5. Kitab Al Luma: Spotlights on Sufism Al Sarraj Part 5

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تَعَالَى، وَقَدْ ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي قِصَّةِ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ دَاوُودَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فَقَالَ:

taʿālā, waqad dhakara Allāhu taʿālā fī qiṣṣati sulaymāna bni dāwūda ʿalayhi al-salāmu faqāla:

Most High. God Most High mentions Solomon son of David—peace be upon him—in the words:

﴿وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُدَ سُلَيْمَانَ نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ إِذْ عُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ بِالْعَشِيِّ الصَّافِنَاتُ الْجِيَادُ فَقَالَ:

﴿wawahabnā lidāwuda sulaymāna niʿma al-ʿabdu innahu awwābun idh ʿuriḍa ʿalayhi bi-al-ʿashiyyi al-ṣāfinātu al-jiyādu faqāla:

“We bestowed Solomon upon David. What an excellent servant! He was ever turning back to God. When the poised, swift horses were displayed before him in the evening, he said:

إِنِّي أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّي حَتَّى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ رُدُّوهَا عَلَيَّ، فَطَفِقَ مَسْحًا بِالسُّوقِ وَالْأَعْنَاقِ﴾.

innī aḥbabtu ḥubba al-khayri ʿan dhikri rabbī ḥattā tawārat bi-al-ḥijābi ruddūhā ʿalayya, faṭafiqa masḥan bi-al-sūqi wa-al-aʿnāqi﴾.

“I have preferred the love of fine horses to the remembrance of my Lord, until [the sun] disappeared behind the veil. Bring them back to me.” Then he began striking their legs and necks.

يُقَالُ: إِنَّهُ كَانَ لَهُ ثَلَاثُمِائَةِ فَرَسٍ عَرَبِيَّاتٍ،

yuqālu: innahu kāna lahu thalāthumiʾati farasin ʿarabiyyātin,

It is said that he owned three hundred Arabian horses

لَمْ يَكُنْ لِأَحَدٍ مِنَ الْمُلُوكِ مِثْلُهَا قَبْلَهُ وَلَا بَعْدَهُ.

lam yakun li-aḥadin mina al-mulūki mithluhā qablahu walā baʿdahu.

whose like no king before or after him possessed.

فَكَانَ يُعْرَضُ عَلَيْهِ ذَلِكَ، فَاشْتَغَلَ قَلْبُهُ لِذَلِكَ حَتَّى فَاتَتْهُ صَلَاةُ الْعَصْرِ عَنْ وَقْتِهَا.

fakāna yuʿraḍu ʿalayhi dhalika, fa-ishtaghala qalbuhu lidhalika ḥattā fātathu ṣalātu al-ʿaṣri ʿan waqtihā.

While they were being shown to him, his heart became occupied because of them until the afternoon prayer passed beyond its proper time.

فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ قَالَ: رُدُّوهَا عَلَيَّ، فَطَفِقَ مَسْحًا بِالسُّوقِ وَالْأَعْنَاقِ.

faʿinda dhalika qāla: ruddūhā ʿalayya, faṭafiqa masḥan bi-al-sūqi wa-al-aʿnāqi.

He then said, “Bring them back to me,” and began striking their legs and necks:

فَعَرْقَبَ الْجَمِيعَ وَضَرَبَ أَعْنَاقَهُمْ، فَشَكَرَ اللَّهُ لَهُ ذَلِكَ،

faʿarqaba al-jamīʿa waḍaraba aʿnāqahum, fashakara Allāhu lahu dhalika,

he hamstrung them all and struck off their heads. God rewarded him for that

وَرَدَّ لَهُ الشَّمْسَ إِلَى مَوْضِعِهَا الَّذِي تَكُونُ فِيهِ وَقْتَ الْعَصْرِ، حَتَّى صَلَّاهَا كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ.

waradda lahu al-shamsa ilā mawḍiʿihā alladhī takūnu fīhi waqta al-ʿaṣri, ḥattā ṣallāhā kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari.

and returned the sun to the position it occupies at the time of the afternoon prayer, so that he could perform it, as the report relates.

وَقَدْ رُوِيَ أَيْضًا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي هَذَا الْمَعْنَى أَنَّهُ لَمَّا فَاتَتْهُ صَلَاةُ الْعَصْرِ يَوْمَ الْخَنْدَقِ،

waqad ruwiya ayḍan ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama fī hādhā al-maʿnā annahu lammā fātathu ṣalātu al-ʿaṣri yawma al-khandaqi,

It is also related of the Messenger of God—may God bless him and grant him peace—in this connection that, when he missed the afternoon prayer on the Day of the Trench,

وَجَدَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِذَلِكَ وَجْدًا شَدِيدًا حَتَّى قَالَ: «شَغَلُونَا عَنِ الصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَى، صَلَاةِ الْعَصْرِ؛ مَلَأَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ وَبُيُوتَهُمْ نَارًا».

wajada rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama lidhalika wajdan shadīdan ḥattā qāla: «shaghalūnā ʿani al-ṣalāti al-wusṭā, ṣalāti al-ʿaṣri; malaʾa Allāhu qulūbahum wabuyūtahum nāran».

the Messenger of God—may God bless him and grant him peace—was deeply distressed and said, “They kept us from the middle prayer, the afternoon prayer; may God fill their hearts and houses with fire.”

وَكَانُوا قَدْ آذَوْهُ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ أَذًى كَثِيرًا، وَضَرَبُوهُ وَطَرَدُوهُ وَشَتَمُوهُ، وَطَرَحُوا عَلَيْهِ الْكِرْسَ وَالدَّمَ،

wakānū qad ādhawhu qabla dhalika adhan kathīran, waḍarabūhu waṭaradūhu washatamūhu, waṭaraḥū ʿalayhi al-kirsa wa-al-dama,

Before this they had inflicted much harm upon him: they had beaten and expelled him, reviled him, and thrown filth and blood over him;

وَلَمْ يَدْعُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَلَمْ يَزِدْ عَلَى أَنْ قَالَ: «اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِقَوْمِي، فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ».

walam yadʿu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, walam yazid ʿalā an qāla: «Allāhumma ighfir liqawmī, fa-innahum lā yaʿlamūna».

yet he—may God bless him and grant him peace—did not pray against them on that account, and did no more than say, “O God, forgive my people, for they do not know.”

فَلَمَّا اشْتَغَلَ قَلْبُهُ بِمَا فَاتَهُ مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ عَنْ وَقْتِهَا، دَعَا عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ شِدَّةِ وَجْدِهِ بِذَلِكَ.

falammā ishtaghala qalbuhu bimā fātahu mina al-ṣalāti ʿan waqtihā, daʿā ʿalayhim min shiddati wajdihi bidhalika.

But when his heart was occupied by the prayer that had passed beyond its time, the intensity of his distress moved him to pray against them.

وَهَذَا أَتَمُّ فِي مَعْنَاهُ مِمَّا فَعَلَ سُلَيْمَانُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ.

wahādhā atammu fī maʿnāhu mimmā faʿala sulaymānu ʿalayhi al-salāmu.

This is still more complete in meaning than what Solomon—peace be upon him—did.

فَإِنْ سَأَلَ سَائِلٌ فَقَالَ: أَيْشِ الْمَعْنَى فِي رَدِّ الشَّمْسِ لِسُلَيْمَانَ إِلَى مَوْضِعِهَا، وَلَمْ تُرَدَّ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ؟

fa-in saʾala sāʾilun faqāla: ayshi al-maʿnā fī raddi al-shamsi li-sulaymāna ilā mawḍiʿihā, walam turadda li-al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama?

If someone asks, “Why was the sun returned to its place for Solomon but not for the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace?”

فَيُقَالُ: لِأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بُعِثَ بِالْحَنِيفِيَّةِ السَّمْحَةِ، فَسُومِحَ لَهُ بِذَلِكَ؛ لِأَنَّ فَرْضًا مَنَعَهُ عَنِ الْفَرْضِ.

fayuqālu: li-anna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama buʿitha bi-al-ḥanīfiyyati al-samḥati, fasūmiḥa lahu bidhalika; li-anna farḍan manaʿahu ʿani al-farḍi.

the answer is that the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—was sent with the tolerant, primordial faith and was therefore excused: one obligation had prevented him from another.

لِأَنَّ حَفْرَ الْخَنْدَقِ كَانَ مِنْ أَمْرِ الْجِهَادِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، فَلَمَّا حَبَسَهُ فَرْضُ الْجِهَادِ عَنْ فَرْضِ الصَّلَاةِ، سُومِحَ لَهُ بِذَلِكَ.

li-anna ḥafra al-khandaqi kāna min amri al-jihādi fī sabīli Allāhi, falammā ḥabasahu farḍu al-jihādi ʿan farḍi al-ṣalāti, sūmiḥa lahu bidhalika.

Digging the Trench belonged to the duty of striving in God’s path, so when that obligatory striving detained him from the obligatory prayer, he was excused.

وَسُلَيْمَانُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لَمْ يَحْبِسْهُ عَنْ فَرْضِ الصَّلَاةِ فَرْضٌ وَلَا تَطَوُّعٌ؛ فَمِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ لَمْ يُسَامَحْ لَهُ.

wasulaymānu ʿalayhi al-salāmu lam yaḥbishu ʿan farḍi al-ṣalāti farḍun walā taṭawwuʿun; famin ajli dhalika lam yusāmaḥ lahu.

Solomon—peace be upon him—however, had been detained from the obligatory prayer by neither an obligation nor a voluntary act, and therefore he was not excused.

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وَإِكْرَامُ نَبِيِّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْمُسَامَحَةِ لَهُ أَتَمُّ مِنْ رَدِّ الشَّمْسِ لِسُلَيْمَانَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ؛

wa-ikrāmu nabiyyinā ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama bi-al-musāmaḥati lahu atammu min raddi al-shamsi li-sulaymāna ʿalayhi al-salāmu;

God’s honoring of our Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—by granting him this dispensation is more complete than His returning the sun for Solomon—peace be upon him;

وَلَوْ سَامَحَهُ لَمْ تُرَدَّ عَلَيْهِ الشَّمْسُ.

walaw sāmaḥahu lam turadda ʿalayhi al-shamsu.

had Solomon been excused, the sun would not have been returned for him.

وَبَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْحَقَائِقِ أَنَّ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ شَغَلَهُمْ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ فَذَاكَ عَدُوُّهُمْ؛

wabaʿdu, fa-inna ʿinda ahli al-ḥaqāʾiqi anna kulla shayʾin shaghalahum ʿani Allāhi taʿālā mina al-dunyā wa-al-ākhirati fadhāka ʿaduwwuhum;

Furthermore, for the people of spiritual realities, anything in this world or the next that distracts them from God Most High is their enemy.

يَطْلُبُونَ الْخَلَاصَ مِنْهُ بِجَمِيعِ مَا يُمْكِنُهُمْ، وَلَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ فِيهِمْ فَضْلٌ لِسِوَاهُ.

yaṭlubūna al-khalāṣa minhu bijamīʿi mā yumkinuhum, walā yanbaghī an yakūna fīhim faḍlun lisiwāhu.

They seek deliverance from it by every means they can, and no surplus within them should remain for anything other than Him.

فَهَذَا عَلَى هَذَا الْمَعْنَى، وَبِاللَّهِ التَّوْفِيقُ.

fahādhā ʿalā hādhā al-maʿnā, wa-bi-Allāhi al-tawfīqu.

This is the sense intended here; success comes from God.

وَالَّذِي قَالَ: «وَدِدْتُ أَنَّ الدُّنْيَا لُقْمَةٌ أَجْعَلُهَا فِي فَمِ يَهُودِيٍّ»، فَذَاكَ مِنْ هَوَانِهَا عِنْدَهُ.

wa-alladhī qāla: «wadidtu anna al-dunyā luqmatun ajʿaluhā fī fami yahūdiyyin», fadhāka min hawānihā ʿindahu.

As for the man who said, “I wish the whole world were a morsel that I could place in a Jew’s mouth,” he said this because the world was so contemptible in his eyes.

وَقَدْ رُوِيَ فِي هَوَانِ الدُّنْيَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ.

waqad ruwiya fī hawāni al-dunyā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama aktharu min dhalika.

Still more than this has been related from the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—about the world’s worthlessness.

وَرُوِيَ عَنْهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «الدُّنْيَا مَلْعُونَةٌ، مَلْعُونٌ مَا فِيهَا».

waruwiya ʿanhu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla: «al-dunyā malʿūnatun, malʿūnun mā fīhā».

It is related that he—may God bless him and grant him peace—said, “The world is accursed, and accursed is all that it contains.”

وَرُوِيَ عَنْهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «لَوْ أَنَّ الدُّنْيَا تَزِنُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ، مَا سَقَى كَافِرًا مِنْهَا شَرْبَةً مِنْ مَاءٍ»؛ الْحَدِيثَ.

waruwiya ʿanhu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla: «law anna al-dunyā tazinu ʿinda Allāhi janāḥa baʿūḍatin, mā saqā kāfiran minhā sharbatan min māʾin»; al-ḥadītha.

It is also related that he—may God bless him and grant him peace—said, “If the world weighed as much as a gnat’s wing in God’s sight, He would not give an unbeliever even a drink of water from it”—to the end of the report.

بَابٌ آخَرُ فِي شَرْحِ كَلَامٍ تَكَلَّمَ بِهِ الشِّبْلِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ، وَهُوَ مِمَّا يُشْكِلُ فَهْمُهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَالْفُقَهَاءِ،

bābun ākharu fī sharḥi kalāmin takallama bihi al-shibliyyu raḥimahu Allāhu, wahuwa mimmā yushkilu fahmuhu ʿalā qulūbi al-ʿulamāʾi wa-al-fuqahāʾi,

Another chapter, explaining words spoken by al-Shiblī—may God have mercy on him—whose meaning can trouble the hearts of scholars and jurists,

وَأَلْفَاظٍ جَرَتْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجُنَيْدِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ.

wa-alfāẓin jarat baynahu wabayna al-junaydi raḥimahu Allāhu.

and expressions exchanged between him and al-Junayd—may God have mercy on him.

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: حُكِيَ عَنِ الشِّبْلِيِّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ يَوْمًا لِأَصْحَابِهِ: «يَا قَوْمِ، أَمُرُّ إِلَى مَا لَا وَرَاءَ، فَلَا أَرَى إِلَّا وَرَاءَ؛

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: ḥukiya ʿani al-shibliyyi raḥimahu Allāhu annahu qāla yawman li-aṣḥābihi: «yā qawmi, amurru ilā mā lā warāʾa, falā arā illā warāʾa;

The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: It is related that al-Shiblī—may God have mercy on him—once told his companions, “My people, I pass onward to where there is nothing beyond, yet I see only what lies beyond.

وَأَمُرُّ يَمِينًا وَشِمَالًا إِلَى مَا لَا وَرَاءَ، [فَلَا أَرَى إِلَّا وَرَاءَ]؛

wa-amurru yamīnan washimālan ilā mā lā warāʾa, [falā arā illā warāʾa];

I pass right and left to where there is nothing beyond, [yet I see only what lies beyond].

ثُمَّ أَرْجِعُ فَأَرَى هَذَا كُلَّهُ فِي شَعْرَةٍ مِنْ خِنْصِرِي».

thumma arjiʿu fa-arā hādhā kullahu fī shaʿratin min khinṣirī».

Then I return and see all this within a hair of my little finger.”

قَالَ: فَأَشْكَلَ عَلَى جَمَاعَةٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ إِشَارَتُهُ فِيمَا قَالَ.

qāla: fa-ashkala ʿalā jamāʿatin min aṣḥābihi ishāratuhu fīmā qāla.

A group of his companions found the allusion in these words difficult to understand.

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ أَبُو نَصْرٍ: [إِشَارَتُهُ] فِيمَا قَالَ—وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ—إِلَى الْكَوْنِ؛ لِأَنَّ الْكُ[رْسِيَّ] وَالْعَرْشَ

qāla al-shaykhu abū naṣrin: [ishāratuhu] fīmā qāla—wa-Allāhu aʿlamu—ilā al-kawni; li-anna al-ku[rsiyya] wa-al-ʿarsha

Shaykh Abū Naṣr said: His allusion—God knows best—was to the created universe, for the [Footstool] and the Throne

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مُحْدَثٌ [...] حَدٌّ، وَلَيْسَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَرَاءَهُ وَرَاءٌ، وَلَا تَحْتَهُ تَحْتٌ؛ لَا نِهَايَةَ لَهُ، وَلَا يَقْدِرُ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ أَنْ يَحُدَّهُ أَوْ يَصِفَهُ،

muḥdathun [...] ḥaddun, walaysa fī al-dunyā warāʾahu warāʾun, walā taḥtahu taḥtun; lā nihāyata lahu, walā yaqdiru aḥadun mina al-khalqi an yaḥuddahu aw yaṣifahu,

is created [...] ⟨and has⟩ a boundary; in the world nothing lies beyond it and nothing below it. No end can be assigned to it, and no creature can delimit or describe it

إِلَّا بِمَا وَصَفَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ، وَلَا يُحِيطُ بِذَلِكَ عِلْمُ الْخَلْقِ؛

illā bimā waṣafahu Allāhu taʿālā bihi, walā yuḥīṭu bidhalika ʿilmu al-khalqi;

except in the terms by which God Most High has described it. Creatures’ knowledge cannot encompass it;

قَدِ انْفَرَدَ بِعِلْمِ ذَلِكَ خَالِقُهُ وَصَانِعُهُ.

qadi infarada biʿilmi dhalika khāliquhu waṣāniʿuhu.

its Creator and Maker alone possesses knowledge of it.

ثُمَّ قَالَ: «أَرْجِعُ فَأَرَى هَذَا كُلَّهُ فِي شَعْرَةٍ مِنْ خِنْصِرِي».

thumma qāla: «arjiʿu fa-arā hādhā kullahu fī shaʿratin min khinṣirī».

Then al-Shiblī said, “I return and see all this within a hair of my little finger.”

يُرِيدُ بِذَلِكَ أَنَّ قُدْرَةَ الْقَادِرِ فِي خَلْقِ هَذَا كُلِّهِ وَفِي خَلْقِ شَعْرَةٍ مِنْ خِنْصِرِي ⟨وَاحِدَةٌ⟩.

yurīdu bidhalika anna qudrata al-qādiri fī khalqi hādhā kullihi wafī khalqi shaʿratin min khinṣirī ⟨wāḥidatun⟩.

By this he meant that the Almighty’s power is one and the same in creating the whole universe and in creating a single hair of my little finger.

وَيَحْتَمِلُ وَجْهًا آخَرَ، وَهُوَ أَنْ يَقُولَ: إِنَّ الْكَوْنَ وَجَمِيعَ مَا خَلَقَ،

wayaḥtamilu wajhan ākhara, wahuwa an yaqūla: inna al-kawna wajamīʿa mā khalaqa,

The words may also bear another meaning: namely, that the universe and all God created,

وَإِنْ كَانَتْ مَسَافَتُهُ بَعِيدَةً، وَطُولُهُ وَعَرْضُهُ ⟨عَظِيمَانِ⟩، فِي كِبْرِيَاءِ خَالِقِهِ وَعَظَمَةِ صَانِعِهِ كَشَعْرَةٍ مِنْ خِنْصِرِي،

wa-in kānat masāfatuhu baʿīdatan, waṭūluhu waʿarḍuhu ⟨ʿaẓīmāni⟩, fī kibriyāʾi khāliqihi waʿaẓamati ṣāniʿihi kashaʿratin min khinṣirī,

even though its extent is vast and its length and breadth immense, it is, beside the majesty of its Creator and the greatness of its Maker, like a hair of my little finger—

بَلْ أَقَلُّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ.

bal aqallu min dhalika.

indeed, less than that.

وَحُكِيَ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «إِنْ قُلْتُ كَذَا فَاللَّهُ، وَإِنْ قُلْتُ كَذَا فَاللَّهُ، وَإِنَّمَا أَتَمَنَّى مِنْهُ ذَرَّةً».

waḥukiya ʿanhu annahu qāla: «in qultu kadhā fa-Allāhu, wa-in qultu kadhā fa-Allāhu, wa-innamā atamannā minhu dharratan».

It is also related that he said, “If I say this, it is God; and if I say that, it is God. I desire from Him only an atom.”

كَأَنَّهُ يُشِيرُ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: ﴿وَهُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا﴾،

ka-annahu yushīru ilā qawlihi: ﴿wahuwa maʿahum ayna mā kānū﴾,

He seems to allude to God’s saying, “He is with them wherever they may be,”

وَأَنَّهُ حَاضِرٌ لَا يَغِيبُ، وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ مَكَانٍ، لَا يَسَعُهُ مَكَانٌ وَلَا يَخْلُو مِنْهُ مَكَانٌ.

wa-annahu ḥāḍirun lā yaghību, wahuwa bikulli makānin, lā yasaʿuhu makānun walā yakhlū minhu makānun.

and to His being present, never absent: He is in every place, though no place contains Him and no place is empty of Him.

وَقَوْلُهُ: «إِنَّمَا أَتَمَنَّى مِنْهُ ذَرَّةً» يَعْنِي: الْخَلْقُ مَحْجُوبُونَ عَنْهُ بِأَسْمَائِهِ وَصِفَاتِهِ،

waqawluhu: «innamā atamannā minhu dharratan» yaʿnī: al-khalqu maḥjūbūna ʿanhu bi-asmāʾihi waṣifātihi,

By saying, “I desire from Him only an atom,” he meant that creatures are veiled from Him by His names and attributes,

وَمَا أَعْطَاهُمْ مِنْهُ غَيْرَ اسْمِهِ وَذِكْرِهِ؛ لِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يُطِيقُونَ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ.

wamā aʿṭāhum minhu ghayra ismihi wadhikrihi; li-annahum lā yuṭīqūna akthara min dhalika.

He has given them nothing of Himself beyond His name and remembrance, for they cannot bear more.

وَفِي ذَلِكَ كَانَ يُنْشِدُ الشِّبْلِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَيَقُولُ: «فَقُلْتُ: أَلَيْسَ قَدْ فَضُّوا كِتَابِي؟ ** فَقَالَ: نَعَمْ. فَقُلْتُ: فَذَاكَ حَسْبِي».

wafī dhalika kāna yunshidu al-shibliyyu raḥimahu Allāhu wayaqūlu: «faqultu: alaysa qad faḍḍū kitābī? ** faqāla: naʿam. faqultu: fadhāka ḥasbī».

In this connection al-Shiblī—may God have mercy on him—used to recite: “I said, ‘Have they not broken the seal of my letter?’ / He said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Then that is enough for me.’”

وَلَهُ أَيْضًا: «أَلَيْسَ مِنَ السَّعَادَةِ أَنَّ دَارِي ** مُجَاوِرَةٌ لِدَارِكَ فِي الْبِلَادِ؟».

walahu ayḍan: «alaysa mina al-saʿādati anna dārī ** mujāwiratun lidārika fī al-bilādi?».

He also said: “Is it not happiness that my dwelling / adjoins your dwelling in the land?”

وَأَنْشَدَ: «أَظَلَّتْ عَلَيْنَا مِنْكَ يَوْمًا غَمَامَةٌ ** أَضَاءَتْ لَنَا بَرْقًا وَأَبْطَأَ رَشَاشُهَا؛

wa-anshada: «aẓallat ʿalaynā minka yawman ghamāmatun ** aḍāʾat lanā barqan wa-abṭaʾa rashāshuhā;

And he recited: “One day a cloud from you overshadowed us; / its lightning shone for us, but its shower was slow.

فَلَا غَيْمُهَا يَجْلُو فَيَيْأَسَ طَامِعٌ ** وَلَا غَيْثُهَا يَأْتِي فَيُرْوَى عِطَاشُهَا».

falā ghaymuhā yajlū fayayʾasa ṭāmiʿun ** walā ghaythuhā yaʾtī fayurwā ʿiṭāshuhā».

Its cloud does not clear, so that the hopeful may despair; / nor does its rain arrive, so that those thirsting for it may drink their fill.”

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وَقَالَ الشِّبْلِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: «كَتَبْتُ الْحَدِيثَ وَالْفِقْهَ ثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً حَتَّى أَسْفَرَ الصُّبْحُ،

waqāla al-shibliyyu raḥimahu Allāhu: «katabtu al-ḥadītha wa-al-fiqha thalāthīna sanatan ḥattā asfara al-ṣubḥu,

Al-Shiblī—may God have mercy on him—said: “For thirty years I wrote down hadith and jurisprudence, until dawn broke.

فَجِئْتُ إِلَى كُلِّ مَنْ كَتَبْتُ عَنْهُ، فَقُلْتُ: أُرِيدُ فِقْهَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَمَا كَلَّمَنِي أَحَدٌ».

fajiʾtu ilā kulli man katabtu ʿanhu, faqultu: urīdu fiqha Allāhi taʿālā, famā kallamanī aḥadun».

Then I went to everyone from whom I had written and said, ‘I want the understanding that comes from God Most High,’ but no one spoke to me.”

وَمَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: «حَتَّى أَسْفَرَ الصُّبْحُ» يَعْنِي بِهِ: [حَتَّى بَدَا] أَنْوَارُ الْحَقِيقَةِ،

wamaʿnā qawlihi: «ḥattā asfara al-ṣubḥu» yaʿnī bihi: [ḥattā badā] anwāru al-ḥaqīqati,

By “until dawn broke” he meant: [until there appeared] the lights of spiritual reality

وَمُنَازَلَةُ مَا دَعَتْ إِلَيْهِ حَقِيقَةُ الْفِقْهِ وَالْعِلْمِ وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ.

wamunāzalatu mā daʿat ilayhi ḥaqīqatu al-fiqhi wa-al-ʿilmi wa-al-maʿrifati.

and direct confrontation with what the true nature of jurisprudence, knowledge, and recognition demands.

مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: «هَاتِ فِقْهَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى» يَعْنِي التَّفَقُّهَ فِي عِلْمِ الْأَحْوَالِ الَّذِي بَيْنَ الْعَبْدِ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي كُلِّ لَحْظَةٍ وَطَرْفَةِ عَيْنٍ.

maʿnā qawlihi: «hāti fiqha Allāhi taʿālā» yaʿnī al-tafaqquha fī ʿilmi al-aḥwāli alladhī bayna al-ʿabdi wabayna Allāhi taʿālā fī kulli laḥẓatin waṭarfati ʿaynin.

His words “Give me God’s understanding” mean discernment in the knowledge of the states that pass between the servant and God Most High at every instant and blink of an eye.

قَالَ: وَقَالَ الشِّبْلِيُّ لِلْجُنَيْدِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: [يَا أَبَا الْقَاسِمِ، مَا تَقُولُ فِيمَنْ كَانَ اللَّهُ حَسْبَهُ قَوْلًا وَحَقِيقَةً؟

qāla: waqāla al-shibliyyu li-al-junaydi raḥimahu Allāhu: [yā abā al-qāsimi, mā taqūlu fīman kāna Allāhu ḥasbahu qawlan waḥaqīqatan?

He said: Al-Shiblī asked al-Junayd—may God have mercy on him—[“Abū al-Qāsim, what do you say of one for whom God suffices, in word and in reality?”

فَقَالَ لَهُ الْجُنَيْدُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ:] «يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ، بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ أَكَابِرِ النَّاسِ فِي سُؤَالِكَ هَذَا عَشَرَةُ آلَافِ مَقَامٍ، أَوَّلُهُ مَحْوُ مَا بَدَأْتَ بِهِ».

faqāla lahu al-junaydu raḥimahu Allāhu:] «yā abā bakrin, baynaka wabayna akābiri al-nāsi fī suʾālika hādhā ʿasharatu ālāfi maqāmin, awwaluhu maḥwu mā badaʾta bihi».

Al-Junayd—may God have mercy on him—answered him,] “Abū Bakr, between you and the great ones, in this question of yours, lie ten thousand stations; the first is the effacement of what you began with.”

وَالْمَعْنَى فِي ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْجُنَيْدَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ كَانَ مُتَشَرِّفًا عَلَى حَالِهِ بِفَضْلِ عِلْمِهِ وَتَمْكِينِهِ،

wa-al-maʿnā fī dhalika anna al-junayda raḥimahu Allāhu kāna mutasharrifan ʿalā ḥālihi bifaḍli ʿilmihi watamkīnihi,

The point is that al-Junayd—may God have mercy on him—surveyed al-Shiblī’s state from the vantage of his superior knowledge and firm establishment,

⟨فَأَرَاهُ⟩ مَوْضِعَ مَا يُخْشَى عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الدَّعْوَى فِيمَا يَقُولُ؛

⟨fa-arāhu⟩ mawḍiʿa mā yukhshā ʿalayhi mina al-daʿwā fīmā yaqūlu;

and showed him the point at which a claim in his words was to be feared.

لِأَنَّ مَنْ كَانَ اللَّهُ حَسْبَهُ قَوْلًا وَحَقِيقَةً يَسْتَغْنِي عَنِ السُّؤَالِ؛ فَسُؤَالُهُ لِلْجُنَيْدِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ يُنْبِئُ عَنْ أَنَّهُ مُقَارِبٌ لِمَا هُنَاكَ.

li-anna man kāna Allāhu ḥasbahu qawlan waḥaqīqatan yastaghnī ʿani al-suʾāli; fasuʾāluhu li-al-junaydi raḥimahu Allāhu ʿan dhalika yunbiʾu ʿan annahu muqāribun limā hunāka.

Whoever truly has God as his sufficiency, in word and reality, has no need to ask; al-Shiblī’s asking al-Junayd—may God have mercy on him—about it showed that he was only drawing near to that station.

وَهَكَذَا سَمِعْتُ ابْنَ عَلْوَانَ يَقُولُ: كَانَ الْجُنَيْدُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: «قَدْ أُوقِفَ الشِّبْلِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ فِي مَكَانِهِ، فَمَا بَعُدَ؛

wahākadhā samiʿtu ibna ʿalwāna yaqūlu: kāna al-junaydu raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu: «qad ūqifa al-shibliyyu raḥimahu Allāhu fī makānihi, famā baʿuda;

In the same vein, I heard Ibn ʿAlwān say that al-Junayd—may God have mercy on him—used to remark, “Al-Shiblī—may God have mercy on him—has been stopped where he is and has not gone farther.

وَلَوْ بَعُدَ لَجَاءَ مِنْهُ إِمَامٌ».

walaw baʿuda lajāʾa minhu imāmun».

Had he gone farther, an imam would have emerged from him.”

وَقَالَ أَبُو عَمْرٍو: رُبَّمَا كَانَ يَجِيءُ الشِّبْلِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَى الْجُنَيْدِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ، فَيَسْأَلُهُ مَسْأَلَةً،

waqāla abū ʿamrin: rubbamā kāna yajīʾu al-shibliyyu raḥimahu Allāhu ilā al-junaydi raḥimahu Allāhu, fayasʾaluhu masʾalatan,

Abū ʿAmr said: Al-Shiblī—may God have mercy on him—would sometimes come to al-Junayd—may God have mercy on him—and ask him a question.

فَلَا يُجِيبُهُ، وَيَقُولُ: «يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ، هُوَ ذَا أُشْفِقُ عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَى ثَبَاتِكَ؛

falā yujībuhu, wayaqūlu: «yā abā bakrin, huwa dhā ushfiqu ʿalayka waʿalā thabātika;

Al-Junayd would not answer, but would say, “Abū Bakr, I am concerned for you and for your steadiness.

لِأَنَّ هَذَا الِاضْطِرَابَ وَالِانْزِعَاجَ وَالْحِدَّةَ وَالطَّيْشَ وَالشَّطْحَ لَيْسَتْ هِيَ مِنْ أَحْوَالِ الْمُتَمَكِّنِينَ،

li-anna hādhā al-iḍṭirāba wa-al-inziʿāja wa-al-ḥiddata wa-al-ṭaysha wa-al-shaṭḥa laysat hiya min aḥwāli al-mutamakkinīna,

This agitation, disturbance, vehemence, rashness, and ecstatic utterance are not among the states of those firmly established;

وَهِيَ مَنْسُوبَةٌ إِلَى أَحْوَالِ أَهْلِ الْبِدَايَاتِ وَالْإِرَادَاتِ».

wahiya mansūbatun ilā aḥwāli ahli al-bidāyāti wa-al-irādāti».

they belong to the states of beginners and aspirants.”

وَكَذَلِكَ حُكِيَ عَنِ الشِّبْلِيِّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: قَالَ الْجُنَيْدُ [يَوْمًا]: «يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ، أَيْشٍ تَقُولُ؟» فَقُلْتُ: «أَنَا أَقُولُ: اللَّهَ». فَقَالَ: «مُرَّ، سَلَّمَكَ اللَّهُ».

wakadhalika ḥukiya ʿani al-shibliyyi raḥimahu Allāhu annahu qāla: qāla al-junaydu [yawman]: «yā abā bakrin, ayshin taqūlu?» faqultu: «anā aqūlu: Allāha». faqāla: «murra, sallamaka Allāhu».

It is likewise related that al-Shiblī—may God have mercy on him—said: “Al-Junayd [once] asked, ‘Abū Bakr, what do you say?’ I replied, ‘I say: God.’ He answered, ‘Go on—may God keep you safe.’”

يَعْنِي بِذَلِكَ أَنَّكَ فِي خَطَرٍ عَظِيمٍ؛

yaʿnī bidhalika annaka fī khaṭarin ʿaẓīmin;

By this he meant: “You are in grave danger.

فَإِنْ لَمْ يُسَلِّمْكَ اللَّهُ فِي قَوْلِكَ «اللَّهُ» مِنَ الِالْتِفَاتِ إِلَى شَيْءٍ سِوَى اللَّهِ، فَمَا أَسْوَأَ حَالَكَ!

fa-in lam yusallimka Allāhu fī qawlika «Allāhu» mina al-iltifāti ilā shayʾin siwā Allāhi, famā aswaʾa ḥālaka!

If God does not preserve you, when you say ‘God,’ from turning toward anything other than God, how wretched your state will be.”

وَكَانَ الشِّبْلِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: «أَلْفُ عَامٍ مَاضِيَةٌ فِي أَلْفِ عَامٍ وَارِدَةٍ، هُوَ ذَا الْوَقْتُ».

wakāna al-shibliyyu raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu: «alfu ʿāmin māḍiyatun fī alfi ʿāmin wāridatin, huwa dhā al-waqtu».

Al-Shiblī—may God have mercy on him—used to say, “A thousand years past and a thousand years yet to come are this present moment.”

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وَلَا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْأَشْبَاحُ.

walā taghurrannakumu al-ashbāḥu.

“Do not let embodied forms deceive you.”

وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: «أَنْتُمْ أَوْقَاتُكُمْ مَقْطُوعَةٌ، وَوَقْتِي لَيْسَ لَهُ طَرَفَانِ».

wakāna yaqūlu: «antum awqātukum maqṭūʿatun, wawaqtī laysa lahu ṭarafāni».

He also said, “Your moments are severed, but my moment has no two ends.”

وَرُبَّمَا كَانَ يَشْطَحُ وَيَقُولُ: «أَنَا الْوَقْتُ، وَوَقْتِي عَزِيزٌ، وَلَيْسَ فِي الْوَقْتِ غَيْرِي، وَأَنَا مُحِقٌّ».

warubbamā kāna yashṭaḥu wayaqūlu: «anā al-waqtu, wawaqtī ʿazīzun, walaysa fī al-waqti ghayrī, wa-anā muḥiqqun».

At times, in ecstatic utterance, he would say, “I am the moment; my moment is precious. None but me is in the moment, and I speak truly.”

وَكَانَ يُنْشِدُ هَذَيْنِ الْبَيْتَيْنِ: «مَكِينٌ فِي مُعَامِلِهِ مَكِينٌ ** أَمِينُ الْحَقِّ آمَنَهُ أَمِينٌ؛

wakāna yunshidu hadhayni al-baytayni: «makīnun fī muʿāmilihi makīnun ** amīnu al-ḥaqqi āmanahu amīnun;

He used to recite these two verses: “Firm in his dealings, firmly placed; / the trustee of the Real, made secure by Him, is trustworthy.

تَعَازَزَ عِزُّهُ فَاعْتَزَّ عِزًّا ** فَقَدْ فَاتَ الْيَقِينُ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ».

taʿāzaza ʿizzuhu fa-iʿtazza ʿizzan ** faqad fāta al-yaqīnu mina al-yaqīni».

His might grew mighty, and he took might in might; / certainty itself has passed beyond certainty.”

وَرُبَّمَا كَانَ يَقُولُ: «نَظَرْتُ فِي كُلِّ عِزٍّ، فَزَادَ عِزِّي عَلَيْهِمْ، وَرَأَيْتُ عِزَّهُمْ ذَلِكَ فِي عِزِّي».

warubbamā kāna yaqūlu: «naẓartu fī kulli ʿizzin, fazāda ʿizzī ʿalayhim, waraʾaytu ʿizzahum dhalika fī ʿizzī».

At times he would say, “I looked into every might, and my might surpassed them all; I saw all their might contained within my might.”

ثُمَّ كَانَ يَتْلُو فِي إِثْرِهِ: ﴿مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا﴾،

thumma kāna yatlū fī ithrihi: ﴿man kāna yurīdu al-ʿizzata fa-li-Allāhi al-ʿizzatu jamīʿan﴾,

Then he would recite, “Whoever desires might—to God belongs all might,”

ثُمَّ يَقُولُ: «مَنِ اعْتَزَّ بِذِي الْعِزِّ ** فَذُو الْعِزِّ لَهُ عِزٌّ».

thumma yaqūlu: «mani iʿtazza bidhī al-ʿizzi ** fadhū al-ʿizzi lahu ʿizzun».

and say: “Whoever takes might in the Possessor of Might, / the Possessor of Might is might for him.”

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: أَمَّا قَوْلُهُ «الْوَقْتُ»، فَإِنَّهُ يُشِيرُ إِلَى النَّفَسِ الَّذِي بَيْنَ النَّفَسَيْنِ، وَالْخَاطِرِ الَّذِي بَيْنَ الْخَاطِرَيْنِ، إِذْ كَانَ بِاللَّهِ وَلِلَّهِ، وَهُوَ الْوَقْتُ.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: ammā qawluhu «al-waqtu», fa-innahu yushīru ilā al-nafasi alladhī bayna al-nafasayni, wa-al-khāṭiri alladhī bayna al-khāṭirayni, idh kāna bi-Allāhi wa-li-Allāhi, wahuwa al-waqtu.

The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: As for his reference to “the moment,” he means the breath between two breaths and the thought between two thoughts, when it is through God and for God: that is the moment.

وَإِذَا فَاتَ نَفَسٌ، وَلَوْ فِي أَلْفِ سَنَةٍ، فَقَدْ فَاتَ مَا لَا يُلْحَقُ وَلَا يُدْرَكُ بِالتَّأَسُّفِ عَلَيْهِ.

wa-idhā fāta nafasun, walaw fī alfi sanatin, faqad fāta mā lā yulḥaqu walā yudraku bi-al-taʾassufi ʿalayhi.

If a single breath is lost, even in a thousand years, something has passed that can never be overtaken or recovered through regret.

يَعْنِي أَنَّ أَلْفَ عَامٍ مَاضِيَةٌ وَأَلْفَ عَامٍ وَارِدَةٌ، وَفِيكَ نَفَسُكَ الَّذِي بَيْنَ نَفَسَيْكَ، يَجِبُ أَنْ لَا ⟨يَفُوتَكَ⟩.

yaʿnī anna alfa ʿāmin māḍiyatun wa-alfa ʿāmin wāridatun, wafīka nafasuka alladhī bayna nafasayka, yajibu an lā ⟨yafūtaka⟩.

He means that a thousand years have passed and a thousand years are coming, while within you is the breath between your two breaths, which you must not let escape.

وَالْعَزِيزُ مَنْ أَعَزَّهُ اللَّهُ بِهِ، فَلَا يَلْحَقُهُ أَحَدٌ فِي عِزِّهِ؛

wa-al-ʿazīzu man aʿazzahu Allāhu bihi, falā yalḥaquhu aḥadun fī ʿizzihi;

The mighty one is he whom God makes mighty through Himself, so no one can equal him in his might.

وَكَذَلِكَ الذَّلِيلُ مَنْ شَغَلَهُ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ بِغَيْرِهِ، لَا يَلْحَقُهُ أَحَدٌ فِي ذُلِّهِ.

wakadhalika al-dhalīlu man shaghalahu Allāhu ʿanhu bighayrihi, lā yalḥaquhu aḥadun fī dhullihi.

Likewise, the abject one is he whom God distracts from Himself with something else, so no one can equal him in abjection.

وَقَوْلُهُ: «لَا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْأَشْبَاحُ»، فَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ سِوَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَشْبَاحٌ؛ إِنْ سَكَنْتَ إِلَيْهِ فَقَدْ غَرَّكَ.

waqawluhu: «lā taghurrannakumu al-ashbāḥu», fakullu shayʾin siwā Allāhi taʿālā ashbāḥun; in sakanta ilayhi faqad gharraka.

By “Do not let embodied forms deceive you,” he means that everything other than God Most High is a form: if you repose in it, it has deceived you.

وَقَوْلُهُ: «أَنَا مُحِقٌّ» يَعْنِي: فِي قَوْلِي «أَنَا الْوَقْتُ» أَنَا الْمُحِقُّ؛ لِأَنَّ قَوْلَهُ «أَنَا» لَا يُشِيرُ بِذَلِكَ لِي إِيَّاهُ.

waqawluhu: «anā muḥiqqun» yaʿnī: fī qawlī «anā al-waqtu» anā al-muḥiqqu; li-anna qawlahu «anā» lā yushīru bidhalika lī iyyāhu.

By “I speak truly,” he means, “In saying ‘I am the moment,’ I state the truth,” for in saying “I” he does not point to his own self.

وَقَوْلُهُ: «وَقْتِي لَيْسَ لَهُ طَرَفَانِ»؛ لِأَنَّ فِي كُلِّ [شَيْءٍ] مُسَامَحَةً إِلَّا فِي الْوَقْتِ،

waqawluhu: «waqtī laysa lahu ṭarafāni»; li-anna fī kulli [shayʾin] musāmaḥatan illā fī al-waqti,

His words “My moment has no two ends” mean that there is allowance in every [thing] except the moment.

فَإِنَّ الِاشْتِغَالَ بِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ، وَالسُّكُونَ إِلَى جَمِيعِ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي الْوَقْتِ، لَيْسَ فِيهِ مُسَامَحَةٌ، وَلَوْ نُفِّسَ فِي أَلْفِ سَنَةٍ.

fa-inna al-ishtighāla bighayri Allāhi, wa-al-sukūna ilā jamīʿi mā khalaqa Allāhu taʿālā fī al-waqti, laysa fīhi musāmaḥatun, walaw nuffisa fī alfi sanatin.

Within the moment there is no allowance for occupation with other than God or repose in anything God Most High has created, even were one given a thousand years’ respite.

وَحُكِيَ عَنِ الشِّبْلِيِّ أَنَّهُ قَالَ أَيْضًا: «اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ فِيَّ بَقِيَّةً لِغَيْرِكَ، فَأَحْرِقْنِي بِنَارِكَ؛ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ».

waḥukiya ʿani al-shibliyyi annahu qāla ayḍan: «Allāhumma in kunta taʿlamu anna fiyya baqiyyatan lighayrika, fa-aḥriqnī binārika; lā ilaha illā anta».

It is also related that al-Shiblī said, “O God, if You know that any remnant for other than You remains within me, burn me in Your fire. There is no god but You.”

فَهَذَا وَمَا يُشْبِهُ ذَلِكَ غَلَبَاتُ وَجْدٍ، عَبَّرَ عَنْهُ عَلَى حَسَبِ مَا وَجَدَ فِي وَقْتِهِ،

fahādhā wamā yushbihu dhalika ghalabātu wajdin, ʿabbara ʿanhu ʿalā ḥasabi mā wajada fī waqtihi,

This and similar expressions are overpowering experiences of ecstasy, voiced according to what was experienced at the time.

وَلَا يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ عَلَى الدَّوَامِ؛ لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ حَالٌ، فِيهِ الْحَالُ نَازِلَةٌ تَنْزِلُ بِالْعَبْدِ فِي

walā yakūnu dhalika ʿalā al-dawāmi; li-anna dhalika ḥālun, fīhi al-ḥālu nāzilatun tanzilu bi-al-ʿabdi fī

They are not permanent, for such a state is a visitation that descends upon the servant at a particular

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الْحِينِ، وَلَا تَلْبَثُ بِهِ عَلَى الدَّوَامِ.

al-ḥīni, walā talbathu bihi ʿalā al-dawāmi.

moment and does not remain with him continuously.

وَذَلِكَ رِفْقٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِأَوْلِيَائِهِ وَخَاصَّتِهِ؛ وَلَوْ دَامَ ذَلِكَ لَبَطَلُوا عَنِ الْحُدُودِ وَالْحُقُوقِ، وَتَعَطَّلُوا عَنِ الْآدَابِ وَالْأَخْلَاقِ وَمُعَاشَرَةِ الْخَلْقِ.

wadhalika rifqun mina Allāhi ʿazza wajalla bi-awliyāʾihi wakhāṣṣatihi; walaw dāma dhalika labaṭalū ʿani al-ḥudūdi wa-al-ḥuqūqi, wataʿaṭṭalū ʿani al-ādābi wa-al-akhlāqi wamuʿāsharati al-khalqi.

This is God’s gentleness toward His friends and elect. Were such a state to endure, they would cease to observe prescribed limits and duties and would be disabled from courtesy, character, and intercourse with other people.

أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّ أَصْحَابَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سَأَلُوا عَنْ ذَلِكَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَالُوا: «يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، إِنَّا إِذَا كُنَّا عِنْدَكَ وَسَمِعْنَا مِنْكَ تَرِقُّ قُلُوبُنَا،

alā tarā anna aṣḥāba rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama saʾalū ʿan dhalika rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, faqālū: «yā rasūla Allāhi, innā idhā kunnā ʿindaka wasamiʿnā minka tariqqu qulūbunā,

Do you not see that the Companions of God’s Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—asked God’s Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—about this? They said, “Messenger of God, when we are with you and hear you speak, our hearts grow tender;

فَإِذَا خَرَجْنَا مِنْ عِنْدِكَ نَرْجِعُ إِلَى الِاشْتِغَالِ بِالْأَهْلِ وَالْوَلَدِ».

fa-idhā kharajnā min ʿindika narjiʿu ilā al-ishtighāli bi-al-ahli wa-al-waladi».

but when we leave you, we return to being occupied with wives and children.”

فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَوْ بَقِيتُمْ عَلَى الْحَالِ الَّذِي تَكُونُونَ عِنْدِي، لَصَافَحَتْكُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ»، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ.

faqāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «law baqītum ʿalā al-ḥāli alladhī takūnūna ʿindī, laṣāfaḥatkumu al-malāʾikatu», kamā jāʾa fī al-ḥadīthi.

God’s Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—replied, “If you remained in the state you experience in my presence, the angels would shake your hands,” as the hadith relates.

وَذُكِرَ عَنِ الشِّبْلِيِّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ: «لَوْ خَطَرَ بِبَالِي أَنَّ الْجَحِيمَ بِنِيرَانِهَا وَسَعِيرِهَا تُحْرِقُ مِنِّي شَعْرَةً، لَكُنْتُ مُشْرِكًا»، أَوْ كَمَا قَالَ.

wadhukira ʿani al-shibliyyi raḥimahu Allāhu annahu kāna yaqūlu: «law khaṭara bibālī anna al-jaḥīma binīrānihā wasaʿīrihā tuḥriqu minnī shaʿratan, lakuntu mushrikan», aw kamā qāla.

It is related that al-Shiblī—may God have mercy on him—used to say, “If it occurred to me that Hell, with its fires and blaze, could burn even one hair of me, I would be an associator”—or words to that effect.

فَكَذَلِكَ نَقُولُ نَحْنُ أَيْضًا: إِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ لَيْسَ إِلَيْهَا شَيْءٌ مِنَ الْإِحْرَاقِ؛ لِأَنَّهَا مَأْمُورَةٌ،

fakadhalika naqūlu naḥnu ayḍan: inna jahannama laysa ilayhā shayʾun mina al-iḥrāqi; li-annahā maʾmūratun,

We likewise say that Hell has no power of its own to burn, for it acts under command.

وَإِنَّمَا يُوصَلُ أَلَمُ الِاحْتِرَاقِ إِلَى أَهْلِ النَّارِ بِقَدْرِ مَا قُسِمَ لَهُمْ.

wa-innamā yūṣalu alamu al-iḥtirāqi ilā ahli al-nāri biqadri mā qusima lahum.

The pain of burning reaches the people of the Fire only in the measure apportioned to them.

فَأَمَّا مَا حُكِيَ عَنْهُ أَيْضًا أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «أَيْشٍ أَعْمَلُ بِلَظَى وَسَقَرَ؟ عِنْدِي أَنَّ لَظَى وَسَقَرَ فِيهَا تَسْكُنُ»،

fa-ammā mā ḥukiya ʿanhu ayḍan annahu qāla: «ayshin aʿmalu bi-Laẓā wa-Saqara? ʿindī anna laẓā wa-Saqara fīhā taskunu»,

As for the other report of him, that he said, “What have I to do with Laẓā and Saqar? In my experience is [something] in which Laẓā and Saqar grow still,”

يَعْنِي فِي الْقَطِيعَةِ وَالْإِعْرَاضِ؛ لِأَنَّ مَنْ عَرَّفَهُ اللَّهُ بِالْقَطِيعَةِ فَهُوَ أَشَدُّ عَذَابًا مِمَّنْ عَذَّبَهُ بِلَظَى وَسَقَرَ.

yaʿnī fī al-qaṭīʿati wa-al-iʿrāḍi; li-anna man ʿarrafahu Allāhu bi-al-qaṭīʿati fahuwa ashaddu ʿadhāban mimman ʿadhdhabahu bi-Laẓā wa-Saqara.

he meant within estrangement and rejection: one whom God makes know estrangement suffers more severely than one punished in Laẓā and Saqar.

وَذُكِرَ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ قَارِئًا يَقْرَأُ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ: ﴿إِخْسَؤُوا فِيهَا وَلَا تُكَلِّمُونِ﴾، فَقَالَ الشِّبْلِيُّ: «لَيْتَنِي كُنْتُ وَاحِدًا مِنْهُمْ».

wadhukira ʿanhu annahu samiʿa qāriʾan yaqraʾu hādhihi al-āyata: ﴿ikhsaʾū fīhā walā tukallimūni﴾, faqāla al-shibliyyu: «laytanī kuntu wāḥidan minhum».

It is also related that he heard a reciter read the verse, “Remain despised therein and do not speak to Me,” and said, “Would that I were one of them.”

كَأَنَّهُ أَشَارَ إِلَى رَدِّ جَوَابِهِ إِلَيْهِمْ، فَقَالَ: «لَيْتَنِي كُنْتُ مِمَّنْ يُرَدُّ جَوَابِي، وَلَوْ فِي النَّارِ»،

ka-annahu ashāra ilā raddi jawābihi ilayhim, faqāla: «laytanī kuntu mimman yuraddu jawābī, walaw fī al-nāri»,

He seems to have alluded to God’s answering them, as though saying, “Would that I were among those who receive an answer, even in the Fire.”

مِنْ شِدَّةِ وَجَلِهِ؛ لِأَنَّهُ لَا يُدْرَى مَا سَبَقَ لَهُ مِنْهُ: بِالسَّعَادَةِ وَالشَّقَاوَةِ، وَالْإِعْرَاضِ عَنْهُ أَوْ بِالْإِقْبَالِ عَلَيْهِ.

min shiddati wajalihi; li-annahu lā yudrā mā sabaqa lahu minhu: bi-al-saʿādati wa-al-shaqāwati, wa-al-iʿrāḍi ʿanhu aw bi-al-iqbāli ʿalayhi.

This sprang from the intensity of his fear, since no one knows what has been decreed for him: felicity or misery, rejection or acceptance.

وَذُكِرَ عَنْهُ أَيْضًا أَنَّهُ قَالَ فِي مَجْلِسِهِ: «إِنَّ لِلَّهِ عِبَادًا لَوْ بَزَقُوا عَلَى جَهَنَّمَ لَأَطْفَؤُوهَا».

wadhukira ʿanhu ayḍan annahu qāla fī majlisihi: «inna li-Allāhi ʿibādan law bazaqū ʿalā jahannama la-aṭfaʾūhā».

It is further related that he said in his gathering, “God has servants who, if they spat upon Hell, would extinguish it.”

فَصَعُبَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى جَمَاعَةٍ مِمَّنْ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ ذَلِكَ.

faṣaʿuba dhalika ʿalā jamāʿatin mimman kāna yasmaʿu dhalika.

Some of those who heard this found it hard to accept.

وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «تَقُولُ جَهَنَّمُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ: جُزْ يَا مُؤْمِنُ، فَقَدْ أَطْفَأَ نُورُكَ لَهَبِي».

waqad ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla: «taqūlu jahannamu yawma al-qiyāmati li-al-muʾmini: juz yā muʾminu, faqad aṭfaʾa nūruka lahabī».

Yet it is related of the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—that he said, “On the Day of Resurrection Hell will say to the believer: ‘Pass on, believer, for your light has extinguished my flame.’”

وَفِيمَا يُحْكَى عَنِ الشِّبْلِيِّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ مِثْلُ هَذَا كَثِيرٌ، لَا يَتَهَيَّأُ ذِكْرُهُ لِكَرَاهَةِ التَّطْوِيلِ؛

wafīmā yuḥkā ʿani al-shibliyyi raḥimahu Allāhu mithlu hādhā kathīrun, lā yatahayyaʾu dhikruhu likarāhati al-taṭwīli;

Many comparable sayings are related from al-Shiblī—may God have mercy on him—but it is not practicable to cite them all without undue length.

وَالْعَاقِلُ يَسْتَدِلُّ بِالْقَلِيلِ عَلَى الْكَثِيرِ، وَبِاللَّهِ التَّوْفِيقُ.

wa-al-ʿāqilu yastadillu bi-al-qalīli ʿalā al-kathīri, wa-bi-Allāhi al-tawfīqu.

A person of understanding infers the much from the little. Success comes from God.

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بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ أَبِي الْحُسَيْنِ النُّورِيِّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَمَا [...]

bābun fī dhikri abī al-ḥusayni al-nūriyyi raḥimahu Allāhu wamā [...]

Chapter concerning Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Nūrī—may God have mercy on him—and what […]

صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَقَالَتْ: «بِحَمْدِ اللَّهِ، لَا بِحَمْدِكَ».

ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, waqālat: «biḥamdi Allāhi, lā biḥamdika».

[The Prophet]—may God bless him and grant him peace. She said, “Praise belongs to God, not to you.”

وَكَانَ شَرَفُهَا وَفَضْلُهَا وَفَخْرُهَا بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ،

wakāna sharafuhā wafaḍluhā wafakhruhā birasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama,

Her honor, excellence, and pride came through the Messenger of God—may God bless him and grant him peace—

إِلَّا أَنَّهَا لَمْ تُلَاحِظْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عِنْدَ مُلَاحَظَةِ الْحَقِّ فِي نُزُولِ الْقُرْآنِ بِبَرَاءَتِهَا،

illā annahā lam tulāḥiẓ rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʿinda mulāḥaẓati al-ḥaqqi fī nuzūli al-qurʾāni bibarāʾatihā,

yet when she beheld the Real in the Qurʾān’s revelation of her innocence, she did not behold God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace.

وَلَمْ يَزِدْهَا ذَلِكَ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَّا رِفْعَةً وَمَحَبَّةً وَدَرَجَةً وَفَضِيلَةً.

walam yazidhā dhalika ʿinda rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama illā rifʿatan wamaḥabbatan wadarajatan wafaḍīlatan.

In the eyes of God’s Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—this only increased her elevation, love, rank, and excellence.

فَقِسْ عَلَى هَذَا الْمَعْنَى جَمِيعَ مَا تَسْمَعُ مِنْ نَحْوِ ذَلِكَ فِي هَذَا الْبَابِ.

faqis ʿalā hādhā al-maʿnā jamīʿa mā tasmaʿu min naḥwi dhalika fī hādhā al-bābi.

Measure by this meaning all comparable things you hear in this chapter.

وَأَمَّا قَوْلُهُ: «صَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ بِالْأَوْتَارِ، وَلَا تَجْعَلْ لَهَا فِي قَلْبِكَ مِقْدَارًا»،

wa-ammā qawluhu: «ṣalli ʿalayhim bi-al-awtāri, walā tajʿal lahā fī qalbika miqdāran»,

As for the saying, “Invoke blessings upon them in odd numbers, but do not assign those blessings any measure in your heart,”

لَيْسَ كَمَا ظَنَّ الْمُتَعَنِّتُ أَنَّهُ: لَا تَجْعَلْ لِلْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ فِي قَلْبِكَ مِقْدَارًا؛

laysa kamā ẓanna al-mutaʿannitu annahu: lā tajʿal li-al-anbiyāʾi ʿalayhimu al-salāmu fī qalbika miqdāran;

it does not mean, as an obstinate critic imagined, that one should assign no measure in one’s heart to the prophets—peace be upon them.

وَلَكِنْ يُرِيدُ بِذَلِكَ، أَيْ: لَا تَجْعَلْ لِكَثْرَةِ صَلَاتِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ عِنْدَكَ مِقْدَارًا؛

walakin yurīdu bidhalika, ay: lā tajʿal likathrati ṣalātika ʿalayhim ʿindaka miqdāran;

Rather it means: do not assign a measure to the abundance of your blessings upon them;

أَيْ: لَا تَسْتَكْثِرْ ذَلِكَ، فَإِنَّهُمْ يَسْتَحِقُّونَ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ؛

ay: lā tastakthir dhalika, fa-innahum yastaḥiqqūna akthara min dhalika;

that is, do not deem them numerous, for the prophets deserve more.

لِأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «مَنْ صَلَّى عَلَيَّ مَرَّةً وَاحِدَةً، صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ عَشْرًا».

li-anna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama qāla: «man ṣallā ʿalayya marratan wāḥidatan, ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi ʿashran».

The Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—said, “Whoever invokes one blessing upon me, God bestows ten blessings on him.”

يَقُولُ: وَإِنْ كَثُرَتِ الصَّلَاةُ عَلَيْهِمْ، فَلَا تَجْعَلْ لَهَا فِي قَلْبِكَ مِقْدَارًا بِاسْتِكْثَارِكَ لَهَا؛

yaqūlu: wa-in kathurati al-ṣalātu ʿalayhim, falā tajʿal lahā fī qalbika miqdāran bi-istikthārika lahā;

Thus, however numerous your blessings upon them become, do not count them as much in your heart,

لِأَنَّ صَلَوَاتِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكَ إِذَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ صَلَاتِكَ عَلَيْهِ.

li-anna ṣalawāti Allāhi ʿalayka idhā ṣallayta ʿalā rasūlihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama aktharu min ṣalātika ʿalayhi.

for God’s blessings upon you when you bless His Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—are more numerous than your blessings upon him.

وَمَنْ قَالَ: إِنَّهُ أَرَادَ بِقَوْلِهِ «لَا تَجْعَلْ لَهَا فِي قَلْبِكَ مِقْدَارًا» يَعْنِي الْأَنْبِيَاءَ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ،

waman qāla: innahu arāda biqawlihi «lā tajʿal lahā fī qalbika miqdāran» yaʿnī al-anbiyāʾa ʿalayhimu al-salāmu,

If someone says that, by “do not assign it any measure in your heart,” he meant the prophets—peace be upon them—

يَعْنِي بِهِ: عِنْدَ مِقْدَارِ عَظَمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى

yaʿnī bihi: ʿinda miqdāri ʿaẓamati Allāhi taʿālā

the meaning is: do not measure them against the greatness of God Most High

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وَكِبْرِيَائِهِ؛

wakibriyāʾihi;

and His majesty.

لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَأْخُذَ مِقْدَارُ شَيْءٍ مِنْ جَمِيعِ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ—مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ وَالْعَرْشِ وَالْكُرْسِيِّ—مَوْضِعًا مِنْ قُلُوبِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ،

li-annahu lā yajūzu an yaʾkhudha miqdāru shayʾin min jamīʿi mā khalaqa Allāhu—mina al-malāʾikati wa-al-anbiyāʾi wa-al-jannati wa-al-nāri wa-al-ʿarshi wa-al-kursiyyi—mawḍiʿan min qulūbi al-muʾminīna,

Nothing God created—angels, prophets, Paradise, Hell, the Throne, or the Footstool—may occupy a place in believers’ hearts

عِنْدَ مَوْضِعِ مِقْدَارِ عَظَمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَكِبْرِيَائِهِ وَقُدْرَتِهِ وَسُلْطَانِهِ وَوَحْدَانِيَّتِهِ.

ʿinda mawḍiʿi miqdāri ʿaẓamati Allāhi taʿālā wakibriyāʾihi waqudratihi wasulṭānihi wawaḥdāniyyatihi.

comparable to the place occupied by God Most High’s greatness, majesty, power, sovereignty, and oneness.

فَهَذَا فِي مَعْنَى التَّوْحِيدِ وَحَقِيقَةِ التَّفْرِيدِ.

fahādhā fī maʿnā al-tawḥīdi waḥaqīqati al-tafrīdi.

This concerns divine unity and the reality of singleness.

وَأَمَّا مِنْ حَيْثُ الْعِلْمُ وَالشَّرْعُ، وَمَا نَدَبَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ الْخَلْقَ وَدَعَاهُمْ إِلَى تَعْظِيمِ الرُّسُلِ،

wa-ammā min ḥaythu al-ʿilmu wa-al-sharʿu, wamā nadaba Allāhu ilayhi al-khalqa wadaʿāhum ilā taʿẓīmi al-rusuli,

As for knowledge and revealed law, and God’s summons to His creatures to honor the messengers,

وَالْإِيمَانِ بِمَا جَاءُوا بِهِ، وَبِمَا خَصَّ اللَّهُ بِهِ نَبِيَّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الرُّسُلِ،

wa-al-īmāni bimā jāʾū bihi, wabimā khaṣṣa Allāhu bihi nabiyyanā ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama min jamīʿi al-rusuli,

believe what they brought, and recognize the distinctions God granted our Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—over all the messengers,

فَقَدْ ذَكَرْتُ فِي هَذَا الْمَعْنَى أَبْوَابًا فِي بَابِ مُسْتَنْبَطَاتِ أَهْلِ الصَّفْوَةِ فِي تَخْصِيصِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَخْبَارِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ،

faqad dhakartu fī hādhā al-maʿnā abwāban fī bābi mustanbaṭāti ahli al-ṣafwati fī takhṣīṣi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama min kitābi Allāhi taʿālā wa-akhbāri rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama,

I have devoted chapters to this subject in the section on the elect’s deductions concerning the special distinction of the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—from God Most High’s Book and the reports of God’s Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—

وَمَا فُتِحَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ عَلَى قُلُوبِ أَوْلِيَاءِ اللَّهِ.

wamā futiḥa min dhalika ʿalā qulūbi awliyāʾi Allāhi.

and what God opened of this to the hearts of His friends.

وَأَقْرَبُ مَا يَقُولُ أَهْلُ الصَّفْوَةِ فِي الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنَّهُ عَبْدٌ أَوْحَدُ، لَا يَجُوزُ لِأَحَدٍ أَنْ يُدْرِكَهُ فِي جَمِيعِ مَا خُصَّ بِهِ.

wa-aqrabu mā yaqūlu ahlu al-ṣafwati fī al-rasūli ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: innahu ʿabdun awḥadu, lā yajūzu li-aḥadin an yudrikahu fī jamīʿi mā khuṣṣa bihi.

The most nearly adequate statement the elect make concerning the Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—is that he is the unique servant: no one can attain him in the totality of what was reserved for him.

سُئِلَ أَبُو يَزِيدَ الْبِسْطَامِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: «هَلْ يَزِيدُ أَحَدٌ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ؟» [فَقَالَ: «وَهَلْ يُدْرِكُهُ أَحَدٌ؟»].

suʾila abū yazīda al-bisṭāmiyyu raḥimahu Allāhu: «hal yazīdu aḥadun ʿalā al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama?» [faqāla: «wahal yudrikuhu aḥadun?»].

Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī—may God have mercy on him—was asked, “Does anyone surpass the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace?” [He replied, “Can anyone even attain him?”]

ثُمَّ قَالَ أَبُو يَزِيدَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: «جَمِيعُ مَا يَفْهَمُ الْخَلْقُ وَأَدْرَكُوهُ مِنْ شَرَفِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فِيمَا لَمْ يَفْهَمْهُ وَلَمْ يُدْرِكْهُ،

thumma qāla abū yazīda raḥimahu Allāhu: «jamīʿu mā yafhamu al-khalqu wa-adrakūhu min sharafi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, fīmā lam yafhamhu walam yudrikhu,

Then Abū Yazīd—may God have mercy on him—said, “All that creatures understand and attain of the honor of God’s Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—compared with what they have neither understood nor attained is like

مِثْلُ ذَلِكَ مِثْلُ قِرْبَةٍ زَرْقَاءَ مَلْأَى مِنَ الْمَاءِ؛

mithlu dhalika mithlu qirbatin zarqāʾa malʾā mina al-māʾi;

a blue waterskin filled with water:

فَمَا رَشَحَ أَدْرَكَ الْخَلْقُ وَفَهِمُوهُ مِنْ شَرَفِهِ وَفَضْلِهِ، وَمَا سِوَى ذَلِكَ فَلَمْ يَفْهَمْهُ أَحَدٌ وَلَمْ يُدْرِكْهُ».

famā rashaḥa adraka al-khalqu wafahimūhu min sharafihi wafaḍlihi, wamā siwā dhalika falam yafhamhu aḥadun walam yudrikhu».

what seeps from it is what creatures have grasped of his honor and excellence; all the rest no one has understood or attained.”

وَأَقْرَبُ مَا يَصِفُ بِهِ أَهْلُ الصَّفْوَةِ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا:

wa-aqrabu mā yaṣifu bihi ahlu al-ṣafwati rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama annahum qālū:

The nearest the elect come to describing God’s Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—is this:

لَمَّا وَعَدَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى رَسُولَهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِأَنْ يُعْطِيَهُ جَمِيعَ مَا يَسْأَلُهُ بِقَوْلِهِ: «يَا مُحَمَّدُ، سَلْ تُعْطَهْ»،

lammā waʿada Allāhu taʿālā rasūlahu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama bi-an yuʿṭiyahu jamīʿa mā yasʾaluhu biqawlihi: «yā muḥammadu, sal tuʿṭah»,

“When God Most High promised His Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—that He would grant everything he asked, saying, ‘Muhammad, ask and you shall be given,’

فَلَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَسْأَلَهُ شَيْئًا إِلَّا أَنْ يُعْطِيَهُ.

falā yajūzu an yasʾalahu shayʾan illā an yuʿṭiyahu.

it is impossible that he should ask Him for anything without receiving it.”

وَكَانَ مِنْ دُعَائِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ مِنْ فَوْقِي نُورًا، وَمِنْ تَحْتِي نُورًا، وَعَنْ يَمِينِي نُورًا، وَعَنْ شِمَالِي نُورًا،

wakāna min duʿāʾihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «Allāhumma ijʿal min fawqī nūran, wamin taḥtī nūran, waʿan yamīnī nūran, waʿan shimālī nūran,

Among the Prophet’s prayers—may God bless him and grant him peace—was: “O God, place light above me and light below me, light to my right and light to my left,

وَمِنْ وَرَائِي نُورًا، [وَمِنْ قُدَّامِي نُورًا]، وَمِنْ خَلْفِي نُورًا؛

wamin warāʾī nūran, [wamin quddāmī nūran], wamin khalfī nūran;

and light behind me; [light before me]; and light behind me.

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ فِي قَلْبِي نُورًا، وَفِي بَصَرِي نُورًا، وَفِي سَمْعِي نُورًا، وَفِي لَحْمِي نُورًا، وَفِي عَظْمِي نُورًا»، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ.

Allāhumma ijʿal fī qalbī nūran, wafī baṣarī nūran, wafī samʿī nūran, wafī laḥmī nūran, wafī ʿaẓmī nūran», kamā jāʾa fī al-ḥadīthi.

O God, place light in my heart, light in my sight, light in my hearing, light in my flesh, and light in my bones,” as the hadith relates.

قَالُوا: الدَّلِيلُ عَلَى أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَعْطَاهُ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي

qālū: al-dalīlu ʿalā anna Allāha taʿālā aʿṭāhu dhalika qawluhu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «wa-Allāhi innī

They said: The proof that God Most High granted him this is the Prophet’s saying—may God bless him and grant him peace—“By God, I surely

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لَأَرَاكُمْ خَلْفَ ظَهْرِي كَمَا أَرَاكُمْ قُدَّامِي».

la-arākum khalfa ẓahrī kamā arākum quddāmī».

see you behind my back just as I see you before me.”

وَكُلُّ فَضِيلَةٍ وَشَرَفٍ خُصَّ بِذَلِكَ أَحَدٌ مِنْ أُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَذَلِكَ شَرَفُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَفَضْلُهُ؛

wakullu faḍīlatin washarafin khuṣṣa bidhalika aḥadun min ummati muḥammadin ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, fadhalika sharafu rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama wafaḍluhu;

Every excellence and honor granted to anyone in Muḥammad’s community—may God bless him and grant him peace—is the honor of God’s Messenger (may God bless him and grant him peace) and his excellence;

فَلَا يَنْبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ أَنْ يَقُولَ مَا لَا يَعْلَمُ.

falā yanbaghī li-aḥadin an yaqūla mā lā yaʿlamu.

no one should say what he does not know.

قَالَ بَعْضُ الْحُكَمَاءِ: «إِذَا أَلِفَ الْقَلْبُ الْإِعْرَاضَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، أَوْرَثَهُ الْوَقِيعَةَ فِي أَوْلِيَاءِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى».

qāla baʿḍu al-ḥukamāʾi: «idhā alifa al-qalbu al-iʿrāḍa ʿani Allāhi taʿālā, awrathahu al-waqīʿata fī awliyāʾi Allāhi taʿālā».

One sage said, “When a heart grows accustomed to turning away from God Most High, that bequeaths to it the habit of maligning God’s friends.”

وَالْمُسْتَبْحِثُ عَنْ هَذَا الْعِلْمِ يَجِدُ فِي كُتُبِ هَؤُلَاءِ وَفِي كَلَامِهِمْ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ كَثِيرًا.

wa-al-mustabḥithu ʿan hādhā al-ʿilmi yajidu fī kutubi hāʾulāʾi wafī kalāmihim mithla dhalika kathīran.

Anyone who investigates this science will find many comparable statements in the books and sayings of these masters.

وَإِنَّمَا بَيَّنْتُ هَاتَيْنِ الْكَلِمَتَيْنِ، وَفَسَّرْتُ عَلَى الِاخْتِصَارِ، حَتَّى يُقَاسَ بِذَلِكَ عَلَى مَا لَمْ نَذْكُرْهُ؛ وَبِاللَّهِ التَّوْفِيقُ.

wa-innamā bayyantu hātayni al-kalimatayni, wafassartu ʿalā al-ikhtiṣāri, ḥattā yuqāsa bidhalika ʿalā mā lam nadhkurhu; wa-bi-Allāhi al-tawfīqu.

I have explained these two expressions only briefly, so that what I have not mentioned may be understood by analogy. Success comes from God.

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ مِنَ الْمُتَرَسِّمِينَ بِالتَّصَوُّفِ، وَمِنْ أَيْنَ يَقَعُ الْغَلَطُ، وَكَيْفَ وُجُوهُ ذَلِكَ.

bābun fī dhikri man ghaliṭa mina al-mutarassimīna bi-al-taṣawwufi, wamin ayna yaqaʿu al-ghalaṭu, wakayfa wujūhu dhalika.

Chapter concerning those who adopt the outward marks of Sufism but err, the sources of error, and its various forms.

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: سَمِعْتُ أَحْمَدَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ الْكَرْخِيَّ يَقُولُ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَلِيٍّ الرُّوذْبَارِيَّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ:

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: samiʿtu aḥmada bna ʿaliyyin al-karkhiyya yaqūlu: samiʿtu abā ʿaliyyin al-rūdhbāriyya raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu:

The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: I heard Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Karkhī say: I heard Abū ʿAlī al-Rūdhbārī—may God have mercy on him—say,

«قَدْ بَلَغْنَا فِي هَذَا الْأَمْرِ إِلَى مَكَانٍ مِثْلِ حَدِّ السَّيْفِ؛ فَإِنْ قُلْنَا كَذَا فَفِي النَّارِ، وَإِنْ قُلْنَا كَذَا فَفِي النَّارِ».

«qad balaghnā fī hādhā al-amri ilā makānin mithli ḥaddi al-sayfi; fa-in qulnā kadhā fafī al-nāri, wa-in qulnā kadhā fafī al-nāri».

“In this matter we have reached a place as narrow as a sword’s edge: if we say this, we are in the Fire, and if we say that, we are in the Fire.”

يَعْنِي: إِنْ غَلِطْنَا فِيمَا نَحْنُ فِيهِ بِدَقِيقَةٍ، فَنَصِيرُ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ؛

yaʿnī: in ghaliṭnā fīmā naḥnu fīhi bidaqīqatin, fanaṣīru min ahli al-nāri;

He meant that if we deviate by even the finest point in what we pursue, we become people of the Fire.

لِأَنَّ الْغَلَطَ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَهْوَنُ مِنَ الْغَلَطِ فِي التَّصَوُّفِ وَفِي عِلْمِهِ؛

li-anna al-ghalaṭa fī kulli shayʾin ahwanu mina al-ghalaṭi fī al-taṣawwufi wafī ʿilmihi;

Error in anything else is less serious than error in Sufism and its science,

لِأَنَّهَا مَقَامَاتٌ وَأَحْوَالٌ وَإِرَادَاتٌ وَمَرَاتِبُ وَإِشَارَاتٌ.

li-annahā maqāmātun wa-aḥwālun wa-irādātun wamarātibu wa-ishārātun.

for it consists of stations, states, aspirations, ranks, and allusions.

فَمَنْ تَخَطَّى فِي ذَلِكَ إِلَى مَا لَيْسَ لَهُ، فَقَدِ اجْتَرَأَ عَلَى اللَّهِ، فَيَكُونُ اللَّهُ خَصْمَهُ؛

faman takhaṭṭā fī dhalika ilā mā laysa lahu, faqadi ijtaraʾa ʿalā Allāhi, fayakūnu Allāhu khaṣmahu;

Whoever oversteps here into what is not his has acted presumptuously toward God, and God becomes his adversary:

فَإِنْ شَاءَ عَفَا عَنْهُ، وَإِنْ شَاءَ عَاقَبَهُ بِمَا شَاءَ كَيْفَ شَاءَ.

fa-in shāʾa ʿafā ʿanhu, wa-in shāʾa ʿāqabahu bimā shāʾa kayfa shāʾa.

if He wills, He pardons him; if He wills, He punishes him as He wills and how He wills.

وَكُلُّ مَنْ تَرَسَّمَ بِرُسُومِ هَذِهِ الْعِصَابَةِ، أَوْ أَشَارَ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ بِأَنَّ لَهُ قَدَمًا فِي هَذِهِ الْقِصَّةِ،

wakullu man tarassama birusūmi hādhihi al-ʿiṣābati, aw ashāra ilā nafsihi bi-anna lahu qadaman fī hādhihi al-qiṣṣati,

Everyone who assumes the outward marks of this company, or points to himself as having a footing in this matter,

أَوْ تَوَهَّمَ أَنَّهُ مُتَمَسِّكٌ بِبَعْضِ آدَابِ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ، وَلَمْ يُحْكِمْ أَسَاسَهُ عَلَى ثَلَاثَةِ أَشْيَاءَ،

aw tawahhama annahu mutamassikun bibaʿḍi ādābi hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati, walam yuḥkim asāsahu ʿalā thalāthati ashyāʾa,

or imagines that he observes some of this community’s courtesies, while failing to establish his foundation upon three things,

فَهُوَ مَخْدُوعٌ، وَلَوْ مَشَى فِي الْهَوَاءِ، وَنَطَقَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ، أَوْ وَقَعَ لَهُ قَبُولٌ عِنْدَ الْخَاصَّةِ أَوِ الْعَامَّةِ.

fahuwa makhdūʿun, walaw mashā fī al-hawāʾi, wanaṭaqa bi-al-ḥikmati, aw waqaʿa lahu qabūlun ʿinda al-khāṣṣati awi al-ʿāmmati.

is deceived—even if he walks through the air, speaks wisdom, or finds acceptance among the elite or the common people.

وَهَذِهِ الثَّلَاثَةُ أَشْيَاءُ: أَوَّلُهَا اجْتِنَابُ جَمِيعِ الْمَحَارِمِ، كَبِيرِهَا وَصَغِيرِهَا؛ وَالثَّانِي أَدَاءُ جَمِيعِ الْفَرَائِضِ، عَسِيرِهَا وَيَسِيرِهَا؛

wahādhihi al-thalāthatu ashyāʾu: awwaluhā ijtinābu jamīʿi al-maḥārimi, kabīrihā waṣaghīrihā; wa-al-thānī adāʾu jamīʿi al-farāʾiḍi, ʿasīrihā wayasīrihā;

The first of these three things is avoidance of every forbidden act, great and small; the second is performance of every obligation, difficult and easy;

وَالثَّالِثُ تَرْكُ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى [أَهْلِ] الدُّنْيَا، قَلِيلَهَا وَكَثِيرَهَا، إِلَّا مَا لَا بُدَّ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ مِنْهَا.

wa-al-thālithu tarku al-dunyā ʿalā [ahli] al-dunyā, qalīlahā wakathīrahā, illā mā lā budda li-al-muʾmini minhā.

and the third is leaving this world, little and much, to [the people of] this world, except what the believer cannot do without.

وَهُوَ مَا رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «أَرْبَعَةٌ

wahuwa mā ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla: «arbaʿatun

This is expressed in the report that the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—said, “Four things

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فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَلَيْسَتْ هِيَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا: كِسْرَةٌ تَسُدُّ بِهَا جَوْعَتَكَ،

fī al-dunyā, walaysat hiya mina al-dunyā: kisratun tasuddu bihā jawʿataka,

are in this world but do not belong to this world: a crust that satisfies your hunger,

وَثَوْبٌ تُوَارِي عَوْرَتَكَ، وَبَيْتٌ تَكُنُّ ⟨فِيهِ⟩، وَزَوْجَةٌ صَالِحَةٌ تَسْكُنُ إِلَيْهَا».

wathawbun tuwārī ʿawrataka, wabaytun takunnu ⟨fīhi⟩, wazawjatun ṣāliḥatun taskunu ilayhā».

a garment with which you cover your nakedness, a house in which you take shelter, and a righteous spouse in whom you find repose.”

فَأَمَّا مَا سِوَى ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْجَمْعِ وَالْمَنْعِ وَالْإِمْسَاكِ وَحُبِّ التَّكَاثُرِ وَالْمُبَاهَاةِ، فَجَمِيعُ ذَلِكَ حِجَابٌ قَاطِعٌ يَقْطَعُ الْعَبْدَ عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

fa-ammā mā siwā dhalika mina al-jamʿi wa-al-manʿi wa-al-imsāki waḥubbi al-takāthuri wa-al-mubāhāti, fajamīʿu dhalika ḥijābun qāṭiʿun yaqṭaʿu al-ʿabda ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wajalla.

Everything beyond this—amassing, withholding, hoarding, love of increase, and boasting—is a severing veil that cuts the servant off from God, mighty and majestic.

فَكُلُّ مَنِ ادَّعَى حَالًا مِنْ أَحْوَالِ أَهْلِ الْخُصُوصِ، أَوْ تَوَهَّمَ أَنَّهُ سَلَكَ مَنْزِلًا مِنْ مَنَازِلِ أَهْلِ الصَّفْوَةِ، وَلَمْ يَبْنِ أَسَاسَهُ عَلَى هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثَةِ،

fakullu mani iddaʿā ḥālan min aḥwāli ahli al-khuṣūṣi, aw tawahhama annahu salaka manzilan min manāzili ahli al-ṣafwati, walam yabni asāsahu ʿalā hādhihi al-thalāthati,

Anyone who claims a state of the elect or imagines that he has traversed one of their abodes without founding himself on these three things

فَإِنَّهُ إِلَى الْغَلَطِ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُ إِلَى الْإِصَابَةِ فِي جَمِيعِ مَا يُشِيرُ إِلَيْهِ، أَوْ يَدَّعِيهِ، أَوْ يَتَرَسَّمُ بِرَسْمِهِ.

fa-innahu ilā al-ghalaṭi aqrabu minhu ilā al-iṣābati fī jamīʿi mā yushīru ilayhi, aw yaddaʿīhi, aw yatarassamu birasmihi.

is more likely to err than to be right in everything he alludes to, claims, or outwardly assumes.

وَالْعَالِمُ مُقِرٌّ، وَالْجَاهِلُ مُدَّعٍ.

wa-al-ʿālimu muqirrun, wa-al-jāhilu muddaʿin.

The knower acknowledges; the ignorant person makes claims.

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ ⟨الْفِرَقِ الَّتِي غَلِطَتْ⟩، وَطَبَقَاتِهِمْ، وَتَفَاوُتِهِمْ فِي الْغَلَطِ.

bābun fī dhikri ⟨al-firaqi allatī ghaliṭat⟩, waṭabaqātihim, watafāwutihim fī al-ghalaṭi.

Chapter concerning the erring groups, their classes, and their differing degrees of error.

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: ثُمَّ إِنِّي نَظَرْتُ إِلَى الْفِرَقِ ⟨الَّتِي غَلِطَتْ⟩، فَوَجَدْتُهُمْ عَلَى ثَلَاثِ طَبَقَاتٍ.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: thumma innī naẓartu ilā al-firaqi ⟨allatī ghaliṭat⟩, fawajadtuhum ʿalā thalāthi ṭabaqātin.

The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: I examined the groups that erred and found them to comprise three classes.

فَطَبَقَةٌ مِنْهُمْ غَلِطُوا فِي الْأُصُولِ مِنْ قِلَّةِ إِحْكَامِهِمْ لِأُصُولِ الشَّرِيعَةِ،

faṭabaqatun minhum ghaliṭū fī al-uṣūli min qillati iḥkāmihim li-uṣūli al-sharīʿati,

One class erred in fundamentals because they had not mastered the foundations of the revealed law,

وَضَعْفِ دَعَائِمِهِمْ فِي الصِّدْقِ وَالْإِخْلَاصِ، وَقِلَّةِ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ بِذَلِكَ،

waḍaʿfi daʿāʾimihim fī al-ṣidqi wa-al-ikhlāṣi, waqillati maʿrifatihim bidhalika,

their supports in truthfulness and sincerity were weak, and their knowledge of these matters was slight.

كَمَا قَالَ بَعْضُ الْمَشَايِخِ، حَيْثُ يَقُولُ: «إِنَّمَا حُرِمُوا الْوُصُولَ لِتَضْيِيعِ الْأُصُولِ».

kamā qāla baʿḍu al-mashāyikhi, ḥaythu yaqūlu: «innamā ḥurimū al-wuṣūla litaḍyīʿi al-uṣūli».

As one of the shaykhs said, “They were deprived of arrival only because they neglected the foundations.”

وَطَبَقَةٌ ثَانِيَةٌ مِنْهُمْ غَلِطُوا فِي الْفُرُوعِ، وَهِيَ الْآدَابُ وَالْأَخْلَاقُ وَالْمَقَامَاتُ وَالْأَحْوَالُ وَالْأَفْعَالُ وَالْأَقْوَالُ،

waṭabaqatun thāniyatun minhum ghaliṭū fī al-furūʿi, wahiya al-ādābu wa-al-akhlāqu wa-al-maqāmātu wa-al-aḥwālu wa-al-afʿālu wa-al-aqwālu,

A second class erred in the branches—courtesies, moral qualities, stations, states, deeds, and sayings—

فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ قِلَّةِ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ بِالْأُصُولِ، وَمُتَابَعَتِهِمْ لِحُظُوظِ النُّفُوسِ وَمِزَاجِ الطَّبْعِ؛

fakāna dhalika min qillati maʿrifatihim bi-al-uṣūli, wamutābaʿatihim liḥuẓūẓi al-nufūsi wamizāji al-ṭabʿi;

through their poor knowledge of the foundations and their pursuit of the ego’s portions and natural temperament.

لِأَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَدْنُوا مِمَّنْ يُرَوِّضُهُمْ، وَيُجَرِّعُهُمُ الْمَرَارَاتِ، وَيُوَقِّفُهُمْ عَلَى الْمَنْهَجِ الَّذِي يُؤَدِّيهِمْ إِلَى مَطْلُوبِهِمْ.

li-annahum lam yadnū mimman yurawwiḍuhum, wayujarriʿuhumu al-marārāti, wayuwaqqifuhum ʿalā al-manhaji alladhī yuʾaddīhim ilā maṭlūbihim.

They had not drawn near to someone who could discipline them, make them swallow bitterness, and set them upon the path that leads to their goal.

فَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ كَمَثَلِ مَنْ يَدْخُلُ بَيْتًا مُظْلِمًا بِلَا سِرَاجٍ؛ فَالَّذِي يُفْسِدُهُ أَكْثَرُ مِمَّا يُصْلِحُهُ.

famathaluhum fī dhalika kamathali man yadkhulu baytan muẓliman bilā sirājin; fa-alladhī yufsiduhu aktharu mimmā yuṣliḥuhu.

They resemble someone who enters a dark house without a lamp: he ruins more than he repairs.

وَكُلَّمَا ظَنَّ أَنَّهُ قَدْ ظَفِرَ بِجَوْهَرٍ نَفِيسٍ، فَلَمْ يَجِدْ مَعَهُ إِلَّا خَزَفًا خَسِيسًا؛

wakullamā ẓanna annahu qad ẓafira bijawharin nafīsin, falam yajid maʿahu illā khazafan khasīsan;

Whenever he thinks he has found a precious jewel, he discovers only a worthless potsherd,

لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَتَّبِعْ أَهْلَ الْبَصِيرَةِ الَّذِينَ يُمَيِّزُونَ بَيْنَ الْأَشْبَاهِ وَالْأَشْكَالِ وَالْأَضْدَادِ وَالْأَجْنَاسِ.

li-annahu lam yattabiʿ ahla al-baṣīrati alladhīna yumayyizūna bayna al-ashbāhi wa-al-ashkāli wa-al-aḍdādi wa-al-ajnāsi.

because he did not follow people of insight who distinguish similars, forms, opposites, and kinds.

فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ يَقَعُ لَهُمُ الْغَلَطُ، وَيَكْثُرُ مِنْهُمُ الْهَفْوَةُ وَالشَّطَطُ؛

faʿinda dhalika yaqaʿu lahumu al-ghalaṭu, wayakthuru minhumu al-hafwatu wa-al-shaṭaṭu;

Thus they fall into error and abound in slips and excess.

فَهُمْ مُتَحَيِّرُونَ وَمُتَفَرِّقُونَ بَيْنَ مُنْهَزِمٍ وَمَفْتُونٍ، وَمُتَجَبِّرٍ وَمَحْزُونٍ،

fahum mutaḥayyirūna wamutafarriqūna bayna munhazimin wamaftūnin, wamutajabbirin wamaḥzūnin,

Bewildered and scattered, they include the defeated and the deluded, the overbearing and the grief-stricken,

وَمُغْتَرٍّ بِالظُّنُونِ، وَمُخْتَرَفٍ بِالْجُنُونِ، وَمُتَلَبِّسٍ بِالْمُجُونِ، وَمُكَمَّدٍ

wamughtarrin bi-al-ẓunūni, wamukhtarafin bi-al-junūni, wamutalabbisin bi-al-mujūni, wamukammadin

the one deceived by suppositions, the one carried away by madness, the one clothed in wantonness, and the one weighed down—

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بِالشُّجُونِ، وَمُدَّعٍ وَمَفْتُونٍ وَمُتَمَنٍّ لِلْمُنُونِ، فَسُبْحَانَ مَنْ قَسَمَ لَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ وَهُوَ الْعَالِمُ بِدَائِهِمْ وَدَوَائِهِمْ، وَسَقَمِهِمْ وَشِفَائِهِمْ، وَالطَّبَقَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ كَانَ غَلَطُهُمْ فِيمَا غَلِطُوا فِيهِ

bi-al-shujūni, wamuddaʿin wamaftūnin wamutamannin li-al-munūni, fasubḥāna man qasama lahum bidhalika wahuwa al-ʿālimu bidāʾihim wadawāʾihim, wasaqamihim washifāʾihim, wa-al-ṭabaqatu al-thālithatu kāna ghalaṭuhum fīmā ghaliṭū fīhi

by sorrows; the claimant, the infatuated, and the one who longs for death. Glory be to Him who apportioned this to them and knows both their disease and its remedy, their sickness and its cure. The third class erred only by

زَلَّةً وَهَفْوَةً لَا عِلَّةً وَجَفْوَةً فَإِذَا تَبَيَّنَ ذَلِكَ عَادُوا إِلَى مَكَارِمِ الْأَخْلَاقِ وَمَعَالِي الْأُمُورِ فَسَدُّوا الْخَلَلَ وَلَمُّوا الشَّعَثَ وَتَرَكُوا الْعِنَادَ وَأَذْعَنُوا لِلْحَقِّ وَأَقَرُّوا بِالْعَجْزِ فَعَادُوا إِلَى

zallatan wahafwatan lā ʿillatan wajafwatan fa-idhā tabayyana dhalika ʿādū ilā makārimi al-akhlāqi wamaʿālī al-umūri fasaddū al-khalala walammū al-shaʿatha watarakū al-ʿināda wa-adhʿanū li-al-ḥaqqi wa-aqarrū bi-al-ʿajzi faʿādū ilā

a slip and lapse, not through a deep defect or estrangement. Once their error became clear, they returned to noble character and lofty concerns, repaired the breach, gathered what was scattered, abandoned obstinacy, submitted to the truth, and acknowledged their incapacity. Thus they returned to

الْأَحْوَالِ الرَّضِيَّةِ وَالْأَفْعَالِ السَّنِيَّةِ وَالدَّرَجَاتِ الرَّفِيعَةِ فَلَمْ تَنْقُصْ مَرَاتِبَهُمْ هَفْوَتُهُمْ، وَلَمْ تَظْلِمِ الْوَقْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ جَفْوَتُهُمْ،

al-aḥwāli al-raḍiyyati wa-al-afʿāli al-saniyyati wa-al-darajāti al-rafīʿati falam tanquṣ marātibahum hafwatuhum, walam taẓlimi al-waqta ʿalayhim jafwatuhum,

pleasing states, excellent deeds, and lofty degrees. Their lapse did not lower their ranks, nor did their estrangement make the moment dark for them;

وَلَمْ تَمْتَزِجْ بِالْكُدُورَةِ صَفْوَتُهُمْ، وَكُلُّ طَبَقَةٍ مِنْ هَذِهِ الطَّبَقَاتِ الثَّلَاثَةِ عَلَى أَحْوَالٍ شَتَّى مِنَ التَّفَاوُتِ وَالْإِرَادَاتِ وَالْمَقَاصِدِ وَالنِّيَّاتِ، وَقَدْ قَالَ الْقَائِلُ، مَنْ تَحَلَّى

walam tamtazij bi-al-kudūrati ṣafwatuhum, wakullu ṭabaqatin min hādhihi al-ṭabaqāti al-thalāthati ʿalā aḥwālin shattā mina al-tafāwuti wa-al-irādāti wa-al-maqāṣidi wa-al-niyyāti, waqad qāla al-qāʾilu, man taḥallā

their purity was not mixed with turbidness. Each of these three classes exhibits many different states, aspirations, purposes, and intentions. As the poet said: “Whoever adorns himself

بِغَيْرِ مَا هُوَ فِيهِ * * فَضَحَتْهُ لِسَانُ مَا يَدَّعِيهِ، وَقَدْ ذَهَبَ عَلَيْهِ مَا رَوَى عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لَيْسَ الْإِيمَانُ بِالتَّحَلِّي وَلَا بِالتَّمَنِّي وَلَكِنْ

bighayri mā huwa fīhi * * faḍaḥathu lisānu mā yaddaʿīhi, waqad dhahaba ʿalayhi mā rawā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla laysa al-īmānu bi-al-taḥallī walā bi-al-tamannī walakin

with what is not truly his / is exposed by the very speech of his claim.” Such a person has forgotten the report that the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—said, “Faith is neither outward adornment nor wishful thinking; rather,

هُوَ مَا وَقَرَ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَصَدَّقَتْهُ الْأَعْمَالُ كَمَا رُوِيَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ، فَمَنْ غَلِطَ فِي الْأُصُولِ فَلَا يَسْلَمُ مِنَ الضَّلَالَةِ وَلَا يُرْجَى لِدَائِهِ دَوَاءٌ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ

huwa mā waqara fī al-qalbi waṣaddaqathu al-aʿmālu kamā ruwiya fī al-ḥadīthi, faman ghaliṭa fī al-uṣūli falā yaslamu mina al-ḍalālati walā yurjā lidāʾihi dawāʾun illā an yashāʾa

it is what settles firmly in the heart and is confirmed by deeds,” as related in the report. Whoever errs in the fundamentals is not safe from misguidance, and no cure can be expected for his sickness unless God

اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ، وَالْغَلَطُ فِي الْفُرُوعِ أَقَلُّ آفَةً وَإِنْ كَانَتْ بَعِيدَةً مِنَ الْإِصَابَةِ، بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي الْفُرُوعِ الَّتِي لَمْ تُؤَدِّهِمْ إِلَى الضَّلَالَةِ وَنَبْتَدِئُ

Allāhu dhalika, wa-al-ghalaṭu fī al-furūʿi aqallu āfatan wa-in kānat baʿīdatan mina al-iṣābati, bābun fī dhikri man ghaliṭa fī al-furūʿi allatī lam tuʾaddihim ilā al-ḍalālati wanabtadiʾu

so wills. Error in the branches is less ruinous, even though it too remains far from correctness. Chapter concerning those who erred in branches that did not lead them into misguidance; we begin

فِي ذِكْرِ الطَّائِفَاتِ الَّذِينَ غَلِطُوا فِي الْفَقْرِ وَالْغِنَا، قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ إِنَّ طَائِفَةً مِنَ الْمُتَرَسِّمِينَ بِالصُّوفِيَّةِ تَكَلَّمُوا فِي تَشْرِيفِ الْغِنَا عَلَى الْفَقْرِ وَكَانَتْ إِشَارَتُهُمْ

fī dhikri al-ṭāʾifāti alladhīna ghaliṭū fī al-faqri wa-al-ghinā, qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu thumma inna ṭāʾifatan mina al-mutarassimīna bi-al-ṣūfiyyati takallamū fī tashrīfi al-ghinā ʿalā al-faqri wakānat ishāratuhum

with the groups who erred concerning poverty and wealth. The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: A group outwardly affiliated with the Sufis spoke of wealth as more excellent than poverty. Their allusion

فِي ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْغِنَا بِاللَّهِ لَا إِلَى الْغِنَا بِالْأَعْرَاضِ الدَّنِيَّةِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا [ فَغَلَطَتْ طَائِفَةٌ ] فَطَلَبَتْ التَّأْوِيلَاتِ وَتَعَلَّقَتْ بِالِاحْتِجَاجَاتِ وَالِاخْتِرَاعَاتِ مِنَ الْآيَاتِ وَالرِّوَايَاتِ أَنْ

fī dhalika ilā al-ghinā bi-Allāhi lā ilā al-ghinā bi-al-aʿrāḍi al-daniyyati mina al-dunyā [ faghalaṭat ṭāʾifatun ] faṭalabat al-taʾwīlāti wataʿallaqat bi-al-iḥtijājāti wa-al-ikhtirāʿāti mina al-āyāti wa-al-riwāyāti an

was to wealth through God, not wealth in the base commodities of this world. [Another group erred:] it sought strained interpretations and clung to arguments and inventions drawn from verses and reports in order

تَجْعَلَ الْغِنَا بِأَعْرَاضِ الدُّنْيَا حَالًا مَحْمُودَةً أَوْ مَقَامًا مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ طُلَّابِ الْآخِرَةِ فَتَاهَتْ فِي ذَلِكَ

tajʿala al-ghinā bi-aʿrāḍi al-dunyā ḥālan maḥmūdatan aw maqāman min maqāmāti ṭullābi al-ākhirati fatāhat fī dhalika

to make wealth in worldly goods a praiseworthy state or a station of those who seek the next world. In this they wandered astray

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وَغَلِطَتْ لِأَنَّ الَّذِي تَكَلَّمَ فِي الْفَقْرِ وَالْغِنَا وَعَدَّ الْغِنَا حَالًا مِنْ أَحْوَالِ الْمُنْقَطِعِينَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَشَارَ إِلَى الْغِنَا بِاللَّهِ لَا إِلَى الْغِنَا بِأَعْرَاضِ الدُّنْيَا الَّتِي لَا

waghaliṭat li-anna alladhī takallama fī al-faqri wa-al-ghinā waʿadda al-ghinā ḥālan min aḥwāli al-munqaṭiʿīna ilā Allāhi taʿālā ashāra ilā al-ghinā bi-Allāhi lā ilā al-ghinā bi-aʿrāḍi al-dunyā allatī lā

and erred, for the person who discussed poverty and wealth, counted wealth among the states of those wholly devoted to God Most High, and meant wealth through God—not wealth in the goods of this world, which do not

تَزِنُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ، وَطَبَقَةٌ أُخْرَى تَكَلَّمَتْ فِي حَقَائِقِ الْفَقْرِ وَالِافْتِقَارِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَمَا يُقَارِنُهَا مِنَ الصَّبْرِ وَالشُّكْرِ وَالرِّضَا وَالتَّفْوِيضِ وَالسُّكُونِ وَالطُّمَأْنِينَةِ عِنْدَ

tazinu ʿinda Allāhi janāḥa baʿūḍatin, waṭabaqatun ukhrā takallamat fī ḥaqāʾiqi al-faqri wa-al-iftiqāri ilā Allāhi taʿālā wamā yuqārinuhā mina al-ṣabri wa-al-shukri wa-al-riḍā wa-al-tafwīḍi wa-al-sukūni wa-al-ṭumaʾnīnati ʿinda

weigh a gnat’s wing in God’s sight. Another class spoke of the realities of poverty and need for God Most High, together with the patience, gratitude, contentment, surrender, repose, and tranquillity that accompany them when one has

الْعَدَمِ، فَضَلَّتْ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى وَتَوَهَّمَتْ أَنَّ الْفَقِيرَ الْمُحْتَاجَ الَّذِي يَعْدَمُ الصَّبْرَ وَالرِّضَا لَا فَضِيلَةَ لَهُ وَلَا ثَوَابَ لَهُ عَلَى فَقْرِهِ وَالْفَقِيرُ الْمُضْطَرُّ الْمُعْدِمُ الرِّضَا وَالصَّبْرَ لَهُ

al-ʿadami, faḍallat ṭāʾifatun ukhrā watawahhamat anna al-faqīra al-muḥtāja alladhī yaʿdamu al-ṣabra wa-al-riḍā lā faḍīlata lahu walā thawāba lahu ʿalā faqrihi wa-al-faqīru al-muḍṭarru al-muʿdimu al-riḍā wa-al-ṣabra lahu

nothing. A further group went astray by imagining that a needy poor man who lacks patience and contentment has no excellence or reward for his poverty. Yet even a destitute poor man who lacks contentment and patience possesses

فَضْلٌ عَلَى الْغَنِيِّ الَّذِي يَكُونُ غِنَاهُ بِالدُّنْيَا، وَخُلِقَتِ النَّفْسُ مُحْتَاجَةً وَلَيْسَ مِنْ صِفَاتِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ الطُّمَأْنِينَةُ وَالسُّكُونُ عِنْدَ عَدَمِ الْقِوَامِ وَالْقُرَى وَالْفَقْرُ تَكْرَهُهُ النَّفْسُ وَلَا يُلَاوِمُهُ الطَّبْعُ

faḍlun ʿalā al-ghaniyyi alladhī yakūnu ghināhu bi-al-dunyā, wakhuliqati al-nafsu muḥtājatan walaysa min ṣifāti al-bashariyyati al-ṭumaʾnīnatu wa-al-sukūnu ʿinda ʿadami al-qiwāmi wa-al-qurā wa-al-faqru takrahuhu al-nafsu walā yulāwimuhu al-ṭabʿu

an excellence over a wealthy man whose wealth consists in this world. The soul was created needy, and it is not a human attribute to remain tranquil and at rest when sustenance and hospitality are absent. The soul hates poverty, and natural temperament

وَالْهَوَى لِأَنَّهُ مِنْ [ الْحُقُوقِ وَالْغِنَا تُحِبُّهُ النَّفْسُ وَيُلَاوِمُهُ الطَّبْعُ وَالْهَوَى لِأَنَّهُ مِنْ ] الْحُظُوظِ، وَقَدْ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْغَنِيَّ عَلَى الْحَسَنَةِ الْوَاحِدَةِ إِذَا عَمِلَهَا عَشْرَ

wa-al-hawā li-annahu min [ al-ḥuqūqi wa-al-ghinā tuḥibbuhu al-nafsu wayulāwimuhu al-ṭabʿu wa-al-hawā li-annahu min ] al-ḥuẓūẓi, waqad waʿada Allāhu taʿālā al-ghaniyya ʿalā al-ḥasanati al-wāḥidati idhā ʿamilahā ʿashra

and desire do not accord with it, because it belongs to [the duties; whereas the soul loves wealth, and temperament and desire accord with it, because it belongs to] one’s allotted pleasures. God Most High has promised the wealthy person tenfold for each good deed he performs,

أَمْثَالِهَا لِقَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا، وَالْحَسَنَةُ مِنَ الْفَقِيرِ كَائِنَةٌ فِي كُلِّ نَفَسٍ لِصَبْرِهِ عَلَى مَرَارَةِ الْفَقْرِ وَلَيْسَ لِثَوَابِ الصَّبْرِ نِهَايَةٌ مَعْدُودَةٌ

amthālihā liqawlihi ʿazza wajalla man jāʾa bi-al-ḥasanati falahu ʿashru amthālihā, wa-al-ḥasanatu mina al-faqīri kāʾinatun fī kulli nafasin liṣabrihi ʿalā marārati al-faqri walaysa lithawābi al-ṣabri nihāyatun maʿdūdatun

in His words, “Whoever brings a good deed shall receive ten like it.” But every breath of the poor person contains a good deed, because he patiently bears poverty’s bitterness; and the reward of patience has no numbered limit,

لِقَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ، وَالْفَقْرُ فِي ذَاتِهِ مَحْمُودٌ فَإِنْ صَحِبَتْهُ عِلَّةٌ فَالْعِلَّةُ فِيهِ مَذْمُومَةٌ لِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْفَقْرُ أَزْيَنُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِ

liqawlihi ʿazza wajalla innamā yuwaffā al-ṣābirūna ajrahum bighayri ḥisābin, wa-al-faqru fī dhātihi maḥmūdun fa-in ṣaḥibathu ʿillatun fa-al-ʿillatu fīhi madhmūmatun liqawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama al-faqru azyanu ʿalā al-muʾmini

as God, mighty and majestic, says, “The patient will be paid their reward without reckoning.” Poverty is praiseworthy in itself; if a defect accompanies it, that defect is blameworthy. The Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—said, “Poverty is more becoming to the believer

مِنَ الْعِذَارِ الْجَيِّدِ عَلَى خَدِّ الْفَرَسِ، وَلَمْ يَشْتَرِطْ مَعَ الْفَقْرِ غَيْرَ الْفَقْرِ شَيْئًا، وَالْغِنَا بِالدُّنْيَا فِي ذَاتِهِ مَذْمُومٌ فَإِنْ صَحِبَتْهُ خَصْلَةٌ مَحْمُودَةٌ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ

mina al-ʿidhāri al-jayyidi ʿalā khaddi al-farasi, walam yashtariṭ maʿa al-faqri ghayra al-faqri shayʾan, wa-al-ghinā bi-al-dunyā fī dhātihi madhmūmun fa-in ṣaḥibathu khaṣlatun maḥmūdatun min aʿmāli al-birri

than a fine bridle cheek-piece on a horse’s cheek.” He stipulated nothing besides poverty itself. Worldly wealth, by contrast, is blameworthy in itself; if it is accompanied by a praiseworthy trait, such as a righteous deed,

فَهِيَ الْمَحْمُودَةُ لَا نَفْسُ الْغِنَا لِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَيْسَ الْغِنَا عَنْ كَثْرَةِ الْعَرَضِ، وَلَمْ يَشْتَرِطْ مَعَ الْغِنَا شَيْئًا غَيْرَ الْغِنَا فَشَتَّانَ بَيْنَ خَصْلَةٍ مَحْمُودَةٍ فِي ذَاتِهَا

fahiya al-maḥmūdatu lā nafsu al-ghinā liqawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama laysa al-ghinā ʿan kathrati al-ʿaraḍi, walam yashtariṭ maʿa al-ghinā shayʾan ghayra al-ghinā fashattāna bayna khaṣlatin maḥmūdatin fī dhātihā

then that trait is praiseworthy, not the wealth itself. The Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—said, “Wealth does not consist in an abundance of goods.” Here too he stipulated nothing beyond wealth itself. How great the difference between a trait praiseworthy in itself,

لَا يَقَعُ اسْمُ الْمَذَمَّةِ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا بِعِلَّةٍ نَادِرَةٍ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الشَّرِّ وَخَصْلَةٍ مَذْمُومَةٍ فِي ذَاتِهَا لَا يَقَعُ اسْمُ الْمَحْمَدَةِ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا بِخَصْلَةٍ نَادِرَةٍ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْخَيْرِ،

lā yaqaʿu ismu al-madhammati ʿalayhā illā biʿillatin nādiratin min aʿmāli al-sharri wakhaṣlatin madhmūmatin fī dhātihā lā yaqaʿu ismu al-maḥmadati ʿalayhā illā bikhaṣlatin nādiratin min aʿmāli al-khayri,

which is called blameworthy only because of some rare defect arising from evil action, and a trait blameworthy in itself, which is called praiseworthy only because of some rare quality arising from good action.

وَطَبَقَةٌ أُخْرَى زَعَمَتْ أَنَّ الْفَقْرَ وَالْغِنَا حَالَانِ لَيْسَ لِلْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَتْبَعَهُمَا بَلْ يَجِبُ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَعْبُرَهُمَا وَلَا يَقِفَ

waṭabaqatun ukhrā zaʿamat anna al-faqra wa-al-ghinā ḥālāni laysa li-al-ʿabdi an yatbaʿahumā bal yajibu ʿalayhi an yaʿburahumā walā yaqifa

Another class claimed that poverty and wealth are two states that the servant must not pursue; rather, he must pass beyond them and not halt

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مَعَهُمَا وَهَذَا عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْحَقَائِقِ وَالْمَعَارِفِ وَأَحْكَامِ الْحَقِيقَةِ عِنْدَ النِّهَايَاتِ، فَظَنَّتْ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى أَنَّ الَّذِي قَالَ ذَلِكَ فَقَدْ سَاوَى بَيْنَ الْفَقْرِ وَالْغِنَا وَقَالُوا لَا فَرْقَ بَيْنَ

maʿahumā wahādhā ʿinda ahli al-ḥaqāʾiqi wa-al-maʿārifi wa-aḥkāmi al-ḥaqīqati ʿinda al-nihāyāti, faẓannat ṭāʾifatun ukhrā anna alladhī qāla dhalika faqad sāwā bayna al-faqri wa-al-ghinā waqālū lā farqa bayna

with either. This is the teaching of the people of spiritual realities and direct knowledge concerning the rulings of reality at the final stages. Another group imagined that whoever said this had made poverty and wealth equal, and they declared that there is no difference between

الْفَقْرِ وَالْغِنَا فِي مَعْنَى الْحَالِ، فَيُقَالُ لَهُمْ قَدْ رَأَيْنَاكُمْ كَارِهِينَ لِلْفَقْرِ وَمَا رَأَيْنَاكُمْ كَارِهِينَ لِلْغِنَا فَإِنَّ كَانَا حَالَيْنِ مُسْتَوِيَيْنِ فَأَيْنَ اسْتِوَاؤُكُمْ فِي الْمُسَاكَنَةِ إِلَيْهِمَا وَالِاحْتِرَازِ

al-faqri wa-al-ghinā fī maʿnā al-ḥāli, fayuqālu lahum qad raʾaynākum kārihīna li-al-faqri wamā raʾaynākum kārihīna li-al-ghinā fa-inna kānā ḥālayni mustawiyayni fa-ayna istiwāʾukum fī al-musākanati ilayhimā wa-al-iḥtirāzi

poverty and wealth as states. They are told: “We have seen you dislike poverty, but have never seen you dislike wealth. If the two states are equal, where is your equal response in resting with them, guarding against

مِنْهُمَا وَالْمُعَانَقَةِ لَهُمَا، فَقَدْ تَبَيَّنَ غَلَطُهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ، وَغَلِطَتْ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى فِي الْفَقْرِ فَتَوَهَّمَتْ أَنَّ الْمُرَادَ مِنْ حَالِ الْفَقْرِ الْعَدَمُ وَالْفَقْرُ فَقَطْ فَاشْتَغَلَتْ بِذَلِكَ وَلَمْ

minhumā wa-al-muʿānaqati lahumā, faqad tabayyana ghalaṭuhum fī dhalika, waghaliṭat ṭāʾifatun ukhrā fī al-faqri fatawahhamat anna al-murāda min ḥāli al-faqri al-ʿadamu wa-al-faqru faqaṭ fa-ishtaghalat bidhalika walam

them, and embracing them?” Their error is thereby plain. Another group erred about poverty, imagining that poverty meant only want and deprivation. They occupied themselves with these alone and did not

تَسْمُ بِهِمَّتِهَا إِلَى آدَابِ الْفَقْرِ وَخَفِيَتْ عَلَيْهَا أَنَّ رُؤْيَةَ الْفَقْرِ فِي الْفَقْرِ حِجَابُ الْفَقِيرِ عَنْ حَقِيقَةِ الْفَقْرِ وَلَيْسَ لِلْفَقِيرِ الصَّادِقِ فِي حَالِ الْفَقْرِ خَصْلَةٌ أَقَلُّ مِنَ الْإِعْدَامِ

tasmu bihimmatihā ilā ādābi al-faqri wakhafiyat ʿalayhā anna ruʾyata al-faqri fī al-faqri ḥijābu al-faqīri ʿan ḥaqīqati al-faqri walaysa li-al-faqīri al-ṣādiqi fī ḥāli al-faqri khaṣlatun aqallu mina al-iʿdāmi

raise their aspiration to the courtesies of poverty. They failed to see that beholding one’s poverty while poor veils the poor person from poverty’s reality. For the truthful poor person, mere deprivation

وَالْفَقْرُ وَالصَّبْرُ وَالرِّضَا وَالتَّفْوِيضُ فِي مَعَانِيهَا أَتَمُّ مِنَ الْفَقْرِ الَّذِي لَمْ يَكُنْ مَقْرُونًا بِهَذِهِ الْخِصَالِ وَرُؤْيَةُ الْفَقْرِ وَالْمُسَاكَنَةُ إِلَى الْفَقْرِ وَالْإِعْجَابِ بِهِ عِلَّةٌ فِي الْحَالِ وَحِجَابٌ فِي

wa-al-faqru wa-al-ṣabru wa-al-riḍā wa-al-tafwīḍu fī maʿānīhā atammu mina al-faqri alladhī lam yakun maqrūnan bihādhihi al-khiṣāli waruʾyatu al-faqri wa-al-musākanatu ilā al-faqri wa-al-iʿjābi bihi ʿillatun fī al-ḥāli waḥijābun fī

and poverty are the least of the traits required: patience, contentment, and surrender in their full meanings are more complete than a poverty unaccompanied by these traits. Beholding poverty, resting with it, and admiring it are a defect in the state and a veil in

الْمَكَانِ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ وَبِاللَّهِ التَّوْفِيقُ، بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي التَّوَسُّعِ وَتَرْكِ التَّوَسُّعِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا بِالتَّقَشُّفِ وَالتَّقَلُّلِ وَمَنْ غَلِطَ فِي الِاكْتِسَابِ وَتَرْكِ الِاكْتِسَابِ

al-makāni, wa-Allāhu aʿlamu bi-al-ṣawābi wa-bi-Allāhi al-tawfīqu, bābun fī dhikri man ghaliṭa fī al-tawassuʿi watarki al-tawassuʿi mina al-dunyā bi-al-taqashshufi wa-al-taqalluli waman ghaliṭa fī al-iktisābi watarki al-iktisābi

the station. God knows best what is correct, and success comes from Him. Chapter concerning those who erred in living expansively or in renouncing worldly amplitude through austerity and scarcity, and those who erred concerning earning or abandoning it.

، قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ لَا يَصِحُّ الدُّخُولُ فِي السُّعَاتِ إِلَّا لِنَبِيٍّ أَوْ صِدِّيقٍ، مَعْنَاهُ لِأَنَّهُمْ يَكُونُونَ فِي الْأَشْيَاءِ لِغَيْرِهِمْ وَيَقُومُونَ فِي الْأَسْبَابِ بِحُقُوقِهَا لَا بِحُظُوظِهَا

, qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu lā yaṣiḥḥu al-dukhūlu fī al-suʿāti illā li-nabiyyin aw ṣiddīqin, maʿnāhu li-annahum yakūnūna fī al-ashyāʾi lighayrihim wayaqūmūna fī al-asbābi biḥuqūqihā lā biḥuẓūẓihā

The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: “No one can properly enter states of abundance except a prophet or a completely truthful saint.” He meant that such people engage with things for the sake of others and fulfill the rights attached to secondary causes, not the personal portions found in them.

لِأَنَّهُمْ يَعْرِفُونَ الْإِذْنَ إِذَا أَذِنَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ بِالْإِنْفَاقِ أَنْفَقُوا وَإِذَا أَذِنَ لَهُمْ بِالْإِمْسَاكِ أَمْسَكُوا فَمَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفِ الْإِذْنَ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكَمَالِ وَالنِّهَايَاتِ فَغَلِطَ عِنْدَ دُخُولِهِ

li-annahum yaʿrifūna al-idhna idhā adhina Allāhu lahum bi-al-infāqi anfaqū wa-idhā adhina lahum bi-al-imsāki amsakū faman lam yaʿrifi al-idhna walam yakun min ahli al-kamāli wa-al-nihāyāti faghaliṭa ʿinda dukhūlihi

They recognize divine permission: when God permits them to spend, they spend; when He permits them to retain, they retain. Anyone who does not recognize this permission and has not reached perfection and the final stations goes astray on entering

فِي السُّعَاتِ بِالْغُرُورِ وَالتَّأْوِيلَاتِ، وَمَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ لَا يَسْكُنُ إِلَى ذَلِكَ فَيُقَالُ لَهُ مَنْ لَا يَسْكُنُ إِلَى مَا فِي يَدَيْهِ مِنْ أَسْبَابِ الدُّنْيَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ لَا

fī al-suʿāti bi-al-ghurūri wa-al-taʾwīlāti, waman zaʿama annahu lā yaskunu ilā dhalika fayuqālu lahu man lā yaskunu ilā mā fī yadayhi min asbābi al-dunyā yanbaghī an lā

states of abundance, through delusion and strained interpretation. If someone claims that he does not rest in what he possesses, he is told: one who does not rest in the worldly means in his hands ought neither to hoard nor to seek;

يُمْسِكَ وَلَا يَطْلُبَ وَيَكُونُ الْقَلِيلُ وَالْكَثِيرُ عِنْدَهُ سَوَاءً فَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ

yumsika walā yaṭluba wayakūnu al-qalīlu wa-al-kathīru ʿindahu sawāʾan faman lam yakun

little and much should be equal in his eyes. Whoever does not find

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الْقَلِيلُ آثَرَ عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الْكَثِيرِ وَلَا يَكُونُ الْوَاحِدُ آثَرَ عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الِاثْنَيْنِ وَلَا يَخْلُو سِرُّهُ مِنَ الطَّلَبِ لِمَفْقُودٍ مِنْ أَسْبَابِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْإِمْسَاكِ لِمَوْجُودِهَا فَهُوَ مِنْ طُلَّابِ الدُّنْيَا

al-qalīlu āthara ʿindahu mina al-kathīri walā yakūnu al-wāḥidu āthara ʿindahu mina al-ithnayni walā yakhlū sirruhu mina al-ṭalabi limafqūdin min asbābi al-dunyā wa-al-imsāki limawjūdihā fahuwa min ṭullābi al-dunyā

little preferable to much, and one preferable to two, and whose inward self is not free from seeking a worldly means that is absent and retaining one that is present, belongs among the seekers of this world

وَالْمُرْتَبِّطِينَ بِاكْتِسَابِهَا بِحَظِّهَا لَا بِحَقِّهَا فَمَنْ تَوَهَّمَ بِأَنَّ لَهُ حَالٌ غَيْرُ ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ فِي غَلَطٍ، وَطَبَقَةٌ أُخْرَى تَعَلَّقُوا بِالتَّقَشُّفِ وَالتَّقَلُّلِ وَاعْتَادُوا الدُّونَ مِنَ اللِّبَاسِ وَالْقَلِيلَ

wa-al-murtabbiṭīna bi-iktisābihā biḥaẓẓihā lā biḥaqqihā faman tawahhama bi-anna lahu ḥālun ghayru dhalika fahuwa fī ghalaṭin, waṭabaqatun ukhrā taʿallaqū bi-al-taqashshufi wa-al-taqalluli wa-iʿtādū al-dūna mina al-libāsi wa-al-qalīla

and those bound to acquiring it for their personal portion rather than its due. Whoever imagines that his state is otherwise is mistaken. Another class clung to austerity and scarcity, becoming accustomed to poor clothing and scant

مِنَ الْقُوتِ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّ كُلَّ مَنْ رَفَقَ بِنَفْسِهِ أَوْ تَنَاوَلَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الْمُبَاحَاتِ أَوْ أَكَلَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ عِلَّةٌ وَسُقُوطٌ مِنَ الْمَنْزِلَةِ وَكُلُّ حَالٍ غَيْرُ

mina al-qūti waẓannū anna kulla man rafaqa binafsihi aw tanāwala shayʾan mina al-mubāḥāti aw akala shayʾan mina al-ṭayyibāti anna dhalika ʿillatun wasuqūṭun mina al-manzilati wakullu ḥālin ghayru

food. They imagined that anyone who treated himself gently, used something permissible, or ate something wholesome thereby showed a defect and fell from his rank; every state other than

الْحَالِ الَّذِي هُمْ عَلَيْهِ عِنْدَهُمْ زَلَّةٌ وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْعِلَّةَ كَائِنَةٌ فِي التَّقَلُّلِ وَالتَّقَشُّفِ [ كَمَا أَنَّ الْعِلَّةَ كَائِنَةٌ فِي التَّرَفُّعِ وَالتَّرَفُّهِ وَالتَّقَلُّلِ وَالتَّقَشُّفِ ]

al-ḥāli alladhī hum ʿalayhi ʿindahum zallatun waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna al-ʿillata kāʾinatun fī al-taqalluli wa-al-taqashshufi [ kamā anna al-ʿillata kāʾinatun fī al-taraffuʿi wa-al-taraffuhi wa-al-taqalluli wa-al-taqashshufi ]

the one they occupied was, in their eyes, a lapse. They erred, for a defect may lie in scarcity and austerity [just as it may lie in pretension, luxury, scarcity, and austerity]

بِالْعَادَةِ وَالتَّكَلُّفِ مَعْلُولٌ إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ الْعَبْدُ مُرَادًا بِذَلِكَ وَقْتًا مِنَ الْأَوْقَاتِ أَوْ يَكُونَ تَأْدِيبًا لَهُ أَوْ رِيَاضَةً لِنَفْسِهِ فَإِذَا شَاهَدَ آفَاتَهَا وَاسْتَحْلَى مُلَاحَظَةِ الْخَلْقِ لَهُ بِذَلِكَ

bi-al-ʿādati wa-al-takallufi maʿlūlun illā an yakūna al-ʿabdu murādan bidhalika waqtan mina al-awqāti aw yakūna taʾdīban lahu aw riyāḍatan linafsihi fa-idhā shāhada āfātahā wa-istaḥlā mulāḥaẓati al-khalqi lahu bidhalika

when practiced from habit and affectation, are diseased, unless a servant is intended for that discipline at a particular time, or it serves to educate him or train his soul. If he sees the evils of these practices, yet savors people’s noticing him for them

وَلَمْ يَعْمَلْ فِي الِانْقِلَاعِ عَنْهَا بِجَهْدِهِ فَيَكُونُ هَالِكًا وَلَا يُرْجَى خَيْرُهُ أَبَدًا، وَطَبَقَةٌ أُخْرَى مِنَ الْمُتَنَسِّكِينَ تَعَلَّقُوا بِأَخْذِ الْقُوتِ مِنَ الْكَسْبِ وَرَكَنُوا إِلَى اكْتِسَابِهِمْ وَأَنْكَرُوا عَلَى

walam yaʿmal fī al-inqilāʿi ʿanhā bijahdihi fayakūnu hālikan walā yurjā khayruhu abadan, waṭabaqatun ukhrā mina al-mutanassikīna taʿallaqū bi-akhdhi al-qūti mina al-kasbi warakanū ilā iktisābihim wa-ankarū ʿalā

and does not strive with all his strength to uproot them, he is ruined and no good can ever be expected of him. Another class of devotees insisted on obtaining sustenance through work, relied on what they earned, and censured

مَنْ لَمْ يَكْتَسِبْ مِثْلَهُمْ وَتَوَهَّمُوا وَظَنُّوا أَنَّ الْحَالَ لَا يَصِحُّ إِلَّا بِتَصْفِيَةِ الْغِذَاءِ وَتَصْفِيَةُ الْغِذَاءِ وَالْقُوتِ عِنْدَهُمْ لَا تَصِحُّ إِلَّا بِالِاكْتِسَابِ وَاحْتَجُّوا بِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَحَلُّ مَا

man lam yaktasib mithlahum watawahhamū waẓannū anna al-ḥāla lā yaṣiḥḥu illā bitaṣfiyati al-ghidhāʾi wataṣfiyatu al-ghidhāʾi wa-al-qūti ʿindahum lā taṣiḥḥu illā bi-al-iktisābi wa-iḥtajjū biqawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama aḥallu mā

those who did not earn as they did. They imagined that a spiritual state could be sound only if one’s food were pure, and that food and sustenance could be pure only when earned. They cited the Prophet’s saying—may God bless him and grant him peace—“The most lawful food

يَأْكُلُ الْمُؤْمِنُ كَسْبُ يَدِهِ، وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْكَسْبَ رُخْصَةٌ وَإِبَاحَةٌ لِمَنْ لَمْ يُطِقْ حَالَ التَّوَكُّلِ لِأَنَّ التَّوَكُّلَ حَالُ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَكَانَ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَأْمُورًا

yaʾkulu al-muʾminu kasbu yadihi, waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna al-kasba rukhṣatun wa-ibāḥatun liman lam yuṭiq ḥāla al-tawakkuli li-anna al-tawakkula ḥālu al-rasūli ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama wakāna al-rasūlu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama maʾmūran

a believer eats is what his own hand earns.” They erred, for earning is a concession and permission for one unable to bear the state of trust in God. Trust was the Messenger’s state—may God bless him and grant him peace—and the Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—was commanded

بِالتَّوَكُّلِ وَالثِّقَةِ بِالْمَضْمُونِ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ وَكَذَلِكَ الْخَلْقُ كُلُّهُمْ مَأْمُورُونَ بِالتَّوَكُّلِ عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالثِّقَةِ بِمَا وَعَدَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَالسُّكُونِ عِنْدَ عَدَمِ الرِّزْقِ حَتَّى يَسُوقَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ

bi-al-tawakkuli wa-al-thiqati bi-al-maḍmūni mina al-rizqi wakadhalika al-khalqu kulluhum maʾmūrūna bi-al-tawakkuli ʿalā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla wa-al-thiqati bimā waʿadahumu Allāhu taʿālā wa-al-sukūni ʿinda ʿadami al-rizqi ḥattā yasūqa Allāhu ʿazza

to trust and have confidence in the provision guaranteed to him. All creatures likewise are commanded to trust in God, mighty and majestic, have confidence in His promise, and remain at rest when provision is absent until God, mighty

وَجَلَّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَرْزَاقَهُمْ فَمَنْ ضَعُفَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ وَلَمْ يُطِقْ فَقَدْ سَنَّ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْكَسْبَ الْمُبَاحَ بِشُرُوطِهِ حَتَّى لَا يَهْلِكَ، وَشُرُوطُ الْكَسْبِ أَنْ لَا يَرْكَنَ

wajalla ilayhim arzāqahum faman ḍaʿufa ʿan dhalika walam yuṭiq faqad sanna lahu rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama al-kasba al-mubāḥa bishurūṭihi ḥattā lā yahlika, washurūṭu al-kasbi an lā yarkana

and majestic, brings them their sustenance. For those too weak to bear this, God’s Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace—established permissible earning under certain conditions so that they would not perish. These conditions are that one must not repose

إِلَى كَسْبِهِ وَلَا يَرَى رِزْقَهُ مِنْ كَسْبِهِ وَلَا يَكُونَ فِي كَسْبِهِ مُغْتَنَمًا

ilā kasbihi walā yarā rizqahu min kasbihi walā yakūna fī kasbihi mughtanaman

in one’s earnings, regard one’s provision as arising from them, or make personal gain one’s object in earning.

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بَلْ يَنْوِي بِذَلِكَ مُعَاوَنَةَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَلَا يَشْغَلُهُ كَسْبٌ عَنْ أَوَّلِ أَوْقَاتِ الصَّلَاةِ الْمَفْرُوضَةِ وَيَتَعَلَّمُ الْعِلْمَ حَتَّى لَا يَأْكُلَ الْحَرَامَ فَمَتَى مَا تَرَكَ خَصْلَةً مِنْ هَذِهِ الْخِصَالِ فَقَدْ

bal yanwī bidhalika muʿāwanata al-muslimīna walā yashghaluhu kasbun ʿan awwali awqāti al-ṣalāti al-mafrūḍati wayataʿallamu al-ʿilma ḥattā lā yaʾkula al-ḥarāma famatā mā taraka khaṣlatan min hādhihi al-khiṣāli faqad

Rather, one should intend thereby to help the Muslims. Work must not distract one from performing the obligatory prayer at the beginning of its time, and one must learn the requisite knowledge so as not to consume what is forbidden. Whenever one abandons any of these traits,

صَارَ كَسْبُهُ مَعْلُولًا بِعَاهَةٍ وَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ إِخْوَانٌ مِمَّنْ لَمْ يَكْتَسِبُوا وَيَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُمْ مُحْتَاجُونَ فَيَجِبُ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَتَفَقَّدُهُمْ بِمَا فَضَلَ مِنْ قُوتِهِ، فَمَنْ لَمْ يَقُمْ بِهَذِهِ

ṣāra kasbuhu maʿlūlan biʿāhatin wa-in kāna lahu ikhwānun mimman lam yaktasibū wayaʿlamu annahum muḥtājūna fayajibu ʿalayhi an yatafaqqaduhum bimā faḍala min qūtihi, faman lam yaqum bihādhihi

one’s earning becomes diseased by a defect. If one has brothers who do not earn and knows them to be in need, one must attend to them with whatever food remains beyond one’s need. Anyone who fails to fulfill these

الشُّرُوطِ فَأَخْشَى عَلَيْهِ الْغَلَطَ فِي إِعْجَابِهِ وَتَعَلُّقِهِ بِاكْتِسَابِهِ، وَطَبَقَةٌ أُخْرَى طَعَنُوا عَلَى الْمُكْتَسِبِينَ وَجَلَسُوا مُعْتَمِدِينَ عَلَى حَالِهِمْ مُتَشَرِّفِينَ إِلَى مَنْ يَفْتَقِدُهُمْ وَعِنْدَهُمْ أَنَّ هَذَا هُوَ الْحَالُ

al-shurūṭi fa-akhshā ʿalayhi al-ghalaṭa fī iʿjābihi wataʿalluqihi bi-iktisābihi, waṭabaqatun ukhrā ṭaʿanū ʿalā al-muktasibīna wajalasū muʿtamidīna ʿalā ḥālihim mutasharrifīna ilā man yaftaqiduhum waʿindahum anna hādhā huwa al-ḥālu

conditions is, I fear, liable to the error of admiring and becoming attached to his earnings. Another class censured those who earned, then sat relying upon their own state and looking expectantly toward whoever might attend to them; they considered this the true state.

، وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْجُلُوسَ عَنْ الْمَكَاسِبِ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ مِنْ قُوَّةِ الْيَقِينِ وَالصَّبْرِ فَمَنْ ضَعُفَ يَقِينُهُ وَغَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ طَبْعُهُ وَطَمَعُهُ يُؤْمَرُ بِالدُّخُولِ فِي الطَّلَبِ

, waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna al-julūsa ʿan al-makāsibi yanbaghī an yakūna min quwwati al-yaqīni wa-al-ṣabri faman ḍaʿufa yaqīnuhu waghalaba ʿalayhi ṭabʿuhu waṭamaʿuhu yuʾmaru bi-al-dukhūli fī al-ṭalabi

They too erred, for refraining from work should arise from strength of certainty and patience. Anyone whose certainty is weak and whose nature and greed overwhelm him should be instructed to seek a livelihood.

وَالطَّلَبُ مُبَاحٌ وَتَرْكُ الطَّلَبِ بِقُوَّةِ الْإِيمَانِ أَتَمُّ وَأَفْضَلُ،

wa-al-ṭalabu mubāḥun watarku al-ṭalabi biquwwati al-īmāni atammu wa-afḍalu,

Seeking is permissible, while abandoning the search through strength of faith is more complete and excellent.

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ طَبَقَاتِ الَّذِينَ فَتَرُوا فِي الْإِرَادَاتِ وَغَلِطُوا فِي الْمُجَاهَدَاتِ وَسَكَنُوا إِلَى الرَّاحَاتِ، قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ إِنَّ طَبَقَةً مِنَ الصُّوفِيَّةِ غَلِطَتْ فِي الْعِبَادَاتِ

bābun fī dhikri ṭabaqāti alladhīna fatarū fī al-irādāti waghaliṭū fī al-mujāhadāti wasakanū ilā al-rāḥāti, qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu thumma inna ṭabaqatan mina al-ṣūfiyyati ghaliṭat fī al-ʿibādāti

Chapter concerning the classes of those who grew listless in aspiration, erred in spiritual struggle, and settled into ease. The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: A class of Sufis erred concerning acts of worship,

وَالْمُجَاهَدَاتِ وَرِيَاضَاتِ النُّفُوسِ وَالْمُكَابَدَاتِ فَلَمْ تُحْكِمْ فِي ذَلِكَ أَسَاسَهَا وَلَمْ تَقَعِ الْأَشْيَاءُ فِي مَوَاضِعِهَا فَانْهَزَمَتْ وَنَكَصَتْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِهَا الْقَهْقَرَى وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُمْ حِينَ سَمِعُوا بِمُجَاهَدَاتِ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ

wa-al-mujāhadāti wariyāḍāti al-nufūsi wa-al-mukābadāti falam tuḥkim fī dhalika asāsahā walam taqaʿi al-ashyāʾu fī mawāḍiʿihā fa-inhazamat wanakaṣat ʿalā aʿqābihā al-qahqarā wadhalika annahum ḥīna samiʿū bimujāhadāti al-mutaqaddimīna

spiritual struggles, discipline of the souls, and endurance. They did not establish a firm foundation in these things or put matters in their proper places, so they were defeated and retreated upon their heels. For when they heard of the struggles of the earlier masters

وَمَا نَشَرَ اللَّهُ بِذَلِكَ أَعْلَامَهُمْ فِي خَلْقِهِ بِالثَّنَاءِ الْجَمِيلِ وَالْقَبُولِ عِنْدَ النَّاسِ وَإِظْهَارِ الْكَرَامَاتِ فَطَمِعَتْ نُفُوسُهُمْ وَتَمَنَّوْا فَتَكَلَّفُوا شَيْئًا مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَلَمَّا طَالَتِ الْمُدَّةُ وَلَمْ يَصِلُوا

wamā nashara Allāhu bidhalika aʿlāmahum fī khalqihi bi-al-thanāʾi al-jamīli wa-al-qabūli ʿinda al-nāsi wa-iẓhāri al-karāmāti faṭamiʿat nufūsuhum watamannaw fatakallafū shayʾan min dhalika falammā ṭālati al-muddatu walam yaṣilū

and how God spread their fame among His creatures through fair praise, acceptance by people, and the manifestation of wonders, their souls coveted these things. They wished for them and affected something of the same kind. But when time grew long and they did not attain

إِلَى مُرَادِهِمْ كَسِلُوا فَإِذَا دَعَاهُمْ دَاعِي الْعِلْمِ إِلَى الْمُجَاهَدَةِ وَالْعِبَادَةِ وَرِيَاضَةِ النَّفْسِ لَا يَقُمْ ذَلِكَ عِنْدَهُمْ وَزْنًا وَلَوْ جَذَبَهُمُ الْحَقُّ جَذْبَةً إِلَى خِدْمَتِهِ وَأَرَادَهُمْ بِالْمُدَاوَمَةِ عَلَى طَاعَتِهِ

ilā murādihim kasilū fa-idhā daʿāhum dāʿī al-ʿilmi ilā al-mujāhadati wa-al-ʿibādati wariyāḍati al-nafsi lā yaqum dhalika ʿindahum waznan walaw jadhabahumu al-ḥaqqu jadhbatan ilā khidmatihi wa-arādahum bi-al-mudāwamati ʿalā ṭāʿatihi

their desire, they became lazy. When knowledge summoned them to struggle, worship, and discipline of the soul, these things carried no weight with them. Had the Real drawn them once toward His service, intended them for constant obedience,

وَأَدْرَكَهُمْ بِلُطْفِهِ وَعِنَايَتِهِ لَازْدَادَتْ رَغَبَاتُهُمْ وَقَوِيَتْ نِيَّاتُهُمْ وَدَامَتْ عَلَى مَا كَانُوا عَلَيْهِ نِيَّاتُهُمْ فَلَمَّا لَمْ يَكُونُوا مُرَادِينَ بِذَلِكَ لِضَعْفِ دَعَائِمِهِمْ وَفَسَادِ قَصْدِهِمْ تَوَهَّمُوا

wa-adrakahum biluṭfihi waʿināyatihi lāzdādat raghabātuhum waqawiyat niyyātuhum wadāmat ʿalā mā kānū ʿalayhi niyyātuhum falammā lam yakūnū murādīna bidhalika liḍaʿfi daʿāʾimihim wafasādi qaṣdihim tawahhamū

and overtaken them with His gentleness and care, their desires would have increased, their intentions strengthened, and their resolve remained constant. But because they were not intended for this—owing to the weakness of their foundations and the corruption of their aim—they imagined

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إِنَّ ذَلِكَ فُتُورٌ، وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْفُتُورَ مَا يَتَرَوَّحُ بِهِ قُلُوبُ الْمُجْتَهِدِينَ وَقْتًا دُونَ وَقْتٍ ثُمَّ تَعُودُ إِلَى الْحَالِ، فَأَمَّا مَا وَقَعَ فِيهِ

inna dhalika futūrun, waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna al-futūra mā yatarawwaḥu bihi qulūbu al-mujtahidīna waqtan dūna waqtin thumma taʿūdu ilā al-ḥāli, fa-ammā mā waqaʿa fīhi

that this was merely a period of lassitude. They erred, for lassitude is a respite by which the hearts of those who strive are refreshed from time to time, after which they return to their state. What befell

هَؤُلَاءِ فَهُوَ الْكَسَلُ وَالتَّوَانِي وَالْأَمَانِيُّ الْكَاذِبَةُ، قَالَ وَسَمِعْتُ أَحْمَدَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ الْكَرْخِيَّ يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَلِىّ الرُّوذْبَارِيَّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ الْبِدَايَةُ هِيَ كَالنِّهَايَةِ وَالنِّهَايَةُ فَهِيَ كَالْبِدَايَةِ

hāʾulāʾi fahuwa al-kasalu wa-al-tawānī wa-al-amāniyyu al-kādhibatu, qāla wasamiʿtu aḥmada bna ʿaliyyin al-karkhiyya yaqūlu samiʿtu abā ʿaliyyin al-rūdhbāriyya raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu al-bidāyatu hiya ka-al-nihāyati wa-al-nihāyatu fahiya ka-al-bidāyati

these people was laziness, negligence, and false hopes. He said: I heard Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Karkhī say: I heard Abū ʿAlī al-Rūdhbārī—may God have mercy on him—say, “The beginning is like the end, and the end is like the beginning.

فَمَنْ تَرَكَ شَيْئًا فِي نِهَايَتِهِ مِمَّا كَانَ يَعْمَلُ فِي بِدَايَتِهِ فَهُوَ مَخْدُوعٌ، وَطَبَقَةٌ أُخْرَى سَاحَتْ وَسَافَرَتْ وَلَقِيَتِ الْمَشَايِخَ وَجَلَسَتْ وَتَصَدَّرَتْ وَتَطَاوَلَتْ عَلَى أَبْنَاءِ جِنْسِهَا بِأَنَّهَا قَدْ

faman taraka shayʾan fī nihāyatihi mimmā kāna yaʿmalu fī bidāyatihi fahuwa makhdūʿun, waṭabaqatun ukhrā sāḥat wasāfarat walaqiyat al-mashāyikha wajalasat wataṣaddarat wataṭāwalat ʿalā abnāʾi jinsihā bi-annahā qad

Whoever at the end abandons something he practiced at the beginning is deceived.” Another class wandered, traveled, met shaykhs, then sat in the leading place and vaunted themselves above their peers, saying that they had

لَقِيَتْ مَا لَمْ يَلْقَ قُرَنَاؤُهَا وَنَظَرَتْ إِلَى مَا لَمْ يَنْظُرْ إِلَيْهِ جُلَسَاؤُهَا وَعَدَّتْ نَفْسَهَا مِنَ الْمُسْتَقِلِّينَ، وَقَدْ غَلِطَتْ فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ السَّفَرَ سُمِّيَ سَفَرًا لِأَنَّهُ يُسْفِرُ

laqiyat mā lam yalqa quranāʾuhā wanaẓarat ilā mā lam yanẓur ilayhi julasāʾuhā waʿaddat nafsahā mina al-mustaqillīna, waqad ghaliṭat fī dhalika li-anna al-safara summiya safaran li-annahu yusfiru

met those whom their contemporaries had not met, and seen what their companions had not seen. They counted themselves among those able to stand independently. They erred, for travel is called safar because it unveils

عَنْ أَخْلَاقِ الرِّجَالِ وَإِنَّمَا يُسَافِرُونَ حَتَّى يُشَاهِدُوا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ خُلُقًا مَذْمُومًا فَيَعْمَلُونَ فِي تَبْدِيلِهَا وَيَعْرِفُونَ أَيْضًا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ مِنَ الْمُخَبَّآتِ مَا لَمْ يَعْرِفُوا ذَلِكَ فِي حَضْرِهِمْ وَمَعَارِفِهِمْ

ʿan akhlāqi al-rijāli wa-innamā yusāfirūna ḥattā yushāhidū min anfusihim khuluqan madhmūman fayaʿmalūna fī tabdīlihā wayaʿrifūna ayḍan min anfusihim mina al-mukhabbaʾāti mā lam yaʿrifū dhalika fī ḥaḍrihim wamaʿārifihim

men’s character. They travel in order to witness a blameworthy trait within themselves and work to change it, and to discover hidden things in themselves that they did not recognize while at home among their acquaintances.

وَلِقَاءُ الْمَشَايِخِ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى الْأَدَبِ وَالْحُرْمَةِ وَالرَّغْبَةِ وَالْإِرَادَةِ وَأَنْ يَنْسَى جَمِيعَ مَا يَعْلَمُ وَيَقْبَلَ مِنَ الشَّيْخِ مَا يُوصِيهِ بِهِ وَيُشِيرُ عَلَيْهِ وَيُطَالِبُ نَفْسَهُ بِحَقِّ الشَّيْخِ وَلَا

wa-liqāʾu al-mashāyikhi yaḥtāju ilā al-adabi wa-al-ḥurmati wa-al-raghbati wa-al-irādati wa-an yansā jamīʿa mā yaʿlamu wayaqbala mina al-shaykhi mā yūṣīhi bihi wayushīru ʿalayhi wayuṭālibu nafsahu biḥaqqi al-shaykhi walā

Meeting shaykhs requires courtesy, reverence, desire, and aspiration. One must forget everything one knows, accept the shaykh’s counsel and direction, demand of oneself the shaykh’s due, and not

يَقْتَضِي لِنَفْسِهِ مِنَ الشَّيْخِ إِقْبَالًا عَلَيْهِ وَلَا رِفْقًا وَيَحْفَظُ قَلْبَهُ وَيَغْتَنِمُ نَظَرَهُ إِلَيْهِ وَيَخَافُ أَنْ يَكُونَ صُحْبَتُهُ وَلُقْيَاهُ لِلشَّيْخِ حُجَّةً عَلَيْهِ، فَمَنْ سَاحَ أَوْ سَافَرَ أَوْ

yaqtaḍī linafsihi mina al-shaykhi iqbālan ʿalayhi walā rifqan wayaḥfaẓu qalbahu wayaghtanimu naẓarahu ilayhi wayakhāfu an yakūna ṣuḥbatuhu wa-luqyāhu li-al-shaykhi ḥujjatan ʿalayhi, faman sāḥa aw sāfara aw

demand from the shaykh any attention or gentleness. One must guard one’s heart, seize the opportunity of his glance, and fear lest companionship and meeting with the shaykh become an argument against oneself. Whoever wanders, travels, or

لَقِيَ شَيْخًا مِنَ الْمَشَايِخِ عَلَى غَيْرِ مَا ذَكَرْتُ وَتَوَهَّمَ أَنَّهُ مِنَ الْمُسَافِرِينَ أَوْ مِمَّنْ قَدْ صَحِبَ الْمَشَايِخَ فَهُوَ فِي غَلَطٍ عَظِيمٍ، وَطَبَقَةٌ أُخْرَى أَنْفَقُوا الْأَمْوَالَ وَالْأَمْلَاكَ

laqiya shaykhan mina al-mashāyikhi ʿalā ghayri mā dhakartu watawahhama annahu mina al-musāfirīna aw mimman qad ṣaḥiba al-mashāyikha fahuwa fī ghalaṭin ʿaẓīmin, waṭabaqatun ukhrā anfaqū al-amwāla wa-al-amlāka

meets a shaykh otherwise than I have described, yet imagines himself a traveler or one who has accompanied the shaykhs, is gravely mistaken. Another class spent their money and possessions

وَبَذَلُوا وَتَوَهَّمُوا أَنَّ الْمُرَادَ الْبَذْلُ وَالْإِنْفَاقُ وَالتَّخَلُّقُ بِالسَّخَاوَةِ وَالْبَذْلِ وَالسَّمَاحَةِ، وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ مُرَادَ الْقَوْمِ وَقُصُودَهُمْ فِيمَا أَنْفَقُوا وَبَذَلُوا لَمْ يَكُنْ إِظْهَارَ السَّخَاوَةِ

wabadhalū watawahhamū anna al-murāda al-badhlu wa-al-infāqu wa-al-takhalluqu bi-al-sakhāwati wa-al-badhli wa-al-samāḥati, waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna murāda al-qawmi waquṣūdahum fīmā anfaqū wabadhalū lam yakun iẓhāra al-sakhāwati

and gave freely, imagining that the aim was simply giving, spending, and acquiring the traits of generosity, liberality, and open-handedness. They erred, for the masters’ aim and intention in spending and giving was not to display generosity

وَلَا الِاشْتِهَارَ بِالسَّمَاحَةِ وَلَكِنْ رَأَوْا أَنَّ التَّعَلُّقَ بِالْأَسْبَابِ مَعَ الْمُسَبَّبِ عِلَّةٌ فِي الْمَكَانِ وَحِجَابٌ قَاطِعٌ عَنِ الْحَقِيقَةِ فَكَانَ إِنْفَاقُهُمْ وَبَذْلُهُمْ وَخُرُوجُهُمْ مِنَ الْأَمْلَاكِ فِرَارًا مِنَ الْعِلَّةِ وَقَطْعًا

walā al-ishtihāra bi-al-samāḥati walakin raʾaw anna al-taʿalluqa bi-al-asbābi maʿa al-musabbabi ʿillatun fī al-makāni waḥijābun qāṭiʿun ʿani al-ḥaqīqati fakāna infāquhum wabadhluhum wakhurūjuhum mina al-amlāki firāran mina al-ʿillati waqaṭʿan

or become known for liberality. Rather, they saw attachment to secondary means alongside their Causer as a defect in the station and a severing veil from reality. Their spending, giving, and divestment of possessions were therefore a flight from the defect and a severing

لِلْعَلَاقَةِ فَمَنْ بَذَلَ شَيْئًا مِنْ طَرِيقِ السَّمَاحَةِ وَالسَّخَاوَةِ وَظَنَّ أَنَّ طَرِيقَهُ طَرِيقُ الْقَوْمِ فَهُوَ فِي غَلَطٍ، وَقَوْمٌ آخَرُ انْبَسَطُوا فِي الْمُبَاحَاتِ وَلَمْ يَتَكَلَّفُوا مُرَاعَاةَ الْأَوْقَاتِ

li-al-ʿalāqati faman badhala shayʾan min ṭarīqi al-samāḥati wa-al-sakhāwati waẓanna anna ṭarīqahu ṭarīqu al-qawmi fahuwa fī ghalaṭin, waqawmun ākharu inbasaṭū fī al-mubāḥāti walam yatakallafū murāʿāta al-awqāti

of attachment. Whoever gives merely from liberality and generosity, imagining his way to be the masters’ way, is mistaken. Another group freely indulged in permissible things and made no effort to guard their moments.

وَقَالُوا لَيْسَ لَنَا مَعْلُومٌ أَيْشَ مَا وَجَدْنَا أَكَلْنَا وَنِمْنَا فَذَلِكَ وَقْتُنَا،

waqālū laysa lanā maʿlūmun aysha mā wajadnā akalnā wanimnā fadhalika waqtunā,

They said, “We have no fixed provision: whatever we find, we eat; we sleep, and that is our moment.”

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وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْوَقْتَ إِذَا فَاتَ لَا يُدْرَكُ وَلَيْسَ الْوَقْتُ مَا يَكُونُ مَعْمُورًا بِالْإِرْفَاقِ إِنَّمَا الْوَقْتُ مَا يَكُونُ مَعْمُورًا بِدَوَامِ الذِّكْرِ وَمَرْبُوطًا بِالْإِخْلَاصِ وَالشُّكْرِ وَالرِّضَا

waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna al-waqta idhā fāta lā yudraku walaysa al-waqtu mā yakūnu maʿmūran bi-al-irfāqi innamā al-waqtu mā yakūnu maʿmūran bidawāmi al-dhikri wamarbūṭan bi-al-ikhlāṣi wa-al-shukri wa-al-riḍā

They erred, for once the moment has passed it cannot be recovered. The moment is not what is filled with comforts; it is what is filled with constant remembrance and bound to sincerity, gratitude, contentment,

وَالصَّبْرِ وَالنَّفْسُ وَالْهَوَى وَالشَّيْطَانُ أَعْدَاءٌ يَطْلُبُونَ فُرْصَةَ الظَّفَرِ بِالْعَبْدِ فَإِذَا غَفَلَ الْعَبْدُ عَنْهُمْ طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ فَلَا يُرْجَى خَيْرُهُ وَلَا يُؤْمَنُ هَلَاكُهُ فَمَنْ تَوَهَّمَ أَنَّهُ وَصَلَ إِلَى

wa-al-ṣabri wa-al-nafsu wa-al-hawā wa-al-shayṭānu aʿdāʾun yaṭlubūna furṣata al-ẓafari bi-al-ʿabdi fa-idhā ghafala al-ʿabdu ʿanhum ṭarfata ʿaynin falā yurjā khayruhu walā yuʾmanu halākuhu faman tawahhama annahu waṣala ilā

and patience. The ego, desire, and Satan are enemies seeking a chance to master the servant. If the servant is heedless of them for the blink of an eye, no good can be expected and he is not safe from destruction. Whoever imagines he has reached

حَالٍ قَدْ أَمِنَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ فِي غَلَطٍ،

ḥālin qad amina min dhalika fahuwa fī ghalaṭin,

a state in which he is secure from this is mistaken.

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ طَبَقَاتِ الَّذِينَ غَلِطُوا فِي تَرْكِ الطَّعَامِ وَالْعُزْلَةِ وَالِانْفِرَادِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ، قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ إِنَّ جَمَاعَةً مِنَ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَالْمُبْتَدِئِينَ سَمِعُوا عِلْمَ مُخَالَفَةِ

bābun fī dhikri ṭabaqāti alladhīna ghaliṭū fī tarki al-ṭaʿāmi wa-al-ʿuzlati wa-al-infirādi waghayri dhalika, qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu thumma inna jamāʿatan mina al-murīdīna wa-al-mubtadiʾīna samiʿū ʿilma mukhālafati

Chapter concerning the classes of those who erred in abandoning food, isolation, solitude, and other matters. The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: A group of aspirants and beginners heard the teaching about opposing

النُّفُوسِ فَتَوَهَّمُوا أَنَّ النَّفْسَ إِذَا انْكَسَرَتْ بِتَرْكِ الطَّعَامِ يُؤْمَنُ شَرُّهَا وَبَوَائِقُهَا وَعَوَائِقُهَا فَتَرَكُوا عَادَاتِهِمْ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ وَالشَّرَابِ وَلَمْ يَسْتَعْمِلُوا الْأَدَبَ فِي تَرْكِ الطَّعَامِ وَلَمْ يَسْتَبْحِثُوا عَنِ

al-nufūsi fatawahhamū anna al-nafsa idhā inkasarat bitarki al-ṭaʿāmi yuʾmanu sharruhā wabawāʾiquhā waʿawāʾiquhā fatarakū ʿādātihim mina al-ṭaʿāmi wa-al-sharābi walam yastaʿmilū al-adaba fī tarki al-ṭaʿāmi walam yastabḥithū ʿani

the ego and imagined that, if it were broken by abandoning food, they would be safe from its evil, calamities, and impediments. They abandoned their customary food and drink without observing the proper discipline of fasting and without investigating

الْأُسْتَاذَيْنِ آدَابَهَا فَعَمَدُوا إِلَى تَرْكِ الطَّعَامِ وَوَاصَلُوا اللَّيَالِيَ وَالْأَيَّامَ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّ ذَلِكَ حَالٌ، وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْمُرِيدَ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ مُؤَدِّبٌ يُوقِفُهُ

al-ustādhayni ādābahā faʿamadū ilā tarki al-ṭaʿāmi wawāṣalū al-layāliya wa-al-ayyāma waẓannū anna dhalika ḥālun, waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna al-murīda yanbaghī an yakūna lahu muʾaddibun yūqifuhu

its courtesies under masters. They simply stopped eating, fasting continuously for nights and days, and imagined this was a spiritual state. They erred, for an aspirant must have an educator who acquaints him

عَلَى مَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّى لَا يَتَوَلَّدَ مِنْ إِرَادَتِهِ بَلَاءٌ وَفِتْنَةٌ لَا يَقْدِرُ أَنْ يَتَلَافَاهَا وَلَا يَتَخَلَّصَ مِنْ فَسَادِهَا وَالنَّفْسُ لَا يُؤْمَنُ شَرُّهَا وَلَا يَذْهَبُ عَنْهَا مَا

ʿalā mā yaḥtāju ilayhi ḥattā lā yatawallada min irādatihi balāʾun wafitnatun lā yaqdiru an yatalāfāhā walā yatakhallaṣa min fasādihā wa-al-nafsu lā yuʾmanu sharruhā walā yadhhabu ʿanhā mā

with what he needs, lest his own aspiration give rise to an affliction and temptation that he can neither repair nor escape. One is never safe from the ego’s evil, nor does the evil

جُبِلَتْ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الشَّرِّ وَهِيَ الْأَمَّارَةُ بِالسُّوءِ فَمَنْ ظَنَّ أَنَّ النَّفْسَ إِذَا انْكَسَرَتْ بِالْجُوعِ بِقِلَّةِ الْمَطْعَمِ فَقَدْ زَالَ عَنْهَا شَرُّهَا وَآفَاتُ بَشَرِيَّتِهَا حَتَّى يَأْمَنَهَا صَاحِبُهَا فَقَدْ غَلِطَ

jubilat ʿalayhi mina al-sharri wahiya al-ammāratu bi-al-sūʾi faman ẓanna anna al-nafsa idhā inkasarat bi-al-jūʿi biqillati al-maṭʿami faqad zāla ʿanhā sharruhā wa-āfātu bashariyyatihā ḥattā yaʾmanahā ṣāḥibuhā faqad ghaliṭa

with which it was created depart from it; it is the soul that commands evil. Whoever imagines that when hunger and scant food break the ego, its evil and human defects vanish so that its owner may safely trust it, is mistaken.

، وَسَمِعْتُ ابْنَ سَالِمٍ يَقُولُ كَانُوا إِذَا أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَتَقَلَّلُوا يُنْقِصُونَ مِنْ طَعَامِهِمْ فِي كُلِّ جُمُعَةٍ مِثْلَ أُذُنِ السِّنَّوْرِ، وَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ كَانَ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ

, wasamiʿtu bna sālimin yaqūlu kānū idhā arādū an yataqallalū yunqiṣūna min ṭaʿāmihim fī kulli jumuʿatin mithla udhuni al-sinnawri, wasamiʿtuhu yaqūlu kāna sahlu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi

I heard Ibn Sālim say, “When they wished to reduce their food, each week they diminished it only by the amount of a cat’s ear.” I also heard him say that Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh—

رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَأْمُرُ أَصْحَابَهُ أَنْ يَأْكُلُوا اللَّحْمَ فِي كُلِّ جُمُعَةٍ مَرَّةً حَتَّى لَا يَضْعُفُوا عَنِ الْعِبَادَةِ، وَلَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ جَمَاعَةً حَمَلُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ فِي مِثْلِ هَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءِ

raḥimahu Allāhu yaʾmuru aṣḥābahu an yaʾkulū al-laḥma fī kulli jumuʿatin marratan ḥattā lā yaḍʿufū ʿani al-ʿibādati, walaqad raʾaytu jamāʿatan ḥamalū ʿalā anfusihim fī mithli hādhihi al-ashyāʾi

may God have mercy on him—used to order his companions to eat meat once every week so that they would not grow too weak for worship. I have seen people burden themselves in such matters

مِنَ التَّقَلُّلِ وَأَكْلِ الْحَشِيشِ وَتَرْكِ شُرْبِ الْمَاءِ حَتَّى فَاتَتْهُمِ الْفَرِيضَةُ لِأَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِهَا عَلَى سِيَّتِهَا وَلَمْ يَتَأَدَّبُوا بِآدَابِ مَنْ سَلَكَ هَذَا الْمَسْلَكَ مِنَ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ، وَطَائِفَةٌ

mina al-taqalluli wa-akli al-ḥashīshi watarki shurbi al-māʾi ḥattā fātathumu al-farīḍatu li-annahum lam yaʾtū bihā ʿalā siyyatihā walam yataʾaddabū bi-ādābi man salaka hādhā al-maslaka mina al-mutaqaddimīna, waṭāʾifatun

by eating little, subsisting on grass, and refusing water until they missed the obligatory prayer, because they did not undertake these practices in the proper manner or observe the courtesies of the earlier masters who followed this path. Another group

إِعْتَزَلَتْ وَدَخَلُوا كُهُوفَ الْجِبَالِ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ هُوَ ذَا

iʿtazalat wadakhalū kuhūfa al-jibāli waẓannū annahum huwa dhā

withdrew and entered mountain caves, imagining that they were thereby

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يَهْرُبُونَ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ أَوْ يَأْمَنُونَ فِي الْجِبَالِ وَالْفَلَوَاتِ مِنْ شَرِّ نُفُوسِهِمْ أَوْ يُوصِلُهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالِانْفِرَادِ وَالْخَلْوَةِ إِلَى مَا أَوْصَلَ إِلَيْهِ أَوْلِيَاءَهُ مِنَ الْأَحْوَالِ الشَّرِيفَةِ وَلَا يُوصِلُهُمْ

yahrubūna mina al-khalqi aw yaʾmanūna fī al-jibāli wa-al-falawāti min sharri nufūsihim aw yūṣiluhumu Allāhu taʿālā bi-al-infirādi wa-al-khalwati ilā mā awṣala ilayhi awliyāʾahu mina al-aḥwāli al-sharīfati walā yūṣiluhum

fleeing from people, becoming safe in mountains and wastelands from their own souls’ evil, or that through solitude and retreat God Most High would bring them to the noble states He granted His friends, though He would not bring them

إِلَى ذَلِكَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ، وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْأَئِمَّةَ مِنَ الْمَشَايِخِ الَّذِينَ قَلَّ طَمَعُهُمْ وَدَامَتْ خَلْوَتُهُمْ وَانْفِرَادُهُمْ وَاخْتَارُوا الْعُزْلَةَ إِنَّمَا حَدَاهُمْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَدَعَاهُمْ إِلَيْهِ

ilā dhalika bayna al-nāsi, waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna al-aʾimmata mina al-mashāyikhi alladhīna qalla ṭamaʿuhum wadāmat khalwatuhum wa-infirāduhum wa-ikhtārū al-ʿuzlata innamā ḥadāhum ʿalā dhalika wadaʿāhum ilayhi

to those states among people. They erred, for the leading shaykhs whose greed was slight, whose seclusion and solitude endured, and who chose isolation were driven and summoned to it only

دَاعِي الْعِلْمِ وَقُوَّةُ الْحَالِ فَوَرَدَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا أَذْهَلَهُمْ وَشَغَلَهُمْ عَنِ الْمَعَارِفِ وَالْأَوْطَانِ وَأَخَذَهُمْ عَنِ الطَّعَامِ وَالشَّرَابِ وَجَذَبَهُمُ الْحَقُّ إِلَيْهِ جَذْبَةً أَغْنَاهُمْ بِهَا عَمَّنْ سِوَاهُ فَمَنْ

dāʿī al-ʿilmi waquwwatu al-ḥāli fawarada ʿalā qulūbihim mā adhhalahum washaghalahum ʿani al-maʿārifi wa-al-awṭāni wa-akhadhahum ʿani al-ṭaʿāmi wa-al-sharābi wajadhabahumu al-ḥaqqu ilayhi jadhbatan aghnāhum bihā ʿamman siwāhu faman

by knowledge’s call and the strength of their state. Something came upon their hearts that bewildered them, distracted them from acquaintances and homelands, and kept them from food and drink. The Real drew them to Himself with an attraction that made them independent of all besides Him. Whoever

لَمْ يَكُنْ مَصْحُوبًا بِقُوَّةِ الْحَالِ وَغَلَبَةِ الْوَارِدِ ثُمَّ يَتَكَلَّفُ وَيَحْمِلُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ مَا لَا تُطِيقُهُ يَظْلِمُ نَفْسَهُ فَيَدْخُلُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الضَّرَرُ وَلَا يُدْرِكُ مَا فَاتَهُ وَيَفُوتُهُ مَا

lam yakun maṣḥūban biquwwati al-ḥāli waghalabati al-wāridi thumma yatakallafu wayaḥmilu ʿalā nafsihi mā lā tuṭīquhu yaẓlimu nafsahu fayadkhulu ʿalā nafsihi al-ḍararu walā yudriku mā fātahu wayafūtuhu mā

is not accompanied by strength of state and dominance of the influx, but instead affects it and burdens himself beyond his capacity, wrongs and harms himself. He does not recover what has passed him by and loses what

مَعَهُ فَمَنْ فَعَلَ شَيْئًا مِنْ ذَلِكَ بِتَكَلُّفِهِ وَيَتَوَهَّمُ أَنَّهُ قَدْ وَصَلَ إِلَى شَيْءٍ مِنْ مَرَاتِبِ الْمَخْصُوصِينَ فَهُوَ فِي غَلَطٍ، قَالَ وَرَأَيْتُ جَمَاعَةً مِنَ الْأَحْدَاثِ كَانُوا يُقِلُّونَ

maʿahu faman faʿala shayʾan min dhalika bitakallufihi wayatawahhamu annahu qad waṣala ilā shayʾin min marātibi al-makhṣūṣīna fahuwa fī ghalaṭin, qāla waraʾaytu jamāʿatan mina al-aḥdāthi kānū yuqillūna

he already has. Whoever undertakes any such practice by affectation while imagining that he has reached a rank of the elect is mistaken. He said: I saw a group of young men who reduced

الطَّعَامَ وَيَسْهَرُونَ اللَّيْلَ وَيَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَلَى الدَّوَامِ حَتَّى كَانَ أَحَدُهُمْ رُبَّمَا يُغْشَى عَلَيْهِ وَكَانَ يَحْتَاجُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ إِلَى أَنْ يُدَارَى وَيُرْفَقَ بِهِ أَيَّامًا حَتَّى يَقْدِرَ أَنْ

al-ṭaʿāma wayasharūna al-layla wayadhkurūna Allāha taʿālā ʿalā al-dawāmi ḥattā kāna aḥaduhum rubbamā yughshā ʿalayhi wakāna yaḥtāju baʿda dhalika ilā an yudārā wayurfaqa bihi ayyāman ḥattā yaqdira an

their food, kept vigil at night, and remembered God Most High continually until some of them fainted. Thereafter they needed days of careful, gentle treatment before they could

يُصَلِّيَ الْفَرِيضَةَ، وَجَمَاعَةٌ جَبُّوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ إِذَا قَطَعُوا ذَلِكَ سَلِمُوا مِنْ آفَاتِ الشَّهْوَةِ النَّفْسَانِيَّةِ، وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْآفَاتِ تَبْدُو مِنَ الْبَاطِنِ فَإِذَا

yuṣalliya al-farīḍata, wajamāʿatun jabbū anfusahum waẓannū annahum idhā qaṭaʿū dhalika salimū min āfāti al-shahwati al-nafsāniyyati, waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna al-āfāti tabdū mina al-bāṭini fa-idhā

perform the obligatory prayer. Others castrated themselves, imagining that by severing that organ they would be safe from the defects of carnal desire. They erred, for defects arise inwardly. If

قُطِعَتِ الْآلَةُ وَالْعِلَّةُ مَوْجُودَةٌ فِي الْبَاطِنِ لَمْ يَنْفَعْ ذَلِكَ بَلْ يَضُرُّ وَتَزْدَادُ الْآفَةُ فَمَنْ ظَنَّ أَنَّ الْآفَةَ فِي الْآلَةِ الظَّاهِرَةِ وَ[أَنَّهُ] يَتَخَلَّصُ بِقَطْعِ ذَلِكَ مِنْ شَرِّهَا فَهُوَ فِي

quṭiʿati al-ālatu wa-al-ʿillatu mawjūdatun fī al-bāṭini lam yanfaʿ dhalika bal yaḍurru watazdādu al-āfatu faman ẓanna anna al-āfata fī al-ālati al-ẓāhirati wa-[annahu] yatakhallaṣu biqaṭʿi dhalika min sharrihā fahuwa fī

the instrument is cut off while the disease remains within, the act does no good but causes harm and increases the disease. Whoever imagines the defect to lie in the outward instrument and expects to escape its evil by cutting it off is

غَلَطٍ، وَقَوْمٌ هَامُوا عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ وَدَخَلُوا الْبَرَارِيَ وَالْبَوَادِيَ بِلَا زَادٍ وَلَا مَاءٍ وَلَا آلَةِ الطَّرِيقِ وَتَوَهَّمُوا أَنَّهُمْ إِذَا فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ نَالُوا مَا نَالَ الصَّادِقُونَ مِنْ حَقِيقَةِ

ghalaṭin, waqawmun hāmū ʿalā wujūhihim wadakhalū al-barāriya wa-al-bawādiya bilā zādin walā māʾin walā ālati al-ṭarīqi watawahhamū annahum idhā faʿalū dhalika nālū mā nāla al-ṣādiqūna min ḥaqīqati

mistaken. Others wandered aimlessly and entered deserts and wastelands without provision, water, or travel equipment, imagining that thereby they would attain the reality of trust achieved by the truthful.

التَّوَكُّلِ، وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْقَوْمَ الَّذِينَ كَانَ هَذَا دَأْبَهُمْ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ بِدَايَاتٌ وَتَأَدَّبُوا بِآدَابٍ وَرَاضُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ بِالْمُجَاهَدَاتِ وَكَانُوا مُسْتَقِلِّينَ بِأَحْوَالِهِمْ لَمْ

al-tawakkuli, waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna al-qawma alladhīna kāna hādhā daʾbahum kānat lahum bidāyātun wataʾaddabū bi-ādābin warāḍū anfusahum qabla dhalika bi-al-mujāhadāti wakānū mustaqillīna bi-aḥwālihim lam

They erred, for those whose practice this truly was had passed through beginnings, learned proper courtesies, and trained their souls beforehand through spiritual struggle. Established in their states, they

يُبَالُوا بِالْقِلَّةِ وَلَمْ يَسْتَوْحِشُوا مِنَ الْوَحْدَةِ فَكَمْ مِنْ مَوْتَةٍ مَاتُوا وَكَمْ مِنْ مَرَارَةٍ ذَاقُوا حَتَّى اسْتَوَتْ أَحْوَالُهُمْ فِي الْخَرَابِ وَالْعُمْرَانِ وَالسَّهْلِ وَالْجَبَلِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ وَالْوَحْدَةِ وَالْعِزِّ

yubālū bi-al-qillati walam yastawḥishū mina al-waḥdati fakam min mawtatin mātū wakam min marāratin dhāqū ḥattā istawat aḥwāluhum fī al-kharābi wa-al-ʿumrāni wa-al-sahli wa-al-jabali wa-al-jamāʿati wa-al-waḥdati wa-al-ʿizzi

cared nothing for scarcity and felt no loneliness in solitude. How many deaths they died and how much bitterness they tasted before their states became equal in ruin and habitation, plain and mountain, company and solitude, might

وَالذُّلِّ وَالْجُوعِ وَالشَّبَعِ وَالْحَيَاةِ وَالْمَوْتِ، فَمَنْ فَعَلَ شَيْئًا مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَتَوَهَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَدْ

wa-al-dhulli wa-al-jūʿi wa-al-shabaʿi wa-al-ḥayāti wa-al-mawti, faman faʿala shayʾan min dhalika watawahhama annahu qad

and abasement, hunger and satiety, life and death. Whoever does any of these things and imagines that he has

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نَطَقَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ أَحْوَالِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ فَهُوَ فِي غَلَطٍ، وَجَمَاعَةٌ تَكَلَّفُوا لُبْسَ الصُّوفِ وَاتَّخَذُوا الْمُرَقَّعَاتِ الْمَعْمُولَةَ وَحَمَلُوا الرِّكَاءَ وَلَبِسُوا الْمَصْبُوغَاتِ وَتَعَلَّمُوا الْإِشَارَاتِ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ إِذَا

naṭaqa bishayʾin min aḥwāli al-mutawakkilīna fahuwa fī ghalaṭin, wajamāʿatun takallafū lubsa al-ṣūfi wa-ittakhadhū al-muraqqaʿāti al-maʿmūlata waḥamalū al-rikāʾa walabisū al-maṣbūghāti wataʿallamū al-ishārāti waẓannū annahum idhā

imagines that he can claim anything of the states of those who trust in God is mistaken. Another group affected woolen dress, donned manufactured patchworks, carried leather flasks, wore dyed garments, and learned allusive speech. They imagined that by

فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ أَنَّهُمْ مِنَ الصُّوفِيَّةِ، وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ التَّحَلِّي وَالتَّلَبُّسَ وَالتَّشَبُّهَ لَا يُورِثُ لِصَاحِبِهِ غَيْرَ الْحَسْرَةِ وَالنَّدَامَةِ وَالْعَتَبِ وَالْمُلَامَةِ وَالشَّنَارِ وَالنَّارِ فِي يَوْمِ

faʿalū dhalika annahum mina al-ṣūfiyyati, waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna al-taḥallī wa-al-talabbusa wa-al-tashabbuha lā yūrithu liṣāḥibihi ghayra al-ḥasrati wa-al-nadāmati wa-al-ʿatabi wa-al-mulāmati wa-al-shanāri wa-al-nāri fī yawmi

doing so they became Sufis. They erred, for adornment, dress, and imitation bequeath their practitioner nothing but grief, remorse, reproach, blame, disgrace, and the Fire on the Day of

الْقِيَامَةِ، فَمَنْ ظَنَّ أَوْ تَوَهَّمَ أَنَّهُ يَصِلُ إِلَى أَحْوَالِ أَهْلِ الْحَقَائِقِ بِالتَّلَبُّسِ وَالتَّشَبُّهِ بِهِمْ فَهُوَ فِي غَلَطٍ، وَجَمَاعَةٌ أُخْرَى جَمَعُوا عُلُومَ الْقَوْمِ وَعَرَفُوا إِشَارَاتِهِمْ وَحَفِظُوا

al-qiyāmati, faman ẓanna aw tawahhama annahu yaṣilu ilā aḥwāli ahli al-ḥaqāʾiqi bi-al-talabbusi wa-al-tashabbuhi bihim fahuwa fī ghalaṭin, wajamāʿatun ukhrā jamaʿū ʿulūma al-qawmi waʿarafū ishārātihim waḥafiẓū

Resurrection. Whoever thinks he can attain the states of the people of realities by dressing and resembling them is mistaken. Another group collected the masters’ teachings, learned their allusions, memorized

حِكَايَاتِهِمْ وَتَكَلَّفُوا أَلْفَاظًا صَحِيحَةً وَعِبَارَاتٍ فَصِيحَةً وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ إِذَا فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ فَقَدْ صَارُوا مِنْهُمْ وَوَصَلُوا إِلَى شَيْءٍ مِنْ أَحْوَالِهِمْ وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ، وَجَمَاعَةٌ أُخْرَى

ḥikāyātihim watakallafū alfāẓan ṣaḥīḥatan waʿibārātin faṣīḥatan waẓannū annahum idhā faʿalū dhalika faqad ṣārū minhum wawaṣalū ilā shayʾin min aḥwālihim waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika, wajamāʿatun ukhrā

their stories, and affected sound terminology and eloquent expressions. They imagined that this made them one of the masters and brought them to some part of their states, but they too were mistaken. Another group

أَحْرَزُوا قُوتَهُمْ وَسَكَنَتْ نُفُوسُهُمْ بِنَفَقَةٍ مَعْلُومَةٍ وَدَرَاهِمَ مَوْضُوعَةٍ ثُمَّ عَمَدُوا بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ إِلَى أَوْرَادِهِمْ مِنَ الصَّوْمِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَقِيَامِ اللَّيْلِ وَالْوَرَعِ وَلِبَاسِ الْخَشِنِ وَالْبُكَاءِ وَالْخَشْيَةِ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّ هَذَا

aḥrazū qūtahum wasakanat nufūsuhum binafaqatin maʿlūmatin wadarāhima mawḍūʿatin thumma ʿamadū baʿda dhalika ilā awrādihim mina al-ṣawmi wa-al-ṣalāti waqiyāmi al-layli wa-al-waraʿi walibāsi al-khashini wa-al-bukāʾi wa-al-khashyati waẓannū anna hādhā

secured their food, put their souls at rest through a fixed allowance and stored dirhams, and only then applied themselves to their litanies of fasting, prayer, night vigil, scrupulousness, rough clothing, weeping, and fear. They imagined that this

هُوَ الْحَالُ الْمَقْصُودُ الَّذِي لَا يَكُونُ بَعْدَهُ حَالٌ، وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ وَمَا أَظُنُّ أَنَّ أَحَدًا مِمَّنْ أَشَارَ إِلَى عِلْمِ التَّصَوُّفِ يَذْكُرُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَخْرُجْ

huwa al-ḥālu al-maqṣūdu alladhī lā yakūnu baʿdahu ḥālun, waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika wamā aẓunnu anna aḥadan mimman ashāra ilā ʿilmi al-taṣawwufi yadhkuru ʿanhu annahu lam yakhruj

was the intended state beyond which no state remained. They erred. I do not believe that anyone who truly alluded to the science of Sufism is reported to have failed, at his beginning, to leave behind

فِي بِدَايَتِهِ مِنَ الْمَعْلُومِ وَلَمْ يَأْمُرْ أَصْحَابَهُ فِي أَوَّلِ الْأَمْرِ بِقَطْعِ الْعَلَائِقِ وَأَنْ يَجْعَلُوا فَوْتَهُمْ فِي الْغَيْبِ فَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْهُمْ وَرَجَعَ إِلَى سَبَبٍ مَعْلُومٍ أَوِ ادِّخَارِ قُوتٍ

fī bidāyatihi mina al-maʿlūmi walam yaʾmur aṣḥābahu fī awwali al-amri biqaṭʿi al-ʿalāʾiqi wa-an yajʿalū fawtahum fī al-ghaybi faman kāna minhum warajaʿa ilā sababin maʿlūmin awi iddikhāri qūtin

what was guaranteed and to command his companions first to cut attachments and cast what they might miss into the Unseen. If any of them later returned to a known means or stored food,

فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ أَجْلِ نَفْسِهِ وَلَكِنْ لِمَنْ حَوْلَهُ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ وَعِيَالِهِ وَمَنْ يَرُدُّ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ إِخْوَانِهِ فَمَنْ أَشَارَ إِلَى التَّصَوُّفِ وَادَّعَى حَالَهُمْ وَعَدَّ نَفْسَهُ مِنْهُمْ

fa-inna dhalika lam yakun min ajli nafsihi walakin liman ḥawlahu min aṣḥābihi waʿiyālihi waman yaruddu ʿalayhi min ikhwānihi faman ashāra ilā al-taṣawwufi wa-iddaʿā ḥālahum waʿadda nafsahu minhum

it was not for himself but for the companions and dependents around him and for visiting brothers. Whoever alludes to Sufism, claims the masters’ state, and counts himself among them,

وَلَمْ يَكُنْ أَصْلُهُ كَذَلِكَ عَلَى مَا ذَكَرْتُ فَهُوَ [ فِي ] غَلَطٍ، قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَجَمَاعَةٌ ظَنُّوا أَنَّ التَّصَوُّفَ هُوَ السَّمَاعُ وَالرَّقْصُ وَاتِّخَاذُ الدَّعَوَاتِ وَطَلَبُ

walam yakun aṣluhu kadhalika ʿalā mā dhakartu fahuwa [ fī ] ghalaṭin, qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu wajamāʿatun ẓannū anna al-taṣawwufa huwa al-samāʿu wa-al-raqṣu wa-ittikhādhu al-daʿawāti waṭalabu

while his foundation was not as I have described, is [in] error. The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: Another group imagined that Sufism consisted in audition, dancing, arranging invitations, and seeking

الْإِرْفَاقِ وَالتَّكَلُّفُ لِلِاجْتِمَاعَاتِ عَلَى الطَّعَامِ وَعِنْدَ سَمَاعِ الْقَصَائِدِ، وَالتَّوَاجُدُ وَالرَّقْصُ وَمَعْرِفَةُ صِيَاغَةِ الْأَلْحَانِ بِالْأَصْوَاتِ الطَّيِّبَةِ وَالنَّغَمَاتِ الشَّجِيَّةِ وَالِاخْتِرَاعِ مِنَ الْأَشْعَارِ الْغَزْلِيَّةِ بِمَا يُشْبِهُ

al-irfāqi wa-al-takallufu li-al-ijtimāʿāti ʿalā al-ṭaʿāmi waʿinda samāʿi al-qaṣāʾidi wa-al-tawājidu wa-al-raqṣu wamaʿrifatu ṣiyāghati al-alḥāni bi-al-aṣwāti al-ṭayyibati wa-al-naghamāti al-shajiyyati wa-al-ikhtirāʿi mina al-ashʿāri al-ghazliyyati bimā yushbihu

comforts; in contriving gatherings over food and gatherings for hearing poems; in affected ecstasy and dancing; in composing melodies for pleasant voices and plaintive tunes; and in inventing amorous verses resembling

أَحْوَالَ الْقَوْمِ عَلَى نَحْوِ مَا رَأَوْا مِنْ بَعْضِ الصَّادِقِينَ أَوْ بَلَغَهُمْ ذَلِكَ عَنِ الْمُتَحَقِّقِينَ، وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ كُلَّ قَلْبٍ مُلَوَّثٌ بِحُبِّ الدُّنْيَا وَكُلَّ نَفْسٍ

aḥwāla al-qawmi ʿalā naḥwi mā raʾaw min baʿḍi al-ṣādiqīna aw balaghahum dhalika ʿani al-mutaḥaqqiqīna, waqad ghaliṭū fī dhalika li-anna kulla qalbin mulawwathun biḥubbi al-dunyā wakulla nafsin

the masters’ states, on the model of what they had seen in some truthful men or heard reported of the realized. They erred, for every heart polluted by love of the world, and every soul

مُعْتَادَةٌ بِالْبَطَالَةِ وَالْغَفْلَةِ فَسَمَاعُهُ وَوُجُودُهُ مَعْلُولٌ وَحَرَكَتُهُ وَقِيَامُهُ تَكَلُّفٌ، فَمَنْ

muʿtādatun bi-al-baṭālati wa-al-ghaflati fasamāʿuhu wawujūduhu maʿlūlun waḥarakatuhu waqiyāmuhu takallufun, faman

accustomed to idleness and heedlessness, has diseased audition and ecstasy; his movement and standing are affectation. Whoever

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ظَنَّ أَنَّهُ يَصِيرُ بِتَكَلُّفِهِ وَحِيلِهِ وَتَمَنِّيهِ مِنَ الْمُتَحَقِّقِينَ فِي وَقْتِ السَّمَاعِ وَالْحَرَكَةِ وَالْوُجُودِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ فَقَدْ غَلِطَ فِي ذَلِكَ، بَابُ ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي الْأُصُولِ وَأَدَّاهُ

ẓanna annahu yaṣīru bitakallufihi waḥīlihi watamannīhi mina al-mutaḥaqqiqīna fī waqti al-samāʿi wa-al-ḥarakati wa-al-wujūdi waghayri dhalika faqad ghaliṭa fī dhalika, bābu dhikri man ghaliṭa fī al-uṣūli wa-addāhu

imagines that affectation, trickery, and wishful thinking will make him one of the realized during audition, movement, ecstasy, or anything else is mistaken. Chapter concerning those who erred in the fundamentals and were led

ذَلِكَ إِلَى الضَّلَالَةِ وَنَبْتَدِئُ بِذِكْرِ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ غَلِطُوا فِي الْحُرِّيَّةِ وَالْعُبُودِيَّةِ، قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَكَلَّمَ قَوْمٌ مِنَ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ فِي مَعْنَى الْحُرِّيَّةِ وَالْعُبُودِيَّةِ عَلَى مَعْنَى أَنَّ

dhalika ilā al-ḍalālati wanabtadiʾu bidhikri al-qawmi alladhīna ghaliṭū fī al-ḥurriyyati wa-al-ʿubūdiyyati, qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu takallama qawmun mina al-mutaqaddimīna fī maʿnā al-ḥurriyyati wa-al-ʿubūdiyyati ʿalā maʿnā anna

thereby into misguidance, beginning with those who erred concerning freedom and servanthood. The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: Some earlier masters spoke of freedom and servanthood in the sense that

الْعَبْدَ لَا يَنْبَغِي لَهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ فِي الْأَحْوَالِ وَالْمَقَامَاتِ الَّتِي بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كَالْأَحْرَارِ لِأَنَّ مِنْ عَادَةِ الْأَحْرَارِ طَلَبَ الْأُجْرَةِ وَانْتِظَارَ الْعِوَضِ عَلَى مَا يَعْمَلُونَ مِنَ

al-ʿabda lā yanbaghī lahu an yakūna fī al-aḥwāli wa-al-maqāmāti allatī baynahu wabayna Allāhi taʿālā ka-al-aḥrāri li-anna min ʿādati al-aḥrāri ṭalaba al-ujrati wa-intiẓāra al-ʿiwaḍi ʿalā mā yaʿmalūna mina

in the states and stations between himself and God Most High, the servant should not behave like free people. Free people customarily seek wages and await compensation for the work they perform,

الْأَعْمَالِ وَلَيْسَ عَادَةُ الْعَبِيدِ كَذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَا يَنْتَظِرُ مِنْ مَوْلَاهُ أُجْرَةً وَلَا عِوَضًا عَلَى مَا يَأْمُرُهُ بِهِ مَوْلَاهُ فَمَتَى طَمِعَ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَقَدْ تَرَكَ

al-aʿmāli walaysa ʿādatu al-ʿabīdi kadhalika li-anna al-ʿabda lā yantaẓiru min mawlāhu ujratan walā ʿiwaḍan ʿalā mā yaʾmuruhu bihi mawlāhu famatā ṭamiʿa fī shayʾin min dhalika faqad taraka

whereas slaves do not. A slave expects neither wages nor compensation from his master for what the master commands. Whenever he covets such a thing, he has abandoned

سِمَةَ الْعَبِيدِ لِأَنَّ الْعَبِيدَ إِنْ أَعْطَاهُمْ مَوْلَاهُمْ [ عَطِيَّةً ] عَلَى مَا أَمَرَهُمْ بِهِ وَاسْتَعْمَلَهُمْ فِيهِ كَانَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ تَفَضُّلِ مَوْلَاهُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ لَا بِاسْتِحْقَاقِهِمْ وَلَيْسَ عَادَةُ الْأَحْرَارِ

simata al-ʿabīdi li-anna al-ʿabīda in aʿṭāhum mawlāhum [ ʿaṭiyyatan ] ʿalā mā amarahum bihi wa-istaʿmalahum fīhi kāna dhalika min tafaḍḍuli mawlāhum ʿalayhim lā bi-istiḥqāqihim walaysa ʿādatu al-aḥrāri

the mark of slaves. If their master gives [a gift] to slaves for what he commanded and employed them to do, it comes from their master’s favor, not because they earned it. The custom of free people is

كَذَلِكَ، وَقَدْ صَنَّفَ شَيْخٌ مِنَ الْمَشَايِخِ كِتَابًا فِي مَقَامَاتِ الْأَحْرَارِ وَالْعَبِيدِ فِي هَذَا الْمَعْنَى فَظَنَّتِ الْفِرْقَةُ الضَّالَّةُ أَنَّ اسْمَ الْحُرِّيَّةِ أَتَمُّ مِنَ اسْمِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ لِلْمُتَعَارَفِ بَيْنَ

kadhalika, waqad ṣannafa shaykhun mina al-mashāyikhi kitāban fī maqāmāti al-aḥrāri wa-al-ʿabīdi fī hādhā al-maʿnā faẓannati al-firqatu al-ḍāllatu anna isma al-ḥurriyyati atammu mina ismi al-ʿubūdiyyati li-al-mutaʿārafi bayna

different. One of the shaykhs composed a book on the stations of free people and slaves in this sense. A misguided group imagined that the name “freedom” was more complete than “servanthood,” because it is conventionally recognized among

الْخَلْقِ أَنَّ الْأَحْرَارَ أَعْلَى مَرْتَبَةً وَأَسْنَى دَرَجَةً فِي أَحْوَالِ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الْعَبِيدِ فَقَاسَتْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ فَضَلَّتْ وَتَوَهَّمَتْ أَنَّ الْعَبْدُ مَا دَامَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى تَعَبُّدٌ فَهُوَ

al-khalqi anna al-aḥrāra aʿlā martabatan wa-asnā darajatan fī aḥwāli al-dunyā mina al-ʿabīdi faqāsat ʿalā dhalika faḍallat watawahhamat anna al-ʿabdu mā dāma baynahu wabayna Allāhi taʿālā taʿabbudun fahuwa

people that the free hold a higher rank and loftier worldly degree than slaves. Drawing an analogy from this, they went astray. They imagined that so long as worship subsists between the servant and God Most High, he

مُسَمًّى بِاسْمِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ فَإِذَا وَصَلَ إِلَى اللَّهِ فَقَدْ صَارَ حُرًّا وَإِذَا صَارَ حُرًّا سَقَطَتْ عَنْهُ الْعُبُودِيَّةُ، وَإِنَّمَا ضَلَّتْ هَذِهِ الْفِرْقَةُ لِقِلَّةِ فَهْمِهَا وَعِلْمِهَا وَتَضْيِيعِهَا لِأُصُولِ الدِّينِ

musamman bi-ismi al-ʿubūdiyyati fa-idhā waṣala ilā Allāhi faqad ṣāra ḥurran wa-idhā ṣāra ḥurran saqaṭat ʿanhu al-ʿubūdiyyatu, wa-innamā ḍallat hādhihi al-firqatu liqillati fahmihā waʿilmihā wataḍyīʿihā li-uṣūli al-dīni

is designated by servanthood; but once he reaches God, he becomes free, and once free, servanthood falls from him. This group went astray through deficient understanding and knowledge and through neglect of religion’s foundations.

، خَفِيَتْ عَلَى هَذِهِ الْفِرْقَةِ الضَّالَّةِ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَا يَكُونُ فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ عَبْدًا حَتَّى يَكُونَ قَلْبُهُ حُرًّا مِنْ جَمِيعِ مَا سِوَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ يَكُونُ

, khafiyat ʿalā hādhihi al-firqati al-ḍāllati anna al-ʿabda lā yakūnu fī al-ḥaqīqati ʿabdan ḥattā yakūna qalbuhu ḥurran min jamīʿi mā siwā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla faʿinda dhalika yakūnu

This misguided group failed to understand that the servant is not truly a servant until his heart is free from everything other than God, mighty and majestic. Only then is he

فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ عَبْدًا لِلَّهِ وَمَا سَمَّى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

fī al-ḥaqīqati ʿabdan li-Allāhi wamā sammā Allāhu taʿālā al-muʾminīna

truly God’s servant. God Most High has given the believers no name

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بِاسْمٍ أَحْسَنَ مِنِ اسْمِ الْعَبْدِ، إِذْ يَقُولُ: ﴿وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ﴾، ﴿نَبِّئْ عِبَادِي﴾؛ لِأَنَّهُ اسْمٌ سَمَّى بِهِ مَلَائِكَتَهُ، فَقَالَ: ﴿عِبَادٌ مُكْرَمُونَ﴾.

bi-ismin aḥsana mini ismi al-ʿabdi, idh yaqūlu: “waʿibādu al-raḥmāni”, “nabbiʾ ʿibādī”; li-annahu ismun sammā bihi malāʾikatahu, faqāla: “ʿibādun mukramūna”.

—by any name finer than “servant.” He says, “And the servants of the All-Merciful,” and, “Tell My servants”; for it is a name by which He called His angels, saying, “Honoured servants.”

ثُمَّ سَمَّى بِهِ أَنْبِيَاءَهُ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ وَرُسُلَهُ، فَقَالَ: ﴿وَاذْكُرْ عِبَادَنَا﴾، ﴿وَاذْكُرْ عَبْدَنَا﴾، وَقَالَ: ﴿نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ﴾، وَقَالَ لِحَبِيبِهِ وَصَفِيِّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ﴿وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ﴾.

thumma sammā bihi anbiyāʾahu ʿalayhimu al-salāmu warusulahu, faqāla: “wa-udhkur ʿibādanā”, “wa-udhkur ʿabdanā”, waqāla: “niʿma al-ʿabdu”, waqāla liḥabībihi waṣafiyyihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: “wa-uʿbud rabbaka ḥattā yaʾtiyaka al-yaqīnu”.

Then He called His prophets and messengers by it—peace be upon them—saying, “Remember Our servants,” “Remember Our servant,” and, “What an excellent servant!” To His beloved and chosen one—may God bless him and grant him peace—He said, “Worship your Lord until certainty comes to you.”

فَكَانَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُصَلِّي حَتَّى وَرِمَتْ قَدَمَاهُ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، أَلَيْسَ قَدْ غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَكَ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ؟ قَالَ: أَفَلَا أَكُونُ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا؟

fakāna ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama yuṣallī ḥattā warimat qadamāhu, faqīla lahu: yā rasūla Allāhi, alaysa qad ghafara Allāhu laka mā taqaddama min dhanbika wamā taʾakhkhara? qāla: afalā akūnu ʿabdan shakūran?

He—may God bless him and grant him peace—would therefore pray until his feet swelled. He was asked, “Messenger of God, has God not forgiven your earlier and later sins?” He replied, “Should I not then be a grateful servant?”

[وَرُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: خُيِّرْتُ بَيْنَ أَنْ أَكُونَ نَبِيًّا مَلِكًا وَنَبِيًّا عَبْدًا.] فَأَشَارَ إِلَيَّ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: تَوَاضَعْ. فَقُلْتُ: بَلْ نَبِيًّا عَبْدًا.

[waruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla: khuyyirtu bayna an akūna nabiyyan malikan wanabiyyan ʿabdan.] fa-ashāra ilayya jibrīlu ʿalayhi al-salāmu: tawāḍaʿ. faqultu: bal nabiyyan ʿabdan.

[It is related that the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—said that he had been given the choice between being a prophet-king and a servant-prophet.] Gabriel—peace be upon him—then gestured to him to humble himself, so he chose to be a servant-prophet.

فَلَوْ كَانَ بَيْنَ الْخَلْقِ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى دَرَجَةٌ أَعْلَى مِنْ دَرَجَةِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ، لَمْ يَفُتْ ذَلِكَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَاللَّهُ جَلَّ وَعَلَا كَانَ يُعْطِيهِ ذَلِكَ. وَبِاللَّهِ التَّوْفِيقُ.

falaw kāna bayna al-khalqi wabayna Allāhi taʿālā darajatun aʿlā min darajati al-ʿubūdiyyati, lam yafut dhalika rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, wa-Allāhu jalla waʿalā kāna yuʿṭīhi dhalika. wabi-Allāhi al-tawfīqu.

Had there been, between creatures and God Most High, any rank above the rank of servanthood, it would not have eluded the Messenger of God—may God bless him and grant him peace—and God, majestic and exalted, would have granted it to him. Success comes through God.

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِرَاقِ فِي الْإِخْلَاصِ.

bābun fī dhikri man ghaliṭa min ahli al-ʿirāqi fī al-ikhlāṣi.

Chapter on Those People of Iraq Who Erred concerning Sincerity

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: وَزَعَمَتِ الْفِرْقَةُ الضَّالَّةُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِرَاقِ [وَغَيْرِهِ] أَنَّ الْإِخْلَاصَ لَا يَصِحُّ لِلْعَبْدِ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ عَنْ رُؤْيَةِ الْخَلْقِ، وَلَا يُوَافِقَهُمْ فِي جَمِيعِ مَا يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَعْمَلَهُ، كَانَ ذَلِكَ حَقًّا أَوْ بَاطِلًا.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: wazaʿamati al-firqatu al-ḍāllatu min ahli al-ʿirāqi [waghayrihi] anna al-ikhlāṣa lā yaṣiḥḥu li-al-ʿabdi ḥattā yakhruja ʿan ruʾyati al-khalqi, walā yuwāfiqahum fī jamīʿi mā yurīdu an yaʿmalahu, kāna dhalika ḥaqqan aw bāṭilan.

The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: The misguided faction among the people of Iraq [and elsewhere] claimed that sincerity is not sound in a servant until he passes beyond seeing created beings and refuses to conform to them in anything he means to do, whether it is right or wrong.

وَإِنَّمَا ضَلَّتْ هَذِهِ الْفِرْقَةُ: إِنَّ جَمَاعَةً مِنْ أَهْلِ الْفَهْمِ وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ تَكَلَّمُوا فِي حَقِيقَةِ الْإِخْلَاصِ، أَنْ لَا يَصْفُوَ لَهُمْ ذَلِكَ حَتَّى لَا يَبْقَى عَلَى الْعَبْدِ بَقِيَّةٌ مِنْ رُؤْيَةِ الْخَلْقِ وَالْكَوْنِ وَكُلِّ شَيْءٍ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.

wa-innamā ḍallat hādhihi al-firqatu: inna jamāʿatan min ahli al-fahmi wa-al-maʿrifati takallamū fī ḥaqīqati al-ikhlāṣi, an lā yaṣfuwa lahum dhalika ḥattā lā yabqā ʿalā al-ʿabdi baqiyyatun min ruʾyati al-khalqi wa-al-kawni wakulli shayʾin ghayri Allāhi taʿālā.

This faction went astray because a group of people endowed with understanding and knowledge had spoken about the reality of sincerity: it does not become pure for them until the servant retains no remnant of seeing creatures, created existence, or anything other than God Most High.

فَظَنَّتْ هَذِهِ الْفِرْقَةُ وَطَمَعَتْ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ يَصِحُّ لَهُمْ بِالدَّعْوَى وَالتَّقْلِيدِ وَالتَّكَلُّفِ، قَبْلَ سُلُوكِ مَنَاهِجِهَا وَالتَّأَدُّبِ بِآدَابِهَا وَالِابْتِدَاءِ بِبِدَايَتِهَا، حَتَّى يُؤَدِّبَهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى نِهَايَاتِهَا حَالًا بَعْدَ حَالٍ وَمَقَامًا بَعْدَ مَقَامٍ. فَأَدَّاهُمُ الدَّعْوَى وَالطَّمَعُ الْكَاذِبُ إِلَى قِلَّةِ الْمُبَالَاةِ وَتَرْكِ الْأَدَبِ وَمُجَاوَزَةِ الْحُدُودِ، فَأَسَرَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ.

faẓannat hādhihi al-firqatu waṭamaʿat anna dhalika yaṣiḥḥu lahum bi-al-daʿwā wa-al-taqlīdi wa-al-takallufi, qabla sulūki manāhijihā wa-al-taʾaddubi bi-ādābihā wa-al-ibtidāʾi bibidāyatihā, ḥattā yuʾaddibahu dhalika ilā nihāyātihā ḥālan baʿda ḥālin wamaqāman baʿda maqāmin. fa-addāhumu al-daʿwā wa-al-ṭamaʿu al-kādhibu ilā qillati al-mubālāti watarki al-adabi wamujāwazati al-ḥudūdi, fa-asarahumu al-shayṭānu.

That faction imagined and hoped that this could become sound in them through mere assertion, imitation, and affectation, before they had travelled its paths, disciplined themselves by its courtesies, and begun at its beginnings so that it might train a person toward its final stages, state after state and station after station. Their pretension and false hope thus led them to indifference, abandonment of proper conduct, and transgression of the limits; Satan took them captive.

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وَغَلَبَتْهُمُ النَّفْسُ وَالْهَوَى بِمَا خَيَّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ أَنَّهُمْ بِرَسْمِ الْمُخْلِصِينَ فِي الْإِخْلَاصِ، وَهُمْ فِي عَيْنِ الضَّلَالَةِ وَالِانْتِقَاصِ، وَأَنَّى لَهُمْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الْخَلَاصُ؟ وَقَدْ خَفِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ لِشَقَاوَتِهِمْ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ الْمَطْلُوبَ بِدَرَجَةِ الْإِخْلَاصِ هُوَ الْعَبْدُ الْمُهَذَّبُ الْمُؤَدَّبُ.

waghalabathumu al-nafsu wa-al-hawā bimā khayyala ilayhim annahum birasmi al-mukhliṣīna fī al-ikhlāṣi, wahum fī ʿayni al-ḍalālati wa-al-intiqāṣi, wa-annā lahum min dhalika al-khalāṣu? waqad khafiyat ʿalayhim lishaqāwatihim anna al-ʿabda al-maṭlūba bidarajati al-ikhlāṣi huwa al-ʿabdu al-muhadhdhabu al-muʾaddabu.

The lower soul and caprice overcame them through the illusion that they occupied the standing of those sincere in sincerity, although they stood at the very heart of error and deficiency. How could they ever escape that? In their wretchedness it was hidden from them that the servant called to the degree of sincerity is a refined and disciplined servant.

الَّذِي هَجَرَ السَّيِّئَاتِ، وَجَرَّدَ الطَّاعَاتِ، وَعَمِلَ فِي الْإِرَادَاتِ، وَنَازَلَ الْأَحْوَالَ وَالْمَقَامَاتِ، حَتَّى أَدَّاهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى صَفَاءِ الْإِخْلَاصِ.

alladhī hajara al-sayyiʾāti, wajarrada al-ṭāʿāti, waʿamila fī al-irādāti, wanāzala al-aḥwāla wa-al-maqāmāti, ḥattā addāhu dhalika ilā ṣafāʾi al-ikhlāṣi.

He is one who has forsaken evil deeds, purified his acts of obedience of all admixture, laboured in the disciplines of aspiration, and directly engaged spiritual states and stations, until all this has brought him to the purity of sincerity.

فَأَمَّا مَنْ هُوَ أَسِيرُ هَوَاهُ وَرَهِينُ نَفْسِهِ وَشَيْطَانِهِ، وَهُوَ فِي ﴿ظُلُمَاتٍ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ إِذَا أَخْرَجَ يَدَهُ لَمْ يَكَدْ يَرَاهَا﴾، فَهُوَ مَحْجُوبٌ عَنْ حَالِ أَهْلِ الْبِدَايَاتِ، فَكَيْفَ يَصِلُ إِلَى مَا بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ؟

fa-ammā man huwa asīru hawāhu warahīnu nafsihi washayṭānihi, wahuwa fī “ẓulumātin baʿḍuhā fawqa baʿḍin idhā akhraja yadahu lam yakad yarāhā”, fahuwa maḥjūbun ʿan ḥāli ahli al-bidāyāti, fakayfa yaṣilu ilā mā baʿda dhalika?

As for someone held captive by his caprice and mortgaged to his lower soul and his devil, dwelling in “layers of darkness, one above another, so that when he puts out his hand he can scarcely see it,” he is veiled even from the state of beginners. How could he reach what lies beyond it?

فَمَثَلُ هَؤُلَاءِ كَمَثَلِ مَنْ سَمِعَ بِالْجَوْهَرَةِ النَّفِيسَةِ أَنَّهَا تَكُونُ صَافِيَةً مُدَوَّرَةً، فَوَقَعَ فِي يَدِهِ خَرَزَةٌ مِنَ الزُّجَاجِ، فَأَعْجَبَتْهُ تِلْكَ لِأَنَّهَا مُدَوَّرَةٌ صَافِيَةٌ.

famathalu hāʾulāʾi kamathali man samiʿa bi-al-jawharati al-nafīsati annahā takūnu ṣāfiyatan mudawwaratan, fawaqaʿa fī yadihi kharazatun mina al-zujāji, fa-aʿjabathu tilka li-annahā mudawwaratun ṣāfiyatun.

Such people resemble a man who had heard that a precious jewel is clear and round. A glass bead came into his hand, and it delighted him because it too was round and clear.

فَلَمَّا احْتَاجَ إِلَيْهَا حَمَلَهَا إِلَى مَنْ يَعْرِفُ الْجَوَاهِرَ، فَقَالَ [لَهُ]: هِيَ زُجَاجَةٌ لَا قِيمَةَ لَهَا. فَلَمْ يَدَعْهُ الْجَهْلُ وَالطَّمَعُ [الْكَاذِبُ] أَنْ يَرْمِيَ بِهَا، مِنْ قِلَّةِ مَعْرِفَتِهِ بِالزُّجَاجِ وَالْجَوْهَرِ. فَهَؤُلَاءِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ فِي ضَلَالَتِهِمْ يَخْسَرُونَ وَفِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ. أَعَاذَنَا اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ.

falammā iḥtāja ilayhā ḥamalahā ilā man yaʿrifu al-jawāhira, faqāla [lahu]: hiya zujājatun lā qīmata lahā. falam yadaʿhu al-jahlu wa-al-ṭamaʿu [al-kādhibu] an yarmiya bihā, min qillati maʿrifatihi bi-al-zujāji wa-al-jawhari. fahāʾulāʾi kulla yawmin fī ḍalālatihim yakhsarūna wafī ṭughyānihim yaʿmahūna. aʿādhanā Allāhu wa-iyyākum.

When he needed it, he took it to someone who knew gems, who told [him], “It is glass and has no value.” Yet ignorance and [false] hope would not let him throw it away, so little did he know of glass and jewels. Day after day such people suffer loss in their error and wander blindly in their insolence. May God protect us and you.

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي النُّبُوَّةِ وَالْوِلَايَةِ.

bābun fī dhikri man ghaliṭa fī al-nubuwwati wa-al-wilāyati.

Chapter on Those Who Erred concerning Prophecy and Sainthood

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: ثُمَّ ضَلَّتْ فِرْقَةٌ أُخْرَى فِي تَفْضِيلِ الْوِلَايَةِ عَلَى النُّبُوَّةِ، وَوَقَعَ غَلَطُهُمْ فِي قِصَّةِ مُوسَى وَالْخَضِرِ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ، وَتَفَكُّرُهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ بِرَأْيِهِمْ؛ إِذْ يَقُولُ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ: ﴿عَبْدًا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا آتَيْنَاهُ رَحْمَةً مِنْ عِنْدِنَا وَعَلَّمْنَاهُ مِنْ لَدُنَّا عِلْمًا﴾.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: thumma ḍallat firqatun ukhrā fī tafḍīli al-wilāyati ʿalā al-nubuwwati, wawaqaʿa ghalaṭuhum fī qiṣṣati mūsā wa-al-khaḍiri ʿalayhimā al-salāmu, watafakkuruhum fī dhalika biraʾyihim; idh yaqūlu jalla waʿazza: “ʿabdan min ʿibādinā ātaynāhu raḥmatan min ʿindinā waʿallamnāhu min ladunnā ʿilman”.

The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: Another faction then went astray by preferring sainthood to prophecy. Their error arose from the story of Moses and al-Khaḍir—peace be upon them—and from reflecting on it by their own opinion. God, majestic and mighty, says: “A servant from among Our servants, to whom We had given mercy from Us and whom We had taught knowledge from Our presence.”

ثُمَّ قَالَ لِمُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، مَعَ تَخْصِيصِهِ بِالْكَلَامِ وَالرِّسَالَةِ وَمَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَهُ ﴿فِي الْأَلْوَاحِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مَوْعِظَةً وَتَفْصِيلًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ﴾، يَقُولُ لَهُ الْخَضِرُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: ﴿إِنَّكَ لَنْ تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِيَ صَبْرًا﴾. فَيَقُولُ لَهُ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: ﴿لَا تُؤَاخِذْنِي بِمَا نَسِيتُ وَلَا تُرْهِقْنِي مِنْ أَمْرِي عُسْرًا﴾، إِلَى آخِرِ الْقِصَّةِ.

thumma qāla limūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu, maʿa takhṣīṣihi bi-al-kalāmi wa-al-risālati wamā kataba Allāhu lahu “fī al-alwāḥi min kulli shayʾin mawʿiẓatan watafṣīlan likulli shayʾin”, yaqūlu lahu al-khaḍiru ʿalayhi al-salāmu: “innaka lan tastaṭīʿa maʿiya ṣabran”. fayaqūlu lahu mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: “lā tuʾākhidhnī bimā nasītu walā turhiqnī min amrī ʿusran”, ilā ākhiri al-qiṣṣati.

Then, despite Moses’s being singled out for divine speech and the prophetic mission, and despite what God wrote for him “on the Tablets—an admonition concerning everything and an exposition of everything,” al-Khaḍir—peace be upon him—says to him, “You will not be able to bear patiently with me.” Moses—peace be upon him—answers, “Do not take me to task for what I forgot, and do not burden me with hardship in my affair,” and so the story continues.

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فَظَنَّتْ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةُ الضَّالَّةُ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ نَقْصٌ فِي نُبُوَّةِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَزِيَادَةٌ لِلْخَضِرِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ عَلَى مُوسَى فِي الْفَضِيلَةِ، فَأَدَّاهُمْ ذَلِكَ إِلَى أَنْ فَضَّلُوا الْأَوْلِيَاءَ عَلَى الْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ.

faẓannat hādhihi al-ṭāʾifatu al-ḍāllatu anna dhalika naqṣun fī nubuwwati mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu waziyādatun li-al-khaḍiri ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʿalā mūsā fī al-faḍīlati, fa-addāhum dhalika ilā an faḍḍalū al-awliyāʾa ʿalā al-anbiyāʾi ʿalayhimu al-salāmu.

This misguided faction imagined that the story diminished Moses’s prophethood—peace be upon him—and gave al-Khaḍir—peace be upon him—superiority over Moses in merit. This led them to prefer the saints to the prophets—peace be upon them.

وَقَدْ ذَهَبَ عَنْهُمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ يَخُصُّ مَنْ يَشَاءُ بِمَا يَشَاءُ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ؛ كَمَا خَصَّ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِسُجُودِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ لَهُ، وَخَصَّ نُوحًا عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِالسَّفِينَةِ، وَصَالِحًا عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِالنَّاقَةِ، وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِأَنْ جَعَلَ عَلَيْهِ النَّارَ بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا.

waqad dhahaba ʿanhum anna Allāha jalla waʿazza yakhuṣṣu man yashāʾu bimā yashāʾu kayfa yashāʾu; kamā khaṣṣa ādama ʿalayhi al-salāmu bisujūdi al-malāʾikati lahu, wakhaṣṣa nūḥan ʿalayhi al-salāmu bi-al-safīnati, waṣāliḥan ʿalayhi al-salāmu bi-al-nāqati, wa-ibrāhīma ʿalayhi al-salāmu bi-an jaʿala ʿalayhi al-nāra bardan wasalāman.

They overlooked the fact that God, majestic and mighty, singles out whomever He wills, for whatever He wills, however He wills. Thus He singled out Adam—peace be upon him—by having the angels bow to him; Noah—peace be upon him—with the Ark; Ṣāliḥ—peace be upon him—with the she-camel; and Abraham—peace be upon him—by making the fire coolness and peace upon him.

وَخَصَّ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِإِحْيَاءِ الْمَوْتَى، وَخَصَّ نَبِيَّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِانْشِقَاقِ الْقَمَرِ وَنَبْعِ الْمَاءِ بَيْنَ أَصَابِعِهِ. فَأَمَّا غَيْرُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ، فَقَدْ ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَرْيَمَ حَيْثُ يَقُولُ: ﴿وَهُزِّي إِلَيْكِ بِجِذْعِ النَّخْلَةِ تُسَاقِطْ عَلَيْكِ رُطَبًا جَنِيًّا﴾.

wakhaṣṣa mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu bi-iḥyāʾi al-mawtā, wakhaṣṣa nabiyyanā ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama bi-inshiqāqi al-qamari wanabʿi al-māʾi bayna aṣābiʿihi. fa-ammā ghayru al-anbiyāʾi ʿalayhimu al-salāmu, faqad dhakara Allāhu taʿālā maryama ḥaythu yaqūlu: “wahuzzī ilayki bijidhʿi al-nakhlati tusāqiṭ ʿalayki ruṭaban janiyyan”.

He singled out Moses—peace be upon him—with reviving the dead, and our Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—with the splitting of the moon and water springing from between his fingers. Among those who were not prophets, God Most High mentions Mary when He says, “Shake the trunk of the palm tree toward you; it will drop ripe, fresh dates upon you.”

وَلَمْ تَكُنْ مَرْيَمُ نَبِيَّةً، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ ذَلِكَ لِغَيْرِهَا مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ، وَلَا يَجُوزُ لِقَائِلٍ [أَنْ يَقُولَ] إِنَّهَا تَزِيدُ بِالْفَضْلِ عَلَى الْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ. وَآصَفُ بْنُ بَرْخِيَاءَ كَانَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمٌ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ، حَتَّى أَتَى بِعَرْشِ بِلْقِيسَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَرْتَدَّ [إِلَيْهِ] طَرْفُهُ.

walam takun maryamu nabiyyatan, walam yakun dhalika lighayrihā mina al-anbiyāʾi ʿalayhimu al-salāmu, walā yajūzu liqāʾilin [an yaqūla] innahā tazīdu bi-al-faḍli ʿalā al-anbiyāʾi ʿalayhimu al-salāmu. wa-āṣafu bnu barkhiyāʾa kāna ʿindahu ʿilmun mina al-kitābi, ḥattā atā biʿarshi bilqīsa qabla an yartadda [ilayhi] ṭarfuhu.

Mary was not a prophet, and no other prophet received this particular sign; yet no one may [say] that she therefore exceeds the prophets in merit. Āṣaf ibn Barkhiyāʾ possessed knowledge from the Book and brought the throne of Bilqīs before his glance returned [to him].

فَكَيْفَ يَجُوزُ أَنْ تَقُولَ إِنَّهُ أَتَمُّ مِنْ سُلَيْمَانَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، مَعَ مَا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنَ النُّبُوَّةِ وَالْفَهْمِ وَالْمُلْكِ؟ وَقَدْ سَمِعْتَ بِقِصَّةِ الْهُدْهُدِ، وَكَانَ قَدْ خُصَّ بِمَعْرِفَةِ الْمِيَاهِ، لَمْ يُخَصَّ بِذَلِكَ غَيْرُهُ مِنَ الطُّيُورِ وَغَيْرُهَا مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ.

fakayfa yajūzu an taqūla innahu atammu min sulaymāna ʿalayhi al-salāmu, maʿa mā ātāhu Allāhu taʿālā mina al-nubuwwati wa-al-fahmi wa-al-mulki? waqad samiʿta biqiṣṣati al-hudhudi, wakāna qad khuṣṣa bimaʿrifati al-miyāhi, lam yukhaṣṣa bidhalika ghayruhu mina al-ṭuyūri waghayruhā mina al-jinni wa-al-insi.

How, then, could anyone say that he was more complete than Solomon—peace be upon him—despite the prophethood, understanding, and sovereignty God Most High gave Solomon? You have also heard the story of the hoopoe, which was singled out for knowledge of water—a distinction given to no other bird, nor to any jinn or human being.

وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: أَفْرَضُكُمْ زَيْدٌ، وَأَقْرَؤُكُمْ أُبَيٌّ، وَأَعْلَمُكُمْ بِالْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ مُعَاذُ بْنُ جَبَلٍ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ. وَقَدْ شَهِدَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِعَشَرَةٍ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ بِالْجَنَّةِ، لَيْسَ هَؤُلَاءِ فِيهِمْ، وَنَحْنُ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَفْضَلُ مِنْهُمْ.

waqad ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla: afraḍukum zaydun, wa-aqraʾukum ubayyun, wa-aʿlamukum bi-al-ḥalāli wa-al-ḥarāmi muʿādhu bnu jabalin, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum. waqad shahida rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama liʿasharatin mina al-ṣaḥābati bi-al-jannati, laysa hāʾulāʾi fīhim, wanaḥnu naʿlamu anna abā bakrin al-ṣiddīqa raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu afḍalu minhum.

It is related that the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—said, “The most learned among you in the laws of inheritance is Zayd; the finest reciter among you is Ubayy; and the most knowledgeable among you concerning the lawful and unlawful is Muʿādh ibn Jabal”—may God be pleased with them. The Messenger of God—may God bless him and grant him peace—testified that ten Companions would enter Paradise, though these men were not among the ten; and we know that Abū Bakr the Truthful—may God be pleased with him—was superior to them.

وَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ كَثِيرٌ. وَكُلُّ وَلِيٍّ مِنَ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ يَنَالُ مَا يَنَالُ مِنَ الْكَرَامَةِ بِحُسْنِ اتِّبَاعِهِ لِنَبِيِّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَكَيْفَ يَجُوزُ أَنْ يُفَضَّلَ التَّابِعُ عَلَى الْمَتْبُوعِ، وَالْمُقْتَدِي عَلَى الْمُقْتَدَى بِهِ؟ وَإِنَّمَا يُعْطَى الْأَوْلِيَاءُ رَشَاشَةً مِمَّا يُعْطَى الْأَنْبِيَاءُ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ.

wamithlu dhalika kathīrun. wakullu waliyyin mina al-awliyāʾi yanālu mā yanālu mina al-karāmati biḥusni ittibāʿihi linabiyyihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, fakayfa yajūzu an yufaḍḍala al-tābiʿu ʿalā al-matbūʿi, wa-al-muqtadī ʿalā al-muqtadā bihi? wa-innamā yuʿṭā al-awliyāʾu rashāshatan mimmā yuʿṭā al-anbiyāʾu ʿalayhimu al-salāmu.

There are many such examples. Every friend of God receives whatever charismatic gift he receives through faithfully following his prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace. How could the follower be preferred to the one followed, or the imitator to the exemplar? The saints are given only a sprinkling of what the prophets—peace be upon them—are given.

وَالَّذِي قَالَ: إِنَّ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ يُوحَى إِلَيْهِمْ بِوَاسِطَةٍ، وَالْأَوْلِيَاءُ يَتَلَقَّفُونَ مِنَ اللَّهِ بِلَا وَاسِطَةٍ، فَيُقَالُ لَهُمْ: غَلِطْتُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ؛ لِأَنَّ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ هَذَا حَالُهُمْ عَلَى الدَّوَامِ.

wa-alladhī qāla: inna al-anbiyāʾa ʿalayhimu al-salāmu yūḥā ilayhim biwāsiṭatin, wa-al-awliyāʾu yatalaqqafūna mina Allāhi bilā wāsiṭatin, fayuqālu lahum: ghaliṭtum fī dhalika; li-anna al-anbiyāʾa ʿalayhimu al-salāmu hādhā ḥāluhum ʿalā al-dawāmi.

Those who say, “The prophets—peace be upon them—receive revelation through an intermediary, whereas the saints receive directly from God without an intermediary,” are told: You are mistaken, because this is the prophets’ abiding state—

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يَعْنِي الْإِلْهَامَ [وَالْمُنَاجَاةَ] وَالتَّلَقُّفَ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِلَا وَاسِطَةٍ، وَالْأَوْلِيَاءُ وَقْتًا دُونَ وَقْتٍ. وَلِلْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ الرِّسَالَةُ وَالنُّبُوَّةُ وَوَحْيٌ بِنُزُولِ جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، وَلَيْسَ لِلْأَوْلِيَاءِ ذَلِكَ.

yaʿnī al-ilhāma [wa-al-munājāta] wa-al-talaqqufa mina Allāhi ʿazza wajalla bilā wāsiṭatin, wa-al-awliyāʾu waqtan dūna waqtin. wali-al-anbiyāʾi ʿalayhimu al-salāmu al-risālatu wa-al-nubuwwatu wawaḥyun binuzūli jibrīla ʿalayhi al-salāmu, walaysa li-al-awliyāʾi dhalika.

—meaning inspiration, [intimate converse], and direct reception from God, mighty and majestic, without an intermediary. The saints experience this at one time but not another. The prophets—peace be upon them—also possess the prophetic mission, prophethood, and revelation through Gabriel’s descent—peace be upon him; the saints possess none of that.

وَلَوْ بَدَتْ ذَرَّةٌ عَلَى الْخَضِرِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ مِنْ أَنْوَارِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَتَخْصِيصِهِ بِالْكَلَامِ، لَامْتَحَقَ الْخَضِرُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ؛ وَلَكِنْ حَجَبَهُ الْحَقُّ عَنْ ذَلِكَ تَهْذِيبًا وَزِيَادَةً لِمُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، فَافْهَمْ ذَلِكَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى. وَالْوِلَايَةُ وَالصِّدِّيقِيَّةُ مُنَوَّرَةٌ بِأَنْوَارِ النُّبُوَّةِ، فَلَا تَلْحَقُ النُّبُوَّةَ أَبَدًا، فَكَيْفَ تُفَضَّلُ عَلَيْهَا؟

walaw badat dharratun ʿalā al-khaḍiri ʿalayhi al-salāmu min anwāri mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu watakhṣīṣihi bi-al-kalāmi, la-imtaḥaqa al-khaḍiru ʿalayhi al-salāmu; walakin ḥajabahu al-ḥaqqu ʿan dhalika tahdhīban waziyādatan limūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu, fa-ifham dhalika in shāʾa Allāhu taʿālā. wa-al-wilāyatu wa-al-ṣiddīqiyyatu munawwaratun bi-anwāri al-nubuwwati, falā talḥaqu al-nubuwwata abadan, fakayfa tufaḍḍalu ʿalayhā?

Had so much as a mote of Moses’s lights and of his distinction through divine speech appeared to al-Khaḍir—peace be upon them both—al-Khaḍir would have been effaced. But the Real veiled him from it as discipline and as a further elevation for Moses—peace be upon him. Understand this, God Most High willing. Sainthood and the rank of the utterly truthful are illumined by the lights of prophethood; they can never overtake prophethood, so how could they be preferred to it?

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ الْفِرْقَةِ الَّتِي غَلِطَتْ فِي الْإِبَاحَةِ وَالْحَظْرِ وَالرَّدِّ عَلَيْهِمْ.

bābun fī dhikri al-firqati allatī ghaliṭat fī al-ibāḥati wa-al-ḥaẓri wa-al-raddi ʿalayhim.

Chapter on the Faction That Erred concerning Permission and Prohibition, and the Refutation of Them

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: ثُمَّ زَعَمَتِ الْفِرْقَةُ الضَّالَّةُ فِي الْحَظْرِ وَالْإِبَاحَةِ أَنَّ الْأَشْيَاءَ فِي الْأَصْلِ مُبَاحَةٌ، وَإِنَّمَا وَقَعَ الْحَظْرُ لِلتَّعَدِّي، فَإِذَا لَمْ يَقَعِ التَّعَدِّي تَكُونُ الْأَشْيَاءُ عَلَى أَصْلِهَا مِنَ الْإِبَاحَةِ. وَتَأَوَّلُوا قَوْلَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿فَأَنْبَتْنَا فِيهَا حَبًّا، وَعِنَبًا وَقَضْبًا، وَزَيْتُونًا وَنَخْلًا، وَحَدَائِقَ غُلْبًا، وَفَاكِهَةً وَأَبًّا، مَتَاعًا لَكُمْ وَلِأَنْعَامِكُمْ﴾.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: thumma zaʿamati al-firqatu al-ḍāllatu fī al-ḥaẓri wa-al-ibāḥati anna al-ashyāʾa fī al-aṣli mubāḥatun, wa-innamā waqaʿa al-ḥaẓru li-al-taʿaddī, fa-idhā lam yaqaʿi al-taʿaddī takūnu al-ashyāʾu ʿalā aṣlihā mina al-ibāḥati. wataʾawwalū qawla Allāhi ʿazza wajalla: “fa-anbatnā fīhā ḥabban, waʿinaban waqaḍban, wazaytūnan wanakhlan, waḥadāʾiqa ghulban, wafākihatan wa-abban, matāʿan lakum wali-anʿāmikum”.

The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: The misguided faction concerning prohibition and permission claimed that things are permissible in their original state and that prohibition arises only when one transgresses. If no transgression occurs, things remain in their original state of permissibility. They interpreted God’s words, mighty and majestic: “We made grain grow in it, and grapes and fresh fodder, olives and date palms, dense gardens, fruit and pasture, as provision for you and your cattle.”

فَقَالُوا: هَذَا عَلَى الْجُمْلَةِ غَيْرُ مُفَصَّلٍ. فَأَدَّاهُمْ ذَلِكَ بِجَهْلِهِمْ إِلَى أَنْ طَمِعَتْ نُفُوسُهُمْ بِأَنَّ الْمَحْظُورَ الْمَمْنُوعَ مِنْهُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مُبَاحٌ لَهُمْ إِذَا لَمْ يَتَعَدَّوْا فِي تَنَاوُلِهِ.

faqālū: hādhā ʿalā al-jumlati ghayru mufaṣṣalin. fa-addāhum dhalika bijahlihim ilā an ṭamiʿat nufūsuhum bi-anna al-maḥẓūra al-mamnūʿa minhu al-muslimūna mubāḥun lahum idhā lam yataʿaddaw fī tanāwulihi.

They said, “This is stated generally, without differentiation.” In their ignorance, this led their souls to covet the notion that what is prohibited and withheld from Muslims becomes permissible to them provided they do not transgress in taking it.

وَإِنَّمَا غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ بِدَقِيقَةٍ خَفِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ، مِنْ جَهْلِهِمْ بِالْأُصُولِ وَقِلَّةِ حَظِّهِمْ مِنْ عِلْمِ الشَّرِيعَةِ وَمُتَابَعَتِهِمْ شَهَوَاتِ النُّفُوسِ فِي ذَلِكَ: أَنَّهُمْ سَمِعُوا بِمَكَارِمِ الْأَخْلَاقِ وَحُسْنِ عِشْرَةٍ وَمُؤَاخَاةٍ كَانَتْ بَيْنَ جَمَاعَةٍ مِنَ الْمَشَايِخِ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ.

wa-innamā ghaliṭū fī dhalika bidaqīqatin khafiyat ʿalayhim, min jahlihim bi-al-uṣūli waqillati ḥaẓẓihim min ʿilmi al-sharīʿati wamutābaʿatihim shahawāti al-nufūsi fī dhalika: annahum samiʿū bimakārimi al-akhlāqi waḥusni ʿishratin wamuʾākhātin kānat bayna jamāʿatin mina al-mashāyikhi al-mutaqaddimīna.

They erred over a subtle distinction hidden from them because of their ignorance of first principles, their meagre share of sacred law, and their pursuit of the lower soul’s appetites. They had heard of the noble character, fine companionship, and brotherhood that existed among a group of the early shaykhs.

فَجَرَى بَيْنَهُمْ أَحْوَالٌ مِنْ رَفْعِ الْحِشْمَةِ وَالْبَسْطِ، بَعْضُهُمْ مَعَ بَعْضٍ، حَتَّى كَانَ أَحَدُهُمْ يَمُرُّ إِلَى دَارِ أَخِيهِ وَيَمُدُّ يَدَهُ، فَيَأْكُلُ مِنْ طَعَامِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ مِنْ كَسْبِهِ حَاجَتَهُ، وَيَفْتَقِدُ أَحْوَالَ أَخِيهِ وَهُوَ غَائِبٌ كَمَا يَفْتَقِدُ لِنَفْسِهِ.

fajarā baynahum aḥwālun min rafʿi al-ḥishmati wa-al-basṭi, baʿḍuhum maʿa baʿḍin, ḥattā kāna aḥaduhum yamurru ilā dāri akhīhi wayamuddu yadahu, fayaʾkulu min ṭaʿāmihi wayaʾkhudhu min kasbihi ḥājatahu, wayaftaqidu aḥwāla akhīhi wahuwa ghāʾibun kamā yaftaqidu linafsihi.

States arose among them in which formality fell away and they behaved with open familiarity toward one another. One of them might go to his brother’s house, reach out his hand to eat his food, take what he needed from his earnings, and look after his brother’s affairs in his absence just as he looked after his own.

وَهَذَا كَمَا حُكِيَ عَنْ فَتْحِ الْمَوْصِلِيِّ أَنَّهُ مَرَّ إِلَى دَارِ بَعْضِ إِخْوَانِهِ، فَقَالَ لِجَارِيَتِهِ: أَخْرِجِي لِي كِيسَ أَخِي. فَأَخْرَجَتْهُ إِلَيْهِ، فَأَخَذَ مِنْهُ حَاجَتَهُ. فَلَمَّا رَجَعَ أَخُوهُ إِلَى الْبَيْتِ أَخْبَرَتْهُ الْجَارِيَةُ.

wahādhā kamā ḥukiya ʿan fatḥi al-mawṣiliyyi annahu marra ilā dāri baʿḍi ikhwānihi, faqāla lijāriyatihi: akhrijī lī kīsa akhī. fa-akhrajathu ilayhi, fa-akhadha minhu ḥājatahu. falammā rajaʿa akhūhu ilā al-bayti akhbarathu al-jāriyatu.

Thus it is related that Fatḥ al-Mawṣilī went to the house of one of his brothers and told the man’s slave girl, “Bring me my brother’s purse.” She brought it to him, and he took what he needed. When his brother returned home, the slave girl told him what had happened.

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فَقَالَ: إِنْ كُنْتِ صَادِقَةً فَأَنْتِ حُرَّةٌ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى. وَكَمَا ذَكَرَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَأْكُلُ مِنْ رُؤُوسِ زَنَابِيلِ أَخٍ مِنْ إِخْوَانِهِ وَهُوَ غَائِبٌ، فَسُئِلَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ.

faqāla: in kunti ṣādiqatan fa-anti ḥurratun liwajhi Allāhi taʿālā. wakamā dhakara al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu raḥimahu Allāhu annahu kāna yaʾkulu min ruʾūsi zanābīli akhin min ikhwānihi wahuwa ghāʾibun, fasuʾila ʿan dhalika.

He said, “If you are telling the truth, you are free for the sake of God Most High.” Similarly, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī—may God have mercy on him—related that he used to eat from the tops of the baskets belonging to one of his brothers while the man was away. He was asked about this.

قَالَ: يَا لُكَعُ، وَهَلْ كَانَ النَّاسُ قَبْلَنَا إِلَّا مِثْلَ هَذَا؟ كَانَ أَحَدُهُمْ يَمُرُّ إِلَى بَيْتِ أَخِيهِ، فَيَأْخُذُ مِنْ طَعَامِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ مِنْ دَرَاهِمِهِ، يُرِيدُ بِذَلِكَ إِدْخَالَ السُّرُورِ عَلَى أَخِيهِ، وَيَعْلَمُ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حُمْرِ النَّعَمِ.

qāla: yā lukaʿu, wahal kāna al-nāsu qablanā illā mithla hādhā? kāna aḥaduhum yamurru ilā bayti akhīhi, fayaʾkhudhu min ṭaʿāmihi wayaʾkhudhu min darāhimihi, yurīdu bidhalika idkhāla al-surūri ʿalā akhīhi, wayaʿlamu anna dhalika aḥabbu ilayhi min ḥumri al-naʿami.

He replied, “You dolt! Were the people before us ever anything but like this? One of them would go to his brother’s house and take some of his food and dirhams, intending thereby to bring his brother joy, knowing that this was dearer to him than red camels.”

وَكَذَلِكَ جَمَاعَةٌ كَانُوا يَقُولُونَ: لَيْسَ بَيْنَ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ مُرَاسَاةٌ، إِنَّمَا اسْتَنَّ مَذْهَبُهُمْ عَلَى الْمُؤَاسَاةِ. كَمَا قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ شَيْبَانَ: كُنَّا لَا نَصْحَبُ مَنْ يَقُولُ: نَعْلِي. وَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ كَثِيرٌ.

wakadhalika jamāʿatun kānū yaqūlūna: laysa bayna hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati murāsātun, innamā istanna madhhabuhum ʿalā al-muʾāsāti. kamā qāla ibrāhīmu bnu shaybāna: kunnā lā naṣḥabu man yaqūlu: naʿlī. wamithlu dhalika kathīrun.

A group likewise used to say, “Among this community there is no keeping of separate accounts; their path was founded upon mutual support.” Thus Ibrāhīm ibn Shaybān said, “We would not keep company with anyone who said, ‘My sandal.’” There are many such reports.

فَظَنَّتْ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةُ الضَّالَّةُ بِالْإِبَاحَةِ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ كَانَ مِنْهُمْ عَلَى حَالٍ جَازَ لَهُمْ تَرْكُ الْحُدُودِ أَوْ [أَنْ] يُجَاوِزُوا حَدَّ مُتَابَعَةِ الْأَمْرِ وَالنَّهْيِ. فَوَقَعُوا مِنْ جَهْلِهِمْ فِي التِّيهِ وَتَاهُوا، وَطَلَبُوا مَا مَالَتْ إِلَيْهِ نُفُوسُهُمْ مِنِ اتِّبَاعِ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَتَنَاوُلِ الْمَحْظُورَاتِ تَأْوِيلًا وَحِيَلًا وَكَذِبًا وَتَمْوِيهًا.

faẓannat hādhihi al-ṭāʾifatu al-ḍāllatu bi-al-ibāḥati anna dhalika kāna minhum ʿalā ḥālin jāza lahum tarku al-ḥudūdi aw [an] yujāwizū ḥadda mutābaʿati al-amri wa-al-nahyi. fawaqaʿū min jahlihim fī al-tīhi watāhū, waṭalabū mā mālat ilayhi nufūsuhum mini ittibāʿi al-shahawāti watanāwuli al-maḥẓūrāti taʾwīlan waḥiyalan wakadhiban watamwīhan.

The misguided libertine faction imagined that these masters had reached a state in which they were permitted to abandon the limits or [to] pass beyond the bound of following command and prohibition. Through ignorance they entered the wilderness of error and became lost. They pursued what their souls inclined to—following appetites and taking forbidden things—by strained interpretation, subterfuge, lies, and deception.

وَالَّذِي زَعَمَ أَنَّ الْأَشْيَاءَ فِي الْأَصْلِ مُبَاحَةٌ، فَهَلَّا قَالَ: إِنَّ الْأَشْيَاءَ فِي الْأَصْلِ مَحْظُورَةٌ، وَإِنَّمَا وَقَعَتْ إِبَاحَتُهَا بِالْأَمْرِ وَالنَّهْيِ فِي التَّوْسِعَةِ وَالرُّخَصِ، حَتَّى لَا يَقَعَ فِي الْغَلَطِ؟ مَعَ مَا أَنَّ الْحَلَالَ مَا حَلَّلَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، وَالْحَرَامَ مَا حَرَّمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى.

wa-alladhī zaʿama anna al-ashyāʾa fī al-aṣli mubāḥatun, fahallā qāla: inna al-ashyāʾa fī al-aṣli maḥẓūratun, wa-innamā waqaʿat ibāḥatuhā bi-al-amri wa-al-nahyi fī al-tawsiʿati wa-al-rukhaṣi, ḥattā lā yaqaʿa fī al-ghalaṭi? maʿa mā anna al-ḥalāla mā ḥallalahu Allāhu taʿālā, wa-al-ḥarāma mā ḥarramahu Allāhu taʿālā.

Why did the person who claimed that things are originally permissible not instead say that things are originally prohibited and become permissible only through commands and prohibitions that grant latitude and dispensations, so that he would not fall into error? Besides, the lawful is what God Most High has made lawful, and the unlawful is what He has made unlawful.

وَلَيْسَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مُسْتَعْبَدًا بِاسْتِعْمَالِ الشَّرَائِعِ الْمُتَقَدِّمَةِ، وَلَا بِاسْتِعْمَالِ مَا كَانَ عَلَيْهِ الْأَوَائِلُ؛ بَلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ مُسْتَعْبَدُونَ بِالِائْتِمَارِ لِمَا أَمَرَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ، وَالِانْتِهَاءِ عَمَّا نَهَاهُمُ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، وَاجْتِنَابِ مَا اشْتَبَهَ عَلَيْهِمْ.

walaysa aḥadun mina al-muʾminīna mustaʿbadan bi-istiʿmāli al-sharāʾiʿi al-mutaqaddimati, walā bi-istiʿmāli mā kāna ʿalayhi al-awāʾilu; bali al-muʾminūna mustaʿbadūna bi-al-iʾtimāri limā amarahumu Allāhu taʿālā bihi, wa-al-intihāʾi ʿammā nahāhumu Allāhu ʿanhu, wa-ijtinābi mā ishtabaha ʿalayhim.

No believer is bound to practise earlier religious laws or the usages of the ancients. Believers are bound to obey what God Most High has commanded them, desist from what He has forbidden them, and avoid what is doubtful to them.

لِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: الْحَلَالُ بَيِّنٌ، وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ، وَبَيْنَهُمَا أُمُورٌ مُشْتَبِهَاتٌ. وَحَرَامُ اللَّهِ حِمًى، فَمَنْ وَقَعَ حَوْلَ الْحِمَى يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَقَعَ فِيهِ. وَلَيْسَ قَوْلُ مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّ الْأَشْيَاءَ فِي الْأَصْلِ عَلَى الْإِبَاحَةِ بِأَوْلَى مِنْ قَوْلِ مَنْ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ الْأَشْيَاءَ فِي الْأَصْلِ مَحْظُورَةٌ؛ وَإِذَا اسْتُمْلِكَ لَا يُبِيحُ ذَلِكَ لِأَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِحُجَّةٍ.

liqawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: al-ḥalālu bayyinun, wa-al-ḥarāmu bayyinun, wabaynahumā umūrun mushtabihātun. waḥarāmu Allāhi ḥiman, faman waqaʿa ḥawla al-ḥimā yūshiku an yaqaʿa fīhi. walaysa qawlu man zaʿama anna al-ashyāʾa fī al-aṣli ʿalā al-ibāḥati bi-awlā min qawli man yaqūlu: inna al-ashyāʾa fī al-aṣli maḥẓūratun; wa-idhā istumlika lā yubīḥu dhalika li-aḥadin illā biḥujjatin.

For the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—said, “The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear, while between them lie doubtful matters. God’s forbidden domain is a preserve; whoever ventures around a preserve is liable to fall within it.” The claim that things are originally permissible is no more compelling than the claim that they are originally prohibited. Once something has passed into ownership, that fact makes it lawful to no one without proof.

وَلَيْسَ هَذَا مِنْ قِيَاسِ النَّجَاسَةِ وَالطَّهَارَةِ؛ لِأَنَّ الْأَشْيَاءَ عِنْدَ الْفُقَهَاءِ وَجَمَاعَةٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ فِي الْأَصْلِ طَاهِرَةٌ حَتَّى يَقُومَ الدَّلِيلُ عَلَى نَجَاسَتِهَا. وَالْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ هَذَا وَبَيْنَ ذَاكَ أَنَّ النَّجَاسَاتِ وَالطَّهَارَاتِ تَدْخُلُ فِي

walaysa hādhā min qiyāsi al-najāsati wa-al-ṭahārati; li-anna al-ashyāʾa ʿinda al-fuqahāʾi wajamāʿatin min ahli al-ʿilmi fī al-aṣli ṭāhiratun ḥattā yaqūma al-dalīlu ʿalā najāsatihā. wa-al-farqu bayna hādhā wabayna dhāka anna al-najāsāti wa-al-ṭahārāti tadkhulu fī

This is not analogous to impurity and purity, for in the judgment of the jurists and a group of scholars, things are originally pure until evidence establishes their impurity. The difference between this case and that one is that impurities and purities enter into—

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الْعِبَادَاتِ، وَالْحَظْرُ وَالْإِبَاحَةُ تَقَعُ عَلَى الْأَمْلَاكِ، وَمَا وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِ الْمِلْكُ لَا يُبِيحُ ذَلِكَ لِأَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِدَلِيلٍ وَحُجَّةٍ. وَبِاللَّهِ التَّوْفِيقُ.

al-ʿibādāti, wa-al-ḥaẓru wa-al-ibāḥatu taqaʿu ʿalā al-amlāki, wamā waqaʿa ʿalayhi al-milku lā yubīḥu dhalika li-aḥadin illā bidalīlin waḥujjatin. wabi-Allāhi al-tawfīqu.

—acts of worship, whereas prohibition and permission concern property. When ownership attaches to something, that does not make it lawful to anyone else without evidence and proof. Success comes through God.

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ غَلَطِ الْحُلُولِيَّةِ وَأَقَاوِيلِهِمْ عَلَى مَا بَلَغَنِي، فَلَمْ أَعْرِفْ مِنْهُمْ أَحَدًا، وَلَمْ يَصِحَّ عِنْدِي شَيْءٌ غَيْرُ الْبَلَاغِ.

bābun fī dhikri ghalaṭi al-ḥulūliyyati wa-aqāwīlihim ʿalā mā balaghanī, falam aʿrif minhum aḥadan, walam yaṣiḥḥa ʿindī shayʾun ghayru al-balāghi.

Chapter on the Error of the Incarnationists and Their Reported Sayings, as They Have Reached Me; I Have Known None of Them, and Nothing Is Established for Me beyond the Report

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ جَمَاعَةً مِنَ الْحُلُولِيَّةِ زَعَمُوا أَنَّ الْحَقَّ تَعَالَى ذِكْرُهُ اصْطَفَى أَجْسَامًا حَلَّ فِيهَا بِمَعَانِي الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ، وَأَزَالَ عَنْهَا مَعَانِيَ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: balaghanī anna jamāʿatan mina al-ḥulūliyyati zaʿamū anna al-ḥaqqa taʿālā dhikruhu iṣṭafā ajsāman ḥalla fīhā bimaʿānī al-rubūbiyyati, wa-azāla ʿanhā maʿāniya al-bashariyyati.

The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: I have heard that a group of Incarnationists claimed that the Real—exalted be His remembrance—chose certain bodies, dwelt in them with the attributes of lordship, and removed from them the attributes of humanity.

فَإِنْ صَحَّ عَنْ أَحَدٍ [أَنَّهُ] قَالَ هَذِهِ الْمَقَالَةَ، وَظَنَّ أَنَّ التَّوْحِيدَ أَبْدَى لَهُ صَفْحَتَهُ بِمَا أَشَارَ إِلَيْهِ، فَقَدْ غَلِطَ فِي ذَلِكَ، وَذَهَبَ عَلَيْهِ أَنَّ الشَّيْءَ فِي الشَّيْءِ مُجَانِسٌ لِلشَّيْءِ الَّذِي حَلَّ فِيهِ، وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَائِنٌ مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ، وَالْأَشْيَاءُ بَائِنَةٌ مِنْهُ بِصِفَاتِهَا.

fa-in ṣaḥḥa ʿan aḥadin [annahu] qāla hādhihi al-maqālata, waẓanna anna al-tawḥīda abdā lahu ṣafḥatahu bimā ashāra ilayhi, faqad ghaliṭa fī dhalika, wadhahaba ʿalayhi anna al-shayʾa fī al-shayʾi mujānisun li-al-shayʾi alladhī ḥalla fīhi, wa-Allāhu taʿālā bāʾinun mina al-ashyāʾi, wa-al-ashyāʾu bāʾinatun minhu biṣifātihā.

If it is established of anyone [that he] professed this doctrine and supposed that divine unity had shown him its face through what he indicated, he was mistaken. He failed to understand that a thing existing within another thing belongs to the same genus as that in which it inheres, whereas God Most High is distinct from things and things, by their attributes, are distinct from Him.

وَالَّذِي أَظْهَرَ فِي الْأَشْيَاءِ فَذَلِكَ آثَارُ صَنْعَتِهِ وَدَلِيلُ رُبُوبِيَّتِهِ؛ لِأَنَّ الْمَصْنُوعَ يَدُلُّ عَلَى صَانِعِهِ، وَالْمُؤَلَّفَ يَدُلُّ عَلَى مُؤَلِّفِهِ. وَإِنَّمَا ضَلَّتِ الْحُلُولِيَّةُ، إِنْ صَحَّ عَنْهُمْ ذَلِكَ، لِأَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يُمَيِّزُوا بَيْنَ الْقُدْرَةِ الَّتِي هِيَ صِفَةُ الْقَادِرِ وَبَيْنَ الشَّوَاهِدِ الَّتِي تَدُلُّ عَلَى قُدْرَةِ الْقَادِرِ وَصَنْعَةِ الصَّانِعِ، فَتَاهَتْ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ.

wa-alladhī aẓhara fī al-ashyāʾi fadhalika āthāru ṣanʿatihi wadalīlu rubūbiyyatihi; li-anna al-maṣnūʿa yadullu ʿalā ṣāniʿihi, wa-al-muʾallafa yadullu ʿalā muʾallifihi. wa-innamā ḍallati al-ḥulūliyyatu, in ṣaḥḥa ʿanhum dhalika, li-annahum lam yumayyizū bayna al-qudrati allatī hiya ṣifatu al-qādiri wabayna al-shawāhidi allatī tadullu ʿalā qudrati al-qādiri waṣanʿati al-ṣāniʿi, fatāhat ʿinda dhalika.

What He has made manifest in things consists of the traces of His workmanship and the evidence of His lordship: a fashioned thing points to its fashioner, and a composition to its composer. The Incarnationists—if this report about them is sound—went astray because they did not distinguish the power that is an attribute of the Powerful from the signs that point to the Powerful One’s power and the Maker’s workmanship. At that point they lost their way.

فَبَلَغَنِي أَنَّ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ بِالْأَنْوَارِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ بِالنَّظَرِ إِلَى الشَّوَاهِدِ الْمُسْتَحْسَنَاتِ نَظَرًا بِجَهْلٍ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ: حَالٌّ فِي الْمُسْتَحْسَنَاتِ وَغَيْرِ الْمُسْتَحْسَنَاتِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ: حَالٌّ فِي الْمُسْتَحْسَنَاتِ فَقَطْ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ: عَلَى الدَّوَامِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ: وَقْتًا دُونَ وَقْتٍ، فِيمَا بَلَغَنِي.

fabalaghanī anna minhum man qāla bi-al-anwāri, waminhum man qāla bi-al-naẓari ilā al-shawāhidi al-mustaḥsanāti naẓaran bijahlin, waminhum man qāla: ḥāllun fī al-mustaḥsanāti waghayri al-mustaḥsanāti, waminhum man qāla: ḥāllun fī al-mustaḥsanāti faqaṭ, waminhum man qāla: ʿalā al-dawāmi, waminhum man qāla: waqtan dūna waqtin, fīmā balaghanī.

I have heard that some of them spoke of lights; some advocated gazing ignorantly upon pleasing visible forms; some said, “He indwells pleasing and unpleasing forms”; others, “He indwells pleasing forms alone.” Some said that this occurs always, and others only at certain times—so the reports have reached me.

فَمَنْ صَحَّ عَنْهُ شَيْءٌ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْمَقَالَاتِ فَهُوَ ضَالٌّ بِإِجْمَاعِ الْأُمَّةِ، كَافِرٌ، يَلْزَمُهُ الْكُفْرُ فِيمَا أَشَارَ إِلَيْهِ.

faman ṣaḥḥa ʿanhu shayʾun min hādhihi al-maqālāti fahuwa ḍāllun bi-ijmāʿi al-ummati, kāfirun, yalzamuhu al-kufru fīmā ashāra ilayhi.

Anyone from whom any of these doctrines is authentically established is astray by the consensus of the community and an unbeliever; the position he has professed entails unbelief.

وَالْأَجْسَامُ الَّتِي اصْطَفَاهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَجْسَامُ أَوْلِيَائِهِ وَأَصْفِيَائِهِ؛ اصْطَفَاهَا بِطَاعَتِهِ وَخِدْمَتِهِ، وَزَيَّنَهَا بِهِدَايَتِهِ، وَبَيَّنَ فَضْلَهَا عَلَى خَلْقِهِ. وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَوْصُوفٌ بِمَا وَصَفَ بِهِ نَفْسَهُ، كَمَا وَصَفَ بِهِ نَفْسَهُ: ﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ﴾. وَالَّذِي غَلِطَ فِي الْحُلُولِ غَلِطَ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يُحْسِنْ أَنْ يُمَيِّزَ

wa-al-ajsāmu allatī iṣṭafāhā Allāhu taʿālā ajsāmu awliyāʾihi wa-aṣfiyāʾihi; iṣṭafāhā biṭāʿatihi wakhidmatihi, wazayyanahā bihidāyatihi, wabayyana faḍlahā ʿalā khalqihi. wa-Allāhu taʿālā mawṣūfun bimā waṣafa bihi nafsahu, kamā waṣafa bihi nafsahu: “laysa kamithlihi shayʾun huwa al-samīʿu al-baṣīru”. wa-alladhī ghaliṭa fī al-ḥulūli ghaliṭa li-annahu lam yuḥsin an yumayyiza

The bodies God Most High has chosen are the bodies of His friends and chosen ones. He chose them on account of their obedience and service to Him, adorned them with His guidance, and made their excellence over His creatures clear. God Most High is described by that with which He has described Himself, just as He described Himself: “Nothing is like Him; He is the Hearing, the Seeing.” The person who erred concerning indwelling did so because he failed to distinguish—

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بَيْنَ أَوْصَافِ الْحَقِّ وَبَيْنَ أَوْصَافِ الْخَلْقِ؛ لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَا يَحِلُّ فِي الْقُلُوبِ، وَإِنَّمَا يَحِلُّ فِي الْقُلُوبِ الْإِيمَانُ بِهِ وَالتَّصْدِيقُ لَهُ وَالتَّوْحِيدُ وَالْمَعْرِفَةُ.

bayna awṣāfi al-ḥaqqi wabayna awṣāfi al-khalqi; li-anna Allāha taʿālā lā yaḥillu fī al-qulūbi, wa-innamā yaḥillu fī al-qulūbi al-īmānu bihi wa-al-taṣdīqu lahu wa-al-tawḥīdu wa-al-maʿrifatu.

—the attributes of the Real from the attributes of creation. God Most High does not indwell hearts; what dwells in hearts is faith in Him, affirmation of Him, divine unity, and knowledge.

وَهَذِهِ أَوْصَافُ مَصْنُوعَاتِهِ مِنْ جِهَةِ صُنْعِ اللَّهِ بِهِمْ؛ لَا هُوَ بِذَاتِهِ أَوْ بِصِفَاتِهِ يَحِلُّ فِيهِمْ. تَعَالَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَنْ ذَلِكَ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا.

wahādhihi awṣāfu maṣnūʿātihi min jihati ṣunʿi Allāhi bihim; lā huwa bidhātihi aw biṣifātihi yaḥillu fīhim. taʿālā Allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʿan dhalika ʿuluwwan kabīran.

These are attributes of His creatures by virtue of what God has wrought in them; it is not He, in His essence or attributes, who indwells them. Exalted is God, mighty and majestic, far above that.

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي فَنَاءِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ. قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: أَمَّا الْقَوْمُ الَّذِينَ غَلِطُوا فِي فَنَاءِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ، سَمِعُوا كَلَامَ الْمُتَحَقِّقِينَ فِي الْفَنَاءِ، فَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُ فَنَاءُ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ، فَوَقَعُوا فِي الْوَسْوَسَةِ.

bābun fī dhikri man ghaliṭa fī fanāʾi al-bashariyyati. qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: ammā al-qawmu alladhīna ghaliṭū fī fanāʾi al-bashariyyati, samiʿū kalāma al-mutaḥaqqiqīna fī al-fanāʾi, faẓannū annahu fanāʾu al-bashariyyati, fawaqaʿū fī al-waswasati.

Chapter on Those Who Erred concerning the Annihilation of Human Nature. The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: Those who erred concerning the annihilation of human nature heard the words of realized masters about annihilation and imagined that it meant human nature’s annihilation; thus they fell prey to delusion.

فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَرَكَ الطَّعَامَ وَالشَّرَابَ، وَتَوَهَّمَ أَنَّ الْبَشَرِيَّةَ هِيَ الْقَالَبُ وَالْجُثَّةُ؛ إِذَا ضَعُفَتْ زَالَتْ بَشَرِيَّتُهَا، فَيَجُوزُ أَنْ يَكُونَ مَوْصُوفًا بِصِفَاتِ الْإِلَٰهِيَّةِ.

faminhum man taraka al-ṭaʿāma wa-al-sharāba, watawahhama anna al-bashariyyata hiya al-qālabu wa-al-juththatu; idhā ḍaʿufat zālat bashariyyatuhā, fayajūzu an yakūna mawṣūfan biṣifāti al-ilāhiyyati.

Some of them abandoned food and drink, imagining that human nature was simply the mould and the physical body: once the body grew weak, its humanity would disappear, and the person could then be described by divine attributes.

وَلَمْ تُحْسِنْ هَذِهِ الْفِرْقَةُ الْجَاهِلَةُ الضَّالَّةُ أَنْ تُفَرِّقَ بَيْنَ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ وَبَيْنَ أَخْلَاقِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ؛ لِأَنَّ الْبَشَرِيَّةَ لَا تَزُولُ عَنِ الْبَشَرِ، كَمَا أَنَّ لَوْنَ السَّوَادِ لَا يَزُولُ عَنِ الْأَسْوَدِ، وَلَا لَوْنَ الْبَيَاضِ عَنِ الْأَبْيَضِ.

walam tuḥsin hādhihi al-firqatu al-jāhilatu al-ḍāllatu an tufarriqa bayna al-bashariyyati wabayna akhlāqi al-bashariyyati; li-anna al-bashariyyata lā tazūlu ʿani al-bashari, kamā anna lawna al-sawādi lā yazūlu ʿani al-aswadi, walā lawna al-bayāḍi ʿani al-abyaḍi.

This ignorant, misguided faction failed to distinguish human nature from the character traits of human nature. Human nature does not cease to belong to a human being, just as the colour black does not cease to belong to what is black, nor the colour white to what is white.

وَأَخْلَاقُ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ تُبَدَّلُ وَتُغَيَّرُ بِمَا يَرِدُ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ سُلْطَانِ أَنْوَارِ الْحَقَائِقِ، وَصِفَاتُ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ لَيْسَتْ هِيَ عَيْنَ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ. وَالَّذِي أَشَارَ إِلَى الْفَنَاءِ أَرَادَ بِهِ فَنَاءَ رُؤْيَا الْأَعْمَالِ وَالطَّاعَاتِ بِبَقَاءِ رُؤْيَا الْعَبْدِ لِقِيَامِ الْحَقِّ لِلْعَبْدِ بِذَلِكَ.

wa-akhlāqu al-bashariyyati tubaddalu watughayyaru bimā yaridu ʿalayhā min sulṭāni anwāri al-ḥaqāʾiqi, waṣifātu al-bashariyyati laysat hiya ʿayna al-bashariyyati. wa-alladhī ashāra ilā al-fanāʾi arāda bihi fanāʾa ruʾyā al-aʿmāli wa-al-ṭāʿāti bibaqāʾi ruʾyā al-ʿabdi liqiyāmi al-ḥaqqi li-al-ʿabdi bidhalika.

The character traits of human nature, however, are replaced and changed through the power of the lights of spiritual realities that come upon them; the attributes of human nature are not identical with human nature itself. Whoever spoke of annihilation meant the annihilation of seeing one’s own works and acts of obedience, while the servant continues to see the Real undertaking those acts for him.

وَكَذَلِكَ فَنَاءُ الْجَهْلِ بِالْعِلْمِ، وَفَنَاءُ الْغَفْلَةِ بِالذِّكْرِ. وَالَّذِي طُبِعَ فِي فَنَاءِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ فَنَاءُ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ، طُبِعَ فِي ذَلِكَ، وَفَنَاءُ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ بِالْبَشَرِيَّةِ صِفَةٌ مِنْ صِفَاتِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ.

wakadhalika fanāʾu al-jahli bi-al-ʿilmi, wafanāʾu al-ghaflati bi-al-dhikri. wa-alladhī ṭubiʿa fī fanāʾi al-bashariyyati fanāʾu al-bashariyyati, ṭubiʿa fī dhalika, wafanāʾu al-bashariyyati bi-al-bashariyyati ṣifatun min ṣifāti al-bashariyyati.

Likewise, ignorance is annihilated through knowledge and heedlessness through remembrance. As for what is impressed into the annihilation of human nature—human nature’s annihilation—it is impressed within that; and the annihilation of human nature by human nature is itself one of the attributes of human nature.

وَالَّذِي يَتَوَهَّمُ أَنَّهُ ذَهَابُ النَّفْسِ وَزَوَالُ التَّلْوِينِ عَنِ الْعَبْدِ وَقْتًا دُونَ وَقْتٍ وَذَهَابُ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ، فَقَدْ غَلِطَ وَجَهِلَ عَنْ وَصْفِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ؛ لِأَنَّ التَّغْيِيرَ وَالتَّلْوِينَ مِنْ صِفَةِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ.

wa-alladhī yatawahhamu annahu dhahābu al-nafsi wazawālu al-talwīni ʿani al-ʿabdi waqtan dūna waqtin wadhahābu al-bashariyyati, faqad ghaliṭa wajahila ʿan waṣfi al-bashariyyati; li-anna al-taghyīra wa-al-talwīna min ṣifati al-bashariyyati.

Whoever imagines that annihilation is the departure of the self, the servant’s ceasing to undergo change and fluctuation at one time but not another, and the disappearance of human nature, has erred and misunderstood the nature of humanity; change and fluctuation are among human nature’s attributes.

فَإِذَا زَالَ عَنْهَا التَّغْيِيرُ وَالتَّلْوِينُ، فَقَدْ تَغَيَّرَ الْآنَ عَنْ صِفَتِهَا وَتَلَوَّنَ عَنْ مَعْنَاهَا؛ لِأَنَّهَا إِذَا لَمْ تَتَغَيَّرْ وَلَمْ تَتَلَوَّنْ، فَقَدْ تَغَيَّرَ وَتَلَوَّنَ عَنْ صِفَتِهَا. وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ.

fa-idhā zāla ʿanhā al-taghyīru wa-al-talwīnu, faqad taghayyara al-āna ʿan ṣifatihā watalawwana ʿan maʿnāhā; li-annahā idhā lam tataghayyar walam tatalawwan, faqad taghayyara watalawwana ʿan ṣifatihā. wa-Allāhu aʿlamu.

If change and fluctuation cease from human nature, the servant has now changed from its attribute and fluctuated away from its nature; for if human nature does not change and fluctuate, he has thereby changed and fluctuated away from its attribute. God knows best.

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بَابُ ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي الرُّؤْيَةِ بِالْقُلُوبِ. قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: بَلَغَنِي عَنْ جَمَاعَةٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ أَنَّهُمْ يَدَّعُونَ الرُّؤْيَةَ بِالْقُلُوبِ فِي دَارِ الدُّنْيَا كَالرُّؤْيَةِ بِالْعِيَانِ فِي دَارِ الْآخِرَةِ.

bābu dhikri man ghaliṭa fī al-ruʾyati bi-al-qulūbi. qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: balaghanī ʿan jamāʿatin min ahli al-shāmi annahum yaddaʿūna al-ruʾyata bi-al-qulūbi fī dāri al-dunyā ka-al-ruʾyati bi-al-ʿiyāni fī dāri al-ākhirati.

Chapter on Those Who Erred concerning Vision with the Heart. The shaykh—may God have mercy on him—said: I have heard of a group from Syria who claim that vision with the heart in this world is like direct ocular vision in the hereafter.

وَلَمْ أَرَ أَحَدًا مِنْهُمْ، وَلَا بَلَغَنِي عَنْ إِنْسَانٍ أَنَّهُ رَأَى مِنْهُمْ رَجُلًا لَهُ مَحْصُولٌ؛ وَلَكِنْ رَأَيْتُ لِأَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخَرَّازِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ كِتَابًا كَتَبَهُ إِلَى أَهْلِ دِمَشْقَ.

walam ara aḥadan minhum, walā balaghanī ʿan insānin annahu raʾā minhum rajulan lahu maḥṣūlun; walakin raʾaytu li-abī saʿīdin al-kharrāzi raḥimahu Allāhu kitāban katabahu ilā ahli dimashqa.

I have met none of them, nor have I heard from anyone that he met among them a man of genuine attainment. I did, however, see a letter that Abū Saʿīd al-Kharrāz—may God have mercy on him—wrote to the people of Damascus.

يَقُولُ فِيهِ: بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ بِنَاحِيَتِكُمْ جَمَاعَةً قَالُوا كَذَا وَكَذَا. وَذَكَرَ قَوْلًا قَرِيبًا مِنْ هَذَا الْقَوْلِ. وَيُشْبِهُ أَنَّ فِي زَمَانِهِ قَوْمًا غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ وَضَلُّوا وَتَاهُوا.

yaqūlu fīhi: balaghanī anna bināḥiyatikum jamāʿatan qālū kadhā wakadhā. wadhakara qawlan qarīban min hādhā al-qawli. wayushbihu anna fī zamānihi qawman ghaliṭū fī dhalika waḍallū watāhū.

In it he wrote, “I have heard that in your region there is a group who say such-and-such,” and he cited a doctrine close to this one. It appears that in his time some people fell into this error, strayed, and became lost.

وَالَّذِي قَالَ أَهْلُ الْحَقِّ وَالْإِصَابَةِ فِي هَذَا الْمَعْنَى، وَأَشَارُوا إِلَى رُؤْيَةِ الْقُلُوبِ، إِنَّمَا أَشَارُوا إِلَى التَّصْدِيقِ وَالْمُشَاهَدَةِ بِالْإِيمَانِ وَحَقِيقَةِ الْيَقِينِ، كَمَا رُوِيَ فِي حَدِيثِ حَارِثَةَ.

wa-alladhī qāla ahlu al-ḥaqqi wa-al-iṣābati fī hādhā al-maʿnā, wa-ashārū ilā ruʾyati al-qulūbi, innamā ashārū ilā al-taṣdīqi wa-al-mushāhadati bi-al-īmāni waḥaqīqati al-yaqīni, kamā ruwiya fī ḥadīthi ḥārithata.

When the people of truth and sound judgment spoke on this subject and referred to the hearts’ vision, they meant only affirmation and witnessing through faith and the reality of certainty, as related in the report of Ḥāritha.

حَيْثُ يَقُولُ: كَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى عَرْشِ رَبِّي بَارِزًا، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ بِطُولِهِ، حَتَّى قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: عَبْدٌ نَوَّرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَلْبَهُ، أَوْ كَمَا قَالَ، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الرِّوَايَةِ.

ḥaythu yaqūlu: ka-annī anẓuru ilā ʿarshi rabbī bārizan, kamā jāʾa fī al-ḥadīthi biṭūlihi, ḥattā qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: ʿabdun nawwara Allāhu taʿālā qalbahu, aw kamā qāla, kamā jāʾa fī al-riwāyati.

He says, “It is as though I behold the throne of my Lord standing manifest,” as the report relates at length, until the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—said, “A servant whose heart God Most High has illumined,” or words to that effect, as transmitted in the account.

وَالَّذِي تَاهَ وَتَوَسْوَسَ فِي هَذَا الْمَعْنَى قَوْمٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الصُّبَيْحِيِّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ، كَمَا بَلَغَنِي، وَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ جَمَاعَةً مِنْهُمْ. وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُمْ حَمَلُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ فِي الْمُجَاهَدَةِ وَالسَّهَرِ وَتَرْكِ الطَّعَامِ وَالشَّرَابِ وَالِانْفِرَادِ وَالْخَلْوَةِ وَكَثْرَةِ التَّوَكُّلِ.

wa-alladhī tāha watawaswasa fī hādhā al-maʿnā qawmun min aṣḥābi al-ṣubayḥiyyi min ahli al-baṣrati, kamā balaghanī, waqad raʾaytu jamāʿatan minhum. wadhalika annahum ḥamalū ʿalā anfusihim fī al-mujāhadati wa-al-sahari watarki al-ṭaʿāmi wa-al-sharābi wa-al-infirādi wa-al-khalwati wakathrati al-tawakkuli.

Those who became lost and deluded in this matter were, as I have heard, some of al-Ṣubayḥī’s companions from Basra; I have seen a number of them. They imposed upon themselves severe spiritual striving, sleeplessness, abstention from food and drink, isolation, retreat, and an excess of reliance on God.

وَصَحِبَهُمُ الْإِعْجَابُ مَعَ ذَلِكَ بِمَا هُمْ فِيهِ، فَاصْطَادَهُمْ إِبْلِيسُ لَعَنَهُ اللَّهُ، فَخَيَّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ كَأَنَّهُ عَلَى عَرْشٍ أَوْ سَرِيرٍ وَلَهُ أَنْوَارٌ تَتَشَعْشَعُ.

waṣaḥibahumu al-iʿjābu maʿa dhalika bimā hum fīhi, fa-iṣṭādahum iblīsu laʿanahu Allāhu, fakhayyala ilayhim ka-annahu ʿalā ʿarshin aw sarīrin walahu anwārun tatashaʿshaʿu.

Along with all this, they were accompanied by self-admiration for their condition. Iblīs—may God curse him—therefore ensnared them and made them imagine that He was upon a throne or couch amid shimmering lights.

فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَلْقَى إِلَى بَعْضِ الْأُسْتَاذِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْرِفُونَ مَكَايِدَ الْعَدُوِّ، فَعَرَّفُوهُمْ ذَلِكَ وَدَلُّوهُمْ وَرَدُّوهُمْ إِلَى الِاسْتِقَامَةِ. كَمَا حُكِيَ عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ أَنَّ بَعْضَ تَلَامِذَتِهِ قَالَ لَهُ يَوْمًا: يَا أُسْتَاذُ، أَنَا فِي كُلِّ لَيْلَةٍ أَرَى اللَّهَ بِعَيْنِ رَأْسِي.

faminhum man alqā ilā baʿḍi al-ustādhīna alladhīna yaʿrifūna makāyida al-ʿaduwwi, faʿarrafūhum dhalika wadallūhum waraddūhum ilā al-istiqāmati. kamā ḥukiya ʿan sahli bni ʿabdi Allāhi raḥimahu Allāhu anna baʿḍa talāmidhatihi qāla lahu yawman: yā ustādhu, anā fī kulli laylatin arā Allāha biʿayni raʾsī.

Some confided their experience to masters who knew the Enemy’s stratagems. The masters explained it to them, guided them, and restored them to the straight path. Thus it is related that one of Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh’s pupils once told him, “Master, every night I see God with my physical eye.”

فَعَلِمَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ كَيْدِ الْعَدُوِّ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا حَبِيبِي، إِذَا رَأَيْتَهُ اللَّيْلَةَ فَابْزُقْ عَلَيْهِ. قَالَ: فَلَمَّا رَآهُ مِنْ لَيْلَتِهِ بَزَقَ عَلَيْهِ. قَالَ: فَطَارَ عَرْشُهُ، وَأَظْلَمَتْ أَنْوَارُهُ، وَتَخَلَّصَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ ذَاكَ الرَّجُلُ، وَلَمْ يَرَ شَيْئًا بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ. وَمَنْ لَمْ يَقَعْ

faʿalima sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu anna dhalika min kaydi al-ʿaduwwi, faqāla lahu: yā ḥabībī, idhā raʾaytahu al-laylata fa-ubzuq ʿalayhi. qāla: falammā raʾāhu min laylatihi bazaqa ʿalayhi. qāla: faṭāra ʿarshuhu, wa-aẓlamat anwāruhu, watakhallaṣa min dhalika dhāka al-rajulu, walam yara shayʾan baʿda dhalika. waman lam yaqaʿ

Sahl—may God have mercy on him—recognized this as one of the Enemy’s tricks and said, “My dear, when you see it tonight, spit on it.” The man said that when he saw it that night, he spat on it. Its throne flew away, its lights went dark, and the man was delivered from the delusion; he never saw anything again. But anyone who does not turn

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إِلَى الْأُسْتَاذِينَ فَيُدْفَعَ ذَلِكَ، وَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْهَوَسِ، وَيَنْسَلِخُ عَنْ دِينِهِ بِالظُّنُونِ الْكَاذِبَةِ إِلَى آخِرِ عُمُرِهِ.

ilā al-ustādhīna fayudfaʿa dhālika, wayatakallamu bi-al-hawasi, wayansalikhu ʿan dīnihi bi-al-ẓunūni al-kādhibati ilā ākhiri ʿumurihi.

to the masters so that this may be dispelled will rave and slip out of his religion through false notions until the end of his life.

وَبَلَغَنِي أَيْضًا أَنَّ جَمَاعَةً هَرَبُوا مِنْ عَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ، حَيْثُ كَانَ يَأْمُرُهُمْ بِالْمُجَاهَدَةِ وَالْعِبَادَةِ وَأَكْلِ الْحَلَالِ وَالزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا.

wabalaghanī ayḍan anna jamāʿatan harabū min ʿabdi al-wāḥidi bni zaydin, ḥaythu kāna yaʾmuruhum bi-al-mujāhadati wa-al-ʿibādati wa-akli al-ḥalāli wa-al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā.

I was also told that a group fled from ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd because he used to command them to strive against the self, worship, eat what is lawful, and renounce this world.

وَبَلَغَنِي أَنَّ عَبْدَ الْوَاحِدِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ رَأَى وَاحِدًا مِنْهُمْ بَعْدَ مُدَّةٍ، فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ خَبَرِهِ وَخَبَرِ أَصْحَابِهِ.

wabalaghanī anna ʿabda al-wāḥidi raḥimahu Allāhu raʾā wāḥidan minhum baʿda muddatin, fasaʾalahu ʿan khabarihi wakhabari aṣḥābihi.

I was told that, after some time, ʿAbd al-Wāḥid, may God have mercy on him, saw one of them and asked how he and his companions had fared.

فَقَالَ: يَا أُسْتَاذُ، نَحْنُ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ نَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ وَنَأْكُلُ مِنْ ثِمَارِهَا.

faqāla: yā ustādhu, naḥnu kulla laylatin nadkhulu al-jannata wanaʾkulu min thimārihā.

He said, “Master, every night we enter Paradise and eat its fruits.”

قَالَ: فَقَالَ لَهُ: خُذُونِي اللَّيْلَةَ مَعَكُمْ.

qāla: faqāla lahu: khudhūnī al-laylata maʿakum.

He related: ʿAbd al-Wāḥid told him, “Take me with you tonight.”

قَالَ: فَأَخْرَجُوهُ مَعَهُمْ إِلَى الصَّحْرَاءِ، فَلَمَّا جَنَّهُمُ اللَّيْلُ فَإِذَا بِقَوْمٍ عَلَيْهِمْ ثِيَابٌ خُضْرٌ، وَإِذَا بَسَاتِينُ وَفَوَاكِهُ.

qāla: fa-akhrajūhu maʿahum ilā al-ṣaḥrāʾi, falammā jannahumu al-laylu fa-idhā biqawmin ʿalayhim thiyābun khuḍrun, wa-idhā basātīnu wafawākihu.

He related: they took him out with them into the open country. When night enveloped them, there suddenly appeared people in green garments, along with gardens and fruit.

قَالَ: فَنَظَرَ عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ إِلَى أَرْجُلِ هَؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ عَلَيْهِمُ الثِّيَابُ الْخُضْرُ، فَإِذَا هُوَ مِثْلُ حَوَافِرِ الدَّوَابِّ، فَعَلِمَ أَنَّهُمْ شَيَاطِينُ.

qāla: fanaẓara ʿabdu al-wāḥidi ilā arjuli hāʾulāʾi alladhīna ʿalayhimu al-thiyābu al-khuḍru, fa-idhā huwa mithlu ḥawāfiri al-dawābbi, faʿalima annahum shayāṭīnu.

He related: ʿAbd al-Wāḥid looked at the feet of those in green garments, and they were like the hooves of beasts. He knew then that they were devils.

فَلَمَّا أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَتَفَرَّقُوا قَالَ لَهُمْ: إِلَى أَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ؟ أَلَيْسَ إِدْرِيسُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمَّا دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ لَمْ يَخْرُجْ مِنْهَا؟

falammā arādū an yatafarraqū qāla lahum: ilā ayna tadhhabūna? a-laysa idrīsu al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama lammā dakhala al-jannata lam yakhruj minhā?

When they were about to disperse, he asked them, “Where are you going? When the prophet Idrīs—may God bless him and grant him peace—entered Paradise, did he not remain there?”

قَالَ: فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحُوا فَإِذَا هُمْ عَلَى مَزَابِلَ بَيْنَ رَوْثِ الدَّوَابِّ وَبَعْرِ الْحِمَارِ، فَتَابُوا وَرَجَعُوا إِلَى صُحْبَةِ عَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ.

qāla: falammā aṣbaḥū fa-idhā hum ʿalā mazābila bayna rawthi al-dawābbi wabaʿri al-ḥimāri, fatābū warajaʿū ilā ṣuḥbati ʿabdi al-wāḥidi bni zaydin raḥimahu Allāhu.

He related: when morning came, they found themselves on rubbish heaps amid the dung of beasts and the droppings of a donkey. They repented and returned to the companionship of ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd, may God have mercy on him.

وَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَعْلَمَ الْعَبْدُ أَنَّ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَأَتْهُ الْعُيُونُ فِي دَارِ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الْأَنْوَارِ، أَنَّ ذَلِكَ مَخْلُوقٌ.

wayanbaghī an yaʿlama al-ʿabdu anna kulla shayʾin raʾathu al-ʿuyūnu fī dāri al-dunyā mina al-anwāri, anna dhālika makhlūqun.

The servant should know that every light the eyes see in this world is created.

لَيْسَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى شَبَهٌ، وَلَيْسَ ذَلِكَ صِفَةً مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ، بَلْ جَمِيعُ ذَلِكَ خَلْقٌ مَخْلُوقٌ.

laysa baynahu wabayna Allāhi taʿālā shabahun, walaysa dhālika ṣifatan min ṣifātihi, bal jamīʿu dhālika khalqun makhlūqun.

It bears no likeness to God Most High and is not one of His attributes. Rather, all of it is created creation.

وَرُؤْيَةُ الْقُلُوبِ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْإِيمَانِ وَحَقِيقَةِ الْيَقِينِ وَالتَّصْدِيقِ حَقٌّ، لِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: اُعْبُدِ اللَّهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ؛ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاهُ فَإِنَّهُ يَرَاكَ.

waruʾyatu al-qulūbi bimushāhadati al-īmāni waḥaqīqati al-yaqīni wa-al-taṣdīqi ḥaqqun, liqawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: uʿbudi Allāha ka-annaka tarāhu; fa-in lam takun tarāhu fa-innahu yarāka.

But the hearts’ vision, through the witnessing of faith and the reality of certainty and affirmation, is true. The Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—said: “Worship God as though you saw Him; for if you do not see Him, He sees you.”

وَالَّذِي قَالَ مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ: لَوْ كُشِفَ الْغِطَاءُ مَا ازْدَدْتُ يَقِينًا، أَشَارَ إِلَى حَقِيقَةِ يَقِينِهِ وَصَفَاءِ وَقْتِهِ، وَتَكَلَّمَ بِذَلِكَ مِنْ غَلَبَاتِ وَجْدِهِ.

wa-alladhī qāla mina al-tābiʿīna: law kushifa al-ghiṭāʾu mā izdadtu yaqīnan, ashāra ilā ḥaqīqati yaqīnihi waṣafāʾi waqtihi, watakallama bidhālika min ghalabāti wajdihi.

The Successor who said, “Were the veil removed, I would gain no greater certainty,” was pointing to the reality of his certainty and the purity of his moment; he spoke from the overpowering force of his ecstasy.

وَلَيْسَ الْخَبَرُ كَالْمُعَايَنَةِ فِي جَمِيعِ الْمَعَانِي فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ.

walaysa al-khabaru ka-al-muʿāyanati fī jamīʿi al-maʿānī fī al-dunyā wa-al-ākhirati.

Yet, in every respect, report is not like direct seeing, whether in this world or the next.

وَقَدْ قِيلَ فِي قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَى﴾، يَعْنِي: لَمْ تُكَذِّبْ عَيْنُهُ مَا رَآهُ بِقَلْبِهِ، وَلَمْ يُكَذِّبْ فُؤَادُهُ مَا رَآهُ بِعَيْنِهِ.

waqad qīla fī qawli Allāhi taʿālā: ﴿mā kadhaba al-fuʾādu mā raʾā﴾, yaʿnī: lam tukadhdhib ʿaynuhu mā raʾāhu biqalbihi, walam yukadhdhib fuʾāduhu mā raʾāhu biʿaynihi.

Concerning God Most High’s words, “The heart did not deny what it saw,” it has been said: his eye did not deny what he saw with his heart, and his heart did not deny what he saw with his eye.

وَهَذَا خُصُوصٌ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، لَيْسَ لِأَحَدٍ غَيْرِهِ.

wahādhā khuṣūṣun li-al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, laysa li-aḥadin ghayrihi.

This was a distinction belonging to the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—and to no one else.

بَابُ ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي الصَّفَاءِ وَالطَّهَارَةِ.

bābu dhikri man ghaliṭa fī al-ṣafāʾi wa-al-ṭahārati.

Chapter: Those Who Erred about Purity and Purification

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: وَطَائِفَةٌ ادَّعَتِ الصَّفَاءَ وَالطَّهَارَةَ عَلَى الْكَمَالِ وَالدَّوَامِ.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: waṭāʾifatun iddaʿati al-ṣafāʾa wa-al-ṭahārata ʿalā al-kamāli wa-al-dawāmi.

The shaykh, may God have mercy on him, said: One group claimed perfect and lasting purity and purification.

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وَأَنَّ ذَلِكَ لَا يَزُولُ عَنْهُمْ، وَزَعَمُوا أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ يَصْفُو مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْكُدُورَاتِ وَالْعِلَلِ بِمَعْنَى الْبَيْنُونَةِ مِنْهَا.

wa-anna dhālika lā yazūlu ʿanhum, wazaʿamū anna al-ʿabda yaṣfū min jamīʿi al-kudūrāti wa-al-ʿilali bimaʿnā al-baynūnati minhā.

They held that this condition never leaves them, and claimed that the servant becomes pure of every turbidity and defect in the sense of being wholly separated from them.

وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ؛ لِأَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَا يَصْفُو عَلَى الدَّوَامِ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْعِلَلِ، وَإِنْ وَقَعَتْ لَهُ الطَّهَارَةُ وَقْتًا فَلَا يَخْلُو مِنَ الْعِلَلِ.

waqad ghaliṭū fī dhālika; li-anna al-ʿabda lā yaṣfū ʿalā al-dawāmi min jamīʿi al-ʿilali, wa-in waqaʿat lahu al-ṭahāratu waqtan falā yakhlū mina al-ʿilali.

They are mistaken. A servant is not permanently pure of every defect; even if purification comes to him for a time, he is never entirely free of defects.

وَإِنَّمَا تَصْفُو لَهُ وَقْتًا دُونَ وَقْتٍ عَلَى مِقْدَارِ أَمَاكِنِهِمْ، فَيَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ بِنَعْتِ الصَّفَاءِ، ثُمَّ يَبْقَى عَلَيْهِ الذِّكْرُ مَعَ جَرَيَانِ أَذْكَارِ الْأَشْيَاءِ عَلَيْهِ.

wa-innamā taṣfū lahu waqtan dūna waqtin ʿalā miqdāri amākinihim, fayadhkuru Allāha binaʿti al-ṣafāʾi, thumma yabqā ʿalayhi al-dhikru maʿa jarayāni adhkāri al-ashyāʾi ʿalayhi.

It becomes pure for him at one time but not another, according to the measure of their stations. He remembers God in a state of purity; then remembrance remains with him even as recollections of things pass over him.

وَالطَّهَارَةُ تَكُونُ لِقَلْبِ الْعَبْدِ مِنَ الْغِلِّ وَالْحَسَدِ وَالشِّرْكِ وَالتُّهَمِ.

wa-al-ṭahāratu takūnu liqalbi al-ʿabdi mina al-ghilli wa-al-ḥasadi wa-al-shirki wa-al-tuhami.

Purification of the servant’s heart is purification from rancor, envy, associating partners with God, and suspicion.

فَأَمَّا الصَّفَاءُ الَّذِي لَا يَحْتَمِلُ الْعِلَّةَ، وَالطَّهَارَةُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ أَوْصَافِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ عَلَى الدَّوَامِ بِلَا تَلْوِينٍ وَلَا تَغْيِيرٍ، لَيْسَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ صِفَاتِ الْخَلْقِ.

fa-ammā al-ṣafāʾu alladhī lā yaḥtamilu al-ʿillata, wa-al-ṭahāratu min jamīʿi awṣāfi al-bashariyyati ʿalā al-dawāmi bilā talwīnin walā taghyīrin, laysa dhālika min ṣifāti al-khalqi.

As for purity that admits no defect, and permanent purification from every human attribute without fluctuation or change, that does not belong to created beings.

لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى هُوَ الَّذِي لَا تَلْحَقُهُ الْعِلَلُ، وَلَا تَقَعُ عَلَيْهِ الْأَغْيَارُ، وَالْخَلْقُ مُرَادٌ بِالِابْتِلَاءِ؛ أَنَّى يَخْلُونَ مِنَ الْعِلَلِ وَالْأَغْيَارِ؟

li-anna Allāha taʿālā huwa alladhī lā talḥaquhu al-ʿilalu, walā taqaʿu ʿalayhi al-aghyāru, wa-al-khalqu murādun bi-al-ibtilāʾi; annā yakhlūna mina al-ʿilali wa-al-aghyāri?

God Most High alone is untouched by defects and unaffected by changing circumstances. Created beings are destined for trial; how could they be free of defects and changes?

وَحُكْمُ الْعَبْدِ، إِذَا كَانَ ذَلِكَ كَذَلِكَ، أَنْ يَتُوبَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَيَسْتَغْفِرَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ.

waḥukmu al-ʿabdi, idhā kāna dhālika kadhālika, an yatūba ilā Allāhi taʿālā wayastaghfira Allāha taʿālā fī kulli waqtin.

Since that is so, the servant’s duty is to repent to God Most High and ask His forgiveness at every moment.

لِقَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴾.

liqawli Allāhi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿watūbū ilā Allāhi jamīʿan ayyuhā al-muʾminūna laʿallakum tufliḥūna﴾.

For God, mighty and majestic, says: “Turn to God in repentance, all of you, O believers, so that you may prosper.”

كَمَا رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ [قَالَ]: لَيُغَانُ عَلَى قَلْبِي، فَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي الْيَوْمِ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ.

kamā ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama annahu [qāla]: layughānu ʿalā qalbī, fa-astaghfiru Allāha fī al-yawmi miʾata marratin.

Likewise, it is related that the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—[said], “A veil comes over my heart, and I ask God’s forgiveness a hundred times each day.”

بَابُ ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي الْأَنْوَارِ.

bābu dhikri man ghaliṭa fī al-anwāri.

Chapter: Those Who Erred about Lights

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: وَطَائِفَةٌ غَلِطَتْ فِي الْأَنْوَارِ، وَزَعَمَتْ أَنَّهَا تَرَى أَنْوَارًا، وَ[بَعْضُهُمْ] يَصِفُ قَلْبَهُ بِأَنَّ فِيهِ أَنْوَارًا.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: waṭāʾifatun ghaliṭat fī al-anwāri, wazaʿamat annahā tarā anwāran, wa-[baʿḍuhum] yaṣifu qalbahu bi-anna fīhi anwāran.

The shaykh, may God have mercy on him, said: One group erred about lights, claiming that they saw lights; [one of them] describes his heart as containing lights.

وَيَظُنُّ [أَنَّ] ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْأَنْوَارِ الَّتِي وَصَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهَا نَفْسَهُ.

wayaẓunnu [anna] dhālika mina al-anwāri allatī waṣafa Allāhu taʿālā bihā nafsahu.

Such a person imagines [that] these are among the lights by which God Most High has described Himself.

وَهَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةُ تَصِفُ ذَلِكَ النُّورَ بِصِفَةِ أَنْوَارِ الشَّمْسِ وَالْقَمَرِ، وَتَزْعُمُ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ أَنْوَارِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالتَّوْحِيدِ وَالْعَظَمَةِ، وَتَزْعُمُ أَنَّهَا لَيْسَتْ بِمَخْلُوقَةٍ.

wahādhihi al-ṭāʾifatu taṣifu dhālika al-nūra biṣifati anwāri al-shamsi wa-al-qamari, watazʿumu anna dhālika min anwāri al-maʿrifati wa-al-tawḥīdi wa-al-ʿaẓamati, watazʿumu annahā laysat bimakhlūqatin.

This group describes that light as resembling the lights of the sun and moon. They claim it is one of the lights of gnosis, divine unity, and majesty, and that these lights are uncreated.

وَقَدْ غَلِطَ هَؤُلَاءِ فِي ذَلِكَ غَلَطًا عَظِيمًا؛ لِأَنَّ الْأَنْوَارَ كُلَّهَا مَخْلُوقَةٌ: نُورُ الْعَرْشِ، وَنُورُ الْكُرْسِيِّ، وَنُورُ الشَّمْسِ وَالْقَمَرِ وَالْكَوَاكِبِ.

waqad ghaliṭa hāʾulāʾi fī dhālika ghalaṭan ʿaẓīman; li-anna al-anwāra kullahā makhlūqatun: nūru al-ʿarshi, wanūru al-kursiyyi, wanūru al-shamsi wa-al-qamari wa-al-kawākibi.

They have fallen into grave error, for all lights are created: the light of the Throne, the light of the Footstool, and the light of the sun, moon, and stars.

وَلَيْسَ لِلَّهِ نُورٌ مَوْصُوفٌ مَحْدُودٌ؛ وَالَّذِي وَصَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ نَفْسَهُ فَلَيْسَ ذَلِكَ بِمُدْرَكٍ وَلَا مَحْدُودٍ، وَلَا يُحِيطُ بِهِ عِلْمُ الْخَلْقِ.

walaysa li-Allāhi nūrun mawṣūfun maḥdūdun; wa-alladhī waṣafa Allāhu taʿālā bihi nafsahu falaysa dhālika bimudrakin walā maḥdūdin, walā yuḥīṭu bihi ʿilmu al-khalqi.

God does not possess a light that can be described or delimited. The light by which God Most High has described Himself cannot be apprehended or bounded, nor can the knowledge of created beings encompass it.

وَكُلُّ نُورٍ تُحِيطُ بِهِ الْعُلُومُ وَالْفُهُومُ فَهُوَ مَخْلُوقٌ، وَأَنْوَارُ…

wakullu nūrin tuḥīṭu bihi al-ʿulūmu wa-al-fuhūmu fahuwa makhlūqun, wa-anwāru…

Every light that the sciences and understandings can encompass is created. And the lights…

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اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كُلُّهَا هِدَايَاتُ الْخَلْقِ، وَأَنْوَارُ الْمَصْنُوعَاتِ دَلَائِلُ وَعِبْرَةٌ، لِيَسْتَدِلُّوا بِهَا عَلَى مَعْرِفَةِ التَّوْحِيدِ، يُهْتَدَى بِهَا فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ.

Allāhi taʿālā kulluhā hidāyātu al-khalqi, wa-anwāru al-maṣnūʿāti dalāʾilu waʿibratun, liyastadillū bihā ʿalā maʿrifati al-tawḥīdi, yuhtadā bihā fī ẓulumāti al-barri wa-al-baḥri.

…of God Most High are all forms of guidance for creation. The lights of created things are signs and a lesson through which people may infer knowledge of divine unity and find their way amid the darknesses of land and sea.

وَمَعْنَى أَنْوَارِ الْقُلُوبِ مَعْرِفَةُ الْفُرْقَانِ وَالْبَيَانِ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

wamaʿnā anwāri al-qulūbi maʿrifatu al-furqāni wa-al-bayāni mina Allāhi ʿazza wajalla.

The meaning of the hearts’ lights is knowing the discernment and clarification that come from God, mighty and majestic.

وَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ تَتَّقُوا اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ فُرْقَانًا﴾.

wadhālika qawluhu: ﴿yā ayyuhā alladhīna āmanū in tattaqū Allāha yajʿal lakum furqānan﴾.

That is expressed in His words: “O you who believe, if you remain mindful of God, He will grant you a criterion.”

قَالُوا فِي التَّفْسِيرِ: نُورًا يُوضَعُ فِي الْقَلْبِ حَتَّى يُفَرِّقَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الْحَقِّ وَالْبَاطِلِ.

qālū fī al-tafsīri: nūran yūḍaʿu fī al-qalbi ḥattā yufarriqa bihi bayna al-ḥaqqi wa-al-bāṭili.

The exegetes said: it is a light placed in the heart, by which one distinguishes truth from falsehood.

هَذَا مَعْرِفَةُ الْأَنْوَارِ كَمَا ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي الْوَقْتِ.

hādhā maʿrifatu al-anwāri kamā dhakartuhu fī al-waqti.

This is the knowledge of lights, as I explained in the discussion of the moment.

بَابُ ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي عَيْنِ الْجَمْعِ.

bābu dhikri man ghaliṭa fī ʿayni al-jamʿi.

Chapter: Those Who Erred about the Eye of Unification

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: وَجَمَاعَةٌ غَلِطُوا فِي عَيْنِ الْجَمْعِ، فَلَمْ يُضِيفُوا إِلَى الْخَلْقِ مَا أَضَافَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِمْ، وَلَمْ يَصِفُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ بِالْحَرَكَةِ فِيمَا تَحَرَّكُوا فِيهِ.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: wajamāʿatun ghaliṭū fī ʿayni al-jamʿi, falam yuḍīfū ilā al-khalqi mā aḍāfa Allāhu taʿālā ilayhim, walam yaṣifū anfusahum bi-al-ḥarakati fīmā taḥarrakū fīhi.

The shaykh, may God have mercy on him, said: A group erred about the eye of unification. They would not ascribe to created beings what God Most High had ascribed to them, nor describe themselves as moving in those actions in which they moved.

وَظَنُّوا أَنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْهُمُ احْتِرَازًا حَتَّى لَا يَكُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ شَيْءٌ سِوَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

waẓannū anna dhālika minhumu iḥtirāzan ḥattā lā yakūna maʿa Allāhi shayʾun siwā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla.

They imagined that this was a precaution on their part, lest anything exist alongside God other than God, mighty and majestic.

فَأَدَّاهُمْ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْخُرُوجِ مِنَ الْمِلَّةِ وَتَرْكِ حُدُودِ الشَّرِيعَةِ، لِقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّهُمْ مُجْبَرُونَ عَلَى حَرَكَاتِهِمْ، حَتَّى أَسْقَطُوا اللَّائِمَةَ عَنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ عِنْدَ مُجَاوَزَةِ الْحُدُودِ وَمُخَالَفَةِ الِاتِّبَاعِ.

fa-addāhum dhālika ilā al-khurūji mina al-millati watarki ḥudūdi al-sharīʿati, liqawlihim innahum mujbarūna ʿalā ḥarakātihim, ḥattā asqaṭū al-lāʾimata ʿan anfusihim ʿinda mujāwazati al-ḥudūdi wamukhālafati al-ittibāʿi.

This led them to leave the religious community and abandon the bounds of the revealed law. By claiming that they were compelled in their movements, they absolved themselves of blame whenever they overstepped those bounds and departed from proper following.

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَخْرَجَهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْجَسَارَةِ عَلَى التَّعَدِّي وَالْبَطَالَةِ، وَطَمَّعَتْهُ نَفْسُهُ عَلَى أَنَّهُ مَعْذُورٌ فِيمَا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ مَجْبُورٌ.

waminhum man akhrajahu dhālika ilā al-jasārati ʿalā al-taʿaddī wa-al-baṭālati, waṭammaʿathu nafsuhu ʿalā annahu maʿdhūrun fīmā huwa ʿalayhi majbūrun.

For some, this gave rise to the audacity to transgress and live in idleness; the lower self tempted them to believe that they were excused for whatever they were compelled to do.

وَإِنَّمَا غَلِطَ هَؤُلَاءِ لِقِلَّةِ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ بِالْأُصُولِ وَالْفُرُوعِ، فَلَمْ يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ الْأَصْلِ وَالْفَرْعِ، وَلَمْ يَعْرِفُوا الْجَمْعَ وَالتَّفْرِقَةَ.

wa-innamā ghaliṭa hāʾulāʾi liqillati maʿrifatihim bi-al-uṣūli wa-al-furūʿi, falam yufarriqū bayna al-aṣli wa-al-farʿi, walam yaʿrifū al-jamʿa wa-al-tafriqata.

They erred only because they knew too little of roots and branches. They could not distinguish root from branch, nor recognize unification and differentiation.

فَأَضَافُوا إِلَى الْأَصْلِ مَا هُوَ مُضَافٌ إِلَى الْفَرْعِ، وَأَضَافُوا إِلَى الْجَمْعِ مَا هُوَ مُضَافٌ إِلَى التَّفْرِقَةِ، فَلَمْ يُحْسِنُوا وَضْعَ الْأَشْيَاءِ فِي مَوَاضِعِهَا فَهَلَكُوا.

fa-aḍāfū ilā al-aṣli mā huwa muḍāfun ilā al-farʿi, wa-aḍāfū ilā al-jamʿi mā huwa muḍāfun ilā al-tafriqati, falam yuḥsinū waḍʿa al-ashyāʾi fī mawāḍiʿihā fahalakū.

They assigned to the root what properly belongs to the branch and to unification what properly belongs to differentiation. Failing to put things in their proper places, they perished.

وَقَدْ سُئِلَ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ، كَمَا بَلَغَنِي، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: مَا تَقُولُ فِي رَجُلٍ يَقُولُ: أَنَا مِثْلُ الْبَابِ، لَا أَتَحَرَّكُ إِلَّا أَنْ يُحَرِّكُونِي؟

waqad suʾila sahlu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi raḥimahu Allāhu ʿan dhālika, kamā balaghanī, faqīla lahu: mā taqūlu fī rajulin yaqūlu: anā mithlu al-bābi, lā ataḥarraku illā an yuḥarrikūnī?

As I was told, Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh, may God have mercy on him, was asked about this: “What do you say of a man who says, ‘I am like a door: I move only when others move me’?”

فَقَالَ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ: هَذَا لَا يَقُولُهُ إِلَّا أَحَدُ رَجُلَيْنِ: إِمَّا رَجُلٌ صِدِّيقٌ، أَوْ رَجُلٌ زِنْدِيقٌ.

faqāla sahlu bnu ʿabdi Allāhi: hādhā lā yaqūluhu illā aḥadu rajulayni: immā rajulun ṣiddīqin, aw rajulun zindīqun.

Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh replied, “Only one of two men would say this: either a profoundly truthful man or a heretic.”

وَالْمَعْنَى فِيمَا قَالَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: الصِّدِّيقُ يَرَى قِوَامَ الْأَشْيَاءِ بِاللَّهِ، وَيَرَى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَيَرْجِعُ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، مَعَ مَعْرِفَةِ مَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الْأُصُولِ…

wa-al-maʿnā fīmā qāla sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu: al-ṣiddīqu yarā qiwāma al-ashyāʾi bi-Allāhi, wayarā kulla shayʾin mina Allāhi taʿālā, wayarjiʿu fī kulli shayʾin ilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla, maʿa maʿrifati mā yaḥtāju ilayhi mina al-uṣūli…

The meaning of Sahl’s words, may God have mercy on him, is this: the profoundly truthful man sees that all things subsist through God, sees everything as coming from God Most High, and refers everything back to God, mighty and majestic, while knowing the fundamentals he needs…

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وَالْفُرُوعِ وَالْحُقُوقِ وَالْحُظُوظِ [وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ بَيْنَ الْحَقِّ وَالْبَاطِلِ]، وَمُتَابَعَةِ الْأَمْرِ وَالنَّهْيِ، وَحُسْنِ الطَّاعَاتِ، وَالْقِيَامِ بِشَرْطِ الْأَدَبِ، وَسُلُوكِ الْمَنْهَجِ عَلَى حَدِّ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ.

wa-al-furūʿi wa-al-ḥuqūqi wa-al-ḥuẓūẓi [wa-al-maʿrifati bayna al-ḥaqqi wa-al-bāṭili], wamutābaʿati al-amri wa-al-nahyi, waḥusni al-ṭāʿāti, wa-al-qiyāmi bisharṭi al-adabi, wasulūki al-manhaji ʿalā ḥaddi al-istiqāmati.

…and branches, duties and allotted shares, [the distinction between truth and falsehood], obedience to command and prohibition, the proper performance of acts of obedience, observance of the requirements of courtesy, and travel along the path within the bounds of rectitude.

وَأَمَّا مَعْنَى قَوْلِ الزِّنْدِيقِ بِهَذِهِ الْمَقَالَةِ، فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ ذَلِكَ حَتَّى لَا يَزْجُرَهُ شَيْءٌ مِنْ رُكُوبِ الْمَعَاصِي.

wa-ammā maʿnā qawli al-zindīqi bihādhihi al-maqālati, fa-innamā yaqūlu dhālika ḥattā lā yazjurahu shayʾun min rukūbi al-maʿāṣī.

The heretic, however, means by this assertion only to ensure that nothing restrains him from committing acts of disobedience.

إِنَّهُ أَدَّاهُ جَهْلُهُ إِلَى الْجَسَارَةِ وَالِاعْتِدَاءِ بِإِضَافَةِ أَفْعَالِهِ وَجَمِيعِ حَرَكَاتِهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، حَتَّى أَزَالَ اللَّائِمَةَ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ فِي رُكُوبِ الْمَآثِمِ، بِغَوَايَةِ الشَّيْطَانِ وَتَسْوِيلِهِ وَتَأْوِيلِ الْبَاطِلِ.

innahu addāhu jahluhu ilā al-jasārati wa-al-iʿtidāʾi bi-iḍāfati afʿālihi wajamīʿi ḥarakātihi ilā Allāhi taʿālā, ḥattā azāla al-lāʾimata ʿan nafsihi fī rukūbi al-maʾāthimi, bighawāyati al-shayṭāni wataswīlihi wataʾwīli al-bāṭili.

His ignorance has led him to the audacity and transgression of ascribing all his acts and movements to God Most High, until he removes all blame from himself for committing sins, seduced and beguiled by Satan and by false interpretation.

أَعَاذَنَا اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ.

aʿādhanā Allāhu wa-iyyākum min dhālika.

May God protect us and you from that.

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي الْأُنْسِ وَالْبَسْطِ وَ[تَرَكَ] الْخَشْيَةَ.

bābun fī dhikri man ghaliṭa fī al-unsi wa-al-basṭi wa-[taraka] al-khashyata.

Chapter: Those Who Erred about Intimacy and Expansiveness and [Abandoned] Fear

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: وَطَبَقَةٌ أَشَارُوا إِلَى الْقُرْبِ وَالْأُنْسِ، وَتَوَهَّمُوا أَنَّ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ حَالًا مِنَ الْقُرْبِ وَالدُّنُوِّ.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: waṭabaqatun ashārū ilā al-qurbi wa-al-unsi, watawahhamū anna baynahum wabayna Allāhi ʿazza wajalla ḥālan mina al-qurbi wa-al-dunuwwi.

The shaykh, may God have mercy on him, said: One class of people spoke of proximity and intimacy, imagining that a state of closeness and nearness existed between them and God, mighty and majestic.

فَأَحْشَمَهُمْ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ التَّوَهُّمِ الرُّجُوعُ وَالِالْتِفَاتُ إِلَى الْآدَابِ الَّتِي كَانُوا يُرَاعُونَهَا، وَالْحُدُودِ الَّتِي كَانُوا يَحْفَظُونَهَا قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ.

fa-aḥshamahum ʿinda dhālika al-tawahhumi al-rujūʿu wa-al-iltifātu ilā al-ādābi allatī kānū yurāʿūnahā, wa-al-ḥudūdi allatī kānū yaḥfaẓūnahā qabla dhālika.

Once they entertained this notion, they felt too self-conscious to return or give heed to the courtesies they had observed and the bounds they had guarded before.

فَانْبَسَطُوا إِلَى مَا كَانُوا مُحْتَشِمِينَ، وَأَنِسُوا بِأَشْيَاءَ كَانُوا عَنْهَا مُسْتَوْحِشِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِ ذَلِكَ، وَتَوَهَّمُوا أَنَّ ذَلِكَ قُرْبُهُمْ وَدُنُوُّهُمْ.

fa-inbasaṭū ilā mā kānū muḥtashimīna, wa-anisū bi-ashyāʾa kānū ʿanhā mustawḥishīna min qabli dhālika, watawahhamū anna dhālika qurbuhum wadunuwwuhum.

They became uninhibited toward things about which they had once been reserved, and grew familiar with things they had previously shunned. They imagined this to be their closeness and nearness.

وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ [وَهَلَكُوا]؛ لِأَنَّ الْآدَابَ وَالْأَحْوَالَ وَالْمَقَامَاتِ خِلَعٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى عِبَادِهِ، وَكَرَامَةٌ لَهُمْ، وَهُمْ مُسْتَوْجِبُونَ الزِّيَادَةَ إِذَا صَدَقُوا فِي قُصُودِهِمْ.

waqad ghaliṭū fī dhālika [wahalakū]; li-anna al-ādāba wa-al-aḥwāla wa-al-maqāmāti khilaʿun mina Allāhi taʿālā ʿalā ʿibādihi, wakarāmatun lahum, wahum mustawjibūna al-ziyādata idhā ṣadaqū fī quṣūdihim.

They erred in this [and perished], for courtesies, states, and stations are robes of honor bestowed by God Most High upon His servants, and a mark of His favor toward them. When their aims are sincere, they merit an increase.

فَمَتَى مَا تَرَكَهُمْ وَخَلَّاهُمْ عَنْ تَوْفِيقِهِ وَعِنَايَتِهِ بِهِمْ، حَتَّى جَاوَزُوا الْحُدُودَ وَخَالَفُوا مَا أُمِرُوا بِهِ، قَدْ نَكَصُوا عَلَى أَعْقَابِهِمْ.

famatā mā tarakahum wakhallāhum ʿan tawfīqihi waʿināyatihi bihim, ḥattā jāwazū al-ḥudūda wakhālafū mā umirū bihi, qad nakaṣū ʿalā aʿqābihim.

But whenever He leaves them and withdraws His enabling grace and care, so that they cross the bounds and disobey what they were commanded, they have turned back on their heels.

وَسُلِبُوا الْخِلَعَ الَّتِي أُكْرِمُوا بِهَا مِنَ الطَّاعَاتِ، وَقَدْ طُرِدُوا مِنَ الْبَابِ، وَصَارَتْ سِمَتُهُمْ سِمَةَ الْمَطْرُودِينَ، وَهُمْ عِنْدَهُمْ أَنَّهُمْ مِنَ الْمَقْبُولِينَ.

wasulibū al-khilaʿa allatī ukrimū bihā mina al-ṭāʿāti, waqad ṭuridū mina al-bābi, waṣārat simatuhum simata al-maṭrūdīna, wahum ʿindahum annahum mina al-maqbūlīna.

They have been stripped of the robes of obedient deeds with which they were honored and driven from the door. Their mark has become that of the banished, though in their own estimation they are among the accepted.

وَكُلَّمَا تَوَهَّمُوا أَنَّ الَّذِي هُمْ عَلَيْهِ قُرْبٌ وَدُنُوٌّ، ازْدَادُوا بِذَلِكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ سُحْقًا وَبُعْدًا.

wakullamā tawahhamū anna alladhī hum ʿalayhi qurbun wadunuwwun, izdādū bidhālika mina Allāhi suḥqan wabuʿdan.

The more they imagine their condition to be closeness and nearness, the more it increases their remoteness and distance from God.

وَهَذَا كَمَا حُكِيَ [عَنْ] ذِي النُّونِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: يَنْبَغِي لِلْعَارِفِ أَنْ لَا يُطْفِئَ نُورُ مَعْرِفَتِهِ نُورَ وَرَعِهِ، وَلَا يَعْتَقِدَ بَاطِنًا…

wahādhā kamā ḥukiya [ʿan] dhī al-nūni raḥimahu Allāhu annahu qāla: yanbaghī li-al-ʿārifi an lā yuṭfiʾa nūru maʿrifatihi nūra waraʿihi, walā yaʿtaqida bāṭinan…

This accords with what is related [from] Dhū al-Nūn, may God have mercy on him: “The gnostic must not allow the light of his knowledge to extinguish the light of his scrupulousness, nor inwardly profess any knowledge…

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مِنَ الْعِلْمِ يَنْقُضُ عَلَيْهِ ظَاهِرٌ مِنَ الْحُكْمِ، وَلَا تَحْمِلُهُ كَثْرَةُ الْكَرَامَةِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى هَتْكِ أَسْتَارِ مَحَارِمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.

mina al-ʿilmi yanquḍu ʿalayhi ẓāhirun mina al-ḥukmi, walā taḥmiluhu kathratu al-karāmati mina Allāhi taʿālā ʿalā hatki astāri maḥārimi Allāhi taʿālā.

…that an outward legal ruling contradicts; nor should the abundance of God Most High’s favor lead him to tear away the veils around what God Most High has made inviolable.”

كَمَا كَانَ يَقُولُ بَعْضُ الْحُكَمَاءِ: اللَّهُمَّ لَا تَشْغَلْنِي بِكَ عَنْكَ، وَاشْغَلْنِي بِطَلَبِكَ بَعْدَ مَا كُنْتَ لِي مِنْ غَيْرِ طَلَبِي.

kamā kāna yaqūlu baʿḍu al-ḥukamāʾi: Allāhumma lā tashghalnī bika ʿanka, wa-ashghalnī biṭalabika baʿda mā kunta lī min ghayri ṭalabī.

As one of the sages used to pray: “O God, do not let what is from You distract me from You. Occupy me with seeking You, after You were mine without any seeking on my part.”

فَهَذَا عَلَى الْمَعْنَى، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ.

fahādhā ʿalā al-maʿnā, wa-Allāhu aʿlamu bi-al-ṣawābi.

This conveys the intended sense, and God knows best what is right.

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي فَنَائِهِمْ عَنْ أَوْصَافِهِمْ.

bābun fī dhikri man ghaliṭa fī fanāʾihim ʿan awṣāfihim.

Chapter: Those Who Erred about Their Annihilation from Their Attributes

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: وَقَدْ غَلِطَتْ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ الْبَغْدَادِيِّينَ فِي قَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّهُمْ عِنْدَ فَنَائِهِمْ عَنْ أَوْصَافِهِمْ دَخَلُوا فِي أَوْصَافِ الْحَقِّ.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: waqad ghaliṭat jamāʿatun mina al-baghdādiyyīna fī qawlihim innahum ʿinda fanāʾihim ʿan awṣāfihim dakhalū fī awṣāfi al-ḥaqqi.

The shaykh, may God have mercy on him, said: A group of Baghdadis erred by saying that, when they were annihilated from their own attributes, they entered into the attributes of the Real.

وَقَدْ أَضَافُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ بِجَهْلِهِمْ إِلَى مَعْنًى يُؤَدِّيهِمْ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْحُلُولِ، أَوْ إِلَى مَقَالَةِ النَّصَارَى فِي الْمَسِيحِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ.

waqad aḍāfū anfusahum bijahlihim ilā maʿnan yuʾaddīhim dhālika ilā al-ḥulūli, aw ilā maqālati al-naṣārā fī al-masīḥi ʿalayhi al-salāmu.

In their ignorance they associated themselves with an idea that would lead them either to the doctrine of indwelling or to the Christians’ doctrine concerning the Messiah, peace be upon him.

وَقَدْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ [عَنْ] بَعْضِ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ، أَوْ وَجَدَ فِي كَلَامِهِ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ فِي مَعْنَى الْفَنَاءِ عَنِ الْأَوْصَافِ وَالدُّخُولِ فِي أَوْصَافِ الْحَقِّ.

waqad zaʿama annahu samiʿa [ʿan] baʿḍi al-mutaqaddimīna, aw wajada fī kalāmihi, annahu qāla fī maʿnā al-fanāʾi ʿani al-awṣāfi wa-al-dukhūli fī awṣāfi al-ḥaqqi.

Someone has claimed that he heard [from] one of the early masters, or found in his writings, a statement about annihilation from one’s attributes and entry into the attributes of the Real.

فَالْمَعْنَى الصَّحِيحُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْإِرَادَةَ لِلْعَبْدِ، وَهِيَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ عَطِيَّةٌ.

fa-al-maʿnā al-ṣaḥīḥu min dhālika anna al-irādata li-al-ʿabdi, wahiya min ʿindi Allāhi ʿaṭiyyatun.

The sound meaning of this is that the servant possesses volition, which is a gift from God.

وَمَعْنَى خُرُوجِ الْعَبْدِ مِنْ أَوْصَافِهِ وَالدُّخُولِ فِي أَوْصَافِ الْحَقِّ: خُرُوجُهُ مِنْ إِرَادَتِهِ، وَدُخُولُهُ فِي إِرَادَةِ الْحَقِّ.

wamaʿnā khurūji al-ʿabdi min awṣāfihi wa-al-dukhūli fī awṣāfi al-ḥaqqi: khurūjuhu min irādatihi, wadukhūluhu fī irādati al-ḥaqqi.

For the servant to leave his own attributes and enter into the attributes of the Real means that he leaves his own will and enters into the will of the Real.

وَبِمَعْنَى أَنْ يَعْلَمَ أَنَّ الْإِرَادَاتِ [هِيَ عَطِيَّةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَبِمَشِيئَتِهِ شَاءَ، وَبِفَضْلِهِ جَعَلَ لَهُ مَا بِعَطِيَّةِ ذَلِكَ قَطَعَهُ عَنْ رُؤْيَةِ نَفْسِهِ حَتَّى يَنْقَطِعَ بِكُلِّيَّتِهِ] إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.

wabimaʿnā an yaʿlama anna al-irādāti [hiya ʿaṭiyyatun mina Allāhi taʿālā, wabimashīʾatihi shāʾa, wabifaḍlihi jaʿala lahu mā biʿaṭiyyati dhālika qaṭaʿahu ʿan ruʾyati nafsihi ḥattā yanqaṭiʿa bikulliyyatihi] ilā Allāhi taʿālā.

It also means knowing that acts of will [are a gift from God Most High: by His will the servant wills, and by His bounty He grants him that gift, cutting him off from seeing himself until he devotes himself entirely] to God Most High.

وَذَلِكَ مَنْزِلٌ مِنْ مَنَازِلِ أَهْلِ التَّوْحِيدِ.

wadhālika manzilun min manāzili ahli al-tawḥīdi.

That is one of the waystations of the people of divine unity.

وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ غَلِطُوا فِي هَذَا الْمَعْنَى، إِنَّمَا غَلِطُوا بِدَقِيقَةٍ خَفِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ، حَتَّى ظَنُّوا أَنَّ أَوْصَافَ الْحَقِّ هُوَ الْحَقُّ، وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ كُفْرٌ.

wa-ammā alladhīna ghaliṭū fī hādhā al-maʿnā, innamā ghaliṭū bidaqīqatin khafiyat ʿalayhim, ḥattā ẓannū anna awṣāfa al-ḥaqqi huwa al-ḥaqqu, wahādhā kulluhu kufrun.

Those who erred about this meaning did so because a subtle point escaped them. They came to think that the attributes of the Real were the Real Himself, and all of this is unbelief.

لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَا يَحِلُّ فِي الْقُلُوبِ، وَلَكِنْ يَحِلُّ فِي الْقَارِبِ الْإِيمَانُ بِهِ، وَالتَّوْحِيدُ لَهُ، وَالتَّعْظِيمُ لِذِكْرِهِ بِمَعَانِي التَّحْقِيقِ وَالتَّصْدِيقِ.

li-anna Allāha taʿālā lā yaḥillu fī al-qulūbi, walākin yaḥillu fī al-qāribi al-īmānu bihi, wa-al-tawḥīdu lahu, wa-al-taʿẓīmu lidhikrihi bimaʿānī al-taḥqīqi wa-al-taṣdīqi.

For God Most High does not indwell hearts. Rather, what dwells in the one who draws near is faith in Him, affirmation of His unity, and reverence for His remembrance through true realization and assent.

وَلَا فَرْقَ فِي ذَلِكَ بَيْنَ الْخَاصِّ وَالْعَامِّ، غَيْرَ أَنَّ لِلْخَاصَّةِ مَعْنًى يَتَفَرَّدُونَ بِهِ، وَهُوَ مُفَارَقَتُهُمْ دَوَاعِيَ الْهَوَى، وَإِفْنَاءُ حُظُوظِهِمْ مِنَ الدَّارِ وَمَا فِيهَا، وَخُلُوصُ أَسْرَارِهِمْ بِمَنْ آمَنُوا بِهِ.

walā farqa fī dhālika bayna al-khāṣṣi wa-al-ʿāmmi, ghayra anna li-al-khāṣṣati maʿnan yatafarradūna bihi, wahuwa mufāraqatuhum dawāʿiya al-hawā, wa-ifnāʾu ḥuẓūẓihim mina al-dāri wamā fīhā, wakhulūṣu asrārihim biman āmanū bihi.

In this respect there is no difference between the elite and the common people, except that the elite possess a distinctive quality: they part from the impulses of passion, annihilate their shares in this abode and all it contains, and make their inmost selves wholly pure through the One in whom they believe.

وَسَائِرُ الْعَوَامِّ مَحْجُوبُونَ عَنْ هَذِهِ الْحَقَائِقِ بِانْقِيَادِهِمْ لِلْهَوَى وَمُطَاوَعَتِهِمْ لِلنُّفُوسِ.

wasāʾiru al-ʿawāmmi maḥjūbūna ʿan hādhihi al-ḥaqāʾiqi bi-inqiyādihim li-al-hawā wamuṭāwaʿatihim li-al-nufūsi.

All other common people are veiled from these realities by yielding to passion and complying with their lower selves.

فَهَذَا هُوَ الْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ الْخَاصِّ وَالْعَامِّ فِي هَذَا الْمَعْنَى، وَبِاللَّهِ التَّوْفِيقُ.

fahādhā huwa al-farqu bayna al-khāṣṣi wa-al-ʿāmmi fī hādhā al-maʿnā, wabi-Allāhi al-tawfīqu.

This is the distinction between the elite and the common people in this matter. Success comes from God.

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بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي فَقْدِ الْحُسُوسِ.

bābun fī dhikri man ghaliṭa fī faqdi al-ḥusūsi.

Chapter: Those Who Erred about the Loss of Sensation

قَالَ: وَزَعَمَتْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِرَاقِ أَنَّهُمْ يَفْقِدُونَ حِسَّهُمْ عِنْدَ الْمَوَاجِيدِ، حَتَّى لَا يُحِسُّوا بِشَيْءٍ وَيَخْرُجُوا عَنْ أَوْصَافِ الْمَحْسُوسِينَ.

qāla: wazaʿamat ṭāʾifatun min ahli al-ʿirāqi annahum yafqidūna ḥissahum ʿinda al-mawājīdi, ḥattā lā yuḥissū bishayʾin wayakhrujū ʿan awṣāfi al-maḥsūsīna.

He said: A group of Iraqis claimed that in states of ecstasy they lose their senses, so that they feel nothing and pass beyond the attributes of sensible beings.

وَقَدْ غَلِطُوا فِي ذَلِكَ؛ لِأَنَّ فَقْدَ الْحِسِّ لَا يَعْلَمُهُ صَاحِبُهُ إِلَّا بِالْحِسِّ، لِأَنَّ الْحِسَّ صِفَةُ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ.

waqad ghaliṭū fī dhālika; li-anna faqda al-ḥissi lā yaʿlamuhu ṣāḥibuhu illā bi-al-ḥissi, li-anna al-ḥissa ṣifatu al-bashariyyati.

They are mistaken, for a person can know that sensation is absent only through sensation itself, since sensation is an attribute of humanity.

وَإِنْ غَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ بَادٍ مِنَ الْوَارِدَاتِ الَّتِي تَرِدُ عَلَى الْأَسْرَارِ وَتَقْهَرُهَا بِسُلْطَانِهَا، فَيَطْمَئِنُّ وَيَمْتَحِقُ.

wa-in ghalaba ʿalayhi bādin mina al-wāridāti allatī taridu ʿalā al-asrāri wataqharuhā bisulṭānihā, fayaṭmaʾinnu wayamtaḥiqu.

Even if a sudden inrush overwhelms him—one of those influxes that descend upon the inmost selves and overpower them by their authority—his sensation merely grows still and is effaced.

وَيَكُونُ مِثْلُ ذَلِكَ كَمَثَلِ الْكَوَاكِبِ إِذَا طَلَعَ عَلَيْهَا سُلْطَانُ أَنْوَارِ الشَّمْسِ، فَتَطْمِسُ أَنْوَارَ الْكَوَاكِبِ، وَهِيَ مُمْتَحِقَةٌ فِي أَمَاكِنِهَا.

wayakūnu mithlu dhālika kamathali al-kawākibi idhā ṭalaʿa ʿalayhā sulṭānu anwāri al-shamsi, fataṭmisu anwāra al-kawākibi, wahiya mumtaḥiqatun fī amākinihā.

This resembles the stars when the sovereign radiance of the sun rises over them and blots out their light, though they remain effaced in their own places.

فَكَذَلِكَ الْحِسُّ لَا يَزُولُ وَلَا يُفْقَدُ عَلَى الْبَشَرِ الْحَيِّ، وَلَكِنْ رُبَّمَا يَغِيبُ الْعَبْدُ عَنْ حِسِّهِ بِحِسِّهِ عِنْدَ الْمَوَاجِيدِ الْحَادَّةِ عَنِ الْأَذْكَارِ الْقَوِيَّةِ.

fakadhālika al-ḥissu lā yazūlu walā yufqadu ʿalā al-bashari al-ḥayyi, walākin rubbamā yaghību al-ʿabdu ʿan ḥissihi biḥissihi ʿinda al-mawājīdi al-ḥāddati ʿani al-adhkāri al-qawiyyati.

Likewise, sensation neither vanishes nor is lost in a living human being. A servant may, however, become absent from his ordinary sensation through sensation itself amid intense ecstasies arising from powerful recollections.

كَمَا حَكَى جَعْفَرٌ الْخُلْدِيُّ، فِيمَا قَرَأْتُ عَلَيْهِ، عَنِ الْجُنَيْدِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ سَرِيًّا السَّقَطِيَّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الْمَوَاجِيدِ الْحَادَّةِ عِنْدَ الْأَذْكَارِ الْقَوِيَّةِ، مِمَّا يَقْوَى عَلَى الْعَبْدِ.

kamā ḥakā jaʿfarun al-khuldiyyu, fīmā qaraʾtu ʿalayhi, ʿani al-junaydi raḥimahu Allāhu annahu qāla: saʾaltu sariyyan al-saqaṭiyya raḥimahu Allāhu ʿani al-mawājīdi al-ḥāddati ʿinda al-adhkāri al-qawiyyati, mimmā yaqwā ʿalā al-ʿabdi.

Thus Jaʿfar al-Khuldī related, in material I read before him, that al-Junayd, may God have mercy on him, said: “I asked Sarī al-Saqaṭī, may God have mercy on him, about intense ecstasies during powerful recollections that overpower a servant.”

فَقَالَ: نَعَمْ، يُضْرَبُ وَجْهُهُ بِالسَّيْفِ وَلَا يُحِسُّ.

faqāla: naʿam, yuḍrabu wajhuhu bi-al-sayfi walā yuḥissu.

He replied, “Yes. He may be struck in the face with a sword and not feel it.”

وَإِنَّمَا يَعْنِي بِقَوْلِهِ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ، «لَا يُحِسُّ»: يَعْنِي لَا يَجِدُ أَلَمًا.

wa-innamā yaʿnī biqawlihi, wa-Allāhu aʿlamu, «lā yuḥissu»: yaʿnī lā yajidu alaman.

By his words “not feel it,” God knows best, he means that the person finds no pain.

وَهُوَ بِالْحِسِّ لَا يَجِدُ أَلَمًا، كَمَا أَنَّهُ بِالْحِسِّ كَانَ يَجِدُ أَلَمًا.

wahuwa bi-al-ḥissi lā yajidu alaman, kamā annahu bi-al-ḥissi kāna yajidu alaman.

It is through sensation that he finds no pain, just as it was through sensation that he formerly found pain.

وَمَا دَامَ فِي الْعَبْدِ رُوحٌ وَهُوَ حَيٌّ، لَا يَزُولُ عَنْهُ الْحِسُّ؛ لِأَنَّ الْحِسَّ مَقْرُونٌ بِالْحَيَاةِ وَالرُّوحِ. وَبِاللَّهِ التَّوْفِيقُ.

wamā dāma fī al-ʿabdi rūḥun wahuwa ḥayyun, lā yazūlu ʿanhu al-ḥissu; li-anna al-ḥissa maqrūnun bi-al-ḥayāti wa-al-rūḥi. wabi-Allāhi al-tawfīqu.

So long as a spirit remains in a servant and he is alive, sensation does not leave him, for sensation is joined to life and spirit. Success comes from God.

بَابٌ فِي ذِكْرِ مَنْ غَلِطَ فِي الرُّوحِ.

bābun fī dhikri man ghaliṭa fī al-rūḥi.

Chapter: Those Who Erred about the Spirit

قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: ثُمَّ جَمَاعَةٌ غَلِطُوا فِي الْأَرْوَاحِ، وَهُمْ طَبَقَاتٌ شَتَّى، كُلُّهُمْ تَاهُوا وَغَلِطُوا.

qāla al-shaykhu raḥimahu Allāhu: thumma jamāʿatun ghaliṭū fī al-arwāḥi, wahum ṭabaqātun shattā, kulluhum tāhū waghaliṭū.

The shaykh, may God have mercy on him, said: Then there was a group who erred concerning spirits. They comprised diverse classes, all of whom wandered astray and fell into error.

لِأَنَّهُمْ تَفَكَّرُوا فِي كَيْفِيَّةِ مَا رَفَعَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ الْكَيْفِيَّةَ، وَنَزَّهَهُ عَنْ إِحَاطَةِ الْعِلْمِ، فِي أَنْ يَصِفَهُ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا بِمَا وَصَفَهُ اللَّهُ بِهِ.

li-annahum tafakkarū fī kayfiyyati mā rafaʿa Allāhu ʿanhu al-kayfiyyata, wanazzahahu ʿan iḥāṭati al-ʿilmi, fī an yaṣifahu aḥadun illā bimā waṣafahu Allāhu bihi.

They speculated about the modality of that from which God had removed all modality and which He had exalted beyond the grasp of knowledge, so that no one should describe it except as God Himself has described it.

فَقَوْمٌ قَالُوا: الرُّوحُ نُورٌ…

faqawmun qālū: al-rūḥu nūrun…

One group said, “The spirit is a light…

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[مِنْ نُورِ] اللَّهِ، فَتَوَهَّمُوا أَنَّهُ نُورُ ذَاتِهِ فَهَلَكُوا.

[min nūri] Allāhi, fatawahhamū annahu nūru dhātihi fahalakū.

…[from the light] of God.” They imagined that it was the light of His essence, and so they perished.

وَقَوْمٌ قَالُوا: حَيَاةٌ مِنْ حَيَاةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى. وَقَوْمٌ قَالُوا: الْأَرْوَاحُ مَخْلُوقَةٌ، وَرُوحُ الْقُدُسِ مِنْ ذَاتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.

waqawmun qālū: ḥayātun min ḥayāti Allāhi taʿālā. waqawmun qālū: al-arwāḥu makhlūqatun, warūḥu al-qudusi min dhāti Allāhi taʿālā.

One group said, “It is life from the life of God Most High.” Another said, “Spirits are created, but the Holy Spirit is from the essence of God Most High.”

وَقَوْمٌ قَالُوا: أَرْوَاحُ الْعَامَّةِ مَخْلُوقَةٌ، وَأَرْوَاحُ الْخَاصَّةِ لَيْسَتْ بِمَخْلُوقَةٍ.

waqawmun qālū: arwāḥu al-ʿāmmati makhlūqatun, wa-arwāḥu al-khāṣṣati laysat bimakhlūqatin.

Another group said, “The spirits of the common people are created, but the spirits of the elite are not created.”

وَقَوْمٌ قَالُوا: الْأَرْوَاحُ قَدِيمَةٌ، إِنَّهَا لَا تَمُوتُ وَلَا تُعَذَّبُ وَلَا تَبْلَى.

waqawmun qālū: al-arwāḥu qadīmatun, innahā lā tamūtu walā tuʿadhdhabu walā tablā.

Another group said, “Spirits are pre-eternal: they do not die, suffer punishment, or decay.”

وَقَوْمٌ قَالُوا: الْأَرْوَاحُ تَتَنَاسَخُ مِنْ جِسْمٍ إِلَى جِسْمٍ.

waqawmun qālū: al-arwāḥu tatanāsakhu min jismin ilā jismin.

Another group said, “Spirits transmigrate from one body to another.”

وَقَوْمٌ قَالُوا: لِلْكَافِرِ رُوحٌ وَاحِدٌ، وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِ ثَلَاثَةُ أَرْوَاحٍ، وَلِلْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ خَمْسَةُ أَرْوَاحٍ.

waqawmun qālū: li-al-kāfiri rūḥun wāḥidun, wali-al-muʾmini thalāthatu arwāḥin, wali-al-anbiyāʾi wa-al-ṣiddīqīna khamsatu arwāḥin.

Another group said, “An unbeliever has one spirit, a believer has three, and the prophets and profoundly truthful have five.”

وَقَوْمٌ قَالُوا: الرُّوحُ خُلِقَ مِنَ النُّورِ.

waqawmun qālū: al-rūḥu khuliqa mina al-nūri.

Another group said, “The spirit was created from light.”

وَقَوْمٌ قَالُوا: الرُّوحُ رُوحَانِيَّةٌ خُلِقَتْ مِنَ الْمَلَكُوتِ، فَإِذَا صَفَتْ رَجَعَتْ إِلَى الْمَلَكُوتِ.

waqawmun qālū: al-rūḥu rūḥāniyyatun khuliqat mina al-malakūti, fa-idhā ṣafat rajaʿat ilā al-malakūti.

Another group said, “The spirit is a spiritual entity created from the celestial realm; when it becomes pure, it returns to that realm.”

وَقَالَ قَوْمٌ: الرُّوحُ رُوحَانِ، رُوحٌ لَاهُوتِيَّةٌ وَرُوحٌ نَاسُوتِيَّةٌ.

waqāla qawmun: al-rūḥu rūḥāni, rūḥun lāhūtiyyatun warūḥun nāsūtiyyatun.

Another group said, “The spirit is two spirits: one divine and one human.”

وَهَؤُلَاءِ كُلُّهُمْ قَدْ غَلِطُوا فِيمَا ذَهَبُوا إِلَيْهِ، وَضَلُّوا ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا، وَجَهِلُوا مَا يَلْزَمُهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْخَطَأِ.

wahāʾulāʾi kulluhum qad ghaliṭū fīmā dhahabū ilayhi, waḍallū ḍalālan mubīnan, wajahilū mā yalzamuhum fī dhālika mina al-khaṭaʾi.

All of them erred in the views they adopted, strayed manifestly, and failed to understand the errors those views entailed.

وَذَلِكَ مِنْ تَعَمُّقِهِمْ وَتَفَكُّرِهِمْ بِآرَائِهِمْ فِيمَا مَنَعَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قُلُوبَ الْعِبَادِ مِنَ التَّفَكُّرِ فِيهِ.

wadhālika min taʿammuqihim watafakkurihim bi-ārāʾihim fīmā manaʿa Allāhu taʿālā qulūba al-ʿibādi mina al-tafakkuri fīhi.

This came from their overreaching and speculating according to their own opinions about something that God Most High has forbidden His servants’ hearts to contemplate.

بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ، قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي﴾.

biqawlihi taʿālā: ﴿wayasʾalūnaka ʿani al-rūḥi, quli al-rūḥu min amri rabbī﴾.

For He says: “They ask you about the spirit. Say: the spirit belongs to my Lord’s command.”

وَالَّذِي عَلَيْهِ أَهْلُ الْحَقِّ وَالْإِصَابَةِ عِنْدِي، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ، أَنَّ الْأَرْوَاحَ كُلَّهَا مَخْلُوقَةٌ، وَهِيَ أَمْرٌ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.

wa-alladhī ʿalayhi ahlu al-ḥaqqi wa-al-iṣābati ʿindī, wa-Allāhu aʿlamu, anna al-arwāḥa kullahā makhlūqatun, wahiya amrun min amri Allāhi taʿālā.

In my view—and God knows best—the position of the people of truth and sound judgment is that all spirits are created and belong to the command of God Most High.

لَيْسَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى سَبَبٌ وَلَا نِسْبَةٌ، غَيْرَ أَنَّهَا مِنْ مُلْكِهِ وَطَوْعِهِ وَفِي قَبْضَتِهِ، غَيْرَ مُتَنَاسِخَةٍ.

laysa baynahā wabayna Allāhi taʿālā sababun walā nisbatun, ghayra annahā min mulkihi waṭawʿihi wafī qabḍatihi, ghayra mutanāsikhatin.

There is no connection or relation between them and God Most High. They simply belong to His dominion, obey Him, and lie within His grasp; they do not transmigrate.

وَلَا تَخْرُجُ مِنْ جِسْمٍ فَتَدْخُلَ فِي غَيْرِهِ، وَتَذُوقُ الْمَوْتَ كَمَا يَذُوقُ الْبَدَنُ، وَتَتَنَعَّمُ بِتَنَعُّمِ الْبَدَنِ، وَتُعَذَّبُ بِعَذَابِ الْبَدَنِ، وَتُحْشَرُ فِي الْبَدَنِ الَّذِي تَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ.

walā takhruju min jismin fatadkhula fī ghayrihi, watadhūqu al-mawta kamā yadhūqu al-badanu, watatanaʿʿamu bitanaʿʿumi al-badani, watuʿadhdhabu biʿadhābi al-badani, watuḥsharu fī al-badani alladhī takhruju minhu.

A spirit does not leave one body and enter another. It tastes death as the body does, enjoys bliss with the body’s bliss, suffers punishment with the body’s punishment, and is resurrected in the body from which it departed.

وَخَلَقَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى رُوحَ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ مِنَ الْمَلَكُوتِ، وَجِسْمَهُ مِنَ التُّرَابِ.

wakhalaqa Allāhu taʿālā rūḥa ādama ʿalayhi al-salāmu mina al-malakūti, wajismahu mina al-turābi.

God Most High created Adam’s spirit, peace be upon him, from the celestial realm, and his body from dust.

وَلِكُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ ذَكَرْتُ لَهُمْ فِي غَلَطِهِمُ احْتِجَاجَاتٌ، وَلِأَهْلِ الْحَقِّ وَالْإِصَابَةِ رَدٌّ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَبَيَانٌ وَاضِحٌ لِغَلَطِهِمْ.

walikulli firqatin min hāʾulāʾi alladhīna dhakartu lahum fī ghalaṭihimu iḥtijājātun, wali-ahli al-ḥaqqi wa-al-iṣābati raddun ʿalayhim, wabayānun wāḍiḥun lighalaṭihim.

Each of the groups I have mentioned has arguments for its mistaken position, while the people of truth and sound judgment have a refutation and a clear demonstration of their error.

وَقَدِ اخْتَصَرْتُ ذِكْرَ ذَلِكَ لِكَرَاهِيَةِ التَّطْوِيلِ، وَفِيمَا ذَكَرْتُ كِفَايَةٌ وَبُلْغَةٌ لِمَنْ عَقَلَ مِنَ الْمُسْتَرْشِدِينَ وَالرَّاغِبِينَ فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ، إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى.

waqadi ikhtaṣartu dhikra dhālika likarāhiyati al-taṭwīli, wafīmā dhakartu kifāyatun wabulghatun liman ʿaqala mina al-mustarshidīna wa-al-rāghibīna fī hādhā al-ʿilmi, in shāʾa Allāhu taʿālā.

I have abridged the discussion because I dislike excessive length. What I have said should suffice and provide an adequate provision for discerning seekers of guidance and those who desire this knowledge, if God Most High wills.

تَمَّ الْكِتَابُ بِحَمْدِ اللَّهِ وَعَوْنِهِ وَتَوْفِيقِهِ، وَحَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ.

tamma al-kitābu biḥamdi Allāhi waʿawnihi watawfīqihi, waḥasbunā Allāhu waniʿma al-wakīlu.

The book is complete, with praise to God and through His aid and enabling grace. God is sufficient for us, and He is the best trustee.

وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِهِ مَا زَهَرَ كَوْكَبٌ، وَمَا أَظْلَمَ غَيْهَبٌ…

waṣallā Allāhu ʿalā sayyidinā muḥammadin wa-ālihi mā zahara kawkabun, wamā aẓlama ghayhabun…

May God bless our master Muḥammad and his family for as long as a star shines and the deep darkness gathers…

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وَمَا وَضَحَ فَجْرٌ، وَمَا عَبَرَ دَهْرٌ، وَمَا عَرَضَ فِكْرٌ، وَمَا ذَكَرَ ذَاكِرٌ.

wamā waḍaḥa fajrun, wamā ʿabara dahrun, wamā ʿaraḍa fikrun, wamā dhakara dhākirun.

…for as long as dawn shines, an age passes, a thought occurs, and one who remembers calls to mind;

وَمَا سَارَ سَائِرٌ، وَمَا هَطَلَ هَاطِلٌ، وَمَا أَفَلَ آفِلٌ، وَمَا نَطَقَ قَائِلٌ.

wamā sāra sāʾirun, wamā haṭala hāṭilun, wamā afala āfilun, wamā naṭaqa qāʾilun.

for as long as a traveler journeys, rain pours, a setting body sinks below the horizon, and a speaker speaks;

وَمَا امْتَدَّ الظِّلُّ، وَمَا دَرَّ الْوَابِلُ، وَمَا عُرِفَ الْكَلَامُ، وَمَا بَقِيَ الْأَنَامُ.

wamā imtadda al-ẓillu, wamā darra al-wābilu, wamā ʿurifa al-kalāmu, wamā baqiya al-anāmu.

for as long as shadows lengthen, heavy rain streams down, speech is understood, and humankind endures;

وَمَا حَسُنَ الْإِسْلَامُ، وَمَا عَسْعَسَ الدَّيْجُورُ، وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ الظَّلَامُ وَالنُّورُ، وَمَا فَلَقَ الْإِصْبَاحُ.

wamā ḥasuna al-islāmu, wamā ʿasʿasa al-dayjūru, wamā ikhtalafa al-ẓalāmu wa-al-nūru, wamā falaqa al-iṣbāḥu.

for as long as Islam remains beautiful, deep darkness advances, darkness and light alternate, and daybreak splits the dark;

وَمَا هَبَّتِ الرِّيَاحُ، وَمَا سَبَّحَتِ الْأَمْلَاكُ، وَمَا جَرَتِ الْأَفْلَاكُ، وَمَا زَالَ فَيْءٌ.

wamā habbati al-riyāḥu, wamā sabbaḥati al-amlāku, wamā jarati al-aflāku, wamā zāla fayʾun.

for as long as winds blow, angels glorify God, celestial spheres revolve, and a shadow shifts;

وَمَا بَقِيَ حَيٌّ، وَمَا عُدَّ عَدَدٌ، وَمَا بَقِيَ الْأَبَدُ، وَمَا نَطَقَ لِسَانٌ، وَصَدَقَ عِيَانٌ.

wamā baqiya ḥayyun, wamā ʿudda ʿadadun, wamā baqiya al-abadu, wamā naṭaqa lisānun, waṣadaqa ʿiyānun.

for as long as a living being remains, a number is counted, eternity endures, a tongue speaks, and direct vision confirms the truth;

وَمَا دَرَّ الْقَطْرُ، وَمَا امْتَدَّ الدَّهْرُ، وَمَا اضْطَرَبَتِ الْأَمْوَاجُ، وَمَا أَضَاءَ السِّرَاجُ.

wamā darra al-qaṭru, wamā imtadda al-dahru, wamā iḍṭarabati al-amwāju, wamā aḍāʾa al-sirāju.

for as long as raindrops fall, time stretches on, waves surge, and the lamp gives light;

وَمَا تَلَأْلَأَتِ الْأَنْوَاءُ، وَمَا اعْلَنْكَسَتِ الظَّلْمَاءُ، صَلَاةً دَائِمَةً عَلَى الْأَبَدِ، مُتَّصِلَةً بِلَا نِهَايَةٍ وَلَا أَمَدٍ.

wamā talaʾlaʾati al-anwāʾu, wamā iʿlankasati al-ẓalmāʾu, ṣalātan dāʾimatan ʿalā al-abadi, muttaṣilatan bilā nihāyatin walā amadin.

for as long as the rain-stars sparkle and the blackness grows dense—a blessing that abides forever, unbroken, without end or limit.

فَرَغْتُهُ فِي عَاشِرِ رَبِيعِ الْآخِرِ، سَنَةَ ثَلَاثٍ وَثَمَانِينَ وَسِتِّمِائَةٍ.

faraghtuhu fī ʿāshiri rabīʿi al-ākhiri, sanata thalāthin wathamānīna wasittimiʾatin.

I completed it on the tenth of Rabīʿ II, in the year 683 [AH].