَبَ جَاهِلًا فَيُرْدِيَهُ ثُمَّ

yaqdiru ʿalayhi liʾanna al-ṭuʿmata ʾasāsu al-ṣāliḥīna thumma al-nadamu ʿalā mā fāta mina al-jināyāti . waḥaqīqatu al-nadami ʾin kāna ḥaqqan ʾidh likulli ḥaqqin ḥaqīqatun ʾan lā yuʿāwida ʾilā mithli mā waqaʿa al-nadamu ʿalayhi thumma iʿtiqādu al-istiqāmati ʿalā al-ʾamri wamujānabatu al-nahyi waḥaqīqatu al-istiqāmati ʾan lā yuqābila mā istaqbala min ʿumrihi bimithli mā waqaʿa al-iʿwijāju bihi waʾan yattabiʿa sabīla man ʾanāba ʾilā Allāhi waʾan lā yaṣḥaba jāhilan fayurdiyahu thumma

he can, for sustenance is the foundation of the righteous. Then comes remorse for past offenses. The reality of remorse, if it is true, for every truth has a reality, is not to return to anything like what he regretted. Then comes the resolve to remain upright in obeying the command and keeping clear of what is forbidden. The reality of uprightness is not to meet the coming part of his life with the same things that caused his earlier crookedness; to follow the path of those who turn to God; and not to keep company with an ignorant person who would bring him to ruin. Then comes

الِاشْتِغَالُ بِإِصْلَاحِ مَا أَفْسَدَ فِي أَيَّامِ بَطَالَتِهِ لِيَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُصْلِحِينَ الَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَأَصْلَحُوا مَا أَفْسَدُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَا يُصْلِحُ عَمَلَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ كَمَا لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ثُمَّ الِاسْتِبْدَالُ بِالصَّالِحَاتِ مِنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَالصَّالِحَاتِ مِنَ الْحَسَنَاتِ لِيَكُونَ مِمَّنْ تُبَدَّلُ سَيِّئَاتُهُ حَسَنَاتٍ لِتَحَقُّقِهِ بِالتَّوْبَةِ وَحُسْنِ الْإِنَابَةِ لِأَنَّ التَّبْدِيلَ يَكُونُ فِي الدُّنْيَا يُبَدِّلُ بِالْأَعْمَالِ السَّوْأَى أَعْمَالًا حُسْنَى بِدَلِيلِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

al-ishtighālu biʾiṣlāḥi mā ʾafsada fī ʾayyāmi baṭālatihi liyakūna mina al-muṣliḥīna alladhīna tābū waʾaṣlaḥū mā ʾafsadū faʾinna Allāha ʿazza wajalla lā yuṣliḥu ʿamala al-mufsidīna kamā lā yuḍīʿu ʾajra al-muḥsinīna thumma al-istibdālu bi-al-ṣāliḥāti mina al-sayyiʾāti wa-al-ṣāliḥāti mina al-ḥasanāti liyakūna mimman tubaddalu sayyiʾātuhu ḥasanātin litaḥaqquqihi bi-al-tawbati waḥusni al-ʾinābati liʾanna al-tabdīla yakūnu fī al-dunyā yubaddilu bi-al-ʾaʿmāli al-sawʾā ʾaʿmālan ḥusnā bidalīli qawlihi taʿālā :

working to repair what he corrupted during his days of idleness, so that he may be among those who make amends, who repented and repaired what they had corrupted. God, mighty and majestic, does not set right the work of those who corrupt, just as He does not let the reward of those who do good go to waste. Then comes replacing evil deeds with righteous deeds, and replacing good deeds with righteous deeds, so that he may be among those whose evil deeds are changed into good ones through their true repentance and sound return to God. For this replacement takes place in this world: he replaces evil actions with good actions, as shown by His words, exalted is He:

( إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ ) الرَّعْدُ : 11 فَإِذَا غَيَّرَ مَا بِهِمْ مِنْ سَيِّءٍ حَسَنًا بَدَّلَ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ ثُمَّ النَّدَمُ وَدَوَامُ الْحُزْنِ وَحَقِيقَةُ النَّدَمِ وَالْحُزْنِ عَلَى الْفَوْتِ أَنْ لَا يُفَرِّطَ وَلَا يَنِيَ فِي وَقْتِ دَرْكِهِ وَلَا يَرْجِعَ وَلَا يَنْثَنِيَ فِي حَيِّزِ اِسْتِبْدَالِهِ فَيُفَوِّتَ نَفْسَهُ وَقْتًا ثَانِيًا إِذْ كَانَ يَعْمَلُ فِي دَرْكِ مَا فَاتَ وَلَا يُفَوِّتَ مَا أَدْرَكَ فِي حَالِ

( ʾinna Allāha lā yughayyiru mā biqawmin ḥattā yughayyirū mā biʾanfusihim ) al-raʿdu : 11 faʾidhā ghayyara mā bihim min sayyiʾin ḥasanan baddala sayyiʾātihim ḥasanātin thumma al-nadamu wadawāmu al-ḥuzni waḥaqīqatu al-nadami wa-al-ḥuzni ʿalā al-fawti ʾan lā yufarriṭa walā yaniya fī waqti darkihi walā yarjiʿa walā yanthaniya fī ḥayyizi istibdālihi fayufawwita nafsahu waqtan thāniyan ʾidh kāna yaʿmalu fī darki mā fāta walā yufawwita mā ʾadraka fī ḥāli

“God does not change what is in a people until they change what is in themselves” (al-Raʿd 11). When He changes the evil within them into good, He replaces their evil deeds with good deeds. Then come remorse and enduring sorrow. The reality of remorse and sorrow over what has been lost is not to neglect or slacken during the time for making it up, and not to turn back or retreat while replacing it, thereby causing oneself to lose a second period of time while working to recover what was lost; nor to lose what one has gained in the state of

تَيَقُّظِهِ فَتَكُونَ يَقْظَتُهُ شَبِيهًا بِمَا مَضَى مِنْ غَفْلَتِهِ إِذْ كَانَ فِي دَرْكِ مَا فَاتَ شَبِيهًا بِمَا مَضَى مِنْ غَفْلَتِهِ إِذْ لَا يُدْرَكُ الْفَوْتُ بِالْفَوْتِ وَلَا يُنَالُ النَّعِيمُ بِالنَّعِيمِ لِيَكُونَ كَمَا وَصَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَآخَرُونَ اعْتَرَفُوا بِذُنُوبِهِمْ خَلَطُوا عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا ) قِيلَ : الِاعْتِرَافُ وَالنَّدَمُ ، وَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ :

tayaqquẓihi fatakūna yaqẓatuhu shabīhan bimā maḍā min ghaflatihi ʾidh kāna fī darki mā fāta shabīhan bimā maḍā min ghaflatihi ʾidh lā yudraku al-fawtu bi-al-fawti walā yunālu al-naʿīmu bi-al-naʿīmi liyakūna kamā waṣafa Allāhu taʿālā : ( waʾākharūna iʿtarafū bidhunūbihim khalaṭū ʿamalan ṣāliḥan waʾākhara sayyiʾan ) qīla : al-iʿtirāfu wa-al-nadamu , waqāla ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu :

his wakefulness, so that his wakefulness would resemble his former heedlessness, since while making up what he lost he would resemble his former heedlessness. For lost time cannot be recovered by losing more time, and bliss cannot be attained through bliss. Thus he may be as God Most High describes: “And others have acknowledged their sins; they mixed a righteous deed with another that was evil.” It has been said: this means acknowledgment and remorse. Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī said:

لَوْ لَمْ يَبْكِ الْعَاقِلُ فِيمَا بَقِيَ مِنْ عُمْرِهِ إِلَّا عَلَى فَوْتِ مَا مَضَى مِنْهُ فِي غَيْرِ الطَّاعَةِ لَكَانَ خَلِيقًا أَنْ يَحْزُنَهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْمَمَاتِ فَكَيْفَ بِمَنْ يَسْتَقْبِلُ مَا بَقِيَ مِنْ عُمْرِهِ بِمِثْلِ مَا مَضَى مِنْ جَهْلِهِ . وَقَالَ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ : التَّائِبُ لَا يُقِلُّهُ شَيْءٌ يَكُونُ قَلْبُهُ مُتَعَلِّقًا بِالْعَرْشِ حَتَّى يُفَارِقَ النَّفْسَ وَلَا عَيْشَ لَهُ إِلَّا الضَّرُورَةُ لِلْقِوَامِ وَيَغْتَمُّ عَلَى مَا مَضَى وَالْجِدُّ فِي الْأَمْرِ وَمُبَايَنَةُ النَّهْيِ

law lam yabki al-ʿāqilu fīmā baqiya min ʿumrihi ʾillā ʿalā fawti mā maḍā minhu fī ghayri al-ṭāʿati lakāna khalīqan ʾan yaḥzunahu dhālika ʾilā al-mamāti fakayfa biman yastaqbilu mā baqiya min ʿumrihi bimithli mā maḍā min jahlihi . waqāla sahlu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi : al-tāʾibu lā yuqilluhu shayʾun yakūnu qalbuhu mutaʿalliqan bi-al-ʿarshi ḥattā yufāriqa al-nafsa walā ʿaysha lahu ʾillā al-ḍarūratu li-l-qiwāmi wayaghtammu ʿalā mā maḍā wa-al-jiddu fī al-ʾamri wamubāyanatu al-nahyi

“If an intelligent person spent the rest of his life weeping only over the time he had lost outside obedience, that would rightly grieve him until death. What, then, of someone who meets the rest of his life with the same ignorance that filled the past?” Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh said: “Nothing can bear the penitent up. His heart remains attached to the Throne until he parts with his soul; he has no livelihood beyond what is necessary to sustain him.” He grieves over what has passed, strives earnestly to obey the command, and keeps clear of what is forbidden

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٠٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 304

Volume One, page 304

فِيمَا بَقِيَ وَلَا يَتِمُّ لَهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا بِاسْتِعْمَالِ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ثُمَّ الْمُتَابَعَةِ بِأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَاتِ لِيَكُونَ مِمَّنْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَيَدْرَؤُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ ) الرَّعْدُ : 22 الْآيَةَ أَيْ يَدْفَعُونَ مَا سَلَفَ مِنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ بِمَا يَعْلَمُونَ مِنَ الْحَسَنَاتِ .

fīmā baqiya walā yatimmu lahu dhālika ʾillā bistiʿmāli ʿilmi al-yaqīni fī kulli shayʾin thumma al-mutābaʿati biʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥāti liyakūna mimman qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( wayadraʾūna bi-al-ḥasanati al-sayyiʾata ) al-raʿdu : 22 al-ʾāyata ʾay yadfaʿūna mā salafa mina al-sayyiʾāti bimā yaʿlamūna mina al-ḥasanāti .

for what remains of his life. He can accomplish this only by putting the knowledge of certainty into practice in everything. Then he must follow it with righteous deeds, so that he may be among those of whom God Most High says: “They repel evil with good” (al-Raʿd 22), to the end of the verse. That is, they ward off their past evil deeds with the good deeds they know.

وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي ذَرٍّ فَإِذَا عَمِلْتَ سَيِّئَةً فَاعْمَلْ بَعْدَهَا حَسَنَةً السِّرَّ بِالسِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةَ بِالْعَلَانِيَةِ وَفِي وَصِيَّةِ مُعَاذٍ أَتْبِعِ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا وَلِيَدْخُلَ فِي الصَّالِحِينَ كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُدْخِلَنَّهُمْ فِي الصَّالِحِينَ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 9 ،

wa-kadhālika qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī ḥadīthi ʾabī dharrin faʾidhā ʿamilta sayyiʾatan faʿmal baʿdahā ḥasanatan al-sirra bi-al-sirri wa-al-ʿalāniyata bi-al-ʿalāniyati wafī waṣiyyati muʿādhin ʾatbiʿi al-sayyiʾata al-ḥasanata tamḥuhā waliyadkhula fī al-ṣāliḥīna kamā qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( wa-alladhīna ʾāmanū waʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti lanudkhilannahum fī al-ṣāliḥīna ) al-ʿankabūtu : 9 ,

Likewise, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said in the report of Abū Dharr: “When you do an evil deed, do a good deed after it: a private deed for a private deed, and a public deed for a public deed.” In his counsel to Muʿādh: “Follow an evil deed with a good deed, and it will erase it.” This is so that he may enter among the righteous, as God Most High says: “Those who believe and do righteous deeds, We shall surely admit among the righteous” (al-ʿAnkabūt 9).

ثُمَّ الْمُسَارَعَةُ إِلَى الْخَيْرَاتِ إِذَا قَدَرَ عَلَيْهَا لِيُدْرِكَ بِهَا مَا ضَيَّعَ وَفَاتَ لِيَكُونَ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ وَفِي هَذَا الْمَقَامِ يَصْلُحُ لِمَوْلَاهُ فَيَحْفَظُهُ وَيَتَوَلَّاهُ كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ : ( وَهُوَ يَتَوَلَّى الصَّالِحِينَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 196 ، وَجُمَلُ مَا عَلَى الْعَبْدِ فِي التَّوْبَةِ وَمَا تَعَلَّقَ بِهَا عَشْرُ خِصَالٍ ، أَوَّلُهَا فَرْضٌ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ لَا يَعْصِيَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى ، وَالثَّانِيَةُ إِنِ اُبْتُلِيَ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ لَا يُصِرَّ عَلَيْهَا ،

thumma al-musāraʿatu ʾilā al-khayrāti ʾidhā qadara ʿalayhā liyudrika bihā mā ḍayyaʿa wafāta liyakūna mina al-ṣāliḥīna wafī hādhā al-maqāmi yaṣluḥu limawlāhu fayaḥfaẓuhu wayatawallāhu kamā qāla Allāhu : ( wahuwa yatawallā al-ṣāliḥīna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 196 , wajumalu mā ʿalā al-ʿabdi fī al-tawbati wamā taʿallaqa bihā ʿashru khiṣālin , ʾawwaluhā farḍun ʿalayhi ʾan lā yaʿṣiya Allāha taʿālā , wa-al-thāniyatu ʾini ubtuliya bimaʿṣiyatin lā yuṣirra ʿalayhā ,

Then he must hasten to good deeds whenever he can, using them to recover what he has squandered and lost, so that he may be among the righteous. At this station he becomes fit for his Master, who protects him and takes him into His care, as God says: “He takes the righteous into His care” (al-Aʿrāf 196). What the servant owes in repentance and what pertains to it comprises ten qualities. The first is that he is obliged not to disobey God Most High. The second is that, if afflicted with a sin, he must not persist in it.

وَالْخَصْلَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ التَّوْبَةُ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْهَا ، وَالرَّابِعَةُ النَّدَمُ عَلَى مَا فَرَطَ مِنْهُ ، وَالْخَامِسَةُ عَقْدُ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ إِلَى الْمَوْتِ ، وَالسَّادِسَةُ خَوْفُ الْعُقُوبَةِ ، وَالسَّابِعَةُ رَجَاءُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ ، وَالثَّامِنَةُ الِاعْتِرَافُ بِالذَّنْبِ ، وَالتَّاسِعَةُ اِعْتِقَادُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدَّرَ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنَّهُ عَدْلٌ مِنْهُ ، وَالْعَاشِرَةُ الْمُتَابَعَةُ بِالْعَمَلِ الصَّالِحِ لِيَعْمَلَ فِي الْكَفَّارَاتِ لِقَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :

wa-al-khaṣlatu al-thālithatu al-tawbatu ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā minhā , wa-al-rābiʿatu al-nadamu ʿalā mā faraṭa minhu , wa-al-khāmisatu ʿaqdu al-istiqāmati ʿalā al-ṭāʿati ʾilā al-mawti , wa-al-sādisatu khawfu al-ʿuqūbati , wa-al-sābiʿatu rajāʾu al-maghfirati , wa-al-thāminatu al-iʿtirāfu bi-al-dhanbi , wa-al-tāsiʿatu iʿtiqādu ʾanna Allāha taʿālā qaddara dhālika ʿalayhi waʾannahu ʿadlun minhu , wa-al-ʿāshiratu al-mutābaʿatu bi-al-ʿamali al-ṣāliḥi liyaʿmala fī al-kaffārāti liqawlihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama :

The third quality is to repent of it to God Most High; the fourth, remorse for his lapse; the fifth, a firm resolve to remain upright in obedience until death; the sixth, fear of punishment; the seventh, hope of forgiveness; the eighth, acknowledgment of the sin; the ninth, the conviction that God Most High decreed it for him and that it is just on His part; and the tenth, following it with righteous action so that he may work at expiation, in keeping with his words, may God bless him and grant him peace:

وَأَتْبِعِ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا ، وَفِي جَمِيعِ هَذِهِ الْخِصَالِ جُمَلُ آثَارٍ رَوَيْنَاهَا عَنِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ يَكْثُرُ ذِكْرُهَا ، وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ مَلَكَ الْمَوْتِ إِذَا ظَهَرَ لِلْعَبْدِ أَعْلَمَهُ أَنَّهُ قَدْ بَقِيَ مِنْ عُمُرِكَ سَاعَةٌ وَأَنَّكَ لَا تَسْتَأْخِرُ عَنْهَا طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ قَالَ : فَيَبْدُو لِلْعَبْدِ مِنَ الْأَسَفِ وَالْحَسْرَةِ مَا لَوْ كَانَتْ لَهُ الدُّنْيَا مِنْ أَوَّلِهَا إِلَى آخِرِهَا لَخَرَجَ مِنْهَا عَلَى أَنْ يَضُمَّ إِلَى تِلْكَ السَّاعَةِ سَاعَةً أُخْرَى لِيَسْتَعْتِبَ فِيهَا أَوْ يَسْتَبْدِلَ بِهَا فَلَا يَجِدُ إِلَى ذَلِكَ سَبِيلًا ،

waʾatbiʿi al-sayyiʾata al-ḥasanata tamḥuhā , wafī jamīʿi hādhihi al-khiṣāli jumalu ʾāthārin rawaynāhā ʿani al-ṣaḥābati wa-al-tābiʿīna yakthuru dhikruhā , wayuqālu : ʾinna malaka al-mawti ʾidhā ẓahara li-l-ʿabdi ʾaʿlamahu ʾannahu qad baqiya min ʿumurika sāʿatun waʾannaka lā tastaʾkhiru ʿanhā ṭarfata ʿaynin qāla : fayabdū li-l-ʿabdi mina al-ʾasafi wa-al-ḥasrati mā law kānat lahu al-dunyā min ʾawwalihā ʾilā ʾākhirihā lakharaja minhā ʿalā ʾan yaḍumma ʾilā tilka al-sāʿati sāʿatan ʾukhrā liyastaʿtiba fīhā ʾaw yastabdila bihā falā yajidu ʾilā dhālika sabīlan ,

“And follow an evil deed with a good deed, and it will erase it.” On all these qualities there are collections of reports that we have transmitted from the Companions and the Successors, too numerous to recount. It is said: when the angel of death appears to the servant, he tells him, “One hour of your life remains, and you will not be delayed beyond it for the blink of an eye.” He said: the servant then feels such sorrow and regret that, if the whole world from beginning to end were his, he would give it up to add another hour to that hour, in which he might make amends or replace his deeds. But he finds no way to do so.

وَهَذَا تَأْوِيلُ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَحِيلَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ مَا يَشْتَهُونَ ) سَبَأٌ : 54 قِيلَ : التَّوْبَةُ وَقِيلَ : الزِّيَادَةُ فِي الْعُمُرِ وَقِيلَ : حُسْنُ الْخَاتِمَةِ حِيلَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ ذَلِكَ كَمَا فُعِلَ بِأَشْيَاعِهِمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَيْ بِنُظَرَائِهِمْ وَأَهْلِ فِرْقَتِهِمْ قَالَ :

wa-hādhā taʾwīlu qawlihi ʿazza wajalla : ( waḥīla baynahum wabayna mā yashtahūna ) sabaʾun : 54 qīla : al-tawbatu waqīla : al-ziyādatu fī al-ʿumuri waqīla : ḥusnu al-khātimati ḥīla baynahum wabayna dhālika kamā fuʿila biʾashyāʿihim min qablu ʾay binuẓarāʾihim waʾahli firqatihim qāla :

This is the interpretation of His words, mighty and majestic: “A barrier was placed between them and what they desire” (Sabaʾ 54). It is said to mean repentance; it is also said to mean an increase in life; and it is also said to mean a good ending. They were kept apart from that, just as was done to their fellows before them: that is, those like them and the people of their own faction. He said:

فَإِذَا كُلُّ سَاعَةٍ تَمْضِي عَلَى الْعَبْدِ فَهِيَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ هَذِهِ السَّاعَةِ قِيمَتُهَا الدُّنْيَا كُلُّهَا إِذَا عَرَفَ قِيمَةَ ذَلِكَ فَلِذَلِكَ قِيلَ لَيْسَ لِمَا بَقِيَ مِنْ عُمُرِ الْعَبْدِ قِيمَةٌ إِذَا عَرَفَ وَجْهَ التَّقْدِيرِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالتَّصْرِيفِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ وَقِيلَ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ فَيَقُولَ رَبِّ لَوْلَا أَخَّرْتَنِي إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ ) الْمُنَافِقُونَ : 10 قَالَ :

faʾidhā kullu sāʿatin tamḍī ʿalā al-ʿabdi fahiya bimanzilati hādhihi al-sāʿati qīmatuhā al-dunyā kulluhā ʾidhā ʿarafa qīmata dhālika fali-dhālika qīla laysa limā baqiya min ʿumuri al-ʿabdi qīmatun ʾidhā ʿarafa wajha al-taqdīri mina Allāhi taʿālā bi-al-taṣrīfi wa-al-ḥikmati waqīla fī maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā : ( min qabli ʾan yaʾtiya ʾaḥadakumu al-mawtu fayaqūla rabbi lawlā ʾakhkhartanī ʾilā ʾajalin qarībin ) al-munāfiqūna : 10 qāla :

Every hour that passes for the servant is therefore like that hour: its value is the whole world, if he recognizes its worth. For that reason it is said that what remains of the servant’s life has no price, when he recognizes how God Most High decrees through His ordering and wisdom. Concerning the meaning of His words, exalted is He, “Before death comes to one of you and he says, ‘My Lord, if only You would delay me until a near term’” (al-Munāfiqūn 10), it is said:

الْوَقْتُ الْقَرِيبُ أَنْ يَقُولَ الْعَبْدُ عِنْدَ كَشْفِ الْغِطَاءِ : يَا مَلَكَ الْمَوْتِ أَخِّرْنِي يَوْمًا أَعْبُدْ فِيهِ رَبِّي وَأُعْتِبْ فِيهِ ذَنْبِي وَأَتَزَوَّدْ صَالِحًا لِنَفْسِي فَيَقُولُ : فَنِيَتِ الْأَيَّامُ فَلَا يَوْمَ ، فَيَقُولُ : أَخِّرْنِي سَاعَةً فَيَقُولُ فَنِيَتِ السَّاعَاتُ فَلَا سَاعَةَ ، قَالَ :

al-waqtu al-qarību ʾan yaqūla al-ʿabdu ʿinda kashfi al-ghiṭāʾi : yā malaka al-mawti ʾakhkhirnī yawman ʾaʿbud fīhi rabbī waʾuʿtib fīhi dhanbī waʾatazawwad ṣāliḥan linafsī fayaqūlu : faniyati al-ʾayyāmu falā yawma , fayaqūlu : ʾakhkhirnī sāʿatan fayaqūlu faniyati al-sāʿātu falā sāʿata , qāla :

The near term is when the servant says, as the veil is lifted: “Angel of death, delay me one day in which I may worship my Lord, make amends for my sin, and lay up righteous provision for myself.” He replies: “The days are spent; there is no day.” The servant says: “Delay me an hour.” He replies: “The hours are spent; there is no hour.” He said:

فَتَبْلُغُ الرُّوحُ الْحُلْقُومَ فَيُؤْخَذُ بِكَظْمِهِ عِنْدَ الْغَرْغَرَةِ فَيُغْلَقُ بَابُ التَّوْبَةِ وَيُحْجَبُ عَنْهُ وَتَنْقَطِعُ الْأَعْمَالُ وَتَذْهَبُ الْأَوْقَاتُ وَتَتَصَاعَدُ الْأَنْفَاسُ يَشْهَدُ فِيهَا الْمُعَايَنَةَ عِنْدَ كَشْفِ الْغِطَاءِ فَيَحْتَدُّ بَصَرُهُ فَإِذَا كَانَ فِي آخِرِ نَفَسٍ زَهَقَتْ نَفْسُهُ فَيُدْرِكُهُ مَا سَبَقَ لَهُ مِنَ السَّعَادَةِ فَتَخْرُجُ رُوحُهُ عَلَى

fatablughu al-rūḥu al-ḥulqūma fayuʾkhadhu bikaẓmihi ʿinda al-ghargharati fayughlaqu bābu al-tawbati wayuḥjabu ʿanhu watanqaṭiʿu al-ʾaʿmālu watadhhabu al-ʾawqātu watataṣāʿadu al-ʾanfāsu yashhadu fīhā al-muʿāyanata ʿinda kashfi al-ghiṭāʾi fayaḥtaddu baṣaruhu faʾidhā kāna fī ʾākhiri nafasin zahaqat nafsuhu fayudrikuhu mā sabaqa lahu mina al-saʿādati fatakhruju rūḥuhu ʿalā

The spirit reaches the throat, and he is seized by his windpipe during the death rattle. The door of repentance is shut and screened off from him; deeds cease, times pass away, and breaths rise. In those breaths he witnesses direct vision when the veil is lifted, and his sight becomes sharp. When he reaches his last breath, his soul departs. What has already been decreed for him of happiness overtakes him, and his spirit departs in

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٠٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 305

Volume One, page 305

التَّوْحِيدِ فَذَلِكَ حُسْنُ الْخَاتِمَةِ أَوْ يُدْرِكُهُ مَا سَبَقَ لَهُ مِنَ الشَّقْوَةِ فَتَخْرُجُ رُوحُهُ عَلَى الشِّرْكِ فَهَذَا الَّذِي قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَ ) النِّسَاءُ : 18 ، فَهَذَا سُوءُ الْخَاتِمَةِ نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْهُ وَقِيلَ : هَذَا هُوَ الْمُنَافِقُ وَيُقَالُ : الْمُدْمِنُ عَلَى الْمَعَاصِي الْمُصِرُّ عَلَيْهَا .

al-tawḥīdi fa-dhālika ḥusnu al-khātimati ʾaw yudrikuhu mā sabaqa lahu mina al-shaqwati fatakhruju rūḥuhu ʿalā al-shirki fa-hādhā alladhī qāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla : ( walaysati al-tawbatu li-lladhīna yaʿmalūna al-sayyiʾāti ḥattā ʾidhā ḥaḍara ʾaḥadahumu al-mawtu qāla ʾinnī tubtu al-ʾāna ) al-nisāʾu : 18 , fa-hādhā sūʾu al-khātimati naʿūdhu bi-Allāhi minhu waqīla : hādhā huwa al-munāfiqu wayuqālu : al-mudminu ʿalā al-maʿāṣī al-muṣirru ʿalayhā .

the affirmation of God’s oneness: that is a good ending. Or what has already been decreed for him of misery overtakes him, and his spirit departs in associating others with God. This is the one of whom God, mighty and majestic, says: “Repentance is not for those who commit evil deeds until, when death comes to one of them, he says, ‘Now I repent’” (al-Nisāʾ 18). This is a bad ending; we seek refuge in God from it. It is said: this is the hypocrite. It is also said: it is the one addicted to sins who persists in them.

وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَى اللَّهِ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِنْ قَرِيبٍ ) النِّسَاءُ : 17 ، قِيلَ : قَبْلَ الْمَوْتِ وَقَبْلَ ظُهُورِ آيَاتِ الْآخِرَةِ وَقَبْلَ الْغَرْغَرَةِ أَيْ تَغَرْغُرُ النَّفْسِ فِي الْحُلْقُومِ لِأَنَّهُ تَعَالَى قَدْ حَكَمَ أَنَّ التَّوْبَةَ بَعْدَ ظُهُورِ أَعْلَامِ الْآخِرَةِ لَا تُقْبَلُ ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ :

waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( ʾinnamā al-tawbatu ʿalā Allāhi li-lladhīna yaʿmalūna al-sūʾa bijahālatin thumma yatūbūna min qarībin ) al-nisāʾu : 17 , qīla : qabla al-mawti waqabla ẓuhūri ʾāyāti al-ʾākhirati waqabla al-ghargharati ʾay tagharghuru al-nafsi fī al-ḥulqūmi liʾannahu taʿālā qad ḥakama ʾanna al-tawbata baʿda ẓuhūri ʾaʿlāmi al-ʾākhirati lā tuqbalu , waminhu qawluhu ʿazza wajalla :

God Most High has said: “God accepts repentance only from those who do evil in ignorance and then repent soon afterward” (al-Nisāʾ 17). It is said: before death, before the signs of the hereafter appear, and before the death rattle, that is, the soul’s rattling in the throat. For He, exalted is He, has ruled that repentance after the signs of the hereafter appear is not accepted. Among the statements to this effect are His words, mighty and majestic:

( يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 158 يَعْنِي مِنْ قَبْلِ مُعَايَنَةِ الْآيَاتِ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا قِيلَ : التَّوْبَةُ هِيَ كَسْبُ الْإِيمَانِ وَأُصُولُ الْخَيْرَاتِ وَقِيلَ : الْأَعْمَالُ الصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ مَزِيدُ الْإِيمَانِ وَعَلَامَةُ الْإِيقَانِ وَقَدْ قِيلَ :

( yawma yaʾtī baʿḍu ʾāyāti rabbika lā yanfaʿu nafsan ʾīmānuhā lam takun ʾāmanat min qablu ) al-ʾanʿāmu : 158 yaʿnī min qabli muʿāyanati al-ʾāyāti ʾaw kasabat fī ʾīmānihā khayran qīla : al-tawbatu hiya kasbu al-ʾīmāni waʾuṣūlu al-khayrāti waqīla : al-ʾaʿmālu al-ṣāliḥatu hiya mazīdu al-ʾīmāni waʿalāmatu al-ʾīqāni waqad qīla :

“On the day when some of your Lord’s signs come, a soul’s faith will not benefit it if it did not believe before” (al-Anʿām 158), meaning before directly witnessing the signs, “or earn good through its faith.” It is said: repentance is the earning of faith and the roots of good deeds. It is also said: righteous actions are an increase in faith and a sign of certainty. It has also been said:

ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِنْ قَرِيبٍ أَيْ عَنْ قَرِيبِ عَهْدٍ بِالْخَطِيئَةِ لَا يَتَمَادَى فِيهَا وَلَا يَتَبَاعَدُ عَنِ التَّوْبَةِ وَتَوْبَتُهُ مِنْ قَرِيبٍ أَنْ يُعَقِّبَ الذَّنْبَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُرْدِفَهُ ذَنْبًا آخَرَ وَأَنْ يَخْرُجَ مِنَ السَّيِّئَةِ إِلَى الْحَسَنَةِ وَلَا يَدْخُلَ فِي سَيِّئَةٍ أُخْرَى وَقِيلَ : أَوَّلُ مَنْ يَسْأَلُ الرَّجْعَةَ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ أَدَّى زَكَاةَ مَالِهِ أَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ حَجَّ بَيْتَ رَبِّهِ فَذَلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى :

thumma yatūbūna min qarībin ʾay ʿan qarībi ʿahdin bi-al-khaṭīʾati lā yatamādā fīhā walā yatabāʿadu ʿani al-tawbati watawbatuhu min qarībin ʾan yuʿaqqiba al-dhanba ʿamalan ṣāliḥan walā yurdifahu dhanban ʾākhara waʾan yakhruja mina al-sayyiʾati ʾilā al-ḥasanati walā yadkhula fī sayyiʾatin ʾukhrā waqīla : ʾawwalu man yasʾalu al-rajʿata min hādhihi al-ʾummati man lam yakun ʾaddā zakāta mālihi ʾaw lam yakun ḥajja bayta rabbihi fa-dhālika taʾwīlu qawli Allāhi taʿālā :

“Then they repent soon afterward” means while the sin is still recent. He does not persist in it or move far away from repentance. His repenting soon afterward means that he follows the sin with a righteous deed, does not follow it with another sin, leaves an evil deed for a good one, and does not enter into another evil deed. It is said: the first person in this community to ask to return will be one who has not paid the alms due on his wealth, or has not made pilgrimage to his Lord’s House. That is the interpretation of God Most High’s words:

( فَأَصَّدَّقَ وَأَكُنْ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ ) الْمُنَافِقُونَ : 10 ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ مِنْ أَشَدِّ شَيْءٍ عَلَى أَهْلِ التَّوْحِيدِ هَذَا لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى فِي أَوَّلِهَا : ( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ) الْمُنَافِقُونَ : 9 ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ :

( faʾaṣṣaddaqa waʾakun mina al-ṣāliḥīna ) al-munāfiqūna : 10 , wakāna ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu : hādhihi al-ʾāyatu min ʾashaddi shayʾin ʿalā ʾahli al-tawḥīdi hādhā liqawlihi taʿālā fī ʾawwalihā : ( yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū lā tulhikum ʾamwālukum walā ʾawlādukum ʿan dhikri Allāhi ) al-munāfiqūna : 9 , waqad qīla :

“So that I may give in charity and be among the righteous” (al-Munāfiqūn 10). Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, used to say: “This verse is among the sternest things for those who affirm God’s oneness.” That is because of His words, exalted is He, at its beginning: “You who believe, do not let your wealth or your children distract you from the remembrance of God” (al-Munāfiqūn 9). It has also been said:

لَا يَسْأَلُ عَبْدٌ الرَّجْعَةَ عِنْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَلَهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ خَيْرٍ . وَرَوَيْنَا بِمَعْنَاهُ مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ خَيْرٍ لَوْ أَنَّ لَهُ الدُّنْيَا بِمَا فِيهَا مِنْ أَوَّلِهَا إِلَى آخِرِهَا لَمْ يُحِبَّ أَنْ يَعُودَ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : إِنَّ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى إِلَى عَبْدِهِ سِرَّيْنِ يُسِرُّهُمَا إِلَيْهِ يُوجِدُهُ ذَلِكَ بِإِلْهَامٍ يُلْهِمُهُ ،

lā yasʾalu ʿabdun al-rajʿata ʿinda al-mawti walahu ʿinda Allāhi ʿazza wajalla mithqālu dharratin min khayrin . warawaynā bimaʿnāhu man kāna lahu fī al-ʾākhirati mithqālu dharratin min khayrin law ʾanna lahu al-dunyā bimā fīhā min ʾawwalihā ʾilā ʾākhirihā lam yuḥibba ʾan yaʿūda ʾilā al-dunyā , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna : ʾinna li-llāhi taʿālā ʾilā ʿabdihi sirrayni yusirruhumā ʾilayhi yūjiduhu dhālika biʾilhāmin yulhimuhu ,

No servant who has an atom’s weight of good with God, mighty and majestic, asks at death to return. We have transmitted a report of the same meaning: “Anyone who has an atom’s weight of good in the hereafter would not wish to return to this world, even if the world and everything in it, from beginning to end, were his.” One of the knowers said: “God Most High has two secrets for His servant, which He confides to him, making him experience them through an inspiration He gives him:

أَحَدُهُمَا إِذَا وُلِدَ وَخَرَجَ مِنْ بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ يَقُولُ لَهُ : عَبْدِي قَدْ أَخْرَجْتُكَ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا طَاهِرًا نَظِيفًا وَاسْتَوْدَعْتُكَ عُمْرَكَ اِئْتَمَنْتُكَ عَلَيْهِ فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ تَحْفَظُ الْأَمَانَةَ وَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ تَلْقَانِي كَمَا أَخْرَجْتُكَ ، وَسِرٌّ عِنْدَ خُرُوجِ رُوحِهِ يَقُولُ : عَبْدِي مَاذَا صَنَعْتَ فِي أَمَانَتِي عِنْدَكَ هَلْ حَفِظْتَهَا حَتَّى تَلْقَانِي عَلَى الْعَهْدِ وَالرِّعَايَةِ فَأَلْقَاكَ بِالْوَفَاءِ وَالْجَزَاءِ أَوْ أَضَعْتَهَا فَأَلْقَاكَ بِالْمُطَالَبَةِ وَالْعِقَابِ ؟ ،

ʾaḥaduhumā ʾidhā wulida wakharaja min baṭni ʾummihi yaqūlu lahu : ʿabdī qad ʾakhrajtuka ʾilā al-dunyā ṭāhiran naẓīfan wastawdaʿtuka ʿumraka iʾtamantuka ʿalayhi fanẓur kayfa taḥfaẓu al-ʾamānata wanẓur kayfa talqānī kamā ʾakhrajtuka , wasirrun ʿinda khurūji rūḥihi yaqūlu : ʿabdī mādhā ṣanaʿta fī ʾamānatī ʿindaka hal ḥafiẓtahā ḥattā talqānī ʿalā al-ʿahdi wa-al-riʿāyati faʾalqāka bi-al-wafāʾi wa-al-jazāʾi ʾaw ʾaḍaʿtahā faʾalqāka bi-al-muṭālabati wa-al-ʿiqābi ? ,

One is when he is born and comes out of his mother’s womb. He says to him: ‘My servant, I have brought you into this world pure and clean, and entrusted your lifetime to you, making you responsible for it. See how you guard the trust, and see how you will meet Me as I brought you forth.’ The other secret comes when his spirit departs. He says: ‘My servant, what have you done with My trust in your keeping? Have you guarded it so that you meet Me faithful to the covenant and attentive to the trust, and I meet you with fulfillment and reward? Or have you squandered it, so that I meet you with a demand for an account and with punishment?’”

فَهَذَا دَاخِلٌ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ : 8 ، وَفِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 40 عُمُرُ الْعَبْدِ أَمَانَةٌ عِنْدَهُ إِنْ حَفِظَهُ فَقَدْ أَدَّى الْأَمَانَةَ وَإِنْ ضَيَّعَهُ فَقَدْ خَانَ اللَّهَ ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْخَائِنِينَ ،

fa-hādhā dākhilun fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla : ( wa-alladhīna hum liʾamānātihim waʿahdihim rāʿūna ) al-muʾminūna : 8 , wafī qawlihi taʿālā : ( waʾawfū biʿahdī ʾūfi biʿahdikum ) al-baqaratu : 40 ʿumuru al-ʿabdi ʾamānatun ʿindahu ʾin ḥafiẓahu faqad ʾaddā al-ʾamānata waʾin ḍayyaʿahu faqad khāna Allāha , ʾinna Allāha lā yuḥibbu al-khāʾinīna ,

This is included in His words, mighty and majestic: “Those who guard their trusts and their covenant” (al-Muʾminūn 8), and His words, exalted is He: “Fulfill My covenant, and I will fulfill your covenant” (al-Baqara 40). The servant’s lifetime is a trust in his keeping. If he guards it, he has discharged the trust; if he wastes it, he has betrayed God. God does not love those who betray.

وَفِي خَبَرِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ مَنْ ضَيَّعَ فَرَائِضَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ خَرَجَ مِنْ أَمَانَةِ اللَّهِ وَعِنْدَ التَّوْبَةِ النَّصُوحِ تَكْفِيرُ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَدُخُولُ الْجَنَّاتِ ، وَكَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ : قَدْ عَلِمْتُ مَتَى يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لِي قِيلَ : وَمَتَى ؟ قَالَ : إِذَا تَابَ عَلَيَّ ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ : أَنَا مِنْ أَنْ أُحْرَمَ التَّوْبَةَ أَخْوَفُ مِنِّي مِنْ أَنْ أُحْرَمَ الْمَغْفِرَةَ ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ

wafī khabari ibni ʿabbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu man ḍayyaʿa farāʾiḍa Allāhi ʿazza wajalla kharaja min ʾamānati Allāhi waʿinda al-tawbati al-naṣūḥi takfīru al-sayyiʾāti wadukhūlu al-jannāti , wakāna baʿḍuhum yaqūlu : qad ʿalimtu matā yaghfiru Allāhu lī qīla : wamatā ? qāla : ʾidhā tāba ʿalayya , waqāla ʾākharu : ʾanā min ʾan ʾuḥrama al-tawbata ʾakhwafu minnī min ʾan ʾuḥrama al-maghfirata , waqāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( waman ʾaṣdaqu mina Allāhi

In the report of Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him: “Anyone who neglects the obligations laid down by God, mighty and majestic, leaves God’s protection.” With sincere repentance come the erasure of evil deeds and entry into the Gardens. One of them used to say: “I know when God will forgive me.” He was asked: “When?” He said: “When He turns toward me.” Another said: “I am more afraid of being denied repentance than of being denied forgiveness.” God Most High says: “Who is more truthful than God

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٠٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 306

Volume One, page 306

حَدِيثًا ) النِّسَاءُ : 87 فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنْكُمْ وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي مِثْلِهِ : ( وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَعْفُو عَنِ السَّيِّئَاتِ ) الشُّورَى : 25 وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : لَا تَصِحُّ التَّوْبَةُ لِعَبْدٍ حَتَّى يَنْسَى شَهَوَاتِهِ وَيَكُونَ ذَاكِرًا لِلْحُزْنِ لَا يُفَارِقُهُ قَلْبُهُ ذَاهِبًا عَنِ الذَّنْبِ لَا يُخَالِجُ سِرَّهُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَاءِ الشَّامِ :

ḥadīthan ) al-nisāʾu : 87 fatāba ʿalaykum waʿafā ʿankum waqāla taʿālā fī mithlihi : ( wahuwa alladhī yaqbalu al-tawbata ʿan ʿibādihi wayaʿfū ʿani al-sayyiʾāti ) al-shūrā : 25 waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi : lā taṣiḥḥu al-tawbatu liʿabdin ḥattā yansā shahawātihi wayakūna dhākiran li-l-ḥuzni lā yufāriquhu qalbuhu dhāhiban ʿani al-dhanbi lā yukhāliju sirrahu , waqāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾi al-shāmi :

in speech?” (al-Nisāʾ 87). “He turned toward you and pardoned you.” In a similar statement He says, exalted is He: “He is the One who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons evil deeds” (al-Shūrā 25). One of the scholars said: “A servant’s repentance is not sound until he forgets his desires, remembers his sorrow, and his heart never leaves it, while he is absent from the sin and it does not stir in his innermost self.” One of the scholars of Syria said:

لَا يَكُونُ الْمُرِيدُ تَائِبًا حَتَّى لَا يَكْتُبَ عَلَيْهِ صَاحِبُ الشِّمَالِ مَعْصِيَةً عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : مِنْ عَلَامَةِ صِدْقِ التَّائِبِ فِي تَوْبَتِهِ أَنْ يَسْتَبْدِلَ بِحَلَاوَةِ الْهَوَى حَلَاوَةَ الطَّاعَةِ وَبِفَرَحِ رُكُوبِ الذَّنْبِ الْحُزْنَ عَلَيْهِ وَالسُّرُورَ بِحُسْنِ الْإِنَابَةِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِي مَعْنَاهُ : لَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ تَائِبًا حَتَّى يُدْخِلَ مَرَارَةَ مُخَالَفَةِ النَّفْسِ مَكَانَ حَلَاوَةِ مُوَافَقَتِهَا ، وَحُدِّثْنَا فِي الْإِسْرَائِيلِيَّاتِ :

lā yakūnu al-murīdu tāʾiban ḥattā lā yaktuba ʿalayhi ṣāḥibu al-shimāli maʿṣiyatan ʿishrīna sanatan , waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi : min ʿalāmati ṣidqi al-tāʾibi fī tawbatihi ʾan yastabdila biḥalāwati al-hawā ḥalāwata al-ṭāʿati wabifaraḥi rukūbi al-dhanbi al-ḥuzna ʿalayhi wa-al-surūra biḥusni al-ʾinābati , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi fī maʿnāhu : lā yakūnu al-ʿabdu tāʾiban ḥattā yudkhila marārata mukhālafati al-nafsi makāna ḥalāwati muwāfaqatihā , waḥuddithnā fī al-ʾisrāʾīliyyāti :

“The seeker is not repentant until the companion on his left has recorded no act of disobedience against him for twenty years.” One of the predecessors said: “Among the signs that a penitent is sincere in his repentance is that he replaces the sweetness of desire with the sweetness of obedience, and the joy of committing the sin with sorrow over it and delight in a sound return to God.” One of the scholars said, expressing the same meaning: “The servant is not repentant until he puts the bitterness of opposing the self in the place of the sweetness of indulging it.” We were told among the Israelite traditions:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَالَ لِبَعْضِ أَنْبِيَائِهِ وَقَدْ سَأَلَهُ قَبُولَ تَوْبَةِ عَبْدٍ بَعْدَ أَنْ اِجْتَهَدَ سِنِينَ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ وَلَمْ يَرَ قَبُولَ تَوْبَتِهِ فَقَالَ لَهُ : وَعِزَّتِي وَجَلَالِي لَوْ شَفَعَ فِيهِ أَهْلُ السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَا قَبِلْتُ تَوْبَتَهُ وَحَلَاوَةُ ذَلِكَ الذَّنْبِ الَّذِي تَابَ مِنْهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَمَنْ بَقِيَتْ حَلَاوَةُ الْمَعْصِيَةِ فِي قَلْبِهِ أَوْ نَظَرَ إِلَيْهَا إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا بِفِكْرِهِ خِيفَ عَلَيْهِ الْعَوْدُ فِيهَا إِلَّا بِشِدَّةِ مُجَاهَدَةٍ وَكَرَاهَةٍ لَهَا وَنَفْيِ خَاطِرِهَا عَنْ سِرِّهِ إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا بِالْخَوْفِ وَالْإِشْفَاقِ مِنْهَا ،

ʾinna Allāha ʿazza wajalla qāla libaʿḍi ʾanbiyāʾihi waqad saʾalahu qabūla tawbati ʿabdin baʿda ʾan ijtahada sinīna fī al-ʿibādati walam yara qabūla tawbatihi faqāla lahu : waʿizzatī wajalālī law shafaʿa fīhi ʾahlu al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍi mā qabiltu tawbatahu waḥalāwatu dhālika al-dhanbi alladhī tāba minhu fī qalbihi waman baqiyat ḥalāwatu al-maʿṣiyati fī qalbihi ʾaw naẓara ʾilayhā ʾidhā dhakarahā bifikrihi khīfa ʿalayhi al-ʿawdu fīhā ʾillā bishiddati mujāhadatin wakarāhatin lahā wanafyi khāṭirihā ʿan sirrihi ʾidhā dhakarahā bi-al-khawfi wa-al-ʾishfāqi minhā ,

God, mighty and majestic, spoke to one of His prophets, who had asked Him to accept the repentance of a servant who had striven in worship for years without seeing his repentance accepted. He said to him: “By My might and majesty, even if all the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth interceded for him, I would not accept his repentance while the sweetness of the sin he repented of remained in his heart.” If the sweetness of disobedience remains in someone’s heart, or he gazes at it when he recalls it in his thoughts, there is reason to fear that he will return to it, unless he struggles fiercely, hates it, and drives its suggestion from his innermost self whenever he remembers it, through fear and dread of it.

وَقَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ : أَوَّلُ مَا يَمُرُّ بِهِ الْمُبْتَدِئُ الْمُرِيدُ التَّوْبَةُ وَهُوَ تَحْوِيلُ الْحَرَكَاتِ الْمَذْمُومَةِ إِلَى حَرَكَاتٍ مَحْمُودَةٍ وَيُلْزِمُ نَفْسَهُ الْخَلْوَةَ وَالصَّمْتَ وَلَا تَصِحُّ لَهُ تَوْبَةٌ إِلَّا بِأَكْلِ الْحَلَالِ وَلَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَى الْحَلَالِ حَتَّى يُؤَدِّيَ حَقَّ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي الْخَلْقِ وَحَقَّ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي نَفْسِهِ وَلَا يَصِحُّ لَهُ هَذَا حَتَّى يَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْ حَرَكَتِهِ وَسُكُونِهِ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَحَتَّى لَا يَأْمَنَ الِاسْتِدْرَاجَ بِأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَحَقِيقَةُ التَّوْبَةِ

waqāla ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun : ʾawwalu mā yamurru bihi al-mubtadiʾu al-murīdu al-tawbatu wahuwa taḥwīlu al-ḥarakāti al-madhmūmati ʾilā ḥarakātin maḥmūdatin wayulzimu nafsahu al-khalwata wa-al-ṣamta walā taṣiḥḥu lahu tawbatun ʾillā biʾakli al-ḥalāli walā yaqdiru ʿalā al-ḥalāli ḥattā yuʾaddiya ḥaqqa Allāhi taʿālā fī al-khalqi waḥaqqa Allāhi taʿālā fī nafsihi walā yaṣiḥḥu lahu hādhā ḥattā yatabarraʾa min ḥarakatihi wasukūnihi ʾillā bi-Allāhi taʿālā waḥattā lā yaʾmana al-istidrāja biʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥāti waḥaqīqatu al-tawbati

Abū Muḥammad Sahl said: “The first thing the novice seeker passes through is repentance. This is to turn blameworthy movements into praiseworthy movements. He commits himself to seclusion and silence. His repentance is not sound without eating what is lawful, and he cannot attain the lawful until he fulfills God Most High’s due in relation to other creatures and God Most High’s due in relation to himself. This is not sound for him until he disavows any movement or stillness except through God Most High, and until he does not feel safe from being gradually drawn into ruin through righteous deeds. The reality of repentance

أَنْ يَدَعَ مَا لَهُ حَتَّى لَا يَدْخُلَ فِيمَا عَلَيْهِ وَلَا يَكُونَ يُسَوِّفُ أَبَدًا إِنَّمَا يُلْزِمُ نَفْسَهُ الْحَالَ فِي الْوَقْتِ . وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ سَرِيِّ السَّقَطِيِّ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : مِنْ شَرْطِ التَّوْبَةِ أَنْ يَنْبَغِيَ لِلتَّائِبِ الْمُنِيبِ أَنَّهُ يَبْدَأُ بِمُبَايَنَةِ أَهْلِ الْمَعَاصِي ثُمَّ بِنَفْسِهِ الَّتِي كَانَ يُعْصَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهَا وَلَا يُنِيلَهَا إِلَّا مَا لَا بُدَّ مِنْهُ ثُمَّ الِاعْتِزَامُ عَلَى أَنْ لَا يَعُودَ فِي مَعْصِيَةٍ أَبَدًا وَيُلْقِي عَنِ النَّاسِ

ʾan yadaʿa mā lahu ḥattā lā yadkhula fīmā ʿalayhi walā yakūna yusawwifu ʾabadan ʾinnamā yulzimu nafsahu al-ḥāla fī al-waqti . waḥaddathūnā ʿan sariyyi al-saqaṭiyyi ʾannahu qāla : min sharṭi al-tawbati ʾan yanbaghiya li-l-tāʾibi al-munībi ʾannahu yabdaʾu bimubāyanati ʾahli al-maʿāṣī thumma binafsihi allatī kāna yuʿṣā Allāhu taʿālā lahā walā yunīlahā ʾillā mā lā budda minhu thumma al-iʿtizāmu ʿalā ʾan lā yaʿūda fī maʿṣiyatin ʾabadan wayulqī ʿani al-nāsi

is to give up what he is entitled to, so that he does not enter into what counts against him. He never keeps putting things off; he binds himself to the state required by the present moment.” They told us from Sarī al-Saqaṭī that he said: “Among the conditions of repentance is that the penitent who turns back should begin by separating himself from people of disobedience, then from his own self, for whose sake God Most High used to be disobeyed, giving it only what it cannot do without. Then he must resolve never to return to disobedience, and lift from people

مُؤُونَتَهُ وَيَدَعُ كُلَّ مَا يَضْطَرُّهُ إِلَى جَرِيرَةٍ وَلَا يَتَّبِعُ هَوًى وَيَتَّبِعُ مَنْ مَضَى مِنَ السَّلَفِ ، وَيَنْبَغِي لِأَهْلِ التَّوْبَةِ أَنْ يُحَاسِبُوا نُفُوسَهُمْ فِي كُلِّ طَرْفَةٍ وَيَدَعُوا كُلَّ شَهْوَةٍ وَيَتْرُكُوا الْفُضُولَ وَهِيَ سِتَّةُ أَشْيَاءَ : تَرْكُ فُضُولِ الْكَلَامِ ، وَتَرْكُ فُضُولِ النَّظَرِ ، وَتَرْكُ فُضُولِ الْمَشْيِ ، وَتَرْكُ فُضُولِ الطَّعَامِ ، وَالشَّرَابِ ، وَاللِّبَاسِ ، قَالَ :

muʾūnatahu wayadaʿu kulla mā yaḍṭarruhu ʾilā jarīratin walā yattabiʿu hawan wayattabiʿu man maḍā mina al-salafi , wayanbaghī liʾahli al-tawbati ʾan yuḥāsibū nufūsahum fī kulli ṭarfatin wayadaʿū kulla shahwatin wayatrukū al-fuḍūla wahiya sittatu ʾashyāʾa : tarku fuḍūli al-kalāmi , watarku fuḍūli al-naẓari , watarku fuḍūli al-mashyi , watarku fuḍūli al-ṭaʿāmi , wa-al-sharābi , wa-al-libāsi , qāla :

the burden of supporting him. He gives up everything that forces him into an offense, follows no desire, and follows the predecessors who have gone before. People of repentance should call their souls to account at every blink, abandon every appetite, and leave excess behind. These are six things: leaving excess in speech, excess in looking, excess in walking, excess in food, and in drink and clothing.” He said:

وَلَا يَقْوَى عَلَى تَرْكِ الشُّبُهَاتِ إِلَّا مَنْ تَرَكَ الشَّهَوَاتِ ، وَسُئِلَ يَحْيَى بْنُ مُعَاذٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ كَيْفَ يَصْنَعُ التَّائِبُ ؟ فَقَالَ : هُوَ مِنْ عُمْرِهِ بَيْنَ يَوْمَيْنِ ، يَوْمٍ مَضَى وَيَوْمٍ بَقِيَ ، فَيُصْلِحُهُمَا بِثَلَاثٍ : أَمَّا مَا مَضَى فَبِالنَّدَمِ وَالِاسْتِغْفَارِ ، وَأَمَّا مَا بَقِيَ فَبِتَرْكِ التَّخْلِيطِ وَأَهْلِهِ وَلُزُومِ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَمُجَالَسَةِ الذَّاكِرِينَ وَالثَّالِثَةُ لُزُومُ تَصْفِيَةِ الْغِذَاءِ وَالدَّأْبِ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ ،

walā yaqwā ʿalā tarki al-shubuhāti ʾillā man taraka al-shahawāti , wasuʾila yaḥyā bnu muʿādhin raḥimahu Allāhu kayfa yaṣnaʿu al-tāʾibu ? faqāla : huwa min ʿumrihi bayna yawmayni , yawmin maḍā wayawmin baqiya , fayuṣliḥuhumā bithalāthin : ʾammā mā maḍā fabi-al-nadami wa-al-istighfāri , waʾammā mā baqiya fabitarki al-takhlīṭi waʾahlihi waluzūmi al-murīdīna wamujālasati al-dhākirīna wa-al-thālithatu luzūmu taṣfiyati al-ghidhāʾi wa-al-daʾbi ʿalā al-ʿamali ,

“No one has the strength to leave doubtful things except the one who has left desires.” Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh, may God have mercy on him, was asked: “How should the penitent act?” He said: “In his lifetime he stands between two days: a day that has passed and a day that remains. He sets them right through three things. What has passed he sets right through remorse and seeking forgiveness. What remains he sets right by abandoning mixed conduct and its people, staying close to the seekers, and sitting with those who remember God. The third is to keep purifying his food and persevere in action.”

وَمِنْ عَلَامَةِ صِدْقِ التَّوْبَةِ رِقَّةُ الْقَلْبِ وَغَزَارَةُ الدَّمْعِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : جَالِسُوا التَّوَّابِينَ فَإِنَّهُمْ أَرَقُّ شَيْءٍ أَفْئِدَةً وَمِنَ التَّحَقُّقِ بِالتَّوْبَةِ أَنْ يَسْتَعْظِمَ ذُنُوبَهُ فَإِنَّهُ يُقَالُ إِنَّ الذَّنْبَ

wamin ʿalāmati ṣidqi al-tawbati riqqatu al-qalbi waghazāratu al-damʿi , wafī al-khabari : jālisū al-tawwābīna faʾinnahum ʾaraqqu shayʾin ʾafʾidatan wamina al-taḥaqquqi bi-al-tawbati ʾan yastaʿẓima dhunūbahu faʾinnahu yuqālu ʾinna al-dhanba

Among the signs of sincere repentance are a tender heart and abundant tears. In the report: “Sit with those who repeatedly repent, for their hearts are the tenderest of all.” Part of truly realizing repentance is to regard one’s sins as grave. For it is said: a sin,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٠٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 307

Volume One, page 307

كُلَّمَا اِسْتَعْظَمَهُ الْعَبْدُ صَغُرَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ اِسْتِصْغَارَ الذَّنْبِ كَبِيرَةٌ ، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : الْمُؤْمِنُ الَّذِي يَرَى ذَنْبَهُ كَالْجَبَلِ فَوْقَهُ يَخَافُ أَنْ يَقَعَ عَلَيْهِ وَالْمُنَافِقُ الَّذِي يَرَى ذَنْبَهُ كَذُبَابٍ مَرَّ عَلَى أَنْفِهِ فَأَطَارَهُ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ مُرْسَلٍ : لِيَتَّقِ أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ يُؤْخَذَ عِنْدَ أَدْنَى ذُنُوبِهِ فِي نَفْسِهِ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ :

kullamā istaʿẓamahu al-ʿabdu ṣaghura ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā wayuqālu : ʾinna istiṣghāra al-dhanbi kabīratun , kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari : al-muʾminu alladhī yarā dhanbahu ka-al-jabali fawqahu yakhāfu ʾan yaqaʿa ʿalayhi wa-al-munāfiqu alladhī yarā dhanbahu kadhubābin marra ʿalā ʾanfihi faʾaṭārahu , waqad rawaynā fī khabarin mursalin : liyattaqi ʾaḥadukum ʾan yuʾkhadha ʿinda ʾadnā dhunūbihi fī nafsihi . waqāla baʿḍuhum :

the more the servant regards it as grave, becomes smaller in the sight of God Most High. It is said: to regard a sin as small is itself a major sin. As the report says: “The believer is the one who sees his sin like a mountain above him and fears that it will fall on him; the hypocrite is the one who sees his sin like a fly that passed over his nose and he brushed away.” We have transmitted in a report with a disconnected chain: “Let each of you beware of being seized for what he considers his least sin.” One of them said:

الذَّنْبُ الَّذِي لَا يُغْفَرُ قَوْلُ الْعَبْدِ : لَيْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عَمِلْتُهُ مِثْلَ هَذَا فَهَذَا كَمَا قَالَ بِلَالُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ : لَا تَنْظُرْ إِلَى صِغَرِ الْخَطِيئَةِ وَلَكِنِ اُنْظُرْ إِلَى مَنْ عَصَيْتَ . وَقَدْ حُدِّثْنَا عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَنَّهُ أَوْحَى إِلَى بَعْضِ أَوْلِيَائِهِ :

al-dhanbu alladhī lā yughfaru qawlu al-ʿabdi : layta kulla shayʾin ʿamiltuhu mithla hādhā fa-hādhā kamā qāla bilālu bnu saʿdin : lā tanẓur ʾilā ṣighari al-khaṭīʾati wa-lākini unẓur ʾilā man ʿaṣayta . waqad ḥuddithnā ʿani Allāhi taʿālā ʾannahu ʾawḥā ʾilā baʿḍi ʾawliyāʾihi :

“The sin that is not forgiven is the servant’s saying, ‘If only everything I had done were like this.’” This is like what Bilāl ibn Saʿd said: “Do not look at the smallness of the offense; look at the One you have disobeyed.” We have been told from God Most High that He revealed to one of His friends:

لَا تَنْظُرْ إِلَى قِلَّةِ الْهَدِيَّةِ وَانْظُرْ إِلَى عَظَمَةِ مُهْدِيهَا وَلَا تَنْظُرْ إِلَى صِغَرِ الْخَطِيئَةِ وَانْظُرْ إِلَى كِبْرِيَاءِ مَنْ وَاجَهْتَهُ بِهَا فَإِنَّمَا عَظُمَتِ الذُّنُوبُ مِنْ تَعْظِيمِ الْمُوَاجَهِ بِهَا وَكَبُرَتْ فِي الْقُلُوبِ لِمُشَاهَدَةِ ذِي الْكِبْرِيَاءِ وَمُخَالَفَةِ أَمْرِهِ إِلَيْهَا فَلَمْ يَصْغُرْ ذَنْبٌ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ وَكَانَتِ الصَّغَائِرُ عِنْدَ الْخَائِفِينَ كَبَائِرَ وَهَذَا أَحَدُ الْوَجْهَيْنِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

lā tanẓur ʾilā qillati al-hadiyyati wanẓur ʾilā ʿaẓamati muhdīhā walā tanẓur ʾilā ṣighari al-khaṭīʾati wanẓur ʾilā kibriyāʾi man wājahtahu bihā faʾinnamā ʿaẓumati al-dhunūbu min taʿẓīmi al-muwājahi bihā wakaburat fī al-qulūbi limushāhadati dhī al-kibriyāʾi wamukhālafati ʾamrihi ʾilayhā falam yaṣghur dhanbun ʿinda dhālika wakānati al-ṣaghāʾiru ʿinda al-khāʾifīna kabāʾira wa-hādhā ʾaḥadu al-wajhayni fī qawlihi taʿālā :

“Do not look at the smallness of the gift; look at the greatness of its giver. Do not look at the smallness of the offense; look at the majesty of the One you have confronted with it.” Sins become grave because of reverence for the One confronted by them; they become great in hearts through witnessing the Possessor of Majesty and through disobeying His command to those hearts. At that point no sin seems small, and minor sins become major sins for those who fear. This is one of the two interpretations of His words, exalted is He:

( ذَلِكَ وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ ) ( وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ ) الْحَجُّ : 30 - 32 قِيلَ : الْحُرُمَاتُ تَعْظُمُ فِي قَلْبِهِ فَلَا يَنْتَهِكُهَا ، وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُ الصَّحَابَةِ لِلتَّابِعِينَ : إِنَّكُمْ لَتَعْمَلُونَ أَعْمَالًا هِيَ أَدَقُّ فِي أَعْيُنِكُمْ مِنَ الشَّعْرِ كُنَّا نَعُدُّهَا فِي عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنَ الْمُوبِقَاتِ لَيْسُوا يَعْنُونَ أَنَّ الْكَبَائِرَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ

( dhālika waman yuʿaẓẓim ḥurumāti Allāhi fahuwa khayrun lahu ) ( waman yuʿaẓẓim shaʿāʾira Allāhi faʾinnahā min taqwā al-qulūbi ) al-ḥajju : 30 - 32 qīla : al-ḥurumātu taʿẓumu fī qalbihi falā yantahikuhā , wamin hādhā qawlu al-ṣaḥābati li-l-tābiʿīna : ʾinnakum lataʿmalūna ʾaʿmālan hiya ʾadaqqu fī ʾaʿyunikum mina al-shaʿri kunnā naʿudduhā fī ʿahdi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama mina al-mūbiqāti laysū yaʿnūna ʾanna al-kabāʾira allatī kānat

“That is so; whoever honors God’s sacred limits, it is better for him,” and “Whoever honors God’s rites, this comes from the reverence of hearts” (al-Ḥajj 30–32). It is said: the sacred limits grow great in his heart, so he does not violate them. Of this kind is what the Companions said to the Successors: “You do things that are finer than a hair in your eyes, which we used to count among the ruinous deeds in the time of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.” They do not mean that the major sins which,

عَلَى عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ صَارَتْ بَعْدَهُ صَغَائِرَ وَلَكِنْ كَانُوا يَسْتَعْظِمُونَ الصَّغَائِرَ لِعَظَمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ لِعَظِيمِ نُورِ الْإِيمَانِ ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ ذَلِكَ فِي قُلُوبِ مَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ ، وَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى بَعْضِ أَوْلِيَائِهِ : كَمْ مِنْ ذَنْبٍ رَأَيْتُهُ مِنْكَ قَدْ أَهْلَكْتُ بِدُونِهِ أُمَّةً مِنَ الْأُمَمِ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ أَبَانِ بْنِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ عَنْ أَنَسٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :

ʿalā ʿahdi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ṣārat baʿdahu ṣaghāʾira wa-lākin kānū yastaʿẓimūna al-ṣaghāʾira liʿaẓamati Allāhi taʿālā fī qulūbihim liʿaẓīmi nūri al-ʾīmāni , walam yakun dhālika fī qulūbi man baʿdahum , waʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilā baʿḍi ʾawliyāʾihi : kam min dhanbin raʾaytuhu minka qad ʾahlaktu bidūnihi ʾummatan mina al-ʾumami . waqad rawaynā ʿan ʾabāni bni ʾismāʿīla ʿan ʾanasin ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama :

in the time of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, were major became minor after him. Rather, they regarded minor sins as grave because of the greatness of God Most High in their hearts, through the greatness of the light of faith. That was not in the hearts of those who came after them. God Most High revealed to one of His friends: “How many a sin I have seen from you for less than which I have destroyed a community among the communities.” We have transmitted from Abān ibn Ismāʿīl, from Anas, from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace:

إِنَّهُ أَهْلَكَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أُمَّةً مِنَ الْأُمَمِ كَانُوا يَعْبَثُونَ بِذُكُورِهِمْ فَأَمَّا نِسْيَانُهُ الذُّنُوبَ وَذِكْرُهَا فَقَدِ اِخْتَلَفَ قَوْلُ الْعَارِفِينَ فِي ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : حَقِيقَةُ التَّوْبَةِ أَنْ تَنْصِبَ ذَنْبَكَ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْكَ وَقَالَ آخَرُ : حَقِيقَةُ التَّوْبَةِ أَنْ تَنْسَى ذَنْبَكَ ، وَهَذَا طَرِيقَانِ لِطَائِفَتَيْنِ وَحَالَانِ لِأَهْلِ مَقَامَيْنِ فَأَمَّا ذِكْرُ الذُّنُوبِ فَطَرِيقُ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَحَالُ الْخَائِفِينَ يَسْتَخْرِجُ مِنْهُمْ بِتَذَكُّرِهَا الْحُزْنَ الدَّائِمَ وَالْخَوْفَ اللَّازِمَ ،

ʾinnahu ʾahlaka Allāhu taʿālā ʾummatan mina al-ʾumami kānū yaʿbathūna bidhukūrihim faʾammā nisyānuhu al-dhunūba wadhikruhā faqadi ikhtalafa qawlu al-ʿārifīna fī dhālika faqāla baʿḍuhum : ḥaqīqatu al-tawbati ʾan tanṣiba dhanbaka bayna ʿaynayka waqāla ʾākharu : ḥaqīqatu al-tawbati ʾan tansā dhanbaka , wa-hādhā ṭarīqāni liṭāʾifatayni waḥālāni liʾahli maqāmayni faʾammā dhikru al-dhunūbi faṭarīqu al-murīdīna waḥālu al-khāʾifīna yastakhriju minhum bitadhakkurihā al-ḥuzna al-dāʾima wa-al-khawfa al-lāzima ,

“God Most High destroyed a community among the communities whose people used to play with their penises.” As for his forgetting sins or remembering them, the knowers have differed about this. One of them said: “The reality of repentance is to set your sin before your eyes.” Another said: “The reality of repentance is to forget your sin.” These are two paths for two groups, and two states for the people of two stations. Remembering sins is the path of the seekers and the state of those who fear; recalling them draws from them enduring sorrow and abiding fear.

وَأَمَّا نِسْيَانُ الذُّنُوبِ شُغْلًا عَنْهَا بِالْأَذْكَارِ وَمَا يَسْتَقْبِلُ مِنْ مَزِيدِ الْأَعْمَالِ فَطَرِيقُ الْعَارِفِينَ وَحَالُ الْمُحِبِّينَ وَوِجْهَةُ هَؤُلَاءِ شَهَادَةُ التَّوْحِيدِ وَهِيَ مَقَامٌ فِي التَّعْرِيفِ وَوِجْهَةُ الْأَوَّلِينَ مُشَاهَدَةُ التَّوْقِيفِ وَالتَّحْدِيدِ وَهِيَ مَقَامٌ فِي التَّعْرِيفِ ، فَفِي أَيِّ الْمَقَامَيْنِ أُقِيمَ عَبْدٌ قَامَ بِشَهَادَةِ وِجْهَتِهِ وَعَمِلَ بِحُكْمِ حَالَتِهِ وَمَقَامُ شَهَادَةِ التَّوْحِيدِ أَفْضَلُ عِنْدَ الْعَارِفِينَ مِنْ مَقَامِ مُشَاهَدَةِ التَّعْرِيفِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ هَذِهِ أَوْسَعَ وَأَكْثَرَ إِلَّا أَنَّهَا فِي أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ وَفِي عُمُومِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ،

waʾammā nisyānu al-dhunūbi shughlan ʿanhā bi-al-ʾadhkāri wamā yastaqbilu min mazīdi al-ʾaʿmāli faṭarīqu al-ʿārifīna waḥālu al-muḥibbīna wawijhatu hāʾulāʾi shahādatu al-tawḥīdi wahiya maqāmun fī al-taʿrīfi wawijhatu al-ʾawwalīna mushāhadatu al-tawqīfi wa-al-taḥdīdi wahiya maqāmun fī al-taʿrīfi , fafī ʾayyi al-maqāmayni ʾuqīma ʿabdun qāma bishahādati wijhatihi waʿamila biḥukmi ḥālatihi wamaqāmu shahādati al-tawḥīdi ʾafḍalu ʿinda al-ʿārifīna min maqāmi mushāhadati al-taʿrīfi waʾin kānat hādhihi ʾawsaʿa waʾakthara ʾillā ʾannahā fī ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni wafī ʿumūmi al-muqarrabīna ,

Forgetting sins through being occupied instead with remembrances and the additional deeds that lie ahead is the path of the knowers and the state of the lovers. Their orientation is witnessing divine oneness, which is a station in being made aware. The orientation of the first group is witnessing the instructions and limits set for them, which is a station in being made aware. In whichever of the two stations a servant is placed, he upholds the witnessing proper to his orientation and acts according to the rule of his state. Among the knowers, the station of witnessing divine oneness is better than the station of witnessing this making known. Although the latter is broader and more widespread, it is found among the people of the right and among the general body of those brought near.

وَشَهَادَةُ التَّوْحِيدِ أَضْيَقُ وَأَقَلُّ وَأَهْلُهَا أَعْلَى وَأَفْضَلُ وَهِيَ فِي الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَخُصُوصِ الْعَارِفِينَ وَقَدْ يَعْتَرِضُ الْمُرِيدُ بِقِصَّةِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي تَذَكُّرِهِ وَنَوْحِهِ عَلَى خَطِيئَةٍ فَإِنَّ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ لَا يُقَاسُ عَلَيْهِمْ لِمُجَاوَزَتِهِمْ حُدُودَ مَنْ دُونَهُمْ وَقَدْ يُقَلَّبُونَ فِي أَحْوَالِ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَيُسْلَكُ بِهِمْ سَبِيلُ الْمُتَعَلِّمِينَ وَذَلِكَ لِأَجْلِ الْأُمَّةِ لِيَكُونَ طَرِيقًا لِلْعَالَمِينَ ،

washahādatu al-tawḥīdi ʾaḍyaqu waʾaqallu waʾahluhā ʾaʿlā waʾafḍalu wahiya fī al-muqarrabīna wakhuṣūṣi al-ʿārifīna waqad yaʿtariḍu al-murīdu biqiṣṣati dāwūda ʿalayhi al-salāmu fī tadhakkurihi wanawḥihi ʿalā khaṭīʾatin faʾinna al-ʾanbiyāʾa lā yuqāsu ʿalayhim limujāwazatihim ḥudūda man dūnahum waqad yuqallabūna fī ʾaḥwāli al-murīdīna wayuslaku bihim sabīlu al-mutaʿallimīna wa-dhālika liʾajli al-ʾummati liyakūna ṭarīqan li-l-ʿālamīna ,

Witnessing divine oneness is narrower and rarer; its people are higher and better. It is found among those brought near and the elect among the knowers. A seeker may raise an objection from the story of David, peace be upon him, remembering his offense and lamenting it. But the prophets cannot be used as a measure, because they pass beyond the limits of those beneath them. They may be moved through the states of seekers and led along the path of learners for the community’s sake, so that this may be a path for all people.

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٠٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 308

Volume One, page 308

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا يُؤْمَنُ عَلَى ضَعِيفِ الْيَقِينِ قَوِيِّ النَّفْسِ عِنْدَ تَذَكُّرِ الذُّنُوبِ نَظَرُ الْقَلْبِ إِلَيْهَا بِشَهْوَةٍ أَوْ مَيْلُ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا بِحَلَاوَةٍ فَيَكُونُ ذَلِكَ سَبَبَ فِتْنَتِهِ فَيَفْسُدُ مِنْ حَيْثُ صَلَحَ كَمَا لَا يُؤْمَنُ عَلَى مُعْتَادِ خَطِيئَةٍ بِالنَّظَرِ إِلَى سَبَبِهَا حَرَكَةُ النَّفْسِ إِلَيْهَا وَإِنْ كَانَ الْأَفْضَلُ الِاتِّفَاقَ مَعَهَا مَا لَمْ يَكُنِ الِاتِّفَاقُ مَعْصِيَةً لِمُجَاهَدَةِ النَّفْسِ بِالصَّبْرِ عَنْهَا إِلَّا أَنَّ ذَلِكَ غُرُورٌ وَفِيهِ خَطَرٌ فَتَرْكُ الِاجْتِمَاعِ وَقَطْعُ الْأَسْبَابِ حِينَئِذٍ

waʿlam ʾannahu lā yuʾmanu ʿalā ḍaʿīfi al-yaqīni qawiyyi al-nafsi ʿinda tadhakkuri al-dhunūbi naẓaru al-qalbi ʾilayhā bishahwatin ʾaw maylu nafsin maʿahā biḥalāwatin fayakūnu dhālika sababa fitnatihi fayafsudu min ḥaythu ṣalaḥa kamā lā yuʾmanu ʿalā muʿtādi khaṭīʾatin bi-al-naẓari ʾilā sababihā ḥarakatu al-nafsi ʾilayhā waʾin kāna al-ʾafḍalu al-ittifāqa maʿahā mā lam yakuni al-ittifāqu maʿṣiyatan limujāhadati al-nafsi bi-al-ṣabri ʿanhā ʾillā ʾanna dhālika ghurūrun wafīhi khaṭarun fatarku al-ijtimāʿi waqaṭʿu al-ʾasbābi ḥīnaʾidhin

Know that someone whose certainty is weak and whose self is strong is not safe, when remembering sins, from his heart looking toward them with desire, or his self inclining toward them with a sense of sweetness. That may become the cause of his temptation, so that he is corrupted through the very thing by which he was reformed. Likewise, someone accustomed to an offense is not safe, when looking at its cause, from his self being stirred toward it. Although the better course is to encounter it, provided that the encounter is not itself disobedience, in order to struggle against the self by patiently abstaining from it, this is nevertheless self-deception and involves danger. Giving up the encounter and cutting off its causes is then

أَسْلَمُ وَمَا كَانَ أَسْلَمَ لِلْمُرِيدِ فَهُوَ أَفْضَلُ وَفِي نِسْيَانِ الذُّنُوبِ الذِّكْرُ لِمَا يُسْتَقْبَلُ وَالِانْكِمَاشُ عَلَى مَا يَفُوتُ مِنَ الْوَقْتِ خَوْفَ فَوْتِ الثَّانِي . وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ يَكْرَهُ لِلْمُرِيدِ أَنْ يَكُونَ وَسْوَاسُهُ الْجَنَّةَ أَوْ تَذَكُّرَ مَا فِيهَا مِنَ النَّعِيمِ وَاللِّبَاسِ وَالْأَزْوَاجِ وَقَالَ : وَاسْتَحَبَّ لِلْمُرِيدِ أَنْ يَكُونَ وَسْوَاسُهُ ذِكْرَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَخَوَاطِرُهُ وَهِمَمُهُ مُتَعَلِّقَةً بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَا سِوَاهُ قَالَ :

ʾaslamu wamā kāna ʾaslama li-l-murīdi fahuwa ʾafḍalu wafī nisyāni al-dhunūbi al-dhikru limā yustaqbalu wa-al-inkimāshu ʿalā mā yafūtu mina al-waqti khawfa fawti al-thānī . waqad kāna baʿḍu ʾahli al-maʿrifati yakrahu li-l-murīdi ʾan yakūna waswāsuhu al-jannata ʾaw tadhakkura mā fīhā mina al-naʿīmi wa-al-libāsi wa-al-ʾazwāji waqāla : wastaḥabba li-l-murīdi ʾan yakūna waswāsuhu dhikra Allāhi taʿālā wakhawāṭiruhu wahimamuhu mutaʿalliqatan bi-Allāhi taʿālā lā siwāhu qāla :

safer. Whatever is safer for the seeker is better. In forgetting sins there is remembrance of what lies ahead, and earnest attention to the time that is slipping away, for fear of losing a second period. One of the people of knowledge used to dislike the seeker’s recurring thought being the Garden, or remembering its delights, clothing, and spouses. He said that he preferred the seeker’s recurring thought to be the remembrance of God Most High, and his passing thoughts and aspirations to be attached to God Most High alone, and to nothing else. He said:

لِأَنَّ الْمُرِيدَ حَدِيثُ عَهْدٍ بِتَوْبَةٍ غَيْرُ مُعْتَادٍ لِطُولِ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ وَالْعِصْمَةِ ، فَإِذَا تَذَكَّرَ نَعِيمَ الْجَنَّةِ لَمْ آمَنْ عَلَيْهِ لِضَعْفِ قَلْبِهِ أَنْ يَشْتَهِيَ مِثْلَهُ مِمَّا يُشَاهِدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا مِنَ اللِّبَاسِ وَالطَّيِّبَاتِ وَالنِّكَاحِ لِأَنَّ هَذَا عَاجِلٌ وَذَاكَ آجِلٌ فَتَطْلُبُ نَفْسُهُ مِثْلَ مَا تَذَكَّرَتْ مِنْ نَعِيمِ الْآخِرَةِ مُعَجَّلًا فِي الدُّنْيَا قَالَ :

liʾanna al-murīda ḥadīthu ʿahdin bitawbatin ghayru muʿtādin liṭūli al-istiqāmati wa-al-ʿiṣmati , faʾidhā tadhakkara naʿīma al-jannati lam ʾāman ʿalayhi liḍaʿfi qalbihi ʾan yashtahiya mithlahu mimmā yushāhidu fī al-dunyā mina al-libāsi wa-al-ṭayyibāti wa-al-nikāḥi liʾanna hādhā ʿājilun wadhāka ʾājilun fataṭlubu nafsuhu mithla mā tadhakkarat min naʿīmi al-ʾākhirati muʿajjalan fī al-dunyā qāla :

“For the seeker is newly repentant and unaccustomed to prolonged uprightness and protection from sin. When he remembers the delight of the Garden, I cannot feel secure that, because his heart is weak, he will not crave its like in what he sees in this world of clothing, good things, and sexual union. This is immediate and that is deferred, so his self seeks an immediate counterpart in this world to the delight of the hereafter that it has remembered.” He said:

فَإِذَا كَانَ هَمُّهُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى كَانَ أَبْعَدَ لَهُ مِنْ زِينَةِ الدُّنْيَا وَشَهَوَاتِهَا وَلَمْ يَجْتَرِ الْعَدُوُّ بِتَمْثِيلِ ذَلِكَ لَهُ مِنَ الْعَاجِلِ إِلَى أَنْ يَقْوَى يَقِينُهُ وَتَنْتَقِلَ عَادَتُهُ وَتَدُومَ عِصْمَتُهُ ، وَقَدِ اِخْتَلَفَ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ أَيْضًا فِي عَبْدٍ تَرَكَ ذَنْبًا وَعَمِلَ فِي الِاسْتِقَامَةِ وَنَفْسُهُ تُنَازِعُهُ إِلَيْهِ وَهُوَ يُجَاهِدُهَا ، وَفِي آخَرَ :

faʾidhā kāna hammuhu Allāha taʿālā kāna ʾabʿada lahu min zīnati al-dunyā washahawātihā walam yajtari al-ʿaduwwu bitamthīli dhālika lahu mina al-ʿājili ʾilā ʾan yaqwā yaqīnuhu watantaqila ʿādatuhu watadūma ʿiṣmatuhu , waqadi ikhtalafa ʾahlu al-ʿilmi ʾayḍan fī ʿabdin taraka dhanban waʿamila fī al-istiqāmati wanafsuhu tunāziʿuhu ʾilayhi wahuwa yujāhiduhā , wafī ʾākhara :

“When God Most High is his concern, this takes him farther from the adornment of this world and its desires, and the enemy does not dare to represent such things to him from the immediate world, until his certainty grows strong, his habitual practice changes, and his protection endures.” The people of knowledge have also differed concerning a servant who abandons a sin and works at uprightness while his self pulls him toward it and he struggles against it, and another who

تَرَكَ الذَّنْبَ وَانْكَمَشَ فِي الْإِصْلَاحِ فَلَمْ تَكُنْ نَفْسُهُ تُطَالِبُهُ فَلَا تُنَازِعُهُ إِلَى الذَّنْبِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ مِنْهُ ثِقْلٌ وَلَا مُجَاهَدَةٌ ، أَيُّ هَذَيْنِ أَفْضَلُ فَقَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَاءِ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ : الَّذِي تُنَازِعُهُ نَفْسُهُ إِلَى الذَّنْبِ وَهُوَ يُجَاهِدُهَا أَفْضَلُ لِأَنَّ عَلَيْهِ مُنَازَعَةً وَلَهُ فَضْلُ مُجَاهَدَةٍ ، وَمَالَ إِلَى هَذَا الْقَوْلِ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ أَبِي الْحَوَارِيِّ وَأَصْحَابُ أَبِي سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيِّ .

taraka al-dhanba wankamasha fī al-ʾiṣlāḥi falam takun nafsuhu tuṭālibuhu falā tunāziʿuhu ʾilā al-dhanbi walam yakun ʿalā qalbihi minhu thiqlun walā mujāhadatun , ʾayyu hādhayni ʾafḍalu faqāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾi ʾahli al-shāmi : alladhī tunāziʿuhu nafsuhu ʾilā al-dhanbi wahuwa yujāhiduhā ʾafḍalu liʾanna ʿalayhi munāzaʿatan walahu faḍlu mujāhadatin , wamāla ʾilā hādhā al-qawli ʾaḥmadu bnu ʾabī al-ḥawāriyyi waʾaṣḥābu ʾabī sulaymāna al-dārāniyyi .

abandons the sin and applies himself earnestly to making amends, so that his self no longer demands it or pulls him toward the sin, and his heart bears no burden or struggle from it. Which of these two is better? Some of the scholars of Syria said: “The one whose self pulls him toward the sin while he struggles against it is better, because he bears the inner conflict and has the merit of striving.” Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī and the companions of Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī inclined to this view.

وَقَالَ عُلَمَاءُ الْبَصْرَةِ : الَّذِي سَكَنَتْ نَفْسُهُ عَنِ الْمُنَازَعَةِ بِشَاهِدٍ مِنْ شَوَاهِدِ الْيَقِينِ وَالطُّمَأْنِينَةِ فَلَمْ يَبْقَ فِيهِ فَضْلٌ لِعَوْدٍ وَلَا طَلَبٌ لِمُعْتَادٍ أَفْضَلُ ، وَمَالَ إِلَى هَذَا رِيَاحُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو الْقَيْسِيُّ وَهُوَ مِنْ كِبَارِ عُلَمَاءِ الْبَصْرِيِّينَ ، وَقَالَ : لَوْ فَتَرَ هَذَا لَكَانَ هَذَا أَقْرَبَ إِلَى السَّلَامَةِ وَلَمْ يُؤْمَنْ عَلَى الْآخَرِ الرُّجُوعُ وَهَذَا كَمَا قَالَ ،

waqāla ʿulamāʾu al-baṣrati : alladhī sakanat nafsuhu ʿani al-munāzaʿati bishāhidin min shawāhidi al-yaqīni wa-al-ṭumaʾnīnati falam yabqa fīhi faḍlun liʿawdin walā ṭalabun limuʿtādin ʾafḍalu , wamāla ʾilā hādhā riyāḥu bnu ʿamrin al-qaysiyyu wahuwa min kibāri ʿulamāʾi al-baṣriyyīna , waqāla : law fatara hādhā lakāna hādhā ʾaqraba ʾilā al-salāmati walam yuʾman ʿalā al-ʾākhari al-rujūʿu wa-hādhā kamā qāla ,

The scholars of Basra said: “The one whose self has ceased its inner conflict through a witness from the witnesses of certainty and tranquility, so that no residue of returning and no desire for his old habit remains in him, is better.” Riyāḥ ibn ʿAmr al-Qaysī, one of the great scholars of Basra, inclined to this view. He said: “If this one slackened, he would still be closer to safety, whereas the other could not be trusted not to return.” It is as he said.

وَقَدِ اِخْتَلَفَ الْعُلَمَاءُ أَيْضًا فِي عَبْدَيْنِ سُئِلَ أَحَدُهُمَا شَيْئًا مِنْ بَذْلِ مَالِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَأَبَتْ نَفْسُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَثَقُلَ عَلَيْهَا ذَلِكَ فَجَاهَدَهَا وَأَخْرَجَ مَالَهُ ، وَسُئِلَ آخَرُ بَذْلَ مَالِهِ فَبَذَلَهُ مَعَ السُّؤَالِ طَوْعًا مِنْ غَيْرِ مُنَازَعَةِ نَفْسٍ وَلَا ثِقْلٍ عَلَيْهَا وَلَا مُجَاهَدَةٍ مِنْهُ لَهَا أَيُّهُمَا أَفْضَلُ ؟ فَقَالَ : قَوْمٌ الْمُجَاهِدُ لِنَفْسِهِ أَفْضَلُ لِأَنَّهُ اجْتَمَعَ لَهُ الْإِكْرَاهُ وَالْمُجَاهَدَةُ فَحَصَلَ لَهُ عَمَلَانِ ،

waqadi ikhtalafa al-ʿulamāʾu ʾayḍan fī ʿabdayni suʾila ʾaḥaduhumā shayʾan min badhli mālihi fī sabīli Allāhi faʾabat nafsuhu ʿalayhi wathaqula ʿalayhā dhālika fajāhadahā waʾakhraja mālahu , wasuʾila ʾākharu badhla mālihi fabadhalahu maʿa al-suʾāli ṭawʿan min ghayri munāzaʿati nafsin walā thiqlin ʿalayhā walā mujāhadatin minhu lahā ʾayyuhumā ʾafḍalu ? faqāla : qawmun al-mujāhidu linafsihi ʾafḍalu liʾannahu ijtamaʿa lahu al-ʾikrāhu wa-al-mujāhadatu faḥaṣala lahu ʿamalāni ,

The scholars have also differed about two servants. One is asked to give something of his wealth in God’s path, but his self refuses and finds it burdensome, so he struggles against it and gives away his wealth. Another is asked to give his wealth, and gives it willingly as soon as he is asked, without inner conflict, without any burden on his self, and without having to struggle against it. Which is better? Some said: “The one who struggles against his self is better, because compulsion and striving are combined for him, so he has gained two actions.”

وَذَهَبَ إِلَى هَذَا الْقَوْلِ ابْنُ عَطَاءٍ وَأَصْحَابُهُ ، وَقَالَ آخَرُونَ : الَّذِي سَمَحَتْ نَفْسُهُ بِالْبَذْلِ طَوْعًا مِنْ غَيْرِ إِكْرَاهٍ وَلَا اِعْتِرَاضٍ أَفْضَلُ قَالَ : لِأَنَّ مَقَامَ هَذَا فِي سَخَاوَةِ النَّفْسِ وَالتَّحَقُّقِ بِالزُّهْدِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ أَعْمَالِ الْأَوَّلِ مِنَ الْإِكْرَاهِ وَالْمُجَاهَدَةِ ، وَمَنْ بَذَلَ مَالَهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَلِأَنَّ الْأَوَّلَ وَإِنْ غَلَبَ نَفْسَهُ فِي هَذِهِ الْكَرَّةِ

wadhahaba ʾilā hādhā al-qawli ibnu ʿaṭāʾin waʾaṣḥābuhu , waqāla ʾākharūna : alladhī samaḥat nafsuhu bi-al-badhli ṭawʿan min ghayri ʾikrāhin walā iʿtirāḍin ʾafḍalu qāla : liʾanna maqāma hādhā fī sakhāwati al-nafsi wa-al-taḥaqquqi bi-al-zuhdi ʾafḍalu min jamīʿi ʾaʿmāli al-ʾawwali mina al-ʾikrāhi wa-al-mujāhadati , waman badhala mālahu ʿalā dhālika waliʾanna al-ʾawwala waʾin ghalaba nafsahu fī hādhihi al-karrati

Ibn ʿAṭāʾ and his companions held this view. Others said: “The one whose self freely allows him to give, without compulsion or objection, is better.” He said: “Because this person’s station in generosity of soul and true renunciation is better than all the first person’s acts of compulsion and striving, and than one who gives his wealth on that basis. And because the first, even if he overcomes his self on this occasion,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٠٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 309

Volume One, page 309

لَا يَأْمَنُ غَلَبَتَهَا لَهُ فِي كَرَّةٍ ثَانِيَةٍ أَوْ ثَالِثَةٍ إِذْ لَيْسَ السَّخَاءُ مِنْ مَقَامِهَا لِأَنَّهَا كَانَتْ مَحْمُولَةً عَلَيْهِ وَإِلَى هَذَا ذَهَبَ الْجُنَيْدُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَهُوَ عِنْدِي كَمَا قَالَ اللَّفْظُ لَنَا . وَسُئِلَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ عَنِ الرَّجُلِ يَتُوبُ مِنَ الشَّيْءِ وَيَتْرُكُهُ ثُمَّ يَخْطُرُ ذَلِكَ الشَّيْءُ بِقَلْبِهِ أَوْ يَرَاهُ أَوْ يَسْمَعُ بِهِ فَيَجِدُ حَلَاوَةً فَقَالَ :

lā yaʾmanu ghalabatahā lahu fī karratin thāniyatin ʾaw thālithatin ʾidh laysa al-sakhāʾu min maqāmihā liʾannahā kānat maḥmūlatan ʿalayhi waʾilā hādhā dhahaba al-junaydu raḥimahu Allāhu wahuwa ʿindī kamā qāla al-lafẓu lanā . wasuʾila ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun ʿani al-rajuli yatūbu mina al-shayʾi wayatrukuhu thumma yakhṭuru dhālika al-shayʾu biqalbihi ʾaw yarāhu ʾaw yasmaʿu bihi fayajidu ḥalāwatan faqāla :

is not safe from its overcoming him on a second or third occasion, since generosity is not its station: it was being forced into it.” Al-Junayd, may God have mercy on him, held this view. In my judgment it is as he said; the wording is ours. Abū Muḥammad Sahl was asked about a man who repents of something and abandons it, but then that thing occurs to his heart, or he sees it or hears of it, and finds sweetness in it. He said:

الْحَلَاوَةُ طَبْعُ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ وَلَا بُدَّ مِنَ الطَّبْعِ وَلَيْسَ لَهُ حِيلَةٌ إِلَّا أَنْ يَرْفَعَ قَلْبَهُ إِلَى مَوْلَاهُ بِالشَّكْوَى وَيُنْكِرَهُ بِقَلْبِهِ وَيُلْزِمَ نَفْسَهُ الْإِنْكَارَ وَلَا يُفَارِقَهُ وَيَدْعُوَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَنْ يُنْسِيَهُ ذِكْرَ ذَلِكَ وَيَشْغَلَهُ بِغَيْرِهِ مِنْ ذِكْرِهِ وَطَاعَتِهِ ، وَقَالَ : فَإِنْ هُوَ غَفَلَ عَنِ الْإِنْكَارِ طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ أَخَافُ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ لَا يَسْلَمَ وَتَعْمَلَ الْحَلَاوَةُ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَلَكِنْ مَعَ وِجْدَانِ الْحَلَاوَةِ يُلْزِمُ قَلْبَهُ الْإِنْكَارَ وَالْحُزْنَ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَضُرُّهُ ،

al-ḥalāwatu ṭabʿu al-bashariyyati walā budda mina al-ṭabʿi walaysa lahu ḥīlatun ʾillā ʾan yarfaʿa qalbahu ʾilā mawlāhu bi-al-shakwā wayunkirahu biqalbihi wayulzima nafsahu al-ʾinkāra walā yufāriqahu wayadʿuwa Allāha taʿālā ʾan yunsiyahu dhikra dhālika wayashghalahu bighayrihi min dhikrihi waṭāʿatihi , waqāla : faʾin huwa ghafala ʿani al-ʾinkāri ṭarfata ʿaynin ʾakhāfu ʿalayhi ʾan lā yaslama wataʿmala al-ḥalāwatu fī qalbihi wa-lākin maʿa wijdāni al-ḥalāwati yulzimu qalbahu al-ʾinkāra wa-al-ḥuzna faʾinnahu lā yaḍurruhu ,

“Sweetness is part of human nature, and nature cannot be avoided. He has no remedy except to lift his heart to his Master in complaint, reject it with his heart, oblige his self to reject it without abandoning that rejection, and ask God Most High to make him forget its memory and occupy him instead with His remembrance and obedience.” He said: “If he neglects this rejection for the blink of an eye, I fear that he will not be safe and that the sweetness will work in his heart. But if, while finding the sweetness, he obliges his heart to reject it and grieve, it will not harm him.”

وَهَذَا عِنْدِي هَكَذَا لِأَنَّ التَّوْبَةَ لَا تَصِحُّ مَعَ بَقَاءِ الشَّهْوَةِ ، وَيَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ مُرَادًا بِالْمُجَاهَدَةِ ، وَهَذَا حَالُ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَمَحْوُ الشَّهَوَاتِ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ بِدَوَامِ التَّوَلِّي وَصْفُ الْعَارِفِينَ وَرُبَّمَا تَعَلَّقَ بِالذَّنْبِ ذُنُوبٌ كَثِيرَةٌ هِيَ أَعْظَمُ مِنْهُ مِثْلُ الْإِصْرَارِ عَلَيْهِ وَالِاغْتِبَاطِ بِهِ وَتَسْوِيفِ التَّوْبَةِ بَعْدَهُ وَوَجْدِ حَلَاوَةِ الظَّفَرِ بِمِثَالِهِ أَوْ وَجْدِ الْحُزْنِ وَالْكَرَاهَةِ عَلَى فَوْتِهِ وَالسُّرُورِ بِعَمَلِهِ أَوْ حَمْلِ غَيْرِهِ عَلَيْهِ إِنْ كَانَ ذَنْبًا بَيْنَ اثْنَيْنِ أَوْ إِنْفَاقِ مَالِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِيهِ فَهُوَ كُفْرُ النِّعْمَةِ بِهِ ،

wa-hādhā ʿindī hākadhā liʾanna al-tawbata lā taṣiḥḥu maʿa baqāʾi al-shahwati , wayakūnu al-ʿabdu murādan bi-al-mujāhadati , wa-hādhā ḥālu al-murīdīna wamaḥwu al-shahawāti mina al-qalbi bidawāmi al-tawallī waṣfu al-ʿārifīna warubbamā taʿallaqa bi-al-dhanbi dhunūbun kathīratun hiya ʾaʿẓamu minhu mithlu al-ʾiṣrāri ʿalayhi wa-al-ightibāṭi bihi wataswīfi al-tawbati baʿdahu wawajdi ḥalāwati al-ẓafari bimithālihi ʾaw wajdi al-ḥuzni wa-al-karāhati ʿalā fawtihi wa-al-surūri biʿamalihi ʾaw ḥamli ghayrihi ʿalayhi ʾin kāna dhanban bayna ithnayni ʾaw ʾinfāqi māli Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā fīhi fahuwa kufru al-niʿmati bihi ,

This is how I see it, because repentance is not sound while desire remains. The servant is called to struggle; this is the state of the seekers. The erasure of desires from the heart through continual turning is the quality of the knowers. Many sins greater than the sin itself may attach to it: persisting in it, delighting in it, putting off repentance after it, finding sweetness in obtaining its likeness, or finding sorrow and aversion at missing it; taking pleasure in doing it, or inducing someone else to do it if it is a sin involving two people; or spending God’s wealth, glorified and exalted is He, on it. This is ingratitude for the blessing through it.

وَقَدْ قِيلَ : مَنْ أَنْفَقَ دِرْهَمًا فِي حَرَامٍ فَهُوَ مُسْرِفٌ وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنْ يَسْتَصْغِرَ الذَّنْبَ وَيَحْتَقِرَهُ فَيَكُونَ أَعْظَمَ مِنِ اجْتِرَاحِهِ أَوْ يَتَهَاوَنَ بِسَتْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَيَسْتَخِفَّ بِحِلْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ ، فَيَكُونَ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الِاغْتِرَارِ وَالْأَمْنِ أَوْ يَجْهَلَ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ فِي سَتْرِهِ وَإِظْهَارِ ضِدِّهِ كَمَا قَالَ فِي الدُّعَاءِ الْمَأْثُورِ الَّذِي يُمْدَحُ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى بِهِ :

waqad qīla : man ʾanfaqa dirhaman fī ḥarāmin fahuwa musrifun wamin dhālika ʾan yastaṣghira al-dhanba wayaḥtaqirahu fayakūna ʾaʿẓama mini ijtirāḥihi ʾaw yatahāwana bisatri Allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhi wayastakhiffa biḥilmi Allāhi taʿālā ʿanhu , fayakūna dhālika mina al-ightirāri wa-al-ʾamni ʾaw yajhala niʿmata Allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhi fī satrihi waʾiẓhāri ḍiddihi kamā qāla fī al-duʿāʾi al-maʾthūri alladhī yumdaḥu Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā bihi :

It has been said: “Whoever spends a dirham on something forbidden is a squanderer.” Another such sin is to regard the sin as small and contemptible, which is greater than committing it; or to take lightly God Most High’s concealment of it and make little of God Most High’s forbearance toward him. That is self-deception and a sense of security. Or he fails to recognize God Most High’s blessing upon him in concealing it and displaying its opposite, as he says in the transmitted supplication with which God, glorified and exalted is He, is praised:

يَا مَنْ أَظْهَرَ الْجَمِيلَ وَسَتَرَ عَلَى الْقَبِيحِ وَلَمْ يُؤَاخِذْ بِالْجَرِيرَةِ وَلَمْ يَهْتِكِ السِّتْرَ وَيُقَالُ كُلُّ عَاصٍ تَحْتَ كَنَفِ الرَّحْمَنِ فَإِذَا رَفَعَ يَدَيْهِ عَنْهُ انْهَتَكَ سِتْرُهُ وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ الْمُجَاهَرَةُ بِالذَّنْبِ وَالصَّوْلُ بِهِ وَالتَّظَاهُرُ وَهَذَا مِنَ الطُّغْيَانِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : كُلُّ النَّاسِ مُعَافًى إِلَّا الْمُجَاهِرِينَ يَبِيتُ أَحَدُهُمْ عَلَى الذَّنْبِ ،

yā man ʾaẓhara al-jamīla wasatara ʿalā al-qabīḥi walam yuʾākhidh bi-al-jarīrati walam yahtiki al-sitra wayuqālu kullu ʿāṣin taḥta kanafi al-raḥmāni faʾidhā rafaʿa yadayhi ʿanhu inhataka sitruhu wamin dhālika al-mujāharatu bi-al-dhanbi wa-al-ṣawlu bihi wa-al-taẓāhuru wa-hādhā mina al-ṭughyāni , wafī al-khabari : kullu al-nāsi muʿāfan ʾillā al-mujāhirīna yabītu ʾaḥaduhum ʿalā al-dhanbi ,

“You who have displayed the beautiful and covered the ugly, who have not called to account for the offense or torn away the covering.” It is said: every sinner is beneath the Merciful’s protection; when He lifts His two hands from him, his covering is torn away. Another such sin is openly declaring the sin, exulting in it, and displaying it. This is rebellion. In the report: “All people are spared except those who make their sins public. One of them spends the night in a sin

قَدْ سَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ فَيُصْبِحُ فَيَكْشِفُ سِتْرَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَيَتَحَدَّثُ بِذَنْبِهِ وَرُبَّمَا سَنَّ الْعَاصِي بِالذَّنْبِ سُنَّةً أُتْبِعَ عَلَيْهَا فَتَبْقَى سَيِّئَاتُ ذَنْبِهِ عَلَيْهِ مَا دَامَ يُعْمَلُ بِهِ وَقَدْ قِيلَ : طُوبَى لِمَنْ إِذَا مَاتَ مَاتَتْ ذُنُوبُهُ مَعَهُ وَلَمْ يُؤَاخَذْ بِهَا بَعْدَهُ وَطُوبَى لِمَنْ لَمْ يَعْدُدْ ذَنْبَهُ غَيْرُهُ ، قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : لَا تَذْنَبْ فَإِنْ كَانَ لَا بُدَّ فَلَا تَحْمِلْ غَيْرَكَ عَلَى الذَّنْبِ فَتَكْسِبَ ذَنْبَيْنِ ،

qad satarahu Allāhu taʿālā ʿalayhi fayuṣbiḥu fayakshifu sitra Allāhi taʿālā wayataḥaddathu bidhanbihi warubbamā sanna al-ʿāṣī bi-al-dhanbi sunnatan ʾutbiʿa ʿalayhā fatabqā sayyiʾātu dhanbihi ʿalayhi mā dāma yuʿmalu bihi waqad qīla : ṭūbā liman ʾidhā māta mātat dhunūbuhu maʿahu walam yuʾākhadh bihā baʿdahu waṭūbā liman lam yaʿdud dhanbahu ghayruhu , qāla baʿḍuhum : lā tadhnab faʾin kāna lā budda falā taḥmil ghayraka ʿalā al-dhanbi fataksiba dhanbayni ,

which God Most High has concealed for him, then in the morning he uncovers God Most High’s covering and speaks of his sin.” The sinner may establish through his sin a practice in which he is followed, so that the evil consequences of his sin remain upon him as long as it is practiced. It has been said: “Blessed is the one whose sins die with him when he dies, and who is not called to account for them afterward; and blessed is the one whose sin no one else recounts.” One of them said: “Do not sin. If you must, do not induce someone else to sin, thereby earning two sins.”

وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى هَذَا الْمَعْنَى وَصْفًا مِنْ أَوْصَافِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمُنْكَرِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمَعْرُوفِ ) التَّوْبَةُ 67 فَمَنْ حَمَلَ أَخَاهُ عَلَى ذَنْبٍ مَعَهُ فَقَدْ أَمَرَ بِالْمُنْكَرِ وَنَهَى عَنِ الْمَعْرُوفِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ :

waqad jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā hādhā al-maʿnā waṣfan min ʾawṣāfi al-munāfiqīna fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( al-munāfiqūna wa-al-munāfiqātu baʿḍuhum min baʿḍin yaʾmurūna bi-al-munkari wayanhawna ʿani al-maʿrūfi ) al-tawbatu 67 faman ḥamala ʾakhāhu ʿalā dhanbin maʿahu faqad ʾamara bi-al-munkari wanahā ʿani al-maʿrūfi , waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi :

God Most High has made this meaning one of the characteristics of the hypocrites in His words, exalted is He: “The hypocritical men and hypocritical women are of one another; they command what is wrong and forbid what is right” (al-Tawba 67). Anyone who induces his brother to join him in a sin has commanded what is wrong and forbidden what is right. One of the predecessors said:

مَا اِنْتَهَكَ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ حُرْمَةً أَعْظَمَ مِنْ أَنْ يُسَاعِدَهُ عَلَى مَعْصِيَتِهِ ثُمَّ يُهَوِّنَهَا عَلَيْهِ وَقَدْ يَعِيشُ الْعَبْدُ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً ثُمَّ يَمُوتُ فَتَبْقَى ذُنُوبُهُ بَعْدَهُ مِائَةَ سَنَةٍ يُعَاقَبُ عَلَيْهِ فِي قَبْرِهِ إِذَا كَانَ قَدْ سَنَّهَا سَنًّا وَأُتْبِعَ عَلَيْهَا إِلَى أَنْ تَنْدَرِسَ أَوْ يَمُوتَ مَنْ كَانَ يَعْمَلُ بِهَا ثُمَّ تَسْقُطَ عَنْهُ

mā intahaka al-marʾu min ʾakhīhi ḥurmatan ʾaʿẓama min ʾan yusāʿidahu ʿalā maʿṣiyatihi thumma yuhawwinahā ʿalayhi waqad yaʿīshu al-ʿabdu ʾarbaʿīna sanatan thumma yamūtu fatabqā dhunūbuhu baʿdahu miʾata sanatin yuʿāqabu ʿalayhi fī qabrihi ʾidhā kāna qad sannahā sannan waʾutbiʿa ʿalayhā ʾilā ʾan tandarisa ʾaw yamūta man kāna yaʿmalu bihā thumma tasquṭa ʿanhu

“A person violates no greater sanctity of his brother than by helping him in his disobedience and then making it seem easy to him.” A servant may live forty years and then die, while his sins remain after him for a hundred years, for which he is punished in his grave, if he established them as a practice and was followed in it, until it disappears or those who practiced it die. Then it falls away from him

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣١٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 310

Volume One, page 310

وَيَسْتَرِيحَ مِنْهَا ، وَيُقَالُ : أَعْظَمُ الذُّنُوبِ مَنْ ظَلَمَ مَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُهُ وَلَمْ يَرَهُ مِنَ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ مِثْلَ أَنْ يَتَكَلَّمَ فِيمَنْ سَلَفَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الدِّينِ وَأَئِمَّةِ الْمُتَّقِينَ ، فَهَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي كُلُّهَا تَدْخُلُ عَلَى الذَّنْبِ الْوَاحِدِ وَهِيَ أَعْظَمُ مِنْهُ وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا وَآثَارَهُمْ ) يٰسٓ : 12 قِيلَ : سُنَنُهُمُ الَّتِي عُمِلَ بِهَا بَعْدَهُمْ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ :

wayastarīḥa minhā , wayuqālu : ʾaʿẓamu al-dhunūbi man ẓalama man lā yaʿrifuhu walam yarahu mina al-mutaqaddimīna mithla ʾan yatakallama fīman salafa min ʾahli al-dīni waʾaʾimmati al-muttaqīna , fa-hādhihi al-maʿānī kulluhā tadkhulu ʿalā al-dhanbi al-wāḥidi wahiya ʾaʿẓamu minhu wamin dhālika qawluhu taʿālā : ( wanaktubu mā qaddamū waʾāthārahum ) Yā Sīn : 12 qīla : sunanuhumu allatī ʿumila bihā baʿdahum , wafī al-khabari :

and he is relieved of it. It is said: among the greatest sins is wronging someone of the earlier generations whom one does not know and has never seen, such as speaking against those who have gone before among the people of religion and the leaders of the God-fearing. All these things attach to a single sin and are greater than it. Among the statements to this effect are His words, exalted is He: “We record what they have sent ahead and their traces” (Yā Sīn 12). It is said: the practices of theirs that were followed after them. In the report:

مَنْ سَنَّ سُنَّةً سَيِّئَةً فَعُمِلَ بِهَا مِنْ بَعْدِهِ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ مِثْلُ وِزْرِ مَنْ عَمِلَ بِهَا لَا يَنْقُصُ مِنْ أَوْزَارِهِمْ شَيْئًا ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا يَقُولُ : وَيْلٌ لِلْعَالِمِ مِنَ الْأَتْبَاعِ يَزِلُّ زَلَّةً فَيَرْجِعُ عَنْهَا وَيَحْتَمِلُهَا النَّاسُ فَيَذْهَبُونَ بِهَا فِي الْآفَاقِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْأَدَبِ : مَثَلُ زَلَّةِ الْعَالِمِ مَثَلُ اِنْكِسَارِ السَّفِينَةِ تَغْرَقُ وَيَغْرَقُ الْخَلْقُ مَعَهَا ،

man sanna sunnatan sayyiʾatan faʿumila bihā min baʿdihi kāna ʿalayhi mithlu wizri man ʿamila bihā lā yanquṣu min ʾawzārihim shayʾan , wakāna ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā yaqūlu : waylun li-l-ʿālimi mina al-ʾatbāʿi yazillu zallatan fayarjiʿu ʿanhā wayaḥtamiluhā al-nāsu fayadhhabūna bihā fī al-ʾāfāqi , waqāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-ʾadabi : mathalu zallati al-ʿālimi mathalu inkisāri al-safīnati taghraqu wayaghraqu al-khalqu maʿahā ,

“Whoever establishes an evil practice that is followed after him bears a burden like the burden of those who follow it, without anything being taken away from their burdens.” Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with them both, used to say: “Woe to the scholar because of his followers! He makes a slip and turns back from it, but people carry it away and take it throughout the lands.” One of the people of letters said: “The scholar’s slip is like a ship breaking up: it sinks, and the people sink with it.”

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْإِسْرَائِيلِيِّ : إِنَّ عَالِمًا كَانَ يُضِلُّ النَّاسَ بِالْبِدَعِ ثُمَّ أَدْرَكَتْهُ تَوْبَةٌ فَرَجَعَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَعَمِلَ فِي الْإِصْلَاحِ دَهْرًا فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى نَبِيِّهِمْ : قُلْ لَهُ إِنَّ ذَنْبَكَ لَوْ كَانَ فِيمَا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكَ لَغَفَرْتُهُ لَكَ بَالِغًا مَا بَلَغَ وَلَكِنْ كَيْفَ بِمَنْ أَضْلَلْتَ مِنْ عِبَادِي فَأَدْخَلْتَهُمُ النَّارَ ،

wafī al-khabari al-ʾisrāʾīliyyi : ʾinna ʿāliman kāna yuḍillu al-nāsa bi-al-bidaʿi thumma ʾadrakathu tawbatun farajaʿa ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā waʿamila fī al-ʾiṣlāḥi dahran faʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilā nabiyyihim : qul lahu ʾinna dhanbaka law kāna fīmā baynī wabaynaka laghafartuhu laka bālighan mā balagha wa-lākin kayfa biman ʾaḍlalta min ʿibādī faʾadkhaltahumu al-nāra ,

In the Israelite report: a scholar used to lead people astray through innovations. Then repentance overtook him, and he returned to God Most High and worked at making amends for a long time. God Most High revealed to their prophet: “Tell him: if your sin had been between Me and you, I would have forgiven it, however great it had become. But what of those of My servants whom you led astray and brought into the Fire?”

فَأَمَّا اِسْتِحْلَالُ الْمَعْصِيَةِ أَوْ إِحْلَالُهَا لِلْغَيْرِ فَلَيْسَ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأَبْوَابِ فِي شَيْءٍ إِنَّمَا ذَلِكَ خُرُوجٌ عَنِ الْمِلَّةِ وَتَبْدِيلٌ لِلشَّرِيعَةِ وَهُوَ الْكُفْرُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى كَمَا رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَا آمَنَ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَنِ اسْتَحَلَّ مَحَارِمَهُ وَقَدْ سَمَّى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَمَلَةَ السُّوءِ جَهَلَةً فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أَنَّهُ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنْكُمْ سُوءًا بِجَهَالَةٍ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 54 ،

faʾammā istiḥlālu al-maʿṣiyati ʾaw ʾiḥlāluhā li-l-ghayri falaysa min hādhihi al-ʾabwābi fī shayʾin ʾinnamā dhālika khurūjun ʿani al-millati watabdīlun li-l-sharīʿati wahuwa al-kufru bi-Allāhi taʿālā kamā ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : mā ʾāmana bi-al-qurʾāni mani istaḥalla maḥārimahu waqad sammā Allāhu taʿālā ʿamalata al-sūʾi jahalatan faqāla taʿālā : ( ʾannahu man ʿamila minkum sūʾan bijahālatin ) al-ʾanʿāmu : 54 ,

As for regarding disobedience as lawful, or making it lawful for someone else, this belongs to none of these categories. It is departure from the religious community, alteration of the sacred law, and unbelief in God Most High. As is reported from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “One who regards its prohibitions as lawful has not believed in the Qurʾān.” God Most High has called those who do evil ignorant, saying, exalted is He: “Whoever among you does evil in ignorance” (al-Anʿām 54).

وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( بَلْ أَنْتُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ ) النَّمْلُ : 55 وَقَالَ : ( بَلْ أَنْتُمْ قَوْمٌ مُسْرِفُونَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 81 ، وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ الْعَرْشَ يَهْتَزُّ وَيَغْضَبُ الرَّبُّ تَعَالَى لِثَلَاثَةِ أَعْمَالٍ : لِقَتْلِ النَّفْسِ بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ ، وَإِتْيَانِ الذَّكَرِ الذَّكَرَ ، وَرُكُوبِ الْأُنْثَى الْأُنْثَى ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ :

waqāla taʿālā : ( bal ʾantum qawmun tajhalūna ) al-namlu : 55 waqāla : ( bal ʾantum qawmun musrifūna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 81 , wayuqālu : ʾinna al-ʿarsha yahtazzu wayaghḍabu al-rabbu taʿālā lithalāthati ʾaʿmālin : liqatli al-nafsi bighayri nafsin , waʾityāni al-dhakari al-dhakara , warukūbi al-ʾunthā al-ʾunthā , wafī khabarin :

He says, exalted is He: “Rather, you are a people acting in ignorance” (al-Naml 55). And He says: “Rather, you are a people exceeding all bounds” (al-Aʿrāf 81). It is said that the Throne shakes and the Lord, exalted is He, becomes angry at three actions: killing a person without a life having been taken, a male having intercourse with a male, and a female mounting a female. In a report:

لَوِ اِغْتَسَلَ اللُّوطِيُّ بِالْبِحَارِ لَمْ يُطَهِّرْهُ إِلَّا التَّوْبَةُ وَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي يَسِيرِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ مِنَ الشُّؤْمِ إِلَّا حِرْمَانُ الطَّاعَةِ وَفَقْدُ حَلَاوَةِ الْخِدْمَةِ وَمَقْتُ الْمَوْلَى لَكَانَ هَذَا مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْعُقُوبَاتِ ، كَمَا قَالَ وُهَيْبُ بْنُ الْوَرْدِ وَقَدْ سُئِلَ : هَلْ يَجِدُ الْعَاصِي حَلَاوَةَ الطَّاعَةِ قَالَ : لَا وَلَا مَنْ هَمَّ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ ،

lawi ightasala al-lūṭiyyu bi-al-biḥāri lam yuṭahhirhu ʾillā al-tawbatu walaw lam yakun fī yasīri al-maʿṣiyati mina al-shuʾmi ʾillā ḥirmānu al-ṭāʿati wafaqdu ḥalāwati al-khidmati wamaqtu al-mawlā lakāna hādhā min ʾaʿẓami al-ʿuqūbāti , kamā qāla wuhaybu bnu al-wardi waqad suʾila : hal yajidu al-ʿāṣī ḥalāwata al-ṭāʿati qāla : lā walā man hamma bimaʿṣiyatin ,

“Even if a man who practices sodomy washed himself in the seas, nothing would purify him except repentance.” Even if the ill consequence of a small act of disobedience were only deprivation of obedience, loss of the sweetness of service, and the Master’s hatred, this would be among the greatest punishments. As Wuhayb ibn al-Ward said when asked, “Does the disobedient person find the sweetness of obedience?” He replied: “No, nor does one who intends an act of disobedience.”

وَلِذَلِكَ سَمَّى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَحْيَى سَيِّدًا لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَهُمَّ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ فَصَارَ عَلَامَةُ السَّيِّدِ بِقَدْرِ سُؤْدُدِ مَنْ لَا يَهُمُّ بِالْمَعَاصِي فَصَارَ مَنْ لَا يَهُمُّ بِالْمَعَاصِي سَيِّدًا ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ مَنْ لَبِسَ ثَوْبَ شُهْرَةٍ وَفِي بَعْضِهَا : مَنْ نَظَرَ إِلَى عِطْفَيْهِ فَاخْتَالَ أَعْرَضَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ عِنْدَهُ حَبِيبًا كَيْفَ وَفِي الْمُخَالَفَةِ وُجُودُ الْبُعْدِ وَالْوَحْشَةِ وَالِانْقِطَاعِ مِنَ الْمُعَامَلَةِ . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ :

wali-dhālika sammā Allāhu taʿālā yaḥyā sayyidan liʾannahu lam yahumma bimaʿṣiyatin faṣāra ʿalāmatu al-sayyidi biqadri suʾdudi man lā yahummu bi-al-maʿāṣī faṣāra man lā yahummu bi-al-maʿāṣī sayyidan , wafī khabarin man labisa thawba shuhratin wafī baʿḍihā : man naẓara ʾilā ʿiṭfayhi fakhtāla ʾaʿraḍa Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu waʾin kāna ʿindahu ḥabīban kayfa wafī al-mukhālafati wujūdu al-buʿdi wa-al-waḥshati wa-al-inqiṭāʿi mina al-muʿāmalati . warawaynā fī khabarin :

For that reason God Most High named Yaḥyā a master, because he did not intend any act of disobedience. Thus the mark of the master accords with the eminence of one who does not intend sins, and the one who does not intend sins becomes a master. In a report: “One who wears a garment of renown”; and in some of them: “One who looks at his own flanks and struts proudly: God Most High turns away from him, even if he was beloved by Him.” How could it be otherwise, when disobedience brings distance, estrangement, and a break in one’s dealings with Him? We have transmitted in a report:

إِنَّ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لَمَّا أَكَلَ مِنَ الشَّجَرَةِ تَطَايَرَتِ الْحُلَلُ عَنْ جَسَدِهِ وَبَدَتْ عَوْرَتُهُ قَالَ : فَاسْتَحْيَا التَّاجُ وَالْإِكْلِيلُ مِنْ وَجْهِهِ أَنْ يَرْتَفِعَا عَنْهُ فَجَاءَهُ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فَأَخَذَ التَّاجَ عَنْ رَأْسِهِ وَحَلَّ مِيكَائِيلُ الْإِكْلِيلَ عَنْ جَبِينِهِ وَنُودِيَا مِنْ فَوْقِ الْعَرْشِ : اِهْبِطَا مِنْ جِوَارِي فَإِنَّهُ لَا يُجَاوِرُنِي مَنْ عَصَانِي ، فَالْتَفَتَ آدَمُ إِلَى حَوَّاءَ بَاكِيًا وَقَالَ :

ʾinna ʾādama ʿalayhi al-salāmu lammā ʾakala mina al-shajarati taṭāyarati al-ḥulalu ʿan jasadihi wabadat ʿawratuhu qāla : fastaḥyā al-tāju wa-al-ʾiklīlu min wajhihi ʾan yartafiʿā ʿanhu fajāʾahu jibrīlu ʿalayhi al-salāmu faʾakhadha al-tāja ʿan raʾsihi waḥalla mīkāʾīlu al-ʾiklīla ʿan jabīnihi wanūdiyā min fawqi al-ʿarshi : ihbiṭā min jiwārī faʾinnahu lā yujāwirunī man ʿaṣānī , faltafata ʾādamu ʾilā ḥawwāʾa bākiyan waqāla :

When Adam, peace be upon him, ate from the tree, the robes flew off his body and his nakedness appeared. He said: the crown and diadem felt ashamed before his face to rise away from him. Gabriel, peace be upon him, came and took the crown from his head, and Michael loosened the diadem from his brow. The two were called from above the Throne: “Descend from My neighborhood, for no one who disobeys Me dwells beside Me.” Adam turned to Eve, weeping, and said:

هَذَا أَوَّلُ شُؤْمِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ أَخْرَجَنَا مِنْ جِوَارِ الْحَبِيبِ ، وَرَوَيْنَا أَنَّ سُلَيْمَانَ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمَّا عُوقِبَ عَلَى خَطِيئَتِهِ مِنْ أَجْلِ التِّمْثَالِ الَّذِي عُبِدَ فِي دَارِهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا وَقِيلَ : إِنَّ الْمَرْأَةَ سَأَلَتْهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْحُكْمُ لِأَبِيهَا عَلَى خَصْمِهِ فَقَالَ : نَعَمْ

hādhā ʾawwalu shuʾmi al-maʿṣiyati ʾakhrajanā min jiwāri al-ḥabībi , warawaynā ʾanna sulaymāna nabiyya Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lammā ʿūqiba ʿalā khaṭīʾatihi min ʾajli al-timthāli alladhī ʿubida fī dārihi ʾarbaʿīna yawman waqīla : ʾinna al-marʾata saʾalathu ʾan yakūna al-ḥukmu liʾabīhā ʿalā khaṣmihi faqāla : naʿam

“This is the first ill consequence of disobedience: it has driven us out of the Beloved’s neighborhood.” We have transmitted that Solomon, God’s prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was punished for his offense because of the image that was worshiped in his house for forty days. It is also said that the woman asked him to rule for her father against his opponent, and he said yes,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣١١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 311

Volume One, page 311

وَلَمْ يَفْعَلْ وَقِيلَ : بَلْ أَحَبَّ بِقَلْبِهِ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْحُكْمُ لِأَبِيهَا عَلَى خَصْمِهِ لِمَكَانِهَا فَسُلِبَ مُلْكَهُ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا فَهَرَبَ تَائِهًا عَلَى وَجْهِهِ وَكَانَ يَسْأَلُ بِكَفِّهِ فَلَا يُطْعَمُ فَإِذَا قَالَ : أَطْعِمُونِي فَإِنِّي سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ شُجَّ وَضُرِبَ ، وَلَقَدْ بَلَغَنِي أَنَّهُ اِسْتَطْعَمَ مِنْ بَيْتٍ فَطُرِدَ وَبَزَقَتِ اِمْرَأَةٌ فِي وَجْهِهِ ، وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ قَالَ :

walam yafʿal waqīla : bal ʾaḥabba biqalbihi ʾan yakūna al-ḥukmu liʾabīhā ʿalā khaṣmihi limakānihā fasuliba mulkahu ʾarbaʿīna yawman faharaba tāʾihan ʿalā wajhihi wakāna yasʾalu bikaffihi falā yuṭʿamu faʾidhā qāla : ʾaṭʿimūnī faʾinnī sulaymānu bnu dāwūda shujja waḍuriba , walaqad balaghanī ʾannahu istaṭʿama min baytin faṭurida wabazaqati imraʾatun fī wajhihi , wafī riwāyatin qāla :

but did not do it. It is also said: rather, he wished in his heart that the judgment would favor her father against his opponent because of her position with him. His kingdom was taken from him for forty days, and he fled, wandering aimlessly. He used to beg with his hand outstretched, but was not fed. When he said, “Feed me, for I am Solomon son of David,” he was wounded and beaten. I have heard that he asked a household for food, was driven away, and a woman spat in his face. In another account, he said:

فَأَخْرَجَتْ إِلَيْهِ عَجُوزٌ جَرَّةً فِيهَا بَوْلٌ فَصَبَّتْهُ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ إِلَى أَنْ خَرَجَ لَهُ الْخَاتَمُ مِنْ بَطْنِ الْحُوتِ فَلَبِسَهُ بَعْدَ انْقِضَاءِ الْأَرْبَعِينَ وَهِيَ أَيَّامُ الْعُقُوبَةِ قَالَ : فَجَاءَتِ الطَّيْرُ فَعَكَفَتْ عَلَيْهِ وَجَاءَتِ الْجِنُّ وَالشَّيَاطِينُ وَالْوُحُوشُ فَاجْتَمَعَتْ حَوْلَهُ ، فَلَمَّا عَرَفَهُ الصَّيَّادُونَ عَقَرُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَاعْتَذَرُوا إِلَيْهِ مِمَّا كَانُوا طَرَدُوهُ وَشَجُّوهُ فَقَالَ : لَا أَلُومُكُمْ فِيمَا صَنَعْتُمْ قَبْلُ وَلَا أَحْمَدُكُمْ فِيمَا تَصْنَعُونَ الْآنَ ،

faʾakhrajat ʾilayhi ʿajūzun jarratan fīhā bawlun faṣabbathu ʿalā raʾsihi ʾilā ʾan kharaja lahu al-khātamu min baṭni al-ḥūti falabisahu baʿda inqiḍāʾi al-ʾarbaʿīna wahiya ʾayyāmu al-ʿuqūbati qāla : fajāʾati al-ṭayru faʿakafat ʿalayhi wajāʾati al-jinnu wa-al-shayāṭīnu wa-al-wuḥūshu fajtamaʿat ḥawlahu , falammā ʿarafahu al-ṣayyādūna ʿaqarū bayna yadayhi waʿtadharū ʾilayhi mimmā kānū ṭaradūhu washajjūhu faqāla : lā ʾalūmukum fīmā ṣanaʿtum qablu walā ʾaḥmadukum fīmā taṣnaʿūna al-ʾāna ,

An old woman brought him a jar containing urine and poured it over his head. This continued until the ring came forth for him from the belly of the fish, and he put it on after the forty days, the days of punishment, had ended. He said: the birds came and gathered around him, and the jinn, devils, and wild beasts came and assembled around him. When the fishermen recognized him, they slaughtered animals before him and apologized for having driven him away and wounded him. He said: “I do not blame you for what you did before, and I do not praise you for what you are doing now.

هَذَا أَمْرٌ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَلَا بُدَّ مِنْهُ وَلَقَدْ بَلَغَنِي أَنَّهُ كَانَ فِي مَسِيرِهِ وَالرِّيحُ تَحْمِلُهُ فِي جُنُودِهِ إِذْ نَظَرَ إِلَى قَمِيصِهِ نَظْرَةً وَكَانَ عَلَيْهِ قَمِيصٌ جَدِيدٌ فَكَأَنَّهُ أَعْجَبَهُ فَوَضَعَتْهُ الرِّيحُ بِالْأَرْضِ فَقَالَ لَهَا لِمَ فَعَلْتِ وَلَمْ آمُرْكِ قَالَ : إِنَّمَا نُطِيعُكَ إِذَا أَطَعْتَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى . وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِي مَعْنَى هَذَا : مَنْ خَافَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى خَافَهُ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ ،

hādhā ʾamrun mina al-samāʾi falā budda minhu walaqad balaghanī ʾannahu kāna fī masīrihi wa-al-rīḥu taḥmiluhu fī junūdihi ʾidh naẓara ʾilā qamīṣihi naẓratan wakāna ʿalayhi qamīṣun jadīdun fakaʾannahu ʾaʿjabahu fawaḍaʿathu al-rīḥu bi-al-ʾarḍi faqāla lahā lima faʿalti walam ʾāmurki qāla : ʾinnamā nuṭīʿuka ʾidhā ʾaṭaʿta Allāha taʿālā . waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi fī maʿnā hādhā : man khāfa Allāha taʿālā khāfahu kullu shayʾin ,

This is a matter from heaven, and there is no escaping it.” I have heard that, while he was traveling and the wind carried him among his troops, he glanced at his shirt. He was wearing a new shirt, and it seemed to please him. The wind set him down on the ground. He said to it: “Why did you do that when I did not command you?” He said: “We obey you only when you obey God Most High.” Some of the scholars have said, expressing this meaning: “Whoever fears God Most High, everything fears him;

وَمَنْ خَافَ غَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَخَافَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ، فَكَذَلِكَ أَيْضًا : مَنْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى سَخَّرَ لَهُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَمَنْ عَصَاهُ سَخَّرَهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَوْ سَلَّطَ عَلَيْهِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي الْإِصْرَارِ عَلَى الْمَعْصِيَةِ مِنَ الشُّؤْمِ إِلَّا أَنَّ كُلَّ مَا يُصِيبُ الْعَبْدَ يَكُونُ لَهُ عُقُوبَةً إِنْ كَانَ سَعَةً عُوقِبَ بِذَلِكَ وَلَمْ يَأْمَنْ بِهَا الِاسْتِدْرَاجَ وَإِنْ كَانَ ضِيقًا كَانَ عُقُوبَةً لَهُ ،

waman khāfa ghayra Allāhi taʿālā ʾakhāfa Allāhu taʿālā min kulli shayʾin , fa-kadhālika ʾayḍan : man ʾaṭāʿa Allāha taʿālā sakhkhara lahu kulla shayʾin waman ʿaṣāhu sakhkharahu likulli shayʾin ʾaw sallaṭa ʿalayhi kulla shayʾin walaw lam yakun fī al-ʾiṣrāri ʿalā al-maʿṣiyati mina al-shuʾmi ʾillā ʾanna kulla mā yuṣību al-ʿabda yakūnu lahu ʿuqūbatan ʾin kāna saʿatan ʿūqiba bi-dhālika walam yaʾman bihā al-istidrāja waʾin kāna ḍīqan kāna ʿuqūbatan lahu ,

and whoever fears someone other than God Most High, God Most High makes him afraid of everything.” Likewise: whoever obeys God Most High, He subjects everything to him; whoever disobeys Him, He subjects him to everything, or gives everything power over him. Even if the ill consequence of persisting in disobedience were only that everything which happens to the servant becomes a punishment for him: if it is abundance, he is punished through it and cannot feel safe from being gradually drawn into ruin by it; if it is hardship, it is a punishment for him.

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيُحْرَمُ الرِّزْقَ بِالذَّنْبِ يُصِيبُهُ ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ : الرِّزْقُ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ مِنْ قِلَّةِ التَّوْفِيقِ لِلْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَةِ ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : إِنِّي لَأَحْسَبُ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ يَنْسَى الْعِلْمَ بِالذَّنْبِ يُصِيبُهُ وَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ بَرَكَةِ التَّوْبَةِ وَالْعِلْمِ وَالِاسْتِقَامَةِ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ إِلَّا أَنَّ كُلَّ مَا يُصِيبُ الْعَبْدَ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ إِنْ :

wafī al-khabari ʾanna al-ʿabda layuḥramu al-rizqa bi-al-dhanbi yuṣībuhu , waqad qīla : al-rizqu mina al-ḥarāmi min qillati al-tawfīqi li-l-ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥati , wakāna ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu : ʾinnī laʾaḥsabu ʾanna al-ʿabda yansā al-ʿilma bi-al-dhanbi yuṣībuhu walaw lam yakun min barakati al-tawbati wa-al-ʿilmi wa-al-istiqāmati ʿalā al-ṭāʿati ʾillā ʾanna kulla mā yuṣību al-ʿabda fahuwa khayrun lahu ʾin :

In the report: “The servant is deprived of provision by a sin he commits.” It has been said: provision from unlawful sources comes from receiving little help in performing righteous deeds. Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, used to say: “I do believe that the servant forgets knowledge through a sin he commits.” Even if the blessing of repentance, knowledge, and uprightness in obedience were only that whatever happens to the servant is good for him: if

كَانَ سَعَةً فَهُوَ رِفْقٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِهِ عَلَيْهِ وَلُطْفٌ لَهُ مِنْهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ ضِيقًا فَهُوَ اِخْتِبَارٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَخِيرَةٌ لِلْعَبْدِ وَيَجِدُ حَلَاوَةَ ذَلِكَ وَلَذَّتَهُ لِأَنَّهُ فِي سَبِيلِهِ وَقَدْ أَصَابَهُ وَهُوَ مُقِيمٌ عَلَى طَاعَتِهِ وَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ شُؤْمِ النَّاسِ وَوَجْدِ النَّقْصِ لِمُخَالَطَتِهِمْ إِلَّا أَنَّ الْمَعْصِيَةَ مَعَهُمْ أَشَدُّ وَهِيَ بِهِمْ أَعْظَمُ لِتَعَلُّقِ الْمَظَالِمِ فِي أَمْرِ الدُّنْيَا وَشَأْنِ الدِّينِ وَكُلُّ مَنْ قَلَّتْ مَعَارِفُهُ قَلَّتْ مَعَهُمْ خَطَايَاهُ ،

kāna saʿatan fahuwa rifqun mina Allāhi taʿālā bihi ʿalayhi waluṭfun lahu minhu waʾin kāna ḍīqan fahuwa ikhtibārun mina Allāhi taʿālā wakhīratun li-l-ʿabdi wayajidu ḥalāwata dhālika waladhdhatahu liʾannahu fī sabīlihi waqad ʾaṣābahu wahuwa muqīmun ʿalā ṭāʿatihi walaw lam yakun min shuʾmi al-nāsi wawajdi al-naqṣi limukhālaṭatihim ʾillā ʾanna al-maʿṣiyata maʿahum ʾashaddu wahiya bihim ʾaʿẓamu litaʿalluqi al-maẓālimi fī ʾamri al-dunyā washaʾni al-dīni wakullu man qallat maʿārifuhu qallat maʿahum khaṭāyāhu ,

it is abundance, it is kindness from God Most High toward him and gentle care from Him for him. If it is hardship, it is a test from God Most High and a choice made for the servant. He finds its sweetness and delight because it is in His path and has come to him while he remains obedient to Him. Even if the ill consequence of people and the loss experienced through mixing with them were only that disobedience with them is more severe, and greater because of them, through the wrongs attached to it in worldly affairs and religious matters. Anyone who has fewer acquaintances has fewer sins with them.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : لَيْسَتِ اللَّعْنَةُ سَوَادًا فِي الْوَجْهِ وَنَقْصًا فِي الْمَالِ إِنَّمَا اللَّعْنَةُ أَنْ لَا يَخْرُجَ مِنْ ذَنْبٍ إِلَّا وَقَعَ فِي مِثْلِهِ أَوْ شَرٍّ مِنْهُ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ اللَّعْنَةَ هِيَ الطَّرْدُ وَالْبُعْدُ فَإِذَا طُرِدَ مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ فَلَمْ تُيَسَّرْ لَهُ بَعُدَ عَنِ الْقُرُبَاتِ فَلَمْ يُوَفَّقْ لَهَا فَقَدْ لُعِنَ . وَقَدْ قِيلَ فِي مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي رَوَيْنَاهُ آنِفًا :

waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi : laysati al-laʿnatu sawādan fī al-wajhi wanaqṣan fī al-māli ʾinnamā al-laʿnatu ʾan lā yakhruja min dhanbin ʾillā waqaʿa fī mithlihi ʾaw sharrin minhu wa-dhālika ʾanna al-laʿnata hiya al-ṭardu wa-al-buʿdu faʾidhā ṭurida mina al-ṭāʿati falam tuyassar lahu baʿuda ʿani al-qurubāti falam yuwaffaq lahā faqad luʿina . waqad qīla fī maʿnā al-khabari alladhī rawaynāhu ʾānifan :

One of the predecessors said: “The curse is not a blackening of the face or a reduction of wealth. The curse is that he never leaves a sin without falling into one like it or worse.” This is because the curse is expulsion and distance. If he is driven away from obedience so that it is not made easy for him, and kept far from acts that bring him near so that he is not enabled to perform them, he has been cursed. Concerning the meaning of the report we transmitted a little earlier, it has been said:

إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيُحْرَمُ الرِّزْقَ بِالذَّنْبِ يُصِيبُهُ قِيلَ : أَنْ يُحْرَمَ الْحَلَالَ وَلَا يُوَفَّقَ لَهُ بِوُقُوعِهِ فِي الْمَعْصِيَةِ وَقِيلَ : يُحْرَمُ مُجَالَسَةَ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَلَا يَنْشَرِحُ قَلْبُهُ لِصُحْبَةِ أَهْلِ الْخَيْرِ وَقِيلَ : يَمْقُتُهُ الصَّالِحُونَ وَأَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَيُعْرِضُونَ عَنْهُ وَقِيلَ : يُحْرَمُ الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي لَا صَلَاحَ لِلْعَمَلِ إِلَّا بِهِ لِأَجْلِ إِقَامَتِهِ عَلَى الْجَهْلِ ، وَلَا تَنْكَشِفُ لَهُ الشُّبُهَاتُ بِإِقَامَتِهِ عَلَى الشَّهَوَاتِ بَلْ تَلْتَبِسُ عَلَيْهِ الْأُمُورُ فَيَتَحَيَّرُ فِيهَا بِغَيْرِ عِصْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ

ʾinna al-ʿabda layuḥramu al-rizqa bi-al-dhanbi yuṣībuhu qīla : ʾan yuḥrama al-ḥalāla walā yuwaffaqa lahu biwuqūʿihi fī al-maʿṣiyati waqīla : yuḥramu mujālasata al-ʿulamāʾi walā yanshariḥu qalbuhu liṣuḥbati ʾahli al-khayri waqīla : yamqutuhu al-ṣāliḥūna waʾahlu al-ʿilmi bi-Allāhi taʿālā fayuʿriḍūna ʿanhu waqīla : yuḥramu al-ʿilma alladhī lā ṣalāḥa li-l-ʿamali ʾillā bihi liʾajli ʾiqāmatihi ʿalā al-jahli , walā tankashifu lahu al-shubuhātu biʾiqāmatihi ʿalā al-shahawāti bal taltabisu ʿalayhi al-ʾumūru fayataḥayyaru fīhā bighayri ʿiṣmatin mina Allāhi

“The servant is deprived of provision by a sin he commits.” It is said: he is deprived of what is lawful and not enabled to obtain it because of his falling into disobedience. It is also said: he is deprived of sitting with scholars, and his heart does not open to the companionship of good people. It is also said: the righteous and those who know God Most High detest him and turn away from him. It is also said: he is deprived of the knowledge without which action cannot be sound, because he persists in ignorance. Doubtful matters are not made clear to him because he persists in desires; instead, matters become confused for him, and he wanders bewildered among them without protection from God

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣١٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 312

Volume One, page 312

تَعَالَى وَلَا يُوَفَّقُ لِلْأَصْوَبِ وَالْأَفْضَلِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ الْفُضَيْلُ يَقُولُ : مَا أَنْكَرْتَ مِنْ تَغَيُّرِ الزَّمَانِ وَجَفَاءِ الْإِخْوَانِ فَذُنُوبُكَ أَوْرَثَتْكَ ذَلِكَ وَيُقَالُ : نِسْيَانُ الْقُرْآنِ بَعْدَ حِفْظِهِ مِنْ أَشَدِّ الْعُقُوبَاتِ وَالْمَنْعُ مِنْ تِلَاوَتِهِ وَضِيقُ الصَّدْرِ بِقِرَاءَتِهِ وَالِاشْتِغَالُ عَنْهُ بِضِدِّهِ عُقُوبَةُ الْإِصْرَارِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ صُوفِيَّةِ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ : نَظَرْتُ إِلَى غُلَامٍ نَصْرَانِيٍّ حَسَنِ الْوَجْهِ فَوَقَفْتُ أَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ فَمَرَّ بِي ابْنُ الْجَلَّاءِ الدِّمَشْقِيُّ فَأَخَذَ بِيَدِي فَاسْتَحْيَيْتُ مِنْهُ فَقُلْتُ :

taʿālā walā yuwaffaqu li-l-ʾaṣwabi wa-al-ʾafḍali , waqad kāna al-fuḍaylu yaqūlu : mā ʾankarta min taghayyuri al-zamāni wajafāʾi al-ʾikhwāni fadhunūbuka ʾawrathatka dhālika wayuqālu : nisyānu al-qurʾāni baʿda ḥifẓihi min ʾashaddi al-ʿuqūbāti wa-al-manʿu min tilāwatihi waḍīqu al-ṣadri biqirāʾatihi wa-al-ishtighālu ʿanhu biḍiddihi ʿuqūbatu al-ʾiṣrāri , waqāla baʿḍu ṣūfiyyati ʾahli al-shāmi : naẓartu ʾilā ghulāmin naṣrāniyyin ḥasani al-wajhi fawaqaftu ʾanẓuru ʾilayhi famarra bī ibnu al-jallāʾi al-dimashqiyyu faʾakhadha biyadī fastaḥyaytu minhu faqultu :

Most High, and he is not enabled to do what is more correct and better. Al-Fuḍayl used to say: “Whatever you find objectionable in the changing times and the coldness of brothers, your sins have brought it upon you.” It is said: forgetting the Qurʾān after memorizing it is among the harshest punishments. Being prevented from reciting it, feeling constricted at reading it, and being occupied instead with its opposite are the punishment for persistence in sin. One of the Sufis of Syria said: “I looked at a Christian boy with a handsome face and stood looking at him. Ibn al-Jallāʾ of Damascus passed by me and took my hand. I felt ashamed before him and said:

يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ تَعَجَّبْتُ مِنْ هَذِهِ الصُّورَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَهَذِهِ الصَّنْعَةِ الْمُحْكَمَةِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ لِلنَّارِ فَغَمَزَ يَدِي وَقَالَ : لَتَجِدَنَّ عُقُوبَتَهُ بَعْدَ حِينٍ قَالَ : فَعُوقِبْتُ بَعْدَ ثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : إِنِّي لَأَعْرِفُ عُقُوبَةَ ذَنْبِي فِي سُوءِ خُلُقِ حِمَارِي ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ : أَعْرِفُ الْعُقُوبَةَ حَتَّى فِي نَارِ بَيْتِي . وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ الْفَقِيهِ قَالَ :

yā ʾabā ʿabdi Allāhi subḥāna Allāhi taʿajjabtu min hādhihi al-ṣūrati al-ḥasanati wa-hādhihi al-ṣanʿati al-muḥkamati kayfa khuliqat li-l-nāri faghamaza yadī waqāla : latajidanna ʿuqūbatahu baʿda ḥīnin qāla : faʿūqibtu baʿda thalāthīna sanatan , waqāla baʿḍuhum : ʾinnī laʾaʿrifu ʿuqūbata dhanbī fī sūʾi khuluqi ḥimārī , waqāla ʾākharu : ʾaʿrifu al-ʿuqūbata ḥattā fī nāri baytī . waḥaddathūnā ʿan manṣūrin al-faqīhi qāla :

‘Abū ʿAbd Allāh, glory be to God! I was amazed at this beautiful form and this perfected workmanship: how was it created for the Fire?’ He squeezed my hand and said: ‘You will surely find its punishment after a while.’” He said: “I was punished after thirty years.” One of them said: “I recognize the punishment for my sin in the bad temper of my donkey.” Another said: “I recognize the punishment even in the fire of my house.” They told us from Manṣūr the jurist, who said:

رَأَيْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ السُّكَّرِيَّ فِي النَّوْمِ فَقُلْتُ : مَا فَعَلَ اللَّهُ بِكَ قَالَ : أَوْقَفَنِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ فِي الْعَرَقِ حَتَّى سَقَطَ لَحْمُ خَدِّي قُلْتُ : وَلِمَ ذَاكَ قَالَ : نَظَرْتُ إِلَى غُلَامٍ مُقْبِلًا وَمُدْبِرًا وَالْعُقُوبَةُ مَوْضُوعُهَا الشِّدَّةُ وَالْمَشَقَّةُ ، فَعُقُوبَةُ كُلِّ عَبْدٍ مِنْ حَيْثُ يَشْتَدُّ عَلَيْهِ ،

raʾaytu ʾabā ʿabdi Allāhi al-sukkariyya fī al-nawmi faqultu : mā faʿala Allāhu bika qāla : ʾawqafanī bayna yadayhi fī al-ʿaraqi ḥattā saqaṭa laḥmu khaddī qultu : walima dhāka qāla : naẓartu ʾilā ghulāmin muqbilan wamudbiran wa-al-ʿuqūbatu mawḍūʿuhā al-shiddatu wa-al-mashaqqatu , faʿuqūbatu kulli ʿabdin min ḥaythu yashtaddu ʿalayhi ,

“I saw Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Sukkarī in a dream and said: ‘What did God do with you?’ He said: ‘He made me stand before Him in sweat until the flesh of my cheek fell away.’ I said: ‘Why was that?’ He said: ‘I looked at a boy coming and going.’” The nature of punishment is severity and hardship, so each servant’s punishment comes through what is severe for him.

فَأَهْلُ الدُّنْيَا يُعَاقَبُونَ بِحِرْمَانِ رِزْقِ الدُّنْيَا مِنْ تَعَذُّرِ الْإِكْسَابِ وَإِتْلَافِ الْأَمْوَالِ وَأَهْلُ الْآخِرَةِ يُعَاقَبُونَ بِحِرْمَانِ رِزْقِ الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ قِلَّةِ التَّوْفِيقِ لِلْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَعَذُّرِ فُتُوحِ الْعُلُومِ الصَّادِقَةِ ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ، وَكَانَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ يَقُولُ : الِاحْتِلَامُ عُقُوبَةٌ : وَقَالَ : لَا يَفُوتُ أَحَدًا صَلَاةٌ فِي جَمَاعَةٍ إِلَّا بِذَنْبٍ يُحْدِثُهُ فَدَقَائِقُ الْعُقُوبَاتِ عَلَى قَدْرِ تَرَافُعِ الدَّرَجَاتِ ،

faʾahlu al-dunyā yuʿāqabūna biḥirmāni rizqi al-dunyā min taʿadhdhuri al-ʾiksābi waʾitlāfi al-ʾamwāli waʾahlu al-ʾākhirati yuʿāqabūna biḥirmāni rizqi al-ʾākhirati min qillati al-tawfīqi li-l-ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥāti wataʿadhdhuri futūḥi al-ʿulūmi al-ṣādiqati dhālika taqdīru al-ʿazīzi al-ʿalīmi , wakāna ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu yaqūlu : al-iḥtilāmu ʿuqūbatun : waqāla : lā yafūtu ʾaḥadan ṣalātun fī jamāʿatin ʾillā bidhanbin yuḥdithuhu fadaqāʾiqu al-ʿuqūbāti ʿalā qadri tarāfuʿi al-darajāti ,

The people of this world are punished by being deprived of worldly provision: difficulty in acquiring income and the destruction of wealth. The people of the hereafter are punished by being deprived of the provision of the hereafter: little help in righteous actions and difficulty in receiving openings of true knowledge. That is the determination of the Mighty, the Knowing. Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī used to say: “A nocturnal emission is a punishment.” He also said: “No one misses a congregational prayer except through a sin he commits.” Thus the subtleties of punishments correspond to the rising of ranks.

وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْأَخْبَارِ مَا أَنْكَرْتُمْ مِنْ زَمَانِكُمْ فَبِمَا غَيَّرْتُمْ مِنْ أَعْمَالِكُمْ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : إِنَّ أَدْنَى مَا أَصْنَعُ بِالْعَبْدِ إِذَا آثَرَ شَهْوَتَهُ عَلَى طَاعَتِي أَنْ أَحْرِمَهُ لَذِيذَ مُنَاجَاتِي فَهَذِهِ عُقُوبَةُ أَهْلِ الْمُعَامَلَاتِ وَلَوْ ظَهَرَ تَغَيُّرُ الْقَلْبِ عِنْدَ الْمَعْصِيَةِ عَلَى وَجْهِ الْعَاصِي لَاسْوَدَّ وَجْهُهُ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى سَلَّمَ بِحِلْمِهِ وَسَتْرِهِ فَغَطَّى ذَلِكَ فِي الْقَلْبِ مَعَ تَأْثِيرِهِ فِيهِ وَحِجَابِهِ لِصَاحِبِهِ وَقَسْوَتِهِ

waqad jāʾa fī al-ʾakhbāri mā ʾankartum min zamānikum fabimā ghayyartum min ʾaʿmālikum , wafī al-khabari yaqūlu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla : ʾinna ʾadnā mā ʾaṣnaʿu bi-al-ʿabdi ʾidhā ʾāthara shahwatahu ʿalā ṭāʿatī ʾan ʾaḥrimahu ladhīdha munājātī fa-hādhihi ʿuqūbatu ʾahli al-muʿāmalāti walaw ẓahara taghayyuru al-qalbi ʿinda al-maʿṣiyati ʿalā wajhi al-ʿāṣī laswadda wajhuhu wa-lākinna Allāha taʿālā sallama biḥilmihi wasatrihi faghaṭṭā dhālika fī al-qalbi maʿa taʾthīrihi fīhi waḥijābihi liṣāḥibihi waqaswatihi

It has come in the reports: “Whatever you find objectionable in your times is because of what you have changed in your deeds.” In the report God, mighty and majestic, says: “The least I do to the servant when he prefers his desire to obedience to Me is deprive him of the sweetness of intimate conversation with Me.” This is the punishment of the people devoted to dealings with God. If the change in the heart at the moment of disobedience appeared on the sinner’s face, his face would turn black. But God Most High has kept him safe through His forbearance and concealment, covering that within the heart, despite its effect there, its veiling of its owner, and its hardening him

عَنِ الذِّكْرِ وَعَنْ طَلَبِ الْخَيْرِ وَالْبِرِّ وَالْمُسَارَعَةِ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَهُوَ مِنْ أَكْبَرِ الْعُقُوبَاتِ وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا عَصَى أَظْلَمَ قَلْبُهُ ظُلْمَةً يَثُورُ عَلَى الْقَلْبِ مِنْهَا دُخَانٌ يَشْهَدُهُ الْإِيمَانُ فَهُوَ مَكَانُ حُزْنِ الْعَبْدِ الَّذِي تَسُوءُهُ سَيِّئَتُهُ وَيَكُونُ ذَلِكَ الدُّخَانُ حِجَابًا لَهُ عَنِ الْعِلْمِ وَالْبَيَانِ كَمَا تَحْجُبُ السَّحَابَةُ لِلشَّمْسِ فَلَا تُرَى وَيَكُونُ غُلْفًا يَجِدُهُ فِي نَفْسِهِ لِلْخَلْقِ فَإِذَا تَابَ الْعَبْدُ وَأَصْلَحَ انْكَشَفَ الْحِجَابُ فَيَظْهَرُ الْإِيمَانُ فَيَأْمُرُ بِالْعِلْمِ كَمَا تَبْرُزُ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ تَحْتِ الْحِجَابِ .

ʿani al-dhikri waʿan ṭalabi al-khayri wa-al-birri wa-al-musāraʿati ʾilā al-khayri wahuwa min ʾakbari al-ʿuqūbāti wayuqālu : ʾinna al-ʿabda ʾidhā ʿaṣā ʾaẓlama qalbuhu ẓulmatan yathūru ʿalā al-qalbi minhā dukhānun yashhaduhu al-ʾīmānu fahuwa makānu ḥuzni al-ʿabdi alladhī tasūʾuhu sayyiʾatuhu wayakūnu dhālika al-dukhānu ḥijāban lahu ʿani al-ʿilmi wa-al-bayāni kamā taḥjubu al-saḥābatu li-l-shamsi falā turā wayakūnu ghulfan yajiduhu fī nafsihi li-l-khalqi faʾidhā tāba al-ʿabdu waʾaṣlaḥa inkashafa al-ḥijābu fayaẓharu al-ʾīmānu fayaʾmuru bi-al-ʿilmi kamā tabruzu al-shamsu min taḥti al-ḥijābi .

against remembrance, seeking goodness and righteousness, and hastening to good. This is among the greatest punishments. It is said: when the servant disobeys, his heart darkens with a darkness from which smoke rises over the heart, witnessed by faith. This is the place of the sorrow of the servant whose evil deed grieves him. That smoke becomes a veil keeping him from knowledge and clarity, as a cloud veils the sun so that it cannot be seen. It becomes a covering he feels within himself toward other creatures. When the servant repents and makes amends, the veil is lifted, faith appears and commands through knowledge, as the sun emerges from beneath the veil.

وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( كَلَّا بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ) الْمُطَفِّفِينَ : 14 قِيلَ : هُوَ الذَّنْبُ عَلَى الذَّنْبِ حَتَّى يَسْوَدَّ الْقَلْبُ وَيَصِيرَ الْإِيمَانُ تَحْتَ الْحِجَابِ فَلَا يَعْرِفُ مَعْرُوفًا وَلَا يُنْكِرُ مُنْكَرًا وَعِنْدَهَا يُنَكَّسُ أَعْلَاهُ أَسْفَلَهُ إِذَا اِسْتَكْمَلَ سَوَادَهُ ، فَحِينَئِذٍ مَرَدَ عَلَى النِّفَاقِ فَأَمْلَسَ فِيهِ وَاطْمَأَنَّ بِهِ وَثَبَتَ إِلَى أَنْ يَنْظُرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ فَيَعْطِفَ بِفَضْلِهِ عَلَيْهِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ الْحَسَنُ

wamin hādhā qawluhu taʿālā : ( kallā bal rāna ʿalā qulūbihim mā kānū yaksibūna ) al-muṭaffifīna : 14 qīla : huwa al-dhanbu ʿalā al-dhanbi ḥattā yaswadda al-qalbu wayaṣīra al-ʾīmānu taḥta al-ḥijābi falā yaʿrifu maʿrūfan walā yunkiru munkaran waʿindahā yunakkasu ʾaʿlāhu ʾasfalahu ʾidhā istakmala sawādahu , faḥīnaʾidhin marada ʿalā al-nifāqi faʾamlasa fīhi waṭmaʾanna bihi wathabata ʾilā ʾan yanẓura Allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi fayaʿṭifa bifaḍlihi ʿalayhi , waqad kāna al-ḥasanu

Among the statements to this effect are His words, exalted is He: “No indeed! What they used to earn has rusted over their hearts” (al-Muṭaffifīn 14). It is said: this is sin upon sin until the heart becomes black and faith comes beneath the veil, so that it recognizes no right and rejects no wrong. Then its upper side is turned downward when its blackness is complete. At that point he becomes hardened in hypocrisy, moves smoothly within it, rests content in it, and remains firm, until God Most High looks toward him and turns toward him graciously through His bounty. Al-Ḥasan

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣١٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 313

Volume One, page 313

رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : إِنَّ بَيْنَ الْعَبْدِ وَبَيْنَ رَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ حَدًّا مِنَ الْمَعَاصِي مَعْلُومًا إِذَا بَلَغَهُ الْعَبْدُ طَبَعَ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ فَلَمْ يُوَفِّقْهُ بَعْدَهَا لِلْخَيْرِ ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ : الطَّابِعُ مُعَلَّقٌ بِقَائِمَةِ الْعَرْشِ فَإِذَا انْتُهِكَتِ الْحُرُمَاتُ وَاسْتُحِلَّتِ الْمَحَارِمُ أَرْسَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الطَّابِعَ فَطَبَعَ عَلَى الْقُلُوبِ بِمَا فِيهَا ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ مُجَاهِدٍ :

raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu : ʾinna bayna al-ʿabdi wabayna rabbihi ʿazza wajalla ḥaddan mina al-maʿāṣī maʿlūman ʾidhā balaghahu al-ʿabdu ṭabaʿa ʿalā qalbihi falam yuwaffiqhu baʿdahā li-l-khayri , wafī ḥadīthi ibni ʿumara : al-ṭābiʿu muʿallaqun biqāʾimati al-ʿarshi faʾidhā intuhikati al-ḥurumātu wastuḥillati al-maḥārimu ʾarsala Allāhu taʿālā al-ṭābiʿa faṭabaʿa ʿalā al-qulūbi bimā fīhā , wafī ḥadīthi mujāhidin :

may God be pleased with him, used to say: “Between the servant and his Lord, mighty and majestic, there is a known limit of sins. When the servant reaches it, He seals his heart and no longer enables him to do good.” In the report of Ibn ʿUmar: “The seal hangs from a support of the Throne. When sacred limits are violated and forbidden things are made lawful, God Most High sends down the seal, and it seals the hearts with what is in them.” In the report of Mujāhid:

الْقَلْبُ مِثْلُ الْكَفِّ الْمَفْتُوحَةِ فَكُلَّمَا أَذْنَبَ ذَنْبًا انْقَبَضَتْ أَصْبَعٌ حَتَّى تَنْقَبِضَ الْأَصَابِعُ كُلُّهَا فَتُشَدَّ عَلَى الْقَلْبِ فَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْقُفْلُ ، وَيُقَالُ لِكُلِّ ذَنْبٍ نَبَاتٌ يَنْبُتُ عَلَى الْقَلْبِ فَإِذَا كَثُرَتِ الذُّنُوبُ قَامَ النَّبَاتُ حَوْلَ الْقَلْبِ مِثْلَ الْكِمِّ لِلثَّمَرَةِ فَانْضَمَّ عَلَى الْقَلْبِ فَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْغِلَافُ ، وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّهُ الْكِنَانُ أَحَدُ الْأَكِنَّةِ الَّتِي ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنَّ الْقَلْبَ لَا يَسْمَعُ مَعَهَا وَلَا يَفْقَهُ ،

al-qalbu mithlu al-kaffi al-maftūḥati fakullamā ʾadhnaba dhanban inqabaḍat ʾaṣbaʿun ḥattā tanqabiḍa al-ʾaṣābiʿu kulluhā fatushadda ʿalā al-qalbi fa-dhālika huwa al-quflu , wayuqālu likulli dhanbin nabātun yanbutu ʿalā al-qalbi faʾidhā kathurati al-dhunūbu qāma al-nabātu ḥawla al-qalbi mithla al-kimmi li-l-thamarati fanḍamma ʿalā al-qalbi fa-dhālika huwa al-ghilāfu , wayuqālu : ʾinnahu al-kinānu ʾaḥadu al-ʾakinnati allatī dhakara Allāhu taʿālā ʾanna al-qalba lā yasmaʿu maʿahā walā yafqahu ,

“The heart is like an open hand. Whenever he commits a sin, a finger closes, until all the fingers close and tighten over the heart. That is the lock.” It is said: for every sin there is a growth that grows on the heart. When sins become numerous, the growth stands around the heart like the sheath around a fruit and closes over the heart. That is the covering. It is also said: this is the kinān, one of the akinna, the coverings that God Most High has mentioned, with which the heart neither hears nor understands.

وَقَدْ حَدَّثَنِي بَعْضُ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ عَنْ أَبِي عَمْرِو بْنِ عَلْوَانَ فِي قِصَّةٍ تَطُولُ قَالَ فِيهَا : فَكُنْتُ قَائِمًا أُصَلِّي ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ فَخَامَرَ قَلْبِي هَوًى طَاوَلْتُهُ بِفِكْرِي حَتَّى تَوَلَّدَ مِنْهُ شَهْوَةُ الرَّجُلِ قَالَ : فَوَقَعْتُ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَاسْوَدَّ جَسَدِي كُلُّهُ فَاسْتَتَرْتُ فِي الْبَيْتِ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ فَلَمْ أَخْرُجْ وَقَدْ كُنْتُ أُعَالِجُ غَسْلَهُ فِي الْحَمَّامِ بِالصَّابُونِ وَالْأَلْوَانِ الْغَاسِلَةِ فَلَا يَزْدَادُ إِلَّا سَوَادًا قَالَ ثُمَّ انْكَشَفَ عَنِّي بَعْدَ ثَلَاثٍ فَرَجَعْتُ إِلَى لَوْنِي الْبَيَاضِ قَالَ :

waqad ḥaddathanī baʿḍu hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati ʿan ʾabī ʿamri bni ʿalwāna fī qiṣṣatin taṭūlu qāla fīhā : fakuntu qāʾiman ʾuṣallī dhāta yawmin fakhāmara qalbī hawan ṭāwaltuhu bifikrī ḥattā tawallada minhu shahwatu al-rajuli qāla : fawaqaʿtu ʾilā al-ʾarḍi waswadda jasadī kulluhu fastatartu fī al-bayti thalāthata ʾayyāmin falam ʾakhruj waqad kuntu ʾuʿāliju ghaslahu fī al-ḥammāmi bi-al-ṣābūni wa-al-ʾalwāni al-ghāsilati falā yazdādu ʾillā sawādan qāla thumma inkashafa ʿannī baʿda thalāthin farajaʿtu ʾilā lawnī al-bayāḍi qāla :

One of this company told me from Abū ʿAmr ibn ʿAlwān a long story in which he said: “One day I was standing in prayer, and a desire mingled with my heart. I prolonged it in my thoughts until a man’s sexual arousal arose from it.” He said: “I fell to the ground, and my whole body turned black. I hid in the house for three days and did not go out. I had been trying to wash it in the bathhouse with soap and various cleansers, but it only grew blacker.” He said: “Then it lifted from me after three days, and I returned to my white color.” He said:

فَلَقِيتُ أَبَا الْقَاسِمِ الْجُنَيْدَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَكَانَ وَجَّهَ إِلَيَّ فَأَشْخَصَنِي مِنَ الرَّقَّةِ فَلَمَّا أَتَيْتُهُ قَالَ لِي : أَمَا اسْتَحَيْتَ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كُنْتَ قَائِمًا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ فَسَامَرْتَ نَفْسَكَ شَهْوَةً حَتَّى اسْتَوْلَتْ عَلَيْكَ بِرِقَّةٍ فَأَخْرَجَتْكَ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَوْلَا أَنِّي دَعَوْتُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَكَ وَتُبْتُ إِلَيْهِ عَنْكَ لَلَقِيتَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى بِذَلِكَ اللَّوْنِ قَالَ فَعَجِبْتُ كَيْفَ عَلِمَ بِذَلِكَ ،

falaqītu ʾabā al-qāsimi al-junayda raḥimahu Allāhu wakāna wajjaha ʾilayya faʾashkhaṣanī mina al-raqqati falammā ʾataytuhu qāla lī : ʾamā istaḥayta mina Allāhi taʿālā kunta qāʾiman bayna yadayhi fasāmarta nafsaka shahwatan ḥattā istawlat ʿalayka biriqqatin faʾakhrajatka min bayni yadayi Allāhi taʿālā lawlā ʾannī daʿawtu Allāha ʿazza wajalla laka watubtu ʾilayhi ʿanka lalaqīta Allāha taʿālā bi-dhālika al-lawni qāla faʿajibtu kayfa ʿalima bi-dhālika ,

“I met Abū al-Qāsim al-Junayd, may God have mercy on him. He had sent for me and summoned me from al-Raqqa. When I came to him, he said to me: ‘Were you not ashamed before God Most High? You were standing before Him, yet entertained a desire in your self until it gently took hold of you and drove you out from before God Most High. Had I not prayed to God, mighty and majestic, for you and repented to Him on your behalf, you would have met God Most High with that color.’” He said: “I wondered how he knew about it,

وَهُوَ بِبَغْدَادَ وَأَنَا بِالرَّقَّةِ وَلَمْ يَطَّلِعْ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، فَذَكَرْتُ هَذِهِ الْحِكَايَاتِ لِبَعْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ فَقَالَ : كَانَ هَذَا رِفْقًا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِهِ وَخِيرَةً لَهُ إِذْ لَمْ يَسْوَدَّ قَلْبُهُ وَظَهَرَ السَّوَادُ عَلَى جَسَدِهِ وَلَوْ بَطَنَ فِي قَلْبِهِ لَأَهْلَكَ ثُمَّ قَالَ :

wahuwa bibaghdāda waʾanā bi-al-raqqati walam yaṭṭaliʿ ʿalayhi ʾillā Allāhu ʿazza wajalla , fadhakartu hādhihi al-ḥikāyāti libaʿḍi al-ʿulamāʾi faqāla : kāna hādhā rifqan mina Allāhi taʿālā bihi wakhīratan lahu ʾidh lam yaswadda qalbuhu waẓahara al-sawādu ʿalā jasadihi walaw baṭana fī qalbihi laʾahlaka thumma qāla :

while he was in Baghdad and I was in al-Raqqa, and no one had known of it except God, mighty and majestic.” I recounted these stories to one of the scholars, who said: “This was kindness from God Most High toward him and a good choice for him, since his heart did not become black and the blackness appeared on his body. Had it been hidden in his heart, it would have destroyed him.” Then he said:

مَا مِنْ ذَنْبٍ يَرْتَكِبُهُ الْعَبْدُ يُصِرُّ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا اسْوَدَّ الْقَلْبُ مِنْهُ مِثْلَ سَوَادِ الْجِسْمِ الَّذِي ذَكَرَهُ لَا يَجْلُوهُ إِلَّا التَّوْبَةُ وَلَكِنْ لَيْسَ كُلُّ عَبْدٍ يُصْنَعُ لَهُ صُنْعُ ابْنِ عَلْوَانَ وَلَا يَجِدُ مَنْ يَلْطُفُ لَهُ بِهِ مِثْلَ أَبِي الْقَاسِمِ الْجُنَيْدِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَلِكُلِّ ذَنْبٍ عُقُوبَةٌ إِلَّا أَنْ يَعْفُوَ اللَّهُ وَالْعُقُوبَةُ لَيْسَتْ عَلَى قَدْرِ الذَّنْبِ وَلَا مِنْ حَيْثُ يَعْلَمُ الْعَبْدُ لَكِنَّهَا عَلَى تَقْدِيرِ الْمَشِيئَةِ وَعَنْ سَابِقِ عِلْمِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ

mā min dhanbin yartakibuhu al-ʿabdu yuṣirru ʿalayhi ʾillā iswadda al-qalbu minhu mithla sawādi al-jismi alladhī dhakarahu lā yajlūhu ʾillā al-tawbatu wa-lākin laysa kullu ʿabdin yuṣnaʿu lahu ṣunʿu ibni ʿalwāna walā yajidu man yalṭufu lahu bihi mithla ʾabī al-qāsimi al-junaydi raḥimahu Allāhu walikulli dhanbin ʿuqūbatun ʾillā ʾan yaʿfuwa Allāhu wa-al-ʿuqūbatu laysat ʿalā qadri al-dhanbi walā min ḥaythu yaʿlamu al-ʿabdu lākinnahā ʿalā taqdīri al-mashīʾati waʿan sābiqi ʿilmi al-rubūbiyyati

“There is no sin that the servant commits and persists in without the heart becoming black from it, like the blackness of the body he described; nothing clears it away except repentance. But not every servant is treated as Ibn ʿAlwān was, or finds someone who shows him kindness through it like Abū al-Qāsim al-Junayd, may God have mercy on him. Every sin has a punishment unless God pardons it. The punishment is not in proportion to the sin, nor does it come from where the servant knows. Rather, it follows the determination of the divine will and the Lord’s prior knowledge.

فَرُبَّمَا كَانَتْ فِي قَلْبٍ وَهِيَ مِنْ أَمْرَاضِ الْقُلُوبِ وَرُبَّمَا كَانَتْ فِي الْجَسَدِ وَقَدْ تَكُونُ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَهْلِ وَتَكُونُ فِي سُقُوطِ الْجَاهِ وَالْمَنْزِلَةِ مِنْ عُيُونِ عُلَمَاءِ الْإِسْلَامِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَقَدْ تَكُونُ مُؤَجَّلَةً فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَهَذِهِ أَعْظَمُ الْعُقُوبَاتِ وَهِيَ لِأَهْلِ الْكَبَائِرِ مِنَ الْمُوبِقَاتِ الَّذِينَ مَاتُوا عَنْ غَيْرِ تَوْبَةٍ وَلِأَهْلِ الْإِصْرَارِ وَالْعِزَّةِ وَالِاسْتِكْبَارِ لِأَنَّهَا إِذَا كَانَتْ فِي الدُّنْيَا كَانَتْ يَسِيرَةً عَلَى قَدْرِ الدُّنْيَا وَإِذَا تَأَخَّرَتْ كَانَتْ عَظِيمَةً عَلَى قَدْرِ الْآخِرَةِ .

farubbamā kānat fī qalbin wahiya min ʾamrāḍi al-qulūbi warubbamā kānat fī al-jasadi waqad takūnu fī al-ʾamwāli wa-al-ʾahli watakūnu fī suqūṭi al-jāhi wa-al-manzilati min ʿuyūni ʿulamāʾi al-ʾislāmi wa-al-muʾminīna waqad takūnu muʾajjalatan fī al-ʾākhirati wa-hādhihi ʾaʿẓamu al-ʿuqūbāti wahiya liʾahli al-kabāʾiri mina al-mūbiqāti alladhīna mātū ʿan ghayri tawbatin waliʾahli al-ʾiṣrāri wa-al-ʿizzati wa-al-istikbāri liʾannahā ʾidhā kānat fī al-dunyā kānat yasīratan ʿalā qadri al-dunyā waʾidhā taʾakhkharat kānat ʿaẓīmatan ʿalā qadri al-ʾākhirati .

It may be in a heart, among the diseases of hearts, or it may be in the body. It may be in wealth or family, or in losing standing and rank in the eyes of the scholars of Islam and the believers. It may be deferred to the hereafter, and this is the greatest punishment. It is for those guilty of major, ruinous sins who died without repentance, and for people of persistence, haughtiness, and arrogance. For when it occurs in this world, it is slight according to the measure of this world; when it is delayed, it is great according to the measure of the hereafter.”

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِعَبْدٍ خَيْرًا عَجَّلَ لَهُ عُقُوبَةَ ذَنْبِهِ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ بِهِ شَرًّا أَخَّرَهُ حَتَّى يُوَافِيَ بِهِ الْآخِرَةَ ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْغَمَّ عَلَى مَا يَفُوتُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْهَمَّ بِالْحِرْصِ عَلَيْهَا مِنَ الْعُقُوبَاتِ وَالْفَرَحَ وَالسُّرُورَ بِمَا نَالَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا مَعَ مَا لَا يُبَالِي مَا خَرَجَ مِنْ دِينِهِ مِنَ

wafī al-khabari : ʾidhā ʾarāda Allāhu taʿālā biʿabdin khayran ʿajjala lahu ʿuqūbata dhanbihi waʾidhā ʾarāda bihi sharran ʾakhkharahu ḥattā yuwāfiya bihi al-ʾākhirata , waʿlam ʾanna al-ghamma ʿalā mā yafūtu mina al-dunyā wa-al-hamma bi-al-ḥirṣi ʿalayhā mina al-ʿuqūbāti wa-al-faraḥa wa-al-surūra bimā nāla mina al-dunyā maʿa mā lā yubālī mā kharaja min dīnihi mina

In the report: “When God Most High intends good for a servant, He hastens the punishment for his sin. When He intends evil for him, He delays it until the servant comes with it into the hereafter.” Know that grief over what is lost of this world, and anxious concern born of greed for it, are among the punishments. Joy and delight in what one gains of this world, while not caring what has gone out of one’s religion, are among the

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣١٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 314

Volume One, page 314

الْعُقُوبَاتِ ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ دَوَامُ الْعَوَافِي وَاتِّسَاعُ الْغِنَى مِنْ عُقُوبَاتِ الذُّنُوبِ إِذَا كَانَا سَبَبَيْنِ إِلَى الْمَعَاصِي ، وَقَدْ تَكُونُ عُقُوبَةُ الذَّنْبِ ذَنْبًا مِثْلَهُ أَوْ أَعْظَمَ مِنْهُ كَمَا يَكُونُ مَثُوبَةُ الطَّاعَةِ طَاعَةً مِثْلَهَا أَوْ أَفْضَلَ مِنْهَا ، وَفِي أَحَدِ الْوُجُوهِ مِنْ مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَعَصَيْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا أَرَاكُمْ مَا تُحِبُّونَ ) آلِ عِمْرَانَ : 152 ، قَالَ :

al-ʿuqūbāti , waqad yakūnu dawāmu al-ʿawāfī wattisāʿu al-ghinā min ʿuqūbāti al-dhunūbi ʾidhā kānā sababayni ʾilā al-maʿāṣī , waqad takūnu ʿuqūbatu al-dhanbi dhanban mithlahu ʾaw ʾaʿẓama minhu kamā yakūnu mathūbatu al-ṭāʿati ṭāʿatan mithlahā ʾaw ʾafḍala minhā , wafī ʾaḥadi al-wujūhi min maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā : ( waʿaṣaytum min baʿdi mā ʾarākum mā tuḥibbūna ) ʾāli ʿimrāna : 152 , qāla :

punishments. Lasting well-being and expanding wealth may be punishments for sins when they are two causes leading to disobedience. The punishment for a sin may be another sin like it or greater than it, just as the reward for an act of obedience may be an act of obedience like it or better than it. In one interpretation of the meaning of His words, exalted is He, “You disobeyed after He had shown you what you love” (Āl ʿImrān 152), he said:

الْغِنَى وَالْعَافِيَةَ كَمَا يَكُونُ الْفَقْرُ وَالسُّقْمُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِذَا كَانَا سَبَبًا لِلْعِصْمَةِ وَهُمَا أُمَّهَاتُ الْمَعَاصِي إِذَا كَانَا سَبَبَيْنِ لَهَا وَمُطَرِّقَيْنِ إِلَيْهَا ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْحِلْمَ لَا يَرْفَعُ الْعُقُوبَةَ وَلَكِنْ يُؤَخِّرُهَا ، وَمِنْ شَأْنِ الْحَلِيمِ أَنْ لَا يُعَجِّلَ بِالْعُقُوبَةِ وَقَدْ يُعَاقِبُ بَعْدَ حِينٍ . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَلَمَّا نَسُوا مَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهِ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ) الْأَنْعَامُ :

al-ghinā wa-al-ʿāfiyata kamā yakūnu al-faqru wa-al-suqmu biraḥmatin mina Allāhi taʿālā ʾidhā kānā sababan li-l-ʿiṣmati wahumā ʾummahātu al-maʿāṣī ʾidhā kānā sababayni lahā wamuṭarriqayni ʾilayhā , waʿlam ʾanna al-ḥilma lā yarfaʿu al-ʿuqūbata wa-lākin yuʾakhkhiruhā , wamin shaʾni al-ḥalīmi ʾan lā yuʿajjila bi-al-ʿuqūbati waqad yuʿāqibu baʿda ḥīnin . warawaynā fī maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā : ( falammā nasū mā dhukkirū bihi fataḥnā ʿalayhim ʾabwāba kulli shayʾin ) al-ʾanʿāmu :

“Wealth and well-being,” just as poverty and illness may be a mercy from God Most High when they are a cause of protection from sin. The two are sources of disobedience when they are causes of it and open ways to it. Know that forbearance does not remove punishment, but delays it. It is the way of the forbearing not to hasten punishment, though he may punish after a while. We have transmitted concerning the meaning of His words, exalted is He, “When they forgot what they had been reminded of, We opened for them the gates of everything” (al-Anʿām

44 ، أَيِ الرُّخْصَ وَالرَّغَدَ حَتَّى إِذَا فَرِحُوا بِمَا أُوتُوا أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بَغْتَةً قِيلَ بَعْدَ سِتِّينَ سَنَةً ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ ذُنُوبٌ لَا يُكَفِّرُهَا إِلَّا الْهَمُّ بِطَلَبِ الْمَعِيشَةِ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : لَا يُكَفِّرُهَا إِلَّا الْهُمُومُ وَالْأَحْزَانُ وَالِاهْتِمَامُ بِالْمُبَاحَاتِ مِنْ حَاجَاتِ الدُّنْيَا لِلْفُقَرَاءِ كَفَّارَاتٌ وَهُوَ عَلَى مَا يَفُوتُ مِنْ قُرُبَاتِ الْآخِرَةِ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ دَرَجَاتٌ وَهُوَ عَلَى مُحِبِّ الدُّنْيَا وَالْجَمْعِ مِنْهَا وَالْحِرْصِ عُقُوبَاتٌ ،

44 , ʾayi al-rukhṣa wa-al-raghada ḥattā ʾidhā fariḥū bimā ʾūtū ʾakhadhnāhum baghtatan qīla baʿda sittīna sanatan , wafī al-khabari : mina al-dhunūbi dhunūbun lā yukaffiruhā ʾillā al-hammu biṭalabi al-maʿīshati , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara : lā yukaffiruhā ʾillā al-humūmu wa-al-ʾaḥzānu wa-al-ihtimāmu bi-al-mubāḥāti min ḥājāti al-dunyā li-l-fuqarāʾi kaffārātun wahuwa ʿalā mā yafūtu min qurubāti al-ʾākhirati li-l-muʾminīna darajātun wahuwa ʿalā muḥibbi al-dunyā wa-al-jamʿi minhā wa-al-ḥirṣi ʿuqūbātun ,

44): that is, low prices and abundance. “Until, when they rejoiced in what they had been given, We seized them suddenly.” It is said: after sixty years. In the report: “Among sins are sins that nothing expiates except the anxiety of seeking a livelihood.” In another wording: “Nothing expiates them except worries and sorrows.” Concern over permissible worldly needs is expiation for the poor. Concern over lost opportunities to draw near in the hereafter brings ranks for believers. For the lover of this world, its accumulation, and greed, such concern is punishment.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : كَفَى بِهِ ذَنْبًا لَا يُسْتَغْفَرُ مِنْهُ حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا وَقَالَ آخَرُ : لَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِلْعَبْدِ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ يَهْتَمُّ بِمَصَائِبِ الدُّنْيَا بِمَا يَفُوتُهُ مِنْهَا مَا لَا يَهْتَمُّ بِفَوْتِ نَصِيبِهِ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ وَالتَّزَوُّدِ لَهَا . وَفِي حَدِيثِ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا : إِذَا كَثُرَتْ ذُنُوبُ الْعَبْدِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ مَا يُكَفِّرُهَا أَدْخَلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَيْهِ الْغُمُومَ وَالْهُمُومَ فَتَكُونُ كَفَّارَةً لِذُنُوبِهِ وَيُقَالُ :

waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi : kafā bihi dhanban lā yustaghfaru minhu ḥubbu al-dunyā waqāla ʾākharu : law lam yakun li-l-ʿabdi mina al-dhunūbi ʾillā ʾannahu yahtammu bimaṣāʾibi al-dunyā bimā yafūtuhu minhā mā lā yahtammu bifawti naṣībihi mina al-ʾākhirati wa-al-tazawwudi lahā . wafī ḥadīthi ʿāʾishata raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā : ʾidhā kathurat dhunūbu al-ʿabdi walam yakun lahu mina al-ʾaʿmāli mā yukaffiruhā ʾadkhala Allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʿalayhi al-ghumūma wa-al-humūma fatakūnu kaffāratan lidhunūbihi wayuqālu :

One of the early authorities said, “Love of this world is sin enough, a sin for which forgiveness is not sought.” Another said, “Even if a servant had no other sin than grieving over worldly misfortunes and what he loses of this world in a way he does not grieve over the share of the hereafter and the provisions for it that he misses!” In the report from ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her: “When a servant’s sins become numerous and he has no deeds sufficient to expiate them, God, mighty and majestic, brings sorrows and anxieties upon him, and they become an expiation for his sins.” It is also said:

إِنَّ الْهَمَّ الَّذِي يَعْرِضُ لِلْقَلْبِ فِي وَقْتٍ لَا يَعْرِفُ الْعَبْدُ سَبَبَ ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ كَفَّارَاتُ الْهَمِّ بِالْخَطَايَا وَيُقَالُ : هُوَ حُزْنُ الْعَقْلِ عِنْدَ تَذَكُّرِهِ الْوُقُوفَ وَالْمُحَاسَبَةَ لِأَجْلِ جِنَايَاتِ الْجَسَدِ فَيَلْزَمُ الْعَقْلَ ذَلِكَ الْهَمُّ فَيَظْهَرُ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ مِنْهُ كَأَنَّهُ لَا يَعْرِفُ سَبَبَ غَمِّهِ ، وَمِنْ أَخْبَارِ يَعْقُوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَيْهِ :

ʾinna al-hamma alladhī yaʿriḍu li-l-qalbi fī waqtin lā yaʿrifu al-ʿabdu sababa dhālika fahuwa kaffārātu al-hammi bi-al-khaṭāyā wayuqālu : huwa ḥuznu al-ʿaqli ʿinda tadhakkurihi al-wuqūfa wa-al-muḥāsabata liʾajli jināyāti al-jasadi fayalzamu al-ʿaqla dhālika al-hammu fayaẓharu ʿalā al-ʿabdi minhu kaʾannahu lā yaʿrifu sababa ghammihi , wamin ʾakhbāri yaʿqūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu : ʾinna Allāha taʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilayhi :

“The anxiety that enters the heart at a time when the servant does not know its cause is an expiation for intending sinful deeds.” It is also said, “It is the intellect’s sorrow when it remembers standing for judgment and being called to account for the body’s offenses. That anxiety clings to the intellect and shows itself in the servant, as though he did not know the cause of his sorrow.” Among the accounts of Jacob, peace be upon him, is that God Most High revealed to him:

لَوْلَا مَا سَبَقَ لَكَ فِي عِلْمِي مِنْ عِنَايَتِي بِكَ لَجَعَلْتُ نَفْسِي عِنْدَكَ أَبْخَلَ الْبَاخِلِينَ لِكَثْرَةِ تَرْدَادِكَ إِلَيَّ بِطُولِ سُؤَالِكَ لِي وَتَأْخِيرِي إِجَابَتَكَ وَلَكِنْ مِنْ عِنَايَتِي بِكَ أَنْ جَعَلْتُ نَفْسِي فِي قَلْبِكَ إِنِّي أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ وَأَحْكَمُ الْحَاكِمِينَ ، وَقَدْ سَبَقَ لَكَ عِنْدِي مَنْزِلَةٌ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَنَالُهَا بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عَمَلِكَ إِلَّا بِحُزْنِكَ عَلَى يُوسُفَ فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أُبَلِّغَكَ تِلْكَ الْمَنْزِلَةَ ،

lawlā mā sabaqa laka fī ʿilmī min ʿināyatī bika lajaʿaltu nafsī ʿindaka ʾabkhala al-bākhilīna likathrati tardādika ʾilayya biṭūli suʾālika lī wataʾkhīrī ʾijābataka wa-lākin min ʿināyatī bika ʾan jaʿaltu nafsī fī qalbika ʾinnī ʾarḥamu al-rāḥimīna waʾaḥkamu al-ḥākimīna , waqad sabaqa laka ʿindī manzilatun lam takun tanāluhā bishayʾin min ʿamalika ʾillā biḥuznika ʿalā yūsufa faʾaradtu ʾan ʾuballighaka tilka al-manzilata ,

“Had My care for you not already been determined in My knowledge, I would have made Myself seem to you the most miserly of the miserly, because you return to Me so often, asking Me at such length, while I delay answering you. But part of My care for you is that I have established Myself in your heart as the most merciful of the merciful and the wisest of judges. A station with Me has already been determined for you which you could not attain through any of your deeds, except through your grief for Joseph. I therefore wished to bring you to that station.”

وَكَذَلِكَ مَا رَوَيْنَا أَنَّ جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لَمَّا دَخَلَ عَلَى يُوسُفَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي السِّجْنِ قَالَ لَهُ : كَيْفَ تَرَكْتَ الشَّيْخَ الْكَئِيبَ ؟ قَالَ : قَدْ حَزِنَ عَلَيْكَ حُزْنَ مِائَةِ ثَكْلَى ، قَالَ : فَمَاذَا لَهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ؟ قَالَ : أَجْرُ مِائَةِ شَهِيدٍ ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنِ السَّلَفِ :

wa-kadhālika mā rawaynā ʾanna jibrīla ʿalayhi al-salāmu lammā dakhala ʿalā yūsufa ʿalayhi al-salāmu fī al-sijni qāla lahu : kayfa tarakta al-shaykha al-kaʾība ? qāla : qad ḥazina ʿalayka ḥuzna miʾati thaklā , qāla : famādhā lahu ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā ? qāla : ʾajru miʾati shahīdin , wafī khabarin rawaynāhu ʿani al-salafi :

Likewise, we have related that when Gabriel, peace be upon him, entered the prison to visit Joseph, peace be upon him, Joseph said to him, “How did you leave the sorrowful old man?” He replied, “He has grieved for you with the grief of a hundred bereaved mothers.” Joseph asked, “What, then, does he have with God Most High?” He replied, “The reward of a hundred martyrs.” In a report we have transmitted from the early authorities:

مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍ يَعْصِي إِلَّا اسْتَأْذَنَ مَكَانُهُ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ أَنْ يَخْسِفَ بِهِ وَاسْتَأْذَنَ سَقْفُهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ أَنْ يَسْقُطَ عَلَيْهِ كِسَفًا فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لِلْأَرْضِ وَالسَّمَاءِ كُفَّا عَنْ عَبْدِي وَأَمْهِلَاهُ فَإِنَّكُمَا لَمْ تَخْلُقَاهُ وَلَوْ خَلَقْتُمَاهُ

mā min ʿabdin yaʿṣī ʾillā istaʾdhana makānuhu mina al-ʾarḍi ʾan yakhsifa bihi wa-staʾdhana saqfuhu mina al-samāʾi ʾan yasquṭa ʿalayhi kisafan fayaqūlu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla li-l-ʾarḍi wa-al-samāʾi kuffā ʿan ʿabdī waʾamhilāhu faʾinnakumā lam takhluqāhu walaw khalaqtumāhu

“No servant disobeys without the place beneath him on earth asking permission to swallow him up, and his roof in the sky asking permission to fall upon him in pieces. God, mighty and majestic, says to the earth and the sky, ‘Hold back from My servant and grant him respite, for you did not create him. Had you created him,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣١٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 315

Volume One, page 315

لَرَحِمْتُمَاهُ لَعَلَّهُ يَتُوبُ إِلَيَّ فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ لَعَلَّهُ يَسْتَبْدِلُ صَالِحًا فَأُبْدِلَهُ حَسَنَاتٍ فَذَلِكَ مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ أَنْ تَزُولَا ) فَاطِرُ : 41 أَيْ مِنْ مَعَاصِي الْعِبَادِ : ( وَلَئِنْ زَالَتَا إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا ) فَاطِرُ : 41 أَيْ عَنْ مَعَاصِيهِمْ غَفُورًا لِمَسَاوِئِهِمْ وَقِيلَ فِي تَفْسِيرِ ذَلِكَ :

laraḥimtumāhu laʿallahu yatūbu ʾilayya faʾaghfira lahu laʿallahu yastabdilu ṣāliḥan faʾubdilahu ḥasanātin fa-dhālika maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā ( ʾinna Allāha yumsiku al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍa ʾan tazūlā ) fāṭiru : 41 ʾay min maʿāṣī al-ʿibādi : ( walaʾin zālatā ʾin ʾamsakahumā min ʾaḥadin min baʿdihi ʾinnahu kāna ḥalīman ) fāṭiru : 41 ʾay ʿan maʿāṣīhim ghafūran limasāwiʾihim waqīla fī tafsīri dhālika :

you would have had mercy on him. Perhaps he will repent to Me, and I will forgive him; perhaps he will substitute something righteous, and I will replace his misdeeds with good deeds.’” That is the meaning of His words, Most High, “God holds the heavens and the earth lest they pass away” (Fāṭir 35:41), that is, because of the servants’ acts of disobedience. “If they were to pass away, no one after Him could hold them. He has ever been forbearing” (Fāṭir 35:41), that is, toward their disobedience, “forgiving” of their misdeeds. It has also been said in explanation of this:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِذَا نَظَرَ إِلَى مَعَاصِي الْعِبَادِ غَضِبَ فَتَرْجُفُ الْأَرْضُ وَتَضْطَرِبُ السَّمَاءُ فَتَنْزِلُ مَلَائِكَةُ السَّمَاءِ فَتُمْسِكُ أَطْرَافَ الْأَرَضِينَ وَتَصْعَدُ مَلَائِكَةُ الْأَرَضِينَ فَتُمْسِكُ عَلَى أَطْرَافِ السَّمَوَاتِ ، وَلَا يَزَالُونَ يَقْرَؤُونَ : ( قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ) الْإِخْلَاصُ : 1 ، حَتَّى يَسْكُنَ غَضَبُهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَوَاتِ ) فَاطِرُ : 41 الْآيَةَ .

ʾinna Allāha ʿazza wajalla ʾidhā naẓara ʾilā maʿāṣī al-ʿibādi ghaḍiba fatarjufu al-ʾarḍu wataḍṭaribu al-samāʾu fatanzilu malāʾikatu al-samāʾi fatumsiku ʾaṭrāfa al-ʾaraḍīna wataṣʿadu malāʾikatu al-ʾaraḍīna fatumsiku ʿalā ʾaṭrāfi al-samāwāti , walā yazālūna yaqraʾūna : ( qul huwa Allāhu ʾaḥadun ) al-ʾikhlāṣu : 1 , ḥattā yaskuna ghaḍabuhu subḥānahu wataʿālā fa-dhālika qawluhu taʿālā : ( ʾinna Allāha yumsiku al-samāwāti ) fāṭiru : 41 al-ʾāyata .

“When God, mighty and majestic, looks upon the servants’ acts of disobedience, He becomes angry, and the earth trembles and the sky is shaken. The angels of heaven descend and hold the edges of the earths, while the angels of the earths ascend and hold the edges of the heavens. They continue reciting, ‘Say: He is God, One’ (al-Ikhlāṣ 112:1), until His anger subsides, glory be to Him and exalted is He.” That is His saying, Most High, “God holds the heavens” (Fāṭir 35:41), and the rest of the verse.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : إِذَا ضُرِبَ النَّاقُوسُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَدُعِيَ بِدَعْوَةِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ اشْتَدَّ غَضَبُ الرَّبِّ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فَإِذَا نَظَرَ إِلَى صِبْيَانِ الْمَكَاتِبِ وَرَأَى عُمَّارَ الْمَسَاجِدِ وَقِيلَ : إِذَا نَظَرَ إِلَى الْمُتَحَابِّينَ فِي اللَّهِ أَوِ الْمُتَزَاوِرِينَ لَهُ وَسَمِعَ أَصْوَاتَ الْمُؤَذِّنِينَ حَلِمَ وَغَفَرَ فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا ) فَاطِرُ :

waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi : ʾidhā ḍuriba al-nāqūsu fī al-ʾarḍi waduʿiya bidaʿwati al-jāhiliyyati ishtadda ghaḍabu al-rabbi subḥānahu wataʿālā faʾidhā naẓara ʾilā ṣibyāni al-makātibi waraʾā ʿummāra al-masājidi waqīla : ʾidhā naẓara ʾilā al-mutaḥābbīna fī Allāhi ʾawi al-mutazāwirīna lahu wasamiʿa ʾaṣwāta al-muʾadhdhinīna ḥalima waghafara fa-dhālika qawluhu taʿālā : ( ʾinnahu kāna ḥalīman ghafūran ) fāṭiru :

One of the scholars said, “When the church bell is struck on earth and the call of the age of ignorance is raised, the anger of the Lord, glory be to Him and exalted is He, grows intense. But when He looks at the children in the schools and sees those who frequent the mosques,” and it has also been said, “when He looks at those who love one another in God, or visit one another for His sake, and hears the voices of those calling to prayer, He shows forbearance and forgives.” That is His saying, Most High, “He has ever been forbearing, forgiving” (Fāṭir 35:

41 فَإِذَا أَتْبَعَ الْعَبْدُ الذَّنْبَ بِالذَّنْبِ وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ بَيْنَ الذَّنْبَيْنِ تَوْبَةً خِيفَ عَلَيْهِ الْهَلَكَةُ لِأَنَّ هَذِهِ حَالُ الْمُصِرِّ وَلِأَنَّهُ قَدْ شَرَدَ عَنْ مَوْلَاهُ بِتَرْكِ رُجُوعِهِ إِلَيْهِ وَدَوَامِ مَقَامِهِ مَعَ النَّفْسِ عَلَى هَوَاهُ وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْمَقْتِ فِي الْبُعْدِ وَأَفْضَلُ مَا يَعْمَلُهُ الْعَبْدُ قَطْعُ شَهَوَاتِ النَّفْسِ أَحْلَى مَا يَكُونُ عِنْدَهُ الْهَوَى إِذْ لَيْسَ لِشَهَوَاتِهَا آخِرٌ يُنْتَظَرُ كَمَا لَيْسَ لِبِدَايَتِهَا أَوَّلٌ يَرْتَسِمُ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَقْطَعْ ذَلِكَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ

41 faʾidhā ʾatbaʿa al-ʿabdu al-dhanba bi-al-dhanbi walam yajʿal bayna al-dhanbayni tawbatan khīfa ʿalayhi al-halakatu liʾanna hādhihi ḥālu al-muṣirri waliʾannahu qad sharada ʿan mawlāhu bitarki rujūʿihi ʾilayhi wadawāmi maqāmihi maʿa al-nafsi ʿalā hawāhu wa-hādhā maqāmu al-maqti fī al-buʿdi waʾafḍalu mā yaʿmaluhu al-ʿabdu qaṭʿu shahawāti al-nafsi ʾaḥlā mā yakūnu ʿindahu al-hawā ʾidh laysa lishahawātihā ʾākhirun yuntaẓaru kamā laysa libidāyatihā ʾawwalun yartasimu faʾin lam yaqṭaʿ dhālika lam yakun lahu

41). When a servant follows one sin with another and places no repentance between the two sins, destruction is feared for him, because this is the state of one who persists in sin, and because he has strayed from his Master by failing to return to Him and by constantly remaining with his own self in pursuit of its desire. This is the station of being detested in remoteness. The best thing the servant can do is cut off the self’s appetites precisely when desire is sweetest to him, since its appetites have no end that can be awaited, just as their beginnings have no first point that can be marked out. If he does not cut this off, it will have no

نِهَايَةٌ فَإِنْ شُغِلَ بِمَا يَسْتَأْنِفُ مِنْ مَزِيدِ الطَّاعَةِ وَوَجَدَ حَلَاوَةَ الْعِبَادَةِ وَإِلَّا أَخَذَ نَفْسَهُ بِالصَّبْرِ وَالْمُجَاهَدَةِ فَهَذَا طَرِيقُ الصَّادِقِينَ مِنَ الْمُرِيدِينَ . وَقِيلَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( اسْتَعِينُوا بِاللَّهِ وَاصْبِرُوا ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 128 أَيِ اسْتَعِينُوا بِهِ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ وَاصْبِرُوا عَلَى الْمُجَاهَدَةِ فِي الْمَعْصِيَةِ ، وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ :

nihāyatun faʾin shughila bimā yastaʾnifu min mazīdi al-ṭāʿati wawajada ḥalāwata al-ʿibādati waʾillā ʾakhadha nafsahu bi-al-ṣabri wa-al-mujāhadati fa-hādhā ṭarīqu al-ṣādiqīna mina al-murīdīna . waqīla fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( istaʿīnū bi-Allāhi wa-ṣbirū ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 128 ʾayi istaʿīnū bihi ʿalā al-ṭāʿati wa-ṣbirū ʿalā al-mujāhadati fī al-maʿṣiyati , waqāla ʿaliyyun karrama Allāhu wajhahu :

end for him. If he becomes occupied with the further obedience he now undertakes and finds the sweetness of worship, so much the better; otherwise he must hold himself to patience and struggle. This is the path of the truthful among the seekers. His saying, Most High, “Seek help from God, and be patient” (al-Aʿrāf 7:128), has been explained as: seek His help in obedience, and patiently endure the struggle against disobedience. ʿAlī, may God ennoble his face, said:

أَعْمَالُ الْبِرِّ كُلُّهَا إِلَى جَنْبِ الْأَمْرِ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْيِ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ كَتَفْلَةٍ إِلَى جَنْبِ الْبَحْرِ وَالْأَمْرُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْيُ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ إِلَى جَنْبِ الْجِهَادِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كَتَفْلَةٍ فِي جَنْبِ بَحْرٍ وَالْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِلَى مُجَاهَدَةِ النَّفْسِ عَنْ هَوَاهَا فِي اجْتِنَابِ النَّهْيِ كَتَفْلَةٍ فِي جَنْبِ بَحْرٍ لُجِّيٍّ ، وَعَلَى هَذَا مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ الْوَارِدِ رَجَعْتُمْ مِنَ الْجِهَادِ الْأَصْغَرِ إِلَى الْجِهَادِ الْأَكْبَرِ مُجَاهَدَةِ النَّفْسِ ،

ʾaʿmālu al-birri kulluhā ʾilā janbi al-ʾamri bi-al-maʿrūfi wa-al-nahyi ʿani al-munkari kataflatin ʾilā janbi al-baḥri wa-al-ʾamru bi-al-maʿrūfi wa-al-nahyu ʿani al-munkari ʾilā janbi al-jihādi fī sabīli Allāhi taʿālā kataflatin fī janbi baḥrin wa-al-jihādu fī sabīli Allāhi taʿālā ʾilā mujāhadati al-nafsi ʿan hawāhā fī ijtinābi al-nahyi kataflatin fī janbi baḥrin lujjiyyin , waʿalā hādhā maʿnā al-khabari al-wāridi rajaʿtum mina al-jihādi al-ʾaṣghari ʾilā al-jihādi al-ʾakbari mujāhadati al-nafsi ,

“All acts of righteousness beside enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong are like a little spittle beside the sea. Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong beside striving in the path of God Most High are like a little spittle beside a sea. Striving in the path of God Most High beside struggling against the self’s desire by avoiding what is forbidden is like a little spittle beside a deep sea.” This is the meaning of the transmitted report: “You have returned from the lesser struggle to the greater struggle: struggling against the self.”

وَكَانَ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ يَقُولُ : الصَّبْرُ تَصْدِيقُ الصِّدْقِ وَأَفْضَلُ مَنَازِلِ الطَّاعَةِ صَبْرٌ عَلَى مَعْصِيَةٍ ثُمَّ الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْإِسْرَائِيلِيَّاتِ : إِنَّ رَجُلًا تَزَوَّجَ امْرَأَةً فِي بَلْدَةٍ وَأَرْسَلَ عَبْدَهُ يَحْمِلُهَا إِلَيْهِ فَرَاوَدَتْهُ نَفْسُهُ وَطَالَبَتْهُ بِهَا فَجَاهَدَهَا وَاسْتَعْصَمَ بِاللَّهِ قَالَ : فَنَبَّأَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَكَانَ نَبِيًّا فِي بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ . وَفِي بَعْضِ قِصَصِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ :

wakāna sahlu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi yaqūlu : al-ṣabru taṣdīqu al-ṣidqi waʾafḍalu manāzili al-ṭāʿati ṣabrun ʿalā maʿṣiyatin thumma al-ṣabru ʿalā al-ṭāʿati , waqad rawaynā fī al-ʾisrāʾīliyyāti : ʾinna rajulan tazawwaja imraʾatan fī baldatin waʾarsala ʿabdahu yaḥmiluhā ʾilayhi farāwadathu nafsuhu waṭālabathu bihā fajāhadahā wa-staʿṣama bi-Allāhi qāla : fanabbaʾahu Allāhu taʿālā fakāna nabiyyan fī banī ʾisrāʾīla . wafī baʿḍi qiṣaṣi mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu :

Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh used to say, “Patience is the confirmation of truthfulness. The best stations of obedience are patience in refraining from disobedience, and then patience in obedience.” We have related among the Israelite accounts that a man married a woman in a town and sent his slave to bring her to him. The slave’s self tempted him and demanded her of him, but he struggled against it and sought protection in God. The narrator said, “God Most High then made him a prophet, and he became a prophet among the Children of Israel.” In one of the stories of Moses, peace be upon him:

إِنَّهُ قَالَ لِلْخِضْرِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : بِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ أَطْلَعَكَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ ؟ فَقَالَ : بِتَرْكِ الْمَعَاصِي لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، فَالْجَزَاءُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى يَجْعَلُهُ غَايَةَ الْعَطَاءِ لَا عَلَى قَدْرِ الْعَمَلِ لَكِنْ إِذَا عَمِلَ لَهُ عَبْدٌ شَيْئًا لِأَجْلِهِ أَعْطَاهُ

ʾinnahu qāla li-l-khiḍri ʿalayhi al-salāmu : biʾayyi shayʾin ʾaṭlaʿaka Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā ʿilmi al-ghaybi ? faqāla : bitarki al-maʿāṣī liʾajli Allāhi taʿālā , fa-al-jazāʾu mina Allāhi taʿālā yajʿaluhu ghāyata al-ʿaṭāʾi lā ʿalā qadri al-ʿamali lākin ʾidhā ʿamila lahu ʿabdun shayʾan liʾajlihi ʾaʿṭāhu

He said to al-Khiḍr, peace be upon him, “Through what did God Most High disclose knowledge of the unseen to you?” He replied, “Through abandoning acts of disobedience for the sake of God Most High.” God Most High makes His recompense the utmost gift, rather than measuring it by the deed. When a servant does something for His sake, however, He gives him

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣١٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 316

Volume One, page 316

أَجْرَهُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ لَا يَتَّخِذُ التَّائِبُ عَادَةً مِنْ ذَنْبٍ فَيَتَعَذَّرُ بِهَا تَوْبَتُهُ فَإِنَّ الْعَادَةَ جُنْدٌ مِنْ جُنُودِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَوْلَاهَا لَكَانَ النَّاسُ كُلُّهُمْ تَائِبِينَ وَلَوْلَا الِابْتِلَاءُ لَكَانَ التَّائِبُونَ مُسْتَقِيمِينَ ثُمَّ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ فِي قَطْعِ مُعْتَادٍ إِنْ كَانَ ثَمَّ لِيَصْبِرْ عَلَى مُجَاهَدَةِ النَّفْسِ فِي هَوًى إِنْ بُلِيَ بِهِ ،

ʾajrahu bighayri ḥisābin thumma ʾinnahu lā yattakhidhu al-tāʾibu ʿādatan min dhanbin fayataʿadhdharu bihā tawbatuhu faʾinna al-ʿādata jundun min junūdi Allāhi taʿālā lawlāhā lakāna al-nāsu kulluhum tāʾibīna walawlā al-ibtilāʾu lakāna al-tāʾibūna mustaqīmīna thumma ʾan yaʿmala fī qaṭʿi muʿtādin ʾin kāna thamma liyaṣbir ʿalā mujāhadati al-nafsi fī hawan ʾin buliya bihi ,

his reward without reckoning. The penitent must not make a habit of any sin, thereby making repentance difficult for himself. Habit is one of the forces of God Most High: without it, all people would be repentant; without trial, the repentant would remain upright. He must then work to break an established habit, if one exists, and must patiently struggle against the self over a desire with which he is tested.

فَهَذِهِ الْخِصَالُ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ أَعْمَالِ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَأَزْكَاهَا وَمَعَهَا تُلْهَمُ النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ رُشْدَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا وَبِهَا تَخْرُجُ مِنْ وَصْفِ الْأَمَّارَةِ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَى وَصْفِ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةِ إِلَى أَخْلَاقِ الْإِيمَانِ وَهَذَا أَحَدُ الْمَعَانِي فِي الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي رُوِيَ : أَفْضَلُ الْأَعْمَالِ مَا أَكْرَهْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ النُّفُوسَ ، لِأَنَّ النَّفْسَ تَكْرَهُ خِلَافَ الْهَوَى ، وَالْهَوَى هُوَ ضِدُّ الْحَقِّ وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى يُحِبُّ الْحَقَّ فَصَارَ إِجْبَارُ النَّفْسِ عَلَى خِلَافِ الْهَوَى وَعَلَى وِفَاقِ الْحَقِّ لِأَنَّ مَحَبَّةَ الْحَقِّ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْأَعْمَالِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى :

fa-hādhihi al-khiṣālu min ʾafḍali ʾaʿmāli al-murīdīna waʾazkāhā wamaʿahā tulhamu al-nafsu al-muṭmaʾinnatu rushdahā wataqwāhā wabihā takhruju min waṣfi al-ʾammārati bi-al-sūʾi ʾilā waṣfi al-muṭmaʾinnati ʾilā ʾakhlāqi al-ʾīmāni wa-hādhā ʾaḥadu al-maʿānī fī al-khabari alladhī ruwiya : ʾafḍalu al-ʾaʿmāli mā ʾakrahtum ʿalayhi al-nufūsa , liʾanna al-nafsa takrahu khilāfa al-hawā , wa-al-hawā huwa ḍiddu al-ḥaqqi wa-Allāhu taʿālā yuḥibbu al-ḥaqqa faṣāra ʾijbāru al-nafsi ʿalā khilāfi al-hawā waʿalā wifāqi al-ḥaqqi liʾanna maḥabbata al-ḥaqqi min ʾafḍali al-ʾaʿmāli kamā qāla taʿālā :

These qualities are among the seekers’ finest and purest works. With them, the tranquil self is inspired with its right guidance and its God-consciousness; through them, it passes from the quality of commanding evil to the quality of being tranquil in the virtues of faith. This is one of the meanings of the transmitted report, “The best deeds are those you compel your selves to perform.” For the self dislikes opposing desire; desire is the opposite of truth, and God Most High loves truth. Thus compelling the self opposes desire and accords with truth, because loving truth is among the best deeds. As He said, Most High:

( وَالْوَزْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 8 الْآيَةَ ، وَاسْتَثْنَى مِنْ أَهْلِ الْخُسْرِ الَّذِينَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ وَهَذَا أَوَّلُ الْيَقِينِ ، وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ بَعْضِ أَهْلِ الِاعْتِبَارِ : إِنَّهُ كَانَ يَمْشِي فِي الْوَحْلِ فَكَانَ يَتَّقِي وَيُشَمِّرُ ثِيَابَهُ عَنْ سَاقَيْهِ وَيَمْشِي فِي جَوَانِبِ الطَّرِيقِ إِلَى أَنْ زَلِقَتْ رِجْلُهُ فِي الْوَحْلِ فَأَدْخَلَ رِجْلَيْهِ فِي وَسَطِ الْوَحْلِ وَجَعَلَ يَمْشِي فِي الْمَحَجَّةِ قَالَ :

( wa-al-waznu yawmaʾidhin al-ḥaqqu ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 8 al-ʾāyata , wa-stathnā min ʾahli al-khusri alladhīna tawāṣaw bi-al-ḥaqqi watawāṣaw bi-al-ṣabri wa-hādhā ʾawwalu al-yaqīni , waḥuddithtu ʿan baʿḍi ʾahli al-iʿtibāri : ʾinnahu kāna yamshī fī al-waḥli fakāna yattaqī wayushammiru thiyābahu ʿan sāqayhi wayamshī fī jawānibi al-ṭarīqi ʾilā ʾan zaliqat rijluhu fī al-waḥli faʾadkhala rijlayhi fī wasaṭi al-waḥli wajaʿala yamshī fī al-maḥajjati qāla :

“The weighing on that day is truth” (al-Aʿrāf 7:8), and the rest of the verse. He excepted from those in loss those who counsel one another to truth and counsel one another to patience. This is the beginning of certainty. I was told about a man of reflection who was walking in mud: he took care, raised his clothes above his shins, and walked along the sides of the road, until his foot slipped into the mud. Then he put both feet into the middle of the mud and began walking in the main thoroughfare. The narrator said:

فَبَكَى فَقِيلَ لَهُ : مَا يُبْكِيكَ ؟ فَقَالَ : هَذَا مَثَلُ الْعَبْدِ لَا يَزَالُ يَتَوَقَّى الذُّنُوبَ وَيُجَانِبُهَا حَتَّى يَقَعَ فِي ذَنْبٍ مِنْهَا وَذَنْبَيْنِ فَعِنْدَهَا يَخُوضُ الذُّنُوبَ خَوْضًا وَعَلَى الْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَتُوبَ مِنَ الْغَفْلَةِ الَّتِي هِيَ كَائِنَةٌ فَإِذَا عَرَفَ هَذَا لَمْ تَنْقَطِعْ أَبَدًا تَوْبَتُهُ وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَهْلَ الْغَفْلَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا هُمْ أَهْلَ الْخُسْرَانِ فِي الْعُقْبَى ، فَقَالَ عَزَّ مَنْ قَائِلٍ :

fabakā faqīla lahu : mā yubkīka ? faqāla : hādhā mathalu al-ʿabdi lā yazālu yatawaqqā al-dhunūba wayujānibuhā ḥattā yaqaʿa fī dhanbin minhā wadhanbayni faʿindahā yakhūḍu al-dhunūba khawḍan waʿalā al-ʿabdi ʾan yatūba mina al-ghaflati allatī hiya kāʾinatun faʾidhā ʿarafa hādhā lam tanqaṭiʿ ʾabadan tawbatuhu waqad jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā ʾahla al-ghaflati fī al-dunyā hum ʾahla al-khusrāni fī al-ʿuqbā , faqāla ʿazza man qāʾilin :

“He wept, and was asked, ‘What makes you weep?’ He replied, ‘This is the likeness of the servant: he keeps guarding himself against sins and avoiding them until he falls into one sin or two, and then he plunges headlong into sins.’” The servant must repent of the heedlessness that is present in him. Once he understands this, his repentance will never cease. God Most High has made the heedless in this world the losers in the world to come. He said, mighty is the One who speaks:

( أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْغَافِلُونَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 179 ، لَا جَرَمَ أَنَّهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ وَلَكِنْ غَفْلَةٌ دُونَ غَفْلَةٍ وَخُسْرَانٌ دُونَ خُسْرَانٍ وَلَا تَسْتَحْقِرَنَّ الْغَفْلَةَ فَإِنَّهَا أَوَّلُ الْمَعَاصِي وَهِيَ عِنْدَ الْمُوقِنِينَ أَصْلُ الْكَبَائِرِ وَقَدْ جَعَلَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ الْغَفْلَةَ إِحْدَى مَقَامَاتِ الْكُفْرِ وَقَرَنَهَا بِالْعَمَى وَالشَّكِّ وَأَمَالَ صَاحِبَهَا عَنِ الرُّشْدِ وَوَصَفَهَا بِالْحَسْرَةِ فَقَالَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ الَّذِي يُرْوَى مِنْ طَرِيقِ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ :

( ʾulāʾika humu al-ghāfilūna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 179 , lā jarama ʾannahum fī al-ʾākhirati humu al-khāsirūna wa-lākin ghaflatun dūna ghaflatin wakhusrānun dūna khusrānin walā tastaḥqiranna al-ghaflata faʾinnahā ʾawwalu al-maʿāṣī wahiya ʿinda al-mūqinīna ʾaṣlu al-kabāʾiri waqad jaʿala ʿaliyyun karrama Allāhu wajhahu al-ghaflata ʾiḥdā maqāmāti al-kufri waqaranahā bi-al-ʿamā wa-al-shakki waʾamāla ṣāḥibahā ʿani al-rushdi wawaṣafahā bi-al-ḥasrati faqāla fī al-ḥadīthi alladhī yurwā min ṭarīqi ʾahli al-bayti :

“Those are the heedless” (al-Aʿrāf 7:179). “Without doubt, in the hereafter they are the losers.” Yet one heedlessness is less than another, and one loss less than another. Never regard heedlessness as insignificant: it is the first of the acts of disobedience, and to those possessed of certainty it is the root of the major sins. ʿAlī, may God ennoble his face, made heedlessness one of the stations of unbelief, coupled it with blindness and doubt, described its possessor as turning away from right guidance, and characterized it by regret. In the report transmitted through the People of the House, he said:

فَقَامَ عَمَّارُ بْنُ يَاسِرٍ فَقَالَ : يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَخْبِرْنَا عَنِ الْكُفْرِ عَلَى مَا بُنِيَ ؟ فَقَالَ : عَلَى أَرْبَعِ دَعَائِمَ : عَلَى الْجَفَاءِ ، وَالْعَمَى ، وَالْغَفْلَةِ ، وَالشَّكِّ ، فَمَنْ جَفَا احْتَقَرَ الْحَقَّ وَجَهَرَ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَمَقَتَ الْعُلَمَاءَ ، وَمَنْ عَمِيَ نَسِيَ الذِّكْرَ وَمَنْ غَفَلَ حَادَ عَنِ الرُّشْدِ وَغَرَّتْهُ الْأَمَانِيُّ فَأَخَذَتْهُ الْحَسْرَةُ وَالنَّدَامَةُ وَبَدَا لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ يَحْتَسِبُ ،

faqāma ʿammāru bnu yāsirin faqāla : yā ʾamīra al-muʾminīna ʾakhbirnā ʿani al-kufri ʿalā mā buniya ? faqāla : ʿalā ʾarbaʿi daʿāʾima : ʿalā al-jafāʾi , wa-al-ʿamā , wa-al-ghaflati , wa-al-shakki , faman jafā iḥtaqara al-ḥaqqa wajahara bi-al-bāṭili wamaqata al-ʿulamāʾa , waman ʿamiya nasiya al-dhikra waman ghafala ḥāda ʿani al-rushdi wagharrathu al-ʾamāniyyu faʾakhadhathu al-ḥasratu wa-al-nadāmatu wabadā lahu mina Allāhi mā lam yakun yaḥtasibu ,

“ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir stood up and said, ‘Commander of the Faithful, tell us: on what is unbelief built?’ He replied, ‘On four pillars: harshness, blindness, heedlessness, and doubt. Whoever is harsh despises truth, proclaims falsehood openly, and detests scholars. Whoever is blind forgets remembrance. Whoever is heedless turns aside from right guidance and is deceived by wishes; regret and remorse then seize him, and there appears to him from God what he had never reckoned on.

وَمَنْ شَكَّ تَاهَ فِي الضَّلَالَةِ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : مَنْ صَدَقَ فِي تَرْكِ شَهْوَةٍ وَجَاهَدَ نَفْسَهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ لَمْ يُبْتَلَ بِهَا ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ : مَنْ تَابَ عَنْ ذَنْبٍ وَاسْتَقَامَ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ لَمْ يَرْجِعْ إِلَيْهِ أَبَدًا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ :

waman shakka tāha fī al-ḍalālati . waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi : man ṣadaqa fī tarki shahwatin wajāhada nafsahu li-llāhi taʿālā sabʿa marrātin lam yubtala bihā , waqāla ʾākharu : man tāba ʿan dhanbin wa-staqāma sabʿa sinīna lam yarjiʿ ʾilayhi ʾabadan , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi :

Whoever doubts wanders bewildered in error.’” One scholar said, “Whoever is truthful in abandoning an appetite and struggles against his self for God Most High seven times will no longer be tried by it.” Another said, “Whoever repents of a sin and remains upright for seven years will never return to it.” One of the scholars said:

كَفَّارَةُ الذَّنْبِ الْمُعْتَادِ أَنْ تَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ عَدَدَ مَا أَتَيْتَهُ ثُمَّ لَا تَقَعَ فِيهِ فَيَكُونَ كُلُّ تَرْكٍ كَفَّارَةً لِفِعْلٍ وَهَذَا حَالُ الْأَقْوِيَاءِ مِنَ التَّوَّابِينَ وَلَيْسَ هُوَ طَرِيقَ الضُّعَفَاءِ مِنَ الْمُرِيدِينَ بَلْ حَالُ الضُّعَفَاءِ الْهَرَبُ وَالْبُعْدُ ، وَمَنْ حَدَّثَ نَفْسَهُ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ فِي عَدَمِهَا لَمْ يَمْلِكْ نَفْسَهُ عِنْدَ وُجُودِهَا فَلْيَعْمَلِ الْمُرِيدُ فِي قَطْعِ وَسَاوِسِ النَّفْسِ بِالْخَطَايَا وَإِلَّا وَقَعَ فِيهَا لِأَنَّ الْخَوَاطِرَ تَقْوَى فَتَكُونُ

kaffāratu al-dhanbi al-muʿtādi ʾan taqdira ʿalayhi ʿadada mā ʾataytahu thumma lā taqaʿa fīhi fayakūna kullu tarkin kaffāratan lifiʿlin wa-hādhā ḥālu al-ʾaqwiyāʾi mina al-tawwābīna walaysa huwa ṭarīqa al-ḍuʿafāʾi mina al-murīdīna bal ḥālu al-ḍuʿafāʾi al-harabu wa-al-buʿdu , waman ḥaddatha nafsahu bimaʿṣiyatin fī ʿadamihā lam yamlik nafsahu ʿinda wujūdihā falyaʿmali al-murīdu fī qaṭʿi wasāwisi al-nafsi bi-al-khaṭāyā waʾillā waqaʿa fīhā liʾanna al-khawāṭira taqwā fatakūnu

“The expiation for a habitual sin is that you should be able to commit it as many times as you actually committed it, and yet not fall into it. Each abandonment will then expiate one commission.” This is the state of the strong among the repeatedly repentant; it is not the path of the weak among the seekers. The state of the weak, rather, is to flee and keep far away. Whoever speaks to himself about an act of disobedience when it is unavailable will not control himself when it becomes available. Let the seeker therefore work to cut off the self’s whisperings about sinful deeds; otherwise he will fall into them, for passing thoughts grow strong and become

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣١٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 317

Volume One, page 317

وَسْوَسَةً ، فَإِذَا كَثُرَتِ الْوَسَاوِسُ صَارَتْ طُرُقًا لِلْعَدُوِّ بِالتَّزْيِينِ وَالتَّسْوِيلِ فَأَضَرُّ شَيْءٍ عَلَى التَّائِبِ تَمْكِينُهُ خَاطِرَ السُّوءِ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ بِالْإِصْغَاءِ إِلَيْهِ فَإِنَّهُ يَدِبُّ فِي هَلَكَتِهِ وَكُلُّ سَبَبٍ يَدْعُو إِلَى مَعْصِيَةٍ أَوْ يُذَكِّرُ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ فَهُوَ مَعْصِيَةٌ وَكُلُّ سَبَبٍ يَؤُولُ إِلَى ذَنْبٍ وَيُؤَدِّي إِلَيْهِ فَهُوَ ذَنْبٌ وَإِنْ كَانَ مُبَاحًا وَقَطْعُهُ طَاعَةٌ وَهَذَا مِنْ دَقَائِقِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَكَانَ يُقَالُ :

waswasatan , faʾidhā kathurati al-wasāwisu ṣārat ṭuruqan li-l-ʿaduwwi bi-al-tazyīni wa-al-taswīli faʾaḍarru shayʾin ʿalā al-tāʾibi tamkīnuhu khāṭira al-sūʾi min qalbihi bi-al-ʾiṣghāʾi ʾilayhi faʾinnahu yadibbu fī halakatihi wakullu sababin yadʿū ʾilā maʿṣiyatin ʾaw yudhakkiru bimaʿṣiyatin fahuwa maʿṣiyatun wakullu sababin yaʾūlu ʾilā dhanbin wayuʾaddī ʾilayhi fahuwa dhanbun waʾin kāna mubāḥan waqaṭʿuhu ṭāʿatun wa-hādhā min daqāʾiqi al-ʾaʿmāli wakāna yuqālu :

an insistent whispering. When these whisperings multiply, they become paths for the enemy’s embellishment and enticement. The most harmful thing for the penitent is to give an evil thought a foothold in his heart by listening to it, for it creeps toward his destruction. Every cause that calls to an act of disobedience or brings an act of disobedience to mind is itself an act of disobedience. Every cause that leads to a sin and brings one to it is a sin, even if it is otherwise permissible; cutting it off is obedience. This is one of the subtleties of conduct. It used to be said:

مَنْ أَتَى عَلَيْهِ أَرْبَعُونَ وَهُوَ الْعُمْرُ وَكَانَ مُقِيمًا عَلَى الذَّنْبِ لَمْ يَكَدْ يَتُبْ مِنْهُ إِلَّا الْقَلِيلُ مِنَ الْمُتَدَارِكِينَ ، وَقَدْ رُوِيَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : الْمُؤْمِنُ كُلُّ مُفَتَّنٍ تَوَّابٍ وَإِنَّ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ ذَنْبًا قَدِ اعْتَادَهُ الْفَيْئَةَ بَعْدَ الْفَيْئَةِ يَعْنِي حِينًا بَعْدَ حِينٍ . وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ : كُلُّ بَنِي آدَمَ خَطَّاءٌ وَخَيْرُ الْخَطَّائِينَ الْمُسْتَغْفِرُونَ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ :

man ʾatā ʿalayhi ʾarbaʿūna wahuwa al-ʿumru wakāna muqīman ʿalā al-dhanbi lam yakad yatub minhu ʾillā al-qalīlu mina al-mutadārikīna , waqad ruwiya fī al-khabari : al-muʾminu kullu mufattanin tawwābin waʾinna li-l-muʾmini dhanban qadi iʿtādahu al-fayʾata baʿda al-fayʾati yaʿnī ḥīnan baʿda ḥīnin . wafī al-ḥadīthi : kullu banī ʾādama khaṭṭāʾun wakhayru al-khaṭṭāʾīna al-mustaghfirūna , wafī al-khabari al-ʾākhari :

“Anyone who reaches forty, the span of a life, while persisting in sin will scarcely repent of it, except for the few who retrieve themselves.” It has been transmitted in a report, “The believer is repeatedly tried and repeatedly repentant. The believer has a sin to which he has become accustomed, returning to it time after time,” meaning from time to time. In the hadith, “Every child of Adam errs, and the best of those who err are those who seek forgiveness.” In another report:

الْمُؤْمِنُ وَاهٍ رَاقِعٌ فَخَيْرُهُمْ مَنْ مَاتَ عَلَى رَقْعِهِ أَيْ وَاهٍ بِالذُّنُوبِ رَاقِعٌ بِالتَّوْبَةِ وَالِاسْتِغْفَارِ ، وَقَدْ وَصَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِتَرْكِ مُتَابَعَةِ الذُّنُوبِ وَتَرَادُفِ السَّيِّئَةِ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَيَدْرَؤُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ ) الرَّعْدُ : 22 ، وَقَدْ جَعَلَ هَذَا مِنْ وَصْفِ الْعَامِلِينَ الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أُولَئِكَ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا وَيَدْرَؤُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ ) الْقَصَصُ :

al-muʾminu wāhin rāqiʿun fakhayruhum man māta ʿalā raqʿihi ʾay wāhin bi-al-dhunūbi rāqiʿun bi-al-tawbati wa-al-istighfāri , waqad waṣafa Allāhu taʿālā al-muʾminīna bitarki mutābaʿati al-dhunūbi watarādufi al-sayyiʾati bi-al-ḥasanati fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( wayadraʾūna bi-al-ḥasanati al-sayyiʾata ) al-raʿdu : 22 , waqad jaʿala hādhā min waṣfi al-ʿāmilīna alladhīna ṣabarū faqāla taʿālā : ( ʾulāʾika yuʾtawna ʾajrahum marratayni bimā ṣabarū wayadraʾūna bi-al-ḥasanati al-sayyiʾata ) al-qaṣaṣu :

“The believer is one whose cloth wears thin and who patches it; the best of them is the one who dies with it patched,” that is, worn thin by sins and patched by repentance and seeking forgiveness. God Most High has described the believers as abandoning the succession of sins and following a bad deed with a good one in His words, Most High, “They repel evil with good” (al-Raʿd 13:22). He also made this a quality of those who act and remain patient, saying, Most High, “Those will be given their reward twice because they were patient, and they repel evil with good” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:

54 فَجَعَلَ تَعَالَى لَهُمْ صَبْرَيْنِ عَنِ الذَّنْبِ وَعَلَى التَّوْبَةِ فَآتَاهُمْ بِهِ أَجْرَيْنِ وَقَدِ اشْتَرَطَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى التَّائِبِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ثَلَاثَ شَرَائِطَ وَشَرَطَ عَلَى التَّائِبِينَ مِنَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ أَرْبَعَةً لِأَنَّهُمْ اعْتَلُّوا بِالْخَلْقِ فِي الْأَعْمَالِ فَأَشْرَكُوهُمْ بِالْخَالِقِ فِي الْإِخْلَاصِ فَزَادَ عَلَيْهِمُ الشَّرْطَ تَشْدِيدًا لِشِدَّةِ دُخُولِهِمْ فِي الْمَقْتِ وَاعْتَلَّ غَيْرُهُمْ بِوَصْفِهِ فَخَفَّفَ عَنْهُمْ شَرْطَيْنِ فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( إِلَّا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَأَصْلَحُوا وَبَيَّنُوا ) الْبَقَرَةُ :

54 fajaʿala taʿālā lahum ṣabrayni ʿani al-dhanbi waʿalā al-tawbati faʾātāhum bihi ʾajrayni waqadi ishtaraṭa Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā al-tāʾibīna mina al-muʾminīna thalātha sharāʾiṭa washaraṭa ʿalā al-tāʾibīna mina al-munāfiqīna ʾarbaʿatan liʾannahum iʿtallū bi-al-khalqi fī al-ʾaʿmāli faʾashrakūhum bi-al-khāliqi fī al-ʾikhlāṣi fazāda ʿalayhimu al-sharṭa tashdīdan lishiddati dukhūlihim fī al-maqti wa-ʿtalla ghayruhum biwaṣfihi fakhaffafa ʿanhum sharṭayni faqāla ʿazza wajalla : ( ʾillā alladhīna tābū waʾaṣlaḥū wabayyanū ) al-baqaratu :

54). He, Most High, thus ascribed two kinds of patience to them: restraint from sin and perseverance in repentance; for this He gave them two rewards. God Most High has imposed three conditions on repentant believers and four on repentant hypocrites, because the latter made other creatures a motive for their deeds and associated them with the Creator in their sincerity. He added a condition for them as a stricter requirement because they had entered so deeply into His detestation. Others made their own attributes their motive, so He lightened the requirement for them by two conditions. He said, mighty and majestic, “Except those who repent, set things right, and make things clear” (al-Baqarah 2:

160 قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى تَابُوا أَيْ رَجَعُوا إِلَى الْحَقِّ مِنْ أَهْوَائِهِمْ ، وَأَصْلَحُوا يَعْنِي مَا أَفْسَدُوا بِنُفُوسِهِمْ ، وَبَيَّنُوا فِيهَا وَجْهَانِ ، أَحَدُهُمَا بَيَّنُوا مَا كَانُوا كَتَمُوا مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَأَخْفَوْا مِنْ حَقِيقَةِ الْعِلْمِ وَهَذَا لِمَنْ عَصَى بِكَتْمِ الْعِلْمِ وَلَبْسِ الْحَقِّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَقِيلَ : بَيَّنُوا تَوْبَتَهُمْ حَتَّى تَبَيَّنَ ذَلِكَ فِيهِمْ فَظَهَرَتْ أَحْكَامُ التَّوْبَةِ عَلَيْهِمْ ، وَقَالَ فِي الشَّرْطَيْنِ الْآخَرَيْنِ :

160 qawluhu taʿālā tābū ʾay rajaʿū ʾilā al-ḥaqqi min ʾahwāʾihim , waʾaṣlaḥū yaʿnī mā ʾafsadū binufūsihim , wabayyanū fīhā wajhāni , ʾaḥaduhumā bayyanū mā kānū katamū mina al-ḥaqqi waʾakhfaw min ḥaqīqati al-ʿilmi wa-hādhā liman ʿaṣā bikatmi al-ʿilmi walabsi al-ḥaqqi bi-al-bāṭili waqīla : bayyanū tawbatahum ḥattā tabayyana dhālika fīhim faẓaharat ʾaḥkāmu al-tawbati ʿalayhim , waqāla fī al-sharṭayni al-ʾākharayni :

160). His words, Most High, “repent” mean that they return from their desires to truth. “Set things right” means what they corrupted through their own selves. “Make things clear” has two interpretations. One is that they make clear the truth they had concealed and the reality of knowledge they had hidden; this applies to those whose disobedience consisted in concealing knowledge and mixing truth with falsehood. It has also been said: they make their repentance clear until it becomes evident in them, so that the rules of repentance are manifest in their conduct. Concerning the other two conditions He said:

( إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الْأَسْفَلِ مِنَ النَّارِ وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهُمْ نَصِيرًا ) النِّسَاءُ : 145 ( إِلَّا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَأَصْلَحُوا وَاعْتَصَمُوا بِاللَّهِ وَأَخْلَصُوا دِينَهُمْ لِلَّهِ ) النِّسَاءُ : 146 ، لِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَعْتَصِمُونَ بِالنَّاسِ وَبِالْأَمْوَالِ وَكَانُوا يُرَاؤُونَ بِالْأَعْمَالِ فَلِذَلِكَ اشْتُرِطَ عَلَيْهِمُ الِاعْتِصَامُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْإِخْلَاصُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ تَكُونَ تَوْبَةُ كُلِّ عَبْدٍ عَنْ ضِدِّ مَعَاصِيهِ قَلِيلًا بِقَلِيلٍ أَوْ كَثِيرًا بِكَثِيرٍ وَيَكُونَ التَّائِبُ عَلَى ضِدِّ مَا كَانَ أَفْسَدَ لِيَكُونَ كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى :

( ʾinna al-munāfiqīna fī al-darki al-ʾasfali mina al-nāri walan tajida lahum naṣīran ) al-nisāʾu : 145 ( ʾillā alladhīna tābū waʾaṣlaḥū wa-ʿtaṣamū bi-Allāhi waʾakhlaṣū dīnahum li-llāhi ) al-nisāʾu : 146 , liʾannahum kānū yaʿtaṣimūna bi-al-nāsi wabi-al-ʾamwāli wakānū yurāʾūna bi-al-ʾaʿmāli fali-dhālika ishturiṭa ʿalayhimu al-iʿtiṣāmu bi-Allāhi wa-al-ʾikhlāṣu li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla fayanbaghī ʾan takūna tawbatu kulli ʿabdin ʿan ḍiddi maʿāṣīhi qalīlan biqalīlin ʾaw kathīran bikathīrin wayakūna al-tāʾibu ʿalā ḍiddi mā kāna ʾafsada liyakūna kamā qāla Allāhu taʿālā :

“The hypocrites are in the lowest depth of the Fire, and you will find no helper for them” (al-Nisāʾ 4:145), “except those who repent, set things right, hold fast to God, and devote their religion sincerely to God” (al-Nisāʾ 4:146). Because they used to hold fast to people and wealth and make a show of their deeds, holding fast to God and sincere devotion to God, mighty and majestic, were made conditions for them. Every servant’s repentance should therefore take the form opposite to his acts of disobedience, a little for a little or much for much. The penitent should do the opposite of the corruption he previously caused, so that he may be as God Most High said:

( إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُصْلِحِينَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 170 ، وَلَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ تَائِبًا حَتَّى يَكُونَ مُصْلِحًا وَلَا يَكُونُ مُصْلِحًا حَتَّى يَعْمَلَ الصَّالِحَاتِ ثُمَّ يَدْخُلَ فِي الصَّالِحِينَ . وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَهُوَ يَتَوَلَّى الصَّالِحِينَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 196 ، وَهَذَا وَصْفٌ لِلتَّوَّابِ وَهُوَ الْمُتَحَقِّقُ بِالتَّوْبَةِ وَالْحَبِيبُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ :

( ʾinnā lā nuḍīʿu ʾajra al-muṣliḥīna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 170 , walā yakūnu al-ʿabdu tāʾiban ḥattā yakūna muṣliḥan walā yakūnu muṣliḥan ḥattā yaʿmala al-ṣāliḥāti thumma yadkhula fī al-ṣāliḥīna . waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( wahuwa yatawallā al-ṣāliḥīna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 196 , wa-hādhā waṣfun li-l-tawwābi wahuwa al-mutaḥaqqiqu bi-al-tawbati wa-al-ḥabību li-llāhi taʿālā kamā qāla taʿālā : ( ʾinna Allāha yuḥibbu al-tawwābīna ) al-baqaratu :

“We do not let the reward of those who set things right be lost” (al-Aʿrāf 7:170). A servant is not repentant until he sets things right, and he does not set things right until he does righteous deeds; then he enters among the righteous. God Most High has said, “He takes care of the righteous” (al-Aʿrāf 7:196). This is the description of one who repeatedly repents: the person who has realized repentance and is beloved of God Most High. As He said, Most High, “God loves those who repeatedly repent” (al-Baqarah 2:

222 أَيْ يَتَوَلَّى الرَّاجِعِينَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ أَهْوَائِهِمُ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ لَهُ مِنَ الْمَكَارِهِ ، وَكَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : التَّائِبُ حَبِيبُ اللَّهِ ، وَسُئِلَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ : مَتَى يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ التَّائِبُ حَبِيبَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ؟

222 ʾay yatawallā al-rājiʿīna ʾilayhi min ʾahwāʾihimu al-mutaṭahhirīna lahu mina al-makārihi , wakamā qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : al-tāʾibu ḥabību Allāhi , wasuʾila ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun : matā yakūnu al-ʿabdu al-tāʾibu ḥabība Allāhi taʿālā ?

222), that is, He takes care of those who return to Him from their desires and purify themselves for Him from objectionable things. Likewise, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “The penitent is God’s beloved.” Abū Muḥammad Sahl was asked, “When does the repentant servant become beloved of God Most High?”

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣١٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 318

Volume One, page 318

فَقَالَ : حَتَّى يَكُونَ كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( التَّائِبُونَ الْعَابِدُونَ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 112 الْآيَةَ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : الْحَبِيبُ لَا يَدْخُلُ فِي شَيْءٍ لَا يُحِبُّهُ الْحَبِيبُ ، وَقَالَ : لَا تَصِحُّ التَّوْبَةُ حَتَّى يَتُوبَ مِنَ الْحَسَنَاتِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ غَيْرُهُ مِنَ الْعَارِفِينَ :

faqāla : ḥattā yakūna kamā qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( al-tāʾibūna al-ʿābidūna ) al-tawbatu : 112 al-ʾāyata , thumma qāla : al-ḥabību lā yadkhulu fī shayʾin lā yuḥibbuhu al-ḥabību , waqāla : lā taṣiḥḥu al-tawbatu ḥattā yatūba mina al-ḥasanāti , waqad qāla ghayruhu mina al-ʿārifīna :

He replied, “When he becomes as God Most High said: ‘Those who repent, those who worship’ (al-Tawbah 9:112), and the rest of the verse.” Then he said, “The beloved does not enter into anything the Beloved does not love.” He also said, “Repentance is not sound until one repents of good deeds.” Another of those who know God said:

الْعَامَّةُ يَتُوبُونَ مِنْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَالصُّوفِيَّةُ يَتُوبُونَ مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِمْ يَعْنِي مِنْ تَقْصِيرِهِمْ فِي أَدَائِهَا لِعَظِيمِ مَا يَشْهَدُونَ مِنْ حَقِّ الْمَلِكِ الْعَزِيزِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى الْمُقَابِلِ بِهَا وَمِنْ نَظَرِهِمْ إِلَيْهَا أَوْ نَظَرِهِمْ إِلَى نُفُوسِهِمْ بِهَا وَهِيَ مِنَّةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِمْ وَاصِلَةٌ ، وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ يَقُولُ : التَّوْبَةُ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْأَعْمَالِ لِأَنَّ الْأَعْمَالَ لَا تَصِحُّ إِلَّا بِهَا وَلَا تَصِحُّ التَّوْبَةُ إِلَّا بِتَرْكِ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْحَلَالِ مَخَافَةَ أَنْ يُخْرِجَهُمْ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ ،

al-ʿāmmatu yatūbūna min sayyiʾātihim wa-al-ṣūfiyyatu yatūbūna min ḥasanātihim yaʿnī min taqṣīrihim fī ʾadāʾihā liʿaẓīmi mā yashhadūna min ḥaqqi al-maliki al-ʿazīzi subḥānahu wataʿālā al-muqābili bihā wamin naẓarihim ʾilayhā ʾaw naẓarihim ʾilā nufūsihim bihā wahiya minnatu Allāhi taʿālā ʾilayhim wāṣilatun , wakāna sahlun yaqūlu : al-tawbatu min ʾafḍali al-ʾaʿmāli liʾanna al-ʾaʿmāla lā taṣiḥḥu ʾillā bihā walā taṣiḥḥu al-tawbatu ʾillā bitarki kathīrin mina al-ḥalāli makhāfata ʾan yukhrijahum ʾilā ghayrihi ,

“Ordinary people repent of their bad deeds, while the Sufis repent of their good deeds,” meaning their shortcomings in performing them, in view of the immense claim of the mighty King, glory be to Him and exalted is He, whom they perceive themselves to be facing with those deeds. They also repent of looking at the deeds, or looking at themselves because of them, although the deeds are God Most High’s favor reaching them. Sahl used to say, “Repentance is among the finest deeds, because deeds are not sound without it. Repentance is not sound without abandoning much of what is lawful, for fear that it may lead them beyond it.”

وَالِاسْتِغْفَارُ قُوتُ التَّوَّابِينَ وَمَفْزَعُ الْخَطَّائِينَ ، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَهُوَ أَصْدَقُ الْقَائِلِينَ : ( اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ ) هُودٌ : 52 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أَفَلَا يَتُوبُونَ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَهُ ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 74 فَابْتَدَأَ التَّوْبَةَ بِالِاسْتِغْفَارِ وَعَقَّبَ الِاسْتِغْفَارَ بِالتَّوْبَةِ ، فَالِاسْتِغْفَارُ مَعَ الذَّنْبِ سُؤَالُ السَّتْرِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَمَغْفِرَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِعَبْدِهِ فِي حَالِ ذَنْبِهِ سَتْرُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَحِلْمُهُ عَنْهُ وَيُقَالُ :

wa-al-istighfāru qūtu al-tawwābīna wamafzaʿu al-khaṭṭāʾīna , qāla Allāhu taʿālā wahuwa ʾaṣdaqu al-qāʾilīna : ( istaghfirū rabbakum thumma tūbū ʾilayhi ) hūdun : 52 , waqāla taʿālā : ( ʾafalā yatūbūna ʾilā Allāhi wayastaghfirūnahu ) al-māʾidatu : 74 fa-btadaʾa al-tawbata bi-al-istighfāri waʿaqqaba al-istighfāra bi-al-tawbati , fa-al-istighfāru maʿa al-dhanbi suʾālu al-satri mina Allāhi taʿālā wamaghfiratu Allāhi taʿālā liʿabdihi fī ḥāli dhanbihi satruhu ʿalayhi waḥilmuhu ʿanhu wayuqālu :

Seeking forgiveness is the sustenance of those who repeatedly repent and the refuge of those who err. God Most High, the most truthful of speakers, said, “Seek your Lord’s forgiveness, then repent to Him” (Hūd 11:52). He also said, Most High, “Will they not repent to God and seek His forgiveness?” (al-Māʾidah 5:74). He began repentance with seeking forgiveness, and followed seeking forgiveness with repentance. Seeking forgiveness while sinning is asking God Most High to conceal the sin; God Most High’s forgiveness of His servant in the state of sin is His concealing it for him and showing forbearance toward him. It is said:

مَا مِنْ ذَنْبٍ سَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى عَبْدِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا غَفَرَهُ لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَكْرَمُ مِنْ أَنْ يَكْشِفَ ذَنْبًا كَانَ قَدْ سَتَرَهُ وَمَا مِنْ ذَنْبٍ كَشَفَهُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا جَعَلَ ذَلِكَ عُقُوبَةَ عَبْدِهِ فِي الْآخِرَةِ فَاللَّهُ أَكْرَمُ مِنْ أَنْ يُثَنِّيَ عُقُوبَتَهُ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ .

mā min dhanbin satarahu Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā ʿabdihi fī al-dunyā ʾillā ghafarahu lahu fī al-ʾākhirati , ʾinna Allāha taʿālā ʾakramu min ʾan yakshifa dhanban kāna qad satarahu wamā min dhanbin kashafahu Allāhu fī al-dunyā ʾillā jaʿala dhālika ʿuqūbata ʿabdihi fī al-ʾākhirati fa-Allāhu ʾakramu min ʾan yuthanniya ʿuqūbatahu ʿalā ʿabdihi .

“There is no sin that God Most High conceals for His servant in this world without forgiving it for him in the hereafter. God Most High is too generous to expose a sin that He has already concealed. There is no sin that God exposes in this world without making that the punishment of His servant in the hereafter. God is too generous to double His punishment upon His servant.”

وَرُوِيَ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ وَابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا نَحْوُ ذَلِكَ وَقَدْ أَسْنَدَاهُ مِنْ طَرِيقٍ . وَالِاسْتِغْفَارُ بَعْدَ التَّوْبَةِ وَهُوَ سُؤَالُ الْعَبْدِ مَوْلَاهُ الْعَفْوَ عَنِ الْمُؤَاخَذَةِ وَمَغْفِرَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِعَبْدِهِ بَعْدَ التَّوْبَةِ تَكْفِيرُهُ لِسَيِّئَاتِهِ وَتَجَاوُزُهُ عَنْهَا بِالْعَفْوِ الْكَرِيمِ وَهُوَ تَبْدِيلُ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَسَنَاتٍ كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّ تَفْسِيرَ قَوْلِ الْعَبْدِ : يَا كَرِيمَ الْعَفْوِ قَالَ :

waruwiya ʿan ʿaliyyin wa-bni ʿabbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā naḥwu dhālika waqad ʾasnadāhu min ṭarīqin . wa-al-istighfāru baʿda al-tawbati wahuwa suʾālu al-ʿabdi mawlāhu al-ʿafwa ʿani al-muʾākhadhati wamaghfiratu Allāhi taʿālā liʿabdihi baʿda al-tawbati takfīruhu lisayyiʾātihi watajāwuzuhu ʿanhā bi-al-ʿafwi al-karīmi wahuwa tabdīlu al-sayyiʾāti ḥasanātin kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari ʾanna tafsīra qawli al-ʿabdi : yā karīma al-ʿafwi qāla :

Something like this has been related from ʿAlī and Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with them both, and they transmitted it with a chain of attribution. Seeking forgiveness after repentance is the servant’s asking his Master to pardon him from being called to account. God Most High’s forgiveness of His servant after repentance is His expiation of his bad deeds and His passing over them with generous pardon: it is the replacement of bad deeds with good ones. Thus a report explains the servant’s saying, “O You whose pardon is generous.” It says:

هُوَ إِنْ عَفَا بِرَحْمَتِهِ عَنِ السَّيِّئَاتِ ثُمَّ بَدَّلَهَا بِكَرَمِهِ حَسَنَاتٍ وَقَدْ أَحْكَمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ذَلِكَ بِقَوْلِهِ : ( فَاسْتَقِيمُوا إِلَيْهِ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ) فُصِّلَتْ : 6 بَعْدَ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا ) فُصِّلَتْ : 30 ، أَيْ وَحَّدُوا اللَّهَ تَعَالَى ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ فَلَمْ يُشْرِكُوا وَقِيلَ :

huwa ʾin ʿafā biraḥmatihi ʿani al-sayyiʾāti thumma baddalahā bikaramihi ḥasanātin waqad ʾaḥkama Allāhu taʿālā dhālika biqawlihi : ( fa-staqīmū ʾilayhi wa-staghfirūhu ) fuṣṣilat : 6 baʿda qawlihi taʿālā : ( ʾinna alladhīna qālū rabbunā Allāhu thumma istaqāmū tatanazzalu ʿalayhimu al-malāʾikatu ʾallā takhāfū walā taḥzanū ) fuṣṣilat : 30 , ʾay waḥḥadū Allāha taʿālā thumma istaqāmū ʿalā al-tawḥīdi falam yushrikū waqīla :

“It means that when He pardons bad deeds through His mercy, He then replaces them with good deeds through His generosity.” God Most High has established this firmly in His words, “Be upright toward Him, and seek His forgiveness” (Fuṣṣilat 41:6), following His words, Most High, “Those who say, ‘Our Lord is God,’ then remain upright: the angels descend upon them, ‘Do not fear, and do not grieve’” (Fuṣṣilat 41:30). That is, they affirm the oneness of God Most High, then remain upright in affirming His oneness and associate nothing with Him. It has also been said:

اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى السُّنَّةِ فَلَمْ يُحْدِثُوا وَقِيلَ : اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى التَّوْبَةِ فَلَمْ يَرُوغُوا مَعَهَا أَنْ لَا تَخَافُوا عِقَابَ الذُّنُوبِ فَقَدْ كَفَّرَهَا عَنْكُمْ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا عَلَى مَا فَاتَكُمْ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ فَقَدْ تَدَارَكَهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَكُمْ بِالتَّوْبَةِ وَبَلَّغَكُمْ مَنَازِلَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ بِالِاسْتِقَامَةِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنْتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ ) فُصِّلَتْ : 30 فِي السَّابِقِ ( نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَاؤُكُمْ ) فُصِّلَتْ :

istaqāmū ʿalā al-sunnati falam yuḥdithū waqīla : istaqāmū ʿalā al-tawbati falam yarūghū maʿahā ʾan lā takhāfū ʿiqāba al-dhunūbi faqad kaffarahā ʿankum bi-al-tawḥīdi walā taḥzanū ʿalā mā fātakum mina al-ʾaʿmāli faqad tadārakahā Allāhu taʿālā lakum bi-al-tawbati waballaghakum manāzila al-muḥsinīna bi-al-istiqāmati , thumma qāla taʿālā : ( waʾabshirū bi-al-jannati allatī kuntum tūʿadūna ) fuṣṣilat : 30 fī al-sābiqi ( naḥnu ʾawliyāʾukum ) fuṣṣilat :

“They remain upright upon the Sunnah and introduce no innovations”; and it has been said, “They remain upright in repentance and do not swerve from it.” “Do not fear” the punishment for sins, for He has expiated them for you through affirmation of His oneness. “Do not grieve” over the deeds you missed, for God Most High has made them good for you through repentance and brought you to the stations of those who do good through uprightness. Then He said, Most High, “Rejoice in the Garden you were promised” (Fuṣṣilat 41:30) beforehand. “We are your protectors” (Fuṣṣilat 41:

31 أَيْ نَلِيكُمْ وَنَقْرُبُ مِنْكُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ بِالتَّثْبِيتِ لَكُمْ عَلَى الْإِيمَانِ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِي أَنْفُسُكُمْ أَيْ أَجْسَامُكُمْ مِنَ النَّعِيمِ الْمُقِيمِ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ أَيْ مَا تَمَنَّوْنَ بِقُلُوبِكُمْ مِنَ النَّظَرِ إِلَى الْمَلِكِ الرَّحِيمِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : التَّائِبُ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ كَمَنْ لَا ذَنْبَ لَهُ وَالْمُسْتَغْفِرُ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ وَهُوَ مُصِرٌّ عَلَيْهِ كَالْمُسْتَهْزِئِ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى : وَكَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ : أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ مِنْ قَوْلِي أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ

31 ʾay nalīkum wanaqrubu minkum fī al-ḥayāti al-dunyā wafī al-ʾākhirati bi-al-tathbīti lakum ʿalā al-ʾīmāni walakum fīhā mā tashtahī ʾanfusukum ʾay ʾajsāmukum mina al-naʿīmi al-muqīmi walakum fīhā mā taddaʿūna ʾay mā tamannawna biqulūbikum mina al-naẓari ʾilā al-maliki al-raḥīmi , wafī al-khabari : al-tāʾibu mina al-dhanbi kaman lā dhanba lahu wa-al-mustaghfiru mina al-dhanbi wahuwa muṣirrun ʿalayhi ka-al-mustahziʾi biʾāyāti Allāhi taʿālā : wakāna baʿḍuhum yaqūlu : ʾastaghfiru Allāha min qawlī ʾastaghfiru Allāha

31), that is, we take charge of you and draw near you in the life of this world and in the hereafter by making you firm in faith. “You will have therein whatever your selves desire,” that is, your bodies’ share of abiding bliss. “You will have therein whatever you ask for,” that is, whatever your hearts wish for of looking upon the merciful King. In the report, “One who repents of a sin is like one who has no sin; one who seeks forgiveness for a sin while persisting in it is like one who mocks the signs of God Most High.” One of them used to say, “I seek God’s forgiveness for saying, ‘I seek God’s forgiveness,’

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣١٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 319

Volume One, page 319

بِاللِّسَانِ عَنْ غَيْرِ تَوْبَةٍ وَنَدَمٍ بِالْقَلْبِ ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ : الِاسْتِغْفَارُ بِاللِّسَانِ مِنْ غَيْرِ تَوْبَةٍ وَنَدَمٍ بِالْقَلْبِ تَوْبَةُ الْكَذَّابِينَ ، وَكَانَتْ رَابِعَةُ تَقُولُ : اسْتِغْفَارُنَا هَذَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى اسْتِغْفَارٍ فَكَمْ مِنْ تَوْبَةٍ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى تَوْبَةٍ فِي تَصْحِيحِهَا وَالْإِخْلَاصِ مِنَ النَّظَرِ إِلَيْهَا وَالسُّكُونِ وَالْإِدْلَالِ بِهَا ، فَمَنْ عَقَّبَ السَّيِّئَاتِ بِحَسَنَاتٍ وَخَلَطَ الصَّالِحَاتِ بِالطَّالِحَاتِ طُمِعَ لَهُ فِي النَّجَاةِ وَرُجِيَ لَهُ الِاسْتِقَامَةُ قَبْلَ الْوَفَاةِ ،

bi-al-lisāni ʿan ghayri tawbatin wanadamin bi-al-qalbi , wafī khabarin : al-istighfāru bi-al-lisāni min ghayri tawbatin wanadamin bi-al-qalbi tawbatu al-kadhdhābīna , wakānat rābiʿatu taqūlu : istighfārunā hādhā yaḥtāju ʾilā istighfārin fakam min tawbatin taḥtāju ʾilā tawbatin fī taṣḥīḥihā wa-al-ʾikhlāṣi mina al-naẓari ʾilayhā wa-al-sukūni wa-al-ʾidlāli bihā , faman ʿaqqaba al-sayyiʾāti biḥasanātin wakhalaṭa al-ṣāliḥāti bi-al-ṭāliḥāti ṭumiʿa lahu fī al-najāti warujiya lahu al-istiqāmatu qabla al-wafāti ,

with the tongue, without repentance and remorse in the heart.” In a report, “Seeking forgiveness with the tongue, without repentance and remorse in the heart, is the repentance of liars.” Rābiʿah used to say, “This seeking of forgiveness of ours needs forgiveness.” How much repentance needs further repentance to make it sound and sincere, free from looking at it, resting in it, and presuming upon it! For one who follows bad deeds with good deeds and mixes righteous deeds with corrupt ones, salvation is hoped for, and uprightness before death is hoped for him.

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( خَلَطُوا عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 102 أَيْ يَعْطِفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَيَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِمْ وَقِيلَ : خَلَطُوا عَمَلًا صَالِحًا هُوَ الِاعْتِرَافُ بِالذُّنُوبِ وَالتَّوْبَةُ الْمُسْتَأْنَفَةُ وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا مَا سَلَفَ مِنَ الْغَفْلَةِ وَالْجَهَالَةِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ يَقُولُ : غَفُورٌ لِمَنْ تَابَ رَحِيمٌ حَيْثُ رَخَّصَ فِي التَّوْبَةِ ،

qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( khalaṭū ʿamalan ṣāliḥan waʾākhara sayyiʾan ʿasā Allāhu ʾan yatūba ʿalayhim ) al-tawbatu : 102 ʾay yaʿṭifu ʿalayhim wayanẓuru ʾilayhim waqīla : khalaṭū ʿamalan ṣāliḥan huwa al-iʿtirāfu bi-al-dhunūbi wa-al-tawbatu al-mustaʾnafatu waʾākhara sayyiʾan mā salafa mina al-ghaflati wa-al-jahālati , waqad kāna ibnu ʿabbāsin yaqūlu : ghafūrun liman tāba raḥīmun ḥaythu rakhkhaṣa fī al-tawbati ,

God Most High said, “They mixed a righteous deed with another that was evil; perhaps God will turn toward them” (al-Tawbah 9:102), that is, show them kindness and look upon them. It has also been said: “They mixed a righteous deed,” meaning acknowledgment of sins and renewed repentance, “with another that was evil,” meaning the heedlessness and ignorance that had gone before. Ibn ʿAbbās used to say, “Forgiving toward those who repent; merciful in allowing repentance.”

وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ( وَإِنِّي لَغَفَّارٌ لِمَنْ تَابَ ) طَهَ : 82 أَيْ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ وَآمَنَ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا ؛ أَدَّى الْفَرَائِضَ وَاجْتَنَبَ الْمَحَارِمَ ثُمَّ اهْتَدَى كَانَ عَلَى السُّنَّةِ وَقِيلَ : اسْتَقَامَ عَلَى التَّوْبَةِ فَهَذِهِ صِفَاتُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْمُخْلِصِينَ إِلَّا إِلَى مَا رَدَّ إِلَيْهِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَهُوَ التَّوْبَةُ وَكَذَلِكَ رَدَّ إِلَيْهَا الْمُشْرِكِينَ إِذْ لَا طَرِيقَ لِلْكُلِّ إِلَّا مِنْهَا وَلَا وُصُولَ إِلَى الْمَحَبَّةِ وَالرِّضَا إِلَّا بِهَا .

waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā ( waʾinnī laghaffārun liman tāba ) Ṭā Hā : 82 ʾay mina al-shirki waʾāmana bi-al-tawḥīdi waʿamila ṣāliḥan ; ʾaddā al-farāʾiḍa wa-jtanaba al-maḥārima thumma ihtadā kāna ʿalā al-sunnati waqīla : istaqāma ʿalā al-tawbati fa-hādhihi ṣifātu al-muʾminīna falam yarudda Allāhu taʿālā al-mukhliṣīna ʾillā ʾilā mā radda ʾilayhi al-munāfiqīna wahuwa al-tawbatu wa-kadhālika radda ʾilayhā al-mushrikīna ʾidh lā ṭarīqa li-l-kulli ʾillā minhā walā wuṣūla ʾilā al-maḥabbati wa-al-riḍā ʾillā bihā .

God Most High has said, “I am indeed most forgiving toward whoever repents” (Ṭā Hā 20:82), that is, from associating partners with God; “and believes” in His oneness; “and does righteous deeds,” fulfills the obligations and avoids forbidden things; “then follows guidance,” is upon the Sunnah. It has also been said: remains upright in repentance. These are the qualities of the believers. God Most High referred the sincere to nothing other than that to which He referred the hypocrites: repentance. He likewise referred those who associate partners with Him to it, since there is no path for any of them except through it, and no attainment of love and contentment except by it.

وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ : ( وَآخَرُونَ مُرْجَوْنَ لِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِمَّا يُعَذِّبُهُمْ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 106 أَيْ مَعَ الْإِصْرَارِ وَإِمَّا يَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَيْ بِالِاسْتِغْفَارِ وَأَحْكَمَ ذَلِكَ وَفَصَّلَهُ بِمَا شَرَطَ لَهُ ، كَمَا قَالَ فِي شَأْنِ الْكَافِرِينَ : ( فَإِنْ تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّوا سَبِيلَهُمْ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 5 وَقَدْ قَرَنَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الِاسْتِغْفَارَ لِلْعِبَادِ بِبَقَاءِ الرَّسُولِ لِلَّهِ فِي الْأُمَّةِ وَرَفْعِ الْعَذَابِ عَنْهُمْ بِوُجُودِهِ فَضْلًا مِنْهُ وَنِعْمَةً ،

waqāla taʿālā fī waṣfi al-munāfiqīna : ( waʾākharūna murjawna liʾamri Allāhi ʾimmā yuʿadhdhibuhum ) al-tawbatu : 106 ʾay maʿa al-ʾiṣrāri waʾimmā yatūbu ʿalayhim ʾay bi-al-istighfāri waʾaḥkama dhālika wafaṣṣalahu bimā sharaṭa lahu , kamā qāla fī shaʾni al-kāfirīna : ( faʾin tābū waʾaqāmū al-ṣalāta waʾātawu al-zakāta fakhallū sabīlahum ) al-tawbatu : 5 waqad qarana Allāhu taʿālā al-istighfāra li-l-ʿibādi bibaqāʾi al-rasūli li-llāhi fī al-ʾummati warafʿi al-ʿadhābi ʿanhum biwujūdihi faḍlan minhu waniʿmatan ,

He said, Most High, in describing the hypocrites, “And others are deferred to God’s command: either He will punish them” (al-Tawbah 9:106), that is, if they persist, “or He will turn toward them,” that is, through seeking forgiveness. He established this firmly and explained it through the conditions He imposed for it, as He said concerning the unbelievers, “If they repent, establish prayer, and give the alms, let them go their way” (al-Tawbah 9:5). God Most High coupled the servants’ seeking of forgiveness with the continued presence of God’s Messenger in the community and the removal of punishment from them through his presence, as a favor and a blessing from Him.

وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنْتَ فِيهِمْ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ ) الْأَنْفَالُ : 33 ، وَكَانَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ يَقُولُ : كَانَ لَنَا أَمَانَانِ ذَهَبَ أَحَدُهُمَا وَبَقِيَ الْآخَرُ ، فَإِنْ ذَهَبَ الْآخَرُ هَلَكْنَا يَعْنِي الَّذِي ذَهَبَ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَالَّذِي بَقِيَ الِاسْتِغْفَارُ ، وَسُئِلَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الِاسْتِغْفَارِ الَّذِي يُكَفِّرُ الذُّنُوبَ فَقَالَ :

waqāla taʿālā : ( wamā kāna Allāhu liyuʿadhdhibahum waʾanta fīhim wamā kāna Allāhu muʿadhdhibahum wahum yastaghfirūna ) al-ʾanfālu : 33 , wakāna baʿḍu al-salafi yaqūlu : kāna lanā ʾamānāni dhahaba ʾaḥaduhumā wabaqiya al-ʾākharu , faʾin dhahaba al-ʾākharu halaknā yaʿnī alladhī dhahaba al-rasūlu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wa-alladhī baqiya al-istighfāru , wasuʾila sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu ʿani al-istighfāri alladhī yukaffiru al-dhunūba faqāla :

He said, Most High, “God would not punish them while you were among them, nor would God punish them while they sought forgiveness” (al-Anfāl 8:33). One of the early authorities used to say, “We had two safeguards. One has gone and the other remains. If the other goes, we perish.” He meant that the safeguard that departed was the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the one that remains is seeking forgiveness. Sahl, may God have mercy on him, was asked about the seeking of forgiveness that expiates sins. He replied:

أَوَّلُ الِاسْتِغْفَارِ الِاسْتِجَابَةُ ثُمَّ الْإِنَابَةُ ثُمَّ التَّوْبَةُ فَالِاسْتِجَابَةُ أَعْمَالُ الْجَوَارِحِ وَالْإِنَابَةُ أَعْمَالُ الْقُلُوبِ وَالتَّوْبَةُ إِقْبَالُهُ عَلَى مَوْلَاهُ وَتَرْكُ الْخَلْقِ ، ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرُ مِنْ تَقْصِيرِهِ الَّذِي هُوَ فِيهِ وَمِنَ الْجَهْلِ بِالنِّعْمَةِ وَتَرْكِ الشُّكْرِ ، فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ يُغْفَرُ لَهُ وَيَكُونُ عِنْدَهُ مَأْوَاهُ ثُمَّ يُنْقَلُ إِلَى الِانْفِرَادِ ثُمَّ الثَّبَاتِ ثُمَّ الْبَيَانِ ثُمَّ الْقُرْبِ ثُمَّ الْمَعْرِفَةِ ثُمَّ الْمُنَاجَاةِ ثُمَّ الْمُصَافَاةِ ثُمَّ الْمُوَالَاةِ ثُمَّ مُحَادَثَةِ السِّرِّ وَهُوَ الْخُلَّةُ ،

ʾawwalu al-istighfāri al-istijābatu thumma al-ʾinābatu thumma al-tawbatu fa-al-istijābatu ʾaʿmālu al-jawāriḥi wa-al-ʾinābatu ʾaʿmālu al-qulūbi wa-al-tawbatu ʾiqbāluhu ʿalā mawlāhu watarku al-khalqi , thumma yastaghfiru min taqṣīrihi alladhī huwa fīhi wamina al-jahli bi-al-niʿmati watarki al-shukri , faʿinda dhālika yughfaru lahu wayakūnu ʿindahu maʾwāhu thumma yunqalu ʾilā al-infirādi thumma al-thabāti thumma al-bayāni thumma al-qurbi thumma al-maʿrifati thumma al-munājāti thumma al-muṣāfāti thumma al-muwālāti thumma muḥādathati al-sirri wahuwa al-khullatu ,

“The beginning of seeking forgiveness is responding, then turning back, then repentance. Responding consists in the actions of the limbs; turning back consists in the actions of the hearts; repentance is one’s turning toward one’s Master and leaving created beings. Then one seeks forgiveness for the shortcoming in which one remains, for ignorance of the blessing, and for neglecting gratitude. At that point one is forgiven, and one’s refuge is with Him. Then one is transferred to being alone with Him, then steadfastness, then clarification, then nearness, then knowledge of Him, then intimate supplication, then pure mutual affection, then close friendship, then the intimate conversation of the innermost heart, which is intimate friendship.

وَلَا يَسْتَقِرُّ هَذَا فِي قَلْبِ عَبْدٍ حَتَّى يَكُونَ الْعِلْمُ غِذَاءَهُ وَالذِّكْرُ قِوَامَهُ وَالرِّضَا زَادَهُ وَالتَّفْوِيضُ مُرَادَهُ وَالتَّوَكُّلُ صَاحِبَهُ ، ثُمَّ يَنْظُرُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ فَيَرْفَعُهُ إِلَى الْعَرْشِ فَيَكُونُ مَقَامُهُ مَقَامَ حَمَلَةِ الْعَرْشِ وَكَانَ يَقُولُ الْعَبْدُ لَا بُدَّ لَهُ مِنْ مَوْلَاهُ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ ، وَأَحْسَنُ حَالِهِ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ إِلَيْهِ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ إِذَا عَصَى يَقُولُ :

walā yastaqirru hādhā fī qalbi ʿabdin ḥattā yakūna al-ʿilmu ghidhāʾahu wa-al-dhikru qiwāmahu wa-al-riḍā zādahu wa-al-tafwīḍu murādahu wa-al-tawakkulu ṣāḥibahu , thumma yanẓuru Allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi fayarfaʿuhu ʾilā al-ʿarshi fayakūnu maqāmuhu maqāma ḥamalati al-ʿarshi wakāna yaqūlu al-ʿabdu lā budda lahu min mawlāhu ʿalā kulli ḥālin , waʾaḥsanu ḥālihi ʾan yarjiʿa ʾilayhi fī kulli shayʾin ʾidhā ʿaṣā yaqūlu :

“This does not settle in a servant’s heart until knowledge is his nourishment, remembrance his support, contentment his provision, entrusting his affairs to God his aim, and trust his companion. Then God Most High looks upon him and raises him to the Throne, so that his station is the station of the bearers of the Throne.” He also used to say, “The servant cannot do without his Master in any state. His best state is to return to Him in everything. When he disobeys, he says:

يَا رَبِّ اُسْتُرْ عَلَيَّ فَإِذَا فَرَغَ مِنَ الْمَعْصِيَةِ قَالَ : يَا رَبِّ تُبْ عَلَيَّ فَإِذَا تَابَ قَالَ يَا رَبِّ اُرْزُقْنِي الْعِصْمَةَ فَإِذَا عَمِلَ قَالَ : يَا رَبِّ تَقَبَّلْ مِنِّي ، وَمِنْ أَحْسَنِ مَا يَتَعَقَّبُ الذَّنْبَ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ بَعْدَ التَّوْبَةِ وَحَلِّ الْإِصْرَارِ مِمَّا يُرْجَى بِهِ كَفَّارَةُ الْخَطِيئَةِ

yā rabbi ustur ʿalayya faʾidhā faragha mina al-maʿṣiyati qāla : yā rabbi tub ʿalayya faʾidhā tāba qāla yā rabbi urzuqnī al-ʿiṣmata faʾidhā ʿamila qāla : yā rabbi taqabbal minnī , wamin ʾaḥsani mā yataʿaqqabu al-dhanba mina al-ʾaʿmāli baʿda al-tawbati waḥalli al-ʾiṣrāri mimmā yurjā bihi kaffāratu al-khaṭīʾati

‘My Lord, conceal my fault.’ When he has finished the act of disobedience, he says, ‘My Lord, turn toward me.’ When he has repented, he says, ‘My Lord, grant me protection from sin.’ When he has performed a deed, he says, ‘My Lord, accept it from me.’” Among the finest deeds with which to follow sin, after repentance and breaking one’s persistence in it, and through which expiation of the offense is hoped for, are

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٢٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 320

Volume One, page 320

ثَمَانِيَةُ أَعْمَالٍ : أَرْبَعَةٌ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ وَأَرْبَعَةٌ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ ، فَأَعْمَالُ الْجَوَارِحِ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ الْعَبْدُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرَ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً . وَيَقُولَ : سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ ثُمَّ يَتَصَدَّقَ بِصَدَقَةٍ وَيَصُومَ يَوْمًا ، وَأَعْمَالُ الْقُلُوبِ هِيَ اعْتِقَادُ التَّوْبَةِ مِنْهُ وَحُبُّ الْإِقْلَاعِ عَنْهُ وَخَوْفُ الْعِقَابِ عَلَيْهِ وَرَجَاءُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ لَهُ ، ثُمَّ يَحْتَسِبُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِحُسْنِ ظَنِّهِ وَصِدْقِ يَقِينِهِ كَفَّارَةَ ذَنْبِهِ ،

thamāniyatu ʾaʿmālin : ʾarbaʿatun min ʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi waʾarbaʿatun min ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi , faʾaʿmālu al-jawāriḥi ʾan yuṣalliya al-ʿabdu rakʿatayni thumma yastaghfira sabʿīna marratan . wayaqūla : subḥāna Allāhi al-ʿaẓīmi wabiḥamdihi miʾata marratin thumma yataṣaddaqa biṣadaqatin wayaṣūma yawman , waʾaʿmālu al-qulūbi hiya iʿtiqādu al-tawbati minhu waḥubbu al-ʾiqlāʿi ʿanhu wakhawfu al-ʿiqābi ʿalayhi warajāʾu al-maghfirati lahu , thumma yaḥtasibu ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā biḥusni ẓannihi waṣidqi yaqīnihi kaffārata dhanbihi ,

eight deeds: four deeds of the limbs and four deeds of the hearts. The deeds of the limbs are that the servant should pray two prayer cycles, then seek forgiveness seventy times, and say, “Glory be to God the Magnificent, and praise be to Him,” one hundred times, then give an act of charity and fast for a day. The deeds of the hearts are resolving to repent of the sin, loving to desist from it, fearing punishment for it, and hoping for forgiveness of it. Then, through his good opinion of God Most High and his truthful certainty, he looks to Him for the expiation of his sin.

فَهَذِهِ الْأَعْمَالُ قَدْ وَرَدَتْ بِهَا الْآثَارُ ، إِنَّهَا الْمُكَفِّرَةُ لِلزَّلَلِ وَالْعِثَارِ ، وَقَدْ يُشْتَرَطُ فِي بَعْضِهَا فَيَتَوَضَّأُ وَيُسْبِغُ الْوُضُوءَ وَيَدْخُلُ الْمَسْجِدَ فَيُصَلِّي رَكْعَتَيْنِ وَفِي بَعْضِ الْأَخْبَارِ فَيُصَلِّي أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَاتٍ ، قَالَ : وَيُقَالُ إِذَا أَذْنَبَ الْعَبْدُ أَمَرَ صَاحِبُ الْيَمِينِ صَاحِبَ الشِّمَالِ وَهُوَ أَمِيرٌ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَرْفَعَ الْقَلَمَ عَنْهُ سِتَّ سَاعَاتٍ فَإِنْ تَابَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَمْ يَكْتُبْهَا عَلَيْهِ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَغْفِرْ كَتَبَهَا ،

fa-hādhihi al-ʾaʿmālu qad waradat bihā al-ʾāthāru , ʾinnahā al-mukaffiratu li-l-zalali wa-al-ʿithāri , waqad yushtaraṭu fī baʿḍihā fayatawaḍḍaʾu wayusbighu al-wuḍūʾa wayadkhulu al-masjida fayuṣallī rakʿatayni wafī baʿḍi al-ʾakhbāri fayuṣallī ʾarbaʿa rakaʿātin , qāla : wayuqālu ʾidhā ʾadhnaba al-ʿabdu ʾamara ṣāḥibu al-yamīni ṣāḥiba al-shimāli wahuwa ʾamīrun ʿalayhi ʾan yarfaʿa al-qalama ʿanhu sitta sāʿātin faʾin tāba wa-staghfara lam yaktubhā ʿalayhi waʾin lam yastaghfir katabahā ,

Reports have come concerning these deeds, stating that they expiate slips and stumbles. In some of them, it is stipulated that he perform ablution thoroughly, enter the mosque, and pray two prayer cycles; in some reports, that he pray four prayer cycles. The narrator said, “It is said that when a servant sins, the companion on the right commands the companion on the left, over whom he has authority, to withhold the pen from him for six hours. If he repents and seeks forgiveness, he does not write it against him; if he does not seek forgiveness, he writes it.”

وَيُقَالُ صَدَقَةُ اللَّيْلِ تُكَفِّرُ ذُنُوبَ النَّهَارِ وَصَدَقَةُ السِّرِّ تُكَفِّرُ ذُنُوبَ اللَّيْلِ ، وَفِي بَعْضِ الْأَخْبَارِ إِذَا عَمِلْتَ سَيِّئَةً فَأَتْبِعْهَا حَسَنَةً تُكَفِّرُهَا السِّرَّ بِالسِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةَ بِالْعَلَانِيَةِ ، وَفِي أَخْبَارٍ مُتَفَرِّقَةٍ جَمَعْنَاهَا : مَا مِنْ يَوْمٍ طَلَعَ فَجْرُهُ وَلَا لَيْلَةٍ غَابَ شَفَقُهَا إِلَّا وَمَلَكَانِ يَتَجَاوَبَانِ بِأَرْبَعَةِ أَصْوَاتٍ يَقُولُ أَحَدُهُمَا : يَا لَيْتَ هَذَا الْخَلْقَ لَمْ يُخْلَقُوا وَيَقُولُ الْآخَرُ :

wayuqālu ṣadaqatu al-layli tukaffiru dhunūba al-nahāri waṣadaqatu al-sirri tukaffiru dhunūba al-layli , wafī baʿḍi al-ʾakhbāri ʾidhā ʿamilta sayyiʾatan faʾatbiʿhā ḥasanatan tukaffiruhā al-sirra bi-al-sirri wa-al-ʿalāniyata bi-al-ʿalāniyati , wafī ʾakhbārin mutafarriqatin jamaʿnāhā : mā min yawmin ṭalaʿa fajruhu walā laylatin ghāba shafaquhā ʾillā wamalakāni yatajāwabāni biʾarbaʿati ʾaṣwātin yaqūlu ʾaḥaduhumā : yā layta hādhā al-khalqa lam yukhlaqū wayaqūlu al-ʾākharu :

It is said, “Charity at night expiates the sins of the day, and secret charity expiates the sins of the night.” In some reports, “When you do an evil deed, follow it with a good deed to expiate it: a secret deed for a secret deed, and a public deed for a public deed.” In scattered reports that we have collected: “No day’s dawn rises and no night’s twilight disappears without two angels answering one another with four cries. One of them says, ‘If only these creatures had never been created!’ The other says:

وَيَا لَيْتَهُمْ إِذْ خُلِقُوا عَلِمُوا لِمَاذَا خُلِقُوا فَيَقُولُ الْآخَرُ : يَا لَيْتَهُمْ إِذْ عَلِمُوا لِمَاذَا خُلِقُوا عَمِلُوا بِمَا عَلِمُوا ، وَفِي بَعْضِهَا : تَجَالَسُوا فَتَذَاكَرُوا مَا عَلِمُوا فَيَقُولُ الْآخَرُ : وَيَا لَيْتَهُمْ إِذْ لَمْ يَعْمَلُوا بِمَا عَلِمُوا تَابُوا مِمَّا عَمِلُوا ، فَأَوَّلُ مَا يَجِبُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ أَنْ لَا يَعْصِيَهُ بِنِعَمِهِ لِئَلَّا تَكُونَ مَعْصِيَتُهُ كُفْرَانًا لِنِعْمَتِهِ وَجَوَارِحُ الْعَبْدِ وَمَا لَهُ مِنْ نِعَمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِأَنَّ قِوَامَ الْإِنْسَانِ بِجَوَارِحِهِ وَثَبَاتَ جَوَارِحِهِ بِالْحَرَكَةِ وَمَنَافِعَ الْحَرَكَةِ بِالْعَافِيَةِ ،

wayā laytahum ʾidh khuliqū ʿalimū limādhā khuliqū fayaqūlu al-ʾākharu : yā laytahum ʾidh ʿalimū limādhā khuliqū ʿamilū bimā ʿalimū , wafī baʿḍihā : tajālasū fatadhākarū mā ʿalimū fayaqūlu al-ʾākharu : wayā laytahum ʾidh lam yaʿmalū bimā ʿalimū tābū mimmā ʿamilū , faʾawwalu mā yajibu li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla ʿalā ʿabdihi ʾan lā yaʿṣiyahu biniʿamihi liʾallā takūna maʿṣiyatuhu kufrānan liniʿmatihi wajawāriḥu al-ʿabdi wamā lahu min niʿami Allāhi taʿālā liʾanna qiwāma al-ʾinsāni bijawāriḥihi wathabāta jawāriḥihi bi-al-ḥarakati wamanāfiʿa al-ḥarakati bi-al-ʿāfiyati ,

‘If only, since they were created, they knew why they were created!’ The other says, ‘If only, since they knew why they were created, they acted upon what they knew!’ In some versions, ‘They sat together and reminded one another of what they knew.’ The other says, ‘If only, since they did not act upon what they knew, they repented of what they did!’” The first obligation owed by the servant to God, mighty and majestic, is not to disobey Him by means of His blessings, lest his disobedience become ingratitude for His blessing. The servant’s limbs and everything he possesses are among God Most High’s blessings, for the human being is sustained by his limbs; his limbs are maintained by movement; and movement’s benefits depend on well-being.

فَإِذَا عَصَاهُ بِالنِّعْمَةِ فَقَدْ بَدَّلَهَا كُفْرًا ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( بَدَّلُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ كُفْرًا ) إِبْرَاهِيمُ : 28 قِيلَ : اسْتَعَانُوا بِهَا عَلَى مَعَاصِيهِ ثُمَّ تَوَعَّدَ عَلَى التَّبْدِيلِ بِالْعِقَابِ الشَّدِيدِ فَقَالَ : ( وَمَنْ يُبَدِّلْ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 211 ، عَلَى تَبْدِيلِ النِّعْمَةِ بِالْمَعْصِيَةِ مُعَجَّلًا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَيَكُونُ مُؤَجَّلًا فِي الْآخِرَةِ .

faʾidhā ʿaṣāhu bi-al-niʿmati faqad baddalahā kufran , kamā qāla taʿālā : ( baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran ) ʾibrāhīmu : 28 qīla : istaʿānū bihā ʿalā maʿāṣīhi thumma tawaʿʿada ʿalā al-tabdīli bi-al-ʿiqābi al-shadīdi faqāla : ( waman yubaddil niʿmata Allāhi min baʿdi mā jāʾathu faʾinna Allāha shadīdu al-ʿiqābi ) al-baqaratu : 211 , ʿalā tabdīli al-niʿmati bi-al-maʿṣiyati muʿajjalan fī al-dunyā wayakūnu muʾajjalan fī al-ʾākhirati .

When he disobeys Him by means of a blessing, he has exchanged it for unbelief, as He said, Most High, “They exchanged God’s blessing for unbelief” (Ibrāhīm 14:28). It has been explained: they used it to help them disobey Him. Then He threatened severe punishment for that exchange, saying, “Whoever exchanges God’s blessing after it has come to him: God is severe in punishment” (al-Baqarah 2:211), for exchanging the blessing through disobedience. The punishment may be hastened in this world, or deferred to the hereafter.

وَقَدْ يَكُونُ الْعِقَابُ فِي أَسْبَابِ الدُّنْيَا ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ فِي حِرْمَانِ أَسْبَابِ الْآخِرَةِ لِأَنَّهَا مَآلُهُ وَمَثْوَاهُ ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ فِيهِمَا مَعًا ، وَقَدْ تَكُونُ نَفْسُ الْمَعْصِيَةِ بِالنِّعْمَةِ عُقُوبَةً وَالْجَهْلُ بِالنِّعْمَةِ وَتَضْيِيعُ الشُّكْرِ عَلَيْهَا وَاسْتِصْغَارُهَا وَالسُّكُونُ إِلَيْهَا وَالتَّطَاوُلُ وَالتَّفَاخُرُ وَالتَّكَابُرُ بِهَا كُلُّ هَذِهِ الْأَسْبَابِ عُقُوبَاتٌ ثُمَّ يُفْتَرَضُ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ إِذَا عَصَاهُ الرُّجُوعُ إِلَى مَوْلَاهُ وَهُوَ التَّوْبَةُ عَقِيبَ وُقُوفِهِ مَعَ نَفْسِهِ وَهُوَ مُوَافَقَةُ الْهَوَى بِالْخَطِيئَةِ فَتَأْخِيرُهُ بِالتَّوْبَةِ وَإِصْرَارُهُ عَلَى الذَّنْبِ ذَنْبَانِ مُضَافَانِ إِلَى الْخَطِيئَةِ ،

waqad yakūnu al-ʿiqābu fī ʾasbābi al-dunyā , waqad yakūnu fī ḥirmāni ʾasbābi al-ʾākhirati liʾannahā maʾāluhu wamathwāhu , waqad yakūnu fīhimā maʿan , waqad takūnu nafsu al-maʿṣiyati bi-al-niʿmati ʿuqūbatan wa-al-jahlu bi-al-niʿmati wataḍyīʿu al-shukri ʿalayhā wa-stiṣghāruhā wa-al-sukūnu ʾilayhā wa-al-taṭāwulu wa-al-tafākhuru wa-al-takāburu bihā kullu hādhihi al-ʾasbābi ʿuqūbātun thumma yuftaraḍu ʿalā al-ʿabdi ʾidhā ʿaṣāhu al-rujūʿu ʾilā mawlāhu wahuwa al-tawbatu ʿaqība wuqūfihi maʿa nafsihi wahuwa muwāfaqatu al-hawā bi-al-khaṭīʾati fataʾkhīruhu bi-al-tawbati waʾiṣrāruhu ʿalā al-dhanbi dhanbāni muḍāfāni ʾilā al-khaṭīʾati ,

Punishment may affect worldly means; it may consist in deprivation of the means to the hereafter, for that is one’s ultimate destination and abode; and it may affect both together. The very act of disobeying by means of a blessing may itself be a punishment. Ignorance of the blessing, neglect of gratitude for it, belittling it, resting in it, and using it to assert superiority, boast, or act arrogantly: all these circumstances are punishments. When the servant disobeys, he is then obliged to return to his Master, which is repentance, immediately after remaining with his own self, which is following desire through the offense. His delay in repentance and his persistence in the sin are two sins added to the original offense.

فَإِذَا تَابَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ وَأَحْكَمَ التَّوْبَةَ مِنْهُ اعْتَقَدَ الِاسْتِقَامَةَ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ وَدَوَامَ الِافْتِقَارِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي الْعِصْمَةِ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُ أَبَدًا مِنَ الصَّغَائِرِ إِلَى الْهَمِّ وَالتَّمَنِّي ، وَمِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالطَّمَعِ فِي الْمَخْلُوقِ ، وَهِيَ ذُنُوبُ الْخُصُوصِ إِلَى الطَّرْفَةِ وَالنَّفَسِ وَالسُّكُونِ إِلَى شَيْءٍ وَالرَّاحَةِ بِشَيْءٍ وَهَذِهِ ذُنُوبُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ حَتَّى لَا يَبْقَى عَلَى الْعَبْدِ فِيمَا يَعْلَمُ

faʾidhā tāba min dhanbihi waʾaḥkama al-tawbata minhu iʿtaqada al-istiqāmata ʿalā al-ṭāʿati wadawāma al-iftiqāri ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā fī al-ʿiṣmati thumma yatūbu ʾabadan mina al-ṣaghāʾiri ʾilā al-hammi wa-al-tamannī , wamina al-khawfi wa-al-ṭamaʿi fī al-makhlūqi , wahiya dhunūbu al-khuṣūṣi ʾilā al-ṭarfati wa-al-nafasi wa-al-sukūni ʾilā shayʾin wa-al-rāḥati bishayʾin wa-hādhihi dhunūbu al-muqarrabīna ḥattā lā yabqā ʿalā al-ʿabdi fīmā yaʿlamu

When he has repented of his sin and made his repentance from it firm, he resolves to remain upright in obedience and continually to need God Most High for protection from sin. Then he repents constantly, from minor sins down to intention and wishing, and from fear of and hope in created beings, which are the sins of the elect, down to a glance, a breath, resting in anything, and taking comfort in anything. These are the sins of those brought near, until there remains upon the servant, within his knowledge, no

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٢١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 321

Volume One, page 321

مُخَالَفَةٌ وَحَتَّى يَشْهَدَ لَهُ الْعِلْمُ بِالْوَفَاءِ فَتَبْقَى حِينَئِذٍ ذُنُوبُهُ مِنْ مُطَالَعَةِ عِلْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِيهِ لِمَا اسْتَأْثَرَ بِهِ عَنْهُ مِنْ عِلْمِ غَيْبِهِ يُكَاشِفُهُ بِهِ وَمِنْ مَعْنَى نَفْسِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ وَكَوْنِ الْخِلْقَةِ عَنْ تَسْلِيطِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ بِوَصْفِهَا وَكِبْرِهَا فَيَكُونُ هَذَا الْخَوْفُ مَثُوبَةً لَهُ لِمَا فَزِعَ مِنْ عِلْمِ نَفْسِهِ إِلَى مَا لَا يُمْكِنُ ذِكْرُهُ وَلَا يُعْرَفُ نَشْرُهُ مِنْ ذُنُوبِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ الَّتِي هِيَ صَالِحَاتُ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ لِفَقْدِ مُشَاهَدَتِهَا وَلِلْجَهْلِ بِمَعْرِفَةِ مَقَامَاتِهَا

mukhālafatun waḥattā yashhada lahu al-ʿilmu bi-al-wafāʾi fatabqā ḥīnaʾidhin dhunūbuhu min muṭālaʿati ʿilmi Allāhi taʿālā fīhi limā istaʾthara bihi ʿanhu min ʿilmi ghaybihi yukāshifuhu bihi wamin maʿnā nafsi al-ʿubūdiyyati wakawni al-khilqati ʿan taslīṭi al-rubūbiyyati biwaṣfihā wakibrihā fayakūnu hādhā al-khawfu mathūbatan lahu limā faziʿa min ʿilmi nafsihi ʾilā mā lā yumkinu dhikruhu walā yuʿrafu nashruhu min dhunūbi al-muqarrabīna allatī hiya ṣāliḥātu ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni lifaqdi mushāhadatihā wali-l-jahli bimaʿrifati maqāmātihā

act of opposition, and knowledge bears witness that he has fulfilled his obligations. His sins then remain in the light of his contemplation of God Most High’s knowledge of him: the knowledge of His unseen that He has reserved to Himself apart from him, and which He unveils to him; and in the very meaning of servanthood and creation’s existence under the dominion of lordship in its attributes and greatness. This fear becomes a reward for him because he has fled from knowledge of himself to what cannot be mentioned and whose dissemination is not known: the sins of those brought near, which are the good deeds of the Companions of the Right, because of the absence of witnessing them and ignorance of the knowledge of their stations

عِنْدَ الْعُمُومِ فَيَكُونُ حَالُ هَذَا الْمُقَرَّبِ الْإِشْفَاقَ مِنَ الْبُعْدِ فِي كُلِّ طَرْفَةٍ وَنَفَسٍ إِلَى وَقْتِ اللِّقَاءِ وَالْخَوْفَ مِنَ الْإِعْرَاضِ وَالْحَجْبِ فِي كُلِّ حَرَكَةٍ وَهَمٍّ فِي هَذِهِ الدَّارِ إِلَى دَارِ الْبَقَاءِ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ غَرِيبٍ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَوْحَى إِلَى يَعْقُوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَتَدْرِي لِمَ فَرَّقْتُ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ يُوسُفَ ، قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ :

ʿinda al-ʿumūmi fayakūnu ḥālu hādhā al-muqarrabi al-ʾishfāqa mina al-buʿdi fī kulli ṭarfatin wanafasin ʾilā waqti al-liqāʾi wa-al-khawfa mina al-ʾiʿrāḍi wa-al-ḥajbi fī kulli ḥarakatin wahammin fī hādhihi al-dāri ʾilā dāri al-baqāʾi . waqad rawaynā fī khabarin gharībin : ʾinna Allāha ʿazza wajalla ʾawḥā ʾilā yaʿqūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾatadrī lima farraqtu baynaka wabayna yūsufa , qāla : lā , qāla :

among ordinary people. The state of this person brought near is therefore apprehension of remoteness in every glance and breath until the moment of meeting, and fear of being turned away from and veiled in every movement and intention, from this abode until the abode of everlasting life. We have transmitted in an unusual report that God, mighty and majestic, revealed to Jacob, peace be upon him, “Do you know why I separated you from Joseph?” He replied, “No.” He said:

لِقَوْلِكَ لِإِخْوَتِهِ إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَنْ يَأْكُلَهُ الذِّئْبُ لِمَ خِفْتَ عَلَيْهِ الذِّئْبَ وَلَمْ تَرْجُنِي لَهُ وَلِمَ نَظَرْتَ إِلَى غَفْلَةِ إِخْوَتِهِ وَلَمْ تَنْظُرْ إِلَى حِفْظِي لَهُ فَهَذَا مَعْنَى قَوْلِ يُوسُفَ لِلسَّاقِي : اُذْكُرْنِي عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ ، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( فَأَنْسَاهُ الشَّيْطَانُ ذِكْرَ رَبِّهِ فَلَبِثَ فِي السِّجْنِ بِضْعَ سِنِينَ ) يُوسُفُ : 42 ،

liqawlika liʾikhwatihi ʾinnī ʾakhāfu ʾan yaʾkulahu al-dhiʾbu lima khifta ʿalayhi al-dhiʾba walam tarjunī lahu walima naẓarta ʾilā ghaflati ʾikhwatihi walam tanẓur ʾilā ḥifẓī lahu fa-hādhā maʿnā qawli yūsufa li-l-sāqī : udhkurnī ʿinda rabbika , qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( faʾansāhu al-shayṭānu dhikra rabbihi falabitha fī al-sijni biḍʿa sinīna ) yūsufu : 42 ,

“Because you said to his brothers, ‘I fear that the wolf will eat him.’ Why did you fear the wolf for him and not place your hope in Me for him? Why did you look at his brothers’ heedlessness and not look at My protection of him?” This is the meaning of Joseph’s saying to the cupbearer, “Mention me to your master.” God Most High said, “Satan made him forget the remembrance of his Lord, so he remained in prison for several years” (Yūsuf 12:42).

فَهَذَا مِمَّا يُعْتَبُ عَلَى الْخُصُوصِ مِنْ خَفِيِّ سُكُونِهِمْ وَلَمْحِ نَظَرِهِمْ إِلَى مَا سِوَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَإِنَّمَا حُرِمَ بَعْضُ التَّائِبِينَ ذَلِكَ الْمَزِيدَ وَلَمْ يَجِدُوا حَلَاوَةَ التَّوْبَةِ لِتَهَاوُنِهِمْ بِحَالِ الرِّعَايَةِ وَتَسَامُحِهِمْ بِتَرْكِ حُسْنِ الْقِيَامِ بِشَاهِدِ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ وَذَلِكَ يَكُونُ مِنْ قِلَّةِ إِحْكَامِ أَمْرِ التَّوْبَةِ وَلَوْ قَامُوا بِحُكْمِ التَّوْبَةِ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ الْوَاحِدِ وَأَحْكَمُوا حَالَ تَوَّابٍ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ فِي التَّوْبَةِ لَمْ يَعْدَمُوا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْمَزِيدَ لِأَنَّهُمْ مُحْسِنُونَ فَهُمْ فِي تَجْدِيدٍ ،

fa-hādhā mimmā yuʿtabu ʿalā al-khuṣūṣi min khafiyyi sukūnihim walamḥi naẓarihim ʾilā mā siwā Allāhi taʿālā waʾinnamā ḥurima baʿḍu al-tāʾibīna dhālika al-mazīda walam yajidū ḥalāwata al-tawbati litahāwunihim biḥāli al-riʿāyati watasāmuḥihim bitarki ḥusni al-qiyāmi bishāhidi al-murāqabati wa-dhālika yakūnu min qillati ʾiḥkāmi ʾamri al-tawbati walaw qāmū biḥukmi al-tawbati mina al-dhanbi al-wāḥidi waʾaḥkamū ḥāla tawwābin mina al-ṣādiqīna fī al-tawbati lam yaʿdamū mina Allāhi taʿālā al-mazīda liʾannahum muḥsinūna fahum fī tajdīdin ,

This is among the things for which the elect are reproached: their hidden resting in, and the fleeting glance they direct toward, what is other than God Most High. Some of the penitent were denied that further increase and did not find the sweetness of repentance only because they were careless about attentive care and lenient in abandoning properly upholding the witnessing of watchfulness. This comes from insufficient mastery of the matter of repentance. Had they fulfilled the requirements of repentance from a single sin and perfected the state of a repeatedly repentant person among those truthful in repentance, they would not have lacked further increase from God Most High, for they are doing good and are therefore continually renewed.

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( سَنَزِيدُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 58 فَإِذَا رَآكَ مُسْتَقِيمًا عَلَى التَّوْبَةِ عَامِلًا بِالصَّالِحَاتِ وَلَمْ تَجِدْكَ عَلَى مَزِيدٍ مِنْ مَبَرَّاتٍ بِوَجْدِ حَلَاوَةٍ أَوْ حُسْنِ خَلِيقَةٍ أَوْ عُرُوضِ زُهْدٍ أَوْ خَاصِّيَّةٍ مَعْرُوفَةٍ فَارْجِعْ إِلَى بَابِ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ أَوْ مَوْقِفِ الرِّعَايَةِ فَتَفَقَّدْهُمَا وَأَحْكِمْ حَالَهُمَا فَمِنْ قِبَلِهِمَا أُتِيتَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ :

qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( sanazīdu al-muḥsinīna ) al-baqaratu : 58 faʾidhā raʾāka mustaqīman ʿalā al-tawbati ʿāmilan bi-al-ṣāliḥāti walam tajidka ʿalā mazīdin min mabarrātin biwajdi ḥalāwatin ʾaw ḥusni khalīqatin ʾaw ʿurūḍi zuhdin ʾaw khāṣṣiyyatin maʿrūfatin fa-rjiʿ ʾilā bābi al-murāqabati ʾaw mawqifi al-riʿāyati fatafaqqadhumā waʾaḥkim ḥālahumā famin qibalihimā ʾutīta , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi :

God Most High said, “We shall increase those who do good” (al-Baqarah 2:58). If He sees you upright in repentance and doing righteous deeds, yet you do not find yourself receiving further kindness through the discovery of sweetness, goodness of character, the arising of renunciation, or a recognized special quality, return to the gate of watchfulness or the station of attentive care. Examine both and make your state in them sound, for it is through them that the fault has come upon you. One of the scholars said:

مَنْ تَابَ مِنْ تِسْعَةٍ وَتِسْعِينَ ذَنْبًا وَلَمْ يَتُبْ مِنْ ذَنْبٍ وَاحِدٍ لَمْ يَكُنْ عِنْدَنَا مِنَ التَّائِبِينَ وَلَا تَغْفُلَنَّ عَنِ التَّفَقُّدِ وَتَجْدِيدِ التَّوْبَةِ أَدْبَارَ الصَّلَوَاتِ فَإِنَّمَا دَخَلَ الْخُسْرَانُ عَلَى الْعُمَّالِ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ مِنْ تَرْكِهِمُ التَّفَقُّدَ وَمُحَاسَبَةَ النَّفْسِ وَبِمُسَامَحَتِهَا مِمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ ،

man tāba min tisʿatin watisʿīna dhanban walam yatub min dhanbin wāḥidin lam yakun ʿindanā mina al-tāʾibīna walā taghfulanna ʿani al-tafaqqudi watajdīdi al-tawbati ʾadbāra al-ṣalawāti faʾinnamā dakhala al-khusrānu ʿalā al-ʿummāli min ḥaythu lā yaʿlamūna min tarkihimu al-tafaqquda wamuḥāsabata al-nafsi wabimusāmaḥatihā mimmā yaʿmalūna ,

“Whoever repents of ninety-nine sins but does not repent of one sin is not, in our view, among the repentant.” Never neglect self-examination and the renewal of repentance after the prayers. Loss comes upon those who act from where they do not know, through their neglect of examination and calling the self to account, and through their indulgence toward it in what they do.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ حَقِيقَةَ تَوْبَةِ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ عَشَرَةُ أَعْمَالٍ لَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ تَوَّابًا يُحِبُّهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَلَا تَكُونُ تَوْبَتُهُ نَصُوحًا الَّتِي شَرَطَهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَفَسَّرَتْهَا النُّبُوَّةُ إِلَّا أَنْ يُحْكِمَ الْعَبْدُ عَشْرَ تَوْبَاتٍ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ أَوَّلُهَا تَرْكُ الْعَوْدِ إِلَى فِعْلِ الذَّنْبِ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ بِهِ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُ مِنَ الِاجْتِمَاعِ مَعَ سَبَبِ الذَّنْبِ ثُمَّ التَّوْبَةُ مِنَ السَّعْيِ فِي مِثْلِهِ ثُمَّ التَّوْبَةُ مِنَ النَّظَرِ إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ التَّوْبَةُ مِنَ الِاسْتِمَاعِ

wa-ʿlam ʾanna ḥaqīqata tawbati kulli dhanbin ʿasharatu ʾaʿmālin lā yakūnu al-ʿabdu tawwāban yuḥibbuhu Allāhu taʿālā walā takūnu tawbatuhu naṣūḥan allatī sharaṭahā Allāhu taʿālā wafassarathā al-nubuwwatu ʾillā ʾan yuḥkima al-ʿabdu ʿashra tawbātin min kulli dhanbin ʾawwaluhā tarku al-ʿawdi ʾilā fiʿli al-dhanbi thumma yatūbu mina al-qawli bihi thumma yatūbu mina al-ijtimāʿi maʿa sababi al-dhanbi thumma al-tawbatu mina al-saʿyi fī mithlihi thumma al-tawbatu mina al-naẓari ʾilayhi thumma al-tawbatu mina al-istimāʿi

Know that the reality of repentance from every sin comprises ten deeds. The servant is not a repeatedly repentant person whom God Most High loves, nor is his repentance the sincere repentance that God Most High stipulated and the prophetic teaching explained, unless the servant makes ten repentances from every sin firm. The first is to stop returning to the sinful deed. Then he repents of speaking of it; then he repents of associating with the cause of the sin; then comes repentance from pursuing its like; then repentance from looking at it; then repentance from listening

إِلَى الْقَائِلِينَ بِهِ ثُمَّ التَّوْبَةُ مِنَ الْهِمَّةِ ثُمَّ التَّوْبَةُ مِنَ التَّقْصِيرِ فِي حَقِّ التَّوْبَةِ ثُمَّ التَّوْبَةُ مِنْ أَنْ لَا يَكُونَ أَرَادَ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى خَالِصًا بِجَمِيعِ مَا تَرَكَهُ لِأَجْلِهِ ثُمَّ التَّوْبَةُ مِنَ النَّظَرِ إِلَى التَّوْبَةِ وَالسُّكُونِ إِلَيْهَا وَالْإِدْلَالِ بِهَا ثُمَّ يَشْهَدُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ تَقْصِيرَهُ عَنِ الْقِيَامِ بِحَقِّ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ لِعَظِيمِ مَا يَشْهَدُ بِالْمَزِيدِ مِنَ الْإِشْرَافِ عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ مِنْ كَبِيرِ جَلَالِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَعَظْمِ كِبْرِيَائِهِ فَتَكُونُ

ʾilā al-qāʾilīna bihi thumma al-tawbatu mina al-himmati thumma al-tawbatu mina al-taqṣīri fī ḥaqqi al-tawbati thumma al-tawbatu min ʾan lā yakūna ʾarāda wajha Allāhi taʿālā khāliṣan bijamīʿi mā tarakahu liʾajlihi thumma al-tawbatu mina al-naẓari ʾilā al-tawbati wa-al-sukūni ʾilayhā wa-al-ʾidlāli bihā thumma yashhadu baʿda dhālika taqṣīrahu ʿani al-qiyāmi biḥaqqi al-rubūbiyyati liʿaẓīmi mā yashhadu bi-al-mazīdi mina al-ʾishrāfi ʿalā al-tawḥīdi min kabīri jalāli Allāhi taʿālā waʿaẓmi kibriyāʾihi fatakūnu

to those who speak of it; then repentance from the intention; then repentance from falling short in what repentance is owed; then repentance for not having sought the face of God Most High purely in everything he abandoned for His sake; then repentance from looking at repentance, resting in it, and presuming upon it. After this, he witnesses his shortcoming in fulfilling the claim of lordship, because of the immense magnitude of God Most High’s majesty and the greatness of His grandeur that he witnesses through further insight into divine unity. Then

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٢٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 322

Volume One, page 322

تَوْبَتُهُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ تَقْصِيرِهِ عَنِ الْقِيَامِ بِحَقِيقَةِ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ وَيَكُونُ اسْتِغْفَارُهُ لِمَا ضَعُفَ قَلْبُهُ وَنَقَصَ هَمُّهُ عَنْ مُعَايَنَةِ مُشَاهَدَةٍ لِعُلُوِّ مَقَامِهِ وَدَوَامِ مَزِيدِهِ وَإِعْلَامِهِ وَلَا نِهَايَةَ لِتَوْبَةِ الْعَارِفِ وَلَا لِغَايَةِ وَصْفِهِ لِمَا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ عَاكِفٌ وَلَا وَصْفٌ مُحْتَمِلٌ ذِكْرَ دَقِيقِ بَلَائِهِ وَلَا يَكْبُرُ عَنِ التَّوْبَةِ نَبِيٌّ فَمَنْ دُونَهُ وَلِكُلِّ مَقَامٍ تَوْبَةٌ وَلِكُلِّ حَالٍ مِنْ مَقَامٍ تَوْبَةٌ وَلِكُلِّ مُشَاهَدَةٍ وَمُكَاشَفَةٍ تَوْبَةٌ فَهَذَا حَالُ التَّائِبِ الْمُنِيبِ الَّذِي هُوَ

tawbatuhu baʿda dhālika min taqṣīrihi ʿani al-qiyāmi biḥaqīqati mushāhadatihi wayakūnu istighfāruhu limā ḍaʿufa qalbuhu wanaqaṣa hammuhu ʿan muʿāyanati mushāhadatin liʿuluwwi maqāmihi wadawāmi mazīdihi waʾiʿlāmihi walā nihāyata litawbati al-ʿārifi walā lighāyati waṣfihi limā huwa ʿalayhi ʿākifun walā waṣfun muḥtamilun dhikra daqīqi balāʾihi walā yakburu ʿani al-tawbati nabiyyun faman dūnahu walikulli maqāmin tawbatun walikulli ḥālin min maqāmin tawbatun walikulli mushāhadatin wamukāshafatin tawbatun fa-hādhā ḥālu al-tāʾibi al-munībi alladhī huwa

his repentance is for falling short of fully realizing the reality of his witnessing. His seeking of forgiveness arises because his heart has grown weak and his aspiration has fallen short of direct vision and witnessing, given the height of his station and the continuity of God’s further gifts and instruction. There is no end to the knower’s repentance or to the ultimate description of what he remains devoted to, and no description can bear mention of the subtlety of his trial. No prophet, nor anyone below a prophet, is too great for repentance. Every station has a repentance; every state within a station has a repentance; every witnessing and unveiling has a repentance. This is the state of the repentant person who turns back and is

مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مُقَرَّبٌ وَعِنْدَهُ حَبِيبٌ وَهَذَا مَقَامُ مُفَتَّنٍ تَوَّابٍ أَيْ مُخْتَبَرٍ بِالْأَشْيَاءِ مُبْتَلًى بِهَا تَوَّابٍ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْهَا لِيَنْظُرَ مَوْلَاهُ أَيَنْظُرُ بِقَلْبِهِ إِلَيْهِ أَوْ إِلَيْهَا أَوْ يَعْتَكِفُ بِهِمَّتِهِ عَلَيْهِ أَوْ عَلَيْهَا أَوْ يَطْمَئِنُّ إِلَيْهِ بِوُجُودِهَا أَوْ إِلَيْهَا أَوْ يَطْلُبُ إِيَّاهُ هَرَبًا مِنْهَا أَوْ إِيَّاهَا فَعَلَيْهِ لِكُلِّ مُشَاهَدَةٍ لِسِوَاهُ ذَنْبٌ وَعَلَيْهِ فِي كُلِّ سُكُونٍ إِلَى سِوَاهُ عَتَبٌ كَمَا لَهُ فِي كُلِّ شَهَادَةٍ عِلْمٌ وَمِنْ كُلِّ

mina Allāhi taʿālā muqarrabun waʿindahu ḥabībun wa-hādhā maqāmu mufattanin tawwābin ʾay mukhtabarin bi-al-ʾashyāʾi mubtalan bihā tawwābin ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā minhā liyanẓura mawlāhu ʾayanẓuru biqalbihi ʾilayhi ʾaw ʾilayhā ʾaw yaʿtakifu bihimmatihi ʿalayhi ʾaw ʿalayhā ʾaw yaṭmaʾinnu ʾilayhi biwujūdihā ʾaw ʾilayhā ʾaw yaṭlubu ʾiyyāhu haraban minhā ʾaw ʾiyyāhā faʿalayhi likulli mushāhadatin lisiwāhu dhanbun waʿalayhi fī kulli sukūnin ʾilā siwāhu ʿatabun kamā lahu fī kulli shahādatin ʿilmun wamin kulli

brought near by God Most High and beloved in His presence. This is the station of one repeatedly tried and repeatedly repentant: tested by things and afflicted through them, repeatedly turning to God Most High from them, so that his Master may see whether he looks with his heart toward Him or toward them; whether he devotes his aspiration to Him or to them; whether, in their presence, he finds tranquility in Him or in them; whether he seeks Him by fleeing from them, or seeks them. He thus incurs a sin for every witnessing of what is other than Him and a reproach for every resting in what is other than Him, just as he gains knowledge in every witnessing and, from every

إِظْهَارٍ فِي الْكَوْنِ حُكْمٌ فَذُنُوبُهُ لَا تُحْصَى وَتَوْبَاتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَا تُسْتَقْصَى ، فَهَذِهِ حَقِيقَةُ التَّوْبَةِ النَّصُوحِ وَصَاحِبُهَا مُسْلِمٌ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى مُحْسِنٌ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ مُسْتَرِيحٌ وَدِينُهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مُسْتَقِيمٌ وَمَقَامُهُ وَحَالُهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى سَلِيمٌ . وَقَدْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُفَتَّنٍ تَوَّابٍ ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الذُّنُوبَ عَلَى سَبْعَةِ ضُرُوبٍ بَعْضُهَا أَعْظَمُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ ،

ʾiẓhārin fī al-kawni ḥukmun fadhunūbuhu lā tuḥṣā watawbātuhu ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā lā tustaqṣā , fa-hādhihi ḥaqīqatu al-tawbati al-naṣūḥi waṣāḥibuhā muslimun wajhahu li-llāhi taʿālā muḥsinun min nafsihi mustarīḥun wadīnuhu ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā mustaqīmun wamaqāmuhu waḥāluhu mina Allāhi taʿālā salīmun . waqad qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾinna Allāha yuḥibbu kulla mufattanin tawwābin , wa-ʿlam ʾanna al-dhunūba ʿalā sabʿati ḍurūbin baʿḍuhā ʾaʿẓamu min baʿḍin ,

manifestation in existence, a judgment. His sins cannot be counted, and his repentances to God Most High cannot be exhausted. This is the reality of sincere repentance. Its possessor submits his face to God Most High, does good, and is at rest from his own self; his religion is upright before God Most High, and his station and state are kept sound by God Most High. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “God loves everyone who is repeatedly tried and repeatedly repentant.” Know that sins are of seven kinds, some graver than others.

كُلُّ ضَرْبٍ مِنْهَا مَرَاتِبُ فِي كُلِّ مَرْتَبَةٍ مِنَ الْمُذْنِبِينَ طَبَقَةٌ مِنْهَا مَعَاصٍ يَعْتَلُّ بِهَا الْعَبْدُ مِنْ مَعَانِي صِفَاتِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ مِثْلَ الْكِبْرِ وَالْفَخْرِ وَالْجَبْرِيَّةِ وَحُبِّ الْحَمْدِ وَالْمَدْحِ وَوَصْفِ الْعِزِّ وَالْغِنَى ، فَهَذِهِ مُهْلِكَاتٌ وَفِيهَا مِنَ الْعُمُومِ طَبَقَاتٌ وَمَعَاصِي تَكُونُ مِنْ مَعَانِي أَخْلَاقِ الشَّيَاطِينِ مِثْلَ : الْحَسَدِ وَالْبَغْيِ وَالْحِيلَةِ وَالْخِدَاعِ وَالْأَمْرِ بِالْفَسَادِ ،

kullu ḍarbin minhā marātibu fī kulli martabatin mina al-mudhnibīna ṭabaqatun minhā maʿāṣin yaʿtallu bihā al-ʿabdu min maʿānī ṣifāti al-rubūbiyyati mithla al-kibri wa-al-fakhri wa-al-jabriyyati waḥubbi al-ḥamdi wa-al-madḥi wawaṣfi al-ʿizzi wa-al-ghinā , fa-hādhihi muhlikātun wafīhā mina al-ʿumūmi ṭabaqātun wamaʿāṣī takūnu min maʿānī ʾakhlāqi al-shayāṭīni mithla : al-ḥasadi wa-al-baghyi wa-al-ḥīlati wa-al-khidāʿi wa-al-ʾamri bi-al-fasādi ,

Each kind has degrees, and in each degree there is a class of sinners. Among them are acts of disobedience in which the servant takes on meanings belonging to the attributes of lordship, such as pride, vaunting, domination, love of praise and commendation, and the attributes of might and self-sufficiency. These are destructive, and various classes of ordinary people fall into them. There are acts of disobedience arising from the traits of devils, such as envy, aggression, scheming, deception, and commanding corruption.

فَهَذَا مُوبِقَةٌ وَفِيهَا مِنْ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا طَبَقَاتٌ وَمَعَاصِي تَكُونُ مِنْ ضِدِّ السُّنَّةِ وَهُوَ مَا خَالَفَهَا إِلَى بِدْعَةٍ وَالْأَحْدَاثِ الْمُبْتَدَعَةِ وَهِيَ كَبَائِرُ مِنْهَا مَا يُذْهِبُ الْإِيمَانَ وَيُنْبِتُ النِّفَاقَ ، وَسِتٌّ مِنْ كَبَائِرِ الْبِدَعِ ، وَهِيَ تَنْقُلُ عَنِ الْمِلَّةِ : وَهِيَ الْقَدَرِيَّةُ وَالْمُرْجِئَةُ الرَّافِضِيَّةُ وَالْإِبَاضِيَّةُ وَالْجَهْمِيَّةُ وَالشَّاطِحُونَ مِنَ الْمُغَالِطِينَ وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ لَا يَقُولُونَ بِخَلْقٍ وَلَا رَسْمٍ وَلَا حُكْمٍ فِي تَعَدِّي الْحُدُودِ وَمُجَاوَزَاتِ الْعِلْمِ فَهُمْ زَنَادِقَةُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ وَمَعَاصٍ

fa-hādhā mūbiqatun wafīhā min ʾahli al-dunyā ṭabaqātun wamaʿāṣī takūnu min ḍiddi al-sunnati wahuwa mā khālafahā ʾilā bidʿatin wa-al-ʾaḥdāthi al-mubtadaʿati wahiya kabāʾiru minhā mā yudhhibu al-ʾīmāna wayunbitu al-nifāqa , wasittun min kabāʾiri al-bidaʿi , wahiya tanqulu ʿani al-millati : wahiya al-qadariyyatu wa-al-murjiʾatu al-rāfiḍiyyatu wa-al-ʾibāḍiyyatu wa-al-jahmiyyatu wa-al-shāṭiḥūna mina al-mughāliṭīna wahumu alladhīna lā yaqūlūna bikhalqin walā rasmin walā ḥukmin fī taʿaddī al-ḥudūdi wamujāwazāti al-ʿilmi fahum zanādiqatu hādhihi al-ʾummati wamaʿāṣin

These are ruinous, and various classes of worldly people fall into them. There are acts of disobedience that oppose the Sunnah: departing from it into innovation and newly invented practices. These are major sins; some strip away faith and cause hypocrisy to grow. Six major innovations take one outside the religious community: the Qadariyyah, the Murjiʾah, the Rāfiḍiyyah, the Ibāḍiyyah, the Jahmiyyah, and those among the sophists who utter extravagant claims. These are the people who acknowledge neither creation, prescribed form, nor judgment as they transgress the bounds and go beyond knowledge. They are the heretics of this community. There are also acts of disobedience

مُتَعَلِّقَةٌ بِالْخَلْقِ مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْمَظَالِمِ فِي الدِّينِ وَالْإِلْحَادِ بِهِمْ عَنْ طَرِيقِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، وَهُوَ مَا أَضَلَّ بِهِ عَنِ الْهُدَى وَأَزَاغَ بِهِ عَنِ السُّنَنِ وَحَرَّفَهُ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَتَأَوَّلَهُ مِنَ السُّنَّةِ ثُمَّ أَظْهَرَ ذَلِكَ وَدَعَا إِلَيْهِ فَقُبِلَ مِنْهُ وَاتُّبِعَ عَلَيْهِ . وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : لَا تَوْبَةَ لِهَذِهِ الْمَعَاصِي كَمَا قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ فِي الْقَاتِلِ : لَا تَوْبَةَ لَهُ لِلْأَخْبَارِ بِثُبُوتِ الْوَعِيدِ وَحَقِّ الْقَوْلِ عَلَيْهِ ،

mutaʿalliqatun bi-al-khalqi min ṭarīqi al-maẓālimi fī al-dīni wa-al-ʾilḥādi bihim ʿan ṭarīqi al-muʾminīna , wahuwa mā ʾaḍalla bihi ʿani al-hudā waʾazāgha bihi ʿani al-sunani waḥarrafahu mina al-kitābi wataʾawwalahu mina al-sunnati thumma ʾaẓhara dhālika wadaʿā ʾilayhi faqubila minhu wa-ttubiʿa ʿalayhi . waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi : lā tawbata li-hādhihi al-maʿāṣī kamā qāla baʿḍuhum fī al-qātili : lā tawbata lahu li-l-ʾakhbāri bithubūti al-waʿīdi waḥaqqi al-qawli ʿalayhi ,

connected with created beings through wrongs in religion and turning them away from the path of the believers: what one uses to lead them astray from guidance and turn them aside from the established ways, what one distorts from the Book and misconstrues from the Sunnah, then makes public and calls others to, so that it is accepted from him and he is followed in it. Some scholars have said, “There is no repentance for these acts of disobedience,” just as some have said of the killer, “There is no repentance for him,” because of reports establishing the threatened punishment and the sentence becoming due against him.

وَالضَّرْبُ الْخَامِسُ مِنَ الْمَعَاصِي مَا تَعَلَّقَ بِمَظَالِمِ الْعِبَادِ فِي أَمْرِ الدُّنْيَا مِثْلَ ضَرْبِ الْإِنْسَانِ وَشَتْمِ الْأَعْرَاضِ وَأَخْذِ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْكَذِبِ وَالْبُهْتَانِ ، فَهَذِهِ مُوبِقَاتٌ وَلَا بُدَّ فِيهَا مِنَ الْقِصَاصِ لِلْمُوَافَقَةِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ الْحَاكِمِ الْعَادِلِ وَالْقَطْعِ مِنْهُ بِقَضَاءٍ فَاصِلٍ إِلَّا أَنْ يَقَعَ اسْتِحْلَالٌ أَوْ يَسْتَوْهِبَهَا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ أَرْبَابِهَا فِي الْمَآلِ بِكَرَمِهِ وَيُعَوِّضَ الْمَظْلُومِينَ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ جَنَابِهِ بِجُودِهِ ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ :

wa-al-ḍarbu al-khāmisu mina al-maʿāṣī mā taʿallaqa bimaẓālimi al-ʿibādi fī ʾamri al-dunyā mithla ḍarbi al-ʾinsāni washatmi al-ʾaʿrāḍi waʾakhdhi al-ʾamwāli wa-al-kadhibi wa-al-buhtāni , fa-hādhihi mūbiqātun walā budda fīhā mina al-qiṣāṣi li-l-muwāfaqati bayna yadayi al-ḥākimi al-ʿādili wa-al-qaṭʿi minhu biqaḍāʾin fāṣilin ʾillā ʾan yaqaʿa istiḥlālun ʾaw yastawhibahā Allāhu ʿazza wajalla min ʾarbābihā fī al-maʾāli bikaramihi wayuʿawwiḍa al-maẓlūmīna ʿalayhā min janābihi bijūdihi , waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari :

The fifth kind of disobedience concerns wrongs against servants in worldly affairs, such as striking a person, insulting people’s honor, taking property, lying, and slander. These are ruinous, and requital for them is unavoidable when the parties are brought face to face before the just Judge and He settles the matter by a decisive judgment, unless release is obtained or God, mighty and majestic, in His generosity asks those entitled to these claims to give them up in the final outcome, and compensates those wronged from His presence, out of His bounty. A report states:

الدَّوَاوِينُ ثَلَاثَةٌ : دِيوَانٌ يُغْفَرُ ، وَدِيوَانٌ لَا يُغْفَرُ ، وَدِيوَانٌ لَا يُتْرَكُ ، فَأَمَّا الدِّيوَانُ الَّذِي يُغْفَرُ فَذُنُوبُ الْعِبَادِ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَمَّا الدِّيوَانُ الَّذِي لَا يُغْفَرُ فَالشِّرْكُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَمَّا الدِّيوَانُ الَّذِي لَا

al-dawāwīnu thalāthatun : dīwānun yughfaru , wadīwānun lā yughfaru , wadīwānun lā yutraku , faʾammā al-dīwānu alladhī yughfaru fadhunūbu al-ʿibādi baynahum wabayna Allāhi taʿālā waʾammā al-dīwānu alladhī lā yughfaru fa-al-shirku bi-Allāhi taʿālā waʾammā al-dīwānu alladhī lā

“The registers are three: a register that is forgiven, a register that is not forgiven, and a register that is not left unsettled. The register that is forgiven contains the servants’ sins between themselves and God Most High. The register that is not forgiven is associating partners with God Most High. The register that is not

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٢٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 323

Volume One, page 323

يُتْرَكُ فَمَظَالِمُ الْعِبَادِ أَيْ لَا يُتْرَكُ الْمُطَالَبَةُ بِهِ وَالْمُؤَاخَذَةُ عَلَيْهِ ، وَالضَّرْبُ السَّادِسُ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ مَا كَانَ بَيْنَ الْعَبْدِ وَبَيْنَ مَوْلَاهُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِالشَّهَوَاتِ وَالْجَرْيِ فِي الْعَادَاتِ وَهَذِهِ أَخَفُّهَا وَإِلَى الْعَفْوِ أَقْرَبُهَا ، وَهَذِهِ عَلَى ضَرْبَيْنِ كَبَائِرَ وَصَغَائِرَ ، فَالْكَبَائِرُ مَا نُصَّ عَلَيْهِ بِالْوَعِيدِ وَمَا وَجَبَتْ فِيهِ الْحُدُودُ ، وَالصَّغَائِرُ دُونَ ذَلِكَ إِلَى نَظْرَةٍ وَخَطْرَةٍ وَالتَّوْبَةُ النَّصُوحُ تَأْتِي عَلَى الْجَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ بِعُمُومِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

yutraku famaẓālimu al-ʿibādi ʾay lā yutraku al-muṭālabatu bihi wa-al-muʾākhadhatu ʿalayhi , wa-al-ḍarbu al-sādisu mina al-dhunūbi mā kāna bayna al-ʿabdi wabayna mawlāhu min nafsihi ʾilā nafsihi mutaʿalliqun bi-al-shahawāti wa-al-jaryi fī al-ʿādāti wa-hādhihi ʾakhaffuhā waʾilā al-ʿafwi ʾaqrabuhā , wa-hādhihi ʿalā ḍarbayni kabāʾira waṣaghāʾira , fa-al-kabāʾiru mā nuṣṣa ʿalayhi bi-al-waʿīdi wamā wajabat fīhi al-ḥudūdu , wa-al-ṣaghāʾiru dūna dhālika ʾilā naẓratin wakhaṭratin wa-al-tawbatu al-naṣūḥu taʾtī ʿalā al-jamīʿi dhālika biʿumūmi qawlihi taʿālā :

left unsettled contains wrongs against the servants,” meaning that demanding redress for it and calling one to account for it are not abandoned. The sixth kind of sins consists of what is between the servant and his Master, arising from his self and returning to his self, connected with appetites and following habitual practices. These are the lightest sins and the nearest to pardon. They are of two kinds: major and minor. Major sins are those explicitly carrying a threat of punishment and those for which fixed penalties are prescribed. Minor sins are what falls below that, down to a glance and a passing thought. Sincere repentance covers all of these, by the generality of His words, Most High:

( فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنْكُمْ ) وَبِإِخْبَارِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَنْ حُكْمِهِ إِذْ يَقُولُ : ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوا ، وَبِظَاهِرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا ) الْبُرُوجُ : 10 ، وَمِثْلُهُ : ( ثُمَّ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لِلَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا فَتَنُوا ) النَّحْلُ : 110 إِلَى قَوْلِهِ : ( إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِنْ بَعْدِهَا لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ) النَّحْلُ :

( fatāba ʿalaykum waʿafā ʿankum ) wabiʾikhbārihi ʿazza wajalla ʿan ḥukmihi ʾidh yaqūlu : thumma tāba ʿalayhim liyatūbū , wabiẓāhiri qawlihi taʿālā ( ʾinna alladhīna fatanū al-muʾminīna wa-al-muʾmināti thumma lam yatūbū ) al-burūju : 10 , wamithluhu : ( thumma ʾinna rabbaka li-lladhīna hājarū min baʿdi mā fatanū ) al-naḥlu : 110 ʾilā qawlihi : ( ʾinna rabbaka min baʿdihā laghafūrun raḥīmun ) al-naḥlu :

“He turned toward you and pardoned you,” and by His declaration, mighty and majestic, of His judgment when He says, “Then He turned toward them so that they might repent”; and by the apparent meaning of His words, Most High, “Those who persecuted believing men and believing women, then did not repent” (al-Burūj 85:10). Similar are His words, “Then your Lord, toward those who emigrated after they had persecuted” (al-Naḥl 16:110), through to His words, “Your Lord after that is indeed forgiving, merciful” (al-Naḥl 16:

110 هَكَذَا قِرَاءَةُ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ بِنَصْبِ الْفَاءِ وَالتَّاءِ وَلِأَنَّ الْبُغْيَةَ مِنَ التَّوْبَةِ إِذَا كَانَتْ غُفْرَانَ الذَّنْبِ وَالزَّحْزَحَةَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَنَحْنُ لَا نَرَى أَبَدِيَّةَ الْوَعِيدِ عَلَى أَهْلِ الْكَبَائِرِ بَلْ نَجْعَلُهُمْ فِي مَشِيئَةِ اللَّهِ وَنُجَوِّزُ تَجَاوُزَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَنْهُمْ فِي أَصْحَابِ الْجَنَّةِ ، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا ) النِّسَاءُ : 93 ،

110 hākadhā qirāʾatu ʾahli al-shāmi binaṣbi al-fāʾi wa-al-tāʾi waliʾanna al-bughyata mina al-tawbati ʾidhā kānat ghufrāna al-dhanbi wa-al-zaḥzaḥata ʿani al-nāri wanaḥnu lā narā ʾabadiyyata al-waʿīdi ʿalā ʾahli al-kabāʾiri bal najʿaluhum fī mashīʾati Allāhi wanujawwizu tajāwuza Allāhi taʿālā ʿanhum fī ʾaṣḥābi al-jannati , kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari fī tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā : ( fajazāʾuhu jahannamu khālidan fīhā ) al-nisāʾu : 93 ,

110). This is the reading of the people of Syria, with fatḥah on the fāʾ and the tāʾ. Moreover, if what is sought through repentance is forgiveness of sin and removal from the Fire, we do not hold that the threatened punishment is everlasting for those who commit major sins. Rather, we leave them subject to God’s will and allow that God Most High may pass over their offenses among the Companions of the Garden. Thus a report explains His words, Most High, “His recompense is Hell, abiding therein” (al-Nisāʾ 4:93):

أَيْ إِنْ جَازَاهُ ، وَكَمَا رَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَنْ وَعَدَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى عَمَلٍ ثَوَابًا فَهُوَ مُنْجِزُهُ لَهُ وَمَنْ وَعَدَهُ عَلَى عَمَلٍ عِقَابًا فَهُوَ فِيهِ بِالْخِيَارِ إِنْ شَاءَ عَذَّبَهُ وَإِنْ شَاءَ عَفَا عَنْهُ ، وَكَمَا قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : يَغْفِرُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ الذَّنْبَ الْعَظِيمَ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ عَلَى الذَّنْبِ الصَّغِيرِ ،

ʾay ʾin jāzāhu , wakamā rawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : man waʿadahu Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā ʿamalin thawāban fahuwa munjizuhu lahu waman waʿadahu ʿalā ʿamalin ʿiqāban fahuwa fīhi bi-al-khiyāri ʾin shāʾa ʿadhdhabahu waʾin shāʾa ʿafā ʿanhu , wakamā qāla ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu : yaghfiru liman yashāʾu al-dhanba al-ʿaẓīma wayuʿadhdhibu man yashāʾu ʿalā al-dhanbi al-ṣaghīri ,

“That is, if He requites him.” Likewise, we have related from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, “Whoever God Most High has promised a reward for a deed, He will fulfill it for him. Whoever He has threatened with punishment for a deed is subject to His choice: if He wills, He punishes him, and if He wills, He pardons him.” As Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, said, “He forgives a great sin for whomever He wills, and punishes whomever He wills for a small sin.”

وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ ) النِّسَاءُ : 48 ، فَلَمْ يَحُدَّ لِلْمَغْفِرَةِ ذَنْبًا غَيْرَ الشِّرْكِ وَتَرَكَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مَعَ سَائِرِ الذُّنُوبِ فِي مَشِيئَتِهِ فَقَدْ يَحْتَجُّ مُحْتَجٌّ بِالْخَبَرِ الْمَأْثُورِ فِي تَرْكِ قَبُولِ تَوْبَةِ الْمُبْتَدِعِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى احْتَجَرَ التَّوْبَةَ عَلَى كُلِّ صَاحِبِ بِدْعَةٍ فَهَذَا مَخْصُوصٌ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَتُبْ مِمَّنْ حُكِمَ عَلَيْهِ بِدَرَكِ الشَّقَاءِ ،

waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( ʾinna Allāha lā yaghfiru ʾan yushraka bihi wayaghfiru mā dūna dhālika liman yashāʾu ) al-nisāʾu : 48 , falam yaḥudda li-l-maghfirati dhanban ghayra al-shirki wataraka al-muslimīna maʿa sāʾiri al-dhunūbi fī mashīʾatihi faqad yaḥtajju muḥtajjun bi-al-khabari al-maʾthūri fī tarki qabūli tawbati al-mubtadiʿi ʾinna Allāha taʿālā iḥtajara al-tawbata ʿalā kulli ṣāḥibi bidʿatin fa-hādhā makhṣūṣun liman lam yatub mimman ḥukima ʿalayhi bidaraki al-shaqāʾi ,

God Most High has said, “God does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what falls short of that for whomever He wills” (al-Nisāʾ 4:48). He thus set no sin as a limit to forgiveness other than association with Him, and left Muslims with all other sins subject to His will. Someone may argue from the transmitted report about not accepting the innovator’s repentance: “God Most High has barred repentance to every person of innovation.” But this applies specifically to those who do not repent, among those judged to be overtaken by misery.

أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَقُلْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى احْتَجَرَ قَبُولَ التَّوْبَةِ عَمَّنْ تَابَ إِنَّمَا أَخْبَرَ عَنْ حُكْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِيمَنْ لَمْ يَتُبْ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى حَجَبَ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْهُ ، فَهَكَذَا نَقُولُ أَيْضًا : إِنَّ الْقَاتِلَ إِذَا كَانَ قَدْ سَبَقَ لَهُ سُوءُ الْخَاتِمَةِ بِأَنَّهُ يَمُوتُ عَلَى غَيْرِ تَوْحِيدٍ ، وَكَذَلِكَ الْمُبْتَدِعُ إِنْ جُعِلَ اسْمُهُ فِي أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ ثُمَّ كَانَ الْقَتْلُ وَالْبِدْعَةُ عَلَامَةَ ذَلِكَ وَسَبَبَهُ أَنَّهُمَا جَمِيعًا مَمْنُوعَانِ مِنَ التَّوْبَةِ فَإِنَّهَا مُحْتَجَرَةٌ عَنْهُمَا ،

ʾalā tarā ʾannahu lam yaqul ʾinna Allāha taʿālā iḥtajara qabūla al-tawbati ʿamman tāba ʾinnamā ʾakhbara ʿan ḥukmi Allāhi taʿālā fīman lam yatub biʾanna Allāha taʿālā ḥajaba al-tawbata ʿanhu , fa-hākadhā naqūlu ʾayḍan : ʾinna al-qātila ʾidhā kāna qad sabaqa lahu sūʾu al-khātimati biʾannahu yamūtu ʿalā ghayri tawḥīdin , wa-kadhālika al-mubtadiʿu ʾin juʿila ismuhu fī ʾaṣḥābi al-nāri thumma kāna al-qatlu wa-al-bidʿatu ʿalāmata dhālika wasababahu ʾannahumā jamīʿan mamnūʿāni mina al-tawbati faʾinnahā muḥtajaratun ʿanhumā ,

Do you not see that he did not say, “God Most High has barred the acceptance of repentance from those who repent”? He only reported God Most High’s judgment concerning those who do not repent: that God Most High has veiled repentance from them. We likewise say that when a killer has already been destined for an evil end, dying without affirming divine unity, and likewise an innovator whose name has been placed among the inhabitants of the Fire, killing and innovation are then the sign and cause of this: both are prevented from repentance, for it is barred from them.

سُورَةٌ وَكَذَلِكَ الْقَوْلُ فِيمَنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ كَلِمَةُ الْعَذَابِ بِسَبْقِ سُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ فَلَوْ أَنَّهُ تَابَ سَبْعِينَ تَوْبَةً لَمْ تُنْقِذْهُ مِنَ النَّارِ وَلَيْسَتْ تَوْبَتُهُ بِأَكْثَرَ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ سَبْعِينَ سَنَةً حَتَّى يَقُولَ النَّاسُ : إِنَّهُ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا وَلَا يَبْقَى بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إِلَّا شِبْرٌ ثُمَّ يُدْرِكُهُ الشَّقَاءُ . وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ :

sūratun wa-kadhālika al-qawlu fīman ḥaqqat ʿalayhi kalimatu al-ʿadhābi bisabqi sūʾi al-khātimati falaw ʾannahu tāba sabʿīna tawbatan lam tunqidhhu mina al-nāri walaysat tawbatuhu biʾakthara min qawlihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾinna al-ʿabda layaʿmalu biʿamali ʾahli al-jannati sabʿīna sanatan ḥattā yaqūla al-nāsu : ʾinnahu min ʾahlihā walā yabqā baynahu wabaynahā ʾillā shibrun thumma yudrikuhu al-shaqāʾu . wafī lafẓin ʾākhara :

A sūrah. The same applies to anyone against whom the sentence of punishment has become due through a previously determined evil end. Even if he repented seventy times, those repentances would not rescue him from the Fire. His repentance amounts to no more than what is described in his saying, may God bless him and grant him peace, “A servant may perform the deeds of the people of the Garden for seventy years, until people say that he is one of them and only a handspan remains between him and it; then misery overtakes him.” In another wording:

ثُمَّ يَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا فَقَدْ دَخَلَتِ التَّوْبَاتُ فِي صَالِحِ أَعْمَالِهِ الْحَسَنَاتِ ثُمَّ أَحْبَطَهَا عَنْهُ فِي جُمْلَةِ عَمَلِهِ بِسَبْقِ الْكِتَابِ بِالشَّقَاءِ لَهُ ، وَأَمَّا مَنْ لَمْ يَسْبِقْ لَهُ سُوءُ الْخَاتِمَةِ وَوُهِبَ لَهُ التَّوْبَةُ النَّصُوحُ وَلَمْ يُدْرِكْهُ الشَّقَاءُ فَإِنَّهَا لَمْ تُحْتَجَرْ

thumma yasbiqu ʿalayhi al-kitābu biʿamali ʾahli al-nāri fayadkhuluhā faqad dakhalati al-tawbātu fī ṣāliḥi ʾaʿmālihi al-ḥasanāti thumma ʾaḥbaṭahā ʿanhu fī jumlati ʿamalihi bisabqi al-kitābi bi-al-shaqāʾi lahu , waʾammā man lam yasbiq lahu sūʾu al-khātimati wawuhiba lahu al-tawbatu al-naṣūḥu walam yudrikhu al-shaqāʾu faʾinnahā lam tuḥtajar

“Then the decree overtakes him with the deeds of the people of the Fire, and he enters it.” His repentances were already included among his righteous, good deeds; then He nullified them, together with all his deeds, because the decree of misery for him had preceded. But as for someone for whom an evil end was not previously determined, who was given sincere repentance and was not overtaken by misery, repentance was not barred

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٢٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 324

Volume One, page 324

عَنْهُ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَعْفُو عَنْهُ بِمَا وَهَبَ لَهُ مِنَ التَّوْبَةِ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى فِي الْمُنَافِقِينَ : ( إِمَّا يُعَذِّبُهُمْ وَإِمَّا يَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 106 ، وَلَيْسَ النِّفَاقُ دُونَ الْبِدْعَةِ وَلَا كُلُّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا جَمِيعُهُمْ خُتِمَ لَهُمْ بِهِ ، وَلِعُمُومِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنْكُمْ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 187 ،

ʿanhu waʾinna Allāha taʿālā yaʿfū ʿanhu bimā wahaba lahu mina al-tawbati kaqawlihi taʿālā fī al-munāfiqīna : ( ʾimmā yuʿadhdhibuhum waʾimmā yatūbu ʿalayhim ) al-tawbatu : 106 , walaysa al-nifāqu dūna al-bidʿati walā kullu al-munāfiqīna tāba ʿalayhim walā jamīʿuhum khutima lahum bihi , waliʿumūmi qawlihi taʿālā : ( fatāba ʿalaykum waʿafā ʿankum ) al-baqaratu : 187 ,

from him. God Most High pardons him through the repentance He has given him, as in His words, Most High, concerning the hypocrites, “Either He will punish them or He will turn toward them” (al-Tawbah 9:106). Hypocrisy is no less serious than innovation, yet He did not turn toward all hypocrites, nor did all of them end their lives in it. There is also the generality of His words, Most High, “He turned toward you and pardoned you” (al-Baqarah 2:187).

فَهَذَا مُجْمَلٌ فِيمَنْ تَابَ وَالْخَبَرُ مَخْصُوصٌ فِيمَنْ لَمْ يَتُبْ ، وَلِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوا ) التَّوْبَةُ : 118 ، وَلِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 102 ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ النَّاسَ فِي التَّوْبَةِ عَلَى أَرْبَعَةِ أَقْسَامٍ ، فِي كُلِّ قِسْمٍ طَائِفَةٌ ، لِكُلِّ طَائِفَةٍ مَقَامٌ ، مِنْهُمْ :

fa-hādhā mujmalun fīman tāba wa-al-khabaru makhṣūṣun fīman lam yatub , waliqawlihi taʿālā : ( thumma tāba ʿalayhim liyatūbū ) al-tawbatu : 118 , waliqawlihi taʿālā : ( ʿasā Allāhu ʾan yatūba ʿalayhim ʾinna Allāha ghafūrun raḥīmun ) al-tawbatu : 102 , thumma ʾinna al-nāsa fī al-tawbati ʿalā ʾarbaʿati ʾaqsāmin , fī kulli qismin ṭāʾifatun , likulli ṭāʾifatin maqāmun , minhum :

This applies comprehensively to those who repent, while the report applies specifically to those who do not repent. There are also His words, Most High, “Then He turned toward them so that they might repent” (al-Tawbah 9:118), and His words, Most High, “Perhaps God will turn toward them; God is forgiving, merciful” (al-Tawbah 9:102). People fall into four divisions in repentance. Each division contains a group, and each group has a station. Among them are:

تَائِبٌ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ مُسْتَقِيمٌ عَلَى التَّوْبَةِ وَالْإِنَابَةِ لَا يُحَدِّثُ نَفْسَهُ بِالْعَوْدِ إِلَى مَعْصِيَةٍ أَيَّامَ حَيَاتِهِ مُسْتَبْدِلٌ بِعَمَلِ سَيِّئَاتِهِ صَالِحَ حَسَنَاتِهِ ، فَهَذَا هُوَ السَّابِقُ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ وَهَذِهِ هِيَ التَّوْبَةُ النَّصُوحُ وَنَفْسُ هَذَا الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ الْمَرْضِيَّةُ ، وَالْخَبَرُ الْمَرْوِيُّ فِي مِثْلِ هَذَا سِيرُوا سَبَقَ الْمُفَرِّدُونَ الْمُسْتَهْتَرُونَ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَضَعَ الذِّكْرُ أَوْزَارَهُمْ فَوَرَدُوا الْقِيَامَةَ خِفَافًا وَالَّذِي يَلِي هَذَا فِي الْقُرْبِ عَبْدٌ عَقْدُهُ التَّوْبَةُ وَنِيَّتُهُ الِاسْتِقَامَةُ لَا يَسْعَى فِي ذَنْبٍ وَلَا

tāʾibun mina al-dhanbi mustaqīmun ʿalā al-tawbati wa-al-ʾinābati lā yuḥaddithu nafsahu bi-al-ʿawdi ʾilā maʿṣiyatin ʾayyāma ḥayātihi mustabdilun biʿamali sayyiʾātihi ṣāliḥa ḥasanātihi , fa-hādhā huwa al-sābiqu bi-al-khayrāti wa-hādhihi hiya al-tawbatu al-naṣūḥu wanafsu hādhā al-muṭmaʾinnatu al-marḍiyyatu , wa-al-khabaru al-marwiyyu fī mithli hādhā sīrū sabaqa al-mufarridūna al-mustahtarūna bidhikri Allāhi waḍaʿa al-dhikru ʾawzārahum fawaradū al-qiyāmata khifāfan wa-alladhī yalī hādhā fī al-qurbi ʿabdun ʿaqduhu al-tawbatu waniyyatuhu al-istiqāmatu lā yasʿā fī dhanbin walā

A person who repents of sin and remains upright in repentance and turning back, never speaking to himself of returning to disobedience throughout his life, replacing the doing of bad deeds with righteous good deeds. This is the person who races ahead in good works; this is sincere repentance; and this person’s self is tranquil and well-pleasing. The transmitted report concerns a person like this: “Go forward! Those devoted solely to God have gone ahead, those absorbed in remembrance of God. Remembrance has put down their burdens, so they come to the Resurrection lightly laden.” Next to this person in nearness is a servant whose resolve is repentance and whose intention is uprightness. He does not pursue a sin or

يَقْصِدُهُ وَلَا يَنْحُوهُ وَلَا يَهْتَمُّ بِهِ وَقَدْ يُبْتَلَى بِدُخُولِ الْخَطَايَا عَلَيْهِ عَنْ غَيْرِ قَصْدٍ مِنْهُ وَيُمْتَحَنُ بِالْهَمِّ وَاللَّمَمِ ، فَهَذَا مِنْ صِفَاتِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُرْجَى لَهُ الِاسْتِقَامَةُ لِأَنَّهُ فِي طَرِيقِهَا وَهُوَ مِمَّنْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبَائِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَالْفَوَاحِشَ إِلَّا اللَّمَمَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ وَاسِعُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ ) النَّجْمُ : 32 وَدَاخِلٌ فِي وَصْفِ الْمُتَّقِينَ الَّذِينَ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِيهِمْ :

yaqṣiduhu walā yanḥūhu walā yahtammu bihi waqad yubtalā bidukhūli al-khaṭāyā ʿalayhi ʿan ghayri qaṣdin minhu wayumtaḥanu bi-al-hammi wa-al-lamami , fa-hādhā min ṣifāti al-muʾminīna yurjā lahu al-istiqāmatu liʾannahu fī ṭarīqihā wahuwa mimman qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( yajtanibūna kabāʾira al-ʾithmi wa-al-fawāḥisha ʾillā al-lamama ʾinna rabbaka wāsiʿu al-maghfirati ) al-najmu : 32 wadākhilun fī waṣfi al-muttaqīna alladhīna qāla Allāhu taʿālā fīhim :

intend it, head toward it, or concern himself with it. Yet he may be tried by sinful deeds entering upon him without any intention on his part, and tested by sinful intention and lesser lapses. This is among the qualities of the believers. Uprightness is hoped for him because he is on its path. He is among those of whom God Most High said, “They avoid major sins and indecencies, except lesser lapses. Your Lord is vast in forgiveness” (al-Najm 53:32). He is included in the description of the God-fearing concerning whom God Most High said:

( وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ ) آلِ عِمْرَانَ : 135 الْآيَةَ ، وَنَفْسُ هَذَا هِيَ اللَّوَّامَةُ الَّتِي أَقْسَمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهَا وَهُوَ مِنَ الْمُقْتَصِدِينَ وَهَذِهِ الذُّنُوبُ تَدْخُلُ عَلَى النُّفُوسِ مِنْ مَعَانِي صِفَاتِهَا وَغَرَائِزِ جِبِلَّاتِهَا وَأَوَائِلِ أَنْسَابِهَا مِنْ نَبَاتِ الْأَرْضِ وَتَرْكِيبِ الْأَطْوَارِ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ خَلْقًا بَعْدَ خَلْقٍ وَمِنْ اخْتِلَاطِ الْأَمْشَاجِ بَعْضِهَا بِبَعْضٍ وَلِذَلِكَ عَقَّبَهُ تَعَالَى بِقَوْلِهِ :

( wa-alladhīna ʾidhā faʿalū fāḥishatan ʾaw ẓalamū ʾanfusahum ) ʾāli ʿimrāna : 135 al-ʾāyata , wanafsu hādhā hiya al-lawwāmatu allatī ʾaqsama Allāhu taʿālā bihā wahuwa mina al-muqtaṣidīna wa-hādhihi al-dhunūbu tadkhulu ʿalā al-nufūsi min maʿānī ṣifātihā wagharāʾizi jibillātihā waʾawāʾili ʾansābihā min nabāti al-ʾarḍi watarkībi al-ʾaṭwāri fī al-ʾarḥāmi khalqan baʿda khalqin wamin ikhtilāṭi al-ʾamshāji baʿḍihā bibaʿḍin wali-dhālika ʿaqqabahu taʿālā biqawlihi :

“Those who, when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves” (Āl ʿImrān 3:135), and the rest of the verse. This person’s self is the self-reproaching self by which God Most High swore, and he is among those who follow a middle course. These sins enter souls through the meanings of their attributes, the instincts of their inborn natures, the beginnings of their descent from the growth of the earth, the formation of stages in the wombs, creation after creation, and the mingling of mixed fluids with one another. Therefore He followed this, Most High, with His words:

( هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِكُمْ إِذْ أَنْشَأَكُمْ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ وَإِذْ أَنْتُمْ أَجِنَّةٌ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ ) النَّجْمُ : 32 الْآيَةَ ، فَلِذَلِكَ نَهَى عَنْ تَزْكِيَةِ النَّفْسِ الْمُنْشَأَةِ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ وَالْمُرَكَّبَةِ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ بِالْأَمْشَاجِ لِلِاعْوِجَاجِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ ) النَّجْمُ : 32 أَيْ فَهَذَا وَصْفُهَا عَنْ بَدْءِ إِنْشَائِهَا وَكَذَلِكَ وَصَفَ مَشِيجَ خَلِيقَتِهِ بِالِابْتِلَاءِ فِي قَوْلِهِ :

( huwa ʾaʿlamu bikum ʾidh ʾanshaʾakum mina al-ʾarḍi waʾidh ʾantum ʾajinnatun fī buṭūni ʾummahātikum ) al-najmu : 32 al-ʾāyata , fali-dhālika nahā ʿan tazkiyati al-nafsi al-munshaʾati mina al-ʾarḍi wa-al-murakkabati fī al-ʾarḥāmi bi-al-ʾamshāji li-l-iʿwijāji faqāla taʿālā : ( falā tuzakkū ʾanfusakum ) al-najmu : 32 ʾay fa-hādhā waṣfuhā ʿan badʾi ʾinshāʾihā wa-kadhālika waṣafa mashīja khalīqatihi bi-al-ibtilāʾi fī qawlihi :

“He knows you best, when He produced you from the earth and when you were embryos in your mothers’ wombs” (al-Najm 53:32), and the rest of the verse. For this reason He forbade declaring pure the self that was produced from the earth and compounded in the wombs from mixed fluids, with its tendency to crookedness. He said, Most High, “Do not declare your selves pure” (al-Najm 53:32). That is its description from the beginning of its production. Likewise, He described the mingled composition of His creature in terms of testing, in His words:

( إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا ) الْإِنْسَانُ : 2 ، شَرْحُ هَذَا يَطُولُ وَيَخْرُجُ إِلَى عِلْمِ تَرْكِيبَاتِ النُّفُوسِ وَمَجْبُولِ فِطْرَتِهَا . وَقَدْ ذَكَرْنَا أُصُولَهُ فِي بَعْضِ الْأَبْوَابِ مِنْ هَذَا الْكِتَابِ : وَفِي مِثْلِ هَذَا الْعَبْدِ مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي جَاءَ الْمُؤْمِنُ مُفَتَّنٌ تَوَّابٌ وَالْمُؤْمِنُ كَالسُّنْبُلَةِ تَفِيءُ أَحْيَانًا وَتَمِيلُ أَحْيَانًا فَإِزْرَاءُ هَذَا الْعَبْدِ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَمَقْتُهُ لَهَا عَنْ مَعْرِفَتِهِ بِهَا وَتَرْكُ نَظَرِهِ

( ʾinnā khalaqnā al-ʾinsāna min nuṭfatin ʾamshājin nabtalīhi fajaʿalnāhu samīʿan baṣīran ) al-ʾinsānu : 2 , sharḥu hādhā yaṭūlu wayakhruju ʾilā ʿilmi tarkībāti al-nufūsi wamajbūli fiṭratihā . waqad dhakarnā ʾuṣūlahu fī baʿḍi al-ʾabwābi min hādhā al-kitābi : wafī mithli hādhā al-ʿabdi maʿnā al-khabari alladhī jāʾa al-muʾminu mufattanun tawwābun wa-al-muʾminu ka-al-sunbulati tafīʾu ʾaḥyānan watamīlu ʾaḥyānan faʾizrāʾu hādhā al-ʿabdi ʿalā nafsihi wamaqtuhu lahā ʿan maʿrifatihi bihā watarku naẓarihi

“We created the human being from a drop of mixed fluids, to test him, and made him hearing and seeing” (al-Insān 76:2). An explanation of this would be lengthy and lead into knowledge of the compositions of souls and the inborn constitution of their nature. We have mentioned its foundations in some chapters of this book. It is a servant like this to whom the meaning of the transmitted report applies: “The believer is repeatedly tried and repeatedly repentant,” and “The believer is like an ear of grain: sometimes it returns upright and sometimes it bends.” This servant’s disparagement of his self, his detestation of it based on his knowledge of it, and his abandoning attention

إِلَيْهَا وَسُكُونِهِ إِلَى خَيْرٍ إِنْ ظَهَرَ عَلَيْهَا يَكُونُ مِنْ كَفَّارَاتِ ذُنُوبِهِ لِأَنَّهُ مِنْ تَدَبُّرِ الْخِطَابِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقَى ) النَّجْمُ : 32 ، وَالْعَبْدُ الثَّالِثُ هُوَ الَّذِي يَقْرُبُ مِنْ هَذَا الثَّانِي فِي الْحَالِ عَبْدٌ يُذْنِبُ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُ ثُمَّ يَعُودُ

ʾilayhā wasukūnihi ʾilā khayrin ʾin ẓahara ʿalayhā yakūnu min kaffārāti dhunūbihi liʾannahu min tadabburi al-khiṭābi fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( falā tuzakkū ʾanfusakum huwa ʾaʿlamu bimani ittaqā ) al-najmu : 32 , wa-al-ʿabdu al-thālithu huwa alladhī yaqrubu min hādhā al-thānī fī al-ḥāli ʿabdun yudhnibu thumma yatūbu thumma yaʿūdu

to it and resting in any good that appears in it are among the expiations of his sins, because this comes from reflecting upon the address in His words, Most High, “Do not declare your selves pure; He knows best who is God-fearing” (al-Najm 53:32). The third servant is close to this second one in state: a servant who sins, then repents, then returns

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٢٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 325

Volume One, page 325

إِلَى الذَّنْبِ ثُمَّ يَحْزَنُ عَلَيْهِ بِقَصْدٍ لَهُ وَسَعْيٍ فِيهِ وَإِيثَارِهِ إِيَّاهُ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ يُسَوِّفُ بِالتَّوْبَةِ وَيُحَدِّثُ نَفْسَهُ بِالِاسْتِقَامَةِ وَيُحِبُّ مَنَازِلَ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيَرْتَاحُ قَلْبُهُ إِلَى مَقَامَاتِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَلَمْ يَأْنِ حِينُهُ وَلَا ظَهَرَ مَقَامُهُ لِأَنَّ الْهَوَى يُحَرِّكُهُ وَالْعَادَةَ تَجْذِبُهُ وَالْغَفْلَةَ تَغْمُرُهُ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ يَتُوبُ خِلَالَ الذُّنُوبِ وَيُعَاوِدُ لِتَقَدُّمِ الْمُعْتَادِ فَتَوْبَةُ هَذَا قُوتٌ مِنْ وَقْتٍ إِلَى وَقْتٍ وَمِثْلُهُ تُرْجَى لَهُ الِاسْتِقَامَةُ لِمَحَاسِنِ عَمَلِهِ وَتَكْفِيرِهَا لِسَالِفِ سَيِّئَتِهِ

ʾilā al-dhanbi thumma yaḥzanu ʿalayhi biqaṣdin lahu wasaʿyin fīhi waʾīthārihi ʾiyyāhu ʿalā al-ṭāʿati , ʾillā ʾannahu yusawwifu bi-al-tawbati wayuḥaddithu nafsahu bi-al-istiqāmati wayuḥibbu manāzila al-tawwābīna wayartāḥu qalbuhu ʾilā maqāmāti al-ṣiddīqīna walam yaʾni ḥīnuhu walā ẓahara maqāmuhu liʾanna al-hawā yuḥarrikuhu wa-al-ʿādata tajdhibuhu wa-al-ghaflata taghmuruhu ʾillā ʾannahu yatūbu khilāla al-dhunūbi wayuʿāwidu litaqaddumi al-muʿtādi fatawbatu hādhā qūtun min waqtin ʾilā waqtin wamithluhu turjā lahu al-istiqāmatu limaḥāsini ʿamalihi watakfīrihā lisālifi sayyiʾatihi

to the sin, then grieves over his having intended it, pursued it, and preferred it to obedience. Yet he postpones repentance, speaks to himself of uprightness, loves the stations of the repeatedly repentant, and his heart finds delight in the stations of the utterly truthful. His time has not yet come and his station has not yet appeared, because desire moves him, habit draws him, and heedlessness engulfs him. Still, he repents between his sins, then returns because of the prior hold of habit. This person’s repentance is a provision from one time to another. Uprightness is hoped for someone like him because of the good qualities of his deeds and their expiation of his former misdeed,

وَقَدْ يُخَافُ عَلَيْهِ الِانْقِلَابُ لِمُدَاوَمَةِ خَطَئِهِ وَنَفْسُ هَذَا هِيَ الْمُسَوِّلَةُ وَهُوَ مِمَّنْ خَلَطَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِ فَيَسْتَقِيمَ فَيَلْحَقَ بِالسَّابِقِينَ فَهَذَا بَيْنَ حَالَيْنِ ، بَيْنَ أَنْ يَغْلِبَ عَلَيْهِ وَصْفُ النَّفْسِ فَيَحِقَّ عَلَيْهِ مَا سَبَقَ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَبَيْنَ أَنْ يَنْظُرَ إِلَيْهِ مَوْلَاهُ نَظْرَةً تَجْبُرُ لَهُ كُلَّ كَسْرٍ وَيُغْنِي لَهُ كُلَّ فَقْرٍ فَيَتَدَارَكَهُ بِمِنَّةٍ سَابِقَةٍ فَتُلْحِقَهُ بِمَنَازِلِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقَهُمْ بِفَضْلِهِ وَرَحْمَتِهِ وَنِيَّتِهِ الْآخِرَةَ ،

waqad yukhāfu ʿalayhi al-inqilābu limudāwamati khaṭaʾihi wanafsu hādhā hiya al-musawwilatu wahuwa mimman khalaṭa ʿamalan ṣāliḥan waʾākhara sayyiʾan ʿasā Allāhu ʾan yatūba ʿalayhi fayastaqīma fayalḥaqa bi-al-sābiqīna fa-hādhā bayna ḥālayni , bayna ʾan yaghliba ʿalayhi waṣfu al-nafsi fayaḥiqqa ʿalayhi mā sabaqa mina al-qawli wabayna ʾan yanẓura ʾilayhi mawlāhu naẓratan tajburu lahu kulla kasrin wayughnī lahu kulla faqrin fayatadārakahu biminnatin sābiqatin fatulḥiqahu bimanāzili al-muqarrabīna liʾannahu qad salaka ṭarīqahum bifaḍlihi waraḥmatihi waniyyatihi al-ʾākhirata ,

although a reversal is feared for him because he continues to err. This person’s self is the enticing self. He is among those who mixed a righteous deed with another that was evil; perhaps God will turn toward him so that he becomes upright and joins those who have gone ahead. He is thus between two states: either the self’s quality gains mastery over him and the previously pronounced sentence becomes due against him, or his Master looks upon him with a look that mends every break and enriches every poverty, reaching him with a prior favor that joins him to the stations of those brought near, because he has followed their path through His favor and mercy and through his own intention for the hereafter.

وَالْعَبْدُ الرَّابِعُ أَسْوَأُ الْعَبِيدِ حَالًا وَأَعْظَمُهُمْ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَبَالًا وَأَقَلُّهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نَوَالًا عَبْدٌ يُذْنِبُ ثُمَّ يُتْبِعُ الذَّنْبَ مِثْلَهُ أَوْ أَعْظَمَ مِنْهُ وَيُقِيمُ عَلَى الْإِصْرَارِ وَيُحَدِّثُ نَفْسَهُ بِهِ مَتَى قَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا يَنْوِي تَوْبَةً وَلَا يَعْقِدُ اسْتِقَامَةً وَلَا يَرْجُو وَعْدًا بِحُسْنِ ظَنِّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُ وَعِيدًا لِتَمَكُّنِ أَمْنِهِ ، فَهَذَا هُوَ حَقِيقَةُ الْإِصْرَارِ وَمَقَامٌ بَيْنَ الْعُتُوِّ وَالِاسْتِكْبَارِ ، وَفِي مِثْلِ هَذَا جَاءَ الْخَبَرُ :

wa-al-ʿabdu al-rābiʿu ʾaswaʾu al-ʿabīdi ḥālan waʾaʿẓamuhum ʿalā nafsihi wabālan waʾaqalluhum mina Allāhi nawālan ʿabdun yudhnibu thumma yutbiʿu al-dhanba mithlahu ʾaw ʾaʿẓama minhu wayuqīmu ʿalā al-ʾiṣrāri wayuḥaddithu nafsahu bihi matā qadara ʿalayhi walā yanwī tawbatan walā yaʿqidu istiqāmatan walā yarjū waʿdan biḥusni ẓannihi walā yakhāfu waʿīdan litamakkuni ʾamnihi , fa-hādhā huwa ḥaqīqatu al-ʾiṣrāri wamaqāmun bayna al-ʿutuwwi wa-al-istikbāri , wafī mithli hādhā jāʾa al-khabaru :

The fourth servant has the worst state of all servants, brings the greatest harm upon himself, and receives the least bounty from God: a servant who sins, then follows the sin with another like it or greater, remains persistently in it, and speaks to himself of it whenever he can do it. He intends no repentance, resolves upon no uprightness, hopes for no promise through a good opinion, and fears no threat because his sense of security is firmly established. This is the reality of persistence in sin, a station between insolence and arrogance. Concerning such a person the report says:

هَلَكَ الْمُصِرُّونَ قُدُمًا إِلَى النَّارِ وَنَفْسُ هَذَا هِيَ الْأَمَّارَةُ وَرُوحُهُ أَبَدًا مِنَ الْخَيْرِ فَرَّارَةٌ وَيُخَافُ عَلَى مِثْلِهِ سُوءُ الْخَاتِمَةِ لِأَنَّهُ فِي مُقَدِّمَاتِهَا وَسَالِكٌ طَرِيقَتَهَا وَلَا يَبْعُدُ مِنْهُ سُوءُ الْقَضَاءِ وَدَرَكُ الشَّقَاءِ وَلِمِثْلِ هَذَا قِيلَ مَنْ سَوَّفَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى بِالتَّوْبَةِ أَكْذَبَهُ وَأَنَّ اللَّعْنَةَ خُرُوجٌ مِنْ ذَنْبٍ إِلَى أَعْظَمَ مِنْهُ ، وَهَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةُ فِي عُمُومِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ، وَهُمْ فِي مَشِيئَةِ اللَّهِ مِنَ الْفَاسِقِينَ ،

halaka al-muṣirrūna quduman ʾilā al-nāri wanafsu hādhā hiya al-ʾammāratu warūḥuhu ʾabadan mina al-khayri farrāratun wayukhāfu ʿalā mithlihi sūʾu al-khātimati liʾannahu fī muqaddimātihā wasālikun ṭarīqatahā walā yabʿudu minhu sūʾu al-qaḍāʾi wadaraku al-shaqāʾi walimithli hādhā qīla man sawwafa Allāha taʿālā bi-al-tawbati ʾakdhabahu waʾanna al-laʿnata khurūjun min dhanbin ʾilā ʾaʿẓama minhu , wa-hādhihi al-ṭāʾifatu fī ʿumūmi al-muslimīna , wahum fī mashīʾati Allāhi mina al-fāsiqīna ,

“Those who persist are ruined, pressing onward to the Fire.” This person’s self is the commanding self, and his spirit is always fleeing from good. An evil end is feared for someone like him, because he is in its preliminaries and following its path. An evil decree and being overtaken by misery are not far from him. Of someone like this it was said, “Whoever puts God Most High off about repentance makes his promise to Him false,” and, “The curse is passing from one sin into a greater one.” This group belongs to the general body of Muslims; they are among the sinful subject to God’s will,

كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( مُرْجَوْنَ لِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 106 أَيْ مُؤَخَّرُونَ لِحُكْمِهِ إِمَّا يُعَذِّبُهُمْ بِالْإِصْرَارِ وَإِمَّا يَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ بِمَا سَبَقَ مِنْ حُسْنِ الِاخْتِيَارِ نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ عَذَابِهِ وَنَسْأَلُهُ نَعِيمًا مِنْ ثَوَابِهِ ، وَهَذَا آخِرُ كِتَابِ التَّوْبَةِ .

kamā qāla taʿālā : ( murjawna liʾamri Allāhi ) al-tawbatu : 106 ʾay muʾakhkharūna liḥukmihi ʾimmā yuʿadhdhibuhum bi-al-ʾiṣrāri waʾimmā yatūbu ʿalayhim bimā sabaqa min ḥusni al-ikhtiyāri naʿūdhu bi-Allāhi taʿālā min ʿadhābihi wanasʾaluhu naʿīman min thawābihi , wa-hādhā ʾākhiru kitābi al-tawbati .

as He said, Most High, “Deferred to God’s command” (al-Tawbah 9:106), that is, postponed to His judgment: either He punishes them for persistence, or He turns toward them because of the good choice that preceded. We seek refuge in God Most High from His punishment and ask Him for bliss from His reward. This is the end of the Book of Repentance.

شَرْحُ مَقَامِ الصَّبْرِ وَوَصْفُ الصَّابِرِينَ وَهُوَ الثَّانِي مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ

sharḥu maqāmi al-ṣabri wawaṣfu al-ṣābirīna wahuwa al-thānī min maqāmāti al-yaqīni

An explanation of the station of patience and a description of the patient, the second of the stations of certainty

قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الصَّابِرِينَ أَئِمَّةَ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَتَمَّمَ كَلِمَتَهُ الْحُسْنَى عَلَيْهِمْ فِي الدِّينِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا ) الْأَنْبِيَاءُ : 73 لَمَّا صَبَرُوا ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ الْحُسْنَى عَلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 137 ، وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِنَّ فِي الصَّبْرِ عَلَى مَا تَكْرَهُ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا ،

qad jaʿala Allāhu ʿazza wajalla al-ṣābirīna ʾaʾimmata al-muttaqīna watammama kalimatahu al-ḥusnā ʿalayhim fī al-dīni faqāla taʿālā : ( wajaʿalnāhum ʾaʾimmatan yahdūna biʾamrinā ) al-ʾanbiyāʾu : 73 lammā ṣabarū , waqāla taʿālā : ( watammat kalimatu rabbika al-ḥusnā ʿalā banī ʾisrāʾīla bimā ṣabarū ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 137 , waqāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾinna fī al-ṣabri ʿalā mā takrahu khayran kathīran ,

God, mighty and majestic, has made the patient leaders of the God-fearing and fulfilled His finest word concerning them in religion. He said, Most High, “We made them leaders guiding by Our command” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:73), “when they were patient.” He also said, Most High, “Your Lord’s finest word was fulfilled concerning the Children of Israel because they were patient” (al-Aʿrāf 7:137). The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “There is much good in patience with what you dislike.”

وَقَالَ الْمَسِيحُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : إِنَّكُمْ لَا تُدْرِكُونَ مَا تُحِبُّونَ إِلَّا بِصَبْرِكُمْ عَلَى مَا تَكْرَهُونَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الصَّحَابَةِ : مَاذَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنَ الشِّفَاءِ وَالْفَضْلِ فِي التُّقَى وَالصَّبْرِ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ : الصَّبْرُ نِصْفُ الْإِيمَانِ ، وَقَدْ جَعَلَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ الصَّبْرَ رُكْنًا مِنْ أَرْكَانِ الْإِيمَانِ وَقَرَنَهُ بِالْجِهَادِ وَالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِيقَانِ فَقَالَ : بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ دَعَائِمَ ،

waqāla al-masīḥu ʿalayhi al-salāmu : ʾinnakum lā tudrikūna mā tuḥibbūna ʾillā biṣabrikum ʿalā mā takrahūna , waqāla baʿḍu al-ṣaḥābati : mādhā jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā mina al-shifāʾi wa-al-faḍli fī al-tuqā wa-al-ṣabri , waqāla ibnu masʿūdin : al-ṣabru niṣfu al-ʾīmāni , waqad jaʿala ʿaliyyun karrama Allāhu wajhahu al-ṣabra ruknan min ʾarkāni al-ʾīmāni waqaranahu bi-al-jihādi wa-al-ʿadli wa-al-ʾīqāni faqāla : buniya al-ʾislāmu ʿalā ʾarbaʿi daʿāʾima ,

The Messiah, peace be upon him, said, “You cannot attain what you love except through patience with what you dislike.” One of the Companions said, “What healing and excellence God Most High has placed in God-consciousness and patience!” Ibn Masʿūd said, “Patience is half of faith.” ʿAlī, may God ennoble his face, made patience one of the pillars of faith and coupled it with striving, justice, and certainty. He said, “Islam is built upon four pillars:

عَلَى الْيَقِينِ ، وَالصَّبْرِ ، وَالْجِهَادِ ، وَالْعَدْلِ ، وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ : الصَّبْرُ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الرَّأْسِ مِنَ الْجَسَدِ لَا جَسَدَ لِمَنْ لَا رَأْسَ لَهُ وَلَا إِيمَانَ لِمَنْ لَا صَبْرَ لَهُ ، وَرَفَعَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ : الصَّبْرَ فِي الْعُلُوِّ وَالْفَضْلِ إِلَى مَقَامِ الْيَقِينِ

ʿalā al-yaqīni , wa-al-ṣabri , wa-al-jihādi , wa-al-ʿadli , waqāla ʿaliyyun karrama Allāhu wajhahu : al-ṣabru mina al-ʾīmāni bimanzilati al-raʾsi mina al-jasadi lā jasada liman lā raʾsa lahu walā ʾīmāna liman lā ṣabra lahu , warafaʿa rasūlu Allāhi : al-ṣabra fī al-ʿuluwwi wa-al-faḍli ʾilā maqāmi al-yaqīni

certainty, patience, striving, and justice.” ʿAlī, may God ennoble his face, said, “Patience in relation to faith is like the head in relation to the body: one without a head has no body, and one without patience has no faith.” The Messenger of God raised patience in loftiness and excellence to the station of certainty

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٢٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 326

Volume One, page 326

وَقَرَنَهُ بِهِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا لَمَّا صَبَرُوا وَكَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ ) السَّجْدَةُ : 24 ، وَأَخْبَرَ النَّبِيُّ لِلَّهِ : إِنَّ مَنْ أُوتِيَ نَصِيبَهُ مِنْهُمَا لَمْ يَسْأَلْ مَا فَاتَهُ ، وَأَخْبَرَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : إِنَّ الصَّبْرَ كَمَالُ الْعَمَلِ وَالْأَجْرِ ، فَقَالَ فِي حَدِيثٍ يَرْوِيهِ شَهْرُ بْنُ حَوْشَبَ الْأَشْعَرِيُّ عَنْ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ الْبَاهِلِيِّ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ :

waqaranahu bihi , wa-kadhālika qāla taʿālā : ( wajaʿalnā minhum ʾaʾimmatan yahdūna biʾamrinā lammā ṣabarū wakānū biʾāyātinā yūqinūna ) al-sajdatu : 24 , waʾakhbara al-nabiyyu li-llāhi : ʾinna man ʾūtiya naṣībahu minhumā lam yasʾal mā fātahu , waʾakhbara ʿalayhi al-salāmu : ʾinna al-ṣabra kamālu al-ʿamali wa-al-ʾajri , faqāla fī ḥadīthin yarwīhi shahru bnu ḥawshaba al-ʾashʿariyyu ʿan ʾabī ʾumāmata al-bāhiliyyi ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla :

and coupled it with certainty. Likewise, He said, Most High, “We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and were certain of Our signs” (al-Sajdah 32:24). The Prophet of God stated, “Whoever is given his portion of the two does not ask about what he has missed.” He also stated, peace be upon him, that patience completes both the deed and the reward. In a hadith transmitted by Shahr ibn Ḥawshab al-Ashʿarī from Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī, from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, he said:

مِنْ أَقَلِّ مَا أُوتِيتُمُ الْيَقِينُ وَعَزِيمَةُ الصَّبْرِ وَمَنْ أُعْطِيَ حَظَّهُ مِنْهُمَا لَمْ يُبَالِ مَا فَاتَهُ مِنْ قِيَامِ اللَّيْلِ وَصِيَامِ النَّهَارِ وَلَأَنْ تَصْبِرُوا عَلَى مِثْلِ مَا أَنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ يُوَافِيَنِي كُلُّ امْرِئٍ مِنْكُمْ بِمِثْلِ عَمَلِ جَمِيعِكُمْ ، وَلَكِنِّي أَخَافُ أَنْ تُفْتَحَ عَلَيْكُمُ الدُّنْيَا بَعْدِي فَيُنْكِرَ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا وَيُنْكِرَكُمْ أَهْلُ السَّمَاءِ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ ، فَمَنْ صَبَرَ وَاحْتَسَبَ ظَفِرَ بِكَمَالِ ثَوَابِهِ ،

min ʾaqalli mā ʾūtītumu al-yaqīnu waʿazīmatu al-ṣabri waman ʾuʿṭiya ḥaẓẓahu minhumā lam yubāli mā fātahu min qiyāmi al-layli waṣiyāmi al-nahāri walaʾan taṣbirū ʿalā mithli mā ʾantum ʿalayhi ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min ʾan yuwāfiyanī kullu imriʾin minkum bimithli ʿamali jamīʿikum , wa-lākinnī ʾakhāfu ʾan tuftaḥa ʿalaykumu al-dunyā baʿdī fayunkira baʿḍukum baʿḍan wayunkirakum ʾahlu al-samāʾi ʿinda dhālika , faman ṣabara wa-ḥtasaba ẓafira bikamāli thawābihi ,

“Among the least of what you have been given are certainty and resolute patience. Whoever is given his share of the two does not mind what he has missed of standing in prayer at night or fasting by day. Your remaining patient in a state such as the one you are in is dearer to me than that each one of you should meet me with deeds equal to those of all of you. But I fear that the world will be opened to you after me, and then some of you will repudiate others, and the inhabitants of heaven will repudiate you at that point. Whoever remains patient and looks for reward will attain the fullness of his recompense.”

، ثُمَّ قَرَأَ مَا عِنْدَكُمْ يَنْفَدُ وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ بَاقٍ وَلَيَجْزِيَنَّ الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا أَجْرَهُمْ بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ . وَفِي حَدِيثِ ابْنِ الْمُنْكَدِرِ عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ : سُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ عَنِ الْإِيمَانِ فَقَالَ الصَّبْرُ وَالسَّمَاحَةُ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَهُوَ أَصْدَقُ الْقَائِلِينَ : ( أُولَئِكَ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا ) الْقَصَصُ : 54 ، وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ :

, thumma qaraʾa mā ʿindakum yanfadu wamā ʿinda Allāhi bāqin walayajziyanna alladhīna ṣabarū ʾajrahum biʾaḥsani mā kānū yaʿmalūna . wafī ḥadīthi ibni al-munkadiri ʿan jābirin qāla : suʾila rasūlu Allāhi ʿani al-ʾīmāni faqāla al-ṣabru wa-al-samāḥatu , waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā wahuwa ʾaṣdaqu al-qāʾilīna : ( ʾulāʾika yuʾtawna ʾajrahum marratayni bimā ṣabarū ) al-qaṣaṣu : 54 , waqāla ʿazza wajalla :

Then he recited, “What you have passes away, and what God has remains. He will surely reward those who were patient according to the best of what they used to do.” In the hadith of Ibn al-Munkadir from Jābir, he said, “The Messenger of God was asked about faith and replied, ‘Patience and generosity.’” God Most High, the most truthful of speakers, has said, “Those will be given their reward twice because they were patient” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:54). He also said, mighty and majestic:

( إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ ) الزُّمَرُ : 10 فَضَاعَفَ أَجْرَ الصَّابِرِينَ عَلَى كُلِّ عَمَلٍ ثُمَّ رَفَعَ جَزَاءَ الصَّبْرِ فَوْقَ كُلِّ جَزَاءٍ فَجَعَلَهُ بِلَا نِهَايَةٍ وَلَا حَدٍّ فَدَلَّ ذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ أَفْضَلُ الْمَقَامَاتِ وَجَمَعَ لِلصَّابِرِينَ ثَلَاثًا فَرَّقَهَا عَلَى جُمَلِ أَهْلِ الْعِبَادَاتِ ، الصَّلَاةَ ، وَالرَّحْمَةَ ، وَالْهُدَى بَعْدَ الْبِشَارَةِ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَالْعُقْبَى ، وَكَانَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ :

( ʾinnamā yuwaffā al-ṣābirūna ʾajrahum bighayri ḥisābin ) al-zumaru : 10 faḍāʿafa ʾajra al-ṣābirīna ʿalā kulli ʿamalin thumma rafaʿa jazāʾa al-ṣabri fawqa kulli jazāʾin fajaʿalahu bilā nihāyatin walā ḥaddin fadalla dhālika ʾannahu ʾafḍalu al-maqāmāti wajamaʿa li-l-ṣābirīna thalāthan farraqahā ʿalā jumali ʾahli al-ʿibādāti , al-ṣalāta , wa-al-raḥmata , wa-al-hudā baʿda al-bishārati fī al-ʾākhirati wa-al-ʿuqbā , wakāna ʿumaru raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu :

“The patient will be paid their reward in full without reckoning” (al-Zumar 39:10). He thus doubled the reward of the patient for every deed, then raised the recompense of patience above every other recompense, making it without end or limit. This indicates that it is the finest of stations. He combined for the patient three things which He distributed among the various groups of worshippers: blessing, mercy, and guidance, after the glad tidings concerning the hereafter and the final outcome. ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, used to say:

نِعْمَ الْعِدْلَانِ وَنِعْمَتِ الْعِلَاوَةُ لِلصَّابِرِينَ ، يَعْنِي بِالْعِدْلَيْنِ الصَّلَاةَ وَالرَّحْمَةَ وَبِالْعِلَاوَةِ الْهُدَى ، وَالْعِلَاوَةُ مَا يُعَلَّى بِهِ فَوْقَ الْحِمْلَيْنِ عَلَى الْبَعِيرِ فَيَكُونُ كَعِدْلٍ ثَالِثٍ ، وَقَدْ أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ ، وَمَنْ كَانَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَعَهُ غَلَبَ ، كَمَا أَنَّ مَنْ كَانَ مَعَهُ عَلَا ، فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَاصْبِرُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ ) الْأَنْفَالُ : 46 ،

niʿma al-ʿidlāni waniʿmati al-ʿilāwatu li-l-ṣābirīna , yaʿnī bi-al-ʿidlayni al-ṣalāta wa-al-raḥmata wabi-al-ʿilāwati al-hudā , wa-al-ʿilāwatu mā yuʿallā bihi fawqa al-ḥimlayni ʿalā al-baʿīri fayakūnu kaʿidlin thālithin , waqad ʾakhbara Allāhu taʿālā ʾannahu maʿa al-ṣābirīna , waman kāna Allāhu taʿālā maʿahu ghalaba , kamā ʾanna man kāna maʿahu ʿalā , faqāla taʿālā : ( wa-ṣbirū ʾinna Allāha maʿa al-ṣābirīna ) al-ʾanfālu : 46 ,

“What fine two side-loads, and what a fine additional load, for the patient!” By the two side-loads he meant blessing and mercy, and by the additional load, guidance. The additional load is what is placed above the two loads on the camel, becoming like a third side-load. God Most High has declared that He is with the patient. Whoever has God Most High with him prevails, just as whoever is with Him rises high. He said, Most High, “Be patient; God is with the patient” (al-Anfāl 8:46),

كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَأَنْتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ وَاللَّهُ مَعَكُمْ ) مُحَمَّدٌ : 35 وَاشْتَرَطَ الصَّبْرَ لِإِمْدَادِهِ بِجُنْدِهِ وَلِنُصْرَةِ تَأْيِيدِهِ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( بَلَى إِنْ تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا وَيَأْتُونَكُمْ مِنْ فَوْرِهِمْ هَذَا يُمْدِدْكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ بِخَمْسَةِ آلَافٍ مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ مُسَوِّمِينَ ) آلِ عِمْرَانَ : 125 ، وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ يَقُولُ : الصَّبْرُ تَصْدِيقُ الصِّدْقِ وَأَفْضَلُ مَنَازِلِ الطَّاعَةِ الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الْمَعْصِيَةِ ثُمَّ الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ ،

kamā qāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla : ( waʾantumu al-ʾaʿlawna wa-Allāhu maʿakum ) muḥammadun : 35 wa-shtaraṭa al-ṣabra liʾimdādihi bijundihi walinuṣrati taʾyīdihi biqawlihi taʿālā : ( balā ʾin taṣbirū watattaqū wayaʾtūnakum min fawrihim hādhā yumdidkum rabbukum bikhamsati ʾālāfin mina al-malāʾikati musawwimīna ) ʾāli ʿimrāna : 125 , wakāna sahlun yaqūlu : al-ṣabru taṣdīqu al-ṣidqi waʾafḍalu manāzili al-ṭāʿati al-ṣabru ʿalā al-maʿṣiyati thumma al-ṣabru ʿalā al-ṭāʿati ,

just as God, mighty and majestic, said, “You are the uppermost, and God is with you” (Muḥammad 47:35). He made patience a condition of His reinforcing them with His hosts and of the victory given through His support, in His words, Most High, “Yes: if you are patient and God-fearing, and they come upon you in this sudden rush of theirs, your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand angels bearing marks” (Āl ʿImrān 3:125). Sahl used to say, “Patience is the confirmation of truthfulness. The finest stations of obedience are patience in refraining from disobedience, then patience in obedience.”

وَقَالَ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( اسْتَعِينُوا بِاللَّهِ وَاصْبِرُوا ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 128 أَيِ اسْتَعِينُوا بِاللَّهِ عَلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ ، وَاصْبِرُوا عَلَى أَدَبِ اللَّهِ ، وَقَالَ : لَمْ يَمْدَحِ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَحَدًا إِلَّا مَنْ صَبَرَ لِلْبَلَاءِ وَالشِّدَّةِ فَبِذَلِكَ يُثْنِي عَلَيْهِ ، وَكَانَ يَقُولُ : الصَّالِحُونَ فِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ قَلِيلٌ ، وَالصَّادِقُونَ فِي الصَّالِحِينَ قَلِيلٌ ، وَالصَّابِرُونَ فِي الصَّادِقِينَ قَلِيلٌ ،

waqāla fī maʿnā qawlihi ʿazza wajalla : ( istaʿīnū bi-Allāhi wa-ṣbirū ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 128 ʾayi istaʿīnū bi-Allāhi ʿalā ʾamri Allāhi , wa-ṣbirū ʿalā ʾadabi Allāhi , waqāla : lam yamdaḥi Allāhu taʿālā ʾaḥadan ʾillā man ṣabara li-l-balāʾi wa-al-shiddati fabi-dhālika yuthnī ʿalayhi , wakāna yaqūlu : al-ṣāliḥūna fī al-muʾminīna qalīlun , wa-al-ṣādiqūna fī al-ṣāliḥīna qalīlun , wa-al-ṣābirūna fī al-ṣādiqīna qalīlun ,

He said concerning the meaning of His words, mighty and majestic, “Seek help from God, and be patient” (al-Aʿrāf 7:128): “Seek help from God in carrying out God’s command, and be patient with God’s discipline.” He also said, “God Most High has praised no one except a person who endures trial and hardship; it is for this that He commends him.” He used to say, “The righteous among the believers are few; the truthful among the righteous are few; and the patient among the truthful are few.”

فَجَعَلَ الصَّبْرَ خَاصِّيَّةَ الصِّدْقِ وَجَعَلَ الصَّابِرِينَ خُصُوصَ الصَّادِقِينَ ، وَكَذَلِكَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَهُوَ أَصْدَقُ الْقَائِلِينَ ، قَدْ رَفَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ عَلَى الصَّادِقِينَ فِي تَرْتِيبِ الْمَقَامَاتِ ، فَجَعَلَ الصَّبْرَ مَقَامًا فِي الصِّدْقِ إِنْ كَانَتِ الْأَوْصَافُ الْمَنْسُوقَةُ نَعْتًا وَاحِدًا لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ ، وَكَانَتِ الْوَاوُ لِلْمَدْحِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ مَقَامَاتٍ فَالْوَاوُ لِلتَّرْتِيبِ ، فَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الصَّابِرِينَ فَوْقَ الصَّادِقِينَ وَالْقَانِتِينَ أَعْنِي فِي

fajaʿala al-ṣabra khāṣṣiyyata al-ṣidqi wajaʿala al-ṣābirīna khuṣūṣa al-ṣādiqīna , wa-kadhālika Allāhu taʿālā wahuwa ʾaṣdaqu al-qāʾilīna , qad rafaʿa al-ṣābirīna ʿalā al-ṣādiqīna fī tartībi al-maqāmāti , fajaʿala al-ṣabra maqāman fī al-ṣidqi ʾin kānati al-ʾawṣāfu al-mansūqatu naʿtan wāḥidan li-l-muslimīna , wakānati al-wāwu li-l-madḥi waʾin kānat maqāmātin fa-al-wāwu li-l-tartībi , faqad jaʿala Allāhu al-ṣābirīna fawqa al-ṣādiqīna wa-al-qānitīna ʾaʿnī fī

He thus made patience a special property of truthfulness and made the patient the elect among the truthful. Likewise, God Most High, the most truthful of speakers, has raised the patient above the truthful in the ordering of stations. He has made patience a station within truthfulness if the coordinated descriptions constitute a single description of Muslims, with the conjunction “and” serving to praise them. If they are stations, however, the conjunction “and” serves to order them. God has thus placed the patient above the truthful and the devoutly obedient. I mean in

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٢٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 327

Volume One, page 327

قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ) الْأَحْزَابُ : : 35 الْآيَةَ ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ عَطَاءٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا : لَمَّا دَخَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى الْأَنْصَارِ قَالَ : أَمُؤْمِنُونَ أَنْتُمْ ؟ فَسَكَتُوا فَقَالَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : نَعَمْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ : وَمَا عَلَامَةُ إِيمَانِكُمْ ؟ قَالَ :

qawlihi taʿālā : ( ʾinna al-muslimīna wa-al-muslimāti wa-al-muʾminīna wa-al-muʾmināti ) al-ʾaḥzābu : : 35 al-ʾāyata , wafī ḥadīthi ʿaṭāʾin ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā : lammā dakhala rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿalā al-ʾanṣāri qāla : ʾamuʾminūna ʾantum ? fasakatū faqāla ʿumaru raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu : naʿam yā rasūla Allāhi qāla : wamā ʿalāmatu ʾīmānikum ? qāla :

His words, Most High, “The Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women” (al-Aḥzāb 33:35), and the rest of the verse. In the hadith of ʿAṭāʾ from Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with them both: “When the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, entered among the Anṣār, he said, ‘Are you believers?’ They were silent. ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, said, ‘Yes, Messenger of God.’ He asked, ‘What is the sign of your faith?’ He replied:

نَشْكُرُ فِي الرَّخَاءِ وَنَصْبِرُ عَلَى الْبَلَاءِ وَنَرْضَى الْقَضَاءَ فَقَالَ : مُؤْمِنُونَ : وَرَبِّ الْكَعْبَةِ ، وَالصَّبْرُ يَنْقَسِمُ عَلَى عَمَلَيْنِ ، أَحَدُهُمَا لَا صَلَاحَ لِلدِّينِ إِلَّا بِهِ ، وَالثَّانِي هُوَ أَصْلُ فَسَادِ الدِّينِ ، ثُمَّ يَتَنَوَّعُ الصَّبْرُ فَيَكُونُ صَابِرًا عَلَى الَّذِي فِيهِ صَلَاحُ الدِّينِ فَيَكْمُلُ بِهِ إِيمَانُهُ وَيَكُونُ صَابِرًا عَنِ الَّذِي فِيهِ فَسَادُ الدِّينِ فَيَحْسُنُ بِهِ يَقِينُهُ .

nashkuru fī al-rakhāʾi wanaṣbiru ʿalā al-balāʾi wanarḍā al-qaḍāʾa faqāla : muʾminūna : warabbi al-kaʿbati , wa-al-ṣabru yanqasimu ʿalā ʿamalayni , ʾaḥaduhumā lā ṣalāḥa li-l-dīni ʾillā bihi , wa-al-thānī huwa ʾaṣlu fasādi al-dīni , thumma yatanawwaʿu al-ṣabru fayakūnu ṣābiran ʿalā alladhī fīhi ṣalāḥu al-dīni fayakmulu bihi ʾīmānuhu wayakūnu ṣābiran ʿani alladhī fīhi fasādu al-dīni fayaḥsunu bihi yaqīnuhu .

‘We are grateful in ease, patient under trial, and content with the decree.’ He said, ‘Believers, by the Lord of the Kaʿbah!’” Patience is divided between two kinds of action: one without which religion cannot be sound, and the second which is the root of religion’s corruption. Patience then varies: one is patient in what makes religion sound, thereby completing one’s faith; and one patiently refrains from what corrupts religion, thereby making one’s certainty good.

رَوَيْنَا فِي مَعْنَى هَذَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : أَنَّهُ لَمَّا دَخَلَ الْبَصْرَةَ وَاسْتَقَامَ لَهُ الْأَمْرُ دَخَلَ جَامِعَهَا فَجَعَلَ يُخْرِجُ الْقُصَّاصَ وَيَقُولُ الْقَصَصُ بِدْعَةٌ ، فَانْتَهَى إِلَى حَلْقَةِ شَابٍّ يَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَى جَمَاعَةٍ فَاسْتَمَعَ إِلَيْهِ فَأَعْجَبَهُ كَلَامُهُ فَقَالَ : يَا فَتَى أَسْأَلُكَ عَنْ شَيْئَيْنِ فَإِنْ خَرَجْتَ مِنْهُمَا تَرَكْتُكَ تَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَإِلَّا أَخْرَجْتُكَ كَمَا أَخْرَجْتُ أَصْحَابَكَ ، فَقَالَ :

rawaynā fī maʿnā hādhā ʿan ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu : ʾannahu lammā dakhala al-baṣrata wa-staqāma lahu al-ʾamru dakhala jāmiʿahā fajaʿala yukhriju al-quṣṣāṣa wayaqūlu al-qaṣaṣu bidʿatun , fa-ntahā ʾilā ḥalqati shābbin yatakallamu ʿalā jamāʿatin fa-stamaʿa ʾilayhi faʾaʿjabahu kalāmuhu faqāla : yā fatā ʾasʾaluka ʿan shayʾayni faʾin kharajta minhumā taraktuka tatakallamu ʿalā al-nāsi waʾillā ʾakhrajtuka kamā ʾakhrajtu ʾaṣḥābaka , faqāla :

We have transmitted something illustrating this from ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him: when he entered Basra and authority was established for him, he entered its congregational mosque and began putting the storytellers out, saying, “Storytelling is an innovation.” He came to the circle of a young man addressing a group and listened to him. His words pleased him, and he said, “Young man, I shall ask you about two things. If you acquit yourself in them, I shall leave you to address the people; otherwise I shall put you out as I have put your companions out.” He replied:

سَلْ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَقَالَ : أَخْبِرْنِي مَا صَلَاحُ الدِّينِ وَمَا فَسَادُهُ ؟ قَالَ : صَلَاحُهُ الْوَرَعُ وَفَسَادُهُ الطَّمَعُ قَالَ : صَدَقْتَ تَكَلَّمْ فَمِثْلُكَ يَصْلُحُ أَنْ يَتَكَلَّمَ عَلَى النَّاسِ ، يُقَالُ : إِنَّ هَذَا الشَّابَّ هُوَ إِمَامُنَا فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ وَهُوَ إِمَامُ الْأَئِمَّةِ الْحَسَنُ بْنُ يَسَارٍ مَوْلَى الْأَنْصَارِ الْبَصْرِيُّ ، وَكَانَ مَيْمُونُ بْنُ مِهْرَانَ يَقُولُ : الْإِيمَانُ وَالتَّصْدِيقُ وَالْمَعْرِفَةُ وَالصَّبْرُ وَاحِدٌ ،

sal yā ʾamīra al-muʾminīna faqāla : ʾakhbirnī mā ṣalāḥu al-dīni wamā fasāduhu ? qāla : ṣalāḥuhu al-waraʿu wafasāduhu al-ṭamaʿu qāla : ṣadaqta takallam famithluka yaṣluḥu ʾan yatakallama ʿalā al-nāsi , yuqālu : ʾinna hādhā al-shābba huwa ʾimāmunā fī hādhā al-ʿilmi wahuwa ʾimāmu al-ʾaʾimmati al-ḥasanu bnu yasārin mawlā al-ʾanṣāri al-baṣriyyu , wakāna maymūnu bnu mihrāna yaqūlu : al-ʾīmānu wa-al-taṣdīqu wa-al-maʿrifatu wa-al-ṣabru wāḥidun ,

“Ask, Commander of the Faithful.” He said, “Tell me: what makes religion sound, and what corrupts it?” He replied, “Scrupulousness makes it sound, and covetousness corrupts it.” He said, “You have spoken truly. Speak, for someone like you is fit to address the people.” It is said that this young man was our imam in this knowledge, the imam of imams, al-Ḥasan ibn Yasār, the client of the Anṣār, al-Baṣrī. Maymūn ibn Mihrān used to say, “Faith, affirmation, knowledge of God, and patience are one.”

وَقَالَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : ذُرْوَةُ الْإِيمَانِ الصَّبْرُ لِلْحُكْمِ وَالرِّضَا بِالْقَدَرِ ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْوَرَعَ أَوَّلُ الزُّهْدِ وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ بَابٍ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الْآخِرَةِ وَالطَّمَعُ أَوَّلُ الرَّغْبَةِ ، وَهُوَ بَابٌ كَبِيرٌ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الدُّنْيَا ، وَهُوَ اسْتِشْعَارُ الطَّمَعِ مِنْ حُبِّ الدُّنْيَا ، وَحُبُّ الدُّنْيَا رَأْسُ كُلِّ خَطِيئَةٍ ، وَيُقَالُ : أَوَّلُ مَعْصِيَةٍ عُصِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهَا الطَّمَعُ ،

waqāla ʾabū al-dardāʾi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu : dhurwatu al-ʾīmāni al-ṣabru li-l-ḥukmi wa-al-riḍā bi-al-qadari , wa-ʿlam ʾanna al-waraʿa ʾawwalu al-zuhdi wahuwa ʾawwalu bābin min ʾabwābi al-ʾākhirati wa-al-ṭamaʿu ʾawwalu al-raghbati , wahuwa bābun kabīrun min ʾabwābi al-dunyā , wahuwa istishʿāru al-ṭamaʿi min ḥubbi al-dunyā , waḥubbu al-dunyā raʾsu kulli khaṭīʾatin , wayuqālu : ʾawwalu maʿṣiyatin ʿuṣiya Allāhu taʿālā bihā al-ṭamaʿu ,

Abū al-Dardāʾ, may God be pleased with him, said, “The summit of faith is patience with the judgment and contentment with the decree.” Know that scrupulousness is the beginning of renunciation, and it is the first gate among the gates of the hereafter. Covetousness is the beginning of desire, and it is a great gate among the gates of this world. It is the inward feeling of covetousness arising from love of this world, and love of this world is the head of every offense. It is said, “The first act of disobedience by which God Most High was disobeyed was covetousness.”

وَهُوَ أَنَّ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ طَمِعَ فِي الْخُلُودِ فَأَكَلَ مِنَ الشَّجَرَةِ الَّتِي نُهِيَ عَنْهَا وَإِبْلِيسُ طَمِعَ فِي إِخْرَاجِ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ فَوَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِ فَاتَّفَقَا فِي اسْمِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ لِرَبِّهِمَا تَعَالَى بِالطَّمَعِ ، ثُمَّ افْتَرَقَا فِي الْمَطْمُوعِ فِيهِ وَفِي الْحُكْمِ ، فَتُدُورِكَ آدَمُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِحُسْنِ سَابِقَتِهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَهَلَكَ إِبْلِيسُ بِمَا سَبَقَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الشِّقْوَةِ وَالطَّمَعُ هُوَ تَصْدِيقُ الظَّنِّ ،

wahuwa ʾanna ʾādama ʿalayhi al-salāmu ṭamiʿa fī al-khulūdi faʾakala mina al-shajarati allatī nuhiya ʿanhā waʾiblīsu ṭamiʿa fī ʾikhrāji ʾādama ʿalayhi al-salāmu mina al-jannati fawaswasa ʾilayhi fa-ttafaqā fī ismi al-maʿṣiyati lirabbihimā taʿālā bi-al-ṭamaʿi , thumma iftaraqā fī al-maṭmūʿi fīhi wafī al-ḥukmi , fatudūrika ʾādamu ʿalayhi al-salāmu biḥusni sābiqatihi mina Allāhi taʿālā wahalaka ʾiblīsu bimā sabaqa ʿalayhi mina al-shiqwati wa-al-ṭamaʿu huwa taṣdīqu al-ẓanni ,

That is, Adam, peace be upon him, coveted everlasting life and ate from the tree he had been forbidden, while Iblīs coveted the expulsion of Adam, peace be upon him, from the Garden and whispered to him. They thus shared the designation of disobedience to their Lord Most High through covetousness, but differed in what they coveted and in the judgment concerning them. Adam, peace be upon him, was rescued through the good that God Most High had previously determined for him, while Iblīs perished through the misery previously decreed against him. Covetousness is giving credence to conjecture.

وَلِذَلِكَ وَصَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ عَدُوَّهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِبْلِيسُ ظَنَّهُ ) سَبَأٌ : 20 ، وَالظَّنُّ ضِدُّ الْيَقِينِ وَلَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ : ( إِنْ نَظُنُّ إِلَّا ظَنًّا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُسْتَيْقِنِينَ ) الْجَاثِيَةُ : 32 ،

wali-dhālika waṣafa Allāhu taʿālā bihi ʿaduwwahu fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( walaqad ṣaddaqa ʿalayhim ʾiblīsu ẓannahu ) sabaʾun : 20 , wa-al-ẓannu ḍiddu al-yaqīni walā yughnī mina al-ḥaqqi shayʾan , waqāla Allāhu taʿālā fī waṣfi al-mushrikīna : ( ʾin naẓunnu ʾillā ẓannan wamā naḥnu bimustayqinīna ) al-jāthiyatu : 32 ,

For this reason God Most High described His enemy by it in His words, Most High, “Iblīs indeed proved his conjecture true concerning them” (Sabaʾ 34:20). Conjecture is the opposite of certainty and avails nothing against truth. God Most High said in describing those who associate partners with Him, “We only conjecture, and we are not certain” (al-Jāthiyah 45:32).

فَمَنْ صَبَرَ عَنِ الطَّمَعِ فِي الْخَلْقِ أَخْرَجَهُ الصَّبْرُ إِلَى الْوَرَعِ وَمَنْ صَبَرَ عَلَى الْوَرَعِ فِي الدِّينِ أَدْخَلَهُ الصَّبْرُ فِي الزُّهْدِ وَمَنْ طَمِعَ فِي تَصْدِيقِ الظَّنِّ الْكَاذِبِ أَدْخَلَهُ الطَّمَعُ فِي حُبِّ الدُّنْيَا ، وَمَنِ اسْتَشْعَرَ حُبَّ الدُّنْيَا أَخْرَجَهُ حُبُّهَا مِنْ حَقِيقَةِ الدِّينِ . وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ :

faman ṣabara ʿani al-ṭamaʿi fī al-khalqi ʾakhrajahu al-ṣabru ʾilā al-waraʿi waman ṣabara ʿalā al-waraʿi fī al-dīni ʾadkhalahu al-ṣabru fī al-zuhdi waman ṭamiʿa fī taṣdīqi al-ẓanni al-kādhibi ʾadkhalahu al-ṭamaʿu fī ḥubbi al-dunyā , wamani istashʿara ḥubba al-dunyā ʾakhrajahu ḥubbuhā min ḥaqīqati al-dīni . waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi :

Whoever patiently refrains from coveting what created beings possess is brought by patience to scrupulousness. Whoever remains patient in scrupulousness in religion is brought by patience into renunciation. Whoever covets the fulfillment of a false conjecture is brought by covetousness into love of this world. Whoever inwardly takes on love of this world is taken by that love out of the reality of religion. One of the scholars said:

مَا كُنَّا نَعُدُّ إِيمَانَ مَنْ لَمْ يُؤْذَ فَيَحْتَمِلَ الْأَذَى وَيَصْبِرَ عَلَيْهِ إِيمَانًا وَقَدْ فَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ذَلِكَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ اخْتِبَارًا وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ لَيْسَ مِنْهُ عَذَابًا وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ فِتْنَةٌ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ فِتْنَتَهُ وَبَلَاءَهُ مِنَ النَّاسِ ، فَصَارَ ذَلِكَ فِتْنَةً عَلَيْهِمْ وَابْتِلَاءً لَهُمْ وَصَارَ رَحْمَةً

mā kunnā naʿuddu ʾīmāna man lam yuʾdha fayaḥtamila al-ʾadhā wayaṣbira ʿalayhi ʾīmānan waqad faʿala Allāhu taʿālā dhālika bi-al-muʾminīna ikhtibāran waʾakhbara ʾanna dhālika laysa minhu ʿadhāban waʾinnamā huwa fitnatun liman ʾarāda fitnatahu wabalāʾahu mina al-nāsi , faṣāra dhālika fitnatan ʿalayhim wa-btilāʾan lahum waṣāra raḥmatan

“We did not count as faith the faith of someone who had not been harmed, borne the harm, and been patient with it.” God Most High has done this to believers as a test and has declared that it is not punishment from Him. It is only a trial for those people whom He intends to try and test. It thus becomes a trial upon them and a testing of them, while becoming mercy

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٢٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 328

Volume One, page 328

لِلْمُؤْذَى وَخَيْرًا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ فَإِذَا أُوذِيَ فِي اللَّهِ جَعَلَ فِتْنَةَ النَّاسِ كَعَذَابِ اللَّهِ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 10 لَهُ ، يَعْنِي فِتْنَةَ النَّاسِ بِهِ كَعَذَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى يَعْنِي إِيَّاهُ أَيْ لَيْسَ ذَلِكَ عَذَابًا مِنِّي إِنَّمَا هُوَ رَحْمَةٌ بَاطِنَةٌ فَهُوَ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَأَمَّا إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَهَانَنِ ) ( كَلَّا ) سُورَةُ الْفَجْرِ :

li-l-muʾdhā wakhayran fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( wamina al-nāsi man yaqūlu ʾāmannā bi-Allāhi faʾidhā ʾūdhiya fī Allāhi jaʿala fitnata al-nāsi kaʿadhābi Allāhi ) al-ʿankabūtu : 10 lahu , yaʿnī fitnata al-nāsi bihi kaʿadhābi Allāhi taʿālā yaʿnī ʾiyyāhu ʾay laysa dhālika ʿadhāban minnī ʾinnamā huwa raḥmatun bāṭinatun fahuwa kaqawlihi taʿālā : ( waʾammā ʾidhā mā ibtalāhu faqadara ʿalayhi rizqahu fayaqūlu rabbī ʾahānani ) ( kallā ) sūratu al-fajri :

and good for the person harmed. In His words, Most High, “Among people is one who says, ‘We believe in God,’ but when he is harmed for God’s sake, he treats the trial caused by people as God’s punishment” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:10) of him. That is, he treats people’s trial through him as God Most High’s punishment, meaning punishment of him. In other words: this is not punishment from Me; it is only inward mercy. It is like His words, Most High, “But when He tests him and restricts his provision, he says, ‘My Lord has humiliated me.’ No!” (Sūrat al-Fajr 89:

16 - 17 أَيْ لَمْ أُهِنْكَ بِالْفَقْرِ كَمَا لَمْ أُكْرِمِ الْآخَرَ بِالْإِكْرَامِ وَالتَّنْعِيمِ وَعَلَى مَعْنَى هَذَا خَاطَبَ نَبِيَّهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالصَّبْرِ الَّذِي أَمَرَهُ بِهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( اصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاذْكُرْ عَبْدَنَا دَاوُدَ ) ص : 17 فَسَلَّاهُ بِهِ وَفَضَّلَهُ عَلَيْهِ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ : يُؤْتَى بِأَشْكَرِ أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ فَيَجْزِيهِ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى جَزَاءَ الشَّاكِرِينَ وَيُؤْتَى بِأَصْبَرِ أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ فَيُقَالُ لَهُ :

16 - 17 ʾay lam ʾuhinka bi-al-faqri kamā lam ʾukrimi al-ʾākhara bi-al-ʾikrāmi wa-al-tanʿīmi waʿalā maʿnā hādhā khāṭaba nabiyyahu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bi-al-ṣabri alladhī ʾamarahu bihi faqāla taʿālā : ( iṣbir ʿalā mā yaqūlūna wa-dhkur ʿabdanā dāwūda ) Ṣād : 17 fasallāhu bihi wafaḍḍalahu ʿalayhi . waqad rawaynā fī khabarin : yuʾtā biʾashkari ʾahli al-ʾarḍi fayajzīhi Allāhu taʿālā jazāʾa al-shākirīna wayuʾtā biʾaṣbari ʾahli al-ʾarḍi fayuqālu lahu :

16–17). That is, I have not humiliated you through poverty, just as I have not honored the other through honor and ease. In this sense He addressed His Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, concerning the patience He commanded him, saying, Most High, “Be patient with what they say, and remember Our servant David” (Ṣād 38:17). He thus consoled His Prophet through David and gave His Prophet precedence over David. We have related in a report: “The most grateful person on earth is brought forward, and God Most High recompenses him with the reward of the grateful. The most patient person on earth is brought forward and asked:

أَتَرْضَى أَنْ نَجْزِيَكَ كَمَا جَزَيْنَا هَذَا الشَّاكِرَ ؟ فَيَقُولُ : نَعَمْ يَا رَبِّ فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : كَمَا أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْهِ فَشَكَرَ وَابْتَلَيْتُكَ فَصَبَرْتَ لَأُضَعِّفَنَّ لَكَ الْأَجْرَ عَلَيْهِ فَيُعْطَى أَضْعَافَ جَزَاءِ الشَّاكِرِينَ ، وَكَتَبَ ابْنُ أَبِي نَجِيحٍ يُعَزِّي بَعْضَ الْخُلَفَاءِ فَقَالَ فِي كِتَابِهِ : إِنَّ أَحَقَّ مَنْ عَرَفَ حَقَّ اللَّهِ فِيمَا أَخَذَ مِنْهُ مَنْ عَظُمَ حَقُّ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عِنْدَهُ فِيمَا أَبْقَى ،

ʾatarḍā ʾan najziyaka kamā jazaynā hādhā al-shākira ? fayaqūlu : naʿam yā rabbi fayaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā : kamā ʾanʿamtu ʿalayhi fashakara wa-btalaytuka faṣabarta laʾuḍaʿʿifanna laka al-ʾajra ʿalayhi fayuʿṭā ʾaḍʿāfa jazāʾi al-shākirīna , wakataba ibnu ʾabī najīḥin yuʿazzī baʿḍa al-khulafāʾi faqāla fī kitābihi : ʾinna ʾaḥaqqa man ʿarafa ḥaqqa Allāhi fīmā ʾakhadha minhu man ʿaẓuma ḥaqqu Allāhi taʿālā ʿindahu fīmā ʾabqā ,

‘Would you be pleased for Us to reward you as We rewarded this grateful person?’ He replies, ‘Yes, my Lord.’ God Most High says, ‘Just as I blessed him and he was grateful, and tried you and you were patient, I will multiply your reward above his.’ He is then given multiples of the reward of the grateful.” Ibn Abī Najīḥ wrote to console one of the caliphs, saying in his letter, “The person most entitled to recognize God’s right in what He has taken from him is the one who greatly esteems God Most High’s right in what He has left.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْمَاضِيَ قَبْلَكَ هُوَ الْبَاقِي لَكَ وَالْبَاقِيَ بَعْدَكَ هُوَ الْمَأْجُورُ فِيكَ ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ أَجْرَ الصَّابِرِينَ فِيمَا يُصَابُونَ فِيهِ أَعْظَمُ مِنَ النِّعْمَةِ عَلَيْهِمْ فِيمَا يُعَافَوْنَ بِهِ ، وَفِي الْأَخْبَارِ : مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍ إِلَّا يُعْطَى أَجْرَهُ بِحِسَابٍ وَحَدٍّ إِلَّا الصَّابِرِينَ فَإِنَّهُمْ يُجَازَفُونَ مُجَازَفَةً بِغَيْرِ مِيزَانٍ وَلَا حَدٍّ ،

wa-ʿlam ʾanna al-māḍiya qablaka huwa al-bāqī laka wa-al-bāqiya baʿdaka huwa al-maʾjūru fīka , wa-ʿlam ʾanna ʾajra al-ṣābirīna fīmā yuṣābūna fīhi ʾaʿẓamu mina al-niʿmati ʿalayhim fīmā yuʿāfawna bihi , wafī al-ʾakhbāri : mā min ʿabdin ʾillā yuʿṭā ʾajrahu biḥisābin waḥaddin ʾillā al-ṣābirīna faʾinnahum yujāzafūna mujāzafatan bighayri mīzānin walā ḥaddin ,

“Know that the one who passed away before you is the one who remains for you, and the one who remains after you is the one rewarded for bearing your loss. Know that the reward of the patient for what afflicts them is greater than the blessing upon them in what they are spared.” Among the reports: “Every servant is given his reward according to a reckoning and a limit, except the patient: they are recompensed in abundance, without weighing or limit.”

وَجَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّ أَبْوَابَ الْجَنَّةِ مِصْرَاعَانِ يَأْتِي عَلَيْهَا زِحَامٌ كَثِيرٌ إِلَّا بَابَ الصَّبْرِ فَإِنَّهُ مِصْرَاعٌ وَاحِدٌ لَا يَدْخُلُ مِنْهُ إِلَّا الصَّابِرُونَ أَهْلُ الْبَلَاءِ فِي الدُّنْيَا ، وَاحِدٌ بَعْدَ وَاحِدٍ . وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي جَزَاءِ الْمُخْلِصِينَ : ( أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ رِزْقٌ مَعْلُومٌ ) الصَّافَّاتُ : 41 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي جَزَاءِ الصَّابِرِينَ ( إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ ) الزُّمَرُ :

wajāʾa fī al-khabari ʾanna ʾabwāba al-jannati miṣrāʿāni yaʾtī ʿalayhā ziḥāmun kathīrun ʾillā bāba al-ṣabri faʾinnahu miṣrāʿun wāḥidun lā yadkhulu minhu ʾillā al-ṣābirūna ʾahlu al-balāʾi fī al-dunyā , wāḥidun baʿda wāḥidin . waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā fī jazāʾi al-mukhliṣīna : ( ʾulāʾika lahum rizqun maʿlūmun ) al-ṣāffātu : 41 , waqāla taʿālā fī jazāʾi al-ṣābirīna ( ʾinnamā yuwaffā al-ṣābirūna ʾajrahum bighayri ḥisābin ) al-zumaru :

A report states, “The gates of the Garden have two leaves and great crowds come to them, except the gate of patience, which has one leaf. Only the patient, those afflicted in this world, enter through it, one after another.” God Most High has said concerning the recompense of the sincere, “Those will have a known provision” (al-Ṣāffāt 37:41), while He said, Most High, concerning the recompense of the patient, “The patient will be paid their reward in full without reckoning” (al-Zumar 39:

10 ، قِيلَ فِي التَّفْسِيرِ : يُغْرَفُ لَهُمْ غَرْفًا ، الْمَعْنَى فِي ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الصَّبْرَ أَشَقُّ شَيْءٍ عَلَى النَّفْسِ وَأَكْرَهُهُ وَأَمَرُّهُ عَلَى الطَّبْعِ وَأَصْعَبُهُ فِيهِ الْأَلَمُ وَالْكَظْمُ عِنْدَ الذُّلِّ وَالْحِلْمُ وَمِنْهُ التَّوَاضُعُ وَالْكَتْمُ وَفِيهِ الْأَدَبُ وَحُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ وَبِهِ يَكُونُ كَفُّ الْأَذَى عَنِ الْخَلْقِ وَاحْتِمَالُ الْأَذَى مِنَ الْخَلْقِ ، وَهَذِهِ مِنْ عَزَائِمِ الْأُمُورِ الَّتِي يَضِيقُ مِنْهَا أَكْثَرُ الصُّدُورِ وَفِيهِ إِكْرَاهُ النُّفُوسِ وَحَمْلُهَا عَلَى الشِّدَّةِ وَالْبُؤْسِ ،

10 , qīla fī al-tafsīri : yughrafu lahum gharfan , al-maʿnā fī dhālika ʾanna al-ṣabra ʾashaqqu shayʾin ʿalā al-nafsi waʾakrahuhu waʾamarruhu ʿalā al-ṭabʿi waʾaṣʿabuhu fīhi al-ʾalamu wa-al-kaẓmu ʿinda al-dhulli wa-al-ḥilmu waminhu al-tawāḍuʿu wa-al-katmu wafīhi al-ʾadabu waḥusnu al-khuluqi wabihi yakūnu kaffu al-ʾadhā ʿani al-khalqi wa-ḥtimālu al-ʾadhā mina al-khalqi , wa-hādhihi min ʿazāʾimi al-ʾumūri allatī yaḍīqu minhā ʾaktharu al-ṣudūri wafīhi ʾikrāhu al-nufūsi waḥamluhā ʿalā al-shiddati wa-al-buʾsi ,

10). It has been explained: reward is heaped out for them by the scoopful. The meaning is that patience is the hardest and most hateful thing for the self, the bitterest and most difficult for human nature. It involves pain, suppression of anger in humiliation, and forbearance; from it come humility and concealment; it contains proper conduct and good character. Through it one refrains from harming created beings and bears harm from created beings. These are matters requiring firm resolve, before which most hearts feel constricted. Patience involves compelling selves and making them bear hardship and misery.

وَقَدْ جَاءَ أَفْضَلُ الْأَعْمَالِ مَا أُكْرِهَتْ عَلَيْهِ النُّفُوسُ ، وَلِأَجْلِ ذَلِكَ اشْتَرَطَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى الْمُتَّقِينَ وَالصَّادِقِينَ الصَّبْرَ فِي الشَّدَائِدِ وَالْمَكَارِهِ وَحَقَّقَ بِالصَّبْرِ صِدْقَهُمْ وَتَقْوَاهُمْ وَأَكْمَلَ بِهِ وَصْفَهُمْ وَأَعْمَالَ بِرِّهِمْ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي الْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 177 ،

waqad jāʾa ʾafḍalu al-ʾaʿmāli mā ʾukrihat ʿalayhi al-nufūsu , waliʾajli dhālika ishtaraṭa Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā al-muttaqīna wa-al-ṣādiqīna al-ṣabra fī al-shadāʾidi wa-al-makārihi waḥaqqaqa bi-al-ṣabri ṣidqahum wataqwāhum waʾakmala bihi waṣfahum waʾaʿmāla birrihim faqāla taʿālā : ( wa-al-ṣābirīna fī al-baʾsāʾi wa-al-ḍarrāʾi waḥīna al-baʾsi ʾulāʾika alladhīna ṣadaqū wa-ʾulāʾika humu al-muttaqūna ) al-baqaratu : 177 ,

It has been transmitted, “The best deeds are those to which selves are compelled.” For this reason God Most High stipulated patience amid hardships and hateful things for the God-fearing and the truthful. Through patience He established their truthfulness and God-consciousness, and perfected their qualities and righteous deeds. He said, Most High, “Those who are patient in adversity, suffering, and the time of battle: those are the truthful, and those are the God-fearing” (al-Baqarah 2:177).

فَمَعْنَى الصَّبْرِ حَبْسُ النَّفْسِ عَنِ السَّعْيِ فِي هَوَاهَا وَحَبْسُهَا أَيْضًا عَنْ مُجَاهَدَتِهَا لِمَرْضَاةِ مَوْلَاهَا بِمِثْلِ مَا يُوجِبُ الْمُجَاهَدَةَ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَا يُبْتَلَى بِهِ الْعَبْدُ لِأَنَّ الْمُجَاهَدَةَ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْبَلَاءِ وَالْحَبْسُ عَنْ نَحْوِ الشُّرُودِ وَحَبْسُهَا عَلَى دَوَامِ الطَّاعَةِ وَصَبْرُهَا عَنْ شَرَهِ الطَّبْعِ الَّذِي يُظْهِرُ سُوءَ الْأَدَبِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ الرَّبِّ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى وَصَبْرُهَا عَلَى حُسْنِ الْأَدَبِ فِي الْمُعَامَلَةِ ، ثُمَّ يَتَفَرَّعُ الصَّبْرُ إِلَى مَعَانٍ شَتَّى : مِنَ الصَّبْرِ عَنْ تَفَاوُتِ الْأَهْوَاءِ وَالصَّبْرِ عَلَى الثَّبَاتِ

famaʿnā al-ṣabri ḥabsu al-nafsi ʿani al-saʿyi fī hawāhā waḥabsuhā ʾayḍan ʿan mujāhadatihā limarḍāti mawlāhā bimithli mā yūjibu al-mujāhadata ʿalā qadri mā yubtalā bihi al-ʿabdu liʾanna al-mujāhadata ʿalā qadri al-balāʾi wa-al-ḥabsu ʿan naḥwi al-shurūdi waḥabsuhā ʿalā dawāmi al-ṭāʿati waṣabruhā ʿan sharahi al-ṭabʿi alladhī yuẓhiru sūʾa al-ʾadabi bayna yadayi al-rabbi subḥānahu wataʿālā waṣabruhā ʿalā ḥusni al-ʾadabi fī al-muʿāmalati , thumma yatafarraʿu al-ṣabru ʾilā maʿānin shattā : mina al-ṣabri ʿan tafāwuti al-ʾahwāʾi wa-al-ṣabri ʿalā al-thabāti

The meaning of patience is restraining the self from pursuing its desire, and also restraining it through struggle against it for its Master’s good pleasure, with the sort of effort the struggle requires in proportion to the servant’s trial. For struggle is proportionate to trial. It means restraining the self from tending to stray, holding it to constant obedience, keeping it back from the greed of its nature that displays bad manners before the Lord, glory be to Him and exalted is He, and holding it to good manners in its dealings. Patience then branches into various meanings: patience in refraining from the differing desires, and patience in steadfastness

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٢٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 329

Volume One, page 329

فِي خِدْمَةِ الْمَوْلَى فَمِنْ ذَلِكَ مَا تُوجِبُ الْمُجَاهَدَةُ صَرْفَ الْهِمَّةِ عَنْهُ وَتَطْهِيرَ الْقَلْبِ مِنْهُ مِنْ خَطَرَاتِ الْهَوَى وَنَزَعَاتِ الْأَعْدَاءِ وَتَزْيِينِ الدُّنْيَا ، وَمِنَ الْآفَاتِ مَا يُوجِبُ الصَّبْرُ كَفَّ الْجَوَارِحِ عَنْهَا وَحَبْسَ النَّفْسِ عَنِ الْمَشْيِ فِيهَا ، وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ حَبْسُ النَّفْسِ عَلَى الْحَقِّ وَعُكُوفُهَا عَلَيْهِ بِمُعَامَلَةِ اللِّسَانِ وَالْقَلْبِ وَالْجِسْمِ ، وَبِذَلِكَ ؛

fī khidmati al-mawlā famin dhālika mā tūjibu al-mujāhadatu ṣarfa al-himmati ʿanhu wataṭhīra al-qalbi minhu min khaṭarāti al-hawā wanazaʿāti al-ʾaʿdāʾi watazyīni al-dunyā , wamina al-ʾāfāti mā yūjibu al-ṣabru kaffa al-jawāriḥi ʿanhā waḥabsa al-nafsi ʿani al-mashyi fīhā , wamina al-ṣabri ḥabsu al-nafsi ʿalā al-ḥaqqi waʿukūfuhā ʿalayhi bimuʿāmalati al-lisāni wa-al-qalbi wa-al-jismi , wabi-dhālika ;

in the Master’s service. Among these are matters from which struggle requires one to divert one’s aspiration and purify the heart: the promptings of desire, the incitements of enemies, and the world’s embellishment. Among the afflictions are those from which patience requires one to restrain the limbs and prevent the self from walking into them. Patience also includes holding the self to truth and making it remain devoted to it through the conduct of the tongue, heart, and body. By this

وَصَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَاشْتَرَطَ لِصَلَاحِ أَعْمَالِهِمُ الصَّبْرَ وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّ النَّاسَ كُلَّهُمْ فِي خُسْرَانٍ إِلَّا مَنْ كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّبْرِ وَعَظَّمَ الصَّبْرَ فَأَفْرَدَهُ بِإِعَادَةِ التَّوَاصِي بِهِ ، وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ حَبْسُ النَّفْسِ عَلَى عِبَادَةِ الْخَالِقِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ، وَصَبْرُهَا عَلَى الْقَنَاعَةِ وَعَلَى صُنْعِ الرَّازِقِ ، وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ كَفُّ الْأَذَى عَنِ الْخَلْقِ ، وَهُوَ مَقَامُ الْعَادِلِينَ يَدْخُلُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

waṣafa Allāhu taʿālā al-muʾminīna alladhīna yaʿmalūna al-ṣāliḥāti wa-shtaraṭa liṣalāḥi ʾaʿmālihimu al-ṣabra waʾakhbara ʾanna al-nāsa kullahum fī khusrānin ʾillā man kāna min ʾahli al-ḥaqqi wa-al-ṣabri waʿaẓẓama al-ṣabra faʾafradahu biʾiʿādati al-tawāṣī bihi , wamina al-ṣabri ḥabsu al-nafsi ʿalā ʿibādati al-khāliqi subḥānahu wataʿālā , waṣabruhā ʿalā al-qanāʿati waʿalā ṣunʿi al-rāziqi , wamina al-ṣabri kaffu al-ʾadhā ʿani al-khalqi , wahuwa maqāmu al-ʿādilīna yadkhulu fī qawlihi taʿālā :

God Most High described the believers who do righteous deeds, and He made patience a condition for the soundness of their deeds. He declared that all people are in loss except those who belong to truth and patience. He magnified patience by singling it out with a repetition of the command to counsel one another to it. Patience also includes holding the self to worship of the Creator, glory be to Him and exalted is He, and keeping it patient in contentment with little and with the Provider’s action. Patience also includes refraining from harming created beings. This is the station of the just and falls within His words, Most High:

( إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ ) النَّحْلُ : 90 ، ثُمَّ احْتِمَالُ الْأَذَى عَنِ الْخَلْقِ وَهُوَ مَقَامُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ يَدْخُلُ فِي قَوْلِهِ : وَالْإِحْسَانِ ، وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الْإِنْفَاقِ وَإِعْطَاءِ أَهْلِ الْحُقُوقِ حُقُوقَهُمُ الْأَقْرَبَ فَالْأَقْرَبَ وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْمُنْفِقِينَ يَدْخُلُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ ) النَّحْلُ :

( ʾinna Allāha yaʾmuru bi-al-ʿadli wa-al-ʾiḥsāni ) al-naḥlu : 90 , thumma iḥtimālu al-ʾadhā ʿani al-khalqi wahuwa maqāmu al-muḥsinīna yadkhulu fī qawlihi : wa-al-ʾiḥsāni , wamina al-ṣabri al-ṣabru ʿalā al-ʾinfāqi waʾiʿṭāʾi ʾahli al-ḥuqūqi ḥuqūqahumu al-ʾaqraba fa-al-ʾaqraba wa-hādhā maqāmu al-munfiqīna yadkhulu fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( waʾītāʾi dhī al-qurbā wayanhā ʿani al-faḥshāʾi wa-al-munkari wa-al-baghyi yaʿiẓukum laʿallakum tadhakkarūna ) al-naḥlu :

“God commands justice and doing good” (al-Naḥl 16:90). Then comes bearing harm from created beings, which is the station of those who do good and falls within His words, “and doing good.” Patience includes perseverance in spending and in giving those entitled their rights, the nearest first, then the next nearest. This is the station of those who spend and falls within His words, Most High, “And giving to relatives; and He forbids indecency, wrong, and aggression. He admonishes you so that you may remember” (al-Naḥl 16:

90 وَمِنْهُ الصَّبْرُ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَهُوَ الْأَمْرُ الْفَاحِشُ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْإِيمَانِ وَالصَّبْرُ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَهُوَ مَا أَنْكَرَهُ الْعُلَمَاءُ ، وَالصَّبْرُ عَنِ الْبَغْيِ وَهُوَ التَّطَاوُلُ وَالْغُلُوُّ وَمُجَاوَزَةُ الْحَدِّ بِالْكِبْرِ وَالْإِسْرَافِ فِي أُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا ، فَهَذِهِ الْآيَةُ كُلُّهَا جَامِعَةٌ لِمَعْنَى الصَّبْرِ وَهِيَ قُطْبُ الْقُرْآنِ ، ثَلَاثٌ مِنْهَا وَهِيَ الْأَوَّلُ الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَالْإِعْطَاءِ ، وَثَلَاثٌ مِنْهَا الصَّبْرُ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ .

90 waminhu al-ṣabru ʿani al-faḥshāʾi wahuwa al-ʾamru al-fāḥishu fī al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ṣabru ʿani al-munkari wahuwa mā ʾankarahu al-ʿulamāʾu , wa-al-ṣabru ʿani al-baghyi wahuwa al-taṭāwulu wa-al-ghuluwwu wamujāwazatu al-ḥaddi bi-al-kibri wa-al-ʾisrāfi fī ʾumūri al-dunyā , fa-hādhihi al-ʾāyatu kulluhā jāmiʿatun limaʿnā al-ṣabri wahiya quṭbu al-qurʾāni , thalāthun minhā wahiya al-ʾawwalu al-ṣabru ʿalā al-ʿadli wa-al-ʾiḥsāni wa-al-ʾiʿṭāʾi , wathalāthun minhā al-ṣabru ʿani al-faḥshāʾi wa-al-munkari wa-al-baghyi .

90). It also includes patiently refraining from indecency, meaning what is grossly objectionable in knowledge and faith; patiently refraining from wrong, meaning what scholars reject; and patiently refraining from aggression, meaning self-exaltation, excess, and overstepping the limit through arrogance and extravagance in worldly affairs. This entire verse thus encompasses the meaning of patience and is the pivot of the Qurʾān. Three of its elements, the first ones, are patience in justice, doing good, and giving; three are patience in refraining from indecency, wrong, and aggression.

وَكَانَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : أَجْمَعُ آيَةٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لِأَمْرٍ وَنَهْيٍ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ ) آلِ عِمْرَانَ : 136 الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا فَمَا أَنْعَمَ أَجْرَهُمْ حَتَّى وَصَفَهُمْ بِالصَّبْرِ وَمَا أَكْرَمَ رِزْقَهُمْ وَوَصَفَهُمْ حَتَّى مَدَحَهُمْ بِالصَّبْرِ ، وَالصَّبْرُ يُحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ قَبْلَ الْعِلْمِ ، وَمَعَهُ وَبَعْدَهُ ،

wakāna ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu : ʾajmaʿu ʾāyatin fī kitābi Allāhi ʿazza wajalla liʾamrin wanahyin hādhihi al-ʾāyatu , waqāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( waniʿma ʾajru al-ʿāmilīna ) ʾāli ʿimrāna : 136 alladhīna ṣabarū famā ʾanʿama ʾajrahum ḥattā waṣafahum bi-al-ṣabri wamā ʾakrama rizqahum wawaṣafahum ḥattā madaḥahum bi-al-ṣabri , wa-al-ṣabru yuḥtāju ʾilayhi qabla al-ʿilmi , wamaʿahu wabaʿdahu ,

Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, used to say, “This is the verse in the Book of God, mighty and majestic, that most comprehensively contains command and prohibition.” God Most High said, “How excellent is the reward of those who act” (Āl ʿImrān 3:136), “those who are patient.” He did not declare their reward excellent until He had described them by patience, nor did He honor their provision and describe them until He had praised them for patience. Patience is needed before knowledge, alongside it, and after it.

يُحْتَاجُ فِي أَوَّلِ الْعَمَلِ أَنْ يَصْبِرَ عَلَى تَصْحِيحِ النِّيَّةِ وَعَزْمِ الْعُقُودِ وَالْوَفَاءِ بِهَا حَتَّى تَصِحَّ الْأَعْمَالُ لِأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ قَالَ : إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ وَلِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ ) الْبَيِّنَةُ : 5 ، وَحَقِيقَةُ النِّيَّةِ الْإِخْلَاصُ وَلِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدَّمَ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى :

yuḥtāju fī ʾawwali al-ʿamali ʾan yaṣbira ʿalā taṣḥīḥi al-niyyati waʿazmi al-ʿuqūdi wa-al-wafāʾi bihā ḥattā taṣiḥḥa al-ʾaʿmālu liʾanna al-nabiyya ʿalayhi al-salāmu qāla : ʾinnamā al-ʾaʿmālu bi-al-niyyāti walikulli imriʾin mā nawā , waqāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( wamā ʾumirū ʾillā liyaʿbudū Allāha mukhliṣīna lahu al-dīna ) al-bayyinatu : 5 , waḥaqīqatu al-niyyati al-ʾikhlāṣu waliʾanna Allāha taʿālā qaddama al-ṣabra ʿalā al-ʿamali faqāla taʿālā :

At the beginning of action, one needs patience in setting the intention right, firmly resolving commitments, and fulfilling them, so that the deeds may be sound. For the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Deeds are only according to intentions, and each person has what he intended.” God Most High said, “They were commanded only to worship God, devoting religion sincerely to Him” (al-Bayyinah 98:5). The reality of intention is sincerity. Also, God Most High placed patience before action, saying, Most High:

( إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ ) هُودٌ : 11 ، وَالصَّبْرُ : التَّأَنِّي فِي الْعَمَلِ حَتَّى يَتِمَّ وَيُعْمَلَ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ ) آلِ عِمْرَانَ : 136 الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا ، وَالصَّبْرُ بَعْدَ الْعَمَلِ هُوَ الصَّبْرُ عَلَى كَتْمِهِ وَتَرْكِ التَّظَاهُرِ بِهِ وَالنَّظَرِ إِلَيْهِ لِيَخْلُصَ مِنَ السُّمْعَةِ وَالْعُجْبِ فَيَكْمُلَ ثَوَابُهُ كَمَا خَلَصَ مِنَ الرِّيَاءِ ،

( ʾillā alladhīna ṣabarū waʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti ʾulāʾika lahum maghfiratun waʾajrun kabīrun ) hūdun : 11 , wa-al-ṣabru : al-taʾannī fī al-ʿamali ḥattā yatimma wayuʿmala liqawlihi taʿālā : ( waniʿma ʾajru al-ʿāmilīna ) ʾāli ʿimrāna : 136 alladhīna ṣabarū , wa-al-ṣabru baʿda al-ʿamali huwa al-ṣabru ʿalā katmihi watarki al-taẓāhuri bihi wa-al-naẓari ʾilayhi liyakhluṣa mina al-sumʿati wa-al-ʿujbi fayakmula thawābuhu kamā khalaṣa mina al-riyāʾi ,

“Except those who are patient and do righteous deeds: those will have forgiveness and a great reward” (Hūd 11:11). Patience is deliberateness in action until it is completed and performed, according to His words, Most High, “How excellent is the reward of those who act” (Āl ʿImrān 3:136), “those who are patient.” Patience after action is patience in concealing it, abandoning ostentatious display of it and attention to it, so that it may be free from seeking a reputation and from self-admiration, and its reward may be complete, just as it was free from showing off.

كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَلَا تُبْطِلُوا أَعْمَالَكُمْ ) مُحَمَّدٌ : 33 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي مِثْلِهِ : ( لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُمْ بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَى ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 264 ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ لَا يَتِمُّ الْمَعْرُوفُ إِلَّا بِثَلَاثٍ : تَعْجِيلِهِ ، وَتَصْغِيرِهِ ، وَكَتْمِهِ ، وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ حَبْسُ النَّفْسِ

kamā qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( ʾaṭīʿū Allāha waʾaṭīʿū al-rasūla walā tubṭilū ʾaʿmālakum ) muḥammadun : 33 waqāla taʿālā fī mithlihi : ( lā tubṭilū ṣadaqātikum bi-al-manni wa-al-ʾadhā ) al-baqaratu : 264 , waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi lā yatimmu al-maʿrūfu ʾillā bithalāthin : taʿjīlihi , wataṣghīrihi , wakatmihi , wamina al-ṣabri ḥabsu al-nafsi

As God Most High said, “Obey God and obey the Messenger, and do not invalidate your deeds” (Muḥammad 47:33). He said, Most High, concerning something similar, “Do not invalidate your acts of charity through reminders of your generosity and hurtfulness” (al-Baqarah 2:264). One of the early authorities said, “A kindness is not complete without three things: hastening it, considering it small, and concealing it.” Patience also includes restraining the self

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٣٠

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Volume One, page 330

عَنِ الْمُكَافَأَةِ وَالصَّبْرُ عَلَى الْأَذَى تَوَكُّلًا عَلَى الْمَوْلَى عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَنَصْبِرَنَّ عَلَى مَا آذَيْتُمُونَا وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ ) إِبْرَاهِيمُ : 12 وَهَذَا صَبْرُ الْخُصُوصِ وَمِنْهُ قَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ : لَا يَثْبُتُ لِلْعَبْدِ مَقَامٌ فِي التَّوَكُّلِ حَتَّى يُؤْذَى وَيَصْبِرَ عَلَى الْأَذَى ، وَقَدْ ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ذَلِكَ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ :

ʿani al-mukāfaʾati wa-al-ṣabru ʿalā al-ʾadhā tawakkulan ʿalā al-mawlā ʿazza wajalla , waminhu qawluhu taʿālā : ( walanaṣbiranna ʿalā mā ʾādhaytumūnā waʿalā Allāhi falyatawakkali al-mutawakkilūna ) ʾibrāhīmu : 12 wa-hādhā ṣabru al-khuṣūṣi waminhu qāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-maʿrifati : lā yathbutu li-l-ʿabdi maqāmun fī al-tawakkuli ḥattā yuʾdhā wayaṣbira ʿalā al-ʾadhā , waqad dhakara Allāhu taʿālā dhālika fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla :

from retaliation and patiently bearing harm, in trust in the Master, mighty and majestic. Among the expressions of this are His words, Most High, “We shall certainly be patient with the harm you have done us, and in God let those who trust place their trust” (Ibrāhīm 14:12). This is the patience of the elect. In this connection, one of those who know God said, “No station in trust becomes established for a servant until he is harmed and bears the harm patiently.” God Most High mentioned this in His words, mighty and majestic:

( وَدَعْ أَذَاهُمْ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ ) الْأَحْزَابُ : 48 ، وَفِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَاتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا ) ( وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ ) الْمُزَّمِّلُ : 9 - 10 وَهَذَا هُوَ أَوَّلُ الرِّضَا ، وَالْمَقَامُ الثَّانِي مِنَ الرِّضَا : هُوَ الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الْأَحْكَامِ وَهُوَ صَبْرُ أَهْلِ الْبَلَاءِ الْأَمْثَلِ فَالْأَمْثَلِ بِالْأَنْبِيَاءِ لِقَوْلِهِ : نَحْنُ مَعَاشِرَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ بَلَاءً ثُمَّ الْأَمْثَلُ فَالْأَمْثَلُ ، وَلِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى فِي الْمُجْمَلِ : ( وَلِرَبِّكَ فَاصْبِرْ )

( wadaʿ ʾadhāhum watawakkal ʿalā Allāhi ) al-ʾaḥzābu : 48 , wafī qawlihi taʿālā : ( fa-ttakhidhhu wakīlan ) ( wa-ṣbir ʿalā mā yaqūlūna ) al-muzzammilu : 9 - 10 wa-hādhā huwa ʾawwalu al-riḍā , wa-al-maqāmu al-thānī mina al-riḍā : huwa al-ṣabru ʿalā al-ʾaḥkāmi wahuwa ṣabru ʾahli al-balāʾi al-ʾamthali fa-al-ʾamthali bi-al-ʾanbiyāʾi liqawlihi : naḥnu maʿāshira al-ʾanbiyāʾi ʾashaddu al-nāsi balāʾan thumma al-ʾamthalu fa-al-ʾamthalu , waliqawlihi taʿālā fī al-mujmali : ( walirabbika fa-ṣbir )

“Leave their harm alone, and trust in God” (al-Aḥzāb 33:48), and in His words, Most High, “Take Him as trustee,” and “Be patient with what they say” (al-Muzzammil 73:9–10). This is the beginning of contentment. The second station of contentment is patience with the decrees: the patience of the afflicted, those most like the prophets, then those next most like them, according to his saying, “We, the company of prophets, are the people most severely tried, then those most like us, then those next most like us.” Also, in His general statement, Most High, “For your Lord, be patient”

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٣١

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Volume One, page 331

الْمُدَّثِّرُ : 7 ، ثُمَّ فَسَّرَهُ فِي الْكَلَامِ الْمُفَسَّرِ ، وَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ فَإِنَّكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا ، وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ حَبْسُ النَّفْسِ عَلَى التَّقْوَى ، وَالتَّقْوَى اسْمٌ جَامِعٌ لِكُلِّ خَيْرٍ ، فَالصَّبْرُ مَعْنًى دَاخِلٌ فِي كُلِّ بِرٍّ فَإِذَا جَمَعَهُمَا الْعَبْدُ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ وَمَا عَلَى الْمُحْسِنِينَ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّهُ مَنْ يَتَّقِ وَيَصْبِرْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ) يُوسُفُ :

al-muddaththiru : 7 , thumma fassarahu fī al-kalāmi al-mufassari , wa-ṣbir liḥukmi rabbika faʾinnaka biʾaʿyuninā , wamina al-ṣabri ḥabsu al-nafsi ʿalā al-taqwā , wa-al-taqwā ismun jāmiʿun likulli khayrin , fa-al-ṣabru maʿnan dākhilun fī kulli birrin faʾidhā jamaʿahumā al-ʿabdu fahuwa mina al-muḥsinīna wamā ʿalā al-muḥsinīna min sabīlin , waminhu qawluhu taʿālā : ( ʾinnahu man yattaqi wayaṣbir faʾinna Allāha lā yuḍīʿu ʾajra al-muḥsinīna ) yūsufu :

(al-Muddaththir 74:7). He then explained this in the explanatory statement, “Be patient with your Lord’s judgment, for you are under Our eyes.” Patience includes holding the self to God-consciousness. God-consciousness is a name encompassing every good, and patience is a meaning present in every act of righteousness. When the servant combines the two, he is among those who do good, and there is no ground for blame against those who do good. Among the expressions of this are His words, Most High, “Whoever is God-fearing and patient: God does not let the reward of those who do good be lost” (Yūsuf 12:

90 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( لَتُبْلَوُنَّ فِي أَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنْفُسِكُمْ وَلَتَسْمَعُنَّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا أَذًى كَثِيرًا وَإِنْ تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ ) آلِ عِمْرَانَ : 186 أَيْ إِنْ تَصْبِرُوا عَلَى الْأَذَى عَنِ الْمُكَافَأَةِ وَتَتَّقُوا عِنْدَ الِابْتِلَاءِ وَالْمَكَارِهِ وَلَا تُجَاوِزُوا فَإِنَّهُ أَفْضَلُ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى :

90 waqāla taʿālā : ( latublawunna fī ʾamwālikum waʾanfusikum walatasmaʿunna mina alladhīna ʾūtū al-kitāba min qablikum wamina alladhīna ʾashrakū ʾadhan kathīran waʾin taṣbirū watattaqū faʾinna dhālika min ʿazmi al-ʾumūri ) ʾāli ʿimrāna : 186 ʾay ʾin taṣbirū ʿalā al-ʾadhā ʿani al-mukāfaʾati watattaqū ʿinda al-ibtilāʾi wa-al-makārihi walā tujāwizū faʾinnahu ʾafḍalu kamā qāla taʿālā :

90). He said, Most High, “You will certainly be tested in your property and your selves, and you will certainly hear much hurtfulness from those given the Book before you and from those who associate partners with God. If you are patient and God-fearing, that is among the matters requiring firm resolve” (Āl ʿImrān 3:186). That is, if you endure harm without retaliating and remain God-fearing amid trial and hateful things, without overstepping the bounds, it is better, as He said, Most High:

( وَإِنْ عَاقَبْتُمْ فَعَاقِبُوا بِمِثْلِ مَا عُوقِبْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَئِنْ صَبَرْتُمْ لَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لِلصَّابِرِينَ ) النَّحْلُ : 126 ، وَقَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَمَنِ انْتَصَرَ بَعْدَ ظُلْمِهِ فَأُولَئِكَ مَا عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ ) الشُّورَى : 41 ثُمَّ قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَلَمَنْ صَبَرَ وَغَفَرَ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَمِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ ) الشُّورَى : 43 ، قَالَ :

( waʾin ʿāqabtum faʿāqibū bimithli mā ʿūqibtum bihi walaʾin ṣabartum lahuwa khayrun li-l-ṣābirīna ) al-naḥlu : 126 , waqawluhu taʿālā : ( walamani intaṣara baʿda ẓulmihi fa-ʾulāʾika mā ʿalayhim min sabīlin ) al-shūrā : 41 thumma qāla ʿazza wajalla : ( walaman ṣabara waghafara ʾinna dhālika lamin ʿazmi al-ʾumūri ) al-shūrā : 43 , qāla :

“If you retaliate, retaliate only to the same extent as you were harmed; but if you are patient, that is better for the patient” (al-Naḥl 16:126). There are also His words, Most High, “Those who defend themselves after being wronged: there is no ground for blame against them” (al-Shūrā 42:41). Then He said, mighty and majestic, “Whoever is patient and forgives: that is indeed among the matters requiring firm resolve” (al-Shūrā 42:43). He said:

فَالْأَوَّلُ أَعْنِي الْمُكَافَأَةَ وَالِانْتِصَارَ بِالْحَقِّ مِنَ الْعَدْلِ وَالْعَدْلُ حَسَنٌ ، وَالثَّانِي أَعْنِي الْعَفْوَ وَالصَّبْرَ مِنَ الْفَضْلِ وَهُوَ الْإِحْسَانُ وَهَذَا مَجَازُ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَاهُمُ اللَّهُ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمْ أُولُوا الْأَلْبَابِ ) الزُّمَرُ : 18 ، فَاسْتِمَاعُ الْقَوْلِ هُوَ الْعَدْلُ وَالْعَدْلُ حَسَنٌ وَهُوَ الِانْتِصَارُ وَالْعَفْوُ أَحْسَنُ وَفِيهِ الْمَدْحُ بِالْهُدَى وَالْعَقْلِ ، وَهَذَا هُوَ مَقَامُ الْمُخْبِتِينَ قِيلَ :

fa-al-ʾawwalu ʾaʿnī al-mukāfaʾata wa-al-intiṣāra bi-al-ḥaqqi mina al-ʿadli wa-al-ʿadlu ḥasanun , wa-al-thānī ʾaʿnī al-ʿafwa wa-al-ṣabra mina al-faḍli wahuwa al-ʾiḥsānu wa-hādhā majāzu qawlihi taʿālā : ( alladhīna yastamiʿūna al-qawla fayattabiʿūna ʾaḥsanahu ʾulāʾika alladhīna hadāhumu Allāhu wa-ʾulāʾika hum ʾulū al-ʾalbābi ) al-zumaru : 18 , fa-stimāʿu al-qawli huwa al-ʿadlu wa-al-ʿadlu ḥasanun wahuwa al-intiṣāru wa-al-ʿafwu ʾaḥsanu wafīhi al-madḥu bi-al-hudā wa-al-ʿaqli , wa-hādhā huwa maqāmu al-mukhbitīna qīla :

The first course, by which I mean retaliation and rightful self-defense, belongs to justice, and justice is good. The second, by which I mean pardon and patience, belongs to generosity, which is doing good. This is the import of His words, Most High, “Those who listen to the word and follow the best of it: those are the ones God has guided, and those are the people of understanding” (al-Zumar 39:18). Listening to the word is justice, and justice is good: it is self-defense. Pardon is better, and in it lies the praise for guidance and understanding. This is the station of the humbly submissive. It has been said:

هُمُ الَّذِينَ لَا يَظْلِمُونَ وَإِذَا ظُلِمُوا لَمْ يَنْتَصِرُوا فَالْمَدْحُ بِالْوَصْفِ لِأَهْلِ هَذَا الْمَقَامِ هُوَ الْإِخْبَاتُ وَهُوَ الْخُشُوعُ وَالطُّمَأْنِينَةُ بِحُسْنِ الْجَزَاءِ مِنَ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِي الْآخِرَةِ لِقُرْبِ اللِّقَاءِ وَسُرْعَةِ فَنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا أَمْدَحُ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَإِنَّ السَّاعَةَ لَآتِيَةٌ فَاصْفَحِ الصَّفْحَ الْجَمِيلَ ) الْحِجْرُ : 85 ،

humu alladhīna lā yaẓlimūna waʾidhā ẓulimū lam yantaṣirū fa-al-madḥu bi-al-waṣfi liʾahli hādhā al-maqāmi huwa al-ʾikhbātu wahuwa al-khushūʿu wa-al-ṭumaʾnīnatu biḥusni al-jazāʾi mina Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā fī al-ʾākhirati liqurbi al-liqāʾi wasurʿati fanāʾi al-dunyā ʾamdaḥu kamā qāla taʿālā : ( waʾinna al-sāʿata laʾātiyatun fa-ṣfaḥi al-ṣafḥa al-jamīla ) al-ḥijru : 85 ,

“They are those who do not wrong others and, when wronged, do not defend themselves.” The quality for which the people of this station are praised is humble submission: reverence and tranquility through confidence in the good recompense from God, glory be to Him and exalted is He, in the hereafter. It is more praiseworthy because the meeting is near and this world swiftly passes away. As He said, Most High, “The Hour is surely coming, so pardon with gracious pardon” (al-Ḥijr 15:85).

وَالتَّقْوَى وَالصَّبْرُ مُعِينَانِ أَحَدُهُمَا مَنُوطٌ بِالْآخَرِ لَا يَتِمُّ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا إِلَّا بِصَاحِبِهِ فَمَنْ كَانَتِ التَّقْوَى مَقَامَهُ كَانَ الصَّبْرُ حَالَهُ فَصَارَ الصَّبْرُ أَفْضَلَ الْأَحْوَالِ مِنْ حَيْثُ كَانَ التَّقْوَى أَعْلَى الْمَقَامَاتِ إِذِ الْأَتْقَى هُوَ الْأَكْرَمُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَالْأَكْرَمُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى هُوَ الْأَفْضَلُ ، وَقَدْ شَرَّفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الصَّبْرَ بِأَنْ أَضَافَهُ إِلَيْهِ بَعْدَ الْأَمْرِ بِهِ فَقَالَ :

wa-al-taqwā wa-al-ṣabru muʿīnāni ʾaḥaduhumā manūṭun bi-al-ʾākhari lā yatimmu kullu wāḥidin minhumā ʾillā biṣāḥibihi faman kānati al-taqwā maqāmahu kāna al-ṣabru ḥālahu faṣāra al-ṣabru ʾafḍala al-ʾaḥwāli min ḥaythu kāna al-taqwā ʾaʿlā al-maqāmāti ʾidhi al-ʾatqā huwa al-ʾakramu ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā , wa-al-ʾakramu ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā huwa al-ʾafḍalu , waqad sharrafa Allāhu taʿālā al-ṣabra biʾan ʾaḍāfahu ʾilayhi baʿda al-ʾamri bihi faqāla :

God-consciousness and patience are two helpers, each bound to the other; neither is complete without its companion. Whoever has God-consciousness as his station has patience as his state. Patience thus becomes the finest of states, since God-consciousness is the highest of stations: the most God-fearing is the most honored with God Most High, and the most honored by God Most High is the best. God Most High has ennobled patience by ascribing it to Himself after commanding it. He said:

( وَاصْبِرْ وَمَا صَبْرُكَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ ) النَّحْلُ : 127 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَلِرَبِّكَ فَاصْبِرْ ) الْمُدَّثِّرُ : 7 وَإِنْ كَانَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ بِهِ وَكُلُّ عَمَلٍ صَالِحٍ لَهُ وَلَا يَصِفُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَبْدًا وَلَا يُثْنِي عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى يَبْتَلِيَهُ فَإِنْ صَبَرَ وَخَرَجَ مِنَ الْبَلَاءِ سَلِيمًا مَدَحَهُ وَوَصَفَهُ وَإِلَّا بَيَّنَ لَهُ كَذِبَهُ وَدَعْوَاهُ ، وَقِيلَ لِسُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ :

( wa-ṣbir wamā ṣabruka ʾillā bi-Allāhi ) al-naḥlu : 127 waqāla taʿālā : ( walirabbika fa-ṣbir ) al-muddaththiru : 7 waʾin kāna kullu shayʾin bihi wakullu ʿamalin ṣāliḥin lahu walā yaṣifu Allāhu taʿālā ʿabdan walā yuthnī ʿalayhi ḥattā yabtaliyahu faʾin ṣabara wakharaja mina al-balāʾi salīman madaḥahu wawaṣafahu waʾillā bayyana lahu kadhibahu wadaʿwāhu , waqīla lisufyāna al-thawriyyi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu :

“Be patient, and your patience is only through God” (al-Naḥl 16:127). He also said, Most High, “For your Lord, be patient” (al-Muddaththir 74:7), although everything is through Him and every righteous deed is for Him. God Most High does not describe a servant or commend him until He has tried him. If he is patient and emerges sound from the trial, He praises and describes him; otherwise He makes his falsehood and his claim plain to him. Sufyān al-Thawrī, may God be pleased with him, was asked:

مَا أَفْضَلُ الْأَعْمَالِ قَالَ الصَّبْرُ عِنْدَ الِابْتِلَاءِ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الصَّبْرِ وَقَدْ ذَكَرَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي كِتَابِهِ فِي نَيِّفٍ وَتِسْعِينَ مَوْضِعًا وَلَا نَعْلَمُ شَيْئًا ذَكَرَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى هَذَا الْعَدَدَ إِلَّا الصَّبْرَ فَلَا يَطْمَعَنَّ طَامِعٌ فِي مَدْحِ اللَّهِ لَهُ وَحُسْنِ ثَنَائِهِ عَلَيْهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَبْتَلِيَهُ فَيَصْبِرَ لَهُ وَلَا يَطْمَعَنَّ أَحَدٌ فِي حَقِيقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ وَحُسْنِ الْيَقِينِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَمْدَحَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَيُثْنِيَ عَلَيْهِ ،

mā ʾafḍalu al-ʾaʿmāli qāla al-ṣabru ʿinda al-ibtilāʾi . waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi : waʾayyu shayʾin ʾafḍalu mina al-ṣabri waqad dhakarahu Allāhu taʿālā fī kitābihi fī nayyifin watisʿīna mawḍiʿan walā naʿlamu shayʾan dhakarahu Allāhu taʿālā hādhā al-ʿadada ʾillā al-ṣabra falā yaṭmaʿanna ṭāmiʿun fī madḥi Allāhi lahu waḥusni thanāʾihi ʿalayhi qabla ʾan yabtaliyahu fayaṣbira lahu walā yaṭmaʿanna ʾaḥadun fī ḥaqīqati al-ʾīmāni waḥusni al-yaqīni qabla ʾan yamdaḥahu Allāhu taʿālā wayuthniya ʿalayhi ,

“What is the best deed?” He replied, “Patience when tested.” One of the scholars said, “What could be better than patience, when God Most High has mentioned it in His Book in more than ninety places? We know of nothing God Most High has mentioned this many times except patience.” Let no hopeful person hope for God’s praise and fine commendation of him before He tests him and he is patient for Him. Let no one hope for the reality of faith and excellence of certainty before God Most High praises and commends him.

وَلَوْ أَظْهَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى جَوَارِحِهِ سَائِرَ الْأَعْمَالِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَمْدَحْهُ بِوَصْفٍ وَلَمْ يُثْنِ عَلَيْهِ بِخَيْرٍ لَمْ يُؤْمَنْ عَلَيْهِ سُوءُ الْخَاتِمَةِ ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ مِنْ أَخْلَاقِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَنَّهُ إِذَا أَحَبَّ عَبْدًا وَرَضِيَ عَمَلَهُ مَدَحَهُ وَوَصَفَهُ ، فَمَنِ ابْتَلَاهُ بِكَرَاهَةٍ وَمَشَقَّةٍ أَوْ بِهَوًى وَشَهْوَةٍ فَصَبَرَ لِذَلِكَ أَوْ صَبَرَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ ،

walaw ʾaẓhara Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā jawāriḥihi sāʾira al-ʾaʿmāli thumma lam yamdaḥhu biwaṣfin walam yuthni ʿalayhi bikhayrin lam yuʾman ʿalayhi sūʾu al-khātimati , wa-dhālika ʾanna min ʾakhlāqi Allāhi taʿālā ʾannahu ʾidhā ʾaḥabba ʿabdan waraḍiya ʿamalahu madaḥahu wawaṣafahu , famani ibtalāhu bikarāhatin wamashaqqatin ʾaw bihawan washahwatin faṣabara li-dhālika ʾaw ṣabara ʿan dhālika ,

Even if God Most High caused all the various deeds to appear upon his limbs, but then did not praise him for a quality or commend him for something good, an evil end would not be ruled out for him. For among God Most High’s ways is that when He loves a servant and is pleased with his deed, He praises and describes him. Whoever He tests with something hateful and difficult, or with a desire and an appetite, and who patiently bears the former or patiently refrains from the latter,

فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَمْدَحُهُ وَيُثْنِي عَلَيْهِ بِكَرَمِهِ وَجُودِهِ فَيَدْخُلُ هَذَا الْعَبْدُ فِي أَسْمَاءِ الْمَوْصُوفِينَ وَيَصِيرُ وَاحِدًا مِنَ الْمَمْدُوحِينَ فَعِنْدَهَا يَثْبُتُ قَدَمُهُ مِنَ الزَّلَلِ وَيُخْتَمُ لَهُ بِمَا سَبَقَ مِنْ صَالِحِ الْعَمَلِ ، وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ ، صَبْرٌ عَلَى الْعَوَافِي أَنْ لَا يُجْرِيَهَا فِي الْمُخَالَفَةِ وَالصَّبْرُ عَلَى الْغِنَى أَنْ لَا يَبْذُلَهُ فِي الْهَوَى ، وَالصَّبْرُ عَلَى النِّعْمَةِ أَنْ لَا يَسْتَعِينَ بِهَا عَلَى مَعْصِيَةٍ ،

faʾinna Allāha taʿālā yamdaḥuhu wayuthnī ʿalayhi bikaramihi wajūdihi fayadkhulu hādhā al-ʿabdu fī ʾasmāʾi al-mawṣūfīna wayaṣīru wāḥidan mina al-mamdūḥīna faʿindahā yathbutu qadamuhu mina al-zalali wayukhtamu lahu bimā sabaqa min ṣāliḥi al-ʿamali , wamina al-ṣabri , ṣabrun ʿalā al-ʿawāfī ʾan lā yujriyahā fī al-mukhālafati wa-al-ṣabru ʿalā al-ghinā ʾan lā yabdhulahu fī al-hawā , wa-al-ṣabru ʿalā al-niʿmati ʾan lā yastaʿīna bihā ʿalā maʿṣiyatin ,

God Most High praises and commends him through His generosity and bounty. This servant then enters among the names of those favorably described and becomes one of the praised. At that point his foot is made firm against slipping, and his life is brought to a close in accordance with the righteous deeds that preceded. Patience includes patience amid well-being, so that one does not use it in disobedience; patience amid wealth, so that one does not spend it on desire; and patience amid blessing, so that one does not use it to assist in disobedience.

فَحَاجَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ إِلَى الصَّبْرِ فِي هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي وَمُطَالَبَتُهُ بِالصَّبْرِ عَلَيْهَا كَحَاجَتِهِ وَمُطَالَبَتِهِ بِالصَّبْرِ عَلَى الْمَكَارِهِ وَالْفَقْرِ وَعَلَى الشَّدَائِدِ وَالضُّرِّ ، وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ الْبَلَاءَ وَالْفَقْرَ يَصْبِرُ عَلَيْهِمَا الْمُؤْمِنُ وَالْعَوَافِي لَا يَصْبِرُ فِيهَا إِلَّا صِدِّيقٌ ، وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ يَقُولُ : الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الْعَافِيَةِ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الصَّبْرِ عَلَى الْبَلَاءِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَتِ الصَّحَابَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ :

faḥājatu al-muʾmini ʾilā al-ṣabri fī hādhihi al-maʿānī wamuṭālabatuhu bi-al-ṣabri ʿalayhā kaḥājatihi wamuṭālabatihi bi-al-ṣabri ʿalā al-makārihi wa-al-faqri waʿalā al-shadāʾidi wa-al-ḍurri , wayuqālu : ʾinna al-balāʾa wa-al-faqra yaṣbiru ʿalayhimā al-muʾminu wa-al-ʿawāfī lā yaṣbiru fīhā ʾillā ṣiddīqun , wakāna sahlun yaqūlu : al-ṣabru ʿalā al-ʿāfiyati ʾashaddu mina al-ṣabri ʿalā al-balāʾi , wa-kadhālika qālati al-ṣaḥābatu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum :

The believer’s need for patience in these matters and the demand that he show patience in them are like his need and the demand for patience amid hateful things and poverty, and amid hardships and harm. It is said, “The believer is patient under trial and poverty, but only an utterly truthful person is patient amid well-being.” Sahl used to say, “Patience amid well-being is harder than patience under trial.” Likewise, the Companions, may God be pleased with them, said,

لَمَّا فُتِحَتِ الدُّنْيَا فَنَالُوا مِنَ الْعَيْشِ وَاتَّسَعُوا ابْتُلِينَا بِفِتْنَةِ الضَّرَّاءِ فَصَبَرْنَا وَابْتُلِينَا بِفِتْنَةِ السَّرَّاءِ فَلَمْ نَصْبِرْ فَعَظَّمُوا الِاخْتِبَارَ بِالسَّرَّاءِ وَهُوَ مَا سَرَّ عَلَى الِاخْتِبَارِ بِالضَّرَّاءِ وَهُوَ مَا ضَرَّ . وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 134 فَمَدَحَهُمْ بِوَصْفٍ وَاحِدٍ فِي الْحَالَيْنِ الْمُخْتَلِفَيْنِ لِحُسْنِ يَقِينِهِمْ وَسَخَاوَةِ نُفُوسِهِمْ وَحَقِيقَةِ زُهْدِهِمْ ، وَمِنْ هَذَا الْمَعْنَى قَوْلُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى :

lammā futiḥati al-dunyā fanālū mina al-ʿayshi wa-ttasaʿū ibtulīnā bifitnati al-ḍarrāʾi faṣabarnā wa-btulīnā bifitnati al-sarrāʾi falam naṣbir faʿaẓẓamū al-ikhtibāra bi-al-sarrāʾi wahuwa mā sarra ʿalā al-ikhtibāri bi-al-ḍarrāʾi wahuwa mā ḍarra . waqad qāla taʿālā : ( alladhīna yunfiqūna fī al-sarrāʾi wa-al-ḍarrāʾi ) ʾālu ʿimrāna : 134 famadaḥahum biwaṣfin wāḥidin fī al-ḥālayni al-mukhtalifayni liḥusni yaqīnihim wasakhāwati nufūsihim waḥaqīqati zuhdihim , wamin hādhā al-maʿnā qawlu Allāhi taʿālā :

when the world was opened and they gained means of living and prosperity, “We were tested with the trial of adversity and were patient; we were tested with the trial of prosperity and were not patient.” They thus considered testing through prosperity, what brings delight, greater than testing through adversity, what brings harm. He has said, Most High, “Those who spend in prosperity and adversity” (Āl ʿImrān 3:134). He praised them for one quality in the two different states because of the excellence of their certainty, the generosity of their selves, and the reality of their renunciation. Among the expressions of this meaning are God Most High’s words:

( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ) الْمُنَافِقُونَ : 9 لِأَنَّ فِيهِمَا مَا يَسُرُّ وَيَشْغَلُ عَنِ الذِّكْرِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( إِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ وَأَوْلَادِكُمْ عَدُوًّا لَكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ ) التَّغَابُنُ : 14 لِأَنَّ فِي الْأَزْوَاجِ وَالْأَوْلَادِ مَا يُفْرَحُ بِهِ فَيُوَافِقُ فِيهِ الْهَوَى وَيُخَالِفُ بِوُجُودِهِمَا الْمَوْلَى فَصَارَا عَدُوَّيْنِ فِي الْعُقْبَى لِمَا يَؤُولُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ شَأْنِهِمَا ،

( yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū lā tulhikum ʾamwālukum walā ʾawlādukum ʿan dhikri Allāhi ) al-munāfiqūna : 9 liʾanna fīhimā mā yasurru wayashghalu ʿani al-dhikri , thumma qāla ʿazza wajalla : ( ʾinna min ʾazwājikum waʾawlādikum ʿaduwwan lakum fa-ḥdharūhum ) al-taghābunu : 14 liʾanna fī al-ʾazwāji wa-al-ʾawlādi mā yufraḥu bihi fayuwāfiqu fīhi al-hawā wayukhālifu biwujūdihimā al-mawlā faṣārā ʿaduwwayni fī al-ʿuqbā limā yaʾūlu ʾilayhi min shaʾnihimā ,

“You who believe, do not let your property or your children distract you from remembrance of God” (al-Munāfiqūn 63:9), because in both there is what delights and distracts from remembrance. Then He said, mighty and majestic, “Among your spouses and children are enemies to you, so beware of them” (al-Taghābun 64:14), because among spouses and children there is what brings joy, so that one follows desire concerning them and disobeys the Master because of their presence. The two thus become enemies in the final outcome, because of what their affair leads to.

وَمِنْ هَذَا الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ لَمَّا نَظَرَ إِلَى ابْنِهِ الْحَسَنِ يَتَعَثَّرُ فِي قَمِيصِهِ فَنَزَلَ عَنِ الْمِنْبَرِ وَاحْتَضَنَهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ صَدَقَ اللَّهُ : ( إِنَّمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَأَوْلَادُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ ) التَّغَابُنُ : 15 أَيْ لَمَّا رَأَيْتُ ابْنِي هَذَا لَمْ أَمْلِكْ نَفْسِي أَنْ أَخَذْتُهُ ، فَفِي هَذَا عِبْرَةٌ لِأُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ ، وَرُوِيَ عَنْهُ فِي الْحَدِيثِ أَيْضًا : الْوَلَدُ مَحْزَنَةٌ مَبْخَلَةٌ مَجْبَنَةٌ ،

wamin hādhā al-khabari alladhī ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi lammā naẓara ʾilā ibnihi al-ḥasani yataʿaththaru fī qamīṣihi fanazala ʿani al-minbari wa-ḥtaḍanahu thumma qāla ṣadaqa Allāhu : ( ʾinnamā ʾamwālukum waʾawlādukum fitnatun ) al-taghābunu : 15 ʾay lammā raʾaytu ibnī hādhā lam ʾamlik nafsī ʾan ʾakhadhtuhu , fafī hādhā ʿibratun li-ʾulī al-ʾabṣāri , waruwiya ʿanhu fī al-ḥadīthi ʾayḍan : al-waladu maḥzanatun mabkhalatun majbanatun ,

Among the expressions of this is the report related from the Prophet: when he saw his son al-Ḥasan stumbling in his shirt, he came down from the pulpit and embraced him, then said, “God has spoken truly: ‘Your property and your children are only a trial’” (al-Taghābun 64:15). That is, when I saw this son of mine, I could not restrain myself from taking him up. In this is a lesson for people of insight. It is also related from him in the hadith, “A child is a cause of sorrow, miserliness, and cowardice.”

فَهَذِهِ مَصَادِرُ الْحُزْنِ وَالْبُخْلِ وَالْجُبْنِ أَيْ يَحْمِلُ حُبُّ الْأَوْلَادِ وَالْأَمْوَالِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ ، فَمَنْ صَبَرَ عَلَى السَّرَّاءِ وَهِيَ الْعَوَافِي وَالْغِنَى وَالْأَوْلَادُ وَغَيْرُ ذَلِكَ وَأَخَذَ الْأَشْيَاءَ مِنْ حَقِّهَا وَوَضَعَهَا فِي حَقِّهَا فَهُوَ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ الشَّاكِرِينَ لَا يَزِيدُ

fa-hādhihi maṣādiru al-ḥuzni wa-al-bukhli wa-al-jubni ʾay yaḥmilu ḥubbu al-ʾawlādi wa-al-ʾamwāli ʿalā dhālika , faman ṣabara ʿalā al-sarrāʾi wahiya al-ʿawāfī wa-al-ghinā wa-al-ʾawlādu waghayru dhālika waʾakhadha al-ʾashyāʾa min ḥaqqihā wawaḍaʿahā fī ḥaqqihā fahuwa mina al-ṣābirīna al-shākirīna lā yazīdu

These are sources of sorrow, miserliness, and cowardice: love of children and wealth leads to them. Whoever is patient amid prosperity, meaning well-being, wealth, children, and other such things, takes things from where they rightfully belong and places them where they rightfully belong, is among the patient and grateful. Those afflicted and poor do not surpass

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٣٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 332

Volume One, page 332

عَلَيْهِ أَهْلُ الْبَلَاءِ وَالْفَقْرِ إِلَّا بِحَقِيقَةِ الرِّضَا وَالشُّكْرِ ، وَقَدْ جَمَعَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَيْنَ مَا سَرَّ وَضَرَّ وَجَعَلَهُمَا مِنْ وَصْفِ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَمَدَحَهُمْ بِالْإِحْسَانِ مَعَهُمَا فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ) ( الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 133 - 134 ،

ʿalayhi ʾahlu al-balāʾi wa-al-faqri ʾillā biḥaqīqati al-riḍā wa-al-shukri , waqad jamaʿa Allāhu taʿālā bayna mā sarra waḍarra wajaʿalahumā min waṣfi al-muttaqīna wamadaḥahum bi-al-ʾiḥsāni maʿahumā faqāla taʿālā : ( ʾuʿiddat li-l-muttaqīna ) ( alladhīna yunfiqūna fī al-sarrāʾi wa-al-ḍarrāʾi wa-al-kāẓimīna al-ghayẓa wa-al-ʿāfīna ʿani al-nāsi wa-Allāhu yuḥibbu al-muḥsinīna ) ʾālu ʿimrāna : 133 - 134 ,

him except through the reality of contentment and gratitude. God Most High has brought together what delights and what harms, made both part of the description of the God-fearing, and praised them for doing good in both. He said, Most High, “Prepared for the God-fearing,” “those who spend in prosperity and adversity, suppress their anger, and pardon people; God loves those who do good” (Āl ʿImrān 3:133–134).

وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ كِتْمَانُ الْمَصَائِبِ وَالْأَوْجَاعِ وَتَرْكُ الِاسْتِرَاحَةِ إِلَى الشَّكْوَى بِهِمَا فَذَلِكَ هُوَ الصَّبْرُ الْجَمِيلُ قِيلَ : هُوَ الَّذِي لَا شَكْوَى فِيهِ وَلَا إِظْهَارَ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا : الصَّبْرُ فِي الْقُرْآنِ عَلَى ثَلَاثَةِ أَوْجُهٍ : صَبْرٌ عَلَى أَدَاءِ الْفَرَائِضِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَصَبْرٌ عَنْ مَحَارِمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَصَبْرٌ فِي الْمُصِيبَةِ عِنْدَ الصَّدْمَةِ الْأُولَى ،

wamina al-ṣabri kitmānu al-maṣāʾibi wa-al-ʾawjāʿi watarku al-istirāḥati ʾilā al-shakwā bihimā fa-dhālika huwa al-ṣabru al-jamīlu qīla : huwa alladhī lā shakwā fīhi walā ʾiẓhāra . warawaynā ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā : al-ṣabru fī al-qurʾāni ʿalā thalāthati ʾawjuhin : ṣabrun ʿalā ʾadāʾi al-farāʾiḍi li-llāhi taʿālā , waṣabrun ʿan maḥārimi Allāhi taʿālā , waṣabrun fī al-muṣībati ʿinda al-ṣadmati al-ʾūlā ,

Patience includes concealing misfortunes and pains and abandoning the relief of complaining about them. That is gracious patience. It has been said: it is patience containing neither complaint nor disclosure. We have related from Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with them both, “Patience in the Qurʾān takes three forms: patience in fulfilling the obligations owed to God Most High, patience in refraining from what God Most High forbids, and patience in misfortune at the first shock.”

فَمَنْ صَبَرَ عَلَى أَدَاءِ فَرَائِضِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَلَهُ ثَلَاثُمِائَةُ دَرَجَةٍ ، وَمَنْ صَبَرَ عَلَى مَحَارِمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَلَهُ سِتُّمِائَةُ دَرَجَةٍ ، وَمَنْ صَبَرَ فِي الْمُصِيبَةِ عِنْدَ الصَّدْمَةِ الْأُولَى فَلَهُ تِسْعُمِائَةُ دَرَجَةٍ ، وَهَذَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى تَفْسِيرٍ ، وَلَمْ يُفَضِّلِ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى الْمُصِيبَةِ لِأَنَّهُ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الصَّبْرِ عَنِ الْمَحَارِمِ وَعَلَى الْفَرَائِضِ بَلْ لِأَنَّ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى ذَيْنِكَ مِنْ أَحْوَالِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالصَّبْرَ عَلَى الْمُصِيبَةِ مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ

faman ṣabara ʿalā ʾadāʾi farāʾiḍi Allāhi taʿālā falahu thalāthumiʾatu darajatin , waman ṣabara ʿalā maḥārimi Allāhi taʿālā falahu sittumiʾatu darajatin , waman ṣabara fī al-muṣībati ʿinda al-ṣadmati al-ʾūlā falahu tisʿumiʾatu darajatin , wa-hādhā yaḥtāju ʾilā tafsīrin , walam yufaḍḍili ibnu ʿabbāsin al-ṣabra ʿalā al-muṣībati liʾannahu ʾafḍalu mina al-ṣabri ʿani al-maḥārimi waʿalā al-farāʾiḍi bal liʾanna al-ṣabra ʿalā dhaynika min ʾaḥwāli al-muslimīna wa-al-ṣabra ʿalā al-muṣībati min maqāmāti al-yaqīni

“Whoever is patient in fulfilling God Most High’s obligations has three hundred degrees. Whoever is patient in refraining from God Most High’s prohibitions has six hundred degrees. Whoever is patient in misfortune at the first shock has nine hundred degrees.” This requires explanation. Ibn ʿAbbās did not give precedence to patience in misfortune because it is better than patience in refraining from prohibitions or fulfilling obligations. Rather, patience concerning those two belongs to the states of Muslims, whereas patience in misfortune belongs to the stations of certainty.

وَإِنَّمَا فُضِّلَ الْمَقَامُ فِي الْيَقِينِ عَلَى مَقَامِ الْإِسْلَامِ وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ مَا رُوِيَ مِنْ دُعَاءِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ مَا تَهُونُ بِهِ عَلَيَّ مَصَائِبُ الدُّنْيَا ، فَأَحْسَنُ النَّاسِ صَبْرًا عِنْدَ الْمَصَائِبِ أَكْثَرُهُمْ يَقِينًا وَأَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ جَزَعًا وَسَخَطًا فِي الْمَصَائِبِ أَقَلُّهُمْ يَقِينًا ، وَمِثْلُ هَذَا الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنْ سَلَمَةَ بْنِ وَرْدَانَ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :

waʾinnamā fuḍḍila al-maqāmu fī al-yaqīni ʿalā maqāmi al-ʾislāmi wamin dhālika mā ruwiya min duʿāʾi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾasʾaluka mina al-yaqīni mā tahūnu bihi ʿalayya maṣāʾibu al-dunyā , faʾaḥsanu al-nāsi ṣabran ʿinda al-maṣāʾibi ʾaktharuhum yaqīnan waʾaktharu al-nāsi jazaʿan wasakhaṭan fī al-maṣāʾibi ʾaqalluhum yaqīnan , wamithlu hādhā al-khabari alladhī rawaynāhu ʿan salamata bni wardāna ʿan ʾanasi bni mālikin ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama :

It is the station in certainty that was given precedence over the station of Islam. Among the expressions of this is what has been related of the Prophet’s supplication, may God bless him and grant him peace: “I ask You for such certainty as will make the misfortunes of this world light upon me.” Those with the finest patience in misfortunes have the most certainty; those with the greatest panic and resentment in misfortunes have the least certainty. Similar is the report we have transmitted from Salamah ibn Wardān, from Anas ibn Mālik, from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace:

مَنْ تَرَكَ الْمِرَاءَ وَهُوَ مُحِقٌّ بُنِيَ لَهُ بَيْتٌ فِي أَعْلَى الْجَنَّةِ ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ الْمِرَاءَ وَهُوَ مُبْطِلٌ بُنِيَ لَهُ فِي وَسَطِ الْجَنَّةِ ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ الْكَذِبَ بُنِيَ لَهُ فِي رَبَضِ الْجَنَّةِ ، فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ تَرْكَ الْكَذِبِ وَتَرْكَ الْمِرَاءِ مُبْطِلًا أَفْرَضُ وَأَوْجَبُ فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ أَفْضَلَ ، وَلَكِنَّ الْمَعْنَى فِيهِ أَنَّ الْكَذِبَ وَالْمِرَاءَ بِالْبَاطِلِ يَتْرُكُهُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ ،

man taraka al-mirāʾa wahuwa muḥiqqun buniya lahu baytun fī ʾaʿlā al-jannati , waman taraka al-mirāʾa wahuwa mubṭilun buniya lahu fī wasaṭi al-jannati , waman taraka al-kadhiba buniya lahu fī rabaḍi al-jannati , faqad ʿalimta ʾanna tarka al-kadhibi watarka al-mirāʾi mubṭilan ʾafraḍu waʾawjabu fayanbaghī ʾan yakūna ʾafḍala , wa-lākinna al-maʿnā fīhi ʾanna al-kadhiba wa-al-mirāʾa bi-al-bāṭili yatrukuhu al-muslimūna ,

“Whoever abandons disputation while he is in the right will have a house built for him in the highest part of the Garden. Whoever abandons disputation while he is in the wrong will have one built for him in the middle of the Garden. Whoever abandons lying will have one built for him on the outskirts of the Garden.” You know that abandoning lying and abandoning disputation while in the wrong are more strictly required and more obligatory, so they ought to be better. But the meaning here is that Muslims abandon lying and false disputation.

فَأَمَّا الْمِرَاءُ وَالْعَبْدُ مُحِقٌّ صَادِقٌ ثُمَّ لَا يُمَارِي زُهْدًا فِي التَّظَاهُرِ وَرَغْبَةً فِي الصَّمْتِ وَالسَّلَامَةِ فَلَا يَصْبِرُ عَلَى هَذَا إِلَّا الْمُوقِنُونَ وَهُمْ خُصُوصُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، فَمَقَامُهُ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ ، وَالزُّهْدُ وَإِيثَارُ الْخُمُولِ وَالصَّمْتِ عَلَى الْكَلَامِ وَالشَّهْوَةِ بِهِ أَفْضَلُ وَهُوَ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ فَصَارَ هَذَا الْمُؤْمِنُ بِمَقَامِهِ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ عُمُومِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَتْرُكُونَ الْكَذِبَ وَالْمُمَارَاةَ وَإِنْ كَانَا أَفْرَضَ وَأَوْجَبَ فَهَذَا بَيَانُ ذَلِكَ مَعْنَاهُ ،

faʾammā al-mirāʾu wa-al-ʿabdu muḥiqqun ṣādiqun thumma lā yumārī zuhdan fī al-taẓāhuri waraghbatan fī al-ṣamti wa-al-salāmati falā yaṣbiru ʿalā hādhā ʾillā al-mūqinūna wahum khuṣūṣu al-muʾminīna , famaqāmuhu mina al-yaqīni , wa-al-zuhdu waʾīthāru al-khumūli wa-al-ṣamti ʿalā al-kalāmi wa-al-shahwati bihi ʾafḍalu wahuwa mina al-yaqīni faṣāra hādhā al-muʾminu bimaqāmihi ʾafḍala min ʿumūmi al-muʾminīna alladhīna yatrukūna al-kadhiba wa-al-mumārāta waʾin kānā ʾafraḍa waʾawjaba fa-hādhā bayānu dhālika maʿnāhu ,

As for disputation when the servant is right and truthful, and yet he does not dispute, out of renunciation of display and desire for silence and safety, only those possessed of certainty are patient in this, and they are the elect among believers. His station thus belongs to certainty. Renunciation and preferring obscurity and silence to speech and the desire for it are better and belong to certainty. Through his station, this believer therefore becomes better than ordinary believers who abandon lying and disputation, even though those two abandonments are more strictly required and more obligatory. This explains that meaning.

وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ إِخْفَاءُ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ وَمَنْعُ النَّفْسِ الْفَكَاهَةَ وَالتَّمَتُّعَ بِذِكْرِهَا وَإِخْفَاءُ الْمَعْرُوفِ وَالصَّدَقَاتِ فَإِنَّ كَتْمَهُ مِنَ الْأَدَبِ مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ فِي الْإِعْلَانِ وَبَرْءِ السَّاحَةِ فِي الْإِخْبَارِ وَلَكِنْ إِخْفَاؤُهُ أَفْضَلُ وَأَزْكَى وَأَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بَلْ هِيَ مِنْ كُنُوزِ الْبِرِّ أَعْنِي هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثَةَ إِخْفَاءَ الْأَوْجَاعِ وَالْمَصَائِبِ وَالصَّدَقَةِ أَيْ مِنَ الذَّخَائِرِ النَّفِيسَةِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى ، وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ صَوْنُ الْفَقْرِ وَإِخْفَاؤُهُ ،

wamina al-ṣabri ʾikhfāʾu ʾaʿmāli al-birri wamanʿu al-nafsi al-fakāhata wa-al-tamattuʿa bidhikrihā waʾikhfāʾu al-maʿrūfi wa-al-ṣadaqāti faʾinna katmahu mina al-ʾadabi maʿa al-salāmati fī al-ʾiʿlāni wabarʾi al-sāḥati fī al-ʾikhbāri wa-lākin ʾikhfāʾuhu ʾafḍalu waʾazkā waʾaḥabbu ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā bal hiya min kunūzi al-birri ʾaʿnī hādhihi al-thalāthata ʾikhfāʾa al-ʾawjāʿi wa-al-maṣāʾibi wa-al-ṣadaqati ʾay mina al-dhakhāʾiri al-nafīsati ʿinda Allāhi tabāraka wataʿālā , wamina al-ṣabri ṣawnu al-faqri waʾikhfāʾuhu ,

Patience includes hiding righteous deeds and preventing the self from enjoying and taking pleasure in mentioning them, and hiding kindnesses and acts of charity. Concealing such deeds is part of proper conduct, even where making them public is safe and reporting them is free from blame. Yet hiding them is better, purer, and dearer to God Most High. Indeed, these belong to the treasures of righteousness; I mean these three: hiding pains, misfortunes, and charity. They are among the precious stores with God, blessed and exalted is He. Patience also includes safeguarding poverty and concealing it,

وَالصَّبْرُ عَلَى بَلَاءِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي طَوَارِقِ الْفَاقَاتِ ، وَهَذَا حَالُ الزَّاهِدِينَ الرَّاضِينَ وَأَفْضَلُ الصَّبْرِ : الصَّبْرُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالْمُجَالَسَةِ لَهُ وَالْإِصْغَاءِ إِلَيْهِ وَعُكُوفِ الْهَمِّ وَقُوَّةِ الْوَجْدِ بِهِ ، وَهَذَا خُصُوصٌ لِلْمُقَرَّبِينَ أَوْ حَيَاءً مِنْهُ أَوْ حُبًّا

wa-al-ṣabru ʿalā balāʾi Allāhi taʿālā fī ṭawāriqi al-fāqāti , wa-hādhā ḥālu al-zāhidīna al-rāḍīna waʾafḍalu al-ṣabri : al-ṣabru ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā bi-al-mujālasati lahu wa-al-ʾiṣghāʾi ʾilayhi waʿukūfi al-hammi waquwwati al-wajdi bihi , wa-hādhā khuṣūṣun li-l-muqarrabīna ʾaw ḥayāʾan minhu ʾaw ḥubban

And there is patience under God's affliction, exalted is He, when sudden needs strike. This is the state of the renunciants who are content. The most excellent patience is patience with God, exalted is He: keeping company with Him, listening attentively to Him, fixing one's concern upon Him, and experiencing intense inward feeling through Him. This belongs especially to those brought near, whether out of shame before Him or love

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٣٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 333

Volume One, page 333

لَهُ أَوْ تَسْلِيمًا أَوْ تَفْوِيضًا إِلَيْهِ وَهُوَ السُّكُونُ تَحْتَ جَرَيَانِ الْأَقْدَارِ وَشُهُودُهَا مِنَ الْأَنْعَامِ ، وَمِنْ حُسْنِ تَدْبِيرِ الْأَقْسَامِ فِي شُهُودِ الْمَسْأَلَةِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ فِيهَا وَالْقَصْدِ بِالِابْتِلَاءِ بِهَا وَهُوَ دَاخِلٌ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَلِرَبِّكَ فَاصْبِرْ ) الْمُدَّثِّرُ : 7 ، وَفِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ فَإِنَّكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا ) الطُّورُ : 48 وَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَغَيْرُهُ مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ :

lahu ʾaw taslīman ʾaw tafwīḍan ʾilayhi wahuwa al-sukūnu taḥta jarayāni al-ʾaqdāri washuhūduhā mina al-ʾanʿāmi , wamin ḥusni tadbīri al-ʾaqsāmi fī shuhūdi al-masʾalati wa-al-ḥikmati fīhā wa-al-qaṣdi bi-al-ibtilāʾi bihā wahuwa dākhilun fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( walirabbika fa-ṣbir ) al-muddaththiru : 7 , wafī qawlihi taʿālā : ( wa-ṣbir liḥukmi rabbika faʾinnaka biʾaʿyuninā ) al-ṭūru : 48 waqāla ʿumaru bnu ʿabdi al-ʿazīzi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu waghayruhu mina al-ʾaʾimmati :

for Him, or in submission or entrusting one's affairs to Him. It is stillness beneath the unfolding of the decrees, witnessing them as beneficence and as the good ordering of one's allotted portions, while witnessing the matter, the wisdom within it, and the purpose of the trial through it. This is included in His saying, exalted is He, “For your Lord, be patient” (al-Muddaththir 74:7), and His saying, exalted is He, “Be patient for your Lord's judgment, for you are under Our eyes” (al-Ṭūr 52:48). ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, God be pleased with him, and other imams said:

أَصْبَحْتُ وَمَا لِي سُرُورٌ إِلَّا فِي مَوَاضِعِ الْقَدَرِ ، وَرُوِيَ أَيْضًا إِلَّا انْتِظَارَ الْقَضَاءِ ، وَيُقَالُ : مِنْ عَلَامَةِ الْيَقِينِ تَسْلِيمُ الْقَضَاءِ بِحُسْنِ الصَّبْرِ وَالرِّضَا ، وَهُوَ مَقَامُ الْعَارِفِينَ ، وَقَالَ سَهْلٌ فِي تَأْوِيلِ قَوْلِ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُحِبُّ كُلَّ عَبْدٍ نُوَمَةٍ قَالَ : هُوَ السَّاكِنُ تَحْتَ جَرَيَانِ الْأَحْكَامِ يَعْنِي مِنْ غَيْرِ كَرَاهَةٍ ، وَلَا اعْتِرَاضٍ ،

ʾaṣbaḥtu wamā lī surūrun ʾillā fī mawāḍiʿi al-qadari , waruwiya ʾayḍan ʾillā intiẓāra al-qaḍāʾi , wayuqālu : min ʿalāmati al-yaqīni taslīmu al-qaḍāʾi biḥusni al-ṣabri wa-al-riḍā , wahuwa maqāmu al-ʿārifīna , waqāla sahlun fī taʾwīli qawli ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu : ʾinna Allāha taʿālā yuḥibbu kulla ʿabdin nuwamatin qāla : huwa al-sākinu taḥta jarayāni al-ʾaḥkāmi yaʿnī min ghayri karāhatin , walā iʿtirāḍin ,

“I have come to have no joy except in the places where destiny falls.” It is also related: “Except in awaiting the decree.” It is said: “Among the signs of certainty is surrender to the decree with beautiful patience and contentment.” This is the station of those who know God. In interpreting the saying of ʿAlī, God be pleased with him, “God, exalted is He, loves every inconspicuous servant,” Sahl said: “He is the one who remains still beneath the unfolding of the judgments,” meaning without aversion or objection.

فَأَمَّا اشْتِرَاطُ الصَّبْرِ فِي الْمُصِيبَةِ عِنْدَ الصَّدْمَةِ الْأُولَى فِي قَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِنَّمَا الصَّبْرُ عِنْدَ الصَّدْمَةِ الْأُولَى فَلِأَنَّهُ يُقَالُ : إِنَّ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ يَبْدُو صَغِيرًا ثُمَّ يَكْبُرُ إِلَّا الْمُصِيبَةَ ، فَإِنَّهَا تَبْدُو كَبِيرَةً ثُمَّ تَصْغُرُ ، فَاشْتُرِطَ لِعِظَمِ الثَّوَابِ لَهَا عِنْدَ أَوَّلِ كِبَرِهَا قَبْلَ صِغَرِهَا وَهِيَ فِي صَدْمَةِ الْقَلْبِ أَوَّلَ مَا يَبْغَتُهُ الشَّيْءُ ،

faʾammā ishtirāṭu al-ṣabri fī al-muṣībati ʿinda al-ṣadmati al-ʾūlā fī qawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾinnamā al-ṣabru ʿinda al-ṣadmati al-ʾūlā faliʾannahu yuqālu : ʾinna kulla shayʾin yabdū ṣaghīran thumma yakburu ʾillā al-muṣībata , faʾinnahā tabdū kabīratan thumma taṣghuru , fa-shturiṭa liʿiẓami al-thawābi lahā ʿinda ʾawwali kibarihā qabla ṣigharihā wahiya fī ṣadmati al-qalbi ʾawwala mā yabghatuhu al-shayʾu ,

As for making patience at the first shock a condition in affliction, in the Prophet's saying, God bless him and grant him peace, “Patience is only at the first shock,” this is because it is said: “Everything appears small and then grows, except affliction: it appears great and then grows small.” Patience was therefore stipulated for the greatness of its reward at the beginning of its greatness, before it grows small: at the heart's shock when the thing first takes it by surprise.

فَيَنْظُرُ إِلَى نَظَرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَيَسْتَحِي فَيُحْسِنُ الصَّبْرَ كَمَا قَالَ : فَإِنَّكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَالصَّبْرُ أَيْضًا عَنْ إِظْهَارِ الْكَرَامَاتِ وَعَنِ الْإِخْبَارِ بِكَشْفِ الْقُدْرَةِ وَالْآيَاتِ دَاخِلٌ فِي حُسْنِ الْأَدَبِ مِنَ الْمُعَامَلَاتِ ، وَهُوَ مِنْ مَعْنَى الْحَيَاءِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَهَذَا طَرِيقُ الْمُحِبِّينَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَهُوَ حَقِيقَةُ الزُّهْدِ ، وَمِنْ فَضَائِلِ الصَّبْرِ حَبْسُ النَّفْسِ عَنْ حُبِّ الْمَدْحِ وَالْحَمْدِ وَالرِّيَاسَةِ .

fayanẓuru ʾilā naẓari Allāhi taʿālā fayastaḥī fayuḥsinu al-ṣabra kamā qāla : faʾinnaka biʾaʿyuninā wa-hādhā maqāmu al-mutawakkilīna ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā , wa-al-ṣabru ʾayḍan ʿan ʾiẓhāri al-karāmāti waʿani al-ʾikhbāri bikashfi al-qudrati wa-al-ʾāyāti dākhilun fī ḥusni al-ʾadabi mina al-muʿāmalāti , wahuwa min maʿnā al-ḥayāʾi mina Allāhi taʿālā , wa-hādhā ṭarīqu al-muḥibbīna li-llāhi taʿālā wahuwa ḥaqīqatu al-zuhdi , wamin faḍāʾili al-ṣabri ḥabsu al-nafsi ʿan ḥubbi al-madḥi wa-al-ḥamdi wa-al-riyāsati .

He considers God's regard, exalted is He, feels shame, and practices patience well, as He said: “For you are under Our eyes.” This is the station of those who trust in God, exalted is He. Restraining oneself from displaying miraculous favors and from telling of the unveiling of divine power and signs is also included in beautiful conduct in one's dealings. It belongs to the meaning of shame before God, exalted is He. This is the path of those who love God, exalted is He, and the reality of renunciation. Among the virtues of patience is restraining the self from love of commendation, praise, and leadership.

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَدِيثًا مَقْطُوعًا : الصَّبْرُ فِي ثَلَاثٍ ، الصَّبْرُ فِي تَزْكِيَةِ النَّفْسِ ، وَالصَّبْرُ عَنْ شَكْوَى الْمُصِيبَةِ ، وَالصَّبْرُ عَلَى الرِّضَا بِقَضَاءِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ ، وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ حَبْسُ النَّفْسِ عَنِ الْخُمُولِ وَالتَّوَاضُعِ وَالذِّلَّةِ إِيثَارًا لِلْآخِرَةِ عَلَى الدُّنْيَا وَهَرَبًا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَتَحَقُّقًا بِوَصْفِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ وَتَرْكِ الْمُنَازَعَةِ وَالتَّشَبُّهِ بِمَعَانِي أَوْصَافِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ تَسْلِيمًا لِلْإِلَهِيَّةِ وَاسْتِسْلَامًا لِلْأَحَدِيَّةِ فَلَا يُخْرِجَكَ

warawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ḥadīthan maqṭūʿan : al-ṣabru fī thalāthin , al-ṣabru fī tazkiyati al-nafsi , wa-al-ṣabru ʿan shakwā al-muṣībati , wa-al-ṣabru ʿalā al-riḍā biqaḍāʾi Allāhi taʿālā ʿalā khayrihi washarrihi , wamina al-ṣabri ḥabsu al-nafsi ʿani al-khumūli wa-al-tawāḍuʿi wa-al-dhillati ʾīthāran li-l-ʾākhirati ʿalā al-dunyā waharaban ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā wataḥaqquqan biwaṣfi al-ʿubūdiyyati watarki al-munāzaʿati wa-al-tashabbuhi bimaʿānī ʾawṣāfi al-rubūbiyyati taslīman li-l-ʾilāhiyyati wa-stislāman li-l-ʾaḥadiyyati falā yukhrijaka

We have related from God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, a disconnected report: “Patience lies in three things: patience in purifying the self, patience in refraining from complaint about affliction, and patience in remaining content with God's decree, exalted is He, in its good and its evil.” Patience also includes restraining the self from obscurity, humility, and lowliness, preferring the next world to this one, fleeing to God, exalted is He, realizing the quality of servanthood, and abandoning contention and resemblance to the meanings of the attributes of lordship, in submission to divinity and surrender to oneness. Let not

قِلَّةُ الصَّبْرِ عَنْ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الطَّلَبِ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْهُ فَتَزِلَّ قَدَمٌ بَعْدَ ثُبُوتِهَا نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ ، وَمِنَ الصَّبْرِ صَبْرٌ عَلَى الْعِيَالِ فِي الْكَسْبِ لَهُمْ وَالْإِنْفَاقِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَالِاحْتِمَالِ لِلْأَذَى مِنْهُمْ ، فَإِنَّ فِي الْعِيَالِ طُرُقَاتٍ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَدْنَاهَا الْإِهْتِمَامُ بِهِمْ ، وَأَعْلَاهَا الرِّضَا عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالتَّوَكُّلُ عَلَيْهِ فِيهِمْ ، وَأَوْسَطُهَا الْإِنْفَاقُ وَحَبْسُ الْإِنْفَاقِ وَحَبْسُ النَّفْسِ عَلَيْهِمْ ،

qillatu al-ṣabri ʿan dhālika ʾilā al-ṭalabi bishayʾin minhu fatazilla qadamun baʿda thubūtihā naʿūdhu bi-Allāhi min dhālika , wamina al-ṣabri ṣabrun ʿalā al-ʿiyāli fī al-kasbi lahum wa-al-ʾinfāqi ʿalayhim wa-al-iḥtimāli li-l-ʾadhā minhum , faʾinna fī al-ʿiyāli ṭuruqātin ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā ʾadnāhā al-ʾihtimāmu bihim , waʾaʿlāhā al-riḍā ʿani Allāhi taʿālā wa-al-tawakkulu ʿalayhi fīhim , waʾawsaṭuhā al-ʾinfāqu waḥabsu al-ʾinfāqi waḥabsu al-nafsi ʿalayhim ,

lack of patience with that drive you to seek any of it, so that a foot slips after being firmly planted. We seek refuge in God from that. Among the forms of patience is patience with one's dependents: earning for them, spending on them, and bearing harm from them. In having dependents there are paths to God, exalted is He. The lowest is concern for them; the highest is contentment with God, exalted is He, and trust in Him concerning them; the middle is spending, withholding expenditure, and keeping oneself devoted to them.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ أَكْثَرَ مَعَاصِي الْعِبَادِ فِي شَيْئَيْنِ : قِلَّةِ الصَّبْرِ عَمَّا يُحِبُّونَ ، أَوْ قِلَّةِ الصَّبْرِ عَلَى مَا يَكْرَهُونَ ، وَقَدْ قَرَنَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْكَرَاهَةَ بِالْخَيْرِ وَالْمَحَبَّةَ بِالشَّرِّ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَعَسَى أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَعَسَى أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 216 وَحَدُّ الصَّبْرِ وَهُوَ أَوَّلُهُ فَرِيضَةٌ بِمِثْلِ أَوَّلِ الْإِخْلَاصِ ،

wa-ʿlam ʾanna ʾakthara maʿāṣī al-ʿibādi fī shayʾayni : qillati al-ṣabri ʿammā yuḥibbūna , ʾaw qillati al-ṣabri ʿalā mā yakrahūna , waqad qarana Allāhu taʿālā al-karāhata bi-al-khayri wa-al-maḥabbata bi-al-sharri fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( waʿasā ʾan takrahū shayʾan wahuwa khayrun lakum waʿasā ʾan tuḥibbū shayʾan wahuwa sharrun lakum ) al-baqaratu : 216 waḥaddu al-ṣabri wahuwa ʾawwaluhu farīḍatun bimithli ʾawwali al-ʾikhlāṣi ,

Know that most of servants' acts of disobedience lie in two things: insufficient patience in abstaining from what they love, or insufficient patience in enduring what they hate. God, exalted is He, paired aversion with good and love with evil in His saying, exalted is He: “Perhaps you hate a thing although it is good for you, and perhaps you love a thing although it is bad for you” (al-Baqara 2:216). The minimum of patience, which is its beginning, is obligatory, like the beginning of sincerity.

وَالصَّبْرُ أَيْضًا حِيلَةُ مَنْ لَا حِيلَةَ لَهُ لِأَنَّ الْأَمْرَ إِذَا كَانَ بِيَدِ غَيْرِكَ لَمْ يَكُنْ إِلَّا الصَّبْرُ عَلَيْهِ وَلِأَنَّ الشَّيْءَ إِذَا كَانَ لَا يَأْتِيكَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا قَلِيلًا وَأَنْتَ مُحْتَاجٌ إِلَيْهِ لَمْ يَكُنْ إِلَّا الصَّبْرُ عَلَيْهِ وَإِلَّا انْقَطَعَ ذَلِكَ الْقَلِيلُ ،

wa-al-ṣabru ʾayḍan ḥīlatu man lā ḥīlata lahu liʾanna al-ʾamra ʾidhā kāna biyadi ghayrika lam yakun ʾillā al-ṣabru ʿalayhi waliʾanna al-shayʾa ʾidhā kāna lā yaʾtīka ʾillā qalīlan qalīlan waʾanta muḥtājun ʾilayhi lam yakun ʾillā al-ṣabru ʿalayhi waʾillā inqaṭaʿa dhālika al-qalīlu ,

Patience is also the resource of one who has no resource. When a matter is in another's hands, there is nothing but patience with it. And when something comes to you only little by little, while you need it, there is nothing but patience with it; otherwise, even that little is cut off.

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٣٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 334

Volume One, page 334

وَأَصْلُ قِلَّةِ الصَّبْرِ ضَعْفُ الْيَقِينِ بِحُسْنِ جَزَاءِ مَنْ صَبَرْتَ لَهُ لِأَنَّهُ لَوْ قَوِيَ يَقِينُهُ كَانَ الْأَجَلُ مِنَ الْوَعْدِ عَاجِلًا إِذَا كَانَ الْوَاعِدُ صَادِقًا فَيَحْسُنُ صَبْرُهُ لِقُوَّةِ الثِّقَةِ بِالْعَطَاءِ وَلَا يَصْبِرُ الْعَبْدُ إِلَّا بِأَحَدِ مَعْنَيَيْنِ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْعِوَضِ وَهُوَ أَدْنَاهُمَا ، وَهَذَا حَالُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَمَقَامُ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ أَوِ النَّظَرِ إِلَى الْمُعَوِّضِ وَهُوَ حَالُ الْمُوقِنِينَ وَمَقَامُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ، فَمَنْ شَهِدَ الْعِوَضَ عُنِيَ بِالصَّبْرِ ،

waʾaṣlu qillati al-ṣabri ḍaʿfu al-yaqīni biḥusni jazāʾi man ṣabarta lahu liʾannahu law qawiya yaqīnuhu kāna al-ʾajalu mina al-waʿdi ʿājilan ʾidhā kāna al-wāʿidu ṣādiqan fayaḥsunu ṣabruhu liquwwati al-thiqati bi-al-ʿaṭāʾi walā yaṣbiru al-ʿabdu ʾillā biʾaḥadi maʿnayayni mushāhadati al-ʿiwaḍi wahuwa ʾadnāhumā , wa-hādhā ḥālu al-muʾminīna wamaqāmu ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni ʾawi al-naẓari ʾilā al-muʿawwiḍi wahuwa ḥālu al-mūqinīna wamaqāmu al-muqarrabīna , faman shahida al-ʿiwaḍa ʿuniya bi-al-ṣabri ,

The root of insufficient patience is weak certainty about the good recompense of the one for whose sake you are patient. If his certainty were strong, the appointed term of the promise would become immediate, provided the one making the promise was truthful. His patience would then be beautiful because of his strong confidence in the gift. A servant is patient only through one of two things: witnessing the compensation, which is the lower of the two, the state of the believers and the station of the companions of the right; or looking toward the One who compensates, which is the state of those possessed of certainty and the station of those brought near. Whoever witnesses the compensation concerns himself with patience;

وَمَنْ نَظَرَ إِلَى الْمُعَوِّضِ حَمَلَهُ النَّظَرُ وَقَدْ جَعَلَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى ثَلَاثَةِ مَعَانٍ ، وَإِنَّهُ فِي أَهْلِ مَقَامَاتٍ ثَلَاثٍ ، فَقَالَ : أَوَّلُهُ تَرْكُ الشَّكْوَى قَالَ وَهَذِهِ دَرَجَةُ التَّائِبِينَ ، وَالثَّانِيَةُ الرِّضَا بِالْمَقْدُورِ وَهَذِهِ دَرَجَةُ الزَّاهِدِينَ ، وَالثَّالِثَةُ الْمَحَبَّةُ لِمَا يَصْنَعُ بِهِ مَوْلَاهُ وَهَذِهِ دَرَجَةُ الصَّادِقِينَ وَقَدْ نَوَّعَ الْقُدَمَاءُ مِنَ السَّلَفِ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى ثَلَاثَةِ أَنْوَاعٍ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ الْحَسَنِ وَغَيْرِهِ :

waman naẓara ʾilā al-muʿawwiḍi ḥamalahu al-naẓaru waqad jaʿala baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna al-ṣabra ʿalā thalāthati maʿānin , waʾinnahu fī ʾahli maqāmātin thalāthin , faqāla : ʾawwaluhu tarku al-shakwā qāla wa-hādhihi darajatu al-tāʾibīna , wa-al-thāniyatu al-riḍā bi-al-maqdūri wa-hādhihi darajatu al-zāhidīna , wa-al-thālithatu al-maḥabbatu limā yaṣnaʿu bihi mawlāhu wa-hādhihi darajatu al-ṣādiqīna waqad nawwaʿa al-qudamāʾu mina al-salafi al-ṣabra ʿalā thalāthati ʾanwāʿin . warawaynā ʿani al-ḥasani waghayrihi :

whoever looks toward the One who compensates is carried by that looking. One of those who know God assigned patience three meanings and placed it among the people of three stations. He said: “Its first degree is abandoning complaint.” He said: “This is the degree of the repentant. The second is contentment with what is decreed, and this is the degree of the renunciants. The third is love of what his Master does with him, and this is the degree of the truthful.” The early predecessors also divided patience into three kinds. We have related from al-Ḥasan and others:

الصَّبْرُ عَلَى ثَلَاثَةِ مَعَانٍ صَبْرٌ عَنِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ وَهُوَ أَفْضَلُهَا ، وَصَبْرٌ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ ، وَصَبْرٌ فِي الْمَصَائِبِ ، وَهَذَا دَاخِلٌ فِي جُمَلِ مَا فَرَّقْنَاهُ مِنْ مَعَانِي الصَّبْرِ ، وَمُجْمَلُ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الصَّبْرَ فَرْضٌ وَفَضْلٌ يُعْرَفُ ذَلِكَ بِمَعْرِفَةِ الْأَحْكَامِ ، فَمَا كَانَ أَمْرًا أَوْ إِيجَابًا فَالصَّبْرُ عَلَيْهِ أَوْ عَنْهُ فَرْضٌ ،

al-ṣabru ʿalā thalāthati maʿānin ṣabrun ʿani al-maʿṣiyati wahuwa ʾafḍaluhā , waṣabrun ʿalā al-ṭāʿati , waṣabrun fī al-maṣāʾibi , wa-hādhā dākhilun fī jumali mā farraqnāhu min maʿānī al-ṣabri , wamujmalu dhālika ʾanna al-ṣabra farḍun wafaḍlun yuʿrafu dhālika bimaʿrifati al-ʾaḥkāmi , famā kāna ʾamran ʾaw ʾījāban fa-al-ṣabru ʿalayhi ʾaw ʿanhu farḍun ,

“Patience has three meanings: patience in refraining from disobedience, which is the best of them; patience in obedience; and patience in afflictions.” This is included among the categories of patience whose meanings we have distinguished. In summary, patience comprises obligation and excellence; this is recognized by knowing the rulings. Whatever is a command or an obligation, patience in doing it or in refraining from it is obligatory.

وَمَا كَانَ حَثًّا وَنَدْبًا فَالصَّبْرُ عَلَيْهِ أَوْ عَنْهُ فَضْلٌ وَالتَّصَبُّرُ غَيْرُ الصَّبْرِ وَهُوَ مُجَاهَدَةُ النَّفْسِ وَحَمْلُهَا عَلَى الصَّبْرِ وَتَرْغِيبُهَا فِيهِ وَهُوَ التَّعَمُّلُ لِلصَّبْرِ وَالتَّصَنُّعُ لِلصَّبُورِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ التَّزَهُّدِ ، وَهُوَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ فِي أَسْبَابِ الزُّهْدِ لِيَحْصُلَ الزُّهْدُ وَالصَّبْرُ ، هُوَ التَّحَقُّقُ بِالْوَصْفِ وَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْمَقَامُ ، وَلَا يُخْرِجُ الْعَبْدَ مِنَ الصَّبْرِ كَرَاهَةُ النَّفْسِ وَلَا وِجْدَانُ الْمَرَارَةِ وَالْأَلَمِ بَلْ يَكُونُ مَعَ ذَلِكَ صَابِرًا لِأَنَّ هَذَا وَصْفُ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ لِمَا يُنَافِي طَبْعَهَا ،

wamā kāna ḥaththan wanadban fa-al-ṣabru ʿalayhi ʾaw ʿanhu faḍlun wa-al-taṣabburu ghayru al-ṣabri wahuwa mujāhadatu al-nafsi waḥamluhā ʿalā al-ṣabri watarghībuhā fīhi wahuwa al-taʿammulu li-l-ṣabri wa-al-taṣannuʿu li-l-ṣabūri bimanzilati al-tazahhudi , wahuwa ʾan yaʿmala fī ʾasbābi al-zuhdi liyaḥṣula al-zuhdu wa-al-ṣabru , huwa al-taḥaqququ bi-al-waṣfi wa-dhālika huwa al-maqāmu , walā yukhriju al-ʿabda mina al-ṣabri karāhatu al-nafsi walā wijdānu al-marārati wa-al-ʾalami bal yakūnu maʿa dhālika ṣābiran liʾanna hādhā waṣfu al-bashariyyati limā yunāfī ṭabʿahā ,

Whatever is urged or recommended, patience in doing it or refraining from it is an excellence. Cultivating patience differs from patience: it is struggling with the self, compelling it to patience, and making patience attractive to it. It is laboring to attain patience and fashioning oneself for the All-Patient, like cultivating renunciation: working at the means of renunciation so that renunciation may be attained. Patience is realizing the quality itself, and that is the station. Neither the self's aversion nor the experience of bitterness and pain takes the servant out of patience. He remains patient despite these, because this is the quality of human nature in the face of what conflicts with its disposition.

وَلَكِنْ يَكُونُ حَالُهُ الْكَظْمَ عَنِ الشَّكْوَى وَنَفْيَ السَّخَطِ لِحُكْمِ الْمَوْلَى لِأَنَّ عَدَمَ ذَلِكَ وَفَقْدَهُ هُوَ الرِّضَا وَحَقِيقَةُ التَّوَكُّلِ ، وَهَذَانِ مِنْ أَعْلَى مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ ، وَفَقْدُ مَرَاتِبِ الْيَقِينِ لَا يُخْرِجُ عَنْ حَدِّ الصَّبْرِ وَالَّذِي يُخْرِجُ عَنْ حَدِّ الصَّبْرِ ضِدُّهُ وَهُوَ الْجَزَعُ وَمُجَاوَزَةُ الْحَدِّ مِنَ السَّعْلَمِ وَإِظْهَارُ السَّخَطِ وَكَثْرَةُ الشَّكْوَى وَظُهُورُ الذَّمِّ وَالتَّبَرُّمِ ،

wa-lākin yakūnu ḥāluhu al-kaẓma ʿani al-shakwā wanafya al-sakhaṭi liḥukmi al-mawlā liʾanna ʿadama dhālika wafaqdahu huwa al-riḍā waḥaqīqatu al-tawakkuli , wa-hādhāni min ʾaʿlā maqāmāti al-yaqīni , wafaqdu marātibi al-yaqīni lā yukhriju ʿan ḥaddi al-ṣabri wa-alladhī yukhriju ʿan ḥaddi al-ṣabri ḍidduhu wahuwa al-jazaʿu wamujāwazatu al-ḥaddi mina al-saʿlami waʾiẓhāru al-sakhaṭi wakathratu al-shakwā waẓuhūru al-dhammi wa-al-tabarrumi ,

His state, however, must be holding back complaint and rejecting resentment of the Master's judgment. The absence and loss of those feelings is contentment and the reality of trust, and these are among the highest stations of certainty. Lacking degrees of certainty does not take one outside the bounds of patience. What takes one outside patience is its opposite: panic, exceeding the bounds of knowledge, displaying resentment, frequent complaint, and the appearance of blame and vexation.

وَمِنْ رِيَاضَةِ النَّفْسِ عَلَى التَّصَبُّرِ وَهُوَ مَقَامُ الْمُتَصَبِّرِينَ وَحَالُ ضُعَفَاءِ الْمُرِيدِينَ أَنَّ النَّفْسَ الْأَمَّارَةَ إِذَا جَنَحَتْ بِكَ إِلَى فُضُولِ الشَّهَوَاتِ أَوْ نَازَعَتْكَ إِلَى مُطَالَبَةِ مُتَقَدِّمِ الْعَادَاتِ أَنْ تَمْنَعَهَا حَاجَتَهَا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَيَشْغَلُهَا مَنْعُ الْحَاجَةِ وَوُجُودُ الْفَاقَةِ مِمَّا لَا بُدَّ مِنْهُ عَنْ طَلَبِ فُضُولِ الشَّهَوَاتِ فَإِذَا رُضْتَهَا بِالْمَنْعِ وَمَنَعْتَهَا مَحْبُوبَهَا بِالتَّصَبُّرِ عَنِ الْحَلَالِ انْقَادَتْ لَكَ بِالصَّبْرِ عَنْ فُضُولِ الشَّهَوَاتِ فَتَكُونُ تَارِكَةً لِشَهْوَةٍ بِعِوَضٍ عَاجِلٍ مِنْ مُبَاحٍ

wamin riyāḍati al-nafsi ʿalā al-taṣabburi wahuwa maqāmu al-mutaṣabbirīna waḥālu ḍuʿafāʾi al-murīdīna ʾanna al-nafsa al-ʾammārata ʾidhā janaḥat bika ʾilā fuḍūli al-shahawāti ʾaw nāzaʿatka ʾilā muṭālabati mutaqaddimi al-ʿādāti ʾan tamnaʿahā ḥājatahā min kulli shayʾin fayashghaluhā manʿu al-ḥājati wawujūdu al-fāqati mimmā lā budda minhu ʿan ṭalabi fuḍūli al-shahawāti faʾidhā ruḍtahā bi-al-manʿi wamanaʿtahā maḥbūbahā bi-al-taṣabburi ʿani al-ḥalāli inqādat laka bi-al-ṣabri ʿan fuḍūli al-shahawāti fatakūnu tārikatan lishahwatin biʿiwaḍin ʿājilin min mubāḥin

Among the disciplines that train the self to cultivate patience, which is the station of those cultivating patience and the state of the weaker aspirants, is this: when the commanding self inclines you toward excessive appetites, or contests with you in demanding its former habits, deny it what it needs of everything. Being denied its needs and experiencing want of what is indispensable will distract it from seeking excessive appetites. When you have disciplined it through denial and withheld what it loves by cultivating abstention from the lawful, it will submit to you by patiently abstaining from excessive appetites. It will thus abandon an appetite in exchange for an immediate, permissible compensation,

وَتَكُونُ صَابِرَةً عَنْ فُضُولِ شَهْوَةٍ لِمَا مَنَعْتَهَا مِنْ مَنَالِ الْفَاقَةِ وَتَارِكَةً لِلْهَوَى طَمَعًا فِي نَوَالِ الْحَاجَةِ مِنَ الْغِذَاءِ وَهَذَا مِنْ أَكْبَرِ أَبْوَابِ الرِّيَاضَاتِ لِلنُّفُوسِ الطَّامِحَاتِ وَفِيهِ فَضْلُ الْأَقْوِيَاءِ مِنَ الْمُتَصَبِّرِينَ الَّذِينَ لَمْ تَسْتَجِبْ لَهُمْ نُفُوسُهُمْ بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَلَمْ تَنْقَدْ بِالْجُوعِ وَالظَّمَاءِ ،

watakūnu ṣābiratan ʿan fuḍūli shahwatin limā manaʿtahā min manāli al-fāqati watārikatan li-l-hawā ṭamaʿan fī nawāli al-ḥājati mina al-ghidhāʾi wa-hādhā min ʾakbari ʾabwābi al-riyāḍāti li-l-nufūsi al-ṭāmiḥāti wafīhi faḍlu al-ʾaqwiyāʾi mina al-mutaṣabbirīna alladhīna lam tastajib lahum nufūsuhum bi-al-ṣabri wa-al-ṣalāti walam tanqad bi-al-jūʿi wa-al-ẓamāʾi ,

and patiently abstain from an excessive appetite because you have denied it the means of relieving its want, abandoning caprice in hope of obtaining the food it needs. This is among the greatest avenues for disciplining overreaching souls. In it lies the excellence of the stronger among those cultivating patience, whose souls have not answered them through patience and prayer, nor submitted through hunger and thirst.

فَأَمَّا الضُّعَفَاءُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الطَّبَقَةِ الثَّالِثَةِ لَا مِنَ الْأَوَّلِينَ أَهْلِ الصَّوْمِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَلَا مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يَصْبِرُونَ عَلَى تَصَبُّرِ النَّفْسِ عَنِ الْحَاجَةِ كَمَا لَا تَصْبِرُ نُفُوسُهُمْ عَنِ الشَّهْوَةِ فَرِيَاضَةُ هَؤُلَاءِ لِنُفُوسِهِمْ أَنْ يَقْطَعُوهَا مِنْ كُلِّ حَرَامٍ مَعْنَاهُ مِنَ الْحَلَالِ وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَهْوَةٍ مُهْلِكَةٍ

faʾammā al-ḍuʿafāʾu min ʾahli al-ṭabaqati al-thālithati lā mina al-ʾawwalīna ʾahli al-ṣawmi wa-al-ṣalāti walā min hāʾulāʾi faʾinnahum lā yaṣbirūna ʿalā taṣabburi al-nafsi ʿani al-ḥājati kamā lā taṣbiru nufūsuhum ʿani al-shahwati fariyāḍatu hāʾulāʾi linufūsihim ʾan yaqṭaʿūhā min kulli ḥarāmin maʿnāhu mina al-ḥalāli wamin kulli shahwatin muhlikatin

As for the weak people of the third class, who are neither among the first, the people of fasting and prayer, nor among these, they cannot endure training the self to forgo its needs, just as their souls cannot patiently forgo appetite. Their discipline of their souls is to cut them off from every unlawful thing by its lawful equivalent, and from every destructive appetite

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٣٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 335

Volume One, page 335

وَصْفَهَا مِنْ شَهْوَةٍ مُقْتَصِدَةٍ لِتَسْكُنَ نُفُوسُهُمْ بِذَلِكَ فِي حَبْسِهَا عَنِ الْمُحَرَّمَاتِ وَتَنْقَطِعَ شَهْوَتُهَا عَمَّا وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْمُوبِقَاتِ فَبِهَذَا تَطْمَئِنُّ نُفُوسُ الضُّعَفَاءِ ، وَقَدْ أَخْتَلَفَ النَّاسُ فِي الصَّبْرِ وَالشُّكْرِ أَيُّهُمَا أَفْضَلُ وَلَيْسَ يُمْكِنُ التَّرْجِيحُ بَيْنَ مَقَامَيْنِ لِأَنَّ فِي كُلِّ مَقَامٍ طَبَقَةً مُتَفَاوِتِينَ ،

waṣfahā min shahwatin muqtaṣidatin litaskuna nufūsuhum bi-dhālika fī ḥabsihā ʿani al-muḥarramāti watanqaṭiʿa shahwatuhā ʿammā warāʾa dhālika mina al-mūbiqāti fabi-hādhā taṭmaʾinnu nufūsu al-ḍuʿafāʾi , waqad ʾakhtalafa al-nāsu fī al-ṣabri wa-al-shukri ʾayyuhumā ʾafḍalu walaysa yumkinu al-tarjīḥu bayna maqāmayni liʾanna fī kulli maqāmin ṭabaqatan mutafāwitīna ,

by a corresponding moderate appetite, so that their souls may settle through this while being restrained from forbidden things, and their appetite may be severed from the ruinous things beyond it. Through this the souls of the weak find rest. People have differed about patience and gratitude, as to which is better. It is not possible to give one station preference over the other, because in every station there is a class whose members differ in degree.

وَالْمُحَقِّقُونَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُ لَا يَجْتَمِعُ عَبْدَانِ فِي مَقَامٍ بِالسَّوَاءِ بَلْ لَا بُدَّ مِنْ أَنْ يَكُونَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَعْلَى بِعِلْمٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ أَوْ وَجْدٍ أَوْ مُشَاهَدَةٍ وَإِنْ كَانَ الصَّوَابُ وَالْقَصْدُ وَالْأَصْلُ وَاحِدًا وَأَعْلَى التَّفَاوُتِ مُشَاهَدَاتُ الْوَجْهِ . وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حَدِيثًا ) النِّسَاءُ : 87 وَلِكُلٍّ وِجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيهَا ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى :

wa-al-muḥaqqiqūna min ʾahli al-maʿrifati yaqūlūna ʾinnahu lā yajtamiʿu ʿabdāni fī maqāmin bi-al-sawāʾi bal lā budda min ʾan yakūna ʾaḥaduhumā ʾaʿlā biʿilmin ʾaw ʿamalin ʾaw wajdin ʾaw mushāhadatin waʾin kāna al-ṣawābu wa-al-qaṣdu wa-al-ʾaṣlu wāḥidan waʾaʿlā al-tafāwuti mushāhadātu al-wajhi . waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( waman ʾaṣdaqu mina Allāhi ḥadīthan ) al-nisāʾu : 87 walikullin wijhatun huwa muwallīhā , waqāla taʿālā :

The realized among those who know God say that no two servants occupy a station equally. One must be higher through knowledge, action, inward feeling, or witnessing, even when their right course, intention, and foundation are one. The highest difference of degree lies in witnessings of the Face. God, exalted is He, has said: “Who is more truthful than God in speech?” (al-Nisāʾ 4:87); and, “For each is a direction toward which he turns.” He, exalted is He, said:

( قُلْ كُلٌّ يَعْمَلُ عَلَى شَاكِلَتِهِ فَرَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ يَمَنْ هُوَ أَهْدَى سَبِيلًا ) الْإِسْرَاءُ : 84 ، قِيلَ : أَقْصَدُ وَأَقْرَبُ طَرِيقًا ، وَظَاهِرُ الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ يَدُلَّانِ عَلَى تَفْضِيلِ الصَّبْرِ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا ) الْقَصَصُ : 54 فَالشَّاكِرُ يُؤْتَى أَجْرَهُ مَرَّةً فَأَشْبَهَ مَقَامُ الصَّبْرِ مَقَامَ الْخَوْفِ وَأَشْبَهَ مَقَامُ الشُّكْرِ مَقَامَ الرَّجَاءِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى :

( qul kullun yaʿmalu ʿalā shākilatihi farabbukum ʾaʿlamu yaman huwa ʾahdā sabīlan ) al-ʾisrāʾu : 84 , qīla : ʾaqṣadu waʾaqrabu ṭarīqan , waẓāhiru al-kitābi wa-al-sunnati yadullāni ʿalā tafḍīli al-ṣabri liqawlihi taʿālā : ( yuʾtawna ʾajrahum marratayni bimā ṣabarū ) al-qaṣaṣu : 54 fa-al-shākiru yuʾtā ʾajrahu marratan faʾashbaha maqāmu al-ṣabri maqāma al-khawfi waʾashbaha maqāmu al-shukri maqāma al-rajāʾi , waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā :

“Say: Each acts according to his own disposition, and your Lord knows best who is better guided in the way” (al-Isrāʾ 17:84). It is said: “More direct and nearer in path.” The outward sense of the Book and the Sunna indicates the superiority of patience, because He, exalted is He, says: “They are given their reward twice for having been patient” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:54). The grateful person is given his reward once. Thus the station of patience resembles the station of fear, and the station of gratitude resembles the station of hope. God, exalted is He, has said:

( وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ ) الرَّحْمَنُ : 46 ، وَقَدِ اتَّفَقَ أَهْلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ عَلَى تَفْضِيلِ الْخَوْفِ عَلَى الرَّجَاءِ مِنْ حَيْثُ اتَّفَقُوا عَلَى فَضْلِ الْعِلْمِ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ ، فَالصَّبْرُ حَالٌ مِنْ مَقَامِ الْخَوْفِ فَقَرُبَ حَالُ الصَّابِرِ فِي الْفَضْلِ مِنْ مَقَامِهِ وَالشُّكْرُ حَالٌ مِنْ مَقَامِ الرَّجَاءِ كَذَلِكَ يَقْرُبُ حَالُ الشَّاكِرِ مِنْ مَقَامِهِ وَمِنَ السُّنَّةِ قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ :

( waliman khāfa maqāma rabbihi jannatāni ) al-raḥmānu : 46 , waqadi ittafaqa ʾahlu al-maʿrifati ʿalā tafḍīli al-khawfi ʿalā al-rajāʾi min ḥaythu ittafaqū ʿalā faḍli al-ʿilmi ʿalā al-ʿamali , fa-al-ṣabru ḥālun min maqāmi al-khawfi faqaruba ḥālu al-ṣābiri fī al-faḍli min maqāmihi wa-al-shukru ḥālun min maqāmi al-rajāʾi kadhālika yaqrubu ḥālu al-shākiri min maqāmihi wamina al-sunnati qawluhu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī al-khabari alladhī dhakarnāhu min qablu :

“For the one who fears standing before his Lord are two gardens” (al-Raḥmān 55:46). Those who know God have agreed on preferring fear to hope, just as they have agreed on the superiority of knowledge over action. Patience is a state belonging to the station of fear, so the patient's state approaches his station in excellence. Gratitude is a state belonging to the station of hope; likewise, the grateful person's state approaches his station. From the Sunna comes his saying, God bless him and grant him peace, in the report we mentioned earlier:

مِنْ أَقَلِّ مَا أُوتِيتُمُ الْيَقِينُ وَعَزِيمَةُ الصَّبْرِ وَمَنْ أُعْطِيَ حَظَّهُ مِنْهُمَا لَمْ يُبَالِ مَا فَاتَهُ وَذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ الْمُتَقَدِّمَ فَقَرَنَ الصَّبْرَ بِالْيَقِينِ الَّذِي لَا شَيْءَ أَعَزُّ مِنْهُ وَلَا أَجَلُّ وَارْتِفَاعُ الْأَعْمَالِ وَعُلُوُّ الْيَقِينِ بِهِ ، وَفِي مُنَاجَاةِ أَيُّوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَيْهِ : يَا أَيُّوبُ إِنِّي آلَيْتُ عَلَى نَفْسِي لَا نَشَرْتُ لِلصَّابِرِينَ دِيوَانَ تَوْبِيخٍ وَلَا نَظَرُوا إِلَى حَدِّ الصِّرَاطِ وَلَا أُرَوِّعُهُمْ نَقْصُ الْمِيزَانِ دَارُهُمْ دَارُ السَّلَامِ .

min ʾaqalli mā ʾūtītumu al-yaqīnu waʿazīmatu al-ṣabri waman ʾuʿṭiya ḥaẓẓahu minhumā lam yubāli mā fātahu wadhakara al-ḥadītha al-mutaqaddima faqarana al-ṣabra bi-al-yaqīni alladhī lā shayʾa ʾaʿazzu minhu walā ʾajallu wa-rtifāʿu al-ʾaʿmāli waʿuluwwu al-yaqīni bihi , wafī munājāti ʾayyūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu : ʾinna Allāha subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilayhi : yā ʾayyūbu ʾinnī ʾālaytu ʿalā nafsī lā nashartu li-l-ṣābirīna dīwāna tawbīkhin walā naẓarū ʾilā ḥaddi al-ṣirāṭi walā ʾurawwiʿuhum naqṣu al-mīzāni dāruhum dāru al-salāmi .

“Among the least of what you have been given are certainty and firm resolve in patience. Whoever is given his share of both does not mind what he has missed.” He mentioned the preceding report. Thus he paired patience with certainty, than which nothing is more precious or more majestic; the elevation of deeds and the height of certainty are through it. In Job's intimate converse, peace be upon him, God, glorified and exalted is He, revealed to him: “Job, I have sworn upon Myself: I shall not open a register of reproach for the patient; they shall not look upon the edge of the bridge; and no deficiency in the balance shall terrify them. Their abode is the Abode of Peace.”

بَيَانٌ آخَرُ مِنْ تَفْضِيلِ الصَّبْرِ

bayānun ʾākharu min tafḍīli al-ṣabri

Another explanation of the superiority of patience

الصَّبْرُ : حَالُ الْبَلَاءِ ، وَالشُّكْرُ : حَالُ النِّعْمَةِ وَالْبَلَاءُ أَفْضَلُ لِأَنَّهُ عَلَى النَّفْسِ أَشَقُّ لِقَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ ) الزُّمَرُ : 10 ، فَالشَّاكِرُ يُوَفِي أَجْرَهُ بِحِسَابٍ لِأَنَّ إِنَّمَا تَحْقِيقٌ لِلْوَصْفِ وَنَفْيُ مَا عَدَاهُ .

al-ṣabru : ḥālu al-balāʾi , wa-al-shukru : ḥālu al-niʿmati wa-al-balāʾu ʾafḍalu liʾannahu ʿalā al-nafsi ʾashaqqu liqawli Allāhi taʿālā : ( ʾinnamā yuwaffā al-ṣābirūna ʾajrahum bighayri ḥisābin ) al-zumaru : 10 , fa-al-shākiru yuwafī ʾajrahu biḥisābin liʾanna ʾinnamā taḥqīqun li-l-waṣfi wanafyu mā ʿadāhu .

Patience is the state of affliction, and gratitude is the state of blessing. Affliction is better because it is harder on the self, according to God's saying, exalted is He: “Only the patient are paid their reward in full without reckoning” (al-Zumar 39:10). The grateful person receives his reward with reckoning, because “only” establishes the stated description and excludes what lies beyond it.

بَيَانٌ آخَرُ مِنْ فَضْلِ الصَّبْرِ

bayānun ʾākharu min faḍli al-ṣabri

Another explanation of the excellence of patience

قَدْ رَفَعَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ وَجَعَلَهَا دَعَائِمَهُ الَّتِي بِهَا يَسْتَبِينُ وَجَعَلَهُ فِيهِ فَوْقَهَا فَقَالَ فِي حَدِيثِهِ الطَّوِيلِ الَّذِي وَصَفَ فِيهِ شُعَبَ الْإِيمَانِ : وَالصَّبْرُ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ دَعَائِمَ : عَلَى الشَّوْقِ ، وَالشَّفَقَةِ ، وَالزُّهْدِ ، وَالتَّرَقُّبِ ، فَمَنْ أَشْفَقَ مِنَ النَّارِ رَجَعَ عَنِ الْمُحَرَّمَاتِ ، وَمَنِ اشْتَاقَ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ سَلَا عَنِ الشَّهَوَاتِ ،

qad rafaʿa ʿaliyyun karrama Allāhu wajhahu al-ṣabra ʿalā ʾarbaʿi maqāmāti al-yaqīni wajaʿalahā daʿāʾimahu allatī bihā yastabīnu wajaʿalahu fīhi fawqahā faqāla fī ḥadīthihi al-ṭawīli alladhī waṣafa fīhi shuʿaba al-ʾīmāni : wa-al-ṣabru ʿalā ʾarbaʿi daʿāʾima : ʿalā al-shawqi , wa-al-shafaqati , wa-al-zuhdi , wa-al-taraqqubi , faman ʾashfaqa mina al-nāri rajaʿa ʿani al-muḥarramāti , wamani ishtāqa ʾilā al-jannati salā ʿani al-shahawāti ,

ʿAlī, God honor his face, raised patience above four stations of certainty and made them its supports, through which it becomes manifest; in his account he placed it above them. In his long report describing the branches of faith, he said: “Patience rests on four supports: longing, apprehension, renunciation, and watchful expectation. Whoever is apprehensive of the Fire turns back from forbidden things; whoever longs for the Garden finds consolation from appetites;

وَمَنْ زَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا هَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْمُصِيبَاتُ ، وَمَنِ ارْتَقَبَ الْمَوْتَ سَارَعَ إِلَى الْخَيْرَاتِ ، فَجَعَلَ هَذِهِ الْمَقَامَاتِ أَرْكَانَ الصَّبْرِ لِأَنَّهَا تُوجَدُ عَنْهُ وَتَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ فِي جَمِيعِهَا وَجَعَلَ الزُّهْدَ أَحَدَ أَرْكَانِهِ ، وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى

waman zahida fī al-dunyā hānat ʿalayhi al-muṣībātu , wamani irtaqaba al-mawta sāraʿa ʾilā al-khayrāti , fajaʿala hādhihi al-maqāmāti ʾarkāna al-ṣabri liʾannahā tūjadu ʿanhu wataḥtāju ʾilayhi fī jamīʿihā wajaʿala al-zuhda ʾaḥada ʾarkānihi , waqad jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā

whoever renounces this world finds afflictions easy to bear; and whoever awaits death hastens to good works.” He made these stations the pillars of patience, because they arise from it and need it in all of them; and he made renunciation one of its pillars. God, exalted is He, has made

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٣٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 336

Volume One, page 336

الصَّبْرَ حَالَ التَّقْوَى وَرَفَعَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ فِي الْإِكْرَامِ دَرَجَاتٍ ، فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَعَلَا : ( إِنَّهُ مَنْ يَتَّقِ وَيَصْبِرْ ) يُوسُفُ : 90 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ ) الْحُجُرَاتُ : 13 ، فَأَكْرَمُ وَأَتْقَى فَوْقَ أَنْ يُقَالَ كِرَامُكُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ لِأَنَّ أَكْرَمَ وَأَتْقَى يَدُلُّ عَلَى تَفَاوُتٍ ، فَمَنْ كَانَ أَتْقَى كَانَ أَكْرَمَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ،

al-ṣabra ḥāla al-taqwā warafaʿa li-l-muttaqīna fī al-ʾikrāmi darajātin , faqāla ʿazza waʿalā : ( ʾinnahu man yattaqi wayaṣbir ) yūsufu : 90 waqāla taʿālā : ( ʾinna ʾakramakum ʿinda Allāhi ʾatqākum ) al-ḥujurātu : 13 , faʾakramu waʾatqā fawqa ʾan yuqāla kirāmukumu al-muttaqūna liʾanna ʾakrama waʾatqā yadullu ʿalā tafāwutin , faman kāna ʾatqā kāna ʾakrama ʿinda Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā ,

patience the state of God-wariness, and raised the God-wary in degrees of honor. He, mighty and exalted, said: “Indeed, whoever is God-wary and patient” (Yūsuf 12:90). He, exalted is He, said: “The most honored of you with God is the most God-wary of you” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:13). “Most honored” and “most God-wary” go beyond saying, “Your honored ones are the God-wary,” because “most honored” and “most God-wary” indicate differences in degree. Whoever is more God-wary is more honored with God, glorified and exalted is He;

وَمَنْ كَانَ أَصْبَرَ عَلَى مَا يُوجِبُ التَّقْوَى كَانَ أَتْقَى ، وَأَعْلَمْ أَنَّ الصَّبْرَ سَبَبُ دُخُولِ الْجَنَّةِ وَسَبَبُ النَّجَاةِ مِنَ النَّارِ لِأَنَّهُ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : خُفَّتِ الْجَنَّةُ بِالْمَكَارِهِ وَحُفَّتِ النَّارُ بِالشَّهَوَاتِ فَيَحْتَاةُ الْمُؤْمِنُ إِلَى الصَّبْرِ عَلَى الْمَكَارِهِ لِيَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ وَيَحْتَاجُ إِلَى الصَّبْرِ عَنِ الشَّهَوَاتِ لِيَنْجُوَ مِنَ النَّارِ ، فَأَمَّا تَفْصِيلُ التَّفْضِيلِ فَعَلَى ثَلَاثَةِ أَوْجُهٍ ، أَحَدُهَا : أَنَّ الْمَقَامَاتِ أَعْلَى مِنَ الْأَحْوَالِ ،

waman kāna ʾaṣbara ʿalā mā yūjibu al-taqwā kāna ʾatqā , waʾaʿlam ʾanna al-ṣabra sababu dukhūli al-jannati wasababu al-najāti mina al-nāri liʾannahu jāʾa fī al-khabari : khuffati al-jannatu bi-al-makārihi waḥuffati al-nāru bi-al-shahawāti fayaḥtātu al-muʾminu ʾilā al-ṣabri ʿalā al-makārihi liyadkhula al-jannata wayaḥtāju ʾilā al-ṣabri ʿani al-shahawāti liyanjuwa mina al-nāri , faʾammā tafṣīlu al-tafḍīli faʿalā thalāthati ʾawjuhin , ʾaḥaduhā : ʾanna al-maqāmāti ʾaʿlā mina al-ʾaḥwāli ,

and whoever is more patient in what God-wariness requires is more God-wary. Know that patience is a cause of entering the Garden and a cause of deliverance from the Fire, because the report states: “The Garden is surrounded by hardships, and the Fire is surrounded by appetites.” The believer needs patience in hardships to enter the Garden, and needs patience in abstaining from appetites to be delivered from the Fire. As for distinguishing the grounds of superiority in detail, there are three aspects. The first is that stations are higher than states.

وَقَدْ يَكُونُ الصَّبْرُ وَالشُّكْرُ حَالَيْنِ ، وَقَدْ يَكُونَانِ مَقَامَيْنِ ، فَمَنْ كَانَ مَقَامُهُ الصَّبْرَ كَانَ حَالُهُ الشُّكْرَ عَلَيْهِ فَهُوَ أَفْضَلُ لِأَنَّهُ صَاحِبُ مَقَامٍ ، وَمَنْ كَانَ مَقَامُهُ الشُّكْرَ كَانَ حَالُهُ الصَّبْرَ عَلَيْهِ فَحَالُهُ مَزِيدٌ لِمَقَامِهِ فَقَدْ صَارَ الصَّبْرُ مَزِيدًا لِلشَّاكِرِ فِي مَقَامِهِ ، الْوَجْهُ الثَّانِي مِنَ التَّفْضِيلِ :

waqad yakūnu al-ṣabru wa-al-shukru ḥālayni , waqad yakūnāni maqāmayni , faman kāna maqāmuhu al-ṣabra kāna ḥāluhu al-shukra ʿalayhi fahuwa ʾafḍalu liʾannahu ṣāḥibu maqāmin , waman kāna maqāmuhu al-shukra kāna ḥāluhu al-ṣabra ʿalayhi faḥāluhu mazīdun limaqāmihi faqad ṣāra al-ṣabru mazīdan li-l-shākiri fī maqāmihi , al-wajhu al-thānī mina al-tafḍīli :

Patience and gratitude may be two states, and they may be two stations. Someone whose station is patience has gratitude for it as his state, and he is better because he possesses a station. Someone whose station is gratitude has patience in it as his state, so his state is an addition to his station. Patience has thus become an addition for the grateful person in his station. The second aspect of superiority is:

الْمُقَرَّبُونَ أَعْلَى مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ فَالصَّابِرُونَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ وَالشَّاكِرُونَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ فَإِنْ قِيلَ : فَإِنْ كَانَ الشَّاكِرُ وَالصَّابِرُ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ فِيهِمَا أَفْضَلُ قِيلَ : فَقَدْ قُلْنَا إِنَّ اثْنَيْنِ لَا يَتَّفِقَانِ فِي مَقَامٍ مِنْ كُلِّ وَجْهٍ لِانْفِرَادِ الْوَجْهِ بِمَعَانِي لَطَائِفِ اللَّطِيفِ بِمِثْلِ مَا انْفَرَدَتِ الْوُجُوهُ بِلَطِيفِ الصَّنْعَةِ مَعَ تَشَابُهِ الصِّفَاتِ وَاسْتِوَاءِ الْأَدَوَاتِ ،

al-muqarrabūna ʾaʿlā min ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni fa-al-ṣābirūna mina al-muqarrabīna ʾafḍalu mina al-shākirīna min ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni wa-al-shākirūna mina al-muqarrabīna ʾafḍalu mina al-ṣābirīna min ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni faʾin qīla : faʾin kāna al-shākiru wa-al-ṣābiru mina al-muqarrabīna fīhimā ʾafḍalu qīla : faqad qulnā ʾinna ithnayni lā yattafiqāni fī maqāmin min kulli wajhin li-nfirādi al-wajhi bimaʿānī laṭāʾifi al-laṭīfi bimithli mā infaradati al-wujūhu bilaṭīfi al-ṣanʿati maʿa tashābuhi al-ṣifāti wa-stiwāʾi al-ʾadawāti ,

Those brought near are higher than the companions of the right. The patient among those brought near are better than the grateful among the companions of the right; and the grateful among those brought near are better than the patient among the companions of the right. If it is asked, “If the grateful and patient person are both among those brought near, which is better?” the answer is: We have already said that two people do not coincide in a station in every respect. Each orientation is unique in the meanings of the subtle favors of the All-Subtle, just as faces are made unique by subtle craftsmanship despite similar features and equal faculties.

فَأَفْضَلُهُمَا حِينَئِذٍ أَعْرَفُهُمَا لِأَنَّهُ أَحَبُّهُمَا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَقْرَبُهُمَا مِنْهُ وَأَحْسَنُهُمَا يَقِينًا لِأَنَّ الْيَقِينَ أَعَزُّ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى .

faʾafḍaluhumā ḥīnaʾidhin ʾaʿrafuhumā liʾannahu ʾaḥabbuhumā ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā waʾaqrabuhumā minhu waʾaḥsanuhumā yaqīnan liʾanna al-yaqīna ʾaʿazzu mā ʾanzala Allāhu taʿālā .

The better of the two, then, is the one with greater knowledge of God, for he is the more beloved of the two to God, exalted is He, nearer to Him, and finer in certainty. Certainty is the most precious thing God, exalted is He, has sent down.

وَجْهٌ آخَرُ مِنْ بَيَانِ التَّفْضِيلِ

wajhun ʾākharu min bayāni al-tafḍīli

Another aspect explaining superiority

نَقُولُ : إِنَّ الصَّبْرَ عَمَّا يُوجِبُ الشُّكْرَ أَفْضَلُ وَإِنَّ الشُّكْرَ عَلَى مَا يُوجِبُ الصَّبْرَ أَفْضَلُ ، فَقَدْ يَخْتَلِفُ بِاخْتِلَافِ الْأَحْوَالِ تَفْسِيرُهُ أَنَّ الصَّبْرَ عَنْ حَظِّ النَّفْسِ وَعَنِ التَّنَعُّمِ وَالتَّرَفُّهِ أَفْضَلُ إِنْ كَانَ عَبْدًا حَالُهُ النِّعْمَةُ فَالصَّبْرُ عَنِ النَّعِيمِ وَالْغِنَى مَقَامٌ فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَهُوَ أَفْضَلُ لِأَنَّ فِيهِ الزُّهْدَ الْمُجْمَعَ عَلَى تَفْضِيلِهِ ،

naqūlu : ʾinna al-ṣabra ʿammā yūjibu al-shukra ʾafḍalu waʾinna al-shukra ʿalā mā yūjibu al-ṣabra ʾafḍalu , faqad yakhtalifu bi-khtilāfi al-ʾaḥwāli tafsīruhu ʾanna al-ṣabra ʿan ḥaẓẓi al-nafsi waʿani al-tanaʿʿumi wa-al-taraffuhi ʾafḍalu ʾin kāna ʿabdan ḥāluhu al-niʿmatu fa-al-ṣabru ʿani al-naʿīmi wa-al-ghinā maqāmun fī al-maʿrifati wahuwa ʾafḍalu liʾanna fīhi al-zuhda al-mujmaʿa ʿalā tafḍīlihi ,

We say: Patience in abstaining from what calls for gratitude is better, and gratitude for what calls for patience is better. The judgment may differ as states differ. Its explanation is that patience in abstaining from the self's share, from enjoyment, and from ease is better when the servant's state is blessing. Patience in forgoing comfort and wealth is a station in knowledge of God, and it is better because it contains renunciation, whose superiority is unanimously acknowledged.

وَنَقُولُ إِنَّ الشُّكْرَ عَلَى الْفَقْرِ وَالْبَلَاءِ وَالْمَصَائِبِ أَفْضَلُ إِنْ كَانَ عَبْدًا حَالُهُ الْجَهْدُ وَالْبَلَاءُ فَالشُّكْرُ عَلَيْهِ مَقَامٌ لَهُ فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ فَهُوَ حِينَئِذٍ أَفْضَلُ لِأَنَّ فِيهِ الرِّضَا الْمُتَّفَقَ عَلَى فَضْلِهِ .

wanaqūlu ʾinna al-shukra ʿalā al-faqri wa-al-balāʾi wa-al-maṣāʾibi ʾafḍalu ʾin kāna ʿabdan ḥāluhu al-jahdu wa-al-balāʾu fa-al-shukru ʿalayhi maqāmun lahu fī al-maʿrifati fahuwa ḥīnaʾidhin ʾafḍalu liʾanna fīhi al-riḍā al-muttafaqa ʿalā faḍlihi .

We say that gratitude for poverty, affliction, and misfortunes is better when the servant's state is hardship and affliction. Gratitude for it is a station for him in knowledge of God. It is then better because it contains contentment, whose excellence is agreed upon.

نَوْعٌ آخَرُ مِنَ الِاسْتِدْلَالِ عَلَى فَضْلِ الصَّابِرِ وَتَفْضِيلِ الصَّبْرِ جُمْلَةً

nawʿun ʾākharu mina al-istidlāli ʿalā faḍli al-ṣābiri watafḍīli al-ṣabri jumlatan

Another kind of evidence for the excellence of the patient person and the superiority of patience in general

الصَّابِرُ الْعَارِفُ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِ الْعَارِفِ لِأَنَّ الصَّبْرَ حَالُ الْفَقْرِ وَالشُّكْرَ حَالُ الْغِنَى ، فَمَنْ فَضَّلَ الشُّكْرَ عَلَى الصَّبْرِ فِي الْمَعْنَى فَكَأَنَّهُ قَدْ فَضَّلَ الْغِنَى عَلَى الْفَقْرِ ، وَلَيْسَ هَذَا مَذْهَبَ أَحَدٍ مِنَ الْقُدَمَاءِ إِنَّمَا هَذِهِ طَرِيقَةُ عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا طَرَّقُوا لِنُفُوسِهِمْ بِذَلِكَ وَطَرَّقُوا الْخَلْقَ إِلَى نُفُوسِهِمْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ ، فَإِنَّ مَنْ فَضَّلَ الْغِنَى عَلَى الْفَقْرِ فَقَدْ فَضَّلَ الرَّغْبَةَ عَلَى الزُّهْدِ وَالْعِزَّ عَلَى الذُّلِّ وَالْكِبْرَ عَلَى التَّوَاضُعِ ، وَفِي هَذَا تَفْضِيلُ الرَّاغِبِينَ وَالْأَغْنِيَاءِ عَلَى الزَّاهِدِينَ

al-ṣābiru al-ʿārifu ʾafḍalu mina al-shākiri al-ʿārifi liʾanna al-ṣabra ḥālu al-faqri wa-al-shukra ḥālu al-ghinā , faman faḍḍala al-shukra ʿalā al-ṣabri fī al-maʿnā fakaʾannahu qad faḍḍala al-ghinā ʿalā al-faqri , walaysa hādhā madhhaba ʾaḥadin mina al-qudamāʾi ʾinnamā hādhihi ṭarīqatu ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā ṭarraqū linufūsihim bi-dhālika waṭarraqū al-khalqa ʾilā nufūsihim min dhālika , faʾinna man faḍḍala al-ghinā ʿalā al-faqri faqad faḍḍala al-raghbata ʿalā al-zuhdi wa-al-ʿizza ʿalā al-dhulli wa-al-kibra ʿalā al-tawāḍuʿi , wafī hādhā tafḍīlu al-rāghibīna wa-al-ʾaghniyāʾi ʿalā al-zāhidīna

The patient knower of God is better than the grateful knower of God, because patience is the state of poverty and gratitude the state of wealth. Whoever prefers gratitude to patience in this sense has as though preferred wealth to poverty. This is no early master's doctrine. It is only the way of the scholars of this world: through it they opened a path for their own souls, and through it they opened a path for people to themselves. Whoever prefers wealth to poverty has preferred desire to renunciation, honor to lowliness, and pride to humility. This entails preferring the desirous and the rich to the renunciants

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٣٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 337

Volume One, page 337

وَالْفُقَرَاءِ ، وَيَخْرُجُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى تَفْضِيلِ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى أَبْنَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ : وَإِنَّمَا فَضَّلْنَا الصَّبْرَ عَلَى الشُّكْرِ فِي الْجُمْلَةِ وَالْمَعْنَى ، لِأَنَّ الصَّبْرَ حَالٌ مِنْ مَقَامِهِ الْبَلَاءُ ، وَأَهْلُ الْبَلَاءِ هُمُ الْأَمْثَلُ فَالْأَمْثَلُ بِالْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَلِأَنَّ الصَّبْرَ أَبْعَدُ مِنْ أَهْوَاءِ النُّفُوسِ وَأَقْرَبُ إِلَى الضُّرِّ وَالْبُؤْسِ وَأَشَدُّ فِي مَكَارِهِ النُّفُوسِ وَأَنْفَرُ لِطِبَاعِهَا وَأَشَدُّ مُبَايَنَةً لِمَا يُلَائِمُهَا فَإِذَا سَكَنَتْ مَعَهُ وُجِدَ عِنْدَهَا كَانَ أَعْجَزَ لِوَصْفِهَا وَأَعْجَبَ فِي طُمَأْنِينَتِهَا فَمُدِحَتْ بِالسُّكُونِ وَالطُّمَأْنِينَةِ وَكَانَتْ رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً ،

wa-al-fuqarāʾi , wayakhruju dhālika ʾilā tafḍīli ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā ʿalā ʾabnāʾi al-ʾākhirati : waʾinnamā faḍḍalnā al-ṣabra ʿalā al-shukri fī al-jumlati wa-al-maʿnā , liʾanna al-ṣabra ḥālun min maqāmihi al-balāʾu , waʾahlu al-balāʾi humu al-ʾamthalu fa-al-ʾamthalu bi-al-ʾanbiyāʾi waliʾanna al-ṣabra ʾabʿadu min ʾahwāʾi al-nufūsi waʾaqrabu ʾilā al-ḍurri wa-al-buʾsi waʾashaddu fī makārihi al-nufūsi waʾanfaru liṭibāʿihā waʾashaddu mubāyanatan limā yulāʾimuhā faʾidhā sakanat maʿahu wujida ʿindahā kāna ʾaʿjaza liwaṣfihā waʾaʿjaba fī ṭumaʾnīnatihā famudiḥat bi-al-sukūni wa-al-ṭumaʾnīnati wakānat rāḍiyatan marḍiyyatan ,

and the poor, and leads to preferring the children of this world to the children of the next. We have preferred patience to gratitude generally and in meaning because patience is a state whose station is affliction, and the people of affliction are those most like the prophets, then those next most like them. Patience is also farther from the souls' desires, nearer to harm and misery, more intense in what souls dislike, more repugnant to their dispositions, and more sharply opposed to what suits them. When the soul becomes still with it and it is found within her, this is more disabling to her characteristic disposition and more remarkable in her repose. She is therefore praised for stillness and repose, and becomes content and pleasing.

وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَمَرَ بِالصَّبْرِ وَبَالَغَ فِيهِ بِالْمُصَابَرَةِ وَوَكَّدَهُمَا بِالْمُرَابَطَةِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اصْبِرُوا وَصَابِرُوا وَرَابِطُوا ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 200 ، قِيلَ : فِي أَحَدِ الْوُجُوهِ رَابِطُوا عَلَيْهِمَا فَهَذِهِ ثَلَاثَةُ أُمُورٍ فِي مَكَانٍ وَاحِدٍ بِمَعْنَى الصَّبْرِ ، فَهَذَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى تَعْظِيمِهِ لِلصَّبْرِ وَمَحَبَّتِهِ تَعَالَى فَمَنْ وَجَدَ مِنْهُ ذَلِكَ كَانَ أَشَدَّ تَعْظِيمًا لِشَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ،

waʾayḍan faʾinna Allāha taʿālā ʾamara bi-al-ṣabri wabālagha fīhi bi-al-muṣābarati wawakkadahumā bi-al-murābaṭati fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū iṣbirū waṣābirū warābiṭū ) ʾālu ʿimrāna : 200 , qīla : fī ʾaḥadi al-wujūhi rābiṭū ʿalayhimā fa-hādhihi thalāthatu ʾumūrin fī makānin wāḥidin bimaʿnā al-ṣabri , fa-hādhā yadullu ʿalā taʿẓīmihi li-l-ṣabri wamaḥabbatihi taʿālā faman wajada minhu dhālika kāna ʾashadda taʿẓīman lishaʿāʾiri Allāhi ʿazza wajalla ,

Moreover, God, exalted is He, commanded patience, intensified it through mutual perseverance, and reinforced both with steadfast vigilance in His saying, exalted is He: “You who believe, be patient, outdo others in patience, and remain steadfastly vigilant” (Āl ʿImrān 3:200). In one interpretation, it is said: “Remain steadfastly vigilant in both.” These are three commands in one place, all conveying patience. This indicates His magnifying patience and His love of it, exalted is He. Whoever exhibits that is more intense in honoring the signs of God, mighty and majestic.

وَمَنْ عَظَّمَ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ أَتْقَى لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَمَنْ كَانَ أَتْقَى لِلَّهِ كَانَ أَكْرَمَ عَلَى اللَّهِ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ ) الْحَجُّ : 32 ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ ) الْحُجُرَاتُ : 13 ،

waman ʿaẓẓama shaʿāʾira Allāhi fahuwa ʾatqā li-llāhi taʿālā , waman kāna ʾatqā li-llāhi kāna ʾakrama ʿalā Allāhi liqawlihi taʿālā : ( waman yuʿaẓẓim shaʿāʾira Allāhi faʾinnahā min taqwā al-qulūbi ) al-ḥajju : 32 , thumma qāla taʿālā : ( ʾinna ʾakramakum ʿinda Allāhi ʾatqākum ) al-ḥujurātu : 13 ,

Whoever honors God's signs is more God-wary toward God, exalted is He; and whoever is more God-wary toward God is more honored by God, according to His saying, exalted is He: “Whoever honors God's signs, that indeed comes from the God-wariness of hearts” (al-Ḥajj 22:32). Then He, exalted is He, said: “The most honored of you with God is the most God-wary of you” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:13).

وَالصَّبْرُ أَيْضًا مَقَامُ أُولِي الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ الَّذِينَ أُمِرَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْقُدْوَةِ بِهِمْ وَبَاهَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِمْ عَبْدَهُ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَاصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُولُو الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ ) الْأَحْقَافُ : 35 وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّ الْعَزَائِمَ فِي الدِّينِ أَوْلَى مِنَ الرُّخَصِ . رَوَيْنَا عَنْ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنْ حَبِيبِ بْنِ أَبِي ثَابِتٍ قَالَ :

wa-al-ṣabru ʾayḍan maqāmu ʾulī al-ʿazmi mina al-rusuli alladhīna ʾumira al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bi-al-qudwati bihim wabāhā Allāhu taʿālā bihim ʿabdahu faqāla taʿālā : ( fa-ṣbir kamā ṣabara ʾulū al-ʿazmi mina al-rusuli ) al-ʾaḥqāfu : 35 waʾayḍan faʾinna al-ʿazāʾima fī al-dīni ʾawlā mina al-rukhaṣi . rawaynā ʿan sufyāna al-thawriyyi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʿan ḥabībi bni ʾabī thābitin qāla :

Patience is also the station of the messengers of firm resolve, whom the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, was commanded to emulate, and whom God, exalted is He, held up with pride before His servant. He, exalted is He, said: “Be patient as the messengers of firm resolve were patient” (al-Aḥqāf 46:35). Moreover, strict resolutions in religion have greater claim than concessions. We have related from Sufyān al-Thawrī, God be pleased with him, from Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, who said:

سُئِلَ مُسْلِمٌ الْبَطِينُ : أَيُّمَا أَفْضَلُ الصَّبْرُ أَمِ الشُّكْرُ ؟ فَقَالَ : الصَّبْرُ وَالشُّكْرُ وَالْعَافِيَةُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْنَا ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ ) الزُّمَرُ : 18 قِيلَ : شَدَائِدُهُ وَعَزَائِمُهُ لِأَنَّ إِبَاحَةَ حَلَالِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنٌ وَالزُّهْدَ فِيهِ أَحْسَنُ ، وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الصَّبْرَ مِنَ الْعَزَائِمِ فِي قَوْلِهِ :

suʾila muslimun al-baṭīnu : ʾayyumā ʾafḍalu al-ṣabru ʾami al-shukru ? faqāla : al-ṣabru wa-al-shukru wa-al-ʿāfiyatu ʾaḥabbu ʾilaynā , waqad qīla fī maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā : ( alladhīna yastamiʿūna al-qawla fayattabiʿūna ʾaḥsanahu ) al-zumaru : 18 qīla : shadāʾiduhu waʿazāʾimuhu liʾanna ʾibāḥata ḥalāli al-dunyā ḥasanun wa-al-zuhda fīhi ʾaḥsanu , waqad jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā al-ṣabra mina al-ʿazāʾimi fī qawlihi :

Muslim al-Baṭīn was asked: “Which is better, patience or gratitude?” He said: “Patience; gratitude and well-being are dearer to us.” In explaining His saying, exalted is He, “Those who listen to the word and follow the best of it” (al-Zumar 39:18), it has been said: “Its demanding requirements and strict resolutions.” For permission to enjoy this world's lawful things is good, but renouncing them is better. God, exalted is He, has placed patience among the strict resolutions in His saying:

( وَإِنْ تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 186 ، وَقَدْ شَرَكَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عِبَادَهُ فِي الشُّكْرِ وَأَفْرَدَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لِنَفْسِهِ تَعَالَى الصَّبْرَ فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ الْمُفْرَدُ لِلْمُفْرَدِ أَعْلَى مِنَ الْمُشْتَرَكِ بِالْعَبْدِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيْكَ ) لُقْمَانُ : 14 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى عَلَى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّهِ :

( waʾin taṣbirū watattaqū faʾinna dhālika min ʿazmi al-ʾumūri ) ʾālu ʿimrāna : 186 , waqad sharaka Allāhu taʿālā ʿibādahu fī al-shukri waʾafrada ʿazza wajalla linafsihi taʿālā al-ṣabra fayanbaghī ʾan yakūna al-mufradu li-l-mufradi ʾaʿlā mina al-mushtaraki bi-al-ʿabdi faqāla taʿālā : ( ʾani ushkur lī waliwālidayka ) luqmānu : 14 waqāla taʿālā ʿalā lisāni nabiyyihi :

“If you are patient and God-wary, that indeed is among matters requiring firm resolve” (Āl ʿImrān 3:186). God, exalted is He, gave His servants a share in gratitude, but He, mighty and majestic, reserved patience for Himself, exalted is He. What is reserved for the Unique should therefore be higher than what is shared with the servant. He, exalted is He, said: “Give thanks to Me and to your parents” (Luqmān 31:14). He, exalted is He, said on the tongue of His Prophet:

مَنْ لَمْ يَشْكُرِ النَّاسَ لَمْ يَشْكُرِ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلَمْ يُشْرِكْ فِي الصَّبْرِ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ أَحَدًا ، فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَلِرَبِّكَ فَاصْبِرْ ) الْمُدَّثِّرُ : 7 ، وَقَالَ : وَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الشُّكْرَ دَاخِلٌ فِي الصَّبْرِ وَالصَّبْرَ جَامِعٌ لِلشُّكْرِ ، لِأَنَّ مَنْ صَبَرَ أَنْ لَا يَعْصِيَ اللَّهَ بِنِعْمَةٍ فَقَدْ شَكَرَهَا وَمَنْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ فَصَبَرَ نَفْسَهُ عَلَى طَاعَتِهِ فَقَدْ شَكَرَ نِعْمَتَهُ ،

man lam yashkuri al-nāsa lam yashkuri Allāha ʿazza wajalla walam yushrik fī al-ṣabri min khalqihi ʾaḥadan , faqāla taʿālā : ( walirabbika fa-ṣbir ) al-muddaththiru : 7 , waqāla : wa-ṣbir liḥukmi rabbika wa-ʿlam ʾanna al-shukra dākhilun fī al-ṣabri wa-al-ṣabra jāmiʿun li-l-shukri , liʾanna man ṣabara ʾan lā yaʿṣiya Allāha biniʿmatin faqad shakarahā waman ʾaṭāʿa Allāha faṣabara nafsahu ʿalā ṭāʿatihi faqad shakara niʿmatahu ,

“Whoever has not thanked people has not thanked God, mighty and majestic.” He gave none of His creatures a share in patience, saying, exalted is He: “For your Lord, be patient” (al-Muddaththir 74:7), and saying: “Be patient for your Lord's judgment.” Know that gratitude is included in patience and patience encompasses gratitude. Whoever patiently refrains from disobeying God through a blessing has thanked Him for it, and whoever obeys God and keeps his self patiently in obedience to Him has thanked Him for His blessing.

وَقَدْ سُئِلَ الْجُنَيْدُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ عَنْ غَنِيٍّ شَاكِرٍ وَفَقِيرٍ صَابِرٍ أَيُّهُمَا أَفْضَلُ ؟ فَقَالَ : لَيْسَ مَدْحُ الْغَنِيِّ لِلْوُجُودِ وَلَا مَدْحُ الْفَقِيرِ لِلْعَدَمِ إِنَّمَا الْمَدْحُ فِي الِاثْنَيْنِ قِيَامُهُمَا بِشُرُوطِ مَا عَلَيْهِمَا ، فَشَرْطُ الْغَنِيِّ يَصْحَبُهُ فِيمَا عَلَيْهِ أَشْيَاءُ تُلَائِمُ صِفَتَهُ وَتُمَتِّعُهَا وَتُلِذُّهَا ، وَالْفَقِيرُ يَصْحَبُهُ فِيمَا عَلَيْهِ أَشْيَاءُ تُؤْلِمُ صِفَتَهُ وَتَقْبِضُهَا وَتُزْعِجُهَا ، فَإِذَا كَانَ الِاثْنَانِ قَائِمَيْنِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى بِشُرُوطِ مَا عَلَيْهِمَا كَانَ الَّذِي آَلَمَ صِفَتَهُ وَأَزْعَجَهَا أَتَمَّ حَالًا مِمَّنْ مَتَّعَ صِفَتَهُ وَنَعَّمَهَا ، هَذَا نَقْلُ كَلَامِ الْجُنَيْدِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ

waqad suʾila al-junaydu raḥimahu Allāhu ʿan ghaniyyin shākirin wafaqīrin ṣābirin ʾayyuhumā ʾafḍalu ? faqāla : laysa madḥu al-ghaniyyi li-l-wujūdi walā madḥu al-faqīri li-l-ʿadami ʾinnamā al-madḥu fī al-ithnayni qiyāmuhumā bishurūṭi mā ʿalayhimā , fasharṭu al-ghaniyyi yaṣḥabuhu fīmā ʿalayhi ʾashyāʾu tulāʾimu ṣifatahu watumattiʿuhā watulidhdhuhā , wa-al-faqīru yaṣḥabuhu fīmā ʿalayhi ʾashyāʾu tuʾlimu ṣifatahu wataqbiḍuhā watuzʿijuhā , faʾidhā kāna al-ithnāni qāʾimayni li-llāhi taʿālā bishurūṭi mā ʿalayhimā kāna alladhī ʾālama ṣifatahu waʾazʿajahā ʾatamma ḥālan mimman mattaʿa ṣifatahu wanaʿʿamahā , hādhā naqlu kalāmi al-junaydi raḥimahu Allāhu

Al-Junayd, God have mercy on him, was asked about a grateful rich man and a patient poor man: which is better? He said: “The rich man is not praised for possessing, nor the poor man for lacking. Praise for both lies only in their fulfilling the conditions of what is incumbent on them. In what is incumbent upon the rich man, the condition attaching to him is accompanied by things that suit his disposition, give it enjoyment, and delight it. The poor man is accompanied, in what is incumbent on him, by things that pain his disposition, constrict it, and disturb it. When both fulfill for God, exalted is He, the conditions of what is incumbent upon them, the one who has pained and disturbed his disposition is more complete in state than the one who has given his disposition enjoyment and comfort.” This is the wording transmitted from al-Junayd, God have mercy on him,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٣٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 338

Volume One, page 338

تَعَالَى ، وَكَانَ أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ بْنُ عَطَاءٍ قَدْ خَالَفَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ فَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ الْجُنَيْدَ دَعَا عَلَيْهِ فَلَحِقَهُ مَا أَصَابَهُ مِنَ الْبَلَاءِ مِنْهُ ، قَتْلُ أَوْلَادِهِ ، وَإِتْلَافُ مَالِهِ ، وَزَوَالُ عَقْلِهِ أَرْبَعَ عَشْرَةَ سَنَةً ، فَكَانَ يَقُولُ : دَعْوَةُ الْجُنَيْدِ أَصَابَتْنِي ، وَرَجَعَ عَنْ قَوْلِهِ فِي تَفْضِيلِ الْغِنَى عَلَى الْفَقْرِ ، فَصَارَ يُفَضِّلُ الْفَقْرَ وَيُشَرِّفُهُ ، وَأَيْضًا فَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ :

taʿālā , wakāna ʾabū al-ʿabbāsi bnu ʿaṭāʾin qad khālafahu fī dhālika fayuqālu : ʾinna al-junayda daʿā ʿalayhi falaḥiqahu mā ʾaṣābahu mina al-balāʾi minhu , qatlu ʾawlādihi , waʾitlāfu mālihi , wazawālu ʿaqlihi ʾarbaʿa ʿashrata sanatan , fakāna yaqūlu : daʿwatu al-junaydi ʾaṣābatnī , warajaʿa ʿan qawlihi fī tafḍīli al-ghinā ʿalā al-faqri , faṣāra yufaḍḍilu al-faqra wayusharrifuhu , waʾayḍan faqad rawaynā fī al-khabari :

exalted is He. Abū al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAṭāʾ had disagreed with him about that. It is said that al-Junayd prayed against him, and that the afflictions that struck him came from this: the killing of his children, destruction of his wealth, and loss of his reason for fourteen years. He used to say: “Al-Junayd's prayer has struck me.” He retracted his statement preferring wealth to poverty, and came to prefer and honor poverty. Furthermore, we have related in the report:

أَعْرَفُكُمْ بِنَفْسِهِ أَعْرَفُكُمْ بِمَا ابْتَلَاهُ بِهِ مِنْهَا وَمَا ابْتَلَاهَا بِهِ مِنْهُ فَأَعْظَمُ مَا ابْتَلَانَا بِهِ مَحَبَّتُنَا بِهَا وَابْتَلَاهَا بِعَدَوَاتِنَا ، فَمَنْ أَفْضَلُ مِمَّنْ صَبَرَ عَلَى مُجَاهَدَةِ عَدُوِّهِ عَلَى أَنَّهُ مَعَ ذَلِكَ عَدُوُّ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مُنَازِعٌ لِصِفَاتِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ ، وَمَنْ أَشَدُّ بَلَاءً مِمَّنِ ابْتُلِيَ بِعَدَاوَتِكَ وَبُتُلِيتَ بِمَحَبَّتِهِ وَأَنْتَ فِي ذَلِكَ تَتْرُكُ مَحَبَّتَهُ لِمَحَبَّةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَتَصْبِرُ عَلَى عَدَاوَتِهِ بِدَوَامِ مُجَاهَدَتِهِ لِمَرْضَاةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ،

ʾaʿrafukum binafsihi ʾaʿrafukum bimā ibtalāhu bihi minhā wamā ibtalāhā bihi minhu faʾaʿẓamu mā ibtalānā bihi maḥabbatunā bihā wa-btalāhā biʿadawātinā , faman ʾafḍalu mimman ṣabara ʿalā mujāhadati ʿaduwwihi ʿalā ʾannahu maʿa dhālika ʿaduwwu Allāhi taʿālā munāziʿun liṣifāti al-rubūbiyyati , waman ʾashaddu balāʾan mimmani ibtuliya biʿadāwatika wabutulīta bimaḥabbatihi waʾanta fī dhālika tatruku maḥabbatahu limaḥabbati Allāhi taʿālā wataṣbiru ʿalā ʿadāwatihi bidawāmi mujāhadatihi limarḍāti Allāhi taʿālā ,

“The one among you who knows his self best knows best the trial it brings upon him and the trial he brings upon it. The greatest thing by which we have been tried is our love for it, and it has been tried by our enmity.” Who is better than one who patiently struggles against his enemy, when that enemy is also the enemy of God, exalted is He, contending over the attributes of lordship? Who suffers a severer trial than one tried by your enmity, while you are tried by love for him, and amid this you abandon love for him out of love for God, exalted is He, and patiently maintain enmity toward him by constantly struggling against him for the pleasure of God, exalted is He?

فَهَذَا أَعْدَلُ الْعَدْلِ وَأَفْضَلُ الْفَضْلِ وَلَا سَبِيلَ إِلَى ذَلِكَ إِلَّا بِفَضْلِ أَثَرَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَحُسْنِ عِنَايَتِهِ وَدَوَامِ نَظَرِهِ إِذْ لَا تَوْفِيقَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ وَلَا صَبْرَ إِلَّا بِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ، فَأَمَّا الْمَسْأَلَةُ الَّتِي سُئِلَ عَنْهَا بَعْضُ الْقُدَمَاءِ عَنْ عَبْدَيْنِ ابْتُلِيَ أَحَدُهُمَا فَصَبَرَ وَأُنْعِمَ عَلَى الْآخَرِ فَشَكَرَ ، فَقَالَ : كِلَاهُمَا سَوَاءٌ قَالَ : لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَثْنَى عَلَى عَبْدَيْنِ أَحَدُهُمَا صَابِرٌ وَالْآخَرُ شَاكِرٌ بِثَنَاءٍ وَاحِدٍ ،

fa-hādhā ʾaʿdalu al-ʿadli waʾafḍalu al-faḍli walā sabīla ʾilā dhālika ʾillā bifaḍli ʾatharatin mina Allāhi taʿālā waḥusni ʿināyatihi wadawāmi naẓarihi ʾidh lā tawfīqa walā quwwata walā ṣabra ʾillā bihi subḥānahu wataʿālā , faʾammā al-masʾalatu allatī suʾila ʿanhā baʿḍu al-qudamāʾi ʿan ʿabdayni ibtuliya ʾaḥaduhumā faṣabara waʾunʿima ʿalā al-ʾākhari fashakara , faqāla : kilāhumā sawāʾun qāla : liʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʾathnā ʿalā ʿabdayni ʾaḥaduhumā ṣābirun wa-al-ʾākharu shākirun bithanāʾin wāḥidin ,

This is the most just justice and the most excellent excellence. There is no way to it except through the favor of a special choice from God, exalted is He, His beautiful care, and His constant regard, for there is no enabling grace, strength, or patience except through Him, glorified and exalted is He. As for the question put to one of the early masters concerning two servants, one afflicted and patient, the other favored and grateful, he said: “Both are equal.” He said: “For God, exalted is He, praised two servants, one patient and the other grateful, with one and the same praise.”

فَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ أَيُّوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : ( نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ ) ص : 30 وَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِ سُلَيْمَانَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : ( نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ ) ص : 30 ، فَفِي قَوْلِ هَذَا رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ غَفْلَةٌ عَنْ لَطَائِفِ الْأَفْهَامِ وَذَهَابٌ عَنْ حَقِيقَةِ تَدَبُّرِ الْكَلَامِ إِذْ عِنْدَنَا بَيْنَ ثَنَاءِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَى أَيُّوبَ فِي الْفَضْلِ عَلَى ثَنَائِهِ عَلَى سُلَيْمَانَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ ثَلَاثَةَ عَشَرَ مَعْنًى ،

faqāla taʿālā fī waṣfi ʾayyūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu : ( niʿma al-ʿabdu ʾinnahu ʾawwābun ) Ṣād : 30 waqāla fī waṣfi sulaymāna ʿalayhi al-salāmu : ( niʿma al-ʿabdu ʾinnahu ʾawwābun ) Ṣād : 30 , fafī qawli hādhā raḥimahu Allāhu ghaflatun ʿan laṭāʾifi al-ʾafhāmi wadhahābun ʿan ḥaqīqati tadabburi al-kalāmi ʾidh ʿindanā bayna thanāʾi Allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʿalā ʾayyūba fī al-faḍli ʿalā thanāʾihi ʿalā sulaymāna ʿalayhimā al-salāmu thalāthata ʿashara maʿnan ,

He, exalted is He, said in describing Job, peace be upon him: “What an excellent servant! He was ever returning” (Ṣād 38:30); and He said in describing Solomon, peace be upon him: “What an excellent servant! He was ever returning” (Ṣād 38:30). In this man's statement, God have mercy on him, there is heedlessness of subtle understandings and a departure from the reality of reflecting upon the speech. In our view, there are thirteen meanings distinguishing the superiority of God's praise, mighty and majestic, of Job over His praise of Solomon, peace be upon them both.

وَشَرِكَهُ سُلَيْمَانُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فِي وَصْفَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ وَإِفْرَادُ أَيُّوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِفَضْلِ ثَنَاءِ ثَلَاثَةَ عَشَرَ مَعْنًى ، أَوَّلُ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي أَوَّلِ مَدْحِهِ : ( وَاذْكُرْ ) ص : 41 فَهَذِهِ كَلِمَةُ مُبَاهَاةٍ بَاهَى بِأَيُّوبَ عِنْدَ رَسُولِهِ الْمُصْطَفَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَشَرَّفَهُ وَفَضَّلَهُ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَاذْكُرْ ) ص : 41 يَا مُحَمَّدُ فَأَمَرَهُ بِذِكْرِهِ وَالِاقْتِدَاءِ بِهِ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

washarikahu sulaymānu ʿalayhi al-salāmu baʿda dhālika fī waṣfayni ʾākharayni waʾifrādu ʾayyūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu bifaḍli thanāʾi thalāthata ʿashara maʿnan , ʾawwalu dhālika qawluhu ʿazza wajalla fī ʾawwali madḥihi : ( wa-dhkur ) Ṣād : 41 fa-hādhihi kalimatu mubāhātin bāhā biʾayyūba ʿinda rasūlihi al-muṣṭafā ʿalayhi al-salāmu washarrafahu wafaḍḍalahu biqawlihi taʿālā : ( wa-dhkur ) Ṣād : 41 yā muḥammadu faʾamarahu bidhikrihi wa-al-iqtidāʾi bihi kaqawlihi taʿālā :

Solomon, peace be upon him, shares two further descriptions with him after that, while Job, peace be upon him, is singled out by the excellence of praise in thirteen meanings. The first is His saying, mighty and majestic, at the beginning of His praise: “Remember” (Ṣād 38:41). This is an expression of proud commendation: He proudly commended Job before His chosen Messenger, peace be upon him, honoring and preferring him by His saying, exalted is He, “Remember” (Ṣād 38:41), O Muḥammad. He commanded him to remember and emulate him, like His saying, exalted is He:

( فَاصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُولُوا الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ ) الْأَحْقَافُ : 35 ، قِيلَ : هُمْ أَهْلُ الشَّدَّاءِ وَالْبَلَاءِ مِنْهُمْ أَيُّوبُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ قُرِضُوا بِالْمَقَارِيضِ وَنُشِرُوا بِالْمَنَاشِيرِ وَكَانُوا سَبْعِينَ نَبِيًّا وَقِيلَ : هُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمُ وَإِسْحَاقُ وَيَعْقُوبُ ، وَهَؤُلَاءِ آبَاءُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَأَفَاضِلُهُمْ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ ابْرَاهِيمَ ) مَرْيَمُ : 41 وَلِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

( fa-ṣbir kamā ṣabara ʾulū al-ʿazmi mina al-rusuli ) al-ʾaḥqāfu : 35 , qīla : hum ʾahlu al-shaddāʾi wa-al-balāʾi minhum ʾayyūbu ʿalayhi al-salāmu quriḍū bi-al-maqārīḍi wanushirū bi-al-manāshīri wakānū sabʿīna nabiyyan waqīla : hum ʾibrāhīmu waʾisḥāqu wayaʿqūbu , wa-hāʾulāʾi ʾābāʾu al-ʾanbiyāʾi waʾafāḍiluhum liqawlihi taʿālā : ( wa-dhkur fī al-kitābi ibrāhīma ) maryamu : 41 waliqawlihi taʿālā :

“Be patient as the messengers of firm resolve were patient” (al-Aḥqāf 46:35). It is said: They are the people of hardships and affliction, among them Job, peace be upon him; they were cut with shears and sawn with saws, and they were seventy prophets. It is also said: They are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the fathers of the prophets and their most excellent members, according to His saying, exalted is He, “Remember in the Book Abraham” (Maryam 19:41), and His saying, exalted is He:

( وَاذْكُرْ عِبَادَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْحَقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ أُولِي الْأَيْدِي وَالْأَبْصَارِ ) ص : 45 يَعْنِي أَصْحَابَ الْقُوَّةِ وَالتَّمَكُّنِ وَأَهْلَ الْبَصَائِرِ وَالْيَقِينِ ، ثُمَّ رَفَعَ زَيُوبَ إِلَى مَقَامِهِمْ فَضَمَّهُ إِلَيْهِمْ وَجَعَلَهُ سَلْوَةً لَهُ ثُمَّ ذَكَرَهُ إِيَّاهُ وَذَكَرَهُ بِهِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( عَبْدَنَا ) ص : 41 فَأَضَافَهُ إِلَيْهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِضَافَةَ تَخْصِيصٍ وَتَقْرِيبٍ وَلَمْ يُدْخِلْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُ لَامَ الْمِلْكِ فَيَقُولَ عَبْدًا لَنَا فَأَلْحَقَهُ بِنُظَرَائِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَلَاءِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

( wa-dhkur ʿibādanā ʾibrāhīma wa-ʾisḥāqa wayaʿqūba ʾulī al-ʾaydī wa-al-ʾabṣāri ) Ṣād : 45 yaʿnī ʾaṣḥāba al-quwwati wa-al-tamakkuni waʾahla al-baṣāʾiri wa-al-yaqīni , thumma rafaʿa zayūba ʾilā maqāmihim faḍammahu ʾilayhim wajaʿalahu salwatan lahu thumma dhakarahu ʾiyyāhu wadhakarahu bihi , thumma qāla taʿālā : ( ʿabdanā ) Ṣād : 41 faʾaḍāfahu ʾilayhi ʿazza wajalla ʾiḍāfata takhṣīṣin wataqrībin walam yudkhil baynahu wabaynahu lāma al-milki fayaqūla ʿabdan lanā faʾalḥaqahu binuẓarāʾihi min ʾahli al-balāʾi fī qawlihi taʿālā :

“Remember Our servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, possessors of strength and insight” (Ṣād 38:45), meaning those possessed of strength and ability, and the people of insight and certainty. He then raised Job to their station, joined him to them, and made him a consolation for him; then He recalled him to him and reminded him through him. Then He, exalted is He, said: “Our servant” (Ṣād 38:41), relating him to Himself, mighty and majestic, in a relationship of special distinction and nearness. He did not place between Himself and him the lām of possession by saying “a servant belonging to Us.” Thus He attached him to his peers among the people of affliction in His saying, exalted is He:

( وَاذْكُرْ عِبَادَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْحَقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ ) ص : 45 وَهُمْ أَهْلُ الِابْتِلَاءِ الَّذِينَ بَاهَى بِهِمُ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ وَجَعَلَ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّاتِهِمُ الْأَصْفِيَاءَ فَأَضَافَ أَيُّوبَ إِلَيْهِمْ فِي حُسْنِ الثَّنَاءِ ، وَفِي لَفْظِ التَّذْكِرَةِ بِهِ فِي الثَّنَاءِ ثُمَّ قَالَ : ( إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ ) مَرْيَمُ : 3 فَأَفْرَدَهُ بِنَفْسِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ وَانْفَرَدَ لَهُ فِي الْخِطَابِ بِوَصْفِهِ وَقَالَ :

( wa-dhkur ʿibādanā ʾibrāhīma wa-ʾisḥāqa wayaʿqūba ) Ṣād : 45 wahum ʾahlu al-ibtilāʾi alladhīna bāhā bihimu al-ʾanbiyāʾa wajaʿala min dhurriyyātihimu al-ʾaṣfiyāʾa faʾaḍāfa ʾayyūba ʾilayhim fī ḥusni al-thanāʾi , wafī lafẓi al-tadhkirati bihi fī al-thanāʾi thumma qāla : ( ʾidh nādā rabbahu ) maryamu : 3 faʾafradahu binafsihi linafsihi wa-nfarada lahu fī al-khiṭābi biwaṣfihi waqāla :

“Remember Our servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Ṣād 38:45). They are the people of trial whom He proudly commended before the prophets, and from whose descendants He made the chosen ones. He associated Job with them in beautiful praise and in the expression of recalling him in praise. Then He said: “When he called to his Lord” (Maryam 19:3), singling him out by Himself for Himself, and addressing him uniquely with His attribute. He said:

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٣٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 339

Volume One, page 339

( مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ وَأَنْتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ ) الْأَنْبِيَاءُ : 83 فَوَصَفَهُ بِمُوَاجَهَةِ التَّمَلُّقِ لَهُ وَلَطِيفِ الْمُنَاجَاةِ وَظَهَرَ لَهُ بِوَصْفِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ فَاسْتَرَاحَ إِلَيْهِ بِهِ فَنَادَاهُ فَشَكَا إِلَيْهِ وَاسْتَغَاثَ بِهِ فَأَشْبَهَ مَقَامُهُ ، مَقَامَ مُوسَى وَيُونُسَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ فِي قَوْلِهِمَا : سُبْحَانَكَ تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ ، وَفِي قَوْلِ الْآخَرِ : لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ ، سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ ،

( massaniya al-ḍurru waʾanta ʾarḥamu al-rāḥimīna ) al-ʾanbiyāʾu : 83 fawaṣafahu bimuwājahati al-tamalluqi lahu walaṭīfi al-munājāti waẓahara lahu biwaṣfihi al-raḥmata fa-starāḥa ʾilayhi bihi fanādāhu fashakā ʾilayhi wa-staghātha bihi faʾashbaha maqāmuhu , maqāma mūsā wayūnusa ʿalayhimā al-salāmu fī qawlihimā : subḥānaka tubtu ʾilayka , wafī qawli al-ʾākhari : lā ʾilāha ʾillā ʾanta , subḥānaka ʾinnī kuntu mina al-ẓālimīna ,

“Harm has touched me, and You are the most merciful of the merciful” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:83). He described him as turning directly to Him in humble entreaty and subtle intimate converse. He manifested Himself to him through His attribute of mercy, so he found rest in Him through Him, called upon Him, complained to Him, and sought His help. His station thus resembled the station of Moses and Jonah, peace be upon them both, in their sayings: “Glory be to You! I turn to You in repentance”; and in the other's saying: “There is no god but You. Glory be to You! I was indeed among the wrongdoers.”

وَهَذَا خِطَابُ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ وَنَظَرُ الْمُوَاجَهَةِ ، ثُمَّ وَصَفَهُ بِالِاسْتِحَابَةِ لَهُ وَأَهَّلَهُ لِكَشْفِ الضُّرِّ عَنْهُ وَجَعَلَ كَلَامَهُ سَبَبًا لِتَنْفِيذِ قُدْرَتِهِ وَمَكَانًا لِمَجَارِي حِكْمَتِهِ وَمِفْتَاحًا لِفَتْحِ إِجَابَتِهِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ : وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ أَهْلَهُ فَزَادَ عَلَى سُلَيْمَانَ فِي الْوَصْفِ إِذْ كَانَ بَيْنَ مَنْ وُهِبَ لِأَهْلِهِ وَبَيْنَ مَنْ وُهِبَ لَهُ أَهْلُهُ فَضْلٌ فِي الْمَدْحِ لِأَنَّهُ قَالَ فِي وَصْفِ سُلَيْمَانَ :

wa-hādhā khiṭābu al-mushāhadati wanaẓaru al-muwājahati , thumma waṣafahu bi-al-istiḥābati lahu waʾahhalahu likashfi al-ḍurri ʿanhu wajaʿala kalāmahu sababan litanfīdhi qudratihi wamakānan limajārī ḥikmatihi wamiftāḥan lifatḥi ʾijābatihi , thumma qāla baʿda dhālika kullihi : wawahabnā lahu ʾahlahu fazāda ʿalā sulaymāna fī al-waṣfi ʾidh kāna bayna man wuhiba liʾahlihi wabayna man wuhiba lahu ʾahluhu faḍlun fī al-madḥi liʾannahu qāla fī waṣfi sulaymāna :

This is the address of witnessing and the gaze of direct encounter. Then He described His response to him, deemed him worthy of having his harm removed, and made his speech a cause for executing His power, a place for the courses of His wisdom, and a key for opening His answer. Then, after all that, He said: “We gave him his family.” Thus He exceeded Solomon in the description, for there is a superiority of praise between one given to his family and one to whom his family is given, because He said in describing Solomon:

وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُدَ سُلَيْمَانَ فَأَشْبَهَ فَضْلُ أَيُّوبَ فِي ذَلِكَ عَلَى سُلَيْمَانَ كَفَضْلِ مُوسَى عَلَى هَارُونَ لِأَنَّهُ قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي مَدْحِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَتَفْضِيلِهِ عَلَى هَارُونَ : ( وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ مِنْ رَحْمَتِنَا أَخَاهُ هَارُونَ نَبِيًّا ) مَرْيَمُ : 53 ، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ فِي مَدْحِ دَاوُدَ : ( وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُدَ سُلَيْمَانَ ) ص :

wawahabnā li-dāwūda sulaymāna faʾashbaha faḍlu ʾayyūba fī dhālika ʿalā sulaymāna kafaḍli mūsā ʿalā hārūna liʾannahu qāla ʿazza wajalla fī madḥi mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu watafḍīlihi ʿalā hārūna : ( wawahabnā lahu min raḥmatinā ʾakhāhu hārūna nabiyyan ) maryamu : 53 , wa-kadhālika qāla fī madḥi dāwūda : ( wawahabnā li-dāwūda sulaymāna ) Ṣād :

“We gave David Solomon.” In this, Job's superiority over Solomon resembled Moses' superiority over Aaron, because He, mighty and majestic, said in praise of Moses, peace be upon him, and in preferring him to Aaron: “We gave him, out of Our mercy, his brother Aaron as a prophet” (Maryam 19:53). Likewise He said in praise of David: “We gave David Solomon” (Ṣād 38:

30 فَوَهَبَ لِمُوسَى أَخَاهُ كَمَا وَهَبَ لِدَاوُدَ ابْنَهُ وَأَشْبَهَ مَقَامُ أَيُّوبَ فِي الْمُبَاهَاةِ وَالتَّذْكِرَةِ بِهِ مَقَامَ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لِأَنَّهُ قَالَ تَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ دَاوُدَ لِنَبِيِّهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : ( اصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاذْكُرْ عَبْدَنَا دَاوُدَ ) ص : 17 وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ تَعَالَى فِي نَعْتِ أَيُّوبَ : ( وَاذْكُرْ عَبْدَنَا أَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ ) ص : 41 ،

30 fawahaba limūsā ʾakhāhu kamā wahaba li-dāwūda ibnahu waʾashbaha maqāmu ʾayyūba fī al-mubāhāti wa-al-tadhkirati bihi maqāma dāwūda ʿalayhi al-salāmu liʾannahu qāla taʿālā fī waṣfi dāwūda linabiyyihi ʿalayhi al-salāmu : ( iṣbir ʿalā mā yaqūlūna wa-dhkur ʿabdanā dāwūda ) Ṣād : 17 wa-kadhālika qāla taʿālā fī naʿti ʾayyūba : ( wa-dhkur ʿabdanā ʾayyūba ʾidh nādā rabbahu ) Ṣād : 41 ,

30). He gave Moses his brother just as He gave David his son. Job's station, in the proud commendation and reminder concerning him, resembled David's station, peace be upon him, because He, exalted is He, said in describing David to His Prophet, peace be upon him: “Be patient with what they say, and remember Our servant David” (Ṣād 38:17). Likewise He, exalted is He, said in depicting Job: “Remember Our servant Job, when he called to his Lord” (Ṣād 38:41).

فَقَدْ شَبَّهَ أَيُّوبَ بِدَاوُدَ وَمُوسَى عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ فِي الْمَعْنَى وَرَفَعَهُ إِلَيْهِمَا فِي الْمَقَامِ ، وَهُمَا فِي نُفُوسِنَا أَفْضَلُ مِنْ سُلَيْمَانَ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ ، فَأَشْبَهَ أَنْ يَكُونَ حَالُ أَيُّوبَ عَلَى مِنْ حَالِ سُلَيْمَانَ ، وَعِلْمُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْمُقَدَّمُ وَلَكِنْ هَكَذَا أَلْقَى فِي قُلُوبِنَا وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى بَعْذَ ذَلِكَ كُلِّ ( رَحْمَةً مِنَّا ) ص :

faqad shabbaha ʾayyūba bi-dāwūda wamūsā ʿalayhimā al-salāmu fī al-maʿnā warafaʿahu ʾilayhimā fī al-maqāmi , wahumā fī nufūsinā ʾafḍalu min sulaymāna ʿalayhimu al-salāmu , faʾashbaha ʾan yakūna ḥālu ʾayyūba ʿalā min ḥāli sulaymāna , waʿilmu Allāhi taʿālā al-muqaddamu wa-lākin hākadhā ʾalqā fī qulūbinā wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu , thumma qāla taʿālā baʿdha dhālika kulli ( raḥmatan minnā ) Ṣād :

Thus He likened Job in meaning to David and Moses, peace be upon them both, and raised him to them in station. In our estimation, those two are better than Solomon, peace be upon them. It would therefore seem that Job's state is higher than Solomon's. God's knowledge, exalted is He, takes precedence, but this is how He has cast it into our hearts, and God knows best. Then He, exalted is He, said after all that: “As a mercy from Us” (Ṣād 38:

43 فَذَكَرَ رَنَفْسَهُ وَوَصَفَهُ عِنْدَ عَبْدِهِ تَشْرِيفًا لَهُ وَتَعْظِيمًا ، ثُمَّ قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَذِكْرَى لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ ) ص : 43 فَجَعَلَهُ إِمَامًا لِلْعُقَلَاءِ وَقُدْوَةً لِأَهْلِ الصَّبْرِ وَالْبَلَاءِ وَتَذْكِرَةً وَسَلْوَةً مِنَ الْكُرُوبِ لِلْأَصْفِيَاءِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّا وَجَدْنَاهُ صَابِرًا ) ص : 44 فَذَكَرَ نَفْسَهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ذِكْرًا ثَانِيًا لِعَبْدِهِ وَوَصَلَ اسْمَهُ بِاسْمِهِ حُبًّا لَهُ وَقُرْبًا مِنْهُ ،

43 fadhakara ranafsahu wawaṣafahu ʿinda ʿabdihi tashrīfan lahu wataʿẓīman , thumma qāla ʿazza wajalla : ( wadhikrā li-ʾulī al-ʾalbābi ) Ṣād : 43 fajaʿalahu ʾimāman li-l-ʿuqalāʾi waqudwatan liʾahli al-ṣabri wa-al-balāʾi watadhkiratan wasalwatan mina al-kurūbi li-l-ʾaṣfiyāʾi , thumma qāla taʿālā : ( ʾinnā wajadnāhu ṣābiran ) Ṣād : 44 fadhakara nafsahu subḥānahu wataʿālā dhikran thāniyan liʿabdihi wawaṣala ismahu bi-smihi ḥubban lahu waqurban minhu ,

43). He mentioned Himself and described Himself before His servant, honoring and magnifying him. Then He, mighty and majestic, said: “And a reminder for those of understanding” (Ṣād 38:43). He made him a leader for the rational, an example for the people of patience and affliction, and a reminder and consolation amid distresses for the chosen. Then He, exalted is He, said: “We found him patient” (Ṣād 38:44). He, glorified and exalted is He, mentioned Himself a second time for His servant and joined His designation to his designation, out of love for him and nearness to him.

لِأَنَّ النُّونَ وَالْأَلِفَ فِي وَجَدْنَا اسْمُهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى ، وَالْهَاءَ اسْمُ عَبْدِهِ أَيُّوبَ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ صَابِرًا فَوَصَفَهُ بِالصَّبْرِ فَأَظْهَرَ مَكَانَهُ فِي الْقُوَّةِ وَخَلَقَهُ بِخُلُقِهِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى فِي آخِرِ أَوْصَافِهِ : ( نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ ) ص : 44 ، فَهَذَانِ أَوَّلُ وَصْفِ سُلَيْمَانَ وَآخِرُهُ هَهُنَا شَرِكَهُ فِي الثَّنَاءِ وَزَادَ أَيُّوبَ بِمَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنَ الْمَدْحِ وَالْوَصْفِ الَّذِي لَا يَقُومُ لَهُ شَيْءٌ فَمِنْ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ :

liʾanna al-nūna wa-al-ʾalifa fī wajadnā ismuhu tabāraka wataʿālā , wa-al-hāʾa ismu ʿabdihi ʾayyūba , thumma qāla ṣābiran fawaṣafahu bi-al-ṣabri faʾaẓhara makānahu fī al-quwwati wakhalaqahu bikhuluqihi , thumma qāla taʿālā fī ʾākhiri ʾawṣāfihi : ( niʿma al-ʿabdu ʾinnahu ʾawwābun ) Ṣād : 44 , fa-hādhāni ʾawwalu waṣfi sulaymāna waʾākhiruhu hāhunā sharikahu fī al-thanāʾi wazāda ʾayyūba bimā taqaddama mina al-madḥi wa-al-waṣfi alladhī lā yaqūmu lahu shayʾun famin qawlihi ʿazza wajalla :

For the nūn and alif in “We found” designate Him, blessed and exalted is He, while the hāʾ designates His servant Job. Then He said “patient,” describing him with patience, manifesting his place in strength, and forming his character with His own attribute. Then He, exalted is He, said at the end of his descriptions: “What an excellent servant! He was ever returning” (Ṣād 38:44). These two descriptions are the beginning and end of Solomon's description. Here he shared the praise with him, while Job exceeded him through the preceding praise and description, which nothing can match. From His saying, mighty and majestic,

( وَاذْكُرْ عَبْدَنَا أَيُّوبَ ) ص : 41 إِلَى قَوْلِهِ : ( نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ ) ص : 44 عَظِيمٌ مِنَ الْفُرْقَانِ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْفَهْمِ وَالتِّبْيَانِ وَجَعَلَ فِي أَوَّلِ وَصْفِ سُلَيْمَانَ أَنَّهُ وَهَبَهُ لِأَبِيهِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ فَصَارَ حَسَنَةً مِنْ حَسَنَاتِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَاشْتَمَلَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ ) ص : 44 عَلَى أَوَّلِ وَصْفِهِ وَأَوْسَطِهِ وَهُوَ آخِرُ وَصْفِ أَيُّوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ ، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ

( wa-dhkur ʿabdanā ʾayyūba ) Ṣād : 41 ʾilā qawlihi : ( niʿma al-ʿabdu ʾinnahu ʾawwābun ) Ṣād : 44 ʿaẓīmun mina al-furqāni ʿinda ʾahli al-fahmi wa-al-tibyāni wajaʿala fī ʾawwali waṣfi sulaymāna ʾannahu wahabahu liʾabīhi dāwūda ʿalayhimā al-salāmu faṣāra ḥasanatan min ḥasanāti dāwūda ʿalayhi al-salāmu wa-shtamala qawluhu taʿālā : ( niʿma al-ʿabdu ʾinnahu ʾawwābun ) Ṣād : 44 ʿalā ʾawwali waṣfihi waʾawsaṭihi wahuwa ʾākhiru waṣfi ʾayyūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu , waʿalā jamīʿi al-ʾanbiyāʾi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu

“Remember Our servant Job” (Ṣād 38:41), to His saying, “What an excellent servant! He was ever returning” (Ṣād 38:44), there is a great distinction for the people of understanding and clear explanation. At the beginning of Solomon's description, He stated that He gave him to his father David, peace be upon them both, so he became one of David's good gifts, peace be upon him. His saying, exalted is He, “What an excellent servant! He was ever returning” (Ṣād 38:44), encompassed the beginning and middle of his description, while it is the end of Job's description, peace be upon him. Blessings and peace be upon all the prophets.

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٤٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 340

Volume One, page 340

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : آخِرُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ دُخُولًا الْجَنَّةَ سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ لِمَكَانِ مُلْكِهِ ، وَآخِرُ اَصْحَابِي دُخُولًا الْجَنَّةَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَوْفٍ لِمَكَانِ غِنَاهُ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : يَدْخُلُ سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ الْجَنَّةَ بَعْدَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ بِأَرْبَعِينَ خَرِيفًا ،

waqad rawaynā fī al-khabari ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾākhiru al-ʾanbiyāʾi dukhūlan al-jannata sulaymānu bnu dāwūda ʿalayhimā al-salāmu limakāni mulkihi , waʾākhiru aṣḥābī dukhūlan al-jannata ʿabdu al-raḥmāni bnu ʿawfin limakāni ghināhu , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara : yadkhulu sulaymānu bnu dāwūda al-jannata baʿda al-ʾanbiyāʾi biʾarbaʿīna kharīfan ,

We have related in the report from God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “The last of the prophets to enter the Garden is Solomon son of David, peace be upon them both, because of his kingship; and the last of my companions to enter the Garden is ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, because of his wealth.” In another wording: “Solomon son of David enters the Garden forty autumns after the prophets.”

وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْآثَارِ إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَنْ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ أَهْلُ الْبَلَاءِ إِمَامُهُمْ أَيُّوبُ وَهُوَ إِمَامُ أَهْلِ الْبَلَاءِ وَإِنَّ أَبْوَابَ الْجَنَّةِ كُلَّهَا مِصْرَاعَانِ إِلَّا بَابَ الصَّبْرِ فَإِنَّهُ مِصْرَاعٌ وَاحِدٌ ، وَأَوَّلُ مَنْ يَدْخُلُهُ أَهْلُ الْبَلَاءِ فَقَدْ زَادَ أَيُّوبُ عَلَى سُلَيْمَانَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ بِعُمُومِ هَذِهِ الْأَخْبَارِ لِأَنَّهُ سَيِّدُ أَهْلِ الْبَلَاءِ وَتَذْكِرَةٌ وَعِبْرَةٌ لِأُولِي النُّهِي وَإِمَامُ أَهْلِ الصَّبْرِ وَالضُّرِّ وَالِابْتِلَاءِ ،

waqad jāʾa fī al-ʾāthāri ʾinna ʾawwala man yadkhulu al-jannata ʾahlu al-balāʾi ʾimāmuhum ʾayyūbu wahuwa ʾimāmu ʾahli al-balāʾi waʾinna ʾabwāba al-jannati kullahā miṣrāʿāni ʾillā bāba al-ṣabri faʾinnahu miṣrāʿun wāḥidun , waʾawwalu man yadkhuluhu ʾahlu al-balāʾi faqad zāda ʾayyūbu ʿalā sulaymāna ʿalayhimā al-salāmu biʿumūmi hādhihi al-ʾakhbāri liʾannahu sayyidu ʾahli al-balāʾi watadhkiratun waʿibratun li-ʾulī al-nuhī waʾimāmu ʾahli al-ṣabri wa-al-ḍurri wa-al-ibtilāʾi ,

The transmitted accounts state that the first to enter the Garden are the people of affliction, led by Job, who is the leader of the people of affliction. All the Garden's gates have two leaves except the gate of patience, which has one leaf; the first to enter it are the people of affliction. Thus Job exceeds Solomon, peace be upon them both, by the general purport of these reports, for he is the chief of the people of affliction, a reminder and lesson for those of reason, and the leader of the people of patience, harm, and trial.

وَلَمْ نَقْصِدْ بِمَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ التَّفْضِيلَ بَيْنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ لِأَنَّا قَدْ نُهِينَا عَنْ ذَلِكَ فِيمَا رَوَيْنَا عَنْ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : لَا تُفَضِّلُوا بَيْنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ أَخْبَرَنَا أَنَّ بَعْضَهُمْ مُفَضَّلٌ عَلَى بَعْضٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ : ( وَلَقَدْ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَ النَّبِيِّينَ عَلَى بَعْضٍ ) الْإِسْرَاءُ :

walam naqṣid bimā dhakarnāhu al-tafḍīla bayna al-ʾanbiyāʾi liʾannā qad nuhīnā ʿan dhālika fīmā rawaynā ʿan nabiyyinā muḥammadin ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu qāla : lā tufaḍḍilū bayna al-ʾanbiyāʾi wa-lākinna Allāha taʿālā qad ʾakhbaranā ʾanna baʿḍahum mufaḍḍalun ʿalā baʿḍin fī qawlihi : ( walaqad faḍḍalnā baʿḍa al-nabiyyīna ʿalā baʿḍin ) al-ʾisrāʾu :

Our intention in what we have mentioned is not to rank the prophets, for we have been forbidden to do that in what we have related from our Prophet Muḥammad, God bless him and grant him peace, who said: “Do not rank the prophets above one another.” But God, exalted is He, has informed us that some of them are preferred to others in His saying: “We have indeed preferred some prophets to others” (al-Isrāʾ 17:

55 وَإِنَّمَا أَظْهَرْنَا فَضْلَ الثَّنَاءِ الْمُسْتَوْدَعَ فِي الْكِتَابِ فَاسْتَنْبَطْنَا بَاطِنَ الْوَصْفِ الْمُكَرَّرِ فِي الْخِطَابِ فِي قِصَّةِ أَبُوبَ عَلَى قِصَّةِ سُلَيْمَانَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ بِمَا ظَهَرَ لَنَا مِنْ فَهْمِ فَصْلِ الْخِطَابِ وَتَدَبُّرِ مَعَانِي الْكَلَامِ وَعِلْمُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْمُقَدَّمُ وَهُوَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَعْلَمُ وَأَحْكَمُ وَقَدْ نَدَبَنَا إِلَى الِاسْتِنْبَاطِ فِي قَوْلِ الرَّسُولِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ :

55 waʾinnamā ʾaẓharnā faḍla al-thanāʾi al-mustawdaʿa fī al-kitābi fa-stanbaṭnā bāṭina al-waṣfi al-mukarrari fī al-khiṭābi fī qiṣṣati ʾabūba ʿalā qiṣṣati sulaymāna ʿalayhimā al-salāmu bimā ẓahara lanā min fahmi faṣli al-khiṭābi watadabburi maʿānī al-kalāmi waʿilmu Allāhi taʿālā al-muqaddamu wahuwa ʿazza wajalla ʾaʿlamu waʾaḥkamu waqad nadabanā ʾilā al-istinbāṭi fī qawli al-rasūli ʿalayhi al-salāmu :

55). We have only brought out the superiority of praise deposited in the Book and drawn forth the inward description repeated in the address in Job's story over Solomon's story, peace be upon them both, according to what has appeared to us through understanding the decisive speech and reflecting on the meanings of the words. God's knowledge, exalted is He, takes precedence, and He, mighty and majestic, is more knowing and wiser. He has encouraged us to draw forth meanings through the Messenger's saying, peace be upon him:

اقْرَؤُوا الْقُرْآنَ وَالْتَمِسُوا غَرَائِبَهُ وَلِأَنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ عِزَّ الْأَهْلِ الصَّبْرِ وَالْبَلَاءِ وَتَقْوِيَةً لِقُلُوبِهِمْ وَتَعْرِيفًا لِسَوَابِغِ نِعَمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِمْ وَإِظْهَارًا لِبَوَاطِنِ النِّعَمِ وَتَنْبِيهًا عَلَى لَطَائِفِ الْكَلِمِ وَتَزْهِيدًا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالنَّفْسِ وَتَرْغِيبًا فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَالصَّبْرِ وَتَفْضِيلًا لِطَرِيقِ أَهْلِ الْبَلَاءِ الَّذِينَ هُمُ الْأَمْثَلُ فَالْأَمْثَلُ بِالْأَنْبِيَاءِ ، فَجَاءَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ تَفْضِيلُ الْمُتَبَلِّي الصَّابِرِ عَلَى بَلَائِهِ وَرِضَاهُ بِحُكْمِ مَوْلَاهُ وَتَسْلِيمًا لِمَرْضَاتِهِ عَلَى الْمُنْعَمِ عَلَيْهِ ،

iqraʾū al-qurʾāna wa-ltamisū gharāʾibahu waliʾanna fī dhālika ʿizza al-ʾahli al-ṣabri wa-al-balāʾi wataqwiyatan liqulūbihim wataʿrīfan lisawābighi niʿami Allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhim waʾiẓhāran libawāṭini al-niʿami watanbīhan ʿalā laṭāʾifi al-kalimi watazhīdan fī al-dunyā wa-al-nafsi watarghīban fī al-ʾākhirati wa-al-ṣabri watafḍīlan liṭarīqi ʾahli al-balāʾi alladhīna humu al-ʾamthalu fa-al-ʾamthalu bi-al-ʾanbiyāʾi , fajāʾa min dhālika tafḍīlu al-mutaballī al-ṣābiri ʿalā balāʾihi wariḍāhu biḥukmi mawlāhu wataslīman limarḍātihi ʿalā al-munʿami ʿalayhi ,

“Read the Qurʾān and seek its rare wonders.” Moreover, this brings honor to the people of patience and affliction, strengthens their hearts, acquaints them with God's abundant blessings upon them, exalted is He, reveals the inward blessings, draws attention to the subtleties of the words, encourages renunciation of this world and the self, inspires desire for the next world and patience, and commends the path of the people of affliction, those most like the prophets, then those next most like them. From this follows the superiority of the afflicted person who is patient under his affliction, content with his Master's judgment, and surrendered to His pleasure, over the favored person

الشَّاكِرِ عَلَى نَعْمَائِهِ ، إِذِ النِّعَمُ مُلَائِمَةٌ لِلطَّبْعِ مُوَافِقَةٌ لِلنَّفْسِ لَا يَحْتَاجُ مَعَهَا إِلَى كَدِّ النَّفْسِ بِالصَّبْرِ عَلَيْهَا وَلَا حَمْلِهَا عَلَى الْمَشَقَّةِ فِيهَا بِالرِّضَا بِهَا ، وَالْبَلَاءُ مُبَايِنٌ لِلطَّبْعِ نَافِرَةٌ مِنْهُ النَّفْسُ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى حَمْلٍ عَلَيْهِ وَمَشَقَّةٍ فِيهِ ، وَمَا كَرِهَتْهُ النَّفْسُ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ وَأَفْضَلُ وَلَا سَبِيلَ إِلَيْهِ إِلَّا بِسَكِينَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَتَصَبُّرٍ عَلَيْهِ بِقُوَّةٍ بِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَعِنَايَةٍ مِنْهُ : ( وَاصْبِرْ وَمَا صَبْرُكَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ ) النَّحْلُ : 127 ، وَهَذَا آخِرُ شَرْحِ مَقَامَاتِ الصَّبْرِ .

al-shākiri ʿalā naʿmāʾihi , ʾidhi al-niʿamu mulāʾimatun li-l-ṭabʿi muwāfiqatun li-l-nafsi lā yaḥtāju maʿahā ʾilā kaddi al-nafsi bi-al-ṣabri ʿalayhā walā ḥamlihā ʿalā al-mashaqqati fīhā bi-al-riḍā bihā , wa-al-balāʾu mubāyinun li-l-ṭabʿi nāfiratun minhu al-nafsu yaḥtāju ʾilā ḥamlin ʿalayhi wamashaqqatin fīhi , wamā karihathu al-nafsu fahuwa khayrun waʾafḍalu walā sabīla ʾilayhi ʾillā bisakīnatin mina Allāhi taʿālā wataṣabburin ʿalayhi biquwwatin bihi ʿazza wajalla waʿināyatin minhu : ( wa-ṣbir wamā ṣabruka ʾillā bi-Allāhi ) al-naḥlu : 127 , wa-hādhā ʾākhiru sharḥi maqāmāti al-ṣabri .

who is grateful for his blessings. Blessings suit one's disposition and agree with the self; with them one does not need to weary the self by patience under them or compel it to hardship in being content with them. Affliction conflicts with one's disposition, and the self recoils from it; it requires compulsion and hardship. What the self dislikes is good and better, and there is no way to it except through tranquility from God, exalted is He, cultivating patience under it through strength in Him, mighty and majestic, and care from Him: “Be patient, and your patience is only through God” (al-Naḥl 16:127). This is the end of the explanation of the stations of patience.

شَرْحُ مَقَامِ الشُّكْرِ وَوَصْفُ الشَّاكِرِينَ وَهُوَ الثَّالِثُ مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ

sharḥu maqāmi al-shukri wawaṣfu al-shākirīna wahuwa al-thālithu min maqāmāti al-yaqīni

An explanation of the station of gratitude and a description of the grateful, the third of the stations of certainty

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( مَا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنْتُمْ ) النِّسَاءُ : 147 فَقَرَنَ الشُّكْرَ بِالْإِيمَانِ وَرَفَعَ بِوُجُودِهِمَا الْعَذَابَ ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَسَنَجْزِي الشَّاكِرِينَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 145 ، وَرُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ لِلَّهِ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : الطَّاعِمُ الشَّاكِرُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الصَّائِمِ الصَّابِرِ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : الشُّكْرُ نِصْفُ الْإِيمَانِ ،

qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( mā yafʿalu Allāhu biʿadhābikum ʾin shakartum waʾāmantum ) al-nisāʾu : 147 faqarana al-shukra bi-al-ʾīmāni warafaʿa biwujūdihimā al-ʿadhāba , waqāla taʿālā : ( wasanajzī al-shākirīna ) ʾālu ʿimrāna : 145 , waruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi li-llāhi ʾannahu qāla : al-ṭāʿimu al-shākiru bimanzilati al-ṣāʾimi al-ṣābiri , waqāla ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu : al-shukru niṣfu al-ʾīmāni ,

God, exalted is He, said: “What would God do with punishing you if you were grateful and believed?” (al-Nisāʾ 4:147). He paired gratitude with faith and removed punishment when both exist. He, exalted is He, said: “We shall reward the grateful” (Āl ʿImrān 3:145). It is related from God's Prophet that he said: “The grateful eater is in the position of the patient faster.” Ibn Masʿūd, God be pleased with him, said: “Gratitude is half of faith.”

وَقَدْ أَمَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالشُّكْرِ وَقَرَنَهُ بِالذِّكْرِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 152 ، قَدْ عَظَّمَ الذِّكْرَ بِقَوْلِهِ : ( وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ) فَصَارَ الشُّكْرُ أَكْبَرَ لِاقْتِرَانِهِ بِهِ وَرِضَا اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالشُّكْرِ مُجَازَاةً مِنْ عِبَادِهِ لِفَرْطِ كَرَمِهِ لِأَنَّ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى : ( فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُو لِي ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 152

waqad ʾamara Allāhu taʿālā bi-al-shukri waqaranahu bi-al-dhikri fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( fa-dhkurūnī ʾadhkurkum wa-shkurū lī walā takfurūni ) al-baqaratu : 152 , qad ʿaẓẓama al-dhikra biqawlihi : ( waladhikru Allāhi ʾakbaru ) faṣāra al-shukru ʾakbara li-qtirānihi bihi wariḍā Allāhi taʿālā bi-al-shukri mujāzātan min ʿibādihi lifarṭi karamihi liʾanna qawlahu taʿālā : ( fa-dhkurūnī ʾadhkurkum wa-shkurū lī ) al-baqaratu : 152

God, exalted is He, commanded gratitude and paired it with remembrance in His saying, exalted is He: “Remember Me, and I shall remember you; give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me” (al-Baqara 2:152). He magnified remembrance by His saying: “The remembrance of God is greater.” Gratitude thus became greater through being paired with it. God's satisfaction, exalted is He, with gratitude as recompense from His servants is because of His surpassing generosity, for His saying, exalted is He, “Remember Me, and I shall remember you; give thanks to Me” (al-Baqara 2:152)

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٤١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 341

Volume One, page 341

خُرُوجٌ مِنْ لَفْظِ الْمُجَازَاةِ لِتَحْقِيقِ الْأَمْرِ وَتَعْظِيمِ الشُّكْرِ لِأَنَّ الْفَاءَ لِلشَّرْطِ وَلَا جَزَاءَ وَالْكَافَ الْمُتَقَدِّمَةَ لِلتَّمْثِيلِ ، فَقَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : فَاذْكُرُونِي مُتَّصِلٌ بِقَوْلِهِ : ( كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِيكُمْ رَسُولًا مِنْكُمْ ) ( فَاذْكُرُونِي ) ( وَاشْكُرُوا لِي ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 151 - 152 ، وَالْمَعْنَى كَمِثْلِ مَا أَرْسَلْتُ فِيكُمْ رَسُولًا مِنْكُمْ فَاشْكُرُوا لِي ، وَالْعَرَبُ تَكْتَفِي مِنْ مِثْلٍ بِالْكَافِ كَمَا اكْتَفَتْ مِنْ سَوْفَ بِالسِّينِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

khurūjun min lafẓi al-mujāzāti litaḥqīqi al-ʾamri wataʿẓīmi al-shukri liʾanna al-fāʾa li-l-sharṭi walā jazāʾa wa-al-kāfa al-mutaqaddimata li-l-tamthīli , faqawluhu taʿālā : fa-dhkurūnī muttaṣilun biqawlihi : ( kamā ʾarsalnā fīkum rasūlan minkum ) ( fa-dhkurūnī ) ( wa-shkurū lī ) al-baqaratu : 151 - 152 , wa-al-maʿnā kamithli mā ʾarsaltu fīkum rasūlan minkum fa-shkurū lī , wa-al-ʿarabu taktafī min mithlin bi-al-kāfi kamā iktafat min sawfa bi-al-sīni fī qawlihi taʿālā :

departs from the wording of reciprocation to establish the command and magnify gratitude. For the fāʾ is for the condition and its recompense, while the preceding kāf is for comparison. His saying, exalted is He, “Remember Me,” is connected to His saying: “Just as We sent among you a messenger from yourselves,” “Remember Me,” and “Give thanks to Me” (al-Baqara 2:151–152). The meaning is: “In correspondence with My sending among you a messenger from yourselves, give thanks to Me.” The Arabs suffice with kāf in place of “like,” just as they suffice with sīn in place of sawfa, “shall,” in His saying, exalted is He:

( سَنُؤْتِيهِمْ ) ( سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُمْ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 182 وَهَذَا تَفْضِيلٌ لِلشُّكْرِ عَظِيمٌ لَا يَعْلَمُهُ إِلَّا الْعُلَمَاءُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي أَخْبَارِ أَيُّوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَيْهِ : إِنِّي رَضِيتُ بِالشُّكْرِ مُكَافَأَةً مِنْ أَوْلِيَائِي فِي كَلَامٍ طَوِيلٍ ، وَفِي أَحَدِ الْوُجُوهِ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( لَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ :

( sanuʾtīhim ) ( sanastadrijuhum ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 182 wa-hādhā tafḍīlun li-l-shukri ʿaẓīmun lā yaʿlamuhu ʾillā al-ʿulamāʾu bi-Allāhi taʿālā . waqad rawaynā fī ʾakhbāri ʾayyūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu : ʾinna Allāha taʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilayhi : ʾinnī raḍītu bi-al-shukri mukāfaʾatan min ʾawliyāʾī fī kalāmin ṭawīlin , wafī ʾaḥadi al-wujūhi min qawlihi ʿazza wajalla : ( laʾaqʿudanna lahum ṣirāṭaka al-mustaqīma ) al-ʾaʿrāfu :

“We shall give them,” and “We shall lead them on gradually” (al-Aʿrāf 7:182). This is a great distinction for gratitude, known only to those who know God, exalted is He. We have related in the accounts of Job, peace be upon him, that God, exalted is He, revealed to him: “I am content with gratitude as recompense from My friends,” in a long discourse. In one interpretation of His saying, mighty and majestic, “I shall lie in wait for them on Your straight path” (al-Aʿrāf 7:

16 ، قَالَ : طَرِيقُ الشُّكْرِ ، فَلَوْلَا أَنَّ الشُّكْرَ طَرِيقٌ يُوصِلُ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَمَا عَوَّلَ الْعَدُوُّ عَلَى قَطْعِهِ وَلَوْلَا أَنَّ الشَّاكِرَ حَبِيبُ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ مَا نَقَصَهُ إِبْلِيسُ اللَّعِينُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 17 وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَقَلِيلٌ مِنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ ) سَبَأُ : 13 ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى :

16 , qāla : ṭarīqu al-shukri , falawlā ʾanna al-shukra ṭarīqun yūṣilu ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā lamā ʿawwala al-ʿaduwwu ʿalā qaṭʿihi walawlā ʾanna al-shākira ḥabību rabbi al-ʿālamīna mā naqaṣahu ʾiblīsu al-laʿīnu fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( walā tajidu ʾaktharahum shākirīna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 17 wa-kadhālika qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( waqalīlun min ʿibādiya al-shakūru ) sabaʾu : 13 , kamā qāla taʿālā :

16), he said: “The path of gratitude.” Had gratitude not been a path leading to God, exalted is He, the enemy would not have relied on cutting it off. Had the grateful person not been beloved of the Lord of all worlds, the accursed Iblīs would not have disparaged him in His saying, exalted is He: “You will not find most of them grateful” (al-Aʿrāf 7:17). Likewise God, exalted is He, said: “Few of My servants are abundantly grateful” (Sabaʾ 34:13), as He, exalted is He, said:

( وَلَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِبْلِيسُ ظَنَّهُ فَاتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِيقًا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ) سَبَأُ : 20 ، وَقَدْ قَطَعَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالْمَزِيدِ مَعَ الشُّكْرِ وَلَمْ يَسْتَثْنِ فِيهِ وَاسْتَثْنَى فِي خَمْسَةِ أَشْيَاءَ : فِي الْإِغْنَاءِ ، وَالْإِجَابَةِ ، وَالرِّزْقِ ، وَالْمَغْفِرَةِ ، وَالتَّوْبَةِ ، فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَسَوْفَ يُغْنِيكُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ إِنْ شَاءَ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 28 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى :

( walaqad ṣaddaqa ʿalayhim ʾiblīsu ẓannahu fa-ttabaʿūhu ʾillā farīqan mina al-muʾminīna ) sabaʾu : 20 , waqad qaṭaʿa Allāhu taʿālā bi-al-mazīdi maʿa al-shukri walam yastathni fīhi wa-stathnā fī khamsati ʾashyāʾa : fī al-ʾighnāʾi , wa-al-ʾijābati , wa-al-rizqi , wa-al-maghfirati , wa-al-tawbati , faqāla taʿālā : ( fasawfa yughnīkumu Allāhu min faḍlihi ʾin shāʾa ) al-tawbatu : 28 waqāla taʿālā :

“Iblīs indeed proved his conjecture about them true, and they followed him, except a group of the believers” (Sabaʾ 34:20). God, exalted is He, assured an increase with gratitude and made no qualification in it, whereas He qualified five things: enrichment, answering, provision, forgiveness, and turning in mercy. He, exalted is He, said: “God will enrich you from His bounty, if He wills” (al-Tawba 9:28). He, exalted is He, said:

( فَيَكْشِفُ مَا تَدْعُونَ إِلَيْهِ إِنْ شَاءَ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 41 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( يَرْزُقُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 212 ( وَيَغْفِرُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 40 ، وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( ثُمَّ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ عَلَى مَنْ يَشَاءُ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 27 ، وَخَتَمَ بِالْمَزِيدِ عِنْدَ الشُّكْرِ مِنْ غَيْرِ اسْتِثْنَاءٍ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى :

( fayakshifu mā tadʿūna ʾilayhi ʾin shāʾa ) al-ʾanʿāmu : 41 , waqāla taʿālā : ( yarzuqu man yashāʾu ) al-baqaratu : 212 ( wayaghfiru liman yashāʾu ) al-māʾidatu : 40 , waqāla ʿazza wajalla : ( thumma yatūbu Allāhu min baʿdi dhālika ʿalā man yashāʾu ) al-tawbatu : 27 , wakhatama bi-al-mazīdi ʿinda al-shukri min ghayri istithnāʾin faqāla taʿālā :

“He removes that for which you call upon Him, if He wills” (al-Anʿām 6:41). He, exalted is He, said: “He provides for whom He wills” (al-Baqara 2:212), and “He forgives whom He wills” (al-Māʾida 5:40). He, mighty and majestic, said: “Then, after that, God turns in mercy toward whom He wills” (al-Tawba 9:27). But He concluded with an increase upon gratitude, without qualification, saying, exalted is He:

( لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ) إِبْرَاهِيمُ : 7 ، فَالشَّاكِرُ عَلَى مَزِيدٍ وَالشَّكُورُ فِي نِهَايَةِ الْمَزِيدِ وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَكْثُرُ شُكْرُهُ عَلَى الْقَلِيلِ مِنَ الْعَطَاءِ وَيَتَكَرَّرُ مِنْهُ الشُّكْرُ وَالثَّنَاءُ عَلَى الشَّيْءِ الْوَاحِدِ مِنَ النِّعَمِ وَهَذَا خُلُقٌ مِنْ أَخْلَاقِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ لِأَنَّهُ سَمَّاهُ بِاسْمٍ مِنْ أَسْمَائِهِ وَالْمَزِيدُ هُوَ إِلَى الْمُنْعِمِ يَجْعَلُهُ مَا شَاءَ ، فَأَفْضَلُ الْمَزِيدِ حُسْنُ الْيَقِينِ وَمُشَاهَدَةُ الْأَوْصَافِ ، وَأَوَّلُ الْمَزِيدِ شُهُودُ النِّعَمِ ،

( laʾin shakartum laʾazīdannakum ) ʾibrāhīmu : 7 , fa-al-shākiru ʿalā mazīdin wa-al-shakūru fī nihāyati al-mazīdi wahuwa alladhī yakthuru shukruhu ʿalā al-qalīli mina al-ʿaṭāʾi wayatakarraru minhu al-shukru wa-al-thanāʾu ʿalā al-shayʾi al-wāḥidi mina al-niʿami wa-hādhā khuluqun min ʾakhlāqi al-rubūbiyyati liʾannahu sammāhu bi-smin min ʾasmāʾihi wa-al-mazīdu huwa ʾilā al-munʿimi yajʿaluhu mā shāʾa , faʾafḍalu al-mazīdi ḥusnu al-yaqīni wamushāhadatu al-ʾawṣāfi , waʾawwalu al-mazīdi shuhūdu al-niʿami ,

“If you give thanks, I shall surely increase you” (Ibrāhīm 14:7). The grateful person receives an increase, while the abundantly grateful person attains the utmost increase. He is the one whose gratitude is abundant for a small gift, and from whom gratitude and praise recur for one single blessing. This is a trait among the traits of lordship, because He has named him with one of His names. The increase belongs to the Benefactor: He makes it whatever He wills. The best increase is beautiful certainty and witnessing the attributes; the first increase is witnessing blessings,

إِنَّهَا مِنَ الْمُنْعِمِ بِهَا مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ وَلَا قُوَّةٍ إِلَّا بِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَأَوْسَطُ الْمَزِيدِ دَوَامُ الْحَالِ وَمُتَابَعَةُ الْخِدْمَةِ وَالِاسْتِعْمَالِ ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ الْمَزِيدُ أَخْلَاقًا وَقَدْ يَكُونُ عُلُومًا وَقَدْ يَكُونُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَتَثْبِيتًا عِنْدَ فِرَاقِ الْعَاجِلَةِ ، وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الشُّكْرَ مِفْتَاحَ كَلَامِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ وَخِتَامَ تَمَنِّيهِمْ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي صَدَقَنَا وَعْدَهُ ) الزُّمَرُ :

ʾinnahā mina al-munʿimi bihā min ghayri ḥawlin walā quwwatin ʾillā bihi ʿazza wajalla , waʾawsaṭu al-mazīdi dawāmu al-ḥāli wamutābaʿatu al-khidmati wa-al-istiʿmāli , waqad yakūnu al-mazīdu ʾakhlāqan waqad yakūnu ʿulūman waqad yakūnu fī al-ʾākhirati watathbītan ʿinda firāqi al-ʿājilati , waqad jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā al-shukra miftāḥa kalāmi ʾahli al-jannati wakhitāma tamannīhim fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( al-ḥamdu li-llāhi alladhī ṣadaqanā waʿdahu ) al-zumaru :

that they come from their Benefactor, without any power or strength except through Him, mighty and majestic. The middle degree of increase is constancy of the state and continuity of service and being employed in it. The increase may consist of character traits, or knowledge; it may be in the next world, or firmness when leaving this transitory life. God, exalted is He, made gratitude the opening of the speech of the Garden's people and the conclusion of their aspirations, in His saying, exalted is He: “Praise belongs to God, who has fulfilled His promise to us” (al-Zumar 39:

74 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَآخِرُ دَعْوَاهُمْ أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ) يُونُسُ : 10 ، فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ أَحَبُّ الْأَعْمَالِ إِلَيْهِ مَا بَقَّاهُ عَلَيْهِمْ لَدَيْهِ . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي مُنَاجَاةِ أَيُّوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَيْهِ فِي صِفَةِ الصَّابِرِينَ دَارُهُمْ دَارُ السَّلَامِ إِذَا دَخَلُوهَا أَلْهَمْتُهُمُ الشُّكْرَ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْكَلَامِ وَعِنْدَ الشُّكْرِ أَسْتَزِيدُهُمْ

74 , waqāla taʿālā : ( waʾākhiru daʿwāhum ʾani al-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi al-ʿālamīna ) yūnusu : 10 , falawlā ʾannahu ʾaḥabbu al-ʾaʿmāli ʾilayhi mā baqqāhu ʿalayhim ladayhi . warawaynā fī munājāti ʾayyūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu : ʾinna Allāha taʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilayhi fī ṣifati al-ṣābirīna dāruhum dāru al-salāmi ʾidhā dakhalūhā ʾalhamtuhumu al-shukra wahuwa khayru al-kalāmi waʿinda al-shukri ʾastazīduhum

74). He, exalted is He, said: “The conclusion of their call is: Praise belongs to God, Lord of all worlds” (Yūnus 10:10). Had it not been the dearest of deeds to Him, He would not have kept it incumbent upon them in His presence. We have related in Job's intimate converse, peace be upon him, that God, exalted is He, revealed to him concerning the patient: “Their abode is the Abode of Peace. When they enter it, I inspire them with gratitude, which is the best speech. Upon gratitude I ask them for more,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٤٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 342

Volume One, page 342

وَبِالنَّظَرِ إِلَيَّ أَزِيدُهُمْ وَهَذَا غَايَةُ الْفَضْلِ ، فَأَوَّلُ الشُّكْرِ مَعْرِفَةُ النِّعَمِ ، إِنَّهَا مِنَ الْمَوْلَى وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ فِيهَا ، وَلَا ظَهِيرَ لَهُ عَلَيْهَا ، إِذْ قَدْ نَفَى ذَلِكَ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ لِأَنَّهُ هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ، لَا شَيْءَ مَعَهُ وَلَا ظَهِيرَ لَهُ فِي شَيْءٍ إِذْ قَدْ جَعَلَ الضَّرَّاءَ وَالسَّرَّاءَ مِنْهُ وَإِلَيْهِ جَارِيَيْنِ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى :

wabi-al-naẓari ʾilayya ʾazīduhum wa-hādhā ghāyatu al-faḍli , faʾawwalu al-shukri maʿrifatu al-niʿami , ʾinnahā mina al-mawlā waḥdahu lā sharīka lahu fīhā , walā ẓahīra lahu ʿalayhā , ʾidh qad nafā dhālika ʿan nafsihi liʾannahu huwa al-ʾawwalu fī kulli shayʾin , lā shayʾa maʿahu walā ẓahīra lahu fī shayʾin ʾidh qad jaʿala al-ḍarrāʾa wa-al-sarrāʾa minhu waʾilayhi jāriyayni ʿalā ʿibādihi faqāla taʿālā :

and through looking upon Me I increase them.” This is the utmost excellence. The beginning of gratitude is recognizing blessings: that they come from the Master alone, with no partner in them and no helper in bestowing them. He has denied that of Himself, for He is the First in everything: nothing is with Him and He has no helper in anything. He has made adversity and prosperity come from Him and return to Him, both passing over His servants. He, exalted is He, said:

( وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِنْ شِرْكٍ وَمَا لَهُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ ظَهِيرٍ ) سَبَأُ : 22 ، الشِّرْكُ الْخَلْطُ وَالظَّهِيرُ الْمُعِينُ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى ( وَمَا بِكُمْ مِنْ نِعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ إِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الضُّرُّ فَإِلَيْهِ تَجْئَرُونَ ) النَّحْلُ : 53 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَإِنْ يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُ إِلَّا هُوَ وَإِنْ يَمْسَسْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ) الْأَنْعَامُ :

( wamā lahum fīhimā min shirkin wamā lahu minhum min ẓahīrin ) sabaʾu : 22 , al-shirku al-khalṭu wa-al-ẓahīru al-muʿīnu , thumma qāla taʿālā ( wamā bikum min niʿmatin famina Allāhi thumma ʾidhā massakumu al-ḍurru faʾilayhi tajʾarūna ) al-naḥlu : 53 , waqāla taʿālā : ( waʾin yamsaska Allāhu biḍurrin falā kāshifa lahu ʾillā huwa waʾin yamsaska bikhayrin fahuwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīrun ) al-ʾanʿāmu :

“They have no share in either, and He has no helper among them” (Sabaʾ 34:22). A share is participation, and a helper is an assistant. Then He, exalted is He, said: “Whatever blessing you have is from God; then, when harm touches you, to Him you cry for help” (al-Naḥl 16:53). He, exalted is He, said: “If God touches you with harm, none removes it but He; and if He touches you with good, He has power over everything” (al-Anʿām 6:

17 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي جُمَلِ النِّعَمِ بَعْدَ إِضَافَتِهَا إِلَيْهِ : ( وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مِنْهُ ) الْجَاثِيَةُ : 13 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً ) لُقْمَانُ : 20 ، فَالْأَسْبَابُ مَعَ صِحَّتِهَا وَالْأَوَاسِطُ مَعَ ثُبُوتِهَا إِنَّمَا هِيَ حُكْمُهُ وَأَحْكَامُهُ ،

17 , waqāla taʿālā fī jumali al-niʿami baʿda ʾiḍāfatihā ʾilayhi : ( wasakhkhara lakum mā fī al-samāwāti wamā fī al-ʾarḍi jamīʿan minhu ) al-jāthiyatu : 13 , waqāla taʿālā : ( waʾasbagha ʿalaykum niʿamahu ẓāhiratan wabāṭinatan ) luqmānu : 20 , fa-al-ʾasbābu maʿa ṣiḥḥatihā wa-al-ʾawāsiṭu maʿa thubūtihā ʾinnamā hiya ḥukmuhu waʾaḥkāmuhu ,

17). He, exalted is He, said concerning blessings collectively, after attributing them to Himself: “He has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, all from Him” (al-Jāthiya 45:13). He, exalted is He, said: “He has lavished His blessings upon you, outward and inward” (Luqmān 31:20). Thus causes, despite their validity, and intermediaries, despite their established existence, are only His judgment and His ordinances.

فَظُرُوفُ الْعَطَاءِ وَآثَارُ الْمُعْطِي لَا تُؤَثِّرُ فِي الْحُكْمِ بِهَا وَالْجَعْلِ لَهَا حُكْمًا وَلَا جَعْلًا يَعْنِي لَا تَحْكُمُ وَلَا تَجْعَلُ لِأَنَّهَا مَحْكُومَاتٌ فَكَيْفَ تَحْكُمُ وَمَجْعُولَاتٌ فَكَيْفَ تَجْعَلُ لَا حَاكِمَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ وَلَا يُشْرِكُ فِي حُكْمِهِ أَحَدًا وَهَذَا الْحَرْفُ فِي مَقْرَأِ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ أَبْلَغُ وَأَوْكَدُ لِأَنَّهُ يَخْرُجُ عَلَى الْأَمْرِ لِأَنَّهُمْ قَرَؤُوهُ بِالتَّاءِ وَجَزْمِ الْكَافِ وَلَا تُشْرِكْ فِي حُكْمِهِ أَحَدًا ،

faẓurūfu al-ʿaṭāʾi waʾāthāru al-muʿṭī lā tuʾaththiru fī al-ḥukmi bihā wa-al-jaʿli lahā ḥukman walā jaʿlan yaʿnī lā taḥkumu walā tajʿalu liʾannahā maḥkūmātun fakayfa taḥkumu wamajʿūlātun fakayfa tajʿalu lā ḥākima ʾillā Allāhu waḥdahu walā yushriku fī ḥukmihi ʾaḥadan wa-hādhā al-ḥarfu fī maqraʾi ʾahli al-shāmi ʾablaghu waʾawkadu liʾannahu yakhruju ʿalā al-ʾamri liʾannahum qaraʾūhu bi-al-tāʾi wajazmi al-kāfi walā tushrik fī ḥukmihi ʾaḥadan ,

The vessels of the gift and the effects of the Giver exercise no judgment or making in the judging through them and the appointing of them. That is, they neither judge nor make, for they are themselves judged, so how could they judge? They are themselves made, so how could they make? There is no judge but God alone, and He associates no one in His judgment. This expression is more emphatic and forceful in the recitation of the people of Syria, because it takes the form of a command: they read it with tāʾ and a vowelless kāf, “Do not associate anyone in His judgment.”

فَالْأَسْبَابُ أَحْكَامُ حَقٍّ وَأَوَاسِطُ حُكْمِهِ فَمُشَاهَدَةُ الْمُنْعِمِ فِي النِّعْمَةِ وَظُهُورُ الْمُعْطِي عِنْدَ الْعَطَاءِ حَتَّى تَرَى النِّعْمَةَ مِنْهُ وَالْعَطَاءَ عَنْهُ هُوَ شُكْرُ الْقَلْبِ لِأَنَّ الشُّكْرَ عِنْدَ الشَّاكِرِينَ مَعْرِفَةُ الْقَلْبِ وَوَصْفَةُ لَا وَصْفَ اللِّسَانِ ، وَقَدْ أَخْبَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِذَلِكَ وَأَمَرَ بِاقْتِنَاءِ الشُّكْرِ وَإِتِّخَاذِهِ مَالًا فِي الْآخِرَةِ عِوَضًا مِنْ إِاقْتِنَاءِ الْأَمْوَالِ فِي الدُّنْيَا ، فَقَالَ فِي حَدِيثِ ثَوْبَانَ وَعُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا :

fa-al-ʾasbābu ʾaḥkāmu ḥaqqin waʾawāsiṭu ḥukmihi famushāhadatu al-munʿimi fī al-niʿmati waẓuhūru al-muʿṭī ʿinda al-ʿaṭāʾi ḥattā tarā al-niʿmata minhu wa-al-ʿaṭāʾa ʿanhu huwa shukru al-qalbi liʾanna al-shukra ʿinda al-shākirīna maʿrifatu al-qalbi wawaṣfatu lā waṣfa al-lisāni , waqad ʾakhbara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bi-dhālika waʾamara bi-qtināʾi al-shukri waʾittikhādhihi mālan fī al-ʾākhirati ʿiwaḍan min ʾiqtināʾi al-ʾamwāli fī al-dunyā , faqāla fī ḥadīthi thawbāna waʿumara bni al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā :

Causes are true ordinances and intermediaries of His judgment. Witnessing the Benefactor in the blessing, and the Giver's manifestation at the gift, until you see that the blessing comes from Him and the gift proceeds from Him, is the heart's gratitude. Among the grateful, gratitude is the heart's knowledge and quality, not the tongue's description. God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, told of this and commanded acquiring gratitude and taking it as wealth in the next world in place of acquiring wealth in this world. In the report of Thawbān and ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, God be pleased with them both, he said:

حِينَ نَزَلَ فِي الْكُنُوزِ مَا نَزَلَ سَأَلَهُ عُمَرُ : أَيُّ الْمَالِ نَتَّخِذُ ؟ فَقَالَ : لَيَتَّخِذَنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ لِسَانًا ذَاكِرًا وَقَلْبًا شَاكِرًا . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي أَخْبَارِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَدَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : يَا رَبِّ كَيْفَ أَشْكُرُكَ وَأَنَا لَا أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَشْكُرَكَ إِلَّا بِنِعْمَةٍ ثَانِيَةٍ مِنْ نِعَمِكَ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : وَشُكْرِي لَكَ نِعْمَةٌ أُخْرَى مِنْكَ تُوجِبُ عَلَيَّ الشُّكْرَ لَكَ فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ إِذَا عَرَفْتَ هَذَا فَقَدْ شَكَرْتَنِي ،

ḥīna nazala fī al-kunūzi mā nazala saʾalahu ʿumaru : ʾayyu al-māli nattakhidhu ? faqāla : layattakhidhanna ʾaḥadukum lisānan dhākiran waqalban shākiran . warawaynā fī ʾakhbāri mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu wa-dāwūda ʿalayhi al-salāmu : yā rabbi kayfa ʾashkuruka waʾanā lā ʾastaṭīʿu ʾan ʾashkuraka ʾillā biniʿmatin thāniyatin min niʿamika , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara : washukrī laka niʿmatun ʾukhrā minka tūjibu ʿalayya al-shukra laka faʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi ʾidhā ʿarafta hādhā faqad shakartanī ,

When what was revealed about hoarded treasures was revealed, ʿUmar asked him: “What wealth should we acquire?” He said: “Let each of you acquire a remembering tongue and a grateful heart.” We have related in the accounts of Moses, peace be upon him, and David, peace be upon him: “Lord, how can I thank You when I cannot thank You except through a second blessing among Your blessings?” In another wording: “My gratitude to You is another blessing from You, obliging me to thank You.” God, exalted is He, revealed to him: “When you recognize this, you have thanked Me.”

وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ : إِذَا عَرَفْتَ أَنَّ النِّعَمَ مِنِّي فَقَدْ رَضِيتُ مِنْكَ بِذَلِكَ شُكْرًا وَشُكْرُ اللِّسَانِ حُسْنُ الثَّنَاءِ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَكَثْرَةُ الْحَمْدِ وَالْمَدْحِ لَهُ وَإِظْهَارُ إِنْعَامِهِ وَإِكْرَامِهِ وَنَشْرُ أَيَادِيهِ وَإِحْسَانِهِ وَأَنْ لَا يَشْكُوَ لِمَالِكٍ إِلَى الْمَمْلُوكِ وَلَا الْمَعْبُودَ الْجَلِيلَ إِلَى الْعَبْدِ الذَّلِيلِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لِرَجُلٍ : كَيْفَ أَصْبَحْتَ قَالَ :

wafī khabarin ʾākhara : ʾidhā ʿarafta ʾanna al-niʿama minnī faqad raḍītu minka bi-dhālika shukran washukru al-lisāni ḥusnu al-thanāʾi ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā wakathratu al-ḥamdi wa-al-madḥi lahu waʾiẓhāru ʾinʿāmihi waʾikrāmihi wanashru ʾayādīhi waʾiḥsānihi waʾan lā yashkuwa limālikin ʾilā al-mamlūki walā al-maʿbūda al-jalīla ʾilā al-ʿabdi al-dhalīli , wafī al-khabari : ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla lirajulin : kayfa ʾaṣbaḥta qāla :

In another report: “When you recognize that blessings come from Me, I am content with that from you as gratitude.” The tongue's gratitude is beautiful praise of God, exalted is He, abundant thanksgiving and commendation of Him, displaying His beneficence and generosity, publicizing His favors and goodness, and not complaining of a master to one who is owned, or of the majestic Object of worship to a lowly servant. In the report, the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said to a man: “How have you awoken?” He said:

بِخَيْرٍ فَأَعَادَ عَلَيْهِ النَّبِيُّ السَّلَامُ السُّؤَالَ ثَانِيَةً كَيْفَ أَنْتَ ؟ فَقَالَ : بِخَيْرٍ فَأَعَادَ عَلَيْهِ الثَّالِثَةَ كَيْفَ أَنْتَ ؟ فَقَالَ : بِخَيْرٍ أَحْمَدُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَأَشْكُرُهُ ، فَقَالَ : هَذَا الَّذِي أَرَدْتُ مِنْكَ يَعْنِي إِظْهَارَ الْحَمْدِ وَالشُّكْرِ وَالثَّنَاءِ ، وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ السَّلَفُ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ عَنْ أَحْوَالِهِمْ إِذَا الْتَقَوْا لِيَسْتَخْرِجُوا بِذَلِكَ حَمْدًا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَشُكْرَهُ فَيَكُونُوا شُرَكَاءَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّهُمْ سَبَبُ ذِكْرِهِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى فَمَنْ عَلِمْتَ أَنَّهُ يَشْكُو مَوْلَاهُ

bikhayrin faʾaʿāda ʿalayhi al-nabiyyu al-salāmu al-suʾāla thāniyatan kayfa ʾanta ? faqāla : bikhayrin faʾaʿāda ʿalayhi al-thālithata kayfa ʾanta ? faqāla : bikhayrin ʾaḥmadu Allāha taʿālā waʾashkuruhu , faqāla : hādhā alladhī ʾaradtu minka yaʿnī ʾiẓhāra al-ḥamdi wa-al-shukri wa-al-thanāʾi , waʾinnamā kāna al-salafu yatasāʾalūna ʿan ʾaḥwālihim ʾidhā iltaqaw liyastakhrijū bi-dhālika ḥamdan li-llāhi taʿālā washukrahu fayakūnū shurakāʾahu fī dhālika liʾannahum sababu dhikrihi li-llāhi taʿālā faman ʿalimta ʾannahu yashkū mawlāhu

“Well.” The Prophet, peace be upon him, repeated the question to him a second time: “How are you?” He said: “Well.” He repeated it to him a third time: “How are you?” He said: “Well; I praise God, exalted is He, and thank Him.” He said: “This is what I wanted from you,” meaning the expression of praise, gratitude, and commendation. The predecessors used to ask one another about their condition when they met only to draw forth through this praise and gratitude to God, exalted is He, and thus share with the speaker in it, because they were the cause of his remembrance of God, exalted is He. As for someone whom you know will complain of his Master

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٤٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 343

Volume One, page 343

وَيَتَكَرَّهُ عِنْدَكَ قَضَاءَهُ إِذَا سَأَلْتَهُ عَنْ حَالِهِ فَلَا تَسْأَلْهُ فَتَكُونَ أَنْتَ سَبَبَ شَكْوَاهُ وَشَرِيكَهُ فِي جَهْلِهِ ، وَمَا أَقْبَحَ بِالْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَشْكُوَ الْمَوْلَى الَّذِي لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَالَّذِي بِيَدِهِ مَلَكُوتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ إِلَى عَبْدٍ مَمْلُوكٍ لَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ ، وَمِنَ الشُّكْرِ أَنْ يَشْكُرَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَلَى الْيَسِيرِ لِأَنَّ الْقَلِيلَ مِنَ الْحَبِيبِ كَثِيرٌ وَلِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى حَكِيمٌ فَمَنْعُهُ حِكْمَةٌ وَقُدْرَةٌ ،

wayatakarrahu ʿindaka qaḍāʾahu ʾidhā saʾaltahu ʿan ḥālihi falā tasʾalhu fatakūna ʾanta sababa shakwāhu washarīkahu fī jahlihi , wamā ʾaqbaḥa bi-al-ʿabdi ʾan yashkuwa al-mawlā alladhī laysa kamithlihi shayʾun wa-alladhī biyadihi malakūtu kulli shayʾin ʾilā ʿabdin mamlūkin lā yaqdiru ʿalā shayʾin , wamina al-shukri ʾan yashkura Allāha taʿālā ʿalā al-yasīri liʾanna al-qalīla mina al-ḥabībi kathīrun waliʾanna Allāha taʿālā ḥakīmun famanʿuhu ḥikmatun waqudratun ,

and express aversion to His decree before you when you ask about his condition, do not ask him, lest you become the cause of his complaint and his partner in his ignorance. How ugly for a servant to complain of the Master, like whom there is nothing and in whose hand is the dominion of everything, to an owned servant who has power over nothing! Gratitude includes thanking God, exalted is He, for a little, because a little from the Beloved is much, and because God, exalted is He, is wise: His withholding is wisdom and power.

فَإِذَا عَرَفَ وَجْهَ الْحِكْمَةِ فِي الْمَنْعِ مَعَ الْقُدْرَةِ عَلَى الْعَطَاءِ عَلِمَ أَنَّهُ مَنَعَهُ لِيُعْطِيَهُ فَثَمَّ صَارَ الْمَنْعُ عَطَاءً وَالْيَسِيرُ مِنْهُ كَثِيرًا ، وَيَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الذُّلَّ وَالصَّبْرَ عِنْدَ الْمَنْعِ عِزٌّ وَشَرَفٌ ، وَهُوَ أَفْضَلُ وَأَنْفَسُ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مِنَ التَّعَزُّزِ بِالْعَبِيدِ وَالشَّرَفِ بِهِمْ ، وَأَنَّ الطَّمَعَ وَالتَّذَلُّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَالِاسْتِشْرَافَ إِلَى عَبْدٍ مَمْلُوكٍ مِثْلَكَ ذُلٌّ ذَلِيلٌ وَحُسْنُ الذُّلِّ لِلْعَزِيزِ كَحُسْنِ الذُّلِّ لِلْحَبِيبِ وَقُبْحُ الذُّلِّ لِلذَّلِيلِ كَقُبْحِ الذُّلِّ لِلْعَدُوِّ .

faʾidhā ʿarafa wajha al-ḥikmati fī al-manʿi maʿa al-qudrati ʿalā al-ʿaṭāʾi ʿalima ʾannahu manaʿahu liyuʿṭiyahu fathamma ṣāra al-manʿu ʿaṭāʾan wa-al-yasīru minhu kathīran , wayaʿlamu ʾanna al-dhulla wa-al-ṣabra ʿinda al-manʿi ʿizzun washarafun , wahuwa ʾafḍalu waʾanfasu ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi mina al-taʿazzuzi bi-al-ʿabīdi wa-al-sharafi bihim , waʾanna al-ṭamaʿa wa-al-tadhallula ʾilayhim wa-al-istishrāfa ʾilā ʿabdin mamlūkin mithlaka dhullun dhalīlun waḥusnu al-dhulli li-l-ʿazīzi kaḥusni al-dhulli li-l-ḥabībi waqubḥu al-dhulli li-l-dhalīli kaqubḥi al-dhulli li-l-ʿaduwwi .

When he recognizes the aspect of wisdom in withholding while possessing the power to give, he knows that He withheld from him in order to give to him. Then withholding becomes giving, and a little from Him becomes much. He knows that lowliness and patience when something is withheld are honor and nobility, better and more precious to the learned than seeking power and nobility through servants. Coveting what they possess, abasing oneself before them, and looking expectantly to an owned servant like yourself are abject abasement. The beauty of lowliness before the Mighty is like the beauty of lowliness before the Beloved, and the ugliness of lowliness before the lowly is like the ugliness of lowliness before an enemy.

وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ لَكُمْ رِزْقًا فَابْتَغُوا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الرِّزْقَ وَاعْبُدُوهُ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 17 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي مَعْنَاهُ : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ عِبَادٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 194 ،

waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( ʾinna alladhīna taʿbudūna min dūni Allāhi lā yamlikūna lakum rizqan fa-btaghū ʿinda Allāhi al-rizqa wa-ʿbudūhu ) al-ʿankabūtu : 17 , waqāla taʿālā fī maʿnāhu : ( ʾinna alladhīna tadʿūna min dūni Allāhi ʿibādun ʾamthālukum ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 194 ,

God, exalted is He, has said: “Those you worship apart from God possess no provision for you. Seek provision with God, and worship Him” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:17). He, exalted is He, said with the same meaning: “Those you call upon apart from God are servants like yourselves” (al-Aʿrāf 7:194).

وَالْعِبَادَةُ هِيَ الْخِدْمَةُ وَالطَّاعَةُ بِذُلٍّ وَلَا يَحْسُنُ لِلْعَبْدِ الْمُقْبِلِ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ فَقْرَهُ وَفَاقَتَهُ إِلَى غَيْرِ مَوْلَاهُ الَّذِي يَلِي تَدْبِيرَهُ وَيَتَوَلَّاهُ لِأَنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ بِحَالِهِ يَسْمَعُهُ وَيَرَاهُ فَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يُصْلِحُهُ مِنْهُ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي مَعْنَاهُ : ( وَلَوْ بَسَطَ اللَّهُ الرِّزْقَ لِعِبَادِهِ لَبَغَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ ) الشُّورَى : 27 ،

wa-al-ʿibādatu hiya al-khidmatu wa-al-ṭāʿatu bidhullin walā yaḥsunu li-l-ʿabdi al-muqbili ʾan yuẓhira faqrahu wafāqatahu ʾilā ghayri mawlāhu alladhī yalī tadbīrahu wayatawallāhu liʾannahu ʿalīmun khabīrun biḥālihi yasmaʿuhu wayarāhu fahuwa ʾaʿlamu bimā yuṣliḥuhu minhu , waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā fī maʿnāhu : ( walaw basaṭa Allāhu al-rizqa liʿibādihi labaghaw fī al-ʾarḍi ) al-shūrā : 27 ,

Worship is service and obedience with lowliness. It is not fitting for the servant who turns toward God to display his poverty and need to anyone other than his Master, who directs his affairs and cares for him. For He is knowing and fully aware of his condition, hears and sees him, and knows better than he what will set him right. God, exalted is He, has said concerning this: “If God were to expand provision for His servants, they would transgress on earth” (al-Shūrā 42:27).

فَعَلَى الْمُوقِنِ أَنْ يَشْكُرَ فِي الْقَبْضِ وَالْمَنْعِ كَمَا يَشْكُرُ فِي الْعَطَاءِ وَالْبَسْطِ ثُمَّ يَشْهَدُ الشَّاكِرُ بِقَلْبِهِ شَهَادَةَ يَقِينٍ وَيَعْلَمُ أَنَّ وَصْفَهُ وَصْفُ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ وَحُكْمَهُ أَحْكَامُ الْعَبِيدِ مَحْكُومٌ عَلَيْهِ بِأَحْكَامِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ وَأَنَّهُ لَا يَسْتَحِقُّ عَلَى اللَّهِ شَيْئًا وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَسْتَحِقُّ عَلَيْهِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَالْعَبْدُ خَلْقُهُ وَصَنْعَتُهُ وَالرَّبُّ صَانِعُهُ وَمَالِكُهُ ،

faʿalā al-mūqini ʾan yashkura fī al-qabḍi wa-al-manʿi kamā yashkuru fī al-ʿaṭāʾi wa-al-basṭi thumma yashhadu al-shākiru biqalbihi shahādata yaqīnin wayaʿlamu ʾanna waṣfahu waṣfu al-ʿubūdiyyati waḥukmahu ʾaḥkāmu al-ʿabīdi maḥkūmun ʿalayhi biʾaḥkāmi al-rubūbiyyati waʾannahu lā yastaḥiqqu ʿalā Allāhi shayʾan waʾanna Allāha ʿazza wajalla yastaḥiqqu ʿalayhi kulla shayʾin fa-al-ʿabdu khalquhu waṣanʿatuhu wa-al-rabbu ṣāniʿuhu wamālikuhu ,

The person of certainty must give thanks in constriction and withholding as he gives thanks in giving and expansion. Then the grateful person witnesses in his heart a witnessing of certainty, knowing that his quality is servanthood, his governing condition is that of servants, and he is subject to the ordinances of lordship. He has no claim to anything from God, while God, mighty and majestic, has a claim to everything from him. The servant is His creation and handiwork, and the Lord is his Maker and Owner.

فَإِذَا شَهِدَ الْعَبْدُ هَذِهِ الشَّهَادَةَ رَأَى لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَيْهِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَرَضِيَ مِنْهُ بِأَدْنَى شَيْءٍ وَلَمْ يَرَ لَهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى شَيْئًا فَلَمْ يَقْنَعْ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْهُ بِشَيْءٍ وَلَمْ يُطَالِبْ مَوْلَاهُ بِشَيْءٍ ، فَكَثْرَةُ الذِّكْرِ وَحُسْنُ الثَّنَاءِ وَجَمِيلُ النَّشْرِ لِلنَّعْمَاءِ وَتَعْدِيدُ النِّعَمِ وَالْآلَاءِ هُوَ شُكْرُ اللِّسَانِ لِأَنَّ مَعْنَى الشُّكْرِ فِي اللُّغَةِ هُوَ الْكَشْفُ وَالْإِظْهَارُ يُقَالُ :

faʾidhā shahida al-ʿabdu hādhihi al-shahādata raʾā li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla ʿalayhi kulla shayʾin faraḍiya minhu biʾadnā shayʾin walam yara lahu ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā shayʾan falam yaqnaʿ li-llāhi taʿālā minhu bishayʾin walam yuṭālib mawlāhu bishayʾin , fakathratu al-dhikri waḥusnu al-thanāʾi wajamīlu al-nashri li-l-naʿmāʾi wataʿdīdu al-niʿami wa-al-ʾālāʾi huwa shukru al-lisāni liʾanna maʿnā al-shukri fī al-lughati huwa al-kashfu wa-al-ʾiẓhāru yuqālu :

When the servant witnesses this, he sees that God, mighty and majestic, has a claim to everything from him, so he is content with the least thing from Him. He sees that he has no claim to anything from God, exalted is He, so he is satisfied with nothing from himself for God, exalted is He, and demands nothing of his Master. Abundant remembrance, beautiful commendation, gracious publicizing of beneficence, and enumerating blessings and favors are the tongue's gratitude, because gratitude's linguistic meaning is uncovering and displaying. It is said:

كَثُرَ وَشَكَرَ بِمَعْنًى إِذَا كَشَفَ عَنْ ثَغْرِهِ فَأَظْهَرَهُ فَيَكُونُ إِظْهَارُ الشُّكْرِ وَكَشْفُهُ بِاللِّسَانِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ مِنَ الْأَذْكَارِ يُضَاعَفُ مَا يُضَاعَفُ الْحَمْدُ . وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ : مَنْ قَالَ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ حَسَنَاتٍ ، وَمَنْ قَالَ : لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ فَلَهُ عِشْرُونَ حَسَنَةً ، وَمَنْ قَالَ :

kathura washakara bimaʿnan ʾidhā kashafa ʿan thaghrihi faʾaẓharahu fayakūnu ʾiẓhāru al-shukri wakashfuhu bi-al-lisāni mā dhakarnāhu kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari laysa shayʾun mina al-ʾadhkāri yuḍāʿafu mā yuḍāʿafu al-ḥamdu . wafī al-ḥadīthi : man qāla subḥāna Allāhi falahu ʿashru ḥasanātin , waman qāla : lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu falahu ʿishrūna ḥasanatan , waman qāla :

“Kathura” and “shakara” have one meaning when someone uncovers his teeth and displays them. Thus expressing and uncovering gratitude through the tongue consists of what we have mentioned, as the report states: “No remembrance is multiplied as praise is multiplied.” In the hadith: “Whoever says ‘Glory be to God’ receives ten good deeds; whoever says ‘There is no god but God’ receives twenty good deeds; and whoever says

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ كُتِبَتْ لَهُ ثَلَاثُونَ حَسَنَةً لَيْسَ أَنَّ الْحَمْدَ أَعْلَى مِنَ التَّوْحِيدِ وَلَكِنْ لِفَضْلِ مَقَامِ الشَّاكِرِ وَلِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى افْتَتَحَ بِهِ كَلَامَهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : الْحَمْدُ رِدَاءُ الرَّحْمَنِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ أَفْضَلُ الذِّكْرِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ، وَأَفْضَلُ الدُّعَاءِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ، وَيَكُونُ أَيْضًا ظُهُورُ الشُّكْرِ وَغَلَبَتُهُ فِي الْقَلْبِ شُكْرَ الْقَلْبِ ،

al-ḥamdu li-llāhi kutibat lahu thalāthūna ḥasanatan laysa ʾanna al-ḥamda ʾaʿlā mina al-tawḥīdi wa-lākin lifaḍli maqāmi al-shākiri waliʾanna Allāha taʿālā iftataḥa bihi kalāmahu fī kitābihi , wafī al-khabari : al-ḥamdu ridāʾu al-raḥmāni ʿazza wajalla , wafī al-khabari ʾafḍalu al-dhikri lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu , waʾafḍalu al-duʿāʾi al-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi al-ʿālamīna , wayakūnu ʾayḍan ẓuhūru al-shukri waghalabatuhu fī al-qalbi shukra al-qalbi ,

‘Praise belongs to God’ has thirty good deeds recorded for him.” This is not because praise is higher than affirming oneness, but because of the excellence of the grateful person's station, and because God, exalted is He, opened His speech in His Book with it. In the report: “Praise is the mantle of the All-Merciful, mighty and majestic.” In the report: “The best remembrance is ‘There is no god but God,’ and the best supplication is ‘Praise belongs to God, Lord of all worlds.’” The manifestation and predominance of gratitude in the heart also constitute the heart's gratitude.

وَيَكُونُ شُكْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِعَبْدِهِ كَشْفَهُ لَهُ مَا سَتَرَهُ عَنْهُ وَإِظْهَارُهُ لَهُ مَا حَجَبَهُ مِنْهُ مِنَ الْعُلُومِ وَالْقَدَرِ وَهُوَ الْمَزِيدُ فَيُفِيدُهُ ذَلِكَ حُسْنَ مَعْرِفَتِهِ بِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى وَعُلُوَّ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ مِنْهُ وَكُلُّهُ

wayakūnu shukru Allāhi taʿālā liʿabdihi kashfahu lahu mā satarahu ʿanhu waʾiẓhāruhu lahu mā ḥajabahu minhu mina al-ʿulūmi wa-al-qadari wahuwa al-mazīdu fayufīduhu dhālika ḥusna maʿrifatihi bihi subḥānahu wataʿālā waʿuluwwa mushāhadatihi minhu wakulluhu

God's gratitude to His servant, exalted is He, consists in uncovering for him what He had concealed from him and displaying to him what He had veiled from him of knowledge and destiny. This is the increase. It imparts to him beautiful knowledge of Him, glorified and exalted is He, and exalted witnessing from Him. All of it

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٤٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 344

Volume One, page 344

يَرْجِعُ إِلَى مَعْنَى الْكَشْفِ وَالْإِظْهَارِ ، وَأَمَّا شُكْرُ الْجَوَارِحِ لِلْمُنْعِمِ الْمُفَضِّلِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فَهُوَ أَنْ لَا يَعْصِيَهُ بِنِعْمَةٍ مِنْ نِعَمِهِ وَأَنْ يَسْتَعِينَ بِنِعْمَتِهِ عَلَى طَاعَتِهِ وَلَا يَسْتَعِينَ بِهَا عَلَى مَعَاصِيهِ فَيَكُونَ قَدْ كَفَرَهَا كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ بَدَّلُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ كُفْرًا ) إِبْرَاهِيمُ : 28 ، قِيلَ :

yarjiʿu ʾilā maʿnā al-kashfi wa-al-ʾiẓhāri , waʾammā shukru al-jawāriḥi li-l-munʿimi al-mufaḍḍili subḥānahu wataʿālā fahuwa ʾan lā yaʿṣiyahu biniʿmatin min niʿamihi waʾan yastaʿīna biniʿmatihi ʿalā ṭāʿatihi walā yastaʿīna bihā ʿalā maʿāṣīhi fayakūna qad kafarahā kamā qāla taʿālā : ( ʾalam tara ʾilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran ) ʾibrāhīmu : 28 , qīla :

returns to the meaning of uncovering and displaying. As for the limbs' gratitude to the Benefactor who bestows favors, glorified and exalted is He, it consists in not disobeying Him through any of His blessings, using His blessing to help obey Him, and not using it to help disobey Him, thereby showing ingratitude for it. As He, exalted is He, said: “Have you not seen those who exchanged God's blessing for unbelief?” (Ibrāhīm 14:28). It is said:

اسْتَعَانُوا بِنِعَمِهِ عَلِي مَعَاصِيهِ فَالْخَلْقُ لَا يَقْدِرُونَ عَلَى تَبْدِيلِ نِعْمَةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلَكِنَّ مَعْنَاهُ : بَدَّلُوا شُكْرَ نِعْمَةِ اللَّهِ كُفْرًا وَهَذَا مِنَ الْمُضْمَرِ مَعْنَاهُ لِظُهُورِ دَلِيلِهِ عَلَيْهِ لِأَنَّهُ أَمَرَهُمْ بِالطَّاعَةِ بِالنِّعَمِ فَخَالَفُوهُ فَعَصَوْهُ بِهَا فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ تَبْدِيلَهُمْ لِمَا أُمِرُوا ، وَمِثْلُهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَتَجْعَلُونَ رِزْقَكُمْ أَنَّكُمْ تُكَذِّبُونَ ) الْوَاقِعَةُ :

istaʿānū biniʿamihi ʿalī maʿāṣīhi fa-al-khalqu lā yaqdirūna ʿalā tabdīli niʿmati Allāhi ʿazza wajalla wa-lākinna maʿnāhu : baddalū shukra niʿmati Allāhi kufran wa-hādhā mina al-muḍmari maʿnāhu liẓuhūri dalīlihi ʿalayhi liʾannahu ʾamarahum bi-al-ṭāʿati bi-al-niʿami fakhālafūhu faʿaṣawhu bihā fakāna dhālika tabdīlahum limā ʾumirū , wamithluhu qawluhu taʿālā : ( watajʿalūna rizqakum ʾannakum tukadhdhibūna ) al-wāqiʿatu :

“They used His blessings to help disobey Him.” Creatures cannot change God's blessing, mighty and majestic. Rather, its meaning is: “They exchanged gratitude for God's blessing for unbelief.” This belongs to expressions whose meaning is implicit because the indication of it is manifest: He commanded them to obey Him through blessings, but they opposed Him and disobeyed Him through them. That was their changing what they had been commanded. Similar is His saying, exalted is He: “You make your provision that you deny” (al-Wāqiʿa 56:

82 الْمَعْنَى شُكْرَ رِزْقِكُمْ تَجْعَلُونَهُ تَكْذِيبَكُمْ بِرُسُلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَهَذَا مِنَ الْمَحْذُوفِ أَيْضًا وَهِيَ فِي قِرَاءَةِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مُظْهَرَةٌ مُفَسَّرَةٌ . رَوَيْنَا عَنْهُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : أَنَّهُ قَرَأَ وَتَجْعَلُونَ شُكْرَكُمْ فَهَذَا ظَاهِرٌ وَبِمَعْنَاهُ : وَمَنْ يُبَدِّلْ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ أَيْ يُعَاقِبُ مَنْ كَفَرَ بِالنِّعْمَةِ فَضَيَّعَ شُكْرَهَا بِمَعْصِيَتِهِ بِهَا يُعَاقِبُهُ بِزَوَالِهَا ،

82 al-maʿnā shukra rizqikum tajʿalūnahu takdhībakum birusuli Allāhi taʿālā wa-hādhā mina al-maḥdhūfi ʾayḍan wahiya fī qirāʾati al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama muẓharatun mufassaratun . rawaynā ʿanhu ʿalayhi al-salāmu : ʾannahu qaraʾa watajʿalūna shukrakum fa-hādhā ẓāhirun wabimaʿnāhu : waman yubaddil niʿmata Allāhi min baʿdi mā jāʾathu faʾinna Allāha shadīdu al-ʿiqābi ʾay yuʿāqibu man kafara bi-al-niʿmati faḍayyaʿa shukrahā bimaʿṣiyatihi bihā yuʿāqibuhu bizawālihā ,

82). The meaning is: You make your denial of God's messengers, exalted is He, your gratitude for your provision. This also involves an omission, while in the Prophet's recitation, God bless him and grant him peace, it is explicit and explained. We have related from him, peace be upon him, that he recited: “You make your gratitude.” Thus this is explicit. Similar in meaning is: “Whoever changes God's blessing after it has come to him, God is severe in punishment.” That is, He punishes one who is ungrateful for the blessing and neglects gratitude for it by disobeying Him through it: He punishes him by removing it.

وَكَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَئِنْ كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ ) إِبْرَاهِيمُ : 7 ، قِيلَ : إِنْ كَفَرْتُمُ النِّعْمَةَ فَقَدْ يَكُونُ الْعَذَابُ فِي الدُّنْيَا تَبْدِيلَ النِّعْمَةِ عُقُوبَاتٍ وَتَغْيِيرَهَا هَوَانٍ وَمَذَلَّاتٍ ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ الْعَذَابُ مُؤَجَّلًا كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَامًا ) الْفُرْقَانُ : 65 ، قَالَ : طَالَبَهُمْ عَلَى النِّعَمِ بِالشُّكْرِ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ عِنْدَهُمْ فَأَغْرَمَهُمْ ثَمَنَ النِّعْمَةِ فَحَبَسَهُمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ ،

wa-kadhālika qawluhu taʿālā : ( walaʾin kafartum ʾinna ʿadhābī lashadīdun ) ʾibrāhīmu : 7 , qīla : ʾin kafartumu al-niʿmata faqad yakūnu al-ʿadhābu fī al-dunyā tabdīla al-niʿmati ʿuqūbātin wataghyīrahā hawānin wamadhallātin , waqad yakūnu al-ʿadhābu muʾajjalan kaqawlihi taʿālā : ( ʾinna ʿadhābahā kāna gharāman ) al-furqānu : 65 , qāla : ṭālabahum ʿalā al-niʿami bi-al-shukri falam yakun ʿindahum faʾaghramahum thamana al-niʿmati faḥabasahum fī jahannama ,

Likewise is His saying, exalted is He: “If you are ungrateful, My punishment is indeed severe” (Ibrāhīm 14:7). It is said: “If you are ungrateful for the blessing.” Punishment in this world may consist in changing blessings into punishments and transforming them into humiliation and abasements. Punishment may also be deferred, as in His saying, exalted is He: “Its punishment is indeed an abiding debt” (al-Furqān 25:65). He said: “He demanded gratitude from them for the blessings, but they did not have it, so He charged them the price of the blessing and imprisoned them in Gehenna.”

وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً ) لُقْمَانُ : 20 ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : ( وَذَرُوا ظَاهِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَبَاطِنَهُ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 120 فَفِيهِ تَنْبِيهٌ لِذَوِي الْأَلْبَابِ الَّذِينَ وَصَلَ لَهُمُ الْقَوْلُ لِيَتَذَكَّرُوا أَنْ يَذَرُوا ظَاهِرَ الْإِثْمِ شُكْرَ الظَّاهِرِ النِّعَمِ ، وَيَذَرُوا بَاطِنَ الْإِثْمِ شُكْرَ الْبَاطِنِ النِّعَمِ وَظَاهِرُ النِّعَمِ عَوَافِي الْأَجْسَادِ وَوُجُودُ الْكِفَايَاتِ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَظَاهِرُ الْإِثْمِ أَعْمَالُ الْجَوَارِحِ مِنْ مَعَانِي حُظُوظِ النَّفْسِ وَبَاطِنُ النِّعَمِ مُعَافَاةُ الْقُلُوبِ وَسَلَامَةُ الْعُقُودِ ،

waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( waʾasbagha ʿalaykum niʿamahu ẓāhiratan wabāṭinatan ) luqmānu : 20 , thumma qāla : ( wadharū ẓāhira al-ʾithmi wabāṭinahu ) al-ʾanʿāmu : 120 fafīhi tanbīhun lidhawī al-ʾalbābi alladhīna waṣala lahumu al-qawlu liyatadhakkarū ʾan yadharū ẓāhira al-ʾithmi shukra al-ẓāhiri al-niʿami , wayadharū bāṭina al-ʾithmi shukra al-bāṭini al-niʿami waẓāhiru al-niʿami ʿawāfī al-ʾajsādi wawujūdu al-kifāyāti mina al-ʾamwāli waẓāhiru al-ʾithmi ʾaʿmālu al-jawāriḥi min maʿānī ḥuẓūẓi al-nafsi wabāṭinu al-niʿami muʿāfātu al-qulūbi wasalāmatu al-ʿuqūdi ,

God, exalted is He, has said: “He has lavished His blessings upon you, outward and inward” (Luqmān 31:20). Then He said: “Leave outward sin and inward sin” (al-Anʿām 6:120). In this is an admonition for those of understanding to whom the word has been conveyed so that they may remember: they should leave outward sin in gratitude for outward blessings and leave inward sin in gratitude for inward blessings. Outward blessings are bodily well-being and sufficient possessions; outward sin consists of the limbs' deeds serving the self's shares. Inward blessings are the hearts' well-being and the soundness of convictions;

وَبَاطِنُ الْإِثْمِ أَعْمَالُ الْقُلُوبِ السَّيِّئَةُ مِثْلُ الْإِصْرَارِ وَسُوءِ الظَّنِّ وَنِيَّاتِ السُّوءِ ، وَقَالَ مُطَرِّفُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ : لَأَنْ أُعَافَى فَأَشْكُرَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أُبْتَلَى فَأَصْبِرَ ، لِأَنَّ مَقَامَ الْعَوَافِي أَقْرَبُ إِلَى السَّلَامَةِ ، فَلِذَلِكَ اخْتَارَ حَالَ الشُّكْرِ عَلَى الصَّبْرِ لِأَنَّ الصَّبْرَ حَالُ أَهْلِ الْبَلَاءِ .

wabāṭinu al-ʾithmi ʾaʿmālu al-qulūbi al-sayyiʾatu mithlu al-ʾiṣrāri wasūʾi al-ẓanni waniyyāti al-sūʾi , waqāla muṭarrifu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi : laʾan ʾuʿāfā faʾashkura ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min ʾubtalā faʾaṣbira , liʾanna maqāma al-ʿawāfī ʾaqrabu ʾilā al-salāmati , fali-dhālika ikhtāra ḥāla al-shukri ʿalā al-ṣabri liʾanna al-ṣabra ḥālu ʾahli al-balāʾi .

inward sin consists of the hearts' evil deeds, such as persistence in wrongdoing, bad opinion, and evil intentions. Muṭarrif ibn ʿAbd Allāh said: “To be spared and give thanks is dearer to me than to be afflicted and be patient.” For the station of well-being is nearer to safety. For this reason he chose the state of gratitude over patience, because patience is the state of the people of affliction.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ الْحَسَنِ الْبَصْرِيِّ مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي لَا شَرَّ فِيهِ الْعَافِيَةُ مَعَ الشُّكْرِ وَالصَّبْرُ عِنْدَ الْمُصِيبَةِ فَكَمْ مِنْ مُنْعَمٍ عَلَيْهِ غَيْرِ شَاكِرٍ وَكَمْ مِنْ مُبْتَلًى غَيْرِ صَابِرٍ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَعْنَى هَذَا فِي قَوْلِهِ : وَعَافِيَتُكَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ ، وَقَالَ لِعَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ حِينَ سَمِعَهُ يَثُولُ فِي مَرَضِهِ : اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الصَّبْرَ ،

waqad rawaynā ʿani al-ḥasani al-baṣriyyi maʿnā dhālika al-khabari alladhī lā sharra fīhi al-ʿāfiyatu maʿa al-shukri wa-al-ṣabru ʿinda al-muṣībati fakam min munʿamin ʿalayhi ghayri shākirin wakam min mubtalan ghayri ṣābirin , waqad rawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama maʿnā hādhā fī qawlihi : waʿāfiyatuka ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya , waqāla liʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ḥīna samiʿahu yathūlu fī maraḍihi : Allāhumma ʾinnī ʾasʾaluka al-ṣabra ,

We have related the meaning of that from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī: “The good in which there is no evil is well-being with gratitude and patience at affliction. How many a favored person is ungrateful, and how many an afflicted person is impatient!” We have related this meaning from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, in his saying: “Your granting well-being is dearer to me.” He said to ʿAlī, God be pleased with him, when he heard him saying in his illness, “O God, I ask You for patience”:

قَالَ : لَقَدْ سَأَلْتَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى الْبَلَاءَ فَسَلْهُ الْعَافِيَةَ ، وَمِنَ الشُّكْرِ الْأَعْمَالُ الصَّالِحَةُ ، وَبِالْعَمَلِ فَسَّرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَرَسُولُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الشُّكْرَ لِلْمُنْعِمِ

qāla : laqad saʾalta Allāha taʿālā al-balāʾa fasalhu al-ʿāfiyata , wamina al-shukri al-ʾaʿmālu al-ṣāliḥatu , wabi-al-ʿamali fassara Allāhu taʿālā warasūluhu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-shukra li-l-munʿimi

“You have asked God, exalted is He, for affliction, so ask Him for well-being.” Righteous deeds are among the forms of gratitude. God, exalted is He, and His Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, explained gratitude to the Benefactor through action.

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٤٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 345

Volume One, page 345

فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( اعْمَلُوا آلَ دَاوُدَ شُكْرًا ) سَبَأُ : 13 ، وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : لَمَّا عُوتِبَ فِي اجْتِهَادِهِ وَقِيَامِهِ حَتَّى تَوَرَّمَتْ قَدَمَاهُ : أَفَلَا أَكُونُ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا ، فَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّ الْمُجَاهَدَةَ وَحُسْنَ الْمُعَامَلَةِ شُكْرُ الْمُسْتَعْمِلِ وَجَزَاءُ الْمُنْعِمِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ :

faqāla taʿālā : ( iʿmalū ʾāla dāwūda shukran ) sabaʾu : 13 , waqāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : lammā ʿūtiba fī ijtihādihi waqiyāmihi ḥattā tawarramat qadamāhu : ʾafalā ʾakūnu ʿabdan shakūran , faʾakhbara ʾanna al-mujāhadata waḥusna al-muʿāmalati shukru al-mustaʿmili wajazāʾu al-munʿimi , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi :

He, exalted is He, said: “Work, family of David, in gratitude” (Sabaʾ 34:13). When God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, was reproached for exerting himself and standing in prayer until his feet swelled, he said: “Should I not be an abundantly grateful servant?” He thus stated that striving and beautiful dealings are gratitude to the One who employs the servant and recompense to the Benefactor. One of the learned said:

شُكْرُ الْقَلْبِ الْمَعْرِفَةُ بِأَنَّ بِالنِّعَمِ مِنَ الْمُنْعِمِ لَا غَيْرَ وَشُكْرُ الْعَمَلِ كُلَّمَا وَهَبَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَكَ عَمَلًا أَحْدَثْتَ لَهُ عَمَلًا ثَانِيًا شُكْرًا مِنْكَ لِلْعَمَلِ الْأَوَّلِ ، وَعَلَى هَذَا يَتَّصِلُ الشُّكْرُ بِدَوَامِ الْمُعَامَلَةِ ، وَأَوَّلُ الشُّكْرِ عِنْدَ الْعَارِفِينَ أَنْ لَا تَعْصِيَهُ بِنِعْمَةٍ مِنْ نِعَمِهِ فَتَجْعَلَهَا فِي طَاعَةِ الْهَوَى ، فَأَمَّا شُكْرُ الشَّاكِرِينَ فَهُوَ أَنْ تُطِيعَهُ بِكُلِّ نِعْمَةٍ فَتَجْعَلَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ الْمَوْلَى وَهَذَا شُكْرُ جُمْلَةِ الْعَبْدِ ،

shukru al-qalbi al-maʿrifatu biʾanna bi-al-niʿami mina al-munʿimi lā ghayra washukru al-ʿamali kullamā wahaba Allāhu ʿazza wajalla laka ʿamalan ʾaḥdathta lahu ʿamalan thāniyan shukran minka li-l-ʿamali al-ʾawwali , waʿalā hādhā yattaṣilu al-shukru bidawāmi al-muʿāmalati , waʾawwalu al-shukri ʿinda al-ʿārifīna ʾan lā taʿṣiyahu biniʿmatin min niʿamihi fatajʿalahā fī ṭāʿati al-hawā , faʾammā shukru al-shākirīna fahuwa ʾan tuṭīʿahu bikulli niʿmatin fatajʿalahā fī sabīli al-mawlā wa-hādhā shukru jumlati al-ʿabdi ,

“The heart's gratitude is knowing that blessings come from the Benefactor and no other. Gratitude through action is that whenever God, mighty and majestic, bestows a deed upon you, you produce a second deed for Him, as gratitude from you for the first deed.” In this way gratitude is joined to constant dealings with Him. The beginning of gratitude among those who know God is not to disobey Him through any of His blessings by placing it in the service of caprice. As for the gratitude of the grateful, it is to obey Him through every blessing and place it in the Master's path. This is the gratitude of the whole servant.

وَحَقِيقَةُ الشُّكْرِ التَّقْوَى وَهُوَ اسْمٌ يَسْتَوْعِبُ جُمَلَ الْعِبَادَةِ الَّتِي أَمَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهَا عِبَادَهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أُعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 21 ، ثُمَّ عَبَّرَ حَقِيقَةً عَنِ الشُّكْرِ بِتَقْوَاهُ وَأَخْبَرَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى أَنَّ التَّقْوَى هُوَ الشُّكْرُ فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : ( فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ :

waḥaqīqatu al-shukri al-taqwā wahuwa ismun yastawʿibu jumala al-ʿibādati allatī ʾamara Allāhu taʿālā bihā ʿibādahu fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( yā ʾayyuhā al-nāsu ʾuʿbudū rabbakumu alladhī khalaqakum wa-alladhīna min qablikum laʿallakum tattaqūna ) al-baqaratu : 21 , thumma ʿabbara ḥaqīqatan ʿani al-shukri bitaqwāhu waʾakhbara subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾanna al-taqwā huwa al-shukru faqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā : ( fa-ttaqū Allāha laʿallakum tashkurūna ) ʾālu ʿimrāna :

The reality of gratitude is God-wariness, a name encompassing all the forms of worship God, exalted is He, commanded His servants in His saying, exalted is He: “People, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may become God-wary” (al-Baqara 2:21). Then He expressed gratitude's reality through being wary of Him, and He, glorified and exalted is He, stated that God-wariness is gratitude, saying, glorified and exalted is He: “Be wary of God, so that you may give thanks” (Āl ʿImrān 3:

123 ، وَفِي الشُّكْرِ مَقَامَانِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَتَيْنِ : أَعْلَاهُمَا مَقَامُ شَكُورٍ وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَشْكُرُ عَلَى الْمَكَارِهِ وَالْبَلَاءِ وَالشَّدَائِدِ وَاللَّأْوَاءِ ، وَلَا يَكُونُ كَذَلِكَ حَتَّى يَشْهَدَ ذَلِكَ نِعَمًا تُوجِبُ عَلَيْهِ الشُّكْرَ بِصِدْقِ يَقِينِهِ وَحَقِيقَةِ زُهْدِهِ وَهَذَا مَقَامٌ فِي الرِّضَا وَحَالٌ مِنَ الْمَحَبَّةِ ، وَبِهَذَا الْوَصْفِ ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى نَبِيَّهُ نُوحًا عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا ) الْإِسْرَاءُ :

123 , wafī al-shukri maqāmāni ʿan mushāhadatayni : ʾaʿlāhumā maqāmu shakūrin wahuwa alladhī yashkuru ʿalā al-makārihi wa-al-balāʾi wa-al-shadāʾidi wa-al-laʾwāʾi , walā yakūnu kadhālika ḥattā yashhada dhālika niʿaman tūjibu ʿalayhi al-shukra biṣidqi yaqīnihi waḥaqīqati zuhdihi wa-hādhā maqāmun fī al-riḍā waḥālun mina al-maḥabbati , wabi-hādhā al-waṣfi dhakara Allāhu taʿālā nabiyyahu nūḥan ʿalayhi al-salāmu fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( ʾinnahu kāna ʿabdan shakūran ) al-ʾisrāʾu :

123). In gratitude there are two stations arising from two witnessings. The higher is the station of the abundantly grateful, who gives thanks for disagreeable things, affliction, hardships, and distress. He does not become such until he witnesses these as blessings obliging him to gratitude, through the truth of his certainty and the reality of his renunciation. This is a station in contentment and a state of love. With this description God, exalted is He, mentioned His Prophet Noah, peace be upon him, in His saying, exalted is He: “He was an abundantly grateful servant” (al-Isrāʾ 17:

3 فِي التَّفْسِيرِ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَشْكُرُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ مِنْ خَيْرٍ أَوْ شَرٍّ أَوْ نَفْعٍ أَوْ ضُرٍّ . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ : يُنَادِي مُنَادٍ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لِيَقُمِ الْحَمَّادُونَ فَيَقُومُ زُمْرَةٌ فَيُنْصَبُ لَهُمْ لِوَاءٌ فَيَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ قِيلَ : وَمَنِ الْحَمَّادُونَ ؟ قَالَ : الَّذِينَ يَشْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : عَلَى السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ ،

3 fī al-tafsīri ʾannahu kāna yashkuru Allāha taʿālā ʿalā kulli ḥālin min khayrin ʾaw sharrin ʾaw nafʿin ʾaw ḍurrin . warawaynā fī al-khabari : yunādī munādin yawma al-qiyāmati liyaqumi al-ḥammādūna fayaqūmu zumratun fayunṣabu lahum liwāʾun fayadkhulūna al-jannata qīla : wamani al-ḥammādūna ? qāla : alladhīna yashkurūna Allāha taʿālā ʿalā kulli ḥālin , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara : ʿalā al-sarrāʾi wa-al-ḍarrāʾi ,

3). In the commentary, he used to thank God, exalted is He, in every condition, whether good or evil, benefit or harm. We have related in the report: “On the Day of Resurrection a herald calls: ‘Let the abundant praisers stand!’ A company stands, a banner is raised for them, and they enter the Garden.” It was asked: “Who are the abundant praisers?” He said: “Those who thank God, exalted is He, in every condition.” In another wording: “In prosperity and adversity.”

وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً ) لُقْمَانُ : 20 ، قَالَ : ظَاهِرَةُ الْعَوَافِي وَالْغِنَى وَبَاطِنَهُ الْبَلْوَى وَالْفَقْرُ فَهَذِهِ نِعَمُ الْآخِرَةِ ، كَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : لَا عَيْشَ إِلَّا عَيْشُ الْآخِرَةِ ،

waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( waʾasbagha ʿalaykum niʿamahu ẓāhiratan wabāṭinatan ) luqmānu : 20 , qāla : ẓāhiratu al-ʿawāfī wa-al-ghinā wabāṭinahu al-balwā wa-al-faqru fa-hādhihi niʿamu al-ʾākhirati , kamā qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : lā ʿaysha ʾillā ʿayshu al-ʾākhirati ,

One of the learned said concerning His saying, exalted is He, “He has lavished His blessings upon you, outward and inward” (Luqmān 31:20): “The outward are well-being and wealth; the inward are affliction and poverty.” These are blessings of the next world, as God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said: “There is no life but the life of the next world.”

وَالْمَقَامُ الثَّانِي مِنَ الشُّكْرِ أَنْ يَنْظُرَ الْعَبْدُ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ دُونَهُ مِمَّنْ فُضِّلَ هُوَ عَلَيْهِ فِي أُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَأَحْوَالِ الدِّينِ فَيُعَظِّمَ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ بِسَلَامَةِ قَلْبِهِ وَدِينِهِ وَعَافِيَتِهِ مِمَّا أُبْتَلَى الْآخَرُ بِهِ وَيُعَظِّمَ نِعْمَةَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَيْهِ لِمَا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَكَفَاهُ فِيمَا أَحْوَجَ الْآخَرَ وَأَلْجَأَهُ إِلَيْهِ فَيَشْكُرَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ ثُمَّ يَنْظُرَ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ فَوْقَهُ فِي الدِّينِ مِمَّنْ فُضِّلَ عَلَيْهَا بِعِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ وَبِحُسْنِ يَقِينٍ فَيَمْقُتَ

wa-al-maqāmu al-thānī mina al-shukri ʾan yanẓura al-ʿabdu ʾilā man huwa dūnahu mimman fuḍḍila huwa ʿalayhi fī ʾumūri al-dunyā waʾaḥwāli al-dīni fayuʿaẓẓima niʿmata Allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhi bisalāmati qalbihi wadīnihi waʿāfiyatihi mimmā ʾubtalā al-ʾākharu bihi wayuʿaẓẓima niʿmata al-dunyā ʿalayhi limā ʾātāhu Allāhu taʿālā wakafāhu fīmā ʾaḥwaja al-ʾākhara waʾaljaʾahu ʾilayhi fayashkura ʿalā dhālika thumma yanẓura ʾilā man huwa fawqahu fī al-dīni mimman fuḍḍila ʿalayhā biʿilmi al-ʾīmāni wabiḥusni yaqīnin fayamquta

The second station of gratitude is for the servant to look at someone below him, over whom he has been favored in worldly matters and religious states. He thus magnifies God's blessing upon him, exalted is He, in the soundness of his heart and religion, and in his being spared what has afflicted the other. He magnifies the worldly blessing upon him in what God, exalted is He, has given him and sufficed him with, while making the other need it and resort to it. He gives thanks for that, then looks at someone above him in religion, who has been favored over him in knowledge of faith and beautiful certainty. He then detests

نَفْسَهُ وَيَزْرِي عَلَيْهِ وَيُنَافِسَ فِي مِثْلِ مَا رَأَى مِنْ أَحْوَالِ مَنْ هُوَ فَوْقَهُ وَيَرْغَبَ فِيهَا ، فَإِذَا كَانَ كَذَلِكَ كَانَ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ وَدَخَلَ تَحْتَ اسْمِ الْمَمْدُوحِينَ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ فِي حَدِيثٍ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :

nafsahu wayazrī ʿalayhi wayunāfisa fī mithli mā raʾā min ʾaḥwāli man huwa fawqahu wayarghaba fīhā , faʾidhā kāna kadhālika kāna mina al-shākirīna wadakhala taḥta ismi al-mamdūḥīna . waqad rawaynā maʿnā dhālika fī ḥadīthin ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama :

his own self, censures it, competes to attain the states he sees in the one above him, and desires them. When he is like this, he is among the grateful and enters under the name of the praised. We have related the meaning of that in a hadith from God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace,

أَنَّهُ قَالَ مَنْ نَظَرَ فِي الدُّنْيَا إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ دُونَهُ وَنَظَرَ فِي الدِّينِ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ فَوْقَهُ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ صَابِرًا شَاكِرًا وَمَنْ نَظَرَ فِي الدُّنْيَا إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ فَوْقَهُ وَنَظَرَ فِي الدِّينِ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ دُونَهُ لَمْ يَكْتُبْهُ اللَّهُ صَابِرًا وَلَا شَاكِرًا ، وَقَدْ شَرَحْنَا هَذَا فِي مَقَامِ الرِّضَا ، فَكَرِهْنَا إِعَادَتَهُ هَهُنَا ، وَكُلُّ وَصْفٍ يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ شَاكِرًا بِهِ ، يَكُونُ الشُّكْرُ

ʾannahu qāla man naẓara fī al-dunyā ʾilā man huwa dūnahu wanaẓara fī al-dīni ʾilā man huwa fawqahu katabahu Allāhu ṣābiran shākiran waman naẓara fī al-dunyā ʾilā man huwa fawqahu wanaẓara fī al-dīni ʾilā man huwa dūnahu lam yaktubhu Allāhu ṣābiran walā shākiran , waqad sharaḥnā hādhā fī maqāmi al-riḍā , fakarihnā ʾiʿādatahu hāhunā , wakullu waṣfin yakūnu al-ʿabdu shākiran bihi , yakūnu al-shukru

who said: “Whoever looks, in worldly things, at someone below him, and looks, in religion, at someone above him, God records as patient and grateful. Whoever looks, in worldly things, at someone above him, and looks, in religion, at someone below him, God does not record as either patient or grateful.” We have explained this in the station of contentment, so we disliked repeating it here. Every quality through which the servant is grateful, and in which gratitude becomes

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٤٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 346

Volume One, page 346

مَقَامًا لَهُ فِيهِ ، فَإِنَّ كُفْرَ النِّعْمَةِ يَلْزَمُهُ بِضِدِّهِ لِأَنَّ الْكُفْرَ ضِدُّ الشُّكْرِ ، وَمِنْ كَبَائِرِ النِّعَمِ ثَلَاثٌ مَنْ جَهِلَهَا أَضَاعَ الشُّكْرَ عَلَيْهَا وَمَعْرِفَتُهَا شُكْرُ الْعَارِفِينَ ، أَوَّلُهَا اسْتِتَارُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِقُدْرَتِهِ وَعِزَّتِهِ عَنِ الْأَبْصَارِ وَلَوْ ظَهَرَ لِلْعِبَادِ لَكَانَتْ مَعَاصِيهِمْ كُفْرًا لِأَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَنْقُصُونَ مِنَ الْمَعَاصِي الْمَكْتُوبَةِ عَلَيْهِمْ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ وَلِأَنَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى كَانَ يَظْهَرُ بِوَصْفٍ لَا يَمْتَنِعُونَ مَعَهُ عَنِ الْمَعَاصِي ،

maqāman lahu fīhi , faʾinna kufra al-niʿmati yalzamuhu biḍiddihi liʾanna al-kufra ḍiddu al-shukri , wamin kabāʾiri al-niʿami thalāthun man jahilahā ʾaḍāʿa al-shukra ʿalayhā wamaʿrifatuhā shukru al-ʿārifīna , ʾawwaluhā istitāru Allāhi taʿālā biqudratihi waʿizzatihi ʿani al-ʾabṣāri walaw ẓahara li-l-ʿibādi lakānat maʿāṣīhim kufran liʾannahum lam yakūnū yanquṣūna mina al-maʿāṣī al-maktūbati ʿalayhim janāḥa baʿūḍatin waliʾannahu tabāraka wataʿālā kāna yaẓharu biwaṣfin lā yamtaniʿūna maʿahu ʿani al-maʿāṣī ,

a station for him, entails ingratitude for the blessing when he exhibits its opposite, because ingratitude is the opposite of gratitude. Among the greatest blessings are three: whoever does not know them neglects gratitude for them, while knowing them is the gratitude of those who know God. The first is God's concealment, exalted is He, from sight through His power and might. Had He appeared to the servants, their acts of disobedience would have been unbelief, for they would not have diminished the acts of disobedience written against them by a mosquito's wing; and because He, blessed and exalted is He, would appear with an attribute in whose presence they would not refrain from disobedience.

وَوَرَاءَ هَذَا سَرَائِرُ الْغُيُوبِ ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ بِالْمُوَاجَهَةِ لِانْتِهَاكِ حُرْمَةِ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ أَيْضًا لَمَا كَانَ لَهُمْ فِي الْإِيمَانِ بِهِ مِنْ عَظِيمِ الدَّرَجَاتِ مَا لَهُمُ الْآنَ لِأَنَّهُمْ حِينَئِذٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالشَّهَادَةِ وَهُمُ الْيَوْمَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ ، فَرُفِعَتْ لَهُمُ الدَّرَجَاتُ بِحُسْنِ الْيَقِينِ ، وَلِذَلِكَ مَدَحَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَوَصَفَهُمْ ، وَالنِّعْمَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ إِخْفَاءُ الْقَدَرِ وَالْآيَاتِ عَنْ عُمُومِ الْخَلْقِ لِأَنَّهَا مِنْ سِرِّ الْغَيْبِ ،

wawarāʾa hādhā sarāʾiru al-ghuyūbi , ʾillā ʾannahum kānū yakfurūna bi-al-muwājahati li-ntihāki ḥurmati al-mushāhadati ʾayḍan lamā kāna lahum fī al-ʾīmāni bihi min ʿaẓīmi al-darajāti mā lahumu al-ʾāna liʾannahum ḥīnaʾidhin yuʾminūna bi-al-shahādati wahumu al-yawma yuʾminūna bi-al-ghaybi , farufiʿat lahumu al-darajātu biḥusni al-yaqīni , wali-dhālika madaḥahumu Allāhu taʿālā wawaṣafahum , wa-al-niʿmatu al-thāniyatu ʾikhfāʾu al-qadari wa-al-ʾāyāti ʿan ʿumūmi al-khalqi liʾannahā min sirri al-ghaybi ,

Beyond this lie the secrets of the unseen. Yet they would disbelieve in direct encounter by violating the sanctity of witnessing. Also, they would not have, through faith in Him, the great degrees they now possess, because then they would believe in the visible, whereas today they believe in the unseen. Their degrees have therefore been raised through beautiful certainty, and for that God, exalted is He, praised and described them. The second blessing is concealing destiny and signs from the generality of creatures, because these belong to the secret of the unseen,

وَصَلَاحُ الْعَبِيدِ ، وَاسْتِقَامَةُ الدُّنْيَا وَالدِّينِ ، وَلَوْ ظَهَرَتْ لَهُمْ لَكَانَتْ خَطَايَاهُمُ الصَّغَائِرُ كَبَائِرَ مَعَ مُعَايَنَةِ الْآيَاتِ ، وَلَمَا ضُوعِفَتْ لَهُمْ عَلَى أَعْمَالِهِمُ الْحَسَنَاتُ كَمُضَاعَفَتِهَا الْآنَ لِلْإِيمَانِ بِالْغَيْبِ ، وَالنِّعْمَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ تَغَيُّبُ الْآجَالِ عَنْهُمْ إِذْ لَوْ عَلِمُوا بِهَا لَمَا كَانُوا يَزْدَادُونَ وَلَا يَنْقُصُونَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِمُ الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ ذَرَّةً ، فَكَانَ مَعَ عِلْمِهِمْ بِالْأَجَلِ أَشَدَّ مُطَالَبَةً لَهُمْ وَأَوْقَعَ لِلْحُجَّةِ عَلَيْهِمْ فَأَخْفَى ذَلِكَ عَنْهُمْ مَعْذِرَةً لَهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ،

waṣalāḥu al-ʿabīdi , wa-stiqāmatu al-dunyā wa-al-dīni , walaw ẓaharat lahum lakānat khaṭāyāhumu al-ṣaghāʾiru kabāʾira maʿa muʿāyanati al-ʾāyāti , walamā ḍūʿifat lahum ʿalā ʾaʿmālihimu al-ḥasanātu kamuḍāʿafatihā al-ʾāna li-l-ʾīmāni bi-al-ghaybi , wa-al-niʿmatu al-thālithatu taghayyubu al-ʾājāli ʿanhum ʾidh law ʿalimū bihā lamā kānū yazdādūna walā yanquṣūna min ʾaʿmālihimu al-khayri wa-al-sharri dharratan , fakāna maʿa ʿilmihim bi-al-ʾajali ʾashadda muṭālabatan lahum waʾawqaʿa li-l-ḥujjati ʿalayhim faʾakhfā dhālika ʿanhum maʿdhiratan lahum min ḥaythu lā yaʿlamūna ,

the welfare of servants, and the proper ordering of this world and religion. Had they been made manifest to them, their minor sins would have been major sins in the presence of directly witnessed signs; nor would the good rewards for their deeds have been multiplied for them as they are now multiplied for faith in the unseen. The third blessing is keeping their appointed lifespans hidden from them. Had they known them, they would neither have added nor subtracted an atom from their good and evil deeds. Knowing the appointed term would have made the demand upon them more severe and the proof against them more decisive. He therefore concealed that from them as an excuse for them in a way they do not know,

وَلُطْفًا بِهِمْ وَنَظَرًا لَهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُونَ ، ثُمَّ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ لَطَائِفِ النِّعَمِ شُمُولُ سِتْرِهِ لَهُمْ فَيَحْجُبُ بَعْضَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ ، وَسِتْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ ، وَلَوْلَا ذَلِكَ لَمَا نَظَرُوا إِلَيْهِمْ ، ثُمَّ حَجْبُ الصَّالِحِينَ وَالْأَوْلِيَاءِ عَنْهُمْ ، وَلَوْ أَظْهَرَ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتٍ يَعْرِفُونَ بِهَا حَتَّى يَكُونَ الْجَاهِلُونَ عَلَى يَقِينٍ مِنْ وَلَايَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَهُمْ وَقُرْبِهِمْ مِنْهُ لَبَطَلَ ثَوَابُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَحُرِمَ قَبُولُ عَمَلِهِمْ وَلَحَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُ الْمُسِيئِينَ إِلَيْهِمْ ،

waluṭfan bihim wanaẓaran lahum min ḥaythu lā yaḥtasibūna , thumma baʿda dhālika min laṭāʾifi al-niʿami shumūlu sitrihi lahum fayaḥjubu baʿḍahum min baʿḍin , wasitruhum ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi wa-al-ṣāliḥīna , walawlā dhālika lamā naẓarū ʾilayhim , thumma ḥajbu al-ṣāliḥīna wa-al-ʾawliyāʾi ʿanhum , walaw ʾaẓhara ʿalayhim ʾāyātin yaʿrifūna bihā ḥattā yakūna al-jāhilūna ʿalā yaqīnin min walāyati Allāhi taʿālā lahum waqurbihim minhu labaṭala thawābu al-muḥsinīna ʾilayhim walaḥurima qabūlu ʿamalihim walaḥabiṭat ʾaʿmālu al-musīʾīna ʾilayhim ,

as a kindness to them and a consideration for them in a way they do not expect. Beyond that, among subtle blessings is His all-embracing concealment of them, veiling some of them from others and concealing them from the learned and the righteous; without that, these would not have looked toward them. Then there is His veiling the righteous and His friends from them. Had He displayed signs upon them by which they were recognized, so that the ignorant became certain of God's friendship for them, exalted is He, and their nearness to Him, the reward of those who did good to them would have been nullified, acceptance of their deeds would have been denied, and the deeds of those who wronged them would have come to nothing.

فَفِي حَجْبِ ذَلِكَ وَسَتْرِهِ مَا عَلِمَ الْعَامِلُونَ لَهُمْ فِي الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ عَلَى الرَّجَاءِ وَحُسْنِ الظَّنِّ بِالْغَيْبِ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابِ الْيَقِينِ ، وَتَأَخَّرَتْ عُقُوبَاتُ الْمُؤْذِيِينَ لَهُمْ عَنِ الْمُعَاجَلَةِ لِمَا سَتَرَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ عَظِيمِ شَأْنِهِمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَجَلِيلِ قَدْرِهِمْ ، فَفِي سَتْرِ هَذَا نِعَمٌ عَظِيمَةٌ عَلَى الصَّالِحِينَ فِي نُفُوسِهِمْ مِنْ سَلَامَةِ دِينِهِمْ وَقِلَّةِ فِتْنَتِهِمْ وَنِعَمٌ جَلِيلَةٌ عَنِ الْمُنْتَهِكِينَ لِحُرْمَتِهِمْ ،

fafī ḥajbi dhālika wasatrihi mā ʿalima al-ʿāmilūna lahum fī al-khayri wa-al-sharri ʿalā al-rajāʾi waḥusni al-ẓanni bi-al-ghaybi min warāʾi ḥijābi al-yaqīni , wataʾakhkharat ʿuqūbātu al-muʾdhiyīna lahum ʿani al-muʿājalati limā satara ʿalayhim min ʿaẓīmi shaʾnihim ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā wajalīli qadrihim , fafī satri hādhā niʿamun ʿaẓīmatun ʿalā al-ṣāliḥīna fī nufūsihim min salāmati dīnihim waqillati fitnatihim waniʿamun jalīlatun ʿani al-muntahikīna liḥurmatihim ,

In veiling and concealing that, those who act toward them in good and evil do so with hope and good opinion of the unseen, from behind the veil of certainty. Punishments of those who harm them are postponed rather than hastened, because their great standing with God, exalted is He, and their lofty worth have been concealed from those people. In concealing this are great blessings for the righteous themselves, in the safety of their religion and the lessening of their trial, and tremendous blessings concerning those who violate their sanctity,

الْمُصَغِّرِينَ لِشَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ أَجْلِهِمْ ، إِذْ كَانُوا أَسَاءُوا إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ ، فَهَذَا هُوَ لُطْفٌ خَفِيٌّ مِنْ لُطْفِ الْمُنْعِمِ الْوَهَّابِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : يَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : مَنْ آذَى وَلِيًّا مِنْ أَوْلِيَائِي فَقَدْ بَارَزَنِي

al-muṣaghghirīna lishaʿāʾiri Allāhi taʿālā min ʾajlihim , ʾidh kānū ʾasāʾū ʾilayhim min warāʾi ḥijābin , fa-hādhā huwa luṭfun khafiyyun min luṭfi al-munʿimi al-wahhābi subḥānahu wataʿālā , kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari : yaqūlu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla : man ʾādhā waliyyan min ʾawliyāʾī faqad bārazanī

belittling God's signs, exalted is He, in their persons, since they have wronged them from behind a veil. This is a hidden kindness among the kindnesses of the Benefactor, the Bestower, glorified and exalted is He. As the report states, God, mighty and majestic, says: “Whoever harms one of My friends has challenged Me

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٤٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 347

Volume One, page 347

بِالْمُحَارَبَةِ ، ثُمَّ أَنَا الثَّائِرُ لِوَلِي لَا أَكِلُ نُصْرَتَهُ إِلَى غَيْرِي . وَعَنْ جَعْفَرَ الصَّادِقِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي مَعْنَى هَذِهِ النِّعَمِ الَّتِي أَوْجَبْنَا الشُّكْرَ فِي إِخْفَائِهَا قَالَ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى خَبَّأَ ثَلَاثًا فِي ثَلَاثٍ ، رِضَاهُ فِي طَاعَتِهِ ، فَلَا تَحْتَقِرُوا مِنْهَا شَيْئًا لَعَلَّ رِضَاهُ فِيهِ ، وَخَبَّأَ غَضَبَهُ فِي مَعَاصِيهِ ، فَلَا تَحْتَقِرُوا مِنْهَا شَيْئًا لَعَلَّ غَضَبَهُ فِيهِ ،

bi-al-muḥārabati , thumma ʾanā al-thāʾiru liwalī lā ʾakilu nuṣratahu ʾilā ghayrī . waʿan jaʿfara al-ṣādiqi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu fī maʿnā hādhihi al-niʿami allatī ʾawjabnā al-shukra fī ʾikhfāʾihā qāla : ʾinna Allāha taʿālā khabbaʾa thalāthan fī thalāthin , riḍāhu fī ṭāʿatihi , falā taḥtaqirū minhā shayʾan laʿalla riḍāhu fīhi , wakhabbaʾa ghaḍabahu fī maʿāṣīhi , falā taḥtaqirū minhā shayʾan laʿalla ghaḍabahu fīhi ,

to war. Then I am the avenger of My friend; I do not entrust his aid to another.” From Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, God be pleased with him, concerning these blessings for whose concealment we have declared gratitude obligatory, it is related that he said: “God, exalted is He, concealed three things within three things: His pleasure in obedience to Him, so do not belittle any of it, for His pleasure may be in it; His anger in acts of disobedience to Him, so do not belittle any of them, for His anger may be in it;

وَخَبَّأَ وِلَايَتَهُ فِي عِبَادِهِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، فَلَا تَحْتَقِرُوا مِنْهُمْ أَحَدًا لَعَلَّهُ وَلِيُّ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَيَكُونُ مِثْلُ ذَلِكَ مِثْلَ مَنْ آذَى نَبِيًّا وَهُوَ لَا يَعْلَمُ بِنُبُوَّتِهِ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى نَبَّأَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُخْبِرَهُ أَنَّهُ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَرَسُوهُ إِلَيْهِ فَلَا يَكُونُ وِزْرُهُ وِزْرَ مَنِ انْتَهَكَ حُرْمَةَ نَبِيٍّ قَدْ أَعْلَمَهُ أَنَّهُ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِعَظِيمِ حُرْمَةِ النُّبُوَّةِ ، وَلِلشَّاكِرِينَ طَرِيقَانِ :

wakhabbaʾa wilāyatahu fī ʿibādihi al-muʾminīna , falā taḥtaqirū minhum ʾaḥadan laʿallahu waliyyu Allāhi taʿālā , wayakūnu mithlu dhālika mithla man ʾādhā nabiyyan wahuwa lā yaʿlamu binubuwwatihi waʾinna Allāha taʿālā nabbaʾahu qabla ʾan yukhbirahu ʾannahu nabiyyu Allāhi ʿazza wajalla warasūhu ʾilayhi falā yakūnu wizruhu wizra mani intahaka ḥurmata nabiyyin qad ʾaʿlamahu ʾannahu nabiyyu Allāhi taʿālā liʿaẓīmi ḥurmati al-nubuwwati , wali-l-shākirīna ṭarīqāni :

and His friendship in His believing servants, so do not belittle any of them, for he may be a friend of God, exalted is He.” The likeness of that is someone who harms a prophet without knowing his prophethood, although God, exalted is He, had made him a prophet before he informed the person that he was God's Prophet, mighty and majestic, and His Messenger to him. His burden of sin is not the burden of one who violates the sanctity of a prophet who has informed him that he is God's Prophet, exalted is He, because of the great sanctity of prophethood. The grateful have two paths,

أَحَدُهُمَا أَعْلَى مِنَ الْآخَرِ أَوَّلُهُمَا شُكْرُ الرَّاجِينَ وَهُوَ حُسْنُ الْمُعَامَلَةِ لِمَا أَمَلُوهُ وَرَجَوْهُ مِنْ ظَوَاهِرِ النِّعَمِ فَعَمِلُوا رَجَاءَ إِتْمَامِهَا فَكَانَ حَالُهُمُ الْمُسَارَعَةَ وَالْمُسَابَقَةَ إِلَى الْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَةِ شُكْرًا لِمَا ابْتَدَأَهُمْ بِهِ وَخَصَّهُمْ دُونَ سَائِرِ خَلْقِهِ ، وَأَعْلَاهُمَا شُكْرُ الْخَائِفِينَ وَهُوَ خَوْفُ سُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ وَالْإِشْفَاقُ مِنْ دَرْكِ الشَّقَاءِ بِحُكْمِ السَّابِقَةِ نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْهُ فَكَانَ خَوْفُهُمْ دَلِيلًا عَلَى اغْتِبَاطِهِمْ بِمَوْهِبَةِ الْإِيمَانِ ،

ʾaḥaduhumā ʾaʿlā mina al-ʾākhari ʾawwaluhumā shukru al-rājīna wahuwa ḥusnu al-muʿāmalati limā ʾamalūhu warajawhu min ẓawāhiri al-niʿami faʿamilū rajāʾa ʾitmāmihā fakāna ḥāluhumu al-musāraʿata wa-al-musābaqata ʾilā al-ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥati shukran limā ibtadaʾahum bihi wakhaṣṣahum dūna sāʾiri khalqihi , waʾaʿlāhumā shukru al-khāʾifīna wahuwa khawfu sūʾi al-khātimati wa-al-ʾishfāqu min darki al-shaqāʾi biḥukmi al-sābiqati naʿūdhu bi-Allāhi taʿālā minhu fakāna khawfuhum dalīlan ʿalā ightibāṭihim bimawhibati al-ʾīmāni ,

one higher than the other. The first is the gratitude of the hopeful: beautiful dealings because of the outward blessings for which they have hoped and aspired. They acted in hope of their completion, so their state was hastening and racing toward righteous deeds, in gratitude for what He first bestowed upon them and singled them out for above the rest of His creatures. The higher is the gratitude of the fearful: fear of an evil ending and apprehension of being overtaken by misery through the judgment of the prior decree. We seek refuge in God, exalted is He, from it. Their fear indicated their joy in the gift of faith,

وَكَانَ اغْتِبَاطُهُمْ يَدُلُّ عَلَى عَظِيمِ قَدْرِ الْإِسْلَامِ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ وَنَفِيسِ مَكَانِهِ عِنْدَهُمْ فَعَظُمَتِ النِّعْمَةُ بِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ فَمَعْرِفَتُهُمْ بِذَلِكَ هُوَ شُكْرُهُمْ فَصَارَ الْخَوْفُ وَالْإِشْفَاقُ طَرِيقًا لَهُمْ فِي الشُّكْرِ لِلرَّازِقِ . وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ذَلِكَ نِعْمَةً وَكُلُّ نِعْمَةٍ تَقْتَضِي شُكْرًا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى : ( قَالَ رَجُلَانِ مِنَ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمَا ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 23 قَالَ بَعْضُ الْمُفَسِّرِينَ :

wakāna ightibāṭuhum yadullu ʿalā ʿaẓīmi qadri al-ʾislāmi fī qulūbihim wanafīsi makānihi ʿindahum faʿaẓumati al-niʿmatu bihi ʿalayhim famaʿrifatuhum bi-dhālika huwa shukruhum faṣāra al-khawfu wa-al-ʾishfāqu ṭarīqan lahum fī al-shukri li-l-rāziqi . waqad jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā dhālika niʿmatan wakullu niʿmatin taqtaḍī shukran fī qawlihi tabāraka wataʿālā : ( qāla rajulāni mina alladhīna yakhāfūna ʾanʿama Allāhu ʿalayhimā ) al-māʾidatu : 23 qāla baʿḍu al-mufassirīna :

and their joy indicated Islam's immense worth in their hearts and its precious place with them. Its blessing upon them became great, and their knowledge of that is their gratitude. Fear and apprehension thus became a path for them in gratitude to the Provider. God, exalted is He, made that a blessing, and every blessing calls for gratitude, in His saying, blessed and exalted is He: “Two men among those who feared, upon whom God had bestowed favor, said” (al-Māʾida 5:23). One of the commentators said:

أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمَا بِالْخَوْفِ وَهَذَا أَحَدُ وَجْهَيِ الْكَلَامِ وَلَوْ لَمْ يَشْكُرِ الْعَبْدُ مَوْلَاهُ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى عَلَى هَذِهِ الْأَوْصَافِ وَالْأَخْلَاقِ الَّتِي هِيَ صِفَاتُهُ وَأَخْلَاقُهُ مِنْ نِهَايَةِ الْكَرَمِ وَالْجُودِ الَّذِي لَا غَايَةَ لَهُ وَمِنْ غَايَةِ التَّفَضُّلِ وَالْحِلْمِ الَّذِي لَا نِهَايَةَ لَهُ ، فَلَمَّا كَانَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى بِهَذِهِ الْأَخْلَاقِ الْمَرْجُوَّةِ وَالصِّفَاتِ الْحُسْنَى وَجَبَ أَنْ يَشْكُرَهُ الْعَبِيدُ لِأَجْلِهِ تَعَالَى لَا لِأَجْلِ نِعَمِهِ وَأَفْعَالِهِ ؛

ʾanʿama Allāhu ʿalayhimā bi-al-khawfi wa-hādhā ʾaḥadu wajhayi al-kalāmi walaw lam yashkuri al-ʿabdu mawlāhu ʾillā ʾannahu tabāraka wataʿālā ʿalā hādhihi al-ʾawṣāfi wa-al-ʾakhlāqi allatī hiya ṣifātuhu waʾakhlāquhu min nihāyati al-karami wa-al-jūdi alladhī lā ghāyata lahu wamin ghāyati al-tafaḍḍuli wa-al-ḥilmi alladhī lā nihāyata lahu , falammā kāna tabāraka wataʿālā bi-hādhihi al-ʾakhlāqi al-marjuwwati wa-al-ṣifāti al-ḥusnā wajaba ʾan yashkurahu al-ʿabīdu liʾajlihi taʿālā lā liʾajli niʿamihi waʾafʿālihi ;

“God favored them with fear.” This is one of the two interpretations of the speech. Even if the servant thanked his Master only because He, blessed and exalted is He, possesses these attributes and traits, which are His attributes and traits: the utmost generosity and liberality, without limit, and the utmost graciousness and forbearance, without end. Since He, blessed and exalted is He, possesses these traits in which hope is placed and these beautiful attributes, servants must thank Him for His own sake, exalted is He, not for the sake of His blessings and acts.

وَهَذَا ذِكْرُ الْمُحِبِّينَ إِذْ لَوْ كَانَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى غَيْرِ هَذِهِ الصِّفَاتِ وَالْأَخْلَاقِ الَّتِي عَرَفَهُ بِهَا الْعَارِفُونَ وَلَا بُدَّ لَهُمْ مِنْهُ أَيَّ شَيْءٍ كَانَ يَصْنَعُ

wa-hādhā dhikru al-muḥibbīna ʾidh law kāna Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā ghayri hādhihi al-ṣifāti wa-al-ʾakhlāqi allatī ʿarafahu bihā al-ʿārifūna walā budda lahum minhu ʾayya shayʾin kāna yaṣnaʿu

This is the remembrance of the lovers. For if God, exalted is He, had attributes and traits other than those by which those who know Him have recognized Him, while they cannot do without Him, what could

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٤٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 348

Volume One, page 348

الْعِبَادُ وَأَيَّ حِيلَةٍ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ فَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ كُلُّهُ وَلَهُ الشُّكْرُ كُلُّهُ كَمَا هُوَ مُسْتَحِقُّهُ وَأَهْلُهُ بِحَمْدِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ ، وَلَا يَنْبَغِي إِلَّا لَهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ، كَمَا يَنْبَغِي لِكَرَمِ وَجْهِهِ وَعِزِّ جَلَالِهِ إِذْ كَانَ وَلَمْ يَزَلْ عَلَى مَا هُوَ الْآنَ وَلَا يَزَالُ أَبَدًا عَلَى مَا كَانَ مِنَ الْأَوْصَافِ وَالنُّعُوتِ التَّامَّاتِ وَالْأَسْمَاءِ الْحُسْنَى وَالْأَمْثَالِ الْعُلَى ،

al-ʿibādu waʾayya ḥīlatin kānat lahum falahu al-ḥamdu kulluhu walahu al-shukru kulluhu kamā huwa mustaḥiqquhu waʾahluhu biḥamdihi linafsihi , walā yanbaghī ʾillā lahu subḥānahu wataʿālā , kamā yanbaghī likarami wajhihi waʿizzi jalālihi ʾidh kāna walam yazal ʿalā mā huwa al-ʾāna walā yazālu ʾabadan ʿalā mā kāna mina al-ʾawṣāfi wa-al-nuʿūti al-tāmmāti wa-al-ʾasmāʾi al-ḥusnā wa-al-ʾamthāli al-ʿulā ,

the servants have done, and what resource would they have had? All praise belongs to Him and all gratitude belongs to Him, as He deserves it and is worthy of it through His praise of Himself. It befits none but Him, glorified and exalted is He, as befits the generosity of His Face and the might of His majesty. He was, and has always been, as He is now; and He will forever remain as He has been, in perfect attributes and descriptions, beautiful names, and highest similitudes.

وَمَعْرِفَةُ هَذَا هُوَ شُكْرُ الْعَارِفِينَ وَمُشَاهَدَتُهُ هُوَ مَقَامُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ فَشُكْرُ هَؤُلَاءِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَدُعَاءُ هَؤُلَاءِ التَّحْمِيدُ وَالتَّقْدِيسُ وَأَعْمَالُهُمُ الْإِجْلَالُ وَالتَّعْظِيمُ لِلْأَجَلِّ وَسُؤَالُهُمْ تَجَلِّي الصِّفَاتِ وَالنَّصِيبَ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ مَعَانِي الذَّاتِ وَوَصْفُ هَذَا لَا يُوصَفُ وَشَرْحُهُ بِالْمَعْقُولِ لَا يُعْرَفُ ، وَهَذَا دَاخِلٌ فِي مُشَاهَدَةِ قَوْلِهِ لِمَنْ شَهِدَ سِرَّ الْكَلَامِ إِذْ يَقُولُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ ) الشُّورَى :

wamaʿrifatu hādhā huwa shukru al-ʿārifīna wamushāhadatuhu huwa maqāmu al-muqarrabīna fashukru hāʾulāʾi li-llāhi taʿālā liʾajli Allāhi taʿālā waduʿāʾu hāʾulāʾi al-taḥmīdu wa-al-taqdīsu waʾaʿmāluhumu al-ʾijlālu wa-al-taʿẓīmu li-l-ʾajalli wasuʾāluhum tajallī al-ṣifāti wa-al-naṣība min mushāhadati maʿānī al-dhāti wawaṣfu hādhā lā yūṣafu washarḥuhu bi-al-maʿqūli lā yuʿrafu , wa-hādhā dākhilun fī mushāhadati qawlihi liman shahida sirra al-kalāmi ʾidh yaqūlu ʿazza wajalla : ( laysa kamithlihi shayʾun ) al-shūrā :

Knowing this is the gratitude of those who know God, and witnessing it is the station of those brought near. Their gratitude to God, exalted is He, is for God's own sake, exalted is He. Their supplication is praise and sanctification, their deeds are reverence and magnification of the Most Majestic, and their request is the manifestation of the attributes and a share in witnessing the meanings of the Essence. The description of this cannot be described, and its explanation cannot be known by rational comprehension. This is included in witnessing His saying, for one who witnesses the secret of the speech, when He, mighty and majestic, says: “There is nothing like Him” (al-Shūrā 42:

11 وَعَنْ هَذِهِ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ اغْتَبَطَ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِالرُّبُوبِيَّةِ وَأَنِسَ بِالتَّقْرِيبِ فَانْبَسَطَ بِالتَّمْكِينِ فَقَالَ لِي : مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ فَقَالَ : اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَمَا هُوَ ، فَقَالَ لِي : مِثْلُكَ وَلَيْسَ لَكَ مِثْلُ نَفْسِكَ فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : صَدَقْتَ ، يَعْنِي لِي أَنْتَ عَلَى هَذِهِ الْأَوْصَافِ الَّتِي هِيَ غَايَةُ الطَّالِبِينَ وَلَا مَزِيدَ عَلَيْهَا لِلرَّاغِبِينَ وَلَيْسَ لَكَ كَأَنْتَ إِذْ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ ،

11 waʿan hādhihi al-mushāhadati ightabaṭa mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu bi-al-rubūbiyyati waʾanisa bi-al-taqrībi fa-nbasaṭa bi-al-tamkīni faqāla lī : mā laysa laka faqāla : Allāhu taʿālā wamā huwa , faqāla lī : mithluka walaysa laka mithlu nafsika faqāla ʿazza wajalla : ṣadaqta , yaʿnī lī ʾanta ʿalā hādhihi al-ʾawṣāfi allatī hiya ghāyatu al-ṭālibīna walā mazīda ʿalayhā li-l-rāghibīna walaysa laka kaʾanta ʾidh laysa kamithlika shayʾun waʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā ʾanta ,

11). From this witnessing, Moses, peace be upon him, rejoiced in lordship and found intimacy in being brought near; being firmly established, he spoke freely and said: “I have what You do not have.” God, exalted is He, said: “What is it?” He said: “I have one like You, while You have none like Yourself.” He, mighty and majestic, said: “You have spoken truly.” That is: “I have You with these attributes, which are the goal of seekers, beyond which those who desire can ask for no increase. But You have none such as Yourself, for there is nothing like You, and there is no god but You.”

فَمِنْ غَامِضِ النِّعَمِ الشُّكْرُ عَلَى هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي مَا رُوِيَ عَنْكَ وَصَرْفُهُ مِنْ فُضُولِ الدُّنْيَا فَإِنَّهُ أَقَلُّ لِلشُّغْلِ وَالْإِهْتِمَامِ وَأَيْسَرُ لِلْحِسَابِ ، ثُمَّ ابْتُلِيَ بِهِ غَيْرُكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا مِمَّا شَغَلَهُ بِهِ عَنْهُ وَقَطَعَهُ دُونَهُ ، فَفِي صَرْفِ الدُّنْيَا عَنْكَ وَابْتِلَاءِ غَيْرِكَ بِهَا نِعْمَتَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا شُكْرَانِ وَكَذَلِكَ إِذَا رَأَيْتَ مُبْتَلِي فِي دِينِهِ بِصِفَاتِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ أَوْ مُبْتَلِي بِنَفْسِهِ بِأَخْلَاقِ الْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ أَوْ مِنْهُمَا فِيمَا عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَفْعَالِ الْفَاسِقِينَ عَدَدْتَ جَمِيعَ ذَلِكَ

famin ghāmiḍi al-niʿami al-shukru ʿalā hādhihi al-maʿānī mā ruwiya ʿanka waṣarfuhu min fuḍūli al-dunyā faʾinnahu ʾaqallu li-l-shughli wa-al-ʾihtimāmi waʾaysaru li-l-ḥisābi , thumma ibtuliya bihi ghayruka mina al-dunyā mimmā shaghalahu bihi ʿanhu waqaṭaʿahu dūnahu , fafī ṣarfi al-dunyā ʿanka wa-btilāʾi ghayrika bihā niʿmatāni ʿalayhimā shukrāni wa-kadhālika ʾidhā raʾayta mubtalī fī dīnihi biṣifāti al-munāfiqīna ʾaw mubtalī binafsihi biʾakhlāqi al-mutakabbirīna ʾaw minhumā fīmā ʿalayhi min ʾafʿāli al-fāsiqīna ʿadadta jamīʿa dhālika

Among obscure blessings calling for gratitude for these meanings is what is withheld from you and turned away from you of this world's excess, for it makes occupation and concern less and the accounting easier. Then there is what others are tried with of this world, by which He occupies them away from Himself and cuts them off from Him. In turning the world away from you and trying others with it are two blessings requiring two acts of gratitude. Likewise, when you see someone afflicted in his religion with the qualities of hypocrites, or afflicted in his self with the traits of the arrogant, or immersed in what he does of the deeds of the defiantly disobedient, count all of that

نِعَمًا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْكَ إِذْ لَمْ يَجْعَلْكَ كَذَلِكَ لِأَنَّكَ قَدْ كُنْتَ أَنْتَ ذَاكَ لَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكَ وَرَحْمَتُهُ فَتَحْسَبُ كُلَّ مَا وَجَّهَ إِلَى غَيْرِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ أَوْ صَرَفَهُ عَنْكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ اَنْ تَعُدَّهُ نِعَمًا عَلَيْكَ بِمِثْلِ مَا وَجَّهَ إِلَىكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَصَرَفَ عَنْكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ لِأَنَّ النُّفُوسَ كَنَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ فِي الْأَمْرِ بِالسُّوءِ وَالْمَشِيئَةُ وَالْقُدْرَةُ وَاحِدَةٌ فَقَدْ رَحِمَكَ بِمَا صَرَفَ عَنْكَ مِنَ السُّوءِ فَذَلِكَ مِنْ فَضْلِ اللَّهِ

niʿaman mina Allāhi taʿālā ʿalayka ʾidh lam yajʿalka kadhālika liʾannaka qad kunta ʾanta dhāka lawlā faḍlu Allāhi ʿalayka waraḥmatuhu fataḥsabu kulla mā wajjaha ʾilā ghayrika mina al-sharri ʾaw ṣarafahu ʿanka mina al-khayri an taʿuddahu niʿaman ʿalayka bimithli mā wajjaha ʾilāka mina al-khayri waṣarafa ʿanka mina al-sharri liʾanna al-nufūsa kanafsin wāḥidatin fī al-ʾamri bi-al-sūʾi wa-al-mashīʾatu wa-al-qudratu wāḥidatun faqad raḥimaka bimā ṣarafa ʿanka mina al-sūʾi fa-dhālika min faḍli Allāhi

as blessings from God, exalted is He, upon you, since He did not make you like that. You would have been that person but for God's favor and mercy upon you. Reckon every evil directed to someone else, or good turned away from you, as blessings upon you, just as you reckon the good directed to you and the evil turned away from you. For souls are as one soul in commanding evil, and the will and power are one. He has shown you mercy by what He turned away from you of evil: that is from God's favor,

تَعَالَى عَلَيْكَ فَمَعْرِفَتُهُ بِذَلِكَ شُكْرٌ مِنْكَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَكْثَرُ عُقُوبَاتِ الْخَلْقِ مِنْ قِلَّةِ الشُّكْرِ عَلَى النِّعَمِ وَأَصْلُ قِلَّةِ الشُّكْرِ الْجَهْلُ بِالنِّعْمَةِ ، وَسَبَبُ الْجَهْلِ بِالنِّعْمَةِ قُصُورُ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَطُولُ الْغَفْلَةِ عَنِ الْمُنْعِمِ وَتَرْكُ التَّفَكُّرِ فِي نِعَمِهِ وَالتَّذَكُّرِ لِآلَائِهِ ، وَمَنِّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فَقَدْ أَمَرَ بِذَلِكَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَاذْكُرُوا آلَاءَ اللَّهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 69 قِيلَ :

taʿālā ʿalayka famaʿrifatuhu bi-dhālika shukrun minka li-llāhi taʿālā waʾaktharu ʿuqūbāti al-khalqi min qillati al-shukri ʿalā al-niʿami waʾaṣlu qillati al-shukri al-jahlu bi-al-niʿmati , wasababu al-jahli bi-al-niʿmati quṣūru al-ʿilmi bi-Allāhi taʿālā waṭūlu al-ghaflati ʿani al-munʿimi watarku al-tafakkuri fī niʿamihi wa-al-tadhakkuri liʾālāʾihi , wamannihi subḥānahu wataʿālā faqad ʾamara bi-dhālika fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( fa-dhkurū ʾālāʾa Allāhi laʿallakum tufliḥūna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 69 qīla :

exalted is He, upon you. Recognizing Him in that is gratitude from you to God, exalted is He. Most punishments of creatures arise from insufficient gratitude for blessings. The root of insufficient gratitude is ignorance of the blessing; the cause of ignorance of the blessing is deficient knowledge of God, exalted is He, prolonged heedlessness of the Benefactor, and abandoning reflection on His blessings and remembrance of His favors and bounty, glorified and exalted is He. He commanded this in His saying, exalted is He: “Remember God's favors, so that you may prosper” (al-Aʿrāf 7:69). It is said:

نِعَمَهُ . وَقَالَ الْمُفَسِّرُونَ : وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَيْكُمْ وَمَا أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ يَعِظُكُمْ بِهِ وَبِمَعْنَاهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 185 ، يَعْنِي عَلَى نِعْمَةِ الْهِدَايَةِ وَتَوْفِيقِ الطَّاعَةِ فَإِذَا جَهِلَ الْعَبْدُ النِّعْمَةَ لَمْ يَعْرِفْهَا ، وَإِذَا لَمْ يَعْرِفْهَا لَمْ يَشْكُرْ عَلَيْهَا وَإِذَا لَمْ يَشْكُرْ عَلَيْهَا انْقَطَعَ مَزِيدُهُ ،

niʿamahu . waqāla al-mufassirūna : wa-dhkurū niʿmata Allāhi ʿaykum wamā ʾanzala ʿalaykum mina al-kitābi wa-al-ḥikmati yaʿiẓukum bihi wabimaʿnāhu qawluhu taʿālā : ( walitukmilū al-ʿiddata walitukabbirū Allāha ʿalā mā hadākum walaʿallakum tashkurūna ) al-baqaratu : 185 , yaʿnī ʿalā niʿmati al-hidāyati watawfīqi al-ṭāʿati faʾidhā jahila al-ʿabdu al-niʿmata lam yaʿrifhā , waʾidhā lam yaʿrifhā lam yashkur ʿalayhā waʾidhā lam yashkur ʿalayhā inqaṭaʿa mazīduhu ,

“His blessings.” The commentators said: “Remember God's blessing upon you, and what He has sent down to you of the Book and wisdom, admonishing you through it.” Similar in meaning is His saying, exalted is He: “So that you may complete the number, magnify God for having guided you, and give thanks” (al-Baqara 2:185), meaning for the blessing of guidance and enabling grace for obedience. When the servant is ignorant of the blessing, he does not recognize it; when he does not recognize it, he does not give thanks for it; and when he does not give thanks for it, his increase is cut off.

وَمَنِ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ الْمَزِيدُ فَهُوَ فِي نُقْصَانِ مَا أَدَّعَى وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّ مَنْ لَمْ يَشْكُرِ النِّعَمَ لِجَهْلِهِ بِهَا لَمْ يُؤْمَنْ عَلَيْهِ

wamani inqaṭaʿa ʿanhu al-mazīdu fahuwa fī nuqṣāni mā ʾaddaʿā waʾayḍan faʾinna man lam yashkuri al-niʿama lijahlihi bihā lam yuʾman ʿalayhi

Whoever has the increase cut off from him suffers diminution in what he has claimed. Moreover, one who does not thank for blessings because he is ignorant of them is not safe from

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٤٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 349

Volume One, page 349

كُفْرُهَا ، فَإِنْ كَفَرَهَا أَدْرَكَهُ الْعَذَابُ الشَّدِيدُ لِلْوَعِيدِ إِلَّا أَنْ تَدَارَكَهُ نِعْمَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَأُصُولُ نِعَمِ الْمَرَافِقِ لِلْأَحْرَاثِ أَرْبَعَةٌ ؛ أَوَّلُهَا : النُّطْفَةُ الَّتِي أَخْرَجَتْ مِنْ خِزَانَةِ الْأَرْحَامِ جَمِيعَ الْبَهَائِمِ وَالْأَنَامِ ، ثُمَّ الْحَرْثُ الَّذِي أَخْرَجَ مِنْ خِزَانَةِ الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعَ الثَّمَرِ ، ثُمَّ الْمَاءُ الَّذِي لَنَا مِنْهُ شَرَابٌ وَمِنْهُ شَجَرٌ ، ثُمَّ النَّارُ الَّتِي فِيهَا ضِيَاءٌ وَمَصَالِحُ الْأَطْعِمَةِ وَبِهَا لِأَهْلِ الْبَصَائِرِ تَذْكِرَةٌ ،

kufruhā , faʾin kafarahā ʾadrakahu al-ʿadhābu al-shadīdu li-l-waʿīdi ʾillā ʾan tadārakahu niʿmatun min rabbihi waʾuṣūlu niʿami al-marāfiqi li-l-ʾaḥrāthi ʾarbaʿatun ; ʾawwaluhā : al-nuṭfatu allatī ʾakhrajat min khizānati al-ʾarḥāmi jamīʿa al-bahāʾimi wa-al-ʾanāmi , thumma al-ḥarthu alladhī ʾakhraja min khizānati al-ʾarḍi jamīʿa al-thamari , thumma al-māʾu alladhī lanā minhu sharābun waminhu shajarun , thumma al-nāru allatī fīhā ḍiyāʾun wamaṣāliḥu al-ʾaṭʿimati wabihā liʾahli al-baṣāʾiri tadhkiratun ,

being ungrateful for them. If he is ungrateful for them, the severe punishment of the threat overtakes him, unless a blessing from his Lord reaches him in time. The foundational blessings of useful provisions for cultivation are four. The first is the drop of seed, which brought all beasts and humankind out of the treasury of wombs; then the cultivation that brought all fruit out of the treasury of the earth; then water, from which we have drink and from which there are plants; then fire, in which are light and the preparation of foods, and through which the people of insight have a reminder.

وَهَذِهِ النِّعَمُ هِيَ الَّتِي ذَكَرَهَا الْمُنْعِمُ فِي آخِرِ سُورَةِ الْوَاقِعَةِ وَأَضَافَهَا إِلَى نَفْسِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ فِيهِ شَرِيكًا مَعَهُ وَفَتَحَ لِلْعِبَادِ الْعُمَّالِ أَبْوَابَهَا . وَمِنْ أَفْضَلِ النِّعَمِ وَأَجَلِّهَا نِعْمَةُ الْإِيمَانِ بِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ، ثُمَّ نِعْمَةُ الرَّسُولِ ، ثُمَّ نِعْمَةُ الْقُرْآنِ ، ثُمَّ أَنْ جَعَلَنَا مِنْ خَيْرِ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ ، وَقَبْلَ ذَلِكَ أَوَّلُ نِعْمَةٍ عَقَلْنَاهَا أَنْ جَعَلَنَا مَوْجُودِينَ دُونَ سَائِرِ الْمَعْدُومَاتِ ،

wa-hādhihi al-niʿamu hiya allatī dhakarahā al-munʿimu fī ʾākhiri sūrati al-wāqiʿati waʾaḍāfahā ʾilā nafsihi ʿazza wajalla walam yajʿal fīhi sharīkan maʿahu wafataḥa li-l-ʿibādi al-ʿummāli ʾabwābahā . wamin ʾafḍali al-niʿami waʾajallihā niʿmatu al-ʾīmāni bihi subḥānahu wataʿālā , thumma niʿmatu al-rasūli , thumma niʿmatu al-qurʾāni , thumma ʾan jaʿalanā min khayri ʾummatin ʾukhrijat li-l-nāsi , waqabla dhālika ʾawwalu niʿmatin ʿaqalnāhā ʾan jaʿalanā mawjūdīna dūna sāʾiri al-maʿdūmāti ,

These are the blessings the Benefactor mentioned at the end of Sūrat al-Wāqiʿa, attributing them to Himself, mighty and majestic, assigning no partner with Him in them, and opening their doors to His working servants. Among the best and most majestic blessings is the blessing of faith in Him, glorified and exalted is He; then the blessing of the Messenger; then the blessing of the Qurʾān; then His making us part of the best community brought forth for humankind. Before that, the first blessing we recognized was His making us existent rather than among all the nonexistent things;

ثُمَّ جَعَلَنَا حَيَوَانًا دُونَ سَائِرِ الْمَوَاتِ ، ثُمَّ جَعَلَنَا بَشَرَ دُونَ سَائِرِ الْحَيَوَانِ ثُمَّ جَعَلَنَا ذُكُورًا دُونَ الْإِنَاثِ ، ثُمَّ صَوَّرَنَا فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ ثُمَّ عَوَافِي الْقُلُوبِ مِنَ الزَّيْغِ عَنِ السُّنَّةِ وَمِنَ الْمَيْلِ إِلَى دَوَاعِي النَّفْسِ الْأَمَّارَةِ ، ثُمَّ صِحَّةُ الْأَجْسَامِ ثُمَّ كَشْفُ السِّتْرِ ، ثُمَّ حُسْنُ الْكِفَايَةِ لِحَاجَةٍ ، ثُمَّ صُنُوفُ مَا أَظْهَرَ مِنَ الْأَزْوَاجِ لِلْأَقْوَاتِ ،

thumma jaʿalanā ḥayawānan dūna sāʾiri al-mawāti , thumma jaʿalanā bashara dūna sāʾiri al-ḥayawāni thumma jaʿalanā dhukūran dūna al-ʾināthi , thumma ṣawwaranā fī ʾaḥsani taqwīmin thumma ʿawāfī al-qulūbi mina al-zayghi ʿani al-sunnati wamina al-mayli ʾilā dawāʿī al-nafsi al-ʾammārati , thumma ṣiḥḥatu al-ʾajsāmi thumma kashfu al-sitri , thumma ḥusnu al-kifāyati liḥājatin , thumma ṣunūfu mā ʾaẓhara mina al-ʾazwāji li-l-ʾaqwāti ,

then making us living rather than among all the lifeless things; then making us human rather than among the other animals; then making us male rather than female; then shaping us in the finest form; then the well-being of hearts, free of deviation from the Sunna and inclination toward the promptings of the commanding self; then bodily health; then the lifting of the veil; then good sufficiency for a need; then the varieties He manifested of paired kinds of sustenance;

ثُمَّ تَسْخِيرُ الصَّنْعَةِ لَنَا مِمَّا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ ؛ فَهَذِهِ أُمَّهَاتُ النِّعَمِ فَكُلَّمَا كَثُرَتْ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي وَحَسُنَتْ كَثُرَ الشُّكْرُ عَلَيْهِمَا فَعَظِيمُ النِّعَمِ بِهَا ، ( وَإِنْ تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا ) إِبْرَاهِيمُ : 34 وَكَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : خُصَّ بِمَعْرِفَةِ النِّعَمِ وَبِمَعْرِفَةِ عَظِيمِ حِلْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَسَتْرِهِ الصِّدِّيقُونَ . وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَصْدَقُ الْقَائِلِينَ وَأَحْسَنُ الْوَاصِفِينَ :

thumma taskhīru al-ṣanʿati lanā mimmā bayna al-samāʾi wa-al-ʾarḍi ; fa-hādhihi ʾummahātu al-niʿami fakullamā kathurat hādhihi al-maʿānī waḥasunat kathura al-shukru ʿalayhimā faʿaẓīmu al-niʿami bihā , ( waʾin taʿuddū niʿmata Allāhi lā tuḥṣūhā ) ʾibrāhīmu : 34 wakāna ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu : khuṣṣa bimaʿrifati al-niʿami wabimaʿrifati ʿaẓīmi ḥilmi Allāhi taʿālā wasatrihi al-ṣiddīqūna . waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā ʾaṣdaqu al-qāʾilīna waʾaḥsanu al-wāṣifīna :

then His subjecting to us the workmanship of what is between heaven and earth. These are the mother blessings. Whenever these meanings become more numerous and finer, gratitude for both increases, for through them the blessings are great. “If you count God's blessing, you cannot enumerate it” (Ibrāhīm 14:34). Abū Muḥammad Sahl, God have mercy on him, used to say: “The utterly truthful are singled out for knowledge of blessings and knowledge of God's immense forbearance, exalted is He, and His concealment.” God, exalted is He, the most truthful speaker and finest describer, has said:

( وَإِنْ تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ) إِبْرَاهِيمُ : 34 ، فَتَمَّتِ النِّعْمَةُ بِوَصْفَيْهِ اللَّذَيْنِ هُوَ لَهُمَا أَهْلٌ مِنَ الْمَغْفِرَةِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ ثُمَّ قَالَ أَيْضًا فِي مِثْلِهِ : ( إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَظَلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ ) إِبْرَاهِيمُ : 34 فَكَانَ أَعْظَمَ لِلنِّعْمَةِ وَأَوْسَعَ فِي الْكَرَمِ وَالْمِنَّةِ عَلَى وَصْفَيِ الْإِنْسَانِ اللَّذَيْنِ هُوَ أَهْلٌ لَهُمَا مِنَ الظُّلْمِ وَالْكُفْرِ ،

( waʾin taʿuddū niʿmata Allāhi lā tuḥṣūhā ʾinna Allāha laghafūrun raḥīmun ) ʾibrāhīmu : 34 , fatammati al-niʿmatu biwaṣfayhi alladhayni huwa lahumā ʾahlun mina al-maghfirati wa-al-raḥmati thumma qāla ʾayḍan fī mithlihi : ( ʾinna al-ʾinsāna laẓalūmun kaffārun ) ʾibrāhīmu : 34 fakāna ʾaʿẓama li-l-niʿmati waʾawsaʿa fī al-karami wa-al-minnati ʿalā waṣfayi al-ʾinsāni alladhayni huwa ʾahlun lahumā mina al-ẓulmi wa-al-kufri ,

“If you count God's blessing, you cannot enumerate it. God is indeed forgiving, merciful” (Ibrāhīm 14:34). Thus the blessing was completed by His two attributes, forgiveness and mercy, of which He is worthy. Then He also said in a similar passage: “The human being is indeed greatly unjust and deeply ungrateful” (Ibrāhīm 14:34). This magnifies the blessing and expands generosity and favor toward the human being's two qualities, injustice and ingratitude, of which he is deserving.

فَهُوَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى أَهْلُ التَّقْوَى وَأَهْلُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ وَالْعَبْدُ أَهْلٌ لِمَا وَصَفَهُ بِهِ مَوْلَاهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى أَنْ يَجُودَ عَلَيْهِ بِقَدِيمِ مَا بِهِ تَوَلَّاهُ فَبِنِعْمَتِهِ أَطَاعَهُ الْعَامِلُونَ ، وَمِنْ نِعْمَتِهِ جَازَاهُمْ وَبِنِعْمَتِهِ عَصَاهُ الْجَاهِلُونَ ، وَمِنْ نِعْمَتِهِ سَتَرَ وَحَلِمَ عَنْهُمْ ، وَمِنَ النِّعَمِ إِظْهَارُ الْجَمِيلِ وَسَتْرُ الْقَبِيحِ فَلَا نَدْرِي أَيُّ النِّعْمَتَيْنِ أَعْظَمُ جَمِيلُ مَا أَظْهَرَ أَوْ قَبِيحُ مَا سَتَرَ ،

fahuwa subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾahlu al-taqwā waʾahlu al-maghfirati wa-al-ʿabdu ʾahlun limā waṣafahu bihi mawlāhu ʿazza wajalla ʾilā ʾan yajūda ʿalayhi biqadīmi mā bihi tawallāhu fabiniʿmatihi ʾaṭāʿahu al-ʿāmilūna , wamin niʿmatihi jāzāhum wabiniʿmatihi ʿaṣāhu al-jāhilūna , wamin niʿmatihi satara waḥalima ʿanhum , wamina al-niʿami ʾiẓhāru al-jamīli wasatru al-qabīḥi falā nadrī ʾayyu al-niʿmatayni ʾaʿẓamu jamīlu mā ʾaẓhara ʾaw qabīḥu mā satara ,

He, glorified and exalted is He, is worthy of being feared and worthy of granting forgiveness; the servant is deserving of what his Master, mighty and majestic, described him with, until He generously bestows upon him the ancient favor by which He took care of him. By His blessing the doers obeyed Him, and from His blessing He rewarded them; by His blessing the ignorant disobeyed Him, and from His blessing He concealed them and showed forbearance toward them. Among blessings are displaying the beautiful and concealing the ugly. We do not know which blessing is greater: the beautiful that He displayed or the ugly that He concealed.

وَقَدْ يُمْدَحُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالْوَصْفَيْنِ مَعًا فِي الدُّعَاءِ الْمَأْثُورِ : يَا مَنْ أَظْهَرَ الْجَمِيلَ وَسَتَرَ الْقَبِيحَ ، وَمِنَ النِّعْمَةِ الصِّحَّةُ وَالْفَرَاغُ هُمَا أَوَّلُ نَعِيمِ الدُّنْيَا وَأُصُولُ أَعْمَالِ الْآخِرَةِ وَبِهِمَا تَكُونُ الْمَغَابِنَاتُ كَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نِعْمَتَانِ مَغْبُونٌ فِيهِمَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ : الصِّحَّةُ وَالْفَرَاغُ ، وَقَالَ الْفُضَيْلُ بْنُ عِيَاضٍ : عَلَيْكُمْ بِمُدَاوَمَةِ الشُّكْرِ عَلَى النِّعَمِ فَقَلَّ نِعْمَةٌ زَالَتْ عَنْ قَوْمٍ فَعَادَتْ إِلَيْهِمْ ،

waqad yumdaḥu Allāhu taʿālā bi-al-waṣfayni maʿan fī al-duʿāʾi al-maʾthūri : yā man ʾaẓhara al-jamīla wasatara al-qabīḥa , wamina al-niʿmati al-ṣiḥḥatu wa-al-farāghu humā ʾawwalu naʿīmi al-dunyā waʾuṣūlu ʾaʿmāli al-ʾākhirati wabihimā takūnu al-maghābinātu kamā qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama niʿmatāni maghbūnun fīhimā kathīrun mina al-nāsi : al-ṣiḥḥatu wa-al-farāghu , waqāla al-fuḍaylu bnu ʿiyāḍin : ʿalaykum bimudāwamati al-shukri ʿalā al-niʿami faqalla niʿmatun zālat ʿan qawmin faʿādat ʾilayhim ,

God, exalted is He, is praised for both descriptions together in the transmitted supplication: “You who display the beautiful and conceal the ugly!” Among blessings are health and leisure. They are the beginning of this world's comfort and the foundations of deeds for the next world; through them come losses in one's bargain, as God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Two blessings in which many people lose out are health and leisure.” Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ said: “Persist in gratitude for blessings, for rarely has a blessing departed from a people and returned to them.”

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : النِّعَمُ وَحْشِيَّةٌ فَقَيِّدُوهَا بِالشُّكْرِ ، وَقَدْ رُوِيَ فِي خَبَرٍ : مَا عَظُمَتْ نِعْمَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى عَبْدٍ إِلَّا كَثُرَتْ حَوَائِجُ النَّاسِ إِلَيْهِ ، فَمَنْ تَهَاوَنَ بِهِمْ عَرَّضَ تِلْكَ النِّعْمَةَ لِلزَّوَالِ .

waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi : al-niʿamu waḥshiyyatun faqayyidūhā bi-al-shukri , waqad ruwiya fī khabarin : mā ʿaẓumat niʿmatu Allāhi taʿālā ʿalā ʿabdin ʾillā kathurat ḥawāʾiju al-nāsi ʾilayhi , faman tahāwana bihim ʿarraḍa tilka al-niʿmata li-l-zawāli .

One of the predecessors said: “Blessings are wild, so tether them with gratitude.” It has been related in a report: “God's blessing upon a servant, exalted is He, never becomes great without people's needs of him becoming many. Whoever treats them carelessly exposes that blessing to disappearance.”

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٥٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 350

Volume One, page 350

وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ ) الرَّعْدُ : 11 قِيلَ : لَا يُغَيِّرُ نِعَمَهُ عَلَيْهِمْ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوهَا بِتَضْيِيعِ الشُّكْرِ فَيُعَاقِبُهُمْ بِالتَّغْيِيرِ وَالْوَجْهُ الْآخَرُ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِهِمْ مِنْ عُقُوبَةٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَعَاصِيَهُمْ بِالتَّوْبَةِ ، فَذَكَرَ بِذَلِكَ السَّبَبَ الْأَوَّلَ مِنْ حُكْمِهِ ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ السَّبَبَ الثَّانِيَ مِنْ حِكْمَتِهِ وَهُوَ مُسَبِّبُ الْأَسْبَابِ لِلْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَشِيئَةِ وَيُقَالُ :

waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( ʾinna Allāha lā yughayyiru mā biqawmin ḥattā yughayyirū mā biʾanfusihim ) al-raʿdu : 11 qīla : lā yughayyiru niʿamahu ʿalayhim ḥattā yughayyirūhā bitaḍyīʿi al-shukri fayuʿāqibuhum bi-al-taghyīri wa-al-wajhu al-ʾākharu lā yughayyiru mā bihim min ʿuqūbatin ḥattā yughayyirū maʿāṣiyahum bi-al-tawbati , fadhakara bi-dhālika al-sababa al-ʾawwala min ḥukmihi thumma dhakara al-sababa al-thāniya min ḥikmatihi wahuwa musabbibu al-ʾasbābi li-l-ḥikmati wa-al-mashīʾati wayuqālu :

God, exalted is He, has said: “God does not change what is with a people until they change what is within themselves” (al-Raʿd 13:11). It is said: He does not change His blessings upon them until they change them by neglecting gratitude, so He punishes them with change. The other interpretation is: He does not change the punishment upon them until they change their acts of disobedience through repentance. He thus mentioned the first cause arising from His judgment, then mentioned the second cause arising from His wisdom. He is the Causer of causes through wisdom and will. It is said:

إِنَّ تَحْتَ كُلِّ شَعْرَةٍ مِنْ جِسْمِ الْعَبْدِ نِعْمَةً ، وَبِكُلِّ عِرْقٍ فِي جَسَدِهِ نِعْمَتَانِ فِي تَسْكِينِهِ وَتَحْرِيكِهِ ، وَفِي كُلِّ عَظْمٍ أَرْبَعُ نِعَمٍ ، وَبِكُلِّ مَفْصِلٍ سَبْعُ نِعَمٍ ، وَفِي جِسْمِ الْإِنْسَانِ ثَلَاثُمِائَةٍ وَسِتُّونَ مَفْصِلًا ، وَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْعِظَامِ ، وَفِي كُلِّ طَرْفَةٍ نِعْمَتَانِ ، وَبِكُلِّ نَفَسٍ نِعْمَتَانِ ، وَفِي كُلِّ دَقِيقَةٍ تَأْتِي عَلَيْهِ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ نِعَمٌ لَا تُحْصَى ،

ʾinna taḥta kulli shaʿratin min jismi al-ʿabdi niʿmatan , wabikulli ʿirqin fī jasadihi niʿmatāni fī taskīnihi wataḥrīkihi , wafī kulli ʿaẓmin ʾarbaʿu niʿamin , wabikulli mafṣilin sabʿu niʿamin , wafī jismi al-ʾinsāni thalāthumiʾatin wasittūna mafṣilan , wamithlu dhālika mina al-ʿiẓāmi , wafī kulli ṭarfatin niʿmatāni , wabikulli nafasin niʿmatāni , wafī kulli daqīqatin taʾtī ʿalayhi min ʿumurihi niʿamun lā tuḥṣā ,

“Beneath every hair of the servant's body is a blessing; in every vessel of his body are two blessings, in its stillness and its movement; in every bone are four blessings; and in every joint are seven blessings.” In the human body there are three hundred and sixty joints and the same number of bones. In every blink are two blessings, in every breath are two blessings, and in every small moment that passes over his life are blessings beyond counting.

وَالدَّقِيقَةُ جُزْءٌ مِنِ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ جُزْءًا مِنْ شَعِيرَةٍ ، وَالشَّعِيرَةُ جُزْءٌ مِنِ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ جُزْءًا مِنْ سَاعَةٍ ، وَالْأَنْفَاسُ أَرْبَعَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ أَلْفَ نَفَسٍ فِي الْيَوْمِ وَاللَّيْلَةِ ، وَفِي أَخْبَارِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : يَا رَبِّ كَيْفَ أَشْكُرُكَ وَلَكَ فِي كُلِّ شَعْرَةٍ مِنْ جَسَدِي نِعْمَتَانِ إِنْ لَيَّنْتَ أَصْلَهَا وَإِنْ طَمَنْتَ رَأْسَهَا . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْأَثَرِ :

wa-al-daqīqatu juzʾun mini ithnay ʿashara juzʾan min shaʿīratin , wa-al-shaʿīratu juzʾun mini ithnay ʿashara juzʾan min sāʿatin , wa-al-ʾanfāsu ʾarbaʿatun waʿishrūna ʾalfa nafasin fī al-yawmi wa-al-laylati , wafī ʾakhbāri mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu : yā rabbi kayfa ʾashkuruka walaka fī kulli shaʿratin min jasadī niʿmatāni ʾin layyanta ʾaṣlahā waʾin ṭamanta raʾsahā . waqad rawaynā fī al-ʾathari :

A small moment, a daqīqa, is one of twelve parts of a shaʿīra, and a shaʿīra is one of twelve parts of an hour. Breaths are twenty-four thousand breaths in a day and night. In the accounts of Moses, peace be upon him: “Lord, how can I thank You, when in every hair of my body You have two blessings: that You softened its root and settled its tip?” We have related in the transmitted account:

مَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ نِعَمَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا فِي مَطْعَمِهِ وَمَشْرَبِهِ فَقَدْ قَلَّ عِلْمُهُ وَحَضَرَ عَذَابُهُ ؛ هَذَا مَعَ سَوَابِغِ الْعَوَافِي وَالْكِفَايَاتِ وَالْوِقَايَاتِ ، وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ فِي بَاطِنِ الْجِسْمِ مِنَ النِّعَمِ سَبْعَةَ أَضْعَافِ النِّعَمِ الَّتِي فِي ظَاهِرِهِ ، وَإِنَّ فِي الْقَلْبِ مِنَ النِّعَمِ أَضْعَافَ مَا فِي الْجِسْمِ كُلِّهِ مِنَ النِّعَمِ ، وَإِنَّ نِعَمَ الْإِيمَانِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالْعِلْمِ وَالْيَقِينِ أَضْعَافَ نِعَمِ الْأَجْسَامِ وَالْقُلُوبِ ؛

man lam yaʿrif niʿama Allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhi ʾillā fī maṭʿamihi wamashrabihi faqad qalla ʿilmuhu waḥaḍara ʿadhābuhu ; hādhā maʿa sawābighi al-ʿawāfī wa-al-kifāyāti wa-al-wiqāyāti , wayuqālu : ʾinna fī bāṭini al-jismi mina al-niʿami sabʿata ʾaḍʿāfi al-niʿami allatī fī ẓāhirihi , waʾinna fī al-qalbi mina al-niʿami ʾaḍʿāfa mā fī al-jismi kullihi mina al-niʿami , waʾinna niʿama al-ʾīmāni bi-Allāhi taʿālā wa-al-ʿilmi wa-al-yaqīni ʾaḍʿāfa niʿami al-ʾajsāmi wa-al-qulūbi ;

“Whoever recognizes God's blessings upon him, exalted is He, only in his food and drink has little knowledge, and his punishment is at hand.” This is alongside abundant well-being, sufficiency, and protections. It is said: “Inside the body are seven times the blessings on its outside; in the heart are many times the blessings in the entire body; and the blessings of faith in God, exalted is He, knowledge, and certainty are many times the blessings of bodies and hearts.”

فَهَذِهِ كُلُّهَا نِعَمٌ مُضَاعَفَةٌ عَلَى نِعَمٍ مُتَرَادِفَةٍ لَا يُحْصِيهَا إِلَّا مَنْ أَنْعَمَ بِهَا وَلَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا مَنْ خَلَقَهَا ، أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ ، سِوَى نِعَمِ الْمَطْعَمِ وَالْمَشْرَبِ وَالْمَلْبَسِ وَالْمَنْكَحِ مِنْ دُخُولِ ذَلِكَ وَخُرُوجِهِ وَكَثْرَةِ تَكَرُّرِهِ وَتَزَايُدِهِ بِأَنْ أَدْخَلَ مَهْنَاهُ وَأَخْرَجَ أَذَاهُ وَبِأَنْ طَيَّبَ مَدْخَلَهُ وَيَسَّرَ مَخْرَجَهُ وَبَقَى مَنْفَعَتُهُ وَمَا أَحَالَ مِنْ صُورَتِهِ وَغَيَّرَ مِنْ صِفَتِهِ فَلِلتَّزْهِيدِ وَالذِّلَّةِ وَالِاعْتِبَارِ وَالتَّذْكِرَةِ ؛

fa-hādhihi kulluhā niʿamun muḍāʿafatun ʿalā niʿamin mutarādifatin lā yuḥṣīhā ʾillā man ʾanʿama bihā walā yaʿlamuhā ʾillā man khalaqahā , ʾalā yaʿlamu man khalaqa wahuwa al-laṭīfu al-khabīru , siwā niʿami al-maṭʿami wa-al-mashrabi wa-al-malbasi wa-al-mankaḥi min dukhūli dhālika wakhurūjihi wakathrati takarrurihi watazāyudihi biʾan ʾadkhala mahnāhu waʾakhraja ʾadhāhu wabiʾan ṭayyaba madkhalahu wayassara makhrajahu wabaqā manfaʿatuhu wamā ʾaḥāla min ṣūratihi waghayyara min ṣifatihi fali-l-tazhīdi wa-al-dhillati wa-al-iʿtibāri wa-al-tadhkirati ;

These are all blessings multiplied upon blessings following one another, counted only by the One who bestowed them and known only by the One who created them. “Does the One who created not know, when He is the All-Subtle, the All-Aware?” This is apart from the blessings of food, drink, clothing, and marriage: their coming in and going out, frequent recurrence and increase; His bringing in their wholesome enjoyment and expelling their harm; His making their entry pleasant and their exit easy, while their benefit remains. What He transforms of their form and alters of their quality is for renunciation, lowliness, taking heed, and remembrance.

وَتِلْكَ أَيْضًا نِعَمٌ ، قَالَ : يُقَالُ إِنَّ الرَّغِيفَ لَا يَسْتَدِيرُ حَتَّى يَعْمَلَ فِيهِ ثَلَاثُمِائَةٍ وَسِتُّونَ صَنْعَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا مِنَ الْأَجْسَامِ وَالْأَعْرَاضِ وَالْأَفْلَاكِ وَالرِّيَاحِ وَاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَبَنِي آدَمَ وَصَنَائِعِهِمْ وَالْبَهَائِمِ وَمَعَادِنِ الْأَرْضِ ، أَوَّلُهَا مِيكَائِيلُ الَّذِي يَكِيلُ الْمَاءَ مِنَ الْخَزَائِنِ فَيُفْرِغُهُ عَلَى السَّحَابِ ثُمَّ السَّحَابُ الَّتِي تَحْمِلُهُ فَيُرْسِلُهُ ثُمَّ الرِّيَاحُ الَّتِي تَحْمِلُ السَّحَابَ وَالرَّعْدُ وَالْبَرْقُ وَالْمَلَكَانِ اللَّذَانِ يَسُوقَانِ السَّحَابَ وَآخِرُهَا الْخَبَّازُ فَإِذَا اسْتَدَارَ رَغِيفًا طَلَبَ سَبْعَةَ آلَافِ صَانِعٍ كُلُّ صَانِعٍ أَصْلٌ مِنْ أُصُولِ الصَّنَائِعِ ؛

watilka ʾayḍan niʿamun , qāla : yuqālu ʾinna al-raghīfa lā yastadīru ḥattā yaʿmala fīhi thalāthumiʾatin wasittūna ṣanʿatan mina al-samāʾi wa-al-ʾarḍi wamā baynahumā mina al-ʾajsāmi wa-al-ʾaʿrāḍi wa-al-ʾaflāki wa-al-riyāḥi wa-al-layli wa-al-nahāri wabanī ʾādama waṣanāʾiʿihim wa-al-bahāʾimi wamaʿādini al-ʾarḍi , ʾawwaluhā mīkāʾīlu alladhī yakīlu al-māʾa mina al-khazāʾini fayufrighuhu ʿalā al-saḥābi thumma al-saḥābu allatī taḥmiluhu fayursiluhu thumma al-riyāḥu allatī taḥmilu al-saḥāba wa-al-raʿdu wa-al-barqu wa-al-malakāni alladhāni yasūqāni al-saḥāba waʾākhiruhā al-khabbāzu faʾidhā istadāra raghīfan ṭalaba sabʿata ʾālāfi ṣāniʿin kullu ṣāniʿin ʾaṣlun min ʾuṣūli al-ṣanāʾiʿi ;

Those too are blessings. He said: It is said that a loaf does not become round until three hundred and sixty operations have worked upon it, from heaven and earth and what lies between them: bodies, accidents, celestial spheres, winds, night and day, the children of Adam and their crafts, beasts, and the earth's minerals. The first is Michael, who measures water from the treasuries and pours it upon the clouds; then the clouds that carry it, and he sends it; then the winds that carry the clouds, thunder and lightning, and the two angels who drive the clouds. The last is the baker. By the time it has become a round loaf, it has required seven thousand workers, every worker a foundation among the foundations of crafts.

فَهَذِهِ كُلُّهَا نِعَمٌ فِي حُضُورِ رَغِيفٍ فَكَيْفَ بِمَا زَادَ عَلَيْهِ مِمَّا وَرَاءَهُ ، فَعَلَى الْعَبْدِ بِكُلِّ نِعْمَةٍ شُكْرَانِ طُولِبَ بِشُكْرِ نِعْمَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ عَلِي حَقِيقَتِهَا هَلَكَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَغَمَّدَهُ رَحْمَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ فَتَغْمُرَهُ لِتَمَامِ النِّعْمَةِ . وَرَوَيْنَا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سَمِعَ رَجُلًا يَقُولُ : اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ تَمَامَ النِّعْمَةِ ، فَقَالَ : هَلْ تَدْرِي مَا تَمَامُ النِّعْمَةِ ؟ قَالَ :

fa-hādhihi kulluhā niʿamun fī ḥuḍūri raghīfin fakayfa bimā zāda ʿalayhi mimmā warāʾahu , faʿalā al-ʿabdi bikulli niʿmatin shukrāni ṭūliba bishukri niʿmatin wāḥidatin ʿalī ḥaqīqatihā halaka ʾillā ʾan taghammadahu raḥmatun min rabbihi fataghmurahu litamāmi al-niʿmati . warawaynā ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama samiʿa rajulan yaqūlu : Allāhumma ʾinnī ʾasʾaluka tamāma al-niʿmati , faqāla : hal tadrī mā tamāmu al-niʿmati ? qāla :

All these are blessings in the presence of one loaf; what, then, of what exceeds it and lies beyond it? For every blessing the servant owes two acts of gratitude. Were he required to thank for one blessing according to its true due, he would perish, unless mercy from his Lord enfolded and overwhelmed him for the completion of the blessing. We have related that God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, heard a man say: “O God, I ask You for the completion of blessing.” He said: “Do you know what the completion of blessing is?” He said:

لَا ، قَالَ : دُخُولُ الْجَنَّةِ وَقِيلَ لِبَعْضِ الْحُكَمَاءِ : مَا النَّعِيمُ ؟ قَالَ : الْغَنِيُّ فَإِنِّي رَأَيْتُ الْفَقِيرَ لَا عَيْشَ لَهُ ، قِيلَ : زِدْنَا ، قَالَ الْعَافِيَةُ فَإِنِّي رَأَيْتُ السَّقِيمَ لَا

lā , qāla : dukhūlu al-jannati waqīla libaʿḍi al-ḥukamāʾi : mā al-naʿīmu ? qāla : al-ghaniyyu faʾinnī raʾaytu al-faqīra lā ʿaysha lahu , qīla : zidnā , qāla al-ʿāfiyatu faʾinnī raʾaytu al-saqīma lā

“No.” He said: “Entering the Garden.” One of the sages was asked: “What is ease?” He said: “Wealth, for I have seen that the poor man has no life.” It was said: “Tell us more.” He said: “Well-being, for I have seen that the sick man has no

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٥١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 351

Volume One, page 351

عَيْشَ لَهُ قِيلَ : زِدْنَا قَالَ : الْأَمْنُ فَإِنِّي رَأَيْتُ الْخَائِفَ لَا عَيْشَ لَهُ ، قِيلَ : زِدْنَا ، قَالَ : الشَّبَابُ فَإِنِّي رَأَيْتُ الْهَرِمَ لَا عَيْشَ لَهُ ، قِيلَ : زِدْنَا ، قَالَ : لَا أَجِدُ مَزِيدًا ، وَبَعْضُ مَا ذَكَرَهُ هُوَ أَحَدُ الْوُجُوهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( أَذْهَبْتُمْ طَيِّبَاتِكُمْ فِي حَيَاتِكُمُ الدُّنْيَا ) الْأَحْقَافُ : 20 قِيلَ :

ʿaysha lahu qīla : zidnā qāla : al-ʾamnu faʾinnī raʾaytu al-khāʾifa lā ʿaysha lahu , qīla : zidnā , qāla : al-shabābu faʾinnī raʾaytu al-harima lā ʿaysha lahu , qīla : zidnā , qāla : lā ʾajidu mazīdan , wabaʿḍu mā dhakarahu huwa ʾaḥadu al-wujūhi fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( ʾadhhabtum ṭayyibātikum fī ḥayātikumu al-dunyā ) al-ʾaḥqāfu : 20 qīla :

life.” It was said: “Tell us more.” He said: “Security, for I have seen that the fearful man has no life.” It was said: “Tell us more.” He said: “Youth, for I have seen that the decrepit man has no life.” It was said: “Tell us more.” He said: “I find nothing more.” Some of what he mentioned is one interpretation of His saying, exalted is He: “You exhausted your good things in your worldly life” (al-Aḥqāf 46:20). It is said:

الشَّبَابُ وَقِيلَ : الْفَرَاغُ وَقِيلَ الْأَمْنُ وَالصِّحَّةُ ، وَفِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَعَصَيْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا أَرَاكُمْ مَا تُحِبُّونَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 152 قِيلَ : الْعَوَافِي وَالْغِنَى ، وَبِمَعْنَاهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً ) لُقْمَانُ : 20 قِيلَ : ظَاهِرَةٌ الْعَوَافِي وَبَاطِنَةٌ الْبَلَاوِي لِأَنَّهُ سَبَبُ نَعِيمِ الْآخِرَةِ وَمَزِيدِهَا لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

al-shabābu waqīla : al-farāghu waqīla al-ʾamnu wa-al-ṣiḥḥatu , wafī qawlihi taʿālā : ( waʿaṣaytum min baʿdi mā ʾarākum mā tuḥibbūna ) ʾālu ʿimrāna : 152 qīla : al-ʿawāfī wa-al-ghinā , wabimaʿnāhu fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( waʾasbagha ʿalaykum niʿamahu ẓāhiratan wabāṭinatan ) luqmānu : 20 qīla : ẓāhiratun al-ʿawāfī wabāṭinatun al-balāwī liʾannahu sababu naʿīmi al-ʾākhirati wamazīdihā liqawlihi taʿālā :

“Youth”; it is also said, “Leisure”; and it is said, “Security and health.” Concerning His saying, exalted is He, “You disobeyed after He had shown you what you love” (Āl ʿImrān 3:152), it is said: “Well-being and wealth.” Similar in meaning is His saying, exalted is He, “He has lavished His blessings upon you, outward and inward” (Luqmān 31:20). It is said: “The outward are states of well-being, and the inward are afflictions,” because affliction causes the next world's delight and its increase, according to His saying, exalted is He:

( وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 155 ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : مَنْ أَصْبَحَ مُعَافًى فِي بَدَنِهِ آمِنًا فِي سِرْبِهِ وَعِنْدَهُ قُوتُ يَوْمِهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا حِيزَتْ لَهُ الدُّنْيَا بِحَذَافِيرِهَا وَأَنْشَدْتُ فِي مَعْنَاهُ لِبَعْضِ أَهْلِ الْقَنَاعَةِ : إِذَا الْقُوتُ تَأْتِي لَكَ . . . وَالصِّحَّةُ وَالْأَمْنُ وَأَصْبَحْتَ أَخَا حُزْنٍ . . . فَلَا فَارَقَكَ الْحُزْنُ وَأَنْشَدَ الْآخَرُ :

( wanaqṣin mina al-ʾamwāli wa-al-ʾanfusi wa-al-thamarāti wabashshiri al-ṣābirīna ) al-baqaratu : 155 , waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari : man ʾaṣbaḥa muʿāfan fī badanihi ʾāminan fī sirbihi waʿindahu qūtu yawmihi fakaʾannamā ḥīzat lahu al-dunyā biḥadhāfīrihā waʾanshadtu fī maʿnāhu libaʿḍi ʾahli al-qanāʿati : ʾidhā al-qūtu taʾtī laka . . . wa-al-ṣiḥḥatu wa-al-ʾamnu waʾaṣbaḥta ʾakhā ḥuznin . . . falā fāraqaka al-ḥuznu waʾanshada al-ʾākharu :

“And loss of wealth, lives, and fruits; give good tidings to the patient” (al-Baqara 2:155). The report states: “Whoever wakes with well-being in his body, secure in his dwelling, and possessing his day's food, it is as though the world in its entirety has been gathered for him.” Concerning this I recited verses by one of the people of contentment: “If sustenance comes to you, and health and security, yet you awaken possessed of sorrow, may sorrow never leave you!” Another recited:

كِنٌّ وَفِلْقَةُ خُبْزٍ . . . وَكُوزُ مَاءٍ وَأَمْنٌ أَلَذُّ مِنْ كُلِّ عَيْشٍ . . . يَحْوِيهِ سَحْبٌ وَسِجْنٌ وَحَدَّثُونَا أَنَّ عَابِدًا عَبَدَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى سَبْعِينَ عَامًا ، فَأَرْسَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ مَلَكًا يُبَشِّرُهُ بِدُخُولِ الْجَنَّةِ بِرَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، فَهَجَسَ فِي نَفْسِهِ بَلْ بِعَمَلِي فَاطَّلَعَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى ذَلِكَ مِنْهُ فَأَوْحَى إِلَى عِرْقٍ سَاكِنٍ مِنْ عُرُوقِهِ أَنْ تَحَرَّكْ عَلَيْهِ ،

kinnun wafilqatu khubzin . . . wakūzu māʾin waʾamnun ʾaladhdhu min kulli ʿayshin . . . yaḥwīhi saḥbun wasijnun waḥaddathūnā ʾanna ʿābidan ʿabada Allāha taʿālā sabʿīna ʿāman , faʾarsala Allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi malakan yubashshiruhu bidukhūli al-jannati biraḥmati Allāhi taʿālā , fahajasa fī nafsihi bal biʿamalī fa-ṭṭalaʿa Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā dhālika minhu faʾawḥā ʾilā ʿirqin sākinin min ʿurūqihi ʾan taḥarrak ʿalayhi ,

“A shelter and a piece of bread, a jug of water and security, are sweeter than every life enclosed by dragging away and imprisonment.” They told us that a worshipper worshipped God, exalted is He, for seventy years. God, exalted is He, sent an angel to give him glad tidings of entering the Garden through God's mercy, exalted is He. But the thought stirred within him: “Rather, through my deeds.” God, exalted is He, saw that in him and inspired a still vessel among his vessels: “Move against him.”

قَالَ : فَاضْطَرَبَ لِذَلِكَ وَقَلِقَ وَانْقَطَعَتْ عِبَادَتُهُ وَذَهَبَتْ أَعْمَالُهُ شُغْلًا مِنْهُ بِنَفْسِهِ وَقَلَقٍ بِنَفْسِهِ ، ثُمَّ أَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى الْعِرْقِ أَنِ اسْكُنْ فَسَكَنَ ، فَرَجَعَ الْعَبْدُ إِلَى عِبَادَتِهِ فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ إِنَّمَا قِيمَةُ عِبَادَتِكَ عِرْقٌ وَاحِدٌ سَكَنَ مِنْ عُرُوقِكَ فَاعْتَرَفَ . وَرَوَيْنَا مَعْنَاهُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِوَصْفٍ آخَرَ أَنَّ رَجُلًا عَبَدَ اللَّهَ سَبْعِينَ عَامًا قَالَ :

qāla : fa-ḍṭaraba li-dhālika waqaliqa wa-nqaṭaʿat ʿibādatuhu wadhahabat ʾaʿmāluhu shughlan minhu binafsihi waqalaqin binafsihi , thumma ʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilā al-ʿirqi ʾani uskun fasakana , farajaʿa al-ʿabdu ʾilā ʿibādatihi faʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi ʾinnamā qīmatu ʿibādatika ʿirqun wāḥidun sakana min ʿurūqika fa-ʿtarafa . warawaynā maʿnāhu ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama biwaṣfin ʾākhara ʾanna rajulan ʿabada Allāha sabʿīna ʿāman qāla :

He said: He became disturbed and anxious because of that; his worship ceased and his deeds vanished, through being occupied with himself and anxious about himself. Then God, exalted is He, inspired the vessel: “Be still.” It became still, and the servant returned to his worship. God, exalted is He, revealed to him: “The value of your worship is only one vessel among your vessels becoming still.” He acknowledged it. We have related its meaning from God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, with another description: a man worshipped God for seventy years. He said:

فَيَأْمُرُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِهِ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ بِرَحْمَتِهِ فَيَقُولُ : بَلْ بِعَمَلِي فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : أَدْخِلُوا عَبْدِيَ الْجَنَّةَ بِعَمَلِهِ قَالَ : فَيَمْكُثُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ سَبْعِينَ عَامًا فَيَأْمُرُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ أَنْ يَخْرُجَ ، وَيُقَالُ لَهُ : قَدِ اسْتَوْفَيْتَ ثَوَابَ عَمَلِكَ قَالَ : فَيُسْقَطُ فِي يَدَيْهِ وَيَنْدَمُ فَيَنْظُرُ أَقْوَى شَيْءٍ كَانَ فِي نَفْسِهِ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ رَبِّهِ فَإِذَا هُوَ الْرَّجَاءُ وَحُسْنُ الظَّنِّ فَيَقُولُ :

fayaʾmuru Allāhu ʿazza wajalla bihi ʾilā al-jannati biraḥmatihi fayaqūlu : bal biʿamalī fayaqūlu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla : ʾadkhilū ʿabdiya al-jannata biʿamalihi qāla : fayamkuthu fī al-jannati sabʿīna ʿāman fayaʾmuru Allāhu taʿālā bihi ʾan yakhruja , wayuqālu lahu : qadi istawfayta thawāba ʿamalika qāla : fayusqaṭu fī yadayhi wayandamu fayanẓuru ʾaqwā shayʾin kāna fī nafsihi baynahu wabayna rabbihi faʾidhā huwa al-rajāʾu waḥusnu al-ẓanni fayaqūlu :

“God, mighty and majestic, commands that he be taken to the Garden through His mercy. He says: ‘Rather, through my deeds.’ God, mighty and majestic, says: ‘Admit My servant to the Garden through his deeds.’” He said: “He remains in the Garden seventy years, then God, exalted is He, commands that he leave. He is told: ‘You have received in full the reward for your deeds.’” He said: “He is stricken with dismay and regrets it, then looks for the strongest thing that had been within him between himself and his Lord. It is hope and good opinion. He says:

يَا رَبِّ اتْرُكْنِي فِي الْجَنَّةِ بِرَحْمَتِكَ لَا بِعَمَلِي قَالَ : فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : دَعُوا عَبْدِي فِي جَنَّتِي بِرَحْمَتِي ، وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ رَجُلٍ شَكَا إِلَى بَعْضِ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ فَقْرَهُ وَأَظْهَرَ لِذَلِكَ غَمَّهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ الرَّجُلُ : أَيَسُرُّكَ أَنَّكَ أَعْمَى وَلَكَ عَشَرَةُ آلَافٍ ؟ قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ : فَيَسُرُّكَ أَنَّكَ أَخْرَسُ وَلَكَ عَشَرَةُ آلَافٍ قَالَ : لَا ،

yā rabbi utruknī fī al-jannati biraḥmatika lā biʿamalī qāla : fayaqūlu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla : daʿū ʿabdī fī jannatī biraḥmatī , waḥuddithtu ʿan rajulin shakā ʾilā baʿḍi ʾahli al-madīnati faqrahu waʾaẓhara li-dhālika ghammahu faqāla lahu al-rajulu : ʾayasurruka ʾannaka ʾaʿmā walaka ʿasharatu ʾālāfin ? qāla : lā , qāla : fayasurruka ʾannaka ʾakhrasu walaka ʿasharatu ʾālāfin qāla : lā ,

‘Lord, leave me in the Garden through Your mercy, not through my deeds.’” He said: “God, mighty and majestic, says: ‘Leave My servant in My Garden through My mercy.’” I was told of a man who complained of his poverty to one of the people of Medina and displayed his distress over it. The man said to him: “Would it please you to be blind and possess ten thousand?” He said: “No.” He said: “Would it please you to be mute and possess ten thousand?” He said: “No.”

قَالَ : فَيَسُرُّكَ أَنَّكَ أَقْطَعُ الْيَدَيْنِ وَالرِّجْلَيْنِ وَلَكَ عَشَرَةُ آلَافٍ ، قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ : فَيَسُرُّكَ أَنَّكَ مَجْنُونٌ وَلَكَ عَشَرَةُ آلَافٍ ؟ قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ : أَفَمَا تَسْتَحِي أَنْ تَشْكُوَ مَوْلَاكَ وَلَهُ عِنْدَكَ عُرُوضٌ بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْفًا وَهَذَا كَمَا قَالَ لِأَنَّ فِي الْإِنْسَانِ قِيَمَ هَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءِ مِنَ الْجَوَارِحِ وَزِيَادَةً مِنَ الْمَالِ لِأَنَّهَا

qāla : fayasurruka ʾannaka ʾaqṭaʿu al-yadayni wa-al-rijlayni walaka ʿasharatu ʾālāfin , qāla : lā , qāla : fayasurruka ʾannaka majnūnun walaka ʿasharatu ʾālāfin ? qāla : lā , qāla : ʾafamā tastaḥī ʾan tashkuwa mawlāka walahu ʿindaka ʿurūḍun bikhamsīna ʾalfan wa-hādhā kamā qāla liʾanna fī al-ʾinsāni qiyama hādhihi al-ʾashyāʾi mina al-jawāriḥi waziyādatan mina al-māli liʾannahā

He said: “Would it please you to have both hands and both feet cut off and possess ten thousand?” He said: “No.” He said: “Would it please you to be mad and possess ten thousand?” He said: “No.” He said: “Are you not ashamed to complain of your Master when He has placed with you goods worth fifty thousand?” It is as he said, because in a human being are the values of these bodily members, and still more wealth, for they are

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٥٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 352

Volume One, page 352

دِيَاتُ جَوَارِحِهِ لَوْ قُطِعَتْ . وَحَدَّثَنِي بَعْضُ الشُّيُوخِ فِي مَعْنَاهُ أَنَّ بَعْضَ الْقُرَّاءِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ اشْتَدَّ بِهِ الْفَقْرُ حَتَّى أَحْزَنَهُ وَضَاقَ بِهِ ذَرْعًا ، قَالَ : فَرَأَى فِي الْمَنَامِ كَأَنَّ قَائِلًا يَقُولُ لَهُ تَوَدُّ أَنَّا أَنْسَيْنَاكَ سُورَةَ الْإِنْعَامِ وَأَنَّ لَكَ أَلْفَ دِينَارٍ ؟ قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ : فَسُورَةَ هُودٍ ؟ قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ : فَسُورَةَ يُوسُفَ ،

diyātu jawāriḥihi law quṭiʿat . waḥaddathanī baʿḍu al-shuyūkhi fī maʿnāhu ʾanna baʿḍa al-qurrāʾi al-muqarrabīna ishtadda bihi al-faqru ḥattā ʾaḥzanahu waḍāqa bihi dharʿan , qāla : faraʾā fī al-manāmi kaʾanna qāʾilan yaqūlu lahu tawaddu ʾannā ʾansaynāka sūrata al-ʾinʿāmi waʾanna laka ʾalfa dīnārin ? qāla : lā , qāla : fasūrata hūdin ? qāla : lā , qāla : fasūrata yūsufa ,

the indemnities for his members if they were cut off. One of the shaykhs told me something similar: poverty became so severe for one of the Qurʾān reciters brought near that it saddened him and he could no longer bear it. He said: In a dream he saw as though someone were saying to him: “Would you like Us to make you forget Sūrat al-Anʿām and give you a thousand dinars?” He said: “No.” He said: “Then Sūrat Hūd?” He said: “No.” He said: “Then Sūrat Yūsuf?”

قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ : فَمَعَكَ قِيَمُ مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ وَأَنْتَ تَشْكُو الْفَقْرَ فَأَصْبَحَ وَقَدْ سَرَى عَنْهُ هَمُّهُ ، وَهَكَذَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : تَغَنَّوْا بِالْقُرْآنِ أَيْ اسْتَغْنُوا بِهِ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْتَغْنِ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَلَا أَغْنَاهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَإِنَّ الْقُرْآنَ هُوَ الْغِنَى الَّذِي لَا فَقْرَ مَعَهُ وَلَا غِنًى بَعْدَهُ ، وَمَنْ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ الْقُرْآنَ فَظَنَّ أَنَّ أَحَدًا أَغْنَى مِنْهُ فَقَدِ اسْتَهْزَأَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ،

qāla : lā , qāla : famaʿaka qiyamu miʾati ʾalfin waʾanta tashkū al-faqra faʾaṣbaḥa waqad sarā ʿanhu hammuhu , wa-hākadhā jāʾa fī al-khabari : taghannaw bi-al-qurʾāni ʾay istaghnū bihi waman lam yastaghni biʾāyāti Allāhi taʿālā falā ʾaghnāhu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla waʾinna al-qurʾāna huwa al-ghinā alladhī lā faqra maʿahu walā ghinan baʿdahu , waman ʾātāhu Allāhu al-qurʾāna faẓanna ʾanna ʾaḥadan ʾaghnā minhu faqadi istahzaʾa biʾāyāti Allāhi taʿālā ,

He said: “No.” He said: “You possess values of a hundred thousand, and you complain of poverty!” He awoke with his concern dispelled. Thus the report states: “Find richness in the Qurʾān,” meaning be sufficient through it. Whoever does not find sufficiency in God's verses, exalted is He, may God, mighty and majestic, not enrich him. The Qurʾān is the wealth with which there is no poverty and beyond which there is no wealth. Whoever is given the Qurʾān by God, then supposes that someone else is richer than he, has mocked God's verses, exalted is He.

وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : فَقَدِ اسْتَخَفَّ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : مَنْ لَمْ يَتَغَنَّ بِالْقُرْآنِ فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْمُجْمَلِ كَفَى بِالْيَقِينِ غِنًى وَالْقُرْآنُ هُوَ حَقُّ الْيَقِينِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : إِنَّ عَبْدًا أَغْنَيْتُهُ عَنْ ثَلَاثٍ فَقَدْ أَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْهِ نِعْمَتِي عَنْ سُلْطَانٍ يَأْتِيهِ وَطَبِيبٍ يُدَاوِيهِ وَعَمَّا فِي يَدِ أَخِيهِ .

wafī lafẓin ʾākhara : faqadi istakhaffa bimā ʾanzala Allāhu ʿazza wajalla , wafī al-khabari : man lam yataghanna bi-al-qurʾāni falaysa minnā , wafī al-khabari al-mujmali kafā bi-al-yaqīni ghinan wa-al-qurʾānu huwa ḥaqqu al-yaqīni . warawaynā ʿan baʿḍi al-salafi yaqūlu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla : ʾinna ʿabdan ʾaghnaytuhu ʿan thalāthin faqad ʾatmamtu ʿalayhi niʿmatī ʿan sulṭānin yaʾtīhi waṭabībin yudāwīhi waʿammā fī yadi ʾakhīhi .

In another wording: “He has made light of what God, mighty and majestic, has sent down.” In the report: “Whoever does not find richness in the Qurʾān is not one of us.” In the concise report: “Certainty suffices as wealth.” The Qurʾān is the truth of certainty. We have related from one of the predecessors: God, mighty and majestic, says: “A servant whom I have made independent of three things, I have completed My blessing upon him: a ruler he must visit, a physician who treats him, and what is in his brother's hand.”

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي مُنَاجَاةِ أَيُّوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَيْهِ : مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍ لِي مِنَ الْآدَمِيِّينَ إِلَّا وَمَعَهُ مَلَكَانِ فَإِذَا شَكَرَ عَلَى نَعْمَائِي قَالَ الْمَلَكَانِ : اللَّهُمَّ زِدْهُ نِعَمًا عَلَى نِعَمِهِ ، فَإِنَّكَ أَهْلُ الشُّكْرِ وَالْحَمْدِ فَكُنْ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ قَرِيبًا وَزِدْهُمْ شُكْرًا وَزِدْهُمْ مِنَ النَّعْمَاءِ وَكَفَى بِالشَّاكِرِينَ يَا أَيُّوبُ عُلُوُّ الرُّتْبَةِ عِنْدِي وَعِنْدَ مَلَائِكَتِي ،

warawaynā fī munājāti ʾayyūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu : ʾinna Allāha tabāraka wataʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilayhi : mā min ʿabdin lī mina al-ʾādamiyyīna ʾillā wamaʿahu malakāni faʾidhā shakara ʿalā naʿmāʾī qāla al-malakāni : Allāhumma zidhu niʿaman ʿalā niʿamihi , faʾinnaka ʾahlu al-shukri wa-al-ḥamdi fakun mina al-shākirīna qarīban wazidhum shukran wazidhum mina al-naʿmāʾi wakafā bi-al-shākirīna yā ʾayyūbu ʿuluwwu al-rutbati ʿindī waʿinda malāʾikatī ,

We have related in Job's intimate converse, peace be upon him, that God, blessed and exalted is He, revealed to him: “No human servant of Mine is without two angels accompanying him. When he gives thanks for My blessings, the two angels say: ‘O God, add blessings to his blessings, for You are worthy of gratitude and praise. Be near to the grateful, increase them in gratitude, and increase them in blessings.’ For the grateful, Job, sufficient is their lofty rank with Me and with My angels.

فَأَنَا أَشْكُرُ شُكْرَهُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتِي تَدْعُو لَهُمْ وَالْبِقَاعُ تُحِبُّهُمْ وَالْآثَارُ تَبْكِي عَلَيْهِمْ فَكُنْ لِي يَا أَيُّوبُ شَاكِرًا وَلِآلَائِي ذَاكِرًا وَلَا تَذْكُرْنِي حَتَّى أَذْكُرَكَ وَلَا تَشْكُرْنِي حَتَّى أَشْكُرَ أَعْمَالَكَ أَنَا أُوَفِّقُ أَوْلِيَائِي لِصَالِحِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَأَشْكُرُهُمْ عَلَى مَا وَفَّقْتُهُمْ وَأَقْتَضِيهِمُ الشُّكْرَ وَرَضِيتُ بِهِ مُكَافَأَةً فَرَضِيتُ بِالْقَلِيلِ عَنِ الْكَثِيرِ وَتَقَبَّلْتُ الْقَلِيلَ وَجَازَيْتُ عَلَيْهِ بِالْجَزِيلِ وَشَرُّ الْعَبِيدِ عِنْدِي مَنْ لَمْ يَشْكُرْنِي إِلَّا فِي وَقْتِ حَاجَتِهِ ،

faʾanā ʾashkuru shukrahum wamalāʾikatī tadʿū lahum wa-al-biqāʿu tuḥibbuhum wa-al-ʾāthāru tabkī ʿalayhim fakun lī yā ʾayyūbu shākiran waliʾālāʾī dhākiran walā tadhkurnī ḥattā ʾadhkuraka walā tashkurnī ḥattā ʾashkura ʾaʿmālaka ʾanā ʾuwaffiqu ʾawliyāʾī liṣāliḥi al-ʾaʿmāli waʾashkuruhum ʿalā mā waffaqtuhum waʾaqtaḍīhimu al-shukra waraḍītu bihi mukāfaʾatan faraḍītu bi-al-qalīli ʿani al-kathīri wataqabbaltu al-qalīla wajāzaytu ʿalayhi bi-al-jazīli washarru al-ʿabīdi ʿindī man lam yashkurnī ʾillā fī waqti ḥājatihi ,

I acknowledge their gratitude, My angels pray for them, the places love them, and the traces weep over them. Be grateful to Me, Job, and remember My favors. Do not remember Me until I remember you, and do not thank Me until I acknowledge your deeds. I enable My friends to do righteous deeds, thank them for what I enabled them to do, and require gratitude from them. I have accepted it as recompense, accepted little for much, received the little, and rewarded it abundantly. The worst servants with Me are those who thank Me only in their time of need

وَلَمْ يَتَضَرَّعْ بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ إِلَّا فِي وَقْتِ عُقُوبَتِهِ وَذَكَرَ الْكَلَامَ وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الشَّاكِرِينَ بِوَصْفِ الصَّالِحِينَ وَالْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَالْعَالِمِينَ ؛ وَهَذِهِ الْأَوْصَافُ الثَّلَاثُ مِنْ أَعَالِي مَقَامَاتِ الْمُوقِنِينَ ، فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : وَقَلِيلٌ مِنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَا هُمْ ) ص : 24 وَكَمَا قَالَ فِي وَصْفِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ :

walam yataḍarraʿ bayna yadayya ʾillā fī waqti ʿuqūbatihi wadhakara al-kalāma waqad jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā al-shākirīna biwaṣfi al-ṣāliḥīna wa-al-muqarrabīna wa-al-ʿālimīna ; wa-hādhihi al-ʾawṣāfu al-thalāthu min ʾaʿālī maqāmāti al-mūqinīna , faqāla ʿazza wajalla : waqalīlun min ʿibādiya al-shakūru kamā qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( ʾillā alladhīna ʾāmanū waʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti waqalīlun mā hum ) Ṣād : 24 wakamā qāla fī waṣfi al-muqarrabīna :

and implore Me only in their time of punishment.” He mentioned the discourse. God, exalted is He, has given the grateful the descriptions of the righteous, those brought near, and the knowledgeable. These three descriptions belong to the highest stations of those possessed of certainty. He, mighty and majestic, said: “Few of My servants are abundantly grateful,” just as God, exalted is He, said: “Except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and few they are” (Ṣād 38:24), and as He said in describing those brought near:

( ثُلَّةٌ مِنَ الْأَوَّلِينَ ) ( وَقَلِيلٌ مِنَ الْآخِرِينَ ) الْوَاقِعَةُ : 13 - 14 وَكَمَا قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( مَا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ ) الْكَهْفُ : 22 وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : سَلُوا اللَّهَ الْعَافِيَةَ وَمَا أَعْطَى عَبْدَ أَفْضَلَ مِنَ الْعَافِيَةِ إِلَّا الْيَقِينَ فَفَضَّلَ الْعَافِيَةَ عَلَى كُلِّ عَطَاءٍ وَرَفَعَ الْيَقِينَ ،

( thullatun mina al-ʾawwalīna ) ( waqalīlun mina al-ʾākhirīna ) al-wāqiʿatu : 13 - 14 wakamā qāla ʿazza wajalla : ( mā yaʿlamuhum ʾillā qalīlun ) al-kahfu : 22 wafī ḥadīthi ʾabī bakrin al-ṣiddīqi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : salū Allāha al-ʿāfiyata wamā ʾaʿṭā ʿabda ʾafḍala mina al-ʿāfiyati ʾillā al-yaqīna fafaḍḍala al-ʿāfiyata ʿalā kulli ʿaṭāʾin warafaʿa al-yaqīna ,

“A multitude of the earlier ones, and a few of the later ones” (al-Wāqiʿa 56:13–14), and as He, mighty and majestic, said: “None knows them except a few” (al-Kahf 18:22). In the hadith of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, God be pleased with him, from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “Ask God for well-being. No servant has been given anything better than well-being except certainty.” He thus preferred well-being to every gift and raised certainty

فَوْقَ الْعَافِيَةِ لِأَنَّ بِالْعَافِيَةِ يَتِمُّ نَعِيمُ الدُّنْيَا وَالْيَقِينُ مَعَهُ وُجُودُ نَعِيمِ الْآخِرَةِ ؛ فَلِلْيَقِينِ فَضْلٌ عَلَى الْعَافِيَةِ كَفَضْلِ الدَّوَامِ عَلَى الِانْتِقَالِ ، وَالْعَافِيَةُ سَلَامَةُ الْأَبْدَانِ مِنَ الْأَسْقَامِ وَالْعِلَلِ وَالْيَقِينُ سَلَامَةُ الْأَدْيَانِ مِنَ الزَّيْغِ وَالْأَهْوَاءِ : فَهَاتَانِ نِعْمَتَانِ تَسْتَوْعِبَانِ عَظِيمَ الشُّكْرِ مِنَ

fawqa al-ʿāfiyati liʾanna bi-al-ʿāfiyati yatimmu naʿīmu al-dunyā wa-al-yaqīnu maʿahu wujūdu naʿīmi al-ʾākhirati ; fali-l-yaqīni faḍlun ʿalā al-ʿāfiyati kafaḍli al-dawāmi ʿalā al-intiqāli , wa-al-ʿāfiyatu salāmatu al-ʾabdāni mina al-ʾasqāmi wa-al-ʿilali wa-al-yaqīnu salāmatu al-ʾadyāni mina al-zayghi wa-al-ʾahwāʾi : fahātāni niʿmatāni tastawʿibāni ʿaẓīma al-shukri mina

above well-being, because through well-being this world's comfort is completed, while with certainty is the possession of the next world's comfort. Certainty's superiority over well-being is like permanence's superiority over transience. Well-being is bodies' freedom from sicknesses and ailments; certainty is religions' freedom from deviation and caprices. These are two blessings that call forth immense gratitude from

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٥٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 353

Volume One, page 353

الْعَبْدِ كَمَا اسْتَوْعَبَ الْقَلْبُ وَالْجِسْمُ جَسِيمَ النِّعَمِ مِنَ الْمَلِكِ ، وَمِنْ أَقْوَى الْمَعَانِي فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( يَوْمَ لَا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ ) ( إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ ) الشُّعَرَاءُ : 88 - 89 قِيلَ : سَالِمٌ مِنَ الشَّكِّ وَالشِّرْكِ وَالسَّالِمُ الصَّحِيحُ الْمُعَافَى وَبِوُجُودِ عَافِيَةِ الْيَقِينِ فِي الْقُلُوبِ عَدَمُ الشَّكِّ وَالنِّفَاقِ وَهِيَ أَمْرَاضُ الْقُلُوبِ ،

al-ʿabdi kamā istawʿaba al-qalbu wa-al-jismu jasīma al-niʿami mina al-maliki , wamin ʾaqwā al-maʿānī fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( yawma lā yanfaʿu mālun walā banūna ) ( ʾillā man ʾatā Allāha biqalbin salīmin ) al-shuʿarāʾu : 88 - 89 qīla : sālimun mina al-shakki wa-al-shirki wa-al-sālimu al-ṣaḥīḥu al-muʿāfā wabiwujūdi ʿāfiyati al-yaqīni fī al-qulūbi ʿadamu al-shakki wa-al-nifāqi wahiya ʾamrāḍu al-qulūbi ,

the servant, just as heart and body have encompassed immense blessings from the King. Among the strongest meanings of His saying, exalted is He, “The day when wealth and sons avail nothing, except one who comes to God with a sound heart” (al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:88–89), it is said: “Sound from doubt and association of partners.” The sound is the healthy and unafflicted. Through the presence of the well-being of certainty in hearts, doubt and hypocrisy are absent; these are the hearts' diseases,

كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 10 قِيلَ : شَكٌّ وَنِفَاقٌ وَعَافِيَةُ الْقَلْبِ أَيْضًا مِنَ الْكَبَائِرِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَيَطْمَعَ الَّذِي فِي قَلْبِهِ مَرَضٌ ) الْأَحْزَابُ : 32 يَعْنِي الرِّيَاءَ ، وَيُقَالُ : مَا مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ إِلَّا وَلِلَّهِ تَعَالَى فِيهَا خَمْسُ نِعَمٍ ؛ أَوَّلُهَا : أَنَّهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ فِي الدِّينِ وَيُقَالُ كُلُّ مُصِيبَةٍ فِي غَيْرِ الدِّينِ فَهِيَ طَرِيقٌ مِنَ الدِّينِ ،

kamā qāla taʿālā : ( fī qulūbihim maraḍun ) al-baqaratu : 10 qīla : shakkun wanifāqun waʿāfiyatu al-qalbi ʾayḍan mina al-kabāʾiri kamā qāla taʿālā : ( fayaṭmaʿa alladhī fī qalbihi maraḍun ) al-ʾaḥzābu : 32 yaʿnī al-riyāʾa , wayuqālu : mā min muṣībatin ʾillā wa-li-llāhi taʿālā fīhā khamsu niʿamin ; ʾawwaluhā : ʾannahā lam takun fī al-dīni wayuqālu kullu muṣībatin fī ghayri al-dīni fahiya ṭarīqun mina al-dīni ,

as He, exalted is He, said: “In their hearts is a disease” (al-Baqara 2:10). It is said: “Doubt and hypocrisy.” The heart's well-being is also freedom from major sins, as He, exalted is He, said: “Lest the one in whose heart is a disease desire” (al-Aḥzāb 33:32), meaning ostentation. It is said: “There is no affliction in which God, exalted is He, does not have five blessings.” The first is that it was not in religion. It is said: “Every affliction outside religion is a path within religion.”

وَالثَّانِيَةُ : إِنَّهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ أَكْبَرَ مِنْهَا ، وَالثَّالِثَةُ : أَنَّهَا كَانَتْ مَكْتُوبَةً عَلَيْهِ لَا مَحَالَةَ فَقَدْ نَفَدَتْ وَاسْتَرَاحَ مِنْهَا ، وَالرَّابِعَةُ : إِنَّهَا عُجِّلَتْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَمْ تُؤَجَّلْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ فَتَعْظُمَ عَلَى مِقْدَارِ عَذَابِ الْآخِرَةِ ، وَالْخَامِسَةُ : أَنَّ ثَوَابَهَا خَيْرٌ مِنْهَا فَإِنَّ الْمُصِيبَةَ إِذَا كَانَتْ فِي أَمْرِ الدُّنْيَا فَإِنَّهَا طَرِيقٌ إِلَى الْآخِرَةِ وَعِنْدَنَا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

wa-al-thāniyatu : ʾinnahā lam takun ʾakbara minhā , wa-al-thālithatu : ʾannahā kānat maktūbatan ʿalayhi lā maḥālata faqad nafadat wa-starāḥa minhā , wa-al-rābiʿatu : ʾinnahā ʿujjilat fī al-dunyā walam tuʾajjal fī al-ʾākhirati fataʿẓuma ʿalā miqdāri ʿadhābi al-ʾākhirati , wa-al-khāmisatu : ʾanna thawābahā khayrun minhā faʾinna al-muṣībata ʾidhā kānat fī ʾamri al-dunyā faʾinnahā ṭarīqun ʾilā al-ʾākhirati waʿindanā fī qawlihi taʿālā :

The second is that it was not greater than it was. The third is that it was inevitably written against him, and now it has been spent and he is relieved of it. The fourth is that it was hastened in this world and not deferred to the next world, where it would grow to the measure of the next world's punishment. The fifth is that its reward is better than it, for when an affliction concerns a worldly matter, it is a path to the next world. In our view, concerning His saying, exalted is He,

( إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَظَلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ ) إِبْرَاهِيمُ : 34 قِيلَ : ظَلُومٌ بِالتَّسَخُّطِ كَفَّارٌ بِالْمَعَاصِي وَبِالنِّعَمِ ، وَحُدِّثْتُ أَنَّ الْعَبَّاسَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لَمَّا تُوُفِّيَ قَعَدَ ابْنُهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لِلتَّعْزِيَةِ فَدَخَلَ النَّاسُ أَفْوَاجًا يُعَزُّونَهُ فَكَانَ فِيمَنْ دَخَلَ أَعْرَابِيٌّ فَأَنْشَدَهُ : اصْبِرْ نَكُنْ بِكَ صَابِرِينَ فَإِنَّمَا . . . صَبْرُ الرَّعِيَّةِ بَعْدَ صَبْرِ الرَّاسِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْعَبَّاسِ أَجْرُكَ بَعْدَهُ .

( ʾinna al-ʾinsāna laẓalūmun kaffārun ) ʾibrāhīmu : 34 qīla : ẓalūmun bi-al-tasakhkhuṭi kaffārun bi-al-maʿāṣī wabi-al-niʿami , waḥuddithtu ʾanna al-ʿabbāsa raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu lammā tuwuffiya qaʿada ibnuhu ʿabdu Allāhi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu li-l-taʿziyati fadakhala al-nāsu ʾafwājan yuʿazzūnahu fakāna fīman dakhala ʾaʿrābiyyun faʾanshadahu : iṣbir nakun bika ṣābirīna faʾinnamā . . . ṣabru al-raʿiyyati baʿda ṣabri al-rāsi khayrun mina al-ʿabbāsi ʾajruka baʿdahu .

“The human being is indeed greatly unjust and deeply ungrateful” (Ibrāhīm 14:34), it is said: “Unjust through resentment, ungrateful through acts of disobedience and toward blessings.” I was told that when al-ʿAbbās, God be pleased with him, died, his son ʿAbd Allāh, God be pleased with him, sat to receive condolences. People entered in groups to console him. Among those who entered was a Bedouin, who recited to him: “Be patient, and through you we shall be patient, for the subjects' patience follows the patience of the chief. Better for you than al-ʿAbbās is your reward after him,

. . وَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ مِنْكَ لِلْعَبَّاسِ فَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ : مَا عَزَّانِي أَحَدٌ تَعْزِيَةَ الْأَعْرَابِيِّ وَاسْتَحْسَنَ ذَلِكَ ، وَفِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لِرَبِّهِ لَكَنُودٌ ) الْعَادِيَاتُ : 6 قِيلَ : هُوَ الَّذِي يَشْكُو الْمَصَائِبَ وَيَنْسَى النِّعَمَ ، وَلَوْ عَلِمَ أَنَّ مَعَ كُلِّ مُصِيبَةٍ عَشْرَ نِعَمٍ بِحِذَائِهَا وَزِيَادَةً قَلَّتْ شَكْوَاهُ وَبَدَّلَهَا شُكْرًا ،

. . wa-Allāhu khayrun minka li-l-ʿabbāsi faqāla ibnu ʿabbāsin : mā ʿazzānī ʾaḥadun taʿziyata al-ʾaʿrābiyyi wa-staḥsana dhālika , wafī qawlihi taʿālā : ( ʾinna al-ʾinsāna lirabbihi lakanūdun ) al-ʿādiyātu : 6 qīla : huwa alladhī yashkū al-maṣāʾiba wayansā al-niʿama , walaw ʿalima ʾanna maʿa kulli muṣībatin ʿashra niʿamin biḥidhāʾihā waziyādatan qallat shakwāhu wabaddalahā shukran ,

and God is better for al-ʿAbbās than you.” Ibn ʿAbbās said: “No one has consoled me as the Bedouin did,” and he admired it. Concerning His saying, exalted is He, “The human being is indeed ungrateful to his Lord” (al-ʿĀdiyāt 100:6), it is said: “He is the one who complains of afflictions and forgets blessings.” Had he known that alongside every affliction are ten corresponding blessings and more, his complaint would diminish and he would replace it with gratitude.

ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْمَصَائِبَ لَا تَخْلُو مِنْ ثَلَاثَةِ أَقْسَامٍ كُلُّهَا نِعَمٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، إِمَّا أَنْ تَكُونَ دَرَجَةً وَهَذَا لِلْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَالْمُحْسِنِينَ ، وَاِمَّا أَنْ تَكُونَ كَفَّارَةً ، وَهَذَا لِخُصُوصِ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ وَلِلْأَبْرَارِ ، أَوْ تَكُونَ هَذَا عُقُوبَةً وَهَذَا لِلْكَافَّةِ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ، فَتَعْجِيلُ الْعُقُوبَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا رَحْمَةٌ وَنِعْمَةٌ وَمَعْرِفَةُ هَذِهِ النِّعَمِ طَرِيقُ الشَّاكِرِينَ ، وَمِنْ أَفْضَلِ النِّعَمِ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ نِعْمَةُ الْإِيمَانِ ثُمَّ دَوَامُهُ ،

thumma ʾinna al-maṣāʾiba lā takhlū min thalāthati ʾaqsāmin kulluhā niʿamun mina Allāhi taʿālā , ʾimmā ʾan takūna darajatan wa-hādhā li-l-muqarrabīna wa-al-muḥsinīna , wa-immā ʾan takūna kaffāratan , wa-hādhā likhuṣūṣi ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni wali-l-ʾabrāri , ʾaw takūna hādhā ʿuqūbatan wa-hādhā li-l-kāffati mina al-muslimīna , fataʿjīlu al-ʿuqūbati fī al-dunyā raḥmatun waniʿmatun wamaʿrifatu hādhihi al-niʿami ṭarīqu al-shākirīna , wamin ʾafḍali al-niʿami ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi niʿmatu al-ʾīmāni thumma dawāmuhu ,

Afflictions necessarily belong to three classes, all blessings from God, exalted is He. They may be a degree of elevation, which is for those brought near and those who do good; they may be an expiation, which is for the elect among the companions of the right and the righteous; or this may be a punishment, which is for the generality of Muslims. Hastening punishment in this world is mercy and blessing. Knowledge of these blessings is the path of the grateful. Among the best blessings, according to the learned, is the blessing of faith, then its continuance,

لِأَنَّ دَوَامَ الشَّيْءِ نِعْمَةٌ ثَانِيَةٌ لِأَنَّهُ بِحُكْمٍ ثَانٍ عَنْ مَشِيئَةٍ ثَانِيَةٍ لِأَنَّ الْإِرَادَةَ مِنْهُ تَعَالَى بِحُكْمِ الْإِظْهَارِ لَا تُوجِبُ دَوَامَ الْمُظْهَرِ فَكَانَ الشَّيْءُ يَظْهَرُ بِإِرَادَتِهِ ثُمَّ يَتَلَاشَى كَأَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ إِلَّا أَنْ يَحْكُمَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى حُكْمًا ثَانِيًا بِنِعْمَةٍ ثَانِيَةٍ بِالثَّبَاتِ وَالدَّوَامِ إِذْ لَوْ لَمْ يُرِدْ دَوَامَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَا دَامَا وَلَوْ لَمْ يُرِدْ دَوَامَ ثَبَاتِ الْجِبَالِ مَا ثَبَتَتْ ،

liʾanna dawāma al-shayʾi niʿmatun thāniyatun liʾannahu biḥukmin thānin ʿan mashīʾatin thāniyatin liʾanna al-ʾirādata minhu taʿālā biḥukmi al-ʾiẓhāri lā tūjibu dawāma al-muẓhari fakāna al-shayʾu yaẓharu biʾirādatihi thumma yatalāshā kaʾan lam yakun ʾillā ʾan yaḥkuma subḥānahu wataʿālā ḥukman thāniyan biniʿmatin thāniyatin bi-al-thabāti wa-al-dawāmi ʾidh law lam yurid dawāma al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍi mā dāmā walaw lam yurid dawāma thabāti al-jibāli mā thabatat ,

because the continuance of a thing is a second blessing, since it occurs through a second judgment arising from a second act of will. His will, exalted is He, in the judgment of bringing something into manifestation does not require the continuance of what is manifested. A thing would appear through His will, then vanish as though it had never been, unless He, glorified and exalted is He, passed a second judgment with a second blessing, granting stability and continuance. Had He not willed the continuance of the heavens and earth, they would not have continued; had He not willed the enduring stability of the mountains, they would not have remained firm.

كَذَلِكَ لَوْ لَمْ يُرِدْ دَوَامَ الْإِيمَانِ وَثَبَاتَهُ فِي الْقُلُوبِ بَعْدَ الْكَتْبِ لَظَهَرَ بِالْكَتْبِ ثُمَّ انْمَحَى وَرَجَعَ الْقَلْبُ إِلَى الْكُفْرِ لَكِنَّهُ أَنْعَمَ نِعَمًا لَا تُحْصَى بِدَوَامِهِ وَثَبَاتِهِ فِي الْقَلْبِ ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( يَمْحُوا اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيُثْبِتُ ) الرَّعْدُ : 39 أَيْ يَمْحُو مَا لَا يَشَاءُ ثُبُوتَهُ وَيُثْبِتُ مَا يُحِبُّ وَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُ الْعَبْدُ شُكْرَ نِعْمَةِ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَعْرِفَةَ بِدَايَةِ التَّفَضُّلِ بِهِ وَقَدِيمَ

kadhālika law lam yurid dawāma al-ʾīmāni wathabātahu fī al-qulūbi baʿda al-katbi laẓahara bi-al-katbi thumma inmaḥā warajaʿa al-qalbu ʾilā al-kufri lākinnahu ʾanʿama niʿaman lā tuḥṣā bidawāmihi wathabātihi fī al-qalbi , waminhu qawluhu taʿālā : ( yamḥū Allāhu mā yashāʾu wayuthbitu ) al-raʿdu : 39 ʾay yamḥū mā lā yashāʾu thubūtahu wayuthbitu mā yuḥibbu walā yastaṭīʿu al-ʿabdu shukra niʿmati al-ʾīmāni wamaʿrifata bidāyati al-tafaḍḍuli bihi waqadīma

Likewise, had He not willed faith's continuance and stability in hearts after its inscription, it would have appeared through the inscription, then been erased, and the heart would have returned to unbelief. But He bestowed countless blessings through its continuance and stability in the heart. Of this is His saying, exalted is He: “God erases what He wills and establishes” (al-Raʿd 13:39), that is, He erases what He does not will to remain and establishes what He loves. The servant cannot discharge gratitude for the blessing of faith, nor comprehend the beginning of the favor bestowed through it and the ancient

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٥٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 354

Volume One, page 354

الْإِحْسَانِ مِنْ غَيْرِ قَدَمٍ مِنَ الْعَبْدِ وَلَا اسْتِحْقَاقٍ بَلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ ، وَهَذَا أَحَدُ الْوُجُوهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( كَلَّا لَمَّا يَقْضِ مَا أَمَرَهُ ) عَبَسَ : 23 أَيْ لَا يَقْضِي الْعَبْدُ أَبَدًا شُكْرَ مَا أَمَرَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنْ نِعْمَةِ الْإِسْلَامِ الْي هِيَ أُصُولُ النِّعَمِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَهِيَ سَبَبُ النَّجَاةِ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمِفْتَاحُ دُخُولِ الْجَنَّةِ وَلَا أَوَّلَ لِلْعَبْدِ فِيهَا وَلَا شَفِيعَ كَانَ لَهُ إِلَى

al-ʾiḥsāni min ghayri qadamin mina al-ʿabdi walā istiḥqāqin bal bifaḍli Allāhi wabiraḥmatihi , wa-hādhā ʾaḥadu al-wujūhi fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( kallā lammā yaqḍi mā ʾamarahu ) ʿabasa : 23 ʾay lā yaqḍī al-ʿabdu ʾabadan shukra mā ʾamarahu Allāhu taʿālā min niʿmati al-ʾislāmi al-y hiya ʾuṣūlu al-niʿami fī al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati wahiya sababu al-najāti mina al-nāri wamiftāḥu dukhūli al-jannati walā ʾawwala li-l-ʿabdi fīhā walā shafīʿa kāna lahu ʾilā

beneficence, without any prior achievement or entitlement from the servant, but through God's favor and mercy. This is one interpretation of His saying, exalted is He: “No indeed! He has not fulfilled what He commanded him” (ʿAbasa 80:23). That is, the servant never discharges gratitude for what God, exalted is He, commanded him concerning the blessing of Islam, which is the foundation of blessings in this world and the next. It is the cause of deliverance from the Fire and the key to entering the Garden. The servant had no first initiative in it, nor any intercessor for him with

اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِهَا ثُمَّ دَوَامُ ذَلِكَ وَثَبَاتُهُ مَعَ الطَّرْفِ وَالْأَنْفَاسِ بِمَدَدٍ مِنْهُ نِعَمٌ مُتَرَادِفَةٌ . وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( كَتَبَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْإِيمَانَ وَأَيَّدَهُمْ بِرُوحٍ مِنْهُ ) الْمُجَادِلَةُ : 22 أَيْ قَوَّاهُمْ بِمَدَدٍ يُثَبِّتُهُ وَيُقَوِّيهِ وَهُوَ مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ ) إِبْرَاهِيمُ :

Allāhi taʿālā bihā thumma dawāmu dhālika wathabātuhu maʿa al-ṭarfi wa-al-ʾanfāsi bimadadin minhu niʿamun mutarādifatun . wamin hādhā qawluhu taʿālā : ( kataba fī qulūbihimu al-ʾīmāna waʾayyadahum birūḥin minhu ) al-mujādilatu : 22 ʾay qawwāhum bimadadin yuthabbituhu wayuqawwīhi wahuwa maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā : ( yuthabbitu Allāhu alladhīna ʾāmanū bi-al-qawli al-thābiti fī al-ḥayāti al-dunyā wafī al-ʾākhirati ) ʾibrāhīmu :

God, exalted is He, concerning it. Then its continuance and stability with every blink and breath, through reinforcement from Him, are successive blessings. Of this is His saying, exalted is He: “He inscribed faith in their hearts and strengthened them with a spirit from Him” (al-Mujādila 58:22), that is, He strengthened them with reinforcement that establishes and strengthens it. This is the meaning of His saying, exalted is He: “God makes those who believe firm through the firm word in the worldly life and in the next world” (Ibrāhīm 14:

27 وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ أَيْ عَنِ الْإِيمَانِ وَمُقَلِّبَهَا فِي الشَّكِّ وَالشِّرْكِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى طَاعَتِكَ ، وَمَعْرِفَةُ هَذِهِ النِّعْمَةِ اللَّطِيفَةِ الْعَظِيمَةِ تَسْتَخْرِجُ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ خَوْفَ سُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ لِمُشَاهَدَةِ سُرْعَةِ تَقْلِيبِ الْقَلْبِ بِالْمَشِيئَةِ وَذَلِكَ مَزِيدُ شُكْرِهَا وَهَذَا دَاخِلٌ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَحِبُّوا اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لِمَا أَسْدَى إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ نِعَمِهِ وَلِمَا يَغْذُوكُمْ بِهِ أَيْضًا ،

27 wamin dhālika qawluhu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : yā muqalliba al-qulūbi ʾay ʿani al-ʾīmāni wamuqallibahā fī al-shakki wa-al-shirki thabbit qalbī ʿalā ṭāʿatika , wamaʿrifatu hādhihi al-niʿmati al-laṭīfati al-ʿaẓīmati tastakhriju mina al-qalbi khawfa sūʾi al-khātimati limushāhadati surʿati taqlībi al-qalbi bi-al-mashīʾati wa-dhālika mazīdu shukrihā wa-hādhā dākhilun fī maʿnā qawlihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾaḥibbū Allāha taʿālā limā ʾasdā ʾilaykum min niʿamihi walimā yaghdhūkum bihi ʾayḍan ,

27). Of this is his saying, God bless him and grant him peace: “O Turner of hearts,” that is, away from faith, and the One who turns them amid doubt and association of partners, “make my heart firm in obedience to You.” Knowing this subtle, immense blessing draws from the heart fear of an evil ending, through witnessing how swiftly the heart is turned by the divine will. That is increased gratitude for it. This is included in the meaning of his saying, God bless him and grant him peace: “Love God, exalted is He, for the blessings He has bestowed upon you, and also for that with which He nourishes you.”

فَمِنْ أَفْضَلِ مَا غَذَّانَا بِهِ نِعْمَةُ الْإِيمَانِ لَهُ وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ بِهِ وَغِذَاؤُهُ لَنَا مِنْهُ دَوَامُ ذَلِكَ وَمَدَدُهُ بِرُوحٍ مِنْهُ وَتَثْبِيتُنَا عَلَيْهِ فِي تَصْرِيفِ الْأَحْوَالِ إِذْ هُوَ أَصْلُ الْأَعْمَالِ الَّتِي هِيَ مَكَانُ النَّوَالِ ، فَلَوْ قَلَبَ قُلُوبَنَا عَنِ التَّوْحِيدِ كَمَا يُقَلِّبُ جَوَارِحَنَا فِي الذُّنُوبِ ، وَلَوْ قَلَبَ قُلُوبَنَا فِي الشَّكِّ وَالضَّلَالِ كَمَا يُقَلِّبُ نِيَّاتِنَا فِي الْأَعْمَالِ أَيَّ شَيْءٍ كُنَّا نَصْنَعُ وَعَلَى أَيِّ شَيْءٍ كُنَّا نُعَوِّلُ وَبِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ كُنَّا نَطْمَئِنُّ وَنَرْجُو ؛

famin ʾafḍali mā ghadhdhānā bihi niʿmatu al-ʾīmāni lahu wa-al-maʿrifati bihi waghidhāʾuhu lanā minhu dawāmu dhālika wamadaduhu birūḥin minhu watathbītunā ʿalayhi fī taṣrīfi al-ʾaḥwāli ʾidh huwa ʾaṣlu al-ʾaʿmāli allatī hiya makānu al-nawāli , falaw qalaba qulūbanā ʿani al-tawḥīdi kamā yuqallibu jawāriḥanā fī al-dhunūbi , walaw qalaba qulūbanā fī al-shakki wa-al-ḍalāli kamā yuqallibu niyyātinā fī al-ʾaʿmāli ʾayya shayʾin kunnā naṣnaʿu waʿalā ʾayyi shayʾin kunnā nuʿawwilu wabiʾayyi shayʾin kunnā naṭmaʾinnu wanarjū ;

Among the finest things with which He has nourished us is the blessing of faith in Him and knowledge of Him. His nourishment of us from Himself is the continuance of that, His sustaining it with a spirit from Him, and His keeping us firm in it through the changing states, since it is the root of the actions that are the place of His gifts. If He turned our hearts away from divine oneness as He turns our limbs among sins, and if He turned our hearts into doubt and error as He turns our intentions among actions, what would we do? What would we rely on? In what would we find reassurance and hope?

فَهَذَا مِنْ كَبَائِرِ النِّعَمِ وَمَعْرِفَتُهُ هُوَ مِنْ شُكْرِ نِعْمَةِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْجَهْلُ بِهَذَا غَفْلَةٌ عَنْ نِعْمَةِ الْإِيمَانِ يُوجِبُ الْعُقُوبَةَ وَادِّعَاءُ الْإِيمَانِ أَنَّهُ عَنْ كَسْبٍ مَعْقُولٍ أَوِ اسْتِطَاعَةٍ بِقُوَّةٍ وَحَوْلٍ هُوَ كُفْرُ نِعْمَةِ الْإِيمَانِ وَأَخَافُ عَلَى مَنْ تَوَهَّمَ ذَلِكَ أَنْ يُسْلَبَ الْإِيمَانَ لِأَنَّهُ بَدَّلَ شُكْرَ نِعْمَةِ اللَّهِ كُفْرًا .

fa-hādhā min kabāʾiri al-niʿami wamaʿrifatuhu huwa min shukri niʿmati al-ʾīmāni wa-al-jahlu bi-hādhā ghaflatun ʿan niʿmati al-ʾīmāni yūjibu al-ʿuqūbata waddiʿāʾu al-ʾīmāni ʾannahu ʿan kasbin maʿqūlin ʾawi istiṭāʿatin biquwwatin waḥawlin huwa kufru niʿmati al-ʾīmāni waʾakhāfu ʿalā man tawahhama dhālika ʾan yuslaba al-ʾīmāna liʾannahu baddala shukra niʿmati Allāhi kufran .

This is among the greatest blessings, and knowing it is part of gratitude for the blessing of faith. Ignorance of this is heedlessness of the blessing of faith, which calls for punishment. Claiming that faith comes from a rationally understood acquisition, or an ability arising from strength and power, is ingratitude for the blessing of faith. I fear that anyone who imagines this will be stripped of faith, because he has exchanged gratitude for God’s blessing for unbelief.

وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْخَيْرَاتِ مِنْ كَسْبِ الْإِيمَانِ وَلَيْسَ لَنَا فِيمَا يُكْسِبُنَا الْخَيْرَاتِ مَكَانٌ بَلِ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَنَّ عَلَيْنَا أَنْ هَدَانَا لِلْإِيمَانِ وَجَعَلَهُ سَبَبًا يُكْسِبُ لَنَا بِإِحْسَانِهِ الْإِحْسَانَ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 158 قِيلَ التَّوْبَةُ ، وَقِيلَ : الصَّالِحَاتُ كُلُّهَا كَسْبُ الْإِيمَانِ وَمِنَ النِّعَمِ بَعْدَ الْإِيمَانِ تَوْفِيقُنَا لِلْحُسْنَى وَتَيْسِيرُنَا لِلْيُسْرَى ،

waqad jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā al-khayrāti min kasbi al-ʾīmāni walaysa lanā fīmā yuksibunā al-khayrāti makānun bali Allāhu taʿālā manna ʿalaynā ʾan hadānā li-l-ʾīmāni wajaʿalahu sababan yuksibu lanā biʾiḥsānihi al-ʾiḥsāna kamā qāla taʿālā : ( ʾaw kasabat fī ʾīmānihā khayran ) al-ʾanʿāmu : 158 qīla al-tawbatu , waqīla : al-ṣāliḥātu kulluhā kasbu al-ʾīmāni wamina al-niʿami baʿda al-ʾīmāni tawfīqunā li-l-ḥusnā wataysīrunā li-l-yusrā ,

God Most High has made good deeds something earned by faith, and we have no place in what earns good deeds for us. Rather, God Most High favored us by guiding us to faith and making it a means that, through His goodness, earns goodness for us. As He says, exalted is He: “Or earned good through its faith” (al-Anʿām 158). It is said: repentance. It is also said: all righteous deeds are the earning of faith. Among the blessings after faith are His enabling us for the best and making the easier path easy for us.

ثُمَّ صَرْفُ الْكُفْرِ وَأَخْلَاقِ الْكَفَرَةِ وَأَعْمَالِهِمْ ثُمَّ تَزْيِينُ الْإِيمَانِ وَتَحْبِيبُهُ إِلَيْنَا وَتَكْرِيهُ الْفُسُوقِ وَالْعِصْيَانِ فَضْلًا مِنْهُ وَنِعْمَةً إِلَى مَا لَا يُحْصَى مِنْ نِعَمِهِ فَشُكْرُ ذَلِكَ لَا يُقَامُ بِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا وَهَبَ أَيْضًا وَأَنْعَمَ بِهِ مِنَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِذَلِكَ وَالْمَعُونَةِ عَلَيْهِ ، وَالْحَيَاءُ مِنْ تَتَابُعِ النِّعَمِ هُوَ مِنَ الشُّكْرِ وَالْمَعْرِفَةُ بِالتَّقْصِيرِ عَنِ الشُّكْرِ شُكْرٌ ، وَالِاعْتِذَارُ مِنْ قِلَّةِ الشُّكْرِ شُكْرٌ ،

thumma ṣarfu al-kufri waʾakhlāqi al-kafarati waʾaʿmālihim thumma tazyīnu al-ʾīmāni wataḥbībuhu ʾilaynā watakrīhu al-fusūqi wa-al-ʿiṣyāni faḍlan minhu waniʿmatan ʾilā mā lā yuḥṣā min niʿamihi fashukru dhālika lā yuqāmu bihi ʾillā bimā wahaba ʾayḍan waʾanʿama bihi mina al-maʿrifati bi-dhālika wa-al-maʿūnati ʿalayhi , wa-al-ḥayāʾu min tatābuʿi al-niʿami huwa mina al-shukri wa-al-maʿrifatu bi-al-taqṣīri ʿani al-shukri shukrun , wa-al-iʿtidhāru min qillati al-shukri shukrun ,

Then come turning away unbelief and the unbelievers’ character traits and deeds; adorning faith and making it beloved to us; and making impiety and disobedience hateful, as bounty and blessing from Him, together with blessings of His beyond counting. Thanks for this can be fulfilled only through what He has also given and bestowed of knowing it and help in doing it. Feeling ashamed before the succession of blessings is gratitude. Recognizing one’s failure to give adequate thanks is gratitude. Apologizing for giving little thanks is gratitude.

وَالْمَعْرِفَةُ بِعَظِيمِ الْحِلْمِ وَكَثِيفِ السَّتْرِ شُكْرٌ ، وَالِاعْتِرَافُ بِمَا أَعْطَى مِنْ حُسْنِ الثَّنَاءِ وَجَمِيلِ النَّشْرِ أَنَّهُ مِنَ النِّعَمِ مِنْ غَيْرِ اسْتِحْقَاقٍ مِنَ الْعَبْدِ بَلْ هُوَ مُضَافٌ إِلَى نِعَمِهِ بَلْ هُوَ مِنَ الشُّكْرِ ، وَحُسْنُ التَّوَاضُعِ بِالنِّعَمِ وَالتَّذَلُّلِ فِيهَا شُكْرٌ ، وَشُكْرُ الْخَلْقِ بِالدُّعَاءِ لَهُمْ وَحُسْنِ الثَّنَاءِ عَلَيْهِمْ لِأَنَّهُمْ ظُرُوفُ الْعَطَاءِ وَأَسْبَابُ الْمُعْطَى تَخَلُّقًا بِأَخْلَاقِ الْمَوْلَى جَلَّ وَعَلَا هُوَ مِنَ الشُّكْرِ ، وَقِلَّةُ الِاعْتِرَاضِ وَحُسْنُ

wa-al-maʿrifatu biʿaẓīmi al-ḥilmi wakathīfi al-satri shukrun , wa-al-iʿtirāfu bimā ʾaʿṭā min ḥusni al-thanāʾi wajamīli al-nashri ʾannahu mina al-niʿami min ghayri istiḥqāqin mina al-ʿabdi bal huwa muḍāfun ʾilā niʿamihi bal huwa mina al-shukri , waḥusnu al-tawāḍuʿi bi-al-niʿami wa-al-tadhalluli fīhā shukrun , washukru al-khalqi bi-al-duʿāʾi lahum waḥusni al-thanāʾi ʿalayhim liʾannahum ẓurūfu al-ʿaṭāʾi waʾasbābu al-muʿṭā takhalluqan biʾakhlāqi al-mawlā jalla waʿalā huwa mina al-shukri , waqillatu al-iʿtirāḍi waḥusnu

Knowing the greatness of His forbearance and the thickness of His concealment is gratitude. Acknowledging that the good praise and fine reputation He has granted are blessings that the servant has not deserved, but are added to His blessings, is itself gratitude. Proper humility and self-abasement amid blessings are gratitude. Thanking other creatures by praying for them and praising them well, because they are vessels of the gift and means for what is given, adopting the character of the Master, majestic and exalted is He, is gratitude. Few objections and proper

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٥٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 355

Volume One, page 355

الْأَدَبِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ الْمُنْعِمِ شُكْرٌ ، وَتَلَقِّي النِّعَمِ بِحُسْنِ الْقَبُولِ وَتَكْبِيرِ صَغِيرِهَا وَتَعْظِيمِ حَقِيرِهَا مِنَ الشُّكْرِ ، لِأَنَّ طَائِفَةً هَلَكَتْ بِاسْتِصْغَارِ الْأَشْيَاءِ وَاسْتِحْقَارِ وُجُودِ الْمَنَافِعِ بِهَا جَهْلًا بِحِكْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَاسْتِصْغَارِ النِّعْمَةِ فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ كُفْرًا بِالنِّعَمِ ، وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ إِنَّ الصَّبْرَ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الشُّكْرِ وَلَيْسَ يُمْكِنُ التَّفْضِيلُ بَيْنَهُمَا عِنْدَ أَهْلِ التَّحْصِيلِ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ الشُّكْرَ مَقَامٌ لِجُمْلَةٍ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالتَّرْجِيحَ بَيْنَ جَمَاعَةٍ عَلَى جَمَاعَةٍ

al-ʾadabi bayna yadayi al-munʿimi shukrun , watalaqqī al-niʿami biḥusni al-qabūli watakbīri ṣaghīrihā wataʿẓīmi ḥaqīrihā mina al-shukri , liʾanna ṭāʾifatan halakat bistiṣghāri al-ʾashyāʾi wastiḥqāri wujūdi al-manāfiʿi bihā jahlan biḥikmati Allāhi taʿālā wastiṣghāri al-niʿmati fakāna dhālika kufran bi-al-niʿami , wamina al-nāsi man yaqūlu ʾinna al-ṣabra ʾafḍalu mina al-shukri walaysa yumkinu al-tafḍīlu baynahumā ʿinda ʾahli al-taḥṣīli min qibali ʾanna al-shukra maqāmun lijumlatin mina al-muʾminīna wa-al-tarjīḥa bayna jamāʿatin ʿalā jamāʿatin

manners before the Bestower are gratitude. Welcoming blessings well, magnifying their small parts, and esteeming their least parts are gratitude. For a group perished through belittling things and despising the benefits found in them, in ignorance of God Most High’s wisdom and through belittling the blessing. That was ingratitude for blessings. Some people say that patience is better than gratitude. But those who have attained a sound understanding cannot rank the two against each other, since gratitude is a station for a body of believers, and preferring one group to another

لَا يَصِحُّ مِنْ قِبَلِ تَفَاوُتِهِمْ فِي الْيَقِينِ فِي الْمُشَاهَدَاتِ لِأَنَّ بَعْضَ الصَّابِرِينَ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ بَعْضِ الشَّاكِرِينَ لِفَضْلِ مَعْرِفَتِهِ وَحُسْنِ صَبْرِهِ ، وَخُصُوصُ الشَّاكِرِينَ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ عُمُومِ الصَّابِرِينَ لِحُسْنِ يَقِينِهِ وَعُلُوِّ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ ، وَلَكِنْ تَفْضِيلُ ذَلِكَ مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْأَحْوَالِ وَالْمَقَامَاتِ أَنَّا نَقُولُ : وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الصَّبْرَ عَنِ النَّعِيمِ أَفْضَلُ لِأَنَّ فِيهِ الزُّهْدَ وَالْخَوْفَ ؛ وَهُمَا أَعْلَى الْمَقَامَاتِ وَأَنَّ الشُّكْرَ عَلَى الْمَكَارِهِ أَفْضَلُ لِأَنَّ فِيهِ الْبَلَاءَ وَالرِّضَا ،

lā yaṣiḥḥu min qibali tafāwutihim fī al-yaqīni fī al-mushāhadāti liʾanna baʿḍa al-ṣābirīna ʾafḍalu min baʿḍi al-shākirīna lifaḍli maʿrifatihi waḥusni ṣabrihi , wakhuṣūṣu al-shākirīna ʾafḍalu min ʿumūmi al-ṣābirīna liḥusni yaqīnihi waʿuluwwi mushāhadatihi , wa-lākin tafḍīlu dhālika min ṭarīqi al-ʾaḥwāli wa-al-maqāmāti ʾannā naqūlu : wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu ʾanna al-ṣabra ʿani al-naʿīmi ʾafḍalu liʾanna fīhi al-zuhda wa-al-khawfa ; wahumā ʾaʿlā al-maqāmāti waʾanna al-shukra ʿalā al-makārihi ʾafḍalu liʾanna fīhi al-balāʾa wa-al-riḍā ,

is not sound, because they differ in certainty within their acts of witnessing. Some patient people are better than some grateful people because of their superior knowledge and fine patience. The elect among the grateful are better than the general body of the patient because of their fine certainty and lofty witnessing. But as for ranking this by states and stations, we say, and God knows best: patiently abstaining from pleasures is better, because it contains renunciation and fear, which are the highest stations; and gratitude for unpleasant things is better, because it contains trial and contentment;

وَأَنَّ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى الشَّدَائِدِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الشُّكْرِ عَلَى النِّعَمِ وَالسَّرَّاءِ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّهُ أَشَقُّ عَلَى النَّفْسِ وَأَنَّ الصَّبْرَ مَعَ حَالِ الْغِنَى وَالْمَقْدَرَةِ أَنْ يَعْصِيَ بِذَلِكَ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الشُّكْرِ عَلَى النِّعَمِ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ الصَّبْرَ عَنِ الْمَعَاصِي بِالنِّعَمِ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ بِهَا لِمَنْ جَاهَدَ نَفْسَهُ فِيهَا ، فَإِذَا شَكَرَ عَلَى مَا يَصْبِرُ عَلَيْهِ فَقَدْ صَارَ الْبَلَاءُ عِنْدَهُ نِعْمَةً ،

waʾanna al-ṣabra ʿalā al-shadāʾidi wa-al-ḍarrāʾi ʾafḍalu mina al-shukri ʿalā al-niʿami wa-al-sarrāʾi min qibali ʾannahu ʾashaqqu ʿalā al-nafsi waʾanna al-ṣabra maʿa ḥāli al-ghinā wa-al-maqdarati ʾan yaʿṣiya bi-dhālika ʾafḍalu mina al-shukri ʿalā al-niʿami min qibali ʾanna al-ṣabra ʿani al-maʿāṣī bi-al-niʿami ʾafḍalu mina al-ṭāʿati bihā liman jāhada nafsahu fīhā , faʾidhā shakara ʿalā mā yaṣbiru ʿalayhi faqad ṣāra al-balāʾu ʿindahu niʿmatan ,

and patience amid hardships and adversity is better than gratitude for blessings and prosperity, because it is harder on the self. Patience in a state of wealth and with the ability to disobey through it is better than gratitude for blessings, because patiently refraining from using blessings for sins is better than using them for obedience, for the one who struggles against his self in them. When he gives thanks for what he patiently endures, the trial has become a blessing to him.

وَهَذَا أَفْضَلُ لِأَنَّهَا مُشَاهَدَةُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ، وَإِذَا صَبَرَ عَمَّا يُشْكَرُ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ النِّعَمِ كَانَ أَفْضَلَ لِأَنَّهَا حَالُ الْمُجَاهَدَةِ . وَقَدْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : نَحْنُ مَعَاشِرَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ بَلَاءً ثُمَّ الْأَمْثَلُ فَالْأَمْثَلُ يَعْنِي الْأَقْرَبَ شَبَهًا بِنَا فَالْأَقْرَبَ ، فَرَفَعَ أَهْلَ الْبَلَاءِ إِلَيْهِ وَوَصَفَ نَفْسَهُ بِهِ وَجَعَلَهُمُ الْأَمْثَلَ فَالْأَمْثَلَ مِنْهُ فَمَنْ كَانَ بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَمْثَلَ كَانَ هُوَ الْأَفْضَلَ ،

wa-hādhā ʾafḍalu liʾannahā mushāhadatu al-muqarrabīna , waʾidhā ṣabara ʿammā yushkaru ʿalayhi mina al-niʿami kāna ʾafḍala liʾannahā ḥālu al-mujāhadati . waqad qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : naḥnu maʿāshira al-ʾanbiyāʾi ʾashaddu al-nāsi balāʾan thumma al-ʾamthalu fa-al-ʾamthalu yaʿnī al-ʾaqraba shabahan binā fa-al-ʾaqraba , farafaʿa ʾahla al-balāʾi ʾilayhi wawaṣafa nafsahu bihi wajaʿalahumu al-ʾamthala fa-al-ʾamthala minhu faman kāna birasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾamthala kāna huwa al-ʾafḍala ,

This is better, because it is the witnessing of those brought near. When he patiently abstains from the blessings for which thanks are given, it is better, because it is the state of striving. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “We, the company of prophets, are the people most severely tried, then those most like us, then those next most like us,” meaning those nearest to us in resemblance, then the next nearest. He raised the people of trial toward himself, described himself by it, and made them those most like him, then those next most like him. Whoever is most like the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, is the best.

وَقَدْ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ شَاكِرًا عَلَى شِدَّةِ بَلَائِهِ كَذَلِكَ الشَّاكِرُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ يَكُونُ أَفْضَلَ لِشُكْرِهِ عَلَى الْبَلَاءِ إِذْ هُوَ الْأَقْرَبُ وَالْأَمْثَلُ بِالْأَنْبِيَاءِ ، وَكُلُّ مَقَامٍ مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى صَبْرٍ وَشُكْرٍ ، وَأَحَدُهُمَا لَا يَتِمُّ إِلَّا بِالْآخَرِ لِأَنَّ الصَّبْرَ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى شُكْرٍ عَلَيْهِ لِيَكْمُلَ ، وَالشُّكْرَ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى صَبْرٍ عَلَيْهِ لِيَسْتَوْجِبَ الْمَزِيدَ ،

waqad kāna al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama shākiran ʿalā shiddati balāʾihi kadhālika al-shākiru mina al-ṣābirīna yakūnu ʾafḍala lishukrihi ʿalā al-balāʾi ʾidh huwa al-ʾaqrabu wa-al-ʾamthalu bi-al-ʾanbiyāʾi , wakullu maqāmin min maqāmāti al-muqarrabīna yaḥtāju ʾilā ṣabrin washukrin , waʾaḥaduhumā lā yatimmu ʾillā bi-al-ʾākhari liʾanna al-ṣabra yaḥtāju ʾilā shukrin ʿalayhi liyakmula , wa-al-shukra yaḥtāju ʾilā ṣabrin ʿalayhi liyastawjiba al-mazīda ,

The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was grateful amid the severity of his trial. Likewise, the grateful person among the patient is better because of his gratitude for trial, since he is nearer to the prophets and more like them. Every station of those brought near requires patience and gratitude; neither is complete without the other. Patience needs gratitude for it to become complete, and gratitude needs patience in maintaining it to deserve increase.

وَقَدْ قَرَنَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَيْنَهُمَا وَوَصَفَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِهِمَا فَقَالَ : ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ ) لُقْمَانُ : 31 فَذَكَرَ الشُّكْرَ بِلَفْظِ الْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي الْوَصْفِ عَلَى وَزْنِ فَعُولٍ ، كَمَا ذَكَرَ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى وَزْنِ فَعَّالٍ وَهُوَ وَصْفُ الْمُبَالَغَةِ أَيْضًا ، وَلِذَلِكَ اقْتَسَمَا الْإِيمَانَ نِصْفَيْنِ ، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : الصَّبْرُ نِصْفُ الْإِيمَانِ ، وَالشُّكْرُ نِصْفُ الْإِيمَانِ ،

waqad qarana Allāhu taʿālā baynahumā wawaṣafa al-muʾminīna bihimā faqāla : ( ʾinna fī dhālika laʾāyātin likulli ṣabbārin shakūrin ) luqmānu : 31 fadhakara al-shukra bilafẓi al-mubālaghati fī al-waṣfi ʿalā wazni faʿūlin , kamā dhakara al-ṣabra ʿalā wazni faʿʿālin wahuwa waṣfu al-mubālaghati ʾayḍan , wali-dhālika iqtasamā al-ʾīmāna niṣfayni , kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari : al-ṣabru niṣfu al-ʾīmāni , wa-al-shukru niṣfu al-ʾīmāni ,

God Most High has joined the two and described the believers by them, saying: “In that are signs for everyone who is greatly patient and greatly grateful” (Luqmān 31). He mentions gratitude in an intensive descriptive form on the pattern faʿūl, just as He mentions patience on the pattern faʿʿāl, also an intensive description. For that reason they divide faith into two halves, as it has come in the report: “Patience is half of faith, and gratitude is half of faith,

وَالْيَقِينُ الْإِيمَانُ كُلُّهُ ؛ لِأَنَّ الْيَقِينَ أَصْلُهُمَا وَهُمَا ثَمَرَتَاهُ عَنْهُ يُوجَدَانِ لِأَنَّ الشَّاكِرَ أَيْقَنَ بِالنِّعْمَةِ أَنَّهَا مِنَ الْمُنْعِمِ وَأَيْقَنَ بِإِنْجَازِ مَا وَعَدَهُ مِنَ الْمَزِيدِ فَشَكَرَ كَمَا أَيْقَنَ الصَّابِرُ بِمَسِّهِ بِالْبَلَاءِ لِأَنَّهُ هُوَ الْمُبْتَلِي وَأَيْقَنَ بِثَوَابِ الْمُبْلِي وَحُسْنِ ثَنَائِهِ عَلَى الصَّابِرِينَ فَصَبَرَ فَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ ؛ فَهُمَا حَالَا الْمُوقِنِ إِذْ لَا يَخْلُو فِي أَدْنَى وَقْتٍ مِنْ أَحَدِ اثْنَيْنِ ؛

wa-al-yaqīnu al-ʾīmānu kulluhu ; liʾanna al-yaqīna ʾaṣluhumā wahumā thamaratāhu ʿanhu yūjadāni liʾanna al-shākira ʾayqana bi-al-niʿmati ʾannahā mina al-munʿimi waʾayqana biʾinjāzi mā waʿadahu mina al-mazīdi fashakara kamā ʾayqana al-ṣābiru bimassihi bi-al-balāʾi liʾannahu huwa al-mubtalī waʾayqana bithawābi al-mublī waḥusni thanāʾihi ʿalā al-ṣābirīna faṣabara falā ḥawla walā quwwata ʾillā bi-Allāhi al-ʿaliyyi al-ʿaẓīmi ; fahumā ḥālā al-mūqini ʾidh lā yakhlū fī ʾadnā waqtin min ʾaḥadi ithnayni ;

and certainty is the whole of faith.” For certainty is their root, and they are its two fruits, arising from it. The grateful person is certain that the blessing comes from the Bestower and certain that He will fulfill His promise of increase, and so he gives thanks. Likewise, the patient person is certain of His touching him with trial, because He is the One who tests, and certain of the Tester’s reward and His fine praise of the patient, and so he is patient. There is no power and no strength except through God, the Most High, the Supreme. These are the two states of the person of certainty, since at even the briefest moment he is never free of one of two things:

بَلِيَّةٍ وَتَحِيَّةٍ ، إِذْ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لَهُ آيَةٌ فَحَالُهُ فِي الْبَلِيَّةِ الصَّبْرُ ، وَحَالُهُ فِي التَّحِيَّةِ الشُّكْرُ ، وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الصَّابِرِينَ

baliyyatin wataḥiyyatin , ʾidh fī kulli shayʾin lahu ʾāyatun faḥāluhu fī al-baliyyati al-ṣabru , waḥāluhu fī al-taḥiyyati al-shukru , wa-Allāhu yuḥibbu al-ṣābirīna

an affliction or a greeting of favor. For in everything there is a sign of Him. His state in affliction is patience, and his state in the greeting of favor is gratitude. God loves the patient

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٥٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 356

Volume One, page 356

وَيُحِبُّ الشَّاكِرَ وَهَذَا آخِرُ شَرْحِ مَقَامِ الشُّكْرِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ .

wayuḥibbu al-shākira wa-hādhā ʾākhiru sharḥi maqāmi al-shukri wa-al-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi al-ʿālamīna .

and loves the grateful person. This is the end of the explanation of the station of gratitude. Praise belongs to God, Lord of all worlds.

شَرْحُ مَقَامِ الرَّجَاءِ وَوَصْفُ الرَّاجِينَ وَهُوَ الرَّابِعُ مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ

sharḥu maqāmi al-rajāʾi wawaṣfu al-rājīna wahuwa al-rābiʿu min maqāmāti al-yaqīni

An explanation of the station of hope and a description of those who hope: the fourth of the stations of certainty

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( اللَّهُ لَطِيفٌ بِعِبَادِهِ يَرْزُقُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ) الشُّورَى : 19 وَقَالَ : جَلَّتْ قُدْرَتُهُ : ( وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا ) الْأَحْزَابُ : 43 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ) الزُّمَرُ : 53 وَرَوَيْنَا فِي قِرَاءَةِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :

qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( Allāhu laṭīfun biʿibādihi yarzuqu man yashāʾu ) al-shūrā : 19 waqāla : jallat qudratuhu : ( wakāna bi-al-muʾminīna raḥīman ) al-ʾaḥzābu : 43 waqāla taʿālā : ( yā ʿibādiya alladhīna ʾasrafū ʿalā ʾanfusihim lā taqnaṭū min raḥmati Allāhi ʾinna Allāha yaghfiru al-dhunūba jamīʿan ) al-zumaru : 53 warawaynā fī qirāʾati al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama :

God Most High says: “God is gentle with His servants; He provides for whomever He wills” (al-Shūrā 19). He says, majestic is His power: “He has been merciful to the believers” (al-Aḥzāb 43). He also says, exalted is He: “My servants who have gone to excess against themselves, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins” (al-Zumar 53). We have transmitted in the Prophet’s recitation, may God bless him and grant him peace:

وَلَا يُبَالِي إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ ، وَفِي الْأَخْبَارِ الْمَشْهُورَةِ فَقَبَضَ قَبْضَةً فَقَالَ : هَؤُلَاءِ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَلَا أُبَالِي الْمَعْنَى وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ رَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَلَيْسَ يَضِيقُ هَؤُلَاءِ عَنْهَا وَلَا أُبَالِي بِدُخُولِهِمْ فِيهَا ، وَيَكُونُ هَؤُلَاءِ أَيْضًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ ، وَلَا أُبَالِي بِأَعْمَالِهِمُ السَّيِّئَةِ كُلِّهَا ، وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ الْمُتَّقِينَ :

walā yubālī ʾinnahu huwa al-ghafūru al-raḥīmu , wafī al-ʾakhbāri al-mashhūrati faqabaḍa qabḍatan faqāla : hāʾulāʾi fī al-jannati walā ʾubālī al-maʿnā wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu ʾanna raḥmatī wasiʿat kulla shayʾin falaysa yaḍīqu hāʾulāʾi ʿanhā walā ʾubālī bidukhūlihim fīhā , wayakūnu hāʾulāʾi ʾayḍan fī al-jannati , walā ʾubālī biʾaʿmālihimu al-sayyiʾati kullihā , waqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā fī waṣfi al-muttaqīna :

“And He does not mind; He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” In the well-known reports: “He took a handful and said: ‘These are in the Garden, and I do not mind.’” The meaning, and God knows best, is: My mercy has encompassed everything, so these people are not excluded from it, and I do not mind their entering it. These too will be in the Garden, and I do not mind all their evil deeds. He says, glorified and exalted is He, in describing the God-fearing:

( وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 135 فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ، وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي وَصْفِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ : ( إِلَّا اللَّمَمَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ وَاسِعُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ ) النَّجْمُ : 32 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى مُخْبِرًا عَنِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ الْحَافِّينَ حَوْلَ عَرْشِهِ : ( وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ ) الشُّورَى :

( wa-alladhīna ʾidhā faʿalū fāḥishatan ʾaw ẓalamū ʾanfusahum dhakarū Allāha ) ʾālu ʿimrāna : 135 fastaghfarū lidhunūbihim waman yaghfiru al-dhunūba ʾillā Allāhu , waqāla ʿazza wajalla fī waṣfi al-mutawakkilīna : ( ʾillā al-lamama ʾinna rabbaka wāsiʿu al-maghfirati ) al-najmu : 32 waqāla taʿālā mukhbiran ʿani al-malāʾikati al-ḥāffīna ḥawla ʿarshihi : ( wa-al-malāʾikatu yusabbiḥūna biḥamdi rabbihim wayastaghfirūna liman fī al-ʾarḍi ) al-shūrā :

“Those who, when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember God” (Āl ʿImrān 135), “and seek forgiveness for their sins; and who forgives sins except God?” He says, mighty and majestic, in describing those who trust: “Except minor lapses; your Lord is vast in forgiveness” (al-Najm 32). He says, exalted is He, telling of the angels circling His Throne: “The angels glorify their Lord with praise and seek forgiveness for those on earth” (al-Shūrā

5 وَأَخْبَرَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنَّ النَّارَ أَعَدَّهَا لِأَعْدَائِهِ وَأَنَّهُ خَوَّفَ بِهَا أَوْلِيَاءَهُ ، فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( لَهُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ ظُلَلٌ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمِنْ تَحْتِهِمْ ظُلَلٌ ذَلِكَ يُخَوِّفُ اللَّهُ بِهِ عِبَادَهُ ) الزُّمَرُ : 16 وَمِثْلُهُ قَوْلُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 131 وَقَالَ : ( فَأَنْذَرْتُكُمْ نَارًا تَلَظَّى ) اللَّيْلُ :

5 waʾakhbara ʿazza wajalla ʾanna al-nāra ʾaʿaddahā liʾaʿdāʾihi waʾannahu khawwafa bihā ʾawliyāʾahu , faqāla taʿālā : ( lahum min fawqihim ẓulalun mina al-nāri wamin taḥtihim ẓulalun dhālika yukhawwifu Allāhu bihi ʿibādahu ) al-zumaru : 16 wamithluhu qawlu ʿazza wajalla : ( wattaqū al-nāra allatī ʾuʿiddat li-l-kāfirīna ) ʾālu ʿimrāna : 131 waqāla : ( faʾandhartukum nāran talaẓẓā ) al-laylu :

5). He has declared, mighty and majestic, that He prepared the Fire for His enemies and used it to make His friends fear. He says, exalted is He: “They have canopies of fire above them and canopies below them. With this God makes His servants fear” (al-Zumar 16). Similar are the words, mighty and majestic is He: “Guard yourselves against the Fire prepared for the unbelievers” (Āl ʿImrān 131). He also says: “I have warned you of a blazing Fire” (al-Layl

14 لَا يَصْلَاهَا إِلَّا الْأَشْقَى الَّذِي كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي عَفْوِهِ عَنِ الظَّالِمِينَ ( وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَةٍ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ ) الرَّعْدُ : 6 وَرَوَيْنَا أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لَمْ يَزَلْ يَسْأَلُ فِي أُمَّتِهِ حَتَّى قِيلَ لَهُ : أَمَا تَرْضَى وَقَدْ أَنْزَلْتُ عَلَيْكَ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ : ( وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَةٍ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ :

14 lā yaṣlāhā ʾillā al-ʾashqā alladhī kadhdhaba watawallā , waqāla taʿālā fī ʿafwihi ʿani al-ẓālimīna ( waʾinna rabbaka ladhū maghfiratin li-l-nāsi ʿalā ẓulmihim ) al-raʿdu : 6 warawaynā ʾanna al-nabiyya ʿalayhi al-salāmu lam yazal yasʾalu fī ʾummatihi ḥattā qīla lahu : ʾamā tarḍā waqad ʾanzaltu ʿalayka hādhihi al-ʾāyata : ( waʾinna rabbaka ladhū maghfiratin li-l-nāsi ʿalā ẓulmihim ) ʾālu ʿimrāna :

14), “which none enters but the most wretched, who denied and turned away.” He says, exalted is He, concerning His pardon of wrongdoers: “Your Lord has forgiveness for people despite their wrongdoing” (al-Raʿd 6). We have transmitted that the Prophet, peace be upon him, kept pleading for his community until he was told: “Are you not satisfied, when I have sent down to you this verse: ‘Your Lord has forgiveness for people despite their wrongdoing’?” (Āl ʿImrān

135 وَفِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَى ) الضُّحَى : 5 قَالَ : لَا يَرْضَى مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ وَاحِدٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِهِ النَّارَ ، وَكَانَ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : أَنْتُمْ أَهْلَ الْعِرَاقِ تَقُولُونَ أَرْجَى آيَةٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ) الزُّمَرُ :

135 wafī tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā : ( walasawfa yuʿṭīka rabbuka fatarḍā ) al-ḍuḥā : 5 qāla : lā yarḍā muḥammadun ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾan yadkhula wāḥidun min ʾummatihi al-nāra , wakāna ʾabū jaʿfarin muḥammadu bnu ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu : ʾantum ʾahla al-ʿirāqi taqūlūna ʾarjā ʾāyatin fī kitābi Allāhi taʿālā qawluhu taʿālā : ( yā ʿibādiya alladhīna ʾasrafū ʿalā ʾanfusihim lā taqnaṭū min raḥmati Allāhi ) al-zumaru :

135). In the explanation of His words, exalted is He, “Your Lord will surely give to you, and you will be satisfied” (al-Ḍuḥā 5), he said: “Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, will not be satisfied with a single person from his community entering the Fire.” Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him, used to say: “You people of Iraq say that the most hope-giving verse in God Most High’s Book is His saying, exalted is He, ‘My servants who have gone to excess against themselves, do not despair of God’s mercy’ (al-Zumar

53 الْآيَةُ ، وَنَحْنُ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ نَقُولُ أَرْجَى آيَةٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَى ) الضُّحَى : 5 وَعَدَهُ رَبُّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنْ يُرْضِيَهُ فِي أُمَّتِهِ ، وَرَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى : أُمَّتِي أُمَّةٌ مَرْحُومَةٌ لَا عَذَابَ عَلَيْهَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ جُعِلَ عِقَابُهَا فِي الدُّنْيَا الزَّلَازِلَ وَالْفِتَنَ فَإِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ دَفَعَ إِلَى كُلِّ رَجُلٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي رَجُلًا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ فَيُقَالُ هَذَا فِدَاؤُكَ مِنَ النَّارِ ،

53 al-ʾāyatu , wanaḥnu ʾahla al-bayti naqūlu ʾarjā ʾāyatin fī kitābi Allāhi taʿālā : ( walasawfa yuʿṭīka rabbuka fatarḍā ) al-ḍuḥā : 5 waʿadahu rabbuhu ʿazza wajalla ʾan yurḍiyahu fī ʾummatihi , warawaynā fī ḥadīthi ʾabī burdata ʿan ʾabīhi ʿan ʾabī mūsā : ʾummatī ʾummatun marḥūmatun lā ʿadhāba ʿalayhā fī al-ʾākhirati juʿila ʿiqābuhā fī al-dunyā al-zalāzila wa-al-fitana faʾidhā kāna yawmu al-qiyāmati dafaʿa ʾilā kulli rajulin min ʾummatī rajulan min ʾahli al-kitābi fayuqālu hādhā fidāʾuka mina al-nāri ,

53), to the end of the verse. But we, the people of the Household, say that the most hope-giving verse in God Most High’s Book is: ‘Your Lord will surely give to you, and you will be satisfied’ (al-Ḍuḥā 5). His Lord, mighty and majestic, promised to satisfy him concerning his community.” We have transmitted in the report of Abū Burda, from his father, from Abū Mūsā: “My community is a community shown mercy. There is no punishment for it in the hereafter; its punishment has been placed in this world in earthquakes and trials. On the Day of Resurrection, He hands over to each man of my community a man from the People of the Book, and it is said: ‘This is your ransom from the Fire.’”

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : يَأْتِي كُلُّ رَجُلٍ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ بِيَهُودِيٍّ أَوْ نَصْرَانِيٍّ إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ فَيَقُولُ : هَذَا فِدَائِي مِنَ النَّارِ فَيُلْقِي فِيهَا ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِنَّ الْحُمَّى مِنْ فَيْحِ جَهَنَّمَ وَهِيَ حَظُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنَ النَّارِ ، وَرَوَيْنَا فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِي اللَّهُ النَّبِيَّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ ) التَّحْرِيمُ : 8 ،

warawaynā fī lafẓin ʾākhara : yaʾtī kullu rajulin min hādhihi al-ʾummati biyahūdiyyin ʾaw naṣrāniyyin ʾilā jahannama fayaqūlu : hādhā fidāʾī mina al-nāri fayulqī fīhā , wafī al-khabari : ʾinna al-ḥummā min fayḥi jahannama wahiya ḥaẓẓu al-muʾminīna mina al-nāri , warawaynā fī tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā : ( yawma lā yukhzī Allāhu al-nabiyya wa-alladhīna ʾāmanū maʿahu ) al-taḥrīmu : 8 ,

We have transmitted in another wording: “Every man of this community brings a Jew or a Christian to Hell and says: ‘This is my ransom from the Fire,’ and casts him into it.” In the report: “Fever is from the blast of Hell, and it is the believers’ share of the Fire.” We have transmitted in the explanation of His words, exalted is He: “The day when God will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him” (al-Taḥrīm 8):

إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَى نَبِيِّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : تُرِيدُ أَنْ أَجْعَلَ حِسَابَ أُمَّتِكَ إِلَيْكَ ؟ فَقَالَ : لَا يَا رَبِّ أَنْتَ

ʾinna Allāha tabāraka wataʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilā nabiyyihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : turīdu ʾan ʾajʿala ḥisāba ʾummatika ʾilayka ? faqāla : lā yā rabbi ʾanta

God, blessed and exalted is He, revealed to His Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Do you want Me to entrust your community’s reckoning to you?” He said: “No, my Lord. You are

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٥٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 357

Volume One, page 357

خَيْرٌ لَهُمْ مِنِّي ، قَالَ : إِذًا لَا نُخْزِيكَ فِيهِمْ ، وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : مَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ يَجْعَلَ حِسَابِي إِلَى أَبَوَيَّ لِأَنِّي أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَرْحَمُ بِي مِنْهُمَا . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرِ سَلَمَةَ بْنِ وَرْدَانَ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سَأَلَ رَبَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي ذُنُوبِ أُمَّتِهِ فَقَالَ :

khayrun lahum minnī , qāla : ʾidhan lā nukhzīka fīhim , waqāla sufyānu al-thawriyyu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu : mā ʾuḥibbu ʾan yajʿala ḥisābī ʾilā ʾabawayya liʾannī ʾaʿlamu ʾanna Allāha tabāraka wataʿālā ʾarḥamu bī minhumā . warawaynā fī khabari salamata bni wardāna ʿan ʾanasi bni mālikin ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama saʾala rabbahu taʿālā fī dhunūbi ʾummatihi faqāla :

better for them than I am.” He said: “Then We will not disgrace you regarding them.” Sufyān al-Thawrī, may God be pleased with him, said: “I would not wish my reckoning to be entrusted to my parents, because I know that God, blessed and exalted is He, is more merciful to me than they are.” We have transmitted in the report of Salama ibn Wardān, from Anas ibn Mālik, that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, asked his Lord Most High concerning his community’s sins, saying:

يَا رَبِّ اجْعَلْ حِسَابَهُمْ إِلَيَّ لِئَلَّا يَطَّلِعَ عَلَى مَسَاوِئِهِمْ غَيْرِي فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ : هُمْ أُمَّتُكَ وَهُمْ عِبَادِي وَأَنَا أَرْحَمُ بِهِمْ مِنْكَ لَا أَجْعَلُ حِسَابَهُمْ إِلَى غَيْرِي كَيْلَا تَنْظُرَ فِي مَسَاوِئِهِمْ أَنْتَ وَلَا غَيْرُكَ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَنَّهُ قَالَ حَيَاتِي خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَمَوْتِي خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ ، أَمَّا حَيَاتِي فَإِنِّي أُبَيِّنُ لَكُمُ السُّنَنَ وَأَشْرَعُ الشَّرَائِعَ ،

yā rabbi ijʿal ḥisābahum ʾilayya liʾallā yaṭṭaliʿa ʿalā masāwiʾihim ghayrī faʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi : hum ʾummatuka wahum ʿibādī waʾanā ʾarḥamu bihim minka lā ʾajʿalu ḥisābahum ʾilā ghayrī kaylā tanẓura fī masāwiʾihim ʾanta walā ghayruka , waqad rawaynā ʿanhu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾannahu qāla ḥayātī khayrun lakum wamawtī khayrun lakum , ʾammā ḥayātī faʾinnī ʾubayyinu lakumu al-sunana waʾashraʿu al-sharāʾiʿa ,

“My Lord, entrust their reckoning to me, so that no one but me may see their faults.” God Most High revealed to him: “They are your community and they are My servants. I am more merciful to them than you are. I will entrust their reckoning to no one but Myself, so that neither you nor anyone else may look into their faults.” We have transmitted from him, may God bless him and grant him peace, that he said: “My life is good for you and my death is good for you. As for my life, I explain the practices to you and establish the sacred laws.

وَأَمَّا مَوْتِي فَأَعْمَالُكُمْ تُعْرَضُ عَلَيَّ فَمَا رَأَيْتُ مِنْهَا حَسَنًا حَمِدْتُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَمَا رَأَيْتُ مِنْهَا شَيْئًا اسْتَغْفَرْتُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَكُمْ . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْأَثَرِ : إِذَا تَابَ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ ذُنُوبِهِ أَنْسَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مَلَائِكَتَهُ وَبِقَاعَ الْأَرْضِ مَعَاصِيَهُ وَبَدَّلَهَا حَسَنَاتٍ حَتَّى يَرِدَ الْقِيَامَةَ وَلَيْسَ شَيْءٌ يَشْهَدُ عَلَيْهِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ يُقَالُ : إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ إِذَا عَصَاهُ سَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْ أَبْصَارِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ كَيْلَا تَرَاهُ فَتَشْهَدَ عَلَيْهِ ،

waʾammā mawtī faʾaʿmālukum tuʿraḍu ʿalayya famā raʾaytu minhā ḥasanan ḥamidtu Allāha ʿazza wajalla wamā raʾaytu minhā shayʾan istaghfartu Allāha ʿazza wajalla lakum . warawaynā fī al-ʾathari : ʾidhā tāba al-ʿabdu min dhunūbihi ʾansā Allāhu ʿazza wajalla malāʾikatahu wabiqāʿa al-ʾarḍi maʿāṣiyahu wabaddalahā ḥasanātin ḥattā yarida al-qiyāmata walaysa shayʾun yashhadu ʿalayhi , wa-kadhālika yuqālu : ʾinna al-muʾmina ʾidhā ʿaṣāhu satarahu Allāhu taʿālā ʿan ʾabṣāri al-malāʾikati kaylā tarāhu fatashhada ʿalayhi ,

As for my death, your deeds are presented to me. Whatever good I see among them, I praise God, mighty and majestic; whatever else I see among them, I ask God, mighty and majestic, to forgive you.” We have transmitted in the traditional account: “When the servant repents of his sins, God, mighty and majestic, makes His angels and the places of the earth forget his acts of disobedience and replaces them with good deeds, so that he arrives at the Resurrection with nothing testifying against him.” Likewise, it is said: when the believer disobeys Him, God Most High hides him from the angels’ sight so that they do not see him and testify against him.

وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ : يَا كَرِيمَ الْعَفْوِ ، فَقَالَ لَهُ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : تَدْرِي مَا تَفْسِيرُ يَا كَرِيمَ الْعَفْوِ هُوَ أَنَّهُ عَفَا عَنِ السَّيِّئَاتِ بِرَحْمَتِهِ ثُمَّ بَدَّلَهَا حَسَنَاتٍ بِكَرَمِهِ ، وَسَمِعَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَجُلًا يَقُولُ : اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ تَمَامَ النِّعْمَةِ ، فَقَالَ : هَلْ تَدْرِي مَا تَمَامُ النِّعْمَةِ ؟

waqāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama dhāta yawmin : yā karīma al-ʿafwi , faqāla lahu jibrīlu ʿalayhi al-salāmu : tadrī mā tafsīru yā karīma al-ʿafwi huwa ʾannahu ʿafā ʿani al-sayyiʾāti biraḥmatihi thumma baddalahā ḥasanātin bikaramihi , wasamiʿa rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama rajulan yaqūlu : Allāhumma ʾinnī ʾasʾaluka tamāma al-niʿmati , faqāla : hal tadrī mā tamāmu al-niʿmati ?

One day the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “You who are generous in pardon!” Gabriel, peace be upon him, said to him: “Do you know the explanation of ‘You who are generous in pardon’? It is that He pardoned evil deeds through His mercy, then changed them into good deeds through His generosity.” The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, heard a man saying: “O God, I ask You for the completion of blessing.” He said: “Do you know what the completion of blessing is?”

قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ : دُخُولُ الْجَنَّةِ ، وَقَدْ أَخْبَرَنَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنَّهُ قَدْ أَتَمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْنَا بِرِضَاهُ الْإِسْلَامَ لَنَا ؛ فَهَذَا دَلِيلٌ عَلَى دُخُولِ الْجَنَّةِ ، فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 3 وَقَدِ اشْتَرَكْنَا فِي ذَلِكَ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَنَحْنُ نَرْجُو الْمَغْفِرَةَ لِذُنُوبِنَا بِفَضْلِهِ ،

qāla : lā , qāla : dukhūlu al-jannati , waqad ʾakhbaranā Allāhu taʿālā ʾannahu qad ʾatamma niʿmatahu ʿalaynā biriḍāhu al-ʾislāma lanā ; fa-hādhā dalīlun ʿalā dukhūli al-jannati , faqāla ʿazza wajalla : ( al-yawma ʾakmaltu lakum dīnakum waʾatmamtu ʿalaykum niʿmatī waraḍītu lakumu al-ʾislāma dīnan ) al-māʾidatu : 3 waqadi ishtaraknā fī dhālika maʿa rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fanaḥnu narjū al-maghfirata lidhunūbinā bifaḍlihi ,

He said: “No.” He said: “Entering the Garden.” God Most High has told us that He has completed His blessing upon us by approving Islam for us. This therefore points to entering the Garden. He says, mighty and majestic: “Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My blessing upon you, and approved Islam as your religion” (al-Māʾida 3). We have shared this with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and therefore hope for the forgiveness of our sins through His bounty.

فَقَالَ عَزَّ مِنْ قَائِلٍ : ( لِيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ وَيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكَ ) ، وَ فِي خَبَرِ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : مَنْ أَذْنَبَ ذَنْبًا فَسَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا ، فَاللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَكْرَمُ مِنْ أَنْ يَكْشِفَ سِتْرَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ ، وَمَنْ أَذْنَبَ ذَنْبًا فَعُوقِبَ عَلَيْهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَعْدَلُ مِنْ أَنْ يَثْنِيَ عُقُوبَتَهُ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ فِي الْآخِرَةِ ،

faqāla ʿazza min qāʾilin : ( liyaghfira laka Allāhu mā taqaddama min dhanbika wamā taʾakhkhara wayutimma niʿmatahu ʿalayka ) , wa fī khabari ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu : man ʾadhnaba dhanban fasatarahu Allāhu taʿālā ʿalayhi fī al-dunyā , fa-Allāhu tabāraka wataʿālā ʾakramu min ʾan yakshifa sitrahu fī al-ʾākhirati , waman ʾadhnaba dhanban faʿūqiba ʿalayhi fī al-dunyā fa-Allāhu taʿālā ʾaʿdalu min ʾan yathniya ʿuqūbatahu ʿalā ʿabdihi fī al-ʾākhirati ,

He says, exalted is the Speaker: “So that God may forgive you what has gone before of your sin and what comes after, and complete His blessing upon you.” In the report of ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him: “Anyone who commits a sin and God Most High conceals it for him in this world: God, blessed and exalted is He, is too generous to uncover His concealment in the hereafter. Anyone who commits a sin and is punished for it in this world: God Most High is too just to repeat its punishment upon His servant in the hereafter.”

وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : لَا يُذْنِبُ عَبْدٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَيَسْتُرَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا غَفَرَ لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ . وَعَنْ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ : كُلُّ عَاصٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَعْصِي تَحْتَ كَنَفِ الرَّحْمَنِ ، وَالْكَنَفُ مِنَ الْإِنْسَانِ حِضْنُهُ مَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَصَدْرِهِ ، قَالَ : فَمَنْ أَلْقَى عَلَيْهِ كَنَفَهُ سَتَرَ عَوْرَتَهُ وَمَنْ رَفَعَ عَنْهُ كَنَفَهُ افْتَضَحَ ، وَيُقَالُ :

wafī lafẓin ʾākhara : lā yudhnibu ʿabdun fī al-dunyā fayasturahu Allāhu taʿālā ʿalayhi ʾillā ghafara lahu fī al-ʾākhirati . waʿan baʿḍi al-salafi : kullu ʿāṣin faʾinnahu yaʿṣī taḥta kanafi al-raḥmāni , wa-al-kanafu mina al-ʾinsāni ḥiḍnuhu mā bayna yadayhi waṣadrihi , qāla : faman ʾalqā ʿalayhi kanafahu satara ʿawratahu waman rafaʿa ʿanhu kanafahu iftaḍaḥa , wayuqālu :

In another wording: “No servant commits a sin in this world that God Most High conceals for him without His forgiving him for it in the hereafter.” From one of the predecessors: “Every sinner disobeys beneath the Merciful’s shelter.” A person’s kanaf is his embrace, the space between his hands and his chest. He said: the one over whom He casts His shelter has his nakedness concealed, and the one from whom He lifts His shelter is exposed. It is said:

إِنَّ مَنْ فُضِحَ فِي الدُّنْيَا بِذَنْبٍ فَهُوَ كَفَّارَتُهُ وَلَا يُفْضَحُ بِهِ فِي الْآخِرَةِ . وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِذَا أَذْنَبَ الْعَبْدُ فَاسْتَغْفَرَ اللَّهَ ، يَقُولُ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى لِمَلَائِكَتِهِ : اُنْظُرُوا إِلَى عَبْدٍ أَذْنَبَ ذَنْبًا فَعَلِمَ أَنَّ لَهُ رَبًّا يَغْفِرُ الذَّنْبَ فَيَأْخُذُ بِالذَّنْبِ ، أُشْهِدُكُمْ أَنِّي قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَهُ ، وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُصْعَبٍ قَالَ : كَتَبَ إِلَيَّ أَسْوَدُ بْنُ سَالِمٍ بِخَطِّهِ :

ʾinna man fuḍiḥa fī al-dunyā bidhanbin fahuwa kaffāratuhu walā yufḍaḥu bihi fī al-ʾākhirati . wafī al-khabari : ʾidhā ʾadhnaba al-ʿabdu fastaghfara Allāha , yaqūlu Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā limalāʾikatihi : unẓurū ʾilā ʿabdin ʾadhnaba dhanban faʿalima ʾanna lahu rabban yaghfiru al-dhanba fayaʾkhudhu bi-al-dhanbi , ʾushhidukum ʾannī qad ghafartu lahu , waḥuddithtu ʿan muḥammadi bni muṣʿabin qāla : kataba ʾilayya ʾaswadu bnu sālimin bikhaṭṭihi :

Anyone exposed in this world because of a sin has that as its expiation and will not be exposed for it in the hereafter. In the report: “When the servant sins and asks God’s forgiveness, God, glorified and exalted is He, says to His angels: ‘Look at a servant who committed a sin and knew that he has a Lord who forgives sin and holds to account for sin. I call you to witness that I have forgiven him.’” I was told from Muḥammad ibn Muṣʿab, who said: “Aswad ibn Sālim wrote to me in his own hand:

إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا كَانَ مُسْرِفًا عَلَى نَفْسِهِ ؛ يَرْفَعُ يَدَيْهِ يَدْعُو يَقُولُ : يَا رَبِّ فَإِذَا قَالَ يَا رَبِّ ، حَجَبَتْ

ʾinna al-ʿabda ʾidhā kāna musrifan ʿalā nafsihi ; yarfaʿu yadayhi yadʿū yaqūlu : yā rabbi faʾidhā qāla yā rabbi , ḥajabat

When the servant has gone to excess against himself, he raises his hands in prayer and says, ‘My Lord!’ When he says, ‘My Lord,’ the angels block

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٥٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 358

Volume One, page 358

الْمَلَائِكَةُ صَوْتَهُ ، فَإِذَا قَالَ الثَّانِيَةَ يَا رَبِّ ، حَجَبَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ صَوْتَهُ ، فَإِذَا قَالَ الثَّالِثَةَ يَا رَبِّ حَجَبَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ صَوْتَهُ ، فَإِذَا قَالَ الرَّابِعَةَ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى حَتَّى مَتَى تَحْجُبُوا صَوْتَ عَبْدِي عَنِّي ، قَدْ عَلِمَ عَبْدِي أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ رَبٌّ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ غَيْرِي ، أُشْهِدُكُمْ أَنِّي قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَهُ ، وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ إِذَا أَذْنَبَ الْعَبْدُ حَتَّى تَبْلُغَ ذُنُوبُهُ عَنَانَ السَّمَاءِ غَفَرْتُهَا لَهُ مَا اسْتَغْفَرَنِي وَرَجَانِي .

al-malāʾikatu ṣawtahu , faʾidhā qāla al-thāniyata yā rabbi , ḥajabati al-malāʾikatu ṣawtahu , faʾidhā qāla al-thālithata yā rabbi ḥajabati al-malāʾikatu ṣawtahu , faʾidhā qāla al-rābiʿata yaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā ḥattā matā taḥjubū ṣawta ʿabdī ʿannī , qad ʿalima ʿabdī ʾannahu laysa lahu rabbun yaghfiru al-dhunūba ghayrī , ʾushhidukum ʾannī qad ghafartu lahu , wafī al-ḥadīthi ʾidhā ʾadhnaba al-ʿabdu ḥattā tablugha dhunūbuhu ʿanāna al-samāʾi ghafartuhā lahu mā istaghfaranī warajānī .

his voice. When he says a second time, ‘My Lord,’ the angels block his voice. When he says a third time, ‘My Lord,’ the angels block his voice. When he says it a fourth time, God Most High says: ‘How long will you block My servant’s voice from Me? My servant knows that he has no Lord who forgives sins besides Me. I call you to witness that I have forgiven him.’” In the report: “When the servant sins until his sins reach the clouds of heaven, I forgive them for him as long as he seeks My forgiveness and hopes in Me.”

وَفِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ : لَوْ لَقِيَنِي عَبْدِي بِقُرَابِ الْأَرْضِ ذُنُوبًا ، لَقِيتُهُ بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً مَا لَمْ يُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِنَّ الْمَلَكَ لَيَرْفَعُ الْقَلَمَ عَنِ الْعَبْدِ إِذَا أَذْنَبَ سِتَّ سَاعَاتٍ ، فَإِنْ تَابَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَمْ يَكْتُبْهُ عَلَيْهِ وَإِلَّا كَتَبَهَا سَيِّئَةً ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : فَإِذَا كَتَبَهَا عَلَيْهِ وَعَمِلَ حَسَنَةً ، قَالَ صَاحِبُ الشِّمَالِ وَهُوَ أَمِيرٌ عَلَيْهِ :

wafī ḥadīthin ʾākhara : law laqiyanī ʿabdī biqurābi al-ʾarḍi dhunūban , laqītuhu biqurābihā maghfiratan mā lam yushrik bī shayʾan , wafī al-khabari : ʾinna al-malaka layarfaʿu al-qalama ʿani al-ʿabdi ʾidhā ʾadhnaba sitta sāʿātin , faʾin tāba wastaghfara lam yaktubhu ʿalayhi waʾillā katabahā sayyiʾatan , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara : faʾidhā katabahā ʿalayhi waʿamila ḥasanatan , qāla ṣāḥibu al-shimāli wahuwa ʾamīrun ʿalayhi :

In another report: “If My servant met Me with nearly an earthful of sins, I would meet him with nearly an earthful of forgiveness, as long as he associated nothing with Me.” In the report: “The angel holds back the pen from the servant for six hours when he sins. If he repents and seeks forgiveness, he does not record it against him; otherwise he records it as an evil deed.” In another wording: “When he has recorded it against him and he does a good deed, the companion on the left, who is his commander, says:

أَلْقِ هَذِهِ السَّيِّئَةَ حَتَّى أُلْقِيَ مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ وَاحِدَةً مِنْ تَضْعِيفِ الْعَشَرَةِ وَأَرْفَعَ تِسْعَ حَسَنَاتٍ فَيُلْقِي عَنْهُ هَذِهِ السَّيِّئَةَ وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى جَعَلَ فِي قَلْبِ صَاحِبِ الْيَمِينِ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ لِلْعَبْدِ أَضْعَافَ مَا جَعَلَ فِي قَلْبِ صَاحِبِ الشِّمَالِ مَعَ أَنَّهُ أَمَّرَهُ عَلَيْهِ ، فَإِذَا عَمِلَ الْعَبْدُ حَسَنَةً فَرِحَ بِهَا مَلَكُ الْيَمِينِ ، وَيُقَالُ : فَرِحَ بِهَا الْمَلَائِكَةُ فَيَكْتُبُ لِلْعَبْدِ بِفَرَحِهِ الْحَسَنَاتِ .

ʾalqi hādhihi al-sayyiʾata ḥattā ʾulqiya min ḥasanātihi wāḥidatan min taḍʿīfi al-ʿasharati waʾarfaʿa tisʿa ḥasanātin fayulqī ʿanhu hādhihi al-sayyiʾata wayuqālu : ʾinna Allāha taʿālā jaʿala fī qalbi ṣāḥibi al-yamīni mina al-raḥmati li-l-ʿabdi ʾaḍʿāfa mā jaʿala fī qalbi ṣāḥibi al-shimāli maʿa ʾannahu ʾammarahu ʿalayhi , faʾidhā ʿamila al-ʿabdu ḥasanatan fariḥa bihā malaku al-yamīni , wayuqālu : fariḥa bihā al-malāʾikatu fayaktubu li-l-ʿabdi bifaraḥihi al-ḥasanāti .

‘Discard this evil deed, so that I may take away one of his good deeds from the tenfold multiplication and raise up nine good deeds.’ So he discards this evil deed from him.” It is said: God Most High has placed in the heart of the companion on the right many times the mercy for the servant that He placed in the heart of the companion on the left, while also appointing him commander over him. When the servant does a good deed, the angel on the right rejoices in it. It is also said: the angels rejoice in it, and good deeds are recorded for the servant because of his joy.

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ الطَّوِيلِ : إِذَا أَذْنَبَ الْعَبْدُ ذَنْبًا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِ ، فَقَالَ الْأَعْرَابِيُّ : فَإِنْ تَابَ ؟ مُحِيَ مِنْ صَحِيفَتِهِ ، قَالَ : فَإِنْ عَادَ ؟ قَالَ رَسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُكْتَبُ عَلَيْهِ ، قَالَ الْأَعْرَابِيُّ : فَإِنْ تَابَ ؟ قَالَ مُحِيَ مِنْ صَحِيفَتِهِ ، قَالَ : إِلَى مَتَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ؟ قَالَ :

warawaynā fī ḥadīthi ʾanasi bni mālikin al-ṭawīli : ʾidhā ʾadhnaba al-ʿabdu dhanban kutiba ʿalayhi , faqāla al-ʾaʿrābiyyu : faʾin tāba ? muḥiya min ṣaḥīfatihi , qāla : faʾin ʿāda ? qāla rasūlu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yuktabu ʿalayhi , qāla al-ʾaʿrābiyyu : faʾin tāba ? qāla muḥiya min ṣaḥīfatihi , qāla : ʾilā matā yā rasūla Allāhi ? qāla :

We have transmitted in the long report of Anas ibn Mālik: “When the servant commits a sin, it is recorded against him.” The Bedouin said: “If he repents?” “It is erased from his record.” He said: “If he returns to it?” The Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “It is recorded against him.” The Bedouin said: “If he repents?” He said: “It is erased from his record.” He said: “Until when, Messenger of God?” He said:

إِلَى أَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرَ : وَيَتُوبَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَمَلُّ مِنَ الْمَغْفِرَةِ حَتَّى يَمَلَّ الْعَبْدُ مِنَ الِاسْتِغْفَارِ ، فَإِذَا هَمَّ الْعَبْدُ بِحَسَنَةٍ كَتَبَهَا صَاحِبُ الْيَمِينِ حَسَنَةً قَبْلَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَهَا فَإِذَا عَمِلَهَا كَتَبَهَا عَشْرَ حَسَنَاتٍ ثُمَّ ضَاعَفَهَا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى سَبْعِمِائَةِ ضِعْفٍ ، وَإِذَا هَمَّ بِخَطِيئَةٍ لَمْ تُكْتَبْ عَلَيْهِ فَإِنْ عَمِلَهَا كُتِبَتْ خَطِيئَةً وَاحِدَةً وَرَاءَهَا حُسْنُ عَفْوِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى :

ʾilā ʾan yastaghfira : wayatūba ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā , waʾanna Allāha lā yamallu mina al-maghfirati ḥattā yamalla al-ʿabdu mina al-istighfāri , faʾidhā hamma al-ʿabdu biḥasanatin katabahā ṣāḥibu al-yamīni ḥasanatan qabla ʾan yaʿmalahā faʾidhā ʿamilahā katabahā ʿashra ḥasanātin thumma ḍāʿafahā Allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʾilā sabʿimiʾati ḍiʿfin , waʾidhā hamma bikhaṭīʾatin lam tuktab ʿalayhi faʾin ʿamilahā kutibat khaṭīʾatan wāḥidatan warāʾahā ḥusnu ʿafwi Allāhi taʿālā :

“As long as he seeks forgiveness and repents to God Most High. God does not tire of forgiveness until the servant tires of seeking forgiveness. When the servant intends a good deed, the companion on the right records it as one good deed before he performs it. When he performs it, he records it as ten good deeds, then God, mighty and majestic, multiplies it up to seven hundredfold. When he intends an offense, it is not recorded against him. If he does it, one offense is recorded; beyond it is the beauty of God Most High’s pardon.”

وَجَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي لَا أَصُومُ إِلَّا الشَّهْرَ لَا أَزِيدُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا أُصَلِّي إِلَّا الْخَمْسَ لَا أَزِيدُ عَلَيْهِنَّ وَلَيْسَ لِلَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى فِي مَالِي صَدَقَةٌ وَلَا حَجٌّ وَلَا أَتَطَوَّعُ أَيْنَ أَنَا إِذَا مِتُّ ؟ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : فِي الْجَنَّةِ ، قَالَ :

wajāʾa rajulun ʾilā al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faqāla : yā rasūla Allāhi ʾinnī lā ʾaṣūmu ʾillā al-shahra lā ʾazīdu ʿalayhi walā ʾuṣallī ʾillā al-khamsa lā ʾazīdu ʿalayhinna walaysa li-llāhi tabāraka wataʿālā fī mālī ṣadaqatun walā ḥajjun walā ʾataṭawwaʿu ʾayna ʾanā ʾidhā mittu ? faqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : fī al-jannati , qāla :

A man came to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and said: “Messenger of God, I fast only the month and add nothing to it. I pray only the five prayers and add nothing to them. No charity is due to God, blessed and exalted is He, from my wealth, nor any pilgrimage, and I do no voluntary acts. Where will I be when I die?” The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “In the Garden.” He said:

يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَعَكَ فَتَبَسَّمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقَالَ نَعَمْ مَعِي إِنْ حَفِظْتَ قَلْبَكَ مِنِ اثْنَيْنِ الْغِلِّ وَالْحَسَدِ وَلِسَانَكَ مِنِ اثْنَيْنِ : الْغِيبَةِ وَالْكَذِبِ ، وَعَيْنَكَ مِنِ اثْنَيْنِ : النَّظَرِ إِلَى مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَأَنْ تَزْدَرِيَ بِهِمَا مُسْلِمًا دَخَلْتَ مَعِيَ الْجَنَّةَ عَلَى رَاحَتَيَّ هَاتَيْنِ . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ الطَّوِيلِ عَنْ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ :

yā rasūla Allāhi maʿaka fatabassama rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waqāla naʿam maʿī ʾin ḥafiẓta qalbaka mini ithnayni al-ghilli wa-al-ḥasadi walisānaka mini ithnayni : al-ghībati wa-al-kadhibi , waʿaynaka mini ithnayni : al-naẓari ʾilā mā ḥarrama Allāhu taʿālā waʾan tazdariya bihimā musliman dakhalta maʿiya al-jannata ʿalā rāḥatayya hātayni . warawaynā fī al-khabari al-ṭawīli ʿan ʾanasin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu :

“Messenger of God, with you?” The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, smiled and said: “Yes, with me. If you guard your heart from two things, malice and envy; your tongue from two things, backbiting and lying; and your eyes from two things, looking at what God Most High has forbidden and using them to look down on a Muslim, you will enter the Garden with me upon these two palms of mine.” We have transmitted in the long report from Anas, may God be pleased with him:

أَنَّ الْأَعْرَابِيَّ قَالَ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَنْ يَلِي حِسَابَ الْخَلْقِ ؟ قَالَ : اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَالَ : هُوَ بِنَفْسِهِ ؟ قَالَ : نَعَمْ ، قَالَ : فَتَبَسَّمَ الْأَعْرَابِيُّ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مِمَّ ضَحِكْتَ يَا أَعْرَابِيُّ ؟ فَقَالَ : إِنَّ الْكَرِيمَ إِذَا قَدَرَ عَفَا وَرُوِيَ تَجَاوَزَ ، وَإِذَا حَاسَبَ سَامَحَ ، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :

ʾanna al-ʾaʿrābiyya qāla : yā rasūla Allāhi man yalī ḥisāba al-khalqi ? qāla : Allāhu ʿazza wajalla qāla : huwa binafsihi ? qāla : naʿam , qāla : fatabassama al-ʾaʿrābiyyu faqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : mimma ḍaḥikta yā ʾaʿrābiyyu ? faqāla : ʾinna al-karīma ʾidhā qadara ʿafā waruwiya tajāwaza , waʾidhā ḥāsaba sāmaḥa , faqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama :

A Bedouin said: “Messenger of God, who undertakes the reckoning of creatures?” He said: “God, mighty and majestic.” He said: “He Himself?” He said: “Yes.” He said: the Bedouin smiled. The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “What made you laugh, Bedouin?” He said: “The generous one pardons when he has power,” and it is also transmitted, “overlooks,” “and is lenient when he calls to account.” The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said:

صَدَقَ أَلَا وَلَا كَرِيمَ أَكْرَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هُوَ أَكْرَمُ الْأَكْرَمِينَ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : فَقِهَ الْأَعْرَابِيُّ ، وَفِيهِ أَيْضًا : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى شَرَّفَ الْكَعْبَةَ وَعَظَّمَهَا ، وَلَوْ أَنَّ عَبْدًا هَدَمَهَا حَجَرًا حَجَرًا ثُمَّ أَحْرَقَهَا مَا بَلَغَ جُرْمَ مَنِ اسْتَخَفَّ بِوَلِيٍّ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاءِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، قَالَ الْأَعْرَابِيُّ مَنْ أَوْلِيَاءُ اللَّهِ ؟ قَالَ : الْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلُّهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، أَمَا سَمِعْتَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ : ( اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ

ṣadaqa ʾalā walā karīma ʾakramu mina Allāhi ʿazza wajalla huwa ʾakramu al-ʾakramīna , thumma qāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu : faqiha al-ʾaʿrābiyyu , wafīhi ʾayḍan : ʾinna Allāha tabāraka wataʿālā sharrafa al-kaʿbata waʿaẓẓamahā , walaw ʾanna ʿabdan hadamahā ḥajaran ḥajaran thumma ʾaḥraqahā mā balagha jurma mani istakhaffa biwaliyyin min ʾawliyāʾi Allāhi taʿālā , qāla al-ʾaʿrābiyyu man ʾawliyāʾu Allāhi ? qāla : al-muʾminūna kulluhum ʾawliyāʾu Allāhi taʿālā , ʾamā samiʿta Allāha taʿālā yaqūlu : ( Allāhu waliyyu alladhīna ʾāmanū yukhrijuhum mina al-ẓulumāti

“He has spoken truly. Indeed, no generous one is more generous than God, mighty and majestic; He is the most generous of the generous.” Then he said, peace be upon him: “The Bedouin has understood.” The report also says: “God, blessed and exalted is He, has honored and magnified the Kaʿba. Yet if a servant demolished it stone by stone and then burned it, he would not reach the offense of someone who belittles one of God Most High’s friends.” The Bedouin said: “Who are God’s friends?” He said: “All believers are God Most High’s friends. Have you not heard God Most High say: ‘God is the friend of those who believe; He brings them out of darkness

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٥٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 359

Volume One, page 359

إِلَى النُّورِ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 257 ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْمُفْرَدِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : الْمُؤْمِنُ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْكَعْبَةِ ، وَالْمُؤْمِنُ طَيِّبٌ طَاهِرٌ وَالْمُؤْمِنُ أَكْرَمُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو وَأَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا وَكَعْبِ الْأَحْبَارِ أَنَّهُ نَظَرَ إِلَى الْكَعْبَةِ فَقَالَ : مَا أَشْرَفَكِ وَمَا أَعْظَمَكِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِ أَعْظَمُ حُرْمَةً عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْكِ ،

ʾilā al-nūri ) al-baqaratu : 257 , wafī al-khabari al-mufradi ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : al-muʾminu ʾafḍalu mina al-kaʿbati , wa-al-muʾminu ṭayyibun ṭāhirun wa-al-muʾminu ʾakramu ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā mina al-malāʾikati , wafī al-khabari al-mashhūri ʿan ʿabdi Allāhi bni ʿamrin waʾabī hurayrata raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā wakaʿbi al-ʾaḥbāri ʾannahu naẓara ʾilā al-kaʿbati faqāla : mā ʾashrafaki wamā ʾaʿẓamaki wali-l-muʾmini ʾaʿẓamu ḥurmatan ʿinda Allāhi minki ,

into light’ (al-Baqara 257)?” In the separate report from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “The believer is better than the Kaʿba. The believer is good and pure. The believer is more honored by God Most High than the angels.” In the well-known report from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr and Abū Hurayra, may God be pleased with them both, and Kaʿb al-Aḥbār, he looked at the Kaʿba and said: “How noble you are and how great you are! Yet the believer’s sanctity is greater with God than yours.”

وَقَدْ أَمَرَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى أَنْبِيَاءَهُ بِتَطْهِيرِ بَيْتِهِ لِأَوْلِيَائِهِ إِجْلَالًا لَهُمْ فَشَرَّفَ الْبَيْتَ بِهِمْ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى : مَنْ أَهَانَ وَلِيًّا فَقَدْ بَارَزَنِي بِالْمُحَارَبَةِ وَأَنَا الثَّائِرُ لِوَلِيِّي فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ، وَفِي أَخْبَارِ يَعْقُوبَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَيْهِ : تَدْرِي لِمَ فَرَّقْتُ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ يُوسُفَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ هَذِهِ الْمُدَّةَ ؟ قَالَ : لَا قَالَ :

waqad ʾamara Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾanbiyāʾahu bitaṭhīri baytihi liʾawliyāʾihi ʾijlālan lahum fasharrafa al-bayta bihim , wafī al-khabari ʿani Allāhi taʿālā : man ʾahāna waliyyan faqad bārazanī bi-al-muḥārabati waʾanā al-thāʾiru liwaliyyī fī al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati , wafī ʾakhbāri yaʿqūba ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilayhi : tadrī lima farraqtu baynaka wabayna yūsufa ʿalayhi al-salāmu hādhihi al-muddata ? qāla : lā qāla :

God, glorified and exalted is He, has commanded His prophets to purify His House for His friends out of reverence for them, thereby honoring the House through them. In the report from God Most High: “Whoever dishonors a friend has challenged Me to war, and I am the avenger of My friend in this world and the hereafter.” Among the accounts of Jacob, peace be upon him, is that God Most High revealed to him: “Do you know why I separated you from Joseph, peace be upon him, for this length of time?” He said: “No.” He said:

لِقَوْلِكَ لِإِخْوَتِهِ أَخَافُ أَنْ يَأْكُلَهُ الذِّئْبُ وَأَنْتُمْ عَنْهُ غَافِلُونَ ، لِمَ خِفْتَ الذِّئْبَ عَلَيْهِ وَلَمْ تَرْجُنِي لَهُ ، وَلِمَ نَظَرْتَ إِلَى غَفْلَةِ إِخْوَتِهِ وَلَمْ تَنْظُرْ إِلَى حِفْظِي لَهُ ، وَمِنْ سَبْقِ عِنَايَتِي بِكَ أَنْ جَعَلْتُ نَفْسِي عِنْدَكَ أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ ، فَرَجَوْتَنِي وَلَوْلَا ذَلِكَ لَكُنْتَ أَجْعَلُ نَفْسِي عِنْدَكَ أَبْخَلَ الْبَاخِلِينَ ، فَالرَّجَاءُ هُوَ اسْمٌ لِقُوَّةِ الطَّمَعِ فِي الشَّيْءِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْخَوْفِ اسْمٌ لِقُوَّةِ الْحَذَرِ مِنَ الشَّيْءِ ،

liqawlika liʾikhwatihi ʾakhāfu ʾan yaʾkulahu al-dhiʾbu waʾantum ʿanhu ghāfilūna , lima khifta al-dhiʾba ʿalayhi walam tarjunī lahu , walima naẓarta ʾilā ghaflati ʾikhwatihi walam tanẓur ʾilā ḥifẓī lahu , wamin sabqi ʿināyatī bika ʾan jaʿaltu nafsī ʿindaka ʾarḥama al-rāḥimīna , farajawtanī walawlā dhālika lakunta ʾajʿalu nafsī ʿindaka ʾabkhala al-bākhilīna , fa-al-rajāʾu huwa ismun liquwwati al-ṭamaʿi fī al-shayʾi bimanzilati al-khawfi ismun liquwwati al-ḥadhari mina al-shayʾi ,

“Because you said to his brothers, ‘I fear that the wolf will eat him while you are heedless of him.’ Why did you fear the wolf for him and not hope in Me for him? Why did you look at his brothers’ heedlessness and not look at My protection of him? Through My prior care for you, I made Myself the most merciful of the merciful in your eyes, and so you hoped in Me. Without that, I would have made Myself in your eyes the most miserly of the miserly.” Hope is a name for the strength of longing for something, just as fear is a name for the strength of caution against something.

وَلِذَلِكَ أَقَامَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الطَّمَعَ مَقَامَ الرَّجَاءِ فِي التَّسْمِيَةِ وَأَقَامَ الْحَذَرَ مَقَامَ الْخَوْفِ فَقَالَ : عَلَتْ كَلِمَتُهُ : ( يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا ) وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( يَحْذَرُ الْآخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ ) وَهُوَ وَصْفٌ مِنْ أَوْصَافِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَخُلُقٌ مِنْ أَخْلَاقِ الْإِيمَانِ لَا يَصِحُّ إِلَّا بِهِ كَمَا لَا يَصِحُّ الْإِيمَانُ إِلَّا بِالْخَوْفِ ، فَالرَّجَاءُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ أَحَدِ جَنَاحَيِ الطَّيْرِ لَا يَطِيرُ إِلَّا بِجَنَاحَيْهِ ،

wali-dhālika ʾaqāma Allāhu taʿālā al-ṭamaʿa maqāma al-rajāʾi fī al-tasmiyati waʾaqāma al-ḥadhara maqāma al-khawfi faqāla : ʿalat kalimatuhu : ( yadʿūna rabbahum khawfan waṭamaʿan ) waqāla taʿālā : ( yaḥdharu al-ʾākhirata wayarjū raḥmata rabbihi ) wahuwa waṣfun min ʾawṣāfi al-muʾminīna wakhuluqun min ʾakhlāqi al-ʾīmāni lā yaṣiḥḥu ʾillā bihi kamā lā yaṣiḥḥu al-ʾīmānu ʾillā bi-al-khawfi , fa-al-rajāʾu bimanzilati ʾaḥadi janāḥayi al-ṭayri lā yaṭīru ʾillā bijanāḥayhi ,

For that reason God Most High has used longing as a name in place of hope, and caution in place of fear. He says, exalted is His word: “They call upon their Lord in fear and longing.” He also says, exalted is He: “He is wary of the hereafter and hopes for his Lord’s mercy.” This is one of the believers’ qualities and one of the traits of faith, which is not sound without it, just as faith is not sound without fear. Hope is like one of a bird’s two wings; it flies only with both its wings.

كَذَلِكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُ مَنْ لَا يَرْجُو مَنْ آمَنَ بِهِ وَيَخَافُهُ وَهُوَ أَيْضًا مَقَامٌ مِنْ حُسْنِ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَجَمِيلِ التَّأْمِيلِ لَهُ ، فَلِذَلِكَ أَوْصَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ : لَا يَمُوتَنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلَّا وَهُوَ حَسَنُ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِأَنَّهُ قَالَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى : أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي فَلْيَظُنَّ بِي مَا شَاءَ ،

kadhālika lā yuʾminu man lā yarjū man ʾāmana bihi wayakhāfuhu wahuwa ʾayḍan maqāmun min ḥusni al-ẓanni bi-Allāhi taʿālā wajamīli al-taʾmīli lahu , fali-dhālika ʾawṣā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faqāla : lā yamūtanna ʾaḥadukum ʾillā wahuwa ḥasanu al-ẓanni bi-Allāhi taʿālā liʾannahu qāla ʿani Allāhi taʿālā : ʾanā ʿinda ẓanni ʿabdī bī falyaẓunna bī mā shāʾa ,

Likewise, one does not believe if one does not hope in the One in whom one believes and whom one fears. Hope is also a station of thinking well of God Most High and looking to Him with beautiful expectation. For that reason the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, counseled: “Let none of you die except while thinking well of God Most High.” For he said from God Most High: “I am as My servant thinks of Me, so let him think of Me as he wishes.”

وَكَانَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَحْلِفُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مَا أَحْسَنَ عَبْدٌ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى ظَنَّهُ إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْخَيْرَ كُلَّهُ بِيَدِهِ أَيْ فَإِذَا أَعْطَاهُ حُسْنَ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَقَدْ أَعْطَاهُ مَا يَظُنُّهُ لِأَنَّ الَّذِي حَسُنَ ظَنُّهُ بِهِ هُوَ الَّذِي أَرَادَ أَنْ يُحَقِّقَهُ لَهُ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ يُوسُفَ بْنِ أَسْبَاطٍ قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيَّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

wakāna ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaḥlifu bi-Allāhi taʿālā mā ʾaḥsana ʿabdun bi-Allāhi taʿālā ẓannahu ʾillā ʾaʿṭāhu Allāhu taʿālā dhālika liʾanna al-khayra kullahu biyadihi ʾay faʾidhā ʾaʿṭāhu ḥusna al-ẓanni bi-Allāhi taʿālā faqad ʾaʿṭāhu mā yaẓunnuhu liʾanna alladhī ḥasuna ẓannuhu bihi huwa alladhī ʾarāda ʾan yuḥaqqiqahu lahu . warawaynā ʿan yūsufa bni ʾasbāṭin qāla : samiʿtu sufyāna al-thawriyya raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu fī qawlihi taʿālā :

Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, used to swear by God Most High: “No servant thinks well of God Most High without God Most High giving him that, because all good is in His hand.” That is: when He gives him a good opinion of God Most High, He has given him what he expects, because the One of whom he thinks well is the One who wished to make it real for him. We have transmitted from Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ, who said: “I heard Sufyān al-Thawrī, may God be pleased with him, say concerning His words, exalted is He:

( وَأَحْسِنُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 195 قَالَ : أَيْ أَحْسِنُوا بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى الظَّنَّ ، وَكَذَلِكَ دَخَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ وَهُوَ فِي سِيَاقِ الْمَوْتِ فَقَالَ : كَيْفَ تَجِدُكَ ؟ فَقَالَ : أَجِدُنِي أَخَافُ ذُنُوبِي وَأَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّي ، فَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : مَا اجْتَمَعَا فِي قَلْبِ عَبْدٍ فِي هَذَا الْمَوْطِنِ إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَا رَجَا وَأَمَّنَهُ مِمَّا يَخَافُ ،

( waʾaḥsinū ʾinna Allāha yuḥibbu al-muḥsinīna ) al-baqaratu : 195 qāla : ʾay ʾaḥsinū bi-Allāhi taʿālā al-ẓanna , wa-kadhālika dakhala rasūlu Allāhi ʿalā al-rajuli wahuwa fī siyāqi al-mawti faqāla : kayfa tajiduka ? faqāla : ʾajidunī ʾakhāfu dhunūbī waʾarjū raḥmata rabbī , faqāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu : mā ijtamaʿā fī qalbi ʿabdin fī hādhā al-mawṭini ʾillā ʾaʿṭāhu Allāhu taʿālā mā rajā waʾammanahu mimmā yakhāfu ,

‘Do good; God loves those who do good’ (al-Baqara 195). He said: that is, think well of God Most High.” Likewise, the Messenger of God entered upon a man who was at the point of death and said: “How do you find yourself?” He said: “I find myself fearing my sins and hoping for my Lord’s mercy.” He said, peace be upon him: “These two never come together in a servant’s heart in this situation without God Most High giving him what he hopes for and keeping him safe from what he fears.”

وَلِذَلِكَ قَالَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ لِلرَّجُلِ الَّذِي أَطَارَ الْخَوْفُ عَقْلَهُ حَتَّى أَخْرَجَهُ إِلَى الْقُنُوطِ فَقَالَ لَهُ : يَا هَذَا أَيَأْسُكَ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ ؟ صَدَقَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لِأَنَّ الْإِيَاسَ مِنْ رَوْحِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى

wali-dhālika qāla ʿaliyyun karrama Allāhu wajhahu li-l-rajuli alladhī ʾaṭāra al-khawfu ʿaqlahu ḥattā ʾakhrajahu ʾilā al-qunūṭi faqāla lahu : yā hādhā ʾayaʾsuka min raḥmati Allāhi taʿālā ʾaʿẓamu min dhanbika ? ṣadaqa raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu liʾanna al-ʾiyāsa min rawḥi Allāhi taʿālā

For that reason ʿAlī, may God honor his countenance, spoke to the man whose fear had sent his reason flying until it drove him into despair. He said to him: “You there, is your despair of God Most High’s mercy greater than your sin?” He spoke truly, may God be pleased with him. For despair of the relief of God Most High,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٦٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 360

Volume One, page 360

الَّذِي يَسْتَرِيحُ إِلَيْهِ الْمَكْرُوبُ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ وَالْقُنُوطُ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الَّتِي يَرْجُوهَا الْمُبْتَلَى بِالذُّنُوبِ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذُنُوبِهِ وَهُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْ جَمِيعِ ذُنُوبِهِ لِأَنَّهُ قَطَعَ بِهَوَاهُ عَلَى صِفَاتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْمَرْجُوَّةِ وَحَكَمَ عَلَى كَرَمِ وَجْهِهِ بِصِفَتِهِ الْمَذْمُومَةِ فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ أَكْبَرِ الْكَبَائِرِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ ذُنُوبُهُ كَبَائِرَ . وَهَكَذَا جَاءَ فِي التَّفْسِيرِ : وَلَا تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ قَالَ :

alladhī yastarīḥu ʾilayhi al-makrūbu mina al-dhunūbi wa-al-qunūṭu min raḥmati Allāhi taʿālā allatī yarjūhā al-mubtalā bi-al-dhunūbi ʾaʿẓamu min dhunūbihi wahuwa ʾashaddu min jamīʿi dhunūbihi liʾannahu qaṭaʿa bihawāhu ʿalā ṣifāti Allāhi taʿālā al-marjuwwati waḥakama ʿalā karami wajhihi biṣifatihi al-madhmūmati fakāna dhālika min ʾakbari al-kabāʾiri waʾin kānat dhunūbuhu kabāʾira . wa-hākadhā jāʾa fī al-tafsīri : walā tulqū biʾaydikum ʾilā al-tahlukati qāla :

in which the one distressed by sins finds rest, and despair of the mercy of God Most High for which the one afflicted by sins hopes, are greater than his sins and more severe than all his sins. For through his own desire he has passed a decisive judgment on the hoped-for attributes of God Most High, and judged the generosity of His countenance by his own blameworthy quality. That makes it one of the greatest major sins, even if his sins were major. Thus it has come in the explanation: “Do not cast yourselves with your own hands into destruction.” He said:

هُوَ الْعَبْدُ يُذْنِبُ الْكَبَائِرَ وَيُلْقِي بِيَدِهِ وَلَا يَتُوبُ وَيَقُولُ : قَدْ هَلَكْتُ لَا يَنْفَعُنِي عَمَلٌ فَنُهُوا عَنْ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا أَنَّ الرَّجَاءَ مَقَامٌ جَلِيلٌ وَحَالٌ شَرِيفٌ نَبِيلٌ لَا يَصْلُحُ إِلَّا لِلْكُرَمَاءِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ ، وَالْحَيَاءِ وَهُوَ حَالٌ يَحُولُ عَلَيْهِمْ بَعْدَ مَقَامِ الْخَوْفِ ، يَرُوحُونَ بِهِ مِنَ الْكَرْبِ وَيَسْتَرِيحُونَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ مُقَارَفَةِ الذَّنْبِ ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفِ الْخَوْفَ لَمْ يَعْرِفِ الرَّجَاءَ ،

huwa al-ʿabdu yudhnibu al-kabāʾira wayulqī biyadihi walā yatūbu wayaqūlu : qad halaktu lā yanfaʿunī ʿamalun fanuhū ʿan dhālika ʾillā ʾanna al-rajāʾa maqāmun jalīlun waḥālun sharīfun nabīlun lā yaṣluḥu ʾillā li-l-kuramāʾi min ʾahli al-ʿilmi , wa-al-ḥayāʾi wahuwa ḥālun yaḥūlu ʿalayhim baʿda maqāmi al-khawfi , yarūḥūna bihi mina al-karbi wayastarīḥūna ʾilayhi min muqārafati al-dhanbi , waman lam yaʿrifi al-khawfa lam yaʿrifi al-rajāʾa ,

It is the servant who commits major sins, gives up, does not repent, and says: “I am ruined; no deed benefits me.” They were forbidden to do that. Yet hope is a majestic station and an honorable, noble state, suited only to the generous among the people of knowledge and modesty. It is a state that comes upon them after the station of fear. Through it they find relief from distress and rest in it from committing sin. Anyone who does not know fear does not know hope.

وَمَنْ لَمْ يَقُمْ فِي مَقَامِ الْخَوْفِ لَمْ يُرْفَعْ إِلَى مَقَامَاتِ أَهْلِ الرَّجَاءِ عَلَى صِحَّةٍ وَصَفَاءٍ وَرَجَاءُ ، كُلِّ عَبْدٍ مِنْ حَيْثُ خَوْفُهُ وَمُكَاشَفَتُهُ عَنْ أَخْلَاقٍ مَرْجُوَّةٍ مِنْ مَعْنَى مَا كَانَ كُوشِفَ بِهِ مِنْ صِفَاتٍ مَخُوفَةٍ ، فَإِنْ كَانَ أُقِيمَ مَقَامَ الْمَخُوفَاتِ مِنَ الْمَخْلُوقَاتِ مِثْلَ الذُّنُوبِ وَالْعُيُوبِ وَالْأَسْبَابِ ، رُفِعَ مِنْ حَيْثُ تِلْكَ الْمَقَامَاتِ إِلَى مَقَامَاتِ الرَّجَاءِ ،

waman lam yaqum fī maqāmi al-khawfi lam yurfaʿ ʾilā maqāmāti ʾahli al-rajāʾi ʿalā ṣiḥḥatin waṣafāʾin warajāʾu , kulli ʿabdin min ḥaythu khawfuhu wamukāshafatuhu ʿan ʾakhlāqin marjuwwatin min maʿnā mā kāna kūshifa bihi min ṣifātin makhūfatin , faʾin kāna ʾuqīma maqāma al-makhūfāti mina al-makhlūqāti mithla al-dhunūbi wa-al-ʿuyūbi wa-al-ʾasbābi , rufiʿa min ḥaythu tilka al-maqāmāti ʾilā maqāmāti al-rajāʾi ,

Anyone who has not stood in the station of fear will not be raised to the stations of the people of hope in soundness and purity. Each servant’s hope comes from the direction of his fear, and his disclosure of hoped-for qualities comes from the meaning of what had been disclosed to him of feared attributes. If he was placed in the station of feared things among created things, such as sins, faults, and causes, he is raised from those stations to the stations of hope

بِتَحْقِيقِ الْوَعْدِ وَغُفْرَانِ الذَّنْبِ وَتَشْوِيقِ الْجِنَانِ وَمَا فِيهَا مِنَ الْأَوْصَافِ الْحِسَانِ ؛ وَهَذِهِ مُوَاجَهَاتُ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ وَإِنْ كَانَ أُقِيمَ مَقَامَ مَخَاوِفِ الصِّفَاتِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ مَعَانِي الذَّاتِ مِثْلَ سَابِقِ الْعِلْمِ وَسُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ وَخَفِيِّ الْمَكْرِ وَبَاطِنِ الِاسْتِدْرَاجِ وَبَطْشِ الْقُدْرَةِ وَحُكْمِ الْكِبْرِ وَالْجَبَرُوتِ ، رُفِعَ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْمَقَامَاتِ إِلَى مَقَامِ الْمَحَبَّةِ وَالرِّضَا ، فَرَجَا مِنْ مَعَانِي الْأَخْلَاقِ وَأَسْمَاءِ الْكَرَمِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَالْفَضْلِ وَالْعَطْفِ وَاللُّطْفِ وَالِامْتِنَانِ ،

bitaḥqīqi al-waʿdi waghufrāni al-dhanbi watashwīqi al-jināni wamā fīhā mina al-ʾawṣāfi al-ḥisāni ; wa-hādhihi muwājahātu ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni waʾin kāna ʾuqīma maqāma makhāwifi al-ṣifāti ʿan mushāhadati maʿānī al-dhāti mithla sābiqi al-ʿilmi wasūʾi al-khātimati wakhafiyyi al-makri wabāṭini al-istidrāji wabaṭshi al-qudrati waḥukmi al-kibri wa-al-jabarūti , rufiʿa min hādhihi al-maqāmāti ʾilā maqāmi al-maḥabbati wa-al-riḍā , farajā min maʿānī al-ʾakhlāqi waʾasmāʾi al-karami wa-al-ʾiḥsāni wa-al-faḍli wa-al-ʿaṭfi wa-al-luṭfi wa-al-imtināni ,

through the fulfillment of the promise, the forgiveness of sin, and arousing longing for the Gardens and the beautiful qualities within them. These are the encounters of the people of the right. If he was placed in the station of fears of the attributes, arising from witnessing the meanings of the Essence, such as prior knowledge, a bad ending, hidden contrivance, inward gradual entrapment, the grasp of power, and the rule of greatness and overpowering might, he is raised from these stations to the station of love and contentment. He then hopes in the meanings of the divine character and the names of generosity, goodness, bounty, affection, gentleness, and gracious bestowal.

وَلَيْسَ يَصِحُّ أَنْ نُخْبِرَ بِكُلِّ مَا نَعْلَمُ مِنْ شَهَادَةِ أَهْلِ الرَّجَاءِ فِي مَقَامَاتِ الرَّجَاءِ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّهُ لَا يَصْلُحُ لِعُمُومِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، وَهُوَ يُفْسِدُ مَنْ لَمْ يَرْزُقْهُ أَشَدَّ الْفَسَادِ فَلَيْسَ يَصْلُحُ إِلَّا بِخُصُوصَةٍ وَلَا يُجْدِيهِ وَلَا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ وَلَا يُسْتَخْرَجُ إِلَّا مِنَ الْمَحَبَّةِ وَلَا مَحَبَّةَ إِلَّا بَعْدَ نُصْحِ الْقَلْبِ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ ، وَأَكْثَرُ النُّفُوسِ لَا يَصْلُحُ إِلَّا عَلَى الْخَوْفِ ،

walaysa yaṣiḥḥu ʾan nukhbira bikulli mā naʿlamu min shahādati ʾahli al-rajāʾi fī maqāmāti al-rajāʾi min qibali ʾannahu lā yaṣluḥu liʿumūmi al-muʾminīna , wahuwa yufsidu man lam yarzuqhu ʾashadda al-fasādi falaysa yaṣluḥu ʾillā bikhuṣūṣatin walā yujdīhi walā yastajību lahu walā yustakhraju ʾillā mina al-maḥabbati walā maḥabbata ʾillā baʿda nuṣḥi al-qalbi mina al-khawfi , waʾaktharu al-nufūsi lā yaṣluḥu ʾillā ʿalā al-khawfi ,

It is not right for us to tell everything we know of the witnessing of the people of hope in the stations of hope, because it is not suited to believers in general. It corrupts someone who has not been granted it most severely. It is suited only to a particular class; it does not benefit him, he does not respond to it, and it is drawn forth only from love. There is no love until the heart has become pure through fear. Most souls can be set right only through fear,

كَعَبِيدِ السُّوءِ لَا يَسْتَقِيمُونَ إِلَّا بِالسَّوْطِ وَالْعَصَا ثُمَّ يُوَاجَهُونَ بِالسُّيُوفِ صُلْتًا ، وَمِنْ عَلَامَةِ صِحَّةِ الرَّجَاءِ فِي الْعَبْدِ كَوْنُ الْخَوْفِ بَاطِنًا فِي رَجَائِهِ لِأَنَّهُ لَمَّا تَحَقَّقَ بِرَجَاءِ شَيْءٍ خَافَ فَوْتَهُ لِعِظَمِ الْمَرْجُوِّ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَشِدَّةِ اغْتِبَاطِهِ بِهِ ، فَهُوَ لَا يَنْفَكُّ فِي حَالِ رَجَائِهِ مِنْ خَوْفِ فَوْتِ الرَّجَاءِ ؛ وَالرَّجَاءُ هُوَ تَرْوِيحَاتُ الْخَائِفِينَ ، وَلِذَلِكَ سَمَّتِ الْعَرَبُ الرَّجَاءَ خَوْفًا لِأَنَّهُمَا وَصْفَانِ لَا يَنْفَكُّ أَحَدُهُمَا عَنِ الْآخَرِ ،

kaʿabīdi al-sūʾi lā yastaqīmūna ʾillā bi-al-sawṭi wa-al-ʿaṣā thumma yuwājahūna bi-al-suyūfi ṣultan , wamin ʿalāmati ṣiḥḥati al-rajāʾi fī al-ʿabdi kawnu al-khawfi bāṭinan fī rajāʾihi liʾannahu lammā taḥaqqaqa birajāʾi shayʾin khāfa fawtahu liʿiẓami al-marjuwwi fī qalbihi washiddati ightibāṭihi bihi , fahuwa lā yanfakku fī ḥāli rajāʾihi min khawfi fawti al-rajāʾi ; wa-al-rajāʾu huwa tarwīḥātu al-khāʾifīna , wali-dhālika sammati al-ʿarabu al-rajāʾa khawfan liʾannahumā waṣfāni lā yanfakku ʾaḥaduhumā ʿani al-ʾākhari ,

like bad slaves who behave uprightly only under the whip and staff, then are confronted with drawn swords. Among the signs that a servant’s hope is sound is that fear lies hidden within his hope. Once he truly hopes for something, he fears missing it because what he hopes for is so great in his heart and his delight in it so intense. In his state of hope, he is never free of fear of losing what he hopes for. Hope gives moments of relief to those who fear. For that reason the Arabs called hope fear, because the two are qualities neither of which is separate from the other.

وَمِنْ مَذْهَبِهِمْ أَنَّ الشَّيْءَ إِذَا كَانَ لَازِمًا لِشَيْءٍ أَوْ وَصْفًا لَهُ أَوْ سَبَبًا مِنْهُ ، أَنْ يُعَبِّرُوا عَنْهُ بِهِ فَقَالُوا : مَا لَكَ لَا تَرْجُو كَذَا وَهُمْ يُرِيدُونَ مَا لَكَ لَا تَخَافُ ؟ وَعَلَى هَذِهِ اللُّغَةِ جَاءَ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى : ( مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَرْجُونَ لِلَّهِ وَقَارًا ) نُوحٌ : 13 أَجْمَعُوا عَلَى تَفْسِيرِهِ : مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَخَافُونَ لِلَّهِ عَظَمَةً ،

wamin madhhabihim ʾanna al-shayʾa ʾidhā kāna lāziman lishayʾin ʾaw waṣfan lahu ʾaw sababan minhu , ʾan yuʿabbirū ʿanhu bihi faqālū : mā laka lā tarjū kadhā wahum yurīdūna mā laka lā takhāfu ? waʿalā hādhihi al-lughati jāʾa qawlu Allāhi taʿālā : ( mā lakum lā tarjūna li-llāhi waqāran ) nūḥun : 13 ʾajmaʿū ʿalā tafsīrihi : mā lakum lā takhāfūna li-llāhi ʿaẓamatan ,

It is their practice, when one thing is inseparable from another, a quality of it, or a cause arising from it, to use one to express the other. They say, “Why do you not hope for such-and-such?” meaning, “Why do you not fear?” God Most High’s saying follows this usage: “What is the matter with you that you do not hope for majesty for God?” (Nūḥ 13). They agreed on its explanation: “Why do you not fear God’s greatness?”

وَهُوَ أَيْضًا أَحَدُ وَجْهَيْ تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ ) الْكَهْفُ : 110 أَيْ يَخَافُ مِنْ لِقَائِهِ وَمَثَلُ الْخَوْفِ مِنَ الرَّجَاءِ ، مَثَلُ الْيَوْمِ

wahuwa ʾayḍan ʾaḥadu wajhay tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā : ( faman kāna yarjū liqāʾa rabbihi ) al-kahfu : 110 ʾay yakhāfu min liqāʾihi wamathalu al-khawfi mina al-rajāʾi , mathalu al-yawmi

This is also one of the two explanations of His words, exalted is He: “Whoever hopes to meet his Lord” (al-Kahf 110), meaning fears meeting Him. The likeness of fear in relation to hope is that of day

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٦١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 361

Volume One, page 361

مِنَ اللَّيْلَةِ لَمَّا لَمْ يَنْفَكَّ أَحَدُهُمَا عَنِ الْآخَرِ جَازَ أَنْ يُعَبَّرَ عَنِ الْمُدَّةِ بِأَحَدِهِمَا فَيُقَالُ : ثَلَاثَةُ أَيَّامٍ وَثَلَاثُ لَيَالٍ ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مُخْبِرًا عَنْ قِصَّةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( آيَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلَاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا ) مَرْيَمُ : 10 ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ إِلَّا رَمْزًا ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ :

mina al-laylati lammā lam yanfakka ʾaḥaduhumā ʿani al-ʾākhari jāza ʾan yuʿabbara ʿani al-muddati biʾaḥadihimā fayuqālu : thalāthatu ʾayyāmin wathalāthu layālin , waminhu qawlu Allāhi taʿālā mukhbiran ʿan qiṣṣatin wāḥidatin faqāla ʿazza wajalla : ( ʾāyatuka ʾallā tukallima al-nāsa thalātha layālin sawiyyan ) maryamu : 10 thumma qāla taʿālā : ( thalāthata ʾayyāmin ʾillā ramzan ) ʾālu ʿimrāna :

in relation to night. Since neither is separate from the other, the period may be expressed by either, so one says “three days” and “three nights.” An example is God Most High’s account of a single event. He says, mighty and majestic: “Your sign is that you will not speak to people for three nights, while sound” (Maryam 10). Then He says, exalted is He: “Three days, except by signs” (Āl ʿImrān

41 فَلَمَّا لَمْ يَكُنِ الْيَوْمُ يَنْفَكُّ عَنْ لَيْلَتِهِ وَاللَّيْلَةُ لَا تَنْفَكُّ عَنْ يَوْمِهَا أَخْبَرَ عَنْ أَحَدِهِمَا بِالْآخَرِ لِأَنَّ أَحَدَهُمَا يُشْبِهُ الْآخَرَ مُنْدَرِجٌ فِيهِ ، وَلَا يَظْهَرُ إِلَّا أَحَدُهُمَا بِحِكْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَقُدْرَتِهِ لِتَفَاوُتِ أَحْكَامِهِ فِيهِمَا ، وَافْتِرَاقِ إِنْعَامِهِ بِهِمَا ، فَإِذَا ظَهَرَ النَّهَارُ انْدَرَجَ اللَّيْلُ فِيهِ بِقُدْرَتِهِ تَعَالَى ، وَإِذَا ظَهَرَ اللَّيْلُ اسْتَتَرَ النَّهَارُ بِحُكْمِهِ تَعَالَى ، وَهُوَ حَقِيقَةُ إِيلَاجِهِ أَحَدَهُمَا فِي الْآخَرِ ،

41 falammā lam yakuni al-yawmu yanfakku ʿan laylatihi wa-al-laylatu lā tanfakku ʿan yawmihā ʾakhbara ʿan ʾaḥadihimā bi-al-ʾākhari liʾanna ʾaḥadahumā yushbihu al-ʾākhara mundarijun fīhi , walā yaẓharu ʾillā ʾaḥaduhumā biḥikmati Allāhi taʿālā waqudratihi litafāwuti ʾaḥkāmihi fīhimā , waftirāqi ʾinʿāmihi bihimā , faʾidhā ẓahara al-nahāru indaraja al-laylu fīhi biqudratihi taʿālā , waʾidhā ẓahara al-laylu istatara al-nahāru biḥukmihi taʿālā , wahuwa ḥaqīqatu ʾīlājihi ʾaḥadahumā fī al-ʾākhari ,

41). Since the day is not separate from its night, and the night is not separate from its day, He speaks of one through the other, because one resembles the other and is contained within it. Only one of them appears, through God Most High’s wisdom and power, because His rulings differ within them and His blessings through them are distinct. When daytime appears, night is contained within it through His power, exalted is He. When night appears, daytime is hidden through His ruling, exalted is He. This is the reality of His causing one to enter into the other,

وَتَحْقِيقُ تَكْوِيرِهِ أَحَدَهُمَا عَلَى صَاحِبِهِ ، فَكَذَلِكَ حَقِيقَةُ الرَّجَاءِ وَالْخَوْفِ فِي مَعَانِي الْمَلَكُوتِ إِذَا ظَهَرَ الْخَوْفُ كَانَ الْعَبْدُ خَائِفًا ، وَظَهَرَتْ عَلَيْهِ أَحْكَامُ الْخَوْفِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ التَّجَلِّي بِوَصْفٍ مَخُوفٍ ، فَسُمِّيَ الْعَبْدُ خَائِفًا لِغَلَبَتِهِ عَلَيْهِ وَبَطَنَ الرَّجَاءُ فِي خَوْفِهِ ، وَإِذَا ظَهَرَ الرَّجَاءُ كَانَ الْعَبْدُ رَاجِيًا وَظَهَرَتْ مِنْهُ أَحْكَامُ الرَّجَاءِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ تَجَلِّي الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ بِوَصْفٍ مَرْجُوٍّ فَوُصِفَ الْعَبْدُ بِهِ لِأَنَّهُ هُوَ الْأَغْلَبُ عَلَيْهِ وَبَطَنَ الْخَوْفُ فِي رَجَائِهِ لِأَنَّهُمَا وَصْفَانِ لِلْإِيمَانِ كَالْجَنَاحَيْنِ لِلطَّيْرِ ،

wataḥqīqu takwīrihi ʾaḥadahumā ʿalā ṣāḥibihi , fa-kadhālika ḥaqīqatu al-rajāʾi wa-al-khawfi fī maʿānī al-malakūti ʾidhā ẓahara al-khawfu kāna al-ʿabdu khāʾifan , waẓaharat ʿalayhi ʾaḥkāmu al-khawfi ʿan mushāhadati al-tajallī biwaṣfin makhūfin , fasummiya al-ʿabdu khāʾifan lighalabatihi ʿalayhi wabaṭana al-rajāʾu fī khawfihi , waʾidhā ẓahara al-rajāʾu kāna al-ʿabdu rājiyan waẓaharat minhu ʾaḥkāmu al-rajāʾi ʿan mushāhadati tajallī al-rubūbiyyati biwaṣfin marjuwwin fawuṣifa al-ʿabdu bihi liʾannahu huwa al-ʾaghlabu ʿalayhi wabaṭana al-khawfu fī rajāʾihi liʾannahumā waṣfāni li-l-ʾīmāni ka-al-janāḥayni li-l-ṭayri ,

and the realization of His wrapping one over its companion. Such is the reality of hope and fear in the meanings of the spiritual kingdom. When fear appears, the servant is fearful, and the rulings of fear appear upon him through witnessing self-disclosure in a feared attribute. The servant is called fearful because it predominates in him, and hope is hidden within his fear. When hope appears, the servant is hopeful, and the rulings of hope appear from him through witnessing the self-disclosure of Lordship in a hoped-for attribute. The servant is described by it because it predominates in him, and fear is hidden within his hope, for they are two qualities of faith, like a bird’s two wings.

فَالْمُؤْمِنُ بَيْنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالرَّجَاءِ كَالطَّائِرِ بَيْنَ جَنَاحَيْهِ وَكَلِسَانِ الْمِيزَانِ بَيْنَ كِفَّتَيْهِ وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُ مُطَرِّفٍ : لَوْ وُزِنَ خَوْفُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَرَجَاؤُهُ لَاعْتَدَلَا فَهَذَا أَصْلٌ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ حَقِيقَةِ الرَّجَاءِ وَصِدْقِ الطَّمَعِ فِي الْمَرْجُوِّ ، فَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي اعْتِدَالِ الْخَوْفِ وَالرَّجَاءِ مَقَامَانِ ؛ أَعْلَاهُمَا مَقَامُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ، وَهُوَ مَا حَالَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ مَقَامِ مُشَاهَدَةِ الصِّفَاتِ الْمَخُوفَةِ وَالْأَخْلَاقِ الْمَرْجُوَّةِ ،

fa-al-muʾminu bayna al-khawfi wa-al-rajāʾi ka-al-ṭāʾiri bayna janāḥayhi wakalisāni al-mīzāni bayna kiffatayhi waminhu qawlu muṭarrifin : law wuzina khawfu al-muʾmini warajāʾuhu laʿtadalā fa-hādhā ʾaṣlun fī maʿrifati ḥaqīqati al-rajāʾi waṣidqi al-ṭamaʿi fī al-marjuwwi , fali-l-muʾminīna fī iʿtidāli al-khawfi wa-al-rajāʾi maqāmāni ; ʾaʿlāhumā maqāmu al-muqarrabīna , wahuwa mā ḥāla ʿalayhim min maqāmi mushāhadati al-ṣifāti al-makhūfati wa-al-ʾakhlāqi al-marjuwwati ,

The believer between fear and hope is like a bird between its wings, or the pointer of a balance between its two pans. Of this kind is Muṭarrif’s saying: “If the believer’s fear and hope were weighed, they would balance.” This is a foundation for knowing the reality of hope and the sincerity of longing for what is hoped for. Believers have two stations in the balance of fear and hope. The higher is the station of those brought near: what has come upon them of the station of witnessing feared attributes and hoped-for qualities.

وَالثَّانِي مَقَامُ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ وَهُوَ مَا عَرَفُوهُ مِنْ بَدَائِعِ الْأَحْكَامِ وَتَفَاوُتِ الْأَقْسَامِ ، مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ أَنْعَمَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَلَى الْخَلْقِ بِفَضْلِهِ عَنْ كَرَمِهِ اخْتِيَارًا لَا إِجْبَارًا ، فَلَمَّا أَعْلَمَهُمْ ذَلِكَ رَجَوْا تَمَامَ النِّعْمَةِ مِنْ حَيْثُ ابْتِدَاؤُهَا ، وَمِنْ هَهُنَا طَمِعَ السَّحَرَةُ فِي الْمَغْفِرَةِ لَمَّا ابْتَدَؤُوا بِالْإِيمَانِ فَقَالُوا : إِنَّا نَطْمَعُ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لَنَا رَبُّنَا خَطَايَانَا أَنْ كُنَّا أَوَّلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ،

wa-al-thānī maqāmu ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni wahuwa mā ʿarafūhu min badāʾiʿi al-ʾaḥkāmi watafāwuti al-ʾaqsāmi , min dhālika ʾannahu ʾanʿama subḥānahu wataʿālā ʿalā al-khalqi bifaḍlihi ʿan karamihi ikhtiyāran lā ʾijbāran , falammā ʾaʿlamahum dhālika rajaw tamāma al-niʿmati min ḥaythu ibtidāʾuhā , wamin hahunā ṭamiʿa al-saḥaratu fī al-maghfirati lammā ibtadaʾū bi-al-ʾīmāni faqālū : ʾinnā naṭmaʿu ʾan yaghfira lanā rabbunā khaṭāyānā ʾan kunnā ʾawwala al-muʾminīna ,

The second is the station of the people of the right: what they have known of the wonders of the rulings and the differences in allotted shares. Among these is that He, glorified and exalted is He, bestowed blessings on creatures through His bounty and generosity, by choice and not compulsion. When He made this known to them, they hoped for the completion of the blessing from the same source as its beginning. From here the magicians longed for forgiveness when they first believed, saying: “We hope that our Lord will forgive our offenses, because we were the first believers.”

أَيْ مِنْ حَيْثُ جَعَلَنَا أَوَّلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ هَذَا الْمَكَانِ نَرْجُو أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لَنَا بِأَنْ جَعَلَنَا مُؤْمِنِينَ بِهِ فَرَجَوْهُ مِنْهُ ، وَقَدْ ذَمَّ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَبْدًا أَوْجَدَهُ نِعْمَةً ثُمَّ سَلَبَهَا فَأَيِسَ مِنْ عَوْدِهَا عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنَّا رَحْمَةً ثُمَّ نَزَعْنَاهَا مِنْهُ إِنَّهُ لَيَؤُوسٌ كَفُورٌ ) هُودٌ : 9 ثُمَّ اسْتَثْنَى عِبَادَهُ الصَّابِرِينَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّالِحِينَ لَهُ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى :

ʾay min ḥaythu jaʿalanā ʾawwala al-muʾminīna min hādhā al-makāni narjū ʾan yaghfira lanā biʾan jaʿalanā muʾminīna bihi farajawhu minhu , waqad dhamma Allāhu taʿālā ʿabdan ʾawjadahu niʿmatan thumma salabahā faʾayisa min ʿawdihā ʿalayhi faqāla taʿālā : ( walaʾin ʾadhaqnā al-ʾinsāna minnā raḥmatan thumma nazaʿnāhā minhu ʾinnahu layaʾūsun kafūrun ) hūdun : 9 thumma istathnā ʿibādahu al-ṣābirīna ʿalayhi al-ṣāliḥīna lahu faqāla taʿālā :

That is: because He made us the first believers, from this position we hope that He will forgive us, since He made us believers in Him. So they hoped for it from Him. God Most High has condemned a servant whom He gave a blessing and then deprived of it, so that he despaired of its returning to him. He says, exalted is He: “If We let the human being taste mercy from Us and then take it away from him, he is deeply despairing and ungrateful” (Hūd 9). Then He excepted His servants who are patient with Him and fit for Him, saying, exalted is He:

( إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ ) هُودٌ : 11 وَرُوِيَ أَنَّ لُقْمَانَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ قَالَ لِابْنِهِ خَفِ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى خَوْفًا لَا تَأْمَنُ فِيهِ مَكْرَهُ ، وَارْجُهُ رَجَاءً أَشَدَّ مِنْ خَوْفِكَ ، قَالَ : وَكَيْفَ أَسْتَطِيعُ ذَلِكَ وَإِنَّمَا لِي قَلْبٌ وَاحِدٌ ؟ قَالَ : أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ كَذِي قَلْبَيْنِ يَخَافُ بِأَحَدِهِمَا ، وَيَرْجُو بِالْآخَرِ ؟

( ʾillā alladhīna ṣabarū waʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti ) hūdun : 11 waruwiya ʾanna luqmāna ʿalayhi al-salāmu qāla libnihi khafi Allāha taʿālā khawfan lā taʾmanu fīhi makrahu , warjuhu rajāʾan ʾashadda min khawfika , qāla : wakayfa ʾastaṭīʿu dhālika waʾinnamā lī qalbun wāḥidun ? qāla : ʾamā ʿalimta ʾanna al-muʾmina kadhī qalbayni yakhāfu biʾaḥadihimā , wayarjū bi-al-ʾākhari ?

“Except those who were patient and did righteous deeds” (Hūd 11). It is reported that Luqmān, peace be upon him, said to his son: “Fear God Most High with a fear in which you do not feel safe from His contrivance, and hope in Him with a hope stronger than your fear.” He said: “How can I do that when I have only one heart?” He said: “Do you not know that the believer is like someone with two hearts, fearing with one and hoping with the other?”

وَالْمَعْنَى أَنَّ الْخَوْفَ وَالرَّجَاءَ وَصْفُ الْإِيمَانِ لَا يَخْلُو مِنْهُمَا قَلْبُ مُؤْمِنٍ ، فَصَارَ كَذِي قَلْبَيْنِ حِينَئِذٍ ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْخَلْقَ خُلِقُوا عَلَى أَرْبَعِ طَبَقَاتٍ ، فِي كُلِّ طَبَقَةٍ طَائِفَةٌ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَعِيشُ مُؤْمِنًا وَيَمُوتُ مُؤْمِنًا ، فَمِنْ هَهُنَا رَجَاؤُهُمْ لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلِغَيْرِهِمْ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، إِذْ قَدْ أَعْطَاهُمْ فَرَجَوْا أَنْ يُتِمَّ عَلَيْهِمْ نِعْمَتَهُ

wa-al-maʿnā ʾanna al-khawfa wa-al-rajāʾa waṣfu al-ʾīmāni lā yakhlū minhumā qalbu muʾminin , faṣāra kadhī qalbayni ḥīnaʾidhin thumma ʾinna al-khalqa khuliqū ʿalā ʾarbaʿi ṭabaqātin , fī kulli ṭabaqatin ṭāʾifatun faminhum man yaʿīshu muʾminan wayamūtu muʾminan , famin hahunā rajāʾuhum liʾanfusihim walighayrihim mina al-muʾminīna , ʾidh qad ʾaʿṭāhum farajaw ʾan yutimma ʿalayhim niʿmatahu

The meaning is that fear and hope are qualities of faith, and no believer’s heart is without them. At that point he becomes like someone with two hearts. Creatures were created in four classes, with a group in each class. Among them are those who live as believers and die as believers. From here comes their hope for themselves and for other believers: since He has already given to them, they hope that He will complete His blessing upon them

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٦٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 362

Volume One, page 362

وَأَنْ لَا يَسْلُبَهُمْ بِفَضْلِهِ مَا بِهِ بَدَأَهُمْ ، وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَعِيشُ مُؤْمِنًا وَيَمُوتُ كَافِرًا فَهَذَا مَوْضِعُ خَوْفِهِمْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَعَلَى غَيْرِهِمْ لِمَكَانِ عِلْمِهِمْ بِهَذَا الْحُكْمِ وَلِغَيْبِ حُكْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِعِلْمِهِ السَّابِقِ فِيهِمْ ، وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَعِيشُ كَافِرًا وَيَمُوتُ مُؤْمِنًا ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَعِيشُ كَافِرًا وَيَمُوتُ كَافِرًا ؛

waʾan lā yaslubahum bifaḍlihi mā bihi badaʾahum , wamina al-nāsi man yaʿīshu muʾminan wayamūtu kāfiran fa-hādhā mawḍiʿu khawfihim ʿalayhim waʿalā ghayrihim limakāni ʿilmihim bi-hādhā al-ḥukmi walighaybi ḥukmi Allāhi taʿālā biʿilmihi al-sābiqi fīhim , wamina al-nāsi man yaʿīshu kāfiran wayamūtu muʾminan , waminhum man yaʿīshu kāfiran wayamūtu kāfiran ;

and, through His bounty, not strip them of what He first gave them. Some people live as believers and die as unbelievers. This is the place of their fear for themselves and others, because they know this ruling and because God Most High’s ruling concerning them in His prior knowledge is hidden. Some people live as unbelievers and die as believers, and some live as unbelievers and die as unbelievers.

فَهَٰذَانِ الْحُكْمَانِ أَوْجَبَا رَجَاءَهُمُ الثَّانِيَ لِلْمُشْرِكِ إِذَا رَأَوْهُ فَلَمْ يَقْنَطُوا بِظَاهِرِهِ أَيْضًا خَوَّفَ هَذَا الرَّجَاءُ خَوْفًا ثَانِيًا أَنْ يَمُوتَ عَلَى تِلْكَ الْحَالِ وَأَنْ يَكُونَ ذَلِكَ هُوَ حَقِيقَةً عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، فَعِلْمُ الْمُؤْمِنِ بِهَذِهِ الْأَحْكَامِ الْأَرْبَعَةِ وَرَّثَهُ الْخَوْفَ وَالرَّجَاءَ مَعًا ، فَاعْتَدَلَ حَالُهُ بِذَلِكَ لِاعْتِدَالِ إِيمَانِهِ بِهِ ، وَحَكَمَ عَلَى الْخَلْقِ بِالظَّاهِرِ ، وَوَكَلَ إِلَى عَلَّامِ الْغُيُوبِ السَّرَائِرَ ،

fahādhāni al-ḥukmāni ʾawjabā rajāʾahumu al-thāniya li-l-mushriki ʾidhā raʾawhu falam yaqnaṭū biẓāhirihi ʾayḍan khawwafa hādhā al-rajāʾu khawfan thāniyan ʾan yamūta ʿalā tilka al-ḥāli waʾan yakūna dhālika huwa ḥaqīqatan ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā , faʿilmu al-muʾmini bi-hādhihi al-ʾaḥkāmi al-ʾarbaʿati warrathahu al-khawfa wa-al-rajāʾa maʿan , faʿtadala ḥāluhu bi-dhālika liʿtidāli ʾīmānihi bihi , waḥakama ʿalā al-khalqi bi-al-ẓāhiri , wawakala ʾilā ʿallāmi al-ghuyūbi al-sarāʾira ,

These last two rulings give rise to their second hope, for the one who associates others with God when they see him, so they do not despair because of his outward state. This hope also inspires a second fear: that he will die in that state and that it is the truth with God Most High. The believer’s knowledge of these four rulings gives him fear and hope together, and his state becomes balanced through this because his faith is balanced by it. He judges creatures by what is outward and entrusts their secrets to the Knower of hidden things.

وَلَمْ يَقْطَعْ عَلَى عَبْدٍ بِظَاهِرِهِ مِنَ الشَّرِّ ، بَلْ يَرْجُو لَهُ مَا بَطَنَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنَ الْخَيْرِ ، وَلَمْ يَشْهَدْ لِنَفْسِهِ وَلَا لِغَيْرِهِ بِظَاهِرِ الْخَيْرِ ، بَلْ يَخَافُ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدِ اسْتَسَرَّ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بَاطِنُ شَرٍّ ، إِلَّا أَنَّ حَالَ التَّمَامِ أَنْ يَخَافَ الْعَبْدُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَيَرْجُوَ لِغَيْرِهِ لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ هُوَ وَجْدُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّهُمْ مُتَعَبَّدُونَ بِحُسْنِ الظَّنِّ ،

walam yaqṭaʿ ʿalā ʿabdin biẓāhirihi mina al-sharri , bal yarjū lahu mā baṭana ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā mina al-khayri , walam yashhad linafsihi walā lighayrihi biẓāhiri al-khayri , bal yakhāfu ʾan yakūna qadi istasarra ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā bāṭinu sharrin , ʾillā ʾanna ḥāla al-tamāmi ʾan yakhāfa al-ʿabdu ʿalā nafsihi wayarjuwa lighayrihi liʾanna dhālika huwa wajdu al-muʾminīna min qibali ʾannahum mutaʿabbadūna biḥusni al-ẓanni ,

He does not pass a definitive judgment against a servant because of his outward evil, but hopes for the good hidden for him with God Most High. He does not testify in favor of himself or anyone else because of outward good, but fears that inward evil may lie hidden with God Most High. Yet the state of completeness is for the servant to fear for himself and hope for others, because this is the inward experience of believers, since they are required to worship through thinking well.

فَهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ الظَّنَّ بِالنَّاسِ ، وَيُخْرِجُونَ لَهُمُ الْمَعَاذِيرَ بِسَلَامَةِ الصُّدُورِ ، وَتَسْلِيمِ مَا غَابَ إِلَى مَنْ إِلَيْهِ تَصِيرُ الْأُمُورُ ، ثُمَّ هُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ يُسِيئُونَ الظَّنَّ بِنُفُوسِهِمْ لِمَعْرِفَتِهِمْ بِصِفَاتِهَا ، وَيُوقِعُونَ الْمَلَاوِمَ عَلَيْهَا وَلَا يَحْتَجُّونَ لَهَا لِبَاطِنِ الْإِشْفَاقِ مِنْهُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ ، وَلِخَوْفِ التَّزْكِيَةِ مِنْهُمْ لَهُمْ ، فَمَنْ قُلِبَ عَلَيْهِ هَٰذَانِ الْمَعْنَيَانِ فَقَدْ مُكِرَ بِهِ حَتَّى يُحْسِنَ الظَّنَّ بِنَفْسِهِ وَيُسِيءَ ظَنَّهُ بِغَيْرِهِ ،

fahum yuḥsinūna al-ẓanna bi-al-nāsi , wayukhrijūna lahumu al-maʿādhīra bisalāmati al-ṣudūri , wataslīmi mā ghāba ʾilā man ʾilayhi taṣīru al-ʾumūru , thumma hum fī dhālika yusīʾūna al-ẓanna binufūsihim limaʿrifatihim biṣifātihā , wayūqiʿūna al-malāwima ʿalayhā walā yaḥtajjūna lahā libāṭini al-ʾishfāqi minhum ʿalayhim , walikhawfi al-tazkiyati minhum lahum , faman quliba ʿalayhi hādhāni al-maʿnayāni faqad mukira bihi ḥattā yuḥsina al-ẓanna binafsihi wayusīʾa ẓannahu bighayrihi ,

They think well of people, find excuses for them with hearts free of rancor, and entrust what is hidden to the One to whom all affairs return. At the same time they think ill of their own souls, because they know their qualities. They lay blame on them and do not argue in their defense, because of their inward concern for them and their fear of declaring them pure. Anyone for whom these two meanings are reversed has been drawn into a trap, so that he thinks well of himself and thinks ill of others.

فَيَكُونُ خَائِفًا عَلَى النَّاسِ ، رَاجِيًا لِنَفْسِهِ ، عَاذِرًا لِنَفْسِهِ ، مُحْتَجًّا لَهَا ، لَائِمًا لِلنَّاسِ ، ذَامًّا لَهُمْ ؛ فَهَذِهِ أَخْلَاقُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ لِلرَّاجِي حَالًا مِنْ مَقَامِهِ وَلِحَالِهِ عَلَامَةً مِنْ رَجَائِهِ ، فَمِنْ عَلَامَةِ الرَّجَاءِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْمَرْجُوِّ ، دَوَامُ الْمُعَامَلَةِ وَحُسْنُ التَّقَرُّبِ إِلَيْهِ وَكَثْرَةُ التَّقَرُّبِ بِالنَّوَافِلِ لِحُسْنِ ظَنِّهِ بِهِ وَجَمِيلِ أَمَلِهِ مِنْهُ ،

fayakūnu khāʾifan ʿalā al-nāsi , rājiyan linafsihi , ʿādhiran linafsihi , muḥtajjan lahā , lāʾiman li-l-nāsi , dhāmman lahum ; fa-hādhihi ʾakhlāqu al-munāfiqīna , thumma ʾinna li-l-rājī ḥālan min maqāmihi waliḥālihi ʿalāmatan min rajāʾihi , famin ʿalāmati al-rajāʾi ʿan mushāhadati al-marjuwwi , dawāmu al-muʿāmalati waḥusnu al-taqarrubi ʾilayhi wakathratu al-taqarrubi bi-al-nawāfili liḥusni ẓannihi bihi wajamīli ʾamalihi minhu ,

He becomes fearful for other people, hopeful for himself, excusing himself and arguing in his own defense, while blaming and disparaging people. These are the character traits of hypocrites. The hopeful person has a state arising from his station, and his state has a sign arising from his hope. Among the signs of hope born of witnessing the One hoped for are continuing in dealings with Him, approaching Him well, and drawing near frequently through voluntary acts, because he thinks well of Him and looks to Him with beautiful expectation,

وَأَنَّهُ يَتَقَبَّلُ صَالِحَ مَا أَمَرَ بِهِ تَفَضُّلًا مِنْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ كَرَمِهِ ، لَا مِنْ حَيْثُ الْوَاجِبِ عَلَيْهِ ، وَلَا الِاسْتِحْقَاقِ مِنَّا وَأَنَّهُ أَيْضًا يُكَفِّرُ سَيِّئَ مَا عَمِلَهُ إِحْسَانًا مِنْهُ وَرَحْمَةً مِنْ حَيْثُ لُطْفِهِ بِنَا وَعَطْفِهِ عَلَيْنَا لِأَخْلَاقِهِ السَّنِيَّةِ وَأَلْطَافِهِ الْخَفِيَّةِ لَا مِنْ حَيْثُ اللُّزُومِ لَهُ بَلْ مِنْ حَيْثُ حُسْنِ الظَّنِّ بِهِ ، كَمَا قَالَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ :

waʾannahu yataqabbalu ṣāliḥa mā ʾamara bihi tafaḍḍulan minhu min ḥaythu karamihi , lā min ḥaythu al-wājibi ʿalayhi , walā al-istiḥqāqi minnā waʾannahu ʾayḍan yukaffiru sayyiʾa mā ʿamilahu ʾiḥsānan minhu waraḥmatan min ḥaythu luṭfihi binā waʿaṭfihi ʿalaynā liʾakhlāqihi al-saniyyati waʾalṭāfihi al-khafiyyati lā min ḥaythu al-luzūmi lahu bal min ḥaythu ḥusni al-ẓanni bihi , kamā qāla sufyānu al-thawriyyu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu :

and expects that He will accept the righteous acts He has commanded as a favor from Him, arising from His generosity, not from an obligation upon Him or an entitlement on our part. He also expects that He will erase the evil of what he has done as goodness and mercy from Him, through His gentleness with us and affection for us, because of His lofty character and His hidden kindnesses; not because He is bound to do so, but because of thinking well of Him. As Sufyān al-Thawrī, may God be pleased with him, said:

مَنْ أَذْنَبَ ذَنْبًا ، فَعَلِمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدَّرَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَرَجَا غُفْرَانَهُ غَفَرَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَهُ ذَنْبَهُ ، قَالَ : لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَيَّرَ قَوْمًا فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَذَٰلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنْتُمْ بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ ) فُصِّلَتْ : 23 وَقَدْ قَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِي مِثْلِهِ : ( وَظَنَنْتُمْ ظَنَّ السَّوْءِ وَكُنْتُمْ قَوْمًا بُورًا ) الْفَتْحُ : 12 أَيْ هَلْكَى ،

man ʾadhnaba dhanban , faʿalima ʾanna Allāha taʿālā qaddarahu ʿalayhi warajā ghufrānahu ghafara Allāhu ʿazza wajalla lahu dhanbahu , qāla : liʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʿayyara qawman faqāla taʿālā : ( wadhālikum ẓannukumu alladhī ẓanantum birabbikum ʾardākum ) fuṣṣilat : 23 waqad qāla subḥānahu wataʿālā fī mithlihi : ( waẓanantum ẓanna al-sawʾi wakuntum qawman būran ) al-fatḥu : 12 ʾay halkā ,

“Whoever commits a sin, knows that God Most High decreed it for him, and hopes for His forgiveness, God, mighty and majestic, forgives his sin.” He said: “For God Most High reproached a people, saying, exalted is He: ‘That thought of yours which you thought about your Lord has brought you to ruin’ (Fuṣṣilat 23).” He, glorified and exalted is He, has said similarly: “You thought an evil thought and became a ruined people” (al-Fatḥ 12), meaning those destroyed.

فَفِي دَلِيلِ خِطَابِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنَّ مَنْ ظَنَّ حَسَنًا كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّجَاةِ ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ : إِنَّ مَنْ أَذْنَبَ ذَنْبًا فَأَحْزَنَهُ ذَلِكَ غُفِرَ لَهُ ذَنْبُهُ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَغْفِرْ ، وَمَقَامُ الرَّجَاءِ كَسَائِرِ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ مِنْهَا فَرْضٌ وَفَضْلٌ ، فَعَلَى الْعَبْدِ فَرْضٌ أَنْ يَرْجُوَ مَوْلَاهُ وَخَالِقَهُ مَعْبُودَهُ وَرَازِقَهُ ، مِنْ حَيْثُ كَرَمِهِ وَفَضْلِهِ ، لَا مِنْ حَيْثُ نَظَرِهِ إِلَى صِفَاتِ نَفْسِهِ وَلُؤْمِهِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ : مَنْ سَأَلَ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى شَيْئًا فَنَظَرَ إِلَى

fafī dalīli khiṭābihi ʿazza wajalla ʾanna man ẓanna ḥasanan kāna min ʾahli al-najāti , waqad jāʾa fī al-ʾathari : ʾinna man ʾadhnaba dhanban faʾaḥzanahu dhālika ghufira lahu dhanbuhu waʾin lam yastaghfir , wamaqāmu al-rajāʾi kasāʾiri maqāmāti al-yaqīni minhā farḍun wafaḍlun , faʿalā al-ʿabdi farḍun ʾan yarjuwa mawlāhu wakhāliqahu maʿbūdahu warāziqahu , min ḥaythu karamihi wafaḍlihi , lā min ḥaythu naẓarihi ʾilā ṣifāti nafsihi waluʾmihi , waqad kāna sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu : man saʾala Allāha tabāraka wataʿālā shayʾan fanaẓara ʾilā

The implication of His address, mighty and majestic, is that whoever thinks well is among the people of salvation. It has come in the traditional account: “Whoever commits a sin and is saddened by it has his sin forgiven, even if he does not seek forgiveness.” The station of hope is like the other stations of certainty: it includes both an obligation and an excellence beyond obligation. The servant is obliged to hope in his Master, Creator, the One he worships, and Provider, because of His generosity and bounty, not because of looking at the qualities of his own soul and its baseness. Sahl, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say: “Whoever asks God, blessed and exalted is He, for something and looks toward

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٦٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 363

Volume One, page 363

شَيْءٍ وَإِلَى أَعْمَالِهِ لَا يَرَى الْإِجَابَةَ حَتَّى يَكُونَ نَاظِرًا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى وَحْدَهُ وَإِلَى لُطْفِهِ وَكَرَمِهِ ، وَيَكُونَ مُوقِنًا بِالْإِجَابَةِ ، وَلَعَمْرِي أَنَّ مَنْ سَأَلَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَرَغِبَ إِلَيْهِ فِي شَيْءٍ ، وَرَجَاهُ نَاظِرًا إِلَى نَفْسِهِ وَعَمَلِهِ ، فَإِنَّهُ غَيْرُ مُخْلِصٍ فِي الرَّجَاءِ لَهُ تَعَالَى لِشِرْكِهِ فِي النَّظَرِ إِلَيْهِ ، وَإِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ مُخْلِصًا لَمْ يَكُنْ مُوقِنًا ،

shayʾin waʾilā ʾaʿmālihi lā yarā al-ʾijābata ḥattā yakūna nāẓiran ʾilā Allāhi tabāraka wataʿālā waḥdahu waʾilā luṭfihi wakaramihi , wayakūna mūqinan bi-al-ʾijābati , walaʿamrī ʾanna man saʾala Allāha taʿālā waraghiba ʾilayhi fī shayʾin , warajāhu nāẓiran ʾilā nafsihi waʿamalihi , faʾinnahu ghayru mukhliṣin fī al-rajāʾi lahu taʿālā lishirkihi fī al-naẓari ʾilayhi , waʾidhā lam yakun mukhliṣan lam yakun mūqinan ,

anything and toward his deeds will not see the answer until he looks toward God, blessed and exalted is He, alone, and toward His gentleness and generosity, and is certain of the answer.” By my life, anyone who asks God Most High and desires something from Him, hoping in Him while looking toward himself and his action, is not sincere in hoping in Him, exalted is He, because he associates something else with Him in his attention. If he is not sincere, he is not certain.

وَلَا يَقْبَلُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَمَلًا وَلَا دُعَاءً إِلَّا مِنْ مُوقِنٍ بِالْإِجَابَةِ مُخْلِصٍ ، فَإِذَا شَهِدَ التَّوْحِيدَ وَنَظَرَ إِلَى الْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ فَقَدْ أَخْلَصَ وَأَيْقَنَ ، وَهَكَذَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : إِذَا دَعَوْتُمْ فَكُونُوا مُوقِنِينَ بِالْإِجَابَةِ ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَا يَقْبَلُ إِلَّا مِنْ مُوقِنٍ وَمِنْ دَاعٍ دُعَاءً بَيِّنًا مِنْ قَلْبِهِ ، لِأَنَّ مَنِ اسْتَعْمَلَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالدُّعَاءِ لَهُ فَقَدْ فَتَحَ لَهُ بَابًا مِنَ الْعِبَادَةِ .

walā yaqbalu Allāhu taʿālā ʿamalan walā duʿāʾan ʾillā min mūqinin bi-al-ʾijābati mukhliṣin , faʾidhā shahida al-tawḥīda wanaẓara ʾilā al-waḥdāniyyati faqad ʾakhlaṣa waʾayqana , wa-hākadhā jāʾa fī al-khabari : ʾidhā daʿawtum fakūnū mūqinīna bi-al-ʾijābati , faʾinna Allāha taʿālā lā yaqbalu ʾillā min mūqinin wamin dāʿin duʿāʾan bayyinan min qalbihi , liʾanna mani istaʿmalahu Allāhu taʿālā bi-al-duʿāʾi lahu faqad fataḥa lahu bāban mina al-ʿibādati .

God Most High accepts neither an action nor a prayer except from someone sincere and certain of the answer. When he witnesses divine oneness and looks toward unity, he has become sincere and certain. Thus it has come in the report: “When you pray, be certain of the answer, for God Most High accepts only from one who is certain and from a supplicant whose prayer is clear from his heart.” For when God Most High employs someone in praying to Him, He has opened a door of worship for him.

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : الدُّعَاءُ نِصْفُ الْعِبَادَةِ وَلَا يَقْبَلُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنَ الدُّعَاءِ إِلَّا النَّاخِلَةَ بِمَعْنَى الْمَنْخُولِ وَهُوَ الْخَالِصُ ، فَأَقَلُّ مَا يُعْطِيهِ مِنْ دُعَائِهِ أَنْ يَكُونَ ذَلِكَ حَسَنَةً مِنْهُ ، يُضَعِّفُهُ لَهُ عَشْرًا إِلَى سَبْعِمِائَةِ ضِعْفٍ ، وَأَعْلَاهُ أَنْ يَدَّخِرَ لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مَا هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا فِيهَا مِمَّا لَمْ يَخْطُرْ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ قَطُّ ،

wafī al-khabari : al-duʿāʾu niṣfu al-ʿibādati walā yaqbalu Allāhu taʿālā mina al-duʿāʾi ʾillā al-nākhilata bimaʿnā al-mankhūli wahuwa al-khāliṣu , faʾaqallu mā yuʿṭīhi min duʿāʾihi ʾan yakūna dhālika ḥasanatan minhu , yuḍaʿʿifuhu lahu ʿashran ʾilā sabʿimiʾati ḍiʿfin , waʾaʿlāhu ʾan yaddakhira lahu fī al-ʾākhirati mā huwa khayrun lahu min jamīʿi al-dunyā wamā fīhā mimmā lam yakhṭur ʿalā qalbihi qaṭṭu ,

In the report: “Prayer is half of worship.” God Most High accepts from prayer only the nākhila, in the sense of mankhūl, “sifted,” meaning what is pure. The least He gives him for his prayer is for it to count as a good deed from him, which He multiplies for him from ten to seven hundredfold. The highest is to store for him in the hereafter what is better for him than the whole world and everything in it, things that have never even occurred to his heart.

وَيَكُونُ ذَلِكَ حُسْنَ نَظَرٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَهُ وَاخْتِيَارٍ ، وَأَوْسَطُ ذَلِكَ أَنْ يَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ مِنَ الْبَلَاءِ الَّذِي هُوَ لَوْ كَانَ عَلِمَهُ كَانَ صَرْفُهُ أَهَمَّ عَلَيْهِ وَأَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِمَّا سَأَلَ فِيهِ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَا مِنْ دَاعٍ دَعَا مُوقِنًا بِالْإِجَابَةِ فِي غَيْرِ مَعْصِيَةٍ وَلَا قَطِيعَةِ رَحِمٍ ، إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِحْدَى ثَلَاثٍ ؛

wayakūnu dhālika ḥusna naẓarin mina Allāhi taʿālā lahu wakhtiyārin , waʾawsaṭu dhālika ʾan yaṣrifa ʿanhu mina al-balāʾi alladhī huwa law kāna ʿalimahu kāna ṣarfuhu ʾahamma ʿalayhi waʾaḥabba ʾilayhi mimmā saʾala fīhi , waqad rawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : mā min dāʿin daʿā mūqinan bi-al-ʾijābati fī ghayri maʿṣiyatin walā qaṭīʿati raḥimin , ʾillā ʾaʿṭāhu Allāhu taʿālā ʾiḥdā thalāthin ;

This is God Most High’s gracious regard for him and choice on his behalf. The middle outcome is for Him to turn away from him an affliction which, had he known of it, would have been more important to avert and more beloved to him than what he asked for. We have transmitted from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace: “No supplicant prays with certainty of the answer, concerning something other than disobedience or severing kinship, without God Most High giving him one of three things:

إِمَّا أَنْ يُجِيبَ دَعْوَتَهُ فِيمَا سَأَلَ ، أَوْ يَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ مِنَ السُّوءِ مِثْلَهُ ، أَوْ يَدَّخِرَ لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مَا هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ ، وَفِي أَخْبَارِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : يَا رَبِّ أَيُّ خَلْقِكَ أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَشَدُّ تَسَخُّطًا ؟ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : مَنْ لَمْ يَرْضَ بِقَضَائِي ، وَمَنْ يَسْتَخِيرُنِي فِي أَمْرٍ فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُ لَهُ كَرِهَ ذَلِكَ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ :

ʾimmā ʾan yujība daʿwatahu fīmā saʾala , ʾaw yaṣrifa ʿanhu mina al-sūʾi mithlahu , ʾaw yaddakhira lahu fī al-ʾākhirati mā huwa khayrun lahu , wafī ʾakhbāri mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu : yā rabbi ʾayyu khalqika ʾanta ʿalayhi ʾashaddu tasakhkhuṭan ? faqāla taʿālā : man lam yarḍa biqaḍāʾī , waman yastakhīrunī fī ʾamrin faʾidhā qaḍaytu lahu kariha dhālika , wafī al-khabari al-ʾākhari :

either He answers his prayer in what he asked, or turns away from him an equivalent evil, or stores for him in the hereafter something better for him.” Among the accounts of Moses, peace be upon him: “My Lord, which of Your creatures arouses Your greatest displeasure?” He said, exalted is He: “One who is not content with My decree, and one who asks Me to choose in a matter, then dislikes it when I decree for him.” In the other report:

إِنَّهُ قَالَ يَا رَبِّ أَيُّ الْأَشْيَاءِ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْكَ وَأَيُّهَا أَبْغَضُ ؟ فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : أَحَبُّ الْأَشْيَاءِ إِلَيَّ الرِّضَا بِقَضَائِي وَأَبْغَضُهَا إِلَيَّ أَنْ تُطْرِيَ نَفْسَكَ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ نَبِيِّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِلرَّجُلِ الَّذِي قَالَ : أَوْصِنِي فَقَالَ : لَا تَتَّهِمِ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فِي شَيْءٍ قَضَاهُ عَلَيْكَ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ :

ʾinnahu qāla yā rabbi ʾayyu al-ʾashyāʾi ʾaḥabbu ʾilayka waʾayyuhā ʾabghaḍu ? faqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā : ʾaḥabbu al-ʾashyāʾi ʾilayya al-riḍā biqaḍāʾī waʾabghaḍuhā ʾilayya ʾan tuṭriya nafsaka . warawaynā ʿan nabiyyinā ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾannahu qāla li-l-rajuli alladhī qāla : ʾawṣinī faqāla : lā tattahimi Allāha taʿālā fī shayʾin qaḍāhu ʿalayka , wafī al-khabari al-ʾākhari :

He said: “My Lord, which things are most beloved to You, and which are most hateful?” He said, glorified and exalted is He: “The most beloved thing to Me is contentment with My decree, and the most hateful to Me is for you to praise yourself.” We have transmitted from our Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, that he said to the man who asked, “Give me counsel”: “Do not suspect God Most High in anything He has decreed for you.” In the other report:

أَنَّهُ نَظَرَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَضَحِكَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَسُئِلَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ : عَجِبْتُ لِقَضَاءِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِلْمُؤْمِنِ فِي كُلِّ قَضَائِهِ لَهُ خَيْرٌ ، إِنْ قُضِيَ لَهُ بِالسَّرَّاءِ رَضِيَ ؛ وَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ وَإِنْ قُضِيَ عَلَيْهِ بِالضَّرَّاءِ رَضِيَ بِهِ وَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ ، وَمِنْ حُسْنِ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى لُطْفُ التَّمَلُّقِ لَهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ، وَهُوَ مِنْ قُوَّةِ الطَّمَعِ فِيهِ ،

ʾannahu naẓara ʾilā al-samāʾi waḍaḥika ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fasuʾila ʿan dhālika faqāla : ʿajibtu liqaḍāʾi Allāhi taʿālā li-l-muʾmini fī kulli qaḍāʾihi lahu khayrun , ʾin quḍiya lahu bi-al-sarrāʾi raḍiya ; wakāna khayran lahu waʾin quḍiya ʿalayhi bi-al-ḍarrāʾi raḍiya bihi wakāna khayran lahu , wamin ḥusni al-ẓanni bi-Allāhi taʿālā luṭfu al-tamalluqi lahu subḥānahu wataʿālā , wahuwa min quwwati al-ṭamaʿi fīhi ,

He looked toward the sky and laughed, may God bless him and grant him peace. He was asked about that and said: “I marvel at God Most High’s decree for the believer: every decree of His is good for him. If prosperity is decreed for him, he is content and it is good for him; if adversity is decreed against him, he is content with it and it is good for him.” Part of thinking well of God Most High is appealing to Him with gentle affection, glorified and exalted is He. This comes from the strength of longing for Him.

وَفِي خَبَرٍ : حُسْنُ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ حُسْنِ عِبَادَةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، كَمَا رَوَيْنَا فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَتَلَقَّى آدَمُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 37 إِنَّ الْكَلِمَاتِ هِيَ قَوْلُهُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : يَا رَبِّ هَذَا الذَّنْبُ الَّذِي أَصَبْتُهُ كَانَ مِنْ قِبَلِ نَفْسِي أَوْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ سَبَقَ فِي عِلْمِكَ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَخْلُقَنِي قَضَيْتَهُ عَلَيَّ ،

wafī khabarin : ḥusnu al-ẓanni bi-Allāhi ʿazza wajalla min ḥusni ʿibādati Allāhi ʿazza wajalla , kamā rawaynā fī tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā : ( fatalaqqā ʾādamu min rabbihi kalimātin fatāba ʿalayhi ) al-baqaratu : 37 ʾinna al-kalimāti hiya qawluhu ʿalayhi al-salāmu : yā rabbi hādhā al-dhanbu alladhī ʾaṣabtuhu kāna min qibali nafsī ʾaw min shayʾin sabaqa fī ʿilmika qabla ʾan takhluqanī qaḍaytahu ʿalayya ,

In a report: “Thinking well of God, mighty and majestic, is part of worshiping God, mighty and majestic, well.” As we have transmitted in the explanation of His words, exalted is He, “Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned toward him” (al-Baqara 37): the words are his saying, peace be upon him, “My Lord, did this sin that I committed come from myself, or from something that preceded in Your knowledge before You created me, which You decreed for me?”

فَقَالَ : بَلْ شَيْءٌ سَبَقَ فِي عِلْمِي كَتَبْتُهُ عَلَيْكَ ، قَالَ : يَا رَبِّ فَكَمَا قَضَيْتَهُ عَلَيَّ فَاغْفِرْ لِي ، قَالَ : فَهِيَ الْكَلِمَاتُ الَّتِي لَقَّاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِيَّاهَا . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِلْعَبْدِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ : مَا مَنَعَكَ إِذْ رَأَيْتَ الْمُنْكَرَ

faqāla : bal shayʾun sabaqa fī ʿilmī katabtuhu ʿalayka , qāla : yā rabbi fakamā qaḍaytahu ʿalayya faghfir lī , qāla : fahiya al-kalimātu allatī laqqāhu Allāhu taʿālā ʾiyyāhā . warawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : yaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā li-l-ʿabdi yawma al-qiyāmati : mā manaʿaka ʾidh raʾayta al-munkara

He said: “Rather, it was something that preceded in My knowledge, which I wrote against you.” He said: “My Lord, as You decreed it for me, forgive me.” He said: these are the words that God Most High taught him. We have transmitted from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “God Most High says to the servant on the Day of Resurrection: ‘What prevented you, when you saw something wrong,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٦٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 364

Volume One, page 364

أَنْ تُنْكِرَهُ ؟ قَالَ : فَإِنْ لَقَّنَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْعَبْدَ حُجَّتَهُ قَالَ : يَا رَبِّ رَجَوْتُكَ وَخِفْتُ النَّاسَ ، قَالَ : لَقَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَهُ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ : أَنَّ رَجُلًا كَانَ يُدَايِنُ النَّاسَ فَيَسْمَحُ لَهُمْ وَيَتَجَاوَزُ عَنِ الْمُعْسِرِ فَلَقِيَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَلَمْ يَعْمَلْ خَيْرًا قَطُّ ، فَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : نَحْنُ أَحَقُّ بِذَلِكَ مِنْكَ قَالَ : فَغَفَرَ لَهُ بِرَجَائِهِ وَظَنِّهِ ،

ʾan tunkirahu ? qāla : faʾin laqqana Allāhu taʿālā al-ʿabda ḥujjatahu qāla : yā rabbi rajawtuka wakhiftu al-nāsa , qāla : laqad ghafartu lahu , wafī al-khabari al-mashhūri : ʾanna rajulan kāna yudāyinu al-nāsa fayasmaḥu lahum wayatajāwazu ʿani al-muʿsiri falaqiya Allāha taʿālā walam yaʿmal khayran qaṭṭu , faqāla Allāhu taʿālā subḥānahu wataʿālā : naḥnu ʾaḥaqqu bi-dhālika minka qāla : faghafara lahu birajāʾihi waẓannihi ,

from rejecting it?’” He said: “If God Most High prompts the servant with his defense, he says: ‘My Lord, I hoped in You and feared people.’ He says: ‘I have forgiven him.’” In the well-known report: a man used to lend to people, show them leniency, and overlook the person in hardship. He met God Most High, having never done any good. God Most High, glorified and exalted is He, said: “We have a greater claim to that than you.” He said: He forgave him because of his hope and his good opinion.

ثُمَّ يَتَفَاوَتُ الرَّاجُونَ فِي فَضَائِلِ الرَّجَاءِ ، فَالْمُقَرَّبُونَ مِنْهُمْ رَجَوُا النَّصِيبَ الْأَعْلَى مِنَ الْقُرْبِ وَالْمُجَالَسَةِ وَالتَّجَلِّي بِمَعَانِي الصِّفَاتِ مِمَّا عَرَفُوهُ ؛ وَهَذَا عَنْ عِلْمِهِمْ بِهِ وَأَصْحَابُ الْيَمِينِ مِنَ الرَّاجِينَ رَجَوُا النَّصِيبَ الْأَوْفَرَ مِنْ مَزِيدِهِ وَالْفَضْلَ الْأَجْزَلَ مِنْ عَطَائِهِ يَقِينًا بِمَا وَعَدَ ، وَمِنَ الرَّجَاءِ : انْشِرَاحُ الصَّدْرِ بِأَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ وَسُرْعَةُ السَّبْقِ وَالْمُبَادَرَةُ بِهَا خَوْفَ فَوْتِهَا وَرَجَاءَ قَبُولِهَا ،

thumma yatafāwatu al-rājūna fī faḍāʾili al-rajāʾi , fa-al-muqarrabūna minhum rajawu al-naṣība al-ʾaʿlā mina al-qurbi wa-al-mujālasati wa-al-tajallī bimaʿānī al-ṣifāti mimmā ʿarafūhu ; wa-hādhā ʿan ʿilmihim bihi waʾaṣḥābu al-yamīni mina al-rājīna rajawu al-naṣība al-ʾawfara min mazīdihi wa-al-faḍla al-ʾajzala min ʿaṭāʾihi yaqīnan bimā waʿada , wamina al-rajāʾi : inshirāḥu al-ṣadri biʾaʿmāli al-birri wasurʿatu al-sabqi wa-al-mubādaratu bihā khawfa fawtihā warajāʾa qabūlihā ,

Those who hope then differ in the excellences of hope. Those brought near among them hope for the highest share of nearness, sitting in His company, and self-disclosure through the meanings of the attributes they have known. This arises from their knowledge of Him. The people of the right among those who hope hope for the fullest share of His increase and the most abundant bounty of His giving, certain of what He has promised. Part of hope is the heart’s opening to righteous deeds, eagerness to be first and quick in performing them, out of fear of missing them and hope for their acceptance.

ثُمَّ مُهَاجَرَةُ السُّوءِ وَمُجَاهَدَةُ النَّفْسِ رَجَاءَ انْتِجَازِ الْمَوْعُودِ وَتَقَرُّبًا إِلَى الرَّحِيمِ الْوَدُودِ ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُ أَصْدَقِ الْقَائِلِينَ : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا وَجَاهَدُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أُولَئِكَ يَرْجُونَ رَحْمَةَ اللَّهِ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 218 وَفَسَّرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْمُهَاجَرَةَ وَالْمُجَاهَدَةَ فَقَالَ الْمُهَاجِرُ : مَنْ هَجَرَ السُّوءَ ، وَالْمُجَاهِدُ : مَنْ جَاهَدَ نَفْسَهُ فِي اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ،

thumma muhājaratu al-sūʾi wamujāhadatu al-nafsi rajāʾa intijāzi al-mawʿūdi wataqarruban ʾilā al-raḥīmi al-wadūdi , waminhu qawlu ʾaṣdaqi al-qāʾilīna : ( ʾinna alladhīna ʾāmanū wa-alladhīna hājarū wajāhadū fī sabīli Allāhi ʾulāʾika yarjūna raḥmata Allāhi ) al-baqaratu : 218 wafassara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-muhājarata wa-al-mujāhadata faqāla al-muhājiru : man hajara al-sūʾa , wa-al-mujāhidu : man jāhada nafsahu fī Allāhi taʿālā ,

Then come leaving evil and struggling against the self, hoping to obtain fulfillment of what has been promised and drawing near to the Merciful, the Loving. Among the statements to this effect is the saying of the truest of speakers: “Those who believed, and those who migrated and strove in God’s path, hope for God’s mercy” (al-Baqara 218). The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, explained migration and striving, saying: “The migrant is the one who leaves evil; the striver is the one who struggles against his self for God Most High.”

وَإِقَامُ الصَّلَاةِ الَّتِي هِيَ خِدْمَةُ الْمَعْبُودِ ، وَبَذْلُ الْمَالِ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً وَقَلِيلًا وَكَثِيرًا ، وَأَنْ لَا يَشْتَغِلَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ بِتِجَارَةِ الدُّنْيَا ، كَمَا وَصَفَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى الْمُحَقِّقِينَ مِنَ الرَّاجِينَ إِذْ يَقُولُ عَزَّ مِنْ قَائِلٍ : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَتْلُونَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنْفَقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً يَرْجُونَ تِجَارَةً لَنْ تَبُورَ ) فَاطِرٌ : 29 وَمِنَ الرَّجَاءِ الْقُنُوتُ فِي سَاعَاتِ اللَّيْلِ ؛

waʾiqāmu al-ṣalāti allatī hiya khidmatu al-maʿbūdi , wabadhlu al-māli sirran waʿalāniyatan waqalīlan wakathīran , waʾan lā yashtaghila ʿan dhālika bitijārati al-dunyā , kamā waṣafa Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā al-muḥaqqiqīna mina al-rājīna ʾidh yaqūlu ʿazza min qāʾilin : ( ʾinna alladhīna yatlūna kitāba Allāhi waʾaqāmū al-ṣalāta waʾanfaqū mimmā razaqnāhum sirran waʿalāniyatan yarjūna tijāratan lan tabūra ) fāṭirun : 29 wamina al-rajāʾi al-qunūtu fī sāʿāti al-layli ;

Also establishing prayer, which is service to the One worshiped; giving wealth privately and openly, little and much; and not being distracted from that by worldly trade. Thus God, glorified and exalted is He, describes those whose hope is fully realized, saying, exalted is the Speaker: “Those who recite God’s Book, establish prayer, and spend privately and openly from what We have provided them hope for a trade that will never perish” (Fāṭir 29). Part of hope is devotion in the hours of the night:

وَهُوَ طُولُ الْقِيَامِ لِلتَّهَجُّدِ ، وَالدُّعَاءُ عِنْدَ تَجَافِي الْجُنُوبِ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ لِمَا وَقَرَ فِي الْقُلُوبِ مِنَ الْمَخَاوِفِ ، وَلِذَلِكَ وَصَفَ اللَّهُ الرَّاجِينَ بِهَذَا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ سَاجِدًا وَقَائِمًا يَحْذَرُ الْآخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ) الزُّمَرُ : 9 فَسَمَّى أَهْلَ الرَّجَاءِ وَالْحَذَرِ وَأَهْلَ التَّهَجُّدِ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ عُلَمَاءَ ،

wahuwa ṭūlu al-qiyāmi li-l-tahajjudi , wa-al-duʿāʾu ʿinda tajāfī al-junūbi ʿani al-maḍājiʿi limā waqara fī al-qulūbi mina al-makhāwifi , wali-dhālika waṣafa Allāhu al-rājīna bi-hādhā fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( ʾamman huwa qānitun ʾānāʾa al-layli sājidan waqāʾiman yaḥdharu al-ʾākhirata wayarjū raḥmata rabbihi qul hal yastawī alladhīna yaʿlamūna wa-alladhīna lā yaʿlamūna ) al-zumaru : 9 fasammā ʾahla al-rajāʾi wa-al-ḥadhari waʾahla al-tahajjudi ʾānāʾa al-layli ʿulamāʾa ,

prolonged standing for the night vigil, and prayer when sides leave their beds because of the fears settled in hearts. God therefore describes the hopeful in His words, exalted is He: “Is one who is devout during the hours of the night, prostrating and standing, wary of the hereafter and hoping for his Lord’s mercy? Say: Are those who know equal to those who do not know?” (al-Zumar 9). He calls the people of hope and caution, and the people who keep vigil through the hours of the night, people of knowledge.

وَحَصَلَ مِنْ دَلِيلِ الْكَلَامِ : أَنَّ مَنْ لَمْ يَخَفْ وَلَمْ يَرْجُ غَيْرُ عَالِمٍ لِنَفْيِهِ الْمُسَاوَاةَ بَيْنَهُمَا ، وَهَذَا مِمَّا يُحْذَفُ خَبَرُهُ اكْتِفَاءً بِأَحَدِ وَصْفَيْهِ إِذْ فِي الْكَلَامِ دَلِيلٌ عَلَيْهِ فَالرَّجَاءُ هُوَ أَوَّلُ مَقَامٍ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ عِنْدَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَهُوَ ظَاهِرُ أَوْصَافِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ ، وَلَا يَكْمُلُ فِي قَلْبِ عَبْدٍ ، وَلَا يَتَحَقَّقُ بِهِ صَاحِبُهُ حَتَّى يَجْتَمِعَ فِيهِ هَذِهِ الْأَوْصَافُ ؛ الْإِيمَانُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى ،

waḥaṣala min dalīli al-kalāmi : ʾanna man lam yakhaf walam yarju ghayru ʿālimin linafyihi al-musāwāta baynahumā , wa-hādhā mimmā yuḥdhafu khabaruhu iktifāʾan biʾaḥadi waṣfayhi ʾidh fī al-kalāmi dalīlun ʿalayhi fa-al-rajāʾu huwa ʾawwalu maqāmin mina al-yaqīni ʿinda al-muqarrabīna wahuwa ẓāhiru ʾawṣāfi al-ṣiddīqīna , walā yakmulu fī qalbi ʿabdin , walā yataḥaqqaqu bihi ṣāḥibuhu ḥattā yajtamiʿa fīhi hādhihi al-ʾawṣāfu ; al-ʾīmānu bi-Allāhi taʿālā ,

The implication of the words is that someone who does not fear and does not hope is not a person of knowledge, since He denies equality between the two. This is a construction whose predicate is omitted, one of its two descriptions being enough because the speech contains an indication of the other. Hope is the first station of certainty among those brought near, and it is the outward manifestation of the qualities of the utterly truthful. It is not complete in a servant’s heart, nor does its possessor truly realize it, until these qualities come together in him: faith in God Most High,

وَالْمُهَاجَرَةُ إِلَيْهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ، وَالْمُجَاهَدَةُ فِيهِ وَتِلَاوَةُ الْقُرْآنِ ، وَإِقَامَةُ الصَّلَاةِ ، وَالْإِنْفَاقُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، ثُمَّ السُّجُودُ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ ، وَالْقِيَامُ وَالْحَذَرُ مَعَ ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ ؛ فَهَذِهِ جُمْلَةُ صِفَاتِ الرَّاجِينَ ، وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ أَحْوَالِ الْمُوقِنِينَ ثُمَّ تَتَزَايَدُ الْأَعْمَالُ فِي ذَلِكَ ظَاهِرًا وَبَاطِنًا بِالْجَوَارِحِ وَالْقُلُوبِ عَنْ تَزَايُدِ الْأَنْوَارِ وَالْعُلُومِ وَمُكَاشَفَاتِ الْغُيُوبِ بِالْأَوْصَافِ الْمَوْجُودَةِ وَفَصْلُ الْخِطَابِ ، إِنَّ الْخَوْفَ وَالرَّجَاءَ طَرِيقَانِ إِلَى مَقَامَيْنِ ؛ فَالْخَوْفُ طَرِيقُ الْعُلَمَاءِ إِلَى مَقَامِ الْعِلْمِ ،

wa-al-muhājaratu ʾilayhi subḥānahu wataʿālā , wa-al-mujāhadatu fīhi watilāwatu al-qurʾāni , waʾiqāmatu al-ṣalāti , wa-al-ʾinfāqu fī sabīli Allāhi taʿālā , thumma al-sujūdu ʾānāʾa al-layli , wa-al-qiyāmu wa-al-ḥadharu maʿa dhālika kullihi ; fa-hādhihi jumlatu ṣifāti al-rājīna , wahuwa ʾawwalu ʾaḥwāli al-mūqinīna thumma tatazāyadu al-ʾaʿmālu fī dhālika ẓāhiran wabāṭinan bi-al-jawāriḥi wa-al-qulūbi ʿan tazāyudi al-ʾanwāri wa-al-ʿulūmi wamukāshafāti al-ghuyūbi bi-al-ʾawṣāfi al-mawjūdati wafaṣlu al-khiṭābi , ʾinna al-khawfa wa-al-rajāʾa ṭarīqāni ʾilā maqāmayni ; fa-al-khawfu ṭarīqu al-ʿulamāʾi ʾilā maqāmi al-ʿilmi ,

migration toward Him, glorified and exalted is He; striving for Him; reciting the Qurʾān; establishing prayer; spending in the path of God Most High; then prostration through the hours of the night, standing, and caution along with all of this. These are the collected qualities of those who hope, and this is the first of the states of those who possess certainty. Actions then increase in this, outwardly and inwardly, through limbs and hearts, as lights, kinds of knowledge, and disclosures of hidden things increase through the qualities that are found. The decisive statement is that fear and hope are two paths to two stations: fear is the path of the people of knowledge to the station of knowledge,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٦٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 365

Volume One, page 365

وَالرَّجَاءُ طَرِيقُ الْعُمَّالِ إِلَى مَقَامِ الْعَامِلِينَ ، وَقَدْ وَصَفَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الرَّاجِينَ مَعَ الْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَةِ لِقُوَّةِ رَجَائِهِمْ بِالْخَوْفِ ، تَكْمِلَةً لِصِدْقِ الرَّجَاءِ وَتَتِمَّةً لِعَظِيمِ الْغِبْطَةِ بِهِ ، فَقَالَ تَعَالَى وَتَقَدَّسَ : ( وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ : 60 وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مُخْبِرًا عَنْهُمْ فِي حَالِ وَفَائِهِمْ وَأَعْمَالِ بِرِّهِمْ :

wa-al-rajāʾu ṭarīqu al-ʿummāli ʾilā maqāmi al-ʿāmilīna , waqad waṣafa Allāhu ʿazza wajalla al-rājīna maʿa al-ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥati liquwwati rajāʾihim bi-al-khawfi , takmilatan liṣidqi al-rajāʾi watatimmatan liʿaẓīmi al-ghibṭati bihi , faqāla taʿālā wataqaddasa : ( wa-alladhīna yuʾtūna mā ʾātaw waqulūbuhum wajilatun ) al-muʾminūna : 60 waqāla ʿazza wajalla mukhbiran ʿanhum fī ḥāli wafāʾihim waʾaʿmāli birrihim :

and hope is the path of those who work to the station of those who act. God, mighty and majestic, has described the hopeful, together with their righteous actions, as fearful because of the strength of their hope, completing the sincerity of hope and fulfilling their great delight in it. He says, exalted and holy is He: “Those who give what they give while their hearts are trembling” (al-Muʾminūn 60). He says, mighty and majestic, telling of them in their state of fulfillment and their righteous deeds:

( إِنَّا كُنَّا قَبْلُ فِي أَهْلِنَا مُشْفِقِينَ ) ( فَمَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا ) الطُّورُ : 26 - 27 وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( يُوفُونَ بِالنَّذْرِ وَيَخَافُونَ يَوْمًا ) الْإِنْسَانُ : 7 مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ الْخَوْفَ مُرْتَبِطٌ بِالرَّجَاءِ ، فَمَنْ تَحَقَّقَ بِالرَّجَاءِ صَارَعَهُ الْخَوْفُ أَنْ يُقْطَعَ بِهِ دُونَ مَا رَجَا ، وَقَالَ أَهْلُ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

( ʾinnā kunnā qablu fī ʾahlinā mushfiqīna ) ( famanna Allāhu ʿalaynā ) al-ṭūru : 26 - 27 waqāla ʿazza wajalla : ( yūfūna bi-al-nadhri wayakhāfūna yawman ) al-ʾinsānu : 7 min qibali ʾanna al-khawfa murtabiṭun bi-al-rajāʾi , faman taḥaqqaqa bi-al-rajāʾi ṣāraʿahu al-khawfu ʾan yuqṭaʿa bihi dūna mā rajā , waqāla ʾahlu al-ʿarabiyyati fī maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā :

“We were previously fearful among our families,” “then God favored us” (al-Ṭūr 26–27). He says, mighty and majestic: “They fulfill their vows and fear a day” (al-Insān 7), because fear is bound to hope. Whoever truly realizes hope is wrestled with by fear that he may be cut off short of what he hopes for. The scholars of Arabic have said concerning the meaning of His words, exalted is He:

( قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ) ( الْجَاثِيَةُ : 14 أَيْ لِلَّذِينَ لَا يَخَافُونَ عُقُوبَاتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، فَإِذَا كَانَ هَذَا أَمْرَهُ بِالْمَغْفِرَةِ لِمَنْ لَا يَرْجُو فَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ غَفْرُهُ وَفَضْلُهُ عَلَى مَنْ يَرْجُو ، وَبَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَتَرْجُونَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَرْجُونَ ) النِّسَاءُ : 104 أَيْ تَخَافُونَ مِنْهُ مَا لَا يَخَافُونَ ،

( qul li-lladhīna ʾāmanū yaghfirū li-lladhīna lā yarjūna ʾayyāma Allāhi ) ( al-jāthiyatu : 14 ʾay li-lladhīna lā yakhāfūna ʿuqūbāti Allāhi taʿālā , faʾidhā kāna hādhā ʾamrahu bi-al-maghfirati liman lā yarjū fakayfa yakūnu ghafruhu wafaḍluhu ʿalā man yarjū , wabaʿḍuhum yaqūlu fī maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā : ( watarjūna mina Allāhi mā lā yarjūna ) al-nisāʾu : 104 ʾay takhāfūna minhu mā lā yakhāfūna ,

“Tell those who believe to forgive those who do not hope for God’s days” (al-Jāthiya 14): that is, those who do not fear the punishments of God Most High. If this is His command to forgive one who does not hope, what will His forgiveness and bounty be toward one who does hope? Some of them say concerning the meaning of His words, exalted is He, “You hope from God for what they do not hope” (al-Nisāʾ 104): that is, you fear from Him what they do not fear.

فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُمَا عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ كَشَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ مَا فَسَّرَ أَحَدَهُمَا بِالْآخَرِ ، وَمِنَ الرَّجَاءِ الْأُنْسُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي الْخَلَوَاتِ ، وَمِنَ الْأُنْسِ بِهِ الْأُنْسُ بِالْعُلَمَاءِ وَالتَّقَرُّبُ مِنَ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ ، وَارْتِفَاعُ الْوَحْشَةِ بِمُجَالَسَةِ أَهْلِ الْخَيْرِ ، وَسَعَةُ الصَّدْرِ وَالرَّوْحُ عِنْدَهُمْ ، وَمِنَ الرَّجَاءِ سُقُوطُ ثِقْلِ الْمُعَاوَنَةِ عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى ، لِوُجُودِ حَلَاوَةِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَالْمُسَارَعَةِ إِلَيْهَا ، وَالْحَثُّ لِأَهْلِهَا عَلَيْهَا وَالْحُزْنُ عَلَى فَوْتِهَا وَالْفَرَحُ بِدَرْكِهَا ،

falawlā ʾannahumā ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi kashayʾin wāḥidin mā fassara ʾaḥadahumā bi-al-ʾākhari , wamina al-rajāʾi al-ʾunsu bi-Allāhi taʿālā fī al-khalawāti , wamina al-ʾunsi bihi al-ʾunsu bi-al-ʿulamāʾi wa-al-taqarrubu mina al-ʾawliyāʾi , wartifāʿu al-waḥshati bimujālasati ʾahli al-khayri , wasaʿatu al-ṣadri wa-al-rawḥu ʿindahum , wamina al-rajāʾi suqūṭu thiqli al-muʿāwanati ʿalā al-birri wa-al-taqwā , liwujūdi ḥalāwati al-ʾaʿmāli wa-al-musāraʿati ʾilayhā , wa-al-ḥaththu liʾahlihā ʿalayhā wa-al-ḥuznu ʿalā fawtihā wa-al-faraḥu bidarkihā ,

If the two were not like one thing in the judgment of the scholars, they would not explain one by the other. Part of hope is intimacy with God Most High in solitude. Part of intimacy with Him is intimacy with scholars, drawing near to the friends of God, the removal of estrangement through sitting with good people, and breadth of heart and relief in their company. Part of hope is the lifting of the burden of helping in goodness and reverent mindfulness, through finding the sweetness of deeds, hastening toward them, urging their people to perform them, grieving when they are missed, and rejoicing when they are attained.

وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ الْخَبَرُ الْمَأْثُورُ مَنْ سَرَّتْهُ حَسَنَتُهُ وَسَاءَتْهُ سَيِّئَتُهُ ، فَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ ، وَالْخَبَرُ الْمَأْثُورُ : خِيَارُ أُمَّتِيَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَحْسَنُوا اسْتَبْشَرُوا ، وَإِذَا أَسَاؤُوا اسْتَغْفَرُوا لِأَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ عَلَى يَقِينٍ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ وَبَصِيرَةٍ مِنْ دِينِهِ ، وَالْخَوْفُ وَالرَّجَاءُ وَصْفُ الْمُوقِنِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَهُوَ إِذَا عَمِلَ حَسَنَةً ، أَيْقَنَ بِثَوَابِهَا لِصِدْقِ الْوَعْدِ وَكَرَمِ الْمُوعِدِ ، وَإِذَا عَمِلَ سَيِّئَةً أَيْقَنَ بِالْكَرَاهَةِ لَهَا ،

wamin dhālika al-khabaru al-maʾthūru man sarrathu ḥasanatuhu wasāʾathu sayyiʾatuhu , fahuwa muʾminun , wa-al-khabaru al-maʾthūru : khiyāru ʾummatiya alladhīna ʾidhā ʾaḥsanū istabsharū , waʾidhā ʾasāʾū istaghfarū liʾanna al-muʾmina ʿalā yaqīnin min ʾamrihi wabaṣīratin min dīnihi , wa-al-khawfu wa-al-rajāʾu waṣfu al-mūqini bi-Allāhi taʿālā fahuwa ʾidhā ʿamila ḥasanatan , ʾayqana bithawābihā liṣidqi al-waʿdi wakarami al-mūʿidi , waʾidhā ʿamila sayyiʾatan ʾayqana bi-al-karāhati lahā ,

Of this kind is the transmitted report: “Whoever is gladdened by his good deed and grieved by his evil deed is a believer.” And the transmitted report: “The best of my community are those who rejoice when they do good and seek forgiveness when they do evil.” For the believer has certainty about his affair and insight into his religion. Fear and hope are qualities of the one certain of God Most High. When he does a good deed, he is certain of its reward because of the truth of the promise and the generosity of the One who promises. When he does an evil deed, he is certain that it is hated,

وَخَافَ الْمَقْتَ عَلَيْهَا لِخَوْفِ الْوَعِيدِ وَعَظَمَةِ الْمُتَوَعِّدِ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ دُخُولَهُ فِي الطَّاعَةِ ، دُخُولٌ فِي مَحَبَّةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَمَرْضَاتِهِ لِمَا دَلَّ الْعِلْمُ عَلَيْهِ ؛ فَهَذَا رِضَا اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِي الدُّنْيَا ، فَكَيْفَ لَا يَسُرُّهُ رِضَاهُ وَمِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ دُخُولَهُ فِي الْمَعْصِيَةِ دُخُولٌ فِي غَضَبِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَمَكَارِهِهِ ، بِمَا دَلَّ الْعِلْمُ عَلَيْهِ فَذَلِكَ الَّذِي يَسُوءُهُ لِأَنَّ مَقْتَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْيَوْمَ مَعَاصِيهِ وَسَخَطَهُ غَدًا تَعْذِيبُهُ ،

wakhāfa al-maqta ʿalayhā likhawfi al-waʿīdi waʿaẓamati al-mutawaʿʿidi min qibali ʾanna dukhūlahu fī al-ṭāʿati , dukhūlun fī maḥabbati Allāhi taʿālā wamarḍātihi limā dalla al-ʿilmu ʿalayhi ; fa-hādhā riḍā Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā fī al-dunyā , fakayfa lā yasurruhu riḍāhu wamin qibali ʾanna dukhūlahu fī al-maʿṣiyati dukhūlun fī ghaḍabi Allāhi taʿālā wamakārihihi , bimā dalla al-ʿilmu ʿalayhi fa-dhālika alladhī yasūʾuhu liʾanna maqta Allāhi taʿālā al-yawma maʿāṣīhi wasakhaṭahu ghadan taʿdhībuhu ,

and fears being detested for it because he fears the threat and the greatness of the One who threatens. Entering into obedience is entering into God Most High’s love and approval, according to what knowledge indicates. This is God’s approval, glorified and exalted is He, in this world; how could His approval not delight him? Entering into disobedience is entering into God Most High’s anger and the things He hates, according to what knowledge indicates. That is what grieves him, because God Most High’s hatred today is his acts of disobedience, and His displeasure tomorrow is His punishment of him,

وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَهُوَ أَصْدَقُ الْقَائِلِينَ : ( يُنَادَوْنَ لَمَقْتُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ مَقْتِكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ ) غَافِرٌ : 10 قَالَ : لَمَّا نَظَرُوا إِلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ بِتَشْوِيهِ خَلْقِهِمْ فِي النَّارِ مَقَتُوهَا فَنُودُوا لَمَقْتُ اللَّهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا عَلَى مَعَاصِيهِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ مَقْتِكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ الْيَوْمَ فِي الْعَذَابِ ، كَمَا أَنَّ رِضَاهُ غَدًا تَنْعِيمُهُمْ فِي جَنَّتِهِ كَذَلِكَ رِضَاهُ الْيَوْمَ عَمَلُهُمْ بِطَاعَتِهِ وَمَرْضَاتِهِ ؛

wamin hādhā qawlu Allāhi ʿazza wajalla wahuwa ʾaṣdaqu al-qāʾilīna : ( yunādawna lamaqtu Allāhi ʾakbaru min maqtikum ʾanfusakum ) ghāfirun : 10 qāla : lammā naẓarū ʾilā ʾanfusihim bitashwīhi khalqihim fī al-nāri maqatūhā fanūdū lamaqtu Allāhi fī al-dunyā ʿalā maʿāṣīhi ʾakbaru min maqtikum ʾanfusakum al-yawma fī al-ʿadhābi , kamā ʾanna riḍāhu ghadan tanʿīmuhum fī jannatihi kadhālika riḍāhu al-yawma ʿamaluhum biṭāʿatihi wamarḍātihi ;

as in God’s words, mighty and majestic, and He is the truest of speakers: “They will be called: God’s hatred was greater than your hatred of yourselves” (Ghāfir 10). He said: when they looked at themselves with their forms disfigured in the Fire, they hated themselves. Then they were called: “God’s hatred in this world because of disobeying Him was greater than your hatred of yourselves today in punishment.” Just as His approval tomorrow is His granting them bliss in His Garden, so His approval today is their acting in obedience to Him and to His satisfaction.

وَهَذَا وَصْفُ عَبْدٍ مُرَادٍ مُكَاشَفٍ بِعِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ . وَمِنْ هَذَا حَدِيثُ زَيْدِ الْخَيْلِ إِذْ قَالَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : جِئْتُكَ أَسْأَلُكَ عَنْ عَلَامَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِيمَنْ يُرِيدُ وَعَلَامَتِهِ فِيمَنْ لَا يُرِيدُ فَقَالَ : كَيْفَ أَصْبَحْتَ فَقَالَ : أَصْبَحْتُ أُحِبُّ الْخَيْرَ وَأَهْلَهُ وَإِذَا قَدَرْتُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِنْهُ سَارَعْتُ إِلَيْهِ وَأَيْقَنْتُ بِثَوَابِهِ وَإِذَا فَاتَنِي شَيْءٌ مِنْهُ حَزِنْتُ عَلَيْهِ

wa-hādhā waṣfu ʿabdin murādin mukāshafin biʿilmi al-yaqīni . wamin hādhā ḥadīthu zaydi al-khayli ʾidh qāla li-l-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : jiʾtuka ʾasʾaluka ʿan ʿalāmati Allāhi taʿālā fīman yurīdu waʿalāmatihi fīman lā yurīdu faqāla : kayfa ʾaṣbaḥta faqāla : ʾaṣbaḥtu ʾuḥibbu al-khayra waʾahlahu waʾidhā qadartu ʿalā shayʾin minhu sāraʿtu ʾilayhi waʾayqantu bithawābihi waʾidhā fātanī shayʾun minhu ḥazintu ʿalayhi

This describes a servant whom God desires, to whom the knowledge of certainty has been disclosed. Of this kind is the report of Zayd al-Khayl, when he said to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “I have come to ask you about God Most High’s sign in one He desires, and His sign in one He does not desire.” He said: “How have you come into the morning?” He said: “I have come into the morning loving good and its people. Whenever I can do something of it, I hasten to it and am certain of its reward. Whenever I miss something of it, I grieve for it

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٦٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 366

Volume One, page 366

وَحَنَنْتُ إِلَيْهِ فَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : هَذِهِ عَلَامَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِيمَنْ يُرِيدُ وَلَوْ أَرَادَكَ لِلْأُخْرَى هَيَّأَكَ لَهَا ، ثُمَّ لَمْ يُبَالِ فِي أَيِّ أَوْدِيَتِهَا هَلَكْتَ ، وَمِنَ الرَّجَاءِ التَّلَذُّذُ بِدَوَامِ حُسْنِ الْإِقْبَالِ وَالتَّنَعُّمُ بِمُنَاجَاةِ ذِي الْجَلَالِ وَحُسْنُ الْإِصْغَاءِ إِلَى مُحَادَثَةِ الْقَرِيبِ وَالتَّلَطُّفُ فِي التَّمَلُّقِ لِلْحَبِيبِ وَحُسْنُ الظَّنِّ بِهِ فِي الْعَفْوِ الْجَمِيلِ وَمَنَالِ الْفَضْلِ الْجَزِيلِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ :

waḥanantu ʾilayhi faqāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : hādhihi ʿalāmatu Allāhi taʿālā fīman yurīdu walaw ʾarādaka li-l-ʾukhrā hayyaʾaka lahā , thumma lam yubāli fī ʾayyi ʾawdiyatihā halakta , wamina al-rajāʾi al-taladhdhudhu bidawāmi ḥusni al-ʾiqbāli wa-al-tanaʿʿumu bimunājāti dhī al-jalāli waḥusnu al-ʾiṣghāʾi ʾilā muḥādathati al-qarībi wa-al-talaṭṭufu fī al-tamalluqi li-l-ḥabībi waḥusnu al-ẓanni bihi fī al-ʿafwi al-jamīli wamanāli al-faḍli al-jazīli , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna :

and long for it.” He said, may God bless him and grant him peace: “This is God Most High’s sign in one He desires. Had He intended you for the other, He would have prepared you for it, then would not care in which of its valleys you perished.” Part of hope is taking pleasure in continuing to turn toward Him well, enjoying intimate conversation with the Possessor of Majesty, listening attentively to the conversation of the Near One, being gentle in appealing affectionately to the Beloved, and thinking well of Him concerning beautiful pardon and the attainment of abundant bounty. One of the knowers said:

لِلتَّوْحِيدِ نُورٌ وَلِلشِّرْكِ نَارٌ ، وَنُورُ التَّوْحِيدِ أَحْرَقُ لِسَيِّئَاتِ الْمُؤْمِنِ مِنْ نَارِ الشِّرْكِ لِحَسَنَاتِ الْمُشْرِكِ ، وَلَمَّا احْتَضَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ التَّيْمِيُّ قَالَ لِابْنِهِ : يَا بُنَيَّ حَدِّثْنِي بِالرُّخَصِ وَاذْكُرْ لِيَ الرَّجَاءَ حَتَّى أَلْقَى اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَلَى حُسْنِ الظَّنِّ بِهِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ لَمَّا حَضَرَ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيَّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ الْوَفَاةُ جَعَلَ الْعُلَمَاءُ حَوْلَهُ يُرَجُّونَهُ ، وَحُدِّثْنَا عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِابْنِهِ عِنْدَ الْمَوْتِ :

li-l-tawḥīdi nūrun wali-l-shirki nārun , wanūru al-tawḥīdi ʾaḥraqu lisayyiʾāti al-muʾmini min nāri al-shirki liḥasanāti al-mushriki , walammā iḥtaḍara sulaymānu al-taymiyyu qāla libnihi : yā bunayya ḥaddithnī bi-al-rukhaṣi wadhkur liya al-rajāʾa ḥattā ʾalqā Allāha taʿālā ʿalā ḥusni al-ẓanni bihi , wa-kadhālika lammā ḥaḍara sufyāna al-thawriyya raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu al-wafātu jaʿala al-ʿulamāʾu ḥawlahu yurajjūnahu , waḥuddithnā ʿan ʾaḥmada bni ḥanbalin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʾannahu qāla libnihi ʿinda al-mawti :

“Divine oneness has a light, and associating others with God has a fire. The light of divine oneness burns away the believer’s evil deeds more intensely than the fire of association burns away the associator’s good deeds.” When Sulaymān al-Taymī was dying, he said to his son: “My dear son, tell me of concessions and remind me of hope, so that I may meet God Most High thinking well of Him.” Likewise, when death came to Sufyān al-Thawrī, may God be pleased with him, the scholars around him began to encourage his hope. We were told from Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God be pleased with him, that he said to his son at death:

اُذْكُرْ لِيَ الْأَخْبَارَ الَّتِي فِيهَا الرَّجَاءُ وَحُسْنُ الظَّنِّ ، فَلَوْلَا أَنَّ الرَّجَاءَ وَحُسْنَ الظَّنِّ مِنْ فَوَاضِلِ الْمَقَامَاتِ مَا طَلَبَهُ الْعُلَمَاءُ فِي آخِرِ الْأَوْقَاتِ عِنْدَ فِرَاقِ الْعُمْرِ وَلِقَاءِ الْمَوْلَى لِتَكُونَ الْخَاتِمَةُ بِهِ وَهُمْ يَسْأَلُونَ اللَّهَ حُسْنَ الْخَاتِمَةِ طُولَ الْحَيَاةِ ، وَلِذَلِكَ قِيلَ : إِنَّ الْخَوْفَ أَفْضَلُ مَا دَامَ حَيًّا فَإِذَا حَضَرَ الْمَوْتُ فَالرَّجَاءُ أَفْضَلُ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ يَحْيَى بْنُ مُعَاذٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ فِي مَقَامَاتِ الرَّجَاءِ :

udhkur liya al-ʾakhbāra allatī fīhā al-rajāʾu waḥusnu al-ẓanni , falawlā ʾanna al-rajāʾa waḥusna al-ẓanni min fawāḍili al-maqāmāti mā ṭalabahu al-ʿulamāʾu fī ʾākhiri al-ʾawqāti ʿinda firāqi al-ʿumri waliqāʾi al-mawlā litakūna al-khātimatu bihi wahum yasʾalūna Allāha ḥusna al-khātimati ṭūla al-ḥayāti , wali-dhālika qīla : ʾinna al-khawfa ʾafḍalu mā dāma ḥayyan faʾidhā ḥaḍara al-mawtu fa-al-rajāʾu ʾafḍalu , waqad kāna yaḥyā bnu muʿādhin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu fī maqāmāti al-rajāʾi :

“Tell me the reports that contain hope and thinking well.” If hope and thinking well were not among the excellent stations, the scholars would not have sought them at the last moments, when parting from life and meeting the Master, so that their ending might be in that state, while all their lives they had asked God for a good ending. For that reason it is said: fear is better as long as one lives, but when death comes, hope is better. Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say concerning the stations of hope:

إِذَا كَانَ تَوْحِيدُ سَاعَةٍ يُحْبِطُ ذُنُوبَ خَمْسِينَ سَنَةً فَتَوْحِيدُ خَمْسِينَ سَنَةً مَاذَا سَيَصْنَعُ بِالذُّنُوبِ ؟ وَقَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : لَا يَصِحُّ الْخَوْفُ إِلَّا لِأَهْلِ الرَّجَاءِ ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً : الْعُلَمَاءُ مَقْطُوعُونَ إِلَّا الْخَائِفِينَ ، وَالْخَائِفُونَ مَقْطُوعُونَ إِلَّا الرَّاجِينَ ، وَكَانَ يَجْعَلُ الرَّجَاءَ مَقَامًا فِي الْمَحَبَّةِ وَهُوَ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ أَوَّلُ مَقَامَاتِ الْمَحَبَّةِ ،

ʾidhā kāna tawḥīdu sāʿatin yuḥbiṭu dhunūba khamsīna sanatan fatawḥīdu khamsīna sanatan mādhā sayaṣnaʿu bi-al-dhunūbi ? waqāla ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu : lā yaṣiḥḥu al-khawfu ʾillā liʾahli al-rajāʾi , waqāla marratan : al-ʿulamāʾu maqṭūʿūna ʾillā al-khāʾifīna , wa-al-khāʾifūna maqṭūʿūna ʾillā al-rājīna , wakāna yajʿalu al-rajāʾa maqāman fī al-maḥabbati wahuwa ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi ʾawwalu maqāmāti al-maḥabbati ,

“If the affirmation of divine oneness for one hour cancels the sins of fifty years, what will affirming divine oneness for fifty years do to sins?” Abū Muḥammad Sahl, may God be pleased with him, said: “Fear is sound only for the people of hope.” He once said: “The scholars are cut off except those who fear, and those who fear are cut off except those who hope.” He used to make hope a station within love; among the scholars it is the first of the stations of love.

ثُمَّ يَعْلُو فِي الْحُبِّ عَلَى قَدْرِ ارْتِفَاعِهِ فِي الرَّجَاءِ وَحُسْنِ الظَّنِّ ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَحَادِيثَ فِي الرَّجَاءِ لَا يَصْلُحُ ذِكْرُهَا لِعُمُومِ النَّاسِ وَلَكِنْ نَذْكُرُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ مَا ظَهَرَ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِجَهَنَّمَ مِنْ فَضْلِ رَحْمَتِهِ سَوْطًا يَسُوقُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِهِ عِبَادَهُ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ ، وَخَبَرٌ آخَرُ ، يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى :

thumma yaʿlū fī al-ḥubbi ʿalā qadri irtifāʿihi fī al-rajāʾi waḥusni al-ẓanni , warawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾaḥādītha fī al-rajāʾi lā yaṣluḥu dhikruhā liʿumūmi al-nāsi wa-lākin nadhkuru min dhālika mā ẓahara khalaqa Allāhu taʿālā lijahannama min faḍli raḥmatihi sawṭan yasūqu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla bihi ʿibādahu ʾilā al-jannati , wakhabarun ʾākharu , yaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā :

Then he rises in love in proportion to his rise in hope and thinking well. We have transmitted from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, reports about hope that are not suitable to recount to people in general. But we will mention what has become manifest from them: “God Most High created for Hell, from the bounty of His mercy, a whip with which God, mighty and majestic, drives His servants into the Garden.” In another report God Most High says:

إِنَّمَا خَلَقْتُ الْخَلْقَ لِيَرْبَحُوا عَلَيَّ وَلَمْ أَخْلُقْهُمْ لِأَرْبَحَ عَلَيْهِمْ ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى شَيْئًا إِلَّا جَعَلَ لَهُ مَا يَغْلِبُهُ وَجَعَلَ رَحْمَتَهُ تَغْلِبُ غَضَبَهُ ، وَالْخَبَرُ الْمَشْهُورُ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى كَتَبَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَ الْخَلْقَ : إِنَّ رَحْمَتِي تَغْلِبُ غَضَبِي ،

ʾinnamā khalaqtu al-khalqa liyarbaḥū ʿalayya walam ʾakhluqhum liʾarbaḥa ʿalayhim , wafī ḥadīthi ʿaṭāʾi bni yasārin ʿan ʾabī saʿīdin al-khudriyyi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : mā khalaqa Allāhu taʿālā shayʾan ʾillā jaʿala lahu mā yaghlibuhu wajaʿala raḥmatahu taghlibu ghaḍabahu , wa-al-khabaru al-mashhūru : ʾinna Allāha taʿālā kataba ʿalā nafsihi qabla ʾan yakhluqa al-khalqa : ʾinna raḥmatī taghlibu ghaḍabī ,

“I created creatures only so that they might gain from Me; I did not create them so that I might gain from them.” In the report of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, may God be pleased with him, from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “God Most High created nothing without making something that overcomes it, and He made His mercy overcome His anger.” In the well-known report: “God Most High wrote upon Himself before creating creatures: ‘My mercy overcomes My anger.’”

وَالْأَخْبَارُ الْمَشْهُورَةُ عَنْ مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ وَأَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا : مَنْ قَالَ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ ، وَمَنْ كَانَ آخِرَ كَلَامِهِ قَوْلُ : لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ لَمْ تَمَسَّهُ النَّارُ ، وَمَنْ لَقِيَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَا يُشْرِكُ بِهِ شَيْئًا حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْهِ النَّارُ وَلَا يَدْخُلُ النَّارَ مَنْ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَزْنُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ فِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ :

wa-al-ʾakhbāru al-mashhūratu ʿan muʿādhi bni jabalin waʾanasi bni mālikin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā : man qāla lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu dakhala al-jannata , waman kāna ʾākhira kalāmihi qawlu : lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu lam tamassahu al-nāru , waman laqiya Allāha taʿālā lā yushriku bihi shayʾan ḥurrimat ʿalayhi al-nāru walā yadkhulu al-nāra man fī qalbihi waznu dharratin min ʾīmānin , waqad qāla fī khabarin ʾākhara :

In the well-known reports from Muʿādh ibn Jabal and Anas ibn Mālik, may God be pleased with them both: “Whoever says, ‘There is no god but God,’ enters the Garden.” “Whoever’s last words are, ‘There is no god but God,’ the Fire does not touch him.” “Whoever meets God Most High associating nothing with Him, the Fire is forbidden to him.” “No one with an atom’s weight of faith in his heart enters the Fire.” He has said in another report:

لَوْ يَعْلَمُ الْكَافِرُ سَعَةَ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مَا أَيِسَ مِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ أَحَدٌ وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى فِي حُسْنِ عَفْوِهِ عَنْ أَكْبَرِ الْكَبَائِرِ بَعْدَ ظُهُورِ الْآيَاتِ : ( ثُمَّ اتَّخَذُوا الْعِجْلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ فَعَفَوْنَا عَنْ ذَلِكَ ) النِّسَاءُ : 153 ،

law yaʿlamu al-kāfiru saʿata raḥmati Allāhi taʿālā mā ʾayisa min raḥmatihi ʾaḥadun waqad qāla taʿālā fī ḥusni ʿafwihi ʿan ʾakbari al-kabāʾiri baʿda ẓuhūri al-ʾāyāti : ( thumma ittakhadhū al-ʿijla min baʿdi mā jāʾathumu al-bayyinātu faʿafawnā ʿan dhālika ) al-nisāʾu : 153 ,

“If the unbeliever knew the vastness of God Most High’s mercy, no one would despair of His mercy.” He says, exalted is He, concerning the beauty of His pardon for the greatest major sins after the signs had appeared: “Then they took the calf after clear proofs had come to them, and We pardoned that” (al-Nisāʾ 153).

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٦٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 367

Volume One, page 367

وَقَالَ فِي خِطَابٍ لَطِيفٍ لِأَوْلِيَائِهِ يُعَرِّفُهُمْ نَفَاذَ أَحْكَامِهِ فِيهِمْ وَجَرَيَانَ مَشِيئَتِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ : فَإِنْ زَلَلْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْكُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ، عَزِيزٌ لَا يُوصَلُ إِلَيْهِ إِلَّا بِهِ ، حَكِيمٌ حَكَمَ بِمَشِيئَتِهِ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ ، ثُمَّ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا فَلَا يُبَالِي كَمَا أَجْرَى عَلَى مَنْ فَضَّلَهُ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ ، مَقَالَةَ الْكَافِرِينَ فَلَمْ يَضُرَّهُمْ مَعَ تَفْضِيلِهِ لَهُمْ إِذْ قَالُوا لِمُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ :

waqāla fī khiṭābin laṭīfin liʾawliyāʾihi yuʿarrifuhum nafādha ʾaḥkāmihi fīhim wajarayāna mashīʾatihi ʿalayhim : faʾin zalaltum min baʿdi mā jāʾatkumu al-bayyinātu faʿlamū ʾanna Allāha ʿazīzun ḥakīmun , ʿazīzun lā yūṣalu ʾilayhi ʾillā bihi , ḥakīmun ḥakama bimashīʾatihi ʿalā ʿibādihi , thumma yaghfiru al-dhunūba jamīʿan falā yubālī kamā ʾajrā ʿalā man faḍḍalahu ʿalā al-ʿālamīna , maqālata al-kāfirīna falam yaḍurrahum maʿa tafḍīlihi lahum ʾidh qālū limūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu :

He says in a gentle address to His friends, making known to them the enforcement of His rulings within them and the operation of His will upon them: “If you slip after clear proofs have come to you, know that God is mighty and wise.” Mighty: He cannot be reached except through Him. Wise: He rules by His will over His servants. Then He forgives all sins and does not mind. Likewise, He caused the saying of unbelievers to issue from those He had favored above all worlds, and it did not harm them along with His favor toward them, when they said to Moses, peace be upon him:

اجْعَلْ لَنَا إِلَٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ ، فَقَالَ : أَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ أَبْغِيكُمْ إِلَٰهًا وَهُوَ فَضَّلَكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ ؛ وَبِهَذَا الْمَعْنَى عَارَضَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ رَأْسَ الْجَالُوتِ لَمَّا قَالَ لَهُ : لَمْ تَلْبَثُوا بَعْدَ نَبِيِّكُمْ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ إِلَّا ثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً حَتَّى ضَرَبَ بَعْضُكُمْ وَجْهَ بَعْضٍ بِالسَّيْفِ فَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ : أَنْتُمْ لَمْ تَجِفَّ أَقْدَامُكُمْ مِنْ مَاءِ الْبَحْرِ حَتَّى قُلْتُمْ لِمُوسَى :

ijʿal lanā ʾilāhan kamā lahum ʾālihatun , faqāla : ʾaghayra Allāhi ʾabghīkum ʾilāhan wahuwa faḍḍalakum ʿalā al-ʿālamīna ; wabi-hādhā al-maʿnā ʿāraḍa ʿaliyyun karrama Allāhu wajhahu raʾsa al-jālūti lammā qāla lahu : lam talbathū baʿda nabiyyikum ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾillā thalāthīna sanatan ḥattā ḍaraba baʿḍukum wajha baʿḍin bi-al-sayfi faqāla ʿaliyyun karrama Allāhu wajhahu : ʾantum lam tajiffa ʾaqdāmukum min māʾi al-baḥri ḥattā qultum limūsā :

“Make for us a god as they have gods.” He said: “Shall I seek a god for you other than God, when He has favored you above all worlds?” With this meaning ʿAlī, may God honor his countenance, answered the head of the Jewish community when he said to him: “You remained only thirty years after your Prophet, peace be upon him, before some of you struck others in the face with the sword.” ʿAlī, may God honor his countenance, said: “Your feet had not dried from the sea’s water before you said to Moses:

اجْعَلْ لَنَا إِلَٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِذَا حَدَّثْتُمُ النَّاسَ عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ فَلَا تُحَدِّثُوهُمْ بِمَا يَفْزَعُهُمْ وَيُنَفِّرُهُمْ ، وَقَالَ فِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ : بَشِّرُوا وَلَا تُنَفِّرُوا وَيَسِّرُوا وَلَا تُعَسِّرُوا ، وَلَمَّا وَعَظَهُمُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ : لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ مَا أَعْلَمُ لَضَحِكْتُمْ قَلِيلًا وَلَبَكَيْتُمْ كَثِيرًا الْحَدِيثَ ، فَهَبَطَ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فَقَالَ :

ijʿal lanā ʾilāhan kamā lahum ʾālihatun . warawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾidhā ḥaddathtumu al-nāsa ʿan rabbihim falā tuḥaddithūhum bimā yafzaʿuhum wayunaffiruhum , waqāla fī ḥadīthin ʾākhara : bashshirū walā tunaffirū wayassirū walā tuʿassirū , walammā waʿaẓahumu al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faqāla : law taʿlamūna mā ʾaʿlamu laḍaḥiktum qalīlan walabakaytum kathīran al-ḥadītha , fahabaṭa jibrīlu ʿalayhi al-salāmu faqāla :

‘Make for us a god as they have gods.’” We have transmitted from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace: “When you tell people about their Lord, do not tell them what frightens them and drives them away.” He said in another report: “Give good news and do not drive people away; make things easy and do not make them hard.” When the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, admonished them, saying, “If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much,” to the end of the report, Gabriel, peace be upon him, descended and said:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ : لِمَ تُقَنِّطُ عِبَادِي ؟ فَخَرَجَ إِلَيْهِمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَرَجَّاهُمْ وَشَوَّقَهُمْ ، وَلَمَّا تَلَا الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ : ( إِنَّ زَلْزَلَةَ السَّاعَةِ شَيْءٌ عَظِيمٌ ) الْحَجُّ : 1 قَالَ : أَتَدْرُونَ أَيُّ يَوْمٍ ؟ هَذَا يَوْمٌ يُقَالُ لِآدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : قُمْ فَابْعَثْ نَصِيبَ النَّارِ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِكَ ،

ʾinna Allāha taʿālā yaqūlu : lima tuqanniṭu ʿibādī ? fakharaja ʾilayhim rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama farajjāhum washawwaqahum , walammā talā al-rasūlu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama hādhihi al-ʾāyata : ( ʾinna zalzalata al-sāʿati shayʾun ʿaẓīmun ) al-ḥajju : 1 qāla : ʾatadrūna ʾayyu yawmin ? hādhā yawmun yuqālu liʾādama ʿalayhi al-salāmu : qum fabʿath naṣība al-nāri min dhurriyyatika ,

“God Most High says: ‘Why do you make My servants despair?’” The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, went out to them, encouraged their hope, and stirred their longing. When the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, recited this verse, “The shaking of the Hour is a tremendous thing” (al-Ḥajj 1), he said: “Do you know what day? This is a day when Adam, peace be upon him, is told: ‘Rise and send forth the Fire’s share from your offspring.’”

فَقَالَ : كَمْ ؟ قِيلَ مِنْ كُلِّ أَلْفٍ تِسْعَمِائَةٍ وَتِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ إِلَى النَّارِ وَوَاحِدٌ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ ، قَالَ : فَبَكَوْا يَوْمَهُمْ ذَلِكَ وَتَرَكُوا الْأَشْغَالَ وَالْعَمَلَ ، فَخَرَجَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

faqāla : kam ? qīla min kulli ʾalfin tisʿamiʾatin watisʿatan watisʿīna ʾilā al-nāri wawāḥidun ʾilā al-jannati , qāla : fabakaw yawmahum dhālika watarakū al-ʾashghāla wa-al-ʿamala , fakharaja ʿalayhim rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama

He said: “How many?” It was said: “From every thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine to the Fire, and one to the Garden.” He said: they wept that day and left their occupations and work. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, went out to them

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٦٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 368

Volume One, page 368

فَقَالَ : مَا بَالُكُمْ أَنْتُمْ فِي الْأُمَمِ مِثْلُ شَعْرَةٍ بَيْضَاءَ فِي جِلْدِ ثَوْرٍ أَسْوَدَ ، وَالْخَبَرُ الْمَشْهُورُ : لَوْ لَمْ تُذْنِبُونَ لَخَلَقَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى خَلْقًا يُذْنِبُونَ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : لَذَهَبَ بِكُمْ وَجَاءَ بِقَوْمٍ يُذْنِبُونَ فَيَغْفِرُ لَهُمْ ، إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ أَيْ أَنَّ وَصْفَهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى الْمَغْفِرَةُ وَالرَّحْمَةُ ،

faqāla : mā bālukum ʾantum fī al-ʾumami mithlu shaʿratin bayḍāʾa fī jildi thawrin ʾaswada , wa-al-khabaru al-mashhūru : law lam tudhnibūna lakhalaqa Allāhu taʿālā khalqan yudhnibūna liyaghfira lahum , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara : ladhahaba bikum wajāʾa biqawmin yudhnibūna fayaghfiru lahum , ʾinnahu huwa al-ghafūru al-raḥīmu ʾay ʾanna waṣfahu subḥānahu wataʿālā al-maghfiratu wa-al-raḥmatu ,

and said: “What is the matter with you? Among the nations you are like a white hair in the hide of a black bull.” In the well-known report: “If you did not sin, God Most High would create creatures who sinned so that He might forgive them.” In another wording: “He would take you away and bring a people who sinned, then forgive them. He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” That is, His qualities, glorified and exalted is He, are forgiveness and mercy.

فَلَا بُدَّ أَنْ يَخْلُقَ مُقْتَضَى وَصْفِهِ حَتَّى يَحِقَّ وَصْفُهُ عَلَيْهِ هَذَا كَمَا يَقُولُ فِي عِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ : إِنَّ لَهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى مِنْ كُلِّ اسْمٍ وَصْفًا وَمِنْ كُلِّ وَصْفٍ فِعْلٌ ، وَفِي هَذَا سِرُّ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَمِنْهُ مَعْرِفَةُ الْخُصُوصِ ، وَحُكِيَ لَنَا مَعْنَاهُ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ أَدْهَمَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ : خَلَا لِيَ الطَّوَافُ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ ، وَكَانَتْ لَيْلَةً مَطِيرَةً مُظْلِمَةً فَوَقَفْتُ فِي الْمُلْتَزَمِ عِنْدَ الْبَابِ فَقُلْتُ :

falā budda ʾan yakhluqa muqtaḍā waṣfihi ḥattā yaḥiqqa waṣfuhu ʿalayhi hādhā kamā yaqūlu fī ʿilmi al-maʿrifati : ʾinna lahu subḥānahu wataʿālā min kulli ismin waṣfan wamin kulli waṣfin fiʿlun , wafī hādhā sirru al-maʿrifati waminhu maʿrifatu al-khuṣūṣi , waḥukiya lanā maʿnāhu ʿan ʾibrāhīma bni ʾadhama raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu qāla : khalā liya al-ṭawāfu dhāta laylatin , wakānat laylatan maṭīratan muẓlimatan fawaqaftu fī al-multazami ʿinda al-bābi faqultu :

He must therefore create what His quality requires, so that His quality may truly apply to it. This is as he says in the science of knowledge of God: for Him, glorified and exalted is He, every name has a quality and every quality has an action. In this is the secret of knowledge of God, and from it comes the knowledge of the elect. Its meaning was related to us from Ibrāhīm ibn Adham, may God be pleased with him, who said: “One night the place of circumambulation was empty for me. It was a dark, rainy night. I stood at the Multazam beside the door and said:

يَا رَبِّ اعْصِمْنِي حَتَّى لَا أَعْصِيَكَ أَبَدًا ، فَهَتَفَ بِي هَاتِفٌ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ : يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ أَنْتَ تَسْأَلُنِيَ الْعِصْمَةَ وَكُلُّ عِبَادِيَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَطْلُبُونَ ذَلِكَ ، فَإِذَا عَصَمْتُهُمْ فَعَلَى مَنْ أَتَفَضَّلُ وَلِمَنْ أَغْفِرُ ؟ وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : لَوْ لَمْ يُذْنِبِ الْمُؤْمِنُ لَكَانَ يَطِيرُ طَيْرًا وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَمَعَهُ بِالذُّنُوبِ . وَفِي الْخَبَرِ مِثْلُهُ : لَوْ لَمْ تُذْنِبُوا لَخَشِيتُ عَلَيْكُمْ مَا هُوَ شَرٌّ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ ،

yā rabbi iʿṣimnī ḥattā lā ʾaʿṣiyaka ʾabadan , fahatafa bī hātifun mina al-bayti : yā ʾibrāhīmu ʾanta tasʾaluniya al-ʿiṣmata wakullu ʿibādiya al-muʾminīna yaṭlubūna dhālika , faʾidhā ʿaṣamtuhum faʿalā man ʾatafaḍḍalu waliman ʾaghfiru ? wakāna al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu : law lam yudhnibi al-muʾminu lakāna yaṭīru ṭayran wa-lākinna Allāha taʿālā qamaʿahu bi-al-dhunūbi . wafī al-khabari mithluhu : law lam tudhnibū lakhashītu ʿalaykum mā huwa sharrun mina al-dhunūbi ,

‘My Lord, protect me so that I never disobey You.’ A voice called to me from the House: ‘Ibrāhīm, you ask Me for protection, and all My believing servants ask for that. If I protect them, to whom will I show favor and whom will I forgive?’” Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, may God be pleased with him, used to say: “If the believer did not sin, he would fly away, but God Most High has held him down through sins.” In a similar report: “If you did not sin, I would fear for you something worse than sins.”

قِيلَ : وَمَا هُوَ ؟ قَالَ : الْعُجْبُ ، وَلَعَمْرِي أَنَّ الْعُجْبَ مِنْ صِفَاتِ النَّفْسِ الْمُتَكَبِّرَةِ ، وَهُوَ يُحْبِطُ الْأَعْمَالَ ، وَهُوَ مِنْ كَبَائِرِ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ وَالذُّنُوبُ مِنْ أَخْلَاقِ النَّفْسِ الشَّهْوَانِيَّةِ ، وَلَأَنْ يُبْتَلَى الْعَبْدُ الشَّهْوَانِيُّ بِعَشْرِ شَهَوَاتٍ مِنْ شَهَوَاتِ النَّفْسِ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يُبْتَلَى بِصِفَةٍ مِنْ صِفَاتِ النَّفْسِ مِثْلَ الْكِبْرِ ، وَالْعُجْبِ ، وَالْبَغْيِ ، وَالْحَسَدِ ، وَحُبِّ الْمَدْحِ ،

qīla : wamā huwa ? qāla : al-ʿujbu , walaʿamrī ʾanna al-ʿujba min ṣifāti al-nafsi al-mutakabbirati , wahuwa yuḥbiṭu al-ʾaʿmāla , wahuwa min kabāʾiri ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi wa-al-dhunūbu min ʾakhlāqi al-nafsi al-shahwāniyyati , walaʾan yubtalā al-ʿabdu al-shahwāniyyu biʿashri shahawātin min shahawāti al-nafsi khayrun lahu min ʾan yubtalā biṣifatin min ṣifāti al-nafsi mithla al-kibri , wa-al-ʿujbi , wa-al-baghyi , wa-al-ḥasadi , waḥubbi al-madḥi ,

It was said: “What is it?” He said: “Self-admiration.” By my life, self-admiration is among the qualities of the arrogant self. It cancels deeds and is among the major sins of the heart’s actions, while sins belong to the character of the appetitive self. For the appetitive servant to be afflicted with ten appetites of the self is better for him than to be afflicted with one quality of the self, such as pride, self-admiration, aggression, envy, or love of praise,

وَطَلَبِ الذِّكْرِ ؛ لِأَنَّ هَذِهِ مِنْهَا ؛ مَعَانِي صِفَاتِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ ، وَمِنْهَا أَخْلَاقُ الْأَبَالِسَةِ ، وَبِهَا هَلَكَ إِبْلِيسُ ، وَشَهَوَاتُ النَّفْسِ مِنْ وَصْفِ الْخِلْقَةِ وَبِهَا عَصَى آدَمُ رَبَّهُ فَاجْتَبَاهُ بَعْدَهَا وَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ وَهَدَى ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ : سُكُونُ النَّفْسِ إِلَى الْمَدْحِ أَضَرُّ عَلَيْهَا مِنَ الْمَعَاصِي ، وَرَأَى يُوسُفُ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ مُخَنَّثًا فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ إِزْرَاءً عَلَيْهِ ،

waṭalabi al-dhikri ; liʾanna hādhihi minhā ; maʿānī ṣifāti al-rubūbiyyati , waminhā ʾakhlāqu al-ʾabālisati , wabihā halaka ʾiblīsu , washahawātu al-nafsi min waṣfi al-khilqati wabihā ʿaṣā ʾādamu rabbahu fajtabāhu baʿdahā watāba ʿalayhi wahadā , waqad qāla bishru bnu al-ḥārithi : sukūnu al-nafsi ʾilā al-madḥi ʾaḍarru ʿalayhā mina al-maʿāṣī , waraʾā yūsufu bnu al-ḥusayni mukhannathan faʾaʿraḍa ʿanhu ʾizrāʾan ʿalayhi ,

and seeking renown. For some of these involve the meanings of the attributes of Lordship, and some are the character traits of devils; through them Iblīs perished. The self’s appetites belong to created nature, and through them Adam disobeyed his Lord, who then chose him, turned toward him, and guided him. Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith said: “The self’s resting in praise is more harmful to it than sins.” Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥusayn saw an effeminate man and turned away from him in contempt.

فَالْتَفَتَ إِلَيْهِ الْمُخَنَّثُ وَقَالَ : وَأَنْتَ أَيْضًا يَكْفِيكَ مَا بِكَ فَفَزِعَ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ ، فَقَالَ : وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ تَعْلَمُ ؟ قَالَ : لِأَنَّ عِنْدَكَ أَنَّكَ خَيْرٌ مِنِّي ، فَاعْتَرَفَ يُوسُفُ بِقَوْلِهِ ، فَتَابَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ وَكَانَ بَعْضُ الرَّاجِينَ مِنَ الْعَارِفِينَ إِذَا تَلَا هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ ، آيَةَ الدَّيْنِ الَّتِي فِي سُورَةِ الْبَقَرَةِ ، يُسَرُّ بِذَلِكَ وَيَسْتَبْشِرُ لَهَا وَيَعْظُمُ رَجَاؤُهُ عِنْدَهَا ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ :

faltafata ʾilayhi al-mukhannathu waqāla : waʾanta ʾayḍan yakfīka mā bika fafaziʿa min qawlihi , faqāla : waʾayyu shayʾin taʿlamu ? qāla : liʾanna ʿindaka ʾannaka khayrun minnī , faʿtarafa yūsufu biqawlihi , fatāba wastaghfara wakāna baʿḍu al-rājīna mina al-ʿārifīna ʾidhā talā hādhihi al-ʾāyata , ʾāyata al-dayni allatī fī sūrati al-baqarati , yusarru bi-dhālika wayastabshiru lahā wayaʿẓumu rajāʾuhu ʿindahā , faqīla lahu fī dhālika :

The man turned toward him and said: “You too have enough in what is within you.” He was alarmed by his words and said: “What do you know?” He said: “You think that you are better than I am.” Yūsuf acknowledged what he said, repented, and sought forgiveness. One of the hopeful among the knowers used to rejoice when he recited this verse, the verse of debt in Sūrat al-Baqara. He took glad news from it, and his hope grew great at it. He was told regarding this:

إِنَّهَا لَيْسَ فِيهَا رَجَاءٌ وَلَا مَا يُوجِبُ الِاسْتِبْشَارَ فَقَالَ : بَلَى فِيهَا رَجَاءٌ عَظِيمٌ ، قِيلَ : وَكَيْفَ ذَلِكَ ؟ فَقَالَ : إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا كُلَّهَا قَلِيلٌ وَرِزْقُ الْإِنْسَانِ فِيهَا قَلِيلٌ مِنْ قَلِيلٍ وَهَذَا الدَّيْنُ مِنْ رِزْقِهِ قَلِيلٌ ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى احْتَاطَ فِي ذَلِكَ وَرَفَقَ النَّظَرَ لِي بِأَنْ وَكَّدَ دَيْنِي بِالشُّهُودِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَأَنْزَلَ فِيهِ أَطْوَلَ آيَةٍ فِي كِتَابِهِ ،

ʾinnahā laysa fīhā rajāʾun walā mā yūjibu al-istibshāra faqāla : balā fīhā rajāʾun ʿaẓīmun , qīla : wakayfa dhālika ? faqāla : ʾinna al-dunyā kullahā qalīlun warizqu al-ʾinsāni fīhā qalīlun min qalīlin wa-hādhā al-daynu min rizqihi qalīlun , thumma ʾinna Allāha tabāraka wataʿālā iḥtāṭa fī dhālika warafaqa al-naẓara lī biʾan wakkada daynī bi-al-shuhūdi wa-al-kitābi waʾanzala fīhi ʾaṭwala ʾāyatin fī kitābihi ,

“It contains no hope, and nothing that calls for rejoicing.” He said: “Yes, it contains great hope.” He was asked: “How?” He said: “The whole world is little. A human being’s provision in it is a little of a little, and this debt is a little of his provision. Yet God, blessed and exalted is He, took precautions concerning it and showed gentle care for me by securing my debt through witnesses and writing, and sending down concerning it the longest verse in His Book.

وَلَوْ فَاتَنِي ذَلِكَ لَمْ أُبَالِ بِهِ فَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ فِعْلُهُ بِي فِي الْآخِرَةِ الَّتِي لَا عِوَضَ لِي مِنْ نَفْسِي فِيهَا . وَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ بَعْضُ الرَّاجِينَ يَفْهَمُ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى إِذَا تَلَا : ( وَبَدَا لَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَحْتَسِبُونَ ) الزُّمَرُ : 47 يَرْجُو مِنْ ذَلِكَ بَوَادِيَ الْجُودِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ مِمَّا لَمْ يَحْسِبْهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا قَطُّ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ الْجُنَيْدُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : إِنْ بَدَتْ عَيْنٌ مِنَ الْكَرَمِ أَلْحَقَتِ الْمُسِيئِينَ

walaw fātanī dhālika lam ʾubāli bihi fakayfa yakūnu fiʿluhu bī fī al-ʾākhirati allatī lā ʿiwaḍa lī min nafsī fīhā . wa-kadhālika kāna baʿḍu al-rājīna yafhamu min qawlihi taʿālā ʾidhā talā : ( wabadā lahum mina Allāhi mā lam yakūnū yaḥtasibūna ) al-zumaru : 47 yarjū min dhālika bawādiya al-jūdi wa-al-ʾiḥsāni mimmā lam yaḥsibhu fī al-dunyā qaṭṭu , waqad kāna al-junaydu raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu : ʾin badat ʿaynun mina al-karami ʾalḥaqati al-musīʾīna

If I lost that, I would not mind it. What, then, will His treatment of me be in the hereafter, where I have no substitute for my own self?” Likewise, one of those who hope used to understand His words, exalted is He, when reciting, “There appeared to them from God what they had not reckoned on” (al-Zumar 47), as grounds for hoping for the first manifestations of generosity and goodness that he had never imagined in this world. Al-Junayd, may God have mercy on him, used to say: “If a spring of generosity appeared, it would join those who do evil

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٦٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 369

Volume One, page 369

بِالْمُحْسِنِينَ ، وَعَلَى ذَلِكَ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : لَيَغْفِرَنَّ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَغْفِرَةً مَا خَطَرَتْ قَطُّ عَلَى قَلْبِ أَحَدٍ حَتَّى أَنَّ إِبْلِيسَ يَتَطَاوَلُ رَجَاءَ أَنْ تُصِيبَهُ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِنَّ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى تِسْعًا وَتِسْعِينَ رَحْمَةً أَظْهَرَ مِنْهَا فِي الدُّنْيَا رَحْمَةً وَاحِدَةً بِهَا يَتَرَاحَمُ الْخَلَائِقُ فَتَحِنُّ الْوَالِدَةُ إِلَى وَلَدِهَا وَتَعْطِفُ الْبَهِيمَةُ عَلَى وَلَدِهَا ، فَإِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ ضَمَّ هَذِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ إِلَى تِلْكَ التِّسْعَةِ وَالتِّسْعِينَ ،

bi-al-muḥsinīna , waʿalā dhālika jāʾa fī al-khabari : layaghfiranna Allāhu taʿālā yawma al-qiyāmati maghfiratan mā khaṭarat qaṭṭu ʿalā qalbi ʾaḥadin ḥattā ʾanna ʾiblīsa yataṭāwalu rajāʾa ʾan tuṣībahu , wafī al-khabari : ʾinna li-llāhi taʿālā tisʿan watisʿīna raḥmatan ʾaẓhara minhā fī al-dunyā raḥmatan wāḥidatan bihā yatarāḥamu al-khalāʾiqu fataḥinnu al-wālidatu ʾilā waladihā wataʿṭifu al-bahīmatu ʿalā waladihā , faʾidhā kāna yawmu al-qiyāmati ḍamma hādhihi al-raḥmata ʾilā tilka al-tisʿati wa-al-tisʿīna ,

to those who do good.” In keeping with that comes the report: “On the Day of Resurrection God Most High will surely grant a forgiveness that has never occurred to anyone’s heart, until even Iblīs stretches up in hope that it will reach him.” In the report: “God Most High has ninety-nine mercies. He has manifested one of them in this world, through which creatures show mercy to one another: a mother yearns for her child, and an animal shows affection for its young. On the Day of Resurrection He will join this mercy to those ninety-nine,

ثُمَّ بَسَطَهَا عَلَى جَمِيعِ خَلْقِهِ وَكُلُّ رَحْمَةٍ مِنْهَا طِبَاقُ السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِينَ ، قَالَ : فَلَا يَهْلِكُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِلَّا هَالِكٌ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى إِذَا غَفَرَ لِعَبْدٍ فِي مَوْقِفِ الْقِيَامَةِ ذَنْبًا غَفَرَ ذَلِكَ الذَّنْبَ لِكُلِّ مَنْ عَمِلَهُ ، وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : اِعْمَلُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ أَحَدًا لَنْ يُنْجِيَهُ عَمَلُهُ .

thumma basaṭahā ʿalā jamīʿi khalqihi wakullu raḥmatin minhā ṭibāqu al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍīna , qāla : falā yahliku ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā ʾillā hālikun , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi : ʾinna Allāha taʿālā ʾidhā ghafara liʿabdin fī mawqifi al-qiyāmati dhanban ghafara dhālika al-dhanba likulli man ʿamilahu , waqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : iʿmalū waʾabshirū waʿlamū ʾanna ʾaḥadan lan yunjiyahu ʿamaluhu .

then spread it over all His creatures. Each mercy among them spans the heavens and the earths.” He said: “None is lost before God Most High except one who is truly lost.” One of the scholars has said: “When God Most High forgives a sin for a servant at the standing of the Resurrection, He forgives that sin for everyone who committed it.” The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Act and receive good news, and know that no one will be saved by his action.”

وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ الْآخَرِ : مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ يُدْخِلُهُ عَمَلُهُ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَا يُنْجِيهِ مِنَ النَّارِ ، قَالُوا : وَلَا أَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، قَالَ : وَلَا أَنَا إِلَّا أَنْ يَتَغَمَّدَنِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِرَحْمَةٍ وَفَضْلٍ ، وَرُوِيَ عَنْهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِنِّي اخْتَبَأْتُ شَفَاعَتِي لِأَهْلِ الْكَبَائِرِ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ أَتَرَوْنَهَا لِلْمُصَفَّيْنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ بَلْ هِيَ لِلْمُخْلِصِينَ الْمُتَلَوِّثِينَ وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِمُعَاذٍ وَأَبِي مُوسَى رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا ،

wafī al-ḥadīthi al-ʾākhari : mā minkum min ʾaḥadin yudkhiluhu ʿamaluhu al-jannata walā yunjīhi mina al-nāri , qālū : walā ʾanta yā rasūla Allāhi , qāla : walā ʾanā ʾillā ʾan yataghammadaniya Allāhu taʿālā biraḥmatin wafaḍlin , waruwiya ʿanhu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾinnī ikhtabaʾtu shafāʿatī liʾahli al-kabāʾiri min ʾummatī , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara ʾatarawnahā li-l-muṣaffayna al-muttaqīna bal hiya li-l-mukhliṣīna al-mutalawwithīna waqāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama limuʿādhin waʾabī mūsā raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā ,

In the other report: “There is not one of you whose action admits him to the Garden or saves him from the Fire.” They said: “Not even you, Messenger of God?” He said: “Not even me, unless God Most High enfolds me in mercy and bounty.” It is reported from him, may God bless him and grant him peace: “I have saved my intercession for those guilty of major sins in my community.” In another wording: “Do you think it is for the purified and God-fearing? Rather, it is for the sincere who are stained.” He said, may God bless him and grant him peace, to Muʿādh and Abū Mūsā, may God be pleased with them both,

وَقَدْ بَعَثَهُمَا وَالِيَيْنِ عَلَى الْيَمَنِ فَأَوْصَاهُمَا فِيمَا أَمَرَهُمَا بِهِ فَقَالَ يَسِّرَا وَلَا تُعَسِّرَا وَبَشِّرَا وَلَا تُنَفِّرَا ، فَعِلْمُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِكَرَمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَخَفِيِّ لُطْفِهِ ، وَلَطِيفِ مِنْهُ لَا يُقْعِدُهُمْ عَنْ تَأْمِيلِهِ ، وَلَا يُقَصِّرُ بِهِمْ عَنْ رَجَائِهِ ، وَلَا حُسْنِ ظَنِّهِمْ بِهِ ، وَلَا يَقْوَى الْخَوْفُ فَيُخْرِجُهُمْ إِلَى الْأَيَاسِ مِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ ، لِأَجْلِ عِلْمِهِمْ بِجَبْرِيَّتِهِ وَكِبْرِيَائِهِ ،

waqad baʿathahumā wāliyayni ʿalā al-yamani faʾawṣāhumā fīmā ʾamarahumā bihi faqāla yassirā walā tuʿassirā wabashshirā walā tunaffirā , faʿilmu al-muʾminīna bikarami Allāhi taʿālā wakhafiyyi luṭfihi , walaṭīfi minhu lā yuqʿiduhum ʿan taʾmīlihi , walā yuqaṣṣiru bihim ʿan rajāʾihi , walā ḥusni ẓannihim bihi , walā yaqwā al-khawfu fayukhrijuhum ʾilā al-ʾayāsi min raḥmatihi , liʾajli ʿilmihim bijabriyyatihi wakibriyāʾihi ,

when he had sent them as governors over Yemen, counseling them about what he had commanded them: “Make things easy and do not make them hard; give good news and do not drive people away.” The believers’ knowledge of God Most High’s generosity, His hidden gentleness, and what is subtle from Him does not hold them back from looking to Him, or make them fall short in hoping in Him or thinking well of Him. Fear does not become strong enough to drive them into despair of His mercy because of their knowledge of His compelling might and majesty,

مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ الْمَهُوبَ هُوَ الْمَحْبُوبُ فَمَحَبَّتُهُ تُؤْنِسُهُمْ وَتُرَجِّيهِمْ ، وَهَيْبَتُهُ تُزْعِجُهُمْ وَتُخِيفُهُمْ فَخَوْفُهُمْ فِي الْمَهَابَةِ فِي لَذَاذَةٍ وَنَعِيمُهُمْ بِالْحُبِّ فِي مَهَابَةٍ فَهُمْ فِي مَقَامِ الْخَوْفِ وَالْمَحَبَّةِ مُعْتَدِلُونَ ، وَبِقُوَّةِ الْعِلْمِ بِهِمَا مُتَمَكِّنُونَ ، وَفِي مُشَاهَدَةِ الْمَخُوفِ وَالْمَحْبُوبِ مُسْتَقِيمُونَ ، وَهَذَا الْمَقَامُ هُوَ وَصْفُ الْعَارِفِينَ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ ؛

min qibali ʾanna al-mahūba huwa al-maḥbūbu famaḥabbatuhu tuʾnisuhum waturajjīhim , wahaybatuhu tuzʿijuhum watukhīfuhum fakhawfuhum fī al-mahābati fī ladhādhatin wanaʿīmuhum bi-al-ḥubbi fī mahābatin fahum fī maqāmi al-khawfi wa-al-maḥabbati muʿtadilūna , wabiquwwati al-ʿilmi bihimā mutamakkinūna , wafī mushāhadati al-makhūfi wa-al-maḥbūbi mustaqīmūna , wa-hādhā al-maqāmu huwa waṣfu al-ʿārifīna mina al-mūqinīna ;

because the One held in awe is the Beloved. His love gives them intimacy and hope, while His awe stirs them and frightens them. Their fear within reverence has sweetness, and their delight through love has reverence. They are balanced in the station of fear and love, firmly established through the strength of their knowledge of both, and upright in witnessing the Feared and the Beloved. This station is the quality of the knowers among those who possess certainty;

وَهُمْ أَهْلُ كَمَالِ الْإِيمَانِ وَصَفْوَةُ خُصُوصِ ذَوِي الْإِيقَانِ إِذْ قَدْ عَرَفُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى كَامِلٌ فِي صِفَاتِهِ لَا يَعْتَرِيهِ نُقْصَانٌ فِي وَصْفٍ دُونَ وَصْفٍ وَإِنَّمَا الرَّحْمَةُ لِسَعَةِ الْعِلْمِ ، كَمَا الْعِلْمُ لِسَعَةِ الْقُدْرَةِ لِمَا شَهِدُوا مِنْ وَصْفِهِ بِمَا سَمِعُوا مِنْ كَلَامِهِ أَنَّهُ كَانَ عَلِيمًا قَدِيرًا . كَذَلِكَ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا ) غَافِرٌ :

wahum ʾahlu kamāli al-ʾīmāni waṣafwatu khuṣūṣi dhawī al-ʾīqāni ʾidh qad ʿarafū ʾanna Allāha tabāraka wataʿālā kāmilun fī ṣifātihi lā yaʿtarīhi nuqṣānun fī waṣfin dūna waṣfin waʾinnamā al-raḥmatu lisaʿati al-ʿilmi , kamā al-ʿilmu lisaʿati al-qudrati limā shahidū min waṣfihi bimā samiʿū min kalāmihi ʾannahu kāna ʿalīman qadīran . kadhālika qāla taʿālā : ( wasiʿta kulla shayʾin raḥmatan waʿilman ) ghāfirun :

they are the people of complete faith and the choicest of the elect among those of certainty. They have known that God, blessed and exalted is He, is complete in His attributes: deficiency does not affect one quality rather than another. Mercy corresponds to the breadth of knowledge, just as knowledge corresponds to the breadth of power, because of what they have witnessed of His quality through what they heard of His speech: that He is knowing and powerful. Thus He says, exalted is He: “You have encompassed everything in mercy and knowledge” (Ghāfir

7 وَكَذَلِكَ فَهِمُوا مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 156 فَدَخَلَتْ جَهَنَّمُ وَغَيْرُهَا فِي تَوْسِعَةِ الرَّحْمَةِ مِنْ حَيْثُ كُنَّ شَيْئًا وَقَوْلُهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ ) الْإِسْرَاءُ : 44 مَعْنَاهُ خُصُوصُ الرَّحْمَةِ ، وَصْفُهَا لَا كُنْهُهَا ، إِذْ لَا نِهَايَةَ لِلرَّحْمَةِ ، لِأَنَّهَا صِفَةُ الرَّاحِمِ الَّذِي لَا حَدَّ لَهُ ،

7 wa-kadhālika fahimū min qawlihi taʿālā : ( waraḥmatī wasiʿat kulla shayʾin ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 156 fadakhalat jahannamu waghayruhā fī tawsiʿati al-raḥmati min ḥaythu kunna shayʾan waqawluhu ʿazza wajalla : ( fasaʾaktubuhā li-lladhīna yattaqūna ) al-ʾisrāʾu : 44 maʿnāhu khuṣūṣu al-raḥmati , waṣfuhā lā kunhuhā , ʾidh lā nihāyata li-l-raḥmati , liʾannahā ṣifatu al-rāḥimi alladhī lā ḥadda lahu ,

7). Likewise, they understood from His words, exalted is He, “My mercy has encompassed everything” (al-Aʿrāf 156), that Hell and other things are included in the breadth of mercy insofar as they are things. His words, mighty and majestic, “I shall prescribe it for those who are mindful” (al-Isrāʾ 44), mean the particular forms of mercy, its description and not its innermost reality. For mercy has no end, because it is the attribute of the Merciful One, who has no limit,

وَلِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَخْرُجْ مِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ شَيْءٌ كَمَا لَمْ يَخْرُجْ مِنْ حِكْمَتِهِ وَقُدْرَتِهِ شَيْءٌ ، لِأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ وَالنَّارَ الْكُبْرَى وَغَيْرَهُمَا لَيْسَ كُنْهَ عَذَابِهِ وَلَا كُلِّيَّةَ تَعْذِيبِهِ ، فَمَنْ ظَنَّ ذَلِكَ بِهِ لَمْ يَعْرِفْهُ ، وَلِأَنَّهُ لَمَّا أَظْهَرَ مِنْ عَذَابِهِ مِقْدَارَ طَاقَةِ الْخَلْقِ كَمَا أَنَّهُ أَظْهَرَ مِنْ مُلْكِهِ وَنِعَمِهِ مِقْدَارَ مَصَالِحِ الْخَلْقِ وَمَا لَا يَصْلُحُ لِلْخَلْقِ ، وَلَا يُطِيقُونَ إِظْهَارَهُ أَكْثَرُ مِمَّا أَظْهَرَ مِنَ النَّعِيمِ وَالْعَذَابِ ،

waliʾannahu lam yakhruj min raḥmatihi shayʾun kamā lam yakhruj min ḥikmatihi waqudratihi shayʾun , liʾanna jahannama wa-al-nāra al-kubrā waghayrahumā laysa kunha ʿadhābihi walā kulliyyata taʿdhībihi , faman ẓanna dhālika bihi lam yaʿrifhu , waliʾannahu lammā ʾaẓhara min ʿadhābihi miqdāra ṭāqati al-khalqi kamā ʾannahu ʾaẓhara min mulkihi waniʿamihi miqdāra maṣāliḥi al-khalqi wamā lā yaṣluḥu li-l-khalqi , walā yuṭīqūna ʾiẓhārahu ʾaktharu mimmā ʾaẓhara mina al-naʿīmi wa-al-ʿadhābi ,

and because nothing has gone beyond His mercy, just as nothing has gone beyond His wisdom and power. Hell, the greater Fire, and other things are not the innermost reality of His punishment or the entirety of His chastisement. Anyone who imagines that of Him does not know Him. For when He manifested of His punishment what creatures can bear, just as He manifested of His dominion and blessings what serves creatures’ needs, what would not serve creatures and what they cannot bear to have manifested is greater than what He has manifested of bliss and punishment.

بَلْ لَا يَنْبَغِي لَهُمْ أَنْ يَعْرِفُوا فَوْقَ مَا أَبْدَى لِأَنَّ نِهَايَةَ تَعْذِيبِهِ وَتَنْعِيمِهِ مِنْ نِهَايَةِ مُلْكِهِ الَّذِي هُوَ قَائِمٌ بِهِ

bal lā yanbaghī lahum ʾan yaʿrifū fawqa mā ʾabdā liʾanna nihāyata taʿdhībihi watanʿīmihi min nihāyati mulkihi alladhī huwa qāʾimun bihi

Rather, they should not know beyond what He has disclosed, because the limit of His chastisement and His granting of bliss belongs to the limit of His dominion, which He sustains,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٧٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 370

Volume One, page 370

وَمُلْكُهُ عَنْ غَايَةِ قُدْرَتِهِ وَسُلْطَانِهِ ، وَلَا نِهَايَةَ لِذَلِكَ ، وَلَا يُطِيقُ الْخَلْقُ كُلُّهُ إِظْهَارَ ذَلِكَ ، وَذَلِكَ أَيْضًا عَنْ تَعَالِي صِفَاتِهِ وَبَهَاءِ أَسْمَائِهِ الْمُتَنَاهِيَاتِ ، وَلَا سَبِيلَ إِلَى كَشْفِ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْغُيُوبِ ، فَسُبْحَانَ مَنْ لَا نِهَايَةَ لِقُدْرَتِهِ وَلَا حَدَّ لِعَظَمَتِهِ وَلَا أَمَدَ لِسُلْطَانِهِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ شَهِدُوا مَا سَمِعُوا مِنْ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا ) الْإِسْرَاءُ :

wamulkuhu ʿan ghāyati qudratihi wasulṭānihi , walā nihāyata li-dhālika , walā yuṭīqu al-khalqu kulluhu ʾiẓhāra dhālika , wa-dhālika ʾayḍan ʿan taʿālī ṣifātihi wabahāʾi ʾasmāʾihi al-mutanāhiyāti , walā sabīla ʾilā kashfi dhālika mina al-ghuyūbi , fasubḥāna man lā nihāyata liqudratihi walā ḥadda liʿaẓamatihi walā ʾamada lisulṭānihi , wa-kadhālika shahidū mā samiʿū min qawlihi ʿazza wajalla : ( ʾinnahu kāna ḥalīman ghafūran ) al-ʾisrāʾu :

and His dominion arises from the extent of His power and sovereignty. There is no end to that, and all creatures together cannot bear its manifestation. This also comes from the loftiness of His attributes and the splendor of His names that reach the utmost. There is no way to uncover these hidden things. Glory to the One whose power has no end, whose greatness has no limit, and whose sovereignty has no term. Likewise, they witnessed what they heard of His words, mighty and majestic: “He has been forbearing and forgiving” (al-Isrāʾ

44 ، وَقَالَ : ( وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَلِيمًا ) الْأَحْزَابُ : 51 ، فَعَلِمُوا أَنَّ الْمَغْفِرَةَ عَلَى سَعَةِ الْحِلْمِ ، كَمَا أَنَّ الْحِلْمَ سَعَةُ الْعِلْمِ ، فَلَمَّا رَأَوْا عَظِيمَ حِلْمِهِ رَجَوْ عَظِيمَ مَغْفِرَتِهِ ، وَلَمَّا شَهِدُوا كَثِيفَ سِتْرِهِ أَمِلُوا جَمِيلَ عَفْوِهِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ يُقَالُ : إِنَّ حَمَلَةَ الْعَرْشِ يَتَجَاوَبُونَ بِأَصْوَاتِ سُبْحَانَكَ عَلَى حِلْمِكَ بَعْدَ عِلْمِكَ ، سُبْحَانَكَ عَلَى عَفْوِكَ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِكَ ،

44 , waqāla : ( wakāna Allāhu ʿalīman ḥalīman ) al-ʾaḥzābu : 51 , faʿalimū ʾanna al-maghfirata ʿalā saʿati al-ḥilmi , kamā ʾanna al-ḥilma saʿatu al-ʿilmi , falammā raʾaw ʿaẓīma ḥilmihi rajaw ʿaẓīma maghfiratihi , walammā shahidū kathīfa sitrihi ʾamilū jamīla ʿafwihi , wa-kadhālika yuqālu : ʾinna ḥamalata al-ʿarshi yatajāwabūna biʾaṣwāti subḥānaka ʿalā ḥilmika baʿda ʿilmika , subḥānaka ʿalā ʿafwika baʿda qudratika ,

44). He says: “God has been knowing and forbearing” (al-Aḥzāb 51). They knew that forgiveness corresponds to the breadth of forbearance, just as forbearance is the breadth of knowledge. When they saw the greatness of His forbearance, they hoped for the greatness of His forgiveness. When they witnessed the thickness of His concealment, they looked for the beauty of His pardon. Likewise, it is said: the bearers of the Throne answer one another with voices saying: “Glory to You for Your forbearance after Your knowledge; glory to You for Your pardon after Your power.”

فَلِلرَّاجِينَ مِنَ الْعَارِفِينَ فُهُومٌ مِنَ السَّمْعِ لِلْكَلَامِ نَحْوَ عُلُوِّ نَظَرِهِمْ عَنْ سُمُوِّ عُلُومِهِمْ بِمَعَانِي الصِّفَاتِ ، وَكُلُّ صَاحِبِ مَقَامٍ يَشْهَدُ مِنْ مَقَامِهِ وَيَسْمَعُ مِنْ حَيْثُ شَهَادَتِهِ ، فَأَعْلَاهُمْ شَهَادَةً الصِّدِّيقُونَ ، ثُمَّ الشُّهَدَاءُ ثُمَّ الصَّالِحُونَ ، ثُمَّ خُصُوصُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، فَبِهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى اسْتَدَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ ، وَمِنْهُ إِلَيْهِ نَظَرُوا ، هُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ ،

fali-l-rājīna mina al-ʿārifīna fuhūmun mina al-samʿi li-l-kalāmi naḥwa ʿuluwwi naẓarihim ʿan sumuwwi ʿulūmihim bimaʿānī al-ṣifāti , wakullu ṣāḥibi maqāmin yashhadu min maqāmihi wayasmaʿu min ḥaythu shahādatihi , faʾaʿlāhum shahādatan al-ṣiddīqūna , thumma al-shuhadāʾu thumma al-ṣāliḥūna , thumma khuṣūṣu al-muʾminīna , fabihi tabāraka wataʿālā istadallū ʿalayhi , waminhu ʾilayhi naẓarū , hum darajātun ʿinda Allāhi wa-Allāhu baṣīrun bimā yaʿmalūna ,

The hopeful among the knowers have understandings from hearing the speech that correspond to the loftiness of their vision, arising from the height of their knowledge of the meanings of the attributes. Everyone who possesses a station witnesses from his station and hears according to his witnessing. Highest in witnessing are the utterly truthful, then the witnesses, then the righteous, then the elect among the believers. Through Him, blessed and exalted is He, they infer Him; from Him they look toward Him. They have ranks with God, and God sees what they do.

وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : الْمُحْسِنُ يَعِيشُ فِي سَعَةِ الرَّحْمَةِ وَالْمُسِيءُ يَعِيشُ فِي سَعَةِ الْحِلْمِ ، وَصِفَاتُهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى كَامِلَاتٌ ، فَمَنْ شَهِدَ تَرْجِيحَ بَعْضِهَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ النَّقْصُ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ لِقُصُورِ عِلْمِهِ عَنْ تَمَامِ عِلْمِ مَنْ فَوْقَهُ مِنَ الشُّهَدَاءِ ، وَلِأَجْلِ مَقَامِهِ الْمُرَادِ بِهِ دُونَ طَرِيقِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ مِنَ الْأَقْوِيَاءِ ،

wakāna sahlun raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu : al-muḥsinu yaʿīshu fī saʿati al-raḥmati wa-al-musīʾu yaʿīshu fī saʿati al-ḥilmi , waṣifātuhu tabāraka wataʿālā kāmilātun , faman shahida tarjīḥa baʿḍihā ʿalā baʿḍin dakhala ʿalayhi al-naqṣu min mushāhadatihi liquṣūri ʿilmihi ʿan tamāmi ʿilmi man fawqahu mina al-shuhadāʾi , waliʾajli maqāmihi al-murādi bihi dūna ṭarīqi al-ṣiddīqīna mina al-ʾaqwiyāʾi ,

Sahl, may God be pleased with him, used to say: “The one who does good lives in the breadth of mercy, and the one who does evil lives in the breadth of forbearance.” His attributes, blessed and exalted is He, are complete. Anyone who witnesses one outweighing another has deficiency enter his witnessing because his knowledge falls short of the complete knowledge of the witnesses above him, and because of the station intended for him, below the path of the strong among the utterly truthful.

فَعَادَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ فَصَارَ ذَلِكَ مَقَامًا لَهُ فِي الْقُرْبِ وَالْبُعْدِ تَعَالَى وَصْفُ الْمَشْهُودِ عَنِ النُّقْصَانِ وَالْحَدِّ ، وَمَثَلُ الرَّجَاءِ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ مِثْلُ الرُّخْصَةِ فِي الدِّينِ مِنَ الْعَزَائِمِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُؤْخَذَ بِرُخَصِهِ كَمَا يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُؤْخَذَ بِعَزَائِمِهِ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ أَبْلَغَ مِنْ هَذَا :

faʿāda dhālika ʿalā al-ʿabdi faṣāra dhālika maqāman lahu fī al-qurbi wa-al-buʿdi taʿālā waṣfu al-mashhūdi ʿani al-nuqṣāni wa-al-ḥaddi , wamathalu al-rajāʾi mina al-khawfi mithlu al-rukhṣati fī al-dīni mina al-ʿazāʾimi , waqad qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾinna Allāha yuḥibbu ʾan yuʾkhadha birukhaṣihi kamā yuḥibbu ʾan yuʾkhadha biʿazāʾimihi , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara ʾablagha min hādhā :

This returns upon the servant and becomes a station for him in nearness and distance. The quality of the One witnessed is exalted above deficiency and limitation. Hope in relation to fear is like a concession in religion in relation to firm requirements. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “God loves His concessions to be taken just as He loves His firm requirements to be taken.” In another wording, more forceful than this

وَأَوْكَدَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُقْبَلَ رُخَصُهُ كَمَا يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يُؤْتَى مَعَاصِيهِ . وَرُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِنَّ هَذَا الدِّينَ مَتِينٌ فَأَوْغِلْ فِيهِ بِرِفْقٍ : وَلَا تُبَغِّضْ إِلَى نَفْسِكَ عِبَادَةَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَخَيْرُ الدِّينِ أَيْسَرُهُ ، وَقَالَ هَلَكَ الْمُتَعَمِّقُونَ ، هَلَكَ الْمُتَنَطِّعُونَ ، وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ : بُعِثْتُ بِالْحَنِيفِيَّةِ السَّهْلَةِ السَّمْحَةِ ، وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :

waʾawkada ʾanna Allāha yuḥibbu ʾan yuqbala rukhaṣuhu kamā yakrahu ʾan yuʾtā maʿāṣīhi . waruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾinna hādhā al-dīna matīnun faʾawghil fīhi birifqin : walā tubaghghiḍ ʾilā nafsika ʿibādata Allāhi taʿālā , wakhayru al-dīni ʾaysaruhu , waqāla halaka al-mutaʿammiqūna , halaka al-mutanaṭṭiʿūna , waqāla ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu : buʿithtu bi-al-ḥanīfiyyati al-sahlati al-samḥati , waqāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama :

and more emphatic: “God loves His concessions to be accepted just as He hates disobedience to Him to be committed.” It is reported from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “This religion is firm, so advance deeply into it with gentleness, and do not make the worship of God Most High hateful to your self. The best religion is its easiest.” He said: “Those who go too far are ruined; those who overstrain themselves are ruined.” He said, blessings and peace be upon him: “I was sent with the upright, easy, generous way.” He said, may God bless him and grant him peace:

أُحِبُّ أَنْ يَعْلَمَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ أَنَّ فِي دِينِنَا سَمَاحَةً ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالْأَغْلَالَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 157 ، وَاسْتَجَابَ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي قَوْلِهِمْ : رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِنَا ، فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ؛

ʾuḥibbu ʾan yaʿlama ʾahlu al-kitābi ʾanna fī dīninā samāḥatan , waqāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla : ( wayaḍaʿu ʿanhum ʾiṣrahum wa-al-ʾaghlāla allatī kānat ʿalayhim ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 157 , wastajāba li-l-muʾminīna fī qawlihim : rabbanā walā taḥmil ʿalaynā ʾiṣran kamā ḥamaltahu ʿalā alladhīna min qablinā , faqāla ʿazza wajalla : qad faʿaltu ;

“I want the People of the Book to know that there is generosity in our religion.” God, mighty and majestic, says: “He removes from them their burden and the shackles that were upon them” (al-Aʿrāf 157). He answered the believers when they said: “Our Lord, do not place upon us a burden as You placed upon those before us.” He said, mighty and majestic: “I have done so.”

فَهَذِهِ الْعُلُومُ هِيَ أَسْبَابُ قُوَّةِ الرَّجَاءِ فِي أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ كَيْفَ وَقَدْ جَاءَ مَا يَغْلِبُ حُكْمَ الرَّجَاءِ مِنْ غَيْرِ اغْتِرَارٍ مَا رُوِيَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَنَا إِلَى الرَّحْمَةِ وَالْعَفْوِ أَقْرَبُ مِنِّي إِلَى الْعُقُوبَةِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِذَا حَدَّثْتُمُ النَّاسَ عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ فَلَا تُحَدِّثُوهُمْ بِمَا يُفْزِعُهُمْ وَيَشُقُّ عَلَيْهِمْ ، وَفِي كَلَامٍ لِعَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ :

fa-hādhihi al-ʿulūmu hiya ʾasbābu quwwati al-rajāʾi fī ʾulī al-ʾalbābi kayfa waqad jāʾa mā yaghlibu ḥukma al-rajāʾi min ghayri ightirārin mā ruwiya ʿani Allāhi taʿālā ʾanā ʾilā al-raḥmati wa-al-ʿafwi ʾaqrabu minnī ʾilā al-ʿuqūbati , wafī al-khabari : ʾidhā ḥaddathtumu al-nāsa ʿan rabbihim falā tuḥaddithūhum bimā yufziʿuhum wayashuqqu ʿalayhim , wafī kalāmin liʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu :

These kinds of knowledge are the causes of strong hope in people of understanding. How could it be otherwise, when there has come what makes the rule of hope prevail without self-deception: what is reported from God Most High, “I am nearer to mercy and pardon than I am to punishment.” In the report: “When you tell people about their Lord, do not tell them what frightens them and makes things hard for them.” In a saying of ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him:

إِنَّمَا الْعَالِمُ الَّذِي لَا يُقَنِّطُ النَّاسَ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلَا يُؤَمِّنُهُمْ مَكْرَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى إِلَى دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : مَا لَكَ وَحْدَانِيًّا ؟ قَالَ : عَادَيْتُ

ʾinnamā al-ʿālimu alladhī lā yuqanniṭu al-nāsa min raḥmati Allāhi taʿālā walā yuʾamminuhum makra Allāhi taʿālā , waʾawḥā Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾilā dāwūda ʿalayhi al-salāmu : mā laka waḥdāniyyan ? qāla : ʿādaytu

“The scholar is only one who does not make people despair of God Most High’s mercy and does not make them feel safe from God Most High’s contrivance.” God, glorified and exalted is He, revealed to David, peace be upon him: “Why are you alone?” He said: “I have made enemies of

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٧١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 371

Volume One, page 371

الْخَلْقَ فِيكَ ، قَالَ : أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ مَحَبَّتِي أَنْ تَعْطِفَ عَلَى عِبَادِي وَتَأْخُذَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِالْفَضْلِ هُنَالِكَ ، أَكْتُبُكَ مِنْ أَوْلِيَائِي وَأَحْبَابِي وَلَا تَنْظُرْ إِلَى عَبِيدِي نَظْرَةَ جَفَاءٍ وَلَا قَسْوَةٍ ، فَإِذَا أَنْتَ قَدْ أَبْطَلْتَ أَجْرَكَ فَاحْفَظْ عَنِّي ثَلَاثًا : خَالِصْ حَبِيبِي مُخَالَصَةً ، وَخَالِفْ أَهْلَ الدُّنْيَا مُخَالَفَةً ، وَدِينَكَ فَقَلِّدْنِيهِ ، وَعَنْ دَاوُدَ وَغَيْرِهِ مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمُ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ :

al-khalqa fīka , qāla : ʾamā ʿalimta ʾanna maḥabbatī ʾan taʿṭifa ʿalā ʿibādī wataʾkhudha ʿalayhim bi-al-faḍli hunālika , ʾaktubuka min ʾawliyāʾī waʾaḥbābī walā tanẓur ʾilā ʿabīdī naẓrata jafāʾin walā qaswatin , faʾidhā ʾanta qad ʾabṭalta ʾajraka faḥfaẓ ʿannī thalāthan : khāliṣ ḥabībī mukhālaṣatan , wakhālif ʾahla al-dunyā mukhālafatan , wadīnaka faqallidnīhi , waʿan dāwūda waghayrihi mina al-ʾanbiyāʾi ʿalayhimu al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu :

creatures for Your sake.” He said: “Do you not know that My love is for you to show affection to My servants and deal with them through bounty? Then I write you among My friends and My beloved ones. Do not look upon My servants with a look of coldness or harshness, for then you have nullified your reward. Keep three things from Me: be wholly sincere with My beloved; be wholly opposed to the people of this world; and entrust your religion to Me.” From David and others among the prophets, blessings and peace be upon them:

أَحِبَّنِي وَأَحِبَّ مَنْ يُحِبُّنِي وَحَبِّبْنِي إِلَى خَلْقِي ، قَالَ : يَا رَبِّ هَذَا أُحِبُّكَ وَأُحِبُّ مَنْ يُحِبُّكَ ، فَكَيْفَ أُحَبِّبُكَ إِلَى خَلْقِكَ ؟ فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : اُذْكُرْنِي لِحُسْنِ الْجَمِيلِ وَاذْكُرْ آلَائِي وَإِحْسَانِي وَذَكِّرْهُمْ ذَلِكَ فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْرِفُونَ مِنِّي إِلَّا الْجَمِيلَ . وَرُوِيَ عَنْ يَزِيدَ الرَّقَّاشِيِّ عَنْ أَنَسٍ : أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ :

ʾaḥibbanī waʾaḥibba man yuḥibbunī waḥabbibnī ʾilā khalqī , qāla : yā rabbi hādhā ʾuḥibbuka waʾuḥibbu man yuḥibbuka , fakayfa ʾuḥabbibuka ʾilā khalqika ? faqāla ʿazza wajalla : udhkurnī liḥusni al-jamīli wadhkur ʾālāʾī waʾiḥsānī wadhakkirhum dhālika faʾinnahum lā yaʿrifūna minnī ʾillā al-jamīla . waruwiya ʿan yazīda al-raqqāshiyyi ʿan ʾanasin : ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla :

“Love Me, love those who love Me, and make Me beloved to My creatures.” He said: “My Lord, I do love You and love those who love You; how shall I make You beloved to Your creatures?” He said, mighty and majestic: “Mention Me for beautiful goodness, mention My bounties and My kindness, and remind them of that. They know only the beautiful from Me.” It is reported from Yazīd al-Raqqāshī, from Anas, that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said:

أَلَا أُخْبِرُكُمْ عَنْ أَقْوَامٍ لَيْسُوا بِأَنْبِيَاءَ وَلَا شُهَدَاءَ يَغْبِطُهُمُ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ وَالشُّهَدَاءُ بِمَنَازِلِهِمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى مَنَابِرَ مِنْ نُورٍ يُعْرَفُونَ عَلَيْهَا ، قَالُوا : مَنْ هُمْ ؟ قَالَ : الَّذِينَ يُحَبِّبُونَ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَيُحَبِّبُونَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى عِبَادِهِ وَيَمْشُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ نُصَحَاءَ ، فَقُلْنَا هَذَا حَبَّبُوا اللَّهَ إِلَى عِبَادِهِ فَكَيْفَ يُحَبِّبُونَ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ ؟

ʾalā ʾukhbirukum ʿan ʾaqwāmin laysū biʾanbiyāʾa walā shuhadāʾa yaghbiṭuhumu al-ʾanbiyāʾu wa-al-shuhadāʾu bimanāzilihim mina Allāhi taʿālā ʿalā manābira min nūrin yuʿrafūna ʿalayhā , qālū : man hum ? qāla : alladhīna yuḥabbibūna ʿibāda Allāhi ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā wayuḥabbibūna Allāha ʿazza wajalla ʾilā ʿibādihi wayamshūna fī al-ʾarḍi nuṣaḥāʾa , faqulnā hādhā ḥabbabū Allāha ʾilā ʿibādihi fakayfa yuḥabbibūna ʿibāda Allāhi ʾilā Allāhi ?

“Shall I tell you of people who are neither prophets nor martyrs, whom prophets and martyrs admire for their stations with God Most High, recognized upon pulpits of light?” They said: “Who are they?” He said: “Those who make God’s servants beloved to God Most High, make God, mighty and majestic, beloved to His servants, and walk the earth as sincere advisers.” We said: “This explains making God beloved to His servants; how do they make God’s servants beloved to God?”

قَالَ : يَأْمُرُونَهُمْ بِمَا يُحِبُّ اللَّهُ وَيَنْهَوْنَهُمْ عَمَّا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ فَإِذَا أَطَاعُوهُمْ أَحَبَّهُمُ اللَّهُ ، وَرُؤِيَ أَبَانُ بْنُ عَيَّاشٍ فِي النَّوْمِ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِ ، وَكَانَ مِنْ أَكْثَرِ النَّاسِ حَدِيثًا بِالرُّخَصِ وَأَبْوَابِ الرَّجَاءِ فَقَالَ : أَوْقَفَنِي رَبِّي عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ فَقَالَ : مَا حَمَلَكَ عَلَى أَنْ حَدَّثْتَ عَنِّي بِمَا حَدَّثْتَ بِهِ مِنَ الرُّخَصِ ؟ قَالَ : فَقُلْتُ يَا رَبِّ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أُحَبِّبَكَ إِلَى خَلْقِكَ ،

qāla : yaʾmurūnahum bimā yuḥibbu Allāhu wayanhawnahum ʿammā ḥarrama Allāhu faʾidhā ʾaṭāʿūhum ʾaḥabbahumu Allāhu , waruʾiya ʾabānu bnu ʿayyāshin fī al-nawmi baʿda mawtihi , wakāna min ʾakthari al-nāsi ḥadīthan bi-al-rukhaṣi waʾabwābi al-rajāʾi faqāla : ʾawqafanī rabbī ʿazza wajalla bayna yadayhi faqāla : mā ḥamalaka ʿalā ʾan ḥaddathta ʿannī bimā ḥaddathta bihi mina al-rukhaṣi ? qāla : faqultu yā rabbi ʾaradtu ʾan ʾuḥabbibaka ʾilā khalqika ,

He said: “They command them to do what God loves and forbid them what God has prohibited. When they obey them, God loves them.” Abān ibn ʿAyyāsh was seen in a dream after his death. He was among those who spoke most often about concessions and the paths of hope. He said: “My Lord, mighty and majestic, made me stand before Him and said: ‘What led you to relate from Me what you related of concessions?’” He said: “I said: ‘My Lord, I wanted to make You beloved to Your creatures.’”

قَالَ : قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَكَ ، وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ : أَنَّهُ لَقِيَ أَبَانًا فَقَالَ : إِلَى كَمْ تُحَدِّثُ لِلنَّاسِ بِالرُّخَصِ فَقَالَ : يَا أَبَا يَحْيَى إِنِّي لَأَرْجُو أَنْ تَرَى مِنْ عَفْوِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَا تَخْرِقُ لَهُ كِسَاءَكَ هَذَا مِنَ الْفَرَحِ . وَفِي حَدِيثِ رِبْعِيِّ بْنِ حِرَاشٍ عَنْ أَخِيهِ ، وَكَانَ مِنْ خِيَارِ التَّابِعِينَ وَهُوَ مِمَّنْ تَكَلَّمَ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ ،

qāla : qad ghafartu laka , waḥuddithtu ʿan māliki bni dīnārin : ʾannahu laqiya ʾabānan faqāla : ʾilā kam tuḥaddithu li-l-nāsi bi-al-rukhaṣi faqāla : yā ʾabā yaḥyā ʾinnī laʾarjū ʾan tarā min ʿafwi Allāhi taʿālā yawma al-qiyāmati mā takhriqu lahu kisāʾaka hādhā mina al-faraḥi . wafī ḥadīthi ribʿiyyi bni ḥirāshin ʿan ʾakhīhi , wakāna min khiyāri al-tābiʿīna wahuwa mimman takallama baʿda al-mawti ,

He said: “I have forgiven you.” I was told from Mālik ibn Dīnār that he met Abān and said: “How long will you keep telling people about concessions?” He said: “Abū Yaḥyā, I hope that you will see such pardon from God Most High on the Day of Resurrection that you will tear this cloak of yours for joy.” In the report of Ribʿī ibn Ḥirāsh concerning his brother, who was among the best of the Successors and among those who spoke after death:

قَالَ : لَمَّا مَاتَ أَخِي سُجِّيَ بِثَوْبِهِ وَأَلْقَيْنَاهُ عَلَى نَعْشِهِ فَكَشَفَ الثَّوْبَ عَنْ وَجْهِهِ وَاسْتَوَى قَاعِدًا وَقَالَ : إِنِّي لَقِيتُ رَبِّيَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَحَيَّانِي بِرَوْحٍ وَرَيْحَانٍ وَرَبٍّ غَيْرِ غَضْبَانَ ، وَإِنِّي رَأَيْتُ الْأَمْرَ أَيْسَرَ مِمَّا تَظُنُّونَ وَلَا تَغْتَرُّوا فَإِنَّ مُحَمَّدًا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَنْتَظِرُنِي وَأَصْحَابَهُ حَتَّى أَرْجِعَ إِلَيْهِمْ قَالَ : ثُمَّ طَرَحَ نَفْسَهُ فَكَأَنَّهُ كَانَتْ حَصَاةٌ وَقَعَتْ فِي طَسْتٍ فَحَمَلْنَاهُ فَدَفَنَّاهُ ،

qāla : lammā māta ʾakhī sujjiya bithawbihi waʾalqaynāhu ʿalā naʿshihi fakashafa al-thawba ʿan wajhihi wastawā qāʿidan waqāla : ʾinnī laqītu rabbiya ʿazza wajalla faḥayyānī birawḥin warayḥānin warabbin ghayri ghaḍbāna , waʾinnī raʾaytu al-ʾamra ʾaysara mimmā taẓunnūna walā taghtarrū faʾinna muḥammadan ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yantaẓirunī waʾaṣḥābahu ḥattā ʾarjiʿa ʾilayhim qāla : thumma ṭaraḥa nafsahu fakaʾannahu kānat ḥaṣātun waqaʿat fī ṭastin faḥamalnāhu fadafannāhu ,

He said: “When my brother died, he was covered with his garment and we laid him on his bier. He uncovered the garment from his face, sat upright, and said: ‘I have met my Lord, mighty and majestic. He greeted me with relief and sweet provision, and a Lord who is not angry. I found the matter easier than you think. Do not be deceived, for Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and his companions await me until I return to them.’” He said: “Then he threw himself down, as though a pebble had fallen into a basin. We carried him away and buried him.”

وَقَالَ بَكْرُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ : دَخَلْنَا عَلَى مَالِكٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي الْعَشِيَّةِ الَّتِي قُبِضَ فِيهَا فَقُلْنَا كَيْفَ تَجِدُكَ ؟ قَالَ : مَا أَدْرِي مَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ إِلَّا أَنَّكُمْ سَتُعَايِنُونَ غَدًا مِنْ عَفْوِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ لَكُمْ فِي حِسَابٍ ، قَالَ : فَمَا بَرِحْنَا حَتَّى أَغْمَضْنَاهُ وَدَفَنَّاهُ ، وَرُؤِيَ يَحْيَى بْنُ أَكْثَمَ فِي النَّوْمِ فَقِيلَ :

waqāla bakru bnu sulaymāna : dakhalnā ʿalā mālikin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā fī al-ʿashiyyati allatī qubiḍa fīhā faqulnā kayfa tajiduka ? qāla : mā ʾadrī mā ʾaqūlu lakum ʾillā ʾannakum satuʿāyinūna ghadan min ʿafwi Allāhi taʿālā mā lam yakun lakum fī ḥisābin , qāla : famā bariḥnā ḥattā ʾaghmaḍnāhu wadafannāhu , waruʾiya yaḥyā bnu ʾakthama fī al-nawmi faqīla :

Bakr ibn Sulaymān said: “We entered upon Mālik, may God Most High have mercy on him, on the evening in which he was taken. We said: ‘How do you find yourself?’ He said: ‘I do not know what to tell you except that tomorrow you will see of God Most High’s pardon what you had never reckoned on.’” He said: “We did not leave until we closed his eyes and buried him.” Yaḥyā ibn Aktham was seen in a dream and was asked:

مَا فَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِكَ : فَقَالَ : أَوْقَفَنِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَقَالَ : يَا شَيْخَ السُّوءِ فَعَلْتَ وَفَعَلْتَ قَالَ : فَأَخَذَنِي مِنَ الرُّعْبِ وَالْفَزَعِ مَا يَعْلَمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ، ثُمَّ قُلْتُ يَا رَبِّ مَا هَكَذَا حُدِّثْتُ عَنْكَ ، فَقَالَ : وَمَا حُدِّثْتَ عَنِّي ؟ فَقُلْتُ : حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ عَنْ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْكَ أَنَّكَ قُلْتَ :

mā faʿala Allāhu taʿālā bika : faqāla : ʾawqafanī bayna yadayhi waqāla : yā shaykha al-sūʾi faʿalta wafaʿalta qāla : faʾakhadhanī mina al-ruʿbi wa-al-fazaʿi mā yaʿlamu Allāhu taʿālā , thumma qultu yā rabbi mā hākadhā ḥuddithtu ʿanka , faqāla : wamā ḥuddithta ʿannī ? faqultu : ḥaddathanā ʿabdu al-razzāqi ʿan maʿmarin ʿani al-zuhriyyi ʿan ʾanasi bni mālikin ʿan nabiyyika ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿanka ʾannaka qulta :

“What did God Most High do with you?” He said: “He made me stand before Him and said: ‘Evil old man, you did this and you did that.’” He said: “Such terror and alarm seized me as God Most High knows. Then I said: ‘My Lord, this is not what I was told about You.’ He said: ‘What were you told about Me?’ I said: ‘ʿAbd al-Razzāq told us, from Maʿmar, from al-Zuhrī, from Anas ibn Mālik, from Your Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, from You, that You said,

تَبَارَكْتَ وَتَعَالَيْتَ أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي فَلْيَظُنَّ بِي مَا شَاءَ ، وَقَدْ كُنْتُ أَظُنُّ بِكَ أَنْ لَا تُعَذِّبَنِي ، فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : صَدَقَ نَبِيِّي وَصَدَقَ

tabārakta wataʿālayta ʾanā ʿinda ẓanni ʿabdī bī falyaẓunna bī mā shāʾa , waqad kuntu ʾaẓunnu bika ʾan lā tuʿadhdhibanī , faqāla ʿazza wajalla : ṣadaqa nabiyyī waṣadaqa

blessed and exalted are You: “I am as My servant thinks of Me, so let him think of Me as he wishes.” I thought of You that You would not punish me.’ He said, mighty and majestic: ‘My Prophet spoke truly, and

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٧٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 372

Volume One, page 372

أَنَسٌ صَدَقَ الزُّهْرِيُّ وَصَدَقَ مَعْمَرٌ وَصَدَقَ عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ وَصَدَقْتَ ، قَالَ : فَغُلِّفْتُ وَخُلِعَ عَلَيَّ وَأُلْبِسْتُ وَمَشَى بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ الْوِلْدَانُ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ فَقُلْتُ يَا لَهَا مِنْ فَرْحَةٍ . وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : أَنَّ رَجُلًا مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ كَانَ يُشَدِّدُ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيُقَنِّطُهُمْ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ : الْيَوْمَ أُؤْيِسُكَ مِنْ رَحْمَتِي كَمَا كُنْتَ تُقَنِّطُ عِبَادِي مِنْهَا ،

ʾanasun ṣadaqa al-zuhriyyu waṣadaqa maʿmarun waṣadaqa ʿabdu al-razzāqi waṣadaqta , qāla : faghulliftu wakhuliʿa ʿalayya waʾulbistu wamashā bayna yadayya al-wildānu ʾilā al-jannati faqultu yā lahā min farḥatin . wafī al-khabari : ʾanna rajulan min banī ʾisrāʾīla kāna yushaddidu ʿalā al-nāsi wayuqanniṭuhum min raḥmati Allāhi taʿālā fayaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā lahu yawma al-qiyāmati : al-yawma ʾuʾyisuka min raḥmatī kamā kunta tuqanniṭu ʿibādī minhā ,

Anas spoke truly, al-Zuhrī spoke truly, Maʿmar spoke truly, ʿAbd al-Razzāq spoke truly, and you spoke truly.’” He said: “I was anointed, a robe of honor was bestowed upon me, I was clothed, and the young attendants walked before me into the Garden. I said: ‘What joy!’” In the report: a man among the Children of Israel used to be harsh with people and make them despair of God Most High’s mercy. God Most High says to him on the Day of Resurrection: “Today I make you despair of My mercy, as you used to make My servants despair of it.”

وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ : أَنَّ رَجُلَيْنِ تَوَاخَيَا فِي اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فَكَانَ أَحَدُهُمَا عَابِدًا وَالْآخَرُ مُسْرِفًا عَلَى نَفْسِهِ ، فَكَانَ هَذَا الْعَابِدُ يَنْهَاهُ وَيَزْجُرُهُ فَيَقُولُ لَهُ : دَعْنِي وَرَبِّي أَبُعِثْتَ عَلَيَّ رَقِيبًا ؟ حَتَّى رَآهُ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ عَلَى كَبِيرَةٍ فَغَضِبَ فَقَالَ : لَا يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لَكَ قَالَ : فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ :

wafī al-ḥadīthi : ʾanna rajulayni tawākhayā fī Allāhi taʿālā min banī ʾisrāʾīla fakāna ʾaḥaduhumā ʿābidan wa-al-ʾākharu musrifan ʿalā nafsihi , fakāna hādhā al-ʿābidu yanhāhu wayazjuruhu fayaqūlu lahu : daʿnī warabbī ʾabuʿithta ʿalayya raqīban ? ḥattā raʾāhu dhāta yawmin ʿalā kabīratin faghaḍiba faqāla : lā yaghfiru Allāhu laka qāla : fayaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā lahu yawma al-qiyāmati :

In the report: two men among the Children of Israel became brothers for God Most High’s sake. One was a worshiper and the other went to excess against himself. The worshiper used to forbid and rebuke him, and he would say to him: “Leave me and my Lord. Were you sent as a watcher over me?” One day he saw him committing a major sin and became angry, saying: “God will not forgive you.” He said: God Most High says to him on the Day of Resurrection:

أَتَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ تَحْظُرَ رَحْمَتِي عَلَى عِبَادِي اِذْهَبْ فَقَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَكَ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ لِلْعَابِدِ : وَأَنْتَ فَقَدْ أَوْجَبْتُ لَكَ النَّارَ ، قَالَ : فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَقَدْ تَكَلَّمَ بِكَلِمَةٍ أَهْلَكَتْ دُنْيَاهُ وَآخِرَتَهُ ، وَرَوَيْنَا فِي مَعْنَاهُ أَنَّ لِصًّا كَانَ يَقْطَعُ الطَّرِيقَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً فِي بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فَمَرَّ عَلَيْهِ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَخَلْفَهُ عَابِدٌ مِنْ عُبَّادِ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِنَ الْحَوَارِيِّينَ فَقَالَ اللِّصُّ فِي نَفْسِهِ :

ʾatastaṭīʿu ʾan taḥẓura raḥmatī ʿalā ʿibādī idhhab faqad ghafartu laka , thumma qāla li-l-ʿābidi : waʾanta faqad ʾawjabtu laka al-nāra , qāla : fawa-alladhī nafsī biyadihi laqad takallama bikalimatin ʾahlakat dunyāhu waʾākhiratahu , warawaynā fī maʿnāhu ʾanna liṣṣan kāna yaqṭaʿu al-ṭarīqa ʾarbaʿīna sanatan fī banī ʾisrāʾīla famarra ʿalayhi ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu wakhalfahu ʿābidun min ʿubbādi banī ʾisrāʾīla mina al-ḥawāriyyīna faqāla al-liṣṣu fī nafsihi :

“Can you restrict My mercy toward My servants? Go, for I have forgiven you.” Then He said to the worshiper: “As for you, I have made the Fire obligatory for you.” He said: “By the One in whose hand is my soul, he spoke a word that destroyed his worldly life and his hereafter.” We have transmitted a similar account: a thief had robbed travelers for forty years among the Children of Israel. Jesus, peace be upon him, passed by him, followed by a worshiper among the worshipers of the Children of Israel, one of the disciples. The thief said to himself:

هَذَا نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ يَمُرُّ وَإِلَى جَنْبِهِ حَوَارِيُّهُ لَوْ نَزَلْتُ فَكُنْتُ مَعَهُمَا ثَالِثًا ، قَالَ : فَنَزَلَ فَجَعَلَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَدْنُوَ مِنَ الْحَوَارِيِّ وَيَزْدَرِي نَفْسَهُ تَعْظِيمًا لِلْحَوَارِيِّ وَيَقُولُ فِي نَفْسِهِ : مِثْلِي لَا يَمْشِي إِلَى جَنْبِ هَذَا الْعَابِدِ قَالَ وَأَحَسَّ بِهِ الْحَوَارِيُّ فَقَالَ فِي نَفْسِهِ : هَذَا يَمْشِي إِلَى جَانِبِي قَالَ : فَضَمَّ نَفْسَهُ وَتَقَدَّمَ إِلَى عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فَمَشَى إِلَى جَانِبِهِ فَبَقِيَ اللِّصُّ خَلْفَهُ ،

hādhā nabiyyu Allāhi yamurru waʾilā janbihi ḥawāriyyuhu law nazaltu fakuntu maʿahumā thālithan , qāla : fanazala fajaʿala yurīdu ʾan yadnuwa mina al-ḥawāriyyi wayazdarī nafsahu taʿẓīman li-l-ḥawāriyyi wayaqūlu fī nafsihi : mithlī lā yamshī ʾilā janbi hādhā al-ʿābidi qāla waʾaḥassa bihi al-ḥawāriyyu faqāla fī nafsihi : hādhā yamshī ʾilā jānibī qāla : faḍamma nafsahu wataqaddama ʾilā ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu famashā ʾilā jānibihi fabaqiya al-liṣṣu khalfahu ,

“Here is God’s prophet passing, with his disciple beside him. If only I went down and became a third with them.” He said: he went down and kept wanting to approach the disciple, while despising himself out of reverence for the disciple and saying to himself: “Someone like me does not walk beside this worshiper.” He said: the disciple noticed him and said to himself: “This man walks beside me!” He said: he drew himself together, went forward to Jesus, peace be upon him, and walked beside him, leaving the thief behind.

قَالَ : فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : قُلْ لَهُمَا يَسْتَأْنِفَانِ الْعَمَلَ فَقَدْ أَحْبَطْتُ مَا سَلَفَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِمَا ، أَمَّا الْحَوَارِيُّ فَقَدْ أَحْبَطْتُ حَسَنَاتِهِ لِعُجْبِهِ بِنَفْسِهِ وَأَمَّا الْآخَرُ فَقَدْ أَحْبَطْتُ سَيِّئَاتِهِ بِمَا ازْدَرَى عَلَى نَفْسِهِ قَالَ : فَأَخْبَرَهُمَا بِذَلِكَ وَضَمَّ اللِّصَّ إِلَيْهِ سِيَاحَتَهُ وَجَعَلَهُ مِنْ حَوَارِيِّهِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ مَسْرُوقِ بْنِ الْأَجْدَعِ :

qāla : faʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilā ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu : qul lahumā yastaʾnifāni al-ʿamala faqad ʾaḥbaṭtu mā salafa min ʾaʿmālihimā , ʾammā al-ḥawāriyyu faqad ʾaḥbaṭtu ḥasanātihi liʿujbihi binafsihi waʾammā al-ʾākharu faqad ʾaḥbaṭtu sayyiʾātihi bimā izdarā ʿalā nafsihi qāla : faʾakhbarahumā bi-dhālika waḍamma al-liṣṣa ʾilayhi siyāḥatahu wajaʿalahu min ḥawāriyyihi . warawaynā ʿan masrūqi bni al-ʾajdaʿi :

He said: God Most High revealed to Jesus, peace be upon him: “Tell them both to begin action anew. I have cancelled their previous deeds. As for the disciple, I have cancelled his good deeds because of his self-admiration. As for the other, I have cancelled his evil deeds because he looked down on himself.” He said: he told them that, drew the thief to himself during his wandering, and made him one of his disciples. We have transmitted from Masrūq ibn al-Ajdaʿ:

إِنَّ نَبِيًّا مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ كَانَ سَاجِدًا فَوَطِئَ بَعْضُ الْعُتَاةِ عَلَى عُنُقِهِ حَتَّى أَلْزَقَ الْحَصَى بِجَبْهَتِهِ قَالَ : فَرَفَعَ النَّبِيُّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ رَأْسَهُ مُغْضَبًا فَقَالَ : اِذْهَبْ فَلَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ قَالَ : فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ تَتَأَلَّى عَلَيَّ فِي عِبَادِي أَنِّي قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَهُ . قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقْنُتُ يَدْعُو عَلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَيَلْعَنُهُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِ فَنَزَلَتْ لِيَقْطَعَ طَرَفًا مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَوْ يَكْبِتَهُمْ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ :

ʾinna nabiyyan mina al-ʾanbiyāʾi kāna sājidan fawaṭiʾa baʿḍu al-ʿutāti ʿalā ʿunuqihi ḥattā ʾalzaqa al-ḥaṣā bijabhatihi qāla : farafaʿa al-nabiyyu ʿalayhi al-salāmu raʾsahu mughḍaban faqāla : idhhab falan yaghfira Allāhu qāla : faʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi tataʾallā ʿalayya fī ʿibādī ʾannī qad ghafartu lahu . qāla ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu kāna rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaqnutu yadʿū ʿalā al-mushrikīna wayalʿanuhum fī ṣalātihi fanazalat liyaqṭaʿa ṭarafan mina alladhīna kafarū ʾaw yakbitahum ʾilā qawlihi :

A prophet among the prophets was prostrating, and one of the tyrants stepped on his neck until he pressed the pebbles against his forehead. He said: the prophet, peace be upon him, raised his head in anger and said: “Go; God will never forgive.” He said: God Most High revealed to him: “Do you swear on My behalf concerning My servants? I have forgiven him.” Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, said: the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to make supplication against the associators and curse them in his prayer. Then there was revealed, “So that He may cut off a part of those who disbelieve or abase them,” as far as His words:

( لَيْسَ لَكَ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ شَيْءٌ أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَوْ يُعَذِّبَهُمْ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 128 قَالَ : فَتَرَكَ الدُّعَاءَ عَلَيْهِمْ ، قَالَ : فَهَدَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَامَّةَ أُولَئِكَ الْإِسْلَامَ . وَالْأَخْبَارُ فِيمَا يُوجِبُ الرَّجَاءَ وَحُسْنَ الظَّنِّ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ أَنْ تُجْمَعَ وَلَمْ نَقْصِدْ جَمْعَهَا ، وَإِنَّمَا دَلَّلْنَا بِقَلِيلٍ عَلَى كَثِيرٍ ، وَنَبَّهْنَا عُقُولَ ذَوِي التَّبْصِيرِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى :

( laysa laka mina al-ʾamri shayʾun ʾaw yatūba ʿalayhim ʾaw yuʿadhdhibahum ) ʾālu ʿimrāna : 128 qāla : fataraka al-duʿāʾa ʿalayhim , qāla : fahadā Allāhu taʿālā ʿāmmata ʾulāʾika al-ʾislāma . wa-al-ʾakhbāru fīmā yūjibu al-rajāʾa waḥusna al-ẓanni ʾaktharu min ʾan tujmaʿa walam naqṣid jamʿahā , waʾinnamā dallalnā biqalīlin ʿalā kathīrin , wanabbahnā ʿuqūla dhawī al-tabṣīri , waqad qāla Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā :

“You have no part in the matter, whether He turns toward them or punishes them” (Āl ʿImrān 128). He said: he stopped praying against them. He said: God Most High guided the great majority of those people to Islam. The reports that call for hope and thinking well are too many to collect. We did not intend to collect them; we have only pointed through a few to the many and awakened the minds of those with insight. God, glorified and exalted is He, has said:

( يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيمِ ) الِانْفِطَارُ : 6 فَنَبَّهَ الْعَبْدَ مَعَ غِرَّتِهِ عَلَى كَرَمِهِ ، وَذَكَّرَهُ مَعَ جَهْلِهِ حُسْنَ تَسْوِيَتِهِ إِيَّاهُ بِتَعْدِيلِهِ ، يَدُلُّ عَلَى نِعْمَتِهِ .

( yā ʾayyuhā al-ʾinsānu mā gharraka birabbika al-karīmi ) al-infiṭāru : 6 fanabbaha al-ʿabda maʿa ghirratihi ʿalā karamihi , wadhakkarahu maʿa jahlihi ḥusna taswiyatihi ʾiyyāhu bitaʿdīlihi , yadullu ʿalā niʿmatihi .

“Human being, what has deceived you concerning your generous Lord?” (al-Infiṭār 6). He alerted the servant, amid his delusion, to His generosity, and reminded him, amid his ignorance, of the beauty of His forming him and setting him in proportion, pointing to His blessing.

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٧٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 373

Volume One, page 373

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ الضَّحَّاكِ إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَدْنُو مِنْ رَبِّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى عِنْدَ الْعَرْضِ فَيَقُولُ : عَبْدِي أَتُحْصِي عَمَلَكَ ؟ فَيَقُولُ : إِلَٰهِي كَيْفَ أُحْصِيهِ مِنْ دُونِكَ وَأَنْتَ الْحَافِظُ لِلْأَشْيَاءِ ، فَيُذَكِّرُهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى جَمِيعَ ذُنُوبِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا فِي سَاعَاتِهَا ، فَيَقُولُ : أَنْتَ عَبْدِي فَقِرَّ بِمَا عَرَّفْتُكَ وَذَكَّرْتُكَ ، فَيَقُولُ نَعَمْ سَيِّدِي ، فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ أَنَا الَّذِي سَتَرْتُهَا عَلَيْكَ فِي الدُّنْيَا ،

warawaynā ʿani al-ḍaḥḥāki ʾinna al-ʿabda layadnū min rabbihi tabāraka wataʿālā ʿinda al-ʿarḍi fayaqūlu : ʿabdī ʾatuḥṣī ʿamalaka ? fayaqūlu : ʾilāhī kayfa ʾuḥṣīhi min dūnika waʾanta al-ḥāfiẓu li-l-ʾashyāʾi , fayudhakkiruhu Allāhu taʿālā jamīʿa dhunūbihi fī al-dunyā fī sāʿātihā , fayaqūlu : ʾanta ʿabdī faqirra bimā ʿarraftuka wadhakkartuka , fayaqūlu naʿam sayyidī , fayaqūlu Allāhu subḥānahu ʾanā alladhī satartuhā ʿalayka fī al-dunyā ,

We have transmitted from al-Ḍaḥḥāk: the servant draws near to his Lord, blessed and exalted is He, at the presentation. He says: “My servant, can you count your deeds?” He says: “My God, how could I count them apart from You, when You preserve all things?” God Most High reminds him of all his sins in this world, in the very hours in which they occurred. He says: “You are My servant; acknowledge what I have made known to you and reminded you of.” He says: “Yes, my Master.” God, glorified is He, says: “I am the One who concealed them for you in this world,

فَلَمْ أَجْعَلْ لِلذُّنُوبِ رَائِحَةً تُوجَدُ مِنْكَ ، وَلَمْ أَجْعَلْ فِي وَجْهِكَ شَيْنَهَا ، وَأَنَا أَغْفِرُهَا لَكَ الْيَوْمَ عَلَى مَا كَانَ مِنْكَ ، بِإِيمَانِكَ بِي وَتَصْدِيقِكَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ الْحَنَفِيَّةِ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَلِيٍّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ قَالَ : لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ( فَاصْفَحِ الصَّفْحَ الْجَمِيلَ ) الْحِجْرُ : 85 قَالَ :

falam ʾajʿal li-l-dhunūbi rāʾiḥatan tūjadu minka , walam ʾajʿal fī wajhika shaynahā , waʾanā ʾaghfiruhā laka al-yawma ʿalā mā kāna minka , biʾīmānika bī wataṣdīqika al-mursalīna . warawaynā ʿan muḥammadi al-ḥanafiyyati ʿan ʾabīhi ʿaliyyin karrama Allāhu wajhahu qāla : lammā nazalat hādhihi al-ʾāyatu ʿalā rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ( faṣfaḥi al-ṣafḥa al-jamīla ) al-ḥijru : 85 qāla :

and did not give sins an odor that could be smelled from you, nor place their ugliness on your face. I forgive them for you today, despite what you have done, because of your faith in Me and your affirmation of the messengers.” We have transmitted from Muḥammad al-Ḥanafiyya, from his father ʿAlī, may God honor his countenance, who said: when this verse was sent down to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, “Pardon with beautiful pardon” (al-Ḥijr 85), he said:

يَا جِبْرِيلُ وَمَا الصَّفْحُ الْجَمِيلُ ؟ قَالَ : يَا مُحَمَّدُ إِذَا عَفَوْتَ عَمَّنْ ظَلَمَكَ فَلَا تُعَاتِبْ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : يَا جِبْرِيلُ فَاللَّهُ مَعَ كَرَمِهِ تَعَالَى أَوْلَى أَنْ لَا يُعَاتِبَ مَنْ عَفَا عَنْهُ ، قَالَ فَبَكَى جِبْرِيلُ وَبَكَى النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَيْهِمَا مِيكَائِيلَ فَقَالَ :

yā jibrīlu wamā al-ṣafḥu al-jamīlu ? qāla : yā muḥammadu ʾidhā ʿafawta ʿamman ẓalamaka falā tuʿātib , thumma qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : yā jibrīlu fa-Allāhu maʿa karamihi taʿālā ʾawlā ʾan lā yuʿātiba man ʿafā ʿanhu , qāla fabakā jibrīlu wabakā al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama , fabaʿatha Allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʾilayhimā mīkāʾīla faqāla :

“Gabriel, what is beautiful pardon?” He said: “Muḥammad, when you pardon someone who has wronged you, do not reproach him.” Then the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Gabriel, God, with His generosity, exalted is He, is more worthy not to reproach someone He has pardoned.” He said: Gabriel wept and the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, wept. God, mighty and majestic, sent Michael to them, and he said:

إِنَّ رَبَّكُمَا يُقْرِئُكُمَا السَّلَامَ وَيَقُولُ لَكُمَا : كَيْفَ أُعَاتِبُ مَنْ عَفَوْتُ عَنْهُ ، هَذَا مَا لَا يُشْبِهُ كَرَمِي . وَمِنَ الرَّجَاءِ شِدَّةُ الشَّوْقِ إِلَى مَا شَوَّقَ إِلَيْهِ الْكَرِيمُ وَسُرْعَةُ التَّنَافُسِ فِي كُلِّ نَفِيسٍ نَدَبَ إِلَيْهِ الرَّحِيمُ ، فَأَمَّا الرَّجَاءُ الَّذِي هُوَ هِمَّةُ جُمْلَةِ النَّاسِ مِنَ الْإِقَامَةِ فِي الْمَعَاصِي وَالِانْهِمَاكِ فِي الْخَطَايَا وَهُوَ يَرْجُو الْمَغْفِرَةَ وَيَنْتَظِرُ الْكَرَامَةَ ، فَلَيْسَ هَذَا بِرَجَاءٍ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ ،

ʾinna rabbakumā yuqriʾukumā al-salāma wayaqūlu lakumā : kayfa ʾuʿātibu man ʿafawtu ʿanhu , hādhā mā lā yushbihu karamī . wamina al-rajāʾi shiddatu al-shawqi ʾilā mā shawwaqa ʾilayhi al-karīmu wasurʿatu al-tanāfusi fī kulli nafīsin nadaba ʾilayhi al-raḥīmu , faʾammā al-rajāʾu alladhī huwa himmatu jumlati al-nāsi mina al-ʾiqāmati fī al-maʿāṣī wa-al-inhimāki fī al-khaṭāyā wahuwa yarjū al-maghfirata wayantaẓiru al-karāmata , falaysa hādhā birajāʾin ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi ,

“Your Lord sends you both peace and says to you: ‘How would I reproach someone I have pardoned? That is unlike My generosity.’” Part of hope is intense longing for what the Generous One has made desirable, and eager competition for every precious thing to which the Merciful has invited. As for the hope that occupies people in general, consisting of remaining in sins and plunging into offenses while hoping for forgiveness and waiting for honor, this is not hope in the judgment of the scholars,

لِأَنَّ الرَّجَاءَ مَقَامٌ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ ، وَلَيْسَ هَذَا وَصْفَ الْمُوقِنِينَ ؛ لِأَنَّ هَذَا اسْمُهُ هُوَ اغْتِرَارٌ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَغَفْلَةٌ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَجَهْلٌ بِأَحْكَامِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى . وَقَدْ تَهَدَّدَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَوْمًا ظَنُّوا مِثْلَ هَذَا ، وَأَصَرُّوا عَلَى حُبِّ الدُّنْيَا وَالرِّضَا بِهَا ، وَتَمَنَّوُا الْمَغْفِرَةَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ ، فَسَمَّاهُمْ خَلْفًا ، وَالْخَلْفُ : الرَّدِيءُ مِنَ النَّاسِ ،

liʾanna al-rajāʾa maqāmun mina al-yaqīni , walaysa hādhā waṣfa al-mūqinīna ; liʾanna hādhā ismuhu huwa ightirārun bi-Allāhi taʿālā , waghaflatun ʿani Allāhi taʿālā , wajahlun biʾaḥkāmi Allāhi taʿālā . waqad tahaddada Allāhu taʿālā qawman ẓannū mithla hādhā , waʾaṣarrū ʿalā ḥubbi al-dunyā wa-al-riḍā bihā , watamannawu al-maghfirata ʿalā dhālika , fasammāhum khalfan , wa-al-khalfu : al-radīʾu mina al-nāsi ,

because hope is a station of certainty, and this is not the quality of those who possess certainty. Its name is self-deception regarding God Most High, heedlessness of God Most High, and ignorance of God Most High’s rulings. God Most High has threatened a people who thought in this way, persisted in loving this world and being content with it, and wished for forgiveness while doing so. He called them a khalf, a succeeding generation; khalf means the bad among people,

وَتَوَعَّدَهُمْ بِشَدِيدِ الْبَأْسِ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( فَخَلَفَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ وَرِثُوا الْكِتَابَ يَأْخُذُونَ عَرَضَ هَذَا الْأَدْنَى وَيَقُولُونَ سَيُغْفَرُ لَنَا ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 169 وَالْأَخْبَارُ فِي حَقِيقَةِ الرَّجَاءِ تَزِيدُ الْمُغْتَرِّينَ اغْتِرَارًا وَتَزِيدُ الْمُسْتَدْرَجِينَ بِالسَّتْرِ وَالنَّعِيمِ خَسَارًا ، وَهِيَ مَزِيدٌ لِلتَّوَّابِينَ الصَّادِقِينَ ، وَقُرَّةُ عَيْنِ الْمُحِبِّينَ الْمُخْلِصِينَ ، وَسُرُورٌ لِأَهْلِ الْكَرَمِ وَالْحَيَاءِ ، وَرَوْحُ ارْتِيَاحٍ لِذَوِي الْعِصْمَةِ وَالْوَفَاءِ ،

watawaʿʿadahum bishadīdi al-baʾsi fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla : ( fakhalafa min baʿdihim khalfun warithū al-kitāba yaʾkhudhūna ʿaraḍa hādhā al-ʾadnā wayaqūlūna sayughfaru lanā ) al-ʾaʿrāfu : 169 wa-al-ʾakhbāru fī ḥaqīqati al-rajāʾi tazīdu al-mughtarrīna ightirāran watazīdu al-mustadrajīna bi-al-satri wa-al-naʿīmi khasāran , wahiya mazīdun li-l-tawwābīna al-ṣādiqīna , waqurratu ʿayni al-muḥibbīna al-mukhliṣīna , wasurūrun liʾahli al-karami wa-al-ḥayāʾi , warawḥu irtiyāḥin lidhawī al-ʿiṣmati wa-al-wafāʾi ,

and threatened them with severe might in His words, mighty and majestic: “Then after them came a bad succeeding generation who inherited the Book, taking the goods of this lower world and saying, ‘We shall be forgiven’” (al-Aʿrāf 169). Reports about the reality of hope increase the deluded in delusion and increase in loss those being gradually drawn into ruin through concealment and bliss. They are an increase for the sincere penitents, a delight of the eye for sincere lovers, joy for people of generosity and modesty, and a breath of relief for those of protection and faithfulness.

يَنْتَفِعُ بِهِ ، وَيَشْتَدُّ عِنْدَهُ حَيَاؤُهُ ، وَيَرُوحُ بِهِ كُرُوبُهُمْ ، وَتَرْتَاحُ إِلَيْهِ عُقُولُهُمْ ، فَهَؤُلَاءِ يَسْتَخْرِجُ مِنْهُمُ الرَّجَاءُ وَحُسْنُ الظَّنِّ مِنَ الْعِبَادَاتِ مَا لَا يَسْتَرْوِحُهُ الْخَوْفُ ، إِذِ الْمَخَاوِفُ تَقْطَعُ عَنْ أَكْثَرِ الْمُعَامَلَاتِ ، فَصَارَ الرَّجَاءُ طَرِيقًا لِأَهْلِهِ وَصَارُوا رَائِجِينَ بِهِ كَمَا قَالَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : رَحِمَ اللَّهُ صُهَيْبًا لَوْ لَمْ يَخَفِ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَمْ يَعْصِهِ :

yantafiʿu bihi , wayashtaddu ʿindahu ḥayāʾuhu , wayarūḥu bihi kurūbuhum , watartāḥu ʾilayhi ʿuqūluhum , fa-hāʾulāʾi yastakhriju minhumu al-rajāʾu waḥusnu al-ẓanni mina al-ʿibādāti mā lā yastarwiḥuhu al-khawfu , ʾidhi al-makhāwifu taqṭaʿu ʿan ʾakthari al-muʿāmalāti , faṣāra al-rajāʾu ṭarīqan liʾahlihi waṣārū rāʾijīna bihi kamā qāla ʿumaru raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu : raḥima Allāhu ṣuhayban law lam yakhafi Allāha taʿālā lam yaʿṣihi :

He benefits from it and his modesty grows stronger at it. Through it their troubles are relieved and their minds find ease. Hope and thinking well draw from these people acts of worship that fear does not find relief in, since fears cut one off from most dealings. Hope becomes a path for its people, and they flourish through it. As ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, said: “May God have mercy on Ṣuhayb. If he did not fear God Most High, he would not disobey Him.”

أَيْ يَتْرُكُ الْمَعَاصِيَ لِلرَّجَاءِ لَا لِلْخَوْفِ ، فَصَارَ الرَّجَاءُ طَرِيقَهُ ، فَهَؤُلَاءِ هُمُ الرَّاجُونَ حَقًّا وَهَذِهِ عَلَامَتُهُمْ ، وَلِمِثْلِ هَذَا ذَكَرْنَا الْأَسْبَابَ الَّتِي تُوجِبُ الرَّجَاءَ ، وَتُوَلِّدُ حُسْنَ الظَّنِّ فِي قُلُوبِ أَهْلِ الصَّفَاءِ . وَمِنَ الرَّجَاءِ تَحْسِينُ الْأَخْلَاقِ مَعَ الْخَلْقِ ، وَجَمِيلُ الصَّبْرِ عَلَيْهِمْ ، وَحُسْنُ الصَّفْحِ ، وَلَطِيفُ الْمُدَارَاةِ لَهُمْ تَقَرُّبًا إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِذَلِكَ ، وَتَخَلُّقًا بِأَخْلَاقِهِ رَجَاءَ ثَوَابِهِ ، وَطَمَعًا

ʾay yatruku al-maʿāṣiya li-l-rajāʾi lā li-l-khawfi , faṣāra al-rajāʾu ṭarīqahu , fa-hāʾulāʾi humu al-rājūna ḥaqqan wa-hādhihi ʿalāmatuhum , walimithli hādhā dhakarnā al-ʾasbāba allatī tūjibu al-rajāʾa , watuwallidu ḥusna al-ẓanni fī qulūbi ʾahli al-ṣafāʾi . wamina al-rajāʾi taḥsīnu al-ʾakhlāqi maʿa al-khalqi , wajamīlu al-ṣabri ʿalayhim , waḥusnu al-ṣafḥi , walaṭīfu al-mudārāti lahum taqarruban ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla bi-dhālika , watakhalluqan biʾakhlāqihi rajāʾa thawābihi , waṭamaʿan

That is, he abandons sins because of hope, not fear, so hope becomes his path. These are the ones who truly hope, and this is their sign. For people like this we have mentioned the causes that give rise to hope and engender thinking well in the hearts of the people of purity. Part of hope is improving one’s character toward creatures, being beautifully patient with them, pardoning well, and treating them with gentle consideration, drawing near through this to God, mighty and majestic, and adopting His character in hope of His reward and longing

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٧٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 374

Volume One, page 374

فِي تَنْجِيزِ وَعْدِهِ ، وَاتِّبَاعًا لِسُنَّةِ رَسُولِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . وَمِنَ الرَّجَاءِ تَرْكُ الْأَهْوَاءِ الرَّدِيئَةِ ، وَالشَّهَوَاتِ الْمُطْغِيَةِ وَيَحْتَسِبُ فِي ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ نَفِيسَ الذَّخَائِرِ الْعَالِيَةِ . فَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ حُمَيْدٍ عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ : مُقَابِلَ عَرْشِ الرَّحْمَنِ غُرْفَةٌ يُرْسَلُ إِلَيْهَا جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ ، فَإِذَا انْتَهَى إِلَيْهَا خَرَّ لِلَّهِ سَاجِدًا ، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ : يَا رَبِّ لِمَنْ خَلَقْتَ هَذِهِ ،

fī tanjīzi waʿdihi , wattibāʿan lisunnati rasūlihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama . wamina al-rajāʾi tarku al-ʾahwāʾi al-radīʾati , wa-al-shahawāti al-muṭghiyati wayaḥtasibu fī dhālika ʿalā Allāhi nafīsa al-dhakhāʾiri al-ʿāliyati . faqad rawaynā ʿan ḥumaydin ʿan ʾanasin qāla : muqābila ʿarshi al-raḥmāni ghurfatun yursalu ʾilayhā jibrīlu ʿalayhi al-salāmu , faʾidhā intahā ʾilayhā kharra li-llāhi sājidan , thumma yaqūlu : yā rabbi liman khalaqta hādhihi ,

for the fulfillment of His promise, while following the Sunna of His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. Part of hope is leaving base desires and appetites that lead to rebellion, looking to God for the precious, lofty stores of reward in this. We have transmitted from Ḥumayd, from Anas, who said: “Opposite the Merciful’s Throne is a chamber to which Gabriel, peace be upon him, is sent. When he reaches it, he falls prostrate before God, then says: ‘My Lord, for whom did You create this?

لِأَيِّ نَبِيٍّ ؟ لِأَيِّ صِدِّيقٍ ؟ لِأَيِّ شَهِيدٍ ؟ قَالَ : فَيَرُدُّ عَلَيْهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : لِمَنْ آثَرَ هَوَايَ عَلَى هَوَاهُ . وَمِنَ الرَّجَاءِ افْتِعَالُ الطَّاعَاتِ ، وَحُسْنُ الْمُوَافَقَاتِ ، يَنْوِي بِهَا ، وَيَسْأَلُ مَوْلَاهُ الْكَرِيمَ عَظِيمَ الرَّغَائِبِ وَجَلِيلَ الْمَوَاهِبِ ، لِمَا وَهَبَ لَهُ مِنْ حُسْنِ الظَّنِّ بِهِ . كَمَا رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :

liʾayyi nabiyyin ? liʾayyi ṣiddīqin ? liʾayyi shahīdin ? qāla : fayaruddu ʿalayhi ʿazza wajalla : liman ʾāthara hawāya ʿalā hawāhu . wamina al-rajāʾi iftiʿālu al-ṭāʿāti , waḥusnu al-muwāfaqāti , yanwī bihā , wayasʾalu mawlāhu al-karīma ʿaẓīma al-raghāʾibi wajalīla al-mawāhibi , limā wahaba lahu min ḥusni al-ẓanni bihi . kamā ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama :

For which prophet? Which utterly truthful one? Which martyr?’” He said: He, mighty and majestic, replies to him: “For the one who preferred what I desire to his own desire.” Part of hope is undertaking acts of obedience and acting well in accord with Him. He performs them with intention and asks his generous Master for great objects of longing and magnificent gifts, because of the good opinion of Him that He has granted him. As is reported from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace:

إِذَا سَأَلْتُمُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَأَعْظِمُوا الرَّغْبَةَ ، وَسَلُوهُ الْفِرْدَوْسَ الْأَعْلَى ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَا يَتَعَاظَمُهُ شَيْءٌ . وَفِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ فَأَكْثِرُوا وَسَلُوا الدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى ، فَإِنَّمَا تَسْأَلُونَ جَوَادًا كَرِيمًا ، وَفِي الْآثَارِ أَنَّ رَجُلَيْنِ كَانَا مِنَ الْعَابِدِينَ مُتَسَاوِيَيْنِ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ ، فَإِذَا دَخَلَا الْجَنَّةَ رُفِعَ أَحَدُهُمَا فِي الدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى عَلَى صَاحِبِهِ ، فَيَقُولُ الْآخَرُ :

ʾidhā saʾaltumu Allāha taʿālā faʾaʿẓimū al-raghbata , wasalūhu al-firdawsa al-ʾaʿlā , faʾinna Allāha ʿazza wajalla lā yataʿāẓamuhu shayʾun . wafī ḥadīthin ʾākhara faʾakthirū wasalū al-darajāti al-ʿulā , faʾinnamā tasʾalūna jawādan karīman , wafī al-ʾāthāri ʾanna rajulayni kānā mina al-ʿābidīna mutasāwiyayni fī al-ʿibādati , faʾidhā dakhalā al-jannata rufiʿa ʾaḥaduhumā fī al-darajāti al-ʿulā ʿalā ṣāḥibihi , fayaqūlu al-ʾākharu :

“When you ask God Most High, make your longing great and ask Him for the highest Firdaws, for nothing is too great for God, mighty and majestic.” In another report: “Ask abundantly and ask for the highest ranks, for you are asking a bountiful, generous One.” In the traditional accounts: two men among the worshipers were equal in worship. When they entered the Garden, one was raised above his companion to the highest ranks. The other says:

يَا رَبِّ مَا كَانَ هَذَا فِي الدُّنْيَا بِأَكْثَرَ عِبَادَةً لَكَ مِنِّي فَرَفَعْتَهُ عَلَيَّ فِي عِلِّيِّينَ ، فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : إِنَّهُ كَانَ يَسْأَلُنِي فِي الدُّنْيَا الدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى وَكُنْتَ أَنْتَ تَسْأَلُنِي النَّجَاةَ مِنَ النَّارِ ، فَأَعْطَيْتُ كُلَّ عَبْدٍ سُؤْلَهُ . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَنَّ رَجُلًا يَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ فَيُوقَفُ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ،

yā rabbi mā kāna hādhā fī al-dunyā biʾakthara ʿibādatan laka minnī farafaʿtahu ʿalayya fī ʿilliyyīna , fayaqūlu Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā : ʾinnahu kāna yasʾalunī fī al-dunyā al-darajāti al-ʿulā wakunta ʾanta tasʾalunī al-najāta mina al-nāri , faʾaʿṭaytu kulla ʿabdin suʾlahu . warawaynā fī al-khabari ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : ʾanna rajulan yakhruju mina al-nāri fayūqafu bayna yadayi Allāhi taʿālā ,

“My Lord, this man did not worship You more than I did in this world, yet You have raised him above me in the highest heights.” God, glorified and exalted is He, says: “He used to ask Me in this world for the highest ranks, while you used to ask Me for deliverance from the Fire. I gave each servant his request.” We have transmitted in the report from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace: a man comes out of the Fire and is made to stand before God Most High.

فَيَقُولُ لَهُ : كَيْفَ وَجَدْتَ مَكَانَكَ ؟ فَيَقُولُ : يَا رَبِّ شَرَّ مَكَانٍ ، فَيَقُولُ : رُدُّوهُ إِلَى مَكَانِهِ ، قَالَ : فَيَمْشِي وَيَلْتَفِتُ إِلَى وَرَائِهِ ، فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : إِلَى أَيِّ مَعْنًى تَلَفَّتَ ؟ فَيَقُولُ لَهُ : يَا رَبِّ قَدْ رَجَوْتُ أَنْ لَا تُعِيدَنِي إِلَيْهَا بَعْدَ إِذْ أَخْرَجْتَنِي مِنْهَا ، فَيَقُولُ تَعَالَى : اِذْهَبُوا بِهِ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ فَقَدْ صَارَ الرَّجَاءُ طَرِيقَهُ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ ،

fayaqūlu lahu : kayfa wajadta makānaka ? fayaqūlu : yā rabbi sharra makānin , fayaqūlu : ruddūhu ʾilā makānihi , qāla : fayamshī wayaltafitu ʾilā warāʾihi , fayaqūlu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla : ʾilā ʾayyi maʿnan talaffata ? fayaqūlu lahu : yā rabbi qad rajawtu ʾan lā tuʿīdanī ʾilayhā baʿda ʾidh ʾakhrajtanī minhā , fayaqūlu taʿālā : idhhabū bihi ʾilā al-jannati faqad ṣāra al-rajāʾu ṭarīqahu ʾilā al-jannati ,

He says to him: “How did you find your place?” He says: “My Lord, the worst place.” He says: “Return him to his place.” He said: he walks and turns to look behind him. God, mighty and majestic, says: “For what reason did you turn?” He says to Him: “My Lord, I hoped that You would not return me to it after bringing me out of it.” He says, exalted is He: “Take him to the Garden.” Hope has become his path to the Garden,

كَمَا كَانَ الْخَوْفُ طَرِيقَ صَاحِبِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا إِلَيْهَا . كَمَا رَوَيْنَا : إِنَّ الْآخَرَ سَعَى مُبَادِرًا إِلَى النَّارِ لَمَّا قَالَ : رُدُّوهُ فَقِيلَ لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ ، فَقَالَ : لَقَدْ ذُقْتُ مِنْ وَبَالِ مَعْصِيَتِكَ فِي الدُّنْيَا مَا خِفْتُ مِنْ عَذَابِهِ فِي الْآخِرَةِ فَقِيلَ : اِصْرِفُوهُ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ فِي وَصْفِ قَوْمٍ :

kamā kāna al-khawfu ṭarīqa ṣāḥibihi fī al-dunyā ʾilayhā . kamā rawaynā : ʾinna al-ʾākhara saʿā mubādiran ʾilā al-nāri lammā qāla : ruddūhu faqīla lahu fī dhālika , faqāla : laqad dhuqtu min wabāli maʿṣiyatika fī al-dunyā mā khiftu min ʿadhābihi fī al-ʾākhirati faqīla : iṣrifūhu ʾilā al-jannati , waqāla Allāhu subḥānahu fī waṣfi qawmin :

just as fear was his companion’s path to it in this world. As we have transmitted: the other hurried toward the Fire when He said, “Return him.” He was questioned about that and said: “I have tasted such evil consequences of disobeying You in this world that I feared its punishment in the hereafter.” It was said: “Turn him toward the Garden.” God, glorified is He, says in describing a people:

( أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ ) الْإِسْرَاءُ : 57 فَطَرَّقَ لِأَوْلِيَائِهِ مِنَ الْقُرْبِ وَالْوَسِيلَةِ الرَّجَاءَ ، كَمَا طَرَّقَ الْخَوْفَ مِنْهُ إِلَيْهَا ، وَهَذَا أَحَدُ الْوَجْهَيْنِ فِي الْآيَةِ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَجْعَلْهُ وَصْفًا لِلْأَصْنَامِ لِأَنَّهَا قُرِئَتْ بِالتَّاءِ تَدْعُونَ قَرَأَهَا طَلْحَةُ بْنُ مُصَرِّفٍ ، فَكَذَلِكَ نَدَبَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِلَى طَلَبِ الْقُرْبِ مِنْهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ :

( ʾulāʾika alladhīna yadʿūna yabtaghūna ʾilā rabbihimu al-wasīlata ʾayyuhum ʾaqrabu wayarjūna raḥmatahu wayakhāfūna ʿadhābahu ) al-ʾisrāʾu : 57 faṭarraqa liʾawliyāʾihi mina al-qurbi wa-al-wasīlati al-rajāʾa , kamā ṭarraqa al-khawfa minhu ʾilayhā , wa-hādhā ʾaḥadu al-wajhayni fī al-ʾāyati liman lam yajʿalhu waṣfan li-l-ʾaṣnāmi liʾannahā quriʾat bi-al-tāʾi tadʿūna qaraʾahā ṭalḥatu bnu muṣarrifin , fa-kadhālika nadaba al-muʾminīna ʾilā ṭalabi al-qurbi minhu fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla :

“Those they invoke seek a means of nearness to their Lord, even those nearest among them; they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment” (al-Isrāʾ 57). He opened hope as a path for His friends toward nearness and the means of access, just as He opened fear of Him as a path toward them. This is one of the two interpretations of the verse for those who do not make it a description of the idols, because it has been read with a tāʾ, tadʿūna, “you invoke”; Ṭalḥa ibn Muṣarrif read it this way. Likewise, He invited believers to seek nearness to Him in His words, mighty and majestic:

( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 35 فَهَذِهِ جُمْلَةُ أَحْكَامِ الرَّجَاءِ وَأَوْصَافِ الرَّاجِينَ ، فَمَنْ تَحَقَّقَ بِجَمِيعِهَا فَقَدِ اسْتَحَقَّ دَرَجَاتِ أَهْلِ الرَّجَاءِ ، وَهُوَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ، وَمَنْ كَانَ فِيهِ وَصْفٌ مِنْ هَذِهِ

( yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū ittaqū Allāha wabtaghū ʾilayhi al-wasīlata ) al-māʾidatu : 35 fa-hādhihi jumlatu ʾaḥkāmi al-rajāʾi waʾawṣāfi al-rājīna , faman taḥaqqaqa bijamīʿihā faqadi istaḥaqqa darajāti ʾahli al-rajāʾi , wahuwa ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā mina al-muqarrabīna , waman kāna fīhi waṣfun min hādhihi

“You who believe, be mindful of God and seek the means of access to Him” (al-Māʾida 35). These are the collected rulings of hope and descriptions of those who hope. Anyone who truly realizes all of them has deserved the ranks of the people of hope and is among those brought near with God Most High. Anyone who has one of these

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٧٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 375

Volume One, page 375

الْأَوْصَافِ فَلَهُ مَقَامٌ مِنَ الرَّجَاءِ . وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ لَا يُزِيلُ بَعْضُهَا بَعْضًا وَلَكِنْ يَنْدَرِجُ بَعْضُهَا فِي بَعْضٍ ، فَمَنْ غَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ حَالُ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ وُصِفَ بِمَا غَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ وَاسْتَمَرَّ بِمَا سِوَى ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْمَقَامَاتِ فِيهِ ، وَمَنْ عَمِلَ بِشَرْطِ مَقَامٍ مِنْهَا وَقَامَ بِحُكْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِيهِ نُقِلَ إِلَى مَا سِوَاهُ ، وَكَانَ الْمَقَامُ الْأَوَّلُ لَهُ عِلْمًا وَالثَّانِي الَّذِي أُقِيمَ فِيهِ لَهُ وَجْدًا ،

al-ʾawṣāfi falahu maqāmun mina al-rajāʾi . waʿlam ʾanna maqāmāti al-yaqīni lā yuzīlu baʿḍuhā baʿḍan wa-lākin yandariju baʿḍuhā fī baʿḍin , faman ghalaba ʿalayhi ḥālu mushāhadatihi wuṣifa bimā ghalaba ʿalayhi wastamarra bimā siwā dhālika mina al-maqāmāti fīhi , waman ʿamila bisharṭi maqāmin minhā waqāma biḥukmi Allāhi taʿālā fīhi nuqila ʾilā mā siwāhu , wakāna al-maqāmu al-ʾawwalu lahu ʿilman wa-al-thānī alladhī ʾuqīma fīhi lahu wajdan ,

qualities has a station of hope. Know that the stations of certainty do not remove one another; rather, some are contained within others. Anyone dominated by the state of his witnessing is described by what dominates him, while he continues with the other stations within him. Anyone who acts according to the condition of one of them and upholds God Most High’s ruling in it is moved to another. The first station becomes knowledge for him, and the second, in which he has been placed, becomes inward experience for him,

فَكَتَمَ الْوَجْدَ لِأَنَّهُ سِرُّهُ وَعَبَّرَ عَنِ الْعِلْمِ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ جَاوَزَهُ فَصَارَ لَهُ عَلَانِيَةً ، وَمَقَامُ الرَّجَاءِ هُوَ جُنْدٌ مِنْ جُنُودِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَسْتَخْرِجُ مِنْ بَعْضِ الْعِبَادِ مَا لَا يَسْتَخْرِجُ غَيْرُهُ لِأَنَّ بَعْضَ الْقُلُوبِ تَلِينُ وَتَسْتَجِيبُ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْكَرَمِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَتُقْبِلُ وَتَطْمَئِنُّ بِمُعَامَلَةِ النِّعَمِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ مَا لَا يُوجَدُ ذَلِكَ مِنْهَا عِنْدَ التَّخْوِيفِ وَالتَّرْهِيبِ بَلْ قَدْ يَقْطَعُهَا ذَلِكَ وَيُوحِشُهَا إِذْ قَدْ جَعَلَ الرَّجَاءَ طَرِيقَهَا فَوَجَدَتْ فِيهِ قُلُوبَهَا .

fakatama al-wajda liʾannahu sirruhu waʿabbara ʿani al-ʿilmi liʾannahu qad jāwazahu faṣāra lahu ʿalāniyatan , wamaqāmu al-rajāʾi huwa jundun min junūdi Allāhi ʿazza wajalla yastakhriju min baʿḍi al-ʿibādi mā lā yastakhriju ghayruhu liʾanna baʿḍa al-qulūbi talīnu watastajību ʿan mushāhadati al-karami wa-al-ʾiḥsāni watuqbilu wataṭmaʾinnu bimuʿāmalati al-niʿami wa-al-ʾiḥsāni mā lā yūjadu dhālika minhā ʿinda al-takhwīfi wa-al-tarhībi bal qad yaqṭaʿuhā dhālika wayūḥishuhā ʾidh qad jaʿala al-rajāʾa ṭarīqahā fawajadat fīhi qulūbahā .

so he conceals the inward experience because it is his secret, and expresses the knowledge because he has passed beyond it and it has become outward for him. The station of hope is one of the armies of God, mighty and majestic. It draws from some servants what nothing else draws from them, because some hearts soften and respond through witnessing generosity and goodness, turn toward Him, and become tranquil through being treated with blessings and goodness in a way not found in them through frightening and terrifying them. That may instead cut them off and estrange them, since He has made hope their path, and they have found their hearts in it.

وَمَثَلُ الرَّجَاءِ فِي الْأَحْوَالِ مِثْلُ الْعَوَافِي وَالْغِنَى فِي الْإِنْسَانِ مَنْ يُقْبِلُ قَلْبُهُ وَيَجْتَمِعُ هَمُّهُ عِنْدَهُمَا وَيُوجَدُ نَشَاطُهُ وَتَحْسُنُ مُعَامَلَتُهُ بِهِمَا . كَمَا رَوَيْنَا عَنِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : إِنَّ مِنْ عِبَادِي مَنْ لَا يُصْلِحُهُ إِلَّا الْغِنَى وَلَوْ أَفْقَرْتُهُ لَأَفْسَدَهُ ذَلِكَ وَمِنْ عِبَادِي مَنْ لَا يُصْلِحُهُ إِلَّا الصِّحَّةُ وَلَوْ أَسْقَمْتُهُ لَأَفْسَدَهُ ذَلِكَ ، إِنِّي أُدَبِّرُ عِبَادِي بِعِلْمِي ، إِنِّي بِهِمْ خَبِيرٌ ،

wamathalu al-rajāʾi fī al-ʾaḥwāli mithlu al-ʿawāfī wa-al-ghinā fī al-ʾinsāni man yuqbilu qalbuhu wayajtamiʿu hammuhu ʿindahumā wayūjadu nashāṭuhu wataḥsunu muʿāmalatuhu bihimā . kamā rawaynā ʿani Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā : ʾinna min ʿibādī man lā yuṣliḥuhu ʾillā al-ghinā walaw ʾafqartuhu laʾafsadahu dhālika wamin ʿibādī man lā yuṣliḥuhu ʾillā al-ṣiḥḥatu walaw ʾasqamtuhu laʾafsadahu dhālika , ʾinnī ʾudabbiru ʿibādī biʿilmī , ʾinnī bihim khabīrun ,

Hope among the states is like well-being and wealth in the human being whose heart turns toward Him, whose concern is gathered through them, whose energy is found, and whose dealings are made good through them. As we have transmitted from God, glorified and exalted is He: “Among My servants are those whom only wealth sets right; if I made them poor, that would corrupt them. Among My servants are those whom only health sets right; if I made them ill, that would corrupt them. I govern My servants through My knowledge. I am fully aware of them.”

فَكَذَلِكَ مِنْ عِبَادِي مَنْ لَا يُصْلِحُهُ إِلَّا الرَّجَاءُ وَلَا يَسْتَقِيمُ قَلْبُهُ إِلَّا عَلَيْهِ وَلَا تَحْسُنُ مُعَامَلَتُهُ إِلَّا بِوُجُودِ حُسْنِ الظَّنِّ فَهُوَ طَرِيقُهُ إِلَيْهِ وَمَقَامُهُ مِنْهُ وَمِنْهُ عِلْمُهُ بِهِ وَعِنْدَهُ يَجِدُ قَلْبَهُ مَعَهُ ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ طَرِيقًا يَخْرُجُ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَإِنَّ الْخَوْفَ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُ ، وَمَا كَانَ أَقْرَبَ فَهُوَ أَعْلَى ،

fa-kadhālika min ʿibādī man lā yuṣliḥuhu ʾillā al-rajāʾu walā yastaqīmu qalbuhu ʾillā ʿalayhi walā taḥsunu muʿāmalatuhu ʾillā biwujūdi ḥusni al-ẓanni fahuwa ṭarīquhu ʾilayhi wamaqāmuhu minhu waminhu ʿilmuhu bihi waʿindahu yajidu qalbahu maʿahu , ʾillā ʾannahu waʾin kāna ṭarīqan yakhruju ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla faʾinna al-khawfa ʾaqrabu minhu , wamā kāna ʾaqraba fahuwa ʾaʿlā ,

Likewise, among My servants are those whom only hope sets right, whose hearts stand upright only through it, and whose dealings are good only through thinking well. It is their path toward Him and their station from Him; from it comes their knowledge of Him, and in it they find their hearts with Him. Yet, although it is a path leading to God, mighty and majestic, fear is nearer than it, and what is nearer is higher,

كَمَا أَنَّ الْغِنَى وَالْعَوَافِي طَرِيقَانِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِلَّا أَنَّ الْفَقْرَ وَالْبَلَاءَ عِنْدِي أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُمَا وَأَعْلَى وَاللَّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ : أَنَّهُ قَالَ : إِنَّمَا عَمَلُ النَّاسِ عَلَى قَدْرِ ظُنُونِهِمْ بِرَبِّهِمْ فَأَمَّا الْمُؤْمِنُ فَأَحْسَنَ بِاللَّهِ الظَّنَّ وَأَحْسَنَ الْعَمَلَ ، وَأَمَّا الْكَافِرُ وَالْمُنَافِقُ فَأَسَاءَ بِاللَّهِ الظَّنَّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ .

kamā ʾanna al-ghinā wa-al-ʿawāfī ṭarīqāni ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā ʾillā ʾanna al-faqra wa-al-balāʾa ʿindī ʾaqrabu minhumā waʾaʿlā wa-Allāhu ghālibun ʿalā ʾamrihi . waqad rawaynā ʿan maʿmarin ʿani al-ḥasani : ʾannahu qāla : ʾinnamā ʿamalu al-nāsi ʿalā qadri ẓunūnihim birabbihim faʾammā al-muʾminu faʾaḥsana bi-Allāhi al-ẓanna waʾaḥsana al-ʿamala , waʾammā al-kāfiru wa-al-munāfiqu faʾasāʾa bi-Allāhi al-ẓanna wa-lākinna ʾakthara al-nāsi lā yaʿlamūna .

just as wealth and well-being are two paths to God Most High, although poverty and trial are, in my judgment, nearer than both and higher. God prevails in His purpose. We have transmitted from Maʿmar, from al-Ḥasan, that he said: “People’s actions are only according to their opinions of their Lord. The believer thinks well of God and acts well; the unbeliever and the hypocrite think ill of God. But most people do not know.”

شَرْحُ مَقَامِ الْخَوْفِ وَوَصْفُ الْخَائِفِينَ وَهُوَ الْخَامِسُ مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ

sharḥu maqāmi al-khawfi wawaṣfu al-khāʾifīna wahuwa al-khāmisu min maqāmāti al-yaqīni

An exposition of the station of fear and a description of those who fear: the fifth station of certainty

قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَمَا يَعْقِلُهَا إِلَّا الْعَالِمُونَ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتِ : 43 فَرَفَعَ الْعِلْمَ عَلَى الْعَقْلِ وَجَعَلَهُ مَقَامًا فِيهِ

qāla allāhu ʿazza wajalla: ( wamā yaʿqiluhā ʾillā al-ʿālimūna ) al-ʿankabūti: 43 farafaʿa al-ʿilma ʿalā al-ʿaqli wajaʿalahu maqāman fīhi

God, mighty and majestic, said: ‘None understand them except those who know’ (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:43). He thus set knowledge above understanding and made it a station within it.

وَقَدْ قَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : ( إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ) فَاطِرٍ : 28 فَجَعَلَ الْخَشْيَةَ مَقَامًا فِي الْعِلْمِ حَقَّقَهُ بِهَا ، وَالْخَشْيَةُ حَالٌ مِنْ مَقَامِ الْخَوْفِ ، وَالْخَوْفُ اِسْمٌ لِحَقِيقَةِ التَّقْوَى ،

waqad qāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: ( ʾinnamā yakhshā allāha min ʿibādihi al-ʿulamāʾu ) fāṭirin: 28 fajaʿala al-khashyata maqāman fī al-ʿilmi ḥaqqaqahu bihā, wa-l-khashyatu ḥālun min maqāmi al-khawfi, wa-l-khawfu ismun liḥaqīqati al-taqwā,

He also said, exalted and sublime: ‘Of His servants, only those who know stand in awe of God’ (Fāṭir 35:28). He made awe a station within knowledge, through which He brings knowledge to realization. Awe is a state belonging to the station of fear; fear names the reality of reverent mindfulness.

وَالتَّقْوَى مَعْنًى جَامِعٌ لِلْعِبَادَةِ وَهِيَ رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِلْأَوَّلِينَ وَالْآخِرِينَ ، يَنْظِمُ هٰذَيْنِ الْمَعْنَيَيْنِ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اُعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ) الْبَقَرَةِ : 21

wa-l-taqwā maʿnan jāmiʿun li-l-ʿibādati wahiya raḥmatu allāhi taʿālā li-l-ʾawwalīna wa-l-ʾākhirīna, yanẓimu hādhayni al-maʿnayayni qawluhu taʿālā: ( yā ʾayyuhā al-nāsu uʿbudū rabbakumu alladhī khalaqakum wa-alladhīna min qablikum laʿallakum tattaqūna ) al-baqarati: 21

Reverent mindfulness embraces the whole meaning of worship and is God Most High’s mercy to the first and the last. These two meanings are brought together by His words, exalted is He: ‘People, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may become mindful of Him’ (al-Baqarah 2:21),

وَقَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَقَدْ وَصَّيْنَا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ أَنِ اِتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ) النِّسَاءِ : 131 ، وَهٰذِهِ الْآيَةُ قُطْبُ الْقُرْآنِ مَدَارُهُ عَلَيْهَا وَالتَّقْوَى

waqawluhu taʿālā: ( walaqad waṣṣaynā alladhīna ʾūtū al-kitāba min qablikum waʾiyyākum ʾani ittaqū allāha ) al-nisāʾi: 131, wahādhihi al-ʾāyatu quṭbu al-qurʾāni madāruhu ʿalayhā wa-l-taqwā

and His words, exalted is He: ‘We charged those given the Book before you, and you yourselves, to be mindful of God’ (al-Nisāʾ 4:131). This verse is the pivot on which the Qur’an turns. Reverent mindfulness is

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٧٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 376

Volume One, page 376

سَبَبٌ أَضَافَهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ تَشْرِيفًا لَهُ ، وَمَعْنًى وَصَلَهُ بِهِ وَأَكْرَمَ عِبَادَهُ عَلَيْهِ تَعْظِيمًا لَهُ فَقَالَ : ( لَنْ يَنَالَ اللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَاؤُهَا وَلٰكِنْ يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَى مِنْكُمْ ) الْحَجِّ : 37 وَقَالَ : ( إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ ) الْحُجُرَاتِ : 13

sababun ʾaḍāfahu taʿālā ʾilayhi tashrīfan lahu, wamaʿnan waṣalahu bihi waʾakrama ʿibādahu ʿalayhi taʿẓīman lahu faqāla: ( lan yanāla allāha luḥūmuhā walā dimāʾuhā walākin yanāluhu al-taqwā minkum ) al-ḥajji: 37 waqāla: ( ʾinna ʾakramakum ʿinda allāhi ʾatqākum ) al-ḥujurāti: 13

a bond that He, exalted is He, has attributed to Himself to honor it, a meaning He has joined to Himself and for which He has honored His servants, magnifying its worth. He said: ‘Neither their flesh nor their blood reaches God, but your reverent mindfulness reaches Him’ (al-Ḥajj 22:37); and: ‘The most honored of you with God is the most mindful of Him’ (al-Ḥujurāt 49:13).

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِذَا جَمَعَ اللَّهُ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَالْآخِرِينَ لِمِيقَاتِ يَوْمٍ مَعْلُومٍ نَادَاهُمْ بِصَوْتٍ يَسْمَعُ أَقْصَاهُمْ كَمَا يَسْمَعُ أَدْنَاهُمْ يَقُولُ : يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي قَدْ أَنْصَتُّ لَكُمْ مُنْذُ خَلَقْتُكُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِكُمْ هٰذَا ، فَأَنْصِتُوا إِلَيَّ الْيَوْمَ ، فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ تُرَدُّ عَلَيْكُمْ ،

wafī al-khabari: ʾidhā jamaʿa allāhu al-ʾawwalīna wa-l-ʾākhirīna limīqāti yawmin maʿlūmin nādāhum biṣawtin yasmaʿu ʾaqṣāhum kamā yasmaʿu ʾadnāhum yaqūlu: yā ʾayyuhā al-nāsu ʾinnī qad ʾanṣattu lakum mundhu khalaqtukum ʾilā yawmikum hādhā, faʾanṣitū ʾilayya al-yawma, faʾinnamā hiya ʾaʿmālukum turaddu ʿalaykum,

A report says: When God gathers the first and the last at the appointed time on a known day, He will call to them in a voice heard as clearly by the farthest as by the nearest. He will say: ‘People, I have listened to you from the time I created you until this day of yours. Listen to Me today: it is only your own deeds that are being returned to you.

أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي جَعَلْتُ نَسَبًا وَجَعَلْتُمْ نَسَبًا ، فَوَضَعْتُمْ نَسَبِي وَرَفَعْتُمْ نَسَبَكُمْ ، قُلْتُ : ( إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ ) الْحُجُرَاتِ : 13 وَأَبَيْتُمْ إِلَّا فُلَانَ بْنَ فُلَانٍ أَغْنَى مِنْ فُلَانٍ ، فَالْيَوْمَ أَضَعُ نَسَبَكُمْ وَأَرْفَعُ نَسَبِي ، أَيْنَ الْمُتَّقُونَ ؟

ʾayyuhā al-nāsu ʾinnī jaʿaltu nasaban wajaʿaltum nasaban, fawaḍaʿtum nasabī warafaʿtum nasabakum, qultu: ( ʾinna ʾakramakum ʿinda allāhi ʾatqākum ) al-ḥujurāti: 13 waʾabaytum ʾillā fulāna bna fulānin ʾaghnā min fulānin, fa-l-yawma ʾaḍaʿu nasabakum waʾarfaʿu nasabī, ʾayna al-muttaqūna?

People, I established a lineage, and you established a lineage. You lowered My lineage and raised yours. I said: “The most honored of you with God is the most mindful of Him” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:13), but you would insist only that so-and-so, son of so-and-so, was richer than so-and-so. Today I lower your lineage and raise Mine. Where are those who were mindful of Me?’

قَالَ : فَيُنْصَبُ لِلْقَوْمِ لِوَاءٌ فَيَتَّبِعُ الْقَوْمُ لِوَاءَهُمْ إِلَى مَنَازِلِهِمْ فَيُدْخِلُهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ . وَالْخَوْفُ حَالٌ مِنْ مَقَامِ الْعِلْمِ ، وَقَدْ جَمَعَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِلْخَائِفِينَ مَا فَرَّقَهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، وَهُوَ الْهُدَى وَالرَّحْمَةُ وَالْعِلْمُ وَالرِّضْوَانُ ، وَهٰذِهِ جُمَلُ مَقَامَاتِ أَهْلِ الْجِنَانِ ،

qāla: fayunṣabu li-l-qawmi liwāʾun fayattabiʿu al-qawmu liwāʾahum ʾilā manāzilihim fayudkhiluhumu al-jannata bighayri ḥisābin . wa-l-khawfu ḥālun min maqāmi al-ʿilmi, waqad jamaʿa allāhu taʿālā li-l-khāʾifīna mā farraqahu ʿalā al-muʾminīna, wahuwa al-hudā wa-l-raḥmatu wa-l-ʿilmu wa-l-riḍwānu, wahādhihi jumalu maqāmāti ʾahli al-jināni,

The report continues: A banner will be raised for these people, and they will follow their banner to their dwellings; He will admit them into Paradise without reckoning. Fear is a state belonging to the station of knowledge. For those who fear, God Most High has brought together what He distributed among the faithful: guidance, mercy, knowledge, and good pleasure. These encompass the stations of the people of the Gardens.

فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( هُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِرَبِّهِمْ يَرْهَبُونَ ) الْأَعْرَافِ : 154 وَقَالَ : ( إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ) فَاطِرٍ : 28 وَقَالَ جَلَّ ذِكْرُهُ : ( رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ذٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ رَبَّهُ ) الْبَيِّنَةِ : 8

faqāla taʿālā: ( hudan waraḥmatun li-lladhīna hum lirabbihim yarhabūna ) al-ʾaʿrāfi: 154 waqāla: ( ʾinnamā yakhshā allāha min ʿibādihi al-ʿulamāʾu ) fāṭirin: 28 waqāla jalla dhikruhu: ( raḍiya allāhu ʿanhum waraḍū ʿanhu dhālika liman khashiya rabbahu ) al-bayyinati: 8

He said: ‘Guidance and mercy for those who dread their Lord’ (al-Aʿrāf 7:154); ‘Of His servants, only those who know stand in awe of God’ (Fāṭir 35:28); and, exalted is His remembrance: ‘God is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him. That is for whoever stands in awe of his Lord’ (al-Bayyinah 98:8).

وَفِي خَبَرِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : وَأَمَّا الْخَائِفُونَ فَلَهُمُ الرَّفِيقُ الْأَعْلَى ، لَا يُشَارَكُونَ فِيهِ ، فَأَفْرَدَهُمْ مِنْ غَيْرِ مُشَارَكَةٍ بِالرَّفِيقِ الْأَعْلَى ، كَا حَقَّقَهُمُ الْيَوْمَ بِشَهَادَةِ التَّصْدِيقِ ، وَهٰذَا مَقَامٌ مِنَ النُّبُوَّةِ ، فَهُمْ مَعَ الْأَنِيبَاءِ فِي الْمَزِيَّةِ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّهُمْ وَرَثَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ ، لِأَنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْعُلَمَاءُ ،

wafī khabari mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: waʾammā al-khāʾifūna falahumu al-rafīqu al-ʾaʿlā, lā yushārakūna fīhi, faʾafradahum min ghayri mushārakatin bi-l-rafīqi al-ʾaʿlā, kā ḥaqqaqahumu al-yawma bishahādati al-taṣdīqi, wahādhā maqāmun mina al-nubuwwati, fahum maʿa al-ʾanībāʾi fī al-maziyyati min qibali ʾannahum warathatu al-ʾanbiyāʾi, liʾannahum humu al-ʿulamāʾu,

In the report of Moses, peace be upon him: ‘As for those who fear, theirs is the Highest Company, in which no others share.’ He singled them out for the Highest Company without partners, just as He has established them today through the witness of affirming truth. This is a station of prophecy: they share this distinction with the prophets because they are the prophets’ heirs, for they are the people of knowledge.

قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَأُولٰئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ ) النِّسَاءِ : 69 ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ مَنَازِلِهِمْ : ( وَحَسُنَ أُولٰئِكَ رَفِيقًا ) النِّسَاءِ : 69 بِمَعْنَى رَفْقًا ، عَبَّرَ عَنْ جَمَاعَتِهِمْ بِالْوَاحِدِ ، لِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا كَأَنَّهُمْ وَاحِدٌ ،

qāla taʿālā: ( fa-ʾulāʾika maʿa alladhīna ʾanʿama allāhu ʿalayhim mina al-nabiyyīna wa-l-ṣiddīqīna ) al-nisāʾi: 69, thumma qāla taʿālā fī waṣfi manāzilihim: ( waḥasuna ʾulāʾika rafīqan ) al-nisāʾi: 69 bimaʿnā rafqan, ʿabbara ʿan jamāʿatihim bi-l-wāḥidi, liʾannahum kānū kaʾannahum wāḥidun,

He, exalted is He, said: ‘They are with those whom God has favored, the prophets and the utterly truthful’ (al-Nisāʾ 4:69). Then, describing their dwellings, He, exalted is He, said: ‘What excellent companions they are!’ (al-Nisāʾ 4:69). Rafīqan here means a company: He expressed their plurality with a singular, since they were as though one.

وَقَدْ يَكُونُ رَفِيقًا مَقَامًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ مِنْ أَعْلَى عِلِّيِّينَ ، لِقَوْلِ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عِنْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَقَدْ خُيِّرَ بَيْنَ الْبَقَاءِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَبَيْنَ الْقُدُومِ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَقَالَ : أَسْأَلُكَ الرَّفِيقَ الْأَعْلَى .

waqad yakūnu rafīqan maqāman fī al-jannati min ʾaʿlā ʿilliyyīna, liqawli al-rasūli ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿinda al-mawti waqad khuyyira bayna al-baqāʾi fī al-dunyā wabayna al-qudūmi ʿalā allāhi taʿālā faqāla: ʾasʾaluka al-rafīqa al-ʾaʿlā .

Rafīq may also designate a station in Paradise in the loftiest heights of ʿIlliyyūn. For at his death, when the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, was offered the choice between remaining in this world and coming before God Most High, he said: ‘I ask You for the Highest Company.’

وَفِي خَبَرِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : فَأُولٰئِكَ لَهُمُ الرَّفِيقُ الْأَعْلَى ، فَدَلَّ أَنَّهُمْ مَعَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ بِتَفْسِيرِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِذٰلِكَ ، وَشَرَفُ مَقَامِهِمْ فَوْقَ كُلِّ مَقَامٍ ، لِطَلَبِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ذٰلِكَ .

wafī khabari mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: fa-ʾulāʾika lahumu al-rafīqu al-ʾaʿlā, fadalla ʾannahum maʿa al-ʾanbiyāʾi bitafsīri al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lidhālika, washarafu maqāmihim fawqa kulli maqāmin, liṭalabi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama dhālika .

The report of Moses, peace be upon him, says: ‘Theirs is the Highest Company.’ This indicates that they are with the prophets, through the Prophet’s explanation, God bless him and grant him peace, and indicates the nobility of their station above every station, since God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, himself sought it.

فَالْخَوْفُ اِسْمٌ جَامِعٌ لِحَقِيقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ ، وَهُوَ عِلْمُ الْوُجُودِ وَالْإِيقَانِ ، وَهُوَ سَبَبُ اِجْتِنَابِ كُلِّ نَهْيٍ وَمِفْتَاحُ كُلِّ أَمْرٍ ، وَلَيْسَ شَيْءٌ يُحْرِقُ شَهَوَاتِ النُّفُوسِ فَيُزِيلُ آثَارَ آفَاتِهَا إِلَّا مَقَامُ الْخَوْفِ .

fa-l-khawfu ismun jāmiʿun liḥaqīqati al-ʾīmāni, wahuwa ʿilmu al-wujūdi wa-l-ʾīqāni, wahuwa sababu ijtinābi kulli nahyin wamiftāḥu kulli ʾamrin, walaysa shayʾun yuḥriqu shahawāti al-nufūsi fayuzīlu ʾāthāra ʾāfātihā ʾillā maqāmu al-khawfi .

Fear is thus a name embracing the reality of faith: it is the knowledge of finding and being certain. It brings avoidance of everything forbidden and unlocks everything commanded. Nothing burns away the soul’s appetites, removing the traces of their afflictions, except the station of fear.

وَقَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : كَمَالُ الْإِيمَانِ الْعِلْمُ ، وَكَمَالُ الْعِلْمِ الْخَوْفُ ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً : الْعِلْمُ كَسْبُ الْإِيمَانِ ، وَالْخَوْفُ كَسْبُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ . وَقَالَ أَبُو الْفَيْضِ الْمِصْرِيُّ : لَايُسْقَى الْمُحِبُّ كَأْسَ الْمَحَبَّةِ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ أَنْ يُنْضِجَ

waqāla ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā: kamālu al-ʾīmāni al-ʿilmu, wakamālu al-ʿilmi al-khawfu, waqāla marratan: al-ʿilmu kasbu al-ʾīmāni, wa-l-khawfu kasbu al-maʿrifati . waqāla ʾabū al-fayḍi al-miṣriyyu: lāyusqā al-muḥibbu kaʾsa al-maḥabbati ʾillā min baʿdi ʾan yunḍija

Abū Muḥammad Sahl, God Most High have mercy on him, said: ‘Faith is perfected by knowledge, and knowledge is perfected by fear.’ On another occasion he said: ‘Knowledge is what faith acquires; fear is what recognition acquires.’ Abū al-Fayḍ al-Miṣrī said: ‘The lover is not given the cup of love to drink until fear has ripened

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٧٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 377

Volume One, page 377

الْخَوْفُ قَلْبَهُ وَقَالَ : خَوْفُ النَّارِ عِنْدَ خَوْفِ الْفِرَاقِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ قَطْرَةٍ قَطَرَتْ فِي بَحْرٍ لُجِّيٍّ ، وَكُلُّ مُؤْمِنٍ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى خَائِفٌ مِنْهُ ، وَلٰكِنَّ خَوْفَهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ قُرْبِهِ ،

al-khawfu qalbahu waqāla: khawfu al-nāri ʿinda khawfi al-firāqi bimanzilati qaṭratin qaṭarat fī baḥrin lujjiyyin, wakullu muʾminin bi-llāhi taʿālā khāʾifun minhu, walākinna khawfahu ʿalā qadri qurbihi,

his heart.’ He also said: ‘Fear of the Fire, beside fear of separation, is like a drop that falls into a fathomless sea.’ Every believer in God Most High fears Him, but his fear is proportionate to his nearness.

فَخَوْفُ الْإِسْلَامِ : اِعْتِقَادُ الْعِزَّةِ وَالْجَبْرِيَّةِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَتَسْلِيمُ الْقُدْرَةِ وَالسَّطْوَةِ لَهُ ، وَالتَّصْدِيقُ لِمَا أَخْبَرَ بِهِ مِنْ عَذَابِهِ وَمَا تَهَدَّدَ بِهِ مِنْ عِقَابِهِ .

fakhawfu al-ʾislāmi: iʿtiqādu al-ʿizzati wa-l-jabriyyati li-llāhi taʿālā, wataslīmu al-qudrati wa-l-saṭwati lahu, wa-l-taṣdīqu limā ʾakhbara bihi min ʿadhābihi wamā tahaddada bihi min ʿiqābihi .

The fear belonging to submission is to believe that might and irresistible dominion belong to God Most High, to acknowledge His power and force, and to affirm the torment He has announced and the punishment He has threatened.

وَقَالَ الْفُضَيْلُ بْنُ عِيَاضٍ : إِذَا قِيلَ لَكَ تَخَافُ اللَّهَ فَاُسْكُتْ ، لِأَنَّكَ إِنْ قُلْتَ لَا كَفَرْتَ ، وَإِنْ قُلْتَ نَعَمْ فَلَيْسَ وَصْفُكَ وَصْفَ مَنْ يَخَافُ .

waqāla al-fuḍaylu bnu ʿiyāḍin: ʾidhā qīla laka takhāfu allāha fa-uskut, liʾannaka ʾin qulta lā kafarta, waʾin qulta naʿam falaysa waṣfuka waṣfa man yakhāfu .

Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ said: ‘When you are asked, “Do you fear God?”, remain silent. If you say no, you have disbelieved; if you say yes, your conduct is not that of someone who fears.’

وَشَكَا وَاعِظٌ إِلَى بَعْضِ الْحُكَمَاءِ فَقَالَ : أَلَا تَرَى إِلَى هٰؤُلَاءِ أَعِظُهُمْ وَأُذَكِّرُهُمْ فَلَا يَرِقُّونَ ؟ فَقَالَ : وَكَيْفَ تَنْفَعُ الْمَوْعِظَةُ مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي قَلْبِهِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى مَخَافَةٌ ،

washakā wāʿiẓun ʾilā baʿḍi al-ḥukamāʾi faqāla: ʾalā tarā ʾilā hāʾulāʾi ʾaʿiẓuhum waʾudhakkiruhum falā yariqqūna? faqāla: wakayfa tanfaʿu al-mawʿiẓatu man lam yakun fī qalbihi li-llāhi taʿālā makhāfatun,

A preacher complained to one of the sages: ‘Do you not see these people? I counsel and remind them, yet their hearts do not soften.’ He replied: ‘How can counsel help someone whose heart has no fear of God Most High?’

وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي تَصْدِيقِ ذٰلِكَ : ( سَيَذَّكَّرُ مَنْ يَخْشَى وَيَتَجَنَّبُهَا الْأَشْقَى ) الْأَعْلَى : 10 - 11 أَيْ يَتَجَنَّبُ التَّذْكِرَةَ الشَّقِيُّ ، فَجَعَلَ مَنْ عَدِمَ الْخَوْفَ شَقِيًّا وَحَرَمَهُ التَّذْكِرَةَ

waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā fī taṣdīqi dhālika: ( sayadhdhakkaru man yakhshā wayatajannabuhā al-ʾashqā ) al-ʾaʿlā: 10 - 11 ʾay yatajannabu al-tadhkirata al-shaqiyyu, fajaʿala man ʿadima al-khawfa shaqiyyan waḥaramahu al-tadhkirata

God Most High confirmed this when He said: ‘The one who fears will take heed, while the most wretched will avoid it’ (al-Aʿlā 87:10–11): that is, the wretched person avoids the reminder. He thus declared the person lacking fear wretched and deprived him of the reminder.

فَخَوْفُ عُمُومِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِظَاهِرِ الْقَلْبِ عَنْ بَاطِنِ الْعِلْمِ بِالْعَقْدِ ، وَخَوْفُ خُصُوصِهِمْ وَهُمُ الْمُوقِنُونَ بِبَاطِنِ الْقَلْبِ عَنْ بَاطِنِ الْعِلْمِ بِالْوَجْدِ : فَأَمَّا خَوْفُ الْيَقِينِ فَهُوَ لِلصِّدِّيقِينَ مِنْ شُهَدَاءِ الْعَارِفِينَ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ مَا آمَنَ بِهِ مِنَ الصِّفَاتِ الْمُخَوِّفَةِ .

fakhawfu ʿumūmi al-muʾminīna biẓāhiri al-qalbi ʿan bāṭini al-ʿilmi bi-l-ʿaqdi, wakhawfu khuṣūṣihim wahumu al-mūqinūna bibāṭini al-qalbi ʿan bāṭini al-ʿilmi bi-l-wajdi: faʾammā khawfu al-yaqīni fahuwa li-l-ṣiddīqīna min shuhadāʾi al-ʿārifīna ʿan mushāhadati mā ʾāmana bihi mina al-ṣifāti al-mukhawwifati .

Ordinary believers fear with the heart’s outward aspect, from inward knowledge held as a conviction. The elect among them, those possessing certainty, fear with the heart’s inward aspect, from inward knowledge through direct experience. The fear of certainty belongs to the utterly truthful among the witnessing knowers, arising from their witnessing the awe-inspiring attributes in which they have believed.

وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي خَبَرٍ إِذَا دَخَلَ الْعَبْدُ فِي قَبْرِهِ لَمْ يَبْقَ شَيْءٌ كَانَ يَخَافُهُ دُونَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَّا مُثِّلَ لَهُ يُفْزِعُهُ وَيُرْعِبُهُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ

waqad jāʾa fī khabarin ʾidhā dakhala al-ʿabdu fī qabrihi lam yabqa shayʾun kāna yakhāfuhu dūna allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʾillā muththila lahu yufziʿuhu wayurʿibuhu ʾilā yawmi al-qiyāmati

A report relates that when a servant enters his grave, everything he used to fear apart from God, mighty and majestic, is made present before him to frighten and terrify him until the Day of Resurrection.

فَأَوَّلُ خَوْفِ الْيَقِينِ الْمَوْصُوفِ الَّذِي هُوَ نَعْتُ الْمَوْصُوفِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، الْمُحَاسَبَةُ لِلنَّفْسِ فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ ، وَالْمُرَاقَبَةُ لِلرَّبِّ فِي كُلِّ حِينٍ ، وَالْوَرَعُ عَنِ الْإِقْدَامِ عَلَى الشُّبُهَاتِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْعُلُومِ بِغَيْرِ يَقِينٍ بِهَا وَمِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ بِغَيْرِ فِقْهٍ فِيهَا .

faʾawwalu khawfi al-yaqīni al-mawṣūfi alladhī huwa naʿtu al-mawṣūfīna mina al-muʾminīna, al-muḥāsabatu li-l-nafsi fī kulli waqtin, wa-l-murāqabatu li-l-rabbi fī kulli ḥīnin, wa-l-waraʿu ʿani al-ʾiqdāmi ʿalā al-shubuhāti min kulli shayʾin mina al-ʿulūmi bighayri yaqīnin bihā wamina al-ʾaʿmāli bighayri fiqhin fīhā .

The beginning of the described fear of certainty, which characterizes the believers so described, is to hold oneself to account at every moment, to remain watchful before the Lord at all times, and scrupulously to avoid venturing into anything doubtful: branches of knowledge without certainty about them, or actions without an understanding of them.

وَفِي خَبَرِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : وَأَمَّا الْوَرِعُونَ فَإِنَّهُ لَايَبْقَى أَحَدٌ إِلَّا نَاقَشْتُهُ بِالْحِسَابِ وَفَتَّشْتُهُ عَمَّا فِي يَدَيْهِ إِلَّا الْوَرِعِينَ ، فَإِنِّي أَسْتَحْيِيهِمْ وَأُجِلُّهُمْ أَنْ أُوقِفَهُمْ لِلْحِسَابِ ، فَالْوَرَعُ حَالٌ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ ،

wafī khabari mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: waʾammā al-wariʿūna faʾinnahu lāyabqā ʾaḥadun ʾillā nāqashtuhu bi-l-ḥisābi wafattashtuhu ʿammā fī yadayhi ʾillā al-wariʿīna, faʾinnī ʾastaḥyīhim waʾujilluhum ʾan ʾūqifahum li-l-ḥisābi, fa-l-waraʿu ḥālun mina al-khawfi,

In the report of Moses, peace be upon him: ‘As for the scrupulous, there is no one whom I will not call rigorously to account and examine concerning what is in his hands, except the scrupulous. I feel reserve before them and hold them too highly to make them stand for reckoning.’ Scrupulous restraint is therefore a state of fear.

ثُمَّ كَفُّ الْجَوَارِحِ عَنِ الشُّبُهَاتِ وَفُضُولِ الْحَلَالِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ، بِخُشُوعِ قَلْبٍ ، وَوُجُودِ إِخْبَاتٍ . وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ : وَمَنِ اِشْتَاقَ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ سَلَا عَنِ الشَّهَوَاتِ ، وَمَنْ أَشْفَقَ مِنَ النَّارِ رَجَعَ عَنِ الْمُحَرَّمَاتِ ،

thumma kaffu al-jawāriḥi ʿani al-shubuhāti wafuḍūli al-ḥalāli min kulli shayʾin, bikhushūʿi qalbin, wawujūdi ʾikhbātin . waqāla ʿaliyyun karrama allāhu wajhahu: wamani ishtāqa ʾilā al-jannati salā ʿani al-shahawāti, waman ʾashfaqa mina al-nāri rajaʿa ʿani al-muḥarramāti,

Next comes withholding the limbs from doubtful things and from everything superfluous, even when lawful, with a humbled heart and inward submission. ʿAlī, God honor his countenance, said: ‘Whoever yearns for Paradise loses his attachment to appetites; whoever dreads the Fire turns back from forbidden things.’

ثُمَّ سَجْنُ اللِّسَانِ وَخَزْنُ الْكَلَامِ ، لِئَلَّا يَدْخُلَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلَا فِي الْعِلْمِ مَا لَمْ يَشْرَعْهُ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ أَوْ لَمْ يَذْكُرْهُ رَسُولُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي سُنَّتِهِ ، أَوْ لَمْ يَنْطِقْ بِهِ الْأَئِمَّةُ مِنَ السَّلَفِ فِي سِيَرِهِمْ

thumma sajnu al-lisāni wakhaznu al-kalāmi, liʾallā yadkhula fī dīni allāhi ʿazza wajalla walā fī al-ʿilmi mā lam yashraʿhu allāhu fī kitābihi ʾaw lam yadhkurhu rasūluhu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī sunnatihi, ʾaw lam yanṭiq bihi al-ʾaʾimmatu mina al-salafi fī siyarihim

Then comes imprisoning the tongue and guarding one’s speech, lest there enter the religion of God, mighty and majestic, or religious knowledge something God has not prescribed in His Book, His Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, has not mentioned in his Sunna, or the leading figures of the earliest generations have not expressed in their ways of life:

مِمَّا لَمْ يَكُنْ أَصْلُهُ مَوْجُودًا فِي الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ ، وَتَسْمِيَتُهُ وَاضِحَةً فِي الْعِلْمِ ، فَيَجْتَنِبُ ذٰلِكَ كُلَّهُ ، ( وَلَاتَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ ) الْإِسْرَاءِ : 36 خَوْفًا مِنَ الْمُسَاءَلَةِ ،

mimmā lam yakun ʾaṣluhu mawjūdan fī al-kitābi wa-l-sunnati, watasmiyatuhu wāḍiḥatan fī al-ʿilmi, fayajtanibu dhālika kullahu, ( walātaqfu mā laysa laka bihi ʿilmun ) al-ʾisrāʾi: 36 khawfan mina al-musāʾalati,

anything whose foundation is not found in the Book and the Sunna and whose designation is not clear within religious knowledge. One avoids all of this: ‘Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge’ (al-Isrāʾ 17:36), fearing being called to account.

وَلَا يَدْخُلُ فِيهِ لِدَقِيقِ هَوًى يَدْخُلُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا لِعَظِيمِ حَظِّ دُنْيَا يَدْخُلُ فِيهِ وَأَنْ يَنْصَحَ نَفْسَهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى لِأَنَّهَا أَوْلَى الْخَلْقِ ، ثُمَّ يَنْصَحَ الْخَلْقَ فِي اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَيَبْتَدِئُ بِالنُّصْحِ فِي أُمُورِ الدِّينِ وَالْآخِرَةِ ،

walā yadkhulu fīhi lidaqīqi hawan yadkhulu ʿalayhi walā liʿaẓīmi ḥaẓẓi dunyā yadkhulu fīhi waʾan yanṣaḥa nafsahu li-llāhi taʿālā liʾannahā ʾawlā al-khalqi, thumma yanṣaḥa al-khalqa fī allāhi taʿālā fayabtadiʾu bi-l-nuṣḥi fī ʾumūri al-dīni wa-l-ʾākhirati,

One must not enter into it because some subtle desire intrudes upon one or because a great worldly advantage is involved. One must sincerely counsel oneself for God Most High’s sake, since one’s own self has the first claim among created beings, and then counsel others in God Most High, beginning with matters of religion and the hereafter.

ثُمَّ يُعْقِبُهُ فِي أَسْبَابِ الدُّنْيَا لِأَنَّ أُمُورَ الْآخِرَةِ أَهَمُّ ، وَالْغِشَّ فِي الدِّينِ أَعْظَمُ ، وَالتَّزَوُّدَ لِلْمُنْقَلَبِ آثَرُ .

thumma yuʿqibuhu fī ʾasbābi al-dunyā liʾanna ʾumūra al-ʾākhirati ʾahammu, wa-l-ghishsha fī al-dīni ʾaʿẓamu, wa-l-tazawwuda li-l-munqalabi ʾātharu .

After that, one follows it with counsel about worldly concerns, for the affairs of the hereafter matter more, deceit in religion is graver, and taking provisions for the return deserves preference.

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٧٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 378

Volume One, page 378

رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : مَنْ غَشَّ أُمَّتِي فَعَلَيْهِ لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ ، قِيلَ وَمَا غَشُّ أُمَّتِكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ؟ قَالَ : أَنْ يَبْتَدِعَ لَهُمْ بِدْعَةً فَيُتَّبَعَ عَلَيْهَا ، فَإِذَا فَعَلَ ذٰلِكَ فَقَدْ غَشَّهُمْ .

rawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu qāla: man ghashsha ʾummatī faʿalayhi laʿnatu allāhi, qīla wamā ghashshu ʾummatika yā rasūla allāhi? qāla: ʾan yabtadiʿa lahum bidʿatan fayuttabaʿa ʿalayhā, faʾidhā faʿala dhālika faqad ghashshahum .

We have transmitted from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, that he said: ‘Whoever deceives my community is under God’s curse.’ He was asked, ‘What is deceiving your community, Messenger of God?’ He answered: ‘To introduce an innovation for them and be followed in it. When someone does this, he has deceived them.’

وَثَمَرَةُ الْخَوْفِ الْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالْحَيَاءُ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَهُوَ أَعْلَى سَرِيرَاتِ أَهْلِ الْمَزِيدِ يَسْتَبِينُ أَحْكَامَ ذٰلِكَ فِي مَعْنَيَيْنِ ؛ هُمَا جُمْلَةُ الْعَبْدِ

wathamaratu al-khawfi al-ʿilmu bi-llāhi ʿazza wajalla wa-l-ḥayāʾu mina allāhi ʿazza wajalla wahuwa ʾaʿlā sarīrāti ʾahli al-mazīdi yastabīnu ʾaḥkāma dhālika fī maʿnayayni; humā jumlatu al-ʿabdi

Fear bears the fruit of knowing God, mighty and majestic, and feeling shame before God, mighty and majestic. This is the highest inward disposition of those granted increase. Its requirements become evident in two matters that encompass the whole servant:

إِنْ يَحْفَظْ رَأْسَهُ وَمَا حَوَاهُ مِنَ السَّمْعِ وَالْبَصَرِ وَاللِّسَانِ وَأَنْ يَحْفَظَ بَطْنَهُ وَمَا وَعَاهُ وَهُوَ الْقَلْبُ وَالْفَرْجُ وَالْيَدُ وَالرِّجْلُ : وَهٰذَا خَوْفُ الْعُمُومِ ، وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ الْحَيَاءِ .

ʾin yaḥfaẓ raʾsahu wamā ḥawāhu mina al-samʿi wa-l-baṣari wa-l-lisāni waʾan yaḥfaẓa baṭnahu wamā waʿāhu wahuwa al-qalbu wa-l-farju wa-l-yadu wa-l-rijlu: wahādhā khawfu al-ʿumūmi, wahuwa ʾawwalu al-ḥayāʾi .

that he guard his head and what it contains: hearing, sight, and tongue; and guard his belly and what it holds: the heart, sexual organ, hand, and foot. This is ordinary fear, the beginning of shame before God.

فَأَمَّا خَوْفُ الْخُصُوصِ فَهُوَ أَنْ لَا يَجْمَعَ مَا لَا يَأْكُلُ وَلَا يَبْنِيَ مَا لَا يَسْكُنُ ، وَلَا يُكَاثِرَ فِيمَا عَنْهُ يَنْتَقِلُ وَلَا يَغْفُلَ وَلَا يُفَرِّطَ عَمَّا إِلَيْهِ يَرْتَحِلُ ، وَهٰذَا هُوَ الزُّهْدُ وَهُوَ حَيَاءُ مَزِيدِ أَهْلِ الْحَيَاءِ مِنْ تَقْوَى أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ ،

faʾammā khawfu al-khuṣūṣi fahuwa ʾan lā yajmaʿa mā lā yaʾkulu walā yabniya mā lā yaskunu, walā yukāthira fīmā ʿanhu yantaqilu walā yaghfula walā yufarriṭa ʿammā ʾilayhi yartaḥilu, wahādhā huwa al-zuhdu wahuwa ḥayāʾu mazīdi ʾahli al-ḥayāʾi min taqwā ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni,

The fear of the elect is not to gather what one will not eat, build what one will not inhabit, or seek abundance in what one must leave, and not to neglect or be heedless of the destination to which one is journeying. This is renunciation: the further shame granted to those already possessed of shame, arising from the reverent mindfulness of the Companions of the Right.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَى مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ فِي حَدِيثَيْنِ ، أَحَدُهُمَا عَامٌّ وَالْآخَرُ خَاصٌّ ، وَكُلُّ مَنْ لَمْ يَسْتَعْمِلْ قَلْبَهُ فِي بِدَايَتِهِ ، وَيَجْعَلِ الْخَوْفَ حَشْوَ إِرَادَتِهِ لَمْ يَنْجُبْ فِي خَاتِمَتِهِ ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ إِمَامًا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ عِنْدَ عُلُوِّ مَعْرِفَتِهِ .

waqad rawaynā maʿnā mā dhakarnāhu fī ḥadīthayni, ʾaḥaduhumā ʿāmmun wa-l-ʾākharu khāṣṣun, wakullu man lam yastaʿmil qalbahu fī bidāyatihi, wayajʿali al-khawfa ḥashwa ʾirādatihi lam yanjub fī khātimatihi, walam yakun ʾimāman li-l-muttaqīna ʿinda ʿuluwwi maʿrifatihi .

We have transmitted the substance of what we have mentioned in two hadith reports, one general and the other particular. Whoever does not put his heart to work at the beginning and make fear the filling of his resolve will not attain excellence at his end or become a leader of the mindful when his recognition rises.

وَأَعْلَى الْخَوْفِ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَلْبُهُ مُعَلَّقًا بِخَوْفِ الْخَاتِمَةِ ، لَا يَسْكُنُ إِلَى عِلْمٍ وَلَا عَمَلٍ ، وَلَا يَقْطَعُ عَلَى النَّجَاةِ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْعُلُومِ وَإِنْ عَلَتْ ، وَلَا لِسَبَبٍ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِ وَإِنْ جَلَّتْ ، لِعَدَمِ عِلْمِهِ تَحْقِيقَ الْخَوَاتِمِ ، فَقَدْ قِيلَ : إِنَّمَا يُوزَنُ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ خَوَاتِمُهَا .

waʾaʿlā al-khawfi ʾan yakūna qalbuhu muʿallaqan bikhawfi al-khātimati, lā yaskunu ʾilā ʿilmin walā ʿamalin, walā yaqṭaʿu ʿalā al-najāti bishayʾin mina al-ʿulūmi waʾin ʿalat, walā lisababin min ʾaʿmālihi waʾin jallat, liʿadami ʿilmihi taḥqīqa al-khawātimi, faqad qīla: ʾinnamā yūzanu mina al-ʾaʿmāli khawātimuhā .

The highest fear is for the heart to remain suspended in fear of its final outcome, finding no repose in knowledge or action and claiming no certainty of salvation through any knowledge, however lofty, or any deed, however great, because it does not know how endings will actually unfold. It has been said: ‘What is weighed of deeds is their endings.’

وَعَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ خَمْسِينَ سَنَةً حَتَّى يُقَالَ إِنَّهُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ : حَتَّى مَا يَبْقَى بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجَنَّةِ إِلَّا شِبْرٌ ، ثُمَّ يَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيُخْتَمُ لَهُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ

waʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾinna al-ʿabda layaʿmalu biʿamali ʾahli al-jannati khamsīna sanatan ḥattā yuqāla ʾinnahu min ʾahli al-jannati, wafī khabarin: ḥattā mā yabqā baynahu wabayna al-jannati ʾillā shibrun, thumma yasbiqu ʿalayhi al-kitābu fayukhtamu lahu biʿamali ʾahli al-nāri

It is related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: ‘A servant may perform the deeds of the people of Paradise for fifty years, until it is said that he belongs to them.’ Another report says: ‘Until only a handspan remains between him and Paradise. Then the written decree overtakes him, and his life is sealed with a deed of the people of the Fire.’

وَلَا يَتَأَتَّى فِي هٰذَا الْمِقْدَارِ مِنَ الْوَقْتِ شَيْءٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الْجِسْمِ بِالْجَوَارِحِ ، إِنَّمَا هُوَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْعُقُولِ ، وَهُوَ شِرْكُ التَّوْحِيدِ الَّذِي لَمْ يَكُنْ مُتَحَقِّقًا بِهِ ، وَشَكٌّ فِي الْيَقِينِ الَّذِي لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا مُشَاهِدًا لَهُ ،

walā yataʾattā fī hādhā al-miqdāri mina al-waqti shayʾun min ʿamali al-jismi bi-l-jawāriḥi, ʾinnamā huwa min ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi bimushāhadati al-ʿuqūli, wahuwa shirku al-tawḥīdi alladhī lam yakun mutaḥaqqiqan bihi, washakkun fī al-yaqīni alladhī lam yakun fī al-ḥayāti al-dunyā mushāhidan lahu,

In so short an interval, no bodily deed through the limbs is possible. It must be a deed of the heart, through what the intellect witnesses: association intruding upon the affirmation of oneness that he had not truly realized, and doubt intruding upon the certainty that he had not witnessed in worldly life.

فَظَهَرَ لَهُ بَيَانُ ذٰلِكَ عِنْدَ كَشْفِ الْغِطَاءِ ، فَغَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ وَصْفُهُ وَبَدَتْ فِيهِ حَالُهُ كَمَا يَظْهَرُ لَهُ أَعْمَالُهُ السَّيِّئَةُ فَيَسْتَحْلِيهَا قَلْبُهُ أَوْ يَنْطِقُ بِهَا لِسَانُهُ أَوْ يُخَامِرُهَا وَجْدُهُ ، فَتَكُونُ هِيَ خَاتِمَتَهُ الَّتِي تَخْرُجُ عَلَيْهَا رُوحُهُ ،

faẓahara lahu bayānu dhālika ʿinda kashfi al-ghiṭāʾi, faghalaba ʿalayhi waṣfuhu wabadat fīhi ḥāluhu kamā yaẓharu lahu ʾaʿmāluhu al-sayyiʾatu fayastaḥlīhā qalbuhu ʾaw yanṭiqu bihā lisānuhu ʾaw yukhāmiruhā wajduhu, fatakūnu hiya khātimatahu allatī takhruju ʿalayhā rūḥuhu,

When the covering is lifted, the truth of this becomes clear to him. His underlying character takes hold, and his actual state emerges, just as his evil deeds may appear to him and his heart find them sweet, his tongue speak of them, or his inward experience mingle with them. They become the final state in which his spirit departs.

وَذٰلِكَ فِي سَابِقَتِهِ الَّتِي سَبَقَتْ لَهُ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أُولٰئِكَ يَنَالُهُمْ نَصِيبُهُمْ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ ) الْأَعْرَافِ : 37 تَكُونُ عِنْدَ مُفَارَقَةِ الرُّوحِ مِنَ الْجَسَدِ ( وَإِنَّا لَمُوَفُّوهُمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ غَيْرَ مَنْقُوصٍ ) هُودٍ : 109

wadhālika fī sābiqatihi allatī sabaqat lahu mina al-kitābi kamā qāla taʿālā: ( ʾulāʾika yanāluhum naṣībuhum mina al-kitābi ) al-ʾaʿrāfi: 37 takūnu ʿinda mufāraqati al-rūḥi mina al-jasadi ( waʾinnā lamuwaffūhum naṣībahum ghayra manqūṣin ) hūdin: 109

This belongs to the prior destiny written for him in the decree, as the Most High said: ‘Their portion of the Book will reach them’ (al-Aʿrāf 7:37). It comes at the spirit’s separation from the body: ‘We shall surely pay them their portion in full, without diminution’ (Hūd 11:109).

وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي خَبَرٍ حَتَّى لَايَبْقَى بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجَنَّةِ إِلَّا فُوَاقُ نَاقَةٍ ، فَيُخْتَمُ لَهُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ ، وَهٰذَا يَكُونُ عِنْدَ بُلُوغِ الرُّوحِ التَّرَاقِيَ ، وَتَكُونُ النَّفْسُ قَدْ خَرَجَتْ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْجَسَدِ ، وَاِجْتَمَعَتْ فِي الْقَلْبِ إِلَى الْحُلْقُومِ فَهٰذَا هُوَ شِبْرٌ ،

waqad jāʾa fī khabarin ḥattā lāyabqā baynahu wabayna al-jannati ʾillā fuwāqu nāqatin, fayukhtamu lahu biʿamali ʾahli al-nāri, wahādhā yakūnu ʿinda bulūghi al-rūḥi al-tarāqiya, watakūnu al-nafsu qad kharajat min jamīʿi al-jasadi, wa-ijtamaʿat fī al-qalbi ʾilā al-ḥulqūmi fahādhā huwa shibrun,

A report says: ‘Until only the interval between two milkings of a she-camel remains between him and Paradise, and his life is sealed with a deed of the people of the Fire.’ This occurs when the spirit reaches the collarbones. The soul has left the rest of the body and gathered between the heart and the throat. This is the handspan.

وَفُوَاقُ نَاقَةٍ : هُوَ مَا بَيْنَ الْحَلْبَتَيْنِ ، وَقِيلَ : هُوَ شَوْطٌ مِنْ عَدْوِهَا بَيْنَ سَيْرَيْنِ ؛ وَهٰذَا مِنْ تَقَلُّبَاتِ الْقُلُوبِ عِنْدَ حَقِيقَةِ وِجْهَةِ التَّوْحِيدِ إِلَى وِجْهَةِ الضَّلَالِ وَالشِّرْكِ عِنْدَمَا يَبْدُو لَهُ مِنْ زَوَالِ عَقْلِ الدُّنْيَا ، وَذَهَابِ عِلْمِ الْمَعْقُولِ فَيَبْدُو لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ يَحْتَسِبُ .

wafuwāqu nāqatin: huwa mā bayna al-ḥalbatayni, waqīla: huwa shawṭun min ʿadwihā bayna sayrayni; wahādhā min taqallubāti al-qulūbi ʿinda ḥaqīqati wijhati al-tawḥīdi ʾilā wijhati al-ḍalāli wa-l-shirki ʿindamā yabdū lahu min zawāli ʿaqli al-dunyā, wadhahābi ʿilmi al-maʿqūli fayabdū lahu mina allāhi mā lam yakun yaḥtasibu .

The she-camel’s fuwāq is the interval between two milkings; it has also been said to be a spell of running between two stretches of walking. This is one of the heart’s turns, at the decisive moment of its orientation toward oneness, toward error and association, when worldly understanding begins to vanish and knowledge of intelligible things departs. There then appears to him from God what he had never reckoned with.

وَأَكْثَرُ مَا يَقَعُ سُوءُ الْخَاتِمَةِ لِثَلَاثِ طَوَائِفَ مِنَ النَّاسِ : أَهْلِ الْبِدَعِ وَالزَّيْغِ فِي الدِّينِ ،

waʾaktharu mā yaqaʿu sūʾu al-khātimati lithalāthi ṭawāʾifa mina al-nāsi: ʾahli al-bidaʿi wa-l-zayghi fī al-dīni,

An evil ending most often befalls three groups of people. First are those who introduce innovations and deviate in religion,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٧٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 379

Volume One, page 379

لِأَنَّ إِيمَانَهُمْ مُرْتَبِطٌ بِالْمَعْقُولِ ، فَأَوَّلُ آيَةٍ تَظْهَرُ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُدْرَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَنْ يَطِيحَ عَقْلُهُ عِنْدَ شُهُودِهَا فَيَذْهَبَ إِيمَانُهُ وَلَا يَثْبُتَ لِمُعَايَنَتِهَا ، كَمَا تَحْتَرِقُ الْفَتِيلَةُ فَيَسْقُطُ الْمِصْبَاحُ .

liʾanna ʾīmānahum murtabiṭun bi-l-maʿqūli, faʾawwalu ʾāyatin taẓharu lahum min qudrati allāhi taʿālā ʾan yaṭīḥa ʿaqluhu ʿinda shuhūdihā fayadhhaba ʾīmānuhu walā yathbuta limuʿāyanatihā, kamā taḥtariqu al-fatīlatu fayasquṭu al-miṣbāḥu .

because their faith is tied to what reason can comprehend. At the first sign of God Most High’s power that appears to them, a person’s intellect is swept away as he witnesses it; his faith disappears and cannot stand the direct sight of it, just as a wick burns through and the lamp goes out.

وَالطَّبَقَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ أَهْلُ الْكِبْرِ وَالْإِنْكَارِ لِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَكَرَامَاتِهِ لِأَوْلِيَائِهِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ، لِأَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ يَقِينٌ يَحْمِلُ الْقُدْرَةَ وَيَمُدُّهُ الْإِيمَانُ ؛ فَيَعْتَوِرُهُمُ الشَّكُّ وَيَقْوَى عَلَيْهِمْ لِفَقْدِ الْيَقِينِ .

wa-l-ṭabaqatu al-thāniyatu ʾahlu al-kibri wa-l-ʾinkāri liʾāyāti allāhi ʿazza wajalla wakarāmātihi liʾawliyāʾihi fī al-ḥayāti al-dunyā, liʾannahum lam yakun lahum yaqīnun yaḥmilu al-qudrata wayamudduhu al-ʾīmānu; fayaʿtawiruhumu al-shakku wayaqwā ʿalayhim lifaqdi al-yaqīni .

The second class consists of the arrogant, who deny the signs of God, mighty and majestic, and the wonders He grants His friends in worldly life. They have possessed no certainty capable of bearing divine power and sustained by faith. Doubt therefore assails and overcomes them because they lack certainty.

وَالطَّبَقَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ ثَلَاثَةُ أَصْنَافٍ : مُتَفَرِّقُونَ مُتَفَاوِتُونَ فِي سُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ ، وَجَمِيعُهُمْ دُونَ تَيْنِكَ الطَّائِفَتَيْنِ فِي سُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ ، لِأَنَّ سُوءَ الْخَتْمِ عَلَى مَقَامَاتٍ أَيْضًا كَمَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ وَالشِّرْكِ فِي عُمُرِ الْحَيَاةِ ،

wa-l-ṭabaqatu al-thālithatu thalāthatu ʾaṣnāfin: mutafarriqūna mutafāwitūna fī sūʾi al-khātimati, wajamīʿuhum dūna taynika al-ṭāʾifatayni fī sūʾi al-khātimati, liʾanna sūʾa al-khatmi ʿalā maqāmātin ʾayḍan kamaqāmāti al-yaqīni wa-l-shirki fī ʿumuri al-ḥayāti,

The third class comprises three kinds, distinct and differing in the evil of their endings. All are less severely affected than the first two groups, for evil endings also have degrees, like the stations of certainty and association during a lifetime.

مِنْهُمُ الْمُدَّعِي الْمُتَظَاهِرُ الَّذِي لَمْ يَزَلْ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ وَعَمَلِهِ نَاظِرًا ، وَالْفَاسِقُ الْمُعْلِنُ ، وَالْمُصِرُّ الْمُدْمِنُ ، يَتَّصِلُ بِهِمُ الْمَعَاصِي إِلَى آخِرِ الْعُمُرِ ، وَيَدُومُ تَقَلُّبُهُمْ فِيهَا إِلَى كَشْفِ الْغِطَاءِ ،

minhumu al-muddaʿī al-mutaẓāhiru alladhī lam yazal ʾilā nafsihi waʿamalihi nāẓiran, wa-l-fāsiqu al-muʿlinu, wa-l-muṣirru al-mudminu, yattaṣilu bihimu al-maʿāṣī ʾilā ʾākhiri al-ʿumuri, wayadūmu taqallubuhum fīhā ʾilā kashfi al-ghiṭāʾi,

They include the ostentatious claimant who has always kept his eyes on himself and his deeds, the open sinner, and the obstinate habitual offender. Sins remain attached to them until the end of life, and they continue moving among them until the covering is lifted.

فَإِذَا رَأَوُا الْآيَاتِ تَابُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِقُلُوبِهِمْ ، وَقَدِ اِنْقَطَعَتْ أَعْمَالُ الْجَوَارِحِ فَلَيْسَ يَتَأَتَّى مِنْهُمْ ، فَلَا تُقْبَلُ تَوْبَتُهُمْ ، وَلَا تُقَالُ عَثْرَتُهُمْ ، وَلَاتُرْحَمُ عَبْرَتُهُمْ ،

faʾidhā raʾawu al-ʾāyāti tābū ʾilā allāhi taʿālā biqulūbihim, waqadi inqaṭaʿat ʾaʿmālu al-jawāriḥi falaysa yataʾattā minhum, falā tuqbalu tawbatuhum, walā tuqālu ʿathratuhum, walāturḥamu ʿabratuhum,

When they see the signs, they repent to God Most High in their hearts. But the limbs’ actions have already ceased and are no longer possible for them. Their repentance is not accepted, their stumbling is not pardoned, and their tears receive no mercy.

وَهُمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ هٰذِهِ الْآيَةِ ، ( وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ : إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَ ) النِّسَاءِ : 18 فَهُمْ مَقْصُودُونَ بِقَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَحِيلَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ مَا يَشْتَهُونَ ) سَبَأٍ : 54

wahum min ʾahli hādhihi al-ʾāyati, ( walaysati al-tawbatu li-lladhīna yaʿmalūna al-sayyiʾāti ḥattā ʾidhā ḥaḍara ʾaḥadahumu al-mawtu qāla: ʾinnī tubtu al-ʾāna ) al-nisāʾi: 18 fahum maqṣūdūna biqawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( waḥīla baynahum wabayna mā yashtahūna ) sabaʾin: 54

They belong among those described in this verse: ‘Repentance is not for those who go on doing evil until, when death comes to one of them, he says, “Now I repent”’ (al-Nisāʾ 4:18). They are intended by His words, mighty and majestic: ‘A barrier was placed between them and what they desired’ (Sabaʾ 34:54).

وَهُمْ مَعْنِيُّونَ بِمَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَلَمَّا رَأَوْا بَأْسَنَا قَالُوا : آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ ) غَافِرٍ : 84 ، فَنُصُوصُ الْآيَةِ لِلْكُفَّارِ وَمَعْنَاهَا وَمَقَامٌ مِنْهَا لِأَهْلِ الْكَبَائِرِ وَذَوِي الْإِصْرَارِمِنَ الْفَاسِقِينَ الزَّائِغِينَ ،

wahum maʿniyyūna bimaʿnā qawlihi taʿālā: ( falammā raʾaw baʾsanā qālū: ʾāmannā bi-llāhi waḥdahu ) ghāfirin: 84, fanuṣūṣu al-ʾāyati li-l-kuffāri wamaʿnāhā wamaqāmun minhā liʾahli al-kabāʾiri wadhawī al-ʾiṣrārimina al-fāsiqīna al-zāʾighīna,

They are included in the meaning of His words, exalted is He: ‘When they saw Our might, they said, “We believe in God alone”’ (Ghāfir 40:84). The verse’s express wording concerns unbelievers, but its meaning and one of its degrees concern those guilty of grave sins and the persistently disobedient and deviant.

مِنْ حَيْثُ اِشْتَرَكُوا فِي سُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ ثُمَّ تَفَاوَتُوا فِي مَقَامَاتٍ مِنْهَا ، تَظْهَرُ لَهُمْ شَهَوَاتُ مَعَاصِيهِمْ ، وَيُعَادُ عَلَيْهِمْ تَذَكُّرُهَا ، لِخُلُوِّ قَلْبِهِمْ مِنَ الذِّكْرِ وَالْخَوْفِ حَتَّى يُخْتَمَ لَهُمْ بِشَهَادَتِهَا ؛ فَهٰذِهِ الْأَسْبَابُ تَجْلِبُ الْخَوْفَ وَتَقْطَعُ قُلُوبَ ذَوِي الْأَلْبَابِ .

min ḥaythu ishtarakū fī sūʾi al-khātimati thumma tafāwatū fī maqāmātin minhā, taẓharu lahum shahawātu maʿāṣīhim, wayuʿādu ʿalayhim tadhakkuruhā, likhuluwwi qalbihim mina al-dhikri wa-l-khawfi ḥattā yukhtama lahum bishahādatihā; fahādhihi al-ʾasbābu tajlibu al-khawfa wataqṭaʿu qulūba dhawī al-ʾalbābi .

They share an evil ending, although its degrees differ. Their sinful appetites appear to them, and their remembrance is brought back, because their hearts are empty of remembrance of God and fear, until their lives are sealed while witnessing those appetites. These causes bring fear and tear apart the hearts of people of understanding.

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : الْمُرِيدُ يَخَافُ أَنْ يُبْتَلِي بِالْمَعَاصِي ، وَالْعَارِفُ يَخَافُ أَنْ يُبْتَلِي بِالْكُفْرِ . وَكَذٰلِكَ قَالَ أَبُو يَزِيدَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَبْلَهُ :

waqad kāna ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: al-murīdu yakhāfu ʾan yubtalī bi-l-maʿāṣī, wa-l-ʿārifu yakhāfu ʾan yubtalī bi-l-kufri . wakadhālika qāla ʾabū yazīda raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā qablahu:

Abū Muḥammad Sahl, God have mercy on him, used to say: ‘The seeker fears being tried with sins; the knower fears being tried with unbelief.’ Before him, Abū Yazīd, God Most High have mercy on him, likewise said:

إِذَا تَوَجَّهْتُ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ كَانَ فِي وَسَطِي زُنَّارٌ أَخَافُ أَنْ يُذْهَبَ بِي إِلَى الْبِيعَةِ وَبَيْتِ النَّارِ حَتَّى أَدْخُلَ الْمَسْجِدَ فَيُقْطَعَ عَنِّي الزُّنَّارُ ، فَهٰذَا لِي فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ خَمْسَ مَرَّاتٍ ، هٰذَا لِعِلْمِهِمْ بِسُرْعَةِ تَقَلُّبِ الْقُلُوبِ فِي قُدْرَةِ عَلَّامِ الْغُيُوبِ .

ʾidhā tawajjahtu ʾilā al-masjidi kāna fī wasaṭī zunnārun ʾakhāfu ʾan yudhhaba bī ʾilā al-bīʿati wabayti al-nāri ḥattā ʾadkhula al-masjida fayuqṭaʿa ʿannī al-zunnāru, fahādhā lī fī kulli yawmin khamsa marrātin, hādhā liʿilmihim bisurʿati taqallubi al-qulūbi fī qudrati ʿallāmi al-ghuyūbi .

‘When I head toward the mosque, there is a non-Muslim’s belt around my waist. I fear being taken instead to a church or a fire temple, until I enter the mosque and the belt is cut from me. This happens to me five times every day.’ This was because they knew how swiftly hearts turn within the power of the Knower of all unseen things.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَى ذٰلِكَ عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : يَا مَعْشَرَ الْحَوَارِيِّينَ أَنْتُمْ تَخَافُونَ الْمَعَاصِي وَنَحْنُ مَعْشَرَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ نَخَافُ الْكُفْرَ .

waqad rawaynā maʿnā dhālika ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾannahu qāla: yā maʿshara al-ḥawāriyyīna ʾantum takhāfūna al-maʿāṣī wanaḥnu maʿshara al-ʾanbiyāʾi nakhāfu al-kufra .

We have transmitted the same meaning from Jesus, peace be upon him, who said: ‘Disciples, you fear sins; we prophets fear unbelief.’

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي أَخْبَارِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ : أَنَّ نَبِيًّا شَكَا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْجُوعَ وَالْقَمْلَ وَالْعُرْيَ سِنِينَ فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ : أَمَا رَضِيتَ أَنْ عَصَمْتُ قَلْبَكَ أَنْ تَكْفُرَ بِي حَتَّى تَسْأَلَنِي الدُّنْيَا ،

warawaynā fī ʾakhbāri al-ʾanbiyāʾi: ʾanna nabiyyan shakā ʾilā allāhi taʿālā al-jūʿa wa-l-qamla wa-l-ʿurya sinīna faʾawḥā allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi: ʾamā raḍīta ʾan ʿaṣamtu qalbaka ʾan takfura bī ḥattā tasʾalanī al-dunyā,

We have also transmitted among the accounts of the prophets that a prophet complained to God Most High for years of hunger, lice, and nakedness. God Most High revealed to him: ‘Are you not satisfied that I have protected your heart from disbelieving in Me, that you now ask Me for worldly things?’

فَأَخَذَ التُّرَابَ فَوَضَعَهُ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ وَقَالَ : بَلَى قَدْ رَضِيتُ يَارَبِّ فَاِعْصِمْنِي مِنَ الْكُفْرِ فَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ لَهُ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ بِنُبُوَّتِهِ وَعَرَضَهُ لِلْكُفْرِ ، وَجَوَّزَ دُخُولَهُ عَلَيْهِ بَعْدَ النُّبُوَّةِ ، فَاِعْتَرَفَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِذٰلِكَ ، وَرَضِيَ بِهِ وَاِسْتَعْصَمَ .

faʾakhadha al-turāba fawaḍaʿahu ʿalā raʾsihi waqāla: balā qad raḍītu yārabbi fa-iʿṣimnī mina al-kufri falam yadhkur lahu niʿmatahu ʿalayhi binubuwwatihi waʿaraḍahu li-l-kufri, wajawwaza dukhūlahu ʿalayhi baʿda al-nubuwwati, fa-iʿtarafa al-nabiyyu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bidhālika, waraḍiya bihi wa-istaʿṣama .

He took dust, put it on his head, and said: ‘Indeed, Lord, I am satisfied. Protect me from unbelief.’ God did not mention to him the favor of his prophethood, but placed him before the possibility of unbelief and allowed the possibility that it could overtake him after prophethood. The prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, acknowledged this, accepted it, and sought protection.

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٨٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 380

Volume One, page 380

وَقَدْ كَانَ عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ بْنُ زَيْدٍ إِمَامُ الزَّاهِدِينَ قَبْلَهُمَا يَقُولُ : مَاصَدَقَ خَائِفٌ قَطُّ ظَنَّ أَنَّهُ لَا يَدْخُلُ النَّارَ وَمَا ظَنَّ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ النَّارَ إِلَّا خَافَ أَنْ لَا يَخْرُجَ مِنْهَا أَبَدًا .

waqad kāna ʿabdu al-wāḥidi bnu zaydin ʾimāmu al-zāhidīna qablahumā yaqūlu: māṣadaqa khāʾifun qaṭṭu ẓanna ʾannahu lā yadkhulu al-nāra wamā ẓanna ʾan yadkhula al-nāra ʾillā khāfa ʾan lā yakhruja minhā ʾabadan .

Before both of them, ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd, the leader of the renunciants, used to say: ‘No fearful person who supposed that he would never enter the Fire was ever truthful. And no one has supposed that he might enter the Fire without fearing that he would never leave it.’

وَقَدْ قَالَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِمَامُ الْعُلَمَاءِ قَبْلَهُمْ : يَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ رَجُلٌ بَعْدَ أَلْفِ عَامٍ وَيَالَيْتَنِي ذٰلِكَ الرَّجُلُ ، هٰذَا لِشِدَّةِ خَوْفِهِ مِنَ الْخُلُودِ فِي الْأَبَدِيَّةِ ، قَالَ فَبَعْدَ أَنْ أَخْرُجَ مِنْهَا بِوَقْتٍ لَا أُبَالِي .

waqad qāla al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā ʾimāmu al-ʿulamāʾi qablahum: yakhruju mina al-nāri rajulun baʿda ʾalfi ʿāmin wayālaytanī dhālika al-rajulu, hādhā lishiddati khawfihi mina al-khulūdi fī al-ʾabadiyyati, qāla fabaʿda ʾan ʾakhruja minhā biwaqtin lā ʾubālī .

Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, God Most High have mercy on him, the leader of the scholars before them, said: ‘A man will leave the Fire after a thousand years. If only I were that man!’ This was because of his intense fear of remaining there eternally. He said: ‘So long as I eventually leave it, I do not mind.’

وَالْعَدُوُّ يَدْخُلُ عَلَى الْعَارِفِينَ مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْإِلْحَادِ فِي التَّوْحِيدِ وَالتَّشْبِيهِ فِي الْيَقِينِ وَالْوَسْوَسَةِ فِي صِفَاتِ الذَّاتِ ، وَيَدْخُلُ عَلَى الْمُرِيدِينَ مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْآفَاتِ وَالشَّهَوَاتِ ، فَلِذٰلِكَ كَانَ خَوْفُ الْعَارِفِينَ أَعْظَمَ ،

wa-l-ʿaduwwu yadkhulu ʿalā al-ʿārifīna min ṭarīqi al-ʾilḥādi fī al-tawḥīdi wa-l-tashbīhi fī al-yaqīni wa-l-waswasati fī ṣifāti al-dhāti, wayadkhulu ʿalā al-murīdīna min ṭarīqi al-ʾāfāti wa-l-shahawāti, falidhālika kāna khawfu al-ʿārifīna ʾaʿẓama,

The enemy approaches the knowers through deviation in the affirmation of oneness, likeness-making in certainty, and insinuations concerning the attributes of the divine Essence. He approaches seekers through faults and appetites. For this reason the knowers’ fear is greater.

وَمِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ الْعَدُوَّ يَدْخُلُ عَلَى كُلِّ عَبْدٍ مِنْ مَعْنَى هَمِّهِ فَيُشَكِّكُهُ فِي الْيَقِينِ كَمَا يُزَيِّنُ لَهُ الشَّهَوَاتِ ، فَأَرْوَاحُهُمْ مُعَلَّقَةٌ بِالسَّابِقَةِ مَاذَا سَبَقَ لَهُمْ مِنَ الْكَلِمَةِ ، هُنَاكَ مُشَاهَدَتُهُمْ ، وَمِنْ ثَمَّ فَزَعُهُمْ ،

wamin qibali ʾanna al-ʿaduwwa yadkhulu ʿalā kulli ʿabdin min maʿnā hammihi fayushakkikuhu fī al-yaqīni kamā yuzayyinu lahu al-shahawāti, faʾarwāḥuhum muʿallaqatun bi-l-sābiqati mādhā sabaqa lahum mina al-kalimati, hunāka mushāhadatuhum, wamin thamma fazaʿuhum,

It is also because the enemy approaches each servant through the substance of his concern: he casts doubt upon certainty just as he makes appetites attractive. Their spirits therefore remain suspended upon the prior decree: what word has already gone forth concerning them? There their witnessing is directed, and from there their terror springs.

لَايَدْرُونَ أَسَبَقَ لَهُمْ قَدَمُ صِدْقٍ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ فَيُخْتَمَ لَهُمْ بِمَقْعَدِ صِدْقٍ ، فَيَكُونُونَ مِمَّنْ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ سَبَقَتْ لَهُمْ مِنَّا الْحُسْنَى أُولٰئِكَ عَنْهَا مُبْعَدُونَ ) الْأَنْبِيَاءِ : 101

lāyadrūna ʾasabaqa lahum qadamu ṣidqin ʿinda rabbihim fayukhtama lahum bimaqʿadi ṣidqin, fayakūnūna mimman qāla taʿālā: ( ʾinna alladhīna sabaqat lahum minnā al-ḥusnā ʾulāʾika ʿanhā mubʿadūna ) al-ʾanbiyāʾi: 101

They do not know whether a sure standing with their Lord has already been appointed for them, so that their lives will end in a sure dwelling and they will belong among those of whom He, exalted is He, said: ‘Those for whom the finest reward has already gone forth from Us will be kept far from it’ (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:101).

وَيَخَافُونَ أَنْ يَكُونُوا قَدْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْكَلِمَةُ ، فَيَكُونُونَ مِمَّنْ قَالَ فِيهِمُ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : يَقُولُ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى هٰؤُلَاءِ فِي النَّارِ وَلَا أُبَالِي فَلَا يَنْفَعُهُمْ شَفَاعَةُ شَافِعٍ ، وَلَايُنْقِذُهُمْ مِنَ النَّارِ دَافِعٌ ،

wayakhāfūna ʾan yakūnū qad ḥaqqat ʿalayhimu al-kalimatu, fayakūnūna mimman qāla fīhimu al-rasūlu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: yaqūlu allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā hāʾulāʾi fī al-nāri walā ʾubālī falā yanfaʿuhum shafāʿatu shāfiʿin, walāyunqidhuhum mina al-nāri dāfiʿun,

They fear that the word may have become binding against them, making them among those of whom the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘God, exalted and sublime, says, “These are for the Fire, and I do not care.”’ No intercessor’s plea will then help them, and no defender will rescue them from the Fire,

كَمَا قَالَ مَوْلَاهُمُ الْحَقُّ : ( أَفَمَنْ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِ كَلِمَةُ الْعَذَابِ أَفَأَنْتَ تُنْقِذُ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ ) الزُّمَرِ : 19 وَكَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَلٰكِنْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ مِنِّي لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ ) السَّجْدَةِ : 13 فَهٰذِهِ الْآيَةُ وَمَعْنَاهَا تَخْوِيفٌ لِأُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ .

kamā qāla mawlāhumu al-ḥaqqu: ( ʾafaman ḥaqqa ʿalayhi kalimatu al-ʿadhābi ʾafaʾanta tunqidhu man fī al-nāri ) al-zumari: 19 wakaqawlihi taʿālā: ( walākin ḥaqqa al-qawlu minnī laʾamlaʾanna jahannama ) al-sajdati: 13 fahādhihi al-ʾāyatu wamaʿnāhā takhwīfun liʾulī al-ʾabṣāri .

as their true Master said: ‘What of one against whom the word of punishment has become binding? Can you rescue one who is in the Fire?’ (al-Zumar 39:19). Likewise in His saying, exalted is He: ‘But the word from Me has become binding: I shall surely fill Hell’ (al-Sajdah 32:13). This verse and its meaning strike fear into those who possess insight.

وَقَالَ عَالِمُنَا رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى ( وَإِيَّايَ فَاِتَّقُونِ ) الْبَقَرَةِ : 41 عُمُومٌ أَيْ فِيمَا نَهَيْتُ عَنْهُ : وَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى ( وَإِيَّايَ فَاِرْهَبُونِ ) الْبَقَرَةِ : 40 أَيْ فِي السَّابِقَةِ وَهٰذَا خُصُوصٌ .

waqāla ʿālimunā raḥimahu allāhu fī qawlihi taʿālā ( waʾiyyāya fa-ittaqūni ) al-baqarati: 41 ʿumūmun ʾay fīmā nahaytu ʿanhu: waqawlihi taʿālā ( waʾiyyāya fa-irhabūni ) al-baqarati: 40 ʾay fī al-sābiqati wahādhā khuṣūṣun .

Our teacher, God have mercy on him, said concerning His words, exalted is He, ‘Be mindful of Me’ (al-Baqarah 2:41): ‘This is general, meaning: in what I have forbidden.’ Concerning His words, exalted is He, ‘Dread Me’ (al-Baqarah 2:40), he said: ‘This concerns the prior decree and is particular to the elect.’

وَقَدْ نَوَّعَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ خَوْفَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى مَقَامَيْنِ فَقَالَ : قُلُوبُ الْأَبْرَارِ مُعَلَّقَةٌ ، بِالْخَاتِمَةِ يَقُولُونَ : لَيْتَ شِعْرِي مَاذَا يُخْتَمُ لَنَا بِهِ ؟ وَقُلُوبُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ مُعَلَّقَةٌ بِالسَّابِقَةِ يَقُولُونَ : لَيْتَ شِعْرِي مَاذَا سَبَقَ لَنَا بِهِ ؟

waqad nawwaʿa baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna khawfa al-muʾminīna ʿalā maqāmayni faqāla: qulūbu al-ʾabrāri muʿallaqatun, bi-l-khātimati yaqūlūna: layta shiʿrī mādhā yukhtamu lanā bihi? waqulūbu al-muqarrabīna muʿallaqatun bi-l-sābiqati yaqūlūna: layta shiʿrī mādhā sabaqa lanā bihi?

One of the knowers divided the believers’ fear into two stations: ‘The hearts of the righteous are suspended upon the ending. They say, “If only I knew how our lives will be sealed!” The hearts of those brought near are suspended upon the prior decree. They say, “If only I knew what has already been decreed for us!”’

وَهٰذَانِ الْمَقَامَانِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَتَيْنِ : إِحْدَاهُمَا أَعْلَى وَأَنْفَذُ مِنَ الْأُخْرَى لِحَالَيْنِ : أَحَدُهُمَا أَتَمُّ وَأَكْمَلُ ، فَهٰذَا كَمَا قِيلَ ذُنُوبُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ حَسَنَاتُ الْأَبْرَارِ : أَيْ مَا يَرْغَبُ فِيهِ الْأَبْرَارُ فَهُوَ عِنْدَهُمْ فَضَائِلُ ، قَدْ زَهِدَ فِيهِ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ ، فَهُوَ عِنْدَهُمْ حِجَابٌ ،

wahādhāni al-maqāmāni ʿan mushāhadatayni: ʾiḥdāhumā ʾaʿlā waʾanfadhu mina al-ʾukhrā liḥālayni: ʾaḥaduhumā ʾatammu waʾakmalu, fahādhā kamā qīla dhunūbu al-muqarrabīna ḥasanātu al-ʾabrāri: ʾay mā yarghabu fīhi al-ʾabrāru fahuwa ʿindahum faḍāʾilu, qad zahida fīhi al-muqarrabūna, fahuwa ʿindahum ḥijābun,

These two stations arise from two modes of witnessing, one higher and more penetrating than the other, corresponding to two states, one more complete and perfect. It is as the saying has it: ‘The sins of those brought near are the good deeds of the righteous.’ What the righteous desire and count as virtues, those brought near have renounced and count as a veil.

وَمَنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ كَلِمَةُ الْعَذَابِ ، وَسَبَقَ لَهُ مِنْ مَوْلَاهُ الْخَتْمُ بِسُوءِ الْاِكْتِسَابِ ، لَمْ يَنْفَعْهُ شَيْءٌ ، فَهُوَ يَعْمَلُ فِي بَطَالَةٍ لَا أَجْرَ لَهُ وَلَا عَاقِبَةَ قَدْ نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ نَظْرَةً بَعْذَ ؛ فَهُوَ يَزْدَادُ بِأَعْمَالِهِ بُعْدًا

waman ḥaqqat ʿalayhi kalimatu al-ʿadhābi, wasabaqa lahu min mawlāhu al-khatmu bisūʾi al-iktisābi, lam yanfaʿhu shayʾun, fahuwa yaʿmalu fī baṭālatin lā ʾajra lahu walā ʿāqibata qad naẓara ʾilayhi naẓratan baʿdha; fahuwa yazdādu biʾaʿmālihi buʿdan

Nothing benefits a person against whom the word of punishment has become binding and for whom his Master has already decreed an ending in evil acquisition. His labor is fruitless, without reward or a good outcome. God has looked upon him with a gaze of estrangement, and his deeds only increase his distance.

مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ سُوءَ الْخَاتِمَةِ قَدْ تَكُونُ فِي وَسَطِ الْعُمُرِ ، فَلَا يُنْتَظَرُ بِهَا آخِرُهُ يُوَافِقُ مَعْصِيَةً تَكُونُ سَبَبَهَا كَعِنْدِ الْخَاتِمَةِ ، إِذْ هُمَا فِي سَبْقِ الْعِلْمِ سَوَاءٌ ، فَالْخَاتِمَةُ حِينَئِذٍ فَاتِحَةٌ ، وَالْوَقْتَانِ وَاحِدٌ .

min qibali ʾanna sūʾa al-khātimati qad takūnu fī wasaṭi al-ʿumuri, falā yuntaẓaru bihā ʾākhiruhu yuwāfiqu maʿṣiyatan takūnu sababahā kaʿindi al-khātimati, ʾidh humā fī sabqi al-ʿilmi sawāʾun, fa-l-khātimatu ḥīnaʾidhin fātiḥatun, wa-l-waqtāni wāḥidun .

This is because an evil ending may occur in the middle of life: its end need not be awaited. It coincides with a sin that causes it, just as at the final moment, since both are the same in foreknowledge. The ending is then a beginning, and the two moments are one.

فَإِذَا اِنْقَطَعَتِ الْآجَالُ وَاِنْتَهَتِ الْأَعْمَالُ تَنَاهَي فِي الْإِبْعَادِ فَحَلَّ فِي دَارِ الْبُعْدِ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ وَاللَّهِ لَا يَقْبَلُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنْ مُبْتَدِعٍ عَمَلًا إِنَّهُ رَدَّ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى سُنَنَهُ فَرَدَّ عَلَيْهِ عَمَلَهُ كُلَّمَا اِزْدَادَ اِجْتِهَادًا اِزْدَادَ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بُعْدًا ،

faʾidhā inqaṭaʿati al-ʾājālu wa-intahati al-ʾaʿmālu tanāhay fī al-ʾibʿādi faḥalla fī dāri al-buʿdi, waqad rawaynā fī al-khabari wa-allāhi lā yaqbalu allāhu taʿālā min mubtadiʿin ʿamalan ʾinnahu radda ʿalā allāhi taʿālā sunanahu faradda ʿalayhi ʿamalahu kullamā izdāda ijtihādan izdāda mina allāhi taʿālā buʿdan,

When lifetimes are cut off and deeds end, his estrangement reaches its utmost, and he settles in the abode of distance. We have transmitted in a report: ‘By God, God Most High accepts no deed from an innovator. He rejected God Most High’s ways, so God rejected his deed. The more effort he exerts, the farther he grows from God Most High.’

كَمَا قَالَ الْحَكِيمُ : مَنْ غَصَّ دَاوَى بِشُرْبِ الْمَاءِ غُصَّتَهُ . . . فَكَيْفَ يَصْنَعُ مَنْ قَدْ غَصَّ بِالْمَاءِ

kamā qāla al-ḥakīmu: man ghaṣṣa dāwā bishurbi al-māʾi ghuṣṣatahu . . . fakayfa yaṣnaʿu man qad ghaṣṣa bi-l-māʾi

As the sage said: ‘One who chokes relieves his choking by drinking water. But what can one do who has choked on water itself?’

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٨١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 381

Volume One, page 381

بَلْ كَيْفَ يَصْنَعُ مَنْ أَقْصَاهُ مَالِكُهُ . . . فَلَيْسَ يَنْفَعُهُ طِبُّ الْأَطِبَّاءِ وَعَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ هٰذَا الْمَعْنَى كَانَ خَوْفُ الْحَسَنِ الْبَصْرِيِّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَحُزْنُهُ ،

bal kayfa yaṣnaʿu man ʾaqṣāhu mālikuhu . . . falaysa yanfaʿuhu ṭibbu al-ʾaṭibbāʾi waʿan mushāhadati hādhā al-maʿnā kāna khawfu al-ḥasani al-baṣriyyi raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā waḥuznuhu,

‘Indeed, what can one do whom his Owner has driven away? The physicians’ medicine cannot help him.’ Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī’s fear and grief, God Most High have mercy on him, arose from witnessing this meaning.

لِعِلْمِهِ بِأَنَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَايُبَالِي مَا فَعَلَ ، فَخَافَ أَنْ يَقَعَ بِوَصْفِ الْجَبْرِيَّةِ فِي تَرْكِ الْمُبَالَاةِ ، وَأَنْ يَجْعَلَهُ نَكَالًا لِأَصْحَابِهِ ، وَمَوْعِظَةً لِأَهْلِ طَبَقَتِهِ .

liʿilmihi biʾannahu ʿazza wajalla lāyubālī mā faʿala, fakhāfa ʾan yaqaʿa biwaṣfi al-jabriyyati fī tarki al-mubālāti, waʾan yajʿalahu nakālan liʾaṣḥābihi, wamawʿiẓatan liʾahli ṭabaqatihi .

He knew that God, mighty and majestic, is unconcerned by what He does. He feared falling under the attribute of irresistible dominion in its unconcern, and that God would make him a warning to his companions and an admonition to others of his rank.

وَيُقَالُ إِنَّهُ مَا ضَحِكَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً وَكُنْتَ إِذَا رَأَيْتَهُ قَاعِدًا كَأَنَّهُ أَسِيرٌ قُدِّمَ لِيُضْرَبَ عُنُقُهُ ، وَإِذَا تَكَلَّمَ كَأَنَّهُ يُعَايِنُ الْآخِرَةَ فَيُخْبِرُ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَتِهَا ، وَإِذَا سَكَتَ كَأَنَّ النَّارَ تُسَعَّرُ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ ،

wayuqālu ʾinnahu mā ḍaḥika ʾarbaʿīna sanatan wakunta ʾidhā raʾaytahu qāʿidan kaʾannahu ʾasīrun quddima liyuḍraba ʿunuquhu, waʾidhā takallama kaʾannahu yuʿāyinu al-ʾākhirata fayukhbiru ʿan mushāhadatihā, waʾidhā sakata kaʾanna al-nāra tusaʿʿaru bayna ʿaynayhi,

It is said that he did not laugh for forty years. When you saw him seated, he was like a prisoner brought forward to be beheaded. When he spoke, it was as though he were looking directly upon the hereafter and reporting what he saw. When he fell silent, it was as though the Fire were being kindled before his eyes.

وَعُوتِبَ فِي شِدَّةِ حُزْنِهِ فَقَالَ : مَا يُؤْمِنُنِي أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدِ اِطَّلَعَ عَلَيَّ فِي بَعْضِ مَا يَكْرَهُ فَمَقَتَنِي ، فَقَالَ اِذْهَبْ فَلَا غَفَرْتُ لَكَ ، فَأَنَا أَعْمَلُ فِي غَيْرِ مَعْمَلٍ ،

waʿūtiba fī shiddati ḥuznihi faqāla: mā yuʾminunī ʾan yakūna qadi iṭṭalaʿa ʿalayya fī baʿḍi mā yakrahu famaqatanī, faqāla idhhab falā ghafartu laka, faʾanā ʾaʿmalu fī ghayri maʿmalin,

He was reproached for the intensity of his grief and replied: ‘What assures me that He has not looked upon me while I was doing something He hates, detested me, and said, “Go: I shall never forgive you”? Then I would be laboring where labor bears no fruit.’

فَنَحْنُ أَحَقُّ بِهٰذَا مِنَ الْحَسَنِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ ، وَلٰكِنْ لَيْسَ الْخَوْفُ يَكُونُ لِكَثْرَةِ الذُّنُوبِ ، فَلَوْ كَانَ كَذٰلِكَ لَكُنَّا أَكْثَرَ خَوْفًا مِنْهُ ، إِنَّمَا يَكُونُ لِصَفَاءِ الْقَلْبِ وَشِدَّةِ التَّعْظِيمِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى .

fanaḥnu ʾaḥaqqu bihādhā mina al-ḥasani raḥimahu allāhu, walākin laysa al-khawfu yakūnu likathrati al-dhunūbi, falaw kāna kadhālika lakunnā ʾakthara khawfan minhu, ʾinnamā yakūnu liṣafāʾi al-qalbi washiddati al-taʿẓīmi li-llāhi taʿālā .

We have more reason for this than al-Ḥasan, God have mercy on him. Yet fear does not arise from the multitude of sins; if it did, we would fear more than he did. It arises from purity of heart and profound reverence for God Most High.

وَقَدْ بُشِّرَ الْعَلَاءُ بْنُ زِيَادٍ الْعَدَوِيُّ بِالْجَنَّةِ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْعُبَّادِ فَغَلَّقَ عَلَيْهِ بَابَهُ سَبْعًا وَلَمْ يَذُقْ طَعَامًا ، وَجَعَلَ يَبْكِي وَيَقُولُ : أَنَا فِي قِصَّةٍ طَوِيلَةٍ ،

waqad bushshira al-ʿalāʾu bnu ziyādin al-ʿadawiyyu bi-l-jannati wakāna mina al-ʿubbādi faghallaqa ʿalayhi bābahu sabʿan walam yadhuq ṭaʿāman, wajaʿala yabkī wayaqūlu: ʾanā fī qiṣṣatin ṭawīlatin,

Al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād al-ʿAdawī, who was one of the devoted worshippers, was once given good news of Paradise. He shut his door upon himself for seven days, tasted no food, and kept weeping and saying: ‘I am caught in a long affair.’

حَتَّى دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ الْحَسَنُ فَجَعَلَ يَعْذِلُهُ فِي شِدَّةِ خَوْفِهِ وَكَثْرَةِ بُكَائِهِ ، فَقَالَ يَأَخِي مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ، أَقَاتِلٌ نَفْسَكَ ؟ فَمَا ظَنُّكَ بِرَجُلٍ يَعْذِلُهُ الْحَسَنُ فِي الْخَوْفِ ،

ḥattā dakhala ʿalayhi al-ḥasanu fajaʿala yaʿdhiluhu fī shiddati khawfihi wakathrati bukāʾihi, faqāla yaʾakhī min ʾahli al-jannati ʾin shāʾa allāhu taʿālā, ʾaqātilun nafsaka? famā ẓannuka birajulin yaʿdhiluhu al-ḥasanu fī al-khawfi,

At last al-Ḥasan entered and began reproaching him for his intense fear and abundant weeping: ‘Brother, you are among the people of Paradise, if God Most High wills. Are you going to kill yourself?’ What must you think of a man whose fear even al-Ḥasan reproached?

وَقَدْ كَانَ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ مِنْ عِلْيَهِ الصَّحَابَةِ يَتَمَنَّوْنَ أَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يُخْلَقُوا بَشَرًا وَقَدْ بُشِّرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ يَقِينًا فِي غَيْرِ خَبَرٍ .

waqad kāna min fawqihim min ʿilyahi al-ṣaḥābati yatamannawna ʾannahum lam yukhlaqū basharan waqad bushshirū bi-l-jannati yaqīnan fī ghayri khabarin .

Above them in rank, the eminent Companions used to wish that they had never been created human, even though they had certainly been promised Paradise in more than one report.

مِنْ ذٰلِكَ قَوْلُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : لَيْتَنِي مِثْلَكَ يَاطَيْرُ وَأَنِّي لَمْ أُخْلَقْ بَشَرًا ، وَقَوْلُ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي كُنْتُ كَبْشًا ذَبَحَنِي أَهْلِي لِضَيْفِهِمْ ،

min dhālika qawlu ʾabī bakrin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: laytanī mithlaka yāṭayru waʾannī lam ʾukhlaq basharan, waqawlu ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: wadidtu ʾannī kuntu kabshan dhabaḥanī ʾahlī liḍayfihim,

Among these sayings is Abū Bakr’s, God be pleased with him: ‘If only I were like you, bird, and had never been created human!’ And ʿUmar’s, God be pleased with him: ‘I wish I had been a ram that my owners slaughtered for their guest.’

وَأَبُوذَرٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي شَجَرَةٌ تُعْضَدُ ، وَطَلْحَةُ وَالزُّبَيْرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا يَقُولَانِ : وَدِدْنَا أَنَّا لَمْ نُخْلَقْ ، وَعُثْمَانُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي إِذَا مِتُّ لَا أُبْعَثُ ،

waʾabūdharrin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: wadidtu ʾannī shajaratun tuʿḍadu, waṭalḥatu wa-l-zubayru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā yaqūlāni: wadidnā ʾannā lam nukhlaq, waʿuthmānu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: wadidtu ʾannī ʾidhā mittu lā ʾubʿathu,

Abū Dharr, God be pleased with him, said: ‘I wish I were a tree being cut down.’ Ṭalḥah and al-Zubayr, God be pleased with them both, said: ‘We wish we had never been created.’ ʿUthmān, God be pleased with him, said: ‘I wish that when I died, I would not be raised again.’

وَعَائِشَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا تَقُولُ : وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي كُنْتُ نَسْيًا مَنْسِيًّا ، وَاِبْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : لَيْتَنِي أَنِّي أَكُونُ رَمَادًا ، وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ عَنْهُ : لَيْتَنِي كُنْتُ بَعْرَةً ، لَيْتَنِي لَمْ أَكُ شَيْئًا فِي طَبَقَةٍ يَكْثُرُ عَدُّهُمْ

waʿāʾishatu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhā taqūlu: wadidtu ʾannī kuntu nasyan mansiyyan, wa-ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: laytanī ʾannī ʾakūnu ramādan, wafī riwāyatin ʿanhu: laytanī kuntu baʿratan, laytanī lam ʾaku shayʾan fī ṭabaqatin yakthuru ʿadduhum

ʿĀʾishah, God be pleased with her, said: ‘I wish I had been something utterly forgotten.’ Ibn Masʿūd, God be pleased with him, said: ‘If only I could be ashes!’ Another transmission from him has: ‘If only I had been a pellet of dung! If only I had been nothing!’ These belong to a group too numerous to count.

وَنَحْنُ فِي اِرْتِكَابِ الْكَبَائِرِ وَنُحَدِّثُ نُفُوسَنَا بِالدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى وَالْقُرْبِ مِنْ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى ، وَنَسِينَا أَنَّ أَبَانَا آدَمَ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ أُخْرِجَ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ بَعْدَ أَنْ دَخَلَهَا بِذَنْبٍ وَاحِدٍ وَنَحْنُ لَمْ نَرَهَا بَعْدُ فَإِنَّمَا نَضْرِبُ فِي حَدِيدٍ بَارِدٍ .

wanaḥnu fī irtikābi al-kabāʾiri wanuḥaddithu nufūsanā bi-l-darajāti al-ʿulā wa-l-qurbi min sidrati al-muntahā, wanasīnā ʾanna ʾabānā ʾādama ṣalawātu allāhi ʿalayhi ʾukhrija mina al-jannati baʿda ʾan dakhalahā bidhanbin wāḥidin wanaḥnu lam narahā baʿdu faʾinnamā naḍribu fī ḥadīdin bāridin .

We, meanwhile, commit grave sins while telling ourselves of lofty degrees and nearness to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary. We have forgotten that our father Adam, God’s blessings be upon him, was expelled from Paradise after entering it for a single sin, while we have not even seen it. We are merely hammering cold iron.

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ أَنَّ رَجُلًا مِنْ أَهْلِ الصُّفَّةِ اُسْتُشْهِدَ فَقَالَتْ أُمُّهُ هَنِيئًا فَقَالَتْ أُمُّهُ هَنِيئًا لَكَ عُصْفُورٌ مِنْ عَصَافِيرِ الْجَنَّةِ هَاجَرْتَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقُتِلْتَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى

warawaynā fī khabarin ʾanna rajulan min ʾahli al-ṣuffati ustushhida faqālat ʾummuhu hanīʾan faqālat ʾummuhu hanīʾan laka ʿuṣfūrun min ʿaṣāfīri al-jannati hājarta ʾilā rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waqutilta fī sabīli allāhi taʿālā

We have transmitted a report that a man of the People of the Bench was martyred. His mother said, ‘Glad tidings!’ His mother said, ‘Glad tidings to you, a sparrow among the sparrows of Paradise! You emigrated to God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and were killed in the path of God Most High.’

فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : وَمَا يُدْرِيكِ فَلَعَلَّهُ كَانَ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ وَيَمْنَعُ مَا لَا يَضُرُّهُ ،

faqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: wamā yudrīki falaʿallahu kāna yatakallamu fīmā lā yaʿnīhi wayamnaʿu mā lā yaḍurruhu,

The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘How do you know? Perhaps he used to speak about what did not concern him and withhold what would not have harmed him to give.’

وَفِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ بِمِثْلِ هٰذِهِ الْقِصَّةِ أَنَّهُ دَخَلَ عَلَى بَعْضِ أَصْحَابِهِ وَهُوَ عَلِيلٌ ، فَسَمِعَ أُمَّهُ تَقُولُ هَنِيئًا لَكَ الْجَنَّةُ ، فَقَالَ : مَنْ هٰذِهِ الْمُتَأَلِّيَةُ عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

wafī ḥadīthin ʾākhara bimithli hādhihi al-qiṣṣati ʾannahu dakhala ʿalā baʿḍi ʾaṣḥābihi wahuwa ʿalīlun, fasamiʿa ʾummahu taqūlu hanīʾan laka al-jannatu, faqāla: man hādhihi al-mutaʾalliyatu ʿalā allāhi ʿazza wajalla

In another hadith with a similar account, he visited one of his companions who was ill and heard the man’s mother say, ‘Congratulations to you on Paradise!’ He said: ‘Who is this woman who presumes to swear concerning God, mighty and majestic?’

فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ : هِيَ أُمِّي يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَقَالَ : وَمَا يُدْرِكِ لَعَلَّ فُلَانًا كَانَ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِمَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ وَيَبْخَلُ بِمَا لَا يُغْنِيهِ .

faqāla al-rajulu: hiya ʾummī yā rasūla allāhi faqāla: wamā yudriki laʿalla fulānan kāna yatakallamu bimā lā yaʿnīhi wayabkhalu bimā lā yughnīhi .

The man said, ‘She is my mother, Messenger of God.’ He replied: ‘How do you know? Perhaps this man used to speak about what did not concern him and be stingy with what brought him no sufficiency.’

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٨٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 382

Volume One, page 382

وَرَوَيْنَا بِمِثْلِ مَعْنَى هٰذَا أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ صَلَّى عَلَى طِفْلٍ مَنْفُوسٍ ، فَفِي رَاوِيَةٍ : إِنَّهُ سُمِعَ يَقُولُ فِي دُعَائِهِ : اللَّهُمَّ قِهِ عَذَابَ الْقَبْرِ وَعَذَابَ جَهَنَّمَ

warawaynā bimithli maʿnā hādhā ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ṣallā ʿalā ṭiflin manfūsin, fafī rāwiyatin: ʾinnahu sumiʿa yaqūlu fī duʿāʾihi: allāhumma qihi ʿadhāba al-qabri waʿadhāba jahannama

With a similar meaning, we have transmitted that the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, prayed over a newborn infant. In one transmission, he was heard saying in his supplication: ‘God, protect him from the torment of the grave and the torment of Hell.’

وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ ثَانِيَةٍ : إِنَّهُ سَمِعَ قَائِلَةً تَقُولُ : هَنِيئًا لَكَ عُصْفُورٌ مِنْ عَصَافِيرِ الْجَنَّةِ ، فَغَضِبَ وَقَالَ : مَا يُدْرِيكِ ؟ إِنَّهُ كَذٰلِكَ وَاللَّهِ ، إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَدْرِي مَا يُصْنَعُ بِي ،

wafī riwāyatin thāniyatin: ʾinnahu samiʿa qāʾilatan taqūlu: hanīʾan laka ʿuṣfūrun min ʿaṣāfīri al-jannati, faghaḍiba waqāla: mā yudrīki? ʾinnahu kadhālika wa-allāhi, ʾinnī rasūlu allāhi wamā ʾadrī mā yuṣnaʿu bī,

In a second transmission, he heard a woman saying, ‘Glad tidings to you, a sparrow among the sparrows of Paradise!’ He became angry and said: ‘How do you know that this is so? By God, I am God’s Messenger, yet I do not know what will be done with me.’

إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ خَلَقَ الْجَنَّةَ وَخَلَقَ لَهَا أَهْلًا وَخَلَقَ النَّارَ وَخَلَقَ لَهَا أَهْلًا لَا يُزَادُ فِيهِمْ وَلَايُنْقَصُ مِنْهُمْ ،

ʾinna allāha ʿazza wajalla khalaqa al-jannata wakhalaqa lahā ʾahlan wakhalaqa al-nāra wakhalaqa lahā ʾahlan lā yuzādu fīhim walāyunqaṣu minhum,

‘God, mighty and majestic, created Paradise and created people for it; He created the Fire and created people for it. None are added to them, and none are taken from them.’

وَقَدْ قَالَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي جَنَازَةِ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ مَظْعُونٍ ، وَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ الْأُوَلِ وَاُسْتُشْهِدَ لَمَّا قَالَتْ أُمُّ سَلَمَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا ذٰلِكَ ، وَكَانَتْ تَقُولُ : وَاللَّهِ لَا أُزَكِّي أَحَدًا بَعْدَ عُثْمَانَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ،

waqad qālahu rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī janāzati ʿuthmāna bni maẓʿūnin, wakāna mina al-muhājirīna al-ʾuwali wa-ustushhida lammā qālat ʾummu salamata raḍiya allāhu ʿanhā dhālika, wakānat taqūlu: wa-allāhi lā ʾuzakkī ʾaḥadan baʿda ʿuthmāna raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu,

God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, also said this at the funeral of ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn, one of the earliest Emigrants, who was martyred, when Umm Salamah, God be pleased with her, said those words. She used to say: ‘By God, after ʿUthmān, God be pleased with him, I shall pronounce no one pure.’

وَأَعْجَبُ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ أَنَّا رَوَيْنَا عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحَنَفِيَّةِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : وَاللَّهِ لَا أُزَكِّي أَحَدًا غَيْرَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَا أَبِي الَّذِي وَلَدَنِي

waʾaʿjabu min dhālika ʾannā rawaynā ʿan muḥammadi bni al-ḥanafiyyati raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾannahu qāla: wa-allāhi lā ʾuzakkī ʾaḥadan ghayra rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama walā ʾabī alladhī waladanī

More remarkable still is what we have transmitted from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah, God be pleased with him: ‘By God, I pronounce no one pure except God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, not even my father who begot me.’

قَالَ : فَتَكَلَّمَتِ الشِّيعَةُ ، فَأَخَذَ يَذْكُرُ مِنْ فَضَائِلِ عَلِيٍّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ وَمَنَاقِبِهِ ؛ فَهٰذِهِ الْمَعَانِي أَحْرَقَتْ قُلُوبَ الْخَائِفِينَ

qāla: fatakallamati al-shīʿatu, faʾakhadha yadhkuru min faḍāʾili ʿaliyyin karrama allāhu wajhahu wamanāqibihi; fahādhihi al-maʿānī ʾaḥraqat qulūba al-khāʾifīna

The narrator said: His partisans objected, so he began recounting some of ʿAlī’s virtues and merits, God honor his countenance. Such meanings have burned the hearts of those who fear.

وَلَعَلَّ ذِكْرَ الْبُعْدِ فِي الْأَبْعَادِ الَّذِي شَيَّبَ الْحَبِيبَ الْقَرِيبَ فِي قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : شَيَّبَتْنِي هُودٌ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا وَسُورَةُ الْوَاقِعَةِ وَإِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ وَعَمَّ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ

walaʿalla dhikra al-buʿdi fī al-ʾabʿādi alladhī shayyaba al-ḥabība al-qarība fī qawlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: shayyabatnī hūdun waʾakhawātuhā wasūratu al-wāqiʿati waʾidhā al-shamsu kuwwirat waʿamma yatasāʾalūna

Perhaps it was the mention of remoteness in banishment that turned the near Beloved’s hair gray, as in his saying, God bless him and grant him peace: ‘Hūd and its sister surahs have made me gray, as have al-Wāqiʿah, “When the Sun Is Folded Up,” and “About What Do They Ask One Another?”’

لِأَنَّ فِي سُورَةِ هُودٍ أَلَا بُعْدًا لِثَمُودَ ( أَلَا بُعْدًا لِعَادٍ قَوْمِ هُودٍ ) هُودٍ : 60 أَلَا بُعْدًا لِمَدْيَنَ كَمَا بَعِدَتْ ثَمُودُ ،

liʾanna fī sūrati hūdin ʾalā buʿdan lithamūda ( ʾalā buʿdan liʿādin qawmi hūdin ) hūdin: 60 ʾalā buʿdan limadyana kamā baʿidat thamūdu,

For Sūrat Hūd contains: ‘Away with Thamūd!’; ‘Away with ʿĀd, the people of Hūd!’ (Hūd 11:60); and ‘Away with Midian, just as Thamūd was cast away!’

وَفِي سُورَةِ الْوَاقِعَةِ : ( لَيْسَ لِوَقْعَتِهَا كَاذِبَةٌ ) الْوَاقِعَةِ : 2 يَعْنِي وَقَعَتِ السَّابِقَةُ لِمَنْ سَبَقَتْ لَهُ وَحَقَّتِ الْحَاقَّةُ بِمَنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ خَافِضَةٌ رَافِعَةٌ خَفَضَتْ قَوْمًا فِي الْآخِرَةِ كَانُوا مَرْفُوعِينَ فِي الدُّنْيَا حِينَ ظَهَرَتِ الْحَقَائِقُ وَكُشِفَتْ عَوَاقِبُ الْخَلَائِقِ ،

wafī sūrati al-wāqiʿati: ( laysa liwaqʿatihā kādhibatun ) al-wāqiʿati: 2 yaʿnī waqaʿati al-sābiqatu liman sabaqat lahu waḥaqqati al-ḥāqqatu biman ḥaqqat ʿalayhi khāfiḍatun rāfiʿatun khafaḍat qawman fī al-ʾākhirati kānū marfūʿīna fī al-dunyā ḥīna ẓaharati al-ḥaqāʾiqu wakushifat ʿawāqibu al-khalāʾiqi,

Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah contains: ‘There is no denying its occurrence’ (56:2). That is, the prior decree comes to pass for the one for whom it was decreed, and the Inevitable becomes binding upon the one against whom it was made binding: ‘bringing low, raising high.’ It lowers people in the hereafter who were elevated in this world, once realities appear and the creatures’ final outcomes are unveiled.

وَأَمَّا سُورَةُ التَّكْوِيرِ فَفِيهَا خَوَاتِمُ الْمَصِيرِ وَهِيَ صِفَةُ الْقِيَامَةِ لِمَنْ أَيْقَنَ وَفِيهَا تَجَلِّي مَعَانِي الْغَضَبِ لِمَنْ عَايَنَ آخِرَ ذٰلِكَ ، وَإِذَا الْجَحِيمُ سُعِّرَتْ وَإِذَا الْجَنَّةُ أُزْلِفَتْ عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَا أَحْضَرَتْ هٰذَا فَصْلُ الْخِطَابِ

waʾammā sūratu al-takwīri fafīhā khawātimu al-maṣīri wahiya ṣifatu al-qiyāmati liman ʾayqana wafīhā tajallī maʿānī al-ghaḍabi liman ʿāyana ʾākhira dhālika, waʾidhā al-jaḥīmu suʿʿirat waʾidhā al-jannatu ʾuzlifat ʿalimat nafsun mā ʾaḥḍarat hādhā faṣlu al-khiṭābi

As for Sūrat al-Takwīr, it contains the ultimate destinies, describing the Resurrection to those with certainty and disclosing the meanings of wrath to those who behold it. At its culmination: ‘When the blazing Fire is kindled, and when Paradise is brought near, a soul will know what it has brought.’ This is the decisive word:

أَيْ عِنْدَ تَسْعِيرِ النِّيرَانِ وَاِقْتِرَابِ الْجِنَانِ ، حِينَئِذٍ يَبْتِينَ لِلنَّفْسِ مَا أَحْضَرَتْ مِنْ شَرٍّ يَصْلُحُ لَهُ الْجَحِيمُ أَوْخَيْرٍ يَصْلُحُ لَهُ النَّعِيمُ وَتَعْلَمُ إِذْ ذَاكَ مِنْ أَيِّ أَهْلِ الدَّارَيْنِ تَكُونُ وَفِي أَيِّ مَنْزِلَيْنِ تَحُلُّ ،

ʾay ʿinda tasʿīri al-nīrāni wa-iqtirābi al-jināni, ḥīnaʾidhin yabtīna li-l-nafsi mā ʾaḥḍarat min sharrin yaṣluḥu lahu al-jaḥīmu ʾawkhayrin yaṣluḥu lahu al-naʿīmu wataʿlamu ʾidh dhāka min ʾayyi ʾahli al-dārayni takūnu wafī ʾayyi manzilayni taḥullu,

when the fires are kindled and the gardens brought near, the soul then sees clearly what it has brought: evil suited to the blazing Fire or good suited to bliss. It then knows to which of the two abodes’ people it belongs and in which of the two dwellings it will settle.

فَكَمْ مِنْ قُلُوبٍ قَدْ تَقَطَّعَتْ حَسَرَاتٍ عَلَى الْأَبْعَادِ مِنَ الْجِنَانِ بَعْدَ اِقْتِرَابِهَا وَكَمْ مِنْ نُفُوسٍ تَصَاعَدَتْ زَفَرَاتٍ عَنْ يَقِينِهَا بِمُعَايَنَةِ لِنِيرَانٍ أَنَّهَا تُصِيبُهَا ،

fakam min qulūbin qad taqaṭṭaʿat ḥasarātin ʿalā al-ʾabʿādi mina al-jināni baʿda iqtirābihā wakam min nufūsin taṣāʿadat zafarātin ʿan yaqīnihā bimuʿāyanati linīrānin ʾannahā tuṣībuhā,

How many hearts have been torn apart in grief at being banished from the gardens after they drew near! How many souls have sent up anguished sighs, certain from directly seeing the fires that they will be overtaken by them!

وَكَمْ مِنْ أَبْصَارٍ ذَلِيلَةٍ خَاشِعَةٍ لِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْأَهْوَالِ ، وَكَمْ مِنْ عُقُولٍ طَائِشَةٍ لِمُعَايَنَةِ الزِّلْزَالِ .

wakam min ʾabṣārin dhalīlatin khāshiʿatin limushāhadati al-ʾahwāli, wakam min ʿuqūlin ṭāʾishatin limuʿāyanati al-zilzāli .

How many eyes are abased and lowered from witnessing those terrors! How many minds are distraught from beholding that convulsion!

وَحُدِّثْنَا عَنْ أَبِي سَهْلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَالَ : رَأَيْتُ كَأَنِّي أُدْخِلْتُ الْجَنَّةَ فَلَقِيتُ فِيهَا ثَلَاثَمِائَةِ نَبِيٍّ ، فَسَأَلْتُهُمْ مَا أَخْوَفُ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَخَافُونَ فِي الدُّنْيَا ؟ فَقَالُوا لِي : سُوءُ الْخَاتِمَةِ ،

waḥuddithnā ʿan ʾabī sahlin raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā qāla: raʾaytu kaʾannī ʾudkhiltu al-jannata falaqītu fīhā thalāthamiʾati nabiyyin, fasaʾaltuhum mā ʾakhwafu mā kuntum takhāfūna fī al-dunyā? faqālū lī: sūʾu al-khātimati,

We were told from Abū Sahl, God Most High have mercy on him, that he said: ‘I saw myself as though admitted into Paradise, where I met three hundred prophets. I asked them, “What did you fear most in the world?” They answered me, “An evil ending.”’

فَالْخَاتِمَةُ هِيَ مِنْ مَكْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الَّذِي لَا يُوصَفُ ، وَلَا يُفْطَنُ لَهُ وَلَا عَلَيْهِ يُوقَفُ ، وَلَا نِهَايَةَ لِمَكْرِهِ ، لِأَنَّ مَشِيئَتَهُ وَأَحْكَامَهُ لَا غَايَةَ لَهَا .

fa-l-khātimatu hiya min makri allāhi taʿālā alladhī lā yūṣafu, walā yufṭanu lahu walā ʿalayhi yūqafu, walā nihāyata limakrihi, liʾanna mashīʾatahu waʾaḥkāmahu lā ghāyata lahā .

The final outcome belongs to God Most High’s hidden devising, which cannot be described, anticipated, or fully apprehended. His devising has no end, because His will and His judgments have no limit.

وَمِنْ ذٰلِكَ الْخَبَرُ الْمَشْهُورُ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَجِبْرِيلَ بَكَيَا خَوْفًا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِمَا لِمَ تَبْكِيَانِ وَقَدْ أَمَّنْتُكُمَا ؟ فَقَالَا : وَمَنْ يَأْمَنُ مَكْرَكَ ؟

wamin dhālika al-khabaru al-mashhūru ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wajibrīla bakayā khawfan mina allāhi taʿālā, faʾawḥā allāhu ʾilayhimā lima tabkiyāni waqad ʾammantukumā? faqālā: waman yaʾmanu makraka?

An instance is the well-known report that the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, and Gabriel wept out of fear of God Most High. God revealed to them: ‘Why do you weep when I have made you secure?’ They replied: ‘Who can feel secure from Your devising?’

فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُمَا عَلِمَا أَنَّ مَكْرَهُ لَانِهَايَةَ لَهُ ، لِأَنَّ حُكْمَهُ لَاغَايَةَ لَهُ ، لَمْ يَقُولَا وَمَنْ يَأْمَنُ مَكْرَكَ مَعَ قَوْلِهِ : قَدْ أَمَّنْتُكُمَا وَلَكَانَ قَدِ اِنْتَهَى مَكْرُهُ بِقَوْلِهِ ، وَلَكَانَا قَدْ وَقَفَا عَلَى آخِرِ مَكْرِهِ ، وَلٰكِنْ خَافَا مِنْ بَقِيَّةِ الْمَكْرِ الَّذِي هُوَ

falawlā ʾannahumā ʿalimā ʾanna makrahu lānihāyata lahu, liʾanna ḥukmahu lāghāyata lahu, lam yaqūlā waman yaʾmanu makraka maʿa qawlihi: qad ʾammantukumā walakāna qadi intahā makruhu biqawlihi, walakānā qad waqafā ʿalā ʾākhiri makrihi, walākin khāfā min baqiyyati al-makri alladhī huwa

Had they not known that His devising has no end because His judgment has no limit, they would not have said, ‘Who can feel secure from Your devising?’ after His words, ‘I have made you secure.’ His devising would then have reached its end with His statement, and they would have apprehended its farthest limit. Rather, they feared the remaining devising that was

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٨٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 383

Volume One, page 383

غَيْبٌ عَنْهُمَا ، وَعَلِمَا أَنَّهُمَا لَا يَقِفَانِ عَلَى غَيْبِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، إِذْ هُوَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ ، فَلَا نِهَايَةَ لِلْعَلَّامِ فِي عِلْمٍ ، وَلَا غَايَةَ لِلْغُيُوبِ بِوَصْفٍ ،

ghaybun ʿanhumā, waʿalimā ʾannahumā lā yaqifāni ʿalā ghaybi allāhi taʿālā, ʾidh huwa ʿallāmu al-ghuyūbi, falā nihāyata li-l-ʿallāmi fī ʿilmin, walā ghāyata li-l-ghuyūbi biwaṣfin,

hidden from them. They knew that they could not encompass God Most High’s unseen knowledge, for He is the Knower of all unseen things. The All-Knowing has no limit in knowledge, nor can unseen things be bounded by description.

فَلَمْ يَحْكُمْ عَلَيْهِمَا الْقَوْلُ لِعِنَايَتِهِ بِهِمَا وَفَضْلِ نَظَرِهِ إِلَيْهِمَا ، وَلِأَنَّهُمَا عَلَى مَزِيدٍ مِنْ مَعْرِفَةِ الصِّفَاتِ ، إِذِ الْمَكْرُ عَنِ الْوَصْفِ وَإِظْهَارُ الْقَوْلِ لَايَقْضِي عَلَى بَاطِنِ الْوَصْفِ ،

falam yaḥkum ʿalayhimā al-qawlu liʿināyatihi bihimā wafaḍli naẓarihi ʾilayhimā, waliʾannahumā ʿalā mazīdin min maʿrifati al-ṣifāti, ʾidhi al-makru ʿani al-waṣfi waʾiẓhāru al-qawli lāyaqḍī ʿalā bāṭini al-waṣfi,

The statement therefore did not govern their response, because of His care for them, His especial regard for them, and their ever-increasing recognition of the attributes. Devising proceeds from the attribute, and an outwardly expressed statement does not rule over the attribute’s inward reality.

فَكَأَنَّهُمَا خَافَا أَنْ يَكُونَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : قَدْ أَمَّنْتُكُمَا مَكْرِي مَكْرًا مِنْهُ أَيْضًا بِالْقَوْلِ عَلَى وَصْفٍ مَخْصُوصٍ عَنْ حِكْمَةٍ قَدِ اِسْتَأْثَرَ بِعِلْمِهَا يَخْتَبِرُ بِذٰلِكَ حَالَهُمَا ،

fakaʾannahumā khāfā ʾan yakūna qawluhu taʿālā: qad ʾammantukumā makrī makran minhu ʾayḍan bi-l-qawli ʿalā waṣfin makhṣūṣin ʿan ḥikmatin qadi istaʾthara biʿilmihā yakhtabiru bidhālika ḥālahumā,

It was as though they feared that His words, exalted is He, ‘I have made you secure from My devising,’ might themselves also be a devising through speech, according to a particular attribute and a wisdom whose knowledge He reserved to Himself, thereby testing their state.

وَيَنْطُرُ كَيْفَ يَعْمَلَانِ تَعَبُّدًا مِنْهُ لَهُمَا بِهِ ، إِذِ الْاِبْتِلَاءُ وَصْفُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ الْمُبْتَلِيَ اِسْمُهُ فَلَا يَتْرُكُ مُقْتَضَى وَصْفِهِ لِتَحَقُّقِ اِسْمِهِ ، وَلَا تُبَدَّلُ سُنَّتُهُ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ فِي عِبَادِهِ ،

wayanṭuru kayfa yaʿmalāni taʿabbudan minhu lahumā bihi, ʾidhi al-ibtilāʾu waṣfuhu min qibali ʾanna al-mubtaliya ismuhu falā yatruku muqtaḍā waṣfihi litaḥaqquqi ismihi, walā tubaddalu sunnatuhu allatī qad khalat fī ʿibādihi,

He observes how they act, calling them through this to serve Him. Testing is His attribute because ‘the One who tests’ is His name; He does not abandon what His attribute entails, for His name is realized. Nor is His established way among His servants changed.

كَمَا اِخْتَبَرَ خَلِيلَهُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لَمَّا هَوَى بِهِ الْمَنْجَنِيقُ فِي الْهَوَاءِ ، فَقَالَ حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ رَبِّي فَعَارَضَهُ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فَقَالَ أَلَكَ حَاجَةٌ ؟ قَالَ لَا ، وَفَاءً بِقَوْلِهِ حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ فَصَدَّقَ الْقَوْلَ بِالْعَمَلِ

kamā ikhtabara khalīlahu ʿalayhi al-salāmu lammā hawā bihi al-manjanīqu fī al-hawāʾi, faqāla ḥasbiya allāhu rabbī faʿāraḍahu jibrīlu ʿalayhi al-salāmu faqāla ʾalaka ḥājatun? qāla lā, wafāʾan biqawlihi ḥasbiya allāhu faṣaddaqa al-qawla bi-l-ʿamali

Thus He tested His intimate friend, peace be upon him, when the catapult hurled him through the air. He said, ‘God, my Lord, is enough for me.’ Gabriel, peace be upon him, intercepted him and asked, ‘Do you have any need?’ He answered, ‘No,’ fulfilling his words, ‘God is enough for me,’ and confirming speech with action.

فَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ الَّذِي وَفَّى ) النَّجْمِ : 37 بِقَوْلِهِ حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ وَلِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَا يَدْخُلُ تَحْتَ الْأَحْكَامِ ؛ وَلَا يَلْزَمُهُ مَا حَكَمَ بِهِ عَلَى الْأَنَامِ ،

faqāla allāhu taʿālā: ( waʾibrāhīma alladhī waffā ) al-najmi: 37 biqawlihi ḥasbiya allāhu waliʾanna allāha taʿālā lā yadkhulu taḥta al-ʾaḥkāmi; walā yalzamuhu mā ḥakama bihi ʿalā al-ʾanāmi,

God Most High said: ‘And Abraham, who fulfilled’ (al-Najm 53:37), through his words, ‘God is enough for me.’ Moreover, God Most High does not come under judgments, and what He has decreed for humankind does not bind Him.

وَلَا يُخْتَبَرُ صِدْقُهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ، وَلَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يُوصَفَ بِضِدِّ الصِّدْقِ وَأَنْ بَدَّلَ الْكَلِمَ هُوَ بِتَبْدِيلٍ مِنْهُ ، لِأَنَّ كَلَامَهُ قَائِمٌ بِهِ ، فَلَهُ أَنْ يُبَدِّلَ بِهِ مَاشَاءَ ،

walā yukhtabaru ṣidquhu subḥānahu wataʿālā, walā yajūzu ʾan yūṣafa biḍiddi al-ṣidqi waʾan baddala al-kalima huwa bitabdīlin minhu, liʾanna kalāmahu qāʾimun bihi, falahu ʾan yubaddila bihi māshāʾa,

His truthfulness, exalted and sublime, is not put to a test, nor may He be described as the opposite of truthful. If He changes the words, that alteration is His own, for His speech subsists in Him, and He may change through it whatever He wills.

وَهُوَ الصَّادِقِينَ فِي الْكَلَامَيْنِ ، الْعَادِلُ فِي الْحُكْمَيْنِ ، الْحَاكِمُ فِي الْحَالَيْنِ ، لِأَنَّهُ حَاكِمٌ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا حُكْمَ يَلْزَمُهُ فِيهِ ،

wahuwa al-ṣādiqīna fī al-kalāmayni, al-ʿādilu fī al-ḥukmayni, al-ḥākimu fī al-ḥālayni, liʾannahu ḥākimun ʿalayhi walā ḥukma yalzamuhu fīhi,

He is truthful in both utterances, just in both judgments, and sovereign in both states, for He rules over it, and no judgment concerning it binds Him.

لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ جَازَ الْعُلُومَ وَالْعُقُولَ الَّتِي هِيَ أَمَاكِنُ لِلْحُدُودِ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ وَالنَّهْيِ ، وَفَاتَ الرُّسُومَ وَالْمَعْقُولَ الَّتِي هِيَ أَوَاسِطُ الْأَحْكَامِ وَالْأَقْدَارِ .

liʾannahu qad jāza al-ʿulūma wa-l-ʿuqūla allatī hiya ʾamākinu li-l-ḥudūdi mina al-ʾamri wa-l-nahyi, wafāta al-rusūma wa-l-maʿqūla allatī hiya ʾawāsiṭu al-ʾaḥkāmi wa-l-ʾaqdāri .

For He surpasses the sciences and intellects that serve as the loci of limits set by command and prohibition, and He transcends forms and intelligible things that mediate judgments and decrees.

وَفِي مُشَاهَدَةِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ عِلْمٌ دَقِيقٌ مِنْ عُلُومِ التَّوْحِيدِ ، وَمَقَامٌ رَفِيعٌ مِنْ أَحْوَالِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَبِمِثْلِ هٰذَا الْمَعْنَى وَصَفَ صَفِيَّهُ مُوسَى فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى ( فَأَوْجَسَ فِي نَفْسِهِ خِيفَةً مُوسَى ) طٰهٰ : 66

wafī mushāhadati mā dhakarnāhu ʿilmun daqīqun min ʿulūmi al-tawḥīdi, wamaqāmun rafīʿun min ʾaḥwāli al-tawḥīdi wabimithli hādhā al-maʿnā waṣafa ṣafiyyahu mūsā fī qawlihi taʿālā ( faʾawjasa fī nafsihi khīfatan mūsā ) ṭāhā: 66

Witnessing what we have mentioned involves a subtle branch of knowledge of divine oneness and an exalted station among its states. He described His chosen one Moses in a similar sense when He said: ‘Moses felt fear within himself’ (Ṭā Hā 20:66).

بَعْدَ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى ( لَا تَخَافَا إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَا ) طٰهٰ : 46 الْآيَةَ ، فَلَمْ يَأْمَنْ مُوسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدْ أَسَرَّ عَنْهُ فِي غَيْبِهِ ، وَاِسْتَثْنَى فِي نَفْسِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ مَا لَمْ يُظْهِرْهُ لَهُ فِي الْقَوْلِ ،

baʿda qawlihi taʿālā ( lā takhāfā ʾinnanī maʿakumā ) ṭāhā: 46 al-ʾāyata, falam yaʾman mūsā ʾan yakūna qad ʾasarra ʿanhu fī ghaybihi, wa-istathnā fī nafsihi subḥānahu mā lam yuẓhirhu lahu fī al-qawli,

This follows His words, exalted is He: ‘Do not fear, you two; I am with you’ (Ṭā Hā 20:46), and the rest of the verse. Moses did not feel assured that God had not kept something concealed from him in His unseen knowledge or reserved within Himself, glorified is He, an exception He had not expressed to him in speech.

لِمَعْرِفَةِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِخَفِيِّ الْمَكْرِ وَبَاطِنِ الْوَصْفِ ، وَلِعِلْمِهِ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يُعْطِهِ الْحُكْمَ إِذْ هُوَ مَحْكُومٌ عَلَيْهِ مَقْهُورٌ ، فَخَافَ خَوْفًا ثَانِيًا حَتَّى أَمَّنَهُ أَمْنًا ثَانِيًا بِحُكْمٍ ثَانٍ ،

limaʿrifati mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu bikhafiyyi al-makri wabāṭini al-waṣfi, waliʿilmihi ʾannahu lam yuʿṭihi al-ḥukma ʾidh huwa maḥkūmun ʿalayhi maqhūrun, fakhāfa khawfan thāniyan ḥattā ʾammanahu ʾamnan thāniyan biḥukmin thānin,

This was because Moses, peace be upon him, recognized hidden devising and the attribute’s inward reality, and knew that God had not given him sovereignty: he himself was subject to judgment and compelled. So he feared a second time, until God gave him a second assurance through a second pronouncement:

فَقَالَ : ( لَا تَخَفْ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْأَعْلَى ) طٰهٰ : 68 فَاِطْمَأَنَّ إِلَى الْقَائِلِ وَلَمْ يَسْكُنْ إِلَى الْإِظْهَارِ الْأَوَّلِ ، لِعِلْمِهِ بِسَعَةِ عِلْمِهِ أَنَّهُ هُوَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ الَّتِي لَا نِهَايَةَ لَهَا ،

faqāla: ( lā takhaf ʾinnaka ʾanta al-ʾaʿlā ) ṭāhā: 68 fa-iṭmaʾanna ʾilā al-qāʾili walam yaskun ʾilā al-ʾiẓhāri al-ʾawwali, liʿilmihi bisaʿati ʿilmihi ʾannahu huwa ʿallāmu al-ghuyūbi allatī lā nihāyata lahā,

‘Do not fear; you shall have the upper hand’ (Ṭā Hā 20:68). He found reassurance in the Speaker, although he had not rested in the first outward declaration, knowing the vastness of His knowledge: He is the Knower of unseen things, which have no end.

وَلِأَنَّ الْقَوْلَ أَحْكَامٌ وَالْحَاكِمُ لَا تَحْكُمُ عَلَيْهِ الْأَحْكَامُ كَمَا لَا تَعُودُ عَلَيْهِ الْأَحْكَامُ ، وَإِنَّمَا تُفْصَلُ الْأَحْكَامُ مِنَ الْحَاكِمِ الْعَلَّامِ ، ثُمَّ تَعُودُ عَلَى الْمَحْكُومَاتِ أَبَدًا ،

waliʾanna al-qawla ʾaḥkāmun wa-l-ḥākimu lā taḥkumu ʿalayhi al-ʾaḥkāmu kamā lā taʿūdu ʿalayhi al-ʾaḥkāmu, waʾinnamā tufṣalu al-ʾaḥkāmu mina al-ḥākimi al-ʿallāmi, thumma taʿūdu ʿalā al-maḥkūmāti ʾabadan,

Speech consists of judgments, and judgments do not govern the Judge, just as they do not return upon Him. Judgments issue distinctly from the all-knowing Judge and then always return upon the things judged.

وَلِأَنَّهُ جَلَّتْ قُدْرَتُهُ لَا يَلْزَمُهُ مَالَزِمَ الْخَلْقَ الَّذِي هُمْ تَحْتَ الْحُكْمِ ، وَلَايَدْخُلُ تَحْتَ مِعْيَارِ الْعَقْلِ وَالْعِلْمِ ، تَعَالَى اللَّهُ عَنْ ذٰلِكَ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا ، عِنْدَ مَنْ عَرَفَهُ فَأَجَلَّهُ وَعَظَّمَهُ عَنْ مَعَارِفِ مَنْ جَهِلَهُ .

waliʾannahu jallat qudratuhu lā yalzamuhu mālazima al-khalqa alladhī hum taḥta al-ḥukmi, walāyadkhulu taḥta miʿyāri al-ʿaqli wa-l-ʿilmi, taʿālā allāhu ʿan dhālika ʿuluwwan kabīran, ʿinda man ʿarafahu faʾajallahu waʿaẓẓamahu ʿan maʿārifi man jahilahu .

For He, majestic in power, is not bound by what binds created beings, who stand under judgment, nor does He fall under the measure of reason and knowledge. God is supremely exalted above this, in the eyes of anyone who recognizes Him and reveres and magnifies Him beyond the conceptions of those who do not know Him.

وَمِنْ هٰذَا قَوْلُ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( إِنْ كُنْتُ قُلْتُهُ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلَا أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَ ) الْمَائِدَةِ : 116

wamin hādhā qawlu ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu min qawlihi taʿālā: ( ʾin kuntu qultuhu faqad ʿalimtahu taʿlamu mā fī nafsī walā ʾaʿlamu mā fī nafsika ) al-māʾidati: 116

An instance is the saying of Jesus, peace be upon him, in the Most High’s words: ‘If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within me, and I do not know what is within You’ (al-Māʾidah 5:116),

لَمَّا قَالَ لَهُ : ( أَأَنْتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ اِتَّخِذُونِي وَأُمِّيَ إِلٰهَيْنِ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ ) الْمَائِدَةِ : 116 وَمِثْلُ هٰذَا قَوْلُهُ فِي يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ( إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ ) الْمَائِدَةِ : 118

lammā qāla lahu: ( ʾaʾanta qulta li-l-nāsi ittakhidhūnī waʾummiya ʾilāhayni min dūni allāhi ) al-māʾidati: 116 wamithlu hādhā qawluhu fī yawmi al-qiyāmati ( ʾin tuʿadhdhibhum faʾinnahum ʿibāduka ) al-māʾidati: 118

when He said to him: ‘Was it you who told the people, “Take me and my mother as two gods apart from God”?’ (al-Māʾidah 5:116). The same applies to his words on the Day of Resurrection: ‘If You punish them, they are Your servants’ (al-Māʾidah 5:118).

فَجَعَلَهُمْ فِي مَشِيئَةٍ لِعِزَّتِهِ وَكَحْمَتِهِ وَلَا يَصْلُحُ أَنْ نَكْشِفَ حَقِيقَةَ مَا فَصَّلْنَاهُ فِي

fajaʿalahum fī mashīʾatin liʿizzatihi wakaḥmatihi walā yaṣluḥu ʾan nakshifa ḥaqīqata mā faṣṣalnāhu fī

He thus placed them within divine willing, in recognition of His might and wisdom. It is not fitting for us to disclose the reality of what we have set out in

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٨٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 384

Volume One, page 384

كِتَابٍ ، وَلَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ نَرْسُمَ مَا رَمَزْنَاهُ مِنَ الْخِطَابِ خَشْيَةَ الْإِنْكَارِ ، وَكَرَاهَةَ تَفَاوُتِ عِلْمِ أَهْلِ الْمَعْقُولِ وَالْمِعْيَارِ إِلَّا أَنْ يُسْأَلَ عَنْهُ مَنْ أُقِيمَ فِيهِ وَأُرِيدَ بِهِ مِنْ ذَوِي الْقُوَّةِ وَالْإِبْصَارِ ،

kitābin, walā yanbaghī ʾan narsuma mā ramaznāhu mina al-khiṭābi khashyata al-ʾinkāri, wakarāhata tafāwuti ʿilmi ʾahli al-maʿqūli wa-l-miʿyāri ʾillā ʾan yusʾala ʿanhu man ʾuqīma fīhi waʾurīda bihi min dhawī al-quwwati wa-l-ʾibṣāri,

a book, nor should we write out plainly the discourse to which we have alluded, for fear of denial and out of reluctance arising from the unequal knowledge of those who rely on rational concepts and measures. Only someone established in it and intended for it, possessing strength and insight, should be asked about it.

فَيُنْقَلُ مِنْ قَلْبٍ إِلَى قَلْبٍ ، فَحِينَئِذٍ يَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ ، أَوْيَكْشِفُهُ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ فِي سَرَائِرِ الْقُلُوبِ بِوَحْيِ الْإِلْهَامِ ، وَيَقْذِفُهُ بِنُورِ الْهُدَى لِلْإِعْلَامِ ،

fayunqalu min qalbin ʾilā qalbin, faḥīnaʾidhin yatlūhu shāhidun minhu, ʾawyakshifuhu ʿallāmu al-ghuyūbi fī sarāʾiri al-qulūbi biwaḥyi al-ʾilhāmi, wayaqdhifuhu binūri al-hudā li-l-ʾiʿlāmi,

It is then conveyed from heart to heart, followed by a witness from Him. Or the Knower of unseen things unveils it in the hearts’ secret depths through the communication of inspiration and casts it there with the light of guidance to impart knowledge.

وَاللَّهُ الْمُوَفِّقُ لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنَ الْعِبَادِ ، لِمَا شَاءَ مِنَ الْحِيطَةِ بِالْعِلْمِ وَهُوَ الْفَتَّاحُ الْعَلِيمُ إِذَا فَتَحَ الْقَلْبَ عَلَّمَهُ وَإِذَا نَوَّرَهُ بِالْقِينِ أَلْهَمَهُ .

wa-allāhu al-muwaffiqu liman shāʾa mina al-ʿibādi, limā shāʾa mina al-ḥīṭati bi-l-ʿilmi wahuwa al-fattāḥu al-ʿalīmu ʾidhā fataḥa al-qalba ʿallamahu waʾidhā nawwarahu bi-l-qīni ʾalhamahu .

God grants success to whichever servants He wills, in whatever encompassing knowledge He wills. He is the All-Opening, the All-Knowing: when He opens a heart, He teaches it; when He illuminates it with certainty, He inspires it.

وَمِنْ خَوْفِ الْعَارِفِينَ عِلْمُهُمْ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُخَوِّفُ عِبَادَهُ بِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْأَعْلِينَ ، يَجْعَلُهُمْ نَكَالًا لِأَدْنِينَ وَيُخَوِّفُ الْعُمُومَ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ بِالتَّنْكِيلِ بِبَعْضِ الْخُصُوصِ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ حِكْمَةً لَهُ وَحُكْمًا مِنْهُ .

wamin khawfi al-ʿārifīna ʿilmuhum biʾanna allāha taʿālā yukhawwifu ʿibādahu biman shāʾa min ʿibādihi al-ʾaʿlīna, yajʿaluhum nakālan liʾadnīna wayukhawwifu al-ʿumūma min khalqihi bi-l-tankīli bibaʿḍi al-khuṣūṣi min ʿibādihi ḥikmatan lahu waḥukman minhu .

Another source of the knowers’ fear is their knowledge that God Most High frightens His servants through whomever He wills among His highest servants, making them a warning to those below, and frightens the generality of His creatures by making an example of some of His elect servants, in His wisdom and by His judgment.

فَعِنْدَ الْخَائِفِينَ فِي عِلْمِهِمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ أَخْرَجَ طَائِفَةً مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ نَكَالًا خَوَّفَ بِهِمُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ؛ وَنَكَّلَ طَائِفَةً مِنَ الشُّهَدَاءِ خَوَّفَ بِهِمُ الصَّالِحِينَ ، وَأَخْرَجَ جَمَاعَةً مِنَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ خَوَّفَ بِهِمُ الشُّهَدَاءَ ؛ وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَرَاءَ ذٰلِكَ .

faʿinda al-khāʾifīna fī ʿilmihim ʾanna allāha taʿālā qad ʾakhraja ṭāʾifatan mina al-ṣāliḥīna nakālan khawwafa bihimu al-muʾminīna; wanakkala ṭāʾifatan mina al-shuhadāʾi khawwafa bihimu al-ṣāliḥīna, waʾakhraja jamāʿatan mina al-ṣiddīqīna khawwafa bihimu al-shuhadāʾa; wa-allāhu taʿālā ʾaʿlamu bimā warāʾa dhālika .

Those who fear understand that God Most High has cast out a group of the righteous as a warning through which He frightened the faithful; made an example of a group of witnesses through which He frightened the righteous; and cast out a company of the utterly truthful through which He frightened the witnesses. God Most High knows best what lies beyond this.

وَقَدْ أَخْرَجَ جَمَاعَةً مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ وَعَظَ بِهِمُ النَّبِيِّينَ ، وَخَوَّفَ بِهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ، فَصَارَ مِنْ أَهْلِ كُلِّ مَقَامٍ عِبْرَةٌ لِمَنْ دُونَهُمْ وَمَوْعِظَةٌ لِمَنْ فَوْقَهُمْ ، وَتَخْوِيفٌ وَتَهْدِيدٌ لِأُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ ،

waqad ʾakhraja jamāʿatan mina al-malāʾikati waʿaẓa bihimu al-nabiyyīna, wakhawwafa bihimu al-malāʾikata al-muqarrabīna, faṣāra min ʾahli kulli maqāmin ʿibratun liman dūnahum wamawʿiẓatun liman fawqahum, watakhwīfun watahdīdun liʾulī al-ʾabṣāri,

He has also cast out a company of angels, admonishing the prophets through them and frightening the angels brought near. Thus, from the people of every station come an example for those beneath them, an admonition for those above them, and a warning and threat to those possessing insight.

وَهٰذَا دَاخِلٌ فِي بَعْضِ تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( آتَيْنَاهُ آيَاتِنَا فَاِنْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا ) الْأَعْرَافِ : 175 قَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ التَّفْسِيرِ فِي أَخْبَارِ بَلْعَمِ بْنِ بَاعُورَاءَ : إِنَّهُ أُوتِيَ النُّبُوَّةَ ، وَالْمَشْهُورُ أَنَّهُ أُوتِيَ الْاِسْمَ الْأَكْبَرَ ، فَكَانَ سَبَبَ هَلَاكِهِ ،

wahādhā dākhilun fī baʿḍi tafsīri qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( ʾātaynāhu ʾāyātinā fa-insalakha minhā ) al-ʾaʿrāfi: 175 qāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-tafsīri fī ʾakhbāri balʿami bni bāʿūrāʾa: ʾinnahu ʾūtiya al-nubuwwata, wa-l-mashhūru ʾannahu ʾūtiya al-isma al-ʾakbara, fakāna sababa halākihi,

This is included in one interpretation of His words, mighty and majestic: ‘We gave him Our signs, but he cast them off’ (al-Aʿrāf 7:175). In the accounts of Balʿam ibn Bāʿūrāʾ, some commentators said he had been given prophethood. The better-known account is that he was given the Greatest Name, which became the cause of his destruction.

وَهُوَ مُقْتَضَى وَصْفٍ مِنْ أَوْصَافِهِ ، وَهُوَ تَرْكُ الْمُبَالَاةِ بِمَا أَظْهَرَ مِنَ الْعُلُومِ وَالْأَعْمَالِ ، فَلَمْ يَسْكُنْ عِنْدَ ذٰلِكَ أَحَدٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَقَامَاتِ فِي مَقَامٍ ، وَلَا نَظَرَ أَحَدٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْأَحْوَالِ إِلَى حَالٍ ، وَلَا أَمِنَ مَكْرَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَالِمٌ بِهِ فِي كُلِّ حَالٍ ،

wahuwa muqtaḍā waṣfin min ʾawṣāfihi, wahuwa tarku al-mubālāti bimā ʾaẓhara mina al-ʿulūmi wa-l-ʾaʿmāli, falam yaskun ʿinda dhālika ʾaḥadun min ʾahli al-maqāmāti fī maqāmin, walā naẓara ʾaḥadun min ʾahli al-ʾaḥwāli ʾilā ḥālin, walā ʾamina makra allāhi taʿālā ʿālimun bihi fī kulli ḥālin,

This is entailed by one of His attributes: being unconcerned with the knowledge and deeds He has made manifest. In view of this, no possessor of a station rests in his station, no possessor of a state looks to his state, and no one who knows God Most High feels secure from His devising in any circumstance.

كَيْفَ وَقَدْ سَمِعُوهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى يَقُولُ : ( إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّهِمْ غَيْرُ مَأْمُونٍ ) الْمَعَارِجِ : 28 فَأَجْهَلُ النَّاسِ مَنْ أَمِنَ غَيْرَ مَأْمُونٍ ، وَأَعْلَمُهُمْ مَنْ خَافَ فِي الْأَمْنِ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ مِنْ دَارِ الْخَوْفِ إِلَى مَقَامٍ أَمِينٍ .

kayfa waqad samiʿūhu tabāraka wataʿālā yaqūlu: ( ʾinna ʿadhāba rabbihim ghayru maʾmūnin ) al-maʿāriji: 28 faʾajhalu al-nāsi man ʾamina ghayra maʾmūnin, waʾaʿlamuhum man khāfa fī al-ʾamni ḥattā yakhruja min dāri al-khawfi ʾilā maqāmin ʾamīnin .

How could he, when they have heard Him, blessed and sublime, say: ‘None can feel secure from their Lord’s punishment’ (al-Maʿārij 70:28)? The most ignorant person is one who feels secure where there is no security. The most knowledgeable is one who fears even in safety, until he leaves the abode of fear for a secure station.

وَهٰذَا خَوْفٌ لَايَقُومُ لَهُ شَيْءٌ ؛ وَكَرْبٌ لَا يُوَازِيهِ مَقَامٌ وَلَا عَمَلٌ ، لَوْلَا أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَدَّلَهُ بِالرَّجَاءِ لَأَخْرَجَ إِلَى الْقُنُوطِ ، وَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ رَوَّحَهُ بِرَوْحِ الْأُنْسِ بِحُسْنِ الظَّنِّ لَأَدْخَلَ فِي الْإِيَاسِ ،

wahādhā khawfun lāyaqūmu lahu shayʾun; wakarbun lā yuwāzīhi maqāmun walā ʿamalun, lawlā ʾanna allāha taʿālā ʿaddalahu bi-l-rajāʾi laʾakhraja ʾilā al-qunūṭi, walawlā ʾannahu rawwaḥahu birawḥi al-ʾunsi biḥusni al-ẓanni laʾadkhala fī al-ʾiyāsi,

This is a fear nothing can withstand and an anguish no station or deed can counterbalance. Had God Most High not balanced it with hope, it would have led to despondency; had He not refreshed it with the breath of intimacy through a good expectation of Him, it would have led into despair.

وَلٰكِنْ إِذَا كَانَ هُوَ الْمُعَدِّلَ وَهُوَ الْمُرَوِّحَ كَيْفَ لَا يَعْتَدِلُ الْخَوْفُ وَالرَّجَاءُ ، وَلَا يَمْتَزِجُ الْكَرْبُ بِالرَّوْحِ وَالرِّضَا ، حِكْمَةٌ بَالِغَةٌ ، وَحُكْمٌ نَافِذٌ ، لِعِلْمٍ سَابِقٍ ، وَقَدَرٍ جَارٍ ، مَاشَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ .

walākin ʾidhā kāna huwa al-muʿaddila wahuwa al-murawwiḥa kayfa lā yaʿtadilu al-khawfu wa-l-rajāʾu, walā yamtaziju al-karbu bi-l-rawḥi wa-l-riḍā, ḥikmatun bālighatun, waḥukmun nāfidhun, liʿilmin sābiqin, waqadarin jārin, māshāʾa allāhu taʿālā lā quwwata ʾillā bi-llāhi .

But when He is the One who balances and the One who refreshes, how could fear and hope fail to find balance, or anguish fail to mingle with relief and contentment? Consummate wisdom, an effective judgment, in accordance with prior knowledge and an unfolding decree: whatever God Most High wills; there is no strength except through God.

وَفِي شُهُودِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ عِلْمٌ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ تَوْحِيدٍ لِمَنْ أَشْهَدَهُ ، فَأَقَلُّ مَا يُفِيدُ عِلْمُ هٰذَا الْخَائِفِينَ تَرْكُ النَّظَرِ إِلَى أَعْمَالِهِمْ وَرَفْعُ السُّكُونِ إِلَى عُلُومِهِمْ وَصِدْقُ الْاِفْتِقَارِ فِي كُلِّ حَالٍ

wafī shuhūdi mā dhakarnāhu ʿilmun ʿan mushāhadati tawḥīdin liman ʾashhadahu, faʾaqallu mā yufīdu ʿilmu hādhā al-khāʾifīna tarku al-naẓari ʾilā ʾaʿmālihim warafʿu al-sukūni ʾilā ʿulūmihim waṣidqu al-iftiqāri fī kulli ḥālin

In witnessing what we have described there is knowledge arising from a vision of oneness for anyone whom He makes witness it. The least benefit this knowledge brings those who fear is to stop looking to their deeds, cease resting in their knowledge, and be genuinely needy in every state,

وَدَوَامُ الْاِنْقِطَاعِ بِكُلِّ هَمٍّ وَالْإِزْرَادُ عَلَى النَّفْسِ فِي كُلِّ وَصْفٍ ؛ وَهٰذِهِ مَقَامَاتٌ لِقَوْمٍ ، فَيَكُونُ هٰذَا الْخَوْفُ سَبَبَ نَجَاتِهِمْ مِنْ هٰذِهِ الْوَقَائِعِ

wadawāmu al-inqiṭāʿi bikulli hammin wa-l-ʾizrādu ʿalā al-nafsi fī kulli waṣfin; wahādhihi maqāmātun liqawmin, fayakūnu hādhā al-khawfu sababa najātihim min hādhihi al-waqāʾiʿi

to maintain complete devotion in every concern, and to hold the self in low esteem in every condition. For some people these are stations. This fear therefore becomes the means of their deliverance from such calamities,

إِذْ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى التَّخْوِيفَ أَمَنَةً مِنَ الْأَخْذِ بِالْمُفَاجَأَةِ وَسَبَبًا لِلرَّأْفَةِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ لِمَنْ أَلْبَسَهُ إِيَّاهُ ، وَهُوَ أَحَدُ الْوَجْهَيْنِ وَفِي قَوْلِهِ

ʾidh qad jaʿala allāhu taʿālā al-takhwīfa ʾamanatan mina al-ʾakhdhi bi-l-mufājaʾati wasababan li-l-raʾfati wa-l-raḥmati liman ʾalbasahu ʾiyyāhu, wahuwa ʾaḥadu al-wajhayni wafī qawlihi

for God Most High has made the imparting of fear a protection from being seized unawares and a cause of compassion and mercy for anyone whom He clothes in it. This is one of the two aspects, in His words,

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٨٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 385

Volume One, page 385

تَعَالَى : ( أَفَأَمِنَ الَّذِينَ مَكَرُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ أَنْ يَخْسِفَ اللّٰهُ بِهِمُ الْأَرْضَ ) النَّحْلِ : 45 الْآيَةَ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أَوْ يَأْخُذَهُمْ عَلَى تَخَوُّفٍ فَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَرَؤُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ ) النَّحْلِ : 47

taʿālā : ( ʾafaʾamina alladhīna makarū al-sayyiʾāti ʾan yakhsifa Allāhu bihimu al-ʾarḍa ) al-naḥli : 45 al-ʾāyata , thumma qāla taʿālā : ( ʾaw yaʾkhudhahum ʿalā takhawwufin faʾinna rabbakum laraʾūfun raḥīmun ) al-naḥli : 47

exalted is He: ‘Do those who plot evil feel secure that God will not make the earth swallow them?’ (The Bee, 16:45), the verse. Then He says, exalted is He: ‘Or seize them through gradual diminution? Yet your Lord is truly compassionate, merciful’ (The Bee, 16:47).

وَلَيْسَ يَصْلُحُ أَيْضًا أَنْ نَكْشِفَ سِرَّ الْمَخَاوِفِ مِنَ الْخَاتِمَةِ وَالسَّابِقَةِ لِأَنَّ ذَٰلِكَ يَكُونُ عَنْ حَقَائِقِ مَعَانِي الصِّفَاتِ الَّتِي ظَهَرَتْ عَنْ حَقِيقَةِ الذَّاتِ فَأَظْهَرَتْ بَدَائِعَ الْأَفْعَالِ وَغَرَائِبَ الْمَآلِ

walaysa yaṣluḥu ʾayḍan ʾan nakshifa sirra al-makhāwifi mina al-khātimati wa-l-sābiqati liʾanna dhālika yakūnu ʿan ḥaqāʾiqi maʿānī al-ṣifāti allatī ẓaharat ʿan ḥaqīqati al-dhāti faʾaẓharat badāʾiʿa al-ʾafʿāli wagharāʾiba al-maʾāli

Nor is it fitting for us to disclose the secret of fears concerning one's final end and primordial decree. This derives from the realities underlying the meanings of the attributes, which appeared from the reality of the Essence and brought forth wondrous acts and extraordinary outcomes.

وَأَعَادَتِ الْأَحْكَامَ عَلَى مَنْ أَظْهَرَ بِهَا وَجَعَلَ لَهَا مِمَّنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الْكَلِمَاتُ وَجَعَلَ نَصِيبَهُ مِنْ مَعَانِي هَٰذِهِ السَّرِيرَةِ مِنَ الصِّفَاتِ فَيُؤَدِّي ذَٰلِكَ مِنَّا إِلَى كَشْفِ بَاطِنِ الْأَوْصَافِ ؛

waʾaʿādati al-ʾaḥkāma ʿalā man ʾaẓhara bihā wajaʿala lahā mimman ḥaqqat ʿalayhi al-kalimātu wajaʿala naṣībahu min maʿānī hādhihi al-sarīrati mina al-ṣifāti fayuʾaddī dhālika minnā ʾilā kashfi bāṭini al-ʾawṣāfi ;

They brought the decrees back upon those whom He manifested through them and appointed for them, among those upon whom the words became binding, assigning their portion from the meanings of this inward secret of the attributes. Our doing so would therefore lead to disclosing the inward nature of the attributes.

وَهَٰذَا غَيْرُ مَأْمُورٍ بِهِ وَلَا مَأْذُونٍ فِيهِ ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَجِبُ فَلَمْ يُؤْمَرْ بِهِ ، وَلِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يُبَحْ فَلَمْ يُؤْذَنْ فِيهِ ، وَهُوَ مِنْ سِرِّ الْقَدَرِ وَقَدْ نُهِيَ عَنْ إِفْشَائِهِ فِي غَيْرِ خَبَرٍ وَلَوْ لَمْ يَطَّلِعِ الْأَوْلِيَاءُ عَلَيْهِ لَمَا قِيلَ : فَلَا تُفْشُوهُ ،

wahādhā ghayru maʾmūrin bihi walā maʾdhūnin fīhi , liʾannahu lā yajibu falam yuʾmar bihi , waliʾannahu lam yubaḥ falam yuʾdhan fīhi , wahuwa min sirri al-qadari waqad nuhiya ʿan ʾifshāʾihi fī ghayri khabarin walaw lam yaṭṭaliʿi al-ʾawliyāʾu ʿalayhi lamā qīla : falā tufshūhu ,

This has neither been commanded nor permitted: since it is not obligatory, it was not commanded; and since it was not made lawful, it was not permitted. It belongs to the secret of predestination, whose disclosure is forbidden in more than one transmitted report. Had the saints not been granted insight into it, they would not have been told, ‘Do not divulge it.’

فَإِنْ أَقَامَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى عَبْدًا مَقَامَ هَٰذِهِ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ أَغْنَاهُ بِالْمُعَايَنَةِ عَنِ الْخَبَرِ ، وَآنَسَهُ بِالْمُحَادَثَةِ عَنِ الْأَثَرِ ، وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْعِلْمُ النَّافِعُ الَّذِي يَكُونُ الْعَلَّامُ مُعَلِّمَهُ ، وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْأَثَرُ اللَّازِمُ الَّذِي يَكُونُ الْجَاعِلُ مُؤَثِّرَهُ ،

faʾin ʾaqāma Allāhu taʿālā ʿabdan maqāma hādhihi al-mushāhadati ʾaghnāhu bi-l-muʿāyanati ʿani al-khabari , waʾānasahu bi-l-muḥādathati ʿani al-ʾathari , wadhālika huwa al-ʿilmu al-nāfiʿu alladhī yakūnu al-ʿallāmu muʿallimahu , wadhālika huwa al-ʾatharu al-lāzimu alladhī yakūnu al-jāʿilu muʾaththirahu ,

If God Most High establishes a servant at the station of this witnessing, direct vision makes reports unnecessary for him, and intimate converse consoles him beyond transmitted accounts. This is the beneficial knowledge whose teacher is the All-Knowing; this is the abiding impression whose author is the One who brings it into being.

( وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللّٰهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللّٰهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ ) الطَّلَاقِ : 3

( waman yattaqi Allāha yajʿal lahu makhrajan wayarzuqhu min ḥaythu lā yaḥtasibu waman yatawakkal ʿalā Allāhi fahuwa ḥasbuhu ) al-ṭalāqi : 3

‘Whoever is mindful of God, He will make a way out for him and provide for him from where he does not expect; and whoever trusts in God, He is sufficient for him’ (Divorce, 65:3).

فَالْكَتْبُ الَّذِي لَا يُمْحَي مَا كَانَ مِنْ نُورِهِ وَالْعَيْنُ الَّتِي لَا تَخْفَى لِأَنَّهَا بِحُضُورِهِ وَالنُّورُ الَّذِي لَا يُطْفَأُ لِأَنَّهُ مِنْ رُوحِهِ وَالرُّوحُ الَّذِي لَا كَرْبَ فِيهِ لِأَنَّهُ مِنْ رَيْحَانِهِ وَالْمَدَدُ الَّذِي لَا يَنْقَطِعُ فَمِنْ رَوْحِهِ ،

fa-l-katbu alladhī lā yumḥay mā kāna min nūrihi wa-l-ʿaynu allatī lā takhfā liʾannahā biḥuḍūrihi wa-l-nūru alladhī lā yuṭfaʾu liʾannahu min rūḥihi wa-l-rūḥu alladhī lā karba fīhi liʾannahu min rayḥānihi wa-l-madadu alladhī lā yanqaṭiʿu famin rawḥihi ,

The inscription that cannot be erased is that which comes from His light; the eye that is not concealed is such because it is in His presence; the light that is never extinguished is from His spirit; the spirit free of distress is from His sweet fragrance; and the support that never ends comes from His relief.

وَقَدْ كَتَبَ وَأَيَّدَ وَكُلُّ كِتَابٍ بِيَدِ مَخْلُوقٍ فَغَيْرُمَحْفُوظٍ وَقَدْ يَضِيعُ وَكُلُّ أَيْدٍ بِغَيْرِ رُوحِهِ فَمَقْطُوعٌ وَمَا كَتَبَهُ الصَّانِعُ بِصُنْعِهِ فِي قَلْبٍ حَفِيظٍ فَمُثْبَتٌ عَتِيدٌ .

waqad kataba waʾayyada wakullu kitābin biyadi makhlūqin faghayru maḥfūẓin waqad yaḍīʿu wakullu ʾaydin bighayri rūḥihi famaqṭūʿun wamā katabahu al-ṣāniʿu biṣunʿihi fī qalbin ḥafīẓin famuthbatun ʿatīdun .

He has indeed inscribed and strengthened. Every writing held by a creature is unprotected and may be lost; every strength apart from His spirit is cut off. But what the Maker inscribes by His workmanship in a watchful heart is firmly established and ready to hand.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فِي لَوْحٍ مَحْفُوظٍ ) الْبُرُوجِ : 22 ، قَالَ : قَلْبُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَقَالَ آخَرُ فِي قَوْلِهِ : ( وَالْبَيْتِ الْمَعْمُورِ ) الطُّورِ : 4 قَلْبُ الْعَارِفِ ،

waqad rawaynā ʿan zaydi bni ʾaslama fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( fī lawḥin maḥfūẓin ) al-burūji : 22 , qāla : qalbu al-muʾmini waqāla ʾākharu fī qawlihi : ( wa-l-bayti al-maʿmūri ) al-ṭūri : 4 qalbu al-ʿārifi ,

We have transmitted from Zayd ibn Aslam, concerning His words, exalted is He, ‘in a guarded tablet’ (The Constellations, 85:22), that he said: ‘The believer's heart.’ Another said, concerning ‘By the frequented House’ (The Mount, 52:4): ‘The heart of the knower.’

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ : ( فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ اللّٰهُ أَنْ تُرْفَعَ ) النُّورِ : 36 قُلُوبُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ رُفِعَتْ إِلَى وَصْفِ الْخَالِقِ عَنْ ذِكْرِ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ وَيُذْكَرُ فِيهَا اِسْمُهُ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ عَلَى تَجْرِيدِ الْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ عَنْ شَهَادَةِ الْأَحَدِيَّةِ .

waqāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-maʿrifati : ( fī buyūtin ʾadhina Allāhu ʾan turfaʿa ) al-nūri : 36 qulūbu al-muqarrabīna rufiʿat ʾilā waṣfi al-khāliqi ʿan dhikri al-makhlūqīna wayudhkaru fīhā ismuhu bi-l-tawḥīdi ʿalā tajrīdi al-waḥdāniyyati ʿan shahādati al-ʾaḥadiyyati .

One of the people of knowledge said: ‘In houses that God has permitted to be raised’ (Light, 24:36) means the hearts of those brought near, raised to contemplation of the Creator's attributes, beyond recollection of creatures. His name is remembered in them through the affirmation of unity, with oneness divested of all else through the witnessing of His absolute unity.

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ : الصَّدْرُ هُوَ الْكُرْسِيُّ وَالْقَلْبُ هُوَ الْعَرْشُ وَاللّٰهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى وَاضِعٌ عَلَيْهِ عَظَمَتَهُ وَجَلَالَهُ ، وَهُوَ مَشْهُودٌ بِلُطْفِهِ وَقُرْبِهِ ،

waqad kāna ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu : al-ṣadru huwa al-kursiyyu wa-l-qalbu huwa al-ʿarshu wa-llāhu tabāraka wataʿālā wāḍiʿun ʿalayhi ʿaẓamatahu wajalālahu , wahuwa mashhūdun biluṭfihi waqurbihi ,

Abū Muḥammad Sahl, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say: ‘The breast is the Footstool, and the heart is the Throne. God, blessed and exalted is He, places His magnificence and majesty upon it, and is witnessed through His subtle kindness and nearness.’

فَصَدْرُالْمُومِنِ أَوَّلُهُ صَمَدِيَّةٌ وَآخِرُهُ رُوحَانِيَّةٌ وَأَوْسَطُهُ رُبُوبِيَّةٌ ، فَهُوَ صَمَدِيٌّ رُوحَانِيٌّ رَبَّانِيٌّ وَقَلْبُهُ أَوَّلُهُ قُدْرَةٌ وَآخِرُهُ بِرٌّ ، وَأَوْسَطُهُ لُطْفٌ ،

faṣadru al-mūmini ʾawwaluhu ṣamadiyyatun waʾākhiruhu rūḥāniyyatun waʾawsaṭuhu rubūbiyyatun , fahuwa ṣamadiyyun rūḥāniyyun rabbāniyyun waqalbuhu ʾawwaluhu qudratun waʾākhiruhu birrun , waʾawsaṭuhu luṭfun ,

The believer's breast begins in divine self-sufficiency, ends in spirituality, and has lordship at its center: it thus partakes of self-sufficiency, spirituality, and divine nurture. His heart begins in power, ends in loving goodness, and has subtle kindness at its center.

فَإِذَا كَانَ كَذَٰلِكَ فَهُوَ مِشْكَاةٌ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ يُرَى بِهِ الزُّجَاجُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ تُشْهَدُ بِهِ الْآلَاءُ ، فَهُوَ مِرْآةُ جَسَدِيٍّ يُرَى فَيُرَى بِهِ الْوَجْهُ وَيَجِدُهُ عِنْدَهُ كَمَا يَرَاهُ بِهِ مِنْ وَرَاءِ مِرْآةِ مُشَاهَدَةٍ مِنْ قَلْبٍ مُوقِنٍ بِعَيْنِ يَقِينٍ ،

faʾidhā kāna kadhālika fahuwa mishkātun fīhā miṣbāḥun yurā bihi al-zujāju kaʾannahā kawkabun durriyyun tushhadu bihi al-ʾālāʾu , fahuwa mirʾātu jasadiyyin yurā fayurā bihi al-wajhu wayajiduhu ʿindahu kamā yarāhu bihi min warāʾi mirʾāti mushāhadatin min qalbin mūqinin biʿayni yaqīnin ,

When it is so, it is a niche containing a lamp by which the glass is seen, as though it were a radiant star through which blessings are witnessed. It is a bodily mirror that is seen, and through which the Face is seen; he finds Him with him just as he sees Him through it, from behind a mirror of witnessing, from a heart made certain through the eye of certainty.

يَشْهَدُ الصَّدْرَ الْكُرْسِيَّ وَالْقَلْبَ الْعَرْشَ وَاللّٰهَ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ . وَلَا يَحِلُّ لِلْعُلَمَاءِ أَيْضًا كَشْفُ عَلَامَاتِ سُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ فِيمَنْ رَأَوْهَا فِيهِ مِنَ الْعُمَّالِ لِأَنَّ لَهَا عَلَامَاتٍ جَلِيَّةً عِنْدَ الْمُكَاشَفِينَ بِهَا وَأَدِلَّةً خَفِيَّةً عِنْدَ الْعَارِفِينَ الْمُشْرَفِ بِهِمْ عَلَيْهَا ،

yashhadu al-ṣadra al-kursiyya wa-l-qalba al-ʿarsha wa-llāha taʿālā ʿalayhi . walā yaḥillu li-l-ʿulamāʾi ʾayḍan kashfu ʿalāmāti sūʾi al-khātimati fīman raʾawhā fīhi mina al-ʿummāli liʾanna lahā ʿalāmātin jaliyyatan ʿinda al-mukāshafīna bihā waʾadillatan khafiyyatan ʿinda al-ʿārifīna al-mushrafi bihim ʿalayhā ,

He witnesses the breast as the Footstool, the heart as the Throne, and God Most High upon it. Neither may scholars disclose the signs of an evil final end in practitioners in whom they see them. Such an end has evident signs for those to whom it is unveiled, and hidden indications for knowers granted a vantage over it.

وَلَٰكِنَّهَا مِنْ سِرِّ الْمَعْبُودِ فِي الْعَبْدِ خَبِيئَةٌ وَخَبْأَةٌ فِي خَزَائِنِ النُّفُوسِ لَمْ يَطَّلِعْ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا الْأَفْرَادُ وَقَدْ سَتَرَ ذَٰلِكَ وَعَطَّاهُ بِسَعَةِ رَحْمَتِهِ وَحِلْمِهِ وَكَثِيفِ سِتْرِهِ وَفَضْلِهِ وَسَيُخْرِجُ ذَٰلِكَ الْخَبَاءَ يَوْمَ تُبْلَى

walākinnahā min sirri al-maʿbūdi fī al-ʿabdi khabīʾatun wakhabʾatun fī khazāʾini al-nufūsi lam yaṭṭaliʿ ʿalayhā ʾillā al-ʾafrādu waqad satara dhālika waʿaṭṭāhu bisaʿati raḥmatihi waḥilmihi wakathīfi sitrihi wafaḍlihi wasayukhriju dhālika al-khabāʾa yawma tublā

But they belong to the secret of the One worshipped within His servant, a hidden deposit concealed in the treasuries of souls, into which only exceptional individuals have been given insight. He has veiled and covered it with the breadth of His mercy and forbearance, His thick covering and bounty. He will bring this hidden thing out on the day when—

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٨٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 386

Volume One, page 386

السَّرَائِرُ عِنْدَ غَضَبِهِ وَعَظِيمِ سَطْوَتِهِ ، فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ ، مِنْ عَمَلٍ ، وَلَا نَاصِرٍ مِنْ عِلْمٍ لَا قُوَّةَ لَهُ فَيَنْتَصِرَ بِهَا ، لِأَنَّ النُّصْرَةَ عِزَّةٌ وَهُوَ ذَلِيلٌ ، وَلَا نَاصِرَ ، لِأَنَّ النَّاصِرَ هُوَ الْخَاذِلُ وَالْمُقَوِّى هُوَ الْمُضْعِفُ ،

al-sarāʾiru ʿinda ghaḍabihi waʿaẓīmi saṭwatihi , famā lahu min quwwatin , min ʿamalin , walā nāṣirin min ʿilmin lā quwwata lahu fayantaṣira bihā , liʾanna al-nuṣrata ʿizzatun wahuwa dhalīlun , walā nāṣira , liʾanna al-nāṣira huwa al-khādhilu wa-l-muqawwī huwa al-muḍʿifu ,

—the secrets are put to the test, at His anger and tremendous assault. He then has no strength derived from action, nor any helper derived from knowledge: no strength by which to prevail, since victory is might and he is abased; and no helper, since the One who helps is Himself the One who forsakes, and the One who strengthens is the One who weakens.

فَمَا أَسْوَأَ حَالَ مَنْ لَا يَنْصُرُ نَفْسَهُ ، وَلَيْسَتْ لَهُ مِنْ مَوْلَاهُ صُحْبَةٌ ، وَلَوْ صَحِبَهُ لَنَصَرَهُ ، وَلَوْ نَصَرَهُ لَأَعَزَّهُ وَلَوْ وَلِيَهُ لَهَرَبَ مِنْهُ عَدُوُّهُ . قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ مِنَّا يُصْحَبُونَ ) الْأَنْبِيَاءِ : 43

famā ʾaswaʾa ḥāla man lā yanṣuru nafsahu , walaysat lahu min mawlāhu ṣuḥbatun , walaw ṣaḥibahu lanaṣarahu , walaw naṣarahu laʾaʿazzahu walaw waliyahu laharaba minhu ʿaduwwuhu . qāla taʿālā : ( lā yastaṭīʿūna naṣra ʾanfusihim walā hum minnā yuṣḥabūna ) al-ʾanbiyāʾi : 43

How wretched is the state of one unable to help himself and lacking his Master's companionship! Had He accompanied him, He would have helped him; had He helped him, He would have made him mighty; had He befriended him, his enemy would have fled. He says, exalted is He: ‘They cannot help themselves, nor are they accompanied by Us’ (The Prophets, 21:43).

وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( قُلْ أَنْزَلَهُ الَّذِي يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ فِي السَّمٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ) الْفُرْقَانِ : 6 الْآيَةَ . فَمِنْ حِكْمَتِهِ غَفْرُهُ وَمِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ سِتْرُهُ ،

waqāla taʿālā : ( qul ʾanzalahu alladhī yaʿlamu al-sirra fī al-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi ) al-furqāni : 6 al-ʾāyata . famin ḥikmatihi ghafruhu wamin raḥmatihi sitruhu ,

He also says, exalted is He: ‘Say: It was sent down by the One who knows the secret in the heavens and the earth’ (The Criterion, 25:6), the verse. His forgiveness belongs to His wisdom, and His concealment to His mercy.

وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ فِي السَّمٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ ) النَّمْلِ : 25 ؛ فَهَٰذِهِ الْعُلُومُ الَّتِي ذَكَرْنَاهَا تُوجِبُ حَقَائِقَ الْمَخَاوِفِ ، وَهِيَ مِنْ سِرِّ الْمُلْكِ وَخَبَاءِ الْمَلَكُوتِ .

waqāla taʿālā : ( yukhriju al-khabʾa fī al-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi wayaʿlamu mā tukhfūna wamā tuʿlinūna ) al-namli : 25 ; fahādhihi al-ʿulūmu allatī dhakarnāhā tūjibu ḥaqāʾiqa al-makhāwifi , wahiya min sirri al-mulki wakhabāʾi al-malakūti .

He says, exalted is He: ‘He brings out what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and knows what you conceal and what you disclose’ (The Ants, 27:25). These forms of knowledge that we have mentioned give rise to the realities of fear; they belong to the secret of dominion and the hidden treasury of the unseen kingdom.

عَلَى أَنَّ لِلْعَبْدِ عِنْدَ الْمَوْتِ عَلَامَاتٍ لَيْسَ يَخْفَى عَلَى الْعَارِفِ بِسُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ بِهَا لِمُشَاهَدَتِهِ لَهَا وَلِلْأَحْيَاءِ عَلَامَاتٍ عِنْدَ الْمُكَاشَفِينَ عَلَى الْاِطِّلَاعِ يَعْرِفُونَ بِهَا سُوءَ الْخَاتِمَةِ مِنْهُمْ ،

ʿalā ʾanna li-l-ʿabdi ʿinda al-mawti ʿalāmātin laysa yakhfā ʿalā al-ʿārifi bisūʾi al-khātimati bihā limushāhadatihi lahā wa-li-l-ʾaḥyāʾi ʿalāmātin ʿinda al-mukāshafīna ʿalā al-iṭṭilāʿi yaʿrifūna bihā sūʾa al-khātimati minhum ,

Nevertheless, a servant has signs at death through which his evil final end is not hidden from the knower who witnesses them. Among the living, too, there are signs for those granted unveiling and insight, by which they recognize those whose final end is evil.

وَهَٰذَا عِلْمٌ مَخْصُوصٌ بِهِ : مَنْ أُقِيمَ مَقَامَ مَقَامَاتِ الْمُكَاشَفَاتِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ حَقِيقَةٍ مِنْ ذَاتٍ ، وَهُوَسِرُّ عَلَّامِ الْغُيُوبِ عِنْدَ مَنْ أَطْلَعَهُ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُلُوبِ ،

wahādhā ʿilmun makhṣūṣun bihi : man ʾuqīma maqāma maqāmāti al-mukāshafāti ʿan mushāhadati ḥaqīqatin min dhātin , wahuwa sirru ʿallāmi al-ghuyūbi ʿinda man ʾaṭlaʿahu ʿalayhi min ʾahli al-qulūbi ,

This knowledge is reserved for one established at a station among the stations of unveiling, through witnessing a reality proceeding from the Essence. It is the secret of the Knower of all unseen things, entrusted to those people of the heart whom He has allowed to behold it.

لِأَنَّ الْكَشْفَ يَتَنَوَّعُ أَنْوَاعًا مِنَ الْمَعَانِي ، فَمِنْهُ كَشْفُ مَعَانِي الْآخِرَةِ ، وَمِنْهُ كَشْفُ بَوَاطِنِ الدُّنْيَا ، وَمِنْهُ الْاِطِّلَاعُ عَلَى حَقَائِقِ الْأَشْيَاءِ الْمَسْتُورَةِ لِظَوَاهِرِ الْأَحْكَامِ ، فَهَٰذَا مِنْ سِرِّ الْمَلَكُوتِ ، وَمِنْ مَعَانِي كُشُوفِ الْجَبَرُوتِ .

liʾanna al-kashfa yatanawwaʿu ʾanwāʿan mina al-maʿānī , faminhu kashfu maʿānī al-ʾākhirati , waminhu kashfu bawāṭini al-dunyā , waminhu al-iṭṭilāʿu ʿalā ḥaqāʾiqi al-ʾashyāʾi al-mastūrati liẓawāhiri al-ʾaḥkāmi , fahādhā min sirri al-malakūti , wamin maʿānī kushūfi al-jabarūti .

Unveiling takes different forms with different meanings: unveiling the meanings of the hereafter, unveiling the inner aspects of this world, and gaining insight into the realities of things hidden from the outward workings of the ordinances. This belongs to the secret of the unseen kingdom and to the meanings disclosed in unveilings of the realm of might.

وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي خَبَرٍ الْقَدَرُ سِرُّ اللّٰهِ فَلَا تُفْشُوهُ فَهَٰذَا خِطَابٌ لِمَنْ كُوشِفَ بِهِ ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ سِتْرُ اللّٰهِ فَلَا تَكْشِفُوهُ فَهَٰذَا خِطَابٌ لِمَنْ لَمْ يُكَاشَفْ بِهِ ، وَهَٰذَا نَهْيٌ عَنِ السُّؤَالِ عَنْهُ ،

waqad jāʾa fī khabarin al-qadaru sirru Allāhi falā tufshūhu fahādhā khiṭābun liman kūshifa bihi , wafī khabarin ʾākhara sitru Allāhi falā takshifūhu fahādhā khiṭābun liman lam yukāshaf bihi , wahādhā nahyun ʿani al-suʾāli ʿanhu ,

A report states: ‘Predestination is God's secret; do not divulge it.’ This addresses those to whom it has been unveiled. Another report says: ‘God's veil; do not uncover it.’ This addresses those to whom it has not been unveiled and forbids questioning about it.

وَهُوَ دَاخِلٌ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى ( وَلَاتَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ ) الْإِسْرَاءِ : 36 أَيْ لَا تُتْبِعْ نَفْسَكَ عِلْمَ مَا لَمْ تُكَلَّفْ ، وَلَا تَسْأَلْ عَمَّا لَمْ يُجْعَلْ مِنْ عِلْمِكَ وَلَمْ يُوكَلْ إِلَيْكَ ،

wahuwa dākhilun fī qawlihi taʿālā ( walā taqfu mā laysa laka bihi ʿilmun ) al-ʾisrāʾi : 36 ʾay lā tutbiʿ nafsaka ʿilma mā lam tukallaf , walā tasʾal ʿammā lam yujʿal min ʿilmika walam yūkal ʾilayka ,

It is included in His words, exalted is He: ‘Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge’ (The Night Journey, 17:36). That is, do not make your soul pursue knowledge with which you have not been charged, or ask about what has not been assigned to your knowledge or entrusted to you.

وَلِأَنَّهُ إِذَا عَلِمَهُ لَمْ يَنْفَعْهُ عِلْمُهُ شَيْئًا ، وَإِنَّمَا يَنْفَعُهُ عِلْمُ الْأَحْكَامِ وَالْأَسْبَابِ ، لِأَنَّهَا طُرُقَاتٌ ، وَبِمِثْلِ مُخَاطَبَةِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ خَاطَبَ أَنْبِيَاءَهُ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ فِي هَٰذَا الْمَعْنَى

waliʾannahu ʾidhā ʿalimahu lam yanfaʿhu ʿilmuhu shayʾan , waʾinnamā yanfaʿuhu ʿilmu al-ʾaḥkāmi wa-l-ʾasbābi , liʾannahā ṭuruqātun , wabimithli mukhāṭabati al-muʾminīna khāṭaba ʾanbiyāʾahu ʿalayhimu al-salāmu fī hādhā al-maʿnā

Moreover, even if he knew it, that knowledge would benefit him nothing. What benefits him is knowledge of ordinances and means, because these are pathways. In this matter He addressed His prophets, peace be upon them, in the same manner as He addressed believers,

فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى لِنُوحٍ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ حِينَ قَالَ : ( إِنَّ اِبْنِي مِنْ أَهْلِي وَإِنَّ وَعْدَكَ الْحَقُّ ) هُودٍ : 45 لِأَنَّهُ قَدْكَانَ وَعَدَهُ نَجَاةَ أَهْلِهِ فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : ( إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنْ أَهْلِكَ إِنَّهُ عَمَلٌ غَيْرُ صَالِحٍ فَلَا تَسْأَلْنِ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ ) هُودٍ : 46

fī qawlihi taʿālā linūḥin ʿalayhi al-salāmu ḥīna qāla : ( ʾinna ibnī min ʾahlī waʾinna waʿdaka al-ḥaqqu ) hūdin : 45 liʾannahu qad kāna waʿadahu najāta ʾahlihi faqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā : ( ʾinnahu laysa min ʾahlika ʾinnahu ʿamalun ghayru ṣāliḥin falā tasʾalni mā laysa laka bihi ʿilmun ) hūdin : 46

as in His words, exalted is He, to Noah, peace be upon him. Noah had said, ‘My son is of my family, and Your promise is true’ (Hūd, 11:45), because He had promised to save his family. He replied, glorified and exalted is He: ‘He is not of your family; it is an unrighteous deed. Do not ask Me about what you have no knowledge of’ (Hūd, 11:46).

أَيْ دُعَاءَكَ وَمَسْأَلَتَكَ لِي مَا لَمْ أَجْعَلْهُ مِنْ عِلْمِكَ وَلَمْ أَكِلْهُ إِلَيْكَ عَمَلٌ غَيْرُ صَالِحٍ ، فَعِنْدَهَا اِسْتَغْفَرَ رَبَّهُ وَاِسْتَرْحَمَهُ .

ʾay duʿāʾaka wamasʾalataka lī mā lam ʾajʿalhu min ʿilmika walam ʾakilhu ʾilayka ʿamalun ghayru ṣāliḥin , faʿindahā istaghfara rabbahu wa-starḥamahu .

That is: your prayer and your asking Me for something that I have not assigned to your knowledge or entrusted to you are an unrighteous deed. Thereupon he asked his Lord for forgiveness and mercy.

وَإِنَّ الْعَبْدَ عِنْدَ مَوْتِهِ فِي آخِرِ سَاعَةٍ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ يُكْشَفُ لَهُ عِنْدَ كَشْفِ الْغِطَاءِ عَنْ بَصَرِهِ وُجُوهٌ كَثِيرَةٌ قَدِ اُتُّخِذَتْ آلِهَةً مِنْ دُونِ اللّٰهِ أَوْ أُشْرِكَ بِهَا مَعَ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى وَكُلُّهَا تَزْيِينٌ وَغُرُورٌ

waʾinna al-ʿabda ʿinda mawtihi fī ʾākhiri sāʿatin min ʿumurihi yukshafu lahu ʿinda kashfi al-ghiṭāʾi ʿan baṣarihi wujūhun kathīratun qadi uttukhidhat ʾālihatan min dūni Allāhi ʾaw ʾushrika bihā maʿa Allāhi taʿālā wakulluhā tazyīnun waghurūrun

When a servant dies, in the last hour of his life, as the covering is lifted from his sight, many forms are disclosed to him that have been taken as gods apart from God, or associated with God Most High. All of them are seductive embellishment and delusion.

فَإِنْ وَقَفَ الْقَلْبُ مَعَ أَحَدِهَا ، أَوْ زُيِّنَ لَهُ بَعْضُهَا أَوْتَقَلَّبَ قَلْبُهُ فِي شَيْئٍ مِنْهَا عِنْدَ آخِرِ أَنْفَاسِهِ خُتِمَ لَهُ بِذَٰلِكَ ، فَخَرَجَتْ رُوحُهُ عَلَى الشَّكِّ أَوِ الشِّرْكِ ، وَهَٰذَا هُوَ سُوءُ الْخَاتِمَةِ ،

faʾin waqafa al-qalbu maʿa ʾaḥadihā , ʾaw zuyyina lahu baʿḍuhā ʾaw taqallaba qalbuhu fī shayʾin minhā ʿinda ʾākhiri ʾanfāsihi khutima lahu bidhālika , fakharajat rūḥuhu ʿalā al-shakki ʾawi al-shirki , wahādhā huwa sūʾu al-khātimati ,

If his heart remains with one of them, or some of them are made attractive to him, or his heart turns within any of them at his last breaths, his life is sealed with that condition: his spirit departs in doubt or association of partners with God. This is the evil final end.

وَهُوَ نَصِيبُ الْعَبْدِ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ فِي السَّابِقَةِ عِنْدَ خَلْقِ الْأَرْوَاحِ ، مَعْدُومَةً لَهَا فِي الْأَشْبَاحِ فِي الْآبَادِ

wahuwa naṣību al-ʿabdi mina al-kitābi fī al-sābiqati ʿinda khalqi al-ʾarwāḥi , maʿdūmatan lahā fī al-ʾashbāḥi fī al-ʾābādi

It is the servant's portion from the Book in the primordial decree, at the creation of spirits, while they were still without existence in bodily forms, throughout the endless ages—

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٨٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 387

Volume One, page 387

وَالْآزَالِ قَبْلَ إِظْهَارِ الْأَكْوَارِ وَالْأَدْوَارِ ، فَشَهِدَتْهَا الْأَرْوَاحُ هُنَاكَ غُرُورًا ، وَوَقَفَتْ مَعَهَا وَقَدْ زَادَتْ لَهَا زُورًا رُسُومٌ فِي الْقَلْبِ فِي التَّخْطِيطِ قَبْلَ خَلْقِ الْأَجْسَامِ لَهَا ،

wa-l-ʾāzāli qabla ʾiẓhāri al-ʾakwāri wa-l-ʾadwāri , fashahidathā al-ʾarwāḥu hunāka ghurūran , wawaqafat maʿahā waqad zādat lahā zūran rusūmun fī al-qalbi fī al-takhṭīṭi qabla khalqi al-ʾajsāmi lahā ,

—and the beginningless ages, before the cycles and revolutions were brought to manifestation. The spirits witnessed those forms there in delusion and remained with them, while outlines in the heart's design added falsehood for them, before bodies were created for them.

وَقَبْلَ حَجْبِهَا بِكَشْفِ الْهَيَاكِلِ عِنْدَ ظُهُورِهَا فِي الْوُجُودِ ، وَقَبْلَ إِقَامَتِهَا بِشَاهِدِ الْعَقْلِ ، لَٰكِنْ بِشَاهِدِ الْأَوَّلِيَّةِ بَدَتْ ، وَبِمَعْنَى الْقَيُّومِيَّةِ وُجِدَتْ ، وَبِوَصْفِ الْجَامِعِ جُمِعَتْ ثُمَّ فُرِّقَتْ هَهُنَا ،

waqabla ḥajbihā bikashfi al-hayākili ʿinda ẓuhūrihā fī al-wujūdi , waqabla ʾiqāmatihā bishāhidi al-ʿaqli , lākin bishāhidi al-ʾawwaliyyati badat , wabimaʿnā al-qayyūmiyyati wujidat , wabiwaṣfi al-jāmiʿi jumiʿat thumma furriqat hahunā ,

It was before they were veiled by the disclosure of bodily structures when they appeared in existence, and before they were established through the witness of reason. Rather, they appeared through the witness of firstness, came to exist through the meaning of self-subsisting sustenance, and were gathered by the attribute of the Gatherer, then dispersed here.

فَظَهَرَتِ الْآنَ عِنْدَ الْفِرَاقِ ، لِمَا كَانَتْ شَهِدَتْ فِي التَّلَاقِ ، وَاِعْتَرَفَتْ فِي الْآخِرِ بِمَا كَانَتْ نَطَقَتْ فِي الْأَوَّلِ وَخَرَجَتِ الرُّوحُ عَلَى مَا شَهِدَتْ ، وَهَٰذَا كَانَ خَبَرَ السَّابِقَةِ الَّتِي أَدْرَكَتِ الْأَرْوَاحَ الْمُرَافِقَةَ لَهَا فِي الْأَجْسَامِ عِنْدَ الْخَاتِمَةِ .

faẓaharati al-ʾāna ʿinda al-firāqi , limā kānat shahidat fī al-talāqi , wa-ʿtarafat fī al-ʾākhiri bimā kānat naṭaqat fī al-ʾawwali wakharajati al-rūḥu ʿalā mā shahidat , wahādhā kāna khabara al-sābiqati allatī ʾadrakati al-ʾarwāḥa al-murāfiqata lahā fī al-ʾajsāmi ʿinda al-khātimati .

Now, at parting, they appeared in accordance with what they had witnessed at the meeting; at the end they acknowledged what they had uttered at the beginning, and the spirit departed in the condition it had witnessed. This was the account of the primordial decree that overtook at the final end the spirits accompanying it within bodies.

وَمِنْ ذَٰلِكَ جَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ : يَأْخُذُ مَلَكُ الْأَرْحَامِ النُّطْفَةَ فِي يَدِهِ فَيَقُولُ : يَارَبِّ أَذَكَرٌ أَمْ أُنْثَى ؟ أَسَوِىٌّ أَمْ مُعْوَجٌّ ، مَا رِزْقُهُ ، وَمَا عَمَلُهُ ؟ مَا أَثَرُهُ مَاخُلُقُهُ ؟

wamin dhālika jāʾa fī al-ʾathari : yaʾkhudhu malaku al-ʾarḥāmi al-nuṭfata fī yadihi fayaqūlu : yā rabbi ʾadhakarun ʾam ʾunthā ? ʾasawiyyun ʾam muʿwajjun , mā rizquhu , wamā ʿamaluhu ? mā ʾatharuhu mā khuluquhu ?

Concerning this, a transmitted account says: ‘The angel of the wombs takes the drop in his hand and says: “My Lord, male or female? Well formed or misshapen? What will its provision be, and what its deeds? What its lasting trace, and what its character?”’

قَالَ : ثُمَّ يَخْلُقُ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى يَدِهِ كَمَا قَالَ : فَإِذَا صُورَةٌ قَالَ : يَارَبِّ أَنْفُخُ فِيهِ بِالسَّعَادَةِ أَوْ بِالشَّقَاوَةِ فَلِذَٰلِكَ خَرَجَتِ الرُّوحُ بِمَا دَخَلَتْ بِهِ

qāla : thumma yakhluqu Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā yadihi kamā qāla : faʾidhā ṣūratun qāla : yā rabbi ʾanfukhu fīhi bi-l-saʿādati ʾaw bi-l-shaqāwati falidhālika kharajati al-rūḥu bimā dakhalat bihi

He said: ‘Then God Most High creates it through his agency, just as He has said. Then, once there is a form, he says: “My Lord, shall I breathe into it with blessedness or with wretchedness?”’ Thus the spirit departs with what it had when it entered.

( فَأَمَّا إِنْ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ فَرَوْحٌ وَرَيْحَانٌ وَجَنَّةُ نَعِيمٍ وَأَمَّا إِنْ كَانَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ ، فَسَلَامٌ لَكَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ ، وَأَمَّا إِنْ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ الضَّالِّينَ فَنُزُلٌ مِنْ حَمِيمٍ ، وَتَصْلِيَةُ جَحِيمٍ ) الْوَاقِعَةِ : 88 - 94

( faʾammā ʾin kāna mina al-muqarrabīna farawḥun warayḥānun wajannatu naʿīmin waʾammā ʾin kāna min ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni , fasalāmun laka min ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni , waʾammā ʾin kāna mina al-mukadhdhibīna al-ḍāllīna fanuzulun min ḥamīmin , wataṣliyatu jaḥīmin ) al-wāqiʿati : 88 - 94

‘If he is among those brought near, there is relief, sweet fragrance, and a garden of bliss. If he is among the people of the right, then peace be to you from the people of the right. But if he is among the deniers who went astray, there is a reception of scalding water and burning in a blazing fire’ (The Event, 56:88–94).

( كَمَا بَدَأَكُمْ تَعُودُونَ فَرِيقًا هَدَى وَفَرِيقًا حَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ الضَّلَالَةُ ) الْأَعْرَافِ : 29 ( كَمَا بَدَأْنَا أَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُعِيدُهُ ) الْأَنْبِيَاءِ : 104 ( وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَآتَيْنَا كُلَّ نَفْسٍ هُدَاهَا وَلَٰكِنْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ مِنِّي ) السَّجْدَةِ : 13

( kamā badaʾakum taʿūdūna farīqan hadā wafarīqan ḥaqqa ʿalayhimu al-ḍalālatu ) al-ʾaʿrāfi : 29 ( kamā badaʾnā ʾawwala khalqin nuʿīduhu ) al-ʾanbiyāʾi : 104 ( walaw shiʾnā laʾātaynā kulla nafsin hudāhā walākin ḥaqqa al-qawlu minnī ) al-sajdati : 13

‘As He first brought you forth, you will return: a group He guided, while upon a group error became binding’ (The Heights, 7:29). ‘As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it’ (The Prophets, 21:104). ‘Had We willed, We would have given every soul its guidance; but the word from Me became binding’ (Prostration, 32:13).

وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ سَبَقَتْ لَهُمْ مِنَّا الْحُسْنَى ) الْأَنْبِيَاءِ : 101 ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ ) يُونُسَ : 96 ( وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ ) الْأَعْرَافِ : 179

waqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā : ( ʾinna alladhīna sabaqat lahum minnā al-ḥusnā ) al-ʾanbiyāʾi : 101 ( ʾinna alladhīna ḥaqqat ʿalayhim kalimatu rabbika ) yūnusa : 96 ( walaqad dharaʾnā lijahannama kathīran mina al-jinni wa-l-ʾinsi ) al-ʾaʿrāfi : 179

He also says, glorified and exalted is He: ‘Those for whom the finest reward from Us has already preceded’ (The Prophets, 21:101); ‘Those upon whom your Lord's word has become binding’ (Jonah, 10:96); and ‘We have indeed brought forth for Hell many of the jinn and humankind’ (The Heights, 7:179).

( وَلَهُمْ أَعْمَالٌ مِنْ دُونِ ذَٰلِكَ هُمْ لَهَا عَامِلُونَ ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ : 63 ( وَبَدَا لَهُمْ مِنَ اللّٰهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَحْتَسِبُونَ ) الزُّمَرِ : 47 ( إِنَّ فِي هَٰذَا لَبَلَاغًا لِقَوْمٍ عَابِدِينَ ) الْأَنْبِيَاءِ : 106

( walahum ʾaʿmālun min dūni dhālika hum lahā ʿāmilūna ) al-muʾminūna : 63 ( wabadā lahum mina Allāhi mā lam yakūnū yaḥtasibūna ) al-zumari : 47 ( ʾinna fī hādhā labalāghan liqawmin ʿābidīna ) al-ʾanbiyāʾi : 106

‘They have deeds besides that which they will carry out’ (The Believers, 23:63). ‘There appeared to them from God what they had never reckoned upon’ (The Companies, 39:47). ‘In this there is surely a sufficient message for a worshipping people’ (The Prophets, 21:106).

فَهَٰذِهِ الْآيُ وَنَظَائِرُهَا وَرَدَتْ فِي السَّوَابِقِ الْأُوَلِ وَالْخَوَاتِمِ الْآخَرِ ، وَفِيهَا سَرَائِرُ الْغُيُوبِ وَغَرَائِبُ الْفُهُومِ ، وَهِيَ مِنْ آيِ الْمَطْلَعِ لِأَهْلِ الْإِشْرَافِ عَلَى شُرُفَاتِ الْعَرْشِ وَالْأَعْرَافِ .

fahādhihi al-ʾāyu wanaẓāʾiruhā waradat fī al-sawābiqi al-ʾuwali wa-l-khawātimi al-ʾākhari , wafīhā sarāʾiru al-ghuyūbi wagharāʾibu al-fuhūmi , wahiya min ʾāyi al-maṭlaʿi liʾahli al-ʾishrāfi ʿalā shurufāti al-ʿarshi wa-l-ʾaʿrāfi .

These verses and their counterparts concern the first antecedent decrees and the final endings. They contain the inward secrets of unseen things and extraordinary understandings, and belong to the verses of the vantage point for those who overlook the battlements of the Throne and the Heights.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : لَوْ عَلِمْتُ أَحَدًا عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ خَمْسِينَ سَنَةً ثُمَّ حَالَتْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُ أُسْطُوَانَةٌ فَمَاتَ لَمْ أَقْطَعْ لَهُ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ ، لِأَنِّي لَا أَدْرِي مَا ظَهَرَ مِنَ التَّقْلِيبِ .

waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna : law ʿalimtu ʾaḥadan ʿalā al-tawḥīdi khamsīna sanatan thumma ḥālat baynī wabaynahu ʾusṭuwānatun famāta lam ʾaqṭaʿ lahu bi-l-tawḥīdi , liʾannī lā ʾadrī mā ẓahara mina al-taqlībi .

One of the knowers said: ‘If I knew someone to have held fast to God's unity for fifty years, and then a pillar came between us and he died, I would not declare with certainty that he died upon unity, because I do not know what change of heart may have appeared.’

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ يَقُولُ : خَوْفُ الصِّدِّيقِينَ مِنْ سُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ عِنْدَ كُلِّ حَرَكَةٍ ، وَكُلِّ خَطْرَةٍ وَهِمَّةٍ ، يَخَافُونَ الْبُعْدَ مِنَ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى ، وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ مَدَحَ اللّٰهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى ( وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ )

waqad kāna ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu : khawfu al-ṣiddīqīna min sūʾi al-khātimati ʿinda kulli ḥarakatin , wakulli khaṭratin wahimmatin , yakhāfūna al-buʿda mina Allāhi taʿālā , wahumu alladhīna madaḥa Allāhu tabāraka wataʿālā ( waqulūbuhum wajilatun )

Abū Muḥammad Sahl, may God have mercy on him, used to say: ‘The utterly truthful fear an evil final end at every movement, every passing thought, and every intention. They fear distance from God Most High. They are those whom God, blessed and exalted is He, praised: “Their hearts are trembling.”’

وَقَالَ لَا يَصِحُّ خَوْفُهُ حَتَّى يَخَافَ مِنَ الْحَسَنَاتِ كَمَا يَخَافُ مِنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ . وَقَالَ أَيْضًا : أَعْلَى الْخَوْفِ أَنْ يَخَافَ سَابِقَ عِلْمِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى فِيهِ ، وَيَحْذَرَ أَنْ يَكُونَ مِنْهُ حَدَثٌ خِلَافَ السُّنَّةِ يَجُرُّهُ إِلَى الْكُفْرِ ،

waqāla lā yaṣiḥḥu khawfuhu ḥattā yakhāfa mina al-ḥasanāti kamā yakhāfu mina al-sayyiʾāti . waqāla ʾayḍan : ʾaʿlā al-khawfi ʾan yakhāfa sābiqa ʿilmi Allāhi taʿālā fīhi , wayaḥdhara ʾan yakūna minhu ḥadathun khilāfa al-sunnati yajurruhu ʾilā al-kufri ,

He said: ‘His fear is not sound until he fears his good deeds as he fears his evil deeds.’ He also said: ‘The highest fear is to fear what God Most High's antecedent knowledge holds concerning him, and to beware lest there issue from him some innovation contrary to the Sunna that draws him into unbelief.’

وَقَالَ : خَوْفُ التَّعْظِيمِ مِيزَانُ خَوْفِ السَّابِقَةِ . وَكَانَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ يَقُولُ : لَوْ كَانَتِ الشَّهَادَةُ عَلَى بَابِ الدَّارِ وَالْمَوْتُ عَلَى الْإِسْلَامِ عِنْدَ بَابِ الْحُجْرَةِ لَاخْتَرْتُ الْمَوْتَ عَلَى الشَّهَادَةِ ، قِيلَ وَلِمَ ؟ قَالَ : لِأَنِّي لَا أَدْرِي مَا يَعْرِضُ

waqāla : khawfu al-taʿẓīmi mīzānu khawfi al-sābiqati . wakāna baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna yaqūlu : law kānati al-shahādatu ʿalā bābi al-dāri wa-l-mawtu ʿalā al-ʾislāmi ʿinda bābi al-ḥujrati la-khtartu al-mawta ʿalā al-shahādati , qīla walima ? qāla : liʾannī lā ʾadrī mā yaʿriḍu

He said: ‘Fear born of magnifying God is the measure of fear of the primordial decree.’ One of the knowers used to say: ‘If martyrdom were at the house door, and death in Islam at the chamber door, I would choose death over martyrdom.’ Asked why, he answered: ‘Because I do not know what may arise—’

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٨٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 388

Volume One, page 388

بِقَلْبِي مِنَ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ فِيمَا بَيْنَ بَابِ الْحُجْرَةِ وَبَابِ الدَّارِ فَيُغَيِّرَ التَّوْحِيدَ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ زُهَيْرِ بْنِ نُعَيْمٍ الْبَانِي قَالَ : مَا أَكْبَرُ هَمِّي ذُنُوبِي ، إِنَّمَا أَخَافُ مَا هُوَ أَعْظَمُ عَلَيَّ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ وَهُوَ أَنْ أُسْلَبَ التَّوْحِيدَ ، وَأَمُوتَ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ ،

biqalbī mina al-mushāhadati fīmā bayna bābi al-ḥujrati wabābi al-dāri fayughayyira al-tawḥīda . warawaynā ʿan zuhayri bni nuʿaymin al-bānī qāla : mā ʾakbaru hammī dhunūbī , ʾinnamā ʾakhāfu mā huwa ʾaʿẓamu ʿalayya mina al-dhunūbi wahuwa ʾan ʾuslaba al-tawḥīda , waʾamūta ʿalā ghayrihi ,

—‘in my heart by way of witnessing between the chamber door and the house door, changing my affirmation of unity.’ We have transmitted from Zuhayr ibn Nuʿaym al-Bānī that he said: ‘My sins are not my greatest concern. I fear something graver for me than sins: that I may be stripped of the affirmation of unity and die upon something else.’

وَرَوَي اِبْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ عَنْ أَبِي لَهِيعَةَ عَنْ بَكْرِ بْنِ سَوَادَةَ قَالَ : كَانَ رَجُلٌ يَعْتَزِلُ النَّاسَ أَيْنَمَا كَانَ يَكُونُ وَحْدَهُ فَجَاءَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ فَقَالَ : أَنْشُدُكَ اللّٰهَ تَعَالَى مَا يَحْمِلُكَ عَلَى أَنْ تَعْتَزِلَ النَّاسَ ؟

waraway ibnu al-mubāraki ʿan ʾabī lahīʿata ʿan bakri bni sawādata qāla : kāna rajulun yaʿtazilu al-nāsa ʾaynamā kāna yakūnu waḥdahu fajāʾa ʾabū al-dardāʾi faqāla : ʾanshuduka Allāha taʿālā mā yaḥmiluka ʿalā ʾan taʿtazila al-nāsa ?

Ibn al-Mubārak related from Abū Lahīʿa, from Bakr ibn Sawāda, who said: ‘There was a man who withdrew from people and remained alone wherever he was. Abū al-Dardāʾ came and said: “I adjure you by God Most High: what makes you withdraw from people?”’

قَالَ : إِنِّي أَخْشَى أَنْ أُسْلَبَ دِينِي وَأَنَا لَا أَشْعُرُ ، قَالَ : أَتَرَى فِي الْحَيِّ مِائَةً يَخَافُونَ مَا تَخَافُ ؟ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ يَنْقُصُ حَتَّى بَلَغَ عَشَرَةً قَالَ : فَحَدَّثْتُ بِذَٰلِكَ رَجُلًا مِنْ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ فَقَالَ ذَٰلِكَ شُرَحْبِيلُ بْنُ سِمْطٍ يَعْنِي مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

qāla : ʾinnī ʾakhshā ʾan ʾuslaba dīnī waʾanā lā ʾashʿuru , qāla : ʾatarā fī al-ḥayyi miʾatan yakhāfūna mā takhāfu ? falam yazal yanquṣu ḥattā balagha ʿasharatan qāla : faḥaddathtu bidhālika rajulan min ʾahli al-shāmi faqāla dhālika shuraḥbīlu bnu simṭin yaʿnī min ʾaṣḥābi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama

He said: ‘I fear that my religion may be taken from me without my noticing.’ He asked: ‘Do you think there are a hundred in the community who fear what you fear?’ He kept lowering the number until he reached ten. The narrator said: ‘I related this to a man from Syria, who said: “That was Shuraḥbīl ibn Simṭ,”’ meaning one of the Prophet's Companions, God bless him and grant him peace.

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُوالدَّرْدَاءِ يَحْلِفُ بِاللّٰهِ تَعَالَى وَيَقُولُ : مَا أَحَدٌ أَمِنَ عَلَى إِيمَانِهِ أَنْ يُسْلَبَهُ عِنْدَ الْمَوْتِ إِلَّا سُلِبَهُ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا يَقُولُ : مَنْ أُعْطِىَ التَّوْحِيدَ أُعْطِيَهُ بِكَمَالِهِ ، وَمَنْ مُنِعَهُ مُنِعَهُ بِكَمَالِهِ إِذَا كَانَ التَّوْحِيدُ فِي نَفْسِهِ لَا يَتَبَعَّضُ .

waqad kāna ʾabū al-dardāʾi yaḥlifu bi-llāhi taʿālā wayaqūlu : mā ʾaḥadun ʾamina ʿalā ʾīmānihi ʾan yuslabahu ʿinda al-mawti ʾillā sulibahu , waqad kāna baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā yaqūlu : man ʾuʿṭiya al-tawḥīda ʾuʿṭiyahu bikamālihi , waman muniʿahu muniʿahu bikamālihi ʾidhā kāna al-tawḥīdu fī nafsihi lā yatabaʿʿaḍu .

Abū al-Dardāʾ used to swear by God Most High and say: ‘No one feels secure that his faith will not be taken from him at death without its being taken from him.’ One of our scholars used to say: ‘Whoever is given the affirmation of unity is given it in its entirety, and whoever is denied it is denied it in its entirety, since unity in itself admits no division.’

وَلَمَّا اُحْتُضِرَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ جَعَلَ يَبْكِي وَيَجْزَعُ فَقِيلَ لَهُ : يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ عَلَيْكَ بِالرَّجَاءِ فَإِنَّ عَفْوَ اللّٰهِ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذُنُوبِكَ فَقَالَ : أَوَ عَلَى ذُنُوبِي أَبْكِي ؟

walammā uḥtuḍira sufyānu al-thawriyyu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu jaʿala yabkī wayajzaʿu faqīla lahu : yā ʾabā ʿabdi Allāhi ʿalayka bi-l-rajāʾi faʾinna ʿafwa Allāhi ʾaʿẓamu min dhunūbika faqāla : ʾawa ʿalā dhunūbī ʾabkī ?

When Sufyān al-Thawrī, may God be pleased with him, was dying, he began to weep and show distress. He was told: ‘Abū ʿAbd Allāh, hold fast to hope! God's pardon is greater than your sins.’ He answered: ‘Is it over my sins that I weep?’

لَوْ عَلِمْتُ أَنِّي أَمُوتُ عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ لَمْ أُبَالِ أَنْ أَلْقَى اللّٰهَ تَعَالَى بِأَمْثَالِ الْجِبَالِ مِنَ الْخَطَايَا ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً : ذُنُوبِي أَهْوَنُ مِنْ هَٰذِهِ وَرَفَعَ حَبَّةً مِنَ الْأَرْضِ إِنَّمَا أَخَافُ أَنْ أُسْلَبَ التَّوْحِيدَ فِي آخِرِ الْوَقْتِ ،

law ʿalimtu ʾannī ʾamūtu ʿalā al-tawḥīdi lam ʾubāli ʾan ʾalqā Allāha taʿālā biʾamthāli al-jibāli mina al-khaṭāyā , waqāla marratan : dhunūbī ʾahwanu min hādhihi warafaʿa ḥabbatan mina al-ʾarḍi ʾinnamā ʾakhāfu ʾan ʾuslaba al-tawḥīda fī ʾākhiri al-waqti ,

‘If I knew that I would die affirming unity, I would not mind meeting God Most High with sins the size of mountains.’ On another occasion he said, lifting a grain from the ground: ‘My sins are less weighty than this. I fear only that the affirmation of unity may be taken from me at the very end.’

وَقَدْ كَانَ رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ أَحَدَ الْخَائِفِينَ ، كَانَ يَبُولُ الدَّمَ مِنْ شِدَّةِ الْخَوْفِ ، وَكَانَ يَمْرَضُ الْمَرْضَةَ مِنَ الْمَخَافَةِ ، وَعُرِضَ بَوْلُهُ عَلَى بَعْضِ الْكِتَابِيِّينَ فَقَالَ : هَٰذَا بَوْلُ رَاهِبٍ مِنَ الرُّهْبَانِ

waqad kāna raḥimahu Allāhu ʾaḥada al-khāʾifīna , kāna yabūlu al-dama min shiddati al-khawfi , wakāna yamraḍu al-marḍata mina al-makhāfati , waʿuriḍa bawluhu ʿalā baʿḍi al-kitābiyyīna faqāla : hādhā bawlu rāhibin mina al-ruhbāni

He, may God have mercy on him, was indeed one of the fearful. He would urinate blood from the intensity of fear and would fall ill from dread. His urine was shown to one of the People of the Book, who said: ‘This is the urine of a monk.’

وَكَانَ يَلْتَفِتُ إِلَى حَمَّادِ بْنِ سَلَمَةَ فَيَقُولُ : يَا أَبَا سَلَمَةَ تَرْجُو لِمِثْلِيَ الْعَفْوَ أَوْ يُغْفَرُ لِمِثْلِي ؟ فَيَقُولُ لَهُ حَمَّادٌ : نَعَمْ أَرْجُو لَهُ .

wakāna yaltafitu ʾilā ḥammādi bni salamata fayaqūlu : yā ʾabā salamata tarjū limithliya al-ʿafwa ʾaw yughfaru limithlī ? fayaqūlu lahu ḥammādun : naʿam ʾarjū lahu .

He would turn to Ḥammād ibn Salama and say: ‘Abū Salama, do you hope for pardon for someone like me? Can someone like me be forgiven?’ Ḥammād would answer: ‘Yes, I hope so for him.’

وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَقُولُ : لَوْ أَنِّي أَيْقَنْتُ أَنْ يُخْتَمَ لِي بِالسَّعَادَةِ كَانَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا طَلَعَتْ عَلَيْهِ الشَّمْسُ فِي حَيَاتِي أَجْعَلُهُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى .

waqad kāna baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi yaqūlu : law ʾannī ʾayqantu ʾan yukhtama lī bi-l-saʿādati kāna ʾaḥabba ʾilayya mimmā ṭalaʿat ʿalayhi al-shamsu fī ḥayātī ʾajʿaluhu fī sabīli Allāhi taʿālā .

One of the scholars used to say: ‘If I could be certain that my end would be sealed in blessedness, that would be dearer to me than possessing everything the sun rises upon during my lifetime and devoting it to God Most High's path.’

وَحَدَّثَنِي بَعْضُ إِخْوَانِيَ الصَّادِقِينَ وَكَانَ خَائِفًا أَنَّهُ أَوْصَى بَعْضَ إِخْوَانِهِ فَقَالَ : إِذَا حَضَرَتْنِيَ الْوَفَاةُ فَاُقْعُدْ عِنْدَ رَأْسِي فَإِذَا عَايَنْتُ فَاُنْظُرْ إِلَيَّ

waḥaddathanī baʿḍu ʾikhwāniya al-ṣādiqīna wakāna khāʾifan ʾannahu ʾawṣā baʿḍa ʾikhwānihi faqāla : ʾidhā ḥaḍaratniya al-wafātu fa-qʿud ʿinda raʾsī faʾidhā ʿāyantu fa-nẓur ʾilayya

One of my truthful brothers, who was fearful, related to me that he gave one of his brothers this instruction: ‘When death comes to me, sit beside my head. When I behold it directly, look at me.’

فَإِنْ رَأَيْتَنِي مُتُّ عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ فَاِعْمِدْ إِلَى جَمِيعِ مَا أَمْلِكُهُ فَاِشْتَرِ بِهِ لَوْزًا وَسُكَّرًا وَاُنْثُرْهُ عَلَى صِبْيَانِ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ وَقُلْ : هَٰذَا عُرْسُ الْمُنْفَلِتِ ،

faʾin raʾaytanī muttu ʿalā al-tawḥīdi fa-ʿmid ʾilā jamīʿi mā ʾamlikuhu fa-shtari bihi lawzan wasukkaran wa-nthurhu ʿalā ṣibyāni ʾahli al-madīnati waqul : hādhā ʿursu al-munfaliti ,

‘If you see that I have died affirming unity, take everything I own, buy almonds and sugar with it, and scatter them among the children of the town. Say: “This is the wedding feast of the one who has escaped!”’

وَإِنْ رَأَيْتَنِي مُتُّ عَلَى غَيْرِ التَّوْحِيدِ فَأَعْلِمِ النَّاسَ أَنِّي قَدْ مُتُّ عَلَى غَيْرِ التَّوْحِيدِ حَتَّى لَا يَغْتَرُّوا بِشُهُودِ جِنَازَتِي لِيَحْضُرْ جِنَازَتِي مَنْ أَحَبَّ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ لِئَلَّا يَلْحَقَنِيَ الرِّيَاءُ فَأَكُونَ قَدْ خَدَعْتُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

waʾin raʾaytanī muttu ʿalā ghayri al-tawḥīdi faʾaʿlimi al-nāsa ʾannī qad muttu ʿalā ghayri al-tawḥīdi ḥattā lā yaghtarrū bishuhūdi jināzatī liyaḥḍur jināzatī man ʾaḥabba ʿalā baṣīratin liʾallā yalḥaqaniya al-riyāʾu faʾakūna qad khadaʿtu al-muslimīna

‘But if you see that I have died upon something other than unity, inform people that I died thus, so that they are not deceived into attending my funeral. Let whoever wishes attend with clear knowledge, lest ostentation attach to me and I be found to have deceived the Muslims.’

فَقُلْتُ : وَمِنْ أَيْنَ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ قَدْ مُتَّ عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ ؟ فَذَكَرَ لَهُ عَلَامَةً تَظْهَرُ مِنْ بَعْضِ الْأَمْوَاتِ لَمْ نُحِبَّ ذِكْرَهَا ، قَالَ : فَكُنْتُ عِنْدَ رَأْسِهِ أَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ كَمَا أَمَرَ ، حَتَّى أُعَايِنَ فَرَأَيْتُ عَلَامَةَ حُسْنِ الْخَاتِمَةِ وَأَمَارَةَ الْمَوْتِ عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ قَدْ ظَهَرَتْ وَفَاضَتْ رُوحُهُ ،

faqultu : wamin ʾayna ʾaʿlamu ʾannaka qad mutta ʿalā al-tawḥīdi ? fadhakara lahu ʿalāmatan taẓharu min baʿḍi al-ʾamwāti lam nuḥibba dhikrahā , qāla : fakuntu ʿinda raʾsihi ʾanẓuru ʾilayhi kamā ʾamara , ḥattā ʾuʿāyina faraʾaytu ʿalāmata ḥusni al-khātimati waʾamārata al-mawti ʿalā al-tawḥīdi qad ẓaharat wafāḍat rūḥuhu ,

I said: ‘How shall I know that you have died affirming unity?’ He mentioned to him a sign that appears in some of the dead, which we preferred not to describe. He said: ‘I stayed by his head, watching as he had instructed, until I could witness it. I saw the sign of a good final end and the indication of dying upon unity appear, and his spirit flowed forth.’

قَالَ : فَنَفَّذْتُ وَصِيَّتَهُ كَمَا أَمَرَ وَلَمْ أُحَدِّثْ بِذَٰلِكَ إِلَّا خُصُوصَ إِخْوَانِي مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ ؛ وَذَٰلِكَ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ مَهْمَا عَمِلَ فِي حَيَاتِهِ مِنْ سُوءٍ أُعِيدَ ذِكْرُهُ عَلَيْهِ عِنْدَ فِرَاقِ الْحَيَاةِ وَوَقَعَتْ مُشَاهَدَتُهُ فِيهِ عِنْدَ آخِرِسَاعَةٍ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ ،

qāla : fanaffadhtu waṣiyyatahu kamā ʾamara walam ʾuḥaddith bidhālika ʾillā khuṣūṣa ʾikhwānī mina al-ʿulamāʾi ; wadhālika ʾanna al-ʿabda mahmā ʿamila fī ḥayātihi min sūʾin ʾuʿīda dhikruhu ʿalayhi ʿinda firāqi al-ḥayāti wawaqaʿat mushāhadatuhu fīhi ʿinda ʾākhiri sāʿatin min ʿumurihi ,

He said: ‘I carried out his instruction as he had directed and told no one about it except a select few of my brothers among the scholars.’ For whatever evil a servant has committed during his life is recalled to him when he parts from life, and he directly witnesses it in the final hour of his lifetime.

فَإِنِ اِسْتَحْلَى ذَٰلِكَ بِقَلْبِهِ أَوِ اِسْتَهْوَاهُ بِنَفْسِهِ وَقَفَ مَعَهُ

faʾini istaḥlā dhālika biqalbihi ʾawi istahwāhu binafsihi waqafa maʿahu

If he finds it sweet in his heart, or it entices his soul, he remains attached to it—

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٨٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 389

Volume One, page 389

فَإِذَا وَقَفَ مَعَهُ حُسِبَ عَلَيْهِ عَمَلًا لَهُ وَإِنْ قَلَّ وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ خَاتِمَتَهُ وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَا عَمِلَ مِنْ خَيْرٍ أُعِيدَ ذِكْرُهُ وَمُشَاهَدَتُهُ عَلَيْهِ فَإِنْ عَقَدَ عَلَيْهِ بِقَلْبِهِ أَوْ أَحَبَّ وَقَفَ مَعَهُ فَحُسِبَ عَمَلًا لَهُ وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ حُسْنَ خَاتِمَتِهِ .

faʾidhā waqafa maʿahu ḥusiba ʿalayhi ʿamalan lahu waʾin qalla wakāna dhālika khātimatahu wakadhālika mā ʿamila min khayrin ʾuʿīda dhikruhu wamushāhadatuhu ʿalayhi faʾin ʿaqada ʿalayhi biqalbihi ʾaw ʾaḥabba waqafa maʿahu faḥusiba ʿamalan lahu wakāna dhālika ḥusna khātimatihi .

When he remains attached to it, it is reckoned against him as his deed, however small, and becomes his final end. Likewise, whatever good he has done is recalled and shown to him. If he binds his heart to it or loves it, he remains with it; it is reckoned as his deed, and that becomes his good final end.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ هَٰذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ فِي قَوْلِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى : ( خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ ) الْمُلْكِ : 2 قَالَ : يَبْلُوكُمْ بِتَقْلِيبِ الْقُلُوبِ فِي حَالِ الْحَيَاةِ بِخَوَاطِرِ الذُّنُوبِ وَفِي حَالِ الْمَوْتِ بِإِلْحَادٍ عَنِ التَّوْحِيدِ ،

waqāla baʿḍu hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati fī qawli Allāhi taʿālā : ( khalaqa al-mawta wa-l-ḥayāta liyabluwakum ) al-mulki : 2 qāla : yablūkum bitaqlībi al-qulūbi fī ḥāli al-ḥayāti bikhawāṭiri al-dhunūbi wafī ḥāli al-mawti biʾilḥādin ʿani al-tawḥīdi ,

One of this company said concerning God's words, exalted is He, ‘He created death and life to test you’ (Dominion, 67:2): ‘He tests you by turning hearts about during life through sinful suggestions, and at death through deviation from the affirmation of unity.’

فَمَنْ خَرَجَتْ رُوحُهُ عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ وَجَاوَزَتِ الْبَلَاوِيَ كُلَّهَا إِلَى الْمُبْلِى فَهُوَ الْمُؤْمِنُ وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَالْبَلَاءُ الْحَسَنُ ، كَمَا قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَلِىُبْلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلَاءً حَسَنًا ) الْأَنْفَالِ : 17

faman kharajat rūḥuhu ʿalā al-tawḥīdi wajāwazati al-balāwiya kullahā ʾilā al-mublī fahuwa al-muʾminu wadhālika huwa al-balāʾu al-ḥasanu , kamā qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( waliyubliya al-muʾminīna minhu balāʾan ḥasanan ) al-ʾanfāli : 17

The one whose spirit departs affirming unity and passes beyond all trials to the One who tests is the believer. That is the gracious trial, as God Most High says: ‘That He might grant the believers a gracious trial from Himself’ (The Spoils, 8:17).

فَهَٰذِهِ الْمَعَانِي مِنَ الْعُلُومِ أَوْجَبَتْ خَوْفَ الْخَائِفِينَ مِنْ عِلْمِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى فِيهِمْ فَلَمْ يَنْظُرُوا مَعَهَا إِلَى مَحَاسِنِ أَعْمَالِهِمْ لِحَقِيقَةِ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ بِرَبِّهِمْ ؛ وَهَٰذَا الْخَوْفُ هُوَ الثَّوَابُ لِعِلْمِهِمْ بِمَا يَعْلَمُونَ ،

fahādhihi al-maʿānī mina al-ʿulūmi ʾawjabat khawfa al-khāʾifīna min ʿilmi Allāhi taʿālā fīhim falam yanẓurū maʿahā ʾilā maḥāsini ʾaʿmālihim liḥaqīqati maʿrifatihim birabbihim ; wahādhā al-khawfu huwa al-thawābu liʿilmihim bimā yaʿlamūna ,

These meanings within knowledge gave rise to the fearful ones' fear of what God Most High knows concerning them. In their presence they paid no attention to the merits of their own deeds, because their knowledge of their Lord was real. This fear is the reward for their knowledge of what they know.

فَلَمَّا سَلِمُوا مِنْ مُطَالَبَةٍ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ وَصَحُّوا عَلَى الْعِلْمِ ظَهَرَ لَهُمْ خَوْفُ عِلْمِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى فِيهِمْ نِعْمَةً مِنَ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِمْ ، فَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ مَقَامًا لَهُمْ ، كَمَا قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى : ( قَالَ رَجُلَانِ مِنَ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْعَمَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِمَا ) الْمَائِدَةِ : 23 قِيلَ بِالْخَوْفِ .

falammā salimū min muṭālabatin bimā yaʿmalūna waṣaḥḥū ʿalā al-ʿilmi ẓahara lahum khawfu ʿilmi Allāhi taʿālā fīhim niʿmatan mina Allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhim , fakāna dhālika maqāman lahum , kamā qāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( qāla rajulāni mina alladhīna yakhāfūna ʾanʿama Allāhu ʿalayhimā ) al-māʾidati : 23 qīla bi-l-khawfi .

When they were free of making a claim on account of their deeds and stood soundly upon knowledge, fear of God Most High's knowledge concerning them appeared to them as a blessing from God Most High, and became their station. As God Most High says: ‘Two men among those who feared, whom God had blessed, said’ (The Table, 5:23). It was said that He had blessed them with fear.

وَالْمَقَامُ الْآخَرُ لِأَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ دُونَ هُولَاءِ ؛ خَوْفُ الْجِنَايَاتِ وَالِاكْتِسَابِ ، وَخَوْفُ الْوَعِيدِ وَسِرِّ الْعِقَابِ ، وَخَوْفُ التَّقْصِيرِ فِي الْأَمْرِ وَخَوْفُ مُجَاوَزَةِ الْحَدِّ وَخَوْفُ سَلْبِ الْمَزِيدِ ،

wa-l-maqāmu al-ʾākharu liʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni dūna hūlāʾi ; khawfu al-jināyāti wa-l-ktisābi , wakhawfu al-waʿīdi wasirri al-ʿiqābi , wakhawfu al-taqṣīri fī al-ʾamri wakhawfu mujāwazati al-ḥaddi wakhawfu salbi al-mazīdi ,

The other station belongs to the people of the right, below these: fear of offenses and acquired deeds; fear of the threat and the hidden nature of punishment; fear of falling short of the command, of overstepping the limit, and of being deprived of further increase.

وَخَوْفُ حِجَابِ الْيَقَظَةِ بِالْغَفْلَةِ ، وَخَوْفُ حُدُوثِ الْفَتْرَةِ بَعْدَ الِاجْتِهَادِ عَنِ الْمُعَامَلَةِ ، وَخَوْفُ وَهْنِ الْعَزْمِ بَعْدَ الْقُوَّةِ وَخَوْفُ نَكْثِ الْعَهْدِ بِنَقْضِ التَّوْبَةِ ، وَخَوْفُ الْوُقُوعِ فِي الْإِبْتِلَاءِ بِالسَّبَبِ الَّذِي وَقَعَتْ مِنْهُ التَّوْبَةُ ،

wakhawfu ḥijābi al-yaqaẓati bi-l-ghaflati , wakhawfu ḥudūthi al-fatrati baʿda al-jtihādi ʿani al-muʿāmalati , wakhawfu wahni al-ʿazmi baʿda al-quwwati wakhawfu nakthi al-ʿahdi binaqḍi al-tawbati , wakhawfu al-wuqūʿi fī al-ʾibtilāʾi bi-l-sababi alladhī waqaʿat minhu al-tawbatu ,

There is fear that heedlessness will veil wakefulness, that slackness in conduct will arise after striving, that resolve will weaken after strength, and that the covenant will be broken through undoing repentance; and fear of being tried by the very cause from which one had repented.

وَخَوْفُ عَوْدِ الِاعْوِجَاجِ عَنِ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ ، وَخَوْفُ الْعَادَةِ بِالشَّهْوَةِ وَخَوْفُ الْحَوْرِ بَعْدَ الْكَوْرِ ؛ وَهُوَ الرُّجُوعُ عَنِ الْحُجَّةِ إِلَى طَرِيقِ الْهَوَى وَحَرْثِ الدُّنْيَا

wakhawfu ʿawdi al-ʿwijāji ʿani al-stiqāmati , wakhawfu al-ʿādati bi-l-shahwati wakhawfu al-ḥawri baʿda al-kawri ; wahuwa al-rujūʿu ʿani al-ḥujjati ʾilā ṭarīqi al-hawā waḥarthi al-dunyā

There is fear of returning to crookedness after uprightness, fear of habitual surrender to desire, and fear of unwinding after winding: that is, turning back from the proof to the path of caprice and the cultivation of this world.

وَخَوْفُ اِطِّلَاعِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِمْ عِنْدَمَا سَلَفَ مِنْ ذُنُوبِهِمْ وَنَظَرِهِ إِلَىهُمْ عَلَى قَبِيحِ فِعْلِهِمْ فَيُعْرِضَ عَنْهُمْ وَيَمْقُتَهُمْ وَهَٰذِهِ كُلُّهَا مَخَاوِفُ وَطُرُقَاتٌ لِأَهْلِ الْمَعَارِفِ وَبَعْضُهَا أَعْلَى مِنْ بَعْضٍ وَبَعْضُهُمْ أَشَدُّ خَوْفًا مِنْ بَعْضٍ ،

wakhawfu iṭṭilāʿi Allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhim ʿindamā salafa min dhunūbihim wanaẓarihi ʾilāhum ʿalā qabīḥi fiʿlihim fayuʿriḍa ʿanhum wayamqutahum wahādhihi kulluhā makhāwifu waṭuruqātun liʾahli al-maʿārifi wabaʿḍuhā ʾaʿlā min baʿḍin wabaʿḍuhum ʾashaddu khawfan min baʿḍin ,

There is fear that God Most High will look upon them in respect of their past sins and see their ugly deeds, then turn away from them and detest them. All these are fears and pathways for the people of spiritual knowledge. Some are higher than others, and some people are more intensely fearful than others.

وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ الْعَرْشَ جَوْهَرَةٌ يَتَلَأْلَأُ مِلْءَ الْكَوْنِ فَلَا يَكُونُ لِلْعَبْدِ وَجْدٌ فِي حَالٍ مِنَ الْأَحْوَالِ إِلَّا طُبِعَ مِثَالُهُ فِي الْعَرْضِ عَلَى الصُّورَةِ الَّتِي يَكُونُ عَلَيْهَا الْعَبْدُ

wayuqālu : ʾinna al-ʿarsha jawharatun yatalaʾlaʾu milʾa al-kawni falā yakūnu li-l-ʿabdi wajdun fī ḥālin mina al-ʾaḥwāli ʾillā ṭubiʿa mithāluhu fī al-ʿarḍi ʿalā al-ṣūrati allatī yakūnu ʿalayhā al-ʿabdu

It is said that the Throne is a jewel whose brilliance fills the cosmos. No inward experience occurs to a servant in any state without its likeness being imprinted in the display, in the form in which the servant then exists.

فَإِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ وَوَقَفَ لِلْمُحَاسَبَةِ أُظْهِرَتْ لَهُ صُورَتُهُ مِنَ الْعَرْشِ فَرَأَى نَفْسَهُ عَلَى هَيْئَتِهِ الَّتِي كَانَ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَذَكَرَ فِعْلَهُ بِمُشَاهَدَتِهِ نَفْسَهُ فَيَأْخُذُهُ مِنَ الْحَيَاءِ وَالرُّعْبِ مَا يَجِلُّ وَصْفُهُ .

faʾidhā kāna yawmu al-qiyāmati wawaqafa li-l-muḥāsabati ʾuẓhirat lahu ṣūratuhu mina al-ʿarshi faraʾā nafsahu ʿalā hayʾatihi allatī kāna fī al-dunyā fadhakara fiʿlahu bimushāhadatihi nafsahu fayaʾkhudhuhu mina al-ḥayāʾi wa-l-ruʿbi mā yajillu waṣfuhu .

When the Day of Resurrection comes and he stands for reckoning, his image is shown to him from the Throne. He sees himself in the condition he had in this world and remembers his deed by witnessing himself. Shame and terror then seize him beyond all description.

وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ اللّٰهَ سُبْحَانَهُ إِذَا أَعْطَى عَبْدًا مَعْرِفَةً ثُمَّ لَمْ يُعَامِلْهُ بِهَا لَمْ يَسْلُبْهُ إِيَّاهَا ، بَلْ أَبْقَاهَا عَلَيْهِ لِيُحَاسِبَهُ عَلَى مِقْدَارِهَا ، وَلَٰكِنْ يَرْفَعُ عَنْهُ الْبَرَكَةَ وَيَقْطَعُ عَنْهُ الْمَزِيدَ .

wayuqālu : ʾinna Allāha subḥānahu ʾidhā ʾaʿṭā ʿabdan maʿrifatan thumma lam yuʿāmilhu bihā lam yaslubhu ʾiyyāhā , bal ʾabqāhā ʿalayhi liyuḥāsibahu ʿalā miqdārihā , walākin yarfaʿu ʿanhu al-barakata wayaqṭaʿu ʿanhu al-mazīda .

It is said that when God, glorified is He, gives a servant spiritual knowledge, but the servant does not conduct himself toward Him accordingly, He does not take it away. Rather, He leaves it with him to call him to account in proportion to it; but He removes its blessing and cuts him off from further increase.

وَقَدْ ذَمَّ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى عَبْدًا أَوْجَدَ لَهُ نِعْمَةً اِسْتَعْمَلَهُ بِهَا صَالِحًا بَعْدَ أَنْ كَانَ قَدِ اِبْتَلَاهُ بِهَوَاهُ فَفَخَرَ الْآنَ بِعَمَلِهِ وَنَسِيَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ ، وَلَمْ يَخَفْ أَنْ يُعِيدَهُ فِيمَا قَدْ كَانَ جَنَاهُ

waqad dhamma Allāhu taʿālā ʿabdan ʾawjada lahu niʿmatan istaʿmalahu bihā ṣāliḥan baʿda ʾan kāna qadi ibtalāhu bihawāhu fafakhara al-ʾāna biʿamalihi wanasiya mā qaddamat yadāhu , walam yakhaf ʾan yuʿīdahu fīmā qad kāna janāhu

God Most High has censured a servant for whom He brought about a blessing, employing him through it in righteousness after previously trying him through his desire. Now he boasts of his deeds, forgets what his hands sent ahead, and does not fear that God might return him to the offenses he once committed,

فِي قَوْلِهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى : ( وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَاهُ نَعْمَاءَ بَعْدَ ضَرَّاءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ السَّيِّئَاتُ عَنِّي إِنَّهُ لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ ) هُودٍ : 10

fī qawlihi tabāraka wataʿālā : ( walaʾin ʾadhaqnāhu naʿmāʾa baʿda ḍarrāʾa massathu layaqūlanna dhahaba al-sayyiʾātu ʿannī ʾinnahu lafariḥun fakhūrun ) hūdin : 10

in His words, blessed and exalted is He: ‘If We let him taste prosperity after adversity has touched him, he will surely say: “Evil things have left me!” Truly he is exultant and boastful’ (Hūd, 11:10).

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٩٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 390

Volume One, page 390

وَمِنَ الْمَخَاوِفِ خَوْفُ النِّفَاقِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ السَّلَفُ لِصَالِحٍ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ وَخِيَارُ التَّابِعِينَ يَخَافُونَ ذَٰلِكَ .

wamina al-makhāwifi khawfu al-nifāqi , waqad kāna al-salafu liṣāliḥin mina al-ṣaḥābati raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum wakhiyāru al-tābiʿīna yakhāfūna dhālika .

Among these fears is fear of hypocrisy. The righteous predecessors among the Companions, may God be pleased with them, and the finest of the Successors used to fear it.

كَانَ حُذَيْفَةُ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : إِنْ كَانَ الرَّجُلُ لَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْكَلِمَةِ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَصِيرُ بِهَا مُنَافِقًا حَتَّى يَلْقَى اللّٰهَ تَعَالَى ، إِنِّي لَأَسْمَعُهَا مِنْ أَحَدِكُمْ فِي الْيَوْمِ عَشْرَ مَرَّاتٍ .

kāna ḥudhayfatu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu : ʾin kāna al-rajulu layatakallamu bi-l-kalimati ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaṣīru bihā munāfiqan ḥattā yalqā Allāha taʿālā , ʾinnī laʾasmaʿuhā min ʾaḥadikum fī al-yawmi ʿashra marrātin .

Ḥudhayfa, may God be pleased with him, used to say: ‘In the time of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, a man could utter a single word by which he became a hypocrite until he met God Most High. I hear that word from one of you ten times in a day.’

وَكَانَ يَقُولُ : تَأْتِي عَلَى الْقَلْبِ سَاعَةٌ يَمْتَلِئُ بِالْإِيمَانِ حَتَّى لَا يَكُونَ لِلنِّفَاقِ فِيهِ مَغْرِزُ إِبْرَةٍ ، وَيَأْتِي عَلَيْهِ سَاعَةٌ يَمْتَلِئُ بِالنِّفَاقِ حَتَّى لَايَكُونَ لِلْإِيمَانِ فِيهِ مَغْرِزُ إِبْرَةٍ .

wakāna yaqūlu : taʾtī ʿalā al-qalbi sāʿatun yamtaliʾu bi-l-ʾīmāni ḥattā lā yakūna li-l-nifāqi fīhi maghrizu ʾibratin , wayaʾtī ʿalayhi sāʿatun yamtaliʾu bi-l-nifāqi ḥattā lā yakūna li-l-ʾīmāni fīhi maghrizu ʾibratin .

He used to say: ‘An hour comes upon the heart when it fills with faith until there is no needle-point's space in it for hypocrisy. Another hour comes upon it when it fills with hypocrisy until there is no needle-point's space in it for faith.’

وَكَانَ أَصْحَابُ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُونَ : إِنَّكُمْ لَتَعْلَمُونَ أَعْمَالًا هِيَ أَدَقُّ فِي أَعْيُنِكُمْ مِنَ الشَّعْرِ كُنَّا نَعُدُّهَا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنَ الْكَبَائِرِ وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : مِنَ الْمُوبِقَاتِ .

wakāna ʾaṣḥābu rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaqūlūna : ʾinnakum lataʿlamūna ʾaʿmālan hiya ʾadaqqu fī ʾaʿyunikum mina al-shaʿri kunnā naʿudduhā ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama mina al-kabāʾiri wafī lafẓin ʾākhara : mina al-mūbiqāti .

The Companions of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, used to say: ‘You know deeds that seem finer than a hair in your eyes, but in the time of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, we counted them among the major sins’—or, in another wording, ‘among the ruinous sins.’

وَقَدْ كَانَ الْحَسَنُ رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ يَقُولُ : لَوْأَنِّي أَعْلَمُ أَنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ كَانَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا طَلَعَتْ عَلَيْهِ الشَّمْسُ . وَقِيلَ : لَايَعْرَى مِنَ النِّفَاقِ إِلَّاثَلَاثُ طَبَقَاتٍ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ : الصِّدِّيقُونَ وَالشُّهَدَاءُ وَالصَّالِحُونَ ،

waqad kāna al-ḥasanu raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu : law ʾannī ʾaʿlamu ʾannī barīʾun mina al-nifāqi kāna ʾaḥabba ʾilayya mimmā ṭalaʿat ʿalayhi al-shamsu . waqīla : lā yaʿrā mina al-nifāqi ʾillā thalāthu ṭabaqātin mina al-muʾminīna : al-ṣiddīqūna wa-l-shuhadāʾu wa-l-ṣāliḥūna ,

Al-Ḥasan, may God have mercy on him, used to say: ‘Knowing that I was free of hypocrisy would be dearer to me than everything the sun rises upon.’ It was said that only three ranks of believers are free of hypocrisy: the utterly truthful, the witnesses, and the righteous.

وَهَٰؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ مَدَحَهُمُ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى بِكَمَالِ النِّعْمَةِ عَلَيْهِمْ ، وَأَلْحَقَهُمْ بِمَقَامَاتِ أَنْبِيَائِهِ لِكَمَالِ الْإِيمَانِ وَحَقِيقَةِ الْيَقِينِ فِيهِمْ ، وَقِيلَ مَنْ أَمِنَ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ فَهُوَ مُنَافِقٌ .

wahāʾulāʾi alladhīna madaḥahumu Allāhu taʿālā bikamāli al-niʿmati ʿalayhim , waʾalḥaqahum bimaqāmāti ʾanbiyāʾihi likamāli al-ʾīmāni waḥaqīqati al-yaqīni fīhim , waqīla man ʾamina mina al-nifāqi fahuwa munāfiqun .

These are the ones God Most High praised for the completeness of His blessing upon them, joining them to the stations of His prophets because of the completeness of their faith and the reality of their certainty. It was also said: ‘Whoever feels secure from hypocrisy is a hypocrite.’

وَكَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ : عَلَامَةُ النِّفَاقِ أَنْ يَكْرَهَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَا يَأْتِي مِثْلَهُ ، وَأَنْ يُحِبَّ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْجَوْرِ ، وَأَنْ يُبْغِضَ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْحَقِّ ، وَمِنَ النِّفَاقِ مَنْ إِذَامُدِحَ بِمَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ أَعْجَبَهُ ذَٰلِكَ .

wakāna baʿḍuhum yaqūlu : ʿalāmatu al-nifāqi ʾan yakraha mina al-nāsi mā yaʾtī mithlahu , waʾan yuḥibba ʿalā shayʾin mina al-jawri , waʾan yubghiḍa ʿalā shayʾin mina al-ḥaqqi , wamina al-nifāqi man ʾidhā mudiḥa bimā laysa fīhi ʾaʿjabahu dhālika .

One of them used to say: ‘A sign of hypocrisy is to dislike in people what one does oneself, to love someone on account of something unjust, and to hate someone on account of something right.’ Hypocrisy also includes being pleased when one is praised for qualities one does not possess.

وَعَلَامَاتُ النِّفَاقِ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ أَنْ تُحْصَى ، يُقَالُ هِيَ سَبْعُونَ عَلَامَةً ، وَالْحَدِيثُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي أَرْبَعٍ هُنَّ أُصُولُهَا تَتَشَعَّبُ مِنْهَا الْفُرُوعُ

waʿalāmātu al-nifāqi ʾaktharu min ʾan tuḥṣā , yuqālu hiya sabʿūna ʿalāmatan , wa-l-ḥadīthu ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī ʾarbaʿin hunna ʾuṣūluhā tatashaʿʿabu minhā al-furūʿu

The signs of hypocrisy are too numerous to count; they are said to number seventy. The report from God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, concerns four that are their roots, from which their branches spread.

فَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ أَرْبَعٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ فَهُوَ مُنَافِقٌ خَالِصٌ وَإِنْ صَامَ وَصَلَّى وَزَعَمَ أَنَّهُ مُسْلِمٌ ، وَإِنْ كَانَتْ فِيهِ خَصْلَةٌ مِنْهُنَّ فَفِيهِ شُعْبَةٌ مِنْ نِفَاقٍ حَتَّى يَدَعَهَا :

faqāla ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-l-salāmu ʾarbaʿun man kunna fīhi fahuwa munāfiqun khāliṣun waʾin ṣāma waṣallā wazaʿama ʾannahu muslimun , waʾin kānat fīhi khaṣlatun minhunna fafīhi shuʿbatun min nifāqin ḥattā yadaʿahā :

He said, blessings and peace be upon him: ‘There are four traits: whoever possesses them is a pure hypocrite, even if he fasts, prays, and claims to be a Muslim. If he possesses one of them, he has a branch of hypocrisy until he abandons it:’

مَنْ إِذَا حَدَّثَ كَذَبَ ؛ وَإِذَا وَعَدَ أَخْلَفَ ، وَإِذَا اُئْتُمِنَ خَانَ ، وَإِذَا خَاصَمَ فَجَرَ وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ إِذَا عَاهَدَ غَدَرَ فَصَارَتْ خَمْسًا .

man ʾidhā ḥaddatha kadhaba ; waʾidhā waʿada ʾakhlafa , waʾidhā uʾtumina khāna , waʾidhā khāṣama fajara wafī lafẓin ʾākhara ʾidhā ʿāhada ghadara faṣārat khamsan .

‘One who lies when he speaks, breaks his promise when he promises, betrays a trust when entrusted, and transgresses wickedly when he disputes.’ Another wording has ‘betrays his covenant when he makes one,’ bringing them to five.

وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ لِاِبْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا : إِنَّا نَدْخُلُ عَلَى هَٰؤُلَاءِ الْأُمَرَاءِ وَنُصَدِّقُهُمْ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ فَإِذَا خَرَجْنَا تَكَلَّمْنَا فِيهِمْ ، فَقَالَ : كُنَّا نَعُدُّ هَٰذَا نِفَاقًا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ .

waqāla rajulun li-bni ʿumara raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā : ʾinnā nadkhulu ʿalā hāʾulāʾi al-ʾumarāʾi wanuṣaddiquhum bimā yaqūlūna faʾidhā kharajnā takallamnā fīhim , faqāla : kunnā naʿuddu hādhā nifāqan ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama .

A man said to Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with them both: ‘We go in to these rulers and affirm what they say, but when we leave we speak against them.’ He replied: ‘In the time of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, we counted this as hypocrisy.’

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْهُ مِنْ طَرِيقٍ آخَرَ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَجُلًا يَذُمُّ الْحَجَّاجَ وَيَقَعُ فِيهِ فَقَالَ لَهُ : أَرَأَيْتَ لَوْ كَانَ الْحَجَّاجُ حَاضِرًا أَكُنْتَ تَتَكَلَّمُ بِمَا تَكَلَّمْتَ بِهِ ؟ قَالَ لَا ، قَالَ : كُنَّا نَعُدُّ هَٰذَا نِفَاقًا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ .

warawaynā ʿanhu min ṭarīqin ʾākhara ʾannahu samiʿa rajulan yadhummu al-ḥajjāja wayaqaʿu fīhi faqāla lahu : ʾaraʾayta law kāna al-ḥajjāju ḥāḍiran ʾakunta tatakallamu bimā takallamta bihi ? qāla lā , qāla : kunnā naʿuddu hādhā nifāqan ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama .

Through another chain we have transmitted that he heard a man disparaging and attacking al-Ḥajjāj. He asked him: ‘Tell me, if al-Ḥajjāj were present, would you say what you have said?’ He answered no. He said: ‘In the time of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, we counted this as hypocrisy.’

وَأَشَدُّ مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ أَنَّ نَفَرًا قَعَدُوا عَلَى بَابِ حُذَيْفَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ يَنْتَظِرُونَهُ ، فَكَانُوا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْ شَأْنِهِ ، فَلَمَّا خَرَجَ عَلَيْهِمْ سَكَتُوا حَيَاءً مِنْهُ ،

waʾashaddu min dhālika ʾanna nafaran qaʿadū ʿalā bābi ḥudhayfata raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yantaẓirūnahu , fakānū yatakallamūna fī shayʾin min shaʾnihi , falammā kharaja ʿalayhim sakatū ḥayāʾan minhu ,

More exacting still is the account of a group who sat at Ḥudhayfa's door, may God be pleased with him, waiting for him. They were speaking about something concerning him; when he came out to them, they fell silent out of embarrassment before him.

فَقَالَ : تَكَلَّمُوا فِيمَا كُنْتُمْ تَقُولُونَ فَسَكَتُوا ، فَقَالَ : كُنَّا نَعُدُّ هَٰذَا نِفَاقًا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . وَأَعْظَمُ مِنْ هَٰذَا مَا كَانَ الْحَسَنُ رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ يَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ ،

faqāla : takallamū fīmā kuntum taqūlūna fasakatū , faqāla : kunnā naʿuddu hādhā nifāqan ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama . waʾaʿẓamu min hādhā mā kāna al-ḥasanu raḥimahu Allāhu yadhhabu ʾilayhi ,

He said: ‘Go on with what you were saying.’ They remained silent. He said: ‘In the time of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, we counted this as hypocrisy.’ More far-reaching than this was the position taken by al-Ḥasan, may God have mercy on him.

كَانَ يَقُولُ : إِنَّ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ اِخْتِلَافَ السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ ، وَاِخْتِلَافَ اللِّسَانِ وَالْقَلْبِ ، وَالْمَدْخَلِ وَالْمَخْرَجِ .

kāna yaqūlu : ʾinna mina al-nifāqi ikhtilāfa al-sirri wa-l-ʿalāniyati , wa-khtilāfa al-lisāni wa-l-qalbi , wa-l-madkhali wa-l-makhraji .

He used to say: ‘Hypocrisy includes disagreement between the inward and the outward, between tongue and heart, and between one's going in and coming out.’

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٩١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 391

Volume One, page 391

فَدَقَائِقُ النِّفَاقِ وَخَفَايَا الشِّرْكِ عَنْ نُقْصَانِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَضَعْفِ الْيَقِينِ أَوْجَبَتِ الْمَخَاوِفَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ خَشْيَةَ مَقْتِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى ، وَخَوْفَ حُبُوطِ الْأَعْمَالِ .

fadaqāʾiqu al-nifāqi wakhafāyā al-shirki ʿan nuqṣāni al-tawḥīdi waḍaʿfi al-yaqīni ʾawjabati al-makhāwifa ʿalā al-muʾminīna khashyata maqti Allāhi taʿālā , wakhawfa ḥubūṭi al-ʾaʿmāli .

The subtleties of hypocrisy and hidden forms of associating partners with God, arising from deficient affirmation of unity and weak certainty, have therefore made fear incumbent upon believers: dread of God Most High's detestation and fear that their deeds may come to nothing.

مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ كَانَ اِبْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَخْرُجُ مِنْ مَنْزِلِهِ وَمَعَهُ دِينُهُ فَيَرْجِعُ إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِ وَلَيْسَ مَعَهُ مِنْ دِينِهِ شَيْءٌ ،

min dhālika kāna ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu : ʾinna al-rajula layakhruju min manzilihi wamaʿahu dīnuhu fayarjiʿu ʾilā manzilihi walaysa maʿahu min dīnihi shayʾun ,

For this reason Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, used to say: ‘A man leaves his house with his religion intact, then returns home with nothing of his religion left.’

يَلْقَى الرَّجُلَ فَيَقُولُ : إِنَّكَ لَذَيْتَ وَذَيْتَ وَيَلْقَى الْآخَرَ فَيَقُولُ لَأَنْتَ وَأَنْتَ ، وَلَعَلَّهُ لَا يُخَلَّى مِنْهُ بِشَيْءٍ ، وَقَدْ سَخِطَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ ،

yalqā al-rajula fayaqūlu : ʾinnaka ladhayta wadhayta wayalqā al-ʾākhara fayaqūlu laʾanta waʾanta , walaʿallahu lā yukhallā minhu bishayʾin , waqad sakhiṭa Allāhu taʿālā ʿalayhi ,

‘He meets a man and says, “You are such-and-such,” then meets another and says, “You are this and that.” Perhaps he is left with nothing from it, while God Most High has become angry with him.’

يَعْنِي بِهِ التَّزْكِيَةَ لِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُ ، وَالْمَدْحَ لِمَنْ يَسْتَحِقُّ الذَّمَّ ، وَاِخْتِلَافَ قَلْبِهِ وَلِسَانِهِ ، فَفِي هَٰذَا مَقْتٌ مِنَ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى .

yaʿnī bihi al-tazkiyata limā lā yaʿlamu , wa-l-madḥa liman yastaḥiqqu al-dhamma , wa-khtilāfa qalbihi walisānihi , fafī hādhā maqtun mina Allāhi taʿālā .

He means vouching for what one does not know, praising someone who deserves blame, and the disagreement between one's heart and tongue. In this lies detestation from God Most High.

وَفَوْقَ هَٰذِهِ الْمَخَاوِفِ سَلْبُ الْإِيمَانِ الَّذِي هُوَ عِنْدَكَ فِي خِزَانَةِ الْمُؤْمِنِ ، يُظْهِرُهُ كَيْفَ شَاءَ ، وَيَأْخُذُهُ مَتَى شَاءَ ، لَا يَدْرِي أَهِبَةً وَهَبَهُ لَكَ فَيُبْقِيهِ عَلَيْكَ لِكَرَمِهِ ؟

wafawqa hādhihi al-makhāwifi salbu al-ʾīmāni alladhī huwa ʿindaka fī khizānati al-muʾmini , yuẓhiruhu kayfa shāʾa , wayaʾkhudhuhu matā shāʾa , lā yadrī ʾahibatan wahabahu laka fayubqīhi ʿalayka likaramihi ?

Above these fears is that of being stripped of the faith you possess, held in the treasury of the Giver of Security. He manifests it however He wills and takes it whenever He wills. One does not know: did He bestow it upon you as a gift, so that in His generosity He will leave it with you?

أَوْ وَدِيعَةً وَعَارِيَةً أَوْدَعَكَ إِيَّاهُ وَأَعَارَكَ هُوَ ؟ فَيَأْخُذُهُ إِذًا لَا مَحَالَةَ لِعَدْلِهِ وَحِكْمَتِهِ ، وَقَدْ أَخْفَى عَنْكَ حَقِيقَةَ ذَٰلِكَ ، وَاِسْتَأْثَرَ بِعَاقِبَتِهِ .

ʾaw wadīʿatan waʿāriyatan ʾawdaʿaka ʾiyyāhu waʾaʿāraka huwa ? fayaʾkhudhuhu ʾidhan lā maḥālata liʿadlihi waḥikmatihi , waqad ʾakhfā ʿanka ḥaqīqata dhālika , wa-staʾthara biʿāqibatihi .

Or did He entrust and lend it to you as a deposit and a loan? Then He will inevitably take it in His justice and wisdom. He has concealed its true nature from you and reserved knowledge of its outcome to Himself.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : إِنَّمَا قُطِعَ بِالْقَوْمِ عِنْدَ الْوُصُولِ مَعَ الْخَاتِمَةِ : وَقَالَ آخَرُ : وَاخَطَرَاهُ كَمَا قَالَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ وَحَلَفَ : مَا أَحَدٌ أَمِنَ مِنْ أَنْ يُسْلَبَ إِيمَانَهُ إِلَّا سُلِبَهُ ،

waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna : ʾinnamā quṭiʿa bi-l-qawmi ʿinda al-wuṣūli maʿa al-khātimati : waqāla ʾākharu : wākhaṭarāhu kamā qāla ʾabū al-dardāʾi waḥalafa : mā ʾaḥadun ʾamina min ʾan yuslaba ʾīmānahu ʾillā sulibahu ,

One of the knowers said: ‘People were cut off only at the point of arrival, with the final end.’ Another said: ‘What peril!’ As Abū al-Dardāʾ said, swearing an oath: ‘No one feels safe from having his faith taken away without its being taken from him.’

أَفَرَأَيْتَ الْوَقْتَ الَّذِي قَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ : يَأْتِي عَلَى الْقَلْبِ سَاعَةٌ فَيَمْتَلِئُ نِفَاقًا حَتَّى لَا يَكُونَ فِيهِ لِلْإِيمَانِ مَغْرِزُ إِبْرَةٍ ، إِنْ صَادَفَ الْمَوْتُ ذَٰلِكَ الْوَقْتَ وَكَانَ هُوَ آخِرَ وَقْتٍ ، أَلَيْسَ تَخْرُجُ رُوحُهُ عَلَى النِّفَاقِ ،

ʾafaraʾayta al-waqta alladhī qāla ḥudhayfatu : yaʾtī ʿalā al-qalbi sāʿatun fayamtaliʾu nifāqan ḥattā lā yakūna fīhi li-l-ʾīmāni maghrizu ʾibratin , ʾin ṣādafa al-mawtu dhālika al-waqta wakāna huwa ʾākhira waqtin , ʾalaysa takhruju rūḥuhu ʿalā al-nifāqi ,

Consider the time of which Ḥudhayfa spoke: ‘An hour comes upon the heart and it fills with hypocrisy until it contains no needle-point's space for faith.’ If death coincides with that time, making it the final moment, does not his spirit depart in hypocrisy?

وَكَذَٰلِكَ تَقْلِيبَاتُ الْقُلُوبِ فِي مَعَانِي الشِّرْكِ وَتَلْوِيحَاتِ الشَّكِّ إِنْ وَافَقَ وَقْتَ الْوَفَاةِ كَانَ خَاتِمَتَهُ عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ مَوْلَاهُ ، وَإِنَّمَا سُمِّيَتِ الْخَاتِمَةُ لِأَنَّهَا آخِرُ عَمَلِهِ وَآخِرُ سَاعَةٍ مِنَ الْعُمُرِ ،

wakadhālika taqlībātu al-qulūbi fī maʿānī al-shirki watalwīḥāti al-shakki ʾin wāfaqa waqta al-wafāti kāna khātimatahu ʿinda liqāʾi mawlāhu , waʾinnamā summiyati al-khātimatu liʾannahā ʾākhiru ʿamalihi waʾākhiru sāʿatin mina al-ʿumuri ,

So too with the turnings of hearts within forms of association and intimations of doubt: if that coincides with the time of death, it becomes his final end when he meets his Master. It is called the final end precisely because it is his last deed and the last hour of his life.

وَخَاتَمُ الشَّيْءِ آخِرُهُ وَمِنْ ذَٰلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ ) الْأَحْزَابِ : 40 أَيْ آخِرَهُمْ ، وَمِثْلُهُ : ( خِتَامُهُ مِسْكٌ ) الْمُطَفِّفِينَ : 26 وَخَاتَمُهُ مِسْكٌ أَيْ آخِرُ الْكَأْسِ ، بَدَلًا مِنَ الثُّفْلِ يَكُونُ مِسْكًا .

wakhātamu al-shayʾi ʾākhiruhu wamin dhālika qawluhu taʿālā : ( wakhātama al-nabiyyīna ) al-ʾaḥzābi : 40 ʾay ʾākhirahum , wamithluhu : ( khitāmuhu miskun ) al-muṭaffifīna : 26 wakhātamuhu miskun ʾay ʾākhiru al-kaʾsi , badalan mina al-thufli yakūnu miskan .

The seal of a thing is its end. Thus He says, exalted is He, ‘the seal of the prophets’ (The Confederates, 33:40), meaning the last of them. Similarly: ‘Its seal is musk’ (Those Who Give Short Measure, 83:26), and ‘its ending is musk’: that is, what remains at the bottom of the cup is musk instead of sediment.

وَمِنَ الْمَخَاوِفِ خَوْفُ قَطْعِ الْمَزِيدِ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ مَعَ بَقِيَّةِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ الْمُبْتَدَأَةِ لِيَكُونَ مُسْتَدْرَجًا بِهَا

wamina al-makhāwifi khawfu qaṭʿi al-mazīdi min ʿilmi al-ʾīmāni maʿa baqiyyati al-maʿrifati al-mubtadaʾati liyakūna mustadrajan bihā

Among these fears is fear of being cut off from further knowledge of faith while the knowledge first bestowed remains, so that through it one may be drawn on unawares toward ruin.

كَمَا قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : إِنَّ اللّٰهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى إِذَا أَعْطَى عَبْدًا مَعْرِفَةً فَلَمْ يُعَامِلْهُ بِهَا لَمْ يَسْلُبْهُ تِلْكَ الْمَعْرِفَةَ وَلَٰكِنْ بَقَاؤُهَا فِيهِ حُجَّةٌ عَلَيْهِ لِيُحَاسِبَهُ عَلَى قَدْرِهَا وَإِنَّمَا يَقْطَعُ عَنْهُ الْمَزِيدَ

kamā qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi : ʾinna Allāha tabāraka wataʿālā ʾidhā ʾaʿṭā ʿabdan maʿrifatan falam yuʿāmilhu bihā lam yaslubhu tilka al-maʿrifata walākin baqāʾuhā fīhi ḥujjatun ʿalayhi liyuḥāsibahu ʿalā qadrihā waʾinnamā yaqṭaʿu ʿanhu al-mazīda

As one of the scholars said: ‘When God, blessed and exalted is He, gives a servant spiritual knowledge, but he does not conduct himself toward Him accordingly, He does not take that knowledge away. Its remaining in him, however, is evidence against him, so that He may call him to account in proportion to it. He only cuts him off from further increase.’

وَقَدْ يَقْسَى قَلْبُهُ وَتَجْرِي عَيْنُهُ وَذَٰلِكَ مِنَ النُّقْصَانِ الَّذِي لَا يَعْرِفُهُ إِلَّا أَهْلُ التَّمَامِ لِأَنَّهُ يَمْنَعُهُ مِنْهُ مَا يَنْفَعُهُ عِنْدَهُ وَيُعْطِيهِ مَا يَغْتَرُّ بِهِ وَيَفْتَتِنُ عِنْدَ الْخَلْقِ

waqad yaqsā qalbuhu watajrī ʿaynuhu wadhālika mina al-nuqṣāni alladhī lā yaʿrifuhu ʾillā ʾahlu al-tamāmi liʾannahu yamnaʿuhu minhu mā yanfaʿuhu ʿindahu wayuʿṭīhi mā yaghtarru bihi wayaftatinu ʿinda al-khalqi

His heart may grow hard while his eyes flow with tears. This is a deficiency recognized only by the people of completeness: He withholds from him what would benefit him in His presence and gives him what deceives him and leads him into temptation before creatures.

لِأَنَّ عَيْنَ الْوَجْهِ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ لِلدُّنْيَا وَعَيْنَ الْقَلْبِ مِنَ الْمَلَكُوتِ لِلْآخِرَةِ وَقَالَ مَالِكُ اِبْنُ دِينَارٍ : قَرَأْتُ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ : إِذَا اِسْتَكْمَلَ الْعَبْدُ النِّفَاقَ مَلَكَ عَيْنَيْهِ فَيَبْكِي مَتَى شَاءَ

liʾanna ʿayna al-wajhi mina al-mulki li-l-dunyā waʿayna al-qalbi mina al-malakūti li-l-ʾākhirati waqāla māliku ibnu dīnārin : qaraʾtu fī al-tawrāti : ʾidhā istakmala al-ʿabdu al-nifāqa malaka ʿaynayhi fayabkī matā shāʾa

For the eye of the face belongs to the visible dominion and this world, while the eye of the heart belongs to the unseen kingdom and the hereafter. Mālik ibn Dīnār said: ‘I read in the Torah: “When a servant becomes complete in hypocrisy, he gains control of his eyes and weeps whenever he wishes.”’

وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَسْتَعِيذُونَ بِاللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ بُكَاءِ النِّفَاقِ وَهُوَ أَنْ يُفْتَحَ لِلْعَبْدِ أَلْوَانُ الْبُكَاءِ وَيُغْلَقَ عَنْهُ بَابُ الذُّلِّ وَالْخُشُوعِ . وَقَدْ قَالَ اللّٰهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَجَاءُوا أَبَاهُمْ عِشَاءً يَبْكُونَ ) يُوسُفَ : 16

waqad kānū yastaʿīdhūna bi-llāhi ʿazza wajalla min bukāʾi al-nifāqi wahuwa ʾan yuftaḥa li-l-ʿabdi ʾalwānu al-bukāʾi wayughlaqa ʿanhu bābu al-dhulli wa-l-khushūʿi . waqad qāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla : ( wajāʾū ʾabāhum ʿishāʾan yabkūna ) yūsufa : 16

They used to seek refuge in God, mighty and majestic, from hypocritical weeping: when all kinds of weeping are opened to a servant but the door of lowliness and humble awe is closed to him. God, mighty and majestic, has said: ‘They came to their father in the evening, weeping’ (Joseph, 12:16).

وَكَانَ السَّلَفُ أَيْضًا يَقُولُونَ : اِسْتَعِيذُوا بِاللّٰهِ مِنْ خُشُوعِ النِّفَاقِ قِيلَ : وَمَا هُوَ ؟ قَالَ : أَنْ تَبْكِيَ الْعَيْنُ وَالْقَلْبُ قَاسٍ فَلَأَنْ يُعْطَي الْإِنْسَانُ رِقَّةَ الْقَلْبِ فِي جُمُودِ عَيْنٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَنْ يُعْطَي دُمُوعَ عَيْنٍ فِي قَسْوَةِ قَلْبٍ ،

wakāna al-salafu ʾayḍan yaqūlūna : istaʿīdhū bi-llāhi min khushūʿi al-nifāqi qīla : wamā huwa ? qāla : ʾan tabkiya al-ʿaynu wa-l-qalbu qāsin falaʾan yuʿṭay al-ʾinsānu riqqata al-qalbi fī jumūdi ʿaynin khayrun min ʾan yuʿṭay dumūʿa ʿaynin fī qaswati qalbin ,

The predecessors also used to say: ‘Seek refuge in God from hypocritical humility.’ Asked what it was, one answered: ‘For the eye to weep while the heart is hard.’ To be given tenderness of heart with a dry eye is therefore better than to be given tears with hardness of heart.

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٩٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 392

Volume One, page 392

وَرِقَّةُ الْقَلْبِ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْقُلُوبِ هُوَ خُشُوعُهُ وَخَوْفُهُ وَذُلُّهُ وَاِنْكِسَارُهُ وَإِخْبَاتُهُ ، فَمَنْ أَعْطَاهُ هَٰذَا فِي قَلْبِهِ لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ مَا مَنَعَهُ مِنْ بُكَاءِ عَيْنِهِ فَإِنْ رَحَجَ لَهُ بِفَيْضِ الْعَيْنِ فَهُوَ فَضْلٌ ،

wariqqatu al-qalbi ʿinda ʾahli al-qulūbi huwa khushūʿuhu wakhawfuhu wadhulluhu wa-nkisāruhu waʾikhbātuhu , faman ʾaʿṭāhu hādhā fī qalbihi lam yaḍurrahu mā manaʿahu min bukāʾi ʿaynihi faʾin raḥaja lahu bifayḍi al-ʿayni fahuwa faḍlun ,

For the people of hearts, tenderness of heart means its humble awe, fear, lowliness, brokenness, and quiet submission. Whoever is given this in his heart is not harmed by being denied tears from his eyes. If flowing tears are added for him, that is an extra bounty.

وَمَنْ أَعْطَاهُ بُكَاءَ الْعَيْنِ وَحَرَمَهُ خُشُوعَ الْقَلْبِ وَذُلَّهُ وَخُضُوعَهُ وَإِخْبَاتَهُ فَهُوَ مَكْرٌ بِهِ ؛ وَهَٰذَا هُوَ حَقِيقَةُ الْمَنْعِ وَعَدَمُ النَّفْعِ

waman ʾaʿṭāhu bukāʾa al-ʿayni waḥaramahu khushūʿa al-qalbi wadhullahu wakhuḍūʿahu waʾikhbātahu fahuwa makrun bihi ; wahādhā huwa ḥaqīqatu al-manʿi waʿadamu al-nafʿi

But when He gives someone tears of the eye and deprives him of the heart's humble awe, lowliness, submissiveness, and quiet surrender, he is being subjected to a hidden stratagem. This is deprivation in its true sense, and the absence of benefit.

وَجُمْلَةُ بُكَاءِ الْعَيْنِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ فِي عِلْمِ الْعَقْلِ ، فَأَمَّا عِلْمُ التَّوْحِيدِ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْيَقِينِ فَلَا بُكَاءَ فِيهِ لِأَنَّهُ يَظْهَرُ لِشَاهِدِ الْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ فَيَحْمِلُهُ عَلَى عِلْمِ الْقُدْرَةِ فَتَفِيضُ الدُّمُوعُ بِانْتِشَاقِ الْقُوَّةِ ،

wajumlatu bukāʾi al-ʿayni ʾinnamā huwa fī ʿilmi al-ʿaqli , faʾammā ʿilmu al-tawḥīdi bimushāhadati al-yaqīni falā bukāʾa fīhi liʾannahu yaẓharu lishāhidi al-waḥdāniyyati fayaḥmiluhu ʿalā ʿilmi al-qudrati fatafīḍu al-dumūʿu bi-ntishāqi al-quwwati ,

The whole matter of tears from the eye belongs to rational knowledge. As for knowledge of unity through the witnessing of certainty, there is no weeping in it: it appears to the witness of oneness and carries him to knowledge of power, so that tears overflow through the inhaling of strength.

وَقَدْ وَصَفَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى الْبَاكِينَ : إِنَّ الْبُكَاءَ يَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( يَبْكُونَ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا ) الْإِسْرَاءِ : 109 فَإِذَا زَادَنَا الْبُكَاءُ كِبْرًا وَفَخْرًا عَلِمْنَا بِذَٰلِكَ عَدَمَ الْخُشُوعِ فِي الْقَلْبِ فَكَانَ تَصَنُّعًا وَعُجْبًا لِخَفَايَا آفَاتِ النُّفُوسِ ،

waqad waṣafa Allāhu taʿālā al-bākīna : ʾinna al-bukāʾa yazīduhum khushūʿan fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( yabkūna wayazīduhum khushūʿan ) al-ʾisrāʾi : 109 faʾidhā zādanā al-bukāʾu kibran wafakhran ʿalimnā bidhālika ʿadama al-khushūʿi fī al-qalbi fakāna taṣannuʿan waʿujban likhafāyā ʾāfāti al-nufūsi ,

God Most High has described those who weep as increased in humble awe by their weeping, in His saying, exalted is He: ‘They weep, and it increases them in humble awe’ (The Night Journey, 17:109). If weeping increases us in arrogance and pride, we know from this that humble awe is absent from the heart. It is then affectation and self-admiration arising from the soul's hidden defects.

فَأَعْلَى الْمَخَاوِفِ خَوْفُ السَّوَابِقِ وَالْخَوَاتِمِ كَمَا كَانَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ يَقُولُ : مَا بُكَائِي وَغَمِّي مِنْ ذُنُوبِي وَشَهَوَاتِي لِأَنَّهَا أَخْلَاقِي وَصِفَاتِي لَا يَلِيقُ بِي غَيْرُهَا

faʾaʿlā al-makhāwifi khawfu al-sawābiqi wa-l-khawātimi kamā kāna baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna yaqūlu : mā bukāʾī waghammī min dhunūbī washahawātī liʾannahā ʾakhlāqī waṣifātī lā yalīqu bī ghayruhā

The highest fears are therefore fear of the primordial decrees and final endings. As one of the knowers used to say: ‘My weeping and sorrow do not arise from my sins and desires, for these are my dispositions and attributes; nothing else befits me.’

إِنَّمَا حُزْنِي وَحَسْرَتِي كَيْفَ كَانَ قِسْمِي مِنْهُ وَنَصِيبِي حِينَ قَسَمَ الْأَقْسَامَ وَفَرَّقَ الْعَطَاءَ بَيْنَ الْعِبَادِ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ قِسْمِي مِنْهُ الْبُعْدَ ،

ʾinnamā ḥuznī waḥasratī kayfa kāna qismī minhu wanaṣībī ḥīna qasama al-ʾaqsāma wafarraqa al-ʿaṭāʾa bayna al-ʿibādi fakayfa kāna qismī minhu al-buʿda ,

‘My sorrow and anguish concern only this: what was my allotted share from Him, and my portion, when He divided the shares and distributed the gifts among the servants? How could my allotted share from Him have been distance?’

فَهَٰذَا الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ هُوَ جُمَلُ خَوْفِ الْعُلَمَاءِ الَّذِينَ هُمْ وَرَثَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَهُمْ أَبْدَالُ النَّبِيِّينَ وَأَئِمَّةُ الْمُتَّقِينَ ، أُولُو الْقُوَّةِ وَالتَّمْكِينِ ،

fahādhā alladhī dhakarnāhu huwa jumalu khawfi al-ʿulamāʾi alladhīna hum warathatu al-ʾanbiyāʾi wahum ʾabdālu al-nabiyyīna waʾaʾimmatu al-muttaqīna , ʾulū al-quwwati wa-l-tamkīni ,

What we have mentioned sets out the principal forms of fear among the scholars who are the prophets' heirs, the substitutes for the prophets, and the leaders of the God-fearing: people of strength and firm establishment.

وَسُئِلَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ : هَلْ يُعْطِي اللّٰهُ أَحَدًا مِنَ الْخَوْفِ مِثْقَالًا فَقَالَ : مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مَنْ يُعْطَي مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَزْنَ الْجَبَلِ قِيلَ : فَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ حَالُهُمْ يَأْكُلُونَ وَيَنَامُونَ وَيَنْكِحُونَ ؟

wasuʾila ʾabū muḥammadin raḥimahu Allāhu : hal yuʿṭī Allāhu ʾaḥadan mina al-khawfi mithqālan faqāla : mina al-muʾminīna man yuʿṭay mina al-khawfi wazna al-jabali qīla : fakayfa yakūnu ḥāluhum yaʾkulūna wayanāmūna wayankiḥūna ?

Abū Muḥammad, may God have mercy on him, was asked: ‘Does God give anyone a measure of fear?’ He replied: ‘Some believers are given a mountain's weight of fear.’ He was asked: ‘Then what is their condition? Do they eat, sleep, and marry?’

قَالَ : نَعَمْ يَفْعَلُونَ ذَٰلِكَ وَالْمُشَاهَدَةُ لَا تُفَارِقُهُمْ وَالْمَأْوَى يُظِلُّهُمْ قِيلَ : فَأَيْنَ الْخَوْفُ قَالَ : يَحْمِلُهُ حِجَابُ الْقُدْرَةِ بِلَطِيفِ الْحِكْمَةِ وَيَسْتُرُ الْقَلْبَ تَحْتَ الْحِجَابِ فِي التَّصْرِيفِ بِصِفَاتِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ فَيَكُونُ مِثْلُ هَٰذَا الْعَبْدِ مِثْلَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ،

qāla : naʿam yafʿalūna dhālika wa-l-mushāhadatu lā tufāriquhum wa-l-maʾwā yuẓilluhum qīla : faʾayna al-khawfu qāla : yaḥmiluhu ḥijābu al-qudrati bilaṭīfi al-ḥikmati wayasturu al-qalba taḥta al-ḥijābi fī al-taṣrīfi biṣifāti al-bashariyyati fayakūnu mithlu hādhā al-ʿabdi mithla al-mursalīna ,

He said: ‘Yes, they do these things while witnessing never leaves them and the refuge shades them.’ He was asked: ‘Where, then, is the fear?’ He said: ‘The veil of power bears it through subtle wisdom, and conceals the heart beneath that veil as it is moved through human attributes. Such a servant is thus like the messengers.’

وَهَٰذَا كَمَا قَالَ لِأَنَّ مُشَاهَدَةَ التَّوْحِيدِ بِالتَّصْرِيفِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ تُقِيمُهُ بِالْقِيَامِ بِالْأَحْكَامِ ، وَذَٰلِكَ أَنَّ نُورَ الْإِيمَانِ فِي الْقَلْبِ عَظِيمٌ لَوْ ظَهَرَ لِلْقَلْبِ لَأَحْرَقَ الْجِسْمَ وَمَا اِتَّصَلَ بِهِ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ

wahādhā kamā qāla liʾanna mushāhadata al-tawḥīdi bi-l-taṣrīfi wa-l-ḥikmati tuqīmuhu bi-l-qiyāmi bi-l-ʾaḥkāmi , wadhālika ʾanna nūra al-ʾīmāni fī al-qalbi ʿaẓīmun law ẓahara li-l-qalbi laʾaḥraqa al-jisma wamā ittaṣala bihi mina al-mulki

It is as he said, for witnessing unity through divine direction and wisdom establishes him in the fulfillment of the ordinances. The light of faith in the heart is immense: if it became manifest to the heart, it would burn the body and whatever of the visible dominion is connected to it.

إِلَّا أَنَّهُ مَسْتُورٌ بِالْفَضْلِ مُغَطًّى بِالْعِلْمِ لِإِيقَاعِ الْأَحْكَامِ ، وَإِيجَابِ التَّصْرِيفِ فِيهَا وَالْقِيَامُ يَجْرِي مَجْرَى الْغَايَاتِ مِنْ مَعَانِي الْقَدَرِ وَالصِّفَاتِ

ʾillā ʾannahu mastūrun bi-l-faḍli mughaṭṭan bi-l-ʿilmi liʾīqāʿi al-ʾaḥkāmi , waʾījābi al-taṣrīfi fīhā wa-l-qiyāmu yajrī majrā al-ghāyāti min maʿānī al-qadari wa-l-ṣifāti

But it is concealed by grace and covered by knowledge, so that the ordinances may be enacted and their exercise made binding. Standing in fulfillment follows the course of the ultimate ends within the meanings of predestination and the attributes.

لِأَنَّ الْأَنْوَارَ مَحْجُوبَةٌ بِالْأَسْمَاءِ وَالْأَسْمَاءَ مَحْجُوبَةٌ بِالْأَفْعَالِ وَالْأَفْعَالَ مَحْجُوبَةٌ بِالْحَرَكَاتِ فَتَظْهَرُ الْحَرَكَةُ بِالْقُدْرَةِ وَهِيَ غَيْبٌ مِنْ وَرَائِهَا ، كَذَٰلِكَ يَظْهَرُ التَّصْرِيفُ بِالْحِكْمَةِ مِنْ نُورِ الْإِيمَانِ وَأَنْوَارُ الْإِيمَانِ مَسْتُورَةٌ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ .

liʾanna al-ʾanwāra maḥjūbatun bi-l-ʾasmāʾi wa-l-ʾasmāʾa maḥjūbatun bi-l-ʾafʿāli wa-l-ʾafʿāla maḥjūbatun bi-l-ḥarakāti fataẓharu al-ḥarakatu bi-l-qudrati wahiya ghaybun min warāʾihā , kadhālika yaẓharu al-taṣrīfu bi-l-ḥikmati min nūri al-ʾīmāni waʾanwāru al-ʾīmāni mastūratun min warāʾihi .

For lights are veiled by names, names are veiled by acts, and acts are veiled by movements. Movement appears through power, while that power remains unseen behind it. In the same way, direction through wisdom appears from the light of faith, while the lights of faith remain concealed behind it.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : لَوْ كُشِفَ وَجْهُ الْمُؤْمِنِ لِلْخَلْقِ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى لَعَبَدُوهُ مِنْ دُونِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى وَلَوْ ظَهَرَ نُورُ قَلْبِهِ لِلدُّنْيَا لَمْ يَثْبُتْ لَهُ شَيْءٌ عَلَى وَجْهِ الْأَرْضِ ،

waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna : law kushifa wajhu al-muʾmini li-l-khalqi ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā laʿabadūhu min dūni Allāhi taʿālā walaw ẓahara nūru qalbihi li-l-dunyā lam yathbut lahu shayʾun ʿalā wajhi al-ʾarḍi ,

One of the knowers said: ‘If the believer's face as it is before God Most High were unveiled to creatures, they would worship him apart from God Most High. If the light of his heart became manifest to the world, nothing on the face of the earth could withstand it.’

فَسُبْحَانَ مَنْ سَتَرَ الْقُدْرَةَ وَمَعَانِيَهَا بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَأَسْبَابِهَا حِلْمًا مِنْهُ وَرَحْمَةً وَتَطْرِيقًا لِلْخَلْقِ إِلَيْهِ لِلْمَنْفَعَةِ ، وَفِي قِرَاءَةِ أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ مَثَلُ نُورِ الْمُؤْمِنِ ، فَوَلَا أَنَّ نُورَهُ مِنْ نُورِهِ مَا اِسْتَجَازَ إِبْدَالَ حَرْفٍ بِغَيْرِ مَعْنَاهُ ،

fasubḥāna man satara al-qudrata wamaʿāniyahā bi-l-ḥikmati waʾasbābihā ḥilman minhu waraḥmatan wataṭrīqan li-l-khalqi ʾilayhi li-l-manfaʿati , wafī qirāʾati ʾubayyi bni kaʿbin mathalu nūri al-muʾmini , fawalā ʾanna nūrahu min nūrihi mā istajāza ʾibdāla ḥarfin bighayri maʿnāhu ,

Glory be to Him who concealed power and its meanings through wisdom and its means, out of forbearance and mercy, opening a beneficial path for creatures to Him. In Ubayy ibn Kaʿb's reading: ‘The likeness of the believer's light.’ Were his light not from His light, he would not have deemed it permissible to replace an expression with one of another meaning.

وَقَدْ كَانَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ : الْخَوْفُ مُبَايَنَةٌ لِلنَّهْيِ وَالْخَشْيَةُ الْوَرَعُ وَالْإِشْفَاقُ الزُّهْدُ ، وَكَانَ يَقُولُ : دُخُولُ الْخَوْفِ عَلَى الْجَاهِلِ يَدْعُوهُ إِلَى الْعِلْمِ ، وَدُخُولُهُ عَلَى الْعَالِمِ يَدْعُوهُ إِلَى الزُّهْدِ ، وَدُخُولُهُ عَلَى الْعَامِلِ يَدْعُوهُ إِلَى الْإِخْلَاصِ ،

waqad kāna sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu : al-khawfu mubāyanatun li-l-nahyi wa-l-khashyatu al-waraʿu wa-l-ʾishfāqu al-zuhdu , wakāna yaqūlu : dukhūlu al-khawfi ʿalā al-jāhili yadʿūhu ʾilā al-ʿilmi , wadukhūluhu ʿalā al-ʿālimi yadʿūhu ʾilā al-zuhdi , wadukhūluhu ʿalā al-ʿāmili yadʿūhu ʾilā al-ʾikhlāṣi ,

Sahl, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say: ‘Fear is keeping apart from what is forbidden; reverent dread is scrupulousness; anxious concern is renunciation.’ He also said: ‘When fear enters the ignorant person, it calls him to knowledge; when it enters the scholar, it calls him to renunciation; when it enters the practitioner, it calls him to sincerity.’

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٩٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 393

Volume One, page 393

وَقَالَ أَيْضًا الْإِخْلَاصُ فَرِيضَةٌ لَا تُنَالُ إِلَّا بِالْخَوْفِ وَلَا يُنَالُ الْخَوْفُ إِلَّا بِالزُّهْدِ فَقَدْ صَارَ الْخَوْفُ يَصْلُحُ لِلْكَافَّةِ إِذْ دُخُولُهُ عَلَى الْعَامَّةِ يُخْرِجُهُمْ عَنِ الْحَرَامِ ، وَدُخُولُهُ عَلَى الْخَاصَّةِ يُدْخِلُهُمْ فِي الْوَرَعِ وَالزُّهْدِ ، لِأَنَّ مَنْ خَافَ تَرَكَ ،

waqāla ʾayḍan al-ʾikhlāṣu farīḍatun lā tunālu ʾillā bi-l-khawfi walā yunālu al-khawfu ʾillā bi-l-zuhdi faqad ṣāra al-khawfu yaṣluḥu li-l-ka-ffati ʾidh dukhūluhu ʿalā al-ʿāmmati yukhrijuhum ʿani al-ḥarāmi , wadukhūluhu ʿalā al-khāṣṣati yudkhiluhum fī al-waraʿi wa-l-zuhdi , liʾanna man khāfa taraka ,

He also said: ‘Sincerity is an obligation attained only through fear, and fear is attained only through renunciation.’ Fear thus serves everyone: when it enters ordinary people, it takes them away from the forbidden; when it enters the elect, it brings them into scrupulousness and renunciation. For one who fears leaves things behind.

وَقَالَ أَيْضًا : مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَرَى خَوْفَ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى فِي قَلْبِهِ فَلَا يَأْكُلْ إِلَّا حَلَالًا وَلَا يَصْلُحُ عِلْمُ الرَّجَاءِ إِلَّا لِلْخَائِفِ ،

waqāla ʾayḍan : man ʾaḥabba ʾan yarā khawfa Allāhi taʿālā fī qalbihi falā yaʾkul ʾillā ḥalālan walā yaṣluḥu ʿilmu al-rajāʾi ʾillā li-l-khāʾifi ,

He also said: ‘Whoever wishes to see fear of God Most High in his heart should eat only what is lawful. Knowledge of hope is fitting only for the fearful.’

وَقَالَ : الْخَوْفُ ذَكَرٌ وَالْمَحَبَّةُ أُنْثَى ، أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّ أَكْثَرَ النِّسَاءِ يَدَّعُونَ الْمَحَبَّةَ يُرِيدُ بِهَٰذَا أَنَّ فَضْلَ الْخَوْفِ عَلَى الرَّجَاءِ كَفَضْلِ الذَّكَرِ عَلَى الْأُنْثَى ؛

waqāla : al-khawfu dhakarun wa-l-maḥabbatu ʾunthā , ʾalā tarā ʾanna ʾakthara al-nisāʾi yaddaʿūna al-maḥabbata yurīdu bihādhā ʾanna faḍla al-khawfi ʿalā al-rajāʾi kafaḍli al-dhakari ʿalā al-ʾunthā ;

He said: ‘Fear is male, and love is female. Do you not see that most women lay claim to love?’ By this he means that fear's superiority to hope is like that of the male over the female.

وَهَٰذَا كَمَا قَالَ لِأَنَّ الْخَوْفَ حَالُ الْعُلَمَاءِ ، وَالرَّجَاءَ حَالُ الْعُمَّالِ ، وَفَضْلُ الْعَالِمِ عَلَى الْعَابِدِ كَفَضْلِ الْقَمَرِ عَلَى الْكَوَاكِبِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَضْلٌ مِنْ عِلْمٍ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ فَضْلٍ مِنْ عَمَلٍ ، وَخَيْرُ دِينِكُمُ الْوَرَعُ

wahādhā kamā qāla liʾanna al-khawfa ḥālu al-ʿulamāʾi , wa-l-rajāʾa ḥālu al-ʿummāli , wafaḍlu al-ʿālimi ʿalā al-ʿābidi kafaḍli al-qamari ʿalā al-kawākibi . warawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faḍlun min ʿilmin ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min faḍlin min ʿamalin , wakhayru dīnikumu al-waraʿu

It is as he said, because fear is the state of scholars and hope the state of practitioners. The scholar's superiority to the worshipper is like the moon's superiority to the stars. We have transmitted from God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: ‘An increment of knowledge is dearer to me than an increment of action; the best of your religion is scrupulousness.’

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْخَوْفَ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَلَى غَيْرِ مَا يَتَصَوَّرُ فِي أَوْهَامِ الْعَامَّةِ وَخِلَافَ مَا يَعُدُّونَهُ مِنَ الْقَلَقِ وَالْاِحْتِرَاقِ أَوِ الْوَلَهِ وَالْاِنْزِعَاجِ

wa-ʿlam ʾanna al-khawfa ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi ʿalā ghayri mā yataṣawwaru fī ʾawhāmi al-ʿāmmati wakhilāfa mā yaʿuddūnahu mina al-qalaqi wa-l-iḥtirāqi ʾawi al-walahi wa-l-inziʿāji

Know that fear among scholars differs from what ordinary people picture in their imaginations and from what they reckon it to be: anxiety and burning, or bewildered longing and agitation.

لِأَنَّ هَٰذِهِ خَطَرَاتٌ وَأَحْوَالٌ وَمَوَاجِيدُ لِلْوَالِهِينَ وَلَيْسَتْ مِنْ حَقِيقَةِ الْعِلْمِ فِي شَيْءٍ ، بِمَنْزِلَةِ مَوَاجِيدِ بَعْضِ الصُّوفِيَّةِ مِنَ الْعَارِفِينَ فِي أَحْوَالِ الْمَحَبَّةِ ، مِنَ اِحْتِرَاقِهِمْ وَوَلَهِهِمْ .

liʾanna hādhihi khaṭarātun waʾaḥwālun wamawājīdu li-l-wa-l-hīna walaysat min ḥaqīqati al-ʿilmi fī shayʾin , bimanzilati mawājīdi baʿḍi al-ṣūfiyyati mina al-ʿārifīna fī ʾaḥwāli al-maḥabbati , mina iḥtirāqihim wawalahihim .

These are passing impulses, states, and ecstatic feelings belonging to those overcome by longing; they have no part in the reality of knowledge. They resemble the ecstatic feelings of some Sufi knowers in the states of love, with their burning and bewildered longing.

وَالْخَوْفُ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ اِسْمٌ لِصَحِيحِ الْعِلْمِ وَصِدْقِ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ ، فَإِذَا أُعْطِىَ عَبْدٌ حَقِيقَةَ الْعِلْمِ وَصِدْقَ الْيَقِينِ سُمِّيَ هَٰذَا خَائِفًا ،

wa-l-khawfu ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi ʾinnamā huwa ismun liṣaḥīḥi al-ʿilmi waṣidqi al-mushāhadati , faʾidhā ʾuʿṭiya ʿabdun ḥaqīqata al-ʿilmi waṣidqa al-yaqīni summiya hādhā khāʾifan ,

Among scholars, fear is simply a name for sound knowledge and true witnessing. When a servant is given knowledge in its reality and certainty in its truth, he is called fearful.

فَلِذَٰلِكَ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ أَخْوَفِ الْخَلْقِ ، لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ عَلَى حَقِيقَةِ الْعِلْمِ وَمِنْ أَشَدِّهِمْ حُبًّا لِلّٰهِ تَعَالَى ، لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ فِي نِهَايَةِ الْقُرْبِ ،

falidhālika kāna al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama min ʾakhwafi al-khalqi , liʾannahu kāna ʿalā ḥaqīqati al-ʿilmi wamin ʾashaddihim ḥubban li-llāhi taʿālā , liʾannahu kāna fī nihāyati al-qurbi ,

That is why the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, was among the most fearful of creatures: he possessed knowledge in its reality. He was also among those who loved God Most High most intensely, because he stood at the utmost limit of nearness.

وَقَدْ كَانَ حَالَةُ السَّكِينَةِ وَالْوَقَارِ فِي الْمَقَامَيْنِ مَعًا ، وَالتَّمْكِينُ وَالتَّثْبِيتُ فِي الْأَحْوَالِ كُلِّهَا ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ وَصْفُهُ الْقَلَقَ وَالْاِنْزِعَاجَ ، وَلَا الْوَلَهَ وَالِاسْتِهْتَارَ ،

waqad kāna ḥālatu al-sakīnati wa-l-waqāri fī al-maqāmayni maʿan , wa-l-tamkīnu wa-l-tathbītu fī al-ʾaḥwāli kullihā , walam yakun waṣfuhu al-qalaqa wa-l-inziʿāja , walā al-walaha wa-l-stihtāra ,

In both stations his condition was tranquility and dignity, and in every state firm establishment and steadiness. His defining quality was neither anxiety and agitation nor bewildered longing and heedless absorption.

وَقَدْ أُعْطِيَ أَضْعَافَ عُقُولِ الْخَلِيقَةِ وَعُلُومِهِمْ ، وَوُسِّعَ قَلْبُهُ لَهُمْ ، وَشُرِحَ صَدْرُهُ لِلصَّبْرِ عَلَيْهِمْ . فَكَانَ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَعَ الْأَعْرَابِيِّ كَأَنَّهُ أَعْرَابِيٌّ ، وَمَعَ الصَّبِيِّ بِمَعْنَاهُ ، وَمَعَ الْمَرْأَةِ فِي نَحْوِهَا ،

waqad ʾuʿṭiya ʾaḍʿāfa ʿuqūli al-khalīqati waʿulūmihim , wawussiʿa qalbuhu lahum , washuriḥa ṣadruhu li-l-ṣabri ʿalayhim . fakāna ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama maʿa al-ʾaʿrābiyyi kaʾannahu ʾaʿrābiyyun , wamaʿa al-ṣabiyyi bimaʿnāhu , wamaʿa al-marʾati fī naḥwihā ,

He was given many times the reason and knowledge of creation; his heart was widened to embrace them and his breast expanded to bear patiently with them. Thus, God bless him and grant him peace, with a Bedouin he was as though a Bedouin; with a child he entered the child's way of understanding; and with a woman he met her in her manner.

يُقَارِبُهُمْ فِي عُلُومِهِمْ ، وَيُخَاطِبُهُمْ بِعُقُولِهِمْ ، وَيَظْهَرُ مِنْهُ مِثْلُ وَجْدِهِمْ ، لِيُعْطِيَهُمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ مِنَ الْأُنْسِ بِهِ ، وَيُوَفِّيَهُمْ حُقُوقَهُمْ مِنَ الدَّرْكِ مِنْهُ ،

yuqāribuhum fī ʿulūmihim , wayukhāṭibuhum biʿuqūlihim , wayaẓharu minhu mithlu wajdihim , liyuʿṭiyahum naṣībahum mina al-ʾunsi bihi , wayuwaffiyahum ḥuqūqahum mina al-darki minhu ,

He drew near to them at the level of their knowledge, addressed them according to their understanding, and displayed feelings like theirs, to give them their share of intimacy with him and fully grant their due in what they could receive from him.

وَلِئَلَّا تَعْظُمَ هَيْبَتُهُ فِي صُدُورِهِمْ ، فَيَنْقَطِعُونَ عَنِ السُّؤَالِ لَهُ وَالْأُنْسِ بِهِ حِكْمَةً مِنْهُ ، لَا يَفْطَنُونَ لَهَا وَرَحْمَةً مِنْهُ قَدْ جُبِلَ عَلَيْهَا ،

waliʾallā taʿẓuma haybatuhu fī ṣudūrihim , fayanqaṭiʿūna ʿani al-suʾāli lahu wa-l-ʾunsi bihi ḥikmatan minhu , lā yafṭanūna lahā waraḥmatan minhu qad jubila ʿalayhā ,

He did so lest awe of him become so great in their breasts that they ceased asking him questions or finding ease with him. This was wisdom in him that they did not perceive, and mercy upon which his nature had been formed.

قَدْ أَلْبَسَ مَوَاجِيدَهُمْ لِبْسَةً ، وَأَدْخَلَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَيْهِ صِبْغَةً ، بِغَيْرِ تَكَلُّفٍ وَلَا تَصَنُّعٍ ، تَعَلَّمَ ذَٰلِكَ مِنَ الْحَكِيمِ الْعَلِيمِ ،

qad ʾalbasa mawājīdahum libsatan , waʾadkhala dhālika ʿalayhi ṣibghatan , bighayri takallufin walā taṣannuʿin , taʿallama dhālika mina al-ḥakīmi al-ʿalīmi ,

He clothed himself in their feelings as in a garment and took on their coloring, without strain or affectation. He learned this from the All-Wise, the All-Knowing.

فَلِذَٰلِكَ وَصَفَهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِخُلُقِهِ ، وَتَعَجَّبَ مِنْ وَصْفِهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ ) الْقَلَمِ : 4 قِيلَ عَلَى أَخْلَاقِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ ، وَقُرِئَتْ بِالْإِضَافَةِ لِيَكُونَ عِظَمُ اِسْمِ اللّٰهِ سُبْحَانَهُ

falidhālika waṣafahu ʿazza wajalla bikhuluqihi , wataʿajjaba min waṣfihi faqāla taʿālā : ( waʾinnaka laʿalā khuluqin ʿaẓīmin ) al-qalami : 4 qīla ʿalā ʾakhlāqi al-rubūbiyyati , waquriʾat bi-l-ʾiḍāfati liyakūna ʿiẓamu ismi Allāhi subḥānahu

For this reason He, mighty and majestic, described his character and expressed wonder at that description, saying, exalted is He: ‘Truly you are upon a magnificent character’ (The Pen, 68:4). It was said: ‘Upon the character traits of lordship.’ It was also read as a genitive construction, so that the greatness would be that of God's name, glorified is He.

لَا يُظْهِرُ مِنْ حَالِهِ وَنَصِيبِهِ شَيْئًا لِقُوَّةِ التَّمْكِينِ وَفَضْلِ الْعُقَلَاءِ وَلَا يَبْخَسُ مِنْ نَصِيبِهِمْ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا لِحَقِيقَةِ الْعَدْلِ ،

lā yuẓhiru min ḥālihi wanaṣībihi shayʾan liquwwati al-tamkīni wafaḍli al-ʿuqalāʾi walā yabkhasu min naṣībihim minhu shayʾan liḥaqīqati al-ʿadli ,

He disclosed nothing of his own state or allotted portion because of his strong establishment and the excellence of the intelligent; nor did he diminish anything of their share in him, because of the reality of justice.

وَلَا يَتَظَاهَرُ بِشَيْءٍ لِحَقِيقَةِ الزُّهْدِ وَنِهَايَةِ الْخُشُوعِ وَالتَّوَاضُعِ ، وَلَا يَظْهَرُ عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ لِمَكَانَةِ الْقُوَّةِ وَرُسُوخِ الْعِلْمِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ ،

walā yataẓāharu bishayʾin liḥaqīqati al-zuhdi wanihāyati al-khushūʿi wa-l-tawāḍuʿi , walā yaẓharu ʿalayhi shayʾun limakānati al-quwwati warusūkhi al-ʿilmi wa-l-ḥikmati ,

He made no display of anything, because of true renunciation and the utmost humble awe and humility. Nothing overcame him outwardly, because of his established strength and deeply rooted knowledge and wisdom.

وَعَلَى مِنْهَاجِهِ وَسُنَّتِهِ وَصْفُ الْعَارِفِينَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَلَاءِ الَّذِينَ هُمُ الْأَمْثَلُ فَالْأَمْثَلُ بِالْأَنْبِيَاءِ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ : مَنْ طَالَبَ الْخَلْقَ بِعِلْمِهِ وَخَاطَبَهُمْ بِعَقْلِهِ ، فَقَدْ بَخَسَهُمْ

waʿalā minhājihi wasunnatihi waṣfu al-ʿārifīna min ʾahli al-balāʾi alladhīna humu al-ʾamthalu fa-l-ʾamthalu bi-l-ʾanbiyāʾi . waqāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-maʿrifati : man ṭālaba al-khalqa biʿilmihi wakhāṭabahum biʿaqlihi , faqad bakhasahum

Following his way and Sunna are the qualities of the knowers among those tried by affliction, who resemble the prophets in descending degrees of excellence. One of the people of knowledge said: ‘Whoever makes demands of creatures according to his own knowledge and addresses them according to his own understanding has deprived them—’

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٩٤

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 394

Volume One, page 394

حُقُوقَهُمْ مِنْهُ ، وَلَمْ يَقُمْ بِحَقِّ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى فِيهِمْ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : لَا يَكُونُ إِمَامًا مَنْ حَدَّثَ النَّاسَ بِكُلِّ مَا عَلِمَهُ وَأَظْهَرَ لَهُمْ نَصِيبَهُ

ḥuqūqahum minhu , walam yaqum biḥaqqi Allāhi taʿālā fīhim . waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi : lā yakūnu ʾimāman man ḥaddatha al-nāsa bikulli mā ʿalimahu waʾaẓhara lahum naṣībahu

—‘of their rights in him, and has not fulfilled God Most High's right concerning them.’ One of the scholars said: ‘Someone who tells people everything he knows and displays his own allotted portion to them cannot be an imam.’

وَكَانَ يَحْيَى بْنُ مُعَاذٍ يَقُولُ : لَا تُخْرِجْ أَحَدًا مِنْ طَرِيقِهِ وَلَا تُخَاطِبْهُ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمِهِ فَتَتْعَبَ ، وَلَٰكِنْ أَغْرِفْ لَهُ مِنْ نَهْرِهِ ، وَاِسْقِهِ بِكَأْسِهِ .

wakāna yaḥyā bnu muʿādhin yaqūlu : lā tukhrij ʾaḥadan min ṭarīqihi walā tukhāṭibhu bighayri ʿilmihi fatatʿaba , walākin ʾaghrif lahu min nahrihi , wa-sqihi bikaʾsihi .

Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh used to say: ‘Do not take anyone out of his path, or address him with knowledge other than his own and exhaust yourself. Rather, draw water for him from his own river and give him to drink from his own cup.’

وَسُئِلَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَنِ الْعَارِفِ ، هَلْ يَسْتَوْحِشُ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ ؟ قَالَ : لَا يَسْتَوْحِشُ ، وَلَٰكِنْ قَدْ يَكُونُ نَفُورًا ، قِيلَ : فَهَلْ يُسْتَوْحَشُ مِنْهُ ؟ فَقَالَ الْعَارِفُ لَا يُسْتَوْحَشُ مِنْهُ ، وَلَٰكِنْ قَدْ يُهَابُ .

wasuʾila baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi ʿani al-ʿārifi , hal yastawḥishu mina al-khalqi ? qāla : lā yastawḥishu , walākin qad yakūnu nafūran , qīla : fahal yustawḥashu minhu ? faqāla al-ʿārifu lā yustawḥashu minhu , walākin qad yuhābu .

One of the scholars was asked about the knower: ‘Does he feel estranged from creatures?’ He said: ‘He does not feel estranged, but he may be disinclined toward them.’ He was asked: ‘Do others feel estranged from him?’ He answered: ‘The knower does not make others feel estranged, but he may inspire awe.’

وَمِمَّا يَدُلُّكَ أَنَّ الْخَوْفَ اِسْمٌ لِحَقِيقَةِ الْعِلْمِ أَنَّ فِي قِرَاءَةِ أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَخَشِينَا أَنْ يُرْهِقَهُمَا ) الْكَهْفِ : 80 فَخَافَ رَبُّكَ أَنْ يُرْهِقَهُمَا .

wamimmā yadulluka ʾanna al-khawfa ismun liḥaqīqati al-ʿilmi ʾanna fī qirāʾati ʾubayyi bni kaʿbin fī qawlihi taʿālā : ( fakhashīnā ʾan yurhiqahumā ) al-kahfi : 80 fakhāfa rabbuka ʾan yurhiqahumā .

Among the indications that fear is a name for the reality of knowledge is Ubayy ibn Kaʿb's reading of His words, exalted is He, ‘We feared that he would overwhelm them’ (The Cave, 18:80): ‘Your Lord feared that he would overwhelm them.’

وَقَالَ يَحْيَى بْنُ زِيَادٍ النَّحْوِيُّ : وَمَعْنَاهُ فَعَلِمَ رَبُّكَ ، وَقَالَ : الْخَوْفُ مِنْ أَسْمَاءِ الْعِلْمِ وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ .

waqāla yaḥyā bnu ziyādin al-naḥwiyyu : wamaʿnāhu faʿalima rabbuka , waqāla : al-khawfu min ʾasmāʾi al-ʿilmi wa-llāhu ʾaʿlamu .

Yaḥyā ibn Ziyād the grammarian said: ‘Its meaning is: “Your Lord knew.”’ He said: ‘Fear is one of the names of knowledge.’ God knows best.

بَيَانٌ آخَرُ فِي مَعْنَى الْخَوْفِ

bayānun ʾākharu fī maʿnā al-khawfi

A Further Explanation of the Meaning of Fear

وَالْخَوْفُ أَيْضًا مِنْ أَسْمَاءِ الْمَعَانِي ، فَوُجُودُهُ بِاِنْتِفَاءِ ضِدِّهِ فَإِذَا عُدِمَ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ الْأَمْنُ مِنْ كُلِّ وَجْهٍ مِنْ أَحْوَالِ الدُّنْيَا وَأُمُورِ الْآخِرَةِ ؛

wa-l-khawfu ʾayḍan min ʾasmāʾi al-maʿānī , fawujūduhu bi-ntifāʾi ḍiddihi faʾidhā ʿudima mina al-qalbi al-ʾamnu min kulli wajhin min ʾaḥwāli al-dunyā waʾumūri al-ʾākhirati ;

Fear is also a name for an abstract meaning, whose existence consists in the absence of its opposite. When security is absent from the heart in every respect concerning the conditions of this world and the affairs of the next—

فَلَمْ يَأْمَنْ مَكْرَ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى فِي كُلِّ الْأَحْوَالِ ، فِي تَصْرِيفِ أَحْكَامِ الدُّنْيَا وَتَقْلِيبِ حَرَكَاتِ الْقُلُوبِ وَالنُّفُوسِ ، وَجَوَاذِبِ الشَّهَوَاتِ ، وَإِثَارَةِ طَبَائِعِ الْعَادَاتِ ،

falam yaʾman makra Allāhi taʿālā fī kulli al-ʾaḥwāli , fī taṣrīfi ʾaḥkāmi al-dunyā wataqlībi ḥarakāti al-qulūbi wa-l-nufūsi , wajawādhibi al-shahawāti , waʾithārati ṭabāʾiʿi al-ʿādāti ,

so that one does not feel secure from God Most High's hidden stratagem in any circumstance, in His directing of this world's ordinances, His turning of the movements of hearts and souls, the attractions of desires, and the stirring of habitual dispositions—

وَلَمْ يَسْكُنْ إِلَى عُرْفٍ وَلَا اِعْتِيَادٍ ، وَلَمْ يَقْطَعْ بِسَلَامَتِهِ وَبَرَاءَتِهِ فِي شَيْءٍ كَانَ هَٰذَا خَوْفًا ، وَسُمِّىَ الْعَبْدُ بِفَقْدِ الْأَمْنِ مِنْ جَمِيعِ ذَٰلِكَ خَائِفًا ،

walam yaskun ʾilā ʿurfin walā iʿtiyādin , walam yaqṭaʿ bisalāmatihi wabarāʾatihi fī shayʾin kāna hādhā khawfan , wasummiya al-ʿabdu bifaqdi al-ʾamni min jamīʿi dhālika khāʾifan ,

and does not rest in familiarity or habit, or declare himself certainly safe and innocent in anything, this is fear. Through the absence of security concerning all these things, the servant is called fearful.

فَهَٰذَا مُسْتَعْمَلٌ فَاشٍ فِي كَلَامِ الْعَرَبِ ، وَمَذْهَبِهِمْ ، يَقُولُ أَحَدُهُمْ : أَخَافُ مِنْ كَذَا إِذَا لَمْ يَأْمَنْهُ ، أَوْ أَخَافُ أَنْ يَكُونَ كَذَا إِذَا تَحَقَّقَ عِلْمُهُ .

fahādhā mustaʿmalun fāshin fī kalāmi al-ʿarabi , wamadhhabihim , yaqūlu ʾaḥaduhum : ʾakhāfu min kadhā ʾidhā lam yaʾmanhu , ʾaw ʾakhāfu ʾan yakūna kadhā ʾidhā taḥaqqaqa ʿilmuhu .

This usage is widespread in the Arabs' speech and manner of expression. One of them says, ‘I fear such-and-such,’ when he is not secure from it, or ‘I fear that such-and-such is so,’ when his knowledge of it has become certain.

وَقِيلَ لِبَعْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ : مَا بَالُ الْعَارِفِ يَخَافُ فِي كُلِّ حَالٍ ؟ فَقَالَ : لِعِلْمِهِ أَنَّ اللّٰهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ يَأْخُذُ فِي جَمِيعِ الْأَحْوَالِ .

waqīla libaʿḍi al-ʿulamāʾi : mā ba-l- al-ʿārifi yakhāfu fī kulli ḥālin ? faqāla : liʿilmihi ʾanna Allāha taʿālā qad yaʾkhudhu fī jamīʿi al-ʾaḥwāli .

One of the scholars was asked: ‘Why does the knower fear in every state?’ He replied: ‘Because he knows that God Most High may seize a person in every state.’

ثُمَّ إِنَّ لِلْخَائِفِينَ بَعْدَ هَٰذَا طُرُقًا وَوِجْهَةً مِنْ قِبَلِ الْخَوْفِ الْمُقْلِقِ وَالْإِشْفَاقِ الْمُزْعِجِ ، وَالْوَجَلِ الْمُحْرِقِ ، وَهِيَ مُجَاوَزَاتٌ لِلطُّرُقِ السَّابِلَةِ الَّتِي هِيَ مَحَاجُّ لِلْأَئِمَّةِ الْمُخْتَارَةِ الْفَاضِلَةِ ،

thumma ʾinna li-l-khāʾifīna baʿda hādhā ṭuruqan wawijhatan min qibali al-khawfi al-muqliqi wa-l-ʾishfāqi al-muzʿiji , wa-l-wajali al-muḥriqi , wahiya mujāwazātun li-l-ṭuruqi al-sābilati allatī hiya maḥājju li-l-ʾaʾimmati al-mukhtārati al-fāḍilati ,

Beyond this, the fearful have paths and a direction arising from disquieting fear, disturbing apprehension, and burning dread. These go beyond the well-traveled roads that are the main routes of the chosen, excellent leaders.

وَفِيهَا مَتَاوِهُ وَمَهَالِكُ ، نُقِلَتْ عَنْهَا الْعُلَمَاءُ السَّادَةُ ، وَالصَّفْوَةُ الْمُخْتَارَةُ ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ قَدْ سُلِكَ بِبَعْضِ الزُّهَّادِ وَالْعُبَّادِ فِيهَا وَأُرِيدَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ بِهَا

wafīhā matāwihu wamahāliku , nuqilat ʿanhā al-ʿulamāʾu al-sādatu , wa-l-ṣafwatu al-mukhtāratu , ʾillā ʾannahu qad sulika bibaʿḍi al-zuhhādi wa-l-ʿubbādi fīhā waʾurīda baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna bihā

They contain trackless wastes and places of ruin, away from which the leading scholars and chosen elite have been moved. Yet some renunciants and worshippers have been led through them, and some knowers have been intended for them.

لَيْسَتْ بِمُفَضَّلَةٍ كُلُّ ذَٰلِكَ عَنِ الْعُلَمَاءِ ، وَلَا بِمُتَنَافَسٍ فِيهَا مَغْبُوطٍ عَلَيْهَا عِنْدَ الْعَارِفِينَ ، لِأَنَّهَا قَدْ تُخْرِجُ مِنْ طُرُقَاتِ الْمَسَالِكِ إِلَى مَفَاوِزِ الْمَهَالِكِ ،

laysat bimufaḍḍalatin kullu dhālika ʿani al-ʿulamāʾi , walā bimutanāfasin fīhā maghbūṭin ʿalayhā ʿinda al-ʿārifīna , liʾannahā qad tukhriju min ṭuruqāti al-masāliki ʾilā mafāwizi al-mahāliki ,

None of this is preferred by the scholars, nor is it something for which knowers compete or on which they congratulate one another. It may take a person from the paths of spiritual travel into the deserts of destruction.

وَإِنَّمَا أُرِيدَ بِبَعْضِهِمُ التَّعْرِيفُ لَهَا وَالْاِطِّلَاعُ عَلَيْهَا ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أُرِيدَ مِنْهُ التِّيهُ وَالْوَلَهُ فِيهَا إِلَّا أَنَّهَا أَشْهَرُ فِي أَسْمَاعِ الْعَامَّةِ وَأَعْجَبُ وَأَهْوَلُ عِنْدَ الْعُمُومِ .

waʾinnamā ʾurīda bibaʿḍihimu al-taʿrīfu lahā wa-l-iṭṭilāʿu ʿalayhā , waminhum man ʾurīda minhu al-tīhu wa-l-walahu fīhā ʾillā ʾannahā ʾashharu fī ʾasmāʿi al-ʿāmmati waʾaʿjabu waʾahwalu ʿinda al-ʿumūmi .

For some, the purpose was only to be made acquainted with these paths and gain insight into them; for others, it was to wander bewildered and lost in them. Yet such things are more famous in ordinary people's hearing, and more astonishing and awe-inspiring to the public.

ذِكْرُ تَفْصِيلِ هَٰذِهِ الْمَخَاوِفِ

dhikru tafṣīli hādhihi al-makhāwifi

A Detailed Account of These Fears

اِعْلَمْ أَنَّ لِلْخَوْفِ سَبْعَ مَفَائِضَ تَفِيضُ إِلَيْهَا مِنَ الْقَلْبِ ، فَإِلَى أَيِّ مَفِيضٍ فَاضَ مِنَ

iʿlam ʾanna li-l-khawfi sabʿa mafāʾiḍa tafīḍu ʾilayhā mina al-qalbi , faʾilā ʾayyi mafīḍin fāḍa mina

Know that fear has seven outlets into which it flows from the heart. Whichever outlet it flows toward from—

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٩٥

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 395

Volume One, page 395

الْقَلْبِ إِلَيْهِ أَتْلَفَ صَاحِبَهُ بِهِ إِلَّا مَا يَسْتَثْنِيهِ . قَدْ يَفِيضُ الْخَوْفُ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ إِلَى الْمَرَارَةِ وَهِيَ أَرَقُّ صِفَاتِ الْأَدَمَةِ ، وَهِيَ بَاطِنُ الْبَشَرَةِ فَيُحْرِقُهَا فَيَقْتُلُ الْعَبْدَ ،

al-qalbi ʾilayhi ʾatlafa ṣāḥibahu bihi ʾillā mā yastathnīhi . qad yafīḍu al-khawfu mina al-qalbi ʾilā al-marārati wahiya ʾaraqqu ṣifāti al-ʾadamati , wahiya bāṭinu al-basharati fayuḥriquhā fayaqtulu al-ʿabda ,

—the heart, it destroys the person through that outlet, except in the cases excluded. Fear may flow from the heart to the gallbladder, which is the thinnest aspect of the dermis, the inner side of the skin; it burns it and kills the servant.

وَهَٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ مِنَ الْغَشْىِ وَالصَّعْقِ وَبَدَاوَةِ الْوَجْهِ ، وَهُمْ ضُعَفَاءُ الْعُمَّالِ . وَقَدْ يَطِيرُ الْخَوْفُ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ إِلَى الدِّمَاغِ فَيُحْرِقُ الْعَقْلَ فَيَتِيهُ الْعَبْدُ فَيَذْهَبُ الْحَالُ وَيَسْقُطُ الْمَقَامُ .

wahāʾulāʾi humu alladhīna yamūtūna mina al-ghashyi wa-l-ṣaʿqi wabadāwati al-wajhi , wahum ḍuʿafāʾu al-ʿummāli . waqad yaṭīru al-khawfu mina al-qalbi ʾilā al-dimāghi fayuḥriqu al-ʿaqla fayatīhu al-ʿabdu fayadhhabu al-ḥālu wayasquṭu al-maqāmu .

These are those who die from fainting, collapse, and ‘exposure of the face’; they are the weaker practitioners. Fear may also fly from the heart to the brain, burning the intellect, so that the servant wanders in bewilderment, his spiritual state disappears, and his station falls away.

وَقَدْ يَحُلُّ الْخَوْفُ السَّحْرَ وَهُوَ الرِّئَةُ فَيَنْقُبُهَا فَيَذْهَبُ الْأَكْلُ وَالشُّرْبُ حَتَّى يَسُلَّ الْجِسْمَ وَيَنْشَفَ الدَّمُ ، وَهَٰذَا لِأَهْلِ الْجُوعِ وَالطَّيِّ وَالِاصْفِرَارِ .

waqad yaḥullu al-khawfu al-saḥra wahuwa al-riʾatu fayanqubuhā fayadhhabu al-ʾaklu wa-l-shurbu ḥattā yasulla al-jisma wayanshafa al-damu , wahādhā liʾahli al-jūʿi wa-l-ṭayyi wa-l-ṣfirāri .

Fear may settle in the saḥr, that is, the lung, and pierce it, so that eating and drinking cease, until it wastes the body and the blood dries up. This pertains to those marked by hunger, an empty belly, and pallor.

وَقَدْ يَسْكُنُ الْخَوْفُ الْكَبِدَ ، فَيُورِثُ الْكَمَدَ اللَّازِمَ ، وَالْحُزْنَ الدَّائِمَ وَيُحْدِثُ الْفِكْرَ الطَّوِيلَ وَالسَّهَرَ الذَّاهِبَ ، وَفِي هَٰذَا الْمَقَامِ يَذْهَبُ النَّوْمُ وَيَدُوخُ السَّهَرُ وَهَٰذَا مِنْ أَفْضَلِهَا ،

waqad yaskunu al-khawfu al-kabida , fayūrithu al-kamada al-lāzima , wa-l-ḥuzna al-dāʾima wayuḥdithu al-fikra al-ṭawīla wa-l-sahara al-dhāhiba , wafī hādhā al-maqāmi yadhhabu al-nawmu wayadūkhu al-saharu wahādhā min ʾafḍalihā ,

Fear may dwell in the liver, bringing unremitting grief and lasting sorrow, and producing prolonged reflection and wasting sleeplessness. In this station sleep departs and wakefulness overwhelms. This is among the best of these conditions.

وَفِي هَٰذَا الْخَوْفِ الْعِلْمُ وَالْمُشَاهَدَةُ وَهُوَ مِنْ خَوْفِ الْعَامِلِينَ ، وَقَدْ يَقْدَحُ الْخَوْفُ فِي الْفَرَائِصِ ؛ وَالْفَرِيصَةُ هِيَ اللَّحْمَةُ الَّتِي تَكُونُ عَلَى الْكَتِفِ ، يُقَالُ لِلَحْمَتَيِ الْكَتِفَيْنِ : الْفَرِيصَتَانِ وَجَمْعُهَا الْفَرَائِصُ ،

wafī hādhā al-khawfi al-ʿilmu wa-l-mushāhadatu wahuwa min khawfi al-ʿāmilīna , waqad yaqdaḥu al-khawfu fī al-farāʾiṣi ; wa-l-farīṣatu hiya al-laḥmatu allatī takūnu ʿalā al-katifi , yuqālu li-l-ḥmatayi al-katifayni : al-farīṣatāni wajamʿuhā al-farāʾiṣu ,

In this fear there are knowledge and witnessing; it belongs to the fear of the practitioners. Fear may kindle in the shoulder muscles. The farīṣa is the piece of flesh upon the shoulder; the two shoulder muscles are called al-farīṣatān, and their plural is al-farāʾiṣ.

وَمِنْهُ الْخَبَرُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يُعْجِبُهُ الْفَرِيصَتَانِ مِنَ اللَّحْمِ وَهُوَ أَرَقُّ لَحْمِ الْحَيَوَانِ وَأَعْذَبُهُ ، فَمِنْ هَٰذَا الْخَوْفِ يَكُونُ الْاِضْطِرَابُ وَالْاِرْتِعَاشُ وَاِخْتِلَافُ الْحَرَكَةِ ،

waminhu al-khabaru ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kāna yuʿjibuhu al-farīṣatāni mina al-laḥmi wahuwa ʾaraqqu laḥmi al-ḥayawāni waʾaʿdhabuhu , famin hādhā al-khawfi yakūnu al-iḍṭirābu wa-l-irtiʿāshu wa-khtilāfu al-ḥarakati ,

Hence the report that God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, liked the two shoulder cuts of meat, the animal's most tender and pleasant flesh. From this fear come shaking, trembling, and irregular movement.

وَقَدْ يَبْدُو الْخَوْفُ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ فَيَغْشَى الْعَقْلَ فَيُمْحِي سُلْطَانَهُ لِقَهْرِ سُلْطَانِ الْقُدْرَةِ وَمَحْوِ الشَّمْسِ إِذَا بَرَزَتْ ضَوْءَ الْقَمَرِ

waqad yabdū al-khawfu mina al-qalbi fayaghshā al-ʿaqla fayumḥī sulṭānahu liqahri sulṭāni al-qudrati wamaḥwi al-shamsi ʾidhā barazat ḍawʾa al-qamari

Fear may emerge from the heart and cover the intellect, erasing its authority through the overwhelming sovereignty of divine power, as the sun erases the moon's light when it comes forth.

لِلْبَادِي الَّذِي يَبْدُو عَلَى السِّرِّ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْمَلَكُوتِ فَيَضْعُفُ لِحَمْلِهِ الْعَقْلُ فَيَضْطَرِبُ لِضَعْفِهِ الْجِسْمُ فَلَا يَتَمَكَّنُ الْعَبْدُ مِنَ الْقَرَارِ لِضَعْفِ صِفَتِهِ

li-l-bādī alladhī yabdū ʿalā al-sirri min khazāʾini al-malakūti fayaḍʿufu liḥamlihi al-ʿaqlu fayaḍṭaribu liḍaʿfihi al-jismu falā yatamakkanu al-ʿabdu mina al-qarāri liḍaʿfi ṣifatihi

This occurs because of the manifestation that appears to the innermost secret from the treasuries of the unseen kingdom. The intellect is too weak to bear it, and its weakness makes the body tremble. The servant cannot remain still because his own capacity is weak.

وَذَٰلِكَ أَنَّ أَجْزَاءَ الْإِنْسَانِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ مُتَفَرِّقَةً فِي الْبُنْيَانِ لِلْحِكْمَةِ وَالْإِتْقَانِ فَهِيَ كَشَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ يَجْمَعُهَا لَطِيفُ الْقُدْرَةِ بِإِظْهَارِ الْمَشِيئَةِ ،

wadhālika ʾanna ʾajzāʾa al-ʾinsāni waʾin kānat mutafarriqatan fī al-bunyāni li-l-ḥikmati wa-l-ʾitqāni fahiya kashayʾin wāḥidin yajmaʿuhā laṭīfu al-qudrati biʾiẓhāri al-mashīʾati ,

For although the human being's parts are separate in structure, through wisdom and perfect workmanship, they are like a single thing, gathered together by the subtle working of power through the manifestation of the divine will.

فَأَسْفَلُ الْبِنْيَةِ مَنُوطٌ بِأَعْلَاهَا فَإِذَا اِضْطِرَابُ أَعْلَاهَا مَالَ أَسْفَلُهَا وَإِذَا وَصَلَ الدَّاءُ أَوِ الدَّوَاءُ إِلَى عُضْوٍ مِنْهَا تَدَاعَى لَهُ سَائِرُهَا ،

faʾasfalu al-binyati manūṭun biʾaʿlāhā faʾidhā iḍṭirābu ʾaʿlāhā māla ʾasfaluhā waʾidhā waṣala al-dāʾu ʾawi al-dawāʾu ʾilā ʿuḍwin minhā tadāʿā lahu sāʾiruhā ,

The lower part of the structure is connected to its upper part: when its upper part is shaken, its lower part sways. When disease or medicine reaches one of its members, the rest responds to it.

وَهَٰذِهِ الطَّائِفَةُ أَشْبَهُ بِالْفَضْلِ وَأَدْخَلُ فِي وَصْفِ الْعِلْمِ وَقَدْ سَلَكَ فِي هَٰذَا الطَّرِيقِ أَكَابِرُ الْعَمَاءِ وَأَفَاضِلُ أَهْلِ الْقُلُوبِ

wahādhihi al-ṭāʾifatu ʾashbahu bi-l-faḍli waʾadkhalu fī waṣfi al-ʿilmi waqad salaka fī hādhā al-ṭarīqi ʾakābiru al-ʿamāʾi waʾafāḍilu ʾahli al-qulūbi

This group has a stronger claim to excellence and falls more fully under the description of knowledge. Great scholars and the most excellent people of hearts have traveled this path.

وَقَدْ كَانَ هَٰؤُلَاءِ فِي التَّابِعِينَ كَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ ؛ الرَّبِيعُ بْنُ خَيْثَمٍ وَأُوَيْسٌ الْقَرَنِيُّ ، وَزُرَارَةُ بْنُ أَوْفَى ، وَنُظَرَاؤُهُمْ مِنَ الْأَخْيَارِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ ، وَلَمْ يُنْكِرْ هَٰذَا عِلْيَةُ الصَّحَابَةِ مِثْلُ عُمَرَ وَاِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ .

waqad kāna hāʾulāʾi fī al-tābiʿīna kathīrun minhum ; al-rabīʿu bnu khaythamin waʾuwaysun al-qaraniyyu , wazurāratu bnu ʾawfā , wanuẓarāʾuhum mina al-ʾakhyāri raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum , walam yunkir hādhā ʿilyatu al-ṣaḥābati mithlu ʿumara wa-bni masʿūdin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum .

There were many such people among the Successors: al-Rabīʿ ibn Khaytham, Uways al-Qaranī, Zurāra ibn Awfā, and their peers among the virtuous, may God be pleased with them. The foremost Companions, such as ʿUmar and Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with them, did not disapprove of this.

وَقَدْ كَانَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ يُغْشَى عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى يَضْطَرِبَ مِثْلَ الْبَعِيرِ وَيَسْقُطَ مِنْ قِيَامٍ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ ذَٰلِكَ يَلْحَقُ سَعِيدَ بْنَ جُذَيْمٍ ، وَكَانَ مِنْ زُهَّادِ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ،

waqad kāna ʿumaru raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yughshā ʿalayhi ḥattā yaḍṭariba mithla al-baʿīri wayasquṭa min qiyāmin , waqad kāna dhālika yalḥaqu saʿīda bna judhaymin , wakāna min zuhhādi ʾaṣḥābi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ,

ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, used to faint, shaking like a camel and falling from a standing position. This also happened to Saʿīd ibn Judhaym, one of the renunciants among the Companions of God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace.

وَمِنْ أُمَرَاءِ الْأَجْنَادِ بَعَثَهُ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ وَالِيًا عَلَى أَهْلِ الشَّامِ ، وَكَانَ يُوصَفُ لَهُ مِنْ زُهْدِهِ وَشِدَّةِ فَاقَتِهِ مَا يُعَاتِبُهُ عُمَرُ فِي ذَٰلِكَ

wamin ʾumarāʾi al-ʾajnādi baʿathahu ʿumaru raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu wa-l-yan ʿalā ʾahli al-shāmi , wakāna yūṣafu lahu min zuhdihi washiddati fāqatihi mā yuʿātibuhu ʿumaru fī dhālika

He was also one of the commanders of the military districts. ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, sent him as governor over the people of Syria. Such accounts of his renunciation and extreme poverty reached ʿUmar that he reproached him about it,

وَيَبْعَثُ إِلَيْهِ بِالْمِائَةِ دِينَارٍ وَبِأَرْبَعِمِائَةِ دِينَارٍ لِيَسْتَنْفِقَهَا عَلَى أَهْلِهِ فَيُفَرِّقُ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى الْغُزَاةِ فِي قِصَّةٍ طَوِيلَةٍ ، فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ أَهْلُ الشَّامِ يَذْكُرُونَ شَأْنَهُ ،

wayabʿathu ʾilayhi bi-l-miʾati dīnārin wabiʾarbaʿimiʾati dīnārin liyastanfiqahā ʿalā ʾahlihi fayufarriqu dhālika ʿalā al-ghuzāti fī qiṣṣatin ṭawīlatin , fakataba ʾilayhi ʾahlu al-shāmi yadhkurūna shaʾnahu ,

and sent him a hundred dinars and four hundred dinars to spend on his family. He would distribute the money among those going on military expeditions, in a long account. The people of Syria wrote to ʿUmar describing his condition.

وَكَانَ يُغْشَى عَلَيْهِ فِي مَجْلِسِهِ فَخَشُوا عَلَيْهِ مِنْ دَخِيلَةٍ فِي عَقْلِهِ وَلَمْ يَعْرِفْ ذَٰلِكَ أَهْلُ الشَّامِ فَسَأَلَهُ عُمَرُ لَمَّا لَقِيَهُ الَّذِي يُصِيبُهُ إِذَا تَحَدَّثَ فَأَخْبَرَهُ بِمَا يَجِدُ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ وَهُوَ وَجْدُ الصُّوفِيَّةِ مِنْ أَهْلِ

wakāna yughshā ʿalayhi fī majlisihi fakhashū ʿalayhi min dakhīlatin fī ʿaqlihi walam yaʿrif dhālika ʾahlu al-shāmi fasaʾalahu ʿumaru lammā laqiyahu alladhī yuṣībuhu ʾidhā taḥaddatha faʾakhbarahu bimā yajidu min mushāhadatihi wahuwa wajdu al-ṣūfiyyati min ʾahli

He would faint in his gathering, and they feared some hidden disorder of his mind, for the Syrians did not recognize what was happening. When ʿUmar met him, he asked what came over him when he spoke. He told him what he experienced through his witnessing: the ecstasy of the Sufis who possess—

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٩٦

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 396

Volume One, page 396

الْأَحْوَالِ ، فَعَرَفَ عُمَرُ ذَٰلِكَ وَعَذَرَهُ ، وَمَا زَادَهُ ذَٰلِكَ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا خَيْرًا فَكَانَ يَرُمُّهُ وَيَعْرِفُ لَهُ فَضْلَهُ ، وَكَتَبَ إِلَى أَهْلِ الشَّامِ أَنْ لَا تُعَنِّفُوا فِي أَمْرِهِ وَدَعُوهُ

al-ʾaḥwāli , faʿarafa ʿumaru dhālika waʿadharahu , wamā zādahu dhālika ʿindahu ʾillā khayran fakāna yarummuhu wayaʿrifu lahu faḍlahu , wakataba ʾilā ʾahli al-shāmi ʾan lā tuʿannifū fī ʾamrihi wadaʿūhu

—spiritual states. ʿUmar recognized this and excused him. It only increased his good standing with him, and he would care for him and acknowledge his excellence. He wrote to the people of Syria: ‘Do not treat him harshly in this matter; leave him be.’

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَقْوَى الْأَقْوِيَاءِ وَهَادِي الْهُدَاةِ رَسُولُ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُغْشَى عَلَيْهِ عِنْدَ نُزُولِ الْوَحْيِ إِذَا لَبِسَهُ أَزَالَ تَرْتِيبَ الْعَقْلِ مِنْهُ وَرَفَعَ مَكَانَ الْكَوْنِ عَنْهُ

waqad kāna ʾaqwā al-ʾaqwiyāʾi wahādī al-hudāti rasūlu rabbi al-ʿālamīna ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yughshā ʿalayhi ʿinda nuzūli al-waḥyi ʾidhā labisahu ʾazāla tartība al-ʿaqli minhu warafaʿa makāna al-kawni ʿanhu

The strongest of the strong and guide of guides, the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds, God bless him and grant him peace, would become overcome when revelation descended. When it enveloped him, it removed the ordinary ordering of his intellect and lifted from him the place of created existence,

وَيَغِطُّ وَيَتَرَبَّدُ وَجْهُهُ وَيَنْحَدِرُ مِنْهُ مِثْلُ الْجُمَانِ مِنَ الْعَرَقِ فِي الْيَوْمِ الشَّاتِي ، إِلَّا أَنَّ هَٰذَا كَانَ يُصِيبُهُ فِي ضَرْبٍ مِنَ الْوَحْيِ إِذَا تَغَشَّاهُ وَنَزَلَ عَلَيْهِ رُوحُ الْقُدُسِ فِي رُوحِهِ وَاِسْتَبْطَنَ قَلْبَهُ

wayaghiṭṭu wayatarabbadu wajhuhu wayanḥadiru minhu mithlu al-jumāni mina al-ʿaraqi fī al-yawmi al-shātī , ʾillā ʾanna hādhā kāna yuṣībuhu fī ḍarbin mina al-waḥyi ʾidhā taghashshāhu wanazala ʿalayhi rūḥu al-qudusi fī rūḥihi wa-stabṭana qalbahu

and he would breathe heavily, his face would change color, and sweat like pearls would run down from him on a wintry day. This happened to him in one kind of revelation, when it covered him, the Holy Spirit descended into his spirit, and penetrated the inward part of his heart.

لِأَنَّ الْوَحْيَ عَلَى أَرْبَعَةِ أَضْرُبٍ ؛ ضَرْبَانِ مُتَّصِلَانِ هَٰذَا أَحَدُهُمَا ، وَضَرْبَانِ مُنْفَصِلَانِ ، وَمِنْ كُلِّ وَاحِدٍ يَلْحَقُ الْعُلَمَاءَ بِاللّٰهِ تَعَالَى أَهْلَ الْقُلُوبِ النَّاظِرَةِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ الْحَاضِرَةِ ،

liʾanna al-waḥya ʿalā ʾarbaʿati ʾaḍrubin ; ḍarbāni muttaṣilāni hādhā ʾaḥaduhumā , waḍarbāni munfaṣilāni , wamin kulli wāḥidin yalḥaqu al-ʿulamāʾa bi-llāhi taʿālā ʾahla al-qulūbi al-nāẓirati wa-l-shahādati al-ḥāḍirati ,

For revelation is of four kinds: two connected, of which this is one, and two separate. Something from each reaches those who know God Most High, the people of hearts that behold and of witnessing that is present.

وَشَرْحُ هَٰذَا يَطُولُ وَلَيْسَ يَعْرِفُهُ عِلْمَ يَقِينٍ إِلَّا مَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقَهُ وَلَا يَشْهَدُهُ شَهَادَةَ تَحْقِيقٍ إِلَّا مَنْ ذَاقَ حَقِيقَتَهُ وَمَنْ آمَنَ بِهِ تَصْدِيقَ تَسْلِيمٍ فَلَهُ مِنْهُ نَصِيبٌ ،

washarḥu hādhā yaṭūlu walaysa yaʿrifuhu ʿilma yaqīnin ʾillā man salaka ṭarīqahu walā yashhaduhu shahādata taḥqīqin ʾillā man dhāqa ḥaqīqatahu waman ʾāmana bihi taṣdīqa taslīmin falahu minhu naṣībun ,

Explaining this would take long. Only one who has traveled its path knows it with certain knowledge, and only one who has tasted its reality witnesses it with realized witnessing. Whoever believes it with the assent of surrender has a share in it.

إِلَّا أَنَّ هَٰذَا فِي أَهْلِ مَقَامَاتٍ ثَلَاثٍ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ؛ مَقَامِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ ؛ وَالْمَحَبَّةِ وَالْخَوْفِ ، وَكُلِّ ضُرُوبِ الْوَحْيِ بَعْدَ هَٰذِهِ الْأَرْبَعَةِ وَهِيَ عَشَرَةٌ لِأَهْلِ هَٰذِهِ الْمَقَامَاتِ الثَّلَاثِ مِنْهُ نَصِيبُ خَوَاطِرَ أَوْ وَجْدٍ أَوْشَهَادَةٍ أَوْحَالٍ أَوْ مَقَامٍ ؛

ʾillā ʾanna hādhā fī ʾahli maqāmātin thalāthin mina al-muqarrabīna ; maqāmi al-maʿrifati ; wa-l-maḥabbati wa-l-khawfi , wakulli ḍurūbi al-waḥyi baʿda hādhihi al-ʾarbaʿati wahiya ʿasharatun liʾahli hādhihi al-maqāmāti al-thalāthi minhu naṣību khawāṭira ʾaw wajdin ʾaw shahādatin ʾaw ḥālin ʾaw maqāmin ;

This, however, belongs to those brought near who occupy three stations: knowledge, love, and fear. In all the kinds of revelation beyond these four, which number ten, the people of these three stations have a share: as passing inspirations, ecstasy, witnessing, a state, or a station.

وَهُوَ وَصْفُ التَّمَامِ إِلَّا نَوْعَيْنِ مِنْ أَنْوَاعِ الْوَحْيِ فَإِنَّهُمَا مُمْتَنِعٌ وَمَخْصُوصٌ بِهِمَا الْمُرْسَلُونَ ؛ أَحَدُهُمَا ظُهُورُ الْمَلَكِ فِي صُورَتِهِ وَسَمْعُ كَلَامِ اللّٰهِ بِصِفَتِهِ

wahuwa waṣfu al-tamāmi ʾillā nawʿayni min ʾanwāʿi al-waḥyi faʾinnahumā mumtaniʿun wamakhṣūṣun bihimā al-mursalūna ; ʾaḥaduhumā ẓuhūru al-malaki fī ṣūratihi wasamʿu kalāmi Allāhi biṣifatihi

This is the description of completeness, except for two types of revelation, which are inaccessible and reserved for the messengers: the angel's appearing in his own form, and hearing God's speech in its own attribute.

وَنَظَرَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَى جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي صُورَتِهِ بِالْأَبْطَحِ فَصَعِقَ . وَرَوَى حَمْزَةُ عَنْ حُمْرَانَ بْنِ أَعْيَنَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَرَأَ آيَةً فِي سُورَةِ الْحَاقَّةِ فَصَعِقَ

wanaẓara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾilā jibrīla ʿalayhi al-salāmu fī ṣūratihi bi-l-ʾabṭaḥi faṣaʿiqa . warawā ḥamzatu ʿan ḥumrāna bni ʾaʿyana ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qaraʾa ʾāyatan fī sūrati al-ḥāqqati faṣaʿiqa

God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, looked at Gabriel, peace be upon him, in his own form at al-Abṭaḥ and fell stricken. Ḥamza related from Ḥumrān ibn Aʿyan that God's Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, recited a verse in Sūrat al-Ḥāqqa and fell stricken.

وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَخَرَّ مُوسَى صَعِقًا ) الْأَعْرَافِ : 143 وَقَدْ يَفِيضُ الْخَوْفُ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ إِلَى النَّفْسِ فَيُحْرِقُ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَيَمْحُو الْعَادَاتِ وَيُخْمِدُ الطَّبْعَ وَيُطْفِئُ شُعَلَ الْهَوَى

waqāla Allāhu taʿālā : ( wakharra mūsā ṣaʿiqan ) al-ʾaʿrāfi : 143 waqad yafīḍu al-khawfu mina al-qalbi ʾilā al-nafsi fayuḥriqu al-shahawāti wayamḥū al-ʿādāti wayukhmidu al-ṭabʿa wayuṭfiʾu shuʿala al-hawā

God Most High says: ‘Moses fell stricken’ (The Heights, 7:143). Fear may flow from the heart into the soul, burning away desires, effacing habits, stilling the natural disposition, and extinguishing the flames of caprice.

وَهَٰذَا أَحَدُ الْمَخَاوِفِ وَأَعْلَاهَا عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْمَعَارِفِ ، وَهَٰؤُلَاءِ أَفْضَلُ الْخَائِفِينَ وَأَرْفَعُهُمْ مَقَامًا ؛ وَهُوَ خَوْفُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَخُصُوصِ الشُّهَدَاءِ ،

wahādhā ʾaḥadu al-makhāwifi waʾaʿlāhā ʿinda ʾahli al-maʿārifi , wahāʾulāʾi ʾafḍalu al-khāʾifīna waʾarfaʿuhum maqāman ; wahuwa khawfu al-ʾanbiyāʾi al-ṣiddīqīna wakhuṣūṣi al-shuhadāʾi ,

This is one of the forms of fear and the highest of them for the people of spiritual knowledge. Such people are the most excellent of the fearful and the highest in station. It is the fear of the utterly truthful prophets and the elect among the witnesses.

وَلَيْسَ فَوْقَ هَٰذَا وَصْفٌ يُغْبَطُ عَلَيْهِ الْخَائِفُ وَلَا يَفْرَحُ بِهِ عَارِفٌ ، فَإِنْ جَاوَزَ الْخَوْفُ هَٰذِهِ الْأَوْصَافَ فَقَدْ خَرَجَ مِنْ حَدِّهِ وَجَاوَزَ قَدْرَهُ

walaysa fawqa hādhā waṣfun yughbaṭu ʿalayhi al-khāʾifu walā yafraḥu bihi ʿārifun , faʾin jāwaza al-khawfu hādhihi al-ʾawṣāfa faqad kharaja min ḥaddihi wajāwaza qadrahu

Above this there is no condition for which the fearful should be envied or in which a knower should rejoice. If fear passes beyond these descriptions, it has left its proper boundary and exceeded its measure.

لِأَنَّهُ إِذَا أَحْرَقَ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَمَحَا الْأَهْوَاءَ فَلَمْ يَتْرُكْ شَهْوَةً وَلَا هَوًى ثُمَّ إِنْ لَمْ يُعْصَمِ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ مُجَاوَزَةِ حَدِّ الْخَوْفِ خَرَجَ بِهِ الْخَوْفُ إِلَى أَحَدِ ثَلَاثَةِ مَعَانٍ

liʾannahu ʾidhā ʾaḥraqa al-shahawāti wamaḥā al-ʾahwāʾa falam yatruk shahwatan walā hawan thumma ʾin lam yuʿṣami al-ʿabdu min mujāwazati ḥaddi al-khawfi kharaja bihi al-khawfu ʾilā ʾaḥadi thalāthati maʿānin

For once it has burned away desires and effaced caprices, leaving neither desire nor caprice, if the servant is not then protected from exceeding the boundary of fear, fear carries him into one of three conditions.

خَيْرُهَا أَنْ يَسْرِيَ إِلَى النَّفْسِ فَيُحْرِقَهَا فَيُتْلِفَ الْعَبْدَ فَتَكُونَ لَهُ شَهَادَةٌ ، وَلَيْسَ هَٰذَا مَحْمُودًا عِنْدَ عُلَمَاءِ الْخَائِفِينَ مِنْ أَرْبَابِ الْعُلُومِ وَالْمُشَاهَدَاتِ ،

khayruhā ʾan yasriya ʾilā al-nafsi fayuḥriqahā fayutlifa al-ʿabda fatakūna lahu shahādatun , walaysa hādhā maḥmūdan ʿinda ʿulamāʾi al-khāʾifīna min ʾarbābi al-ʿulūmi wa-l-mushāhadāti ,

The best of them is that it spreads into the soul and burns it, destroying the servant so that this becomes martyrdom for him. Yet this is not praiseworthy among the learned fearful, the masters of knowledge and witnessing.

إِلَّا أَنَّهُ قَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَا شُهَدَاءُ بَدْرٍ بِأَعْظَمَ أَجْرًا مِمَّنْ مَاتَ وَجْدًا ؛ وَهَٰذِهِ أَوْصَافُ ضِعَافِ الْمُرِيدِينَ إِذْ لِلْعُلَمَاءِ الْمُوقِنِينَ بِكُلِّ شَهَادَةٍ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ أَجْرُ شَهِيدٍ

ʾillā ʾannahu qad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi mā shuhadāʾu badrin biʾaʿẓama ʾajran mimman māta wajdan ; wahādhihi ʾawṣāfu ḍiʿāfi al-murīdīna ʾidh li-l-ʿulamāʾi al-mūqinīna bikulli shahādatin mina al-yaqīni ʾajru shahīdin

Nevertheless, one of the scholars said: ‘The martyrs of Badr have no greater reward than one who dies of ecstasy.’ These are the conditions of weak aspirants, whereas scholars possessed of certainty receive a martyr's reward for every witnessing arising from certainty.

وَأَوْسَطُهَا أَنْ يَعْلُوَ إِلَى الدِّمَاغِ فَيُدْنِيَهُ فَتَنْحَلَّ عُقْدَةُ الْعَقْلِ لِذَوِيهِ فَتَضْطَرِبَ الطَّبَائِعُ لِاِنْحِلَالِ عُقْدَةِ الْعَقْلِ ثُمَّ تَخْتَلِطَ الْمِزَاجَاتُ لِاِضْطِرَابِهَا

waʾawsaṭuhā ʾan yaʿluwa ʾilā al-dimāghi fayudniyahu fatanḥalla ʿuqdatu al-ʿaqli lidhawīhi fataḍṭariba al-ṭabāʾiʿu li-nḥilāli ʿuqdati al-ʿaqli thumma takhtaliṭa al-mizājātu li-ḍṭirābihā

The middle condition is that it rises to the brain and brings it low, undoing the binding knot of reason in its possessors. The natural dispositions become disturbed as that knot loosens, and then the humoral temperaments mix because of their disturbance.

فَتَحْتَرِقَ الصَّفْرَاءُ فَتَحُولَ سَوْدَاءَ فَيَكُونَ مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ الْوَسْوَاسُ وَالْهَذَيَانُ وَالتَّوَهُ وَالْوَلَهُ ،

fataḥtariqa al-ṣafrāʾu fataḥūla sawdāʾa fayakūna min dhālika al-waswāsu wa-l-hadhayānu wa-l-tawahu wa-l-walahu ,

Yellow bile then burns and becomes black bile, producing obsessive suggestions, delirium, wandering bewilderment, and loss of composure.

وَذَٰلِكَ أَنَّ الدِّمَاغَ جَامِدٌ وَهُوَ مَكَانٌ لِلْعَقْلِ هُوَ مُرَكَّبٌ عَلَيْهِ مَعْقُودٌ بِهِ فَإِذَا اِخْتَلَطَتِ الْمِزَاجَاتُ اِشْتَعَلَتْ فَتَلَهَّبَ شُعَلُهَا إِلَى الدِّمَاغِ فَأَحْرَقَهُ وَأَذَابَهُ ،

wadhālika ʾanna al-dimāgha jāmidun wahuwa makānun li-l-ʿaqli huwa murakkabun ʿalayhi maʿqūdun bihi faʾidhā ikhtalaṭati al-mizājātu ishtaʿalat fatalahhaba shuʿaluhā ʾilā al-dimāghi faʾaḥraqahu waʾadhābahu ,

For the brain is solid, and it is the place of the intellect, which is mounted upon it and bound to it. When the humoral temperaments mix, they ignite; their flames blaze upward to the brain, burning and melting it.

فَحَلَّ مَحَلَّ الْعَقْلِ الَّذِي مَكَانُهُ مُخُّ الدِّمَاغِ وَسُلْطَانُهُ صِقَالُ الْقَلْبِ

faḥalla maḥalla al-ʿaqli alladhī makānuhu mukhkhu al-dimāghi wasulṭānuhu ṣiqālu al-qalbi

It thus occupies the intellect's place, whose location is the brain's marrow and whose authority is the polish of the heart—

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٩٧

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 397

Volume One, page 397

الظَّاهِرِ كَصِقَالِ الرُّقْعَةِ ، وَهُوَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الشَّمْسِ الطَّالِعَةِ ، مَحَلُّهَا الْفَلَكُ الْعُلْوِيُّ ، وَشُعَاعُهَا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ ، كَذَٰلِكَ الْعَقْلُ مَحَلُّهُ الْمُخُّ ، وَسُلْطَانُهُ فِي الْقَلْبِ ،

al-ẓāhiri kaṣiqāli al-ruqʿati , wahuwa bimanzilati al-shamsi al-ṭāliʿati , maḥalluhā al-falaku al-ʿulwiyyu , washuʿāʿuhā ʿalā al-ʾarḍi , kadhālika al-ʿaqlu maḥalluhu al-mukhkhu , wasulṭānuhu fī al-qalbi ,

—on its outer surface, like the polish of a sheet. It is like the rising sun: its place is the upper sphere, while its rays fall upon the earth. Likewise, the intellect's place is the brain, while its authority is in the heart.

وَفِي هَٰذَا الْمَقَامِ الطَّيْشُ وَالْهَيَمَانُ ، وَهَٰذَا مَكْرُوهٌ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ ؛ وَقَدْ أَصَابَ ذَٰلِكَ بَعْضَ الْمُحِبِّينَ فِي مَقَامِ الْمَحَبَّةِ فَاِنْطَبَقَ عَلَيْهِمْ فَوَلِهُوا بِوُجُودِهِ ،

wafī hādhā al-maqāmi al-ṭayshu wa-l-hayamānu , wahādhā makrūhun ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi ; waqad ʾaṣāba dhālika baʿḍa al-muḥibbīna fī maqāmi al-maḥabbati fa-nṭabaqa ʿalayhim fawalihū biwujūdihi ,

In this condition there are mental instability and distracted wandering, which scholars disapprove. It has afflicted some lovers at the station of love, closing over them so that they became bewildered through experiencing it.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ فُزِّعَ ذَٰلِكَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَسُرِّىَ عَنْهُمْ فَنَطَقُوا بِعِلْمِهِ . وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ رَحِمَهُ اللُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ لِأَهْلِ التَّقَلُّلِ الطَّاوِينَ الْمُتَقَشِّفِينَ : اِحْفَظُوا عُقُولَكُمْ ، فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ وَلِىُّ اللّٰهِ نَاقِصَ الْعَقْلِ .

waminhum man fuzziʿa dhālika ʿan qulūbihim fasurriya ʿanhum fanaṭaqū biʿilmihi . waqad kāna ʾabū muḥammadin raḥimahu al-lu taʿālā yaqūlu liʾahli al-taqalluli al-ṭāwīna al-mutaqashshifīna : iḥfaẓū ʿuqūlakum , faʾinnahu lam yakun waliyyu Allāhi nāqiṣa al-ʿaqli .

For some, that terror was removed from their hearts and relief came, so they spoke from knowledge of it. Abū Muḥammad, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to tell those who reduced their intake, went hungry, and lived austerely: ‘Guard your intellects, for no friend of God has been deficient in intellect.’

وَالْمَعْنَى الثَّالِثُ وَهُوَ شَرُّهَا فِي مُجَاوَزَةِ الْخَوْفِ ، هُوَ أَنْ يَعْظُمَ وَيَقْوَى ، فَيَذْهَبَ الرَّجَاءُ إِذَا لَمْ يُوَاجَهْ بِعِلْمِ الْأَخْلَاقِ مِنَ الْجُودِ وَالْكَرَمِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ الَّتِي تَعْدِلُ الْمَقَامَ ،

wa-l-maʿnā al-thālithu wahuwa sharruhā fī mujāwazati al-khawfi , huwa ʾan yaʿẓuma wayaqwā , fayadhhaba al-rajāʾu ʾidhā lam yuwājah biʿilmi al-ʾakhlāqi mina al-jūdi wa-l-karami wa-l-ʾiḥsāni allatī taʿdilu al-maqāma ,

The third condition, the worst of the ways fear exceeds its bounds, is that it grows great and strong until hope disappears, unless it is met by knowledge of the divine qualities of generosity, nobility, and beneficence that restore balance to the station

فَتُرَوِّحَ كُرُوبَ الْحَالِ فَيُخْرِجُهُ ذَٰلِكَ إِلَى الْقُنُوطِ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللّٰهِ ، وَالْإِيَاسِ مِنْ رَوْحِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى ،

faturawwiḥa kurūba al-ḥāli fayukhrijuhu dhālika ʾilā al-qunūṭi min raḥmati Allāhi , wa-l-ʾiyāsi min rawḥi Allāhi taʿālā ,

and relieve the state's distress. Such excess carries him into despair of God's mercy and loss of hope in God Most High's relief.

دَخَلَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ هَٰذِهِ الْمُشَاهَدَةُ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْعَدْلِ وَالْإِنْصَافِ بِمِعْيَارِ الْعَقْلِ فَجَاوَزَتْ بِهِمْ عِلْمَ وَصْفِهِ بِالْكَرَمِ ، وَخَفِىِّ الْأَلْطَافِ ،

dakhalat ʿalayhim hādhihi al-mushāhadatu min qibali al-ʿadli wa-l-ʾinṣāfi bimiʿyāri al-ʿaqli fajāwazat bihim ʿilma waṣfihi bi-l-karami , wakhafiyyi al-ʾalṭāfi ,

This witnessing came upon them from the side of justice and equity as measured by reason, and carried them beyond knowledge of His attribute of generosity and His hidden kindnesses.

فَتَعَدَّتْ بِهِمُ الْحُدُودَ مِنْ قِبَلِ قُوَّةِ نَظَرِهِمْ إِلَى الْاِكْتِسَابِ ؛ وَتَمَكُّنِ تَحَكُّمِ شَهَادَةِ الْأَسْبَابِ ، وَرُجُوعِهِمْ إِلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ فِي الْحَوْلِ وَالْاِسْتِطَاعَةِ ،

fataʿaddat bihimu al-ḥudūda min qibali quwwati naẓarihim ʾilā al-iktisābi ; watamakkuni taḥakkumi shahādati al-ʾasbābi , warujūʿihim ʾilā ʾanfusihim fī al-ḥawli wa-l-istiṭāʿati ,

It made them overstep the limits because of their intense focus on acquired action, the firmly established dominance of their witnessing of causes, and their referring power and capacity back to themselves,

وَإِثْبَاتِهِمْ لِتَحْقِيقِ الْوَعِيدِ عَلَيْهِمْ خَاصَّةً لَا مَحَالَةَ ، وَالْحُكْمِ عَلِي الْحَاكِمِ الرَّاحِمِ بِعُقُولِهِمْ وَعُلُومِهِمْ ، مِنْ غَيْرِ تَفْوِيضٍ مِنْهُمْ إِلَى مَشِيئَتِهِ ، وَلَا اِسْتِلَامٍ لِقُدْرَتِهِ ،

waʾithbātihim litaḥqīqi al-waʿīdi ʿalayhim khāṣṣatan lā maḥālata , wa-l-ḥukmi ʿalī al-ḥākimi al-rāḥimi biʿuqūlihim waʿulūmihim , min ghayri tafwīḍin minhum ʾilā mashīʾatihi , walā istilāmin liqudratihi ,

their insistence that the threat must inevitably be fulfilled upon them in particular, and their passing judgment upon the merciful Judge through their own reason and knowledge, without entrusting the matter to His will or yielding to His power,

وَلَا تَأْمِيلٍ لِأَحَدِ مَعَانِي صِفَاتِهِ الْحُسْنَى الَّتِي تَعُمُّ جَمِيعَ صِفَاتِهِمُ السُّوأَى ، فَظَهَرَتْ سَيِّئَاتُهُمُ الثَّوَانِي أَمَامَهُمْ ، فَحَجَبَتْهُمْ عَنِ الْمُحْسِنِ الْأَوَّلِ ،

walā taʾmīlin liʾaḥadi maʿānī ṣifātihi al-ḥusnā allatī taʿummu jamīʿa ṣifātihimu al-sūʾā , faẓaharat sayyiʾātuhumu al-thawānī ʾamāmahum , faḥajabathum ʿani al-muḥsini al-ʾawwali ,

or hoping in any meaning of His most beautiful attributes, which encompass all their ugliest qualities. Their secondary evil deeds appeared before them and veiled them from the First Benefactor.

وَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّهُمْ بِإِحْسَانِهِ إِلَيْهِمْ أَسَاءُوا ، وَبِسَبْقِ عِلْمِهِ فِيهِمْ تَعَدَّوْا ، وَإِنَّ قَلَمَهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ إِذْ جَرَى بِمَا عَلَيْهِمْ ،

walam yaʿlamū ʾannahum biʾiḥsānihi ʾilayhim ʾasāʾū , wabisabqi ʿilmihi fīhim taʿaddaw , waʾinna qalamahu lam yakun biʾaydīhim ʾidh jarā bimā ʿalayhim ,

They did not know that it was through His beneficence to them that they acted badly, and under His antecedent knowledge concerning them that they transgressed; nor that His pen was not in their hands when it wrote what was to be charged against them.

وَإِنَّ قَهْرَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَسُلْطَانَ جَبْرِهِ أَظْهَرَ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ خَزَائِنِهِ مَا فِيهِمْ ، يَدُلُّكَ عَلَى صِحَّةِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ أَنَّ أَكْثَرَ هَٰذِهِ الْمَخَاوِفِ كَانَتْ فِي الْبَصْرِيِّينَ ، وَأَهْلِ عَبَّادَانَ وَالْعَسْكَرِيِّينَ ،

waʾinna qahra qudratihi wasulṭāna jabrihi ʾaẓhara minhum min khazāʾinihi mā fīhim , yadulluka ʿalā ṣiḥḥati mā dhakarnāhu ʾanna ʾakthara hādhihi al-makhāwifi kānat fī al-baṣriyyīna , waʾahli ʿabbādāna wa-l-ʿaskariyyīna ,

Nor did they know that the mastery of His power and the sovereignty of His compulsion brought forth from them, out of His treasuries, what was within them. An indication of the truth of what we have said is that most of these fears occurred among the people of Basra, ʿAbbādān, and the ʿAskarīs.

فَكَانَ مَذْهَبُهُمُ الْقَدَرَ ، وَالْقَوْلَ بِاللُّطْفِ ، وَتَفْوِيضَ الْمَشِيئَةِ وَتَقْدِيمَ الْاِسْتِطَاعَةِ . مِنْهُمُ الْعَمْرِيَّةُ أَصْحَابُ عَمْرٍو ، وَالْعَبَّادِيَّةُ شِيعَةُ عَبَّادٍ ،

fakāna madhhabuhumu al-qadara , wa-l-qawla bi-l-luṭfi , watafwīḍa al-mashīʾati wataqdīma al-istiṭāʿati . minhumu al-ʿamriyyatu ʾaṣḥābu ʿamrin , wa-l-ʿabbādiyyatu shīʿatu ʿabbādin ,

Their doctrine was that of human determination, the assertion of divine assistance, the delegation of willing, and capacity's priority to action. Among them were the ʿAmriyya, followers of ʿAmr, and the ʿAbbādiyya, adherents of ʿAbbād.

وَالْفُوَطِيَّةُ وَالْعَطَوِيَّةُ أَصْحَابُ هِشَامٍ الْفُوَطِىِّ ، وَاِبْنِ عَطَاءٍ الْغَزَالِيِّ . وَمِنْهُمُ التَّيْمِيَّةُ نَفَوْا نِصْفَ الْقَدَرِ ، وَمِنْهُمُ الْمَنَازِلِيَّةُ أَصْحَابُ الْمَنْزِلَةِ بَيْنَ الْمَنْزِلَتَيْنِ ،

wa-l-fuwaṭiyyatu wa-l-ʿaṭawiyyatu ʾaṣḥābu hishāmin al-fuwaṭiyyi , wa-bni ʿaṭāʾin al-ghazāliyyi . waminhumu al-taymiyyatu nafaw niṣfa al-qadari , waminhumu al-manāziliyyatu ʾaṣḥābu al-manzilati bayna al-manzilatayni ,

There were also the Fuwaṭiyya and ʿAṭawiyya, followers of Hishām al-Fuwaṭī and Ibn ʿAṭāʾ al-Ghazālī. Among them were the Taymiyya, who denied half of predestination, and the Manāziliyya, proponents of the station between the two stations,

وَالْقَوْلِ بِمَقْدُورٍ مِنْ قَادِرَيْنِ ، وَفِعْلٍ مِنْ فَاعِلَيْنِ ، فَاُبْتُلُوا بِالْاِعْتِمَادِ عَلَى الْأَسْبَابِ ، وَبِالنَّظَرِ إِلَى أَوَّلِيَّةِ الْاِكْتِسَابِ فَحَجَبَهُمْ ذَٰلِكَ عَنِ الْمُقَدِّرِ الْوَهَّابِ ،

wa-l-qawli bimaqdūrin min qādirayni , wafiʿlin min fāʿilayni , fa-btulū bi-l-iʿtimādi ʿalā al-ʾasbābi , wabi-l-naẓari ʾilā ʾawwaliyyati al-iktisābi faḥajabahum dhālika ʿani al-muqaddiri al-wahhābi ,

and of an object of power proceeding from two possessors of power, and an act from two agents. They were tried through reliance on causes and attention to the primacy of acquired action, which veiled them from the Ordainer, the Bestower.

فَهَرَبَ هَٰؤُلَاءِ مِنَ الْأَمْنِ وَالِاغْتِرَارِ ، فَوَقَعُوا فِي أَعْظَمَ مِنْهُمَا مِنَ الْقُنُوطِ وَالْإِيَاسِ ، فَصَارُوا فِي كَبَائِرِ الْمَعَاصِي مِنْ خَوْفِهِمْ مِنْهَا .

faharaba hāʾulāʾi mina al-ʾamni wa-l-ghtirāri , fawaqaʿū fī ʾaʿẓama minhumā mina al-qunūṭi wa-l-ʾiyāsi , faṣārū fī kabāʾiri al-maʿāṣī min khawfihim minhā .

These people fled from complacent security and delusion, only to fall into something worse: despair and hopelessness. Their fear of major sins thus brought them into major sins.

فَمَثَلُهُمْ مَثَلُ الْخَوَارِجِ ، خَرَجُوا عَلَى الْأَئِمَّةِ بِالسَّيْفِ لِإِنْكَارِ الْمُنْكَرِ ، فَوَقَعُوا فِي أَنْكَرِ الْمُنْكَرِ مِنْ تَكْفِيرِ الْأَئِمَّةِ ، وَإِنْكَارِهِمُ السُّلْطَانَ ، وَتَكْفِيرِهِمُ الْأُمَّةَ بِالصَّغَائِرِ ،

famathaluhum mathalu al-khawāriji , kharajū ʿalā al-ʾaʾimmati bi-l-sayfi liʾinkāri al-munkari , fawaqaʿū fī ʾankari al-munkari min takfīri al-ʾaʾimmati , waʾinkārihimu al-sulṭāna , watakfīrihimu al-ʾummata bi-l-ṣaghāʾiri ,

They are like the Khārijites, who rose against the leaders with the sword to forbid wrongdoing, then fell into still worse wrongdoing: declaring the leaders unbelievers, repudiating the ruler, and declaring the community unbelieving on account of minor sins.

وَهَٰذَا مِنْ أَبْدَعِ الْبِدَعِ ، وَهَٰؤُلَاءِ كِلَابُ أَهْلِ النَّارِ . وَمَثَلُهُمْ أَيْضًا مَثَلُ الْمُعْتَزِلَةِ ، هَرَبُوا مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْمُرْجِئَةِ أَنَّ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ لَا يَدْخُلُونَ النَّارَ ،

wahādhā min ʾabdaʿi al-bidaʿi , wahāʾulāʾi kilābu ʾahli al-nāri . wamathaluhum ʾayḍan mathalu al-muʿtazilati , harabū min ṭarīqi al-murjiʾati ʾanna al-muwaḥḥidīna lā yadkhulūna al-nāra ,

This is among the most outrageous innovations, and these are the dogs of the people of the Fire. They are also like the Muʿtazila, who fled from the Murjiʾa's position that those who affirm God's unity do not enter the Fire—

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٩٨

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 398

Volume One, page 398

فَحَقَّقُوا الْوَعِيدَ عَلَى الْمُوَحِّدِينَ ، وَخَلَّدُوا الْفَاسِقِينَ فِي النَّارِ ، فَجَاوَزُوا حَدَّ الْمُرْجِئَةِ وَزَادُوا عَلَيْهِمْ ، كَمَا جَاوَزَتِ الْمُرْجِئَةُ طَرِيقَ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ وَقَصَّرَتْ عَنْهُمْ .

faḥaqqaqū al-waʿīda ʿalā al-muwaḥḥidīna , wakhalladū al-fāsiqīna fī al-nāri , fajāwazū ḥadda al-murjiʾati wazādū ʿalayhim , kamā jāwazati al-murjiʾatu ṭarīqa ʾahli al-sunnati waqaṣṣarat ʿanhum .

—and insisted that the threat must be fulfilled upon those who affirm unity, condemning the morally corrupt to remain in the Fire forever. They exceeded the Murjiʾa's limit and went farther than them, just as the Murjiʾa had departed from the path of the people of the Sunna and fallen short of them.

وَكَانَ شَيْخُنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ : أَهْلُ الْبِدْعَهِ كُلُّهُمْ يَرَوْنَ الْخُرُوجَ عَلَى السُّلْطَانِ ، وَيَرَوْنَ السَّيْفَ عَلَى الْأُمَّةِ ، وَيُكَفِّرُونَ الْأَئِمَّةَ ،

wakāna shaykhunā ʾabū muḥammadin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu : ʾahlu al-bidʿahi kulluhum yarawna al-khurūja ʿalā al-sulṭāni , wayarawna al-sayfa ʿalā al-ʾummati , wayukaffirūna al-ʾaʾimmata ,

Our shaykh Abū Muḥammad, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say: ‘All the people of innovation advocate rising against the ruler, taking the sword against the community, and declaring the leaders unbelievers.’

فَهَٰذَا أَضَرُّ الْوُجُوهِ فِي مُجَاوَرَةِ الْخَوْفِ عَنْ قَدْرِهِ ، وَهُوَ مِنَ التَّعَدِّي لِحُدُودِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَى وَأَمْرِهِ ( قَدْ جَعَلَ اللّٰهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا - وَمَنْ يَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَ اللّٰهِ فَقَدْ ظَلَمَ نَفْسَهُ ) الطَّلَاقِ : 3

fahādhā ʾaḍarru al-wujūhi fī mujāwarati al-khawfi ʿan qadrihi , wahuwa mina al-taʿaddī liḥudūdi Allāhi taʿālā waʾamrihi ( qad jaʿala Allāhu likulli shayʾin qadran - waman yataʿadda ḥudūda Allāhi faqad ẓalama nafsahu ) al-ṭalāqi : 3

This is the most harmful form of fear's exceeding its measure. It transgresses God Most High's limits and command: ‘God has appointed a measure for everything’—‘Whoever transgresses God's limits has wronged himself’ (Divorce, 65:3).

فَصِدْقُ الرَّجَاءِ وَاِعْتِدَالُ الْخَوْفِ بِهِ مِنْ نَحَقِيقَةِ الْعِلْمِ بِاللّٰهِ تَعَالَى ، وَمُجَاوَزَةُ الشَّيْءِ كَالتَّقْصِيرِ عَنْهُ ، وَالْمُؤْمِنُ حَقًّا هُوَ الْمُعْتَدِلُ بَيْنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالرَّجَاءِ ،

faṣidqu al-rajāʾi wa-ʿtidālu al-khawfi bihi min naḥaqīqati al-ʿilmi bi-llāhi taʿālā , wamujāwazatu al-shayʾi ka-l-taqṣīri ʿanhu , wa-l-muʾminu ḥaqqan huwa al-muʿtadilu bayna al-khawfi wa-l-rajāʾi ,

True hope, and fear's being balanced by it, belong to the reality of knowledge of God Most High. Exceeding something is like falling short of it. The true believer is one who maintains balance between fear and hope.

فَالْخَوْفُ الْمُتْلِفُ لِلنَّفْسِ بِالْمَوْتِ ، أَوِ الْمُزِيلُ لِلْعَقْلِ بِالْفَوْتِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ هَٰذَا الْوَصْفِ الَّذِي هُوَ الْقُنُوطُ ، لِأَنَّ هَٰذَا مُزِيلٌ لِلْعِلْمِ ؛ وَمُسْقِطٌ لِلْمَقَامِ ، مُوقِعٌ فِي الْكَبَائِرِ .

fa-l-khawfu al-mutlifu li-l-nafsi bi-l-mawti , ʾawi al-muzīlu li-l-ʿaqli bi-l-fawti khayrun min hādhā al-waṣfi alladhī huwa al-qunūṭu , liʾanna hādhā muzīlun li-l-ʿilmi ; wamusqiṭun li-l-maqāmi , mūqiʿun fī al-kabāʾiri .

Fear that destroys the soul through death or removes the intellect through its loss is better than this condition of despair, because despair removes knowledge, destroys the station, and plunges a person into major sins.

عَلَى أَنَّ هٰذَيْنِ الْمَقَامَيْنِ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ ، لَيْسَ فِيهِمَا عِلْمٌ وَلَا مُشَاهَدَةٌ عَلَى الْكَشْفِ ، وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ قُوَّةُ وَجْدٍ تَصْطَلِمُ مَرَارَتَهُ فَتُوجِدُ إِتْلَافَ النَّفْسِ ، وَمَحْوَ الْعَقْلِ مِنْ عَبْدٍ

ʿalā ʾanna hādhayni al-maqāmayni mina al-khawfi , laysa fīhimā ʿilmun walā mushāhadatun ʿalā al-kashfi , waʾinnamā huwa quwwatu wajdin taṣṭalimu marāratahu fatūjidu ʾitlāfa al-nafsi , wamaḥwa al-ʿaqli min ʿabdin

Yet these two stations of fear contain neither knowledge nor witnessing through unveiling. They are only the force of an ecstatic experience that tears away his gallbladder, producing the destruction of the soul and the effacement of the servant's intellect.

بِمَنْزِلَةِ خَوْفِ الْكَرُوبِيِّينَ خَاصَّةً مِنَ الْأَمْلَاكِ أَهْلِ الْكَرْبِ وَالتَّمَكُّنِ ، لِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يُنْقَلُونَ فِي الْمَقَامَاتِ الَّتِي يُعَدَّلُونَ بِهَا كَمُقَرَّبِي الرُّوحَانِيِّينَ .

bimanzilati khawfi al-karūbiyyīna khāṣṣatan mina al-ʾamlāki ʾahli al-karbi wa-l-tamakkuni , liʾannahum lā yunqalūna fī al-maqāmāti allatī yuʿaddalūna bihā kamuqarrabī al-rūḥāniyyīna .

They resemble the fear of the cherubic angels in particular, the people of anguish and firm establishment, because these angels are not moved through stations that would restore their balance, as are those brought near among the spiritual angels.

وَبَلَغَنِي أَنَّ مِنْهُمْ جِيلًا يَخْرُجُ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ مِنْ تَحْتِ الْعَرْشِ بِعَدَدِ الْبَشَرِ ، قَدْ أَقْلَقَهُ الشَّوْقُ وَحَقَرَهُ الْكَرْبُ ، يُرِيدُ النَّظَرَ إِلَى وَجْهِ الْعَلِىِّ الْأَعْلَى

wabalaghanī ʾanna minhum jīlan yakhruju kulla yawmin min taḥti al-ʿarshi biʿadadi al-bashari , qad ʾaqlaqahu al-shawqu waḥaqarahu al-karbu , yurīdu al-naẓara ʾilā wajhi al-ʿaliyyi al-ʾaʿlā

It has reached me that a multitude of them, equal in number to humankind, emerges each day from beneath the Throne. Longing has unsettled them and anguish brought them low; they seek to look upon the Face of the High, the Most High.

فَيُحْرِقُهُمْ شُعَاعُ سُبُحَاتِ وَجْهِهِ الْكَرِيمِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ، فَيَحْتَرِقُونَ اِحْتِرَاقَ الْفَرَاشِ فِي الْمِصْبَاحِ ، ثُمَّ يَعُودُ مِثْلُهُمْ مِنَ الْغَدِ ، فَهَٰذَا دَأْبُهُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ،

fayuḥriquhum shuʿāʿu subuḥāti wajhihi al-karīmi subḥānahu wataʿālā , fayaḥtariqūna iḥtirāqa al-farāshi fī al-miṣbāḥi , thumma yaʿūdu mithluhum mina al-ghadi , fahādhā daʾbuhum ʾilā yawmi al-qiyāmati ,

The rays of the glories of His noble Face, glorified and exalted is He, burn them, and they burn like moths in a lamp. The next day another multitude like them returns. This is their continual practice until the Day of Resurrection.

كُلُّ مَلَكٍ لَوْ جَمَعَ السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرَضِينَ فِي كَفَّةٍ غَابَتْ فِي قَبْضَتِهِ . وَلَعَمْرِي إِنَّ سَائِرَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ لَا يُنْقَلُونَ فِي الْمَقَامَاتِ كَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، بَلْ لِكُلِّ مَلَكٍ مَقَامٌ مَعْلُومٌ لَا يَنْتَقِلُ مِنْهُ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ ،

kullu malakin law jamaʿa al-samāwāti wa-l-ʾaraḍīna fī kaffatin ghābat fī qabḍatihi . walaʿamrī ʾinna sāʾira al-malāʾikati lā yunqalūna fī al-maqāmāti ka-l-muʾminīna , bal likulli malakin maqāmun maʿlūmun lā yantaqilu minhu ʾilā ghayrihi ,

Each angel is such that, if he gathered the heavens and earths into a scale-pan, they would disappear within his grasp. By my life, the rest of the angels are not moved through stations as believers are. Rather, each angel has a known station from which he does not move to another.

إِنَّمَا يُمَدُّونَ مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ الْمَقَامِ بِمَدَدٍ لَا نِهَايَةَ لَهُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ بِأَكْثَرَ مَا يُزَادُ جَمِيعُ الْبَشَرِ ،

ʾinnamā yumaddūna min dhālika al-maqāmi bimadadin lā nihāyata lahu ʾilā yawmi al-qiyāmati biʾakthara mā yuzādu jamīʿu al-bashari ,

They are simply sustained from that station by an unending supply until the Day of Resurrection, with more increase than is bestowed upon all humankind.

وَلَٰكِنْ أُولَٰئِكَ يَحْمِلُ خَوْفَهُمْ قُوَاهُمْ ، وَيَثْبُتُ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ وَصْفِ الْمَخُوفِ خَوْفُهُمْ وَصِفَاتُهُمْ ، فَلَا يَئُودُهُمْ وَلَا يَقْتُلُهُمْ ، لِأَنَّهُمْ يُمَدُّونَ بِالْقُوَى ،

walākin ʾulāʾika yaḥmilu khawfahum quwāhum , wayathbutu bimushāhadati waṣfi al-makhūfi khawfuhum waṣifātuhum , falā yaʾūduhum walā yaqtuluhum , liʾannahum yumaddūna bi-l-quwā ,

But their powers bear their fear, and their fear and qualities remain stable through witnessing the attribute of the One feared. It neither weighs them down nor kills them, because they are supplied with strength.

وَيُعْصَمُونَ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ ، بِحِفْظِ آجَالِهِمْ إِلَى وَقْتِهَا فِي الْآخِرِ ، عَلَى أَنَّ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَطِيشُ عَقْلُهُ وَيَتَوَلَّهُ قَلْبُهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُصْبِحُ فِي تِيهِهِ ،

wayuʿṣamūna mina al-mawti , biḥifẓi ʾājālihim ʾilā waqtihā fī al-ʾākhiri , ʿalā ʾanna minhum man yaṭīshu ʿaqluhu wayatawallahu qalbuhu waminhum man yuṣbiḥu fī tīhihi ,

They are protected from death by the preservation of their appointed terms until their time at the end. Nevertheless, some lose the steadiness of their intellect and become bewildered in heart; some enter the morning still wandering in bewilderment.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَتِيهُ فَلَا يَرُدُّ وَجْهَهُ شَيْءٌ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَفْزَعُ الْفَزْعَةَ فَلَا يَرْتَدُّ إِلَيْهِ طَرْفُهُ ، وَلَا يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِ عَقْلُهُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْحَشْرِ ،

waminhum man yatīhu falā yaruddu wajhahu shayʾun ʾilā yawmi al-qiyāmati , waminhum man yafzaʿu al-fazʿata falā yartaddu ʾilayhi ṭarfuhu , walā yarjiʿu ʾilayhi ʿaqluhu ʾilā yawmi al-ḥashri ,

Some wander, and nothing turns their faces back until the Day of Resurrection. Some are seized by such terror that their glance never returns to them, nor does their intellect return until the Day of Gathering.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُصْعَقُ صَعْقَةً فَلَا يَزَالُ فِي صَرْخَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ إِلَى نَفْخِ الصُّدُورِ ، وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ يُصْعَقُونَ عِنْدَ سَمَاعِ الْكَلَامِ مِنَ الْمَلِكِ الْجَبَّارِ ( حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ) سَبَأٍ : 23

waminhum man yuṣʿaqu ṣaʿqatan falā yazālu fī ṣarkhatin wāḥidatin ʾilā nafkhi al-ṣudūri , wakathīrun minhum yuṣʿaqūna ʿinda samāʿi al-kalāmi mina al-maliki al-jabbāri ( ḥattā ʾidhā fuzziʿa ʿan qulūbihim ) sabaʾin : 23

Some are struck down and remain in one continuous cry until the blowing into the breasts. Many are struck down upon hearing speech from the King, the Compeller: ‘Until, when terror is removed from their hearts’ (Sheba, 34:23).

سَأَلُوا الرُّوحَانِيِّينَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ذَوِي الْحُجُبِ الْقَرِيبَةِ وَالرُّتَبِ الْعَلِيَّةِ ، مِنْهُمْ جِبْرِيلُ وَإِسْرَافِيلُ وَمِيكَائِيلُ ( مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ )

saʾalū al-rūḥāniyyīna mina al-muqarrabīna dhawī al-ḥujubi al-qarībati wa-l-rutabi al-ʿaliyyati , minhum jibrīlu waʾisrāfīlu wamīkāʾīlu ( mādhā qāla rabbukum )

they ask the spiritual angels among those brought near, who dwell at the near veils and hold the lofty ranks, including Gabriel, Isrāfīl, and Michael: ‘What did your Lord say?’

فَهَٰؤُلَاءِ الْحَاضِرُونَ مِنَ النَّاظِرِينَ وَالتَّمَكُّنُونَ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ حَجَبَةُ الْقُدْسِ أُولُو الْمَحَبَّةِ وَالْأُنْسِ ، قَالُوا : الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ ،

fahāʾulāʾi al-ḥāḍirūna mina al-nāẓirīna wa-l-tamakkunūna mina al-shāhidīna ḥajabatu al-qudsi ʾulū al-maḥabbati wa-l-ʾunsi , qālū : al-ḥaqqa wahuwa al-ʿaliyyu al-kabīru ,

These are those present among the beholders, those firmly established among the witnesses, the chamberlains of holiness, people of love and intimacy. They say: ‘The truth; He is the High, the Great.’

فَمَثَلُ هَٰؤُلَاءِ الْخَائِفْنِي مَثَلُ الْمُخْلِصِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ قَالَ اللّٰهُ : ( أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ رِزْقٌ

famathalu hāʾulāʾi al-khāʾifnī mathalu al-mukhliṣīna mina al-muʾminīna alladhīna qāla Allāhu : ( ʾulāʾika lahum rizqun

These fearful ones resemble the sincere among the believers of whom God said: ‘Those shall have a provision—’

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٣٩٩

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 399

Volume One, page 399

مَعْلُومٌ ) الصَّافَّاتِ : 41 وَمَثَلُ الْأَقْوِيَاءِ مِنَ الْعَالِمِينَ أُولِي الْبَصَائِرِ وَالتَّمْكِينِ مَثَلُ الصَّابِرِينَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

maʿlūmun ) al-ṣāffāti : 41 wamathalu al-ʾaqwiyāʾi mina al-ʿālimīna ʾulī al-baṣāʾiri wa-l-tamkīni mathalu al-ṣābirīna alladhīna yuʾtawna ʾajrahum bighayri ḥisābin

—‘that is known’ (Those Ranged in Ranks, 37:41). The strong among those who know, possessed of insight and firm establishment, resemble the patient who are given their reward without reckoning.

وَهَعُلَمَاءُ الْمُوقِنِينَ يُنْقَلُونَ فِي مَقَامَاتِ الْيَقِينِ بِمُقْتَضَى أَحْكَامِهَا مِنْ مَقَامِ خَوْفٍ إِلَى مَقَامِ رَجَاءٍ مِثْلِهِ ،

wahaʿulamāʾu al-mūqinīna yunqalūna fī maqāmāti al-yaqīni bimuqtaḍā ʾaḥkāmihā min maqāmi khawfin ʾilā maqāmi rajāʾin mithlihi ,

The scholars among those possessed of certainty are moved through the stations of certainty according to the requirements of their ordinances, from a station of fear to a corresponding station of hope.

فَإِذَا عَمِلُوا فِي هَٰذِهِ الْمَقَامَاتِ بِمَا يَقْتَضِيهِمْ رُفِعُوا إِلَى مَا فَوْقَهَا مِنْ مَقَامِ رَجَاءٍ إِلَى مَقَامِ رَجَاءٍ ، هُوَ خَيْرُمِنْهُ ، وَمِنْ حَالِ خَوْفٍ إِلَى حَالِ خَوْفٍ أَشْرَفَ مِنْهُ ،

faʾidhā ʿamilū fī hādhihi al-maqāmāti bimā yaqtaḍīhim rufiʿū ʾilā mā fawqahā min maqāmi rajāʾin ʾilā maqāmi rajāʾin , huwa khayru minhu , wamin ḥāli khawfin ʾilā ḥāli khawfin ʾashrafa minhu ,

When they act in these stations according to what is required of them, they are raised above them: from one station of hope to another that is better, and from one state of fear to another that is nobler.

ثُمَّ يَنْتَقِلُونَ مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ الْإِشْفَاقِ إِلَى حَالِ الْإِشْتِيَاقِ وَمِنْ أَحْوَالِ الْوَجَلِ وَالْإِحْتِرَاقِ إِلَى مَقَامِ التَّمَلُّقِ وَالطُّمَأْنِينَةِ ،

thumma yantaqilūna min maqāmāti al-ʾishfāqi ʾilā ḥāli al-ʾishtiyāqi wamin ʾaḥwāli al-wajali wa-l-ʾiḥtirāqi ʾilā maqāmi al-tamalluqi wa-l-ṭumaʾnīnati ,

Then they move from the stations of anxious concern to the state of longing, and from the states of dread and burning to the station of tender entreaty and tranquility.

وَمِنْ حَالِ الْفَزَعِ إِلَى مَقَامِ الْأُنْسِ وَمِنَ الْإِبْعَادِ وَالْوَحْشَةِ وَالتَّهْوِيلِ إِلَى الرِّضَا وَالْمَحَبَّةِ وَالتَّأْمِيلِ ، فَهَٰذَا مَكْنُ فَضْلِهِمْ عَلَى مَنْ وَقَفَ فِي مَقَامِهِ لَمْ يُجَاوِزْهُ مِنَ الْعُمُومِ ،

wamin ḥāli al-fazaʿi ʾilā maqāmi al-ʾunsi wamina al-ʾibʿādi wa-l-waḥshati wa-l-tahwīli ʾilā al-riḍā wa-l-maḥabbati wa-l-taʾmīli , fahādhā maknu faḍlihim ʿalā man waqafa fī maqāmihi lam yujāwizhu mina al-ʿumūmi ,

They move from the state of alarm to the station of intimacy, and from distance, estrangement, and terror to contentment, love, and hopeful expectation. This accounts for their superiority over ordinary people who remain in their station without going beyond it,

وَمَنْ اِسْتَتَرَ بِحَالِهِ وَقَامَ فِي ظِلٍّ فَلَمْ يَعْطَعْهُ إِلَى ظِلٍّ مَمْدُودٍ فَوْقَهُ وَلَمْ يُرْفَعْ مِنْهُ إِلَى مَحَلٍّ رَفِيعٍ أَعْلَاهُ

waman istatara biḥālihi waqāma fī ẓillin falam yaʿṭaʿhu ʾilā ẓillin mamdūdin fawqahu walam yurfaʿ minhu ʾilā maḥallin rafīʿin ʾaʿlāhu

and over one who is concealed within his own state and stands in a shade, without passing beyond it into a spreading shade above it or being raised from it to a loftier place.

وَمَثَلُ الْخَائِفِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مَثَلُ الْكَرُوبِيِّينَ مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ ، وَمَثَلُ الرَّاجِينَ مِنَ الْمُحِبِّينَ ؛ كَمَثَلِ الرُّوحَانِيِّينَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ،

wamathalu al-khāʾifīna mina al-muʾminīna mathalu al-karūbiyyīna mina al-malāʾikati , wamathalu al-rājīna mina al-muḥibbīna ; kamathali al-rūḥāniyyīna mina al-muqarrabīna ,

The fearful among believers are like the cherubic angels; the hopeful among lovers are like the spiritual angels among those brought near.

وَأَصْلُ الرَّجَاءِ وَتَفْضِيلُهُ أَنَّ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِاللّٰهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ عَظِيمِ الرَّجَاءِ مَا يُضَاهِي عَظِيمَ الْخَوْفِ ، فَيَعْدِلُ الْبِنْيَةَ وَيَحْكُمُ بَيْنَ الْمَقَامَيْنِ بِالسَّوِيَّةِ ،

waʾaṣlu al-rajāʾi watafḍīluhu ʾanna ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi bi-llāhi taʿālā min ʿaẓīmi al-rajāʾi mā yuḍāhī ʿaẓīma al-khawfi , fayaʿdilu al-binyata wayaḥkumu bayna al-maqāmayni bi-l-sawiyyati ,

The foundation and excellence of hope is that those who know God Most High possess immense hope equal to their immense fear. It balances their constitution and judges equitably between the two stations.

فَلَا يَبْدُو عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ بَادٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ وَصْفٍ مِنَ الصِّفَاتِ الْمَخُوفَةِ تَكْرُبُهُمْ إِلَّا طَلَعَ طَالِعٌ وَرَاءَ مِنْ عَظِيمِ الرَّجَاءِ أَشْهَدَ خُلُقًامِنَ الْأَخْلَاقِ اللَّطِيفَةِ تُرَوِّحُهُمْ

falā yabdū ʿalā qulūbihim bādin mina al-khawfi ʿan mushāhadati waṣfin mina al-ṣifāti al-makhūfati takrubuhum ʾillā ṭalaʿa ṭāliʿun warāʾa min ʿaẓīmi al-rajāʾi ʾashhada khuluqan mina al-ʾakhlāqi al-laṭīfati turawwiḥuhum

No manifestation of fear appears to their hearts through witnessing one of the fearsome attributes that distress them without a manifestation of immense hope rising behind it, making them witness one of the gentle qualities that bring them relief.

وَلَا يَطْرَأُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ طَارِئٌ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ ، يَهْرُبُونَ مِنْهُ إِلَّا بَدَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَادٍ مِنَ الرَّجَاءِ يَأْنَسُونَ بِهِ إِلَيْهِ فَتَعْتَدِلُ صِفَاتُهُمْ وَتَسْتَوِي مَقَامَاتُهُمْ

walā yaṭraʾu ʿalā qulūbihim ṭāriʾun mina al-khawfi , yahrubūna minhu ʾillā badā ʿalayhim bādin mina al-rajāʾi yaʾnasūna bihi ʾilayhi fataʿtadilu ṣifātuhum watastawī maqāmātuhum

No onset of fear from which they flee comes upon their hearts without a manifestation of hope appearing to them, through which they find intimacy with Him. Their qualities thus become balanced and their stations even,

عَنْ مُعَايَنَةِ مَعْنًى مِنْ مَعَانِي صِفَاتِهِ لِاِ سْتِوَاءِ كَمَالِ ذَاتِهِ فَتَكُونُ قُلُوبُهُمْ كَلِسَانِ الْمِيزَانِ بَيْنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالرَّجَاءِ ،

ʿan muʿāyanati maʿnan min maʿānī ṣifātihi li-stiwāʾi kamāli dhātihi fatakūnu qulūbuhum kalisāni al-mīzāni bayna al-khawfi wa-l-rajāʾi ,

through directly beholding a meaning among the meanings of His attributes, because of the perfect equilibrium of His Essence. Their hearts become like the pointer of a balance between fear and hope.

وَتَكُونُ كَالطَّائِرِ مُقَوَّمًا بَيْنَ جَنَاحَيْهِ عَنْ شُهُودِ وَصْفٍ وَخُلُقٍ اِقْتِضَاءَ ظُهُورِ الْبَلَاءِ وَالنَّعْمَاءِ ،

watakūnu ka-l-ṭāʾiri muqawwaman bayna janāḥayhi ʿan shuhūdi waṣfin wakhuluqin iqtiḍāʾa ẓuhūri al-balāʾi wa-l-naʿmāʾi ,

They are like a bird held level between its wings, through witnessing an attribute and a quality corresponding to the manifestation of trial and blessing.

فَيَحْمِلُ الْخَوْفُ الرَّجَاءَ ، وَيَسْتَوْلِي يَالْرَّجَاءِ عَلَى الْخَوْفِ وَيَفِيضَانِ مَعًا فِي سَعَةِ الْقَلْبِ وَقُوَّتِهِ ، فَيَغِيبَانِ فِيهِ لِأَنَّهُ قَوِيٌّ بِقَوِيٍّ وَوَسِعٌ بِوَاسِعٍ وَقَادِرٌ بِمُقْتَدِرٍ ،

fayaḥmilu al-khawfu al-rajāʾa , wayastawlī ya-l-rajāʾi ʿalā al-khawfi wayafīḍāni maʿan fī saʿati al-qalbi waquwwatihi , fayaghībāni fīhi liʾannahu qawiyyun biqawiyyin wawasiʿun biwāsiʿin waqādirun bimuqtadirin ,

Fear bears hope, and through hope he gains mastery over fear. Together they overflow into the heart's breadth and strength, then disappear within it, for it is strong through the Strong, spacious through the All-Embracing, and capable through the Omnipotent.

وَيَنْفَرِدُ الْهَمُّ عَنِ الْمَعْنَيَيْنِ فَيَقِفُ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ مُنْفَرِدٍ فَيَحْكُمُ عَلَيْهِ مَا بِهِ أُفْرِدَ ، وَمِنْ هَٰذَا قَوْلُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : بِكَ أَحُولُ وَبِكَ أَقُولُ وَبِكَ أَصُولُ ؛

wayanfaridu al-hammu ʿani al-maʿnayayni fayaqifu bimushāhadati munfaridin fayaḥkumu ʿalayhi mā bihi ʾufrida , wamin hādhā qawlu al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama : bika ʾaḥūlu wabika ʾaqūlu wabika ʾaṣūlu ;

The heart's aspiration becomes single, apart from both meanings, and stands in the witnessing of One who is alone; what has singled it out then governs it. From this comes the Prophet's saying, God bless him and grant him peace: ‘Through You I move, through You I speak, and through You I advance against the foe.’

وَمِنْ ذَٰلِكَ قَوْلُهُ فِي عُلُوِّ شَهَادَتِهِ وَنَفَاذِ عِلْمِهِ مِنْ كَوْنِهِ بِشَاهِدِهِ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْكَ ، وَمِثْلُهُ قَوْلُهُ : أَلَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ مَا خَلَا اللّٰهَ بَاطِلٌ

wamin dhālika qawluhu fī ʿuluwwi shahādatihi wanafādhi ʿilmihi min kawnihi bishāhidihi ʾaʿūdhu bika minka , wamithluhu qawluhu : ʾalā kullu shayʾin mā khalā Allāha bāṭilun

Another instance is his saying, from the loftiness of his witnessing and the penetration of his knowledge, through his existence by his Witness: ‘I seek refuge in You from You.’ Similar is his saying: ‘Indeed, everything apart from God is passing away.’

فَهَٰذَا نُطْقٌ عَنْ وَجْدٍ فِي مَقَامِ الْبَقَاءِ بَعْدَ ، فَقْدِ حَالِ الْفَنَاءِ هُنَالِكَ سَمِعَ قَوْلَ الْبَاقِي الْمُغْنِي : ( كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ) الرَّحْمَٰنِ : 26 - 27

fahādhā nuṭqun ʿan wajdin fī maqāmi al-baqāʾi baʿda , faqdi ḥāli al-fanāʾi hunālika samiʿa qawla al-bāqī al-mughnī : ( kullu man ʿalayhā fānin wayabqā wajhu rabbika ) al-raḥmāni : 26 - 27

This is speech arising from an ecstatic experience at the station of subsistence after the loss of the state of annihilation. There he heard the saying of the Abiding, the Enricher: ‘Everyone upon it is passing away, and the Face of your Lord remains’ (The All-Merciful, 55:26–27).

وَمِنْ ذَٰلِكَ الْأَثَرُ الْمَشْهُورُ عَنِ اللّٰهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : لَمْ تَسَعْنِي سَمَائِي وَلَا أَرْضِي وَوَسِعَنِي قَلْبُ عَبْدِيَ الْمُؤْمِنِ

wamin dhālika al-ʾatharu al-mashhūru ʿani Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā : lam tasaʿnī samāʾī walā ʾarḍī wawasiʿanī qalbu ʿabdiya al-muʾmini

Of this kind is the well-known report from God, glorified and exalted is He: ‘My heaven did not contain Me, nor My earth; but I was contained by the heart of My believing servant—’

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٠٠

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 400

Volume One, page 400

الشَّاكِرِ اللَّيِّنِ الْوَادِعِ ، وَلَا يَصْلُحُ تَفْصِيلُ مَا أَجْمَلْنَاهُ وَلَاشَرْحُ مَا رَمَزْنَاهُ ،

al-shākiri al-layyini al-wādiʿi , walā yaṣluḥu tafṣīlu mā ʾajmalnāhu walā sharḥu mā ramaznāhu ,

—‘grateful, tender, and gentle.’ It is not fitting to elaborate what we have stated in summary or explain what we have indicated through allusion.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَاءِ السَّفِ : مَا أُلْبِسَ الْمُؤْمِنُ لِبْسَةً أَحْسَنَ مِنْ سَكِينَةٍ فِي خُشُوعٍ وَذِلَّةٍ فِي خُضُوعٍ فَهَٰذَا حَالَانِ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ ، وَهِيَ لِبْسَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَسِيمَا عُلَمَاءِ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ .

waqāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾi al-safi : mā ʾulbisa al-muʾminu libsatan ʾaḥsana min sakīnatin fī khushūʿin wadhillatin fī khuḍūʿin fahādhā ḥālāni mina al-khawfi , wahiya libsatu al-ʾanbiyāʾi wasīmā ʿulamāʾi al-ʾawliyāʾi .

One of the scholars of the predecessors said: ‘The believer has been clothed in no finer garment than tranquility within humble awe, and lowliness within submission.’ These are two states of fear: the garment of prophets and the distinguishing mark of the learned among the saints.

وَقَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِاِبْنِهِ : يَا بُنَيَّ خَفِ اللّٰهَ تَعَالَى خَوْفًا لَا تَيْأَسُ فِيهِ مِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ وَاُرْجُهُ رَجَاءً لَاتَأْمَنُ فِيهِ مَكْرَهُ ،

waqāla luqmānu li-bnihi : yā bunayya khafi Allāha taʿālā khawfan lā tayʾasu fīhi min raḥmatihi wa-rjuhu rajāʾan lā taʾmanu fīhi makrahu ,

Luqmān said to his son: ‘My dear son, fear God Most High with a fear in which you do not despair of His mercy, and hope in Him with a hope in which you do not feel secure from His hidden stratagem.’

ثُمَّ فَسَّرَهُ مُجْمَلًا فَقَالَ الْمُؤْمِنُ : كَذِي قَلْبَيْنِ ؛ يَخَافُ بِأَحَدِهِمَا وَيَرْجُو بِالْآخَرِ ، وَمَعْنَى لَكَ أَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ ذُو وَصْفَيْنِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَتَيْنِ

thumma fassarahu mujmalan faqāla al-muʾminu : kadhī qalbayni ; yakhāfu biʾaḥadihimā wayarjū bi-l-ʾākhari , wamaʿnā laka ʾanna al-muʾmina dhū waṣfayni ʿan mushāhadatayni

Then he explained it briefly, saying: ‘The believer is like someone with two hearts: with one he fears, and with the other he hopes.’ This means that the believer possesses two qualities arising from two forms of witnessing,

لِأَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ الْأَوَّلَ وَالشَّاهِدَ الْأَعْلَى ذُو وَصْفٍ مَخُوفٍ مِثْلِ الْبَطْشِ وَالسَّطْوَةِ وَالْعِزَّةِ وَالنِّقْمَةِ .

liʾanna al-muʾmina al-ʾawwala wa-l-shāhida al-ʾaʿlā dhū waṣfin makhūfin mithli al-baṭshi wa-l-saṭwati wa-l-ʿizzati wa-l-niqmati .

because the First Giver of Security, the Highest Witness, possesses a fearsome attribute, such as forceful seizure, overwhelming might, invincible power, and retribution.

فَإِذَا شَهِدَ الْعَبْدُ مَا آمَنَ بِهِ مِنْ هَٰذِهِ الصِّفَاتِ خَافَ إِذَا عَرَفَهُ بِهَا وَتَجَلَّى لَهُ بِشَاهِدِهَا وَالْمَعْرُوفُ أَيْضًا هُوَ الْمَأْلُوفُ ذُو أَخْلَاقٍ مَرْجُوَّةٍ مِنَ الْكَرَمِ وَالرِّفْقِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ وَاللُّطْفِ .

faʾidhā shahida al-ʿabdu mā ʾāmana bihi min hādhihi al-ṣifāti khāfa ʾidhā ʿarafahu bihā watajallā lahu bishāhidihā wa-l-maʿrūfu ʾayḍan huwa al-maʾlūfu dhū ʾakhlāqin marjuwwatin mina al-karami wa-l-rifqi wa-l-raḥmati wa-l-luṭfi .

When the servant witnesses what he has believed concerning these attributes, he fears, knowing Him through them as He discloses Himself through their witness. The One known is also the One loved and familiar, possessed of qualities that inspire hope: generosity, gentleness, mercy, and subtle kindness.

فَإِذَا شَهِدَ الْقَلْبُ مَا آمَنَ بِهِ مِنْ هَٰذِهِ الْأَخْلَاقِ رَجَا مَنْ شَهِدَهُ بِهَا فَصَارَ الْعَبْدُ لِوَصْفَيْهِ الرَّجَاءِ وَالْخَوْفِ عَنْ مَعْنَى شَهَادَتَيْهِ الْمَخُوفَةِ وَالْمَرْجُوَّةِ عَنْ وَصْفَيْ مَخُوفِهِ وَمَرْجُوَّةِ

faʾidhā shahida al-qalbu mā ʾāmana bihi min hādhihi al-ʾakhlāqi rajā man shahidahu bihā faṣāra al-ʿabdu liwaṣfayhi al-rajāʾi wa-l-khawfi ʿan maʿnā shahādatayhi al-makhūfati wa-l-marjuwwati ʿan waṣfay makhūfihi wamarjuwwati

When the heart witnesses what it has believed concerning these qualities, it hopes in the One it has witnessed through them. The servant thus comes to his two qualities, hope and fear, through the meaning of his two forms of witnessing, the fearsome and the hopeful, arising from the two attributes of the One he fears and hopes in.

وَصَارَ كَذِي قَلْبَيْنِ كَأَنَّهُ يَرْجُو بِقَلْبٍ وَيَخَافُ بِآخَرَ ، وَإِنَّمَا هُمَا شَهَادَتَانِ فِي قَلْبٍ وَاحِدٍ لِأَنَّهُمَا مَقَامَانِ لِقَلْبٍ وَاحِدٍ عَنْ شُهُودِ مَخُوفٍ وَمَرْجُوٍّ وَاحِدٍ ؛

waṣāra kadhī qalbayni kaʾannahu yarjū biqalbin wayakhāfu biʾākhara , waʾinnamā humā shahādatāni fī qalbin wāḥidin liʾannahumā maqāmāni liqalbin wāḥidin ʿan shuhūdi makhūfin wamarjuwwin wāḥidin ;

He becomes like someone with two hearts, as though hoping with one and fearing with another. Yet they are only two forms of witnessing within a single heart, for they are two stations of one heart arising from witnessing one and the same Object of fear and hope.

فَهَٰذَا تَفْسِيرُ قَوْلِ لُقْمَانَ ، وَهُوَ صِفَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ ذِي الْإِيقَانِ ، إِلَّا أَنَّ الْخَائِفَ يُوصَفُ بِمَا غَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْحَالِ عَمَّا قَوِيَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَةٍ وَيَنْدَرِجُ الرَّجَاءُ فِي مَقَامِهِ ،

fahādhā tafsīru qawli luqmāna , wahuwa ṣifatu al-muʾmini dhī al-ʾīqāni , ʾillā ʾanna al-khāʾifa yūṣafu bimā ghalaba ʿalayhi mina al-ḥāli ʿammā qawiya ʿalayhi min mushāhadatin wayandariju al-rajāʾu fī maqāmihi ,

This explains Luqmān's saying and describes the believer possessed of certainty. The fearful person, however, is described by the state that predominates in him through the witnessing that has gained strength over him, while hope is included within his station.

وَيُوصَفُ الرَّاجِي بِمَا قَوِيَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْحَالِ عَنْ غَلَبَةِ شَهَادَتِهِ وَيَنْطَوِي الْخَوْفُ فِي مَقَامِهِ وَلَا كُنْهَ لِلْمَخُوفِ تَعَالَى وَعَلَا وَلَا نِهَايَةَ لِلْمَرْجُوِّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى ،

wayūṣafu al-rājī bimā qawiya ʿalayhi mina al-ḥāli ʿan ghalabati shahādatihi wayanṭawī al-khawfu fī maqāmihi walā kunha li-l-makhūfi taʿālā waʿalā walā nihāyata li-l-marjuwwi ʿazza wajalla subḥānahu wataʿālā ,

The hopeful person is described by the state that has gained strength over him through the predominance of his witnessing, while fear is enfolded within his station. The One feared, exalted and sublime, has no fathomable limit, and the One hoped in, mighty and majestic, glorified and exalted, has no end.

فَأَمَّا الشَّهِيدُ الْمُوقِنُ الْعَالِمُ الْمُقَرَّبُ فَبِالْحَالَيْنِ جَمِيعًا يُوصَفُ مَعَ اِعْتِدَالِهِمَا وَبِالْوَصْفَيْنِ جَمِيعًا يُعْرَفُ مَعَ اِسْتِوَائِهِمَا ، ثُمَّ يَغْلِبُ عَلَيْهِ الْوَصْفُ التَّامُّ وَالْحَالُ الْكَامِلُ .

faʾammā al-shahīdu al-mūqinu al-ʿālimu al-muqarrabu fabi-l-ḥālayni jamīʿan yūṣafu maʿa iʿtidālihimā wabi-l-waṣfayni jamīʿan yuʿrafu maʿa istiwāʾihimā , thumma yaghlibu ʿalayhi al-waṣfu al-tāmmu wa-l-ḥālu al-kāmilu .

As for the witness who is certain, learned, and brought near, he is described by both states together in their balance and known by both qualities together in their equality. Then the complete quality and the perfect state predominate in him.

فَإِذَا عُرِفَ بِهِ أُدْرِجَ الْوَصْفَانِ فِيهِ فَيُقَالُ : صِدِّيقٌ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ تَحَقَّقَ بِالصِّدْقِ فَأَغْنَى عَنْ أَنْ يُقَالَ مُخْلِصٌ ، ثُمَّ يُقَالُ عَارِفٌ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ رَسَخَ فِي الْعِلْمِ فَكَفَى أَنْ يُقَالَ صَادِقٌ

faʾidhā ʿurifa bihi ʾudrija al-waṣfāni fīhi fayuqālu : ṣiddīqun liʾannahu qad taḥaqqaqa bi-l-ṣidqi faʾaghnā ʿan ʾan yuqāla mukhliṣun , thumma yuqālu ʿārifun liʾannahu qad rasakha fī al-ʿilmi fakafā ʾan yuqāla ṣādiqun

When he is known by it, both qualities are included within it. He is called ‘utterly truthful,’ because he has realized truthfulness, making it unnecessary to call him ‘sincere.’ Then he is called ‘a knower,’ because he has become firmly rooted in knowledge, so there is no need to call him ‘truthful.’

ثُمَّ يُقَالُ مُقَرَّ بٌ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ أُشْهِدَ الْقُرْبَ فَاِقْتَرَبَ وَلَمْ يَحْتَجْ إِلَى أَنْ يُقَالَ عَامِلٌ ؛ وَهَٰذِهِ أَسْمَاءُ الْكَمَالِ وَأَحْوَالُ التَّمَامِ لَا يَفْتَقِرُ إِلَى ذِكْرِ حَالٍ دُونَهَا

thumma yuqālu muqarrabun liʾannahu qad ʾushhida al-qurba fa-qtaraba walam yaḥtaj ʾilā ʾan yuqāla ʿāmilun ; wahādhihi ʾasmāʾu al-kamāli waʾaḥwālu al-tamāmi lā yaftaqiru ʾilā dhikri ḥālin dūnahā

Then he is called ‘one brought near,’ because he has been made to witness nearness and has drawn near, without needing to be called ‘a practitioner.’ These are the names of perfection and the states of completeness; no lesser state needs to be mentioned.

وَلَايُوصَفُ بِوَصْفٍ كَوَصْفِ خَائِفٍ أَوْ رَاجٍ لِوُجُودِهِمَا فِيهِ وَاِعْتِدَالِهِمَا عِنْدَهُ لِأَنَّ الْخَوْفَ وَالرَّجَاءَ قَدْ فَاضَا عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ غَاضَا فِيهِ

walā yūṣafu biwaṣfin kawaṣfi khāʾifin ʾaw rājin liwujūdihimā fīhi wa-ʿtidālihimā ʿindahu liʾanna al-khawfa wa-l-rajāʾa qad fāḍā ʿalayhi thumma ghāḍā fīhi

He is not described merely as fearful or hopeful, because both are present and balanced within him. Fear and hope have flowed over him, then sunk within him.

فَإِذَا قُلْتَ عَارِفٌ أَوْ مُقَرَّبٌ أَوْ صِدِّيقٌ ، فَقَدْ دَخَلَ فِيهِ وَصْفُ حِبٍّ خَائِفٍ رَاجٍ عَامِلٍ لَا مَحَالَةَ

faʾidhā qulta ʿārifun ʾaw muqarrabun ʾaw ṣiddīqun , faqad dakhala fīhi waṣfu ḥibbin khāʾifin rājin ʿāmilin lā maḥālata

When you say ‘a knower,’ ‘one brought near,’ or ‘utterly truthful,’ the descriptions of lover, fearful, hopeful, and practitioner are necessarily included.

كَمَا إِذَا قُلْتَ فُلَانٌ هَاشِمِيٌّ اِسْتَغْنَيْتَ أَنْ تَقُولَ قُرَشِيٌّ أَوْ عَرَبِيٌّ لِأَنَّ كُلَّ هَاشِمِيٍّ يَكُونُ عَرَبِيًّا قُرَشِيًّا لَا مَحَالَةَ

kamā ʾidhā qulta fulānun hāshimiyyun istaghnayta ʾan taqūla qurashiyyun ʾaw ʿarabiyyun liʾanna kulla hāshimiyyin yakūnu ʿarabiyyan qurashiyyan lā maḥālata

Likewise, when you say that someone is a Hāshimite, you have no need to say that he is a Qurashī or an Arab, since every Hāshimite is necessarily an Arab and a Qurashī.

ثُمَّ تَصِفُهُ بِوَصْفِ التَّمَامِ أَيَا فَيَنْدَرِجُ الْوَصْفَاتُ فِيهِ فَتَقُولُ : فُلَانٌ حَسَنِيٌّ أَوْ حُسَيْنِيٌّ فَاِكْتَفَيْتَ أَنْ تَقُولَ هَاشِمِيٌّ أَوْ قُرَشِىٌّ أَوْعَلَوِيٌّ ،

thumma taṣifuhu biwaṣfi al-tamāmi ʾayā fayandariju al-waṣfātu fīhi fataqūlu : fulānun ḥasaniyyun ʾaw ḥusayniyyun fa-ktafayta ʾan taqūla hāshimiyyun ʾaw qurashiyyun ʾaw ʿalawiyyun ,

Then you describe him with a still more complete designation, which includes the other descriptions: ‘So-and-so is a Ḥasanī or a Ḥusaynī.’ This dispenses with saying that he is a Hāshimite, Qurashī, or ʿAlawī.

وَإِنْ كَانَ هَاشِمِيًّا قُرَشِيًّا عَلَوِيًّا لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ عُرِفَ أَنَّ كُلَّ حُسَيْنِيٍّ فَهُوَ هَاشِمِيٌّ قُرَشِىٌّ عَلَوِيٌّ لَامَحَالَةَ ،

waʾin kāna hāshimiyyan qurashiyyan ʿalawiyyan liʾannahu qad ʿurifa ʾanna kulla ḥusayniyyin fahuwa hāshimiyyun qurashiyyun ʿalawiyyun lā maḥālata ,

He is indeed a Hāshimite, Qurashī, and ʿAlawī, for it is already known that every Ḥusaynī necessarily possesses all three affiliations.

فَأَمَّا أَنْ تَقُولَ : فُلَانٌ عَرَبِيٌّ أَوْ هَاشِمِيٌّ أَوْ قُرَشِيٌّ أَوْ عَلَوِيٌّ فَلَا يُعْرَفُ إِلَّا بِمَا وَسَمْتَهُ بِهِ

faʾammā ʾan taqūla : fulānun ʿarabiyyun ʾaw hāshimiyyun ʾaw qurashiyyun ʾaw ʿalawiyyun falā yuʿrafu ʾillā bimā wasamtahu bihi

But if you say that someone is an Arab, Hāshimite, Qurashī, or ʿAlawī, he is known only by the designation you have given him.

لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ يَكُونُ عَلَوِيًّا وَهُوَ الْغَايَةُ فِي النَّسَبِ وَلَا يَكُونُ حُسَيْنِيًّا وَقَدْ يَكُونُ هَاشِمِيًّا غَيْرَ عَلَوِيٍّ وَيَكُونُ قُرَشِيًّا غَيْرَ هَاشِمِيٍّ وَيَكُونُ

liʾannahu qad yakūnu ʿalawiyyan wahuwa al-ghāyatu fī al-nasabi walā yakūnu ḥusayniyyan waqad yakūnu hāshimiyyan ghayra ʿalawiyyin wayakūnu qurashiyyan ghayra hāshimiyyin wayakūnu

For he may be an ʿAlawī, the highest point in this line of descent, without being a Ḥusaynī. He may be a Hāshimite without being an ʿAlawī, a Qurashī without being a Hāshimite, and may be—

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٠١

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 401

Volume One, page 401

عَرَبِيًّا غَيْرَ قُرَشِيٍّ فَيَلْزَمُهُ وَصْفُ مَا عَرَّفْتَهُ حَسْبُ ، فَكَذٰلِكَ قَوْلُكَ : عَارِفٌ أَوْ مُحِبٌّ أَوْمُقَرَّبٌ أَوْ صِدِّيقٌ هِيَ اِسْمُ التَّمَامِ وَالْكَمَالِ فِي الْمَقَامَاتِ الْي تَحْتَوِي عَلَى جَمِيعِ الْأَسْبَابِ

ʿarabiyyan ghayra qurashiyyin fayalzamuhu waṣfu mā ʿarraftahu ḥasbu, fakadhālika qawluka: ʿārifun ʾaw muḥibbun ʾawmuqarrabun ʾaw ṣiddīqun hiya ismu al-tamāmi wa-l-kamāli fī al-maqāmāti al-y taḥtawī ʿalā jamīʿi al-ʾasbābi

an Arab without being Qurashī; only the description by which you have identified him necessarily applies. Likewise, your saying ‘knower,’ ‘lover,’ ‘one brought near,’ or ‘utterly truthful one’ names completeness and perfection in the stations that encompass all the means.

كَقَوْلِكَ : حَسَنِيٌّ هُوَ اِسْمُ التَّمَامِ وَشَرَفُ الْكَمَالِ الَّذِي يَفُوقُ عَلَى كُلِّ الْأَنْسَابِ وَلَايَصِحُّ مَقَامُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ إِلَّا بِعَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ وَشَاهِدِ التَّوْحِيدِ

kaqawlika: ḥasaniyyun huwa ismu al-tamāmi washarafu al-kamāli alladhī yafūqu ʿalā kulli al-ʾansābi walāyaṣiḥḥu maqāmu al-maʿrifati ʾillā biʿayni al-yaqīni washāhidi al-tawḥīdi

It is like saying ‘Ḥasanī’: this names completeness and the honor of perfection that surpasses all lineages. The station of recognition is not sound without the eye of certainty and the witness of divine oneness,

بَعْدَ أَنْ لَا يَبْقَى مِنَ النَّفْسِ بَقِيَّةٌ فِي مَقَامِ الْيَقِينِ وَلَا مِنَ الْخَلْقِ رُؤْيَةٌ فِي شَاهِدِ التَّوْحِيدِ فَيَكُونَ رُوحَانِيًّا بَعْدَ فَنَاءِ النَّفْسِ بِالْيَقِينِ رَبَّانِيَّهَا عِنْدَ شُهُودِ الْخَالِقِ سَبَقَ مِنْهُ التَّوْحِيدُ

baʿda ʾan lā yabqā mina al-nafsi baqiyyatun fī maqāmi al-yaqīni walā mina al-khalqi ruʾyatun fī shāhidi al-tawḥīdi fayakūna rūḥāniyyan baʿda fanāʾi al-nafsi bi-l-yaqīni rabbāniyyahā ʿinda shuhūdi al-khāliqi sabaqa minhu al-tawḥīdu

after no remnant of the self remains in the station of certainty and no sight of creation remains in the witness of oneness. He becomes spiritual after the self’s passing away through certainty, and God-centered at witnessing the Creator: oneness has already come forth from Him.

لِأَنَّ الْعَارِفَ لَا يُوسَمُ بِحَالٍ دُونَ حَالٍ وَقَدِ اِسْتَغْرَقَ الْأَحْوَالَ وَلَا يُوسَمُ بِمَقَامٍ دُونَ مَقَامٍ إِذْ قَدْ جَاوَزَ الْمَقَامَاتِ ؛ فَحَقِيقَةُ مَعْنَاهُ عَارِفٌ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ الَّذِي هُوَ بِكُلِّ نِهَايَةٍ وَفَضْلٍ مَوْصُوفٌ

liʾanna al-ʿārifa lā yūsamu biḥālin dūna ḥālin waqadi istaghraqa al-ʾaḥwāla walā yūsamu bimaqāmin dūna maqāmin ʾidh qad jāwaza al-maqāmāti; faḥaqīqatu maʿnāhu ʿārifun bi-l-maʿrūfi alladhī huwa bikulli nihāyatin wafaḍlin mawṣūfun

For the knower is not marked by one state to the exclusion of another, having encompassed the states; nor by one station to the exclusion of another, having passed beyond the stations. His true meaning is one who knows the Known, who is described by every utmost perfection and excellence.

وَغُمُوضُ غَرِيبَةٍ عِنْدَ غَيْرِ أَبْنَاءِ جِنْسِهِ أَنْ يُنْكِرُوهُ فَإِنْ تَعَرَّفَ إِلَيْهِمْ أَوْعَرَفُوهُ فَلَيْسَ بِعَارِفٍ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ فِي وَصْفِ الْعَارِفِ : أَنْ يَعْرِفَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَلَا يَتَعَرَّفَ إِلَى شَيْءٍ

waghumūḍu gharībatin ʿinda ghayri ʾabnāʾi jinsihi ʾan yunkirūhu faʾin taʿarrafa ʾilayhim ʾawʿarafūhu falaysa biʿārifin . waqāla baʿḍuhum fī waṣfi al-ʿārifi: ʾan yaʿrifa kulla shayʾin walā yataʿarrafa ʾilā shayʾin

His strange obscurity to those who are not of his kind leads them to deny him. If he makes himself known to them, or they recognize him, he is no knower. One of them described the knower as ‘one who knows everything but does not make himself known to anything.’

وَقِيلَ : حَقِيقَتُهُ أَنْ يَعْرِفَ وَلَا يُعْرَفَ عَنْ مُقْتَضَى وَصْفٍ مِنْ أَوْصَافِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ لِأَنَّهُ رُوحَانِيٌّ رَبَّانِيٌّ ، وَثَلَاثُ مَقَامَاتٍ لَا يُقَاسُ عَلَيْهَا وَلَايُتَمَثَّلُ بِهَا ،

waqīla: ḥaqīqatuhu ʾan yaʿrifa walā yuʿrafa ʿan muqtaḍā waṣfin min ʾawṣāfi al-rubūbiyyati liʾannahu rūḥāniyyun rabbāniyyun, wathalāthu maqāmātin lā yuqāsu ʿalayhā walāyutamaththalu bihā,

It has also been said: ‘His reality is to know without being known, through what an attribute of lordship entails, for he is spiritual and God-centered.’ There are three stations on which no analogy may be based and which cannot be assumed through imitation.

فَمَنْ قَاسَ عَلَيْهَا أَخْطَأَ ، وَمَنْ تَمَثَّلَ بِهَا اِدَّعَى مَقَامُ النُّبُوَّةِ وَمَقَامُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَمَقَامُ مَحْبُوبٍ ، وَقَدْ ذَكَرْنَا وَصْفَهُ فِي شَرْحِ مَقَامِ الْمَحَبَّةِ فِي كِتَابِ الْمُحِبِّينَ ؛

faman qāsa ʿalayhā ʾakhṭaʾa, waman tamaththala bihā iddaʿā maqāmu al-nubuwwati wamaqāmu al-maʿrifati wamaqāmu maḥbūbin, waqad dhakarnā waṣfahu fī sharḥi maqāmi al-maḥabbati fī kitābi al-muḥibbīna;

Whoever reasons by analogy from them errs; whoever imitates them makes a claim. They are the station of prophecy, the station of recognition, and the station of a beloved. We have described the last in our exposition of the station of love, in the Book of Lovers.

فَهٰذِهِ طَرَائِقُ الْخَائِفِينَ وَجُلُّ صِفَاتِ الْعَارِفِينَ لِأَنَّهُمْ مُتَفَاوِتُونَ فِي الْقُرْبِ وَالْاِقْتِرَابِ مُتَعَالُونَ فِي التَّقَرُّبِ وَالتَّقْرِيبِ مُتَرَافِعُونَ فِي التَّعَرُّفِ وَالتَّعْرِيفِ ،

fahādhihi ṭarāʾiqu al-khāʾifīna wajullu ṣifāti al-ʿārifīna liʾannahum mutafāwitūna fī al-qurbi wa-l-iqtirābi mutaʿālūna fī al-taqarrubi wa-l-taqrībi mutarāfiʿūna fī al-taʿarrufi wa-l-taʿrīfi,

These are the ways of those who fear and the principal qualities of the knowers. They differ in nearness and drawing near, rise above one another in seeking nearness and being brought near, and ascend through coming to know and being made to know.

فَالْمُوقِنُونَ مِنَ الشُّهَدَاءِ وَهُمُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ مِنَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ بِشَهَادَتِهِمْ قَائِمُونَ لَهُمْ مِنَ الْقُرْبِ الْاِقْتِرَابُ وَمِنَ التَّقَرُّبِ التَّقْرِيبُ وَمِنَ التَّعْرِيفِ التَّعَرُّفُ وَمِنَ الْإِيلَافِ التَّأْلِيفُ

fa-l-mūqinūna mina al-shuhadāʾi wahumu al-muqarrabūna mina al-ṣiddīqīna bishahādatihim qāʾimūna lahum mina al-qurbi al-iqtirābu wamina al-taqarrubi al-taqrību wamina al-taʿrīfi al-taʿarrufu wamina al-ʾīlāfi al-taʾlīfu

Those possessed of certainty among the witnesses, who are those brought near among the utterly truthful, stand firm through their witnessing. From nearness they have intimate approach, from seeking nearness they have being brought near, from being made to know they have direct acquaintance, and from being familiarized they have intimate joining.

لِأَنَّ مَقَامَهُمْ مِنَ الْقَرِيبِ الْعَالِي الطَّرِيقُ الْأَقْرَبُ وَالْجِهَةُ الْعُلْيَا هُمُ السَّابِقُونَ لِأَهْلِ مَقَامَاتِ الْيَمِينِ أَوَّلُ الْقُرْبِ وَالتَّقَرُّبِ وَأَوْهَلُ الْحُبِّ التَّحَبُّبُ وَلَهُمُ التَّأَلُّفُ وَالتَّعْرِيفُ وَهٰؤُلَاءِ الْأَبْرَارُ ،

liʾanna maqāmahum mina al-qarībi al-ʿālī al-ṭarīqu al-ʾaqrabu wa-l-jihatu al-ʿulyā humu al-sābiqūna liʾahli maqāmāti al-yamīni ʾawwalu al-qurbi wa-l-taqarrubi waʾawhalu al-ḥubbi al-taḥabbubu walahumu al-taʾallufu wa-l-taʿrīfu wahāʾulāʾi al-ʾabrāru,

For their station with the Near, the Exalted, is the nearest path and the highest direction. They are the foremost. Those in the stations of the Right possess the beginnings of nearness and seeking nearness, and the beginning of love is seeking to be loved; theirs are cultivating familiarity and being made to know. These are the righteous.

وَمِنْ أَفْضَلِ طُرُقَاتِ الْخَائِفِينَ مَا سَرَى خَوْفُهُ إِلَى النَّفْسِ قَاطِعًا شُغْلَ الْهَوَى وَأَخْمَدَ نَارَ الشَّهَوَاتِ فَسَقَطَتْ لَهُ أَثْقَالُ الْمُجَاهَدَةِ وَخَفَّتْ عِنْدَهُ مُؤْنَهُ الْمُكَابَدَةِ وَوُجِدَتْ مَعَهُ حَلَاوَةُ الطَّاعَةِ لِفَقْدِ حَلَاوَةِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ

wamin ʾafḍali ṭuruqāti al-khāʾifīna mā sarā khawfuhu ʾilā al-nafsi qāṭiʿan shughla al-hawā waʾakhmada nāra al-shahawāti fasaqaṭat lahu ʾathqālu al-mujāhadati wakhaffat ʿindahu muʾnahu al-mukābadati wawujidat maʿahu ḥalāwatu al-ṭāʿati lifaqdi ḥalāwati al-maʿṣiyati

Among the finest paths of the fearful is that in which fear spreads into the self, cutting off preoccupation with desire and extinguishing the fire of appetites. The burdens of striving then fall away, the strain of struggle grows light, and the sweetness of obedience is found because the sweetness of disobedience has vanished.

وَاِجْتَمَعَ لَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ عِنْدَ زَوَالِ التَّشَتُّتِ بِالْهَوَى وَالْخَلْقِ وَسَكَنَتِ النَّفْسُ بِالطُّمَأْنِينَةِ لِمُعَايَنَةِ الْقَلْبِ لِلشَّهَادَةِ وَظَهَرَ نَعِيمُ الزُّهْدِ وَالرِّضَا لِبَاطِنِ الصِّدْقِ وَالْإِخْلَاصِ

wa-ijtamaʿa lahum bi-l-ḥaqqi ʿinda zawāli al-tashattuti bi-l-hawā wa-l-khalqi wasakanati al-nafsu bi-l-ṭumaʾnīnati limuʿāyanati al-qalbi li-l-shahādati waẓahara naʿīmu al-zuhdi wa-l-riḍā libāṭini al-ṣidqi wa-l-ʾikhlāṣi

Their inward focus is gathered through the Real when dispersion through desire and creation disappears. The self settles into reassurance because the heart directly beholds the witness, and the bliss of renunciation and contentment appears through inward truthfulness and sincerity.

ثُمَّ سَكَنَ الْخَوْفُ فِي الْقَلْبِ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ وَلَمْ يُجَاوِزْهُ فَيَتَعَدَّى الْحَدَّ إِلَى بَعْضِ الْمَفَائِضِ الَّتِي ذَكَرْنَاهَا بَلْ كَانَ مِنْهُ الْحُزْنُ الدَّائِمُ وَالْهَمُّ اللَّازِمُ وَالْخُشُوعُ الْقَائِمُ

thumma sakana al-khawfu fī al-qalbi baʿda dhālika walam yujāwizhu fayataʿaddā al-ḥadda ʾilā baʿḍi al-mafāʾiḍi allatī dhakarnāhā bal kāna minhu al-ḥuznu al-dāʾimu wa-l-hammu al-lāzimu wa-l-khushūʿu al-qāʾimu

After this, fear settles in the heart and does not pass beyond it, transgressing the limit into some of the overflows we have mentioned. Instead, it gives rise to enduring sorrow, constant concern, and abiding humility.

وَهٰذَا هُوَ وَصْفُ الْقَلْبِ الْمُنْكَسِرِ وَحَالُ الْعَبْدِ الْمُنْجَبِرِ الَّذِي يُوجَدُ عِنْدَهُ الْجَبَّارُ فَجَبَرَهُ بَعْدَ كَسْرِهِ فَصَلَحَ لَهُ بَعْدَ أَنْ عُطِّلَ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ

wahādhā huwa waṣfu al-qalbi al-munkasiri waḥālu al-ʿabdi al-munjabiri alladhī yūjadu ʿindahu al-jabbāru fajabarahu baʿda kasrihi faṣalaḥa lahu baʿda ʾan ʿuṭṭila min ghayrihi

This is the quality of the broken heart and the state of the restored servant, with whom the Restorer is found. He restores him after breaking him, and the servant becomes fit for Him after being emptied of what is other than Him.

وَصَارَ مَزِيدًا لِعَالَمِ الْخَائِفِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كُشُوفُ الْيَقِينِ وَتَنْقِيلُهُ لَدَيْهِ فِي شَهَادَةِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ فَكَانَ الْقَرِيبُ لَدَي مَوْجُودًا وَصَارَ الْحَبِيبُ عِنْدَهُ مَطْلُوبًا

waṣāra mazīdan liʿālami al-khāʾifi mina allāhi taʿālā kushūfu al-yaqīni watanqīluhu ladayhi fī shahādati al-muqarrabīna fakāna al-qarību laday mawjūdan waṣāra al-ḥabību ʿindahu maṭlūban

Unveilings of certainty and his being moved, in God’s presence, through the witnessing of those brought near become an increase from God Most High in the fearful one’s world. The Near is then found close at hand, and the Beloved becomes the one he seeks.

لِأَنَّهُ مِنَ الْمُنْكَسِرَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ مِنْ أَجْلِهِ وَبِأَنَّهُ صَارَ عِنْدَهُ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ ، وَاِعْلَمْ أَنَّ الَّذِي قَطَعَ الْخَلْقَ عَنْ هٰذِهِ حَلَاوَةُ الْهَوِي وَ لَا يُخْرِجُهَا إِلَّا أَحَدُ كَأْسَيْنِ ؛

liʾannahu mina al-munkasirati qulūbuhum min ʾajlihi wabiʾannahu ṣāra ʿindahu min ʾahlihi, wa-iʿlam ʾanna alladhī qaṭaʿa al-khalqa ʿan hādhihi ḥalāwatu al-hawī wa lā yukhrijuhā ʾillā ʾaḥadu kaʾsayni;

For he belongs among those whose hearts are broken for His sake, and in His presence he has become one of His own. Know that what cuts created beings off from this is the sweetness of desire, and only one of two cups can drive it out:

تَجَرُّعُ مَرَارَةِ الْخَوْفِ فَيَغْلِبُ حَلَاوَةَ الْهَوَى فَيُخْرِجُهُ أَوْ غَلَبَةُ حَلَاوَةِ الْمَحَبَّةِ فَيَسْتَغْرِقُ حَلَاوَةَ

tajarruʿu marārati al-khawfi fayaghlibu ḥalāwata al-hawā fayukhrijuhu ʾaw ghalabatu ḥalāwati al-maḥabbati fayastaghriqu ḥalāwata

either swallowing the bitterness of fear, which overcomes the sweetness of desire and expels it, or the ascendancy of love’s sweetness, which absorbs the sweetness of

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٠٢

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 402

Volume One, page 402

الْهَوَى فَيَغْمُرُهُ ، فَإِنْ عُدِمَ أَحَدُ هٰذَيْنِ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْمُذَبْذَبِينَ بَنَ ذٰلِكَ .

al-hawā fayaghmuruhu, faʾin ʿudima ʾaḥadu hādhayni fahuwa mina al-mudhabdhabīna bana dhālika .

desire and overwhelms it. If neither of these is present, one is among those wavering in between.

وَرَوَيْنَا أَنَّ عَلِيًّا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ لِبَعْضِ الْخَائِفِينَ ، وَقَدْ تَاهَ عَقْلُهُ فَأَخْرَجَهُ الْخَوْفُ إِلَى الْقُنُوطِ : مَا أَصَارَكَ إِلَى مَا أَرَى ؟ فَقَالَ : ذُنُوبِيَ الْعَظِيمَةُ ،

warawaynā ʾanna ʿaliyyan raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu qāla libaʿḍi al-khāʾifīna, waqad tāha ʿaqluhu faʾakhrajahu al-khawfu ʾilā al-qunūṭi: mā ʾaṣāraka ʾilā mā ʾarā? faqāla: dhunūbiya al-ʿaẓīmatu,

We have transmitted that ʿAlī, God be pleased with him, said to a fearful man whose mind had become lost, so that fear drove him into despair: ‘What brought you to the condition I see?’ He replied: ‘My tremendous sins.’

فَقَالَ : وَيْحَكَ إِنَّ رَحْمَةَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذُنُوبِكَ فَقَالَ : إِنَّ ذُنُوبِي أَعْظَمُ مِنْ أَنْ يُكَفِّرَهَا شَيْءٌ فَقَالَ : إِنَّ قُنُوطَكَ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذُنُوبِكَ

faqāla: wayḥaka ʾinna raḥmata allāhi taʿālā ʾaʿẓamu min dhunūbika faqāla: ʾinna dhunūbī ʾaʿẓamu min ʾan yukaffirahā shayʾun faqāla: ʾinna qunūṭaka min raḥmati allāhi taʿālā ʾaʿẓamu min dhunūbika

He said: ‘Poor man! God Most High’s mercy is greater than your sins.’ The man said: ‘My sins are too great for anything to expiate them.’ He replied: ‘Your despair of God Most High’s mercy is greater than your sins.’

وَالْخَوْفُ جُنْدٌ مِنْ جُنُودِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى قَدْ يَسْتَخْرِجُ مِنْ قُلُوبِ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَالْعَابِدِينَ لَا يَسْتَخْرِجُهُ الرَّجَاءُ فَتَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ الْقُلُوبُ الْمُرَادَةُ بِهِ بِنِهَايَاتِ الزُّهْدِ وَحَائِقِ التَّوْبَةِ وَشِدَّةِ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ ،

wa-l-khawfu jundun min junūdi allāhi taʿālā qad yastakhriju min qulūbi al-murīdīna wa-l-ʿābidīna lā yastakhrijuhu al-rajāʾu fatastajību lahu al-qulūbu al-murādatu bihi binihāyāti al-zuhdi waḥāʾiqi al-tawbati washiddati al-murāqabati,

Fear is an army among God Most High’s armies. It may draw from the hearts of seekers and worshippers what hope does not draw forth. The hearts intended for it respond with the furthest reaches of renunciation, the realities of repentance, and intense watchfulness.

وَقَدْ يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى جَمِيعَ ذٰلِكَ بِأَهْلِ الرَّجَاءِ فِي الْمَحَبَّةِ وَمَقَامُ الرَّجَاءِ مُسْتَخْرِجٌ مِنْهُمُ الْكَرَمَ وَالْحَيَاءَ وَالْخَوْفُ اِسْمٌ جَامِعٌ لِمَقَامَاتِ الْخَائِفِينَ ثُمَّ يَشْتَمِلُ عَلَى خَمْسِ طَبَقَاتٍ ، فِي كُلِّ طَبَقَةٍ ثَلَاثُ مَقَامَاتٍ ،

waqad yafʿalu allāhu taʿālā jamīʿa dhālika biʾahli al-rajāʾi fī al-maḥabbati wamaqāmu al-rajāʾi mustakhrijun minhumu al-karama wa-l-ḥayāʾa wa-l-khawfu ismun jāmiʿun limaqāmāti al-khāʾifīna thumma yashtamilu ʿalā khamsi ṭabaqātin, fī kulli ṭabaqatin thalāthu maqāmātin,

God Most High may accomplish all of this for the people of hope within love. The station of hope draws generosity and shame from them. Fear is a comprehensive name for the stations of those who fear; it comprises five levels, with three stations in each level.

فَالْمَقَامُ الْأَوَّلُ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ هُوَ التَّقْوَى ؛ وَفِي هٰذَا الْمَقَامِ الْمُتَّقُونَ وَالصَّالِحُونَ وَالْعَامِلُونَ ، وَالْمَقَامُ الثَّانِي مِنَ الْخَوْفِ هُوَ الْحَذَرُ ؛ وَفِي هٰذَا الْمَقَامِ الزَّاهِدُونَ وَالْوَرِعُونَ وَالْخَاشِعُونَ ،

fa-l-maqāmu al-ʾawwalu mina al-khawfi huwa al-taqwā; wafī hādhā al-maqāmi al-muttaqūna wa-l-ṣāliḥūna wa-l-ʿāmilūna, wa-l-maqāmu al-thānī mina al-khawfi huwa al-ḥadharu; wafī hādhā al-maqāmi al-zāhidūna wa-l-wariʿūna wa-l-khāshiʿūna,

The first station of fear is reverent mindfulness. In it are the mindful, the righteous, and those who act. The second station of fear is caution. In it are the renunciants, the scrupulous, and the humble.

وَالْمَقَامُ الثَّالِثُ هُوَ الْخَشْيَةُ ؛ وَفِي هٰذَا طَبَقَاتُ الْعَالِمِينَ وَالْعَابِدِينَ وَالْمُحْسِنِينَ ، وَالْمَقَامُ الرَّابِعُ هُوَ الْوَجَلُ ؛ وَهٰذَا لِلذَّاكِرِينَ وَالْمُخْبِتِينَ وَالْعَارِفِينَ ،

wa-l-maqāmu al-thālithu huwa al-khashyatu; wafī hādhā ṭabaqātu al-ʿālimīna wa-l-ʿābidīna wa-l-muḥsinīna, wa-l-maqāmu al-rābiʿu huwa al-wajalu; wahādhā li-l-dhākirīna wa-l-mukhbitīna wa-l-ʿārifīna,

The third station is awe. In it are the ranks of the knowledgeable, the worshippers, and those who do what is beautiful. The fourth station is trembling, belonging to those who remember God, the inwardly submissive, and the knowers.

وَالْمَقَامُ الْخَامِسُ هُوَ الْإِشْفَاقُ وَهُوَ لِلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَهُمُ الشُّهَدَاءُ وَالْمُحِبُّونَ وَخُصُوصُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَخَوْفُ هٰؤُلَاءِ عَنْ مَعْرِفَةِ الصِّفَاتِ لِأَجْلِ الْمَوْصُوفِ لَا عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْاِكْتِسَابِ لِأَجْلِ الْعُقُوبَاتِ ،

wa-l-maqāmu al-khāmisu huwa al-ʾishfāqu wahuwa li-l-ṣiddīqīna wahumu al-shuhadāʾu wa-l-muḥibbūna wakhuṣūṣu al-muqarrabīna wakhawfu hāʾulāʾi ʿan maʿrifati al-ṣifāti liʾajli al-mawṣūfi lā ʿan mushāhadati al-iktisābi liʾajli al-ʿuqūbāti,

The fifth station is apprehensive dread. It belongs to the utterly truthful, who are the witnesses, the lovers, and the elect among those brought near. Their fear arises from knowing the attributes, for the sake of the One described by them, rather than from witnessing what they have acquired and fearing its punishments.

كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : أَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : يَا دَاوُدُ خَفْنِي كَمَا تَخَافُ السَّبُعَ الضَّارِيَ ،

kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari: ʾawḥā allāhu taʿālā ʾilā dāwuda ʿalayhi al-salāmu: yā dāwudu khafnī kamā takhāfu al-sabuʿa al-ḍāriya,

As the report says: God Most High revealed to David, peace be upon him: ‘David, fear Me as you fear a ravening beast.’

فَالسَّبُعُ إِنَّمَا يُخَافُ لِوَصْفِهِ بِالْبَطْشِ وَالسَّطْوَةِ وَلِمَا أُلْبِسَ وَجْهُهُ مِنَ الْهَيْبَةِ وَالْكِبْرِ لَا لِأَجْلِ ذَنْبٍ كَانَ مِنَ الْإِنْسَانِ إِلَيْهِ ،

fa-l-sabuʿu ʾinnamā yukhāfu liwaṣfihi bi-l-baṭshi wa-l-saṭwati walimā ʾulbisa wajhuhu mina al-haybati wa-l-kibri lā liʾajli dhanbin kāna mina al-ʾinsāni ʾilayhi,

A beast is feared because it is characterized by violent force and power, and because its face is clothed in awe and greatness, not because a human being has committed a sin against it.

وَكَذٰلِكَ لِهٰؤُلَاءِ مِنَ الرَّجَاءِ الْعَظِيمِ وَالنَّصِيبِ الْأَوْفَرِ عَلَى مَعْنَى خَوْفِهِمْ مَا لَا يَسَعُ لِلْعُمُومِ أَنْ يُذْكَرَ ، فَطَلَبُهُمْ بِرَجَائِهِمْ وَحُسْنِ ظَنِّهِمْ بِمَا هُوَ لَهُمْ لَا يَصِفُهُ إِلَّا هُمْ وَلَا يَعْرِفُهُ سِوَاهُمْ ،

wakadhālika lihāʾulāʾi mina al-rajāʾi al-ʿaẓīmi wa-l-naṣībi al-ʾawfari ʿalā maʿnā khawfihim mā lā yasaʿu li-l-ʿumūmi ʾan yudhkara, faṭalabuhum birajāʾihim waḥusni ẓannihim bimā huwa lahum lā yaṣifuhu ʾillā hum walā yaʿrifuhu siwāhum,

Likewise, these people have immense hope and the fullest share of it, corresponding to the meaning of their fear, such that it cannot be spoken of before the generality. What they seek through their hope and their good expectation concerning what is theirs can be described only by them and known only by them.

جُمَلُ ذٰلِكَ أَنْصِبَةُ الْقُرْبِ وَنَعِيمُ الْأُنْسِ وَرَوْحُ اللِّقَاءِ وَسُرُورُ التَّمَلُّقِ وَحَلَاوَةُ الْخِدْمَةِ وَفَرَحُ الْمُنَاجَاةِ وَرَوْحُ الْخَلْوَةِ وَاِرْتِيَاحُ الْمُحَاوَرَةِ

jumalu dhālika ʾanṣibatu al-qurbi wanaʿīmu al-ʾunsi warawḥu al-liqāʾi wasurūru al-tamalluqi waḥalāwatu al-khidmati wafaraḥu al-munājāti warawḥu al-khalwati wa-irtiyāḥu al-muḥāwarati

Its broad outlines are portions of nearness, the bliss of intimacy, the refreshment of meeting, the joy of tender entreaty, the sweetness of service, the delight of private converse, the relief of solitude, and the elation of reciprocal conversation.

فَلَهُمْ مِنْهُ تَجَلِّي مَعَانِي الصِّفَاتِ وَظُهُورُ مَعَانِي مَحَاسِنِ الْأَوْصَافِ فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ وَلِأَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ إِظْهَارُ نَعِيمِ الْأَفْعَالِ وَمَوَاهِبُ الْعَطَاءِ وَالْأَفْضَالِ ،

falahum minhu tajallī maʿānī al-ṣifāti waẓuhūru maʿānī maḥāsini al-ʾawṣāfi falā taʿlamu nafsun mā ʾukhfiya lahum min qurrati ʾaʿyunin waliʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni ʾiẓhāru naʿīmi al-ʾafʿāli wamawāhibu al-ʿaṭāʾi wa-l-ʾafḍāli,

Their portion from Him is the disclosure of the attributes’ meanings and the manifestation of the meanings of His beautiful qualities: ‘No soul knows what delight of the eyes has been hidden for them.’ For the Companions of the Right, there is the manifestation of the bliss of His acts and the gifts of His generosity and favors.

وَقَدْ كَانَ يَحْيَى بْنُ مُعَاذٍ يَقُولُ مَنْ عَبَدَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى بِالْخَوْفِ دُونَ الرَّجَاءِ غَرِقَ فِي بِحَارِ الْأَذْكَارِ ، وَمَنْ عَبَدَهُ بِالرَّجَاءِ دُونَ الْخَوْفِ تَاهَ فِي مَفَاوِزِ الْاِغْتِرَارِ ،

waqad kāna yaḥyā bnu muʿādhin yaqūlu man ʿabada allāha taʿālā bi-l-khawfi dūna al-rajāʾi ghariqa fī biḥāri al-ʾadhkāri, waman ʿabadahu bi-l-rajāʾi dūna al-khawfi tāha fī mafāwizi al-ightirāri,

Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh used to say: ‘Whoever worships God Most High through fear without hope drowns in the seas of remembrance. Whoever worships Him through hope without fear loses his way in the deserts of delusion.’

وَمَنْ عَبَدَهُ بِالْخَوْفِ وَالرَّجَاءِ مَعًا اِسْتَقَامَ فِي مَحَجَّةِ الْأَذْكَارِ ، وَقَالَ مَكْحُولٌ النَّسَفِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي مَعْنَاهُ : إِلَّا أَنَّهُ جَاوَزَ فِيهِ الْحَدَّ فَقَالَ : مَنْ عَبَدَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لِخَوْفٍ فَهُوَ جَرُورِيٌّ ، وَمَنْ عَبَدَهُ

waman ʿabadahu bi-l-khawfi wa-l-rajāʾi maʿan istaqāma fī maḥajjati al-ʾadhkāri, waqāla makḥūlun al-nasafiyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā fī maʿnāhu: ʾillā ʾannahu jāwaza fīhi al-ḥadda faqāla: man ʿabada allāha taʿālā likhawfin fahuwa jarūriyyun, waman ʿabadahu

‘Whoever worships Him through fear and hope together proceeds straight along the highway of remembrance.’ Makḥūl al-Nasafī, God Most High have mercy on him, spoke to the same effect, though he exceeded the proper limit in doing so. He said: ‘Whoever worships God Most High out of fear is a Ḥarūrī; whoever worships Him

الْجُزْءُ الْأَوَّلُ، الصَّفْحَةُ ٤٠٣

al-juzʾu al-ʾawwalu, al-ṣafḥatu 403

Volume One, page 403

بِالرَّجَاءِ فَهُوَ مُرْجِئٌ ، وَمَنْ عَبَدَهُ بِالْمَحَبَّةِ فَهُوَ زِنْدِيقٌ ، وَمَنْ عَبَدَهُ بِالْخَوْفِ وَالرَّجَاءِ وَالْمَحَبَّةِ فَهُوَ مُوَحِّدٌ وَاللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى أَعْلَمُ .

bi-l-rajāʾi fahuwa murjiʾun, waman ʿabadahu bi-l-maḥabbati fahuwa zindīqun, waman ʿabadahu bi-l-khawfi wa-l-rajāʾi wa-l-maḥabbati fahuwa muwaḥḥidun wa-allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾaʿlamu .

through hope is a Murjiʾite; whoever worships Him through love is a heretic; whoever worships Him through fear, hope, and love is an affirmer of divine oneness.’ God, exalted and sublime, knows best.