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

Chapters 26–30

الْمُرَاقَبَةُ وَالْمَقَامَاتُ وَخَوَاطِرُ الْقُلُوبِ

Al-murāqabatu wa-al-maqāmātu wa-khawāṭiru al-qulūbi

Watchfulness, Spiritual Stations, and the Heart’s Promptings

أَبُو طَالِبٍ الْمَكِّيُّ

Abu Ṭalib al-Makki

الْفَصْلُ السَّادِسُ وَالْعِشْرُونَ فِيهِ كِتَابُ ذِكْرِ مُشَاهَدَةِ أَهْلِ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ

al-faṣlu al-sādisu wa-al-ʿishrūna fīhi kitābu dhikri mushāhadati ʾahli al-murāqabati

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Book of the Witnessing of Those Who Practice Watchfulness

اِعْلَمْ أَنَّ مُشَاهَدَةَ الْمُرَاقِبِينَ هِيَ أَوَّلُ مُرَاقَبَةِ الْمُشَاهِدِينَ ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ مَنْ كَانَ مَقَامُهُ الْمُرَاقَبَةُ كَانَ حَالُهُ الْمُحَاسَبَةُ وَمَنْ كَانَ مَقَامُهُ الْمُشَاهَدَةُ كَانَ وَصْفُهُ الْمُرَاقَبَةُ فَأَوَّلُ شَهَادَةِ الْمُرَاقِبِ هُوَ أَنْ يَعْلَمَ يَقِينًا أَنْ لَا يَخْلُوَ فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ وَإِنْ قَصُرَ مِنْ أَحَدِ ثَلَاثَةِ مَعَانٍ : أَنْ يَكُونَ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَيْهِ فَرْضٌ ،

iʿlam ʾanna mushāhadata al-murāqibīna hiya ʾawwalu murāqabati al-mushāhidīna , wadhālika ʾanna man kāna maqāmuhu al-murāqabatu kāna ḥāluhu al-muḥāsabatu waman kāna maqāmuhu al-mushāhadatu kāna waṣfuhu al-murāqabatu faʾawwalu shahādati al-murāqibi huwa ʾan yaʿlama yaqīnan ʾan lā yakhluwa fī kulli waqtin waʾin qaṣura min ʾaḥadi thalāthati maʿānin: ʾan yakūna lillāhi ʿazza wajalla ʿalayhi farḍun ,

Know that the witnessing of the watchful is the beginning of the watchfulness of those who witness. This is because one whose station is watchfulness has self-examination as his state, while one whose station is witnessing has watchfulness as his attribute. The watchful person’s first witnessing is to know with certainty that at every moment, however brief, he cannot be outside one of three situations: God, mighty and majestic is He, has an obligation incumbent upon him;

وَالْفَرْضُ عَلَى ضَرْبَيْنِ شَيْءٌ أَمَرَ بِفِعْلِهِ أَوْ شَيْءٌ أَمَرَ بِتَرْكِهِ وَهُوَ اجْتِنَابُ الْمَنْهِيِّ ، وَالْمَعْنَى الثَّانِي نَدْبٌ حَثَّ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ الْمُسَابَقَةُ بِخَيْرٍ يُقَرِّبُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالْمُسَارَعَةُ بِعَمَلِ بِرٍّ يَبْتَدِرُهُ قَبْلَ فَوْتِهِ ، وَالْمَعْنَى الثَّالِثُ شَيْءٌ مُبَاحٌ فِيهِ صَلَاحُ جِسْمِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَلَيْسَ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ وَقْتٌ رَابِعٌ فَإِنْ أَحْدَثَ وَقْتًا رَابِعًا

wa-al-farḍu ʿalā ḍarbayni shayʾun ʾamara bifiʿlihi ʾaw shayʾun ʾamara bitarkihi wahuwa ijtinābu al-manhiyyi , wa-al-maʿnā al-thānī nadbun ḥaththa ʿalayhi wahuwa al-musābaqatu bikhayrin yuqarribuhu ʾilā allāhi ʿazza wajalla wa-al-musāraʿatu biʿamali birrin yabtadiruhu qabla fawtihi , wa-al-maʿnā al-thālithu shayʾun mubāḥun fīhi ṣalāḥu jismihi waqalbihi walaysa lilmuʾmini waqtun rābiʿun faʾin ʾaḥdatha waqtan rābiʿan

and obligation is of two kinds, something He commanded one to do or something He commanded one to leave, namely avoidance of what is forbidden. The second situation is a recommended act that He has encouraged: competing in a good deed that brings him near to God, mighty and majestic is He, and hastening to an act of righteousness, undertaking it before its opportunity passes. The third is a permissible matter that benefits his body and heart. The believer has no fourth kind of time. If he introduces a fourth,

فَقَدْ تَعَدَّى حُدُودَ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ يَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ ظَلَمَ نَفْسَهُ وَقَدْ أَحْدَثَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى وَمَنْ أَحْدَثَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ سَلَكَ غَيْرَ طَرِيقِ الْمُتَّقِينَ ، أَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ خِلْفَةً لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَذَّكَّرَ أَوْ أَرَادَ شُكُورًا ) الْفُرْقَانُ :

faqad taʿaddā ḥudūda allāhi waman yataʿadda ḥudūda allāhi faqad ẓalama nafsahu waqad ʾaḥdatha fī dīni allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā waman ʾaḥdatha fī dīni allāhi faqad salaka ghayra ṭarīqi al-muttaqīna , ʾalam tasmaʿ ʾilā qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( wahuwa alladhī jaʿala al-layla wa-al-nahāra khilfatan liman ʾarāda ʾan yadhdhakkara ʾaw ʾarāda shukūran ) al-furqānu:

he has overstepped God’s limits; whoever oversteps God’s limits has wronged himself. He has introduced something into the religion of God, glorified and exalted is He, and whoever introduces something into God’s religion has followed a path other than that of the God-fearing. Have you not heard His saying, mighty and majestic is He, “He is the One who made night and day succeed one another for whoever wishes to take heed or wishes to give thanks” (al-Furqān

62 فَهَلْ تَرَى بَيْنَ هَذَيْنِ وَقْتًا بِجَهْلٍ أَوْ هَوًى كَمَا لَا تَرَى بَيْنَ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَقْتًا ثَالِثًا ، فَالذِّكْرُ الْإِيمَانُ وَالْعِلْمُ ، فَهَذَانِ يَنْتَظِمَانِ جُمَلَ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ وَالشُّكْرُ وَالْعَمَلُ بِأَخْلَاقِ الْإِيمَانِ وَأَحْكَامِ الْعُلُومِ ، وَهَذَانِ يَشْتَمِلَانِ عَلَى جَمِيعِ أَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ ، قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ :

62 fahal tarā bayna hādhayni waqtan bijahlin ʾaw hawan kamā lā tarā bayna al-layli wa-al-nahāri waqtan thālithan , fa-al-dhikru al-ʾīmānu wa-al-ʿilmu , fahādhāni yantaẓimāni jumala ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi wa-al-shukru wa-al-ʿamalu biʾakhlāqi al-ʾīmāni waʾaḥkāmi al-ʿulūmi , wahādhāni yashtamilāni ʿalā jamīʿi ʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi , qāla allāhu ʿazza wajalla:

25:62)? Do you see between these two a time for ignorance or desire, any more than you see a third time between night and day? Remembrance is faith and knowledge; these two encompass the whole of the heart’s works. Gratitude and action according to the traits of faith and the rulings of knowledge: these two encompass all the works of the limbs. God, mighty and majestic is He, said:

( اِعْمَلُوا آلَ دَاوُدَ شُكْرًا ) سَبَأُ : 12 وَقَالَ : ( فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 123 وَقَالَ : ( كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِيكُمْ رَسُولًا مِنْكُمْ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 151 إِلَى قَوْلِهِ : ( فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 152 وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( مَا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنْتُمْ )

( iʿmalū ʾāla dāwuda shukran ) sabaʾu: 12 waqāla: ( fattaqū allāha laʿallakum tashkurūna ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 123 waqāla: ( kamā ʾarsalnā fīkum rasūlan minkum ) al-baqaratu: 151 ʾilā qawlihi: ( fadhkurūnī ʾadhkurkum washkurū lī walā takfurūni ) al-baqaratu: 152 waqāla allāhu taʿālā: ( mā yafʿalu allāhu biʿadhābikum ʾin shakartum waʾāmantum )

“Work, family of David, in gratitude” (Sabaʾ, 12). He said, “Be mindful of God, so that you may give thanks” (Āl ʿImrān 3:123). He said, “Just as We sent among you a messenger from yourselves” (al-Baqara 2:151), down to His saying, “Remember Me, and I will remember you; give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me” (al-Baqara 2:152). God, exalted is He, said, “What would God do with your punishment if you give thanks and believe?”

النِّسَاءُ : 416 وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : وَقَدْ عُوتِبَ فِي طُولِ قِيَامِهِ حَتَّى تَوَرَّمَتْ قَدَمَاهُ فَقَالَ : أَفَلَا أَكُونُ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا ، فَفَسَّرَ الشُّكْرَ بِالْعَمَلِ كَمَا فَسَّرَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الْعَمَلَ بِالشُّكْرِ ، وَالْوَقْتُ الثَّالِثُ هُوَ الْمُبَاحُ دَاخِلٌ فِيهِمَا لِأَنَّهُ مُعِينٌ عَلَيْهِمَا وَبِهِ اسْتِقَامَةُ الْعَبْدِ فِيهِمَا ،

al-nisāʾu: 416 waqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: waqad ʿūtiba fī ṭūli qiyāmihi ḥattā tawarramat qadamāhu faqāla: ʾafalā ʾakūnu ʿabdan shakūran , fafassara al-shukra bi-al-ʿamali kamā fassara allāhu ʿazza wajalla al-ʿamala bi-al-shukri , wa-al-waqtu al-thālithu huwa al-mubāḥu dākhilun fīhimā liʾannahu muʿīnun ʿalayhimā wabihi istiqāmatu al-ʿabdi fīhimā ,

(al-Nisāʾ, 416). The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, when questioned about standing in prayer so long that his feet swelled, “Should I not be a grateful servant?” He thus explained gratitude through action, just as God, mighty and majestic is He, explained action through gratitude. The third kind of time, for what is permissible, falls within the other two because it assists them, and through it the servant remains steadfast in both.

وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَقُولُ : لَنَا فِي مَعَاصِي الطَّاعَاتِ هَمٌّ وَشُغْلٌ عَنْ مَعَاصِي الْمُخَالَفَاتِ فَيَبْتَدِئُ الْعَبْدُ الْمُرَاقِبُ فَيَنْظُرُ بِيَقَظَتِهِ فِي أَدْنَى وَقْتٍ هَلْ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِيهِ فَرْضٌ مِنْ أَمْرٍ أَوْ نَهْيٍ ؟ فَيَبْدَأُ بِذَلِكَ حَتَّى يَفْرُغَ مِنْهُ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَخْلُو مِنْ نَوَادِبَ وَفَضَائِلَ

waqad kāna baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi yaqūlu: lanā fī maʿāṣī al-ṭāʿāti hammun washughlun ʿan maʿāṣī al-mukhālafāti fayabtadiʾu al-ʿabdu al-murāqibu fayanẓuru biyaqaẓatihi fī ʾadnā waqtin hal lillāhi ʿazza wajalla fīhi farḍun min ʾamrin ʾaw nahyin ? fayabdaʾu bidhālika ḥattā yafrugha minhu faʾin lam yajid faʾinnahu lā yakhlū min nawādiba wafaḍāʾila

One of the learned used to say, “The sins within acts of obedience give us enough concern and occupation to distract us from the sins of outright disobedience.” The watchful servant begins by looking alertly in the smallest interval: does God, mighty and majestic is He, have an obligation here, in a command or a prohibition? He begins with that until he finishes it. If he finds none, there will still be recommended acts and virtues.

فَيَبْتَدِئُ بِالْأَفْضَلِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ عَمَلٌ فِي أَدْنَى الْفَضِيلَتَيْنِ فَلْيَأْخُذِ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمِنْ يَوْمِهِ لِأَمْسِهِ وَمِنْ سَاعَتِهِ لِيَوْمِهِ وَمِنْ دُنْيَاهُ لِآخِرَتِهِ ، كَمَا أَمَرَهُ مَوْلَاهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : ( وَلَا تَنْسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا ) الْقَصَصُ : 77 أَيْ لَا تَتْرُكْ أَنْ تَأْخُذَ نَصِيبَكَ لِلْآخِرَةِ مِنْ دُنْيَاكَ وَهُوَ أَنْ تُحْسِنَ كَمَا

fayabtadiʾu bi-al-ʾafḍali faʾin lam yakun ʿamalun fī ʾadnā al-faḍīlatayni falyaʾkhudhi al-ʿabdu min nafsihi linafsihi wamin yawmihi liʾamsihi wamin sāʿatihi liyawmihi wamin dunyāhu liʾākhiratihi , kamā ʾamarahu mawlāhu fī qawlihi subḥānahu wataʿālā: ( walā tansa naṣībaka mina al-dunyā ) al-qaṣaṣu: 77 ʾay lā tatruk ʾan taʾkhudha naṣībaka lilʾākhirati min dunyāka wahuwa ʾan tuḥsina kamā

He begins with the best. If there is no action in the lesser of the two virtues, let the servant take from himself for himself, from his day for his yesterday, from his hour for his day, and from his worldly life for his Hereafter, as his Master commanded him in His saying, glorified and exalted is He, “Do not forget your share of this world” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:77). That is, do not neglect to take from your world your share for the Hereafter: do good as

أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ وَلَا تَطْلُبِ الْفَسَادَ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَتَكُونَ قَدْ نَسِيتَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا تَتْرُكْ أَنْ تَأْخُذَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ فَيَتْرُكُكَ اللَّهُ مِنْ جَزِيلِ ثَوَابِهِ الَّذِي أَعَدَّ لِأَحْبَابِهِ كَمَا قَالَ : ( نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَنَسِيَهُمْ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 67 أَيْ تَرَكُوهُ فَتَرَكَهُمْ ، وَتَرْكُهُمْ لَهُ تَرْكُ نَصِيبِهِمْ مِنْهُ وَتَرْكُهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَهُمْ تَرْكُ

ʾaḥsana allāhu ʾilayka walā taṭlubi al-fasāda fī al-dunyā fatakūna qad nasīta naṣībaka mina al-dunyā walā tatruk ʾan taʾkhudha naṣībaka mina al-ʾākhirati fayatrukuka allāhu min jazīli thawābihi alladhī ʾaʿadda liʾaḥbābihi kamā qāla: ( nasū allāha fanasiyahum ) al-tawbatu: 67 ʾay tarakūhu fatarakahum , watarkuhum lahu tarku naṣībihim minhu watarkuhu ʿazza wajalla lahum tarku

God has done good to you. Do not seek corruption in this world, for then you will have forgotten your share of this world. Do not neglect to take your share of the Hereafter, lest God leave you without the abundant reward He has prepared for His loved ones. As He said, “They forgot God, so He forgot them” (al-Tawba 9:67), meaning that they abandoned Him and He abandoned them. Their abandoning Him is their abandoning their share from Him; His abandoning them, mighty and majestic is He, is His withholding

مَحَابَّهُمْ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ فَيَبْتَدِئُ الْعَبْدُ الْفَطِنُ فَيَأْخُذُ مِنْ عُمْرِهِ وَوَقْتِهِ فَيَجْعَلُهُ لِآخِرَتِهِ الَّتِي أَيْقَنَ بِهَا ثُمَّ يَأْخُذُ مِنْ وَقْتِهِ أَعْلَى مَا فِيهِ مِمَّا يَخْتَصُّ بِهِ الْوَقْتُ وَلَا يُوجَدُ إِلَّا فِيهِ وَيَفُوتُ دَرْكُهُ بِفَوْتِ وَقْتِهِ وَهُوَ أَفْضَلُ مَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ مِمَّا أَدَّاهُ عِلْمُهُ إِلَيْهِ فَيَجْعَلُهُ لِمَوْلَاهُ ،

maḥābbahum mina al-ʾākhirati fayabtadiʾu al-ʿabdu al-faṭinu fayaʾkhudhu min ʿumrihi wawaqtihi fayajʿaluhu liʾākhiratihi allatī ʾayqana bihā thumma yaʾkhudhu min waqtihi ʾaʿlā mā fīhi mimmā yakhtaṣṣu bihi al-waqtu walā yūjadu ʾillā fīhi wayafūtu darkuhu bifawti waqtihi wahuwa ʾafḍalu mā yaqdiru ʿalayhi mimmā ʾaddāhu ʿilmuhu ʾilayhi fayajʿaluhu limawlāhu ,

what they love in the Hereafter. The discerning servant therefore begins by taking from his lifespan and his time and dedicating it to his Hereafter, of which he is certain. Then he takes from his time its highest opportunity, something particular to that time, found only in it, which cannot be attained once its time has passed. This is the best of which he is capable according to what his knowledge has brought him to, and he dedicates it to his Master.

ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَا يَخْلُو فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ وَإِنْ قَلَّ مِنْ أَحَدِ مَقَامَيْنِ ، مَقَامِ نِعْمَةٍ ، أَوْ مَقَامِ بَلِيَّةٍ فَحَالُهُ عَنْ مَقَامِ النِّعْمَةِ الشُّكْرُ وَحَالُهُ عَنْ مَقَامِ الْبَلِيَّةِ الصَّبْرُ ، ثُمَّ لَيْسَ يَفْقِدُ أَحَدَ مُشَاهَدَتَيْنِ شُهُودِ نِعْمَةٍ أَوْ شُهُودِ مُنْعِمٍ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَخْلُو مِنْ وُجُودِ مَالِكٍ وَحُضُورِ مَمْلُوكٍ فَعَلَيْهِ الْخِدْمَةُ لِلْمَوْجُودِ وَعَلَيْهِ الْحُضُورُ فِي

thumma ʾinna al-ʿabda lā yakhlū fī kulli waqtin waʾin qalla min ʾaḥadi maqāmayni , maqāmi niʿmatin , ʾaw maqāmi baliyyatin faḥāluhu ʿan maqāmi al-niʿmati al-shukru waḥāluhu ʿan maqāmi al-baliyyati al-ṣabru , thumma laysa yafqidu ʾaḥada mushāhadatayni shuhūdi niʿmatin ʾaw shuhūdi munʿimin min ḥaythu lā yakhlū min wujūdi mālikin waḥuḍūri mamlūkin faʿalayhi al-khidmatu lilmawjūdi waʿalayhi al-ḥuḍūru fī

At every moment, however brief, the servant must be in one of two stations: a station of blessing or a station of trial. His state in the station of blessing is gratitude, and his state in the station of trial is patience. Nor is he without one of two forms of witnessing: witnessing a blessing or witnessing a Benefactor, since he is never without the existence of an Owner and the presence of one owned. He owes service to the One who exists and presence in

خِدَمِ الْمَعْبُودِ وَالْمُرَاقَبَةُ عَلَامَةُ الْحُضُورِ وَالْمُحَاسَبَةُ دَلِيلُ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ وَيَكُونُ لَهُ أَيْضًا فِي أَدْنَى أَوْقَاتِهِ وَهُوَ الْوَقْتُ الثَّالِثُ الَّذِي هُوَ لِمُبَاحِهِ وَهُوَ أَدْنَى أَحْوَالِ الْمُؤْمِنِ يَكُونُ لَهُ فِيهِ مُشَاهَدَةُ مُنْعِمٍ أَوْ شُهُودُ نِعْمَةٍ لِئَلَّا يَذْهَبَ وَقْتُهُ هَذَا أَيْضًا فَارِغًا مِنْ دُنْيَاهُ وَلَا يَعُودَ عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ مِنْ ذِكْرِ مَوْلَاهُ أَوْ يَذْكُرَ

khidami al-maʿbūdi wa-al-murāqabatu ʿalāmatu al-ḥuḍūri wa-al-muḥāsabatu dalīlu al-murāqabati wayakūnu lahu ʾayḍan fī ʾadnā ʾawqātihi wahuwa al-waqtu al-thālithu alladhī huwa limubāḥihi wahuwa ʾadnā ʾaḥwāli al-muʾmini yakūnu lahu fīhi mushāhadatu munʿimin ʾaw shuhūdu niʿmatin liʾallā yadhhaba waqtuhu hādhā ʾayḍan fārighan min dunyāhu walā yaʿūda ʿalayhi shayʾun min dhikri mawlāhu ʾaw yadhkura

the services of the Worshipped One. Watchfulness is the sign of presence, and self-examination is the evidence of watchfulness. Even in the least of his times, the third kind devoted to his permissible needs, which is the believer’s lowest state, he should witness a Benefactor or a blessing. Thus this time too will not pass empty out of his worldly life, bringing him no return of remembrance of his Master. Or he may remember

نِعْمَةً تَدُلُّهُ عَلَى مُنْعِمٍ أَوْ تُخْرِجُهُ إِلَيْهِ فَيَنْفَعُهُ ذَلِكَ فِي عُقْبَاهُ إِذِ الْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ فَإِنْ شَهِدَ مُنْعِمًا اقْتَطَعَهُ الْحَيَاءُ بِالسَّكِينَةِ وَالْوَقَارِ لِلْهَيْبَةِ وَهَذَا مَخْصُوصٌ بِخُصُوصٍ ، وَإِنْ شَهِدَ نِعْمَةً اسْتَغْرَقَهُ بِالشُّكْرِ وَالِاعْتِبَارِ فَكَانَ لَدَيْهِ تَبْصِرَةً وَتَذْكَارًا ، وَهَذَا الْعُمُومُ الْخُصُوصُ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي وَصْفِ الْأَوَّلِينَ :

niʿmatan tadulluhu ʿalā munʿimin ʾaw tukhrijuhu ʾilayhi fayanfaʿuhu dhālika fī ʿuqbāhu ʾidhi al-ʿāqibatu lilmuttaqīna faʾin shahida munʿiman iqtaṭaʿahu al-ḥayāʾu bi-al-sakīnati wa-al-waqāri lilhaybati wahādhā makhṣūṣun bikhuṣūṣin , waʾin shahida niʿmatan istaghraqahu bi-al-shukri wa-al-iʿtibāri fakāna ladayhi tabṣiratan watadhkāran , wahādhā al-ʿumūmu al-khuṣūṣu qāla allāhu ʿazza wajalla fī waṣfi al-ʾawwalīna:

a blessing that points him toward a Benefactor or draws him out toward Him. This will benefit him in his final outcome, for the final outcome belongs to the God-fearing. If he witnesses a Benefactor, modesty takes possession of him with stillness and dignity born of awe; this is reserved for a select few. If he witnesses a blessing, it absorbs him in gratitude and reflection, becoming insight and a reminder for him. This is the generality among the select. God, mighty and majestic is He, said in describing the first group:

( وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ ) الذَّارِيَاتُ : 49 فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ ، وَقَالَ فِي الْمَقَامِ الثَّانِي : ( وَلَا تَجْعَلُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ ) الذَّارِيَاتُ : 51 وَقَالَ فِي مَقَامِ الْأَوَّلِينَ : ( قُلْ مَنْ بِيَدِهِ مَلَكُوتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ يُجِيرُ وَلَا يُجَارُ عَلَيْهِ ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ : 84 إِلَى قَوْلِهِ :

( wamin kulli shayʾin khalaqnā zawjayni laʿallakum tadhakkarūna ) al-dhāriyātu: 49 fafirrū ʾilā allāhi , waqāla fī al-maqāmi al-thānī: ( walā tajʿalū maʿa allāhi ʾilāhan ʾākhara ) al-dhāriyātu: 51 waqāla fī maqāmi al-ʾawwalīna: ( qul man biyadihi malakūtu kulli shayʾin wahuwa yujīru walā yujāru ʿalayhi ) al-muʾminūna: 84 ʾilā qawlihi:

“Of everything We created a pair, so that you may remember” (al-Dhāriyāt 51:49), “So flee to God.” Of the second station He said, “Do not set up another god alongside God” (al-Dhāriyāt 51:51). Of the first group’s station He said, “Say: In whose hand is the dominion of everything, who gives protection and against whom no protection can be given?” (al-Muʾminūn, 84), down to His saying:

( أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 56 وَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِ الْآخَرِينَ ؟ : ( قُلْ لِمَنِ الْأَرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيهَا ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ : 84 إِلَى قَوْلِهِ : ( قُلْ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ : 85 . وَا مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ ) الذَّارِيَاتُ : 51 وَقَالَ فِي مَقَامِ الْأَوَّلِينَ : ( قُلْ مَنْ بِيَدِهِ مَلَكُوتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ يُجِيرُ وَلَا يُجَارُ عَلَيْهِ ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ :

( ʾafalā tattaqūna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 56 waqāla fī waṣfi al-ʾākharīna ?: ( qul limani al-ʾarḍu waman fīhā ) al-muʾminūna: 84 ʾilā qawlihi: ( qul ʾafalā tadhakkarūna ) al-muʾminūna: 85. wā maʿa allāhi ʾilāhan ʾākhara ) al-dhāriyātu: 51 waqāla fī maqāmi al-ʾawwalīna: ( qul man biyadihi malakūtu kulli shayʾin wahuwa yujīru walā yujāru ʿalayhi ) al-muʾminūna:

“Will you not then be mindful?” (al-Aʿrāf, 56). In describing the others He said, “Say: To whom belong the earth and whoever is in it?” (al-Muʾminūn 23:84), down to His saying, “Say: Will you not then remember?” (al-Muʾminūn 23:85). “…alongside God another god” (al-Dhāriyāt 51:51). Of the first group’s station He said, “Say: In whose hand is the dominion of everything, who gives protection and against whom no protection can be given?” (al-Muʾminūn

84 إِلَى قَوْلِهِ : ( أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 56 وَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِ الْآخَرِينَ ؟ : ( قُلْ لِمَنِ الْأَرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيهَا ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ : 84 إِلَى قَوْلِهِ : ( قُلْ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ : 85 . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْأَثَرِ مِنْ صِفَاتِ الْعَاقِلِ وَحَالِ الْمُرَاقِبِ وَحَشْوِ الْأَوْقَاتِ بِمَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ تُمْلَأَ بِهِ جُمَلَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَبِي

84 ʾilā qawlihi: ( ʾafalā tattaqūna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 56 waqāla fī waṣfi al-ʾākharīna ?: ( qul limani al-ʾarḍu waman fīhā ) al-muʾminūna: 84 ʾilā qawlihi: ( qul ʾafalā tadhakkarūna ) al-muʾminūna: 85. waqad rawaynā fī al-ʾathari min ṣifāti al-ʿāqili waḥāli al-murāqibi waḥashwi al-ʾawqāti bimā yanbaghī ʾan tumlaʾa bihi jumala mā dhakarnāhu min ḥadīthi ʾabī

84), down to His saying, “Will you not then be mindful?” (al-Aʿrāf, 56). In describing the others He said, “Say: To whom belong the earth and whoever is in it?” (al-Muʾminūn 23:84), down to His saying, “Say: Will you not then remember?” (al-Muʾminūn 23:85). We have transmitted in a tradition concerning the qualities of the discerning, the state of the watchful, and filling one’s times with what should fill them, a summary of what we have mentioned, from the long report of Abū

ذَرٍّ الطَّوِيلِ وَلَا يَكُونُ الْمُؤْمِنُ ظَاعِنًا إِلَّا فِي ثَلَاثٍ : تَزَوُّدٍ لِمَعَادٍ أَوْ مَرَمَّةٍ لِمَعَاشٍ أَوْ لَذَّةٍ فِي غَيْرِ مُحَرَّمٍ وَبِمَعْنَاهُ وَعَلَى الْعَاقِلِ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ أَرْبَعُ سَاعَاتٍ : سَاعَةٌ يُنَاجِي فِيهَا رَبَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَسَاعَةٌ يُحَاسِبُ فِيهَا نَفْسَهُ ، وَسَاعَةٌ يُفَكِّرُ فِي صُنْعِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَسَاعَةٌ يَخْلُو فِيهَا لِلْمَطْعَمِ وَالْمَشْرَبِ ،

dharrin al-ṭawīli walā yakūnu al-muʾminu ẓāʿinan ʾillā fī thalāthin: tazawwudin limaʿādin ʾaw marammatin limaʿāshin ʾaw ladhdhatin fī ghayri muḥarramin wabimaʿnāhu waʿalā al-ʿāqili ʾan yakūna lahu ʾarbaʿu sāʿātin: sāʿatun yunājī fīhā rabbahu ʿazza wajalla , wasāʿatun yuḥāsibu fīhā nafsahu , wasāʿatun yufakkiru fī ṣunʿi allāhi ʿazza wajalla , wasāʿatun yakhlū fīhā lilmaṭʿami wa-al-mashrabi ,

Dharr: “The believer travels only for three things: taking provisions for his return, putting his livelihood in order, or enjoyment in something not forbidden.” In the same sense: “The discerning person should have four periods: a period in which he converses intimately with his Lord, mighty and majestic is He; a period in which he examines himself; a period in which he reflects upon God’s handiwork, mighty and majestic is He; and a period in which he withdraws for food and drink.

فَإِنَّ فِي هَذِهِ السَّاعَةِ عَوْنًا لَهُ عَلَى السَّاعَاتِ وَفِيهِ أَيْضًا ثَلَاثُ مُجْمَلَاتٍ مِنْ صِفَةِ الْعَاقِلِ وَمِنْ عَلَامَةِ الْعَاقِلِ أَنْ يَكُونَ

faʾinna fī hādhihi al-sāʿati ʿawnan lahu ʿalā al-sāʿāti wafīhi ʾayḍan thalāthu mujmalātin min ṣifati al-ʿāqili wamin ʿalāmati al-ʿāqili ʾan yakūna

This last period helps him with the other periods.” It also contains three concise descriptions of the discerning person: “A sign of the discerning person is that he is

مُقْبِلًا عَلَى شَأْنِهِ حَافِظًا لِلِسَانِهِ عَارِفًا بِزَمَانِهِ وَفِي بَعْضِهَا مُكْرِمًا لِإِخْوَانِهِ فَأَمَّا وَقْتُ الْمُبَاحِ مِنَ الْأَوْقَاتِ فَالنَّوَائِبُ وَالْحَاجَاتُ تَطْرُقُهُ بِهِ وَالْفَاقَاتُ تَدْخُلُهُ عَلَيْهِ فَلَا يَتَكَلَّفْهُ قَبْلَ وَقْتِهِ فَيَشْغَلَهُ عَنْ وَقْتِهِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْعِبَادَ فِي مُشَاهَدَةِ الْمُلْكِ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ مَقَامَاتٍ :

muqbilan ʿalā shaʾnihi ḥāfiẓan lilisānihi ʿārifan bizamānihi wafī baʿḍihā mukriman liʾikhwānihi faʾammā waqtu al-mubāḥi mina al-ʾawqāti fa-al-nawāʾibu wa-al-ḥājātu taṭruquhu bihi wa-al-fāqātu tadkhuluhu ʿalayhi falā yatakallafhu qabla waqtihi fayashghalahu ʿan waqtihi thumma ʾinna al-ʿibāda fī mushāhadati al-mulki ʿalā ʾarbaʿi maqāmātin:

attentive to his own affairs, protective of his tongue, and aware of his time.” In some versions: “Honoring his brothers.” As for the permissible period among one’s times, contingencies and needs bring it upon him, and necessities introduce it to him. He should not force it before its time and let it distract him from his present time. Servants occupy four stations in witnessing the dominion:

كُلُّ عَبْدٍ يَشْهَدُ الْمُلْكَ مِنْ مَقَامِهِ بِعَيْنِ حَالِهِ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى الْمُلْكِ بِعَيْنِ التَّبْصِرَةِ وَالْعِبْرَةِ فَهَؤُلَاءِ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ الَّذِينَ كُشِفَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمُ الْحِجَابُ وَهُمْ أُولُو الْأَيْدِي وَالْأَبْصَارِ الَّذِينَ أَقَامَهُمْ مَقَامَ الِاعْتِبَارِ وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْعُلَمَاءِ الَّذِينَ هُمْ وَرَثَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ ،

kullu ʿabdin yashhadu al-mulka min maqāmihi biʿayni ḥālihi faminhum man yanẓuru ʾilā al-mulki biʿayni al-tabṣirati wa-al-ʿibrati fahāʾulāʾi ʾūlū al-ʾalbābi alladhīna kushifa ʿan qulūbihimu al-ḥijābu wahum ʾūlū al-ʾaydī wa-al-ʾabṣāri alladhīna ʾaqāmahum maqāma al-iʿtibāri wahādhā maqāmu al-ʿulamāʾi alladhīna hum warathatu al-ʾanbiyāʾi ,

Each servant witnesses the dominion from his own station, through the eye of his state. Some look upon the dominion with the eye of insight and reflection. These are the people of understanding from whose hearts the veil has been lifted; they are those possessed of strength and vision whom He has established in the station of reflection. This is the station of the learned, who are the heirs of the prophets.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى الْمُلْكِ وَأَهْلِهِ بِعَيْنِ الرَّحْمَةِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْخَائِفِينَ ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى الْمُلْكِ وَأَهْلِهِ بِعَيْنِ الْمَقْتِ وَالْبُغْضَةِ وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الزَّاهِدِينَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى الْمُلْكِ بِعَيْنِ الشَّهْوَةِ وَالْغِبْطَةِ وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْهَالِكِينَ وَهُمْ أَبْنَاءُ الدُّنْيَا الَّذِينَ لَهَا يَسْعَوْنَ وَعَلَى فَوْتِهَا يَتَحَسَّرُونَ ،

waminhum man yanẓuru ʾilā al-mulki waʾahlihi biʿayni al-raḥmati wa-al-ḥikmati wahādhā maqāmu al-khāʾifīna , waminhum man yanẓuru ʾilā al-mulki waʾahlihi biʿayni al-maqti wa-al-bughḍati wahādhā maqāmu al-zāhidīna waminhum man yanẓuru ʾilā al-mulki biʿayni al-shahwati wa-al-ghibṭati wahādhā maqāmu al-hālikīna wahum ʾabnāʾu al-dunyā alladhīna lahā yasʿawna waʿalā fawtihā yataḥassarūna ,

Some look upon the dominion and its inhabitants with the eye of mercy and wisdom: this is the station of those who fear. Some look upon the dominion and its inhabitants with the eye of loathing and aversion: this is the station of the renunciants. Some look upon the dominion with the eye of appetite and covetous admiration: this is the station of those who perish, the children of this world who strive for it and grieve over its loss.

فَإِنْ أُعْطِيَ الْعَبْدُ النَّظَرَ إِلَى الْمُلْكِ بِعَيْنِ الْعِبْرَةِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ أَدْخَلَهُ الْمُلْكُ عَلَى الْمَلِكِ فَاسْتَغْنَى بِهِ عَمَّا سِوَاهُ وَإِنْ أُعْطِيَ الْخَائِفُ النَّظَرَ إِلَى الْمُلْكِ بِعَيْنِ الرَّحْمَةِ اِغْتَبَطَ بِمَقَامِهِ وَعَظُمَتْ لِرَبِّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ النِّعْمَةُ وَإِنْ أُعْطِيَ الزَّاهِدُ النَّظَرَ إِلَى الْمُلْكِ بِعَيْنِ الْبُغْضَةِ أَخْرَجَهُ الْمُلْكُ عَنِ الْمُلْكِ بِالزُّهْدِ فِيهِ

faʾin ʾuʿṭiya al-ʿabdu al-naẓara ʾilā al-mulki biʿayni al-ʿibrati wa-al-ḥikmati ʾadkhalahu al-mulku ʿalā al-maliki fastaghnā bihi ʿammā siwāhu waʾin ʾuʿṭiya al-khāʾifu al-naẓara ʾilā al-mulki biʿayni al-raḥmati ightabaṭa bimaqāmihi waʿaẓumat lirabbihi taʿālā ʿalayhi al-niʿmatu waʾin ʾuʿṭiya al-zāhidu al-naẓara ʾilā al-mulki biʿayni al-bughḍati ʾakhrajahu al-mulku ʿani al-mulki bi-al-zuhdi fīhi

If the servant is granted a view of the dominion with the eye of reflection and wisdom, the dominion admits him to the King, and through Him he has no need of anything else. If the fearful person is granted a view of the dominion with the eye of mercy, he rejoices in his station, and his Lord’s favor upon him, exalted is He, becomes great. If the renunciant is granted a view of the dominion with the eye of aversion, the dominion takes him out of the dominion through renouncing it,

فَعَوَّضَهُ مِنْ فَوْتِ الْمُلْكِ الصَّغِيرِ دَرْكَ الْمُلْكِ الْكَبِيرِ ، وَمَنِ ابْتُلِيَ بِالنَّظَرِ إِلَى الْمُلْكِ بِعَيْنِ الْغِبْطَةِ وَالْحَسْرَةِ أَوْقَعَهُ الْمُلْكُ فِي الْهَلَكَةِ فَسَلَكَ طَرِيقَ الْمَهَالِكِ ، وَمَنْ شَاهَدَ مَعْنَى خُلُقٍ مِنْ أَخْلَاقِ الذَّوَاتِ أَوْ مَعْنَى وَصْفٍ مِنَ الصِّفَاتِ كَانَ مُقْتَضَاهُ مَا يُوجِبُ الْخُلُقُ أَوِ الْوَصْفُ مِنْ شُهُودِ نَعِيمٍ أَوْ عَذَابٍ وَهُوَ مَقَامٌ لَهُ

faʿawwaḍahu min fawti al-mulki al-ṣaghīri darka al-mulki al-kabīri , wamani ibtuliya bi-al-naẓari ʾilā al-mulki biʿayni al-ghibṭati wa-al-ḥasrati ʾawqaʿahu al-mulku fī al-halakati fasalaka ṭarīqa al-mahāliki , waman shāhada maʿnā khuluqin min ʾakhlāqi al-dhawāti ʾaw maʿnā waṣfin mina al-ṣifāti kāna muqtaḍāhu mā yūjibu al-khuluqu ʾawi al-waṣfu min shuhūdi naʿīmin ʾaw ʿadhābin wahuwa maqāmun lahu

compensating him for missing the lesser dominion with attainment of the greater dominion. Whoever is tried with viewing the dominion through covetous admiration and regret is cast by it into destruction and follows the paths of ruin. Whoever witnesses the meaning of a disposition among the dispositions of beings, or the meaning of an attribute among attributes, receives what that disposition or attribute entails in witnessing bliss or punishment. This is a station for him

فِي التَّعْرِيفِ يَرْفَعُهُ إِلَى مَقَامِ التَّعَرُّفِ وَهَذِهِ شَهَادَةُ الْعَارِفِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ مَا شَهِدُوهُ مِنَ الْأَفْعَالِ الَّتِي تَدُلُّ عَلَى مَعَانِي الْأَخْلَاقِ وَالْأَوْصَافِ لِأَنَّهُ أَظْهَرَهَا عَنْهُ لِيُسْتَدَلَّ عَلَيْهِ بِهَا وَيُنْظَرَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْهَا فَأَمَّا مَنْ شَهِدَ شَهْوَةً مِنْ شَهَوَاتِ النَّفْسِ بِعَيْنِ الْهَوَى أَخْرَجَتْهُ إِلَى الْأَهْوَاءِ فَتَخَطَّفَهُ الشَّيَاطِينُ وَهَوَتْ بِهِ الرِّيحُ فِي

fī al-taʿrīfi yarfaʿuhu ʾilā maqāmi al-taʿarrufi wahādhihi shahādatu al-ʿārifīna min kulli mā shahidūhu mina al-ʾafʿāli allatī tadullu ʿalā maʿānī al-ʾakhlāqi wa-al-ʾawṣāfi liʾannahu ʾaẓharahā ʿanhu liyustadalla ʿalayhi bihā wayunẓara ʾilayhi minhā faʾammā man shahida shahwatan min shahawāti al-nafsi biʿayni al-hawā ʾakhrajathu ʾilā al-ʾahwāʾi fatakhaṭṭafahu al-shayāṭīnu wahawat bihi al-rīḥu fī

in being made to know, which raises him to the station of recognizing God. This is the witnessing of those who know God in everything they witness of acts that point to the meanings of dispositions and attributes, because He brought them forth from Himself so that through them He might be known and from them one might look toward Him. But whoever witnesses an appetite of the self with the eye of desire is led by it into passions; devils snatch him away, and the wind casts him into

مَكَانٍ سَحِيقٍ وَتَنَكَّبَ طَرِيقَ الْمَسَالِكِ إِلَى الْمَوْلَى الَّتِي تُخْرِجُهُ إِلَى الْقَرِيبِ وَتُقْعِدُهُ عِنْدَ الْحَبِيبِ فِي مَقْعَدِ صِدْقٍ عِنْدَ مَلِيكٍ مُقْتَدِرٍ ، فَمَنْ فَاتَهُ الْقُرْبُ وَقَعَ فِي التِّيهِ وَالْبُعْدِ فَهُوَ الْيَائِسُ الْمَغْبُونُ الْخَائِنُ الْمَفْتُونُ الَّذِي يَكُونُ أَبَدًا يَوْمُهُ شَرًّا مِنْ أَمْسِهِ وَغَدُهُ شَرًّا مِنْ يَوْمِهِ ،

makānin saḥīqin watanakkaba ṭarīqa al-masāliki ʾilā al-mawlā allatī tukhrijuhu ʾilā al-qarībi watuqʿiduhu ʿinda al-ḥabībi fī maqʿadi ṣidqin ʿinda malīkin muqtadirin , faman fātahu al-qurbu waqaʿa fī allatīhi wa-al-buʿdi fahuwa al-yāʾisu al-maghbūnu al-khāʾinu al-maftūnu alladhī yakūnu ʾabadan yawmuhu sharran min ʾamsihi waghaduhu sharran min yawmihi ,

a far-distant place. He turns aside from the paths to the Master, which would bring him to the Near One and seat him with the Beloved in a seat of truth before an all-powerful Sovereign. Whoever misses nearness falls into wandering and distance. He is the despairing, cheated, treacherous, deluded one, whose day is always worse than his yesterday and whose tomorrow is worse than his today.

فَالْمَوْتُ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ حَيَاتِهِ لِأَنَّ حَيَاتَهُ عَنِ الْحَبِيبِ تُبْعِدُهُ وَبَقَاءَهُ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ يَصُدُّهُ وَوَجْدَهُ لِهَوَاهُ يُفْقِدُهُ وَظُهُورَ نَفْسِهِ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ السَّوَابِقِ يُقْعِدُهُ لِأَنَّهُ إِذَا كَانَ فِي إِدْبَارٍ وَكَانَ إِدْبَارُهُ فِي إِقْبَالٍ فَقَدْ فَاتَهُ عُمْرُهُ عَنْ آخِرِهِ كَفَوْتِ وَقْتٍ وَاحِدٍ وَفَوْتِ شَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ لِأَنَّ الْعُمْرَ لَيْسَ مِمَّا يَتَأَتَّى فَوْتُهُ دَفْعَةً وَاحِدَةً

fa-al-mawtu khayrun lahu min ḥayātihi liʾanna ḥayātahu ʿani al-ḥabībi tubʿiduhu wabaqāʾahu ʿani al-sabīli yaṣudduhu wawajdahu lihawāhu yufqiduhu waẓuhūra nafsihi ʿalayhi mina al-sawābiqi yuqʿiduhu liʾannahu ʾidhā kāna fī ʾidbārin wakāna ʾidbāruhu fī ʾiqbālin faqad fātahu ʿumruhu ʿan ʾākhirihi kafawti waqtin wāḥidin wafawti shayʾin wāḥidin liʾanna al-ʿumra laysa mimmā yataʾattā fawtuhu dafʿatan wāḥidatan

Death is better for him than his life, because his life distances him from the Beloved, his continuing existence bars him from the path, his finding his desire deprives him, and his self’s ascendancy over him holds him back from earlier attainments. When he is retreating and his retreat is advancing, his entire life has escaped him as a single moment or a single thing escapes. A lifetime cannot, however, pass away all at once

كَشَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ لِأَنَّهُ يَنْشَأُ وَقْتًا بَعْدَ وَقْتٍ وَإِنَّمَا يَفُوتُ جُزْءًا جُزْءًا عَلَى حِكْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَتَمَهُّلٍ وَاسْتِدْرَاجٍ مِنْهُ وَقْتًا بَعْدَ وَقْتٍ وَيَوْمًا بَعْدَ يَوْمٍ يَسْتَدْرِجُهُ فِي ذَلِكَ كَمَا يَصْعَدُ الدَّرَّاجُ فِي الدَّرَجِ مِرْقَاةً مِرْقَاةً ، كَذَلِكَ يَشْغَلُهُ فِي وَقْتٍ عَنْهُ وَيُفْرِغُهُ وَقْتًا آخَرَ لِغَيْرِهِ وَيُذَكِّرُهُ فِي وَقْتٍ سِوَاهُ وَيُنْسِيهِ وَقْتًا آخَرَ

kashayʾin wāḥidin liʾannahu yanshaʾu waqtan baʿda waqtin waʾinnamā yafūtu juzʾan juzʾan ʿalā ḥikmatin mina allāhi ʿazza wajalla watamahhulin wastidrājin minhu waqtan baʿda waqtin wayawman baʿda yawmin yastadrijuhu fī dhālika kamā yaṣʿadu al-darrāju fī al-daraji mirqātan mirqātan , kadhālika yashghaluhu fī waqtin ʿanhu wayufrighuhu waqtan ʾākhara lighayrihi wayudhakkiruhu fī waqtin siwāhu wayunsīhi waqtan ʾākhara

like a single thing, because it comes into being moment after moment. It passes only piece by piece, through wisdom from God, mighty and majestic is He, and through His giving respite and drawing a person on gradually, moment after moment and day after day. He draws him on in this as a climber ascends the stairs, step by step. Likewise, at one time He occupies him away from Himself; at another He frees him for something else; at one time He reminds him of something besides Himself; and at another He makes him forget

إِيَّاهُ فَشُغْلُهُ حِينَئِذٍ كَفَرَاغِهِ وَذِكْرُهُ يَوْمَئِذٍ كَنِسْيَانِهِ وَعَلَى هَذَا سَائِرُ أَوْقَاتِهِ تَارَةً يَقْطَعُهُ عَنْهُ وَتَارَةً

ʾiyyāhu fashughluhu ḥīnaʾidhin kafarāghihi wadhikruhu yawmaʾidhin kanisyānihi waʿalā hādhā sāʾiru ʾawqātihi tāratan yaqṭaʿuhu ʿanhu watāratan

Him. His occupation is then like his idleness, and his remembrance like his forgetfulness. All his times are like this: sometimes He cuts him off from Himself, and sometimes

يَصِلُهُ بِغَيْرِهِ حَتَّى تَفْنَى الْأَيَّامُ بِالْفَوْتِ وَتَنْقَضِيَ الْأَوْقَاتُ إِلَى الْمَوْتِ وَفِي ذَلِكَ يُسْبِلُ عَلَيْهِ السِّتْرَ لِيَغْتَرَّ وَيُسْبِغُ عَلَيْهِ النِّعَمَ كَيْلَا يَعْلَمَ وَيُدِيمُ لَهُ الْعَوَافِيَ لِئَلَّا يَفْطَنَ وَيَبْسُطُ لَهُ الْأَمَلَ لِيَزْدَادَ مِنْ سُوءِ الْعَمَلِ وَيَقْبِضُ عَنْهُ الْأَجَلَ لِيَقْبِضَ مِنْهُ الْوَجَلَ وَيَنْشُرُ لَهُ الرَّجَاءَ وَيَطْوِي عَنْهُ الْخَوْفَ حَتَّى يَبْغَتَهُمْ فَجْأَةً

yaṣiluhu bighayrihi ḥattā tafnā al-ʾayyāmu bi-al-fawti watanqaḍiya al-ʾawqātu ʾilā al-mawti wafī dhālika yusbilu ʿalayhi al-sitra liyaghtarra wayusbighu ʿalayhi al-niʿama kaylā yaʿlama wayudīmu lahu al-ʿawāfiya liʾallā yafṭana wayabsuṭu lahu al-ʾamala liyazdāda min sūʾi al-ʿamali wayaqbiḍu ʿanhu al-ʾajala liyaqbiḍa minhu al-wajala wayanshuru lahu al-rajāʾa wayaṭwī ʿanhu al-khawfa ḥattā yabghatahum fajʾatan

He connects him to something else, until his days disappear in loss and his times end in death. Meanwhile He lets the covering fall over him so that he is deceived, lavishes favors upon him so that he does not know, and continues his well-being so that he does not notice. He stretches out hope for him so that he increases in bad deeds, withdraws the appointed end from his sight so that He withdraws his apprehension, spreads out hope for him, and folds fear away from him, until He overtakes them suddenly

مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَّنَهُمْ وَيَأْخُذُهُمْ بَغْتَةً فِي حَالِ غَمْرَتِهِمْ كَمَا قَالَ : ( وَمَكَرُوا مَكْرًا وَمَكَرْنَا مَكْرًا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ ) النَّمْلُ : 50 وَمِنْ مَعْنَى مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( فَلَمَّا نَسُوا مَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهِ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 44 أَيْ لَمَّا تَرَكُوا مَا وُعِظُوا بِهِ وَخُوِّفُوا أَسْبَغْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ النِّعَمَ وَأَنْسَيْنَاهُمُ

min ḥaythu ʾammanahum wayaʾkhudhuhum baghtatan fī ḥāli ghamratihim kamā qāla: ( wamakarū makran wamakarnā makran wahum lā yashʿurūna ) al-namlu: 50 wamin maʿnā mā dhakarnāhu qawluhu taʿālā: ( falammā nasū mā dhukkirū bihi fataḥnā ʿalayhim ʾabwāba kulli shayʾin ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 44 ʾay lammā tarakū mā wuʿiẓū bihi wakhuwwifū ʾasbaghnā ʿalayhimu al-niʿama waʾansaynāhumu

from the very place where He made them feel safe and seizes them abruptly while they are submerged in heedlessness. As He said, “They devised a plot, and We devised a plot, while they were unaware” (al-Naml 27:50). His saying, exalted is He, also conveys what we have mentioned: “When they forgot what they had been reminded of, We opened for them the gates of everything” (al-Anʿām 6:44). That is, when they abandoned what they had been admonished and warned about, We lavished favors upon them and made them forget

الشُّكْرَ فَتَرَادَفَتْ مِنْهُمُ الذُّنُوبُ وَأَنْسَيْنَاهُمُ الِاسْتِغْفَارَ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : ( حَتَّى إِذَا فَرِحُوا بِمَا أُوتُوا ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 44 أَيْ سَكَنُوا إِلَى ذَلِكَ وَاطْمَأَنُّوا وَلَمْ يُرِيدُوا التَّحْوِيلَ عَنْهُ وَلَا الِاسْتِعْتَابَ مِنْهُ : ( أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بَغْتَةً ) الْكَهْفُ : 28 أَيْ فَجْأَةً فِي حِينِ أَمْنِهِمْ وَقِيلَ بَغْتَةً بَعْدَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ مُبْلِسُونَ

al-shukra fatarādafat minhumu al-dhunūbu waʾansaynāhumu al-istighfāra , thumma qāla: ( ḥattā ʾidhā fariḥū bimā ʾūtū ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 44 ʾay sakanū ʾilā dhālika waṭmaʾannū walam yurīdū al-taḥwīla ʿanhu walā al-istiʿtāba minhu: ( ʾakhadhnāhum baghtatan ) al-kahfu: 28 ʾay fajʾatan fī ḥīni ʾamnihim waqīla baghtatan baʿda ʾarbaʿīna sanatan faʾidhā hum mublisūna

gratitude. Their sins followed one another, and We made them forget to seek forgiveness. Then He said, “Until, when they rejoiced in what they had been given” (al-Anʿām 6:44), meaning that they rested in it, felt secure, and desired neither to leave it nor to seek restoration from it: “We seized them suddenly” (al-Kahf, 28), meaning abruptly, when they felt safe. It was also said, “Suddenly, after forty years.” “Then they were plunged into despair,”

مُتَحَيِّرُونَ بَاهِتُونَ آيِسُونَ مِنْ كُلِّ خَيْرٍ ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا كَانَ بَعْدَ سَاعَةٍ شَرًّا مِنْهُ قَبْلَهَا وَبَعْدَ يَوْمٍ شَرًّا مِنْهُ قَبْلَهُ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَسْتَعْتِبْ وَلَمْ يَتَدَارَكْ كَانَتْ أَوْقَاتُهُ كُلُّهَا وَأَيَّامُهُ كَيَوْمٍ وَاحِدٍ فِي الشَّرِّ وَوَقْتٍ سَرْمَدٍ فِي السُّوءِ فَكَانَ كَمَنْ فَاتَ عُمْرُهُ كُلُّهُ كَفَوْتِ وَقْتٍ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُ لِأَنَّهُ عَلَى هَذَا الْوَصْفِ يَكُونُ فَوْتُ

mutaḥayyirūna bāhitūna ʾāyisūna min kulli khayrin , waʿlam ʾanna al-ʿabda ʾidhā kāna baʿda sāʿatin sharran minhu qablahā wabaʿda yawmin sharran minhu qablahu thumma lam yastaʿtib walam yatadārak kānat ʾawqātuhu kulluhā waʾayyāmuhu kayawmin wāḥidin fī al-sharri wawaqtin sarmadin fī al-sūʾi fakāna kaman fāta ʿumruhu kulluhu kafawti waqtin wāḥidin minhu liʾannahu ʿalā hādhā al-waṣfi yakūnu fawtu

bewildered, dumbfounded, despairing of every good. Know that if a servant is worse after an hour than before it, and worse after a day than before it, yet does not seek reconciliation or make amends, all his times and days are like a single day in evil and an unending period in wrongdoing. He is like someone whose entire life has escaped him as one moment of it escapes, because in this condition the loss of

الْعُمْرِ لِتَرَاخِيهِ وَقْتًا بَعْدَ وَقْتٍ وَيَنْسَاهُ شَيْئًا بَعْدَ شَيْءٍ وَلِتَرْبِيَةِ الْعَبْدِ بِأَوْقَاتِهِ وَقْتًا بَعْدَ وَقْتٍ إِلَّا أَنَّهَا فِي آخِرِ الْحِسَابِ وَمُجْمَلِهِ كَيَوْمٍ وَاحِدٍ أَضَاعَهُ فَكَانَ مِثْلَهُ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَنْ ذِكْرِنَا وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطًا ) الْكَهْفُ :

al-ʿumri litarākhīhi waqtan baʿda waqtin wayansāhu shayʾan baʿda shayʾin walitarbiyati al-ʿabdi biʾawqātihi waqtan baʿda waqtin ʾillā ʾannahā fī ʾākhiri al-ḥisābi wamujmalihi kayawmin wāḥidin ʾaḍāʿahu fakāna mithlahu kamā qāla taʿālā: ( walā tuṭiʿ man ʾaghfalnā qalbahu ʿan dhikrinā wattabaʿa hawāhu wakāna ʾamruhu furuṭan ) al-kahfu:

his life occurs through its unfolding moment after moment and his forgetting it piece by piece, and through the servant’s being nurtured by his times, moment after moment. Yet, in the final reckoning and its total, they are like a single day that he wasted. His likeness is as He, exalted is He, said, “Do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who has followed his desire and whose affair has become excessive” (al-Kahf

28 وَكَمَنْ كَانَ حَالُهُ الْغَفْلَةَ عَنِ الْوَعْدِ وَالْوَعِيدِ فَلَمَّا كُشِفَ عَنْهُ الْغِطَاءُ حَارَ بَصَرُهُ وَبُهِتَ وَاحْتَدَّ وَبَرِقَ لِمُعَايَنَةِ مَا كَانَ عَنْهُ غَفَلَ وَحَسْرَةً عَلَى مَا فِيهِ فَرَّطَ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( لَقَدْ كُنْتَ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِنْ هَذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنْكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ ) ق : 22 ، قِيلَ مُحَدَّدٌ إِلَى أَعْمَالِكَ السَّيِّئَةِ أَوْثَقَتْكَ وَقِيلَ حَدِيدٌ

28 wakaman kāna ḥāluhu al-ghaflata ʿani al-waʿdi wa-al-waʿīdi falammā kushifa ʿanhu al-ghiṭāʾu ḥāra baṣaruhu wabuhita waḥtadda wabariqa limuʿāyanati mā kāna ʿanhu ghafala waḥasratan ʿalā mā fīhi farraṭa liqawlihi taʿālā: ( laqad kunta fī ghaflatin min hādhā fakashafnā ʿanka ghiṭāʾaka fabaṣaruka al-yawma ḥadīdun ) qāf: 22 , qīla muḥaddadun ʾilā ʾaʿmālika al-sayyiʾati ʾawthaqatka waqīla ḥadīdun

18:28). He is like one whose condition was heedlessness of the promise and the threat. When the covering was lifted from him, his sight wandered in confusion; he was dumbfounded, and his sight sharpened and flashed upon directly seeing what he had neglected and in regret for what he had squandered. For He, exalted is He, said, “You were heedless of this, so We removed your covering from you; today your sight is keen” (Qāf 50:22). It was said, “Directed sharply toward your bad deeds, which have bound you.” It was also said, “Keen,

إِلَى لِسَانِ الْمِيزَانِ يَتَوَقَّعُ النَّقْصَ وَالرُّجْحَانَ وَكَانَ كَمَنْ قَالَ تَعَالَى فِي قَوْلِهِ : ( وَأَنْذِرْهُمْ يَوْمَ الْحَسْرَةِ إِذْ قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ وَهُمْ فِي غَفْلَةٍ ) مَرْيَمُ : 39 قِيلَ جَاءَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ وَهُمْ مَشْغُولُونَ بِأُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَقِيلَ : كَانُوا مُتَشَاغِلِينَ فِي شَأْنِ النِّسَاءِ وَبِوَصْفِ مَنْ قِيلَ لَهُ وَغَرَّتْكُمُ الْأَمَانِيُّ يَعْنِي أَمَانِيَ الْهَوَى حَتَّى جَاءَ

ʾilā lisāni al-mīzāni yatawaqqaʿu al-naqṣa wa-al-rujḥāna wakāna kaman qāla taʿālā fī qawlihi: ( waʾandhirhum yawma al-ḥasrati ʾidh quḍiya al-ʾamru wahum fī ghaflatin ) maryamu: 39 qīla jāʾahumu al-mawtu wahum mashghūlūna biʾumūri al-dunyā waqīla: kānū mutashāghilīna fī shaʾni al-nisāʾi wabiwaṣfi man qīla lahu wagharratkumu al-ʾamāniyyu yaʿnī ʾamāniya al-hawā ḥattā jāʾa

toward the pointer of the balance, awaiting shortfall or outweighing.” He is like those of whom the Exalted said in His saying, “Warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter has been decided while they are heedless” (Maryam 19:39). It was said, “Death came to them while they were occupied with worldly affairs.” It was said, “They were preoccupied with matters concerning women.” He has the description of those told, “Wishful hopes deceived you,” meaning the hopes of desire, “until there came

أَمْرُ اللَّهِ أَيْ قَدِمَ الْمَوْتُ وَلَمْ تُقَدِّمُوا لَهُ شَيْئًا يَقْدَمُوا بِهِ عَلَيْهِ فَمَثَلُهُمْ كَمَنْ وَصَفَهُ بِالْإِفْلَاسِ وَأَخْبَرَ عَنْهُ بِالْإِيَاسِ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ ) النُّورُ : 39 . ( أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بَغْتَةً ) الْكَهْفُ : 28 أَيْ فَجْأَةً فِي حِينِ أَمْنِهِمْ وَقِيلَ بَغْتَةً بَعْدَ أَرْبَعِينَ

ʾamru allāhi ʾay qadima al-mawtu walam tuqaddimū lahu shayʾan yaqdamū bihi ʿalayhi famathaluhum kaman waṣafahu bi-al-ʾiflāsi waʾakhbara ʿanhu bi-al-ʾiyāsi fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( ḥattā ʾidhā jāʾahu lam yajidhu shayʾan wawajada allāha ʿindahu fawaffāhu ḥisābahu ) al-nūru: 39. ( ʾakhadhnāhum baghtatan ) al-kahfu: 28 ʾay fajʾatan fī ḥīni ʾamnihim waqīla baghtatan baʿda ʾarbaʿīna

God’s command,” meaning that death arrived while you had sent ahead nothing with which to come before Him. Their likeness is that of one whom He described as bankrupt and of whom He declared despair in His saying, mighty and majestic is He, “Until, when he comes to it, he finds it to be nothing, and finds God there, who pays him his account in full” (al-Nūr 24:39). “We seized them suddenly” (al-Kahf, 28), meaning abruptly, when they felt safe. It was also said, “Suddenly, after forty

سَنَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ مُبْلِسُونَ مُتَحَيِّرُونَ بَاهِتُونَ آيِسُونَ مِنْ كُلِّ خَيْرٍ ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا كَانَ بَعْدَ سَاعَةٍ شَرًّا مِنْهُ قَبْلَهَا وَبَعْدَ يَوْمٍ شَرًّا مِنْهُ قَبْلَهُ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَسْتَعْتِبْ وَلَمْ يَتَدَارَكْ كَانَتْ أَوْقَاتُهُ كُلُّهَا وَأَيَّامُهُ كَيَوْمٍ وَاحِدٍ فِي الشَّرِّ وَوَقْتٍ سَرْمَدٍ فِي السُّوءِ فَكَانَ كَمَنْ فَاتَ عُمْرُهُ كُلُّهُ كَفَوْتِ وَقْتٍ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُ لِأَنَّهُ عَلَى هَذَا

sanatan faʾidhā hum mublisūna mutaḥayyirūna bāhitūna ʾāyisūna min kulli khayrin , waʿlam ʾanna al-ʿabda ʾidhā kāna baʿda sāʿatin sharran minhu qablahā wabaʿda yawmin sharran minhu qablahu thumma lam yastaʿtib walam yatadārak kānat ʾawqātuhu kulluhā waʾayyāmuhu kayawmin wāḥidin fī al-sharri wawaqtin sarmadin fī al-sūʾi fakāna kaman fāta ʿumruhu kulluhu kafawti waqtin wāḥidin minhu liʾannahu ʿalā hādhā

years.” “Then they were plunged into despair,” bewildered, dumbfounded, despairing of every good. Know that if a servant is worse after an hour than before it, and worse after a day than before it, yet does not seek reconciliation or make amends, all his times and days are like a single day in evil and an unending period in wrongdoing. He is like someone whose entire life has escaped him as one moment of it escapes, because in this

الْوَصْفِ يَكُونُ فَوْتُ الْعُمْرِ لِتَرَاخِيهِ وَقْتًا بَعْدَ وَقْتٍ وَيَنْسَاهُ شَيْئًا بَعْدَ شَيْءٍ وَلِتَرْبِيَةِ الْعَبْدِ بِأَوْقَاتِهِ وَقْتًا بَعْدَ وَقْتٍ إِلَّا أَنَّهَا فِي آخِرِ الْحِسَابِ وَمُجْمَلِهِ كَيَوْمٍ وَاحِدٍ أَضَاعَهُ فَكَانَ مِثْلَهُ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَنْ ذِكْرِنَا وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطًا ) الْكَهْفُ :

al-waṣfi yakūnu fawtu al-ʿumri litarākhīhi waqtan baʿda waqtin wayansāhu shayʾan baʿda shayʾin walitarbiyati al-ʿabdi biʾawqātihi waqtan baʿda waqtin ʾillā ʾannahā fī ʾākhiri al-ḥisābi wamujmalihi kayawmin wāḥidin ʾaḍāʿahu fakāna mithlahu kamā qāla taʿālā: ( walā tuṭiʿ man ʾaghfalnā qalbahu ʿan dhikrinā wattabaʿa hawāhu wakāna ʾamruhu furuṭan ) al-kahfu:

condition the loss of his life occurs through its unfolding moment after moment and his forgetting it piece by piece, and through the servant’s being nurtured by his times, moment after moment. Yet, in the final reckoning and its total, they are like a single day that he wasted. His likeness is as He, exalted is He, said, “Do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who has followed his desire and whose affair has become excessive” (al-Kahf

أَمْرُ اللَّهِ أَيْ قَدِمَ الْمَوْتُ وَلَمْ تُقَدِّمُوا لَهُ شَيْئًا يَقْدَمُوا بِهِ عَلَيْهِ فَمَثَلُهُمْ كَمَنْ وَصَفَهُ بِالْإِفْلَاسِ وَأَخْبَرَ عَنْهُ بِالْإِيَاسِ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ ) النُّورُ : 39 . وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ يَقُولُ لَا يَبْلُغُ الْعَبْدُ مَنَازِلَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ حَقِيقَةً مِنْ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ حَتَّى

ʾamru allāhi ʾay qadima al-mawtu walam tuqaddimū lahu shayʾan yaqdamū bihi ʿalayhi famathaluhum kaman waṣafahu bi-al-ʾiflāsi waʾakhbara ʿanhu bi-al-ʾiyāsi fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( ḥattā ʾidhā jāʾahu lam yajidhu shayʾan wawajada allāha ʿindahu fawaffāhu ḥisābahu ) al-nūru: 39. waqad kāna ʾabū muḥammadin yaqūlu lā yablughu al-ʿabdu manāzila al-ṣiddīqīna ḥaqīqatan min hādhā al-ʾamri ḥattā

God’s command,” meaning that death arrived while you had sent ahead nothing with which to come before Him. Their likeness is that of one whom He described as bankrupt and of whom He declared despair in His saying, mighty and majestic is He, “Until, when he comes to it, he finds it to be nothing, and finds God there, who pays him his account in full” (al-Nūr 24:39). Abū Muḥammad used to say, “The servant does not truly reach the stations of the utterly truthful in this matter until

يَكُونَ فِيهِ هَذِهِ الْأَرْبَعُ : أَدَاءُ الْفَرَائِضِ بِالسُّنَّةِ ، وَأَكْلُ الْحَلَالِ بِالْوَرَعِ ، وَاجْتِنَابُ النَّهْيِ فِي الظَّاهِرِ وَالْبَاطِنِ ، وَالصَّبْرُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْمَمَاتِ ، وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ : وَاللَّهِ مَا لِعَمَلِ الْمُؤْمِنِ انْتِهَاءٌ دُونَ الْمَوْتِ وَاللَّهِ مَا الْمُؤْمِنُ الَّذِي يَعْمَلُ الشَّهْرَ وَالشَّهْرَيْنِ وَالسَّنَةَ وَالسَّنَتَيْنِ إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُ

yakūna fīhi hādhihi al-ʾarbaʿu: ʾadāʾu al-farāʾiḍi bi-al-sunnati , waʾaklu al-ḥalāli bi-al-waraʿi , wajtinābu al-nahyi fī al-ẓāhiri wa-al-bāṭini , wa-al-ṣabru ʿalā dhālika ʾilā al-mamāti , wakāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu: wa-allāhi mā liʿamali al-muʾmini intihāʾun dūna al-mawti wa-allāhi mā al-muʾminu alladhī yaʿmalu al-shahra wa-al-shahrayni wa-al-sanata wa-al-sanatayni ʾinnamā al-muʾminu

these four are found in him: fulfilling the obligations according to the Sunna, eating lawful food with scrupulousness, avoiding prohibitions outwardly and inwardly, and persevering in this until death.” Al-Ḥasan used to say, “By God, the believer’s work has no end short of death. By God, the believer is not one who works for a month or two, or a year or two. The believer is only

الْمُدَاوِمُ عَلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ ، الْخَائِفُ مِنْ مَكْرِ اللَّهِ ، إِنَّمَا الْإِيمَانُ شِدَّةٌ فِي لِينٍ وَعَزْمٌ فِي يَقِينٍ وَاجْتِهَادٌ فِي صَبْرٍ وَعِلْمٌ فِي زُهْدٍ وَكَانَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ إِذَا تَلَا قَوْلَهُ

al-mudāwimu ʿalā ʾamri allāhi , al-khāʾifu min makri allāhi , ʾinnamā al-ʾīmānu shiddatun fī līnin waʿazmun fī yaqīnin wajtihādun fī ṣabrin waʿilmun fī zuhdin wakāna ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾidhā talā qawlahu

the one who continually keeps God’s command and fears God’s devising. Faith is firmness within gentleness, resolve within certainty, striving within patience, and knowledge within renunciation.” When ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, recited His saying,

تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا ) الْأَحْقَافُ : 13 يَقُولُ قَدْ قَالَهَا النَّاسُ ثُمَّ رَجَعُوا ، فَمَنِ اسْتَقَامَ عَلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ فِي السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ وَالْعُسْرِ وَالْيُسْرِ وَلَمْ يَخَفْ فِي اللَّهِ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ وَقَالَ مَرَّةً اسْتَقَامُوا وَاللَّهِ لِرَبِّهِمْ وَلَمْ يَرُوغُوا رَوَغَانَ الثَّعَالِبِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ :

taʿālā: ( ʾinna alladhīna qālū rabbunā allāhu thumma istaqāmū ) al-ʾaḥqāfu: 13 yaqūlu qad qālahā al-nāsu thumma rajaʿū , famani istaqāma ʿalā ʾamri allāhi fī al-sirri wa-al-ʿalāniyati wa-al-ʿusri wa-al-yusri walam yakhaf fī allāhi lawmata lāʾimin waqāla marratan istaqāmū wa-allāhi lirabbihim walam yarūghū rawaghāna al-thaʿālibi , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi:

exalted is He, “Those who say, ‘Our Lord is God,’ then remain steadfast” (al-Aḥqāf 46:13), he would say, “People have said it and then turned back. It is the one who remains steadfast upon God’s command in private and in public, in hardship and in ease, and fears no critic’s blame for God’s sake.” Once he said, “By God, they remained steadfast for their Lord and did not dodge like foxes.” One of the learned said:

مَنْ كَانَ طَلَبُ الْفَضَائِلِ أَهَمَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ أَدَاءِ الْفَرَائِضِ فَهُوَ مَخْدُوعٌ وَمَنْ شُغِلَ بِغَيْرِهِ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ فَقَدْ مُكِرَ بِهِ ، وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ وَغَيْرُهُ : إِنَّمَا حُرِمُوا الْوُصُولَ بِتَضْيِيعِ الْأُصُولِ فَأَفْضَلُ شَيْءٍ لِلْعَبْدِ مَعْرِفَتُهُ بِنَفْسِهِ وَوُقُوفُهُ عَلَى حَدِّهِ وَإِحْكَامُهُ لِحَالِهِ الَّتِي أُقِيمَ فِيهَا ،

man kāna ṭalabu al-faḍāʾili ʾahamma ʾilayhi min ʾadāʾi al-farāʾiḍi fahuwa makhdūʿun waman shughila bighayrihi ʿan nafsihi faqad mukira bihi , waqāla sufyānu al-thawriyyu waghayruhu: ʾinnamā ḥurimū al-wuṣūla bitaḍyīʿi al-ʾuṣūli faʾafḍalu shayʾin lilʿabdi maʿrifatuhu binafsihi wawuqūfuhu ʿalā ḥaddihi waʾiḥkāmuhu liḥālihi allatī ʾuqīma fīhā ,

“Whoever considers seeking extra virtues more important than fulfilling obligations is deceived; whoever is occupied with others to the neglect of himself has been outwitted.” Sufyān al-Thawrī and others said, “They were deprived of arrival only because they neglected the foundations.” The best thing for the servant is to know himself, stand at his limit, and carefully regulate the state in which he has been placed.

فَابْتِدَاؤُهُ بِالْعَمَلِ بِمَا افْتُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ بَعْدَ اجْتِنَابِهِ مَا نُهِيَ عَنْهُ بِعِلْمٍ لَمْ يُدَبِّرْهُ فِي جَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ وَوَرَعٍ يَحْجِزُهُ عَنِ الْهَوَى فِي ذَلِكَ وَلَا يَشْتَغِلْ بِطَلَبِ فَضْلٍ حَتَّى يَفْرُغَ مِنْ فَرْضٍ لِأَنَّ الْفَضْلَ لَا يَصِحُّ إِلَّا بَعْدَ حَوْزِ السَّلَامَةِ كَمَا لَا يَخْلُصُ الرِّبْحُ لِلتَّاجِرِ إِلَّا بَعْدَ حُصُولِ رَأْسِ الْمَالِ فَمَنْ تَعَذَّرَتْ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامَةُ كَانَ مِنْ

fabtidāʾuhu bi-al-ʿamali bimā ifturiḍa ʿalayhi baʿda ijtinābihi mā nuhiya ʿanhu biʿilmin lam yudabbirhu fī jamīʿi dhālika wawaraʿin yaḥjizuhu ʿani al-hawā fī dhālika walā yashtaghil biṭalabi faḍlin ḥattā yafrugha min farḍin liʾanna al-faḍla lā yaṣiḥḥu ʾillā baʿda ḥawzi al-salāmati kamā lā yakhluṣu al-ribḥu liltājiri ʾillā baʿda ḥuṣūli raʾsi al-māli faman taʿadhdharat ʿalayhi al-salāmatu kāna min

His beginning is to act upon what has been made obligatory for him after avoiding what he has been forbidden, with knowledge he has not devised in all this and scrupulousness that restrains him from desire in it. Let him not occupy himself with seeking an additional virtue until he has completed an obligation. Additional virtue is sound only after safety has been secured, just as a merchant’s profit is not clear until his capital has been recovered. Whoever finds safety beyond reach is

الْفَضْلِ أَبْعَدَ وَإِلَى الِاغْتِرَارِ أَقْرَبَ وَقَدْ تَلْتَبِسُ الْفَضَائِلُ بِالْفَرَائِضِ لِدِقَّةِ مَعَانِيهَا وَخَفِيِّ عُلُومِهَا فَيُقَدِّمُ الْعَبْدُ النَّفْلَ وَهُوَ يَحْسَبُ أَنَّهُ الْوَاجِبُ ، فَمِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ أَبَا سَعِيدٍ رَافِعَ بْنَ الْمُعَلَّى كَانَ قَائِمًا يُصَلِّي فَدَعَاهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَلَمْ يُجِبْهُ فَظَنَّ أَنَّ وُقُوفَهُ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِالْغَيْبِ

al-faḍli ʾabʿada waʾilā al-ightirāri ʾaqraba waqad taltabisu al-faḍāʾilu bi-al-farāʾiḍi lidiqqati maʿānīhā wakhafiyyi ʿulūmihā fayuqaddimu al-ʿabdu al-nafla wahuwa yaḥsabu ʾannahu al-wājibu , famin dhālika ʾanna ʾabā saʿīdin rāfiʿa bna al-muʿallā kāna qāʾiman yuṣallī fadaʿāhu rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama falam yujibhu faẓanna ʾanna wuqūfahu bayna yadayi allāhi ʿazza wajalla bi-al-ghaybi

further from additional virtue and nearer to delusion. Extra virtues may be confused with obligations because their meanings are subtle and the knowledge of them hidden, so that a servant gives precedence to a voluntary act, thinking it obligatory. An example is Abū Saʿīd Rāfiʿ ibn al-Muʿallā: he was standing in prayer when the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, called him, but he did not answer. He thought that standing before God, mighty and majestic is He, in the unseen

أَفْضَلُ لَهُ فَلَمَّا سَلَّمَ جَاءَهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تُجِيبَنِي حِينَ دَعَوْتُكَ فَقَالَ : كُنْتُ أُصَلِّي فَقَالَ : أَلَمْ تَسْمَعِ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَقُولُ : ( اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ ) الْأَنْفَالُ : 24 فَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ دَعَاهُ وَهُوَ فِي الصَّلَاةِ لِيُفِيدَهُ

ʾafḍalu lahu falammā sallama jāʾahu faqāla lahu rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mā manaʿaka ʾan tujībanī ḥīna daʿawtuka faqāla: kuntu ʾuṣallī faqāla: ʾalam tasmaʿi allāha ʿazza wajalla yaqūlu: ( istajībū lillāhi walilrasūli ʾidhā daʿākum limā yuḥyīkum ) al-ʾanfālu: 24 fakāna rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama daʿāhu wahuwa fī al-ṣalāti liyufīdahu

was better for him. When he had concluded the prayer, he came to him. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “What prevented you from answering me when I called you?” He said, “I was praying.” He said, “Have you not heard God, mighty and majestic is He, say, ‘Respond to God and to the Messenger when he calls you to what gives you life’?” (al-Anfāl 8:24). The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, had called him while he was praying to impart to him

بَاطِنَ الْعِلْمِ أَوْ لِيَنْظُرَ مَبْلَغَ عِلْمِهِ كَيْفَ يَعْمَلُ وَكَانَ إِجَابَتُهُ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ صَلَاتِهِ لِأَنَّ صَلَاتَهُ نَافِلَةٌ لَهُ فَهُوَ مُطِيعُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي الْغَيْبِ بِاخْتِيَارِهِ وَإِجَابَتُهُ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ صَلَاتِهِ لِأَنَّهَا فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَيْهِ فَهُوَ مُطِيعٌ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي الشَّهَادَةِ

bāṭina al-ʿilmi ʾaw liyanẓura mablagha ʿilmihi kayfa yaʿmalu wakāna ʾijābatuhu lirasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾafḍala min ṣalātihi liʾanna ṣalātahu nāfilatun lahu fahuwa muṭīʿu allāhi ʿazza wajalla fī al-ghaybi bikhtiyārihi waʾijābatuhu lirasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾafḍalu min ṣalātihi liʾannahā farīḍatun ʿalayhi fahuwa muṭīʿun lillāhi taʿālā fī al-shahādati

inward knowledge, or to see the extent of his knowledge through how he would act. His answering the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, was better than his prayer, because his prayer was voluntary: by his own choice he was obeying God, mighty and majestic is He, in the unseen. His answering the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, was better than his prayer because it was an obligation upon him: he was obeying God, exalted is He, in the visible realm

بِإِيجَابِهِ فَفَضْلُ اسْتِجَابَتِهِ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى صَلَاتِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ كَفَضْلِ الْفَرْضِ عَلَى النَّفْلِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ : ( مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ ) النِّسَاءُ : 80 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ ) الْفَتْحُ : 10 وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَعَهُ فِي الْمَكَانَيْنِ مَعًا وَهُوَ عِنْدَ

biʾījābihi fafaḍlu istijābatihi lirasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿalā ṣalātihi linafsihi kafaḍli al-farḍi ʿalā al-nafli , waqad qāla subḥānahu: ( man yuṭiʿi al-rasūla faqad ʾaṭāʿa allāha ) al-nisāʾu: 80 waqāla taʿālā: ( ʾinna alladhīna yubāyiʿūnaka ʾinnamā yubāyiʿūna allāha ) al-fatḥu: 10 wa-allāhu taʿālā maʿahu fī al-makānayni maʿan wahuwa ʿinda

through His making it obligatory. The superiority of his responding to the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, over praying for himself is like the superiority of an obligation over a voluntary act. He, glorified is He, said, “Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed God” (al-Nisāʾ 4:80). He, exalted is He, said, “Those who pledge allegiance to you are pledging allegiance only to God” (al-Fatḥ 48:10). God, exalted is He, is with him in both places, and when he is with

الرَّسُولِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ عَلَى يَقِينٍ ، فَعِبَادَةُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هَهُنَا أَبْلَغُ فِي مَرْضَاتِهِ وَأَثْوَبُ لَهُ فِي آخِرَتِهِ ، وَفِي هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ دَلِيلٌ أَنَّ الْخَبَرَ إِذَا وَرَدَ فِي أَمْرٍ كَانَ عَلَى جُمْلَةِ عُمُومِهِ وَكُلِّيَّةِ مَا تَعَلَّقَ بِهِ حَتَّى تَخُصَّ السُّنَّةُ أَوِ الْإِجْمَاعُ بَعْضَ شَأْنِهِ وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ قَوْلَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ :

al-rasūli ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʿalā yaqīnin , faʿibādatu allāhi ʿazza wajalla hāhunā ʾablaghu fī marḍātihi waʾathwabu lahu fī ʾākhiratihi , wafī hādhā al-ḥadīthi dalīlun ʾanna al-khabara ʾidhā warada fī ʾamrin kāna ʿalā jumlati ʿumūmihi wakulliyyati mā taʿallaqa bihi ḥattā takhuṣṣa al-sunnatu ʾawi al-ʾijmāʿu baʿḍa shaʾnihi wamin dhālika ʾanna qawla allāhi ʿazza wajalla:

the Messenger, peace be upon him, he is certain of this. Worshipping God here, mighty and majestic is He, is therefore more effective in gaining His pleasure and more rewarding for the servant in his Hereafter. This report provides evidence that when a transmitted statement concerns a matter, it retains its full generality and the entirety of what it relates to until the Sunna or consensus specifies some aspect of it. An example is the saying of God, mighty and majestic is He:

( اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ ) الْأَنْفَالُ : 24 ، إِنَّ ظَاهِرَهُ مَقْصُورٌ عَلَى الِاسْتِجَابَةِ لِلرَّسُولِ لِلَّهِ بِالْإِيمَانِ بِالطَّاعَةِ فِي أَوَامِرِ الْقُرْآنِ لَا الْإِجَابَةِ لَهُ فِي التَّصْوِيتِ خَاصَّةً فِي الصَّلَاةِ وَهَذَا هُوَ الَّذِي حَمَلَهُ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ ابْنُ الْمُعَلَّى عَلَيْهِ وَتَأَوَّلَهُ مِنَ الْآيَةِ فَأَشْكَلَ عَلَيْهِ ،

( istajībū lillāhi walilrasūli ʾidhā daʿākum limā yuḥyīkum ) al-ʾanfālu: 24 , ʾinna ẓāhirahu maqṣūrun ʿalā al-istijābati lilrasūli lillāhi bi-al-ʾīmāni bi-al-ṭāʿati fī ʾawāmiri al-qurʾāni lā al-ʾijābati lahu fī al-taṣwīti khāṣṣatan fī al-ṣalāti wahādhā huwa alladhī ḥamalahu ʾabū saʿīdin ibnu al-muʿallā ʿalayhi wataʾawwalahu mina al-ʾāyati faʾashkala ʿalayhi ,

“Respond to God and to the Messenger when he calls you to what gives you life” (al-Anfāl 8:24). Its apparent sense is restricted to responding to the Messenger for God through faith and obedience to the Qurʾān’s commands, rather than answering his audible call, especially during prayer. This is how Abū Saʿīd ibn al-Muʿallā understood and interpreted the verse, so the matter became unclear to him.

وَمِثْلُ هَذَا فِعْلُ عَمَّارٍ فِي التَّيَمُّمِ لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ آيَةُ الْإِبَاحَةِ لِلتَّيَمُّمِ فِي صَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ وَهُمْ فِي سَفَرٍ ، فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوا بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُمْ ) النِّسَاءُ : 43 وَلَمْ يَكُنْ يَسْمَعُ مِنَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي تَخْصِيصِ بَعْضِ الْيَدِ شَيْئًا قَالَ :

wamithlu hādhā fiʿlu ʿammārin fī al-tayammumi lammā nazalat ʾāyatu al-ʾibāḥati liltayammumi fī ṣalāti al-fajri wahum fī safarin , faqāla ʿazza wajalla: ( falam tajidū māʾan fatayammamū ṣaʿīdan ṭayyiban famsaḥū biwujūhikum waʾaydīkum ) al-nisāʾu: 43 walam yakun yasmaʿu mina al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī takhṣīṣi baʿḍi al-yadi shayʾan qāla:

Similar to this was ʿAmmār’s conduct in dry ablution when the verse permitting it was revealed at the dawn prayer while they were traveling. He, mighty and majestic is He, said, “If you find no water, turn to clean earth and wipe your faces and your hands” (al-Nisāʾ 4:43). He had not heard anything from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, specifying a particular portion of the hand. He said:

فَتَيَمَّمْنَا إِلَى الْمَنَاكِبِ وَاسْتَوْعَبَ جُمْلَةَ الْيَدِ لِعُمُومِ الْخِطَابِ حَتَّى أَخْبَرَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِذَلِكَ فَأَمَرَهُمْ بِالتَّيَمُّمِ إِلَى الْمِرْفَقَيْنِ ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ : إِلَى الزَّنْدَيْنِ بِاخْتِلَافِ الرِّوَايَتَيْنِ فَخَصَّ بَعْضَ الْيَدِ فَلِذَلِكَ اخْتَلَفَ الْعُلَمَاءُ فِي تَبْعِيضِ الْيَدِ فِي الْمَسْحِ وَكَذَلِكَ الْعَمَلُ فِيمَا وَرَدَ مُجْمَلًا أَنْ يُسْتَعْمَلَ فِي

fatayammamnā ʾilā al-manākibi wastawʿaba jumlata al-yadi liʿumūmi al-khiṭābi ḥattā ʾakhbara al-nabiyya ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bidhālika faʾamarahum bi-al-tayammumi ʾilā al-mirfaqayni , wafī khabarin: ʾilā al-zandayni bikhtilāfi al-riwāyatayni fakhaṣṣa baʿḍa al-yadi falidhālika ikhtalafa al-ʿulamāʾu fī tabʿīḍi al-yadi fī al-masḥi wakadhālika al-ʿamalu fīmā warada mujmalan ʾan yustaʿmala fī

“We performed dry ablution up to the shoulders.” He included the whole arm because the address was general, until he informed the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, of this. He then commanded them to perform dry ablution up to the elbows; in another report, up to the wrists. The two narrations differ, specifying a portion of the hand. This is why the learned disagreed about which portion of the hand is to be wiped. Likewise, in acting upon what is transmitted in general terms, it should be applied in

الْجُمْلَةِ حَتَّى تَخُصَّهُ السُّنَّةُ ، فَمِنْ ذَلِكَ مَا رُوِيَ أَنَّ رَجُلَيْنِ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَآخَيَا فِي الْعِبَادَةِ فَاعْتَزَلَا النَّاسَ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا لِصَاحِبِهِ : هَلُمَّ الْيَوْمَ فَلْنَنْفَرِدْ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَنَلْزَمِ الصَّمْتَ فَلَا نُكَلِّمَ مَنْ يُكَلِّمُنَا فَإِنَّهُ أَبْلَغُ فِي عِبَادَتِنَا ، قَالَ :

al-jumlati ḥattā takhuṣṣahu al-sunnatu , famin dhālika mā ruwiya ʾanna rajulayni ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama taʾākhayā fī al-ʿibādati faʿtazalā al-nāsa faqāla ʾaḥaduhumā liṣāḥibihi: halumma al-yawma falnanfarid ʿani al-nāsi wanalzami al-ṣamta falā nukallima man yukallimunā faʾinnahu ʾablaghu fī ʿibādatinā , qāla:

its entirety until the Sunna specifies it. An example is the report that two men in the time of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, became brothers in worship and withdrew from people. One said to his companion, “Come today: let us separate ourselves from people and keep silence, speaking to no one who speaks to us, for that will be more effective in our worship.” He said:

فَاعْتَزَلَا فِي خَلْوَةٍ وَصَمَتَا فَمَرَّ بِهِمَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَسَلَّمَ عَلَيْهِمَا فَلَمْ يَرُدَّا عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامَ ، قَالَ : فَسَمِعْنَاهُ يَقُولُ حِينَ جَاوَزَنَا : هَلَكَ الْمُتَعَمِّقُونَ الْمُتَنَطِّعُونَ فَاعْتَذَرَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَتَابَا مِنْ ذَلِكَ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ،

faʿtazalā fī khalwatin waṣamatā famarra bihimā rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fasallama ʿalayhimā falam yaruddā ʿalayhi al-salāma , qāla: fasamiʿnāhu yaqūlu ḥīna jāwazanā: halaka al-mutaʿammiqūna al-mutanaṭṭiʿūna faʿtadharā ʾilā rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama watābā min dhālika ʾilā allāhi ʿazza wajalla ,

They withdrew into seclusion and kept silent. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, passed them and greeted them, but they did not return his greeting. He said, “We heard him say when he passed us, ‘Those who go too deeply and strain to extremes have perished.’” The two apologized to the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, and repented of this to God, mighty and majestic is He.

وَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ مَا رُوِيَ أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كَانَ يَعُسُّ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ فَنَظَرَ إِلَى مِصْبَاحٍ أَبْيَضَ فِي خَلَلِ بَابٍ فَاطَّلَعَ فَإِذَا قَوْمٌ عَلَى شَرَابٍ لَهُمْ فَلَمْ يَدْرِ كَيْفَ يَصْنَعُ فَدَخَلَ الْمَسْجِدَ فَأَخْرَجَ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ عَوْفٍ فَجَاءَ بِهِ إِلَى الْبَابِ فَنَظَرَ وَقَالَ لَهُ : كَيْفَ تَرَى أَنْ نَعْمَلَ ؟ فَقَالَ :

wamithlu dhālika mā ruwiya ʾanna ʿumara bna al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu kāna yaʿussu dhāta laylatin fanaẓara ʾilā miṣbāḥin ʾabyaḍa fī khalali bābin faṭṭalaʿa faʾidhā qawmun ʿalā sharābin lahum falam yadri kayfa yaṣnaʿu fadakhala al-masjida faʾakhraja ʿabda al-raḥmāni bna ʿawfin fajāʾa bihi ʾilā al-bābi fanaẓara waqāla lahu: kayfa tarā ʾan naʿmala ? faqāla:

Similar to this is the report that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may God be pleased with him, was patrolling one night when he saw a white lamp through a gap in a door. He looked in and found a group drinking. Not knowing what to do, he entered the mosque, brought out ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, and took him to the door. He looked and said to him, “What do you think we should do?” He replied:

أَرَى وَاللَّهِ أَنَّا قَدْ أَتَيْنَا مَا نَهَانَا اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لِأَنَّا تَجَسَّسْنَا عَلَى عَوْرَةٍ فَاطَّلَعْنَا عَلَيْهَا وَقَدْ سَتَرَهَا اللَّهُ دُونَنَا وَمَا كَانَ لَنَا أَنْ نَكْشِفَ سِتْرَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، فَقَالَ : مَا أَرَاكَ إِلَّا قَدْ صَدَقْتَ سَبْعًا مَا أَنْفُذُ عَنْكَ فَانْصَرَفْنَا ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لَهُ : أَرَى أَنَّا قَدْ عَصَيْنَا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَنَهَانَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ

ʾarā wa-allāhi ʾannā qad ʾataynā mā nahānā allāhu ʿanhu liʾannā tajassasnā ʿalā ʿawratin faṭṭalaʿnā ʿalayhā waqad satarahā allāhu dūnanā wamā kāna lanā ʾan nakshifa sitra allāhi ʿazza wajalla , faqāla: mā ʾarāka ʾillā qad ṣadaqta sabʿan mā ʾanfudhu ʿanka fanṣarafnā , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara ʾannahu qāla lahu: ʾarā ʾannā qad ʿaṣaynā allāha warasūlahu wanahānā rasūlu allāhi

“By God, I think we have done what God forbade us: we spied upon a private matter and looked into it, although God had concealed it from us. We had no right to uncover the covering of God, mighty and majestic is He.” He replied, “I can only think you have spoken truly. [Sabʿan: unclear.] I will not go beyond your judgment.” So we departed. In another wording he said to him, “I think we have disobeyed God and His Messenger. The Messenger of God forbade us,

صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ التَّجَسُّسِ فَقَالَ : صَدَقْتَ فَأَخَذَ بِيَدِهِ وَانْصَرَفَ . وَنَلْزَمِ الصَّمْتَ فَلَا نُكَلِّمَ مَنْ يُكَلِّمُنَا فَإِنَّهُ أَبْلَغُ فِي عِبَادَتِنَا ، قَالَ : فَاعْتَزَلَا فِي خَلْوَةٍ وَصَمَتَا فَمَرَّ بِهِمَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَسَلَّمَ عَلَيْهِمَا فَلَمْ يَرُدَّا عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامَ ، قَالَ : فَسَمِعْنَاهُ يَقُولُ حِينَ جَاوَزَنَا :

ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿani al-tajassusi faqāla: ṣadaqta faʾakhadha biyadihi wanṣarafa. wanalzami al-ṣamta falā nukallima man yukallimunā faʾinnahu ʾablaghu fī ʿibādatinā , qāla: faʿtazalā fī khalwatin waṣamatā famarra bihimā rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fasallama ʿalayhimā falam yaruddā ʿalayhi al-salāma , qāla: fasamiʿnāhu yaqūlu ḥīna jāwazanā:

God bless him and grant him peace, from spying.” He said, “You have spoken truly,” took him by the hand, and departed. “Let us keep silence, speaking to no one who speaks to us, for that will be more effective in our worship.” He said: They withdrew into seclusion and kept silent. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, passed them and greeted them, but they did not return his greeting. He said, “We heard him say when he passed us:

هَلَكَ الْمُتَعَمِّقُونَ الْمُتَنَطِّعُونَ فَاعْتَذَرَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَتَابَا مِنْ ذَلِكَ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ مَا رُوِيَ أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كَانَ يَعُسُّ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ فَنَظَرَ إِلَى مِصْبَاحٍ أَبْيَضَ فِي خَلَلِ بَابٍ فَاطَّلَعَ فَإِذَا قَوْمٌ عَلَى شَرَابٍ لَهُمْ فَلَمْ يَدْرِ كَيْفَ يَصْنَعُ فَدَخَلَ الْمَسْجِدَ فَأَخْرَجَ عَبْدَ

halaka al-mutaʿammiqūna al-mutanaṭṭiʿūna faʿtadharā ʾilā rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama watābā min dhālika ʾilā allāhi ʿazza wajalla , wamithlu dhālika mā ruwiya ʾanna ʿumara bna al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu kāna yaʿussu dhāta laylatin fanaẓara ʾilā miṣbāḥin ʾabyaḍa fī khalali bābin faṭṭalaʿa faʾidhā qawmun ʿalā sharābin lahum falam yadri kayfa yaṣnaʿu fadakhala al-masjida faʾakhraja ʿabda

‘Those who go too deeply and strain to extremes have perished.’” The two apologized to the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, and repented of this to God, mighty and majestic is He. Similar to this is the report that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may God be pleased with him, was patrolling one night when he saw a white lamp through a gap in a door. He looked in and found a group drinking. Not knowing what to do, he entered the mosque and brought out ʿAbd

الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ عَوْفٍ فَجَاءَ بِهِ إِلَى الْبَابِ فَنَظَرَ وَقَالَ لَهُ : كَيْفَ تَرَى أَنْ نَعْمَلَ ؟ فَقَالَ : أَرَى وَاللَّهِ أَنَّا قَدْ أَتَيْنَا مَا نَهَانَا اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لِأَنَّا تَجَسَّسْنَا عَلَى عَوْرَةٍ فَاطَّلَعْنَا عَلَيْهَا وَقَدْ سَتَرَهَا اللَّهُ دُونَنَا وَمَا كَانَ لَنَا أَنْ نَكْشِفَ سِتْرَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، فَقَالَ : مَا أَرَاكَ إِلَّا قَدْ صَدَقْتَ سَبْعًا مَا أَنْفُذُ عَنْكَ فَانْصَرَفْنَا

al-raḥmāni bna ʿawfin fajāʾa bihi ʾilā al-bābi fanaẓara waqāla lahu: kayfa tarā ʾan naʿmala ? faqāla: ʾarā wa-allāhi ʾannā qad ʾataynā mā nahānā allāhu ʿanhu liʾannā tajassasnā ʿalā ʿawratin faṭṭalaʿnā ʿalayhā waqad satarahā allāhu dūnanā wamā kāna lanā ʾan nakshifa sitra allāhi ʿazza wajalla , faqāla: mā ʾarāka ʾillā qad ṣadaqta sabʿan mā ʾanfudhu ʿanka fanṣarafnā

al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf and took him to the door. He looked and said to him, “What do you think we should do?” He replied, “By God, I think we have done what God forbade us: we spied upon a private matter and looked into it, although God had concealed it from us. We had no right to uncover the covering of God, mighty and majestic is He.” He replied, “I can only think you have spoken truly. [Sabʿan: unclear.] I will not go beyond your judgment.” So we departed.

، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لَهُ : أَرَى أَنَّا قَدْ عَصَيْنَا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَنَهَانَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ التَّجَسُّسِ فَقَالَ : صَدَقْتَ فَأَخَذَ بِيَدِهِ وَانْصَرَفَ . وَرَوَيْنَا نَحْوَ هَذَا أَنَّ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كَانَ يَعُسُّ لَيْلَةً مَعَ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ فَاطَّلَعَ مِنْ خَلَلِ الْبَابِ فَإِذَا شَيْخٌ بَيْنَ زِقِّ خَمْرٍ وَقَيْنَةٍ تُغَنِّيهِ فَتَسَوَّرَ عَلَيْهِ

, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara ʾannahu qāla lahu: ʾarā ʾannā qad ʿaṣaynā allāha warasūlahu wanahānā rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿani al-tajassusi faqāla: ṣadaqta faʾakhadha biyadihi wanṣarafa. warawaynā naḥwa hādhā ʾanna ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu kāna yaʿussu laylatan maʿa ibni masʿūdin faṭṭalaʿa min khalali al-bābi faʾidhā shaykhun bayna ziqqi khamrin waqaynatin tughannīhi fatasawwara ʿalayhi

In another wording he said to him, “I think we have disobeyed God and His Messenger. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, forbade us from spying.” He said, “You have spoken truly,” took him by the hand, and departed. We have related a similar report: ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, was patrolling one night with Ibn Masʿūd. He looked through a gap in a door and found an old man between a wineskin and a singing slave woman who was singing to him. He climbed over the wall to reach him

وَقَالَ : مَا أَقْبَحَ بِشَيْخٍ مِثْلِكَ أَنْ يَكُونَ عَلَى مِثْلِ هَذِهِ الْحَالِ ، فَقَامَ إِلَيْهِ الرَّجُلُ فَقَالَ : يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْشُدُكَ اللَّهَ أَلَّا أَنْصَفْتَنِي حَتَّى أَتَكَلَّمَ فَقَالَ لَهُ : قُلْ فَقَالَ : إِنْ كُنْتُ قَدْ عَصَيْتُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي وَاحِدَةٍ فَقَدْ عَصَيْتَهُ أَنْتَ فِي ثَلَاثٍ ، قَالَ : وَمَا هِيَ ؟ قَالَ :

waqāla: mā ʾaqbaḥa bishaykhin mithlika ʾan yakūna ʿalā mithli hādhihi al-ḥāli , faqāma ʾilayhi al-rajulu faqāla: yā ʾamīra al-muʾminīna ʾanshuduka allāha ʾallā ʾanṣaftanī ḥattā ʾatakallama faqāla lahu: qul faqāla: ʾin kuntu qad ʿaṣaytu allāha ʿazza wajalla fī wāḥidatin faqad ʿaṣaytahu ʾanta fī thalāthin , qāla: wamā hiya ? qāla:

and said, “How ugly for an old man like you to be in such a condition!” The man rose toward him and said, “Commander of the Faithful, I adjure you by God to give me a fair hearing and let me speak.” He said to him, “Speak.” He said, “If I have disobeyed God, mighty and majestic is He, in one matter, you have disobeyed Him in three.” He asked, “What are they?” He replied:

قَدْ تَجَسَّسْتَ وَقَدْ نَهَاكَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَنْ ذَلِكَ وَتَسَوَّرْتَ وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ( وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَنْ تَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهَا ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 189 وَدَخَلْتَ بِغَيْرِ إِذْنٍ وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ( لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتًا غَيْرَ بُيُوتِكُمْ حَتَّى تَسْتَأْنِسُوا وَتُسَلِّمُوا عَلَى أَهْلِهَا ) النُّورُ : 27 فَقَالَ عُمَرُ :

qad tajassasta waqad nahāka allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʿan dhālika watasawwarta waqad qāla allāhu ʿazza wajalla ( walaysa al-birru biʾan taʾtū al-buyūta min ẓuhūrihā ) al-baqaratu: 189 wadakhalta bighayri ʾidhnin waqad qāla allāhu ʿazza wajalla ( lā tadkhulū buyūtan ghayra buyūtikum ḥattā tastaʾnisū watusallimū ʿalā ʾahlihā ) al-nūru: 27 faqāla ʿumaru:

“You spied, although God, mighty and majestic is He, forbade you to do so. You climbed over the wall, although God, mighty and majestic is He, said, ‘Righteousness is not that you enter houses from their backs’ (al-Baqara 2:189). You entered without permission, although God, mighty and majestic is He, said, ‘Do not enter houses other than your own until you seek leave and greet their inhabitants’ (al-Nūr 24:27).” ʿUmar said:

صَدَقْتَ فَهَلْ أَنْتَ غَافِرٌ لِي ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ : غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَكَ فَخَرَجَ عُمَرُ وَهُوَ يَبْكِي حَتَّى عَلَا نَشِيجُهُ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ : وَيْلٌ لِعُمَرَ إِنْ لَمْ يَغْفِرِ اللَّهُ لَهُ ، تَجِدُ الرَّجُلَ كَانَ يَتَخَفَّى بِهَذَا عَنْ وَلَدِهِ وَجَارِهِ فَالْآنَ يَقُولُ : رَآنِي أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَنَحْوَ ذَلِكَ ، وَجَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : إِذَا دُعِيَ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلَى طَعَامٍ فَإِنْ كَانَ مُفْطِرًا فَلْيُجِبْ

ṣadaqta fahal ʾanta ghāfirun lī dhālika faqāla: ghafara allāhu laka fakharaja ʿumaru wahuwa yabkī ḥattā ʿalā nashījuhu wahuwa yaqūlu: waylun liʿumara ʾin lam yaghfiri allāhu lahu , tajidu al-rajula kāna yatakhaffā bihādhā ʿan waladihi wajārihi fa-al-ʾāna yaqūlu: raʾānī ʾamīru al-muʾminīna wanaḥwa dhālika , wajāʾa fī al-khabari: ʾidhā duʿiya ʾaḥadukum ʾilā ṭaʿāmin faʾin kāna mufṭiran falyujib

“You have spoken truly. Will you forgive me for this?” He replied, “May God forgive you.” ʿUmar left weeping until his sobbing rose aloud, saying, “Woe to ʿUmar if God does not forgive him! You find that the man used to conceal this from his child and neighbor; now he says, ‘The Commander of the Faithful saw me,’” and words to that effect. A report says, “When one of you is invited to a meal, if he is not fasting, let him accept;

وَإِنْ كَانَ صَائِمًا فَلْيَقُلْ إِنِّي صَائِمٌ ، فَأَمَرَهُ بِإِظْهَارِ عَمَلِهِ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الْإِخْفَاءَ أَفْضَلُ وَلَكِنْ إِظْهَارُ عَمَلِهِ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يُؤَثِّرُ فِي قَلْبِ أَخِيهِ وَجْدًا أَفْضَلُ مِنْ إِخْفَائِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ مَعَ تَأْثِيرِ ذَلِكَ فِي قَلْبِ أَخِيهِ لِتَفْضِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَحُرْمَتِهِ عَلَى الْأَعْمَالِ إِذِ الْأَعْمَالُ مَوْقُوفَةٌ عَلَى الْعَامِلِ وَإِنَّمَا يُعْطِي الثَّوَابَ عَلَى قَدْرِ

waʾin kāna ṣāʾiman falyaqul ʾinnī ṣāʾimun , faʾamarahu biʾiẓhāri ʿamalihi wahuwa yaʿlamu ʾanna al-ʾikhfāʾa ʾafḍalu walakin ʾiẓhāru ʿamalihi min ḥaythu lā yuʾaththiru fī qalbi ʾakhīhi wajdan ʾafḍalu min ʾikhfāʾihi linafsihi maʿa taʾthīri dhālika fī qalbi ʾakhīhi litafḍīli al-muʾmini waḥurmatihi ʿalā al-ʾaʿmāli ʾidhi al-ʾaʿmālu mawqūfatun ʿalā al-ʿāmili waʾinnamā yuʿṭī al-thawāba ʿalā qadri

if he is fasting, let him say, ‘I am fasting.’” He commanded him to reveal his deed, knowing that concealment is better. But revealing his deed in a way that causes no resentment in his brother’s heart is better than concealing it for himself while affecting his brother’s heart, because the believer and his dignity are given precedence over deeds. Deeds depend upon the doer, and reward is given according to the standing of

الْعَامِلِ لَا عَلَى قَدْرِ الْعَمَلِ لِتَضْعِيفِ الْجَزَاءِ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ فِي الْعَمَلِ الْوَاحِدِ فَدَلَّ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ فَقِيلَ لَهُ : ارْفَعِ التَّأْثِيرَ وَالْكَرَاهَةَ عَنْ قَلْبِ أَخِيكَ بِإِظْهَارِ عَمَلِكَ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنَ

al-ʿāmili lā ʿalā qadri al-ʿamali litaḍʿīfi al-jazāʾi liman yashāʾu ʿalā ghayrihi fī al-ʿamali al-wāḥidi fadalla dhālika ʾanna al-muʾmina ʾafḍalu mina al-ʿamali faqīla lahu: irfaʿi al-taʾthīra wa-al-karāhata ʿan qalbi ʾakhīka biʾiẓhāri ʿamalika fahuwa khayrun laka mina

the doer, not according to the measure of the deed, since He multiplies the recompense of whomever He wishes above another for the same act. This shows that the believer is better than the deed. It is therefore said to him, “Remove the hurt and aversion from your brother’s heart by revealing your deed; that is better for you than

إِخْفَاءِ الْعَمَلِ مَعَ وَجْدِ أَخِيكَ عَلَيْكَ لِأَنَّ أَخَاكَ إِذَا دَعَاكَ إِلَى طَعَامٍ صَنَعَهُ لَكَ فَلَمْ تُجِبْهُ وَلَمْ تَعْتَذِرْ إِلَيْهِ عُذْرًا بَيِّنًا يَقْبَلُهُ مِنْكَ وَيَعْرِفُهُ شَقَّ عَلَيْهِ إِنْ كَانَ صَادِقًا فِي دُعَائِكَ . وَبِمَعْنَى هَذَا مِنْ خَفِيِّ الْأَعْمَالِ مَا يُحْكَى عَنْ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَكُونُ فِي الْجَمَاعَةِ فَيَقْرَأُ فِي نَفْسِهِ سِرًّا لِئَلَّا يَطَّلِعَ عَلَى أَعْمَالِهِ

ʾikhfāʾi al-ʿamali maʿa wajdi ʾakhīka ʿalayka liʾanna ʾakhāka ʾidhā daʿāka ʾilā ṭaʿāmin ṣanaʿahu laka falam tujibhu walam taʿtadhir ʾilayhi ʿudhran bayyinan yaqbaluhu minka wayaʿrifuhu shaqqa ʿalayhi ʾin kāna ṣādiqan fī duʿāʾika. wabimaʿnā hādhā min khafiyyi al-ʾaʿmāli mā yuḥkā ʿan baʿḍi al-salafi ʾannahu kāna yakūnu fī al-jamāʿati fayaqraʾu fī nafsihi sirran liʾallā yaṭṭaliʿa ʿalā ʾaʿmālihi

concealing the deed while your brother resents you.” For if your brother invites you to food he has prepared for you, and you neither answer him nor give him a clear excuse that he can recognize and accept from you, this pains him if he was sincere in inviting you. A similar example among hidden acts is related of one of the early generations: he would be in a gathering and recite secretly to himself, so that his deeds would be known to no

أَحَدٌ فَإِذَا مَرَّ بِآيَةٍ فِيهَا سَجْدَةٌ سَجَدَ بَيْنَ الْمَلَأِ فَكُنَّا نَعْرِفُ بِسُجُودِهِ أَنَّهُ يَقْرَأُ فَلَعَلَّ فَارِغًا قَلِيلَ الْفِقْهِ يَقُولُ : إِنَّ هَذَا قَدْ أَظْهَرَ عَمَلَهُ إِذْ فَعَلَ مَا يَدُلُّ عَلَيْهِ فَلَوْ تَرَكَ السُّجُودَ لِيُخْفِيَ عَمَلَهُ كَانَ أَفْضَلَ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ أَظْهَرَ مَا أَخْفَاهُ فَهَذَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى جَهْلِهِ بِالْمُعَامَلَةِ ،

ʾaḥadun faʾidhā marra biʾāyatin fīhā sajdatun sajada bayna al-malaʾi fakunnā naʿrifu bisujūdihi ʾannahu yaqraʾu falaʿalla fārighan qalīla al-fiqhi yaqūlu: ʾinna hādhā qad ʾaẓhara ʿamalahu ʾidh faʿala mā yadullu ʿalayhi falaw taraka al-sujūda liyukhfiya ʿamalahu kāna ʾafḍala liʾannahu qad ʾaẓhara mā ʾakhfāhu fahādhā yadullu ʿalā jahlihi bi-al-muʿāmalati ,

one. When he came to a verse with a prostration, he prostrated among the assembled people, so we knew from his prostration that he was reciting. An idle person of little understanding might say, “This man has revealed his deed by doing something that indicates it. Had he left the prostration to conceal his deed, it would have been better, because he has revealed what he concealed.” This shows that person’s ignorance of proper spiritual conduct.

وَقَدْ سَمِعْتُ بَعْضَ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَطْعَنُ عَلَى هَذَا بِفِعْلِهِ بِمَعْنَى مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَهَكَذَا يَكُونُ عِلْمُ الْمُرِيدِينَ الْقَصِيرِينَ الْعِلْمَ وَلَيْسَ الْأَمْرُ كَمَا قَدَّرَهُ هَذَا الْمُنْكِرُ بِسُجُودِهِ بَلِ الْقَائِلُ الْمُنْكِرُ لِفِعْلِهِ قَلِيلُ الْفِقْهِ بِدَقَائِقِ الْإِخْلَاصِ جَاهِلٌ بِطَرِيقَةِ الْعَامِلِينَ مِنَ الْعَارِفِينَ وَالْعَامِلُ الَّذِي نُقِلَ عَنْهُ هَذَا الْفِعْلُ

waqad samiʿtu baʿḍa al-ʿulamāʾi yaṭʿanu ʿalā hādhā bifiʿlihi bimaʿnā mā dhakarnāhu mina al-qawli wahākadhā yakūnu ʿilmu al-murīdīna al-qaṣīrīna al-ʿilma walaysa al-ʾamru kamā qaddarahu hādhā al-munkiru bisujūdihi bali al-qāʾilu al-munkiru lifiʿlihi qalīlu al-fiqhi bidaqāʾiqi al-ʾikhlāṣi jāhilun biṭarīqati al-ʿāmilīna mina al-ʿārifīna wa-al-ʿāmilu alladhī nuqila ʿanhu hādhā al-fiʿlu

I have heard one of the learned criticize this man for his action in the sense of the statement we have mentioned. Such is the knowledge of seekers whose knowledge is limited. The matter is not as this critic of his prostration supposed. Rather, the speaker who condemns his action has little understanding of the subtleties of sincerity and is ignorant of the path of those who act among the knowers of God. The practitioner from whom this action was transmitted

فَقِيهٌ مُخْلِصٌ وَذَلِكَ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ حَازَ الْفَضْلَيْنِ مَعًا لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ فَاضِلًا فِيمَا أَخْفَى إِذِ ابْتَدَأَ عَمَلَهُ بِالْخِفْيَةِ فَلَمَّا جَاءَ السُّجُودُ الَّذِي لَا يَكُونُ إِلَّا ظَاهِرًا لَمْ يَصْلُحْ أَنْ يَتْرُكَ قُرْبَةً إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ أَجْلِ النَّاسِ فَكَانَ يَسْجُدُ كَمَا أُمِرَ بِهِ وَيَقْرَأُ كَمَا نُدِبَ إِلَيْهِ فَصَارَ فَاضِلًا فِي الْحَالِ الثَّانِي لِأَنَّهُ أَظْهَرَ لِأَجْلِ

faqīhun mukhliṣun wadhālika liʾannahu qad ḥāza al-faḍlayni maʿan liʾannahu kāna fāḍilan fīmā ʾakhfā ʾidhi ibtadaʾa ʿamalahu bi-al-khifyati falammā jāʾa al-sujūdu alladhī lā yakūnu ʾillā ẓāhiran lam yaṣluḥ ʾan yatruka qurbatan ʾilā allāhi ʿazza wajalla min ʾajli al-nāsi fakāna yasjudu kamā ʾumira bihi wayaqraʾu kamā nudiba ʾilayhi faṣāra fāḍilan fī al-ḥāli al-thānī liʾannahu ʾaẓhara liʾajli

is discerning and sincere, because he has attained both virtues together. He was virtuous in what he concealed, since he began his deed secretly. When the prostration came, which could only be visible, it was not right for him to abandon an act that brings him near to God, mighty and majestic is He, for people’s sake. He prostrated as he had been commanded and recited as he had been encouraged. Thus he became virtuous in the second state because he revealed it for the sake of

اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ كَمَا أَخْفَى لِأَجْلِهِ وَلِأَنَّهُ تَرَكَ مُرَاقَبَةَ النَّاسِ وَلَمْ يَتْرُكْ عَمَلَهُ لِأَجْلِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ الْفَضْلُ فِي تَرْكِ السُّجُودِ لِإِخْفَاءِ الْعَمَلِ كَانَ الْأَفْضَلَ لِمَنْ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ فِي مَنْزِلِهِ وَهُوَ يُصَلِّي أَنْ يَقْعُدَ لِأَجْلِهِمْ . وَقَدْ وَرَدَتِ السُّنَّةُ فِي ذَلِكَ أَنَّ لَهُ أَجْرَيْنِ : أَجْرَ السِّرِّ وَأَجْرَ الْعَلَانِيَةِ ،

allāhi ʿazza wajalla kamā ʾakhfā liʾajlihi waliʾannahu taraka murāqabata al-nāsi walam yatruk ʿamalahu liʾajlihim walaw kāna al-faḍlu fī tarki al-sujūdi liʾikhfāʾi al-ʿamali kāna al-ʾafḍala liman dakhala ʿalayhi fī manzilihi wahuwa yuṣallī ʾan yaqʿuda liʾajlihim. waqad waradati al-sunnatu fī dhālika ʾanna lahu ʾajrayni: ʾajra al-sirri waʾajra al-ʿalāniyati ,

God, mighty and majestic is He, just as he concealed it for His sake, and because he abandoned watching people without abandoning his deed for their sake. If virtue lay in omitting the prostration to conceal the deed, then it would be better for someone whom people visit at home while he is praying to sit down for their sake. The Sunna has stated concerning this that he has two rewards: the reward of secrecy and the reward of openness.

كَيْفَ وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَعُدُّونَ أَنَّ الرِّيَاءَ تَرْكَ الْعَمَلِ لِأَجْلِ النَّاسِ فَأَمَّا الْعَمَلُ لِأَجْلِهِمْ فَشِرْكٌ ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ : لَا تَعْمَلْ لِلرِّيَاءِ وَ لَا تَتْرُكِ الْعَمَلَ لِلْحَيَاءِ ، فَالْحَيَاءُ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ شِرْكٌ كَمَا إِنَّ الْحَيَاءَ مِنَ الْخَالِقِ إِيمَانٌ . وَأَيْضًا لَوْ أَنَّهُ أَطَاعَ الْعَدُوَّ فِي تَرْكِ الْعَمَلِ لِأَجْلِ النَّاسِ أَطَاعَهُ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى فِي الْعَمَلِ لِأَجْلِهِمْ

kayfa waqad kānū yaʿuddūna ʾanna al-riyāʾa tarka al-ʿamali liʾajli al-nāsi faʾammā al-ʿamalu liʾajlihim fashirkun , waqad qīla: lā taʿmal lilriyāʾi wa lā tatruki al-ʿamala lilḥayāʾi , fa-al-ḥayāʾu mina al-khalqi shirkun kamā ʾinna al-ḥayāʾa mina al-khāliqi ʾīmānun. waʾayḍan law ʾannahu ʾaṭāʿa al-ʿaduwwa fī tarki al-ʿamali liʾajli al-nāsi ʾaṭāʿahu marratan ʾukhrā fī al-ʿamali liʾajlihim

How could it be otherwise, when they used to count abandoning a deed for people’s sake as ostentation, while doing it for their sake is associationism? It has been said, “Do not act for display, and do not abandon action out of shame.” Shame before created beings is associationism, just as shame before the Creator is faith. Moreover, if he obeyed the enemy by abandoning action for people’s sake, he would obey him another time by acting for their sake.

، وَمِثْلُ هَذَا كَمَثَلِ مَنْ كَانَ يَصُومُ وَيُصَلِّي يَوْمَهُ أَجْمَعَ فِي مَنْزِلِهِ لَا يَعْلَمُ بِهِ مَخْلُوقٌ فَلَوْ نَوَى الِاعْتِكَافَ لِيَضُمَّهُ إِلَى صَوْمِهِ خَرَجَ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ فَكَانَ يُصَلِّي مُقِيمًا فِيهِ فَظَهَرَ النَّاسُ عَلَى عَمَلِهِ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِيَدَعَ مَا نَوَاهُ مِنَ الْعُكُوفِ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ لِأَجْلِ نَظَرِهِمْ إِلَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَضُرَّهُ ظُهُورُ عَمَلِهِ لِثَبَاتِهِ عَلَى نِيَّتِهِ وَلِمَزِيدٍ مِنَ

, wamithlu hādhā kamathali man kāna yaṣūmu wayuṣallī yawmahu ʾajmaʿa fī manzilihi lā yaʿlamu bihi makhlūqun falaw nawā al-iʿtikāfa liyaḍummahu ʾilā ṣawmihi kharaja ʾilā al-masjidi fakāna yuṣallī muqīman fīhi faẓahara al-nāsu ʿalā ʿamalihi falam yakun liyadaʿa mā nawāhu mina al-ʿukūfi fī al-masjidi liʾajli naẓarihim ʾilayhi walam yaḍurrahu ẓuhūru ʿamalihi lithabātihi ʿalā niyyatihi walimazīdin mina

An example is someone who fasts and prays all day in his home without any creature knowing of it. If he intends a spiritual retreat to add it to his fasting, he goes out to the mosque and prays while remaining there, so people become aware of his deed. He would not abandon his intended stay in the mosque because they look at him. His deed’s becoming known does not harm him, because he remains firm in his intention and gains the additional benefit of

الِاعْتِكَافِ إِذَا كَانَ عَالِمًا مُتَمَكِّنًا ، وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّ الْإِمَامَ الْمُتَمَكِّنَ الْمُقْتَدَى بِهِ لَا يَضُرُّهُ ظُهُورُ النَّاسِ عَلَى أَعْمَالِهِ إِذَا لَمْ يَقْصِدْ ذَلِكَ وَلَمْ يُحِبَّ مَدْحَهُمْ وَرُبَّمَا كَانَ لَهُ أَجْرٌ ، إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَتَنْبِيهَ الْغَافِلِينَ عَنِ الذِّكْرِ وَتَشْوِيقَ الْعَامِلِينَ إِلَى الْبِرِّ كَيْفَ وَعِنْدَ بَعْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ أَنَّ سُجُودَ الْقُرْآنِ فَرْضٌ وَأَنَّ عَلَى مَنْ

al-iʿtikāfi ʾidhā kāna ʿāliman mutamakkinan , waʾayḍan faʾinna al-ʾimāma al-mutamakkina al-muqtadā bihi lā yaḍurruhu ẓuhūru al-nāsi ʿalā ʾaʿmālihi ʾidhā lam yaqṣid dhālika walam yuḥibba madḥahum warubbamā kāna lahu ʾajrun , ʾinna fī dhālika latanbīha al-ghāfilīna ʿani al-dhikri watashwīqa al-ʿāmilīna ʾilā al-birri kayfa waʿinda baʿḍi al-ʿulamāʾi ʾanna sujūda al-qurʾāni farḍun waʾanna ʿalā man

retreat, if he is learned and firmly grounded. Likewise, the firmly established leader who is followed as an example is not harmed by people’s becoming aware of his deeds if he did not intend this and does not love their praise. He may even gain a reward: in this there is an awakening of those heedless of remembrance and an encouragement of practitioners toward righteousness. How could it be otherwise, when some of the learned hold that Qurʾānic prostration is obligatory and that whoever

سَمِعَ آيَةَ سَجْدَةٍ أَوْ تَلَاهَا وَكَانَ عَلَى غَيْرِ وُضُوءٍ أَنْ يَسْجُدَ لَهَا إِذَا تَوَضَّأَ ، وَنَحْوَ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي مَا هُوَ حَالٌ لِلْعَبْدِ وَأَوْلَى بِهِ مِنْ حَالِ غَيْرِهِ مَا رَوَاهُ أَبُو نَصْرٍ التَّمَّارُ أَنَّ رَجُلًا جَاءَ يُوَدِّعُ بِشْرَ بْنَ الْحَرْثِ قَالَ : قَدْ عَزَمْتُ عَلَى الْحَجِّ أَفَتَأْمُرُنِي بِشَيْءٍ ؟ فَقَالَ لَهُ بِشْرٌ : كَمْ أَعْدَدْتَ لِلنَّفَقَةِ ؟ قَالَ :

samiʿa ʾāyata sajdatin ʾaw talāhā wakāna ʿalā ghayri wuḍūʾin ʾan yasjuda lahā ʾidhā tawaḍḍaʾa , wanaḥwa hādhihi al-maʿānī mā huwa ḥālun lilʿabdi waʾawlā bihi min ḥāli ghayrihi mā rawāhu ʾabū naṣrin al-tammāru ʾanna rajulan jāʾa yuwaddiʿu bishra bna al-ḥārithi qāla: qad ʿazamtu ʿalā al-ḥajji ʾafataʾmurunī bishayʾin ? faqāla lahu bishrun: kam ʾaʿdadta lilnafaqati ? qāla:

hears or recites a verse of prostration while without ablution must prostrate for it once he has performed ablution? Similar to these meanings, concerning a state proper to a servant and more appropriate for him than someone else’s state, is what Abū Naṣr al-Tammār related: a man came to bid farewell to Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith and said, “I have resolved to make the pilgrimage. Will you instruct me in anything?” Bishr asked him, “How much have you prepared for expenses?” He replied:

أَلْفَيْ دِرْهَمٍ قَالَ : فَأَيَّ شَيْءٍ تَبْتَغِي بِحَجِّكَ نُزْهَةً أَوِ اشْتِيَاقًا إِلَى الْبَيْتِ أَوِ ابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، قَالَ : ابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَالَ :

ʾalfay dirhamin qāla: faʾayya shayʾin tabtaghī biḥajjika nuzhatan ʾawi ishtiyāqan ʾilā al-bayti ʾawi ibtighāʾa marḍāti allāhi ʿazza wajalla , qāla: ibtighāʾa marḍāti allāhi ʿazza wajalla qāla:

“Two thousand dirhams.” He asked, “What do you seek through your pilgrimage: recreation, longing for the House, or seeking the pleasure of God, mighty and majestic is He?” He replied, “Seeking the pleasure of God, mighty and majestic is He.” He said:

فَإِنْ أَصَبْتَ

faʾin ʾaṣabta

“If you obtained

رِضَا اللَّهِ وَأَنْتَ فِي مَنْزِلِكَ وَتُنْفِقُ أَلْفَيْ دِرْهَمٍ وَتَكُونُ عَلَى يَقِينٍ مِنْ مَرْضَاةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَتَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ ؟ قَالَ نَعَمْ : قَالَ : اِذْهَبْ فَأَعْطِهَا عَشَرَةَ أَنْفُسٍ ؛ مَدِينٍ يَقْضِي بِهَا دَيْنَهُ ، وَفَقِيرٍ يَرُمُّ شَعَثَهُ ، وَمُعِيلٍ يُحْيِي عِيَالَهُ ، وَمُرَبِّي يَتِيمٍ يُفْرِحُهُ ، وَإِنْ قَوِيَ قَلْبُكَ أَنْ تُعْطِيَهَا لِوَاحِدٍ فَافْعَلْ ،

riḍā allāhi waʾanta fī manzilika watunfiqu ʾalfay dirhamin watakūnu ʿalā yaqīnin min marḍāti allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʾatafʿalu dhālika ? qāla naʿam: qāla: idhhab faʾaʿṭihā ʿasharata ʾanfusin ; madīnin yaqḍī bihā daynahu , wafaqīrin yarummu shaʿathahu , wamuʿīlin yuḥyī ʿiyālahu , wamurabbī yatīmin yufriḥuhu , waʾin qawiya qalbuka ʾan tuʿṭiyahā liwāḥidin fafʿal ,

God’s pleasure while at home, spent two thousand dirhams, and were certain of the pleasure of God, mighty and majestic is He, would you do that?” He said, “Yes.” He said, “Go and give it to ten people: a debtor who can pay his debt with it, a poor person who can put his disordered affairs right, someone with dependents who can sustain his family, and a person raising an orphan who can bring him joy. If your heart is strong enough to give it to one person, do so.

فَإِنَّ إِدْخَالَكَ السُّرُورَ عَلَى قَلْبِ امْرِئٍ مُسْلِمٍ وَتُغِيثُ لَهْفَانَ وَتَكْشِفُ ضُرَّ مُحْتَاجٍ وَتُعِينُ رَجُلًا ضَعِيفَ الْيَقِينِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ مِائَةِ حَجَّةٍ بَعْدَ حَجَّةِ الْإِسْلَامِ قُمْ فَأَخْرِجْهَا كَمَا أَمَرْنَاكَ وَإِلَّا فَقُلْ لَنَا مَا فِي قَلْبِكَ فَقَالَ : يَا أَبَا نَصْرٍ سَفَرِي أَقْوَى فِي قَلْبِي فَتَبَسَّمَ بِشْرٌ وَأَقْبَلَ عَلَيْهِ ، وَقَالَ لَهُ :

faʾinna ʾidkhālaka al-surūra ʿalā qalbi imriʾin muslimin watughīthu lahfāna watakshifu ḍurra muḥtājin watuʿīnu rajulan ḍaʿīfa al-yaqīni ʾafḍalu min miʾati ḥajjatin baʿda ḥajjati al-ʾislāmi qum faʾakhrijhā kamā ʾamarnāka waʾillā faqul lanā mā fī qalbika faqāla: yā ʾabā naṣrin safarī ʾaqwā fī qalbī fatabassama bishrun waʾaqbala ʿalayhi , waqāla lahu:

Bringing joy to a Muslim’s heart, helping someone distressed, removing the hardship of someone in need, and supporting a man weak in certainty are better than a hundred pilgrimages after the obligatory pilgrimage of Islam. Rise and distribute it as we instructed you; otherwise tell us what is in your heart.” He said, “Abū Naṣr, my journey has a stronger hold on my heart.” Bishr smiled, turned toward him, and said:

الْمَالُ إِذَا جُمِعَ مِنْ وَسَخِ التِّجَارَاتِ وَالشُّبُهَاتِ اقْتَضَتِ النَّفْسُ إِلَى أَنْ تَقْضِيَ بِهِ وَطَرًا وَيَشْرَعَ إِلَيْهِ فَظَاهَرَتْ أَعْمَالَ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَقَدْ آلَى عَلَى نَفْسِهِ أَنْ لَا يَقْبَلَ إِلَّا عَمَلَ الْمُتَّقِينَ ، وَفِي نَحْوِهِ قِيلَ لِبِشْرٍ أَيْضًا إِنَّ فُلَانًا الْغَنِيَّ كَثِيرُ الصَّوْمِ وَالصَّلَاةِ فَقَالَ : الْمِسْكِينُ تَرَكَ حَالَهُ وَدَخَلَ فِي حَالِ غَيْرِهِ إِنَّمَا حَالُ

al-mālu ʾidhā jumiʿa min wasakhi al-tijārāti wa-al-shubuhāti iqtaḍati al-nafsu ʾilā ʾan taqḍiya bihi waṭaran wayashraʿa ʾilayhi faẓāharat ʾaʿmāla al-ṣāliḥāti waqad ʾālā ʿalā nafsihi ʾan lā yaqbala ʾillā ʿamala al-muttaqīna , wafī naḥwihi qīla libishrin ʾayḍan ʾinna fulānan al-ghaniyya kathīru al-ṣawmi wa-al-ṣalāti faqāla: al-miskīnu taraka ḥālahu wadakhala fī ḥāli ghayrihi ʾinnamā ḥālu

“When money is gathered from the grime of trade and doubtful dealings, the self demands to satisfy a desire with it and reach toward it, presenting the appearance of righteous works. Yet He has sworn upon Himself to accept only the work of the God-fearing.” Similarly, Bishr was once told, “So-and-so, the rich man, fasts and prays a great deal.” He replied, “The poor fellow has abandoned his own state and entered someone else’s. The proper state of

هَذَا إِطْعَامُ الطَّعَامِ لِلْجِيَاعِ وَالْإِنْفَاقُ عَلَى الْمَسَاكِينِ فَهَذَا أَفْضَلُ لَهُ مِنْ تَجْوِيعِهِ نَفْسَهُ وَمِنْ صَلَاتِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ مَعَ جَمْعِهِ لِلدُّنْيَا وَمَنْعِهِ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ اخْتِفَاءُ الْأَوْجَبِ مِنَ الْفَرَائِضِ وَالْتِبَاسُهُ بِالْفَضَائِلِ مِحْنَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لِعِبَادِهِ وَحِكْمَةً لَهُ فِيهِمْ فَيَرْتَكِبُونَ التَّأْوِيلَ لِلسَّعَةِ وَيَتْرُكُونَ الضَّيْقَ لِخَفَائِهِ

hādhā ʾiṭʿāmu al-ṭaʿāmi liljiyāʿi wa-al-ʾinfāqu ʿalā al-masākīni fahādhā ʾafḍalu lahu min tajwīʿihi nafsahu wamin ṣalātihi linafsihi maʿa jamʿihi lildunyā wamanʿihi lilfuqarāʾi , waqad yakūnu ikhtifāʾu al-ʾawjabi mina al-farāʾiḍi waltibāsuhu bi-al-faḍāʾili miḥnatan mina allāhi ʿazza wajalla liʿibādihi waḥikmatan lahu fīhim fayartakibūna al-taʾwīla lilsaʿati wayatrukūna al-ḍayqa likhafāʾihi

this man is feeding the hungry and spending on the poor. That is better for him than starving himself and praying for himself while he gathers worldly wealth and withholds it from the poor.” The concealment of the more binding obligation and its confusion with extra virtues may be a trial from God, mighty and majestic is He, for His servants and an expression of His wisdom concerning them. They adopt an interpretation that permits ease and leave the restrictive course because it is hidden

عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَنْفُذَ فِيهِمُ الْعِلْمُ وَيَجْرِيَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْحُكْمُ وَيَكُونَ ذَلِكَ تَأْدِيبًا لَهُمْ وَتَعْرِيفًا وَمَزِيدًا فِي التَّسْلِيمِ وَتَوْفِيقًا ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِيمَا عَتَبَ عَلَى نَبِيِّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَوَعَظَهُ وَزَجَرَهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّى ) ( أَنْ جَاءَهُ الْأَعْمَى ) ( وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّهُ يَزَّكَّى ) عَبَسَ : 1 - 2 - 3 ،

ʿalayhim liyanfudha fīhimu al-ʿilmu wayajriya ʿalayhimu al-ḥukmu wayakūna dhālika taʾdīban lahum wataʿrīfan wamazīdan fī al-taslīmi watawfīqan , waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā fīmā ʿataba ʿalā nabiyyihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wawaʿaẓahu wazajarahu fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( ʿabasa watawallā ) ( ʾan jāʾahu al-ʾaʿmā ) ( wamā yudrīka laʿallahu yazzakkā ) ʿabasa: 1 - 2 - 3 ,

from them, so that knowledge may take effect in them and judgment may run its course over them, and this may discipline and instruct them, increase their surrender, and grant them success. God, exalted is He, spoke in reproaching His Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, admonishing and rebuking him in His saying, exalted is He, “He frowned and turned away, because the blind man came to him. What could make you know? Perhaps he would purify himself” (ʿAbasa 80:1–3).

يُقَالُ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ يَغْتَمَّ فِي عُمْرِهِ كَغَمِّهِ حِينَ أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ سُورَةُ عَبَسَ لِأَنَّ فِيهَا عَتْبًا شَدِيدًا عَلَى مِثْلِهِ لِأَنَّهُ الْحَبِيبُ الرَّشِيدُ وَمَعَ ذَلِكَ لَمْ يَقْصِدْهُ فِي الْخِطَابِ فَيَكُونَ أَيْسَرَ لِلْعِتَابِ بَلْ كَشَفَ ذَلِكَ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَنَبَّهَ عَلَى فِعْلِهِ عِبَادَهُ الْمُتَّقِينَ لِأَنَّ مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّى :

yuqālu ʾinna rasūla allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lam yaghtamma fī ʿumrihi kaghammihi ḥīna ʾunzila ʿalayhi sūratu ʿabasa liʾanna fīhā ʿatban shadīdan ʿalā mithlihi liʾannahu al-ḥabību al-rashīdu wamaʿa dhālika lam yaqṣidhu fī al-khiṭābi fayakūna ʾaysara lilʿitābi bal kashafa dhālika lilmuʾminīna wanabbaha ʿalā fiʿlihi ʿibādahu al-muttaqīna liʾanna maʿnā qawlihi ʿabasa watawallā:

It is said that the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, never grieved in his lifetime as he grieved when Sūrat ʿAbasa was revealed to him. It contains a severe reproach for someone like him, for he is the rightly guided Beloved. Yet He did not address him directly, which would have made the reproach easier; rather, He disclosed it to the believers and drew the attention of His God-fearing servants to his action. The meaning of His saying, “He frowned and turned away,” is:

أَيْ انْظُرُوا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ ، أَوِ اعْجَبُوا إِلَى الَّذِي عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّى أَنْ جَاءَهُ الْأَعْمَى ، وَلِذَلِكَ رُوِيَ أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ بَلَغَهُ أَنَّ بَعْضَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ يَؤُمُّ قَوْمَهُ فَكَانَ لَا يَقْرَأُ بِهِمْ إِلَّا بِسُورَةِ عَبَسَ فَأَرْسَلَ فَضَرَبَ عُنُقَهُ يَسْتَدِلُّ بِذَلِكَ عَلَى كُفْرِهِ لِيَضَعَ مِنَ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِذَلِكَ عِنْدَهُ وَعِنْدَ

ʾay unẓurū ʾayyuhā al-muʾminūna , ʾawi iʿjabū ʾilā alladhī ʿabasa watawallā ʾan jāʾahu al-ʾaʿmā , walidhālika ruwiya ʾanna ʿumara bna al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu balaghahu ʾanna baʿḍa al-munāfiqīna yaʾummu qawmahu fakāna lā yaqraʾu bihim ʾillā bisūrati ʿabasa faʾarsala faḍaraba ʿunuqahu yastadillu bidhālika ʿalā kufrihi liyaḍaʿa mina al-rasūli ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bidhālika ʿindahu waʿinda

“Look, believers,” or “Marvel at the one who frowned and turned away because the blind man came to him.” For this reason it was related that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may God be pleased with him, learned that one of the hypocrites led his people in prayer and recited for them only Sūrat ʿAbasa. He sent and had him beheaded, taking this as evidence of his unbelief, since by it he intended to lower the Messenger’s standing, God bless him and grant him peace, in his own eyes and those of

قَوْمِهِ وَمِثْلُهُ قَوْلُهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَاتِبًا عَلَى رَسُولِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ( عَفَا اللَّهُ عَنْكَ لِمَ أَذِنْتَ لَهُمْ ) التَّوْبَةُ 43 وَنَحْوُهُ : ( لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَ تَبْتَغِي مَرْضَاتَ أَزْوَاجِكَ ) التَّحْرِيمُ : 1 وَبِمَعْنَاهُ قَوْلُهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ وَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَنْ تَخْشَاهُ ) الْأَحْزَابُ :

qawmihi wamithluhu qawluhu ʿazza wajalla ʿātiban ʿalā rasūlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ( ʿafā allāhu ʿanka lima ʾadhinta lahum ) al-tawbatu 43 wanaḥwuhu: ( lima tuḥarrimu mā ʾaḥalla allāhu laka tabtaghī marḍāta ʾazwājika ) al-taḥrīmu: 1 wabimaʿnāhu qawluhu ʿazza wajalla: ( watukhfī fī nafsika mā allāhu mubdīhi watakhshā al-nāsa wa-allāhu ʾaḥaqqu ʾan takhshāhu ) al-ʾaḥzābu:

his people. Similar is His saying, mighty and majestic is He, reproaching His Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, “God pardon you! Why did you give them leave?” (al-Tawba 9:43). Similar too is, “Why do you forbid what God has made lawful for you, seeking the pleasure of your wives?” (al-Taḥrīm 66:1). In the same sense is His saying, mighty and majestic is He, “You conceal within yourself what God will reveal, and you fear people, although God has greater right that you should fear Him” (al-Aḥzāb

37 حَتَّى قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا : لَوْ كَتَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ كَتَمَ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ ، وَمِنْ أَعْجَبِ مَا سَمِعْتُ فِي هَذَا الْمَعْنَى مَا حَدَّثُونَا فِي الْإِسْرَائِيلِيَّاتِ عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ الْيَمَانِيِّ أَنَّ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنَ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ لَمَّا قَبَضَهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ خَلَّفَ رِجَالًا مِنْ وُلْدِهِ يَعْمُرُونَ

37 ḥattā qālat ʿāʾishatu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhā: law katama rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama shayʾan mina al-qurʾāni katama hādhihi al-ʾāyata , wamin ʾaʿjabi mā samiʿtu fī hādhā al-maʿnā mā ḥaddathūnā fī al-ʾisrāʾīliyyāti ʿan wahbi bni munabbihin al-yamāniyyi ʾanna sulaymāna bna dāwuda ʿalayhimā al-salāmu lammā qabaḍahu allāhu ʿazza wajalla khallafa rijālan min wuldihi yaʿmurūna

33:37). Thus ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her, said, “Had the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, concealed anything of the Qurʾān, he would have concealed this verse.” Among the most remarkable things I have heard in this connection is what they related to us among the Israelite narratives from Wahb ibn Munabbih al-Yamānī: when God, mighty and majestic is He, took Solomon son of David in death, peace be upon them both, he left men from his descendants to maintain

بَيْتَ الْمَقْدِسِ وَيُعَظِّمُونَهُ بُرْهَةً مِنَ الدَّهْرِ حَتَّى خَلَفَهُ بَعْدَهُمْ رَجُلٌ مِنْ وُلْدِ سُلَيْمَانَ فَخَالَفَ طَرِيقَةَ آبَائِهِ وَتَرَكَ شَرِيعَتَهُمْ وَتَكَبَّرَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَطَغَى وَقَالَ بَنَىٰ جَدِّي دَاوُدُ وَأَبِي سُلَيْمَانُ مَسْجِدًا فَمَا لِي لَا أَبْنِي مَسْجِدًا مِثْلَ مَا بَنَوْا وَأَدْعُوَ النَّاسَ إِلَى شَرِيعَتِي كَمَا دَعَوْا

bayta al-maqdisi wayuʿaẓẓimūnahu burhatan mina al-dahri ḥattā khalafahu baʿdahum rajulun min wuldi sulaymāna fakhālafa ṭarīqata ʾābāʾihi wataraka sharīʿatahum watakabbara fī al-ʾarḍi waṭaghā waqāla banā jaddī dāwudu waʾabī sulaymānu masjidan famā lī lā ʾabnī masjidan mithla mā banaw waʾadʿuwa al-nāsa ʾilā sharīʿatī kamā daʿaw

the Holy House in Jerusalem and honor it for a period of time. Then, after them, a man from Solomon’s descendants succeeded him, departed from the way of his fathers, abandoned their law, and became arrogant and transgressive in the land. He said, “My grandfather David and my father Solomon built a sanctuary. Why should I not build a sanctuary like what they built and summon people to my law as they summoned them?”

فَبَنَى مَسْجِدًا يُضَاهِي بِهِ بَيْتَ الْمَقْدِسِ وَادَّعَى عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنَّهُ أَمَرَهُ بِذَلِكَ وَصَرَفَ النَّاسَ إِلَيْهِ وَبَذَلَ لَهُمُ الْأَمْوَالَ وَأَخْرَبَ مَسْجِدَ بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ وَهَجَرَهُ فَدَخَلَ النَّاسُ فِي دِينِهِ رَغْبَةً وَرَهْبَةً ، قَالَ : فَابْتَعَثَ اللَّهُ نَبِيًّا مِنْ بَعْضِ أَهْلِ الْقُرَى فَقَالَ : ارْكَبْ أَتَانَكَ هَذِهِ وَأْتِ هَؤُلَاءِ الْقَوْمَ أَحْفَلَ مَا يَكُونُونَ فَنَادِ

fabanā masjidan yuḍāhī bihi bayta al-maqdisi waddaʿā ʿalā allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʾannahu ʾamarahu bidhālika waṣarafa al-nāsa ʾilayhi wabadhala lahumu al-ʾamwāla waʾakhraba masjida bayti al-maqdisi wahajarahu fadakhala al-nāsu fī dīnihi raghbatan warahbatan , qāla: fabtaʿatha allāhu nabiyyan min baʿḍi ʾahli al-qurā faqāla: irkab ʾatānaka hādhihi waʾti hāʾulāʾi al-qawma ʾaḥfala mā yakūnūna fanādi

He built a sanctuary to rival the Holy House in Jerusalem, falsely claimed of God, mighty and majestic is He, that He had commanded him to do so, diverted people toward it, and offered them money. He ruined the sanctuary of the Holy House and abandoned it. People entered his religion out of desire and fear. He said: God sent a prophet from among the inhabitants of the villages and said, “Mount this she-ass of yours and go to these people when their gathering is largest. Proclaim

فِي مَسْجِدِهِمْ وَمَجْمَعِهِمْ بِأَعْلَى صَوْتِكَ : يَا مَسْجِدَ الضِّرَارِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ حَلَفَ بِاسْمِهِ لَيُوحِشَنَّكَ مِنْ عُمَّارِكَ وَلَيَقْتُلَنَّ أَهْلَكَ فِيكَ وَلَيَشْدَخَنَّهُمْ بِخَشَبِكَ وَجَنْدَلِكَ وَلَتَلَغَنَّ الْكِلَابُ دِمَاءَهُمْ وَتَأْكُلَ لُحُومَهُمْ فِيكَ وَنَادِ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ بِأَعْلَى صَوْتِكَ بِمِثْلِ ذَلِكَ وَلَا تَأْكُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ وَلَا تَسْتَظِلَّ وَلَا تَنْزِلْ عَنْ أَتَانِكَ هَذِهِ حَتَّى

fī masjidihim wamajmaʿihim biʾaʿlā ṣawtika: yā masjida al-ḍirāri ʾinna allāha ʿazza wajalla ḥalafa bismihi layūḥishannaka min ʿummārika walayaqtulanna ʾahlaka fīka walayashdakhannahum bikhashabika wajandalika walatalaghanna al-kilābu dimāʾahum wataʾkula luḥūmahum fīka wanādi fī al-madīnati biʾaʿlā ṣawtika bimithli dhālika walā taʾkul walā tashrab walā tastaẓilla walā tanzil ʿan ʾatānika hādhihi ḥattā

in their sanctuary and assembly at the top of your voice, ‘Sanctuary of harm! God, mighty and majestic is He, has sworn by His name that He will empty you of your worshippers, kill your people within you, and crush them with your timbers and stones. Dogs will lap their blood and eat their flesh within you.’ Proclaim the same in the city at the top of your voice. Do not eat, drink, seek shade, or dismount from this she-ass until

تَرْجِعَ إِلَى قَرْيَتِكَ الَّتِي خَرَجْتَ مِنْهَا قَالَ فَفَعَلَ ذَلِكَ فَثَارَ النَّاسُ إِلَيْهِ يَضْرِبُونَهُ بِالْخَشَبِ وَيَشُجُّونَهُ بِالْحِجَارَةِ وَهُوَ عَلَى أَتَانِهِ لَا يَنْزِلُ عَنْهَا فَنَالَهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ أَذًى كَثِيرٌ وَضَرْبٌ عَظِيمٌ ثُمَّ كَرَّ رَاجِعًا فِي آخِرِ النَّهَارِ يَؤُمُّ قَرْيَتَهُ الَّتِي خَرَجَ مِنْهَا وَقَدْ أَدَّى الرِّسَالَةَ وَصَبَرَ عَلَى الضَّرْبِ وَالْبَلَاءِ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَلَمَّا كَانَ

tarjiʿa ʾilā qaryatika allatī kharajta minhā qāla fafaʿala dhālika fathāra al-nāsu ʾilayhi yaḍribūnahu bi-al-khashabi wayashujjūnahu bi-al-ḥijārati wahuwa ʿalā ʾatānihi lā yanzilu ʿanhā fanālahu ʿalā dhālika ʾadhan kathīrun waḍarbun ʿaẓīmun thumma karra rājiʿan fī ʾākhiri al-nahāri yaʾummu qaryatahu allatī kharaja minhā waqad ʾaddā al-risālata waṣabara ʿalā al-ḍarbi wa-al-balāʾi lillāhi ʿazza wajalla falammā kāna

you return to the village from which you set out.” He said: He did this, and the people rose against him, beating him with wood and cutting his head with stones while he remained on his she-ass without dismounting. Much harm and severe beating befell him. At the end of the day he turned back toward the village from which he had set out, having delivered the message and endured the beating and trial for God, mighty and majestic is He. When he was

بِبَعْضِ الطَّرِيقِ سَمِعَ بِهِ نَبِيٌّ آخَرُ كَانَ فِي بَعْضِ الْقُرَى اسْتَقْبَلَهُ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ : إِنَّكَ قَدْ أَدَّيْتَ رِسَالَةَ رَبِّكَ وَإِنَّكَ أَمْضَيْتَ أَمْرَهُ وَإِنَّكَ قَدْ نَصِبْتَ وَلَقِيتَ عَنَاءً مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ الْقَوْمِ وَأَنْتَ جَائِعٌ عَطْشَانُ تَسِيلُ دِمَاؤُكَ عَلَى جَسَدِكَ وَثِيَابِكَ فَاغْدُ إِلَى مَنْزِلِكَ فَكُلْ وَاشْرَبْ وَاسْتَرِحْ وَاغْسِلْ جَسَدَكَ وَثِيَابَكَ فَقَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

bibaʿḍi al-ṭarīqi samiʿa bihi nabiyyun ʾākharu kāna fī baʿḍi al-qurā istaqbalahu wasallama ʿalayhi faqāla: ʾinnaka qad ʾaddayta risālata rabbika waʾinnaka ʾamḍayta ʾamrahu waʾinnaka qad naṣibta walaqīta ʿanāʾan min hāʾulāʾi al-qawmi waʾanta jāʾiʿun ʿaṭshānu tasīlu dimāʾuka ʿalā jasadika wathiyābika faghdu ʾilā manzilika fakul washrab wastariḥ waghsil jasadaka wathiyābaka faqāla ʾinna allāha ʿazza wajalla

partway along the road, another prophet who lived in one of the villages heard of him, came to meet him, greeted him, and said, “You have delivered your Lord’s message and carried out His command. You have become exhausted and suffered hardship from these people. You are hungry and thirsty, and your blood runs over your body and clothing. Go to your house, eat, drink, rest, and wash your body and clothing.” He replied, “God, mighty and majestic is He,

لَمَّا أَرْسَلَنِي قَدْ كَانَ عَهِدَ إِلَيَّ أَنْ لَا آكُلَ وَلَا أَشْرَبَ وَلَا أَسْتَظِلَّ حَتَّى أَرْجِعَ إِلَى أَهْلِي فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : فَإِنِّي مِنْ أَهْلِكَ لِأَنَّنِي نَبِيٌّ مِثْلُكَ وَأَخُوكَ فِي الدِّينِ فَلَا أَرَى اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَنِيَ بِذَلِكَ إِلَّا الْقَوْمَ الَّذِينَ بَعَثَكَ إِلَيْهِمْ لِأَنَّهُمْ أَعْدَاؤُهُ فَنَهَاكَ أَنْ تَأْكُلَ مِنْ طَعَامِهِمْ وَتَسْتَظِلَّ عِنْدَهُمْ

lammā ʾarsalanī qad kāna ʿahida ʾilayya ʾan lā ʾākula walā ʾashraba walā ʾastaẓilla ḥattā ʾarjiʿa ʾilā ʾahlī faqāla lahu al-nabiyyu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: faʾinnī min ʾahlika liʾannanī nabiyyun mithluka waʾakhūka fī al-dīni falā ʾarā allāha ʿazza wajalla ʿaniya bidhālika ʾillā al-qawma alladhīna baʿathaka ʾilayhim liʾannahum ʾaʿdāʾuhu fanahāka ʾan taʾkula min ṭaʿāmihim watastaẓilla ʿindahum

when He sent me, had charged me not to eat, drink, or seek shade until I returned to my family.” The prophet said to him, God bless him and grant him peace, “I am one of your family, for I am a prophet like you and your brother in religion. I do not think God, mighty and majestic is He, meant by that anyone except the people to whom He sent you, because they are His enemies. He forbade you to eat their food and seek shade with them.

وَلَا أَحْسَبُ حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكَ دُخُولَ مَنْزِلِي وَلَا الْأَكْلَ مِنْ طَعَامِي لِأَنِّي شَرِيكُكَ فِي الْأُخُوَّةِ وَالنُّبُوَّةِ قَالَ : فَصَدَّقَهُ وَانْصَرَفَ مَعَهُ إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِ ، فَلَمَّا وُضِعَ الطَّعَامُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَهْوَى لِيَأْكُلَ عَنْ جُوعٍ شَدِيدٍ قَدْ أَضَرَّ بِهِ أَوْحَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى ذَلِكَ النَّبِيِّ الَّذِي دَعَاهُ إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِ قُلْ لَهُ :

walā ʾaḥsabu ḥarrama ʿalayka dukhūla manzilī walā al-ʾakla min ṭaʿāmī liʾannī sharīkuka fī al-ʾukhuwwati wa-al-nubuwwati qāla: faṣaddaqahu wanṣarafa maʿahu ʾilā manzilihi , falammā wuḍiʿa al-ṭaʿāmu bayna yadayhi waʾahwā liyaʾkula ʿan jūʿin shadīdin qad ʾaḍarra bihi ʾawḥā allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʾilā dhālika al-nabiyyi alladhī daʿāhu ʾilā manzilihi qul lahu:

I do not think He forbade you to enter my house or eat my food, because I share brotherhood and prophethood with you.” He said: He believed him and went with him to his house. When food was set before him and he reached down to eat because of the intense hunger that had afflicted him, God, mighty and majestic is He, revealed to the prophet who had invited him to his house, “Tell him:

آثَرْتَ شَهْوَتَكَ وَبَطْنَكَ عَلَى أَمْرِي أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكَ أَنْ لَا تَنْزِلَ وَلَا تَسْتَظِلَّ وَلَا تَأْكُلَ حَتَّى تَرْجِعَ إِلَى قَرْيَتِكَ الَّتِي خَرَجْتَ مِنْهَا وَلَوْلَا أَنَّكَ اجْتَهَدْتَ بِرَأْيِكَ وَقُلْتَ بِمَبْلَغِ عِلْمِكَ لَعَمَّكُمَا الْعِقَابُ وَهُوَ أَقَلُّ عِنْدِي عُذْرًا مِنْكَ لِأَنِّي عَهِدْتُ إِلَيْهِ فَآثَرَ هَوَاهُ شَهْوَتَهُ وَتَرَكَ عَهْدِي ،

ʾātharta shahwataka wabaṭnaka ʿalā ʾamrī ʾalam ʾaʿhad ʾilayka ʾan lā tanzila walā tastaẓilla walā taʾkula ḥattā tarjiʿa ʾilā qaryatika allatī kharajta minhā walawlā ʾannaka ijtahadta biraʾyika waqulta bimablaghi ʿilmika laʿammakumā al-ʿiqābu wahuwa ʾaqallu ʿindī ʿudhran minka liʾannī ʿahidtu ʾilayhi faʾāthara hawāhu shahwatahu wataraka ʿahdī ,

‘You preferred your appetite and your belly to My command. Did I not charge you not to dismount, seek shade, or eat until you returned to the village from which you set out?’ Had you not exercised your own judgment and spoken according to the extent of your knowledge, punishment would have encompassed both of you. He has less excuse before Me than you, because I charged him, and he preferred his desire, his appetite, and abandoned My charge.”

فَأَخْبَرَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمَا أُمِرَ فَوَثَبَ مَذْعُورًا يَجُرُّ إِزَارَهُ وَجَعَلَ يَرْحَلُ أَتَانَهُ وَيَعْجَلُ وَلَا يَعْقِلُ مَا هُوَ فِيهِ فَرَكِبَهَا طَارِدًا لَهَا عَلَى وَجْهِهِ لِجُوعِهِ وَعَطَشِهِ وَدِمَاؤُهُ عَلَى ثِيَابِهِ وَجَسَدِهِ لَا يَنْثَنِي ، فَلَمَّا هَبَطَ عَنْ عَقَبَةٍ تَحْتَهَا غَيْضَةٌ عَارَضَهُ سَبُعٌ فَافْتَرَسَهُ وَانْتَصَبَ السَّبُعُ مُقْعِيًا عَلَى قَارِعَةِ الطَّرِيقِ

faʾakhbarahu al-nabiyyu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bimā ʾumira fawathaba madhʿūran yajurru ʾizārahu wajaʿala yarḥalu ʾatānahu wayaʿjalu walā yaʿqilu mā huwa fīhi farakibahā ṭāridan lahā ʿalā wajhihi lijūʿihi waʿaṭashihi wadimāʾuhu ʿalā thiyābihi wajasadihi lā yanthanī , falammā habaṭa ʿan ʿaqabatin taḥtahā ghayḍatun ʿāraḍahu sabuʿun faftarasahu wantaṣaba al-sabuʿu muqʿiyan ʿalā qāriʿati al-ṭarīqi

The prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, informed him of what he had been commanded. He sprang up in terror, dragging his waist-wrapper, and began saddling his she-ass in haste, scarcely comprehending his situation. He mounted and drove her straight ahead in his hunger and thirst, with his blood upon his clothes and body, without turning aside. When he descended from a pass beneath which lay a thicket, a wild beast confronted him and killed him. The beast then crouched upright on the roadway,

يَزْأَرُ يَحْرُسُ أَتَانَهُ وَرَحْلَهُ كُلَّمَا أَقْبَلَ إِنْسَانٌ زَأَرَ الْأَسَدُ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى يَطْرُدَهُ فَسَمِعَ بِخَبَرِهِ ذَاكَ النَّبِيُّ فَأَقْبَلَ نَحْوَهُ فَلَمَّا نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ الْأَسَدُ انْصَرَفَ عَنْهُ وَخَلَّى بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُ قَالَ : فَكَفَّنَهُ وَوَارَاهُ وَانْصَرَفَ بِرَحْلِهِ وَأَتَانِهِ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ ، فَقَالَ : يَا رَبِّ عَبْدُكَ هَذَا الَّذِي بَلَّغَ رِسَالَتَكَ وَأَمْضَى أَمْرَكَ وَقَدْ كَانَ أَجْهَدَهُ الْبَلَاءُ

yazʾaru yaḥrusu ʾatānahu waraḥlahu kullamā ʾaqbala ʾinsānun zaʾara al-ʾasadu ʿalayhi ḥattā yaṭrudahu fasamiʿa bikhabarihi dhāka al-nabiyyu faʾaqbala naḥwahu falammā naẓara ʾilayhi al-ʾasadu inṣarafa ʿanhu wakhallā baynahu wabaynahu qāla: fakaffanahu wawārāhu wanṣarafa biraḥlihi waʾatānihi ʾilā ʾahlihi , faqāla: yā rabbi ʿabduka hādhā alladhī ballagha risālataka waʾamḍā ʾamraka waqad kāna ʾajhadahu al-balāʾu

roaring and guarding his she-ass and saddle. Whenever a person approached, the lion roared at him until it drove him away. That prophet heard the news and came toward him. When the lion saw him, it withdrew and left him free to reach the dead man. He said: He shrouded and buried him, then returned with his saddle and she-ass to his family. He said, “My Lord, this servant of Yours delivered Your message and carried out Your command. The trial had exhausted him,

فَخَالَفَ مَا أَرَدْتَ فَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ فَعَاقَبْتَهُ بِهَذِهِ الْعُقُوبَةِ فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَيْهِ لَيْسَتْ هَذِهِ عُقُوبَةً وَلَمْ أَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ لِهَوَانِهِ عَلَيَّ وَلَكِنْ هَذِهِ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ ، إِنَّهُ خَالَفَ أَمْرِي وَكَانَ قَدِ اقْتَرَبَ أَجَلُهُ فَكَرِهْتُ لَهُ أَنْ يَلْقَانِي عَلَى الْمُخَالَفَةِ فَأَلْقَاهُ بِمَا يَكْرَهُ فَقَيَّضْتُ لَهُ كَلْبًا مِنْ كِلَابِي فَطَهَّرَهُ لِلِقَائِي فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ لَهُ

fakhālafa mā ʾaradta falam yaʿlam faʿāqabtahu bihādhihi al-ʿuqūbati faʾawḥā allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʾilayhi laysat hādhihi ʿuqūbatan walam ʾafʿal dhālika lihawānihi ʿalayya walakin hādhihi maghfiratun waraḥmatun , ʾinnahu khālafa ʾamrī wakāna qadi iqtaraba ʾajaluhu fakarihtu lahu ʾan yalqānī ʿalā al-mukhālafati faʾalqāhu bimā yakrahu faqayyaḍtu lahu kalban min kilābī faṭahharahu liliqāʾī fakāna dhālika lahu

so he unknowingly opposed what You desired, and You punished him with this punishment?” God, mighty and majestic is He, revealed to him, “This is not a punishment, and I did not do this because he was of little worth to Me. Rather, this is forgiveness and mercy. He opposed My command, and his appointed end had drawn near. I did not wish him to meet Me in disobedience and for Me to receive him with what he dislikes, so I assigned him one of My dogs, which purified him for meeting Me. This was for him

عِنْدِي شَهَادَةً وَدَرَجَةً فَوْقَ نُبُوَّتِهِ فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ وَبِحَمْدِكَ أَحْكَمَ الْحَاكِمِينَ وَأَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ فَالْعَالِمُ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ عَلِمَ خَيْرَ الْخَيْرَيْنِ ، فَسَبَقَ إِلَيْهِ قَبْلَ فَوْتِهِ وَعَلِمَ شَرَّ الْخَيْرَيْنِ فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ لِئَلَّا يَشْغَلَهُ عَنِ الْأَخِيرِ مِنْهُمَا وَعَلِمَ أَيْضًا خَيْرَ الشَّرَّيْنِ فَفَعَلَهُ إِذَا اضْطُرَّ إِلَيْهِ وَابْتُلِيَ بِهِ وَعَلِمَ شَرَّ الشَّرَّيْنِ

ʿindī shahādatan wadarajatan fawqa nubuwwatihi faqāla subḥānaka wabiḥamdika ʾaḥkama al-ḥākimīna waʾarḥama al-rāḥimīna fa-al-ʿālimu ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi man ʿalima khayra al-khayrayni , fasabaqa ʾilayhi qabla fawtihi waʿalima sharra al-khayrayni faʾaʿraḍa ʿanhu liʾallā yashghalahu ʿani al-ʾakhīri minhumā waʿalima ʾayḍan khayra al-sharrayni fafaʿalahu ʾidhā uḍṭurra ʾilayhi wabtuliya bihi waʿalima sharra al-sharrayni

martyrdom in My sight and a rank above his prophethood.” He said, “Glory be to You, and praise to You, most just of judges and most merciful of the merciful!” In the judgment of the learned, the truly learned person is one who knows the better of two good things and hastens to it before it passes; knows the lesser of two good things and turns away from it lest it distract him from the better; knows the better of two evils and does it when compelled to it and tried by it; and knows the worse of two evils,

فَأَمْعَنَ فِي الْهَرَبِ مِنْهُ وَاحْتَجَبَ بِحِجَابَيْنِ عَنْهُ وَفِي هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي دَقَائِقُ الْعُلُومِ

faʾamʿana fī al-harabi minhu waḥtajaba biḥijābayni ʿanhu wafī hādhihi al-maʿānī daqāʾiqu al-ʿulūmi

so that he goes far in fleeing from it and places two veils between himself and it. Within these meanings lie the subtleties of the sciences.

الْفَصْلُ السَّابِعُ وَالْعِشْرُونَ فِيهِ كِتَابُ أَسَاسِ الْمُرِيدِينَ

al-faṣlu al-sābiʿu wa-al-ʿishrūna fīhi kitābu ʾasāsi al-murīdīna

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Book of the Foundation of Seekers

قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : الْخَلْقُ مَحْجُوبُونَ بِثَلَاثٍ ؛ حُبِّ الدِّرْهَمِ ، وَطَلَبِ الرِّيَاسَةِ وَطَاعَةِ النِّسَاءِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : الَّذِي قَطَعَ الْعِبَادَ عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ثَلَاثَةُ أَشْيَاءَ ؛ قِلَّةُ الصِّدْقِ فِي الْإِرَادَةِ ، ، وَالْجَهْلُ بِالطَّرِيقِ ، وَنُطْقُ عُلَمَاءِ السُّوءِ بِالْهَوَى ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا :

qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: al-khalqu maḥjūbūna bithalāthin ; ḥubbi al-dirhami , waṭalabi al-riyāsati waṭāʿati al-nisāʾi , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: alladhī qaṭaʿa al-ʿibāda ʿani allāhi ʿazza wajalla thalāthatu ʾashyāʾa ; qillatu al-ṣidqi fī al-ʾirādati , , wa-al-jahlu bi-al-ṭarīqi , wanuṭqu ʿulamāʾi al-sūʾi bi-al-hawā , waqāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā:

One of the learned said, “People are veiled by three things: love of the dirham, pursuit of leadership, and obedience to women.” One of those who know God said, “Three things have cut servants off from God, mighty and majestic is He: lack of truthfulness in their seeking, ignorance of the path, and the speech of corrupt scholars driven by desire.” One of our scholars said:

إِذَا كَانَ الْمَطْلُوبُ مَحْجُوبًا وَالدَّلِيلُ مَفْقُودًا وَالِاخْتِلَافُ مَوْجُودًا لَمْ يَنْكَشِفِ الْحَقُّ ، وَإِذَا لَمْ يَنْكَشِفِ الْحَقُّ تَحَيَّرَ الْمُرِيدُ ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْمُرِيدَ لَا بُدَّ لَهُ مِنْ خِصَالٍ سَبْعٍ : الصِّدْقِ فِي الْإِرَادَةِ وَعَلَامَتُهُ إِعْدَادُ الْعُدَّةِ وَلَا بُدَّ لَهُ مِنَ التَّسَبُّبِ إِلَى الطَّاعَةِ وَعَلَامَةُ ذَلِكَ هَجْرُ قُرَنَاءِ السُّوءِ وَلَا بُدَّ لَهُ مِنَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ

ʾidhā kāna al-maṭlūbu maḥjūban wa-al-dalīlu mafqūdan wa-al-ikhtilāfu mawjūdan lam yankashifi al-ḥaqqu , waʾidhā lam yankashifi al-ḥaqqu taḥayyara al-murīdu , waʿlam ʾanna al-murīda lā budda lahu min khiṣālin sabʿin: al-ṣidqi fī al-ʾirādati waʿalāmatuhu ʾiʿdādu al-ʿuddati walā budda lahu mina al-tasabbubi ʾilā al-ṭāʿati waʿalāmatu dhālika hajru quranāʾi al-sūʾi walā budda lahu mina al-maʿrifati

“When the One sought is veiled, the guide is missing, and disagreement is present, truth is not unveiled. When truth is not unveiled, the seeker becomes bewildered.” Know that the seeker must have seven qualities: truthfulness in seeking, whose sign is making the necessary preparations. He must take the means toward obedience, whose sign is abandoning bad companions. He must have knowledge

بِحَالِ نَفْسِهِ وَعَلَامَةُ ذَلِكَ اسْتِكْشَافُ آفَاتِ النَّفْسِ وَلَا بُدَّ لَهُ مِنْ مُجَالَسَةِ عَالِمٍ بِاللَّهِ وَعَلَامَةُ ذَلِكَ إِيثَارُهُ عَلَى مَا سِوَاهُ وَلَا بُدَّ لَهُ مِنْ تَوْبَةٍ نَصُوحٍ فَبِذَلِكَ يَجِدُ حَلَاوَةَ الطَّاعَةِ وَيَثْبُتُ عَلَى الْمُدَاوَمَةِ وَعَلَامَةُ التَّوْبَةِ قَطْعُ أَسْبَابِ الْهَوَى وَالزُّهْدُ فِيمَا كَانَتِ النَّفْسُ رَاغِبَةً فِيهِ وَلَا بُدَّ لَهُ مِنْ طُعْمَةٍ حَلَالٍ لَا

biḥāli nafsihi waʿalāmatu dhālika istikshāfu ʾāfāti al-nafsi walā budda lahu min mujālasati ʿālimin bi-allāhi waʿalāmatu dhālika ʾīthāruhu ʿalā mā siwāhu walā budda lahu min tawbatin naṣūḥin fabidhālika yajidu ḥalāwata al-ṭāʿati wayathbutu ʿalā al-mudāwamati waʿalāmatu al-tawbati qaṭʿu ʾasbābi al-hawā wa-al-zuhdu fīmā kānati al-nafsu rāghibatan fīhi walā budda lahu min ṭuʿmatin ḥalālin lā

of his own self’s condition, whose sign is uncovering the self’s afflictions. He must sit in the company of someone who knows God, whose sign is preferring him over all others. He must repent sincerely: through this he finds the sweetness of obedience and remains steadfast in perseverance. The sign of repentance is cutting off the causes of desire and renouncing what the self had desired. He must have lawful nourishment that

يَذُمُّهَا الْعِلْمُ وَعَلَامَةُ ذَلِكَ الْحَلَالِ الْمُطَالَبَةُ عَنْهُ وَحُلُولُ الْعِلْمِ فِيهِ يَكُونُ بِسَبَبٍ مُبَاحٍ وَافَقَ فِيهِ حُكْمَ الشَّرْعِ وَلَا بُدَّ لَهُ مِنْ قَرِينٍ صَالِحٍ يُؤَازِرُهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَعَلَامَةُ الْقَرِينِ الصَّالِحِ مُعَاوَنَتُهُ عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَنَهْيُهُ إِيَّاهُ عَنِ الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ ، فَهَذِهِ الْخِصَالُ السَّبْعُ قُوتُ الْإِرَادَةِ لَا قِوَامَ لَهَا إِلَّا بِهَا

yadhummuhā al-ʿilmu waʿalāmatu dhālika al-ḥalāli al-muṭālabatu ʿanhu waḥulūlu al-ʿilmi fīhi yakūnu bisababin mubāḥin wāfaqa fīhi ḥukma al-sharʿi walā budda lahu min qarīnin ṣāliḥin yuʾāziruhu ʿalā dhālika waʿalāmatu al-qarīni al-ṣāliḥi muʿāwanatuhu ʿalā al-birri wa-al-taqwā wanahyuhu ʾiyyāhu ʿani al-ʾithmi wa-al-ʿudwāni , fahādhihi al-khiṣālu al-sabʿu qūtu al-ʾirādati lā qiwāma lahā ʾillā bihā

knowledge does not condemn. The sign of such lawfulness is inquiry about it and the application of knowledge to it: it must come through a permissible means that accords with the ruling of the revealed law. He must have a righteous companion who supports him in this. The sign of a righteous companion is helping him in righteousness and reverent fear, and forbidding him sin and aggression. These seven qualities are the nourishment of seeking; it cannot stand without them.

وَيَسْتَعِينُ عَلَى هَذِهِ السَّبْعِ بِأَرْبَعٍ هُنَّ أَسَاسُ بُنْيَانِهِ وَبِهَا قُوَّةُ أَرْكَانِهِ ؛ أَوَّلُهَا الْجُوعُ ، ثُمَّ السَّهَرُ ، ثُمَّ الصَّمْتُ ، ثُمَّ الْخَلْوَةُ ، فَهَذِهِ الْأَرْبَعُ سِجْنُ النَّفْسِ وَضِيقُهَا وَضَرْبُ النَّفْسِ وَتَقْيِيدُهَا بِهِنَّ يَضْعُفُ صِفَاتُهَا وَعَلَيْهِنَّ تَحْسُنُ مُعَامَلَاتُهَا وَلِكُلِّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِنَ الْأَرْبَعِ صَنْعَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِي الْقَلْبِ ،

wayastaʿīnu ʿalā hādhihi al-sabʿi biʾarbaʿin hunna ʾasāsu bunyānihi wabihā quwwatu ʾarkānihi ; ʾawwaluhā al-jūʿu , thumma al-saharu , thumma al-ṣamtu , thumma al-khalwatu , fahādhihi al-ʾarbaʿu sijnu al-nafsi waḍīquhā waḍarbu al-nafsi wataqyīduhā bihinna yaḍʿufu ṣifātuhā waʿalayhinna taḥsunu muʿāmalātuhā walikulli wāḥidatin mina al-ʾarbaʿi ṣanʿatun ḥasanatun fī al-qalbi ,

He strengthens these seven by four things, which are the foundation of his building and give strength to its pillars: first hunger, then wakefulness, then silence, then seclusion. These four are the self’s prison and confinement, its beating and restraint. Through them its qualities weaken, and upon them its dealings improve. Each of the four has a beneficial working in the heart.

فَأَمَّا الْجُوعُ فَإِنَّهُ يُنْقِصُ مِنْ دَمِ الْقَلْبِ فَيَبْيَضُّ وَفِي بَيَاضِهِ نُورُهُ وَيُذِيبُ شَحْمَ الْفُؤَادِ وَفِي ذَوْبِهِ رِقَّتُهُ وَرِقَّتُهُ مِفْتَاحُ كُلِّ خَيْرٍ لِأَنَّ فِي الْقَسْوَةِ مِفْتَاحَ كُلِّ شَرٍّ وَإِذَا نَقَصَ دَمُ الْقَلْبِ ضَاقَ مَسْلَكُ الْعَدُوِّ مِنْهُ لِأَنَّ دَمَ الْقَلْبِ مَكَانُهُ فَإِذَا رَقَّ الْقَلْبُ ضَعُفَ سُلْطَانُ الْعَدُوِّ مِنْهُ لِأَنَّ فِي غِلَظِ الْقَلْبِ سُلْطَانَهُ وَالْفَلَاسِفَةُ

faʾammā al-jūʿu faʾinnahu yunqiṣu min dami al-qalbi fayabyaḍḍu wafī bayāḍihi nūruhu wayudhību shaḥma al-fuʾādi wafī dhawbihi riqqatuhu wariqqatuhu miftāḥu kulli khayrin liʾanna fī al-qaswati miftāḥa kulli sharrin waʾidhā naqaṣa damu al-qalbi ḍāqa maslaku al-ʿaduwwi minhu liʾanna dama al-qalbi makānuhu faʾidhā raqqa al-qalbu ḍaʿufa sulṭānu al-ʿaduwwi minhu liʾanna fī ghilaẓi al-qalbi sulṭānahu wa-al-falāsifatu

As for hunger, it diminishes the heart’s blood so that it becomes white; in its whiteness lies its light. It melts the fat of the inner heart; in its melting lies its tenderness, and its tenderness is the key to every good, because hardness is the key to every evil. When the heart’s blood diminishes, the enemy’s passage through it narrows, for the heart’s blood is his dwelling. When the heart becomes tender, the enemy’s power within it weakens, because his power lies in the heart’s coarseness. The philosophers

يَقُولُونَ إِنَّ النَّفْسَ كُلِّيَّةُ الدَّمِ وَحُجَّتُهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ إِذَا مَاتَ لَمْ يَفْقِدْ مِنْ جِسْمِهِ إِلَّا دَمَهُ مَعَ رُوحِهِ ، وَالْعُلَمَاءُ مِنْهُمْ قَالُوا : الدَّمُ هُوَ مَكَانُ النَّفْسِ وَهَذَا هُوَ الصَّحِيحُ لِأَنَّهُ مُوَاطِئٌ لِمَا فِي التَّوْرَاةِ سَمِعْتُ أَنَّ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ مَكْتُوبًا :

yaqūlūna ʾinna al-nafsa kulliyyatu al-dami waḥujjatuhum fī dhālika ʾanna al-ʾinsāna ʾidhā māta lam yafqid min jismihi ʾillā damahu maʿa rūḥihi , wa-al-ʿulamāʾu minhum qālū: al-damu huwa makānu al-nafsi wahādhā huwa al-ṣaḥīḥu liʾannahu muwāṭiʾun limā fī al-tawrāti samiʿtu ʾanna fī al-tawrāti maktūban:

say that the self is the entirety of the blood. Their proof is that when a human being dies, his body loses only its blood along with its spirit. The learned among them said, “Blood is the dwelling of the self.” This is the correct view, because it accords with what is in the Torah. I have heard that it is written in the Torah:

يَا مُوسَىٰ لَا تَأْكُلِ الْعُرُوقَ فَإِنَّهَا

yā mūsā lā taʾkuli al-ʿurūqa faʾinnahā

“Moses, do not eat the veins, for they are

مَأْوَى كُلِّ نَفْسٍ وَهَذَا مُصَدِّقٌ لِلْحَدِيثِ الَّذِي رُوِيَ أَنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَجْرِي مِنِ ابْنِ آدَمَ مَجْرَى الدَّمِ فَضَيِّقُوا مَجَارِيَهِ بِالْجُوعِ وَالْعَطَشِ ، وَقَدْ عَبَّرَ عُلَمَاءُ الْكُوفَةِ عَنِ الدَّمِ بِالنَّفْسِ فَقَالُوا : إِذَا مَاتَ فِي الْمَاءِ مِنَ الْهَوَامِّ مَا لَيْسَ لَهُ نَفْسٌ سَائِلَةٌ لَمْ يَنْجَسْ يَعْنُونَ الْخَنَافِسَ وَالصَّرَاصِرَ وَالْعَنَاكِبَ ،

maʾwā kulli nafsin wahādhā muṣaddiqun lilḥadīthi alladhī ruwiya ʾanna al-shayṭāna yajrī mini ibni ʾādama majrā al-dami faḍayyiqū majāriyahu bi-al-jūʿi wa-al-ʿaṭashi , waqad ʿabbara ʿulamāʾu al-kūfati ʿani al-dami bi-al-nafsi faqālū: ʾidhā māta fī al-māʾi mina al-hawāmmi mā laysa lahu nafsun sāʾilatun lam yanjas yaʿnūna al-khanāfisa wa-al-ṣarāṣira wa-al-ʿanākiba ,

the abode of every soul.” This confirms the transmitted report: “Satan flows through the human being as blood flows, so narrow his passages through hunger and thirst.” The scholars of Kufa have expressed “blood” by the word “soul.” They said, “If one of the small creatures that has no flowing soul dies in water, the water is not defiled,” meaning beetles, cockroaches, and spiders.

فَفِي الْجُوعِ نُقْصَانُ الدَّمِ وَنُقْصَانُهُ ضِيقُ مَسْلَكِ الْعَدُوِّ وَضَعْفُ مَسْكَنِ النَّفْسِ لِسُقُوطِ مَكَانِهَا ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : يَا مَعْشَرَ الْحَوَارِيِّينَ جَوِّعُوا بُطُونَكُمْ وَعَطِّشُوا أَكْبَادَكُمْ وَأَعْرُوا أَجْسَادَكُمْ لَعَلَّ قُلُوبَكُمْ تَرَى اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَعْنِي بِحَقِيقَةِ الزُّهْدِ وَصَفَاءِ الْقَلْبِ ،

fafī al-jūʿi nuqṣānu al-dami wanuqṣānuhu ḍīqu maslaki al-ʿaduwwi waḍaʿfu maskani al-nafsi lisuqūṭi makānihā , wafī khabarin ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: yā maʿshara al-ḥawāriyyīna jawwiʿū buṭūnakum waʿaṭṭishū ʾakbādakum waʾaʿrū ʾajsādakum laʿalla qulūbakum tarā allāha ʿazza wajalla yaʿnī biḥaqīqati al-zuhdi waṣafāʾi al-qalbi ,

Hunger thus diminishes the blood; its diminution narrows the enemy’s passage and weakens the self’s dwelling by reducing its place. In a report from Jesus, peace be upon him: “Company of disciples, make your bellies hungry, your livers thirsty, and your bodies bare; perhaps your hearts will see God, mighty and majestic is He.” He means through the reality of renunciation and the heart’s purity.

فَالْجُوعُ مِفْتَاحُ الزُّهْدِ وَبَابُ الْآخِرَةِ وَفِيهِ ذُلُّ النَّفْسِ وَاسْتِكَانَتُهَا وَضَعْفُهَا وَانْكِسَارُهَا وَفِي ذَلِكَ حَيَاةُ الْقَلْبِ وَصَلَاحُهُ وَأَقَلُّ مَا فِي الْجُوعِ إِيثَارُ الصَّمْتِ وَفِي الصَّمْتِ السَّلَامَةُ وَهِيَ غَايَةٌ لِلْعُقَلَاءِ ، وَقَالَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ : اجْتَمَعَ الْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِي هَذِهِ الْأَرْبَعِ خِصَالٍ ،

fa-al-jūʿu miftāḥu al-zuhdi wabābu al-ʾākhirati wafīhi dhullu al-nafsi wastikānatuhā waḍaʿfuhā wankisāruhā wafī dhālika ḥayātu al-qalbi waṣalāḥuhu waʾaqallu mā fī al-jūʿi ʾīthāru al-ṣamti wafī al-ṣamti al-salāmatu wahiya ghāyatun lilʿuqalāʾi , waqāla sahlun raḥimahu allāhu: ijtamaʿa al-khayru kulluhu fī hādhihi al-ʾarbaʿi khiṣālin ,

Hunger is the key to renunciation and the gate to the Hereafter. In it lie the self’s lowliness, submissiveness, weakness, and brokenness; in that lie the heart’s life and soundness. The least benefit of hunger is preferring silence; in silence lies safety, the goal of the discerning. Sahl, may God have mercy on him, said, “All good is gathered in these four qualities,

وَبِهَا صَارَ الْأَبْدَالُ أَبْدَالًا إِخْمَاصُ الْبُطُونِ وَالصَّمْتُ وَالسَّهَرُ وَالِاعْتِزَالُ عَنِ النَّاسِ ، وَقَالَ : مَنْ لَمْ يَصْبِرْ عَلَى الْجُوعِ وَالضُّرِّ لَمْ يَتَحَقَّقْ بِهَذَا الْأَمْرِ وَكَانَ عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ بْنُ زَيْدٍ يَحْلِفُ بِاللَّهِ مَا تَحَوَّلَ الصِّدِّيقُونَ صِدِّيقِينَ إِلَّا بِالْجُوعِ وَالسَّهَرِ فَإِنَّهُ يُنِيرُ الْقَلْبَ وَيَجْلُوهُ وَفِي اسْتِنَارَتِهِ مُعَايَنَةُ الْغَيْبِ وَفِي

wabihā ṣāra al-ʾabdālu ʾabdālan ʾikhmāṣu al-buṭūni wa-al-ṣamtu wa-al-saharu wa-al-iʿtizālu ʿani al-nāsi , waqāla: man lam yaṣbir ʿalā al-jūʿi wa-al-ḍurri lam yataḥaqqaq bihādhā al-ʾamri wakāna ʿabdu al-wāḥidi bnu zaydin yaḥlifu bi-allāhi mā taḥawwala al-ṣiddīqūna ṣiddīqīna ʾillā bi-al-jūʿi wa-al-sahari faʾinnahu yunīru al-qalba wayajlūhu wafī istināratihi muʿāyanatu al-ghaybi wafī

through which the spiritual substitutes became substitutes: empty bellies, silence, wakefulness, and withdrawal from people.” He said, “Whoever does not endure hunger and hardship does not realize this matter.” ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd used to swear by God, “The utterly truthful became utterly truthful only through hunger and wakefulness.” For it illuminates and polishes the heart. In its illumination lies direct vision of the unseen, and in

جَلَائِهِ صَفَاءُ الْيَقِينِ فَتَدْخُلُ الِاسْتِنَارَةُ وَالْجَلَاءُ عَلَى الْبَيَاضِ وَالرِّقَّةِ فَيَصِيرُ الْقَلْبُ كَأَنَّهُ كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ فِي مِرْآةٍ مَجْلُوَّةٍ وَيَشْهَدُ الْغَيْبَ بِالْغَيْبِ فَيَزْهَدُ فِي الْفَانِي لِمَا عَايَنَ مِنَ الْبَاقِي وَتَقِلُّ رَغْبَتُهُ فِي عَاجِلِ حُظُوظِ هَوَاهُ لِمَا أَبْصَرَ مِنْ وَبَالِ الْعِقَابِ وَيَرْغَبُ فِي الطَّاعَاتِ لِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْآخِرَةِ وَرَفِيعِ الدَّرَجَاتِ فَيَصِيرُ

jalāʾihi ṣafāʾu al-yaqīni fatadkhulu al-istināratu wa-al-jalāʾu ʿalā al-bayāḍi wa-al-riqqati fayaṣīru al-qalbu kaʾannahu kawkabun durriyyun fī mirʾātin majluwwatin wayashhadu al-ghayba bi-al-ghaybi fayazhadu fī al-fānī limā ʿāyana mina al-bāqī wataqillu raghbatuhu fī ʿājili ḥuẓūẓi hawāhu limā ʾabṣara min wabāli al-ʿiqābi wayarghabu fī al-ṭāʿāti limushāhadati al-ʾākhirati warafīʿi al-darajāti fayaṣīru

its polishing lies clarity of certainty. Illumination and polishing join whiteness and tenderness, so that the heart becomes like a brilliant star in a polished mirror. It witnesses the unseen through the unseen. It renounces what perishes because of what it has directly seen of what endures. Its desire for the immediate satisfactions of its passions diminishes because of what it has seen of punishment’s grievous consequences. It desires acts of obedience through witnessing the Hereafter and lofty ranks. Thus

الْآجِلُ عَاجِلًا وَيَكُونُ الْعَاجِلُ غَائِبًا وَيَصِيرُ الْغَائِبُ حَاضِرًا وَالْحَاضِرُ آفِلًا يَطْلُبُهُ وَيَرْغَبُ فِيهِ فَلَا يُحِبُّ الْآفِلَ وَلَا يَبْتَغِيهِ وَيَطْلُبُ الْآجِلَ وَيَرْغَبُ فِيهِ وَيَنْكَشِفُ لَهُ عَوَارُ الدَّارِ وَيَظْهَرُ لَهُ بَوَاطِنُ الْأَسْرَارِ وَيَزُولُ عَنْهُ كَامِنُ الِاغْتِرَارِ فَهُنَاكَ صَارَ الْعَبْدُ مُؤْمِنًا حَقًّا بِوَصْفِ حَارِثَةَ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ إِذْ يَقُولُ :

al-ʾājilu ʿājilan wayakūnu al-ʿājilu ghāʾiban wayaṣīru al-ghāʾibu ḥāḍiran wa-al-ḥāḍiru ʾāfilan yaṭlubuhu wayarghabu fīhi falā yuḥibbu al-ʾāfila walā yabtaghīhi wayaṭlubu al-ʾājila wayarghabu fīhi wayankashifu lahu ʿawāru al-dāri wayaẓharu lahu bawāṭinu al-ʾasrāri wayazūlu ʿanhu kāminu al-ightirāri fahunāka ṣāra al-ʿabdu muʾminan ḥaqqan biwaṣfi ḥārithata al-ʾanṣāriyyi ʾidh yaqūlu:

what is deferred becomes immediate, the immediate becomes absent, the absent becomes present, and the present becomes something setting away. He seeks it and desires it; he does not love what sets away or seek it, but seeks what is deferred and desires it. The defects of this abode are unveiled to him, the inward depths of secrets become apparent, and hidden delusion departs from him. Then the servant becomes a true believer, bearing the description of Ḥāritha al-Anṣārī when he says:

عَزَفَتْ نَفْسِي عَنِ الدُّنْيَا وَكَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى عَرْشِ رَبِّي تَعَالَى بَارِزًا وَكَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ يَتَزَاوَرُونَ وَإِلَى أَهْلِ النَّارِ يَتَعَادَوْنَ ، وَكَذَلِكَ وَصَفَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَلْبَ الْمُؤْمِنِ فِي قَوْلِهِ : الْقُلُوبُ أَرْبَعَةٌ ؛ قَلْبٌ أَجْرَدُ فِيهِ سِرَاجٌ يَزْهَرُ فَذَلِكَ قَلْبُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَانْجِرَادُ الْقَلْبِ بِالزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا

ʿazafat nafsī ʿani al-dunyā wakaʾannī ʾanẓuru ʾilā ʿarshi rabbī taʿālā bārizan wakaʾannī ʾanẓuru ʾilā ʾahli al-jannati yatazāwarūna waʾilā ʾahli al-nāri yataʿādawna , wakadhālika waṣafa rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qalba al-muʾmini fī qawlihi: al-qulūbu ʾarbaʿatun ; qalbun ʾajradu fīhi sirājun yazharu fadhālika qalbu al-muʾmini wanjirādu al-qalbi bi-al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā

“My self has turned away from this world. It is as though I see my Lord’s Throne, exalted is He, standing plainly before me; as though I see the people of the Garden visiting one another and the people of the Fire showing hostility to one another.” Likewise the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, described the believer’s heart in his saying, “Hearts are four: a bare heart containing a shining lamp; that is the believer’s heart.” The heart becomes bare through renouncing this world

وَتَجَرُّدِهِ مِنَ الْهَوَى وَسِرَاجُهُ الَّذِي يَزْهَرُ فِيهِ هُوَ نُورُ الْيَقِينِ بِهِ يُبْصِرُ الْغَيْبَ وَقَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا : مَنْ سَهِرَ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً خَالِصًا كُوشِفَ بِمَلَكُوتِ السَّمَاءِ وَكَانَ يَقُولُ اجْتَمَعَ الْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِي أَرْبَعٍ ذَكَرَ مِنْهَا سَهَرَ اللَّيْلِ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ نَوْمَ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَنْ غَلَبَةِ الْمَنَامِ بَعْدَ طُولِ السَّهَرِ بِالْقِيَامِ مُكَاشَفَةٌ لَهُمْ وَشُهُودٌ

watajarrudihi mina al-hawā wasirājuhu alladhī yazharu fīhi huwa nūru al-yaqīni bihi yubṣiru al-ghayba waqāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā: man sahira ʾarbaʿīna laylatan khāliṣan kūshifa bimalakūti al-samāʾi wakāna yaqūlu ijtamaʿa al-khayru kulluhu fī ʾarbaʿin dhakara minhā sahara al-layli waʿlam ʾanna nawma al-ʿulamāʾi ʿan ghalabati al-manāmi baʿda ṭūli al-sahari bi-al-qiyāmi mukāshafatun lahum washuhūdun

and stripping itself of desire. Its lamp that shines within it is the light of certainty, through which it sees the unseen. One of our scholars said, “Whoever stays awake for forty nights in sincerity will have the dominion of heaven unveiled to him.” He used to say, “All good is gathered in four things,” among which he mentioned wakefulness at night. Know that the learned person’s sleep, when sleep overcomes him after prolonged wakefulness standing in prayer, is an unveiling and witnessing for him,

وَتَقْرِيبٌ لَهُمْ مِنْهُ وَوُرُودٌ وَمِنْ صِفَةِ الْأَبْدَالِ أَنْ يَكُونَ أَكْلُهُمْ فَاقَةً وَنَوْمُهُمْ غَلَبَةً وَكَلَامُهُمْ ضَرُورَةً وَمَنْ سَهِرَ بِاللَّيْلِ لِأَجْلِ الْحَبِيبِ لَمْ يُخَالِفْهُ بِالنَّهَارِ فَإِنَّهُ أَسْهَرَهُ بِاللَّيْلِ فِي خِدْمَتِهِ وَدَخَلَ الْحَسَنُ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ إِلَى السُّوقِ فَسَمِعَ لَغَطَهُمْ وَكَثْرَةَ كَلَامِهِمْ فَقَالَ أَظُنُّ لَيْلَ هَؤُلَاءِ لَيْلَ سُوءٍ مَا يَقِيلُونَ وَفِي الْخَبَرِ

wataqrībun lahum minhu wawurūdun wamin ṣifati al-ʾabdāli ʾan yakūna ʾakluhum fāqatan wanawmuhum ghalabatan wakalāmuhum ḍarūratan waman sahira bi-al-layli liʾajli al-ḥabībi lam yukhālifhu bi-al-nahāri faʾinnahu ʾasharahu bi-al-layli fī khidmatihi wadakhala al-ḥasanu dhāta yawmin ʾilā al-sūqi fasamiʿa laghaṭahum wakathrata kalāmihim faqāla ʾaẓunnu layla hāʾulāʾi layla sūʾin mā yaqīlūna wafī al-khabari

a drawing near to Him and an arrival. Among the qualities of the spiritual substitutes are that their eating is out of need, their sleeping from being overcome, and their speech from necessity. Whoever stays awake at night for the Beloved does not oppose Him by day, for He kept him awake at night in His service. Al-Ḥasan entered the market one day and heard their clamor and abundant speech. He said, “I think these people’s night is an evil night: they do not take a midday rest.” In a report:

قِيلُوا فَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَا تَقِيلُ وَاسْتَعِينُوا عَلَى قِيَامِ اللَّيْلِ بِقَائِلَةِ النَّهَارِ وَقَدْ قِيلَ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 54 قِيلَ بِالصَّوْمِ عَلَى قِيَامِ اللَّيْلِ وَقِيلَ : اسْتَعِينُوا بِالْجُوعِ وَصَلَاةِ اللَّيْلِ عَلَى مُجَاهَدَةِ النَّفْسِ وَقِيلَ :

qīlū faʾinna al-shayāṭīna lā taqīlu wistaʿīnū ʿalā qiyāmi al-layli biqāʾilati al-nahāri waqad qīla fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( wistaʿīnū bi-al-ṣabri wa-al-ṣalāti ) al-baqaratu: 54 qīla bi-al-ṣawmi ʿalā qiyāmi al-layli waqīla: istaʿīnū bi-al-jūʿi waṣalāti al-layli ʿalā mujāhadati al-nafsi waqīla:

“Take a midday rest, for devils do not rest at midday, and seek help for standing at night through the day’s midday rest.” Concerning His saying, mighty and majestic is He, “Seek help through patience and prayer” (al-Baqara, 54), it has been said: through fasting, seek help for standing at night. It has also been said, “Seek help through hunger and night prayer in struggling against the self.” It has been said:

اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ عَلَى اجْتِنَابِ النَّهْيِ . قَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا : مَنْ سَهِرَ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً خَالِصًا كُوشِفَ بِمَلَكُوتِ السَّمَاءِ وَكَانَ يَقُولُ اجْتَمَعَ الْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِي أَرْبَعٍ ذَكَرَ مِنْهَا سَهَرَ اللَّيْلِ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ نَوْمَ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَنْ غَلَبَةِ الْمَنَامِ بَعْدَ طُولِ السَّهَرِ بِالْقِيَامِ مُكَاشَفَةٌ لَهُمْ وَشُهُودٌ وَتَقْرِيبٌ لَهُمْ مِنْهُ وَوُرُودٌ وَمِنْ

istaʿīnū bi-al-ṣabri wa-al-ṣalāti ʿalā ijtinābi al-nahyi. qāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā: man sahira ʾarbaʿīna laylatan khāliṣan kūshifa bimalakūti al-samāʾi wakāna yaqūlu ijtamaʿa al-khayru kulluhu fī ʾarbaʿin dhakara minhā sahara al-layli waʿlam ʾanna nawma al-ʿulamāʾi ʿan ghalabati al-manāmi baʿda ṭūli al-sahari bi-al-qiyāmi mukāshafatun lahum washuhūdun wataqrībun lahum minhu wawurūdun wamin

“Seek help through patience and prayer in avoiding what is forbidden.” One of our scholars said, “Whoever stays awake for forty nights in sincerity will have the dominion of heaven unveiled to him.” He used to say, “All good is gathered in four things,” among which he mentioned wakefulness at night. Know that the learned person’s sleep, when sleep overcomes him after prolonged wakefulness standing in prayer, is an unveiling and witnessing for him, a drawing near to Him and an arrival. Among

صِفَةِ الْأَبْدَالِ أَنْ يَكُونَ أَكْلُهُمْ فَاقَةً وَنَوْمُهُمْ غَلَبَةً وَكَلَامُهُمْ ضَرُورَةً وَمَنْ سَهِرَ بِاللَّيْلِ لِأَجْلِ الْحَبِيبِ لَمْ يُخَالِفْهُ بِالنَّهَارِ فَإِنَّهُ أَسْهَرَهُ بِاللَّيْلِ فِي خِدْمَتِهِ وَدَخَلَ الْحَسَنُ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ إِلَى السُّوقِ فَسَمِعَ لَغَطَهُمْ وَكَثْرَةَ كَلَامِهِمْ فَقَالَ أَظُنُّ لَيْلَ هَؤُلَاءِ لَيْلَ سُوءٍ مَا يَقِيلُونَ وَفِي الْخَبَرِ قِيلُوا فَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَا تَقِيلُ

ṣifati al-ʾabdāli ʾan yakūna ʾakluhum fāqatan wanawmuhum ghalabatan wakalāmuhum ḍarūratan waman sahira bi-al-layli liʾajli al-ḥabībi lam yukhālifhu bi-al-nahāri faʾinnahu ʾasharahu bi-al-layli fī khidmatihi wadakhala al-ḥasanu dhāta yawmin ʾilā al-sūqi fasamiʿa laghaṭahum wakathrata kalāmihim faqāla ʾaẓunnu layla hāʾulāʾi layla sūʾin mā yaqīlūna wafī al-khabari qīlū faʾinna al-shayāṭīna lā taqīlu

the qualities of the spiritual substitutes are that their eating is out of need, their sleeping from being overcome, and their speech from necessity. Whoever stays awake at night for the Beloved does not oppose Him by day, for He kept him awake at night in His service. Al-Ḥasan entered the market one day and heard their clamor and abundant speech. He said, “I think these people’s night is an evil night: they do not take a midday rest.” In a report: “Take a midday rest, for devils do not rest at midday,

وَاسْتَعِينُوا عَلَى قِيَامِ اللَّيْلِ بِقَائِلَةِ النَّهَارِ وَقَدْ قِيلَ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 54 قِيلَ بِالصَّوْمِ عَلَى قِيَامِ اللَّيْلِ وَقِيلَ : اسْتَعِينُوا بِالْجُوعِ وَصَلَاةِ اللَّيْلِ عَلَى مُجَاهَدَةِ النَّفْسِ وَقِيلَ : اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ عَلَى اجْتِنَابِ النَّهْيِ .

wistaʿīnū ʿalā qiyāmi al-layli biqāʾilati al-nahāri waqad qīla fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( wistaʿīnū bi-al-ṣabri wa-al-ṣalāti ) al-baqaratu: 54 qīla bi-al-ṣawmi ʿalā qiyāmi al-layli waqīla: istaʿīnū bi-al-jūʿi waṣalāti al-layli ʿalā mujāhadati al-nafsi waqīla: istaʿīnū bi-al-ṣabri wa-al-ṣalāti ʿalā ijtinābi al-nahyi.

and seek help for standing at night through the day’s midday rest.” Concerning His saying, mighty and majestic is He, “Seek help through patience and prayer” (al-Baqara, 54), it has been said: through fasting, seek help for standing at night. It has also been said, “Seek help through hunger and night prayer in struggling against the self.” It has been said, “Seek help through patience and prayer in avoiding what is forbidden.”

وَأَمَّا الصَّمْتُ فَإِنَّهُ يُلَقِّحُ الْعَقْلَ وَيُعَلِّمُ الْوَرَعَ وَيَجْلِبُ التَّقْوَى وَيَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِهِ لِلْعَبْدِ بِالتَّأْوِيلِ الصَّحِيحِ وَالْعِلْمِ الرَّجِيحِ مَخْرَجًا وَيُوَفِّقُهُ بِإِيثَارِ الصَّمْتِ لِلْقَوْلِ السَّدِيدِ وَالْعَمَلِ الرَّشِيدِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : تَعَلَّمْتُ الصَّمْتَ بِحَصَاةٍ جَعَلْتُهَا فِي فَمِي ثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً كُنْتُ إِذَا هَمَمْتُ بِالْكَلِمَةِ تَلَجْلَجَ بِهَا

waʾammā al-ṣamtu faʾinnahu yulaqqiḥu al-ʿaqla wayuʿallimu al-waraʿa wayajlibu al-taqwā wayajʿalu allāhu ʿazza wajalla bihi lilʿabdi bi-al-taʾwīli al-ṣaḥīḥi wa-al-ʿilmi al-rajīḥi makhrajan wayuwaffiquhu biʾīthāri al-ṣamti lilqawli al-sadīdi wa-al-ʿamali al-rashīdi , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-salafi: taʿallamtu al-ṣamta biḥaṣātin jaʿaltuhā fī famī thalāthīna sanatan kuntu ʾidhā hamamtu bi-al-kalimati talajlaja bihā

As for silence, it makes the intellect fruitful, teaches scrupulousness, and brings reverent fear. Through it God, mighty and majestic is He, gives the servant a way out through correct interpretation and sound knowledge; by preferring silence He grants him success in right speech and rightly guided action. One of the early generations said, “I learned silence through a pebble I kept in my mouth for thirty years. Whenever I intended to utter a word, it made

لِسَانِي فَيَسْكُتُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : جَعَلْتُ عَلَى نَفْسِي بِكُلِّ كَلِمَةٍ أَتَكَلَّمُ بِهَا فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِينِي صَلَاةَ رَكْعَتَيْنِ فَسَهُلَ ذَلِكَ عَلَيَّ فَجَعَلْتُ عَلَى نَفْسِي بِكُلِّ كَلِمَةٍ صَوْمَ يَوْمٍ فَسَهُلَ عَلَيَّ فَلَمْ أَنْتَهِ حَتَّى جَعَلْتُ عَلَى نَفْسِي بِكُلِّ كَلِمَةٍ أَنْ أَتَصَدَّقَ بِدِرْهَمٍ فَصَعُبَ ذَلِكَ فَانْتَهَيْتُ ، وَقَالَ عُقْبَةُ بْنُ عَامِرٍ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فِيمَ النَّجَاةُ ؟

lisānī fayaskutu , waqāla baʿḍuhum: jaʿaltu ʿalā nafsī bikulli kalimatin ʾatakallamu bihā fīmā lā yaʿnīnī ṣalāta rakʿatayni fasahula dhālika ʿalayya fajaʿaltu ʿalā nafsī bikulli kalimatin ṣawma yawmin fasahula ʿalayya falam ʾantahi ḥattā jaʿaltu ʿalā nafsī bikulli kalimatin ʾan ʾataṣaddaqa bidirhamin faṣaʿuba dhālika fantahaytu , waqāla ʿuqbatu bnu ʿāmirin: yā rasūla allāhi fīma al-najātu ?

my tongue falter, so it fell silent.” One of them said, “For every word I spoke about what did not concern me, I imposed two cycles of prayer upon myself. That was easy for me, so for every word I imposed a day’s fasting upon myself. That was easy for me, and I did not stop until I imposed upon myself a dirham in charity for every word. That was difficult, so I stopped.” ʿUqba ibn ʿĀmir said, “Messenger of God, in what lies salvation?”

قَالَ : أَمْلِكْ عَلَيْكَ لِسَانَكَ وَلْيَسَعْكَ بَيْتُكَ وَابْكِ عَلَى خَطِيئَتِكَ وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْخَبَرِ الْجَامِعِ الْمُخْتَصَرِ : مَنْ سَرَّهُ أَنْ يَسْلَمَ فَلْيَلْزَمِ الصَّمْتَ وَأَوْصَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مُعَاذًا بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالصِّيَامِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ ثُمَّ قَالَ فِي آخِرِ وَصِيَّتِهِ : أَلَا أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى مَا هُوَ أَمْلَكُ لَكَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ ،

qāla: ʾamlik ʿalayka lisānaka walyasaʿka baytuka wabki ʿalā khaṭīʾatika waqāla ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī al-khabari al-jāmiʿi al-mukhtaṣari: man sarrahu ʾan yaslama falyalzami al-ṣamta waʾawṣā rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama muʿādhan bi-al-ṣalāti wa-al-ṣiyāmi waghayri dhālika thumma qāla fī ʾākhiri waṣiyyatihi: ʾalā ʾadulluka ʿalā mā huwa ʾamlaku laka min dhālika kullihi ,

He replied, “Keep your tongue under control, let your house be spacious enough for you, and weep over your sin.” He said, God bless him and grant him peace, in a concise, comprehensive report, “Whoever wishes to be safe should keep to silence.” The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, counseled Muʿādh concerning prayer, fasting, and other matters, then said at the end of his counsel, “Shall I direct you to what gives you greater mastery than all of that?”

هَذَا وَأَوْمَأَ بِيَدِهِ إِلَى لِسَانِهِ فَقُلْتُ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَإِنَّا لَمُؤَاخَذُونَ بِمَا تَتَكَلَّمُ بِهِ أَلْسِنَتُنَا فَقَالَ : ثَكِلَتْكَ أُمُّكَ يَا مُعَاذُ وَهَلْ يَكُبُّ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَنَاخِرِهِمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ إِلَّا حَصَائِدُ أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ إِنَّكَ مَا سَكَتَّ فَإِنَّكَ سَالِمٌ فَإِذَا تَكَلَّمْتَ فَإِنَّمَا هُوَ لَكَ أَوْ عَلَيْكَ وَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ سُفْيَانَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ ، قَالَ :

hādhā waʾawmaʾa biyadihi ʾilā lisānihi faqultu: yā rasūla allāhi waʾinnā lamuʾākhadhūna bimā tatakallamu bihi ʾalsinatunā faqāla: thakilatka ʾummuka yā muʿādhu wahal yakubbu al-nāsa ʿalā manākhirihim fī jahannama ʾillā ḥaṣāʾidu ʾalsinatihim ʾinnaka mā sakatta faʾinnaka sālimun faʾidhā takallamta faʾinnamā huwa laka ʾaw ʿalayka waqāla ʿabdu allāhi bnu sufyāna ʿan ʾabīhi , qāla:

“This,” and he gestured with his hand toward his tongue. I said, “Messenger of God, are we held accountable for what our tongues say?” He replied, “May your mother be bereaved of you, Muʿādh! What throws people onto their noses in Hell but the harvests of their tongues? As long as you keep silent, you are safe; when you speak, it is either for you or against you.” ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sufyān related from his father, who said:

قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَوْصِنِي بِشَيْءٍ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ لَا أَسْأَلُ عَنْهُ أَحَدًا بَعْدَكَ فَقَالَ : قُلْ رَبِّيَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقِمْ قَالَ : قُلْتُ فَمَا أَتَّقِي بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ ذَلِكَ وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ فَأَخْبِرْنِي بِأَضَرِّ شَيْءٍ عَلَيَّ فَقَالَ هَذَا وَأَوْمَأَ إِلَى لِسَانِهِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ لَا يَتَّقِي الْعَبْدُ رَبَّهُ تَعَالَى حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ حَتَّى يَخْزُنَ مِنْ لِسَانِهِ .

qultu yā rasūla allāhi ʾawṣinī bishayʾin fī al-ʾislāmi lā ʾasʾalu ʿanhu ʾaḥadan baʿdaka faqāla: qul rabbiya allāhu thumma istaqim qāla: qultu famā ʾattaqī baʿda dhālika , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara dhālika wafī lafẓin ʾākhara faʾakhbirnī biʾaḍarri shayʾin ʿalayya faqāla hādhā waʾawmaʾa ʾilā lisānihi , wafī al-khabari lā yattaqī al-ʿabdu rabbahu taʿālā ḥaqqa tuqātihi ḥattā yakhzuna min lisānihi.

I said, “Messenger of God, counsel me with something in Islam about which I shall ask no one after you.” He said, “Say, ‘My Lord is God,’ then remain steadfast.” He said: I asked, “What should I guard against after that?” In another wording, “that”; and in another wording, “Tell me what is most harmful to me.” He said, “This,” and gestured toward his tongue. In a report: “The servant does not fear his Lord, exalted is He, as He should be feared until he keeps his tongue in store.”

وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ لَا يَصْلُحُ الْعَبْدُ حَتَّى يَسْتَقِيمَ قَلْبُهُ وَلَا يَسْتَقِيمُ قَلْبُهُ حَتَّى يَسْتَقِيمَ لِسَانُهُ وَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ : لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَحَقَّ بِطُولِ سِجْنٍ مِنْ لِسَانٍ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : فَتَّشْتُ الْوَرَعَ فَمَا وَجَدْتُ فِي شَيْءٍ أَقَلَّ مِنْهُ فِي اللِّسَانِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : مَا اسْتَقَامَ لِسَانُ عَبْدٍ إِلَّا عَرَفْتُ الصَّلَاحَ فِي سَائِرِ عَمَلِهِ وَمَا

wafī al-ḥadīthi lā yaṣluḥu al-ʿabdu ḥattā yastaqīma qalbuhu walā yastaqīmu qalbuhu ḥattā yastaqīma lisānuhu waqāla ibnu masʿūdin: laysa shayʾun ʾaḥaqqa biṭūli sijnin min lisānin , waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: fattashtu al-waraʿa famā wajadtu fī shayʾin ʾaqalla minhu fī al-lisāni , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: mā istaqāma lisānu ʿabdin ʾillā ʿaraftu al-ṣalāḥa fī sāʾiri ʿamalihi wamā

In a report: “The servant does not become sound until his heart becomes upright, and his heart does not become upright until his tongue becomes upright.” Ibn Masʿūd said, “Nothing deserves long imprisonment more than a tongue.” One of the early generations said, “I searched for scrupulousness and found it less in the tongue than in anything else.” One of the learned said, “No servant’s tongue has become upright without my recognizing soundness in the rest of his deeds, and no

اخْتَلَفَ لِسَانُهُ إِلَّا عَرَفْتُ الْفَسَادَ فِي سَائِرِ عَمَلِهِ وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْحُكَمَاءِ : إِذَا كَثُرَ الْعَقْلُ قَلَّ الْكَلَامُ ، وَإِذَا قَلَّ الْعَقْلُ كَثُرَ الْكَلَامُ ، وَقَالَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ : عُلَمَاءُ أَهْلِ الْكَلَامِ زَنَادِقَةٌ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ : مَنْ تَكَلَّمَ فَأَحْسَنَ كَثِيرٌ وَلَكِنَّ الشَّأْنَ فِيمَنْ يُحْسِنُ أَنْ يَسْكُتَ ، وَقَالَ ذُو النُّونِ الْمِصْرِيُّ :

ikhtalafa lisānuhu ʾillā ʿaraftu al-fasāda fī sāʾiri ʿamalihi waqāla baʿḍu al-ḥukamāʾi: ʾidhā kathura al-ʿaqlu qalla al-kalāmu , waʾidhā qalla al-ʿaqlu kathura al-kalāmu , waqāla ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin: ʿulamāʾu ʾahli al-kalāmi zanādiqatun , waqāla baʿḍu hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati: man takallama faʾaḥsana kathīrun walakinna al-shaʾna fīman yuḥsinu ʾan yaskuta , waqāla dhū al-nūni al-miṣriyyu:

tongue of his has become inconsistent without my recognizing corruption in the rest of his deeds.” One of the sages said, “When intellect increases, speech decreases; when intellect decreases, speech increases.” Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal said, “The scholars of speculative theology are heretics.” One of this company said, “Many have spoken and spoken well, but the real matter is knowing how to be silent.” Dhū al-Nūn al-Miṣrī said:

الْخَوْفُ يُقْلِقُ وَالْحَيَاءُ يُسْكِتُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : قَدْ جُزِّئَ الْعِلْمُ عَلَى قِسْمَيْنِ : نِصْفُهُ سُكُوتٌ وَنِصْفُهُ أَنْ تَدْرِيَ أَيْنَ تَضَعُهُ ، وَقَالَ الضَّحَّاكُ بْنُ مُزَاحِمٍ : أَدْرَكْتُهُمْ وَمَا يَتَعَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا الصَّمْتَ وَالْوَرَعَ وَهُمْ الْيَوْمَ يَتَعَلَّمُونَ الْكَلَامَ ، وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :

al-khawfu yuqliqu wa-al-ḥayāʾu yuskitu , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: qad juzziʾa al-ʿilmu ʿalā qismayni: niṣfuhu sukūtun waniṣfuhu ʾan tadriya ʾayna taḍaʿuhu , waqāla al-ḍaḥḥāku bnu muzāḥimin: ʾadraktuhum wamā yataʿallamūna ʾillā al-ṣamta wa-al-waraʿa wahum al-yawma yataʿallamūna al-kalāma , waqāla al-ḥasanu ʿan ʾanasi bni mālikin: qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama:

“Fear unsettles, and modesty silences.” One of those who know God said, “Knowledge has been divided into two parts: half of it is silence, and half is knowing where to place it.” Al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim said, “I encountered them when they learned only silence and scrupulousness, whereas today they learn speech.” Al-Ḥasan related from Anas ibn Mālik: the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said:

أَرْبَعٌ لَا يُصَبْنَ إِلَّا بِعَجَبٍ الصَّمْتُ وَهُوَ : أَوَّلُ الْعِبَادَةِ ، وَالتَّوَاضُعُ ، وَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَقِلَّةُ الشَّيْءِ ، وَقَالَ حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ : قُلْتُ لِأَيُّوبَ : الْعِلْمُ الْيَوْمَ أَكْثَرُ أَوْ فِيمَا مَضَى ؟ فَقَالَ : يَا بُنَيَّ الْكَلَامُ الْيَوْمَ أَكْثَرُ وَالْعِلْمُ فِيمَا مَضَى كَانَ أَكْثَرَ وَقِيلَ :

ʾarbaʿun lā yuṣabna ʾillā biʿajabin al-ṣamtu wahuwa: ʾawwalu al-ʿibādati , wa-al-tawāḍuʿu , wadhikru allāhi ʿazza wajalla , waqillatu al-shayʾi , waqāla ḥammādu bnu zaydin: qultu liʾayyūba: al-ʿilmu al-yawma ʾaktharu ʾaw fīmā maḍā ? faqāla: yā bunayya al-kalāmu al-yawma ʾaktharu wa-al-ʿilmu fīmā maḍā kāna ʾakthara waqīla:

“Four things are attained only rarely: silence, which is the beginning of worship; humility; remembrance of God, mighty and majestic is He; and having little.” Ḥammād ibn Zayd said, “I asked Ayyūb, ‘Is knowledge more abundant today or in the past?’ He replied, ‘My son, speech is more abundant today, but knowledge was more abundant in the past.’” It was said:

كَانُوا يَنْتَفِعُونَ بِصَمْتِ الْعَالِمِ مِثْلَ مَا يَنْتَفِعُونَ بِكَلَامِهِ ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ : مَنْ لَمْ يَنْتَفِعْ بِسُكُوتِ الْمُتَكَلِّمِ لَمْ يَنْتَفِعْ بِكَلَامِهِ ، وَقِيلَ لِبَعْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ : فُلَانٌ أَعْلَمُ أَمْ فُلَانٌ ؟ فَقَالَ فُلَانٌ أَعْلَمُ وَفُلَانٌ أَكْثَرُ كَلَامًا فَفَرَّقَ بَيْنَ الْعِلْمِ وَالْكَلَامِ ، وَقِيلَ لِبَعْضِ عُلَمَاءِ خُرَاسَانَ عِنْدَ وَفَاتِهِ :

kānū yantafiʿūna biṣamti al-ʿālimi mithla mā yantafiʿūna bikalāmihi , waqad qīla: man lam yantafiʿ bisukūti al-mutakallimi lam yantafiʿ bikalāmihi , waqīla libaʿḍi al-ʿulamāʾi: fulānun ʾaʿlamu ʾam fulānun ? faqāla fulānun ʾaʿlamu wafulānun ʾaktharu kalāman fafarraqa bayna al-ʿilmi wa-al-kalāmi , waqīla libaʿḍi ʿulamāʾi khurāsāna ʿinda wafātihi:

“They used to benefit from a scholar’s silence just as they benefited from his speech.” It has been said, “Whoever does not benefit from a speaker’s silence does not benefit from his speech.” One of the learned was asked, “Is so-and-so more learned, or so-and-so?” He answered, “So-and-so is more learned, while so-and-so speaks more,” distinguishing knowledge from speech. One of the scholars of Khurasan was asked at his death:

دُلَّنَا عَلَى رَجُلٍ نَجْلِسُ إِلَيْهِ بَعْدَكَ فَقَالَ لَهُمْ : فُلَانٌ فَذَكَرَ لَهُمْ رَجُلًا صَمُوتًا مُتَعَبِّدًا لَا يُعْرَفُ بِكَثِيرِ عِلْمٍ فَقِيلَ لَهُ : إِنَّ فُلَانًا لَيْسَ عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا يُجِيبُ عَنْ كُلِّ مَا نَسْأَلُهُ عَنْهُ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقَالَ : قَدْ عَلِمْتُ ، وَلَكِنْ عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الْوَرَعِ مَا لَا يَتَكَلَّمُ بِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُ وَكَانَ الْأَعْمَشُ يَقُولُ :

dullanā ʿalā rajulin najlisu ʾilayhi baʿdaka faqāla lahum: fulānun fadhakara lahum rajulan ṣamūtan mutaʿabbidan lā yuʿrafu bikathīri ʿilmin faqīla lahu: ʾinna fulānan laysa ʿindahu mina al-ʿilmi mā yujību ʿan kulli mā nasʾaluhu ʿanhu mina al-ʿilmi faqāla: qad ʿalimtu , walakin ʿindahu mina al-waraʿi mā lā yatakallamu bimā lā yaʿlamu wakāna al-ʾaʿmashu yaqūlu:

“Direct us to a man with whom we may sit after you.” He told them, “So-and-so,” naming a silent, devout man not known for great learning. He was told, “So-and-so does not possess enough knowledge to answer everything we ask him about knowledge.” He replied, “I know. But he has enough scrupulousness not to speak about what he does not know.” Al-Aʿmash used to say:

مِنَ الْكَلَامِ كَلَامٌ جَوَابُهُ السُّكُوتُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : الصَّمْتُ زَيْنُ الْعَالِمِ وَسِتْرُ الْجَاهِلِ ، وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ : الصَّمْتُ جَوَابُهُ وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : الصَّمْتُ زَيْنٌ لِلْعَالِمِ وَشَيْنٌ لِلْجَاهِلِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَشَدَّ عَلَى الشَّيْطَانِ مِنْ عَالِمٍ حَلِيمٍ إِنْ تَكَلَّمَ تَكَلَّمَ بِعِلْمٍ وَإِنْ سَكَتَ سَكَتَ بِحِلْمٍ ، يَقُولُ الشَّيْطَانُ :

mina al-kalāmi kalāmun jawābuhu al-sukūtu , waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: al-ṣamtu zaynu al-ʿālimi wasitru al-jāhili , waqāla ghayruhu: al-ṣamtu jawābuhu wafī al-khabari: al-ṣamtu zaynun lilʿālimi washaynun liljāhili , waqāla baʿḍuhum: laysa shayʾun ʾashadda ʿalā al-shayṭāni min ʿālimin ḥalīmin ʾin takallama takallama biʿilmin waʾin sakata sakata biḥilmin , yaqūlu al-shayṭānu:

“Some speech has silence as its answer.” One of the early generations said, “Silence is the learned person’s adornment and the ignorant person’s covering.” Another said, “Silence is its answer.” In a report: “Silence adorns the learned and disgraces the ignorant.” One of them said, “Nothing is harder upon Satan than a forbearing scholar: if he speaks, he speaks with knowledge; if he is silent, he is silent with forbearance. Satan says:

انْظُرُوا إِلَيْهِ سُكُوتُهُ أَشَدُّ عَلَيَّ مِنْ كَلَامِهِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : تَعَلَّمِ الصَّمْتَ كَمَا تَتَعَلَّمُ الْكَلَامَ ، فَإِنْ يَكُنِ الْكَلَامُ يَهْدِيكَ فَإِنَّ الصَّمْتَ يَقِيكَ وَلَكَ فِي الصَّمْتِ خَصْلَتَانِ تَدْفَعُ بِهِ جَهْلَ مَنْ هُوَ أَجْهَلُ مِنْكَ وَتَعَلَّمُ بِهِ عِلْمَ مَنْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ مِنْكَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ :

unẓurū ʾilayhi sukūtuhu ʾashaddu ʿalayya min kalāmihi , waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: taʿallami al-ṣamta kamā tataʿallamu al-kalāma , faʾin yakuni al-kalāmu yahdīka faʾinna al-ṣamta yaqīka walaka fī al-ṣamti khaṣlatāni tadfaʿu bihi jahla man huwa ʾajhalu minka wataʿallamu bihi ʿilma man huwa ʾaʿlamu minka , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi:

‘Look at him! His silence is harder upon me than his speech.’” One of the early generations said, “Learn silence as you learn speech. If speech guides you, silence protects you. In silence you have two benefits: through it you ward off the ignorance of someone more ignorant than you, and through it you learn the knowledge of someone more knowledgeable than you.” One of the learned said:

تَعَلَّمْ لَا أَدْرِي وَلَا تَتَعَلَّمْ أَدْرِي فَإِنْ قُلْتَ لَا أَدْرِي عَلَّمُوكَ حَتَّى تَدْرِيَ وَإِنْ قُلْتَ أَدْرِي سَأَلُوكَ حَتَّى لَا تَدْرِيَ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ الْعُلَمَاءُ : إِذَا أَخْطَأَ الْعَالِمُ قَوْلَ أَدْرِي أُصِيبَتْ مَقَاتِلُهُ ، وَقَالَ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : الْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِي ثَلَاثَةٍ : فِي الصَّمْتِ ، وَالْكَلَامِ ، وَالنَّظَرِ ، فَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ صَمْتُهُ تَفَكُّرًا فَهُوَ فِي سَهْوٍ ،

taʿallam lā ʾadrī walā tataʿallam ʾadrī faʾin qulta lā ʾadrī ʿallamūka ḥattā tadriya waʾin qulta ʾadrī saʾalūka ḥattā lā tadriya , waqad qāla al-ʿulamāʾu: ʾidhā ʾakhṭaʾa al-ʿālimu qawla ʾadrī ʾuṣībat maqātiluhu , waqāla ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: al-khayru kulluhu fī thalāthatin: fī al-ṣamti , wa-al-kalāmi , wa-al-naẓari , faman lam yakun ṣamtuhu tafakkuran fahuwa fī sahwin ,

“Learn ‘I do not know,’ and do not learn ‘I know.’ If you say, ‘I do not know,’ they teach you until you know; if you say, ‘I know,’ they question you until you do not know.” The learned have said, “When a scholar errs in saying ‘I know,’ his vital spots are struck.” Jesus, peace be upon him, said, “All good is in three things: silence, speech, and looking. Whoever’s silence is not reflection is in heedlessness;

وَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ كَلَامُهُ ذِكْرًا فَهُوَ فِي لَغْوٍ ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ نَظَرُهُ عِبَرًا فَهُوَ فِي لَهْوٍ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يَكُونُ أَفْضَلُ أَعْمَالِهِمُ النَّوْمَ وَأَفْضَلُ عُلُومِهِمُ الصَّمْتَ يَعْنِي لِفَسَادِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَلِاشْتِبَاهِ

waman lam yakun kalāmuhu dhikran fahuwa fī laghwin , waman lam yakun naẓaruhu ʿibaran fahuwa fī lahwin , waqāla baʿḍuhum: yaʾtī ʿalā al-nāsi zamānun yakūnu ʾafḍalu ʾaʿmālihimu al-nawma waʾafḍalu ʿulūmihimu al-ṣamta yaʿnī lifasādi al-ʾaʿmāli walishtibāhi

whoever’s speech is not remembrance is in idle talk; and whoever’s looking does not draw lessons is in diversion.” One of them said, “A time will come upon people when the best of their deeds is sleep and the best of their knowledge is silence,” meaning because deeds have become corrupt and knowledge

الْعِلْمِ ، وَيَقُولُ أَيْضًا مَعَ ذَلِكَ : وَأَفْضَلُ أَحْوَالِهِمُ الْجُوعُ لِانْتِشَارِ الْحَرَامِ وَغُمُوضِ الْحَلَالِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : الصَّمْتُ نَوْمُ الْعَقْلِ وَالنُّطْقُ يَقَظَتُهُ وَكُلُّ يَقَظَةٍ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى نَوْمٍ وَمَا صَمَتَ عَاقِلٌ قَطُّ إِلَّا اجْتَمَعَ عَقْلُهُ وَحَضَرَ لُبُّهُ ، وَفِي وَصِيَّةِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ مُجَاهِدًا لَا تَتَكَلَّمَنَّ فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِيكَ فَإِنَّهُ أَسْلَمُ وَلَا آمَنُ

al-ʿilmi , wayaqūlu ʾayḍan maʿa dhālika: waʾafḍalu ʾaḥwālihimu al-jūʿu lintishāri al-ḥarāmi waghumūḍi al-ḥalāli , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: al-ṣamtu nawmu al-ʿaqli wa-al-nuṭqu yaqaẓatuhu wakullu yaqaẓatin taḥtāju ʾilā nawmin wamā ṣamata ʿāqilun qaṭṭu ʾillā ijtamaʿa ʿaqluhu waḥaḍara lubbuhu , wafī waṣiyyati ibni ʿabbāsin mujāhidan lā tatakallamanna fīmā lā yaʿnīka faʾinnahu ʾaslamu walā ʾāmanu

has become confused. Along with this he also says, “The best of their states is hunger,” because what is forbidden has spread and what is lawful has become obscure. One of the learned said, “Silence is the intellect’s sleep, and speech its wakefulness. Every wakefulness needs sleep. No discerning person has ever kept silent without his intellect gathering itself and his understanding becoming present.” In Ibn ʿAbbās’s counsel to Mujāhid: “Never speak about what does not concern you, for it is safer, and I do not feel secure

عَلَيْكَ الْخَطَأَ وَلَا تَتَكَلَّمْ فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِيكَ حَتَّى تَرَى لَهُ مَوْضِعًا فَرُبَّ مُتَكَلِّمٍ فِيمَا يَعْنِيهِ قَدْ وَضَعَهُ فِي غَيْرِ مَوْضِعِهِ فَعَنِتَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : يَسْتَبِينُ وَرَعُ الرَّجُلِ فِي مَنْطِقِهِ وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : مَنْ كَثُرَ كَلَامُهُ كَثُرَ سَقَطُهُ ، وَمَنْ كَثُرَ سَقَطُهُ مَاتَ قَلْبُهُ ، وَيُقَالُ : إِذَا قَلَّ الْكَلَامُ كَثُرَ الصَّوَابُ ، وَعَنْ جَمَاعَةِ السَّلَفِ :

ʿalayka al-khaṭaʾa walā tatakallam fīmā lā yaʿnīka ḥattā tarā lahu mawḍiʿan farubba mutakallimin fīmā yaʿnīhi qad waḍaʿahu fī ghayri mawḍiʿihi faʿanita , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: yastabīnu waraʿu al-rajuli fī manṭiqihi wafī al-khabari: man kathura kalāmuhu kathura saqaṭuhu , waman kathura saqaṭuhu māta qalbuhu , wayuqālu: ʾidhā qalla al-kalāmu kathura al-ṣawābu , waʿan jamāʿati al-salafi:

against your making an error. Do not speak about what does not concern you until you see a place for it. Many a person has spoken about what concerns him, put it in the wrong place, and come to grief.” One of the learned said, “A man’s scrupulousness becomes clear in his speech.” In a report: “Whoever speaks much slips much; whoever slips much, his heart dies.” It is said, “When speech decreases, correctness increases.” From a group of the early generations:

إِنَّ تِسْعَةَ أَعْشَارِ السَّلَامَةِ فِي الصَّمْتِ ، وَيُقَالُ : كُلُّ كَلِمَةٍ مِنْ هَزْلٍ أَوْ مَزْحٍ أَوْ لَغْوٍ يُوقَفُ الْعَبْدُ عَلَيْهَا خَمْسَ مَوَاقِفَ بِتَوْبِيخٍ وَتَقْرِيرٍ ، أَوَّلُهَا أَنْ يُقَالَ لَهُ لِمَ قُلْتَ كَلِمَةَ كَذَا أَكَانَتْ فِيمَا يَعْنِيكَ ؟ وَالثَّانِيَةُ هَلْ نَفَعَتْكَ إِذْ قُلْتَهَا ؟ وَالثَّالِثَةُ هَلْ ضَرَّتْكَ لَوْ لَمْ تَقُلْهَا ؟

ʾinna tisʿata ʾaʿshāri al-salāmati fī al-ṣamti , wayuqālu: kullu kalimatin min hazlin ʾaw mazḥin ʾaw laghwin yūqafu al-ʿabdu ʿalayhā khamsa mawāqifa bitawbīkhin wataqrīrin , ʾawwaluhā ʾan yuqāla lahu lima qulta kalimata kadhā ʾakānat fīmā yaʿnīka ? wa-al-thāniyatu hal nafaʿatka ʾidh qultahā ? wa-al-thālithatu hal ḍarratka law lam taqulhā ?

“Nine-tenths of safety lies in silence.” It is said, “For every word of frivolity, joking, or idle talk, the servant is stopped at five stations of rebuke and interrogation. First, he is asked, ‘Why did you say such-and-such a word? Was it about something that concerned you?’ Second, ‘Did it benefit you when you said it?’ Third, ‘Would it have harmed you if you had not said it?’

وَالرَّابِعَةُ أَلَا سَكَتَّ فَرَبِحْتَ السَّلَامَةَ مِنْ عَاقِبَتِهَا ؟ وَالْخَامِسَةُ هَلَّا جَعَلْتَ مَكَانَهَا قَوْلَ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَغَنِمْتَ ثَوَابَهَا ، وَيُقَالُ مَا مِنْ كَلِمَةٍ إِلَّا وَيُنْشَرُ لَهَا ثَلَاثَةُ دَوَاوِينَ : الدِّيوَانُ الْأَوَّلُ لِمَ ، وَالثَّانِي كَيْفَ ، وَالثَّالِثُ لِمَنْ ، فَإِنْ نَجَا مِنَ الثَّلَاثِ وَإِلَّا طَالَ وُقُوفُهُ لِلْحِسَابِ ، وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ :

wa-al-rābiʿatu ʾalā sakatta farabiḥta al-salāmata min ʿāqibatihā ? wa-al-khāmisatu hallā jaʿalta makānahā qawla subḥāna allāhi wa-al-ḥamdu lillāhi faghanimta thawābahā , wayuqālu mā min kalimatin ʾillā wayunsharu lahā thalāthatu dawāwīna: al-dīwānu al-ʾawwalu lima , wa-al-thānī kayfa , wa-al-thālithu liman , faʾin najā mina al-thalāthi waʾillā ṭāla wuqūfuhu lilḥisābi , waqāla al-ḥasanu:

Fourth, ‘Why did you not keep silent and gain safety from its consequences?’ Fifth, ‘Why did you not replace it with “Glory be to God” and “Praise be to God,” and gain their reward?’” It is said, “For every word, three registers are opened: the first, ‘Why?’; the second, ‘How?’; the third, ‘For whom?’ If he escapes all three, he is safe; otherwise his standing for the reckoning is prolonged.” Al-Ḥasan said:

لِسَانُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَرَاءَ قَلْبِهِ إِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يَتَكَلَّمَ تَفَكَّرَ فَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ تَكَلَّمَ وَإِنْ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْسَكَ ، وَقَلْبُ الْمُنَافِقِ عَلَى طَرَفِ لِسَانِهِ أَيْ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ خَطَرَ بِقَلْبِهِ تَكَلَّمَ بِهِ وَلَا يَتَوَقَّفُ وَلَا يَنْثَنِي ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : مِنْ آفَةِ الْعَالِمِ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْكَلَامُ أَعْجَبَ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الصَّمْتِ وَفِي الْكَلَامِ تَنْمِيقٌ وَزِيَادَةٌ ،

lisānu al-muʾmini warāʾa qalbihi ʾidhā ʾarāda ʾan yatakallama tafakkara faʾin kāna lahu takallama waʾin kāna ʿalayhi ʾamsaka , waqalbu al-munāfiqi ʿalā ṭarafi lisānihi ʾay kullu shayʾin khaṭara biqalbihi takallama bihi walā yatawaqqafu walā yanthanī , wafī al-khabari: min ʾāfati al-ʿālimi ʾan yakūna al-kalāmu ʾaʿjaba ʾilayhi mina al-ṣamti wafī al-kalāmi tanmīqun waziyādatun ,

“The believer’s tongue is behind his heart. When he wishes to speak, he reflects: if it is in his favor, he speaks; if it is against him, he holds back. The hypocrite’s heart is upon the tip of his tongue,” meaning that he speaks of everything that occurs to his heart, without pausing or turning back. In a report: “One affliction of the scholar is to find speech more pleasing than silence.” In speech there is embellishment and excess,

وَفِي الصَّمْتِ سَلَامَةٌ وَغُنْمٌ ، وَفِي مَوْعِظَةِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ طُوبَى لِمَنْ شَغَلَهُ عَيْبُهُ عَنْ عُيُوبِ النَّاسِ وَأَنْفَقَ الْفَضْلَ مِنْ مَالِهِ وَأَمْسَكَ الْفَضْلَ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ ، وَالْأَخْبَارُ فِي الصَّمْتِ وَفِي جَمِيعِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ الْمَعَانِي تَكْثُرُ وَلَمْ نَقْصِدْ جَمْعَهَا وَأَمَّا الْخَلْوَةُ فَإِنَّهَا تُفَرِّغُ الْقَلْبَ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ وَتَجْمَعُ الْهَمَّ بِأَمْرِ

wafī al-ṣamti salāmatun waghunmun , wafī mawʿiẓati al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ṭūbā liman shaghalahu ʿaybuhu ʿan ʿuyūbi al-nāsi waʾanfaqa al-faḍla min mālihi waʾamsaka al-faḍla min qawlihi , wa-al-ʾakhbāru fī al-ṣamti wafī jamīʿi mā dhakarnāhu mina al-maʿānī takthuru walam naqṣid jamʿahā waʾammā al-khalwatu faʾinnahā tufarrighu al-qalba mina al-khalqi watajmaʿu al-hamma biʾamri

whereas in silence there is safety and gain. In the Prophet’s admonition, God bless him and grant him peace: “Blessed is the one whose own fault occupies him instead of the faults of others, who spends his surplus wealth and withholds his surplus speech.” Reports about silence and all the meanings we have mentioned are numerous; we have not intended to collect them. As for seclusion, it empties the heart of created beings and gathers its concern around the command of

الْخَالِقِ وَتُقَوِّي الْعَزْمَ عَلَى الثَّبَاتِ إِذْ فِي مُخَالَطَةِ النَّاسِ وَهْنُ الْعَزْمِ وَشَتَاتُ الْهَمِّ وَضَعْفُ النِّيَّةِ وَالْخَلْوَةُ تُقِلُّ الْأَفْكَارَ فِي عَاجِلِ حُظُوظِ النَّفْسِ لِفَقْدِ مُشَاهَدَتِهَا بِالْأَبْصَارِ لِأَنَّ الْعَيْنَ بَابُ الْقَلْبِ وَمِنْهَا يَدْخُلُ آفَاتُهُ وَعِنْدَهَا تُوجَدُ شَهَوَاتُهُ وَلَذَّاتُهُ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ :

al-khāliqi watuqawwī al-ʿazma ʿalā al-thabāti ʾidh fī mukhālaṭati al-nāsi wahnu al-ʿazmi washatātu al-hammi waḍaʿfu al-niyyati wa-al-khalwatu tuqillu al-ʾafkāra fī ʿājili ḥuẓūẓi al-nafsi lifaqdi mushāhadatihā bi-al-ʾabṣāri liʾanna al-ʿayna bābu al-qalbi waminhā yadkhulu ʾāfātuhu waʿindahā tūjadu shahawātuhu waladhdhātuhu , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi:

the Creator, strengthening resolve for steadfastness, since mixing with people weakens resolve, scatters concern, and weakens intention. Seclusion diminishes thoughts about the self’s immediate satisfactions because the eyes no longer witness them. The eye is the heart’s gate: through it enter the heart’s afflictions, and at it are found its desires and pleasures. One of the learned said:

مَنْ كَثُرَتْ لَحَظَاتُهُ دَامَتْ حَسَرَاتُهُ وَالْخَلْوَةُ تَجْلِبُ أَفْكَارَ الْآخِرَةِ وَتُجَدِّدُ الِاهْتِمَامَ بِهَا لِمَا شَهِدَ بِهِ الْإِيقَانُ وَتُنْسِي ادِّكَارَ الْعِبَادِ وَتُوَاصِلُ ذِكْرَ الْمَعْبُودِ ، وَالْخَلْوَةُ مِنْ أَكْبَرِ الْعَوَافِي ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ قَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ : سَلُوا اللَّهَ الْعَافِيَةَ فَمَا أُعْطِيَ عَبْدٌ بَعْدَ الْيَقِينِ أَفْضَلَ مِنَ الْعَافِيَةِ ،

man kathurat laḥaẓātuhu dāmat ḥasarātuhu wa-al-khalwatu tajlibu ʾafkāra al-ʾākhirati watujaddidu al-ihtimāma bihā limā shahida bihi al-ʾīqānu watunsī iddikāra al-ʿibādi watuwāṣilu dhikra al-maʿbūdi , wa-al-khalwatu min ʾakbari al-ʿawāfī , wadhālika ʾannahu qad jāʾa fī al-ḥadīthi: salū allāha al-ʿāfiyata famā ʾuʿṭiya ʿabdun baʿda al-yaqīni ʾafḍala mina al-ʿāfiyati ,

“Whoever’s glances multiply, his regrets endure.” Seclusion brings thoughts of the Hereafter and renews concern for it according to what certainty has witnessed. It makes one forget the remembrance of servants and continue remembrance of the Worshipped One. Seclusion is among the greatest forms of well-being. A report says, “Ask God for well-being, for after certainty a servant has been given nothing better than well-being.”

ثُمَّ قَدْ رُوِيَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : الْعُزْلَةُ عَنِ النَّاسِ عَافِيَةٌ ، فَدَخَلَ ذَلِكَ فِي مَعْنَى مَا نُدِبَ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ السُّؤَالِ وَفِيمَا فُضِّلَ بَعْدَ الْيَقِينِ عَلَى جَمِيعِ الْأَحْوَالِ وَلَا يَكُونُ الْمُرِيدُ صَادِقًا حَتَّى يَجِدَ فِي الْخَلْوَةِ مِنَ اللَّذَّةِ وَالْحَلَاوَةِ وَالْمَزِيدِ مَا لَا يَجِدُهُ فِي الْجَمَاعَةِ وَيَجِدَ فِي السِّرِّ مِنَ النَّشَاطِ وَالْقُوَّةِ مَا لَا يَجِدُهُ فِي

thumma qad ruwiya fī al-khabari: al-ʿuzlatu ʿani al-nāsi ʿāfiyatun , fadakhala dhālika fī maʿnā mā nudiba ʾilayhi mina al-suʾāli wafīmā fuḍḍila baʿda al-yaqīni ʿalā jamīʿi al-ʾaḥwāli walā yakūnu al-murīdu ṣādiqan ḥattā yajida fī al-khalwati mina al-ladhdhati wa-al-ḥalāwati wa-al-mazīdi mā lā yajiduhu fī al-jamāʿati wayajida fī al-sirri mina al-nashāṭi wa-al-quwwati mā lā yajiduhu fī

It has also been transmitted in a report, “Withdrawal from people is well-being.” This therefore falls within what one is encouraged to ask for, and within what is preferred after certainty above all other states. The seeker is not truthful until he finds in seclusion a pleasure, sweetness, and increase that he does not find in company, and finds in private an energy and strength that he does not find in

الْخَوْفُ يَصْلُحُ لِجَمِيعِ الْعَابِدِينَ

al-khawfu yaṣluḥu lijamīʿi al-ʿābidīna

Fear is suitable for all worshippers,

وَالْمَحَبَّةُ مَزِيدٌ لِأَهْلِهَا الْمَخْصُوصِينَ كَذَلِكَ الْخَلْوَةُ وَالِانْفِرَادُ يَصْلُحُ لِجَمِيعِ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَالْأُنْسُ بِالنَّاسِ مَزِيدٌ لِأَهْلِهِ خَاصَّةً مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ الْعَالِمِينَ إِلَّا أَنَّ الْخَلْوَةَ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى عَقْلٍ آخَرَ وَالْوَحْدَةُ وَالِانْفِرَادُ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى إِيمَانٍ ثَانٍ . ي الْكَلَامِ تَنْمِيقٌ وَزِيَادَةٌ ، وَفِي الصَّمْتِ سَلَامَةٌ وَغُنْمٌ ،

wa-al-maḥabbatu mazīdun liʾahlihā al-makhṣūṣīna kadhālika al-khalwatu wa-al-infirādu yaṣluḥu lijamīʿi al-murīdīna wa-al-ʾunsu bi-al-nāsi mazīdun liʾahlihi khāṣṣatan mina al-ʾaʾimmati al-ʿālimīna ʾillā ʾanna al-khalwata taḥtāju ʾilā ʿaqlin ʾākhara wa-al-waḥdatu wa-al-infirādu yaḥtāju ʾilā ʾīmānin thānin. y al-kalāmi tanmīqun waziyādatun , wafī al-ṣamti salāmatun waghunmun ,

while love is an increase for those specially endowed with it. Likewise, seclusion and being alone are suitable for all seekers, while intimacy with people is an increase especially for its people among the learned leaders. Yet seclusion requires another intellect, and solitude and being alone require a second faith. “…in speech there is embellishment and excess, whereas in silence there is safety and gain.”

وَفِي مَوْعِظَةِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ طُوبَى لِمَنْ شَغَلَهُ عَيْبُهُ عَنْ عُيُوبِ النَّاسِ وَأَنْفَقَ الْفَضْلَ مِنْ مَالِهِ وَأَمْسَكَ الْفَضْلَ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ ، وَالْأَخْبَارُ فِي الصَّمْتِ وَفِي جَمِيعِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ الْمَعَانِي تَكْثُرُ وَلَمْ نَقْصِدْ جَمْعَهَا وَأَمَّا الْخَلْوَةُ فَإِنَّهَا تُفَرِّغُ الْقَلْبَ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ وَتَجْمَعُ الْهَمَّ بِأَمْرِ الْخَالِقِ وَتُقَوِّي الْعَزْمَ عَلَى

wafī mawʿiẓati al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ṭūbā liman shaghalahu ʿaybuhu ʿan ʿuyūbi al-nāsi waʾanfaqa al-faḍla min mālihi waʾamsaka al-faḍla min qawlihi , wa-al-ʾakhbāru fī al-ṣamti wafī jamīʿi mā dhakarnāhu mina al-maʿānī takthuru walam naqṣid jamʿahā waʾammā al-khalwatu faʾinnahā tufarrighu al-qalba mina al-khalqi watajmaʿu al-hamma biʾamri al-khāliqi watuqawwī al-ʿazma ʿalā

In the Prophet’s admonition, God bless him and grant him peace: “Blessed is the one whose own fault occupies him instead of the faults of others, who spends his surplus wealth and withholds his surplus speech.” Reports about silence and all the meanings we have mentioned are numerous; we have not intended to collect them. As for seclusion, it empties the heart of created beings, gathers its concern around the command of the Creator, and strengthens resolve for

الثَّبَاتِ إِذْ فِي مُخَالَطَةِ النَّاسِ وَهْنُ الْعَزْمِ وَشَتَاتُ الْهَمِّ وَضَعْفُ النِّيَّةِ وَالْخَلْوَةُ تُقِلُّ الْأَفْكَارَ فِي عَاجِلِ حُظُوظِ النَّفْسِ لِفَقْدِ مُشَاهَدَتِهَا بِالْأَبْصَارِ لِأَنَّ الْعَيْنَ بَابُ الْقَلْبِ وَمِنْهَا يَدْخُلُ آفَاتُهُ وَعِنْدَهَا تُوجَدُ شَهَوَاتُهُ وَلَذَّاتُهُ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ :

al-thabāti ʾidh fī mukhālaṭati al-nāsi wahnu al-ʿazmi washatātu al-hammi waḍaʿfu al-niyyati wa-al-khalwatu tuqillu al-ʾafkāra fī ʿājili ḥuẓūẓi al-nafsi lifaqdi mushāhadatihā bi-al-ʾabṣāri liʾanna al-ʿayna bābu al-qalbi waminhā yadkhulu ʾāfātuhu waʿindahā tūjadu shahawātuhu waladhdhātuhu , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi:

steadfastness, since mixing with people weakens resolve, scatters concern, and weakens intention. Seclusion diminishes thoughts about the self’s immediate satisfactions because the eyes no longer witness them. The eye is the heart’s gate: through it enter the heart’s afflictions, and at it are found its desires and pleasures. One of the learned said:

الْعَلَانِيَةِ وَيَكُونَ أُنْسُهُ فِي الْوَحْدَةِ وَرَوْحُهُ فِي الْخَلْوَةِ وَأَحْسَنُ أَعْمَالِهِ فِي السِّرِّ ، وَمَثَلُ الْخَلْوَةِ فِي الْأَحْوَالِ مِنَ الْمُخَالَطَةِ لِلنَّاسِ مَثَلُ الْخَوْفِ فِي الْمَقَامَاتِ مِنَ الْمَحَبَّةِ ، الْخَوْفُ يَصْلُحُ لِجَمِيعِ الْعَابِدِينَ وَالْمَحَبَّةُ مَزِيدٌ لِأَهْلِهَا الْمَخْصُوصِينَ كَذَلِكَ الْخَلْوَةُ وَالِانْفِرَادُ يَصْلُحُ لِجَمِيعِ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَالْأُنْسُ بِالنَّاسِ

al-ʿalāniyati wayakūna ʾunsuhu fī al-waḥdati warawḥuhu fī al-khalwati waʾaḥsanu ʾaʿmālihi fī al-sirri , wamathalu al-khalwati fī al-ʾaḥwāli mina al-mukhālaṭati lilnāsi mathalu al-khawfi fī al-maqāmāti mina al-maḥabbati , al-khawfu yaṣluḥu lijamīʿi al-ʿābidīna wa-al-maḥabbatu mazīdun liʾahlihā al-makhṣūṣīna kadhālika al-khalwatu wa-al-infirādu yaṣluḥu lijamīʿi al-murīdīna wa-al-ʾunsu bi-al-nāsi

public; until his intimacy is in being alone, his refreshment in seclusion, and his finest deeds in secret. Among states, seclusion in relation to mixing with people is like fear among stations in relation to love. Fear is suitable for all worshippers, while love is an increase for those specially endowed with it. Likewise, seclusion and being alone are suitable for all seekers, while intimacy with people

مَزِيدٌ لِأَهْلِهِ خَاصَّةً مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ الْعَالِمِينَ إِلَّا أَنَّ الْخَلْوَةَ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى عَقْلٍ آخَرَ وَالْوَحْدَةُ وَالِانْفِرَادُ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى إِيمَانٍ ثَانٍ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ وَعَنْ بِشْرِ بْنِ الْحَرْثِ : إِذَا اسْتَوْحَشْتَ مِنَ الْوَحْدَةِ وَاسْتَأْنَسْتَ بِالْخَلْقِ لَمْ آمَنْ عَلَيْكَ الرِّيَاءَ ، وَكَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ يَقُولُ :

mazīdun liʾahlihi khāṣṣatan mina al-ʾaʾimmati al-ʿālimīna ʾillā ʾanna al-khalwata taḥtāju ʾilā ʿaqlin ʾākhara wa-al-waḥdatu wa-al-infirādu yaḥtāju ʾilā ʾīmānin thānin. waqad rawaynā ʿan sufyāna al-thawriyyi waʿan bishri bni al-ḥārithi: ʾidhā istawḥashta mina al-waḥdati wastaʾnasta bi-al-khalqi lam ʾāman ʿalayka al-riyāʾa , wakāna ʾabū muḥammadin yaqūlu:

is an increase especially for its people among the learned leaders. Yet seclusion requires another intellect, and solitude and being alone require a second faith. We have related from Sufyān al-Thawrī and Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith, “If you feel lonely in solitude and take comfort in created beings, I do not feel assured that you are safe from ostentation.” Abū Muḥammad used to say:

اجْتَمَعَ الْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِي هَذِهِ الْخِصَالِ الْأَرْبَعِ وَبِهَا صَارَ الْأَبْدَالُ أَبْدَالًا : إِخْمَاصُ الْبُطُونِ ، وَالصَّمْتُ ، وَاعْتِزَالُ الْخَلْقِ ، وَسَهَرُ اللَّيْلِ ، وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ عَنْ سَهْلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ قَالَ : مُخَالَطَةُ الْوَلِيِّ لِلنَّاسِ ذُلٌّ وَتَفَرُّدُهُ عِزٌّ وَقَلَّ مَا رَأَيْتُ وَلِيًّا لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَّا مُنْفَرِدًا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ :

ijtamaʿa al-khayru kulluhu fī hādhihi al-khiṣāli al-ʾarbaʿi wabihā ṣāra al-ʾabdālu ʾabdālan: ʾikhmāṣu al-buṭūni , wa-al-ṣamtu , waʿtizālu al-khalqi , wasaharu al-layli , waḥuddithtu ʿan ʿabdi al-ʿazīzi ʿan sahlin raḥimahu allāhu qāla: mukhālaṭatu al-waliyyi lilnāsi dhullun watafarruduhu ʿizzun waqalla mā raʾaytu waliyyan lillāhi ʿazza wajalla ʾillā munfaridan , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna:

“All good is gathered in these four qualities, through which the spiritual substitutes became substitutes: empty bellies, silence, withdrawal from created beings, and wakefulness at night.” I was told from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, from Sahl, may God have mercy on him, that he said, “The friend of God’s mingling with people is humiliation, and his solitude is honor. Seldom have I seen a friend of God, mighty and majestic is He, except alone.” One of those who know God said:

الْأُنْسُ بِالْوَحْدَةِ عَلَامَةُ وُجُودِ الطَّرِيقِ فَمِنْ عَلَامَةِ صِدْقِ الْإِرَادَةِ بَعْدَ صِحَّةِ التَّوْبَةِ وَقُوَّةِ الْعَزْمِ عَلَى الِاسْتِقَامَةِ إِيثَارُ هَذِهِ الْأَرْبَعِ الَّتِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ عَلَى أَضْدَادِهَا وَوُجُودُ الْقَلْبِ عِنْدَهَا وَانْشِرَاحُ الصَّدْرِ بِهَا وَحُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ مَعَهَا لِأَنَّ ضِدَّهَا هُوَ أَبْوَابُ الدُّنْيَا وَمَفَاتِيحُ الْغَفْلَةِ وَطُرُقَاتُ الْهَوَى ،

al-ʾunsu bi-al-waḥdati ʿalāmatu wujūdi al-ṭarīqi famin ʿalāmati ṣidqi al-ʾirādati baʿda ṣiḥḥati al-tawbati waquwwati al-ʿazmi ʿalā al-istiqāmati ʾīthāru hādhihi al-ʾarbaʿi allatī dhakarnāhu ʿalā ʾaḍdādihā wawujūdu al-qalbi ʿindahā wanshirāḥu al-ṣadri bihā waḥusnu al-khuluqi maʿahā liʾanna ḍiddahā huwa ʾabwābu al-dunyā wamafātīḥu al-ghaflati waṭuruqātu al-hawā ,

“Intimacy with solitude is a sign of finding the path.” Among the signs of truthfulness in seeking, after sound repentance and firm resolve for uprightness, is preferring these four things we have mentioned over their opposites, finding the heart present in them, feeling the breast expand through them, and maintaining good character with them. Their opposites are the gates of this world, the keys of heedlessness, and the roads of desire.

مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَإِنَّ فِي الشِّبَعِ قَسْوَةَ الْقَلْبِ وَظُلْمَتَهُ وَفِي ذَلِكَ قُوَّةُ صِفَاتِ النَّفْسِ وَانْتِشَارُ حُظُوظِهَا وَفِي قُوَّتِهَا وَبَسْطِهَا ضَعْفُ الْإِيمَانِ وَخُمُودُ أَنْوَارِهِ وَفِي ضَعْفِ النَّفْسِ وَخُمُودِ طَبْعِهَا قُوَّةُ الْإِيمَانِ وَاتِّسَاعُ شُعَاعِ أَنْوَارِ الْيَقِينِ وَفِي ذَلِكَ قُرْبُ الْعَبْدِ مِنَ الْقَرِيبِ وَمُجَالَسَتُهُ لِلْحَبِيبِ وَالشِّبَعُ مِفْتَاحُ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا ،

min dhālika faʾinna fī al-shibaʿi qaswata al-qalbi waẓulmatahu wafī dhālika quwwatu ṣifāti al-nafsi wantishāru ḥuẓūẓihā wafī quwwatihā wabasṭihā ḍaʿfu al-ʾīmāni wakhumūdu ʾanwārihi wafī ḍaʿfi al-nafsi wakhumūdi ṭabʿihā quwwatu al-ʾīmāni wattisāʿu shuʿāʿi ʾanwāri al-yaqīni wafī dhālika qurbu al-ʿabdi mina al-qarībi wamujālasatuhu lilḥabībi wa-al-shibaʿu miftāḥu al-raghbati fī al-dunyā ,

Among these opposites: satiety brings hardness and darkness to the heart. In this lie the strength of the self’s qualities and the spread of its satisfactions; in its strength and expansion lie the weakness of faith and the fading of its lights. In the self’s weakness and the subsiding of its nature lie the strength of faith and the widening radiance of certainty’s lights. In that lie the servant’s nearness to the Near One and his sitting with the Beloved. Satiety is the key to desire for this world.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الصَّحَابَةِ : أَوَّلُ بِدْعَةٍ حَدَثَتْ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الشِّبَعُ إِذِ الْقَوْمُ لَمَّا شَبِعَتْ بُطُونُهُمْ جَمَحَتْ بِهِمْ شَهَوَاتُهُمْ . وَرُوِيَ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ : كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَصْحَابُهُ يَجُوعُونَ مِنْ غَيْرِ إِعْوَازٍ أَيْ مُخْتَارِينَ لِذَلِكَ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ :

waqāla baʿḍu al-ṣaḥābati: ʾawwalu bidʿatin ḥadathat baʿda rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-shibaʿu ʾidhi al-qawmu lammā shabiʿat buṭūnuhum jamaḥat bihim shahawātuhum. waruwiya ʿan ʿāʾishata raḍiya allāhu ʿanhā qālat: kāna rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waʾaṣḥābuhu yajūʿūna min ghayri ʾiʿwāzin ʾay mukhtārīna lidhālika , waqāla ibnu ʿumara:

One of the Companions said, “The first innovation that arose after the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, was satiety. When people’s bellies became full, their desires ran away with them.” It was related from ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her, that she said, “The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, and his Companions used to go hungry without being in want,” meaning that they chose this. Ibn ʿUmar said:

مَا شَبِعْتُ مُنْذُ قُتِلَ عُثْمَانُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ، وَقَالَ هَذَا فِي زَمَنِ الْحَجَّاجِ ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي حُجَيْفَةَ لَمَّا تَجَشَّأَ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ لَهُ : اكْفُفْ عَنَّا جُشَاءَكَ فَإِنَّ أَطْوَلَكُمْ شِبَعًا فِي الدُّنْيَا ، أَكْثَرُكُمْ جُوعًا فِي الْآخِرَةِ ، فَقَالَ : وَاللَّهِ مَا تَمَلَّيْتُ طَعَامًا مِنْ يَوْمِئِذٍ إِلَى يَوْمِي هَذَا ،

mā shabiʿtu mundhu qutila ʿuthmānu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu , waqāla hādhā fī zamani al-ḥajjāji , wafī ḥadīthi ʾabī ḥujayfata lammā tajashshaʾa ʿinda rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faqāla lahu: ukfuf ʿannā jushāʾaka faʾinna ʾaṭwalakum shibaʿan fī al-dunyā , ʾaktharukum jūʿan fī al-ʾākhirati , faqāla: wa-allāhi mā tamallaytu ṭaʿāman min yawmiʾidhin ʾilā yawmī hādhā ,

“I have not eaten my fill since ʿUthmān was killed, may God be pleased with him.” He said this in the time of al-Ḥajjāj. In the report of Abū Juḥayfa: when he belched before the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, he said to him, “Spare us your belching, for those of you whose satiety lasts longest in this world will be hungriest in the Hereafter.” He said, “By God, I have not filled myself with food from that day until this day,

وَأَرْجُو أَنْ يَعْصِمَنِيَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِيمَا بَقِيَ ، وَيُسْتَحَبُّ عَلَى هَذَا أَنْ يَكُونَ جُوعُ الْعَبْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَكْثَرَ مِنْ شِبَعِهِ وَهِيَ عَلَامَةُ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ ، فَمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ أَكْلَةٌ بَيْنَ جَوْعَتَيْنِ إِلَى مُنْتَهَاهُمَا فَجُوعُهُ حِينَئِذٍ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ شِبَعِهِ ، وَمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ بَعْدَ جَوْعَةٍ بَالِغَةٍ شَبْعَةٌ مُتَوَسِّطَةٌ فَقَدِ اعْتَدَلَ شِبَعُهُ وَأَكْلُهُ وَجُوعُهُ ،

waʾarjū ʾan yaʿṣimaniya allāhu ʿazza wajalla fīmā baqiya , wayustaḥabbu ʿalā hādhā ʾan yakūna jūʿu al-ʿabdi fī al-dunyā ʾakthara min shibaʿihi wahiya ʿalāmatu al-ʾawliyāʾi , faman kāna lahu ʾaklatun bayna jawʿatayni ʾilā muntahāhumā fajūʿuhu ḥīnaʾidhin ʾaktharu min shibaʿihi , waman kāna lahu baʿda jawʿatin bālighatin shabʿatun mutawassiṭatun faqadi iʿtadala shibaʿuhu waʾakluhu wajūʿuhu ,

and I hope that God, mighty and majestic is He, will protect me in what remains.” Accordingly, it is recommended that the servant’s hunger in this world exceed his satiety; this is a sign of God’s friends. Whoever has one meal between two periods of hunger carried to their limit has more hunger than satiety. Whoever follows intense hunger with moderate satiety has brought his satiety, eating, and hunger into balance.

وَمَنْ أَكَلَ فِي يَوْمٍ مَرَّتَيْنِ أَوْ أَكَلَ مِنْ غَيْرِ جُوعٍ ثُمَّ شَبِعَ فَشِبَعُهُ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ جُوعِهِ ، وَهَذَا مَكْرُوهٌ ، وَكُلُّ مَنْ أَكَلَ بَعْدَ الْجُوعِ ، وَرَفَعَ يَدَهُ قَبْلَ الشِّبَعِ فَجُوعُهُ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ شِبَعِهِ وَهَذَا أَوْسَطُ الْأَحْوَالِ ، وَقَالَ هِشَامٌ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ : وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ أَدْرَكْتُ أَقْوَامًا كَانُوا لَا يَشْبَعُونَ يَأْكُلُ أَحَدُهُمْ حَتَّى إِذَا رَدَّ نَفْسَهُ أَمْسَكَ ذَائِبًا

waman ʾakala fī yawmin marratayni ʾaw ʾakala min ghayri jūʿin thumma shabiʿa fashibaʿuhu ʾaktharu min jūʿihi , wahādhā makrūhun , wakullu man ʾakala baʿda al-jūʿi , warafaʿa yadahu qabla al-shibaʿi fajūʿuhu ʾaktharu min shibaʿihi wahādhā ʾawsaṭu al-ʾaḥwāli , waqāla hishāmun ʿani al-ḥasani: wa-allāhi laqad ʾadraktu ʾaqwāman kānū lā yashbaʿūna yaʾkulu ʾaḥaduhum ḥattā ʾidhā radda nafsahu ʾamsaka dhāʾiban

Whoever eats twice in a day, or eats without hunger and then becomes full, has more satiety than hunger; this is disliked. Whoever eats after hunger and lifts his hand before becoming full has more hunger than satiety; this is the most moderate state. Hishām related from al-Ḥasan, “By God, I encountered people who did not eat their fill. One of them would eat until he had restored his strength, then hold back, wasting away,

نَاحِلًا مُقْبِلًا عَلَى نِيَّةٍ يَعِيشُ عُمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ مَا طُوِيَ لَهُ ثَوْبٌ قَطُّ وَلَا أَمَرَ أَهْلَهُ بِصَنْعَةِ طَعَامٍ قَطُّ وَلَا جَعَلَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْأَرْضِ شَيْئًا قَطُّ ، وَقَالَ جَعْفَرُ بْنُ حَيَّانَ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ : الْمُؤْمِنُ لَا يَأْكُلُ فِي كُلِّ بَطْنِهِ ، وَلَا تَزَالُ وَصِيَّتُهُ تَحْتَ جَنْبِهِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ الثَّوْرِيِّ : خَصْلَتَانِ تُقَسِّيَانِ الْقَلْبَ ؛ طُولُ الشِّبَعِ ،

nāḥilan muqbilan ʿalā niyyatin yaʿīshu ʿumrahu kullahu mā ṭuwiya lahu thawbun qaṭṭu walā ʾamara ʾahlahu biṣanʿati ṭaʿāmin qaṭṭu walā jaʿala baynahu wabayna al-ʾarḍi shayʾan qaṭṭu , waqāla jaʿfaru bnu ḥayyāna ʿani al-ḥasani: al-muʾminu lā yaʾkulu fī kulli baṭnihi , walā tazālu waṣiyyatuhu taḥta janbihi. warawaynā ʿani al-thawriyyi: khaṣlatāni tuqassiyāni al-qalba ; ṭūlu al-shibaʿi ,

thin and intent upon his purpose. He would live his entire life without a garment ever being folded for him, without ever ordering his family to prepare food, and without ever putting anything between himself and the ground.” Jaʿfar ibn Ḥayyān related from al-Ḥasan, “The believer does not fill the whole of his belly, and his testament remains beneath his side.” We have related from al-Thawrī, “Two qualities harden the heart: prolonged satiety

وَكَثْرَةُ الْكَلَامِ ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ

wakathratu al-kalāmi , warawaynā ʿan

and abundant speech.” We have related from

مَكْحُولٍ خِصَالٌ ثَلَاثٌ يُحِبُّهَا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَثَلَاثٌ يُبْغِضُهَا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، فَأَمَّا اللَّاتِي يُحِبُّهَا : فَقِلَّةُ الْأَكْلِ ، وَقِلَّةُ النَّوْمِ ، وَقِلَّةُ الْكَلَامِ ، وَأَمَّا اللَّاتِي يُبْغِضُ : فَكَثْرَةُ الْأَكْلِ ، وَكَثْرَةُ الْكَلَامِ ، وَكَثْرَةُ النَّوْمِ ، فَأَمَّا النَّوْمُ فَإِنَّ فِي مُدَاوَمَتِهِ طُولَ الْغَفْلَةِ وَقِلَّةَ الْعَقْلِ وَنُقْصَانَ الْفِطْنَةِ وَسَهْوَةَ الْقَلْبِ ،

makḥūlin khiṣālun thalāthun yuḥibbuhā allāhu ʿazza wajalla wathalāthun yubghiḍuhā allāhu ʿazza wajalla , faʾammā al-lātī yuḥibbuhā: faqillatu al-ʾakli , waqillatu al-nawmi , waqillatu al-kalāmi , waʾammā al-lātī yubghiḍu: fakathratu al-ʾakli , wakathratu al-kalāmi , wakathratu al-nawmi , faʾammā al-nawmu faʾinna fī mudāwamatihi ṭūla al-ghaflati waqillata al-ʿaqli wanuqṣāna al-fiṭnati wasahwata al-qalbi ,

Makḥūl, “There are three qualities God, mighty and majestic is He, loves and three that God, mighty and majestic is He, hates. Those He loves are little eating, little sleep, and little speech; those He hates are much eating, much speech, and much sleep.” As for sleep, persisting in it brings prolonged heedlessness, little intellect, diminished discernment, and the heart’s forgetfulness.

وَفِي هَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءِ الْفَوْتُ وَفِي الْفَوْتِ الْحَسْرَةُ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : قَالَتْ أُمُّ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ دَاوُدَ لِابْنِهَا : يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تُكْثِرِ النَّوْمَ بِاللَّيْلِ فَإِنَّ كَثْرَةَ النَّوْمِ تَتْرُكُ الْعَبْدَ فَقِيرًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَقِيلَ كَانَ شُبَّانٌ يَتَعَبَّدُونَ فِي بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فَكَانُوا إِذَا حَضَرَ عَشَاؤُهُمْ قَامَ

wafī hādhihi al-ʾashyāʾi al-fawtu wafī al-fawti al-ḥasratu baʿda al-mawti , warawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: qālat ʾummu sulaymāna bni dāwuda libnihā: yā bunayya lā tukthiri al-nawma bi-al-layli faʾinna kathrata al-nawmi tatruku al-ʿabda faqīran yawma al-qiyāmati waqīla kāna shubbānun yataʿabbadūna fī banī ʾisrāʾīla fakānū ʾidhā ḥaḍara ʿashāʾuhum qāma

In these things lies lost opportunity, and in lost opportunity lies regret after death. We have related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, that he said, “The mother of Solomon son of David said to her son, ‘My son, do not sleep much at night, for much sleep leaves the servant poor on the Day of Resurrection.’” It was said that there were young men among the Children of Israel who devoted themselves to worship. When their supper arrived,

فِيهِمْ عَالِمُهُمْ فَقَالَ : يَا مَعْشَرَ الْمُرِيدِينَ لَا تَأْكُلُوا كَثِيرًا فَتَشْرَبُوا كَثِيرًا فَتَرْقُدُوا كَثِيرًا فَتَخْسَرُوا كَثِيرًا ، وَكَانَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ يَقُولُ : أَدْنَى أَحْوَالِ الْمُؤْمِنِ : الْأَكْلُ وَالنَّوْمُ ، وَأَفْضَلُ أَحْوَالِ الْمُنَافِقِ : الْأَكْلُ وَالنَّوْمُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ لِفَيْلَسُوفٍ مِنَ الْحُكَمَاءِ :

fīhim ʿālimuhum faqāla: yā maʿshara al-murīdīna lā taʾkulū kathīran fatashrabū kathīran fatarqudū kathīran fatakhsarū kathīran , wakāna baʿḍu al-salafi yaqūlu: ʾadnā ʾaḥwāli al-muʾmini: al-ʾaklu wa-al-nawmu , waʾafḍalu ʾaḥwāli al-munāfiqi: al-ʾaklu wa-al-nawmu , waqāla baʿḍu al-nāsi lifaylasūfin mina al-ḥukamāʾi:

their learned teacher stood among them and said, “Company of seekers, do not eat much, lest you drink much, then sleep much, then lose much.” One of the early generations used to say, “The believer’s lowest states are eating and sleeping, while the hypocrite’s best states are eating and sleeping.” Someone said to a philosopher among the sages:

صِفْ لِي شَيْئًا أَسْتَعْمِلُهُ حَتَّى أَكُونَ أَنَامُ النَّهَارَ ، فَقَالَ : يَا هَذَا مَا أَضْعَفَ عَقْلَكَ إِنَّ نِصْفَ عُمْرِكَ نَوْمٌ وَالنَّوْمُ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ ، تُرِيدُ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ ثَلَاثَةَ أَرْبَاعِهِ نَوْمًا وَرُبْعَهُ حَيَاةً ؟ قَالَ : وَكَيْفَ ؟ قَالَ : أَنْتَ إِذَا عِشْتَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ عِشْرُونَ سَنَةً أَفَتُرِيدُ أَنْ تَجْعَلَهَا عَشْرَ سِنِينَ ؟

ṣif lī shayʾan ʾastaʿmiluhu ḥattā ʾakūna ʾanāmu al-nahāra , faqāla: yā hādhā mā ʾaḍʿafa ʿaqlaka ʾinna niṣfa ʿumrika nawmun wa-al-nawmu mina al-mawti , turīdu ʾan tajʿala thalāthata ʾarbāʿihi nawman warubʿahu ḥayātan ? qāla: wakayfa ? qāla: ʾanta ʾidhā ʿishta ʾarbaʿīna sanatan faʾinnamā hiya ʿishrūna sanatan ʾafaturīdu ʾan tajʿalahā ʿashra sinīna ?

“Describe something I can use so that I may sleep during the day.” He replied, “You there, how weak your intellect is! Half your life is sleep, and sleep is a kind of death. Do you wish to make three-quarters of it sleep and one-quarter life?” He asked, “How so?” He replied, “If you live forty years, they are only twenty years. Do you wish to make them ten years?”

وَأَمَّا كَثْرَةُ الْكَلَامِ فَإِنَّ فِيهِ قِلَّةَ الْوَرَعِ وَعَدَمَ التَّقْوَى وَطُولَ الْحِسَابِ وَكَثْرَةَ الْمُطَالِبِينَ وَتَعَلُّقَ الْمَظْلُومِينَ وَكَثْرَةَ الْأَشْهَادِ مِنَ الْأَمْلَاكِ الْمُكَاتِبِينَ وَدَوَامَ الْإِعْرَاضِ مِنَ الْمَلِكِ الْكَرِيمِ ، لِأَنَّ الْكَلَامَ مِفْتَاحُ كَبَائِرِ اللِّسَانِ ، فِيهِ الْكَذِبُ وَالْغِيبَةُ وَالنَّمِيمَةُ وَالْبُهْتَانُ ، وَفِيهِ شَهَادَةُ الزُّورِ ،

waʾammā kathratu al-kalāmi faʾinna fīhi qillata al-waraʿi waʿadama al-taqwā waṭūla al-ḥisābi wakathrata al-muṭālibīna wataʿalluqa al-maẓlūmīna wakathrata al-ʾashhādi mina al-ʾamlāki al-mukātibīna wadawāma al-ʾiʿrāḍi mina al-maliki al-karīmi , liʾanna al-kalāma miftāḥu kabāʾiri al-lisāni , fīhi al-kadhibu wa-al-ghībatu wa-al-namīmatu wa-al-buhtānu , wafīhi shahādatu al-zūri ,

As for abundant speech, in it lie little scrupulousness, lack of reverent fear, a prolonged reckoning, many claimants, the clinging claims of those wronged, many witnesses among the recording angels, and the generous King’s continual turning away. Speech is the key to the tongue’s major sins: in it are lying, backbiting, tale-bearing, and slander; in it is false testimony;

وَفِيهِ قَذْفُ الْمُحْصَنِ وَالِافْتِرَاءُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالْإِيمَانِ ، وَفِيهِ الْقَوْلُ فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِي وَالْخَوْضُ فِيمَا لَا يَنْفَعُ ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : أَكْثَرُ خَطَايَا ابْنِ آدَمَ فِي لِسَانِهِ وَأَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ ذُنُوبًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَكْثَرُهُمْ خَوْضًا فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ ،

wafīhi qadhfu al-muḥṣani wa-al-iftirāʾu ʿalā allāhi taʿālā wa-al-ʾīmāni , wafīhi al-qawlu fīmā lā yaʿnī wa-al-khawḍu fīmā lā yanfaʿu , waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari: ʾaktharu khaṭāyā ibni ʾādama fī lisānihi waʾaktharu al-nāsi dhunūban yawma al-qiyāmati ʾaktharuhum khawḍan fīmā lā yaʿnīhi ,

in it are accusations against the chaste and falsehoods invented about God, exalted is He, and faith. In it are speech about what does not concern one and immersion in what does not benefit one. A report says, “Most of the human being’s sins are in his tongue, and the people with the most sins on the Day of Resurrection are those who immerse themselves most in what does not concern them.”

وَفِي اللِّسَانِ التَّزَيُّنُ وَالتَّصَنُّعُ لِلْخَلْقِ وَالتَّحْرِيفُ وَالْإِحَالَةُ لِمَعَانِي الصِّدْقِ ، وَفِيهِ الْمُدَاهَنَةُ وَالْمُوَارَاةُ وَالتَّمَلُّقُ لِأَهْلِ الْأَهْوَاءِ وَفِي اجْتِمَاعِ هَذَا عَلَى الْعَبْدِ شَتَاتُ قَلْبِهِ وَفِي شَتَاتِهِ تَفْرِيقُ هَمِّهِ ، وَفِي تَفْرِيقِ هَمِّهِ سُقُوطُهُ مِنْ مَقَامِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ، وَفِي وَصِيَّةِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ لِمُجَاهِدٍ لَا تُمَارِيَنَّ حَلِيمًا وَلَا سَفِيهًا

wafī al-lisāni al-tazayyunu wa-al-taṣannuʿu lilkhalqi wa-al-taḥrīfu wa-al-ʾiḥālatu limaʿānī al-ṣidqi , wafīhi al-mudāhanatu wa-al-muwārātu wa-al-tamalluqu liʾahli al-ʾahwāʾi wafī ijtimāʿi hādhā ʿalā al-ʿabdi shatātu qalbihi wafī shatātihi tafrīqu hammihi , wafī tafrīqi hammihi suqūṭuhu min maqāmi al-muqarrabīna , wafī waṣiyyati ibni ʿabbāsin limujāhidin lā tumāriyanna ḥalīman walā safīhan

In the tongue are self-adornment and affectation before created beings, distortion and alteration of the meanings of truthfulness. In it are flattery, dissimulation, and ingratiation toward people of passions. When these gather upon the servant, his heart is scattered; in its scattering his concern is divided; in the division of his concern he falls from the station of those brought near. In Ibn ʿAbbās’s counsel to Mujāhid: “Never dispute with a forbearing person or a fool,

فَإِنَّ الْحَلِيمَ يَقْلَاكَ وَإِنَّ السَّفِيهَ يُؤْذِيكَ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْكَلِمَةِ مَا يُلْقِي لَهَا بَالًا يَهْوِي بِهَا أَبْعَدَ مَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ لَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِهَا فَيَهْوِي فِي جَهَنَّمَ سَبْعِينَ خَرِيفًا ، وَقَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ : لَأَنْ تَعِيشَ أَخْرَسَ يَسِيلُ لُعَابُكَ عَلَى صَدْرِكَ خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنْ أَنْ تَنْطِقَ فِي نَادِي

faʾinna al-ḥalīma yaqlāka waʾinna al-safīha yuʾdhīka , wafī al-khabari: ʾinna al-ʿabda layatakallamu bi-al-kalimati mā yulqī lahā bālan yahwī bihā ʾabʿada mā bayna al-samāʾi wa-al-ʾarḍi , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara layatakallamu bihā fayahwī fī jahannama sabʿīna kharīfan , waqāla luqmānu libnihi: laʾan taʿīsha ʾakhrasa yasīlu luʿābuka ʿalā ṣadrika khayrun laka min ʾan tanṭiqa fī nādī

for the forbearing person will detest you, and the fool will hurt you.” In a report: “The servant may utter a word to which he gives no thought, and because of it fall farther than the distance between heaven and earth.” In another wording: “He may utter it and fall through Hell for seventy autumns.” Luqmān said to his son, “To live mute, with your saliva running over your chest, is better for you than to speak in the assembly of

الْقَوْمِ بِمَا لَا يَعْنِيكَ ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ : مَنِ افْتَتَحَ بِكَلِمَةِ سُوءٍ ثُمَّ خَاضَ النَّاسُ فِي مِثْلِهَا كَانَ عَلَيْهِ مِثْلُ أَوْزَارِهِمْ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : لَا يَأْتِي بِخَبَرِ السُّوءِ إِلَّا رَجُلُ السُّوءِ ، وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ أَدْهَمَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ إِذَا صَحِبَهُ رَجُلٌ فَجَاءَ بِخَبَرِ سُوءٍ فَارَقَهُ ، وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْحَدِيثِ :

al-qawmi bimā lā yaʿnīka , wafī khabarin: mani iftataḥa bikalimati sūʾin thumma khāḍa al-nāsu fī mithlihā kāna ʿalayhi mithlu ʾawzārihim , wafī al-khabari: lā yaʾtī bikhabari al-sūʾi ʾillā rajulu al-sūʾi , waḥaddathūnā ʿan ʾibrāhīma bni ʾadhama ʾannahu kāna ʾidhā ṣaḥibahu rajulun fajāʾa bikhabari sūʾin fāraqahu , warawaynā fī al-ḥadīthi:

the people about what does not concern you.” In a report: “Whoever begins with an evil word and then people engage in speech like it bears the equivalent of their burdens.” In a report: “Only an evil man brings news of evil.” They related to us from Ibrāhīm ibn Adham that when a man accompanied him and brought news of evil, he parted from him. We have related in a report:

مَنْ حَدَّثَ بِمَا سَمِعَتْ أُذُنَاهُ وَرَأَتْ عَيْنَاهُ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنَ الَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ أَنْ تَشِيعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : مُذِيعُ الْفَاحِشَةِ فِي النَّاسِ كَفَاعِلِهَا ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِنَّ بَعْضَ فُقَرَاءِ أَهْلِ الصُّفَّةِ اسْتُشْهِدَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَقَالَتْ أُمُّهُ :

man ḥaddatha bimā samiʿat ʾudhunāhu waraʾat ʿaynāhu katabahu allāhu taʿālā mina alladhīna yuḥibbūna ʾan tashīʿa al-fāḥishatu fī alladhīna ʾāmanū. warawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: mudhīʿu al-fāḥishati fī al-nāsi kafāʿilihā , wafī al-khabari: ʾinna baʿḍa fuqarāʾi ʾahli al-ṣuffati istushhida fī sabīli allāhi ʿazza wajalla faqālat ʾummuhu:

“Whoever relates what his ears heard and his eyes saw, God, exalted is He, records him among those who love indecency to spread among those who believe.” We have related from ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him, “The one who broadcasts indecency among people is like the one who commits it.” In a report: one of the poor People of the Bench was martyred in the path of God, mighty and majestic is He. His mother said:

هَنِيئًا لَكَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ

hanīʾan laka fī al-jannati

“May you rejoice in the Garden!”

جَاهَدْتَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَهَاجَرْتَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقُتِلْتَ شَهِيدًا ، طُوبَى لَكَ الْجَنَّةُ ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : وَمَا يُدْرِيكِ أَنَّهُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ ؟ فَلَعَلَّهُ كَانَ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِيمَا لَا يَنْفَعُهُ أَوْ يَبْخَلُ بِمَا لَا يَضُرُّهُ وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ :

jāhadta fī sabīli allāhi wahājarta ʾilā rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waqutilta shahīdan , ṭūbā laka al-jannatu , faqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: wamā yudrīki ʾannahu fī al-jannati ? falaʿallahu kāna yatakallamu fīmā lā yanfaʿuhu ʾaw yabkhalu bimā lā yaḍurruhu wafī lafẓin ʾākhara:

“You strove in God’s path, migrated to the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, and were killed as a martyr. Blessed are you: the Garden is yours!” The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “What makes you know that he is in the Garden? Perhaps he used to speak about what did not benefit him or be stingy with what would not have harmed him to give.” In another wording:

لَعَلَّهُ كَانَ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ وَيَبْخَلُ بِمَا لَا يُغْنِيهِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِنَّ بَعْضَ الصَّحَابَةِ قَالَ لِرَجُلٍ إِنَّهُ لَنَؤُومٌ ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : اغْتَبْتُمْ أَخَاكُمْ سَلُوهُ أَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرَ لَكُمْ ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ : إِنَّهُمْ قَالُوا مَا أَعْجَزَ فُلَانًا فَقَالَ : أَكَلْتُمُوهُ ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا ،

laʿallahu kāna yatakallamu fīmā lā yaʿnīhi wayabkhalu bimā lā yughnīhi , wafī al-khabari: ʾinna baʿḍa al-ṣaḥābati qāla lirajulin ʾinnahu lanaʾūmun , faqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ightabtum ʾakhākum salūhu ʾan yastaghfira lakum , wafī khabarin ʾākhara: ʾinnahum qālū mā ʾaʿjaza fulānan faqāla: ʾakaltumūhu , wafī ḥadīthi ʿāʾishata raḍiya allāhu ʿanhā ,

“Perhaps he used to speak about what did not concern him and be stingy with what did not enrich him.” In a report: one of the Companions said of a man, “He certainly sleeps a great deal.” The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “You have backbitten your brother. Ask him to seek forgiveness for you.” In another report they said, “How incapable so-and-so is!” He said, “You have eaten him.” In a report from ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her,

قَالَتْ لِامْرَأَةٍ : مَا أَطْوَلَ ذَيْلَهَا وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ قَالَتْ : إِنَّهَا لَقَصِيرَةٌ ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : اغْتَبْتِهَا وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ : أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لَهَا : لَقَدْ تَكَلَّمْتِ بِكَلِمَةٍ لَوْ مُزِجَ بِهَا مَاءُ الْبَحْرِ لَامْتَزَجَ ، فَهَذَا مِنْ وَصْفِ الْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي الشِّدَّةِ ،

qālat limraʾatin: mā ʾaṭwala dhaylahā wafī lafẓin ʾākhara qālat: ʾinnahā laqaṣīratun , faqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ightabtihā wafī khabarin ʾākhara: ʾanna rasūla allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla lahā: laqad takallamti bikalimatin law muzija bihā māʾu al-baḥri lamtazaja , fahādhā min waṣfi al-mubālaghati fī al-shiddati ,

she said of a woman, “How long her train is!” In another wording she said, “She is certainly short.” The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “You have backbitten her.” In another report the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said to her, “You have uttered a word which, if mixed with the water of the sea, would permeate it.” This is a description of extreme severity.

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْجَامِعِ لِهَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي فِي وَصْفِ الْغِيبَةِ مَا رُوِيَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَنْ قَالَ فِي أَخِيهِ مَا فِيهِ فَقَدِ اغْتَابَهُ . وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبَانَ عَنْ أَنَسٍ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَشَدُّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ الْغِيبَةُ مَا إِنْ قُلْتَ فِي أَخِيكَ لَمْ تُزَكِّهِ بِهِ فَهَذَا نِهَايَةُ الْقَوْلِ مِنَ الشِّدَّةِ

wafī al-khabari al-jāmiʿi lihādhihi al-maʿānī fī waṣfi al-ghībati mā ruwiya ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man qāla fī ʾakhīhi mā fīhi faqadi ightābahu. wafī ḥadīthi ʾabāna ʿan ʾanasin ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾashaddu min dhālika ʾannahu qāla al-ghībatu mā ʾin qulta fī ʾakhīka lam tuzakkihi bihi fahādhā nihāyatu al-qawli mina al-shiddati

A report encompassing these meanings in its description of backbiting is what was transmitted from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace: “Whoever says of his brother what is in him has backbitten him.” In Abān’s report from Anas, from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, there is something more severe: he said, “Backbiting is what, if you say it of your brother, does not commend him.” This is the utmost severity of expression

وَغَايَةُ التَّشْدِيدِ فِي الْغِيبَةِ وَالْغِيبَةُ اسْمٌ لُغَوِيٌّ مَعْنَاهُ شَرْعِيٌّ مُشْتَقٌّ مِنْ غَيْبِ الْإِنْسَانِ وَفَسَّرَهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهَا أَنْ يَقُولَ الْعَبْدُ فِي أَخِيهِ مَا فِيهِ وَعَظَّمَهَا بِقَوْلِهِ هِيَ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الزِّنَا ، فَمَتَى قَالَ الْعَبْدُ لِأَخِيهِ فِي غَيْبَتِهِ مَا يَعْلَمُهُ يَقِينًا فِيهِ مِمَّا لَا يَقُولُهُ بِمَحْضَرِهِ أَوْ مِمَّا يَنْقُصُهُ بِهِ

waghāyatu al-tashdīdi fī al-ghībati wa-al-ghībatu ismun lughawiyyun maʿnāhu sharʿiyyun mushtaqqun min ghaybi al-ʾinsāni wafassarahā rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahā ʾan yaqūla al-ʿabdu fī ʾakhīhi mā fīhi waʿaẓẓamahā biqawlihi hiya ʾashaddu mina al-zinā , famatā qāla al-ʿabdu liʾakhīhi fī ghaybatihi mā yaʿlamuhu yaqīnan fīhi mimmā lā yaqūluhu bimaḥḍarihi ʾaw mimmā yanquṣuhu bihi

and the strongest warning concerning backbiting. Backbiting is a linguistic term with a meaning in the revealed law, derived from a person’s absence. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, explained it as a servant’s saying of his brother what is in him, and emphasized its gravity by saying, “It is worse than illicit intercourse.” Whenever a servant says of his brother in his absence what he knows with certainty to be in him, something he would not say in his presence, or something that diminishes him,

أَوْ لَا يُزَكِّيهِ فِيهِ فَقَدِ اغْتَابَهُ ، فَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي الصَّمْتِ إِلَّا السَّلَامَةُ مِنَ الْغِيبَةِ لَكَانَ ذَلِكَ غَنِيمَةً مَوْفُورَةً ، كَيْفَ وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : كُلُّ كَلَامِ ابْنِ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ لَا لَهُ إِلَّا ثَلَاثَةٌ أَمْرٌ بِمَعْرُوفٍ ، أَوْ نَهْيٌ عَنْ مُنْكَرٍ ، أَوْ ذِكْرُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ،

ʾaw lā yuzakkīhi fīhi faqadi ightābahu , falaw lam yakun fī al-ṣamti ʾillā al-salāmatu mina al-ghībati lakāna dhālika ghanīmatan mawfūratan , kayfa waqad ruwiya ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: kullu kalāmi ibni ʾādama ʿalayhi lā lahu ʾillā thalāthatun ʾamrun bimaʿrūfin , ʾaw nahyun ʿan munkarin , ʾaw dhikru allāhi ʿazza wajalla ,

or does not commend him, he has backbitten him. Even if silence brought nothing but safety from backbiting, that would be an abundant gain. How much more so when it has been related from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, “All the human being’s speech counts against him, not for him, except three things: commanding what is right, forbidding what is wrong, or remembering God, mighty and majestic is He.”

وَأَمَّا مُخَالَطَةُ النَّاسِ فَإِنَّهَا تُضْعِفُ الْعَزْمَ الَّذِي كَانَ قَوِيًّا فِي أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ وَتَحُلُّ الْعَقْدَ الْمُبْرَمَ الَّذِي اسْتَوْطَنَهُ الْعَبْدُ فِي الْخَلْوَةِ لِقِلَّةِ الْمُتَعَاوِنِينَ عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَكَثْرَةِ الْمُتَعَاوِنِينَ عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ ، وَفِي مُخَالَطَةِ النَّاسِ قُوَّةُ الطَّلَبِ وَالْحِرْصِ عَلَى عَاجِلِ الدُّنْيَا لِمَا يُعَايِنُ مِنْ إِقْبَالِ أَهْلِهَا

waʾammā mukhālaṭatu al-nāsi faʾinnahā tuḍʿifu al-ʿazma alladhī kāna qawiyyan fī ʾaʿmāli al-birri wataḥullu al-ʿaqda al-mubrama alladhī istawṭanahu al-ʿabdu fī al-khalwati liqillati al-mutaʿāwinīna ʿalā al-birri wa-al-taqwā wakathrati al-mutaʿāwinīna ʿalā al-ʾithmi wa-al-ʿudwāni , wafī mukhālaṭati al-nāsi quwwatu al-ṭalabi wa-al-ḥirṣi ʿalā ʿājili al-dunyā limā yuʿāyinu min ʾiqbāli ʾahlihā

As for mixing with people, it weakens the resolve that was strong in righteous works and unties the firmly bound commitment in which the servant had settled during seclusion. This is because few cooperate in righteousness and reverent fear, while many cooperate in sin and aggression. Mixing with people strengthens pursuit and greed for this world’s immediate gains because one sees its people turning eagerly

عَلَيْهِ وَفِيهِ الْفُتُورُ عَنِ الْخِدْمَةِ بِالنَّظَرِ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْغَفْلَةِ وَالْمَلَلُ لِلطَّاعَةِ بِمُجَالَسَةِ أَهْلِ الْبَطَالَةِ وَنُقْصَانُ حَلَاوَةِ الْمُعَامَلَةِ وَذَهَابُ نُورِ الْعِلْمِ وَسُرْعَةُ خُرُوجِ الْوَجْدِ بِالْفَهْمِ لِاسْتِمَاعِ كَلَامِ أَهْلِ الْجَهَالَةِ وَالنَّظَرِ إِلَى الْمَوْتَى مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَا رُوِيَ عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ :

ʿalayhi wafīhi al-futūru ʿani al-khidmati bi-al-naẓari ʾilā ʾahli al-ghaflati wa-al-malalu lilṭāʿati bimujālasati ʾahli al-baṭālati wanuqṣānu ḥalāwati al-muʿāmalati wadhahābu nūri al-ʿilmi wasurʿatu khurūji al-wajdi bi-al-fahmi listimāʿi kalāmi ʾahli al-jahālati wa-al-naẓari ʾilā al-mawtā min ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā kamā ruwiya ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu:

toward them. It brings slackness in service through looking at the heedless, weariness with obedience through sitting with the idle, diminished sweetness in spiritual dealings, the departure of knowledge’s light, and the rapid loss of the spiritual experience that comes through understanding, through listening to ignorant people’s speech and looking at the dead among the children of this world. As it was related from Jesus, peace be upon him:

لَا تُجَالِسُوا الْمَوْتَى فَتَمُوتَ قُلُوبُكُمْ ، قِيلَ : وَمَنِ الْمَوْتَى ؟ قَالَ : الْمُحِبُّونَ لِلدُّنْيَا الرَّاغِبُونَ فِيهَا ، وَقَدْ كَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَمَا يَسْتَوِي الْأَحْيَاءُ وَلَا الْأَمْوَاتُ ) فَاطِرُ : 22 ، قَالَ : الْفُقَرَاءُ وَالْأَغْنِيَاءُ كَانَ الْفُقَرَاءُ حَيُوا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالْأَغْنِيَاءُ مَاتُوا عَلَى الدُّنْيَا ،

lā tujālisū al-mawtā fatamūta qulūbukum , qīla: wamani al-mawtā ? qāla: al-muḥibbūna lildunyā al-rāghibūna fīhā , waqad kāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( wamā yastawī al-ʾaḥyāʾu walā al-ʾamwātu ) fāṭiru: 22 , qāla: al-fuqarāʾu wa-al-ʾaghniyāʾu kāna al-fuqarāʾu ḥayū bidhikri allāhi ʿazza wajalla wa-al-ʾaghniyāʾu mātū ʿalā al-dunyā ,

“Do not sit with the dead, lest your hearts die.” He was asked, “Who are the dead?” He replied, “Those who love this world and desire it.” Concerning His saying, mighty and majestic is He, “The living and the dead are not equal” (Fāṭir 35:22), al-Ḥasan used to say, “The poor and the rich.” The poor came to life through remembrance of God, mighty and majestic is He, while the rich died upon this world.

وَأَعْظَمُ مَا فِي مُخَالَطَةِ النَّاسِ وَمُجَالَسَةِ أَهْلِ الْبَطَالَةِ وَذَوِي غَفْلَتِهِمْ ضَعْفُ الْيَقِينِ بِرُؤْيَتِهِمْ ، وَأَضَرُّ مَا ابْتُلِيَ بِهِ الْعَبْدُ وَأَعْمَلَهُ فِي هَلَاكِهِ وَأَشَدُّهُ لِحَجْبِهِ وَإِبْعَادِهِ ضَعْفُ يَقِينِهِ بِمَا وَعَدَ بِهِ بِالْغَيْبِ وَتَوَعَّدَ عَلَيْهِ فِي الشَّهَادَةِ وَهَذَا أَخْوَفُ مَا خَافَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى أُمَّتِهِ فِيمَا رَوَيْنَا عَنْهُ

waʾaʿẓamu mā fī mukhālaṭati al-nāsi wamujālasati ʾahli al-baṭālati wadhawī ghaflatihim ḍaʿfu al-yaqīni biruʾyatihim , waʾaḍarru mā ibtuliya bihi al-ʿabdu waʾaʿmalahu fī halākihi waʾashadduhu liḥajbihi waʾibʿādihi ḍaʿfu yaqīnihi bimā waʿada bihi bi-al-ghaybi watawaʿʿada ʿalayhi fī al-shahādati wahādhā ʾakhwafu mā khāfahu rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿalā ʾummatihi fīmā rawaynā ʿanhu

The greatest harm in mixing with people and sitting with the idle and heedless is the weakening of certainty through seeing them. The most harmful trial for the servant, the most effective in destroying him and the strongest in veiling and distancing him, is the weakness of his certainty concerning what was promised to him in the unseen and what he was threatened with in the visible realm. This is what the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, most feared for his community, according to what we have related from him

أَنَّهُ قَالَ : أَخْوَفُ مَا أَخَافُ عَلَى أُمَّتِي ضَعْفُ الْيَقِينِ ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ ضَعْفَ الْيَقِينِ هُوَ أَصْلُ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْحِرْصِ عَلَى التَّكَاثُرِ مِنْهَا وَالتَّضَرُّعِ إِلَى أَبْنَائِهَا وَالطَّمَعِ فِيهِمْ ، كَمَا قَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ : إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْتِهِ وَمَعَهُ دِينُهُ فَيَرْجِعُ إِلَى بَيْتِهِ وَمَا مَعَهُ مِنْ دِينِهِ

ʾannahu qāla: ʾakhwafu mā ʾakhāfu ʿalā ʾummatī ḍaʿfu al-yaqīni , wadhālika ʾanna ḍaʿfa al-yaqīni huwa ʾaṣlu al-raghbati fī al-dunyā wa-al-ḥirṣi ʿalā al-takāthuri minhā wa-al-taḍarruʿi ʾilā ʾabnāʾihā wa-al-ṭamaʿi fīhim , kamā qāla ibnu masʿūdin: ʾinna al-rajula layakhruju min baytihi wamaʿahu dīnuhu fayarjiʿu ʾilā baytihi wamā maʿahu min dīnihi

that he said, “What I fear most for my community is weakness of certainty.” Weakness of certainty is the root of desire for this world, greed to accumulate more of it, pleading with its people, and coveting what they possess. As Ibn Masʿūd said, “A man may leave his house with his religion and return to his house with nothing of his religion

شَيْءٌ يَلْقَى هَذَا فَيَقُولُ : إِنَّكَ لَذِيتَ وَذِيتَ وَيَلْقَى هَذَا فَيَقُولُ أَنْتَ كَيْتَ وَكَيْتَ وَلَعَلَّهُ لَا يُحَلَّىٰ مِنْهُمْ بِشَيْءٍ وَيَرْجِعُ إِلَى بَيْتِهِ وَقَدْ أَسْخَطَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ التَّابِعِينَ : إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَقْعُدُ فِي الْخَلْوَةِ عَلَى خِصَالٍ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ فَيَخْرُجُ إِلَى النَّاسِ فَيُحَلِّلُونَ مَا عَقَدَهُ عُقْدَةً عُقْدَةً حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ وَقَدِ انْحَلَّتِ الْعُقَدُ

shayʾun yalqā hādhā fayaqūlu: ʾinnaka ladhīta wadhīta wayalqā hādhā fayaqūlu ʾanta kayta wakayta walaʿallahu lā yuḥallā minhum bishayʾin wayarjiʿu ʾilā baytihi waqad ʾaskhaṭa allāha ʿazza wajalla , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-tābiʿīna: ʾinna al-ʿabda layaqʿudu fī al-khalwati ʿalā khiṣālin mina al-khayri fayakhruju ʾilā al-nāsi fayuḥallilūna mā ʿaqadahu ʿuqdatan ʿuqdatan ḥattā yarjiʿa waqadi inḥallati al-ʿuqadu

left. He meets one man and says, ‘You are such-and-such,’ and meets another and says, ‘You are this-and-that.’ Perhaps he gains nothing from them, and he returns to his house having angered God, mighty and majestic is He.” One of the Successors said, “The servant may sit in seclusion upon good qualities, then go out to people, who undo what he has tied, knot by knot, until he returns with the knots

كُلُّهَا ، وَقُوَّةُ الْيَقِينِ أَصْلُ كُلِّ عَمَلٍ صَالِحٍ لِأَنَّ فِي قُوَّةِ يَقِينِهِ سُرْعَةَ مُنْقَلَبِهِ وَطُولَ مَثْوَاهُ فِي دَارِ إِقَامَتِهِ إِيثَارُ التَّقَلُّلِ مِنَ الْفَانِي وَتَقْدِيمُهُ لِلْبَاقِي وَضَعْفُ حِرْصِهِ وَقِلَّةُ طَلَبِهِ وَفَقْدُ طَمَعِهِ وَفَرَاغُهُ مِنَ الِاشْتِغَالِ بِعَاجِلِهِ وَإِقْبَالُهُ وَشُغْلُهُ بِمَا نُدِبَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ مُسْتَقَرِّهِ ،

kulluhā , waquwwatu al-yaqīni ʾaṣlu kulli ʿamalin ṣāliḥin liʾanna fī quwwati yaqīnihi surʿata munqalabihi waṭūla mathwāhu fī dāri ʾiqāmatihi ʾīthāru al-taqalluli mina al-fānī wataqdīmuhu lilbāqī waḍaʿfu ḥirṣihi waqillatu ṭalabihi wafaqdu ṭamaʿihi wafarāghuhu mina al-ishtighāli biʿājilihi waʾiqbāluhu washughluhu bimā nudiba ʾilayhi min mustaqarrihi ,

all undone.” Strength of certainty is the foundation of every righteous deed. In the strength of his certainty concerning the swiftness of his return and the length of his stay in his permanent abode lie his preference for taking little of what perishes and sending it ahead for what remains, the weakening of his greed, the diminution of his demands, the disappearance of his covetousness, his freedom from preoccupation with immediate things, and his turning and applying himself to what he has been encouraged to seek in his lasting abode.

وَفِي جَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ إِخْلَاصُهُ فِي أَعْمَالِهِ وَحَقِيقَةُ زُهْدِهِ فِي تَصَرُّفِ أَحْوَالِهِ وَفِي قِصَرِ أَمَلِهِ وَتَحْسِينِ عَمَلِهِ ، أَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ إِلَى وَصْفِ مَنْ أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَنْهُ بِالتَّكَاثُرِ الَّذِي أَلْهَاهُ حَتَّى زَارَ بَرْزَخَهُ وَمَثْوَاهُ كَيْفَ تَهَدَّدَهُ حَتَّى يَعْلَمَ يَقِينًا وَتَوَعَّدَهُ إِذَا رَأَى آخِرَتَهُ عِيَانًا فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ :

wafī jamīʿi dhālika ʾikhlāṣuhu fī ʾaʿmālihi waḥaqīqatu zuhdihi fī taṣarrufi ʾaḥwālihi wafī qiṣari ʾamalihi wataḥsīni ʿamalihi , ʾalam tasmaʿ ʾilā waṣfi man ʾakhbara allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʿanhu bi-al-takāthuri alladhī ʾalhāhu ḥattā zāra barzakhahu wamathwāhu kayfa tahaddadahu ḥattā yaʿlama yaqīnan watawaʿʿadahu ʾidhā raʾā ʾākhiratahu ʿiyānan faqāla subḥānahu:

In all of this lie his sincerity in his deeds, the reality of his renunciation through the changing course of his states, the shortening of his hopes, and the improvement of his work. Have you not heard the description of the person whom God, mighty and majestic is He, declared to have been distracted by rivalry in accumulation until he visited his intermediate abode and resting place? How He threatened him until he should know with certainty and warned him when he would see his Hereafter with his own eyes! He said, glorified is He:

( أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ ) التَّكَاثُرُ : 1 أَيْ شَغَلَكُمُ الْجَمْعُ لِلْمُكَاثَرَةِ حَتَّى حَلَلْتُمُ الْقُبُورَ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : ( كَلَّا لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ ) التَّكَاثُرُ : 5 أَيْ لَشَغَلَكُمُ الْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ لِلْآخِرَةِ عَنِ اللَّعِبِ وَاللَّهْوِ الَّذِي هُوَ مُقْتَضَى الشَّكِّ إِذْ هُوَ ضِدُّ الْيَقِينِ فَاشْتَغَلْتُمْ بِالْآخِرَةِ عَنِ التَّكَاثُرِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا كَمَا شَغَلَكُمُ

( ʾalhākumu al-takāthuru ) al-takāthuru: 1 ʾay shaghalakumu al-jamʿu lilmukātharati ḥattā ḥalaltumu al-qubūra , thumma qāla: ( kallā law taʿlamūna ʿilma al-yaqīni ) al-takāthuru: 5 ʾay lashaghalakumu al-ʿamalu al-ṣāliḥu lilʾākhirati ʿani al-laʿibi wa-al-lahwi alladhī huwa muqtaḍā al-shakki ʾidh huwa ḍiddu al-yaqīni fashtaghaltum bi-al-ʾākhirati ʿani al-takāthuri mina al-dunyā kamā shaghalakumu

“Rivalry in accumulation has distracted you” (al-Takāthur 102:1), meaning that gathering in order to outdo others occupied you until you entered the graves. Then He said, “No indeed! If you knew with the knowledge of certainty” (al-Takāthur 102:5), meaning that righteous work for the Hereafter would have occupied you instead of play and diversion, which follow from doubt, the opposite of certainty. You would have been occupied with the Hereafter instead of accumulating more of this world, just as you were occupied by

التَّكَاثُرُ بِاللَّهْوِ وَاللَّعِبِ لِعَدَمِ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ ، كَمَا قَالَ : ( أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَارْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَالِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ ) السَّجْدَةُ : 12 بَعْدَ أَنْ قَالَ : ( بَلْ هُمْ فِي شَكٍّ يَلْعَبُونَ ) الدُّخَانُ : 9 ثُمَّ تَوَعَّدَهُمْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَتَهَدَّدَهُمْ بِالسُّؤَالِ عَنِ النَّعِيمِ الَّذِي شَغَلَهُمْ وَهُوَ التَّكَاثُرُ فِي فُضُولِ الْعَاجِلِ وَقِيلَ :

al-takāthuru bi-al-lahwi wa-al-laʿibi liʿadami ʿilmi al-yaqīni , kamā qāla: ( ʾabṣarnā wasamiʿnā farjiʿnā naʿmal ṣāliḥan ʾinnā mūqinūna ) al-sajdatu: 12 baʿda ʾan qāla: ( bal hum fī shakkin yalʿabūna ) al-dukhānu: 9 thumma tawaʿʿadahum ʿalā dhālika marratayni watahaddadahum bi-al-suʾāli ʿani al-naʿīmi alladhī shaghalahum wahuwa al-takāthuru fī fuḍūli al-ʿājili waqīla:

rivalry in accumulation through diversion and play because of your lack of certain knowledge. As He said, “We have seen and heard; send us back, and we will act righteously. We are now certain” (al-Sajda 32:12), after saying, “Rather, they are playing in doubt” (al-Dukhān 44:9). He then threatened them twice concerning this and warned them of being questioned about the comfort that had occupied them, namely rivalry in the excesses of immediate worldly life. It was said:

هُوَ الْجَمْعُ وَالْمَنْعُ ، فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الَّذِي قَطَعَ الْعِبَادَ عَنِ التَّوْبَةِ وَعَرَجَ بِالتَّائِبِينَ عَنِ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ ثَلَاثَةُ أَشْيَاءَ : الْكَسْبُ ، وَالْإِنْفَاقُ ، وَالْجَمْعُ ، وَهَذِهِ الْأَسْبَابُ مُتَعَلِّقَةٌ بِالْخَلْقِ وَمَوْجُودَةٌ بِوُجُودِهِمْ وَمَفْقُودَةٌ بِالِانْفِرَادِ عَنْهُمْ فَمَنْ زَهِدَ فِي هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثَةِ فَقَدْ زَهِدَ فِي الْخَلْقِ وَمَنْ رَغِبَ فِي الْخَلْقِ فَقَدْ رَغِبَ فِي

huwa al-jamʿu wa-al-manʿu , faʿlam ʾanna alladhī qaṭaʿa al-ʿibāda ʿani al-tawbati waʿaraja bi-al-tāʾibīna ʿani al-istiqāmati thalāthatu ʾashyāʾa: al-kasbu , wa-al-ʾinfāqu , wa-al-jamʿu , wahādhihi al-ʾasbābu mutaʿalliqatun bi-al-khalqi wamawjūdatun biwujūdihim wamafqūdatun bi-al-infirādi ʿanhum faman zahida fī hādhihi al-thalāthati faqad zahida fī al-khalqi waman raghiba fī al-khalqi faqad raghiba fī

“It is gathering and withholding.” Know that three things have cut servants off from repentance and turned the repentant aside from uprightness: earning, spending, and accumulating. These means are attached to created beings, present when they are present and absent when one is apart from them. Whoever renounces these three has renounced created beings, and whoever desires created beings has desired

هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثِ ، وَقَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ : مَنْ خَالَطَ النَّاسَ دَارَاهُمْ وَمَنْ دَارَاهُمْ رَايَاهُمْ وَمَنْ رَايَاهُمْ وَقَعَ فِيمَا وَقَعُوا فَهَلَكَ كَمَا هَلَكُوا ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ : قُلْتُ لِبَعْضِ الْأَبْدَالِ الْمُنْقَطِعِينَ عَنِ الْخَلْقِ : كَيْفَ الطَّرِيقُ إِلَى التَّحْقِيقِ ؟ وَقَالَ مَرَّةً قُلْتُ لَهُ دُلَّنِي عَلَى عَمَلٍ أَعْمَلُهُ أَجِدْ فِيهِ قَلْبِي

hādhihi al-thalāthi , waqāla al-thawriyyu: man khālaṭa al-nāsa dārāhum waman dārāhum rāyāhum waman rāyāhum waqaʿa fīmā waqaʿū fahalaka kamā halakū , waqad qāla baʿḍu hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati mina al-ṣāliḥīna: qultu libaʿḍi al-ʾabdāli al-munqaṭiʿīna ʿani al-khalqi: kayfa al-ṭarīqu ʾilā al-taḥqīqi ? waqāla marratan qultu lahu dullanī ʿalā ʿamalin ʾaʿmaluhu ʾajid fīhi qalbī

these three. Al-Thawrī said, “Whoever mixes with people accommodates them; whoever accommodates them shows off before them; whoever shows off before them falls into what they fall into and perishes as they perish.” One of the righteous members of this company said, “I asked one of the spiritual substitutes who had withdrawn from created beings, ‘What is the path to realization?’” Once he said, “I asked him, ‘Direct me to a deed I can perform in which I may find my heart

مَعَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ مَعَ الدَّوَامِ فَقَالَ : لَا تَنْظُرْ إِلَى الْخَلْقِ فَإِنَّ النَّظَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ ظُلْمَةٌ قُلْتُ : لَا بُدَّ لِي مِنْ ذَلِكَ ، قَالَ فَلَا تَسْمَعْ كَلَامَهُمْ فَإِنَّ كَلَامَهُمْ قَسْوَةٌ قُلْتُ لَا بُدَّ لِي مِنْ ذَلِكَ ، قَالَ فَلَا تُعَامِلْهُمْ فَإِنَّ مُعَامَلَتَهُمْ وَحْشَةٌ ، قُلْتُ : أَنَا بَيْنَ أَظْهُرِهِمْ لَا بُدَّ مِنْ مُعَامَلَتِهِمْ ، قَالَ :

maʿa allāhi taʿālā fī kulli waqtin maʿa al-dawāmi faqāla: lā tanẓur ʾilā al-khalqi faʾinna al-naẓara ʾilayhim ẓulmatun qultu: lā budda lī min dhālika , qāla falā tasmaʿ kalāmahum faʾinna kalāmahum qaswatun qultu lā budda lī min dhālika , qāla falā tuʿāmilhum faʾinna muʿāmalatahum waḥshatun , qultu: ʾanā bayna ʾaẓhurihim lā budda min muʿāmalatihim , qāla:

continually with God, exalted is He, at every moment.’ He replied, ‘Do not look at created beings, for looking at them is darkness.’ I said, ‘I cannot avoid that.’ He said, ‘Then do not listen to their speech, for their speech is hardness.’ I said, ‘I cannot avoid that.’ He said, ‘Then do not deal with them, for dealing with them is estrangement.’ I said, ‘I am living among them; I must deal with them.’ He said:

فَلَا تَسْكُنْ إِلَيْهِمْ فَإِنَّ السُّكُونَ إِلَيْهِمْ هَلَكَةٌ ، قُلْتُ : هَذِهِ الْعِلَّةُ فَقَالَ : يَا هَذَا أَتَنْظُرُ إِلَى الْغَافِلِينَ وَتَسْمَعُ كَلَامَ الْجَاهِلِينَ وَتُعَامِلُ الْبَطَّالِينَ وَتُرِيدُ أَنْ تَجِدَ قَلْبَكَ مَعَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَى الدَّوَامِ هَذَا مَا لَا يَكُونُ ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي فَضْلِ الْعُزْلَةِ وَالِانْفِرَادِ وَفِي فَضْلِ الصَّمْتِ ،

falā taskun ʾilayhim faʾinna al-sukūna ʾilayhim halakatun , qultu: hādhihi al-ʿillatu faqāla: yā hādhā ʾatanẓuru ʾilā al-ghāfilīna watasmaʿu kalāma al-jāhilīna watuʿāmilu al-baṭṭālīna waturīdu ʾan tajida qalbaka maʿa allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʿalā al-dawāmi hādhā mā lā yakūnu , waqad jāʾa fī faḍli al-ʿuzlati wa-al-infirādi wafī faḍli al-ṣamti ,

‘Then do not rest in them, for resting in them is destruction.’ I said, ‘That is the ailment.’ He replied, ‘You there! Do you look at the heedless, listen to the ignorant, and deal with the idle, yet wish to find your heart continually with God, mighty and majestic is He? This cannot be.’” Much has been transmitted concerning the excellence of withdrawal and solitude, the excellence of silence,

وَفِي جَمِيعِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ الْجُوعِ وَالسَّهَرِ وَمِنْ مُكَابَدَةِ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَكْثُرُ جَمْعُهُ فِيمَا نَبَّهْنَا عَلَيْهِ وَأَشَرْنَا إِلَيْهِ بَلَاغٌ وَغُنْيَةٌ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ الْآخِرَةَ وَسَعَى لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ وَلِمَنْ أُرِيدَ بِالْمُعَامَلَةِ وَالْمُتَاجَرَةِ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ . مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ : قُلْتُ لِبَعْضِ الْأَبْدَالِ الْمُنْقَطِعِينَ عَنِ الْخَلْقِ :

wafī jamīʿi mā dhakarnāhu mina al-jūʿi wa-al-sahari wamin mukābadati al-layli mā yakthuru jamʿuhu fīmā nabbahnā ʿalayhi waʾasharnā ʾilayhi balāghun waghunyatun liman ʾarāda al-ʾākhirata wasaʿā lahā saʿyahā wahuwa muʾminun waliman ʾurīda bi-al-muʿāmalati wa-al-mutājarati walā ḥawla walā quwwata ʾillā bi-allāhi. mina al-ṣāliḥīna: qultu libaʿḍi al-ʾabdāli al-munqaṭiʿīna ʿani al-khalqi:

and all that we have mentioned of hunger, wakefulness, and struggling through the night; collecting it all would be extensive. What we have drawn attention to and indicated is sufficient provision for whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it as it should be striven for, while believing, and for whoever is intended for spiritual dealings and commerce. There is no power and no strength except through God. Among the righteous: “I asked one of the spiritual substitutes who had withdrawn from created beings,

كَيْفَ الطَّرِيقُ إِلَى التَّحْقِيقِ ؟ وَقَالَ مَرَّةً قُلْتُ لَهُ دُلَّنِي عَلَى عَمَلٍ أَعْمَلُهُ أَجِدْ فِيهِ قَلْبِي مَعَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ مَعَ الدَّوَامِ فَقَالَ : لَا تَنْظُرْ إِلَى الْخَلْقِ فَإِنَّ النَّظَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ ظُلْمَةٌ قُلْتُ : لَا بُدَّ لِي مِنْ ذَلِكَ ، قَالَ فَلَا تَسْمَعْ كَلَامَهُمْ فَإِنَّ كَلَامَهُمْ قَسْوَةٌ قُلْتُ لَا بُدَّ لِي مِنْ ذَلِكَ ،

kayfa al-ṭarīqu ʾilā al-taḥqīqi ? waqāla marratan qultu lahu dullanī ʿalā ʿamalin ʾaʿmaluhu ʾajid fīhi qalbī maʿa allāhi taʿālā fī kulli waqtin maʿa al-dawāmi faqāla: lā tanẓur ʾilā al-khalqi faʾinna al-naẓara ʾilayhim ẓulmatun qultu: lā budda lī min dhālika , qāla falā tasmaʿ kalāmahum faʾinna kalāmahum qaswatun qultu lā budda lī min dhālika ,

‘What is the path to realization?’” Once he said, “I asked him, ‘Direct me to a deed I can perform in which I may find my heart continually with God, exalted is He, at every moment.’ He replied, ‘Do not look at created beings, for looking at them is darkness.’ I said, ‘I cannot avoid that.’ He said, ‘Then do not listen to their speech, for their speech is hardness.’ I said, ‘I cannot avoid that.’

قَالَ فَلَا تُعَامِلْهُمْ فَإِنَّ مُعَامَلَتَهُمْ وَحْشَةٌ ، قُلْتُ : أَنَا بَيْنَ أَظْهُرِهِمْ لَا بُدَّ مِنْ مُعَامَلَتِهِمْ ، قَالَ : فَلَا تَسْكُنْ إِلَيْهِمْ فَإِنَّ السُّكُونَ إِلَيْهِمْ هَلَكَةٌ ، قُلْتُ : هَذِهِ الْعِلَّةُ فَقَالَ : يَا هَذَا أَتَنْظُرُ إِلَى الْغَافِلِينَ وَتَسْمَعُ كَلَامَ الْجَاهِلِينَ وَتُعَامِلُ الْبَطَّالِينَ وَتُرِيدُ أَنْ تَجِدَ قَلْبَكَ مَعَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَى الدَّوَامِ هَذَا مَا

qāla falā tuʿāmilhum faʾinna muʿāmalatahum waḥshatun , qultu: ʾanā bayna ʾaẓhurihim lā budda min muʿāmalatihim , qāla: falā taskun ʾilayhim faʾinna al-sukūna ʾilayhim halakatun , qultu: hādhihi al-ʿillatu faqāla: yā hādhā ʾatanẓuru ʾilā al-ghāfilīna watasmaʿu kalāma al-jāhilīna watuʿāmilu al-baṭṭālīna waturīdu ʾan tajida qalbaka maʿa allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʿalā al-dawāmi hādhā mā

He said, ‘Then do not deal with them, for dealing with them is estrangement.’ I said, ‘I am living among them; I must deal with them.’ He said, ‘Then do not rest in them, for resting in them is destruction.’ I said, ‘That is the ailment.’ He replied, ‘You there! Do you look at the heedless, listen to the ignorant, and deal with the idle, yet wish to find your heart continually with God, mighty and majestic is He? This

لَا يَكُونُ ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي فَضْلِ الْعُزْلَةِ وَالِانْفِرَادِ وَفِي فَضْلِ الصَّمْتِ ، وَفِي جَمِيعِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ الْجُوعِ وَالسَّهَرِ وَمِنْ مُكَابَدَةِ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَكْثُرُ جَمْعُهُ فِيمَا نَبَّهْنَا عَلَيْهِ وَأَشَرْنَا إِلَيْهِ بَلَاغٌ وَغُنْيَةٌ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ الْآخِرَةَ وَسَعَى لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ وَلِمَنْ أُرِيدَ بِالْمُعَامَلَةِ وَالْمُتَاجَرَةِ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ .

lā yakūnu , waqad jāʾa fī faḍli al-ʿuzlati wa-al-infirādi wafī faḍli al-ṣamti , wafī jamīʿi mā dhakarnāhu mina al-jūʿi wa-al-sahari wamin mukābadati al-layli mā yakthuru jamʿuhu fīmā nabbahnā ʿalayhi waʾasharnā ʾilayhi balāghun waghunyatun liman ʾarāda al-ʾākhirata wasaʿā lahā saʿyahā wahuwa muʾminun waliman ʾurīda bi-al-muʿāmalati wa-al-mutājarati walā ḥawla walā quwwata ʾillā bi-allāhi.

cannot be.’” Much has been transmitted concerning the excellence of withdrawal and solitude, the excellence of silence, and all that we have mentioned of hunger, wakefulness, and struggling through the night; collecting it all would be extensive. What we have drawn attention to and indicated is sufficient provision for whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it as it should be striven for, while believing, and for whoever is intended for spiritual dealings and commerce. There is no power and no strength except through God.

الْفَصْلُ الثَّامِنُ وَالْعِشْرُونَ فِيهِ كِتَابُ مُرَاقَبَةِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَمَقَامَاتِ الْمُوقِنِينَ

al-faṣlu al-thāminu wa-al-ʿishrūna fīhi kitābu murāqabati al-muqarrabīna wamaqāmāti al-mūqinīna

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Book of the Watchfulness of Those Brought Near and the Stations of Those Certain in Faith

ذِكْرُ الْمَقَامِ الْأَوَّلِ مِنَ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ

dhikru al-maqāmi al-ʾawwali mina al-murāqabati

The First Station of Watchfulness

الْعَبْدُ إِذَا قَوِيَ يَقِينُهُ عَلِمَ عِلْمَ يَقِينٍ أَنَّ أَوْقَاتَهُ هَذِهِ الَّتِي وُكِّلَ تَرْبِيَتُهُ إِلَيْهَا وَجُعِلَ سَبَبُ نَمَائِهِ وَحَيَاتِهِ مِنْهَا وَهِيَ مُكَرَّرَةٌ عَلَيْهِ فِي الْبَرْزَخِ وَمَرْدُودَةٌ إِلَيْهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَمُعَادَةٌ عَلَيْهِ فِي الْجَنَّةِ إِنْ دَخَلَهَا لَيْسَ يُجَازَى هُنَاكَ إِلَّا بِمِقْدَارِ مَا أَعْطَى مِنَ الْمُعَامَلَةِ هَهُنَا ، وَلَا يُعْطَى ثَمَّ إِلَّا بِقَدْرِ مَا وُفِّقَ هَهُنَا ، لَا يُسْأَلُ إِلَّا عَنْ أَوْقَاتِهِ ،

al-ʿabdu ʾidhā qawiya yaqīnuhu ʿalima ʿilma yaqīnin ʾanna ʾawqātahu hādhihi allatī wukkila tarbiyatuhu ʾilayhā wajuʿila sababu namāʾihi waḥayātihi minhā wahiya mukarraratun ʿalayhi fī al-barzakhi wamardūdatun ʾilayhi yawma al-qiyāmati wamuʿādatun ʿalayhi fī al-jannati ʾin dakhalahā laysa yujāzā hunāka ʾillā bimiqdāri mā ʾaʿṭā mina al-muʿāmalati hāhunā , walā yuʿṭā thamma ʾillā biqadri mā wuffiqa hāhunā , lā yusʾalu ʾillā ʿan ʾawqātihi ,

When the servant’s certainty grows strong, he knows with certain knowledge that these times of his, to which his nurture has been entrusted and from which the cause of his growth and life has been made, will be repeated for him in the intermediate realm, returned to him on the Day of Resurrection, and brought back to him in Paradise if he enters it. There he will be recompensed only in proportion to the conduct he offered here, and given there only in proportion to the enabling he received here. He will be questioned only about his times,

وَلَا يُحَاسَبُ إِلَّا بِسَاعَاتِهِ ، وَلَا يُجَازَى إِلَّا عَلَيْهَا وَلَا تُرَدُّ عَلَيْهِ أَوْقَاتُ غَيْرِهِ ، كَمَا لَا يُعَادُ هُوَ فِي صُورَةِ غَيْرِهِ وَلَا يُعْطَى جَزَاءَ سِوَاهُ كَمَا لَمْ يُعَامِلْ هَهُنَا مُعَامَلَةَ سِوَاهُ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ ، فَمِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( كَمَا بَدَأَكُمْ تَعُودُونَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 92 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أَفَنَجْعَلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ كَالْمُجْرِمِينَ ) الْقَلَمُ 35 ( كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ

walā yuḥāsabu ʾillā bisāʿātihi , walā yujāzā ʾillā ʿalayhā walā turaddu ʿalayhi ʾawqātu ghayrihi , kamā lā yuʿādu huwa fī ṣūrati ghayrihi walā yuʿṭā jazāʾa siwāhu kamā lam yuʿāmil hāhunā muʿāmalata siwāhu walakinna allāha yubdiʾu wayuʿīdu , famin dhālika qawluhu taʿālā: ( kamā badaʾakum taʿūdūna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 92 waqāla taʿālā: ( ʾafanajʿalu al-muslimīna ka-al-mujrimīna ) al-qalamu 35 ( kitābun ʾanzalnāhu

reckoned only by his hours, and recompensed only for them. Another person’s times will not be returned to him, just as he will not be restored in another person’s form or given anyone else’s recompense, since here he did not conduct himself as someone else did. But God originates and restores. Among the statements of this is His exalted saying, “As He began you, so shall you return” (al-Aʿrāf 92). He Most High also says, “Shall We make those who submit like the criminals?” (al-Qalam 35), and “A Book We have sent down

إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ ) ص : 29 مِنْ تَدَبُّرِهِ : ( أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَالْمُفْسِدِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الْمُتَّقِينَ كَالْفُجَّارِ ) ص : 28 أَيْ تَدَبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ هَلْ تَرَوْنَ جَزَاءَ هَؤُلَاءِ لِوَصْفِ هَؤُلَاءِ أَمْ هَلْ تَجِدُونَ وَصْفَ هَؤُلَاءِ لَهُ جَزَاءٌ أَوْ لَا وَمِثْلُهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( لَيْسَ بِأَمَانِيِّكُمْ وَلَا أَمَانِيِّ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ ) النِّسَاءُ :

ʾilayka mubārakun liyaddabbarū ʾāyātihi ) ṣād: 29 min tadabburihi: ( ʾam najʿalu alladhīna ʾāmanū waʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti ka-al-mufsidīna fī al-ʾarḍi ʾam najʿalu al-muttaqīna ka-al-fujjāri ) ṣād: 28 ʾay tadabbarū ʾāyātihi hal tarawna jazāʾa hāʾulāʾi liwaṣfi hāʾulāʾi ʾam hal tajidūna waṣfa hāʾulāʾi lahu jazāʾun ʾaw lā wamithluhu qawluhu taʿālā: ( laysa biʾamāniyyikum walā ʾamāniyyi ʾahli al-kitābi ) al-nisāʾu:

to you, blessed, so that they may ponder its signs” (Ṣād 29). Among what is to be pondered in it is: “Shall We make those who believe and do righteous deeds like those who spread corruption on earth, or shall We make the God-fearing like the wicked?” (Ṣād 28). That is: ponder its signs. Do you see the recompense of these assigned to the qualities of those? Or do you find that these qualities have a recompense, or not? Similar is His exalted saying, “It is not according to your wishes or the wishes of the People of the Book” (al-Nisāʾ

123 فَنَفَى أَمَانِيَهُمْ بِلَيْسَ وَأَثْبَتَ حُكْمَهُ بِلَكِنْ وَهِيَ مُضْمَرَةٌ فِي الْكَلَامِ الْمَعْنَىٰ لَكِنْ مَنْ يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا يُجْزَ بِهِ ، وَفَسَّرَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ الْمُؤْمِنُ يُجْزَى بِسَيِّئَتِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الْمَصَائِبِ وَالْجُوعِ وَالْعُرْيِ ، وَالْمُنَافِقُ تَبْقَى ذُنُوبُهُ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى يُوَفَّى يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كَأَنَّهُ حِمَارٌ يُجَازَى بِهَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ ، وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ : عِبَادَ اللَّهِ ،

123 fanafā ʾamāniyahum bilaysa waʾathbata ḥukmahu bilakin wahiya muḍmaratun fī al-kalāmi al-maʿnā lakin man yaʿmal sūʾan yujza bihi , wafassarahu rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faqāla al-muʾminu yujzā bisayyiʾatihi fī al-dunyā mina al-maṣāʾibi wa-al-jūʿi wa-al-ʿuryi , wa-al-munāfiqu tabqā dhunūbuhu ʿalayhi ḥattā yuwaffā yawma al-qiyāmati kaʾannahu ḥimārun yujāzā bihā fī al-ʾākhirati , wakāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu: ʿibāda allāhi ,

123). He negated their wishes with “not” and established His ruling with “but,” which is implicit in the speech. The meaning is: but whoever does evil will be recompensed for it. God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, explained it, saying, “The believer is recompensed for his misdeed in this world through afflictions, hunger, and nakedness. The hypocrite’s sins remain upon him until he is paid in full on the Day of Resurrection, like a donkey, being recompensed for them in the hereafter.” Al-Ḥasan used to say, “Servants of God,

اتَّقُوا هَذِهِ الْأَمَانِيَ ، فَإِنَّهَا أَوْدِيَةُ النَّوْكَى يَحُلُّونَ فِيهَا ، وَاللَّهِ مَا أَتَى عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بِأُمْنِيَّتِهِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ دُنْيَاهُ وَلَا آخِرَتِهِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : كُلَّمَا قَلَّ الْعَقْلُ كَثُرَتِ الْأَمَانِيُّ ، وَكَتَبَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ إِلَى بَعْضِ إِخْوَانِهِ مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا يَعِظُهُ : أَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ هَذَا الَّذِي تَكْدَحُ فِيهِ وَتَحْرِصُ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَمْرِ الدُّنْيَا هَلْ بَلَغْتَ فِيهِ مَا تُرِيدُ وَأَدْرَكْتَ مَا

ittaqū hādhihi al-ʾamāniya , faʾinnahā ʾawdiyatu al-nawkā yaḥullūna fīhā , wa-allāhi mā ʾatā ʿabda allāhi biʾumniyyatihi khayrun min dunyāhu walā ʾākhiratihi , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: kullamā qalla al-ʿaqlu kathurati al-ʾamāniyyu , wakataba baʿḍu al-salafi ʾilā baʿḍi ʾikhwānihi min ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā yaʿiẓuhu: ʾakhbirnī ʿan hādhā alladhī takdaḥu fīhi wataḥriṣu ʿalayhi min ʾamri al-dunyā hal balaghta fīhi mā turīdu waʾadrakta mā

beware of these wishes, for they are the valleys where fools settle. By God, no good in this world or the hereafter has ever come to God’s servant through his mere wishing.” One of the scholars said, “The less the understanding, the more the wishes.” One of the early generations wrote to a worldly brother, admonishing him: “Tell me about this worldly business in which you toil and which you pursue so eagerly. Have you attained what you want and reached what

تَتَمَنَّى ؟ فَقَالَ : لَا وَاللَّهِ ، فَقَالَ : أَرَأَيْتَكَ هَذَا الَّذِي أَنْتَ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْهِ لَمْ تَنَلْ مِنْهُ مَا تُرِيدُ فَكَيْفَ تَنَالُ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ وَقَدْ أَعْرَضْتَ عَنْهَا وَصُرِفْتَ عَنْهَا فَمَا أَرَاكَ تَضْرِبُ إِلَّا فِي حَدِيدٍ بَارِدٍ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : مَنْ ظَنَّ أَنَّهُ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ بِغَيْرِ عَمَلٍ فَهُوَ مُتَمَنٍّ وَمَنْ قَالَ أَدْخُلُهَا بِعَمَلٍ فَهُوَ مُتَعَنٍّ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : الْأَمَانِيُّ تَنْقُصُ الْعَقْلَ ،

tatamannā ? faqāla: lā wa-allāhi , faqāla: ʾaraʾaytaka hādhā alladhī ʾanta ḥarīṣun ʿalayhi lam tanal minhu mā turīdu fakayfa tanālu mina al-ʾākhirati waqad ʾaʿraḍta ʿanhā waṣurifta ʿanhā famā ʾarāka taḍribu ʾillā fī ḥadīdin bāridin , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: man ẓanna ʾannahu yadkhulu al-jannata bighayri ʿamalin fahuwa mutamannin waman qāla ʾadkhuluhā biʿamalin fahuwa mutaʿannin , waqāla baʿḍuhum: al-ʾamāniyyu tanquṣu al-ʿaqla ,

you wish for?” He answered, “No, by God.” He replied, “Consider this: you have not obtained what you want from what you pursue so eagerly. How, then, will you obtain anything of the hereafter when you have turned away from it and been turned away from it? I see you doing nothing but hammering cold iron.” One of the scholars said, “Whoever supposes he will enter Paradise without deeds is a mere wisher; whoever says, ‘I enter it through deeds,’ is imposing an arduous claim.” Another said, “Wishes diminish understanding.”

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : لَيْسَ الْإِيمَانُ بِالتَّحَلِّي وَلَا بِالتَّمَنِّي وَلَكِنْ مَا

wafī al-khabari: laysa al-ʾīmānu bi-al-taḥallī walā bi-al-tamannī walakin mā

In the report: “Faith is not through adornment or through wishing, but is what

وَقَرَ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَصَدَّقَهُ الْعَمَلُ وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( هَلْ جَزَاءُ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَّا الْإِحْسَانُ ) الرَّحْمَنُ : 60 وَقَالَ فِي ضِدِّهِ : ( مَنْ عَمِلَ سَيِّئَةً فَلَا يُجْزَى إِلَّا مِثْلَهَا ) غَافِرُ : 40 وَقَالَ فِي مَعْنَاهُ : ( أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تُتْرَكُوا وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا مِنْكُمْ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 16 وَكَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى :

waqara fī al-qalbi waṣaddaqahu al-ʿamalu wamin hādhā qawlu allāhi ʿazza wajalla: ( hal jazāʾu al-ʾiḥsāni ʾillā al-ʾiḥsānu ) al-raḥmānu: 60 waqāla fī ḍiddihi: ( man ʿamila sayyiʾatan falā yujzā ʾillā mithlahā ) ghāfiru: 40 waqāla fī maʿnāhu: ( ʾam ḥasibtum ʾan tutrakū walammā yaʿlami allāhu alladhīna jāhadū minkum ) al-tawbatu: 16 wakadhālika qawluhu taʿālā:

settles in the heart and is confirmed by deeds.” Of this kind is God’s saying, mighty and majestic: “Is the recompense of excellence anything but excellence?” (al-Raḥmān 60). Of its opposite He says, “Whoever does an evil deed is recompensed only with its like” (Ghāfir 40). In the same sense He says, “Did you suppose you would be left alone while God has not yet made known those of you who strive?” (al-Tawba 16). Likewise His exalted saying:

( أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُمْ مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 214 وَقَالَ فِي مِثْلِهِ : ( أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ اجْتَرَحُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ أَنْ نَجْعَلَهُمْ كَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ ) الْجَاثِيَةُ : 21 ثُمَّ قَالَ : ( سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 4 فَأَبْطَلَ حُسْبَانَهُمْ وَأَدْحَضَ حُكْمَهُمْ ثُمَّ أَحْكَمَ مَا عِنْدَهُ بِقَوْلِهِ :

( ʾam ḥasibtum ʾan tadkhulū al-jannata walammā yaʾtikum mathalu alladhīna khalaw min qablikum ) al-baqaratu: 214 waqāla fī mithlihi: ( ʾam ḥasiba alladhīna ijtaraḥū al-sayyiʾāti ʾan najʿalahum ka-alladhīna ʾāmanū waʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti ) al-jāthiyatu: 21 thumma qāla: ( sāʾa mā yaḥkumūna ) al-ʿankabūtu: 4 faʾabṭala ḥusbānahum waʾadḥaḍa ḥukmahum thumma ʾaḥkama mā ʿindahu biqawlihi:

“Did you suppose you would enter Paradise before the like of what befell those before you had come to you?” (al-Baqara 214). Similarly He says, “Or do those who commit evil deeds suppose We shall make them like those who believe and do righteous deeds?” (al-Jāthiya 21). Then He says, “Evil is what they judge” (al-ʿAnkabūt 4). He thus invalidated their supposition and refuted their judgment, then made what is with Him decisive by saying:

( سَوَاءٌ مَحْيَاهُمْ وَمَمَاتُهُمْ ) الْجَاثِيَةُ : 21 أَيْ هُمْ كَمَا كَانُوا فِي الْمَحْيَا مُحْسِنِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ كَانَتْ لَهُمُ الْحُسْنَى فِي الْمَمَاتِ وَكَمَا كَانُوا فِي الْمَحْيَا مُفْسِدِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ كَانَتْ لَهُمُ السُّوأَىٰ وَالْمَكْرُوهَاتُ ، وَقِيلَ : كَانَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ مَبْكَاةً لِلْعَابِدِينَ لِأَنَّهَا مُحْكَمَةٌ غَيْرُ مُتَشَابِهَةٍ ، وَكَذَلِكَ جَمِيعُ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ نَظَائِرِهَا هُوَ مِنَ الْمُحْكَمِ

( sawāʾun maḥyāhum wamamātuhum ) al-jāthiyatu: 21 ʾay hum kamā kānū fī al-maḥyā muḥsinīna yaʿmalūna al-ṣāliḥāti kānat lahumu al-ḥusnā fī al-mamāti wakamā kānū fī al-maḥyā mufsidīna yaʿmalūna al-sayyiʾāti kānat lahumu al-sūʾā wa-al-makrūhātu , waqīla: kānat hādhihi al-ʾāyatu mabkātan lilʿābidīna liʾannahā muḥkamatun ghayru mutashābihatin , wakadhālika jamīʿu mā dhakarnāhu min naẓāʾirihā huwa mina al-muḥkami

“Their life and their death alike” (al-Jāthiya 21). That is: as they were beneficent in life, doing righteous deeds, so the finest reward is theirs at death; and as they were corrupt in life, doing evil deeds, so the worst and hateful things are theirs. It was said that this verse made worshippers weep, for it is decisive, not ambiguous. Likewise all the parallel passages we have mentioned belong to the decisive text

الَّذِي هُوَ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ غَيْرُ مَنْسُوخٍ وَلَا مُتَشَابِهٍ ، وَهَذِهِ الْآيُ مِنْ عَزَائِمِ الْقُرْآنِ وَهُوَ مِنْ أَحْسَنِ مَا أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ رَبِّنَا الَّذِي أَمَرَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى بِاتِّبَاعِهِ وَوَصَفَ أَهْلَ الْهُدَى وَأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ بِاسْتِمَاعِهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ ) الزُّمَرُ : 18 قِيلَ عَزَائِمُهُ وَوَعِيدُهُ ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

alladhī huwa ʾummu al-kitābi ghayru mansūkhin walā mutashābihin , wahādhihi al-ʾāyu min ʿazāʾimi al-qurʾāni wahuwa min ʾaḥsani mā ʾanzala ʿalaynā min rabbinā alladhī ʾamara allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā bi-ittibāʿihi wawaṣafa ʾahla al-hudā waʾūlī al-ʾalbābi bistimāʿihi fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( alladhīna yastamiʿūna al-qawla fayattabiʿūna ʾaḥsanahu ) al-zumaru: 18 qīla ʿazāʾimuhu wawaʿīduhu , waqad qīla fī qawlihi taʿālā:

which is the foundation of the Book, neither abrogated nor ambiguous. These verses are among the Qurʾān’s binding decrees and among the best of what has been sent down to us from our Lord, which God, glorified and exalted, commanded us to follow. He described the people of guidance and understanding as listening to it in His exalted saying, “Those who listen to the word and follow the best of it” (al-Zumar 18). It is said: its binding decrees and its threats. Concerning His exalted saying it has also been said:

( وَبَدَا لَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَحْتَسِبُونَ ) الزُّمَرُ : 47 قِيلَ: الرَّجَاءُ الْخَائِبُ بِالِاغْتِرَارِ وَالظَّنِّ الْكَاذِبِ ، وَقِيلَ : عَمِلُوا أَعْمَالًا ظَنُّوا أَنَّهَا حَسَنَاتٌ فَوَجَدُوهَا عِنْدَ الْمُحَاسَبَةِ سَيِّئَاتٍ ، وَالصَّحِيحُ مَا صَحَّ بَعْدَ الْحِسَابِ وَالْحَقُّ مَا ثَقُلَ عِنْدَ الْمِيزَانِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَالْوَزْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 8 قِيلَ : الْعِلْمُ وَالْعَمَلُ ،

( wabadā lahum mina allāhi mā lam yakūnū yaḥtasibūna ) al-zumaru: 47 qīla: al-rajāʾu al-khāʾibu bi-al-ightirāri wa-al-ẓanni al-kādhibi , waqīla: ʿamilū ʾaʿmālan ẓannū ʾannahā ḥasanātun fawajadūhā ʿinda al-muḥāsabati sayyiʾātin , wa-al-ṣaḥīḥu mā ṣaḥḥa baʿda al-ḥisābi wa-al-ḥaqqu mā thaqula ʿinda al-mīzāni kamā qāla taʿālā: ( wa-al-waznu yawmaʾidhin al-ḥaqqu ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 8 qīla: al-ʿilmu wa-al-ʿamalu ,

“There appeared to them from God what they had not been reckoning upon” (al-Zumar 47): it is said, hope disappointed through delusion and false supposition. It is also said: they performed deeds they supposed were good deeds, but at the reckoning found them to be evil deeds. What is sound is what proves sound after the reckoning, and what is true is what weighs heavily at the balance, as He Most High says, “The weighing that day is the truth” (al-Aʿrāf 8). It is said: knowledge and deeds.

كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَقَدْ جِئْنَاهُمْ بِكِتَابٍ فَصَّلْنَاهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 52 ثُمَّ قَالَ : ( فَلَنَقُصَّنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ بِعِلْمٍ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 7 ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَبَدَا لَهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا وَحَاقَ بِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ ) الزُّمَرُ : 48 قِيلَ : كَانُوا يُقَدِّمُونَ الذَّنْبَ وَيُؤَخِّرُونَ التَّوْبَةَ وَيُسَوِّفُونَ بِالْمَغْفِرَةِ ،

kamā qāla taʿālā: ( walaqad jiʾnāhum bikitābin faṣṣalnāhu ʿalā ʿilmin ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 52 thumma qāla: ( falanaquṣṣanna ʿalayhim biʿilmin ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 7 thumma qāla taʿālā: ( wabadā lahum sayyiʾātu mā kasabū waḥāqa bihim mā kānū bihi yastahziʾūna ) al-zumaru: 48 qīla: kānū yuqaddimūna al-dhanba wayuʾakhkhirūna al-tawbata wayusawwifūna bi-al-maghfirati ,

As He Most High says, “We have brought them a Book that We have expounded with knowledge” (al-Aʿrāf 52). Then He says, “We shall surely recount to them with knowledge” (al-Aʿrāf 7). Then He Most High says, “The evil of what they earned appeared to them, and what they used to mock enveloped them” (al-Zumar 48). It is said: they put sin first, postponed repentance, and kept putting things off in expectation of forgiveness.

وَكَانَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ مُحْزِنَةً لِلْخَائِفِينَ وَمَخَافَةً لِلْعَارِفِينَ وَقَدْ أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى أَنَّهُ أَعَدَّ النَّارَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ ثُمَّ أَمَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِاتِّقَائِهَا ثُمَّ وَصَفَ الْكَافِرِينَ فِيهَا وَخَوَّفَ عِبَادَهُ بِهَا فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 131 وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ : ( لَهُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ ظُلَلٌ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمِنْ تَحْتِهِمْ ظُلَلٌ ذَلِكَ يُخَوِّفُ اللَّهُ

wakānat hādhihi al-ʾāyatu muḥzinatan lilkhāʾifīna wamakhāfatan lilʿārifīna waqad ʾakhbara allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾannahu ʾaʿadda al-nāra lilkāfirīna thumma ʾamara al-muʾminīna bi-ittiqāʾihā thumma waṣafa al-kāfirīna fīhā wakhawwafa ʿibādahu bihā faqāla taʿālā: ( wattaqū al-nāra allatī ʾuʿiddat lilkāfirīna ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 131 waqāla subḥānahu: ( lahum min fawqihim ẓulalun mina al-nāri wamin taḥtihim ẓulalun dhālika yukhawwifu allāhu

This verse saddened those who feared and was a source of dread to the knowers. God, glorified and exalted, has told us that He prepared the Fire for the unbelievers, then commanded believers to guard against it, then described the unbelievers within it and frightened His servants by it. He Most High says, “Guard yourselves against the Fire prepared for the unbelievers” (Āl ʿImrān 131). He, glorified, also says, “Above them are canopies of Fire and beneath them canopies. By this God frightens

بِهِ عِبَادَهُ يَا عِبَادِ فَاتَّقُونِ ) الزُّمَرُ : 16 وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ يَسْتَحِقُّ النَّارَ بِأَوَّلِ مَعْصِيَةٍ عَصَى مَوْلَاهُ بِهَا بَعْدَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ ثُمَّ هُوَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فِي الْمَشِيئَةِ وَإِنَّ فِي كُلِّ عَبْدٍ خَصْلَةً كَرِيهَةً يُخَافُ عَلَيْهِ مِنْهَا وَكَانَ عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ ابْنُ زَيْدٍ يَقُولُ : مَا صَحَّ خَوْفُ خَائِفٍ قَطُّ ظَنَّ أَنَّهُ لَا يَدْخُلُ النَّارَ وَمَا صَدَقَ خَوْفُ مَنْ ظَنَّ أَنَّهُ يَدْخُلُ النَّارَ فَظَنَّ أَنَّهُ يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا أَيْ

bihi ʿibādahu yā ʿibādi fattaqūni ) al-zumaru: 16 wayuqālu: ʾinna al-ʿabda yastaḥiqqu al-nāra biʾawwali maʿṣiyatin ʿaṣā mawlāhu bihā baʿda al-maʿrifati thumma huwa baʿda dhālika fī al-mashīʾati waʾinna fī kulli ʿabdin khaṣlatan karīhatan yukhāfu ʿalayhi minhā wakāna ʿabdu al-wāḥidi ibnu zaydin yaqūlu: mā ṣaḥḥa khawfu khāʾifin qaṭṭu ẓanna ʾannahu lā yadkhulu al-nāra wamā ṣadaqa khawfu man ẓanna ʾannahu yadkhulu al-nāra faẓanna ʾannahu yakhruju minhā ʾay

His servants: ‘My servants, fear Me!’” (al-Zumar 16). It is said that the servant deserves the Fire through the first disobedience by which he disobeys his Master after knowing Him; thereafter he is subject to the divine will. Every servant has an odious trait from which danger is feared for him. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd used to say, “Never was the fear of a fearful person sound if he supposed he would not enter the Fire; nor was the fear of one truthful who supposed he would enter it and then supposed he would come out.” That is,

أَنَّ حَقِيقَةَ الْخَوْفِ خَشْيَةُ دُخُولِ النَّارِ ثُمَّ الْخُلُودِ فِيهَا ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ وَقَدْ ذُكِرَ لَهُ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي يَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ بَعْدَ أَلْفِ عَامٍ فَبَكَى ثُمَّ قَالَ : يَا لَيْتَنِي مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ الرَّجُلِ ، وَرُوِيَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَنْ قَالَ إِنِّي فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَهُوَ فِي النَّارِ وَمَنْ قَالَ : إِنِّي عَالِمٌ فَهُوَ جَاهِلٌ ، وَرُوِيَ عَنْهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :

ʾanna ḥaqīqata al-khawfi khashyatu dukhūli al-nāri thumma al-khulūdi fīhā , waqad rawaynā mithla dhālika ʿani al-ḥasani waqad dhukira lahu al-rajulu alladhī yakhruju mina al-nāri baʿda ʾalfi ʿāmin fabakā thumma qāla: yā laytanī mithla dhālika al-rajuli , waruwiya ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man qāla ʾinnī fī al-jannati fahuwa fī al-nāri waman qāla: ʾinnī ʿālimun fahuwa jāhilun , waruwiya ʿanhu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama:

the reality of fear is dread of entering the Fire and then remaining in it forever. We have related something similar from al-Ḥasan. The man who would leave the Fire after a thousand years was mentioned to him; he wept and said, “Would that I were like that man!” It is related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “Whoever says, ‘I am in Paradise,’ is in the Fire; whoever says, ‘I am learned,’ is ignorant.” It is also related from him, God bless him and grant him peace:

مَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَعْلَمَ كَيْفَ مَنْزِلَتُهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَلْيَنْظُرْ كَيْفَ مَنْزِلَةُ اللَّهِ فِي قَلْبِهِ ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُنْزِلُ الْعَبْدَ مِنْهُ بِحَسَبِ مَا أَنْزَلَهُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ .

man ʾarāda ʾan yaʿlama kayfa manzilatuhu mina allāhi taʿālā falyanẓur kayfa manzilatu allāhi fī qalbihi , faʾinna allāha yunzilu al-ʿabda minhu biḥasabi mā ʾanzalahu min nafsihi.

“Whoever wants to know his standing with God Most High should look at God’s standing in his heart. God gives the servant a standing with Him according to the standing the servant has given Him within himself.”

ذِكْرُ الْمَقَامِ الثَّانِي مِنَ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ

dhikru al-maqāmi al-thānī mina al-murāqabati

The Second Station of Watchfulness

ثُمَّ يَعْلَمُ الْعَبْدُ يَقِينًا أَنَّ لِكُلِّ عَمَلٍ صَالِحٍ نَعِيمًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَرَوْحًا فِي الْبَرْزَخِ وَلِكُلِّ عَمَلٍ حَسَنٍ وَمَعْرِفَةٍ خَالِصَةٍ مَقَامًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ ، وَقَدْ قُسِمَ جُزْءٌ هُنَاكَ لِعَطَاءِ مُعَامَلَةٍ هَهُنَا وَأَنَّ لِكُلِّ عَمَلٍ سَيِّءٍ وَجَهْلٍ قَبِيحٍ عَذَابًا فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَكَرْبًا فِي الْبَرْزَخِ وَمَقَامًا مِنَ النَّارِ قَدْ قُسِمَ جُزْءٌ هُنَاكَ لِعَمَلٍ هَهُنَا ثُمَّ قَدْ أَخْفَى اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ الْجُزْءَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ وَأَظْهَرَ

thumma yaʿlamu al-ʿabdu yaqīnan ʾanna likulli ʿamalin ṣāliḥin naʿīman fī al-jannati warawḥan fī al-barzakhi walikulli ʿamalin ḥasanin wamaʿrifatin khāliṣatin maqāman fī al-jannati , waqad qusima juzʾun hunāka liʿaṭāʾi muʿāmalatin hāhunā waʾanna likulli ʿamalin sayyiʾin wajahlin qabīḥin ʿadhāban fī al-ʾākhirati wakarban fī al-barzakhi wamaqāman mina al-nāri qad qusima juzʾun hunāka liʿamalin hāhunā thumma qad ʾakhfā allāhu dhālika al-juzʾa mina al-khayri wa-al-sharri waʾaẓhara

Then the servant knows with certainty that every righteous deed has bliss in Paradise and rest in the intermediate realm, and every good deed and sincere knowledge has a station in Paradise. A portion has been allotted there for the offering of conduct here. Every evil deed and ugly ignorance has punishment in the hereafter, distress in the intermediate realm, and a station in the Fire; a portion has been allotted there for a deed here. God has concealed that portion of good and evil and made apparent

أَعْمَالَهُمَا لِلْحَاكِمَيْنِ وَأَبَانَ لَهُمَا طَرِيقَيْنِ يَجْرِيَانِ إِلَى دَارَيْنِ حِكْمَةً مِنْهُ ثُمَّ قَدَّمَ الْمُعَامَلَاتِ مِنَ الْمَعْنَيَيْنِ وَأَخَّرَ الْمَثُوبَاتِ مِنَ النَّوْعَيْنِ إِحْكَامًا مِنْهُ لِلْأَفْعَالِ وَاسْتِسْعَاءً لِلْعَبْدِ بِالْأَعْمَالِ ابْتِلَاءً مِنْهُ لِتُجْزَىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا تَسْعَى مِنَّةً مِنْهُ وَرَحْمَةً وَقُدْرَةً مِنْهُ وَمَحَبَّةً لَا يُسْئَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ لِأَنَّهُ مَلِكٌ قَهَّارٌ عَزِيزٌ جَبَّارٌ وَهُمْ يُسْئَلُونَ لِأَنَّهُمْ عَبِيدٌ مُقْهَرُونَ

ʾaʿmālahumā lilḥākimayni waʾabāna lahumā ṭarīqayni yajriyāni ʾilā dārayni ḥikmatan minhu thumma qaddama al-muʿāmalāti mina al-maʿnayayni waʾakhkhara al-mathūbāti mina al-nawʿayni ʾiḥkāman minhu lilʾafʿāli wastisʿāʾan lilʿabdi bi-al-ʾaʿmāli ibtilāʾan minhu litujzā kullu nafsin bimā tasʿā minnatan minhu waraḥmatan waqudratan minhu wamaḥabbatan lā yusʾalu ʿammā yafʿalu liʾannahu malikun qahhārun ʿazīzun jabbārun wahum yusʾalūna liʾannahum ʿabīdun muqharūna

the deeds belonging to both for the two judges, and disclosed for them two roads running to two abodes, in wisdom from Him. Then He put conduct of both kinds first and delayed recompenses of both sorts, ordering actions firmly and setting the servant to strive through deeds, as a trial from Him, so that every soul might be recompensed for what it strives for: bounty and mercy from Him, power and love from Him. He is not questioned about what He does, because He is a King, an Overpowerer, Mighty, a Compeller; they are questioned, because they are servants, subdued

وَذُلُلٌ مَجْبُورُونَ وَلَا تُضْرَبُ لَهُ الْأَمْثَالُ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ جَاوَزَ الِاحْتِجَاجَ وَالِاعْتِدَالَ وَلَا يُسَوَّى بِالْعَبِيدِ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ فَاتَ التَّقْدِيرَ وَالتَّحْدِيدَ فَلَهُ الْحُجَّةُ وَالْقُدْرَةُ النَّافِذَةُ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي جَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ ، وَقَدْ أَحْكَمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ فِي تَوْحِيدِ نَفْسِهِ بِالْمَشِيئَةِ وَالْأَفْعَالِ وَنَهْيِهِ عَنِ الشِّرْكِ بِهِ وَضَرْبِ الْأَمْثَالِ وَعَجِبَ مِمَّنْ يُسَوِّي بَيْنَهُ

wadhululun majbūrūna walā tuḍrabu lahu al-ʾamthālu liʾannahu qad jāwaza al-iḥtijāja wa-al-iʿtidāla walā yusawwā bi-al-ʿabīdi liʾannahu qad fāta al-taqdīra wa-al-taḥdīda falahu al-ḥujjatu wa-al-qudratu al-nāfidhatu fī kulli shayʾin laysa kamithlihi shayʾun fī jamīʿi dhālika kullihi , waqad ʾaḥkama allāhu taʿālā mā dhakarnāhu fī tawḥīdi nafsihi bi-al-mashīʾati wa-al-ʾafʿāli wanahyihi ʿani al-shirki bihi waḍarbi al-ʾamthāli waʿajiba mimman yusawwī baynahu

and humbled, constrained. No likenesses are coined for Him, for He transcends argument and equivalence, and He is not equated with servants, for He is beyond measurement and limitation. His is the proof and the power effective in everything; nothing is like Him in all of this. God Most High has made decisive what we have mentioned of His oneness in willing and acting, His prohibition of associating partners with Him and coining likenesses, and His marveling at whoever equates Him

وَبَيْنَ خَلْقِهِ فِي الْأَحْكَامِ وَجَعَلَ ذَلِكَ جُحُودَ النِّعْمَةِ وَشِرْكًا فِي مُلْكِهِ وَأَخْبَرَ بِهِ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَإِضْلَالِهِمْ أَتْبَاعَهُمْ بَعْدَ ضَلَالِهِمُ الْمُبِينِ وَإِضْلَالِهِمْ بِتَسْوِيَتِهِمْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ عِبَادِهِ فِي الْأَحْكَامِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( قَالُوا وَهُمْ فِيهَا يَخْتَصِمُونَ ) ( تَاللَّهِ إِنْ كُنَّا لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ ) ( إِذْ نُسَوِّيكُمْ بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ) ( وَمَا أَضَلَّنَا إِلَّا الْمُجْرِمُونَ ) الشُّعَرَاءُ

wabayna khalqihi fī al-ʾaḥkāmi wajaʿala dhālika juḥūda al-niʿmati washirkan fī mulkihi waʾakhbara bihi ʿani al-mushrikīna waʾiḍlālihim ʾatbāʿahum baʿda ḍalālihimu al-mubīni waʾiḍlālihim bitaswiyatihim baynahu wabayna ʿibādihi fī al-ʾaḥkāmi fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( qālū wahum fīhā yakhtaṣimūna ) ( ta-allāhi ʾin kunnā lafī ḍalālin mubīnin ) ( ʾidh nusawwīkum birabbi al-ʿālamīna ) ( wamā ʾaḍallanā ʾillā al-mujrimūna ) al-shuʿarāʾu

with His creation in judgments. He made this a denial of the blessing and an association of partners in His dominion. He told of it concerning the polytheists and their leading their followers astray after their own manifest error, and their misguidance through equating Him with His servants in judgments, in His exalted saying: “They said, disputing there: ‘By God, we were indeed in manifest error when we equated you with the Lord of the worlds. None led us astray but the criminals’” (al-Shuʿarāʾ

: 96 ، 97 ، 98 ، 99 ، قِيلَ : أُنْزِلَتْ فِي الْقَدَرِيَّةِ لِأَنَّهُمْ أَضَافُوا الْحَوْلَ وَالْقُوَّةَ فِي الشَّرِّ إِلَى الْخَلْقِ فَسَوَّوْا بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ الْخَالِقِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ ) الصَّافَّاتُ : 96 فَأَضَافَ الْأَعْمَالَ إِلَى أَنَّهُ خَلَقَهَا كَخَلْقِهِ إِيَّاهُمْ فَهُمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ الَّذِينَ أُنْزِلَتْ فِيهِمْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ الَّتِي ذُكِرَ فِيهَا الْقَدَرِيَّةُ فَوُصِفُوا بِإِنْكَارِهِمْ

: 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , qīla: ʾunzilat fī al-qadariyyati liʾannahum ʾaḍāfū al-ḥawla wa-al-quwwata fī al-sharri ʾilā al-khalqi fasawwaw baynahum wabayna al-khāliqi , waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( wa-allāhu khalaqakum wamā taʿmalūna ) al-ṣāffātu: 96 faʾaḍāfa al-ʾaʿmāla ʾilā ʾannahu khalaqahā kakhalqihi ʾiyyāhum fahumu al-mujrimūna alladhīna ʾunzilat fīhim hādhihi al-ʾāyatu allatī dhukira fīhā al-qadariyyatu fawuṣifū biʾinkārihim

96, 97, 98, 99). It is said: it was revealed concerning the Qadariyya, because they ascribed the ability and power for evil to creatures and thereby equated them with the Creator. God Most High says, “God created you and what you do” (al-Ṣāffāt 96), thus ascribing deeds to His creation of them, just as He created the people themselves. They are therefore the criminals concerning whom this verse was revealed, in which the Qadariyya were mentioned and described through their denial

فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الْمُجْرِمِينَ فِي ضَلَالٍ وَسُعُرٍ ) ( يَوْمَ يُسْحَبُونَ فِي النَّارِ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ ذُوقُوا مَسَّ سَقَرَ ) ( إِنَّا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَاهُ بِقَدَرٍ ) الْقَمَرُ : 47 ، 48 ، 49 هُمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ الَّذِينَ أَضَلُّوا أَتْبَاعَهُمْ وَهُمُ الْغَاوُونَ الَّذِينَ كُبْكِبُوا فِي النَّارِ مَعَ أَشْيَاعِهِمْ وَقَدْ أَحْكَمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى تَفْصِيلَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ آنِفًا فِي خَمْسِ آيَاتٍ مُحْكَمَاتٍ تَنْظِمُ جُمَلَ مَعَانِي

fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( ʾinna al-mujrimīna fī ḍalālin wasuʿurin ) ( yawma yusḥabūna fī al-nāri ʿalā wujūhihim dhūqū massa saqara ) ( ʾinnā kulla shayʾin khalaqnāhu biqadarin ) al-qamaru: 47 , 48 , 49 humu al-mujrimūna alladhīna ʾaḍallū ʾatbāʿahum wahumu al-ghāwūna alladhīna kubkibū fī al-nāri maʿa ʾashyāʿihim waqad ʾaḥkama allāhu taʿālā tafṣīla mā dhakarnāhu ʾānifan fī khamsi ʾāyātin muḥkamātin tanẓimu jumala maʿānī

in His exalted saying, “The criminals are in error and blazing flames. On the day they are dragged into the Fire on their faces: ‘Taste the touch of Saqar!’ We have created everything according to a decree” (al-Qamar 47, 48, 49). They are the criminals who led their followers astray and the erring who were hurled headlong into the Fire together with their adherents. God Most High has decisively detailed what we have just mentioned in five decisive verses that bring together the principal meanings of

مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ تَرَكْنَا شَرْحَ ذَلِكَ وَبَسْطَهُ خَشْيَةَ الْإِطَالَةِ لِأَنَّا لَمْ نَقْصِدِ الِاحْتِجَاجَ فِي الِاسْتِدْلَالِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَاللَّهُ فَضَّلَ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ فِي الرِّزْقِ ) النَّحْلُ : 71 يَعْنِي : فَضَّلَ الْمَوَالِيَ عَلَى الْعَبِيدِ فَمَا الَّذِينَ فُضِّلُوا يَعْنِي الْمَوَالِيَ بِرَادِّي رِزْقِهِمْ عَلَى مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَهُمْ فِيهِ سَوَاءٌ أَفَبِنِعْمَةِ اللَّهِ يَجْحَدُونَ ،

mā dhakarnāhu taraknā sharḥa dhālika wabasṭahu khashyata al-ʾiṭālati liʾannā lam naqṣidi al-iḥtijāja fī al-istidlāli min dhālika qawluhu taʿālā: ( wa-allāhu faḍḍala baʿḍakum ʿalā baʿḍin fī al-rizqi ) al-naḥlu: 71 yaʿnī: faḍḍala al-mawāliya ʿalā al-ʿabīdi famā alladhīna fuḍḍilū yaʿnī al-mawāliya birāddī rizqihim ʿalā mā malakat ʾaymānuhum fahum fīhi sawāʾun ʾafabiniʿmati allāhi yajḥadūna ,

what we have said. We have left aside its explanation and elaboration for fear of length, since we did not intend a polemical demonstration. Among these is His exalted saying, “God has favored some of you over others in provision” (al-Naḥl 71), meaning that He favored masters over slaves. “Those who have been favored,” meaning the masters, “do not hand over their provision to those whom their right hands possess, so that they are equal in it. Do they then deny God’s blessing?”

وَالْآيَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( ضَرَبَ لَكُمْ مَثَلًا مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ هَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ مِنْ شُرَكَاءَ فِي مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ فَأَنْتُمْ فِيهِ سَوَاءٌ )

wa-al-ʾāyatu al-thāniyatu qawluhu taʿālā: ( ḍaraba lakum mathalan min ʾanfusikum hal lakum min mā malakat ʾaymānukum min shurakāʾa fī mā razaqnākum faʾantum fīhi sawāʾun )

The second verse is His exalted saying, “He sets forth for you a likeness from yourselves. Do you have, among those whom your right hands possess, partners in what We have provided you, so that you are equal in it?”

الرُّومُ : 28 أَيْ : فَكَذَلِكَ أَنَا لَا شَرِيكَ لِي مِنْ عَبِيدِي فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا لِي مَا لَمْ أَجْعَلْ أَحَدًا لَا خَلْقِي وَلَا عَبِيدِي عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ لَمْ أُسَوِّ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَ عَبِيدِكُمْ فَلَا تُشْرِكُوا عَبِيدِي فِي حُكْمِي ، وَالثَّالِثَةُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا عَبْدًا مَمْلُوكًا لَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ ) النَّحْلُ : 75 يَعْنِي : الْإِنْفَاقَ ،

al-rūmu: 28 ʾay: fakadhālika ʾanā lā sharīka lī min ʿabīdī falā tajʿalū lī mā lam ʾajʿal ʾaḥadan lā khalqī walā ʿabīdī ʿalaykum ʾidh lam ʾusawwi baynakum wabayna ʿabīdikum falā tushrikū ʿabīdī fī ḥukmī , wa-al-thālithatu qawluhu taʿālā: ( ḍaraba allāhu mathalan ʿabdan mamlūkan lā yaqdiru ʿalā shayʾin ) al-naḥlu: 75 yaʿnī: al-ʾinfāqa ,

(al-Rūm 28). That is: likewise, I have no partner among My servants. Do not assign Me what I have not assigned anyone over you, neither My creatures nor My servants. Since I have not made you equal to your slaves, do not associate My servants with Me in My judgment. The third is His exalted saying, “God sets forth a likeness: a slave owned by another, who has power over nothing” (al-Naḥl 75), meaning spending.

وَمَنْ رَزَقْنَاهُ مِنَّا رِزْقًا حَسَنًا فَهُوَ يُنْفِقُ مِنْهُ فَجَعَلَهُمَا عَلَى وَصْفَيْنِ أَحَدُهُمَا بَخِيلٌ لَمْ يُقَدِّرْهُ عَلَى الْإِنْفَاقِ ثُمَّ ذَمَّهُ بِالْبُخْلِ وَالْعَجْزِ وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَعْجَزَهُ وَمَنَعَهُ وَجَعَلَ الْآخَرَ جَوَادًا إِذَا قَدَّرَهُ وَأَعْطَاهُ الْإِنْفَاقَ ثُمَّ مَدَحَهُ بِالْجُودِ ، وَقَالَ فِي الْآيَةِ الرَّابِعَةِ : ( وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا رَجُلَيْنِ أَحَدُهُمَا أَبْكَمُ لَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ ) النَّحْلُ :

waman razaqnāhu minnā rizqan ḥasanan fahuwa yunfiqu minhu fajaʿalahumā ʿalā waṣfayni ʾaḥaduhumā bakhīlun lam yuqaddirhu ʿalā al-ʾinfāqi thumma dhammahu bi-al-bukhli wa-al-ʿajzi wahuwa alladhī ʾaʿjazahu wamanaʿahu wajaʿala al-ʾākhara jawādan ʾidhā qaddarahu waʾaʿṭāhu al-ʾinfāqa thumma madaḥahu bi-al-jūdi , waqāla fī al-ʾāyati al-rābiʿati: ( waḍaraba allāhu mathalan rajulayni ʾaḥaduhumā ʾabkamu lā yaqdiru ʿalā shayʾin ) al-naḥlu:

“And one to whom We have given good provision from Us, who spends from it.” He thus assigned them two descriptions. One is miserly: He did not empower him to spend, then blamed him for miserliness and incapacity, though He was the One who rendered him incapable and withheld from him. He made the other generous by empowering him and granting him spending, then praised him for generosity. In the fourth verse He says, “God sets forth a likeness: two men, one of whom is mute and has power over nothing” (al-Naḥl

76 هُوَ الْحِكْمَةُ وَالْعِلْمُ ثُمَّ قَالَ : ( هَلْ يَسْتَوِي هُوَ وَمَنْ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ ) النَّحْلُ : 76 فَجَعَلَ لَهُ عَبْدَيْنِ : أَحَدُهُمَا سَفِيهٌ جَاهِلٌ أَبْكَمُ عَنِ الْحِكْمَةِ وَلَمْ يُقَدِّرْهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ وَلَمْ يُعْطِهِ اسْتِقَامَةً ثُمَّ ذَمَّهُ بِوَصْفِهِ وَمَقْتَهُ لِمَنْعِهِ وَجَعَلَ الْآخَرَ آمِرًا بِالْعَدْلِ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ مُسْتَقِيمًا عَلَى صِرَاطِهِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ الَّذِي هُوَ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ أَقَامَهُ كَمَا قَالَ :

76 huwa al-ḥikmatu wa-al-ʿilmu thumma qāla: ( hal yastawī huwa waman yaʾmuru bi-al-ʿadli ) al-naḥlu: 76 fajaʿala lahu ʿabdayni: ʾaḥaduhumā safīhun jāhilun ʾabkamu ʿani al-ḥikmati walam yuqaddirhu ʿalā ʿilmin walam yuʿṭihi istiqāmatan thumma dhammahu biwaṣfihi wamaqtahu limanʿihi wajaʿala al-ʾākhara ʾāmiran bi-al-ʿadli ʿan ʾamrihi mustaqīman ʿalā ṣirāṭihi al-mustaqīmi alladhī huwa ʿalayhi wahuwa ʾaqāmahu kamā qāla:

76): this means wisdom and knowledge. Then He says, “Are he and one who commands justice equal?” (al-Naḥl 76). He thus set out two servants belonging to Him: one foolish, ignorant, mute concerning wisdom, whom He did not empower to know and to whom He did not grant uprightness; then He blamed him for his quality and loathed him for what He had withheld from him. He made the other command justice by His command, upright on His straight path on which he stands, while He was the One who established him, as He says:

( هَذَا صِرَاطٌ عَلَيَّ مُسْتَقِيمٌ ) فَهَلْ يَسْلُكُ أَحَدٌ طَرِيقَهُ إِلَّا بِهِ وَهَلْ يَجُوزُ عَبْدٌ عَلَى سَبِيلِهِ إِلَّا بِحَوْلِهِ ثُمَّ مَدَحَهُ بِإِعْطَائِهِ إِيَّاهُ وَوَصَفَهُ بِوَصْفِهِ ثُمَّ عَلِمَ سُبْحَانَهُ أَنَّ لِلْعَقْلِ فِي هَذَا تَشْبِيهًا وَتَمْثِيلًا بِخَلْقِهِ وَتَجْوِيرًا وَتَظْلِيمًا مِنْ خَالِقِهِ عَلَى قِيَاسِ الْعُقُولِ ، إِنَّ مَنْ فَعَلَ بِعَبْدَيْنِ لَهُ مِثْلَ هَذَا ثُمَّ مَدَحَ أَحَدَهُمَا وَهُوَ أَعْطَاهُ وَأَقْدَرَهُ وَذَمَّ الْآخَرَ وَهُوَ الَّذِي مَنَعَهُ

( hādhā ṣirāṭun ʿalayya mustaqīmun ) fahal yasluku ʾaḥadun ṭarīqahu ʾillā bihi wahal yajūzu ʿabdun ʿalā sabīlihi ʾillā biḥawlihi thumma madaḥahu biʾiʿṭāʾihi ʾiyyāhu wawaṣafahu biwaṣfihi thumma ʿalima subḥānahu ʾanna lilʿaqli fī hādhā tashbīhan watamthīlan bikhalqihi watajwīran wataẓlīman min khāliqihi ʿalā qiyāsi al-ʿuqūli , ʾinna man faʿala biʿabdayni lahu mithla hādhā thumma madaḥa ʾaḥadahumā wahuwa ʾaʿṭāhu waʾaqdarahu wadhamma al-ʾākhara wahuwa alladhī manaʿahu

“This is a straight path upon Me.” Can anyone follow His path except through Him? Can a servant travel His way except through His enabling? Then He praised him for what He had given him and described him by His description. He, glorified, knew that the intellect would here liken and compare Him to His creatures, imputing unfairness and injustice to its Creator according to rational analogy: that whoever did such a thing to two slaves of his, then praised the one when he himself had given to him and empowered him, and blamed the other when he himself had withheld from him

وَأَعْجَزَهُ أَنَّهُ قَدْ ظَلَمَهُ فَحَسَمَ ذَلِكَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِنَهْيِهِ وَأَحْكَمَ النَّهْيَ عَنِ التَّمْثِيلِ بِهِ فِي الْآيَةِ الْخَامِسَةِ الْفَاصِلَةِ الْقَاضِيَةِ الَّتِي نَهَانَا فِيهَا أَنْ نَضْرِبَ لَهُ بِنَا الْأَمْثَالَ مِثْلَ مَا أَجْرَى عَلَيْنَا مِنَ الْأَفْعَالِ ، فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : ( فَلَا تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الْأَمْثَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ) النَّحْلُ :

waʾaʿjazahu ʾannahu qad ẓalamahu faḥasama dhālika ʿazza wajalla binahyihi waʾaḥkama al-nahya ʿani al-tamthīli bihi fī al-ʾāyati al-khāmisati al-fāṣilati al-qāḍiyati allatī nahānā fīhā ʾan naḍriba lahu binā al-ʾamthāla mithla mā ʾajrā ʿalaynā mina al-ʾafʿāli , faqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: ( falā taḍribū lillāhi al-ʾamthāla ʾinna allāha yaʿlamu waʾantum lā taʿlamūna ) al-naḥlu:

and rendered him incapable, would have wronged him. He, mighty and majestic, cut off that argument by His prohibition, making the prohibition of comparing Him decisive in the fifth, conclusive and determining verse. There He forbade us to coin likenesses of Him from ourselves, on the pattern of actions He makes occur among us. He, glorified and exalted, says, “Do not coin likenesses for God. God knows, and you do not know” (al-Naḥl

74 فَوَكَّدَ ذَلِكَ بِتَحْقِيقِ عِلْمِهِ وَغَايَةِ جَهْلِنَا ثُمَّ أَيَّدَ هَذَا بِقَوْلِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ : ( لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ ) فَسَلَّمَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ الْأَحْكَامَ كُلَّهَا لِلْحَاكِمِ فَسَلِمُوا مِنْ عَذَابِهِ وَآمَنَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِجَمِيعِ الْأَقْدَارِ أَنَّهَا عَدْلٌ وَحِكْمَةٌ مِنْ حَاكِمٍ عَادِلٍ حَكِيمٍ فَأَمِنُوا مِنْ عِقَابِهِ لِأَنَّهُمْ آمَنُوا بِالْمُتَشَابِهِ وَأَعْطَاهُمْ بِفَضْلِهِ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ جَزِيلَ ثَوَابِهِ فَهَلَكَ

74 fawakkada dhālika bitaḥqīqi ʿilmihi waghāyati jahlinā thumma ʾayyada hādhā biqawlihi subḥānahu: ( lā yusʾalu ʿammā yafʿalu wahum yusʾalūna ) fasallama al-rāsikhūna fī al-ʿilmi al-ʾaḥkāma kullahā lilḥākimi fasalimū min ʿadhābihi waʾāmana al-muʾminūna bijamīʿi al-ʾaqdāri ʾannahā ʿadlun waḥikmatun min ḥākimin ʿādilin ḥakīmin faʾaminū min ʿiqābihi liʾannahum ʾāmanū bi-al-mutashābihi waʾaʿṭāhum bifaḍlihi min faḍlihi jazīla thawābihi fahalaka

74). He emphasized this by affirming His knowledge and the extremity of our ignorance, then supported it with His glorified saying, “He is not questioned about what He does, while they are questioned.” Those firmly rooted in knowledge surrendered all judgments to the Judge and were safe from His torment. The believers believed all decrees to be justice and wisdom from a just, wise Judge, and were secure from His punishment because they believed in what is ambiguous. Through His grace, from His bounty, He gave them His abundant reward. But those who deviated perished,

الزَّائِغُونَ بِالْأَقَاوِيلِ تَتَبُّعًا لِلشُّبُهَاتِ وَابْتِغَاءً لِلتَّأْوِيلِ فَوَقَعُوا فِي الضَّلَالِ وَهَلَكُوا غَدًا فِي الْمَآلِ .

al-zāʾighūna bi-al-ʾaqāwīli tatabbuʿan li-l-shubuhāti wa-ibtighāʾan li-l-taʾwīli fawaqaʿū fī al-ḍalāli wahalakū ghadan fī al-maʾāli.

through their assertions, pursuing doubtful matters and seeking interpretation; they fell into error and will perish tomorrow in the final outcome.

وَقَدْ رَوَى الضَّحَّاكُ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ تَصْدِيقَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ قُبَيْلَ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ : ( لَهَا سَبْعَةُ أَبْوَابٍ لِكُلِّ بَابٍ مِنْهُمْ جُزْءٌ مَقْسُومٌ ) الْحِجْرُ : 44 قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ : طَبَقٌ أَسْفَلُ مِنْ طَبَقٍ سَبْعُ دَرَكَاتٍ عَلَى قَدْرِ أَعْمَالِهِمْ كَذَلِكَ يَقْتَسِمُونَ الدَّرَكَاتِ بِقَدْرِمَا

waqad raw al-ḍaḥḥāku ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin taṣdīqa mā dhakarnāhu qubayla qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( lahā sabʿatu ʾabwābin likulli bābin minhum juzʾun maqsūmun ) al-ḥijru: 44 qāla ibnu ʿabbāsin: ṭabaqun ʾasfalu min ṭabaqin sabʿu darakātin ʿalā qadri ʾaʿmālihim kadhālika yaqtasimūna al-darakāti biqadri mā

Al-Ḍaḥḥāk related from Ibn ʿAbbās confirmation of what we mentioned earlier, concerning His saying, mighty and majestic, “It has seven gates; to each gate belongs an allotted portion of them” (al-Ḥijr 44). Ibn ʿAbbās said, “One level below another, seven descending levels according to their deeds. Thus they divide the descending levels according to what

اجْتَرَمُوا كَمَا اقْتَسَمَ أَهْلُ الْجَنَّةِ الدَّرَجَاتِ بِالْفَضَائِلِ لِكُلِّ بَابٍ مِنْهُمْ جُزْءٌ مَقْسُومٌ يَعْنِي نَصِيبًا مَعْلُومًا مَفْرُوضًا لِكُلِّ طَبَقَةٍ سُكَّانٌ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : تَاللَّهِ مَا فِي الْجَنَّةِ قَصْرٌ وَلَا نَهَرٌ وَلَا نَعِيمٌ إِلَّا عَلَيْهِ اسْمُ صَاحِبِهِ مَكْتُوبٌ وَاسْمُ ذَلِكَ الْعَمَلِ الَّذِي هُوَ جَزَاؤُهُ مَكْتُوبٌ وَكَذَلِكَ جَهَنَّمُ مَا فِيهَا غُلٌّ وَلَا قَيْدٌ وَلَا شُعَبٌ وَلَا عَذَابٌ إِلَّا وَعَلَيْهِ وَصْفُ ذَلِكَ

ijtaramū kamā iqtasama ʾahlu al-jannati al-darajāti bi-al-faḍāʾili likulli bābin minhum juzʾun maqsūmun yaʿnī naṣīban maʿlūman mafrūḍan likulli ṭabaqatin sukkānun , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: ta-allāhi mā fī al-jannati qaṣrun walā naharun walā naʿīmun ʾillā ʿalayhi ismu ṣāḥibihi maktūbun wasmu dhālika al-ʿamali alladhī huwa jazāʾuhu maktūbun wakadhālika jahannamu mā fīhā ghullun walā qaydun walā shuʿabun walā ʿadhābun ʾillā waʿalayhi waṣfu dhālika

they have committed, just as the people of Paradise divide its degrees through virtues. ‘To each gate belongs an allotted portion of them’ means a known, assigned share; every level has inhabitants.” One of the scholars said, “By God, no palace, river, or delight in Paradise lacks the written name of its owner and the written name of the deed for which it is recompense. Likewise in Hell there is no collar, fetter, branching torment, or punishment without the description of that

الْعَمَلِ الَّذِي هُوَ جَزَاؤُهُ وَاسْمُ صَاحِبِهِ مَكْتُوبٌ ،

al-ʿamali alladhī huwa jazāʾuhu wasmu ṣāḥibihi maktūbun ,

deed for which it is recompense and the name of its owner written upon it.”

وَقَالَ : قَدْ أَدْخَلَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُطِيعُوهُ وَأَدْخَلَهُمُ النَّارَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَعْصُوهُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ أَيْضًا : الْخَلْقُ أَهْوَنُ مِنْ أَنْ يَعْصُوهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِمَا لَمْ يُرِدْ، وَاللَّهُ أَعَزُّ مِنْ أَنْ يُرْضِيَهُ إِلَّا مَنْ أَحَبَّ لَكِنَّهُ غَضِبَ عَلَى قَوْمٍ فِي الْعَدَمِ فَلَمَّا أَظْهَرَهُمْ اسْتَعْمَلَهُمْ بِأَعْمَالِ أَهْلِ الْغَضَبِ لِيُحِلَّهُمْ دَارَ الْغَضَبِ وَرَضِيَ عَنْ قَوْمٍ فِي الْقِدَمِ فَلَمَّا أَظْهَرَهُمْ اسْتَعْمَلَهُمْ بِأَعْمَالِ

waqāla: qad ʾadkhalahumu al-jannata qabla ʾan yuṭīʿūhu waʾadkhalahumu al-nāra qabla ʾan yaʿṣūhu , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna ʾayḍan: al-khalqu ʾahwanu min ʾan yaʿṣūhu ʿazza wajalla bimā lam yurid, wa-allāhu ʾaʿazzu min ʾan yurḍiyahu ʾillā man ʾaḥabba lakinnahu ghaḍiba ʿalā qawmin fī al-ʿadami falammā ʾaẓharahum istaʿmalahum biʾaʿmāli ʾahli al-ghaḍabi liyuḥillahum dāra al-ghaḍabi waraḍiya ʿan qawmin fī al-qidami falammā ʾaẓharahum istaʿmalahum biʾaʿmāli

He also said, “He admitted them to Paradise before they obeyed Him and admitted them to the Fire before they disobeyed Him.” Another of the knowers said, “Creatures are too insignificant to disobey Him, mighty and majestic, through something He has not willed; God is too mighty to be pleased by anyone except one He loves. But He was angry with a people in nonexistence; when He brought them forth, He employed them in the deeds of the people of wrath so that He might settle them in the abode of wrath. He was pleased with a people in pre-eternity; when He brought them forth, He employed them in the deeds of

أَهْلِ الرِّضَا لِيُحِلَّهُمْ دَارَ الرِّضَا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ : أَظْهَرَ الْخَلْقَ فِي الْعَدَمِ وَأَوْجَدَهُمْ سَبْعًا إِيَّاهُمْ اقْتِدَارًا ثُمَّ أَظْهَرَ لَهُمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ وَخَيَّرَهُمُ الْأَعْمَالَ مِنْهُ اخْتِيَارًا فَاخْتَارَ كُلُّ عَبْدٍ مِنْهُمْ عَمَلًا بِعَيْنِهِ ثُمَّ طَوَى الْأَعْمَالَ فِيهِمْ وَطَوَاهُمْ فِي الْغَيْبِ فَلَمَّا أَظْهَرَهُمُ الْآنَ فِي الْوُجُودِ حَجَبَهُمْ بِالْعُقُولِ وَأَجْرَى كُلَّ عَبْدٍ مِنْهُمْ اخْتِيَارَهُ لِنَفْسِهِ فَبِذَلِكَ

ʾahli al-riḍā liyuḥillahum dāra al-riḍā , waqāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-maʿrifati: ʾaẓhara al-khalqa fī al-ʿadami waʾawjadahum sabʿan ʾiyyāhum iqtidāran thumma ʾaẓhara lahum ʾaʿmālahum wakhayyarahumu al-ʾaʿmāla minhu ikhtiyāran fakhtāra kullu ʿabdin minhum ʿamalan biʿaynihi thumma ṭaw al-ʾaʿmāla fīhim waṭawāhum fī al-ghaybi falammā ʾaẓharahumu al-ʾāna fī al-wujūdi ḥajabahum bi-al-ʿuqūli waʾajrā kulla ʿabdin minhum ikhtiyārahu linafsihi fabidhālika

the people of good pleasure, to settle them in the abode of good pleasure.” One of the people of knowledge said, “He brought creatures forth in nonexistence and brought them themselves into being sevenfold, through His power. Then He displayed their deeds to them and let them choose the deeds, by a choice from Him. Each servant chose a particular deed; then He enfolded the deeds within them and enfolded them in the unseen. When He now brought them forth into existence, He veiled them with intellects and made each servant enact the choice he had made for himself. Through this

وَقَعَتِ الْحُجَّةُ عَلَيْهِمْ إِذَا كَشَفَ لَهُمْ غَدًا مَا حَجَبَهُ عَنْهُمُ الْيَوْمَ وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ بَعْضِ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ قَالَ : كَانَ قَدْ بَقِيَ فِي نَفْسِي شَيْءٌ مِنَ الْقَدَرِ وَكُنْتُ أَسْتَكْشِفُهُ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ فَلَا يَنْكَشِفُ حَتَّى قَيَّضَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِي بَعْضَ الْأَبْدَالِ فَاسْتَكْشَفْتُهُ إِيَّاهُ فَقَالَ : وَيْحَكَ مَا تَصْنَعُ بِالِاحْتِجَاجِ نَحْنُ يُكْشَفُ لَنَا عَنْ سِرِّ الْمَلَكُوتِ فَنَنْظُرُ إِلَى الطَّاعَاتِ تَنْزِلُ صُوَرًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ

waqaʿati al-ḥujjatu ʿalayhim ʾidhā kashafa lahum ghadan mā ḥajabahu ʿanhumu al-yawma waḥuddithtu ʿan baʿḍi hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati qāla: kāna qad baqiya fī nafsī shayʾun mina al-qadari wakuntu ʾastakshifuhu mina al-ʿulamāʾi falā yankashifu ḥattā qayyaḍa allāhu taʿālā lī baʿḍa al-ʾabdāli fastakshaftuhu ʾiyyāhu faqāla: wayḥaka mā taṣnaʿu bi-al-iḥtijāji naḥnu yukshafu lanā ʿan sirri al-malakūti fananẓuru ʾilā al-ṭāʿāti tanzilu ṣuwaran mina al-samāʾi

the proof is established against them when tomorrow He unveils what He has veiled from them today.” I was told of one of this group who said, “Something concerning destiny remained in my soul. I kept asking scholars to uncover it, but it would not become clear, until God Most High appointed for me one of the abdāl. I asked him to unveil it, and he said, ‘Woe to you! What are you doing with argument? The secret of the unseen kingdom is unveiled to us; we look upon acts of obedience descending as forms from heaven

حَتَّى تَقَعَ عَلَى جَوَارِحِ قَوْمٍ فَتَتَحَرَّكَ الْجَوَارِحُ بِهَا وَنَنْظُرُ إِلَى الْمَعَاصِي صُوَرًا مُصَوَّرَةً تَنْزِلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَتَقَعُ عَلَى جَوَارِحِ قَوْمٍ فَتَتَحَرَّكُ بِهَا ، قَالَ : فَكَشَفَ عَنْ قَلْبِي الْقَدَرَ وَأَوْقَعَ لِيَ الْعِلْمَ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْقُدْرَةِ وَكُنْتُ أَنَا مَرَّةً خَاطَبْتُ بَعْضَ إِخْوَانِنَا فِي شَيْءٍ مِنَ الِاسْتِطَاعَةِ مَعَ الْفِعْلِ لَا أَنَّهُ قَبْلَهُ وَلَا بَعْدَهُ فَتَكَلَّمْتُ فِي ذَلِكَ بِمَذْهَبِ الْمُثْبِتَةِ مِنْ أَهْلِ

ḥattā taqaʿa ʿalā jawāriḥi qawmin fatataḥarraka al-jawāriḥu bihā wananẓuru ʾilā al-maʿāṣī ṣuwaran muṣawwaratan tanzilu mina al-samāʾi fataqaʿu ʿalā jawāriḥi qawmin fatataḥarraku bihā , qāla: fakashafa ʿan qalbī al-qadara waʾawqaʿa liya al-ʿilma bimushāhadati al-qudrati wakuntu ʾanā marratan khāṭabtu baʿḍa ʾikhwāninā fī shayʾin mina al-istiṭāʿati maʿa al-fiʿli lā ʾannahu qablahu walā baʿdahu fatakallamtu fī dhālika bimadhhabi al-muthbitati min ʾahli

until they fall upon a people’s limbs, and the limbs move through them. We look upon acts of disobedience as fashioned forms descending from heaven, falling upon a people’s limbs, which then move through them.’” He said, “He thus unveiled destiny to my heart and established knowledge for me through witnessing power.” I myself once addressed one of our brothers on a point concerning capacity accompanying the act, being neither before it nor after it. I spoke about this according to the doctrine of the affirmers among the people of

الْكَلَامِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُكْشَفَ لِي بِمُشَاهَدَةِ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ فَرَأَيْتُ فِي النَّوْمِ كَأَنَّ قَائِلًا يَقُولُ : الْقَدَرُ مِنَ الْقُدْرَةِ ، وَالْقُدْرَةُ صِفَةُ الْقَادِرِ ، فَيَقَعُ الْقَدَرُ عَلَى الْحَرَكَةِ وَلَا يَتَبَيَّنُ فَتَظْهَرُ الْأَفْعَالُ مِنَ الْجَوَارِحِ ، أَوْ قَالَ فَتَتَحَرَّكُ الْجَوَارِحُ بِالْأَفْعَالِ وَلَا تَتَبَيَّنُ فَكَيْفَ يُتَكَلَّمُ فِي شَيْءٍ لَا يَتَبَيَّنُ فَجَعَلْتُ عَلَى نَفْسِي أَنِّي لَا أُنَاظِرُ أَحَدًا مِنْهُمْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فِي شَيْءٍ

al-kalāmi qabla ʾan yukshafa lī bimushāhadati ʿilmi al-yaqīni faraʾaytu fī al-nawmi kaʾanna qāʾilan yaqūlu: al-qadaru mina al-qudrati , wa-al-qudratu ṣifatu al-qādiri , fayaqaʿu al-qadaru ʿalā al-ḥarakati walā yatabayyanu fataẓharu al-ʾafʿālu mina al-jawāriḥi , ʾaw qāla fatataḥarraku al-jawāriḥu bi-al-ʾafʿāli walā tatabayyanu fakayfa yutakallamu fī shayʾin lā yatabayyanu fajaʿaltu ʿalā nafsī ʾannī lā ʾunāẓiru ʾaḥadan minhum baʿda dhālika fī shayʾin

speculative theology, before it was unveiled to me through witnessing certain knowledge. In sleep I saw as though a speaker were saying, “Destiny comes from power, and power is the attribute of the Powerful. Destiny falls upon movement without becoming apparent, and actions appear from the limbs”; or he said, “The limbs move with the actions, which do not become apparent.” How, then, can one speak about something that does not become apparent? I made it binding upon myself that I would not afterward dispute with any of them about anything

مِنْ هَذَا الْبَابِ ، وَقَدْ حَدَّثُونَا عَنْ بَعْضِ الْعَابِدِينَ قَالَ : صَلَّيْتُ مِنَ السَّحَرِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ غَفَوْتُ بَعْدَهُمَا فَرَأَيْتُ قَصْرًا عَالِيًا ذَا شُرَفٍ بِيضٍ كَأَنَّهَا الْكَوَاكِبُ فَاسْتَحْسَنْتُهُ فَقُلْتُ لِمَنْ هَذَا الْقَصْرُ ؟ قِيلَ لِي : هَذَا ثَوَابُ هَاتَيْنِ الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ فَفَرِحْتُ فَجَعَلْتُ أَطُوفُ حَوْلَهُ فَرَأَيْتُ شُرَافَةً مِنْ رُكْنِهِ قَدْ وَقَعَتْ فَشَانَهُ ذَلِكَ فَاغْتَمَمْتُ وَقُلْتُ :

min hādhā al-bābi , waqad ḥaddathūnā ʿan baʿḍi al-ʿābidīna qāla: ṣallaytu mina al-saḥari rakʿatayni thumma ghafawtu baʿdahumā faraʾaytu qaṣran ʿāliyan dhā shurafin bīḍin kaʾannahā al-kawākibu fastaḥsantuhu faqultu liman hādhā al-qaṣru ? qīla lī: hādhā thawābu hātayni al-rakʿatayni fafariḥtu fajaʿaltu ʾaṭūfu ḥawlahu faraʾaytu shurāfatan min ruknihi qad waqaʿat fashānahu dhālika faghtamamtu waqultu:

in this subject. They related to us from one of the worshippers who said, “I prayed two cycles before dawn, then dozed after them. I saw a lofty palace with white battlements like stars. I admired it and asked, ‘Whose palace is this?’ I was told, ‘This is the reward for these two cycles of prayer.’ I rejoiced and began walking around it. Then I saw that a battlement from its corner had fallen; this marred it. I was grieved and said,

لَوْ كَانَتْ هَذِهِ الشُّرَافَةُ فِي أَعْلَاهُ فِي هَذَا الْمَوْضِعِ لَتَمَّ حُسْنُ هَذَا الْقَصْرِ فَإِنَّ ثُلْمَهَا قَدْ شَانَهُ فَقَالَ لِي غُلَامٌ هُنَاكَ : قَدْ كَانَتْ هَذِهِ الشُّرَافَةُ فِي مَكَانِهَا مِنَ الْقَصْرِ إِلَّا أَنَّكَ الْتَفَتَّ فِي صَلَاتِكَ فَسَقَطَتْ ، وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ بَعْضِ الزُّهَّادِ أَنَّهُ كُوشِفَ مَقَامُهُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ فَرَأَى الْحُورَ الْعِينَ وَقُلْنَ نَحْنُ أَزْوَاجُكَ ، فَلَمَّا خَرَجْتُ تَعَلَّقَتْ بِيَ الْحُورُ وَقُلْنَ :

law kānat hādhihi al-shurāfatu fī ʾaʿlāhu fī hādhā al-mawḍiʿi latamma ḥusnu hādhā al-qaṣri faʾinna thulmahā qad shānahu faqāla lī ghulāmun hunāka: qad kānat hādhihi al-shurāfatu fī makānihā mina al-qaṣri ʾillā ʾannaka iltafatta fī ṣalātika fasaqaṭat , waḥaddathūnā ʿan baʿḍi al-zuhhādi ʾannahu kūshifa maqāmuhu mina al-jannati faraʾā al-ḥūra al-ʿīna waqulna naḥnu ʾazwājuka , falammā kharajtu taʿallaqat biya al-ḥūru waqulna:

‘If this battlement were at its top in this place, the beauty of the palace would be complete, for its gap has marred it.’ A young attendant there said to me, ‘This battlement was in its place in the palace, but you turned aside during your prayer, so it fell.’” They also related to us of an ascetic whose station in Paradise was unveiled to him. He saw the wide-eyed maidens, who said, “We are your spouses.” “When I went out, the maidens clung to me and said,

نَنْشُدُكَ اللَّهَ إِلَّا مَا حَسَّنْتَ أَعْمَالَكَ فَإِنَّكَ

nanshuduka allāha ʾillā mā ḥassanta ʾaʿmālaka faʾinnaka

‘We adjure you by God to make your deeds beautiful, for

كُلَّمَا حَسَّنْتَهَا ازْدَدْنَا لَكَ حُسْنًا وَازْدَدْتَ بِنَا نَعِيمًا ، وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ رَابِعَةَ الْعَدَوِيَّةِ رَحِمَهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَالَتْ : سَبَّحْتُ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ تَسْبِيحَاتٍ مِنَ السَّحَرِ ثُمَّ نِمْتُ فَرَأَيْتُ شَجَرَةً خَضِرَةً نَضِرَةً لَا تُوصَفُ عِظَمًا وَحُسْنًا وَإِذَا عَلَيْهَا ثَلَاثَةُ أَنْوَاعٍ مِنَ الثَّمَرِ لَا أَعْرِفُهُ مِنْ ثِمَارِ الدُّنْيَا كَثَدْيِ الْأَبْكَارِ ثَمَرَةٌ بَيْضَاءُ وَثَمَرَةٌ حَمْرَاءُ وَثَمَرَةٌ صَفْرَاءُ ،

kullamā ḥassantahā izdadnā laka ḥusnan wazdadta binā naʿīman , waḥaddathūnā ʿan rābiʿata al-ʿadawiyyati raḥimahā allāhu taʿālā qālat: sabbaḥtu dhāta laylatin tasbīḥātin mina al-saḥari thumma nimtu faraʾaytu shajaratan khaḍiratan naḍiratan lā tūṣafu ʿiẓaman waḥusnan waʾidhā ʿalayhā thalāthatu ʾanwāʿin mina al-thamari lā ʾaʿrifuhu min thimāri al-dunyā kathadyi al-ʾabkāri thamaratun bayḍāʾu wathamaratun ḥamrāʾu wathamaratun ṣafrāʾu ,

whenever you make them more beautiful, we grow more beautiful for you, and your delight in us increases.’” They related to us from Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya, may God Most High have mercy on her, that she said, “One night before dawn I uttered some glorifications, then slept. I saw a green, fresh tree, indescribable in its size and beauty. On it were three kinds of fruit, unlike any worldly fruits I knew, like virgins’ breasts: white fruit, red fruit, and yellow fruit.

فَهُنَّ يَلْمَعْنَ كَالْأَقْمَارِ وَالشُّمُوسِ فِي خِلَالِ خُضْرَةِ الشَّجَرِ. قَالَتْ : فَاسْتَحْسَنْتُهَا فَقُلْتُ : لِمَنْ هَذِهِ ؟ فَقَالَ لِي قَائِلٌ : هَذِهِ لَكِ بِتَسْبِيحَاتِكِ آنِفًا ، قَالَتْ : فَجَعَلْتُ أَطُوفُ حَوْلَهَا فَإِذَا تَحْتَهَا ثَمَرَةٌ مُنْتَشِرَةٌ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ فِي لَوْنِ الذَّهَبِ فَقُلْتُ : لَوْ كَانَتْ هَذِهِ الثَّمَرَةُ مَعَ هَذِهِ الثِّمَارِ عَلَى هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ لَكَانَ أَحْسَنَ فَقَالَ لِيَ الشَّخْصُ :

fahunna yalmaʿna ka-al-ʾaqmāri wa-al-shumūsi fī khilāli khuḍrati al-shajari. qālat: fastaḥsantuhā faqultu: liman hādhihi ? faqāla lī qāʾilun: hādhihi laki bitasbīḥātiki ʾānifan , qālat: fajaʿaltu ʾaṭūfu ḥawlahā faʾidhā taḥtahā thamaratun muntashiratun ʿalā al-ʾarḍi fī lawni al-dhahabi faqultu: law kānat hādhihi al-thamaratu maʿa hādhihi al-thimāri ʿalā hādhihi al-shajarati lakāna ʾaḥsana faqāla liya al-shakhṣu:

They shone like moons and suns amid the green of the tree.” She said, “I admired it and asked, ‘Whose is this?’ A speaker said to me, ‘This is yours, for your glorifications just now.’ I began walking around it, and beneath it was fruit scattered over the ground, the color of gold. I said, ‘If this fruit were with those fruits on this tree, it would be more beautiful.’ The figure said to me,

كَانَتْ هُنَاكَ إِلَّا أَنَّكِ حِينَ سَبَّحْتِ تَفَكَّرْتِ هَلِ اخْتَمَرَ الْعَجِينُ أَمْ لَا فَانْتَثَرَتْ هَذِهِ الثَّمَرَةُ فَهَذِهِ عِبْرَةٌ لِأُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ وَمَوَاعِظُ لِأَهْلِ التَّقْوَى وَالْأَذْكَارِ .

kānat hunāka ʾillā ʾannaki ḥīna sabbaḥti tafakkarti hali ikhtamara al-ʿajīnu ʾam lā fantatharat hādhihi al-thamaratu fahādhihi ʿibratun liʾūlī al-ʾabṣāri wamawāʿiẓu liʾahli al-taqwā wa-al-ʾadhkāri.

‘It was there, but while you were glorifying God you wondered whether the dough had fermented, so this fruit fell.’” This is a lesson for people of insight and admonitions for the people of reverent fear and remembrance.

ذِكْرُ الْمَقَامِ الثَّالِثِ مِنَ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ

dhikru al-maqāmi al-thālithi mina al-murāqabati

The Third Station of Watchfulness

رُوِيَ أَنَّ كَعْبَ الْأَحْبَارِ قَالَ لِعُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : لَوْ لَقِيتَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى بِعَمَلِ سَبْعِينَ نَبِيًّا لَخَشِيتُ أَنَّكَ لَا تَنْجُوَ مِنْ هَوْلِ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : لَوْ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ كَانَ يُجَرُّ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ مِنْ أَوَّلِ الدُّنْيَا إِلَى قِيَامِ السَّاعَةِ فِي طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ وَعِبَادَتِهِ لَاحْتَقَرَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لِمَا يَرَى مِنَ الزَّلَازِلِ وَالْأَهْوَالِ ، وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ :

ruwiya ʾanna kaʿba al-ʾaḥbāri qāla liʿumara bni al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: law laqīta allāha taʿālā biʿamali sabʿīna nabiyyan lakhashītu ʾannaka lā tanjuwa min hawli dhālika al-yawmi , waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: law ʾanna al-ʿabda kāna yujarru ʿalā wajhihi min ʾawwali al-dunyā ʾilā qiyāmi al-sāʿati fī ṭāʿati allāhi waʿibādatihi laḥtaqarahu yawma al-qiyāmati limā yarā mina al-zalāzili wa-al-ʾahwāli , wafī al-ḥadīthi:

It is related that Kaʿb al-Aḥbār said to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may God be pleased with him, “If you met God Most High with the deeds of seventy prophets, I would fear that you might not escape the terror of that day.” One of the early generations said, “If the servant were dragged on his face in obedience to God and worship of Him from the beginning of the world until the Hour arose, he would consider it insignificant on the Day of Resurrection because of the earthquakes and terrors he saw.” In the report:

مُعَالَجَةُ مَلَكِ الْمَوْتِ أَشَدُّ مِنْ أَلْفِ ضَرْبَةٍ بِالسَّيْفِ وَإِنَّ أَلَمَ شَعْرَةٍ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ لَوْ وُضِعَ عَلَى جَمِيعِ الْخَلَائِقِ لَمَاتُوا وَإِنَّ بَيْنَ الْخَلَائِقِ وَبَيْنَ الْمَوْتِ وَبَيْنَ دُخُولِ الْجَنَّةِ مِائَةَ أَلْفِ هَوْلٍ كُلُّ هَوْلٍ مِنْهَا يَزِيدُ عَلَى أَلَمِ الْمَوْتِ مِائَةَ أَلْفِ ضِعْفٍ لَا يَنْجُو الْعَبْدُ مِنْ كُلِّ هَوْلٍ مِنْهَا إِلَّا بِرَحْمَةٍ فَيَحْتَاجُ الْعَبْدُ إِلَى مِائَةِ أَلْفِ رَحْمَةٍ تُنَجِّيهِ مِنْ تِلْكَ الْأَهْوَالِ يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ

muʿālajatu malaki al-mawti ʾashaddu min ʾalfi ḍarbatin bi-al-sayfi waʾinna ʾalama shaʿratin mina al-mawti law wuḍiʿa ʿalā jamīʿi al-khalāʾiqi lamātū waʾinna bayna al-khalāʾiqi wabayna al-mawti wabayna dukhūli al-jannati miʾata ʾalfi hawlin kullu hawlin minhā yazīdu ʿalā ʾalami al-mawti miʾata ʾalfi ḍiʿfin lā yanjū al-ʿabdu min kulli hawlin minhā ʾillā biraḥmatin fayaḥtāju al-ʿabdu ʾilā miʾati ʾalfi raḥmatin tunajjīhi min tilka al-ʾahwāli yakūnu dhālika

“The handling of the Angel of Death is harsher than a thousand sword-strokes. If the pain of a single hair’s measure of death were placed upon all creatures, they would die. Between creatures and death and entering Paradise lie a hundred thousand terrors; each exceeds the pain of death a hundred thousand times. The servant escapes each terror only through mercy.” The servant thus needs a hundred thousand mercies to save him from those terrors. That

الْعَدَدُ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ مَقْسُومًا عَلَى مِائَةِ أَلْفِ حَسَنَةٍ أُعْطِيَهَا مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا الَّتِي أَحْسَنَ بِهَا إِلَيْهِ يَكُونُ مَكَانًا لِظُهُورِ الرَّحْمَةِ وَطَرِيقًا لِعَطَائِهَا غَدًا حِكْمَةً مِنَ الْحَكِيمِ وَقِسْمًا مُدَبَّرًا مِنَ الرَّحِيمِ لِأَنَّ الصَّالِحَاتِ طُرُقُ الْجَزَاءِ وَالْحَسَنَاتُ كُلُّهَا عَنِ الرَّحْمَةِ الْوَاحِدَةِ الَّتِي سَبَقَتْ لَهُ بِهَا النَّجَاةُ ثُمَّ سَقَطَتْ فِي طُرُقَاتِ الْأَعْمَالِ أَمَاكِنَ الثَّوَابِ فَيُعْطَى

al-ʿadadu mina al-raḥmati maqsūman ʿalā miʾati ʾalfi ḥasanatin ʾuʿṭiyahā min ḥasanātihi fī al-dunyā allatī ʾaḥsana bihā ʾilayhi yakūnu makānan liẓuhūri al-raḥmati waṭarīqan liʿaṭāʾihā ghadan ḥikmatan mina al-ḥakīmi waqisman mudabbaran mina al-raḥīmi liʾanna al-ṣāliḥāti ṭuruqu al-jazāʾi wa-al-ḥasanātu kulluhā ʿani al-raḥmati al-wāḥidati allatī sabaqat lahu bihā al-najātu thumma saqaṭat fī ṭuruqāti al-ʾaʿmāli ʾamākina al-thawābi fayuʿṭā

number of mercies is apportioned over a hundred thousand good deeds he was given among his good deeds in this world, through which He was good to him, to be a place where mercy appears and a path for its bestowal tomorrow: wisdom from the Wise and an ordered apportionment from the Merciful. Righteous deeds are paths of recompense, and all good deeds come from the single mercy through which salvation had already been decreed for him; then it alighted along the paths of deeds, in the places of reward. He is given

ذَلِكَ هَهُنَا الْيَوْمَ وَهُوَ الْعَطَاءُ الْأَوَّلُ بِحُسْنِ تَوْفِيقِهِ وَلُطْفِ عِنَايَتِهِ وَيُعْطَى الْجَزَاءَ هُنَاكَ غَدًا بِفَضْلِ رَحْمَتِهِ وَتَمَامِ نِعْمَتِهِ ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( هَلْ جَزَاءُ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَّا الْإِحْسَانُ ) الرَّحْمَنُ : 60 قِيلَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : مَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ أَنْعَمْنَا عَلَيْهِ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ إِلَّا الْجَنَّةُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ :

dhālika hāhunā al-yawma wahuwa al-ʿaṭāʾu al-ʾawwalu biḥusni tawfīqihi waluṭfi ʿināyatihi wayuʿṭā al-jazāʾa hunāka ghadan bifaḍli raḥmatihi watamāmi niʿmatihi dhālika taqdīru al-ʿazīzi al-ʿalīmi kamā qāla taʿālā: ( hal jazāʾu al-ʾiḥsāni ʾillā al-ʾiḥsānu ) al-raḥmānu: 60 qīla fī al-khabari: mā jazāʾu man ʾanʿamnā ʿalayhi bi-al-tawḥīdi ʾillā al-jannatu , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi:

that here today, the first gift, through the excellence of His enabling and the gentleness of His care. He is given recompense there tomorrow through the bounty of His mercy and the completion of His blessing. That is the determination of the Mighty, the Knowing, as He Most High says, “Is the recompense of excellence anything but excellence?” (al-Raḥmān 60). In the report it is said, “What is the recompense of one whom We have blessed with affirming oneness except Paradise?” One of the scholars said:

وَلَيْسَ لِقَوْلِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ جَزَاءٌ إِلَّا النَّظَرُ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالْجَنَّةُ جَزَاءُ الْأَعْمَالِ أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّهُ لَوْ حُرِمَ التَّوْحِيدَ الْيَوْمَ لَحُرِمَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَوْ مُنِعَ الْإِسْلَامَ الْيَوْمَ لَمْ يَغْفِرِ اللَّهُ لَهُ أَبَدًا كَمَا قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( إِنَّهُ مَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 72 وَقَالَ : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَصَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ مَاتُوا

walaysa liqawli lā ʾilaha ʾillā allāhu jazāʾun ʾillā al-naẓaru liwajhi allāhi taʿālā wa-al-jannatu jazāʾu al-ʾaʿmāli ʾalam tara ʾannahu law ḥurima al-tawḥīda al-yawma laḥurima al-jannata walaw muniʿa al-ʾislāma al-yawma lam yaghfiri allāhu lahu ʾabadan kamā qāla ʿazza wajalla: ( ʾinnahu man yushrik bi-allāhi faqad ḥarrama allāhu ʿalayhi al-jannata ) al-māʾidatu: 72 waqāla: ( ʾinna alladhīna kafarū waṣaddū ʿan sabīli allāhi thumma mātū

“There is no recompense for saying ‘There is no god but God’ except looking upon the face of God Most High; Paradise is the recompense of deeds.” Do you not see that, if he were deprived of affirming oneness today, he would be deprived of Paradise, and if he were denied Islam today, God would never forgive him? As He, mighty and majestic, says, “Whoever associates partners with God, God has forbidden Paradise to him” (al-Māʾida 72). He also says, “Those who disbelieve and bar others from God’s way, then die

وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ فَلَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ ) مُحَمَّدٌ : 34 فَهَذَا مِمَّا لَا حِيلَةَ فِيهِ وَلَا سَبِيلَ إِلَيْهِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ : ( هُوَ أَهْلُ التَّقْوَى وَأَهْلُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ ) الْمُدَّثِّرُ : 56 قِيلَ : هُوَ أَهْلٌ أَنْ يُعْطِيَ التَّقْوَى وَمَنْ أَعْطَاهُ التَّقْوَى فَهُوَ أَهْلٌ أَنْ يُعْطِيَهُ الْمَغْفِرَةَ

wahum kuffārun falan yaghfira allāhu lahum ) muḥammadun: 34 fahādhā mimmā lā ḥīlata fīhi walā sabīla ʾilayhi , waqad qāla: ( huwa ʾahlu al-taqwā waʾahlu al-maghfirati ) al-muddaththiru: 56 qīla: huwa ʾahlun ʾan yuʿṭiya al-taqwā waman ʾaʿṭāhu al-taqwā fahuwa ʾahlun ʾan yuʿṭiyahu al-maghfirata

as unbelievers, God will never forgive them” (Muḥammad 34). In this there is no expedient and no way around it. He has said, “He is worthy of reverent fear and worthy of granting forgiveness” (al-Muddaththir 56). It is said: He is worthy to grant reverent fear, and to whoever He has granted reverent fear He is worthy to grant forgiveness,

كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَأَلْزَمَهُمْ كَلِمَةَ التَّقْوَى وَكَانُوا أَحَقَّ بِهَا وَأَهْلَهَا ) الْفَتْحُ : 26 وَقَالَ : ( وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ ) الْحُجُرَاتُ : 10 وَقَالَ : ( إِنَّ رَحْمَةَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 56 وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ تَمَامًا عَلَى الَّذِي أَحْسَنَ وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَسَنَزِيدُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 58 ، إِلَى قَوْلِهِ مَا عَلَى الْمُحْسِنِينَ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ ،

kaqawlihi taʿālā: ( waʾalzamahum kalimata al-taqwā wakānū ʾaḥaqqa bihā waʾahlahā ) al-fatḥu: 26 waqāla: ( wattaqū allāha laʿallakum turḥamūna ) al-ḥujurātu: 10 waqāla: ( ʾinna raḥmata allāhi qarībun mina al-muḥsinīna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 56 waqāla subḥānahu tamāman ʿalā alladhī ʾaḥsana waqāla taʿālā: ( wasanazīdu al-muḥsinīna ) al-baqaratu: 58 , ʾilā qawlihi mā ʿalā al-muḥsinīna min sabīlin ,

as in His exalted saying, “He bound them to the word of reverent fear, and they were more entitled to it and worthy of it” (al-Fatḥ 26). He says, “Fear God, that you may receive mercy” (al-Ḥujurāt 10); “God’s mercy is near those who act with excellence” (al-Aʿrāf 56); and, glorified, “As a completion for one who acted well.” He Most High says, “We shall increase those who act with excellence” (al-Baqara 58), through His saying, “There is no way of blame against those who act with excellence.”

وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَنْ يَقْتَرِفْ حَسَنَةً نَزِدْ لَهُ فِيهَا حُسْنًا ) الشُّورَى : 23 ، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ أَعْمَالُهُ الْحَسَنَاتِ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ وَمَنْ كَانَتْ أَعْمَالُهُ سَيِّئَةً فَهُوَ مِنَ الْمُسِيئِينَ فَاشْتِقَاقُ الْحَسَنَةِ مِنَ الْحُسْنِ وَجَزَاؤُهَا الْحُسْنَى وَهِيَ الْجَنَّةُ وَاشْتِقَاقُ السَّيِّئَةِ مِنَ السُّوءِ وَجَزَاؤُهَا السُّوأَىٰ وَهِيَ النَّارُ وَقَدْ سَبَقَ خَلْقُهُمَا قَبْلَ خَلْقِ الْخَلَائِقِ وَفُرِغَ مِنْ نَصِيبِ الْعِبَادِ مِنَ

waqāla taʿālā: ( waman yaqtarif ḥasanatan nazid lahu fīhā ḥusnan ) al-shūrā: 23 , faman kānat ʾaʿmāluhu al-ḥasanāti fahuwa mina al-muḥsinīna waman kānat ʾaʿmāluhu sayyiʾatan fahuwa mina al-musīʾīna fashtiqāqu al-ḥasanati mina al-ḥusni wajazāʾuhā al-ḥusnā wahiya al-jannatu washtiqāqu al-sayyiʾati mina al-sūʾi wajazāʾuhā al-sūʾā wahiya al-nāru waqad sabaqa khalquhumā qabla khalqi al-khalāʾiqi wafurigha min naṣībi al-ʿibādi mina

He Most High says, “Whoever earns a good deed, We increase its goodness for him” (al-Shūrā 23). Whoever’s deeds are good deeds is among those who act well; whoever’s deeds are evil is among those who act badly. Ḥasana, “a good deed,” derives from ḥusn, “goodness,” and its recompense is al-ḥusnā, “the finest,” namely Paradise. Sayyiʾa, “an evil deed,” derives from sūʾ, “evil,” and its recompense is al-sūʾā, “the worst,” namely the Fire. Both were created before the creation of creatures, and the servants’ shares of

الْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ وَسُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الْإِحْسَانِ فَقَالَ : أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ ، فَهَذَا أَوَّلُ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ لِأَنَّهَا عَنْ غَيْرِ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ تَرَى الرَّقِيبَ ثُمَّ تُرَاقِبُ ، وَقَدْ خَصَّ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالطَّيِّبَاتِ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ الطَّيِّبِينَ مِنَ الْعُمَّالِ وَابْتَلَى بِالْخَبِيثَاتِ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ الْخَبِيثِينَ مِنَ الْعُمَّالِ وَفُرِغَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ بِعِلْمِهِ وَقَدَرِهِ بِحُكْمِهِ وَأَخْفَاهُ

al-jannati wa-al-nāri wasuʾila rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿani al-ʾiḥsāni faqāla: ʾan taʿbuda allāha kaʾannaka tarāhu , fahādhā ʾawwalu al-murāqabati liʾannahā ʿan ghayri al-mushāhadati tarā al-raqība thumma turāqibu , waqad khaṣṣa allāhu taʿālā bi-al-ṭayyibāti mina al-ʾaʿmāli al-ṭayyibīna mina al-ʿummāli wabtalā bi-al-khabīthāti mina al-ʾaʿmāli al-khabīthīna mina al-ʿummāli wafurigha min dhālika biʿilmihi waqadarihi biḥukmihi waʾakhfāhu

Paradise and the Fire were settled. God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, was asked about excellence, and said, “That you worship God as though you see Him.” This is the beginning of watchfulness, for it comes without direct witnessing: you see the Watcher and then keep watch. God Most High has singled out the good among workers for good deeds and tried the wicked among workers with wicked deeds. This was settled by His knowledge and His decree, through His judgment; He concealed it

بِلُطْفِهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( الْخَبِيثَاتُ لِلْخَبِيثِينَ ) النُّورُ : 26 قِيلَ الْخَبِيثَاتُ مِنَ الْأَفْعَالِ وَالْأَقْوَالِ لِلْخَبِيثِينَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ ، وَقَالَ : ( الطَّيِّبَاتُ لِلطَّيِّبِينَ ) النُّورُ : 26 وَقِيلَ : الطَّيِّبَاتُ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ وَالْمَقَالِ لِلطَّيِّبِينَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ ، ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَ بِحُسْنِ خَاتِمَةِ أَوْلِيَائِهِ وَسُوءِ خَاتِمَةِ أَعْدَائِهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى :

biluṭfihi faqāla taʿālā: ( al-khabīthātu lilkhabīthīna ) al-nūru: 26 qīla al-khabīthātu mina al-ʾafʿāli wa-al-ʾaqwāli lilkhabīthīna mina al-rijāli , waqāla: ( al-ṭayyibātu li-l-ṭayyibīna ) al-nūru: 26 waqīla: al-ṭayyibātu mina al-ʾaʿmāli wa-al-maqāli li-l-ṭayyibīna mina al-rijāli , thumma ʾakhbara biḥusni khātimati ʾawliyāʾihi wasūʾi khātimati ʾaʿdāʾihi faqāla taʿālā:

through His subtle kindness. He Most High says, “Foul things are for foul people” (al-Nūr 26). It is said: foul deeds and words belong to foul men. He says, “Good things are for good people” (al-Nūr 26), and it is said: good deeds and speech belong to good men. Then He told of the good ending of His friends and the evil ending of His enemies, saying Most High:

( الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ يَقُولُونَ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ) النَّحْلُ : 32 ، قِيلَ : طَابَتْ حَيَاتُهُمْ فَطَابَتْ وَفَاتُهُمْ وَطَابَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فَطَابَ الْمَوْتُ لَهُمْ ، وَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِ الظَّالِمِينَ : ( الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ ظَالِمِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ ) النَّحْلُ : 28 قَالُوا : فِيمَ كُنْتُمْ ؟ قَالُوا : كُنَّا مُسْتَضْعَفِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ قَالُوا :

( alladhīna tatawaffāhumu al-malāʾikatu ṭayyibīna yaqūlūna salāmun ʿalaykumu udkhulū al-jannata bimā kuntum taʿmalūna ) al-naḥlu: 32 , qīla: ṭābat ḥayātuhum faṭābat wafātuhum waṭābat ʾaʿmāluhum faṭāba al-mawtu lahum , waqāla fī waṣfi al-ẓālimīna: ( alladhīna tatawaffāhumu al-malāʾikatu ẓālimī ʾanfusihim ) al-naḥlu: 28 qālū: fīma kuntum ? qālū: kunnā mustaḍʿafīna fī al-ʾarḍi qālū:

“Those whom the angels take in death while they are good, saying, ‘Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise because of what you used to do’” (al-Naḥl 32). It is said: their lives were good, so their deaths were good; their deeds were good, so death was good for them. Describing the wrongdoers He says, “Those whom the angels take in death while they are wronging themselves” (al-Naḥl 28). They said, “In what condition were you?” They said, “We were oppressed on earth.” They said:

أَلَمْ تَكُنْ أَرْضُ اللَّهِ وَاسِعَةً فَتُهَاجِرُوا فِيهَا فَأُولَئِكَ مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا أَظْلَمَتْ حَيَاتُهُمْ وَأَعْمَالُهُمْ فَأَظْلَمَتْ قُبُورُهُمْ وَمَثْوَاهُمْ فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ يَقِينًا دَامَتْ مُرَاقَبَتُهُ وَحَسُنَتْ مُعَامَلَتُهُ فَاتَّصَلَتْ أَوْرَادُهُ وَكَثُرَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ ازْدِيَادُهُ وَنَفَذَتْ مُشَاهَدَتُهُ لِصَفَاءِ يَقِينِهِ وَدَوَامِ مَزِيدِهِ فَكَانَ مِمَّنْ نَدَبَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

ʾalam takun ʾarḍu allāhi wāsiʿatan fatuhājirū fīhā faʾūlāʾika maʾwāhum jahannamu wasāʾat maṣīran ʾaẓlamat ḥayātuhum waʾaʿmāluhum faʾaẓlamat qubūruhum wamathwāhum faman shahida mā dhakarnāhu yaqīnan dāmat murāqabatuhu waḥasunat muʿāmalatuhu fattaṣalat ʾawrāduhu wakathura mina al-khayri izdiyāduhu wanafadhat mushāhadatuhu liṣafāʾi yaqīnihi wadawāmi mazīdihi fakāna mimman nadaba allāhu ʿazza wajalla fī qawlihi taʿālā:

“Was God’s earth not spacious, so that you could migrate within it?” Their refuge is Hell, an evil destination. Their lives and deeds grew dark, so their graves and abode grew dark. Whoever witnesses with certainty what we have mentioned will maintain his watchfulness and make his conduct good; his devotions will continue, his increase in good will grow, and his witnessing will penetrate through the clarity of his certainty and the continuance of his increase. He will thus be among those God, mighty and majestic, urged on in His exalted saying:

( لِمِثْلِ هَذَا فَلْيَعْمَلِ الْعَامِلُونَ ) الصَّافَّاتُ : 61 وَفِي ذَلِكَ فَلْيَتَنَافَسِ الْمُتَنَافِسُونَ وَكَانَ مِمَّنْ وُصِفَ إِذْ يَقُولُ : ( يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَهُمْ لَهَا سَابِقُونَ ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ : 61 أَيْ يُسَارِعُونَ الْمَوْتَ وَيُسَابِقُونَ الْفَوْتَ وَيُسَارِعُونَ الْغَافِلِينَ وَيُسَابِقُونَ الْبَطَّالِينَ وَلَعَلَّ بَطَّالًا مِنَ الشَّاطِحِينَ جَاهِلًا بِحِكْمَةِ الْحَكِيمِ يَتَوَهَّمُ عَلَيْنَا بِظَنِّهِ أَنَّا نَقُولُ إِنَّهُ لَا يُعْطِي

( limithli hādhā falyaʿmali al-ʿāmilūna ) al-ṣāffātu: 61 wafī dhālika falyatanāfasi al-mutanāfisūna wakāna mimman wuṣifa ʾidh yaqūlu: ( yusāriʿūna fī al-khayrāti wahum lahā sābiqūna ) al-muʾminūna: 61 ʾay yusāriʿūna al-mawta wayusābiqūna al-fawta wayusāriʿūna al-ghāfilīna wayusābiqūna al-baṭṭālīna walaʿalla baṭṭālan mina al-shāṭiḥīna jāhilan biḥikmati al-ḥakīmi yatawahhamu ʿalaynā biẓannihi ʾannā naqūlu ʾinnahu lā yuʿṭī

“For the like of this let the workers work” (al-Ṣāffāt 61), and “For this let the competitors compete.” He will be among those described when He says, “They hasten in good deeds and are foremost in them” (al-Muʾminūn 61): they race death, outstrip missed opportunity, hurry ahead of the heedless, and surpass the idle. Perhaps an idle person among those given to extravagant utterances, ignorant of the Wise One’s wisdom, will imagine from his own supposition that we say He gives

إِلَّا شَيْئًا بِشَيْءٍ وَلَسْنَا نَقُولُ ذَلِكَ إِنَّمَا نَقُولُ إِنَّهُ يُعْطِي شَيْئَيْنِ بِلَا شَيْءٍ ، فَهُوَ الْمُعْطِي الْأَوَّلُ لِلشَّيْءِ الَّذِي هُوَ الظَّرْفُ وَالْمَكَانُ مِنَ الْعِبَادَةِ وَالْإِيمَانِ وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُعْطِي الشَّيْءَ الَّذِي هُوَ النَّعِيمُ وَالْجِنَانُ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ أَجْرَى ذَلِكَ بِتَقْدِيرِهِ فِي مَجَارِي حِكْمَتِهِ كَمَا سَبَقَ ذَلِكَ فِي عِلْمِهِ ثُمَّ أَنْشَأَهُ فِي مَعْلُومِهِ لِأَنَّهُ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ .

ʾillā shayʾan bishayʾin walasnā naqūlu dhālika ʾinnamā naqūlu ʾinnahu yuʿṭī shayʾayni bilā shayʾin , fahuwa al-muʿṭī al-ʾawwalu li-l-shayʾi alladhī huwa al-ẓarfu wa-al-makānu mina al-ʿibādati wa-al-ʾīmāni wahuwa alladhī yuʿṭī al-shayʾa alladhī huwa al-naʿīmu wa-al-jinānu ʾillā ʾannahu ʾajrā dhālika bitaqdīrihi fī majārī ḥikmatihi kamā sabaqa dhālika fī ʿilmihi thumma ʾanshaʾahu fī maʿlūmihi liʾannahu ḥakīmun ʿalīmun.

only something in exchange for something. We do not say this; we say that He gives two things in exchange for nothing. He is the first Giver of the thing that is the receptacle and place, namely worship and faith, and He is the One who gives the thing that is bliss and gardens. Yet He has made this run by His determination along the courses of His wisdom, as it preceded in His knowledge, then brought it forth among what He knows, for He is wise and knowing.

ذِكْرُ الْمَقَامِ الرَّابِعِ مِنْ مُرَاقَبَةِ الْمُوقِنِينَ

dhikru al-maqāmi al-rābiʿi min murāqabati al-mūqinīna

The Fourth Station in the Watchfulness of Those Certain in Faith

ثُمَّ يَعْلَمُ الْعَبْدُ يَقِينًا أَنَّهُ تُنْشَرُ لَهُ سِنُوهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ شُهُورًا وَتُبْسَطُ شُهُورُهُ أَيَّامًا وَتُفْتَرَشُ أَيَّامُهُ سَاعَاتٍ وَتُكْشَفُ سَاعَاتُهُ أَنْفَاسًا ثُمَّ يُسْأَلُ عَنْ كُلِّ نَفَسٍ وَيُنْشَرُ لَهُ بِكُلِّ فَعْلَةٍ فَعَلَهَا وَإِنْ

thumma yaʿlamu al-ʿabdu yaqīnan ʾannahu tunsharu lahu sinūhu fī al-ʾākhirati shuhūran watubsaṭu shuhūruhu ʾayyāman watuftarashu ʾayyāmuhu sāʿātin watukshafu sāʿātuhu ʾanfāsan thumma yusʾalu ʿan kulli nafasin wayunsharu lahu bikulli faʿlatin faʿalahā waʾin

Then the servant knows with certainty that in the hereafter his years will be unfolded for him into months, his months spread out into days, his days laid out into hours, and his hours disclosed as breaths. Then he will be questioned about every breath. For each deed he performed, however

صَغُرَتْ ثَلَاثَةُ دَوَاوِينَ : الْأَوَّلُ لِمَ فَعَلْتَ وَهَذَا مَكَانُ الِابْتِلَاءِ بِالْأَحْكَامِ فَإِنْ سَلِمَ لَهُ نُشِرَ لَهُ ، الدِّيوَانُ الثَّانِي وَهُوَ كَيْفَ فَعَلْتَ وَهُوَ مَوْضِعُ الْمُطَالَبَةِ بِصِحَّةِ الْعِلْمِ فَإِنْ صَحَّ لَهُ هَذَا نُشِرَ عَلَيْهِ ، الدِّيوَانُ الثَّالِثُ وَهُوَ لِمَنْ فَعَلْتَ وَهَذَا مَكَانُ الْمُطَالَبَةِ فِي الْإِخْلَاصِ فَإِنِ اعْتَلَّ بِكَيْفَ أَوْ بِلِمَ أَوْ بِلِمَنْ خِيفَ عَلَيْهِ الْهَلَكَةُ إِلَّا أَنْ يَتَعَطَّفَ عَلَيْهِ الْكَرِيمُ

ṣaghurat thalāthatu dawāwīna: al-ʾawwalu lima faʿalta wahādhā makānu al-ibtilāʾi bi-al-ʾaḥkāmi faʾin salima lahu nushira lahu , al-dīwānu al-thānī wahuwa kayfa faʿalta wahuwa mawḍiʿu al-muṭālabati biṣiḥḥati al-ʿilmi faʾin ṣaḥḥa lahu hādhā nushira ʿalayhi , al-dīwānu al-thālithu wahuwa liman faʿalta wahādhā makānu al-muṭālabati fī al-ʾikhlāṣi faʾini iʿtalla bikayfa ʾaw bilima ʾaw biliman khīfa ʿalayhi al-halakatu ʾillā ʾan yataʿaṭṭafa ʿalayhi al-karīmu

small, three registers will be unfolded for him. The first: “Why did you do it?” This is the place of trial concerning the rulings. If he comes through that safely, the second register is unfolded for him: “How did you do it?” This is where sound knowledge is required. If this proves sound for him, the third register is unfolded against him: “For whom did you do it?” This is where sincerity is demanded. If he is found wanting in “how,” “why,” or “for whom,” destruction is feared for him, unless the Generous,

الْمَنَّانُ بِحَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ فَيَسْتَنْقِذُهُ وَيَسْمَحُ لَهُ وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَإِنْ كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا ) الْأَنْبِيَاءُ : 47 أَيْ جِئْنَا بِهَا أَيْ أَحْضَرْنَاهَا وَقُرِئَتْ بِالْمَدِّ آتَيْنَا بِهَا بِمَعْنَى جَازَيْنَا بِهَا ، وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ ) ( وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ ) الزَّلْزَالُ : 7 - 8 وَقِيلَ :

al-mannānu biḥaythu lā yaḥtasibu fayastanqidhuhu wayasmaḥu lahu waqad qāla taʿālā: ( waʾin kāna mithqāla ḥabbatin min khardalin ʾataynā bihā ) al-ʾanbiyāʾu: 47 ʾay jiʾnā bihā ʾay ʾaḥḍarnāhā waquriʾat bi-al-maddi ʾātaynā bihā bimaʿnā jāzaynā bihā , waqāla ʿazza wajalla: ( faman yaʿmal mithqāla dharratin khayran yarahu ) ( waman yaʿmal mithqāla dharratin sharran yarahu ) al-zalzālu: 7 - 8 waqīla:

the Munificent, turns compassionately toward him from where he does not expect, rescues him, and pardons him. He Most High says, “If it is the weight of a mustard seed, We bring it” (al-Anbiyāʾ 47): that is, We come with it, meaning We make it present. It is also read with a long vowel, ātaynā bihā, meaning “We recompense for it.” He, mighty and majestic, says, “Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it; whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it” (al-Zalzāl 7–8). It is said:

هَذِهِ أَحْكَمُ آيَةٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَهِيَ مُجْمَلَةٌ مُبْهَمَةٌ عَامَّةٌ ، وَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا سُئِلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ لَمْ يُوحَ إِلَيْهِ فِيهِ بِشَيْءٍ يَقُولُ : مَا عِنْدِي فِيهِ إِلَّا هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ الْجَامِعَةُ الْفَاذَّةُ ، فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ الْآيَةَ ، وَلَمَّا تَعَلَّمَ صَعْصَعَةُ جَدُّ الْفَرَزْدَقِ مِنْ أَسْفَلِ الْقُرْآنِ إِلَى هَذِهِ السُّورَةِ قَالَ :

hādhihi ʾaḥkamu ʾāyatin fī kitābi allāhi ʿazza wajalla wahiya mujmalatun mubhamatun ʿāmmatun , wakāna rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾidhā suʾila ʿan shayʾin lam yūḥa ʾilayhi fīhi bishayʾin yaqūlu: mā ʿindī fīhi ʾillā hādhihi al-ʾāyatu al-jāmiʿatu al-fadhdhatu , faman yaʿmal mithqāla dharratin al-ʾāyata , walammā taʿallama ṣaʿṣaʿatu jaddu al-farazdaqi min ʾasfali al-qurʾāni ʾilā hādhihi al-sūrati qāla:

this is the most decisive verse in God’s Book, mighty and majestic, while being comprehensive, unspecified, and general. When God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, was asked about something concerning which nothing had been revealed to him, he would say, “I have nothing concerning it except this unique, comprehensive verse: ‘Whoever does an atom’s weight…’” and the rest of the verse. When Ṣaʿṣaʿa, al-Farazdaq’s grandfather, learned from the end of the Qurʾān up to this sūra, he said:

حَسْبِي حَسْبِي قَدْ عَرَفْتُ الْخَيْرَ وَالشَّرَّ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : انْصَرَفَ الرَّجُلُ فَقِيهًا وَقِيلَ الذَّرَّةُ قِشْرَةُ الْهَبَاءِ الَّذِي يَظْهَرُ فِي شُعَاعِ الشَّمْسِ مِثْلَ رُؤُسِ الْإِبَرِ . وَرُوِيَ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ إِذَا وَضَعْتَ كَفَّكَ عَلَى التُّرَابِ ثُمَّ رَفَعْتَهَا فَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ تَعَلَّقَ بِهَا مِنَ التُّرَابِ فَهُوَ ذَرَّةٌ ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ أَرْبَعُ ذَرَّاتٍ خَرْدَلَةٌ ،

ḥasbī ḥasbī qad ʿaraftu al-khayra wa-al-sharra faqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: inṣarafa al-rajulu faqīhan waqīla al-dharratu qishratu al-habāʾi alladhī yaẓharu fī shuʿāʿi al-shamsi mithla ruʾūsi al-ʾibari. waruwiya ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin ʾannahu qāla ʾidhā waḍaʿta kaffaka ʿalā al-turābi thumma rafaʿtahā fakullu shayʾin taʿallaqa bihā mina al-turābi fahuwa dharratun , waqad qīla ʾarbaʿu dharrātin khardalatun ,

“Enough for me, enough for me! I now know good and evil.” God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “The man has departed with understanding.” It is said that an atom is a flake of the dust appearing in a sunbeam, like the heads of needles. It is related from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said, “If you place your palm on the dust and then raise it, every bit of dust clinging to it is an atom.” It is also said that four atoms make a mustard seed.

وَذَكَرَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ أَنَّ الذَّرَّةَ جُزْءٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ جُزْءٍ مِنْ شَعِيرَةٍ ، فَفِي الْأَعْمَالِ مَا يَزِنُ هَذَا الشَّبَحَ وَمَا يَثْقُلُ بِهِ هَذَا الْخَفَاءُ ، فَلِذَلِكَ أَخْبَرَ بِهِ الْخَبِيرُ وَحَذَّرَ مِنْهُ الرَّؤُوفُ وَفِي مَعْنَى مَا ذَكَرْنَا آنِفًا مِنْ حَسِبَ أَنَّهُ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ بِعَمَلٍ فَهُوَ مُتَعَنٍّ وَمَنْ حَسِبَ أَنَّهُ يَدْخُلُهَا بِغَيْرِ عَمَلٍ فَهُوَ مُتَمَنٍّ يَعْنِي أَنَّهُ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَعْمَلَ مَا عَلَيْهِ وَلَا يَنْظُرَ إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ يَتَوَكَّلَ فِي

wadhakara baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi ʾanna al-dharrata juzʾun min ʾalfi juzʾin min shaʿīratin , fafī al-ʾaʿmāli mā yazinu hādhā al-shabaḥa wamā yathqulu bihi hādhā al-khafāʾu , falidhālika ʾakhbara bihi al-khabīru waḥadhdhara minhu al-raʾūfu wafī maʿnā mā dhakarnā ʾānifan min ḥasiba ʾannahu yadkhulu al-jannata biʿamalin fahuwa mutaʿannin waman ḥasiba ʾannahu yadkhuluhā bighayri ʿamalin fahuwa mutamannin yaʿnī ʾannahu yanbaghī ʾan yaʿmala mā ʿalayhi walā yanẓura ʾilayhi thumma yatawakkala fī

One of the scholars mentioned that an atom is one thousandth of a barley grain. Among deeds are things that weigh as much as this tiny form, and things through which this hidden speck becomes heavy. That is why the All-Aware told of it and the Compassionate warned against it. In the sense of what we mentioned earlier: whoever supposes he will enter Paradise through deeds is imposing an arduous claim; whoever supposes he will enter it without deeds is a mere wisher. This means that he should do what is incumbent upon him without looking to it, then rely, concerning

ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَيَرْجُوَ قَبُولَهُ بِكَرَمِهِ وَيَخَافَ رَدَّهُ بِعَدْلِهِ وَلِذَلِكَ مَدَحَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عِبَادَهُ الصَّابِرِينَ لَهُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ فِي أَعْمَالِهِمْ عَلَيْهِ فَأَنْعَمَ أَجْرَهُمْ فَقَالَ : ( نِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ ) ( الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 58 - 59 فَالْمَزِيدُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَرَحْمَتِهِ هُوَ تَأْبِيدُ جَزَاءِ الْمُعَامَلَةِ الْمَوْهُوبَةِ الْيَوْمَ

dhālika ʿalā allāhi ʿazza wajalla wayarjuwa qabūlahu bikaramihi wayakhāfa raddahu biʿadlihi walidhālika madaḥa allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā ʿibādahu al-ṣābirīna lahu al-mutawakkilīna fī ʾaʿmālihim ʿalayhi faʾanʿama ʾajrahum faqāla: ( niʿma ʾajru al-ʿāmilīna ) ( alladhīna ṣabarū waʿalā rabbihim yatawakkalūna ) al-ʿankabūtu: 58 - 59 fa-al-mazīdu fī al-jannati bifaḍli allāhi waraḥmatihi huwa taʾbīdu jazāʾi al-muʿāmalati al-mawhūbati al-yawma

that, upon God, mighty and majestic, hoping for His acceptance through His generosity and fearing His rejection through His justice. For this God, glorified and exalted, praised His servants who are patient for Him and rely on Him in their deeds; He made their reward excellent, saying, “Excellent is the workers’ reward, those who are patient and put their trust in their Lord” (al-ʿAnkabūt 58–59). The increase in Paradise through God’s bounty and mercy is the perpetuation of the recompense for the conduct bestowed today

وَدَوَامُ خُلُودِ الْعَامِلِ فِي تَأْبِيدِ جَزَائِهِ أَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَنْ يَقْتَرِفْ حَسَنَةً نَزِدْ لَهُ فِيهَا حُسْنًا ) الشُّورَى : 23 مَعَ قَوْلِهِ : ( لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا الْحُسْنَى وَزِيَادَةٌ ) إِلَى قَوْلِهِ : ( فَأُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ جَزَاءُ الضِّعْفِ بِمَا عَمِلُوا ) سَبَأٌ : 37 وَمِثْلُهُ ( وَلِكُلٍّ دَرَجَاتٌ مِمَّا عَمِلُوا ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 132 وَنَحْوُهُ :

wadawāmu khulūdi al-ʿāmili fī taʾbīdi jazāʾihi ʾalam tasmaʿ qawlahu taʿālā: ( waman yaqtarif ḥasanatan nazid lahu fīhā ḥusnan ) al-shūrā: 23 maʿa qawlihi: ( lilladhīna ʾaḥsanū al-ḥusnā waziyādatun ) ʾilā qawlihi: ( faʾūlāʾika lahum jazāʾu al-ḍiʿfi bimā ʿamilū ) sabaʾun: 37 wamithluhu ( walikullin darajātun mimmā ʿamilū ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 132 wanaḥwuhu:

and the worker’s everlasting continuance in the perpetuation of his reward. Have you not heard His exalted saying, “Whoever earns a good deed, We increase its goodness for him” (al-Shūrā 23), together with “For those who act well is the finest reward and an increase,” through His saying, “Those have a multiplied recompense because of what they did” (Sabaʾ 37)? Similar is, “For each are degrees according to what they did” (al-Anʿām 132), and likewise:

( أُولَئِكَ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا وَيَدْرَءُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ ) الْقَصَصُ : 54 أَيْ وَبِمَا يَدْرَؤُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ الْحَدِيثَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ الْقَدِيمَةَ فَلَمَّا اسْتَعْمَلَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا بِعَمَلَيْنِ بِالصَّبْرِ وَبِدَرْءِ السَّيِّئَةِ الْمَاضِيَةِ بِالْحَسَنَةِ الْمُسْتَأْنَفَةِ أَعْطَاهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ أَجْرَيْنِ ، وَهَذَا مِنَ الْكَلَامِ الْمَحْذُوفِ الْمُوجَزِ فَمَحْذُوفُهُ وَبِمَا يَدْرَأُونَ أَيْ وَبِمَا يَدْفَعُونَ أَيْضًا

( ʾūlāʾika yuʾtawna ʾajrahum marratayni bimā ṣabarū wayadraʾūna bi-al-ḥasanati al-sayyiʾata ) al-qaṣaṣu: 54 ʾay wabimā yadraʾūna bi-al-ḥasanati al-ḥadīthati al-sayyiʾata al-qadīmata falammā istaʿmalahum fī al-dunyā biʿamalayni bi-al-ṣabri wabidarʾi al-sayyiʾati al-māḍiyati bi-al-ḥasanati al-mustaʾnafati ʾaʿṭāhum fī al-ʾākhirati ʾajrayni , wahādhā mina al-kalāmi al-maḥdhūfi al-mūjazi famaḥdhūfuhu wabimā yadraʾūna ʾay wabimā yadfaʿūna ʾayḍan

“Those are given their reward twice because they were patient, and they repel evil with good” (al-Qaṣaṣ 54): that is, and because they repel an old evil deed with a new good deed. Since He employed them in this world in two works, patience and repelling a past evil deed with a newly undertaken good deed, He gave them two rewards in the hereafter. This is concise speech with an omission. What is omitted is “and because they repel,” meaning “and because they also drive away.”

فَلَمَّا حُذِفَتْ بِمَا أَشْكَلَ الْكَلَامُ فَأَشْبَهَتْ

falammā ḥudhifat bimā ʾashkala al-kalāmu faʾashbahat

When “because” was omitted, the speech became difficult, and

الْوَاوُ وَاوَ النَّسَقِ وَمُؤَخَّرُهُ السَّيِّئَةَ وَالْمَعْنَى يَدْفَعُونَ السَّيِّئَةَ الَّتِي تَقَدَّمَتْ مِنْهُمْ بِالْحَسَنَةِ الَّتِي يَعْمَلُونَهَا بَعْدَهَا فَتَكُونُ الْحَسَنَةُ الْمُسْتَقْبَلَةُ رَافِعَةً لِعِقَابِ السَّيِّئَةِ الْفَارِطَةِ مِنْهُمْ وَمِنْ أَحْسَنِ الصَّبْرِ : الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الْمُصِيبَةِ وَمِنْ أَحْسَنِ الْحَسَنَاتِ : التَّوْبَةُ النَّصُوحُ بَعْدَ مَا سَلَفَ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ وَالْفُضُوحِ فَكَأَنَّهُمْ قَدْ عَمِلُوا عَمَلَيْنِ صَبَرُوا عَنِ الشَّهْوَةِ وَدَفَعُوا

al-wāwu wāwa al-nasaqi wamuʾakhkharuhu al-sayyiʾata wa-al-maʿnā yadfaʿūna al-sayyiʾata allatī taqaddamat minhum bi-al-ḥasanati allatī yaʿmalūnahā baʿdahā fatakūnu al-ḥasanatu al-mustaqbalatu rāfiʿatan liʿiqābi al-sayyiʾati al-fāriṭati minhum wamin ʾaḥsani al-ṣabri: al-ṣabru ʿalā al-muṣībati wamin ʾaḥsani al-ḥasanāti: al-tawbatu al-naṣūḥu baʿda mā salafa mina al-dhunūbi wa-al-fuḍūḥi fakaʾannahum qad ʿamilū ʿamalayni ṣabarū ʿani al-shahwati wadafaʿū

the conjunction “and” resembled the ordinary coordinating conjunction. The postponed expression is “the evil deed.” The meaning is that they repel the evil deed previously committed by them with the good deed they perform afterward, so that the later good deed removes the punishment for their earlier evil deed. Among the finest forms of patience is patience in affliction; among the finest good deeds is sincere repentance after the sins and shameful acts already committed. It is as though they had performed two works: they patiently resisted desire and repelled

بِالتَّوْبَةِ مَا سَلَفَ مِنَ السَّيِّئَةِ فَأَعْطَاهُمْ أَجْرَيْنِ لَمَّا اسْتَعْمَلَهُمْ بِعَمَلَيْنِ إِذْ لَا صَبْرَ إِلَّا بِهِ وَلَا تَوْبَةَ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مِنْهُ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَا صَبْرُكَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ ) النَّحْلُ : 127 وَقَالَ : ( تَوْبَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ ) النِّسَاءُ : 92 وَلَيْسَ مِنَ الْعَبْدِ أَوْ إِلَيْهِ فِيمَا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَإِلَّا كَانَ مُشْرِكًا فِي اسْمِ أَوَّلَ ،

bi-al-tawbati mā salafa mina al-sayyiʾati faʾaʿṭāhum ʾajrayni lammā istaʿmalahum biʿamalayni ʾidh lā ṣabra ʾillā bihi walā tawbata lahum ʾillā minhu kamā qāla taʿālā: ( wamā ṣabruka ʾillā bi-allāhi ) al-naḥlu: 127 waqāla: ( tawbatan mina allāhi ) al-nisāʾu: 92 walaysa mina al-ʿabdi ʾaw ʾilayhi fīmā mina allāhi waʾillā kāna mushrikan fī ismi ʾawwala ,

through repentance the evil previously committed. He gave them two rewards because He had employed them in two works, since there is no patience except through Him and no repentance for them except from Him. As He Most High says, “Your patience is only through God” (al-Naḥl 127), and “Repentance from God” (al-Nisāʾ 92). Nothing is from the servant or attributable to him in what comes from God; otherwise he would be associating a partner in the name “First.”

وَمِنْ أَحْسَنِ الْحَسَنَاتِ مُرَاقَبَةُ الرَّقِيبِ عِنْدَ خَطَرَاتِ الْقُلُوبِ وَمِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْقُرُبَاتِ مُحَاسَبَةُ النَّفْسِ لِلْحَسِيبِ وَاسْتِجَابَتُهَا بِطَاعَةِ الْحَبِيبِ وَكَذَلِكَ حِكْمَتُهُ فِي مَزِيدِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ وَدَرَكَاتِ بَعْضِهِمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ فِي الْعُتُوِّ وَالْفَسَادِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَصَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ) النِّسَاءُ : 167 زِدْنَاهُمْ عَذَابًا فَوْقَ الْعَذَابِ أَيْ زِدْنَاهُمْ عَذَابًا فَوْقَ عَذَابِ

wamin ʾaḥsani al-ḥasanāti murāqabatu al-raqībi ʿinda khaṭarāti al-qulūbi wamin ʾafḍali al-qurubāti muḥāsabatu al-nafsi lilḥasībi wastijābatuhā biṭāʿati al-ḥabībi wakadhālika ḥikmatuhu fī mazīdi ʾahli al-nāri wadarakāti baʿḍihim ʿalā baʿḍin fī al-ʿutuwwi wa-al-fasādi faqāla taʿālā: ( ʾinna alladhīna kafarū waṣaddū ʿan sabīli allāhi ) al-nisāʾu: 167 zidnāhum ʿadhāban fawqa al-ʿadhābi ʾay zidnāhum ʿadhāban fawqa ʿadhābi

Among the finest good deeds is watchfulness of the Watcher at the promptings of hearts; among the best acts of approach is calling the self to account for the Reckoner and its responding by obeying the Beloved. Likewise is His wisdom in the increase of punishment for the people of the Fire and the descending levels of some below others in insolence and corruption. He Most High says, “Those who disbelieved and barred others from God’s way” (al-Nisāʾ 167), “We increased them in punishment above punishment”: that is, We increased them in punishment above the punishment of

الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَلَمْ يَصُدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَبِمَعْنَاهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَظَلَمُوا لَمْ يَكُنِ اللَّهُ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلَا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ طَرِيقًا ) النِّسَاءُ : 168 فَلَمْ يَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ بِكُفْرِهِمْ وَلَمْ يُنَوِّرْ لَهُمْ طَرِيقَ الْهِدَايَةِ بِظُلْمِهِمْ ، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : الظُّلْمُ ظُلُمَاتٌ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى :

alladhīna kafarū walam yaṣuddū ʿan sabīli allāhi wabimaʿnāhu qawluhu taʿālā: ( ʾinna alladhīna kafarū waẓalamū lam yakuni allāhu liyaghfira lahum walā liyahdiyahum ṭarīqan ) al-nisāʾu: 168 falam yaghfir lahum bikufrihim walam yunawwir lahum ṭarīqa al-hidāyati biẓulmihim , wakadhālika qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-ẓulmu ẓulumātun yawma al-qiyāmati wamithlu dhālika qawluhu taʿālā:

those who disbelieved but did not bar others from God’s way. In the same sense is His exalted saying, “Those who disbelieved and did wrong, God will neither forgive them nor guide them to a path” (al-Nisāʾ 168). He did not forgive them because of their unbelief and did not illuminate the path of guidance for them because of their wrongdoing. Likewise God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Wrongdoing is darknesses on the Day of Resurrection.” Similar is His exalted saying:

( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ ) الْبُرُوجُ : 10 فَصَارَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَذَابَانِ : عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ بِمَا لَمْ يَتُوبُوا وَعَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ بِمَا فَتَنُوا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، وَمِثْلُهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( فَلَا تُعْجِبْكَ أَمْوَالُهُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُهُمْ إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ بِهَا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَتَزْهَقَ أَنْفُسُهُمْ وَهُمْ كَافِرُونَ )

( ʾinna alladhīna fatanū al-muʾminīna wa-al-muʾmināti thumma lam yatūbū falahum ʿadhābu jahannama walahum ʿadhābu al-ḥarīqi ) al-burūju: 10 faṣāra ʿalayhim ʿadhābāni: ʿadhābu jahannama bimā lam yatūbū waʿadhābu al-ḥarīqi bimā fatanū al-muʾminīna , wamithluhu qawluhu taʿālā: ( falā tuʿjibka ʾamwāluhum walā ʾawlāduhum ʾinnamā yurīdu allāhu liyuʿadhdhibahum bihā fī al-ḥayāti al-dunyā watazhaqa ʾanfusuhum wahum kāfirūna )

“Those who persecuted believing men and believing women, then did not repent, shall have the punishment of Hell and shall have the punishment of burning” (al-Burūj 10). Thus two punishments befell them: Hell’s punishment because they did not repent, and the punishment of burning because they persecuted believers. Similar is His exalted saying, “Let neither their wealth nor their children impress you. God only wills to punish them through these in the life of this world, and that their souls depart while they are unbelievers”

التَّوْبَةُ : 55 أَيْ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُعَذِّبَهُمْ بِهَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَيُرِيدُ أَيْضًا أَنْ تَزْهَقَ أَنْفُسُهُمْ عَلَى الْكُفْرِ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ بِهَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَهَذَا نَصٌّ صَرِيحٌ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُرِيدُ الْكُفْرَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِ لِأَنَّ تَزْهَقَ انْتَصَبَ بِالْعَطْفِ عَلَى يُرِيدُ الْأَوَّلِ وَالْوَاوُ فِيهِ لِلْجَمْعِ وَقَدْ قِيلَ إِنَّ فِي هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ تَقْدِيمًا وَتَأْخِيرًا فَيَكُونُ الْمَعْنَى :

al-tawbatu: 55 ʾay yurīdu ʾan yuʿadhdhibahum bihā fī al-dunyā wayurīdu ʾayḍan ʾan tazhaqa ʾanfusuhum ʿalā al-kufri liyuʿadhdhibahum bihā fī al-ʾākhirati wahādhā naṣṣun ṣarīḥun: ʾinna allāha taʿālā yurīdu al-kufra mina al-kāfiri liʾanna tazhaqa intaṣaba bi-al-ʿaṭfi ʿalā yurīdu al-ʾawwali wa-al-wāwu fīhi liljamʿi waqad qīla ʾinna fī hādhihi al-ʾāyati taqdīman wataʾkhīran fayakūnu al-maʿnā:

(al-Tawba 55). That is: He wills to punish them through these in this world, and also wills their souls to depart in unbelief, so that He may punish them through it in the hereafter. This is an explicit text: God Most High wills unbelief from the unbeliever, because tazhaqa, “depart,” is in the subjunctive through being coordinated with the first yurīdu, “He wills”; the conjunction here joins the two. It has also been said that this verse contains a change in word order, so that its meaning is:

وَلَا تُعْجِبْكَ أَمْوَالُهُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ فَأَرَادَ أَنْ يَجْمَعَ الْعَذَابَيْنِ عَلَيْهِمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ : أَحَدُهُمَا الْأَمْوَالُ وَالْأَوْلَادُ ، وَالثَّانِي لِإِرَادَتِهِ تَعَالَى أَنْ تَخْرُجَ نُفُوسُهُمْ عَلَى الْكُفْرِ فَمَنْ لَا مَالَ لَهُ وَلَا وَلَدَ لَهُ مِنْهُمْ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ عَذَابٌ وَاحِدٌ فِي جَهَنَّمَ لِأَجْلِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : بِهَا أَيْ بِسَبَبِهَا ،

walā tuʿjibka ʾamwāluhum walā ʾawlāduhum fī al-dunyā ʾinnamā yurīdu allāhu liyuʿadhdhibahum fī al-ʾākhirati faʾarāda ʾan yajmaʿa al-ʿadhābayni ʿalayhim fī jahannama: ʾaḥaduhumā al-ʾamwālu wa-al-ʾawlādu , wa-al-thānī liʾirādatihi taʿālā ʾan takhruja nufūsuhum ʿalā al-kufri faman lā māla lahu walā walada lahu minhum kāna ʿalayhi ʿadhābun wāḥidun fī jahannama liʾajli qawlihi taʿālā: bihā ʾay bisababihā ,

“Let neither their wealth nor their children in this world impress you; God only wills to punish them in the hereafter.” He thus willed to combine both punishments for them in Hell: one for wealth and children, and the second because He Most High wills their souls to depart in unbelief. Whoever among them has neither wealth nor children has one punishment in Hell, because of His exalted expression “through them,” meaning “because of them.”

وَهَذَا مُوَاصِلٌ لِلْخَبَرِ الَّذِي جَاءَ أَنَّ فُقَرَاءَ الْكُفَّارِ يَدْخُلُونَ النَّارَ بَعْدَ أَغْنِيَائِهِمْ بِخَمْسِمِائَةِ عَامٍ لِأَجْلِ الْفَقْرِ الَّذِي كَانُوا فِيهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا كَمَا أَنَّ الْفُقَرَاءَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ قَبْلَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ بِخَمْسِمِائَةِ عَامٍ لِأَجْلِ غِنَى أُولَئِكَ .

wahādhā muwāṣilun lilkhabari alladhī jāʾa ʾanna fuqarāʾa al-kuffāri yadkhulūna al-nāra baʿda ʾaghniyāʾihim bikhamsimiʾati ʿāmin liʾajli al-faqri alladhī kānū fīhi fī al-dunyā kamā ʾanna al-fuqarāʾa mina al-muʾminīna yadkhulūna al-jannata qabla al-ʾaghniyāʾi bikhamsimiʾati ʿāmin liʾajli ghinā ʾūlāʾika.

This connects with the report that poor unbelievers enter the Fire five hundred years after their rich, because of the poverty they experienced in this world, just as poor believers enter Paradise five hundred years before the rich because of the latter’s wealth.

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ أَيْضًا وَتَدْخُلُ الْمَرْضَى إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ قَبْلَ الْأَصِحَّاءِ بِأَرْبَعِينَ خَرِيفًا وَيَدْخُلُ الْمَقْتُولُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ مُقْبِلًا قَبْلَ الْمَقْتُولِ فِي اللَّهِ مُدْبِرًا بِأَرْبَعِينَ خَرِيفًا وَتَدْخُلُ الْمَمَالِيكُ قَبْلَ الْمَوَالِي بِأَرْبَعِينَ خَرِيفًا وَيَدْخُلُ سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ الْجَنَّةَ بَعْدَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ

wafī al-khabari ʾayḍan watadkhulu al-marḍā ʾilā al-jannati qabla al-ʾaṣiḥḥāʾi biʾarbaʿīna kharīfan wayadkhulu al-maqtūlu fī sabīli allāhi muqbilan qabla al-maqtūli fī allāhi mudbiran biʾarbaʿīna kharīfan watadkhulu al-mamālīku qabla al-mawālī biʾarbaʿīna kharīfan wayadkhulu sulaymānu bnu dāwuda al-jannata baʿda al-ʾanbiyāʾi

In the report also: the sick enter Paradise forty autumns before the healthy; one killed in God’s way while advancing enters forty autumns before one killed for God while retreating; slaves enter forty autumns before their masters; and Solomon son of David enters Paradise after the prophets

بِأَرْبَعِينَ خَرِيفًا

biʾarbaʿīna kharīfan

by forty autumns,

لِمَكَانِ مُلْكِهِ فَالْحَسْرَةُ الْعُظْمَى وَالْفَوَاتُ الْأَكْبَرُ الَّذِي لَا دَرْكَ لَهُ وَهُوَ تَأْبِيدُ حِرْمَانِ مَا أُعْطِيَ غَيْرُكَ مِنَ الْمَزِيدِ هُنَاكَ لِفَوْتِ أَوْقَاتِكَ فِي الدُّنْيَا هَهُنَا ثُمَّ دَرْكُ ذَلِكَ بِأَوْقَاتِهِ الْعَامِرَةِ هَهُنَا تَأْبِيدُ مَزِيدِ جَزَائِهِ ثَمَّ وَهَذَا هُوَ التَّغَابُنُ ؛ غَبَنَ الْعَامِلُونَ الْبَطَّالِينَ وَغَبَنَ السَّابِقُونَ الْمُخَلَّفِينَ وَغَبَنَ الْمُسَارِعُونَ الْمُثَبَّطِينَ ثُمَّ خُلُودُ الْعَبْدِ الْبَطَّالِ

limakāni mulkihi fa-al-ḥasratu al-ʿuẓmā wa-al-fawātu al-ʾakbaru alladhī lā darka lahu wahuwa taʾbīdu ḥirmāni mā ʾuʿṭiya ghayruka mina al-mazīdi hunāka lifawti ʾawqātika fī al-dunyā hāhunā thumma darku dhālika biʾawqātihi al-ʿāmirati hāhunā taʾbīdu mazīdi jazāʾihi thamma wahādhā huwa al-taghābunu ; ghabana al-ʿāmilūna al-baṭṭālīna waghabana al-sābiqūna al-mukhallafīna waghabana al-musāriʿūna al-muthabbaṭīna thumma khulūdu al-ʿabdi al-baṭṭāli

because of his kingship. The greatest regret and the greatest irrecoverable loss is the everlasting deprivation of the increase given to someone else there, because your times were lost here in this world. His attainment through his well-filled times here means the perpetuation of his increased recompense there. This is the true outbidding: the workers have outbid the idle, the foremost have outbid those left behind, and the swift have outbid those held back. Then the idle servant,

الْمَغْبُونِ فِي الدُّنْيَا فِي تَأْبِيدِ حِرْمَانِ مَزِيدِ الْغَابِنِ الْعَامِلِ وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَا مِنْ سَاعَةٍ تَأْتِي عَلَى ابْنِ آدَمَ لَا يَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فِيهَا إِلَّا كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ حَسْرَةً وَإِنْ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ ، وَهُوَ أَشَدُّ إِلَّا كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ تِرَةً يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَيْ مُطَالَبَةً وَمُؤَاخَذَةً ، فَالْحَسْرَةُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ بَعْدَ دُخُولِهَا وَالظَّفَرِ بِنَعِيمِهَا هُوَ مَا

al-maghbūni fī al-dunyā fī taʾbīdi ḥirmāni mazīdi al-ghābini al-ʿāmili wamin hādhā qawluhu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mā min sāʿatin taʾtī ʿalā ibni ʾādama lā yadhkuru allāha taʿālā fīhā ʾillā kānat ʿalayhi ḥasratan waʾin dakhala al-jannata , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara , wahuwa ʾashaddu ʾillā kānat ʿalayhi tiratan yawma al-qiyāmati ʾay muṭālabatan wamuʾākhadhatan , fa-al-ḥasratu fī al-jannati baʿda dukhūlihā wa-al-ẓafari binaʿīmihā huwa mā

outbid in this world, abides in everlasting deprivation of the increase attained by the worker who outbid him. Of this kind is his saying, God bless him and grant him peace: “No hour passes over a child of Adam in which he does not remember God Most High without becoming a regret for him, even if he enters Paradise.” Another wording, more severe, is: “Without becoming a liability against him on the Day of Resurrection,” meaning a demand and a calling to account. Regret in Paradise, after entering it and attaining its bliss, is what

ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ حِرْمَانِ مَزِيدِ الْعَامِلِينَ فِيهَا ثُمَّ دَوَامُ الْحِرْمَانِ مُؤَبَّدٌ بِهَا وَهُوَ كَوْنُ الْعَبْدِ فِي نُقْصَانِ دَرَجَةِ غَيْرِهِ ثُمَّ هُوَ مُخَلَّدٌ فِي النُّقْصَانِ سَرْمَدًا وَمَعَ ذَلِكَ فَلَا يُؤْبَهُ لَهُ وَلَا يُفْطَنُ بِهِ كَيْلَا يَنْقُصَ عَلَيْهِ نَعِيمُهُ وَالطَّرْفَةُ وَالنَّفَسُ إِذَا خَلَتَا مِنَ الْيَقَظَةِ وَالذِّكْرِ فِيهِمَا بِمَنْزِلَةِ السَّاعَةِ الْخَالِيَةِ إِلَّا أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَصَّ عَلَى السَّاعَةِ وَلَمْ

dhakarnāhu min ḥirmāni mazīdi al-ʿāmilīna fīhā thumma dawāmu al-ḥirmāni muʾabbadun bihā wahuwa kawnu al-ʿabdi fī nuqṣāni darajati ghayrihi thumma huwa mukhalladun fī al-nuqṣāni sarmadan wamaʿa dhālika falā yuʾbahu lahu walā yufṭanu bihi kaylā yanquṣa ʿalayhi naʿīmuhu wa-al-ṭarfatu wa-al-nafasu ʾidhā khalatā mina al-yaqaẓati wa-al-dhikri fīhimā bimanzilati al-sāʿati al-khāliyati ʾillā ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama naṣṣa ʿalā al-sāʿati walam

we have mentioned of deprivation of the workers’ increase there. That deprivation continues eternally in it: the servant’s degree falls short of another’s, and he remains in that shortfall forever. Yet no notice is taken of it, nor is it perceived, so that his bliss may not be diminished. A blink and a breath, when empty of wakefulness and remembrance, are like the empty hour; but the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, specified the hour and did not

يَذْكُرْ مَا دُونَهَا لِأَنَّ اسْمَ السَّاعَةِ أَقَلُّ الزَّمَانِ الْمُسْتَعْمَلِ عِنْدَ الْعَرَبِ لِيُوَاطِئَ بِقَوْلِهِ قَوْلَ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : ( فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 34 وَمَعْلُومٌ أَنَّهُ إِذَا جَاءَ الْأَجَلُ لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ نَفَسًا وَلَا طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ وَكَذَلِكَ لَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ طَرْفَةً وَلَا نَفَسًا ، فَذُكِرَتِ السَّاعَةُ دُونَ مَا نَقَصَ مِنْهَا لِئَلَّا يَخْرُجَ الْكَلَامُ

yadhkur mā dūnahā liʾanna isma al-sāʿati ʾaqallu al-zamāni al-mustaʿmali ʿinda al-ʿarabi liyuwāṭiʾa biqawlihi qawla allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā: ( faʾidhā jāʾa ʾajaluhum lā yastaʾkhirūna sāʿatan walā yastaqdimūna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 34 wamaʿlūmun ʾannahu ʾidhā jāʾa al-ʾajalu lā yastaʾkhirūna nafasan walā ṭarfata ʿaynin wakadhālika lā yastaqdimūna ṭarfatan walā nafasan , fadhukirati al-sāʿatu dūna mā naqaṣa minhā liʾallā yakhruja al-kalāmu

mention what is shorter, because the word “hour” denotes the smallest time conventionally used among the Arabs. His saying thus agrees with God’s saying, glorified and exalted: “When their term comes, they can neither delay it an hour nor advance it” (al-Aʿrāf 34). It is known that when the term comes they cannot delay a breath or a blink of an eye, nor can they advance a blink or a breath. The hour was mentioned rather than anything shorter, so that the speech would not pass

عَنْ حَدِّ اسْتِعْمَالِهِمْ وَعُرْفِهِمْ وَلِيُسْتَدَلَّ بِهَا عَلَى مَا دُونَهَا فِي الْقِلَّةِ مِنَ النَّفَسِ وَالطَّرْفَةِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ دَلَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِنَصِّهِ عَلَى السَّاعَةِ عَلَى مَا دُونَهَا لِأَنَّ حِكْمَتَهُ مِنْ حِكْمَةِ مَوْلَاهُ وَكَلَامَهُ عَلَى مَعَانِي كَلَامِهِ وَقَدْ دَخَلَتِ السَّاعَةُ فَمَا دُونَهَا فِي الْأَيَّامِ الَّتِي قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى :

ʿan ḥaddi istiʿmālihim waʿurfihim waliyustadalla bihā ʿalā mā dūnahā fī al-qillati mina al-nafasi wa-al-ṭarfati , wakadhālika dalla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama binaṣṣihi ʿalā al-sāʿati ʿalā mā dūnahā liʾanna ḥikmatahu min ḥikmati mawlāhu wakalāmahu ʿalā maʿānī kalāmihi waqad dakhalati al-sāʿatu famā dūnahā fī al-ʾayyāmi allatī qāla allāhu taʿālā:

beyond the limits of their usage and custom, and so that one might infer from it the still shorter breath and blink. Likewise God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, indicated what is shorter by specifying the hour, because his wisdom comes from his Master’s wisdom and his speech follows the meanings of His speech. The hour and everything shorter are included in the days of which God Most High says:

( كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا هَنِيئًا بِمَا أَسْلَفْتُمْ فِي الْأَيَّامِ الْخَالِيَةِ ) الْحَاقَّةُ : 24 قِيلَ : هِيَ وَاللَّهِ أَيَّامُكُمْ هَذِهِ وَسَتَخْلُو فَأَشْغِلُوهَا بِالْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَةِ قَبْلَ خُلُوِّهَا مِنْكُمْ وَانْقِضَائِهَا عَنْكُمْ ، وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ : يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مَرَاحِلُ كُلَّمَا مَضَى مِنْكَ يَوْمٌ أَوْ لَيْلَةٌ قَطَعْتَ مَرْحَلَةً فَإِذَا فَنِيَتِ الْمَرَاحِلُ بَلَغْتَ الْمَنْزِلَ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ أَوِ النَّارِ ،

( kulū washrabū hanīʾan bimā ʾaslaftum fī al-ʾayyāmi al-khāliyati ) al-ḥāqqatu: 24 qīla: hiya wa-allāhi ʾayyāmukum hādhihi wasatakhlū faʾashghilūhā bi-al-ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥati qabla khuluwwihā minkum wanqiḍāʾihā ʿankum , wakāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu: yā ibna ʾādama ʾinnamā ʾanta marāḥilu kullamā maḍā minka yawmun ʾaw laylatun qaṭaʿta marḥalatan faʾidhā faniyati al-marāḥilu balaghta al-manzila ʾilā al-jannati ʾawi al-nāri ,

“Eat and drink with enjoyment because of what you sent ahead in the days gone by” (al-Ḥāqqa 24). It is said: by God, these are your very days, and they will pass; fill them with righteous deeds before they pass away from you and come to their end for you. Al-Ḥasan used to say, “Child of Adam, you are nothing but stages. Whenever a day or a night passes from you, you have crossed a stage. When the stages are exhausted, you reach the destination, Paradise or the Fire.”

فَالسَّاعَاتُ تَنْقُلُنَا وَالْأَيَّامُ تَطْوِينَا ، وَكَمَا قَالَ بَعْضُ الْحُكَمَاءِ : مَثَلُ الْعَبْدِ فِي عُمُرِهِ مَثَلُ رَجُلٍ فِي سَفِينَةٍ تَسِيرُ وَهُوَ قَاعِدٌ كَذَلِكَ الْعَبْدُ يَدْنُو مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ وَهُوَ غَافِلٌ وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ تُعْرَضُ عَلَيْهِ سَاعَاتُهُ فِي الْيَوْمِ وَاللَّيْلَةِ فَيَرَاهَا خَزَائِنَ مَصْفُوفَةً أَرْبَعَةَ وَعِشْرِينَ خِزَانَةً فَيَرَى فِي كُلِّ خِزَانَةٍ نَعِيمًا وَلَذَّةً وَعَطَاءً وَجَزَاءً لِمَا كَانَ أَوْدَعَ خِزَانَتَهُ مِنْ

fa-al-sāʿātu tanqulunā wa-al-ʾayyāmu taṭwīnā , wakamā qāla baʿḍu al-ḥukamāʾi: mathalu al-ʿabdi fī ʿumurihi mathalu rajulin fī safīnatin tasīru wahuwa qāʿidun kadhālika al-ʿabdu yadnū mina al-ʾākhirati wahuwa ghāfilun wayuqālu: ʾinna al-ʿabda tuʿraḍu ʿalayhi sāʿātuhu fī al-yawmi wa-al-laylati fayarāhā khazāʾina maṣfūfatan ʾarbaʿata waʿishrīna khizānatan fayarā fī kulli khizānatin naʿīman waladhdhatan waʿaṭāʾan wajazāʾan limā kāna ʾawdaʿa khizānatahu min

The hours carry us onward, and the days fold us away. As one of the sages said, “The servant in his lifetime is like a man sitting in a moving ship: likewise the servant draws near to the hereafter while heedless.” It is said that his hours of the day and night are displayed to the servant, and he sees them as chests arranged in rows, twenty-four chests. In each chest he sees bliss, pleasure, gift, and recompense for the good deeds he had deposited in the chest of

سَاعَاتِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الْحَسَنَاتِ فَيَسُرُّهُ ذَلِكَ وَيَغْتَبِطُ بِهِ ، فَإِذَا مَرَّتْ بِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا سَاعَةٌ لَمْ يَذْكُرِ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فِيهَا رَآهَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ خَزَائِنَ فُرْغًا لَا عَطَاءَ فِيهَا وَلَا جَزَاءَ عَلَيْهَا فَيَسُوءُهُ ذَلِكَ وَيَتَحَسَّرُ كَيْفَ فَاتَهُ أَنْ لَمْ يَدَّخِرْ فِيهَا شَيْئًا فَيَرَى جَزَاءَهُ مُدَّخَرًا ثُمَّ يُلْقَى فِي نَفْسِهِ الرِّضَا وَالسُّكُونُ فَلَوْ لَمْ يَتَحَسَّرِ الْعَبْدُ إِلَّا عَلَى فَوْتِ الْفَضَائِلِ

sāʿātihi fī al-dunyā mina al-ḥasanāti fayasurruhu dhālika wayaghtabiṭu bihi , faʾidhā marrat bihi fī al-dunyā sāʿatun lam yadhkuri allāha taʿālā fīhā raʾāhā fī al-ʾākhirati khazāʾina furghan lā ʿaṭāʾa fīhā walā jazāʾa ʿalayhā fayasūʾuhu dhālika wayataḥassaru kayfa fātahu ʾan lam yaddakhir fīhā shayʾan fayarā jazāʾahu muddakharan thumma yulqā fī nafsihi al-riḍā wa-al-sukūnu falaw lam yataḥassari al-ʿabdu ʾillā ʿalā fawti al-faḍāʾili

his worldly hours. This pleases him and fills him with delight. When an hour passed over him in this world in which he did not remember God Most High, he sees it in the hereafter as empty chests, with no gift in them and no recompense upon them. This distresses him, and he regrets how the opportunity escaped him to store something there and see its recompense laid up. Then contentment and tranquility are cast into his soul. Even if the servant regretted nothing but missing virtues

وَالْمَنْدُوبِ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الْخَيْرَاتِ لَكَانَ فِي فَوْتِ الْمُسَابَقَةِ وَالْمُسَارَعَةِ حَسَرَاتٌ فَكَيْفَ بِمَنْ فَاتَهُ أَوْقَاتُهُ فِي السَّيِّئَاتِ وَفَرَطَتْ مِنْهُ فِي الْخَسَارَاتِ وَلَوْ لَمْ يَشْتَغِلِ الْعَبْدُ فِي عُمُرِهِ إِلَّا بِالْحَلَالِ

wa-al-mandūbi ʾilayhi mina al-khayrāti lakāna fī fawti al-musābaqati wa-al-musāraʿati ḥasarātun fakayfa biman fātahu ʾawqātuhu fī al-sayyiʾāti wafaraṭat minhu fī al-khasārāti walaw lam yashtaghili al-ʿabdu fī ʿumurihi ʾillā bi-al-ḥalāli

and recommended good deeds, there would be regrets in having missed competing and hastening. How, then, about someone whose times slipped away in evil deeds and passed from him in losses? Even if the servant occupied his lifetime only with lawful things

وَالْمُبَاحَاتِ لَكَانَ ذَلِكَ نُقْصَانًا مِنَ الدَّرَجَاتِ لَهُ فَكَيْفَ بِمَنْ شُغِلَ بِالْمَحْظُورَاتِ ؟ فَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ مَا أَعْظَمَ الْخَطَرَ وَأَصْعَبَ الْأَمْرَ وَأَقَلَّ الْمُشَاهِدِينَ لِذَلِكَ وَأَغْفَلَ الْبَطَّالِينَ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : هَبْ أَنَّ الْمُسِيءَ قَدْ غُفِرَ لَهُ ، أَلَيْسَ قَدْ فَاتَهُ ثَوَابُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ أَنَّ بَعْضَ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ بَيْنَاهُمْ فِي نَعِيمٍ إِذْ سَطَعَ لَهُمْ نُورٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ

wa-al-mubāḥāti lakāna dhālika nuqṣānan mina al-darajāti lahu fakayfa biman shughila bi-al-maḥẓūrāti ? fasubḥāna allāhi mā ʾaʿẓama al-khaṭara waʾaṣʿaba al-ʾamra waʾaqalla al-mushāhidīna lidhālika waʾaghfala al-baṭṭālīna , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: hab ʾanna al-musīʾa qad ghufira lahu , ʾalaysa qad fātahu thawābu al-muḥsinīna , waqad jāʾa fī al-ʾathari ʾanna baʿḍa ʾahli al-jannati baynāhum fī naʿīmin ʾidh saṭaʿa lahum nūrun min fawqihim

and permissible things, this would still diminish his degrees. How, then, about someone occupied with forbidden things? Glory be to God! How great the peril, how difficult the matter, how few those who witness it, and how heedless the idle! One of the scholars said, “Suppose the wrongdoer has been forgiven: has he not still missed the reward of those who act well?” A transmitted account says that while some of the people of Paradise were in bliss, a light shone upon them from above,

أَضَاءَتْ مِنْهُ مَنَازِلُهُمْ كَمَا تُضِيءُ الشَّمْسُ لِأَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا فَنَظَرُوا إِلَى رِجَالٍ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ أَهْلِ عِلِّيِّينَ يَرَوْنَهُمْ كَمَا يُرَى الْكَوْكَبُ الدُّرِّيُّ فِي أُفُقِ السَّمَاءِ قَدْ فُضِّلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ فِي الْأَنْوَارِ وَالنَّعِيمِ وَالْجَمَالِ كَمَا فُضِّلَ الْقَمَرُ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْكَوَاكِبِ فَيَنْظُرُونَ إِلَيْهِمْ يَطِيرُونَ عَلَى نُجُبٍ تَسْرَحُ بِهِمْ فِي الْهَوَاءِ حَيْثُ شَاؤُوا وَيَتَزَاوَرُونَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا يَزُورُونَ ذَا الْجَلَالِ

ʾaḍāʾat minhu manāziluhum kamā tuḍīʾu al-shamsu liʾahli al-dunyā fanaẓarū ʾilā rijālin min fawqihim ʾahli ʿilliyyīna yarawnahum kamā yurā al-kawkabu al-durriyyu fī ʾufuqi al-samāʾi qad fuḍḍilū ʿalayhim fī al-ʾanwāri wa-al-naʿīmi wa-al-jamāli kamā fuḍḍila al-qamaru ʿalā sāʾiri al-kawākibi fayanẓurūna ʾilayhim yaṭīrūna ʿalā nujubin tasraḥu bihim fī al-hawāʾi ḥaythu shāʾū wayatazāwarūna baʿḍuhum baʿḍan yazūrūna dhā al-jalāli

illuminating their dwellings as the sun illuminates the people of this world. They looked toward men above them, the people of ʿIlliyyīn, seeing them as a brilliant star is seen on the horizon of heaven. They had been favored above them in lights, bliss, and beauty as the moon is favored above the other stars. They watched them flying upon noble camels that carried them through the air wherever they wished, visiting one another and visiting the Possessor of Majesty

وَالْإِكْرَامِ فَيُنَادُونَ هَؤُلَاءِ : يَا إِخْوَانَنَا مَا أَنْصَفْتُمُونَا ، كُنَّا نُصَلِّي كَمَا تُصَلُّونَ وَنَصُومُ كَمَا تَصُومُونَ فَمَا هَذَا الَّذِي فُضِّلْتُمْ بِهِ عَلَيْنَا ؟ قَالَ : فَإِذَا النِّدَاءُ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَجُوعُونَ حِينَ تَشْبَعُونَ وَيَعْطَشُونَ حِينَ تَرْوُونَ وَيَعْرَوْنَ حِينَ تَكْتَسُونَ وَيَبْكُونَ حِينَ تَضْحَكُونَ وَيَقُومُونَ حِينَ تَنَامُونَ وَيَخَافُونَ حِينَ تَأْمَنُونَ فَلِذَلِكَ فُضِّلُوا عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ

wa-al-ʾikrāmi fayunādūna hāʾulāʾi: yā ʾikhwānanā mā ʾanṣaftumūnā , kunnā nuṣallī kamā tuṣallūna wanaṣūmu kamā taṣūmūna famā hādhā alladhī fuḍḍiltum bihi ʿalaynā ? qāla: faʾidhā al-nidāʾu mina allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʾinnahum kānū yajūʿūna ḥīna tashbaʿūna wayaʿṭashūna ḥīna tarwūna wayaʿrawna ḥīna taktasūna wayabkūna ḥīna taḍḥakūna wayaqūmūna ḥīna tanāmūna wayakhāfūna ḥīna taʾmanūna falidhālika fuḍḍilū ʿalaykumu al-yawma

and Honor. These people call out, “Our brothers, you have not treated us fairly! We prayed as you prayed and fasted as you fasted. What is this by which you have been favored over us?” He said: then comes the call from God, mighty and majestic: “They used to hunger when you were full, thirst when you drank your fill, go naked when you clothed yourselves, weep when you laughed, stand in prayer when you slept, and fear when you felt secure. For this they have been favored over you today.”

، فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ) السَّجْدَةُ : 17 ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : أَكْثَرُ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ الْبُلْهُ وَعِلِّيُّونَ لِذَوِي الْأَلْبَابِ .

, fadhālika qawluhu taʿālā: ( falā taʿlamu nafsun mā ʾukhfiya lahum min qurrati ʾaʿyunin jazāʾan bimā kānū yaʿmalūna ) al-sajdatu: 17 , waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari: ʾaktharu ʾahli al-jannati al-bulhu waʿilliyyūna lidhawī al-ʾalbābi.

This is His exalted saying, “No soul knows what delight for the eyes has been hidden for them, as recompense for what they used to do” (al-Sajda 17). In the report: “Most of the people of Paradise are the simplehearted, while ʿIlliyyūn belongs to people of understanding.”

ذِكْرُ الْمَقَامِ الْخَامِسِ مِنْ مُرَاقَبَةِ الْمُوقِنِينَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ

dhikru al-maqāmi al-khāmisi min murāqabati al-mūqinīna mina al-muqarrabīna

The Fifth Station in the Watchfulness of Those Certain in Faith among Those Brought Near

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مُخَوِّفًا لِلْكَافَّةِ : ( حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ : رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ لَعَلِّي أَعْمَلُ صَالِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ ) ثُمَّ أَجَابَهُ فَقَالَ : كَلَّا وَحَقَّقَ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى فَقَالَ : ( إِنَّهَا كَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَائِلُهَا ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ : 100 ثُمَّ نَهَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نَهْيًا صَرِيحًا عَنْ مِثْلِ هَذِهِ الْحَالِ وَأَخْبَرَ بِنُقْصَانِ مَنْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ :

qāla allāhu taʿālā mukhawwifan lilkāffati: ( ḥattā ʾidhā jāʾa ʾaḥadahumu al-mawtu qāla: rabbi irjiʿūni laʿallī ʾaʿmalu ṣāliḥan fīmā taraktu ) thumma ʾajābahu faqāla: kallā waḥaqqaqa qawlahu taʿālā faqāla: ( ʾinnahā kalimatun huwa qāʾiluhā ) al-muʾminūna: 100 thumma nahā al-muʾminīna nahyan ṣarīḥan ʿan mithli hādhihi al-ḥāli waʾakhbara binuqṣāni man faʿala dhālika faqāla:

God Most High says, warning everyone: “Until, when death comes to one of them, he says, ‘My Lord, send me back, that I may do righteousness in what I left behind.’” Then He answers him, “No indeed!” and confirms His exalted saying: “It is only a word he utters” (al-Muʾminūn 100). Then He explicitly forbids believers to be in such a state and tells of the loss of whoever does this, saying:

( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ) الْمُنَافِقُونَ : 9 أَيْ لَا تَشْغَلُكُمْ عَنْ طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ثُمَّ قَالَ : ( وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ ) الْمُنَافِقُونَ : 17 أَيْ الْمَغْبُونُونَ الْمَنْقُوصُونَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ لِأَنَّهُمْ آثَرُوا الْمَالَ وَالْوَلَدَ عَلَى الْخَالِقِ الرَّازِقِ ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِالْإِنْفَاقِ مِمَّا رَزَقَ وَقَرَنَهُ بِالْإِيمَانِ وَأَخْبَرَ

( yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū lā tulhikum ʾamwālukum walā ʾawlādukum ʿan dhikri allāhi ) al-munāfiqūna: 9 ʾay lā tashghalukum ʿan ṭāʿati allāhi taʿālā thumma qāla: ( waman yafʿal dhālika faʾūlāʾika humu al-khāsirūna ) al-munāfiqūna: 17 ʾay al-maghbūnūna al-manqūṣūna fī al-ʾākhirati liʾannahum ʾātharū al-māla wa-al-walada ʿalā al-khāliqi al-rāziqi thumma ʾamara bi-al-ʾinfāqi mimmā razaqa waqaranahu bi-al-ʾīmāni waʾakhbara

“O you who believe, let neither your wealth nor your children distract you from God’s remembrance” (al-Munāfiqūn 9): that is, let them not occupy you away from obeying God Most High. Then He says, “Whoever does that, those are the losers” (al-Munāfiqūn 17): that is, those outbid and diminished in the hereafter, because they preferred wealth and children to the Creator, the Provider. Then He commanded spending from what He has provided, coupled it with faith, and told us

أَنَّهُ اسْتَخْلَفَنَا فِي مُلْكِهِ اخْتِبَارًا لَنَا فَقَالَ : ( آمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَأَنْفِقُوا مِمَّا جَعَلَكُمْ مُسْتَخْلَفِينَ فِيهِ ) الْحَدِيدُ : 7 فَسَمِعَ الْغَافِلُونَ نِصْفَ الْكَلَامِ فَآمَنُوا وَلَمْ يُنْفِقُوا وَعَقَلَ الْعَامِلُونَ كُلَّ الْكَلَامِ فَآمَنُوا وَأَنْفَقُوا وَمَا يَعْقِلُهَا إِلَّا الْعَالِمُونَ ، وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ : ( وَأَنْفِقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ فَيَقُولَ رَبِّ لَوْلَا

ʾannahu istakhlafanā fī mulkihi ikhtibāran lanā faqāla: ( ʾāminū bi-allāhi warasūlihi waʾanfiqū mimmā jaʿalakum mustakhlafīna fīhi ) al-ḥadīdu: 7 fasamiʿa al-ghāfilūna niṣfa al-kalāmi faʾāmanū walam yunfiqū waʿaqala al-ʿāmilūna kulla al-kalāmi faʾāmanū waʾanfaqū wamā yaʿqiluhā ʾillā al-ʿālimūna , waqāla subḥānahu: ( waʾanfiqū mimmā razaqnākum min qabli ʾan yaʾtiya ʾaḥadakumu al-mawtu fayaqūla rabbi lawlā

that He has made us successors in His dominion as a test for us. He says, “Believe in God and His Messenger, and spend from that over which He has made you successors” (al-Ḥadīd 7). The heedless heard half the speech: they believed but did not spend. The workers understood all the speech: they believed and spent. None understand it except the knowledgeable. He, glorified, says, “Spend from what We have provided you before death comes to one of you and he says, ‘My Lord, if only

أَخَّرْتَنِي إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ فَأَصَّدَّقَ وَأَكُنْ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ ) الْمُنَافِقُونَ : 10 أَيْ بِالْأَعْمَالِ وَكَانَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ يَقُولُ : هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ مِنْ أَشَدِّ شَيْءٍ عَلَى أَهْلِ التَّوْحِيدِ لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَتَمَنَّى التَّأْخِيرَ وَالرُّجُوعَ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا أَحَدٌ لَهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ فِي الْآخِرَةِ ،

ʾakhkhartanī ʾilā ʾajalin qarībin faʾaṣṣaddaqa waʾakun mina al-ṣāliḥīna ) al-munāfiqūna: 10 ʾay bi-al-ʾaʿmāli wakāna ibnu ʿabbāsin yaqūlu: hādhihi al-ʾāyatu min ʾashaddi shayʾin ʿalā ʾahli al-tawḥīdi liʾannahu lā yatamannā al-taʾkhīra wa-al-rujūʿa ʾilā al-dunyā ʾaḥadun lahu ʿinda allāhi khayrun fī al-ʾākhirati ,

You would delay me until a near term, so that I might give charity and be among the righteous’” (al-Munāfiqūn 10), that is, through deeds. Ibn ʿAbbās used to say, “This verse is among the severest things for the people who affirm oneness, because no one who has good with God in the hereafter wishes for delay and a return to this world.”

وَمِثْلُ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ سُبْحَانَهُ : ( أَنْ تَقُولَ نَفْسٌ يَا حَسْرَتَى عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْتُ فِي جَنْبِ اللَّهِ ) الزُّمَرُ : 56 الْحَسْرَةُ هِيَ أَعْظَمُ النَّدَامَةِ وَهِيَ اسْمٌ لِفَوْتِ شَيْءٍ لَا تَدَارُكَ فِيهِ فَرَّطْتُ أَيْ ضَيَّعْتُ وَوَنَيْتُ وَفَرَطَ مِنِّي أَيْ ذَهَبَ وَفَاتَ وَجَنْبُ اللَّهِ قِيلَ : عَلَى مَا فَاتَنِي مِنَ الْجَزَاءِ مِنْهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَقِيلَ : مَا فَاتَ مِنَ النَّصِيبِ فِي أَيَّامِ الدُّنْيَا إِلَى قَوْلِهِ أَوْ تَقُولَ حِينَ تَرَى

wamithlu hādhā qawluhu subḥānahu: ( ʾan taqūla nafsun yā ḥasratā ʿalā mā farraṭtu fī janbi allāhi ) al-zumaru: 56 al-ḥasratu hiya ʾaʿẓamu al-nadāmati wahiya ismun lifawti shayʾin lā tadāruka fīhi farraṭtu ʾay ḍayyaʿtu wawanaytu wafaraṭa minnī ʾay dhahaba wafāta wajanbu allāhi qīla: ʿalā mā fātanī mina al-jazāʾi minhu fī al-ʾākhirati waqīla: mā fāta mina al-naṣībi fī ʾayyāmi al-dunyā ʾilā qawlihi ʾaw taqūla ḥīna tarā

Similar is His glorified saying, “Lest a soul say, ‘Alas for my regret over what I neglected in relation to God!’” (al-Zumar 56). Regret is the greatest remorse; it names the loss of something that cannot be recovered. Farraṭtu means “I wasted and was remiss”; faraṭa minnī means “it went away and escaped me.” “In relation to God” is explained as: over the recompense from Him in the hereafter that escaped me. It is also explained as: the share lost during the days of this world. This continues through His saying, “Or say, when it sees

الْعَذَابَ : ( لَوْ أَنَّ لِي كَرَّةً ) الزُّمَرُ : 58 يَعْنِي إِلَى الدُّنْيَا عَوْدَةً أُخْرَى ( فَأَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ) الزُّمَرُ : 58 ، وَقَوْلُهُ أَنْ تَقُولَ نَفْسٌ مِنَ الْكَلَامِ الْمُضْمَرِ الْمَعْطُوفِ وَمُضْمَرُهُ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَقُولَ أَوْ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ تَقُولَ وَمَعْطُوفُهُ هُوَ قَوْلُهُ : ( وَأَنِيبُوا إِلَى رَبِّكُمْ وَأَسْلِمُوا لَهُ ) الزُّمَرُ : 54 ،

al-ʿadhāba: ( law ʾanna lī karratan ) al-zumaru: 58 yaʿnī ʾilā al-dunyā ʿawdatan ʾukhrā ( faʾakūna mina al-muḥsinīna ) al-zumaru: 58 , waqawluhu ʾan taqūla nafsun mina al-kalāmi al-muḍmari al-maʿṭūfi wamuḍmaruhu min qabli ʾan taqūla ʾaw khashyata ʾan taqūla wamaʿṭūfuhu huwa qawluhu: ( waʾanībū ʾilā rabbikum waʾaslimū lahu ) al-zumaru: 54 ,

the punishment, ‘If only I had another turn’” (al-Zumar 58), meaning another return to this world, “‘so that I might be among those who act well’” (al-Zumar 58). His expression “lest a soul say” is elliptical speech connected to an earlier expression. Its implicit wording is “before it says” or “for fear that it says”; what it connects to is His saying, “Turn in repentance to your Lord and submit to Him” (al-Zumar 54).

أَيْ اقْبِلُوا إِلَيْهِ وَتُوبُوا وَاسْتَسْلِمُوا وَسَلِّمُوا قُلُوبَكُمْ وَنُفُوسَكُمْ وَأَمْوَالَكُمْ فِي طَاعَتِهِ وَعِبَادَتِهِ ( وَاتَّبِعُوا أَحْسَنَ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ ) الزُّمَرُ : 55 ، أَيْ اتَّبِعُوا الْعَزَائِمَ مِنَ الْأُمُورِ وَالْفَوَاضِلَ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ فَهُوَ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ الرُّخَصِ وَالْمُبَاحَاتِ مِثْلَ الزُّهْدِ وَالْوَرَعِ وَالْخَوْفِ وَالْإِيقَانِ فَهَذَا مِنْ أَحْسَنِ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا مِنْ رَبِّنَا ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى :

ʾay ʾaqbilū ʾilayhi watūbū wastaslimū wasallimū qulūbakum wanufūsakum waʾamwālakum fī ṭāʿatihi waʿibādatihi ( wattabiʿū ʾaḥsana mā ʾunzila ʾilaykum min rabbikum ) al-zumaru: 55 , ʾay ittabiʿū al-ʿazāʾima mina al-ʾumūri wa-al-fawāḍila mina al-ʾaʿmāli fahuwa ʾaḥsanu mina al-rukhaṣi wa-al-mubāḥāti mithla al-zuhdi wa-al-waraʿi wa-al-khawfi wa-al-ʾīqāni fahādhā min ʾaḥsani mā ʾunzila ʾilaynā min rabbinā thumma qāla taʿālā:

That is: turn toward Him, repent, surrender, and yield your hearts, selves, and wealth in obedience to Him and worship of Him. “Follow the best of what has been sent down to you from your Lord” (al-Zumar 55): that is, follow the binding requirements of affairs and the superior deeds, for this is better than concessions and merely permissible things, such as renunciation, scrupulousness, fear, and certainty. These are among the best things sent down to us from our Lord. Then He Most High says:

( أَنْ تَقُولَ نَفْسٌ يَا حَسْرَتَى عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْتُ فِي جَنْبِ اللَّهِ ) الزُّمَرُ : 56 ، فَلَمَّا طَالَ الْكَلَامُ وَأَضْمَرَ مَعْطُوفَهُ وَبَعُدَ عَاطِفُهُ لِلِاخْتِصَارِ أَشْكَلَ فَهْمُهُ ، وَفِي الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ أَشَدُّ اخْتِصَارًا وَأَبْعَدُ مِنْ هَذَا إِضْمَارًا كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَمَا يُكَذِّبُكَ بَعْدُ بِالدِّينِ ) التِّينُ : 7 ، الْمَعْنَى : فَمَا الَّذِي يَحْمِلُكَ عَلَى التَّكْذِيبِ أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ الَّذِي خَلَقْنَاهُ فِي أَحْسَنِ

( ʾan taqūla nafsun yā ḥasratā ʿalā mā farraṭtu fī janbi allāhi ) al-zumaru: 56 , falammā ṭāla al-kalāmu waʾaḍmara maʿṭūfahu wabaʿuda ʿāṭifuhu lilikhtiṣāri ʾashkala fahmuhu , wafī al-qurʾāni mā huwa ʾashaddu ikhtiṣāran waʾabʿadu min hādhā ʾiḍmāran kaqawlihi taʿālā: ( famā yukadhdhibuka baʿdu bi-al-dīni ) al-tīnu: 7 , al-maʿnā: famā alladhī yaḥmiluka ʿalā al-takdhībi ʾayyuhā al-ʾinsānu alladhī khalaqnāhu fī ʾaḥsani

“Lest a soul say, ‘Alas for my regret over what I neglected in relation to God!’” (al-Zumar 56). Since the speech grew long, its connected expression was left implicit, and what connected it became distant for brevity’s sake, understanding it became difficult. In the Qurʾān there is wording still more compressed and with an even more distant ellipsis, as in His exalted saying, “What then makes you deny the Judgment?” (al-Tīn 7). The meaning is: what impels you to denial, O human whom We created in the finest

تَقْوِيمٍ بَعْدَ هَذَا الْبَيَانِ وَالْبُرْهَانِ بِالدِّينِ بِالْغَائِبَاتِ وَالْكَائِنَاتِ مِنْ أُمُورِ الدِّينِ وَالْحَسَنَاتِ وَالْجَزَاءِ ثُمَّ أَحْكَمَ ذَلِكَ بِرَدِّهِ إِلَيْهِ فَقَالَ : ( أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ ) التِّينُ : 8 وَكَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ : ( وَلَا تَنْسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا ) الْقَصَصُ : 77 ، الْمَعْنَى : لَا تَتْرُكْ أَنْ تَعْمَلَ فِي الدُّنْيَا بِأَيَّامِكَ هَذِهِ فَتُدْرِكَ نَصِيبَكَ غَدًا مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا

taqwīmin baʿda hādhā al-bayāni wa-al-burhāni bi-al-dīni bi-al-ghāʾibāti wa-al-kāʾināti min ʾumūri al-dīni wa-al-ḥasanāti wa-al-jazāʾi thumma ʾaḥkama dhālika biraddihi ʾilayhi faqāla: ( ʾalaysa allāhu biʾaḥkami al-ḥākimīna ) al-tīnu: 8 wakadhālika qawluhu: ( walā tansa naṣībaka mina al-dunyā ) al-qaṣaṣu: 77 , al-maʿnā: lā tatruk ʾan taʿmala fī al-dunyā biʾayyāmika hādhihi fatudrika naṣībaka ghadan mina al-ʾākhirati fī al-dunyā

form, after this explanation and proof, denial of the Judgment, of unseen things and things to come among matters of religion, good deeds, and recompense? Then He made this decisive by referring it to Himself, saying, “Is God not the most judicious of judges?” (al-Tīn 8). Likewise His saying, “Do not forget your share of this world” (al-Qaṣaṣ 77): the meaning is, do not neglect working in this world during these days of yours, so that you attain your share of the hereafter tomorrow, through this world,

فَإِنَّكَ لَا تُدْرِكُهُ إِلَّا فِيهَا ثُمَّ أَحْكَمَهُ بِقَوْلِهِ : ( وَأَحْسِنْ كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ ) الْقَصَصُ : 77 ، أَيْ أَحْسِنْ إِلَى نَفْسِكَ وَإِلَى إِخْوَانِكَ الْفُقَرَاءِ كَالَّذِي أَحْسَنَ إِلَيْكَ بِهِ مِنَ الْمَالِ وَالْغِنَى ، فَبِذَلِكَ تُدْرِكُ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ ، ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ الْكُلَّ وَحَذَّرَهُمْ فَقَالَ : ( حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَتْهُمُ السَّاعَةُ بَغْتَةً قَالُوا يَا حَسْرَتَنَا عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْنَا

faʾinnaka lā tudrikuhu ʾillā fīhā thumma ʾaḥkamahu biqawlihi: ( waʾaḥsin kamā ʾaḥsana allāhu ʾilayka ) al-qaṣaṣu: 77 , ʾay ʾaḥsin ʾilā nafsika waʾilā ʾikhwānika al-fuqarāʾi ka-alladhī ʾaḥsana ʾilayka bihi mina al-māli wa-al-ghinā , fabidhālika tudriku naṣībaka mina al-dunyā fī al-ʾākhirati , thumma ʾakhbara allāhu subḥānahu al-kulla waḥadhdharahum faqāla: ( ḥattā ʾidhā jāʾathumu al-sāʿatu baghtatan qālū yā ḥasratanā ʿalā mā farraṭnā

for you attain it only here. Then He made this decisive by saying, “Do good as God has done good to you” (al-Qaṣaṣ 77): that is, do good to yourself and to your poor brothers, corresponding to the wealth and affluence through which He has done good to you. Through that you attain in the hereafter your share from this world. Then God, glorified, informed everyone and warned them, saying, “Until, when the Hour comes upon them suddenly, they say, ‘Alas for our regret over what we neglected

فِيهَا ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 31 ، أَيْ : يَا نَدَامَتَنَا عَلَى مَا ضَيَّعْنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَفَاتَنَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : لَا يَمُوتُ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا بِحَسْرَةٍ وَنَدَامَةٍ إِنْ كَانَ مُسِيئًا كَيْفَ لَمْ يُحْسِنْ وَإِنْ كَانَ مُحْسِنًا كَيْفَ لَمْ يَزْدَدْ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى جَعَلَ أَهْلَ السَّلَامَةِ وَالنَّجَاةِ طَبَقَتَيْنِ بَعْضَهُمْ أَعْلَى مِنْ بَعْضٍ وَجَعَلَ أَهْلَ الْهَلَكَةِ طَبَقَةً وَاحِدَةً بَعْضَهُمْ أَسْفَلَ مِنْ بَعْضٍ فَكَانَ

fīhā ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 31 , ʾay: yā nadāmatanā ʿalā mā ḍayyaʿnā fī al-dunyā wafātanā fī al-ʾākhirati , wafī al-khabari: lā yamūtu ʾaḥadun ʾillā biḥasratin wanadāmatin ʾin kāna musīʾan kayfa lam yuḥsin waʾin kāna muḥsinan kayfa lam yazdad wadhālika ʾanna allāha taʿālā jaʿala ʾahla al-salāmati wa-al-najāti ṭabaqatayni baʿḍahum ʾaʿlā min baʿḍin wajaʿala ʾahla al-halakati ṭabaqatan wāḥidatan baʿḍahum ʾasfala min baʿḍin fakāna

in it!’” (al-Anʿām 31). That is: alas for our remorse over what we wasted in this world and what escaped us in the hereafter! In the report: “No one dies except with regret and remorse: if he acted badly, that he did not act well; if he acted well, that he did not increase.” This is because God Most High made the people of safety and salvation two classes, some higher than others, and made the people of destruction one class, some lower than others. Thus

صَاحِبُ الشِّمَالِ يَتَحَسَّرُ كَيْفَ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ ) ( إِلَّا أَصْحَابَ الْيَمِينِ ) الْمُدَّثِّرُ : 38 - 39 وَصَاحِبُ الْيَمِينِ يَتَحَسَّرُ كَيْفَ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَالصَّالِحُ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ يَتَمَنَّى أَنْ يَكُونَ مِنَ الشُّهَدَاءِ وَالشَّهِيدُ يَوَدُّ أَنَّهُ مِنَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ فَهُوَ يَوْمُ الْحَسْرَةِ الَّذِي أَنْذَرَ بِهِ أَهْلَ الْغَفْلَةِ فَكَيْفَ بِهِمْ فِي ذَلِكَ

ṣāḥibu al-shimāli yataḥassaru kayfa lam yakun min ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni liqawlihi taʿālā: ( kullu nafsin bimā kasabat rahīnatun ) ( ʾillā ʾaṣḥāba al-yamīni ) al-muddaththiru: 38 - 39 waṣāḥibu al-yamīni yataḥassaru kayfa lam yakun mina al-muqarrabīna wa-al-ṣāliḥu mina al-muqarrabīna yatamannā ʾan yakūna mina al-shuhadāʾi wa-al-shahīdu yawaddu ʾannahu mina al-ṣiddīqīna fahuwa yawmu al-ḥasrati alladhī ʾandhara bihi ʾahla al-ghaflati fakayfa bihim fī dhālika

the person of the left regrets that he was not among the companions of the right, according to His exalted saying, “Every soul is held in pledge for what it has earned, except the companions of the right” (al-Muddaththir 38–39). The person of the right regrets that he was not among those brought near; the righteous person among those brought near wishes to be among the witnesses; the witness wishes he were among the utterly truthful. This is the Day of Regret about which He warned the heedless. How, then, will they fare on that

الْيَوْمِ إِذَا كَانُوا الْيَوْمَ أَمْوَاتًا وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ فَأَنَّىٰ لَهُمُ النِّذَارَةُ وَالتَّذْكِرَةُ كَمَا قَالَ : ( وَأَنْذِرْهُمْ يَوْمَ الْحَسْرَةِ إِذْ قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ وَهُمْ فِي غَفْلَةٍ ) مَرْيَمُ : 93 ، وَقَدْ قَالَ : ( لِيُنْذِرَ مَنْ كَانَ حَيًّا ) يس : 07 ، كَمَا قَالَ :

al-yawmi ʾidhā kānū al-yawma ʾamwātan walam yakun lahu ḥasanatun faʾannā lahumu al-nidhāratu wa-al-tadhkiratu kamā qāla: ( waʾandhirhum yawma al-ḥasrati ʾidh quḍiya al-ʾamru wahum fī ghaflatin ) maryamu: 93 , waqad qāla: ( liyundhira man kāna ḥayyan ) yā sīn: 07 , kamā qāla:

day, when today they are dead and one has no good deed? How can warning and reminder reach them? As He says, “Warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter has been decided, while they are heedless” (Maryam 93). He has said, “To warn whoever is alive” (Yā Sīn 07). As He says:

( إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مُنْذِرُ مَنْ يَخْشَاهَا ) النَّازِعَاتُ : 54 ( إِنَّمَا تُنْذِرُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الذِّكْرَ وَخَشِيَ الرَّحْمَنَ بِالْغَيْبِ ) ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَكَشَفْنَا عَنْكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ ) ق : 22 ، يَعْنِي إِلَى مَا قَدَّمْتَ وَقِيلَ حَدِيدٌ إِلَى لِسَانِ الْمِيزَانِ تَخَافُ النُّقْصَانَ وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ) ق :

( ʾinnamā ʾanta mundhiru man yakhshāhā ) al-nāziʿātu: 54 ( ʾinnamā tundhiru mani ittabaʿa al-dhikra wakhashiya al-raḥmāna bi-al-ghaybi ) , waqāla taʿālā: ( fakashafnā ʿanka ghiṭāʾaka fabaṣaruka al-yawma ḥadīdun ) qāf: 22 , yaʿnī ʾilā mā qaddamta waqīla ḥadīdun ʾilā lisāni al-mīzāni takhāfu al-nuqṣāna waqāla taʿālā: ( wajāʾat sakratu al-mawti bi-al-ḥaqqi ) qāf:

“You are only a warner to whoever fears it” (al-Nāziʿāt 54); “You warn only whoever follows the Reminder and fears the All-Merciful unseen.” He Most High says, “We have removed your covering from you, so your sight today is sharp” (Qāf 22), meaning toward what you sent ahead. It is also said: sharp toward the tongue of the balance, fearing a shortfall. He Most High says, “The stupor of death has come with the truth” (Qāf

91 قِيلَ بِالسَّابِقَةِ لَهُمْ وَعَلَيْهِمْ فَهُوَ الْحَقُّ سَبَقَتْ لَهُمْ مِنَّا الْحُسْنَى حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ وَسَقَطَ مَا دُونَهَا وَقَدْ قِيلَ إِنَّمَا يُوزَنُ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ خَوَاتِيمُهَا وَالْخَوَاتِمُ مِنَ السَّوَابِقِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا زَاهِقٌ وَالْوَزْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ مَا سَبَقَ مِنَ الْعَدْلِ وَالصِّدْقِ وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا لِأَوْلِيَائِهِ وَعَدْلًا عَلَى أَعْدَائِهِ أَلَا لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالْأَمْرُ .

91 qīla bi-al-sābiqati lahum waʿalayhim fahuwa al-ḥaqqu sabaqat lahum minnā al-ḥusnā ḥaqqat ʿalayhim kalimatu rabbika lā yuʾminūna wasaqaṭa mā dūnahā waqad qīla ʾinnamā yūzanu mina al-ʾaʿmāli khawātīmuhā wa-al-khawātimu mina al-sawābiqi wamā baynahumā zāhiqun wa-al-waznu yawmaʾidhin al-ḥaqqu mā sabaqa mina al-ʿadli wa-al-ṣidqi watammat kalimatu rabbika ṣidqan liʾawliyāʾihi waʿadlan ʿalā ʾaʿdāʾihi ʾalā lahu al-khalqu wa-al-ʾamru.

91). It is said: with what was previously decreed for them or against them; this is the truth. “The finest reward has already gone forth for them from Us”; “Your Lord’s word has become binding upon them: they do not believe.” Everything short of that falls away. It has been said that only the endings of deeds are weighed; the endings come from the prior decrees, and what lies between them passes away. “The weighing that day is the truth”: the justice and truthfulness that preceded. “Your Lord’s word has been fulfilled,” in truthfulness toward His friends and justice against His enemies. Surely creation and command belong to Him.

ذِكْرُ الْمَقَامِ السَّادِسِ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ

dhikru al-maqāmi al-sādisi min mushāhadati al-muqarrabīna

The Sixth Station in the Witnessing of Those Brought Near

الْخَيْرَاتُ هِيَ مِنْ ثَمَرَاتِ الْإِيمَانِ ، وَالصَّالِحَاتُ هِيَ مُقْتَضَى الْيَقِينِ ، وَاللَّعِبُ مُقْتَضَى الشَّكِّ ، وَالسَّمْعُ وَالْبَصَرُ وَصْفَانِ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ، وَالْعَمَى وَالصَّمَمُ وَصْفَانِ لِلشَّكِّ ، تَنْتَظِمُ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي فِي قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى : ( قُلْ بِئْسَمَا يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِهِ إِيمَانُكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 93 فَدَلَّ أَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ يَأْمُرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِالْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَقَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى مُخْبِرًا

al-khayrātu hiya min thamarāti al-ʾīmāni , wa-al-ṣāliḥātu hiya muqtaḍā al-yaqīni , wa-al-laʿibu muqtaḍā al-shakki , wa-al-samʿu wa-al-baṣaru waṣfāni lilmuttaqīna , wa-al-ʿamā wa-al-ṣamamu waṣfāni li-l-shakki , tantaẓimu hādhihi al-maʿānī fī qawli allāhi taʿālā: ( qul biʾsamā yaʾmurukum bihi ʾīmānukum ʾin kuntum muʾminīna ) al-baqaratu: 93 fadalla ʾanna al-ʾīmāna yaʾmuru al-muʾminīna bi-al-birri wa-al-taqwā waqawluhu taʿālā mukhbiran

Good things are among the fruits of faith; righteous deeds are what certainty requires, and play is what doubt requires. Hearing and sight are two qualities of the God-fearing, and blindness and deafness are two qualities of doubt. These meanings come together in God Most High’s saying, “Say: evil is what your faith commands you, if you are believers” (al-Baqara 93). This indicates that faith commands believers to righteousness and reverent fear. And His exalted saying, telling

عَمَّنْ أَيْقَنَ فَسَمِعَ وَأَبْصَرَ فَيَنَالُ الْعَمَلَ الصَّالِحَ : ( رَبَّنَا أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَارْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَالِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ ) السَّجْدَةُ : 12 قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ اللَّاعِبِينَ : ( بَلْ هُمْ فِي شَكٍّ يَلْعَبُونَ ) الدُّخَانُ : 9 ، ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ حَالَهُمْ لِعَدَمِ الْيَقِينِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( مَا كَانُوا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ السَّمْعَ وَمَا كَانُوا يُبْصِرُونَ ) هُودٌ : 20 لِأَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَكُونُوا مُوقِنِينَ ،

ʿamman ʾayqana fasamiʿa waʾabṣara fayanālu al-ʿamala al-ṣāliḥa: ( rabbanā ʾabṣarnā wasamiʿnā farjiʿnā naʿmal ṣāliḥan ʾinnā mūqinūna ) al-sajdatu: 12 qawluhu taʿālā fī waṣfi al-lāʿibīna: ( bal hum fī shakkin yalʿabūna ) al-dukhānu: 9 , thumma dhakara ḥālahum liʿadami al-yaqīni faqāla taʿālā: ( mā kānū yastaṭīʿūna al-samʿa wamā kānū yubṣirūna ) hūdun: 20 liʾannahum lam yakūnū mūqinīna ,

of one who becomes certain, hears, and sees, and so attains righteous action: “Our Lord, we have seen and heard; send us back, and we will do righteousness; we are certain” (al-Sajda 12). His exalted saying describes those who play: “Rather, they are playing in doubt” (al-Dukhān 9). Then He described their condition through the absence of certainty, saying Most High, “They could not hear, and they did not see” (Hūd 20), because they were not certain.

فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمُ الْيَقِينُ وَهُوَ الْمُعَايَنَةُ أَبْصَرُوا وَسَمِعُوا فَقَالُوا : وَكُنَّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ الدِّينِ حَتَّى أَتَانَا الْيَقِينُ فَوَصَفَهُمْ بِشِدَّةِ السَّمْعِ وَالْبَصَرِ حِينَئِذٍ لَمَّا أَيْقَنُوا فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( أَسْمِعْ بِهِمْ وَأَبْصِرْ يَوْمَ يَأْتُونَنَا ) مَرْيَمُ : 38 أَيْ مَا أَسْمَعَهُمْ وَأَبْصَرَهُمُ الْيَوْمَ لَمَّا جَاؤُونَا فَرَأَوْا مَا عِنْدَنَا وَهَذَا لِلْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي الْوَصْفِ كَمَا تَقُولُ :

falammā jāʾahumu al-yaqīnu wahuwa al-muʿāyanatu ʾabṣarū wasamiʿū faqālū: wakunnā nukadhdhibu biyawmi al-dīni ḥattā ʾatānā al-yaqīnu fawaṣafahum bishiddati al-samʿi wa-al-baṣari ḥīnaʾidhin lammā ʾayqanū faqāla ʿazza wajalla: ( ʾasmiʿ bihim waʾabṣir yawma yaʾtūnanā ) maryamu: 38 ʾay mā ʾasmaʿahum waʾabṣarahumu al-yawma lammā jāʾūnā faraʾaw mā ʿindanā wahādhā lilmubālaghati fī al-waṣfi kamā taqūlu:

When certainty came to them, namely direct sight, they saw and heard, and said, “We used to deny the Day of Judgment until certainty came to us.” He described the intensity of their hearing and sight then, when they became certain, saying, mighty and majestic, “How keenly they hear and see on the day they come to Us!” (Maryam 38). That is: how keen is their hearing and sight today, when they have come to Us and seen what is with Us! This intensifies the description, as when you say:

أَكْرِمْ وَأَعْظِمْ بِهِ أَيْ : مَا أَكْرَمَهُ وَأَعْظَمَهُ ، فَكَذَلِكَ إِذَا أَتَيْتَهُ الْيَوْمَ وَأَنْتَ مُوقِنٌ سَمِعْتَ مَا لَمْ تَسْمَعْ وَأَبْصَرْتَ مَا لَمْ تَرَ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ وَلَكِنْ شَغَلَتْكَ الْأَزْوَاجُ الَّتِي خَلَقَ وَالْأَشْكَالُ وَالْأَشْبَاهُ الَّتِي أَظْهَرَ فَتَأَلَّهْتَ إِلَيْهَا وَوَقَفْتَ مَعَهَا وَلَوْ فَرَرْتَ مِنْهَا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَفَرَرْتَ إِلَى خَيْرِ مَفَرٍّ وَلَأَوَاكَ عِنْدَهُ فِي أَحْسَنِ مَقَرٍّ وَقَدْ أَمَرَكَ بِالْفِرَارِ مِنْهَا إِلَيْهِ لَوْ قَبِلْتَ

ʾakrim waʾaʿẓim bihi ʾay: mā ʾakramahu waʾaʿẓamahu , fakadhālika ʾidhā ʾataytahu al-yawma waʾanta mūqinun samiʿta mā lam tasmaʿ waʾabṣarta mā lam tara qabla dhālika walakin shaghalatka al-ʾazwāju allatī khalaqa wa-al-ʾashkālu wa-al-ʾashbāhu allatī ʾaẓhara fataʾallahta ʾilayhā wawaqafta maʿahā walaw fararta minhā ʾilā allāhi taʿālā lafararta ʾilā khayri mafarrin walaʾawāka ʿindahu fī ʾaḥsani maqarrin waqad ʾamaraka bi-al-firāri minhā ʾilayhi law qabilta

“How noble and how great he is!” meaning “How noble he is, and how great!” Likewise, if you come to Him today in certainty, you hear what you did not hear and see what you had not seen before. But the pairs He created, the forms and likenesses He displayed, occupied you, so that you turned to them in devotion and remained with them. Had you fled from them to God Most High, you would have fled to the best refuge, and He would have sheltered you with Him in the finest resting place. He has commanded you to flee from them to Him, if only you would accept,

وَنَهَاكَ عَنِ التَّأَلُّهِ إِلَيْهَا لَوْ سَمِعْتَ وَبَيَّنَ لَكَ النِّذَارَةَ لَوْ فَهِمْتَ وَجَعَلَ مَا خَلَقَ مِنَ الْأَزْوَاجِ تَذْكِرَةً بِهِ وَلَوْ عَرَفْتَ وَرَادَّةً إِلَيْهِ لَوْ أَنَّكَ لِلذِّكْرِ اتَّبَعْتَ وَمُشَوِّقَةً إِلَيْهِ لَوْ كُنْتَ لِقُرْبِهِ أَحْبَبْتَ أَمَا سَمِعْتَهُ يَقُولُ : ( وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ ) الذَّارِيَاتُ : 49 أَيْ مِثْلَيْنِ وَشَكْلَيْنِ لِكَيْ تَذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ بِهَا وَتَشْتَاقُوا إِلَيْهِ مِنْهَا ثُمَّ قَالَ :

wanahāka ʿani al-taʾalluhi ʾilayhā law samiʿta wabayyana laka al-nidhārata law fahimta wajaʿala mā khalaqa mina al-ʾazwāji tadhkiratan bihi walaw ʿarafta warāddatan ʾilayhi law ʾannaka li-l-dhikri ittabaʿta wamushawwiqatan ʾilayhi law kunta liqurbihi ʾaḥbabta ʾamā samiʿtahu yaqūlu: ( wamin kulli shayʾin khalaqnā zawjayni laʿallakum tadhakkarūna ) al-dhāriyātu: 49 ʾay mithlayni washaklayni likay tadhkurū allāha bihā watashtāqū ʾilayhi minhā thumma qāla:

and forbidden your devotion to them, if only you would hear; He has made the warning clear to you, if only you would understand. He made the pairs He created a reminder of Him, if only you would recognize; a means of bringing you back to Him, if only you would follow the Reminder; and a cause of longing for Him, if only you loved His nearness. Have you not heard Him say, “Of everything We created two partners, so that you might remember” (al-Dhāriyāt 49), meaning two counterparts and two corresponding forms, so that you remember God through them and yearn for Him from them? Then He says:

( فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ ) الذَّارِيَاتُ : 50 أَيْ عَنْهَا بِالزُّهْدِ ثُمَّ قَالَ : ( وَلَا تَجْعَلُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ ) الذَّارِيَاتُ : 51 أَيْ لَا تُؤَلِّهُوا مَعَهُ إِلَهًا وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِتَأَلُّهِكُمْ إِلَيْهِ إِيَّاهَا فَهَذَا فَهْمُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ عَنْ سَمْعِهِمْ بِشَهَادَةِ أَبْصَارِ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَعِنْدَهَا كَانَ اسْتِجَابَتُهُمْ لَهُ كَمَا قَالَ : إِنَّمَا يَسْتَجِيبُ الَّذِينَ يَسْمَعُونَ وَقَالَ :

( fafirrū ʾilā allāhi ) al-dhāriyātu: 50 ʾay ʿanhā bi-al-zuhdi thumma qāla: ( walā tajʿalū maʿa allāhi ʾilahan ʾākhara ) al-dhāriyātu: 51 ʾay lā tuʾallihū maʿahu ʾilahan walā tushrikū bitaʾalluhikum ʾilayhi ʾiyyāhā fahādhā fahmu al-muqarrabīna ʿan samʿihim bishahādati ʾabṣāri qulūbihim faʿindahā kāna istijābatuhum lahu kamā qāla: ʾinnamā yastajību alladhīna yasmaʿūna waqāla:

“Flee to God” (al-Dhāriyāt 50), that is, away from them through renunciation. Then He says, “Do not set up another god with God” (al-Dhāriyāt 51): do not deify another god alongside Him, and do not associate these things with Him in your devotion to Him. This is the understanding of those brought near, arising from their hearing with the testimony of the sights of their hearts. At that point comes their response to Him, as He says, “Only those who hear respond.” He also says:

( وَيَسْتَجِيبُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ ) الشُّورَى :

( wayastajību alladhīna ʾāmanū waʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti wayazīduhum min faḍlihi ) al-shūrā:

“He answers those who believe and do righteous deeds and increases them from His bounty” (al-Shūrā

26 وَلَكِنْ

26 walakin

26). But

كَيْفَ يَسْمَعُ مَنْ يُنَادَىٰ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ وَكَيْفَ يُبْصِرُ مَنْ الْقُفْلُ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ عَتِيدٌ وَكَيْفَ يَسْتَجِيبُ مَنْ لَا يَسْمَعُ وَكَيْفَ يَشْهَدُ مَنْ لَا يُبْصِرُ وَقَدْ قَالَ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : حُبُّكَ لِلشَّيْءِ يُعْمِي وَيُصِمُّ ، فَالْهَوَى يُعْمِي عَنِ الْحَقِّ وَالشَّهْوَةُ تُصِمُّ عَنِ النُّصْحِ وَالصِّدْقِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ لَوْ أَحْبَبْتَهُ لَنَظَرْتَ إِلَيْهِ وَلَوْ نَظَرْتَ إِلَيْهِ لَعَمِيتَ عَمَّنْ سِوَاهُ وَلَوْ أَقْبَلْتَ عَلَيْهِ

kayfa yasmaʿu man yunādā min makānin baʿīdin wakayfa yubṣiru man al-quflu ʿalā qalbihi ʿatīdun wakayfa yastajību man lā yasmaʿu wakayfa yashhadu man lā yubṣiru waqad qāla al-rasūlu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ḥubbuka li-l-shayʾi yuʿmī wayuṣimmu , fa-al-haw yuʿmī ʿani al-ḥaqqi wa-al-shahwatu tuṣimmu ʿani al-nuṣḥi wa-al-ṣidqi , wakadhālika law ʾaḥbabtahu lanaẓarta ʾilayhi walaw naẓarta ʾilayhi laʿamīta ʿamman siwāhu walaw ʾaqbalta ʿalayhi

how can one called from a distant place hear? How can one upon whose heart a lock stands ready see? How can one who does not hear respond? How can one who does not see witness? The Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Your love of a thing blinds and deafens.” Desire blinds to the truth, and appetite deafens to sincere counsel and truthfulness. Likewise, had you loved Him, you would have looked toward Him; had you looked toward Him, you would have been blind to anyone besides Him; had you turned toward Him,

لَاسْتَمَعْتَ إِلَيْهِ وَلَوْ سَمِعْتَ لَصَمَمْتَ عَنْ غَيْرِهِ وَلَوْ أَحَبَّكَ لَكَانَ سَمْعَكَ وَبَصَرَكَ وَقَلْبَكَ وَيَدَكَ وَنَاصِرَكَ وَمُؤَيِّدَكَ تَدْعُوهُ فَيُجِيبُكَ وَتَسْأَلُهُ فَيُعْطِيكَ وَتَنْصَحُ لَهُ فَيَنْصَحُ لَكَ ، كَذَلِكَ جَاءَ الْخَبَرُ بِذَلِكَ فَشَغَلَكَ بِهِ عَنْكَ وَفَرَّغَكَ لَهُ مِنْكَ فَكَيْفَ تَسْمَعُ عَنْهُ وَتَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ وَتَتَقَلَّبُ عِنْدَهُ وَتَتَحَرَّكُ بِهِ لَا بِنَفْسِكَ وَهَوَاكَ وَلَا بِشَهْوَتِكَ وَدُنْيَاكَ فَهَذَا وَصْفُ حَبِيبٍ عَنْ تَقَلُّبِ حَبِيبٍ وَخَبَرُ

lastamaʿta ʾilayhi walaw samiʿta laṣamamta ʿan ghayrihi walaw ʾaḥabbaka lakāna samʿaka wabaṣaraka waqalbaka wayadaka wanāṣiraka wamuʾayyidaka tadʿūhu fayujībuka watasʾaluhu fayuʿṭīka watanṣaḥu lahu fayanṣaḥu laka , kadhālika jāʾa al-khabaru bidhālika fashaghalaka bihi ʿanka wafarraghaka lahu minka fakayfa tasmaʿu ʿanhu watanẓuru ʾilayhi watataqallabu ʿindahu watataḥarraku bihi lā binafsika wahawāka walā bishahwatika wadunyāka fahādhā waṣfu ḥabībin ʿan taqallubi ḥabībin wakhabaru

you would have listened to Him; had you heard, you would have been deaf to others. Had He loved you, He would have been your hearing, sight, heart, hand, helper, and supporter. You call upon Him and He answers you; you ask Him and He gives you; you are sincere toward Him and He is solicitous toward you. Thus the report has come concerning this. He occupies you with Himself away from yourself, and frees you from yourself for Him. How, then, you hear from Him, look toward Him, move about in His presence, and move through Him, not through yourself and your desire, nor through your appetite and your world! This is a lover’s description of a lover’s movements, and a beloved’s report

مَحْبُوبٍ عَنْ تَثْبِيتِ مَحْبُوبٍ فَإِذَا تَيَقَّنَ الْعَبْدُ يَقِينَ عَيْنٍ لَا يَقِينَ ظَنٍّ وَسَمِعَ بِمَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ سُرْعَةِ فَوْتِ الْوَقْتِ وَفَوْتِ دَرْكِهِ شَغَلَهُ الْغَمُّ وَالْحُزْنُ عَلَى مَا فَاتَ عَنْ مِثْلِ مَا سَلَفَ مِمَّا نَدِمَ عَلَيْهِ فِي مُسْتَقْبَلِ الْأَوْقَاتِ فَلَمْ يَضُمَّ إِلَى الْفَوْتِ الْأَوَّلِ فَوْتًا ثَانِيًا لِحُزْنِهِ وَنَدَمِهِ عَلَيْهِ فَكَيْفَ يُرْدِفُهُ فِي الْحَالِ بِمَا يُشْبِهُ مَا نَدِمَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ سُوءِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَمَا لَا يُحْمَدُ

maḥbūbin ʿan tathbīti maḥbūbin faʾidhā tayaqqana al-ʿabdu yaqīna ʿaynin lā yaqīna ẓannin wasamiʿa bimā dhakarnāhu min surʿati fawti al-waqti wafawti darkihi shaghalahu al-ghammu wa-al-ḥuznu ʿalā mā fāta ʿan mithli mā salafa mimmā nadima ʿalayhi fī mustaqbali al-ʾawqāti falam yaḍumma ʾilā al-fawti al-ʾawwali fawtan thāniyan liḥuznihi wanadamihi ʿalayhi fakayfa yurdifuhu fī al-ḥāli bimā yushbihu mā nadima ʿalayhi min sūʾi al-ʾaʿmāli wamā lā yuḥmadu

of a beloved’s establishment. When the servant becomes certain with the certainty of direct sight, not the certainty of supposition, and hears what we have mentioned of how quickly time slips away and the chance to recover it is lost, grief and sorrow over what has passed keep him, in future times, from repeating what he regretted in the past. He does not add a second loss to the first through his sorrow and remorse over it. How, then, could he immediately follow it with something like the evil deeds he regretted, whose outcome is not praised

عَاقِبَتُهُ وَلَا يَغْتَبِطُ بِهِ فِي الْمَآلِ ، فَمَثَلُ الْعَبْدِ الْمُتَيَقِّظِ فِي آخِرِ غَفْلَتِهِ مَثَلُ عَبْدٍ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ عَمَلٌ لَا بُدَّ أَنْ يَعْمَلَهُ فِي يَوْمِهِ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ لَهِيَ عَنْهُ لِغَفْلَةٍ مُلْهِيَةٍ أَوْ نَوْمَةٍ مُنْسِيَةٍ فَلَمْ يُفِقْ لِعَمَلِهِ ذَلِكَ الَّذِي لَا بُدَّ مِنْهُ إِلَّا بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ فَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ حِرْصِهِ وَانْكِمَاشِهِ وَتَشْهِيرِهِ وَبِدَارِهِ فِي بَقِيَّةِ نَهَارِهِ لِيُدْرِكَ بِهِ مَا فَاتَهُ مِنْ أَوَّلِ النَّهَارِ فَهُوَ يَوَدُّ

ʿāqibatuhu walā yaghtabiṭu bihi fī al-maʾāli , famathalu al-ʿabdi al-mutayaqqiẓi fī ʾākhiri ghaflatihi mathalu ʿabdin kāna ʿalayhi ʿamalun lā budda ʾan yaʿmalahu fī yawmihi dhālika ʾillā ʾannahu lahiya ʿanhu lighaflatin mulhiyatin ʾaw nawmatin munsiyatin falam yufiq liʿamalihi dhālika alladhī lā budda minhu ʾillā baʿda al-ʿaṣri falā yusʾalu ʿan ḥirṣihi wankimāshihi watashhīrihi wabidārihi fī baqiyyati nahārihi liyudrika bihi mā fātahu min ʾawwali al-nahāri fahuwa yawaddu

and which brings no delight in the final outcome? The servant awakening at the end of his heedlessness is like a servant who has a task he must perform that day but is distracted from it by an absorbing heedlessness or a forgetful sleep. He does not awaken to that indispensable task until after the afternoon prayer. There is no describing his eagerness, concentration, rousing of himself, and haste during the rest of his day, to recover what escaped him at its beginning. He wishes

أَنَّ وَقْتَهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ مُدَّ لَهُ أَضْعَافَهُ أَوْ رُدَّ إِلَى أَوَّلِ النَّهَارِ لِيُدْرِكَ مَا فَاتَهُ فَهَذَا حَالُ التَّائِبِ الْمُتَيَقِّظِ مِنْ رَقْدَتِهِ وَهَذَا لَا يَسْتَبِينُ لَهُ إِلَّا بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ لِمُعَايَنَةِ تَقَضِّي الْأَوْقَاتِ وَلِلْيَقِينِ بِعَدَمِ دَرْكِ مَا فَاتَ ، فَهُنَاكَ وَقَعَتِ النَّدَامَةُ الْكُبْرَى وَحِينَئِذٍ حَلَّتِ الْحَسْرَةُ الْعُظْمَى ، فَالْحَزْمُ عِنْدَ الْعُقَلَاءِ الْمُوقِنِينَ هُوَ الِانْكِمَاشُ وَالتَّشْمِيرُ فِيمَا بَقِيَ

ʾanna waqtahu dhālika ʾilā al-layli mudda lahu ʾaḍʿāfahu ʾaw rudda ʾilā ʾawwali al-nahāri liyudrika mā fātahu fahādhā ḥālu al-tāʾibi al-mutayaqqiẓi min raqdatihi wahādhā lā yastabīnu lahu ʾillā baʿda al-mawti limuʿāyanati taqaḍḍī al-ʾawqāti walilyaqīni biʿadami darki mā fāta , fahunāka waqaʿati al-nadāmatu al-kubrā waḥīnaʾidhin ḥallati al-ḥasratu al-ʿuẓmā , fa-al-ḥazmu ʿinda al-ʿuqalāʾi al-mūqinīna huwa al-inkimāshu wa-al-tashmīru fīmā baqiya

that the time he has until night could be extended many times over, or that he could be returned to the beginning of the day to recover what he missed. Such is the state of the penitent awakening from his slumber. This becomes fully clear to him only after death, through directly seeing the passing of times and being certain that what has gone cannot be recovered. There the greatest remorse arrives, and then the greatest regret descends. For intelligent people of certainty, prudence is concentration and exertion in what remains

مِنَ الْعُمُرِ الْقَصِيرِ لِأَنَّ الِاشْتِغَالَ بِمَا فَاتَ فِي وَقْتِ دَرْكِ مِثْلِهِ فِي الْمُسْتَقْبَلِ هُوَ إِضَاعَةٌ ثَانِيَةٌ لِمَا هُوَ آتٍ ، فَحِرْصُ هَذَا الْمُتَيَقِّظِ وَاجْتِهَادُهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ وَقْتٌ وَمِنْ كُلِّ سَاعَةٍ نَصِيبٌ فَأَوْدَعَ فِي كُلِّ خِزَانَةٍ مِنْ سَاعَاتِهِ الَّتِي هِيَ خَزَائِنُ أَعْمَالِهِ شَيْئًا فَشَيْئًا لِئَلَّا يَرَى خَزَائِنَهُ فَارِغَةً غَدًا فَيَتَحَسَّرَ عَلَى فَرَاغِهِ مِنْهَا وَهَذَا طَرِيقُ أَهْلِ الرَّجَاءِ

mina al-ʿumuri al-qaṣīri liʾanna al-ishtighāla bimā fāta fī waqti darki mithlihi fī al-mustaqbali huwa ʾiḍāʿatun thāniyatun limā huwa ʾātin , faḥirṣu hādhā al-mutayaqqiẓi wajtihāduhu ʾan yakūna lahu fī kulli waqtin waqtun wamin kulli sāʿatin naṣībun faʾawdaʿa fī kulli khizānatin min sāʿātihi allatī hiya khazāʾinu ʾaʿmālihi shayʾan fashayʾan liʾallā yarā khazāʾinahu fārighatan ghadan fayataḥassara ʿalā farāghihi minhā wahādhā ṭarīqu ʾahli al-rajāʾi

of a short lifetime, because being occupied with what has gone while there is time to attain its like in the future is a second wasting of what is coming. This awakened person’s eagerness and striving are to have a moment in every time and a share of every hour. He deposits something, little by little, in every chest of his hours, which are the chests of his deeds, lest he see his chests empty tomorrow and regret having left them empty. This is the path of people of hope,

الَّذِينَ تَمَنَّوْا زِيَادَةَ الْأَعْمَالِ وَرَغِبُوا فِي طُولِ الْبَقَاءِ بِحُسْنِ خِدْمَةِ الْمَوْلَى وَهُوَ مَقَامُ التَّائِبِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ لِيَتَدَارَكَ بِحَدِيثِ الْأَوْقَاتِ مَا فَرَطَ مِنْهُ مِنَ الْغَفْلَةِ فِي الْقَدِيمِ ، فَهَذَا هُوَ الْحَزْمُ وَالِاحْتِيَاطُ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ فَإِنْ يَكُنِ الْأَمْرُ صَعْبًا شَدِيدًا كَمَا يُحَدَّثُ عَنْهُ كَانَ قَدْ سَلِمَ بِحُسْنِ تَوْفِيقِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ صُعُوبَتِهِ وَإِنْ كَانَ الْأَمْرُ سَهْلًا قَرِيبًا كَمَا

alladhīna tamannaw ziyādata al-ʾaʿmāli waraghibū fī ṭūli al-baqāʾi biḥusni khidmati al-mawlā wahuwa maqāmu al-tāʾibi al-mustaqīmi liyatadāraka biḥadīthi al-ʾawqāti mā faraṭa minhu mina al-ghaflati fī al-qadīmi , fahādhā huwa al-ḥazmu wa-al-iḥtiyāṭu ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi faʾin yakuni al-ʾamru ṣaʿban shadīdan kamā yuḥaddathu ʿanhu kāna qad salima biḥusni tawfīqi allāhi taʿālā min ṣuʿūbatihi waʾin kāna al-ʾamru sahlan qarīban kamā

who wish to increase their deeds and desire long continuance in fine service of the Master. It is the station of the upright penitent, who uses newly arriving times to recover what passed from him in former heedlessness. This is prudence and precaution among the scholars: if the matter is difficult and severe, as is related of it, he will have been safe from its difficulty through God Most High’s excellent enabling. If the matter is easy and near, as

يَرْجُوهُ كَانَتِ الْأَعْمَالُ دَرَجَاتٍ وَالْفَضَائِلُ مَقَامَاتٍ .

yarjūhu kānati al-ʾaʿmālu darajātin wa-al-faḍāʾilu maqāmātin.

he hopes, the deeds will be degrees and the virtues stations.

ذِكْرُ الْمَقَامِ السَّابِعِ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْمُوقِنِينَ

dhikru al-maqāmi al-sābiʿi min mushāhadati al-mūqinīna

The Seventh Station in the Witnessing of Those Certain in Faith

اعْلَمْ أَنَّ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ تَدَارُكِ الْأَوْقَاتِ خَوْفَ فَوْتِهَا لَيْسَ هُوَ بِتَمَنِّي مَكَانٍ دُونَ مَكَانٍ وَلَا هُوَ بِانْتِظَارِ وَقْتٍ ثَانٍ الَّذِي هُوَ فِي الْأَصْلِ فِكْرُ الْوَقْتِ الَّذِي هُوَ فِيهِ وَلَا تَوَقُّعُ حَالٍ

iʿlam ʾanna mā dhakarnāhu min tadāruki al-ʾawqāti khawfa fawtihā laysa huwa bitamannī makānin dūna makānin walā huwa bintiẓāri waqtin thānin alladhī huwa fī al-ʾaṣli fikru al-waqti alladhī huwa fīhi walā tawaqquʿu ḥālin

Know that what we have mentioned of recovering times for fear of losing them is not wishing for one place rather than another, nor waiting for a second time, which is, at root, a thought belonging to the time one is in, nor anticipating a state

سِوَى الْحَالِ الَّذِي هُوَ يَلِيهِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ صَوْمُ يَوْمٍ أَوْ قِيَامُ لَيْلَةٍ أَوْ ذِكْرٌ فِي سَاعَةٍ أَوْ جَمْعُ هَمٍّ عَنْ شَتَاتِ قَلْبٍ أَوْ قَطْعٌ لِأَثَرٍ فِي خَطَرٍ وَيَكُونُ ذَلِكَ أَيْضًا غَضَّ طَرْفِهِ وَصَوْنَ سَمْعِهِ وَكَفَّ يَدِهِ وَحَبْسَ قَدَمِهِ وَصَمْتًا عَنْ كَلِمَةٍ دَنِيَّةٍ وَتَرْكَ لُقْمَةٍ شَهِيَّةٍ وَنُقْصَانًا مِنْ قُوتٍ وَزِيَادَةَ جُوعٍ لِلْمُقِيتِ وَأَمْرًا بِكَلِمَةٍ رَشِيدَةٍ وَنَهْيًا عَنْ فَعْلَةٍ دَنِيَّةٍ وَعَقْدَ نِيَّةٍ حَمِيدَةٍ وَحَلَّ نِيَّةٍ ذَمِيمَةٍ

siwā al-ḥāli alladhī huwa yalīhi ʾinnamā huwa ṣawmu yawmin ʾaw qiyāmu laylatin ʾaw dhikrun fī sāʿatin ʾaw jamʿu hammin ʿan shatāti qalbin ʾaw qaṭʿun liʾatharin fī khaṭarin wayakūnu dhālika ʾayḍan ghaḍḍa ṭarfihi waṣawna samʿihi wakaffa yadihi waḥabsa qadamihi waṣamtan ʿan kalimatin daniyyatin watarka luqmatin shahiyyatin wanuqṣānan min qūtin waziyādata jūʿin lilmuqīti waʾamran bikalimatin rashīdatin wanahyan ʿan faʿlatin daniyyatin waʿaqda niyyatin ḥamīdatin waḥalla niyyatin dhamīmatin

other than the state one is attending to. Rather, it is fasting a day, standing in prayer a night, remembering during an hour, gathering one’s concern from a scattered heart, or cutting off an influence within a prompting. It also consists in lowering the gaze, guarding the hearing, restraining the hand, holding back the foot, remaining silent instead of uttering a base word, leaving an appetizing morsel, reducing one’s food and increasing hunger for the Sustainer, enjoining with a sound word, forbidding a base deed, forming a praiseworthy intention, dissolving a blameworthy intention,

وَتَجْدِيدَ تَوْبَةٍ وَإِعْمَالَ قَلْبٍ فِي فِكْرَةٍ وَإِخْرَاجَ سُوءِ ظَنٍّ وَاعْتِقَادَ حُسْنِ ظَنٍّ وَاسْتِقَامَةً وَصِحَّةَ عَزْمٍ فِي قَصْدٍ وَتَسَبُّبًا إِلَى مَا يُقَوِّي الْعَزْمَ وَمَعُونَةً عَلَى بِرٍّ وَتَقْوَى ؛ وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ يَكُونُ فِي الْوَقْتِ وَيُحْدِثُهُ فِي الْحَالِ لَا يُسَوِّفُ بِهِ وَلَا يَنْتَظِرُ مِنْهُ وَلَا يَتَوَقَّعُهُ فِي وَقْتٍ ثَانٍ وَلَا يُؤَخِّرُ إِلَى زَمَانٍ دُونَ وَقْتِهِ وَلَا يَتَرَبَّصُ بِهِ فِي مَكَانٍ دُونَ مَكَانٍ فَهَذَا هُوَ التَّدَارُكُ

watajdīda tawbatin waʾiʿmāla qalbin fī fikratin waʾikhrāja sūʾi ẓannin waʿtiqāda ḥusni ẓannin wastiqāmatan waṣiḥḥata ʿazmin fī qaṣdin watasabbuban ʾilā mā yuqawwī al-ʿazma wamaʿūnatan ʿalā birrin wataqwā ; wahādhā kulluhu yakūnu fī al-waqti wayuḥdithuhu fī al-ḥāli lā yusawwifu bihi walā yantaẓiru minhu walā yatawaqqaʿuhu fī waqtin thānin walā yuʾakhkhiru ʾilā zamānin dūna waqtihi walā yatarabbaṣu bihi fī makānin dūna makānin fahādhā huwa al-tadāruku

renewing repentance, engaging the heart in reflection, expelling ill opinion, adopting good opinion, uprightness and sound resolve in one’s purpose, taking means to strengthen determination, and assistance in righteousness and reverent fear. All this occurs in the present time and is brought about immediately: one does not put it off, wait for something from it, expect it in a second time, delay it to a time other than its own, or hold it over for one place rather than another. This is the recovery

لِلْأَوْقَاتِ فِي وَقْتِكَ الَّذِي أَنْتَ فِيهِ خَشْيَةَ فَوْتِ الْوَقْتِ فَيَحْصُلَ عَلَى التَّسْوِيفِ وَالتَّمَنِّي أَوْ فِي الِانْتِظَارِ وَالتَّرَاخِي ؛ فَهَذِهِ مِنْ جُنُودِ إِبْلِيسَ يَقْطَعُ بِهَا الْمُرِيدِينَ وَهُوَ مَقَامُ الْمُغْتَرِّينَ وَأَحْوَالُ الْبَطَّالِينَ الَّذِينَ وُكِلُوا إِلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَتُرِكُوا مَعَ هَوَاهُمْ وَلَمْ يَتَدَارَكُوا فِي أَحْوَالِهِمْ وَلَمْ يُقَدِّمُوا لِغَدِهِمْ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَنَسِيَهُمْ وَالْوَقْتُ إِذَا انْقَضَى فُقِدَ ،

lilʾawqāti fī waqtika alladhī ʾanta fīhi khashyata fawti al-waqti fayaḥṣula ʿalā al-taswīfi wa-al-tamannī ʾaw fī al-intiẓāri wa-al-tarākhī ; fahādhihi min junūdi ʾiblīsa yaqṭaʿu bihā al-murīdīna wahuwa maqāmu al-mughtarrīna waʾaḥwālu al-baṭṭālīna alladhīna wukilū ʾilā ʾanfusihim waturikū maʿa hawāhum walam yatadārakū fī ʾaḥwālihim walam yuqaddimū lighadihim nasū allāha fanasiyahum wa-al-waqtu ʾidhā inqaḍā fuqida ,

of times within the time you are now in, for fear of losing the time and ending up with procrastination and wishing, or waiting and slackness. These are among Iblīs’s troops, through which he cuts off seekers; this is the station of the deluded and the condition of the idle, who have been left to themselves and abandoned with their desires, who have not recovered themselves in their states or sent anything ahead for their tomorrow. They forgot God, so He forgot them. When a time has passed, it is lost

وَلَمْ يُوجَدْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقَضَاءِ وَالسَّاعَةُ إِذَا مَرَّتْ طُوِيَتْ فَلَمْ تُنْشَرْ إِلَى يَوْمِ النُّشُورِ وَإِنَّمَا يُنْشَرُ مِثْلُهَا وَيُخْلَقُ شِبْهُهَا فَإِذَا أَيْقَنَ الْعَبْدُ عَلِمَ أَنَّ عُمُرَهُ كُلَّهُ يَوْمٌ وَأَنَّ يَوْمَهُ كُلَّهُ سَاعَةٌ وَأَنَّ سَاعَتَهُ كُلَّهَا وَقْتُهُ الْآنَ وَأَنَّ وَقْتَهُ حَالُهُ وَأَنَّ حَالَهُ قَلْبُهُ فَأَخَذَ مِنْ حَالِهِ لِقَلْبِهِ مَا يُقَرِّبُهُ إِلَى مُقَلِّبِهِ بِنِهَايَةِ عَمَلِهِ ،

walam yūjad ʾilā yawmi al-qaḍāʾi wa-al-sāʿatu ʾidhā marrat ṭuwiyat falam tunshar ʾilā yawmi al-nushūri waʾinnamā yunsharu mithluhā wayukhlaqu shibhuhā faʾidhā ʾayqana al-ʿabdu ʿalima ʾanna ʿumurahu kullahu yawmun waʾanna yawmahu kullahu sāʿatun waʾanna sāʿatahu kullahā waqtuhu al-ʾāna waʾanna waqtahu ḥāluhu waʾanna ḥālahu qalbuhu faʾakhadha min ḥālihi liqalbihi mā yuqarribuhu ʾilā muqallibihi binihāyati ʿamalihi ,

and is not found again until the Day of Judgment. When the hour passes, it is folded away and will not be unfolded until the Day of Rising; only its like is unfolded and its counterpart created. When the servant is certain, he knows that his whole lifetime is a day, his whole day an hour, his whole hour his present moment, his moment his state, and his state his heart. So he takes from his state for his heart what draws it near to the One who turns it, with the utmost of his action.

فَعَمِلَ أَفْضَلَ مَا دَلَّ عِلْمُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَمَا نَدَبَهُ مَوْلَاهُ إِلَيْهِ وَمِمَّا يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَفْجَأَهُ عَلَيْهِ فَيَكُونَ ذَلِكَ خَاتِمَةَ عَمَلِهِ الَّذِي يَلْقَى مَوْلَاهُ بِهِ ثُمَّ أَخَذَ مِنْ وَقْتِهِ لِحَالِهِ مَا يُصْلِحُ حَالَهُ لِقَلْبِهِ وَيُقَوِّي قَلْبَهُ وَيُخْلِصُهُ لِرَبِّهِ وَأَخَذَ مِنْ سَاعَتِهِ لِوَقْتِهِ مَا يُزَيِّنُ بِهِ حَالَهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَأَخَذَ مِنْ يَوْمِهِ لِسَاعَتِهِ صَلَاحَهُ فِيهَا وَحَاجَتَهُ إِلَيْهَا وَأَخَذَ مِنْ شَهْرِهِ لِيَوْمِهِ فَكَانَ شَهْرُهُ يَوْمَهُ

faʿamila ʾafḍala mā dalla ʿilmuhu ʿalayhi wamā nadabahu mawlāhu ʾilayhi wamimmā yuḥibbu ʾan yafjaʾahu ʿalayhi fayakūna dhālika khātimata ʿamalihi alladhī yalqā mawlāhu bihi thumma ʾakhadha min waqtihi liḥālihi mā yuṣliḥu ḥālahu liqalbihi wayuqawwī qalbahu wayukhliṣuhu lirabbihi waʾakhadha min sāʿatihi liwaqtihi mā yuzayyinu bihi ḥālahu ʿinda rabbihi waʾakhadha min yawmihi lisāʿatihi ṣalāḥahu fīhā waḥājatahu ʾilayhā waʾakhadha min shahrihi liyawmihi fakāna shahruhu yawmahu

He performs the best of what his knowledge points him to and what his Master urges him toward, and what he loves to be overtaken in, so that it will be the final deed with which he meets his Master. Then he takes from his moment for his state what sets his state right for his heart, strengthens his heart, and makes it sincere for his Lord. From his hour he takes for his moment what adorns his state before his Lord; from his day he takes for his hour its well-being within it and what he needs of it; and from his month he takes for his day. Thus his month is his day

وَكَانَ يَوْمُهُ سَاعَتَهُ فَشَغَلَهُ وَقْتُهُ عَنْ سَاعَتِهِ وَشَغَلَهُ حَالُهُ عَنْ وَقْتِهِ فَكَانَ عَلَى هَذَا مُرَاعِيًا لِوَقْتِهِ مُحَافِظًا عَلَى حَالِهِ قَائِمًا عَلَى نَفْسِهِ جَامِعًا لِهَمِّهِ مُحْصِيًا لِأَنْفَاسِهِ مُرَاقِبًا لِرَقِيبِهِ مُجَالِسًا لِحَبِيبِهِ لَا يَخْرُجُ عَنْهُ نَفَسٌ فِي أَدْنَى وَقْتٍ إِلَّا فِي ذِكْرٍ لِمَذْكُورٍ أَوْ شُكْرٍ عَلَى نِعْمَةٍ لِمُنْعِمٍ أَوْ صَبْرٍ فِي مِحْنَةٍ عَتِيدَةٍ أَوْ رِضًا عِنْدَ شِدَّةٍ شَدِيدَةٍ وَيَكُونُ فِي ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ

wakāna yawmuhu sāʿatahu fashaghalahu waqtuhu ʿan sāʿatihi washaghalahu ḥāluhu ʿan waqtihi fakāna ʿalā hādhā murāʿiyan liwaqtihi muḥāfiẓan ʿalā ḥālihi qāʾiman ʿalā nafsihi jāmiʿan lihammihi muḥṣiyan liʾanfāsihi murāqiban liraqībihi mujālisan liḥabībihi lā yakhruju ʿanhu nafasun fī ʾadnā waqtin ʾillā fī dhikrin limadhkūrin ʾaw shukrin ʿalā niʿmatin limunʿimin ʾaw ṣabrin fī miḥnatin ʿatīdatin ʾaw riḍan ʿinda shiddatin shadīdatin wayakūnu fī dhālika kullihi

and his day his hour. His moment occupies him away from his hour, and his state occupies him away from his moment. In this way he tends his time, guards his state, watches over himself, gathers his concern, counts his breaths, watches his Watcher, and sits with his Beloved. No breath leaves him in the slightest time except in remembrance of the Remembered One, gratitude for a blessing to its Bestower, patience in a present trial, or contentment amid severe hardship. In all of this he is

نَاظِرًا إِلَى الرَّقِيبِ مُصْغِيًا إِلَى الْقَرِيبِ سَائِحًا إِلَى الْحَبِيبِ لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ وَلَا يَعْكُفُ إِلَّا عَلَيْهِ وَقَدْ جَعَلَ الْعُمُرَ يَوْمًا وَالْيَوْمَ سَاعَةً وَالسَّاعَةَ وَقْتًا وَالْوَقْتَ حَالًا وَالْحَالَ نَفَسًا وَالنَّفَسَ مُرَاقَبَةً وَالْمُرَاقَبَةَ مُوَاجَهَةً فَتَوَجَّهَ فِي وِجْهَتِهِ فَلَمْ يَنِثَنِ وَسَاحَ فِي قُرْبِهِ فَلَمْ يَنِ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ عَلَى مَزِيدٍ وَمِنَ الْيَقِينِ فِي تَجْدِيدٍ وَأُعْطِيَ مِنَ الْحَيَاةِ

nāẓiran ʾilā al-raqībi muṣghiyan ʾilā al-qarībi sāʾiḥan ʾilā al-ḥabībi lā yanẓuru ʾillā ʾilayhi walā yaʿkufu ʾillā ʿalayhi waqad jaʿala al-ʿumura yawman wa-al-yawma sāʿatan wa-al-sāʿata waqtan wa-al-waqta ḥālan wa-al-ḥāla nafasan wa-al-nafasa murāqabatan wa-al-murāqabata muwājahatan fatawajjaha fī wijhatihi falam yanthani wasāḥa fī qurbihi falam yani fakāna mina al-ʾīmāni ʿalā mazīdin wamina al-yaqīni fī tajdīdin waʾuʿṭiya mina al-ḥayāti

looking toward the Watcher, listening attentively to the Near One, journeying toward the Beloved. He looks only toward Him and remains intent only upon Him. He has made the lifetime a day, the day an hour, the hour a moment, the moment a state, the state a breath, the breath watchfulness, and watchfulness a facing of Him. He turns in his direction and does not turn back; he journeys in His nearness and does not flag. Thus he receives increase in faith, renewal in certainty, and is given of the good life

الطَّيِّبَةِ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ وَكُشِفَ لَهُ عَنْ قَلْبِهِ الْحِجَابُ فَكَانَتِ الْمَعْرِفَةُ مَقَامَهُ وَقَصُرَتْ عَلَيْهِ أَيَّامُهُ فَكَانَ وَقْتُهُ وَقْتًا وَاحِدًا لِوَاحِدٍ وَكَانَ قَلْبُهُ وَاحِدًا لِوَاحِدٍ وَهَمُّهُ مُنْفَرِدًا لِمُنْفَرِدٍ ، وَهَذَا حَالُ الْأَبْدَالِ الَّذِينَ هُمْ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ أَمْثَالٌ ، وَعَدَدُهُمْ فِي الْمُوقِنِينَ قَلِيلٌ وَنَصِيبُهُمْ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ وَافِرٌ جَلِيلٌ ، وَهُمُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ وَالصِّدِّيقُونَ وَمَنْ عَلِمَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ عَلَى يَقِينٍ

al-ṭayyibati bighayri ḥisābin wakushifa lahu ʿan qalbihi al-ḥijābu fakānati al-maʿrifatu maqāmahu waqaṣurat ʿalayhi ʾayyāmuhu fakāna waqtuhu waqtan wāḥidan liwāḥidin wakāna qalbuhu wāḥidan liwāḥidin wahammuhu munfaridan limunfaridin , wahādhā ḥālu al-ʾabdāli alladhīna hum mina al-rusuli ʾamthālun , waʿadaduhum fī al-mūqinīna qalīlun wanaṣībuhum mina al-yaqīni wāfirun jalīlun , wahumu al-muqarrabūna wa-al-ṣiddīqūna waman ʿalima mā dhakarnāhu ʿalā yaqīnin

without reckoning. The veil is lifted from his heart; knowledge of God becomes his station, and his days seem short to him. His time is one time for One, his heart one for One, and his concern single for the Single One. This is the state of the abdāl, who are likenesses of the messengers. Their number among those certain in faith is small, and their share of certainty is abundant and great. They are those brought near and the utterly truthful. Whoever knows with certainty what we have mentioned

فَهُوَ مِنْ

fahuwa min

is among

الصَّالِحِينَ وَمَنْ آمَنَ بِهِ وَلَمْ يَشُكَّ فِيهِ لِأَهْلِهِ إِيمَانَ تَصْدِيقٍ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ وَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْهُ شَهَادَةً يَكُونُ لَهُ مِنْهَا مُطَالَعَاتٌ وَزِيَادَةٌ فَهُوَ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ وَجَمِيعُ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ مُرَاقَبَةِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَشَهَادَةِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ يُدْرَكُ بِأَحَدِ مَقَامَيْنِ : مَنْ أُقِيمَ فِي أَحَدِهِمَا جُمِعَ لَهُ ذَلِكَ اسْتِقَامَةٌ فِي تَوْبَةٍ وَعَمَلٌ بِعِلْمٍ فَمَنْ كَانَ مَقَامُهُ التَّوْبَةَ وَحَالُهُ الِاسْتِقَامَةَ رُفِعَ

al-ṣāliḥīna waman ʾāmana bihi walam yashukka fīhi liʾahlihi ʾīmāna taṣdīqin fahuwa mina al-mūqinīna waman shahida minhu shahādatan yakūnu lahu minhā muṭālaʿātun waziyādatun fahuwa mina al-shāhidīna wajamīʿu mā dhakarnāhu min murāqabati al-muʾminīna washahādati al-muqarrabīna yudraku biʾaḥadi maqāmayni: man ʾuqīma fī ʾaḥadihimā jumiʿa lahu dhālika istiqāmatun fī tawbatin waʿamalun biʿilmin faman kāna maqāmuhu al-tawbata waḥāluhu al-istiqāmata rufiʿa

the righteous. Whoever believes it, without doubting its people’s possession of it, with a faith of affirmation, is among those certain in faith. Whoever witnesses something of it with a witnessing that brings him further insights and increase is among the witnesses. All we have mentioned of the believers’ watchfulness and the witnessing of those brought near is attained through one of two stations. Whoever is established in either has this gathered for him: uprightness in repentance and action with knowledge. Whoever’s station is repentance and whose state is uprightness is raised

إِلَى شَهَادَةِ الْمُحِبِّينَ وَمَنْ كَانَ مَقَامُهُ الْعِلْمَ وَحَالُهُ الْعَمَلَ بِعِلْمِهِ تَحَقَّقَ بِنَعْتِ الْخَائِفِينَ وَهُمَا حَالَا الْعَارِفِ الدَّائِمِ الْوَجْدِ بِقُرْبِ الْقَرِيبِ، الْقَائِمِ بِالشَّهَادَةِ بِحُضُورِ الشَّهِيدِ فَأَنْفَاسُهُ وَطَرَفَاتُهُ صَالِحَاتٌ وَتَصَرُّفَاتُهُ وَآثَارُهُ حَسَنَاتٌ وَأَفْكَارُهُ وَأَذْكَارُهُ مُشَاهَدَاتٌ فَهُوَ حَاضِرٌ فِي تَصْرِيفِهِ مُتَيَقِّظٌ فِي تَقَلُّبِهِ وَبِهَذَا وُصِفَ الْعَارِفُ وَالدَّائِمُ الْوَجْدِ وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ بَعْضِ هَذِهِ

ʾilā shahādati al-muḥibbīna waman kāna maqāmuhu al-ʿilma waḥāluhu al-ʿamala biʿilmihi taḥaqqaqa binaʿti al-khāʾifīna wahumā ḥālā al-ʿārifi al-dāʾimi al-wajdi biqurbi al-qarībi, al-qāʾimi bi-al-shahādati biḥuḍūri al-shahīdi faʾanfāsuhu waṭarafātuhu ṣāliḥātun wataṣarrufātuhu waʾāthāruhu ḥasanātun waʾafkāruhu waʾadhkāruhu mushāhadātun fahuwa ḥāḍirun fī taṣrīfihi mutayaqqiẓun fī taqallubihi wabihādhā wuṣifa al-ʿārifu wa-al-dāʾimu al-wajdi waḥuddithtu ʿan baʿḍi hādhihi

to the witnessing of lovers. Whoever’s station is knowledge and whose state is acting according to his knowledge realizes the quality of those who fear. These are the two states of the knower whose finding is constant through the Near One’s nearness, who upholds witnessing through the Witness’s presence. His breaths and blinks are righteous acts; his movements and effects are good deeds; his reflections and remembrances are witnessings. He is present in his activity and wakeful in his changes. By this the knower and the one of constant finding are described. I was told of one of this

الطَّائِفَةِ أَنَّهُ دَخَلَ عَلَى بَعْضِ الْمُنْقَطِعِينَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ فَقَالَ لَهُ : أَحْصَيْتُ مِنْ نِعَمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيَّ فِي نَوْعٍ وَاحِدٍ أَرْبَعَةً وَعِشْرِينَ أَلْفَ نِعْمَةٍ ، قُلْتُ : وَكَيْفَ ذَلِكَ ؟ قَالَ : حَسَبْتُ أَنْفَاسِي فِي الْيَوْمِ وَاللَّيْلَةِ فَوَجَدْتُهَا أَرْبَعَةً وَعِشْرِينَ أَلْفَ نَفَسٍ ، وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ الطَّرَفَاتِ ضِعْفُ ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ كُلَّ نَفَسٍ طَرْفَتَانِ وَسَمِعْتُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَوْحَى

al-ṭāʾifati ʾannahu dakhala ʿalā baʿḍi al-munqaṭiʿīna ʾilā allāhi taʿālā min ʾahli al-murāqabati faqāla lahu: ʾaḥṣaytu min niʿami allāhi taʿālā ʿalayya fī nawʿin wāḥidin ʾarbaʿatan waʿishrīna ʾalfa niʿmatin , qultu: wakayfa dhālika ? qāla: ḥasabtu ʾanfāsī fī al-yawmi wa-al-laylati fawajadtuhā ʾarbaʿatan waʿishrīna ʾalfa nafasin , wayuqālu: ʾinna al-ṭarafāti ḍiʿfu dhālika liʾanna kulla nafasin ṭarfatāni wasamiʿtu ʾanna allāha ʿazza wajalla ʾawḥā

group that he visited someone devoted wholly to God Most High, one of the people of watchfulness, who said to him, “I have counted twenty-four thousand blessings of God Most High upon me of a single kind.” I said, “How is that?” He said, “I counted my breaths in a day and night and found them to be twenty-four thousand breaths.” It is said that blinks are twice that number, because every breath has two blinks. I heard that God, mighty and majestic, revealed

إِلَى بَعْضِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ كَيْفَ تُؤَدِّي شُكْرَ نِعْمَتِي عَلَيْكَ وَلِي فِي كُلِّ شَعْرَةٍ نِعْمَتَانِ أَنْ لَيَّنْتُ أَصْلَهَا وَأَنْ طَمَنْتُ رَأْسَهَا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : رُوِيَ ذَلِكَ أَيْضًا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَعَزَّ مِنَ الْكِبْرِيتِ الْأَحْمَرِ إِلَّا مَا بَقِيَ مِنْ عُمُرِ الْعَبْدِ ، قَالَ : وَلَا يَعْرِفُ مِقْدَارَ مَا بَقِيَ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلَّا نَبِيٌّ أَوْ صِدِّيقٌ .

ʾilā baʿḍi al-ʾanbiyāʾi kayfa tuʾaddī shukra niʿmatī ʿalayka walī fī kulli shaʿratin niʿmatāni ʾan layyantu ʾaṣlahā waʾan ṭamantu raʾsahā , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: ruwiya dhālika ʾayḍan ʿan ʿaliyyin ʿalayhi al-salāmu: laysa shayʾun ʾaʿazza mina al-kibrīti al-ʾaḥmari ʾillā mā baqiya min ʿumuri al-ʿabdi , qāla: walā yaʿrifu miqdāra mā baqiya min ʿumurihi ʾillā nabiyyun ʾaw ṣiddīqun.

to one of the prophets: “How will you render thanks for My blessing upon you, when in every hair I have two blessings: that I softened its root and that I settled its tip?” One of the scholars said, and this is also related from ʿAlī, peace be upon him: “Nothing is rarer than red sulfur except what remains of the servant’s lifetime.” He said, “No one knows the value of what remains of his lifetime except a prophet or an utterly truthful person.”

وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : لَا يَعْرِفُ قَدْرَ مَا بَقِيَ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ فِي الْعِزَّةِ إِلَّا مَنْ عَرَفَ يَنْبُوعَ الْكِبْرِيتِ الْأَحْمَرِ فَإِنَّهُ يُقَالُ : إِنَّهُ عُيُونٌ تَنْبَعُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَا يَعْرِفُهَا إِلَّا الْأَبْدَالُ وَالْكِبْرِيتُ الْأَحْمَرُ هُوَ كِيمِيَاءُ الذَّهَبِ الَّذِي يُعْمَلُ مِنْهُ

waqāla baʿḍuhum: lā yaʿrifu qadra mā baqiya min ʿumurihi fī al-ʿizzati ʾillā man ʿarafa yanbūʿa al-kibrīti al-ʾaḥmari faʾinnahu yuqālu: ʾinnahu ʿuyūnun tanbaʿu fī al-ẓulumāti lā yaʿrifuhā ʾillā al-ʾabdālu wa-al-kibrītu al-ʾaḥmaru huwa kīmiyāʾu al-dhahabi alladhī yuʿmalu minhu

Another said, “No one knows how precious the remainder of his lifetime is except someone who knows the source of red sulfur.” It is said to consist of springs flowing in the darkness, known only to the abdāl. Red sulfur is the alchemical substance of gold from which

الذَّهَبُ الْخَالِصُ وَإِذَا أُلْقِيَ مِنْهُ الْيَسِيرُ عَلَى كِيمِيَاءِ الذَّهَبِ الْمُسْتَعْمَلِ ثَبَتَ عَلَى حَالِهِ وَإِلَّا اسْتَحَالَ وَتَغَيَّرَ بَعْدَ سِنِينَ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ ذُكِرَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْكِبْرِيتُ الْأَحْمَرُ إِلَّا فِي حَدِيثِ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ الَّذِي وَصَفَ فِيهِ الْأَبْدَالَ فَذَكَرَ عِدَّتَهُمْ وَنَعْتَهُمْ وَقَالَ فِي آخِرِ وَصْفِهِمْ : هُمْ فِي أُمَّتِي أَعَزُّ مِنَ الْكِبْرِيتِ الْأَحْمَرِ وَلَا ذَكَرَ الذَّهَبَ

al-dhahabu al-khāliṣu waʾidhā ʾulqiya minhu al-yasīru ʿalā kīmiyāʾi al-dhahabi al-mustaʿmali thabata ʿalā ḥālihi waʾillā istaḥāla wataghayyara baʿda sinīna walā ʾaʿlamu dhukira ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-kibrītu al-ʾaḥmaru ʾillā fī ḥadīthi ʿaliyyin ʿalayhi al-salāmu alladhī waṣafa fīhi al-ʾabdāla fadhakara ʿiddatahum wanaʿtahum waqāla fī ʾākhiri waṣfihim: hum fī ʾummatī ʾaʿazzu mina al-kibrīti al-ʾaḥmari walā dhakara al-dhahaba

pure gold is made. When a little of it is cast onto the alchemical preparation of gold in use, it remains as it is; otherwise it transforms and changes after years. I know of no mention of red sulfur from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, except in ʿAlī’s report, peace be upon him, in which he described the abdāl, mentioning their number and their description. At the end of his description he said, “In my community they are rarer than red sulfur.” Nor did he mention refined gold

الْإِبْرِيزَ إِلَّا فِي حَدِيثِ الِابْتِلَاءِ ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُجَرِّبُ عَبْدَهُ بِالْبَلَاءِ كَمَا يُجَرِّبُ أَحَدُكُمْ ذَهَبَهُ بِالنَّارِ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَخْرُجُ كَالذَّهَبِ الْإِبْرِيزِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَخْرُجُ أَسْوَدَ مُحْتَرِقًا وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَخْرُجُ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ .

al-ʾibrīza ʾillā fī ḥadīthi al-ibtilāʾi , ʾinna allāha taʿālā yujarribu ʿabdahu bi-al-balāʾi kamā yujarribu ʾaḥadukum dhahabahu bi-al-nāri faminhum man yakhruju ka-al-dhahabi al-ʾibrīzi waminhum man yakhruju ʾaswada muḥtariqan waminhum man yakhruju bayna dhālika.

except in the report about trial: “God Most High tests His servant through affliction as one of you tests his gold with fire. Some emerge like refined gold; some emerge black and burned; and some emerge between those states.”

الْفَصْلُ التَّاسِعُ وَالْعِشْرُونَ فِيهِ ذِكْرُ أَهْلِ الْمَقَامَاتِ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَتَمْيِيزُ أَهْلِ الْغَفْلَةِ الْمُبْعَدِينَ

al-faṣlu al-tāsiʿu wa-al-ʿishrūna fīhi dhikru ʾahli al-maqāmāti mina al-muqarrabīna watamyīzu ʾahli al-ghaflati al-mubʿadīna

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The People of the Spiritual Stations among Those Brought Near, and the Distinguishing of the Heedless Who Are Kept Far Away

فَإِذَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ بِوَصْفِ مَا ذَكَرْنَا كَانَ كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ ) ( وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بِشَهَادَاتِهِمْ قَائِمُونَ ) الْمَعَارِجُ 32 - 33 وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : عُمُرُ الْعَبْدِ أَمَانَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عِنْدَهُ يَسْأَلُهُ عِنْدَ مَوْتِهِ ، فَإِنْ كَانَ فَرَّطَ فِيهِ ضَيَّعَ أَمَانَةَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَتَرَكَ عَهْدَهُ ،

faʾidhā kāna al-ʿabdu biwaṣfi mā dhakarnā kāna kamā qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( walladhīna hum liʾamānātihim waʿahdihim rāʿūna ) ( walladhīna hum bishahādātihim qāʾimūna ) al-maʿāriju 32 - 33 waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: ʿumuru al-ʿabdi ʾamānatu allāhi taʿālā ʿindahu yasʾaluhu ʿinda mawtihi , faʾin kāna farraṭa fīhi ḍayyaʿa ʾamānata allāhi taʿālā wataraka ʿahdahu ,

When the servant has the qualities we have described, he is as God Most High says: “Those who guard their trusts and their covenant,” and “those who uphold their testimonies” (al-Maʿārij 32–33). One of the knowers said, “The servant’s lifetime is God Most High’s trust in his keeping; He asks him about it at his death. If he has squandered it, he has wasted God Most High’s trust and abandoned His covenant.”

وَإِنْ رَاعَى أَوْقَاتَهُ فَلَمْ تَخْرُجْ سَاعَةٌ إِلَّا فِي طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ حَفِظَ أَمَانَتَهُ وَوَفَى بِعَهْدِهِ فَلَهُ الْوَفَاءُ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْوَفَاءِ ، كَمَا قَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : ( وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 40 أَيْ فِي تَضْيِيعِ الْعَهْدِ وَفِي تَرْكِ الْوَفَاءِ وَكَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أَفَمَنْ كَانَ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَيَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ ) هُودٌ :

waʾin rāʿā ʾawqātahu falam takhruj sāʿatun ʾillā fī ṭāʿati allāhi ḥafiẓa ʾamānatahu wawafā biʿahdihi falahu al-wafāʾu mina allāhi ʿalā al-wafāʾi , kamā qāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: ( waʾawfū biʿahdī ʾūfi biʿahdikum waʾiyyāya farhabūni ) al-baqaratu: 40 ʾay fī taḍyīʿi al-ʿahdi wafī tarki al-wafāʾi wakamā qāla taʿālā: ( ʾafaman kāna ʿalā bayyinatin min rabbihi wayatlūhu shāhidun minhu ) hūdun:

If he watches over his times, so that no hour passes except in obedience to God, he has preserved His trust and fulfilled His covenant. For his fulfillment, God grants him fulfillment, as He, glorified and exalted, says: “Fulfill My covenant, and I shall fulfill your covenant; and fear Me alone” (al-Baqara 40), that is, concerning the neglect of the covenant and the abandonment of fulfillment. Likewise He Most High says, “Is one who stands upon clear evidence from his Lord, followed by a witness from Him…” (Hūd

17 أَيْ شَهِدَ مَقَامَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْهُ بِالْبَيَانِ فَقَامَ بِشَهَادَةِ الْإِيقَانِ فَلَيْسَ هَذَا كَمَنْ زُيِّنَ لَهُ سُوءُ عَمَلِهِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ فَآثَرَهُ عَلَى طَاعَةِ مَوْلَاهُ بَلْ هَذَا قَائِمٌ بِشَهَادَتِهِ مُتَّبِعٌ لِشَهِيدِهِ مُسْتَقِيمٌ عَلَى مَحَبَّةِ مَعْبُودِهِ وَكَانَ كَمَنْ وُصِفَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ ) وَكَمَنْ

17 ʾay shahida maqāma allāhi taʿālā minhu bi-al-bayāni faqāma bishahādati al-ʾīqāni falaysa hādhā kaman zuyyina lahu sūʾu ʿamalihi wattabaʿa hawāhu faʾātharahu ʿalā ṭāʿati mawlāhu bal hādhā qāʾimun bishahādatihi muttabiʿun lishahīdihi mustaqīmun ʿalā maḥabbati maʿbūdihi wakāna kaman wuṣifa fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( ʾūlāʾika alladhīna yadʿūna yabtaghūna ʾilā rabbihimu al-wasīlata ʾayyuhum ʾaqrabu wayarjūna raḥmatahu wayakhāfūna ʿadhābahu ) wakaman

17). That is, he has clearly witnessed God Most High’s watch over him and has upheld the testimony of certainty. He is unlike someone to whom his evil conduct has been made attractive, who follows his own desire and prefers it to obeying his Master. Rather, this man upholds his testimony, follows his witness, and remains steadfast in loving the One he worships. He is like those described in His exalted saying: “Those whom they call upon themselves seek a means of approach to their Lord, each seeking to be nearer; they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment.” And he is like one whom He

مَدَحَهُ بِحَقِيقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا ) الْأَنْفَالُ : 2 أَيْ عَلَامَاتُهُ وَدَلَائِلُهُ ( وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ ) أَيْ بِهِ يَثِقُونَ وَإِلَيْهِ يَنْظُرُونَ وَعَلَيْهِ فِي كُلِّ حَالٍ يَعْتَمِدُونَ وَلَدَيْهِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ يَطْمَئِنُّونَ وَعِنْدَهُ دُونَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ يُوجَدُونَ ثُمَّ قَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ : ( أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا لَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ ) الْأَنْفَالُ

madaḥahu biḥaqīqati al-ʾīmāni fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( waʾidhā tuliyat ʿalayhim ʾāyātuhu zādathum ʾīmānan ) al-ʾanfālu: 2 ʾay ʿalāmātuhu wadalāʾiluhu ( waʿalā rabbihim yatawakkalūna ) ʾay bihi yathiqūna waʾilayhi yanẓurūna waʿalayhi fī kulli ḥālin yaʿtamidūna waladayhi min kulli shayʾin yaṭmaʾinnūna waʿindahu dūna kulli shayʾin yūjadūna thumma qāla subḥānahu: ( ʾūlāʾika humu al-muʾminūna ḥaqqan lahum darajātun ʿinda rabbihim ) al-ʾanfālu

praises for the reality of faith in His exalted saying, “When His signs are recited to them, they increase them in faith” (al-Anfāl 2), that is, His marks and His proofs. “And in their Lord they put their trust”: that is, in Him they have confidence, toward Him they look, on Him they rely in every state, with Him they find reassurance against everything, and with Him, apart from everything else, they are found. Then He, glorified, says: “Those are the believers in truth; they have degrees with their Lord” (al-Anfāl

: 4 الْآيَةَ ، وَلَيْسَ أَهْلُ الْحَقَائِقِ مِنَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ الَّذِينَ مَدَحَهُمُ الْحَقُّ بِالْحَقِّ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمُ الدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى ، وَالْكَرِيمَ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ كَمَنْ ذَكَرَهُ بَعْدَهُمْ فَقَالَ : وَإِنَّ فَرِيقًا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لَكَارِهُونَ يُجَادِلُونَكَ فِي الْحَقِّ بَعْدَ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ مَعَ قَوْلِهِ مَا يُجَادِلُ فِي آيَاتِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ، فَجَعَلَ حَالَ هَؤُلَاءِ وَصْفًا مُشَبَّهًا لِمَقَامِ أَعْدَائِهِ لِمَا بَقِيَ عَلَيْهِمْ

: 4 al-ʾāyata , walaysa ʾahlu al-ḥaqāʾiqi mina al-mutawakkilīna alladhīna madaḥahumu al-ḥaqqu bi-al-ḥaqqi waʾaʿadda lahumu al-darajāti al-ʿulā , wa-al-karīma mina al-rizqi kaman dhakarahu baʿdahum faqāla: waʾinna farīqan mina al-muʾminīna lakārihūna yujādilūnaka fī al-ḥaqqi baʿda mā tabayyana lahum maʿa qawlihi mā yujādilu fī ʾāyāti allāhi ʾillā alladhīna kafarū , fajaʿala ḥāla hāʾulāʾi waṣfan mushabbahan limaqāmi ʾaʿdāʾihi limā baqiya ʿalayhim

4), and the rest of the verse. Those who possess the realities of trust, whom the Real has praised in truth and for whom He has prepared the highest degrees and generous provision, are unlike those He mentions afterward: “A group of the believers were indeed unwilling, disputing with you concerning the truth after it had become clear to them.” Alongside this He says, “None dispute concerning God’s signs except those who disbelieve.” He thus made these people’s state a quality resembling the station of His enemies, because of what remained in them

مِنْ أَهْوَائِهِمْ وَجَعَلَ مَقَامَ الصَّالِحِينَ بِمَعْنَى مَنْ وَصَفَهُمْ فِي الْآيَةِ بِحَقِيقَةِ زُهْدِهِمْ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَنْ يَأْتِهِ مُؤْمِنًا قَدْ عَمِلَ الصَّالِحَاتِ فَأُولَئِكَ لَهُمُ الدَّرَجَاتُ الْعُلَى ) طه 75 فَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ وَأَحِبَّاؤُهُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ وَإِنَّمَا كَانُوا أَعْلَيْنَ لِأَنَّ الْأَعْلَى مَعَهُمْ وَكُنَّا نَحْنُ الْأَدْنِينَ لِأَنَّ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَنَا ، قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ فِي وَصْفِ مَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِهِ وَلَمْ يُرِدْ إِلَّا

min ʾahwāʾihim wajaʿala maqāma al-ṣāliḥīna bimaʿnā man waṣafahum fī al-ʾāyati biḥaqīqati zuhdihim faqāla taʿālā: ( waman yaʾtihi muʾminan qad ʿamila al-ṣāliḥāti faʾūlāʾika lahumu al-darajātu al-ʿulā ) ṭā hā 75 fahuwa al-ʿaliyyu waʾaḥibbāʾuhu al-ʾaʿlawna waʾinnamā kānū ʾaʿlayna liʾanna al-ʾaʿlā maʿahum wakunnā naḥnu al-ʾadnīna liʾanna al-dunyā ʿindanā , qāla allāhu subḥānahu fī waṣfi man ʾaʿraḍa ʿan dhikrihi walam yurid ʾillā

of their desires. He assigned the station of the righteous the meaning of those whose true renunciation He describes in the verse, saying Most High: “Whoever comes to Him as a believer, having done righteous deeds, for such are the highest degrees” (Ṭā Hā 75). He is the Most High, and His beloved are the highest. They are high only because the Most High is with them, while we are the lowly because this lower world is with us. God, glorified, says of one who turns away from His remembrance and desires only

الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا إِذْ أَمَرَ الْحَبِيبَ بِالْإِعْرَاضِ عَنْهُ لِأَنَّهُ طَلَبَ

al-ḥayāta al-dunyā ʾidh ʾamara al-ḥabība bi-al-ʾiʿrāḍi ʿanhu liʾannahu ṭalaba

the life of this world, when He commanded the Beloved to turn away from him, because he sought

الْأَدْنَى عَاجِلًا أَوْ سَوَّفَ بِالْمَغْفِرَةِ آجِلًا لِقُوَّةِ جَهْلِهِ وَضَعْفِ يَقِينِهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( يَأْخُذُونَ عَرَضَ هَذَا الْأَدْنَى وَيَقُولُونَ سَيُغْفَرُ لَنَا ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 169 وَقَالَ : ( فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْ مَنْ تَوَلَّى عَنْ ذِكْرِنَا وَلَمْ يُرِدْ إِلَّا الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا ) النَّجْمُ : 29 ، وَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِ الصَّادِقِينَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ : ( رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ ) الْأَحْزَابُ :

al-ʾadnā ʿājilan ʾaw sawwafa bi-al-maghfirati ʾājilan liquwwati jahlihi waḍaʿfi yaqīnihi faqāla taʿālā: ( yaʾkhudhūna ʿaraḍa hādhā al-ʾadnā wayaqūlūna sayughfaru lanā ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 169 waqāla: ( faʾaʿriḍ ʿan man tawallā ʿan dhikrinā walam yurid ʾillā al-ḥayāta al-dunyā ) al-najmu: 29 , waqāla fī waṣfi al-ṣādiqīna al-muʾminīna: ( rijālun ṣadaqū mā ʿāhadū allāha ʿalayhi ) al-ʾaḥzābu:

the lower good immediately, or deferred matters in expectation of forgiveness later, because of the strength of his ignorance and the weakness of his certainty. He Most High says, “They take the goods of this lower world and say, ‘We shall be forgiven’” (al-Aʿrāf 169). And He says, “Turn away from whoever turns his back on Our remembrance and desires only the life of this world” (al-Najm 29). Of truthful believers He says, “Men who have been true to what they pledged to God” (al-Aḥzāb

23 وَقَالَ فِي نَعْتِ غَيْرِهِمْ : ( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ ) الصَّفُّ : 2 ، كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فَشَتَّانَ بَيْنَ مَنْ وُصِفَ بِصِدْقِ الْعَهْدِ وَبَيْنَ مَنْ ذُكِرَ بِالْخُلْفِ وَعُرِّضَ لِلْمَقْتِ ، وَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِ طَائِفَةٍ : ( وَلَقَدْ صَدَقَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِبْلِيسُ ظَنَّهُ فَاتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِيقًا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ) سَبَأٌ : 20 فَخَصَّ أَوْلِيَاءَهُ بِتَرْكِ اتِّبَاعِهِ وَأَدْخَلَ بَعْضَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي

23 waqāla fī naʿti ghayrihim: ( yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū lima taqūlūna mā lā tafʿalūna ) al-ṣaffu: 2 , kabura maqtan ʿinda allāhi fashattāna bayna man wuṣifa biṣidqi al-ʿahdi wabayna man dhukira bi-al-khulfi waʿurriḍa lilmaqti , waqāla fī waṣfi ṭāʾifatin: ( walaqad ṣadaqa ʿalayhim ʾiblīsu ẓannahu fattabaʿūhu ʾillā farīqan mina al-muʾminīna ) sabaʾun: 20 fakhaṣṣa ʾawliyāʾahu bitarki ittibāʿihi waʾadkhala baʿḍa al-muʾminīna fī

23). Describing others He says, “O you who believe, why do you say what you do not do?” (al-Ṣaff 2), and “Great is the loathing before God.” How far apart are one described as true to the covenant and one remembered for breaking it and exposed to loathing! Describing another group He says, “Iblīs indeed proved his opinion of them true: they followed him, except for a group of the believers” (Sabaʾ 20). He singled out His friends as abandoning the following of him, while including some believers among those

تَصْدِيقِ ظَنِّهِ وَاتِّبَاعِهِ إِلَّا فَرِيقًا فَهُمُ الصِّدِّيقُونَ وَالشُّهَدَاءُ وَالصَّالِحُونَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَئِكَ رَفِيقًا وَهُمُ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا الَّذِينَ قَالَ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ وَلَيْسَ مَنْ بَاعَ مَالَهُ وَنَفْسَهُ مَحَبَّةً لِمَوْلَاهُ كَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْأَلْهُ مَوْلَاهُ دُونَ نَفْسِهِ لِئَلَّا يُحْفِيَهُ فَيُخْرِجَ ضِغْنَهُ عَلَيْهِ كَمَا قَالَ لِطَائِفَةٍ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ :

taṣdīqi ẓannihi wattibāʿihi ʾillā farīqan fahumu al-ṣiddīqūna wa-al-shuhadāʾu wa-al-ṣāliḥūna waḥasuna ʾūlāʾika rafīqan wahumu al-mutawakkilūna al-muʾminūna ḥaqqan alladhīna qāla ʾinnahu laysa lahu sulṭānun ʿalā alladhīna ʾāmanū waʿalā rabbihim yatawakkalūna walaysa man bāʿa mālahu wanafsahu maḥabbatan limawlāhu kaman lam yasʾalhu mawlāhu dūna nafsihi liʾallā yuḥfiyahu fayukhrija ḍighnahu ʿalayhi kamā qāla liṭāʾifatin mina al-muʾminīna:

who confirmed his opinion and followed him, except for a group. These are the utterly truthful, the witnesses, and the righteous: how excellent they are as companions! They are those who trust, the believers in truth, of whom He says, “He has no authority over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord.” One who has sold his wealth and his self out of love for his Master is unlike one whose Master has not asked him even for what is short of his self, lest He press him and bring out his resentment against Him. As He said to a group of believers:

( يُؤْتِكُمْ أُجُورَكُمْ وَلَا يَسْأَلْكُمْ أَمْوَالَكُمْ ) مُحَمَّدٌ : 36 ، إِنْ يَسْأَلْكُمُوهَا فَيُحْفِكُمْ تَبْخَلُوا وَيُخْرِجْ أَضْغَانَكُمُ الْإِحْفَاءُ الِاسْتِقْصَاءُ أَيْ سَأَلَكُمْ سَأَلَ الْجُمْلَةِ كُلِّهَا وَأَحَبَّ مِنْكُمُ الزُّهْدَ فِي نُفُوسِكُمْ بَعْدَهَا ؛ وَالْأَضْغَانُ جَمْعُ ضِغْنٍ وَهُوَ الْحِقْدُ تَقُولُ : فَلَسْتُمْ فِي مَكَانِ سُؤَالٍ إِذْ لَا يَكُونُ الْبَخِيلُ زَاهِدًا لِأَنَّ أَوَّلَ الزُّهْدِ الْجُودُ ،

( yuʾtikum ʾujūrakum walā yasʾalkum ʾamwālakum ) muḥammadun: 36 , ʾin yasʾalkumūhā fayuḥfikum tabkhalū wayukhrij ʾaḍghānakumu al-ʾiḥfāʾu al-istiqṣāʾu ʾay saʾalakum saʾala al-jumlati kullihā waʾaḥabba minkumu al-zuhda fī nufūsikum baʿdahā ; wa-al-ʾaḍghānu jamʿu ḍighnin wahuwa al-ḥiqdu taqūlu: falastum fī makāni suʾālin ʾidh lā yakūnu al-bakhīlu zāhidan liʾanna ʾawwala al-zuhdi al-jūdu ,

“He will give you your rewards and will not ask you for your wealth” (Muḥammad 36). “If He asks you for it and presses you, you will be miserly, and He will bring out your resentments.” Iḥfāʾ means pressing a demand to its limit: that is, if He asked you, He asked for the whole of it, and desired of you renunciation of your own selves afterward. Aḍghān is the plural of ḍighn, meaning rancor. You say: you are therefore in no position to be asked, since a miser cannot be a renunciant; generosity is the beginning of renunciation.

فَمَنْ لَمْ يَجُدْ لَمْ يَزْهَدْ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَزْهَدْ فِي الدُّنْيَا لَمْ يُحِبَّهُ الْمَوْلَى لِأَنَّهُ مُحِبٌّ لِمَا يُبْغِضُ وَمُرِيدٌ لِمَا لَا يُحِبُّ فَلَمْ يُعَامِلْ مَوْلَاهُ بِأَخْلَاقِهِ وَلَمْ يُوَافِقْهُ فِي مَرْضَاتِهِ فَبَاعَدَهُ وَحَجَبَهُ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ أَوْصَافِهِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( تُرِيدُونَ عَرَضَ الدُّنْيَا وَاللَّهُ يُرِيدُ الْآخِرَةَ ) الْأَنْفَالُ : 67 ، وَكَمَا قَالَ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :

faman lam yajud lam yazhad waman lam yazhad fī al-dunyā lam yuḥibbahu al-mawlā liʾannahu muḥibbun limā yubghiḍu wamurīdun limā lā yuḥibbu falam yuʿāmil mawlāhu biʾakhlāqihi walam yuwāfiqhu fī marḍātihi fabāʿadahu waḥajabahu ʿan mushāhadati ʾawṣāfihi kamā qāla taʿālā: ( turīdūna ʿaraḍa al-dunyā wa-allāhu yurīdu al-ʾākhirata ) al-ʾanfālu: 67 , wakamā qāla al-rasūlu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama:

Whoever is not generous has not renounced; whoever has not renounced the world is not loved by the Master, because he loves what He hates and desires what He does not love. He has not dealt with his Master according to His qualities or agreed with Him in what pleases Him. So He has kept him distant and veiled him from witnessing His attributes, as He Most High says, “You desire the goods of this world, while God desires the hereafter” (al-Anfāl 67). And as the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said,

الْمُبَلِّغُ عَنِ الْمَآلِ إِذَا أَرَدْتَ أَنْ يُحِبَّكَ اللَّهُ فَازْهَدْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَا تَقْدِرُ أَنْ تَصِفَ حَشْوَ قُلُوبِ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ وَصَفَهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُ أَنْ لَوْ سَأَلَهُمْ أَمْوَالَهُمْ ظَهَرَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَضْغَانُهُمْ لِأَنَّهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ فِي اغْتِرَارٍ بِمَا أَلْبَسَهُمْ مِنَ الْإِظْهَارِ فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِ بَصِيرًا إِلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَا يَسْأَلُ إِلَّا مَنْ يُحِبُّهُ إِكْرَامًا لَهُ

al-muballighu ʿani al-maʾāli ʾidhā ʾaradta ʾan yuḥibbaka allāhu fazhad fī al-dunyā walā taqdiru ʾan taṣifa ḥashwa qulūbi hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati mina al-muʾminīna alladhīna waṣafahumu al-muʾminu ʾan law saʾalahum ʾamwālahum ẓaharat ʿalayhim ʾaḍghānuhum liʾannahum mina allāhi fī ightirārin bimā ʾalbasahum mina al-ʾiẓhāri faʾidhā jāʾa ʾajaluhum faʾinna allāha kāna biʿibādihi baṣīran ʾillā ʾanna allāha taʿālā lā yasʾalu ʾillā man yuḥibbuhu ʾikrāman lahu

conveying the final outcome: “If you want God to love you, renounce the world.” You cannot describe what fills the hearts of this group of believers, whom the Giver of Security describes as people whose resentments would appear if He asked them for their wealth. They are deluded concerning God by the outward appearances in which He has clothed them. When their term arrives, God has indeed always seen His servants. God Most High asks only those He loves, honoring them,

مِمَّنْ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ يُسَارِعُ إِلَيْهِ بِجُمْلَةِ مَا سَأَلَهُ لِأَنَّهُ كَرِيمٌ جَوَادٌ لَا يَكْبُرُ عِنْدَهُ شَيْءٌ إِنْ سَأَلَ سَأَلَ الْكُلِّيَّةَ وَهُوَ الْمَالُ وَالنَّفْسُ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ لَا يَسْأَلُ إِلَّا مَنْ خَلَّقَهُ بِخُلُقٍ مِنْ أَخْلَاقِهِ فَمَتَى لَمْ يَكُنْ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ سِوَاهُ شَيْءٌ سَأَلَهُ مَحْبُوبُهُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَمَتَى عَظُمَ فِي قَلْبِهِ الْعَرَضُ الْفَانِي وَهُوَ ضَغِينٌ لَمْ يَسْأَلْهُ شَيْئًا فَإِذَا لَمْ يَبْقَ لِلْعَبْدِ فِي نَفْسِهِ نَفْسٌ وَلَا مِنْ مَالِهِ

mimman yaʿlamu ʾannahu yusāriʿu ʾilayhi bijumlati mā saʾalahu liʾannahu karīmun jawādun lā yakburu ʿindahu shayʾun ʾin saʾala saʾala al-kulliyyata wahuwa al-mālu wa-al-nafsu ʾillā ʾannahu lā yasʾalu ʾillā man khallaqahu bikhuluqin min ʾakhlāqihi famatā lam yakun ʿalā al-ʿabdi siwāhu shayʾun saʾalahu maḥbūbuhu kulla shayʾin wamatā ʿaẓuma fī qalbihi al-ʿaraḍu al-fānī wahuwa ḍaghīnun lam yasʾalhu shayʾan faʾidhā lam yabqa lilʿabdi fī nafsihi nafsun walā min mālihi

among those He knows will hasten to Him with the entirety of what He asks, because such a person is noble and generous, and nothing seems too great to him. If He asks, He asks for the totality, namely wealth and self. Yet He asks only one whom He has endowed with one of His qualities. Whenever nothing but Him has a claim upon the servant, his Beloved asks him for everything. Whenever the perishing goods loom large in his heart and he harbors resentment, He asks him for nothing. When the servant no longer has any self in himself, nor any of his wealth

مِلْكٌ كَانَ الْجَوَادُ عِوَضًا لَهُ مِنْ مَالِهِ وَكَانَ الْجَبَّارُ عِوَضًا لَهُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ إِلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ لَمْ يَذْكُرْ إِيَّاهُ فِي الْعِوَضِ مِنَ النَّفْسِ وَذَكَرَ الْجَنَّةَ فِي الْبَدَلِ عَنِ الْمَالِ لِئَلَّا يَدْخُلَ تَحْتَ حُكْمٍ وَهُوَ الْحَاكِمُ وَكَيْلَا يَنْضَمَّ إِلَى عِوَضٍ فَيَكُونَ شَفْعًا وَهُوَ الْفَرْدُ فَأَخْفَى نَفْسَهُ وَهُوَ الدَّلِيلُ وَذَكَرَ خَلْقَهُ وَهُوَ إِلَيْهِ السَّبِيلُ فَهَذَا فَهْمُ أَوْلِيَائِهِ عَنْهُ .

milkun kāna al-jawādu ʿiwaḍan lahu min mālihi wakāna al-jabbāru ʿiwaḍan lahu min nafsihi ʾillā ʾanna allāha subḥānahu lam yadhkur ʾiyyāhu fī al-ʿiwaḍi mina al-nafsi wadhakara al-jannata fī al-badali ʿani al-māli liʾallā yadkhula taḥta ḥukmin wahuwa al-ḥākimu wakaylā yanḍamma ʾilā ʿiwaḍin fayakūna shafʿan wahuwa al-fardu faʾakhfā nafsahu wahuwa al-dalīlu wadhakara khalqahu wahuwa ʾilayhi al-sabīlu fahādhā fahmu ʾawliyāʾihi ʿanhu.

as a possession, the Generous One becomes his compensation for his wealth, and the Compeller his compensation for his self. Yet God, glorified, did not mention Himself as compensation for the self; He mentioned Paradise in exchange for wealth, lest He come under a ruling when He is the Judge, and lest He be joined to compensation and become one of a pair when He is the Single One. So He concealed Himself, although He is the Guide, and mentioned His creation, which is the path to Him. This is His friends’ understanding of Him.

وَهَذِهِ عَلَامَةُ الْمَحَبَّةِ الْخَالِصَةِ الَّتِي لَا شِرْكَ فِيهَا لِسِوَاهُ وَلَا دَخْلَ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ غَيْرِهِ إِيَّاهُ

wahādhihi ʿalāmatu al-maḥabbati al-khāliṣati allatī lā shirka fīhā lisiwāhu walā dakhla ʿalayhā min ghayrihi ʾiyyāhu

This is the sign of pure love, in which nothing besides Him has any share and into which nothing other than Him intrudes.

وَلَا يَصْلُحُ أَيْضًا أَنْ يُكْشَفَ عَنْ وَصْفِ هَؤُلَاءِ الْمُحِبِّينَ لِأَنَّ حَالَهُمْ يَجِلُّ عَنِ الْوَصْفِ وَمَقَامَهُمْ يُجَاوِزُ عُلُومَ الْعَقْلِ وَالْوَقْتِ ، إِلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَحْكَمَ ذَلِكَ بِقَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَفِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِيهِ الْأَنْفُسُ وَتَلَذُّ الْأَعْيُنُ ) الزُّخْرُفُ : 17 وَبِقَوْلِهِ : ( تَحِيَّتُهُمْ يَوْمَ يَلْقَوْنَهُ سَلَامٌ ) الْأَحْزَابُ : 44 مَعَ قَوْلِهِ : ( وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ ) ( نُزُلًا مِنْ غَفُورٍ

walā yaṣluḥu ʾayḍan ʾan yukshafa ʿan waṣfi hāʾulāʾi al-muḥibbīna liʾanna ḥālahum yajillu ʿani al-waṣfi wamaqāmahum yujāwizu ʿulūma al-ʿaqli wa-al-waqti , ʾillā ʾanna allāha taʿālā ʾaḥkama dhālika biqawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( wafīhā mā tashtahīhi al-ʾanfusu wataladhdhu al-ʾaʿyunu ) al-zukhrufu: 17 wabiqawlihi: ( taḥiyyatuhum yawma yalqawnahu salāmun ) al-ʾaḥzābu: 44 maʿa qawlihi: ( walakum fīhā mā taddaʿūna ) ( nuzulan min ghafūrin

Nor is it fitting to unveil the description of these lovers, for their state is too exalted for description, and their station surpasses the sciences of reason and of the present moment. Yet God Most High has made this decisive in His saying, mighty and majestic: “There is in it whatever souls desire and eyes delight in” (al-Zukhruf 17), and in His saying, “Their greeting on the day they meet Him is ‘Peace’” (al-Aḥzāb 44), together with His saying, “You shall have there whatever you call for, as hospitality from One forgiving and

رَحِيمٍ ) فُصِّلَتْ 31 - 32 وَقَوْلِهِ : ( فَأَمَّا إِنْ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ فَرَوْحٌ وَرَيْحَانٌ ) الْوَاقِعَةُ : 88 - 89 ، وَأَحْكَمَ ذَلِكَ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَهُوَ وَلِيُّهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 127 وَبِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( هُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 163 فَفِيهِ وَصْفٌ لِأَهْلِ الْوِلَايَاتِ وَالْحُبِّ وَمَدْحٌ لِأَهْلِ الدَّرَجَاتِ وَالْقُرْبِ بِقَوْلِهِ :

raḥīmin ) fuṣṣilat 31 - 32 waqawlihi: ( faʾammā ʾin kāna mina al-muqarrabīna farawḥun warayḥānun ) al-wāqiʿatu: 88 - 89 , waʾaḥkama dhālika biqawlihi taʿālā: ( wahuwa waliyyuhum bimā kānū yaʿmalūna ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 127 wabiqawlihi taʿālā: ( hum darajātun ʿinda allāhi wa-allāhu baṣīrun bimā yaʿmalūna ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 163 fafīhi waṣfun liʾahli al-wilāyāti wa-al-ḥubbi wamadḥun liʾahli al-darajāti wa-al-qurbi biqawlihi:

merciful” (Fuṣṣilat 31–32), and His saying, “If he is among those brought near, then rest and fragrant provision” (al-Wāqiʿa 88–89). He made this decisive in His exalted saying, “He is their Protector because of what they used to do” (al-Anʿām 127), and His exalted saying, “They are degrees before God, and God sees what they do” (Āl ʿImrān 163). In this is a description of the people of divine friendship and love, and praise of the people of degrees and nearness, in His saying:

بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ أَيْ لِذَلِكَ جَعَلَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ عِنْدَهُ ، وَلِقَوْلِهِ : وَلِيُّهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ بِمَا تَوَلَّاهُمْ بِهِ قَرَّبَهُمْ مِنْهُ وَفِيهِ أَيْضًا ذَمُّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ عَلَى الْقِرَاءَةِ الْأُخْرَى وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ فَقَدْ أَبْصَرَ أَعْمَالَكُمْ أَنْتُمْ فَلَمْ يَجْعَلْكُمْ مِثْلَهُمْ إِذْ لَمْ تَكُنْ أَعْمَالُكُمْ كَأَعْمَالِهِمْ فَهَذَا كَمَا قَالَ : ( فَعَلِمَ مَا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ فَأَنْزَلَ السَّكِينَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَثَابَهُمْ

baṣīrun bimā yaʿmalūna ʾay lidhālika jaʿalahum darajātin ʿindahu , waliqawlihi: waliyyuhum bimā kānū yaʿmalūna bimā tawallāhum bihi qarrabahum minhu wafīhi ʾayḍan dhammu al-munāfiqīna ʿalā al-qirāʾati al-ʾukhrā wa-allāhu baṣīrun bimā taʿmalūna faqad ʾabṣara ʾaʿmālakum ʾantum falam yajʿalkum mithlahum ʾidh lam takun ʾaʿmālukum kaʾaʿmālihim fahādhā kamā qāla: ( faʿalima mā fī qulūbihim faʾanzala al-sakīnata ʿalayhim waʾathābahum

“He sees what they do”: that is why He made them degrees before Him. As for His saying, “Their Protector because of what they used to do,” through the care He bestowed on them He drew them near to Himself. It also reproaches the hypocrites according to the other reading, “God sees what you do.” He has seen your own deeds and has not made you like them, because your deeds were not like theirs. This is as He says, “He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquility upon them and rewarded them with

فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا ) الْفَتْحُ : 18 ثُمَّ قَالَ فِي وَصْفِ قُلُوبِنَا : ( وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَلِيمًا ) الْأَحْزَابُ : 15 ثُمَّ قَالَ فِي فَصْلٍ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ : لَيْسَ بِهَزْلٍ سَوَّى بَيْنَ هَؤُلَاءِ وَهَؤُلَاءِ : ( إِنْ يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ خَيْرًا يُؤْتِكُمْ خَيْرًا ) ثُمَّ قَالَ فِي ضِدِّ أُولَئِكَ كَلَامًا فَاصِلًا لِمُفَصَّلٍ مُفَسِّرٍ لِلْمُجْمَلِ :

fatḥan qarīban ) al-fatḥu: 18 thumma qāla fī waṣfi qulūbinā: ( wa-allāhu yaʿlamu mā fī qulūbikum wakāna allāhu ʿalīman ḥalīman ) al-ʾaḥzābu: 15 thumma qāla fī faṣlin mina al-qawli: laysa bihazlin sawwā bayna hāʾulāʾi wahāʾulāʾi: ( ʾin yaʿlami allāhu fī qulūbikum khayran yuʾtikum khayran ) thumma qāla fī ḍiddi ʾūlāʾika kalāman fāṣilan limufaṣṣalin mufassirin lilmujmali:

a near victory” (al-Fatḥ 18). Then, describing our hearts, He says: “God knows what is in your hearts, and God is knowing, forbearing” (al-Aḥzāb 15). Then He made these people and those equal in a decisive utterance, no jest: “If God knows good in your hearts, He will give you good.” Then, concerning the opposite of those people, He spoke decisively, distinguishing in detail and explaining what had been stated generally:

( وَلَوْ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا لَأَسْمَعَهُمْ وَلَوْ أَسْمَعَهُمْ لَتَوَلَّوْا وَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ ) الْأَنْفَالُ 23 أَيْ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ فِيهِ شَيْءٌ وَلَا لَهُمْ مِنْهُ نَصِيبٌ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَجْعَلْ عِنْدَهُمْ مَكَانًا لِخَيْرٍ فَيُوجَدَ فِيهِ خَيْرٌ فَكَانَ هَذَا فَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ وَبَلَاغًا لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ شَهِدَ لَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ إِذْ قَالَ : ( أَفَلَمْ يَيْأَسِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ لَوْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ لَهَدَى النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا ) الرَّعْدُ : 13 .

( walaw ʿalima allāhu fīhim khayran laʾasmaʿahum walaw ʾasmaʿahum latawallaw wahum muʿriḍūna ) al-ʾanfālu 23 ʾay laysa lahum fīhi shayʾun walā lahum minhu naṣībun liʾannahu lam yajʿal ʿindahum makānan likhayrin fayūjada fīhi khayrun fakāna hādhā faṣla al-khiṭābi wabalāghan liʾūlī al-ʾalbābi shahida lahum bidhālika ʾidh qāla: ( ʾafalam yayʾasi alladhīna ʾāmanū ʾan law yashāʾa allāhu lahadā al-nāsa jamīʿan ) al-raʿdu: 13.

“Had God known any good in them, He would have made them hear; and had He made them hear, they would have turned away, averse” (al-Anfāl 23). That is, they have nothing in it and no share of it, because He has made no place for good within them in which good might be found. This was decisive speech and a proclamation for people of understanding. He testified to this for them when He said, “Have those who believe not despaired, knowing that, had God willed, He would have guided all people?” (al-Raʿd 13).

فَأَيِسَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ مِنْ هِدَايَةِ هَؤُلَاءِ فَلَمْ يَرْجُوا مِنْهُمْ مُجَاهَدَةً فِيهِ أَبَدًا لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَا يَهْدِي مَنْ يُضِلُّ وَقِيلَ يَيْأَسُ لُغَةٌ بِمَعْنَى يَعْلَمُ أَيْ فَقَدْ عَلِمُوا مِمَّا أَعْلَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ، وَيَشْهَدُ لِهَذَا الْمَعْنَى الْحَرْفُ الْآخَرُ لِأَنَّهُ بِمَعْنَاهُ أَفَلَمْ يَتَبَيَّنِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ بِمَا بَيَّنَ الْمُبِينُ فَسَلَّمُوا لَهُ وَأَقْبَلُوا عَلَيْهِ وَأَعْرَضُوا عَنْهُمْ فَسَلِمُوا مِنْهُمْ فَكَذَلِكَ

faʾayisa al-muʾminūna min hidāyati hāʾulāʾi falam yarjū minhum mujāhadatan fīhi ʾabadan liʾanna allāha taʿālā lā yahdī man yuḍillu waqīla yayʾasu lughatun bimaʿnā yaʿlamu ʾay faqad ʿalimū mimmā ʾaʿlamahumu allāhu taʿālā , wayashhadu lihādhā al-maʿnā al-ḥarfu al-ʾākharu liʾannahu bimaʿnāhu ʾafalam yatabayyani alladhīna ʾāmanū fabayyana lahum bimā bayyana al-mubīnu fasallamū lahu waʾaqbalū ʿalayhi waʾaʿraḍū ʿanhum fasalimū minhum fakadhālika

The believers therefore despaired of these people’s guidance and never hoped for striving in Him from them, because God Most High does not guide one whom He leads astray. It is also said that yayʾas is a dialectal expression meaning “knows”: they have indeed known from what God Most High has made known to them. The other reading bears witness to this meaning, since it has the same sense: “Has it not become clear to those who believe?” Through what the One Who Makes Clear explained, it became clear to them; they submitted to Him, turned toward Him, and turned away from those people, and so were safe from them. Likewise

قَالَ الْوَلِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ ، وَكَذَلِكَ نُوَلِّي بَعْضَ الظَّالِمِينَ بَعْضًا وَقَالَ : ( تَشَابَهَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 118 ، فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ فَكَمْ بَيْنَ مَنْ ثَبَتَ قَلْبُهُ فَرَسَخَ الْعِلْمُ فِيهِ وَبَيْنَ مَنْ أَزَاغَهُ فَمَالَ إِلَى فِتْنَةِ التَّأْوِيلِ يَبْتَغِيهِ وَشَتَّانَ بَيْنَ مَنْ تَوَلَّاهُ بِنَفْسِهِ إِذْ صَلَحَ لَهُ وَبَيْنَ مَنْ وَلَّاهُ إِذَا أَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ فَهَذِهِ مَقَامَاتُ الْمُبْعَدِينَ كَمَا تِلْكَ مَقَامَاتُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ

qāla al-waliyyu al-ḥamīdu , wakadhālika nuwallī baʿḍa al-ẓālimīna baʿḍan waqāla: ( tashābahat qulūbuhum ) al-baqaratu: 118 , fayattabiʿūna mā tashābaha minhu fakam bayna man thabata qalbuhu farasakha al-ʿilmu fīhi wabayna man ʾazāghahu famāla ʾilā fitnati al-taʾwīli yabtaghīhi washattāna bayna man tawallāhu binafsihi ʾidh ṣalaḥa lahu wabayna man wallāhu ʾidhā ʾaʿraḍa ʿanhu fahādhihi maqāmātu al-mubʿadīna kamā tilka maqāmātu al-muqarrabīna

the Praiseworthy Protector says, “Thus We make some wrongdoers the allies of others.” And He says, “Their hearts are alike” (al-Baqara 118), so they follow what is ambiguous in it. How great the distance between one whose heart He has made firm, so that knowledge is rooted in it, and one whom He has made deviate, who inclines toward the trial of interpretation and seeks it! How far apart are one whom He Himself has taken into His care, since he was fit for Him, and one whom He has turned away when He turned away from him! These are the stations of those kept distant, just as those are the stations of those brought near.

فَقَدْ دَخَلُوا تَحْتَ حُكْمَيْنِ لَمْ يَخْرُجُوا مِنْهُمَا أَعْلَاهُمْ دَخَلَ تَحْتَ فَضْلِهِ وَأَدْنَاهُمْ لَمْ يَخْرُجْ مِنْ عَدْلِهِ وَقَدْ أَجْمَلَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَصْفَهُمْ بِقَوْلِهِ : ( لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ ) الرُّومُ : 45 وَقَالَ فِي ذِكْرِ الْعُمُومِ : ( لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ بِالْقِسْطِ ) يُونُسُ : 4 ، بِالْقِسْطِ فَخَصَّ أَوْلِيَاءَهُ بِالْفَضْلِ وَعَمَّ خَلْقَهُ بِالْعَدْلِ ،

faqad dakhalū taḥta ḥukmayni lam yakhrujū minhumā ʾaʿlāhum dakhala taḥta faḍlihi waʾadnāhum lam yakhruj min ʿadlihi waqad ʾajmala subḥānahu waṣfahum biqawlihi: ( liyajziya alladhīna ʾāmanū waʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti min faḍlihi ) al-rūmu: 45 waqāla fī dhikri al-ʿumūmi: ( liyajziya alladhīna ʾāmanū waʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti bi-al-qisṭi ) yūnusu: 4 , bi-al-qisṭi fakhaṣṣa ʾawliyāʾahu bi-al-faḍli waʿamma khalqahu bi-al-ʿadli ,

They have come under two rulings, from neither of which do they escape: the highest of them has come under His grace, and the lowest has not passed beyond His justice. He, glorified, summed up their description in His saying, “That He may reward those who believe and do righteous deeds from His grace” (al-Rūm 45). Speaking of the generality He says, “That He may reward those who believe and do righteous deeds with equity” (Yūnus 4), with equity. He thus singled out His friends for grace and encompassed His creation in justice.

فَكَمْ مِنْ قَلْبٍ لَا يَشْهَدُ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَلَا يَسْمَعُ إِلَّا مِنْهُ وَلَا يَأْلَهُ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْأَغْلَبُ عَلَى هَمِّهِ وَالْأَقْرَبُ إِلَى قَلْبِهِ وَبَيْنَ قَلْبٍ حَشْوُهُ الْخَلْقُ وَهَمُّهُ الرِّزْقُ لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَا يَطْمَعُ إِلَّا

fakam min qalbin lā yashhadu ʾillā allāha walā yasmaʿu ʾillā minhu walā yaʾlahu ʾillā ʾilayhi wa-allāhu huwa al-ʾaghlabu ʿalā hammihi wa-al-ʾaqrabu ʾilā qalbihi wabayna qalbin ḥashwuhu al-khalqu wahammuhu al-rizqu lā yanẓuru ʾillā ʾilayhim walā yaṭmaʿu ʾillā

What a distance there is between a heart that witnesses only God, hears only from Him, and turns in adoration only to Him, with God predominating over its concern and nearest to its heart, and a heart filled with creatures and concerned with provision, looking only toward them and placing its hopes only

فِيهِمْ وَلَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَّا هُمْ الْخَلْقُ أَغْلَبُ شَيْءٍ عَلَيْهِ وَالْخَلْقُ أَقْرَبُ شَيْءٍ إِلَيْهِ ، فَهَذَا مِنَ الْمُبْعَدِينَ بِهِمْ لِأَنَّ الْبُعْدَ صِفَتُهُمْ وَظُهُورُ النَّفْسِ عَلَيْهِ وَتَحَكُّمُ سُلْطَانِهَا فِيهِ مَكَانُ الْبُعْدِ الَّذِي يُوجَدُ الْبُعْدُ مَعَهُ وَالْأَوَّلُ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ بِهِ لِأَنَّ الْقُرْبَ صِفَتُهُ وَخُنُوسُ نَفْسِهِ عَنْهُ وَتَسْخِيرُهَا لَهُ مَكَانُ الْقُرْبِ الَّذِي يُوجَدُ الْقُرْبُ عِنْدَهُ فَذَلِكَ مِنَ السَّابِقِينَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ

fīhim walā yanẓuru ʾillā hum al-khalqu ʾaghlabu shayʾin ʿalayhi wa-al-khalqu ʾaqrabu shayʾin ʾilayhi , fahādhā mina al-mubʿadīna bihim liʾanna al-buʿda ṣifatuhum waẓuhūru al-nafsi ʿalayhi wataḥakkumu sulṭānihā fīhi makānu al-buʿdi alladhī yūjadu al-buʿdu maʿahu wa-al-ʾawwalu mina al-muqarrabīna bihi liʾanna al-qurba ṣifatuhu wakhunūsu nafsihi ʿanhu wataskhīruhā lahu makānu al-qurbi alladhī yūjadu al-qurbu ʿindahu fadhālika mina al-sābiqīna ʾilā rabbihi

in them and looking only at them! Creatures are what dominate it most, and creatures are what is nearest to it. This person is among those kept distant through them, for distance is their quality. The self’s ascendancy over him and its sovereign control within him are the place of distance, with which distance is found. The first person is among those brought near through Him, for nearness is His quality. His self’s retreat from him and its subjection to him are the place of nearness, at which nearness is found. That one is among those who hasten to their Lord,

وَالْمُبْعَدُ مُثَبَّطٌ بِنَفْسِهِ عَنْ رَبِّهِ وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَلَا تَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ فَتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُعَذَّبِينَ ) الشُّعَرَاءُ : 213 ، فَالْبُعْدُ حِجَابٌ وَالْمُبْعَدُ فِي عَذَابٍ وَالْقُرْبُ نَعِيمٌ وَالْمُقَرَّبُ عَلَى مَزِيدٍ ، أَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى فِي تَعْذِيبِ الْمَحْجُوبِ : ( كَلَّا إِنَّهُمْ عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَمَحْجُوبُونَ ) الْمُطَفِّفِينَ : 15 ،

wa-al-mubʿadu muthabbaṭun binafsihi ʿan rabbihi waqad qāla taʿālā: ( falā tadʿu maʿa allāhi ʾilahan ʾākhara fatakūna mina al-muʿadhdhabīna ) al-shuʿarāʾu: 213 , fa-al-buʿdu ḥijābun wa-al-mubʿadu fī ʿadhābin wa-al-qurbu naʿīmun wa-al-muqarrabu ʿalā mazīdin , ʾalam tasmaʿ qawlahu taʿālā fī taʿdhībi al-maḥjūbi: ( kallā ʾinnahum ʿan rabbihim yawmaʾidhin lamaḥjūbūna ) al-muṭaffifīna: 15 ,

while the one kept distant is held back from his Lord by his own self. He Most High says, “Do not invoke another god with God, lest you be among those punished” (al-Shuʿarāʾ 213). Distance is a veil, and the person kept distant is in torment; nearness is bliss, and the person brought near receives increase. Have you not heard His exalted saying about the punishment of the veiled: “No indeed! On that day they will be veiled from their Lord” (al-Muṭaffifīn 15)?

ثُمَّ إِنَّهُمْ لَصَالُو الْجَحِيمِ وَقَالَ فِي تَرْوِيحِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ : ( فَأَمَّا إِنْ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ) ( فَرَوْحٌ وَرَيْحَانٌ وَجَنَّةُ نَعِيمٍ ) الْوَاقِعَةُ : 88 - 89 رَوْحٌ بِقَرِيبٍ وَرَيْحَانٌ مِنْ حَبِيبٍ وَجَنَّةُ نَعِيمٍ بِقُرْبِ مُنْعِمٍ وَقَالَ الْمُرَوَّحُ بِالْقُرْبِ الْمُحَيَّا بِالْحُضُورِ : فَرَوْحِي وَرَيْحَانِي إِذَا كُنْتَ حَاضِرًا . . . وَإِنْ غِبْتَ فَالدُّنْيَا عَلَيَّ مَحَابِسُ إِذَا لَمْ أُنَافِسْ فِي هَوَاكَ وَلَمْ أَغَرْ . . .

thumma ʾinnahum laṣālū al-jaḥīmi waqāla fī tarwīḥi al-muqarrabīna: ( faʾammā ʾin kāna mina al-muqarrabīna ) ( farawḥun warayḥānun wajannatu naʿīmin ) al-wāqiʿatu: 88 - 89 rawḥun biqarībin warayḥānun min ḥabībin wajannatu naʿīmin biqurbi munʿimin waqāla al-murawwaḥu bi-al-qurbi al-muḥayyā bi-al-ḥuḍūri: farawḥī warayḥānī ʾidhā kunta ḥāḍiran... waʾin ghibta fa-al-dunyā ʿalayya maḥābisu ʾidhā lam ʾunāfis fī hawāka walam ʾaghar...

“Then they will surely enter the blazing Fire.” Concerning the refreshment of those brought near He says, “If he is among those brought near, then rest, fragrant provision, and a garden of bliss” (al-Wāqiʿa 88–89): rest through One near, fragrant provision from a Beloved, and a garden of bliss through the nearness of a Benefactor. One refreshed by nearness and greeted with presence said: “My rest and my fragrance are when you are present; if you are absent, the world is a prison to me. If I do not vie for your love and feel jealousy

عَلَيْكَ فَفِيمَنْ لَيْتَ شِعْرِي أُنَافِسُ وَقَالَ الْمَكْرُوبُ بِالْبُعْدِ الْمُغَصَّصُ بِالْفَقْدِ : فَكَيْفَ يَصْنَعُ مَنْ أَقْصَاهُ مَالِكُهُ . . . فَلَيْسَ يَنْفَعُهُ طِبُّ الْأَطِبَّاءِ مَنْ غَصَّ دَاوَى بِشُرْبِ الْمَاءِ غُصَّتَهُ . . . فَكَيْفَ يَصْنَعُ مَنْ قَدْ غَصَّ بِالْمَاءِ وَشَتَّانَ بَيْنَ عَبْدٍ مُنْقَطِعٍ إِلَى رَبِّهِ يَخْدُمُهُ وَآخَرَ مُنْقَطِعٍ لِخِدْمَةِ الْخَلْقِ يَعْبُدُهُمْ وَكَمْ بَيْنَ عَبْدٍ مُنْقَطِعٍ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَبَيْنَ عَبْدٍ مَوْصُولٍ بِهِ الْوَسْوَاسُ

ʿalayka fafīman layta shiʿrī ʾunāfisu waqāla al-makrūbu bi-al-buʿdi al-mughaṣṣaṣu bi-al-faqdi: fakayfa yaṣnaʿu man ʾaqṣāhu mālikuhu... falaysa yanfaʿuhu ṭibbu al-ʾaṭibbāʾi man ghaṣṣa dāwā bishurbi al-māʾi ghuṣṣatahu... fakayfa yaṣnaʿu man qad ghaṣṣa bi-al-māʾi washattāna bayna ʿabdin munqaṭiʿin ʾilā rabbihi yakhdumuhu waʾākhara munqaṭiʿin likhidmati al-khalqi yaʿbuduhum wakam bayna ʿabdin munqaṭiʿin ʿani al-nāsi wabayna ʿabdin mawṣūlin bihi al-waswāsu

over you, then for whom, I wonder, should I vie?” One distressed by distance and choked by loss said: “What can one do whom his Master has banished? The physicians’ medicine does him no good. One who chokes treats his choking by drinking water; what can one do who has choked on the water itself?” How far apart are a servant devoted wholly to his Lord, serving Him, and another devoted wholly to serving creatures, worshipping them! What a distance between a servant cut off from people and a servant joined to the whisperer!

وَشَتَّانَ بَيْنَ عَبْدٍ مُنْقَطِعٍ بِالشَّوْقِ إِلَى الْمَوْلَى وَبَيْنَ عَبْدٍ مُنْقَطِعٍ بِالْهَوَى مُعَانِقٍ لِلدُّنْيَا فَهَذِهِ مَقَامَاتُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ بِالْحُسْنَى وَأَضْدَادُهَا مَقَامَاتُ الْمُبْعَدِينَ بِالسُّوءِ فَإِذَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ عَلَى وَصْفٍ مِنَ الْحَقِيقَةِ وَفِي مَقَامٍ مِنَ التَّقْوَى اسْتَحَقَّ الثَّنَاءَ مِنْ مَوْلَاهُ لِتَحَقُّقِهِ بِالْوَصْفِ وَنَالَ الْقُرْبَ مِنَ الْقَرِيبِ لِتَبَعُّدِهِ عَنْ حُظُوظِ النَّفْسِ ،

washattāna bayna ʿabdin munqaṭiʿin bi-al-shawqi ʾilā al-mawlā wabayna ʿabdin munqaṭiʿin bi-al-haw muʿāniqin li-l-dunyā fahādhihi maqāmātu al-muqarrabīna bi-al-ḥusnā waʾaḍdāduhā maqāmātu al-mubʿadīna bi-al-sūʾi faʾidhā kāna al-ʿabdu ʿalā waṣfin mina al-ḥaqīqati wafī maqāmin mina al-taqwā istaḥaqqa al-thanāʾa min mawlāhu litaḥaqquqihi bi-al-waṣfi wanāla al-qurba mina al-qarībi litabaʿʿudihi ʿan ḥuẓūẓi al-nafsi ,

How far apart are a servant devoted through longing to the Master and a servant cut off by desire, embracing the world! These are the stations of those brought near in goodness; their opposites are the stations of those kept distant in evil. When the servant possesses a quality of spiritual reality and a station of reverent fear, he deserves his Master’s praise for realizing that quality, and obtains nearness to the Near One through distancing himself from the self’s allotted pleasures.

وَفِي حُسْنِ الثَّنَاءِ مِنَ الْعَظِيمِ الْأَعْظَمِ غَايَةُ الطَّالِبِينَ وَنِهَايَةُ رَغْبَةِ الرَّاغِبِينَ وَلَا يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا لِأَوْلِيَائِهِ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَحِزْبِهِ الْمُفْلِحِينَ وَعِبَادِهِ الصَّالِحِينَ وَهُمْ أَهْلُ الْقُلُوبِ السَّلِيمَةِ الطَّاهِرَةِ وَذَوُو الْجَوَارِحِ الْخَاشِعَةِ الذَّاكِرَةِ وَأُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ الرَّاجِحَةِ الْفَاخِرَةِ وَهُمْ ثَلَاثُ طَبَقَاتٍ مِنْ مُقَرَّبِي أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ ؛ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى ،

wafī ḥusni al-thanāʾi mina al-ʿaẓīmi al-ʾaʿẓami ghāyatu al-ṭālibīna wanihāyatu raghbati al-rāghibīna walā yakūnu dhālika ʾillā liʾawliyāʾihi al-muttaqīna waḥizbihi al-mufliḥīna waʿibādihi al-ṣāliḥīna wahum ʾahlu al-qulūbi al-salīmati al-ṭāhirati wadhawū al-jawāriḥi al-khāshiʿati al-dhākirati waʾūlū al-ʾalbābi al-rājiḥati al-fākhirati wahum thalāthu ṭabaqātin min muqarrabī ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni ; ʾahlu al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi taʿālā ,

In the fine praise of the Great, the Greatest, lies the seekers’ goal and the furthest desire of those who desire. This belongs only to His God-fearing friends, His successful party, and His righteous servants: those with sound, pure hearts, humble limbs engaged in remembrance, and weighty, noble understandings. They are three classes among those brought near from the companions of the right: those who know God Most High,

وَأَهْلُ الْحُبِّ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَأَهْلُ الْخَوْفِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَهَؤُلَاءِ خُصُوصُ أَوْلِيَائِهِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ اسْتَحْضَرَهُمْ فَحَضَرُوا وَاسْتَحْفَظَهُمُ الْعِلْمَ فَحَفِظُوا وَاسْتَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَيْهِ فَشَهِدُوا فَهُمُ الْأَدِلَّةُ مِنْهُ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ دَلِيلُهُمْ إِلَيْهِ وَهُمْ جَامِعُو الْعِبَادِ بِهِ وَهُوَ جَامِعُهُمْ عِنْدَهُ لَدَيْهِ أَبْدَالُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالرَّبَّانِيُّونَ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ أَئِمَّةُ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَأَرْكَانُ الدِّينِ أُولُو الْقُوَّةِ

waʾahlu al-ḥubbi lillāhi taʿālā , waʾahlu al-khawfi mina allāhi taʿālā fahāʾulāʾi khuṣūṣu ʾawliyāʾihi al-muqarrabīna istaḥḍarahum faḥaḍarū wastaḥfaẓahumu al-ʿilma faḥafiẓū wastashhadahum ʿalayhi fashahidū fahumu al-ʾadillatu minhu ʿalayhi wahuwa dalīluhum ʾilayhi wahum jāmiʿū al-ʿibādi bihi wahuwa jāmiʿuhum ʿindahu ladayhi ʾabdālu al-ʾanbiyāʾi wa-al-rabbāniyyūna mina al-ʿulamāʾi ʾaʾimmatu al-muttaqīna waʾarkānu al-dīni ʾūlū al-quwwati

those who love God Most High, and those who fear God Most High. These are the select ones among His friends brought near. He summoned them to His presence, and they attended; He entrusted knowledge to them, and they preserved it; He called them to bear witness to Him, and they witnessed. They are His pointers toward Him, and He is their guide to Himself. They gather the servants through Him, and He gathers them to Himself. Before Him they are the substitutes for the prophets, the lordly among scholars, the leaders of the God-fearing, the pillars of religion, those possessed of strength

وَالتَّمْكِينِ الَّذِينَ كُشِفَ لَهُمُ الْكِتَابُ الْمُسْتَبِينُ وَهَدَاهُمْ إِلَيْهِ الطَّرِيقُ الْمُسْتَقِيمُ عَلَيْهِ وَهُمُ الْمَنْظُورُ إِلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ كِفَاحًا وَالْمَقْصُودُونَ بِالْمَزِيدِ وَالتُّحَفِ مَسَاءً وَصَبَاحًا وَمَنْ سِوَاهُمْ مِنْ عُمُومِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنَ الْقُرَّاءِ وَالْعُبَّادِ وَأَهْلِ الْمُجَاهَدَةِ وَالزُّهْدِ وَالْأَوْرَادِ قَدْ أَعْطَاهُمُ الْوِلَايَاتِ وَفَرَّقَهُمْ فِي الْأَعْمَالِ وَالسِّيَاحَاتِ وَأَظْهَرَ لَهُمُ الْآيَاتِ تَسْكِينًا لِقُلُوبِهِمْ

wa-al-tamkīni alladhīna kushifa lahumu al-kitābu al-mustabīnu wahadāhum ʾilayhi al-ṭarīqu al-mustaqīmu ʿalayhi wahumu al-manẓūru ʾilā qulūbihim kifāḥan wa-al-maqṣūdūna bi-al-mazīdi wa-al-tuḥafi masāʾan waṣabāḥan waman siwāhum min ʿumūmi al-muʾminīna mina al-qurrāʾi wa-al-ʿubbādi waʾahli al-mujāhadati wa-al-zuhdi wa-al-ʾawrādi qad ʾaʿṭāhumu al-wilāyāti wafarraqahum fī al-ʾaʿmāli wa-al-siyāḥāti waʾaẓhara lahumu al-ʾāyāti taskīnan liqulūbihim

and firm establishment, to whom the manifest Book has been unveiled and whom the straight path has guided toward Him, upon it. They are those whose hearts are looked upon directly and who are singled out for increase and gifts, evening and morning. As for the other believers in general, the reciters, worshippers, and people of striving, renunciation, and regular devotions, He has given them degrees of friendship, distributed them among works and journeys, and shown them signs to settle their hearts

بِهَا وَطُمَأْنِينَةً

bihā waṭumaʾnīnatan

through them and to bring reassurance

مِنْهُمْ إِلَيْهَا لِئَلَّا تَدْخُلَ عَلَيْهِمُ الشُّبُهَاتُ فَيَهْلِكُوا وَلَا تَجْذِبَهُمُ الشَّهَوَاتُ فَيَرْجِعُوا فَشُغِلُوا بِالْإِظْهَارِ عَنِ الظَّاهِرِ وَحُجِبُوا بِالظَّوَاهِرِ عَنِ الْبَاطِنِ وَاغْتَبَطُوا بِالْحِجَابِ وَسَكَنُوا إِلَى الْأَسْبَابِ وَعَكَفُوا عَلَى الْمَقَامَاتِ وَاسْتَتَرُوا بِالْمَلَكُوتِ وَالْآيَاتِ فَهُمْ مَغْبُوطُو الْأَمْوَاتِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ مَرْحُومُو الْأَحْيَاءِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْأَعْلَى لِأَنَّ قُرْبَهُمْ بُعْدٌ عِنْدَ

minhum ʾilayhā liʾallā tadkhula ʿalayhimu al-shubuhātu fayahlikū walā tajdhibahumu al-shahawātu fayarjiʿū fashughilū bi-al-ʾiẓhāri ʿani al-ẓāhiri waḥujibū bi-al-ẓawāhiri ʿani al-bāṭini waghtabaṭū bi-al-ḥijābi wasakanū ʾilā al-ʾasbābi waʿakafū ʿalā al-maqāmāti wastatarū bi-al-malakūti wa-al-ʾāyāti fahum maghbūṭū al-ʾamwāti min ʾahli al-dunyā wahum marḥūmū al-ʾaḥyāʾi min ʾahli al-ʾaʿlā liʾanna qurbahum buʿdun ʿinda

to them through those signs, lest doubts enter them and destroy them, or desires draw them away and make them turn back. Thus they have been occupied with manifestation rather than the Manifest One, veiled by outward appearances from the Hidden One; they have delighted in the veil, rested in the means, remained intent upon the stations, and sheltered behind the unseen kingdom and the signs. They are envied by the dead among the people of this world and pitied by the living among the people of the heights, because their nearness is distance in the eyes of

الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَكَشْفُهُمْ حُجُبٌ عِنْدَ الْمُشَاهِدِينَ وَعَطَاؤُهُمْ رَدٌّ عِنْدَ الْمُوَاجِهِينَ إِلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ لَمَّا نَظَرُوا لِنُفُوسِهِمْ حِكْمَةً وَرَحْمَةً مِنْهُ لَهُمْ فَسَكَّنَهُمْ فِي حَالِهِمْ وَرَضَّاهُمْ بِمَقَامِهِمْ كَيْلَا تَتَشَتَّتَ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَلَا تَتَحَيَّرَ عُقُولُهُمْ وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ هُمُ الْوِجْهَةُ الْعُلْيَا وَالْمُتَمَسِّكُونَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَى نَظَرُوا إِلَيْهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى بِهِ فَنَظَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْهُ

al-muqarrabīna wakashfuhum ḥujubun ʿinda al-mushāhidīna waʿaṭāʾuhum raddun ʿinda al-muwājihīna ʾillā ʾanna allāha taʿālā naẓara ʾilayhim lammā naẓarū linufūsihim ḥikmatan waraḥmatan minhu lahum fasakkanahum fī ḥālihim waraḍḍāhum bimaqāmihim kaylā tatashattata qulūbuhum walā tataḥayyara ʿuqūluhum wa-al-sābiqūna al-ʾawwalūna humu al-wijhatu al-ʿulyā wa-al-mutamassikūna bi-al-ʿurwati al-wuthqā naẓarū ʾilayhi subḥānahu wataʿālā bihi fanaẓara ʾilayhim minhu

those brought near, their unveiling is veils to those who witness, and their being given is rejection to those who face Him. Yet God Most High looked upon them when they looked to themselves, in His wisdom and mercy toward them. He settled them in their condition and made them content with their station, so that their hearts would not scatter and their minds would not become bewildered. The foremost, the first, are those of the highest orientation, holding fast to the firmest handle. Through Him they looked toward Him, glorified and exalted, and from Himself He looked toward them.

فَهُمْ كَمَا وَصَفَهُمْ : ( وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَشْرِي نَفْسَهُ ابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاةِ اللَّهِ ) لَا يَرْجِعُونَ إِلَى مَالٍ وَلَا يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى حَالٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ رَبَّهُ فَهُمْ كَمَا وُصِفُوا فِي الْكُتُبِ السَّالِفَةِ ، قَالَ الْحَوَارِيُّونَ : يَا رُوحَ اللَّهِ صِفْ لَنَا أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ لَا خَوْفَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ فَقَالَ :

fahum kamā waṣafahum: ( wamina al-nāsi man yashrī nafsahu ibtighāʾa marḍāti allāhi ) lā yarjiʿūna ʾilā mālin walā yanẓurūna ʾilā ḥālin yuḥibbuhum wayuḥibbūnahu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhum waraḍū ʿanhu dhālika liman khashiya rabbahu fahum kamā wuṣifū fī al-kutubi al-sālifati , qāla al-ḥawāriyyūna: yā rūḥa allāhi ṣif lanā ʾawliyāʾa allāhi alladhīna lā khawfa ʿalayhim walā hum yaḥzanūna faqāla:

They are as He described them: “Among the people is one who sells his self seeking God’s pleasure.” They do not return to wealth or look to a spiritual state. “He loves them, and they love Him”; “God is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him”; “That is for one who fears his Lord.” They are as described in the earlier scriptures. The disciples said, “Spirit of God, describe for us God’s friends, for whom there is no fear and who do not grieve.” He replied:

هُمُ الَّذِينَ نَطَقَ بِهِمُ الْكِتَابُ وَبِهِ نَطَقُوا وَبِهِمْ عُلِمَ الْكِتَابُ وَبِهِ عَلِمُوا وَبِهِمْ قَامَ الْكِتَابُ وَبِهِ قَامُوا نَظَرُوا إِلَى بَاطِنِ الدُّنْيَا حِينَ نَظَرَ النَّاسُ إِلَى ظَاهِرِهَا وَعَايَنُوا أَجَلَ الدُّنْيَا حِينَ عَايَنَ النَّاسُ عَاجِلَهَا فَأَمَاتُوا مِنْهَا مَا خَشُوا أَنْ يُمِيتَهُمْ وَتَرَكُوا مِنْهَا مَا عَلِمُوا أَنْ سَيَتْرُكَهُمْ فَصَارَ دَرْكُهُمْ مِنْهَا فَوَاتًا وَفَرَحُهُمْ بِهَا حِرْمَانًا مَا عَارَضَهُمْ مِنْهَا

humu alladhīna naṭaqa bihimu al-kitābu wabihi naṭaqū wabihim ʿulima al-kitābu wabihi ʿalimū wabihim qāma al-kitābu wabihi qāmū naẓarū ʾilā bāṭini al-dunyā ḥīna naẓara al-nāsu ʾilā ẓāhirihā waʿāyanū ʾajala al-dunyā ḥīna ʿāyana al-nāsu ʿājilahā faʾamātū minhā mā khashū ʾan yumītahum watarakū minhā mā ʿalimū ʾan sayatrukahum faṣāra darkuhum minhā fawātan wafaraḥuhum bihā ḥirmānan mā ʿāraḍahum minhā

“They are those of whom the Book has spoken, and through it they have spoken; through them the Book has been known, and through it they have known; through them the Book has stood, and through it they have stood. They looked into the world’s inward reality when people looked at its outward appearance, and they beheld the world’s term when people beheld its immediate goods. They put to death in it what they feared would put them to death, and abandoned in it what they knew would abandon them. Their attainment of it became loss, and their delight in it deprivation. Whatever confronted them from it

رَفَضُوهُ وَمَا أَشْرَفَ لَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَضَعُوهُ خَلِقَتِ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَهُمْ فَلَمْ يُجَدِّدُوهَا وَخَرِبَتْ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُمْ فَلَمْ يَعْمُرُوهَا وَمَاتَتْ فِي صُدُورِهِمْ فَلَمْ يُحْيُوهَا قَدَّمُوهَا فَبَنَوْا بِهَا آخِرَتَهُمْ أَحْيَوْا ذِكْرَ الْمَوْتِ وَأَمَاتُوا ذِكْرَ الْحَيَاةِ يُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ وَيُحِبُّونَ ذِكْرَهُ وَيَسْتَضِيئُونَ بِنُورِهِ وَيُضِيئُونَ بِهِ لَهُمْ خَبَرٌ عَجِيبٌ وَعِنْدَهُمْ أَعْجَبُ الْخَبَرِ الْعَجِيبِ ، وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي وَصْفِهِمْ :

rafaḍūhu wamā ʾashrafa lahum bighayri al-ḥaqqi waḍaʿūhu khaliqati al-dunyā ʿindahum falam yujaddidūhā wakharibat fīmā baynahum falam yaʿmurūhā wamātat fī ṣudūrihim falam yuḥyūhā qaddamūhā fabanaw bihā ʾākhiratahum ʾaḥyaw dhikra al-mawti waʾamātū dhikra al-ḥayāti yuḥibbūna allāha wayuḥibbūna dhikrahu wayastaḍīʾūna binūrihi wayuḍīʾūna bihi lahum khabarun ʿajībun waʿindahum ʾaʿjabu al-khabari al-ʿajībi , waqāla ʿazza wajalla fī waṣfihim:

they rejected; whatever rose before them without right they put down. The world grew worn in their eyes, and they did not renew it; it fell to ruin among them, and they did not rebuild it; it died in their breasts, and they did not revive it. They sent it ahead and built their hereafter with it. They kept the remembrance of death alive and put the remembrance of life to death. They love God and love His remembrance; they take light from His light and shine by it. Their story is wondrous, and with them is the most wondrous of wondrous tidings.” He, mighty and majestic, says in describing them:

( وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 50 حَدِيثًا وَالرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالْأَحْبَارُ بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُوا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَكَانُوا عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَاءَ وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( شَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ وَأُولُوا الْعِلْمِ قَائِمًا بِالْقِسْطِ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 18 وَفِيهَا مَقْرَأٌ غَرِيبٌ بِمَعْنَى الْجَمْعِ لِلشُّهَدَاءِ وَكَأَنَّهُ جَعَلَ وَصْفًا لِمَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذِكْرِهِمْ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

( waman ʾaḥsanu mina allāhi ) al-māʾidatu: 50 ḥadīthan wa-al-rabbāniyyūna wa-al-ʾaḥbāru bimā ustuḥfiẓū min kitābi allāhi wakānū ʿalayhi shuhadāʾa waqāla taʿālā: ( shahida allāhu ʾannahu lā ʾilaha ʾillā huwa wa-al-malāʾikatu waʾūlū al-ʿilmi qāʾiman bi-al-qisṭi ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 18 wafīhā maqraʾun gharībun bimaʿnā al-jamʿi li-l-shuhadāʾi wakaʾannahu jaʿala waṣfan limā taqaddama min dhikrihim fī qawlihi taʿālā:

“Who is better than God” (al-Māʾida 50), in speech? “The lordly scholars and the learned, because they were entrusted with God’s Book and were witnesses to it.” He Most High also says, “God bears witness that there is no god but Him, as do the angels and those possessed of knowledge, upholding equity” (Āl ʿImrān 18). In this there is an uncommon reading with the sense of a plural of “witnesses,” as though He had made it a description of those just mentioned in His exalted saying:

( الصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّادِقِينَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 17 ، إِلَى قَوْلِهِ : ( وَالْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ بِالْأَسْحَارِ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 17 شَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَقَالَ : ( كَفَى بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ ) الرَّعْدُ 43 ، فَهَذَا وَصْفٌ يَزِيدُ عَلَى كُلِّ وَصْفٍ وَيَسْتَغْرِقُ نَعْتَ الْوَاصِفِينَ وَيَجْمَعُ هَذِهِ الْمَقَامَاتِ السَّبْعَةَ مِنَ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ وَالْمُشَاهَدَةِ حَالَانِ عَنْ

( al-ṣābirīna wa-al-ṣādiqīna ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 17 , ʾilā qawlihi: ( wa-al-mustaghfirīna bi-al-ʾasḥāri ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 17 shahida allāhu ʾannahu lā ʾilaha ʾillā huwa waqāla: ( kafā bi-allāhi shahīdan baynī wabaynakum waman ʿindahu ʿilmu al-kitābi ) al-raʿdu 43 , fahādhā waṣfun yazīdu ʿalā kulli waṣfin wayastaghriqu naʿta al-wāṣifīna wayajmaʿu hādhihi al-maqāmāti al-sabʿata mina al-murāqabati wa-al-mushāhadati ḥālāni ʿan

“The patient and the truthful” (Āl ʿImrān 17), through His words “and those who seek forgiveness before dawn” (Āl ʿImrān 17), “God bears witness that there is no god but Him.” And He says, “God suffices as a witness between me and you, and whoever possesses knowledge of the Book” (al-Raʿd 43). This description surpasses every description and encompasses all that describers can say. These seven stations of watchfulness and witnessing are brought together by two states arising from

مَقَامَيْنِ مَدَارُ الْمَقَامَاتِ كُلِّهَا عَلَيْهِمَا وَمُسْتَخْرَجُ الْمَزِيدِ مِنَ الْكَرَامَاتِ مِنْهُمَا ؛ فَأَحَدُهُمَا الْخَوْفُ عَنْ مَقَامِ الْعِلْمِ وَالْحَالُ الثَّانِي الرَّجَاءُ عَنْ مَقَامِ الْعَمَلِ ، فَمَنْ كَانَ مَقَامُهُ الْعِلْمَ بِاللَّهِ كَانَ حَالُهُ الْخَوْفَ مِنْهُ وَمَنْ كَانَ مَقَامُهُ الرَّجَاءَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى كَانَتْ حَالُهُ الْمُعَامَلَةَ لَهُ ، أَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

maqāmayni madāru al-maqāmāti kullihā ʿalayhimā wamustakhraju al-mazīdi mina al-karāmāti minhumā ; faʾaḥaduhumā al-khawfu ʿan maqāmi al-ʿilmi wa-al-ḥālu al-thānī al-rajāʾu ʿan maqāmi al-ʿamali , faman kāna maqāmuhu al-ʿilma bi-allāhi kāna ḥāluhu al-khawfa minhu waman kāna maqāmuhu al-rajāʾa lillāhi taʿālā kānat ḥāluhu al-muʿāmalata lahu , ʾalam tasmaʿ ʾilā qawlihi taʿālā:

two stations, around which all the stations turn and from which further gifts of honor are drawn. The first is fear arising from the station of knowledge; the second state is hope arising from the station of action. Whoever’s station is knowledge of God has fear of Him as his state; whoever’s station is hope in God Most High has dealing faithfully with Him as his state. Have you not heard His exalted saying:

( إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ) فَاطِرٌ : 28 وَقَوْلِهِ : ( فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا ) الْكَهْفُ 110 .

( ʾinnamā yakhshā allāha min ʿibādihi al-ʿulamāʾu ) fāṭirun: 28 waqawlihi: ( faman kāna yarjū liqāʾa rabbihi falyaʿmal ʿamalan ṣāliḥan walā yushrik biʿibādati rabbihi ʾaḥadan ) al-kahfu 110.

“Among His servants, only those who possess knowledge fear God” (Fāṭir 28), and His saying, “Whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do righteous work and associate no one in the worship of his Lord” (al-Kahf 110)?

الْفَصْلُ الثَّلَاثُونَ فِيهِ كِتَابُ ذِكْرِ تَفْصِيلِ الْخَوَاطِرِ لِأَهْلِ الْقُلُوبِ وَصِفَةِ الْقَلْبِ وَتَمْثِيلِهِ بِالْأَنْوَارِ وَالْجَوَاهِرِ

al-faṣlu al-thalāthūna fīhi kitābu dhikri tafṣīli al-khawāṭiri liʾahli al-qulūbi waṣifati al-qalbi watamthīlihi bi-al-ʾanwāri wa-al-jawāhiri

Chapter Thirty: The Book Detailing the Promptings of the People of Hearts, Describing the Heart, and Comparing It to Lights and Jewels

قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : ( وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا ) ( فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا ) الشَّمْسُ : 7 - 8 أَيْ أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا وَقُذِفَ فِيهَا ، وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ ) ق : 16 وَقَالَ : ( فَطَوَّعَتْ لَهُ نَفْسُهُ قَتْلَ أَخِيهِ فَقَتَلَهُ ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 30 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ) النَّاسُ : 4 الْآيَةَ ، وَقَالَ :

qāla allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā: ( wanafsin wamā sawwāhā ) ( faʾalhamahā fujūrahā wataqwāhā ) al-shamsu: 7 - 8 ʾay ʾulqiya fīhā waqudhifa fīhā , waqāla ʿazza wajalla: ( walaqad khalaqnā al-ʾinsāna wanaʿlamu mā tuwaswisu bihi nafsuhu ) qāf: 16 waqāla: ( faṭawwaʿat lahu nafsuhu qatla ʾakhīhi faqatalahu ) al-māʾidatu: 30 waqāla taʿālā: ( min sharri al-waswāsi al-khannāsi ) al-nāsu: 4 al-ʾāyata , waqāla:

God, glorified and exalted, says, “By a soul and the One who fashioned it, then inspired it with its wickedness and its reverent fear” (al-Shams 7–8), meaning that these were cast and placed within it. He, mighty and majestic, says, “We created the human being, and We know what his soul whispers to him” (Qāf 16). He says, “His soul made the killing of his brother seem acceptable to him, so he killed him” (al-Māʾida 30). He Most High says, “From the evil of the whisperer who withdraws” (al-Nās 4), and the rest of the verse. He says:

( إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا إِنَّمَا يَدْعُوا حِزْبَهُ ) فَاطِرٌ : 6 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( اسْتَحْوَذَ عَلَيْهِمُ الشَّيْطَانُ فَأَنْسَاهُمْ ذِكْرَ اللَّهِ ) الْمُجَادَلَةُ : 19 وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( الشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ وَيَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 268 وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ مُخْبِرًا عَنِ الْعَدُوِّ : ( لَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ :

( ʾinna al-shayṭāna lakum ʿaduwwun fattakhidhūhu ʿaduwwan ʾinnamā yadʿū ḥizbahu ) fāṭirun: 6 waqāla taʿālā: ( istaḥwadha ʿalayhimu al-shayṭānu faʾansāhum dhikra allāhi ) al-mujādalatu: 19 waqāla ʿazza wajalla: ( al-shayṭānu yaʿidukumu al-faqra wayaʾmurukum bi-al-faḥshāʾi ) al-baqaratu: 268 waqāla subḥānahu mukhbiran ʿani al-ʿaduwwi: ( laʾaqʿudanna lahum ṣirāṭaka al-mustaqīma ) al-ʾaʿrāfu:

“Satan is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy; he only calls his party” (Fāṭir 6). He Most High says, “Satan gained mastery over them and made them forget God’s remembrance” (al-Mujādala 19). He, mighty and majestic, says, “Satan threatens you with poverty and commands you to indecency” (al-Baqara 268). He, glorified, tells of the enemy’s saying, “I shall surely lie in wait for them on Your straight path” (al-Aʿrāf

16 ( ثُمَّ لَآتِيَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 17 إِلَى آخِرِ الْآيَةِ ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ قَعَدَ لِابْنِ آدَمَ بِأَطْرُقِهِ فَقَعَدَ لَهُ بِطَرِيقِ الْإِسْلَامِ فَقَالَ : أَتُسْلِمُ وَتَذَرُ دِينَكَ وَدِينَ آبَائِكَ فَعَصَاهُ فَأَسْلَمَ ثُمَّ قَعَدَ لَهُ بِطَرِيقِ الْهِجْرَةِ فَقَالَ : أَتُهَاجِرُ فَتَذَرُ أَرْضَكَ وَسَمَاءَكَ فَعَصَاهُ فَهَاجَرَ ثُمَّ قَعَدَ لَهُ بِطَرِيقِ الْجِهَادِ فَقَالَ :

16 ( thumma laʾātiyannahum min bayni ʾaydīhim ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 17 ʾilā ʾākhiri al-ʾāyati , warawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾanna al-shayṭāna qaʿada libni ʾādama biʾaṭruqihi faqaʿada lahu biṭarīqi al-ʾislāmi faqāla: ʾatuslimu watadharu dīnaka wadīna ʾābāʾika faʿaṣāhu faʾaslama thumma qaʿada lahu biṭarīqi al-hijrati faqāla: ʾatuhājiru fatadharu ʾarḍaka wasamāʾaka faʿaṣāhu fahājara thumma qaʿada lahu biṭarīqi al-jihādi faqāla:

16), “Then I shall come at them from before them” (al-Aʿrāf 17), to the end of the verse. We have related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, that Satan sat in the paths of the child of Adam. He sat for him on the path of Islam and said, “Will you submit and abandon your religion and your fathers’ religion?” He disobeyed him and submitted. Then he sat for him on the path of migration and said, “Will you migrate and abandon your land and your sky?” He disobeyed him and migrated. Then he sat for him on the path of struggle and said:

أَتُجَاهِدُ وَهُوَ جَهْدُ النَّفْسِ وَالْمَالِ فَتُقْتَلُ فَتُنْكَحُ نِسَاؤُكَ وَيُقْسَمُ مَالُكَ فَعَصَاهُ فَجَاهَدَ ، قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَنْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ فَمَاتَ كَانَ حَقًّا عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَنْ يُدْخِلَهُ الْجَنَّةَ وَقَدْ أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : ( وَ لَأُضِلَّنَّهُمْ وَلَأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ وَلَأَمُرَنَّهُمْ ) النِّسَاءُ : 119 إِلَى آخِرِ الْآيَةِ . وَرَوَيْنَا أَنَّ عُثْمَانَ بْنَ أَبِي الْعَاصِ قَالَ :

ʾatujāhidu wahuwa jahdu al-nafsi wa-al-māli fatuqtalu fatunkaḥu nisāʾuka wayuqsamu māluka faʿaṣāhu fajāhada , qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man faʿala dhālika famāta kāna ḥaqqan ʿalā allāhi taʿālā ʾan yudkhilahu al-jannata waqad ʾakhbara allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu ʾannahu qāla: ( wa laʾuḍillannahum walaʾumanniyannahum walaʾamurannahum ) al-nisāʾu: 119 ʾilā ʾākhiri al-ʾāyati. warawaynā ʾanna ʿuthmāna bna ʾabī al-ʿāṣi qāla:

“Will you struggle, when it is an exertion of self and wealth, so that you are killed, your women are married, and your property is divided?” He disobeyed him and struggled. God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Whoever does that and dies, it is a right upon God Most High to admit him to Paradise.” God Most High has told of his saying, “I shall surely lead them astray, fill them with wishes, and command them” (al-Nisāʾ 119), to the end of the verse. We have related that ʿUthmān ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ said:

يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ حَالَ الشَّيْطَانُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ صَلَاتِي وَقِرَاءَتِي فَقَالَ ذَلِكَ الشَّيْطَانُ يُقَالُ لَهُ خَنْزَبٌ إِذَا أَحْسَسْتَهُ فَتَعَوَّذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنْهُ وَاتْفُلْ عَنْ يَسَارِكَ ثَلَاثًا قَالَ : فَفَعَلْتُ ذَلِكَ فَأَذْهَبَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنِّي ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : أَنَّ لِلْوُضُوءِ شَيْطَانًا يُقَالُ لَهُ الْوَلَهَانُ فَاسْتَعِيذُوا بِاللَّهِ مِنْهُ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا أَنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَجْرِي مِنِ ابْنِ آدَمَ مَجْرَى الدَّمِ وَالْحَدِيثُ الْمَشْهُورُ :

yā rasūla allāhi ḥāla al-shayṭānu baynī wabayna ṣalātī waqirāʾatī faqāla dhālika al-shayṭānu yuqālu lahu khanzabun ʾidhā ʾaḥsastahu fataʿawwadh bi-allāhi minhu watful ʿan yasārika thalāthan qāla: fafaʿaltu dhālika faʾadhhabahu allāhu taʿālā ʿannī , wafī al-khabari: ʾanna lilwuḍūʾi shayṭānan yuqālu lahu al-walahānu fastaʿīdhū bi-allāhi minhu , waqad rawaynā ʾanna al-shayṭāna yajrī min ibni ʾādama majrā al-dami wa-al-ḥadīthu al-mashhūru:

“Messenger of God, Satan has come between me and my prayer and recitation.” He replied, “That is a devil called Khanzab. When you sense him, seek refuge in God from him and spit lightly to your left three times.” He said, “I did this, and God Most High removed him from me.” In the report: “Ablution has a devil called al-Walahān, so seek refuge in God from him.” We have also related that Satan runs through the child of Adam as blood runs. And in the well-known report:

مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا وَلَهُ شَيْطَانٌ قَالُوا :

mā minkum min ʾaḥadin ʾillā walahu shayṭānun qālū:

“There is not one of you who does not have a devil.” They said:

وَأَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ

waʾanta yā rasūla

“Even you, Messenger of

اللَّهِ : قَالَ : وَأَنَا ، إِلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَعَانَنِي عَلَيْهِ فَأَسْلَمَ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مِنْ طَرِيقٍ مُسْنَدٍ فِي الْقَلْبِ لَمَّتَانِ ؛ لَمَّةٌ مِنَ الْمَلَكِ إِيعَادٌ بِالْخَيْرِ وَتَصْدِيقٌ بِالْحَقِّ وَلَمَّةٌ مِنَ الْعَدُوِّ إِيعَادٌ بِالشَّرِّ وَتَكْذِيبٌ بِالْحَقِّ وَنَهْيٌ عَنِ الْخَيْرِ ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ الْحَسَنِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ :

allāhi: qāla: waʾanā , ʾillā ʾanna allāha taʿālā ʾaʿānanī ʿalayhi faʾaslama , waqāla ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: waqad rawaynā min ṭarīqin musnadin fī al-qalbi lammatāni ; lammatun mina al-malaki ʾīʿādun bi-al-khayri wataṣdīqun bi-al-ḥaqqi walammatun mina al-ʿaduwwi ʾīʿādun bi-al-sharri watakdhībun bi-al-ḥaqqi wanahyun ʿani al-khayri , warawaynā ʿani al-ḥasani raḥimahu allāhu ʾannahu qāla:

God?” He said, “Even me, except that God Most High has helped me against him, and he has submitted.” Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, said, and we have related it through a connected chain: “In the heart there are two visitations: a visitation from the angel, promising good and affirming the truth; and a visitation from the enemy, threatening evil, denying the truth, and forbidding good.” We have related from al-Ḥasan, may God have mercy on him, that he said:

هُمَا هَمَّانِ يَجُولَانِ فِي الْقَلْبِ هَمٌّ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَهَمٌّ مِنْ عَدُوِّهِ فَرَحِمَ اللَّهُ عَبْدًا وَقَفَ عِنْدَ هَمِّهِ فَمَا كَانَ مِنَ اللَّهِ أَمْضَاهُ وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ عَدُوِّهِ يُجَاهِدُهُ ، وَقَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ) النَّاسُ : 4 قَالَ : هُوَ مُنْبَسِطٌ عَلَى قَلْبِ الْإِنْسَانِ ، فَإِذَا ذَكَرَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى خَنَسَ وَانْقَبَضَ وَإِذَا غَفَلَ انْبَسَطَ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ وَقَالَ عِكْرِمَةُ الْوَسْوَاسُ مَحَلُّهُ فِي

humā hammāni yajūlāni fī al-qalbi hammun mina allāhi taʿālā wahammun min ʿaduwwihi faraḥima allāhu ʿabdan waqafa ʿinda hammihi famā kāna mina allāhi ʾamḍāhu wamā kāna min ʿaduwwihi yujāhiduhu , waqāla mujāhidun fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( min sharri al-waswāsi al-khannāsi ) al-nāsu: 4 qāla: huwa munbasiṭun ʿalā qalbi al-ʾinsāni , faʾidhā dhakara allāha taʿālā khanasa wanqabaḍa waʾidhā ghafala inbasaṭa ʿalā qalbihi waqāla ʿikrimatu al-waswāsu maḥalluhu fī

“They are two concerns moving about in the heart: one from God Most High and one from His enemy. May God have mercy on a servant who pauses at his concern, carrying forward what comes from God and struggling against what comes from His enemy.” Mujāhid said concerning His exalted saying, “From the evil of the whisperer who withdraws” (al-Nās 4): “He is spread over the human heart. When the person remembers God Most High, he withdraws and contracts; when the person is heedless, he spreads over his heart.” ʿIkrima said, “The whisperer’s place in

الرَّجُلِ فِي فُؤَادِهِ وَعَيْنَيْهِ وَمَحَلُّهُ فِي الْمَرْأَةِ فِي عَيْنَيْهَا إِذَا أَقْبَلَتْ وَفِي عَجِيزَتِهَا إِذَا أَدْبَرَتْ ، وَقَالَ جَرِيرُ بْنُ عَبْدَةَ الْعَدَوِيُّ : شَكَوْتُ إِلَى الْعَلَاءِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ مَا أَجِدُ فِي صَدْرِي مِنَ الْوَسْوَسَةِ فَقَالَ : إِنَّمَا مِثْلُ ذَلِكَ مِثْلُ النَّقْبِ الَّذِي تَمُرُّ بِهِ اللُّصُوصُ فَإِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ شَيْءٌ عَالَجُوهُ وَإِلَّا مَضَوْا وَتَرَكُوهُ ، وَقَدْ رَوَى أَبُو صَالِحٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى

al-rajuli fī fuʾādihi waʿaynayhi wamaḥalluhu fī al-marʾati fī ʿaynayhā ʾidhā ʾaqbalat wafī ʿajīzatihā ʾidhā ʾadbarat , waqāla jarīru bnu ʿabdata al-ʿadawiyyu: shakawtu ʾilā al-ʿalāʾi bni ziyādin mā ʾajidu fī ṣadrī mina al-waswasati faqāla: ʾinnamā mithlu dhālika mithlu al-naqbi alladhī tamurru bihi al-luṣūṣu faʾin kāna fīhi shayʾun ʿālajūhu waʾillā maḍaw watarakūhu , waqad raw ʾabū ṣāliḥin ʿan ʾabī hurayrata ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā

a man is in his heart and eyes, while his place in a woman is in her eyes when she approaches and in her buttocks when she turns away.” Jarīr ibn ʿAbda al-ʿAdawī said, “I complained to al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād of the whispering I found in my breast. He said, ‘Its likeness is only that of a breach that thieves pass by: if something is inside, they work at it; otherwise they pass on and leave it.’” Abū Ṣāliḥ related from Abū Hurayra, from God’s Messenger, God bless

اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، قَالَ : إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا أَخْطَأَ خَطِيئَةً نُكِتَ فِي قَلْبِهِ نُكْتَةٌ فَإِنْ هُوَ نَزَعَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ وَتَابَ صُقِلَ وَإِنْ عَادَ زِيدَ فِيهَا حَتَّى تَعْلُوَ قَلْبَهُ فَهُوَ الرَّانُ الَّذِي ذَكَرَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( كَلَّا بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ) الْمُطَفِّفِينَ : 14 . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ بُرْقَانَ قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ مَيْمُونَ بْنَ مِهْرَانَ يَقُولُ :

allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama , qāla: ʾinna al-ʿabda ʾidhā ʾakhṭaʾa khaṭīʾatan nukita fī qalbihi nuktatun faʾin huwa nazaʿa wastaghfara watāba ṣuqila waʾin ʿāda zīda fīhā ḥattā taʿluwa qalbahu fahuwa al-rānu alladhī dhakarahu allāhu taʿālā: ( kallā bal rāna ʿalā qulūbihim mā kānū yaksibūna ) al-muṭaffifīna: 14. warawaynā ʿan jaʿfari bni burqāna qāla: samiʿtu maymūna bna mihrāna yaqūlu:

him and grant him peace, that he said, “When the servant commits a sin, a spot is marked in his heart. If he desists, seeks forgiveness, and repents, it is polished; if he returns, the mark is increased until it covers his heart. This is the coating that God Most High mentioned: ‘No indeed! What they used to earn has coated their hearts’” (al-Muṭaffifīn 14). We related from Jaʿfar ibn Burqān, who said, “I heard Maymūn ibn Mihrān say:

إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا أَذْنَبَ ذَنْبًا نُكِتَ فِي قَلْبِهِ بِذَلِكَ نُكْتَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ فَإِنْ تَابَ مُحِيَتْ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ فَتَرَى قَلْبَ الْمُؤْمِنِ مَجْلُوًّا مِثْلَ الْمِرْآةِ مَا يَأْتِيهِ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنْ نَاحِيَةٍ إِلَّا أَبْصَرَهُ ، وَأَمَّا الَّذِي يَتَتَابَعُ فِي الذُّنُوبِ كُلَّمَا أَذْنَبَ نُكِتَ فِي قَلْبِهِ نُكْتَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ فَلَا يَزَالُ يُنْكَتُ فِي قَلْبِهِ حَتَّى يَسْوَدَّ قَلْبُهُ فَلَا يُبْصِرُ الشَّيْطَانَ مِنْ حَيْثُ يَأْتِيهِ وَقَدْ أَخْبَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ

ʾinna al-ʿabda ʾidhā ʾadhnaba dhanban nukita fī qalbihi bidhālika nuktatun sawdāʾu faʾin tāba muḥiyat min qalbihi fatarā qalba al-muʾmini majluwwan mithla al-mirʾāti mā yaʾtīhi al-shayṭānu min nāḥiyatin ʾillā ʾabṣarahu , waʾammā alladhī yatatābaʿu fī al-dhunūbi kullamā ʾadhnaba nukita fī qalbihi nuktatun sawdāʾu falā yazālu yunkatu fī qalbihi ḥattā yaswadda qalbuhu falā yubṣiru al-shayṭāna min ḥaythu yaʾtīhi waqad ʾakhbara rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu

‘When the servant commits a sin, a black spot is marked in his heart because of it. If he repents, it is erased from his heart. You see the believer’s heart polished like a mirror: Satan never approaches it from any direction without his seeing him. But one who continues in sins has a black spot marked in his heart whenever he sins. Marks keep being made in his heart until his heart turns black, and he does not see Satan from the direction he approaches.’” God’s Messenger, God bless

عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّ قَلْبَ الْمُؤْمِنِ أَجْرَدُ فِيهِ سِرَاجٌ يَزْهَرُ فِي تَقْسِيمِهِ الْقُلُوبَ . رَوَيْنَا عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ وَأَبِي كَبْشَةَ الْأَنْمَارِيِّ وَبَعْضُهُ أَيْضًا عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : الْقُلُوبُ أَرْبَعَةٌ ، قَلْبٌ فِيهِ سِرَاجٌ يَزْهَرُ فَذَلِكَ قَلْبُ الْمُؤْمِنِ ، وَقَلْبٌ أَسْوَدُ مَنْكُوسٌ فَذَلِكَ قَلْبُ الْكَافِرِ ، وَقَلْبٌ أَغْلَفُ مَرْبُوطٌ عَلَى غِلَافِهِ فَذَلِكَ قَلْبُ الْمُنَافِقِ وَقَلْبٌ

ʿalayhi wasallama ʾanna qalba al-muʾmini ʾajradu fīhi sirājun yazharu fī taqsīmihi al-qulūba. rawaynā ʿan ʾabī saʿīdin al-khudriyyi waʾabī kabshata al-ʾanmāriyyi wabaʿḍuhu ʾayḍan ʿan ḥudhayfata ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: al-qulūbu ʾarbaʿatun , qalbun fīhi sirājun yazharu fadhālika qalbu al-muʾmini , waqalbun ʾaswadu mankūsun fadhālika qalbu al-kāfiri , waqalbun ʾaghlafu marbūṭun ʿalā ghilāfihi fadhālika qalbu al-munāfiqi waqalbun

him and grant him peace, told, in his division of hearts, that the believer’s heart is bare, with a shining lamp in it. We related from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī and Abū Kabsha al-Anmārī, and part of it also from Ḥudhayfa, from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, that he said, “Hearts are four: a heart with a shining lamp, the believer’s heart; a black, overturned heart, the unbeliever’s heart; a sheathed heart, bound over its covering, the hypocrite’s heart; and a heart

مُصَفَّحٌ فِيهِ إِيمَانٌ وَنِفَاقٌ فَمَثَلُ الْإِيمَانِ فِيهِ مَثَلُ الْبَقْلَةِ يَمُدُّهَا الْمَاءُ الطَّيِّبُ وَمَثَلُ النِّفَاقِ فِيهِ كَمَثَلِ الْقُرْحَةِ يَمُدُّهَا الْقَيْحُ وَالصَّدِيدُ ، فَأَيُّ الْمِدَّتَيْنِ غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْهِ حُكِمَ لَهُ بِهَا ، وَفِي لَفْظِ بَعْضِهِمْ : غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْهِ ذَهَبَتْ بِهِ ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 50 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَائِفٌ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ

muṣaffaḥun fīhi ʾīmānun wanifāqun famathalu al-ʾīmāni fīhi mathalu al-baqlati yamudduhā al-māʾu al-ṭayyibu wamathalu al-nifāqi fīhi kamathali al-qurḥati yamudduhā al-qayḥu wa-al-ṣadīdu , faʾayyu al-middatayni ghalabat ʿalayhi ḥukima lahu bihā , wafī lafẓi baʿḍihim: ghalabat ʿalayhi dhahabat bihi , waqāla allāhu taʿālā: ( waman ʾaḥsanu mina allāhi ) al-māʾidatu: 50 waqāla taʿālā: ( ʾinna alladhīna ittaqaw ʾidhā massahum ṭāʾifun mina al-shayṭāni

with two faces, containing faith and hypocrisy. Faith within it is like a plant nourished by wholesome water, and hypocrisy within it is like an ulcer nourished by pus and discharge. Whichever of the two supplies predominates over it determines its judgment.” In some transmitters’ wording: “Whichever predominates carries it away.” God Most High says, “Who is better than God?” (al-Māʾida 50). He Most High says, “Those who fear God, when a visitation from Satan touches them,

تَذَكَّرُوا فَإِذَا هُمْ مُبْصِرُونَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 201 فَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّ جِلَاءَ الْقُلُوبِ الذِّكْرُ بِهِ يُبْصِرُ الْقَلْبُ وَأَنَّ بَابَ الذِّكْرِ التَّقْوَى بِهِ يَذْكُرُ الْعَبْدُ ، فَالتَّقْوَى بَابُ الْآخِرَةِ كَمَا أَنَّ الْهَوَى بَابُ الدُّنْيَا ، وَأَمَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالذِّكْرِ وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُ مِفْتَاحُ التَّقْوَى لِأَنَّهُ سَبَبُ الِاتِّقَاءِ وَهُوَ الِاجْتِنَابُ وَالْوَرَعُ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَاذْكُرُوا مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ :

tadhakkarū faʾidhā hum mubṣirūna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 201 faʾakhbara ʾanna jilāʾa al-qulūbi al-dhikru bihi yubṣiru al-qalbu waʾanna bāba al-dhikri al-taqwā bihi yadhkuru al-ʿabdu , fa-al-taqwā bābu al-ʾākhirati kamā ʾanna al-haw bābu al-dunyā , waʾamara allāhu taʿālā bi-al-dhikri waʾakhbara ʾannahu miftāḥu al-taqwā liʾannahu sababu al-ittiqāʾi wahuwa al-ijtinābu wa-al-waraʿu faqāla taʿālā: ( wadhkurū mā fīhi laʿallakum tattaqūna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu:

remember, and immediately they see” (al-Aʿrāf 201). He thus informed us that remembrance polishes hearts, through it the heart sees, and that the gate of remembrance is reverent fear, through which the servant remembers. Reverent fear is the gate of the hereafter, just as desire is the gate of this world. God Most High commanded remembrance and told us that it is the key to reverent fear because it causes guarding oneself, namely avoidance and scrupulousness. He Most High says, “Remember what is in it, that you may fear God” (al-Aʿrāf

171 وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُ أَظْهَرَ الْبَيَانَ لِلتَّقْوَى فِي

171 waʾakhbara ʾannahu ʾaẓhara al-bayāna li-l-taqwā fī

171). He also told us that He made the explanation manifest for reverent fear, in

قَوْلِهِ : ( كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 187 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيمِ ) ( الَّذِي خَلَقَكَ فَسَوَّاكَ فَعَدَلَكَ ) الْانْفِطَارُ : 6 - 7 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ ) التِّينُ : 4 وَقَالَ : ( وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ ) الذَّارِيَاتُ :

qawlihi: ( kadhālika yubayyinu allāhu ʾāyātihi li-l-nāsi laʿallahum yattaqūna ) al-baqaratu: 187 waqāla taʿālā: ( yā ʾayyuhā al-ʾinsānu mā gharraka birabbika al-karīmi ) ( alladhī khalaqaka fasawwāka faʿadalaka ) al-infiṭāru: 6 - 7 waqāla taʿālā: ( laqad khalaqnā al-ʾinsāna fī ʾaḥsani taqwīmin ) al-tīnu: 4 waqāla: ( wamin kulli shayʾin khalaqnā zawjayni laʿallakum tadhakkarūna ) al-dhāriyātu:

His saying, “Thus God makes His signs clear to people, that they may fear Him” (al-Baqara 187). He Most High says, “O human, what has deceived you concerning your generous Lord, who created you, fashioned you, and proportioned you?” (al-Infiṭār 6–7). He Most High says, “We created the human being in the finest form” (al-Tīn 4). He says, “Of everything We created two partners, that you might remember” (al-Dhāriyāt

49 فَمِنَ السَّوَاءِ وَالتَّعْدِيلِ وَالِازْدِوَاجِ وَالتَّقْوِيمِ أَدَوَاتُ الظَّاهِرِ وَأَعْرَاضُ الْبَاطِنِ وَهِيَ حَوَاسُّ الْجِسْمِ وَالْقَلْبِ . فَأَدَوَاتُ الْجِسْمِ هِيَ الصِّفَاتُ الظَّاهِرَةُ وَأَعْرَاضُ الْقَلْبِ هِيَ الْمَعَانِي الْبَاطِنَةُ قَدْ عَدَّلَهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِحِكْمَتِهِ وَسَوَّاهَا عَلَى مَشِيئَتِهِ وَقَوَّمَهَا إِتْقَانًا بِصَنْعَتِهِ وَإِحْكَامًا بِصُنْعِهِ ، أَوَّلُهَا النَّفْسُ وَالرُّوحُ وَهُمَا مَكَانَانِ لِلِقَاءِ الْعَدُوِّ وَالْمَلَكِ وَهُمَا شَخْصَانِ

49 famina al-sawāʾi wa-al-taʿdīli wa-al-izdiwāji wa-al-taqwīmi ʾadawātu al-ẓāhiri waʾaʿrāḍu al-bāṭini wahiya ḥawāssu al-jismi wa-al-qalbi. faʾadawātu al-jismi hiya al-ṣifātu al-ẓāhiratu waʾaʿrāḍu al-qalbi hiya al-maʿānī al-bāṭinatu qad ʿaddalahā allāhu taʿālā biḥikmatihi wasawwāhā ʿalā mashīʾatihi waqawwamahā ʾitqānan biṣanʿatihi waʾiḥkāman biṣunʿihi , ʾawwaluhā al-nafsu wa-al-rūḥu wahumā makānāni liliqāʾi al-ʿaduwwi wa-al-malaki wahumā shakhṣāni

49). Among this fashioning, proportioning, pairing, and shaping are the outward organs and inward attributes, namely the senses of body and heart. The body’s organs are the outward qualities; the heart’s attributes are the inward meanings. God Most High has proportioned them through His wisdom, fashioned them according to His will, and shaped them with perfection in His craftsmanship and firmness in His making. First are the self and spirit, two places for the encounter of the enemy and angel, who are two beings

مُلْقِيَانِ لِلْفُجُورِ وَالتَّقْوَى ، وَمِنْهَا عَرَضَانِ مُتَمَكِّنَانِ فِي مَكَانَيْنِ وَهُمَا الْعَقْلُ وَالْهَوَى عَنْ حُكْمَيْنِ فِي مَشِيئَةِ حَاكِمٍ وَهُمَا التَّوْفِيقُ وَالْإِغْوَاءُ ، وَمِنْهَا نُورَانِ سَاطِعَانِ فِي الْقَلْبِ عَنْ تَخْصِيصٍ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ رَاحِمٍ وَهُمَا الْعِلْمُ وَالْإِيمَانُ ، فَهَذِهِ أَدَوَاتُ الْقَلْبِ وَحَوَاسُّهُ وَمَعَانِيهِ الْغَائِبَةُ وَآلَاتُهُ ، وَالْقَلْبُ فِي وَسَطِ هَذِهِ الْأَدَوَاتِ كَالْمَلِكِ ،

mulqiyāni lilfujūri wa-al-taqwā , waminhā ʿaraḍāni mutamakkināni fī makānayni wahumā al-ʿaqlu wa-al-haw ʿan ḥukmayni fī mashīʾati ḥākimin wahumā al-tawfīqu wa-al-ʾighwāʾu , waminhā nūrāni sāṭiʿāni fī al-qalbi ʿan takhṣīṣin min raḥmati rāḥimin wahumā al-ʿilmu wa-al-ʾīmānu , fahādhihi ʾadawātu al-qalbi waḥawāssuhu wamaʿānīhi al-ghāʾibatu waʾālātuhu , wa-al-qalbu fī wasaṭi hādhihi al-ʾadawāti ka-al-maliki ,

casting wickedness and reverent fear. Among them are two attributes established in two places, reason and desire, arising from two judgments in the will of a Judge: enabling and leading astray. Among them are two lights shining in the heart through a special allotment of a Merciful One’s mercy: knowledge and faith. These are the heart’s organs, senses, hidden meanings, and instruments. The heart stands amid these organs like a king,

وَهَذِهِ جُنُودُهُ تُؤَدِّي إِلَيْهِ أَوْ كَالْمِرْآةِ الْمَجْلُوَّةِ وَهَذِهِ الْآلَةُ حَوْلَهُ تَظْهَرُ فَيَرَاهَا وَيُقْدَحُ فِيهِ فَيَجِدُهَا ، فَتَفْصِيلُ ذَلِكَ عَلَى الْإِيجَازِ أَنَّ جُمَلَ الْخَوَاطِرِ سِتَّةٌ : هِيَ حُدُودُ الْقَلْبِ وَقَوَادِحُهُ مِنْ وَرَائِهَا خَزَائِنُ الْغَيْبِ وَمَلَكُوتُ الْقُدْرَةِ وَهِيَ جُنُودُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَتِيدَةٌ وَسُلْطَانٌ مِنْهُ مُبِينٌ وَالْقَلْبُ خِزَانَةٌ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْمَلَكُوتِ قَدْ أَوْدَعَهُ مُقَلِّبُهُ مِنْ لَطَائِفِ الرَّغَبُوتِ

wahādhihi junūduhu tuʾaddī ʾilayhi ʾaw ka-al-mirʾāti al-majluwwati wahādhihi al-ʾālatu ḥawlahu taẓharu fayarāhā wayuqdaḥu fīhi fayajiduhā , fatafṣīlu dhālika ʿalā al-ʾījāzi ʾanna jumala al-khawāṭiri sittatun: hiya ḥudūdu al-qalbi waqawādiḥuhu min warāʾihā khazāʾinu al-ghaybi wamalakūtu al-qudrati wahiya junūdu allāhi taʿālā ʿatīdatun wasulṭānun minhu mubīnun wa-al-qalbu khizānatun min khazāʾini al-malakūti qad ʾawdaʿahu muqallibuhu min laṭāʾifi al-raghabūti

with these as his troops conveying things to him, or like a polished mirror, with these instruments appearing around it, so that it sees them, and sparks being struck within it, so that it experiences them. Briefly, the detail is that the principal promptings are six: they are the heart’s boundaries and the things that strike sparks in it. Beyond them are the treasuries of the unseen and the kingdom of power. They are God Most High’s troops standing ready, and a manifest authority from Him. The heart is a treasury among the treasuries of the unseen kingdom; the One who turns it has deposited within it subtleties of yearning

وَالرَّهَبُوتِ وَشَعْشَعَ فِيهِ مِنْ أَنْوَارِ الْعَظَمَةِ وَالْجَبَرُوتِ مَا شَاءَ لِأَهْلِ الرَّفِيقِ الْأَعْلَى وَذَوِي الْمَلَكُوتِ الْأَدْنَى فَأَوَّلُ التَّفْصِيلِ خَاطِرُ النَّفْسِ وَخَاطِرُ الْعَدُوِّ وَهَذَانِ لَا يَعْدَمُهُمَا عُمُومُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَهُمَا مَذْمُومَانِ مَحْكُومٌ لَهُمَا بِالسُّوءِ لَا يَرِدَانِ إِلَّا بِالْهَوَى وَضِدِّ الْعِلْمِ وَخَاطِرُ الرُّوحِ وَخَاطِرُ الْمَلَكِ وَهَذَانِ لَا يَعْدَمُهُمَا خُصُوصُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَهُمَا مَحْمُودَانِ لَا يَرِدَانِ إِلَّا

wa-al-rahabūti washaʿshaʿa fīhi min ʾanwāri al-ʿaẓamati wa-al-jabarūti mā shāʾa liʾahli al-rafīqi al-ʾaʿlā wadhawī al-malakūti al-ʾadnā faʾawwalu al-tafṣīli khāṭiru al-nafsi wakhāṭiru al-ʿaduwwi wahādhāni lā yaʿdamuhumā ʿumūmu al-muʾminīna wahumā madhmūmāni maḥkūmun lahumā bi-al-sūʾi lā yaridāni ʾillā bi-al-haw waḍiddi al-ʿilmi wakhāṭiru al-rūḥi wakhāṭiru al-malaki wahādhāni lā yaʿdamuhumā khuṣūṣu al-muʾminīna wahumā maḥmūdāni lā yaridāni ʾillā

and awe, and made the lights of greatness and irresistible dominion shine within it as He wills for the people of the Highest Companion and those of the lower unseen kingdom. First in the detail are the prompting of the self and the prompting of the enemy. Believers in general do not lack these two. They are blameworthy, judged evil, arriving only with desire and the opposite of knowledge. There are the prompting of the spirit and the prompting of the angel. The select believers do not lack these two. They are praiseworthy, arriving only

بِحَقٍّ وَبِمَا دَلَّ عَلَيْهِ الْعِلْمُ وَخَاطِرُ الْعَقْلِ وَهُوَ مُتَوَسِّطٌ بَيْنَ هَذِهِ الْأَرْبَعَةِ يَصْلُحُ لِلْمَذْمُومَيْنِ فَيَكُونُ حُجَّةً عَلَى الْعَبْدِ لِمَكَانِ تَمْيِيزِ الْعَقْلِ وَتَقْسِيمِ الْمَعْقُولِ لِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ يَدْخُلُ فِي هَوَاهُ بِشَهْوَةٍ جُعِلَتْ لَهُ وَاخْتِيَارٍ لَا يَعْسُرُ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْقِلُ وَلَا إِجْبَارَ وَيَصْلُحُ أَيْضًا لِلْمَحْمُودَيْنِ فَيَكُونُ شَاهِدًا لِلْمَلَكِ وَمُؤَيِّدًا لِخَاطِرِ الرُّوحِ وَيُثَابُ الْعَبْدُ فِي حُسْنِ النِّيَّةِ وَصِدْقِ

biḥaqqin wabimā dalla ʿalayhi al-ʿilmu wakhāṭiru al-ʿaqli wahuwa mutawassiṭun bayna hādhihi al-ʾarbaʿati yaṣluḥu lilmadhmūmayni fayakūnu ḥujjatan ʿalā al-ʿabdi limakāni tamyīzi al-ʿaqli wataqsīmi al-maʿqūli liʾanna al-ʿabda yadkhulu fī hawāhu bishahwatin juʿilat lahu wakhtiyārin lā yaʿsuru ʿalayhi min ḥaythu lā yaʿqilu walā ʾijbāra wayaṣluḥu ʾayḍan lilmaḥmūdayni fayakūnu shāhidan lilmalaki wamuʾayyidan likhāṭiri al-rūḥi wayuthābu al-ʿabdu fī ḥusni al-niyyati waṣidqi

with truth and what knowledge indicates. There is the prompting of reason, standing between these four. It can serve the two blameworthy promptings and thus be a proof against the servant because reason distinguishes and separates what is intelligible: the servant enters into his desire through an appetite made for him and a choice that presents him no difficulty, without a loss of reason or compulsion. It can also serve the two praiseworthy promptings, bearing witness for the angel and supporting the spirit’s prompting. The servant is rewarded for good intention and true

الْمَقْصِدِ وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ خَاطِرُ الْعَقْلِ تَارَةً مَعَ النَّفْسِ وَالْعَدُوِّ وَتَارَةً مَعَ الرُّوحِ وَالْمَلَكِ حِكْمَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِصَنْعَتِهِ وَإِتْقَانًا لِصُنْعِهِ لِيَدْخُلَ الْعَبْدُ فِي الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ بِوُجُودِ مَعْقُولٍ وَصِحَّةِ شُهُودٍ وَتَمْيِيزٍ فَيَكُونَ عَاقِبَةُ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْجَزَاءِ وَالْعِقَابِ عَائِدًا لَهُ وَعَلَيْهِ إِذْ قَدْ جَعَلَ سُبْحَانَهُ هَذَا الْجِسْمَ مَكَانًا لِجَرَيَانِ أَحْكَامِهِ وَمَحَلًّا لِنَفَاذِ مَشِيئَتِهِ فِي مَبَانِي حِكْمَتِهِ

al-maqṣidi waʾinnamā kāna khāṭiru al-ʿaqli tāratan maʿa al-nafsi wa-al-ʿaduwwi watāratan maʿa al-rūḥi wa-al-malaki ḥikmatan mina allāhi taʿālā liṣanʿatihi waʾitqānan liṣunʿihi liyadkhula al-ʿabdu fī al-khayri wa-al-sharri biwujūdi maʿqūlin waṣiḥḥati shuhūdin watamyīzin fayakūna ʿāqibatu dhālika mina al-jazāʾi wa-al-ʿiqābi ʿāʾidan lahu waʿalayhi ʾidh qad jaʿala subḥānahu hādhā al-jisma makānan lijarayāni ʾaḥkāmihi wamaḥallan linafādhi mashīʾatihi fī mabānī ḥikmatihi

purpose. Reason’s prompting is sometimes with the self and enemy, sometimes with the spirit and angel, through God Most High’s wisdom in His craftsmanship and His perfection in making, so that the servant enters good and evil with something understood, sound witnessing, and discrimination. The outcome of reward and punishment thus returns to him, for him or against him, since He, glorified, made this body a place for the operation of His rulings and a locus for the fulfillment of His will in the structures of His wisdom.

كَذَلِكَ جَعَلَ الْعَقْلَ مَطِيَّةً لِلْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ يَجْرِي مَعَهُمَا فِي خِزَانَةِ الْجِسْمِ إِذْ كَانَ مَكَانًا لِلتَّكْلِيفِ وَمَوْضِعًا لِلتَّصْرِيفِ وَسَبَبًا لِلتَّعْرِيفِ الْعَائِدِ مِنْ مَعَانِي ذَلِكَ عَلَى صُورَةِ الْعَبْدِ مِنْ لَذَّةِ النَّعِيمِ أَوْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ فَلَمْ يَكُنِ الْعَقْلُ غَائِبًا فَيَكُونَ الْعَبْدُ عَنِ الْعَقْلِ ذَاهِبًا وَلَمْ تَكُنِ الشَّهْوَةُ عَازِبَةً فَتَكُونَ النَّفْسُ

kadhālika jaʿala al-ʿaqla maṭiyyatan lilkhayri wa-al-sharri yajrī maʿahumā fī khizānati al-jismi ʾidh kāna makānan li-l-taklīfi wamawḍiʿan li-l-taṣrīfi wasababan li-l-taʿrīfi al-ʿāʾidi min maʿānī dhālika ʿalā ṣūrati al-ʿabdi min ladhdhati al-naʿīmi ʾaw ʿadhābin ʾalīmin falam yakuni al-ʿaqlu ghāʾiban fayakūna al-ʿabdu ʿani al-ʿaqli dhāhiban walam takuni al-shahwatu ʿāzibatan fatakūna al-nafsu

Likewise He made reason a mount for good and evil, running with them in the body’s treasury, since it is a place of obligation, a locus of direction, and a means of making known what returns from these meanings upon the servant’s form, whether the pleasure of bliss or painful punishment. Reason is not absent, so that the servant would be bereft of reason, nor is appetite removed, so that the self would be

مَفْقُودَةً إِذْ فِي ذَلِكَ تَضْعِيفٌ لِحُجَّةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَوَهْنٌ لِبُرْهَانِهِ لِأَنَّ الْعَقْلَ شَاهِدُ الْحُجَّةِ وَالشَّهْوَةُ فِي النَّفْسِ مَكَانُ الْبَلْوَى وَالنِّيَّةُ فِي الْقَلْبِ طَرِيقُ الْحُجَّةِ وَذَلِكَ أَصْلُ سَبَبِ عَوْدِ جَزَاءِ الْأَمْرِ وَالنَّهْيِ فَالْعَقْلُ مَطْبُوعٌ عَلَى التَّمْيِيزِ مَجْبُولٌ عَلَى التَّحْسِينِ وَالتَّقْبِيحِ وَالنَّفْسُ مَجْبُولَةٌ عَلَى الشَّهْوَةِ مَطْبُوعَةٌ عَلَى الْأَمْرِ بِالْهَوَى وَهَذَا نَصِيبُهُمَا مِنْ عَطَائِهِ وَهُدَاهُ

mafqūdatan ʾidh fī dhālika taḍʿīfun liḥujjati allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhi wawahnun liburhānihi liʾanna al-ʿaqla shāhidu al-ḥujjati wa-al-shahwatu fī al-nafsi makānu al-balwā wa-al-niyyatu fī al-qalbi ṭarīqu al-ḥujjati wadhālika ʾaṣlu sababi ʿawdi jazāʾi al-ʾamri wa-al-nahyi fa-al-ʿaqlu maṭbūʿun ʿalā al-tamyīzi majbūlun ʿalā al-taḥsīni wa-al-taqbīḥi wa-al-nafsu majbūlatun ʿalā al-shahwati maṭbūʿatun ʿalā al-ʾamri bi-al-haw wahādhā naṣībuhumā min ʿaṭāʾihi wahudāhu

absent, for that would weaken God Most High’s proof against him and diminish His demonstration. Reason is the witness to the proof; appetite within the self is the place of trial; intention within the heart is the path of the proof. This is the fundamental cause of the return of recompense for command and prohibition. Reason is naturally disposed to discriminate and fashioned to recognize goodness and badness. The self is fashioned for appetite and naturally disposed to command desire. This is their share of His gift and His guidance

لَهُمَا إِلَى رَشَادِهِ وَإِغْوَائِهِ وَحَظُّهُمَا مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَقِسْمُهُمَا مِنْ وَلِيِّ الْأَسْبَابِ ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى فِي إِحْكَامِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ تَكْمِلَةً لِمَا أَخْبَرَنَا عَمَّا سَبَقَ فِي عِلْمِهِ : ( أَعْطَى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَى ) وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أُولَئِكَ يَنَالُهُمْ نَصِيبُهُمْ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 37 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ مَنْ تَوَلَّاهُ فَأَنَّهُ يُضِلُّهُ وَيَهْدِيهِ إِلَى عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ ) الْحَجُّ

lahumā ʾilā rashādihi waʾighwāʾihi waḥaẓẓuhumā mina al-kitābi waqismuhumā min waliyyi al-ʾasbābi , kamā qāla taʿālā fī ʾiḥkāmi mā dhakarnāhu takmilatan limā ʾakhbaranā ʿammā sabaqa fī ʿilmihi: ( ʾaʿṭā kulla shayʾin khalqahu thumma hadā ) waqāla taʿālā: ( ʾūlāʾika yanāluhum naṣībuhum mina al-kitābi ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 37 waqāla taʿālā: ( kutiba ʿalayhi ʾannahu man tawallāhu faʾannahu yuḍilluhu wayahdīhi ʾilā ʿadhābi al-saʿīri ) al-ḥajju

of them toward His right guidance and His leading astray, their portion from the Book and their allotment from the Master of causes. As He Most High says, making what we mentioned decisive and completing what He told us of what preceded in His knowledge, “He gave each thing its creation, then guided it.” He Most High says, “Those will receive their share from the Book” (al-Aʿrāf 37). He Most High says, “It is decreed concerning him that whoever takes him as a protector, he will lead him astray and guide him to the punishment of the blaze” (al-Ḥajj

: 4 وَالْخَاطِرُ السَّادِسُ هُوَ خَاطِرُ الْيَقِينِ وَهُوَ رُوحُ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَزِيدُ الْعِلْمِ يَرِدَانِ إِلَيْهِ وَيَصْدُرَانِ عَنْهُ وَهَذَا الْخَاطِرُ مَخْصُوصٌ بِخُصُوصٍ لَا يَجِدُهُ إِلَّا الْمُوقِنُونَ وَهُمُ الشُّهَدَاءُ وَالصِّدِّيقُونَ لَا يَرِدُ إِلَّا بِحَقٍّ وَإِنْ خَفِيَ وُرُودُهُ وَدَقَّ وَلَا يَقْدَحُ إِلَّا بِعِلْمِ اخْتِيَارٍ لِمُرَادِ مُخْتَارٍ وَإِنْ لَطُفَتْ أَدِلَّتُهُ وَبَطَنَ وَجْهُ الِاسْتِدْلَالِ بِهِ وَلَكِنْ لَيْسَ يَخْفَى هَذَا الْخَاطِرُ عَلَى مَقْصُودٍ

: 4 wa-al-khāṭiru al-sādisu huwa khāṭiru al-yaqīni wahuwa rūḥu al-ʾīmāni wamazīdu al-ʿilmi yaridāni ʾilayhi wayaṣdurāni ʿanhu wahādhā al-khāṭiru makhṣūṣun bikhuṣūṣin lā yajiduhu ʾillā al-mūqinūna wahumu al-shuhadāʾu wa-al-ṣiddīqūna lā yaridu ʾillā biḥaqqin waʾin khafiya wurūduhu wadaqqa walā yaqdaḥu ʾillā biʿilmi ikhtiyārin limurādi mukhtārin waʾin laṭufat ʾadillatuhu wabaṭana wajhu al-istidlāli bihi walakin laysa yakhfā hādhā al-khāṭiru ʿalā maqṣūdin

4). The sixth prompting is the prompting of certainty, the spirit of faith and the increase of knowledge, which come to it and proceed from it. This prompting is specially allotted to a select group; only those certain in faith experience it, namely the witnesses and the utterly truthful. It arrives only with truth, however hidden and subtle its arrival, and strikes a spark only with knowledge of a choice for the purpose of a Choosing One, however subtle its proofs and hidden the way of reasoning through it. Yet this prompting is not hidden from one intended

بِهِ وَمُرَادٍ لَهُ وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ وَصَفَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالذِّكْرَى . وَرَدَّ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَيْهِمُ الْفُتْيَا فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ : ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ ) ق : 37 ، أَيْ مَنْ تَوَلَّى اللَّهُ حِفْظَ قَلْبِهِ ، وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَا حَاكَ فِي صَدْرِكَ فَدَعْهُ وَالْإِثْمُ حَوَّازُ الْقُلُوبِ يَعْنِي مَا يُؤَثِّرُ فِيهَا فَيَحُزُّهَا لِرِقَّتِهَا وَصَفَائِهَا وَلِينِهَا

bihi wamurādin lahu wahumu alladhīna waṣafahumu allāhu taʿālā bi-al-dhikrā. waradda al-rasūlu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾilayhimu al-futyā faqāla subḥānahu: ( ʾinna fī dhālika ladhikrā liman kāna lahu qalbun ) qāf: 37 , ʾay man tawallā allāhu ḥifẓa qalbihi , waqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mā ḥāka fī ṣadrika fadaʿhu wa-al-ʾithmu ḥawwāzu al-qulūbi yaʿnī mā yuʾaththiru fīhā fayaḥuzzuhā liriqqatihā waṣafāʾihā walīnihā

by it and chosen for it. These are the people God Most High described as receiving the reminder, to whom the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, referred the giving of a ruling. He, glorified, says, “In this is indeed a reminder for whoever has a heart” (Qāf 37), meaning one whose heart God has undertaken to guard. God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Leave whatever troubles your breast; sin cuts into hearts,” meaning what affects them and scores them because of their tenderness, purity, softness,

وَلُطْفِهَا وَقَالَ لِلرَّجُلِ الَّذِي سَأَلَهُ عَنِ الْبِرِّ وَالْإِثْمِ وَهُمَا أَصْلَا أَعْمَالِ الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ اسْتَفْتِ قَلْبَكَ وَإِنْ أَفْتَاكَ الْمُفْتُونَ أَيْ أَنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ مَعَانِيَ التَّأْوِيلِ وَالرُّخْصَةِ عَنْ عِلْمِهِمُ الْعَلَانِيَةِ وَأَنْتَ عَلَى عِلْمٍ فَوْقَهُمْ مُطَالَبٌ بِالتَّحْقِيقِ وَالْعَزِيمَةِ عَنْ عِلْمِكَ السِّرِّ وَأَهْلُ الظَّاهِرِ أَيْضًا يَعْلَمُونَ حُكْمَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الظَّاهِرَ عَنْ عِلْمِ اللِّسَانِ الظَّاهِرِ الَّذِي هُوَ حُجَّةُ

waluṭfihā waqāla li-l-rajuli alladhī saʾalahu ʿani al-birri wa-al-ʾithmi wahumā ʾaṣlā ʾaʿmāli al-khayri wa-al-sharri istafti qalbaka waʾin ʾaftāka al-muftūna ʾay ʾanna al-muttaqīna yaʿlamūna maʿāniya al-taʾwīli wa-al-rukhṣati ʿan ʿilmihimu al-ʿalāniyati waʾanta ʿalā ʿilmin fawqahum muṭālabun bi-al-taḥqīqi wa-al-ʿazīmati ʿan ʿilmika al-sirri waʾahlu al-ẓāhiri ʾayḍan yaʿlamūna ḥukma allāhi taʿālā al-ẓāhira ʿan ʿilmi al-lisāni al-ẓāhiri alladhī huwa ḥujjatu

and delicacy. To the man who asked him about righteousness and sin, the two roots of good and evil deeds, he said, “Consult your heart, even if those who give rulings give you a ruling.” That is: the God-fearing know the meanings of interpretation and concession through their outward knowledge, while you possess knowledge above them and are required to realize the truth and the stricter course through your secret knowledge. The people of outward knowledge also know God Most High’s outward ruling through the outward knowledge of the tongue, which is a proof

عَلَى أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ وَقَلْبُكَ فَقِيهٌ مُنَوَّرٌ بِالْإِيمَانِ تَنْظُرُ بِهِ أَوْ يَنْطِقُ بِهِ حُكْمُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْبَاطِنُ عَنْ عِلْمِ الْقَلْبِ الْبَاطِنِ الَّذِي هُوَ حَقِيقَةُ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَنْفَعَتُهُ لِأَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ وَلَا يَصْلُحُ أَنْ يَرُدَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سَائِلًا إِلَّا إِلَى فَقِيهٍ فَلَوْلَا أَنَّ عِلْمَ الْقَلْبِ هُوَ حَقِيقَةُ الْفِقْهِ مَا رَدَّ صَاحِبَهُ مِنْ فُتْيَا أَهْلِ الظَّاهِرِ إِلَيْهِ وَلَا حَكَمَ عَلَى

ʿalā ʾahli al-ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri waqalbuka faqīhun munawwarun bi-al-ʾīmāni tanẓuru bihi ʾaw yanṭiqu bihi ḥukmu allāhi taʿālā al-bāṭinu ʿan ʿilmi al-qalbi al-bāṭini alladhī huwa ḥaqīqatu al-ʾīmāni wamanfaʿatuhu liʾahli al-ʿilmi al-bāṭini walā yaṣluḥu ʾan yarudda rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama sāʾilan ʾillā ʾilā faqīhin falawlā ʾanna ʿilma al-qalbi huwa ḥaqīqatu al-fiqhi mā radda ṣāḥibahu min futyā ʾahli al-ẓāhiri ʾilayhi walā ḥakama ʿalā

against the people of outward knowledge. Your heart is a jurist illuminated by faith: through it you look, or through it God Most High’s inward ruling speaks, arising from the heart’s inward knowledge, which is faith’s reality and its benefit to the people of inward knowledge. It is not fitting for God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, to refer a questioner to anyone but a jurist. Were the heart’s knowledge not the reality of understanding, he would not have referred its possessor from the rulings of outward scholars to it, nor ruled over

الْمُفْتِينَ بِهِ فَقَدْ صَارَ عِلْمُ الْقَلْبِ هُوَ عِلْمَ الْعِلْمِ إِذْ جَعَلَهُ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَاضِيًا عَلَى الْمُفْتِينَ بِالْحُكْمِ وَصَارَ عَالِمُ الْبَاطِنِ هُوَ عَالِمَ الْعُلَمَاءِ إِذْ لَمْ يَسَعْهُ تَقْلِيدُ الْعُلَمَاءِ ، وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ الْآخَرِ : الْبِرُّ مَا اطْمَأَنَّ إِلَيْهِ الْقَلْبُ وَسَكَنَتْ إِلَيْهِ النَّفْسُ وَإِنْ أَفْتَوْكَ وَأَفْتَوْكَ فَهَذَا وَصْفُ قَلْبٍ مُكَاشَفٍ بِالذِّكْرِ وَنَعْتُ نَفْسٍ سَاكِنَةٍ بِمَزِيدِ السَّكِينَةِ وَالْبِرِّ

al-muftīna bihi faqad ṣāra ʿilmu al-qalbi huwa ʿilma al-ʿilmi ʾidh jaʿalahu al-rasūlu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāḍiyan ʿalā al-muftīna bi-al-ḥukmi waṣāra ʿālimu al-bāṭini huwa ʿālima al-ʿulamāʾi ʾidh lam yasaʿhu taqlīdu al-ʿulamāʾi , wafī al-ḥadīthi al-ʾākhari: al-birru mā iṭmaʾanna ʾilayhi al-qalbu wasakanat ʾilayhi al-nafsu waʾin ʾaftawka waʾaftawka fahādhā waṣfu qalbin mukāshafin bi-al-dhikri wanaʿtu nafsin sākinatin bimazīdi al-sakīnati wa-al-birri

the givers of rulings through it. The heart’s knowledge has thus become the knowledge of knowledge, since the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, made it a judge ruling over those who give rulings. The inward scholar has become the scholar of scholars, since he cannot merely imitate scholars. In the other report: “Righteousness is what the heart rests in and the self settles into, even if they give you rulings and give you rulings.” This describes a heart granted unveiling through remembrance and a soul settled through increased tranquility and righteousness,

كَمَا وُصِفَ مِنْ قُلُوبِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي صَرِيحِ الْكَلَامِ وَفِي دَلِيلِ الْخِطَابِ ، فَأَمَّا صَرِيحُهُ فَقَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ ) الرَّعْدُ : 28 وَقَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ السَّكِينَةَ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لِيَزْدَادُوا إِيمَانًا مَعَ إِيمَانِهِمْ ) الْفَتْحُ :

kamā wuṣifa min qulūbi al-muʾminīna fī ṣarīḥi al-kalāmi wafī dalīli al-khiṭābi , faʾammā ṣarīḥuhu faqawluhu taʿālā: ( alladhīna ʾāmanū wataṭmaʾinnu qulūbuhum bidhikri allāhi ʾalā bidhikri allāhi taṭmaʾinnu al-qulūbu ) al-raʿdu: 28 waqawluhu taʿālā: ( huwa alladhī ʾanzala al-sakīnata fī qulūbi al-muʾminīna liyazdādū ʾīmānan maʿa ʾīmānihim ) al-fatḥu:

as the believers’ hearts are described both in explicit speech and through the speech’s implication. Its explicit wording is His exalted saying, “Those who believe and whose hearts find rest in God’s remembrance: surely hearts find rest in God’s remembrance” (al-Raʿd 28), and His exalted saying, “He is the One who sent tranquility down into the believers’ hearts, that they might increase in faith alongside their faith” (al-Fatḥ

4 وَأَمَّا دَلِيلُ الْكَلَامِ الَّذِي يَشْهَدُ بِالتَّدَبُّرِ فَقَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى فِي

4 waʾammā dalīlu al-kalāmi alladhī yashhadu bi-al-tadabburi faqawluhu taʿālā fī

4). As for the implication of speech witnessed through reflection, it is His exalted saying in

وَصْفِ قُلُوبِ أَعْدَائِهِ الْمَحْجُوبِينَ : ( كَانَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ فِي غِطَاءٍ عَنْ ذِكْرِي وَكَانُوا لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ سَمْعًا ) الْكَهْفُ : 101 وَمِثْلُهُ : ( أَعِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْغَيْبِ فَهُوَ يَرَى ) النَّجْمُ : 35 فَفِي تَدَبُّرِ مَعْنَاهُ أَنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَهُ الْمُسْتَجِيبِينَ لَهُ سَامِعُونَ مِنْهُ مُكَاشَفُونَ بِذِكْرِهِ نَاظِرُونَ إِلَى غَيْبِهِ ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَىٰ فِي مِثْلِهِ ( مَثَلُ الْفَرِيقَيْنِ كَالْأَعْمَى وَالْأَصَمِّ ) هُودٌ :

waṣfi qulūbi ʾaʿdāʾihi al-maḥjūbīna: ( kānat ʾaʿyunuhum fī ghiṭāʾin ʿan dhikrī wakānū lā yastaṭīʿūna samʿan ) al-kahfu: 101 wamithluhu: ( ʾaʿindahu ʿilmu al-ghaybi fahuwa yarā ) al-najmu: 35 fafī tadabburi maʿnāhu ʾanna ʾawliyāʾahu al-mustajībīna lahu sāmiʿūna minhu mukāshafūna bidhikrihi nāẓirūna ʾilā ghaybihi , waqāla taʿālā fī mithlihi ( mathalu al-farīqayni ka-al-ʾaʿmā wa-al-ʾaṣammi ) hūdun:

describing the hearts of His veiled enemies: “Their eyes were covered against My remembrance, and they could not hear” (al-Kahf 101). Similar is, “Does he possess knowledge of the unseen, so that he sees?” (al-Najm 35). Reflecting on its meaning shows that His friends who respond to Him hear from Him, are granted unveiling through His remembrance, and look into His unseen. He Most High says similarly, “The likeness of the two groups is as the blind and the deaf” (Hūd

24 هَذَا فَرِيقُ الْمُتَّبِعِينَ لِلسُّبُلِ الْمُتَفَرِّقَةِ عَنْ سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ بِهِمُ الضَّالِّينَ عَنْ سَوَاءِ الصِّرَاطِ ، ( وَ الْبَصِيرِ وَالسَّمِيعِ ) هُودٌ : 24 هُوَ فَرِيقُ الْمُهْتَدِينَ الْمُتَّبِعِينَ لِلصِّرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( مَا كَانُوا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ السَّمْعَ وَمَا كَانُوا يُبْصِرُونَ ) هُودٌ : 20 أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ إِنْ كَانَ اللَّهُ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُغْوِيَكُمْ هُوَ رَبُّكُمْ وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ

24 hādhā farīqu al-muttabiʿīna li-l-subuli al-mutafarriqati ʿan sawāʾi al-sabīli bihimu al-ḍāllīna ʿan sawāʾi al-ṣirāṭi , ( wa al-baṣīri wa-al-samīʿi ) hūdun: 24 huwa farīqu al-muhtadīna al-muttabiʿīna li-l-ṣirāṭi al-mustaqīmi , waqāla taʿālā: ( mā kānū yastaṭīʿūna al-samʿa wamā kānū yubṣirūna ) hūdun: 20 ʾaw ʾalqā al-samʿa wahuwa shahīdun ʾin kāna allāhu yurīdu ʾan yughwiyakum huwa rabbukum waqāla ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi

24): this is the group following paths that branch away from the straight way, straying from the straight road. “And the seeing and the hearing” (Hūd 24): this is the rightly guided group following the straight path. He Most High says, “They could not hear, and they did not see” (Hūd 20); “Or gives ear while present as a witness”; “If God wills to lead you astray, He is your Lord.” He, God bless him and

وَسَلَّمَ فِي مُجْمَلِ صِفَةِ الْقَلْبِ التَّقْوَى هَهُنَا وَأَشَارَ إِلَى الْقَلْبِ وَقَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِي ذِكْرِ الْقُلُوبِ الْمُقْفَلَةِ بِالذُّنُوبِ : ( لَوْ نَشَاءُ أَصَبْنَاهُمْ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَنَطْبَعُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 100 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي فَضِّ طَابِعِهَا بِالتَّقْوَى : ( وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْمَعُوا ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 108 وَ ( اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُ ) الْبَقَرَةُ :

wasallama fī mujmali ṣifati al-qalbi al-taqwā hāhunā waʾashāra ʾilā al-qalbi waqāla allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā fī dhikri al-qulūbi al-muqfalati bi-al-dhunūbi: ( law nashāʾu ʾaṣabnāhum bidhunūbihim wanaṭbaʿu ʿalā qulūbihim fahum lā yasmaʿūna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 100 waqāla taʿālā fī faḍḍi ṭābiʿihā bi-al-taqwā: ( wittaqū allāha wasmaʿū ) al-māʾidatu: 108 wa ( ittaqū allāha wayuʿallimukumu allāhu ) al-baqaratu:

grant him peace, said in a comprehensive description of the heart, “Reverent fear is here,” pointing to the heart. God, glorified and exalted, says concerning hearts locked by sins, “If We will, We strike them for their sins and seal their hearts, so they do not hear” (al-Aʿrāf 100). Concerning the breaking of their seal through reverent fear He Most High says, “Fear God and listen” (al-Māʾida 108), and “Fear God, and God teaches you” (al-Baqara

282 وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِعَبْدٍ خَيْرًا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ زَاجِرًا مِنْ نَفْسِهِ وَوَاعِظًا مِنْ قَلْبِهِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ : مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ وَاعِظٌ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ حَافِظٌ . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُنَادِي لِلْإِيمَانِ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 193 قَالَ سَمِعْنَاهُ مِنْ قُلُوبِنَا وَقَالَ فِي ضِدِّهِ لِأَعْدَائِهِ :

282 wafī al-khabari: ʾidhā ʾarāda allāhu biʿabdin khayran jaʿala allāhu zājiran min nafsihi wawāʿiẓan min qalbihi , wafī al-khabari al-ʾākhari: man kāna lahu min qalbihi wāʿiẓun kāna ʿalayhi mina allāhi ḥāfiẓun. warawaynā fī tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā: ( rabbanā ʾinnanā samiʿnā munādiyan yunādī lilʾīmāni ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 193 qāla samiʿnāhu min qulūbinā waqāla fī ḍiddihi liʾaʿdāʾihi:

282). In the report: “When God desires good for a servant, God places a restrainer within his self and an admonisher within his heart.” In the other report: “Whoever has an admonisher from his heart has a guardian over him from God.” We related, in explanation of His exalted saying, “Our Lord, we heard a caller calling to faith” (Āl ʿImrān 193): “We heard him from our hearts.” Concerning the opposite, He says of His enemies:

( أُولَئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ ) فُصِّلَتْ : 44 عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي التَّوْبَةِ مِنْ مَيْلِ الْقُلُوبِ وَهَمِّهَا : ( إِنْ تَتُوبَا إِلَى اللَّهِ فَقَدْ صَغَتْ قُلُوبُكُمَا ) التَّحْرِيمُ : 4 ، وَبِمَعْنَاهُ وَهَمُّوا بِمَا لَمْ يَنَالُوا فَإِنْ يَتُوبُوا يَكُ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ ، وَقَالَ فِي تَحْقِيقِ الْعَمَى لِلْقَلْبِ : ( فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى الْأَبْصَارُ وَلَكِنْ تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ ) الْحَجُّ :

( ʾūlāʾika yunādawna min makānin baʿīdin ) fuṣṣilat: 44 ʿan qulūbihim , waqāla allāhu taʿālā fī al-tawbati min mayli al-qulūbi wahammihā: ( ʾin tatūbā ʾilā allāhi faqad ṣaghat qulūbukumā ) al-taḥrīmu: 4 , wabimaʿnāhu wahammū bimā lam yanālū faʾin yatūbū yaku khayran lahum , waqāla fī taḥqīqi al-ʿamā lilqalbi: ( faʾinnahā lā taʿmā al-ʾabṣāru walakin taʿmā al-qulūbu allatī fī al-ṣudūri ) al-ḥajju:

“Those are called from a distant place” (Fuṣṣilat 44), far from their hearts. God Most High says concerning repentance from hearts’ inclination and intention, “If you two repent to God, your hearts have inclined” (al-Taḥrīm 4). In the same sense: “They intended what they did not attain; if they repent, it will be better for them.” Confirming that blindness belongs to the heart, He says, “It is not the eyes that grow blind, but the hearts within the breasts that grow blind” (al-Ḥajj

46 فَأَهْلُ الْقُلُوبِ يَتَّعِظُونَ بِلَا وَاعِظٍ مِنْ خَلْقٍ وَيَزْدَجِرُونَ بِلَا زَاجِرٍ فِي ظَاهِرٍ وَسَائِرُ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ الْخَوَاطِرِ لَا تَعْدَمُهُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْقَلْبُ خِزَانَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْغَيْبِ وَهَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي جُنُودُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مُقِيمَةٌ حَوْلَ الْقَلْبِ يُخْفِي مِنْهَا مَا يَشَاءُ وَيُظْهِرُ وَيُبْدِي مِنْهَا مَا يُرِيدُ وَيُعِيدُ وَيَبْسُطُ الْقَلْبَ بِمَا يَشَاءُ مِنْهَا وَيَقْبِضُهُ فِيمَا شَاءَ عَنْهَا وَكُلُّ قَلْبٍ

46 faʾahlu al-qulūbi yattaʿiẓūna bilā wāʿiẓin min khalqin wayazdajirūna bilā zājirin fī ẓāhirin wasāʾiru mā dhakarnāhu mina al-khawāṭiri lā taʿdamuhu al-muʾminūna wa-al-qalbu khizānatu allāhi taʿālā min khazāʾini al-ghaybi wahādhihi al-maʿānī junūdu allāhi taʿālā muqīmatun ḥawla al-qalbi yukhfī minhā mā yashāʾu wayuẓhiru wayubdī minhā mā yurīdu wayuʿīdu wayabsuṭu al-qalba bimā yashāʾu minhā wayaqbiḍuhu fīmā shāʾa ʿanhā wakullu qalbin

46). The people of hearts take admonition without an admonisher among creatures and restrain themselves without an outward restrainer. Believers do not lack the other promptings we have mentioned. The heart is God Most High’s treasury among the treasuries of the unseen; these meanings are God Most High’s troops stationed around it. He conceals and reveals whatever of them He wills, brings forth and restores whatever of them He desires, expands the heart through whichever He wills, and contracts it away from them as He wills. Every heart

اجْتَمَعَ فِيهِ ثَلَاثَةُ مَعَانٍ لَمْ تُفَارِقْهُ خَوَاطِرُ الْيَقِينِ ، وَلَكِنْ يَضْعُفُ الْخَاطِرُ وَيَخْفَىٰ لِضَعْفِ الْمَعَانِي وَدِقَّتِهَا وَيَقْوَىٰ الْيَقِينُ وَيَظْهَرُ بِقُوَّتِهَا لِأَنَّ هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثَةَ مَكَانُ الْيَقِينِ أَحَدُهَا الْإِيمَانُ وَمَوْضِعُهُ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ مَكَانُ حَجَرِ النَّارِ وَالثَّانِي الْعِلْمُ وَمَكَانُهُ مَوْضِعُ الزِّنَادِ وَالثَّالِثُ الْعَقْلُ وَهُوَ مَكَانُ الْحَرَّاقِ فَإِذَا اجْتَمَعَتْ هَذِهِ الْأَسْبَابُ قَدَحَ خَاطِرُ الْيَقِينِ فِي

ijtamaʿa fīhi thalāthatu maʿānin lam tufāriqhu khawāṭiru al-yaqīni , walakin yaḍʿufu al-khāṭiru wayakhfā liḍaʿfi al-maʿānī wadiqqatihā wayaqwā al-yaqīnu wayaẓharu biquwwatihā liʾanna hādhihi al-thalāthata makānu al-yaqīni ʾaḥaduhā al-ʾīmānu wamawḍiʿuhu mina al-yaqīni makānu ḥajari al-nāri wa-al-thānī al-ʿilmu wamakānuhu mawḍiʿu al-zinādi wa-al-thālithu al-ʿaqlu wahuwa makānu al-ḥarrāqi faʾidhā ijtamaʿat hādhihi al-ʾasbābu qadaḥa khāṭiru al-yaqīni fī

in which three meanings come together is never abandoned by the promptings of certainty. Yet the prompting weakens and becomes hidden through the meanings’ weakness and subtlety; certainty grows strong and manifest through their strength, because these three are the place of certainty. One is faith, whose position in relation to certainty is that of the firestone. The second is knowledge, whose place is that of the striker. The third is reason, which occupies the place of tinder. When these means come together, the prompting of certainty strikes a spark in

الْقَلْبِ ، وَمَثَلُ الْقَلْبِ فِي قُوَّتِهِ بِقُوَّةِ مَدَدِهِ وَفِي صَفَائِهِ بِجَوْدَةِ عُدَدِهِ مَثَلُ الْمِصْبَاحِ فِي الْقِنْدِيلِ إِلَى مَكَانِ الْعَقْلِ مِنْهُ وَالزَّيْتُ مَوْضِعُ الْعِلْمِ بِهِ وَهُوَ رُوحُ الْمِصْبَاحِ وَبِمَدَدِهِ يَكُونُ ظُهُورُ الْيَقِينِ وَالْفَتِيلَةُ مَكَانُ الْإِيمَانِ مِنْهُ وَهِيَ أَصْلُهُ وَقِوَامُهُ الَّذِي يَظْهَرُ بِهَا ، فَعَلَى قَدْرِ قُوَّةِ الْفَتِيلَةِ وَجَوْدَةِ جَوْهَرِهَا يَقْوَى الْيَقِينُ وَهُوَ مَثَلُ الْإِيمَانِ فِي قُوَّتِهِ بِالْوَرَعِ

al-qalbi , wamathalu al-qalbi fī quwwatihi biquwwati madadihi wafī ṣafāʾihi bijawdati ʿudadihi mathalu al-miṣbāḥi fī al-qindīli ʾilā makāni al-ʿaqli minhu wa-al-zaytu mawḍiʿu al-ʿilmi bihi wahuwa rūḥu al-miṣbāḥi wabimadadihi yakūnu ẓuhūru al-yaqīni wa-al-fatīlatu makānu al-ʾīmāni minhu wahiya ʾaṣluhu waqiwāmuhu alladhī yaẓharu bihā , faʿalā qadri quwwati al-fatīlati wajawdati jawharihā yaqwā al-yaqīnu wahuwa mathalu al-ʾīmāni fī quwwatihi bi-al-waraʿi

the heart. The heart, strengthened by the strength of its supply and made clear by the excellence of its equipment, is like a lamp in a lantern, with respect to the place of reason in it. The oil occupies the place of knowledge of Him; it is the lamp’s spirit, and through its supply certainty appears. The wick occupies the place of faith: it is its root and support through which it appears. According to the wick’s strength and the excellence of its substance, certainty grows strong. This is the likeness of faith in its strength through scrupulousness

وَكَمَالِهِ بِالْخَوْفِ وَعَلَى مِقْدَارِ صَفَاءِ الزَّيْتِ وَرِقَّتِهِ وَاتِّسَاعِهِ تُضِيءُ النَّارُ الَّتِي هُوَ الْيَقِينُ وَهُوَ مَثَلُ الْعِلْمِ فِي مَدَدِ الزُّهْدِ وَفَقْدِ

wakamālihi bi-al-khawfi waʿalā miqdāri ṣafāʾi al-zayti wariqqatihi wattisāʿihi tuḍīʾu al-nāru allatī huwa al-yaqīnu wahuwa mathalu al-ʿilmi fī madadi al-zuhdi wafaqdi

and its perfection through fear. According to the oil’s clarity, fineness, and abundance, the fire, which is certainty, shines. This is the likeness of knowledge in the supply of renunciation and the absence of

الْهَوَىٰ فَصَارَ الْعِلْمُ مَكَانًا لِلتَّوْحِيدِ فَتَمَكَّنَ الْمُوَحِّدُ فِي التَّوْحِيدِ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْمَكَانِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ) مُحَمَّدٌ : 19 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا أُنْزِلَ بِعِلْمِ اللَّهِ وَأَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ) هُودٌ : 14 فَقَدَّمَ الْعِلْمَ عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ فَصَارَ أَوَّلَهُ فَكُلَّمَا اتَّسَعَ الْقَلْبُ بِالْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ وَزَهِدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا ازْدَادَ إِيمَانًا

al-haw faṣāra al-ʿilmu makānan li-l-tawḥīdi fatamakkana al-muwaḥḥidu fī al-tawḥīdi ʿalā qadri al-makāni , waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( faʿlam ʾannahu lā ʾilaha ʾillā allāhu ) muḥammadun: 19 waqāla taʿālā: ( faʿlamū ʾannamā ʾunzila biʿilmi allāhi waʾan lā ʾilaha ʾillā huwa ) hūdun: 14 faqaddama al-ʿilma ʿalā al-tawḥīdi faṣāra ʾawwalahu fakullamā ittasaʿa al-qalbu bi-al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi wazahida fī al-dunyā izdāda ʾīmānan

desire. Knowledge thus becomes a place for affirming oneness, and the affirmer becomes established in oneness according to the extent of that place. God Most High says, “Know that there is no god but God” (Muḥammad 19). He Most High says, “Know that it was sent down with God’s knowledge, and that there is no god but Him” (Hūd 14). He put knowledge before the affirmation of oneness, making it its beginning. Whenever the heart expands through knowledge of God and renounces this world, it increases in faith

وَعَلَا لِأَنَّهُ يَرَى فِي عُلُوِّهِ مَا لَا يَرَاهُ غَيْرُهُ وَيَعْلَمُ فِي اتِّسَاعِهِ مَا لَا يَعْلَمُهُ سِوَاهُ فَيَكْبُرُ الْمُؤْمِنُ فَيَكُونُ ذَلِكَ مَزِيدَ إِيمَانِهِ وَقُوَّتِهِ ثُمَّ يَشْهَدُ كُلَّ مَا آمَنَ بِهِ فَيَكُونُ بِذَلِكَ قُوَّةُ نَفْسِهِ وَسَعَةُ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ وَكُلَّمَا قَصُرَ عِلْمُ الْقَلْبِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَبِمَعَانِي صِفَاتِهِ وَأَحْكَامِ مَلَكُوتِهِ قَلَّ إِيمَانُ هَذَا الْعَبْدِ ثُمَّ أُشْهِدَ مَا آمَنَ بِهِ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ لِمَا غَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ حُبِّ

waʿalā liʾannahu yarā fī ʿuluwwihi mā lā yarāhu ghayruhu wayaʿlamu fī ittisāʿihi mā lā yaʿlamuhu siwāhu fayakburu al-muʾminu fayakūnu dhālika mazīda ʾīmānihi waquwwatihi thumma yashhadu kulla mā ʾāmana bihi fayakūnu bidhālika quwwatu nafsihi wasaʿatu mushāhadatihi wakullamā qaṣura ʿilmu al-qalbi bi-allāhi taʿālā wabimaʿānī ṣifātihi waʾaḥkāmi malakūtihi qalla ʾīmānu hādhā al-ʿabdi thumma ʾushhida mā ʾāmana bihi min warāʾi ḥijābin limā ghalaba ʿalayhi min ḥubbi

and rises, for in its elevation it sees what another does not see, and in its spaciousness it knows what no other knows. The believer grows, and this is the increase of his faith and strength. Then he witnesses everything he believed in, and through this comes the strength of his soul and breadth of his witnessing. Whenever the heart’s knowledge of God Most High, the meanings of His attributes, and the rulings of His unseen kingdom falls short, that servant’s faith diminishes. Then he is made to witness what he believed in from behind a veil, because of the predominance of his love for

الْأَسْبَابِ وَسَمِعَ الْكَلَامَ مِنْ خَلْفِ سِتْرٍ لِعَجْزِهِ عَنِ الْمُسَارَعَةِ إِلَى الْبِرِّ فَيَضْعُفُ بِذَلِكَ إِيمَانُهُ وَيَتَخَيَّلُ مُشَاهَدَتَهُ وَلَا يَتَحَقَّقُ فَلَيْسَ مَنْ عَلِمَ مِنْ صِفَاتِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى وَقُدْرَةِ آيَاتِهِ مِائَةَ أَلْفِ مَعْنًى ثُمَّ شَهِدَهَا كُلَّهَا مِنْ قُرْبٍ عَنْ كَشْفٍ مِثْلَ مَنْ عَلِمَ مِنْهَا عَشَرَةَ مَعَانٍ ثُمَّ شَهِدَهَا مِنْ بُعْدٍ عَنْ حِجَابٍ وَهُمَا مُؤْمِنَانِ مَعًا لَكِنْ بَيْنَ إِيمَانِهِمَا فِي الْقُرْبِ وَالْعُلُوِّ

al-ʾasbābi wasamiʿa al-kalāma min khalfi sitrin liʿajzihi ʿani al-musāraʿati ʾilā al-birri fayaḍʿufu bidhālika ʾīmānuhu wayatakhayyalu mushāhadatahu walā yataḥaqqaqu falaysa man ʿalima min ṣifāti allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā waqudrati ʾāyātihi miʾata ʾalfi maʿnan thumma shahidahā kullahā min qurbin ʿan kashfin mithla man ʿalima minhā ʿasharata maʿānin thumma shahidahā min buʿdin ʿan ḥijābin wahumā muʾmināni maʿan lakin bayna ʾīmānihimā fī al-qurbi wa-al-ʿuluwwi

the means, and hears the speech from behind a screen because he cannot hasten to righteousness. His faith thus weakens; he imagines his witnessing without realizing it. One who knows a hundred thousand meanings of God’s attributes, glorified and exalted, and the power of His signs, then witnesses all of them from nearness through unveiling, is unlike one who knows ten meanings and witnesses them from a distance through a veil. Both are believers, yet between their faiths in nearness, elevation,

وَالزِّيَادَةِ وَالنُّقْصَانِ كَمَا بَيْنَ الْعَشَرَةِ إِلَى مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ فَيَكُونُ إِيمَانُ قَلْبِ الْمُسْلِمِ مِعْشَارَ مِعْشَارِ عُشْرِ إِيمَانِ قَلْبِ الْمُوقِنِ وَالْمِعْشَارُ هُوَ عُشْرُ الْعُشْرِ جُزْءٌ مِنْ مِائَةِ جُزْءٍ وَيَكُونُ إِيمَانُ قَلْبِ الْمُؤْمِنِ فِيمَا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الزِّيَادَةِ عَلَى الْعُشْرِ وَالنُّقْصَانِ مِنْ مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ عَلَى قَدْرِ قِسْمِهِ . وَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ فِيمَا نَعْقِلُهُ مِثْلُ رَجُلٍ قَالَ لَكَ :

wa-al-ziyādati wa-al-nuqṣāni kamā bayna al-ʿasharati ʾilā miʾati ʾalfin fayakūnu ʾīmānu qalbi al-muslimi miʿshāra miʿshāri ʿushri ʾīmāni qalbi al-mūqini wa-al-miʿshāru huwa ʿushru al-ʿushri juzʾun min miʾati juzʾin wayakūnu ʾīmānu qalbi al-muʾmini fīmā bayna dhālika mina al-ziyādati ʿalā al-ʿushri wa-al-nuqṣāni min miʾati ʾalfin ʿalā qadri qismihi. wamithlu dhālika fīmā naʿqiluhu mithlu rajulin qāla laka:

increase and decrease is a difference like that between ten and a hundred thousand. The faith of the Muslim’s heart is thus a hundredth of a hundredth of a tenth of the faith of the certain believer’s heart. Miʿshār here means a tenth of a tenth, one part in a hundred. The faith of the believer’s heart lies between these, increasing above the tenth and falling below the hundred thousand according to his allotted share. An example within our understanding is a man saying to you:

إِنَّ عِنْدِي فُلَانًا فَقَدْ حَصَلَ لَكَ عِلْمُ أَنَّهُ عِنْدَهُ غَيْرَ أَنَّ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ غَيْرُ يَقِينٍ لِأَنَّهُ يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدِ اشْتَبَهَ عَلَيْهِ أَوْ يَكُونَ قَدْ كَانَ عِنْدَهُ ثُمَّ خَرَجَ وَلَيْسَ هُوَ الْآنَ عِنْدَهُ وَهَذَا مِثْلُ إِيمَانِ الْمُسْلِمِ هُوَ عَلَى عِلْمِ خَبَرٍ لَا خُبْرٍ ، ثُمَّ إِنَّكَ تَأْتِي إِلَيَّ فَتَسْمَعُ كَلَامَهُ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ الْآنَ أَنَّهُ عِنْدِي لِأَنَّكَ سَمِعْتَ كَلَامَهُ وَاسْتَدْلَلْتَ بِهِ عَلَى كَوْنِهِ ،

ʾinna ʿindī fulānan faqad ḥaṣala laka ʿilmu ʾannahu ʿindahu ghayra ʾanna hādhā al-ʿilma ghayru yaqīnin liʾannahu yajūzu ʾan yakūna qadi ishtabaha ʿalayhi ʾaw yakūna qad kāna ʿindahu thumma kharaja walaysa huwa al-ʾāna ʿindahu wahādhā mithlu ʾīmāni al-muslimi huwa ʿalā ʿilmi khabarin lā khubrin , thumma ʾinnaka taʾtī ʾilayya fatasmaʿu kalāmahu min warāʾi ḥijābin faqad ʿalimta al-ʾāna ʾannahu ʿindī liʾannaka samiʿta kalāmahu wastadlalta bihi ʿalā kawnihi ,

“So-and-so is with me.” You have acquired knowledge that he is with him, but this knowledge is not certainty, because the man may have mistaken him, or he may have been with him and then gone out and no longer be there. This is like the Muslim’s faith: knowledge by report, not firsthand experience. Then you come to me and hear his speech from behind a veil. You now know that he is with me, because you heard his speech and inferred his presence through it.

إِلَّا أَنَّ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ أَيْضًا غَيْرُ تَحْقِيقٍ لِأَنَّ الْأَصْوَاتَ تَشْتَبِهُ وَالْأَجْرَامَ تَتَقَارَبُ ، وَ لَوْ قُلْتُ لَكَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ : لَمْ يَكُنْ عِنْدِي وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ ذَلِكَ غَيْرَهُ أَشْبَهَ صَوْتَهُ تَشَكَّكْتَ فِيهِ لِاحْتِمَالِ ذَلِكَ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ عِنْدَكَ يَقِينُ عَيْنٍ تَدْفَعُ بِهِ قَوْلِي وَلَا شَهَادَةُ نَظَرٍ تُنْكِرُ بِهَا عَلَيَّ وَهَذَا مَثَلٌ لِإِيمَانِ عُمُومِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَهُوَ إِيمَانُ خَبَرٍ لَعَمْرِي وَفِيهِ يَقِينُ اسْتِدْلَالٍ مُمْتَزِجٌ بِظَنِّهِ إِلَّا

ʾillā ʾanna hādhā al-ʿilma ʾayḍan ghayru taḥqīqin liʾanna al-ʾaṣwāta tashtabihu wa-al-ʾajrāma tataqārabu , wa law qultu laka baʿda dhālika: lam yakun ʿindī waʾinnamā kāna dhālika ghayrahu ʾashbaha ṣawtahu tashakkakta fīhi liḥtimāli dhālika walam yakun ʿindaka yaqīnu ʿaynin tadfaʿu bihi qawlī walā shahādatu naẓarin tunkiru bihā ʿalayya wahādhā mathalun liʾīmāni ʿumūmi al-muʾminīna fahuwa ʾīmānu khabarin laʿamrī wafīhi yaqīnu istidlālin mumtazijun biẓannihi ʾillā

But this knowledge too is not verification, because voices resemble one another and bodies are alike. If afterward I told you, “He was not with me; that was someone else whose voice resembled his,” you would doubt, because that is possible. You possess no certainty of direct sight with which to reject my statement, nor visual testimony with which to contradict me. This is a likeness of believers’ faith in general: it is indeed faith by report, by my life, containing the certainty of inference mixed with supposition, except

أَنَّهُ غَيْرُ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْعَارِفِينَ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ يَدْخُلُ عَلَيْهِمُ التَّخْيِيلُ وَالتَّشْبِيهُ فَلَا يَدْفَعُونَهُ بِشَهَادَةِ يَقِينٍ ثُمَّ إِنَّكَ تَدْخُلُ إِلَيَّ الْآنَ بَعْدَ أَنْ قِيلَ لَكَ هُوَ عِنْدِي أَوْ بَعْدَ أَنْ سَمِعْتَ كَلَامَهُ فَتَشْهَدُهُ جَالِسًا لَا حِجَابَ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ ، فَهَذَا هُوَ يَقِينُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَهَذِهِ شَهَادَةُ الْمُوقِنِ وَعِنْدَهَا انْتَفَى كُلُّ شَكٍّ وَتَحَقَّقَ خَبَرُ الْعِلْمِ وَهَذَا مَثَلٌ لِعِلْمِ إِيمَانِ الْمُوقِنِينَ الَّذِي قَدِ انْدَرَجَ

ʾannahu ghayru mushāhadati al-ʿārifīna liʾannahu qad yadkhulu ʿalayhimu al-takhyīlu wa-al-tashbīhu falā yadfaʿūnahu bishahādati yaqīnin thumma ʾinnaka tadkhulu ʾilayya al-ʾāna baʿda ʾan qīla laka huwa ʿindī ʾaw baʿda ʾan samiʿta kalāmahu fatashhaduhu jālisan lā ḥijāba baynaka wabaynahu , fahādhā huwa yaqīnu al-maʿrifati wahādhihi shahādatu al-mūqini waʿindahā intafā kullu shakkin wataḥaqqaqa khabaru al-ʿilmi wahādhā mathalun liʿilmi ʾīmāni al-mūqinīna alladhī qadi indaraja

that it differs from the knowers’ witnessing, since imagining and resemblance may enter upon them and they cannot repel these through the testimony of certainty. Then you enter my presence now, after being told “He is with me,” or after hearing his speech, and witness him sitting, with no veil between you and him. This is the certainty of recognition and the witnessing of the certain believer. At this point every doubt disappears and the reported knowledge is verified. This is a likeness of the knowledge of the faith of those certain in faith, which includes

فِيهِ إِيمَانُ عُمُومِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْخَبَرِ الْمُحْتَمَلِ وَمِنْ سَمَاعِ الْكَلَامِ الْمُشْتَبِهِ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ وَاسْمُ الْإِيمَانِ وَاقِعٌ عَلَى جَمِيعِهِمْ وَلَكِنِ الْأَوَّلُ عَلِمَ أَنَّهُ عِنْدِي بِمَا قِيلَ لَهُ فَصَدَّقَ وَالثَّانِي عَلِمَ بِمَا سَمِعَ فَاسْتَدَلَّ وَلَمْ يَشْهَدْ فَيَقْطَعَ وَالثَّالِثُ هُوَ الَّذِي عَايَنَ فَقَطَعَ وَقَدْ شَهِدَ لَهُ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْمَزِيدِ فَقَالَ

fīhi ʾīmānu ʿumūmi al-muʾminīna min ʿilmi al-khabari al-muḥtamali wamin samāʿi al-kalāmi al-mushtabihi min warāʾi ḥijābin wasmu al-ʾīmāni wāqiʿun ʿalā jamīʿihim walakini al-ʾawwalu ʿalima ʾannahu ʿindī bimā qīla lahu faṣaddaqa wa-al-thānī ʿalima bimā samiʿa fastadalla walam yashhad fayaqṭaʿa wa-al-thālithu huwa alladhī ʿāyana faqaṭaʿa waqad shahida lahu al-rasūlu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bi-al-mazīdi faqāla

the faith of believers in general, arising from knowledge of a report open to possibilities and from hearing ambiguous speech behind a veil. The name “faith” applies to all of them. But the first knew he was with me through what he was told and affirmed it; the second knew through what he heard and inferred, without witnessing so as to be decisive; the third saw directly and was decisive. The Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, testified to his increase, for

رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : لَيْسَ الْخَبَرُ كَالْمُعَايَنَةِ وَقَالَ : وَلَيْسَ الْمُخْبَرُ كَالْمُعَايِنِ ، وَمِثْلُ هَذَا أَيْضًا أَنْ تَرَى الشَّيْءَ بِالنَّهَارِ فَتَعْرِفَهُ مَعْرِفَةَ عَيْنٍ وَتَعْرِفَ مَكَانَهُ بِنَظَرٍ لَا تُخْطِئُهُ ثُمَّ إِنَّكَ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ لَيْلًا فَلَسْتَ تَعْرِفُ مَكَانَهُ رَأْيَ عَيْنٍ وَإِنَّمَا تَقْصِدُهُ بِمَعْرِفَةِ اسْتِدْلَالٍ عَلَيْهِ وَبِحُسْنِ ظَنٍّ أَنَّهُ مَوْجُودٌ عَلَى حَالِهِ أَوْ يُعْرَفُ بِشَيْءٍ مَعْهُودٍ أَنَّهُ لَا يَتَحَوَّلُ

rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: laysa al-khabaru ka-al-muʿāyanati waqāla: walaysa al-mukhbaru ka-al-muʿāyini , wamithlu hādhā ʾayḍan ʾan tarā al-shayʾa bi-al-nahāri fataʿrifahu maʿrifata ʿaynin wataʿrifa makānahu binaẓarin lā tukhṭiʾuhu thumma ʾinnaka taḥtāju ʾilayhi laylan falasta taʿrifu makānahu raʾya ʿaynin waʾinnamā taqṣiduhu bimaʿrifati istidlālin ʿalayhi wabiḥusni ẓannin ʾannahu mawjūdun ʿalā ḥālihi ʾaw yuʿrafu bishayʾin maʿhūdin ʾannahu lā yataḥawwalu

God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Report is not like direct sight,” and “The informed person is not like the eyewitness.” Another likeness is that you see something by day, know it by direct recognition, and know its place through a look that does not mistake it. Then you need it at night: you do not know its place by actual sight but seek it through inferential knowledge and a favorable supposition that it remains as it was, or it is recognized by something familiar known not to move.

، وَكَذَلِكَ الْأَدِلَّةُ هِيَ الْغَائِبَاتُ وَسُقُوطُهَا مَعَ الْمُشَاهَدَاتِ وَبِمَعْنَاهَا رُؤْيَةُ الشَّيْءِ بِنُورِ الْقَمَرِ فَإِنَّهُ يُشْبِحُ وَيَلُوحُ الْمُشْكِلَاتُ وَرُؤْيَتُهُ فِي ضِيَاءِ الشَّمْسِ فَإِنَّهَا تَكْشِفُ الْأَمْرَ عَلَى مَا هُوَ بِهِ ، فَهَذَا مَثَلُ نُورِ الْيَقِينِ إِلَى نُورِ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَثَلٌ رَابِعٌ فِي تَفَاوُتِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي حَقِيقَةِ الْكَمَالِ وَدُخُولِهِمْ فِي الِاسْمِ وَالْمَعْنَى مَثَلُ صَلَاةٍ رُبَاعِيَّةٍ أُقِيمَتْ فَجَاءَ رَجُلٌ فَأَدْرَكَ

, wakadhālika al-ʾadillatu hiya al-ghāʾibātu wasuqūṭuhā maʿa al-mushāhadāti wabimaʿnāhā ruʾyatu al-shayʾi binūri al-qamari faʾinnahu yushbiḥu wayalūḥu al-mushkilātu waruʾyatuhu fī ḍiyāʾi al-shamsi faʾinnahā takshifu al-ʾamra ʿalā mā huwa bihi , fahādhā mathalu nūri al-yaqīni ʾilā nūri al-ʾīmāni wamathalun rābiʿun fī tafāwuti al-muʾminīna fī ḥaqīqati al-kamāli wadukhūlihim fī al-ismi wa-al-maʿnā mathalu ṣalātin rubāʿiyyatin ʾuqīmat fajāʾa rajulun faʾadraka

Likewise proofs concern unseen things and fall away with direct witnessings. Similar is seeing something by moonlight, when indistinct shapes appear and uncertainties loom, and seeing it in sunlight, which discloses the matter as it is. This is the likeness of certainty’s light in relation to faith’s light. A fourth likeness concerning believers’ differing degrees of actual perfection, while sharing the name and meaning, is that of a four-cycle prayer established in congregation. One man comes and catches

تَكْبِيرَةَ الْإِحْرَامِ ثُمَّ جَاءَ آخَرُ فَأَدْرَكَ الرُّكُوعَ ثُمَّ جَاءَ آخَرُ فَأَدْرَكَ الرَّكْعَةَ الثَّانِيَةَ ثُمَّ جَاءَ ثَالِثٌ فَأَدْرَكَ الرَّكْعَةَ الثَّالِثَةَ ثُمَّ جَاءَ رَجُلٌ رَابِعٌ فَأَدْرَكَ الرَّكْعَةَ الْآخِرَةَ فَكُلُّهُمْ قَدْ صَلَّوْا وَأَدْرَكُوا الصَّلَاةَ فِي جَمَاعَةٍ وَنَالَ فَضْلَهَا لِقَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَنْ أَدْرَكَ مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ رَكْعَةً فَقَدْ أَدْرَكَ الصَّلَاةَ ،

takbīrata al-ʾiḥrāmi thumma jāʾa ʾākharu faʾadraka al-rukūʿa thumma jāʾa ʾākharu faʾadraka al-rakʿata al-thāniyata thumma jāʾa thālithun faʾadraka al-rakʿata al-thālithata thumma jāʾa rajulun rābiʿun faʾadraka al-rakʿata al-ʾākhirata fakulluhum qad ṣallaw waʾadrakū al-ṣalāta fī jamāʿatin wanāla faḍlahā liqawlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man ʾadraka mina al-ṣalāti rakʿatan faqad ʾadraka al-ṣalāta ,

the opening declaration of consecration; another comes and catches the bowing; another comes and catches the second cycle; then a third comes and catches the third cycle; then a fourth man comes and catches the last cycle. All have prayed, caught the congregational prayer, and attained its merit, according to his saying, God bless him and grant him peace: “Whoever catches one cycle of the prayer has caught the prayer.”

وَلَكِنْ لَيْسَ مَنْ أَدْرَكَ الرَّكْعَةَ الْأُولَى فِي كَمَالِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِدْرَاكِ حَقِيقَتِهَا كَمَنْ أَدْرَكَ الثَّالِثَةَ وَالرَّابِعَةَ وَلَا يَكُونُ أَيْضًا مَنْ أَدْرَكَ التَّكْبِيرَةَ لِلْإِحْرَامِ فِي الْفَضْلِ كَمَنْ لَمْ يُدْرِكْ شَيْئًا مِنَ الْقِيَامِ وَهُمَا مُدْرِكَانِ مَعًا فَكَذَلِكَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ فِي كَمَالِ الْإِيمَانِ وَحَقَائِقِهِ لَا يَسْتَوُونَ وَإِنِ اسْتَوَوْا فِي الِاسْمِ وَالْمَعْنَى وَكَذَلِكَ فِي تَفَاوُتِهِمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ .

walakin laysa man ʾadraka al-rakʿata al-ʾūlā fī kamāli al-ṣalāti waʾidrāki ḥaqīqatihā kaman ʾadraka al-thālithata wa-al-rābiʿata walā yakūnu ʾayḍan man ʾadraka al-takbīrata lilʾiḥrāmi fī al-faḍli kaman lam yudrik shayʾan mina al-qiyāmi wahumā mudrikāni maʿan fakadhālika al-muʾminūna fī kamāli al-ʾīmāni waḥaqāʾiqihi lā yastawūna waʾini istawaw fī al-ismi wa-al-maʿnā wakadhālika fī tafāwutihim fī al-ʾākhirati.

Yet one who caught the first cycle is not like one who caught the third or fourth in the completeness of the prayer and attainment of its reality. Nor is one who caught the opening declaration equal in merit to one who caught none of the standing, though both have caught the prayer. Likewise believers are unequal in faith’s perfection and realities, even though equal in name and meaning; so too in their differences in the hereafter.

فَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّهُ يُقَالُ : أَخْرِجُوا مَنْ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ وَنِصْفَ مِثْقَالٍ وَرُبْعَ مِثْقَالٍ وَشَعِيرَةً وَذَرَّةً مِنْ إِيمَانٍ فَقَدْ حَصَلُوا مُتَفَاوِتِينَ فِي الْإِيمَانِ مَا بَيْنَ الذَّرَّةِ إِلَى الْمِثْقَالِ وَكُلُّهُمْ قَدْ دَخَلَ النَّارَ إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ عَلَى مَقَامَاتٍ فِيهَا وَفِيهِ دَلِيلٌ أَنَّ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَزْنُ دِينَارٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ لَمْ يَمْنَعْهُ ذَلِكَ مِنْ دُخُولِ النَّارِ لِعِظَمِ مَا اقْتَرَفَ مِنْ

faqad jāʾa fī al-khabari ʾannahu yuqālu: ʾakhrijū man fī qalbihi mithqāla dharratin min ʾīmānin waniṣfa mithqālin warubʿa mithqālin washaʿīratan wadharratan min ʾīmānin faqad ḥaṣalū mutafāwitīna fī al-ʾīmāni mā bayna al-dharrati ʾilā al-mithqāli wakulluhum qad dakhala al-nāra ʾillā ʾannahum ʿalā maqāmātin fīhā wafīhi dalīlun ʾanna man kāna fī qalbihi waznu dīnārin min ʾīmānin lam yamnaʿhu dhālika min dukhūli al-nāri liʿiẓami mā iqtarafa min

In the report it is said: “Bring out whoever has in his heart the weight of an atom of faith,” and half a measure, a quarter of a measure, a barley grain, and an atom of faith. They thus differ in faith between an atom and a full measure. All have entered the Fire, but occupy different stations within it. This shows that having the weight of a dinar of faith in his heart did not prevent a person from entering the Fire because of the enormity of the burdens he committed,

الْأَوْزَارِ وَأَنَّ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَزْنُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ لَمْ يَحِقَّ عَلَيْهِ الْخُلُودُ فِي دَارِ الْهَوَانِ لِتَعَلُّقِهِ بِيَسِيرِ الْإِيقَانِ وَأَنَّ مَنْ زَادَ إِيمَانُهُ عَلَى وَزْنِ دِينَارٍ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِلنَّارِ عَلَيْهِ سُلْطَانٌ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْأَبْرَارِ وَأَنَّ مَنْ نَقَصَ إِيمَانُهُ عَنْ ذَرَّةٍ لَمْ يَخْرُجْ مِنَ النَّارِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ سِيمَاهُ وَاسْمُهُ فِي الظَّاهِرِ فِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لِأَنَّهُ فِي عِلْمِ اللَّهِ مِنَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ الْفُجَّارِ ،

al-ʾawzāri waʾanna man kāna fī qalbihi waznu dharratin min ʾīmānin lam yaḥiqqa ʿalayhi al-khulūdu fī dāri al-hawāni litaʿalluqihi biyasīri al-ʾīqāni waʾanna man zāda ʾīmānuhu ʿalā wazni dīnārin lam yakun li-l-nāri ʿalayhi sulṭānun fakāna mina al-ʾabrāri waʾanna man naqaṣa ʾīmānuhu ʿan dharratin lam yakhruj mina al-nāri waʾin kānat sīmāhu wasmuhu fī al-ẓāhiri fī al-muʾminīna liʾannahu fī ʿilmi allāhi mina al-munāfiqīna al-fujjāri ,

and that one who has an atom’s weight of faith in his heart is not bound to remain forever in the abode of humiliation, because of his attachment to a little certainty. One whose faith exceeds the weight of a dinar is beyond the Fire’s authority and is among the righteous. One whose faith falls below an atom does not leave the Fire, even if his outward sign and name place him among believers, because in God’s knowledge he belongs among the wicked hypocrites.

وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِهِمْ : ( وَإِنَّ الْفُجَّارَ لَفِي جَحِيمٍ ) الْانْفِطَارُ : 14 ثُمَّ قَالَ : ( وَمَا هُمْ عَنْهَا بِغَائِبِينَ ) الْانْفِطَارُ : 16 ثُمَّ صَارَ صَاحِبُ الْمِثْقَالِ وَالذَّرَّةِ فِي الْجَنَّةِ عَلَى تَفَاوُتِ دَرَجَاتٍ وَكَانَ الزَّائِدُ إِيمَانُهُ عَلَى مِثْقَالٍ فِي أَعْلَى عِلِّيِّينَ عَلَا هَؤُلَاءِ وَتَرَفَّعَ أَهْلُ الدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى عَلَى أَهْلِ عِلِّيِّينَ ارْتِفَاعَ الْكَوْكَبِ الَّذِي فِي أُفُقِ السَّمَاءِ وَكُلُّهُمْ

waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā fī waṣfihim: ( waʾinna al-fujjāra lafī jaḥīmin ) al-infiṭāru: 14 thumma qāla: ( wamā hum ʿanhā bighāʾibīna ) al-infiṭāru: 16 thumma ṣāra ṣāḥibu al-mithqāli wa-al-dharrati fī al-jannati ʿalā tafāwuti darajātin wakāna al-zāʾidu ʾīmānuhu ʿalā mithqālin fī ʾaʿlā ʿilliyyīna ʿalā hāʾulāʾi wataraffaʿa ʾahlu al-darajāti al-ʿulā ʿalā ʾahli ʿilliyyīna irtifāʿa al-kawkabi alladhī fī ʾufuqi al-samāʾi wakulluhum

God Most High describes them: “The wicked are indeed in a blazing Fire” (al-Infiṭār 14), then says, “They will not be absent from it” (al-Infiṭār 16). The possessors of a full measure and an atom then come to Paradise at differing degrees. One whose faith exceeds a measure is in the highest ʿIlliyyīn, above these; the people of the highest degrees rise above the people of ʿIlliyyīn as high as a star on heaven’s horizon. All of them

قَدِ اجْتَمَعَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ عَلَى تَفَاوُتِ مَقَامَاتٍ وَتَعَالِي دَرَجَاتٍ ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ خَيْرًا مِنْ أَلْفِ مِثْلِهِ إِلَّا الْإِنْسَانَ فَلَعَمْرِي إِنَّ قَلْبَ الْمُوقِنِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ قَلْبِ مُسْلِمٍ لِأَنَّ إِيمَانَهُ فَوْقَ مِائَةِ إِيمَانِ مُؤْمِنٍ وَعِلْمَهُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَضْعَافُ عِلْمِ مِائَةِ مُسْلِمٍ ، وَيُقَالُ إِنَّ وَاحِدًا مِنَ الْأَبْدَالِ الثَّلَاثِمِائَةِ قِيمَتُهُ قِيمَةُ ثَلَاثِمِائَةِ

qadi ijtamaʿa fī al-jannati ʿalā tafāwuti maqāmātin wataʿālī darajātin , warawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama laysa shayʾun khayran min ʾalfi mithlihi ʾillā al-ʾinsāna falaʿamrī ʾinna qalba al-mūqini khayrun min ʾalfi qalbi muslimin liʾanna ʾīmānahu fawqa miʾati ʾīmāni muʾminin waʿilmahu bi-allāhi taʿālā ʾaḍʿāfu ʿilmi miʾati muslimin , wayuqālu ʾinna wāḥidan mina al-ʾabdāli al-thalāthimiʾati qīmatuhu qīmatu thalāthimiʾati

are gathered in Paradise at differing stations and ascending degrees. We have related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, “Nothing is better than a thousand of its like except the human being.” By my life, the certain believer’s heart is better than a thousand Muslim hearts, because his faith exceeds a hundred believers’ faith and his knowledge of God Most High is many times the knowledge of a hundred Muslims. It is said that one of the three hundred abdāl has the value of three hundred

مُؤْمِنٍ ، وَكَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ يَقُولُ : يُعْطِي اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَعْضَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ بِوَزْنِ جَبَلِ أُحُدٍ وَيُعْطِي

muʾminin , wakāna ʾabū muḥammadin yaqūlu: yuʿṭī allāhu taʿālā baʿḍa al-muʾminīna mina al-ʾīmāni biwazni jabali ʾuḥudin wayuʿṭī

believers. Abū Muḥammad used to say, “God Most High gives some believers faith weighing as much as Mount Uḥud, and gives

بَعْضَهُمْ مِثْلَ ذَرَّةٍ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَأَنْتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 139 ، بِالْعُلُوِّ وَلَا نِهَايَةَ لِعُلُوِّ الْإِيمَانِ فَصَارَ عُلُوُّ كُلِّ قَلْبٍ عَلَى قَدْرِ إِيمَانِهِ وَلِذَلِكَ رَفَعَ الْعُلَمَاءَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ دَرَجَاتٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ ) ، فَفَسَّرَهَا ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَقَالَ :

baʿḍahum mithla dharratin , waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( waʾantumu al-ʾaʿlawna ʾin kuntum muʾminīna ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 139 , bi-al-ʿuluwwi walā nihāyata liʿuluwwi al-ʾīmāni faṣāra ʿuluwwu kulli qalbin ʿalā qadri ʾīmānihi walidhālika rafaʿa al-ʿulamāʾa ʿalā al-muʾminīna darajātin fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( yarfaʿi allāhu alladhīna ʾāmanū minkum walladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma darajātin ) , fafassarahā ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu faqāla:

some the like of an atom.” God Most High says, “You are the highest, if you are believers” (Āl ʿImrān 139), through elevation. There is no end to faith’s elevation, so each heart rises according to its faith. For this He raised scholars above believers by degrees in His exalted saying, “God raises those of you who believe and those given knowledge by degrees.” Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, explained it, saying:

( الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ ) الرُّومُ : 56 فَوْقَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِسَبْعِمِائَةِ دَرَجَةٍ بَيْنَ كُلِّ دَرَجَتَيْنِ كَمَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : أَكْثَرُ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ الْبُلْهُ وَعِلِّيُّونَ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ ، وَعَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : فَضْلُ الْعَالِمِ عَلَى الْعَابِدِ كَفَضْلِ الْقَمَرِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْكَوَاكِبِ . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي لَفْظٍ أَبْلَغَ مِنْ هَذَا كَفَضْلِي عَلَى أُمَّتِي ،

( alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma ) al-rūmu: 56 fawqa al-muʾminīna bisabʿimiʾati darajatin bayna kulli darajatayni kamā bayna al-samāʾi wa-al-ʾarḍi , wafī al-khabari: ʾaktharu ʾahli al-jannati al-bulhu waʿilliyyūna liʾūlī al-ʾalbābi , waʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: faḍlu al-ʿālimi ʿalā al-ʿābidi kafaḍli al-qamari ʿalā sāʾiri al-kawākibi. warawaynā fī lafẓin ʾablagha min hādhā kafaḍlī ʿalā ʾummatī ,

“Those who were given knowledge” (al-Rūm 56) are above the believers by seven hundred degrees, with the distance between each two degrees like that between heaven and earth. In the report: “Most of Paradise’s people are the simplehearted, while ʿIlliyyūn belongs to people of understanding.” From the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “The scholar’s superiority over the worshipper is like the moon’s superiority over the other stars.” We have related a still stronger wording: “Like my superiority over my community.”

فَالْمُوقِنُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعْلَى إِيمَانًا وَالْعَالِمُونَ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ أَرْفَعُ مَقَامًا ثُمَّ عَلَى قَدْرِ بَيَاضِ الْمَاءِ يَسْتَبِينُ مِنَ الْقِنْدِيلِ حُسْنُهُ وَصَفَاؤُهُ وَمِثْلُ هَذَا الْعَقْلُ فِي صِحَّتِهِ مِنَ الِاعْتِلَالِ وَصَفَائِهِ مِنْ كَدَرِ الْأَحْوَالِ وَالْأَمْوَالِ وَيَجْمَعُ ذَلِكَ كُلَّهُ الْقِنْدِيلُ وَهُوَ الْقَلْبُ ، فَعَلَى قَدْرِ رِقَّةِ الْقَلْبِ وَلُطْفِ جَوْهَرِهِ وَصَفَائِهِ مِنْ كَدَرِهِ وَحُسْنِ طَهَارَتِهِ عَنِ الْآثَارِ تَكُونُ هَذِهِ

fa-al-mūqinūna mina al-muʾminīna ʾaʿlā ʾīmānan wa-al-ʿālimūna mina al-mūqinīna ʾarfaʿu maqāman thumma ʿalā qadri bayāḍi al-māʾi yastabīnu mina al-qindīli ḥusnuhu waṣafāʾuhu wamithlu hādhā al-ʿaqlu fī ṣiḥḥatihi mina al-iʿtilāli waṣafāʾihi min kadari al-ʾaḥwāli wa-al-ʾamwāli wayajmaʿu dhālika kullahu al-qindīlu wahuwa al-qalbu , faʿalā qadri riqqati al-qalbi waluṭfi jawharihi waṣafāʾihi min kadarihi waḥusni ṭahāratihi ʿani al-ʾāthāri takūnu hādhihi

The certain among believers are higher in faith, and the knowledgeable among the certain are higher in station. Then, according to the water’s clearness, the lantern’s beauty and purity become apparent. Reason is like this in its freedom from disorder and its clarity from the turbidity of states and possessions. The lantern, which is the heart, gathers all of this. According to the heart’s tenderness, the delicacy of its substance, its freedom from turbidity, and its fine purification from traces, these

الْعُلُومُ فِيهِ وَالْأَنْوَارُ وَجَوْهَرُ الزُّجَاجَةِ فِي الصَّفَاءِ مُحْتَاجٌ إِلَى صَفَاءِ الْمَاءِ كَمَا أَنَّ صَفَاءَ الْمَاءِ مُحْتَاجٌ إِلَى صَفَاءِ الْجَوْهَرِ وَبِمِعْيَارِهِمَا يَكُونُ الْقَلْبُ وَالْعَقْلُ وَوُقُودُ النُّورِ مُحْتَاجٌ إِلَى قُوَّةِ الْفَتِيلَةِ وَمَدَدِ الزَّيْتِ فَبِمَوْضِعِهَا فِي الْقُوَّةِ وَالْمَدَدِ يَكُونُ الْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالْيَقِينُ ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ وَكُلُّ قَلْبٍ اجْتَمَعَ فِيهِ ثَلَاثَةُ مَعَانٍ لَمْ يُفَارِقْهُ

al-ʿulūmu fīhi wa-al-ʾanwāru wajawharu al-zujājati fī al-ṣafāʾi muḥtājun ʾilā ṣafāʾi al-māʾi kamā ʾanna ṣafāʾa al-māʾi muḥtājun ʾilā ṣafāʾi al-jawhari wabimiʿyārihimā yakūnu al-qalbu wa-al-ʿaqlu wawuqūdu al-nūri muḥtājun ʾilā quwwati al-fatīlati wamadadi al-zayti fabimawḍiʿihā fī al-quwwati wa-al-madadi yakūnu al-ʿilmu bi-allāhi taʿālā wa-al-yaqīnu dhālika taqdīru al-ʿazīzi al-ʿalīmi wakullu qalbin ijtamaʿa fīhi thalāthatu maʿānin lam yufāriqhu

sciences and lights exist within it. The glass’s substance needs clear water for its clarity, just as the water’s clarity needs the clarity of the substance. Heart and reason correspond to their measure. The burning of the light needs the wick’s strength and the oil’s supply; knowledge of God Most High and certainty correspond to their position in strength and supply. That is the determination of the Mighty, the Knowing. Every heart in which three meanings come together is not abandoned by

خَوَاطِرُ الْهَوَى الْجَهْلُ وَالطَّمَعُ وَحُبُّ الدُّنْيَا ثُمَّ يَضْعُفُ خَاطِرُ الْهَوَى وَيَقْوَى عَلَى قَدْرِ تَمَكُّنِ هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثَةِ مِنَ النَّفْسِ وَحَقَائِقِهَا عَلَى مِثْلِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ تَمَكُّنِ خَوَاطِرِ الْيَقِينِ وَضَعْفِهَا لِوُجُودِ مَكَانِهَا وَهُوَ الْعِلْمُ وَالْإِيمَانُ وَالْعَقْلُ ، وَفِي الْقَلْبِ يَظْهَرُ سُلْطَانُ ذَلِكَ أَجْمَعَ فَأَيُّ جُنْدٍ كَانَتِ الْمَشِيئَةُ مَعَهُ غَلَبَ ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَّ لِلَّهِ فِي أَرْضِهِ آنِيَةً

khawāṭiru al-haw al-jahlu wa-al-ṭamaʿu waḥubbu al-dunyā thumma yaḍʿufu khāṭiru al-haw wayaqwā ʿalā qadri tamakkuni hādhihi al-thalāthati mina al-nafsi waḥaqāʾiqihā ʿalā mithli mā dhakarnāhu min tamakkuni khawāṭiri al-yaqīni waḍaʿfihā liwujūdi makānihā wahuwa al-ʿilmu wa-al-ʾīmānu wa-al-ʿaqlu , wafī al-qalbi yaẓharu sulṭānu dhālika ʾajmaʿa faʾayyu jundin kānati al-mashīʾatu maʿahu ghalaba , warawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾanna lillāhi fī ʾarḍihi ʾāniyatan

the promptings of desire: ignorance, greed, and love of this world. The prompting of desire weakens or strengthens according to how firmly these three and their realities are established in the self, just as we mentioned of the establishment and weakness of certainty’s promptings through the presence of their place, knowledge, faith, and reason. In the heart the authority of all this appears; whichever troop has the divine will with it prevails. We related from ʿAlī, peace be upon him, “God has vessels on His earth,

وَهِيَ الْقُلُوبُ فَأَحَبُّهَا إِلَيْهِ أَرَقُّهَا وَأَصْفَاهَا وَأَصْلَبُهَا ، ثُمَّ فَسَّرَهُ فَقَالَ : أَصْلَبُهَا فِي الدِّينِ وَأَصْفَاهَا فِي الْيَقِينِ وَأَرَقُّهَا عَلَى الْإِخْوَانِ فَمَثَلُ الْقُلُوبِ مَثَلُ الْأَوَانِي فِي تَقَارُبِ جَوْهَرِهَا ، فَأَرَقُّهَا وَأَصْفَاهَا وَأَعْلَاهَا يَصْلُحُ لِلْمَلِكِ وَالْوَجْهِ وَالطِّيبِ ، وَأَكْثَفُهَا وَأَرْدَاهَا يَصْلُحُ لِلْأَدْنَاسِ ، وَمَا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ يَصْلُحُ لِمَا بَيْنَهُمَا ،

wahiya al-qulūbu faʾaḥabbuhā ʾilayhi ʾaraqquhā waʾaṣfāhā waʾaṣlabuhā , thumma fassarahu faqāla: ʾaṣlabuhā fī al-dīni waʾaṣfāhā fī al-yaqīni waʾaraqquhā ʿalā al-ʾikhwāni famathalu al-qulūbi mathalu al-ʾawānī fī taqārubi jawharihā , faʾaraqquhā waʾaṣfāhā waʾaʿlāhā yaṣluḥu lilmaliki wa-al-wajhi wa-al-ṭībi , waʾakthafuhā waʾardāhā yaṣluḥu lilʾadnāsi , wamā bayna dhālika yaṣluḥu limā baynahumā ,

namely hearts. Dearest to Him are the tenderest, clearest, and firmest.” Then he explained: “Firmest in religion, clearest in certainty, and tenderest toward the brothers.” Hearts resemble vessels in the comparable nature of their substance. The finest, clearest, and highest are suited to the king, the face, and perfume; the thickest and poorest are suited to impurities. Those in between suit what lies between the two.

وَمِثْلُهُمَا أَيْضًا مِثْلُ الْمَوَازِينِ الطَّيَّارِ اللَّطِيفِ وَالْمِعْيَارِ يَصْلُحُ لِوَزْنِ الذَّهَبِ بِالتَّحْرِيرِ وَالْمِعْيَارِ وَالْكَثِيفِ الْجَافِي يَصْلُحُ لِلْقَتِّ وَالْأَنْعَامِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا يَصْلُحُ لِمَا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ فَيُوزَنُ بِكُلِّ مِيزَانٍ مَا يَصْلُحُ لَهُ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مَوْزُونٍ كَمَا يُجْعَلُ فِي كُلِّ إِنَاءٍ مَا يَلِيقُ بِهِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مَرْذُولٍ أَوْ مَصُونٍ ، كَذَلِكَ الْحُكْمُ وَ الْحِكْمَةُ فِي الْمَلَكُوتِ الْبَاطِنِ كَالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْحُكْمِ

wamithluhumā ʾayḍan mithlu al-mawāzīni al-ṭayyāri al-laṭīfi wa-al-miʿyāri yaṣluḥu liwazni al-dhahabi bi-al-taḥrīri wa-al-miʿyāri wa-al-kathīfi al-jāfī yaṣluḥu lilqatti wa-al-ʾanʿāmi wamā baynahumā yaṣluḥu limā bayna dhālika fayūzanu bikulli mīzānin mā yaṣluḥu lahu min kulli shayʾin mawzūnin kamā yujʿalu fī kulli ʾināʾin mā yalīqu bihi min kulli shayʾin mardhūlin ʾaw maṣūnin , kadhālika al-ḥukmu wa al-ḥikmatu fī al-malakūti al-bāṭini ka-al-ḥikmati wa-al-ḥukmi

Their likeness is also that of balances: the sensitive, fine balance and standard suit the weighing of gold with precision and measurement; the coarse, rough balance suits fodder and livestock. What lies between suits things between these. Each balance weighs what suits it of everything weighed, just as every vessel receives what befits it of everything despised or treasured. Likewise judgment and wisdom in the inward kingdom are like wisdom and judgment

فِي الْمَلَكُوتِ الظَّاهِرِ بِتَعْدِيلِ الظَّاهِرِ الْبَاطِنِ ، وَفِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ الْمِصْبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍ ) النُّورُ : 35 ، فَسَّرَهُ أُبَيُّ بْنُ كَعْبٍ قَالَ : مَثَلُ نُورِ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ يَقْرَأُهُ قَالَ : فَقَلْبُ الْمُؤْمِنِ هُوَ الْمِشْكَاةُ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ ، فَكَلَامُهُ نُورٌ وَعَمَلُهُ نُورٌ وَيَتَقَلَّبُ فِي نُورٍ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :

fī al-malakūti al-ẓāhiri bitaʿdīli al-ẓāhiri al-bāṭini , wafī tafsīri qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( mathalu nūrihi kamishkātin fīhā miṣbāḥun al-miṣbāḥu fī zujājatin ) al-nūru: 35 , fassarahu ʾubayyu bnu kaʿbin qāla: mathalu nūri al-muʾmini wakadhālika kāna yaqraʾuhu qāla: faqalbu al-muʾmini huwa al-mishkātu fīhā miṣbāḥun , fakalāmuhu nūrun waʿamaluhu nūrun wayataqallabu fī nūrin , thumma qāla fī qawlihi taʿālā:

in the outward kingdom, through the Outward and Inward One’s proportioning. In explaining His saying, mighty and majestic, “The likeness of His light is a niche containing a lamp, the lamp within glass” (al-Nūr 35), Ubayy ibn Kaʿb said, “The likeness of the believer’s light,” and thus he used to recite it. He said, “The believer’s heart is the niche with a lamp in it. His speech is light, his deed is light, and he moves in light.” Then, concerning His exalted saying,

( أَوْ كَظُلُمَاتٍ فِي بَحْرٍ لُجِّيٍّ ) النُّورُ :

( ʾaw kaẓulumātin fī baḥrin lujjiyyin ) al-nūru:

“Or like darknesses in a deep sea” (al-Nūr

40 قَالَ قَلْبُ الْمُنَافِقِ فَكَلَامُهُ

40 qāla qalbu al-munāfiqi fakalāmuhu

40), he said: “The hypocrite’s heart. His speech

ظُلْمَةٌ وَعَمَلُهُ ظُلْمَةٌ وَيَتَقَلَّبُ فِي ظُلْمَةٍ وَكَانَ زَيْدُ بْنُ أَسْلَمَ يَقُولُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فِي لَوْحٍ مَحْفُوظٍ ) الْبُرُوجُ : 22 ، قَالَ قَلْبُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَقَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ مَثَلُ الْقَلْبِ وَالصَّدْرِ مَثَلُ الْعَرْشِ وَالْكُرْسِيِّ . وَرَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيْنَ اللَّهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ ؟ قَالَ : فِي قُلُوبِ عِبَادِهِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ،

ẓulmatun waʿamaluhu ẓulmatun wayataqallabu fī ẓulmatin wakāna zaydu bnu ʾaslama yaqūlu fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( fī lawḥin maḥfūẓin ) al-burūju: 22 , qāla qalbu al-muʾmini waqāla ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun mathalu al-qalbi wa-al-ṣadri mathalu al-ʿarshi wa-al-kursiyyi. warawaynā fī ḥadīthi ibni ʿumara qāla qīla yā rasūla allāhi ʾayna allāhu fī al-ʾarḍi ? qāla: fī qulūbi ʿibādihi al-muʾminīna ,

is darkness, his deed is darkness, and he moves in darkness.” Zayd ibn Aslam used to say concerning His exalted saying, “In a preserved tablet” (al-Burūj 22): “The believer’s heart.” Abū Muḥammad Sahl said, “The heart and breast are like the Throne and the Footstool.” We related in Ibn ʿUmar’s report that he said: it was asked, “Messenger of God, where is God on earth?” He replied, “In the hearts of His believing servants.”

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَأْثُورِ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَمْ يَسَعْنِي سَمَائِي وَلَا أَرْضِي وَوَسِعَنِي قَلْبُ عَبْدِيَ الْمُؤْمِنِ ، وَفِي بَعْضِهَا اللَّيِّنُ الْوَادِعُ فَاللَّيِّنُ يَعْنِي السَّهْلَ الرَّقِيقَ الْقَرِيبَ وَالْوَادِعُ يَعْنِي السَّاكِنَ الْمُطْمَئِنَّ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : مَا أُلْبِسَ الْعَبْدُ لِبْسَةً أَحْسَنَ مِنْ خُشُوعٍ فِي سَكِينَةٍ فَهَذِهِ لِبْسَةُ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَصِبْغَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِلْعَارِفِينَ ، وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ قِيلَ :

wafī al-khabari al-maʾthūri ʿani allāhi taʿālā lam yasaʿnī samāʾī walā ʾarḍī wawasiʿanī qalbu ʿabdiya al-muʾmini , wafī baʿḍihā al-layyinu al-wādiʿu fa-al-layyinu yaʿnī al-sahla al-raqīqa al-qarība wa-al-wādiʿu yaʿnī al-sākina al-muṭmaʾinna , wafī al-khabari: mā ʾulbisa al-ʿabdu libsatan ʾaḥsana min khushūʿin fī sakīnatin fahādhihi libsatu al-muttaqīna waṣibghatu allāhi taʿālā lilʿārifīna , wafī al-ḥadīthi qīla:

In the transmitted report from God Most High: “My heaven and My earth did not contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant contained Me.” In some versions: “the gentle, peaceful one.” Gentle means easy, tender, and approachable; peaceful means still and reassured. In the report: “The servant has been clothed in no garment finer than humility within tranquility.” This is the garment of the God-fearing and God Most High’s coloring of the knowers. In the report it was asked:

يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَنْ خَيْرُ النَّاسِ ؟ قَالَ : كُلُّ مُؤْمِنٍ مَخْمُومِ الْقَلْبِ ، ثُمَّ فَسَّرَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ : هُوَ التَّقِيُّ الَّذِي لَا غِشَّ فِيهِ وَلَا بَغْيَ وَلَا غِلَّ وَلَا حَسَدَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ ) الشُّعَرَاءُ : 89 أَيْ مِمَّا سِوَى اللَّهِ لَيْسَ فِيهِ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ وَفِي قَوْلِ أَهْلِ التَّفْسِيرِ :

yā rasūla allāhi man khayru al-nāsi ? qāla: kullu muʾminin makhmūmi al-qalbi , thumma fassarahu rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faqāla: huwa al-taqiyyu alladhī lā ghishsha fīhi walā baghya walā ghilla walā ḥasada , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna fī maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā: ( ʾillā man ʾatā allāha biqalbin salīmin ) al-shuʿarāʾu: 89 ʾay mimmā siwā allāhi laysa fīhi ghayru allāhi wafī qawli ʾahli al-tafsīri:

“Messenger of God, who is best among people?” He replied, “Every believer with a swept-clean heart.” Then God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, explained: “The God-fearing one, in whom there is no deceit, aggression, rancor, or envy.” One of the knowers said concerning His exalted saying, “Except one who comes to God with a sound heart” (al-Shuʿarāʾ 89): sound from everything besides God, with nothing other than God within it. According to the exegetes:

سَلِيمٌ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ وَالنِّفَاقِ ، وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : الشِّرْكُ فِي أُمَّتِي أَخْفَى مِنْ دَبِيبِ النَّمْلِ وَهَذَا لَا يَعْدَمُهُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَقَالَ : أَكْثَرُ مُنَافِقِي أُمَّتِي قُرَّاؤُهَا ، وَهَذَا لَا يَعْدَمُهُ الْعَابِدُونَ إِلَّا الْعَارِفِينَ ، وَمِنْ خَوَاطِرِ الْيَقِينِ مَا يَرِدُ بِشَيْءٍ لَا تَظْهَرُ دَلَائِلُهُ فِي الظَّاهِرِ لِخَفَائِهِ وَغُمُوضِ شَوَاهِدِهِ فَلَيْسَ يُعْلَمُ إِلَّا بِبَاطِنِ الْعِلْمِ

salīmun mina al-shirki wa-al-nifāqi , waqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-shirku fī ʾummatī ʾakhfā min dabībi al-namli wahādhā lā yaʿdamuhu al-muʾminūna ʾillā al-ṣiddīqīna waqāla: ʾaktharu munāfiqī ʾummatī qurrāʾuhā , wahādhā lā yaʿdamuhu al-ʿābidūna ʾillā al-ʿārifīna , wamin khawāṭiri al-yaqīni mā yaridu bishayʾin lā taẓharu dalāʾiluhu fī al-ẓāhiri likhafāʾihi waghumūḍi shawāhidihi falaysa yuʿlamu ʾillā bibāṭini al-ʿilmi

sound from association and hypocrisy. God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Association in my community is more hidden than the creeping of ants.” Believers are not free of this except the utterly truthful. He said, “Most of the hypocrites of my community are its reciters.” Worshippers are not free of this except the knowers. Among certainty’s promptings are those bringing something whose outward proofs do not appear because it is hidden and its witnesses obscure. It is known only through inward knowledge

وَغَامِضِ الْفَهْمِ وَالْغَوْصِ عَلَى لَطَائِفِ مَعَانِي التَّبْيِينِ وَبَاطِنِ الِاسْتِنْبَاطِ مِنْ فَهْمِ التَّنْزِيلِ وَتَعْلِيمِ التَّأْوِيلِ كَمَا قَالَ الْحَبِيبُ الْخَلِيلُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ : اللَّهُمَّ فَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّينِ وَعَلِّمْهُ التَّأْوِيلَ ، كَمَا قَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ : مَا عِنْدَنَا شَيْءٌ أَسَرَّهُ إِلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ سِوَى كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِلَّا أَنْ يُؤْتِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَبْدًا فَهْمًا

waghāmiḍi al-fahmi wa-al-ghawṣi ʿalā laṭāʾifi maʿānī al-tabyīni wabāṭini al-istinbāṭi min fahmi al-tanzīli wataʿlīmi al-taʾwīli kamā qāla al-ḥabību al-khalīlu rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama libni ʿabbāsin: allāhumma faqqihhu fī al-dīni waʿallimhu al-taʾwīla , kamā qāla ʿaliyyu bnu ʾabī ṭālibin: mā ʿindanā shayʾun ʾasarrahu ʾilaynā rasūlu allāhi siwā kitābi allāhi taʿālā ʾillā ʾan yuʾtiya allāhu taʿālā ʿabdan fahman

and subtle understanding, diving into the delicate meanings of elucidation and inward inference through understanding revelation and learning interpretation. As the Beloved, the Intimate Friend, God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said for Ibn ʿAbbās, “God, grant him understanding of religion and teach him interpretation.” Likewise ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib said, “We have nothing that God’s Messenger confided to us apart from God Most High’s Book, except that God Most High grants a servant understanding

فِي كِتَابِهِ ، وَكَمَا جَاءَ فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( يُؤْتِي الْحِكْمَةَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 269 قَالَ : الْفَهْمَ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ ، وَقَالَ أَصْدَقُ الْقَائِلِينَ : ( فَفَهَّمْنَاهَا سُلَيْمَانَ ) الْأَنْبِيَاءُ : 79 فَخَصَّهُ بِفَهْمٍ مِنْهُ زَادَهُ بِهِ فَوْقَ الْحُكْمِ وَالْعِلْمِ الَّذِي شَرِكَ فِيهِ أَبَاهُ فَزَادَهُ عَلَى فُتْيَا أَبِيهِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي الْحَدِيثِ الطَّوِيلِ الَّذِي يَقُولُ فِيهِ :

fī kitābihi , wakamā jāʾa fī tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā: ( yuʾtī al-ḥikmata man yashāʾu ) al-baqaratu: 269 qāla: al-fahma fī kitābi allāhi , waqāla ʾaṣdaqu al-qāʾilīna: ( fafahhamnāhā sulaymāna ) al-ʾanbiyāʾu: 79 fakhaṣṣahu bifahmin minhu zādahu bihi fawqa al-ḥukmi wa-al-ʿilmi alladhī sharika fīhi ʾabāhu fazādahu ʿalā futyā ʾabīhi. warawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin ʿalayhi al-salāmu fī al-ḥadīthi al-ṭawīli alladhī yaqūlu fīhi:

in His Book.” As is reported in explanation of His exalted saying, “He gives wisdom to whom He wills” (al-Baqara 269): “Understanding of God’s Book.” The Truest of speakers says, “We gave Solomon understanding of it” (al-Anbiyāʾ 79). He singled him out for understanding from Him, increasing him thereby beyond the judgment and knowledge he shared with his father, and thus beyond his father’s ruling. We related from ʿAlī, peace be upon him, in the long report in which he says:

وَالْيَقِينُ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ شُعَبٍ ، عَلَى تَبْصِرَةِ الْفِطْنَةِ ، وَتَأْوِيلِ الْحِكْمَةِ ، وَمَوْعِظَةِ الْعِبْرَةِ ، وَسُنَّةِ الْأَوَّلِينَ ، فَمَنْ تَبَصَّرَ الْفِطْنَةَ تَأَوَّلَ الْحِكْمَةَ وَمَنْ تَأَوَّلَ الْحِكْمَةَ عَرَفَ الْعِبْرَةَ وَمَنْ عَرَفَ الْعِبْرَةَ كَانَ فِي الْأَوَّلِينَ إِلَّا أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْيَقِينِ الْمُرَادِينَ بِهِ الْعَارِفِينَ بِأَحْكَامِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْبَاطِنَةِ يَعْلَمُونَ تَفْصِيلَ خَوَاطِرِ الْيَقِينِ وَمُقْتَضَاهَا مِنْ حَيْثُ أُشْهِدُوا مَطْلَعَهَا مِنَ

wa-al-yaqīnu ʿalā ʾarbaʿi shuʿabin , ʿalā tabṣirati al-fiṭnati , wataʾwīli al-ḥikmati , wamawʿiẓati al-ʿibrati , wasunnati al-ʾawwalīna , faman tabaṣṣara al-fiṭnata taʾawwala al-ḥikmata waman taʾawwala al-ḥikmata ʿarafa al-ʿibrata waman ʿarafa al-ʿibrata kāna fī al-ʾawwalīna ʾillā ʾanna ʾahla al-yaqīni al-murādīna bihi al-ʿārifīna biʾaḥkāmi allāhi taʿālā al-bāṭinati yaʿlamūna tafṣīla khawāṭiri al-yaqīni wamuqtaḍāhā min ḥaythu ʾushhidū maṭlaʿahā mina

“Certainty rests upon four branches: perceptive discernment, the interpretation of wisdom, the admonition of lessons, and the practice of the first generations. Whoever sees with discernment interprets wisdom; whoever interprets wisdom knows the lesson; whoever knows the lesson is among the first generations.” Yet the people of certainty intended for it, who know God Most High’s inward rulings, know the detail of certainty’s promptings and what they require, through being made to witness their rising from

الْغَيْبِ وَبِحَيْثُ عَرَفُوا مُوجِبَهَا مِنَ الْوَصْفِ بِنُورِ اللَّهِ الثَّاقِبِ وَقُرْبِهِ الْحَاضِرِ وَسُلْطَانِهِ النَّافِذِ ، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : اتَّقُوا فِرَاسَةَ الْمُؤْمِنِ فَإِنَّهُ يَنْظُرُ بِنُورِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَيْ بِالْيَقِينِ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : اتَّقُوا فِرَاسَةَ الْعَالِمِ فَكَأَنَّهُ مُفَسِّرٌ لَهُ وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِلْمُتَوَسِّمِينَ ) الْحِجْرُ : 75 وَقَوْلُهُ :

al-ghaybi wabiḥaythu ʿarafū mūjibahā mina al-waṣfi binūri allāhi al-thāqibi waqurbihi al-ḥāḍiri wasulṭānihi al-nāfidhi , kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari: ittaqū firāsata al-muʾmini faʾinnahu yanẓuru binūri allāhi taʿālā ʾay bi-al-yaqīni , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: ittaqū firāsata al-ʿālimi fakaʾannahu mufassirun lahu waminhu qawluhu taʿālā: ( ʾinna fī dhālika laʾāyātin lilmutawassimīna ) al-ḥijru: 75 waqawluhu:

the unseen, and through knowing the attribute that necessitates them by God’s penetrating light, His present nearness, and His effective authority. As in the report: “Beware the believer’s discernment, for he looks with God Most High’s light,” meaning certainty. In another wording, “Beware the scholar’s discernment,” as though explaining the first. Of this kind are His exalted saying, “In this are signs for those who discern” (al-Ḥijr 75), and His saying:

( قَدْ بَيَّنَّا الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 118 أَيْ بِنُورِ الْيَقِينِ ، وَكَانَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ يَقُولُ :

( qad bayyannā al-ʾāyāti liqawmin yūqinūna ) al-baqaratu: 118 ʾay binūri al-yaqīni , wakāna ʾabū al-dardāʾi yaqūlu:

“We have made the signs clear for a people who are certain” (al-Baqara 118), that is, through certainty’s light. Abū al-Dardāʾ used to say:

الْمُؤْمِنُ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى الْغَيْبِ

al-muʾminu yanẓuru ʾilā al-ghaybi

“The believer looks into the unseen

مِنْ وَرَاءِ سِتْرٍ رَقِيقٍ وَاللَّهِ إِنَّهُ لَلْحَقُّ يَقْذِفُهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ وَيُجْرِيهِ عَلَى أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : ظَنُّ الْمُؤْمِنِ كَهَانَةٌ أَيْ كَأَنَّهُ سِحْرٌ مِنْ نَفَاذِهِ وَصِحَّةِ وُقُوعِهِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : يَدُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى أَفْوَاهِ الْحُكَمَاءِ لَا يَنْطِقُونَ إِلَّا بِمَا هَيَّأَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَهُمْ مِنَ الْحَقِّ ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ :

min warāʾi sitrin raqīqin wa-allāhi ʾinnahu lalḥaqqu yaqdhifuhu allāhu taʿālā fī qulūbihim wayujrīhi ʿalā ʾalsinatihim , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: ẓannu al-muʾmini kahānatun ʾay kaʾannahu siḥrun min nafādhihi waṣiḥḥati wuqūʿihi , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: yadu allāhi taʿālā ʿalā ʾafwāhi al-ḥukamāʾi lā yanṭiqūna ʾillā bimā hayyaʾa allāhu ʿazza wajalla lahum mina al-ḥaqqi , waqāla ʾākharu:

from behind a thin veil. By God, it is the truth that God Most High casts into their hearts and causes to flow upon their tongues.” One scholar said, “The believer’s supposition is divination,” that is, it is like magic in its penetration and accuracy. Another scholar said, “God Most High’s hand is upon the mouths of the wise; they speak only the truth God, mighty and majestic, has prepared for them.” Another said:

لَوْ شِئْتُ لَقُلْتُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُطْلِعُ الْخَاشِعِينَ عَلَى بَعْضِ سِرِّهِ ، وَكَتَبَ عُمَرُ ابْنُ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ إِلَى أُمَرَاءِ الْأَجْنَادِ : احْفَظُوا مَا تَسْمَعُونَ مِنَ الْمُتَعِظِينَ فَإِنَّهُمْ يَنْجَلِي لَهُمْ أُمُورٌ صَادِقَةٌ ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ قِيلًا ) النِّسَاءُ : 87 : ( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ تَتَّقُوا اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ فُرْقَانًا ) الْأَنْفَالُ :

law shiʾtu laqultu ʾinna allāha yuṭliʿu al-khāshiʿīna ʿalā baʿḍi sirrihi , wakataba ʿumaru ibnu al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾilā ʾumarāʾi al-ʾajnādi: iḥfaẓū mā tasmaʿūna mina al-mutaʿiẓīna faʾinnahum yanjalī lahum ʾumūrun ṣādiqatun , waqāla allāhu taʿālā: ( waman ʾaṣdaqu mina allāhi qīlan ) al-nisāʾu: 87: ( yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū ʾin tattaqū allāha yajʿal lakum furqānan ) al-ʾanfālu:

“If I wished, I could say that God discloses some of His secret to the humble.” ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may God be pleased with him, wrote to the army commanders, “Preserve what you hear from those who take admonition, for true matters become clear to them.” God Most High says, “Who is more truthful than God in speech?” (al-Nisāʾ 87), “O you who believe, if you fear God, He will give you a criterion” (al-Anfāl

29 قِيلَ نُورٌ تُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الشُّبُهَاتِ وَيَقِينٌ تُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ الْمُشْكِلَاتِ ، وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : ( وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا ) الطَّلَاقُ : 2 قِيلَ مَخْرَجًا مِنْ كُلِّ أَمْرٍ ضَاقَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ يُعَلِّمُهُ عِلْمًا بِغَيْرِ تَعْلِيمٍ وَيُفَطِّنُهُ بِغَيْرِ تَجْرِبَةٍ أَيْ بِالشَّاهِدِ الصَّحِيحِ وَالْحَقِّ الصَّرِيحِ ، وَمِثْلُهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى :

29 qīla nūrun tufarriqūna bihi bayna al-shubuhāti wayaqīnun tufarriqūna bihi al-mushkilāti , wamin hādhā qawluhu subḥānahu wataʿālā: ( waman yattaqi allāha yajʿal lahu makhrajan ) al-ṭalāqu: 2 qīla makhrajan min kulli ʾamrin ḍāqa ʿalā al-nāsi wayarzuqhu min ḥaythu lā yaḥtasibu yuʿallimuhu ʿilman bighayri taʿlīmin wayufaṭṭinuhu bighayri tajribatin ʾay bi-al-shāhidi al-ṣaḥīḥi wa-al-ḥaqqi al-ṣarīḥi , wamithluhu qawluhu taʿālā:

29). It is said: a light through which you distinguish doubtful matters and a certainty through which you separate difficulties. Of this kind is His saying, glorified and exalted, “Whoever fears God, He makes a way out for him” (al-Ṭalāq 2), explained as a way out of every matter that constricts people. “He provides for him from where he does not expect”: He teaches him knowledge without instruction and gives him insight without experience, through the sound witness and explicit truth. Similar is His exalted saying:

( وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 69 قِيلَ : الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ بِمَا يَعْلَمُونَ ، قَالَ يُوَفِّقُهُمْ وَيَهْدِيهِمْ إِلَى مَا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ حَتَّى يَكُونُوا عُلَمَاءَ حُكَمَاءَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : نَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ فِي الْمُتَعَبِّدِينَ الْمُنْقَطِعِينَ إِلَى اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى الْمُسْتَوْحِشِينَ مِنَ النَّاسِ فَيَسُوقُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِمْ مَنْ يُعَلِّمُهُمْ أَوْ يُلْهِمُهُمُ التَّوْفِيقَ

( walladhīna jāhadū fīnā lanahdiyannahum subulanā ) al-ʿankabūtu: 69 qīla: alladhīna yaʿmalūna bimā yaʿlamūna , qāla yuwaffiquhum wayahdīhim ʾilā mā lā yaʿlamūna ḥattā yakūnū ʿulamāʾa ḥukamāʾa , waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: nazalat hādhihi al-ʾāyatu fī al-mutaʿabbidīna al-munqaṭiʿīna ʾilā allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā al-mustawḥishīna mina al-nāsi fayasūqu allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhim man yuʿallimuhum ʾaw yulhimuhumu al-tawfīqa

“Those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them to Our ways” (al-ʿAnkabūt 69). It is said: those who act according to what they know. He said: He enables and guides them to what they do not know, until they become learned and wise. One of the early generations said, “This verse was revealed concerning worshippers devoted wholly to God, glorified and exalted, who feel estranged from people. God Most High brings them someone to teach them, or inspires them with enabling

وَالْعِصْمَةَ . وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : مَنْ عَمِلَ بِمَا يَعْلَمُ أَوْرَثَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عِلْمَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ وَوَفَّقَهُ فِيمَا يَعْمَلُ حَتَّى يَسْتَوْجِبَ الْجَنَّةَ ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَعْمَلْ بِمَا يَعْلَمُ تَاهَ فِيمَا يَعْلَمُ وَلَمْ يُوَفَّقْ فِيمَا يَعْمَلُ حَتَّى يَسْتَوْجِبَ النَّارَ ، فَمَعْنَى أَوْرَثَهُ عِلْمَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ أَيْ مِنْ عُلُومِ الْمَعَارِفِ الَّتِي هِيَ مَوَارِيثُ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ مِثْلَ الْفَرْقِ بَيْنَ الِاخْتِبَارِ وَالِاخْتِيَارِ وَالِابْتِلَاءِ

wa-al-ʿiṣmata. wafī al-khabari: man ʿamila bimā yaʿlamu ʾawrathahu allāhu taʿālā ʿilma mā lam yaʿlam wawaffaqahu fīmā yaʿmalu ḥattā yastawjiba al-jannata , waman lam yaʿmal bimā yaʿlamu tāha fīmā yaʿlamu walam yuwaffaq fīmā yaʿmalu ḥattā yastawjiba al-nāra , famaʿnā ʾawrathahu ʿilma mā lam yaʿlam ʾay min ʿulūmi al-maʿārifi allatī hiya mawārīthu ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi mithla al-farqi bayna al-ikhtibāri wa-al-ikhtiyāri wa-al-ibtilāʾi

and protection.” In the report: “Whoever acts according to what he knows, God Most High bequeaths him knowledge of what he did not know and enables him in what he does until he merits Paradise. Whoever does not act according to what he knows becomes lost in what he knows and is not enabled in what he does until he merits the Fire.” “He bequeaths him knowledge of what he did not know” means the sciences of inward knowledge that are inherited from the heart’s deeds: such as distinguishing testing from choosing, affliction

وَالِاجْتِبَاءِ وَالْمَثُوبَةِ وَالْعُقُوبَةِ وَمَعْرِفَةِ النَّقْصِ مِنَ الْمَزِيدِ وَالْقَبْضِ وَالْبَسْطِ وَالْحَلِّ وَالْعَقْدِ وَالْجَمْعِ وَالتَّفْرِقَةِ إِلَى غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عُلُومِ الْعَارِفِينَ بَعْدَ حُسْنِ التَّفَقُّهِ وَالْأَدَبِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الرَّقِيبِ وَالْقُرْبِ لِصِحَّةِ الْمَوَاجِيدِ وَالْقُلُوبِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ التَّابِعِينَ : مَنْ عَمِلَ بِعُشْرِ مَا يَعْلَمُ عَلَّمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَا يَجْهَلُ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ :

wa-al-ijtibāʾi wa-al-mathūbati wa-al-ʿuqūbati wamaʿrifati al-naqṣi mina al-mazīdi wa-al-qabḍi wa-al-basṭi wa-al-ḥalli wa-al-ʿaqdi wa-al-jamʿi wa-al-tafriqati ʾilā ghayri dhālika min ʿulūmi al-ʿārifīna baʿda ḥusni al-tafaqquhi wa-al-ʾadabi ʿan mushāhadati al-raqībi wa-al-qurbi liṣiḥḥati al-mawājīdi wa-al-qulūbi , waqāla baʿḍu al-tābiʿīna: man ʿamila biʿushri mā yaʿlamu ʿallamahu allāhu taʿālā mā yajhalu , waqad qāla ḥudhayfatu:

from election, reward from punishment, and knowing decrease as distinct from increase, contraction and expansion, loosening and binding, gathering and separation, and other sciences of the knowers, following fine understanding and proper conduct through witnessing the Watcher and nearness, for the soundness of spiritual findings and hearts. One of the Successors said, “Whoever acts on a tenth of what he knows, God Most High teaches him what he does not know.” Ḥudhayfa said:

أَنْتُمْ الْيَوْمَ فِي زَمَانٍ مَنْ تَرَكَ عُشْرَ مَا يَعْلَمُ هَلَكَ وَسَيَأْتِي بَعْدَكُمْ زَمَانٌ مَنْ عَمِلَ بِعُشْرِ مَا يَعْلَمُ نَجَا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : كُلَّمَا ازْدَادَ الْعَبْدُ عِبَادَةً وَاجْتِهَادًا ازْدَادَ الْقَلْبُ قُوَّةً وَنَشَاطًا ، وَكُلَّمَا مَلَّ الْعَبْدُ وَفَتَرَ ازْدَادَ الْقَلْبُ ضَعْفًا وَوَهَنًا ، وَلَيْسَ يَكَادُ عِلْمُ الْيَقِينِ يَقْدَحُ فِي مَعْدِنِ الْعَقْلِ لِأَنَّ عُلُومَ الْعَقْلِ مَخْلُوقَاتٌ وَلَا يَكَادُ يُنْتِجُهُ الْفِكْرُ وَلَا يُخْرِجُهُ

ʾantum al-yawma fī zamānin man taraka ʿushra mā yaʿlamu halaka wasayaʾtī baʿdakum zamānun man ʿamila biʿushri mā yaʿlamu najā , waqāla baʿḍuhum: kullamā izdāda al-ʿabdu ʿibādatan wajtihādan izdāda al-qalbu quwwatan wanashāṭan , wakullamā malla al-ʿabdu wafatara izdāda al-qalbu ḍaʿfan wawahanan , walaysa yakādu ʿilmu al-yaqīni yaqdaḥu fī maʿdini al-ʿaqli liʾanna ʿulūma al-ʿaqli makhlūqātun walā yakādu yuntijuhu al-fikru walā yukhrijuhu

“Today you are in a time when whoever abandons a tenth of what he knows perishes. After you will come a time when whoever acts on a tenth of what he knows is saved.” Another said, “Whenever the servant increases in worship and striving, the heart increases in strength and vigor; whenever the servant grows weary and slackens, the heart increases in weakness and frailty.” The knowledge of certainty scarcely strikes its spark in reason’s substance, because rational sciences are created things. Thought scarcely produces it, nor does

التَّدَبُّرُ فَمَا أَنْتَجَتْهُ الْأَفْكَارُ وَاسْتَخْرَجَتْهُ الْفِطْرَةُ مِنَ الْخَوَاطِرِ وَالْعُلُومِ فَتِلْكَ عُلُومُ الْعَقْلِ وَهِيَ كُشُوفُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَمَحْمُودَاتٌ لِأَهْلِ الدِّينِ فَأَمَّا خَاطِرُ الْيَقِينِ فَإِنَّهُ يَظْهَرُ مِنْ عَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ يُنَادِي بِهِ الْعَبْدَ مُنَادَاةً وَيَبْغَتُهُ مُفَاجَأَةً لِأَنَّهُ مَخْصُوصٌ بِهِ مُرَادٌ مَقْصُودٌ بِهِ مَحْبُوبٌ مُتَوَلًّى بِهِ مَطْلُوبٌ لَا يَجِدُهُ إِلَّا عَارِفٌ أَوْ خَائِفٌ أَوْ مُحِبٌّ وَمَنْ سِوَى هَؤُلَاءِ فَبِحَالِهِ

al-tadabburu famā ʾantajathu al-ʾafkāru wastakhrajathu al-fiṭratu mina al-khawāṭiri wa-al-ʿulūmi fatilka ʿulūmu al-ʿaqli wahiya kushūfu al-muʾminīna wamaḥmūdātun liʾahli al-dīni faʾammā khāṭiru al-yaqīni faʾinnahu yaẓharu min ʿayni al-yaqīni yunādī bihi al-ʿabda munādātan wayabghatuhu mufājaʾatan liʾannahu makhṣūṣun bihi murādun maqṣūdun bihi maḥbūbun mutawallan bihi maṭlūbun lā yajiduhu ʾillā ʿārifun ʾaw khāʾifun ʾaw muḥibbun waman siwā hāʾulāʾi fabiḥālihi

reflection bring it forth. Whatever thoughts produce and innate nature draws out of promptings and sciences are reason’s sciences, believers’ unveilings, and things praiseworthy for people of religion. As for certainty’s prompting, it appears from certainty’s very eye, calling to the servant with a call and surprising him suddenly, because he is singled out for it, desired, intended by it, beloved, cared for through it, and sought. Only a knower, one who fears, or a lover experiences it. Anyone besides these is, by his state,

مَحْجُوبٌ وَبِعَادَاتِهِ مَطْلُوبٌ وَإِلَى مَقَامِهِ نَاظِرٌ وَفِي طَرِيقِهِ بِمَعْقُولِهِ سَائِرٌ فَأَمَّا الْعَارِفُونَ الْمُوَاجَهُونَ بِعَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ الْمُكَاشَفُونَ بِعِلْمِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ فَإِنَّهُمْ مُسَيَّرُونَ

maḥjūbun wabiʿādātihi maṭlūbun waʾilā maqāmihi nāẓirun wafī ṭarīqihi bimaʿqūlihi sāʾirun faʾammā al-ʿārifūna al-muwājahūna biʿayni al-yaqīni al-mukāshafūna biʿilmi al-ṣiddīqīna faʾinnahum musayyarūna

veiled, pursued by his habits, looking toward his station, and traveling his path through what he understands. As for the knowers who are brought face to face with certainty’s eye and granted unveiling through the knowledge of the utterly truthful, they are made to travel,

مَحْمُولُونَ سَابِقُونَ مُسْتَهْتَرُونَ قَدْ وَضَعَتِ الْأَذْكَارُ عَنْهُمُ الْأَوْزَارَ ، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : سِيرُوا سَبَقَ الْمُفْرَدُونَ بِالْفَتْحِ وَالْمُفْرِدُونَ أَيْضًا بِالْكَسْرِ فَهُمْ مُفْرَدُونَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى بِمَا أَفْرَدَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى كَمَا قَالَ جَلَّ ذِكْرُهُ : ( حَافِظَاتٌ لِلْغَيْبِ بِمَا حَفِظَ اللَّهُ ) النِّسَاءُ : 34 ، قِيلَ : وَمَنِ الْمُفْرَدُونَ ؟ قَالَ :

maḥmūlūna sābiqūna mustahtarūna qad waḍaʿati al-ʾadhkāru ʿanhumu al-ʾawzāra , kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari: sīrū sabaqa al-mufradūna bi-al-fatḥi wa-al-mufridūna ʾayḍan bi-al-kasri fahum mufradūna lillāhi taʿālā bimā ʾafradahumu allāhu taʿālā kamā qāla jalla dhikruhu: ( ḥāfiẓātun lilghaybi bimā ḥafiẓa allāhu ) al-nisāʾu: 34 , qīla: wamani al-mufradūna ? qāla:

carried, foremost, wholly absorbed: remembrances have removed their burdens. As in the report, “Travel on: those set apart have gone ahead.” Mufradūn is read with a fatḥa, and mufridūn also with a kasra. They are set apart for God Most High through His setting them apart, as He, exalted be His remembrance, says, “Guarding the unseen through what God has guarded” (al-Nisāʾ 34). It was asked, “Who are those set apart?” He said:

الْمُسْتَهْتَرُونَ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَضَعَ الذِّكْرُ أَوْزَارَهُمْ فَوَرَدُوا الْقِيَامَةَ خِفَافًا ، فَلَمَّا أَفْرَدَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِمَّنْ سِوَاهُمْ لَهُ أَفْرَدُوهُ عَمَّا سِوَاهُ بِهِ فَذَكَرَهُمْ فَاسْتَوْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ ذِكْرُهُ فَاصْطَلَمَ قُلُوبَهُمْ نُورُهُ تَعَالَى فَانْدَرَجَ ذِكْرُهُمْ فِي ذِكْرِهِ فَكَانَ هُوَ الذَّاكِرَ لَهُمْ وَكَانُوا هُمُ الْمَكَانَ لِمَجَارِي قُدْرَتِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَلَا يُوزَنُ مِقْدَارُ هَذَا الذِّكْرِ وَلَا يُكْتَبُ كَيْفِيَّةُ هَذَا الْبِرِّ فَلَوْ

al-mustahtarūna bidhikri allāhi waḍaʿa al-dhikru ʾawzārahum fawaradū al-qiyāmata khifāfan , falammā ʾafradahumu allāhu taʿālā mimman siwāhum lahu ʾafradūhu ʿammā siwāhu bihi fadhakarahum fastawlā ʿalayhim dhikruhu faṣṭalama qulūbahum nūruhu taʿālā fandaraja dhikruhum fī dhikrihi fakāna huwa al-dhākira lahum wakānū humu al-makāna limajārī qudratihi ʿazza wajalla falā yūzanu miqdāru hādhā al-dhikri walā yuktabu kayfiyyatu hādhā al-birri falaw

“Those wholly absorbed in God’s remembrance. Remembrance has removed their burdens, and they arrive at the Resurrection light.” When God Most High singled them out from others for Himself, through Him they singled Him out from everything besides Him. He remembered them, and His remembrance took possession of them; His exalted light seized their hearts, and their remembrance was enfolded in His remembrance. He was the One remembering them, and they were the place for the courses of His power, mighty and majestic. The measure of this remembrance is not weighed, nor is the manner of this righteousness written. If

وُضِعَتِ السَّمَوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ فِي كَفَّةٍ لَرَجَحَ ذِكْرُهُ تَعَالَى لَهُمْ بِهِمَا وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمْ فَتَرَى مَنْ وَاجَهْتُهُ بِوَجْهِي يَعْلَمُ أَحَدٌ أَيَّ شَيْءٍ أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُعْطِيَهُ لَوْ كَانَتِ السَّمَوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ فِي مَوَازِينِهِمْ لَاسْتَقْلَلْتُهَا لَهُمْ أَوَّلَ مَا أُعْطِيهِمْ أَنْ أَقْذِفَ مِنْ نُورِي فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ فَيُخْبِرُونَ عَنِّي كَمَا أُخْبِرُ عَنْهُمْ وَهَذَا هُوَ ظَاهِرُ أَوْصَافِهِمْ وَأَوَّلُ عَطَايَاهُمْ فَطَلَبُ هَؤُلَاءِ لَا يُعْرَفُ وَنَصِيبُهُمْ

wuḍiʿati al-samawātu wa-al-ʾarḍu fī kaffatin larajaḥa dhikruhu taʿālā lahum bihimā wahumu alladhīna qāla lahum fatarā man wājahtuhu biwajhī yaʿlamu ʾaḥadun ʾayya shayʾin ʾurīdu ʾan ʾuʿṭiyahu law kānati al-samawātu wa-al-ʾarḍu fī mawāzīnihim lastaqlaltuhā lahum ʾawwala mā ʾuʿṭīhim ʾan ʾaqdhifa min nūrī fī qulūbihim fayukhbirūna ʿannī kamā ʾukhbiru ʿanhum wahādhā huwa ẓāhiru ʾawṣāfihim waʾawwalu ʿaṭāyāhum faṭalabu hāʾulāʾi lā yuʿrafu wanaṣībuhum

the heavens and earth were placed in one pan, His exalted remembrance of them would outweigh both. These are the people to whom He said, “Do you suppose anyone knows what I intend to give one whom I have faced with My face? If the heavens and earth were in their balances, I would consider them too little for them. The first thing I give them is to cast My light into their hearts, so they report from Me as I report of them.” These are only their outward qualities and their first gifts. Their seeking is not known, and their share

لَا يُكَيَّفُ وَمَطْلُوبُهُمْ كُنْهُ قَدْرِهِ لَا يُوصَفُ عَطَاؤُهُمْ غَيْرُ مَخْلُوقٍ وَمُشَاهَدَتُهُمْ وَصْفُ التَّحْقِيقِ بِعَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ إِلَى حَقِّ الْيَقِينِ فَأَوَّلُ نَصِيبِهِمْ مِنْ مَطْلُوبِهِمْ عِلْمُ الْيَقِينِ وَهُوَ صَفَاءُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَآخِرُ عِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ أَوَّلُ عَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ وَهُوَ مُشَاهَدَةُ وَصْفِ مَعْرُوفٍ وَهَذِهِ وِجْهَةُ التَّوْحِيدِ وَلَا آخِرَ لِأَوَّلِ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَلَا انْقِطَاعَ لِآخِرِ نَصِيبِهِمْ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَتِهِمْ ،

lā yukayyafu wamaṭlūbuhum kunhu qadrihi lā yūṣafu ʿaṭāʾuhum ghayru makhlūqin wamushāhadatuhum waṣfu al-taḥqīqi biʿayni al-yaqīni ʾilā ḥaqqi al-yaqīni faʾawwalu naṣībihim min maṭlūbihim ʿilmu al-yaqīni wahuwa ṣafāʾu al-maʿrifati bi-allāhi taʿālā waʾākhiru ʿilmi al-ʾīmāni ʾawwalu ʿayni al-yaqīni wahuwa mushāhadatu waṣfi maʿrūfin wahādhihi wijhatu al-tawḥīdi walā ʾākhira liʾawwali ʿilmi al-yaqīni walā inqiṭāʿa liʾākhiri naṣībihim min mushāhadatihim ,

cannot be assigned a manner; the full measure of what they seek cannot be described. Their gift is uncreated, and their witnessing is the quality of realization through the eye of certainty unto the truth of certainty. Their first share of what they seek is the knowledge of certainty, the purity of knowing God Most High. The end of the knowledge of faith is the beginning of the eye of certainty, witnessing the attribute of One known. This is the direction of affirming oneness. There is no end to the beginning of the knowledge of certainty, nor any cessation to their final share of witnessing.

فَظَاهِرُ التَّوْحِيدِ تَوْحِيدُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَتَوْحِيدُهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَمُشَاهَدَةُ إِيجَادِهِ قَبْلَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَلَا نِهَايَةَ لِعِلْمِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَلَا غَايَةَ لِمَزِيدِ عَطَاءِ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ وَلَكِنْ لَهُمْ نِهَايَاتٌ يُوقَفُونَ تَحْتَهَا وَغَايَاتٌ يَصْدُرُونَ عَنْهَا تُجْعَلُ أَمَاكِنَ لِمَزِيدِهِمْ وَيَزْدَادُونَ فِي وُسْعِهَا وَيُمَدُّونَ بِعُلُومٍ يَطْلُبُونَ بِهَا مَا يُكَاشَفُونَ بِهِ لِمَا وَرَاءَهَا أَبَدًا لَا بَدِيلًا آخَرَ وَلَا أَمَدَ وَلَا

faẓāhiru al-tawḥīdi tawḥīdu allāhi taʿālā fī kulli shayʾin watawḥīduhu bikulli shayʾin wamushāhadatu ʾījādihi qabla kulli shayʾin walā nihāyata liʿilmi al-tawḥīdi walā ghāyata limazīdi ʿaṭāʾi al-muwaḥḥidīna walakin lahum nihāyātun yūqafūna taḥtahā waghāyātun yaṣdurūna ʿanhā tujʿalu ʾamākina limazīdihim wayazdādūna fī wusʿihā wayumaddūna biʿulūmin yaṭlubūna bihā mā yukāshafūna bihi limā warāʾahā ʾabadan lā badīlan ʾākhara walā ʾamada walā

The outward aspect of affirming oneness is affirming God Most High’s oneness in everything and through everything, and witnessing His bringing into being before everything. There is no end to the knowledge of oneness, nor any limit to the increased gift of those who affirm it. Yet they have limits beneath which they are made to stand and goals from which they proceed; these become places for their increase, and they increase within their capacity. They are supplied with sciences through which they seek what is unveiled to them of what lies beyond, forever, with no other substitute and no term. The servant does not

يَصِلُ الْعَبْدُ إِلَى مُشَاهَدَةِ عِلْمِ التَّوْحِيدِ إِلَّا بِعِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَهُوَ نُورُ الْيَقِينِ وَلَا يُعْطَى نُورَ الْيَقِينِ حَتَّى تُمْخَضَ الْجَوَارِحُ بِالْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَاتِ ، كَمَا يُمْخَضُ الزِّقُّ بِاللَّبَنِ حَتَّى تَظْهَرَ الزُّبْدَةُ ، وَهِيَ الْيَقِينُ ، وَلَيْسَتْ هَذِهِ الزُّبْدَةُ غَايَةَ الطَّالِبِينَ وَلَا بُغْيَةَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ لِأَنَّ وَرَاءَهَا صَفْوَهَا وَخَالِصَهَا ثُمَّ تُذَابُ هَذِهِ الزُّبْدَةُ حَتَّى يَخْلُصَ سَمْنُهَا وَهُوَ صَفْوُهَا وَنِهَايَتُهَا

yaṣilu al-ʿabdu ʾilā mushāhadati ʿilmi al-tawḥīdi ʾillā biʿilmi al-maʿrifati wahuwa nūru al-yaqīni walā yuʿṭā nūra al-yaqīni ḥattā tumkhaḍa al-jawāriḥu bi-al-ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥāti , kamā yumkhaḍu al-ziqqu bi-al-labani ḥattā taẓhara al-zubdatu , wahiya al-yaqīnu , walaysat hādhihi al-zubdatu ghāyata al-ṭālibīna walā bughyata al-ṣiddīqīna liʾanna warāʾahā ṣafwahā wakhāliṣahā thumma tudhābu hādhihi al-zubdatu ḥattā yakhluṣa samnuhā wahuwa ṣafwuhā wanihāyatuhā

reach the witnessing of the knowledge of oneness except through knowledge of God, which is certainty’s light. He is not given certainty’s light until the limbs are churned through righteous deeds, as the skin containing milk is churned until butter appears. That butter is certainty, yet it is not the seekers’ ultimate goal or what the utterly truthful seek, because beyond it lie its pure and refined parts. Then this butter is melted until its clarified butter is purified, its pure part and culmination.

وَهَذَا مَثَلٌ لِعَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ بَعْدَ عِلْمِهِ وَبَعْدَ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْوَجْهِ بِمِرْآةِ الْقُرْبِ وَهِيَ نُورُهُ فَحِينَئِذٍ لَا يُفَارِقُهُ وَجْدُهُ وَحُضُورُهُ فَيُرْفَعُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ خَوَاطِرِ الْيَقِينِ إِلَى مُشَاهَدَةِ الصِّفَاتِ بَعْدَ ذَوْبِ عِلْمِ الْخَوَاطِرِ يَتَجَوْهَرُ نُورُ شُعَاعِ وَجْهِ الذَّاتِ وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْإِحْسَانِ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ بَعْدَ مُجَاهَدَتِهِمُ النُّفُوسَ فِيهِ وَبَيْعِهَا مَعَ الْأَمْوَالِ مِنْهُ فَأَحْسَنَ إِلَيْهِمْ بِاشْتِرَائِهَا

wahādhā mathalun liʿayni al-yaqīni baʿda ʿilmihi wabaʿda mushāhadati al-wajhi bimirʾāti al-qurbi wahiya nūruhu faḥīnaʾidhin lā yufāriquhu wajduhu waḥuḍūruhu fayurfaʿu al-ʿabdu min khawāṭiri al-yaqīni ʾilā mushāhadati al-ṣifāti baʿda dhawbi ʿilmi al-khawāṭiri yatajawharu nūru shuʿāʿi wajhi al-dhāti wahādhā maqāmu al-ʾiḥsāni waʾinna allāha lamaʿa al-muḥsinīna baʿda mujāhadatihimu al-nufūsa fīhi wabayʿihā maʿa al-ʾamwāli minhu faʾaḥsana ʾilayhim bishtirāʾihā

This is the likeness of the eye of certainty after its knowledge and after witnessing the Face in the mirror of nearness, which is His light. At that point his finding and presence do not leave him. The servant is raised from certainty’s promptings to witnessing the attributes; after the knowledge of promptings melts, the light of the radiance of the Essence’s face becomes a jewel. This is the station of excellence, and God is with those who act with excellence, after their struggle against their selves in Him and their selling them, together with their wealth, to Him. He thus did good to them by purchasing them

مِنْهُمْ وَكَانَ مَعَهُمْ كَمَا قَالَ سَيَجْزِيهِمْ وَصْفَهُمْ فَإِنَّمَا كَانُوا مُحْسِنِينَ لِأَنَّ الْمُحْسِنَ مَعَهُمْ كَمَا كَانُوا أَعْلَيْنَ إِذِ الْأَعْلَى مَعَهُمْ فَقَدْ قَالَ : ( وَأَنْتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ وَاللَّهُ مَعَكُمْ ) مُحَمَّدٌ : 35 وَسُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الْإِحْسَانِ فَقَالَ : أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ ،

minhum wakāna maʿahum kamā qāla sayajzīhim waṣfahum faʾinnamā kānū muḥsinīna liʾanna al-muḥsina maʿahum kamā kānū ʾaʿlayna ʾidhi al-ʾaʿlā maʿahum faqad qāla: ( waʾantumu al-ʾaʿlawna wa-allāhu maʿakum ) muḥammadun: 35 wasuʾila rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿani al-ʾiḥsāni faqāla: ʾan taʿbuda allāha kaʾannaka tarāhu ,

from them and was with them, as He said: He will recompense them for their quality. They were people of excellence only because the Beneficent was with them, just as they were highest because the Most High was with them. He has said, “You are the highest, and God is with you” (Muḥammad 35). God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, was asked about excellence, and said, “That you worship God as though you see Him.”

وَيَنْتَقِلُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ وَهِيَ

wayantaqilu al-ʿabdu min ʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi wahiya

The servant passes from the deeds of the limbs, namely

الْمُجَاهَدَةُ الَّتِي طُرِحَ عَلَيْهِ ثِقْلُهَا فَحَمَلَهَا فَتَحَمَّلَ فِيمَا حُمِّلَ وَتَحَفَّظَ لَهُ مَا اسْتُحْفِظَ إِلَى عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَهُوَ الرَّوْحُ وَالرِّضَا وَهَذَا هُوَ هِدَايَةُ السَّبِيلِ ، وَأَوَّلُ هَذَا كُلِّهِ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْعَبْدُ بَعْدَ التَّوْبَةِ النَّصُوحَةِ فِي أَحْوَالِ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَأَعْمَالِ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ لِلنَّفْسِ وَالْعَدُوِّ ثُمَّ يَنْتَقِلُ إِلَى خَوَاطِرِ الْيَقِينِ فَهَذَا مِيرَاثُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ ، كَمَا قَالَ :

al-mujāhadatu allatī ṭuriḥa ʿalayhi thiqluhā faḥamalahā fataḥammala fīmā ḥummila wataḥaffaẓa lahu mā ustuḥfiẓa ʾilā ʿilmi al-yaqīni wahuwa al-rawḥu wa-al-riḍā wahādhā huwa hidāyatu al-sabīli , waʾawwalu hādhā kullihi ʾan yadkhula al-ʿabdu baʿda al-tawbati al-naṣūḥati fī ʾaḥwāli al-murīdīna waʾaʿmāli al-mujāhidīna li-l-nafsi wa-al-ʿaduwwi thumma yantaqilu ʾilā khawāṭiri al-yaqīni fahādhā mīrāthu al-mujāhidīna , kamā qāla:

striving, whose burden was laid upon him and which he bore, bearing what he was made to bear and guarding for Him what he was entrusted to guard, to the knowledge of certainty, which is rest and contentment. This is guidance along the way. The beginning of all this is that, after sincere repentance, the servant enters the states of seekers and the deeds of those who struggle against the self and enemy. Then he passes to certainty’s promptings, the inheritance of those who strive, as He says:

( وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 69 يَعْنِي نُفُوسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ وَجَاهَدُوا عَدُوَّهُمْ إِذْ يَعِدُهُمُ الْفَقْرَ وَيَأْمُرُهُمْ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ فَصَابَرَهُمْ فَغَلَبُوهُ فَبَاعُوا النُّفُوسَ وَالْأَمْوَالَ فَأُعْتِقُوا مِنْ رِقِّ الْهَوَى وَنَجَوْا مِنْ أَهْوَالِ الْحِسَابِ : ( لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 69 أَيْ لَنَطْرُقَنَّهُمْ إِلَى مُكَاشَفَاتِ الْعُلُومِ وَلَنُسْمِعَنَّهُمْ غَرَائِبَ الْفُهُومِ وَلَنُوصِلَنَّهُمْ إِلَى أَقْرَبِ الطُّرُقِ

( walladhīna jāhadū fīnā ) al-ʿankabūtu: 69 yaʿnī nufūsahum waʾamwālahum wajāhadū ʿaduwwahum ʾidh yaʿiduhumu al-faqra wayaʾmuruhum bi-al-faḥshāʾi faṣābarahum faghalabūhu fabāʿū al-nufūsa wa-al-ʾamwāla faʾuʿtiqū min riqqi al-haw wanajaw min ʾahwāli al-ḥisābi: ( lanahdiyannahum subulanā ) al-ʿankabūtu: 69 ʾay lanaṭruqannahum ʾilā mukāshafāti al-ʿulūmi walanusmiʿannahum gharāʾiba al-fuhūmi walanūṣilannahum ʾilā ʾaqrabi al-ṭuruqi

“Those who strive in Us” (al-ʿAnkabūt 69), meaning their selves and wealth, and struggle against their enemy when he threatens them with poverty and commands indecency. He contends with them in endurance, but they overcome him; they sell their selves and wealth, are freed from the slavery of desire, and escape the terrors of the reckoning. “We shall surely guide them to Our ways” (al-ʿAnkabūt 69): We shall surely open paths for them to unveiled sciences, make them hear wondrous understandings, and bring them to the nearest paths

إِلَيْنَا بِحُسْنِ مُجَاهَدَتِهِمْ فِينَا ، ثُمَّ خَتَمَ الْأَمْرَ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 69 هَذَا مَقَامُ مُشَاهَدَةِ الصِّفَاتِ فَكَانَ الْمُجَاهَدُ فِيهِ مَعَهُمْ أَوَّلًا بِالتَّوْفِيقِ فِيهِ صَبَرُوا لَهُ بِالتَّأْيِيدِ وَكَانَ الْمُحْسِنُ مَعَهُمْ آخِرَ الْيَوْمِ فِيهِ أَحْسَنُوا إِلَى نُفُوسِهِمْ غَدًا .

ʾilaynā biḥusni mujāhadatihim fīnā , thumma khatama al-ʾamra biqawlihi taʿālā: ( waʾinna allāha lamaʿa al-muḥsinīna ) al-ʿankabūtu: 69 hādhā maqāmu mushāhadati al-ṣifāti fakāna al-mujāhadu fīhi maʿahum ʾawwalan bi-al-tawfīqi fīhi ṣabarū lahu bi-al-taʾyīdi wakāna al-muḥsinu maʿahum ʾākhira al-yawmi fīhi ʾaḥsanū ʾilā nufūsihim ghadan.

to Us through the excellence of their striving in Us. Then He concluded the matter with His exalted saying, “God is indeed with those who act with excellence” (al-ʿAnkabūt 69). This is the station of witnessing the attributes. The One for whose sake they strive was with them first through enabling; in Him they endured for Him through support. The Beneficent was with them at the end of today, in which they did good to themselves for tomorrow.

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ الْحَسَنِ الْبَصْرِيِّ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : الْعِلْمُ عِلْمَانِ ، فَعِلْمٌ بَاطِنٌ فِي الْقَلْبِ فَذَاكَ هُوَ النَّافِعُ ، وَسُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 125 مَا هَذَا الشَّرْحُ ؟ قَالَ : هُوَ التَّوْسِعَةُ يَعْنِي :

warawaynā ʿani al-ḥasani al-baṣriyyi ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-ʿilmu ʿilmāni , faʿilmun bāṭinun fī al-qalbi fadhāka huwa al-nāfiʿu , wasuʾila rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿan maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā: ( faman yuridi allāhu ʾan yahdiyahu yashraḥ ṣadrahu lilʾislāmi ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 125 mā hādhā al-sharḥu ? qāla: huwa al-tawsiʿatu yaʿnī:

We related from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “Knowledge is of two kinds: inward knowledge in the heart is the beneficial kind.” God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, was asked about His exalted saying, “Whomever God wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam” (al-Anʿām 125): “What is this opening?” He said, “It is expansion,” meaning:

أَنَّ النُّورَ إِذَا قُذِفَ فِي الْقَلْبِ اتَّسَعَ لَهُ الصَّدْرُ وَانْشَرَحَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : لِي قَلْبٌ إِذَا عَصَيْتُهُ عَصَيْتُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَعْنِي أَنَّهُ لَا يُقْذَفُ فِيهِ إِلَّا طَاعَةٌ وَلَا يَقِرُّ فِيهِ إِلَّا حَقٌّ فَقَدْ صَارَ رَسُولَهُ إِلَيْهِ فَإِذَا عَصَاهُ فَقَدْ عَصَىٰ الْمُرْسِلَ بِمَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ الْإِيمَانُ مَا وَقَرَ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَصَدَّقَهُ الْعَمَلُ وَبِقَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : الْمُؤْمِنُ يَنْظُرُ بِنُورِ اللَّهِ ،

ʾanna al-nūra ʾidhā qudhifa fī al-qalbi ittasaʿa lahu al-ṣadru wansharaḥa , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: lī qalbun ʾidhā ʿaṣaytuhu ʿaṣaytu allāha taʿālā yaʿnī ʾannahu lā yuqdhafu fīhi ʾillā ṭāʿatun walā yaqirru fīhi ʾillā ḥaqqun faqad ṣāra rasūlahu ʾilayhi faʾidhā ʿaṣāhu faqad ʿaṣā al-mursila bimaʿnā al-khabari al-ʾīmānu mā waqara fī al-qalbi waṣaddaqahu al-ʿamalu wabiqawlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-muʾminu yanẓuru binūri allāhi ,

when light is cast into the heart, the breast expands and opens for it. One of the knowers said, “I have a heart which, if I disobey it, I disobey God Most High.” He means that only obedience is cast into it and only truth settles in it. It has become His messenger to him; when he disobeys it, he disobeys the Sender. This accords with the report, “Faith is what settles in the heart and is confirmed by deeds,” and with his saying, God bless him and grant him peace, “The believer looks with God’s light.”

فَمَنْ نَظَرَ بِنُورِ اللَّهِ كَانَ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَكَانَ عَمَلُهُ بِنُورِهِ طَاعَةً لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : مُنْذُ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً مَا سَكَنَ قَلْبِي إِلَى نَفْسِي سَاعَةً وَمَا سَاكَنْتُهُ طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ ، وَسُئِلَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَنْ عِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ ؟ فَقَالَ : سِرٌّ مِنْ سِرِّ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى يَقْذِفُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ أَحْبَابِهِ لَمْ يُطْلِعْ عَلَيْهِ مَلَكًا وَلَا بَشَرًا .

faman naẓara binūri allāhi kāna ʿalā baṣīratin mina allāhi taʿālā wakāna ʿamaluhu binūrihi ṭāʿatan lillāhi taʿālā , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: mundhu ʿishrīna sanatan mā sakana qalbī ʾilā nafsī sāʿatan wamā sākantuhu ṭarfata ʿaynin , wasuʾila baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi ʿan ʿilmi al-bāṭini ʾayyu shayʾin huwa ? faqāla: sirrun min sirri allāhi taʿālā yaqdhifuhu fī qulūbi ʾaḥbābihi lam yuṭliʿ ʿalayhi malakan walā basharan.

Whoever looks with God’s light possesses insight from God Most High, and his action through His light is obedience to God Most High. One of the knowers said, “For twenty years my heart has not rested in my self for an hour, nor have I dwelt with it for a blink of an eye.” A scholar was asked what inward knowledge is. He answered, “A secret from God Most High’s secret, which He casts into His beloved ones’ hearts, having disclosed it to neither angel nor human.”

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِيهِ خَبَرًا مُسْنَدًا أَحْبَبْنَا أَنْ نُسْنِدَهُ وَقَدْ جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ فَقَالَ : عَلِّمْنِي مِنْ غَرَائِبِ الْعِلْمِ فَقَالَ : هَلْ عَرَفْتَ الرَّبَّ فَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّ غَرَائِبَ الْعُلُومِ فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَقَدْ أَمَرَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِأَصْلِ الْعُلُومِ الَّذِي فِيهِ غَرَائِبُ الْفُهُومِ فَقَالَ : اقْرَأُوا الْقُرْآنَ وَالْتَمِسُوا غَرَائِبَهُ يَعْنِي تَدَبُّرَ مَعَانِيهِ وَاسْتِنْبَاطَ بَوَاطِنِهِ إِذْ بِكَلَامِهِ عَرَفَهُ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ

waqad rawaynā fīhi khabaran musnadan ʾaḥbabnā ʾan nusnidahu waqad jāʾa rajulun ʾilā al-nabiyyi faqāla: ʿallimnī min gharāʾibi al-ʿilmi faqāla: hal ʿarafta al-rabba faʾakhbara ʾanna gharāʾiba al-ʿulūmi fī al-maʿrifati waqad ʾamara ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama biʾaṣli al-ʿulūmi alladhī fīhi gharāʾibu al-fuhūmi faqāla: iqraʾū al-qurʾāna wa-iltamisū gharāʾibahu yaʿnī tadabbura maʿānīhi wastinbāṭa bawāṭinihi ʾidh bikalāmihi ʿarafahu ʾawliyāʾuhu

We have related a report concerning it through a connected chain, which we wished to cite with its chain. A man came to the Prophet and said, “Teach me some of the wonders of knowledge.” He replied, “Have you known the Lord?” He thus indicated that wondrous sciences lie in knowing God. He, God bless him and grant him peace, commanded the root of the sciences, in which wondrous understandings lie, saying, “Read the Qurʾān and seek its wonders,” meaning reflection upon its meanings and inference of its inward senses, since through His speech His friends have known Him.

وَقَدْ قِيلَ : تَكَلَّمُوا تُعْرَفُوا ، فَمَنْ عَرَفَ مَعَانِيَ الْكَلَامِ وَوُجُوهَ الْخِطَابِ عَرَفَ بِهِ مَعَانِيَ الصِّفَاتِ وَغَرَائِبَ عُلُومِ أَسْمَاءِ الذَّاتِ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ : مَنْ أَرَادَ عِلْمَ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَالْآخِرِينَ فَلْيُثَوِّرِ الْقُرْآنَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ فِي فَهْمِ هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ قَالَ : الْعَدْلُ تَدَبُّرُ الْقُرْآنِ وَفَهْمُهُ وَالْإِحْسَانُ مُشَاهَدَةُ الْفَهْمِ ،

waqad qīla: takallamū tuʿrafū , faman ʿarafa maʿāniya al-kalāmi wawujūha al-khiṭābi ʿarafa bihi maʿāniya al-ṣifāti wagharāʾiba ʿulūmi ʾasmāʾi al-dhāti , waqāla ibnu masʿūdin: man ʾarāda ʿilma al-ʾawwalīna wa-al-ʾākhirīna falyuthawwiri al-qurʾāna , waqāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-maʿrifati fī fahmi hādhihi al-ʾāyati: ʾinna allāha yaʾmuru bi-al-ʿadli wa-al-ʾiḥsāni qāla: al-ʿadlu tadabburu al-qurʾāni wafahmuhu wa-al-ʾiḥsānu mushāhadatu al-fahmi ,

It has been said, “Speak, and you will be known.” Whoever knows the meanings of speech and the modes of address knows through them the meanings of the attributes and the wondrous sciences of the Essence’s names. Ibn Masʿūd said, “Whoever desires knowledge of the first and last generations, let him stir up the Qurʾān’s depths.” One of the people of knowledge, explaining this verse, “God commands justice and excellence,” said, “Justice is pondering and understanding the Qurʾān; excellence is witnessing the understanding.”

وَفِي تَأْوِيلِ قَوْلِهِ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ فِي صِفَةِ الْعَدْلِ شَاهِدٌ لِقَوْلِهِ هَذَا فِي حَدِيثِهِ الَّذِي وَصَفَ فِيهِ شُعَبَ الْإِيمَانِ فَقَالَ : الْإِيمَانُ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ دَعَائِمَ : عَلَى الصَّبْرِ ، وَالْيَقِينِ ، وَالْعَدْلِ ، وَالْجِهَادِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ وَالْعَدْلُ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ شُعَبٍ : غَائِصِ الْفَهْمِ ،

wafī taʾwīli qawlihi ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu fī ṣifati al-ʿadli shāhidun liqawlihi hādhā fī ḥadīthihi alladhī waṣafa fīhi shuʿaba al-ʾīmāni faqāla: al-ʾīmānu ʿalā ʾarbaʿi daʿāʾima: ʿalā al-ṣabri , wa-al-yaqīni , wa-al-ʿadli , wa-al-jihādi , thumma qāla wa-al-ʿadlu ʿalā ʾarbaʿi shuʿabin: ghāʾiṣi al-fahmi ,

In the interpretation of his saying, prayer and peace upon him, concerning the description of justice is a witness to this statement, in the report where he described faith’s branches and said, “Faith rests on four pillars: patience, certainty, justice, and struggle.” Then he said, “Justice rests on four branches: penetrating understanding,

وَزَهْرَةِ

wazahrati

the flowering of

الْعِلْمِ ، وَرَوْضَةِ الْحِلْمِ ، وَشَرَائِعِ الْحُكْمِ ، فَمَنْ فَهِمَ فَسَّرَ جُمَلَ الْعِلْمِ وَمَنْ عَلِمَ عَرَفَ شَرَائِعَ الْحُكْمِ وَمَنْ حَلُمَ لَمْ يُفْرِطْ فِي أَمْرِهِ وَعَاشَ فِي النَّاسِ حَمِيدًا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْمُكَاشَفِينَ ظَهَرَ لِي الْمَلَكُ : فَسَأَلَنِي أَنْ أُمْلِيَ عَلَيْهِ شَيْئًا مِنْ ذِكْرِيَ الْخَفِيِّ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَتِي مِنَ التَّوْحِيدِ وَقَالَ : مَا نَكْتُبُ لَكَ عَمَلًا وَنَحْنُ نُحِبُّ أَنْ نَصْعَدَ لَكَ بِعَمَلٍ نَتَقَرَّبُ بِهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى

al-ʿilmi , warawḍati al-ḥilmi , washarāʾiʿi al-ḥukmi , faman fahima fassara jumala al-ʿilmi waman ʿalima ʿarafa sharāʾiʿa al-ḥukmi waman ḥaluma lam yufriṭ fī ʾamrihi waʿāsha fī al-nāsi ḥamīdan , waqāla baʿḍu al-mukāshafīna ẓahara lī al-malaku: fasaʾalanī ʾan ʾumliya ʿalayhi shayʾan min dhikriya al-khafiyyi min mushāhadatī mina al-tawḥīdi waqāla: mā naktubu laka ʿamalan wanaḥnu nuḥibbu ʾan naṣʿada laka biʿamalin nataqarrabu bihi ʾilā allāhi taʿālā

knowledge, the garden of forbearance, and the ordinances of judgment. Whoever understands explains the principal divisions of knowledge; whoever knows recognizes the ordinances of judgment; whoever is forbearing does not go to excess in his affair and lives praiseworthily among people.” One of those granted unveiling said, “The angel appeared to me and asked me to dictate to him something of my hidden remembrance, from my witnessing of oneness. He said, ‘We write no deed for you, and we would like to ascend with a deed of yours through which we might draw near to God Most High.’

فَقُلْتُ : أَلَيْسَ يَكْتُبَانِ الْفَرَائِضَ ؟ قَالَ : بَلَى ، قُلْتُ : فَيَكْفِيهِمَا ذَلِكَ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ قَالَ : سَأَلْتُ بَعْضَ الْأَبْدَالِ عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْيَقِينِ فَالْتَفَتَ إِلَى شِمَالِهِ وَقَالَ : مَا تَقُولُ رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ الْتَفَتَ إِلَى يَمِينِهِ فَقَالَ مَا تَقُولُ رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ أَطْرَقَ إِلَى صَدْرِهِ وَقَالَ : مَا تَقُولُ رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ أَجَابَنِي بِأَغْرَبِ جَوَابٍ مَا سَمِعْتُهُ قَطُّ وَأَعْلَاهُ فَقُلْتُ

faqultu: ʾalaysa yaktubāni al-farāʾiḍa ? qāla: balā , qultu: fayakfīhimā dhālika. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna qāla: saʾaltu baʿḍa al-ʾabdāli ʿan masʾalatin min mushāhadati al-yaqīni fa-iltafata ʾilā shimālihi waqāla: mā taqūlu raḥimaka allāhu thumma iltafata ʾilā yamīnihi faqāla mā taqūlu raḥimaka allāhu thumma ʾaṭraqa ʾilā ṣadrihi waqāla: mā taqūlu raḥimaka allāhu thumma ʾajābanī biʾaghrabi jawābin mā samiʿtuhu qaṭṭu waʾaʿlāhu faqultu

I said, ‘Do the two not write the obligatory duties?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Then that suffices them.’” One of the knowers said, “I asked one of the abdāl about a matter of witnessing certainty. He turned left and said, ‘What do you say, may God have mercy on you?’ Then he turned right and said, ‘What do you say, may God have mercy on you?’ Then he lowered his head toward his breast and said, ‘What do you say, may God have mercy on you?’ Then he gave me the strangest, loftiest answer I had ever heard. I said,

رَأَيْتُكَ الْتَفَتَّ عَنْ شِمَالِكَ وَيَمِينِكَ ثُمَّ أَقْبَلْتَ عَلَى صَدْرِكَ فَمَاذَا ؟ فَقَالَ : سَأَلْتَنِي عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ لَمْ يَكُنْ عِنْدِي فِيهَا عِلْمٌ عَتِيدٌ فَالْتَفَتُّ إِلَى صَاحِبِ الشِّمَالِ فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْهَا وَظَنَنْتُ أَنَّ عِنْدَهُ مِنْهَا عِلْمًا فَقَالَ : لَا أَدْرِي فَسَأَلْتُ صَاحِبَ الْيَمِينِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ مِنْهُ فَقَالَ : لَا أَدْرِي فَنَظَرْتُ إِلَى قَلْبِي فَسَأَلْتُهُ فَحَدَّثَنِي بِمَا أَجَبْتُكَ وَإِذَا هُوَ أَعْلَمُ مِنْهُمَا ،

raʾaytuka iltafatta ʿan shimālika wayamīnika thumma ʾaqbalta ʿalā ṣadrika famādhā ? faqāla: saʾaltanī ʿan masʾalatin lam yakun ʿindī fīhā ʿilmun ʿatīdun fa-iltafattu ʾilā ṣāḥibi al-shimāli fasaʾaltuhu ʿanhā waẓanantu ʾanna ʿindahu minhā ʿilman faqāla: lā ʾadrī fasaʾaltu ṣāḥiba al-yamīni wahuwa ʾaʿlamu minhu faqāla: lā ʾadrī fanaẓartu ʾilā qalbī fasaʾaltuhu faḥaddathanī bimā ʾajabtuka waʾidhā huwa ʾaʿlamu minhumā ,

‘I saw you turn left and right, then turn toward your breast. What was that?’ He replied, ‘You asked me a question about which I had no knowledge ready. I turned to the companion on the left and asked him, supposing he had knowledge of it; he said, “I do not know.” I asked the companion on the right, who knows more than he does; he said, “I do not know.” I looked toward my heart and asked it; it told me what I answered you. It knew more than both of them.’”

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو يَزِيدَ وَغَيْرُهُ يَقُولُونَ : لَيْسَ الْعَالِمُ الَّذِي يَحْفَظُ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَإِذَا نَسِيَ مَا حَفِظَ صَارَ جَاهِلًا إِنَّمَا الْعَالِمُ الَّذِي يَأْخُذُ عِلْمَهُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَيَّ وَقْتٍ شَاءَ بِلَا تَحَفُّظٍ وَلَا دَرْسٍ فَهَذَا لَعَمْرِي لَا يَنْسَى عِلْمَهُ وَهُوَ ذَاكِرٌ أَبَدًا لَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى كِتَابٍ وَهُوَ الْعَالِمُ الرَّبَّانِيُّ وَهَذَا هُوَ وَصْفُ قُلُوبِ الْأَبْدَالِ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ لَيْسُوا وَاقِفِينَ مَعَ حِفْظٍ إِنَّمَا هُمْ

waqad kāna ʾabū yazīda waghayruhu yaqūlūna: laysa al-ʿālimu alladhī yaḥfaẓu min kitābi allāhi faʾidhā nasiya mā ḥafiẓa ṣāra jāhilan ʾinnamā al-ʿālimu alladhī yaʾkhudhu ʿilmahu min rabbihi ʿazza wajalla ʾayya waqtin shāʾa bilā taḥaffuẓin walā darsin fahādhā laʿamrī lā yansā ʿilmahu wahuwa dhākirun ʾabadan lā yaḥtāju ʾilā kitābin wahuwa al-ʿālimu al-rabbāniyyu wahādhā huwa waṣfu qulūbi al-ʾabdāli mina al-mūqinīna laysū wāqifīna maʿa ḥifẓin ʾinnamā hum

Abū Yazīd and others used to say, “The scholar is not the one who memorizes from God’s Book, then becomes ignorant when he forgets what he memorized. The scholar is the one who takes his knowledge from his Lord, mighty and majestic, whenever he wishes, without memorizing or studying.” This person, by my life, does not forget his knowledge, remembers always, and needs no book; he is the lordly scholar. This describes the hearts of the abdāl among those certain in faith: they do not stand with memorization; rather, they

قَائِمُونَ بِحَافِظٍ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ : إِنَّ مِنْ أُمَّتِي مُحَدَّثِينَ وَمُكَلَّمِينَ وَإِنَّ عُمَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَقَرَأَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ : وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ وَلَا نَبِيٍّ وَلَا مُحَدَّثٍ يَعْنِي الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَهَذَا كَانَ طَرِيقَ السَّلَفِ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَخِيَارِ التَّابِعِينَ إِذَا سُئِلُوا وُفِّقُوا وَأُلْهِمُوا الصَّوَابَ لِقُرْبِهِمْ مِنْ حُسْنِ التَّوْفِيقِ وَسُلُوكِهِمْ حَقِيقَةَ مَحَجَّةِ الطَّرِيقِ فَخَاطِرُ الْيَقِينِ إِذَا وَرَدَ عَلَى

qāʾimūna biḥāfiẓin. waqad rawaynā fī al-khabari: ʾinna min ʾummatī muḥaddathīna wamukallamīna waʾinna ʿumara minhum waqaraʾa ibnu ʿabbāsin: wamā ʾarsalnā min qablika min rasūlin walā nabiyyin walā muḥaddathin yaʿnī al-ṣiddīqīna wahādhā kāna ṭarīqa al-salafi mina al-ṣaḥābati wakhiyāri al-tābiʿīna ʾidhā suʾilū wuffiqū waʾulhimū al-ṣawāba liqurbihim min ḥusni al-tawfīqi wasulūkihim ḥaqīqata maḥajjati al-ṭarīqi fakhāṭiru al-yaqīni ʾidhā warada ʿalā

stand upheld by a Guardian. We related in the report, “Among my community are people inwardly addressed and spoken to, and ʿUmar is among them.” Ibn ʿAbbās recited, “We sent before you no messenger, prophet, or one inwardly addressed,” meaning the utterly truthful. This was the path of the early Companions and the best of the Successors: when asked, they were enabled and inspired with the correct answer because of their nearness to excellent enabling and their walking the reality of the path’s clear road. When certainty’s prompting arrives upon

قَلْبِ مُؤْمِنٍ اضْطَرَّتْهُ مُشَاهَدَتُهُ إِلَى الْقِيَامِ بِهِ وَإِنْ خَفِيَ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ وَحَكَمَ عَلَيْهِ بَيَانُهُ وَبُرْهَانُهُ بِصِحَّةِ دَلِيلِهِ وَإِنِ الْتَبَسَ عَلَى مَنْ سِوَاهُ . وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي تَخْصِيصِ الْمُوقِنِينَ : ( قَدْ بَيَّنَّا الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 118 هَذَا بَصَائِرُ لِلنَّاسِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ ، وَقَالَ فِي نَعْتِ الْمُتَّقِينَ :

qalbi muʾminin iḍṭarrathu mushāhadatuhu ʾilā al-qiyāmi bihi waʾin khafiya ʿalā ghayrihi waḥakama ʿalayhi bayānuhu waburhānuhu biṣiḥḥati dalīlihi waʾini iltabasa ʿalā man siwāhu. waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā fī takhṣīṣi al-mūqinīna: ( qad bayyannā al-ʾāyāti liqawmin yūqinūna ) al-baqaratu: 118 hādhā baṣāʾiru li-l-nāsi wahudan waraḥmatun liqawmin yūqinūna , waqāla fī naʿti al-muttaqīna:

a believer’s heart, his witnessing compels him to act upon it, even if it is hidden from others; its explanation and demonstration rule over him through the soundness of its proof, even if it is obscure to others. God Most High says in singling out those certain in faith, “We have made the signs clear for a people who are certain” (al-Baqara 118); “This is insight for people, guidance, and mercy for a people who are certain.” Describing the God-fearing, He says:

( وَمَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَّقُونَ ) يُونُسُ : 6 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( هَذَا بَيَانٌ لِلنَّاسِ وَهُدًى وَمَوْعِظَةٌ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 138 وَقَالَ فِي فَضْلِ الْعُلَمَاءِ : ( بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 49 وَقَالَ : ( قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ ) الْأَنْعَامُ :

( wamā khalaqa allāhu fī al-samawāti wa-al-ʾarḍi laʾāyātin liqawmin yattaqūna ) yūnusu: 6 waqāla taʿālā: ( hādhā bayānun li-l-nāsi wahudan wamawʿiẓatun lilmuttaqīna ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 138 waqāla fī faḍli al-ʿulamāʾi: ( bal huwa ʾāyātun bayyinātun fī ṣudūri alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma ) al-ʿankabūtu: 49 waqāla: ( qad faṣṣalnā al-ʾāyāti liqawmin yaʿlamūna ) al-ʾanʿāmu:

“In what God has created in the heavens and earth are signs for a people who fear Him” (Yūnus 6). He Most High says, “This is an explanation for people, guidance, and admonition for the God-fearing” (Āl ʿImrān 138). Concerning scholars’ merit He says, “Rather, it is clear signs in the breasts of those given knowledge” (al-ʿAnkabūt 49). He says, “We have detailed the signs for a people who know” (al-Anʿām

97 فَحَقِيقَةُ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ مِنَ التَّقْوَى وَالْيَقِينِ وَهَذَا هُوَ عِلْمُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ الْمَخْصُوصُ بِهِ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ وَهَبَ لَهُمُ الْآيَاتِ وَخَصَّهُمْ بِالْبَيَانِ وَالدَّلَالَاتِ بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُوا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَكَانُوا عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَاءَ ، فَهَذِهِ الْخَوَاطِرُ تَبْدُو فِي الْقُلُوبِ عَنْ هَذِهِ الْأَوَاسِطِ الَّتِي هِيَ خَزَائِنُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ

97 faḥaqīqatu al-ʿilmi ʾinnamā huwa mina al-taqwā wa-al-yaqīni wahādhā huwa ʿilmu al-maʿrifati al-makhṣūṣu bihi al-muqarrabūna wahaba lahumu al-ʾāyāti wakhaṣṣahum bi-al-bayāni wa-al-dalālāti bimā ustuḥfiẓū min kitābi allāhi wakānū ʿalayhi shuhadāʾa , fahādhihi al-khawāṭiru tabdū fī al-qulūbi ʿan hādhihi al-ʾawāsiṭi allatī hiya khazāʾinu allāhi taʿālā min

97). The reality of knowledge comes only from reverent fear and certainty. This is the knowledge of God specially allotted to those brought near. He gave them signs and singled them out for explanation and indications, “because they were entrusted with God’s Book and were witnesses to it.” These promptings appear in hearts through these intermediaries, which are God Most High’s treasuries among

خَزَائِنِ الْأَرْضِ وَلِلَّهِ خَزَائِنُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ وَالْفِقْهُ صِفَةُ الْقَلْبِ لَا لِسَانِ الْعَرَبِ ، تَقُولُ : فَقِهْتُ بِمَعْنَى فَهِمْتُ ، وَابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ يُفَسِّرُ قَوْلَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 179 يَقُولُ لَا يَفْهَمُونَ بِهَا وَيَجْعَلُ الْفِقْهَ الْفَهْمَ فَخَاطِرُ الْيَقِينِ وَالرُّوحِ وَالْمَلَكِ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ اللَّهِ وَخَاطِرُ الْعَقْلِ وَالنَّفْسِ وَالْعَدُوِّ مِنْ

khazāʾini al-ʾarḍi walillāhi khazāʾinu al-samawāti wa-al-ʾarḍi walakinna al-munāfiqīna lā yafqahūna wa-al-fiqhu ṣifatu al-qalbi lā lisāni al-ʿarabi , taqūlu: faqihtu bimaʿnā fahimtu , wabnu ʿabbāsin yufassiru qawla allāhi ʿazza wajalla: ( lahum qulūbun lā yafqahūna bihā ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 179 yaqūlu lā yafhamūna bihā wayajʿalu al-fiqha al-fahma fakhāṭiru al-yaqīni wa-al-rūḥi wa-al-malaki min khazāʾini allāhi wakhāṭiru al-ʿaqli wa-al-nafsi wa-al-ʿaduwwi min

the treasuries of earth. “To God belong the treasuries of the heavens and earth, but the hypocrites do not understand.” Understanding is a quality of the heart, not of the Arabic tongue. You say faqihtu meaning “I understood.” Ibn ʿAbbās explains God’s saying, mighty and majestic, “They have hearts with which they do not understand” (al-Aʿrāf 179), as “with which they do not comprehend,” making fiqh mean understanding. The prompting of certainty, spirit, and angel comes from God’s treasuries; the prompting of reason, self, and enemy comes from

خَزَائِنِ الْأَرْضِ كَمَا قِيلَ النَّفْسُ تُرَابِيَّةٌ خُلِقَتْ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ فَهِيَ تَمِيلُ إِلَى التُّرَابِ وَالرُّوحُ رُوحَانِيٌّ خُلِقَ مِنَ الْمَلَكُوتِ فَهِيَ تَرْتَاحُ إِلَى الْعُلُوِّ وَالْقَلْبُ خِزَانَةٌ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْمَلَكُوتِ مَثَلُهُ كَالْمِرْآةِ تَقْدَحُ هَذِهِ الْخَوَاطِرُ عَنْ أَوْسَاطِهَا مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْغَيْبِ فَتُوقِدُ فِي الْقَلْبِ فَيَتَلَأْلَأُ فِيهِ لِلتَّأْثِيرِ ، فَمِنْهَا مَا يَقَعُ فِي سَمْعِ الْقَلْبِ ، فَيَكُونُ فَهْمًا ،

khazāʾini al-ʾarḍi kamā qīla al-nafsu turābiyyatun khuliqat mina al-ʾarḍi fahiya tamīlu ʾilā al-turābi wa-al-rūḥu rūḥāniyyun khuliqa mina al-malakūti fahiya tartāḥu ʾilā al-ʿuluwwi wa-al-qalbu khizānatun min khazāʾini al-malakūti mathaluhu ka-al-mirʾāti taqdaḥu hādhihi al-khawāṭiru ʿan ʾawsāṭihā min khazāʾini al-ghaybi fatūqidu fī al-qalbi fayatalaʾlaʾu fīhi li-l-taʾthīri , faminhā mā yaqaʿu fī samʿi al-qalbi , fayakūnu fahman ,

the treasuries of earth. As it is said: the self is earthy, created from earth, so it inclines toward dust; the spirit is spiritual, created from the unseen kingdom, so it delights in the heights. The heart is a treasury of that kingdom, like a mirror. These promptings strike from their intermediaries in the treasuries of the unseen, kindle in the heart, and sparkle within it to produce an effect. Some fall upon the heart’s hearing and become understanding;

وَمِنْهَا مَا يَقَعُ فِي بَصَرِ الْقَلْبِ فَيَكُونُ نَظَرًا وَهُوَ الْمُشَاهَدَةُ ، وَمِنْهَا مَا يَقَعُ فِي لِسَانِ الْقَلْبِ فَيَكُونُ كَلَامًا وَهُوَ الذَّوْقُ ، وَمِنْهَا مَا يَقَعُ فِي شَمِّ الْقَلْبِ فَيَكُونُ عِلْمًا وَهُوَ الْفِكْرُ وَهُوَ الْعَقْلُ الْمُكْتَسَبُ بِتَلْقِيحِ الْعَقْلِ الْغَرِيزِيِّ وَهَذَا أَقَلُّهَا لَبْثًا وَأَيْسَرُهَا عَنَاءً وَمَا وَقَعَ فِي نَاظِرِ الْقَلْبِ وَحِسِّهِ فَخَرَقَ شِفَافَهُ وَوَصَلَ إِلَى سُوَيْدَائِهِ وَهُوَ الْمُبَاشَرَةُ كَانَ وَجْدًا وَهَذَا

waminhā mā yaqaʿu fī baṣari al-qalbi fayakūnu naẓaran wahuwa al-mushāhadatu , waminhā mā yaqaʿu fī lisāni al-qalbi fayakūnu kalāman wahuwa al-dhawqu , waminhā mā yaqaʿu fī shammi al-qalbi fayakūnu ʿilman wahuwa al-fikru wahuwa al-ʿaqlu al-muktasabu bitalqīḥi al-ʿaqli al-gharīziyyi wahādhā ʾaqalluhā labthan waʾaysaruhā ʿanāʾan wamā waqaʿa fī nāẓiri al-qalbi waḥissihi fakharaqa shifāfahu wawaṣala ʾilā suwaydāʾihi wahuwa al-mubāsharatu kāna wajdan wahādhā

some fall upon the heart’s sight and become a looking, namely witnessing; some fall upon its tongue and become speech, namely tasting; some fall upon its smell and become knowledge, namely thought, which is acquired reason through the fertilization of innate reason. This is the shortest in duration and easiest in effort. What falls upon the heart’s seeing faculty and sense, pierces its delicate covering, and reaches its innermost core, namely direct contact, becomes spiritual finding. This

هُوَ الْحَالُ عَنْ مَقَامِ مُشَاهَدَةٍ ، وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ : أَسْأَلُكَ إِيمَانًا يُبَاشِرُ قَلْبِي . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : إِذَا كَانَ الْإِيمَانُ فِي ظَاهِرِ الْقَلْبِ كَانَ الْعَبْدُ مُحِبًّا لِلْآخِرَةِ وَلِلدُّنْيَا وَكَانَ مَرَّةً مَعَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَمَرَّةً مَعَ نَفْسِهِ فَإِذَا دَخَلَ الْإِيمَانُ إِلَى بَاطِنِ الْقَلْبِ أَبْغَضَ الْعَبْدُ الدُّنْيَا وَهَجَرَ هَوَاهُ وَقَدْ قَالَ عَالِمُنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ : لِلْقَلْبِ تَجْوِيفَانِ ،

huwa al-ḥālu ʿan maqāmi mushāhadatin , wamin hādhā qawluhu: ʾasʾaluka ʾīmānan yubāshiru qalbī. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: ʾidhā kāna al-ʾīmānu fī ẓāhiri al-qalbi kāna al-ʿabdu muḥibban lilʾākhirati wali-l-dunyā wakāna marratan maʿa allāhi taʿālā wamarratan maʿa nafsihi faʾidhā dakhala al-ʾīmānu ʾilā bāṭini al-qalbi ʾabghaḍa al-ʿabdu al-dunyā wahajara hawāhu waqad qāla ʿālimunā ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu allāhu: lilqalbi tajwīfāni ,

is the state arising from a station of witnessing. Of this kind is his saying, “I ask You for faith that touches my heart directly.” One of the knowers said, “When faith is on the heart’s exterior, the servant loves both the hereafter and this world, and is sometimes with God Most High and sometimes with himself. When faith enters the heart’s interior, the servant hates this world and abandons his desire.” Our scholar Abū Muḥammad Sahl, may God have mercy on him, said, “The heart has two cavities:

أَحَدُهُمَا بَاطِنٌ وَفِيهِ السَّمْعُ وَالْبَصَرُ وَكَانَ يُسَمَّى هَذَا قَلْبَ الْقَلْبِ ، وَالتَّجْوِيفُ الْآخَرُ ظَاهِرُ الْقَلْبِ وَفِيهِ الْعَقْلُ ، وَمَثَلُ الْعَقْلِ فِي الْقَلْبِ مَثَلُ النَّظَرِ فِي الْعَيْنِ هُوَ صِقَالٌ لِمَوْضِعٍ مَخْصُوصٍ فِيهِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الصِّقَالِ الَّذِي فِي سَوَادِ الْعَيْنِ فَإِذَا كَانَتْ هَذِهِ الْخَوَاطِرُ عَنْ أَوَاسِطِ الْهُدَاةِ بِهِ وَهِيَ الْمَلَكُ وَالرُّوحُ كَانَتْ تَقْوًى وَهُدًى وَرُشْدًا وَكَانَتْ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْخَيْرِ وَمِفْتَاحِ

ʾaḥaduhumā bāṭinun wafīhi al-samʿu wa-al-baṣaru wakāna yusammā hādhā qalba al-qalbi , wa-al-tajwīfu al-ʾākharu ẓāhiru al-qalbi wafīhi al-ʿaqlu , wamathalu al-ʿaqli fī al-qalbi mathalu al-naẓari fī al-ʿayni huwa ṣiqālun limawḍiʿin makhṣūṣin fīhi bimanzilati al-ṣiqāli alladhī fī sawādi al-ʿayni faʾidhā kānat hādhihi al-khawāṭiru ʿan ʾawāsiṭi al-hudāti bihi wahiya al-malaku wa-al-rūḥu kānat taqwan wahudan warushdan wakānat min khazāʾini al-khayri wamiftāḥi

one inward, containing hearing and sight.” He used to call this the heart of the heart. The other cavity is the heart’s exterior, containing reason. Reason in the heart is like sight in the eye: a polish in a particular place within it, like the polish in the eye’s dark center. When these promptings arise through the intermediaries that guide through Him, the angel and spirit, they are reverent fear, guidance, and right direction; they come from the treasuries of good and the key of

الرَّحْمَةِ قَدَحَتْ فِي قَلْبِ الْعَبْدِ نُورًا وَطِيبًا أَدْرَكَهُ الْحَفَظَةُ وَهُمْ أَمْلَاكُ الْيَمِينِ فَأَثْبَتُوهَا حَسَنَاتٍ وَإِنْ كَانَتِ الْخَوَاطِرُ عَنْ أَوَاسِطِ الْغُوَاةِ وَهُمُ الْعَدُوُّ وَالنَّفْسُ كَانَتْ فُجُورًا وَضَلَالًا وَهِيَ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الشَّرِّ وَمَعَالِقِ الْأَعْرَاضِ قَدَحَتْ فِي الْقُلُوبِ ظُلْمَةً وَنَتْنًا أَدْرَكَ ذَلِكَ الْحَفَظَةُ مِنْ أَمْلَاكِ الشِّمَالِ فَكَتَبُوهَا سَيِّئَاتٍ وَكُلُّ هَذَا إِلْهَامٌ وَإِلْقَاءٌ مِنْ خَالِقِ النَّفْسِ وَمُسَوِّيهَا

al-raḥmati qadaḥat fī qalbi al-ʿabdi nūran waṭīban ʾadrakahu al-ḥafaẓatu wahum ʾamlāku al-yamīni faʾathbatūhā ḥasanātin waʾin kānati al-khawāṭiru ʿan ʾawāsiṭi al-ghuwāti wahumu al-ʿaduwwu wa-al-nafsu kānat fujūran waḍalālan wahiya min khazāʾini al-sharri wamaʿāliqi al-ʾaʿrāḍi qadaḥat fī al-qulūbi ẓulmatan wanatnan ʾadraka dhālika al-ḥafaẓatu min ʾamlāki al-shimāli fakatabūhā sayyiʾātin wakullu hādhā ʾilhāmun waʾilqāʾun min khāliqi al-nafsi wamusawwīhā

mercy, striking light and fragrance in the servant’s heart. The guardians perceive this, namely the angels of the right, and record them as good deeds. If the promptings arise through the misleading intermediaries, the enemy and self, they are wickedness and error, from the treasuries of evil and the attachments of worldly goods. They strike darkness and stench in hearts; the guardians among the angels of the left perceive this and write them as evil deeds. All this is inspiration and casting from the Creator and Fashioner of the soul,

وَجَبَّارِ الْقُلُوبِ وَمُقَلِّبِهَا حِكْمَةً مِنْهُ وَعَدْلًا لِمَنْ شَاءَ ، وَمِنَّةً وَفَضْلًا لِمَنْ أَحَبَّ ، كَمَا قَالَ : ( وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلًا ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 115 أَيْ بِالْهِدَايَةِ صِدْقًا لِأَوْلِيَائِهِ مَا وَعَدَهُمْ مِنْ ثَوَابِهِ وَبِالْإِضْلَالِ عَدْلًا عَلَى أَعْدَائِهِ مَا أَعَدَّ لَهُمْ مِنْ عِقَابِهِ . ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( لَا يُسْئَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْئَلُونَ ) الْأَنْبِيَاءُ :

wajabbāri al-qulūbi wamuqallibihā ḥikmatan minhu waʿadlan liman shāʾa , waminnatan wafaḍlan liman ʾaḥabba , kamā qāla: ( watammat kalimatu rabbika ṣidqan waʿadlan ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 115 ʾay bi-al-hidāyati ṣidqan liʾawliyāʾihi mā waʿadahum min thawābihi wabi-al-ʾiḍlāli ʿadlan ʿalā ʾaʿdāʾihi mā ʾaʿadda lahum min ʿiqābihi. thumma qāla taʿālā: ( lā yusʾalu ʿammā yafʿalu wahum yusʾalūna ) al-ʾanbiyāʾu:

the Compeller and Turner of hearts, as wisdom and justice from Him for whom He wills, and bounty and favor for whom He loves. As He says, “Your Lord’s word has been fulfilled in truth and justice” (al-Anʿām 115): through guidance, in truth toward His friends in the reward He promised them; and through leading astray, in justice against His enemies in the punishment He prepared for them. Then He Most High says, “He is not questioned about what He does, while they are questioned” (al-Anbiyāʾ

23 فَهَذِهِ جُنُودٌ مُنْقَادَةٌ لِأَمْرِهِ وَهُوَ مَلِكٌ جَبَّارٌ عَزِيزٌ قَهَّارٌ تَعَالَى عَنْ مُبَاشَرَةِ الْأَشْيَاءِ إِذَا كَانَتْ تَنْقَادُ لِمَشِيئَتِهِ وَتَطَوَّعُ لِقُدْرَتِهِ فَتُنْفِذُ قُدْرَتُهُ إِرَادَتَهُ تُظْهِرُ حِكْمَتُهُ أَفْعَالَهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا قَالَ لَهُ : كُنْ بِخَفِيِّ قُدْرَتِهِ فَكَانَ بِظَاهِرِ حِكْمَتِهِ ، وَالرَّبُّ سُبْحَانَهُ قَادِرٌ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ، بِيَدِهِ مَلَكُوتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَكِيمٌ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ،

23 fahādhihi junūdun munqādatun liʾamrihi wahuwa malikun jabbārun ʿazīzun qahhārun taʿālā ʿan mubāsharati al-ʾashyāʾi ʾidhā kānat tanqādu limashīʾatihi wataṭawwaʿu liqudratihi fatunfidhu qudratuhu ʾirādatahu tuẓhiru ḥikmatuhu ʾafʿālahu ʾidhā ʾarāda shayʾan qāla lahu: kun bikhafiyyi qudratihi fakāna biẓāhiri ḥikmatihi , wa-al-rabbu subḥānahu qādirun ʿalā kulli shayʾin , biyadihi malakūtu kulli shayʾin ḥakīmun fī kulli shayʾin ,

23). These are troops obedient to His command. He is a King, Compeller, Mighty, Overpowerer, exalted beyond directly handling things, since they submit to His will and yield to His power. His power executes His will; His wisdom manifests His acts. When He desires something, He says to it “Be” through His hidden power, and it exists through His manifest wisdom. The Lord, glorified, is powerful over everything; in His hand is the dominion of everything; He is wise in everything.

وَالْعَبْدُ ضَعِيفٌ عَاجِزٌ جَاهِلٌ لَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ قَدِ ابْتُلِيَ بِالْأَسْبَابِ وَوَقَعَ عَلَيْهِ

wa-al-ʿabdu ḍaʿīfun ʿājizun jāhilun lā yaqdiru ʿalā shayʾin qadi ubtuliya bi-al-ʾasbābi wawaqaʿa ʿalayhi

The servant is weak, incapable, ignorant, powerless over anything. He has been tried through causes, and over him has fallen

الْحِجَابُ وَجُعِلَ مَكَانًا لِلْأَحْكَامِ بِالْعِقَابِ وَالثَّوَابِ فَالْأَسْبَابُ أَوَاسِطُ الْبَلَاءِ وَالْعَبْدُ مَوْضِعُ الِابْتِلَاءِ . وَالْأَوَّلُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى هُوَ الْمُبْلِي الْمُرِيدُ الْمُبْدِئُ الْمُعِيدُ وَيُنْشِئُكُمْ فِيمَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ وَلِيَبْلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلَاءً حَسَنًا وَلَيْسَ يَشْهَدُ الْعَبْدُ إِلَّا مَا أُشْهِدَ فَكَذَلِكَ تَفَاوَتَ الْعِبَادُ فِي الْمُشَاهَدَةِ وَلَا يَسْتَبِينُ لَهُ إِلَّا مَا أُبِينَ لَهُ وَأُرِيدَ بِهِ فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ

al-ḥijābu wajuʿila makānan lilʾaḥkāmi bi-al-ʿiqābi wa-al-thawābi fa-al-ʾasbābu ʾawāsiṭu al-balāʾi wa-al-ʿabdu mawḍiʿu al-ibtilāʾi. wa-al-ʾawwalu subḥānahu wataʿālā huwa al-mublī al-murīdu al-mubdiʾu al-muʿīdu wayunshiʾukum fīmā lā taʿlamūna waliyabliya al-muʾminīna minhu balāʾan ḥasanan walaysa yashhadu al-ʿabdu ʾillā mā ʾushhida fakadhālika tafāwata al-ʿibādu fī al-mushāhadati walā yastabīnu lahu ʾillā mā ʾubīna lahu waʾurīda bihi faʿinda dhālika

the veil. He has been made a place for judgments through punishment and reward. Causes are the intermediaries of affliction, and the servant is the site of trial. The First, glorified and exalted, is the One who tries, wills, originates, and restores. “He brings you forth in what you do not know”; “that He may try the believers with a good trial from Him.” The servant witnesses only what he is made to witness; thus servants differ in witnessing. Only what is made clear to him and intended for him becomes clear. At that point

اخْتَلَفُوا فِي الْأَدِلَّةِ فَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِظْهَارَ شَيْءٍ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْغَيْبِ حَرَّكَ النَّفْسَ بِلَطِيفِ الْقُدْرَةِ فَتَحَرَّكَتْ بِإِذْنِهِ فَقَدَحَ مِنْ جَوْهَرِهَا بِحَرَكَتِهَا ظُلْمَةٌ تُكْتَبُ فِي الْقَلْبِ هِمَّةَ سُوءٍ فَيَنْظُرُ الْعَدُوُّ إِلَى الْقَلْبِ وَهُوَ مُرَاصِدٌ يَنْتَظِرُ وَالْقُلُوبُ لَهُ مَبْسُوطَةٌ وَالنُّفُوسُ لَدَيْهِ مَنْشُورَةٌ يَرَى مَا فِيهَا مَا كَانَ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ الْمُبْتَلِي بِهِ الْمُصَرَّفِ فِيهِ فَإِذَا رَأَى هِمَّةً قَدْ قَدَحَتْ

ikhtalafū fī al-ʾadillati faʾidhā ʾarāda allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʾiẓhāra shayʾin min khazāʾini al-ghaybi ḥarraka al-nafsa bilaṭīfi al-qudrati fataḥarrakat biʾidhnihi faqadaḥa min jawharihā biḥarakatihā ẓulmatun tuktabu fī al-qalbi himmata sūʾin fayanẓuru al-ʿaduwwu ʾilā al-qalbi wahuwa murāṣidun yantaẓiru wa-al-qulūbu lahu mabsūṭatun wa-al-nufūsu ladayhi manshūratun yarā mā fīhā mā kāna min ʿamalihi al-mubtalī bihi al-muṣarrafi fīhi faʾidhā raʾā himmatan qad qadaḥat

they differ over proofs. When God, mighty and majestic, wills to manifest something from the treasuries of the unseen, He moves the self through subtle power, and it moves by His permission. Through its movement darkness sparks from its substance, inscribed in the heart as an evil intention. The enemy looks toward the heart, keeping watch and waiting; hearts are spread before him and selves unfolded in his presence. He sees within them whatever belongs to his work, through which he is tried and in which he is directed. When he sees an intention sparked

فِي النَّفْسِ فَأَثَّرَتْ ظُلْمَةً فِي الْقَلْبِ ظَهَرَ مَكَانُهُ فَقَوِيَ بِذَلِكَ سُلْطَانُهُ وَالْهِمَّةُ تَرِدُ عَلَى أَحَدِ ثَلَاثِ مَعَانٍ لَا تُحْصَى فُرُوعُهَا لِأَنَّ هِمَّةَ كُلِّ عَبْدٍ عَلَى قَدْرِ بُغْيَتِهِ أَحَدُهَا هَوًى وَهُوَ عَاجِلُ حَظِّ النَّفْسِ أَوْ أُمْنِيَّتُهُ وَهَذَا عَنِ الْجَهْلِ الْغَرِيزِيِّ أَوْ دَعْوَى حَرَكَةٍ أَوْ سُكُونٍ وَهُوَ آفَةُ الْعَقْلِ وَمَحَبَّةُ الْقَلْبِ ، فَأَيُّ هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثِ قَدَحَ فِي الْقَلْبِ فَهُوَ وَسْوَسَةُ نَفْسٍ وَحُضُورُ عَدُوٍّ مَنْسُوبٌ

fī al-nafsi faʾaththarat ẓulmatan fī al-qalbi ẓahara makānuhu faqawiya bidhālika sulṭānuhu wa-al-himmatu taridu ʿalā ʾaḥadi thalāthi maʿānin lā tuḥṣā furūʿuhā liʾanna himmata kulli ʿabdin ʿalā qadri bughyatihi ʾaḥaduhā hawan wahuwa ʿājilu ḥaẓẓi al-nafsi ʾaw ʾumniyyatuhu wahādhā ʿani al-jahli al-gharīziyyi ʾaw daʿwā ḥarakatin ʾaw sukūnin wahuwa ʾāfatu al-ʿaqli wamaḥabbatu al-qalbi , faʾayyu hādhihi al-thalāthi qadaḥa fī al-qalbi fahuwa waswasatu nafsin waḥuḍūru ʿaduwwin mansūbun

within the self, leaving darkness in the heart, his place appears and his authority grows strong through it. Intention arrives in one of three meanings whose branches cannot be counted, since each servant’s intention corresponds to what he seeks. One is desire, the self’s immediate share; another is its wish, arising from innate ignorance; or a claim to movement or stillness, the affliction of reason and the heart’s love. Whichever of these three sparks in the heart is the self’s whispering and the enemy’s presence, ascribed

إِلَيْهِ مَحْكُومٌ عَلَيْهِ بِالذَّمِّ لَيْسَتْ تَصْدُرُ إِلَّا بِأَحَدِ ثَلَاثَةِ أُصُولٍ بِجَهْلٍ ، أَوْ غَفْلَةٍ ، أَوْ طَلَبِ فُضُولِ دُنْيَا ، وَهُنَّ مِمَّا لَا يَعْنِي وَمُضَافَاتٌ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا وَأَعْمَالِهَا . وَالْأَفْضَلُ مُجَاهَدَةُ النَّفْسِ وَالْعَدُوِّ عَنْ إِمْضَائِهَا وَحَبْسُ الْجَوَارِحِ عَنِ السَّعْيِ فِيهَا إِنْ كُنَّ مِنْ فُضُولِ الدُّنْيَا الْمُبَاحَاتِ فَإِنْ كُنَّ هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثُ وَرَدْنَ بِمُحَرَّمَاتٍ فَفَرْضٌ عَلَيْهِ كَفُّ الْجَوَارِحِ عَنِ السَّعْيِ فِيهَا

ʾilayhi maḥkūmun ʿalayhi bi-al-dhammi laysat taṣduru ʾillā biʾaḥadi thalāthati ʾuṣūlin bijahlin , ʾaw ghaflatin , ʾaw ṭalabi fuḍūli dunyā , wahunna mimmā lā yaʿnī wamuḍāfātun ʾilā al-dunyā waʾaʿmālihā. wa-al-ʾafḍalu mujāhadatu al-nafsi wa-al-ʿaduwwi ʿan ʾimḍāʾihā waḥabsu al-jawāriḥi ʿani al-saʿyi fīhā ʾin kunna min fuḍūli al-dunyā al-mubāḥāti faʾin kunna hādhihi al-thalāthu waradna bimuḥarramātin fafarḍun ʿalayhi kaffu al-jawāriḥi ʿani al-saʿyi fīhā

to him and judged blameworthy. They issue only from one of three roots: ignorance, heedlessness, or seeking worldly excess. They are among things that do not concern one and belong to this world and its works. It is better to struggle against the self and enemy to prevent carrying them out, and to restrain the limbs from pursuing them, if they concern permissible worldly excess. If these three arrive with forbidden things, restraining the limbs from pursuing them is obligatory.

فَإِنْ أَمْرَحَ قَلْبَهُ فِي ذِكْرِهَا أَوْ نَشَرَ خُطُوَاتِهِ فِي طَلَبِهَا كُنَّ حِجَابًا بَيْنَ قَلْبِهِ وَبَيْنَ الْيَقِينِ وَإِنْ كُنَّ وَرَدْنَ بِمُبَاحَاتٍ فَفَضْلٌ لَهُ بِنَفْيِهَا عَنْ قَلْبِهِ كَيْلَا يَكُونَ قَلْبُهُ مَوْطِنًا لِلْغَفَلَاتِ وَأَصْلُهُنَّ الِابْتِلَاءُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالتَّقْلِيبِ وَالِامْتِحَانُ مِنْهُ فِي التَّصْرِيفِ وَلِذَلِكَ خَلَقَ النَّفْسَ وَالرُّوحَ وَالْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ وَجَعَلَ مَا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَهَا لِيُظْهِرَ أَحْسَنَ الْعَمَلِ

faʾin ʾamraḥa qalbahu fī dhikrihā ʾaw nashara khuṭuwātihi fī ṭalabihā kunna ḥijāban bayna qalbihi wabayna al-yaqīni waʾin kunna waradna bimubāḥātin fafaḍlun lahu binafyihā ʿan qalbihi kaylā yakūna qalbuhu mawṭinan lilghafalāti waʾaṣluhunna al-ibtilāʾu mina allāhi taʿālā bi-al-taqlībi wa-al-imtiḥānu minhu fī al-taṣrīfi walidhālika khalaqa al-nafsa wa-al-rūḥa wa-al-mawta wa-al-ḥayāta wajaʿala mā ʿalā al-ʾarḍi zīnatan lahā liyuẓhira ʾaḥsana al-ʿamali

If he lets his heart run free in remembering them or sends his footsteps out in pursuit of them, they become a veil between his heart and certainty. If they arrive with permissible things, there is merit for him in expelling them from his heart, lest his heart become a dwelling for heedlessness. Their root is God Most High’s trial through turning and His examination through directing. For this He created self and spirit, death and life, and made what is upon the earth an adornment for it, to manifest the best action

بِالزُّهْدِ فِيهَا وَيَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ فَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى سَلَامَةَ هَذَا الْعَبْدِ بَعْدَ أَنْ أَشْرَفَ عَلَى الْهَلَاكِ وَالْبُعْدِ بِتَسْلِيطِ الْعَدُوِّ عَلَيْهِ وَتَسْوِيلِ النَّفْسِ لَهُ نَظَرَ الْقَلْبُ عِنْدَ الِابْتِلَاءِ فَهَدَى النَّفْسَ بِنُورِ إِيمَانِهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَىٰ فَأَسَرَّ الِالْتِجَاءَ إِلَيْهِ وَأَخْفَى التَّوَكُّلَ عَلَيْهِ عَائِذًا لَائِذًا بِهِ وَاضْطَرَّ مُخْلِصًا لَهُ فَهُنَاكَ تَوَكَّلَ عَلَيْهِ فَكَانَ حَسْبَهُ وَعِنْدَهَا فَوَّضَ إِلَيْهِ

bi-al-zuhdi fīhā wayanẓura kayfa taʿmalūna faʾidhā ʾarāda allāhu taʿālā salāmata hādhā al-ʿabdi baʿda ʾan ʾashrafa ʿalā al-halāki wa-al-buʿdi bitaslīṭi al-ʿaduwwi ʿalayhi wataswīli al-nafsi lahu naẓara al-qalbu ʿinda al-ibtilāʾi fahadā al-nafsa binūri ʾīmānihi ʾilā allāhi taʿālā faʾasarra al-iltijāʾa ʾilayhi waʾakhfā al-tawakkula ʿalayhi ʿāʾidhan lāʾidhan bihi waḍṭarra mukhliṣan lahu fahunāka tawakkala ʿalayhi fakāna ḥasbahu waʿindahā fawwaḍa ʾilayhi

through renunciation of it and to see how you act. When God Most High wills this servant’s safety after he has approached destruction and distance through the enemy’s being empowered against him and the self’s enticement, the heart looks during the trial and guides the self by its faith’s light toward God Most High. He secretly seeks refuge in Him and hides his reliance on Him, taking refuge and shelter with Him, driven by necessity in sincerity toward Him. Then he relies upon Him, and He suffices him; at that point he entrusts to Him

أَمْرَهُ فَوَقَاهُ مَكْرَ عَدُوِّهِ وَحِينَئِذٍ اضْطُرَّ إِلَيْهِ وَاتَّقَاهُ فَجَعَلَ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا وَنَجَّاهُ فَيَنْظُرُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى الْقَلْبِ نَظْرَةً تُخْمِدُ النَّفْسَ وَتَمْحَقُ الْهِمَّةَ وَتُخْنِسُ الْعَدُوَّ لِسُقُوطِ مَكَانِهِ وَتَذْهَبُ لِخُنُوسِهِ شِدَّةُ سُلْطَانِهِ فَيَصْفُو الْقَلْبُ مِنَ التَّأْثِيرِ بِنُورِ السِّرَاجِ الْمُنِيرِ وَيُمْلَسُ مِنَ التَّحْرِيرِ بِقُوَّةِ الْقَهَّارِ الْعَزِيزِ فَيَخَافُ الْعَبْدُ مَقَامَ الرَّبِّ لِصَفَاءِ الْقَلْبِ عَنْ نَظَرِ الرَّبِّ تَعَالَى

ʾamrahu fawaqāhu makra ʿaduwwihi waḥīnaʾidhin uḍṭurra ʾilayhi wattaqāhu fajaʿala lahu makhrajan wanajjāhu fayanẓuru allāhu taʿālā ʾilā al-qalbi naẓratan tukhmidu al-nafsa watamḥaqu al-himmata watukhnisu al-ʿaduwwa lisuqūṭi makānihi watadhhabu likhunūsihi shiddatu sulṭānihi fayaṣfū al-qalbu mina al-taʾthīri binūri al-sirāji al-munīri wayumlasu mina al-taḥrīri biquwwati al-qahhāri al-ʿazīzi fayakhāfu al-ʿabdu maqāma al-rabbi liṣafāʾi al-qalbi ʿan naẓari al-rabbi taʿālā

his affair, and He guards him from his enemy’s plotting. Then he is driven by necessity toward Him and fears Him, and He makes a way out for him and saves him. God Most High looks upon the heart with a gaze that stills the self, effaces the intention, and makes the enemy withdraw because his place has fallen away. Through his withdrawal the strength of his authority disappears. The heart becomes clear of the impression through the shining lamp’s light, and smooth of the inscription through the power of the Mighty Overpowerer. The servant fears his Lord’s station through the heart’s clarity arising from the Lord Most High’s gaze,

فَيَفْزَعُ مِنَ الْخَطِيئَةِ وَيَهْرُبُ أَوْ يَسْتَغْفِرُ مِنْهَا وَيَتُوبُ وَيَظْهَرُ عَلَيْهِ شِعَارُ تَقْوَاهُ . وَإِنْ أَرَادَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِعَبْدٍ هَلَكَةً وَكَانَ قَدْ حَكَمَ بِوُقُوعِ الشَّرِّ نَظَرَ الْقَلْبُ بَعْدَ الْهِمَّةِ

fayafzaʿu mina al-khaṭīʾati wayahrubu ʾaw yastaghfiru minhā wayatūbu wayaẓharu ʿalayhi shiʿāru taqwāhu. waʾin ʾarāda allāhu taʿālā biʿabdin halakatan wakāna qad ḥakama biwuqūʿi al-sharri naẓara al-qalbu baʿda al-himmati

so he takes fright at the sin and flees, or seeks forgiveness for it and repents, and the sign of his reverent fear appears upon him. If God Most High wills destruction for a servant and has decreed the occurrence of evil, the heart looks, after the intention,

بِهَوَى النَّفْسِ إِلَى الْعَقْلِ فَرَجَعَ الْعَقْلُ إِلَى النَّفْسِ فَسَوَّلَتْ وَطَوَّعَتْ فَسَكَنَ الْعَقْلُ وَاطْمَأَنَّ إِلَى تَسْوِيلِ النَّفْسِ وَطَوْعِهَا فَانْشَرَحَ الصَّدْرُ بِالْهَوَى لِسُكُونِ الْعَقْلِ وَانْتَشَرَ الْهَوَى فِي الْقَلْبِ لِشَرْحِ الصَّدْرِ وَتَوْسِعَتِهِ فَقَوِيَ سُلْطَانُ الْعَدُوِّ لِاتِّسَاعِ مَكَانِهِ فَأَقْبَلَ بِتَزْيِينِهِ وَغُرُورِهِ وَأَمَانِيهِ وَوَعْدِهِ يُوحِي بِذَلِكَ زُخْرُفًا مِنَ التَّحَوُّلِ وَغُرُورًا فَيَضْعُفُ سُلْطَانُ الْإِيمَانِ لِقُوَّةِ سُلْطَانِ

bihaw al-nafsi ʾilā al-ʿaqli farajaʿa al-ʿaqlu ʾilā al-nafsi fasawwalat waṭawwaʿat fasakana al-ʿaqlu waṭmaʾanna ʾilā taswīli al-nafsi waṭawʿihā fansharaḥa al-ṣadru bi-al-haw lisukūni al-ʿaqli wantashara al-haw fī al-qalbi lisharḥi al-ṣadri watawsiʿatihi faqawiya sulṭānu al-ʿaduwwi li-ittisāʿi makānihi faʾaqbala bitazyīnihi waghurūrihi waʾamānīhi wawaʿdihi yūḥī bidhālika zukhrufan mina al-taḥawwuli waghurūran fayaḍʿufu sulṭānu al-ʾīmāni liquwwati sulṭāni

through the self’s desire toward reason. Reason returns to the self, which entices and makes the deed agreeable. Reason settles and finds reassurance in the self’s enticement and compliance. The breast expands with desire because reason has settled; desire spreads through the heart because the breast has opened and expanded. The enemy’s authority grows through the enlargement of his place. He advances with his embellishment, delusion, wishes, and promise, suggesting through these an ornament of shifting forms and deception. Faith’s authority weakens through the strength of the authority of

الْعَدُوِّ وَخَفَاءِ نُورِ الْيَقِينِ فَغَلَبَ الْهَوَى لِقُوَّةِ الشَّهْوَةِ فَأَحْرَقَتِ الشَّهْوَةُ الْعِلْمَ وَالْبَيَانَ فَارْتَفَعَ الْحَيَاءُ وَاسْتَتَرَ الْإِيمَانُ بِالشَّهْوَةِ فَظَهَرَتِ الْمَعْصِيَةُ لِغَلَبَةِ الْهَوَى وَارْتِفَاعِ الْحَيَاءِ ، وَهَذَانِ الْمَعْنَيَانِ مِنْ ظُهُورِ الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ وَالطَّاعَةِ وَالْمَعْصِيَةِ فَلِهَذِهِ الْأَسْبَابِ يُوجَدَانِ فِي طَرْفَةِ عَيْنٍ فَتَصِيرُ أَجْزَاءُ الْعَبْدِ جُزْءًا وَاحِدًا وَمَفْصَلَاتُهُ تَعُودُ بِالْمُرَادِ مِنْهُ فَصْلًا

al-ʿaduwwi wakhafāʾi nūri al-yaqīni faghalaba al-haw liquwwati al-shahwati faʾaḥraqati al-shahwatu al-ʿilma wa-al-bayāna fartafaʿa al-ḥayāʾu wastatara al-ʾīmānu bi-al-shahwati faẓaharati al-maʿṣiyatu lighalabati al-haw wartifāʿi al-ḥayāʾi , wahādhāni al-maʿnayāni min ẓuhūri al-khayri wa-al-sharri wa-al-ṭāʿati wa-al-maʿṣiyati falihādhihi al-ʾasbābi yūjadāni fī ṭarfati ʿaynin fataṣīru ʾajzāʾu al-ʿabdi juzʾan wāḥidan wamafṣalātuhu taʿūdu bi-al-murādi minhu faṣlan

the enemy and the hiding of certainty’s light. Desire prevails through appetite’s strength; appetite burns up knowledge and explanation, shame departs, and faith is hidden by appetite. Disobedience appears through desire’s predominance and shame’s departure. These two meanings, the appearance of good and evil, obedience and disobedience, arise through these causes in a blink of an eye. The servant’s parts become one part and his distinct portions, through what is intended of him, become one

وَاحِدًا كَالْبَرْقِ فِي السُّرْعَةِ بِتَغْلِيبِ الْقُدْرَةِ عَلَى الْمَشِيئَةِ إِذَا قَالَ جَلَّ وَعَلَا لَهُ : ( كُنْ فَيَكُونُ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 59 . وَإِنْ أَرَادَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِظْهَارَ خَيْرٍ وَإِلْهَامَ تَقْوًى مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْمَلَكُوتِ حَرَّكَ الرُّوحَ بِخَفِيِّ اللُّطْفِ فَتَحَرَّكَتْ بِأَمْرِهِ جَلَّتْ قُدْرَتُهُ فَقَدَحَ مِنْ جَوْهَرِهَا نُورٌ سَطَعَ فِي الْقَلْبِ هِمَّةً عَالِيَةً وَهِمَّةُ الْخَيْرِ تُرَى بِأَحَدِ ثَلَاثَةِ مَعَانٍ لَا تُحْصَى فُرُوعُهَا لِأَنَّ كُلَّ

wāḥidan ka-al-barqi fī al-surʿati bitaghlībi al-qudrati ʿalā al-mashīʾati ʾidhā qāla jalla waʿalā lahu: ( kun fayakūnu ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 59. waʾin ʾarāda allāhu taʿālā ʾiẓhāra khayrin waʾilhāma taqwan min khazāʾini al-malakūti ḥarraka al-rūḥa bikhafiyyi al-luṭfi fataḥarrakat biʾamrihi jallat qudratuhu faqadaḥa min jawharihā nūrun saṭaʿa fī al-qalbi himmatan ʿāliyatan wahimmatu al-khayri turā biʾaḥadi thalāthati maʿānin lā tuḥṣā furūʿuhā liʾanna kulla

whole, lightning-fast, through power’s predominance according to will, when He, majestic and exalted, says to it, “Be, and it is” (Āl ʿImrān 59). If God Most High wills to manifest good and inspire reverent fear from the treasuries of the unseen kingdom, He moves the spirit through hidden kindness; it moves by His command, exalted is His power, and a light sparks from its substance, shining in the heart as a lofty intention. Good intention is seen through one of three meanings whose branches cannot be counted, because every

عَبْدٍ هِمَّتُهُ فِي الْخَيْرِ مَبْلَغُ عِلْمِهِ وَمُنْتَهَىٰ مَقَامِهِ ، فَأَحَدُ الْأُصُولِ مُسَارَعَةٌ إِلَى أَمْرٍ يُفْرَضُ أَوْ نَدْبٌ لِفَضْلٍ يَكُونُ عَنْ عَمَلِ حَالِ الْعَبْدِ أَوْ عِلْمٍ يَكُونُ فِطْنَةً لَهُ أَظْهَرَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ مُكَاشَفَةِ غَيْبٍ مِنْ مَلَكٍ أَوْ مَلَكُوتٍ ، وَالْمَعْنَى الثَّالِثُ بِتَحَمُّلِ مُبَاحٍ مِنْ تَصَرُّفٍ فِيمَا يَعْنِي مِمَّا يَعُودُ صَلَاحُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاسْتِرَاحَةِ النَّفْسِ بِمَا أُبِيحَ لَهُ يَكُونُ نَفْعُهُ لِغَيْرِهِ أَوْ تَرْوِيحَاتٍ مِنَ

ʿabdin himmatuhu fī al-khayri mablaghu ʿilmihi wamuntahā maqāmihi , faʾaḥadu al-ʾuṣūli musāraʿatun ʾilā ʾamrin yufraḍu ʾaw nadbun lifaḍlin yakūnu ʿan ʿamali ḥāli al-ʿabdi ʾaw ʿilmin yakūnu fiṭnatan lahu ʾaẓhara ʿalayhi min mukāshafati ghaybin min malakin ʾaw malakūtin , wa-al-maʿnā al-thālithu bitaḥammuli mubāḥin min taṣarrufin fīmā yaʿnī mimmā yaʿūdu ṣalāḥuhu ʿalayhi wastirāḥati al-nafsi bimā ʾubīḥa lahu yakūnu nafʿuhu lighayrihi ʾaw tarwīḥātin mina

servant’s intention in good reaches the extent of his knowledge and the limit of his station. One root is hastening to a required command or an invitation to a virtue arising from the work of the servant’s state; another is knowledge giving him insight, disclosed to him through an unveiling of the unseen from an angel or the unseen kingdom. The third meaning is undertaking permissible activity in what concerns him, whose benefit returns to him; the self’s rest in something permitted to him that benefits someone else; or respite from

الْأَفْكَارِ لِقَلْبِهِ الْغَائِصِ فِي الْبِحَارِ يَكُونُ حَمْلًا لِكَرْبِهِ وَتَخْفِيفًا لِثِقْلِهِ ، فَهَذِهِ مَرَافِقُ لِلْعَبْدِ بِاخْتِيَارٍ مِنَ الْمَعْبُودِ وَحِكْمَةٍ مِنَ الْحَكِيمِ وَفِي كُلِّهَا رِضَاهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فَإِمْضَاؤُهَا أَفْضَلُ لِلْعَبْدِ وَبَعْضُهَا أَفْضَلُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ ، وَهَذِهِ الْأُصُولُ السِّتَّةُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ هِيَ الْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ لَمَّةِ الْمَلَكِ وَبَيْنَ لَمَّةِ الْعَدُوِّ وَبَيْنَ إِلْهَامِ التَّقْوَى وَإِلْهَامِ الْفُجُورِ الَّتِي هِيَ

al-ʾafkāri liqalbihi al-ghāʾiṣi fī al-biḥāri yakūnu ḥamlan likarbihi watakhfīfan lithiqlihi , fahādhihi marāfiqu lilʿabdi bikhtiyārin mina al-maʿbūdi waḥikmatin mina al-ḥakīmi wafī kullihā riḍāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā faʾimḍāʾuhā ʾafḍalu lilʿabdi wabaʿḍuhā ʾafḍalu min baʿḍin , wahādhihi al-ʾuṣūlu al-sittatu mina al-khayri wa-al-sharri hiya al-farqu bayna lammati al-malaki wabayna lammati al-ʿaduwwi wabayna ʾilhāmi al-taqwā waʾilhāmi al-fujūri allatī hiya

thoughts for his heart diving in the seas, bearing its distress and lightening its burden. These are helps for the servant through a choice of the Worshipped One and wisdom of the Wise; in all of them lies His good pleasure, glorified and exalted. Carrying them out is better for the servant, and some are better than others. These six roots of good and evil distinguish the angel’s visitation from the enemy’s, and the inspiration of reverent fear from the inspiration of wickedness, which are

النِّيَّةُ وَالْوَسْوَسَةُ ، وَهُمَا الِاخْتِيَارُ أَوِ الِاخْتِبَارُ ، وَقَدْ تَكُونُ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي مُكَاشَفَاتِ مَزِيدٍ لِلْعَبْدِ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهَا وَيَجِدُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى بِمَا أَوْجَدَهُ مِنْهُ عِنْدَهَا وَيَكُونُ تَعْرِيفًا مِنَ اللَّهِ يَتَعَرَّفُ إِلَيْهِ بِهَا وَيَفْتَحُ لَهُ بَابَ الْأُنْسِ وَالشَّوْقِ مِنْهَا ثُمَّ تَتَفَاوَتُ الْعِبَادُ فِي مُشَاهَدَتِهَا عَلَى حَسَبِ عُلُوِّهِمْ فِي الْيَقِينِ وَعَلَى قَدْرِ قُوَّتِهِمْ وَمَكَانِهِمْ مِنَ التَّمْكِينِ إِلَّا

al-niyyatu wa-al-waswasatu , wahumā al-ikhtiyāru ʾawi al-ikhtibāru , waqad takūnu hādhihi al-maʿānī mukāshafāti mazīdin lilʿabdi yanẓuru ʾilā allāhi minhā wayajidu allāha taʿālā bimā ʾawjadahu minhu ʿindahā wayakūnu taʿrīfan mina allāhi yataʿarrafu ʾilayhi bihā wayaftaḥu lahu bāba al-ʾunsi wa-al-shawqi minhā thumma tatafāwatu al-ʿibādu fī mushāhadatihā ʿalā ḥasabi ʿuluwwihim fī al-yaqīni waʿalā qadri quwwatihim wamakānihim mina al-tamkīni ʾillā

intention and whispering, and are choosing or testing. These meanings may be unveilings of increase for the servant, through which he looks toward God and finds God Most High through what He has made him find of Himself at them. They may be a making-known from God through which He makes Himself known to him and opens for him the door of intimacy and longing. Servants then differ in witnessing them according to their elevation in certainty, their strength, and their degree of firm establishment. Yet

أَنَّ أُصُولَ مَعَانِي الْخَيْرِ وَأَوَاسِطَهَا إِلْهَامُ الْمَلَكِ وَالْإِلْقَاءُ فِي الرُّوحِ وَقَوَادِحُ الْأَنْوَارِ فِي كُتُبِ الْإِيمَانِ وَفُرُوعُهَا الْآخِرَةُ وَالْعِلْمُ مِمَّا أُمِرَ بِهِ أَوْ نُدِبَ إِلَيْهِ وَالْمُبَاحُ وَأُصُولُ مَعَانِي الشَّرِّ أَضْدَادُهَا أَوَاسِطُهَا النَّفْسُ وَالْعَدُوُّ وَأَسْبَابُهَا الشَّهْوَةُ وَالْهَوَى يَظْهَرْنَ عَنِ الْجَهْلِ وَيُوقِعْنَ الْحِجَابَ وَيَصْدُرْنَ إِلَى عِقَابٍ .

ʾanna ʾuṣūla maʿānī al-khayri waʾawāsiṭahā ʾilhāmu al-malaki wa-al-ʾilqāʾu fī al-rūḥi waqawādiḥu al-ʾanwāri fī kutubi al-ʾīmāni wafurūʿuhā al-ʾākhiratu wa-al-ʿilmu mimmā ʾumira bihi ʾaw nudiba ʾilayhi wa-al-mubāḥu waʾuṣūlu maʿānī al-sharri ʾaḍdāduhā ʾawāsiṭuhā al-nafsu wa-al-ʿaduwwu waʾasbābuhā al-shahwatu wa-al-haw yaẓharna ʿani al-jahli wayūqiʿna al-ḥijāba wayaṣdurna ʾilā ʿiqābin.

the roots and intermediaries of the meanings of good are the angel’s inspiration, the casting into the spirit, and the striking of lights in the books of faith. Their branches are the hereafter, knowledge of what is commanded or recommended, and the permissible. The roots of the meanings of evil are their opposites: their intermediaries are self and enemy, their causes appetite and desire. They arise from ignorance, bring about the veil, and proceed toward punishment.

فَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِظْهَارَ خَيْرٍ مِنْ خَزَانَةِ الرُّوحِ حَرَّكَهَا فَسَطَعَتْ نُورًا فِي الْقَلْبِ فَأَثَّرَتْ فَيَنْظُرُ الْمَلَكُ إِلَى الْقَلْبِ فَيَرَى مَا أَحْدَثَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِيهِ فَيَظْهَرُ مَكَانُهُ فَيَتَمَكَّنُ عَلَى مِثَالِ فِعْلِ الْعَدُوِّ فِي خَزَانَةِ الشَّرِّ ، وَهِيَ النَّفْسُ ،

faʾidhā ʾarāda allāhu taʿālā ʾiẓhāra khayrin min khazānati al-rūḥi ḥarrakahā fasaṭaʿat nūran fī al-qalbi faʾaththarat fayanẓuru al-malaku ʾilā al-qalbi fayarā mā ʾaḥdatha allāhu taʿālā fīhi fayaẓharu makānuhu fayatamakkanu ʿalā mithāli fiʿli al-ʿaduwwi fī khazānati al-sharri , wahiya al-nafsu ,

When God Most High wills to manifest good from the spirit’s treasury, He moves it, and it flashes as light within the heart, leaving an impression. The angel looks toward the heart and sees what God Most High has brought about in it; his place appears, and he becomes established, like the enemy’s activity in the treasury of evil, namely the self.

وَالْمَلَكُ مَجْبُولٌ عَلَى الْهِدَايَةِ مَطْبُوعٌ عَلَى

wa-al-malaku majbūlun ʿalā al-hidāyati maṭbūʿun ʿalā

The angel is fashioned for guidance and naturally disposed to

حُبِّ الطَّاعَةِ كَمَا أَنَّ الْعَدُوَّ مَجْبُولٌ عَلَى الْغِوَايَةِ مَطْبُوعٌ عَلَى حُبِّ الْمَعْصِيَةِ فَيُلْقِي الْمَلَكُ الْإِلْهَامَ وَهُوَ خُطُورُهُ عَلَى الْقَلْبِ بِقَدْحِ خَوَاطِرِهِ يَأْمُرُ بِتَقْيِيدِ ذَلِكَ وَيُحَسِّنُهُ لَهُ وَيَحُثُّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَهَذَا هُوَ إِلْهَامُ التَّقْوَى وَالرُّشْدِ وَيَنْظُرُ الْمَلَكُ إِلَى الْيَقِينِ كَمَا يَنْظُرُ الْعَدُوُّ إِلَى النَّفْسِ فَيَشْهَدُ الْيَقِينُ لِلْمَلَكِ بِذَلِكَ فَيَطْمَئِنُّ الْعَقْلُ وَيَسْكُنُ إِلَى شَهَادَةِ الْيَقِينِ وَيَصِيرُ

ḥubbi al-ṭāʿati kamā ʾanna al-ʿaduwwa majbūlun ʿalā al-ghiwāyati maṭbūʿun ʿalā ḥubbi al-maʿṣiyati fayulqī al-malaku al-ʾilhāma wahuwa khuṭūruhu ʿalā al-qalbi biqadḥi khawāṭirihi yaʾmuru bitaqyīdi dhālika wayuḥassinuhu lahu wayaḥuththuhu ʿalayhi wahādhā huwa ʾilhāmu al-taqwā wa-al-rushdi wayanẓuru al-malaku ʾilā al-yaqīni kamā yanẓuru al-ʿaduwwu ʾilā al-nafsi fayashhadu al-yaqīnu lilmalaki bidhālika fayaṭmaʾinnu al-ʿaqlu wayaskunu ʾilā shahādati al-yaqīni wayaṣīru

love obedience, just as the enemy is fashioned for error and naturally disposed to love disobedience. The angel casts inspiration, his passing over the heart by striking his promptings, commanding that this be secured, making it attractive to him and urging him toward it. This is the inspiration of reverent fear and right direction. The angel looks toward certainty as the enemy looks toward the self. Certainty bears witness for the angel to this; reason becomes reassured and rests in certainty’s testimony. Reason now becomes

الْعَقْلُ الْآنَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مَعَ الْمَلَكِ بِتَأْيِيدِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كَمَا كَانَ مَعَ النَّفْسِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ مُطْمَئِنًّا إِلَيْهَا فَيَنْشَرِحُ الصَّدْرُ لِطُمَأْنِينَةِ الْعَقْلِ فَتَظْهَرُ أَدِلَّةُ الْعِلْمِ لِانْشِرَاحِ الصَّدْرِ فَيَقْوَى سُلْطَانُ الْيَقِينِ لِصَفَاءِ الْإِيمَانِ وَتَنْدَرِجُ ظُلْمَةُ الْهَوَى فِي نُورِ الْيَقِينِ وَتَنْطَفِئُ شُعْلَةُ الشَّهْوَةِ لِظُهُورِ نُورِ الْإِيمَانِ وَيَزِينُ الْإِيمَانُ بِزِينَةِ الْحَيَاءِ فَتَضْعُفُ صِفَاتُ النَّفْسِ

al-ʿaqlu al-ʾāna biʾidhni allāhi taʿālā maʿa al-malaki bitaʾyīdi allāhi taʿālā kamā kāna maʿa al-nafsi ʾawwala marratin muṭmaʾinnan ʾilayhā fayanshariḥu al-ṣadru liṭumaʾnīnati al-ʿaqli fataẓharu ʾadillatu al-ʿilmi linshirāḥi al-ṣadri fayaqwā sulṭānu al-yaqīni liṣafāʾi al-ʾīmāni watandariju ẓulmatu al-haw fī nūri al-yaqīni watanṭafiʾu shuʿlatu al-shahwati liẓuhūri nūri al-ʾīmāni wayazīnu al-ʾīmānu bizīnati al-ḥayāʾi fataḍʿufu ṣifātu al-nafsi

with the angel by God Most High’s permission and through God Most High’s support, just as it was with the self the first time, resting in it. The breast opens through reason’s reassurance; the proofs of knowledge appear through the breast’s opening. Certainty’s authority strengthens through faith’s purity; desire’s darkness is enfolded within certainty’s light; appetite’s flame is extinguished by the appearance of faith’s light. Faith adorns itself with the adornment of shame, and the self’s qualities weaken

لِسُقُوطِ الشَّهْوَةِ وَيَقْوَى الْقَلْبُ لِضَعْفِ النَّفْسِ وَيَزِيدُ الْإِيمَانُ بِقُوَّةِ الْيَقِينِ وَظُهُورِ أَدِلَّةِ الْعِلْمِ فَتَغْلِبُ الْهِدَايَةُ لِمَزِيدِ الْإِيمَانِ وَلِبْسَةِ الْحَيَاءِ فَتَظْهَرُ الطَّاعَةُ لِغَلَبَةِ الْحَقِّ وَاللَّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ .

lisuqūṭi al-shahwati wayaqwā al-qalbu liḍaʿfi al-nafsi wayazīdu al-ʾīmānu biquwwati al-yaqīni waẓuhūri ʾadillati al-ʿilmi fataghlibu al-hidāyatu limazīdi al-ʾīmāni walibsati al-ḥayāʾi fataẓharu al-ṭāʿatu lighalabati al-ḥaqqi wa-allāhu ghālibun ʿalā ʾamrihi walakinna ʾakthara al-nāsi lā yaʿlamūna.

through appetite’s fall. The heart strengthens through the self’s weakness; faith increases through certainty’s strength and the appearance of knowledge’s proofs. Guidance prevails through increased faith and the garment of shame; obedience appears through truth’s predominance. God prevails over His affair, but most people do not know.

ذِكْرُ نَوْعٍ آخَرَ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ

dhikru nawʿin ʾākhara mina al-bayāni

Another Kind of Explanation

وَقَدْ تَخْتَلِفُ اللَّمَّتَانِ مِنَ الْمَلَكِ وَالْعَدُوِّ وَيَتَفَاوَتُ الْإِلْهَامُ وَالْوَسْوَسَةُ فِي الْمَعَانِي مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ ، فَرُبَّمَا تَقَدَّمَتْ لَمَّةُ الْعَدُوِّ بِالْأَمْرِ بِالشَّرِّ وَتَقْدَحُ بَعْدَهَا لَمَّةُ الْمَلَكِ نُصْرَةً لِلْعَبْدِ وَتَثْبِيتًا عَلَى الْخَيْرِ وَعِنَايَةً مِنَ الرَّبِّ تَعَالَى فَيَنْهَىٰ عَنْ ذَلِكَ ، فَعَلَى الْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَعْصِيَ الْخَاطِرَ الْأَوَّلَ وَيُطِيعَ الْخَاطِرَ الثَّانِيَ ،

waqad takhtalifu al-lammatāni mina al-malaki wa-al-ʿaduwwi wayatafāwatu al-ʾilhāmu wa-al-waswasatu fī al-maʿānī mina al-khayri wa-al-sharri , farubbamā taqaddamat lammatu al-ʿaduwwi bi-al-ʾamri bi-al-sharri wataqdaḥu baʿdahā lammatu al-malaki nuṣratan lilʿabdi watathbītan ʿalā al-khayri waʿināyatan mina al-rabbi taʿālā fayanhā ʿan dhālika , faʿalā al-ʿabdi ʾan yaʿṣiya al-khāṭira al-ʾawwala wayuṭīʿa al-khāṭira al-thāniya ,

The two visitations from angel and enemy may differ, and inspiration and whispering vary in their meanings of good and evil. Sometimes the enemy’s visitation comes first, commanding evil; the angel’s visitation sparks afterward, helping the servant, establishing him in good, and conveying the Lord Most High’s care, so that he forbids it. The servant must disobey the first prompting and obey the second.

وَقَدْ يَتَقَدَّمُ إِلْهَامُ الْمَلَكِ بِالْأَمْرِ بِالْخَيْرِ ثُمَّ يَقْدَحُ بَعْدَهُ خَاطِرُ الْعَدُوِّ بِالنَّهْيِ عَنْهُ وَالتَّثْبِيطِ وَالْإِمْلَاءِ فِيهِ بِالتَّأْخِيرِ مِحْنَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِلْعَبْدِ لِيَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ يَعْمَلُ وَحَسَدًا مِنَ الْعَدُوِّ فَعَلَيْهِ أَنْ يُطِيعَ الْخَاطِرَ الْأَوَّلَ وَيَعْصِيَ الْخَاطِرَ الثَّانِيَ ، ثُمَّ تَدِقُّ الْخَوَاطِرُ مِنْ إِلْهَامِ الْمَلَكِ بِالْخَيْرِ وَمِنْ وَسْوَسَةِ الْعَدُوِّ بِالشَّرِّ ،

waqad yataqaddamu ʾilhāmu al-malaki bi-al-ʾamri bi-al-khayri thumma yaqdaḥu baʿdahu khāṭiru al-ʿaduwwi bi-al-nahyi ʿanhu wa-al-tathbīṭi wa-al-ʾimlāʾi fīhi bi-al-taʾkhīri miḥnatan mina allāhi taʿālā lilʿabdi liyanẓura kayfa yaʿmalu waḥasadan mina al-ʿaduwwi faʿalayhi ʾan yuṭīʿa al-khāṭira al-ʾawwala wayaʿṣiya al-khāṭira al-thāniya , thumma tadiqqu al-khawāṭiru min ʾilhāmi al-malaki bi-al-khayri wamin waswasati al-ʿaduwwi bi-al-sharri ,

The angel’s inspiration may come first, commanding good; afterward the enemy’s prompting sparks, forbidding it, discouraging it, and prolonging delay in it, as a trial from God Most High for the servant, to see how he acts, and from the enemy’s envy. He must obey the first prompting and disobey the second. Then promptings become subtle, whether the angel’s inspiration of good or the enemy’s whispering of evil.

وَقَدْ يَتَفَاوَتُ ذَلِكَ مِنْ ضَعْفِ خَاطِرِ الْخَيْرِ لِقُوَّةِ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَمِنْ قُوَّةِ خَاطِرِ الشَّرِّ لِقُوَّةِ الشَّهْوَةِ وَالْهَوَى وَفِي الْمَزِيدِ وَالنَّقْصِ مِنْهُمَا وَالتَّقْدِيمِ وَالتَّأْخِيرِ بِهِمَا لِتَفَاوُتِ الْأَحْكَامِ وَالْإِرَادَةِ مِنَ الْحَاكِمِ وَمِنْ قِبَلِ تَقْلِيبِ الْقُدْرَةِ وَغَرَائِبِ الْأَحْكَامِ بِالْمَشِيئَةِ لِأَنَّ لَهُ فِي خَزَانَةِ الْخَيْرِ خَزَانَةَ الشَّرِّ إِذَا شَاءَ وَلَهُ فِي خَزَانَةِ الشَّرِّ خَزَائِنَ الْخَيْرِ إِذَا أَحَبَّ

waqad yatafāwatu dhālika min ḍaʿfi khāṭiri al-khayri liquwwati al-raghbati fī al-dunyā wamin quwwati khāṭiri al-sharri liquwwati al-shahwati wa-al-haw wafī al-mazīdi wa-al-naqṣi minhumā wa-al-taqdīmi wa-al-taʾkhīri bihimā litafāwuti al-ʾaḥkāmi wa-al-ʾirādati mina al-ḥākimi wamin qibali taqlībi al-qudrati wagharāʾibi al-ʾaḥkāmi bi-al-mashīʾati liʾanna lahu fī khazānati al-khayri khazānata al-sharri ʾidhā shāʾa walahu fī khazānati al-sharri khazāʾina al-khayri ʾidhā ʾaḥabba

They may differ through the weakness of the good prompting because of strong desire for this world, or the strength of the evil prompting because of strong appetite and desire; in their increase and decrease, and in which precedes or follows, through the differing rulings and will of the Judge, the turning of power, and wondrous rulings through will. For He has a treasury of evil within the treasury of good when He wills, and treasuries of good within the treasury of evil when He wishes,

لِمَنْ يُحِبُّهُ لِئَلَّا يَسْكُنَ إِلَى سِوَاهُ وَلَا يُدِلَّ الْعَبْدُ بِمَا مِنْهُ أَبْدَاهُ ، فَإِذَا شَهِدَ الْعَارِفُ ذَلِكَ لَمْ يَقْطَعْ بِخَيْرٍ وَلَمْ يُدِلَّ بِهِ أَبَدًا لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَأْمَنُ مَكْرَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِتَقْلِيبِ خَزَائِنِ الشَّرِّ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْخَيْرِ إِذَا عَلَيْهِ أَبْدَاهُ وَلَمْ يَيْأَسْ مِنْ شَرٍّ عَلَيْهِ أَبْدَاهُ لِأَنَّهُ يَرْجُو تَقْلِيبَ خَزَائِنِ الْخَيْرِ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الشَّرِّ فَيَكُونُ بَيْنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالرَّجَاءِ وَلَا يُدْرَكُ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا بِدَقَائِقِ

liman yuḥibbuhu liʾallā yaskuna ʾilā siwāhu walā yudilla al-ʿabdu bimā minhu ʾabdāhu , faʾidhā shahida al-ʿārifu dhālika lam yaqṭaʿ bikhayrin walam yudilla bihi ʾabadan liʾannahu lā yaʾmanu makra allāhi taʿālā bitaqlībi khazāʾini al-sharri min khazāʾini al-khayri ʾidhā ʿalayhi ʾabdāhu walam yayʾas min sharrin ʿalayhi ʾabdāhu liʾannahu yarjū taqlība khazāʾini al-khayri min khazāʾini al-sharri fayakūnu bayna al-khawfi wa-al-rajāʾi walā yudraku dhālika ʾillā bidaqāʾiqi

for one He loves, lest he rest in anyone besides Him or the servant presume upon what He has brought forth from him. When the knower witnesses this, he makes no absolute claim to good and never presumes upon it, because he is not secure from God Most High’s hidden devising through bringing the treasuries of evil out of the treasuries of good when He manifests it upon him. Nor does he despair over evil manifested upon him, because he hopes for the turning forth of treasuries of good from the treasuries of evil. He stands between fear and hope. This is perceived only through the subtleties of

الْعُلُومِ وَلَطَائِفِ الْفُهُومِ وَغَوَامِضِ الْفِطَنِ وَصَفَاءِ الْأَنْوَارِ مِنْ تَعْلِيمِ الرَّحِيمِ الْجَبَّارِ ، فَمَا كَانَ لِلْعَبْدِ يَجِدُ بَعْدَ خَطْرَةِ الشَّرِّ خَطْرَةَ خَيْرٍ مِنْهَا تَنْهَاهُ عَنْهَا فَهُوَ مَنْظُورٌ إِلَيْهِ مُتَدَارَكٌ وَهَذَا هُوَ الْوَاعِظُ الْقَائِمُ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَالزَّاجِرُ الْمُؤَيَّدُ لِلْعَقْلِ ، وَقَدْ تَتَرَادَفُ خَوَاطِرُ الشَّرِّ مِنَ النَّفْسِ وَالْهَوَى فَلَا يَتَعَاقَبُهَا خَاطِرُ خَيْرٍ مِنَ الْمَلَكِ وَهَذَا عَلَامَةُ الْبُعْدِ وَنِهَايَةُ

al-ʿulūmi walaṭāʾifi al-fuhūmi waghawāmiḍi al-fiṭani waṣafāʾi al-ʾanwāri min taʿlīmi al-raḥīmi al-jabbāri , famā kāna lilʿabdi yajidu baʿda khaṭrati al-sharri khaṭrata khayrin minhā tanhāhu ʿanhā fahuwa manẓūrun ʾilayhi mutadārakun wahādhā huwa al-wāʿiẓu al-qāʾimu fī al-qalbi wa-al-zājiru al-muʾayyadu lilʿaqli , waqad tatarādafu khawāṭiru al-sharri mina al-nafsi wa-al-haw falā yataʿāqabuhā khāṭiru khayrin mina al-malaki wahādhā ʿalāmatu al-buʿdi wanihāyatu

sciences, delicate understandings, obscure insights, and pure lights, from the teaching of the Merciful Compeller. Whenever the servant finds after an evil prompting a good prompting that forbids it, he is being looked upon and rescued. This is the admonisher standing within the heart and the restrainer supporting reason. Evil promptings from the self and desire may follow one another without a good prompting from the angel succeeding them. This is the sign of distance and the utmost

قَسْوَةِ الْقَلْبِ ، وَقَدْ تَتَابَعُ خَوَاطِرُ الْخَيْرِ وَالْبِرِّ مِنَ الرُّوحِ وَالْمَلَكِ وَيُعَافَى الْعَبْدُ مِنْ خَاطِرَيِ الْهَوَى

qaswati al-qalbi , waqad tatābaʿu khawāṭiru al-khayri wa-al-birri mina al-rūḥi wa-al-malaki wayuʿāfā al-ʿabdu min khāṭirayi al-hawā

hardness of heart. Promptings of goodness and righteousness from spirit and angel may also follow one another, and the servant is spared the two promptings of desire

وَالنَّفْسِ وَهَذَا عَلَامَةُ الْقُرْبِ وَهُوَ حَالُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَقَدْ تَرِدُ خَوَاطِرُ الْعَدُوِّ وَوَسَاوِسُهُ بِالْخَيْرِ وَالْبِرِّ ابْتِلَاءً مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِعَبْدِهِ وَحِيلَةً مِنَ الْعَدُوِّ وَمَكْرًا مِنَ النَّفْسِ يُرِيدُ الْعَدُوُّ بِذَلِكَ الشَّرَّ أَوْ يُخْرِجُهُ آخِرَ إِلَى إِثْمٍ أَوْ خَيْرٍ لِيَقْطَعَهُ بِذَلِكَ عَنْ وَاجِبٍ أَوْ يَشْغَلَهُ بِهِ عَنِ الْأَفْضَلِ فِي الْحَالِ فَيَكُونُ ظَاهِرُهُ بِرًّا وَبَاطِنُهُ إِثْمًا وَيَكُونُ أَوَّلُهُ خَيْرًا وَآخِرُهُ إِثْمًا ،

wa-al-nafsi wahādhā ʿalāmatu al-qurbi wahuwa ḥālu al-muqarrabīna waqad taridu khawāṭiru al-ʿaduwwi wawasāwisuhu bi-al-khayri wa-al-birri ibtilāʾan mina allāhi taʿālā liʿabdihi waḥīlatan mina al-ʿaduwwi wamakran mina al-nafsi yurīdu al-ʿaduwwu bidhālika al-sharra ʾaw yukhrijuhu ʾākhira ʾilā ʾithmin ʾaw khayrin liyaqṭaʿahu bidhālika ʿan wājibin ʾaw yashghalahu bihi ʿani al-ʾafḍali fī al-ḥāli fayakūnu ẓāhiruhu birran wabāṭinuhu ʾithman wayakūnu ʾawwaluhu khayran waʾākhiruhu ʾithman ,

and self. This is the sign of nearness and the state of those brought near. The enemy’s promptings and whisperings may arrive with goodness and righteousness, as a trial from God Most High for His servant, a stratagem of the enemy, and a plot of the self. Through this the enemy intends evil, or finally draws him toward a sin, or toward a good to cut him off from an obligation or occupy him away from what is best at that moment. Its outward aspect is righteousness and its inward aspect sin; its beginning is good and its end sin.

وَبُغْيَةُ الْعَدُوِّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ بَاطِنُهُ وَآخِرُهُ ، وَشَهْوَةُ النَّفْسِ فِي ذَلِكَ هَوَاهَا وَمُنَاهَا قَدْ لَبَّسَا ظَاهِرَهُ بِالْخَيْرِ تَزْيِينًا وَمَوَّهَا أَوَّلَهُ بِالْبِرِّ تَحْسِينًا وَهَذَا مِنْ أَدَقِّ مَا يُبْتَلَى بِهِ الْعَامِلُونَ وَلَا يَعْرِفُ بَوَاطِنَهُ وَسَرَائِرَهُ إِلَّا الْعَالِمُونَ . فَأَمَّا خَاطِرُ الْمَلَكِ فَلَا يَرِدُ إِلَّا بِخَيْرٍ صَرِيحٍ وَبِرٍّ مَحْضٍ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ إِذَا وَرَدَ لِأَنَّ الْخِدَاعَ وَالْحِيلَةَ لَيْسَ مِنْ وَصْفِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ وَلَكِنْ

wabughyatu al-ʿaduwwi min dhālika bāṭinuhu waʾākhiruhu , washahwatu al-nafsi fī dhālika hawāhā wamunāhā qad labbasā ẓāhirahu bi-al-khayri tazyīnan wamawwahā ʾawwalahu bi-al-birri taḥsīnan wahādhā min ʾadaqqi mā yubtalā bihi al-ʿāmilūna walā yaʿrifu bawāṭinahu wasarāʾirahu ʾillā al-ʿālimūna. faʾammā khāṭiru al-malaki falā yaridu ʾillā bikhayrin ṣarīḥin wabirrin maḥḍin ʿalā kulli ḥālin ʾidhā warada liʾanna al-khidāʿa wa-al-ḥīlata laysa min waṣfi al-malāʾikati walakin

What the enemy seeks is its inward aspect and end; what the self craves is its desire and wish. They have disguised its exterior with goodness as an adornment and coated its beginning with righteousness to make it attractive. This is among the subtlest trials of those who act, and only the knowledgeable recognize its inward aspects and secrets. The angel’s prompting arrives only with explicit good and pure righteousness, in every circumstance in which it arrives, because deception and stratagem are not qualities of angels. Yet

قَدْ تَنْقَطِعُ خَوَاطِرُ الْمَلَكِ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ إِذَا اشْتَدَّتْ قَسْوَتُهُ وَدَامَتْ مَعْصِيَتُهُ مِنَ الْمُتَعَبِّدِينَ فَيُخَلَّى بَيْنَ الْقَلْبِ وَبَيْنَ نَوَازِعِ الْعَدُوِّ اللَّعِينِ وَيَتَخَلَّى الْعَدُوُّ بِهَوَى النَّفْسِ فَيَسْتَحْوِذُ وَيَقْتَرِنُ بِالْعَبْدِ نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ إِبْعَادِهِ وَعَدَمِ خَيْرِهِ وَإِرْشَادِهِ وَلَا يَزَالُ الْعَبْدُ مَعَ إِلْهَامِ الْمَلَكِ فِي مَقَامِ الْإِيمَانِ ، فَإِذَا رُفِعَ إِلَى مَقَامِ الْيَقِينِ تَوَلَّاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِوَاسِطَةِ أَنْوَارِ

qad tanqaṭiʿu khawāṭiru al-malaki mina al-qalbi ʾidhā ishtaddat qaswatuhu wadāmat maʿṣiyatuhu mina al-mutaʿabbidīna fayukhallā bayna al-qalbi wabayna nawāziʿi al-ʿaduwwi al-laʿīni wayatakhallā al-ʿaduwwu bihaw al-nafsi fayastaḥwidhu wayaqtarinu bi-al-ʿabdi naʿūdhu bi-allāhi min ʾibʿādihi waʿadami khayrihi waʾirshādihi walā yazālu al-ʿabdu maʿa ʾilhāmi al-malaki fī maqāmi al-ʾīmāni , faʾidhā rufiʿa ʾilā maqāmi al-yaqīni tawallāhu allāhu taʿālā biwāsiṭati ʾanwāri

the angel’s promptings may be cut off from the heart when its hardness intensifies and its disobedience persists, even among worshippers. The heart is left exposed to the accursed enemy’s incitements; the enemy is alone with the self’s desire, gains mastery, and becomes joined to the servant. We seek refuge in God from His keeping us distant and from the absence of His good and guidance. The servant remains with the angel’s inspiration in the station of faith. When he is raised to certainty’s station, God Most High takes him into His care through the lights of

الرُّوحِ ، فَكَانَ الرُّوحُ مَكَانَ إِلْقَاءِ الْحَقِّ حَتَّى يَرِدَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِوَاسِطَةِ أَنْوَارِ الرُّوحِ ، مِنَ السَّرَائِرِ مَا لَا يَطَّلِعُ عَلَيْهِ الْمَلَكُ وَلَا يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ حَتَّى تَفْنَى خَوَاطِرُ النَّفْسِ بِالْهَوَى وَلَا تَبْقَى مِنْهَا بَاقِيَةٌ ، وَتُطْوَى النَّفْسُ فَتَنْدَرِجُ فِي الرُّوحِ فَلَا يَظْهَرُ مِنْهَا دَاعِيَةٌ ثُمَّ يَتَوَلَّاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِنُورِ الْيَقِينِ فَيَسْطَعُ لَهُ نُورُ الْيَقِينِ مِنْ خَزَانَةِ الْغَيْبِ

al-rūḥi , fakāna al-rūḥu makāna ʾilqāʾi al-ḥaqqi ḥattā yarida ʿalayhi mina allāhi taʿālā biwāsiṭati ʾanwāri al-rūḥi , mina al-sarāʾiri mā lā yaṭṭaliʿu ʿalayhi al-malaku walā yakūnu dhālika ḥattā tafnā khawāṭiru al-nafsi bi-al-haw walā tabqā minhā bāqiyatun , watuṭwā al-nafsu fatandariju fī al-rūḥi falā yaẓharu minhā dāʿiyatun thumma yatawallāhu allāhu taʿālā binūri al-yaqīni fayasṭaʿu lahu nūru al-yaqīni min khazānati al-ghaybi

the spirit. The spirit becomes the place where truth is cast, until secrets come to him from God Most High through the spirit’s lights that the angel does not perceive. This occurs only when the self’s promptings of desire have passed away, leaving none, and the self is folded into the spirit, so that no summons appears from it. Then God Most High takes him into His care through certainty’s light, and certainty’s light shines for him from the treasury of the unseen,

الْمَحْجُوبِ بِمُكَاشَفَاتِ الْجَبَرُوتِ فَيَشْهَدُ الْعَبْدُ شَهَادَةَ الْحَقِّ بِالْحَقِّ مُعَايَنَةَ الْغَيْبِ بِفَقْدِ كَوْنِهِ وَوَجْدِ كَيْنُونَتِهِ وَمَا لَا يَصْلُحُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ كَشْفُهُ إِلَّا لِأَهْلِهِ أَوْ لِمَنْ سَأَلَ عَنْهُ ، وَهَذَا يَكُونُ فِي مَقَامِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَهَذَا أَنْصِبَةُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ .

al-maḥjūbi bimukāshafāti al-jabarūti fayashhadu al-ʿabdu shahādata al-ḥaqqi bi-al-ḥaqqi muʿāyanata al-ghaybi bifaqdi kawnihi wawajdi kaynūnatihi wamā lā yaṣluḥu baʿda dhālika kashfuhu ʾillā liʾahlihi ʾaw liman saʾala ʿanhu , wahādhā yakūnu fī maqāmi al-tawḥīdi wahādhā ʾanṣibatu al-muqarrabīna.

the hidden, through unveilings of irresistible dominion. The servant witnesses the testimony of truth through truth, directly beholding the unseen through losing his contingent being and finding his existence, and what beyond this should be disclosed only to its people or to someone who asks about it. This occurs in the station of oneness and is the allotted shares of those brought near.

ذِكْرُ بَيَانٍ آخَرَ مِنْ تَفْصِيلِ الْمَعَانِي

dhikru bayānin ʾākhara min tafṣīli al-maʿānī

A Further Explanation Detailing the Meanings

وَكُلُّ عَمَلٍ وَإِنْ قَلَّ لَا بُدَّ فِيهِ مِنْ ثَلَاثَةِ مَعَانٍ قَدِ اسْتَأْثَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِتَوَلِّيهَا أَوَّلُهَا التَّوْفِيقُ وَهُوَ الِاتِّفَاقُ أَنْ يَجْمَعَ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ الشَّيْءِ ثُمَّ الْقُوَّةُ وَهُوَ اسْمٌ لِثَبَاتِ الْحَرَكَةِ الَّتِي هِيَ أَوَّلُ الْعَقْلِ ثُمَّ الصَّبْرُ وَهُوَ تَمَامُ الْفِعْلِ الَّذِي بِهِ يَتِمُّ ، فَقَدْ رَدَّ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هَذِهِ الْأُصُولَ الَّتِي يَظْهَرُ عَنْهَا كُلُّ عَمَلٍ إِلَيْهِ ، فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ :

wakullu ʿamalin waʾin qalla lā budda fīhi min thalāthati maʿānin qadi istaʾthara allāhu taʿālā bitawallīhā ʾawwaluhā al-tawfīqu wahuwa al-ittifāqu ʾan yajmaʿa baynaka wabayna al-shayʾi thumma al-quwwatu wahuwa ismun lithabāti al-ḥarakati allatī hiya ʾawwalu al-ʿaqli thumma al-ṣabru wahuwa tamāmu al-fiʿli alladhī bihi yatimmu , faqad radda allāhu ʿazza wajalla hādhihi al-ʾuṣūla allatī yaẓharu ʿanhā kullu ʿamalin ʾilayhi , faqāla subḥānahu:

Every deed, however small, necessarily involves three meanings whose direction God Most High has reserved for Himself. First is enabling, namely conjunction: that He bring you and the thing together. Then power, a name for the stability of movement, which is the beginning of reason. Then patience, the completion of the act through which it is completed. God, mighty and majestic, has referred these roots, from which every deed appears, back to Himself. He, glorified, says:

( وَمَا تَوْفِيقِي إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ ) هُودٌ : 88 ، وَقَالَ : ( مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ ) الْكَهْفُ : 39 ، وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَاصْبِرْ وَمَا صَبْرُكَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ ) النَّحْلُ : 127 ، وَقَدْ أَجْمَلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ذِكْرَ تَقْلِيبِ الْكَوْنِ بِمَشِيئَتِهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( يُقَلِّبُ اللَّهُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ ) النُّورُ : 44 ،

( wamā tawfīqī ʾillā bi-allāhi ) hūdun: 88 , waqāla: ( mā shāʾa allāhu lā quwwata ʾillā bi-allāhi ) al-kahfu: 39 , waqāla ʿazza wajalla: ( waṣbir wamā ṣabruka ʾillā bi-allāhi ) al-naḥlu: 127 , waqad ʾajmala allāhu ʿazza wajalla dhikra taqlībi al-kawni bimashīʾatihi fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( yuqallibu allāhu al-layla wa-al-nahāra ) al-nūru: 44 ,

“My enabling is only through God” (Hūd 88). He says, “What God wills! There is no power except through God” (al-Kahf 39). He, mighty and majestic, says, “Be patient; your patience is only through God” (al-Naḥl 127). God, mighty and majestic, summed up the turning of existence by His will in His exalted saying, “God turns night and day” (al-Nūr 44).

وَالْمَعْنَى بِمَا فِيهِمَا لِأَنَّهُمَا ظَرْفَانِ لِلْأَشْيَاءِ فَعَبَّرَ عَنْهُمَا بِهِمَا كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( بَلْ مَكْرُ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ ) سَبَأٌ : 33 ، وَالْمَعْنَى مَكْرُكُمْ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ فَعَبَّرَ بِهِمَا عَنْ مَكْرِهِمْ لِأَنَّهُمَا مَكَانٌ لِمَكْرِهِمْ ، وَكَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَهُ مَا سَكَنَ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 13 فِيهَا وَجْهَانِ أَحَدُهُمَا أَيْ مَا أَقَامَ مِنَ السَّكَنِ وَالثَّانِي مَا سَكَنَ مِنَ

wa-al-maʿnā bimā fīhimā liʾannahumā ẓarfāni lilʾashyāʾi faʿabbara ʿanhumā bihimā kaqawlihi taʿālā: ( bal makru al-layli wa-al-nahāri ) sabaʾun: 33 , wa-al-maʿnā makrukum fī al-layli wa-al-nahāri faʿabbara bihimā ʿan makrihim liʾannahumā makānun limakrihim , wakadhālika qawluhu taʿālā: ( walahu mā sakana fī al-layli wa-al-nahāri ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 13 fīhā wajhāni ʾaḥaduhumā ʾay mā ʾaqāma mina al-sakani wa-al-thānī mā sakana mina

The meaning includes what is within them, because they are containers for things; He expressed what is contained through the two containers, as in His exalted saying, “Rather, the plotting of night and day” (Sabaʾ 33). The meaning is your plotting in night and day: He expressed their plotting through them because they are its place. Likewise His exalted saying, “To Him belongs whatever rests in night and day” (al-Anʿām 13), admits two senses. One is whatever dwells, from dwelling; the second is whatever is still, from

السُّكُونِ وَإِنَّمَا

al-sukūni waʾinnamā

stillness. He mentioned

ذَكَرَ السُّكُونَ دُونَ الْحَرَكَةِ لِأَنَّهُ هُوَ الْأَصْلُ حَتَّى تُحَرَّكَ وَهُوَ الْأَقْرَبُ إِلَى الْعَجْزِ وَالْعَدَمِ وَالتَّحْرِيكُ حَادِثٌ جَارٍ بِإِحْدَاثِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَإِجْرَائِهِ ، وَيَجُوزُ أَيْضًا ذِكْرُ السُّكُونِ لِيُسْتَدَلَّ بِهِ عَلَى الْحَرَكَةِ لِأَنَّهُ ضِدُّهَا ، كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( سَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمُ الْحَرَّ ) النَّحْلُ : 81 وَهِيَ أَيْضًا تَقِي الْبَرْدَ فَذَكَرَ أَحَدَ الْوَصْفَيْنِ لِيُسْتَدَلَّ بِهِ عَلَى الْآخَرِ .

dhakara al-sukūna dūna al-ḥarakati liʾannahu huwa al-ʾaṣlu ḥattā tuḥarraka wahuwa al-ʾaqrabu ʾilā al-ʿajzi wa-al-ʿadami wa-al-taḥrīku ḥādithun jārin biʾiḥdāthi allāhi taʿālā waʾijrāʾihi , wayajūzu ʾayḍan dhikru al-sukūni liyustadalla bihi ʿalā al-ḥarakati liʾannahu ḍidduhā , kamā qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( sarābīla taqīkumu al-ḥarra ) al-naḥlu: 81 wahiya ʾayḍan taqī al-barda fadhakara ʾaḥada al-waṣfayni liyustadalla bihi ʿalā al-ʾākhari.

stillness rather than movement because it is the original condition until something is moved, and is nearer to incapacity and nonexistence. Motion is newly brought about and proceeds through God Most High’s bringing it about and causing it to proceed. It is also possible that stillness is mentioned so movement may be inferred from it, because it is its opposite, as God Most High says, “Garments that protect you from heat” (al-Naḥl 81), though they also protect from cold. He mentioned one quality so the other might be inferred from it.

وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ : ( وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَارَهُمْ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 110 ، وَكَانَ قَسَمُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا وَمُقَلِّبِ الْقُلُوبِ لِمَا شَهِدَ مِنْ عَظِيمِ الْقُدْرَةِ وَلَطِيفِ الصُّنْعِ فِي التَّقْلِيبِ ، وَلِمَا رَأَى مِنْ سُرْعَةِ نَفَاذِ الْقُدْرَةِ بِالْمُرَادِ فِي الْمُقَلَّبَاتِ مِمَّا لَمْ يَشْهَدْ سِوَاهُ فَجَعَلَهُ قَسَمًا لَهُ تَعْظِيمًا لِقُدْرَةِ الْمَحْلُوفِ بِهِ وَخَوْفًا مِنْ سَابِقِ الْعِلْمِ بِالتَّقْلِيبِ فَكَانَ

waqāla subḥānahu: ( wanuqallibu ʾafʾidatahum waʾabṣārahum ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 110 , wakāna qasamu rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lā wamuqallibi al-qulūbi limā shahida min ʿaẓīmi al-qudrati walaṭīfi al-ṣunʿi fī al-taqlībi , walimā raʾā min surʿati nafādhi al-qudrati bi-al-murādi fī al-muqallabāti mimmā lam yashhad siwāhu fajaʿalahu qasaman lahu taʿẓīman liqudrati al-maḥlūfi bihi wakhawfan min sābiqi al-ʿilmi bi-al-taqlībi fakāna

He, glorified, says, “We turn their hearts and their eyes” (al-Anʿām 110). God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, used to swear, “No, by the Turner of hearts,” because of the tremendous power and subtle making he witnessed in their turning, and the speed he saw with which power carried out what was intended in the things turned, in a way no one else witnessed. He made it his oath, magnifying the power of the One sworn by and fearing the prior knowledge concerning their turning. Thus

يَقُولُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ قَالُوا لَهُ : وَتَخَافُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ؟ قَالَ وَمَا يُؤْمِنُنِي وَالْقُلُوبُ بَيْنَ إِصْبَعَيْنِ مِنْ أَصَابِعِ الرَّحْمَنِ يُقَلِّبُهَا كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ ، وَفِي لَفْظِ حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ : إِنْ شَاءَ أَنْ يُقِيمَهُ أَقَامَهُ وَإِنْ شَاءَ أَنْ يُزِيغَهُ أَزَاغَهُ ، وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنْهُ : مَثَلُ الْقَلْبِ مَثَلُ الْعُصْفُورِ فِي تَقَلُّبِهِ يَتَقَلَّبُ فِي كُلِّ سَاعَةٍ ،

yaqūlu rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yā muqalliba al-qulūbi thabbit qalbī ʿalā dīnika qālū lahu: watakhāfu yā rasūla allāhi ? qāla wamā yuʾminunī wa-al-qulūbu bayna ʾiṣbaʿayni min ʾaṣābiʿi al-raḥmāni yuqallibuhā kayfa yashāʾu , wafī lafẓi ḥadīthin ʾākhara: ʾin shāʾa ʾan yuqīmahu ʾaqāmahu waʾin shāʾa ʾan yuzīghahu ʾazāghahu , waqad ruwiya ʿanhu: mathalu al-qalbi mathalu al-ʿuṣfūri fī taqallubihi yataqallabu fī kulli sāʿatin ,

God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, would say, “Turner of hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.” They asked him, “Do you fear, Messenger of God?” He answered, “What could make me secure, when hearts are between two fingers of the All-Merciful’s fingers, and He turns them as He wills?” In another report’s wording: “If He wills to set it upright, He sets it upright; if He wills to make it deviate, He makes it deviate.” It is also related from him, “The heart is like a sparrow in its turning: it turns every hour.”

وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ : مَثَلُ الْقَلْبِ فِي تَقَلُّبِهِ كَالْقِدْرِ إِذَا اسْتَجْمَعَتْ غَلْيًا وَالْخَبَرُ الْمُشْتَهَرُ مَثَلُ الْقَلْبِ كَمَثَلِ رِيشَةٍ بِأَرْضِ فَلَاةٍ تُقَلِّبُهَا الرِّيَاحُ ظَهْرًا لِبَطْنٍ ، فَالْقَلْبُ مَكَانٌ لِلتَّقْلِيبِ بِمَا فِيهِ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْغَيْبِ كَاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ مَكَانٌ لِلْأَحْكَامِ بِالتَّصْرِيفِ مِنَ اخْتِلَافِ الْأَزْمَانِ فِي الْأَوْقَاتِ وَالْإِيمَانُ بِتَقْلِيبِ الْقُلُوبِ وَبِأَنَّ الْمُقَلِّبَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْقَلْبِ وَبَيْنَ صَاحِبِهِ

wafī khabarin ʾākhara: mathalu al-qalbi fī taqallubihi ka-al-qidri ʾidhā istajmaʿat ghalyan wa-al-khabaru al-mushtaharu mathalu al-qalbi kamathali rīshatin biʾarḍi falātin tuqallibuhā al-riyāḥu ẓahran libaṭnin , fa-al-qalbu makānun li-l-taqlībi bimā fīhi min khazāʾini al-ghaybi ka-al-layli wa-al-nahāri makānun lilʾaḥkāmi bi-al-taṣrīfi mina ikhtilāfi al-ʾazmāni fī al-ʾawqāti wa-al-ʾīmānu bitaqlībi al-qulūbi wabiʾanna al-muqalliba yaḥūlu bayna al-qalbi wabayna ṣāḥibihi

In another report: “The heart in its turning is like a pot when it comes to a full boil.” In the well-known report: “The heart is like a feather in a desert land, turned over and over by the winds.” The heart is a place of turning through the treasuries of the unseen within it, as night and day are a place for rulings through the directing of the changing times and seasons. Belief in the turning of hearts, and that the Turner comes between the heart and its possessor, is

وَاجِبٌ . وَقَدْ قَرَنَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الْإِيمَانَ بِالْبَعْثِ الْأَمْرَ بِهِمَا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ ) الْأَنْفَالُ : 24 ، وَفَسَّرَهُ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ فَقَالَ : يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَبَيْنَ الْكُفْرِ وَيَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْكَافِرِ وَبَيْنَ الْإِيمَانِ وَقِيلَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْعَبْدِ وَبَيْنَ الِاسْتِجَابَةِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالرَّسُولِ وَقِيلَ :

wājibun. waqad qarana allāhu ʿazza wajalla al-ʾīmāna bi-al-baʿthi al-ʾamra bihimā fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( waʿlamū ʾanna allāha yaḥūlu bayna al-marʾi waqalbihi waʾannahu ʾilayhi tuḥsharūna ) al-ʾanfālu: 24 , wafassarahu ibnu ʿabbāsin faqāla: yaḥūlu bayna al-muʾmini wabayna al-kufri wayaḥūlu bayna al-kāfiri wabayna al-ʾīmāni waqīla yaḥūlu bayna al-ʿabdi wabayna al-istijābati lillāhi taʿālā wa-al-rasūli waqīla:

obligatory. God, mighty and majestic, joined faith with resurrection, commanding both in His exalted saying, “Know that God comes between a person and his heart, and that to Him you will be gathered” (al-Anfāl 24). Ibn ʿAbbās explained it: “He comes between the believer and unbelief, and between the unbeliever and faith.” It is also said: He comes between the servant and responding to God Most High and the Messenger. It is said:

يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَبَيْنَ سُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ وَبَيْنَ الْكَافِرِ

yaḥūlu bayna al-muʾmini wabayna sūʾi al-khātimati wabayna al-kāfiri

He comes between the believer and an evil ending, and between the unbeliever

وَبَيْنَ حُسْنِ الْخَاتِمَةِ وَقِيلَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَبَيْنَ أَنْ يُلْقِيَهُ فِي كَبِيرَةٍ يَهْلِكُ فِيهَا وَبَيْنَ الْمُنَافِقِ وَبَيْنَ أَنْ يُوَفِّقَهُ لِطَاعَةٍ فَيَنْجُوَ بِهَا وَيَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمُوَحِّدِ وَبَيْنَ الْخَاتِمَةِ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ ، وَهَذِهِ مَخَاوِفُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِتَحْقِيقِ الْوَعِيدِ وَكَذَلِكَ الْكَوْنُ بِأَسْرِهِ عِنْدَ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ فِي الْقُدْرَةِ بِالتَّقْلِيبِ كَمَثَلِ رِيشَةٍ فِي رِيحٍ عَاصِفٍ تُقَلِّبُهُ الْقُدْرَةُ عَلَى مَشِيئَةِ الْقَادِرِ وَلَيْسَ فِي

wabayna ḥusni al-khātimati waqīla yaḥūlu bayna al-muʾmini wabayna ʾan yulqiyahu fī kabīratin yahliku fīhā wabayna al-munāfiqi wabayna ʾan yuwaffiqahu liṭāʿatin fayanjuwa bihā wayaḥūlu bayna al-muwaḥḥidi wabayna al-khātimati bi-al-tawḥīdi , wahādhihi makhāwifu lilmuʾminīna bitaḥqīqi al-waʿīdi wakadhālika al-kawnu biʾasrihi ʿinda al-muwaḥḥidīna fī al-qudrati bi-al-taqlībi kamathali rīshatin fī rīḥin ʿāṣifin tuqallibuhu al-qudratu ʿalā mashīʾati al-qādiri walaysa fī

and a good ending. It is said: He comes between the believer and casting him into a major sin in which he perishes, and between the hypocrite and enabling him for an act of obedience through which he is saved. He comes between the affirmer of oneness and ending with the affirmation of oneness. These are fears for believers through the realization of the threat. Likewise, for those who affirm oneness, all existence in the turning power is like a feather in a violent wind: power turns it according to the Powerful One’s will. In

الْقُدْرَةِ تَرْتِيبٌ وَلَا مَسَافَةٌ وَلَا بُعْدٌ وَلَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى زَمَانٍ وَلَا مَكَانٍ ، فَمَا ظَهَرَ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ وَثَبَتَ لِلْعُيُونِ بِمَكَانٍ وَزَمَانٍ فَلِأَجْلِ الْحِكْمَةِ وَالصَّنْعَةِ وَالْإِتْقَانِ وَمَا خَفِيَ مِنَ الْمَلَكُوتِ وَتَقَلَّبَ بِبَصَائِرِ الْقُلُوبِ فَبِلُطْفِ الْقُدْرَةِ وَقَهْرِ السُّلْطَانِ وَنَصِيبُ كُلِّ عَبْدٍ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْقُدْرَةِ بِقَدْرِ نَصِيبِهِ مِنَ التَّوْحِيدِ وَنَصِيبُهُ مِنَ التَّوْحِيدِ حَسَبَ قِسْمِهِ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ وَقِسْمِهِ ،

al-qudrati tartībun walā masāfatun walā buʿdun walā yaḥtāju ʾilā zamānin walā makānin , famā ẓahara mina al-mulki wathabata lilʿuyūni bimakānin wazamānin faliʾajli al-ḥikmati wa-al-ṣanʿati wa-al-ʾitqāni wamā khafiya mina al-malakūti wataqallaba bibaṣāʾiri al-qulūbi fabiluṭfi al-qudrati waqahri al-sulṭāni wanaṣību kulli ʿabdin min mushāhadati al-qudrati biqadri naṣībihi mina al-tawḥīdi wanaṣībuhu mina al-tawḥīdi ḥasaba qismihi mina al-yaqīni waqismihi ,

power there is no sequence, distance, or remoteness, and it needs neither time nor place. Whatever appears from the visible dominion and is established before eyes in place and time is for wisdom, craftsmanship, and perfection. Whatever is hidden in the unseen kingdom and turns within hearts’ insights is through power’s subtlety and authority’s overpowering force. Each servant’s share in witnessing power corresponds to his share in affirming oneness; his share in oneness corresponds to his allotment of certainty, and his allotment

مِنَ الْيَقِينِ عَلَى قُرْبِهِ مِنَ الْقَرِيبِ وَقُرْبِهِ عَلَى حَسَبِ قُرْبِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ قَلْبِهِ وَقُرْبِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْهُ بِقَدْرِ عِلْمِهِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَاتِّسَاعِهِ فِي الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَى نَحْوِ مَكَانِهِ مِنْ مَزِيدِ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَزِيدِ إِيمَانِهِ عَلَى قَدْرِ إِحْسَانِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ وَإِحْسَانِهِ إِلَيْهِ عَلَى قَدْرِ عِنَايَتِهِ بِهِ وَإِيثَارِهِ لَهُ وَعِلْمُ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَرَاءِ ذَلِكَ وَذَاكَ سِرُّ الْقُدْرَةِ الْمَحْجُوبِ

mina al-yaqīni ʿalā qurbihi mina al-qarībi waqurbihi ʿalā ḥasabi qurbi allāhi taʿālā min qalbihi waqurbi allāhi taʿālā minhu biqadri ʿilmihi bi-allāhi taʿālā wattisāʿihi fī al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʿalā naḥwi makānihi min mazīdi al-ʾīmāni wamazīdi ʾīmānihi ʿalā qadri ʾiḥsāni allāhi taʿālā ʾilayhi waʾiḥsānihi ʾilayhi ʿalā qadri ʿināyatihi bihi waʾīthārihi lahu waʿilmu allāhi min warāʾi dhālika wadhāka sirru al-qudrati al-maḥjūbi

of certainty corresponds to his nearness to the Near One. His nearness accords with God Most High’s nearness to his heart; God Most High’s nearness to him corresponds to his knowledge of God Most High and his breadth in knowing God, mighty and majestic, according to his degree of increase in faith. His increased faith accords with God Most High’s goodness toward him; His goodness accords with His care for him and preference for him. God’s knowledge lies beyond all this: that is power’s hidden secret,

الْمُخَزَّنِ وَنَصِيبُ كُلِّ عَبْدٍ مِنَ الْجَهْلِ عَلَى قَدْرِ نَصِيبِهِ مِنَ الْغَفْلَةِ وَنَصِيبُهُ مِنَ الْغَفْلَةِ عَلَى حَسَبِ حُبِّ الدُّنْيَا وَحُبُّهُ لِلدُّنْيَا عَلَى قَدْرِ قُوَّةِ الْهَوَى وَقُوَّةُ الْهَوَى عَلَى قَدْرِ غَلَبَةِ سُلْطَانِ النَّفْسِ وَنَشْرِ صِفَاتِهَا عَلَيْهِ وَقُوَّةُ صِفَاتِ النَّفْسِ عَلَى قَدْرِ ضَعْفِ الْيَقِينِ وَضَعْفُ يَقِينِهِ عَلَى كَثَافَةِ الْحِجَابِ وَالْبُعْدِ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالْحِجَابُ وَالْبُعْدُ مِيرَاثُهُ الْكِبْرُ وَقَسْوَةُ

al-mukhazzani wanaṣību kulli ʿabdin mina al-jahli ʿalā qadri naṣībihi mina al-ghaflati wanaṣībuhu mina al-ghaflati ʿalā ḥasabi ḥubbi al-dunyā waḥubbuhu li-l-dunyā ʿalā qadri quwwati al-haw waquwwatu al-haw ʿalā qadri ghalabati sulṭāni al-nafsi wanashri ṣifātihā ʿalayhi waquwwatu ṣifāti al-nafsi ʿalā qadri ḍaʿfi al-yaqīni waḍaʿfu yaqīnihi ʿalā kathāfati al-ḥijābi wa-al-buʿdi baynahu wabayna allāhi ʿazza wajalla wa-al-ḥijābu wa-al-buʿdu mīrāthuhu al-kibru waqaswatu

stored away. Each servant’s share of ignorance corresponds to his share of heedlessness; his share of heedlessness accords with love of this world; his worldly love corresponds to the strength of desire; desire’s strength corresponds to the predominance of the self’s authority and the spreading of its qualities over him. The self’s qualities strengthen according to the weakness of certainty; his certainty weakens according to the density of the veil and the distance between him and God, mighty and majestic. Veiling and distance have as their inheritance pride and hardness of

الْقَلْبِ وَالْقَسْوَةُ تُورِثُ الِانْهِمَاكَ فِي الْمَعَاصِي وَإِدْمَانُ الْمَعَاصِي عَنِ الْإِعْرَاضِ وَالْمَقْتِ ، وَالْإِعْرَاضُ وَالْمَقْتُ ، مِنْ قِلَّةِ عِنَايَةِ الْمَوْلَى بِعَبْدِهِ وَسُوءِ نَظَرِهِ لَهُ ، وَمِنْ وَرَاءِ ذَلِكَ سِرُّ الْقَدَرِ الَّذِي بِهِ عَنِ الْخَلْقِ قَدِ اسْتَأْثَرَهُ ، فَهَذِهِ الْأَوْصَافُ الْمَذْمُومَةُ الْعَبْدُ مُبْتَلٍ بِهَا عَلَى تَضَادِّ تِلْكَ الصِّفَاتِ الْمَحْمُودَةِ الَّتِي هِيَ مِنَ الْمُنْعَمِ بِهَا وَلِكُلٍّ وِجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيهَا وَمَكَانُ

al-qalbi wa-al-qaswatu tūrithu al-inhimāka fī al-maʿāṣī waʾidmānu al-maʿāṣī ʿani al-ʾiʿrāḍi wa-al-maqti , wa-al-ʾiʿrāḍu wa-al-maqtu , min qillati ʿināyati al-mawlā biʿabdihi wasūʾi naẓarihi lahu , wamin warāʾi dhālika sirru al-qadari alladhī bihi ʿani al-khalqi qadi istaʾtharahu , fahādhihi al-ʾawṣāfu al-madhmūmatu al-ʿabdu mubtalin bihā ʿalā taḍāddi tilka al-ṣifāti al-maḥmūdati allatī hiya mina al-munʿami bihā walikullin wijhatun huwa muwallīhā wamakānu

heart. Hardness produces immersion in sins; persistence in sins comes from aversion and loathing; aversion and loathing come from the Master’s scant care for His servant and His unfavorable regard for him. Beyond this lies the secret of decree that He has reserved to Himself apart from creation. The servant is tried by these blameworthy qualities, opposite to those praiseworthy qualities bestowed as blessings. “Each has a direction toward which he turns.” The place of

الْهَوَى مِنَ الْقَلْبِ عَلَى قَدْرِ تَزْيِينِ الْعَدُوِّ لَهُ وَتَسْلِيطِهِ عَلَيْهِ ، فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ وَمَنْ يُرِدْ أَنْ يُضِلَّهُ يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا ، ( إِنْ يَنْصُرْكُمُ اللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمْ وَإِنْ يَخْذُلْكُمْ فَمَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَنْصُرُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 160 ، وَإِنْ يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُ إِلَّا هُوَ وَإِنْ يُرِدْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَلَا رَادَّ لِفَضْلِهِ ،

al-haw mina al-qalbi ʿalā qadri tazyīni al-ʿaduwwi lahu wataslīṭihi ʿalayhi , faman yuridi allāhu ʾan yahdiyahu yashraḥ ṣadrahu lilʾislāmi waman yurid ʾan yuḍillahu yajʿal ṣadrahu ḍayyiqan ḥarajan , ( ʾin yanṣurkumu allāhu falā ghāliba lakum waʾin yakhdhulkum faman dhā alladhī yanṣurukum min baʿdihi ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 160 , waʾin yamsaska allāhu biḍurrin falā kāshifa lahu ʾillā huwa waʾin yuridka bikhayrin falā rādda lifaḍlihi ,

desire within the heart corresponds to the enemy’s embellishment of it and his being empowered over it. “Whomever God wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam; whomever He wills to lead astray, He makes his breast narrow and constricted.” “If God helps you, none can overcome you; if He abandons you, who can help you after Him?” (Āl ʿImrān 160). “If God touches you with harm, none can remove it except Him; if He intends good for you, none can repel His bounty.”

فَإِذَا كَانَ الْهَادِي هُوَ الْمُضِلَّ فَمَنْ يَهْدِي ؟ . وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُهْدَىٰ مَنْ يُضِلُّ ) النَّحْلُ : 37 أَيْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ مِنْ شَأْنِهِ أَنْ أَحَدًا لَا يَهْدِي مَنْ أَضَلَّهُ وَمَنْ كَانَ أَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ فِي سَابِقِ عِلْمِهِ فَكَيْفَ يَهْدِيهِ الْآنَ ، كَذَلِكَ قَالَ عَلَى الْحَرْفِ الْآخَرِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي مَنْ يُضِلُّ فَإِذَا كَانَ الْمُعْطِي هُوَ الْمَانِعَ فَمَنْ يُعْطِي وَلَوْ كَانَ الْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِي قَلْبِ عَبْدٍ

faʾidhā kāna al-hādī huwa al-muḍilla faman yahdī ?. waqad qāla taʿālā: ( faʾinna allāha lā yuhdā man yuḍillu ) al-naḥlu: 37 ʾay faʾinna allāha min shaʾnihi ʾan ʾaḥadan lā yahdī man ʾaḍallahu waman kāna ʾaḍallahu allāhu fī sābiqi ʿilmihi fakayfa yahdīhi al-ʾāna , kadhālika qāla ʿalā al-ḥarfi al-ʾākhari faʾinna allāha lā yahdī man yuḍillu faʾidhā kāna al-muʿṭī huwa al-māniʿa faman yuʿṭī walaw kāna al-khayru kulluhu fī qalbi ʿabdin

If the Guide is the One who leads astray, who will guide? He Most High says, “One whom He leads astray is not guided” (al-Naḥl 37). That is: it is God’s affair that no one guides one whom He has led astray. If God led him astray in His prior knowledge, how would He guide him now? Likewise, in the other reading He says, “God does not guide one whom He leads astray.” If the Giver is the Withholder, who will give? Even if all good were in a servant’s heart,

مَا قَدَرَ أَنْ يُوصِلَ إِلَى قَلْبِهِ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ ذَرَّةً وَلَا اسْتَطَاعَ أَنْ يَنْفَعَ نَفْسَهُ بِنَفْسِهِ خَرْدَلَةً لِأَنَّ قَلْبَهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ جَارِحَتَهُ فَهُوَ خِزَانَتُهُ وَلَهُ فِيهِ مَا لَا يَعْلَمُ هُوَ فَهُوَ لَا يَطَّلِعُ عَلَى مَا فِيهِ كَمَا قَالَ مُعَجِّبًا لِمَنْ جَهَّلَهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ أَطَّلَعَ الْغَيْبَ أَمِ اتَّخَذَ عِنْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ عَهْدًا فَكَيْفَ بِهِ أَنْ يَمْلِكَ مَا فِيهِ فَيَصْرِفَهُ بِمَا يُحِبُّ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ :

mā qadara ʾan yūṣila ʾilā qalbihi min qalbihi dharratan walā istaṭāʿa ʾan yanfaʿa nafsahu binafsihi khardalatan liʾanna qalbahu waʾin kāna jāriḥatahu fahuwa khizānatuhu walahu fīhi mā lā yaʿlamu huwa fahuwa lā yaṭṭaliʿu ʿalā mā fīhi kamā qāla muʿajjiban liman jahhalahu waʾaḍallahu ʾaṭṭalaʿa al-ghayba ʾami ittakhadha ʿinda al-raḥmāni ʿahdan fakayfa bihi ʾan yamlika mā fīhi fayaṣrifahu bimā yuḥibbu , waqad qāla:

he could not convey an atom from his heart to his heart, nor could he benefit himself through himself by a mustard seed, because his heart, although his organ, is His treasury, and He has in it what the servant does not know. He does not perceive what is within it, as He says, expressing wonder at one He made ignorant and led astray: “Has he looked into the unseen, or taken a covenant with the All-Merciful?” How, then, could he possess what is within it and direct it as he loves? It has been said:

سُبْحَانَ مُصَرِّفِ الْقُلُوبِ وَقَدْ

subḥāna muṣarrifi al-qulūbi waqad

“Glory be to the Director of hearts!” God Most High has

خَاطَبَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى سَيِّدَ الْبَشَرِ وَأَمَرَهُ أَنْ يُخْبِرَ فَقَالَ : ( قُلْ لَا أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِي نَفْعًا وَلَا ضَرًّا إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 188 ، ثُمَّ قَالَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ : ( قُلْ إِنِّي لَا أَمْلِكُ لَكُمْ ضَرًّا وَلَا رَشَدًا ) الْجِنُّ : 21 ، ثُمَّ قَالَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ : ( قُلْ إِنِّي لَنْ يُجِيرَنِي مِنَ اللَّهِ أَحَدٌ وَلَنْ أَجِدَ مِنْ دُونِهِ مُلْتَحَدًا ) الْجِنُّ : 22 ،

khāṭaba allāhu taʿālā sayyida al-bashari waʾamarahu ʾan yukhbira faqāla: ( qul lā ʾamliku linafsī nafʿan walā ḍarran ʾillā mā shāʾa allāhu ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 188 , thumma qāla baʿda dhālika: ( qul ʾinnī lā ʾamliku lakum ḍarran walā rashadan ) al-jinnu: 21 , thumma qāla baʿda dhālika: ( qul ʾinnī lan yujīranī mina allāhi ʾaḥadun walan ʾajida min dūnihi multaḥadan ) al-jinnu: 22 ,

addressed the master of humankind and commanded him to declare, saying, “Say: I possess no power of benefit or harm for myself except what God wills” (al-Aʿrāf 188). Then He says afterward, “Say: I possess no power of harm or right guidance for you” (al-Jinn 21). Then He says afterward, “Say: no one will shelter me from God, and I shall find no refuge apart from Him” (al-Jinn 22).

وَإِذَا كَانَ الْمَالِكُ عَزِيزًا جَبَّارًا وَكَانَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ بِيَدِهِ لَمْ يُوصَلْ إِلَى مَا عِنْدَهُ بِقُوَّةٍ وَلَا حِيلَةٍ فَلَيْسَ الطَّرِيقُ إِلَيْهِ إِلَّا الصِّدْقَ وَالْإِخْلَاصَ وَالذُّلَّ وَالِافْتِقَارَ وَقَدْ حُجِبَ الْعَقْلُ الْمَكِيدُ عَنِ النَّظَرِ إِلَى الْمُبْدِئِ الْمُعِيدِ بِمَا أَظْهَرَ لَهُ مِنْ صُورَتِهِ وَحَرَكَتِهِ فَسَتَرَهُ عَنِ الْأَوَّلِ الْمُصَوِّرِ وَعَنِ الْقَادِرِ الْمُحَرِّكِ فَادَّعَى عَنْ نَظَرِهِ إِلَى حَرَكَتِهِ وَسُكُونِهِ الَّتِي هِيَ حُجَّةٌ لَهُ عَنْ

waʾidhā kāna al-māliku ʿazīzan jabbāran wakāna kullu shayʾin biyadihi lam yūṣal ʾilā mā ʿindahu biquwwatin walā ḥīlatin falaysa al-ṭarīqu ʾilayhi ʾillā al-ṣidqa wa-al-ʾikhlāṣa wa-al-dhulla wa-al-iftiqāra waqad ḥujiba al-ʿaqlu al-makīdu ʿani al-naẓari ʾilā al-mubdiʾi al-muʿīdi bimā ʾaẓhara lahu min ṣūratihi waḥarakatihi fasatarahu ʿani al-ʾawwali al-muṣawwiri waʿani al-qādiri al-muḥarriki faddaʿā ʿan naẓarihi ʾilā ḥarakatihi wasukūnihi allatī hiya ḥujjatun lahu ʿan

Since the Owner is mighty and compelling, and everything is in His hand, what is with Him cannot be reached through strength or stratagem. The only path to Him is truthfulness, sincerity, humility, and need. The deceived intellect has been veiled from looking toward the Originator and Restorer by the form and movement He has shown it; this screens it from the First, the Fashioner, and the Powerful Mover. From looking at its movement and stillness, which are a proof for it pointing to

الْمُحَرِّكِ الْغَيْبِ، ادَّعَى الْحَرَكَةِ وَالسُّكُونِ بِنَفْسِهِ لِوُقُوفِ نَظَرِهِ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ إِذْ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا وَعَمِيَ عَنِ النَّظَرِ إِلَى الشَّاهِدِ الْمُحَرِّكِ الْمُسَكِّنِ لِبُعْدِ مَقَامِهِ لِأَنَّهُ غَيْبٌ مِنْ وَرَاءِ الْحَرَكَةِ وَالْغَيْبُ لَا يُشْهَدُ إِلَّا بِغَيْبٍ وَهُوَ الْيَقِينُ كَمَا لَا تُدْرَكُ الشَّهَادَةُ إِلَّا بِشَهَادَةٍ وَهِيَ الْعَيْنُ فَمَنْ عَمِيَ بَصَرُهُ لَمْ يَرَ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ شَيْئًا كَذَلِكَ مَنْ حُجِبَ قَلْبُهُ لَمْ يَرَ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ شَيْئًا ،

al-muḥarriki al-ghaybi, iddaʿā al-ḥarakati wa-al-sukūni binafsihi liwuqūfi naẓarihi ʿalā nafsihi ʾidh kāna mashhūdan waʿamiya ʿani al-naẓari ʾilā al-shāhidi al-muḥarriki al-musakkini libuʿdi maqāmihi liʾannahu ghaybun min warāʾi al-ḥarakati wa-al-ghaybu lā yushhadu ʾillā bighaybin wahuwa al-yaqīnu kamā lā tudraku al-shahādatu ʾillā bishahādatin wahiya al-ʿaynu faman ʿamiya baṣaruhu lam yara mina al-mulki shayʾan kadhālika man ḥujiba qalbuhu lam yara mina al-mulki shayʾan ,

the unseen Mover, it claims movement and stillness for itself, because its gaze stops at itself as something witnessed. It is blind to looking toward the Witness, the Mover and Stiller, because of its station’s remoteness: He is unseen beyond movement. The unseen is witnessed only through something unseen, namely certainty, just as the visible is perceived only through something visible, namely the eye. One whose sight is blind sees nothing of the dominion; likewise one whose heart is veiled sees nothing of the dominion.

فَلِعَدَمِ الْيَقِينِ عَمِيَ عِنْدَ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ وَلِإِيقَاعِ الْحُجَّةِ وَالْحِجَابِ أَدْرَكَ بِالْمَعْقُولِ الشَّهَادَةَ ، وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ أُولِي الْبَصَائِرِ لَاعْتَبَرَ الْحَرَكَةَ الْغَيْبِيَّةَ بِالْمُتَحَرِّكِ الْمُشَاهَدِ فَكَمَا أَنَّ الْحَرَكَةَ غَيْبٌ فِي الْجِسْمِ ظَهَرَ عَنْهَا الْمُتَحَرِّكُ فَأَظْهَرَ سُبْحَانَهُ الْمُتَحَرِّكَ وَأَخْفَى الْحَرَكَةَ فِيهِ وَأَظْهَرَ الصَّنْعَةَ وَأَخْفَى الصُّنْعَ فِيهَا لِتَفْصِيلِ حِكْمَتِهِ كَذَلِكَ الصَّانِعُ ذُو الصَّنْعَةِ الْأَوَّلُ

faliʿadami al-yaqīni ʿamiya ʿinda al-mushāhadati waliʾīqāʿi al-ḥujjati wa-al-ḥijābi ʾadraka bi-al-maʿqūli al-shahādata , walaw kāna min ʾūlī al-baṣāʾiri laʿtabara al-ḥarakata al-ghaybiyyata bi-al-mutaḥarriki al-mushāhadi fakamā ʾanna al-ḥarakata ghaybun fī al-jismi ẓahara ʿanhā al-mutaḥarriku faʾaẓhara subḥānahu al-mutaḥarrika waʾakhfā al-ḥarakata fīhi waʾaẓhara al-ṣanʿata waʾakhfā al-ṣunʿa fīhā litafṣīli ḥikmatihi kadhālika al-ṣāniʿu dhū al-ṣanʿati al-ʾawwalu

Through lack of certainty it is blind to witnessing, while to establish the proof and the veil it perceives the visible through reason. Had it possessed insight, it would have inferred hidden movement from the witnessed moving thing. Movement is unseen within the body, and the moving thing appears from it. He, glorified, manifests the moving thing and hides movement within it, manifests the workmanship and hides the making within it, to detail His wisdom. Likewise the Maker, Possessor of workmanship, the First,

وَالْحَاكِمُ الْأَعْلَى ذُو الْحِكْمَةِ الْأَغْلَبُ غَيْبٌ عَنِ الْحَرَكَةِ الَّتِي أَخْفَاهَا هُوَ مِنْ وَرَائِهَا بِلَطَائِفِ الْقُدْرَةِ فَشَهِدَ الْمَعْقُولُ مَا أَشْهَدَهُ مَا أَظْهَرَ لَهُ وَوَجَّهَ بِهِ لِأَنَّهُ مَعْقُولٌ عَلَيْهِ مَحْدُودٌ لَهُ وَعَمِيَ عَمَّا غَيَّبَ عَنْهُ لِفَقْدِ الْيَقِينِ مِنْهُ فَعِنْدَهَا ادَّعَى الْحَرَكَةَ وَالسُّكُونَ لِلشَّاهِدِ فَحَجَبَهُ ذَلِكَ عَنِ الشَّهِيدِ وَشَهِدَ الْمُوَحِّدُ بِشَهَادَةِ التَّوْحِيدِ فَوَجَدَ لِمَا كُشِفَ لَهُ الْمَلَكُوتُ بِنُورِ

wa-al-ḥākimu al-ʾaʿlā dhū al-ḥikmati al-ʾaghlabu ghaybun ʿani al-ḥarakati allatī ʾakhfāhā huwa min warāʾihā bilaṭāʾifi al-qudrati fashahida al-maʿqūlu mā ʾashhadahu mā ʾaẓhara lahu wawajjaha bihi liʾannahu maʿqūlun ʿalayhi maḥdūdun lahu waʿamiya ʿammā ghayyaba ʿanhu lifaqdi al-yaqīni minhu faʿindahā iddaʿā al-ḥarakata wa-al-sukūna li-l-shāhidi faḥajabahu dhālika ʿani al-shahīdi washahida al-muwaḥḥidu bishahādati al-tawḥīdi fawajada limā kushifa lahu al-malakūtu binūri

and the Highest Judge, Possessor of wisdom, the Predominant, is unseen beyond the movement He has hidden, behind it through the subtleties of power. Rational perception witnesses what He has made it witness, what He displayed to it and directed toward it, because it is bound and limited to this. It is blind to what He has hidden from it because it lacks certainty. At that point it ascribes movement and stillness to the visible, and that veils it from the Witness. The affirmer of oneness witnesses through the testimony of oneness and finds, when the unseen kingdom is unveiled to him through the light of

الْيَقِينِ فَأَفْرَدَ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : مَنْ نَظَرَ فِي تَوْحِيدِهِ إِلَى عَقْلِهِ لَمْ يُنْجِهِ تَوْحِيدُهُ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَنْ كَانَ تَوْحِيدُهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا مُعَلَّقًا بِمَعْقُولِهِ لَمْ يَحْمِلْ تَوْحِيدَهُ مَعَهُ إِلَى الْيَقِينِ أَحْسَبُ أَنَّ هَذَا إِيمَانُ الَّذِي يُقَالُ أَخْرِجُوا مِنَ النَّارِ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَزْنُ مِثْقَالٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ فَمَا زَادَ عَلَى هَذَا الْمِقْدَارِ فَهُوَ مُتَّصِلٌ بِالْيَقِينِ وَهُوَ مُؤَيَّدٌ بِالرُّوحِ يَمُدُّهُ

al-yaqīni faʾafrada , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: man naẓara fī tawḥīdihi ʾilā ʿaqlihi lam yunjihi tawḥīduhu mina al-nāri waman kāna tawḥīduhu fī al-dunyā muʿallaqan bimaʿqūlihi lam yaḥmil tawḥīdahu maʿahu ʾilā al-yaqīni ʾaḥsabu ʾanna hādhā ʾīmānu alladhī yuqālu ʾakhrijū mina al-nāri man kāna fī qalbihi waznu mithqālin min ʾīmānin famā zāda ʿalā hādhā al-miqdāri fahuwa muttaṣilun bi-al-yaqīni wahuwa muʾayyadun bi-al-rūḥi yamudduhu

certainty, and singles Him out. One of the knowers said, “Whoever looks to his reason in his affirmation of oneness will not be saved from the Fire by that affirmation. Whoever’s affirmation of oneness in this world is attached to his rational perception will not carry it with him to certainty.” I suppose this is the faith concerning which it is said, “Bring out of the Fire whoever has in his heart the weight of a full measure of faith.” Whatever exceeds this measure is connected to certainty and supported by the spirit; it is supplied by

رُوحُ التَّأْيِيدِ فَلَا يَنْطَفِئُ فَهُوَ الْمُزَحْزَحُ عَنِ النَّارِ وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا : مَنْ ظَنَّ أَنَّهُ يَصِلُ إِلَى اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى قُطِعَ بِهِ ، وَمَنِ اسْتَعَانَ عَلَى عِبَادَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِنَفْسِهِ وُكِلَ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْخَلْقَ مَحْجُوبُونَ بَعْدَ هَذَا الْحِجَابِ بِثَلَاثَةِ حُجُبٍ بَعْضُهَا أَكْثَفُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ أَحَدُهَا أَوَاسِطُ وَأَسْبَابٌ مُعْتَرِضَةٌ وَشَهَوَاتٌ جَاذِبَةٌ وَعَادَاتٌ رَاجِعَةٌ صَادِرَةٌ ،

rūḥu al-taʾyīdi falā yanṭafiʾu fahuwa al-muzaḥzaḥu ʿani al-nāri waqad qāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā: man ẓanna ʾannahu yaṣilu ʾilā allāhi bighayri allāhi taʿālā quṭiʿa bihi , wamani istaʿāna ʿalā ʿibādati allāhi taʿālā binafsihi wukila ʾilā nafsihi , thumma ʾinna al-khalqa maḥjūbūna baʿda hādhā al-ḥijābi bithalāthati ḥujubin baʿḍuhā ʾakthafu min baʿḍin ʾaḥaduhā ʾawāsiṭu waʾasbābun muʿtariḍatun washahawātun jādhibatun waʿādātun rājiʿatun ṣādiratun ,

the spirit of support and is not extinguished. This is the person removed from the Fire. One of our scholars said, “Whoever supposes he reaches God without God Most High is cut off. Whoever relies upon himself to worship God Most High is left to himself.” After this veil, creatures are veiled by three veils, some denser than others: intervening intermediaries and causes, drawing appetites, and habits that return and recur.

فَالْأَسْبَابُ تُوقِفُهُمْ عَلَيْهَا وَالشَّهَوَاتُ تَجْذِبُهُمْ إِلَيْهَا وَالْعَادَاتُ تَرُدُّهُمْ فِيهَا ، فَأَيُّ هَذِهِ الْحُجُبِ ظَهَرَ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَبَعْضُهَا أَشَدُّ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ بَعْضٍ فَهُوَ مَكَانٌ لِلْعَدُوِّ أَوْسَعُ مِنْ مَكَانٍ فَتَمَكَّنَ سُلْطَانُهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ سَعَةِ مَكَانِهِ فَقَوِيَتِ النَّفْسُ بِتَزْيِينِ الْعَدُوِّ وَسَوَّلَتْ

fa-al-ʾasbābu tūqifuhum ʿalayhā wa-al-shahawātu tajdhibuhum ʾilayhā wa-al-ʿādātu tarudduhum fīhā , faʾayyu hādhihi al-ḥujubi ẓahara fī al-qalbi wabaʿḍuhā ʾashaddu ʿalayhi min baʿḍin fahuwa makānun lilʿaduwwi ʾawsaʿu min makānin fatamakkana sulṭānuhu ʿalā qadri saʿati makānihi faqawiyati al-nafsu bitazyīni al-ʿaduwwi wasawwalat

Causes hold them fast at themselves, appetites draw them toward themselves, and habits return them into themselves. Whichever of these veils appears in the heart, some being harsher upon it than others, gives the enemy a place wider than another. His authority becomes established according to the breadth of his place; the self strengthens through the enemy’s embellishment and entices

بِتَأْمِيلِهَا فَمَلَكَتِ الْعَبْدَ مِلْكًا أَشَدَّ مِنْ مِلْكٍ ، فَإِذَا مَلَكَتِ النَّفْسُ الْعَبْدَ كَانَ مَمْلُوكَهَا وَأَسِيرَهَا وَكَانَتْ بِالْهَوَى أَمِيرَةً فَاسْتَهْوَاهُ الشَّيْطَانُ حِينَئِذٍ بِالْغِوَايَةِ وَالْإِضْلَالِ وَاسْتَحْوَذَ عَلَيْهِ بِمَعَانِي الْمُشَارَكَةِ فِي الْأَوْلَادِ وَالْأَمْوَالِ ، فَشَغَلَهُ بِذَلِكَ عَنِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى وَأَنْسَاهُ ذِكْرَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَهَذَا هُوَ الِاقْتِرَانُ الَّذِي ذَمَّهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي قَوْلِهِ :

bitaʾmīlihā famalakati al-ʿabda milkan ʾashadda min milkin , faʾidhā malakati al-nafsu al-ʿabda kāna mamlūkahā waʾasīrahā wakānat bi-al-haw ʾamīratan fastahwāhu al-shayṭānu ḥīnaʾidhin bi-al-ghiwāyati wa-al-ʾiḍlāli wastaḥwadha ʿalayhi bimaʿānī al-mushārakati fī al-ʾawlādi wa-al-ʾamwāli , fashaghalahu bidhālika ʿani allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā waʾansāhu dhikra allāhi ʿazza wajalla , wahādhā huwa al-iqtirānu alladhī dhammahu allāhu taʿālā fī qawlihi:

with its hopes, possessing the servant with a mastery greater than another mastery. When the self possesses the servant, he is its possession and captive, and through desire it is the ruler. Satan then seduces him through error and misguidance, gaining mastery over him through sharing in children and property. With this he occupies him away from God, glorified and exalted, and makes him forget God’s remembrance, mighty and majestic. This is the companionship God Most High condemned in His saying:

( وَمَنْ يَكُنِ الشَّيْطَانُ لَهُ قَرِينًا فَسَاءَ قَرِينًا ) النِّسَاءُ : 38 وَهُوَ فَوْقَ النَّزْغِ الْهَمْزِ وَالْخَاطِرِ بَعْدَ الْهِمَّةِ وَهُوَ خُطُورُ الْعَدُوِّ عَلَى الْقَلْبِ بِالْوَسْوَسَةِ يُزَيِّنُ الْهِمَّةَ وَيُمْلِي لِلْعَبْدِ وَيُرَجِّيهِ وَيَفْسَحُ لَهُ فِي أَمَلِهِ وَيُمَنِّيهِ بِالتَّوْبَةِ حَتَّى تَهُونَ عَلَيْهِ الْمَعْصِيَةُ وَيَعِدُهُ بَعْدَهَا بِالْمَغْفِرَةِ حَتَّى يُجْرِئَهُ عَلَى الْخَطِيئَةِ وَهَذَا هُوَ الْوَعْدُ بِالْغُرُورِ وَبَعْدَهُ الْهَلَاكُ وَالثُّبُورُ ،

( waman yakuni al-shayṭānu lahu qarīnan fasāʾa qarīnan ) al-nisāʾu: 38 wahuwa fawqa al-nazghi al-hamzi wa-al-khāṭiri baʿda al-himmati wahuwa khuṭūru al-ʿaduwwi ʿalā al-qalbi bi-al-waswasati yuzayyinu al-himmata wayumlī lilʿabdi wayurajjīhi wayafsaḥu lahu fī ʾamalihi wayumannīhi bi-al-tawbati ḥattā tahūna ʿalayhi al-maʿṣiyatu wayaʿiduhu baʿdahā bi-al-maghfirati ḥattā yujriʾahu ʿalā al-khaṭīʾati wahādhā huwa al-waʿdu bi-al-ghurūri wabaʿdahu al-halāku wa-al-thubūru ,

“Whoever has Satan as a companion, evil is he as a companion” (al-Nisāʾ 38). This is beyond incitement, prodding, and a prompting after an intention: the enemy passes over the heart through whispering, adorning the intention, granting the servant respite, giving him hopes, enlarging his expectation, and promising him repentance until disobedience becomes easy for him. He promises forgiveness afterward until he emboldens him to sin. This is the promise of delusion, followed by destruction and ruin,

كَمَا قَالَ يَعِدُهُمْ أَيِ التَّوْبَةَ وَيُمَنِّيهِمُ الْمَغْفِرَةَ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا ، وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ تَصْدِيقُ ظَنِّ الْعَدُوِّ بِالْعَبْدِ وَاتِّبَاعُ الْعَبْدِ لَهُ بِالْهَوَى عَنْ مَقَامِ الْبُعْدِ وَكَشْفٌ لِعِلْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِإِظْهَارِ الْحُكْمِ وَإِنْفَاذِ الْمَشِيئَةِ وَهُوَ الِابْتِلَاءُ بِالْأَسْبَابِ فَصَارَ الْعَدُوُّ سَبَبًا لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِبْلِيسُ ظَنَّهُ فَاتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِيقًا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ )

kamā qāla yaʿiduhum ʾayi al-tawbata wayumannīhimu al-maghfirata wamā yaʿiduhumu al-shayṭānu ʾillā ghurūran , wahādhā kulluhu taṣdīqu ẓanni al-ʿaduwwi bi-al-ʿabdi wattibāʿu al-ʿabdi lahu bi-al-haw ʿan maqāmi al-buʿdi wakashfun liʿilmi allāhi taʿālā biʾiẓhāri al-ḥukmi waʾinfādhi al-mashīʾati wahuwa al-ibtilāʾu bi-al-ʾasbābi faṣāra al-ʿaduwwu sababan liqawlihi taʿālā: ( walaqad ṣaddaqa ʿalayhim ʾiblīsu ẓannahu fattabaʿūhu ʾillā farīqan mina al-muʾminīna )

as He says, “He promises them,” meaning repentance, “and fills them with wishes,” of forgiveness, “and Satan promises them nothing but delusion.” All this confirms the enemy’s supposition about the servant and the servant’s following him through desire from the station of distance. It discloses God Most High’s knowledge through the manifestation of judgment and execution of will, namely trial through causes; the enemy becomes a cause, according to His exalted saying, “Iblīs indeed proved his supposition about them true, and they followed him, except for a group of the believers”

سَبَأٌ : 20 ، ثُمَّ أَحْكَمَ ذَلِكَ بِسَابِقِ عِلْمِهِ فَقَالَ ( وَمَا كَانَ لَهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ ) سَبَأٌ : 21 ، يَعْنِي بِحَوْلِهِ وَقُوَّتِهِ وَبِقَهْرِهِ وَمَشِيئَتِهِ إِلَّا لِنَعْلَمَ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِالْآخِرَةِ مِمَّنْ هُوَ مِنْهَا فِي شَكٍّ أَيْ لِنَرَى وَقِيلَ لِنَعْلَمَ الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي يُجَازِي عَلَيْهِ بِالثَّوَابِ وَالْعِقَابِ وَقِيلَ : لِنَخْتَبِرَ وَنَكْشِفَ وَقِيلَ : لِنُعْلِمَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ذَلِكَ فَيَسْتَبِينَ لَهُمْ وَيَعْلَمَ مَنْ عَمِلَ تِلْكَ الْأَعْمَالَ

sabaʾun: 20 , thumma ʾaḥkama dhālika bisābiqi ʿilmihi faqāla ( wamā kāna lahu ʿalayhim min sulṭānin ) sabaʾun: 21 , yaʿnī biḥawlihi waquwwatihi wabiqahrihi wamashīʾatihi ʾillā linaʿlama man yuʾminu bi-al-ʾākhirati mimman huwa minhā fī shakkin ʾay linarā waqīla linaʿlama al-ʿilma alladhī yujāzī ʿalayhi bi-al-thawābi wa-al-ʿiqābi waqīla: linakhtabira wanakshifa waqīla: linuʿlima al-muʾminīna dhālika fayastabīna lahum wayaʿlama man ʿamila tilka al-ʾaʿmāla

(Sabaʾ 20). Then He made this decisive through His prior knowledge, saying, “He had no authority over them” (Sabaʾ 21), meaning through his own ability, power, force, or will, “except that We might know who believes in the hereafter from whoever doubts it,” meaning that We might see. It is also said: that We might know with the knowledge for which recompense is given through reward and punishment; or, that We might test and disclose; or, that We might make believers know this, so it becomes clear to them, and the one who performed those deeds knows

الَّتِي ظَهَرَتْ مِنْهُ فَتُوقَعَ عَلَيْهِ بِذَلِكَ الْحُجَّةُ وَيَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُ كَذِبُهُ كَمَا قَالَ : ( فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 3 ، فَعَلَى هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي مَجَازُ كُلِّ مَا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ لِنَعْلَمَ وَحَتَّى نَعْلَمَ إِذْ كَانَ عِلْمُهُ تَعَالَى قَدْ سَبَقَ الْمَعْلُومَاتِ وَإِذَا كَانَتِ الْأَشْيَاءُ عَنْ عِلْمِهِ بِعِلْمِهِ جَارِيَاتٍ فَجَعَلَ تَسْلِيطَ الْعَدُوِّ بِسُلْطَانِهِ كَشْفًا

allatī ẓaharat minhu fatūqaʿa ʿalayhi bidhālika al-ḥujjatu wayatabayyana lahu kadhibuhu kamā qāla: ( falayaʿlamanna allāhu alladhīna ṣadaqū walayaʿlamanna al-kādhibīna ) al-ʿankabūtu: 3 , faʿalā hādhihi al-maʿānī majāzu kulli mā fī kitābi allāhi ʿazza wajalla min qawlihi linaʿlama waḥattā naʿlama ʾidh kāna ʿilmuhu taʿālā qad sabaqa al-maʿlūmāti waʾidhā kānati al-ʾashyāʾu ʿan ʿilmihi biʿilmihi jāriyātin fajaʿala taslīṭa al-ʿaduwwi bisulṭānihi kashfan

what appeared from him, so that the proof is established against him thereby and his falsehood becomes clear to him. As He says, “God will surely know those who were truthful and will surely know the liars” (al-ʿAnkabūt 3). According to these meanings, every expression “that We might know” and “until We know” in God’s Book, mighty and majestic, is understood, since His exalted knowledge precedes the things known, and things proceed from His knowledge through His knowledge. He thus made the enemy’s empowerment through his authority a disclosure

وَإِظْهَارًا لِمَا أَخْفَاهُ مِنْ سَابِقِ عِلْمِهِ كَمَا جَعَلَ أَفْعَالَ الْعِبَادِ الظَّاهِرَةَ كَشْفًا وَإِظْهَارًا لِإِرَادَتِهِ الْبَاطِنَةِ ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : سَبَقَ الْعِلْمُ وَجَفَّ الْقَلَمُ وَقُضِيَ الْقَضَاءُ وَتَمَّ الْقَدَرُ بِالسَّعَادَةِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِأَهْلِ طَاعَتِهِ وَبِالشَّقَاءِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِأَهْلِ مَعْصِيَتِهِ .

waʾiẓhāran limā ʾakhfāhu min sābiqi ʿilmihi kamā jaʿala ʾafʿāla al-ʿibādi al-ẓāhirata kashfan waʾiẓhāran liʾirādatihi al-bāṭinati , warawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: sabaqa al-ʿilmu wajaffa al-qalamu waquḍiya al-qaḍāʾu watamma al-qadaru bi-al-saʿādati mina allāhi taʿālā liʾahli ṭāʿatihi wabi-al-shaqāʾi mina allāhi taʿālā liʾahli maʿṣiyatihi.

and manifestation of what He concealed of His prior knowledge, just as He made servants’ outward deeds a disclosure and manifestation of His inward will. We related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “Knowledge has preceded, the pen has dried, judgment has been decided, and decree completed: felicity from God Most High for those who obey Him, and misery from God Most High for those who disobey Him.”

ذِكْرُ تَقْسِيمِ الْخَوَاطِرِ وَتَفْصِيلِ أَسْمَائِهَا

dhikru taqsīmi al-khawāṭiri watafṣīli ʾasmāʾihā

The Classification of Promptings and the Detail of Their Names

فَأَمَّا تَسْمِيَةُ جُمْلَةِ الْخَوَاطِرِ فَمَا وَقَعَ فِي الْقَلْبِ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْخَيْرِ فَهُوَ إِلْهَامٌ وَمَا وَقَعَ مِنْ عِلْمِ الشَّرِّ فَهُوَ وَسْوَاسٌ وَمَا وَقَعَ فِي الْقَلْبِ مِنَ الْمَخَاوِفِ فَهُوَ الْحَسَّاسُ وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ تَقْدِيرِ الْخَيْرِ وَتَأْمِيلِهِ فَهُوَ نِيَّةٌ وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ تَدْبِيرِ الْأُمُورِ الْمُبَاحَاتِ وَتَرَجِّيهَا وَالطَّمَعِ فِيهَا فَهُوَ أُمْنِيَّةٌ وَأَمَلٌ وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ تَذْكِرَةِ الْآخِرَةِ وَالْوَعْدِ وَالْوَعِيدِ فَهُوَ تَذَكُّرٌ وَتَفْكِيرٌ وَمَا

faʾammā tasmiyatu jumlati al-khawāṭiri famā waqaʿa fī al-qalbi min ʿilmi al-khayri fahuwa ʾilhāmun wamā waqaʿa min ʿilmi al-sharri fahuwa waswāsun wamā waqaʿa fī al-qalbi mina al-makhāwifi fahuwa al-ḥassāsu wamā kāna min taqdīri al-khayri wataʾmīlihi fahuwa niyyatun wamā kāna min tadbīri al-ʾumūri al-mubāḥāti watarajjīhā wa-al-ṭamaʿi fīhā fahuwa ʾumniyyatun waʾamalun wamā kāna min tadhkirati al-ʾākhirati wa-al-waʿdi wa-al-waʿīdi fahuwa tadhakkurun watafkīrun wamā

As for naming the classes of promptings: knowledge of good falling into the heart is inspiration; knowledge of evil falling into it is whispering. Fears falling into the heart are apprehension. Envisaging good and hoping for it is intention. Planning permissible affairs, hoping for them, and desiring them is a wish and an expectation. Recalling the hereafter, promise, and threat is remembrance and reflection. What

كَانَ مِنْ مُعَايَنَةِ الْغَيْبِ بِعَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ فَهُوَ مُشَاهَدَةٌ وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ تَحَدُّثٍ بِمَعَاشِهَا وَتَصْرِيفِ أَحْوَالِهَا فَهُوَ هَمٌّ وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ خَوَاطِرِ الْعَادَاتِ وَنَوَازِعِ الشَّهَوَاتِ فَهُوَ لَمَمٌ ، وَيُسَمَّى جَمِيعُ ذَلِكَ خَوَاطِرَ لِأَنَّهُ خُطُورُ هِمَّةِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ خُطُورُ عَدُوٍّ بِحَسَدٍ أَوْ خَطْرَةُ مَلَكٍ بِهَمْسٍ ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ تَرْتِيبَ الْخَوَاطِرِ الْمُنْشَأَةِ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْغَيْبِ الْقَادِحَةِ فِي الْقَلْبِ عَلَى سِتَّةِ مَعَانٍ ،

kāna min muʿāyanati al-ghaybi biʿayni al-yaqīni fahuwa mushāhadatun wamā kāna min taḥadduthin bimaʿāshihā wataṣrīfi ʾaḥwālihā fahuwa hammun wamā kāna min khawāṭiri al-ʿādāti wanawāziʿi al-shahawāti fahuwa lamamun , wayusammā jamīʿu dhālika khawāṭira liʾannahu khuṭūru himmati nafsin ʾaw khuṭūru ʿaduwwin biḥasadin ʾaw khaṭratu malakin bihamsin , thumma ʾinna tartība al-khawāṭiri al-munshaʾati min khazāʾini al-ghaybi al-qādiḥati fī al-qalbi ʿalā sittati maʿānin ,

comes from directly beholding the unseen with certainty’s eye is witnessing. Speaking inwardly of its livelihood and arranging its circumstances is concern. Promptings of habits and impulses of appetites are passing inclinations. All this is called promptings because it is the passing of a self’s intention, an enemy’s passing through envy, or an angel’s prompting through a whisper. The arrangement of promptings brought forth from the treasuries of the unseen and striking within the heart consists of six meanings.

وَهَذِهِ حُدُودُ الشَّيْءِ الْمُظْهَرِ ثَلَاثَةٌ مِنْهَا مَعْفُوَّةٌ وَثَلَاثَةٌ مِنْهَا مُطَالَبٌ بِهَا ، فَأَوَّلُ ذَلِكَ الْهِمَّةُ وَهُوَ مَا يَبْدُو مِنْ وَسْوَسَةِ النَّفْسِ بِالشَّيْءِ

wahādhihi ḥudūdu al-shayʾi al-muẓhari thalāthatun minhā maʿfuwwatun wathalāthatun minhā muṭālabun bihā , faʾawwalu dhālika al-himmatu wahuwa mā yabdū min waswasati al-nafsi bi-al-shayʾi

These are the boundaries of the thing manifested: three are pardoned and three entail accountability. First is the impulse, what appears from the self’s whispering about a thing,

يَجِدُهُ الْعَبْدُ بِالْحِسِّ كَالْبَرْقَةِ فَإِنْ صَرَفَهَا بِالذِّكْرِ امْتَحَتْ وَإِنْ تَرَكَهَا بِالْغَفْلَةِ كَانَتْ خَطْرَةً وَهُوَ خُطُورُ الْعَدُوِّ بِالتَّزْيِينِ وَإِنْ نَفَى الْخَاطِرَ ذَهَبَ وَإِنْ وَلِيَ عَنْهُ قَوِيَ فَصَارَ وَسْوَسَةً وَهَذَا مُحَادَثَةُ النَّفْسِ لِلْعَدُوِّ وَإِصْغَاؤُهَا إِلَيْهِ وَإِنْ نَفَى الْعَبْدُ هَذِهِ الْوَسْوَسَةَ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ خَنَسَ الْعَدُوُّ وَصَغَتِ النَّفْسُ ، وَهَذِهِ الثَّلَاثُ مَعْفُوَّةٌ بِرَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى غَيْرُ مُؤَاخَذٍ بِهَا الْعَبْدُ

yajiduhu al-ʿabdu bi-al-ḥissi ka-al-barqati faʾin ṣarafahā bi-al-dhikri imtaḥat waʾin tarakahā bi-al-ghaflati kānat khaṭratan wahuwa khuṭūru al-ʿaduwwi bi-al-tazyīni waʾin nafā al-khāṭira dhahaba waʾin waliya ʿanhu qawiya faṣāra waswasatan wahādhā muḥādathatu al-nafsi lilʿaduwwi waʾiṣghāʾuhā ʾilayhi waʾin nafā al-ʿabdu hādhihi al-waswasata bidhikri allāhi khanasa al-ʿaduwwu waṣaghati al-nafsu , wahādhihi al-thalāthu maʿfuwwatun biraḥmati allāhi taʿālā ghayru muʾākhadhin bihā al-ʿabdu

which the servant senses like a flash of lightning. If he turns it away through remembrance, it is erased; if he leaves it in heedlessness, it becomes a prompting, the enemy’s passing with embellishment. If he expels the prompting, it goes; if he turns away from it, it strengthens and becomes whispering, the self’s conversation with the enemy and its listening to him. If the servant expels this whispering through God’s remembrance, the enemy withdraws and the self inclines. These three are pardoned through God Most High’s mercy, and the servant is not held accountable for them.

وَإِنْ أَمْرَجَ الْعَبْدُ النَّفْسَ فِي مُحَادَثَةِ الْعَدُوِّ وَطَاوَلَتِ النَّفْسُ الْعَدُوَّ بِالْإِصْغَاءِ وَالْمُحَادَثَةِ قَوِيَتِ الْوَسْوَسَةُ فَصَارَتْ نِيَّةً فَإِنْ أَبْدَلَ الْعَبْدُ هَذِهِ النِّيَّةَ بِنِيَّةِ خَيْرٍ فَاسْتَغْفَرَ مِنْهَا وَتَابَ وَإِلَّا قَوِيَتْ فَصَارَتْ عَقْدًا فَإِنْ حَلَّ هَذَا الْعَقْدَ بِالتَّوْبَةِ وَهُوَ الْإِصْرَارُ وَإِلَّا قَوِيَ فَصَارَ عَزْمًا وَهُوَ الْقَصْدُ . وَهَذِهِ الثَّلَاثَةُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقَلْبِ مَأْخُوذٌ بِهَا الْعَبْدُ وَمَسْؤُولٌ عَنْهَا فَإِنْ

waʾin ʾamraja al-ʿabdu al-nafsa fī muḥādathati al-ʿaduwwi waṭāwalati al-nafsu al-ʿaduwwa bi-al-ʾiṣghāʾi wa-al-muḥādathati qawiyati al-waswasatu faṣārat niyyatan faʾin ʾabdala al-ʿabdu hādhihi al-niyyata biniyyati khayrin fastaghfara minhā watāba waʾillā qawiyat faṣārat ʿaqdan faʾin ḥalla hādhā al-ʿaqda bi-al-tawbati wahuwa al-ʾiṣrāru waʾillā qawiya faṣāra ʿazman wahuwa al-qaṣdu. wahādhihi al-thalāthatu min ʾaʿmāli al-qalbi maʾkhūdhun bihā al-ʿabdu wamasʾūlun ʿanhā faʾin

If the servant lets the self run loose in conversation with the enemy, and the self prolongs its listening and conversation with him, the whispering strengthens and becomes an intention. The servant may replace this intention with a good intention, seeking forgiveness and repenting; otherwise it strengthens into a binding commitment. He may undo this commitment, namely persistence, through repentance; otherwise it strengthens into resolve, namely deliberate purpose. These three are deeds of the heart for which the servant is held accountable and questioned. If

تَدَارَكَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَعْدَ الْعَزْمِ وَإِلَّا تَمَكَّنَ الْعَزْمُ فَصَارَ طَلَبًا وَسَعْيًا وَأَظْهَرَ الْعَمَلَ عَلَى الْجَوَارِحِ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الْغَيْبِ وَالْمَلَكُوتِ فَصَارَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْجِسْمِ فِي خَزَانَةِ الْمُلْكِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ ، فَهَذِهِ الْأَعْمَالُ تُوجَدُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ وَالْإِثْمِ ، فَمَا كَانَ مِنْهَا مِنَ الْبِرِّ هِمَّةً وَنِيَّةً وَعَزْمًا كَانَ مَحْسُوبًا لِلْعَبْدِ فِي بَابِ النِّيَّاتِ مَكْتُوبًا لَهُ فِي دِيوَانِ الْإِرَادَةِ لَهُ بِهِ

tadārakahu allāhu taʿālā baʿda al-ʿazmi waʾillā tamakkana al-ʿazmu faṣāra ṭalaban wasaʿyan waʾaẓhara al-ʿamala ʿalā al-jawāriḥi min khazāʾini al-ghaybi wa-al-malakūti faṣāra min ʾaʿmāli al-jismi fī khazānati al-mulki wa-al-shahādati , fahādhihi al-ʾaʿmālu tūjadu min ʾaʿmāli al-birri wa-al-ʾithmi , famā kāna minhā mina al-birri himmatan waniyyatan waʿazman kāna maḥsūban lilʿabdi fī bābi al-niyyāti maktūban lahu fī dīwāni al-ʾirādati lahu bihi

God Most High rescues him after resolve, he is saved; otherwise resolve becomes established and turns into seeking and striving. It manifests the deed upon the limbs from the treasuries of the unseen and the unseen kingdom, becoming a bodily deed in the treasury of visible dominion and the witnessed world. These deeds occur as acts of righteousness and sin. Whatever of them is righteous, whether impulse, intention, or resolve, is reckoned for the servant under intentions, written for him in the register of will, and through it he receives

حَسَنَاتٍ وَمَا كَانَ مِنْهَا مِنَ الشَّرِّ نِيَّةً وَعَقْدًا وَعَزْمًا فَعَلَى الْعَبْدِ فِيهِ مُؤَاخَذَةٌ مِنْ بَابِ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ وَنِيَّاتِ السُّوءِ وَعُقُودِ الْمَعَاصِي وَلَيْسَ شَيْءٌ مُجَانِسٌ لِلْعَدُوِّ مُؤَاخٍ لَهُ إِلَّا النَّفْسُ جَمَعَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَيْنَهُمَا فِي الْوَسْوَسَةِ بِقَوْلِهِ : ( الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ) النَّاسُ : 4 ، وَقَوْلِهِ : ( وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ ) ق : 16 ،

ḥasanātin wamā kāna minhā mina al-sharri niyyatan waʿaqdan waʿazman faʿalā al-ʿabdi fīhi muʾākhadhatun min bābi ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi waniyyāti al-sūʾi waʿuqūdi al-maʿāṣī walaysa shayʾun mujānisun lilʿaduwwi muʾākhin lahu ʾillā al-nafsu jamaʿa allāhu taʿālā baynahumā fī al-waswasati biqawlihi: ( al-waswāsi al-khannāsi ) al-nāsu: 4 , waqawlihi: ( wanaʿlamu mā tuwaswisu bihi nafsuhu ) qāf: 16 ,

good deeds. Whatever of them is evil, whether intention, binding commitment, or resolve, entails accountability for the servant as a deed of the heart, an evil intention, or a commitment to disobedience. Nothing is akin to the enemy and fraternally joined to him except the self. God Most High brought them together in whispering through His saying, “The whisperer who withdraws” (al-Nās 4), and His saying, “We know what his self whispers to him” (Qāf 16).

وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَلَهُ مِثْلٌ وَضِدٌّ ، فَمِثْلُ النَّفْسِ الشَّيْطَانُ وَضِدُّهُمَا الرُّوحُ ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ أَعْمَالَ الْجَوَارِحِ مِنَ النَّوْعَيْنِ الطَّاعَةِ وَالْمَعْصِيَةِ أَعْظَمُ فِي الْأَجْرِ وَالْوِزْرِ مَعًا إِلَّا مَا لَا يَتَأَتَّى أَنْ يَعْمَلَهُ بِظَاهِرِ الْجِسْمِ مِنْ شَهَادَةِ التَّوْحِيدِ أَوْ وُجُودِ شَكٍّ أَوْ كُفْرٍ أَوِ اعْتِقَادِ بِدْعَةٍ .

wakullu shayʾin khalaqahu allāhu taʿālā falahu mithlun waḍiddun , famithlu al-nafsi al-shayṭānu waḍidduhumā al-rūḥu , thumma ʾinna ʾaʿmāla al-jawāriḥi mina al-nawʿayni al-ṭāʿati wa-al-maʿṣiyati ʾaʿẓamu fī al-ʾajri wa-al-wizri maʿan ʾillā mā lā yataʾattā ʾan yaʿmalahu biẓāhiri al-jismi min shahādati al-tawḥīdi ʾaw wujūdi shakkin ʾaw kufrin ʾawi iʿtiqādi bidʿatin.

Everything God Most High created has a likeness and an opposite. The self’s likeness is Satan, and the opposite of both is the spirit. Bodily deeds of both kinds, obedience and disobedience, are greater in reward and burden alike, except what cannot be performed through the body’s exterior, such as witnessing oneness, the presence of doubt or unbelief, or holding an innovated belief.

بَابٌ آخَرُ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ وَالتَّفْصِيلِ

bābun ʾākharu mina al-bayāni wa-al-tafṣīli

Another Section of Explanation and Detail

فَأَمَّا مَا كَانَ مِنْ لَائِحٍ يَلُوحُ فِي الْقَلْبِ مِنْ مَعْصِيَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتَقَلَّبُ فَلَا يَلْبَثُ فَهَذَا نَزْغٌ مِنْ قِبِيلِ الْعَدُوِّ وَمَا كَانَ فِي الْقَلْبِ مِنْ هَوًى ثَابِتٍ أَوْ حَالٍ مُزْعِجٍ دَائِمٍ لَابِثٍ فَهُوَ مِنْ قِبَلِ النَّفْسِ الْأَمَّارَةِ بِطَبْعِهَا أَوْ مُطَالَبَةٌ مِنْهَا بِسُوءِ عَادَتِهَا وَمَا وَرَدَ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ مِنْ هَمِّهِ بِخَطِيئَةٍ وَوَجَدَ الْعَبْدُ فِيهَا كَرَاهَتَهَا ،

faʾammā mā kāna min lāʾiḥin yalūḥu fī al-qalbi min maʿṣiyatin thumma yataqallabu falā yalbathu fahādhā nazghun min qibīli al-ʿaduwwi wamā kāna fī al-qalbi min hawan thābitin ʾaw ḥālin muzʿijin dāʾimin lābithin fahuwa min qibali al-nafsi al-ʾammārati biṭabʿihā ʾaw muṭālabatun minhā bisūʾi ʿādatihā wamā warada ʿalā al-ʿabdi min hammihi bikhaṭīʾatin wawajada al-ʿabdu fīhā karāhatahā ,

A gleam of disobedience that flashes in the heart, then turns away without staying, is an incitement from the enemy’s side. A fixed desire within the heart or a persistent, disturbing state comes from the self that commands by its nature, or is a demand from its bad habit. When an intention to sin comes upon the servant and he finds aversion to it within himself,

فَالْوُرُودُ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْعَدُوِّ وَالْكَرَاهَةُ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَا وَجَدَهُ الْعَبْدُ وَجْدًا بِهَوًى أَوْ مَعْصِيَةٍ ثُمَّ وَرَدَ عَلَيْهِ الْمَنْعُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَالْوَجْدُ مِنَ النَّفْسِ وَالْوَارِدُ بِالْمَنْعِ مِنَ الْمَلَكِ وَمَا وَجَدَهُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ فِكْرٍ فِي عَاقِبَةِ الدُّنْيَا أَوْ تَدْبِيرِ الْحَالِ وَنَظَرٍ إِلَى مَعْهُودٍ فَهَذَا مِنْ قِبَلِ الْعَقْلِ وَمَا وَجَدَ مِنْ خَوْفٍ أَوْ حَيَاءٍ أَوْ وَرَعٍ أَوْ زُهْدٍ أَوْ مِنْ شَأْنِ الْآخِرَةِ فَهَذَا عَنْ

fa-al-wurūdu min qibali al-ʿaduwwi wa-al-karāhatu min qibali al-ʾīmāni wamā wajadahu al-ʿabdu wajdan bihawan ʾaw maʿṣiyatin thumma warada ʿalayhi al-manʿu min dhālika fa-al-wajdu mina al-nafsi wa-al-wāridu bi-al-manʿi mina al-malaki wamā wajadahu al-ʿabdu min fikrin fī ʿāqibati al-dunyā ʾaw tadbīri al-ḥāli wanaẓarin ʾilā maʿhūdin fahādhā min qibali al-ʿaqli wamā wajada min khawfin ʾaw ḥayāʾin ʾaw waraʿin ʾaw zuhdin ʾaw min shaʾni al-ʾākhirati fahādhā ʿan

the arrival comes from the enemy and the aversion from faith. When the servant experiences desire or disobedience and then a prohibition of it comes upon him, the feeling comes from the self and the forbidding visitation from the angel. Whatever the servant finds of thought about this world’s outcome, management of his state, or attention to something familiar comes from reason. Whatever he finds of fear, shame, scrupulousness, renunciation, or the affairs of the hereafter comes from

الْإِيمَانِ وَمَا شَهِدَ الْقَلْبُ مِنْ تَعْظِيمٍ أَوْ هَيْبَةٍ أَوْ إِجْلَالٍ أَوْ قُرْبٍ فَهَذَا مِنَ الْيَقِينِ وَهُوَ مِنْ مَزِيدِ الْإِيمَانِ وَإِلَيْهِ يَرْجِعُ الْأَمْرُ كُلُّهُ فَاعْبُدْهُ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ كَمَا قَالَ صَاحِبُ الْأَمْرِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَعُوذُ بِكَ وَإِنَّمَا هَذَا تَفْصِيلُ الْحُدُودِ وَإِظْهَارُ الْمَكَانِ وَإِحْكَامُ الْعِلْمِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَصَّلْنَاهُ تَفْصِيلًا ) الْإِسْرَاءُ : 12 ،

al-ʾīmāni wamā shahida al-qalbu min taʿẓīmin ʾaw haybatin ʾaw ʾijlālin ʾaw qurbin fahādhā mina al-yaqīni wahuwa min mazīdi al-ʾīmāni waʾilayhi yarjiʿu al-ʾamru kulluhu faʿbudhu watawakkal ʿalayhi kamā qāla ṣāḥibu al-ʾamri rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾaʿūdhu bika waʾinnamā hādhā tafṣīlu al-ḥudūdi waʾiẓhāru al-makāni waʾiḥkāmu al-ʿilmi kamā qāla taʿālā: ( wakulla shayʾin faṣṣalnāhu tafṣīlan ) al-ʾisrāʾu: 12 ,

faith. Whatever the heart witnesses of magnification, awe, reverence, or nearness comes from certainty and belongs to faith’s increase. “To Him the whole affair returns, so worship Him and rely upon Him,” as the master of the affair, God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “I seek refuge in You.” This is only a detailing of boundaries, showing the place, and establishing knowledge firmly, as He Most High says, “Everything We have detailed in full” (al-Isrāʾ 12).

وَقَالَ : ( قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 97 ، وَلَيْسَ فِي التَّوْحِيدِ وَلَا فِي الْمُشَاهَدَةِ تَفَكُّرٌ وَلَا فِي الْإِشَارَةِ عِيَانٌ وَلَا فِي الْقُدْرَةِ تَرْتِيبٌ وَلَكِنْ لَا بُدَّ

waqāla: ( qad faṣṣalnā al-ʾāyāti liqawmin yaʿlamūna ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 97 , walaysa fī al-tawḥīdi walā fī al-mushāhadati tafakkurun walā fī al-ʾishārati ʿiyānun walā fī al-qudrati tartībun walakin lā budda

He says, “We have detailed the signs for a people who know” (al-Anʿām 97). In affirming oneness and in witnessing there is no discursive thought; in indication there is no direct sight; in power there is no sequence. Yet there must be

مِنْ عِلْمِ التَّفْصِيلِ لَا عَنِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَهُوَ التَّفْرِقَةُ بِلِسَانِ الشَّرْعِ عَنْ عَيْنِ الْجَمْعِ لِإِظْهَارِ الطُّرُقِ وَاسْتِنَارَةِ السُّبُلِ وَتَطْرِيقِ السَّالِكِينَ وَتَرْتِيبِ الْعَامِلِينَ لِيَهْلِكَ مَنْ هَلَكَ عَنْ بَيِّنَةٍ وَيَحْيَا مَنْ حَيَّ عَنْ بَيِّنَةٍ وَاللَّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ ، وَقَدْ فَصَّلَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ أَعْمَالَ الْعِبَادِ وَفَرَّقَ بَيْنَ الْأَمْرِ وَالْإِرَادَةِ فَقَالَ : إِنَّ أَعْمَالَ الْعِبَادِ لَا تَخْلُو مِنْ ثَلَاثَةِ أَنْوَاعٍ :

min ʿilmi al-tafṣīli lā ʿani al-tawḥīdi wahuwa al-tafriqatu bilisāni al-sharʿi ʿan ʿayni al-jamʿi liʾiẓhāri al-ṭuruqi wastinārati al-subuli wataṭrīqi al-sālikīna watartībi al-ʿāmilīna liyahlika man halaka ʿan bayyinatin wayaḥyā man ḥayya ʿan bayyinatin wa-allāhu ghālibun ʿalā ʾamrihi , waqad faṣṣala baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi ʾaʿmāla al-ʿibādi wafarraqa bayna al-ʾamri wa-al-ʾirādati faqāla: ʾinna ʾaʿmāla al-ʿibādi lā takhlū min thalāthati ʾanwāʿin:

knowledge of detail, apart from the affirmation of oneness: differentiation in the language of revealed law from the very reality of gathering, to reveal paths, illuminate ways, set travelers on their routes, and order those who act, “so that whoever perishes may perish upon clear evidence and whoever lives may live upon clear evidence.” God prevails over His affair. One scholar detailed servants’ deeds and distinguished command from will, saying, “Servants’ deeds necessarily fall into three kinds:

فَرْضٍ وَفَضْلٍ وَمَعْصِيَةٍ ، قَالَ : فَنَقُولُ إِنَّ الْفَرْضَ بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَمَحَبَّةِ اللَّهِ وَمَشِيئَةِ اللَّهِ ، تَجْتَمِعُ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي الثَّلَاثَةُ فِي الْفَرَائِضِ قَالَ : وَنَقُولُ إِنَّ النَّفْلَ لَا بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يُوجِبْهُ وَلَمْ يُعَاقِبْ عَلَى تَرْكِهِ وَلَكِنْ بِمَحَبَّةِ اللَّهِ وَمَشِيئَتِهِ جَلَّ وَعَلَا أَيْ لِأَنَّهُ شَرَعَهُ وَنَدَبَ إِلَيْهِ فَقَالَ : وَنَقُولُ إِنَّ الْمَعْصِيَةَ لَا بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَشْرَعْهَا عَلَى

farḍin wafaḍlin wamaʿṣiyatin , qāla: fanaqūlu ʾinna al-farḍa biʾamri allāhi taʿālā wamaḥabbati allāhi wamashīʾati allāhi , tajtamiʿu hādhihi al-maʿānī al-thalāthatu fī al-farāʾiḍi qāla: wanaqūlu ʾinna al-nafla lā biʾamri allāhi liʾannahu lam yūjibhu walam yuʿāqib ʿalā tarkihi walakin bimaḥabbati allāhi wamashīʾatihi jalla waʿalā ʾay liʾannahu sharaʿahu wanadaba ʾilayhi faqāla: wanaqūlu ʾinna al-maʿṣiyata lā biʾamri allāhi liʾannahu lam yashraʿhā ʿalā

obligation, additional virtue, and disobedience. We say that an obligation is by God Most High’s command, God’s love, and God’s will; these three meanings come together in obligations. We say that the supererogatory act is not by God’s command, because He neither made it obligatory nor punished its abandonment, but is through His love and will, majestic and exalted, because He prescribed it and recommended it. We say that disobedience is not by God’s command, because He did not prescribe it upon

أَلْسِنَةِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ وَلَا بِمَحَبَّةِ اللَّهِ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ كَرِهَهَا إِذْ لَمْ يَأْمُرْ بِهَا وَلَمْ يَنْدُبْ إِلَيْهَا وَلَكِنْ بِمَشِيئَةِ اللَّهِ جَلَّتْ عَظَمَتُهُ أَنْ لَا يَخْرُجَ شَيْءٌ مِنْ إِرَادَتِهِ كَمَا لَمْ يَخْرُجْ شَيْءٌ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ ، وَالْإِرَادَةُ وَالْمَشِيئَةُ اسْمَانِ بِمَعْنًى وَاحِدٍ فَقَدْ دَخَلَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ فِيهَا كَمَا دَخَلَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ فِي الْعِلْمِ فَاللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ عَالِمٌ بِمَا أَرَادَهُ وَقَدْ سَبَقَ بِهِ عِلْمُهُ كَذَلِكَ هُوَ مُرِيدٌ لِمَا عَلِمَهُ

ʾalsinati al-mursalīna walā bimaḥabbati allāhi liʾannahu qad karihahā ʾidh lam yaʾmur bihā walam yandub ʾilayhā walakin bimashīʾati allāhi jallat ʿaẓamatuhu ʾan lā yakhruja shayʾun min ʾirādatihi kamā lam yakhruj shayʾun min ʿilmihi , wa-al-ʾirādatu wa-al-mashīʾatu ismāni bimaʿnan wāḥidin faqad dakhala kullu shayʾin fīhā kamā dakhala kullu shayʾin fī al-ʿilmi fa-allāhu subḥānahu ʿālimun bimā ʾarādahu waqad sabaqa bihi ʿilmuhu kadhālika huwa murīdun limā ʿalimahu

the messengers’ tongues, nor through God’s love, because He disliked it, neither commanding nor recommending it. Yet it is by God’s will, exalted is His greatness, so that nothing passes outside His will, just as nothing passes outside His knowledge.” Will and volition are two names with one meaning; everything is included in them as everything is included in knowledge. God, glorified, knows what He has willed, and His knowledge has preceded it; likewise He wills what He has known.

أَظْهَرَتْ إِرَادَتُهُ سَابِقَ عِلْمِهِ وَكَشَفَ عِلْمَ الْغَيْبِ بِظُهُورِ إِرَادَتِهِ الشَّهَادَةَ فَهُوَ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَالْغَيْبُ عِلْمُهُ وَالشَّهَادَةُ مَعْلُومُهُ فَكَيْفَ يُخَالِفُ الْمَعْلُومُ الْعِلْمَ وَهُوَ إِجْرَاؤُهُ وَالْإِرَادَةُ نَفَّذَتِ الْعِلْمَ فِي مَعْلُومَاتِ الْخَلْقِ وَهَذَا فَرْضُ التَّوْحِيدِ فَخَرَجَتِ النَّوَافِلُ عَنِ الْأَمْرِ خَرَجَتِ الْمَعَاصِي عَنِ الْمَحَبَّةِ فِي تَفْصِيلِ الْأَحْكَامِ ،

ʾaẓharat ʾirādatuhu sābiqa ʿilmihi wakashafa ʿilma al-ghaybi biẓuhūri ʾirādatihi al-shahādata fahuwa ʿālimu al-ghaybi wa-al-shahādati fa-al-ghaybu ʿilmuhu wa-al-shahādatu maʿlūmuhu fakayfa yukhālifu al-maʿlūmu al-ʿilma wahuwa ʾijrāʾuhu wa-al-ʾirādatu naffadhati al-ʿilma fī maʿlūmāti al-khalqi wahādhā farḍu al-tawḥīdi fakharajati al-nawāfilu ʿani al-ʾamri kharajati al-maʿāṣī ʿani al-maḥabbati fī tafṣīli al-ʾaḥkāmi ,

His will manifested His prior knowledge and disclosed knowledge of the unseen through the manifestation of His will in the witnessed world. He is the Knower of the unseen and witnessed: the unseen is His knowledge, and the witnessed is what He knows. How could the known contradict knowledge, when it is its enactment? Will executes knowledge in the known things of creation. This is the obligation of affirming oneness. In distinguishing rulings, supererogatory acts fall outside command, and disobediences outside love.

وَتَبَيَّنَ الْحَلَالُ وَالْحَرَامُ وَلَمْ تَخْرُجْ مَعْصِيَةٌ عَنْ مَشِيئَةٍ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ : ( وَكُلُّ صَغِيرٍ وَكَبِيرٍ مُسْتَطَرٌ ) الْقَمَرُ : 53 ، وَقَدْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ : كُلُّ شَيْءٍ بِقَضَاءٍ وَقَدَرٍ حَتَّى الْعَجْزُ وَالْكَيْسُ فَذَكَرَ عَرَضَيْنِ لَطِيفَيْنِ هُمَا سَبَبَا الْمَنْعِ وَالْعَطَاءِ وَقَدْ فَرَّقَ عَالِمُنَا بَيْنَ الْأَمْرِ وَالْإِرَادَةِ فَرْقًا لَطِيفًا فَحَدَّثَنِي بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِنَا أَنَّهُ سُئِلَ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

watabayyana al-ḥalālu wa-al-ḥarāmu walam takhruj maʿṣiyatun ʿan mashīʾatin , waqad qāla allāhu jalla thanāʾuhu: ( wakullu ṣaghīrin wakabīrin mustaṭarun ) al-qamaru: 53 , waqad qāla rasūlu allāhi: kullu shayʾin biqaḍāʾin waqadarin ḥattā al-ʿajzu wa-al-kaysu fadhakara ʿaraḍayni laṭīfayni humā sababā al-manʿi wa-al-ʿaṭāʾi waqad farraqa ʿālimunā bayna al-ʾamri wa-al-ʾirādati farqan laṭīfan faḥaddathanī baʿḍu ʾaṣḥābinā ʾannahu suʾila ʿan qawli allāhi ʿazza wajalla

Lawful and unlawful become distinct, but no disobedience falls outside will. God, exalted be His praise, says, “Everything small and great is written down” (al-Qamar 53). God’s Messenger said, “Everything is by judgment and decree, even incapacity and resourcefulness.” He thus mentioned two subtle attributes that cause withholding and giving. Our scholar made a subtle distinction between command and will. One of our companions told me that he was asked about God’s saying, mighty and majestic:

لَمَّا أَمَرَ إِبْلِيسَ بِالسُّجُودِ لِآدَمَ أَرَادَ مِنْهُ ذَلِكَ أَمْ لَا فَقَالَ أَرَادَهُ وَلَمْ يُرِدْهُ مِنْهُ يَعْنِي أَرَادَهُ شَرْعًا وَإِظْهَارًا وَعَلَيْهِ إِيجَابًا وَلَمْ يُرِدْهُ مِنْهُ وُقُوعًا وَلَا كَوْنًا إِذْ لَا يَكُونُ إِلَّا مَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِذْ لَوْ أَرَادَ كَوْنَهُ لَكَانَ وَلَوْ أَرَادَهُ فِعْلًا لَوَقَعَ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ ) يس : 82 ،

lammā ʾamara ʾiblīsa bi-al-sujūdi liʾādama ʾarāda minhu dhālika ʾam lā faqāla ʾarādahu walam yuridhu minhu yaʿnī ʾarādahu sharʿan waʾiẓhāran waʿalayhi ʾījāban walam yuridhu minhu wuqūʿan walā kawnan ʾidh lā yakūnu ʾillā mā ʾarāda allāhu taʿālā ʾidh law ʾarāda kawnahu lakāna walaw ʾarādahu fiʿlan lawaqaʿa liqawlihi taʿālā: ( ʾinnamā ʾamruhu ʾidhā ʾarāda shayʾan ʾan yaqūla lahu kun fayakūnu ) yā sīn: 82 ,

when He commanded Iblīs to prostrate before Adam, did He will this from him or not? He said, “He willed it and did not will it from him”: He willed it as prescription and manifestation, and as an obligation upon him, but did not will its occurrence or existence from him. Nothing exists except what God Most High wills. Had He willed its existence, it would have existed; had He willed it as an act, it would have occurred, according to His exalted saying, “His command, when He wills a thing, is only to say to it ‘Be,’ and it is” (Yā Sīn 82).

فَلَمَّا لَمْ يَكُنْ عَلِمْتَ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يُرِدْهُ ، فَقَدْ كَانَ الْأَمْرَانِ مَعًا إِرَادَتُهُ بِالتَّكْلِيفِ وَالتَّعَبُّدِ وَإِرَادَتُهُ بِأَنْ لَا يَسْجُدَ كَمَا لَمْ يَقْدِرْ مِنْ أَنْ يَمْتَنِعَ مِنْ أَنْ يُؤْمِنَ ، فَكَذَلِكَ الْقَوْلُ فِي نَهْيِهِ لِآدَمَ عَنْ أَكْلِ الشَّجَرَةِ إِنَّهُ أَرَادَ الْأَكْلَ مِنْهُ وَلَمْ يُرِدْهُ لَهُ أَيْ أَرَادَهُ وُقُوعًا وَكَوْنًا لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ وُجِدَ وَكَانَ كَقَوْلِهِ إِذَا أَرَدْنَاهُ أَنْ نَقُولَهُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ فَلَمَّا كَانَ عَلِمْتَ أَنَّهُ

falammā lam yakun ʿalimta ʾannahu lam yuridhu , faqad kāna al-ʾamrāni maʿan ʾirādatuhu bi-al-taklīfi wa-al-taʿabbudi waʾirādatuhu biʾan lā yasjuda kamā lam yaqdir min ʾan yamtaniʿa min ʾan yuʾmina , fakadhālika al-qawlu fī nahyihi liʾādama ʿan ʾakli al-shajarati ʾinnahu ʾarāda al-ʾakla minhu walam yuridhu lahu ʾay ʾarādahu wuqūʿan wakawnan liʾannahu qad wujida wakāna kaqawlihi ʾidhā ʾaradnāhu ʾan naqūlahu lahu kun fayakūnu falammā kāna ʿalimta ʾannahu

Since it did not exist, you know He did not will it. Both matters thus coexisted: His willing obligation and worship, and His willing that he not prostrate, just as he could not refrain from believing. Likewise, concerning His forbidding Adam to eat from the tree: He willed the eating from him and did not will it for him. He willed its occurrence and existence, because it was found and came to be, as in His saying, “When We will it, We say to it ‘Be,’ and it is.” Since it came to be, you know that He

أَرَادَهُ وَلَمْ يُرِدْهُ شَرْعًا وَلَا أَمْرًا لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَأْمُرْهُ بِهِ وَلَا شَرَعَهُ لَهُ فَقَدْ كَانَ الْأَمْرَانِ جَمِيعًا إِرَادَتُهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْعَبْدُ مُكَلَّفًا مَأْمُورًا وَإِرَادَتُهُ الْأَكْلَ مِنْهُ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ كَانَ وَكَذَلِكَ الْقَوْلُ فِي كُلِّ مَا أَمَرَ بِهِ وَأَرَادَهُ إِنَّهُ أَرَادَ الْأَمْرَ وَالنَّهْيَ لَهُمْ لِيَكُونُوا مُكَلَّفِينَ مُتَعَبِّدِينَ وَلَمْ يُرِدْهُ مِمَّنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْهُ الِائْتِمَارُ وَالِانْتِهَاءُ لِأَنَّهُ قَالَ تَعَالَى :

ʾarādahu walam yuridhu sharʿan walā ʾamran liʾannahu lam yaʾmurhu bihi walā sharaʿahu lahu faqad kāna al-ʾamrāni jamīʿan ʾirādatuhu ʾan yakūna al-ʿabdu mukallafan maʾmūran waʾirādatuhu al-ʾakla minhu liʾannahu qad kāna wakadhālika al-qawlu fī kulli mā ʾamara bihi waʾarādahu ʾinnahu ʾarāda al-ʾamra wa-al-nahya lahum liyakūnū mukallafīna mutaʿabbidīna walam yuridhu mimman lam yakun minhu al-iʾtimāru wa-al-intihāʾu liʾannahu qāla taʿālā:

willed it, but did not will it as prescription or command, because He neither commanded it nor prescribed it for him. Both matters thus coexisted: His willing the servant to be obligated and commanded, and His willing the eating from him, because it occurred. Likewise in everything He commanded and willed: He willed command and prohibition for them, so that they would be obligated and bound to worship, but did not will the act from those in whom compliance and abstention did not occur. For He Most High says:

( إِنَّمَا قَوْلُنَا لِشَيْءٍ إِذَا أَرَدْنَاهُ أَنْ نَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ ) النَّحْلُ : 40 ، فَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا كَوَّنَهُ كَمَا أَنَّهُ إِذَا كَوَّنَ شَيْئًا فَقَدْ أَرَادَهُ بِدَلَالَةِ

( ʾinnamā qawlunā lishayʾin ʾidhā ʾaradnāhu ʾan naqūla lahu kun fayakūnu ) al-naḥlu: 40 , faʾakhbara ʾannahu ʾidhā ʾarāda shayʾan kawwanahu kamā ʾannahu ʾidhā kawwana shayʾan faqad ʾarādahu bidalālati

“Our word to a thing, when We will it, is only that We say to it ‘Be,’ and it is” (al-Naḥl 40). He thus tells us that when He wills something, He brings it into being, just as when He brings something into being, He has willed it, as shown by

كَوْنِهِ ، فَلَمَّا لَمْ يَكُنِ الْأَمْرُ مِنَ الْعَاصِينَ عَلِمْنَا أَنَّهُ لَمْ يُرِدْهُ إِذْ لَوْ أَرَادَهُ كَانَ ، وَلَمَّا كَانَ النَّهْيُ مِنَ الْمَأْمُورِينَ عَلِمْنَا أَنَّهُ أَرَادَ كَوْنَهُ إِذْ لَوْ لَمْ يُرِدْهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ ، فَصَارَ كَوْنُ الشَّيْءِ دَلِيلًا عَلَى إِرَادَتِهِ ، وَقَدْ وَقَعَتِ الْإِرَادَةُ بِالْأَمْرِ وَالنَّهْيِ فَكَانَ الْكُلُّ مَأْمُورِينَ مَنْهِيِّينَ وَلَمْ يَقَعِ الْفِعْلُ مِنَ الْكُلِّ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يُرِدْ وُقُوعَهُ إِذْ لَوْ أَرَادَهُ كَانَ وَهَذَا أَصْلُ

kawnihi , falammā lam yakuni al-ʾamru mina al-ʿāṣīna ʿalimnā ʾannahu lam yuridhu ʾidh law ʾarādahu kāna , walammā kāna al-nahyu mina al-maʾmūrīna ʿalimnā ʾannahu ʾarāda kawnahu ʾidh law lam yuridhu lam yakun , faṣāra kawnu al-shayʾi dalīlan ʿalā ʾirādatihi , waqad waqaʿati al-ʾirādatu bi-al-ʾamri wa-al-nahyi fakāna al-kullu maʾmūrīna manhiyyīna walam yaqaʿi al-fiʿlu mina al-kulli liʾannahu lam yurid wuqūʿahu ʾidh law ʾarādahu kāna wahādhā ʾaṣlu

its existence. Since the commanded act did not occur from the disobedient, we know He did not will it, for had He willed it, it would have occurred. When the forbidden act occurred from those commanded, we know He willed its existence, for had He not willed it, it would not have occurred. A thing’s existence thus becomes proof of His willing it. Will has applied to command and prohibition, so all have been commanded and forbidden, but the act did not occur from all because He did not will its occurrence; had He willed it, it would have occurred. This is the root of

الِابْتِلَاءِ وَإِرَادَةُ ظُهُورِ الْبَلَاءِ ، يَأْمُرُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالشَّيْءِ وَيُرِيدُ كَوْنَ ضِدِّهِ وَقَدْ أَرَادَ الْأَمْرَ بِهِ حَسْبُ وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الشَّيْءِ وَيُرِيدُ كَوْنَهُ وَقَدْ أَرَادَ النَّهْيَ عَنْهُ فَقَطْ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ عَالِمُنَا أَبُو الْحَسَنِ رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي عِلْمِ الْأَمْرِ وَالْخَيْرِ وَفِي الِابْتِلَاءِ وَالْقَهْرِ بِمَعَانٍ لَا يُهْتَدَى إِلَيْهَا الْيَوْمَ وَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْهَا أَحَدٌ أَيْ يُظْهِرُ الْأَمْرَ بِالتَّرْكِ وَيُظْهِرُ

al-ibtilāʾi waʾirādatu ẓuhūri al-balāʾi , yaʾmuru allāhu taʿālā bi-al-shayʾi wayurīdu kawna ḍiddihi waqad ʾarāda al-ʾamra bihi ḥasbu wayanhā ʿani al-shayʾi wayurīdu kawnahu waqad ʾarāda al-nahya ʿanhu faqaṭ , waqad kāna ʿālimunā ʾabū al-ḥasani raḥmatu allāhi ʿalayhi yatakallamu fī ʿilmi al-ʾamri wa-al-khayri wafī al-ibtilāʾi wa-al-qahri bimaʿānin lā yuhtadā ʾilayhā al-yawma walā yusʾalu ʿanhā ʾaḥadun ʾay yuẓhiru al-ʾamra bi-al-tarki wayuẓhiru

trial and the willing of affliction’s manifestation. God Most High commands a thing while willing the existence of its opposite; He has willed only the command to it. He forbids a thing while willing its existence; He has willed only the prohibition of it. Our scholar Abū al-Ḥasan, God’s mercy upon him, used to speak concerning the knowledge of command and good, and concerning trial and overpowering, in meanings to which no one finds a way today and about which no one is asked. That is: He manifests command through abandonment and manifests

النَّهْيَ بِالْفِعْلِ وَيُظْهِرُ الْأَحْكَامَ لِوُقُوعِ الْبَلَاءِ وَيَقْهَرُ الْجَوَارِحَ بِالْجَبْرِ عَلَى إِرَادَتِهِ لِلِابْتِلَاءِ وَقَدْ فَرَّقَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ قَبْلَهُ وَهُوَ إِمَامُنَا فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ بَيْنَ التَّعْذِيبِ عَلَى جَرَيَانِ الْعِلْمِ وَمُخَالَفَةِ الْأَمْرِ لَمَّا بَلَغَهُ أَنَّ عَمْرَو بْنَ عُبَيْدٍ وَهُوَ إِمَامُ الْمُعْتَزِلَةِ الْيَوْمَ وَإِلَيْهِ نُسِبُوا لَمَّا اعْتَزَلَ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ الْبَصْرِيِّ بَعْدَ أَنْ صَحِبَهُ وَلَمْ يُخْتَمْ لَهُ

al-nahya bi-al-fiʿli wayuẓhiru al-ʾaḥkāma liwuqūʿi al-balāʾi wayaqharu al-jawāriḥa bi-al-jabri ʿalā ʾirādatihi lilibtilāʾi waqad farraqa al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu raḥimahu allāhu qablahu wahuwa ʾimāmunā fī hādhā al-ʿilmi bayna al-taʿdhībi ʿalā jarayāni al-ʿilmi wamukhālafati al-ʾamri lammā balaghahu ʾanna ʿamra bna ʿubaydin wahuwa ʾimāmu al-muʿtazilati al-yawma waʾilayhi nusibū lammā iʿtazala ʿani al-ḥasani al-baṣriyyi baʿda ʾan ṣaḥibahu walam yukhtam lahu

prohibition through performance, manifests rulings for the occurrence of trial, and overpowers the limbs by compulsion according to His will for testing. Before him al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, may God have mercy on him, our imam in this knowledge, distinguished punishment for the course of knowledge from violation of command. He had heard that ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd, the imam of the Muʿtazila today, to whom they were ascribed when he withdrew from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī after accompanying him, and whose life did not end

بِصُحْبَتِهِ بَلَغَهُ أَنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَقْضِي بِالشَّيْءِ ثُمَّ يُعَذِّبُ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ لَهُ : وَيْلَكَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَا يُعَذِّبُ عَلَى جَرَيَانِ حُكْمِهِ وَإِنَّمَا يُعَذِّبُ عَلَى مُخَالَفَةِ أَمْرِهِ ، تَفْسِيرُ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ مَا حَكَمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مُنْفَرِدًا بِهِ لَمْ يَجْعَلْ فِيهِ أَمْرًا وَلَا نَهْيًا لَا يُعَذِّبُ عَلَيْهِ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَجْعَلْ لِلْعَبْدِ مَدْخَلًا فِيهِ بِشَهْوَةٍ وَلَا فِعْلٍ وَإِنَّ مَا قَضَاهُ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ مِمَّا أَدْخَلَهُ فِيهِ

biṣuḥbatihi balaghahu ʾannahu yaqūlu ʾinna allāha lā yaqḍī bi-al-shayʾi thumma yuʿadhdhibu ʿalayhi faqāla lahu: waylaka ʾinna allāha ʿazza wajalla lā yuʿadhdhibu ʿalā jarayāni ḥukmihi waʾinnamā yuʿadhdhibu ʿalā mukhālafati ʾamrihi , tafsīru dhālika ʾanna mā ḥakamahu allāhu taʿālā munfaridan bihi lam yajʿal fīhi ʾamran walā nahyan lā yuʿadhdhibu ʿalayhi liʾannahu lam yajʿal lilʿabdi madkhalan fīhi bishahwatin walā fiʿlin waʾinna mā qaḍāhu ʿalā al-ʿabdi mimmā ʾadkhalahu fīhi

in his companionship, had said, “God does not decree a thing and then punish for it.” He said to him, “Woe to you! God, mighty and majestic, does not punish for the course of His ruling; He punishes only for violating His command.” Its explanation is that what God Most High has ruled by Himself, placing in it neither command nor prohibition, He does not punish for, because He gave the servant no entry into it through appetite or action. But what He decreed upon the servant, in which He involved him

بِقَصْدِهِ وَشَهْوَتِهِ عَذَّبَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَهَذَا مِنْ شُؤْمِ النَّفْسِ وَتَكْدِيرِ الْخَلْقِ أَنَّهَا إِذَا أُدْخِلَتْ فِي شَيْءٍ انْقَلَبَ عَلَيْهَا شَرُّهُ وَالْأُمَّةُ مُجْتَمِعَةٌ عَلَى قَوْلِ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ كَانَ ، وَمَا لَمْ يَشَأْ لَمْ يَكُنْ وَاجْتَمَعَتْ عَلَى قَوْلِ : لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ ، فَهَذَا عَامٌّ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لَيْسَ فِي بَعْضِ الْأَشْيَاءِ دُونَ بَعْضٍ وَالْحَوْلُ فِي اللُّغَةِ هُوَ الْحَرَكَةُ وَالْعَرَبُ تَقُولُ لِلشَّخْصِ يَبْدُو مِنْ بَعِيدٍ

biqaṣdihi washahwatihi ʿadhdhabahu ʿalayhi wahādhā min shuʾmi al-nafsi watakdīri al-khalqi ʾannahā ʾidhā ʾudkhilat fī shayʾin inqalaba ʿalayhā sharruhu wa-al-ʾummatu mujtamiʿatun ʿalā qawli mā shāʾa allāhu kāna , wamā lam yashaʾ lam yakun wajtamaʿat ʿalā qawli: lā ḥawla walā quwwata ʾillā bi-allāhi , fahādhā ʿāmmun fī kulli shayʾin laysa fī baʿḍi al-ʾashyāʾi dūna baʿḍin wa-al-ḥawlu fī al-lughati huwa al-ḥarakatu wa-al-ʿarabu taqūlu li-l-shakhṣi yabdū min baʿīdin

through his purpose and appetite, He punishes him for. This is among the self’s ill fortune and the turbidity of creation: when it is involved in something, its evil turns back upon it. The community agrees in saying, “What God wills occurs; what He does not will does not occur,” and agrees in saying, “There is no movement and no power except through God.” This applies generally to everything, not to some things rather than others. In the language, ḥawl is movement. The Arabs say of a shape appearing far away,

يُظَنُّ أَنَّهُ إِنْسَانٌ أَوْ شَجَرَةٌ أَوْ صَخْرَةٌ انْظُرُوا إِلَيْهِ فَإِنْ كَانَ يَحُولُ فَهُوَ إِنْسَانٌ أَيْ يَتَحَرَّكُ وَالْقُوَّةُ هُوَ الثَّبَاتُ بَعْدَ الْحَرَكَةِ وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ الصَّبْرِ حَتَّى يَظْهَرَ الْفِعْلُ بِقُوَّةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي تَفْسِيرِ ذَلِكَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا حَوْلَ عَنْ مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا بِعِصْمَةِ اللَّهِ وَلَا قُوَّةَ عَلَى طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا بِعَوْنِ اللَّهِ .

yuẓannu ʾannahu ʾinsānun ʾaw shajaratun ʾaw ṣakhratun unẓurū ʾilayhi faʾin kāna yaḥūlu fahuwa ʾinsānun ʾay yataḥarraku wa-al-quwwatu huwa al-thabātu baʿda al-ḥarakati wahuwa ʾawwalu al-ṣabri ḥattā yaẓhara al-fiʿlu biquwwati allāhi taʿālā , waqad rawaynā fī tafsīri dhālika ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lā ḥawla ʿan maʿṣiyati allāhi ʾillā biʿiṣmati allāhi walā quwwata ʿalā ṭāʿati allāhi ʾillā biʿawni allāhi.

thought to be a person, a tree, or a rock, “Look at it: if it moves, it is a person,” meaning that it is in motion. Power is steadiness after movement, the beginning of patience until the deed appears through God Most High’s power. We have related in explanation of this from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, “There is no turning from disobedience to God except through God’s protection, and no power to obey God except through God’s help.”

وَهَذَا التَّفْصِيلُ فِي هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي مِنَ الْأَحْكَامِ هُوَ ظَاهِرُ الْعِلْمِ وَفَرْضُ الْقَدَرِ وَفَحْوَى التَّنْزِيلِ وَالشَّرْعِ وَالْجَبْرُ لِلْمَلِكِ الْجَبَّارِ يَجْبُرُ خَلْقَهُ عَلَى مَا شَاءَ كَمَا خَلَقَهُمْ لِمَا شَاءَ وَيَرُدُّهُمْ إِلَى مَا شَاءَ كَمَا يُنْشِئُهُمْ فِيمَا يَشَاءُ فَالْحُكْمُ لِلَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْكَبِيرِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ يَقْهَرُ عِبَادَهُ كَيْفَ شَاءَ وَيُجْرِي عَلَيْهِمْ مَا يَشَاءُ وَلَهُ الْحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ وَالْعِزَّةُ الْقَاهِرَةُ

wahādhā al-tafṣīlu fī hādhihi al-maʿānī mina al-ʾaḥkāmi huwa ẓāhiru al-ʿilmi wafarḍu al-qadari wafaḥwā al-tanzīli wa-al-sharʿi wa-al-jabru lilmaliki al-jabbāri yajburu khalqahu ʿalā mā shāʾa kamā khalaqahum limā shāʾa wayarudduhum ʾilā mā shāʾa kamā yunshiʾuhum fīmā yashāʾu fa-al-ḥukmu lillāhi al-ʿaliyyi al-kabīri al-wāḥidi al-qahhāri yaqharu ʿibādahu kayfa shāʾa wayujrī ʿalayhim mā yashāʾu walahu al-ḥujjatu al-bālighatu wa-al-ʿizzatu al-qāhiratu

This detailing of the meanings of rulings is the outward knowledge, the obligation concerning decree, and the import of revelation and revealed law. Compulsion belongs to the Compelling King: He compels His creation to what He wills, as He created them for what He wills, and returns them to what He wills, as He brings them forth in what He wills. Judgment belongs to God, the High, the Great, the One, the Overpowerer. He overpowers His servants as He wills and makes what He wills run over them. His is the conclusive proof, the overpowering might,

وَالْقُدْرَةُ النَّافِذَةُ وَالْمَشِيئَةُ السَّابِقَةُ بِوَصْفِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ وَبِحُكْمِ الْجَبْرِيَّةِ وَعَلَيْهِمُ الِاسْتِسْلَامُ وَالِانْقِيَادُ وَالطَّاعَةُ وَالِاجْتِهَادُ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا بِوَصْفِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ وَبِحَقِّ الْمَلَكَةِ إِنْ كَانَ اللَّهُ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُغْوِيَكُمْ هُوَ رَبُّكُمْ إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ وَلَوْ شَاءَ لَهَدَاكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ ، ( لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمِنْ بَعْدُ ) الرُّومُ : 4

wa-al-qudratu al-nāfidhatu wa-al-mashīʾatu al-sābiqatu biwaṣfi al-rubūbiyyati wabiḥukmi al-jabriyyati waʿalayhimu al-istislāmu wa-al-inqiyādu wa-al-ṭāʿatu wa-al-ijtihādu ṭawʿan wakarhan biwaṣfi al-ʿubūdiyyati wabiḥaqqi al-malakati ʾin kāna allāhu yurīdu ʾan yughwiyakum huwa rabbukum ʾin tuʿadhdhibhum faʾinnahum ʿibāduka waʿalā allāhi qaṣdu al-sabīli waminhā jāʾirun walaw shāʾa lahadākum ʾajmaʿīna , ( lillāhi al-ʾamru min qablu wamin baʿdu ) al-rūmu: 4

the effective power, and the preceding will, by the quality of lordship and the ruling of compulsion. Upon them are surrender, submission, obedience, and striving, willingly or unwillingly, by the quality of servanthood and the right of ownership. “If God wills to lead you astray, He is your Lord”; “If You punish them, they are Your servants”; “Upon God lies the directing of the way, while some paths deviate; had He willed, He would have guided you all.” “To God belongs the command before and after” (al-Rūm 4).

Some Sufi Works

Friday, October 2, 2026

Qut al Quloob Chapters 26-30 by Abu Ṭalib al-Makki