Qut al Quloob Chapters 37-39 by Abu Ṭalib al-Makki

قُوتُ الْقُلُوبِ فِي مُعَامَلَةِ الْمَحْبُوبِ وَوَصْفِ طَرِيقِ الْمُرِيدِ إِلَى مَقَامِ التَّوْحِيدِ

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

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

Chapters 37–39

الْكَبَائِرُ وَالْإِخْلَاصُ وَالتَّقْلِيلُ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ

Al-kabāʾiru wa-al-ʾikhlāṣu wa-al-taqlīlu mina al-ṭaʿāmi

Major Sins, Sincerity, and Restraint in Eating

أَبُو طَالِبٍ الْمَكِّيُّ

Abu Ṭalib al-Makki

الْفَصْلُ السَّابِعُ وَالثَّلَاثُونَ فِي شَرْحِ الْكَبَائِرِ الَّتِي تُحْبِطُ الْأَعْمَالَ وَتُوبِقُ الْعُمَّالَ وَتَفْصِيلِ ذَلِكَ وَمَنَازِلِ أَهْلِهَا فِيهَا وَمَسْأَلَةِ مُحَاسَبَةِ الْكُفَّارِ

al-faṣlu al-sābiʿu wa-al-thalāthūna fī sharḥi al-kabāʾiri allatī tuḥbiṭu al-ʾaʿmāla watūbiqu al-ʿummāla watafṣīli dhālika wamanāzili ʾahlihā fīhā wamasʾalati muḥāsabati al-kuffāri

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Explaining the grave sins that nullify deeds and bring those who practice them to ruin, their particulars, the ranks of those who commit them, and the question of reckoning for unbelievers

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٤٩

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 249

Volume Two, page 249

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنْ تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَائِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ﴾ النِّسَاءِ: 31، فَاِشْتَرَطَ لِتَكْفِيرِ الصَّغَائِرِ مِنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ اِجْتِنَابَ الْكَبَائِرِ الْمُوبِقَاتِ.

qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿ʾin tajtanibū kabāʾira mā tunhawna ʿanhu nukaffir ʿankum sayyiʾātikum﴾ al-nisāʾi: 31, fa-ishtaraṭa litakfīri al-ṣaghāʾiri mina al-sayyiʾāti ijtināba al-kabāʾiri al-mūbiqāti.

God Most High said, “If you avoid the grave things you are forbidden, We shall expiate your misdeeds” (al-Nisāʾ 4:31). He thus made avoidance of the ruinous grave sins a condition for expiating lesser misdeeds.

وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «الصَّلَوَاتُ الْخَمْسُ وَالْجُمُعَةُ إِلَى الْجُمُعَةِ تُكَفِّرُ مَا بَيْنَهُنَّ لِمَنِ اِجْتَنَبَ الْكَبَائِرَ». وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: «كَفَّارَاتٌ لِمَا بَيْنَهُنَّ إِلَّا الْكَبَائِرَ»، فَاِسْتَثْنَى مِنْ كَفَّارَاتِ الذُّنُوبِ الْكَبَائِرَ.

waqāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: «al-ṣalawātu al-khamsu wa-al-jumuʿatu ʾilā al-jumuʿati tukaffiru mā baynahunna limani ijtanaba al-kabāʾira». wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: «kaffārātun limā baynahunna ʾillā al-kabāʾira», fa-istathnā min kaffārāti al-dhunūbi al-kabāʾira.

He said, God bless him and grant him peace, “The five prayers, and Friday to Friday, expiate what occurs between them for whoever avoids grave sins.” Another wording has, “Expiations for what occurs between them, except grave sins.” Grave sins were thus excepted from these expiations of sins.

فَاِخْتَلَفَ الْعُلَمَاءُ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ فِي الْكَبَائِرِ مِنْ أَرْبَعٍ إِلَى سَبْعٍ إِلَى تِسْعٍ إِلَى إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ فَمَا فَوْقَ ذَلِكَ، فَكَانَ اِبْنُ مَسْعُودٍ يَقُولُ: هُنَّ أَرْبَعٌ، وَكَانَ اِبْنُ عُمَرَ يَقُولُ: الْكَبَائِرُ سَبْعٌ، وَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو: هُنَّ تِسْعٌ.

fa-ikhtalafa al-ʿulamāʾu mina al-ṣaḥābati wa-al-tābiʿīna fī al-kabāʾiri min ʾarbaʿin ʾilā sabʿin ʾilā tisʿin ʾilā ʾiḥdā ʿashrata famā fawqa dhālika, fakāna ibnu masʿūdin yaqūlu: hunna ʾarbaʿun, wakāna ibnu ʿumara yaqūlu: al-kabāʾiru sabʿun, waqāla ʿabdu Allāhi bnu ʿamrin: hunna tisʿun.

The learned among the Companions and their successors differed about their number: four, seven, nine, eleven, or more. Ibn Masʿūd used to say, “They are four”; Ibn ʿUmar, “The grave sins are seven”; and ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, “They are nine.”

وَكَانَ اِبْنُ عَبَّاسٍ إِذَا بَلَغَهُ قَوْلُ اِبْنِ عُمَرَ إِنَّ الْكَبَائِرَ سَبْعٌ يَقُولُ: هِيَ إِلَى سَبْعِينَ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهَا إِلَى سَبْعٍ. وَقَالَ مَرَّةً: كُلُّ مَا نَهَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْكَبَائِرِ. وَقَالَ هُوَ وَغَيْرُهُ: كُلُّ مَا تَوَعَّدَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ بِالنَّارِ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْكَبَائِرِ.

wakāna ibnu ʿabbāsin ʾidhā balaghahu qawlu ibni ʿumara ʾinna al-kabāʾira sabʿun yaqūlu: hiya ʾilā sabʿīna ʾaqrabu minhā ʾilā sabʿin. waqāla marratan: kullu mā nahā Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu fahuwa mina al-kabāʾiri. waqāla huwa waghayruhu: kullu mā tawaʿʿada Allāhu taʿālā ʿalayhi bi-al-nāri fahuwa mina al-kabāʾiri.

Whenever Ibn ʿAbbās heard Ibn ʿUmar's statement that the grave sins were seven, he would say, “They are nearer seventy than seven.” Once he said, “Everything God Most High has forbidden is a grave sin.” He and others also said, “Everything for which God Most High has threatened the Fire is a grave sin.”

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: كُلُّ مَا أَوْجَبَ الْحَدَّ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَهُوَ كَبِيرَةٌ، وَالصَّغَائِرُ عِنْدَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّمَمِ، وَهُوَ مَا لَا حَدَّ فِيهِ وَمَا لَمْ يُتَهَدَّدْ بِالنَّارِ عَلَيْهِ، فَقَدْ رُوِيَ هَذَا عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ وَغَيْرِهِ. وَكَانَ عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ يَقُولُ: الْكَبَائِرُ إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ، وَهَذَا أَكْثَرُ مَا قِيلَ فِي جُمْلَةِ عَدَدِهَا مُجْمَلًا.

waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: kullu mā ʾawjaba al-ḥadda fī al-dunyā fahuwa kabīratun, wa-al-ṣaghāʾiru ʿindahum mina al-lamami, wahuwa mā lā ḥadda fīhi wamā lam yutahaddad bi-al-nāri ʿalayhi, faqad ruwiya hādhā ʿan ʾabī hurayrata waghayrihi. wakāna ʿabdu al-razzāqi yaqūlu: al-kabāʾiru ʾiḥdā ʿashrata, wa-hādhā ʾaktharu mā qīla fī jumlati ʿadadihā mujmalan.

Some early authorities said, “Anything that entails a prescribed penalty in this world is a grave sin.” Lesser sins, in their view, are passing lapses: things with no prescribed penalty and no threat of the Fire. This is related from Abū Hurayra and others. ʿAbd al-Razzāq used to say, “The grave sins are eleven.” This is the largest total stated as a summary count.

وَقِيلَ: إِنَّهَا مُبْهَمَةٌ لَا يُعْرَفُ حَقِيقَةُ عَدَدِهَا، كَإِبْهَامِ لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ وَسَاعَةِ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَى، لِيَكُونَ النَّاسُ عَلَى خَوْفٍ وَرَجَاءٍ فَلَا يَقْطَعُونَ بِشَيْءٍ وَلَا يَسْكُنُونَ إِلَى شَيْءٍ.

waqīla: ʾinnahā mubhamatun lā yuʿrafu ḥaqīqatu ʿadadihā, kaʾibhāmi laylati al-qadri wasāʿati yawmi al-jumuʿati wa-al-ṣalāti al-wusṭā, liyakūna al-nāsu ʿalā khawfin warajāʾin falā yaqṭaʿūna bishayʾin walā yaskunūna ʾilā shayʾin.

It has also been said that they are left unspecified and their true number is unknown, just as the Night of Decree, the special hour on Friday, and the middle prayer are unspecified. People may thus remain in fear and hope, neither reaching certainty about anything nor resting secure in anything.

وَقَدْ قَالَ اِبْنُ مَسْعُودٍ فِيهَا قَوْلًا حَسَنًا مِنْ طَرِيقِ الِاسْتِنْبَاطِ، وَقَدْ سُئِلَ عَنِ الْكَبَائِرِ فَقَالَ: اِقْرَأْ مِنْ أَوَّلِ سُورَةِ النِّسَاءِ إِلَى رَأْسِ ثَلَاثِينَ آيَةً مِنْهَا عِنْدَ قَوْلِهِ: ﴿إِنْ تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَائِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ﴾ النِّسَاءِ: 31، فَكُلُّ مَا نَهَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ مِنْ أَوَّلِ السُّورَةِ إِلَى هَا هُنَا فَهُوَ مِنَ الْكَبَائِرِ.

waqad qāla ibnu masʿūdin fīhā qawlan ḥasanan min ṭarīqi al-istinbāṭi, waqad suʾila ʿani al-kabāʾiri faqāla: iqraʾ min ʾawwali sūrati al-nisāʾi ʾilā raʾsi thalāthīna ʾāyatan minhā ʿinda qawlihi: ﴿ʾin tajtanibū kabāʾira mā tunhawna ʿanhu nukaffir ʿankum sayyiʾātikum﴾ al-nisāʾi: 31, fakullu mā nahā Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu min ʾawwali al-sūrati ʾilā hā hunā fahuwa mina al-kabāʾiri.

Ibn Masʿūd made a sound statement about them by inference. Asked about grave sins, he said, “Read from the beginning of Sūrat al-Nisāʾ through its first thirty verses, to His words, ‘If you avoid the grave things you are forbidden, We shall expiate your misdeeds’ (4:31). Everything God Most High has forbidden from the beginning of the sūra to this point is a grave sin.”

فَأَشْبَهَ هَذَا اِسْتِدْلَالَ قَوْلِ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ فِي اِسْتِنْبَاطِ لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ أَنَّهَا لَيْلَةُ سَبْعٍ وَعِشْرِينَ، أَنَّهُ عَدَّ كَلِمَاتِ سُورَةِ الْقَدْرِ حَتَّى اِنْتَهَى إِلَى قَوْلِهِ هِيَ، فَكَانَ سَبْعًا وَعِشْرِينَ كَلِمَةً، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِحَقِيقَةِ هَٰذَيْنِ الْقَوْلَيْنِ. وَالَّذِي عِنْدِي فِي جُمْلَةِ ذَلِكَ مُجْتَمِعًا مِنَ الْمُتَفَرِّقِ سَبْعَ عَشْرَةَ، تَفْصِيلُهَا: أَرْبَعَةٌ مِنْ

faʾashbaha hādhā istidlāla qawli ibni ʿabbāsin fī istinbāṭi laylati al-qadri ʾannahā laylatu sabʿin waʿishrīna, ʾannahu ʿadda kalimāti sūrati al-qadri ḥattā intahā ʾilā qawlihi hiya, fakāna sabʿan waʿishrīna kalimatan, wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu biḥaqīqati hādhayni al-qawlayni. wa-alladhī ʿindī fī jumlati dhālika mujtamiʿan mina al-mutafarriqi sabʿa ʿashrata, tafṣīluhā: ʾarbaʿatun min

This resembles Ibn ʿAbbās's reasoning in inferring that the Night of Decree is the twenty-seventh night: he counted the words of Sūrat al-Qadr until he reached “it,” making twenty-seven words. God knows best the truth of these two statements. My own total, bringing together the scattered accounts, is seventeen. Their particulars are: four among

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٥٠

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 250

Volume Two, page 250

أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ وَهُنَّ: الشِّرْكُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَالْإِصْرَارُ عَلَى مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَالْقُنُوطُ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَالْأَمْنُ مِنْ مَكْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.

ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi wahunna: al-shirku bi-Allāhi taʿālā, wa-al-ʾiṣrāru ʿalā maʿṣiyati Allāhi taʿālā, wa-al-qunūṭu min raḥmati Allāhi taʿālā, wa-al-ʾamnu min makri Allāhi taʿālā.

the deeds of hearts: associating partners with God Most High, persisting in disobedience to God Most High, despairing of the mercy of God Most High, and feeling secure from the devising of God Most High.

وَأَرْبَعَةٌ فِي اللِّسَانِ وَهُنَّ شَهَادَةُ الزُّورِ، وَقَذْفُ الْمُحْصَنِ وَهُوَ الْحُرُّ الْبَالِغُ الْمُسْلِمُ، وَالْيَمِينُ الْغَمُوسُ وَهِيَ الَّتِي تُبْطِلُ بِهَا حَقًّا وَتُحِقُّ بِهَا بَاطِلًا، وَقِيلَ: هِيَ الَّتِي يَقْطَعُ بِهَا مَالَ مُسْلِمٍ ظُلْمًا وَلَوْ سِوَاكًا مِنْ أَرَاكٍ، وَسُمِّيَتْ غَمُوسًا لِأَنَّهَا تَغْمِسُهُ فِي غَضَبِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَقِيلَ: لِأَنَّهَا تَغْمِسُ صَاحِبَهَا فِي النَّارِ.

waʾarbaʿatun fī al-lisāni wahunna shahādatu al-zūri, waqadhfu al-muḥṣani wahuwa al-ḥurru al-bālighu al-muslimu, wa-al-yamīnu al-ghamūsu wahiya allatī tubṭilu bihā ḥaqqan watuḥiqqu bihā bāṭilan, waqīla: hiya allatī yaqṭaʿu bihā māla muslimin ẓulman walaw siwākan min ʾarākin, wasummiyat ghamūsan liʾannahā taghmisuhu fī ghaḍabi Allāhi taʿālā, waqīla: liʾannahā taghmisu ṣāḥibahā fī al-nāri.

Four concern the tongue: false testimony; accusing a chaste person of illicit sex, meaning a free, adult Muslim; and the engulfing oath, by which you invalidate a right or establish a falsehood. It is also said to be an oath by which someone wrongfully takes a Muslim's property, even an arāk toothstick. It is called “engulfing” because it plunges him into the wrath of God Most High, or, according to another explanation, plunges its maker into the Fire.

وَالسِّحْرُ وَهُوَ مَا كَانَ مِنْ كَلَامٍ أَوْ فِعْلٍ يَقْلِبُ الْأَعْيَانَ أَوْ يُغَيِّرُ الْإِنْسَانَ وَيَنْقُلُ الْمَعَانِيَ عَنْ مَوْضُوعَاتِ خَلْقِهَا، وَالسَّحَرَةُ هُمُ النَّفَّاثَاتُ فِي الْعُقَدِ الَّذِينَ أَمَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالِاسْتِعَاذَةِ مِنْهُمْ. وَثَلَاثَةٌ فِي الْبَطْنِ وَهِيَ: شُرْبُ الْخَمْرِ وَالسُّكْرُ مِنَ الْأَشْرِبَةِ، وَأَكْلُ مَالِ الْيَتِيمِ ظُلْمًا، وَأَكْلُ الرِّبَا وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ.

wa-al-siḥru wahuwa mā kāna min kalāmin ʾaw fiʿlin yaqlibu al-ʾaʿyāna ʾaw yughayyiru al-ʾinsāna wayanqulu al-maʿāniya ʿan mawḍūʿāti khalqihā, wa-al-saḥaratu humu al-naffāthātu fī al-ʿuqadi alladhīna ʾamara Allāhu taʿālā bi-al-istiʿādhati minhum. wathalāthatun fī al-baṭni wahiya: shurbu al-khamri wa-al-sukru mina al-ʾashribati, waʾaklu māli al-yatīmi ẓulman, waʾaklu al-ribā wahuwa yaʿlamu.

The fourth is sorcery: speech or action that transforms entities, alters a human being, or shifts qualities from the places assigned to them in creation. Sorcerers are the “blowers upon knots” from whom God Most High commanded people to seek refuge. Three concern the belly: drinking wine and becoming intoxicated by drinks, wrongfully consuming an orphan's property, and knowingly consuming usury.

وَاِثْنَتَانِ فِي الْفَرْجِ وَهُمَا الزِّنَا، وَأَنْ يَعْمَلَ قَوْمٌ عَمَلَ لُوطٍ فِي الْأَدْبَارِ. وَاِثْنَتَانِ فِي الْيَدَيْنِ وَهُمَا: الْقَتْلُ وَالسَّرِقَةُ. وَوَاحِدَةٌ فِي الرِّجْلَيْنِ وَهِيَ الْفِرَارُ مِنَ الزَّحْفِ الْوَاحِدِ مِنِ اِثْنَيْنِ، غَيْرَ مُتَحَرِّفٍ إِلَى الْأَمَامِ، وَلَا مُتَحَيِّزًا إِلَى فِئَةٍ، وَلَا مُعْتَقِدِ الْكَرَّةِ.

wa-ithnatāni fī al-farji wahumā al-zinā, waʾan yaʿmala qawmun ʿamala lūṭin fī al-ʾadbāri. wa-ithnatāni fī al-yadayni wahumā: al-qatlu wa-al-sariqatu. wawāḥidatun fī al-rijlayni wahiya al-firāru mina al-zaḥfi al-wāḥidi mini ithnayni, ghayra mutaḥarrifin ʾilā al-ʾamāmi, walā mutaḥayyizan ʾilā fiʾatin, walā muʿtaqidi al-karrati.

Two concern the genitals: illicit intercourse and people performing Lot's act in the anus. Two concern the hands: killing and theft. One concerns the feet: fleeing battle, one man from two, without maneuvering forward, joining another contingent, or intending a renewed attack.

وَوَاحِدَةٌ فِي جَمِيعِ الْجَسَدِ هِيَ: عُقُوقُ الْوَالِدَيْنِ. وَتَفْسِيرُ الْعُقُوقِ جُمْلَةً أَنْ يُقْسِمَا عَلَيْهِ فِي حَقٍّ فَلَا يَبَرَّ قَسَمَهُمَا، وَأَنْ يَسْأَلَاهُ فِي حَاجَةٍ فَلَا يُعْطِيَهُمَا، وَأَنْ يَأْمَنَاهُ فَيَخُونَهُمَا، وَأَنْ يَجُوعَا فَيَشْبَعَ وَلَا يُطْعِمَهُمَا، وَأَنْ يَسْتَبَّاهُ فَيَضْرِبَهُمَا.

wawāḥidatun fī jamīʿi al-jasadi hiya: ʿuqūqu al-wālidayni. watafsīru al-ʿuqūqi jumlatan ʾan yuqsimā ʿalayhi fī ḥaqqin falā yabarra qasamahumā, waʾan yasʾalāhu fī ḥājatin falā yuʿṭiyahumā, waʾan yaʾmanāhu fayakhūnahumā, waʾan yajūʿā fayashbaʿa walā yuṭʿimahumā, waʾan yastabbāhu fayaḍribahumā.

One concerns the whole body: mistreating one's parents. Broadly, this means that they adjure him concerning a rightful matter and he fails to honor their oath; they ask him for something they need and he does not give it; they trust him and he betrays them; they go hungry while he eats his fill and does not feed them; or they insult him and he strikes them.

وَذَكَرَ وَهْبُ بْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ الْيَمَانِيُّ: أَصْلُ الْبِرِّ بِالْوَالِدَيْنِ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ أَنْ تَقِيَ مَالَهُمَا بِمَالِكَ وَتُؤَخِّرَ مَالَهُمَا وَتُطْعِمَهُمَا مِنْ مَالِكَ، وَأَصْلُ الْعُقُوقِ أَنْ تَقِيَ مَالَكَ بِمَالِهِمَا وَتُوَفِّرَ مَالَكَ وَتَأْكُلَ مَالَهُمَا.

wadhakara wahbu bnu munabbihin al-yamāniyyu: ʾaṣlu al-birri bi-al-wālidayni fī al-tawrāti ʾan taqiya mālahumā bimālika watuʾakhkhira mālahumā watuṭʿimahumā min mālika, waʾaṣlu al-ʿuqūqi ʾan taqiya mālaka bimālihimā watuwaffira mālaka wataʾkula mālahumā.

Wahb ibn Munabbih al-Yamānī mentioned that, in the Torah, the foundation of dutifulness toward parents is to protect their property with yours, leave their property untouched, and feed them from yours. The foundation of mistreatment is to protect your property with theirs, preserve yours, and consume theirs.

وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ: «الصَّلَاةُ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ كَفَّارَةٌ، وَرَمَضَانُ إِلَى رَمَضَانَ كَفَّارَةٌ، إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثَةٍ: إِشْرَاكٍ بِاللَّهِ، وَتَرْكِ السُّنَّةِ، وَنَكْثِ الصَّفْقَةِ، أَنْ تُبَايِعَ الرَّجُلَ ثُمَّ تَخْرُجَ عَلَيْهِ بِالسَّيْفِ تُقَاتِلَهُ».

wafī ḥadīthi ʾabī hurayrata: «al-ṣalātu ʾilā al-ṣalāti kaffāratun, waramaḍānu ʾilā ramaḍāna kaffāratun, ʾillā min thalāthatin: ʾishrākin bi-Allāhi, watarki al-sunnati, wanakthi al-ṣafqati, ʾan tubāyiʿa al-rajula thumma takhruja ʿalayhi bi-al-sayfi tuqātilahu».

In Abū Hurayra's report: “Prayer to prayer is an expiation, and Ramadan to Ramadan is an expiation, except for three things: associating partners with God, abandoning the Sunna, and breaking the pledge, when you pledge allegiance to a man and then rise against him with the sword to fight him.”

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ الْعَلَاءِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «مِنَ الْكَبَائِرِ اِسْتِطَالَةُ الرَّجُلِ فِي عِرْضِ أَخِيهِ الْمُسْلِمِ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ، وَمِنَ الْكَبَائِرِ السَّبَّتَانِ بِالسَّبَّةِ».

waqad rawaynā ʿani al-ʿalāʾi bni ʿabdi al-raḥmāni ʿan ʾabīhi ʿan ʾabī hurayrata qāla: qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: «mina al-kabāʾiri istiṭālatu al-rajuli fī ʿirḍi ʾakhīhi al-muslimi bighayri ḥaqqin, wamina al-kabāʾiri al-sabbatāni bi-al-sabbati».

We have related from al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from his father, from Abū Hurayra, who said: The Messenger of God said, God bless him and grant him peace, “Among the grave sins is a man's wrongfully assailing his Muslim brother's honor; and among the grave sins is returning two insults for one.”

وَأَمَّا عُبَادَةُ بْنُ الصَّامِتِ وَأَبُو سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيُّ وَغَيْرُهُمَا مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ فَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ: إِنَّكُمْ لَتَعْمَلُونَ أَعْمَالًا هِيَ أَدَقُّ فِي أَعْيُنِكُمْ مِنَ الشَّعْرِ كُنَّا نَعُدُّهَا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنَ الْكَبَائِرِ، وَهِيَ فِي بَعْضِ الْأَلْفَاظِ مِنَ الْمُوبِقَاتِ. وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: كُلُّ عَمْدٍ فَهُوَ كَبِيرَةٌ.

waʾammā ʿubādatu bnu al-ṣāmiti waʾabū saʿīdin al-khudriyyu waghayruhumā mina al-ṣaḥābati fakānū yaqūlūna: ʾinnakum lataʿmalūna ʾaʿmālan hiya ʾadaqqu fī ʾaʿyunikum mina al-shaʿri kunnā naʿudduhā ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama mina al-kabāʾiri, wahiya fī baʿḍi al-ʾalfāẓi mina al-mūbiqāti. waqālat ṭāʾifatun: kullu ʿamdin fahuwa kabīratun.

ʿUbāda ibn al-Ṣāmit, Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, and other Companions used to say, “You perform deeds that seem finer than a hair in your eyes, which we counted in the time of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, among the grave sins,” or, in some wordings, “among the ruinous sins.” One group said, “Every deliberate offense is a grave sin.”

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: أَرْبَعَةُ أَشْيَاءَ مُبْهَمَةٌ لَا يُعْلَمُ حَقَائِقُهَا: الصَّلَاةُ الْوُسْطَى، وَلَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ، وَسَاعَةُ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ الْمَرْجُوُّ فِيهَا الْإِجَابَةُ، وَالْكَبَائِرُ، ذَلِكَ لِيَكُونَ النَّاسُ عَلَى خَوْفٍ مِنَ الْوَعِيدِ فِي الِاتِّقَاءِ، وَعَلَى رَجَاءٍ مِنَ الْوُعُودِ فِي الِابْتِغَاءِ، لِئَلَّا يَقْطَعُوا بِشَيْءٍ وَلَا يَسْكُنُوا

waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: ʾarbaʿatu ʾashyāʾa mubhamatun lā yuʿlamu ḥaqāʾiquhā: al-ṣalātu al-wusṭā, walaylatu al-qadri, wasāʿatu yawmi al-jumuʿati al-marjuwwu fīhā al-ʾijābatu, wa-al-kabāʾiru, dhālika liyakūna al-nāsu ʿalā khawfin mina al-waʿīdi fī al-ittiqāʾi, waʿalā rajāʾin mina al-wuʿūdi fī al-ibtighāʾi, liʾallā yaqṭaʿū bishayʾin walā yaskunū

Some early authorities said, “Four things are unspecified, their realities unknown: the middle prayer, the Night of Decree, the hour on Friday when an answer is hoped for, and the grave sins.” This keeps people fearful of the threat as they guard themselves and hopeful of the promises as they seek, so that they neither reach certainty about anything nor rest secure

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٥١

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 251

Volume Two, page 251

إِلَى شَيْءٍ، وَلِلَّهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ. فَالَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ الْخَصَائِلِ هُوَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ الْأَقْوَالِ وَأَعْدَلِهَا وَهُوَ مَا اِتَّفَقُوا عَلَيْهِ وَكَثُرَتِ الْأَخْبَارُ فِيهِ، فَهَذِهِ الْكَبَائِرُ الْمُوبِقَاتُ الَّتِي مَنِ اِجْتَنَبَهَا كُفِّرَتْ عَنْهُ السَّيِّئَاتُ وَثَبَتَتْ لَهُ النَّوَافِلُ مِنَ الْفَرَائِضِ الْخَمْسِ الَّتِي هِيَ أَبْنِيَةُ الْإِسْلَامِ.

ʾilā shayʾin, wa-li-llāhi ʿāqibatu al-ʾumūri. fa-alladhī dhakarnāhu mina al-khaṣāʾili huwa min ʾawsaṭi al-ʾaqwāli waʾaʿdalihā wahuwa mā ittafaqū ʿalayhi wakathurati al-ʾakhbāru fīhi, fa-hādhihi al-kabāʾiru al-mūbiqātu allatī mani ijtanabahā kuffirat ʿanhu al-sayyiʾātu wathabatat lahu al-nawāfilu mina al-farāʾiḍi al-khamsi allatī hiya ʾabniyatu al-ʾislāmi.

in anything. To God belongs the outcome of all affairs. The qualities we have mentioned represent one of the most balanced and equitable positions, being matters of agreement supported by numerous reports. These are the ruinous grave sins: whoever avoids them has his misdeeds expiated and retains his supererogatory deeds arising from the five obligations that form the structures of Islam.

وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ دَعَائِمَ الْإِسْلَامِ وَهَذِهِ الْكَبَائِرَ قَرِينَانِ يَعْتَلِجَانِ وَيَتَقَاوَمَانِ فِي الْعِظَمِ وَالْمَعْنَى بِالتَّضَادِّ، فَالْكَبَائِرُ كَبُرَتْ فَكَفَّرَ اِجْتِنَابُهَا مَا دُونَهَا مِنَ الصَّغَائِرِ، وَالْفَرَائِضُ الْخَمْسُ الَّتِي هِيَ أَبْنِيَةُ الْإِسْلَامِ إِذَا تُمِّمَتْ كَفَّرَتْ مَا بَعْدَهَا مِنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَثَبَتَ لِلْعَبْدِ نَوَافِلُهُ وَتُبَدَّلُ سَيِّئَاتُهُ حَسَنَاتٍ فَيَكُونُ لَهُ فَضْلٌ عَظِيمٌ يُرْجَى لَهُ الْجَنَّةُ وَمَنَازِلُ الْعَامِلِينَ وَهُوَ السَّابِقُ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ.

wa-dhālika ʾanna daʿāʾima al-ʾislāmi wa-hādhihi al-kabāʾira qarīnāni yaʿtalijāni wayataqāwamāni fī al-ʿiẓami wa-al-maʿnā bi-al-taḍāddi, fa-al-kabāʾiru kaburat fakaffara ijtinābuhā mā dūnahā mina al-ṣaghāʾiri, wa-al-farāʾiḍu al-khamsu allatī hiya ʾabniyatu al-ʾislāmi ʾidhā tummimat kaffarat mā baʿdahā mina al-sayyiʾāti wathabata li-l-ʿabdi nawāfiluhu watubaddalu sayyiʾātuhu ḥasanātin fayakūnu lahu faḍlun ʿaẓīmun yurjā lahu al-jannatu wamanāzilu al-ʿāmilīna wahuwa al-sābiqu bi-al-khayrāti.

The pillars of Islam and these grave sins are two matched forces contending against and counterbalancing one another in magnitude and meaning through opposition. Grave sins are momentous, so avoiding them expiates the lesser sins beneath them. When the five obligations that form the structures of Islam are fulfilled, they expiate subsequent misdeeds, the servant retains his supererogatory deeds, and his misdeeds are changed into good deeds. He thus has great merit; Paradise and the stations of those who act are hoped for him. He is one who outstrips others in good works.

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنْ تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَائِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ﴾ النِّسَاءِ: 31، وَقَالَ مِنْ بَعْدِ الْكَبَائِرِ: ﴿إِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُولَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ﴾ الْفُرْقَانِ: 70، وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «الصَّلَوَاتُ الْخَمْسُ كَفَّارَاتٌ لِمَا بَيْنَهُنَّ مَا اُجْتُنِبَتِ الْكَبَائِرُ».

qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿ʾin tajtanibū kabāʾira mā tunhawna ʿanhu nukaffir ʿankum sayyiʾātikum﴾ al-nisāʾi: 31, waqāla min baʿdi al-kabāʾiri: ﴿ʾillā man tāba waʾāmana waʿamila ʿamalan ṣāliḥan fa-ʾulāʾika yubaddilu Allāhu sayyiʾātihim ḥasanātin﴾ al-furqāni: 70, waqāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: «al-ṣalawātu al-khamsu kaffārātun limā baynahunna mā ujtunibati al-kabāʾiru».

God Most High said, “If you avoid the grave things you are forbidden, We shall expiate your misdeeds” (al-Nisāʾ 4:31). After mentioning grave sins, He said, “Except whoever repents, believes, and does righteous work: God will change their misdeeds into good deeds” (al-Furqān 25:70). The Messenger of God said, God bless him and grant him peace, “The five prayers expiate what occurs between them so long as grave sins are avoided.”

فَالْفَرَائِضُ الْأَرْبَعُ الَّتِي هِيَ أَبْنِيَةُ الْإِسْلَامِ مَنُوطَةٌ بِالصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ، لَا تَصِحُّ إِلَّا بِهَا كَالشَّيْءِ الْوَاحِدِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْأَرْبَعِ، فَالصَّلَوَاتُ مُرْتَبِطَةٌ بِالشَّهَادَتَيْنِ، إِنْ تَرَكَ خَصْلَةً مِنْهَا كَانَ كَتَرْكِ الْخَمْسِ لِأَنَّهَا أُسُّ الْإِسْلَامِ وَأَبْنِيَةُ الْإِيمَانِ، وَاِجْتِنَابُ الْكَبَائِرِ مَنُوطٌ بِالشَّهَادَتَيْنِ لَا يَقَعُ جَمِيعُ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا بِهِمَا.

fa-al-farāʾiḍu al-ʾarbaʿu allatī hiya ʾabniyatu al-ʾislāmi manūṭatun bi-al-ṣalawāti al-khamsi, lā taṣiḥḥu ʾillā bihā ka-al-shayʾi al-wāḥidi bimanzilati al-ʾarbaʿi, fa-al-ṣalawātu murtabiṭatun bi-al-shahādatayni, ʾin taraka khaṣlatan minhā kāna katarki al-khamsi liʾannahā ʾussu al-ʾislāmi waʾabniyatu al-ʾīmāni, wa-ijtinābu al-kabāʾiri manūṭun bi-al-shahādatayni lā yaqaʿu jamīʿu dhālika ʾillā bihimā.

The four obligations that form the structures of Islam are bound to the five prayers and are valid only with them, like a single thing with the standing of all four. The prayers are linked to the two testimonies of faith. Abandoning any one of these features is like abandoning all five, for they are the foundation of Islam and the structures of faith. Avoiding grave sins is also bound to the two testimonies; none of all this is realized without them.

فَإِذَا اُنْتُهِكَتِ الْكَبَائِرُ أَحْبَطَتِ الْأَعْمَالَ. الْفَرَائِضُ الْخَمْسُ أَحْبَطَتْ مَا بَيْنَهَا مِنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ إِلَّا الْكَبَائِرَ، فَإِنَّهَا كَبُرَتْ فَلَا تُكَفِّرُهَا، فَلَا يَبْقَى لِلْعَبْدِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَعَ اِرْتِكَابِ الْكَبَائِرِ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ إِلَّا الْفَرَائِضُ الْخَمْسُ، وَقَدْ أَكَلَ سَائِرَ نَوَافِلِهِ اِرْتِكَابُ الْكَبَائِرِ فَيُخَافُ عَلَيْهِ النَّارُ وَمَنَازِلُ الْمُسْرِفِينَ.

faʾidhā untuhikati al-kabāʾiru ʾaḥbaṭati al-ʾaʿmāla. al-farāʾiḍu al-khamsu ʾaḥbaṭat mā baynahā mina al-sayyiʾāti ʾillā al-kabāʾira, faʾinnahā kaburat falā tukaffiruhā, falā yabqā li-l-ʿabdi yawma al-qiyāmati maʿa irtikābi al-kabāʾiri mina al-ʾaʿmāli ʾillā al-farāʾiḍu al-khamsu, waqad ʾakala sāʾira nawāfilihi irtikābu al-kabāʾiri fayukhāfu ʿalayhi al-nāru wamanāzilu al-musrifīna.

When grave sins are committed, they nullify deeds. The five obligations nullify the misdeeds between them, except grave sins, whose magnitude prevents these obligations from expiating them. With grave sins committed, therefore, none of the servant's deeds remains on the Day of Resurrection except the five obligations. Committing grave sins has consumed all his supererogatory deeds, so the Fire and the stations of the transgressors are feared for him.

وَهَذَا هُوَ ظَالِمٌ لِنَفْسِهِ وَهُوَ الَّذِي حَذَّرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَلَا تُبْطِلُوا أَعْمَالَكُمْ﴾ مُحَمَّدٍ: 33. وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿بَلَى مَنْ كَسَبَ سَيِّئَةً وَأَحَاطَتْ بِهِ خَطِيئَتُهُ﴾ الْبَقَرَةِ: 81، قِيلَ: هِيَ الْكَبَائِرُ أَحَاطَتْ بِجَمِيعِ حَسَنَاتِهِ فَمَحَقَتْهَا.

wa-hādhā huwa ẓālimun linafsihi wahuwa alladhī ḥadhdhara Allāhu taʿālā al-muʾminīna ʿanhu, qāla: ﴿yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū ʾaṭīʿū Allāha waʾaṭīʿū al-rasūla walā tubṭilū ʾaʿmālakum﴾ muḥammadin: 33. waminhu qawluhu taʿālā: ﴿balā man kasaba sayyiʾatan waʾaḥāṭat bihi khaṭīʾatuhu﴾ al-baqarati: 81, qīla: hiya al-kabāʾiru ʾaḥāṭat bijamīʿi ḥasanātihi famaḥaqathā.

This person wrongs himself, and it is against this that God Most High warned believers, saying, “You who believe, obey God and obey the Messenger, and do not invalidate your deeds” (Muḥammad 47:33). So too the words of God Most High: “Yes, whoever earns an evil deed and is encompassed by his sin” (al-Baqara 2:81). It has been explained as grave sins encompassing and effacing all his good deeds.

وَعَلَى هَذَا اِخْتِيَارُنَا هَذَا الْحَرْفَ مِنْ مَقْرَانَا، وَعَلَى الْوَجْهِ الْآخَرِ وَأَحَاطَتْ بِهِ خَطِيئَةٌ هِيَ الشِّرْكُ الَّذِي خُتِمَ لَهُ بِهِ فَلَمْ يَنْفَعْهُ عَمَلٌ كَانَ قَبْلَهُ. فَإِنْ قَصَّرَ فِي الْفَرَائِضِ الْخَمْسِ الَّتِي هِيَ مَبَانِي الْإِسْلَامِ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ مُجْتَنِبُ الْكَبَائِرِ كُفِّرَتْ عَنْهُ سَيِّئَاتُهُ كُلُّهَا، وَتُمِّمَتْ فَرَائِضُهُ بِسَائِرِ نَوَافِلِهِ لِأَنَّهَا ثَابِتَةٌ لَهُ بَعْدَ أَنْ يَحْصُلَ لَهُ صِحَّةُ التَّوْحِيدِ وَيَسْلَمَ مِنْ كَبَائِرِ الْبِدَعِ الَّتِي تَنْقُلُ عَنِ الْمِلَّةِ.

waʿalā hādhā ikhtiyārunā hādhā al-ḥarfa min maqrānā, waʿalā al-wajhi al-ʾākhari waʾaḥāṭat bihi khaṭīʾatun hiya al-shirku alladhī khutima lahu bihi falam yanfaʿhu ʿamalun kāna qablahu. faʾin qaṣṣara fī al-farāʾiḍi al-khamsi allatī hiya mabānī al-ʾislāmi ʾillā ʾannahu mujtanibu al-kabāʾiri kuffirat ʿanhu sayyiʾātuhu kulluhā, watummimat farāʾiḍuhu bisāʾiri nawāfilihi liʾannahā thābitatun lahu baʿda ʾan yaḥṣula lahu ṣiḥḥatu al-tawḥīdi wayaslama min kabāʾiri al-bidaʿi allatī tanqulu ʿani al-millati.

On this basis we choose this reading in our recitation. On the other interpretation, a sin encompasses him: it is association of partners with God, in which he ends his life, so no earlier deed benefits him. If he falls short in the five obligations that constitute Islam's foundations but avoids grave sins, all his misdeeds are expiated and his obligations are completed from the rest of his supererogatory deeds. These remain to his credit once his affirmation of divine unity is sound and he is free of grave innovations that take a person outside the faith.

وَهَذَا مِمَّنِ اِسْتَوَتْ حَسَنَاتُهُ وَسَيِّئَاتُهُ فَيَطُولُ وُقُوفُهُ لِلْحِسَابِ وَيُشَاهِدُ الزَّلَازِلَ وَالْأَهْوَالَ لِيَكُونَ ذَلِكَ رُجْحَانَ حَسَنَاتِهِ، وَيُجْعَلُ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْأَعْرَافِ عَلَى أَعْرَافِ السُّورِ، هِيَ شُرَفُهُ الَّتِي بَيْنَ الْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ، هُوَ الْحِجَابُ الَّذِي بَيْنَ أَهْلِ النَّارِ وَأَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ إِلَى أَنْ يَتَفَضَّلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ بِفَضْلِ رَحْمَتِهِ، فَإِنْ سَمَحَ لَهُ مَوْلَاهُ

wa-hādhā mimmani istawat ḥasanātuhu wasayyiʾātuhu fayaṭūlu wuqūfuhu li-l-ḥisābi wayushāhidu al-zalāzila wa-al-ʾahwāla liyakūna dhālika rujḥāna ḥasanātihi, wayujʿalu min ʾaṣḥābi al-ʾaʿrāfi ʿalā ʾaʿrāfi al-sūri, hiya shurafuhu allatī bayna al-jannati wa-al-nāri, huwa al-ḥijābu alladhī bayna ʾahli al-nāri waʾahli al-jannati ʾilā ʾan yatafaḍḍala Allāhu taʿālā ʿalayhi bifaḍli raḥmatihi, faʾin samaḥa lahu mawlāhu

He is among those whose good and evil deeds are equal. His standing for reckoning is prolonged, and he witnesses the convulsions and terrors so that these make his good deeds outweigh the rest. He is placed among the people of the Heights, on the heights of the wall, its battlements between Paradise and the Fire, the barrier between their inhabitants, until God Most High graciously bestows His abundant mercy on him. If his Master is generous to him

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٥٢

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 252

Volume Two, page 252

فَعَفَا عَنْهُ سَقَطَ عَنْهُ هَذَا كُلُّهُ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فِي أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ، وَهَذَا هُوَ الْمُقْصِدُ الْمُتَوَسِّطُ بَيْنَ الظَّالِمِ لِنَفْسِهِ وَالسَّابِقِ إِلَى رَبِّهِ. فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ نَوَافِلُ مَعَ نُقْصَانِ فَرَائِضِهِ لَمْ يَبْقَ لَهُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِ إِلَّا اِجْتِنَابُ الْكَبَائِرِ فَيُوزَنُ مَا بَقِيَ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ وَهُوَ اِجْتِنَابُهُ الْكَبَائِرَ بِفَرَائِضِهِ النَّوَاقِصِ.

faʿafā ʿanhu saqaṭa ʿanhu hādhā kulluhu waʾudkhila al-jannata fī ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni, wa-hādhā huwa al-muqṣidu al-mutawassiṭu bayna al-ẓālimi linafsihi wa-al-sābiqi ʾilā rabbihi. faʾin lam yakun lahu nawāfilu maʿa nuqṣāni farāʾiḍihi lam yabqa lahu min ʾaʿmālihi ʾillā ijtinābu al-kabāʾiri fayūzanu mā baqiya min ʿamalihi wahuwa ijtinābuhu al-kabāʾira bifarāʾiḍihi al-nawāqiṣi.

and pardons him, all this falls away and he is admitted to Paradise among the people of the right. He is the moderate one, midway between the person who wrongs himself and the one who outstrips others toward his Lord. If he has no supererogatory deeds to accompany his deficient obligations, nothing remains of his deeds except avoidance of grave sins. This remaining deed, his avoidance of grave sins, is weighed against his deficient obligations.

فَإِنْ رَجَحَ اِجْتِنَابُ الْكَبَائِرِ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ أَوْ فَضَلَتْ لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ ضَاعَفَهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالْمَزِيدِ وَتَجَاوَزَ عَنْ سَيِّئَاتِهِ فِي أَصْحَابِ الْجَنَّةِ، وَلَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ مَقَامَاتُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَلَا دَرَجَاتُ السَّابِقِينَ، وَهُوَ مِمَّنْ قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ وَإِنْ تَكُ حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِنْ لَدُنْهُ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا﴾ النِّسَاءِ: 40، يَعْنِي الْجَنَّةَ.

faʾin rajaḥa ijtinābu al-kabāʾiri mithqāla dharratin ʾaw faḍalat lahu ḥasanatun wāḥidatun ḍāʿafahā Allāhu taʿālā bi-al-mazīdi watajāwaza ʿan sayyiʾātihi fī ʾaṣḥābi al-jannati, walam takun lahu maqāmātu al-muqarrabīna walā darajātu al-sābiqīna, wahuwa mimman qāla Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā: ﴿ʾinna Allāha lā yaẓlimu mithqāla dharratin waʾin taku ḥasanatan yuḍāʿifhā wayuʾti min ladunhu ʾajran ʿaẓīman﴾ al-nisāʾi: 40, yaʿnī al-jannata.

If his avoidance of grave sins outweighs the other side by an atom's weight, or one good deed remains in his favor, God Most High multiplies it with increase and overlooks his misdeeds among the people of Paradise. Yet he has neither the stations of those brought near nor the ranks of the foremost. He is among those of whom God, glorified and exalted, said, “God does not wrong anyone by an atom's weight; if there is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives a mighty reward from Himself” (al-Nisāʾ 4:40), meaning Paradise.

وَإِنْ خَفَّ إِضَاعَةَ الْفَرَائِضِ لِسُنَّتِهِ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُوقَفِينَ لِلْحِسَابِ الطَّوِيلِ وَاِحْتَاجَ إِلَى شَفَاعَةِ الشَّافِعِينَ. فَإِنْ كَانَ فَرَائِضُهُ الْخَمْسُ نَاقِصَةً وَكَانَ مُرْتَكِبًا لِلْكَبَائِرِ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْهَالِكِينَ، لِأَنَّهُ مِمَّنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَهَذَا مِنَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ هُمْ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ.

waʾin khaffa ʾiḍāʿata al-farāʾiḍi lisunnatihi kāna mina al-mūqafīna li-l-ḥisābi al-ṭawīli wa-iḥtāja ʾilā shafāʿati al-shāfiʿīna. faʾin kāna farāʾiḍuhu al-khamsu nāqiṣatan wakāna murtakiban li-l-kabāʾiri fahuwa mina al-hālikīna, liʾannahu mimman khaffat mawāzīnuhu mina al-muʾminīna, wa-hādhā mina al-musrifīna hum ʾaṣḥābu al-nāri.

If his balance is light through neglecting the obligations of his religious practice, he is among those detained for a long reckoning and needs the intercession of intercessors. If his five obligations are deficient and he also commits grave sins, he is among the ruined, one of those believers whose scales are light. Such a person belongs to the transgressors, the people of the Fire.

فَيَدْخُلُ النَّارَ لِنَقْصِ إِسْلَامِهِ وَلِوُفُورِ سَيِّئَاتِهِ عَلَيْهِ إِذْ لَمْ تَمْحُهَا حَسَنَاتُهُ وَلِبُطُولِ نَوَافِلِهِ بِاِنْتِهَاكِهِ الْكَبَائِرَ، وَلِأَنَّ هَذَا نَقَصَ مِنْ مِثْقَالِ دِينَارٍ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ لَا يَكُونُ مِنَ الْمُخَلَّدِينَ لِصِحَّةِ تَوْحِيدِهِ، وَعَلَى أَنَّهُ أَوَّلُ مَنْ يَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ دِينَارٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ، فَهُوَ فِي أَوَّلِ طَبَقَةٍ يَخْرُجُ هَذَا إِلَى زِنَةِ شَعِيرَةٍ إِلَى ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ.

fayadkhulu al-nāra linaqṣi ʾislāmihi waliwufūri sayyiʾātihi ʿalayhi ʾidh lam tamḥuhā ḥasanātuhu walibuṭūli nawāfilihi bi-intihākihi al-kabāʾira, waliʾanna hādhā naqaṣa min mithqāli dīnārin ʾillā ʾannahu lā yakūnu mina al-mukhalladīna liṣiḥḥati tawḥīdihi, waʿalā ʾannahu ʾawwalu man yakhruju mina al-nāri man kāna fī qalbihi mithqālu dīnārin min ʾīmānin, fahuwa fī ʾawwali ṭabaqatin yakhruju hādhā ʾilā zinati shaʿīratin ʾilā dharratin min ʾīmānin.

He enters the Fire because his Islam is deficient, his misdeeds are abundant and his good deeds have not erased them, and his commission of grave sins has invalidated his supererogatory deeds. This has fallen below a dinar's weight. Yet he will not remain there forever, because his affirmation of divine unity is sound. The first to leave the Fire is one whose heart holds a dinar's weight of faith; he is in the first group. The sequence descends to a barleycorn's weight, then an atom's weight of faith.

وَهَؤُلَاءِ آخِرُ الطَّبَقَاتِ خُرُوجًا إِلَى أَنْ يَبْدُوَ لِبَعْضِهِمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مَا لَا يَحْتَسِبُهُ وَيَظْهَرَ لَهُ غَدًا مَا لَا يَعْلَمُهُ، فَيُعْفَى عَنِ الْبَعْضِ وَلَا يُجْعَلُ مِمَّنْ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِ الْوَعِيدُ لِمَا سَبَقَ لَهُ مِنَ الْكَلِمَةِ الْحُسْنَى، وَيَتَجَاوَزُ عَنْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ فِي أَصْحَابِ الْجَنَّةِ.

wa-hāʾulāʾi ʾākhiru al-ṭabaqāti khurūjan ʾilā ʾan yabduwa libaʿḍihim mina Allāhi taʿālā mā lā yaḥtasibuhu wayaẓhara lahu ghadan mā lā yaʿlamuhu, fayuʿfā ʿani al-baʿḍi walā yujʿalu mimman ḥaqqa ʿalayhi al-waʿīdu limā sabaqa lahu mina al-kalimati al-ḥusnā, wayatajāwazu ʿan sayyiʾātihim fī ʾaṣḥābi al-jannati.

These are the last groups to emerge, unless something they had not reckoned on appears to some of them from God Most High and something they did not know is revealed to them on the morrow. Some are pardoned and are not counted among those against whom the threat is fulfilled, because the fairest word had already gone forth for them; He overlooks their misdeeds among the people of Paradise.

وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: «يُؤْتَى بِالرَّجُلِ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ فَيُسَدُّ بِهِ رُكْنٌ مِنْ أَرْكَانِ جَهَنَّمَ». وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: «أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيُوقَفُ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلَهُ مِنَ الْحَسَنَاتِ أَمْثَالُ الْجِبَالِ لَوْ سَلِمَتْ لَهُ لَكَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ، فَيَقُومُ أَصْحَابُ الْمَظَالِمِ فَيُوجَدُ قَدْ سَبَّ عِرْضَ هَذَا وَأَكَلَ مَالَ هَذَا وَضَرَبَ هَذَا».

waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari: «yuʾtā bi-al-rajuli min hādhihi al-ʾummati fayusaddu bihi ruknun min ʾarkāni jahannama». waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari: «ʾanna al-ʿabda layūqafu bayna yadayi Allāhi ʿazza wajalla walahu mina al-ḥasanāti ʾamthālu al-jibāli law salimat lahu lakāna min ʾahli al-jannati, fayaqūmu ʾaṣḥābu al-maẓālimi fayūjadu qad sabba ʿirḍa hādhā waʾakala māla hādhā waḍaraba hādhā».

A report says, “A man from this community is brought and a corner of Hell is filled with him.” Another report says, “The servant is made to stand before God, mighty and majestic, with good deeds like mountains. Had they remained intact for him, he would have belonged to Paradise. But those with grievances rise, and it is found that he reviled this one's honor, consumed that one's property, and struck another.”

«فَيُقَصُّ مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ حَتَّى لَا تَبْقَى لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ، فَيَقُولُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ: يَا رَبَّنَا قَدْ فَنِيَتْ حَسَنَاتُهُ وَبَقِيَ طَالِبُونَ كَثِيرٌ، فَيُقَالُ: أَلْقُوا مِنْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ عَلَى سَيِّئَاتِهِ وَصُكُّوا لَهُ صَكًّا إِلَى النَّارِ». وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْعِلْمِ أَنَّ آخِرَ مَنْ يَبْقَى فِي جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ سَبْعَةَ آلَافِ سَنَةٍ. وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ وَغَيْرِهِ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ، وَفِيهِ شِدَّةٌ، وَقَالَ: وَاللَّهِ لَا يَخْرُجُ

«fayuqaṣṣu min ḥasanātihi ḥattā lā tabqā lahu ḥasanatun, fayaqūlu al-malāʾikatu: yā rabbanā qad faniyat ḥasanātuhu wabaqiya ṭālibūna kathīrun, fayuqālu: ʾalqū min sayyiʾātihim ʿalā sayyiʾātihi waṣukkū lahu ṣakkan ʾilā al-nāri». waqad jāʾa fī al-ʿilmi ʾanna ʾākhira man yabqā fī jahannama mina al-muwaḥḥidīna sabʿata ʾālāfi sanatin. warawaynā ʿan ʾabī saʿīdin al-khudriyyi waghayrihi mina al-ṣaḥābati, wafīhi shiddatun, waqāla: wa-Allāhi lā yakhruju

“His good deeds are deducted until none remains. The angels say, ‘Our Lord, his good deeds are exhausted, and many claimants remain.’ It is said, ‘Add some of their misdeeds to his and issue him a writ to the Fire.’” The transmitted teaching says that the last of those affirming divine unity remains in Hell seven thousand years. We have related from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī and other Companions a stern account: he said, “By God, no servant leaves

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٥٣

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 253

Volume Two, page 253

عَبْدٌ مِنَ النَّارِ بَعْدَ أَنْ دَخَلَهَا حَتَّى يُقِيمَ فِيهَا سَبْعَةَ آلَافِ سَنَةٍ. وَهَذَا وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ آخِرُ مَنْ يَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ لِأَنَّهُمْ يَخْرُجُونَ زُمَرًا مُتَفَاوِتُونَ مِنَ الْيَوْمِ وَالْجُمُعَةِ وَالشَّهْرِ وَالسَّنَةِ إِلَى سِتَّةِ آلَافِ سَنَةٍ، فَأَكْثَرُهُمْ إِيمَانًا أَقَلُّهُمْ مُقَامًا وَأَقَلُّهُمْ مُكْثًا أَوَّلُهُمْ خُرُوجًا.

ʿabdun mina al-nāri baʿda ʾan dakhalahā ḥattā yuqīma fīhā sabʿata ʾālāfi sanatin. wa-hādhā wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu ʾākhiru man yakhruju mina al-nāri liʾannahum yakhrujūna zumaran mutafāwitūna mina al-yawmi wa-al-jumuʿati wa-al-shahri wa-al-sanati ʾilā sittati ʾālāfi sanatin, faʾaktharuhum ʾīmānan ʾaqalluhum muqāman waʾaqalluhum mukthan ʾawwaluhum khurūjan.

the Fire once he has entered it until he has remained there seven thousand years.” This, God knows best, concerns the last to leave the Fire, for they emerge in groups at differing intervals: a day, a week, a month, a year, up to six thousand years. Those with the most faith have the shortest stay, and those who stay least leave first.

أَمَّا أَوَّلُ زُمْرَةٍ تَخْرُجُ مَنْ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالٌ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ فَهَذَا أَقَلُّهُمْ لَبْثًا وَأَسْرَعُهُمْ خُرُوجًا إِلَى شَعِيرَةٍ إِلَى ذَرَّةٍ، فَهَؤُلَاءِ أَقَلُّهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَأَنْقَصُهُمْ تَوْحِيدًا وَأَعْظَمُهُمْ جُرْمًا وَأَشَدُّهُمْ عَلَى اللَّهِ عِتِيًّا وَهُمْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُقَامًا.

ʾammā ʾawwalu zumratin takhruju man fī qalbihi mithqālun mina al-ʾīmāni fa-hādhā ʾaqalluhum labthan waʾasraʿuhum khurūjan ʾilā shaʿīratin ʾilā dharratin, fa-hāʾulāʾi ʾaqalluhum ʾīmānan waʾanqaṣuhum tawḥīdan waʾaʿẓamuhum jurman waʾashadduhum ʿalā Allāhi ʿitiyyan wahum ʾaktharuhum muqāman.

The first group to emerge consists of those with a measure of faith in their hearts. Their stay is shortest and their departure swiftest, down to a barleycorn and then an atom. These last have the least faith, the most deficient affirmation of divine unity, the gravest crimes, and the fiercest defiance toward God; their stay is longest.

وَقَدِ اِشْتَهَرَ خَبَرُ مَنْ يَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ بَعْدَ أَلْفِ عَامٍ يُنَادِي: يَا حَنَّانُ يَا مَنَّانُ، فَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ لَمَّا رَوَى هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ: يَا لَيْتَنِي كُنْتُ ذَلِكَ الرَّجُلَ، لِشِدَّةِ خَوْفِهِ، خَافَ أَنْ يَدْخُلَهَا ثُمَّ عَظُمَ خَوْفُهُ فَخَافَ أَنْ لَا يَخْرُجَ مِنْهَا فَتَمَنَّى أَنْ يَخْرُجَ مِنْهَا بَعْدَ أَلْفِ عَامٍ.

waqadi ishtahara khabaru man yakhruju mina al-nāri baʿda ʾalfi ʿāmin yunādī: yā ḥannānu yā mannānu, faqāla al-ḥasanu lammā rawā hādhā al-ḥadītha: yā laytanī kuntu dhālika al-rajula, lishiddati khawfihi, khāfa ʾan yadkhulahā thumma ʿaẓuma khawfuhu fakhāfa ʾan lā yakhruja minhā fatamannā ʾan yakhruja minhā baʿda ʾalfi ʿāmin.

The report is well known of someone who emerges from the Fire after a thousand years, calling, “O Tenderly Merciful, O Bestower!” When al-Ḥasan related this report, he said, “Would that I were that man!” Such was his fear: he feared entering it, then his fear grew and he feared never leaving it, so he wished to leave it after a thousand years.

وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: «آخِرُ مَنْ يَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ وَهُوَ أَيْضًا آخِرُ مَنْ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ»، فَلَعَلَّهُ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بَعْدَ سَبْعَةِ آلَافِ سَنَةٍ، فَيُعْطَى مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ مِثْلَ الدُّنْيَا كُلِّهَا عَشْرَةَ أَضْعَافٍ، رَوَاهُ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ وَأَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُمْ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari: «ʾākhiru man yakhruju mina al-nāri wahuwa ʾayḍan ʾākhiru man yadkhulu al-jannata», falaʿallahu wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu baʿda sabʿati ʾālāfi sanatin, fayuʿṭā mina al-jannati mithla al-dunyā kullihā ʿashrata ʾaḍʿāfin, rawāhu ʾabū saʿīdin waʾabū hurayrata raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhum ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama.

A report speaks of “the last to leave the Fire, who is also the last to enter Paradise.” Perhaps this is after seven thousand years; God knows best. He is given a share of Paradise ten times the size of the whole world. Abū Saʿīd and Abū Hurayra, may God Most High be pleased with them, related this from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace.

وَمَعْنَى الْحِكْمَةِ فِي إِدْخَالِ الْبَشَرِ إِلَى النَّارِ عَلَى تَرْتِيبِ الْكَوْنِ أَنَّهُمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ مَاءٍ ثُمَّ خَالَطَهُ مَا اِمْتَزَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الْأَهْوَاءِ فَلَا يُسْتَخْرَجُ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا بِالنَّارِ، فَإِنَّهَا تُخْرِجُ الْمَاءَ مِمَّا مَازَجَهُ حَتَّى يَخْلُصَ، وَأَنَّهُمْ أَيْضًا خُلِقُوا مِنْ تُرَابِ الْأَرْضِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْخَشَبِ الْمُعْوَجِّ يُقَوَّمُ بِالنَّارِ حَتَّى يَسْتَقِيمَ ثُمَّ يُقْطَعُ عَنْهُ النَّارُ وَيَسْتَقِيمُ ذَلِكَ فَعِنْدَهَا يَصْلُحُ لِغَيْرِ النَّارِ.

wamaʿnā al-ḥikmati fī ʾidkhāli al-bashari ʾilā al-nāri ʿalā tartībi al-kawni ʾannahum khuliqū min māʾin thumma khālaṭahu mā imtazaja bihi mina al-ʾahwāʾi falā yustakhraju dhālika ʾillā bi-al-nāri, faʾinnahā tukhriju al-māʾa mimmā māzajahu ḥattā yakhluṣa, waʾannahum ʾayḍan khuliqū min turābi al-ʾarḍi bimanzilati al-khashabi al-muʿwajji yuqawwamu bi-al-nāri ḥattā yastaqīma thumma yuqṭaʿu ʿanhu al-nāru wayastaqīmu dhālika faʿindahā yaṣluḥu lighayri al-nāri.

The wisdom in admitting human beings to the Fire, according to the order of creation, is that they were created from water, which then mingled with passions. These can be extracted only by fire, which separates the water from what has mixed with it until it is pure. They were also created from the earth's dust, like crooked wood straightened by fire. Once it is straight, the fire is removed; it stays straight and becomes fit for something other than fire.

وَمَوْضِعُ الْحِكْمَةِ فِي تَخْلِيدِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَالشَّيَاطِينِ فِي النَّارِ أَنَّ أَرْوَاحَهُمْ خُلِقَتْ مِنْ جَوْهَرِ النَّارِ فَرَجَعَتْ إِلَى مَعْدِنِهَا، وَهِيَ أَيْضًا سَوْدَاءُ مُظْلِمَةٌ نَارِيَّةٌ، وَهُمْ أَيْضًا خُلِقُوا لَهَا لَا يَصْلُحُونَ لِغَيْرِهَا بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْحَطَبِ وَالشَّوْكِ وَالْحُرَاقِ الَّذِي لَا يَصْلُحُ إِلَّا لِلنَّارِ.

wamawḍiʿu al-ḥikmati fī takhlīdi al-kāfirīna wa-al-shayāṭīni fī al-nāri ʾanna ʾarwāḥahum khuliqat min jawhari al-nāri farajaʿat ʾilā maʿdinihā, wahiya ʾayḍan sawdāʾu muẓlimatun nāriyyatun, wahum ʾayḍan khuliqū lahā lā yaṣluḥūna lighayrihā bimanzilati al-ḥaṭabi wa-al-shawki wa-al-ḥurāqi alladhī lā yaṣluḥu ʾillā li-l-nāri.

The wisdom in making unbelievers and devils remain forever in the Fire is that their spirits were created from the substance of fire and return to their source. They are also black, dark, and fiery. They were created for it and are fit for nothing else, like firewood, thorns, and tinder fit only for the fire.

فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، حِكْمَتُهُ مُعْتَدِلَةٌ فِي الْأَشْيَاءِ وَحُكْمُهُ غَامِضٌ فِيهَا، يَنْظُرُ بِعَيْنِ التَّعْدِيلِ فَيَقْسِمُ بِهَا الْمَقَادِيرَ بِمَعَانِي التَّنْقِيصِ وَالتَّفْضِيلِ. وَمُجْمَلُ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ أَنَّ كُلَّ وَصْفٍ يَكُونُ لِلْعَبْدِ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كَفَّرَ عَنْهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِ فَإِنَّ نَوَافِلَهُ سَاقِطَةٌ، وَكُلَّ وَصْفٍ يَكُونُ لَهُ مِنَ الشَّرِّ لَا يُحْبِطُ نَوَافِلَهُ فَإِنَّ نَوَافِلَهُ مُوَفَّرَةٌ ثَابِتَةٌ.

fatabāraka Allāhu taʿālā, ḥikmatuhu muʿtadilatun fī al-ʾashyāʾi waḥukmuhu ghāmiḍun fīhā, yanẓuru biʿayni al-taʿdīli fayaqsimu bihā al-maqādīra bimaʿānī al-tanqīṣi wa-al-tafḍīli. wamujmalu mā dhakarnāhu ʾanna kulla waṣfin yakūnu li-l-ʿabdi mina al-khayri kaffara ʿanhu sayyiʾātihi faʾinna nawāfilahu sāqiṭatun, wakulla waṣfin yakūnu lahu mina al-sharri lā yuḥbiṭu nawāfilahu faʾinna nawāfilahu muwaffaratun thābitatun.

Blessed is God Most High! His wisdom holds things in balance, and His judgment within them is hidden. He looks with the eye of equitable ordering and apportions destinies through degrees of diminution and favor. To summarize what we have said: every good quality the servant has expiates his misdeeds, yet his supererogatory deeds fall away; every evil quality he has that does not nullify his supererogatory deeds leaves those deeds intact and firmly credited.

وَمَنْ كَانَ عَامِلًا لِلْحَسَنَاتِ وَهُوَ فِي ذَلِكَ يَرْتَكِبُ بَعْضَ الْكَبَائِرِ فَإِنَّ أَعْمَالَ بِرِّهِ وَفَضَائِلَهُ مَوْقُوفَةٌ إِلَى التَّوْبَةِ، فَإِنْ تَابَ وَاِسْتَقَامَ كَفَّرَتْ تَوْبَتُهُ مَا سَلَفَ مِنْ كَبَائِرِهِ وَبَدَّلَتِ اِسْتِقَامَتُهُ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ سَيِّئَاتِهِ حَسَنَاتٍ. وَأَكْثَرُ مَا يُوبِقُ النَّاسَ مِنَ الْكَبَائِرِ الْمَظَالِمُ، وَأَكْثَرُ مَا يُدْخِلُهُمُ النَّارَ ذُنُوبُ غَيْرِهِمْ إِذَا طُرِحَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَكَثِيرٌ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ بِحَسَنَاتِ غَيْرِهِمْ إِذَا طُرِحَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ لِأَنَّهَا صَحِيحَةٌ ثَابِتَةٌ.

waman kāna ʿāmilan li-l-ḥasanāti wahuwa fī dhālika yartakibu baʿḍa al-kabāʾiri faʾinna ʾaʿmāla birrihi wafaḍāʾilahu mawqūfatun ʾilā al-tawbati, faʾin tāba wa-istaqāma kaffarat tawbatuhu mā salafa min kabāʾirihi wabaddalati istiqāmatuhu ʿalā al-ṭāʿati sayyiʾātihi ḥasanātin. waʾaktharu mā yūbiqu al-nāsa mina al-kabāʾiri al-maẓālimu, waʾaktharu mā yudkhiluhumu al-nāra dhunūbu ghayrihim ʾidhā ṭuriḥat ʿalayhim, wakathīrun yadkhulūna al-jannata biḥasanāti ghayrihim ʾidhā ṭuriḥat ʿalayhim liʾannahā ṣaḥīḥatun thābitatun.

For someone who performs good deeds while committing some grave sins, his acts of piety and merit are held in abeyance until repentance. If he repents and remains upright, his repentance expiates his earlier grave sins, and his steadfast obedience changes his misdeeds into good deeds. The grave sins that most often ruin people are wrongs against others; what most often sends them to the Fire is others' sins cast upon them. Many enter Paradise through others' good deeds credited to them, because those deeds are sound and secure.

وَقَدْ تَبْطُلُ حَسَنَاتُهُمْ لِدُخُولِ الْآفَاتِ عَلَيْهَا، بَلَغَنِي عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْجَلَّاءِ أَنَّ بَعْضَ إِخْوَانِهِ اِغْتَابَهُ ثُمَّ أَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهِ لِيَسْتَحِلَّهُ فَقَالَ: لَا أَفْعَلُ، لَيْسَ فِي صَحِيفَتِي حَسَنَةٌ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ، أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُزَيِّنَ صَحِيفَتِي بِهَا. وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ: «ذَنْبٌ يُغْفَرُ وَذَنْبٌ لَا يُتْرَكُ»، فَالذَّنْبُ الَّذِي يُغْفَرُ ظُلْمُكَ نَفْسَكَ، وَالذَّنْبُ الَّذِي لَا يُتْرَكُ مَظَالِمُ الْعِبَادِ، وَالتَّوْبَةُ طَرِيقُ الْكُلِّ.

waqad tabṭulu ḥasanātuhum lidukhūli al-ʾāfāti ʿalayhā, balaghanī ʿan ʾabī ʿabdi Allāhi bni al-jallāʾi ʾanna baʿḍa ʾikhwānihi ightābahu thumma ʾarsala ʾilayhi liyastaḥillahu faqāla: lā ʾafʿalu, laysa fī ṣaḥīfatī ḥasanatun ʾafḍalu min ḥasanātihi, ʾurīdu ʾan ʾuzayyina ṣaḥīfatī bihā. wafī al-ḥadīthi: «dhanbun yughfaru wadhanbun lā yutraku», fa-al-dhanbu alladhī yughfaru ẓulmuka nafsaka, wa-al-dhanbu alladhī lā yutraku maẓālimu al-ʿibādi, wa-al-tawbatu ṭarīqu al-kulli.

Their own good deeds may be invalidated by defects entering them. I have heard of Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Jallāʾ that one of his brethren backbit him, then sent to seek his pardon. He replied, “I shall not. There is no good deed in my record better than his good deeds; I want to adorn my record with them.” The report says, “A sin is forgiven, and a sin is not left unsettled.” The forgiven sin is your wrong against yourself; the sin not left unsettled is wrong against God's servants. Repentance is the path for all,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٥٤

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 254

Volume Two, page 254

وَالرَّحْمَةُ تَسَعُهُمْ، وَبَابُ التَّوْبَةِ مَفْتُوحٌ لِلْكَافَّةِ إِلَى طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا، وَكُلُّ عَبْدٍ تَوْبَتُهُ مُتَقَبَّلَةٌ مَا لَمْ تَبْلُغِ الرُّوحُ الْحُلْقُومَ وَلَمْ يُعَايِنِ الْمَلَائِكَةَ، فَإِذَا بَلَغَتِ الرُّوحُ التَّرَاقِيَ وَعَايَنَتِ الْأَمْلَاكَ غُلِقَ عَلَيْهِ بَابُ التَّوْبَةِ وَمَاتَ عَلَى الْإِصْرَارِ.

wa-al-raḥmatu tasaʿuhum, wabābu al-tawbati maftūḥun li-l-kāffati ʾilā ṭulūʿi al-shamsi min maghribihā, wakullu ʿabdin tawbatuhu mutaqabbalatun mā lam tablughi al-rūḥu al-ḥulqūma walam yuʿāyini al-malāʾikata, faʾidhā balaghati al-rūḥu al-tarāqiya waʿāyanati al-ʾamlāka ghuliqa ʿalayhi bābu al-tawbati wamāta ʿalā al-ʾiṣrāri.

and mercy embraces them. The door of repentance is open to everyone until the sun rises from its setting place. Every servant's repentance is accepted while his spirit has not reached his throat and he has not beheld the angels. Once the spirit reaches the collarbones and beholds the angels, the door of repentance is closed to him, and he dies persisting in sin.

وَقِيلَ: ﴿مَنْ رَاقٍ﴾ أَيْ مَنْ يَرْقَى بِرُوحِهِ، مَلَائِكَةُ الرَّحْمَةِ أَمْ مَلَائِكَةُ الْعَذَابِ؟ ﴿وَظَنَّ أَنَّهُ الْفِرَاقُ﴾ أَيْقَنَ أَنَّهُ قَدْ فَارَقَ الدُّنْيَا بِمُعَايَنَةِ الْآخِرَةِ وَفَارَقَ النَّاسَ وَالْأَهْلَ بِمُعَايَنَةِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ، فَإِنْ مَاتَ عَنْ غَيْرِ تَوْبَةٍ كَانَ مِمَّنْ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَحِيلَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ مَا يَشْتَهُونَ﴾ سَبَأٍ: 54، قِيلَ: التَّوْبَةُ، كَمَا فُعِلَ بِأَشْيَاعِهِمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ.

waqīla: ﴿man rāqin﴾ ʾay man yarqā birūḥihi, malāʾikatu al-raḥmati ʾam malāʾikatu al-ʿadhābi? ﴿waẓanna ʾannahu al-firāqu﴾ ʾayqana ʾannahu qad fāraqa al-dunyā bimuʿāyanati al-ʾākhirati wafāraqa al-nāsa wa-al-ʾahla bimuʿāyanati al-malāʾikati, faʾin māta ʿan ghayri tawbatin kāna mimman qāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla: ﴿waḥīla baynahum wabayna mā yashtahūna﴾ sabaʾin: 54, qīla: al-tawbatu, kamā fuʿila biʾashyāʿihim min qablu.

“And it is said, ‘Who will ascend?’” means: who will ascend with his spirit, the angels of mercy or the angels of punishment? “And he realizes that it is parting”: by beholding the hereafter he knows for certain that he has left this world, and by beholding the angels that he has left people and family. If he dies without repentance, he is among those of whom God, mighty and majestic, said, “A barrier is set between them and what they desire” (Sabaʾ 34:54), explained as repentance, “as was done with their like before.”

وَلَمَّا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَ﴾ النِّسَاءِ: 18، وَحُضُورُ الْمَوْتِ يَكُونُ عِنْدَ مُعَايَنَةِ مَلَكِ الْمَوْتِ إِذَا خَرَجَتِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْجِسْمِ فَلَمْ يَبْقَ إِلَّا مَا بَيْنَ الْقَلْبِ وَالْعَيْنَيْنِ، فَهُوَ الْوَقْتُ الَّذِي قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ الْمَلَائِكَةَ لَا بُشْرَى يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُجْرِمِينَ﴾ الْفُرْقَانِ: 22.

walammā qāla taʿālā: ﴿walaysati al-tawbatu li-alladhīna yaʿmalūna al-sayyiʾāti ḥattā ʾidhā ḥaḍara ʾaḥadahumu al-mawtu qāla ʾinnī tubtu al-ʾāna﴾ al-nisāʾi: 18, waḥuḍūru al-mawti yakūnu ʿinda muʿāyanati malaki al-mawti ʾidhā kharajati al-rūḥu min jamīʿi al-jismi falam yabqa ʾillā mā bayna al-qalbi wa-al-ʿaynayni, fahuwa al-waqtu alladhī qāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla: ﴿yawma yarawna al-malāʾikata lā bushrā yawmaʾidhin li-l-mujrimīna﴾ al-furqāni: 22.

As He said, Most High, “Repentance is not for those who do evil deeds until, when death comes to one of them, he says, ‘Now I repent’” (al-Nisāʾ 4:18). Death comes when the angel of death is beheld, after the spirit has left the whole body and only the space between heart and eyes remains. This is the time of which God, mighty and majestic, said, “The day they see the angels, there will be no good news that day for the guilty” (al-Furqān 25:22).

وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَوَّفَ مِنْهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ﴾ الْأَنْعَامِ: 158، يَعْنِي عِنْدَ الْمَوْتِ، وَهَذَا لِأَهْلِ الْمُعَايَنَةِ. ﴿أَوْ يَأْتِيَ رَبُّكَ﴾ يَعْنِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَهَذَا لِأَهْلِ الْبَرْزَخِ. ﴿يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ﴾ وَهُوَ الْيَأْسُ الَّذِي يَقَعُ عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا، الْيَأْسُ مِنْ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا وَهُوَ آخِرُ التَّوْبَةِ وَيُؤْمِنُ مَعَهُ كُلُّ كَافِرٍ.

wahuwa alladhī khawwafa minhu fī qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿hal yanẓurūna ʾillā ʾan taʾtiyahumu al-malāʾikatu﴾ al-ʾanʿāmi: 158, yaʿnī ʿinda al-mawti, wa-hādhā liʾahli al-muʿāyanati. ﴿ʾaw yaʾtiya rabbuka﴾ yaʿnī yawma al-qiyāmati, wa-hādhā liʾahli al-barzakhi. ﴿yawma yaʾtī baʿḍu ʾāyāti rabbika﴾ wahuwa al-yaʾsu alladhī yaqaʿu ʿindahu mina al-dunyā, al-yaʾsu min ṭulūʿi al-shamsi min maghribihā wahuwa ʾākhiru al-tawbati wayuʾminu maʿahu kullu kāfirin.

It is what He made fearful in the words of God Most High, “Do they await anything but the angels coming to them?” (al-Anʿām 6:158), meaning at death; this concerns those who behold. “Or your Lord coming,” meaning the Day of Resurrection; this concerns those in the intermediate realm. “The day some of your Lord's signs come”: this is when hope in this world ends, the loss of hope brought by the sun rising from its setting place. It is the end of repentance, and every unbeliever then believes.

فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ: ﴿يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ﴾ الْأَنْعَامِ: 158، أَيْ مِنْ قَبْلِ الْمُعَايَنَةِ، ﴿أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا﴾ الْأَنْعَامِ: 158، قِيلَ: التَّوْبَةُ. وَهُوَ الْوَقْتُ الَّذِي قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿فَلَمَّا رَأَوْا بَأْسَنَا﴾ غَافِرٍ: 84، يَعْنِي كَشْفَ الْغِطَاءِ، ﴿قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ وَكَفَرْنَا بِمَا كُنَّا بِهِ مُشْرِكِينَ﴾.

faqāla subḥānahu: ﴿yawma yaʾtī baʿḍu ʾāyāti rabbika lā yanfaʿu nafsan ʾīmānuhā lam takun ʾāmanat min qablu﴾ al-ʾanʿāmi: 158, ʾay min qabli al-muʿāyanati, ﴿ʾaw kasabat fī ʾīmānihā khayran﴾ al-ʾanʿāmi: 158, qīla: al-tawbatu. wahuwa al-waqtu alladhī qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿falammā raʾaw baʾsanā﴾ ghāfirin: 84, yaʿnī kashfa al-ghiṭāʾi, ﴿qālū ʾāmannā bi-Allāhi waḥdahu wakafarnā bimā kunnā bihi mushrikīna﴾.

He said, glorified is He, “The day some of your Lord's signs come, no soul will benefit from its faith if it had not believed before” (al-Anʿām 6:158), meaning before direct beholding, “or earned good in its faith” (6:158), explained as repentance. This is the time of which God Most High said, “When they saw Our might” (Ghāfir 40:84), meaning the veil's removal, “they said, ‘We believe in God alone, and reject what we associated with Him.’”

﴿فَلَمْ يَكُ يَنْفَعُهُمْ إِيمَانُهُمْ لَمَّا رَأَوْا بَأْسَنَا سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ فِي عِبَادِهِ﴾ يَعْنِي طَرِيقَتَهُ وَشَأْنَهُ الَّذِي مَضَى فِي الْخَلْقِ لَا تَبْدِيلَ لَهُ، ﴿وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا﴾. وَحُكْمُ الْعِبَادِ كُلِّهِمْ فِي الْمَعَادِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، إِنْ عَذَّبَهُمْ فَبِمَا اكْتَسَبُوا وَيَعْفُو عَنْ كَثِيرٍ، وَإِنْ شَاءَ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ.

﴿falam yaku yanfaʿuhum ʾīmānuhum lammā raʾaw baʾsanā sunnata Allāhi allatī qad khalat fī ʿibādihi﴾ yaʿnī ṭarīqatahu washaʾnahu alladhī maḍā fī al-khalqi lā tabdīla lahu, ﴿walan tajida lisunnati Allāhi tabdīlan﴾. waḥukmu al-ʿibādi kullihim fī al-maʿādi ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla, ʾin ʿadhdhabahum fabimā iktasabū wayaʿfū ʿan kathīrin, waʾin shāʾa ʾan yaghfira lahum wahuwa al-ghafūru al-raḥīmu.

“But their faith did not benefit them when they saw Our might: God's established way, which has passed among His servants.” This means His way and practice already enacted in creation, without change. “You will never find any change in God's established way.” Judgment of all servants at the return belongs to God, mighty and majestic. If He punishes them, it is for what they earned, and He pardons much; if He wills to forgive them, He is the All-Forgiving, the Merciful.

وَقَدْ يَتَفَاوَتُ النَّاسُ فِي جَمِيعِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ أَدَاءِ الْفَرَائِضِ وَمِنِ اِرْتِكَابِ الْمَعَاصِي وَالْعُرْفِ وَالتَّخَلُّقِ بِأَخْلَاقِ النَّفْسِ مِنْ عَادَاتِ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا وَعُرْفِ مُعَاشَرَتِهِمْ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُمْ، فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ حَالُ الْغَافِلِينَ وَمَقَامُ الْجَاهِلِينَ غَيْرُ مَحْمُودِ الْعَاقِبَةِ وَلَا مَغْبُوطِ الْخَاتِمَةِ.

waqad yatafāwatu al-nāsu fī jamīʿi mā dhakarnāhu min ʾadāʾi al-farāʾiḍi wamini irtikābi al-maʿāṣī wa-al-ʿurfi wa-al-takhalluqi biʾakhlāqi al-nafsi min ʿādāti ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā waʿurfi muʿāsharatihim fīmā baynahum, faʾinna dhālika ḥālu al-ghāfilīna wamaqāmu al-jāhilīna ghayru maḥmūdi al-ʿāqibati walā maghbūṭi al-khātimati.

People may differ in all that we have mentioned: performing obligations, committing sins, customary behavior, and adopting the self's traits from the habits of worldly people and their customary dealings with one another. This is the condition of the heedless and the station of the ignorant, with no praiseworthy outcome and no enviable end.

وَلَا يَتْرُكُ الْعَمَلَ الصَّالِحَ أَيْضًا خَشْيَةَ دُخُولِ الْآفَةِ، وَلَا يَدَعُهُ إِنْ كَانَ دَاخِلًا فِيهِ لِمَا يَعْتَرِيهِ فِيهِ، ذَلِكَ بُغْيَةُ عَدُوِّهِ مِنْهُ، لَكِنْ يَكُونُ عَلَى نِيَّتِهِ الْأُولَى مِنْ جِهَةِ الْقَصْدِ، فَإِنْ دَخَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ عِلَّةٌ وَضَعَ عَلَيْهَا دَوَاءَهَا فَعَمِلَ فِي نَفْيِهَا وَإِزَالَتِهَا وَثَبَتَ عَلَى حُسْنِ نِيَّتِهِ وَصَالِحِ مُعَامَلَتِهِ، وَلَا يَدَعُ عَمَلًا لِأَجْلِ الْخَلْقِ حَيَاءً مِنْهُمْ وَكَرَاهَةَ اِعْتِقَادِهِمْ فَضْلَهُ، لِأَنَّ الْعَمَلَ لِأَجْلِ

walā yatruku al-ʿamala al-ṣāliḥa ʾayḍan khashyata dukhūli al-ʾāfati, walā yadaʿuhu ʾin kāna dākhilan fīhi limā yaʿtarīhi fīhi, dhālika bughyatu ʿaduwwihi minhu, lākin yakūnu ʿalā niyyatihi al-ʾūlā min jihati al-qaṣdi, faʾin dakhalat ʿalayhi ʿillatun waḍaʿa ʿalayhā dawāʾahā faʿamila fī nafyihā waʾizālatihā wathabata ʿalā ḥusni niyyatihi waṣāliḥi muʿāmalatihi, walā yadaʿu ʿamalan liʾajli al-khalqi ḥayāʾan minhum wakarāhata iʿtiqādihim faḍlahu, liʾanna al-ʿamala liʾajli

Nor should he abandon a righteous deed for fear of a defect entering it, or leave it once engaged in it because of something that assails him during it. That is what his enemy wants from him. He should hold to his original intention and purpose. If an ailment enters, he should apply its remedy, work to dispel and remove it, and remain firm in good intention and sound conduct. Nor should he abandon a deed on account of people, from embarrassment before them or dislike of their believing him virtuous, for acting for

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٥٥

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 255

Volume Two, page 255

النَّاسِ شِرْكٌ، وَتَرْكَهُ لِأَجْلِهِمْ رِيَاءٌ، وَتَرْكَ الْعَمَلِ لِأَجْلِ دُخُولِ الْآفَةِ فِيهِ جَهْلٌ، وَتَرْكَهُ عِنْدَ دُخُولِ الْعِلَّةِ عَلَيْهِ ضَعْفٌ وَوَهَنٌ. وَمَنْ دَخَلَ فِي الْعَمَلِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَخَرَجَ مِنْهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ مَا كَانَ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ بَعْدَ أَنْ يَنْفِيَهُ وَلَا يُسَاكِنَهُ.

al-nāsi shirkun, watarkahu liʾajlihim riyāʾun, watarka al-ʿamali liʾajli dukhūli al-ʾāfati fīhi jahlun, watarkahu ʿinda dukhūli al-ʿillati ʿalayhi ḍaʿfun wawahanun. waman dakhala fī al-ʿamali li-llāhi taʿālā wakharaja minhu li-llāhi taʿālā lam yaḍurrahu mā kāna bayna dhālika baʿda ʾan yanfiyahu walā yusākinahu.

people is association of partners with God; abandoning it for their sake is ostentation. Abandoning a deed because a defect enters it is ignorance, and abandoning it when an ailment assails it is weakness and frailty. Whoever begins a deed for God Most High and finishes it for God Most High is not harmed by what occurs between, provided he dispels it and does not settle into it.

وَقَدْ يَضُرُّهُ مَا يَكُونُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ، مِثْلَ إِنْ كَانَ سِرًّا فَأَظْهَرَهُ بَعْدَ زَمَانٍ فَصَارَ عَلَانِيَةً فَنُقِلَ مِنْ دِيوَانِ السِّرِّ إِلَى دِيوَانِ الْعَلَانِيَةِ، وَمِثْلَ أَنْ يَتَظَاهَرَ بِهِ وَيَفْتَخِرَ وَيُدِلَّ بِهِ وَيَتَكَبَّرَ فَيُحْبِطَ ذَلِكَ عَمَلَهُ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ أَفْسَدَهُ، وَاللَّهُ لَا يُصْلِحُ عَمَلَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ.

waqad yaḍurruhu mā yakūnu baʿda dhālika, mithla ʾin kāna sirran faʾaẓharahu baʿda zamānin faṣāra ʿalāniyatan fanuqila min dīwāni al-sirri ʾilā dīwāni al-ʿalāniyati, wamithla ʾan yataẓāhara bihi wayaftakhira wayudilla bihi wayatakabbara fayuḥbiṭa dhālika ʿamalahu liʾannahu qad ʾafsadahu, wa-Allāhu lā yuṣliḥu ʿamala al-mufsidīna.

What happens afterward may harm him: a deed was secret, but after a time he reveals it, making it public, and it is transferred from the register of secret deeds to the register of public ones. Or he makes a display of it, boasts, presumes upon it, and grows arrogant. This nullifies his deed because he has corrupted it, and God does not put right the work of those who corrupt.

وَمَنْ دَخَلَ فِي الْعَمَلِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ فِي وَسَطِ الْعَمَلِ عِلَّةٌ فَخَرَجَ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ بِهَا بَطَلَ عَمَلُهُ، وَمَنْ دَخَلَ فِي الْعَمَلِ بِآفَةٍ وَخَرَجَ مِنْهُ بِصِحَّةٍ سَلِمَ لَهُ عَمَلُهُ وَجُبِرَ بِآخِرِهِ أَوَّلُهُ. وَأَفْضَلُ الْأَعْمَالِ مَا دَخَلَ فِي أَوَّلِهِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَخَرَجَ مِنْهُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلَمَّا تَطْرُقْهُ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُمَا آفَةٌ، فَيَكُونُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى هُوَ الْأَوَّلَ فَالْآخِرَ مَعَهُ وَعِنْدَهُ، ثُمَّ يُظْهِرُهُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ وَلَا يَتَظَاهَرُ بِهِ.

waman dakhala fī al-ʿamali li-llāhi taʿālā wadakhala ʿalayhi fī wasaṭi al-ʿamali ʿillatun fakharaja mina al-ʿamali bihā baṭala ʿamaluhu, waman dakhala fī al-ʿamali biʾāfatin wakharaja minhu biṣiḥḥatin salima lahu ʿamaluhu wajubira biʾākhirihi ʾawwaluhu. waʾafḍalu al-ʾaʿmāli mā dakhala fī ʾawwalihi li-llāhi taʿālā wakharaja minhu bi-Allāhi taʿālā walammā taṭruqhu fīmā baynahumā ʾāfatun, fayakūnu Allāhu taʿālā huwa al-ʾawwala fa-al-ʾākhira maʿahu waʿindahu, thumma yuẓhiruhu baʿda dhālika walā yataẓāharu bihi.

Whoever begins a deed for God Most High, is assailed midway by an ailment, and finishes with it still present has invalidated his deed. Whoever begins with a defect but finishes in soundness retains his deed; its ending repairs its beginning. The best deeds are begun for God Most High and completed through God Most High, with no defect having assailed them in between. God Most High is then the First and the Last, with him and in his keeping. He may reveal the deed afterward without making a display of it.

وَأَفْضَلُ النِّيَّاتِ أَنْ لَا تُرِيدَ بِعَمَلِكَ إِلَّا وَجْهَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَحْدَهُ تَعْظِيمًا لِحَقِّ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ وَإِلْزَامًا لِلنَّفْسِ وَصْفَ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ هَذَا الْمَقَامُ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ وَجْهِ ذِي الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ فَمُشَاهَدَةُ مَا رَغَّبَ فِيهِ وَشَوَّقَ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ عَنْ مَقَامِ الرَّجَاءِ.

waʾafḍalu al-niyyāti ʾan lā turīda biʿamalika ʾillā wajha Allāhi taʿālā waḥdahu taʿẓīman liḥaqqi al-rubūbiyyati waʾilzāman li-l-nafsi waṣfa al-ʿubūdiyyati, faʾin lam yakun hādhā al-maqāmu ʿan mushāhadati wajhi dhī al-jalāli wa-al-ʾikrāmi famushāhadatu mā raghghaba fīhi washawwaqa ʾilayhi mina al-ʾākhirati ʿan maqāmi al-rajāʾi.

The best intention is to seek by your deed only the face of God Most High alone, honoring the right of lordship and obliging the self to assume the quality of servanthood. If this station does not arise from beholding the face of the Possessor of Majesty and Generosity, then let it arise from beholding what He has encouraged and made desirable in the hereafter, from the station of hope.

وَلَا يَنْبَغِي لِلْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ فِي شَيْءٍ حَتَّى يَعْلَمَ عِلْمَهُ فَيَكُونَ دَاخِلًا فِي عِلْمٍ يَعْلَمُ مِثْلَهُ، لِأَنَّ لِلَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حُكْمًا، فَمَا عَلِمَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ حَمِدَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَعَمِلَهُ، وَمَا جَهِلَ سَأَلَ عَنْهُ مَنْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِهِ، وَمَا أَشْكَلَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْسَكَ عَنْهُ حَتَّى يَسْتَبِينَ لَهُ وَجْهُهُ فَيُقْدِمَ عَلَيْهِ أَوْ يَتْرُكَهُ.

walā yanbaghī li-l-ʿabdi ʾan yadkhula fī shayʾin ḥattā yaʿlama ʿilmahu fayakūna dākhilan fī ʿilmin yaʿlamu mithlahu, liʾanna li-llāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā fī kulli shayʾin ḥukman, famā ʿalima min dhālika ḥamida Allāha taʿālā ʿalayhi waʿamilahu, wamā jahila saʾala ʿanhu man huwa ʾaʿlamu bihi, wamā ʾashkala ʿalayhi ʾamsaka ʿanhu ḥattā yastabīna lahu wajhuhu fayuqdima ʿalayhi ʾaw yatrukahu.

The servant should not embark on anything until he knows the knowledge governing it, entering upon knowledge whose like he understands, for God, glorified and exalted, has a ruling concerning everything. For what he knows, he should praise God Most High and act on it. Concerning what he does not know, he should ask someone more knowledgeable. He should refrain from what is unclear until its character becomes plain to him, then undertake or leave it.

وَلْيَكُنْ مَا تَحَرَّكَ فِيهِ أَوْ سَكَنَ عَنْهُ أَوْ تَوَقَّفَ عَنِ الْإِقْدَامِ عَلَيْهِ اِبْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى تَقْرِيبًا إِلَيْهِ لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَهَذَا أَعْلَى النِّيَّاتِ وَهُوَ غَايَةُ الْإِخْلَاصِ. وَمَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَعْمَالِهِ مَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ ثَوَابِ الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ حُظُوظِ نَفْسِهِ وَمَعَانِي شَهَوَاتِهِ وَلَذَّتِهِ مِنَ النَّعِيمِ فِي الْجِنَانِ وَاِتِّخَاذِ الْحُورِ الْحِسَانِ مِمَّا وَصَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَنَدَبَ لَمْ يَقْدَحْ ذَلِكَ فِي إِخْلَاصِهِ وَلَمْ يُغَيِّرْ صِحَّةَ نِيَّتِهِ.

walyakun mā taḥarraka fīhi ʾaw sakana ʿanhu ʾaw tawaqqafa ʿani al-ʾiqdāmi ʿalayhi ibtighāʾa marḍāti Allāhi taʿālā taqrīban ʾilayhi liʾajli Allāhi taʿālā, fa-hādhā ʾaʿlā al-niyyāti wahuwa ghāyatu al-ʾikhlāṣi. waman ʾarāda biʾaʿmālihi mā ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā min thawābi al-ʾākhirati min ḥuẓūẓi nafsihi wamaʿānī shahawātihi waladhdhatihi mina al-naʿīmi fī al-jināni wa-ittikhādhi al-ḥūri al-ḥisāni mimmā waṣafa Allāhu taʿālā wanadaba lam yaqdaḥ dhālika fī ʾikhlāṣihi walam yughayyir ṣiḥḥata niyyatihi.

Let whatever he undertakes, refrains from, or pauses before undertaking be in quest of the pleasure of God Most High, to draw near to Him for the sake of God Most High. This is the highest intention and the utmost sincerity. If by his deeds he seeks the reward of the hereafter with God Most High, the self's share, desires, and delight in the gardens' bliss and in taking fair heavenly companions, as God Most High has described and encouraged, this does not impair his sincerity or alter the soundness of his intention.

مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى مَدَحَهُ وَرَغَّبَ فِيهِ وَوَصَفَهُ وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ مَزِيدَ مِثْلِهِ، إِلَّا أَنَّ هَذَا نَقْصٌ فِي مَقَامِ الْمُحِبِّينَ وَعَيْبٌ عِنْدَهُمْ كَعَيْبِ مَنْ عَمِلَ لِعَاجِلِ حَظِّهِ مِنْ دُنْيَاهُ، وَهُوَ شِرْكٌ فِي إِخْلَاصِ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ الَّذِينَ اُخْتُصُّوا بِالْعُبُودِيَّةِ فَعَتَقُوا مِنْ أَسْرِ الْهَوَى بِالْحُرِّيَّةِ، فَلَمْ يَسْتَرِقَّهُمْ سِوَى الْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ لِمَا شَهِدُوا مِنْ خَالِصِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ.

min qibali ʾanna Allāha taʿālā madaḥahu waraghghaba fīhi wawaṣafahu wakāna dhālika mazīda mithlihi, ʾillā ʾanna hādhā naqṣun fī maqāmi al-muḥibbīna waʿaybun ʿindahum kaʿaybi man ʿamila liʿājili ḥaẓẓihi min dunyāhu, wahuwa shirkun fī ʾikhlāṣi al-muwaḥḥidīna alladhīna ukhtuṣṣū bi-al-ʿubūdiyyati faʿataqū min ʾasri al-hawā bi-al-ḥurriyyati, falam yastariqqahum siwā al-waḥdāniyyati limā shahidū min khāliṣi al-rubūbiyyati.

This is because God Most High praised it, encouraged it, and described it, and it brings an increase of its kind. Yet it is a deficiency in the station of lovers and a fault in their eyes, like the fault of someone working for an immediate worldly share. It is an admixture in the sincerity of those affirming divine unity, who have been singled out for servanthood and freed from desire's captivity. Nothing but divine oneness holds them in service, because of the pure lordship they have witnessed.

وَإِخْلَاصُ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ لِلرُّبُوبِيَّةِ أَشَدُّ مِنْ إِخْلَاصِ الْمُعَامَلَةِ ضَرُورَةً، إِلَّا أَنَّ مَنْ رُزِقَ الْمَقَامَ مِنْهَا دَخَلَ بِحَقِيقَةِ إِخْلَاصِ الْمُعَامَلَةِ ضَرُورَةً، فَلَا يُنَقِّيهِ وَلَا يُصَفِّيهِ عَمَلٌ وَلَا مُجَاهَدَةٌ فَكَانُوا مُخْلَصِينَ، وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْمُحِبِّينَ. وَإِنَّمَا أَتْعَبَ الْمُرِيدِينَ بِالتَّنْقِيَةِ وَالتَّصْفِيَةِ لِلْمُعَامَلَةِ لِمَا بَقِيَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ الْخَفِيِّ وَالشَّهْوَةِ الْخَفِيَّةِ.

waʾikhlāṣu al-ʿubūdiyyati li-l-rubūbiyyati ʾashaddu min ʾikhlāṣi al-muʿāmalati ḍarūratan, ʾillā ʾanna man ruziqa al-maqāma minhā dakhala biḥaqīqati ʾikhlāṣi al-muʿāmalati ḍarūratan, falā yunaqqīhi walā yuṣaffīhi ʿamalun walā mujāhadatun fakānū mukhlaṣīna, wa-hādhā maqāmu al-muḥibbīna. waʾinnamā ʾatʿaba al-murīdīna bi-al-tanqiyati wa-al-taṣfiyati li-l-muʿāmalati limā baqiya ʿalayhim mina al-shirki al-khafiyyi wa-al-shahwati al-khafiyyati.

Necessarily, making servanthood sincere toward lordship is more demanding than making one's conduct sincere. Yet whoever is granted that station necessarily enters the reality of sincere conduct; no deed or struggle purifies or refines him. They are thus made pure: this is the station of lovers. Aspirants are wearied with purifying and refining their conduct only because hidden association and hidden desire remain in them.

كَمَا أَتْعَبَ خُدَّامَ الدُّنْيَا بِالْجَمْعِ لَهَا لِمَا اِسْتَرَقَّهُمْ مِنَ الْهَوَى، فَأَمَّا الْأَحْرَارُ فَهُمْ مِنْ خِدْمَةِ الْخَلْقِ بُرَآءُ، وَهَذَا يُذْهِبُ الْإِخْلَاصَ وَيُفْسِدُ النِّيَّةَ وَيُدْخِلُ الِانْتِقَاصَ. وَمَا تَلِفَ لَهُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ أَوْ ظُلِمَ مِنْ حَقِّهِ فَلْيَنْوِ بِذَلِكَ الذُّخْرَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلْيَجْعَلْهُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِحُسْنِ ظَنِّهِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَصِدْقِ يَقِينِهِ فَإِنَّ لَهُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ مَا نَوَى.

kamā ʾatʿaba khuddāma al-dunyā bi-al-jamʿi lahā limā istaraqqahum mina al-hawā, faʾammā al-ʾaḥrāru fahum min khidmati al-khalqi burāʾu, wa-hādhā yudhhibu al-ʾikhlāṣa wayufsidu al-niyyata wayudkhilu al-intiqāṣa. wamā talifa lahu min shayʾin ʾaw ẓulima min ḥaqqihi falyanwi bi-dhālika al-dhukhra ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā walyajʿalhu fī sabīli Allāhi biḥusni ẓannihi bi-Allāhi taʿālā waṣidqi yaqīnihi faʾinna lahu min dhālika mā nawā.

So too He wearies the world's servants with amassing for it, because desire has enslaved them. The free are innocent of serving creatures. Such service removes sincerity, corrupts intention, and introduces deficiency. Whatever property he loses or right he is wrongfully denied, let him intend it as a treasure stored with God Most High, and devote it to God's path through good expectation of God Most High and true certainty. He will have from it what he intended.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٥٦

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 256

Volume Two, page 256

حَدَّثُونَا عَنْ رَجُلٍ رُؤِيَ بَعْدَ وَفَاتِهِ فَسُئِلَ مِنْهُ: كَيْفَ رَأَيْتَ أَعْمَالَكَ؟ فَقَالَ: كُلُّ شَيْءٍ عَمِلْتُهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَجَدْتُهُ، حَتَّى حَبَّةَ رُمَّانٍ اِلْتَقَطْتُهَا مِنْ طَرِيقٍ، وَحَتَّى هِرَّةٍ مَاتَتْ لَنَا، رَأَيْتُ ذَلِكَ كُلَّهُ فِي كِفَّةِ الْحَسَنَاتِ. قَالَ: وَكَانَ فِي قَلَنْسُوَتِي خَيْطٌ مِنْ حَرِيرٍ فَرَأَيْتُهُ فِي كِفَّةِ السَّيِّئَاتِ.

ḥaddathūnā ʿan rajulin ruʾiya baʿda wafātihi fasuʾila minhu: kayfa raʾayta ʾaʿmālaka? faqāla: kullu shayʾin ʿamiltuhu li-llāhi taʿālā wajadtuhu, ḥattā ḥabbata rummānin iltaqaṭtuhā min ṭarīqin, waḥattā hirratin mātat lanā, raʾaytu dhālika kullahu fī kiffati al-ḥasanāti. qāla: wakāna fī qalansuwatī khayṭun min ḥarīrin faraʾaytuhu fī kiffati al-sayyiʾāti.

They told us of a man seen after his death who was asked, “How did you find your deeds?” He said, “Everything I did for God Most High I found, even a pomegranate seed I picked up from a road, and even a cat of ours that died. I saw all this in the scale of good deeds. But there was a silk thread in my cap, and I saw it in the scale of misdeeds.”

قَالَ: وَكَانَ قَدْ نَفَقَ لِي حِمَارٌ قِيمَتُهُ مِائَةُ دِينَارٍ فَمَا رَأَيْتُ لَهُ ثَوَابًا، فَقُلْتُ: مَوْتُ سِنَّوْرٍ فِي الْحَسَنَاتِ وَهَذَا حِمَارٌ قِيمَتُهُ مِائَةُ دِينَارٍ وَلَا أَدْرِي لَهُ ثَوَابًا؟ فَقِيلَ: إِنَّهُ وُجِّهَ حَيْثُ بَعَثْتَ بِهِ لِأَنَّكَ قُلْتَ لَمَّا قِيلَ لَكَ مَاتَ الْحِمَارُ فَقُلْتَ: فِي لَعْنَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، أَمَا بَطَلَ أَجْرُكَ؟ وَلَوْ قُلْتَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدْتَهُ فِي حَسَنَاتِكَ.

qāla: wakāna qad nafaqa lī ḥimārun qīmatuhu miʾatu dīnārin famā raʾaytu lahu thawāban, faqultu: mawtu sinnawrin fī al-ḥasanāti wa-hādhā ḥimārun qīmatuhu miʾatu dīnārin walā ʾadrī lahu thawāban? faqīla: ʾinnahu wujjiha ḥaythu baʿathta bihi liʾannaka qulta lammā qīla laka māta al-ḥimāru faqulta: fī laʿnati Allāhi taʿālā, ʾamā baṭala ʾajruka? walaw qulta fī sabīli Allāhi lawajadtahu fī ḥasanātika.

He said, “A donkey of mine worth a hundred dinars had died, but I saw no reward for it. I said, ‘A cat's death counts among good deeds, yet here is a donkey worth a hundred dinars and I know of no reward for it?’ I was told, ‘It was directed where you sent it. When told that the donkey had died, you said, “Into the curse of God Most High!” Has your reward not been lost? Had you said, “In God's path,” you would have found it among your good deeds.’”

وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ أُخْرَى قَالَ: وَتَصَدَّقْتُ يَوْمًا بِصَدَقَةٍ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فَأَعْجَبَنِي نَظَرُهُمْ إِلَيَّ فَوَجَدْتُهُ لَا عَلَيَّ وَلَا لِي. قَالَ سُفْيَانُ، وَقَدْ رَوَوْا هَذَا: مَا أَحْسَنَ حَالَهُ حَيْثُ وَجَدَهَا لَا لَهُ وَلَا عَلَيْهِ، قَدْ أُحْسِنَ إِلَيْهِ. وَمَنْ أُوذِيَ أَوِ اُغْتِيبَ فَلْيَحْتَسِبْ عِرْضَهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَلَعَلَّ ذَلِكَ يَكُونُ سَبَبًا لِنَجَاتِهِ.

wafī riwāyatin ʾukhrā qāla: wataṣaddaqtu yawman biṣadaqatin bayna al-nāsi faʾaʿjabanī naẓaruhum ʾilayya fawajadtuhu lā ʿalayya walā lī. qāla sufyānu, waqad rawaw hādhā: mā ʾaḥsana ḥālahu ḥaythu wajadahā lā lahu walā ʿalayhi, qad ʾuḥsina ʾilayhi. waman ʾūdhiya ʾawi ughtība falyaḥtasib ʿirḍahu ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā falaʿalla dhālika yakūnu sababan linajātihi.

In another version he said, “One day I gave charity in front of people and was pleased by their looking at me. I found it counted neither against me nor for me.” Sufyān said, when this was related, “How fortunate his condition, finding it neither for him nor against him! He was treated well.” Anyone harmed or backbitten should entrust his honor to God Most High in hope of reward; perhaps that will become the cause of his deliverance.

فَقَدْ رُوِيَ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيُحَاسَبُ عَلَى أَعْمَالِهِ كُلِّهَا فَتَبْطُلُ بِدُخُولِ الْآفَاتِ فِيهَا حَتَّى يَسْتَوْجِبَ النَّارَ، ثُمَّ يُنْشَرُ لَهُ أَعْمَالٌ مِنَ الْحَسَنَاتِ لَمْ يَكُنْ عَمِلَهَا فَيَسْتَوْجِبُ بِهِ الْجَنَّةَ فَيَعْجَبُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَيَقُولُ: يَا رَبِّ هَذِهِ أَعْمَالٌ مَا عَمِلْتُهَا؟ فَيُقَالُ: هِيَ أَعْمَالُ الَّذِينَ اِغْتَابُوكَ وَآذَوْكَ وَظَلَمُوكَ، جُعِلَتْ حَسَنَاتُهُمْ لَكَ.

faqad ruwiya ʾanna al-ʿabda layuḥāsabu ʿalā ʾaʿmālihi kullihā fatabṭulu bidukhūli al-ʾāfāti fīhā ḥattā yastawjiba al-nāra, thumma yunsharu lahu ʾaʿmālun mina al-ḥasanāti lam yakun ʿamilahā fayastawjibu bihi al-jannata fayaʿjabu min dhālika fayaqūlu: yā rabbi hādhihi ʾaʿmālun mā ʿamiltuhā? fayuqālu: hiya ʾaʿmālu alladhīna ightābūka waʾādhawka waẓalamūka, juʿilat ḥasanātuhum laka.

It is related that the servant is called to account for all his deeds, which are invalidated by defects that entered them, until he deserves the Fire. Then good deeds he never performed are laid out for him, and through this he deserves Paradise. Astonished, he says, “My Lord, these are deeds I did not perform!” He is told, “They are the deeds of those who backbit, harmed, and wronged you. Their good deeds have been assigned to you.”

وَلَا تَحْقِرَنَّ شَيْئًا مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ وَإِنْ قَلَّ فَتُخْلِيَهُ مِنَ النِّيَّةِ أَوْ تُصَغِّرَهُ فَرُبَّمَا كَانَ هَلَاكُهُ وَعَطَبُهُ فِيهِ وَهُوَ لَا يَعْلَمُ. وَقَدْ رَوَى اِبْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ: أَنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَتَعَلَّقُ بِالرَّجُلِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَيَقُولُ: بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، فَيَقُولُ: وَاللَّهِ مَا أَعْرِفُكَ، فَيَقُولُ: بَلَى أَنْتَ أَخَذْتَ مِنْ حَائِطِي تِبْنَةً، وَأَنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَتَعَلَّقُ بِالرَّجُلِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَيَقُولُ: هَذَا أَخَذَ مِنْ ثَوْبِي زُبَيْرَةً.

walā taḥqiranna shayʾan mina al-ʾaʿmāli waʾin qalla fatukhliyahu mina al-niyyati ʾaw tuṣaghghirahu farubbamā kāna halākuhu waʿaṭabuhu fīhi wahuwa lā yaʿlamu. waqad rawā ibnu al-mubāraki ʿani al-ḥasani: ʾanna al-rajula layataʿallaqu bi-al-rajuli yawma al-qiyāmati fayaqūlu: baynī wabaynaka Allāhu taʿālā, fayaqūlu: wa-Allāhi mā ʾaʿrifuka, fayaqūlu: balā ʾanta ʾakhadhta min ḥāʾiṭī tibnatan, waʾanna al-rajula layataʿallaqu bi-al-rajuli yawma al-qiyāmati fayaqūlu: hādhā ʾakhadha min thawbī zubayratan.

Never disdain a deed, however small, leaving it without intention or belittling it; a person's ruin and destruction may lie in it without his knowing. Ibn al-Mubārak related from al-Ḥasan that one man will seize another on the Day of Resurrection and say, “God Most High will judge between us!” The other says, “By God, I do not know you.” He replies, “Yes, you took a straw from my wall.” A man will seize another that day and say, “This man took a tuft from my garment.”

وَمَاتَ حَمَّادُ بْنُ أَبِي سُلَيْمَانَ وَكَانَ أَحَدَ عُلَمَاءِ أَهْلِ الْكُوفَةِ، فَقِيلَ لِلثَّوْرِيِّ: أَلَا تَشْهَدُ جَنَازَتَهُ؟ فَقَالَ: لَوْ كَانَتْ لِي نِيَّةٌ لَفَعَلْتُ. وَمَاتَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ فَلَمْ يَحْضُرِ اِبْنُ سِيرِينَ جَنَازَتَهُ فَسُئِلَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ: لَمْ يَكُنْ لِي نِيَّةٌ، وَقَدْ كَانَ الْعُلَمَاءُ إِذَا سُئِلُوا عَنْ عَمَلِ شَيْءٍ أَوْ سَعْيٍ فِيهِ يَقُولُونَ: إِنْ رَزَقَنَا اللَّهُ نِيَّةً فَعَلْنَا ذَلِكَ.

wamāta ḥammādu bnu ʾabī sulaymāna wakāna ʾaḥada ʿulamāʾi ʾahli al-kūfati, faqīla li-l-thawriyyi: ʾalā tashhadu janāzatahu? faqāla: law kānat lī niyyatun lafaʿaltu. wamāta al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu falam yaḥḍuri ibnu sīrīna janāzatahu fasuʾila ʿan dhālika faqāla: lam yakun lī niyyatun, waqad kāna al-ʿulamāʾu ʾidhā suʾilū ʿan ʿamali shayʾin ʾaw saʿyin fīhi yaqūlūna: ʾin razaqanā Allāhu niyyatan faʿalnā dhālika.

When Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān, one of the scholars of Kufa, died, al-Thawrī was asked, “Will you not attend his funeral?” He replied, “Had I an intention, I would.” When al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī died, Ibn Sīrīn did not attend his funeral. Asked why, he said, “I had no intention.” When scholars were asked to perform or pursue something, they used to say, “If God grants us an intention, we shall do it.”

وَقَالَ يَحْيَى بْنُ كَثِيرٍ: حُسْنُ النِّيَّةِ فِي الْعَمَلِ أَبْلَغُ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: كَانُوا يَسْتَحِبُّونَ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمْ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ نِيَّةٌ. وَقَالَ الْفُضَيْلُ بْنُ عِيَاضٍ: لَا تَتَحَدَّثْ إِلَّا بِنِيَّةٍ. وَكَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ: الْخَوْفُ عَلَى فَسَادِ النِّيَّةِ وَتَغَيُّرِهَا أَشَدُّ مِنْ تَرْكِ الْأَعْمَالِ.

waqāla yaḥyā bnu kathīrin: ḥusnu al-niyyati fī al-ʿamali ʾablaghu mina al-ʿamali. waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: kānū yastaḥibbūna ʾan yakūna lahum fī kulli shayʾin niyyatun. waqāla al-fuḍaylu bnu ʿiyāḍin: lā tataḥaddath ʾillā biniyyatin. wakāna baʿḍuhum yaqūlu: al-khawfu ʿalā fasādi al-niyyati wataghayyurihā ʾashaddu min tarki al-ʾaʿmāli.

Yaḥyā ibn Kathīr said, “A good intention in a deed reaches further than the deed.” Some early authorities said, “They liked to have an intention in everything.” Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ said, “Do not speak except with an intention.” Some used to say, “Fear that intention may be corrupted or altered is harder than leaving deeds undone.”

وَقَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ: مَنْ دَعَا رَجُلًا إِلَى طَعَامِهِ وَلَيْسَ لَهُ نِيَّةٌ فِي أَنْ يَأْكُلَ فَإِنْ أَجَابَهُ فَأَكَلَ فَعَلَيْهِ وِزْرَانِ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يُجِبْهُ فَعَلَيْهِ وِزْرٌ وَاحِدٌ، فَصَيَّرَ عَلَيْهِ وِزْرَيْنِ مَعَ أَكْلِ طَعَامِهِ بِغَيْرِ نِيَّةٍ، لِتَعَرُّضِهِ لِلْمَقْتِ وَحَمْلِهِ أَخَاهُ عَلَى مَا يَكْرَهُ إِذْ لَوْ عَلِمَ لَمَا أَجَابَهُ.

waqāla al-thawriyyu: man daʿā rajulan ʾilā ṭaʿāmihi walaysa lahu niyyatun fī ʾan yaʾkula faʾin ʾajābahu faʾakala faʿalayhi wizrāni, waʾin lam yujibhu faʿalayhi wizrun wāḥidun, faṣayyara ʿalayhi wizrayni maʿa ʾakli ṭaʿāmihi bighayri niyyatin, litaʿarruḍihi li-l-maqti waḥamlihi ʾakhāhu ʿalā mā yakrahu ʾidh law ʿalima lamā ʾajābahu.

Al-Thawrī said, “Whoever invites a man to his food without intending that he should eat bears two burdens of sin if the man accepts and eats, and one if he does not accept.” He thus assigned him two burdens when his food is eaten without his intending it: he exposes himself to abhorrence and induces his brother to do what he dislikes. Had the brother known, he would not have accepted.

فَمَنْ أَفْهَمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِخْلَاصَ النِّيَّةِ وَزَادَهُ مَعْرِفَةَ الْإِخْلَاصِ أَخْرَجَهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْهَرَبِ مِنَ النَّاسِ لِيَخْلُصَ لَهُ مُعَامَلَتُهُ، لِأَنَّهُ يَنْظُرُ بِعَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ، وَإِذًا لَا يَنْفَعُهُ شَيْءٌ إِلَّا شَيْءٌ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَا شِرْكَ فِيهِ لِسِوَاهُ. وَهَذَا الْمَعْنَى هُوَ الَّذِي أَخْرَجَ طَائِفَةَ الْأَبْدَالِ إِلَى الْكُهُوفِ تَخَلِّيًا مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا لِخَلَاصِ أَعْمَالِهِمْ مِنَ النَّظَرِ إِلَيْهِمْ، فَهُمْ وَإِنْ فَارَقُوا فَضَائِلَ الْأَعْمَالِ

faman ʾafhamahu Allāhu taʿālā ʾikhlāṣa al-niyyati wazādahu maʿrifata al-ʾikhlāṣi ʾakhrajahu dhālika ʾilā al-harabi mina al-nāsi liyakhluṣa lahu muʿāmalatuhu, liʾannahu yanẓuru biʿayni al-yaqīni, waʾidhan lā yanfaʿuhu shayʾun ʾillā shayʾun baynahu wabayna Allāhi ʿazza wajalla lā shirka fīhi lisiwāhu. wa-hādhā al-maʿnā huwa alladhī ʾakhraja ṭāʾifata al-ʾabdāli ʾilā al-kuhūfi takhalliyan min ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā likhalāṣi ʾaʿmālihim mina al-naẓari ʾilayhim, fahum waʾin fāraqū faḍāʾila al-ʾaʿmāli

Anyone whom God Most High enables to understand sincere intention and grants increased knowledge of sincerity is thereby led to flee people, so that his conduct may be pure. He looks with the eye of certainty, and then nothing benefits him except what lies between him and God, mighty and majestic, with no share for anyone else. This is what led a group of the spiritual substitutes to caves, withdrawing from worldly people to free their deeds from looking toward them. Although they relinquished meritorious deeds,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٥٧

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 257

Volume Two, page 257

مِنْ صَلَاةِ الْجَمَاعَةِ وَغَيْرِهَا فَقَدْ تَقَرَّرَ عِنْدَهُمْ أَنَّ اِجْتِنَابَ مَعْصِيَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ سَبْعِينَ طَاعَةً، فَلِذَلِكَ فَارَقُوا فُضُولَ النَّوَافِلِ خَشْيَةَ دُخُولِ مَعْصِيَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَالْجَاهِلُ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَعْمَلُ فِي طَلَبِ الْفَضَائِلِ وَلَا يُبَالِي بِيَسِيرِ الذُّنُوبِ وَفِيهَا بُعْدٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَلَيْسَ ذَلِكَ طَرِيقَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ.

min ṣalāti al-jamāʿati waghayrihā faqad taqarrara ʿindahum ʾanna ijtināba maʿṣiyatin wāḥidatin khayrun min ʿamali sabʿīna ṭāʿatan, fali-dhālika fāraqū fuḍūla al-nawāfili khashyata dukhūli maʿṣiyatin wāḥidatin ʿalayhim, wa-al-jāhilu bi-Allāhi ʿazza wajalla yaʿmalu fī ṭalabi al-faḍāʾili walā yubālī biyasīri al-dhunūbi wafīhā buʿdun mina Allāhi taʿālā, walaysa dhālika ṭarīqa al-muqarrabīna.

such as congregational prayer and others, they were convinced that avoiding one act of disobedience is better than performing seventy acts of obedience. They therefore relinquished additional devotions for fear that a single sin might enter upon them. One ignorant of God, mighty and majestic, works in pursuit of merits without caring about slight sins, though these distance him from God Most High. That is not the path of those brought near.

وَقَدْ تَخْتَلِفُ النِّيَّاتُ لِاِخْتِلَافِ الْمَقَاصِدِ فَيَصِيرُ مَا كَانَ بُعْدًا قُرْبًا بِحُسْنِ النِّيَّةِ وَمَا كَانَ حَسَنًا سَيِّئًا لِسُوءِ النِّيَّةِ بِهِ، مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ دَاوُدَ الْمُحَبَّرَ لَمَّا صَنَّفَ كِتَابَ الْعَمَلِ جَاءَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ فَطَلَبَهُ مِنْهُ فَنَظَرَ فِيهِ أَحْمَدُ صَفْحًا ثُمَّ رَدَّهُ إِلَيْهِ فَقَالَ: مَا لَكَ؟ فَقَالَ: فِيهِ أَسَانِيدُ ضُعَفَاءَ.

waqad takhtalifu al-niyyātu li-ikhtilāfi al-maqāṣidi fayaṣīru mā kāna buʿdan qurban biḥusni al-niyyati wamā kāna ḥasanan sayyiʾan lisūʾi al-niyyati bihi, min dhālika ʾanna dāwuda al-muḥabbara lammā ṣannafa kitāba al-ʿamali jāʾa ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin faṭalabahu minhu fanaẓara fīhi ʾaḥmadu ṣafḥan thumma raddahu ʾilayhi faqāla: mā laka? faqāla: fīhi ʾasānīdu ḍuʿafāʾa.

Intentions differ with purposes: what was distance becomes nearness through good intention, and what was good becomes evil through a bad intention. Thus, when Dāwūd al-Muḥabbar compiled the Book of Action, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal came and asked for it. Aḥmad glanced through it and returned it. “What is the matter?” he was asked. He replied, “It contains chains of transmission from weak transmitters.”

فَقَالَ لَهُ دَاوُدُ: أَنَا لَمْ أُخْرِجْهُ عَلَى أَسَانِيدَ فَاُنْظُرْ فِيهِ بِعَيْنِ الْخَبَرِ، إِنَّمَا نَظَرْتُ بِعَيْنِ الْعَمَلِ فَاِنْتَفَعْتُ بِهِ. قَالَ أَحْمَدُ: رُدَّهُ عَلَيَّ حَتَّى أَنْظُرَ فِيهِ بِالْعَيْنِ الَّتِي نَظَرْتَ بِهَا، فَرَدَّهُ عَلَيْهِ فَمَكَثَ الْكِتَابُ عِنْدَهُ طَوِيلًا حَتَّى اِقْتَضَاهُ إِيَّاهُ اِبْنُ الْمُحَبَّرِ ثُمَّ رَدَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَقَالَ: جَزَاكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا، قَدِ اِنْتَفَعْتُ بِهِ مَنْفَعَةً بَيِّنَةً.

faqāla lahu dāwudu: ʾanā lam ʾukhrijhu ʿalā ʾasānīda fa-unẓur fīhi biʿayni al-khabari, ʾinnamā naẓartu biʿayni al-ʿamali fa-intafaʿtu bihi. qāla ʾaḥmadu: ruddahu ʿalayya ḥattā ʾanẓura fīhi bi-al-ʿayni allatī naẓarta bihā, faraddahu ʿalayhi famakatha al-kitābu ʿindahu ṭawīlan ḥattā iqtaḍāhu ʾiyyāhu ibnu al-muḥabbari thumma raddahu ʿalayhi waqāla: jazāka Allāhu khayran, qadi intafaʿtu bihi manfaʿatan bayyinatan.

Dāwūd told him, “I did not produce it on the basis of chains of transmission, so look at it with an eye to the report. I looked with an eye to practice and benefited from it.” Aḥmad said, “Give it back so I may look with the eye with which you looked.” He returned it, and the book remained with Aḥmad a long time, until Ibn al-Muḥabbar asked for it back. Aḥmad then returned it, saying, “May God reward you with good. I have benefited from it greatly and clearly.”

وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: النِّيَّةُ أَبْلَغُ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ. وَقَالَ: اِبْنُ آدَمَ لَا يَهُمُّ بِخَيْرٍ إِلَّا ثَارَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِنْهُ نُورٌ، فَإِنْ كَانَتِ الْأُولَى لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَلَا تَضُرُّهُ الْآخِرَةُ، يَعْنِي إِنْ كَانَ عِنْدَهُ الْإِخْلَاصُ فِي الْخَيْرِ فِي الْهِمَّةِ الْأُولَى فَلَا تَضُرُّهُ الْوَسْوَسَةُ الَّتِي تُخَالِجُهُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَإِنَّهَا ضَعِيفَةٌ لَا تَحُلُّ قُوَّةَ الْعَقْدِ وَلَا تَحُلُّ مُحْكَمَ مُبْرَمِهِ.

waqāla al-ḥasanu: al-niyyatu ʾablaghu mina al-ʿamali. waqāla: ibnu ʾādama lā yahummu bikhayrin ʾillā thāra fī qalbihi minhu nūrun, faʾin kānati al-ʾūlā li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla falā taḍurruhu al-ʾākhiratu, yaʿnī ʾin kāna ʿindahu al-ʾikhlāṣu fī al-khayri fī al-himmati al-ʾūlā falā taḍurruhu al-waswasatu allatī tukhālijuhu baʿda dhālika faʾinnahā ḍaʿīfatun lā taḥullu quwwata al-ʿaqdi walā taḥullu muḥkama mubramihi.

Al-Ḥasan said, “Intention reaches further than action.” He also said, “Whenever a child of Adam intends good, a light rises from it in his heart. If the first impulse was for God, mighty and majestic, the later one does not harm him.” That is, if his initial resolve toward good was sincere, a whisper that subsequently troubles him does not harm him. It is weak and cannot undo the strength of his commitment or unravel what he has firmly bound.

وَقَالَ يُوسُفُ بْنُ أَسْبَاطٍ: تَخْلِيصُ النِّيَّةِ مِنْ فَسَادِهَا أَشَدُّ عَلَى الْعَامِلِينَ مِنْ طُولِ الِاجْتِهَادِ. وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ بَعْضِ الصُّوفِيَّةِ قَالَ: كُنْتُ قَائِمًا مَعَ أَبِي عُبَيْدٍ التُّسْتَرِيِّ وَهُوَ يَحْرُثُ أَرْضَهُ بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ مِنْ يَوْمِ عَرَفَةَ، فَمَرَّ بِهِ بَعْضُ إِخْوَانِهِ مِنَ الْأَبْدَالِ فَسَارَّهُ بِشَيْءٍ، فَقَالَ أَبُو عُبَيْدٍ: لَا، فَمَرَّ كَالسَّحَابِ يَمْسَحُ الْأَرْضَ حَتَّى غَابَ عَنْ عَيْنِي.

waqāla yūsufu bnu ʾasbāṭin: takhlīṣu al-niyyati min fasādihā ʾashaddu ʿalā al-ʿāmilīna min ṭūli al-ijtihādi. waḥaddathūnā ʿan baʿḍi al-ṣūfiyyati qāla: kuntu qāʾiman maʿa ʾabī ʿubaydin al-tustariyyi wahuwa yaḥruthu ʾarḍahu baʿda al-ʿaṣri min yawmi ʿarafata, famarra bihi baʿḍu ʾikhwānihi mina al-ʾabdāli fasārrahu bishayʾin, faqāla ʾabū ʿubaydin: lā, famarra ka-al-saḥābi yamsaḥu al-ʾarḍa ḥattā ghāba ʿan ʿaynī.

Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ said, “Freeing intention from corruption is harder for those who act than prolonged striving.” They told us that a Sufi said, “I was standing with Abū ʿUbayd al-Tustarī as he plowed his field after the afternoon prayer on the Day of ʿArafa. One of his brethren among the spiritual substitutes passed and whispered something to him. Abū ʿUbayd said, ‘No.’ The man then swept over the earth like a cloud until he vanished from my sight.”

فَقُلْتُ لِأَبِي عُبَيْدٍ: مَا قَالَ لَكَ؟ فَقَالَ: سَأَلَنِي أَنْ أَحُجَّ مَعَهُ فَقُلْتُ لَا، فَقَالَ: أَلَا فَعَلْتَ؟ قَالَ: لَيْسَ لِي فِي الْحَجِّ نِيَّةٌ وَقَدْ نَوَيْتُ أَنْ أُتَمِّمَ هَذِهِ الْأَرْضَ الْعَشِيَّةَ فَأَخَافُ إِنْ حَجَجْتُ مَعَهُ لِأَجْلِهِ أَتَعَرَّضُ لِمَقْتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِأَنِّي أُدْخِلُ فِي عَمَلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى شَيْئًا غَيْرَهُ فَيَكُونُ هَذَا عِنْدِي أَعْظَمَ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ حَجَّةً.

faqultu liʾabī ʿubaydin: mā qāla laka? faqāla: saʾalanī ʾan ʾaḥujja maʿahu faqultu lā, faqāla: ʾalā faʿalta? qāla: laysa lī fī al-ḥajji niyyatun waqad nawaytu ʾan ʾutammima hādhihi al-ʾarḍa al-ʿashiyyata faʾakhāfu ʾin ḥajajtu maʿahu liʾajlihi ʾataʿarraḍu limaqti Allāhi taʿālā liʾannī ʾudkhilu fī ʿamali Allāhi taʿālā shayʾan ghayrahu fayakūnu hādhā ʿindī ʾaʿẓama min sabʿīna ḥajjatan.

“I asked Abū ʿUbayd, ‘What did he say to you?’ He replied, ‘He asked me to make the pilgrimage with him, and I said no.’ Then came the question, ‘Why did you not?’ He said, ‘I have no intention for the pilgrimage. I intended to finish this field this evening. I fear that if I go with him for his sake, I will incur the abhorrence of God Most High by introducing something other than Him into work for God Most High. This is weightier to me than seventy pilgrimages.’”

وَمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ فِي مُبَاحٍ نِيَّةٌ وَلَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ نِيَّةٌ فِي فَضِيلَةٍ فَالْأَفْضَلُ هُوَ الْمُبَاحُ حِينَئِذٍ، وَقَدِ اِنْتَقَلَ الْمَعْنَى فَصَارَ الْمُبَاحُ هُوَ الْفَضِيلَةَ وَصَارَتِ الْفَضِيلَةُ هِيَ النَّقِيصَةَ لِعَدَمِ النِّيَّةِ، وَهَذَا لَا يَعْلَمُهُ إِلَّا الْعُلَمَاءُ بِبَاطِنِ الْعِلْمِ وَهُوَ غَوَامِضُ التَّصْرِيفِ.

waman kāna lahu fī mubāḥin niyyatun walam takun lahu niyyatun fī faḍīlatin fa-al-ʾafḍalu huwa al-mubāḥu ḥīnaʾidhin, waqadi intaqala al-maʿnā faṣāra al-mubāḥu huwa al-faḍīlata waṣārati al-faḍīlatu hiya al-naqīṣata liʿadami al-niyyati, wa-hādhā lā yaʿlamuhu ʾillā al-ʿulamāʾu bibāṭini al-ʿilmi wahuwa ghawāmiḍu al-taṣrīfi.

For someone who has an intention in a permissible act but none in a meritorious one, the permissible act is then better. The significance has shifted: the permissible becomes the merit, and the merit becomes the deficiency because intention is absent. Only those learned in knowledge's inward dimension understand this; it belongs to the hidden subtleties of divine direction.

مِثْلَ أَنْ يَكُونَ رَجُلٌ قَدْ ظُلِمَ فَلَهُ أَنْ يَنْتَصِرَ وَإِنْ عَفَا كَانَ أَفْضَلَ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ لَهُ نِيَّةٌ فِي الِانْتِصَارِ وَلَيْسَ لَهُ نِيَّةٌ فِي الْعَفْوِ فَالِانْتِصَارُ هُوَ الْأَفْضَلُ، وَمِثْلَ أَنْ تَكُونَ لَهُ نِيَّةٌ فِي الْأَكْلِ وَالشُّرْبِ وَالنَّوْمِ لِيَتَقَوَّى بِهَا عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ وَيُرِيحَ بِهَا نَفْسَهُ لِوَقْتٍ آخَرَ وَلَيْسَ لَهُ فِي الصَّوْمِ وَلَا فِي الْقِيَامِ نِيَّةٌ فَقَدْ صَارَ الْأَكْلُ وَالنَّوْمُ حِينَئِذٍ هُوَ الْأَفْضَلَ.

mithla ʾan yakūna rajulun qad ẓulima falahu ʾan yantaṣira waʾin ʿafā kāna ʾafḍala ʾillā ʾannahu lahu niyyatun fī al-intiṣāri walaysa lahu niyyatun fī al-ʿafwi fa-al-intiṣāru huwa al-ʾafḍalu, wamithla ʾan takūna lahu niyyatun fī al-ʾakli wa-al-shurbi wa-al-nawmi liyataqawwā bihā ʿalā al-ṭāʿati wayurīḥa bihā nafsahu liwaqtin ʾākhara walaysa lahu fī al-ṣawmi walā fī al-qiyāmi niyyatun faqad ṣāra al-ʾaklu wa-al-nawmu ḥīnaʾidhin huwa al-ʾafḍala.

For example, a wronged man may seek redress, though forgiving would ordinarily be better. If he has an intention for redress and none for forgiveness, redress is better. Likewise, if he intends to eat, drink, and sleep to strengthen himself for obedience and rest himself for another time, but has no intention for fasting or night prayer, then eating and sleeping have become better.

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ يَقُولُ: إِنِّي لَأَسْتَجِمُّ نَفْسِي بِبَعْضِ اللَّهْوِ لِيَكُونَ ذَلِكَ عَوْنًا لِي عَلَى الْحَقِّ. وَكُلُّ عَمَلٍ مُبَاحٍ لِلْعَبْدِ فِيهِ نِيَّةٌ فَهُوَ مَأْجُورٌ عَلَيْهِ، وَكُلُّ عَمَلٍ فَاضِلٍ لَا نِيَّةَ لِلْعَبْدِ فِيهِ فَأَحْسَنُ حَالِهِ السَّلَامَةُ مِنْهُ لَا لَهُ وَلَا عَلَيْهِ، وَرُبَّمَا كَانَ مَأْزُورًا فِيهِ إِذَا دَخَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ نِيَّةُ دُنْيَا، وَكَانَ عَمَلٌ مُبَاحٌ أَوْ فَضْلٌ لَيْسَ لِلْعَبْدِ فِيهِ نِيَّةٌ فَهُوَ غُفْلٌ لَا شَيْءَ لَهُ فِيهِ وَلَكِنَّهُ يُسْأَلُ عَنْ فَرَاغِ

waqad kāna ʾabū al-dardāʾi yaqūlu: ʾinnī laʾastajimmu nafsī bibaʿḍi al-lahwi liyakūna dhālika ʿawnan lī ʿalā al-ḥaqqi. wakullu ʿamalin mubāḥin li-l-ʿabdi fīhi niyyatun fahuwa maʾjūrun ʿalayhi, wakullu ʿamalin fāḍilin lā niyyata li-l-ʿabdi fīhi faʾaḥsanu ḥālihi al-salāmatu minhu lā lahu walā ʿalayhi, warubbamā kāna maʾzūran fīhi ʾidhā dakhalat ʿalayhi niyyatu dunyā, wakāna ʿamalun mubāḥun ʾaw faḍlun laysa li-l-ʿabdi fīhi niyyatun fahuwa ghuflun lā shayʾa lahu fīhi walakinnahu yusʾalu ʿan farāghi

Abū al-Dardāʾ used to say, “I refresh myself with a little diversion so that it may help me uphold what is right.” The servant is rewarded for every permissible deed in which he has an intention. For every meritorious deed in which he has none, his best outcome is to escape unharmed, with nothing for or against him. He may even incur sin if a worldly intention enters. A permissible or meritorious deed without an intention is unmarked, with nothing to his credit, but he is questioned about his unused

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٥٨

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 258

Volume Two, page 258

وَقْتِهِ، وَكُلُّ عَمَلٍ فَاضِلٍ لِلْعَبْدِ فِيهِ نِيَّةٌ فَالْعَمَلُ بَاطِلٌ وَنِيَّتُهُ هَوًى، وَإِنَّمَا وَجَدَ النِّيَّةَ فِيهِ الْقُصُورُ وَاِخْتِفَاءٌ لِشُهْرَتِهِ، فَإِنْ أَرَادَ بِهِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى سَلِمَ مِنْ عَاقِبَتِهِ وَلَا فَضِيلَةَ لَهُ بِهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ قَدْ خَفِيَ عَلَيْهِ الْهَوَى أَوْ دَقَّ عَلَيْهِ لَطِيفُ حُبِّ الدُّنْيَا لِجَهْلِهِ بِالْعِلْمِ فَهُوَ مَأْثُومٌ فِيهِ لِتَقْصِيرِهِ فِي طَلَبِ الْعِلْمِ الَّذِي يَعْرِفُ بِهِ الْإِخْلَاصَ وَسُكُوتِهِ عَلَى الْجَهْلِ الَّذِي يَدْخُلُ مِنْهُ الِانْتِقَاصُ وَلَا عُذْرَ لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ.

waqtihi, wakullu ʿamalin fāḍilin li-l-ʿabdi fīhi niyyatun fa-al-ʿamalu bāṭilun waniyyatuhu hawan, waʾinnamā wajada al-niyyata fīhi al-quṣūru wa-ikhtifāʾun lishuhratihi, faʾin ʾarāda bihi wajha Allāhi taʿālā salima min ʿāqibatihi walā faḍīlata lahu bihi, waʾin kāna qad khafiya ʿalayhi al-hawā ʾaw daqqa ʿalayhi laṭīfu ḥubbi al-dunyā lijahlihi bi-al-ʿilmi fahuwa maʾthūmun fīhi litaqṣīrihi fī ṭalabi al-ʿilmi alladhī yaʿrifu bihi al-ʾikhlāṣa wasukūtihi ʿalā al-jahli alladhī yadkhulu minhu al-intiqāṣu walā ʿudhra lahu fī dhālika.

time. Every meritorious deed in which the servant has an intention is a void deed, and his intention is desire; deficiency and concealment of its renown alone have supplied the intention in it. If he seeks by it the face of God Most High, he escapes its consequence but gains no merit. If desire has been hidden from him, or subtle love of the world has escaped his notice through ignorance of knowledge, he is sinful for neglecting the knowledge by which sincerity is recognized and remaining silent in the ignorance through which deficiency enters. He has no excuse for this.

وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَا يَعْذِرُ عَلَى الْجَهْلِ وَلَا يَحِلُّ لِلْجَاهِلِ أَنْ يَسْكُتَ عَلَى جَهْلِهِ وَلَا لِلْعَالِمِ أَنْ يَسْكُتَ عَنْ عِلْمِهِ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿فَاِسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ النَّحْلِ: 43.

waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari ʾanna Allāha taʿālā lā yaʿdhiru ʿalā al-jahli walā yaḥillu li-l-jāhili ʾan yaskuta ʿalā jahlihi walā li-l-ʿālimi ʾan yaskuta ʿan ʿilmihi, waqad qāla Allāhu subḥānahu taʿālā: ﴿fa-isʾalū ʾahla al-dhikri ʾin kuntum lā taʿlamūna﴾ al-naḥli: 43.

A report says that God Most High does not excuse ignorance, and that it is not lawful for the ignorant to remain silent about his ignorance or for the learned to remain silent about his knowledge. God, glorified is He, Most High, said, “Ask the people of remembrance if you do not know” (al-Naḥl 16:43).

وَقَدْ كَانَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى سُئِلَ: مَا عُصِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِمَعْصِيَةٍ أَعْظَمَ مِنَ الْجَهْلِ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، قِيلَ: مَا هُوَ؟ قَالَ: الْجَهْلُ بِالْجَهْلِ، يَعْنِي أَنْ يَكُونَ الْعَبْدُ جَاهِلًا وَهُوَ لَا يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ جَاهِلٌ أَوْ يَحْسَبَ بِجَهْلِهِ أَنَّهُ عَالِمٌ فَيَسْكُتَ عَنْ جَهْلِهِ وَيَرْضَى بِهِ فَلَا يَتَعَلَّمَ فَيُضَيِّعَ فَرْضَ الْفَرَائِضِ وَأَصْلَ الْفَرَائِضِ كُلِّهَا وَهُوَ طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ.

waqad kāna sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā suʾila: mā ʿuṣiya Allāhu taʿālā bimaʿṣiyatin ʾaʿẓama mina al-jahli? qāla: naʿam, qīla: mā huwa? qāla: al-jahlu bi-al-jahli, yaʿnī ʾan yakūna al-ʿabdu jāhilan wahuwa lā yaʿlamu ʾannahu jāhilun ʾaw yaḥsaba bijahlihi ʾannahu ʿālimun fayaskuta ʿan jahlihi wayarḍā bihi falā yataʿallama fayuḍayyiʿa farḍa al-farāʾiḍi waʾaṣla al-farāʾiḍi kullihā wahuwa ṭalabu al-ʿilmi.

Sahl, may God Most High have mercy on him, was asked, “Has God Most High been disobeyed through any offense greater than ignorance?” He said, “Yes.” Asked what it was, he replied, “Ignorance of ignorance.” This means that a servant is ignorant without knowing it, or in his ignorance supposes himself learned. He remains silent and content with his ignorance, fails to learn, and neglects the obligation underlying all obligations and their entire foundation: seeking knowledge.

وَلَعَلَّهُ أَنْ يُفْتِيَ بِالْجَهْلِ أَوْ يَتَكَلَّمَ بِالشُّبُهَاتِ وَهُوَ يَظُنُّ أَنَّهُ عِلْمٌ فَهَذَا أَعْظَمُ مِنْ سُكُوتِهِ، وَكَذَلِكَ أَيْضًا مَا أُطِيعَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِمِثْلِ الْعِلْمِ، وَمِنَ الْعِلْمِ الْعِلْمُ بِالْعِلْمِ أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ؟ وَذَلِكَ أَيْضًا وَاجِبٌ مِنْ حَيْثُ كَانَ الْعِلْمُ وَاجِبًا لِيَكُونَ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ مِنْ تَعَلُّمِ الْعِلْمِ.

walaʿallahu ʾan yuftiya bi-al-jahli ʾaw yatakallama bi-al-shubuhāti wahuwa yaẓunnu ʾannahu ʿilmun fa-hādhā ʾaʿẓamu min sukūtihi, wa-kadhālika ʾayḍan mā ʾuṭīʿa Allāhu taʿālā bimithli al-ʿilmi, wamina al-ʿilmi al-ʿilmu bi-al-ʿilmi ʾayyu shayʾin huwa? wa-dhālika ʾayḍan wājibun min ḥaythu kāna al-ʿilmu wājiban liyakūna ʿalā baṣīratin min taʿallumi al-ʿilmi.

He may even issue rulings in ignorance or speak doubtful notions while supposing them knowledge; this is worse than his silence. Likewise, nothing equals knowledge as a means of obeying God Most High. Part of knowledge is knowing knowledge itself: what is it? This too is obligatory, since knowledge is obligatory, so that one learns with clear insight.

لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ دَخَلَ مَذْهَبُ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ وَأَقْوَالُ الْغَالِطِينَ مِنَ الصُّوفِيَّةِ وَالْقُصَّاصِ فِي شُبُهَاتِ الْعِلْمِ فَصَارَ زُخْرُفًا مِنَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا يُشْبِهُ الْعِلْمَ وَلَيْسَ بِعِلْمٍ لِاِلْتِبَاسِ الْمَعْنَى بَعْضِهِ بِبَعْضٍ وَلِإِشْكَالِ دَقَائِقِ الْعُلُومِ وَغَرَائِبِهِ وَخَفَاءِ السُّنَّةِ مِنْ طَرِيقَةِ عُلَمَاءِ السَّلَفِ.

liʾannahu qad dakhala madhhabu al-mutakallimīna waʾaqwālu al-ghāliṭīna mina al-ṣūfiyyati wa-al-quṣṣāṣi fī shubuhāti al-ʿilmi faṣāra zukhrufan mina al-qawli ghurūran yushbihu al-ʿilma walaysa biʿilmin li-iltibāsi al-maʿnā baʿḍihi bibaʿḍin waliʾishkāli daqāʾiqi al-ʿulūmi wagharāʾibihi wakhafāʾi al-sunnati min ṭarīqati ʿulamāʾi al-salafi.

The approach of speculative theologians and the sayings of mistaken Sufis and storytellers have entered the ambiguities of knowledge, becoming embellished, deceptive speech that resembles knowledge but is not knowledge. Meanings become confused with one another, the fine and unusual points of the sciences are difficult, and the Sunna in the path of the early scholars is obscured.

فَاِخْتَلَطَ لِذَلِكَ الْقُصَّاصُ وَالْمُتَكَلِّمُونَ بِالْعُلَمَاءِ فَصَارَ مَعْرِفَةُ الْعِلْمِ أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ وَالْعِلْمُ بِالْعَالِمِ مَنْ هُوَ عِلْمٌ آخَرُ، وَصَارَ الْعَالِمُ بِالْعِلْمِ مَا هُوَ دُونَ الزُّخْرُفِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ كَأَنَّهُ عَالِمٌ، فَكَانَ أَيْضًا الْعِلْمُ بِالْمُعَلِّمِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ فَضْلِ الْعِلْمِ وَوَجَبَ وُجُوبَهُ كَمَا كَانَ الْجَهْلُ بِالْجَهْلِ أَعْظَمَ مِنَ الْجَهْلِ.

fa-ikhtalaṭa li-dhālika al-quṣṣāṣu wa-al-mutakallimūna bi-al-ʿulamāʾi faṣāra maʿrifatu al-ʿilmi ʾayyu shayʾin huwa wa-al-ʿilmu bi-al-ʿālimi man huwa ʿilmun ʾākharu, waṣāra al-ʿālimu bi-al-ʿilmi mā huwa dūna al-zukhrufi mina al-qawli kaʾannahu ʿālimun, fakāna ʾayḍan al-ʿilmu bi-al-muʿallimi bimanzilati faḍli al-ʿilmi wawajaba wujūbahu kamā kāna al-jahlu bi-al-jahli ʾaʿẓama mina al-jahli.

Storytellers and speculative theologians have consequently become mixed up with scholars. Knowing what knowledge is and knowing who the scholar is have become another field of knowledge. The one who knows what knowledge is, distinct from embellished speech, is as it were himself a scholar. Knowledge of the teacher thus has the standing of knowledge's merit and is obligatory as knowledge is, just as ignorance of ignorance is worse than ignorance itself.

وَقَدْ كَانَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: قَسْوَةُ الْقَلْبِ بِالْجَهْلِ مِنْ قَسْوَتِهِ بِالْمَعَاصِي لِأَنَّ الْجَهْلَ ظُلْمَةٌ لَا يَنْفَعُ الْبَصَرُ فِيهِ شَيْئًا وَنُورُ الْعِلْمِ يَهْتَدِي بِهِ الْقَاصِدُ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَمْشِ. وَقَدْ قِيلَ فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَبَدَا لَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَحْتَسِبُونَ﴾ الزُّمَرِ: 47، قَالَ: عَمِلُوا أَعْمَالًا لِجَهْلِهِمْ ظَنُّوا أَنَّهَا حَسَنَاتٌ فَوَجَدُوهَا سَيِّئَاتٍ.

waqad kāna sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: qaswatu al-qalbi bi-al-jahli min qaswatihi bi-al-maʿāṣī liʾanna al-jahla ẓulmatun lā yanfaʿu al-baṣaru fīhi shayʾan wanūru al-ʿilmi yahtadī bihi al-qāṣidu waʾin lam yamshi. waqad qīla fī tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿wabadā lahum mina Allāhi mā lam yakūnū yaḥtasibūna﴾ al-zumari: 47, qāla: ʿamilū ʾaʿmālan lijahlihim ẓannū ʾannahā ḥasanātun fawajadūhā sayyiʾātin.

Sahl, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say, “The heart's hardness through ignorance is of its hardness through sins, for ignorance is darkness in which sight is of no use. By the light of knowledge, the seeker finds his way even if he has not walked.” Concerning the words of God Most High, “There appeared to them from God what they had not reckoned on” (al-Zumar 39:47), it has been explained: in their ignorance they performed deeds they thought good, but found them to be misdeeds.

وَقِيلَ: ذُنُوبُ غَيْرِهِمْ طُرِحَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَعُذِّبُوا بِهَا وَلَمْ يَكُونُوا يَحْتَسِبُونَ بِهَا فِي الدُّنْيَا، يَعْنِي هَذَا مِثْلَ مَا رُوِيَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَرَى مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِ الْحَسَنَاتِ مِمَّا يَرْجُو بِهِ الْمَنَازِلَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَتُلْقَى عَلَيْهِ سَيِّئَاتٌ لَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا فَتَرْجَحُ بِحَسَنَاتِهِ كُلِّهَا فَيَسْتَوْجِبُ النَّارَ فَيَقُولُ: يَا رَبِّ هَذِهِ سَيِّئَاتٌ مَا عَمِلْتُهَا هَلَكْتُ بِهَا.

waqīla: dhunūbu ghayrihim ṭuriḥat ʿalayhim faʿudhdhibū bihā walam yakūnū yaḥtasibūna bihā fī al-dunyā, yaʿnī hādhā mithla mā ruwiya fī al-khabari: ʾanna al-ʿabda layarā min ʾaʿmālihi al-ḥasanāti mimmā yarjū bihi al-manāzila fī al-jannati fatulqā ʿalayhi sayyiʾātun lam yaʿmalhā fatarjaḥu biḥasanātihi kullihā fayastawjibu al-nāra fayaqūlu: yā rabbi hādhihi sayyiʾātun mā ʿamiltuhā halaktu bihā.

Another explanation is that others' sins were cast upon them and they were punished for sins they had not reckoned on in this world. This is like the report that a servant sees good deeds of his own through which he hopes for stations in Paradise, but misdeeds he never performed are cast upon him. They outweigh all his good deeds, and he deserves the Fire. He says, “My Lord, these are misdeeds I never did, yet they have ruined me!”

فَيَقُولُ: هَذِهِ ذُنُوبُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِي اِغْتَبْتَهُمْ وَآذَيْتَهُمْ وَظَلَمْتَهُمْ أُلْقِيَتْ عَلَيْكَ وَتَخَلَّصُوا مِنْهَا. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي مَعْنَاهُ حَدِيثًا مُسْنَدًا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيُوَافِي الْقِيَامَةَ بِحَسَنَاتٍ أَمْثَالِ الْجِبَالِ لَوْ خَلَصَتْ لَهُ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ، وَيَأْتِي قَدْ ظَلَمَ هَذَا وَشَتَمَ هَذَا وَضَرَبَ هَذَا فَيُقْتَصُّ لِهَذَا مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ وَلِهَذَا مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ حَتَّى لَا تَبْقَى لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ، فَتَقُولُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ: يَا

fayaqūlu: hādhihi dhunūbu al-qawmi alladhī ightabtahum waʾādhaytahum waẓalamtahum ʾulqiyat ʿalayka watakhallaṣū minhā. waqad rawaynā fī maʿnāhu ḥadīthan musnadan ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: «ʾanna al-ʿabda layuwāfī al-qiyāmata biḥasanātin ʾamthāli al-jibāli law khalaṣat lahu dakhala al-jannata, wayaʾtī qad ẓalama hādhā washatama hādhā waḍaraba hādhā fayuqtaṣṣu li-hādhā min ḥasanātihi wali-hādhā min ḥasanātihi ḥattā lā tabqā lahu ḥasanatun, fataqūlu al-malāʾikatu: yā

He says, “These are the sins of the people you backbit, harmed, and wronged. They were cast upon you, and those people were freed of them.” We have related a report with a chain of transmission to the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, conveying this meaning: “A servant comes to the Resurrection with good deeds like mountains; if they remained wholly his, he would enter Paradise. But he has wronged this person, insulted that one, and struck another. Good deeds are taken from him for this person and that until none remains. The angels say, ‘Our

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٥٩

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 259

Volume Two, page 259

رَبَّنَا قَدْ فَنِيَتْ حَسَنَاتُهُ وَقَدْ بَقِيَ طَالِبُونَ كَثِيرٌ، فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: أَلْقُوا عَلَيْهِ مِنْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ ثُمَّ صُكُّوا لَهُ صَكًّا إِلَى النَّارِ». وَيَنْبَغِي لِلْعَبْدِ إِنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ عَمَلًا أَنْ يَثْبُتَ لَهُ فَيُجَدِّدَ لَهُ نِيَّةً حَسَنَةً ثُمَّ يَقِفَ وَقْفَةً فَيَتَفَقَّدَ هَلْ يَدْخُلُ عَلَيْهِ فِي ذَلِكَ آفَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ أَوْ أَكْثَرُ فَيُخْرِجَ مَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْآفَاتِ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْيَقِينِ.

rabbanā qad faniyat ḥasanātuhu waqad baqiya ṭālibūna kathīrun, fayaqūlu Allāhu taʿālā: ʾalqū ʿalayhi min sayyiʾātihim thumma ṣukkū lahu ṣakkan ʾilā al-nāri». wayanbaghī li-l-ʿabdi ʾin ʾarāda ʾan yaʿmala ʿamalan ʾan yathbuta lahu fayujaddida lahu niyyatan ḥasanatan thumma yaqifa waqfatan fayatafaqqada hal yadkhulu ʿalayhi fī dhālika ʾāfatun wāḥidatun ʾaw ʾaktharu fayukhrija mā dakhala ʿalayhi mina al-ʾāfāti bimushāhadati al-yaqīni.

Lord, his good deeds are exhausted, and many claimants remain.’ God Most High says, ‘Cast some of their misdeeds upon him, then issue him a writ to the Fire.’” If the servant wishes to perform a deed that will remain to his credit, he should renew a good intention for it, then pause and inspect whether one defect or more is entering it. He should expel whatever defects have entered through the witnessing of certainty.

ثُمَّ يَعْمَلُ ذَلِكَ الْعَمَلَ لِلَّهِ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ فِي قَصْدِهِ وَوَجْدِهِ وَطَلَبِهِ وَثَوَابِهِ ثُمَّ يَسْتَقِيمُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ الْعَمَلِ، فَإِنْ دَخَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ آفَةٌ فِي خَلَلِهِ نَفَاهَا حَتَّى يَكُونَ قَائِمًا بِشَهَادَتِهِ، فَهَذَا هُوَ الْإِخْلَاصُ لِأَنَّ الْمُخْلِصَ يَحْتَاجُ فِي إِخْلَاصِهِ إِلَى شَيْئَيْنِ لَيْسَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْلَى بِهِ مِنَ الْآخَرِ.

thumma yaʿmalu dhālika al-ʿamala li-llāhi waḥdahu lā sharīka lahu fī qaṣdihi wawajdihi waṭalabihi wathawābihi thumma yastaqīmu ʿalā dhālika al-ʿamali, faʾin dakhalat ʿalayhi ʾāfatun fī khalalihi nafāhā ḥattā yakūna qāʾiman bishahādatihi, fa-hādhā huwa al-ʾikhlāṣu liʾanna al-mukhliṣa yaḥtāju fī ʾikhlāṣihi ʾilā shayʾayni laysa ʾaḥaduhumā ʾawlā bihi mina al-ʾākhari.

Then he performs that deed for God alone, with no partner to Him in his purpose, inward feeling, seeking, or reward, and remains steadfast in it. If a defect enters during it, he dispels it so that he stands firm in his witnessing. This is sincerity, for a sincere person needs two things in his sincerity, neither more requisite than the other:

صِحَّةِ الْقَصْدِ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَطَلَبِهِ مَا عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ، ثُمَّ إِخْرَاجِ الْآفَاتِ وَالْحَذَرِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ الْعَمَلِ مِنْ دُخُولِهَا عَلَيْهِ إِلَى فَرَاغِهِ مِنْهُ، فَبِذَلِكَ يَتِمُّ إِخْلَاصُهُ وَيَصْفُو مِنْ كُدْرَةِ الْهَوَى وَيَخْلُصُ مِنَ الشَّهْوَةِ الْخَفِيَّةِ فَيَكُونُ خَالِصًا مِنَ الرِّيَاءِ بِالْإِخْلَاصِ صَافِيًا مِنَ الشَّهْوَةِ يَتَفَقَّدُ دُخُولَ الْآفَةِ.

ṣiḥḥati al-qaṣdi liwajhi Allāhi taʿālā waṭalabihi mā ʿindahu mina al-ʾākhirati, thumma ʾikhrāji al-ʾāfāti wa-al-ḥadhari ʿalā dhālika al-ʿamali min dukhūlihā ʿalayhi ʾilā farāghihi minhu, fabi-dhālika yatimmu ʾikhlāṣuhu wayaṣfū min kudrati al-hawā wayakhluṣu mina al-shahwati al-khafiyyati fayakūnu khāliṣan mina al-riyāʾi bi-al-ʾikhlāṣi ṣāfiyan mina al-shahwati yatafaqqadu dukhūla al-ʾāfati.

sound purpose toward the face of God Most High and seeking what He has of the hereafter; then expelling defects and guarding the deed against their entry until its completion. By this his sincerity is perfected, he is purified of desire's murkiness and freed of hidden appetite. Through sincerity he is free of ostentation, clear of appetite, and watchful for a defect's entry.

كَمَا رُوِيَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: «أَخْوَفُ مَا أَخَافُ عَلَى أُمَّتِي الرِّيَاءُ وَالشَّهْوَةُ الْخَفِيَّةُ»، قِيلَ: حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا، وَقِيلَ: الْعَمَلُ لِأَنَّهُ يُؤْجَرُ الْعَبْدُ وَيُحْمَدُ. ثُمَّ إِذَا هَمَّ الْعَبْدُ بِعَمَلٍ وَقَفَ قَبْلَهُ وَقْفَةً فَتَدَبَّرَهُ وَتَفَكَّرَ كَمْ فِيهِ مِنْ نِيَّةٍ فَرُبَّمَا وَجَدَ فِي الْعَمَلِ الْوَاحِدِ عَشْرَ نِيَّاتٍ أَوْ خَمْسًا وَمَا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ لِمَا يَحْتَمِلُ ذَلِكَ الْعَمَلُ مِنْ وُجُوهِ الْبِرِّ وَمَعَانِي الْقُرُبَاتِ الْمَنْدُوبِ إِلَيْهَا.

kamā ruwiya fī al-khabari: «ʾakhwafu mā ʾakhāfu ʿalā ʾummatī al-riyāʾu wa-al-shahwatu al-khafiyyatu», qīla: ḥubbu al-dunyā, waqīla: al-ʿamalu liʾannahu yuʾjaru al-ʿabdu wayuḥmadu. thumma ʾidhā hamma al-ʿabdu biʿamalin waqafa qablahu waqfatan fatadabbarahu watafakkara kam fīhi min niyyatin farubbamā wajada fī al-ʿamali al-wāḥidi ʿashra niyyātin ʾaw khamsan wamā bayna dhālika limā yaḥtamilu dhālika al-ʿamalu min wujūhi al-birri wamaʿānī al-qurubāti al-mandūbi ʾilayhā.

As the report says, “What I most fear for my community is ostentation and hidden appetite.” This is explained as love of the world, or as action, because the servant receives reward and praise. When a servant resolves on a deed, he should first pause, consider it, and reflect on how many intentions it contains. He may find ten intentions in one deed, or five, or something between, according to the forms of piety and recommended approaches to God that the deed can bear.

فَيَكُونُ لَهُ بِكُلِّ نِيَّةٍ عَمَلٌ فَيُؤْجَرُ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ الْوَاحِدِ عَشْرَةَ أُجُورٍ لِأَنَّهُ عَشْرَةُ أَعْمَالٍ أَوْ خَمْسَةٌ، يَكُونُ لِكُلِّ نِيَّةٍ عَمَلٌ وَبِكُلِّ عَمَلٍ أَجْرٌ، وَهُوَ مِنْ فَضَائِلِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَتَضَاعِيفِ الْحَسَنَاتِ وَلَا يَعْلَمُهُ إِلَّا الْعُلَمَاءُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَحْكَامِهِ، وَهُوَ طَرِيقُ الْأَبْدَالِ مِنْ صَالِحِي أَهْلِ الْأَحْوَالِ.

fayakūnu lahu bikulli niyyatin ʿamalun fayuʾjaru ʿalā al-ʿamali al-wāḥidi ʿashrata ʾujūrin liʾannahu ʿashratu ʾaʿmālin ʾaw khamsatun, yakūnu likulli niyyatin ʿamalun wabikulli ʿamalin ʾajrun, wahuwa min faḍāʾili al-ʾaʿmāli wataḍāʿīfi al-ḥasanāti walā yaʿlamuhu ʾillā al-ʿulamāʾu bi-Allāhi taʿālā waʾaḥkāmihi, wahuwa ṭarīqu al-ʾabdāli min ṣāliḥī ʾahli al-ʾaḥwāli.

Each intention counts as a deed for him, so he receives ten rewards for a single deed, since it is ten deeds, or five. Each intention has a deed, and each deed a reward. This belongs to the merits of deeds and the multiplication of good works, known only to those learned in God Most High and His rulings. It is the path of the spiritual substitutes among the righteous possessors of spiritual states.

فَبِذَلِكَ زَكَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ وَاِرْتَفَعَتْ مَقَامَاتُهُمْ وَكَثُرَتْ أُجُورُهُمْ وَحَسُنَتْ حَالَاتُهُمْ لَا بِكَثْرَةِ الْأَعْمَالِ لَكِنْ بِتَحْسِينِهَا وَوُجُودِ النِّيَّاتِ الْكَثِيرَةِ فِيهَا. وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ: «مَنْ عَمِلَ عَمَلًا لَا يُرِيدُ بِهِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ لَمْ يَزَلْ فِي مَقْتٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ حَتَّى يَفْرُغَ». وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْأُدَبَاءِ: مَنْ لَمْ يَشْكُرْ لَكَ حُسْنَ النِّيَّةِ فِيهِ لَمْ يَشْكُرْ لَكَ حُسْنَ الصَّنِيعَةِ إِلَيْهِ، وَأَنْشَدُوا فِي مَعْنَاهُ:

fabi-dhālika zakat ʾaʿmāluhum wa-irtafaʿat maqāmātuhum wakathurat ʾujūruhum waḥasunat ḥālātuhum lā bikathrati al-ʾaʿmāli lākin bitaḥsīnihā wawujūdi al-niyyāti al-kathīrati fīhā. waqad jāʾa fī al-ʾathari: «man ʿamila ʿamalan lā yurīdu bihi wajha Allāhi lam yazal fī maqtin mina Allāhi ḥattā yafrugha». waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʾudabāʾi: man lam yashkur laka ḥusna al-niyyati fīhi lam yashkur laka ḥusna al-ṣanīʿati ʾilayhi, waʾanshadū fī maʿnāhu:

Through this their deeds grow pure, their stations rise, their rewards multiply, and their states improve: through improving deeds and holding many intentions within them, rather than merely performing many deeds. A transmitted saying states, “Whoever performs a deed without seeking God's face remains under God's abhorrence until he finishes.” A man of letters said, “Whoever does not thank you for your good intention toward him will not thank you for your kindness to him.” They recited on this theme:

لَأَشْكُرَنَّكَ مَعْرُوفًا هَمَمْتَ بِهِ ... إِنَّ اِهْتِمَامَكَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ مَعْرُوفٌ

laʾashkurannaka maʿrūfan hamamta bihi ... ʾinna ihtimāmaka bi-al-maʿrūfi maʿrūfun

I shall thank you for the kindness you intended: your intention to do kindness is itself a kindness.

وَلَا أَلُومُكَ إِذَا لَمْ يُمْضِهِ قَدَرٌ ... فَالشَّيْءُ بِالْقَدَرِ الْمَكْتُوبِ مَصْرُوفٌ

walā ʾalūmuka ʾidhā lam yumḍihi qadarun ... fa-al-shayʾu bi-al-qadari al-maktūbi maṣrūfun

I do not blame you if destiny did not bring it about: every matter is directed by the written decree.

وَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي تَجْدِيدِ النِّيَّةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَتَفَقُّدِ الْهِمَّةِ الْعَالِيَةِ إِلَّا أَنَّ صَاحِبَهَا لَا يَزَالُ عَامِلًا مِنْ عُمَّالِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِقَلْبِهِ وَهَمِّهِ وَإِنْ لَمْ يُسَاعِدْهُ الْقَدَرُ عَلَى الْأَفْعَالِ بِجَوَارِحِهِ فَيَكُونُ أَبَدًا مَأْجُورًا، وَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي نِيَّةِ الشَّرِّ وَالْهِمَّةِ الدَّنِيَّةِ إِلَّا أَنَّ صَاحِبَهَا فِي بَطَالَةٍ وَخَسَارَةٍ وَإِنْ لَمْ يُسَاعِدْهُ الْمَقْدُورُ عَلَى الْأَفْعَالِ السَّيِّئَةِ بِجَوَارِحِهِ فَيَكُونُ خَاسِرًا أَبَدًا مَأْزُورًا، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ.

walaw lam yakun fī tajdīdi al-niyyati al-ḥasanati watafaqqudi al-himmati al-ʿāliyati ʾillā ʾanna ṣāḥibahā lā yazālu ʿāmilan min ʿummāli Allāhi taʿālā biqalbihi wahammihi waʾin lam yusāʿidhu al-qadaru ʿalā al-ʾafʿāli bijawāriḥihi fayakūnu ʾabadan maʾjūran, walaw lam yakun fī niyyati al-sharri wa-al-himmati al-daniyyati ʾillā ʾanna ṣāḥibahā fī baṭālatin wakhasāratin waʾin lam yusāʿidhu al-maqdūru ʿalā al-ʾafʿāli al-sayyiʾati bijawāriḥihi fayakūnu khāsiran ʾabadan maʾzūran, wanaʿūdhu bi-Allāhi min dhālika.

Even if renewing a good intention and watching over lofty resolve had no other benefit, their possessor would remain a worker among the workers of God Most High through his heart and purpose, even when destiny did not enable his limbs to act; he would always be rewarded. And even if evil intention and base resolve had no other effect, their possessor would remain in idleness and loss, even when the decree did not enable his limbs to do evil; he would always be a loser bearing sin. We seek refuge in God from that.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٦٠

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 260

Volume Two, page 260

وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: إِنِّي لَأَسْتَعِدُّ النِّيَّةَ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَبْلَ الدُّخُولِ فِيهِ حَتَّى فِي أَكْلِي وَنَوْمِي وَدُخُولِي الْخَلَاءَ. وَالنِّيَّةُ فِي هَذَا التَّقَوِّي عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ وَالِاسْتِعَانَةُ بِهِ عَلَى الْخِدْمَةِ لِأَنَّ النَّفْسَ مَطِيَّتُكَ إِنْ قَطَعْتَ بِهَا قَطَعَتْ بِكَ، وَنِيَّةُ التَّطَهُّرِ مِنَ التَّخَلِّي لِأَجْلِ الدِّينِ.

waqāla baʿḍuhum: ʾinnī laʾastaʿiddu al-niyyata fī kulli shayʾin qabla al-dukhūli fīhi ḥattā fī ʾaklī wanawmī wadukhūlī al-khalāʾa. wa-al-niyyatu fī hādhā al-taqawwī ʿalā al-ṭāʿati wa-al-istiʿānatu bihi ʿalā al-khidmati liʾanna al-nafsa maṭiyyatuka ʾin qaṭaʿta bihā qaṭaʿat bika, waniyyatu al-taṭahhuri mina al-takhallī liʾajli al-dīni.

One of them said, “I prepare an intention for everything before entering it, even eating, sleeping, and going to relieve myself.” The intention in this is to strengthen oneself for obedience and seek assistance for service, for the self is your mount: if you exhaust it, it will leave you stranded. There is also the intention of purification through relieving oneself for religion's sake.

فَكَانَ النَّاسُ لِشِدَّةِ تَفَقُّدِهِمْ وَحُسْنِ رِعَايَتِهِمْ صَادِقِينَ فِي تَرْكِ كَثِيرٍ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ لِضَعْفِ النِّيَّةِ وَيَعْمَلُونَ فِي إِحْكَامِ الْأَصْلِ. قَالَ اِبْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ: إِنَّمَا حُرِمُوا الْوُصُولَ لِتَضْيِيعِ الْأُصُولِ، وَالنِّيَّةُ أَصْلُ الْأُصُولِ لِأَنَّهَا فَرْضُ الْفَرَائِضِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: إِنَّمَا أَبْعَدَ الْقَلْبَ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مَظَاهِرُ أَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ بِغَيْرِ مُوَاطَأَةٍ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ بِصِحَّةِ الْقَصْدِ، يَعْنِي بِذَلِكَ نَقْصَ الْإِخْلَاصِ بِهَا لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى.

fakāna al-nāsu lishiddati tafaqqudihim waḥusni riʿāyatihim ṣādiqīna fī tarki kathīrin min ʾaʿmāli al-birri liḍaʿfi al-niyyati wayaʿmalūna fī ʾiḥkāmi al-ʾaṣli. qāla ibnu ʿuyaynata: ʾinnamā ḥurimū al-wuṣūla litaḍyīʿi al-ʾuṣūli, wa-al-niyyatu ʾaṣlu al-ʾuṣūli liʾannahā farḍu al-farāʾiḍi. waqāla baʿḍuhum: ʾinnamā ʾabʿada al-qalba mina Allāhi ʿazza wajalla maẓāhiru ʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi bighayri muwāṭaʾatin mina al-qalbi biṣiḥḥati al-qaṣdi, yaʿnī bi-dhālika naqṣa al-ʾikhlāṣi bihā liʾajli Allāhi tabāraka wataʿālā.

Because of their searching scrutiny and careful watchfulness, people were truthful in leaving many acts of piety undone when intention was weak, working instead to secure the foundation. Ibn ʿUyayna said, “They were denied arrival only because they neglected the foundations.” Intention is the foundation of foundations, the obligation underlying obligations. One of them said, “What distances the heart from God, mighty and majestic, is outward bodily action without the heart's concurrence in sound purpose,” meaning deficient sincerity in performing it for God, blessed and exalted.

فَالنِّكَاحُ مِنْ مُعْظَمِ شَأْنِ الدِّينِ فَنِيَّتُهُ فِيهِ أَنْ لَا يَتَزَوَّجَ الْمَرْأَةَ لِجَمَالِهَا وَلَا لِمَالِهَا وَلَا لِحُسْنِهَا بَلْ لِدِينِهَا وَعَقْلِهَا ثُمَّ يَنْوِي السُّنَّةَ لَهَا وَالْعِفَّةَ وَالتَّحْصِينَ لَهُمَا وَيَقْنَعُ بِالْمَرْأَةِ الدُّونِ عَنْ غَيْرِهَا. وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: «مَنْ نَكَحَ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَأَنْكَحَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى اِسْتَحَقَّ وِلَايَةَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى».

fa-al-nikāḥu min muʿẓami shaʾni al-dīni faniyyatuhu fīhi ʾan lā yatazawwaja al-marʾata lijamālihā walā limālihā walā liḥusnihā bal lidīnihā waʿaqlihā thumma yanwī al-sunnata lahā wa-al-ʿiffata wa-al-taḥṣīna lahumā wayaqnaʿu bi-al-marʾati al-dūni ʿan ghayrihā. wafī al-khabari: «man nakaḥa li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla waʾankaḥa li-llāhi taʿālā istaḥaqqa wilāyata Allāhi taʿālā».

Marriage is among religion's weightiest matters. His intention should be to marry a woman for her religion and intelligence, rather than her beauty, wealth, or attractiveness; then to intend the Sunna for her, and chastity and protection for them both. He should be content with a woman of modest standing instead of seeking another. The report says, “Whoever marries for God, mighty and majestic, and gives in marriage for God Most High deserves the protecting friendship of God Most High.”

وَأَفْضَلُ الْأَعْمَالِ مَا دَخَلَ فِيهِ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَخَرَجَ مِنْهُ لِلَّهِ وَلَمْ يَعْتَوِرْهُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ عِلَّةٌ، وَأَعْلَى مِنْ هَذَا مَنْ دَخَلَ فِي الْأَعْمَالِ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَثَبَتَ فِيهَا مَعَ اللَّهِ وَخَرَجَ مِنْهَا بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ وَالْعَارِفِينَ.

waʾafḍalu al-ʾaʿmāli mā dakhala fīhi li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla wakharaja minhu li-llāhi walam yaʿtawirhu baʿda dhālika ʿillatun, waʾaʿlā min hādhā man dakhala fī al-ʾaʿmāli bi-Allāhi ʿazza wajalla wathabata fīhā maʿa Allāhi wakharaja minhā bi-Allāhi taʿālā, wa-hādhā maqāmu al-muwaḥḥidīna mina al-mūqinīna wa-al-ʿārifīna.

The best deeds are entered for God, mighty and majestic, and completed for God, with no ailment assailing them afterward. Higher still is the person who enters deeds through God, mighty and majestic, remains in them with God, and emerges from them through God Most High. This is the station of those who affirm divine unity among the people of certainty and knowledge of God.

فَأَصَحُّ الْأَعْمَالِ وَأَخْلَصُهَا مَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ فِي أَوَّلِهَا وَمَعَ الْعَامِلِ فِي أَوْسَطِهَا وَالْعَبْدُ عِنْدَهُ فِيهَا وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى هُوَ الْآخِرُ عِنْدَ آخِرِهَا ثُمَّ لَا يُظْهِرُهَا بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ وَلَا يَتَظَاهَرُ بِهَا وَلَا يُطَالِعُ عِوَضًا عَنْهَا مِنَ الْكِبْرِ الْأَكْبَرِ بَلْ يَنْسَاهَا وَيَشْتَغِلُ بِذِكْرِ مَوْلَاهُ عَنْهَا.

faʾaṣaḥḥu al-ʾaʿmāli waʾakhlaṣuhā mā kāna li-llāhi tabāraka wataʿālā huwa al-ʾawwalu fī ʾawwalihā wamaʿa al-ʿāmili fī ʾawsaṭihā wa-al-ʿabdu ʿindahu fīhā wa-Allāhu taʿālā huwa al-ʾākhiru ʿinda ʾākhirihā thumma lā yuẓhiruhā baʿda dhālika walā yataẓāharu bihā walā yuṭāliʿu ʿiwaḍan ʿanhā mina al-kibri al-ʾakbari bal yansāhā wayashtaghilu bidhikri mawlāhu ʿanhā.

The soundest and purest deeds belong to God, blessed and exalted: He is the First at their beginning and with the doer in their midst, while the servant is with Him in them, and God Most High is the Last at their end. Afterward the servant does not reveal them, display them, or look for compensation in the greatest arrogance. He forgets them and is occupied with remembering his Master instead.

وَالْقُعُودُ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ شَأْنِ الدِّينِ وَفَضَائِلِ أَعْمَالِ الْمُتَّقِينَ فَلْيَكُنْ لَهُ فِيهِ عَشْرُ نِيَّاتٍ، مِنْهَا زِيَارَةُ مَوْلَاهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي بَيْتِهِ كَمَا رُوِيَ: «مَنْ قَعَدَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ فَقَدْ زَارَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَحَقٌّ عَلَى الْمَزُورِ إِكْرَامُ زَائِرِهِ»، وَمِنْهَا اِنْتِظَارُ الصَّلَاةِ بَعْدَ الصَّلَاةِ كَمَا رُوِيَ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَرَابِطُوا﴾ وَهِيَ الْمُرَابَطَةُ.

wa-al-quʿūdu fī al-masājidi min ʾafḍali shaʾni al-dīni wafaḍāʾili ʾaʿmāli al-muttaqīna falyakun lahu fīhi ʿashru niyyātin, minhā ziyāratu mawlāhu ʿazza wajalla fī baytihi kamā ruwiya: «man qaʿada fī al-masjidi faqad zāra Allāha taʿālā waḥaqqun ʿalā al-mazūri ʾikrāmu zāʾirihi», waminhā intiẓāru al-ṣalāti baʿda al-ṣalāti kamā ruwiya fī maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿warābiṭū﴾ wahiya al-murābaṭatu.

Sitting in mosques is among religion's finest practices and the meritorious deeds of the God-fearing. Let him have ten intentions in it. One is visiting his Master, mighty and majestic, in His house, as related: “Whoever sits in the mosque has visited God Most High, and the one visited owes honor to his visitor.” Another is awaiting one prayer after another, as related in explanation of the words of God Most High, “Remain stationed”: this is the vigil of steadfast readiness.

وَمِنْهَا كَفُّ سَمْعِهِ وَبَصَرِهِ وَتَرَهُّبُهُ فِي تَأَلُّهِهِ كَمَا رُوِيَ: «رَهْبَانِيَّةُ أُمَّتِي الْقُعُودُ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ»، وَمِنْهَا الْعُكُوفُ وَحَقِيقَتُهُ عُكُوفُ الْهَمِّ عَلَى الْقَلْبِ وَعُكُوفُ السِّرِّ بِالتَّأَلُّهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَمِنْهَا ذِكْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَاِسْتِمَاعُ ذِكْرِهِ وَالتَّذْكِيرُ بِهِ كَمَا رُوِيَ: «مَنْ غَدَا إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ يَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَيُذَكِّرُ بِهِ كَانَ كَالْمُجَاهِدِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ».

waminhā kaffu samʿihi wabaṣarihi watarahhubuhu fī taʾalluhihi kamā ruwiya: «rahbāniyyatu ʾummatī al-quʿūdu fī al-masājidi», waminhā al-ʿukūfu waḥaqīqatuhu ʿukūfu al-hammi ʿalā al-qalbi waʿukūfu al-sirri bi-al-taʾalluhi ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla, waminhā dhikru Allāhi taʿālā wa-istimāʿu dhikrihi wa-al-tadhkīru bihi kamā ruwiya: «man ghadā ʾilā al-masjidi yadhkuru Allāha taʿālā wayudhakkiru bihi kāna ka-al-mujāhidi fī sabīli Allāhi».

Another is restraining hearing and sight and practicing renunciation in worship, as related: “My community's monasticism is sitting in mosques.” Another is devoted retreat, whose reality is the purpose remaining fixed upon the heart and the inward secret remaining fixed in worship toward God, mighty and majestic. Others are remembering God Most High, listening to His remembrance, and reminding others of Him, as related: “Whoever goes early to the mosque to remember God Most High and remind others of Him is like one striving in God's path.”

وَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ إِذَا جَلَسَ لِيُعَلِّمَ عِلْمًا أَوْ يَتَعَلَّمَهُ كَانَ أَيْضًا كَالْمُجَاهِدِ أَوْ جَلَسَ لِاِسْتِفَادَةِ أَخٍ فِي اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَوْ لِتَنَزُّلِ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ أَوْ لِتَرْكِ الذُّنُوبِ لِلْخَشْيَةِ وَالْحَيَاءِ، كَمَا رَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ: «مَنْ أَدْمَنَ الِاخْتِلَافَ إِلَى الْمَسَاجِدِ رَزَقَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِحْدَى سَبْعِ خِصَالٍ».

wamithlu dhālika ʾidhā jalasa liyuʿallima ʿilman ʾaw yataʿallamahu kāna ʾayḍan ka-al-mujāhidi ʾaw jalasa li-istifādati ʾakhin fī Allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʾaw litanazzuli raḥmati Allāhi ʾaw litarki al-dhunūbi li-l-khashyati wa-al-ḥayāʾi, kamā rawaynā fī ḥadīthi al-ḥasani bni ʿaliyyin ʿalayhimā al-salāmu: «man ʾadmana al-ikhtilāfa ʾilā al-masājidi razaqahu Allāhu taʿālā ʾiḥdā sabʿi khiṣālin».

Likewise, if he sits to teach or learn knowledge, he is like one striving; or he may sit to gain a brother in God, mighty and majestic, for God's mercy to descend, or to abandon sins through awe and modesty. As we related in the report of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī, peace be upon them both: “Whoever regularly frequents mosques is granted by God Most High one of seven qualities:

أَخًا مُسْتَفَادًا فِي اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَوْ رَحْمَةً مُسْتَنْزَلَةً أَوْ عِلْمًا مُسْتَظْرَفًا أَوْ كَلِمَةً تَدُلُّهُ عَلَى هُدًى أَوْ تَصْرِفُهُ عَنْ رَدًى أَوْ تَرْكَ الذُّنُوبِ خَشْيَةً أَوْ حَيَاءً مِنْهُ». فَإِخْلَاصُ النِّيَّةِ هُوَ بِخُرُوجِ أَضْدَادِهَا مِنَ الْقَلْبِ وَعَنِ الْقَصْدِ وَالْهِمَّةِ وَإِنْ كَثُرَ أَعْدَادُهُ

ʾakhan mustafādan fī Allāhi taʿālā ʾaw raḥmatan mustanzalatan ʾaw ʿilman mustaẓrafan ʾaw kalimatan tadulluhu ʿalā hudan ʾaw taṣrifuhu ʿan radan ʾaw tarka al-dhunūbi khashyatan ʾaw ḥayāʾan minhu». faʾikhlāṣu al-niyyati huwa bikhurūji ʾaḍdādihā mina al-qalbi waʿani al-qaṣdi wa-al-himmati waʾin kathura ʾaʿdāduhu

“A brother gained in God Most High; mercy brought down; fresh and treasured knowledge; a word guiding him to right guidance or turning him from ruin; or abandoning sins through awe or through modesty before Him.” Sincerity of intention consists in its opposites departing from the heart, purpose, and resolve, however numerous its aspects,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٦١

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 261

Volume Two, page 261

لِتَنْفَرِدَ النِّيَّةُ بِقَصْدِهَا وَيَخْلُصَ الْعَمَلُ بِانْفِرَادِ النِّيَّةِ لِوَجْهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْفَرْدِ الْمَقْصُودِ بِهَا. يُرْوَى عَنْ بَعْضِهِمْ قَالَ: غَزَوْتُ فِي الْبَحْرِ فَعَرَضَ بَعْضُنَا مِخْلَاةً فَقُلْتُ: أَشْتَرِيهَا وَأَنْتَفِعُ بِهَا فِي غَزَاتِي فَإِذَا دَخَلْتُ مَدِينَةَ كَذَا بِعْتُهَا فَرَبِحْتُ فِيهَا فَاِشْتَرَيْتُهَا.

litanfarida al-niyyatu biqaṣdihā wayakhluṣa al-ʿamalu binfirādi al-niyyati liwajhi al-wāḥidi al-fardi al-maqṣūdi bihā. yurwā ʿan baʿḍihim qāla: ghazawtu fī al-baḥri faʿaraḍa baʿḍunā mikhlātan faqultu: ʾashtarīhā waʾantafiʿu bihā fī ghazātī faʾidhā dakhaltu madīnata kadhā biʿtuhā farabiḥtu fīhā fa-ishtaraytuhā.

so that intention is undivided in its purpose and the deed becomes pure through intention's exclusive direction toward the face of the One, the Unique, whom it seeks. One of them is reported to have said, “I went on a sea expedition, and one of us offered a feedbag for sale. I thought, ‘I shall buy it and use it during my expedition, then sell it at a profit when I enter such-and-such a town.’ So I bought it.”

فَرَأَيْتُ تِلْكَ اللَّيْلَةَ فِي النَّوْمِ كَأَنَّ شَخْصَيْنِ نَزَلَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا لِصَاحِبِهِ: اُكْتُبِ الْغُزَاةَ فَأَمْلَى عَلَيْهِ، اُكْتُبْ: خَرَجَ فُلَانٌ مُتَنَزِّهًا وَفُلَانٌ مُرَائِيًا وَفُلَانٌ تَاجِرًا وَفُلَانٌ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، ثُمَّ نَظَرَ إِلَيَّ فَقَالَ: اُكْتُبْ: خَرَجَ فُلَانٌ تَاجِرًا.

faraʾaytu tilka al-laylata fī al-nawmi kaʾanna shakhṣayni nazalā mina al-samāʾi faqāla ʾaḥaduhumā liṣāḥibihi: uktubi al-ghuzāta faʾamlā ʿalayhi, uktub: kharaja fulānun mutanazzihan wafulānun murāʾiyan wafulānun tājiran wafulānun fī sabīli Allāhi, thumma naẓara ʾilayya faqāla: uktub: kharaja fulānun tājiran.

“That night I dreamed that two figures descended from heaven. One said to the other, ‘Record the expeditioners,’ and dictated: ‘Write: So-and-so went for recreation, so-and-so to be seen, so-and-so as a trader, and so-and-so in God's path.’ Then he looked at me and said, ‘Write: So-and-so went as a trader.’”

فَقُلْتُ: اللَّهَ اللَّهَ فِيَّ، وَاللَّهِ مَا خَرَجْتُ أَتَّجِرُ وَلَا مَعِي تِجَارَةٌ أَتَّجِرُ فِيهَا مَا خَرَجْتُ إِلَّا لِلْغَزْوِ، فَقَالَ لِي: يَا شَيْخُ قَدِ اِشْتَرَيْتَ أَمْسِ مِخْلَاةً تُرِيدُ أَنْ تَرْبَحَ فِيهَا، فَبَكَيْتُ وَقُلْتُ: لَا تَكْتُبُونِي تَاجِرًا فَنَظَرَ إِلَى صَاحِبِهِ وَقَالَ: مَا تَرَى؟ فَقَالَ: اُكْتُبْ: خَرَجَ فُلَانٌ غَازِيًا إِلَّا أَنَّهُ اِشْتَرَى فِي طَرِيقِهِ مِخْلَاةً لِيَرْبَحَ فِيهَا حَتَّى يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِيهِ مَا يَرَى.

faqultu: Allāha Allāha fiyya, wa-Allāhi mā kharajtu ʾattajiru walā maʿī tijāratun ʾattajiru fīhā mā kharajtu ʾillā li-l-ghazwi, faqāla lī: yā shaykhu qadi ishtarayta ʾamsi mikhlātan turīdu ʾan tarbaḥa fīhā, fabakaytu waqultu: lā taktubūnī tājiran fanaẓara ʾilā ṣāḥibihi waqāla: mā tarā? faqāla: uktub: kharaja fulānun ghāziyan ʾillā ʾannahu ishtarā fī ṭarīqihi mikhlātan liyarbaḥa fīhā ḥattā yaḥkuma Allāhu ʿazza wajalla fīhi mā yarā.

“I said, ‘God, God! Have regard for me! By God, I did not set out to trade, and I have no merchandise to trade in. I came only for the expedition.’ He told me, ‘Old man, yesterday you bought a feedbag intending to profit from it.’ I wept and said, ‘Do not record me as a trader.’ He looked at his companion and asked, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘Write: So-and-so went on an expedition, but bought a feedbag on his way to profit from it, until God, mighty and majestic, judges him as He sees fit.’”

فَصْلٌ

faṣlun

Section

وَمِنَ الْمَنَاقِصِ الْمُشَبَّهَةِ لِلْفَضَائِلِ الْمُلْتَبِسَةِ عَلَى الْأَفَاضِلِ لِشُهْرَةِ فَضْلِهَا وَرَوْعَةِ الْهُمُومِ لِلدُّخُولِ فِيهَا وَالتَّصَبُّرِ عَلَيْهَا وَهِيَ مُنْكَشِفَةٌ لِلْعُلَمَاءِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى، مَا رُوِيَ أَنَّ رَجُلَيْنِ تَآخَيَا فِي اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بَعْدَ رَفْعِ عِيسَى بْنِ مَرْيَمَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَتَرَهَّبَ أَحَدُهُمَا وَهُوَ سَرْجِسُ وَلَزِمَ أَخُوهُ الْآخَرُ الْجَمَاعَةَ وَالْمَسَاجِدَ وَمُخَالَطَةَ النَّاسِ وَكَانَ أَعْلَمَ مِنْهُ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

wamina al-manāqiṣi al-mushabbahati li-l-faḍāʾili al-multabisati ʿalā al-ʾafāḍili lishuhrati faḍlihā warawʿati al-humūmi li-l-dukhūli fīhā wa-al-taṣabburi ʿalayhā wahiya munkashifatun li-l-ʿulamāʾi bi-Allāhi taʿālā, mā ruwiya ʾanna rajulayni taʾākhayā fī Allāhi ʿazza wajalla baʿda rafʿi ʿīsā bni maryama ʾilā al-samāʾi fatarahhaba ʾaḥaduhumā wahuwa sarjisu walazima ʾakhūhu al-ʾākharu al-jamāʿata wa-al-masājida wamukhālaṭata al-nāsi wakāna ʾaʿlama minhu bi-Allāhi ʿazza wajalla.

Among deficiencies resembling merits, which confuse even the virtuous because of their celebrated excellence, the stirring of aspirations to enter them, and the endurance they require, yet are clear to those learned in God Most High, is the following report. After Jesus son of Mary was raised to heaven, two men became brothers in God, mighty and majestic. One, Sarjis, became a monk; the other adhered to the congregation, mosques, and association with people. He knew God, mighty and majestic, better than his brother.

وَكَانَ يَلْقَى أَخَاهُ سَرْجِسَ فَيَقُولُ: يَا أَخِي إِنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ الَّذِي دَخَلْتَ فِيهِ بِدْعَةٌ وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكَ فِيهِ رِعَايَةً لَا تَقُومُ بِحَقِّهَا وَإِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لِلَّهِ فِيهِ رِضًا، فَلَوْ دَخَلْتَ مَعِي فِي الْجَمَاعَةِ وَالْإِلْفَةِ كَانَ ذَلِكَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى رِضًا وَأَصَبْتَ السُّنَّةَ. فَكَانَ الْمُتَرَهِّبُ يُعْرِضُ عَنْهُ وَلَا يَعْبَأُ بِرَأْيِهِ وَيَقُولُ لَهُ: إِنَّكَ قَدْ رَكَنْتَ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا وَأَنِسْتَ بِالْخَلْقِ.

wakāna yalqā ʾakhāhu sarjisa fayaqūlu: yā ʾakhī ʾinna hādhā al-ʾamra alladhī dakhalta fīhi bidʿatun waʾinna ʿalayka fīhi riʿāyatan lā taqūmu biḥaqqihā waʾinnahu laysa li-llāhi fīhi riḍan, falaw dakhalta maʿī fī al-jamāʿati wa-al-ʾilfati kāna dhālika li-llāhi taʿālā riḍan waʾaṣabta al-sunnata. fakāna al-mutarahhibu yuʿriḍu ʿanhu walā yaʿbaʾu biraʾyihi wayaqūlu lahu: ʾinnaka qad rakanta ʾilā al-dunyā waʾanista bi-al-khalqi.

He would meet his brother Sarjis and say, “Brother, this course you have entered is an innovation. It requires a vigilance whose due you cannot fulfill, and God takes no pleasure in it. If you joined me in congregation and fellowship, that would please God Most High and accord with the Sunna.” The monk turned away, disregarded his counsel, and said, “You have leaned toward the world and become at ease with creatures.”

فَلَمَّا أَعْيَاهُ قَالَ لَهُ: فَاِجْعَلْ فِطْرَكَ عِنْدِي اللَّيْلَةَ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ ذَلِكَ فَفَعَلَ، فَقَدَّمَ إِلَيْهِ فَرْخَيْنِ شَوَاهُمَا وَقَالَ لَهُ: تَعَالَ حَتَّى نَجْعَلَ هَٰذَيْنِ الْفَرْخَيْنِ قَاضِيَيْنِ بَيْنَنَا. قَالَ: حَتَّى يَدْعُوَ اللَّهَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنَّا فَمَنْ كَانَ سِيرَتُهُ وَهَدْيُهُ أَحَبَّ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ يَبْعَثُ بِدُعَائِهِ هَٰذَيْنِ الْفَرْخَيْنِ حَتَّى يَطِيرَا حَيَّيْنِ، قَالَ: نَعَمْ فَاُدْعُ أَنْتَ.

falammā ʾaʿyāhu qāla lahu: fa-ijʿal fiṭraka ʿindī al-laylata ḥattā yatabayyana dhālika fafaʿala, faqaddama ʾilayhi farkhayni shawāhumā waqāla lahu: taʿāla ḥattā najʿala hādhayni al-farkhayni qāḍiyayni baynanā. qāla: ḥattā yadʿuwa Allāha kullu wāḥidin minnā faman kāna sīratuhu wahadyuhu ʾaḥabba ʾilā Allāhi warasūlihi yabʿathu biduʿāʾihi hādhayni al-farkhayni ḥattā yaṭīrā ḥayyayni, qāla: naʿam fa-udʿu ʾanta.

When he could make no headway, he said, “Break your fast with me tonight, so this may become clear.” He agreed. His brother served two roasted young birds and said, “Come, let us make these two birds judges between us.” He said, “Let each of us pray to God: whichever one's conduct and guidance is dearer to God and His Messenger, may He raise these birds at his prayer so that they fly alive.” He replied, “Yes; you pray first.”

فَدَعَا الرَّاهِبُ فَقَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كَانَ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ الَّذِي دَخَلْتُ فِيهِ أُرِيدُ بِهِ رِضَاكَ أَقْرَبَ إِلَى الْحَقِّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونِي إِلَيْهِ أَخِي هَذَا فَاِبْعَثْ هَٰذَيْنِ الْفَرْخَيْنِ إِلَيَّ، قَالَ: فَلَمْ يُجَبْ. فَقَالَ الْآخَرُ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كَانَ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ الَّذِي تَمَسَّكْتُ بِهِ وَخَالَفْتُ فِيهِ هَذَا وَأَصْحَابَهُ أَقْرَبَ إِلَى الْحَقِّ وَأَرْضَاهُمَا عِنْدَكَ مِمَّا يَدْعُونِي إِلَيْهِ أَخِي هَذَا مِنَ الِاعْتِزَالِ وَالْفُرْقَةِ لِلْجَمَاعَةِ فَاِبْعَثْ لِي هَٰذَيْنِ الْفَرْخَيْنِ.

fadaʿā al-rāhibu faqāla: Allāhumma ʾin kāna hādhā al-ʾamru alladhī dakhaltu fīhi ʾurīdu bihi riḍāka ʾaqraba ʾilā al-ḥaqqi mimmā yadʿūnī ʾilayhi ʾakhī hādhā fa-ibʿath hādhayni al-farkhayni ʾilayya, qāla: falam yujab. faqāla al-ʾākharu: Allāhumma ʾin kāna hādhā al-ʾamru alladhī tamassaktu bihi wakhālaftu fīhi hādhā waʾaṣḥābahu ʾaqraba ʾilā al-ḥaqqi waʾarḍāhumā ʿindaka mimmā yadʿūnī ʾilayhi ʾakhī hādhā mina al-iʿtizāli wa-al-furqati li-l-jamāʿati fa-ibʿath lī hādhayni al-farkhayni.

The monk prayed, “O God, if this course I entered seeking Your pleasure is closer to the truth than what this brother of mine invites me to, raise these two birds for me.” The narrator said that he was not answered. The other said, “O God, if the course to which I have held, differing from this man and his companions, is closer to the truth and more pleasing to You than the withdrawal and separation from the congregation to which my brother invites me, raise these two birds for me.”

قَالَ: فَصَارَا حَيَّيْنِ فَطَارَا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَعَلِمَ الْأَخُ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ لَيْسَ لِلَّهِ رِضًا فَرَجَعَ إِلَى الْجَمَاعَةِ وَالْمَسَاجِدِ. وَمِنِ اِلْتِبَاسِ الْفَضَائِلِ الْعَالِيَةِ تَرْكُ الْعَبْدِ حَالَهُ فِي مَقَامِهِ طَلَبًا لِلْفَضِيلَةِ لِيَزْدَادَ بِهَا قُرْبًا إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَيَنْقَلِبُ عَلَيْهِ فَيَهْلِكَ، مَا أَدْخَلَ الْعَدُوُّ عَلَى بَرْصِيصَا الْعَابِدِ فِي تَعْلِيمِ الِاسْمِ الْأَعْظَمِ وَقِصَّتُهُ مَشْهُورَةٌ.

qāla: faṣārā ḥayyayni faṭārā biʾidhni Allāhi taʿālā, faʿalima al-ʾakhu ʾanna dhālika laysa li-llāhi riḍan farajaʿa ʾilā al-jamāʿati wa-al-masājidi. wamini iltibāsi al-faḍāʾili al-ʿāliyati tarku al-ʿabdi ḥālahu fī maqāmihi ṭalaban li-l-faḍīlati liyazdāda bihā qurban ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla fayanqalibu ʿalayhi fayahlika, mā ʾadkhala al-ʿaduwwu ʿalā barṣīṣā al-ʿābidi fī taʿlīmi al-ismi al-ʾaʿẓami waqiṣṣatuhu mashhūratun.

He said: The birds came alive and flew by permission of God Most High. The brother realized that his course did not please God and returned to the congregation and mosques. Another confusion concerning lofty merits occurs when a servant leaves his condition in his station to seek a merit that will bring him nearer to God, mighty and majestic, only for it to turn against him and destroy him: such was what the enemy introduced to the worshipper Barṣīṣā through teaching the Greatest Name. His story is well known.

فَالْعَالِمُ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ عَلِمَ خَيْرَ الْخَيْرَيْنِ فَسَبَقَ إِلَيْهِ قَبْلَ فَوْتِهِ وَعَلِمَ شَرَّ الْخَيْرَيْنِ فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ لِئَلَّا يَشْغَلَهُ عَنِ الْأَخْيَرِ مِنْهَا وَعَلِمَ أَيْضًا خَيْرَ الشَّرَّيْنِ فَفَعَلَهُ

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-ʾakhyari minhā waʿalima ʾayḍan khayra al-sharrayni fafaʿalahu

In the eyes of the learned, a scholar is one who recognizes the better of two good things and hastens to it before it is lost, and recognizes the worse of two good things and turns away lest it distract him from the better. He also recognizes the better of two evils and does it

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٦٢

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 262

Volume Two, page 262

إِذَا اُضْطُرَّ إِلَيْهِ وَاُبْتُلِيَ بِهِ وَعَلِمَ شَرَّ الشَّرَّيْنِ فَأَمْعَنَ فِي الْهَرَبِ مِنْهُ وَاِحْتَجَبَ بِحِجَابَيْنِ عَنْهُ وَهَذَا مِنْ دَقَائِقِ الْعُلُومِ.

ʾidhā uḍṭurra ʾilayhi wa-ubtuliya bihi waʿalima sharra al-sharrayni faʾamʿana fī al-harabi minhu wa-iḥtajaba biḥijābayni ʿanhu wa-hādhā min daqāʾiqi al-ʿulūmi.

when compelled and put to the test by it. He recognizes the worse of two evils, goes far in fleeing it, and screens himself from it with two veils. This belongs to the subtleties of the sciences.

فَصْلٌ

faṣlun

Section

وَقَدْ تَلْتَبِسُ النِّيَّةُ بِالْأُمْنِيَّةِ فَتَخْفَى وَالْهِمَّةُ بِالْوَسْوَسَةِ فَتَشْتَبِهُ، وَالنِّيَّةُ مَا كَانَ يُرَادُ بِهِ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَيُطْلَبُ بِهِ مَا عِنْدَهُ، وَالْأُمْنِيَّةُ مَا تَعَلَّقَ بِالْخَلْقِ وَطُلِبَ مِنْهُ عَاجِلُ الْحَظِّ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ الْفَانِي. وَقَدْ تَلْتَبِسُ الْإِرَادَةُ بِالْمَحَبَّةِ وَالْحَاجَةُ بِالشَّهْوَةِ.

waqad taltabisu al-niyyatu bi-al-ʾumniyyati fatakhfā wa-al-himmatu bi-al-waswasati fatashtabihu, wa-al-niyyatu mā kāna yurādu bihi wajhu Allāhi ʿazza wajalla wayuṭlabu bihi mā ʿindahu, wa-al-ʾumniyyatu mā taʿallaqa bi-al-khalqi waṭuliba minhu ʿājilu al-ḥaẓẓi mina al-mulki al-fānī. waqad taltabisu al-ʾirādatu bi-al-maḥabbati wa-al-ḥājatu bi-al-shahwati.

Intention can become confused with wishful thinking and be obscured, and resolve with whispering doubts, making them hard to distinguish. Intention seeks the face of God, mighty and majestic, and what He has; wishful thinking attaches itself to creatures and seeks from them an immediate share of passing dominion. Will can be confused with love, and need with appetite.

فَالْإِرَادَةُ أَنْ يُرِيدَ وُقُوعَ الْأَمْرِ وَقَدْ لَا يُحِبُّ كَوْنَهُ أَوْ يُرِيدُ أَيْضًا وُجُودَ ضِدِّهِ، وَالْمَحَبَّةُ مَا قَهَرَ الْعَقْلَ وَغَلَبَ الْوَجْدَ وَحَلَّ فِي مَجَامِعِ الْقَلْبِ وَكَرِهَ وُجُودَ غَيْرِهِ وَلَمْ يُرِدْ فَقْدَهُ، وَالْحَاجَةُ مَا اُضْطُرِرْتَ إِلَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْهُ بُدًّا وَلَا يُسْتَغْنَى عَنْهُ بِغَيْرِهِ، وَالشَّهْوَةُ مَزِيدُ لَذَّةٍ وَاِسْتِدْعَاءُ فَضْلِ فَاقَةٍ وَاِجْتِلَابُ تَقَدُّمِ عَادَةٍ.

fa-al-ʾirādatu ʾan yurīda wuqūʿa al-ʾamri waqad lā yuḥibbu kawnahu ʾaw yurīdu ʾayḍan wujūda ḍiddihi, wa-al-maḥabbatu mā qahara al-ʿaqla waghalaba al-wajda waḥalla fī majāmiʿi al-qalbi wakariha wujūda ghayrihi walam yurid faqdahu, wa-al-ḥājatu mā uḍṭurirta ʾilayhi walam yakun minhu buddan walā yustaghnā ʿanhu bighayrihi, wa-al-shahwatu mazīdu ladhdhatin wa-istidʿāʾu faḍli fāqatin wa-ijtilābu taqaddumi ʿādatin.

Will means wanting a thing to occur, though one may not love its existence, or may also want its opposite to exist. Love is what overpowers reason, overcomes inward feeling, settles in the heart's gathering places, dislikes the presence of anything else, and does not wish to lose its beloved. Need is what necessity drives you to, what cannot be avoided or replaced by something else. Appetite is added pleasure, calling forth a surplus of need and drawing on the precedence of habit.

وَقَدْ يَخْتَلِطُ الذِّكْرُ بِالْقَلْبِ بِالْفِكْرِ فِي مَعَانِي الْقُرْبِ، فَالذِّكْرُ مَا أَظْهَرَ النَّسِيَّ وَكَشَفَ الْغَيَّ وَأَذْكَرَ الشُّكْرَ، وَالْفِكْرُ مَا صَوَّرَ الْأَمْرَ وَأَظْهَرَ الْخَبَرَ. وَقَدْ يَلْتَبِسُ الرَّجَاءُ بِالْمَحَبَّةِ وَالْهَوَى بِالنِّيَّةِ، فَالرَّجَاءُ مَا طَمِعْتَ فِيهِ بِسَبَبٍ مَا وَالْمَحَبَّةُ مَا تَطَعَّمْتَ ذَوْقَهُ وَوَجَدْتَهُ بِغَيْرِ تَسَبُّبٍ تَسْتَخْرِجُهُ.

waqad yakhtaliṭu al-dhikru bi-al-qalbi bi-al-fikri fī maʿānī al-qurbi, fa-al-dhikru mā ʾaẓhara al-nasiyya wakashafa al-ghayya waʾadhkara al-shukra, wa-al-fikru mā ṣawwara al-ʾamra waʾaẓhara al-khabara. waqad yaltabisu al-rajāʾu bi-al-maḥabbati wa-al-hawā bi-al-niyyati, fa-al-rajāʾu mā ṭamiʿta fīhi bisababin mā wa-al-maḥabbatu mā taṭaʿʿamta dhawqahu wawajadtahu bighayri tasabbubin tastakhrijuhu.

The heart's remembrance can become mixed with reflection on the meanings of nearness. Remembrance brings the forgotten to light, uncovers error, and recalls gratitude; reflection gives form to the matter and brings its account to light. Hope can become confused with love, and desire with intention. Hope is what you long for on some grounds; love is what you savor and find without contriving a means to draw it forth.

وَقَدْ يَلْتَبِسُ ذُلُّ الْقَلْبِ بِضَعْفِهِ وَمَوْتِهِ لِلطَّمَعِ فِي الْخَلْقِ بِذُلِّ النَّفْسِ لِمُشَاهَدَةِ عِزِّ الْخَالِقِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى، وَقَدْ يَتَدَاخَلُ ذُلُّ الطَّمَعِ لِدَنَاءَةِ الْهِمَّةِ وَالنَّفْسِ بِذُلِّ الْعَقْلِ لِلِاعْتِرَافِ بِالْحَقِّ وَخُضُوعِ الْعِلْمِ لَهُ، وَقَدْ يَلْتَبِسُ ذُلُّ النَّفْسِ لِغَلَبَةِ الْهَوَى وَقَهْرِهِ لِلْعَقْلِ بِذُلِّ الْقَلْبِ لِسُرْعَةِ الِانْقِيَادِ لِلْعَالِمِ الْمُحِقِّ.

waqad yaltabisu dhullu al-qalbi biḍaʿfihi wamawtihi li-l-ṭamaʿi fī al-khalqi bidhulli al-nafsi limushāhadati ʿizzi al-khāliqi subḥānahu wataʿālā, waqad yatadākhalu dhullu al-ṭamaʿi lidanāʾati al-himmati wa-al-nafsi bidhulli al-ʿaqli li-l-iʿtirāfi bi-al-ḥaqqi wakhuḍūʿi al-ʿilmi lahu, waqad yaltabisu dhullu al-nafsi lighalabati al-hawā waqahrihi li-l-ʿaqli bidhulli al-qalbi lisurʿati al-inqiyādi li-l-ʿālimi al-muḥiqqi.

The heart's abasement through weakness and death from craving creatures can be confused with the self's humility before the Creator's might, glorified and exalted is He. The abasement of craving, from baseness of resolve and self, can overlap with reason's humility in acknowledging truth and knowledge's submission to it. The self's abasement through desire's dominance and conquest of reason can be confused with the heart's humility in readily following a scholar who is in the right.

وَقَدْ يَخْتَلِطُ عِزَّةُ الْقَلْبِ بِمُقَلِّبِهِ بِدَوَامِ النَّظَرِ إِلَيْهِ وَعِزَّةُ الْعَقْلِ بِعَمَلِهِ الَّذِي كَبُرَ عِنْدَهُ، وَقَدْ تَلْتَبِسُ عِزَّةُ النَّفْسِ بِوَصْفِهَا الْمُتَسَلِّطِ بِعِزَّةِ الْإِيمَانِ الْمُعَزَّزِ بِغَيْبَةِ الْيَقِينِ، فَهَذِهِ فُرُوقٌ ظَاهِرَةٌ لِلْعَارِفِينَ وَخُرُوقٌ مُتَّسِعَةٌ تُرْهِبُ الْغَافِلِينَ.

waqad yakhtaliṭu ʿizzatu al-qalbi bimuqallibihi bidawāmi al-naẓari ʾilayhi waʿizzatu al-ʿaqli biʿamalihi alladhī kabura ʿindahu, waqad taltabisu ʿizzatu al-nafsi biwaṣfihā al-mutasalliṭi biʿizzati al-ʾīmāni al-muʿazzazi bighaybati al-yaqīni, fa-hādhihi furūqun ẓāhiratun li-l-ʿārifīna wakhurūqun muttasiʿatun turhibu al-ghāfilīna.

The heart's strength through its Turner, by constantly looking toward Him, can become mixed with reason's pride in a deed it regards as great. The self's pride in its domineering quality can be confused with the strength of faith fortified by certainty's absence. These are distinctions clear to those who know God, and wide breaches that terrify the heedless.

وَقَدْ تَلْتَبِسُ الْعِبَادَةُ بِالْعَادَةِ مِثْلَ أَنْ يَكُونَ لِلْعَبْدِ نِيَّةٌ فِي عِلْمٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ أَوْ صَدَقَةٍ أَوْ نَفَقَةِ الشَّهْرِ وَالسَّنَةِ ثُمَّ تَعْزُبَ نِيَّتُهُ فَيَبْقَى عَلَى عَادَتِهِ يَرُبُّ حَالَهُ الَّذِي قَدْ عُرِفَ بِهِ لَا يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَخْرُجَ مِنْ عُرْفِ النَّاسِ فَيَتَعَمَّلُ لِاِسْتِقَامَةِ الْحَالِ عَلَى التَّكَلُّفِ بِتِلْكَ الْأَعْمَالِ فَتَذْهَبَ النِّيَّةُ وَتَبْقَى الْعَادَةُ.

waqad taltabisu al-ʿibādatu bi-al-ʿādati mithla ʾan yakūna li-l-ʿabdi niyyatun fī ʿilmin ʾaw ʿamalin ʾaw ṣadaqatin ʾaw nafaqati al-shahri wa-al-sanati thumma taʿzuba niyyatuhu fayabqā ʿalā ʿādatihi yarubbu ḥālahu alladhī qad ʿurifa bihi lā yuḥibbu ʾan yakhruja min ʿurfi al-nāsi fayataʿammalu li-istiqāmati al-ḥāli ʿalā al-takallufi bitilka al-ʾaʿmāli fatadhhaba al-niyyatu watabqā al-ʿādatu.

Worship can become confused with habit. A servant may have an intention in learning, action, charity, or monthly and yearly expenditure, then lose sight of that intention and remain with the habit, maintaining the condition for which he is known. Unwilling to depart from what people expect of him, he labors to sustain that condition by forcing himself through those deeds. Intention disappears and habit remains.

فَيَخْرُجُ بِذَلِكَ مِنْ إِرَادَةِ الْآخِرَةِ وَالسَّعْيِ لَهَا وَيَدْخُلُ فِي إِرَادَةِ الدُّنْيَا بِالشَّهَوَاتِ عَلَى جَرَيَانِ الْعَادَةِ بِهَا، وَقَدْ يَشْهَدُ شَهَادَةَ الدُّنْيَا مِنْ طَلَبِ الرِّيَاسَةِ لِوُجُودِ الْهَوَى بِطُرُقَاتِ الْآخِرَةِ فِي مَعْنَى الْعُلُومِ وَالْأَعْمَالِ، فَمَا طُلِبَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ السَّلَفِ وَأُرِيدَ بِهِ تَأْدِيبُ النَّفْسِ وَيُعْلَمُ بِهِ الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَهَذِهِ طُرُقَاتُ الْآخِرَةِ.

fayakhruju bi-dhālika min ʾirādati al-ʾākhirati wa-al-saʿyi lahā wayadkhulu fī ʾirādati al-dunyā bi-al-shahawāti ʿalā jarayāni al-ʿādati bihā, waqad yashhadu shahādata al-dunyā min ṭalabi al-riyāsati liwujūdi al-hawā biṭuruqāti al-ʾākhirati fī maʿnā al-ʿulūmi wa-al-ʾaʿmāli, famā ṭuliba min ʾaʿmāli al-salafi waʾurīda bihi taʾdību al-nafsi wayuʿlamu bihi al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā fa-hādhihi ṭuruqātu al-ʾākhirati.

He thereby leaves behind willing and striving for the hereafter and enters willing the world through appetites carried along by habit. He may bear the world's witness through seeking leadership out of desire by the pathways of the hereafter, in matters of knowledge and deeds. Whatever is sought of the early generations' deeds with the aim of disciplining the self and learning renunciation of the world belongs to the pathways of the hereafter.

وَمَا كَانَ عَلَى ضِدِّهِ فَهُوَ طُرُقَاتُ الدُّنْيَا إِذْ هُوَ ضِدُّهَا، وَقَالُوا: كَانَ النَّاسُ إِذَا عَلِمُوا عَمِلُوا وَإِذَا عَمِلُوا شُغِلُوا وَإِذَا شُغِلُوا هَرَبُوا، وَقَالُوا: تَفَقَّهْ ثُمَّ اِعْتَزِلْ. وَقَدْ يَلْتَبِسُ إِظْهَارُ الْأَعْمَالِ وَكَشْفُ مَا كُتِمَ مِنَ الْأَحْوَالِ لِأَجْلِ التَّأْدِيبِ بِهِ وَالِاتِّبَاعِ عَلَيْهِ أَوْ لِإِظْهَارِ قُدْرَةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَآيَاتِهِ لِمَزِيدِ السَّامِعِ مِنَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِهِ بِفِعْلِ مِثْلِ ذَلِكَ لِلتَّزَيُّنِ وَالْفَخْرِ أَوْ لِلْمَدْحِ بِهِ وَطَلَبِ الذِّكْرِ، وَسُئِلَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ عَنِ الرَّجُلِ يُخْبِرُ بِالشَّيْءِ عَنْ

wamā kāna ʿalā ḍiddihi fahuwa ṭuruqātu al-dunyā ʾidh huwa ḍidduhā, waqālū: kāna al-nāsu ʾidhā ʿalimū ʿamilū waʾidhā ʿamilū shughilū waʾidhā shughilū harabū, waqālū: tafaqqah thumma iʿtazil. waqad yaltabisu ʾiẓhāru al-ʾaʿmāli wakashfu mā kutima mina al-ʾaḥwāli liʾajli al-taʾdībi bihi wa-al-ittibāʿi ʿalayhi ʾaw liʾiẓhāri qudrati Allāhi ʿazza wajalla waʾāyātihi limazīdi al-sāmiʿi mina al-maʿrifati bihi bifiʿli mithli dhālika li-l-tazayyuni wa-al-fakhri ʾaw li-l-madḥi bihi waṭalabi al-dhikri, wasuʾila ʾabū sulaymāna ʿani al-rajuli yukhbiru bi-al-shayʾi ʿan

Its opposite belongs to the world's pathways, since it opposes those of the hereafter. They said, “People once acted when they learned, became occupied when they acted, and fled when they became occupied.” They also said, “Gain understanding, then withdraw.” Revealing deeds and disclosing hidden states for instruction and emulation, or to display the power and signs of God, mighty and majestic, so that the hearer's knowledge of Him increases, can be confused with doing the same for adornment, pride, praise, or renown. Abū Sulaymān was asked about a man reporting something about

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٦٣

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 263

Volume Two, page 263

نَفْسِهِ فَقَالُوا: إِذَا كَانَ إِمَامًا يُقْتَدَى بِهِ فَنَعَمْ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً هُوَ أَوْ غَيْرُهُ: يَخْتَلِفُ ذَلِكَ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْإِرَادَةِ بِهِ إِذَا أَرَادَ التَّأْدِيبَ لِلنَّفْسِ حَسُنَ ذَلِكَ، فَهَذَا يَلْتَبِسُ بِمُدَاخَلَةِ النَّفْسِ أَوْ بِفَنَائِهَا بِقَيُّومِيَّةِ شَاهِدِ الْيَقِينِ لِلرَّبِّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

nafsihi faqālū: ʾidhā kāna ʾimāman yuqtadā bihi fanaʿam, waqāla marratan huwa ʾaw ghayruhu: yakhtalifu dhālika ʿalā qadri al-ʾirādati bihi ʾidhā ʾarāda al-taʾdība li-l-nafsi ḥasuna dhālika, fa-hādhā yaltabisu bimudākhalati al-nafsi ʾaw bifanāʾihā biqayyūmiyyati shāhidi al-yaqīni li-l-rabbi ʿazza wajalla.

himself. They said, “If he is an imam taken as an example, then yes.” Once he, or someone else, said, “It varies according to the purpose intended. If he intends to discipline the self, it is good.” This becomes difficult to distinguish according to whether the self intrudes or passes away under the sustaining power of certainty's witness to the Lord, mighty and majestic.

فَصْلٌ

faṣlun

Section

تَرْكُ الْعَمَلِ عَمَلٌ كَثِيرٌ يَحْتَاجُ التَّارِكُ لِلنَّهْيِ أَوِ الْمَكْرُوهِ فَرْضًا أَوْ وَرَعًا إِلَى نِيَّةٍ حَسَنَةٍ أَنْ يَتْرُكَهُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ طَلَبَ مَأْمَنِهِ أَوْ رَغْبَةً فِيمَا عِنْدَهُ لَا لِوُجُودِ الْخَلْقِ وَلَا لِيَرُبَّ بِهِ حَالَهُ أَوْ يُقِيمَ بِهِ عِنْدَ الْعَبِيدِ جَاهَهُ، لِأَنَّ تَرْكَ الْمَعْصِيَةِ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْأَعْمَالِ فَيَحْتَاجُ إِلَى أَحْسَنِ النِّيَّاتِ إِذْ عَلَيْهَا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَجْزَلُ الْمَثُوبَاتِ لِبَلْوَى النَّفْسِ بِهَا وَاِضْطِرَابِ الْوَصْفِ إِلَيْهَا.

tarku al-ʿamali ʿamalun kathīrun yaḥtāju al-tāriku li-l-nahyi ʾawi al-makrūhi farḍan ʾaw waraʿan ʾilā niyyatin ḥasanatin ʾan yatrukahu li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla ṭalaba maʾmanihi ʾaw raghbatan fīmā ʿindahu lā liwujūdi al-khalqi walā liyarubba bihi ḥālahu ʾaw yuqīma bihi ʿinda al-ʿabīdi jāhahu, liʾanna tarka al-maʿṣiyati min ʾafḍali al-ʾaʿmāli fayaḥtāju ʾilā ʾaḥsani al-niyyāti ʾidh ʿalayhā mina Allāhi taʿālā ʾajzalu al-mathūbāti libalwā al-nafsi bihā wa-iḍṭirābi al-waṣfi ʾilayhā.

Leaving an action undone is itself much action. Whoever refrains from something forbidden or disliked, out of obligation or scrupulousness, needs a good intention: to leave it for God, mighty and majestic, seeking safety with Him or desiring what He has, rather than because people are present, to preserve his condition, or to maintain standing among servants. Avoiding disobedience is among the best deeds and needs the best intentions, for God Most High grants it the richest rewards, given the self's trial through sin and the agitation of its disposition toward it.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَعْرِفَ وَرَعَهُ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَلَيْسَ مِنَ اللَّهِ فِي شَيْءٍ. وَرُوِيَ عَنْ زَكَرِيَّا عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَّ قَوْمًا دَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ وَكَانَ يَعْمَلُ فِي حَائِطِ الْقَوْمِ بِالطِّينِ وَكَانَ صَانِعًا يَأْكُلُ مِنْ كَدِّ يَدَيْهِ فَقَدَّمَ إِلَيْهِ عِنْدَهُمْ رَغِيفَيْهِ وَجَعَلَ يَأْكُلُ وَلَمْ يَدْعُهُمْ حَتَّى فَرَغَ.

waqāla baʿḍuhum: man ʾaḥabba ʾan yaʿrifa waraʿahu ghayru Allāhi taʿālā falaysa mina Allāhi fī shayʾin. waruwiya ʿan zakariyyā ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾanna qawman dakhalū ʿalayhi wakāna yaʿmalu fī ḥāʾiṭi al-qawmi bi-al-ṭīni wakāna ṣāniʿan yaʾkulu min kaddi yadayhi faqaddama ʾilayhi ʿindahum raghīfayhi wajaʿala yaʾkulu walam yadʿuhum ḥattā faragha.

One of them said, “Whoever likes anyone other than God Most High to know of his scrupulousness has no part with God.” It is related of Zachariah, peace be upon him, that some people visited while he was working with clay on their wall. He was a craftsman who ate from the labor of his hands. His two loaves were brought to him in their presence, and he began eating without inviting them, until he finished.

فَسَأَلُوهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ لِعِلْمِهِمْ بِزُهْدِهِ وَكَرَمِهِ فَقَالَ: إِنِّي أَعْمَلُ لِقَوْمٍ بِأُجْرَةٍ وَقَرَّبُوا إِلَيَّ هَٰذَيْنِ الرَّغِيفَيْنِ لِأَتَقَوَّى بِهِمَا عَلَى عَمَلِهِمْ فَلَوْ أَكَلْتُمْ مَعِي لَمْ يَكْفِكُمْ وَلَمْ يَكْفِنِي وَضَعُفْتُ عَنْ عَمَلِهِمْ، فَهَذَا مِمَّنْ تَرَكَ فَضْلًا لِفَرْضٍ وَمِمَّنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ نِيَّةٌ فِي التَّرْكِ كَمَا تَكُونُ لَهُ فِي الْفِعْلِ.

fasaʾalūhu ʿan dhālika liʿilmihim bizuhdihi wakaramihi faqāla: ʾinnī ʾaʿmalu liqawmin biʾujratin waqarrabū ʾilayya hādhayni al-raghīfayni liʾataqawwā bihimā ʿalā ʿamalihim falaw ʾakaltum maʿī lam yakfikum walam yakfinī waḍaʿuftu ʿan ʿamalihim, fa-hādhā mimman taraka faḍlan lifarḍin wamimman kānat lahu niyyatun fī al-tarki kamā takūnu lahu fī al-fiʿli.

Knowing his renunciation and generosity, they asked him about it. He said, “I work for people for wages. They brought these two loaves to strengthen me for their work. Had you eaten with me, they would have sufficed neither you nor me, and I would have become too weak for their work.” Here was someone who left a merit for an obligation and had an intention in refraining, just as one has an intention in acting.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: دَخَلْتُ عَلَى سُفْيَانَ بْنِ أَبِي عَاصِمٍ وَهُوَ يَأْكُلُ فَمَا كَلَّمَنِي حَتَّى لَعِقَ أَصَابِعَهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ: لَوْلَا أَنِّي أَخَذْتُهُ بِدَيْنٍ لَأَحْبَبْتُ أَنْ تَأْكُلَ مِنْهُ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّ أَعْجَمِيًّا مَرَّ بِنَفَرٍ قُعُودٍ يَتَكَلَّمُونَ بِكَلَامٍ فِيهِ اِسْتِهْزَاءٌ وَلَهْوٌ فَظَنَّ أَنَّهُمْ يَدْعُونَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَقَالَ مِثْلَ مَا يَقُولُونَ بِحُسْنِ نِيَّتِهِ، قَالَ: فَغَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ بِحُسْنِ نِيَّتِهِ.

waqāla baʿḍuhum: dakhaltu ʿalā sufyāna bni ʾabī ʿāṣimin wahuwa yaʾkulu famā kallamanī ḥattā laʿiqa ʾaṣābiʿahu thumma qāla: lawlā ʾannī ʾakhadhtuhu bidaynin laʾaḥbabtu ʾan taʾkula minhu. waqad rawaynā fī al-khabari ʾanna ʾaʿjamiyyan marra binafarin quʿūdin yatakallamūna bikalāmin fīhi istihzāʾun walahwun faẓanna ʾannahum yadʿūna Allāha ʿazza wajalla faqāla mithla mā yaqūlūna biḥusni niyyatihi, qāla: faghafara Allāhu lahum biḥusni niyyatihi.

One of them said, “I entered upon Sufyān ibn Abī ʿĀṣim while he was eating. He did not speak to me until he had licked his fingers, then said, ‘Had I not obtained it on credit, I would have liked you to eat some.’” We have related that a non-Arab passed people sitting and talking in mockery and amusement. Supposing that they were calling upon God, mighty and majestic, he repeated their words with a good intention. The narrator said, “God forgave them because of his good intention.”

وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: مِنْ عَلَامَةِ الْمُسْلِمِ أَنْ لَا يَبْدُرَهُ لِسَانُهُ وَلَا يَسْبِقَهُ بَصَرُهُ وَلَا تَقْصُرَ بِهِ نِيَّتُهُ، يَعْنِي لَا يَضْعُفُ وَلَا تَقْعُدُ بِهِ عَنِ الْمُسَارَعَةِ إِلَى الْقُرُبَاتِ، هِيَ أَبَدًا فِي قُوَّةٍ وَزِيَادَةٍ وَإِنْ قَصُرَتْ أَعْمَالُهُ فِيهَا وَعَجَزَتْ قُوَى جَوَارِحِهِ. وَقَالَ: الْمُؤْمِنُ تَبْلُغُ نِيَّتُهُ وَتَضْعُفُ قُوَّتُهُ وَالْمُنَافِقُ تَضْعُفُ نِيَّتُهُ وَتَبْلُغُ قُوَّتُهُ.

waqāla al-ḥasanu: min ʿalāmati al-muslimi ʾan lā yabdurahu lisānuhu walā yasbiqahu baṣaruhu walā taqṣura bihi niyyatuhu, yaʿnī lā yaḍʿufu walā taqʿudu bihi ʿani al-musāraʿati ʾilā al-qurubāti, hiya ʾabadan fī quwwatin waziyādatin waʾin qaṣurat ʾaʿmāluhu fīhā waʿajazat quwā jawāriḥihi. waqāla: al-muʾminu tablughu niyyatuhu wataḍʿufu quwwatuhu wa-al-munāfiqu taḍʿufu niyyatuhu watablughu quwwatuhu.

Al-Ḥasan said, “A Muslim's signs include that his tongue does not rush ahead of him, his sight does not outstrip him, and his intention does not fall short.” That is, he does not weaken, and intention does not hold him back from hastening toward acts of nearness. It is always strong and growing, even when his deeds fall short and his limbs lack strength. He also said, “The believer's intention reaches its goal while his strength fails; the hypocrite's intention fails while his strength reaches its goal.”

وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لِكُلِّ حَقٍّ حَقِيقَةٌ وَمَا بَلَغَ عَبْدٌ حَقِيقَةَ الْإِخْلَاصِ حَتَّى لَا يُحِبَّ أَنْ يُحْمَدَ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِنْ عَمَلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ». وَقَالَ الْحَوَارِيُّونَ لِعِيسَى بْنِ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ: يَا رُوحَ اللَّهِ مَا الْإِخْلَاصُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ؟ قَالَ: الَّذِي يَعْمَلُ الْعَمَلَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى لَا يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَحْمَدَهُ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ.

waqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: «likulli ḥaqqin ḥaqīqatun wamā balagha ʿabdun ḥaqīqata al-ʾikhlāṣi ḥattā lā yuḥibba ʾan yuḥmada ʿalā shayʾin min ʿamali Allāhi ʿazza wajalla». waqāla al-ḥawāriyyūna liʿīsā bni maryama ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu: yā rūḥa Allāhi mā al-ʾikhlāṣu li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla? qāla: alladhī yaʿmalu al-ʿamala li-llāhi taʿālā lā yuḥibbu ʾan yaḥmadahu ʿalayhi ʾaḥadun mina al-nāsi.

The Prophet said, God bless him and grant him peace, “Every truth has a reality. No servant attains the reality of sincerity until he does not wish to be praised for any deed done for God, mighty and majestic.” The disciples asked Jesus son of Mary, blessings and peace be upon him, “Spirit of God, what is sincerity toward God, mighty and majestic?” He replied, “The one who acts for God Most High does not wish anyone to praise him for it.”

قَالُوا: فَمَنِ النَّاصِحُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ؟ قَالَ: الَّذِي يَبْدَأُ بِحَقِّ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى قَبْلَ حَقِّ النَّاسِ وَإِذَا عَرَضَ لَهُ أَمْرَانِ أَحَدُهُمَا لِلدُّنْيَا وَالْآخَرُ لِلْآخِرَةِ بَدَأَ بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى قَبْلَ أَمْرِ الدُّنْيَا. فَحُبُّ الْمَحْمَدَةِ مِنَ النَّاسِ أَصْلٌ هُوَ فَرْعُهَا وَهُوَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُعْرَفَ مَكَانُهُ وَيُرِيدُ الِاشْتِهَارَ وَيَنْوِي بِقَلْبِهِ مَحَبَّةَ الْإِعْظَامِ لَهُ مِنْ وُجُوهِ الْأَنَامِ فَلَا يَنْفَعُهُ مَعَ هَذِهِ النِّيَّةِ اِخْتِفَاؤُهُ فِي الْآجَامِ وَعَمَلُهُ غَيْرُ مَقْبُولٍ.

qālū: famani al-nāṣiḥu li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla? qāla: alladhī yabdaʾu biḥaqqi Allāhi taʿālā qabla ḥaqqi al-nāsi waʾidhā ʿaraḍa lahu ʾamrāni ʾaḥaduhumā li-l-dunyā wa-al-ʾākharu li-l-ʾākhirati badaʾa biʾamri Allāhi taʿālā qabla ʾamri al-dunyā. faḥubbu al-maḥmadati mina al-nāsi ʾaṣlun huwa farʿuhā wahuwa yuḥibbu ʾan yuʿrafa makānuhu wayurīdu al-ishtihāra wayanwī biqalbihi maḥabbata al-ʾiʿẓāmi lahu min wujūhi al-ʾanāmi falā yanfaʿuhu maʿa hādhihi al-niyyati ikhtifāʾuhu fī al-ʾājāmi waʿamaluhu ghayru maqbūlin.

They asked, “Who is true-hearted toward God, mighty and majestic?” He answered, “The one who puts the right of God Most High before people's rights. When two matters present themselves, one worldly and the other for the hereafter, he puts the matter of God Most High before the world's.” Love of people's praise is a root, itself a branch of it: he likes his place to be known, seeks renown, and inwardly desires esteem from prominent people. With this intention, hiding in thickets does not benefit him, and his deed is unaccepted.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٦٤

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 264

Volume Two, page 264

كَمَا رُوِيَ أَنَّ عَابِدًا مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَبَدَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فِي سَرَبٍ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً فَكَانَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ تَرْفَعُ عَمَلَهُ فِي السَّمَاءِ فَلَا يُقْبَلُ، فَقَالَتْ: رَبَّنَا وَعِزَّتِكَ مَا رَفَعْنَا إِلَيْكَ إِلَّا حَقًّا فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: صَدَقْتُمْ مَلَائِكَتِي وَلَكِنَّهُ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُعْرَفَ مَكَانُهُ، فَلِذَلِكَ قَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: مَنْ نَجَا مِنَ الْكِبْرِ وَالرِّيَاءِ وَحُبِّ الشُّهْرَةِ فَقَدْ سَلِمَ.

kamā ruwiya ʾanna ʿābidan min banī ʾisrāʾīla ʿabada Allāha taʿālā fī sarabin ʾarbaʿīna sanatan fakānati al-malāʾikatu tarfaʿu ʿamalahu fī al-samāʾi falā yuqbalu, faqālat: rabbanā waʿizzatika mā rafaʿnā ʾilayka ʾillā ḥaqqan faqāla ʿazza wajalla: ṣadaqtum malāʾikatī walakinnahu yuḥibbu ʾan yuʿrafa makānuhu, fali-dhālika qāla baʿḍu al-salafi: man najā mina al-kibri wa-al-riyāʾi waḥubbi al-shuhrati faqad salima.

It is related that an Israelite worshipper worshipped God Most High in an underground passage for forty years. The angels would raise his deeds to heaven, but they were not accepted. They said, “Our Lord, by Your might, we have raised nothing to You but what is true.” He said, mighty and majestic, “You have spoken truly, My angels, but he likes his place to be known.” Hence some early authorities said, “Whoever escapes arrogance, ostentation, and love of fame has come through safely.”

وَقَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ: مَا عَالَجْتُ شَيْئًا أَشَدَّ عَلَيَّ مِنْ نِيَّتِي لِأَنَّهَا تَفْلِتُ عَلَيَّ، يَعْنِي تَشْرُدُ أَوْ تَضْعُفُ فَتَحْتَاجُ إِلَى مُدَاوَاةٍ لَهَا، كَمَا قَالَ الْمَنْصُورُ: الْمُدَاوَمَةُ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ حَتَّى يَخْلُصَ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ. وَقَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ: مَا أَعْتَدُّ بِمَا ظَهَرَ مِنْ عَمَلِي.

waqāla al-thawriyyu: mā ʿālajtu shayʾan ʾashadda ʿalayya min niyyatī liʾannahā taflitu ʿalayya, yaʿnī tashrudu ʾaw taḍʿufu fataḥtāju ʾilā mudāwātin lahā, kamā qāla al-manṣūru: al-mudāwamatu ʿalā al-ʿamali ḥattā yakhluṣa ʾashaddu mina al-ʿamali. waqāla al-thawriyyu: mā ʾaʿtaddu bimā ẓahara min ʿamalī.

Al-Thawrī said, “I have struggled with nothing harder than my intention, for it slips away from me,” meaning that it strays or weakens and needs treatment. As al-Manṣūr said, “Persisting in a deed until it becomes pure is harder than the deed.” Al-Thawrī also said, “I place no reliance on what becomes visible of my deeds.”

وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ: كُونُوا بِقَبُولِ الْعَمَلِ أَشَدَّ اِهْتِمَامًا مِنْكُمْ بِالْعَمَلِ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَقِلُّ عَمَلٌ مَعَ تَقْوَى وَكَيْفَ يَقِلُّ عَمَلٌ يُتَقَبَّلُ؟ وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: مَنِ اِسْتَوْحَشَ مِنَ الْوَحْدَةِ وَأَنِسَ بِالْجَمَاعَةِ لَمْ يَسْلَمْ مِنَ الرِّيَاءِ. وَقَالَ عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ أَبِي رَوَّادٍ: أَدْرَكْتُهُمْ يَجْتَهِدُونَ فِي الْعَمَلِ الصَّالِحِ فَإِذَا بَلَغُوهُ وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْهَمُّ أَيُتَقَبَّلُ مِنْهُمْ أَمْ لَا.

waqāla ʿaliyyun raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu: kūnū biqabūli al-ʿamali ʾashadda ihtimāman minkum bi-al-ʿamali faʾinnahu lā yaqillu ʿamalun maʿa taqwā wakayfa yaqillu ʿamalun yutaqabbalu? waqāla baʿḍuhum: mani istawḥasha mina al-waḥdati waʾanisa bi-al-jamāʿati lam yaslam mina al-riyāʾi. waqāla ʿabdu al-ʿazīzi bnu ʾabī rawwādin: ʾadraktuhum yajtahidūna fī al-ʿamali al-ṣāliḥi faʾidhā balaghūhu waqaʿa ʿalayhimu al-hammu ʾayutaqabbalu minhum ʾam lā.

ʿAlī, may God Most High be pleased with him, said, “Be more concerned with a deed's acceptance than with the deed itself. No deed accompanied by God-fearingness is small; how can an accepted deed be small?” One of them said, “Whoever feels desolate alone and at ease in company has not escaped ostentation.” ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī Rawwād said, “I knew them striving in righteous action; once they attained it, anxiety fell upon them: would it be accepted from them or not?”

وَقَالَ مَالِكُ بْنُ دِينَارٍ: الْخَوْفُ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ أَنْ لَا يُتَقَبَّلَ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ. وَقَالَ اِبْنُ عَجْلَانَ: الْعَمَلُ لَا يَصْلُحُ إِلَّا بِثَلَاثٍ: التَّقْوَى لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالنِّيَّةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَالْإِصَابَةِ. وَقَدْ فَسَّرَ الْفُضَيْلُ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا﴾ هُودٍ: 7، قَالَ: أَخْلَصُهُ وَأَصْوَبُهُ، قِيلَ: وَمَا ذَاكَ؟ قَالَ: الْعَمَلُ إِذَا كَانَ خَالِصًا وَلَمْ يَكُنْ صَوَابًا لَمْ يُقْبَلْ.

waqāla māliku bnu dīnārin: al-khawfu ʿalā al-ʿamali ʾan lā yutaqabbala ʾashaddu mina al-ʿamali. waqāla ibnu ʿajlāna: al-ʿamalu lā yaṣluḥu ʾillā bithalāthin: al-taqwā li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla wa-al-niyyati al-ḥasanati wa-al-ʾiṣābati. waqad fassara al-fuḍaylu qawlahu taʿālā: ﴿liyabluwakum ʾayyukum ʾaḥsanu ʿamalan﴾ hūdin: 7, qāla: ʾakhlaṣuhu waʾaṣwabuhu, qīla: wamā dhāka? qāla: al-ʿamalu ʾidhā kāna khāliṣan walam yakun ṣawāban lam yuqbal.

Mālik ibn Dīnār said, “Fear that a deed may not be accepted is harder than the deed.” Ibn ʿAjlān said, “A deed is sound only with three things: fear of God, mighty and majestic, good intention, and correctness.” Al-Fuḍayl explained the words of God Most High, “To test which of you is best in action” (Hūd 11:7), as “most sincere and most correct.” Asked what that meant, he said, “If a deed is sincere but not correct, it is not accepted.”

وَقَالَ التِّيَاحِيُّ: لِلْعَمَلِ أَرْبَعُ خِصَالٍ لَا يَتِمُّ إِلَّا بِهِنَّ: مَعْرِفَةُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَمَعْرِفَةُ الْحَقِّ وَالْإِخْلَاصُ بِهِ وَالْعَمَلُ عَلَى السُّنَّةِ، فَأَيُّ عَمَلٍ كَانَ قَبْلَ هَذِهِ الْأَرْبَعِ لَا يَنْفَعُ. فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَكُونُ حَسَنَ الْأَدَاءِ لِفَرْضِهِ كَثِيرَ النَّدَمِ وَالْإِشْفَاقِ مِنْ مَعَاصِيهِ فَيَكُونُ هَذَا أَحْسَنَ حَالًا وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَكُونُ سَيِّئَ الْأَدَاءِ قَلِيلَ الْحُزْنِ وَالنَّدَمِ عَلَى ذُنُوبِهِ فَيَكُونُ هَذَا أَسْوَأَ حَالًا.

waqāla al-tiyāḥiyyu: li-l-ʿamali ʾarbaʿu khiṣālin lā yatimmu ʾillā bihinna: maʿrifatu Allāhi ʿazza wajalla wamaʿrifatu al-ḥaqqi wa-al-ʾikhlāṣu bihi wa-al-ʿamalu ʿalā al-sunnati, faʾayyu ʿamalin kāna qabla hādhihi al-ʾarbaʿi lā yanfaʿu. faminhum man yakūnu ḥasana al-ʾadāʾi lifarḍihi kathīra al-nadami wa-al-ʾishfāqi min maʿāṣīhi fayakūnu hādhā ʾaḥsana ḥālan waminhum man yakūnu sayyiʾa al-ʾadāʾi qalīla al-ḥuzni wa-al-nadami ʿalā dhunūbihi fayakūnu hādhā ʾaswaʾa ḥālan.

Al-Tiyāḥī said, “A deed has four qualities without which it is incomplete: knowledge of God, mighty and majestic, knowledge of truth, sincerity in it, and acting according to the Sunna. Any deed before these four does no good.” Some perform their obligations well, with much remorse and apprehension over their sins; theirs is the better condition. Others perform poorly, with little sorrow or remorse over their sins; theirs is the worse condition.

وَلَيْسَ يَجِدُونَ فِي ذَلِكَ عَلَى قِيَاسٍ وَاحِدٍ، وَاللَّهُ يَغْفِرُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ الذَّنْبَ الْعَظِيمَ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ عَلَى الذَّنْبِ الصَّغِيرِ لِمَا سَبَقَ لَهُمَا فِي عِلْمِهِ وَلِمَا نَفَذَ لَهُمَا مِنْ مَشِيئَتِهِ وَحُكْمِهِ، وَقَدْ يَشْتَرِكُ الِاثْنَانِ فِي مَعْصِيَةٍ وَيَتَفَاوَتَانِ فِي حُكْمِ الْمَشِيئَةِ وَيَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَى مَنْ أَحَبَّ وَيَتَقَبَّلُ مِمَّنْ يُحِبُّ.

walaysa yajidūna fī dhālika ʿalā qiyāsin wāḥidin, wa-Allāhu yaghfiru liman yashāʾu al-dhanba al-ʿaẓīma wayuʿadhdhibu man yashāʾu ʿalā al-dhanbi al-ṣaghīri limā sabaqa lahumā fī ʿilmihi walimā nafadha lahumā min mashīʾatihi waḥukmihi, waqad yashtariku al-ithnāni fī maʿṣiyatin wayatafāwatāni fī ḥukmi al-mashīʾati wayatūbu Allāhu ʿalā man ʾaḥabba wayataqabbalu mimman yuḥibbu.

They do not find themselves on a single measure in this. God forgives the great sin for whomever He wills and punishes whomever He wills for the small sin, according to what preceded for them in His knowledge and what His will and judgment have enacted for them. Two may share in one sin yet differ under the judgment of the divine will. God turns in mercy to whomever He loves and accepts from whomever He loves.

وَالْقَبُولُ غَيْرُ الْعَمَلِ، عَلَى الْعَبْدِ الْعَمَلُ وَإِلَى الْمَوْلَى الْقَبُولُ، يَقْبَلُ مِمَّنْ يُحِبُّ وَيَرُدُّ مَا يَشَاءُ مِمَّنْ يَشَاءُ، وَالسَّابِقَةُ غَيْرُ الْمَعْصِيَةِ، السَّابِقَةُ فِي الْمَشِيئَةِ يَغْفِرُ لِمَنْ سَبَقَتْ لَهُ الْحُسْنَى جَمِيعَ مَعَاصِيهِ السُّوأَى وَيُعَذِّبُ مَنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ كَلِمَةُ الْعَذَابِ وَيُحْبِطُ أَعْمَالَهُ الْحُسْنَى، وَالْخَلْقُ مَرْدُودُونَ إِلَى السَّابِقَةِ وَمَحْكُومٌ عَلَيْهِمْ بِعِلْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِيهِمْ.

wa-al-qabūlu ghayru al-ʿamali, ʿalā al-ʿabdi al-ʿamalu waʾilā al-mawlā al-qabūlu, yaqbalu mimman yuḥibbu wayaruddu mā yashāʾu mimman yashāʾu, wa-al-sābiqatu ghayru al-maʿṣiyati, al-sābiqatu fī al-mashīʾati yaghfiru liman sabaqat lahu al-ḥusnā jamīʿa maʿāṣīhi al-sūʾā wayuʿadhdhibu man ḥaqqat ʿalayhi kalimatu al-ʿadhābi wayuḥbiṭu ʾaʿmālahu al-ḥusnā, wa-al-khalqu mardūdūna ʾilā al-sābiqati wamaḥkūmun ʿalayhim biʿilmi Allāhi taʿālā fīhim.

Acceptance is distinct from action: action is the servant's responsibility, acceptance the Master's. He accepts from whomever He loves and rejects whatever He wills from whomever He wills. The antecedent decree is distinct from disobedience; it lies in the divine will. He forgives all the evil sins of those for whom the fairest promise preceded, punishes those against whom the word of punishment is fulfilled, and nullifies their good deeds. Creatures are referred back to the antecedent decree and judged by the knowledge God Most High has of them.

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: «هَلَكَ الْمُصِرُّونَ قُدُمًا إِلَى النَّارِ»، وَالْإِصْرَارُ يَكُونُ بِمَعْنَى أَنْ يَعْتَقِدَ بِقَلْبِهِ مَتَى قَدَرَ عَلَى الذَّنْبِ فَعَلَهُ أَوْ لَا يَعْقِدَ النَّدَمَ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا

wafī al-khabari: «halaka al-muṣirrūna quduman ʾilā al-nāri», wa-al-ʾiṣrāru yakūnu bimaʿnā ʾan yaʿtaqida biqalbihi matā qadara ʿalā al-dhanbi faʿalahu ʾaw lā yaʿqida al-nadama ʿalayhi walā

The report says, “Those who persist are ruined, onward to the Fire.” Persistence means inwardly resolving to commit the sin whenever able, or not resolving on remorse for it or

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٦٥

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 265

Volume Two, page 265

التَّوْبَةَ مِنْهُ، وَأَكْبَرُ الْإِصْرَارِ السَّعْيُ فِي طَلَبِ الْأَوْزَارِ. وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: «سَبَقَ الْمُفَرِّدُونَ الْمُسْتَهْتَرُونَ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَضَعَ الذِّكْرُ أَوْزَارَهُمْ فَوَرَدُوا الْقِيَامَةَ خِفَافًا»، فَهَؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ سَبَقَتْ لَهُمْ مِنَّا الْحُسْنَى مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ، أَخْبَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَوْزَارًا وَضَعَتْهَا الْأَذْكَارُ.

al-tawbata minhu, waʾakbaru al-ʾiṣrāri al-saʿyu fī ṭalabi al-ʾawzāri. wafī al-khabari: «sabaqa al-mufarridūna al-mustahtarūna bidhikri Allāhi taʿālā waḍaʿa al-dhikru ʾawzārahum fawaradū al-qiyāmata khifāfan», fa-hāʾulāʾi alladhīna sabaqat lahum minnā al-ḥusnā mina al-muqarrabīna, ʾakhbara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾanna lahum ʾawzāran waḍaʿathā al-ʾadhkāru.

repentance from it. The greatest persistence is actively seeking burdens of sin. The report says, “The single-hearted have outstripped the rest, those wholly absorbed in remembering God Most High. Remembrance removed their burdens, so they arrived at the Resurrection lightly laden.” These are those brought near “for whom the fairest promise from Us preceded.” The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, stated that they had burdens which remembrances removed.

وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَالسَّابِقُونَ السَّابِقُونَ أُولَئِكَ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ﴾ الْوَاقِعَةِ: 10–11، هَذَا مَا عَلِمْنَاهُ مِنْ أَدِلَّةِ الْعُلُومِ وَتَأْوِيلِ التَّنْزِيلِ وَعَفْوُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَإِرَادَتُهُ مِنْ وَرَاءِ ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ وَعِلْمُ الْقَدِيمِ وَلِلَّهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ.

waqāla taʿālā: ﴿wa-al-sābiqūna al-sābiqūna ʾulāʾika al-muqarrabūna﴾ al-wāqiʿati: 10–11, hādhā mā ʿalimnāhu min ʾadillati al-ʿulūmi wataʾwīli al-tanzīli waʿafwu Allāhi taʿālā waʾirādatuhu min warāʾi dhālika kullihi waʿilmu al-qadīmi wa-li-llāhi ʿāqibatu al-ʾumūri.

He said, Most High, “The foremost, the foremost: those are the ones brought near” (al-Wāqiʿa 56:10–11). This is what we know from the evidences of the sciences and interpretation of revelation. Beyond all of it lie the pardon and will of God Most High and the knowledge of the Eternal. To God belongs the outcome of all affairs.

مَسْأَلَةُ مُحَاسَبَةِ الْكُفَّارِ

masʾalatu muḥāsabati al-kuffāri

The question of reckoning for unbelievers

فَأَمَّا مُحَاسَبَةُ الْكُفَّارِ فَهَذِهِ مَسْأَلَةٌ اِخْتَلَفَ النَّاسُ فِيهَا فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ ذَهَبَ إِلَى أَنَّهُمْ يُحَاسَبُونَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَنْكَرَ حِسَابَهُمْ، وَقَدِ اِخْتَلَفَ الْآثَارُ فِي ذَلِكَ فَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي بَعْضِهَا مَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى حِسَابِهِمْ وَبِهِ تَعَلَّقَ مَنْ قَالَ بِهِ وَجَاءَ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنْهَا مَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّهُمْ لَا يُحَاسَبُونَ وَبِهِ اِحْتَجَّ مَنْ أَنْكَرَ حِسَابَهُمْ.

faʾammā muḥāsabatu al-kuffāri fa-hādhihi masʾalatun ikhtalafa al-nāsu fīhā faminhum man dhahaba ʾilā ʾannahum yuḥāsabūna waminhum man ʾankara ḥisābahum, waqadi ikhtalafa al-ʾāthāru fī dhālika faqad jāʾa fī baʿḍihā mā yadullu ʿalā ḥisābihim wabihi taʿallaqa man qāla bihi wajāʾa fī kathīrin minhā mā yadullu ʿalā ʾannahum lā yuḥāsabūna wabihi iḥtajja man ʾankara ḥisābahum.

As for reckoning for unbelievers, people have differed on this question. Some hold that they will be called to account; others deny it. The transmitted reports also differ. Some indicate that they will be called to account, and those affirming it rely on these. Many indicate that they will not, and those denying their reckoning appeal to these.

وَإِنَّمَا يُرْجَعُ عِنْدَ الِاخْتِلَافِ إِلَى كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَفِيهِ الشِّفَاءُ وَبِهِ الْغِنَى فَنُفَصِّلُ مَا أَجْمَلَ الْقَائِلُونَ وَنَعْدِلُ فِي الْقَوْلِ الشَّدِيدِ فِيمَا تَأَوَّلَهُ الْمُتَأَوِّلُونَ، فَنَقُولُ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ ذَكَرَ فِي كِتَابِهِ آيَتَيْنِ تَدُلُّ عَلَى مَسْأَلَةِ الْكُفَّارِ عَنِ الشِّرْكِ الَّذِي أَدْخَلُوا فِي التَّوْحِيدِ وَعَنْ إِجَابَةِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ وَتَكْذِيبِهِمْ.

waʾinnamā yurjaʿu ʿinda al-ikhtilāfi ʾilā kitābi Allāhi taʿālā fafīhi al-shifāʾu wabihi al-ghinā fanufaṣṣilu mā ʾajmala al-qāʾilūna wanaʿdilu fī al-qawli al-shadīdi fīmā taʾawwalahu al-mutaʾawwilūna, fanaqūlu wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu ʾanna Allāha subḥānahu dhakara fī kitābihi ʾāyatayni tadullu ʿalā masʾalati al-kuffāri ʿani al-shirki alladhī ʾadkhalū fī al-tawḥīdi waʿan ʾijābati al-mursalīna watakdhībihim.

In disagreement, one returns to the Book of God Most High: in it is healing, and through it sufficiency. We shall distinguish what speakers have left general and adopt a balanced position amid the severe statements of interpreters. We say, God knows best, that God, glorified is He, mentions two verses in His Book indicating that unbelievers will be questioned about the association they introduced into divine unity, and about their response to the messengers and their denial of them.

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَيَوْمَ يُنَادِيهِمْ فَيَقُولُ أَيْنَ شُرَكَائِيَ الَّذِينَ كُنْتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ﴾ الْقَصَصِ: 62، ثُمَّ قَالَ فِي الْآيَةِ الْأُخْرَى: ﴿وَيَوْمَ يُنَادِيهِمْ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَا أَجَبْتُمُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ﴾ الْقَصَصِ: 65، فَنَقُولُ إِنَّهُمْ عَلَى هَذَا يُسْأَلُونَ عَنِ التَّوْحِيدِ فَقَطْ وَعَنْ تَكْذِيبِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ هَاتَيْنِ الْآيَتَيْنِ.

qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿wayawma yunādīhim fayaqūlu ʾayna shurakāʾiya alladhīna kuntum tazʿumūna﴾ al-qaṣaṣi: 62, thumma qāla fī al-ʾāyati al-ʾukhrā: ﴿wayawma yunādīhim fayaqūlu mādhā ʾajabtumu al-mursalīna﴾ al-qaṣaṣi: 65, fanaqūlu ʾinnahum ʿalā hādhā yusʾalūna ʿani al-tawḥīdi faqaṭ waʿan takdhībi al-mursalīna hātayni al-ʾāyatayni.

God Most High said, “The day He calls them and says, ‘Where are My partners whom you used to claim?’” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:62). In the other verse He says, “The day He calls them and says, ‘What answer did you give the messengers?’” (28:65). On this basis we say that they are questioned only about divine unity and their denial of the messengers, according to these two verses.

وَقَالَ فِي الْآيَتَيْنِ الْآخَرَتَيْنِ: ﴿وَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذُنُوبِهِمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ﴾ الْقَصَصِ: 78، وَقَالَ فِي الْأُخْرَى: ﴿فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذَنْبِهِ إِنْسٌ وَلَا جَانٌّ﴾ الرَّحْمَنِ: 39، ثُمَّ قَالَ: ﴿يُعْرَفُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ بِسِيمَاهُمْ فَيُؤْخَذُ بِالنَّوَاصِي وَالْأَقْدَامِ﴾ الرَّحْمَنِ: 41، فَهَذَا نَصٌّ فِي تَرْكِ الْمَسْأَلَةِ عَلَى الذُّنُوبِ وَالْأَعْمَالِ.

waqāla fī al-ʾāyatayni al-ʾākharatayni: ﴿walā yusʾalu ʿan dhunūbihimu al-mujrimūna﴾ al-qaṣaṣi: 78, waqāla fī al-ʾukhrā: ﴿fayawmaʾidhin lā yusʾalu ʿan dhanbihi ʾinsun walā jānnun﴾ al-raḥmāni: 39, thumma qāla: ﴿yuʿrafu al-mujrimūna bisīmāhum fayuʾkhadhu bi-al-nawāṣī wa-al-ʾaqdāmi﴾ al-raḥmāni: 41, fa-hādhā naṣṣun fī tarki al-masʾalati ʿalā al-dhunūbi wa-al-ʾaʿmāli.

In the other two verses He said, “The guilty are not questioned about their sins” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:78), and, “That day no human or jinn will be questioned about his sin” (al-Raḥmān 55:39). Then He said, “The guilty are known by their marks and seized by forelocks and feet” (55:41). This explicitly indicates the absence of questioning about sins and deeds.

فَنَقُولُ بِهَاتَيْنِ الْآيَتَيْنِ إِنَّهُمْ لَا يُسْأَلُونَ عَنِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَإِنَّمَا يُحَاسَبُ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ مَنْ كَانَتْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُ مُعَامَلَةٌ وَمَنْ ثَبَتَتْ لَهُ حَسَنَاتٌ يَقَعُ بِهَا تَرْجِيحٌ وَمُوَازَنَةٌ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَقِفُوهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ مَسْؤُولُونَ﴾ الصَّافَّاتِ: 24، قَالَ: عَنْ قَوْلِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَاهُ مَرْفُوعًا إِلَى النَّبِيِّ فَهَذَا عَلَى مَعْنَى مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ أَنَّهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ عَنِ التَّوْحِيدِ.

fanaqūlu bihātayni al-ʾāyatayni ʾinnahum lā yusʾalūna ʿani al-ʾaʿmāli waʾinnamā yuḥāsabu ʿalā al-ʿamali man kānat baynahu wabaynahu muʿāmalatun waman thabatat lahu ḥasanātun yaqaʿu bihā tarjīḥun wamuwāzanatun. waqad rawaynā ʿan ʾanasi bni mālikin raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu fī qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿waqifūhum ʾinnahum masʾūlūna﴾ al-ṣāffāti: 24, qāla: ʿan qawli lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu, waqad rawaynāhu marfūʿan ʾilā al-nabiyyi fa-hādhā ʿalā maʿnā mā dhakarnāhu ʾannahum yusʾalūna ʿani al-tawḥīdi.

On the basis of these two verses we say that they are not questioned about deeds. Only one who has had dealings with Him, and whose good deeds are securely credited so that weighing and preponderance can occur, is called to account for action. We have related from Anas ibn Mālik, may God Most High be pleased with him, concerning the words of God Most High, “Detain them: they are to be questioned” (al-Ṣāffāt 37:24), that it means about saying, “There is no god but God.” We have also related it as traced to the Prophet. This accords with our explanation that they are questioned about divine unity.

فَالنَّاسُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ يُحْشَرُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَلَى سِتِّ طَبَقَاتٍ: طَائِفَةٌ تَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ وَهُمُ السَّابِقُونَ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ، وَطَائِفَةٌ تَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ بَعْدَ الْحِسَابِ الْيَسِيرِ وَهُمْ خُصُوصُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالصَّالِحِينَ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَدْخُلُ بَعْدَ الْحِسَابِ الطَّوِيلِ وَالْمُنَاقَشَةِ وَهُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْيَمِينِ وَعُمُومُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ.

fa-al-nāsu min ʾahli al-jannati wa-al-nāri yuḥsharūna yawma al-qiyāmati ʿalā sitti ṭabaqātin: ṭāʾifatun tadkhulu al-jannata bighayri ḥisābin wahumu al-sābiqūna al-muqarrabūna, waṭāʾifatun tadkhulu al-jannata baʿda al-ḥisābi al-yasīri wahum khuṣūṣu al-muʾminīna wa-al-ṣāliḥīna, waminhum man yadkhulu baʿda al-ḥisābi al-ṭawīli wa-al-munāqashati wahum ʾaṣḥābu al-yamīni waʿumūmu al-muʾminīna.

People destined for Paradise and the Fire are gathered on the Day of Resurrection in six classes. One group enters Paradise without reckoning: the foremost, those brought near. Another enters after an easy reckoning: the select among believers and the righteous. Some enter after a long reckoning and close examination: the people of the right and believers generally.

وَكَذَلِكَ أَهْلُ النَّارِ ثَلَاثُ طَبَقَاتٍ: طَائِفَةٌ تَدْخُلُ النَّارَ بِغَيْرِ سُؤَالٍ وَلَا حِسَابٍ عَالَمَانِ مِنْ عَبَدَةِ الْأَوْثَانِ مِنْ وَلَدِ يَافِثَ بْنِ نُوحٍ وَهُمْ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ خَلْقٌ خُلِقُوا لِلنَّارِ، وَطَائِفَةٌ تَدْخُلُ النَّارَ بَعْدَ الْحِسَابِ الطَّوِيلِ وَالْمُنَاقَشَةِ وَهُمْ أَهْلُ الْكَبَائِرِ وَالْمُنَافِقُونَ، وَطَائِفَةٌ بِسُؤَالٍ وَتَوْقِيفٍ مِنْ غَيْرِ

wa-kadhālika ʾahlu al-nāri thalāthu ṭabaqātin: ṭāʾifatun tadkhulu al-nāra bighayri suʾālin walā ḥisābin ʿālamāni min ʿabadati al-ʾawthāni min waladi yāfitha bni nūḥin wahum yaʾjūju wamaʾjūju khalqun khuliqū li-l-nāri, waṭāʾifatun tadkhulu al-nāra baʿda al-ḥisābi al-ṭawīli wa-al-munāqashati wahum ʾahlu al-kabāʾiri wa-al-munāfiqūna, waṭāʾifatun bisuʾālin watawqīfin min ghayri

Likewise, the people of the Fire are three classes. One enters without question or reckoning: two peoples of idol worshippers descended from Japheth son of Noah, Gog and Magog, creatures created for the Fire. Another enters after a long reckoning and close examination: those guilty of grave sins and the hypocrites. Another enters after questioning and detention, without

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٦٦

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 266

Volume Two, page 266

مُحَاسَبَةٍ عَلَى الْأَعْمَالِ وَهُمْ أُمَمُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ الْمُرْسَلِ إِلَيْهِمُ الْمُرْسَلُونَ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿فَلَنَسْأَلَنَّ الَّذِينَ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ﴾ الْأَعْرَافِ: 6. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ: «مَنْ نُوقِشَ الْحِسَابَ عُذِّبَ» فَقِيلَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا؟ فَقَالَ: «ذَلِكَ الْعَرْضُ وَمَنْ نُوقِشَ الْحِسَابَ عُذِّبَ».

muḥāsabatin ʿalā al-ʾaʿmāli wahum ʾumamu al-ʾanbiyāʾi al-mursali ʾilayhimu al-mursalūna liqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿falanasʾalanna alladhīna ʾursila ʾilayhim﴾ al-ʾaʿrāfi: 6. waqad rawaynā fī al-khabari al-mashhūri: «man nūqisha al-ḥisāba ʿudhdhiba» faqīla: yā rasūla Allāhi ʾalaysa Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: fasawfa yuḥāsabu ḥisāban yasīran? faqāla: «dhālika al-ʿarḍu waman nūqisha al-ḥisāba ʿudhdhiba».

reckoning for deeds: the prophets' communities to whom messengers were sent, according to the words of God Most High, “We shall surely question those to whom messengers were sent” (al-Aʿrāf 7:6). We have related the well-known report, “Whoever is closely examined in the reckoning is punished.” It was asked, “Messenger of God, does God Most High not say, ‘He will receive an easy reckoning’?” He replied, “That is the presentation. Whoever is closely examined in the reckoning is punished.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ إِمَامُنَا سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ يَقُولُ: يُسْأَلُ الْكُفَّارُ عَنِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَلَا يُسْأَلُونَ عَنِ السُّنَّةِ وَيُسْأَلُ الْمُبْتَدِعُونَ عَنِ السُّنَّةِ وَيُسْأَلُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ عَنِ الْأَعْمَالِ. فَأَمَّا قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّ إِلَيْنَا إِيَابَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا حِسَابَهُمْ﴾ الْغَاشِيَةِ: 25–26، فَفِيهَا وَجْهَانِ.

waqad kāna ʾimāmunā sahlu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi yaqūlu: yusʾalu al-kuffāru ʿani al-tawḥīdi walā yusʾalūna ʿani al-sunnati wayusʾalu al-mubtadiʿūna ʿani al-sunnati wayusʾalu al-muslimūna ʿani al-ʾaʿmāli. faʾammā qawluhu taʿālā: ﴿ʾinna ʾilaynā ʾiyābahum thumma ʾinna ʿalaynā ḥisābahum﴾ al-ghāshiyati: 25–26, fafīhā wajhāni.

Our imam Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh used to say, “Unbelievers are questioned about divine unity, not the Sunna; innovators are questioned about the Sunna; Muslims are questioned about deeds.” As for the words of God Most High, “To Us is their return; then upon Us is their reckoning” (al-Ghāshiya 88:25–26), they admit two interpretations.

أَحَدُ الْوَجْهَيْنِ أَنْ يَكُونَ هَذَا كَلَامًا مُنْفَصِلًا عَمَّا قَبْلَهُ يُرَادُ بِهِ الْمُسْلِمُونَ لِأَنَّهُ ذَكَرَ خَبَرَ الْكُفَّارِ فَخَتَمَهُ بِالْعَذَابِ فَقَالَ فِي أَوَّلِ الْكَلَامِ: ﴿إِلَّا مَنْ تَوَلَّى وَكَفَرَ فَيُعَذِّبُهُ اللَّهُ الْعَذَابَ الْأَكْبَرَ﴾ الْغَاشِيَةِ: 23–24، هَذَا آخِرُ خَبَرِهِمْ، ثُمَّ اِسْتَأْنَفَ مُخْبِرًا عَنْ غَيْرِهِمْ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ إِلَيْنَا إِيَابَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا حِسَابَهُمْ.

ʾaḥadu al-wajhayni ʾan yakūna hādhā kalāman munfaṣilan ʿammā qablahu yurādu bihi al-muslimūna liʾannahu dhakara khabara al-kuffāri fakhatamahu bi-al-ʿadhābi faqāla fī ʾawwali al-kalāmi: ﴿ʾillā man tawallā wakafara fayuʿadhdhibuhu Allāhu al-ʿadhāba al-ʾakbara﴾ al-ghāshiyati: 23–24, hādhā ʾākhiru khabarihim, thumma istaʾnafa mukhbiran ʿan ghayrihim faqāla: ʾinna ʾilaynā ʾiyābahum thumma ʾinna ʿalaynā ḥisābahum.

One interpretation is that this is a statement separate from what precedes it, referring to Muslims. He had spoken about unbelievers and concluded their account with punishment, saying at the beginning, “Except whoever turns away and disbelieves: God will punish him with the greatest punishment” (al-Ghāshiya 88:23–24). That ends their account. He then begins afresh concerning others: “To Us is their return; then upon Us is their reckoning.”

وَالْوَجْهُ الْآخَرُ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا حِسَابَهُمْ﴾ الْغَاشِيَةِ: 26، أَيْ جَزَاءَهُمْ، فَالْحِسَابُ أَيَّمَا ذُكِرَ لِلْكُفَّارِ يَكُونُ بِمَعْنَى الْمُجَازَاةِ عَلَى أَعْمَالِهِمُ السَّيِّئَةِ وَكَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ﴾ النُّورِ: 39، يَعْنِي جَزَاءَهُ.

wa-al-wajhu al-ʾākharu ʾan yakūna qawluhu taʿālā: ﴿thumma ʾinna ʿalaynā ḥisābahum﴾ al-ghāshiyati: 26, ʾay jazāʾahum, fa-al-ḥisābu ʾayyamā dhukira li-l-kuffāri yakūnu bimaʿnā al-mujāzāti ʿalā ʾaʿmālihimu al-sayyiʾati wa-kadhālika qawluhu taʿālā: ﴿wawajada Allāha ʿindahu fawaffāhu ḥisābahu﴾ al-nūri: 39, yaʿnī jazāʾahu.

The other interpretation is that the words of God Most High, “Then upon Us is their reckoning” (al-Ghāshiya 88:26), mean their recompense. Whenever reckoning is mentioned for unbelievers, it means requital for their evil deeds. Likewise the words of God Most High, “He found God there, and He paid him his account in full” (al-Nūr 24:39), mean his recompense.

إِلَّا أَنَّ الْفَرَّاءَ وَغَيْرَهُ مِنْ أَهْلِ اللِّسَانِ خَالَفُونَا فِي هَذَا فَاِعْتَبَرُوهُ بِمَا بَعْدَهُ فَجَعَلُوهُ دَلِيلًا عَلَى الْمُحَاسَبَةِ، قَالُوا: اِحْتَمَلَ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَوْلُهُ فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ جَزَاءَهُ كَمَا قُلْنَا وَاِحْتَمَلَ أَنْ يُرِيدَ مُحَاسَبَتَهُ فَلَمَّا قِيلَ وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ كَشَفَ التَّنْزِيلُ التَّأْوِيلَ بِذَلِكَ أَنَّ حِسَابَهُ يَعْنِي مُحَاسَبَتَهُ.

ʾillā ʾanna al-farrāʾa waghayrahu min ʾahli al-lisāni khālafūnā fī hādhā fa-iʿtabarūhu bimā baʿdahu fajaʿalūhu dalīlan ʿalā al-muḥāsabati, qālū: iḥtamala ʾan yakūna qawluhu fawaffāhu ḥisābahu ʾan yakūna jazāʾahu kamā qulnā wa-iḥtamala ʾan yurīda muḥāsabatahu falammā qīla wa-Allāhu sarīʿu al-ḥisābi kashafa al-tanzīlu al-taʾwīla bi-dhālika ʾanna ḥisābahu yaʿnī muḥāsabatahu.

Al-Farrāʾ and other authorities on language disagreed with us here. They considered what follows and made it evidence for an actual reckoning. They said that “He paid him his account in full” might mean his recompense, as we said, or might mean calling him to account. But the ensuing words, “God is swift in reckoning,” reveal through the wording of revelation that “his account” means his being called to account.

وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ الزَّجَّاجُ فِي تَأْوِيلِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ آنِفًا مِنْ قَوْلِهِ: ﴿وَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذُنُوبِهِمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ﴾ الْقَصَصِ: 78، فَقَالَ مَعْنَاهُ لَا يُسْأَلُونَ لِتَوَجُّهٍ مِنْ قِبَلِهِمْ أَوْ لِيُرْجَعَ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ عِلْمِ ذَلِكَ وَسَبْقِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ أَيْ قَدْ فَرَغَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَأَحْكَمَهُ بِمَا سَبَقَ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ.

wa-kadhālika qāla al-zajjāju fī taʾwīli mā dhakarnāhu ʾānifan min qawlihi: ﴿walā yusʾalu ʿan dhunūbihimu al-mujrimūna﴾ al-qaṣaṣi: 78, faqāla maʿnāhu lā yusʾalūna litawajjuhin min qibalihim ʾaw liyurjaʿa ʾilayhim min ʿilmi dhālika wasabqihi ʿalayhim ʾay qad faragha Allāhu ʿazza wajalla min dhālika faʾaḥkamahu bimā sabaqa min ʿilmihi.

Similarly, al-Zajjāj explained the words mentioned earlier, “The guilty are not questioned about their sins” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:78), as meaning that they are not asked in order to obtain direction from them or to refer back to them for any knowledge of this and its prior determination concerning them. God, mighty and majestic, has already settled it and made it firm through His antecedent knowledge.

وَوَاطَأَهُ مُقَاتِلُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ عَلَى هَذَا التَّأْوِيلِ بِاِخْتِلَافِ مَعْنًى بِمَعْنَى صَنْعَتِهِ التَّفْسِيرِ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ فِي اللُّغَةِ تَمْكِينٌ، فَقَالَ: مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ وَلَا يُسْأَلُ هَؤُلَاءِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ عَنْ ذُنُوبِ السَّالِفِينَ، فَجَعَلَ الْهَاءَ وَالْمِيمَ عَلَى مَنْ تَقَدَّمَ ذِكْرُهُ مِنْ قَارُونَ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَالْقُرُونِ السَّالِفَةِ لِأَنَّ ذِكْرَهُمْ كَانَ سِيَاقَ هَذَا الْخِطَابِ.

wawāṭaʾahu muqātilu bnu sulaymāna ʿalā hādhā al-taʾwīli bi-ikhtilāfi maʿnan bimaʿnā ṣanʿatihi al-tafsīri liʾannahu lam yakun lahu fī al-lughati tamkīnun, faqāla: maʿnā dhālika walā yusʾalu hāʾulāʾi al-mujrimūna ʿan dhunūbi al-sālifīna, fajaʿala al-hāʾa wa-al-mīma ʿalā man taqaddama dhikruhu min qārūna waʾaṣḥābihi wa-al-qurūni al-sālifati liʾanna dhikrahum kāna siyāqa hādhā al-khiṭābi.

Muqātil ibn Sulaymān agreed with this interpretation, with a difference in meaning reflecting his craft of exegesis, for he was not firmly grounded in language. He said it meant that these guilty people are not questioned about the sins of earlier peoples. He thus made the letters hāʾ and mīm in “their” refer to those previously mentioned: Korah, his companions, and earlier generations, whose mention formed the context of this address.

فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَهْلَكَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ جَمْعًا﴾ الْقَصَصِ: 78، ثُمَّ قَالَ: وَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذُنُوبِهِمْ، يَعْنِي هَؤُلَاءِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ، يَعْنِي مُشْرِكِي هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ. وَقَالَ أَيْضًا هُوَ وَغَيْرُهُ: إِنَّ الْكُفَّارَ سَأَلُوا فَقَالُوا: تُرَى مَاذَا فَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالْقُرُونِ الْأُولَى الَّذِينَ يَقُصُّ عَلَيْنَا نَبَأَهُمْ؟ قَالَ: فَنَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ.

fī qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿ʾawalam yaʿlam ʾanna Allāha qad ʾahlaka min qablihi mina al-qurūni man huwa ʾashaddu minhu quwwatan waʾaktharu jamʿan﴾ al-qaṣaṣi: 78, thumma qāla: walā yusʾalu ʿan dhunūbihim, yaʿnī hāʾulāʾi al-mujrimūna, yaʿnī mushrikī hādhihi al-ʾummati. waqāla ʾayḍan huwa waghayruhu: ʾinna al-kuffāra saʾalū faqālū: turā mādhā faʿala Allāhu taʿālā bi-al-qurūni al-ʾūlā alladhīna yaquṣṣu ʿalaynā nabaʾahum? qāla: fanazalat hādhihi al-ʾāyatu.

This occurs in the words of God Most High, “Did he not know that God had destroyed before him generations mightier in strength and greater in accumulated wealth?” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:78). Then He said, “Nor are they questioned about their sins,” meaning these guilty people, the associators of this community. He and others also said that unbelievers asked, “What, then, did God Most High do with the earliest generations whose accounts He relates to us?” He said that this verse was then revealed.

فَهِيَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ قَوْلِ فِرْعَوْنَ، قَالَ: فَمَا بَالُ الْقُرُونِ الْأُولَى؟ فَقَالَ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: عِلْمُهَا عِنْدَ رَبِّي، إِلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَدْ قَالَ فِي ذِكْرِ الْحِسَابِ بِمَعْنَى الْجَزَاءِ: عَطَاءً حِسَابًا، يَعْنِي مُجَازَاةً، وَقِيلَ: كِفَايَةً بِمَعْنَى كَفَاهُمْ وَأَحْسَبَهُمْ ذَلِكَ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿حَسْبُهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ﴾ الْمُجَادَلَةِ: 8، أَيْ كَافِيهِمْ ذَلِكَ.

fahiya bimanzilati qawli firʿawna, qāla: famā bālu al-qurūni al-ʾūlā? faqāla mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʿilmuhā ʿinda rabbī, ʾillā ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wajalla qad qāla fī dhikri al-ḥisābi bimaʿnā al-jazāʾi: ʿaṭāʾan ḥisāban, yaʿnī mujāzātan, waqīla: kifāyatan bimaʿnā kafāhum waʾaḥsabahum dhālika, kamā qāla taʿālā: ﴿ḥasbuhum jahannamu﴾ al-mujādalati: 8, ʾay kāfīhim dhālika.

It is like Pharaoh's saying, “What, then, of the earliest generations?” Moses, peace be upon him, replied, “Knowledge of them is with my Lord.” Yet God, mighty and majestic, has used “reckoning” in the sense of recompense: “a gift in due measure,” meaning requital. It is also explained as sufficiency: it sufficed and provided enough for them, as He said, Most High, “Hell suffices them” (al-Mujādila 58:8), meaning it is enough for them.

الْفَصْلُ الثَّامِنُ وَالثَّلَاثُونَ فِي الْإِخْلَاصِ وَشَرْحِ النِّيَّاتِ وَالْأَمْرِ بِتَحْسِينِهَا فِي تَصَرُّفِ الْأَحْوَالِ وَالتَّحْذِيرِ مِنْ دُخُولِ الْآفَاتِ عَلَيْهَا فِي الْأَفْعَالِ

al-faṣlu al-thāminu wa-al-thalāthūna fī al-ʾikhlāṣi washarḥi al-niyyāti wa-al-ʾamri bitaḥsīnihā fī taṣarrufi al-ʾaḥwāli wa-al-taḥdhīri min dukhūli al-ʾāfāti ʿalayhā fī al-ʾafʿāli

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Sincerity, an explanation of intentions, the command to improve them as circumstances change, and a warning against the faults that enter them in action

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٦٧

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 267

Volume Two, page 267

قَالَ اللَّهُ الْكَبِيرُ الْمُتَعَالِ: (وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ) الْبَيِّنَةُ: 5. وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ثَلَاثٌ لَا يَغِلُّ عَلَيْهِنَّ قَلْبُ رَجُلٍ مُسْلِمٍ: إِخْلَاصُ الْعَمَلِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى. وَقَالَ: إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَلِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى.

qāla Allāhu al-kabīru al-mutaʿāli: (wamā ʾumirū ʾillā liyaʿbudū Allāha mukhliṣīna lahu al-dīna) al-bayyinatu: 5. waqāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: thalāthun lā yaghillu ʿalayhinna qalbu rajulin muslimin: ʾikhlāṣu al-ʿamali li-llāhi taʿālā. waqāla: ʾinnamā al-ʾaʿmālu bi-al-niyyāti, walikulli imriʾin mā nawā.

God, the Great, the Most Exalted, said: “They were commanded only to worship God, devoting religion sincerely to Him” (al-Bayyina 98:5). God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “There are three things toward which a Muslim's heart bears no rancor: dedicating one's action sincerely to God Most High.” He also said: “Actions are only according to intentions, and each person has what he intended.”

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْحَدِيثِ مِنْ طَرِيقِ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ: لَا يَقْبَلُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَوْلًا إِلَّا بِعَمَلٍ، وَلَا قَوْلًا وَعَمَلًا إِلَّا بِنِيَّةٍ. وَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ: أَفْضَلُ الْأَعْمَالِ أَدَاءُ مَا افْتَرَضَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، وَالْوَرَعُ عَمَّا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، وَصِدْقُ النِّيَّةِ فِيمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

waqad rawaynā fī al-ḥadīthi min ṭarīqi ʾahli al-bayti ʿalayhimu al-salāmu: lā yaqbalu Allāhu taʿālā qawlan ʾillā biʿamalin, walā qawlan waʿamalan ʾillā biniyyatin. waqāla ʿumaru bnu al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu: ʾafḍalu al-ʾaʿmāli ʾadāʾu mā iftaraḍa Allāhu taʿālā, wa-al-waraʿu ʿammā ḥarrama Allāhu taʿālā, waṣidqu al-niyyati fīmā ʿinda Allāhi ʿazza wajalla.

We have transmitted a hadith through the Prophet's Household, peace be upon them: “God Most High accepts no speech without action, and neither speech nor action without intention.” ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may God Most High be pleased with him, said: “The best deeds are fulfilling what God Most High has made obligatory, scrupulously avoiding what God Most High has forbidden, and being truthful in one's intention toward what is with God, mighty and majestic.”

فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ لِلْعَبْدِ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ نِيَّةٌ، حَتَّى فِي مَطْعَمِهِ وَمَشْرَبِهِ وَمَلْبَسِهِ وَنَوْمِهِ وَنِكَاحِهِ؛ فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ كُلَّهُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِ الَّتِي يُسْأَلُ عَنْهَا؛ فَإِنْ كَانَتْ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَفِيهِ كَانَتْ فِي مِيزَانِ حَسَنَاتِهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَتْ فِي سَبِيلِ الْهَوَى وَلِغَيْرِ الْمَوْلَى كَانَتْ فِي مِيزَانِ سَيِّئَاتِهِ، إِذْ لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ مَا نَوَى.

fayanbaghī ʾan yakūna li-l-ʿabdi fī kulli shayʾin niyyatun, ḥattā fī maṭʿamihi wamashrabihi wamalbasihi wanawmihi wanikāḥihi; faʾinna dhālika kullahu min ʾaʿmālihi allatī yusʾalu ʿanhā; faʾin kānat li-llāhi taʿālā wafīhi kānat fī mīzāni ḥasanātihi, waʾin kānat fī sabīli al-hawā walighayri al-mawlā kānat fī mīzāni sayyiʾātihi, ʾidh likulli ʿabdin mā nawā.

A servant should therefore have an intention in everything, even in eating, drinking, dressing, sleeping, and marital relations, for all these are among the actions about which he will be questioned. If they are for God Most High and in His cause, they belong in the scale of his good deeds. If they follow desire and are for someone other than the Master, they belong in the scale of his evil deeds, since every servant has what he intended.

وَإِنْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ غَفْلَةً وَسَهْوًا مِنْ غَيْرِ نِيَّةٍ وَلَا عَقْدِ طَوِيَّةٍ وَلَا حِسْبَةٍ، لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ شَيْءٌ، وَلَمْ يَجِدْ عَمَلَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ شَيْئًا، وَكَانَ فِيهِ لَا لَهُ وَلَا عَلَيْهِ. وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ فِي الدُّنْيَا عَلَى مِثَالِ الْأَنْعَامِ الَّتِي تَتَصَرَّفُ عَنْ غَيْرِ عُقُولٍ وَلَا تَكْلِيفٍ، وَلَكِنْ بِإِلْهَامٍ وَتَوْفِيقٍ.

waʾin kāna dhālika ghaflatan wasahwan min ghayri niyyatin walā ʿaqdi ṭawiyyatin walā ḥisbatin, lam yakun lahu fī dhālika shayʾun, walam yajid ʿamalahu fī al-ʾākhirati shayʾan, wakāna fīhi lā lahu walā ʿalayhi. wakāna dhālika fī al-dunyā ʿalā mithāli al-ʾanʿāmi allatī tataṣarrafu ʿan ghayri ʿuqūlin walā taklīfin, wa-lākin biʾilhāmin watawfīqin.

If he acts heedlessly and inattentively, without intention, inward resolve, or seeking reward, nothing in it is credited to him. In the hereafter he will find his deed to be nothing: it counts neither for him nor against him. In this world it resembles the conduct of livestock, which move about without rational understanding or religious obligation, but through instinctive inspiration and enabling.

وَأَخَافُ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ فِي وَصْفِ مَنْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَنْ ذِكْرِنَا وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطًا) الْكَهْفُ: 28، أَيْ غَفْلَةً وَسَهْوًا، وَقِيلَ: تَفْرِيطًا وَتَضْيِيعًا، وَقِيلَ: مُقَدَّمًا إِلَى الْهَلَاكِ. فَالنِّيَّةُ الصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ أَوَّلُ الْعَمَلِ الصَّالِحِ وَأَوَّلُ الْعَطَاءِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَهُوَ مَكَانُ الْجَزَاءِ.

waʾakhāfu ʾan yadkhula fī waṣfi man qāla Allāhu taʿālā: (ʾaghfalnā qalbahu ʿan dhikrinā wattabaʿa hawāhu wakāna ʾamruhu furuṭan) al-kahfu: 28, ʾay ghaflatan wasahwan, waqīla: tafrīṭan wataḍyīʿan, waqīla: muqaddaman ʾilā al-halāki. fa-al-niyyatu al-ṣāliḥatu hiya ʾawwalu al-ʿamali al-ṣāliḥi waʾawwalu al-ʿaṭāʾi mina Allāhi taʿālā, wahuwa makānu al-jazāʾi.

I fear that he may fall within the description of the person of whom God Most High said: “We have made his heart heedless of Our remembrance; he follows his desire, and his affair has gone beyond bounds” (al-Kahf 18:28): that is, into heedlessness and inattention. It has also been explained as neglect and wastefulness, or as proceeding toward destruction. A sound intention is the beginning of a sound deed and the first gift from God Most High; it is the place of recompense.

وَإِنَّمَا يَكُونُ لِلْعَبْدِ مِنْ ثَوَابِ الْأَعْمَالِ عَلَى حَسَبِ مَا يَهَبُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُ مِنَ النِّيَّاتِ. فَرُبَّمَا اتَّفَقَ فِي الْعَمَلِ الْوَاحِدِ نِيَّاتٌ كَثِيرَةٌ عَلَى مِقْدَارِ مَا يَحْتَمِلُ الْعَبْدُ مِنَ النِّيَّةِ وَعَلَى مِقْدَارِ عِلْمِ الْعَامِلِ، فَيَكُونُ لَهُ بِكُلِّ نِيَّةٍ حَسَنَةٌ، ثُمَّ يُضَاعَفُ كُلُّ حَسَنَةٍ عَشْرَ أَمْثَالِهَا، لِأَنَّهَا أَعْمَالٌ تَجْتَمِعُ فِي عَمَلٍ.

waʾinnamā yakūnu li-l-ʿabdi min thawābi al-ʾaʿmāli ʿalā ḥasabi mā yahabu Allāhu taʿālā lahu mina al-niyyāti. farubbamā ittafaqa fī al-ʿamali al-wāḥidi niyyātun kathīratun ʿalā miqdāri mā yaḥtamilu al-ʿabdu mina al-niyyati waʿalā miqdāri ʿilmi al-ʿāmili, fayakūnu lahu bikulli niyyatin ḥasanatun, thumma yuḍāʿafu kullu ḥasanatin ʿashra ʾamthālihā, liʾannahā ʾaʿmālun tajtamiʿu fī ʿamalin.

A servant's reward for his deeds is proportionate to the intentions God Most High grants him. Many intentions may coincide within a single action, according to the intention the servant can sustain and the knowledge of the one acting. Each intention then earns him a good deed, and each good deed is multiplied tenfold, for these are multiple actions gathered within one action.

وَصُورَةُ النِّيَّةِ مَعْنَيَانِ، أَحَدُهُمَا: صِحَّةُ قَصْدِ الْقَلْبِ إِلَى الْعَمَلِ بِحُسْنِ التَّيَقُّظِ فِيهِ وَالْإِخْلَاصِ بِهِ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ابْتِغَاءَ مَا عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الْأَجْرِ. فَكُلُّ عَمَلٍ كَانَ عَلَى عِلْمٍ بِهَذِهِ النِّيَّةِ فَهُوَ صَالِحٌ مُتَقَبَّلٌ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ، لِأَنَّ صَاحِبَهُ قَدِ اتَّقَى الشِّرْكَ وَالْجَهْلَ وَالْهَوَى، فَعَمَلُهُ مَرْفُوعٌ فِي الْخَزَائِنِ مُدَّخَرٌ لَهُ الْجَزَاءُ.

waṣūratu al-niyyati maʿnayāni, ʾaḥaduhumā: ṣiḥḥatu qaṣdi al-qalbi ʾilā al-ʿamali biḥusni al-tayaqquẓi fīhi wa-al-ʾikhlāṣi bihi liwajhi Allāhi taʿālā ibtighāʾa mā ʿindahu mina al-ʾajri. fakullu ʿamalin kāna ʿalā ʿilmin bi-hādhihi al-niyyati fahuwa ṣāliḥun mutaqabbalun bifaḍli Allāhi taʿālā wabiraḥmatihi, liʾanna ṣāḥibahu qadi ittaqā al-shirka wa-al-jahla wa-al-hawā, faʿamaluhu marfūʿun fī al-khazāʾini muddakharun lahu al-jazāʾu.

Intention has two aspects. The first is the heart's sound purpose in the action, through attentive awareness of it and dedicating it sincerely to the Face of God Most High, seeking the reward with Him. Every deed knowingly performed with this intention is sound and accepted through God Most High's favor and mercy, since its doer has avoided associating partners with God, ignorance, and desire. His deed is raised into the treasuries, and its recompense is stored for him.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٦٨

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 268

Volume Two, page 268

وَحَقِيقَةُ الْإِخْلَاصِ سَلَامَتُهُ مِنْ وَصْفَيْنِ؛ وَهُمَا: الرِّيَاءُ وَالْهَوَى، لِيَكُونَ خَالِصًا كَمَا وَصَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْخَالِصَ مِنَ اللَّبَنِ، فَكَانَ بِذَلِكَ تَمَامُ النِّعْمَةِ عَلَيْنَا، فَقَالَ: (مِنْ بَيْنِ فَرْثٍ وَدَمٍ لَبَنًا خَالِصًا) النَّحْلُ: 66. فَلَوْ وُجِدَ فِيهِ أَحَدُ الْوَصْفَيْنِ مِنْ فَرْثٍ أَوْ دَمٍ لَمْ يَكُنْ خَالِصًا، وَلَمْ تَتِمَّ النِّعْمَةُ بِهِ عَلَيْنَا، وَلَمْ تَقْبَلْهُ نُفُوسُنَا.

waḥaqīqatu al-ʾikhlāṣi salāmatuhu min waṣfayni; wahumā: al-riyāʾu wa-al-hawā, liyakūna khāliṣan kamā waṣafa Allāhu taʿālā al-khāliṣa mina al-labani, fakāna bi-dhālika tamāmu al-niʿmati ʿalaynā, faqāla: (min bayni farthin wadamin labanan khāliṣan) al-naḥlu: 66. falaw wujida fīhi ʾaḥadu al-waṣfayni min farthin ʾaw damin lam yakun khāliṣan, walam tatimma al-niʿmatu bihi ʿalaynā, walam taqbalhu nufūsunā.

The reality of sincerity is its freedom from two qualities: showing off and desire, so that it may be pure. God Most High similarly describes milk as pure, and through that purity the blessing upon us is complete. He said: “From between digested matter and blood, pure milk” (al-Naḥl 16:66). If either digested matter or blood were present in it, it would not be pure; the blessing it brings us would be incomplete, and we would not accept it.

فَكَذَلِكَ مُعَامَلَتُنَا لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِذَا شَابَهَا رِيَاءٌ بِخَلْقٍ أَوْ هَوًى مِنْ شَهْوَةِ نَفْسٍ، وَلَمْ تَكُنْ خَالِصَةً، لَمْ يَتِمَّ بِهَا الصِّدْقُ وَالْأَدَبُ فِي الْمُعَامَلَةِ، وَلَمْ يَقْبَلْهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنَّا، فَاعْتَبِرُوا.

fa-kadhālika muʿāmalatunā li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla ʾidhā shābahā riyāʾun bikhalqin ʾaw hawan min shahwati nafsin, walam takun khāliṣatan, lam yatimma bihā al-ṣidqu wa-al-ʾadabu fī al-muʿāmalati, walam yaqbalhā Allāhu taʿālā minnā, faʿtabirū.

So it is with our dealings with God, mighty and majestic. When they are mixed with showing off before creatures or desire arising from the self's appetite, and are not pure, truthfulness and proper conduct in those dealings are incomplete, and God Most High does not accept them from us. Take heed, then.

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ عَنْ كِتَابِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ إِلَى أَبِي مُوسَى الْأَشْعَرِيِّ: أَنَّهُ مَنْ خَلَصَتْ نِيَّتُهُ كَفَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ النَّاسِ، وَمَنْ تَزَيَّنَ لِلنَّاسِ بِمَا يَعْلَمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنْهُ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ شَانَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، فَمَا ظَنُّكَ؟

warawaynā ʿan saʿīdi bni ʾabī burdata ʿan kitābi ʿumara bni al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu ʾilā ʾabī mūsā al-ʾashʿariyyi: ʾannahu man khalaṣat niyyatuhu kafāhu Allāhu taʿālā mā baynahu wabayna al-nāsi, waman tazayyana li-l-nāsi bimā yaʿlamu Allāhu taʿālā minhu ghayra dhālika shānahu Allāhu taʿālā, famā ẓannuka?

We have transmitted from Saʿīd ibn Abī Burda, concerning the letter of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may God Most High be pleased with him, to Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī: “For anyone whose intention is pure, God Most High suffices in what lies between him and other people. Whoever makes himself appear attractive to people with something God Most High knows is otherwise within him, God Most High disgraces him. What, then, do you think?”

وَكَتَبَ سَالِمُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ إِلَى عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ: اِعْلَمْ يَا عُمَرُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَوْنٌ لِلْعَبْدِ بِقَدْرِ النِّيَّةِ، فَمَنْ تَمَّتْ نِيَّتُهُ تَمَّ عَوْنُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِيَّاهُ، وَمَنْ قَصُرَتْ عَنْهُ نِيَّتُهُ قَصُرَ عَنْهُ مِنْ عَوْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِقَدْرِ ذَلِكَ.

wakataba sālimu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi ʾilā ʿumara bni ʿabdi al-ʿazīzi: iʿlam yā ʿumaru ʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʿawnun li-l-ʿabdi biqadri al-niyyati, faman tammat niyyatuhu tamma ʿawnu Allāhi taʿālā ʾiyyāhu, waman qaṣurat ʿanhu niyyatuhu qaṣura ʿanhu min ʿawni Allāhi taʿālā biqadri dhālika.

Sālim ibn ʿAbd Allāh wrote to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz: “Know, ʿUmar, that God Most High helps the servant in proportion to his intention. When a person's intention is complete, God Most High's help for him is complete. When his intention falls short, the help of God Most High that reaches him falls short by the same measure.”

وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي تَصْدِيقِ ذَلِكَ: (إِنْ يُرِيدَا إِصْلَاحًا يُوَفِّقِ اللَّهُ بَيْنَهُمَا) النِّسَاءُ: 35، فَجَعَلَ سَبَبَ التَّوْفِيقِ إِرَادَةَ الْإِصْلَاحِ؛ فَذَلِكَ هُوَ أَوَّلُ التَّوْفِيقِ مِنَ الْمُوَفِّقِ الْمُصْلِحِ لِلْعَامِلِ الصَّالِحِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: رَأَيْتُ الْخَيْرَ إِنَّمَا يَجْمَعُهُ حُسْنُ النِّيَّةِ، وَكَفَاكَ بِهِ خَيْرًا وَإِنْ لَمْ يَنْصَبْ. رُبَّ عَمَلٍ صَغِيرٍ تُعَظِّمُهُ النِّيَّةُ، وَرُبَّ عَمَلٍ كَبِيرٍ تُصَغِّرُهُ النِّيَّةُ.

waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā fī taṣdīqi dhālika: (ʾin yurīdā ʾiṣlāḥan yuwaffiqi Allāhu baynahumā) al-nisāʾu: 35, fajaʿala sababa al-tawfīqi ʾirādata al-ʾiṣlāḥi; fa-dhālika huwa ʾawwalu al-tawfīqi mina al-muwaffiqi al-muṣliḥi li-l-ʿāmili al-ṣāliḥi. waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: raʾaytu al-khayra ʾinnamā yajmaʿuhu ḥusnu al-niyyati, wakafāka bihi khayran waʾin lam yanṣab. rubba ʿamalin ṣaghīrin tuʿaẓẓimuhu al-niyyatu, warubba ʿamalin kabīrin tuṣaghghiruhu al-niyyatu.

God Most High has affirmed this in His saying: “If the two desire reconciliation, God will bring them into agreement” (al-Nisāʾ 4:35). He made the desire to put things right the cause of enabling. This is the first enabling granted to the righteous worker by the One who enables and sets things right. One of the early authorities said: “I have found that a good intention gathers all goodness together; it is goodness enough for you, even without exertion. How often an intention makes a small deed great, and how often an intention makes a great deed small.”

وَكَتَبَ بَعْضُ الْأُدَبَاءِ إِلَى أَخِيهِ: أَخْلِصِ النِّيَّةَ فِي أَعْمَالِكَ يَكْفِكَ الْقَلِيلُ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ. وَقَالَ دَاوُدُ الطَّائِيُّ: مَنْ أَكْبَرُ هَمِّهِ التَّقْوَى، لَوْ تَعَلَّقَتْ جَمِيعُ جَوَارِحِهِ بِالدُّنْيَا لَرَدَّتْهُ نِيَّتُهُ يَوْمًا إِلَى نِيَّةٍ صَالِحَةٍ. فَكَذَلِكَ الْجَاهِلُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَيَّامِهِ، هَمُّهُ الدُّنْيَا وَالْهَوَى، وَلَوْ تَعَلَّقَتْ جَوَارِحُهُ بِكُلِّ أَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَاتِ لَكَانَ مَرْجُوعًا إِلَى إِرَادَةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمُوَافَقَةِ الْهَوَى، لِأَنَّ سِرَّهَا كَانَ هِمَّةَ النَّفْسِ لِعَاجِلِ عَرَضِ الدُّنْيَا.

wakataba baʿḍu al-ʾudabāʾi ʾilā ʾakhīhi: ʾakhliṣi al-niyyata fī ʾaʿmālika yakfika al-qalīlu mina al-ʿamali. waqāla dāwudu al-ṭāʾiyyu: man ʾakbaru hammihi al-taqwā, law taʿallaqat jamīʿu jawāriḥihi bi-al-dunyā laraddathu niyyatuhu yawman ʾilā niyyatin ṣāliḥatin. fa-kadhālika al-jāhilu bi-Allāhi taʿālā waʾayyāmihi, hammuhu al-dunyā wa-al-hawā, walaw taʿallaqat jawāriḥuhu bikulli ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥāti lakāna marjūʿan ʾilā ʾirādati al-dunyā wamuwāfaqati al-hawā, liʾanna sirrahā kāna himmata al-nafsi liʿājili ʿaraḍi al-dunyā.

A cultivated man wrote to his brother: “Make your intention sincere in your deeds, and a little action will suffice you.” Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī said: “Someone whose greatest concern is reverent mindfulness would one day be brought back by his intention to a sound intention, even if all his limbs became attached to the world. Likewise, someone ignorant of God Most High and His days is concerned with the world and desire. Even if his limbs engaged in every righteous deed, he would be brought back to wanting the world and complying with desire, because their inward motive was the self's concern for the world's immediate goods.”

وَقَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ: يَنْبَغِي لِلرَّجُلِ أَنْ تَكُونَ نِيَّتُهُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ عَمَلِهِ. وَقَالَ أَيُّوبُ السِّجِسْتَانِيُّ وَغَيْرُهُ: تَخَلُّصُ النِّيَّاتِ عَلَى الْعُمَّالِ أَشَدُّ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْأَعْمَالِ. وَقَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ: كَانُوا يَتَعَلَّمُونَ النِّيَّةَ لِلْعَمَلِ كَمَا يَتَعَلَّمُونَ الْعِلْمَ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: طَلَبُ النِّيَّةِ لِلْعَمَلِ قَبْلَ الْعَمَلِ، وَمَا دُمْتَ تَنْوِي الْخَيْرَ فَأَنْتَ بِخَيْرٍ.

waqāla muḥammadu bnu al-ḥusayni: yanbaghī li-l-rajuli ʾan takūna niyyatuhu bayna yaday ʿamalihi. waqāla ʾayyūbu al-sijistāniyyu waghayruhu: takhalluṣu al-niyyāti ʿalā al-ʿummāli ʾashaddu ʿalayhim min jamīʿi al-ʾaʿmāli. waqāla al-thawriyyu: kānū yataʿallamūna al-niyyata li-l-ʿamali kamā yataʿallamūna al-ʿilma. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: ṭalabu al-niyyati li-l-ʿamali qabla al-ʿamali, wamā dumta tanwī al-khayra faʾanta bikhayrin.

Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn said: “A person's intention should stand before his action.” Ayyūb al-Sijistānī and others said: “For those who act, freeing their intentions from impurity is harder than all their deeds.” Al-Thawrī said: “They used to learn the intention for an action as they learned knowledge.” One of the scholars said: “Seeking an intention for the deed comes before the deed; as long as you intend good, you remain in good.”

وَقَالَ زَيْدُ بْنُ أَسْلَمَ: خَصْلَتَانِ هُمَا كَمَالُ أَمْرِكَ: تُصْبِحُ وَلَا تَهُمُّ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى بِمَعْصِيَةٍ، وَتُمْسِي وَلَا تَهُمُّ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى بِمَعْصِيَةٍ. وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ فِي مَعْنَاهُ: إِنَّ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَكْثَرُ مِنْ أَنْ تُحْصُوهَا، وَإِنَّ ذُنُوبَكُمْ أَخْفَى مِنْ أَنْ تَعْلَمُوهَا، وَلَكِنْ أَصْبِحُوا تَوَّابِينَ وَأَمْسُوا تَوَّابِينَ يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ مَا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ.

waqāla zaydu bnu ʾaslama: khaṣlatāni humā kamālu ʾamrika: tuṣbiḥu walā tahummu li-llāhi taʿālā bimaʿṣiyatin, watumsī walā tahummu li-llāhi taʿālā bimaʿṣiyatin. wa-kadhālika qāla baʿḍu al-salafi fī maʿnāhu: ʾinna niʿmata Allāhi taʿālā ʾaktharu min ʾan tuḥṣūhā, waʾinna dhunūbakum ʾakhfā min ʾan taʿlamūhā, wa-lākin ʾaṣbiḥū tawwābīna waʾamsū tawwābīna yaghfir lakum mā bayna dhālika.

Zayd ibn Aslam said: “Two qualities bring your affair to completion: that morning comes upon you without your intending disobedience to God Most High, and evening comes upon you without your intending disobedience to God Most High.” One of the early authorities similarly said: “God Most High's blessings are too many for you to count, and your sins too hidden for you to know. But enter the morning repentant and the evening repentant, and He will forgive you what lies between them.”

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ عَنْ بَعْضِ الْمُرِيدِينَ: أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَطُوفُ عَلَى الْعُلَمَاءِ يَقُولُ: مَنْ يَدُلُّنِي عَلَى عَمَلٍ لَا أَزَالُ فِيهِ عَامِلًا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَإِنِّي أُحِبُّ أَنْ لَا تَجِيءَ عَلَيَّ سَاعَةٌ مِنْ لَيْلٍ أَوْ نَهَارٍ إِلَّا وَأَنَا عَامِلٌ مِنْ عُمَّالِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى؟ فَقِيلَ لَهُ: قَدْ وَجَدْتَ صَاحِبَكَ. اِعْمَلِ الْخَيْرَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتَ، فَإِذَا أَقْتَرْتَ أَوْ تَرَكْتَهُ فَهُمَّ بِعَمَلِهِ، فَإِنَّ الْهَامَّ بِعَمَلِ الْخَيْرِ كَعَامِلِهِ.

warawaynā fī al-khabari ʿan baʿḍi al-murīdīna: ʾannahu kāna yaṭūfu ʿalā al-ʿulamāʾi yaqūlu: man yadullunī ʿalā ʿamalin lā ʾazālu fīhi ʿāmilan li-llāhi taʿālā, faʾinnī ʾuḥibbu ʾan lā tajīʾa ʿalayya sāʿatun min laylin ʾaw nahārin ʾillā waʾanā ʿāmilun min ʿummāli Allāhi taʿālā? faqīla lahu: qad wajadta ṣāḥibaka. iʿmali al-khayra mā istaṭaʿta, faʾidhā ʾaqtarta ʾaw taraktahu fahumma biʿamalihi, faʾinna al-hāmma biʿamali al-khayri kaʿāmilihi.

We have transmitted an account of an aspirant who went from scholar to scholar, saying: “Who will show me a deed through which I may continually be working for God Most High? I want no hour of night or day to pass over me without my being one of God Most High's workers.” He was told: “You have found your companion. Do good as far as you can. If you fall into poverty or leave it aside, intend to do it, for someone who intends a good deed is like someone who performs it.”

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ: طُوبَى لِعَيْنٍ نَامَتْ وَلَا تَهُمُّ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ، وَانْتَهَتْ إِلَى غَيْرِ إِثْمٍ.

warawaynā ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu: ṭūbā liʿaynin nāmat walā tahummu bimaʿṣiyatin, wantahat ʾilā ghayri ʾithmin.

We have transmitted from Jesus, blessings and peace be upon him: “Blessed is an eye that sleeps without intending disobedience and ends up free of sin.”

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٦٩

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 269

Volume Two, page 269

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ هَمَّ بِحَسَنَةٍ وَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا كُتِبَتْ لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ، وَمَنْ هَمَّ بِسَيِّئَةٍ وَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا كُتِبَتْ لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ. وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ: نِيَّةُ الْمَرْءِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ.

warawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man hamma biḥasanatin walam yaʿmalhā kutibat lahu ḥasanatun, waman hamma bisayyiʾatin walam yaʿmalhā kutibat lahu ḥasanatun. waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari al-mashhūri: niyyatu al-marʾi khayrun min ʿamalihi.

We have transmitted from God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Whoever intends a good deed but does not perform it has a good deed recorded for him. Whoever intends an evil deed but does not perform it has a good deed recorded for him.” The well-known report says: “A person's intention is better than his action.”

تَفْسِيرُ قَوْلِهِ نِيَّةُ الْمَرْءِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ

tafsīru qawlihi niyyatu al-marʾi khayrun min ʿamalihi

An explanation of his saying, “A person's intention is better than his action”

فِيهِ عَشَرَةُ أَوْجُهٍ؛ قِيلَ: إِنَّ النِّيَّةَ سِرٌّ وَأَعْمَالُ السِّرِّ تُضَاعَفُ، وَقِيلَ: لِأَنَّهَا غَيْبٌ لَا يَطَّلِعُ عَلَيْهَا غَيْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَالظَّوَاهِرُ مُشْتَرَكَةٌ. وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَهَبُهَا لِلْعَبْدِ خَالِصَةً لَا يَشُوبُهَا شَيْءٌ إِذَا وَهَبَهَا، وَلَا يَدْخُلُ عَلَيْهَا الْآفَاتُ؛ فَهَذَا عَطَاءٌ مُهَيَّأٌ وَسَائِرُ الْأَعْمَالِ مُدَّخَرٌ لَهُ. وَأَيْضًا لِأَنَّهَا مِنْ شَرْطِ الْعَمَلِ حَتَّى لَا يَصِحَّ عَمَلٌ إِلَّا بِهَا، وَهِيَ تَصِحُّ بِمُجَرَّدِهَا.

fīhi ʿasharatu ʾawjuhin; qīla: ʾinna al-niyyata sirrun waʾaʿmālu al-sirri tuḍāʿafu, waqīla: liʾannahā ghaybun lā yaṭṭaliʿu ʿalayhā ghayru Allāhi taʿālā, wa-al-ẓawāhiru mushtarakatun. waʾayḍan faʾinna Allāha ʿazza wajalla yahabuhā li-l-ʿabdi khāliṣatan lā yashūbuhā shayʾun ʾidhā wahabahā, walā yadkhulu ʿalayhā al-ʾāfātu; fa-hādhā ʿaṭāʾun muhayyaʾun wasāʾiru al-ʾaʿmāli muddakharun lahu. waʾayḍan liʾannahā min sharṭi al-ʿamali ḥattā lā yaṣiḥḥa ʿamalun ʾillā bihā, wahiya taṣiḥḥu bimujarradihā.

There are ten interpretations. It has been said that intention is a secret, and deeds done in secret are multiplied. It has also been said that intention is hidden, known to none but God Most High, whereas outward things are shared. Moreover, when God, mighty and majestic, grants it to a servant, He grants it pure, unmixed with anything and untouched by faults. This is a gift made ready, while the other deeds are held in store for him. Intention is also a condition of action: no action is sound without it, while it is sound on its own.

وَكَانَ عَبْدُ الرَّحِيمِ بْنُ يَحْيَى الْأَسْوَدُ يَقُولُ: مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ نِيَّةُ الْمَرْءِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ، يَعْنِي إِخْلَاصَهُ فِي الْعَمَلِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ. قَالَ: فَالْإِخْلَاصُ بِغَيْرِ عَمَلٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عَمَلٍ غَيْرِ مُخْلَصٍ، وَالنِّيَّةُ عِنْدَهُ: هُوَ الْإِخْلَاصُ نَفْسُهُ، وَعِنْدَ غَيْرِهِ: هُوَ الصِّدْقُ فِي الْحَالِ بِاسْتِوَاءِ السَّرِيرَةِ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ.

wakāna ʿabdu al-raḥīmi bnu yaḥyā al-ʾaswadu yaqūlu: maʿnā qawlihi niyyatu al-marʾi khayrun min ʿamalihi, yaʿnī ʾikhlāṣahu fī al-ʿamali khayrun mina al-ʿamali. qāla: fa-al-ʾikhlāṣu bighayri ʿamalin khayrun min ʿamalin ghayri mukhlaṣin, wa-al-niyyatu ʿindahu: huwa al-ʾikhlāṣu nafsuhu, waʿinda ghayrihi: huwa al-ṣidqu fī al-ḥāli bistiwāʾi al-sarīrati wa-al-ʿalāniyati.

ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Yaḥyā al-Aswad used to say: “His saying, ‘A person's intention is better than his action,’ means that his sincerity in the action is better than the action.” He said: “Sincerity without action is better than an action that is not sincere.” For him, intention is sincerity itself; for others it is truthfulness in one's state, with inward and outward alike.

وَقَدْ قَالَ الْجُنَيْدُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي الْفَرْقِ بَيْنَ الْإِخْلَاصِ وَالصِّدْقِ مَعْنًى لَطِيفًا لَمْ يُفَسِّرْهُ وَيَحْتَاجُ إِلَى تَفْسِيرٍ. حَدَّثَنَا بَعْضُ الْأَشْيَاخِ عَنْهُ قَالَ: شَهِدَ جَمَاعَةٌ عَلَى رَجُلٍ بِشَهَادَةٍ فَلَمْ تَضُرَّهُ وَكَانُوا مُخْلِصِينَ، وَلَوْ كَانُوا صَادِقِينَ لَعُوقِبَ؛ يَعْنِي أَنَّ صِدْقَهُمْ أَنْ لَا يَعْمَلُوا عَمَلَهُ أَوْ مِثْلَ عَمَلِهِ الَّذِي شَهِدُوا بِهِ عَلَيْهِ؛ فَهَذَا صِدْقُ الْحَالِ، وَهُوَ حَقِيقَةُ النِّيَّةِ وَإِخْلَاصُهَا عِنْدَ الْمُحَقِّقِينَ.

waqad qāla al-junaydu raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā fī al-farqi bayna al-ʾikhlāṣi wa-al-ṣidqi maʿnan laṭīfan lam yufassirhu wayaḥtāju ʾilā tafsīrin. ḥaddathanā baʿḍu al-ʾashyākhi ʿanhu qāla: shahida jamāʿatun ʿalā rajulin bishahādatin falam taḍurrahu wakānū mukhliṣīna, walaw kānū ṣādiqīna laʿūqiba; yaʿnī ʾanna ṣidqahum ʾan lā yaʿmalū ʿamalahu ʾaw mithla ʿamalihi alladhī shahidū bihi ʿalayhi; fa-hādhā ṣidqu al-ḥāli, wahuwa ḥaqīqatu al-niyyati waʾikhlāṣuhā ʿinda al-muḥaqqiqīna.

Al-Junayd, may God Most High have mercy on him, expressed a subtle distinction between sincerity and truthfulness. He did not explain it, and it requires explanation. One of the shaykhs related from him: “A group gave testimony against a man, but it did him no harm. They were sincere; had they been truthful, he would have been punished.” He meant that their truthfulness would consist in not doing his deed, or anything like the deed to which they testified against him. This is truthfulness in one's state, and for those who realize the truth it is the reality and sincerity of intention.

وَقَدْ قِيلَ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: نِيَّةُ الْمَرْءِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ، لِأَنَّ نِيَّةَ الْمُؤْمِنِ دَائِمَةٌ مُتَّصِلَةٌ، وَالْأَعْمَالَ مُنْقَطِعَةٌ، وَبِالنِّيَّةِ خُلِّدَ أَهْلُ التَّوْحِيدِ فِي الْجَنَّةِ، وَخُلِّدَ أَهْلُ الشِّرْكِ فِي النَّارِ لِدَوَامِ نِيَّاتِهِمْ عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ وَدَوَامِ نِيَّاتِ الْآخَرِينَ عَلَى الشِّرْكِ مُدَّةَ الدَّهْرِ؛ فَهَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي كُلُّهَا عَلَى هَذَا الْوَجْهِ الَّذِي يَقُولُ فِيهِ: إِنَّ مَعْنَاهُ أَنَّ النِّيَّةَ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ.

waqad qīla fī maʿnā qawlihi: niyyatu al-marʾi khayrun min ʿamalihi, liʾanna niyyata al-muʾmini dāʾimatun muttaṣilatun, wa-al-ʾaʿmāla munqaṭiʿatun, wabi-al-niyyati khullida ʾahlu al-tawḥīdi fī al-jannati, wakhullida ʾahlu al-shirki fī al-nāri lidawāmi niyyātihim ʿalā al-tawḥīdi wadawāmi niyyāti al-ʾākharīna ʿalā al-shirki muddata al-dahri; fa-hādhihi al-maʿānī kulluhā ʿalā hādhā al-wajhi alladhī yaqūlu fīhi: ʾinna maʿnāhu ʾanna al-niyyata khayrun mina al-ʿamali.

Another explanation of “A person's intention is better than his action” is that the believer's intention is continuous and unbroken, whereas actions come to an end. Through intention, those who affirm divine oneness remain forever in Paradise, and those who associate partners with God remain forever in the Fire: the former intend divine oneness continually, while the latter intend associationism throughout time. All these meanings follow the interpretation that the saying means intention is better than action.

وَفِيهِ وَجْهٌ آخَرُ يَكُونُ الْكَلَامُ فِيهِ عَلَى التَّقْدِيمِ وَالتَّأْخِيرِ، أَيْ نِيَّةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ هِيَ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ خَيْرٌ، كَأَنَّهُ قَالَ: هِيَ بَعْضُ أَعْمَالِهِ الْخَيْرِ. فَهَذَا كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (مَا نَنْسَخْ مِنْ آيَةٍ أَوْ نُنْسِهَا نَأْتِ بِخَيْرٍ مِنْهَا) الْبَقَرَةُ: 160، مَعْنَاهُ نَأْتِ مِنْهَا بِخَيْرٍ.

wafīhi wajhun ʾākharu yakūnu al-kalāmu fīhi ʿalā al-taqdīmi wa-al-taʾkhīri, ʾay niyyatu al-muʾmini hiya min ʿamalihi khayrun, kaʾannahu qāla: hiya baʿḍu ʾaʿmālihi al-khayri. fa-hādhā kaqawlihi taʿālā: (mā nansakh min ʾāyatin ʾaw nunsihā naʾti bikhayrin minhā) al-baqaratu: 160, maʿnāhu naʾti minhā bikhayrin.

There is another interpretation in which the words are taken in a different order: “A believer's intention is, among his deeds, something good.” It is as though he said, “It is one of his good deeds.” This resembles His saying, exalted is He: “Whatever sign We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring something better than it” (al-Baqara 160), meaning: “We bring something good from it.”

وَكَمَا قَالَ: (يَسْأَلُونَكَ كَأَنَّكَ حَفِيٌّ عَنْهَا) الْأَعْرَافُ: 781، مَعْنَاهُ: يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنْهَا كَأَنَّكَ حَفِيٌّ بِهِمْ، فَأَخَّرَ قَوْلَهُ عَنْهَا وَمَعْنَاهُ التَّقْدِيمُ. فَيَكُونُ هَذَا عَلَى التَّأْوِيلِ أَنَّ النِّيَّةَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ، وَأَنَّهَا مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْعَبْدِ خَيْرٌ كَثِيرٌ. وَهَذِهِ الْأَقْوَالُ كُلُّهَا صَحِيحَةٌ وَهِيَ مَوْجُودَةٌ فِي النِّيَّةِ، فَفَضَلَتِ النِّيَّةُ الْعَمَلَ، لِأَنَّ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِيَ مِنْ صِفَتِهَا.

wakamā qāla: (yasʾalūnaka kaʾannaka ḥafiyyun ʿanhā) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 781, maʿnāhu: yasʾalūnaka ʿanhā kaʾannaka ḥafiyyun bihim, faʾakhkhara qawlahu ʿanhā wamaʿnāhu al-taqdīmu. fayakūnu hādhā ʿalā al-taʾwīli ʾanna al-niyyata min ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi, waʾannahā min ʾaʿmāli al-ʿabdi khayrun kathīrun. wa-hādhihi al-ʾaqwālu kulluhā ṣaḥīḥatun wahiya mawjūdatun fī al-niyyati, fafaḍalati al-niyyatu al-ʿamala, liʾanna hādhihi al-maʿāniya min ṣifatihā.

Similarly He said: “They ask you as though you were keenly concerned about it” (al-Aʿrāf 781), meaning: “They ask you about it, as though you were solicitous toward them.” He placed “about it” later, although its sense belongs earlier. On this interpretation, intention is one of the heart's acts and, among the servant's deeds, a great good. All these explanations are sound and present in intention. Intention therefore surpasses action because these meanings belong to its character.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ التَّابِعِينَ: قُلُوبُ الْأَبْرَارِ تَغْلِي بِالْبِرِّ، وَقُلُوبُ الْفُجَّارِ تَغْلِي بِالْفُجُورِ، وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى مُطَّلِعٌ عَلَى نِيَّاتِهِمْ فَيُثِيبُهُمْ بِقَدْرِ ذَلِكَ، فَانْظُرْ مَا هَمُّكَ وَمَا نِيَّتُكَ. وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِي بَعْضِ الْكُتُبِ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: لَيْسَ كُلَّ كَلَامِ الْحَكِيمِ أَتَقَبَّلُ، وَلَكِنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى هَمِّهِ وَهَوَاهُ، فَمَنْ كَانَ هَمُّهُ وَهَوَاهُ لِي جَعَلْتُ صَمْتَهُ ذِكْرًا وَنَظَرَهُ

waqāla baʿḍu al-tābiʿīna: qulūbu al-ʾabrāri taghlī bi-al-birri, waqulūbu al-fujjāri taghlī bi-al-fujūri, wa-Allāhu taʿālā muṭṭaliʿun ʿalā niyyātihim fayuthībuhum biqadri dhālika, fanẓur mā hammuka wamā niyyatuka. warawaynā ʿani Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā fī baʿḍi al-kutubi ʾannahu qāla: laysa kulla kalāmi al-ḥakīmi ʾataqabbalu, walakinnī ʾanẓuru ʾilā hammihi wahawāhu, faman kāna hammuhu wahawāhu lī jaʿaltu ṣamtahu dhikran wanaẓarahu

One of the Successors said: “The hearts of the righteous seethe with righteousness, and the hearts of the wicked seethe with wickedness. God Most High sees their intentions and recompenses them accordingly. Consider, then, your concern and your intention.” We have transmitted from God, glorified and exalted is He, in one of the books, that He said: “I do not accept everything a wise person says. I look at his concern and desire. If his concern and desire are for Me, I turn his silence into remembrance and his looking into

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٧٠

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 270

Volume Two, page 270

عِبَرًا؛ وَهَذَا دَاخِلٌ فِي عُمُومِ الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنْ نَبِيِّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَى أَجْسَامِكُمْ وَلَا إِلَى أَمْوَالِكُمْ، إِنَّمَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ. وَسُئِلَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ: هَلْ يُؤَاخَذُ الْعَبْدُ بِالنِّيَّةِ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، إِذَا كَانَتْ عَزْمًا أُخِذَ بِهَا.

ʿibaran; wa-hādhā dākhilun fī ʿumūmi al-khabari alladhī rawaynāhu ʿan nabiyyinā ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾanna Allāha taʿālā lā yanẓuru ʾilā ʾajsāmikum walā ʾilā ʾamwālikum, ʾinnamā yanẓuru ʾilā qulūbikum waʾaʿmālikum. wasuʾila sufyānu al-thawriyyu: hal yuʾākhadhu al-ʿabdu bi-al-niyyati? qāla: naʿam, ʾidhā kānat ʿazman ʾukhidha bihā.

lessons.” This falls within the general meaning of the report we have transmitted from our Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “God Most High does not look at your bodies or your wealth; He looks at your hearts and deeds.” Sufyān al-Thawrī was asked: “Is a servant held accountable for intention?” He answered: “Yes, when it becomes a firm resolve, he is held accountable for it.”

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَعْمَلُ أَعْمَالًا حَسَنَةً فَتَصْعَدُ بِهَا الْمَلَائِكَةُ فِي صُحُفٍ مُخَتَّمَةٍ، فَتُلْقَى بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَيَقُولُ: أَلْقُوا هَذِهِ الصَّحِيفَةَ فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يُرِدْ بِذَلِكَ وَجْهِي. ثُمَّ يُنَادِي الْمَلَائِكَةَ: اُكْتُبُوا لَهُ كَذَا وَاُكْتُبُوا لَهُ كَذَا، فَيَقُولُونَ: رَبَّنَا إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَعْمَلْ شَيْئًا مِنْ ذَلِكَ، فَيُقَالُ: إِنَّهُ نَوَاهُ.

wafī al-khabari: ʾanna al-ʿabda layaʿmalu ʾaʿmālan ḥasanatan fataṣʿadu bihā al-malāʾikatu fī ṣuḥufin mukhattamatin, fatulqā bayna yadayi Allāhi taʿālā, fayaqūlu: ʾalqū hādhihi al-ṣaḥīfata faʾinnahu lam yurid bi-dhālika wajhī. thumma yunādī al-malāʾikata: uktubū lahu kadhā wa-uktubū lahu kadhā, fayaqūlūna: rabbanā ʾinnahu lam yaʿmal shayʾan min dhālika, fayuqālu: ʾinnahu nawāhu.

A report says: “A servant performs good deeds, and the angels ascend with them in sealed records, which are laid before God Most High. He says: ‘Discard this record; he did not seek My Face through it.’ Then He calls to the angels: ‘Record such and such for him, and record such and such for him.’ They say: ‘Our Lord, he did none of that.’ The reply is: ‘He intended it.’”

وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي كَبْشَةَ الْأَنْمَارِيِّ: النَّاسُ أَرْبَعَةٌ: رَجُلٌ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عِلْمًا وَمَالًا فَهُوَ يَعْمَلُ بِعِلْمِهِ فِي مَالِهِ، فَيَقُولُ رَجُلٌ: لَوْ آتَانِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَا آتَاهُ لَعَمِلْتُ كَمَا يَعْمَلُ؛ فَهُمَا فِي الْخَيْرِ سَوَاءٌ. وَرَجُلٌ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ مَالًا وَلَمْ يُؤْتِهِ عِلْمًا فَهُوَ يَتَخَبَّطُ بِجَهْلِهِ فِي مَالِهِ، فَيَقُولُ رَجُلٌ: لَوْ آتَانِيَ اللَّهُ مِثْلَ مَا آتَاهُ عَمِلْتُ كَمَا يَعْمَلُ؛ فَهُمَا فِي الْوِزْرِ سَوَاءٌ.

wafī ḥadīthi ʾabī kabshata al-ʾanmāriyyi: al-nāsu ʾarbaʿatun: rajulun ʾātāhu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʿilman wamālan fahuwa yaʿmalu biʿilmihi fī mālihi, fayaqūlu rajulun: law ʾātāniya Allāhu taʿālā mā ʾātāhu laʿamiltu kamā yaʿmalu; fahumā fī al-khayri sawāʾun. warajulun ʾātāhu Allāhu mālan walam yuʾtihi ʿilman fahuwa yatakhabbaṭu bijahlihi fī mālihi, fayaqūlu rajulun: law ʾātāniya Allāhu mithla mā ʾātāhu ʿamiltu kamā yaʿmalu; fahumā fī al-wizri sawāʾun.

In the hadith of Abū Kabsha al-Anmārī: “People are of four kinds. One is a man whom God, mighty and majestic, has given knowledge and wealth, who acts according to his knowledge in using his wealth. Another man says: ‘Had God Most High given me what He gave him, I would act as he does.’ These two are equal in good. Another is a man whom God has given wealth but no knowledge, who handles his wealth haphazardly through ignorance. Another man says: ‘Had God given me the like of what He gave him, I would act as he does.’ These two are equal in guilt.”

أَلَا تَرَى كَيْفَ شَرَّكَهُ بِحُسْنِ النِّيَّةِ فِي مَحَاسِنِ عَمَلِهِ، وَشَرَّكَ الْآخَرَ بِسُوءِ النِّيَّةِ بِنِيَّتِهِ فِي مَسَاوِئِ عَمَلِهِ؟ وَكَذَلِكَ فِي حَدِيثِ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ لَمَّا خَرَجَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي غَزْوَةِ تَبُوكَ قَالَ: إِنَّ بِالْمَدِينَةِ أَقْوَامًا، مَا قَطَعْنَا وَادِيًا وَلَا وَطِئْنَا مَوْطِئًا يَغِيظُ الْكُفَّارَ، وَلَا أَنْفَقْنَا نَفَقَةً، وَلَا نَصِبْنَا نَصَبًا، وَلَا أَصَابَتْنَا مَخْمَصَةٌ، إِلَّا شَرِكُونَا فِي ذَلِكَ وَهُمْ بِالْمَدِينَةِ.

ʾalā tarā kayfa sharrakahu biḥusni al-niyyati fī maḥāsini ʿamalihi, washarraka al-ʾākhara bisūʾi al-niyyati biniyyatihi fī masāwiʾi ʿamalihi? wa-kadhālika fī ḥadīthi ʾanasi bni mālikin lammā kharaja rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī ghazwati tabūka qāla: ʾinna bi-al-madīnati ʾaqwāman, mā qaṭaʿnā wādiyan walā waṭiʾnā mawṭiʾan yaghīẓu al-kuffāra, walā ʾanfaqnā nafaqatan, walā naṣibnā naṣaban, walā ʾaṣābatnā makhmaṣatun, ʾillā sharikūnā fī dhālika wahum bi-al-madīnati.

Do you not see how, through good intention, He made one share in the other's good deeds, and through bad intention made the other share, by his intention, in the other's evil deeds? Likewise, in the hadith of Anas ibn Mālik, when God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, set out on the expedition to Tabūk, he said: “There are people in Medina who have shared with us in every valley we crossed, every place we trod that angered the unbelievers, every expense we incurred, every hardship we endured, and every hunger that befell us, although they remain in Medina.”

قَالُوا: وَكَيْفَ ذَلِكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلَيْسُوا مَعَنَا؟ قَالَ: حَبَسَهُمُ الْعُذْرُ فَشَرِكُونَا بِحُسْنِ النِّيَّةِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: صَلَاحُ الْأَعْمَالِ وَفَسَادُهَا بِصَلَاحِ النِّيَّاتِ وَفَسَادِهَا. وَكَانَ مُطَرِّفٌ يَقُولُ: صَلَاحُ عَمَلٍ بِصَلَاحِ قَلْبٍ، وَصَلَاحُ قَلْبٍ بِصَلَاحِ نِيَّةٍ، وَمَنْ صَفَا صُفِّيَ لَهُ، وَمَنْ خَلَطَ خُلِّطَ عَلَيْهِ.

qālū: wakayfa dhālika yā rasūla Allāhi walaysū maʿanā? qāla: ḥabasahumu al-ʿudhru fasharikūnā biḥusni al-niyyati. waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: ṣalāḥu al-ʾaʿmāli wafasāduhā biṣalāḥi al-niyyāti wafasādihā. wakāna muṭarrifun yaqūlu: ṣalāḥu ʿamalin biṣalāḥi qalbin, waṣalāḥu qalbin biṣalāḥi niyyatin, waman ṣafā ṣuffiya lahu, waman khalaṭa khulliṭa ʿalayhi.

They asked: “How can that be, Messenger of God, when they are not with us?” He answered: “An excuse held them back, so they shared with us through good intention.” One of the early authorities said: “Actions are sound or corrupt according to the soundness or corruption of intentions.” Muṭarrif used to say: “A sound action comes from a sound heart, and a sound heart from a sound intention. Whoever becomes pure has things made pure for him; whoever introduces confusion has things confused for him.”

وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ وَهُوَ أَصْلٌ مِنْ أُصُولِ الدِّينِ قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ وَلِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى دُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوِ امْرَأَةٍ يَتَزَوَّجُ بِهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ.

wa-kadhālika jāʾa fī al-khabari wahuwa ʾaṣlun min ʾuṣūli al-dīni qawluhu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾinnamā al-ʾaʿmālu bi-al-niyyāti walikulli imriʾin mā nawā, faman kānat hijratuhu ʾilā Allāhi warasūlihi fahijratuhu ʾilā Allāhi warasūlihi, waman kānat hijratuhu ʾilā dunyā yuṣībuhā ʾawi imraʾatin yatazawwaju bihā fahijratuhu ʾilā mā hājara ʾilayhi.

Likewise comes the report that is one of religion's foundations, his saying, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Actions are only according to intentions, and each person has what he intended. Whoever's migration is to God and His Messenger, his migration is to God and His Messenger. Whoever's migration is toward worldly gain he seeks or a woman he wishes to marry, his migration is toward that for which he migrated.”

فَأَخْبَرَ أَنْ لَا عَمَلَ إِلَّا بِالنِّيَّةِ، ثُمَّ جَعَلَ لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ نِيَّةً، ثُمَّ رَدَّ طَالِبِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْأَزْوَاجِ إِلَى نِيَّاتِهِمْ، وَحَكَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِهَا، وَجَعَلَهَا نَصِيبَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَفَّقَ ذَلِكَ لَهُمْ أَوْ لَمْ يُوَفِّقْهُ. فَبَطَلَتْ هِجْرَتُهُمْ بِفَسَادِ نِيَّاتِهِمْ، وَصَارَتْ هِمَّتُهُمْ بِدُنْيَاهُمْ وَهَوَاهُمْ سَبَبَ حِرْمَانِ ثَوَابِ الْمُخْلِصِينَ لِلَّهِ بِحُسْنِ نِيَّاتِهِمْ وَطَلَبِ آخِرَتِهِمْ؛ وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسْرَةً عَلَيْهِمْ، وَفِي الدُّنْيَا نَقْصًا وَشَيْنًا لَهُمْ.

faʾakhbara ʾan lā ʿamala ʾillā bi-al-niyyati, thumma jaʿala likulli ʿabdin niyyatan, thumma radda ṭālibī al-dunyā wa-al-ʾazwāji ʾilā niyyātihim, waḥakama ʿalayhim bihā, wajaʿalahā naṣībahum mina Allāhi taʿālā, waffaqa dhālika lahum ʾaw lam yuwaffiqhu. fabaṭalat hijratuhum bifasādi niyyātihim, waṣārat himmatuhum bidunyāhum wahawāhum sababa ḥirmāni thawābi al-mukhliṣīna li-llāhi biḥusni niyyātihim waṭalabi ʾākhiratihim; wakāna dhālika fī al-ʾākhirati ḥasratan ʿalayhim, wafī al-dunyā naqṣan washaynan lahum.

He declared that there is no action without intention, then assigned each servant an intention. He referred those seeking worldly things and spouses back to their intentions, judged them by those intentions, and made them their portion from God Most High, whether He brought that about for them or did not. Their migration was thus invalidated by their corrupt intentions. Concern for their worldly interests and desires deprived them of the reward of those sincere toward God through good intentions and seeking their hereafter. In the hereafter this became regret for them, and in this world loss and disgrace.

وَفِي حَدِيثِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ: مَنْ هَاجَرَ يَبْتَغِي شَيْئًا فَهُوَ لَهُ، فَهَاجَرَ رَجُلٌ فَتَزَوَّجَ امْرَأَةً مِنَّا فَكَانَ يُسَمَّى مُهَاجِرَ أُمِّ قَيْسٍ. وَقَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ: هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ رُبْعُ الْعِلْمِ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: جَمَعْتُ السُّنَنَ الصِّحَاحَ فِي حَدِيثِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَكَانَتْ أَرْبَعَةَ آلَافِ حَدِيثٍ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: قَدْ أَمْرَرْتُهَا عَلَى أَرْبَعَةِ أَحَادِيثَ؛ كُلُّ حَدِيثٍ رُبْعُ الْعِلْمِ. قَالَ: وَهَذَا الْحَدِيثُ أَوَّلُهَا، وَإِنَّمَا قَالَ ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّهُ فَرْضُ الْفُرُوضِ لَا يَتِمُّ فَرْضٌ إِلَّا بِهِ.

wafī ḥadīthi ibni masʿūdin: man hājara yabtaghī shayʾan fahuwa lahu, fahājara rajulun fatazawwaja imraʾatan minnā fakāna yusammā muhājira ʾummi qaysin. waqāla ʾabū dāwuda: hādhā al-ḥadīthu rubʿu al-ʿilmi, wa-dhālika ʾannahu qāla: jamaʿtu al-sunana al-ṣiḥāḥa fī ḥadīthi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fakānat ʾarbaʿata ʾālāfi ḥadīthin, thumma qāla: qad ʾamrartuhā ʿalā ʾarbaʿati ʾaḥādītha; kullu ḥadīthin rubʿu al-ʿilmi. qāla: wa-hādhā al-ḥadīthu ʾawwaluhā, waʾinnamā qāla dhālika liʾannahu farḍu al-furūḍi lā yatimmu farḍun ʾillā bihi.

In the report of Ibn Masʿūd: “Whoever migrates seeking something has that as his portion.” A man migrated and married a woman from among us, and came to be called the emigrant for Umm Qays. Abū Dāwūd said: “This hadith is a quarter of knowledge.” He explained: “I gathered the sound transmitted practices in the hadith of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and they amounted to four thousand hadiths.” He then said: “I examined them through four hadiths; each hadith is a quarter of knowledge, and this hadith is the first.” He said this because it is the obligation underlying all obligations: no obligation is complete without it.

وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: أَنَّ رَجُلًا قُتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَكَانَ يُدْعَى قَتِيلَ الْحِمَارِ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ قَاتَلَ رَجُلًا لِيَأْخُذَ سَلَبَهُ وَحِمَارَهُ فَقُتِلَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ فَأُضِيفَ إِلَى نِيَّتِهِ. وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي عُبَادَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ غَزَا وَهُوَ لَا

wa-kadhālika jāʾa fī al-khabari: ʾanna rajulan qutila fī sabīli Allāhi ʿazza wajalla fakāna yudʿā qatīla al-ḥimāri, wa-dhālika ʾannahu qātala rajulan liyaʾkhudha salabahu waḥimārahu faqutila ʿalā dhālika faʾuḍīfa ʾilā niyyatihi. wafī ḥadīthi ʾabī ʿubādata ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man ghazā wahuwa lā

Likewise a report tells of a man killed in the path of God, mighty and majestic, who was called the man killed for a donkey. He had fought another man to take his spoils and donkey, and was killed with that aim, so he was named for his intention. In the report of Abū ʿUbāda from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Whoever goes on campaign intending nothing

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٧١

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 271

Volume Two, page 271

يَنْوِي إِلَّا عِقَالًا فَلَهُ مَا نَوَى. وَقَالَ: إِنِّي اسْتَعَنْتُ رَجُلًا يَغْزُو مَعِي، فَقَالَ: لَا حَتَّى تَجْعَلَ لِي جُعْلًا، فَجَعَلْتُ لَهُ فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ لَهُ: لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ دُنْيَاهُ وَآخِرَتِهِ إِلَّا مَا جَعَلْتَ لَهُ.

yanwī ʾillā ʿiqālan falahu mā nawā. waqāla: ʾinnī istaʿantu rajulan yaghzū maʿī, faqāla: lā ḥattā tajʿala lī juʿlan, fajaʿaltu lahu fadhakartu dhālika li-l-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faqāla lahu: laysa lahu min dunyāhu waʾākhiratihi ʾillā mā jaʿalta lahu.

but a tethering cord has what he intended.” He said: “I sought the help of a man to go on campaign with me. He answered: ‘Not unless you assign me a payment.’ I assigned it to him, then mentioned this to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace. He said to him: ‘His portion in this world and the hereafter is only what you assigned him.’”

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْإِسْرَائِيلِيَّاتِ أَنَّ رَجُلًا مَرَّ بِكُثْبَانٍ مِنْ رَمْلٍ فِي مَجَاعَةٍ، فَقَالَ فِي نَفْسِهِ: لَوْ كَانَ لِي هَذَا الرَّمْلُ طَعَامًا لَقَسَمْتُهُ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ. قَالَ: فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى نَبِيِّهِمْ أَنْ قُلْ لَهُ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ قَبِلَ صَدَقَتَكَ، وَقَدْ شَكَرَ حُسْنَ نِيَّتِكَ، وَأَعْطَاكَ ثَوَابَ مَا لَوْ كَانَ طَعَامًا فَتَصَدَّقْتَ بِهِ. وَفِي أَخْبَارٍ كَثِيرَةٍ: مَنْ هَمَّ بِحَسَنَةٍ فَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا كُتِبَتْ لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ.

warawaynā fī al-ʾisrāʾīliyyāti ʾanna rajulan marra bikuthbānin min ramlin fī majāʿatin, faqāla fī nafsihi: law kāna lī hādhā al-ramlu ṭaʿāman laqasamtuhu bayna al-nāsi. qāla: faʾawḥā Allāhu taʿālā ʾilā nabiyyihim ʾan qul lahu: ʾinna Allāha taʿālā qad qabila ṣadaqataka, waqad shakara ḥusna niyyatika, waʾaʿṭāka thawāba mā law kāna ṭaʿāman fataṣaddaqta bihi. wafī ʾakhbārin kathīratin: man hamma biḥasanatin falam yaʿmalhā kutibat lahu ḥasanatun.

Among the accounts of the Israelites, we have transmitted that a man passed sand dunes during a famine and said to himself: “If I possessed this sand as food, I would distribute it among the people.” The account continues: God Most High revealed to their prophet, “Tell him: God Most High has accepted your charity, appreciated your good intention, and given you the reward you would have received had it been food and you had given it in charity.” Many reports say: “Whoever intends a good deed but does not perform it has a good deed recorded for him.”

وَفِي حَدِيثِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ: مَنْ تَكُنِ الدُّنْيَا نِيَّتَهُ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ فَقْرَهُ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ وَفَارَقَهَا أَرْغَبَ مَا يَكُونُ فِيهَا، وَمَنْ تَكُنِ الْآخِرَةُ نِيَّتَهُ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ غِنَاهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَجَمَعَ عَلَيْهِ ضَيْعَتَهُ وَفَارَقَهَا أَزْهَدَ مَا يَكُونُ فِيهَا. وَحَدِيثُ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ: ذَكَرَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ جَيْشًا يُخْسَفُ بِهِمْ فِي الْبَيْدَاءِ، فَقُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ يَكُونُ فِيهِمُ الْمُكْرَهُ وَالْأَجِيرُ، فَقَالَ: يُحْشَرُونَ عَلَى نِيَّاتِهِمْ.

wafī ḥadīthi ʿabdi Allāhi bni ʿumara: man takuni al-dunyā niyyatahu jaʿala Allāhu faqrahu bayna ʿaynayhi wafāraqahā ʾarghaba mā yakūnu fīhā, waman takuni al-ʾākhiratu niyyatahu jaʿala Allāhu ghināhu fī qalbihi wajamaʿa ʿalayhi ḍayʿatahu wafāraqahā ʾazhada mā yakūnu fīhā. waḥadīthu ʾummi salamata: dhakara al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama jayshan yukhsafu bihim fī al-baydāʾi, faqultu: yā rasūla Allāhi yakūnu fīhimu al-mukrahu wa-al-ʾajīru, faqāla: yuḥsharūna ʿalā niyyātihim.

In the hadith of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar: “If this world is a person's intention, God sets his poverty before his eyes, and he leaves it when his desire for it is greatest. If the hereafter is his intention, God places his wealth within his heart, gathers his scattered affairs for him, and he leaves this world at the height of his detachment from it.” In Umm Salama's report: “The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, mentioned an army that would be swallowed by the earth in the desert. I said: ‘Messenger of God, there may be someone compelled to join them, or a hired man, among them.’ He answered: ‘They will be raised according to their intentions.’”

وَفِي حَدِيثِ عُمَرَ مِثْلُهُ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: إِنَّمَا يَقْتَتِلُ الْمُقْتَتِلُونَ عَلَى النِّيَّاتِ. وَفِي حَدِيثِ فَضَالَةَ: مَنْ مَاتَ عَلَى مَرْتَبَةٍ مِنَ الْمَرَاتِبِ بُعِثَ عَلَيْهَا. وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: إِذَا اِلْتَقَى الصَّفَّانِ نَزَلَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ تَكْتُبُ الْخَلْقَ عَلَى مَرَاتِبِهِمْ، فُلَانٌ يُقَاتِلُ لِلدُّنْيَا، فُلَانٌ يُقَاتِلُ عَصَبِيَّةً، إِلَّا فُلَانًا يَقُولُونَ: قُتِلَ فُلَانٌ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، فَمَنْ قَاتَلَ لِتَكُونَ كَلِمَةُ اللَّهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا فَهُوَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.

wafī ḥadīthi ʿumara mithluhu: samiʿtu rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaqūlu: ʾinnamā yaqtatilu al-muqtatilūna ʿalā al-niyyāti. wafī ḥadīthi faḍālata: man māta ʿalā martabatin mina al-marātibi buʿitha ʿalayhā. wa-kadhālika qāla fī al-khabari: ʾidhā iltaqā al-ṣaffāni nazalati al-malāʾikatu taktubu al-khalqa ʿalā marātibihim, fulānun yuqātilu li-l-dunyā, fulānun yuqātilu ʿaṣabiyyatan, ʾillā fulānan yaqūlūna: qutila fulānun fī sabīli Allāhi, faman qātala litakūna kalimatu Allāhi hiya al-ʿulyā fahuwa fī sabīli Allāhi taʿālā.

The report of ʿUmar is similar: “I heard God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, say: ‘Those who fight one another do so according to their intentions.’” In Faḍāla's report: “Whoever dies at a particular rank is raised at that rank.” Likewise a report says: “When the two battle lines meet, the angels descend and record people according to their ranks: this man fights for worldly gain, this one from partisan zeal, except for one of whom they say, ‘This man was killed in God's path.’ Whoever fights so that God's word may be highest is in the path of God Most High.”

وَعَنْ جَابِرٍ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: يُبْعَثُ كُلُّ عَبْدٍ عَلَى مَا مَاتَ عَلَيْهِ. وَفِي حَدِيثِ الْأَحْنَفِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرَةَ: إِذَا اِلْتَقَى الْمُسْلِمَانِ بِسَيْفَيْهِمَا فَالْقَاتِلُ وَالْمَقْتُولُ فِي النَّارِ. قِيلَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ هَذَا الْقَاتِلُ فَمَا بَالُ الْمَقْتُولِ؟ قَالَ: لِأَنَّهُ أَرَادَ قَتْلَ صَاحِبِهِ.

waʿan jābirin ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: yubʿathu kullu ʿabdin ʿalā mā māta ʿalayhi. wafī ḥadīthi al-ʾaḥnafi bni qaysin ʿan ʾabī bakrata: ʾidhā iltaqā al-muslimāni bisayfayhimā fa-al-qātilu wa-al-maqtūlu fī al-nāri. qīla: yā rasūla Allāhi hādhā al-qātilu famā bālu al-maqtūli? qāla: liʾannahu ʾarāda qatla ṣāḥibihi.

Jābir relates from God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Every servant is raised in the condition in which he died.” In the report of al-Aḥnaf ibn Qays, from Abū Bakra: “When two Muslims meet with their swords, both killer and killed are in the Fire.” He was asked: “Messenger of God, we understand the killer, but why the one killed?” He answered: “Because he intended to kill his companion.”

وَالنِّيَّةُ عِنْدَ قَوْمٍ الْإِخْلَاصُ بِعَيْنِهِ، وَعِنْدَ آخَرِينَ الصِّدْقُ، وَعِنْدَ الْجُمْلَةِ أَنَّهَا صِحَّةُ الْعَقْدِ وَحُسْنُ الْقَصْدِ، وَهِيَ عِنْدَ الْجَمَاعَةِ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ مُقَدَّمَةٌ فِي الْأَعْمَالِ وَأَوَّلُ كُلِّ عَمَلٍ. وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا) الْأَحْزَابُ: 41، قِيلَ: فِي التَّفْسِيرِ خَالِصًا، فَسُمِّيَ الْخَالِصُ كَثِيرًا، وَهُوَ مَا خَلَصَتْ فِيهِ النِّيَّةُ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى. وَوَصَفَ ذِكْرَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ بِالْقِلَّةِ فَقَالَ: (يُرَاءُونَ النَّاسَ وَلَا يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا) النِّسَاءُ: 142، يَعْنِي غَيْرَ خَالِصٍ.

wa-al-niyyatu ʿinda qawmin al-ʾikhlāṣu biʿaynihi, waʿinda ʾākharīna al-ṣidqu, waʿinda al-jumlati ʾannahā ṣiḥḥatu al-ʿaqdi waḥusnu al-qaṣdi, wahiya ʿinda al-jamāʿati min ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi muqaddamatun fī al-ʾaʿmāli waʾawwalu kulli ʿamalin. waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā: (wadhkurū Allāha dhikran kathīran) al-ʾaḥzābu: 41, qīla: fī al-tafsīri khāliṣan, fasummiya al-khāliṣu kathīran, wahuwa mā khalaṣat fīhi al-niyyatu liwajhi Allāhi taʿālā. wawaṣafa dhikra al-munāfiqīna bi-al-qillati faqāla: (yurāʾūna al-nāsa walā yadhkurūna Allāha ʾillā qalīlan) al-nisāʾu: 142, yaʿnī ghayra khāliṣin.

For some, intention is sincerity itself; for others it is truthfulness; for people generally it is sound inward resolve and good purpose. They regard it as an act of the heart, preceding other deeds and beginning every action. God Most High said: “Remember God with abundant remembrance” (al-Aḥzāb 33:41). In an explanation, “abundant” means sincere: Sincere remembrance was thus called abundant, namely remembrance in which the intention is purely for the Face of God Most High. He described the hypocrites' remembrance as little, saying: “They show off before people and remember God only a little” (al-Nisāʾ 4:142), meaning insincerely.

وَسُمِّيَتْ سُورَةُ: (قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ) سُورَةَ الْإِخْلَاصِ لِأَنَّهَا خَالِصَةٌ فِي ذِكْرِ صِفَاتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَحْدَهُ، لَا يَخْتَلِطُ بِذِكْرِهِ جَنَّةٌ وَلَا نَارٌ وَلَا وَعْدٌ وَلَا وَعِيدٌ وَلَا أَمْرٌ وَلَا نَهْيٌ. وَكَذَلِكَ قِيلَ سُورَةُ التَّوْحِيدِ إِذْ لَا شَرِيكَ فِيهَا مِنْ سِوَاهُ. فَأَوَّلُ سُلْطَانِ الْعَدُوِّ عَلَى الْقَلْبِ عِنْدَ فَسَادِ النِّيَّةِ، فَإِذَا تَغَيَّرَتْ مِنَ الْعَبْدِ طَمِعَ فِيهِ فَيَتَسَلَّطُ عَلَيْهِ.

wasummiyat sūratu: (qul huwa Allāhu ʾaḥadun) sūrata al-ʾikhlāṣi liʾannahā khāliṣatun fī dhikri ṣifāti Allāhi taʿālā waḥdahu, lā yakhtaliṭu bidhikrihi jannatun walā nārun walā waʿdun walā waʿīdun walā ʾamrun walā nahyun. wa-kadhālika qīla sūratu al-tawḥīdi ʾidh lā sharīka fīhā min siwāhu. faʾawwalu sulṭāni al-ʿaduwwi ʿalā al-qalbi ʿinda fasādi al-niyyati, faʾidhā taghayyarat mina al-ʿabdi ṭamiʿa fīhi fayatasallaṭu ʿalayhi.

The sūra “Say: He is God, One” is called the Sūra of Sincerity because it is devoted purely to the attributes of God Most High alone. Its remembrance of Him is not mixed with mention of a garden or fire, promise or threat, command or prohibition. It is likewise called the Sūra of Divine Oneness, because none besides Him shares its subject. The enemy's first hold over the heart comes when intention becomes corrupt. When the servant's intention changes, the enemy covets him and gains power over him.

وَأَوَّلُ ارْتِدَادِ الْعَبْدِ عَنِ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ ضَعْفُ النِّيَّةِ، فَإِذَا ضَعُفَتِ النِّيَّةُ قَوِيَتِ النَّفْسُ فَتَمَكَّنَ الْهَوَى، فَإِذَا قَوِيَتِ النِّيَّةُ صَحَّ الْعَزْمُ وَضَعُفَتْ صِفَاتُ النَّفْسِ. وَلَأَنْ يَنْتَقِلَ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ مَعْصِيَةٍ إِلَى مَعْصِيَةٍ دُونَهَا فَيَكُونَ تَارِكًا لِلْأُولَى بِنِيَّةِ التَّرْكِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى كَانَ أَنْفَعَ لَهُ وَأَحْمَدَ عَاقِبَةً

waʾawwalu irtidādi al-ʿabdi ʿani al-istiqāmati ḍaʿfu al-niyyati, faʾidhā ḍaʿufati al-niyyatu qawiyati al-nafsu fatamakkana al-hawā, faʾidhā qawiyati al-niyyatu ṣaḥḥa al-ʿazmu waḍaʿufat ṣifātu al-nafsi. walaʾan yantaqila al-ʿabdu min maʿṣiyatin ʾilā maʿṣiyatin dūnahā fayakūna tārikan li-l-ʾūlā biniyyati al-tarki li-llāhi taʿālā kāna ʾanfaʿa lahu waʾaḥmada ʿāqibatan

The servant's first retreat from uprightness is weakness of intention. When intention weakens, the self grows strong and desire takes hold. When intention strengthens, resolve becomes sound and the self's traits weaken. For a servant to move from one sin to a lesser sin, abandoning the first with the intention of leaving it for God Most High, would be more beneficial for him and more praiseworthy in outcome,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٧٢

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 272

Volume Two, page 272

وَأَصْلَحَ لِقَلْبِهِ وَأَقْرَبَ إِلَى تَوْبَتِهِ مِنَ افْتِعَالِ الطَّاعَاتِ مَشُوبَةً بِالْهَوَى وَفَسَادِ النِّيَّاتِ، لِأَنَّهُ يَكُونُ حِينَئِذٍ مُتَقَلِّبًا فِي الْمَعَاصِي بِفَسَادِ نِيَّتِهِ، وَخَالَطَ عَمَلًا سَيِّئًا بِسَيِّئٍ مِثْلِهِ، وَدَرَأَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ قَبْلَهَا. وَهَذَا بِخِلَافِ وَصْفِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ قَوْلِهِ: (خَلَطُوا عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا) التَّوْبَةُ: 102، وَقَوْلِهِ: (وَيَدْرَؤُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ) الرَّعْدُ: 22، وَمُخَالِفٌ لِأَمْرِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي قَوْلِهِ: أَتْبِعِ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا.

waʾaṣlaḥa liqalbihi waʾaqraba ʾilā tawbatihi mina iftiʿāli al-ṭāʿāti mashūbatan bi-al-hawā wafasādi al-niyyāti, liʾannahu yakūnu ḥīnaʾidhin mutaqalliban fī al-maʿāṣī bifasādi niyyatihi, wakhālaṭa ʿamalan sayyiʾan bisayyiʾin mithlihi, wadaraʾa bi-al-sayyiʾati al-sayyiʾata qablahā. wa-hādhā bikhilāfi waṣfi Allāhi taʿālā min qawlihi: (khalaṭū ʿamalan ṣāliḥan waʾākhara sayyiʾan) al-tawbatu: 102, waqawlihi: (wayadraʾūna bi-al-ḥasanati al-sayyiʾata) al-raʿdu: 22, wamukhālifun liʾamri rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī qawlihi: ʾatbiʿi al-sayyiʾata al-ḥasanata tamḥuhā.

better for his heart, and nearer to his repentance than contriving acts of obedience mixed with desire and corrupt intentions. In the latter case his corrupt intention would have him moving among sins, mixing an evil deed with another like it and repelling a previous evil with a new evil. This differs from God Most High's description, “They mixed a righteous deed with another that was evil” (al-Tawba 9:102), and His saying, “They repel evil with good” (al-Raʿd 13:22). It also contradicts the command of God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Follow an evil deed with a good one, and it will erase it.”

وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ: مَنْ تَزَوَّجَ امْرَأَةً عَلَى صَدَاقٍ وَهُوَ لَا يَنْوِي أَدَاءَهُ فَهُوَ زَانٍ، وَمَنْ أَدَانَ دَيْنًا وَهُوَ لَا يَنْوِي قَضَاءَهُ فَهُوَ سَارِقٌ. وَفِي حَدِيثِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ ذُكِرَ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الشُّهَدَاءُ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ أَكْثَرَ شُهَدَاءِ أُمَّتِي لَأَصْحَابُ الْفُرُشِ، وَرُبَّ قَتِيلٍ بَيْنَ الصَّفَّيْنِ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِنِيَّتِهِ.

wafī ḥadīthi ʾabī hurayrata: man tazawwaja imraʾatan ʿalā ṣadāqin wahuwa lā yanwī ʾadāʾahu fahuwa zānin, waman ʾadāna daynan wahuwa lā yanwī qaḍāʾahu fahuwa sāriqun. wafī ḥadīthi ibni masʿūdin dhukira ʿinda rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-shuhadāʾu faqāla: ʾinna ʾakthara shuhadāʾi ʾummatī laʾaṣḥābu al-furushi, warubba qatīlin bayna al-ṣaffayni Allāhu ʾaʿlamu biniyyatihi.

In Abū Hurayra's report: “Whoever marries a woman for a bridal payment while not intending to pay it is a fornicator; whoever incurs a debt while not intending to repay it is a thief.” In Ibn Masʿūd's report, martyrs were mentioned in the presence of God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. He said: “Most of my community's martyrs are people who die in their beds. How many are killed between the battle lines whose intentions God knows best.”

وَقَالَ ثَابِتٌ الْبُنَانِيُّ: نِيَّةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ أَبْلَغُ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ، إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ يَنْوِي أَنْ يَصُومَ النَّهَارَ وَيَقُومَ اللَّيْلَ وَيُخْرِجَ مِنْ مَالِهِ فَلَا تُتَابِعُهُ نَفْسُهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ، فَنِيَّتُهُ أَبْلَغُ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ. وَقَدْ ضَرَبَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَثَلَ الْقَلْبِ بِالْمَلِكِ وَالْجَوَارِحِ جُنُودِهِ، قَالَ: فَإِذَا صَلَحَ الْقَلْبُ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ، وَإِذَا فَسَدَ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ.

waqāla thābitun al-bunāniyyu: niyyatu al-muʾmini ʾablaghu min ʿamalihi, ʾinna al-muʾmina yanwī ʾan yaṣūma al-nahāra wayaqūma al-layla wayukhrija min mālihi falā tutābiʿuhu nafsuhu ʿalā dhālika, faniyyatuhu ʾablaghu min ʿamalihi. waqad ḍaraba al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama mathala al-qalbi bi-al-maliki wa-al-jawāriḥi junūdihi, qāla: faʾidhā ṣalaḥa al-qalbu ṣalaḥa al-jasadu, waʾidhā fasada fasada al-jasadu.

Thābit al-Bunānī said: “A believer's intention reaches further than his action. The believer intends to fast by day, stand in prayer by night, and give from his wealth, but his self does not follow him in this, so his intention reaches further than his action.” The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, compared the heart to a king and the limbs to his soldiers, saying: “When the heart is sound, the body is sound; when it is corrupt, the body is corrupt.”

مَعْنَاهُ إِذَا صَلَحَتْ لِلْعَبْدِ نِيَّتُهُ دَامَتْ لِلْعَبْدِ اسْتِقَامَتُهُ، وَإِذَا خَلَصَ وَصَفَا مِنْ شَوْبِ الْكَدَرِ وَالْهَوَى خَلَصَتِ الْأَعْمَالُ مِنَ الرِّيَاءِ وَصَفَتْ مِنَ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَالْأَهْوَاءِ، وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ نِيَّتُهُ بِحُبِّ الدُّنْيَا فَسَدَتْ أَعْمَالُ الْجَوَارِحِ بِحُبِّ الْمَدْحِ وَالرِّيَاءِ.

maʿnāhu ʾidhā ṣalaḥat li-l-ʿabdi niyyatuhu dāmat li-l-ʿabdi istiqāmatuhu, waʾidhā khalaṣa waṣafā min shawbi al-kadari wa-al-hawā khalaṣati al-ʾaʿmālu mina al-riyāʾi waṣafat mina al-shahawāti wa-al-ʾahwāʾi, waʾidhā fasadat niyyatuhu biḥubbi al-dunyā fasadat ʾaʿmālu al-jawāriḥi biḥubbi al-madḥi wa-al-riyāʾi.

This means that when the servant's intention becomes sound, his uprightness endures. When he becomes pure and clear of the admixture of turbidity and desire, his actions become free of showing off and clear of appetites and desires. When love of the world corrupts his intention, love of praise and showing off corrupt the actions of his limbs.

وَقَدْ حَدَّثُونَا فِي الْإِسْرَائِيلِيَّاتِ أَنَّ عَابِدًا عَبَدَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى دَهْرًا طَوِيلًا، فَجَاءَهُ قَوْمٌ فَقَالُوا: إِنَّ هَهُنَا قَوْمًا يَعْبُدُونَ شَجَرَةً مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى. فَغَضِبَ لِذَلِكَ، فَأَخَذَ فَأْسَهُ عَلَى عَاتِقِهِ وَقَصَدَ الشَّجَرَةَ لِيَقْطَعَهَا، فَاسْتَقْبَلَهُ إِبْلِيسُ فِي صُورَةِ شَيْخٍ فَقَالَ: أَيْنَ تُرِيدُ رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ؟ قَالَ: أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَقْطَعَ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ الَّتِي تُعْبَدُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ.

waqad ḥaddathūnā fī al-ʾisrāʾīliyyāti ʾanna ʿābidan ʿabada Allāha taʿālā dahran ṭawīlan, fajāʾahu qawmun faqālū: ʾinna hahunā qawman yaʿbudūna shajaratan min dūni Allāhi taʿālā. faghaḍiba li-dhālika, faʾakhadha faʾsahu ʿalā ʿātiqihi waqaṣada al-shajarata liyaqṭaʿahā, fastaqbalahu ʾiblīsu fī ṣūrati shaykhin faqāla: ʾayna turīdu raḥimaka Allāhu? qāla: ʾurīdu ʾan ʾaqṭaʿa hādhihi al-shajarata allatī tuʿbadu min dūni Allāhi.

They have related to us among the accounts of the Israelites that a devout man worshipped God Most High for a long time. Some people came and said to him: “There are people here who worship a tree instead of God Most High.” Angered by this, he put his axe over his shoulder and set out to cut down the tree. Iblīs met him in the form of an old man and asked: “Where are you going, may God have mercy on you?” He answered: “I want to cut down this tree that is worshipped instead of God.”

قَالَ: وَمَا أَنْتَ وَذَاكَ؟ تَرَكْتَ عِبَادَتَكَ وَالِاشْتِغَالَ بِنَفْسِكَ وَتَفَرَّغْتَ لِغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ؟ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ هَذَا مِنْ عِبَادَتِي. فَقَالَ لَهُ: إِنِّي لَا أَتْرُكُكَ تَقْطَعُهَا. قَالَ: فَقَاتَلَهُ فَأَخَذَهُ الْعَابِدُ فَطَرَحَهُ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَقَعَدَ عَلَى صَدْرِهِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ إِبْلِيسُ: أَطْلِقْنِي حَتَّى أُكَلِّمَكَ، فَقَامَ عَنْهُ.

qāla: wamā ʾanta wadhāka? tarakta ʿibādataka wa-al-ishtighāla binafsika watafarraghta lighayri dhālika? faqāla: ʾinna hādhā min ʿibādatī. faqāla lahu: ʾinnī lā ʾatrukuka taqṭaʿuhā. qāla: faqātalahu faʾakhadhahu al-ʿābidu faṭaraḥahu ʾilā al-ʾarḍi waqaʿada ʿalā ṣadrihi, faqāla lahu ʾiblīsu: ʾaṭliqnī ḥattā ʾukallimaka, faqāma ʿanhu.

He said: “What has that to do with you? Have you left your worship and attending to yourself, and freed yourself for something else?” The man replied: “This is part of my worship.” He said: “I will not let you cut it down.” The account continues: they fought, and the worshipper seized him, threw him to the ground, and sat on his chest. Iblīs said: “Let me go so I can speak to you.” The man got off him.

فَقَالَ لَهُ إِبْلِيسُ: يَا هَذَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ أَسْقَطَ عَنْكَ هَذَا وَلَمْ يَفْرِضْهُ عَلَيْكَ، أَنَبِيٌّ أَنْتَ؟ قَالَ: لَا. قَالَ: فَلَا عَلَيْكَ مِمَّنْ كَانَ يَعْبُدُهَا، فَلَوِ اشْتَغَلْتَ بِعِبَادَتِكَ وَتَرَكْتَهَا، فَإِنَّ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي أَرْضِهِ أَنْبِيَاءَ، لَوْ شَاءَ بَعَثَهُمْ إِلَى أَهْلِهَا وَأَمَرَهُمْ بِقَطْعِهَا. فَقَالَ الْعَابِدُ: لَا بُدَّ لِي مِنْ قَطْعِهَا.

faqāla lahu ʾiblīsu: yā hādhā ʾinna Allāha taʿālā qad ʾasqaṭa ʿanka hādhā walam yafriḍhu ʿalayka, ʾanabiyyun ʾanta? qāla: lā. qāla: falā ʿalayka mimman kāna yaʿbuduhā, falawi ishtaghalta biʿibādatika wataraktahā, faʾinna li-llāhi taʿālā fī ʾarḍihi ʾanbiyāʾa, law shāʾa baʿathahum ʾilā ʾahlihā waʾamarahum biqaṭʿihā. faqāla al-ʿābidu: lā budda lī min qaṭʿihā.

Iblīs said to him: “Man, God Most High has relieved you of this and has not made it obligatory upon you. Are you a prophet?” He answered: “No.” He said: “Then those who worship it are no concern of yours. If only you would attend to your worship and leave it alone! God Most High has prophets on His earth; if He wished, He would send them to its people and command them to cut it down.” The worshipper replied: “I must cut it down.”

قَالَ: فَنَابَذَهُ إِبْلِيسُ لِلْقِتَالِ فَغَلَبَهُ الْعَابِدُ، فَأَخَذَهُ وَصَرَعَهُ وَقَعَدَ عَلَى صَدْرِهِ. فَلَمَّا رَأَى إِبْلِيسُ أَنَّهُ لَا طَاقَةَ لَهُ بِهِ وَلَا سُلْطَانَ لَهُ عَلَيْهِ قَالَ: يَا هَذَا هَلْ لَكَ فِي أَمْرٍ فَصْلٍ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكَ وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكَ وَأَنْفَعُ مِنْ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ الَّذِي جِئْتَ تَطْلُبُهُ؟ قَالَ: وَمَا هُوَ؟ قَالَ: قُمْ عَنِّي أُخْبِرْكَ بِهِ.

qāla: fanābadhahu ʾiblīsu li-l-qitāli faghalabahu al-ʿābidu, faʾakhadhahu waṣaraʿahu waqaʿada ʿalā ṣadrihi. falammā raʾā ʾiblīsu ʾannahu lā ṭāqata lahu bihi walā sulṭāna lahu ʿalayhi qāla: yā hādhā hal laka fī ʾamrin faṣlin baynī wabaynaka wahuwa khayrun laka waʾanfaʿu min hādhā al-ʾamri alladhī jiʾta taṭlubuhu? qāla: wamā huwa? qāla: qum ʿannī ʾukhbirka bihi.

The account continues: Iblīs challenged him to fight, and the worshipper overcame him, seized him, threw him down, and sat on his chest. When Iblīs saw that he had neither the strength to resist him nor power over him, he said: “Man, would you agree to something that settles matters between us, and is better and more useful for you than what you came seeking?” He asked: “What is it?” He replied: “Get off me, and I will tell you.”

فَأَطْلَقَهُ الْعَابِدُ فَقَالَ لَهُ إِبْلِيسُ: أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ فَقِيرٌ لَا شَيْءَ لَكَ، إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ كَلٌّ عَلَى النَّاسِ يَعُولُونَكَ، وَلَعَلَّكَ تُحِبُّ أَنْ تُفْضِلَ عَلَى إِخْوَانِكَ وَتُوَاسِيَ جِيرَانَكَ وَتَتَّسِعَ فِي حَالِكَ وَتَسْتَغْنِيَ عَنِ النَّاسِ. قَالَ: نَعَمْ. قَالَ: فَارْجِعْ عَنْ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ الَّذِي جِئْتَ فِيهِ، وَلَكَ عَلَيَّ أَنْ أَجْعَلَ عِنْدَ رَأْسِكَ فِي كُلِّ لَيْلَةٍ دِينَارَيْنِ، فَإِذَا أَصْبَحْتَ أَخَذْتَهُمَا فَصَنَعْتَ بِهِمَا مَا

faʾaṭlaqahu al-ʿābidu faqāla lahu ʾiblīsu: ʾanta rajulun faqīrun lā shayʾa laka, ʾinnamā ʾanta kallun ʿalā al-nāsi yaʿūlūnaka, walaʿallaka tuḥibbu ʾan tufḍila ʿalā ʾikhwānika watuwāsiya jīrānaka watattasiʿa fī ḥālika watastaghniya ʿani al-nāsi. qāla: naʿam. qāla: farjiʿ ʿan hādhā al-ʾamri alladhī jiʾta fīhi, walaka ʿalayya ʾan ʾajʿala ʿinda raʾsika fī kulli laylatin dīnārayni, faʾidhā ʾaṣbaḥta ʾakhadhtahumā faṣanaʿta bihimā mā

The worshipper released him. Iblīs said: “You are a poor man with nothing, a burden upon people who support you. Perhaps you would like to be generous to your brothers, help your neighbors, improve your circumstances, and be independent of others?” He answered: “Yes.” He said: “Then turn back from this undertaking. I pledge to place two dinars beside your head every night. In the morning you can take them and use them however

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٧٣

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 273

Volume Two, page 273

شِئْتَ، وَأَنْفَقْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ وَعِيَالِكَ وَتَصَدَّقْتَ عَلَى إِخْوَانِكَ، فَيَكُونُ لَكَ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَأَنْفَعَ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ قَطْعِ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ الَّتِي يُغْرَسُ مَكَانَهُ، وَلَا يَضُرُّهُمْ قَطْعُهَا شَيْئًا وَلَا يَنْفَعُ إِخْوَانَكَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ قَطْعُكَ لَهَا.

shiʾta, waʾanfaqta ʿalā nafsika waʿiyālika wataṣaddaqta ʿalā ʾikhwānika, fayakūnu laka ʾafḍala min dhālika waʾanfaʿa li-l-muslimīna min qaṭʿi hādhihi al-shajarati allatī yughrasu makānahu, walā yaḍurruhum qaṭʿuhā shayʾan walā yanfaʿu ʾikhwānaka al-muʾminīna qaṭʿuka lahā.

you wish, spend on yourself and your dependants, and give charity to your brothers. That would be better for you and more useful to the Muslims than cutting down this tree, which would have another planted in its place. Cutting it down would do those people no harm at all, nor would your cutting it benefit your believing brothers.”

قَالَ: فَتَفَكَّرَ الْعَابِدُ فِيمَا قَالَ لَهُ وَقَالَ: صَدَقَ الشَّيْخُ، لَسْتُ بِنَبِيٍّ فَيَلْزَمَنِي قَطْعُ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ، وَلَا أَمَرَنِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنْ أَقْطَعَهَا فَأَكُونَ قَدْ عَصَيْتُ بِتَرْكِهَا، وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ شَيْءٌ تَفَضَّلْتُ بِهِ، وَمَاذَا يَضُرُّ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ مِنْ بَقَائِهَا؟ وَهَذَا الَّذِي ذَكَرَهُ أَكْثَرُ مَنْفَعَةً لِعُمُومِ النَّاسِ.

qāla: fatafakkara al-ʿābidu fīmā qāla lahu waqāla: ṣadaqa al-shaykhu, lastu binabiyyin fayalzamanī qaṭʿu hādhihi al-shajarati, walā ʾamaraniya Allāhu taʿālā ʾan ʾaqṭaʿahā faʾakūna qad ʿaṣaytu bitarkihā, waʾinnamā huwa shayʾun tafaḍḍaltu bihi, wamādhā yaḍurru al-muwaḥḥidīna min baqāʾihā? wa-hādhā alladhī dhakarahu ʾaktharu manfaʿatan liʿumūmi al-nāsi.

The account continues: the worshipper thought over what he had said and told himself: “The old man is right. I am no prophet, obliged to cut down this tree. Nor has God Most High commanded me to cut it down, so that leaving it would be disobedience. It is merely an additional good deed I undertook. What harm does its remaining do to those who affirm divine oneness? What he has proposed benefits people more generally.”

قَالَ: فَعَاهَدَهُ عَلَى الْوَفَاءِ بِذَلِكَ وَحَلَفَ لَهُ، فَرَجَعَ الْعَابِدُ إِلَى مُتَعَبَّدِهِ فَبَاتَ لَيْلَتَهُ فَأَصْبَحَ فَإِذَا دِينَارَانِ عِنْدَ رَأْسِهِ فَأَخَذَهُمَا، ثُمَّ كَذَلِكَ الْغَدُ، ثُمَّ أَصْبَحَ الْيَوْمَ الثَّالِثَ فَلَمْ يَرَ شَيْئًا، ثُمَّ أَصْبَحَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَلَمْ يَجِدْ فَغَضِبَ وَأَخَذَ فَأْسَهُ عَلَى عَاتِقِهِ وَخَرَجَ يَؤُمُّ الشَّجَرَةَ لِيَقْطَعَهَا، وَقَالَ: إِنْ فَاتَنِي أَمْرُ الدُّنْيَا لَا أَتْرُكَنَّ أَمْرَ الْآخِرَةِ.

qāla: faʿāhadahu ʿalā al-wafāʾi bi-dhālika waḥalafa lahu, farajaʿa al-ʿābidu ʾilā mutaʿabbadihi fabāta laylatahu faʾaṣbaḥa faʾidhā dīnārāni ʿinda raʾsihi faʾakhadhahumā, thumma kadhālika al-ghadu, thumma ʾaṣbaḥa al-yawma al-thālitha falam yara shayʾan, thumma ʾaṣbaḥa baʿda dhālika falam yajid faghaḍiba waʾakhadha faʾsahu ʿalā ʿātiqihi wakharaja yaʾummu al-shajarata liyaqṭaʿahā, waqāla: ʾin fātanī ʾamru al-dunyā lā ʾatrukanna ʾamra al-ʾākhirati.

The account continues: Iblīs pledged to fulfill this and swore an oath to him. The worshipper returned to his place of devotion and spent the night. In the morning he found two dinars beside his head and took them; the next day was the same. On the third morning he saw nothing, and on the morning after that he found nothing. Angered, he put his axe over his shoulder and set out toward the tree to cut it down, saying: “If I have missed out on this world's business, I will certainly not abandon the business of the hereafter.”

قَالَ: فَاسْتَقْبَلَهُ إِبْلِيسُ فِي صُورَةِ شَيْخٍ فَقَالَ: أَيْنَ تُرِيدُ؟ قَالَ: أَقْطَعُ تِلْكَ الشَّجَرَةَ. قَالَ: كَذَبْتَ وَاللَّهِ مَا أَنْتَ بِقَادِرٍ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَلَا سَبِيلَ لَكَ إِلَيْهَا. قَالَ: فَتَنَاوَلَهُ الْعَابِدُ لِيَأْخُذَهُ كَمَا فَعَلَ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ فَقَالَ: هَيْهَاتَ! قَالَ: فَأَخَذَهُ إِبْلِيسُ فَصَرَعَهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ كَالْعُصْفُورِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ.

qāla: fastaqbalahu ʾiblīsu fī ṣūrati shaykhin faqāla: ʾayna turīdu? qāla: ʾaqṭaʿu tilka al-shajarata. qāla: kadhabta wa-Allāhi mā ʾanta biqādirin ʿalā dhālika walā sabīla laka ʾilayhā. qāla: fatanāwalahu al-ʿābidu liyaʾkhudhahu kamā faʿala ʾawwala marratin faqāla: hayhāta! qāla: faʾakhadhahu ʾiblīsu faṣaraʿahu faʾidhā huwa ka-al-ʿuṣfūri bayna yadayhi.

The account continues: Iblīs met him in the form of an old man and asked: “Where are you going?” He answered: “To cut down that tree.” He said: “You lie! By God, you have no power to do that and no way to reach it.” The worshipper reached for him to seize him as he had the first time, but he said: “Not a chance!” Iblīs seized him and threw him down, and he was like a sparrow in his hands.

قَالَ: وَقَعَدَ إِبْلِيسُ عَلَى صَدْرِهِ وَقَالَ: لَتَنْتَهِيَنَّ عَنْ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ أَوْ لَأَذْبَحَنَّكَ. فَنَظَرَ الْعَابِدُ فَإِذَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَهُ بِهِ، قَالَ: يَا هَذَا قَدْ غَلَبْتَنِي فَحُلَّ عَنِّي، وَأَخْبِرْنِي عَنْكَ كَيْفَ قَدْ غَلَبْتُكَ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ فَصَرَعْتُكَ، وَالْآنَ غَلَبْتَنِي فَصَرَعْتَنِي؟ فَكَيْفَ ذَلِكَ؟

qāla: waqaʿada ʾiblīsu ʿalā ṣadrihi waqāla: latantahiyanna ʿan hādhā al-ʾamri ʾaw laʾadhbaḥannaka. fanaẓara al-ʿābidu faʾidhā lā ṭāqata lahu bihi, qāla: yā hādhā qad ghalabtanī faḥulla ʿannī, waʾakhbirnī ʿanka kayfa qad ghalabtuka ʾawwala marratin faṣaraʿtuka, wa-al-ʾāna ghalabtanī faṣaraʿtanī? fakayfa dhālika?

The account continues: Iblīs sat on his chest and said: “You will stop this undertaking, or I will slaughter you.” The worshipper saw that he had no strength to resist him and said: “You have overcome me; let me go. Tell me how I overcame you and threw you down the first time, while now you have overcome me and thrown me down. How has that happened?”

قَالَ لَهُ إِبْلِيسُ: لِأَنَّكَ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ غَضِبْتَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَكَانَتْ نِيَّتُكَ الْآخِرَةَ فَسَخَّرَنِيَ اللَّهُ لَكَ فَغَلَبْتَنِي، وَهَذِهِ الْمَرَّةَ جِئْتَ مُغَاضِبًا لِنَفْسِكَ وَكَانَتْ نِيَّتُكَ الدُّنْيَا فَسَلَّطَنِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْكَ فَصَرَعْتُكَ.

qāla lahu ʾiblīsu: liʾannaka ʾawwala marratin ghaḍibta li-llāhi taʿālā wakānat niyyatuka al-ʾākhirata fasakhkharaniya Allāhu laka faghalabtanī, wa-hādhihi al-marrata jiʾta mughāḍiban linafsika wakānat niyyatuka al-dunyā fasallaṭaniya Allāhu taʿālā ʿalayka faṣaraʿtuka.

Iblīs told him: “The first time you were angry for God Most High, and your intention was the hereafter, so God subjected me to you and you overcame me. This time you came in anger for yourself, and your intention was this world, so God Most High gave me power over you and I threw you down.”

وَهَكَذَا حَدَّثُونَا فِي قِصَّةٍ تَطُولُ أَنَّ مَلِكَةً مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ رَاوَدَتْ عَابِدًا عَنْ نَفْسِهِ، فَقَالَ: اِجْعَلُوا لِي مَاءً فِي الْخَلَاءِ أَتَنَظَّفْ. قَالَ: ثُمَّ صَعِدَ عَلَى مَوْضِعٍ فِي الْقَصْرِ فَرَمَى بِنَفْسِهِ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى مَلَكِ الْهَوَاءِ: اِلْزَمْ عَبْدِي. قَالَ: فَلَزِمَهُ حَتَّى وَضَعَهُ بِالْأَرْضِ عَلَى قَدَمَيْهِ رُوَيْدًا، فَقِيلَ لِإِبْلِيسَ: أَلَا أَغْوَيْتَهُ؟ فَقَالَ: لَيْسَ لِي سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى مَنْ خَالَفَ هَوَاهُ وَبَذَلَ نَفْسَهُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى.

wa-hākadhā ḥaddathūnā fī qiṣṣatin taṭūlu ʾanna malikatan min banī ʾisrāʾīla rāwadat ʿābidan ʿan nafsihi, faqāla: ijʿalū lī māʾan fī al-khalāʾi ʾatanaẓẓaf. qāla: thumma ṣaʿida ʿalā mawḍiʿin fī al-qaṣri faramā binafsihi, faʾawḥā Allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʾilā malaki al-hawāʾi: ilzam ʿabdī. qāla: falazimahu ḥattā waḍaʿahu bi-al-ʾarḍi ʿalā qadamayhi ruwaydan, faqīla liʾiblīsa: ʾalā ʾaghwaytahu? faqāla: laysa lī sulṭānun ʿalā man khālafa hawāhu wabadhala nafsahu li-llāhi taʿālā.

They likewise related to us, in a long story, that an Israelite queen tried to seduce a devout man. He said: “Put water for me in the privy so I can clean myself.” The account continues: he climbed to a place in the palace and threw himself off. God, mighty and majestic, revealed to the angel of the air: “Hold fast to My servant.” The angel held him until he set him gently on the ground, on his feet. Iblīs was asked: “Why did you not lead him astray?” He replied: “I have no power over someone who opposes his desire and gives himself to God Most High.”

وَفِي حَدِيثِ مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ: أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لَيُسْأَلُ عَنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، حَتَّى عَنْ كُحْلِ عَيْنَيْهِ وَعَنْ فُتَاتِ الطِّينَةِ بِأُصْبُعَيْهِ وَعَنْ لَمْسِهِ ثَوْبَ أَخِيهِ. وَرَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ مَقْطُوعٍ: مَنْ تَطَيَّبَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى جَاءَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَرِيحُهُ أَطْيَبُ مِنَ الْمِسْكِ، وَمَنْ تَطَيَّبَ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى جَاءَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَرِيحُهُ أَنْتَنُ مِنَ الْجِيفَةِ.

wafī ḥadīthi muʿādhi bni jabalin: ʾanna al-ʿabda yawma al-qiyāmati layusʾalu ʿan kulli shayʾin, ḥattā ʿan kuḥli ʿaynayhi waʿan futāti al-ṭīnati biʾuṣbuʿayhi waʿan lamsihi thawba ʾakhīhi. warawaynā fī khabarin maqṭūʿin: man taṭayyaba li-llāhi taʿālā jāʾa yawma al-qiyāmati warīḥuhu ʾaṭyabu mina al-miski, waman taṭayyaba lighayri Allāhi taʿālā jāʾa yawma al-qiyāmati warīḥuhu ʾantanu mina al-jīfati.

In the report of Muʿādh ibn Jabal: “On the Day of Resurrection, a servant will be questioned about everything, even the kohl on his eyes, the bits of clay on his two fingers, and his touching his brother's garment.” We have transmitted in a report with a cut-off attribution: “Whoever perfumes himself for God Most High will come on the Day of Resurrection smelling sweeter than musk. Whoever perfumes himself for someone other than God Most High will come on the Day of Resurrection smelling worse than a carcass.”

وَلَيْسَ الطِّيبُ مِنْ أَكْبَرِ الْمَأْمُورِ بِهِ وَلَا مِنَ الْإِثْمِ الْمَنْهِيِّ عَنْهُ، وَإِنَّمَا لِصَاحِبِهِ مِنْهُ نِيَّتُهُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ نِيَّتُهُ اتِّبَاعَ سُنَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَإِظْهَارَ النِّعْمَةِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، كَانَ بِذَلِكَ مُطِيعًا وَكَانَ لَهُ ثَوَابُ مَا نَوَاهُ، وَإِنْ تَطَيَّبَ لِغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ كَانَ بِهِ عَاصِيًا لِاتِّبَاعِهِ هَوَاهُ. وَعَنْ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ الصَّالِحِ قَالَ: كَتَبْتُ كِتَابًا وَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أُتْرِبَهُ فِي مَنْزِلِ جَارِي

walaysa al-ṭību min ʾakbari al-maʾmūri bihi walā mina al-ʾithmi al-manhiyyi ʿanhu, waʾinnamā liṣāḥibihi minhu niyyatuhu, faʾin kāna niyyatuhu ittibāʿa sunnati rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waʾiẓhāra al-niʿmati li-llāhi taʿālā, kāna bi-dhālika muṭīʿan wakāna lahu thawābu mā nawāhu, waʾin taṭayyaba lighayri dhālika kāna bihi ʿāṣiyan littibāʿihi hawāhu. waʿan baʿḍi al-salafi al-ṣāliḥi qāla: katabtu kitāban waʾaradtu ʾan ʾutribahu fī manzili jārī

Perfume is neither among the greatest things commanded nor among the sins forbidden. The one who uses it has only his intention from it. If his intention is to follow the practice of God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and display the blessing for God Most High, he is obedient through it and receives the reward of what he intended. If he perfumes himself for some other purpose, he is disobedient through following his desire. One of the righteous early authorities said: “I wrote a letter and wanted to dust it with sand in my neighbor's house,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٧٤

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 274

Volume Two, page 274

فَتَحَرَّجْتُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ قُلْتُ: تُرَابٌ وَمَا تُرَابٌ؟ فَتَرَبْتُهُ، فَهَتَفَ بِي هَاتِفٌ: سَيَعْلَمُ مَنِ اسْتَخَفَّ بِتُرَابٍ مَا يَلْقَى غَدًا مِنْ سُوءِ الْحِسَابِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: إِنِّي لَأَسْتَحِبُّ أَنْ يَكُونَ لِي فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ نِيَّةٌ حَتَّى فِي أَكْلِي وَشُرْبِي وَنَوْمِي.

fataḥarrajtu min dhālika, thumma qultu: turābun wamā turābun? fatarabtuhu, fahatafa bī hātifun: sayaʿlamu mani istakhaffa biturābin mā yalqā ghadan min sūʾi al-ḥisābi. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: ʾinnī laʾastaḥibbu ʾan yakūna lī fī kulli shayʾin niyyatun ḥattā fī ʾaklī washurbī wanawmī.

but I felt scruples about it. Then I said: ‘It is only dust; what is a little dust?’ I dusted it, and a voice called out to me: ‘Someone who treats a little dust lightly will learn tomorrow what a harsh reckoning awaits him.’” One of the scholars said: “I like to have an intention in everything, even in eating, drinking, and sleeping.”

وَحُدِّثْتُ أَنَّ رَجُلًا صَلَّى مَعَ سُفْيَانَ صَلَاةَ الْعِيدِ وَكَانَ قَدْ خَرَجَ مَعَهُ بِغَلَسٍ، فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحَ نَظَرَ وَإِذْ إِزَارُ سُفْيَانَ مَقْلُوبٌ فَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ قَدْ لَبِسْتَ ثَوْبَكَ مَقْلُوبًا فَأَصْلِحْهُ. قَالَ: فَمَدَّ سُفْيَانُ يَدَهُ لِيُسَوِّيَ إِزَارَهُ ثُمَّ قَبَضَهَا فَلَمْ يُسَوِّهِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ الرَّجُلُ: مَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تُسَوِّيَهُ عَلَيْكَ؟ قَالَ: إِنِّي لَبِسْتُهُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَلَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُسَوِّيَهُ لِغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ.

waḥuddithtu ʾanna rajulan ṣallā maʿa sufyāna ṣalāta al-ʿīdi wakāna qad kharaja maʿahu bighalasin, falammā ʾaṣbaḥa naẓara waʾidh ʾizāru sufyāna maqlūbun faqāla lahu: yā ʾabā muḥammadin qad labista thawbaka maqlūban faʾaṣliḥhu. qāla: famadda sufyānu yadahu liyusawwiya ʾizārahu thumma qabaḍahā falam yusawwihi, faqāla lahu al-rajulu: mā manaʿaka ʾan tusawwiyahu ʿalayka? qāla: ʾinnī labistuhu li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla falā ʾurīdu ʾan ʾusawwiyahu lighayri dhālika.

I was told that a man prayed the festival prayer with Sufyān, having gone out with him in the darkness before dawn. When morning came, he noticed that Sufyān's waist-wrapper was inside out and said: “Abū Muḥammad, you have put your garment on inside out; straighten it.” The account continues: Sufyān stretched out his hand to straighten his wrapper, then withdrew it without doing so. The man asked: “What stopped you from straightening it on yourself?” He replied: “I put it on for God, mighty and majestic, and do not want to straighten it for some other reason.”

وَنَادَى رَجُلٌ امْرَأَتَهُ وَكَانَ فَوْقَ سَطْحٍ يُسَرِّحُ شَعْرَهُ فَقَالَ: هَاتِي الْمِدْرَى لِيُفَرِّقَ بِهِ شَعْرَهُ، فَقَالَتِ امْرَأَتُهُ: وَأَجِيءُ بِالْمِرْآةِ؟ فَسَكَتَ هُنَيَّةً ثُمَّ قَالَ: نَعَمْ. فَقَالَ لَهُ مَنْ سَمِعَهُ: لِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ سَكَتَّ عَنِ الْمِرْآةِ؟ فَقَالَ لَهُ: إِنِّي قُلْتُ لَهَا: هَاتِي الْمِدْرَى بِنِيَّةٍ، فَلَمَّا قَالَتْ: وَالْمِرْآةَ؟ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِي فِي الْمِرْآةِ نِيَّةٌ، فَتَوَقَّفْتُ حَتَّى هَيَّأَ اللَّهُ لِي نِيَّةً فَقُلْتُ: نَعَمْ جِيئِي بِهَا.

wanādā rajulun imraʾatahu wakāna fawqa saṭḥin yusarriḥu shaʿrahu faqāla: hātī al-midrā liyufarriqa bihi shaʿrahu, faqālati imraʾatuhu: waʾajīʾu bi-al-mirʾāti? fasakata hunayyatan thumma qāla: naʿam. faqāla lahu man samiʿahu: liʾayyi shayʾin sakatta ʿani al-mirʾāti? faqāla lahu: ʾinnī qultu lahā: hātī al-midrā biniyyatin, falammā qālat: wa-al-mirʾāta? falam yakun lī fī al-mirʾāti niyyatun, fatawaqqaftu ḥattā hayyaʾa Allāhu lī niyyatan faqultu: naʿam jīʾī bihā.

A man called to his wife while he was on a rooftop combing his hair: “Bring the comb,” so he could part his hair with it. She asked: “Shall I bring the mirror too?” He was silent briefly, then said: “Yes.” Someone who heard him asked: “Why did you pause about the mirror?” He answered: “When I said, ‘Bring the comb,’ I had an intention. When she asked, ‘And the mirror?’ I had no intention concerning the mirror. I waited until God prepared an intention for me, then said: ‘Yes, bring it.’”

وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ بَعْضِ أَصْحَابِ بِشْرٍ أَنَّ فَتْحًا الْمَوْصِلِيَّ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ فَقَامَ لَهُ بِشْرٌ. قَالَ: وَمَا رَأَيْتُهُ قَامَ لِغَيْرِهِ، فَقُمْتُ فَأَجْلَسَنِي، فَلَمَّا انْصَرَفَ قُلْتُ لَهُ: قُمْتَ أَنْتَ إِلَيْهِ فَلَمَّا قُمْتُ أَنَا أَجْلَسْتَنِي. فَقَالَ: أَنَا قُمْتُ إِلَيْهِ لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَنْتَ قُمْتَ لِأَجْلِي فَأَجْلَسْتُكَ.

waḥaddathūnā ʿan baʿḍi ʾaṣḥābi bishrin ʾanna fatḥan al-mawṣiliyya dakhala ʿalayhi faqāma lahu bishrun. qāla: wamā raʾaytuhu qāma lighayrihi, faqumtu faʾajlasanī, falammā inṣarafa qultu lahu: qumta ʾanta ʾilayhi falammā qumtu ʾanā ʾajlastanī. faqāla: ʾanā qumtu ʾilayhi liʾajli Allāhi taʿālā waʾanta qumta liʾajlī faʾajlastuka.

They related to us from one of Bishr's companions that Fatḥ al-Mawṣilī came to visit him, and Bishr rose to meet him. The companion said: “I had never seen him rise for anyone else, so I stood too, but he made me sit down. When the visitor left, I said: ‘You stood to meet him, but when I stood, you made me sit.’ He answered: ‘I stood for God Most High's sake; you stood for my sake, so I made you sit.’”

وَحَدَّثُونَا أَنَّ بَعْضَ الْفُقَرَاءِ كَانَ يَصْحَبُ أَبَا سَعِيدٍ الْخَرَّازَ فَكَانَ يَخِفُّ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ فِي حَوَائِجِهِ، وَيَخْدُمُ الْفُقَرَاءَ، وَيُسَارِعُ فِي قَضَاءِ حَوَائِجِ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ وَأَصْحَابِهِ. قَالَ: فَتَكَلَّمَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ يَوْمًا فِي إِخْلَاصِ الْحَرَكَةِ فَوَقَرَ ذَلِكَ فِي قَلْبِ الشَّابِّ، فَكَأَنَّهُ أَخَذَ الْإِخْلَاصَ التَّفَقُّدَ لِحَرَكَتِهِ وَخِدْمَتِهِ، فَتَرَكَ مَا كَانَ يَعْمَلُهُ مِنْ قَضَاءِ حَوَائِجِ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ فِي الْخِفَّةِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ إِخْوَانِهِ حَتَّى أَضَرَّ ذَلِكَ بِأَبِي سَعِيدٍ.

waḥaddathūnā ʾanna baʿḍa al-fuqarāʾi kāna yaṣḥabu ʾabā saʿīdin al-kharrāza fakāna yakhiffu bayna yadayhi fī ḥawāʾijihi, wayakhdumu al-fuqarāʾa, wayusāriʿu fī qaḍāʾi ḥawāʾiji ʾabī saʿīdin waʾaṣḥābihi. qāla: fatakallama ʾabū saʿīdin yawman fī ʾikhlāṣi al-ḥarakati fawaqara dhālika fī qalbi al-shābbi, fakaʾannahu ʾakhadha al-ʾikhlāṣa al-tafaqquda liḥarakatihi wakhidmatihi, fataraka mā kāna yaʿmaluhu min qaḍāʾi ḥawāʾiji ʾabī saʿīdin fī al-khiffati bayna yaday ʾikhwānihi ḥattā ʾaḍarra dhālika biʾabī saʿīdin.

They told us that one of the poor accompanied Abū Saʿīd al-Kharrāz, hastening about to attend to his needs, serving the poor, and quickly meeting the needs of Abū Saʿīd and his companions. One day Abū Saʿīd spoke about sincerity in one's movements. His words settled in the young man's heart, and he apparently took sincerity to mean scrutinizing his movements and service. He stopped what he had been doing to meet Abū Saʿīd's needs through prompt service among his brothers, until this harmed Abū Saʿīd.

فَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا بُنَيَّ قَدْ كُنْتَ تَسْعَى فِي حَوَائِجِ إِخْوَانِكَ ثُمَّ قَطَعْتَ ذَلِكَ فَمَا السَّبَبُ؟ فَقَالَ: يَا أُسْتَاذُ إِنَّكَ تَكَلَّمْتَ فِي الْإِخْلَاصِ وَإِنِّي خَشِيتُ أَنْ تَكُونَ أَفْعَالِي مَدْخُولَةً فَتَرَكْتُهَا. قَالَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ: لَا تَغْفُلْ، إِنَّ الْإِخْلَاصَ لَا يَقْطَعُ الْمُعَامَلَةَ، وَلَا يَنْبَغِي لِلْعَاقِلِ أَنْ يَتْرُكَ الْعَمَلَ لِأَجْلِ الْإِخْلَاصِ فَيَفُوتَهُ الْإِخْلَاصُ وَالْعَمَلُ.

faqāla lahu: yā bunayya qad kunta tasʿā fī ḥawāʾiji ʾikhwānika thumma qaṭaʿta dhālika famā al-sababu? faqāla: yā ʾustādhu ʾinnaka takallamta fī al-ʾikhlāṣi waʾinnī khashītu ʾan takūna ʾafʿālī madkhūlatan fataraktuhā. qāla ʾabū saʿīdin: lā taghful, ʾinna al-ʾikhlāṣa lā yaqṭaʿu al-muʿāmalata, walā yanbaghī li-l-ʿāqili ʾan yatruka al-ʿamala liʾajli al-ʾikhlāṣi fayafūtahu al-ʾikhlāṣu wa-al-ʿamalu.

He asked him: “My son, you used to work to meet your brothers' needs, and then you stopped. Why?” He answered: “Teacher, you spoke about sincerity, and I feared my actions might be tainted, so I abandoned them.” Abū Saʿīd said: “Do not be heedless. Sincerity does not cut off one's dealings. A sensible person should not abandon action for the sake of sincerity, losing both sincerity and action.

وَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكَ: اُتْرُكْ مَا أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِ، إِنَّمَا قُلْتُ لَكَ: أَخْلِصْ فِيهِ. فَإِنَّ طَلَبَكَ لِلْإِخْلَاصِ قَدْ قَطَعَكَ عَنْ عَمَلِ الْبِرِّ وَقَدْ أَضَرَّ ذَلِكَ بِنَا، فَارْجِعْ إِلَى مَا كُنْتَ فِيهِ وَأَخْلِصْ فِيهِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى. فَيَنْبَغِي لِلْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ نِيَّةٌ خَالِصَةٌ فِي جَمِيعِ تَصَرُّفِهِ فِي حَرَكَتِهِ وَسُكُونِهِ وَسَعْيِهِ وَتَرْكِهِ، فَإِنَّ الْحَرَكَةَ وَالسُّكُونَ اللَّذَيْنِ هُمَا أَصْلَا الْأَعْمَالِ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِ الَّتِي يُسْأَلُ عَنْهَا فَيَحْتَاجُ إِلَى النِّيَّةِ وَالْإِخْلَاصِ فِيهِمَا.

walam ʾaqul laka: utruk mā ʾanta ʿalayhi, ʾinnamā qultu laka: ʾakhliṣ fīhi. faʾinna ṭalabaka li-l-ʾikhlāṣi qad qaṭaʿaka ʿan ʿamali al-birri waqad ʾaḍarra dhālika binā, farjiʿ ʾilā mā kunta fīhi waʾakhliṣ fīhi li-llāhi taʿālā. fayanbaghī li-l-ʿabdi ʾan yakūna lahu niyyatun khāliṣatun fī jamīʿi taṣarrufihi fī ḥarakatihi wasukūnihi wasaʿyihi watarkihi, faʾinna al-ḥarakata wa-al-sukūna alladhayni humā ʾaṣlā al-ʾaʿmāli min ʾaʿmālihi allatī yusʾalu ʿanhā fayaḥtāju ʾilā al-niyyati wa-al-ʾikhlāṣi fīhimā.

“I did not tell you to abandon what you were doing; I told you to be sincere in it. Your seeking sincerity has cut you off from doing good and has harmed us. Return to what you were doing and make it sincere for God Most High.” A servant should therefore have a pure intention in all his conduct: in movement and stillness, striving and abstaining. Movement and stillness, the two roots of action, are among the deeds about which he will be questioned; he needs intention and sincerity in both.

فَلْيَجْعَلْ جَمِيعَ ذَلِكَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَفِيهِ بِعَقْدٍ وَاحِدٍ عَلَى مَرَاتِبَ مِنَ الْمَقَامَاتِ عِنْدَهُ، إِمَّا حُبًّا لَهُ وَإِجْلَالًا لَهُ، وَإِمَّا خَوْفًا مِنْهُ أَوْ رَجَاءً لَهُ، أَوْ لِأَجْلِ مَا أَمَرَهُ بِهِ فَيَنْوِي أَدَاءَ الْفَرَائِضِ، أَوْ لِمَا نَدَبَهُ فَيَنْوِي الْمُسَارَعَةَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ، وَفِيمَا أُبِيحَ لَهُ فَتَكُونُ نِيَّتُهُ فِي ذَلِكَ صَلَاحًا لِقَلْبِهِ وَإِسْكَانَ نَفْسِهِ وَاسْتِقَامَةَ حَالِهِ، وَذَلِكَ كُلُّهُ لِأَجْلِ الدِّينِ وَعُدَّةِ الْآخِرَةِ وَشُكْرًا لِرَبِّهِ تَعَالَى وَدُخُولًا فِيمَا أَحَلَّ لَهُ،

falyajʿal jamīʿa dhālika li-llāhi taʿālā wafīhi biʿaqdin wāḥidin ʿalā marātiba mina al-maqāmāti ʿindahu, ʾimmā ḥubban lahu waʾijlālan lahu, waʾimmā khawfan minhu ʾaw rajāʾan lahu, ʾaw liʾajli mā ʾamarahu bihi fayanwī ʾadāʾa al-farāʾiḍi, ʾaw limā nadabahu fayanwī al-musāraʿata ʾilā al-khayri, wafīmā ʾubīḥa lahu fatakūnu niyyatuhu fī dhālika ṣalāḥan liqalbihi waʾiskāna nafsihi wastiqāmata ḥālihi, wa-dhālika kulluhu liʾajli al-dīni waʿuddati al-ʾākhirati washukran lirabbihi taʿālā wadukhūlan fīmā ʾaḥalla lahu,

Let him direct all of this to God Most High and His cause with a single inward resolve, according to the levels of the stations he possesses: through love and reverence for Him, fear of Him or hope in Him, or because He has commanded something, intending to fulfill the obligations. Where He has encouraged something, let him intend to hasten toward good. In what is permitted, let his intention be to put his heart right, quiet his self, and keep his state upright. All this is for religion, as provision for the hereafter, in gratitude to his Lord, exalted is He, and in entering what He has made lawful for him,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٧٥

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 275

Volume Two, page 275

وَاعْتِرَافًا بِمَا أَنْعَمَ عَلَيْهِ وَاتِّبَاعًا لِسُنَّةِ نَبِيِّهِ فِيهِ، وَلَا يَكُونُ وَاقِفًا مَعَ طَبْعٍ وَلَا جَارِيًا عَلَى الْعَادَةِ. وَقَالَ أَبُو عَبْدَةَ بْنُ عُقْبَةَ: مَنْ سَرَّهُ أَنْ يَكْمُلَ عَمَلُهُ فَلْيُحْسِنْ نِيَّتَهُ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَأْجُرُ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا حَسُنَتْ نِيَّتُهُ حَتَّى بِاللُّقْمَةِ.

waʿtirāfan bimā ʾanʿama ʿalayhi wattibāʿan lisunnati nabiyyihi fīhi, walā yakūnu wāqifan maʿa ṭabʿin walā jāriyan ʿalā al-ʿādati. waqāla ʾabū ʿabdata bnu ʿuqbata: man sarrahu ʾan yakmula ʿamaluhu falyuḥsin niyyatahu, faʾinna Allāha ʿazza wajalla yaʾjuru al-ʿabda ʾidhā ḥasunat niyyatuhu ḥattā bi-al-luqmati.

acknowledging His blessings upon him and following His Prophet's practice in it. He should neither stop at natural inclination nor merely follow habit. Abū ʿAbda ibn ʿUqba said: “Anyone who would like his action to become complete should make his intention good. When a servant's intention is good, God, mighty and majestic, rewards him even for a morsel.”

فَأَحْسَنُ تَفْسِيرِ النِّيَّةِ بِمَا فَسَّرَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمَّا سُئِلَ عَنِ الْإِحْسَانِ فَقَالَ: تَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ. فَهَذِهِ شَهَادَةُ الْعَارِفِينَ وَمَعْرِفَةُ الْمُوقِنِينَ، فَهُمْ مُخْلِصُو الْمُخْلِصِينَ. وَقَالَ ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ: رُبَّ عَمَلٍ صَغِيرٍ تُعَظِّمُهُ النِّيَّةُ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: الْقَصْدُ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالْقُلُوبِ أَبْلَغُ مِنْ حَرَكَاتِ الْأَعْمَالِ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالصِّيَامِ وَنَحْوِهِ.

faʾaḥsanu tafsīri al-niyyati bimā fassarahu rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lammā suʾila ʿani al-ʾiḥsāni faqāla: taʿbudu Allāha kaʾannaka tarāhu. fa-hādhihi shahādatu al-ʿārifīna wamaʿrifatu al-mūqinīna, fahum mukhliṣū al-mukhliṣīna. waqāla ibnu al-mubāraki: rubba ʿamalin ṣaghīrin tuʿaẓẓimuhu al-niyyatu. waqāla baʿḍuhum: al-qaṣdu ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā bi-al-qulūbi ʾablaghu min ḥarakāti al-ʾaʿmāli bi-al-ṣalāti wa-al-ṣiyāmi wanaḥwihi.

The best explanation of intention comes through the explanation God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, gave when asked about excellence: “Worship God as though you see Him.” This is the witnessing of those who know and the knowledge of those who possess certainty; they are the sincerest of the sincere. Ibn al-Mubārak said: “How often an intention makes a small deed great.” Someone said: “The hearts' direction toward God Most High reaches further than the movements of actions in prayer, fasting, and the like.”

وَقَالَ الْأَنْطَاكِيُّ: إِذَا صَارَتِ الْمُعَامَلَةُ إِلَى الْقَلْبِ اسْتَرَاحَتِ الْجَوَارِحُ. وَرُوِيَ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: مَنْ كَانَ ظَاهِرُهُ أَرْجَحَ مِنْ بَاطِنِهِ خَفَّ مِيزَانُهُ، وَمَنْ كَانَ بَاطِنُهُ أَرْجَحَ مِنْ ظَاهِرِهِ ثَقُلَ مِيزَانُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ. وَقَالَ دَاوُدُ الطَّائِيُّ: رَأَيْتُ الْخَيْرَ كُلَّهُ يَجْمَعُهُ حُسْنُ النِّيَّةِ فَكَفَاكَ بِهِ خَيْرًا وَإِنْ لَمْ يَنْصَبْ.

waqāla al-ʾanṭākiyyu: ʾidhā ṣārati al-muʿāmalatu ʾilā al-qalbi istarāḥati al-jawāriḥu. waruwiya ʿan ʿaliyyin ʿalayhi al-salāmu: man kāna ẓāhiruhu ʾarjaḥa min bāṭinihi khaffa mīzānuhu, waman kāna bāṭinuhu ʾarjaḥa min ẓāhirihi thaqula mīzānuhu yawma al-qiyāmati. waqāla dāwudu al-ṭāʾiyyu: raʾaytu al-khayra kullahu yajmaʿuhu ḥusnu al-niyyati fakafāka bihi khayran waʾin lam yanṣab.

Al-Anṭākī said: “When one's dealings come to the heart, the limbs find rest.” It is related from ʿAlī, peace be upon him: “If a person's outward state outweighs his inward state, his scale becomes light; if his inward state outweighs his outward state, his scale becomes heavy on the Day of Resurrection.” Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī said: “I have found that good intention gathers all goodness together. It is goodness enough for you, even without exertion.”

وَرُوِيَ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَآتَيْنَاهُ أَجْرَهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ: 27، قَالَ: نِيَّتُهُ الصَّادِقَةُ اكْتَسَبَ بِهَا الْأَجْرَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ. وَرُوِيَ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ مُرْبِحٍ قَالَ: مَنْ قَامَ إِلَى شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ لَا يُرِيدُ بِهِ إِلَّا اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، ثُمَّ عَرَضَ لَهُ مَنْ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُرَائِيَهُ بِذَلِكَ أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِالْأَصْلِ وَوَضَعَ عَنْهُ الْفَرْعَ.

waruwiya ʿani al-ḥasani fī tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā: (waʾātaynāhu ʾajrahu fī al-dunyā) al-ʿankabūtu: 27, qāla: niyyatuhu al-ṣādiqatu iktasaba bihā al-ʾajra fī al-ʾākhirati. waruwiya ʿan ʿabdi al-raḥmāni bni murbiḥin qāla: man qāma ʾilā shayʾin mina al-khayri lā yurīdu bihi ʾillā Allāha ʿazza wajalla, thumma ʿaraḍa lahu man yurīdu ʾan yurāʾiyahu bi-dhālika ʾaʿṭāhu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla bi-al-ʾaṣli wawaḍaʿa ʿanhu al-farʿa.

Al-Ḥasan is reported to have explained His saying, exalted is He, “We gave him his reward in this world” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:27), as “his truthful intention, through which he earned reward in the hereafter.” It is related from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Murbiḥ: “If someone sets about a good deed seeking only God, mighty and majestic, but then encounters someone before whom he wants to show off through it, God, mighty and majestic, rewards him for the original intention and sets aside the later development.

وَمَنْ قَامَ إِلَى شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ لَا يُرِيدُ إِلَّا الْمُرَاءَاةَ ثُمَّ فَكَّرَ وَبَدَا لَهُ فَجَعَلَ آخِرَ ذَلِكَ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالْفَرْعِ وَوَضَعَ عَنْهُ الْأَصْلَ، كَأَنَّهُ حَسِبَ ذَلِكَ تَوْبَةً؛ وَالتَّوْبَةُ مُكَفِّرَةٌ لِمَا سَلَفَ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وَقَدْ تَلْتَبِسُ الْفَضَائِلُ بِالْمَنَاقِصِ لِدِقَّةِ مَعَانِيهَا وَخَفِيِّ عُلُومِهَا، كَصَلَاةِ الْعَبْدِ النَّفْلَ وَهُوَ يَحْسَبُ أَنَّهُ الْأَوْجَبُ.

waman qāma ʾilā shayʾin mina al-khayri lā yurīdu ʾillā al-murāʾāta thumma fakkara wabadā lahu fajaʿala ʾākhira dhālika li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla ʾaʿṭāhu Allāhu taʿālā bi-al-farʿi wawaḍaʿa ʿanhu al-ʾaṣla, kaʾannahu ḥasiba dhālika tawbatan; wa-al-tawbatu mukaffiratun limā salafa wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu. waqad taltabisu al-faḍāʾilu bi-al-manāqiṣi lidiqqati maʿānīhā wakhafiyyi ʿulūmihā, kaṣalāti al-ʿabdi al-nafla wahuwa yaḥsabu ʾannahu al-ʾawjabu.

“If someone sets about a good deed seeking only to show off, then reflects, changes his mind, and makes its conclusion for God, mighty and majestic, God Most High rewards him for the later development and sets aside the original intention.” It is as though He reckoned this repentance; repentance expiates what has gone before. God knows best. Virtues may be confused with deficiencies because their meanings are subtle and the knowledge of them obscure, as when a servant performs a voluntary prayer while thinking it is what is more obligatory.

مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ رَجُلًا كَانَ يُصَلِّي فَدَعَاهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَلَمْ يُجِبْهُ، فَظَنَّ أَنَّ وُقُوفَهُ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالْغَيْبِ أَفْضَلُ لَهُ. فَلَمَّا سَلَّمَ جَاءَهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تُجِيبَنِي حِينَ دَعَوْتُكَ؟ فَقَالَ: كُنْتُ أُصَلِّي. فَقَالَ: أَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ قَوْلَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: (اِسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ) الْأَنْفَالُ: 24؟

min dhālika ʾanna rajulan kāna yuṣallī fadaʿāhu rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama falam yujibhu, faẓanna ʾanna wuqūfahu bayna yadayi Allāhi taʿālā bi-al-ghaybi ʾafḍalu lahu. falammā sallama jāʾahu faqāla lahu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mā manaʿaka ʾan tujībanī ḥīna daʿawtuka? faqāla: kuntu ʾuṣallī. faqāla: ʾalam tasmaʿ qawla Allāhi taʿālā: (istajībū li-llāhi wali-l-rasūli ʾidhā daʿākum limā yuḥyīkum) al-ʾanfālu: 24?

An example is a man who was praying when God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, called him, but he did not answer. He thought that standing before God Most High in the unseen was better for him. When he ended his prayer with the salutation, he came to him. He asked, may God bless him and grant him peace: “What stopped you from answering when I called?” He replied: “I was praying.” He said: “Did you not hear God Most High's words, ‘Respond to God and the Messenger when he calls you to what gives you life’ (al-Anfāl 8:24)?”

فَكَانَ إِجَابَةُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَفْضَلَ لَهُ، لِأَنَّ صَلَاتَهُ نَافِلَةٌ وَإِجَابَةَ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَرْضٌ عَلَيْهِ. قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: مَنْ كَانَ طَلَبُ الْفَضَائِلِ أَهَمَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ أَدَاءِ الْفَرَائِضِ فَهُوَ مَخْدُوعٌ، وَمَنْ شُغِلَ بِغَيْرِهِ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ فَقَدْ مُكِرَ بِهِ. وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ: إِنَّمَا حُرِمُوا الْوُصُولَ بِتَضْيِيعِ الْأُصُولِ.

fakāna ʾijābatu al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾafḍala lahu, liʾanna ṣalātahu nāfilatun waʾijābata al-rasūli ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama farḍun ʿalayhi. qāla baʿḍuhum: man kāna ṭalabu al-faḍāʾili ʾahamma ʾilayhi min ʾadāʾi al-farāʾiḍi fahuwa makhdūʿun, waman shughila bighayrihi ʿan nafsihi faqad mukira bihi. waqāla sufyānu: ʾinnamā ḥurimū al-wuṣūla bitaḍyīʿi al-ʾuṣūli.

Responding to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was better for him, because his prayer was voluntary while responding to the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, was obligatory upon him. Someone said: “A person for whom seeking additional virtues matters more than fulfilling obligations is deceived. Whoever is distracted from himself by someone else has been outwitted.” Sufyān said: “They were denied arrival only because they neglected the foundations.”

فَأَفْضَلُ شَيْءٍ لِلْعَبْدِ مَعْرِفَتُهُ بِنَفْسِهِ، ثُمَّ وُقُوفُهُ عَلَى حَدِّهِ، ثُمَّ إِحْكَامُهُ لِحَالِهِ الَّتِي أُقِيمَ فِيهَا، ثُمَّ قِيَامُهُ بِعِلْمِهِ الَّذِي فُتِحَ لَهُ. فَيَبْتَدِئُ الْعَمَلَ بِمَا اُفْتُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ بَعْدَ اجْتِنَابِهِ مَا نُهِيَ عَنْهُ مَبْلَغَ عِلْمِهِ وَوُسْعَ وُجْدِهِ، لَا يَشْتَغِلُ بِطَلَبِ فَضْلٍ حَتَّى يُحْكِمَ عَمَلَ فَرْضٍ، لِأَنَّ الْفَضْلَ رِبْحٌ لَا يَصِحُّ إِلَّا بَعْدَ رَأْسِ الْمَالِ.

faʾafḍalu shayʾin li-l-ʿabdi maʿrifatuhu binafsihi, thumma wuqūfuhu ʿalā ḥaddihi, thumma ʾiḥkāmuhu liḥālihi allatī ʾuqīma fīhā, thumma qiyāmuhu biʿilmihi alladhī futiḥa lahu. fayabtadiʾu al-ʿamala bimā ufturiḍa ʿalayhi baʿda ijtinābihi mā nuhiya ʿanhu mablagha ʿilmihi wawusʿa wujdihi, lā yashtaghilu biṭalabi faḍlin ḥattā yuḥkima ʿamala farḍin, liʾanna al-faḍla ribḥun lā yaṣiḥḥu ʾillā baʿda raʾsi al-māli.

The best thing for a servant is to know himself, then stand within his proper limit, master the state in which he has been placed, and act upon the knowledge opened to him. He begins by doing what has been made obligatory upon him, after avoiding what he has been forbidden, to the extent of his knowledge and capacity. He does not occupy himself with seeking an additional virtue until he has mastered an obligatory deed, for additional virtue is profit, which is sound only after the capital has been secured.

وَلِكُلِّ فَضْلٍ آفَةٌ قَاطِعَةٌ، فَمَنْ سَلِمَ مِنْهَا حَازَ فَضْلَهُ، وَلِكُلِّ أَمْرٍ نَفِيسٍ مُؤُونَةٌ ثَقِيلَةٌ، فَمَنْ تَحَمَّلَهَا أَدْرَكَ نَفِيسَهَا، وَمَنْ تَعَذَّرَتْ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامَةُ فَهَيْهَاتَ أَنْ يَصِيرَ إِلَى فَضْلِ كَرَامَةٍ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَصْبِرْ عَلَى تَحَمُّلِ غَرَامَةٍ لَمْ يُدْرِكْ عُلُوَّ مَقَامِهِ، وَقَدْ يَلْتَبِسُ

walikulli faḍlin ʾāfatun qāṭiʿatun, faman salima minhā ḥāza faḍlahu, walikulli ʾamrin nafīsin muʾūnatun thaqīlatun, faman taḥammalahā ʾadraka nafīsahā, waman taʿadhdharat ʿalayhi al-salāmatu fahayhāta ʾan yaṣīra ʾilā faḍli karāmatin, waman lam yaṣbir ʿalā taḥammuli gharāmatin lam yudrik ʿuluwwa maqāmihi, waqad yaltabisu

Every additional virtue has a fault that cuts one off from it; whoever escapes that fault gains his virtue. Every precious thing carries a heavy cost; whoever bears it attains what is precious. Someone unable to secure safety is far from attaining an added honor. Whoever cannot patiently bear a cost will not reach the height of his station. Sometimes there is confusion between

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٧٦

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 276

Volume Two, page 276

التَّكَلُّفُ بِالْإِخْلَاصِ وَإِظْهَارُ الْعِلْمِ بِظُهُورِ التَّزَيُّنِ بِهِ. قَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: زَيِّنْ نَفْسَكَ بِالْعِلْمِ وَلَا تَزَيَّنْ بِهِ؛ أَيْ أَدِّبْهَا لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَتَكُونَ زَيْنًا فِي أَوْلِيَائِهِ، وَلَا تَتَزَيَّنْ بِهِ عِنْدَ النَّاسِ لِيَمْدَحُوكَ عَلَيْهِ.

al-takallufu bi-al-ʾikhlāṣi waʾiẓhāru al-ʿilmi biẓuhūri al-tazayyuni bihi. qāla al-thawriyyu raḥimahu Allāhu: zayyin nafsaka bi-al-ʿilmi walā tazayyan bihi; ʾay ʾaddibhā li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla fatakūna zaynan fī ʾawliyāʾihi, walā tatazayyan bihi ʿinda al-nāsi liyamdaḥūka ʿalayhi.

affected effort and sincerity, and between making knowledge visible and an appearance of self-adornment through it. Al-Thawrī, may God have mercy on him, said: “Adorn yourself with knowledge, but do not show off with it.” That is, discipline yourself for God, mighty and majestic, so that you become an adornment among His friends. Do not adorn yourself with it before people so they will praise you for it.

وَيَلْتَبِسُ الِاخْتِبَارُ بِالِاخْتِيَارِ، مَا كَانَ عَنْ حَاجَةٍ وَتَطَرَّقْتَ بِهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَالِاخْتِيَارُ مَا زَادَ فِي الشَّهْوَةِ وَكَانَ سُلَّمًا إِلَى الْخَلْقِ، كَاِلْتِبَاسِ سَتْرِ الْعَوْرَةِ مِنَ الثِّيَابِ بِالْفَاخِرِ مِنْهَا لِلنَّعْمَةِ وَالتَّكَثُّرِ مِنَ الْأَسْبَابِ. وَقَدْ يَتَطَوَّعُ الْعَبْدُ بِعَمَلٍ يُضَيِّعُ بِهِ فَرْضًا، وَإِحْكَامُ الْفَرْضِ لِجَوَازِ السَّلَامَةِ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ.

wayaltabisu al-ikhtibāru bi-al-ikhtiyāri, mā kāna ʿan ḥājatin wataṭarraqta bihi ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla, wa-al-ikhtiyāru mā zāda fī al-shahwati wakāna sullaman ʾilā al-khalqi, ka-iltibāsi satri al-ʿawrati mina al-thiyābi bi-al-fākhiri minhā li-l-naʿmati wa-al-takaththuri mina al-ʾasbābi. waqad yataṭawwaʿu al-ʿabdu biʿamalin yuḍayyiʿu bihi farḍan, waʾiḥkāmu al-farḍi lijawāzi al-salāmati huwa al-faḍlu.

Trial may also be confused with choice: trial is what arises from need and through which you make a path toward God, mighty and majestic. Choice is what adds to appetite and becomes a ladder toward creatures. It resembles confusing clothes that cover one's nakedness with luxurious clothing for comfort and accumulating means. A servant may undertake a voluntary deed through which he neglects an obligation; mastering the obligation so as to secure safety is the additional virtue.

وَقَدْ رُوِيَ: إِذَا دُعِيَ أَحَدُكُمْ لِلطَّعَامِ فَإِنْ كَانَ مُفْطِرًا فَلْيُجِبْ، وَإِنْ كَانَ صَائِمًا فَلْيَقُلْ إِنِّي صَائِمٌ. فَأَمَرَهُ بِإِظْهَارِ عَمَلِهِ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الْإِخْفَاءَ أَفْضَلُ، وَلَكِنَّ إِظْهَارَ عَمَلِهِ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يُؤَثِّرُ فِي قَلْبِ أَخِيهِ وَجْدًا أَفْضَلُ مِنْ إِخْفَائِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ مَعَ تَأْثِيرِ ذَلِكَ فِي قَلْبِ أَخِيهِ، لِتَفْضِيلِ الْعُمَّالِ عَلَى الْأَعْمَالِ، إِذِ الْأَعْمَالُ مَوْقُوفَةٌ عَلَى الْعَامِلِ.

waqad ruwiya: ʾidhā duʿiya ʾaḥadukum li-l-ṭaʿāmi faʾin kāna mufṭiran falyujib, waʾin kāna ṣāʾiman falyaqul ʾinnī ṣāʾimun. faʾamarahu biʾiẓhāri ʿamalihi wahuwa yaʿlamu ʾanna al-ʾikhfāʾa ʾafḍalu, wa-lākinna ʾiẓhāra ʿamalihi min ḥaythu lā yuʾaththiru fī qalbi ʾakhīhi wajdan ʾafḍalu min ʾikhfāʾihi linafsihi maʿa taʾthīri dhālika fī qalbi ʾakhīhi, litafḍīli al-ʿummāli ʿalā al-ʾaʿmāli, ʾidhi al-ʾaʿmālu mawqūfatun ʿalā al-ʿāmili.

It has been related: “When one of you is invited to a meal, if he is not fasting, let him accept. If he is fasting, let him say, ‘I am fasting.’” He thus commanded him to disclose his deed, although he knew that concealing it is better. Yet disclosing it so as not to cause hurt in his brother's heart is better than concealing it for himself while leaving that effect in his brother's heart, because those who act take precedence over actions, and actions depend upon the person acting.

فَإِنَّمَا يُعْطَى الثَّوَابُ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْعَامِلِ لَا عَلَى قَدْرِ الْعَمَلِ لِتَضْعِيفِ الْجَزَاءِ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ فِي الْعَمَلِ الْوَاحِدِ، فَدَلَّ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ. فَقِيلَ لَهُ: اِرْفَعِ التَّأْثِيرَ وَالْكَرَاهَةَ عَنْ قَلْبِ أَخِيكَ بِإِظْهَارِ عَمَلِكَ؛ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ مِنْ إِخْفَاءِ الْعَمَلِ مَعَ وَجْدِ أَخِيكَ عَلَيْكَ.

faʾinnamā yuʿṭā al-thawābu ʿalā qadri al-ʿāmili lā ʿalā qadri al-ʿamali litaḍʿīfi al-jazāʾi liman yashāʾu ʿazza wajalla 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 min ʾikhfāʾi al-ʿamali maʿa wajdi ʾakhīka ʿalayka.

Reward is given according to the doer rather than the deed, since He, mighty and majestic, multiplies the recompense of whomever He wills above that of another for the very same action. This shows that the believer is more excellent than the action. He was therefore told: “Remove hurt and resentment from your brother's heart by disclosing your deed; that is better than concealing it while your brother feels hurt by you.”

لِأَنَّ أَخَاكَ إِذَا دَعَاكَ إِلَى طَعَامٍ صَنَعَهُ لَكَ فَلَمْ تُجِبْهُ وَلَمْ تَعْتَذِرْ إِلَيْهِ عُذْرًا بَيِّنًا يَقْبَلُهُ مِنْكَ وَيَعْرِفُهُ شَقَّ عَلَيْهِ ذَلِكَ إِنْ كَانَ صَادِقًا فِي دُعَائِكَ. قَالَ ابْنُ شُبْرُمَةَ: سَأَلَ كُرْزُ بْنُ وَبَرَةَ رَبَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنْ يُعْطِيَهُ الِاسْمَ الْأَعْظَمَ عَلَى أَنْ لَا يَسْأَلَهُ شَيْئًا مِنْ أَمْرِ الدُّنْيَا، فَأَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ذَلِكَ فَسَأَلَ أَنْ يُقَوَّى أَنْ يَخْتِمَ الْقُرْآنَ فِي الْيَوْمِ وَاللَّيْلَةِ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ.

liʾanna ʾakhāka ʾidhā daʿāka ʾilā ṭaʿāmin ṣanaʿahu laka falam tujibhu walam taʿtadhir ʾilayhi ʿudhran bayyinan yaqbaluhu minka wayaʿrifuhu shaqqa ʿalayhi dhālika ʾin kāna ṣādiqan fī duʿāʾika. qāla ibnu shubrumata: saʾala kurzu bnu wabarata rabbahu ʿazza wajalla ʾan yuʿṭiyahu al-isma al-ʾaʿẓama ʿalā ʾan lā yasʾalahu shayʾan min ʾamri al-dunyā, faʾaʿṭāhu Allāhu taʿālā dhālika fasaʾala ʾan yuqawwā ʾan yakhtima al-qurʾāna fī al-yawmi wa-al-laylati thalātha marrātin.

For when your brother invites you to food he has prepared for you, and you neither accept nor offer a clear excuse he can understand and accept, this distresses him if he was sincere in inviting you. Ibn Shubruma said: “Kurz ibn Wabara asked his Lord, mighty and majestic, to give him the Greatest Name, on condition that he would ask nothing concerning worldly affairs. God Most High granted it to him, and he asked to be strengthened to complete the Qurʾān three times in a day and night.”

فَقِيلَ لِكُرْزٍ: أَتْعَبْتَ نَفْسَكَ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ، فَقَالَ: كَمْ مِقْدَارُ الدُّنْيَا؟ قِيلَ: سَبْعَةُ آلَافِ سَنَةٍ. قَالَ: أَمَا يَرْضَى عَبْدٌ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ سَبْعَةَ آلَافِ سَنَةٍ وَيَنْجُوَ مِنْ يَوْمٍ مِقْدَارُهُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ؟ وَقَالَ سَرِيٌّ السَّقَطِيُّ: رَكْعَتَانِ تُخْلِصُهُمَا خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنْ أَنْ تَكْتُبَ سَبْعِينَ حَدِيثًا، أَوْ قَالَ: سَبْعَمِائَةَ حَدِيثٍ.

faqīla likurzin: ʾatʿabta nafsaka fī al-ʿibādati, faqāla: kam miqdāru al-dunyā? qīla: sabʿatu ʾālāfi sanatin. qāla: ʾamā yarḍā ʿabdun ʾan yaʿmala sabʿata ʾālāfi sanatin wayanjuwa min yawmin miqdāruhu khamsīna ʾalfa sanatin? waqāla sariyyun al-saqaṭiyyu: rakʿatāni tukhliṣuhumā khayrun laka min ʾan taktuba sabʿīna ḥadīthan, ʾaw qāla: sabʿamiʾata ḥadīthin.

Kurz was told: “You have exhausted yourself in worship.” He asked: “How long is the world's span?” He was told: “Seven thousand years.” He said: “Would a servant not be content to work for seven thousand years and escape a day whose measure is fifty thousand years?” Sarī al-Saqaṭī said: “Two prayer cycles you offer sincerely are better for you than writing down seventy hadiths,” or he said, “seven hundred hadiths.”

الْفَصْلُ التَّاسِعُ وَالثَّلَاثُونَ فِي تَرْتِيبِ الْأَقْوَاتِ بِالنُّقْصَانِ مِنْهَا أَوْ بِزِيَادَةِ الْأَوْقَاتِ

al-faṣlu al-tāsiʿu wa-al-thalāthūna fī tartībi al-ʾaqwāti bi-al-nuqṣāni minhā ʾaw biziyādati al-ʾawqāti

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Regulating nourishment by reducing its quantity or extending the intervals between meals

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٧٧

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 277

Volume Two, page 277

أَمَّا الْأَقْوَاتُ فَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ يَنْقُصُ مِنْهَا حَتَّى يَرُدَّ النَّفْسَ إِلَى أَقَلِّ قِوَامِهَا. فَمَنْ أَرَادَ هَذَا الطَّرِيقَ فَلْيَنْقُصْ فِي كُلِّ أَكْلَةٍ رُبْعَ سُبْعِ رَغِيفٍ، فَيَكُونَ تَارِكًا لِرَغِيفٍ فِي شَهْرٍ بِرِيَاضَةٍ وَتَمَهُّلٍ، فَلَا يُؤَثِّرُ النُّقْصَانُ عَلَيْهِ شَيْئًا حَتَّى تَقِفَ النَّفْسُ عَلَى الْأَكْلِ فِي ثُلُثِ بَطْنِهَا، وَهُوَ ثُلُثُ أَكْلِهِ الْمُعْتَادِ؛ وَهَذَا طَرِيقُ الْمُرِيدِينَ.

ʾammā al-ʾaqwātu faqad kāna baʿḍu al-salafi yanquṣu minhā ḥattā yarudda al-nafsa ʾilā ʾaqalli qiwāmihā. faman ʾarāda hādhā al-ṭarīqa falyanquṣ fī kulli ʾaklatin rubʿa subʿi raghīfin, fayakūna tārikan liraghīfin fī shahrin biriyāḍatin watamahhulin, falā yuʾaththiru al-nuqṣānu ʿalayhi shayʾan ḥattā taqifa al-nafsu ʿalā al-ʾakli fī thuluthi baṭnihā, wahuwa thuluthu ʾaklihi al-muʿtādi; wa-hādhā ṭarīqu al-murīdīna.

As for nourishment, some of the early authorities gradually reduced it until they brought the self down to the least amount that sustained it. Whoever desires this path should reduce each meal by a quarter of a seventh of a loaf. Through discipline and gradual adjustment, he will thus have given up a loaf in a month. The reduction will have no perceptible effect on him until the self settles for filling a third of its belly, a third of his customary food. This is the path of spiritual aspirants.

وَمِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ يَعْرِضُ لِلْأَقْوَاتِ وَلَكِنْ يَعْمَلُ فِي زِيَادَةِ الْأَوْقَاتِ، فَيُؤَخِّرُ أَكْلَهُ وَقْتًا بَعْدَ وَقْتٍ حَتَّى يَنْتَهِيَ إِلَى أَكْثَرِ طَاقَةِ النَّفْسِ لِحَمْلِ الْجُوعِ بِضَعْفِ الْجِسْمِ عَنِ الْفَرْضِ أَوْ خَشْيَةِ اِضْطِرَابِ الْعَقْلِ. فَمَنْ أَرَادَ هَذَا الطَّرِيقَ أَخَّرَ فِطْرَهُ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِلَى نِصْفِ سُبْعِ اللَّيْلِ حَتَّى يَكُونَ قَدْ طَوَى لَيْلَةً فِي نِصْفِ شَهْرٍ؛ وَهَذَا طَرِيقُ مَنْ أَرَادَ الطَّيَّ السَّبْعَ وَالْعَشْرَ وَالْخَمْسَ عَشْرَةَ يَوْمًا إِلَى الْأَرْبَعِينَ.

wamina al-ʿulamāʾi man lam yakun yaʿriḍu li-l-ʾaqwāti wa-lākin yaʿmalu fī ziyādati al-ʾawqāti, fayuʾakhkhiru ʾaklahu waqtan baʿda waqtin ḥattā yantahiya ʾilā ʾakthari ṭāqati al-nafsi liḥamli al-jūʿi biḍaʿfi al-jismi ʿani al-farḍi ʾaw khashyati iḍṭirābi al-ʿaqli. faman ʾarāda hādhā al-ṭarīqa ʾakhkhara fiṭrahu kulla laylatin ʾilā niṣfi subʿi al-layli ḥattā yakūna qad ṭawā laylatan fī niṣfi shahrin; wa-hādhā ṭarīqu man ʾarāda al-ṭayya al-sabʿa wa-al-ʿashra wa-al-khamsa ʿashrata yawman ʾilā al-ʾarbaʿīna.

Some scholars did not address the amount of food, but worked on extending the intervals. They postponed their meal from one time to another until they reached the self's greatest capacity to bear hunger, as indicated by bodily weakness that prevented obligatory worship or by fear of mental disturbance. Whoever desires this path delays breaking his fast each night by half a seventh of the night, until he has gone an additional night without food in half a month. This is the path of those who seek to go without food for seven, ten, or fifteen days, up to forty.

لِأَنَّهُ يَعْمَلُ فِي تَجَوُّعِهِ عَلَى مَزِيدِ الْأَيَّامِ وَلَا يَعْمَلُ فِي نُقْصَانِ الطَّعَامِ، فَلَا يُؤَثِّرُ ذَلِكَ نَقْصًا فِي عَقْلِهِ وَلَا ضَعْفًا عَنْ أَدَاءِ الْفَرَائِضِ، إِذَا كَانَ عَلَى صِحَّةِ قَصْدٍ وَحُسْنِ نِيَّةٍ وَصِدْقِ عَقْدٍ، فَإِنَّهُ يُعَانُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَيُحْفَظُ فِيهِ. وَيَكُونُ طُعْمُهُ إِذَا أَكَلَ عِنْدَ كُلِّ وَقْتٍ يَزِيدُ فِيهِ النَّقْصَ ضَرُورَةً عَنْ غَيْرِ تَعَمُّلٍ لِنُقْصَانِهِ، لِأَنَّ مِعَاهُ تَضِيقُ لَا مَحَالَةَ. فَكُلَّمَا زَادَ جُوعُهُ نَقَصَ أَكْلُهُ عَلَى هَذَا إِلَى أَنْ يَنْتَهِيَ فِي الْجُوعِ، وَيَنْتَهِيَ فِي قِلَّةِ الطُّعْمِ، وَلَا يَنَالُ فَضِيلَةَ الْجُوعِ الَّتِي وَرَدَتْ بِهِ الْأَخْبَارُ إِلَّا بِالطَّيِّ.

liʾannahu yaʿmalu fī tajawwuʿihi ʿalā mazīdi al-ʾayyāmi walā yaʿmalu fī nuqṣāni al-ṭaʿāmi, falā yuʾaththiru dhālika naqṣan fī ʿaqlihi walā ḍaʿfan ʿan ʾadāʾi al-farāʾiḍi, ʾidhā kāna ʿalā ṣiḥḥati qaṣdin waḥusni niyyatin waṣidqi ʿaqdin, faʾinnahu yuʿānu ʿalā dhālika wayuḥfaẓu fīhi. wayakūnu ṭuʿmuhu ʾidhā ʾakala ʿinda kulli waqtin yazīdu fīhi al-naqṣa ḍarūratan ʿan ghayri taʿammulin linuqṣānihi, liʾanna miʿāhu taḍīqu lā maḥālata. fakullamā zāda jūʿuhu naqaṣa ʾakluhu ʿalā hādhā ʾilā ʾan yantahiya fī al-jūʿi, wayantahiya fī qillati al-ṭuʿmi, walā yanālu faḍīlata al-jūʿi allatī waradat bihi al-ʾakhbāru ʾillā bi-al-ṭayyi.

For he works at increasing the days of hunger, not at reducing his food. This therefore causes neither impairment of his mind nor weakness in performing the obligations, provided his purpose is sound, his intention good, and his resolve sincere: he is given help in it and protected through it. When he eats at each successive interval, his intake necessarily brings a further reduction, without his deliberately seeking to reduce it, because his intestines inevitably contract. The more his hunger increases, the less he eats, until he reaches the limit of hunger and of scant intake. The excellence of hunger described in the transmitted reports is attained only by going without food for extended periods.

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ: حَدُّ الْجُوعِ الْأَوَّلُ مِنَ الْوَقْتِ إِلَى مِثْلِهِ كَالْغَدِ أَرْبَعَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ سَاعَةً، وَحَدُّهُ الْآخَرُ اِثْنَانِ وَسَبْعُونَ سَاعَةً؛ فَهَذَا حَدُّ الْجُوعِ مِنَ الْأَوْقَاتِ. فَأَمَّا حَدُّهُ فِي الْأَقْوَاتِ فَكَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ: حَدُّ الْجُوعِ أَنْ لَا تَطْلُبَ نَفْسُكَ الْأُدْمَ، فَمَتَى طَلَبَتْ نَفْسُكَ الْأُدْمَ مَعَ الْخُبْزِ فَلَسْتَ جَائِعًا؛ فَهَذَا حَدُّ الْأَوَّلِ.

wamina al-nāsi man yaqūlu: ḥaddu al-jūʿi al-ʾawwalu mina al-waqti ʾilā mithlihi ka-al-ghadi ʾarbaʿatun waʿishrūna sāʿatan, waḥadduhu al-ʾākharu ithnāni wasabʿūna sāʿatan; fa-hādhā ḥaddu al-jūʿi mina al-ʾawqāti. faʾammā ḥadduhu fī al-ʾaqwāti fakāna baʿḍuhum yaqūlu: ḥaddu al-jūʿi ʾan lā taṭluba nafsuka al-ʾudma, famatā ṭalabat nafsuka al-ʾudma maʿa al-khubzi falasta jāʾiʿan; fa-hādhā ḥaddu al-ʾawwali.

Some people say that hunger's first limit is from one time to the same time on the following day, twenty-four hours, and its further limit is seventy-two hours. These are its limits in time. As for its measure in food, some said: “The measure of hunger is that your self no longer asks for a condiment. Whenever it asks for a condiment with the bread, you are not hungry.” This is the first measure.

وَقِيلَ: حَدُّهُ الْجُوعُ أَنْ تَطْلُبَ الْخُبْزَ فَلَا تُمَيِّزَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ غَيْرِهِ، فَمَتَى تَاقَتِ النَّفْسُ إِلَى الْخُبْزِ بِعَيْنِهِ فَلَيْسَتْ بِجَائِعَةٍ لِأَنَّ لَهَا شَهْوَةً فِي التَّخَيُّرِ. وَمَتَى لَمْ تُمَيِّزْ بَيْنَ خُبْزٍ وَغَيْرِهِ مِنْ مَأْكُولٍ، فَهَذَا حَدُّ الْجُوعِ، وَهُوَ الْفَاقَةُ وَالْحَاجَةُ إِلَى الطَّعَامِ الَّذِي جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى غِذَاءً لِلْأَجْسَامِ؛ وَهَذَا يَكُونُ فِي آخِرِ الْحَدَّيْنِ مِنَ الْأَوْقَاتِ بَعْدَ الثَّلَاثِ إِلَى خَمْسٍ وَسَبْعٍ. وَيَكُونُ طَلَبُ الْعَبْدِ عِنْدَ هَذَا الْجُوعِ الْقِوَامَ مِنَ الْعَيْشِ وَالضَّرُورَةَ مِنَ الْقُوتِ، وَهُوَ مَا سَدَّ الْجَوْعَةَ وَأَعَانَ عَلَى أَدَاءِ الْفَرِيضَةِ؛ وَهَذَا حَالُ

waqīla: ḥadduhu al-jūʿu ʾan taṭluba al-khubza falā tumayyiza baynahu wabayna ghayrihi, famatā tāqati al-nafsu ʾilā al-khubzi biʿaynihi falaysat bijāʾiʿatin liʾanna lahā shahwatan fī al-takhayyuri. wamatā lam tumayyiz bayna khubzin waghayrihi min maʾkūlin, fa-hādhā ḥaddu al-jūʿi, wahuwa al-fāqatu wa-al-ḥājatu ʾilā al-ṭaʿāmi alladhī jaʿalahu Allāhu tabāraka wataʿālā ghidhāʾan li-l-ʾajsāmi; wa-hādhā yakūnu fī ʾākhiri al-ḥaddayni mina al-ʾawqāti baʿda al-thalāthi ʾilā khamsin wasabʿin. wayakūnu ṭalabu al-ʿabdi ʿinda hādhā al-jūʿi al-qiwāma mina al-ʿayshi wa-al-ḍarūrata mina al-qūti, wahuwa mā sadda al-jawʿata waʾaʿāna ʿalā ʾadāʾi al-farīḍati; wa-hādhā ḥālu

It has also been said that its measure, hunger, is to seek bread without distinguishing between it and anything else. Whenever the self longs specifically for bread, it is not hungry, for it still has an appetite for choosing. When it makes no distinction between bread and any other food, that is the measure of hunger: destitution and need for the food that God, blessed and exalted, made nourishment for bodies. This occurs at the latter of the two temporal limits, after three days and on to five or seven. At this degree of hunger the servant seeks what will sustain life and the indispensable amount of nourishment, whatever allays hunger and assists in fulfilling the obligation. This is the state of

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٧٨

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 278

Volume Two, page 278

الصِّدِّيقِينَ. وَقَدْ سَمِعْتُ بَعْضَ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ يَقُولُ: حَدُّ الْجُوعِ أَنْ يَبْزُقَ الْعَبْدُ، فَإِذَا لَمْ يَقَعْ عَلَى بُزَاقِهِ ذُبَابٌ فَقَدْ خَلَتْ مَعِدَتُهُ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ، يُرِيدُ أَنَّ بُزَاقَهُ قَدْ خَلَا مِنَ الدُّسُومَةِ وَالدُّهْنِيَّةِ وَصَارَ صَافِيًا مِثْلَ الْمَاءِ فَلَا يَسْقُطُ عَلَيْهِ الذُّبَابُ مَعَ نُطْقِ حَاسَّتِهِ الَّتِي رُكِّبَتْ فِيهِ وَخَفِيِّ إِدْرَاكِهِ لِمَا يَقَعُ عَلَيْهِ.

al-ṣiddīqīna. waqad samiʿtu baʿḍa hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati yaqūlu: ḥaddu al-jūʿi ʾan yabzuqa al-ʿabdu, faʾidhā lam yaqaʿ ʿalā buzāqihi dhubābun faqad khalat maʿidatuhu mina al-ṭaʿāmi, yurīdu ʾanna buzāqahu qad khalā mina al-dusūmati wa-al-duhniyyati waṣāra ṣāfiyan mithla al-māʾi falā yasquṭu ʿalayhi al-dhubābu maʿa nuṭqi ḥāssatihi allatī rukkibat fīhi wakhafiyyi ʾidrākihi limā yaqaʿu ʿalayhi.

the utterly truthful. I heard someone of this company say: “The measure of hunger is that the servant spits, and if no fly lands on his saliva, his stomach has become empty of food.” He means that his saliva has lost its grease and oil and become clear like water, so that flies do not alight on it, despite the testimony of the sensory faculty implanted in them and their subtle perception of what they land upon.

فَأَمَّا أَكْلُ الْعَادَاتِ وَالتَّنَقُّلُ فِي الشَّهَوَاتِ وَالْأَكْلُ حَتَّى يَشْبَعَ، فَهَذَا عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَكْرُوهٌ، وَأَهْلُهُ عِنْدَهُمْ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْبَهَائِمِ. وَأَمَّا الْأَكْلُ عَلَى شِبَعٍ وَالِامْتِلَاءُ حَتَّى يَتْخَمَ فَهَذَا فِسْقٌ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ، وَقَدْ قَالَهُ لِي بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ. وَرَوَيْنَا أَنَّهُ قِيلَ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ: إِنَّ اِبْنَكَ أَكَلَ الْبَارِحَةَ حَتَّى بَشِمَ، فَقَالَ: لَوْ مَاتَ مَا صَلَّيْتُ عَلَيْهِ.

faʾammā ʾaklu al-ʿādāti wa-al-tanaqqulu fī al-shahawāti wa-al-ʾaklu ḥattā yashbaʿa, fa-hādhā ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi makrūhun, waʾahluhu ʿindahum bimanzilati al-bahāʾimi. waʾammā al-ʾaklu ʿalā shibaʿin wa-al-imtilāʾu ḥattā yatkhama fa-hādhā fisqun ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi, waqad qālahu lī baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna. warawaynā ʾannahu qīla liʾabī bakrin: ʾinna ibnaka ʾakala al-bāriḥata ḥattā bashima, faqāla: law māta mā ṣallaytu ʿalayhi.

Eating by habit, moving from one appetite to another, and eating until full are disapproved by the scholars; they regard those who do so as comparable to beasts. Eating when already full, and stuffing oneself to indigestion, is transgression in the scholars' view. One of the knowers of God told me this. We have transmitted that Abū Bakr was told: “Your son ate last night until he had indigestion.” He replied: “Had he died, I would not have prayed over him.”

فَأَمَّا الصَّوْمُ فَلَيْسَ هُوَ عِنْدَهُمُ الْجُوعَ الْمَقْصُودَ لِإِسْكَانِ النَّفْسِ وَإِخْمَادِ الطَّبْعِ، لِأَنَّ الصَّوْمَ يَصِيرُ عَادَةً وَيَرْجِعُ الصَّائِمُ إِلَى قُوَّةِ طَبْعِهِ إِذَا أَفْطَرَ. فَأَمَّا إِذَا كَانَ يَصُومُ وَيُفْطِرُ عَلَى الشَّهَوَاتِ وَيَمْتَلِئُ مِنَ الْأَكْلِ فَإِنَّ صَوْمَ هَذَا لَا يَزِيدُهُ إِلَّا قُوَّةَ طَبْعٍ وَظُهُورَ نَفْسٍ، وَتَفَتُّقَ عَلَيْهِ الشَّهَوَاتِ، وَيُدْخِلُ عَلَيْهِ الْفُتُورَ عَنِ الطَّاعَاتِ، وَيَجْلِبُ عَلَيْهِ الْكَسَلَ وَالسُّبَاتَ.

faʾammā al-ṣawmu falaysa huwa ʿindahumu al-jūʿa al-maqṣūda liʾiskāni al-nafsi waʾikhmādi al-ṭabʿi, liʾanna al-ṣawma yaṣīru ʿādatan wayarjiʿu al-ṣāʾimu ʾilā quwwati ṭabʿihi ʾidhā ʾafṭara. faʾammā ʾidhā kāna yaṣūmu wayufṭiru ʿalā al-shahawāti wayamtaliʾu mina al-ʾakli faʾinna ṣawma hādhā lā yazīduhu ʾillā quwwata ṭabʿin waẓuhūra nafsin, watafattuqa ʿalayhi al-shahawāti, wayudkhilu ʿalayhi al-futūra ʿani al-ṭāʿāti, wayajlibu ʿalayhi al-kasala wa-al-subāta.

Fasting, in their view, is not itself the hunger intended to quiet the self and subdue the natural disposition, for fasting becomes a habit, and the faster returns to the full strength of his disposition when he breaks his fast. If he fasts but breaks his fast on desired delicacies and fills himself with food, his fasting only strengthens his disposition, makes his self more assertive, and releases its appetites. It brings lassitude in obedience, laziness, and drowsiness.

وَرُبَّمَا قَوِيَ طَبْعُهُ جُمْلَةً وَاحِدَةً فَظَهَرَتْ عَلَيْهِ نَفْسُهُ بِقُوَّةٍ مُجْمَلَةٍ إِلَّا إِنَّهُ لَا يَجْرِي فِي نَهَارِهِ إِلَّا فِيمَا أُجْرِيَتْ عَادَتُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَجَعَلَ حَالَهُ فِيهِ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الدُّنْيَا وَالتَّنَقُّلِ فِي الْهَوَى، وَإِنْ كَانَ ظَاهِرُ حَالِهِ أَسْبَابَ الْآخِرَةِ عِنْدَهُ لِقُصُورِ عِلْمِهِ، فَإِنَّ شُهُودَهَا دُنْيَا. فَالتَّقَلُّلُ وَأَخْذُ الْبُلْغَةِ مِنَ الْقُوتِ فِي الْأَوْقَاتِ مَعَ الْإِفْطَارِ أَصْلَحُ لِقَلْبِ هَذَا، وَأَدْوَمُ لِعَمَلِهِ، وَأَبْلَغُ فِي آخِرَتِهِ مِنْ مِثْلِ هَذَا الصَّوْمِ.

warubbamā qawiya ṭabʿuhu jumlatan wāḥidatan faẓaharat ʿalayhi nafsuhu biquwwatin mujmalatin ʾillā ʾinnahu lā yajrī fī nahārihi ʾillā fīmā ʾujriyat ʿādatuhu ʿalayhi wajaʿala ḥālahu fīhi min ʾabwābi al-dunyā wa-al-tanaqquli fī al-hawā, waʾin kāna ẓāhiru ḥālihi ʾasbāba al-ʾākhirati ʿindahu liquṣūri ʿilmihi, faʾinna shuhūdahā dunyā. fa-al-taqallulu waʾakhdhu al-bulghati mina al-qūti fī al-ʾawqāti maʿa al-ʾifṭāri ʾaṣlaḥu liqalbi hādhā, waʾadwamu liʿamalihi, waʾablaghu fī ʾākhiratihi min mithli hādhā al-ṣawmi.

His disposition may become strong all at once, and his self gain mastery over him with a combined force. Throughout his day he then proceeds only along the accustomed course to which he has committed himself, among worldly pursuits and successive inclinations of desire. Because his knowledge is limited, he may regard his outward condition as involving the means of the hereafter, although what it witnesses is worldly. For such a person, reducing his intake and taking only sustenance at intervals while not fasting is better for his heart, more lasting for his work, and more effective for his hereafter than this kind of fasting.

لِأَنَّ هَذَا الَّذِي وَصَفْنَاهُ هُوَ صَوْمُ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا الْمُتْرَفِينَ لَيْسَ بِصَوْمِ أَهْلِ الْآخِرَةِ الزَّاهِدِينَ. وَلَكِنْ بِالتَّقَلُّلِ وَالطَّيِّ وَتَرْكِ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَاِجْتِنَابِ الشُّبُهَاتِ تَنْكَسِرُ النَّفْسُ وَتَذِلُّ، وَيَخْمُدُ الطَّبْعُ، وَتَضْعُفُ الصِّفَةُ عَنِ الْعَادَةِ، وَتَقْوَى إِرَادَةُ الْآخِرَةِ، وَيَعْمَلُ الْمُرِيدُ فِي سَعْيِهَا وَتَخْرُجُ حَلَاوَةُ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الْقَلْبِ، فَيَصِيرُ الْعَبْدُ مَعَ التَّجَوُّعِ وَالطَّيِّ وَتَرْكِ النُّزْهَاتِ كَأَنَّهُ زَاهِدٌ.

liʾanna hādhā alladhī waṣafnāhu huwa ṣawmu ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā al-mutrafīna laysa biṣawmi ʾahli al-ʾākhirati al-zāhidīna. wa-lākin bi-al-taqalluli wa-al-ṭayyi watarki al-shahawāti wa-ijtinābi al-shubuhāti tankasiru al-nafsu watadhillu, wayakhmudu al-ṭabʿu, wataḍʿufu al-ṣifatu ʿani al-ʿādati, wataqwā ʾirādatu al-ʾākhirati, wayaʿmalu al-murīdu fī saʿyihā watakhruju ḥalāwatu al-dunyā mina al-qalbi, fayaṣīru al-ʿabdu maʿa al-tajawwuʿi wa-al-ṭayyi watarki al-nuzhāti kaʾannahu zāhidun.

What we have described is the fasting of worldly people who live in luxury, not that of the renunciants who belong to the hereafter. Through scant eating, extended abstinence from food, relinquishing appetites, and avoiding doubtful things, the self is broken and humbled, the natural disposition subsides, and the habitual trait loses its strength. Desire for the hereafter grows; the aspirant works in pursuit of it, and the world's sweetness leaves the heart. Through hunger, extended abstinence, and abandoning pleasures, the servant comes to be as though he were a renunciant.

وَرَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ أُسَامَةَ بْنِ زَيْدٍ وَأَبِي يَزِيدَ الطَّوِيلِ اِخْتَصَرْتُهُ: إِنَّ أَقْرَبَ النَّاسِ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَنْ طَالَ جُوعُهُ وَعَطَشُهُ وَحُزْنُهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا، الْأَحْفِيَاءُ الْأَتْقِيَاءُ الَّذِينَ إِنْ شَهِدُوا لَمْ يُعْرَفُوا وَإِنْ غَابُوا لَمْ يُفْتَقَدُوا، تَعْرِفُهُمْ بِقَاعُ الْأَرْضِ وَتَحُفُّ بِهِمْ مَلَائِكَةُ السَّمَاءِ. نَعِمَ النَّاسُ بِالدُّنْيَا وَنَعِمُوا بِطَاعَةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، اِفْتَرَشَ النَّاسُ الْفُرُشَ وَاِفْتَرَشُوا الْجِبَاهَ وَالرُّكَبَ، ضَيَّعَ النَّاسُ فِعْلَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَأَخْلَاقَهُمْ وَحَفِظُوهُمْ، تَبْكِي الْأَرْضُ إِذَا فَقَدَتْهُمْ وَيَسْخَطُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى كُلِّ بَلْدَةٍ لَيْسَ فِيهَا مِنْهُمْ.

warawaynā fī ḥadīthi ʾusāmata bni zaydin waʾabī yazīda al-ṭawīli ikhtaṣartuhu: ʾinna ʾaqraba al-nāsi mina Allāhi ʿazza wajalla yawma al-qiyāmati man ṭāla jūʿuhu waʿaṭashuhu waḥuznuhu fī al-dunyā, al-ʾaḥfiyāʾu al-ʾatqiyāʾu alladhīna ʾin shahidū lam yuʿrafū waʾin ghābū lam yuftaqadū, taʿrifuhum biqāʿu al-ʾarḍi wataḥuffu bihim malāʾikatu al-samāʾi. naʿima al-nāsu bi-al-dunyā wanaʿimū biṭāʿati Allāhi ʿazza wajalla, iftarasha al-nāsu al-furusha wa-iftarashū al-jibāha wa-al-rukaba, ḍayyaʿa al-nāsu fiʿla al-nabiyyīna waʾakhlāqahum waḥafiẓūhum, tabkī al-ʾarḍu ʾidhā faqadathum wayaskhaṭu Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā kulli baldatin laysa fīhā minhum.

We have transmitted in the lengthy report of Usāma ibn Zayd and Abū Yazīd, which I have abridged: “The closest people to God, mighty and majestic, on the Day of Resurrection are those whose hunger, thirst, and grief were prolonged in this world: the devoted, reverent ones who go unrecognized when present and are not missed when absent. The places of the earth know them, and heaven's angels surround them. Other people delighted in the world; they delighted in obeying God, mighty and majestic. Other people spread bedding beneath themselves; they laid down their foreheads and knees. Other people neglected the prophets' conduct and character; they preserved them. The earth weeps when it loses them, and God Most High is angry with every town that has none of them.

لَمْ يَتَكَالَبُوا عَلَى الدُّنْيَا تَكَالُبَ الْكِلَابِ عَلَى الْجِيَفِ، أَكَلُوا الْفِلَقَ وَلَبِسُوا الْخِرَقَ، شُعْثًا غُبْرًا، يَرَاهُمُ النَّاسُ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّ بِهِمْ دَاءً، يُقَالُ: قَدْ خُولِطُوا وَقَدْ ذَهَبَتْ عُقُولُهُمْ، وَلَكِنْ نَظَرَ الْقَوْمُ بِقُلُوبِهِمْ إِلَى أَنْ ذَهَبَتِ الدُّنْيَا عَنْهُمْ، فَهُمْ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا يَمْشُونَ بِلَا عُقُولٍ، عَقَلُوا حَيْثُ ذَهَبَتْ عُقُولُ النَّاسِ، لَهُمُ الشَّرَفُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ. يَا أُسَامَةُ إِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ فِي بَلْدَةٍ فَاِعْلَمْ أَنَّهُمْ أَمَانٌ لِتِلْكَ الْبَلْدَةِ، لَا يُعَذِّبُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

lam yatakālabū ʿalā al-dunyā takāluba al-kilābi ʿalā al-jiyafi, ʾakalū al-filaqa walabisū al-khiraqa, shuʿthan ghubran, yarāhumu al-nāsu yaẓunnūna ʾanna bihim dāʾan, yuqālu: qad khūliṭū waqad dhahabat ʿuqūluhum, wa-lākin naẓara al-qawmu biqulūbihim ʾilā ʾan dhahabati al-dunyā ʿanhum, fahum ʿinda ʾahli al-dunyā yamshūna bilā ʿuqūlin, ʿaqalū ḥaythu dhahabat ʿuqūlu al-nāsi, lahumu al-sharafu fī al-ʾākhirati. yā ʾusāmatu ʾidhā raʾaytahum fī baldatin fa-iʿlam ʾannahum ʾamānun litilka al-baldati, lā yuʿadhdhibu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla

“They did not scramble after the world as dogs scramble over carrion. They ate scraps of bread and wore rags, disheveled and dusty. People see them and suppose them diseased. It is said, ‘They are deranged; they have lost their minds.’ Yet these people looked with their hearts until the world departed from them. In worldly people's eyes they walk without minds, but they understood precisely where other people's understanding failed. Theirs is honor in the hereafter. Usāma, when you see them in a town, know that they are that town's security. God, mighty and majestic, does not punish

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٧٩

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 279

Volume Two, page 279

قَوْمًا هُمْ فِيهِمْ، الْأَرْضُ بِهِمْ رَحِيمَةٌ، وَالْجَبَّارُ عَنْهُمْ رَاضٍ. اِتَّخِذْهُمْ لِنَفْسِكَ أَخْدَانًا عَسَى أَنْ تَنْجُوَ بِهِمْ، وَإِنِ اِسْتَطَعْتَ أَنْ يَأْتِيَكَ الْمَوْتُ وَبَطْنُكَ جَائِعٌ وَكَبِدُكَ ظَمْآنُ فَإِنَّكَ تُدْرِكُ بِذَلِكَ شَرَفَ الْمَنَازِلِ وَتَحُلُّ مَعَ النَّبِيِّينَ، وَتَفْرَحُ بِقُدُومِ رُوحِكَ الْمَلَائِكَةُ، وَيُصَلِّي عَلَيْكَ الْجَبَّارُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

qawman hum fīhim, al-ʾarḍu bihim raḥīmatun, wa-al-jabbāru ʿanhum rāḍin. ittakhidhhum linafsika ʾakhdānan ʿasā ʾan tanjuwa bihim, waʾini istaṭaʿta ʾan yaʾtiyaka al-mawtu wabaṭnuka jāʾiʿun wakabiduka ẓamʾānu faʾinnaka tudriku bi-dhālika sharafa al-manāzili wataḥullu maʿa al-nabiyyīna, watafraḥu biqudūmi rūḥika al-malāʾikatu, wayuṣallī ʿalayka al-jabbāru ʿazza wajalla.

a people among whom they live. The earth is merciful through them, and the Compeller is pleased with them. Take them as your companions; perhaps you will be saved through them. If you can meet death with an empty belly and a thirsting liver, you will thereby attain the most honorable dwellings and abide with the prophets. The angels will rejoice at your spirit's arrival, and the Compeller, mighty and majestic, will bless you.”

وَمِمَّنِ اِشْتَهَرَ بِالطَّيِّ وَكَثُرَ النَّقْلُ عَنْهُ بِذَلِكَ الْخَمْسَ عَشْرَةَ يَوْمًا إِلَى عِشْرِينَ إِلَى شَهْرٍ، جَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَكْثُرُ عَدَدُهُمْ؛ مِنْهُمْ: اِبْنُ عَمْرٍو الْعَوْفِيُّ، وَعَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ دُحَيْمٌ، وَإِبْرَاهِيمُ التَّمِيمِيُّ، وَحَجَّاجُ بْنُ قَرَافِصَةَ، وَحَفْصُ بْنُ الْعَابِدِ الْمِصِّيصِيُّ، وَالْمُسْلِمُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، وَزُهَيْرٌ الْبَنَّائِيُّ، وَسُلَيْمَانُ الْخَوَّاصُ، وَسَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، وَإِبْرَاهِيمُ الْخَوَّاصُ.

wamimmani ishtahara bi-al-ṭayyi wakathura al-naqlu ʿanhu bi-dhālika al-khamsa ʿashrata yawman ʾilā ʿishrīna ʾilā shahrin, jamāʿatun mina al-ʿulamāʾi yakthuru ʿadaduhum; minhum: ibnu ʿamrin al-ʿawfiyyu, waʿabdu al-raḥmāni bnu ʾibrāhīma duḥaymun, waʾibrāhīmu al-tamīmiyyu, waḥajjāju bnu qarāfiṣata, waḥafṣu bnu al-ʿābidi al-miṣṣīṣiyyu, wa-al-muslimu bnu saʿdin, wazuhayrun al-bannāʾiyyu, wasulaymānu al-khawwāṣu, wasahlu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi, waʾibrāhīmu al-khawwāṣu.

Many scholars became well known for prolonged abstinence from food, with numerous accounts of their going fifteen days, twenty days, or a month. They include Ibn ʿAmr al-ʿAwfī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ibrāhīm Duḥaym, Ibrāhīm al-Tamīmī, Ḥajjāj ibn Qarāfiṣa, Ḥafṣ ibn al-ʿĀbid al-Miṣṣīṣī, al-Muslim ibn Saʿd, Zuhayr al-Bannāʾī, Sulaymān al-Khawwāṣ, Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh, and Ibrāhīm al-Khawwāṣ.

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَطْوِي سِتًّا، وَكَانَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ يَطْوِي سَبْعَةَ أَيَّامٍ، وَكَانَ أَبُو الْجَوْزَاءِ صَاحِبُ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ يَطْوِي سَبْعًا، وَرُوِيَ أَنَّ الثَّوْرِيَّ وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنَ أَدْهَمَ كَانَا يَطْوِيَانِ ثَلَاثًا ثَلَاثًا، وَقَدْ رَأَيْنَا مَنْ كَانَ يَطْوِي تِسْعًا وَخَمْسًا، وَكَثِيرًا مِمَّنْ يَطْوِي ثَلَاثًا ثَلَاثًا.

waqad kāna ʾabū bakrin al-ṣiddīqu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yaṭwī sittan, wakāna ʿabdu Allāhi bnu al-zubayri yaṭwī sabʿata ʾayyāmin, wakāna ʾabū al-jawzāʾi ṣāḥibu ibni ʿabbāsin yaṭwī sabʿan, waruwiya ʾanna al-thawriyya waʾibrāhīma bna ʾadhama kānā yaṭwiyāni thalāthan thalāthan, waqad raʾaynā man kāna yaṭwī tisʿan wakhamsan, wakathīran mimman yaṭwī thalāthan thalāthan.

Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may God be pleased with him, used to go six days without food; ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr went seven days; and Abū al-Jawzāʾ, the companion of Ibn ʿAbbās, also went seven. It is related that al-Thawrī and Ibrāhīm ibn Adham both went three days at a time. We ourselves have seen people who went nine days and five, and many who went three days at a time.

وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: مَنْ طَوَى أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا مِنَ الطَّعَامِ ظَهَرَتْ لَهُ قُدْرَةٌ مِنَ الْمَلَكُوتِ، وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: لَا يَزْهَدُ الْعَبْدُ حَقِيقَةَ الزُّهْدِ الَّذِي لَا مَشُوبَةَ فِيهِ إِلَّا بِمُشَاهَدَةِ قُدْرَةٍ مِنْ غَيْبِ الْمَلَكُوتِ. وَبَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ: لَا يُوقِنُ الْعَبْدُ يَقِينًا ثَابِتًا يُحْكَمُ عَلَيْهِ بِالِاسْتِقَامَةِ فِيهِ، وَلِبْسَةِ حَالٍ لَازِمَةٍ، وَعِلْمٍ نَافِذٍ فِي الْمَلَكُوتِ، إِلَّا بِمُشَاهَدَةِ قُدْرَةٍ مِنْ قُدْرَةِ الْغَيْبِ، بِرَأْيِ عَيْنٍ تَظْهَرُ لَهُ بِشَهَادَةٍ دَائِمَةٍ، يَقُومُ بِهَا وَيَضْطَرُّهُ؛ فَعِنْدَ هَذَا يَعْرِفُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمِنْهُ الْمَخْصُوصِ الْقَيُّومِ بِهِ.

waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: man ṭawā ʾarbaʿīna yawman mina al-ṭaʿāmi ẓaharat lahu qudratun mina al-malakūti, wakāna yaqūlu: lā yazhadu al-ʿabdu ḥaqīqata al-zuhdi alladhī lā mashūbata fīhi ʾillā bimushāhadati qudratin min ghaybi al-malakūti. wabaʿḍuhum yaqūlu: lā yūqinu al-ʿabdu yaqīnan thābitan yuḥkamu ʿalayhi bi-al-istiqāmati fīhi, walibsati ḥālin lāzimatin, waʿilmin nāfidhin fī al-malakūti, ʾillā bimushāhadati qudratin min qudrati al-ghaybi, biraʾyi ʿaynin taẓharu lahu bishahādatin dāʾimatin, yaqūmu bihā wayaḍṭarruhu; faʿinda hādhā yaʿrifu mina Allāhi taʿālā, waminhu al-makhṣūṣi al-qayyūmi bihi.

One scholar said: “Whoever goes forty days without food is shown a power from the unseen kingdom.” He also said: “The servant does not attain the reality of renunciation, unmixed with anything else, until he witnesses a power from the unseen kingdom.” Another said: “The servant does not attain a settled certainty, judged to possess steadfastness, the clothing of an abiding spiritual state, and knowledge penetrating the unseen kingdom, except by witnessing a power from the power of the unseen, with his own eyes. It appears to him as an enduring witnessing by which he stands and which compels him. At this point he comes to know from God Most High, and from Him who is specially his, the Sustainer of him.”

وَيَصِحُّ لِعَبْدٍ مُرَادٍ بِهَذَا الطَّرِيقِ الْمَنْهَجِ أَرْبَعِينَ فِي سَنَةٍ وَأَرْبَعَةِ أَشْهُرٍ، عَلَى مَا نَزَّلْنَا مِنْ تَأْخِيرِ الْأَوْقَاتِ وَقْتًا بَعْدَ وَقْتٍ، وَرَتَّبْنَا مِنْ رِيَاضَةِ النَّفْسِ فِي الْأَوْقَاتِ حَتَّى تَنْدَرِجَ اللَّيَالِي فِي الْأَيَّامِ، وَتَدْخُلَ الْأَيَّامُ فِي اللَّيَالِي، فَتَكُونَ الْأَرْبَعُونَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ يَوْمٍ وَاحِدٍ وَلَيْلَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ. وَهَذَا طَرِيقُ بَعْضِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ، لَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا مُرَادٌ بِهِ، مَحْمُولٌ فِيهِ، مُكَاشَفٌ بِشَهَادَةٍ تَشْغَلُهُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ، وَتَقْطَعُهُ عَنْ طَبْعِهِ وَعَادَتِهِ، وَتُنْسِيهِ جُوعَهُ، وَيَكْشِفُ لَهُ حَقِيقَتَهُ وَمَرْجُوعَهُ. وَقَدْ عَرَفْنَا مَنْ كَانَ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ، وَظَهَرَتْ لَهُ آيَاتٌ مِنَ الْمَلَكُوتِ، وَكُشِفَ لَهُ عَنْ مَعَانِي قُدْرَةٍ مِنَ الْجَبَرُوتِ، تَجَلَّى اللَّهُ لَهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِهَا وَمِنْهَا كَيْفَ شَاءَ.

wayaṣiḥḥu liʿabdin murādin bi-hādhā al-ṭarīqi al-manhaji ʾarbaʿīna fī sanatin waʾarbaʿati ʾashhurin, ʿalā mā nazzalnā min taʾkhīri al-ʾawqāti waqtan baʿda waqtin, warattabnā min riyāḍati al-nafsi fī al-ʾawqāti ḥattā tandarija al-layālī fī al-ʾayyāmi, watadkhula al-ʾayyāmu fī al-layālī, fatakūna al-ʾarbaʿūna bimanzilati yawmin wāḥidin walaylatin wāḥidatin. wa-hādhā ṭarīqu baʿḍi al-muqarrabīna, lā yaqdiru ʿalayhi ʾillā murādun bihi, maḥmūlun fīhi, mukāshafun bishahādatin tashghaluhu ʿan nafsihi, wataqṭaʿuhu ʿan ṭabʿihi waʿādatihi, watunsīhi jūʿahu, wayakshifu lahu ḥaqīqatahu wamarjūʿahu. waqad ʿarafnā man kāna faʿala dhālika, waẓaharat lahu ʾāyātun mina al-malakūti, wakushifa lahu ʿan maʿānī qudratin mina al-jabarūti, tajallā Allāhu lahu ʿazza wajalla bihā waminhā kayfa shāʾa.

For a servant chosen for this clear path, forty days can become possible within a year and four months, according to our gradual extension of the intervals and our ordered discipline of the self through them. Nights merge into days and days enter nights, until forty days are like a single day and a single night. This is the path of some who are brought near. Only one chosen for it, carried along it, and granted an unveiling through witnessing can accomplish it: a witnessing that absorbs him away from himself, cuts him off from his disposition and habit, makes him forget his hunger, and discloses to him his reality and his ultimate return. We have known someone who did this. Signs from the unseen kingdom appeared to him, and meanings of power from the realm of might were unveiled to him. Through them and from them God, mighty and majestic, disclosed Himself to him as He willed.

وَقَدْ وَقَفَ بَعْضُ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ عَلَى رَاهِبٍ فَذَاكَرَهُ بِحَالِهِ، وَطَمِعَ فِي إِسْلَامِهِ، وَتَرْكِ مَا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْغُرُورِ، فَكَلَّمَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ بِكَلَامٍ كَثِيرٍ إِلَى أَنْ قَالَ لَهُ الرَّاهِبُ: فَإِنَّ الْمَسِيحَ كَانَ يَطْوِي أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا وَأَنَا مُعْتَقِدٌ إِعْجَازَ هَذَا وَأَنَّهُ لَا يَكُونُ إِلَّا لِنَبِيٍّ. فَقَالَ لَهُ الصُّوفِيُّ: فَإِنْ طَوَيْتُ خَمْسِينَ يَوْمًا، مَا تَتْرُكُ مَا أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِ وَتَدْخُلُ فِي دِينِ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَتَعْلَمُ أَنَّ مَا نَحْنُ عَلَيْهِ حَقٌّ وَأَنَّكَ عَلَى بَاطِلٍ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ. فَقَعَدَ عِنْدَهُ لَا يَبْرَحُ وَلَا يَذْهَبُ إِلَّا مِنْ حَيْثُ يَرَاهُ الرَّاهِبُ

waqad waqafa baʿḍu hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati ʿalā rāhibin fadhākarahu biḥālihi, waṭamiʿa fī ʾislāmihi, watarki mā huwa ʿalayhi mina al-ghurūri, fakallamahu fī dhālika bikalāmin kathīrin ʾilā ʾan qāla lahu al-rāhibu: faʾinna al-masīḥa kāna yaṭwī ʾarbaʿīna yawman waʾanā muʿtaqidun ʾiʿjāza hādhā waʾannahu lā yakūnu ʾillā linabiyyin. faqāla lahu al-ṣūfiyyu: faʾin ṭawaytu khamsīna yawman, mā tatruku mā ʾanta ʿalayhi watadkhulu fī dīni al-ʾislāmi, wataʿlamu ʾanna mā naḥnu ʿalayhi ḥaqqun waʾannaka ʿalā bāṭilin? qāla: naʿam. faqaʿada ʿindahu lā yabraḥu walā yadhhabu ʾillā min ḥaythu yarāhu al-rāhibu

One of this company visited a monk and discussed his spiritual condition, hoping that he would embrace Islam and abandon his delusion. He spoke at length until the monk said: “The Messiah went forty days without food. I believe this to be miraculous, and possible only for a prophet.” The Sufi said: “If I go fifty days without food, will you not abandon your present way, enter Islam, and recognize that what we follow is true and that you follow falsehood?” He said: “Yes.” So the Sufi stayed with him, neither leaving nor going anywhere beyond the monk's sight,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٨٠

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 280

Volume Two, page 280

إِلَى أَنْ طَوَى خَمْسِينَ يَوْمًا، فَقَالَ: أَزِيدُكَ أَيْضًا، فَطَوَى إِلَى تَمَامِ السِّتِّينَ فَعَجِبَ الرَّاهِبُ مِنْهُ وَاِعْتَقَدَ فَضْلَهُ وَفَضْلَ دِينِهِ، وَقَالَ: مَا كُنْتُ أَظُنُّ أَنَّ أَحَدًا يُجَاوِزُ فِعْلَ الْمَسِيحِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَلَكِنْ هَذِهِ أُمَّةٌ تَشْبَهُ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْفَضْلِ، فَكَانَ سَبَبَ إِسْلَامِهِ. وَمِمَّنْ كَانَ يَطْوِي أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا إِبْرَاهِيمُ التَّمِيمِيُّ وَحَجَّاجُ بْنُ قَرَافِصَةَ، فَأَمَّا الثَّلَاثِينَ وَالْعِشْرِينَ فَقَدْ حُكِيَ عَنْ عَدَدٍ كَثِيرٍ مِنْهُمْ: سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ وَجَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ الْبَصْرِيِّينَ، وَأَمَّا مَنْ يَأْكُلُ فِي الشَّهْرِ أَكْلَتَيْنِ وَثَلَاثَةً وَأَرْبَعَةً فَهُمْ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الشَّامِيِّينَ وَالْجَزَرِيِّينَ.

ʾilā ʾan ṭawā khamsīna yawman, faqāla: ʾazīduka ʾayḍan, faṭawā ʾilā tamāmi al-sittīna faʿajiba al-rāhibu minhu wa-iʿtaqada faḍlahu wafaḍla dīnihi, waqāla: mā kuntu ʾaẓunnu ʾanna ʾaḥadan yujāwizu fiʿla al-masīḥi ʿalayhi al-salāmu wa-lākin hādhihi ʾummatun tashbahu al-ʾanbiyāʾa fī al-ʿilmi wa-al-faḍli, fakāna sababa ʾislāmihi. wamimman kāna yaṭwī ʾarbaʿīna yawman ʾibrāhīmu al-tamīmiyyu waḥajjāju bnu qarāfiṣata, faʾammā al-thalāthīna wa-al-ʿishrīna faqad ḥukiya ʿan ʿadadin kathīrin minhum: sahlu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi wajamāʿatun mina al-baṣriyyīna, waʾammā man yaʾkulu fī al-shahri ʾaklatayni wathalāthatan waʾarbaʿatan fahum kathīrun mina al-shāmiyyīna wa-al-jazariyyīna.

until he had gone fifty days without food. He said, “I will add more for you,” and continued until he had completed sixty. The monk marveled and acknowledged his excellence and the excellence of his religion. He said: “I never imagined anyone could exceed what the Messiah, peace be upon him, did. Yet this is a community that resembles the prophets in knowledge and excellence.” This caused him to embrace Islam. Among those who went forty days without food were Ibrāhīm al-Tamīmī and Ḥajjāj ibn Qarāfiṣa. Thirty and twenty days are reported of many, including Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh and a company from Basra. Many Syrians and people of the Jazīra ate only two, three, or four meals a month.

وَإِنْ أَحَبَّ الْمُرِيدُ أَنْ يَقْسِمَ فِطْرَهُ قِسْمَيْنِ فَيَأْكُلَ رَغِيفًا عِنْدَ إِفْطَارِهِ فِي أَوَّلِ اللَّيْلِ فَيُسَكِّنَ بِذَلِكَ جُوعَهُ، وَيَأْكُلَ رَغِيفًا عِنْدَ السَّحَرِ يَسْتَعِينُ بِهِ عَلَى صَوْمِهِ فَحَسَنٌ. وَإِنْ أَحَبَّ عَمِلَ فِي تَأْخِيرِ الْإِفْطَارِ عَلَى رِيَاضَةٍ، وَوَقَفَ عِنْدَ السَّحَرِ فَلَمْ يُجَاوِزْهُ، فَيَكُونُ أَكْلُهُ سَحَرًا فَيَحْصُلُ لَهُ بِذَلِكَ خَمْسَةُ أَشْيَاءَ: جُوعُ النَّهَارِ لِلصَّائِمِ، وَجُوعُ اللَّيْلِ لِلْقَائِمِ، وَخُلُوُّ الْقَلْبِ لِفَرَاغِ الْمَعِدَةِ، وَرِقَّةُ الْفِكْرِ وَاِجْتِمَاعُ الْهَمِّ لِخُلُوِّ الْقَلْبِ، وَسُكُونُ النَّفْسِ لِلْمَعْلُومِ فَلَا يُنَازِعُهُ قَبْلَ وَقْتِهِ؛ وَهَذَا أَوْسَطُ الطُّرُقَاتِ وَأَحَبُّهَا إِلَيَّ وَهُوَ طَرِيقُ السَّائِرِينَ.

waʾin ʾaḥabba al-murīdu ʾan yaqsima fiṭrahu qismayni fayaʾkula raghīfan ʿinda ʾifṭārihi fī ʾawwali al-layli fayusakkina bi-dhālika jūʿahu, wayaʾkula raghīfan ʿinda al-saḥari yastaʿīnu bihi ʿalā ṣawmihi faḥasanun. waʾin ʾaḥabba ʿamila fī taʾkhīri al-ʾifṭāri ʿalā riyāḍatin, wawaqafa ʿinda al-saḥari falam yujāwizhu, fayakūnu ʾakluhu saḥaran fayaḥṣulu lahu bi-dhālika khamsatu ʾashyāʾa: jūʿu al-nahāri li-l-ṣāʾimi, wajūʿu al-layli li-l-qāʾimi, wakhuluwwu al-qalbi lifarāghi al-maʿidati, wariqqatu al-fikri wa-ijtimāʿu al-hammi likhuluwwi al-qalbi, wasukūnu al-nafsi li-l-maʿlūmi falā yunāziʿuhu qabla waqtihi; wa-hādhā ʾawsaṭu al-ṭuruqāti waʾaḥabbuhā ʾilayya wahuwa ṭarīqu al-sāʾirīna.

If the aspirant wishes to divide his food into two portions, eating a loaf when he breaks his fast at nightfall to quiet his hunger, and another before dawn to help him fast, that is good. Or he may gradually discipline himself to delay breaking the fast until the predawn hour, without going beyond it. Eating then brings him five things: the daytime hunger of one who fasts; the nighttime hunger of one who stands in prayer; an unoccupied heart because the stomach is empty; subtle thought and concentrated concern because the heart is free; and a self at peace with its assured provision, which does not contend with him before its appointed time. This is the middle way, the one dearest to me, and the path of those who journey.

وَفِي حَدِيثِ عَاصِمِ بْنِ كُلَيْبٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: مَا قَامَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قِيَامَكُمْ هَذَا قَطُّ، وَإِنْ كَانَ لَيَقُومُ حَتَّى تَزَلَّعَ رِجْلَاهُ، وَمَا وَاصَلَ وِصَالَكُمْ هَذَا قَطُّ غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ قَدْ أَخَّرَ الْفِطْرَ إِلَى السَّحَرِ. وَفِي حَدِيثِ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ: كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُوَاصِلُ إِلَى السَّحَرِ.

wafī ḥadīthi ʿāṣimi bni kulaybin ʿan ʾabīhi ʿan ʾabī hurayrata qāla: mā qāma rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qiyāmakum hādhā qaṭṭu, waʾin kāna layaqūmu ḥattā tazallaʿa rijlāhu, wamā wāṣala wiṣālakum hādhā qaṭṭu ghayra ʾannahu qad ʾakhkhara al-fiṭra ʾilā al-saḥari. wafī ḥadīthi ʿāʾishata raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā qālat: kāna rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yuwāṣilu ʾilā al-saḥari.

In the report of ʿĀṣim ibn Kulayb, from his father, from Abū Hurayra, he said: “God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, never stood in prayer in this manner of yours, although he would stand until his feet cracked; nor did he ever continue fasting in this manner of yours, though he did delay breaking his fast until the predawn hour.” In the report of ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her, she said: “God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to continue fasting until the predawn hour.”

فَإِنْ كَانَ الْمُرِيدُ يَصُومُ يَوْمًا وَيُفْطِرُ يَوْمًا، وَهُوَ أَعْدَلُ طُرُقَاتِ الصِّيَامِ أَيْضًا، أَكَلَ يَوْمَ فِطْرِهِ بَعْدَ الظُّهْرِ وَلَيْلَةَ صَوْمِهِ عِنْدَ الْفَجْرِ. فَإِنْ لَمْ يَفْعَلْ فَلْيَأْكُلْ يَوْمَ فِطْرِهِ نِصْفَ أَكْلِهِ بِالْأَمْسِ فَكَأَنَّهُ صَائِمٌ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَفْعَلْ اِضْطَرَبَ جِسْمُهُ وَدَاخَلَهُ الْفُتُورُ فِي حَالِهِ. وَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ مَعْلُومٌ فَلَا بَأْسَ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ شِبَعَهُ ثُمَّ يَتَرَبَّصَ حَتَّى يَنْتَهِيَ جُوعُهُ؛ فَعَلَامَةُ جُوعِهِ أَنْ لَا تَخْتَارَ نَفْسُهُ الْخُبْزَ دُونَ غَيْرِهِ مِنَ الْمَأْكُولَاتِ، فَإِنِ اِخْتَارَتْ نَفْسُهُ الْخُبْزَ فَفِيهِ بَقِيَّةٌ مِنَ الشِّبَعِ.

faʾin kāna al-murīdu yaṣūmu yawman wayufṭiru yawman, wahuwa ʾaʿdalu ṭuruqāti al-ṣiyāmi ʾayḍan, ʾakala yawma fiṭrihi baʿda al-ẓuhri walaylata ṣawmihi ʿinda al-fajri. faʾin lam yafʿal falyaʾkul yawma fiṭrihi niṣfa ʾaklihi bi-al-ʾamsi fakaʾannahu ṣāʾimun, faʾin lam yafʿal iḍṭaraba jismuhu wadākhalahu al-futūru fī ḥālihi. waman lam yakun lahu maʿlūmun falā baʾsa ʾan yaʾkula shibaʿahu thumma yatarabbaṣa ḥattā yantahiya jūʿuhu; faʿalāmatu jūʿihi ʾan lā takhtāra nafsuhu al-khubza dūna ghayrihi mina al-maʾkūlāti, faʾini ikhtārat nafsuhu al-khubza fafīhi baqiyyatun mina al-shibaʿi.

If the aspirant fasts one day and not the next, which is also the most balanced manner of fasting, he should eat after noon on his nonfasting day and at dawn on the night preceding his fast. Otherwise, on his nonfasting day he should eat half of what he ate the day before, and it will be as though he were fasting. If he does not, his body will become unsettled and lassitude will enter his spiritual condition. Someone without assured provision may eat his fill and then wait until his hunger reaches its limit. Its sign is that the self does not choose bread over other foods; if it chooses bread, some satiety remains.

وَعَلَامَةُ شِبَعِهِ بَعْدَ الْأَكْلِ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ الْخُبْزَ الْبَحْتَ عَلَى شَهْوَةٍ، فَإِذَا تَاقَتْ نَفْسُهُ إِلَى الْأُدْمِ فَقَدِ اِبْتَدَأَ شِبَعُهُ، فَإِنْ تَخَيَّرَتِ الْأُدَامَ فَهُوَ شَبْعَانُ. وَتَرْكُ الْمَعْلُومِ فِي الطَّعَامِ طَرِيقُ صُوفِيَّةِ الْبَغْدَادِيِّينَ، وَالْوُقُوفُ مَعَ الْمَعْلُومِ طَرِيقَةُ الْبَصْرِيِّينَ. وَلَمَّا قَدِمَ صُوفِيَّةُ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ عَلَى أَبِي الْقَاسِمِ الْجُنَيْدِ بَعْدَ وَفَاةِ سَهْلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَالَ لَهُمْ: كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ فِي الصَّوْمِ؟ فَقَالُوا: نَصُومُ بِالنَّهَارِ فَإِذَا أَمْسَيْنَا قُمْنَا إِلَى قِفَافِنَا. فَقَالَ: آهْ آهْ لَوْ كُنْتُمْ تَصُومُونَ بِلَا قِفَافٍ كَانَ أَتَمَّ لِحَالِكُمْ؛ أَيْ لَا تَسْكُنُونَ إِلَى مَعْلُومٍ. فَقَالُوا: لَا نَقْوَى عَلَى هَذَا.

waʿalāmatu shibaʿihi baʿda al-ʾakli ʾan yaʾkula al-khubza al-baḥta ʿalā shahwatin, faʾidhā tāqat nafsuhu ʾilā al-ʾudmi faqadi ibtadaʾa shibaʿuhu, faʾin takhayyarati al-ʾudāma fahuwa shabʿānu. watarku al-maʿlūmi fī al-ṭaʿāmi ṭarīqu ṣūfiyyati al-baghdādiyyīna, wa-al-wuqūfu maʿa al-maʿlūmi ṭarīqatu al-baṣriyyīna. walammā qadima ṣūfiyyatu ʾahli al-baṣrati ʿalā ʾabī al-qāsimi al-junaydi baʿda wafāti sahlin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā qāla lahum: kayfa taʿmalūna fī al-ṣawmi? faqālū: naṣūmu bi-al-nahāri faʾidhā ʾamsaynā qumnā ʾilā qifāfinā. faqāla: ʾāh ʾāh law kuntum taṣūmūna bilā qifāfin kāna ʾatamma liḥālikum; ʾay lā taskunūna ʾilā maʿlūmin. faqālū: lā naqwā ʿalā hādhā.

The sign by which to gauge his satiety after eating is that he eats plain bread with appetite. When his self longs for a condiment, satiety has begun; when it selects among condiments, he is full. Giving up assured food is the way of the Baghdad Sufis; remaining with an assured provision is the way of those of Basra. When Basra's Sufis visited Abū al-Qāsim al-Junayd after Sahl's death, may God Most High have mercy on him, he asked: “How do you go about fasting?” They said: “We fast by day, and at evening turn to our baskets.” He said: “Ah, ah! If you fasted without baskets, your state would be more complete,” meaning that they would not rest upon an assured supply. They replied: “We cannot manage that.”

وَلَعَمْرِي أَنَّ طَرِيقَ الْبَغْدَادِيِّينَ بِتَرْكِ الْمَعْلُومِ مِنَ الْمَطْعُومِ أَعْلَى؛ وَهُوَ طَرِيقُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ مِنَ الْأَقْوِيَاءِ. وَطَرِيقَةُ الْبَصْرِيِّينَ بِالْمَعْلُومِ وَالتَّوْقِيتِ أَسْلَمُ مِنْ آفَاتِ النُّفُوسِ وَأَقْطَعُ لِلتَّشَرُّفِ وَالتَّطَلُّعِ؛ وَهُوَ طَرِيقُ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَالْعَامِلِينَ.

walaʿamrī ʾanna ṭarīqa al-baghdādiyyīna bitarki al-maʿlūmi mina al-maṭʿūmi ʾaʿlā; wahuwa ṭarīqu al-mutawakkilīna mina al-ʾaqwiyāʾi. waṭarīqatu al-baṣriyyīna bi-al-maʿlūmi wa-al-tawqīti ʾaslamu min ʾāfāti al-nufūsi waʾaqṭaʿu li-l-tasharrufi wa-al-taṭalluʿi; wahuwa ṭarīqu al-murīdīna wa-al-ʿāmilīna.

By my life, the Baghdad way of relinquishing assured food is higher: it is the way of the strong who trust in God. The Basran way of assured provision and fixed times is safer from the self's faults and more effective at cutting off expectant looking and longing. It is the way of aspirants and those who labor in devotion.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٨١

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 281

Volume Two, page 281

ذِكْرُ رِيَاضَةِ الْمُرِيدِينَ فِي الْمَأْكُولِ وَفَضْلِ الْجُوعِ وَطَرِيقَةِ السَّلَفِ فِي التَّقَلُّلِ وَالْأَكْلِ

dhikru riyāḍati al-murīdīna fī al-maʾkūli wafaḍli al-jūʿi waṭarīqati al-salafi fī al-taqalluli wa-al-ʾakli

The aspirants' discipline in food, the excellence of hunger, and the early authorities' manner of eating sparingly

كَانَ أَبُو ذَرٍّ يَقُولُ فِي بَعْضِ إِنْكَارِهِ: قَدْ غَيَّرْتُمْ بِنَخْلِكُمُ الشَّعِيرَ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْخَلٌ، وَخَبَزْتُمُ الْمُرَقَّقَ وَجَمَعْتُمْ بَيْنَ أُدْمَيْنِ، وَاُخْتُلِفَ عَلَيْكُمْ بِأَلْوَانِ الطَّعَامِ، وَغَدَا أَحَدُكُمْ فِي ثَوْبٍ وَرَجَعَ فِي آخَرَ، وَلَمْ يَكُونُوا هَكَذَا فِي عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: قُوتِي فِي كُلِّ جُمُعَةٍ صَاعٌ مِنْ شَعِيرٍ وَاللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ لَا أَزِيدُ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى أَلْقَاهُ، فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَحَبُّكُمْ إِلَيَّ وَأَقْرَبُكُمْ مِنِّي مَجْلِسًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَنْ مَاتَ عَلَى مِثْلِ مَا تَرَكْتُهُ عَلَيْهِ.

kāna ʾabū dharrin yaqūlu fī baʿḍi ʾinkārihi: qad ghayyartum binakhlikumu al-shaʿīra walam yakun minkhalun, wakhabaztumu al-muraqqaqa wajamaʿtum bayna ʾudmayni, wa-ukhtulifa ʿalaykum biʾalwāni al-ṭaʿāmi, waghadā ʾaḥadukum fī thawbin warajaʿa fī ʾākhara, walam yakūnū hākadhā fī ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama. wakāna yaqūlu: qūtī fī kulli jumuʿatin ṣāʿun min shaʿīrin wa-Allāhi al-ʿaẓīmi lā ʾazīdu ʿalayhi ḥattā ʾalqāhu, faʾinnī samiʿtuhu yaqūlu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾaḥabbukum ʾilayya waʾaqrabukum minnī majlisan yawma al-qiyāmati man māta ʿalā mithli mā taraktuhu ʿalayhi.

Among Abū Dharr's reproaches was this: “You have changed things by sifting your barley, when formerly there was no sieve. You bake thin, refined bread, combine two condiments, and have different kinds of food brought to you. One of you goes out in one garment and returns in another. They were not like this in the time of God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace.” He used to say: “My food each week is a ṣāʿ of barley. By God the Magnificent, I will not increase it until I meet him, for I heard him say, may God bless him and grant him peace: ‘The dearest of you to me and the closest in place to me on the Day of Resurrection is whoever dies in the same condition in which I left him.’”

وَقَدْ كَانَ قُوتُ جَمَاعَةٍ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ صَاعًا مِنْ حِنْطَةٍ فِي كُلِّ جُمُعَةٍ، فَإِذَا أَكَلُوا التَّمْرَ اِقْتَاتُوا صَاعًا وَنِصْفًا. وَكَانَ قُوتُ أَهْلِ الصُّفَّةِ مُدًّا مِنْ تَمْرٍ بَيْنَ اِثْنَيْنِ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ، وَالْمُدُّ رِطْلٌ وَثُلُثٌ. وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ: الْمُؤْمِنُ مِثْلُ الْعُنَيْزَةِ يَكْفِيهِ الْكَفُّ مِنَ الْحَشَفِ، وَالْقَبْضَةُ مِنَ السَّوِيقِ، وَالْجُرْعَةُ مِنَ الْمَاءِ، وَالْمُنَافِقُ مِثْلُ السَّبُعِ سَرْطًا سَرْطًا وَبَلْعًا بَلْعًا، لَا يَطْوِي بَطْنَهُ لِجَارِهِ، وَلَا يُؤْثِرُ أَخَاهُ بِفَضْلِهِ؛ وَجِّهُوا هَذِهِ الْفُضُولَ أَمَامَكُمْ. وَكَانَ أَبُو يَزِيدَ الْبِسْطَامِيُّ يَقُولُ: إِذَا وَجَدَ الْفَقِيرُ الْمَاءَ سَقَطَ عَنْكَ فَرْضُهُ.

waqad kāna qūtu jamāʿatin mina al-ṣaḥābati ṣāʿan min ḥinṭatin fī kulli jumuʿatin, faʾidhā ʾakalū al-tamra iqtātū ṣāʿan waniṣfan. wakāna qūtu ʾahli al-ṣuffati muddan min tamrin bayna ithnayni fī kulli yawmin, wa-al-muddu riṭlun wathuluthun. wakāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu: al-muʾminu mithlu al-ʿunayzati yakfīhi al-kaffu mina al-ḥashafi, wa-al-qabḍatu mina al-sawīqi, wa-al-jurʿatu mina al-māʾi, wa-al-munāfiqu mithlu al-sabuʿi sarṭan sarṭan wabalʿan balʿan, lā yaṭwī baṭnahu lijārihi, walā yuʾthiru ʾakhāhu bifaḍlihi; wajjihū hādhihi al-fuḍūla ʾamāmakum. wakāna ʾabū yazīda al-bisṭāmiyyu yaqūlu: ʾidhā wajada al-faqīru al-māʾa saqaṭa ʿanka farḍuhu.

A company of the Companions lived on a ṣāʿ of wheat each week; when they ate dates, they used a ṣāʿ and a half. The people of the Shelter had a mudd of dates shared between two each day; a mudd is a raṭl and a third. Al-Ḥasan used to say: “The believer is like a little goat: a palmful of dry, poor dates, a handful of parched grain, and a draught of water suffice him. The hypocrite is like a wild beast, gulping and swallowing again and again. He does not leave his belly empty for his neighbor or prefer his brother with his surplus. Send these surpluses ahead of you.” Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī used to say: “When the poor man finds water, your obligation toward him falls away.”

وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ الْمَشْهُورِ الْعَامِّ: الْمُؤْمِنُ يَأْكُلُ فِي مِعًى وَاحِدٍ وَالْمُنَافِقُ يَأْكُلُ فِي سَبْعَةِ أَمْعَاءٍ. هَذَا عَلَى التَّمْثِيلِ فِي الِاتِّسَاعِ وَالْكَثْرَةِ؛ أَيْ يَأْكُلُ أَضْعَافَ أَكْلِ الْمُؤْمِنِ، فَكَانَ الْمُؤْمِنُ يَأْكُلُ سُبْعَ أَكْلِ الْمُنَافِقِ، وَالْعَرَبُ تَرْفَعُ فِي ذِكْرِ ضِعْفِ الشَّيْءِ وَإِضْعَافِهِ إِلَى سَبْعَةٍ. وَقَدْ فَسَّرَ ذَلِكَ عَالِمُنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ فَقَالَ: مَعْنَى يَأْكُلُ فِي سَبْعَةِ أَمْعَاءٍ، أَحَدُهَا شَرَهٌ، وَطَمَعٌ، وَحِرْصٌ، وَرَغْبَةٌ، وَغَفْلَةٌ، وَعَادَةٌ؛ أَيْ فَالْمُنَافِقُ يَأْكُلُ بِهَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي، وَالْمُؤْمِنُ يَأْكُلُ بِمَعْنَى الْفَاقَةِ وَالزُّهْدِ.

wafī al-ḥadīthi al-mashhūri al-ʿāmmi: al-muʾminu yaʾkulu fī miʿan wāḥidin wa-al-munāfiqu yaʾkulu fī sabʿati ʾamʿāʾin. hādhā ʿalā al-tamthīli fī al-ittisāʿi wa-al-kathrati; ʾay yaʾkulu ʾaḍʿāfa ʾakli al-muʾmini, fakāna al-muʾminu yaʾkulu subʿa ʾakli al-munāfiqi, wa-al-ʿarabu tarfaʿu fī dhikri ḍiʿfi al-shayʾi waʾiḍʿāfihi ʾilā sabʿatin. waqad fassara dhālika ʿālimunā ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun faqāla: maʿnā yaʾkulu fī sabʿati ʾamʿāʾin, ʾaḥaduhā sharahun, waṭamaʿun, waḥirṣun, waraghbatun, waghaflatun, waʿādatun; ʾay fa-al-munāfiqu yaʾkulu bi-hādhihi al-maʿānī, wa-al-muʾminu yaʾkulu bimaʿnā al-fāqati wa-al-zuhdi.

In the widely known hadith: “The believer eats into one intestine, and the hypocrite into seven.” This is a comparison expressing breadth and abundance: the latter eats many times as much as the believer, so that the believer eats a seventh of the hypocrite's amount. In speaking of doubling or multiplying something, the Arabs raise the number to seven. Our scholar Abū Muḥammad Sahl explained “eating into seven intestines” as eating through greed, covetousness, acquisitiveness, desire, heedlessness, and habit. The hypocrite eats under these impulses; the believer eats from need and renunciation.

وَلِهَذَا كَانَ يَقُولُ: لَوْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا دَمًا عَبِيطًا كَانَ قُوتُ الْمُؤْمِنِ مِنْهَا حَلَالًا، لِأَنَّ أَكْلَ الْمُؤْمِنِ عِنْدَهُ ضَرُورَةٌ لِلْقِوَامِ. وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يُضِيفُ هَذَا الْكَلَامَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَهُوَ مُخْطِئٌ فِي ذَلِكَ، إِنَّمَا هُوَ كَلَامُ إِمَامِنَا سَهْلِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ التُّسْتَرِيِّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ. وَقَدْ سُئِلَ عَنْ قُوتِ الْمُؤْمِنِ فَقَالَ: قُوتُهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى. قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ عَنْ قِوَامِهِ. فَقَالَ: الذِّكْرُ. فَقَالَ: إِنَّمَا سَأَلْتُ عَنْ غِذَائِهِ. فَقَالَ: غِذَاؤُهُ الْعِلْمُ. قُلْتُ: سَأَلْتُ عَنْ طُعْمَةِ الْجِسْمِ. فَقَالَ: مَا لَكَ وَالْجِسْمَ، دَعِ الْجِسْمَ عَلَى مَنْ تَوَلَّاهُ قَدِيمًا يَتَوَلَّاهُ الْآنَ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: الْجَسَدُ صَنْعَةٌ إِذَا عَابَتْ رَدَّهَا إِلَى صَانِعِهَا.

wali-hādhā kāna yaqūlu: law kānati al-dunyā daman ʿabīṭan kāna qūtu al-muʾmini minhā ḥalālan, liʾanna ʾakla al-muʾmini ʿindahu ḍarūratun li-l-qiwāmi. wamina al-nāsi man yuḍīfu hādhā al-kalāma ʾilā rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wahuwa mukhṭiʾun fī dhālika, ʾinnamā huwa kalāmu ʾimāminā sahli bni ʿabdi Allāhi al-tustariyyi raḥimahu Allāhu. waqad suʾila ʿan qūti al-muʾmini faqāla: qūtuhu Allāhu taʿālā. qāla: saʾaltu ʿan qiwāmihi. faqāla: al-dhikru. faqāla: ʾinnamā saʾaltu ʿan ghidhāʾihi. faqāla: ghidhāʾuhu al-ʿilmu. qultu: saʾaltu ʿan ṭuʿmati al-jismi. faqāla: mā laka wa-al-jisma, daʿi al-jisma ʿalā man tawallāhu qadīman yatawallāhu al-ʾāna. thumma qāla: al-jasadu ṣanʿatun ʾidhā ʿābat raddahā ʾilā ṣāniʿihā.

This is why he used to say: “Even if the world were fresh blood, the believer's sustenance from it would be lawful,” for he regards the believer's eating as a necessity for survival. Some ascribe this saying to God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, but they are mistaken. It is the saying of our imam Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Tustarī, may God have mercy on him. Asked about the believer's nourishment, he said: “His nourishment is God Most High.” The questioner said: “I asked what sustains him.” He answered: “Remembrance.” He said: “I meant his food.” He answered: “His food is knowledge.” I said: “I asked about the body's food.” He replied: “What have you to do with the body? Leave it to the One who cared for it formerly; He will care for it now.” Then he said: “The body is a made thing. When it develops a fault, he returns it to its Maker.”

وَسُئِلَ أَيْضًا عَنِ الْحَلَالِ، فَقَالَ: مَا لَمْ يُعْصَ اللَّهُ فِي أَوَّلِهِ وَلَمْ يُنْسَ فِي آخِرِهِ، وَذُكِرَ عِنْدَ تَنَاوُلِهِ وَشُكِرَ بَعْدَ فَرَاغِهِ. وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: الْقُوتُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْقِوَامُ لِلصَّالِحِينَ، وَالضَّرُورَةُ لِلصِّدِّيقِينَ. وَمَنْ كَانَ ذَا مَعْلُومٍ فَالْمُسْتَحَبُّ لَهُ أَنْ لَا يَزِيدَ عَلَى رَغِيفَيْنِ فِي يَوْمٍ وَلَيْلَةٍ، وَلْيَجْعَلْ بَيْنَهُمَا وَقْتًا

wasuʾila ʾayḍan ʿani al-ḥalāli, faqāla: mā lam yuʿṣa Allāhu fī ʾawwalihi walam yunsa fī ʾākhirihi, wadhukira ʿinda tanāwulihi washukira baʿda farāghihi. wakāna yaqūlu: al-qūtu li-l-muʾminīna wa-al-qiwāmu li-l-ṣāliḥīna, wa-al-ḍarūratu li-l-ṣiddīqīna. waman kāna dhā maʿlūmin fa-al-mustaḥabbu lahu ʾan lā yazīda ʿalā raghīfayni fī yawmin walaylatin, walyajʿal baynahumā waqtan

He was also asked about lawful food. He replied: “That in whose beginning God is not disobeyed and at whose end He is not forgotten; He is remembered when it is taken and thanked when it is finished.” He used to say: “Nourishment is for believers, sustenance for the righteous, and bare necessity for the utterly truthful.” For someone with an assured provision, it is recommended that he not exceed two loaves in a day and night, allowing between them an interval

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٨٢

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 282

Volume Two, page 282

طَوِيلًا مَرَّةً وَقَصِيرًا أُخْرَى عَلَى حَسَبِ الْحَاجَةِ وَتَوَقَانِ النَّفْسِ إِلَى الْغِذَاءِ، لَا عَلَى طَرْدِ الْعَادَةِ وَالشَّهْوَةِ. وَالرَّغِيفُ سِتَّةٌ وَثَلَاثُونَ لُقْمَةً، يَكُونُ قِوَامُ النَّفْسِ فِي كُلِّ سَاعَةٍ ثَلَاثَ لُقْمَاتٍ، فَإِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ الرَّغِيفَ عَلَى هَذَا التَّقْسِيمِ فَلْيَجْرَعْ بَعْدَ كُلِّ ثَلَاثِ لُقَمٍ جُرْعَةَ مَاءٍ، فَذَلِكَ اِثْنَا عَشَرَ جُرْعَةً فِي تَضَاعِيفِ سِتَّةٍ وَثَلَاثِينَ لُقْمَةً، فَفِي ذَلِكَ قِوَامُ الْجِسْمِ وَصَلَاحُهُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ وَلَيْلَةٍ عَلَى هَذَا التَّرْتِيبِ.

ṭawīlan marratan waqaṣīran ʾukhrā ʿalā ḥasabi al-ḥājati watawaqāni al-nafsi ʾilā al-ghidhāʾi, lā ʿalā ṭardi al-ʿādati wa-al-shahwati. wa-al-raghīfu sittatun wathalāthūna luqmatan, yakūnu qiwāmu al-nafsi fī kulli sāʿatin thalātha luqmātin, faʾidhā ʾarāda ʾan yaʾkula al-raghīfa ʿalā hādhā al-taqsīmi falyajraʿ baʿda kulli thalāthi luqamin jurʿata māʾin, fa-dhālika ithnā ʿashara jurʿatan fī taḍāʿīfi sittatin wathalāthīna luqmatan, fafī dhālika qiwāmu al-jismi waṣalāḥuhu fī kulli yawmin walaylatin ʿalā hādhā al-tartībi.

that is long on one occasion and short on another, according to need and the self's longing for nourishment, rather than the regular operation of habit and appetite. A loaf comprises thirty-six mouthfuls, and three mouthfuls sustain the self for each hour. If he wishes to eat the loaf by this division, he should take a draught of water after every three mouthfuls: twelve draughts interspersed among thirty-six mouthfuls. In this arrangement lies the body's sustenance and well-being for each day and night.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي مُجْمَلِ هَذَا أَثَرًا، كَانَ أَبُو ذَرٍّ يَقُولُ: كَانَ قُوتِي عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ صَاعًا فِي كُلِّ جُمُعَةٍ، وَاللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ لَا أَزِيدُ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى أَلْقَاهُ؛ فَهَذَا يَكُونُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ رِطْلٌ أَوْ نَحْوَهُ. وَالْأَصْلُ فِي جُمَلِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ التَّنَزُّلِ فِي الْقُوتِ مَا رَوَيْنَاهُ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَظَرَ إِلَى رَجُلٍ سَمِينٍ فَأَوْمَأَ إِلَى بَطْنِهِ بِأُصْبَعِهِ، فَقَالَ: لَوْ كَانَ هَذَا فِي غَيْرِ هَذَا كَانَ خَيْرًا لَكَ؛ يَعْنِي لَوْ قَدَّمْتَهُ لِآخِرَتِكَ وَآثَرْتَ بِهِ إِخْوَانَكَ فَكَانَ فِي غَيْرِ جَوْفِكَ لَكَانَ ذَلِكَ خَيْرًا لَكَ، وَيَعْنِي قِلَّةَ الطُّعْمِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ كَثْرَتِهِ.

waqad rawaynā fī mujmali hādhā ʾatharan, kāna ʾabū dharrin yaqūlu: kāna qūtī ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ṣāʿan fī kulli jumuʿatin, wa-Allāhi al-ʿaẓīmi lā ʾazīdu ʿalayhi ḥattā ʾalqāhu; fa-hādhā yakūnu fī kulli yawmin riṭlun ʾaw naḥwahu. wa-al-ʾaṣlu fī jumali mā dhakarnāhu mina al-tanazzuli fī al-qūti mā rawaynāhu ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama naẓara ʾilā rajulin samīnin faʾawmaʾa ʾilā baṭnihi biʾuṣbaʿihi, faqāla: law kāna hādhā fī ghayri hādhā kāna khayran laka; yaʿnī law qaddamtahu liʾākhiratika waʾātharta bihi ʾikhwānaka fakāna fī ghayri jawfika lakāna dhālika khayran laka, wayaʿnī qillata al-ṭuʿmi khayrun min kathratihi.

We have transmitted an account summarizing this. Abū Dharr used to say: “My food in the time of God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, was a ṣāʿ each week. By God the Magnificent, I will not increase it until I meet him.” That amounts to a raṭl or thereabouts each day. The basis for what we have said about gradually reducing nourishment is our report that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, looked at a corpulent man, pointed at his belly, and said: “If this were somewhere else, it would be better for you.” He meant: had you sent it ahead for your hereafter and preferred your brothers with it, so that it was somewhere other than your belly, that would be better for you. He also meant that eating little is better than eating much.

وَتَجَشَّأَ أَبُو جُحَيْفَةَ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ ثَرِيدٍ وَلَحْمٍ، قَالَ: كُنْتُ أَكَلْتُهُ، فَقَالَ: اُكْفُفْ عَنَّا جُشَاءَكَ، فَإِنَّ أَكْثَرَكُمْ شِبَعًا فِي الدُّنْيَا أَطْوَلُكُمْ جُوعًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ. قَالَ: فَوَاللَّهِ مَا مَلَأْتُ بَطْنِي مِنْ طَعَامٍ بَعْدَهَا إِلَى يَوْمِي هَذَا، وَأَرْجُو أَنْ يَعْصِمَنِيَ اللَّهُ فِيمَا بَقِيَ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ الْحَسَنِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: اِلْبَسُوا الصُّوفَ وَشَمِّرُوا وَكُلُوا فِي أَنْصَافِ الْبُطُونِ تَدْخُلُوا فِي مَلَكُوتِ السَّمَاءِ.

watajashshaʾa ʾabū juḥayfata ʿinda rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama min tharīdin walaḥmin, qāla: kuntu ʾakaltuhu, faqāla: ukfuf ʿannā jushāʾaka, faʾinna ʾaktharakum shibaʿan fī al-dunyā ʾaṭwalukum jūʿan yawma al-qiyāmati. qāla: fawa-Allāhi mā malaʾtu baṭnī min ṭaʿāmin baʿdahā ʾilā yawmī hādhā, waʾarjū ʾan yaʿṣimaniya Allāhu fīmā baqiya. waqad rawaynā ʿani al-ḥasani ʿan ʾabī hurayrata ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: ilbasū al-ṣūfa washammirū wakulū fī ʾanṣāfi al-buṭūni tadkhulū fī malakūti al-samāʾi.

Abū Juḥayfa belched in the presence of God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, after bread steeped in broth and meat, which he said he had eaten. He told him: “Spare us your belching. Those of you most satiated in this world will be hungry longest on the Day of Resurrection.” He said: “By God, I have never filled my belly with food since then to this day, and I hope God will preserve me through what remains.” We have transmitted from al-Ḥasan, from Abū Hurayra, that God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Wear wool, gird yourselves, and eat to half your bellies' capacity; you will enter heaven's kingdom.”

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: أَجِيعُوا أَكْبَادَكُمْ وَأَعْرُوا أَجْسَادَكُمْ لَعَلَّ قُلُوبَكُمْ تَرَى اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ. وَقَدْ رَوَاهُ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ يَحْيَى الْأَسْوَدُ عَنْ طَاوُسٍ رَفَعَهُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ. وَقِيلَ لِأَبِي يَزِيدَ الْبِسْطَامِيِّ وَهُوَ أَعْلَى هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ إِشَارَةً: بِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ نِلْتَ هَذِهِ الْمَعْرِفَةَ؟ قَالَ: بِبَطْنٍ جَائِعٍ وَجَسَدٍ عَارٍ. وَفِي التَّوْرَاةِ مَكْتُوبٌ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى لَيُبْغِضُ الْحَبْرَ السَّمِينَ، وَفِي بَعْضِ الْكُتُبِ: وَيَمْقُتُ أَهْلَ بَيْتٍ لَحْمِينَ، وَقَدْ جَاءَا مُسْنَدَيْنِ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ طَرِيقٍ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ اِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُبْغِضُ الْقَارِئَ السَّمِينَ.

warawaynā ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾajīʿū ʾakbādakum waʾaʿrū ʾajsādakum laʿalla qulūbakum tarā Allāha ʿazza wajalla. waqad rawāhu ʿabdu al-raḥmāni bnu yaḥyā al-ʾaswadu ʿan ṭāwūsin rafaʿahu ʾilā rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu qāla. waqīla liʾabī yazīda al-bisṭāmiyyi wahuwa ʾaʿlā hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati ʾishāratan: biʾayyi shayʾin nilta hādhihi al-maʿrifata? qāla: bibaṭnin jāʾiʿin wajasadin ʿārin. wafī al-tawrāti maktūbun: ʾinna Allāha tabāraka wataʿālā layubghiḍu al-ḥabra al-samīna, wafī baʿḍi al-kutubi: wayamqutu ʾahla baytin laḥmīna, waqad jāʾā musnadayni ʾilā rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama min ṭarīqin, waqad rawaynā ʿani ibni masʿūdin ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wajalla yubghiḍu al-qāriʾa al-samīna.

We have transmitted from Jesus, peace be upon him: “Keep your livers hungry and your bodies bare, that your hearts may see God, mighty and majestic.” ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yaḥyā al-Aswad also transmitted it from Ṭāwūs, tracing it to God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, as his saying. Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī, whose spiritual allusions were the loftiest among this company, was asked: “By what did you attain this knowledge?” He replied: “By a hungry belly and an unclothed body.” It is written in the Torah: “God, blessed and exalted, abhors the corpulent religious scholar”; and in some scriptures: “He detests a meat-loving household.” Both sayings have come through a chain to God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. We have also transmitted from Ibn Masʿūd that God, mighty and majestic, abhors the corpulent reciter.

وَفِي خَبَرٍ مُرْسَلٍ: إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَجْرِي مِنِ اِبْنِ آدَمَ مَجْرَى الدَّمِ فَضَيِّقُوا مَجَارِيَهُ بِالْجُوعِ وَالْعَطَشِ. فَإِذَا جَعَلَ الْعَبْدُ شِبَعَهُ بَيْنَ جُوعَيْنِ كَانَ جُوعُهُ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ شِبَعِهِ وَسَلِمَ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَبِي جُحَيْفَةَ، وَمَنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ جَوْعَةٌ بَعْدَ كُلِّ شَبْعَةٍ اِعْتَدَلَ جُوعُهُ وَشِبَعُهُ، وَمَنْ أَكَلَ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ مَرَّتَيْنِ فَقَدْ تَابَعَ الشِّبَعَ وَتَحَقَّقَ بِخَبَرِ أَبِي جُحَيْفَةَ، وَشِبَعُهُ حِينَئِذٍ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ جُوعِهِ؛ وَلَيْسَ ذَلِكَ مِنَ السُّنَّةِ

wafī khabarin mursalin: ʾinna al-shayṭāna yajrī mini ibni ʾādama majrā al-dami faḍayyiqū majāriyahu bi-al-jūʿi wa-al-ʿaṭashi. faʾidhā jaʿala al-ʿabdu shibaʿahu bayna jūʿayni kāna jūʿuhu ʾakthara min shibaʿihi wasalima min ḥadīthi ʾabī juḥayfata, waman kānat lahu jawʿatun baʿda kulli shabʿatin iʿtadala jūʿuhu washibaʿuhu, waman ʾakala fī kulli yawmin marratayni faqad tābaʿa al-shibaʿa wataḥaqqaqa bikhabari ʾabī juḥayfata, washibaʿuhu ḥīnaʾidhin ʾaktharu min jūʿihi; walaysa dhālika mina al-sunnati

In a report lacking a Companion link: “Satan courses through the son of Adam as blood does, so narrow his channels through hunger and thirst.” If the servant places his satiety between two periods of hunger, his hunger exceeds his satiety, and he escapes the warning in Abū Juḥayfa's report. If each period of satiety is followed by one of hunger, the two are balanced. Whoever eats twice each day maintains successive states of satiety and embodies the warning in Abū Juḥayfa's report; his satiety then exceeds his hunger. This does not belong to the prophetic practice,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٨٣

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 283

Volume Two, page 283

وَهُوَ مِنْ فِعْلِ الْمُتْرَفِينَ وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَعُدُّونَهُ سَرَفًا. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ إِذَا تَغَدَّى لَمْ يَتَعَشَّ، وَإِذَا تَعَشَّى لَمْ يَتَغَدَّ، وَكَانَ السَّلَفُ يَأْكُلُونَ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ أَكْلَةً. وَقَدْ رُوِيَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لِعَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا: إِيَّاكِ وَالْإِسْرَافَ، فَإِنَّ أَكْلَتَيْنِ فِي يَوْمٍ مِنَ الْإِسْرَافِ. وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا أَنْفَقُوا لَمْ يُسْرِفُوا وَلَمْ يُقْتِرُوا)، فَكَأَنَّ أَكْلَتَيْنِ فِي يَوْمٍ إِسْرَافٌ، وَأَكْلَةً فِي يَوْمَيْنِ إِقْتَارٌ، وَأَكْلَةً فِي يَوْمٍ قِوَامًا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ.

wahuwa min fiʿli al-mutrafīna waqad kānū yaʿuddūnahu sarafan. waqad rawaynā ʿan ʾabī saʿīdin al-khudriyyi ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu kāna ʾidhā taghaddā lam yataʿashsha, waʾidhā taʿashshā lam yataghadda, wakāna al-salafu yaʾkulūna fī kulli yawmin ʾaklatan. waqad ruwiya ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla liʿāʾishata raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā: ʾiyyāki wa-al-ʾisrāfa, faʾinna ʾaklatayni fī yawmin mina al-ʾisrāfi. waqad qāla Allāhu ʿazza wajalla: (wa-alladhīna ʾidhā ʾanfaqū lam yusrifū walam yuqtirū), fakaʾanna ʾaklatayni fī yawmin ʾisrāfun, waʾaklatan fī yawmayni ʾiqtārun, waʾaklatan fī yawmin qiwāman bayna dhālika.

but is the conduct of the pampered; they used to count it as extravagance. We have transmitted from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī about God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, that when he ate a morning meal, he did not eat an evening meal, and when he ate an evening meal, he did not eat a morning meal. The early authorities ate one meal each day. It is related that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said to ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her: “Beware of extravagance, for two meals in a day are extravagance.” God, mighty and majestic, said: “Those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor miserly.” Thus two meals in a day are, as it were, extravagance, one meal in two days miserliness, and one meal each day a just balance between them.

وَأَقُولُ عَلَى هَذَا إِنَّ أَكْلَ أَرْبَعَةِ أَرْغِفَةٍ سَرَفٌ، وَرَغِيفَيْنِ قَتْرٌ، وَثَلَاثَةَ أَرْغِفَةٍ قِوَامٌ حَسَنٌ؛ وَهَذَا أَعْدَلُ الْأَقْوَاتِ. وَلَا يُعْجِبُنِي أَكْلُ أَرْبَعَةِ أَرْغِفَةٍ فِي مَقَامٍ وَاحِدٍ لِأَنِّي لَا آمَنُ بِهِ اِزْدِيَادًا فَيَصِيرَ ذَلِكَ مَقْتًا. وَقَدْ يُرْوَى فِي خَبَرٍ: الْأَكْلُ عَلَى الشِّبَعِ يُورِثُ الْبَرَصَ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: إِنَّ مِنَ السَّرَفِ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ الْعَبْدُ كُلَّمَا يَشْتَهِيهِ.

waʾaqūlu ʿalā hādhā ʾinna ʾakla ʾarbaʿati ʾarghifatin sarafun, waraghīfayni qatrun, wathalāthata ʾarghifatin qiwāmun ḥasanun; wa-hādhā ʾaʿdalu al-ʾaqwāti. walā yuʿjibunī ʾaklu ʾarbaʿati ʾarghifatin fī maqāmin wāḥidin liʾannī lā ʾāmanu bihi izdiyādan fayaṣīra dhālika maqtan. waqad yurwā fī khabarin: al-ʾaklu ʿalā al-shibaʿi yūrithu al-baraṣa, waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: ʾinna mina al-sarafi ʾan yaʾkula al-ʿabdu kullamā yashtahīhi.

On this basis I say that eating four loaves is extravagance, two is stinting, and three is a good balance. This is the most balanced nourishment. I do not approve of eating four loaves at one sitting, for I cannot be sure it will not lead to an increase and so become an object of abhorrence. A report relates: “Eating when already full brings on leukoderma.” One of the early authorities said: “It is extravagant for a servant to eat whatever he desires.”

وَقَدْ كَانَ لِلصَّحَابَةِ أَكْلَتَانِ وَشَرْبَتَانِ، فَالْأَكْلَتَانِ الْوَجْبَةُ وَالْغَبُوقُ، فَالْوَجْبَةُ مِنَ الْوَقْتِ إِلَى الْوَقْتِ، وَكَقَوْلِكَ الْوَقْعَةُ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ: فَإِذَا وَجَبَتْ جُنُوبُهَا فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا؛ أَيْ إِذَا وَقَعَتْ جُنُوبُ الْبُدْنِ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ. وَالْغَبُوقُ أَنْ يَشْرَبَ مُذْقَةَ لَبَنٍ، أَوْ يَأْكُلَ كَفَّ تَمْرٍ عِنْدَ النَّوْمِ، أَوْ بَعْدَ عَتَمَةٍ، أَوْ يَكُونَ عِنْدَ الظَّهِيرَةِ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ سَحَرًا. وَالشَّرْبَتَانِ الْعَلَلُ وَالنَّهَلُ، فَالنَّهَلُ الشَّرْبَةُ الْأُولَى مِنَ اللَّبَنِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْوَجْبَةِ، وَالْعَلَلُ الشَّرْبَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْغَبُوقِ مِنْ نَقِيعِ تَمْرٍ أَوْ زَبِيبٍ يَقُومُ مَقَامَ الْأَكْلَتَيْنِ فَهُنَّ تَمَامُ الرِّيِّ، وَالْأُولَى عُلَالَةُ النَّفْسِ مِنَ الْعَطَشِ فَسُمِّيَ عَلَلًا.

waqad kāna li-l-ṣaḥābati ʾaklatāni washarbatāni, fa-al-ʾaklatāni al-wajbatu wa-al-ghabūqu, fa-al-wajbatu mina al-waqti ʾilā al-waqti, wakaqawlika al-waqʿatu, waminhu qawluhu: faʾidhā wajabat junūbuhā fakulū minhā; ʾay ʾidhā waqaʿat junūbu al-budni ʿalā al-ʾarḍi. wa-al-ghabūqu ʾan yashraba mudhqata labanin, ʾaw yaʾkula kaffa tamrin ʿinda al-nawmi, ʾaw baʿda ʿatamatin, ʾaw yakūna ʿinda al-ẓahīrati, waqad yakūnu dhālika saḥaran. wa-al-sharbatāni al-ʿalalu wa-al-nahalu, fa-al-nahalu al-sharbatu al-ʾūlā mina al-labani bimanzilati al-wajbati, wa-al-ʿalalu al-sharbatu al-thāniyatu bimanzilati al-ghabūqi min naqīʿi tamrin ʾaw zabībin yaqūmu maqāma al-ʾaklatayni fahunna tamāmu al-riyyi, wa-al-ʾūlā ʿulālatu al-nafsi mina al-ʿaṭashi fasummiya ʿalalan.

The Companions had two kinds of eating and two kinds of drinking. The eating occasions were the wajba and the ghabūq. The wajba was a meal from one appointed time to the next; the word is like waqʿa, a falling, as in His saying: “When their flanks fall, eat of them,” meaning when the sacrificial camels' sides fall to the earth. The ghabūq was a little diluted milk or a handful of dates at bedtime, after nightfall, at midday, or sometimes before dawn. The two drinks were ʿalal and nahal. Nahal was the first drink of milk, corresponding to the wajba; ʿalal was a second drink, corresponding to the ghabūq, of water in which dates or raisins had soaked. These stood in place of the two meals and completed the quenching of thirst; the first relieved the self's thirst, whence the designation ʿalal.

وَكَانَ مِنْ أَخْلَاقِ السَّلَفِ تَرْكُ الشِّبَعِ اِخْتِيَارًا لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ لِخِفَّةِ الْجِسْمِ، أَوْ مُوَاسَاةِ الْفُقَرَاءِ، أَوْ مُسَاوَاةٍ لَهُمْ فِي الْحَالِ لِئَلَّا يَفْضُلَ عَلَيْهِمْ فِي حَالِهِمْ؛ وَلِهَذَا قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا: أَوَّلُ بِدْعَةٍ حَدَثَتْ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الشِّبَعُ، إِنَّ الْقَوْمَ لَمَّا شَبِعَتْ بُطُونُهُمْ جَمَحَتْ بِهِمْ نُفُوسُهُمْ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا. وَرَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ: كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَجُوعُ لَا مِنْ عَوَزٍ؛ أَيْ مُخْتَارًا لَهُ مَعَ الْإِمْكَانِ فِي الْأَوْقَاتِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: أَبْغَضُ الْأَشْيَاءِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بَطْنٌ مَلِيءٌ وَلَوْ مِنْ حَلَالٍ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَاهُ مُسْنَدًا.

wakāna min ʾakhlāqi al-salafi tarku al-shibaʿi ikhtiyāran liʾanfusihim likhiffati al-jismi, ʾaw muwāsāti al-fuqarāʾi, ʾaw musāwātin lahum fī al-ḥāli liʾallā yafḍula ʿalayhim fī ḥālihim; wali-hādhā qālat ʿāʾishatu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā: ʾawwalu bidʿatin ḥadathat baʿda rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-shibaʿu, ʾinna al-qawma lammā shabiʿat buṭūnuhum jamaḥat bihim nufūsuhum ʾilā al-dunyā. warawaynā fī khabarin: kāna rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yajūʿu lā min ʿawazin; ʾay mukhtāran lahu maʿa al-ʾimkāni fī al-ʾawqāti. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: ʾabghaḍu al-ʾashyāʾi ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla baṭnun malīʾun walaw min ḥalālin. waqad rawaynā maʿnāhu musnadan.

It was the early authorities' practice voluntarily to forgo satiety, to keep the body light, assist the poor, or share their condition so as not to enjoy an advantage over them. Thus ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her, said: “The first innovation after God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, was satiety. When people's bellies became full, their selves bolted with them toward the world.” We have transmitted in a report: “God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, went hungry, though not from destitution,” meaning that he sometimes chose it despite having the means. One scholar said: “The thing most hateful to God, mighty and majestic, is a full belly, even of lawful food.” We have transmitted its meaning through a connected chain.

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْإِسْرَائِيلِيِّ أَنَّ يَحْيَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ ظَهَرَ لَهُ إِبْلِيسُ فَرَأَى عَلَيْهِ مَعَالِيقَ مِنْ أَلْوَانِ الْأَصْبَاغِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: مَا هَذِهِ الْمَعَالِيقُ؟ قَالَ: شَهَوَاتُ بَنِي آدَمَ. قَالَ: فَهَلْ لِي فِيهَا شَيْءٌ؟ قَالَ: رُبَّمَا شَبِعْتَ فَثَقَّلْنَاكَ عَنِ الصَّلَاةِ وَعَنِ الذِّكْرِ. قَالَ: هَلْ غَيْرُ ذَلِكَ؟ قَالَ: لَا. قَالَ: لِلَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى عَلَيَّ أَنْ لَا أَمْلَأَ بَطْنِي مِنْ طَعَامٍ أَبَدًا. قَالَ إِبْلِيسُ: وَلِلَّهِ عَلَيَّ أَنْ لَا أَنْصَحَ مُسْلِمًا أَبَدًا. وَقَدْ كَانَ مِنْ أَخْلَاقِ التَّابِعِينَ الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الطُّعْمِ إِلَى أَحَدِ حَدَّيِ الْجُوعِ؛ الْأَوَّلِ مِنْهُمَا وَهُوَ أَرْبَعَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ سَاعَةً، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ

wafī al-khabari al-ʾisrāʾīliyyi ʾanna yaḥyā ʿalayhi al-salāmu ẓahara lahu ʾiblīsu faraʾā ʿalayhi maʿālīqa min ʾalwāni al-ʾaṣbāghi min kulli shayʾin, faqāla lahu: mā hādhihi al-maʿālīqu? qāla: shahawātu banī ʾādama. qāla: fahal lī fīhā shayʾun? qāla: rubbamā shabiʿta fathaqqalnāka ʿani al-ṣalāti waʿani al-dhikri. qāla: hal ghayru dhālika? qāla: lā. qāla: li-llāhi tabāraka wataʿālā ʿalayya ʾan lā ʾamlaʾa baṭnī min ṭaʿāmin ʾabadan. qāla ʾiblīsu: wa-li-llāhi ʿalayya ʾan lā ʾanṣaḥa musliman ʾabadan. waqad kāna min ʾakhlāqi al-tābiʿīna al-ṣabru ʿalā al-ṭuʿmi ʾilā ʾaḥadi ḥaddayi al-jūʿi; al-ʾawwali minhumā wahuwa ʾarbaʿatun waʿishrūna sāʿatan, walam yakun min

An Israelite report tells that Iblīs appeared to John, peace be upon him, who saw hanging on him things of every sort in many colors. He asked: “What are these hanging things?” He answered: “The appetites of Adam's children.” He asked: “Do I have any share in them?” He said: “Sometimes you eat your fill, and we make you too heavy for prayer and remembrance.” He asked: “Anything else?” He answered: “No.” John said: “I owe God, blessed and exalted, the pledge never to fill my belly with food.” Iblīs said: “And I owe God the pledge never to give sincere counsel to a Muslim.” Among the Successors' practices was patiently abstaining from food until one of hunger's two limits, the first, twenty-four hours. It was not among

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٨٤

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 284

Volume Two, page 284

أَخْلَاقِهِمُ الْأَكْلُ لِلْعَادَةِ وَلَا تَخَيُّرُ الْأَطْعِمَةِ، وَلَا تَعَمُّدُ الْخُبْزِ خَاصَّةً دُونَ غَيْرِهِ مِنَ الْمَأْكُولَاتِ إِذَا سَدَّ الْجَوْعَةَ وَقَامَتْ بِهِ الْبُلْغَةُ. وَكَانَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ يَقُولُ: إِذَا عَرَضَتْ لَكَ حَاجَةٌ مِنْ حَوَائِجِ الْآخِرَةِ فَاِقْضِهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ تَأْكُلَ، فَمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ شَبِعَ إِلَّا نَقَصَ مِنْ عَقْلِهِ، أَوْ قَالَ: تَغَيَّرَ عَقْلُهُ عَمَّا كَانَ عَلَيْهِ. وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: لَأَنْ أَتْرُكَ مِنْ عَشَائِي لُقْمَةً أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ قِيَامِ لَيْلَةٍ؛ هَذَا لِإِيثَارِهِ الْجُوعَ وَالتَّقَلُّلَ عَلَى الْعِبَادَةِ مَعَ التَّكَثُّرِ.

ʾakhlāqihimu al-ʾaklu li-l-ʿādati walā takhayyuru al-ʾaṭʿimati, walā taʿammudu al-khubzi khāṣṣatan dūna ghayrihi mina al-maʾkūlāti ʾidhā sadda al-jawʿata waqāmat bihi al-bulghatu. wakāna ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu yaqūlu: ʾidhā ʿaraḍat laka ḥājatun min ḥawāʾiji al-ʾākhirati fa-iqḍihā qabla ʾan taʾkula, famā min ʾaḥadin shabiʿa ʾillā naqaṣa min ʿaqlihi, ʾaw qāla: taghayyara ʿaqluhu ʿammā kāna ʿalayhi. wakāna yaqūlu: laʾan ʾatruka min ʿashāʾī luqmatan ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min qiyāmi laylatin; hādhā liʾīthārihi al-jūʿa wa-al-taqallula ʿalā al-ʿibādati maʿa al-takaththuri.

their practices to eat by habit, select foods, or deliberately seek bread rather than other foods that would allay hunger and provide subsistence. Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī used to say: “When a need concerning the hereafter presents itself, attend to it before eating. No one eats his fill without losing something of his understanding,” or he said, “without his understanding changing from what it was.” He also said: “Leaving one mouthful of my supper is dearer to me than standing in prayer for a night.” This was because he preferred hunger and scant eating to worship combined with abundant eating.

وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ وَغَيْرِهِ أَنَّ عَابِدًا دَعَا بَعْضَ إِخْوَانِهِ فَقَرَّبَ إِلَيْهِ رَغِيفَانِ، فَجَعَلَ أَخُوهُ يُقَلِّبُ بَعْضَ الْأَرْغِفَةِ لِيَخْتَارَ أَجْوَدَهَا، فَقَالَ لَهُ الْعَابِدُ: مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ تَصْنَعُ؟ أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ هَذَا الرَّغِيفَ الَّذِي رَغِبْتَ عَنْهُ وَلَمْ تَقْنَعْ بِهِ قَدْ عَمِلَ فِيهِ كَذَا وَكَذَا صَانِعٌ، وَظَهَرَتْ فِيهِ كَذَا وَكَذَا صَنْعَةٌ؛ مِنْهَا السَّحَابُ الَّذِي يَحْمِلُ الْمَاءَ، وَالْمَاءُ الَّذِي يَسْقِي الْأَرْضَ، وَالْأَرْضُ الَّتِي أَنْبَتَتْ، وَالرِّيَاحُ، وَالْبَهَائِمُ، وَبَنُو آدَمَ حَتَّى صَارَ إِلَيْكَ، ثُمَّ أَنْتَ بَعْدَ هَذَا تُقَلِّبُهُ لَا تَرْضَى بِهِ؟

warawaynā ʿan wahbi bni munabbihin waghayrihi ʾanna ʿābidan daʿā baʿḍa ʾikhwānihi faqarraba ʾilayhi raghīfāni, fajaʿala ʾakhūhu yuqallibu baʿḍa al-ʾarghifati liyakhtāra ʾajwadahā, faqāla lahu al-ʿābidu: min ʾayyi shayʾin taṣnaʿu? ʾamā ʿalimta ʾanna hādhā al-raghīfa alladhī raghibta ʿanhu walam taqnaʿ bihi qad ʿamila fīhi kadhā wakadhā ṣāniʿun, waẓaharat fīhi kadhā wakadhā ṣanʿatun; minhā al-saḥābu alladhī yaḥmilu al-māʾa, wa-al-māʾu alladhī yasqī al-ʾarḍa, wa-al-ʾarḍu allatī ʾanbatat, wa-al-riyāḥu, wa-al-bahāʾimu, wabanū ʾādama ḥattā ṣāra ʾilayka, thumma ʾanta baʿda hādhā tuqallibuhu lā tarḍā bihi?

We have transmitted from Wahb ibn Munabbih and others that a worshipper invited one of his brothers and set two loaves before him. His brother began turning the loaves over to choose the best. The worshipper said: “What are you doing? Do you not know that this loaf you have rejected and refused to be content with has involved so many makers and displayed so many kinds of workmanship? Among them are the clouds that carry water, the water that irrigates the earth, the earth that brings forth crops, the winds, beasts, and human beings, until it reaches you. After all this, you turn it over and remain dissatisfied?”

وَقَالَ الْآخَرُ زِيَادَةً فِي الْخَبَرِ: إِنَّ الرَّغِيفَ لَا يَسْتَدِيرُ فَيُوضَعُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْكَ حَتَّى يَعْمَلَ فِيهِ ثَلَاثُمِائَةٍ وَسِتُّونَ صَانِعًا وَصَنْعَةً؛ أَوَّلُهُمْ مِيكَائِيلُ الَّذِي يَكِيلُ الْمَاءَ مِنْ خَزَائِنِ الرَّحْمَةِ، ثُمَّ الْمَلَائِكَةُ الَّتِي تَزْجُرُ السَّحَابَ وَالشَّمْسُ الْقَمَرُ وَالْأَفْلَاكُ وَمَلَكُوتُ الْهَوَاءِ وَدَوَابُّ الْأَرْضِ، وَآخِرُ ذَلِكَ الْخَبَّازُ، (وَإِنْ تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا).

waqāla al-ʾākharu ziyādatan fī al-khabari: ʾinna al-raghīfa lā yastadīru fayūḍaʿu bayna yadayka ḥattā yaʿmala fīhi thalāthumiʾatin wasittūna ṣāniʿan waṣanʿatan; ʾawwaluhum mīkāʾīlu alladhī yakīlu al-māʾa min khazāʾini al-raḥmati, thumma al-malāʾikatu allatī tazjuru al-saḥāba wa-al-shamsu al-qamaru wa-al-ʾaflāku wamalakūtu al-hawāʾi wadawābbu al-ʾarḍi, waʾākhiru dhālika al-khabbāzu, (waʾin taʿuddū niʿmata Allāhi lā tuḥṣūhā).

Another transmitter added: “A loaf does not become round and get placed before you until three hundred and sixty makers and kinds of workmanship have acted upon it. First is Michael, who measures out water from the treasuries of mercy; then the angels who drive the clouds, the sun, the moon, the celestial spheres, the kingdom of the air, and earth's creatures; last of all is the baker. ‘If you count God's blessing, you cannot enumerate it.’”

وَالْخَبَرُ الْمَشْهُورُ: مَا مَلَأَ اِبْنُ آدَمَ وِعَاءً شَرًّا مِنْ بَطْنٍ، فَدَلَّ أَنَّ مَا نَقَصَ مِنْ مِلْءِ الْبَطْنِ فَذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: حَسْبُ اِبْنِ آدَمَ لُقَيْمَاتٌ يَشْدُدْنَ صُلْبَهُ، فَفِي قَوْلِهِ لُقَيْمَاتٌ مَعْنَيَانِ: التَّقَلُّلُ وَالتَّصْغِيرُ، لِأَنَّ التَّاءَ تَدْخُلُ لِلْجَمْعِ الْقَلِيلِ وَهُوَ مَا دُونَ الْعَشَرَةِ مِنَ الْعَدَدِ، وَالْمَعْنَى الْآخَرُ هُوَ التَّصْغِيرُ لِأَنَّ لُقَيْمَةً تَصْغِيرُ لُقْمَةٍ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: فَإِنْ لَمْ يَفْعَلْ فَثُلُثُ طَعَامٍ وَثُلُثُ شَرَابٍ وَثُلُثٌ لِلنَّفَسِ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: وَثُلُثٌ لِلذِّكْرِ، فَدَلَّ أَيْضًا أَنَّ مِلْءَ الْبَطْنِ يَمْنَعُ مِنَ الذِّكْرِ وَمَا مَنَعَ مِنَ الذِّكْرِ فَهُوَ شَرٌّ. قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: (وَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى)، وَقَالَ: (وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى).

wa-al-khabaru al-mashhūru: mā malaʾa ibnu ʾādama wiʿāʾan sharran min baṭnin, fadalla ʾanna mā naqaṣa min milʾi al-baṭni fa-dhālika khayrun, thumma qāla: ḥasbu ibni ʾādama luqaymātun yashdudna ṣulbahu, fafī qawlihi luqaymātun maʿnayāni: al-taqallulu wa-al-taṣghīru, liʾanna al-tāʾa tadkhulu li-l-jamʿi al-qalīli wahuwa mā dūna al-ʿasharati mina al-ʿadadi, wa-al-maʿnā al-ʾākharu huwa al-taṣghīru liʾanna luqaymatan taṣghīru luqmatin. thumma qāla: faʾin lam yafʿal fathuluthu ṭaʿāmin wathuluthu sharābin wathuluthun li-l-nafasi, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: wathuluthun li-l-dhikri, fadalla ʾayḍan ʾanna milʾa al-baṭni yamnaʿu mina al-dhikri wamā manaʿa mina al-dhikri fahuwa sharrun. qāla Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā: (wa-Allāhu khayrun waʾabqā), waqāla: (wa-al-ʾākhiratu khayrun waʾabqā).

The well-known report says: “The son of Adam fills no vessel worse than a belly.” It indicates that whatever falls short of filling the belly is better. Then he said: “A few little mouthfuls to support his spine suffice the son of Adam.” “A few little mouthfuls” conveys both fewness and smallness: the tāʾ marks a plural of paucity, a number below ten, while luqayma is the diminutive of luqma, a mouthful. He then said: “If he will not do that, then a third for food, a third for drink, and a third for breathing”; in another wording, “a third for remembrance.” This also indicates that a full belly prevents remembrance, and whatever prevents remembrance is evil. God, glorified and exalted, said: “God is better and more enduring”; and He said: “The hereafter is better and more enduring.”

وَمَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ثُلُثُ طَعَامٍ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ شِبَعَهُ الْمُعْتَادَ فَيَصِيرَ ثُلُثُ الشِّبَعِ قِوَامَ الْجَسَدِ بِاِعْتِيَادٍ ثَانٍ، كَمَا كَانَ مِلْءُ الْبَطْنِ مِنَ الشِّبَعِ هُوَ الْعَادَةَ الْأُولَى، وَثُلُثُ الشِّبَعِ هُوَ ثَمَانُ أَوَاقٍ؛ فَهَذَا عَلَى مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ: طَعَامُ الْوَاحِدِ يَكْفِي الِاِثْنَيْنِ وَطَعَامُ الِاِثْنَيْنِ يَكْفِي الْأَرْبَعَةَ. فَفِي هَذَا خَمْسَةُ أَوْجُهٍ، قَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا الْبَصْرِيِّينَ: طَعَامُ الْوَاحِدِ شِبَعًا يَكْفِي الِاِثْنَيْنِ قُوتًا، وَطَعَامُ الِاِثْنَيْنِ

wamaʿnā qawlihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: thuluthu ṭaʿāmin ʾan yaʾkula shibaʿahu al-muʿtāda fayaṣīra thuluthu al-shibaʿi qiwāma al-jasadi bi-iʿtiyādin thānin, kamā kāna milʾu al-baṭni mina al-shibaʿi huwa al-ʿādata al-ʾūlā, wathuluthu al-shibaʿi huwa thamānu ʾawāqin; fa-hādhā ʿalā maʿnā al-khabari al-ʾākhari: ṭaʿāmu al-wāḥidi yakfī al-ithnayni waṭaʿāmu al-ithnayni yakfī al-ʾarbaʿata. fafī hādhā khamsatu ʾawjuhin, qāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā al-baṣriyyīna: ṭaʿāmu al-wāḥidi shibaʿan yakfī al-ithnayni qūtan, waṭaʿāmu al-ithnayni

The meaning of his saying, may God bless him and grant him peace, “a third for food,” is that he eats his accustomed amount for satiety, so that through a new habit a third of satiety becomes the body's sustenance, just as filling the belly had been the former habit. A third of satiety is eight ūqiyyas. This accords with the other report: “One person's food suffices two, and two people's food suffices four.” There are five interpretations. Some of our Basran scholars said: “What satiates one sustains two, and what satiates two

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٨٥

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 285

Volume Two, page 285

شِبَعًا يَكْفِي الْأَرْبَعَةَ قُوتًا. وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ: طَعَامُ الْمُسْلِمِ يَكْفِي مُؤْمِنَيْنِ، وَطَعَامُ مُسْلِمَيْنِ يَكْفِي أَرْبَعَةً مِنْ خُصُوصِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ. وَيَجُوزُ أَيْضًا أَنْ يَكُونَ طَعَامُ الْوَاحِدِ مِنَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ يَكْفِي مُسْلِمَيْنِ عَلَى مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: الْمُؤْمِنُ يَأْكُلُ فِي مِعًى وَاحِدٍ وَالْمُنَافِقُ فِي سَبْعَةِ أَمْعَاءٍ. وَيَصْلُحُ أَنْ يَكُونَ مَعْنَاهُ طَعَامُ الْوَاحِدِ مِنَ الصُّنَّاعِ الْمُتَصَرِّفِينَ فِي الْمَعَايِشِ يَكْفِي اِثْنَيْنِ مِمَّنْ هُوَ قَاعِدٌ لَا يَتَصَرَّفُ، وَيَصْلُحُ أَيْضًا طَعَامُ الْوَاحِدِ مِنَ الْمُفْطِرِينَ يَكْفِي طَعَامَ صَائِمَيْنِ مِنَ الْخُصُوصِ.

shibaʿan yakfī al-ʾarbaʿata qūtan. waminhum man qāla: ṭaʿāmu al-muslimi yakfī muʾminayni, waṭaʿāmu muslimayni yakfī ʾarbaʿatan min khuṣūṣi al-muʾminīna. wayajūzu ʾayḍan ʾan yakūna ṭaʿāmu al-wāḥidi mina al-munāfiqīna yakfī muslimayni ʿalā maʿnā qawlihi: al-muʾminu yaʾkulu fī miʿan wāḥidin wa-al-munāfiqu fī sabʿati ʾamʿāʾin. wayaṣluḥu ʾan yakūna maʿnāhu ṭaʿāmu al-wāḥidi mina al-ṣunnāʿi al-mutaṣarrifīna fī al-maʿāyishi yakfī ithnayni mimman huwa qāʿidun lā yataṣarrafu, wayaṣluḥu ʾayḍan ṭaʿāmu al-wāḥidi mina al-mufṭirīna yakfī ṭaʿāma ṣāʾimayni mina al-khuṣūṣi.

sustains four.” Others said: “One Muslim's food suffices two believers, and two Muslims' food suffices four of the elect believers.” It may also mean that one hypocrite's food suffices two Muslims, in accordance with his saying: “The believer eats into one intestine, and the hypocrite into seven.” It can also mean that the food of one craftsman actively earning a livelihood suffices two people who remain seated and inactive. Or the food of one person who is not fasting may suffice as the food of two fasting people among the elect.

وَفِي خَبَرِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ حِينَ قَالَ لِاِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ وَأَبِي مُوسَى فِي قِصَّةِ الْمُرْتَدِّ الَّذِي قَتَلَاهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَسْتَتِيبَاهُ وَيَحْكُمَا: أَلَا طَيَّنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ بَيْتًا وَأَلْقَيْتُمْ إِلَيْهِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ رَغِيفًا ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ، فَلَعَلَّهُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ وَيَرْجِعَ إِلَى الْإِسْلَامِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي لَمْ آمُرْ وَلَمْ أَعْلَمْ وَلَمْ أَرْضَ إِذْ بَلَغَنِي. فَدَلَّ هَذَا أَنَّ فِي كُلِّ رَغِيفٍ كِفَايَةَ يَوْمٍ، وَثَلَاثَةُ أَرْغِفَةٍ عِنْدَنَا بِالْحِجَازِ رِطْلٌ، لِأَنَّ الرِّطْلَ الْمَكِّيَّ عَدَدُ سِتَّةِ أَقْرَاصٍ مُذْ ذَاكَ إِلَى يَوْمِنَا هَذَا، فَيَكُونُ كُلُّ رَغِيفٍ ثَمَانَ أَوَاقٍ؛ فَهَذَا كَمَا قُلْنَاهُ: إِنَّ ثَمَانِيَ أَوَاقٍ ثُلُثُ الشِّبَعِ لِقَوْلِهِ ثُلُثُ طَعَامٍ بَعْدَ قَوْلِهِ لُقَيْمَاتٌ جَمْعٌ لِمَا دُونَ الْعَشَرَةِ. وَهَذَا مُوَاطِئٌ لِمَا رُوِيَ عَنْ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَأْكُلُ سَبْعَ لُقَمٍ.

wafī khabari ʿumara raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ḥīna qāla li-ibni masʿūdin waʾabī mūsā fī qiṣṣati al-murtaddi alladhī qatalāhu qabla ʾan yastatībāhu wayaḥkumā: ʾalā ṭayyantum ʿalayhi baytan waʾalqaytum ʾilayhi kulla yawmin raghīfan thalāthata ʾayyāmin, falaʿallahu ʾan yatūba wayarjiʿa ʾilā al-ʾislāmi, Allāhumma ʾinnī lam ʾāmur walam ʾaʿlam walam ʾarḍa ʾidh balaghanī. fadalla hādhā ʾanna fī kulli raghīfin kifāyata yawmin, wathalāthatu ʾarghifatin ʿindanā bi-al-ḥijāzi riṭlun, liʾanna al-riṭla al-makkiyya ʿadadu sittati ʾaqrāṣin mudh dhāka ʾilā yawminā hādhā, fayakūnu kullu raghīfin thamāna ʾawāqin; fa-hādhā kamā qulnāhu: ʾinna thamāniya ʾawāqin thuluthu al-shibaʿi liqawlihi thuluthu ṭaʿāmin baʿda qawlihi luqaymātun jamʿun limā dūna al-ʿasharati. wa-hādhā muwāṭiʾun limā ruwiya ʿan ʿumara raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʾannahu kāna yaʾkulu sabʿa luqamin.

In the account of ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, he spoke to Ibn Masʿūd and Abū Mūsā about the apostate they had killed before asking him to repent and passing judgment: “Why did you not wall him into a room and give him a loaf each day for three days? Perhaps he would have repented and returned to Islam. O God, I neither commanded it nor knew of it, and I did not approve when it reached me.” This indicates that each loaf is sufficient for a day. Here in the Hijaz three loaves are a raṭl, for a Meccan raṭl has numbered six flat cakes from then until our own time; each loaf is thus eight ūqiyyas. As we said, eight ūqiyyas are a third of satiety, according to “a third for food,” following “a few little mouthfuls,” a plural for fewer than ten. This accords with the report that ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, used to eat seven mouthfuls.

وَحَدَّثُونَا فِي أَخْبَارِ الْخُلَفَاءِ أَنَّ الرَّشِيدَ جَمَعَ أَطِبَّاءَ: هِنْدِيٌّ، وَرُومِيٌّ، وَعِرَاقِيٌّ، وَسَوَادِيٌّ، فَقَالَ لَهُمْ: لِيَصِفْ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْكُمُ الدَّوَاءَ الَّذِي لَا دَاءَ فِيهِ. فَقَالَ الْهِنْدِيُّ: الدَّوَاءُ الَّذِي لَا دَاءَ فِيهِ عِنْدِي هُوَ الْإِهْلِيلَجُ الْأَسْوَدُ. وَقَالَ الرُّومِيُّ: الدَّوَاءُ الَّذِي لَا دَاءَ فِيهِ حَبُّ الرَّشَادِ الْأَبْيَضُ. وَقَالَ الْعِرَاقِيُّ: الدَّوَاءُ الَّذِي لَا دَاءَ فِيهِ الْمَاءُ الْحَارُّ. فَقَالَ السَّوَادِيُّ وَكَانَ أَعْلَمَهُمْ: إِنَّ الْإِهْلِيلَجَ يَعْفِصُ الْمَعِدَةَ وَهَذَا دَاءٌ، وَإِنَّ حَبَّ الرَّشَادِ يُرِقُّ الْمَعِدَةَ وَهَذَا دَاءٌ، وَإِنَّ الْمَاءَ الْحَارَّ يُرْخِي الْمَعِدَةَ وَهَذَا دَاءٌ. قَالُوا: فَمَا عِنْدَكَ؟ قَالَ: الدَّوَاءُ الَّذِي لَا دَاءَ فِيهِ أَنْ لَا تَأْكُلَ الطَّعَامَ حَتَّى تَشْتَهِيَهُ وَتَرْفَعَ يَدَكَ عَنْهُ وَأَنْتَ تَشْتَهِيهِ. فَقَالُوا: صَدَقَ.

waḥaddathūnā fī ʾakhbāri al-khulafāʾi ʾanna al-rashīda jamaʿa ʾaṭibbāʾa: hindiyyun, warūmiyyun, waʿirāqiyyun, wasawādiyyun, faqāla lahum: liyaṣif kullu wāḥidin minkumu al-dawāʾa alladhī lā dāʾa fīhi. faqāla al-hindiyyu: al-dawāʾu alladhī lā dāʾa fīhi ʿindī huwa al-ʾihlīlaju al-ʾaswadu. waqāla al-rūmiyyu: al-dawāʾu alladhī lā dāʾa fīhi ḥabbu al-rashādi al-ʾabyaḍu. waqāla al-ʿirāqiyyu: al-dawāʾu alladhī lā dāʾa fīhi al-māʾu al-ḥārru. faqāla al-sawādiyyu wakāna ʾaʿlamahum: ʾinna al-ʾihlīlaja yaʿfiṣu al-maʿidata wa-hādhā dāʾun, waʾinna ḥabba al-rashādi yuriqqu al-maʿidata wa-hādhā dāʾun, waʾinna al-māʾa al-ḥārra yurkhī al-maʿidata wa-hādhā dāʾun. qālū: famā ʿindaka? qāla: al-dawāʾu alladhī lā dāʾa fīhi ʾan lā taʾkula al-ṭaʿāma ḥattā tashtahiyahu watarfaʿa yadaka ʿanhu waʾanta tashtahīhi. faqālū: ṣadaqa.

They related to us among the accounts of the caliphs that al-Rashīd gathered physicians: an Indian, a Byzantine, an Iraqi, and a man from the Sawād. He said: “Let each of you describe the remedy that contains no illness.” The Indian said: “For me, the remedy without illness is black myrobalan.” The Byzantine said: “The remedy without illness is white cress seed.” The Iraqi said: “The remedy without illness is hot water.” The man from the Sawād, the most learned of them, said: “Myrobalan constricts the stomach, and that is an ailment; cress seed thins the stomach, and that is an ailment; hot water relaxes the stomach, and that is an ailment.” They asked: “What do you propose?” He replied: “The remedy without illness is not to eat until you desire food, and to withdraw your hand while you still desire it.” They said: “He has spoken truly.”

وَحَدَّثَنِي بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ قَالَ: ذَكَرْتُ لِبَعْضِ الْفَلَاسِفَةِ مِنْ أَطِبَّاءِ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ قَوْلَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ثُلُثُ طَعَامٍ، وَثُلُثُ شَرَابٍ، وَثُلُثُ نَفَسٍ، فَتَعَجَّبَ مِنْهُ وَاِسْتَحْسَنَهُ وَقَالَ: مَا سَمِعْتُ كَلَامًا فِي قِلَّةِ الْأَكْلِ أَحْكَمَ مِنْ هَذَا وَإِنَّهُ لَكَلَامُ حَكِيمٍ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: جَهَدَتِ الْأَطِبَّاءُ مِنَ الْفَلَاسِفَةِ أَنْ يَقُولُوا مِثْلَ هَذَا فِي التَّقَلُّلِ مِنَ الْأَكْلِ فَلَمْ يَهْتَدُوا إِلَيْهِ، فَأَكْثَرُ مَا قَالُوا: لَا تَقْعُدْ عَلَى طَعَامِكَ حَتَّى تَشْتَهِيَهُ وَتَرْفَعَ يَدَكَ عَنْهُ وَأَنْتَ تَشْتَهِيهِ. وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ: لَا يَأْكُلُ إِلَّا بَعْدَ الْجُوعِ وَيَرْفَعُ قَبْلَ الشِّبَعِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ: لَا يَأْكُلُ إِلَّا بَعْدَ الْجُوعِ الْمُفْرِطِ وَلَا يَشْبَعُ شَدِيدًا، وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ مُرَادُهُ هَذَا الَّذِي ذَكَرَهُ نَبِيُّكُمْ.

waḥaddathanī baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi qāla: dhakartu libaʿḍi al-falāsifati min ʾaṭibbāʾi ʾahli al-kitābi qawla al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: thuluthu ṭaʿāmin, wathuluthu sharābin, wathuluthu nafasin, fataʿajjaba minhu wa-istaḥsanahu waqāla: mā samiʿtu kalāman fī qillati al-ʾakli ʾaḥkama min hādhā waʾinnahu lakalāmu ḥakīmin. thumma qāla: jahadati al-ʾaṭibbāʾu mina al-falāsifati ʾan yaqūlū mithla hādhā fī al-taqalluli mina al-ʾakli falam yahtadū ʾilayhi, faʾaktharu mā qālū: lā taqʿud ʿalā ṭaʿāmika ḥattā tashtahiyahu watarfaʿa yadaka ʿanhu waʾanta tashtahīhi. waminhum man qāla: lā yaʾkulu ʾillā baʿda al-jūʿi wayarfaʿu qabla al-shibaʿi, waminhum man qāla: lā yaʾkulu ʾillā baʿda al-jūʿi al-mufriṭi walā yashbaʿu shadīdan, waʾinnamā kāna murāduhu hādhā alladhī dhakarahu nabiyyukum.

A scholar told me: “I mentioned to a philosopher among the physicians of the People of the Book the saying of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, ‘A third for food, a third for drink, and a third for breath.’ He marveled at it, admired it, and said: ‘I have never heard anything wiser concerning eating little. These are truly a sage's words.’ He then said: ‘Physician-philosophers have striven to express something like this about scant eating but have not found it. The most they have said is: Do not sit down to food until you desire it, and withdraw your hand while you still desire it. Some have said: Eat only after hunger, and stop before satiety. Others: Eat only after intense hunger and do not become excessively full. Their intention was precisely what your Prophet described.’”

وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا يَقُولُ: مَنْ أَكَلَ خُبْزَ الْحِنْطَةِ بَحْتًا بِأَدَبٍ لَمْ يَعْتَلَّ إِلَّا عِلَّةَ الْمَوْتِ. قِيلَ لَهُ: وَمَا الْأَدَبُ؟ قَالَ: يَأْكُلُ بَعْدَ الْجُوعِ، وَيَرْفَعُ قَبْلَ الشِّبَعِ. وَالْأَصْلُ فِي هَذَا أَنَّ الْعِلَلَ دَاخِلَةٌ عَلَى الْأَجْسَامِ مِنِ اِخْتِلَافِ نَبَاتِ الْأَرْضِ، لِأَنَّ الْمَعِدَةَ مُرَكَّبَةٌ عَلَى طَبَائِعَ أَرْبَعٍ: الْحَرَارَةِ،

waqad kāna baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā yaqūlu: man ʾakala khubza al-ḥinṭati baḥtan biʾadabin lam yaʿtalla ʾillā ʿillata al-mawti. qīla lahu: wamā al-ʾadabu? qāla: yaʾkulu baʿda al-jūʿi, wayarfaʿu qabla al-shibaʿi. wa-al-ʾaṣlu fī hādhā ʾanna al-ʿilala dākhilatun ʿalā al-ʾajsāmi mini ikhtilāfi nabāti al-ʾarḍi, liʾanna al-maʿidata murakkabatun ʿalā ṭabāʾiʿa ʾarbaʿin: al-ḥarārati,

One of our scholars used to say: “Whoever eats plain wheat bread with proper discipline will suffer no illness except the illness of death.” Asked what that discipline was, he answered: “To eat after hunger and stop before satiety.” Its basis is that ailments enter bodies through the differing plants of the earth, for the stomach is constituted according to four qualities: heat,

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٨٦

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 286

Volume Two, page 286

وَالْبُرُودَةِ، وَالرُّطُوبَةِ، وَالْيُبُوسَةِ. وَكَذَلِكَ مَنَابِتُ الْأَرْضِ عَلَى هَذِهِ الطَّبَائِعِ، فَإِذَا أَكْثَرَ مِنِ اِخْتِلَافِ مَنَابِتِهَا أَمَالَتِ الْحَرَارَةُ وَالْبُرُودَةُ مِنَ النَّبَاتِ غَرَائِزَ الطَّبَائِعِ مِنَ الْحَرَارَةِ وَالْبُرُودَةِ مِنَ الْمَعِدَةِ، وَأَمَالَتِ الرُّطُوبَةُ وَالْيُبُوسَةُ مِنَ النَّبَاتِ غَرَائِزَ الطَّبَائِعِ مِنَ الرُّطُوبَةِ وَالْيُبُوسَةِ، فَزَادَ بَعْضٌ عَلَى بَعْضٍ وَقَوِيَ وَصْفٌ عَلَى مِثْلِهِ فَكَانَتِ الْأَمْرَاضُ مِنْ مِثْلِ ذَلِكَ، لِأَنَّ كُلَّ مَأْكُولٍ مِنْ نَبَاتِ الْأَكْلِ يَعْمَلُ فِي وَصْفٍ مِنْ مَعَانِي الْجِسْمِ.

wa-al-burūdati, wa-al-ruṭūbati, wa-al-yubūsati. wa-kadhālika manābitu al-ʾarḍi ʿalā hādhihi al-ṭabāʾiʿi, faʾidhā ʾakthara mini ikhtilāfi manābitihā ʾamālati al-ḥarāratu wa-al-burūdatu mina al-nabāti gharāʾiza al-ṭabāʾiʿi mina al-ḥarārati wa-al-burūdati mina al-maʿidati, waʾamālati al-ruṭūbatu wa-al-yubūsatu mina al-nabāti gharāʾiza al-ṭabāʾiʿi mina al-ruṭūbati wa-al-yubūsati, fazāda baʿḍun ʿalā baʿḍin waqawiya waṣfun ʿalā mithlihi fakānati al-ʾamrāḍu min mithli dhālika, liʾanna kulla maʾkūlin min nabāti al-ʾakli yaʿmalu fī waṣfin min maʿānī al-jismi.

cold, moisture, and dryness. The earth's vegetation likewise follows these qualities. When a person consumes much varied vegetation, its heat and cold incline the stomach's innate qualities of heat and cold, while its moisture and dryness incline the innate qualities of moisture and dryness. One then exceeds another and a quality reinforces its like, producing illness in this manner, for every edible plant acts upon some quality of the body.

وَإِنَّ الْحِنْطَةَ مُخَالِفَةٌ لِسَائِرِ نَبَاتِ الْأَرْضِ الْمُعْتَدِلَةِ فِي الطَّبَائِعِ الْأَرْبَعِ كَاِعْتِدَالِ الْمَاءِ فِي سَائِرِ الْأَشْرِبَةِ، وَقَدْ شَبَّهُوا لَحْمَ الدُّرَّاجِ فِي خِفَّتِهِ وَقِلَّةِ دُهْنِهِ مِنْ سَائِرِ اللُّحُومِ بِطَبْعِ الْحِنْطَةِ فِي سَائِرِ الْحُبُوبِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْأَطِبَّاءِ: كُلْ مِنَ الْخُبْزِ بَحْتًا مَا شِئْتَ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَضُرُّكَ. وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ: أَكْلُ الْخُبْزِ وَحْدَهُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْأُدْمِ الْمُرْدِي. وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: لَمْ يُدْخِلِ الْإِنْسَانُ إِلَى مَعِدَتِهِ أَنْفَعَ مِنَ الرُّمَّانِ، وَلَا أَضَرَّ مِنَ الْمَالِحِ، وَلَأَنْ يَتَقَلَّلَ مِنَ الْمَالِحِ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يَسْتَكْثِرَ مِنَ الرُّمَّانِ.

waʾinna al-ḥinṭata mukhālifatun lisāʾiri nabāti al-ʾarḍi al-muʿtadilati fī al-ṭabāʾiʿi al-ʾarbaʿi ka-iʿtidāli al-māʾi fī sāʾiri al-ʾashribati, waqad shabbahū laḥma al-durrāji fī khiffatihi waqillati duhnihi min sāʾiri al-luḥūmi biṭabʿi al-ḥinṭati fī sāʾiri al-ḥubūbi. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʾaṭibbāʾi: kul mina al-khubzi baḥtan mā shiʾta faʾinnahu lā yaḍurruka. waqāla ghayruhu: ʾaklu al-khubzi waḥdahu khayrun mina al-ʾudmi al-murdī. waqāla baʿḍuhum: lam yudkhili al-ʾinsānu ʾilā maʿidatihi ʾanfaʿa mina al-rummāni, walā ʾaḍarra mina al-māliḥi, walaʾan yataqallala mina al-māliḥi khayrun lahu min ʾan yastakthira mina al-rummāni.

Wheat differs from the other plants of the earth in its balance among the four qualities, just as water is balanced among drinks. They have compared francolin meat, for its lightness and low fat among meats, to wheat's nature among grains. One physician said: “Eat as much plain bread as you wish; it will not harm you.” Another said: “Eating bread alone is better than a harmful condiment.” Another said: “A person has put nothing more beneficial than pomegranate into his stomach, and nothing more harmful than salted food. Yet eating little salted food is better for him than eating much pomegranate.”

وَقَدْ مُثِّلَ الْأُتْرُجُّ مِنْ سَائِرِ الْفَاكِهَةِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْمَعِدَةِ فِي الطَّبَائِعِ الْأَرْبَعِ، وَقَدْ شَبَّهَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْمُؤْمِنَ بِالْأُتْرُجَّةِ طَعْمُهَا طَيِّبٌ وَرِيحُهَا طَيِّبٌ؛ فَهَذِهِ لَطِيفَةٌ مِنَ اللَّطِيفِ، وَحِكْمَةٌ مِنَ الْحَكِيمِ تَعَالَى. إِذَا أَرَادَ صِحَّةَ جِسْمِ عَبْدٍ أَوْحَى إِلَى الْمَعِدَةِ أَنْ يَأْخُذَ كُلُّ طَبْعٍ مِنْهَا ضِدَّهُ مِنْ نَبَاتِ الْأَرْضِ الَّذِي وَقَعَ فِي الْمَعِدَةِ، فَيَأْخُذَ طَبْعُ الْحَرَارَةِ طَبْعَ الْبُرُودَةِ، وَيَأْخُذَ طَبْعُ الرُّطُوبَةِ طَبْعَ الْيُبُوسَةِ مِنَ الْمَأْكُولِ، فَتَعْتَدِلَ الطَّبَائِعُ، فَاِسْتَوَى الْمِزَاجُ، فَيَكُونُ ذَلِكَ سَبَبًا لِصِحَّةِ الْجِسْمِ مِنْ عِلَلِهِ.

waqad muththila al-ʾutrujju min sāʾiri al-fākihati ʿalā sāʾiri al-maʿidati fī al-ṭabāʾiʿi al-ʾarbaʿi, waqad shabbaha rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-muʾmina bi-al-ʾutrujjati ṭaʿmuhā ṭayyibun warīḥuhā ṭayyibun; fa-hādhihi laṭīfatun mina al-laṭīfi, waḥikmatun mina al-ḥakīmi taʿālā. ʾidhā ʾarāda ṣiḥḥata jismi ʿabdin ʾawḥā ʾilā al-maʿidati ʾan yaʾkhudha kullu ṭabʿin minhā ḍiddahu min nabāti al-ʾarḍi alladhī waqaʿa fī al-maʿidati, fayaʾkhudha ṭabʿu al-ḥarārati ṭabʿa al-burūdati, wayaʾkhudha ṭabʿu al-ruṭūbati ṭabʿa al-yubūsati mina al-maʾkūli, fataʿtadila al-ṭabāʾiʿu, fa-istawā al-mizāju, fayakūnu dhālika sababan liṣiḥḥati al-jismi min ʿilalihi.

Among fruits the citron has been likened to the whole stomach in its four qualities. God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, compared the believer to the citron, whose taste and fragrance are good. This is a subtle favor from the Subtle One and wisdom from the Wise One, exalted is He. When He wills a servant's bodily health, He inspires the stomach so that each of its qualities takes its opposite from the earthly vegetation that has entered it: heat takes cold, and moisture takes dryness from the food. The qualities become balanced, the temperament is even, and this causes the body to recover from its ailments.

فَإِذَا أَرَادَ أَسْقَامَ جِسْمٍ أَمَرَ كُلَّ طَبِيعَةٍ أَنْ تَأْخُذَ جِنْسَهَا وَمِثْلَهَا مِنَ الْمَأْكُولَاتِ مِنْ نَبَاتِ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُ، فَتَضْطَرِبَ الْمِزَاجَاتُ، ثُمَّ يَدُورُ ذَلِكَ فِي الْجَسَدِ بِمَجَارِي الْعُرُوقِ وَمَصَبَّاتِهِ إِلَى الْأَعْضَاءِ الْمُتَفَاوِتَةِ الْأَدَوَاتِ، فَتَقَعُ كُلُّ أَدَاةٍ فِي عُضْوٍ ضِدِّهَا فَتَثْقُلُ بِهَا، وَيَغْشَى كُلَّ آلَةٍ مِنْ جَارِحَةٍ مَا لَا يُلَائِمُهَا مِنْ طَبْعِهَا فَيَسْقَمُ الْجِسْمُ وَتَتَفَاوَتُ الْعِلَلُ، فَيَكُونُ هَذَا سَبَبَ الْأَمْرَاضِ وَالْعَوَارِضِ، نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ، ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ.

faʾidhā ʾarāda ʾasqāma jismin ʾamara kulla ṭabīʿatin ʾan taʾkhudha jinsahā wamithlahā mina al-maʾkūlāti min nabāti al-ʾarḍi mithlahu, fataḍṭariba al-mizājātu, thumma yadūru dhālika fī al-jasadi bimajārī al-ʿurūqi wamaṣabbātihi ʾilā al-ʾaʿḍāʾi al-mutafāwitati al-ʾadawāti, fataqaʿu kullu ʾadātin fī ʿuḍwin ḍiddihā fatathqulu bihā, wayaghshā kulla ʾālatin min jāriḥatin mā lā yulāʾimuhā min ṭabʿihā fayasqamu al-jismu watatafāwatu al-ʿilalu, fayakūnu hādhā sababa al-ʾamrāḍi wa-al-ʿawāriḍi, naʿūdhu bi-Allāhi, dhālika taqdīru al-ʿazīzi al-ʿalīmi.

When He wills a body's illnesses, He commands each quality to take its own kind and likeness from the foods of the earth's vegetation. The temperaments become disturbed, and this circulates through the body along the channels of the veins and their outlets into organs with differing functions. Each instrument encounters an organ opposite to it and becomes burdensome there. Each bodily instrument is covered by a quality unsuited to its nature, so the body grows ill and its ailments differ. This is the cause of illnesses and afflictions. We seek refuge in God. That is the ordering of the Mighty, the Knowing.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا أَصْلَ بِنْيَةِ الْإِنْسَانِ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي صِفَةِ خَلْقِ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ. حَدَّثَنَا عَنِ الْبَرَاءِ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْمُنْعِمِ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي عَنِ اِبْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ الْيَمَانِيِّ أَنَّهُ وَجَدَ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ صِفَةَ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ حِينَ خَلَقَهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَاِبْتَدَعَهُ، فَقَالَ: إِنِّي خَلَقْتُ آدَمَ رَكَّبْتُ جَسَدَهُ مِنْ أَرْبَعَةِ أَشْيَاءَ، ثُمَّ جَعَلْتُهَا وِرَاثَةً فِي وَلَدِهِ تَنْمِي فِي أَجْسَادِهِمْ، وَيَنْمُونَ عَلَيْهَا. رَكَّبْتُ جَسَدَهُ مِنْ رَطْبٍ وَيَابِسٍ وَسُخْنٍ وَبَارِدٍ، وَذَلِكَ لِأَنِّي خَلَقْتُهُ مِنَ التُّرَابِ، وَرُطُوبَتُهُ مِنَ الْمَاءِ وَحَرَارَتُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِ النَّفْسِ، وَبُرُودَتُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِ الرُّوحِ.

waqad rawaynā ʾaṣla binyati al-ʾinsāni ʿani Allāhi taʿālā fī ṣifati khalqi ʾādama ʿalayhi al-salāmu. ḥaddathanā ʿani al-barāʾi qāla: ḥaddathanā ʿabdu al-munʿimi bnu ʾidrīsa qāla: ḥaddathanī ʾabī ʿani ibni munabbihin al-yamāniyyi ʾannahu wajada fī al-tawrāti ṣifata ʾādama ʿalayhi al-salāmu ḥīna khalaqahu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla wa-ibtadaʿahu, faqāla: ʾinnī khalaqtu ʾādama rakkabtu jasadahu min ʾarbaʿati ʾashyāʾa, thumma jaʿaltuhā wirāthatan fī waladihi tanmī fī ʾajsādihim, wayanmūna ʿalayhā. rakkabtu jasadahu min raṭbin wayābisin wasukhnin wabāridin, wa-dhālika liʾannī khalaqtuhu mina al-turābi, waruṭūbatuhu mina al-māʾi waḥarāratuhu min qibali al-nafsi, waburūdatuhu min qibali al-rūḥi.

We have transmitted the origin of the human constitution from God Most High in the description of Adam's creation, peace be upon him. It was related to us from al-Barāʾ, who said: “ʿAbd al-Munʿim ibn Idrīs related to us from his father, from Ibn Munabbih al-Yamānī, that he found in the Torah a description of Adam, peace be upon him, when God, mighty and majestic, created and originated him. He said: ‘I created Adam and constituted his body from four things, then made them an inheritance among his children: they grow in their bodies, and the children grow through them. I constituted his body from the moist, the dry, the hot, and the cold. For I created him from dust; his moisture is from water, his heat from the self, and his cold from the spirit.

ثُمَّ جَعَلْتُ فِي الرُّوحِ بَعْدَ هَذَا الْخَلْقِ الْأَوَّلِ أَرْبَعَةَ أَنْوَاعٍ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ هُنَّ مِلَاكُ الْجِسْمِ بِإِذْنِي وَقِوَامُهُ، لَا يَقُومُ الْجِسْمُ إِلَّا بِهِنَّ، وَلَا يَقُومُ مِنْهُنَّ وَاحِدَةٌ إِلَّا بِأُخْرَى مِنْهُنَّ: الْمِرَّةُ السَّوْدَاءُ وَالْمِرَّةُ الصَّفْرَاءُ وَالدَّمُ وَالْبَلْغَمُ. ثُمَّ أَسْكَتُّ بَعْضَ هَذَا الْخَلْقِ فِي بَعْضٍ، فَجَعَلْتُ مَسْكَنَ الْيُبُوسَةِ فِي الْمِرَّةِ السَّوْدَاءِ، وَمَسْكَنَ الرُّطُوبَةِ فِي الْمِرَّةِ الصَّفْرَاءِ، وَمَسْكَنَ الْحَرَارَةِ فِي الدَّمِ، وَمَسْكَنَ الْبُرُودَةِ فِي الْبَلْغَمِ. فَأَيُّمَا جَسَدٍ اِعْتَدَلَتْ فِيهِ هَذِهِ الْفِطَرُ الْأَرْبَعُ الَّتِي جَعَلْتُهَا مِلَاكَهُ وَقِوَامَهُ فَكَانَتْ كُلُّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِنْهُنَّ رُبْعًا لَا تَزِيدُ وَلَا تَنْقُصُ، كَمُلَتْ صِحَّتُهُ وَاِعْتَدَلَتْ بِنْيَتُهُ؛

thumma jaʿaltu fī al-rūḥi baʿda hādhā al-khalqi al-ʾawwali ʾarbaʿata ʾanwāʿin mina al-khalqi hunna milāku al-jismi biʾidhnī waqiwāmuhu, lā yaqūmu al-jismu ʾillā bihinna, walā yaqūmu minhunna wāḥidatun ʾillā biʾukhrā minhunna: al-mirratu al-sawdāʾu wa-al-mirratu al-ṣafrāʾu wa-al-damu wa-al-balghamu. thumma ʾaskattu baʿḍa hādhā al-khalqi fī baʿḍin, fajaʿaltu maskana al-yubūsati fī al-mirrati al-sawdāʾi, wamaskana al-ruṭūbati fī al-mirrati al-ṣafrāʾi, wamaskana al-ḥarārati fī al-dami, wamaskana al-burūdati fī al-balghami. faʾayyumā jasadin iʿtadalat fīhi hādhihi al-fiṭaru al-ʾarbaʿu allatī jaʿaltuhā milākahu waqiwāmahu fakānat kullu wāḥidatin minhunna rubʿan lā tazīdu walā tanquṣu, kamulat ṣiḥḥatuhu wa-iʿtadalat binyatuhu;

“‘After this first creation I then placed in the spirit four kinds of created substance that, by My leave, are the body's foundation and sustenance. The body stands only through them, and none stands without another: black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm. I then quieted some of these created things within others, making dryness dwell in black bile, moisture in yellow bile, heat in blood, and cold in phlegm. Any body in which these four dispositions that I made its foundation and sustenance are balanced, each a quarter, neither more nor less, possesses complete health and an even constitution.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٨٧

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 287

Volume Two, page 287

فَإِنْ زَادَ مِنْهُنَّ وَاحِدَةٌ عَلَيْهِنَّ قَهَرَتْهُنَّ وَمَالَتْ بِهِنَّ، وَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّقَمُ مِنْ نَاحِيَتِهِ بِقَدْرِ غَلَبَتِهَا حَتَّى تَضْعُفَ عَنْ طَاعَتِهِنَّ، وَتَعْجِزَ عَنْ مُقَارَبَتِهِنَّ. ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ بِطُولِهِ. وَقَدْ تَغْلِبُ الْحَرَارَةُ عَلَى بَعْضِ الْمُرِيدِينَ مِنْ قِبَلِ قُوَّةِ الْمِزَاجِ وَحِدَّةِ الشُّبُهَاتِ، فَيَظْهَرُ الطَّبْعُ فَيَتَّسِعُ الْمَنِيُّ عَلَى الْعَزَبِ، كَمَا تَقْوَى الْحَرَارَةُ فَيَنْبُعُ الدَّمُ؛ لِأَنَّ أَصْلَ الْمَنِيِّ هُوَ الدَّمُ يَتَصَاعَدُ فِي خَرَزَاتِ الصُّلْبِ وَهُنَاكَ مَسْكَنُهُ فَتُنْضِجُهُ الْحَرَارَةُ فَيَسْتَحِيلُ أَبْيَضَ، فَإِذَا اِمْتَلَأَتْ مِنْهُ خَرَزَاتُ الصُّلْبِ وَهُوَ الْفَقَارُ طَلَبَ الْخُرُوجَ مِنْ مَسْلَكِهِ فَقَوِيَتِ الصِّحَّةُ بِذَلِكَ، فَهَذَا حِينَ هَيَجَانِ الْإِنْسَانِ إِلَى النِّكَاحِ.

faʾin zāda minhunna wāḥidatun ʿalayhinna qaharathunna wamālat bihinna, wadakhala ʿalayhi al-saqamu min nāḥiyatihi biqadri ghalabatihā ḥattā taḍʿufa ʿan ṭāʿatihinna, wataʿjiza ʿan muqārabatihinna. thumma dhakara al-ḥadītha biṭūlihi. waqad taghlibu al-ḥarāratu ʿalā baʿḍi al-murīdīna min qibali quwwati al-mizāji waḥiddati al-shubuhāti, fayaẓharu al-ṭabʿu fayattasiʿu al-maniyyu ʿalā al-ʿazabi, kamā taqwā al-ḥarāratu fayanbuʿu al-damu; liʾanna ʾaṣla al-maniyyi huwa al-damu yataṣāʿadu fī kharazāti al-ṣulbi wahunāka maskanuhu fatunḍijuhu al-ḥarāratu fayastaḥīlu ʾabyaḍa, faʾidhā imtalaʾat minhu kharazātu al-ṣulbi wahuwa al-faqāru ṭalaba al-khurūja min maslakihi faqawiyati al-ṣiḥḥatu bi-dhālika, fa-hādhā ḥīna hayajāni al-ʾinsāni ʾilā al-nikāḥi.

“‘If one of them exceeds the others, it overpowers and inclines them, and sickness enters the body from that direction in proportion to its predominance, until it weakens in complying with them and cannot remain close to them.’” He then related the report at length. Heat may dominate some aspirants through the strength of their temperament and the sharpness of doubtful impulses. The natural disposition asserts itself and semen becomes abundant in the unmarried man, just as increased heat makes blood well up. For semen originates as blood rising into the vertebrae of the spine, where it resides. Heat ripens it until it turns white. When the spinal segments, the vertebrae, fill with it, it seeks an outlet through its passage, and health is strengthened by that. This is when a person's urge for intercourse is aroused.

وَلَا يَصْلُحُ لِمِثْلِ هَذَا أَنْ يَأْكُلَ الْحَرَارَاتِ مِنَ الْأَطْعِمَةِ، وَلْيُطْفِئْ ذَلِكَ بِأَكْلِ الْبُرُودَاتِ وَالْأَشْيَاءِ الْقَاطِعَةِ، وَلْيَجْتَنِبْ أَكْلَ كُلِّ حَارٍّ يَابِسٍ أَوْ بَارِدٍ رَطْبٍ؛ فَإِنَّهُ يُهَيِّجُ الطَّبْعَ وَيُقَوِّي الْعُضْوَ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ قَتَادَةَ فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ)، قَالَ: الْغُلْمَةُ. وَقَالَ فَيَّاضُ بْنُ نَجِيحٍ: إِذَا قَامَ ذَكَرُ الرَّجُلِ ذَهَبَ ثُلُثُ عَقْلِهِ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَمِنْ شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ)، قَالَ: قِيَامُ الذَّكَرِ. وَقَدْ أَسْنَدَ بَعْضُ الرُّوَاةِ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ قَالَ: الذَّكَرُ إِذَا دَخَلَ.

walā yaṣluḥu limithli hādhā ʾan yaʾkula al-ḥarārāti mina al-ʾaṭʿimati, walyuṭfiʾ dhālika biʾakli al-burūdāti wa-al-ʾashyāʾi al-qāṭiʿati, walyajtanib ʾakla kulli ḥārrin yābisin ʾaw bāridin raṭbin; faʾinnahu yuhayyiju al-ṭabʿa wayuqawwī al-ʿuḍwa. waqad rawaynā ʿan qatādata fī tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā: (walā tuḥammilnā mā lā ṭāqata lanā bihi), qāla: al-ghulmatu. waqāla fayyāḍu bnu najīḥin: ʾidhā qāma dhakaru al-rajuli dhahaba thuluthu ʿaqlihi. waqad rawaynā ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin fī qawlihi taʿālā: (wamin sharri ghāsiqin ʾidhā waqaba), qāla: qiyāmu al-dhakari. waqad ʾasnada baʿḍu al-ruwāti ʾilā rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾillā ʾannahu qāla: al-dhakaru ʾidhā dakhala.

Such a person should not eat heating foods, but should extinguish this by eating cooling and suppressive things. He should avoid everything hot and dry or cold and moist, for it arouses the natural disposition and strengthens the sexual organ. We have transmitted from Qatāda, on the interpretation of His saying, exalted is He, “Do not burden us with what we have no strength to bear,” that he said: “Sexual ardor.” Fayyāḍ ibn Najīḥ said: “When a man's penis becomes erect, a third of his reason departs.” We have transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās concerning His saying, exalted is He, “And from the evil of darkness when it enters,” that he said: “The erection of the penis.” Some transmitters traced this to God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, except that he said: “The penis when it enters.”

وَعَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ: أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ سَمْعِي وَبَصَرِي وَلِسَانِي وَقَلْبِي وَمَنِيِّي. وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ أَزْوَاجِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَعَلَيْهِنَّ أَجْمَعِينَ السَّلَامُ أَنَّهُنَّ كُنَّ يَأْكُلْنَ الْخَلَّ وَالْبُرُودَاتِ بَعْدَ وَفَاةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقْطَعْنَ بِهِ الشَّهْوَةَ. وَرَوَى بَعْضُ أَشْيَاخِ الصُّوفِيَّةِ قَالَ: اِشْتَدَّتْ عَلَيَّ صِفَتِي فِي بَدْءِ إِرَادَتِي بِمَا لَمْ أُطِقْ، فَكُنْتُ أَضِجُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ فَرَأَيْتُ شَخْصًا فِي النَّوْمِ فَقَالَ لِي: مَا لَكَ؟ فَشَكَوْتُ إِلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ: تَقَدَّمْ إِلَيَّ، فَتَقَدَّمْتُ فَوَضَعَ يَدَهُ عَلَى صَدْرِي فَوَجَدْتُ بَرْدَهَا فِي فُؤَادِي وَجَمِيعِ جَسَدِي. قَالَ: فَأَصْبَحْتُ وَقَدِ اِنْكَشَفَ مَا بِي فَبَقِيتُ مُعَافًى سَنَةً.

waʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu kāna yaqūlu: ʾaʿūdhu bika min sharri samʿī wabaṣarī walisānī waqalbī wamaniyyī. warawaynā ʿan ʾazwāji rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waʿalayhinna ʾajmaʿīna al-salāmu ʾannahunna kunna yaʾkulna al-khalla wa-al-burūdāti baʿda wafāti rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaqṭaʿna bihi al-shahwata. warawā baʿḍu ʾashyākhi al-ṣūfiyyati qāla: ishtaddat ʿalayya ṣifatī fī badʾi ʾirādatī bimā lam ʾuṭiq, fakuntu ʾaḍijju ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā fī kulli waqtin faraʾaytu shakhṣan fī al-nawmi faqāla lī: mā laka? fashakawtu ʾilayhi, faqāla: taqaddam ʾilayya, fataqaddamtu fawaḍaʿa yadahu ʿalā ṣadrī fawajadtu bardahā fī fuʾādī wajamīʿi jasadī. qāla: faʾaṣbaḥtu waqadi inkashafa mā bī fabaqītu muʿāfan sanatan.

It is reported of God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, that he used to say: “I seek refuge in You from the evil of my hearing, my sight, my tongue, my heart, and my semen.” We have transmitted from the wives of God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and peace be upon all of them, that after the death of God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, they ate vinegar and cooling foods to suppress desire. One Sufi elder related: “At the beginning of my aspiration, my natural trait grew unbearably strong. I cried out continually to God Most High, then saw someone in a dream. He asked, ‘What troubles you?’ I complained to him. He said, ‘Come closer.’ I did, and he placed his hand on my chest. I felt its coolness in my heart and throughout my body. In the morning my affliction had lifted, and I remained well for a year.

ثُمَّ عَاوَدَنِي ذَلِكَ بِمِثْلِهِ أَوْ أَشَدَّ فَأَكْثَرْتُ الضَّجِيجَ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فَجَاءَنِي شَخْصٌ فِي الْمَنَامِ قَالَ: تُحِبُّ أَنْ يَذْهَبَ مَا تَجِدُ وَأَضْرِبَ عُنُقَكَ؟ فَقُلْتُ: نَعَمْ، فَقَالَ: مُدَّ رَقَبَتَكَ، فَمَدَدْتُهَا فَجَرَّدَ سَيْفًا مِنْ نُورٍ فَضَرَبَ بِهِ عُنُقِي. قَالَ: فَأَصْبَحْتُ وَقَدِ اِنْكَشَفَ مَا بِي فَبَقِيتُ مُعَافًى سَنَةً. ثُمَّ عَاوَدَنِي بِمِثْلِهِ مِنَ الِاغْتِلَامِ وَأَشَدَّ فَرَأَيْتُ شَخْصًا يُخَاطِبُنِي فِيمَا بَيْنَ صَدْرِي وَثَوْبِي فَقَالَ: وَيْحَكَ كَمْ تَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى رَفْعَ مَا لَمْ يُحِبَّ رَفْعَهُ؟ قَالَ: فَتَزَوَّجْتُ فَاِنْقَطَعَ عَنِّي وَلَمْ يُعَاوِدْنِي، فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ سَبَبَ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ وَوُلِدَ لَهُ. فَإِذَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ نَاسِيًا لِجُوعِهِ ذَاكِرًا لِرَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَهُوَ يُشْبِهُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ، وَإِذَا كَانَ شَبْعَانَ مَهْمُومًا فِي طَلَبِ الشَّهَوَاتِ فَهُوَ أَشْبَهُ بِالْبَهَائِمِ.

thumma ʿāwadanī dhālika bimithlihi ʾaw ʾashadda faʾakthartu al-ḍajīja ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla, fajāʾanī shakhṣun fī al-manāmi qāla: tuḥibbu ʾan yadhhaba mā tajidu waʾaḍriba ʿunuqaka? faqultu: naʿam, faqāla: mudda raqabataka, famadadtuhā fajarrada sayfan min nūrin faḍaraba bihi ʿunuqī. qāla: faʾaṣbaḥtu waqadi inkashafa mā bī fabaqītu muʿāfan sanatan. thumma ʿāwadanī bimithlihi mina al-ightilāmi waʾashadda faraʾaytu shakhṣan yukhāṭibunī fīmā bayna ṣadrī wathawbī faqāla: wayḥaka kam tasʾalu Allāha taʿālā rafʿa mā lam yuḥibba rafʿahu? qāla: fatazawwajtu fa-inqaṭaʿa ʿannī walam yuʿāwidnī, fakāna dhālika sababa dhurriyyatihi wawulida lahu. faʾidhā kāna al-ʿabdu nāsiyan lijūʿihi dhākiran lirabbihi ʿazza wajalla fahuwa yushbihu al-malāʾikata, waʾidhā kāna shabʿāna mahmūman fī ṭalabi al-shahawāti fahuwa ʾashbahu bi-al-bahāʾimi.

“Then it returned as strongly or more strongly. I cried out often to God, mighty and majestic, and someone came to me in a dream, asking: ‘Would you like what you feel to disappear, and shall I strike your neck?’ I said yes. He told me to stretch out my neck; I did, and he drew a sword of light and struck it. In the morning my affliction had lifted, and I remained well for a year. Then the same sexual ardor returned, more strongly still. I saw someone speaking to me from between my chest and my garment: ‘Woe to you! How often will you ask God Most High to remove what He does not wish to remove?’ So I married, and it ceased and never returned.” That was the cause of his having descendants; children were born to him. When a servant forgets his hunger while remembering his Lord, mighty and majestic, he resembles the angels. When he is full and preoccupied with pursuing appetites, he more closely resembles beasts.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٨٨

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 288

Volume Two, page 288

وَيُقَالُ إِنَّ الْجُوعَ مَلِكٌ وَالشِّبَعَ مَمْلُوكٌ، إِنَّ الْجَائِعَ عَزِيزٌ وَالشَّبْعَانَ ذَلِيلٌ. وَقِيلَ: الْجُوعُ عِزٌّ كُلُّهُ، وَالشِّبَعُ ذُلٌّ كُلُّهُ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: الْجُوعُ مِفْتَاحُ الْآخِرَةِ وَبَابُ الزُّهْدِ، وَالشِّبَعُ مِفْتَاحُ الدُّنْيَا وَبَابُ الرَّغْبَةِ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنَّ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ بَابًا، وَبَابُ الْعِبَادَةِ الصَّوْمُ. وَالْخَبَرُ الْمَشْهُورُ: صُومُوا تَصِحُّوا، فَصِحَّةُ الْقُلُوبِ مِنْ عِلَلِ الرُّؤُوسِ أَعْلَى وَأَحْسَنُ مِنْ صِحَّةِ الْأَجْسَامِ مِنْ عِلَلِ الْأَسْقَامِ.

wayuqālu ʾinna al-jūʿa malikun wa-al-shibaʿa mamlūkun, ʾinna al-jāʾiʿa ʿazīzun wa-al-shabʿāna dhalīlun. waqīla: al-jūʿu ʿizzun kulluhu, wa-al-shibaʿu dhullun kulluhu. waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: al-jūʿu miftāḥu al-ʾākhirati wabābu al-zuhdi, wa-al-shibaʿu miftāḥu al-dunyā wabābu al-raghbati. waqad rawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾinna likulli shayʾin bāban, wabābu al-ʿibādati al-ṣawmu. wa-al-khabaru al-mashhūru: ṣūmū taṣiḥḥū, faṣiḥḥatu al-qulūbi min ʿilali al-ruʾūsi ʾaʿlā waʾaḥsanu min ṣiḥḥati al-ʾajsāmi min ʿilali al-ʾasqāmi.

It is said that hunger is a king and satiety a slave: the hungry person is honored and the satiated person abased. It is also said: “Hunger is all honor, and satiety all humiliation.” One of the early authorities said: “Hunger is the key to the hereafter and the gate of renunciation; satiety is the key to this world and the gate of desire.” We have transmitted from God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Everything has a gate, and the gate of worship is fasting.” The well-known report says: “Fast and you will be healthy.” The heart's freedom from ailments of the head is higher and finer than the body's freedom from the ailments of disease.

وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: أَدِيمُوا قَرْعَ بَابِ الْجَنَّةِ يُفْتَحْ لَكُمْ. قُلْتُ: وَكَيْفَ نُدِيمُ قَرْعَ بَابِ الْجَنَّةِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: بِالْجُوعِ وَالظَّمَأِ. وَقَدْ نَوَّعَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ الْخَرَّازُ مَقَامَاتِ أَهْلِ الْجُوعِ فِي مَقَاصِدِهِمْ عَنْ مَوَاجِيدِهِمْ وَهِمَمِهِمْ، فَحَدَّثَنِي الْجَهْضَمِيُّ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ شَاكِرٍ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا سَعِيدٍ يَقُولُ: سَمِعْتُ الثِّقَةَ مِنْ عُلَمَائِنَا يَقُولُ عَنْ عَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ: إِنَّهُ كَانَ يُقْسِمُ بِاللَّهِ مَا صَافَى أَحَدٌ إِلَّا بِالْجُوعِ، وَلَا مَشَوْا عَلَى الْمَاءِ إِلَّا بِالْجُوعِ، وَلَا طُوِيَتْ لَهُمُ الْأَرْضُ إِلَّا بِالْجُوعِ. وَكَانَ يَعُدُّ الْأَخْلَاقَ السَّنِيَّةَ الشَّرِيفَةَ الْمَحْمُودَةَ وَيَحْلِفُ أَنَّهُمْ مَا نَالُوهَا إِلَّا بِالْجُوعِ.

waqad rawaynā ʿan ʿāʾishata raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā qālat: samiʿtu rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaqūlu: ʾadīmū qarʿa bābi al-jannati yuftaḥ lakum. qultu: wakayfa nudīmu qarʿa bābi al-jannati yā rasūla Allāhi? qāla: bi-al-jūʿi wa-al-ẓamaʾi. waqad nawwaʿa ʾabū saʿīdin al-kharrāzu maqāmāti ʾahli al-jūʿi fī maqāṣidihim ʿan mawājīdihim wahimamihim, faḥaddathanī al-jahḍamiyyu ʿan ʾaḥmada bni shākirin qāla: samiʿtu ʾabā saʿīdin yaqūlu: samiʿtu al-thiqata min ʿulamāʾinā yaqūlu ʿan ʿabdi al-wāḥidi bni zaydin: ʾinnahu kāna yuqsimu bi-Allāhi mā ṣāfā ʾaḥadun ʾillā bi-al-jūʿi, walā mashaw ʿalā al-māʾi ʾillā bi-al-jūʿi, walā ṭuwiyat lahumu al-ʾarḍu ʾillā bi-al-jūʿi. wakāna yaʿuddu al-ʾakhlāqa al-saniyyata al-sharīfata al-maḥmūdata wayaḥlifu ʾannahum mā nālūhā ʾillā bi-al-jūʿi.

We have transmitted from ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her: “I heard God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, say: ‘Keep knocking at the gate of Paradise, and it will be opened to you.’ I asked: ‘How do we keep knocking at Paradise's gate, Messenger of God?’ He replied: ‘Through hunger and thirst.’” Abū Saʿīd al-Kharrāz distinguished the stations of those who practice hunger according to their aims, spiritual experiences, and aspirations. Al-Jahḍamī related to me from Aḥmad ibn Shākir: “I heard Abū Saʿīd say: ‘I heard a trustworthy one of our scholars relate of ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd that he used to swear by God: No one attained intimacy except through hunger; they walked on water only through hunger, and the earth was folded up for them only through hunger.’ He would enumerate the lofty, noble, praiseworthy virtues and swear that they attained them only through hunger.”

قَالَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ: مَعْنَى الْجُوعِ اِسْمٌ مُعَلَّقٌ عَلَى الْخَلْقِ اِفْتَرَقُوا فِي الدُّخُولِ فِيهِ وَالْعَمَلِ بِهِ لِعِلَلٍ كَثِيرَةٍ. فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَجُوعُ وَرَعًا إِذَا لَمْ يُصِبِ الشَّيْءَ الصَّافِيَ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ وَجَدَ الشَّيْءَ الصَّافِيَ فَتَرَكَهُ زُهْدًا فِيهِ مِنْ مَخَافَةِ طُولِ الْحِسَابِ وَالْوُقُوفِ وَالسُّؤَالِ. وَمِنْهُمْ مَنِ اِسْتَلَذَّ الْعِبَادَةَ وَالنَّشَاطَ بِهَا وَالْخِفَّةَ فَرَأَى النَّيْلَ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ وَالشَّرَابِ قَاطِعًا لَهُ وَشُغْلًا عَنِ الْخِدْمَةِ وَالْخَلْوَةِ. وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَرُبَ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَلَزِمَ قَلْبَهُ حَقِيقَةُ الْحَيَاءِ حِينَ عَلِمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى مُشَاهِدُهُ، وَكَانَ الْحَيَاءُ مَقَامَهُ لَا غَيْرَ، فَتَوَهَّمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَرَاهُ وَهُوَ يَمْضَغُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَيَأْكُلُ وَيَشْرَبُ فَيُؤَدِّيهِ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْكَنِيفِ، فَيَجُوعُ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْعَيْنِ.

qāla ʾabū saʿīdin: maʿnā al-jūʿi ismun muʿallaqun ʿalā al-khalqi iftaraqū fī al-dukhūli fīhi wa-al-ʿamali bihi liʿilalin kathīratin. faminhum man yajūʿu waraʿan ʾidhā lam yuṣibi al-shayʾa al-ṣāfiya, waminhum man wajada al-shayʾa al-ṣāfiya fatarakahu zuhdan fīhi min makhāfati ṭūli al-ḥisābi wa-al-wuqūfi wa-al-suʾāli. waminhum mani istaladhdha al-ʿibādata wa-al-nashāṭa bihā wa-al-khiffata faraʾā al-nayla mina al-ṭaʿāmi wa-al-sharābi qāṭiʿan lahu washughlan ʿani al-khidmati wa-al-khalwati. waminhum man qaruba mina Allāhi ʿazza wajalla falazima qalbahu ḥaqīqatu al-ḥayāʾi ḥīna ʿalima ʾanna Allāha tabāraka wataʿālā mushāhiduhu, wakāna al-ḥayāʾu maqāmahu lā ghayra, fatawahhama ʾanna Allāha taʿālā yarāhu wahuwa yamḍaghu bayna yadayhi wayaʾkulu wayashrabu fayuʾaddīhi dhālika ʾilā al-kanīfi, fayajūʿu min hādhihi al-ʿayni.

Abū Saʿīd said: “Hunger is a name applied to created people, who enter it and practice it differently for many reasons. Some go hungry from scrupulousness when they find nothing pure. Others find something pure but renounce it, fearing prolonged accounting, waiting, and questioning. Others delight in worship, its vigor, and its lightness, and regard eating and drinking as an interruption that occupies them away from service and solitude. Others have drawn near to God, mighty and majestic, and the reality of modest shame holds their hearts because they know that God, blessed and exalted, witnesses them. Shame alone is their station. They imagine God Most High seeing them chew before Him, eat, and drink, then go to the privy as a result. From this perspective they go hungry.”

وَهَكَذَا كَانَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَدْرَكَهُ السَّهْوُ عَنْ حَاجَاتِهِ فَسَلَا عَنْ نَيْلِ مَصْلَحَتَيْنِ حَتَّى يُذَكَّرَ فِي الْغَيْبِ أَوْ يَذْكُرَ. وَقَالَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ الْخَرَّازُ أَيْضًا: قَالَ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ الْحُكَمَاءِ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَا يُكَلِّمُ أَحَدًا وَفِي بَطْنِهِ شَيْءٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا؛ فَهَذَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ لِمُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِتَرْكِ النَّيْلِ لِيَلْقَاهُ خَالِيًا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا، وَبِنَفْسٍ سَاكِنَةٍ عَنِ الْمُنَازَعَةِ إِلَى شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ، وَرُوحٍ رُوحَانِيَّةٍ قَدْ أَحْيَاهَا الْحَيُّ لِحَيَاتِهِ، فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ يَصْلُحُ هَذَا الشَّخْصُ لِمُخَاطَبَتِهِ مَثَلًا بِلَا تَرْجُمَانٍ. وَحَدَّثَنِي الْحَسَنُ بْنُ يَحْيَى الْبُسْتِيُّ عَنِ اِبْنِ مَسْرُوقٍ قَالَ: لَقِيتُ سَهْلَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، فَلَمَّا

wa-hākadhā kāna ʾabū bakrin al-ṣiddīqu raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, waminhum man ʾadrakahu al-sahwu ʿan ḥājātihi fasalā ʿan nayli maṣlaḥatayni ḥattā yudhakkara fī al-ghaybi ʾaw yadhkura. waqāla ʾabū saʿīdin al-kharrāzu ʾayḍan: qāla jamāʿatun mina al-ḥukamāʾi: ʾinna Allāha taʿālā lā yukallimu ʾaḥadan wafī baṭnihi shayʾun mina al-dunyā; fa-hādhā yadullu ʿalā ʾamrihi limūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu bitarki al-nayli liyalqāhu khāliyan mina al-dunyā, wabinafsin sākinatin ʿani al-munāzaʿati ʾilā shayʾin mina al-mulki, warūḥin rūḥāniyyatin qad ʾaḥyāhā al-ḥayyu liḥayātihi, faʿinda dhālika yaṣluḥu hādhā al-shakhṣu limukhāṭabatihi mathalan bilā tarjumānin. waḥaddathanī al-ḥasanu bnu yaḥyā al-bustiyyu ʿani ibni masrūqin qāla: laqītu sahla bna ʿabdi Allāhi, falammā

Such was Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may God be pleased with him. Others become oblivious to their needs and forget to obtain their two provisions until they are reminded in the unseen or remember. Abū Saʿīd al-Kharrāz also said: “A company of sages said: ‘God Most High does not speak to anyone while something of this world is in his belly.’ This indicates His command to Moses, peace be upon him, to forgo taking food, so that he might meet Him empty of the world, with a self quieted from contention for anything in the kingdom, and a spiritual spirit that the Living One has quickened for His life. Then such a person is fit to be addressed by Him, as it were, without an interpreter.” Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā al-Bustī related to me from Ibn Masrūq: “I met Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh. When

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٨٩

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 289

Volume Two, page 289

دَخَلْتُ عَلَيْهِ وَبَشَّرَنِي وَقَبَّلَنِي وَكَانَ فِي إِرَادَةٍ وَتَذَلُّلٍ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: أُحِبُّ أَنْ تَصِفَ لِي بِدَايَتَكَ وَمَا كُنْتَ تَقُوتُ بِهِ. فَقَالَ: فِي كُلِّ سَنَةٍ ثَلَاثَةُ دَرَاهِمَ؛ كُنْتُ آخُذُ بِدِرْهَمٍ دِبْسًا، وَبِدِرْهَمٍ سَمْنًا، وَبِدِرْهَمٍ دَقِيقَ الرُّزِّ، وَأَشُوبُهُ مُخَلِّصًا ثَلَاثَمِائَةٍ وَسِتِّينَ أُكْرَةً، آخُذُ لَيْلَةً أُكْرَةً أُفْطِرُ عَلَيْهَا. فَقُلْتُ: السَّاعَةَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُ؟ فَقَالَ: أَكْلًا بِلَا حَدٍّ وَلَا تَوْقِيفٍ.

dakhaltu ʿalayhi wabashsharanī waqabbalanī wakāna fī ʾirādatin watadhallulin faqultu lahu: ʾuḥibbu ʾan taṣifa lī bidāyataka wamā kunta taqūtu bihi. faqāla: fī kulli sanatin thalāthatu darāhima; kuntu ʾākhudhu bidirhamin dibsan, wabidirhamin samnan, wabidirhamin daqīqa al-ruzzi, waʾashūbuhu mukhalliṣan thalāthamiʾatin wasittīna ʾukratan, ʾākhudhu laylatan ʾukratan ʾufṭiru ʿalayhā. faqultu: al-sāʿata kayfa taʿmalu? faqāla: ʾaklan bilā ḥaddin walā tawqīfin.

I went in to him, he gave me glad tidings and kissed me. He was in a state of aspiration and humility. I said: ‘I would like you to describe your beginning and what you lived on.’ He answered: ‘Three dirhams each year. I would buy date syrup for a dirham, clarified butter for a dirham, and rice flour for a dirham. I blended it, separating out three hundred and sixty balls, and took one ball at night to break my fast.’ I asked: ‘How do you proceed now?’ He replied: ‘Eating without a fixed limit or prescribed time.’”

وَحَدَّثُونَا فِي أَخْبَارِ الْمُلُوكِ أَنَّ مَلِكَ الْهِنْدِ أَهْدَى إِلَى الْمَنْصُورِ تُحَفًا مِنْهَا أَنَّهُ وَجَّهَ إِلَيْهِ بِفَيْلَسُوفٍ طَبِيبٍ. قَالَ: فَأَنْزَلَهُ الْمَنْصُورُ وَأَحْسَنَ إِلَيْهِ، فَلَمَّا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ قَالَ الْفَيْلَسُوفُ: قَدْ جِئْتُكَ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِثَلَاثِ خِصَالٍ يَتَنَافَسُ الْمُلُوكُ فِيهَا لَا نَصْنَعُهَا إِلَّا لَهُمْ. قَالَ: وَمَا هِيَ؟ قَالَ: أَخْضِبُ لِحْيَتَكَ بِسَوَادٍ لَا تَنْصُلُ أَبَدًا وَلَا تَتَغَيَّرُ عَنْ حَالِهَا. قَالَ: وَمَا الْخَصْلَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ؟ قَالَ: أُعَالِجُكَ بِعِلَاجٍ تَتَّسِعُ بِهِ فِي الْمَأْكَلِ فَتَأْكُلُ أَيَّ شَيْءٍ شِئْتَ فَلَا تَتْخَمُ وَلَا يُؤْذِيكَ الطَّعَامُ. قَالَ: وَمَا الثَّالِثَةُ؟ قَالَ: أُقَوِّي صُلْبَكَ بِقُوَّةٍ تَبْسُطُ إِلَى الْجِمَاعِ فَتُجَامِعُ مَا شِئْتَ لَا تَمَلُّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَلَا يَضْعُفُ بَصَرُكَ وَلَا يَنْقُصُ مِنْ قُوَّتِكَ.

waḥaddathūnā fī ʾakhbāri al-mulūki ʾanna malika al-hindi ʾahdā ʾilā al-manṣūri tuḥafan minhā ʾannahu wajjaha ʾilayhi bifaylasūfin ṭabībin. qāla: faʾanzalahu al-manṣūru waʾaḥsana ʾilayhi, falammā dakhala ʿalayhi qāla al-faylasūfu: qad jiʾtuka yā ʾamīra al-muʾminīna bithalāthi khiṣālin yatanāfasu al-mulūku fīhā lā naṣnaʿuhā ʾillā lahum. qāla: wamā hiya? qāla: ʾakhḍibu liḥyataka bisawādin lā tanṣulu ʾabadan walā tataghayyaru ʿan ḥālihā. qāla: wamā al-khaṣlatu al-thāniyatu? qāla: ʾuʿālijuka biʿilājin tattasiʿu bihi fī al-maʾkali fataʾkulu ʾayya shayʾin shiʾta falā tatkhamu walā yuʾdhīka al-ṭaʿāmu. qāla: wamā al-thālithatu? qāla: ʾuqawwī ṣulbaka biquwwatin tabsuṭu ʾilā al-jimāʿi fatujāmiʿu mā shiʾta lā tamallu min dhālika walā yaḍʿufu baṣaruka walā yanquṣu min quwwatika.

They related to us in the accounts of kings that India's king sent al-Manṣūr gifts, among them a physician-philosopher. Al-Manṣūr lodged him and treated him well. When he came into his presence, the philosopher said: “Commander of the Faithful, I bring you three benefits for which kings compete and which we provide only for them.” He asked what they were. He replied: “I can dye your beard black so that it will never fade or change.” He asked about the second. He said: “I can give you a treatment that expands your capacity for eating, so that you may eat anything you wish without indigestion or harm.” He asked about the third. He answered: “I can strengthen your loins with a vigor that enables intercourse, so that you may have intercourse as much as you wish, without tiring, weakening your sight, or diminishing your strength.”

قَالَ: فَأَطْرَقَ الْمَنْصُورُ ثُمَّ رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ إِلَيْهِ فَقَالَ: قَدْ كُنْتُ أَظُنُّ أَنَّكَ أَعْقَلُ مِمَّا أَنْتَ. أَمَّا السَّوَادُ فَلَا حَاجَةَ لِي بِهِ؛ فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ غُرُورٌ وَزُورٌ، وَالشَّيْبُ هَيْبَةٌ وَوَقَارٌ، وَلَمْ أَكُنْ لِأُغَيِّرَ نُورًا جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى فِي وَجْهِي بِظُلْمَةِ السَّوَادِ. وَأَمَّا مَا ذَكَرْتَ مِنَ الْأَكْلِ فَوَاللَّهِ مَا أَنَا بِشَرِهٍ، وَمَا لِي فِي الِاسْتِكْثَارِ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ حَاجَةٌ، لِأَنَّهُ يُثْقِلُ الْجِسْمَ وَيَشْغَلُ عَنِ النَّوَائِبِ وَأَقَلُّ شَيْءٍ فِيهِ كَثْرَةُ اِخْتِلَافِي إِلَى الْخَلَاءِ فَأَرَى مَا أَكْرَهُ وَأَسْمَعُ مَا لَا أُحِبُّ. وَأَمَّا مَا ذَكَرْتَ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ فَإِنَّ النِّكَاحَ شُعْبَةٌ مِنَ الْجُنُونِ، وَمَا أَقْبَحَ بِخَلِيفَةٍ مِثْلِي يَجْثُو بَيْنَ يَدَيْ صَبِيَّةٍ، اِرْجِعْ إِلَى صَاحِبِكَ مَذْمُومًا مَدْحُورًا فَلَا حَاجَةَ لِي بِمَا جِئْتَ بِهِ.

qāla: faʾaṭraqa al-manṣūru thumma rafaʿa raʾsahu ʾilayhi faqāla: qad kuntu ʾaẓunnu ʾannaka ʾaʿqalu mimmā ʾanta. ʾammā al-sawādu falā ḥājata lī bihi; faʾinna dhālika ghurūrun wazūrun, wa-al-shaybu haybatun wawaqārun, walam ʾakun liʾughayyira nūran jaʿalahu Allāhu tabāraka wataʿālā fī wajhī biẓulmati al-sawādi. waʾammā mā dhakarta mina al-ʾakli fawa-Allāhi mā ʾanā bisharihin, wamā lī fī al-istikthāri mina al-ṭaʿāmi ḥājatun, liʾannahu yuthqilu al-jisma wayashghalu ʿani al-nawāʾibi waʾaqallu shayʾin fīhi kathratu ikhtilāfī ʾilā al-khalāʾi faʾarā mā ʾakrahu waʾasmaʿu mā lā ʾuḥibbu. waʾammā mā dhakarta mina al-nisāʾi faʾinna al-nikāḥa shuʿbatun mina al-junūni, wamā ʾaqbaḥa bikhalīfatin mithlī yajthū bayna yaday ṣabiyyatin, irjiʿ ʾilā ṣāḥibika madhmūman madḥūran falā ḥājata lī bimā jiʾta bihi.

Al-Manṣūr lowered his head, then looked up and said: “I had thought you more intelligent than you are. As for black dye, I have no need of it: it is deception and falsehood, while gray hair brings dignity and reverence. I would not exchange a light that God, blessed and exalted, has placed in my face for the darkness of black dye. As for eating, by God I am no glutton, and I have no need of increasing my food. It burdens the body and distracts from pressing affairs. The least of its effects is that I must visit the privy often, seeing what I dislike and hearing what I do not enjoy. As for women, intercourse is a branch of madness. How unbecoming for a caliph like me to kneel before a young woman! Return to your master censured and driven away. I have no need of what you bring.”

وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ بَعْضِ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ قَالَ: أَتَيْتُ قَاسِمًا الْجُوعِيَّ فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الزُّهْدِ أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ؟ فَقَالَ لِي: أَيُّ شَيْءٍ فِيهِ؟ فَقُلْتُ: قَالُوا الزُّهْدُ قِصَرُ الْأَمَلِ. فَقَالَ: وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ سَمِعْتَ فِيهِ؟ فَقُلْتُ: قَالُوا الزُّهْدُ تَرْكُ الِادِّخَارِ. فَقَالَ: حَسَنٌ؛ حَتَّى عَدَدْتُ عَلَيْهِ أَقْوَالًا فَسَكَتَ. فَقُلْتُ: أَيُّ شَيْءٍ تَقُولُ أَنْتَ؟ فَقَالَ: اِعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْبَطْنَ دُنْيَا الْعَبْدِ وَبِمِقْدَارِ مَا يَمْلِكُ مِنْ بَطْنِهِ يَمْلِكُ مِنَ الزُّهْدِ، وَبِمِقْدَارِ مَا يَمْلِكُهُ بَطْنُهُ تَمْلِكُهُ الدُّنْيَا.

waḥaddathūnā ʿan baʿḍi hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati qāla: ʾataytu qāsiman al-jūʿiyya fasaʾaltuhu ʿani al-zuhdi ʾayyu shayʾin huwa? faqāla lī: ʾayyu shayʾin fīhi? faqultu: qālū al-zuhdu qiṣaru al-ʾamali. faqāla: waʾayyu shayʾin samiʿta fīhi? faqultu: qālū al-zuhdu tarku al-iddikhāri. faqāla: ḥasanun; ḥattā ʿadadtu ʿalayhi ʾaqwālan fasakata. faqultu: ʾayyu shayʾin taqūlu ʾanta? faqāla: iʿlam ʾanna al-baṭna dunyā al-ʿabdi wabimiqdāri mā yamliku min baṭnihi yamliku mina al-zuhdi, wabimiqdāri mā yamlikuhu baṭnuhu tamlikuhu al-dunyā.

They related from one of this company: “I visited Qāsim al-Jūʿī and asked him what renunciation was. He asked me: ‘What is said about it?’ I replied: ‘They say it is shortness of expectation.’ He asked: ‘What else have you heard?’ I answered: ‘They say it is giving up storing provisions.’ He said: ‘Good.’ I listed several sayings, and he remained silent. I asked: ‘What do you say?’ He replied: ‘Know that the belly is the servant's world. To the extent that he masters his belly, he possesses renunciation; to the extent that his belly masters him, the world possesses him.’”

وَعَلَى هَذَا الْمَعْنَى قَالَ وَهْبُ بْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ حَكِيمُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ: لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَسَطٌ وَطَرَفَانِ، فَإِذَا أَمْسَكْتَ أَحَدَ الطَّرَفَيْنِ مَالَ الْآخَرُ، وَإِنْ أَمْسَكْتَ الْوَسَطَ اِعْتَدَلَ الطَّرَفَانِ، فَكَذَلِكَ الْبَطْنُ وَسَطًا بَيْنَ الْجَوَارِحِ إِنْ أَمْسَكْتَهَا اِعْتَدَلَتِ الْأَطْرَافُ السَّمْعُ وَالْبَصَرُ وَاللِّسَانُ وَالْفَرْجُ وَالرِّجْلَانِ. وَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ شَيْخُنَا اِبْنُ سَالِمٍ يَقُولُ: إِذَا أَعْطَيْتَ الْبَطْنَ حَظَّهُ مِنَ الشِّبَعِ طَلَبَتْ كُلُّ جَارِحَةٍ حَظَّهَا مِنَ اللَّهْوِ فَجَمَحَتْ بِكَ النَّفْسُ إِلَى الْهَلَكَةِ، وَإِذَا مَنَعْتَ الْبَطْنَ حَظَّهُ قَصَرَتْ عَنْكَ كُلُّ جَارِحَةٍ عَنْ حَظِّهَا فَاِسْتَقَامَ الْقَلْبُ لِذَلِكَ. وَكَانَ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ قَدِ اِعْتَلَّ فَسَأَلَ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ الْمُتَطَبِّبَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ يُوَافِقُهُ مِنَ الْمَأْكُولِ فَقَالَ لَهُ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ: تَسْأَلُنِي؟ فَإِذَا وَصَفْتُ لَكَ لَمْ تَقْبَلْ مِنِّي. فَقَالَ لَهُ بِشْرٌ: صِفْ

waʿalā hādhā al-maʿnā qāla wahbu bnu munabbihin ḥakīmu hādhihi al-ʾummati: likulli shayʾin wasaṭun waṭarafāni, faʾidhā ʾamsakta ʾaḥada al-ṭarafayni māla al-ʾākharu, waʾin ʾamsakta al-wasaṭa iʿtadala al-ṭarafāni, fa-kadhālika al-baṭnu wasaṭan bayna al-jawāriḥi ʾin ʾamsaktahā iʿtadalati al-ʾaṭrāfu al-samʿu wa-al-baṣaru wa-al-lisānu wa-al-farju wa-al-rijlāni. wa-kadhālika kāna shaykhunā ibnu sālimin yaqūlu: ʾidhā ʾaʿṭayta al-baṭna ḥaẓẓahu mina al-shibaʿi ṭalabat kullu jāriḥatin ḥaẓẓahā mina al-lahwi fajamaḥat bika al-nafsu ʾilā al-halakati, waʾidhā manaʿta al-baṭna ḥaẓẓahu qaṣarat ʿanka kullu jāriḥatin ʿan ḥaẓẓihā fa-istaqāma al-qalbu li-dhālika. wakāna bishru bnu al-ḥārithi qadi iʿtalla fasaʾala ʿabda al-raḥmāni al-mutaṭabbiba ʿan shayʾin yuwāfiquhu mina al-maʾkūli faqāla lahu ʿabdu al-raḥmāni: tasʾalunī? faʾidhā waṣaftu laka lam taqbal minnī. faqāla lahu bishrun: ṣif

In this sense Wahb ibn Munabbih, the sage of this community, said: “Everything has a middle and two ends. Hold one end, and the other tilts; hold the middle, and both ends become balanced. The belly is similarly the middle among the bodily members: restrain it, and the extremities become balanced, hearing, sight, tongue, sexual organ, and feet.” Our shaykh Ibn Sālim likewise used to say: “Give the belly its share of fullness, and every member demands its share of diversion; the self then bolts with you toward destruction. Withhold the belly's share, and every member refrains from demanding its portion from you, so the heart becomes upright.” Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith fell ill and asked ʿAbd al-Raḥmān the physician about food that would suit him. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān said: “You ask me, but when I prescribe, you do not accept my advice.” Bishr replied: “Prescribe

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٩٠

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 290

Volume Two, page 290

لِي حَتَّى أَسْمَعَ. فَقَالَ: تَحْتَاجُ تَسْتَعْمِلُ ثَلَاثَةَ أَشْيَاءَ، فَإِنَّ فِيهِنَّ صَلَاحَ جِسْمِكَ. قَالَ: مَا هُنَّ؟ قَالَ: تَشْرَبُ سَكَنْجَبِينًا وَتَمَصُّ سَفَرْجَلًا وَتَأْكُلُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ إِسْفِيذَاجًا. فَقَالَ لَهُ بِشْرٌ: تَعْلَمُ شَيْئًا أَقَلَّ شَيْءٍ مِنَ السَّكَنْجَبِينِ يَقُومُ مَقَامَهُ؟ قَالَ: لَا. قَالَ: فَأَنَا أَعْرِفُ. قَالَ: وَمَا هُوَ؟ قَالَ: الْهِنْدَبَا بِالْخَلِّ يَقُومُ مَقَامَهُ، فَتَعْرِفُ شَيْئًا أَقَلَّ ثَمَنًا مِنَ السَّفَرْجَلِ يَقُومُ مَقَامَهُ؟ قَالَ: لَا. قَالَ: فَأَنَا أَعْرِفُ. قَالَ: مَا هُوَ؟ الْخَرُّنُوبُ الشَّامِيُّ؟ قَالَ: تَعْرِفُ شَيْئًا أَقَلَّ ثَمَنًا مِنَ الْإِسْفِيذَاجِ يَقُومُ مَقَامَهُ؟ قَالَ: أَمَّا هَذَا فَلَا. قَالَ: بَلَى. قَالَ: مَا هُوَ؟ قَالَ: مَاءُ الْحِمَّصِ بِسَمْنِ الْبَقَرِ فِي مَعْنَاهُ. فَقَالَ لَهُ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ: فَأَنْتَ أَعْلَمُ مِنِّي بِالطِّبِّ فَلِمَ تَسْأَلُنِي؟

lī ḥattā ʾasmaʿa. faqāla: taḥtāju tastaʿmilu thalāthata ʾashyāʾa, faʾinna fīhinna ṣalāḥa jismika. qāla: mā hunna? qāla: tashrabu sakanjabīnan watamaṣṣu safarjalan wataʾkulu baʿda dhālika ʾisfīdhājan. faqāla lahu bishrun: taʿlamu shayʾan ʾaqalla shayʾin mina al-sakanjabīni yaqūmu maqāmahu? qāla: lā. qāla: faʾanā ʾaʿrifu. qāla: wamā huwa? qāla: al-hindabā bi-al-khalli yaqūmu maqāmahu, fataʿrifu shayʾan ʾaqalla thamanan mina al-safarjali yaqūmu maqāmahu? qāla: lā. qāla: faʾanā ʾaʿrifu. qāla: mā huwa? al-kharrunūbu al-shāmiyyu? qāla: taʿrifu shayʾan ʾaqalla thamanan mina al-ʾisfīdhāji yaqūmu maqāmahu? qāla: ʾammā hādhā falā. qāla: balā. qāla: mā huwa? qāla: māʾu al-ḥimmaṣi bisamni al-baqari fī maʿnāhu. faqāla lahu ʿabdu al-raḥmāni: faʾanta ʾaʿlamu minnī bi-al-ṭibbi falima tasʾalunī?

for me so I can hear.” He said: “You need to use three things; they will restore your body.” Asked which, he replied: “Drink oxymel, suck quince, then eat a white stew.” Bishr asked: “Do you know something less than oxymel that would take its place?” He said no. Bishr said: “I do.” Asked what, he replied: “Chicory with vinegar takes its place. Do you know anything cheaper than quince that would replace it?” He said no. Bishr said: “I do.” He asked: “What is it? Syrian carob?” He then asked: “Do you know anything cheaper than white stew that would replace it?” He answered: “Not that.” Bishr said yes. Asked what, he replied: “Chickpea broth with cow's clarified butter serves the same purpose.” ʿAbd al-Raḥmān said: “You know more medicine than I do. Why ask me?”

وَيُسْتَحَبُّ لِلْعَبْدِ إِذَا كَانَ جَائِعًا فَتَاقَتْ نَفْسُهُ إِلَى الْجِمَاعِ أَنْ لَا يَأْكُلَ لِئَلَّا يَجْمَعَ لِنَفْسِهِ بَيْنَ حَظَّيْنِ فَيَطْلُبَهُمَا، فَرُبَّمَا طَلَبَتِ الْجِمَاعَ لِلتَّعَفُّفِ وَهِيَ تُرِيدُ الْأَكْلَ لِتَنْبَسِطَ بِهِ إِلَى الْجِمَاعِ، وَفِي الْجَمْعِ بَيْنَ شَهْوَتَيْنِ تَقْوِيَةُ النَّفْسِ وَإِجْرَاءُ عَادَةٍ لَهَا. وَيُسْتَحَبُّ لِلْعَبْدِ إِذَا أَكَلَ أَنْ لَا يَنَامَ عَلَى أَكْلِهِ فَيَجْمَعَ بَيْنَ غَفْلَتَيْنِ، فَيَعْتَادَ الْفُتُورَ وَيَقْسُوَ قَلْبُهُ لِذَلِكَ، وَلَكِنْ لِيُصَلِّ أَوْ يَجْلِسْ فَيَذْكُرَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى، فَإِنَّهُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَى الشُّكْرِ. وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ: أَذِيبُوا طَعَامَكُمْ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالذِّكْرِ لَا تَنَامُوا فَتَقْسُوَ قُلُوبُكُمْ. فَأَقَلُّ ذَلِكَ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَاتٍ، وَيُسَبِّحَ مِائَةَ تَسْبِيحَةٍ، وَيَقْرَأَ أَجْزَاءً مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ عَقِيبَ كُلِّ أَكْلَةٍ.

wayustaḥabbu li-l-ʿabdi ʾidhā kāna jāʾiʿan fatāqat nafsuhu ʾilā al-jimāʿi ʾan lā yaʾkula liʾallā yajmaʿa linafsihi bayna ḥaẓẓayni fayaṭlubahumā, farubbamā ṭalabati al-jimāʿa li-l-taʿaffufi wahiya turīdu al-ʾakla litanbasiṭa bihi ʾilā al-jimāʿi, wafī al-jamʿi bayna shahwatayni taqwiyatu al-nafsi waʾijrāʾu ʿādatin lahā. wayustaḥabbu li-l-ʿabdi ʾidhā ʾakala ʾan lā yanāma ʿalā ʾaklihi fayajmaʿa bayna ghaflatayni, fayaʿtāda al-futūra wayaqsuwa qalbuhu li-dhālika, wa-lākin liyuṣalli ʾaw yajlis fayadhkura Allāha taʿālā, faʾinnahu ʾaqrabu ʾilā al-shukri. wafī al-ḥadīthi: ʾadhībū ṭaʿāmakum bi-al-ṣalāti wa-al-dhikri lā tanāmū fataqsuwa qulūbukum. faʾaqallu dhālika ʾan yuṣalliya ʾarbaʿa rakaʿātin, wayusabbiḥa miʾata tasbīḥatin, wayaqraʾa ʾajzāʾan mina al-qurʾāni ʿaqība kulli ʾaklatin.

When a hungry servant longs for intercourse, it is recommended that he not eat, lest he combine two enjoyments for himself and come to demand both. The self may seek intercourse under the pretext of chastity while wanting food to gain vigor for it. Combining two appetites strengthens the self and establishes its habit. After eating, it is recommended that the servant not sleep on his meal, combining two forms of heedlessness and thereby becoming accustomed to lassitude and hardheartedness. Rather, he should pray or sit remembering God Most High, which is closer to gratitude. The hadith says: “Dissolve your food with prayer and remembrance. Do not sleep, lest your hearts harden.” The least is to pray four cycles, glorify God a hundred times, and read portions of the Qurʾan after each meal.

وَقَدْ كَانَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ إِذَا شَبِعَ فِي لَيْلَةٍ أَحْيَاهَا، وَإِذَا شَبِعَ فِي يَوْمٍ وَاصَلَهُ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالذِّكْرِ، وَكَانَ يَتَمَثَّلُ فَيَقُولُ: أَشْبِعِ الزَّنْجِيَّ وَكُدَّهُ، وَمَرَّةً يَقُولُ: أَشْبِعِ الْحِمَارَ وَكُدَّهُ، وَكَانَ إِذَا جَاعَ كَأَنَّهُ يَتَرَاخَى فِي ذَلِكَ. وَيَنْبَغِي لِلْمُتَقَشِّفِ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ اللَّحْمَ وَالدَّسَمَ فِي الشَّهْرِ مَرَّتَيْنِ، فَإِنْ أَكَلَهُ أَرْبَعًا فَلَا بَأْسَ، قَدْ كَانَ السَّلَفُ يَفْعَلُونَ ذَلِكَ. وَفِي خَبَرٍ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: مَنْ تَرَكَ أَكْلَ اللَّحْمِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا سَاءَ خُلُقُهُ، وَمَنْ دَاوَمَ عَلَيْهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا قَسَا قَلْبُهُ. وَقَدْ نُهِيَ عَنْ مُدَاوَمَةِ اللَّحْمِ، وَقِيلَ: إِنَّ لَهُ ضَرَاوَةً كَضَرَاوَةِ الْخَمْرَةِ.

waqad kāna sufyānu al-thawriyyu ʾidhā shabiʿa fī laylatin ʾaḥyāhā, waʾidhā shabiʿa fī yawmin wāṣalahu bi-al-ṣalāti wa-al-dhikri, wakāna yatamaththalu fayaqūlu: ʾashbiʿi al-zanjiyya wakuddahu, wamarratan yaqūlu: ʾashbiʿi al-ḥimāra wakuddahu, wakāna ʾidhā jāʿa kaʾannahu yatarākhā fī dhālika. wayanbaghī li-l-mutaqashshifi ʾan yaʾkula al-laḥma wa-al-dasama fī al-shahri marratayni, faʾin ʾakalahu ʾarbaʿan falā baʾsa, qad kāna al-salafu yafʿalūna dhālika. wafī khabarin ʿan ʿaliyyin ʿalayhi al-salāmu: man taraka ʾakla al-laḥmi ʾarbaʿīna yawman sāʾa khuluquhu, waman dāwama ʿalayhi ʾarbaʿīna yawman qasā qalbuhu. waqad nuhiya ʿan mudāwamati al-laḥmi, waqīla: ʾinna lahu ḍarāwatan kaḍarāwati al-khamrati.

When Sufyān al-Thawrī ate his fill at night, he kept that night alive in worship; if by day, he continued through it in prayer and remembrance. He quoted the proverb: “Feed the Zanj man fully, then work him hard,” or sometimes: “Feed the donkey fully, then work it hard.” When hungry, he seemed to relax in this. An austere ascetic should eat meat and fat twice a month; four times is also unobjectionable, as the early authorities did. A report from ʿAlī, peace be upon him, says: “Whoever leaves meat for forty days develops a bad temper; whoever eats it continually for forty days becomes hardhearted.” Constant meat-eating has been forbidden, and it has been said to create a craving like the craving for wine.

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ لِلْمُتَقَلِّلِينَ مِنْ أَهْلِ عَبَّادَانَ: اِحْفَظُوا عُقُولَكُمْ وَتَعَاهَدُوهَا بِالْأَدْهَانِ وَالدَّسَمِ، فَإِنَّهُ مَا كَانَ وَلِيٌّ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ نَاقِصَ الْعَقْلِ. وَإِنْ أَحَبَّ الْمُرِيدُ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَالْفَاكِهَةِ فَلْيَجْعَلْ ذَلِكَ بَدَلًا مِنَ الْخُبْزِ وَيَقْطَعْ بِهِ جُوعَهُ؛ فَيَكُونُ ذَلِكَ لَهُ قُوتًا عِنْدَ الْحَاجَةِ إِلَى طُعْمٍ وَلَا يَكُونُ تَفَكُّهًا لِئَلَّا يَجْمَعَ لِلنَّفْسِ بَيْنَ عَادَةٍ وَشَهْوَةٍ، فَإِنَّهُ أَسْرَعُ لِمَلَلِهِ لِأَنَّهُ إِذَا شَبِعَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ غَيْرِ الْخُبْزِ شَبْعَةً أَوْ شَبْعَتَيْنِ كَانَ أَقْرَبَ إِلَى تَرْكِهِ وَاِنْقِطَاعِ شَهْوَتِهِ.

waqad kāna ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu li-l-mutaqallilīna min ʾahli ʿabbādāna: iḥfaẓū ʿuqūlakum wataʿāhadūhā bi-al-ʾadhāni wa-al-dasami, faʾinnahu mā kāna waliyyun li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla nāqiṣa al-ʿaqli. waʾin ʾaḥabba al-murīdu ʾan yaʾkula shayʾan mina al-ṭayyibāti wa-al-fākihati falyajʿal dhālika badalan mina al-khubzi wayaqṭaʿ bihi jūʿahu; fayakūnu dhālika lahu qūtan ʿinda al-ḥājati ʾilā ṭuʿmin walā yakūnu tafakkuhan liʾallā yajmaʿa li-l-nafsi bayna ʿādatin washahwatin, faʾinnahu ʾasraʿu limalalihi liʾannahu ʾidhā shabiʿa mina al-ṭayyibāti ghayri al-khubzi shabʿatan ʾaw shabʿatayni kāna ʾaqraba ʾilā tarkihi wa-inqiṭāʿi shahwatihi.

Abū Muḥammad Sahl, may God have mercy on him, used to tell those of ʿAbbādān who ate sparingly: “Protect your minds and maintain them with oils and fats, for no friend of God, mighty and majestic, has been deficient in mind.” If the aspirant wishes to eat delicacies or fruit, he should substitute them for bread and assuage his hunger with them. They will then serve as nourishment when food is needed, rather than as indulgence, so that he does not combine habit and appetite for the self. This more quickly leads to weariness of the food, for after filling himself once or twice with delicacies other than bread, he is nearer to leaving it and losing his appetite for it.

وَنَظَرَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ إِلَى اِبْنِ سَالِمٍ شَيْخِنَا رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَفِي يَدِهِ خُبْزٌ وَتَمْرٌ فَقَالَ لَهُ: اِبْتَدِئْ بِالتَّمْرِ فَإِنْ قَامَتْ كِفَايَتُكَ بِهِ وَإِلَّا أَخَذْتَ مِنَ الْخُبْزِ بَعْدَهُ حَاجَتَكَ. قَالَ: إِنَّ التَّمْرَ مُبَارَكٌ، وَالْخُبْزَ شُؤْمٌ؛ يَعْنِي أَنَّهُ كَانَ سَبَبَ إِخْرَاجِ آدَمَ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ، وَأَمَّا بَرَكَةُ التَّمْرِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى ضَرَبَ النَّخْلَةَ مَثَلًا لِكَلِمَةِ التَّوْحِيدِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ).

wanaẓara ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun ʾilā ibni sālimin shaykhinā raḥimahu Allāhu wafī yadihi khubzun watamrun faqāla lahu: ibtadiʾ bi-al-tamri faʾin qāmat kifāyatuka bihi waʾillā ʾakhadhta mina al-khubzi baʿdahu ḥājataka. qāla: ʾinna al-tamra mubārakun, wa-al-khubza shuʾmun; yaʿnī ʾannahu kāna sababa ʾikhrāji ʾādama mina al-jannati, waʾammā barakatu al-tamri faʾinna Allāha taʿālā ḍaraba al-nakhlata mathalan likalimati al-tawḥīdi fī qawlihi taʿālā: (ʾalam tara kayfa ḍaraba Allāhu mathalan kalimatan ṭayyibatan kashajaratin ṭayyibatin ʾaṣluhā thābitun wafarʿuhā fī al-samāʾi).

Abū Muḥammad Sahl saw our shaykh Ibn Sālim, may God have mercy on him, holding bread and dates. He said: “Begin with the dates; if they suffice, well and good, otherwise take afterward as much bread as you need.” He said: “Dates are blessed, while bread is inauspicious,” meaning that it caused Adam's expulsion from Paradise. As for the blessing of dates, God Most High made the palm an image of the declaration of divine unity in His saying, exalted is He: “Have you not seen how God offers a likeness: a good word is like a good tree, its root firm and its branches in heaven?”

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٩١

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 291

Volume Two, page 291

قَالَ اِبْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: كَلِمَةُ التَّوْحِيدِ لَا شَيْءَ أَحْلَى مِنْهَا كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ وَهِيَ النَّخْلَةُ، وَلَيْسَ فِي الثِّمَارِ أَحْلَى مِنَ الرُّطَبِ، وَلِذَلِكَ شَبَّهَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْمُؤْمِنَ فِي حَلَاوَتِهِ وَلِينِهِ وَقُوَّتِهِ وَثَبَاتِ أَصْلِهِ بِالنَّخْلَةِ، فَقَالَ: لَا يَسْقُطُ وَرَقُهَا، مَثَلُهَا كَمَثَلِ الْمُؤْمِنِ. يَقُولُ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: إِذَا اِسْتَغْنَيْتَ عَنِ الْخُبْزِ بِغَيْرِهِ مِنَ الطُّعْمِ كَانَ خَيْرًا لَكَ؛ يُرِيدُ أَنْ لَا تُوقِفَ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ عَادَةٍ فَتُنَازِعَكَ إِلَيْهَا. وَقَدْ ذَكَرْتُ هَذِهِ الْحِكَايَةَ لِأَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ الْجَلَّاءِ فَأَعْجَبَتْهُ، وَقَالَ: هَذَا كَلَامُ الْحُكَمَاءِ، وَكَانَ هَذَا يُلَائِمُ حَالَهُ.

qāla ibnu ʿabbāsin: kalimatu al-tawḥīdi lā shayʾa ʾaḥlā minhā kashajaratin ṭayyibatin wahiya al-nakhlatu, walaysa fī al-thimāri ʾaḥlā mina al-ruṭabi, wali-dhālika shabbaha rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-muʾmina fī ḥalāwatihi walīnihi waquwwatihi wathabāti ʾaṣlihi bi-al-nakhlati, faqāla: lā yasquṭu waraquhā, mathaluhā kamathali al-muʾmini. yaqūlu sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu: ʾidhā istaghnayta ʿani al-khubzi bighayrihi mina al-ṭuʿmi kāna khayran laka; yurīdu ʾan lā tūqifa nafsaka maʿa ʿādatin fatunāziʿaka ʾilayhā. waqad dhakartu hādhihi al-ḥikāyata liʾabī bakri bni al-jallāʾi faʾaʿjabathu, waqāla: hādhā kalāmu al-ḥukamāʾi, wakāna hādhā yulāʾimu ḥālahu.

Ibn ʿAbbās said: “Nothing is sweeter than the declaration of divine unity, like a good tree, namely the palm; and no fruit is sweeter than fresh dates.” Hence God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, likened the believer in sweetness, gentleness, strength, and firmness of root to the palm, saying: “Its leaves do not fall; its likeness is the believer's likeness.” Sahl, may God have mercy on him, says: “If another food lets you dispense with bread, it is better for you.” He means that you should not bind your self to a habit that will make it contend with you for its satisfaction. I mentioned this account to Abū Bakr ibn al-Jallāʾ, who admired it and said: “These are the sages' words.” It suited his own state.

وَإِنْ خَشِيَ الْمُرِيدُ أَنْ يَكُونَ شَيْءٌ مِنَ الْمَآكِلِ وَالطَّيِّبَاتِ لَهُ عَادَةً وَلَمْ يَأْمَنْ تَأَلُّهَ قَلْبِهِ وَتَوَقَانَ نَفْسِهِ إِلَيْهِ وَمُنَازَعَتَهَا إِيَّاهُ، وَكَانَ الْعَبْدُ مُبْتَدِئًا غِرًّا لَا يَعْرِفُ خِبْءَ النَّفْسِ وَدَوَاهِيَهَا وَلَا يَفْطَنُ لِمَكْرِهَا وَآفَاتِهَا؛ فَإِنَّ تَرْكَ ذَلِكَ أَفْضَلُ. فَلْيَتْرُكْهُ حِينَئِذٍ لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ خَوْفًا أَنْ يَشْتَهِيَهُ فَيَحْرِصَ عَلَى مِثْلِهِ، وَيَدْخُلَ مَدَاخِلَ السُّوءِ مِنْ أَجْلِهِ، وَيَبِيعَ دِينَهُ فِيهِ، أَوْ خَشْيَةَ تَمَكُّنِ الْعَادَةِ فِيهِ، فَتَعَذَّرَ عَلَيْهِ التَّوْبَةُ لِدُخُولِهِ فِي الشُّبُهَاتِ عِنْدَ اِعْتِيَادِ الشَّهَوَاتِ، لِأَنَّ الْعَادَةَ جُنْدُ اللَّهِ تَغْلِبُ الْعَقْلَ، وَالِابْتِلَاءَ سُلْطَانٌ مِنْ سُلْطَانِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى يَقْهَرُ الْعِلْمَ، لِأَجْلِهِ تَعَذَّرَتِ الِاسْتِقَامَةُ، وَلَوْلَا الْعَدَاوَةُ لَكَانَ النَّاسُ تَائِبِينَ، وَلَوْلَا الِابْتِلَاءُ لَكَانَ التَّائِبُونَ مُسْتَقِيمِينَ.

waʾin khashiya al-murīdu ʾan yakūna shayʾun mina al-maʾākili wa-al-ṭayyibāti lahu ʿādatan walam yaʾman taʾalluha qalbihi watawaqāna nafsihi ʾilayhi wamunāzaʿatahā ʾiyyāhu, wakāna al-ʿabdu mubtadiʾan ghirran lā yaʿrifu khibʾa al-nafsi wadawāhiyahā walā yafṭanu limakrihā waʾāfātihā; faʾinna tarka dhālika ʾafḍalu. falyatrukhu ḥīnaʾidhin liʾajli Allāhi khawfan ʾan yashtahiyahu fayaḥriṣa ʿalā mithlihi, wayadkhula madākhila al-sūʾi min ʾajlihi, wayabīʿa dīnahu fīhi, ʾaw khashyata tamakkuni al-ʿādati fīhi, fataʿadhdhara ʿalayhi al-tawbatu lidukhūlihi fī al-shubuhāti ʿinda iʿtiyādi al-shahawāti, liʾanna al-ʿādata jundu Allāhi taghlibu al-ʿaqla, wa-al-ibtilāʾa sulṭānun min sulṭāni Allāhi taʿālā yaqharu al-ʿilma, liʾajlihi taʿadhdharati al-istiqāmatu, walawlā al-ʿadāwatu lakāna al-nāsu tāʾibīna, walawlā al-ibtilāʾu lakāna al-tāʾibūna mustaqīmīna.

If the aspirant fears that some food or delicacy will become habitual, and cannot trust his heart not to become devoted to it or his self not to crave it and contend with him, then leaving it is better, especially if he is an inexperienced beginner who does not know the self's hidden devices and calamities or perceive its tricks and faults. Let him leave it for God's sake, fearing that he may desire it, covet more like it, enter evil paths for it, and sell his religion for it; or fearing that habit will become entrenched, making repentance difficult as indulgence draws him into doubtful things. Habit is God's army overpowering reason; trial is an authority from God Most High's authority that subdues knowledge, and through it steadfastness becomes difficult. Were it not for enmity, people would be repentant; were it not for trial, the repentant would remain steadfast.

فَلْيَتْرُكْ حِينَئِذٍ أَكْلَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ إِذَا صَارَتْ شَهَوَاتٍ، وَخَشِيَ مِنْهَا مُطَالَبَةَ الْعَادَاتِ، وَدَعَاوَى النَّفْسِ بِالْآفَاتِ، نَاوِيًا بِذَلِكَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ لِصَلَاحِ قَلْبِهِ، وَتَسْكِينِ نَفْسِهِ، لِيَمْلِكَ بِذَلِكَ نَفْسَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَمْلِكَهُ، وَيَفْطِمَ عَادَتَهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ تُهْلِكَهُ، وَيَغْلِبَ بِالتَّرْكِ طَبْعَهُ وَهَوَاهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَكُونَا بِالشَّهْوَةِ يَغْلِبَانِهِ. كَمَا قَالَ بَعْضُ الْحُكَمَاءِ: إِنْ لَأَقْضِي عَامَّةَ حَوَائِجِي بِالتَّرْكِ فَيَكُونُ أَرْوَحَ لِنَفْسِي. وَكَمَا قَالَ آخَرُ: إِذَا أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَسْتَقْرِضَ مِنْ غَيْرِي لِشَهْوَةٍ اِسْتَقْرَضْتُ مِنْ نَفْسِي فَتَرَكْتُ الشَّهْوَةَ فَهِيَ خَيْرُ غَرِيمٍ لِي. فَيَصِيرُ التَّرْكُ حِينَئِذٍ وَالْمَنْعُ لِلنَّفْسِ غِذَاءً وَعَادَةً، كَمَا كَانَ الْأَخْذُ وَالْأَكْلُ عَادَةً، فَفِي هَذَا عَوْنٌ لَهُ عَلَى صَلَاحِ قَلْبِهِ وَدَوَامِ حَالِهِ.

falyatruk ḥīnaʾidhin ʾakla al-ṭayyibāti ʾidhā ṣārat shahawātin, wakhashiya minhā muṭālabata al-ʿādāti, wadaʿāwā al-nafsi bi-al-ʾāfāti, nāwiyan bi-dhālika mā dhakarnāhu liṣalāḥi qalbihi, wataskīni nafsihi, liyamlika bi-dhālika nafsahu qabla ʾan tamlikahu, wayafṭima ʿādatahā qabla ʾan tuhlikahu, wayaghliba bi-al-tarki ṭabʿahu wahawāhu qabla ʾan yakūnā bi-al-shahwati yaghlibānihi. kamā qāla baʿḍu al-ḥukamāʾi: ʾin laʾaqḍī ʿāmmata ḥawāʾijī bi-al-tarki fayakūnu ʾarwaḥa linafsī. wakamā qāla ʾākharu: ʾidhā ʾaradtu ʾan ʾastaqriḍa min ghayrī lishahwatin istaqraḍtu min nafsī fataraktu al-shahwata fahiya khayru gharīmin lī. fayaṣīru al-tarku ḥīnaʾidhin wa-al-manʿu li-l-nafsi ghidhāʾan waʿādatan, kamā kāna al-ʾakhdhu wa-al-ʾaklu ʿādatan, fafī hādhā ʿawnun lahu ʿalā ṣalāḥi qalbihi wadawāmi ḥālihi.

He should then stop eating delicacies when they become cravings and he fears habitual demands and the self's troublesome claims. His intention should be what we have described: reforming his heart and quieting his self, so that he masters it before it masters him, weans it from habit before it destroys him, and overcomes disposition and desire through relinquishment before they overcome him through appetite. One sage said: “Indeed, I meet most of my needs by abandoning them; that is more restful for me.” Another said: “When I want to borrow from someone for a desired pleasure, I borrow from my own self and leave the pleasure; it is my best creditor.” Abstinence and denying the self then become its nourishment and habit, just as taking and eating had been its habit. This assists him in reforming his heart and sustaining his state.

وَكَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ أَدْهَمَ يَسْأَلُ أَصْحَابَهُ عَنِ الشَّيْءِ مِنَ الْمَأْكُولِ فَيُقَالُ: إِنَّهُ غَالٍ، فَيَقُولُ لَهُ: أَرْخِصُوهُ بِتَرْكِهِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْأُدَبَاءِ فِي مَعْنَاهُ: وَإِذَا غَلَا شَيْءٌ عَلَيَّ تَرَكْتُهُ، فَيَكُونُ أَرْخَصَ مَا يَكُونُ إِذَا غَلَا. وَهُوَ حِينَئِذٍ تَارِكٌ لِلشَّهَوَاتِ لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَعَامِلٌ مِنْ عُمَّالِ اللَّهِ؛ وَقَدْ كَانَ هَذَا طَرِيقَ طَائِفَةٍ مِنَ السَّلَفِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، ثُمَّ اِنْقَرَضُوا فَاِنْمَحَى طَرِيقُهُمْ وَخَلَفَ بَعْدَهُمْ خَلْفٌ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ اِبْتَغَوُا الشَّهَوَاتِ؛ وَلَمْ يُقَامُوا فِي هَذِهِ الْمَقَامَاتِ وَلَا سُلِكَ بِهِمْ هَذِهِ الطُّرُقَاتُ، فَلَمْ يَتَكَلَّمُوا فِي تَرْكِ الشَّهَوَاتِ؛ فَلِذَلِكَ دَرَسَ هَذَا الطَّرِيقُ وَعَفَا أَثَرُهُ لِفَقْدِ سَالِكِهِ وَعَدَمِ كَاشِفِهِ، فَمَنْ عَمِلَ بِهِ وَسَلَكَهُ فَقَدْ أَظْهَرَهُ، وَمَنْ أَظْهَرَ فَقَدْ أَحْيَا أَهْلَهُ.

wakāna ʾibrāhīmu bnu ʾadhama yasʾalu ʾaṣḥābahu ʿani al-shayʾi mina al-maʾkūli fayuqālu: ʾinnahu ghālin, fayaqūlu lahu: ʾarkhiṣūhu bitarkihi. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʾudabāʾi fī maʿnāhu: waʾidhā ghalā shayʾun ʿalayya taraktuhu, fayakūnu ʾarkhaṣa mā yakūnu ʾidhā ghalā. wahuwa ḥīnaʾidhin tārikun li-l-shahawāti liʾajli Allāhi taʿālā waʿāmilun min ʿummāli Allāhi; waqad kāna hādhā ṭarīqa ṭāʾifatin mina al-salafi ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā, thumma inqaraḍū fa-inmaḥā ṭarīquhum wakhalafa baʿdahum khalfun mina al-ʿulamāʾi ibtaghawu al-shahawāti; walam yuqāmū fī hādhihi al-maqāmāti walā sulika bihim hādhihi al-ṭuruqātu, falam yatakallamū fī tarki al-shahawāti; fali-dhālika darasa hādhā al-ṭarīqu waʿafā ʾatharuhu lifaqdi sālikihi waʿadami kāshifihi, faman ʿamila bihi wasalakahu faqad ʾaẓharahu, waman ʾaẓhara faqad ʾaḥyā ʾahlahu.

Ibrāhīm ibn Adham would ask his companions about a food and be told it was expensive. He would say: “Make it cheap by leaving it.” A cultivated writer expressed the same thought: “When something becomes dear to me, I leave it; it is cheapest precisely when it becomes dear.” Such a person leaves appetites for God Most High's sake and is one of God's workers. This was the path of a company of the early authorities toward God Most High. They passed away and their path was effaced. After them came scholars who sought appetites: they were not established in these stations or led along these ways, so they did not speak of leaving appetites. Thus this path fell into disuse and its traces faded, because no one walked it or disclosed it. Whoever practices and walks it makes it visible, and whoever makes it visible revives its people.

حَدَّثَنِي بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا عَنْ بَعْضِ الْمُرِيدِينَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ قَالَ: نَازَعَتْنِي نَفْسِي خُبْزَ أَرُزَّةٍ وَسَمَكًا فَمَنَعْتُهَا فَقَوِيَتْ مُطَالَبَتُهَا فَاِشْتَدَّتْ مُجَاهَدَتِي لَهَا عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً. قَالَ: فَمَاتَ، فَرَأَيْتُهُ فِي النَّوْمِ فَقُلْتُ: مَا فَعَلَ اللَّهُ بِكَ؟ فَقَالَ: لَا أُحْسِنُ أَصِفُ إِلَيْكَ مَا يَلْقَانِي بِهِ رَبِّي مِنَ النَّعِيمِ وَالْكَرَامَةِ، وَكَانَ أَوَّلَ شَيْءٍ اِسْتَقْبَلَنِي بِهِ خُبْزُ أَرُزَّةٍ وَسَمَكًا، فَقَالَ: كُلْ شَهْوَتَكَ

ḥaddathanī baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā ʿan baʿḍi al-murīdīna min ʾahli al-baṣrati qāla: nāzaʿatnī nafsī khubza ʾaruzzatin wasamakan famanaʿtuhā faqawiyat muṭālabatuhā fa-ishtaddat mujāhadatī lahā ʿishrīna sanatan. qāla: famāta, faraʾaytuhu fī al-nawmi faqultu: mā faʿala Allāhu bika? faqāla: lā ʾuḥsinu ʾaṣifu ʾilayka mā yalqānī bihi rabbī mina al-naʿīmi wa-al-karāmati, wakāna ʾawwala shayʾin istaqbalanī bihi khubzu ʾaruzzatin wasamakan, faqāla: kul shahwataka

One of our scholars related to me from an aspirant of Basra: “My self contended with me for rice bread and fish. I denied it, and its demands grew stronger. My struggle against it continued intensely for twenty years.” He died, and the narrator said: “I saw him in a dream and asked: ‘What did God do with you?’ He answered: ‘I cannot adequately describe the bliss and honor with which my Lord meets me. The first thing He welcomed me with was rice bread and fish, saying: Eat what you desired

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٩٢

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 292

Volume Two, page 292

الْيَوْمَ هَنِيئًا بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ. وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (كُلُوا وَاِشْرَبُوا هَنِيئًا بِمَا أَسْلَفْتُمْ فِي الْأَيَّامِ الْخَالِيَةِ)، فَكَأَنَّهُمْ أَسْلَفُوا تَرْكَ الشَّهَوَاتِ لَمَّا تَرَكُوهَا، وَقَدَّمُوا الْجُوعَ وَالْعَطَشَ فِي خُلُوِّ أَيَّامِهِمْ فَاِسْتَقْبَلَهُمْ بِالْأَكْلِ وَالشُّرْبِ. وَيُقَالُ: لِكُلِّ عَمَلٍ جَزَاءٌ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ جِنْسِهِ وَبِمَعْنَاهُ. وَقَالَ سَرِيٌّ السَّقَطِيُّ: مُنْذُ ثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً أَشْتَهِي أَنْ أَغْمِسَ جَزَرَةً فِي دِبْسٍ وَأَنَا أَمْنَعُ نَفْسِي. وَكَانَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ يَقُولُ: تَرْكُ شَهْوَةٍ مِنْ شَهَوَاتِ النَّفْسِ أَنْفَعُ لِلْقَلْبِ مِنْ صِيَامِ سَنَةٍ وَقِيَامِهَا. وَقَالَ: لَأَنْ أَتْرُكَ لُقْمَةً مِنْ عَشَائِي أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ قِيَامِ لَيْلَةٍ، ذَلِكَ إِيثَارًا لِلتَّقَلُّلِ وَخِفَّةً لِلْمَعِدَةِ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ أَوْ خَشْيَةَ الِاِعْتِيَادِ لِلشِّبَعِ.

al-yawma hanīʾan bighayri ḥisābin. waqad qāla Allāhu taʿālā: (kulū wa-ishrabū hanīʾan bimā ʾaslaftum fī al-ʾayyāmi al-khāliyati), fakaʾannahum ʾaslafū tarka al-shahawāti lammā tarakūhā, waqaddamū al-jūʿa wa-al-ʿaṭasha fī khuluwwi ʾayyāmihim fa-istaqbalahum bi-al-ʾakli wa-al-shurbi. wayuqālu: likulli ʿamalin jazāʾun fī al-ʾākhirati min jinsihi wabimaʿnāhu. waqāla sariyyun al-saqaṭiyyu: mundhu thalāthīna sanatan ʾashtahī ʾan ʾaghmisa jazaratan fī dibsin waʾanā ʾamnaʿu nafsī. wakāna ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu yaqūlu: tarku shahwatin min shahawāti al-nafsi ʾanfaʿu li-l-qalbi min ṣiyāmi sanatin waqiyāmihā. waqāla: laʾan ʾatruka luqmatan min ʿashāʾī ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min qiyāmi laylatin, dhālika ʾīthāran li-l-taqalluli wakhiffatan li-l-maʿidati mina al-ṭaʿāmi ʾaw khashyata al-iʿtiyādi li-l-shibaʿi.

today in glad enjoyment, without reckoning.’” God Most High has said: “Eat and drink in glad enjoyment for what you sent ahead in days gone by.” It is as though, in relinquishing their appetites, they sent that relinquishment ahead. They offered hunger and thirst in their vanished days, and He welcomed them with eating and drinking. It is said that every deed has a recompense in the hereafter of its own kind and meaning. Sarī al-Saqaṭī said: “For thirty years I have wanted to dip a carrot in date syrup, and I have denied myself.” Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī used to say: “Leaving one of the self's desires benefits the heart more than a year's fasting and night prayer.” He also said: “Leaving one mouthful of my supper is dearer to me than standing in prayer for a night,” preferring scant eating, a stomach light of food, or avoiding the habit of satiety.

وَسَمِعْتُ أَبَا بَكْرِ بْنِ الْجَلَّاءِ يَقُولُ: أَنَا أَعْرِفُ إِنْسَانًا تَقُولُ لَهُ نَفْسُهُ: أَنَا أَصْبِرُ لَكَ عَلَى طَيِّ عَشْرَةِ أَيَّامٍ وَأَطْعِمْنِي بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ شَهْوَةً أَشْتَهِيهَا، فَيَقُولُ لَهَا: لَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ تَصْبِرِي عَلَى طَيِّ عَشْرَةِ أَيَّامٍ، وَلَكِنِ اُتْرُكِي هَذِهِ الشَّهْوَةَ الَّتِي تَشْتَهِيهَا. وَقَالَ لِي رَجُلٌ: رَأَى النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْمَنَامِ فَأَخَذَ بِجِلْدِ ذِرَاعِهِ وَجَعَلَ يَقُولُ: جُعْتَ هَذَا الْجُوعَ كُلَّهُ؟ وَلَمْ يَقُلْ لِي اُتْرُكِ الْجُوعَ، وَلَوْ قَالَ لِي اُتْرُكْهُ لَعَلَّهُ كَانَ يَتْرُكُهُ. وَقَدْ كَانَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ قَدْ تَرَكَ أَكْلَ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَأَكْلَ الْخُبْزِ أَيْضًا ثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً.

wasamiʿtu ʾabā bakri bni al-jallāʾi yaqūlu: ʾanā ʾaʿrifu ʾinsānan taqūlu lahu nafsuhu: ʾanā ʾaṣbiru laka ʿalā ṭayyi ʿashrati ʾayyāmin waʾaṭʿimnī baʿda dhālika shahwatan ʾashtahīhā, fayaqūlu lahā: lā ʾurīdu ʾan taṣbirī ʿalā ṭayyi ʿashrati ʾayyāmin, walakini utrukī hādhihi al-shahwata allatī tashtahīhā. waqāla lī rajulun: raʾā al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī al-manāmi faʾakhadha bijildi dhirāʿihi wajaʿala yaqūlu: juʿta hādhā al-jūʿa kullahu? walam yaqul lī utruki al-jūʿa, walaw qāla lī utrukhu laʿallahu kāna yatrukuhu. waqad kāna raḥimahu Allāhu qad taraka ʾakla al-shahawāti waʾakla al-khubzi ʾayḍan thalāthīna sanatan.

I heard Abū Bakr ibn al-Jallāʾ say: “I know a man whose self tells him: ‘I will bear ten days without food for you; afterward give me a delicacy I desire.’ He tells it: ‘I do not want you to bear ten days without food. Leave this desire you crave instead.’” A man told me that he saw the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in a dream. He took hold of the skin of his forearm and said: “Have you endured all this hunger?” The man said: “He did not tell me to leave hunger. Had he told me to leave it, perhaps he would have left it.” He, may God have mercy on him, had given up desired foods, and bread as well, for thirty years.

وَكَانَ الْجُنَيْدُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: يَقُومُ أَحَدُهُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِ فَيَجْعَلُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى زِنْبِيلَ طَعَامٍ، وَيُرِيدُ أَنْ يَجِدَ حَلَاوَةَ الْمُنَاجَاةِ، أَوْ يَسْمَعَ فَهْمَ الْخِطَابِ. وَمَثَلُ الْبَطْنِ مَثَلُ الْمِزْهَرِ وَهُوَ الْعُودُ الْمُجَوَّفُ ذُو الْأَوْتَارِ، إِنَّمَا حَسُنَ صَوْتُهُ لِخِفَّتِهِ وَرِقَّتِهِ، وَلِأَنَّهُ أَجْوَفُ غَيْرُ مُمْتَلِئٍ، وَلَوْ كَانَ ثَقِيلًا جَالِسًا مُمْتَلِئًا لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ صَوْتٌ. وَكَذَلِكَ الْجَوْفُ إِذَا خَلَا مِنَ الِامْتِلَاءِ كَانَ أَرَقَّ لِلْقَلْبِ وَأَعْذَبَ لِلتِّلَاوَةِ وَأَدْوَمَ لِلْقِيَامِ وَأَقَلَّ لِلْمَنَامِ.

wakāna al-junaydu raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu: yaqūmu ʾaḥaduhum fī ṣalātihi fayajʿalu baynahu wabayna Allāhi taʿālā zinbīla ṭaʿāmin, wayurīdu ʾan yajida ḥalāwata al-munājāti, ʾaw yasmaʿa fahma al-khiṭābi. wamathalu al-baṭni mathalu al-mizhari wahuwa al-ʿūdu al-mujawwafu dhū al-ʾawtāri, ʾinnamā ḥasuna ṣawtuhu likhiffatihi wariqqatihi, waliʾannahu ʾajwafu ghayru mumtaliʾin, walaw kāna thaqīlan jālisan mumtaliʾan lam yakun lahu ṣawtun. wa-kadhālika al-jawfu ʾidhā khalā mina al-imtilāʾi kāna ʾaraqqa li-l-qalbi waʾaʿdhaba li-l-tilāwati waʾadwama li-l-qiyāmi waʾaqalla li-l-manāmi.

Al-Junayd, may God have mercy on him, used to say: “One of them stands in prayer, places a basket of food between himself and God Most High, then wants to find the sweetness of intimate converse or hear and understand the address.” The belly is like the mizhar, a hollow stringed lute. Its sound is beautiful because it is light and delicate, hollow rather than filled. Were it heavy, inert, and full, it would have no sound. Likewise an unfilled interior makes the heart more tender, recitation sweeter, standing in prayer more sustained, and sleep less frequent.

وَرُوِيَ عَنْهُ أَنَّ عُتْبَةَ الْغُلَامَ قَالَ لِعَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ: إِنَّ فُلَانًا يَصِفُ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ مَنْزِلَةً لَا أَعْرِفُهَا. قَالَ: إِنَّ فُلَانًا لَا يَأْكُلُ التَّمْرَ وَأَنْتَ تَأْكُلُهُ. قَالَ: فَأَنَا إِنْ تَرَكْتُ التَّمْرَ وَأَكْلَهُ عَرَفْتُ تِلْكَ الْمَنْزِلَةَ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ وَغَيْرَهَا. فَأَخَذَ يَبْكِي فَقَالَ لَهُ بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِهِ: أَبْكَى اللَّهُ عَيْنَكَ، أَعَلَى التَّمْرِ تَبْكِي؟ فَقَالَ عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ: دَعْهُ فَإِنَّ نَفْسَهُ عَرَفَتْ صِدْقَ عَزْمِهِ فِي التَّرْكِ، هُوَ إِذَا تَرَكَ شَيْئًا لَمْ يُعَاوِدْ فِيهِ أَبَدًا.

waruwiya ʿanhu ʾanna ʿutbata al-ghulāma qāla liʿabdi al-wāḥidi bni zaydin: ʾinna fulānan yaṣifu min qalbihi manzilatan lā ʾaʿrifuhā. qāla: ʾinna fulānan lā yaʾkulu al-tamra waʾanta taʾkuluhu. qāla: faʾanā ʾin taraktu al-tamra waʾaklahu ʿaraftu tilka al-manzilata? qāla: naʿam waghayrahā. faʾakhadha yabkī faqāla lahu baʿḍu ʾaṣḥābihi: ʾabkā Allāhu ʿaynaka, ʾaʿalā al-tamri tabkī? faqāla ʿabdu al-wāḥidi: daʿhu faʾinna nafsahu ʿarafat ṣidqa ʿazmihi fī al-tarki, huwa ʾidhā taraka shayʾan lam yuʿāwid fīhi ʾabadan.

It is related from him that ʿUtba al-Ghulām told ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd: “So-and-so describes a station in his heart that I do not know.” He answered: “So-and-so does not eat dates, while you do.” He asked: “If I leave dates and eating them, will I know that station?” He replied: “Yes, and others.” He began to weep. One companion said: “May God make your eye weep! Are you crying over dates?” ʿAbd al-Wāḥid said: “Leave him. His self has recognized the sincerity of his resolve to give them up. Once he leaves something, he never returns to it.”

وَكَانَ بَعْضُ أَشْيَاخِنَا تَرَكَ أَكْلَ الْخُبْزِ الْحَارِّ لِأَنْ كَانَ يُحِبُّهُ وَيَشْتَهِيهِ سِنِينَ كَثِيرَةً فَعُوتِبَ فِي ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ: لَوْ طَمِعَتْ نَفْسِي فِي أَكْلِ الْخُبْزِ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً مَا أَطْعَمْتُهَا السَّاعَةَ. وَكَانَ رُبَّمَا يَبْكِي مِنْ شِدَّةِ شَهْوَةِ نَفْسِهِ وَشِدَّةِ عَزْمِ مُجَاهَدَتِهِ لِاِسْتِشْعَارِ نَفْسِهِ صِدْقَهُ وَحُسْنَ وَفَائِهِ، فَتَيْأَسُ مِنْ شَهْوَتِهَا آخِرَ الدَّهْرِ، فَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ يَقَعُ عَلَيْهِ الْبُكَاءُ لِلْإِيَاسِ مِنَ الْمُشْتَهَى. وَاِعْلَمْ أَنَّ الشَّهَوَاتِ لَا حَدَّ لَهَا، وَمَثَلُ الْقُوتِ مَثَلُ الْعِلْمِ ذُو حُدُودٍ، فَكَمْ مِنْ شَهْوَةٍ دَنِيَّةٍ مَنَعَتْ رُتْبَةً عَلِيَّةً.

wakāna baʿḍu ʾashyākhinā taraka ʾakla al-khubzi al-ḥārri liʾan kāna yuḥibbuhu wayashtahīhi sinīna kathīratan faʿūtiba fī dhālika faqāla: law ṭamiʿat nafsī fī ʾakli al-khubzi ʿishrīna sanatan mā ʾaṭʿamtuhā al-sāʿata. wakāna rubbamā yabkī min shiddati shahwati nafsihi washiddati ʿazmi mujāhadatihi li-istishʿāri nafsihi ṣidqahu waḥusna wafāʾihi, fatayʾasu min shahwatihā ʾākhira al-dahri, fa-kadhālika kāna yaqaʿu ʿalayhi al-bukāʾu li-l-ʾiyāsi mina al-mushtahā. wa-iʿlam ʾanna al-shahawāti lā ḥadda lahā, wamathalu al-qūti mathalu al-ʿilmi dhū ḥudūdin, fakam min shahwatin daniyyatin manaʿat rutbatan ʿaliyyatan.

One of our shaykhs left off eating hot bread because he loved and craved it for many years. Reproached for this, he said: “Even if my self had hoped to eat bread for twenty years, I would not feed it now.” Sometimes he wept because of the intensity of his appetite and the firmness of his resolve to struggle against it. His self sensed his truthfulness and faithful resolve, and despaired of its desire for the rest of time. Thus weeping came upon him from losing hope of what he craved. Know that appetites have no limit, whereas nourishment is like knowledge, possessing bounds. How often a low appetite has prevented a lofty rank!

فَإِنْ لَمْ تَقْطَعِ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَتَحْسِمْهَا أَحَبَّ مَا كَانَتْ إِلَيْكَ أَعْطَتْكَ أَرْغَبَ مَا تَكُونُ فِيهَا، فَلَا تَقْعُدْ عَنِ التَّوْبَةِ تَنْتَظِرْ آخِرَهَا، فَإِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَا آخِرَ لِشَهَوَاتِهَا إِلَى أَنْ تَرَى الْمَلَائِكَةَ، فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ تُمْحَى صِفَاتُهَا فَتَغِيبُ الشَّهَوَاتُ لِأَنَّهَا مِنْ أَوْصَافِهَا. فَإِنْ لَمْ تَتْرُكِ الشَّهَوَاتِ الْمُعْتَادَةَ فَلَا تَعْمَلْ فِي مِثْلِهَا مِنَ الزِّيَادَةِ بَلْ يَكُونُ عَمَلُكَ فِي النُّقْصَانِ؛ فَهُوَ أَقْرَبُ

faʾin lam taqṭaʿi al-shahawāti wataḥsimhā ʾaḥabba mā kānat ʾilayka ʾaʿṭatka ʾarghaba mā takūnu fīhā, falā taqʿud ʿani al-tawbati tantaẓir ʾākhirahā, faʾinna al-nafsa lā ʾākhira lishahawātihā ʾilā ʾan tarā al-malāʾikata, faʿinda dhālika tumḥā ṣifātuhā fataghību al-shahawātu liʾannahā min ʾawṣāfihā. faʾin lam tatruki al-shahawāti al-muʿtādata falā taʿmal fī mithlihā mina al-ziyādati bal yakūnu ʿamaluka fī al-nuqṣāni; fahuwa ʾaqrabu

If you do not cut off and decisively end appetites when they are dearest to you, they will give you what you most eagerly desire in them. Do not remain inactive about repentance, waiting for their end: the self's appetites do not end until it sees the angels. Then its qualities are effaced and appetites vanish, for they belong to its attributes. If you do not abandon accustomed appetites, do not work to increase them; work instead at reducing them, for that is closer

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٩٣

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 293

Volume Two, page 293

إِلَى أَخْلَاقِ الْإِيمَانِ. وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ لِأَصْحَابِهِ: لَا تَأْكُلُوا الشَّهَوَاتِ، فَإِنْ أَكَلْتُمُوهَا فَلَا تَطْلُبُوهَا، فَإِنْ طَلَبْتُمُوهَا فَلَا تُحِبُّوهَا. وَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ: مَا زَادَ عَلَى الْخُبْزِ فَهُوَ شَهْوَةٌ حَتَّى الْمِلْحُ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: الْخُبْزُ مِنْ أَكْبَرِ الشَّهَوَاتِ. وَاِعْلَمْ أَنَّ مَا زَادَ عَلَى الْخُبْزِ فَهُوَ فَاكِهَةٌ يُتَفَكَّهُ بِهِ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ اِبْنِ عُمَرَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: مَا تَأْتِينَا مِنَ الْعِرَاقِ فَاكِهَةٌ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْنَا مِنَ الْخُبْزِ.

ʾilā ʾakhlāqi al-ʾīmāni. waqad kāna baʿḍuhum yaqūlu liʾaṣḥābihi: lā taʾkulū al-shahawāti, faʾin ʾakaltumūhā falā taṭlubūhā, faʾin ṭalabtumūhā falā tuḥibbūhā. wakānū yaqūlūna: mā zāda ʿalā al-khubzi fahuwa shahwatun ḥattā al-milḥu. waqāla baʿḍuhum: al-khubzu min ʾakbari al-shahawāti. wa-iʿlam ʾanna mā zāda ʿalā al-khubzi fahuwa fākihatun yutafakkahu bihi. waqad rawaynā ʿani ibni ʿumara ʾannahu qāla: mā taʾtīnā mina al-ʿirāqi fākihatun ʾaḥabbu ʾilaynā mina al-khubzi.

to the character of faith. One of them used to tell his companions: “Do not eat desired delicacies. If you eat them, do not seek them; if you seek them, do not love them.” They used to say: “Whatever exceeds bread is an indulgence, even salt.” Another said: “Bread is among the greatest indulgences.” Know that anything beyond bread is a pleasure-food enjoyed for delight. We have transmitted from Ibn ʿUmar: “No pleasure-food comes to us from Iraq that is dearer to us than bread.”

فَإِنْ كَانَ لَا بُدَّ مِنْ تَفَكُّهٍ بِفَاكِهَةٍ مَعَ الْخُبْزِ الَّذِي هُوَ قُوتُ النَّفْسِ فَكَمَا أَطْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الْفُقَرَاءَ فِي الْكَفَّارَةِ، وَهُوَ التَّوَسُّطُ فِي الْأُدَامِ الَّذِي أَمَرَ بِهِ وَأَحَبَّهُ لِفُقَرَائِهِ مِثْلَ الْخُبْزِ وَاللَّبَنِ، لِأَنَّ أَعْلَى الْأُدَامِ اللَّحْمُ وَالْحُلْوُ، وَأَدْنَاهُ الْمِلْحُ وَالْخَلُّ، فَلَمْ يَأْمُرْ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى بِأَعْلَاهُ لِأَنَّهُ يَشُقُّ عَلَى الْأَغْنِيَاءِ، وَلَمْ يَأْمُرْ بِالْأَدْنَى لِأَنَّهُ يَشُقُّ عَلَى الْفُقَرَاءِ، وَتَوَسَّطَ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُمَا، فَقَالَ عَزَّ مِنْ قَائِلٍ: (مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ)، فَهُوَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ.

faʾin kāna lā budda min tafakkuhin bifākihatin maʿa al-khubzi alladhī huwa qūtu al-nafsi fakamā ʾaṭʿama Allāhu ʿazza wajalla al-fuqarāʾa fī al-kaffārati, wahuwa al-tawassuṭu fī al-ʾudāmi alladhī ʾamara bihi waʾaḥabbahu lifuqarāʾihi mithla al-khubzi wa-al-labani, liʾanna ʾaʿlā al-ʾudāmi al-laḥmu wa-al-ḥulwu, waʾadnāhu al-milḥu wa-al-khallu, falam yaʾmur subḥānahu wataʿālā biʾaʿlāhu liʾannahu yashuqqu ʿalā al-ʾaghniyāʾi, walam yaʾmur bi-al-ʾadnā liʾannahu yashuqqu ʿalā al-fuqarāʾi, watawassaṭa al-ʾamru baynahumā, faqāla ʿazza min qāʾilin: (min ʾawsaṭi mā tuṭʿimūna ʾahlīkum), fahuwa mā dhakarnāhu.

If there must be some pleasurable food alongside bread, the self's sustenance, let it be as God, mighty and majestic, provides for the poor in expiation: a moderate condiment of the kind He commanded and loved for His poor, such as bread and milk. The highest condiments are meat and sweet food; the lowest are salt and vinegar. He, glorified and exalted, did not command the highest, because it burdens the rich, or the lowest, because it burdens the poor. The command took a middle course. He, majestic in His speech, said: “From the average of what you feed your families.” It is what we have described.

وَعَلَى ذَلِكَ فَإِنِ اُبْتُلِيَ الْعَبْدُ بِأَكْلِ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَحُبِّهَا فَلْيُظْهِرْ ذَلِكَ وَلَا يُخْفِيهِ وَلْيَشْتَرِهَا بِنَفْسِهِ وَلَا يَسْتُرْهَا؛ فَإِنَّ هَذَا مِنْ صِدْقِ الْحَالِ، وَهُوَ طَرِيقُ السَّلَفِ. إِنْ فَاتَهُ الْمُجَاهَدَةُ فِي الْأَعْمَالِ فَلَا يَفُوتَنَّهُ الصِّدْقُ فِي الْحَالِ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ صِدِّيقًا فَلْيَصْدُقْ فِي كَذِبِهِ؛ فَإِنَّ الصِّدْقَ فِي الْكَذِبِ أَحَدُ الصِّدْقَيْنِ، وَإِنَّ خَفَاءَ الْكَذِبِ وَالنَّقْصِ وَإِظْهَارَ ضِدِّهِ مِنَ الْإِخْلَاصِ وَالتَّمَامِ هُوَ كَذِبَانِ لِأَنَّهُ نَقَصَ وَأَظْهَرَ حَالَ الْكَامِلِينَ وَاِعْتَلَّ وَأَبْدَى شِعَارَ الْمَعْصُومِينَ فَكَذَبَ مِنْ طَرِيقَيْنِ، وَاِسْتَحَقَّ الْمَقْتَ مِنْ وَجْهَيْنِ.

waʿalā dhālika faʾini ubtuliya al-ʿabdu biʾakli al-shahawāti waḥubbihā falyuẓhir dhālika walā yukhfīhi walyashtarihā binafsihi walā yasturhā; faʾinna hādhā min ṣidqi al-ḥāli, wahuwa ṭarīqu al-salafi. ʾin fātahu al-mujāhadatu fī al-ʾaʿmāli falā yafūtannahu al-ṣidqu fī al-ḥāli, waʾin lam yakun ṣiddīqan falyaṣduq fī kadhibihi; faʾinna al-ṣidqa fī al-kadhibi ʾaḥadu al-ṣidqayni, waʾinna khafāʾa al-kadhibi wa-al-naqṣi waʾiẓhāra ḍiddihi mina al-ʾikhlāṣi wa-al-tamāmi huwa kadhibāni liʾannahu naqaṣa waʾaẓhara ḥāla al-kāmilīna wa-iʿtalla waʾabdā shiʿāra al-maʿṣūmīna fakadhaba min ṭarīqayni, wa-istaḥaqqa al-maqta min wajhayni.

Accordingly, if the servant is afflicted with eating and loving desired foods, let him show it openly rather than hide it. Let him buy them himself and not conceal them, for this is truthfulness in one's condition and the early authorities' way. If struggle in deeds escapes him, truthfulness in his state must not. If he is not utterly truthful, let him be truthful about his falsehood, for truthfulness about falsehood is one of the two forms of truthfulness. Concealing falsehood and deficiency while displaying their opposites, sincerity and completeness, amounts to two falsehoods. He is deficient yet displays the state of the complete; he is ailing yet displays the signs of the protected. He lies in two ways and deserves abhorrence on two grounds.

فَلِذَلِكَ غَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَى الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَمَقَتَهُمْ مَقْتَيْنِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَرْضَ مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا بِتَوْبَتَيْنِ وَاِشْتَرَطَ عَلَيْهِمْ شَرْطَيْنِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الْأَسْفَلِ مِنَ النَّارِ)، يَعْنِي أَسْفَلَ مِنَ الْكُفَّارِ؛ لِأَنَّ الْكَافِرَ أَخْلَصَ فِي كُفْرِهِ فَسَوَّى بَيْنَ بَاطِنِهِ وَظَاهِرِهِ، وَالْمُنَافِقَ كَفَرَ وَأَشْرَكَ فِي إِيمَانِهِ فَخَالَفَ بَيْنَ بَاطِنِهِ وَظَاهِرِهِ وَاِسْتَخَفَّ بِنَظَرِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى قَلْبِهِ وَعَظَّمَ عَيْنَ الْمَخْلُوقِ، فَزَادَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي هَوَانِهِ وَشَدَّدَ فِي تَوْبِهِ بِمَا وَكَّدَ مِنْ شَرْطِهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (إِلَّا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَأَصْلَحُوا وَاِعْتَصَمُوا بِاللَّهِ وَأَخْلَصُوا دِينَهُمْ لِلَّهِ) الْآيَةَ.

fali-dhālika ghaḍiba Allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʿalā al-munāfiqīna wamaqatahum maqtayni thumma lam yarḍa minhum ʾillā bitawbatayni wa-ishtaraṭa ʿalayhim sharṭayni faqāla taʿālā: (ʾinna al-munāfiqīna fī al-darki al-ʾasfali mina al-nāri), yaʿnī ʾasfala mina al-kuffāri; liʾanna al-kāfira ʾakhlaṣa fī kufrihi fasawwā bayna bāṭinihi waẓāhirihi, wa-al-munāfiqa kafara waʾashraka fī ʾīmānihi fakhālafa bayna bāṭinihi waẓāhirihi wa-istakhaffa binaẓari Allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʾilā qalbihi waʿaẓẓama ʿayna al-makhlūqi, fazāda Allāhu ʿazza wajalla fī hawānihi washaddada fī tawbihi bimā wakkada min sharṭihi faqāla taʿālā: (ʾillā alladhīna tābū waʾaṣlaḥū wa-iʿtaṣamū bi-Allāhi waʾakhlaṣū dīnahum li-llāhi) al-ʾāyata.

For this reason God, mighty and majestic, was angry with the hypocrites and abhorred them doubly, then accepted from them only a twofold repentance and imposed two conditions upon them. He said, exalted is He: “The hypocrites are in the lowest depth of the Fire,” meaning lower than the unbelievers. An unbeliever is unmixed in his unbelief and makes inward and outward agree; the hypocrite disbelieves and associates partners in his professed faith, making inward and outward conflict. He makes light of God, mighty and majestic, looking into his heart, while magnifying the creature's eye. God, mighty and majestic, therefore increases his abasement and makes repentance harder through emphatic conditions, saying, exalted is He: “Except those who repent, put things right, hold fast to God, and devote their religion sincerely to God,” to the end of the verse.

وَهَذَا الضَّرْبُ مِنَ الرِّيَاءِ مِمَّا لَا يُمْتَحَنُ بِهِ عَالِمٌ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلَا عَاقِلٌ عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلِلَّهِ الْحَمْدُ، وَإِنِ اُبْتُلِيَ بِأَكْلِ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَبِبَعْضِ الْمَعَاصِي، كَمَا تَجْرِي الذُّنُوبُ عَلَى الْعَارِفِينَ، وَلَا يُبْتَلَوْنَ بِرِيَاءِ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ. وَلَيْسَ لِلسَّلَفِ فِي هَذَا الْبَابِ إِلَّا طَرِيقَانِ؛ طَرِيقٌ هُوَ الْمُجَاهَدَةُ لِلنَّفْسِ وَتَرْكُ الشَّهَوَاتِ، فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَانَ يُخْفِيهِ لِأَنَّهُ أَسْلَمُ لَهُ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَانَ يُظْهِرُهُ لِأَنَّهُ مُؤْمِنٌ قَوِيٌّ نِيَّتُهُ فِي ذَلِكَ الْقُدْوَةُ وَالتَّأَسِّي. وَطَرِيقٌ آخَرُ كَانَ فِيهِ طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ وَكَانُوا يَأْكُلُونَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيَتَّسِعُونَ فِي الْمَآكِلِ إِذَا وَجَدُوهَا، إِلَّا إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُظْهِرُونَ ذَلِكَ وَيَكْشِفُونَ نُفُوسَهُمْ بِهِ. فَإِنْ فَاتَكَ الطَّرِيقُ الْأَعْلَى فَاُسْلُكِ الطَّرِيقَ الْأَوْسَطَ الْأَسْلَمَ، فَإِمَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ عَبْدًا يَأْكُلُ الشَّهَوَاتِ فِي السِّرِّ وَيُخْفِيهَا فِي الْعَلَانِيَةِ، أَوْ يُظْهِرَ شِعَارَ

wa-hādhā al-ḍarbu mina al-riyāʾi mimmā lā yumtaḥanu bihi ʿālimun bi-Allāhi ʿazza wajalla walā ʿāqilun ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wajalla wa-li-llāhi al-ḥamdu, waʾini ubtuliya biʾakli al-shahawāti wabibaʿḍi al-maʿāṣī, kamā tajrī al-dhunūbu ʿalā al-ʿārifīna, walā yubtalawna biriyāʾi al-makhlūqīna. walaysa li-l-salafi fī hādhā al-bābi ʾillā ṭarīqāni; ṭarīqun huwa al-mujāhadatu li-l-nafsi watarku al-shahawāti, faminhum man kāna yukhfīhi liʾannahu ʾaslamu lahu, waminhum man kāna yuẓhiruhu liʾannahu muʾminun qawiyyun niyyatuhu fī dhālika al-qudwatu wa-al-taʾassī. waṭarīqun ʾākharu kāna fīhi ṭāʾifatun mina al-ʿulamāʾi wa-al-ʿāmilīna wakānū yaʾkulūna al-ṭayyibāti wayattasiʿūna fī al-maʾākili ʾidhā wajadūhā, ʾillā ʾinnahum kānū yuẓhirūna dhālika wayakshifūna nufūsahum bihi. faʾin fātaka al-ṭarīqu al-ʾaʿlā fa-usluki al-ṭarīqa al-ʾawsaṭa al-ʾaslama, faʾimmā ʾan yakūna ʿabdan yaʾkulu al-shahawāti fī al-sirri wayukhfīhā fī al-ʿalāniyati, ʾaw yuẓhira shiʿāra

This kind of showing off does not afflict anyone who knows God, mighty and majestic, or understands from God, mighty and majestic; praise belongs to God. Such a person may be afflicted with desired foods and certain disobediences, just as sins occur among knowers, but they are not afflicted with ostentation before creatures. The early authorities had only two paths here. One was struggling against the self and abandoning appetites. Some concealed it because that was safer; others showed it because they were strong believers intending to provide an example for imitation. The other path belonged to scholars and devoted workers who ate delicacies and enjoyed a variety of food when available, but showed this openly and exposed themselves through it. If the higher path eludes you, take the middle, safer path. As for being a servant who eats desired foods secretly while concealing them publicly, or displays the signs of

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٩٤

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 294

Volume Two, page 294

ضِدِّهَا مِنَ التَّرْكِ لَهَا وَالزُّهْدِ فِيهَا؛ فَلَيْسَ هَذَا طَرِيقَ الْمُوقِنِينَ وَلَا مَسْلَكَ الصَّادِقِينَ. هَذَا وَقَدْ عَرَّجَ طَرِيقَ الْمَسَالِكِ وَسَلَكَ سَبِيلَ الْمَهَالِكِ فَإِيَّاكَ أَنْ تَتْرُكَ مَحَجَّةَ الطَّرِيقِ فَتَقَعَ فِي حَيْرَةِ الْمَضِيقِ. حَدَّثَنَا أَنَّ عَابِدًا مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اِنْتَهَى فِي سِيَاحَتِهِ إِلَى أَرْضٍ لِقَوْمٍ رَأَى فِي وَسْطِهَا طَرِيقًا مُسْتَطْرَقًا يَسْلُكُ فِيهِ السَّابِلَةُ فَقَالَ: هَذِهِ أَرْضٌ لِقَوْمٍ كَيْفَ أَسْلُكُهَا؟ وَشَقَّ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يُجَاوِزَ الْأَرْضَ فَيَبْعُدَ عَلَيْهِ طَرِيقُهُ، فَتَفَكَّرَ وَقَالَ: هَذَا طَرِيقٌ مَسْلُوكٌ لَا بَأْسَ عَلَيَّ أَنْ أَسْلُكَهُ فَسَلَكَهُ.

ḍiddihā mina al-tarki lahā wa-al-zuhdi fīhā; falaysa hādhā ṭarīqa al-mūqinīna walā maslaka al-ṣādiqīna. hādhā waqad ʿarraja ṭarīqa al-masāliki wasalaka sabīla al-mahāliki faʾiyyāka ʾan tatruka maḥajjata al-ṭarīqi fataqaʿa fī ḥayrati al-maḍīqi. ḥaddathanā ʾanna ʿābidan min banī ʾisrāʾīla intahā fī siyāḥatihi ʾilā ʾarḍin liqawmin raʾā fī wasṭihā ṭarīqan mustaṭraqan yasluku fīhi al-sābilatu faqāla: hādhihi ʾarḍun liqawmin kayfa ʾaslukuhā? washaqqa ʿalayhi ʾan yujāwiza al-ʾarḍa fayabʿuda ʿalayhi ṭarīquhu, fatafakkara waqāla: hādhā ṭarīqun maslūkun lā baʾsa ʿalayya ʾan ʾaslukahu fasalakahu.

their opposite, leaving and renouncing them, this is neither the path of those with certainty nor the course of the truthful. Such a person has diverted the route of the paths and taken the way of destruction. Beware of abandoning the clear road and falling into the bewilderment of a narrow strait. It was related to us that an Israelite worshipper came, during his wandering, to land belonging to some people, with a well-used path through its middle. He said: “This is someone's land; how can I cross it?” Yet going around it and lengthening his journey was burdensome. He reflected: “This is a traveled path; there is no harm in using it,” and he followed it.

فَلَمَّا خَرَجَ مِنْ تِلْكَ الْأَرْضِ عُوقِبَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَنَسِيَ ذَنْبَهُ فَجَعَلَ يَسْتَكْشِفُ فَقِيلَ لَهُ: لِأَنَّكَ سَلَكْتَ إِلَى غَيْرِ طَرِيقٍ وَدَخَلْتَ فِي حَرْثِ قَوْمٍ بِغَيْرِ إِذْنِهِمْ. فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ مَعْذِرَةً إِلَيْكَ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُهُ قَدْ جُعِلَ طَرِيقًا. فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَيْهِ: وَكُلَّمَا اِتَّخَذَ الظَّالِمُونَ طَرِيقًا جَعَلْتَهُ إِلَيَّ سَبِيلًا؟ فَمَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقَ ظَالِمٍ بِغُرُورٍ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي ذَلِكَ مَعْذُورًا وَأَوْقَعَهُ فِي الْحَيْرَةِ وَالْغُرُورِ فَهَلَكَ وَأَهْلَكَ مَنِ اِقْتَدَى بِهِ؛ وَهَذَا طَرِيقُ مُتَصَنِّعٍ جَاهِلٍ مُتَطَرِّفٍ بِذَلِكَ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا، مُتَشَوِّفٍ عِنْدَ النَّاسِ بِتَرْكِ الشَّهَوَاتِ، مُظْلِمِ التَّوْحِيدِ فِي الْوَجْدِ، ضَعِيفِ الْيَقِينِ فِي غَيْبَةٍ عَنِ الْعُيُونِ.

falammā kharaja min tilka al-ʾarḍi ʿūqiba ʿalā dhālika wanasiya dhanbahu fajaʿala yastakshifu faqīla lahu: liʾannaka salakta ʾilā ghayri ṭarīqin wadakhalta fī ḥarthi qawmin bighayri ʾidhnihim. faqāla: yā rabbi maʿdhiratan ʾilayka ʾinnī raʾaytuhu qad juʿila ṭarīqan. faʾawḥā Allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʾilayhi: wakullamā ittakhadha al-ẓālimūna ṭarīqan jaʿaltahu ʾilayya sabīlan? faman salaka ṭarīqa ẓālimin bighurūrin lam yakun fī dhālika maʿdhūran waʾawqaʿahu fī al-ḥayrati wa-al-ghurūri fahalaka waʾahlaka mani iqtadā bihi; wa-hādhā ṭarīqu mutaṣanniʿin jāhilin mutaṭarrifin bi-dhālika ʾilā al-dunyā, mutashawwifin ʿinda al-nāsi bitarki al-shahawāti, muẓlimi al-tawḥīdi fī al-wajdi, ḍaʿīfi al-yaqīni fī ghaybatin ʿani al-ʿuyūni.

After he left the land, he was punished for it. Having forgotten his offense, he sought to discover the reason. He was told: “Because you traveled where there was no proper road and entered people's cultivated land without their permission.” He said: “My Lord, I offer my excuse to You: I saw it had been made a path.” God, mighty and majestic, revealed to him: “Whenever wrongdoers make a path, do you make it a way to Me?” Whoever follows a wrongdoer's path through delusion is not thereby excused; it leads him into bewilderment and delusion, so that he perishes and destroys those who imitate him. This is the path of an ignorant pretender who veers toward the world through it, seeking people's regard by abandoning appetites, dark in his realization of divine unity during spiritual feeling, and weak in certainty when hidden from others' eyes.

وَقَدْ كَانَ مِنْ شَأْنِ الصَّادِقِينَ مِنَ السَّلَفِ اِشْتِرَاءُ الشَّهَوَاتِ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَتَعْلِيقُهَا فِي مَنَازِلِهِمْ، يُظْهِرُونَ لِلنَّاسِ شِعَارَ الرَّاغِبِينَ وَهُمْ فِيهَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ، لَا يَأْكُلُونَهَا، إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُونَ بِذَلِكَ إِسْقَاطَ مَنْزِلَتِهِمْ مِنْ قُلُوبِ الْجَاهِلِينَ، وَإِخْفَاءَ حَالِهِمْ عَنِ النَّاظِرِينَ وَلِيَصْرِفُوا عَنْهُمْ قُلُوبَ الْغَافِلِينَ، يَقْطَعُونَ بِذَلِكَ الْمَقَامَاتِ وَيَشْتَرُونَ بِهِ الْمُعَامَلَاتِ، لِأَنَّ هَذَا مَقَامُ مَنْ زَهِدَ فِي الْأَشْيَاءِ وَأَخْفَى زُهْدَهُ. فَمِنْ نِهَايَةِ إِخْفَاءِ الزُّهْدِ إِظْهَارُ ضِدِّهِ وَاِسْتِشْعَارُ الْمَزْهُودِ فِيهِ، ثُمَّ لَا يَتَنَاوَلُ وَلَا يَتَمَتَّعُ بِهِ فَيَكُونُ هَذَا أَشَدَّ عَلَى النَّفْسِ مِنَ الْمُجَاهَدَةِ، لِأَنَّهُ حَمَلَ عَلَيْهَا ثِقْلَيْنِ: ثِقْلَ الْمَنْعِ مِنَ الْحَظِّ وَثِقْلَ سُقُوطِ الْمَنْزِلَةِ عَنْهُ، فَعَدِمَتِ النَّفْسُ لَذَّةَ الْمُتْعَةِ بِهِ، وَفَقَدَتْ أَسْبَابَ الْمَنْزِلَةِ بِتَرْكِهِ فَجَرَّعَهَا كَأْسَ الصَّبْرِ مَرَّتَيْنِ.

waqad kāna min shaʾni al-ṣādiqīna mina al-salafi ishtirāʾu al-shahawāti biʾanfusihim wataʿlīquhā fī manāzilihim, yuẓhirūna li-l-nāsi shiʿāra al-rāghibīna wahum fīhā ʿinda Allāhi ʿazza wajalla mina al-zāhidīna, lā yaʾkulūnahā, ʾinnamā yurīdūna bi-dhālika ʾisqāṭa manzilatihim min qulūbi al-jāhilīna, waʾikhfāʾa ḥālihim ʿani al-nāẓirīna waliyaṣrifū ʿanhum qulūba al-ghāfilīna, yaqṭaʿūna bi-dhālika al-maqāmāti wayashtarūna bihi al-muʿāmalāti, liʾanna hādhā maqāmu man zahida fī al-ʾashyāʾi waʾakhfā zuhdahu. famin nihāyati ʾikhfāʾi al-zuhdi ʾiẓhāru ḍiddihi wa-istishʿāru al-mazhūdi fīhi, thumma lā yatanāwalu walā yatamattaʿu bihi fayakūnu hādhā ʾashadda ʿalā al-nafsi mina al-mujāhadati, liʾannahu ḥamala ʿalayhā thiqlayni: thiqla al-manʿi mina al-ḥaẓẓi wathiqla suqūṭi al-manzilati ʿanhu, faʿadimati al-nafsu ladhdhata al-mutʿati bihi, wafaqadat ʾasbāba al-manzilati bitarkihi fajarraʿahā kaʾsa al-ṣabri marratayni.

The truthful among the early authorities would themselves buy desired foods and hang them in their homes. They displayed to people the signs of those who desire them, while before God, mighty and majestic, they were renunciants concerning them and did not eat them. Their aim was to lower their standing in ignorant hearts, hide their state from onlookers, and turn the heedless people's hearts away. Through this they traversed stations and acquired acts of devotion, for this is the station of one who renounces things and conceals his renunciation. The utmost concealment of renunciation is to show its opposite and wear the appearance of what is renounced, while neither taking nor enjoying it. This is harder upon the self than struggle, for it bears two burdens: denial of enjoyment and loss of standing. The self loses the pleasure of enjoying the thing and the means of gaining standing by leaving it, and is made to drink patience's cup twice.

فَهَذَا حَالُ الصَّادِقِينَ فِي تِلْكَ الشَّهَوَاتِ، وَطَرِيقُ الْأَقْوِيَاءِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْإِرَادَاتِ، وَهُوَ يُشْبِهُ فِعْلَ الزَّاهِدِينَ فِي بَابِ الْعَطَاءِ، إِنَّ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَانَ يَأْخُذُ الْعَطَاءَ عَلَانِيَةً ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُهُ سِرًّا فَيَكُونُ لَهُ فِي الْأَخْذِ سُقُوطُ الْجَاهِ بِظُهُورِ الرَّغْبَةِ، وَيَكُونُ لَهُ فِي الْإِخْرَاجِ مُعَامَلَةُ السِّرِّ بِحَقِيقَةِ الزُّهْدِ، فَلَا هُوَ مَتَّعَ نَفْسَهُ بِالْجَاهِ مَعَ الرَّدِّ وَلَا هُوَ أَنَالَهَا حَظَّهَا بِتَنَاوُلِهِ مَعَ الْأَخْذِ، فَهَذَا أَشَدُّ شَيْءٍ عَلَى النَّفْسِ، وَهُوَ طَرِيقُ عُلَمَاءِ الزُّهْدِ، وَمَنْ سَلَكَهُ أَخْرَجَهُ إِلَى مَقَامِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ. وَهَذَانِ طَرِيقَانِ قَدْ دَرَسَا وَقَدْ عَفَا أَثَرُهُمَا فِي وَقْتِنَا هَذَا لَا يَسْلُكُهُ إِلَّا مَنْ عَرَفَهُ الْفَرْدَ بَعْدَ الْفَرْدِ وَالسَّابِلَةُ مِنَ الْقُرَّاءِ عَلَى طُرُقَاتِ التَّصَنُّعِ وَالتَّزَيُّنِ. وَرُوِيَ عَنْ جَعْفَرٍ الصَّادِقِ رِضْوَانُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ: إِذَا قُدِّمَتْ إِلَيَّ شَهْوَةٌ نَظَرْتُ إِلَى نَفْسِي، فَإِنْ أَظْهَرَتْ شَهْوَتَهَا لَهَا أَطْعَمْتُهَا مِنْهَا، وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ مَنْعِهَا، وَإِنْ أَخْفَتْ شَهْوَتَهَا

fa-hādhā ḥālu al-ṣādiqīna fī tilka al-shahawāti, waṭarīqu al-ʾaqwiyāʾi min ʾahli al-ʾirādāti, wahuwa yushbihu fiʿla al-zāhidīna fī bābi al-ʿaṭāʾi, ʾinna minhum man kāna yaʾkhudhu al-ʿaṭāʾa ʿalāniyatan thumma yukhrijuhu sirran fayakūnu lahu fī al-ʾakhdhi suqūṭu al-jāhi biẓuhūri al-raghbati, wayakūnu lahu fī al-ʾikhrāji muʿāmalatu al-sirri biḥaqīqati al-zuhdi, falā huwa mattaʿa nafsahu bi-al-jāhi maʿa al-raddi walā huwa ʾanālahā ḥaẓẓahā bitanāwulihi maʿa al-ʾakhdhi, fa-hādhā ʾashaddu shayʾin ʿalā al-nafsi, wahuwa ṭarīqu ʿulamāʾi al-zuhdi, waman salakahu ʾakhrajahu ʾilā maqāmi al-ṣiddīqīna. wa-hādhāni ṭarīqāni qad darasā waqad ʿafā ʾatharuhumā fī waqtinā hādhā lā yaslukuhu ʾillā man ʿarafahu al-farda baʿda al-fardi wa-al-sābilatu mina al-qurrāʾi ʿalā ṭuruqāti al-taṣannuʿi wa-al-tazayyuni. waruwiya ʿan jaʿfarin al-ṣādiqi riḍwānu Allāhi ʿalayhi: ʾidhā quddimat ʾilayya shahwatun naẓartu ʾilā nafsī, faʾin ʾaẓharat shahwatahā lahā ʾaṭʿamtuhā minhā, wakāna dhālika ʾafḍala min manʿihā, waʾin ʾakhfat shahwatahā

This is the truthful people's condition concerning those appetites and the path of the strong among aspirants. It resembles the renunciants' conduct regarding gifts: some accepted gifts publicly and gave them away secretly. Accepting lowered their prestige by showing desire; giving away was a secret transaction in true renunciation. Thus they neither gratified the self with prestige by refusing nor gave it enjoyment by consuming what they accepted. This is hardest of all on the self and is the path of those learned in renunciation. Whoever follows it is brought to the station of the utterly truthful. These two paths have fallen into disuse and their traces have faded in our time. Only the rare individual who knows them walks them, while the common traffic of religious reciters follows the roads of pretension and adornment. It is related from Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, may God's good pleasure be upon him: “When a desired food is presented to me, I examine my self. If it openly displays its desire, I feed it some, which is better than withholding it. If it conceals its desire

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٩٥

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 295

Volume Two, page 295

وَأَظْهَرَتِ الْعُزُوفَ عَنْهُ عَاقَبْتُهَا بِالتَّرْكِ وَلَمْ أُنِلْهَا مِنْهَا شَيْئًا. تَفْسِيرُ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ إِظْهَارَ النَّفْسِ الشَّهْوَةَ أَنْ لَا تُبَالِيَ أَنْ تُعْرَفَ بِأَكْلِ الشَّهَوَاتِ، وَأَنْ تُحِبَّ أَنْ يَظْهَرَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ مَنْ يَعْرِفُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الدِّيَانَاتِ، وَإِخْفَاءَ النَّفْسِ الشَّهْوَةَ أَنْ تَشْتَهِيَ وَتُحِبَّ أَنْ لَا يُعْلَمَ أَنَّهَا تَشْتَهِي، وَتَكْرَهَ أَنْ تُعْرَفَ بِأَنَّهَا مِمَّنْ تَشْتَهِي. فَقَالَ: هَذِهِ هِيَ الْمُعَاقَبَةُ بِتَرْكِ أَكْلِهَا لِأَنَّهُ إِذَا تَرَكَ أَكْلَ شَهْوَةٍ لِأَجْلِ الشَّهَوَاتِ ثُمَّ اِشْتَهَى أَنْ لَا يُعْرَفَ بِتَرْكِهَا؛ فَهَذَا شَهْوَةُ الشَّهَوَاتِ، فَقَدْ وَقَعَ فِي أَعْظَمَ مِمَّا كَرِهَ، وَتَمَتُّعُهُ بِشَهْوَةِ النَّظَرِ إِلَيْهَا وَالْمَدْحِ لَهُ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ تَمَتُّعِهِ بِتَرْكِ شَهْوَتِهِ الْمَأْكُولَةِ.

waʾaẓharati al-ʿuzūfa ʿanhu ʿāqabtuhā bi-al-tarki walam ʾunilhā minhā shayʾan. tafsīru dhālika ʾanna ʾiẓhāra al-nafsi al-shahwata ʾan lā tubāliya ʾan tuʿrafa biʾakli al-shahawāti, waʾan tuḥibba ʾan yaẓhara ʿalā dhālika man yaʿrifu min ʾahli al-diyānāti, waʾikhfāʾa al-nafsi al-shahwata ʾan tashtahiya watuḥibba ʾan lā yuʿlama ʾannahā tashtahī, watakraha ʾan tuʿrafa biʾannahā mimman tashtahī. faqāla: hādhihi hiya al-muʿāqabatu bitarki ʾaklihā liʾannahu ʾidhā taraka ʾakla shahwatin liʾajli al-shahawāti thumma ishtahā ʾan lā yuʿrafa bitarkihā; fa-hādhā shahwatu al-shahawāti, faqad waqaʿa fī ʾaʿẓama mimmā kariha, watamattuʿuhu bishahwati al-naẓari ʾilayhā wa-al-madḥi lahu ʾaktharu min tamattuʿihi bitarki shahwatihi al-maʾkūlati.

and displays aversion, I punish it by abstaining and give it none.” This means that the self's openly displaying appetite is its not caring whether it is known to eat desired foods, and its welcoming the awareness of religious people it knows. Concealing appetite is to desire something but wish that the desire remain unknown, disliking being recognized as one who craves. He said: “This is what is punished by withholding the food.” For if a person leaves a desired food for the sake of appetites, then desires not to be known for leaving it, this is the appetite of appetites. He has fallen into something worse than what he disliked. His enjoyment of the desire to have attention directed toward it and to receive praise is greater than his enjoyment in leaving his edible craving.

وَهَذَا مِنَ الشَّهْوَةِ الْخَفِيَّةِ الَّتِي جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: أَخْوَفُ مَا أَخَافُ عَلَى أُمَّتِي الرِّيَاءُ وَالشَّهْوَةُ الْخَفِيَّةُ، وَالرِّيَاءُ بِالْمُعَامَلَاتِ، وَخَفِيُّ الشَّهْوَةِ أَنْ تَشْتَهِيَ أَنْ تُعْرَفَ وَتُوصَفَ بِتَرْكِ الشَّهَوَاتِ. وَسُئِلَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَنْ بَعْضِ الزُّهَّادِ فَسَكَتَ عَنْهُ فَقَالَ: تَعْلَمُ بِهِ بَأْسًا؟ فَقَالَ: مَا أَعْلَمُ بِهِ بَأْسًا إِلَّا فِي شَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ مَكْرُوهٍ: يَأْكُلُ فِي الْخَلْوَةِ مَا لَا يَأْكُلُهُ فِي الْجَمَاعَةِ، فَأَعَلَّهُ بِذَلِكَ. وَلَعَمْرِي إِنَّهُ مَوْضِعُ عِلَّةٍ؛ لِأَنَّ الصَّادِقِينَ قَدْ كَانُوا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي الْجَمَاعَةِ مَا لَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي الْخَلْوَةِ، فَهَذَا ضِدُّ حَالِهِمْ.

wa-hādhā mina al-shahwati al-khafiyyati allatī jāʾa fī al-khabari: ʾakhwafu mā ʾakhāfu ʿalā ʾummatī al-riyāʾu wa-al-shahwatu al-khafiyyatu, wa-al-riyāʾu bi-al-muʿāmalāti, wakhafiyyu al-shahwati ʾan tashtahiya ʾan tuʿrafa watūṣafa bitarki al-shahawāti. wasuʾila baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi ʿan baʿḍi al-zuhhādi fasakata ʿanhu faqāla: taʿlamu bihi baʾsan? faqāla: mā ʾaʿlamu bihi baʾsan ʾillā fī shayʾin wāḥidin makrūhin: yaʾkulu fī al-khalwati mā lā yaʾkuluhu fī al-jamāʿati, faʾaʿallahu bi-dhālika. walaʿamrī ʾinnahu mawḍiʿu ʿillatin; liʾanna al-ṣādiqīna qad kānū yaʾkulūna fī al-jamāʿati mā lā yaʾkulūna fī al-khalwati, fa-hādhā ḍiddu ḥālihim.

This belongs to the hidden appetite mentioned in the report: “What I fear most for my community is ostentation and hidden appetite.” Ostentation concerns devotional dealings; hidden appetite is to crave recognition and description as one who abandons desires. A scholar was asked about an ascetic and remained silent. The questioner asked: “Do you know anything wrong with him?” He replied: “I know nothing wrong except one objectionable thing: he eats in solitude what he does not eat in company.” He faulted him for that. By my life, it is a real fault, for the truthful used to eat in company what they would not eat alone. This is the opposite of their condition.

فَإِنِ اِتَّفَقَ لِلْعَبْدِ لَوْنَانِ أَحَدُهُمَا أَلْطَفُ مِنَ الْآخَرِ اِبْتَدَأَ فَأَكَلَ الْأَلْطَفَ مِنْهُمَا، فَلَعَلَّ كِفَايَتَهُ تَتِمُّ بِهِ فَيَسْتَرِيحُ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ. فَإِنَّمَا قَدَّمَ أَهْلُ الدُّنْيَا غَلِيظَ الْأَلْوَانِ عَلَى رَقِيقِهِ لِيَتَّسِعُوا فِي الْأَكْلِ وَتَنْفَتِقَ شَهَوَاتُهُمْ فَيَكُونَ لِكُلِّ لَوْنٍ لَطِيفٍ مَكَانٌ آخَرُ. وَشَبَّهَ بَعْضُهُمُ الْمَعِدَةَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ جِرَابٍ مَلَأْتَهُ جَوْزًا حَتَّى لَمْ يَبْقَ فِيهِ فَضْلٌ لِلْجَوْزِ، فَجِئْتَ بِسِمْسِمٍ فَصَبَبْتَهُ عَلَيْهِ فَأَخَذَ لِنَفْسِهِ مَوْضِعًا فِي خِلَالِ الْجَوْزِ، فَوَسِعَ الْجِرَابُ السِّمْسِمَ لِلُطْفِهِ مَعَ الْجَوْزِ؛ فَكَذَلِكَ الْمَعِدَةُ إِذَا أَلْقَيْتَ فِيهَا طَعَامًا رَقِيقًا لَطِيفًا بَعْدَ طَعَامٍ غَلِيظٍ خَشِنٍ أَخَذَتْهُ الشَّهَوَاتُ فِي أَمَاكِنِهَا فَتَمَكَّنَ فِيهَا بَعْدَ الشِّبَعِ مِمَّا قَبْلَهُ.

faʾini ittafaqa li-l-ʿabdi lawnāni ʾaḥaduhumā ʾalṭafu mina al-ʾākhari ibtadaʾa faʾakala al-ʾalṭafa minhumā, falaʿalla kifāyatahu tatimmu bihi fayastarīḥu mina al-ʾākhirati. faʾinnamā qaddama ʾahlu al-dunyā ghalīẓa al-ʾalwāni ʿalā raqīqihi liyattasiʿū fī al-ʾakli watanfatiqa shahawātuhum fayakūna likulli lawnin laṭīfin makānun ʾākharu. washabbaha baʿḍuhumu al-maʿidata bimanzilati jirābin malaʾtahu jawzan ḥattā lam yabqa fīhi faḍlun li-l-jawzi, fajiʾta bisimsimin faṣababtahu ʿalayhi faʾakhadha linafsihi mawḍiʿan fī khilāli al-jawzi, fawasiʿa al-jirābu al-simsima liluṭfihi maʿa al-jawzi; fa-kadhālika al-maʿidatu ʾidhā ʾalqayta fīhā ṭaʿāman raqīqan laṭīfan baʿda ṭaʿāmin ghalīẓin khashinin ʾakhadhathu al-shahawātu fī ʾamākinihā fatamakkana fīhā baʿda al-shibaʿi mimmā qablahu.

If two dishes are available, one more delicate than the other, the servant should begin with the more delicate. Perhaps it will suffice, sparing him the other. Worldly people put heavy dishes before light ones only to expand their eating and open their appetites, leaving a further place for each delicate dish. Someone compared the stomach to a bag filled with walnuts until there is no room for more. You then pour sesame into it, and the seeds find room between the walnuts; because they are small, the bag holds them alongside the nuts. Similarly, when you put delicate, light food into the stomach after heavy, coarse food, the appetites take it into their places, and it settles there despite the fullness produced by what preceded it.

وَالْعَرَبُ تَعِيبُ ذَلِكَ وَلَا تَفْعَلُهُ إِذْ مِنْ سُنَّتِهَا أَنْ تَبْتَدِئَ بِاللَّحْمِ قَبْلَ الثَّرِيدِ. قَالَ رَجُلٌ لِبَعْضِ الْأَنْبَاطِ: أَنْتَ مِنَ الَّذِي يَبْتَدِئُونَ بِالثَّرِيدِ قَبْلَ الشِّوَاءِ، يَذُمُّ أَهْلَ الْعِرَاقِ بِذَلِكَ. هَذَا إِذَا اِسْتَوَى اللَّوْنَانِ فِي الْحُكْمِ أَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِلْمُرِيدِ فِي تَرْكِ الْأَفْضَلِ مِنْهُمَا نِيَّةٌ، فَأَمَّا إِنْ كَانَ قَدْ تَرَكَ الشَّهَوَاتِ ثُمَّ قُدِّمَتْ إِلَيْهِ وَكَانَ عَلَى عَقْدِ نِيَّتِهِ وَقُوَّةِ عَزْمِهِ فَلَا بَأْسَ بِأَكْلِ الْأَدْوَنِ. وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ الصَّادِقِينَ مِمَّنْ تَرَكَ أَكْلَ الشَّهَوَاتِ فِي الِانْفِرَادِ إِذَا قُدِّمَتْ إِلَيْهِ نَالَ مِنْهَا شَيْئًا يَسِيرًا لِيَسْتُرَ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ أَبْصَارَ النَّاظِرِينَ وَيَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ قُلُوبَ الْمَادِحِينَ.

wa-al-ʿarabu taʿību dhālika walā tafʿaluhu ʾidh min sunnatihā ʾan tabtadiʾa bi-al-laḥmi qabla al-tharīdi. qāla rajulun libaʿḍi al-ʾanbāṭi: ʾanta mina alladhī yabtadiʾūna bi-al-tharīdi qabla al-shiwāʾi, yadhummu ʾahla al-ʿirāqi bi-dhālika. hādhā ʾidhā istawā al-lawnāni fī al-ḥukmi ʾaw lam yakun li-l-murīdi fī tarki al-ʾafḍali minhumā niyyatun, faʾammā ʾin kāna qad taraka al-shahawāti thumma quddimat ʾilayhi wakāna ʿalā ʿaqdi niyyatihi waquwwati ʿazmihi falā baʾsa biʾakli al-ʾadwani. waqad kāna baʿḍu al-ṣādiqīna mimman taraka ʾakla al-shahawāti fī al-infirādi ʾidhā quddimat ʾilayhi nāla minhā shayʾan yasīran liyastura ʿan nafsihi ʾabṣāra al-nāẓirīna wayaṣrifa ʿanhu qulūba al-mādiḥīna.

The Arabs criticize this and do not practice it, for their custom is to begin with meat before bread steeped in broth. A man said to one of the Nabataeans: “You belong to those who begin with bread and broth before roast meat,” reproaching the people of Iraq in this way. This applies when the two dishes have the same legal status, or the aspirant has no particular intention in leaving the better. If he has relinquished desired foods, is then offered them, and remains firm in intention and resolve, there is no harm in eating the inferior dish. Some truthful people who abandoned desired foods when alone would take a little when they were offered in company, to shield themselves from onlookers' eyes and turn away the hearts of those who praised them.

وَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ: إِذَا قُدِّمَتْ إِلَيْكَ شَهْوَةٌ وَقَدْ كُنْتَ تَارِكًا لَهَا فَأَصِبْ مِنْهَا يَسِيرًا وَلَا تُعْطِ نَفْسَكَ مُنْتَهَاهَا فَتَكُونَ قَدْ أَسْقَطْتَ عَنْ نَفْسِكَ الشَّهْوَةَ، وَتَكُونَ قَدْ نَغَّصْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ إِذْ لَمْ تَبْلُغْ فِي شَهْوَتِهَا. فَإِنْ فَعَلَ هَذَا فَحَسَنٌ، لِأَنَّ أَبَا سُلَيْمَانَ خَافَ عَلَيْهِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ قُبَيْلُ مِنْ يُظْهِرُ تَرْكَ الشَّهْوَةِ فَيَصِيرُ مُتْعَتُهُ بِاِعْتِقَادِ فَضْلِهِ مِنْ تَرْكِ الشَّهَوَاتِ أَبْلَغَ مِنْ كُلِّ الشَّهَوَاتِ لَوْ أَنْ يَأْكُلَهَا فَيُسْرِفَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بُلُوغَ شَهْوَتِهِ الَّتِي كَانَ تَرَكَهَا بِعِلَّةِ الْإِخْلَاصِ، كَمَا تَقُولُ الْعَامَّةُ: بِعِلَّةِ الصَّبِيِّ تَشْبَعُ الدَّابَّةُ. فَإِنْ قَوِيَ يَقِينُهُ وَغَابَ الْخَلْقُ عَنْ عَيْنِهِ تَرَكَهَا وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالْإِيمَانِ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَعْتَلَّ بِالنَّظَرِ فَيَتَدَاوَى بِالتَّنَاوُلِ لِلْبَعْضِ.

waqāla ʾabū sulaymāna: ʾidhā quddimat ʾilayka shahwatun waqad kunta tārikan lahā faʾaṣib minhā yasīran walā tuʿṭi nafsaka muntahāhā fatakūna qad ʾasqaṭta ʿan nafsika al-shahwata, watakūna qad naghghaṣta ʿalā nafsika ʾidh lam tablugh fī shahwatihā. faʾin faʿala hādhā faḥasanun, liʾanna ʾabā sulaymāna khāfa ʿalayhi mā dhakarnāhu qubaylu min yuẓhiru tarka al-shahwati fayaṣīru mutʿatuhu bi-iʿtiqādi faḍlihi min tarki al-shahawāti ʾablagha min kulli al-shahawāti law ʾan yaʾkulahā fayusrifa ʿalā nafsihi bulūgha shahwatihi allatī kāna tarakahā biʿillati al-ʾikhlāṣi, kamā taqūlu al-ʿāmmatu: biʿillati al-ṣabiyyi tashbaʿu al-dābbatu. faʾin qawiya yaqīnuhu waghāba al-khalqu ʿan ʿaynihi tarakahā waqalbuhu muṭmaʾinnun bi-al-ʾīmāni liʾannahu lam yaʿtalla bi-al-naẓari fayatadāwā bi-al-tanāwuli li-l-baʿḍi.

Abū Sulaymān said: “When a desired food you have relinquished is offered, take a little without giving your self the full extent of its desire. You will have removed the appetite's claim upon yourself while frustrating the self because you have not fulfilled its craving.” This is good conduct, for Abū Sulaymān feared what we mentioned earlier: someone displays his abstinence and enjoys the belief in his excellence for leaving appetites more than he would enjoy all those appetites if he ate them, then indulges himself excessively in reaching the very desire he had abandoned under the claim of sincerity. As ordinary people say: “On the child's pretext, the beast eats its fill.” If his certainty is strong and creatures disappear from his sight, he leaves the food with his heart secure in faith, for he has not become ill through concern for others' gaze and thus need not medicate himself by taking a little.

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٩٦

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 296

Volume Two, page 296

فَأَمَّا إِنْ كَانَ قَدِ اِعْتَقَدَ تَرْكَ شَهْوَةٍ لِمَعْنًى دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْهَا يُخْرِجُهُ مِنَ الْوَرَعِ، أَوْ يَعْزِمُ عَلَى الْمُجَاهَدَةِ، ثُمَّ أُتِيَ بِهَا؛ فَهَذَا اِخْتِبَارٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى لِيَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ يَعْمَلُ فِي الْوَفَاءِ بِالْعَقْدِ. فَأَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ أَنْ لَا يَنَالَ مِنْهَا شَيْئًا وَلْيَتَعَلَّلْ وَيُدَافِعْ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ بِالْمَعَارِيضِ وَالْمَعَانِي حَتَّى لَا يُفْطَنَ بِهِ أَنَّهُ قَدْ تَرَكَهَا لِلْمُجَاهَدَةِ، فَيَكُونَ قَدْ فَعَلَ الْوَصْفَيْنِ مَعًا: الْوَفَاءَ لِعَقْدٍ فِي تَرْكِهَا، وَالتَّوْرِيَةَ بِلَطِيفِ الْحِيلَةِ مِنَ الْفِطْنَةِ لَهُ فِي قَصْدِهِ؛ وَهَذَا طَرِيقُ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَصِفَاتُ الْمُتَّقِينَ، وَهُوَ الطَّرِيقُ الْأَدْنَى الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ أَوَّلًا.

faʾammā ʾin kāna qadi iʿtaqada tarka shahwatin limaʿnan dakhala ʿalayhi minhā yukhrijuhu mina al-waraʿi, ʾaw yaʿzimu ʿalā al-mujāhadati, thumma ʾutiya bihā; fa-hādhā ikhtibārun mina Allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā liyanẓura kayfa yaʿmalu fī al-wafāʾi bi-al-ʿaqdi. faʾaḥabbu ʾilayya ʾan lā yanāla minhā shayʾan walyataʿallal wayudāfiʿ ʿan nafsihi bi-al-maʿārīḍi wa-al-maʿānī ḥattā lā yufṭana bihi ʾannahu qad tarakahā li-l-mujāhadati, fayakūna qad faʿala al-waṣfayni maʿan: al-wafāʾa liʿaqdin fī tarkihā, wa-al-tawriyata bilaṭīfi al-ḥīlati mina al-fiṭnati lahu fī qaṣdihi; wa-hādhā ṭarīqu al-murīdīna waṣifātu al-muttaqīna, wahuwa al-ṭarīqu al-ʾadnā alladhī dhakarnāhu ʾawwalan.

If he resolved to abandon a desired food because it brought upon him something that would take him outside scrupulousness, or because he resolves upon spiritual struggle, and it is then brought to him, this is a test from God, glorified and exalted, to see how he fulfills his commitment. I prefer that he take none of it, offering excuses and defending himself through indirect expressions and meanings so that people do not realize he has left it as an act of struggle. He will thus accomplish both qualities: fidelity to his commitment to leave it, and subtle concealment of his purpose from others' perception. This is the aspirants' path and the qualities of the reverent, the lower path we mentioned first.

فَإِنْ ظَهَرَ قُرْبُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْهُ وَغَلَبَ نَظَرُهُ إِلَيْهِ أَغْنَاهُ عَنِ الْحِيلَةِ وَالِاحْتِيَالِ لِقُرْبِهِ وَشَهَادَتِهِ ذَا الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ، وَهُوَ الطَّرِيقُ الْأَعْلَى الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ آخِرًا، وَهَذَا لِلْمُوقِنِينَ. فَأَمَّا إِنْ كَانَ الْغَلِيظُ الْخَشِنُ هُوَ الْأَحَلَّ فِي الْحُكْمِ وَأَبْعَدَ مِنَ الشُّبْهَةِ فَهُوَ الْأَطْيَبُ وَالْأَفْضَلُ فِي الْعِلْمِ فَلَا يَأْكُلْ إِلَّا مِنْهُ. يُقَالُ: أَوَّلُ لُقْمَةٍ يَأْكُلُهَا الْعَبْدُ مِنْ حَلَالٍ يُغْفَرُ لَهُ مَا سَلَفَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ، فَلَعَلَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَنْ يَشْكُرَ لَهُ تَرْكَ لُقْمَةِ شُبْهَةٍ لَذِيذَةٍ فِي الطَّعْمِ إِنْ كَانَتْ كَرِيهَةً فِي الْحُكْمِ، يَتْرُكُهَا لِأَجْلِهِ فَيَغْفِرَ لَهُ مَا سَلَفَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ، إِنَّهُ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ. قِيلَ: غَفُورٌ لِذُنُوبٍ كَثِيرَةٍ، شَكُورٌ لِعَمَلٍ يَسِيرٍ.

faʾin ẓahara qurbu Allāhi taʿālā minhu waghalaba naẓaruhu ʾilayhi ʾaghnāhu ʿani al-ḥīlati wa-al-iḥtiyāli liqurbihi washahādatihi dhā al-jalāli wa-al-ʾikrāmi, wahuwa al-ṭarīqu al-ʾaʿlā alladhī dhakarnāhu ʾākhiran, wa-hādhā li-l-mūqinīna. faʾammā ʾin kāna al-ghalīẓu al-khashinu huwa al-ʾaḥalla fī al-ḥukmi waʾabʿada mina al-shubhati fahuwa al-ʾaṭyabu wa-al-ʾafḍalu fī al-ʿilmi falā yaʾkul ʾillā minhu. yuqālu: ʾawwalu luqmatin yaʾkuluhā al-ʿabdu min ḥalālin yughfaru lahu mā salafa min dhanbihi, falaʿalla Allāha taʿālā ʾan yashkura lahu tarka luqmati shubhatin ladhīdhatin fī al-ṭaʿmi ʾin kānat karīhatan fī al-ḥukmi, yatrukuhā liʾajlihi fayaghfira lahu mā salafa min dhanbihi, ʾinnahu ghafūrun shakūrun. qīla: ghafūrun lidhunūbin kathīratin, shakūrun liʿamalin yasīrin.

If God's nearness to him, exalted is He, becomes manifest, and his looking toward Him prevails, he has no need of device or artifice, because of his nearness and his witnessing the Possessor of Majesty and Generosity. This is the higher path mentioned last, belonging to those with certainty. If the coarse, rough food is legally more lawful and farther from doubt, then in true knowledge it is the better and more excellent food, and he should eat only from it. It is said that the first lawful mouthful a servant eats brings forgiveness for his past sins. Perhaps God Most High will gratefully recognize his leaving a doubtful mouthful, delicious in taste but objectionable in law, for His sake, and forgive his past sins. He is Forgiving, Appreciative: forgiving of many sins, appreciative of a little work.

كَيْفَ وَقَدْ وَصَفَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أُولِي الْهُدَى وَالتَّوْحِيدِ وَذَوِي الرَّحْمَةِ وَالرُّشْدِ بِحُسْنِ التَّفَقُّدِ فِي الطُّعْمَةِ فَقَالَ: (إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ وَزِدْنَاهُمْ هُدًى)، (وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ إِذْ قَامُوا فَقَالُوا)، يَعْنِي بِشَهَادَتِهِمْ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ، فَكَانَ مِنْ قِيَامِهِمْ حُسْنُ تَفَقُّدِهِمْ فِي الْمَأْكُولِ، وَمُرَاقَبَتُهُمْ لِلْوَاحِدِ فِي قَوْلِهِمْ: (فَاِبْعَثُوا أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَيُّهَا أَزْكَى طَعَامًا فَلْيَأْتِكُمْ بِرِزْقٍ مِنْهُ)، يَعْنِي أَيُّهَا أَحَلُّ وَأَفْضَلُ، فَأَمَرُوا رَسُولَهُمْ يَتَحَرَّى الْحَلَالَ إِذْ قَامُوا لِذِي الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ لِمَا أَمَرَهُمْ بِأَكْلِهِ إِذْ قَدَّمَهُ عَلَى الْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَةِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (كُلُوا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَاِعْمَلُوا صَالِحًا)، وَرَعًا مِنْهُمْ وَتَقْوَى، وَكَذَلِكَ فَاِفْعَلْ لِتَتَّبِعَ سَبِيلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَتَكُونَ مَعَهُمْ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ الظَّالِمِينَ فَتُحْشَرَ مَعَهُمْ.

kayfa waqad waṣafa al-muʾminīna ʾulī al-hudā wa-al-tawḥīdi wadhawī al-raḥmati wa-al-rushdi biḥusni al-tafaqqudi fī al-ṭuʿmati faqāla: (ʾinnahum fityatun ʾāmanū birabbihim wazidnāhum hudan), (warabaṭnā ʿalā qulūbihim ʾidh qāmū faqālū), yaʿnī bishahādatihim bi-al-tawḥīdi, fakāna min qiyāmihim ḥusnu tafaqqudihim fī al-maʾkūli, wamurāqabatuhum li-l-wāḥidi fī qawlihim: (fa-ibʿathū ʾaḥadakum biwariqikum hādhihi ʾilā al-madīnati falyanẓur ʾayyuhā ʾazkā ṭaʿāman falyaʾtikum birizqin minhu), yaʿnī ʾayyuhā ʾaḥallu waʾafḍalu, faʾamarū rasūlahum yataḥarrā al-ḥalāla ʾidh qāmū lidhī al-jalāli wa-al-ʾikrāmi limā ʾamarahum biʾaklihi ʾidh qaddamahu ʿalā al-ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥati fī qawlihi taʿālā: (kulū mina al-ṭayyibāti wa-iʿmalū ṣāliḥan), waraʿan minhum wataqwā, wa-kadhālika fa-ifʿal litattabiʿa sabīla al-muʾminīna fatakūna maʿahum walā tattabiʿ sabīla al-mujrimīna al-ẓālimīna fatuḥshara maʿahum.

How could it be otherwise, when He described the believers, people of guidance and divine unity, mercy and right judgment, as carefully examining food? He said: “They were youths who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance”; and, “We strengthened their hearts when they stood and said,” meaning their testimony to divine unity. Their standing included careful examination of food and watchfulness toward the One in their words: “Send one of you with this silver of yours to the city, and let him see which food is purest and bring you provision from it,” meaning most lawful and excellent. They directed their messenger to seek lawful food when they stood for the Possessor of Majesty and Generosity, regarding what He commanded them to eat and placed before righteous deeds in His saying, exalted is He: “Eat of good things and act righteously.” This was their scrupulousness and reverence. Act likewise, following the believers' path so that you may be with them; do not follow the path of wrongdoing criminals and be gathered with them.

هَذِهِ رِيَاضَةُ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَطَرِيقُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ، فَأَمَّا الْعَارِفُونَ فَلَيْسَ لَهُمْ فِي الْأَكْلِ تَجْرِبَةٌ وَتَقْسِيمٌ. إِذَا أُطْعِمُوا تَقَلَّلُوا وَشَكَرُوا، فَإِنْ رَأَوْا لَهُ مَكَانًا آثَرُوا، وَإِنْ جُوِّعُوا عَمِلُوا وَصَبَرُوا. قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ: كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَدْخُلُ عَلَى أَهْلِهِ فَيَقُولُ: هَلْ عِنْدَكُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ؟ فَإِنْ قَالُوا نَعَمْ أَكَلَ، وَإِنْ قَالُوا لَا قَالَ: إِنِّي صَائِمٌ. وَكَانَ يُقَدَّمُ إِلَيْهِ الشَّيْءُ فَيَقُولُ: أَمَا إِنِّي كُنْتُ أَرَدْتُ الصَّوْمَ، ثُمَّ يَأْكُلُ. وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَوْمًا فَقَالَ: إِنِّي صَائِمٌ، ثُمَّ دَخَلَ فَقَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ: قَدْ أُهْدِيَ لَنَا حَيْسٌ، فَقَالَ: قَدْ كُنْتُ أَرَدْتُ الصَّوْمَ وَلَكِنْ قَرِّبِيهِ، وَكَانَتْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ

hādhihi riyāḍatu al-murīdīna waṭarīqu al-mujāhidīna, faʾammā al-ʿārifūna falaysa lahum fī al-ʾakli tajribatun wataqsīmun. ʾidhā ʾuṭʿimū taqallalū washakarū, faʾin raʾaw lahu makānan ʾātharū, waʾin juwwiʿū ʿamilū waṣabarū. qālat ʿāʾishatu: kāna rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yadkhulu ʿalā ʾahlihi fayaqūlu: hal ʿindakum min shayʾin? faʾin qālū naʿam ʾakala, waʾin qālū lā qāla: ʾinnī ṣāʾimun. wakāna yuqaddamu ʾilayhi al-shayʾu fayaqūlu: ʾamā ʾinnī kuntu ʾaradtu al-ṣawma, thumma yaʾkulu. wafī al-khabari: ʾannahu kharaja ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yawman faqāla: ʾinnī ṣāʾimun, thumma dakhala faqālat ʿāʾishatu: qad ʾuhdiya lanā ḥaysun, faqāla: qad kuntu ʾaradtu al-ṣawma wa-lākin qarribīhi, wakānat baynahu wabayna Allāhi

This is the aspirants' discipline and the strivers' path. The knowers, however, have no experimentation and apportionment in eating. When fed, they eat little and give thanks; if they see a fitting place for the food, they prefer others; when made hungry, they work and endure patiently. ʿĀʾisha said: “God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, would enter his household and ask: ‘Do you have anything?’ If they said yes, he ate; if no, he said: ‘I am fasting.’ Something might be brought to him and he would say: ‘I had intended to fast,’ then eat.” In a report, he went out one day, may God bless him and grant him peace, saying: “I am fasting.” When he returned, ʿĀʾisha said: “Some ḥays has been given to us.” He said: “I had intended to fast, but bring it near.” Between him and God there was

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٩٧

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 297

Volume Two, page 297

عَلَامَةٌ فِي فِطْرِهِ وَصَوْمِهِ، كَانَ الْوُجُودُ عَلَامَةَ فِطْرِهِ يَكُونُ مُرَادًا بِهِ وَكَانَ الْعَدَمُ عَلَامَةَ صَوْمِهِ يَكُونُ مَعَهُ مُرَادًا، وَعَلَى الْمَعْنَى تَصْرِيفُ قُلُوبِ الْعَارِفِينَ وَمِنْ هَذِهِ الْمِشْكَاةِ تُضِيءُ بَصَائِرُ الشَّاهِدِينَ وَلَا يُوكَلُونَ إِلَى حَالٍ، وَلَا يُوقَفُونَ مَعَ مَقَامٍ. وَلَا تَصِحُّ هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثُ إِلَّا بِثَلَاثِ خِلَالٍ: أَحَدُهَا عَدَمُ الْهَوَى وَتَوَقَانِ النَّفْسِ بِالْعَادَةِ، وَالثَّانِيَةُ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ فِي أَكْلِهِ نِيَّةٌ كَمَا لَهُ فِي صَوْمِهِ نِيَّةٌ فَيَكُونَ أَكْلُهُ لِلَّهِ فَيَسْتَوِيَ أَكْلُهُ وَصَوْمُهُ إِذْ كَانَ الْعَامِلُ فِيهِمَا وَاحِدًا.

ʿalāmatun fī fiṭrihi waṣawmihi, kāna al-wujūdu ʿalāmata fiṭrihi yakūnu murādan bihi wakāna al-ʿadamu ʿalāmata ṣawmihi yakūnu maʿahu murādan, waʿalā al-maʿnā taṣrīfu qulūbi al-ʿārifīna wamin hādhihi al-mishkāti tuḍīʾu baṣāʾiru al-shāhidīna walā yūkalūna ʾilā ḥālin, walā yūqafūna maʿa maqāmin. walā taṣiḥḥu hādhihi al-thalāthu ʾillā bithalāthi khilālin: ʾaḥaduhā ʿadamu al-hawā watawaqāni al-nafsi bi-al-ʿādati, wa-al-thāniyatu ʾan yakūna lahu fī ʾaklihi niyyatun kamā lahu fī ṣawmihi niyyatun fayakūna ʾakluhu li-llāhi fayastawiya ʾakluhu waṣawmuhu ʾidh kāna al-ʿāmilu fīhimā wāḥidan.

a sign in his eating and fasting. The presence of food was a sign to break the fast, by which he was divinely intended; its absence was a sign to fast, in which he remained divinely intended. According to this meaning the knowers' hearts are directed, and from this niche the witnesses' inner sight is illumined. They are neither abandoned to a state nor held at a station. These three things are sound only through three qualities: first, the absence of desire and the self's habitual craving; second, an intention in eating just as in fasting, so that he eats for God, and eating and fasting become equal because the one acting in both is one.

وَالثَّالِثَةُ أَنْ يَحْفَظَ الْجَوَارِحَ السِّتَّ بِحُسْنِ الرِّعَايَةِ فَيَكُونَ صَائِمًا بِمَا هُوَ فَرْضٌ عَلَيْهِ وَأَفْضَلُ لَهُ؛ وَهُنَّ الْبَصَرُ وَالسَّمْعُ وَاللِّسَانُ وَالْقَلْبُ وَالْيَدُ وَالرِّجْلُ، وَيَكُونَ مُفْطِرًا بِالْبَطْنِ وَالْفَرْجِ فَيَكُونَ مَا حَفِظَ أَكْثَرَ وَأَبْلَغَ وَأَحَبَّ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَيَكُونَ أَفْضَلَ مِمَّنْ صَامَ بِجَارِحَتَيْنِ. فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مَنْ أَصْبَحَ صَائِمًا ثُمَّ أَفْطَرَ بِهَذِهِ الْأَوْصَافِ الثَّلَاثِ دَخَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ الشَّهْوَةُ الْخَفِيَّةُ الَّتِي فَسَّرَهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمَّا قَالَ: أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمُ الرِّيَاءَ وَالشَّهْوَةَ الْخَفِيَّةَ، فَقَالَ: أَنْ يُصْبِحَ أَحَدُكُمْ صَائِمًا ثُمَّ يَعْرِضَ لَهُ الطَّعَامُ يَشْتَهِيهِ فَيُفْطِرَ لِأَجْلِهِ. فَالْأَفْضَلُ لِمَنْ عَقَدَ لِلَّهِ صَوْمًا أَنْ يُتِمَّهُ.

wa-al-thālithatu ʾan yaḥfaẓa al-jawāriḥa al-sitta biḥusni al-riʿāyati fayakūna ṣāʾiman bimā huwa farḍun ʿalayhi waʾafḍalu lahu; wahunna al-baṣaru wa-al-samʿu wa-al-lisānu wa-al-qalbu wa-al-yadu wa-al-rijlu, wayakūna mufṭiran bi-al-baṭni wa-al-farji fayakūna mā ḥafiẓa ʾakthara waʾablagha waʾaḥabba ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla, wayakūna ʾafḍala mimman ṣāma bijāriḥatayni. faʾin lam yakun man ʾaṣbaḥa ṣāʾiman thumma ʾafṭara bi-hādhihi al-ʾawṣāfi al-thalāthi dakhalat ʿalayhi al-shahwatu al-khafiyyatu allatī fassarahā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, faqad rawaynā ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lammā qāla: ʾakhāfu ʿalaykumu al-riyāʾa wa-al-shahwata al-khafiyyata, faqāla: ʾan yuṣbiḥa ʾaḥadukum ṣāʾiman thumma yaʿriḍa lahu al-ṭaʿāmu yashtahīhi fayufṭira liʾajlihi. fa-al-ʾafḍalu liman ʿaqada li-llāhi ṣawman ʾan yutimmahu.

The third is to guard the six faculties with attentive care, thus fasting in what is obligatory and better for him: sight, hearing, tongue, heart, hand, and foot. He does not fast with belly and sexual organ; what he guards is therefore greater, more effective, and dearer to God, mighty and majestic. He is better than someone fasting with only two faculties. If someone begins the day fasting and then breaks it without these three qualities, he is subject to the hidden appetite explained by God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. We have transmitted that when the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “I fear for you ostentation and hidden appetite,” he explained: “One of you begins the day fasting, then food he desires appears and he breaks his fast for its sake.” It is better for anyone who has undertaken a fast for God to complete it.

فَإِنْ فَسَخَهُ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عُوقِبَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ مِنْ عُقُوبَاتِ الْقُلُوبِ أَوْ عُقُوبَاتِ الْجَوَارِحِ فِي طُرُقَاتِ الْآخِرَةِ؛ فَتِلْكَ عُقُوبَةُ تَرْكِ فَضَائِلِ الْأَعْمَالِ. وَفِي خَبَرٍ: نَوْمُ الْعَالِمِ عِبَادَةٌ وَنَفَسُهُ تَسْبِيحٌ، هَكَذَا رَوَيْنَاهُ. وَقِيلَ لِبِشْرِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ: إِنَّ فُلَانًا الْغَنِيَّ يَصُومُ الدَّهْرَ. فَقَالَ: الْمِسْكِينُ تَرَكَ حَالَهُ وَدَخَلَ فِي حَالِ غَيْرِهِ، إِنَّمَا حَالُهُ أَنْ يُطْعِمَ الْجِيَاعَ، وَيَكْسُوَ الْعُرَاةَ، وَيُوَاسِيَ الْمُحْتَاجِينَ؛ فَهَذَا أَفْضَلُ لَهُ مِنْ صِيَامِهِ الدَّهْرَ. ثُمَّ قَالَ بِشْرٌ: عِبَادَةُ الْغَنِيِّ كَرَوْضَةٍ عَلَى مَزْبَلَةٍ، وَعِبَادَةُ الْفَقِيرِ كَعِقْدِ الْجَوْهَرِ فِي جِيدِ الْحَسْنَاءِ.

faʾin fasakhahu lighayri Allāhi taʿālā ʿūqiba ʿalā dhālika min ʿuqūbāti al-qulūbi ʾaw ʿuqūbāti al-jawāriḥi fī ṭuruqāti al-ʾākhirati; fatilka ʿuqūbatu tarki faḍāʾili al-ʾaʿmāli. wafī khabarin: nawmu al-ʿālimi ʿibādatun wanafasuhu tasbīḥun, hākadhā rawaynāhu. waqīla libishri bni al-ḥārithi: ʾinna fulānan al-ghaniyya yaṣūmu al-dahra. faqāla: al-miskīnu taraka ḥālahu wadakhala fī ḥāli ghayrihi, ʾinnamā ḥāluhu ʾan yuṭʿima al-jiyāʿa, wayaksuwa al-ʿurāta, wayuwāsiya al-muḥtājīna; fa-hādhā ʾafḍalu lahu min ṣiyāmihi al-dahra. thumma qāla bishrun: ʿibādatu al-ghaniyyi karawḍatin ʿalā mazbalatin, waʿibādatu al-faqīri kaʿiqdi al-jawhari fī jīdi al-ḥasnāʾi.

If he dissolves it for something other than God Most High, he incurs one of the punishments of hearts or bodily members along the paths of the hereafter: that is the punishment for abandoning excellent deeds. A report says: “The scholar's sleep is worship, and his breath is glorification.” Thus have we transmitted it. Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith was told: “So-and-so, the wealthy man, fasts continually.” He replied: “Poor man! He has abandoned his own condition and entered another's. His condition should be to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and assist the needy. That is better for him than perpetual fasting.” Bishr then said: “The wealthy man's worship is like a garden on a rubbish heap; the poor man's worship is like a necklace of jewels on a beautiful woman's neck.”

وَدَخَلَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ يَوْمًا عَلَى أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ الْفَزَارِيِّ فَقَدَّمَ إِلَيْهِ قَصْعَةً فِيهَا خَبِيصٌ، فَقَالَ: لَوْلَا أَنِّي صَائِمٌ لَأَكَلْتُ مَعَكَ. فَقَالَ الْفَزَارِيُّ: دَخَلَ عَلَيَّ أَخُوكَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ أَدْهَمَ فَقَعَدَ فِي مَوْضِعِكَ هَذَا فَقَدَّمْتُ إِلَيْهِ خَبِيصًا فِي هَذِهِ الْقَصْعَةِ فَأَكَلَ، فَلَمَّا أَرَادَ الِانْصِرَافَ قَالَ: إِنِّي كُنْتُ صَائِمًا إِلَّا إِنِّي أَحْبَبْتُ أَنْ آكُلَ مَعَكَ أَسُرُّكَ بِذَلِكَ. قَالَ: فَوَضَعَ الثَّوْرِيُّ يَدَهُ وَجَعَلَ يَأْكُلُ وَتَأَدَّبَ بِإِبْرَاهِيمَ.

wadakhala sufyānu al-thawriyyu yawman ʿalā ʾabī ʾisḥāqa al-fazāriyyi faqaddama ʾilayhi qaṣʿatan fīhā khabīṣun, faqāla: lawlā ʾannī ṣāʾimun laʾakaltu maʿaka. faqāla al-fazāriyyu: dakhala ʿalayya ʾakhūka ʾibrāhīmu bnu ʾadhama faqaʿada fī mawḍiʿika hādhā faqaddamtu ʾilayhi khabīṣan fī hādhihi al-qaṣʿati faʾakala, falammā ʾarāda al-inṣirāfa qāla: ʾinnī kuntu ṣāʾiman ʾillā ʾinnī ʾaḥbabtu ʾan ʾākula maʿaka ʾasurruka bi-dhālika. qāla: fawaḍaʿa al-thawriyyu yadahu wajaʿala yaʾkulu wataʾaddaba biʾibrāhīma.

Sufyān al-Thawrī visited Abū Isḥāq al-Fazārī one day, who offered him a bowl of khabīṣ. He said: “Were I not fasting, I would eat with you.” Al-Fazārī replied: “Your brother Ibrāhīm ibn Adham visited me and sat exactly where you are. I offered him khabīṣ in this bowl, and he ate. When he was about to leave, he said: ‘I was fasting, but I wanted to eat with you and give you pleasure.’” Al-Thawrī then reached out and began eating, learning proper conduct from Ibrāhīm.

وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ سَهْلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ سُئِلَ كَيْفَ كَانَ فِي بِدَايَتِهِ فَأَخْبَرَ بِضُرُوبٍ مِنَ الرِّيَاضِيَّاتِ مِنْهَا أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقْتَاتُ وَرَقَ النَّبِقِ مُدَّةً، وَمِنْهَا أَنَّهُ أَكَلَ دُقَاقَ التِّبْنِ ثَلَاثَ سِنِينَ، ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ أَنَّهُ اِقْتَاتَ ثَلَاثَةَ دَرَاهِمَ فِي ثَلَاثِ سِنِينَ. قِيلَ: وَمَا هُوَ؟ قَالَ: كُنْتُ أَشْتَرِي فِي كُلِّ سَنَةٍ بِدَانِقَيْنِ تَمْرًا وَأَرْبَعَةِ دَوَانِقَ كُسْبًا، ثُمَّ أَعْجِنُهَا عَجْنَةً ثُمَّ أُجَزِّئُهَا ثَلَاثَمِائَةٍ وَسِتِّينَ كُبَّةً أُفْطِرُ فِي كُلِّ لَيْلَةٍ عَلَى كُبَّةٍ. قَالَ: فَقُلْتُ لَهُ فَكَيْفَ أَنْتَ فِي وَقْتِكَ هَذَا؟ قَالَ: آكُلُ بِلَا حَدٍّ وَلَا تَوْقِيتٍ. وَقَدْ كَانَ مَعْرُوفٌ الْكَرْخِيُّ يُهْدَى إِلَيْهِ طَيِّبَاتُ الطَّعَامِ فَيَأْكُلُ فَيُقَالُ لَهُ: إِنَّ أَخَاكَ بِشْرًا لَا يَأْكُلُ مِنْ هَذَا، فَيَقُولُ: أَخِي بِشْرٌ قَبَضَهُ الْوَرَعُ وَأَنَا بَسَطَتْنِيَ الْمَعْرِفَةُ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: إِنَّمَا أَنَا ضَيْفٌ فِي دَارِ مَوْلَايَ إِذَا أَطْعَمَنِي أَكَلْتُ، وَإِذَا جَوَّعَنِي صَبَرْتُ، مَا لِي وَالِاعْتِرَاضَ وَالتَّخَيُّرَ؟ وَقَالَ

waḥaddathūnā ʿan sahlin raḥimahu Allāhu ʾannahu suʾila kayfa kāna fī bidāyatihi faʾakhbara biḍurūbin mina al-riyāḍiyyāti minhā ʾannahu kāna yaqtātu waraqa al-nabiqi muddatan, waminhā ʾannahu ʾakala duqāqa al-tibni thalātha sinīna, thumma dhakara ʾannahu iqtāta thalāthata darāhima fī thalāthi sinīna. qīla: wamā huwa? qāla: kuntu ʾashtarī fī kulli sanatin bidāniqayni tamran waʾarbaʿati dawāniqa kusban, thumma ʾaʿjinuhā ʿajnatan thumma ʾujazziʾuhā thalāthamiʾatin wasittīna kubbatan ʾufṭiru fī kulli laylatin ʿalā kubbatin. qāla: faqultu lahu fakayfa ʾanta fī waqtika hādhā? qāla: ʾākulu bilā ḥaddin walā tawqītin. waqad kāna maʿrūfun al-karkhiyyu yuhdā ʾilayhi ṭayyibātu al-ṭaʿāmi fayaʾkulu fayuqālu lahu: ʾinna ʾakhāka bishran lā yaʾkulu min hādhā, fayaqūlu: ʾakhī bishrun qabaḍahu al-waraʿu waʾanā basaṭatniya al-maʿrifatu. thumma qāla: ʾinnamā ʾanā ḍayfun fī dāri mawlāya ʾidhā ʾaṭʿamanī ʾakaltu, waʾidhā jawwaʿanī ṣabartu, mā lī wa-al-iʿtirāḍa wa-al-takhayyura? waqāla

They related of Sahl, may God have mercy on him, that, asked about his beginnings, he described various disciplines: living for a time on lote-tree leaves, eating finely chopped straw for three years, then subsisting on three dirhams over three years. Asked how, he said: “Each year I bought dates for two dāniqs and oilseed cake for four. I kneaded them together and divided the mixture into three hundred and sixty balls, breaking my fast each night with one.” The narrator asked: “How are you now?” He answered: “I eat without limit or fixed time.” Maʿrūf al-Karkhī was given fine foods and ate them. Told that his brother Bishr did not eat such things, he said: “My brother Bishr is held back by scrupulousness, while knowledge of God has given me freedom.” Then he said: “I am only a guest in my Master's house. When He feeds me, I eat; when He makes me hungry, I endure. What have I to do with objection and choosing?” And

الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٩٨

al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 298

Volume Two, page 298

بَعْضُ إِخْوَانِ بِشْرٍ الْحَافِي: دَخَلْتُ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ يَأْكُلُ فَقَالَ لِي: كُلْ، فَقُلْتُ: إِنِّي صَائِمٌ، فَنَاوَلَنِي كِسْرَةً وَقَالَ لِي: كُلْ، فَأَكَلْتُهَا، فَقَالَ: سَلِمْتَ مِنْ آفَةِ الصَّوْمِ وَأَدْخَلْتَ عَلَيَّ السُّرُورَ. وَكَانَ بِشْرٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ قَدْ أَصْبَحَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ صَائِمًا فَزَارَهُ فَتْحٌ الْمَوْصِلِيُّ، قَالَ حُسَيْنٌ الْمَغَازِلِيُّ: فَدَفَعَ إِلَيَّ كَفًّا مِنْ دَرَاهِمَ فَقَالَ: اِشْتَرِ لَنَا أَطْيَبَ مَا تَجِدُ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ وَأَطْيَبَ مَا تَجِدُ مِنَ الْحَلَاوَةِ وَأَطْيَبَ مَا تَجِدُ مِنَ الطِّيبِ. قَالَ: وَمَا قَالَ لِي مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ قَطُّ، فَفَعَلْتُ فَوَضَعْتُ الطَّعَامَ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَجَعَلَ يَأْكُلُ مَعَهُ وَمَا رَأَيْتُهُ أَكَلَ مَعَ غَيْرِهِ.

baʿḍu ʾikhwāni bishrin al-ḥāfī: dakhaltu ʿalayhi wahuwa yaʾkulu faqāla lī: kul, faqultu: ʾinnī ṣāʾimun, fanāwalanī kisratan waqāla lī: kul, faʾakaltuhā, faqāla: salimta min ʾāfati al-ṣawmi waʾadkhalta ʿalayya al-surūra. wakāna bishrun raḥimahu Allāhu qad ʾaṣbaḥa dhāta yawmin ṣāʾiman fazārahu fatḥun al-mawṣiliyyu, qāla ḥusaynun al-maghāziliyyu: fadafaʿa ʾilayya kaffan min darāhima faqāla: ishtari lanā ʾaṭyaba mā tajidu mina al-ṭaʿāmi waʾaṭyaba mā tajidu mina al-ḥalāwati waʾaṭyaba mā tajidu mina al-ṭībi. qāla: wamā qāla lī mithla dhālika qaṭṭu, fafaʿaltu fawaḍaʿtu al-ṭaʿāma bayna ʾaydīhim fajaʿala yaʾkulu maʿahu wamā raʾaytuhu ʾakala maʿa ghayrihi.

one of Bishr al-Ḥāfī's brothers said: “I visited him while he was eating. He told me to eat. I said I was fasting, but he handed me a morsel and again said, ‘Eat.’ I ate it. He said: ‘You have escaped a fault of fasting and brought me joy.’” One day Bishr, may God have mercy on him, began fasting and was visited by Fatḥ al-Mawṣilī. Ḥusayn al-Maghāzilī said: “He gave me a handful of dirhams and said: ‘Buy us the finest food, the finest sweets, and the finest perfume you can find.’ He had never said anything like that to me. I did so and set the food before them. He began eating with him; I had never seen him eat with anyone else.”

وَكَانَ بَعْضُ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ يَقُولُ: إِذْ أَعْطَاكَ مَوْلَاكَ بِقِطْعَةٍ فَقَدْ شَهَّاكَ أَنْ تَشْتَرِيَ مَا تَشَاءُ وَتَشْتَهِي، وَإِنْ أَعْطَاكَ مَأْكُولًا بِعَيْنِهِ فَكُلْ ذَاكَ وَلَا تَتَخَيَّرْ سِوَاهُ. وَدَفَعَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ أَدْهَمَ إِلَى بَعْضِ إِخْوَانِهِ دَرَاهِمَ فَقَالَ: خُذْ لَنَا بِهَذِهِ زُبْدًا وَعَسَلًا وَخُبْزًا حَوْرَانِيًّا، فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَبَا إِسْحَاقَ بِهَذَا كُلِّهِ؟ فَقَالَ: وَيْحَكَ إِذَا وَجَدْنَا أَكَلْنَا أَكْلَ الرِّجَالِ، وَإِذَا عَدِمْنَا صَبَرْنَا صَبْرَ الرِّجَالِ. وَأَصْلَحَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ طَعَامًا فَأَكْثَرَ وَدَعَا نَفَرًا يَسِيرًا مِنْهُمُ الثَّوْرِيُّ وَالْأَوْزَاعِيُّ فَقَالَ لَهُ: أَمَا تَخَافُ أَنْ يَكُونَ هَذَا إِسْرَافًا؟ فَقَالَ: لَيْسَ فِي الطَّعَامِ إِسْرَافٌ، إِنَّمَا الْإِسْرَافُ فِي الْأَثَاثِ وَاللِّبَاسِ، وَهَكَذَا حُكِيَ عَنْ سِيرَةِ السَّلَفِ. قَالَ: كَانُوا فِي الرِّجَالِ مَخَاصِيبَ وَكَانَ فِي الزِّيِّ وَالثِّيَابِ تَقْصِيرٌ.

wakāna baʿḍu hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati yaqūlu: ʾidh ʾaʿṭāka mawlāka biqiṭʿatin faqad shahhāka ʾan tashtariya mā tashāʾu watashtahī, waʾin ʾaʿṭāka maʾkūlan biʿaynihi fakul dhāka walā tatakhayyar siwāhu. wadafaʿa ʾibrāhīmu bnu ʾadhama ʾilā baʿḍi ʾikhwānihi darāhima faqāla: khudh lanā bi-hādhihi zubdan waʿasalan wakhubzan ḥawrāniyyan, faqultu: yā ʾabā ʾisḥāqa bi-hādhā kullihi? faqāla: wayḥaka ʾidhā wajadnā ʾakalnā ʾakla al-rijāli, waʾidhā ʿadimnā ṣabarnā ṣabra al-rijāli. waʾaṣlaḥa dhāta yawmin ṭaʿāman faʾakthara wadaʿā nafaran yasīran minhumu al-thawriyyu wa-al-ʾawzāʿiyyu faqāla lahu: ʾamā takhāfu ʾan yakūna hādhā ʾisrāfan? faqāla: laysa fī al-ṭaʿāmi ʾisrāfun, ʾinnamā al-ʾisrāfu fī al-ʾathāthi wa-al-libāsi, wa-hākadhā ḥukiya ʿan sīrati al-salafi. qāla: kānū fī al-rijāli makhāṣība wakāna fī al-ziyyi wa-al-thiyābi taqṣīrun.

One of this company used to say: “When your Master gives you a coin, He lets you indulge in buying what you wish and desire. If He gives you a particular food, eat that and choose nothing else.” Ibrāhīm ibn Adham gave one of his brothers dirhams, saying: “Buy us butter, honey, and Ḥawrān bread with these.” I asked: “Abū Isḥāq, with all of it?” He replied: “Woe to you! When we have, we eat as men eat; when we lack, we endure as men endure.” One day he prepared abundant food and invited a few people, including al-Thawrī and al-Awzāʿī. One asked: “Do you not fear this is extravagance?” He replied: “There is no extravagance in food; extravagance lies in furnishings and clothing.” Such is also related of the early authorities' conduct: they were generous toward men, while spare in appearance and clothes.

وَفِي الْخَبَرِ أَنَّ رَجُلًا صَنَعَ طَعَامًا فَدَعَا إِلَيْهِ بَعْضَ إِخْوَانِهِ فَقَالَ: إِنِّي صَائِمٌ، فَبَلَغَ ذَلِكَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: صَنَعَ لَكَ أَخُوكَ طَعَامًا فَلَمْ تَأْكُلْ، أَلَا أَفْطَرْتَ يَوْمًا مَكَانَهُ؟ وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ بَعْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ أَنَّهُ كَانَ قَاضِيًا بِصَنْعَاءَ فَدَخَلَ عَلَى أَمِيرِ صَنْعَاءَ فَحَضَرَ وَقْتُ غَدَائِهِ فَعَرَضَ عَلَيْهِ الْأَكْلَ فَقَالَ: إِنِّي صَائِمٌ، فَلَمَّا أَخَذَ الْأَمِيرُ فِي الْأَكْلِ وَهُوَ يُحَدِّثُهُ إِذْ نَظَرَ الْقَاضِي فَإِذَا قَدْ جَاؤُوا بِجَمَلٍ مَشْوِيٍّ، فَجَعَلَ الْقَاضِي يَزْحَفُ وَيَتَقَدَّمُ إِلَى الْمَائِدَةِ، ثُمَّ مَدَّ يَدَهُ يَأْكُلُ، فَقَالَ لَهُ الْأَمِيرُ: أَلَمْ تَقُلْ إِنِّي صَائِمٌ؟ فَقَالَ: أَيُّهَا الْأَمِيرُ أَنَا عَلَى قَضَاءِ يَوْمٍ أَصُومُهُ أَقْدَرُ مِنِّي عَلَى قَضَاءِ مِثْلِ هَذَا الْجَمَلِ.

wafī al-khabari ʾanna rajulan ṣanaʿa ṭaʿāman fadaʿā ʾilayhi baʿḍa ʾikhwānihi faqāla: ʾinnī ṣāʾimun, fabalagha dhālika rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faqāla: ṣanaʿa laka ʾakhūka ṭaʿāman falam taʾkul, ʾalā ʾafṭarta yawman makānahu? waḥaddathūnā ʿan baʿḍi al-ʿulamāʾi ʾannahu kāna qāḍiyan biṣanʿāʾa fadakhala ʿalā ʾamīri ṣanʿāʾa faḥaḍara waqtu ghadāʾihi faʿaraḍa ʿalayhi al-ʾakla faqāla: ʾinnī ṣāʾimun, falammā ʾakhadha al-ʾamīru fī al-ʾakli wahuwa yuḥaddithuhu ʾidh naẓara al-qāḍī faʾidhā qad jāʾū bijamalin mashwiyyin, fajaʿala al-qāḍī yazḥafu wayataqaddamu ʾilā al-māʾidati, thumma madda yadahu yaʾkulu, faqāla lahu al-ʾamīru: ʾalam taqul ʾinnī ṣāʾimun? faqāla: ʾayyuhā al-ʾamīru ʾanā ʿalā qaḍāʾi yawmin ʾaṣūmuhu ʾaqdaru minnī ʿalā qaḍāʾi mithli hādhā al-jamali.

A report tells of a man who prepared food and invited one of his brothers, who said he was fasting. When God's Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, heard, he said: “Your brother prepared food for you and you did not eat! Why did you not break your fast for a day in its place?” They related of a scholar who was a judge in Ṣanʿāʾ that he visited its governor at lunchtime. Offered food, he said he was fasting. As the governor ate and spoke with him, the judge saw that a roast camel had been brought. He began edging closer to the table, then reached out and ate. The governor asked: “Did you not say you were fasting?” He replied: “Governor, I can make up a day by fasting more readily than I can make up the loss of a camel like this!”

وَكَانَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ يَقُولُ: لَا تَضُرُّ الشَّهَوَاتُ مَنْ لَمْ يَتَكَلَّفْهَا إِنَّمَا تَضُرُّ مَنْ حَرَصَ عَلَيْهَا. وَكَانَ يَدْعُو أَصْحَابَهُ فَيُقَدِّمُ إِلَيْهِمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ فَيَقُولُونَ لَهُ: تَنْهَانَا عَنْهَا وَتُقَدِّمُهَا إِلَيْنَا؟ قَالَ: لِأَنِّي أَعْلَمُ أَنَّكُمْ تَشْتَهُونَهَا فَتَأْكُلُونَهَا عِنْدِي خَيْرًا، وَلَوْ جَاءَنِي مَنْ يَزْهَدُ مَا زِدْتُهُ عَلَى الْمِلْحِ شَيْئًا. وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: أَكْلُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ يُورِثُ الرِّضَا عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْخُلَفَاءِ: شُرْبُ الْمَاءِ بِثَلْجٍ يُخْلِصُ الشُّكْرَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى.

wakāna ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu yaqūlu: lā taḍurru al-shahawātu man lam yatakallafhā ʾinnamā taḍurru man ḥaraṣa ʿalayhā. wakāna yadʿū ʾaṣḥābahu fayuqaddimu ʾilayhimu al-ṭayyibāti fayaqūlūna lahu: tanhānā ʿanhā watuqaddimuhā ʾilaynā? qāla: liʾannī ʾaʿlamu ʾannakum tashtahūnahā fataʾkulūnahā ʿindī khayran, walaw jāʾanī man yazhadu mā zidtuhu ʿalā al-milḥi shayʾan. wakāna yaqūlu: ʾaklu al-ṭayyibāti yūrithu al-riḍā ʿani Allāhi taʿālā. waqāla baʿḍu al-khulafāʾi: shurbu al-māʾi bithaljin yukhliṣu al-shukra li-llāhi taʿālā.

Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī used to say: “Desired foods do not harm someone who does not go out of his way for them; they harm the one who covets them.” He invited his companions and served them delicacies. They asked: “You forbid us these things, yet offer them to us?” He answered: “I know you desire them, so eating them with me is a good thing. Were someone who renounces them to come, I would give him nothing beyond salt.” He used to say: “Eating good foods brings contentment with God Most High.” One caliph said: “Drinking water with ice makes gratitude to God Most High pure.”

وَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ إِلَى بَعْضِ أَوْلِيَائِهِ: أَدْرِكْ لِي لُطْفَ الْفِطْنَةِ وَخَفِيَّ اللُّطْفِ فَإِنِّي أُحِبُّ ذَلِكَ. قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ وَمَا أَلْطَفُ الْفِطْنَةِ؟ قَالَ: إِذَا وَقَعَتْ عَلَيْكَ ذُبَابَةٌ فَاِعْلَمْ أَنِّي أَوْقَعْتُهَا فَسَلْنِي حَتَّى أَدْفَعَهَا. قَالَ: وَمَا خَفِيُّ اللُّطْفِ؟ قَالَ: إِذَا أَتَاكَ فُولَةٌ مُسَوَّسَةٌ فَاِعْلَمْ إِنِّي ذَكَرْتُكَ بِهَا فَاُشْكُرْنِي عَلَيْهَا. وَأُوحِيَ إِلَى بَعْضِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ: لَا تَنْظُرْ إِلَى قِلَّةِ الْهَدِيَّةِ، وَاُنْظُرْ إِلَى عَظَمَةِ مُهْدِيهَا، وَلَا تَنْظُرْ إِلَى صِغَرِ الْخَطِيئَةِ وَاُنْظُرْ إِلَى كِبْرِيَاءِ مَنْ وَاجَهْتَهُ بِهَا؛ فَإِذَا أَصَابَكَ فَقْرٌ وَضُرٌّ فَلَا تَشْكُنِي إِلَى خَلْقِي كَمَا إِذَا صَعِدَتْ مَسَاوِئُكَ لَمْ أَشْكُكَ إِلَى مَلَائِكَتِي.

waʾawḥā Allāhu subḥānahu ʾilā baʿḍi ʾawliyāʾihi: ʾadrik lī luṭfa al-fiṭnati wakhafiyya al-luṭfi faʾinnī ʾuḥibbu dhālika. qāla: yā rabbi wamā ʾalṭafu al-fiṭnati? qāla: ʾidhā waqaʿat ʿalayka dhubābatun fa-iʿlam ʾannī ʾawqaʿtuhā fasalnī ḥattā ʾadfaʿahā. qāla: wamā khafiyyu al-luṭfi? qāla: ʾidhā ʾatāka fūlatun musawwasatun fa-iʿlam ʾinnī dhakartuka bihā fa-ushkurnī ʿalayhā. waʾūḥiya ʾilā baʿḍi al-ʾanbiyāʾi: lā tanẓur ʾilā qillati al-hadiyyati, wa-unẓur ʾilā ʿaẓamati muhdīhā, walā tanẓur ʾilā ṣighari al-khaṭīʾati wa-unẓur ʾilā kibriyāʾi man wājahtahu bihā; faʾidhā ʾaṣābaka faqrun waḍurrun falā tashkunī ʾilā khalqī kamā ʾidhā ṣaʿidat masāwiʾuka lam ʾashkuka ʾilā malāʾikatī.

God, glorified is He, revealed to one of His friends: “Attain for Me subtle discernment and hidden kindness, for I love that.” He asked: “My Lord, what is the subtlest discernment?” He answered: “When a fly lands on you, know that I made it land; ask Me, and I will drive it away.” He asked: “What is hidden kindness?” He answered: “When a worm-eaten bean comes to you, know that I remembered you through it, and thank Me for it.” It was revealed to one of the prophets: “Do not look at the smallness of the gift; look at the greatness of its giver. Do not look at the littleness of the offense; look at the majesty of the One you confronted with it. If poverty and hardship befall you, do not complain of Me to My creatures, just as, when your misdeeds rise to Me, I do not complain of you to My angels.”