Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Yunus 10:2 – Al-Mu'minun 23:115

Give good news to those with faith that they have a footing of truthfulness with their Lord. MuḤammad ibn ʿAlī al-Tirmidhī said, " The footing of truthfulness is the leader of the wholesome and the sincerely truthful, the obeyed interceder, the asker who receives response, MuḤammad. " It has been said that the footing of truthfulness is the precedence of solicitude and the bounty of guidance. On the first day during the First Compact, He gave the drink of affection to the spirits of the faithful during the session of intimacy from the bowl of love in the cup of kindness. That wine made them drunk and dizzy. He promised them a straight and truthful promise: " We shall bring you back to this domicile of generosity and We shall caress you again with increase over this excellence: He will increase them from His bounty [4:173]. " This is why He says,

To Him is your place of return, all together-God's promise in truth. To return is to go back, and going back must have a beginning. To God belongs the command, before and after [30:4]. Concerning the intimations of the verse, " To Him is your place of return, all together, " Junayd said, " From Him is the beginning and to Him the end. What is between these are the pastures of His bounty and the uninterruptedness of His blessings. For those to whom felicity preceded at the beginning, this will be displayed in His pastures and in moving about in His blessings by their mak- ing manifest the tongue of gratitude, the state of approval, and the contemplation of the Patron of Blessings. As for those who were not permitted the felicity of the beginning, they will nullify the days of training their souls and collect ephemeral chaff so as to be pushed back to the wretchedness that preceded at the beginning. " Junayd is saying that all things begin with God and all return to God. In other words, everything is brought forth by His power and returned to His decree. He is the First and the Last. The Begin- ningless is His predetermination, the Endless His decision. Everything arrives newly through His gentleness, and all the newly arrived things are annihilated by His severity. Between this and that are the pastures of His bounty and the marks giving witness to His blessings. All those whom the begin- ningless command brought into being inscribed with felicity came forth in the pastures of bounty giving gratitude for blessings and approving of the apportionment, their tongues in remembrance, their hearts grateful, and their spirits limpid and believing. All those who received the beginningless decree of wretchedness had ruined lives, indigent days, and bad outcomes. They were tainted by this world, captivated by the forbidden, and attached to diversions and games. He wanted this for them in the end in order to take them back to the beginningless decree and the First Day. This is what the Lord of the Worlds is saying: " To Him is your place of return, all together-God's promise in truth. " It has been said, " Promised to the obedient are the highest paradises, and promised to the disobedient are mercy and approval.

He it is who made the sun a radiance and the moon a light. In terms of allusion, this sun is the sun of success-giving, which shines from the constellation of so- licitude on the servant's bodily parts so that they will be adorned with service and obedience. The moon alludes to the light of tawḤīd and the brightness of recognition in the heart of the recognizer, for with this light he takes the road to the Recognized. The Pir of the Tariqah said, " O God, the recognizer knows You with Your light, not with the ray of worship's light. He burns in the fire of love and does not turn back from joy. "

Surely those who do not hope for Our encounter, are content with the life of this world and at rest with it, and those who are heedless of Our signs, it is they whose refuge will be the Fire for what they were earning. The unbelievers do not hope for the vision of the Real, for they deny it. Inescapably they will never reach it. The faithful have faith in the vision of the Real and hope that they will reach it. Inescap- ably they will reach it. This is the same as what MuṣṬafā said: " When someone hears of the Real's generosity " -that is, he hears a report that the Real is generous toward the servant and will caress him with the vision of Him- " but does not accept the report and does not have faith in the vision, he will never reach that generosity. " It has been said that they do not hope to see the Real because they have not yearned, they do not yearn because they have not loved, they do not love because they have not recognized, they do not recognize because they have not sought, and they do not seek because the Real has not brought them into seeking and has shut the door of seeking. So, all is from God and according to His desire and will. God says, " Surely the final end is unto thy Lord " [53:42]. Had He desired that they seek Him, they would have sought Him. Had they sought, they would have recognized. Had they recognized, they would have loved. Had they loved, they would have yearned. Had they yearned for Him, they would have hoped for His encounter. Had they hoped for His encounter, they would have seen Him. God says, " And had We willed, We would have given every soul its guidance " [32:13]. As for those who do not hope for His encounter, their home will be chastisement and separation. This declaration shows that the final goal of those who hope for His encounter is union, encounter, and nearness.

Surely those who do not hope for Our encounter, are content with the life of this world and at rest with it, and those who are heedless of Our signs, it is they whose refuge will be the Fire for what they were earning. The unbelievers do not hope for the vision of the Real, for they deny it. Inescapably they will never reach it. The faithful have faith in the vision of the Real and hope that they will reach it. Inescap- ably they will reach it. This is the same as what MuṣṬafā said: " When someone hears of the Real's generosity " -that is, he hears a report that the Real is generous toward the servant and will caress him with the vision of Him- " but does not accept the report and does not have faith in the vision, he will never reach that generosity. " It has been said that they do not hope to see the Real because they have not yearned, they do not yearn because they have not loved, they do not love because they have not recognized, they do not recognize because they have not sought, and they do not seek because the Real has not brought them into seeking and has shut the door of seeking. So, all is from God and according to His desire and will. God says, " Surely the final end is unto thy Lord " [53:42]. Had He desired that they seek Him, they would have sought Him. Had they sought, they would have recognized. Had they recognized, they would have loved. Had they loved, they would have yearned. Had they yearned for Him, they would have hoped for His encounter. Had they hoped for His encounter, they would have seen Him. God says, " And had We willed, We would have given every soul its guidance " [32:13]. As for those who do not hope for His encounter, their home will be chastisement and separation. This declaration shows that the final goal of those who hope for His encounter is union, encounter, and nearness.

Surely those who have faith and do wholesome deeds, their Lord will guide them in their faith. In terms of allusion according to the tasting of the folk of recognition, this verse has another inti- mation. He is saying that in reality the faithful and the good men are those whom the Unity keeps under the domes of jealousy through the blessing of generosity. He nurtures them with the beauty of solicitude, He gives them access to recognition of Him, and He brings them close to companion- ship with Him so that they will become one for Him and estranged from other than Him. The Pir of the Tariqah said, " TawḤīd is not just that you know Him to be one. True tawḤīd is that you be one for Him and estranged from other than Him. " The beginning of solicitude is that He gives them a goal in the Unseen to take them away from the world. When they become solitary, they are worthy for union with the Solitary. Your seeker must be solitary like You- he must be free of every defect and pain. Until the diver cuts his heart away from the kingdom of life, it is not permissible for the hand of his seeking to reach the desired pearl. What then do you say about someone who, in seeking His majesty and beauty, aims for the greatest salvation? As long as he does not wash his hands of love for life, how will he reach union with the proximity of the Beloved? In the session of Moses a poor man let out a cry. In anger Moses shouted at him. At once Gabriel came: " O Moses! God says, 'In your session, the owner of pain and possessor of heart was that one man. It was he who was present in your session for My sake. You shouted at him. Even though you are My speaking companion and My dear one, you do not see the secret that we have placed under a black blanket. It is yearning for My beauty that brings the friends into ecstasy. It is the demand for My beauty that pulls their hearts into the world of fear and hope, contraction and expansion. And God contracts and expands [2:245]. When the eyes are full of this world, they cannot hold the attribute of the afterworld.

And their greeting therein will be " Peace!, " and the last of their supplication will be " Praise belongs to God, the Lord of the Worlds. " On that desert of the Mustering and station of the Resurrection, the disobedient of AḤmad's com- munity will be kept back at the place of the exposure of the reckoning. The preceders will have gone on ahead with the light of obedience, and the disobedient will stay there alone with the heavy burden of disobedience. In the end, God's mercy will take them by the hand. He will have pity on their aloneness and helplessness. With the call of generosity, He will say, " My servants! " When this address of exaltedness and call of generosity in the attribute of mercy reaches their ears, it will put their spirits at ease and open up their hearts to repose and ease [56:89]. He will say, " My servants, surely the companions of the Garden are today busy rejoicing [36:55] and have no leisure time for you. The Companions of the Fire have no tenderness for you because of the intensity of the chastisement. O assemblies of the indigent, peace be upon you! How will you be when your similars and companions have preceded you and none of them will be your guide? I then shall be your guide. If I were to treat you as you deserve, would that be generosity? " I would be disloyal like them were I to leave them as they left Me. When the Real's clemency and mercy reach them, He washes away their dread and disobedience with the water of mercy, and the sun of kind favor shines from the constellation of solicitude. With the attribute of boasting and the state of brokenness they will weep sweetly and cry happily at the Court of the Possessor of Majesty. The Exalted Lord will accept their weeping and crying and place a balm on their hearts' pain. He will open their mouths with praise of Him, and they will laud and praise God in the measure of the capacity of servanthood. The last of their words will be what the Lord of the Worlds says: " And the last of their supplication is 'Praise belongs to God, the Lord of the Worlds.' " The last of their words will be, " Praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds, for the enemies' schadenfreude has not reached us, and God's bounty and mercy have embraced us. " Our only goal was God's forgiveness- the favor is God's, for we have reached our goal.

He it is who makes you journey on land and sea. Even so, when you are in the ship-it takes them along with a goodly breeze, and they rejoice in it; there comes upon them a raging wind, and waves come from every place and they think that they will be encompassed by them; they supplicate God, purifying the religion for Him: " If Thou savest us from this, we shall surely be among the thankful. " In the tongue of the folk of allusion, the journey on land is taking the road to the drinking places of the Shariah through inference by means of the message. The journey on the sea is the overwhelm- ing force of the Real which, at the moment of ecstasy, pulls the reins of the servant's steed without intermediaries through the way stations of the Haqiqah to the places of contemplating holiness. Just as on the sea you make a one-month journey in one day, so also in this field the chevalier traverses the distance of a whole lifetime with one divine attraction. This is why they say, " One attraction of the Real is equivalent to all the deeds of jinn and men. " The journey on land is the journey of the worshipers and renunciants in the desert of struggle on the steed of discipline with the guidance of the Shariah. Their goal is the paradise of approval and everlasting blessings. The journey on the sea is the journey of the recognizers and the sincerely truthful in the ship of kind favor, which is driven by the wind of solicitude in the sea of contemplation. Their goal is the Kaabah of union and the mystery of the Beneficent. It has also been said that land and sea are allusions to the contraction and expansion of the recognizers. Sometimes in contraction they weep between confoundedness and bewilderment, and sometimes in expansion they are delighted between witnessing and finding. When the wind of happiness again blows from the horizon of self-disclosure and the rain of generosity pours down from the cloud of gentleness, they see solicitude and kind favor, and the hard cash of their present moment becomes it takes them along with a goodly breeze, and they rejoice in it: On the carpet of witnessing, in the state of intimacy, joy comes over them.

And God invites to the Abode of Peace, and He guides whomsoever He will to a straight path. Invitations are four: First is the invitation to tawḤīd and bearing witness. That is His words, " He invites you so that He may forgive you some of your sins " [14:10]. Second is the invitation to praise and response. That is His words, " He will invite you, and you will respond to Him " [17:52]. Third is the invitation to following and leadership. That is His words, " We shall invite all the people by their leader " [17:71]. Fourth is the invitation to generosity and hospitality. That is His words, " And God invites to the Abode of Peace. " When someone wants to invite someone and to make his friends and dear ones his guests, the condition of the entertainment is that first he sends one of those close to him, one of his own special friends, to inform them and give them the good news. Then, when they come, he sends his dear ones to welcome them. He does not invite any of them alone, but rather he invites their friends and relatives as well. He sends steeds and torches in the road, and when they come their place is made up and ready. When they sit, he first gives them rosewater, then fruit is brought. The prepared food is placed, and the serving boys and servants stand by. When that is finished, they listen to music. It is also a condition that the host not hold himself back from being seen by the guests, and finally that he send them back with respect and honor. The Lord of the Worlds has made all of this ready and set it up for the entertainment of para- dise, and He reports of it and explains it in the Qur'an. The first to call them and give them good news is MuṣṬafā, who is, the Real says, " inviting to God by His leave " [33:46]. Then the angels and Riẓwān will come to welcome them: and the angels will receive them [21:103]. He will send them mounts: We shall muster the godwary to the All-Merciful in droves [19:85], which is to say that they will be mounted on noble steeds of light.

Those who do what is beautiful shall have the most beautiful and an increase. Neither dust nor abasement shall overcome their faces. It is they who will be the companions of the Garden, dwelling within it forever. The companions of the Garden are one thing, the lords of companionship something else. About the companions of the Garden He says, " And God invites to the Abode of Peace " [10:25]. About the lords of companionship He says, " And He guides whomsoever He will to a straight path " [10:25]. The most beautiful, blessedness, and nearness belong to the folk of the Garden. Increase, proxim- ity, and companionship belong to the folk of recognition. I envy your house because of your neighborhood- blessed is he who becomes a neighbor of your house! God's Messenger said, " When God settles the folk of the Garden in the Garden and the folk of the Fire in the Fire, He will send the Faithful Spirit to the folk of the Garden. He will say, 'O Folk of the Garden! Your Lord greets you and commands you to visit the courtyard of the Garden.' It is the bed of the Garden, and its soil is of musk. Its pebbles are pearls and carnelians, its trees are gold and dates, and its leaves emeralds. The folk of the Garden will go out happy and joyful. Then there will be an assembly, and therein God's generosity will alight upon them, and they will gaze on His face. It is this that was promised by God, and He fulfills it for them. " He said, " God will give them permission to listen to music, eat, and drink, and wear the cloth- ing of generosity. Then a caller will call out: 'O friends of God! Does anything of what your Lord promised you remain?' " They will say, 'No. He has fulfilled what He promised us, and there remains nothing but gazing at the face of our Lord. " He said, " So the Lord will disclose Himself to them in veils and say, 'O Gabriel, lift My veils for My servants so that they may gaze at My face.' He will left the first veil, so they will gaze at a light from the Lord and fall prostrate before it.

Say: Is there any of those whom you associate who guides to the Real? Real is one of the names of the Lord. The commentary is that in truth He is God; He is worthy of Godhood, and His measure is in place. What was, is, and will be must go, but He subsists. He is found in the hearts of the friends and known to the spirits of the recognizers. He does not accept alteration or change of state, and He is everlasting in worthiness for Godhood. The name Real often comes forth from the tongue of the Folk of the Tariqah. This is because upon witnessing the acts, this group began to witness the attributes, and then, upon witnessing the attributes, they fell to witnessing the Essence. First they gazed on the artisanry, then they passed beyond the artisanry and gazed on the attributes, then again they passed from gazing on the attri- butes to gazing on the Essence. About gazing on the artisanry He says, " Have they not gazed upon the dominion of the heav- ens and the earth? " [7:185]. About gazing on the attributes He says, " Thou art not upon any task, neither dost thou recite any of the Qur'an, nor do you do any deed, unless We are witnesses over you when you go forth into it " [10:61]. About gazing on the Essence He says, " Say 'God,' then leave them " [6:91]. About gazing on the acts MuṣṬafā said, " I seek refuge in Thy pardon from Thy punishment. " About gazing on the attributes he said, " I seek refuge in Thy approval from Thy anger. " About gazing on the Essence he said, " I seek refuge in Thee from Thee. " Then he passed beyond his own seeing and became disengaged from his own attributes, and he spoke from the station of annihila- tion: " I do not number Thy laudations. " Again, he stepped higher to the station of subsistence and gave a mark of the reality of solitariness. He said, " Thou art as Thou hast lauded Thyself. " First is the station of inference, second the station of poverty, third the station of contempla- tion, fourth the station of life, and fifth the station of subsistence. The Pir of the Tariqah alluded to the intimations of these meaning when he said, " O resurrec- tion of the marks bearing witness and destruction of the traces! The recognizer is alive through his own nonbeing. O Splendorous and Self-Standing, everyone hopes for vision, and I am lost in vision. When the flood reaches the ocean, what then is known of the flood? The world is full of day, and the poor blind man is deprived. " The antagonists say, " These are not suitable words. " The sun does not sin if someone is blind.

Among them are those who listen to thee. The listeners are diverse and their degrees disparate. One hears through nature with the ear of the head; he was sleeping and listening wakes him up and relieves him of sorrow. Another hears through the state with the ear of the heart; he was resting and listening brings him into movement until the breeze of intimacy blows. Another hears through the Real with a soul that is dead, a heart that is thirsty, and a burning breath; the beginningless reminder arrives, the spirit takes its ease in loving kindness, and the secret core is filled with love. Bū Sahl ṣuʿlūk said, " In listening the listener is between curtaining and self-disclosure. The curtaining of the Real belongs to the beginners. It is the mark of mercy's gaze on the work of the Men, for in their weakness and incapacity they are not able to bear the unveiling of the ruling power of the Haqiqah. " In this meaning it has been recounted from Manṣūr Maghribī that he said, " I alighted at a camp of nomads. A young man made me his guest. Suddenly he fell down unconscious, so I asked about his state. I was told that he was in love with the daughter of his uncle, and that she had just come out of her tent. The youth had seen the dust of her garment as she went, so he fell down unconscious. I got up and went to the doorway of that tent and interceded for the youth. I said, 'A stranger among you has respect and safeguards. I have come to intercede with you in the business of this young man. Be kind to him in his longing.' " The woman said to me, 'You have a sound heart. He is not able to put up with witnessing the dust from my dress. How will he put up with my love?' This is the state of the desirer, for He keeps him covered by the curtain of selfhood so that he will not be totally burnt and melted by the assaults of the Haqiqah. He sees no more than one flash of the lightning of the Haqiqah, and it brings him into movement; he shouts out, tears his clothing, and weeps. Again, when he reaches the place of straightness and achieves stability in the reality of solitariness, the breeze of proximity begins to blow on him from the horizon of self-disclosure. His movement is changed to stillness, for the influxes of awesomeness bring forth courtesy with the Presence. This is why the Lord of the Worlds says, " When they were in [the Qur'an's] presence, they said, 'Give ear!' " [46:29].

Say: " In the bounty of God and His mercy-in that let them rejoice, for it is better than what they gather. " " O MuḤammad! Give the faithful good news and tell them that they should be happy in the bounty and mercy of God: 'I have honored you with faith, the Qur'an, submission, and MuḤammad, so be delighted! Become intimate with remembering Me. Accept My covenant in your spirit. Delight in My love. A happy servant is he who is happy with Me. There is no happiness but happiness with Me. May he who is not happy with Me never be happy! The servant has two happinesses in Me: today he is happy with Me, and tomorrow he will be happy along with Me.' " My face is happy with Your face when You are present. May my spirit be happy with remembering You when You are absent! It has been said that the bounty of God and His mercy that you have with Him in the precedent apportioning is better than the varieties of obedience and the kinds of service that are your own self-exertion. In terms of allusion He is saying, " My servant, have confidence in My bounty and mercy, not in your own worship and service, for there is no confidence in anything other than My bounty and no ease in other than My mercy. Everyone has a resource, and the resource of the faithful is My bounty; everyone has a storehouse, and the storehouse of the poor is My mercy; everyone has a leaning place, and the leaning place of the recognizers is My precedence; everyone has a treasure, and the treasure of those who trust is My assurance; everyone has a delight, and the delight of the rememberers is remembering Me; everyone has a hope, and the hope of the friends is seeing Me. " There was a renunciant among the Children of Israel who sat for seventy years in a monastery worshiping God. After seventy years revelation came to the prophet of the time: " Say to that re- nunciant, 'You have completed beautiful days and passed a life in worshiping Me. I promise you that I will forgive you by My bounty and mercy.' " The renunciant said, " He will take me to paradise by His bounty? Where then will that seventy years of worship be seen? What about that? " In that very hour, the Exalted Lord placed a tremendous pain in one of his teeth.

Surely God's friends-no fear shall be upon them, neither shall they sorrow. God's friends are those who dive for the pearl of wisdom in the oceans of knowledge, who are the sun of desire and the resting place of the covenant of good fortune in the heaven of the innate dis- position, who are accepted by the Divine Presence and the oyster shell of the secrets of Lordhood, who are the title-page of the Shariah and the proof of the Haqiqah. Through them the lineage of MuṣṬafā is alive in the World of the Realities, the pathway of truthfulness is filled with the firm fixity of their feet, their outwardness is adorned with the rulings of the Shariah, their inwardness is illumined by the pearl of poverty. When the traces of the gaze of these exalted ones reach the thorn-bed of deprivation, the jasmine of the religion blooms. When the blessings of their breaths shine upon the salt-waste of misery, the ambergris of passion wafts its scent. If they gaze on a disobedient person, he becomes obedient. If they open their eyes on someone wearing a sash of unbelief, he is accepted and protected by the Exalted Threshold. Thus it is told that once the exalted one of his time and the master of his era, Shiblī, became ill. The caliph of the time liked him, and it reached him that Shiblī was ill. There was a Christian physician, ex- tremely skillful, so he sent him to Shiblī to cure him. The physician came and said to Shiblī, " O shaykh! If I have to make your medicine from my own skin and flesh, I will not hold it back and I will heal you. " Shiblī said, " My medicine is less than that. " He said, " What is it? " He said, " Cut off that sash, and you will have cured me. " The physician said, " It is no stipulation of chivalry that I make a claim and not carry it through. If your healing lies in my cutting off the sash, that's an easy job. " When the physician cut off his sash, Shiblī got up from the illness. The news of what happened reached the caliph. He became happy and said, " I thought I was sending a physician to someone ill.

For them is good news in the life of this world and the next world. They have two sorts of good news, one today and one tomorrow. Today: " Give good news to those with faith that they have a footing of truthfulness with their Lord " [10:2]. Tomorrow: " Their Lord will give them the good news of mercy from Him, approval, and the Gardens " [9:21]. Here you have boundless caresses, everlasting bliss, the happiness of friends, a satisfied King, and joyful ser- vants: " My servants, whatever you seek, seek for nothing greater than My satisfaction. Whatever you reach, you will reach nothing better than My bounty. Whomever you choose in friendship, you will choose no one like Me. Whomever you see, you will see no one like Me. 'This house is your house, and I am your neighbor.' " Great are those days whose final outcome is this! Exalted is that servant who is worthy for this! Beautiful is that seed whose fruit is this! Blessed is that night whose morning is this! A house of light, everlasting happiness, and the Forgiving Patron! Say to Our friends, " Let your eyes be delighted- the ruined house has come to Me in safety. "

And recite to them the story of Noah when he said to his people, " If my station and my reminding you of God's signs are too much for you, then in God I trust, so gather together your affair and those whom you associate, and let not your affair be obscure for you. Then decide about me, and do not leave me waiting. " This is a lordly example from the Glorious Presence. He is saying, " Trial from My court is a robe of honor for the friends, and drinking the draft of tribulation from the cup of love is the job of men. If someone's makeup is not worthy to be a target for the arrow of My trial, his countenance will also not be worthy of My love and beauty. " When people choose someone for friendship, it is their habit to want every ease and comfort for their friend. The divine custom is contrary to this: Whenever He approves of someone for friendship, He sends him the drink of tribulation with the robe of love. " Surely the people most severely tried are the prophets, then the friends, then the next best, then the next best. " " When God loves a servant, trial is poured down all over him. " For a moment look at the state of Noah, the elder of the envoys and the leader of the godwary: What suffering he saw from his own community, what tribulation, and what a load of trial and trouble he carried in inviting them! For a thousand years less fifty he was inviting them, and ev- ery day they would beat him such that he lost consciousness, and they advised his own children to strike and beat him. With all this tribulation and trial he used to say, " I have so much sorrow that I care nothing for your beating. " He said to them, " In God I trust, so gather together your affair and those whom you associate: Do whatever you want, and prepare whatever deception you can, for I am leaning on my Lord and have accepted Him as my caretaker, for in God I trust. " Trust is the bridge to certainty and the pillar of faith. The Exalted Lord says, " And in God put your trust, if you have faith " [5:23].

Set thy face to the religion. In other words, " Purify your intention for the religion and disengage your heart from affirming anything touched by the severity of the bestowal of being. " He is saying, " Cleanse your religion from the contamination of eye-service and fix your inten- tion on seeking the alchemy of the Haqiqah-your heart cut off from attachments, your belt tight- ened, and the ring of service on the ear of loyalty. Let your wants be sacrificed to the beginningless want, your soul to approval, your heart to loyalty, your eyes to subsistence. " My soul wants life only for union with You, my spirit wants ease for joining with You. My ears want hearing for the sake of Your words, my eyes want sight to yearn for Your beauty. From here the light of the Haqiqah begins, the falcon of love flies in the air of solitariness, and the divine attraction arrives. It takes the servant away from the hand of self-determination. None of the intrusive dust of hoping for paradise settles on his present moment, no dread of hell blocks his path. With the tongue of his state he says, " In the road of passion the passionate must remember neither hell nor paradise. " Up to this point the servant was seeking, but now he is the sought. He was the lover, but now he is the beloved. He was desiring, but now he is the desired. He saw the carpet of oneness and hurried until he found the proximity of the Friend. Reports turned into face-to-face vision. The obscure became clear. The servant arrived at himself when he reached the Friend. He did not see himself, for he saw the Friend. The Pir of the Tariqah said, " O God, when I learned what was to be learned, I burned all the learning. I overthrew the collected and collected the overthrown. I sold nonbeing to illuminate being. O God, when I recognized oneness, I melted in the hope of happiness. When will I be able to say, 'I threw away the cup, I turned away from attachments, I gambled away all my being'? " When will I throw off this cage and build a nest in the divine garden?!

Alif Lām RāÌ Alif: He makes them “familiar” [alf] with blessings and He commands them to tawḤīd. Lām: He “blames” [lawm] them for their failings and commands them to disengagement. RāÌ: He is “kind” [rifq] to them with His bounty and carries them to solitariness. Alif: He makes the creatures familiar with the blessings of the Patron of Blessings, then He calls them to the Patron of Blessings: “Why do you delight in blessings? Desire the mystery of the Patron of Blessings. Why do you take your ease in blessings? Seek the great ease of the heart. How long will you play the dice of perishing love? Seize hold of endless union!” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, sometimes You say, 'Come close!' Sometimes You say, 'Flee!' Sometimes You command, 'Come!' Sometimes You say, 'Keep back!' O Lord, is this a mark of proximity? Is this the resurrection itself? I had never seen good news mixed with threats. O clement and lovingly kind, O gentle and good Friend, I have come to Your Threshold. If You want, keep me in joy, if You want, keep me lowly.” God knows that I'll find nothing if I desire to replace your love. Lām. He blames them: “Watch out! Do not busy yourselves with the picture-house and the scented garden, or you will fall behind the friends and not reach them.” In the report has come, “Travel! The solitary will be the preceders.” God says, “The preceders, the preceders-they are the proxi- mate” [56:10-11]. RāÌ. This is an allusion to the deliverance [rahā] of the chevaliers from themselves, like the enraptured in the playing field of euphoria: When will they come to the end of the road? Where will they reach the shore of this drowning ocean? When will the night of their waiting come to an end? When will the dawn of good fortune appear from the horizon of felicity? The Pir of the Tariqah said, “The reality of this work is all need. It is an endless longing, a congenital pain. In it there are both joy and melting, both a hidden resurrection and everlasting life. It is the unsettledness of the hearts of the finders, the trial of the spirits of the proximate, the bewilderment of the knowledge of the realizers, the incinerating passion of the recognizers, the euphoric striving of the friends, and the perplexity of the chevaliers.

(Lo! now they fold up their breasts that they may hide (their thoughts) from Him�) [11:5]. This verse was revealed about al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq who was good looking and sweet talking. When he met the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, he pleased him but he always kept in his heart that which displeased him. Al-Kalbi said: �He used to sit with the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and display things that pleased the Prophet while hiding in his heart the opposite of what he displayed. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Lo! now they fold up their breasts that they may hide (their thoughts)) their thoughts of enmity to Muhammad, Allah bless him and give him peace�.

Perhaps thou art putting aside some of what is revealed to thee, and thy breast is strait- ened by it, that they say, " Why has a treasure not been sent down upon him or an angel come with him? " A command came from the Threshold of Unity and the Side of Self-Sufficiency to the paragon of the engendered beings, the master of the masters, the sun of guidance, the alchemy of good fortune, the Canopus of felicity, the ocean of purity: " I sent you to the creatures to be the physician of the hearts of the grief-stricken, the balm of the pain of the burnt, and the ease of the spirits of the faithful. Recite this book of Mine to them and thereby put out the blaze of their passion's fire and the burning of their hearts in their wish to see Me today. Give them the promise of union and vision tomorrow. " Know also that a few of those who have been deprived by My justice and suffered the wound of severance from Me do not want to hear it, for they do not know how to taste it and do not have the capacity for it. Then, when they ask you to put it aside, you set it aside, and, hoping for their wholesomeness and faith, you seek what they desire. Do not do this, O MuḤammad! Do not seek what they desire and do not attach your hearts to them, for I drove them away in the Beginningless and placed upon them the brand of deprivation and abandon- ment. O Master! They are your enemies and they want bad for you. If they say something in criticism or they try to harass you, do not let your heart be tight. If they do not have faith, do not grieve. They are vile, and My Exalted Presence is pure, giving access only to the pure. 'Surely God is goodly and accepts only the goodly.' When someone is not Mine, even if he is purity itself, consider him defiled. God says, 'The associaters are impure' [9:28]. When someone is Mine, even if he is impurity itself, count him as pure, whether he be a man or a dog. God says, 'And their dog was stretching its paws at the doorstep' [18:18]: A dog took a step in loyalty to the religion and We sent Gabriel to be at his service.

Whoso desires the life of this world and its adornment, We shall pay them in full for their deeds therein, and therein they shall not be defrauded. " When someone is satisfied with this world without Me, despite the lowliness of its attributes, I will not hold him back from the enjoyment of some days. But the sweetness of its perfection will be followed by the bitterness of its disappearance. The flavor of its honey will be succeeded by the poison of its colocynth. " When someone wants this world from Me, this world will not be held back from him, but he will be helpless in the next world, and this world also will not stay with him. " It is mentioned in the traditions that whoever turns his face towards this world has turned his back on God. Turning one's back on God is to sleep always with thoughts of this world and to wake with thoughts of this world while one's moments are drowned in them. A poor wretch like this does not know that this world is the enjoyment of delusion [3:185]. It is the carpet of playing and jesting, the toy of the ignorant and the cause of their deception. He who keeps to this world is like a traveler sitting in a ship, this world his traveling supplies. If he takes more supplies than he needs, the ship will sink and cause his destruction. It is said that Dhu'l-Qarnayn went to the land of the west, and the kingdom of that region was held by a woman. Dhu'l-Qarnayn said, " Surrender this kingdom to me. " She said, " No! And there is no honor in it. " He wanted to take the kingdom by severity, but he was ashamed to fight against a woman. The woman said, " I invite you to be my guest. After the invitation is completed, I will surrender the kingdom to you. " When he came to the table, he saw a table laden with gold. All the cups were gold, and in place of food there were pearls and gems. Dhu'l-Qarnayn said, " What will I eat? I need food. None of this is fit for eating. " The woman said, " Since your portion of this world is no more than bread, where will you take the kingdom of the earth? It is fitting that you have no kingdom, for your portion is no more than two loafs of bread.

And what of him who is upon a clear sign from his Lord? The life of the heedless and the life of the recognizers will never be equal. The life of the heedless is what He says: " Whoso desires the life of this world and its adornment " [11:15]. The life of the recognizers is And what of him who is upon a clear sign from his Lord? He is saying: The recog- nizers have the brightness of familiarity based on the light of the religion and the spirit of certainty. They have gone on the road of success and arrived at the goal of realization. Their hearts are filled by disengagement and solitariness. In the tongue of the folk of allusion, the clear sign is the seed of the pain of passion that He scattered on the first day, at the beginningless covenant, in the hearts of His friends. Thus, it has come in the report, " Then He sprinkled them with some of His light. " Their makeup was a sweet clay which, in the era of the creation of Adam, had come from the goodly sort, receptive to the seed of passion's pain. Then the sun of And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord [39:69] shone forth on it and it received a complete nurturing. When the jasmine of the covenant came up, the flower of intimacy bloomed. The breezes of felicity blew over it and it became the place of the gaze of the Divinity, 360 times in a day and night. The servant was asleep all night, and this gaze was flowing over his heart. He slept, and the gaze of God was his protector. If he inclined even once from the avenue of the Haqiqah or took flight in the air of mortal nature, the call came from the World of the Unseen: " Be penitent toward your Lord " [39:54]. O falcon taken to the sky, come back, don't go! My fingers hold the end of your thread!

Surely those who have faith, do wholesome deeds, and are subservient to their Lord-it is they who will be the companions of the Garden, dwelling within it forever. By way of allusion according to the tasting of the chevaliers of the Tariqah, He is saying: " To- morrow, the residents of the Holy Palisades, the kings of the seat of truthfulness [54:55], and the nobles of the degrees of the High Chambers will be those who today have the ring of My command in the ear of servanthood. They are at ease in the house of subservience, their ears toward the command in the highway of approval because of servanthood, and they have left the road of resistance. " It has been said that the reality of servanthood is two traits: you do what He approves and you approve of what He does. You poor wretch! The rebellious Nimrod in his unbelief fired one arrow of denial at the face of faith. You, while being a Muslim, fire several arrows of denial and protest at the face of the decrees of predetermination every day. How will your attribute of servan- thood become sound? What about approval and surrender? Servanthood is that, in the street of the Haqiqah, you bind your waist with the belt of loyalty and you give your hands over to the ties of the Shariah. As long as your hands are tied, they will never be able to undo the belt. You are a servant, but you are walking on the road of the free. You are a servant, but you are seeking what is desired by lords. A servant will never be like a lord, and freedom and servanthood will never come together. She traveled east and I traveled west- how will the east-goer meet the west-goer? This is why the Lord of the Worlds says,

The likeness of the two groups is that of the blind and deaf and the seeing and hearing. Are they equal in likeness? The truly blind are those who do not have the eye of heedfulness to gaze on the signs of the hori- zons by way of inference, nor the heart of reflection to ponder the signs of the souls, nor the insight of the Haqiqah to see the unveilings of the unseen secrets with the light of perspicacity. The truly seeing are those who look with the knowledge of certainty at the marks giving witness to the acts, for Have they not gazed upon the dominion of the heavens and the earth? [7:185]. Again, with the eye of certainty they see the realities of the attributes, for Do they not ponder the Qur'an? [4:82]. Again, with the truth of certainty they see the majesty of the Essence, for Dost thou not see thy Lord? [25:45]. The knowledge of certainty relies on demonstration, the eye of certainty derives from clarity, and the truth of certainty is described by face-to-face vision. The knowledge of certainty belongs to the faithful, the eye of certainty belongs to the prophets, and the truth of certainty belongs to MuṣṬafā. This is why the world's folk have reports, and he has face-to-face vision. All the world is the shell, and he is the pearl. All the world is a hanger-on, and he is the goal. Were it not for you, O lustrous pearl, Adam would not have taken a breath in this ruined street.

Make the ship through Our eyes and Our revelation. In keeping with the Shariah and by virtue of the outward decree, a command came, " Build a ship from teak and sit in it so as to be delivered from the storm. " In keeping with the Haqiqah and by virtue of special favor and the attribute of proximity, a call came to his secret core, " You have the ocean of the soul before you. It is a drowning, destructive ocean in which are waiting whirlpools full of danger and spirit-stealing sharks. You must cross it in order to reach the shore of security. Build a ship of self-purification in three levels: one fear, the second hope, and the third approval. Then attach to it the sail of truthfulness and set it toward the east wind of awareness of Me. " This is why He said, " through Our eyes and Our revelation: I Myself will drive it as it should be driven and where it should be driven. " He it is who makes you journey on land and sea [10:22]. And We carried them on land and sea [17:70]. By way of allusion He is saying, " My servant, turn over the governance of your work to Me, entrust yourself totally to Me, and keep your self-determination distant. You are being carried by My gentleness, and 'He who is carried by the generous does not fall. And if he does fall, he will find someone to take his hand.' " This is just what MuṣṬafā said: " You indeed will be threading a bridge of fire. If one of you treads on a spark, the bridge will say, 'Your Lord has said to shelter him!' " This is a great generos- ity and an infinite gentleness that the Exalted Lord will do for the disobedient servant tomorrow when he crosses the Narrow Path. " So, sometimes he will stop, sometime stumble, " falling and getting up. The Exalted Lord knows that the servant has no one to come to his aid but He and no one to take his hand but He. In the reports it is mentioned that God's mercy toward the servant is more than a mother's mercy toward her child. Supposing that a child's foot gets caught in the mud a thousand times, each time the mother will say, " Rise up, O soul of your mother! " Each time she will be even more tender and lovingly kind toward the child.

And ask forgiveness from your Lord, then repent to Him. Surely my Lord is ever-merciful, loving. He says, " Ask forgiveness from your Lord, for He is the forgiver and the servant-caresser-not as is fitting for the servant, but as is fitting for Him. No matter how many offenses the servant may have, in the end the Patron's bounty is more. It is the gentleness of lordhood that offers its gentle- ness to the attribute of servanthood: Whatever shortcoming servants may have, My unneediness is equal to it. Whatever may be unapproved from him, My loving kindness is on top of that. What- ever the servant may hope, My bounty is greater than that. " Surely my Lord is ever-merciful, loving. The loving is He who shows His love to His servants by His beautiful doing toward them. The loving is He who caresses the servant with His loving kindness and pours over him continual blessings so that the servant will become His friend. This is why He said to David, " O David, make Me beloved to My servants. Make My path clear to My servants and throw friendship for Me into their hearts. Teach them about My blessings and make My words sweet in their hearts. Tell them that I am the Lord with munificence and no niggardli- ness, with knowledge and no ignorance, with patience and no incapacity, with wrath but no annoy- ance. There is no change in My attributes and no alteration in My words. With Me the word does not change, and I do not wrong the servants [50:29]. " So, if the servant should fall short, not recognize what is rightfully due to this generosity, and not show gratitude for blessings, He will rebuke and say, " O son of Adam! You have not been fair to Me! I showed My love for you through blessings, and you showed your hate for Me through acts of disobedience. My good descends upon you, and your evil rises up to Me. " ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib narrated this hadith from the Prophet, who narrated it from God.

(Establish worship at the two ends of the day and in some watches of the night. Lo! good deeds annul ill deeds�) [11:114]. Master Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi informed us> Abu 'Amr ibn Matar> Ibrahim ibn 'Ali> Yahya ibn Yahya> Abu'l-Ahwas> Simak> Ibrahim> 'Alqamah> al-Aswad> 'Abd Allah who said: �A man came to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I have fondled a woman at the end of Medina. However, I have touched her without making love to her; here I am, sentence me to whatever judgment you see fit!' 'Umar exclaimed: 'Allah had concealed your sin if only you had kept it concealed'. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not answer him. The man left. Another man went after him, called him back and recited to him this verse. One man asked: 'O Messenger of Allah, is this for him specifically?' He said: 'No, it is for all people' �. This was narrated by Muslim from Yahya ibn Yahya and by Bukhari from Yazid ibn Zuray'. 'Amr ibn Abi 'Amr informed us> Muhammad ibn Makki> Muhammad ibn Yusuf> Muhammad ibn Isma'il> Bishr ibn Yazid ibn Zuray'> Sulayman al-Taymi> Abu 'Uthman al-Nahdi> Ibn Mas'ud who reported that a man kissed a woman after which he went to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and informed him of what he did. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed this verse (Establish worship at the two ends of the day and in some watches of the night�) up to the end of the verse. The man asked: �Does this apply specifically to me?� He said: �It applies to whoever practises it from among my community�. Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Fadl informed us> Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Umawi> al-'Abbas al-Duri> Ahmad ibn Hanbal al-Marwazi> Muhammad ibn al-Mubarak> Suwayd> 'Uthman ibn Mawhab> Musa ibn Talhah> Abu'l-Yusr ibn 'Amr who said: �A woman whose husband was sent with an army by the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, came to me and said: 'I want to buy one silver coin worth of dates'. I liked the woman and so I said: 'I have in the house dates which are much better than these, so come with me'. I touched her and kissed her.

We will tell thee the most beautiful of tales. What a beautiful tale is the tale of Joseph! It is the tale of the passionate and the object of passion, the talk of separation and union. It wants the pain-stricken to read the tale of those in pain. It wants the passionate to report about the pain of passion and the burning of the passionate. It wants the burnt so that the burning of the longing may leave a trace. I am the slave of the yearner who lights up the fire of longing at the top of the Friend's street. I envy the eye that rains down tears at separation in love for the Beloved. I scatter spirit and heart before the lost-hearted one who tells the story of the lost-hearted. In the city my heart inclines, my dear, to him who sings your passion's tale, my dear. On the day when the seed of passion's pain was planted in the hearts of the familiar, the heart of Jacob the prophet was on the highway of this talk. He found flourishing in disengagement and solitariness, he took himself into the crucible of discipline and self-purification, and he became receptive to the seed of passion's pain. When the seed reached the earth of his heart, the water of “He sprinkled them with some of His light” nurtured it until the jasmine of the Covenant grew up. Then, as a pretext, the beauty of Joseph was made his kiblah, and his mortal nature was given ac- cess to its own kind. This cry went out: “Jacob's throat has been hung by the noose of desire for Joseph.” Within the curtain of jealousy that center point of the Haqiqah said, “Call Me Arsalan so that no one will know who I am.”

When Joseph said to his father, " O my father, surely I saw eleven stars and the sun and the moon. I saw them prostrating to me. " Ibn ʿAbbās said, " The eleven stars allude to the eleven brothers. " God is saying, " The stars are bright by themselves and people take to the road by them, " which is in His words, " By the stars they are guided " [16:16]. " In the same way Joseph's brothers had the brightness of prophecy, and within them was found the guidance of the people. " Their treachery toward their brother and their envy toward him are minor sins of the sort that occur for prophets. The wisdom in this is that the world's folk may come to know that the faultless is God, who is one and unique, and all other things have faults. In this meaning they have sung, I am the faulty and my Lord is pure- my faultiness is evidence of the Pure. It was said to Ḥasan, " Does the man of faith have envy? " He said, " What has made you forget the sons of Jacob? " Someone may say that Joseph was an immature child when he saw this dream, and it is known in the Shariah that no rulings apply to the act of a child. Since his act has no ruling, how can his dream have a ruling? The answer is that if the child's act is achieved by his own intention and aim, it can be attributed to his susceptibility to shortcoming and defect. But a dream is a divine showing, and in that children and adults are the same.

So when they went with him and agreed to put him at the bottom of the well, We revealed to him, " Surely thou shalt inform them of this affair of theirs when they are unaware. " Even if the care of his father was cut of from him, he received revelation from his Patron. Such is the custom of God: He never opens up a door of trial to the souls of His friends without opening up the doors of limpidness and the sorts of friendship to their hearts. If trial blocks a road for the servant, so what? God will open up the top of the road of limpid- ness with the attribute of friendship. If He takes back one mouthful, what's the loss? He will wrap up a hundred morsels for you. This is as they say: If I broke your necklace when drunk, I'll buy you a hundred gold beads to replace it. Although Joseph was sorrowful at separation from his father, why should he have lamented? He was colored by union with the revelation of the Real. The Real's revelation to him in that empty well was sweeter to him than union with Jacob in Canaan. Indeed, all caresses are in the midst of suffering, and beneath one disappointment lie a thousand treasures. The Pir of the Tariqah said, " If the marks of familiarity are true, whatever arrives from the Friend is beautiful doing. When there is no suspicion of the Friend in the apportioning, complaint is a fault. If this claim has meaning, happiness and grief will be the same for it. " I have a spirit inscribed with passion for You whether You pull it to happiness or grief.

They sold him for a paltry price. It is not surprising that Joseph's brothers sold him for a small price. What is surprising is the work of those travelers, who acquired someone like Joseph for twenty dirhams! It is not surprising that people should sell subsistent paradise for this small world. What is surprising is that they gain such a magnificent paradise and tremendous kingdom with a loaf of bread given to a poor man! Indeed, good fortune does not have a price, and the Real's generosity is nothing but a gift. If what Joseph possessed in himself-the characteristics of sinlessness, the realities of proxim- ity, and the subtleties of knowledge and wisdom-had been unveiled to his brothers, they would not have sold him for that small price, nor would they have called him a slave. A single speck of those characteristics and subtleties was unveiled to the governor of Egypt and Zulaykhā. Look how they bestowed their kingdom on his work and what value they placed on him! So also, when the women of Egypt saw his beauty, they said, " This is no mortal! This is none but a noble angel " [12:31]. Yes, it is showing that does the job, not seeing. MuṣṬafā said, " O God, show us things as they are! " Ibn ʿAṬāÌ said, " Beauty is of two sorts, outward beauty and inward beauty. Outward beauty is an adorned creation and a lovely form. Inward beauty is perfect character and fine conduct. " The Lord of the Worlds showed Joseph's outward beauty to his brothers. They saw nothing more, even though in God's eyes the outward has no importance. Hence they sold him for a small price. A trace of the inner beauty was shown to the governor of Egypt, so he said to his wife, " Give him generous lodging " [12:21]. This is so that the world's folk may know that in God's eyes im- portance and worth belong to inner beauty, not outward. MuṣṬafā said, " God gazes not on your forms or your possessions, but He gazes on your hearts and your deeds. " It is said that one day Joseph looked in a mirror and gazed on himself. He saw perfect beauty and said, " If I were a slave, what would my price be!? Who would be able to pay it? " The Lord of the Worlds did not let that pass, not until Joseph had tasted the punishment of gazing on himself.

The king said, " I see seven fat cows that seven lean ones are eating. " The beginning of Joseph's trial was the dream concerning which he said, " I saw eleven stars " [12:4]. The cause of his deliverance was also a dream, that seen by the king of Egypt, who said, " I see seven fat cows. " This is so that you will know that things are done by the predetermination and governance of God and that He is one in driving things and taking care of things. Even though the causes are apparent, remaining with the causes is an error. The Pir of the Tariqah said, " Not seeing the cause is ignorance, but staying with the cause is associationism. Pass beyond the cause and reach the Causer. Do not close the door of causes lest you not reach yourself. " The recognizer's eyes are not on the Tablet, nor on the Pen. He is not bound to Eve, nor in prison to Adam. He has a constant thirst, even though he has a cup again and again. O most gener- ous Guardian, O most merciful Fount of Bounty! Take back the cup once so that this poor wretch may breathe! " It has been said that Joseph was perfect in two things: one was beauty of created nature, the other knowledge and astuteness. The beauty of created nature is the perfection of form, and knowl- edge and astuteness are the perfection of meaning. The Exalted Lord predetermined that his beauty would be the cause of trial and his knowledge the cause of deliverance. Thus the world's folk may know that beautiful knowledge is better than beautiful form. As the proverb says, " Knowledge bestows, though it be slow. " Since Joseph's knowledge of visions was the cause of his kingdom in this world, why is it surprising that knowledge of the Patron's attributes is the cause of the recog- nizer's kingdom in the afterworld? God says, " When thou seest it, thou wilt see bliss and a great kingdom " [76:20].

That, so that he may know that I did not betray him secretly.... But I do not acquit my own soul. Surely the soul commands to ugliness. When [the governor's wife] said, " That, so that he may know that I did not betray him secretly, " she saw the success-giving and protection of the Real. When she said, " I do not acquit my soul; surely the soul commands to ugliness, " she saw the shortcoming of her own service. The first clari- fies gratitude for God's success-giving, the second clarifies apology for shortcoming. The servant must always be passing back and forth between gratitude and apology. Whenever he looks at the Real, he should see blessings, take delight, and increase in gratitude. Whenever he looks at himself, he should see sin. He should burn and come forth in apology. Through the grati- tude, he becomes worthy of increase, and through the apology he becomes deserving of forgiveness. This is why the Pir of the Tariqah said, " O God, when I look at myself, I ask who is more miserable than I. When I look at You, I ask who is greater than I. " When my gaze falls on my own clay, I see nothing worse in the world. When I pass beyond my attributes, I look at myself from the Throne. Fuẓayl ʿIyāẓ was seen retired from the people and sitting in the corner of a mosque, having made the Real's remembrance his intimate friend. He had brought to hand the chevaliers' retreat with the Real, on the carpet of expansiveness in the tent of He is with you [57:4]. A friend arrived and saw him alone. He took seeing him as a blessing and sat before him. Fuẓayl said, " My brother, what has made you sit with me? " What has made you intrude upon me in this seclusion? Such detachment, that you attend to me! The dervish said, " Please excuse me. I did not know. I was unaware of your present moment and ec- stasy. Now tell me something about your present moment and speak of a fine point about your traveling so that I may not remain without a portion of companionship with you. " Fuẓayl said, " I will say what is fitting for you.

That, so that he may know that I did not betray him secretly.... But I do not acquit my own soul. Surely the soul commands to ugliness. When [the governor's wife] said, " That, so that he may know that I did not betray him secretly, " she saw the success-giving and protection of the Real. When she said, " I do not acquit my soul; surely the soul commands to ugliness, " she saw the shortcoming of her own service. The first clari- fies gratitude for God's success-giving, the second clarifies apology for shortcoming. The servant must always be passing back and forth between gratitude and apology. Whenever he looks at the Real, he should see blessings, take delight, and increase in gratitude. Whenever he looks at himself, he should see sin. He should burn and come forth in apology. Through the grati- tude, he becomes worthy of increase, and through the apology he becomes deserving of forgiveness. This is why the Pir of the Tariqah said, " O God, when I look at myself, I ask who is more miserable than I. When I look at You, I ask who is greater than I. " When my gaze falls on my own clay, I see nothing worse in the world. When I pass beyond my attributes, I look at myself from the Throne. Fuẓayl ʿIyāẓ was seen retired from the people and sitting in the corner of a mosque, having made the Real's remembrance his intimate friend. He had brought to hand the chevaliers' retreat with the Real, on the carpet of expansiveness in the tent of He is with you [57:4]. A friend arrived and saw him alone. He took seeing him as a blessing and sat before him. Fuẓayl said, " My brother, what has made you sit with me? " What has made you intrude upon me in this seclusion? Such detachment, that you attend to me! The dervish said, " Please excuse me. I did not know. I was unaware of your present moment and ec- stasy. Now tell me something about your present moment and speak of a fine point about your traveling so that I may not remain without a portion of companionship with you. " Fuẓayl said, " I will say what is fitting for you.

Thus We schemed for Joseph.... We raise in degree whomsoever We will. Ibn ʿAṬāÌ said, " We tried him with various sorts of trial until We conveyed him to exaltedness and eminence. " In terms of allusion He is saying, " We turned Joseph over to various sorts of trial and kept him for a long time in the station of bewilderment on the carpet of remorse until We conveyed him to the place of generosity and elevation and let him taste the wine of nearness and intimacy. In face of this blessing that tribulation was not heavy, and next to this nearness that remorse was no loss. " The wont of the Lord of the universe is this: The foundation of happiness is all suffering, and be- neath one disappointment lie a thousand treasures. If you want the wisdom of this clearer and an explication fuller, it means, " We ruled and decreed in the beginningless that Joseph would be king of Egypt. First We showed him the abase- ment of slavery so that he would be informed of the remorse of captives and slaves. Then We tried him with the trial of prison so that he would be aware of the burning and grief of prisoners. We threw him into the gloom of exile so that he would not be heedless of the helplessness of exiles. " Be a mother to orphans, nurture them with gentleness, be noble to askers, fulfill their requests. The generosity We showed to you in your poverty and orphanhood- you show the same, O generous in character, to Our creatures. [DS 36] We raise in degree whomsoever We will. First there is going straight, then unveiling, then con- templation: " We give whomsoever We want a high standing, and We lift up his degrees: first the success of obedience, then the realization of recompense; first the self-purification of deeds, then making states limpid; first the resoluteness of service in the station of the Shariah, then the finding of contemplation in the Haqiqah itself. " Going straight alludes to the Shariah, unveiling alludes to the Tariqah, and contemplation alludes to the Haqiqah itself. The Shariah is servanthood, the Tariqah is selflessness, and the Haq- iqah is freedom in the midst of both. Become free of everything in the realm of being- be that Heart-taker's " companion of the cave. "

Return to your father and say, " O our father! Surely thy son has stolen. " When Jacob became distracted and distraught in separation from Joseph, helpless in his pain with- out remedy, he wanted to make the remembrance of that dear one a balm for his wound and to be passionate with someone linked to Joseph. He made Benjamin his reminder and sympathizer, for he had drunk water from the same drinking place as Joseph and had been nurtured on the same lap. The heart of the passionate man always inclines toward someone who has a link or some sort of similarity with the object of passion. Do you not see that Majnūn of Banī ʿāmir went out to the desert hunting for a gazelle? He saw that its eyes and neck were like those of Laylā. He was passing his hands over its neck, kissing its eyes, and saying, " Your eyes are her eyes, your neck is her neck! " When Jacob fastened his heart to Benjamin and when a part of him came to rest in him, the venomous sickle was once again drawn from the sheath of time and Benjamin was separated from his father. Then the name of thief was thrown on him, and this added trial to his trial-salt was sprinkled on his wound and the burn was once again burned. Just as fire wants to kindle burnt rags, so also the pain of separation wants to settle down with a burnt heart. Whenever pain steps forth from this heart of mine another pain takes its place in the breast. I become the companion of every pain for fire flares up when it reaches the burnt. Whenever Jacob saw Benjamin, he was consoled by him, for " He who is prevented from gazing is consoled by a trace. " 4 Then, when he was held back from Benjamin, the burning reached the utmost limit and he moaned at the pain in his heart. With the tongue of longing he said,

" Oh, my grief for Joseph! " And his eyes turned white because of the sorrow that he was suppressing. Revelation came from the Compeller of all engendered beings: " O Jacob! You grieve so much for him, but you do not grieve for what you are missing of Me by being busy with grief for him! " O Jacob, how long this sorrow and regret at separation from Joseph? How long will you suffer grief and coldly sigh? Do you not suffer grief that you are held back from Me while busy with him? " With two kiblahs you can't walk straight on the road of tawḤīd- either the Friend's approval, or your own caprice. [DS 488] " O Jacob! Be careful not to pass Joseph's name over your tongue any more, or I will remove your name from the register of the prophets. " The Pir of the Tariqah said, " Jacob's remembrance of Joseph was the seed of heartache, and Joseph's remembrance of Jacob was the seed of ease. Since Jacob had all that rebuke for remem- bering Joseph, everything other than remembering God is loss. It is said that remembering the Friend is like the spirit. Look more carefully: remembering the Friend is the spirit itself! " When Jacob saw the harshness of the Real's rebuke, he no longer mentioned Joseph's name. Then the mercy and gentleness of the Exalted Threshold gave this command to Gabriel: " O Ga- briel, go to Jacob and remind him of Joseph. " Gabriel came and mentioned Joseph's name. Jacob sighed. Revelation came from the Real: " O Jacob, I know what is beneath your moaning. By My exaltedness, were he dead, I would resurrect him because of the beauty of your loyalty. " And his eyes turned white because of the sorrow that he was suppressing. Abū ʿAlī al-Daqqāq said, " Jacob wept because of a created thing, so his eyesight went. David wept more than Jacob, but his eyesight did not go, because his weeping was for the sake of his Lord. " Weeping for the Real is of two sorts: weeping from the eyes and weeping from the heart. Weeping from the eyes is the weeping of repenters in fear of God; they weep at seeing their own disobedience.

Go with this shirt of mine and cast it upon the face of my father so that he may come to seeing. Joseph said, " Take my shirt to Jacob, for his pain has not ceased from the time he saw the shirt stained with the wolf's blood. The balm will also be my shirt. " When they took the shirt from Egypt, the morning breeze was commanded to take the shirt's scent to Jacob's nostrils so that, before Joseph's messenger could give the good news, he would receive it from the Real's mes- senger and recognize the Real's perfect gentleness and favor toward him. According to the tasting of the recognizers, this is the divine breeze that wanders furtively around the world to the doors of the breasts of the faithful and the tawḤīd-voicers to see where there may be a limpid breast and an empty secret core in which to dwell. Her love came to me before I knew love- it came across a carefree heart and took possession. To this alluded the Prophet: " Surely your Lord has breezes in the days of your time, " and so on. As for Jacob, this generosity was shown to him by means of passion for Joseph. Beneath this lies a magnificent secret. Its explanation is that contemplating Joseph for Jacob was by means of con- templating the Real. Whenever Jacob saw Joseph with the eyes of his head, he was gazing on the Real in contemplation with the eye of his secret core. So, when he was veiled from contemplating Joseph, his heart was also veiled from contemplating the Real. All of Jacob's anxiety and grieving was because of the loss of the contemplation of the Real, not the loss of companionship with Jo- seph. His longing and lamenting at separation from Joseph was because he had lost his mirror. He did not weep for the mirror itself, but for his heart's intimate, which he no longer saw. He burned because of losing that. Hence, on the day when he saw him again, he fell down in prostration, for his heart was contemplating the Real. He was prostrating before the contemplation of the Real, for none other than God is worthy of prostration.

Their father said, " Surely I find Joseph's scent. " The wonder is that the bringer of the shirt found nothing of that scent, but Jacob found it at the dis- tance of eighty farsakhs. For that was the scent of passion, and the scent of passion blows only on the passionate. Moreover, it does not always blow. As long as a man has not been cooked by passion and pounded by the trial of passion, the scent will not blow on him. Do you not see that at the beginning of the work and the outset of the story, when Joseph was taken away from him, the first stage was not reached when they threw him into the well. Jacob had no awareness of this and caught no scent. Finally, at Canaan, he reported about Joseph's scent: " Surely I find Joseph's scent. " It is said that in the House of Sorrows, Jacob wept a great deal every dawn. Sometimes he lamented miserably, sometimes he wailed at his abasement, sometimes he opened the journal of passion and began the chapter on passion. Sometimes he put his head on his knees, sometimes he placed his face in the dust, his two hands raised in supplication. Sometimes he recognized Joseph's scent from the dawn wind and said with the tongue of his state, " The wind at dawn brings your scent, my dear- I am the dawn wind's slave in the tracks of your scent. " Thus it is that on the day of relief the morning breeze brought the scent of Joseph to Jacob and brought him into proximity. This is the custom of the lovers: asking in the lands, conferring with ruined encampments, and sniffing news from the winds. In this meaning someone sang, " I will let the winds guide me to your scent when they blow from your direction And ask them to carry my greetings to you. Respond to me if they come one day. "

So, when they entered in upon Joseph, he embraced his parents.... And he lifted his parents to the throne, and they fell prostrate before him.... " He acted beautifully toward me when He brought me out of prison and brought you from the desert after Satan had sowed dis- sension between me and my brothers. Surely my Lord is gentle toward what He will. " In going to Egypt, all were the same. But at the time of proximity and caresses, they were differ- ent, for he put his father and maternal aunt on the throne of generosity and singled them out for the companionship, nearness, and embrace, as the Exalted Lord says: " And he lifted his parents to the throne. " But he brought his brothers down to the place of service: " And they fell prostrate before him. " This is an allusion that tomorrow at the resurrection, all the faithful will be brought into paradise, both the disobedient who have been forgiven and the obedient who have been approved. Then those who were the folk of disobedience, the ones received by the Real's forgiveness, will be set down in paradise, and the folk of recognition will be singled out for the special favor of proxim- ity and nearness. They will be brought to the Presence of At-ness: at an Omnipotent King [54:55]. The Pir of the Tariqah said, " The folk of service are one thing, the folk of companionship something else. The folk of service are prisoners of paradise, the folk of companionship com- manders of paradise. The prisoners are in joy and bliss, and the commanders dwell in secret whis- pering with the Beneficent. " He acted beautifully toward me when He brought me out of prison. The beautiful-doer is not he who acts beautifully at the beginning. The beautiful-doer is he who acts beautifully after your disloyalty. Joseph saw the disloyalty of his own soul at first, when he sought refuge with the cup- bearer in prison and said, " Remember me to your lord " [12:42]. Then he saw that his deliverance from the prison was through the Real's bounty and generosity, and he counted that as beautiful doing. He said, " He acted beautifully toward me when He brought me out of prison.

So, when they entered in upon Joseph, he embraced his parents.... And he lifted his parents to the throne, and they fell prostrate before him.... " He acted beautifully toward me when He brought me out of prison and brought you from the desert after Satan had sowed dis- sension between me and my brothers. Surely my Lord is gentle toward what He will. " In going to Egypt, all were the same. But at the time of proximity and caresses, they were differ- ent, for he put his father and maternal aunt on the throne of generosity and singled them out for the companionship, nearness, and embrace, as the Exalted Lord says: " And he lifted his parents to the throne. " But he brought his brothers down to the place of service: " And they fell prostrate before him. " This is an allusion that tomorrow at the resurrection, all the faithful will be brought into paradise, both the disobedient who have been forgiven and the obedient who have been approved. Then those who were the folk of disobedience, the ones received by the Real's forgiveness, will be set down in paradise, and the folk of recognition will be singled out for the special favor of proxim- ity and nearness. They will be brought to the Presence of At-ness: at an Omnipotent King [54:55]. The Pir of the Tariqah said, " The folk of service are one thing, the folk of companionship something else. The folk of service are prisoners of paradise, the folk of companionship com- manders of paradise. The prisoners are in joy and bliss, and the commanders dwell in secret whis- pering with the Beneficent. " He acted beautifully toward me when He brought me out of prison. The beautiful-doer is not he who acts beautifully at the beginning. The beautiful-doer is he who acts beautifully after your disloyalty. Joseph saw the disloyalty of his own soul at first, when he sought refuge with the cup- bearer in prison and said, " Remember me to your lord " [12:42]. Then he saw that his deliverance from the prison was through the Real's bounty and generosity, and he counted that as beautiful doing. He said, " He acted beautifully toward me when He brought me out of prison.

Alif Lām Mīm RāÌ This is one of the secrets of love, one of the treasures of recognition. In the midst of their spirits, the friends have a deposit, but they do not know what they have. The wonder is that they keep on seeing an ocean and they weep in hope for a drop. This is like the Pir of the Tariqah said: “O God, Your stream is flowing-how long will I be thirsty? What sort of thirst is this that I see one cup after another? “Who has ever had a state rarer than this? I'm thirsty and clear water is flowing before me. “Exalted of the two worlds! How much will You be hidden, how much apparent? My heart is bewildered, the spirit distracted. How long this curtaining and self-disclosing? When at last will there be the everlasting self-disclosure?” The allusion is that today the friends have nothing more than the scent of the lights of those secrets and the whiffs of those traces, and that, other than MuḤammad the Arab, no one is worthy of that face-to-face vision. First He alludes to the road of recognition for the elect, since their gaze is on the Essence and the attributes, which are called “the World of the Command.” Then He uncovers the road of recog- nizing Himself for the common people. He knows that their gaze does not pass beyond the newly arrived things, the engendered beings, and the World of Creation. He says,

God is He who lifted up the heavens without pillars that you see. Heaven and earth, land and see, air and space, are the World of Creation, the playing field of the gaze of the creatures, whose end is apparent and which can disappear. But the World of the Command can never have an end, for it is necessarily continuous. As long as a man does not pass beyond the World of Creation, he will not be given access to the World of the Command. The che- valiers whose gaze travels in the World of the Command are the Pegs of the earth. Just as in respect of form the world's mountains keep the earth in place, so also in respect of meaning the chevaliers keep the world standing. " Through them rain falls and through them provision is given. " This is why the Lord of the Worlds says,

And He it is who spread out the earth and placed within it unshaking mountains. In terms of the allusion and intimation of the Folk of the Haqiqah He is saying, " It is He who spread out the earth and placed within it the Pegs, namely the friends and masters among His servants, to whom recourse is had and from whom assistance comes. " The sun rises in the east and sets in the west for a hundred years before someone's eyes are daubed with the collyrium of the Haqiqah by the pencil of solicitude. Perhaps we will be allowed to see those chevaliers and reach endless felicity with one look at them. For thousands of years the moon-faced beauties of Firdaws and the houris of paradise have been standing in wait in that busy bazaar: When will the fortunate procession of those chevaliers be conveyed to the highest of the High Chambers so that they, as hangers-on, may step into the pageant of good fortune at an Omnipotent King [54:55]. On the day Junayd's bier was carried, a bird came and sat on the edge of his coffin. People were waving their hands at it but it would not leave. Ruwaym said, " In generosity the bird is telling us with the tongue of its state, 'Leave me alone, for my claws have been fixed to the edge of his coffin with the nails of passion. Today this frame of Junayd is the portion of the cherubim. If not for the intrusion of your tumult, you would fly with me like falcons in this air.' " When they buried him, one of the poor stood above him and recited these verses: " Oh the grief at separation from a group who are lamps and fortresses, rain clouds, cities, and unshaking mountains, good, security, and stillness. The nights will not change for us until they are brought forth by fate. So every fire belongs to our hearts, every water belongs to our eyes. "

(He launcheth the thunderbolts and smiteth with them whom He will�) [13:13]. Nasr ibn Abi Nasr al-Wa'iz informed us> Abu Sa'id 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Nusayr> Muhammad ibn Ayyub al-Razi> 'Abd al-Wahhab> 'Ali ibn Abi Sarah al-Shaybani> Thabit> Anas ibn Malik who reported that once the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent a man to one of the Arab tyrants, saying: �Go and tell him to come and see me�. He said: �O Messenger of Allah, he is too haughty to comply�. He said: �Go and tell him to come and see me�. The man went and said to him: �The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, asks you to come and see him�. The man retorted: �What is Allah? Is He made of gold, silver or copper?� The man went back and informed the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, saying: �I told you that he is too haughty to comply�. He said: �Go to him a second time and ask him to come and see me�. He went and the man repeated exactly what he said in the previous occasion. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, asked the man to go and call him a third time, and the man repeated what he said in the two previous occasions. The man said: �As he was talking to me, Allah sent above his head a cloud which thundered and a bolt of lightning struck him and removed his skull�. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (He launcheth the thunderbolts and smiteth with them whom He will while they dispute (in doubt) concerning Allah, and He is mighty in wrath). According to the reports of Abu Salih, Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Zayd, Ibn 'Abbas said: �This verse and the verse before it were revealed about 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl and Arbad ibn Rabi'ah. These two men went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and, as they were coming, one of the prophetic Companions said: 'O Messenger of Allah, here is 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl coming toward you'. He said: 'Leave him, Allah will guide him if He wants good for him'. He proceeded along until he stood in front of the Prophet and said: 'O Muhammad, what do I get if I become Muslim?' He said: 'You get what the Muslims get and you suffer what they suffer'.

To God prostrate themselves all in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly. In the tongue of commentary, the prostration of the unbeliever is an unwilling prostration, for he prostrates himself and shows humility at the time of tribulation in the state of hardship so as to repel harm from himself. Thus MuṣṬafā said to Ḥaṣīn Khuzāʿī,1 " How many gods do you wor- ship today? " He said, " Seven: one in heaven and six in the earth. " He said, " Which one of them do you look to on the day of your hope and fear? " He said, " The one in heaven. " According to these words, when someone prostrates himself to a god wanting to attract a benefit or repel a harm, that is a prostration of unwillingness, not a prostration of willingness. The willing prostration is the one done for the command alone and to venerate the Real's exaltedness. There is no taint of wanting, no hope for compensation, and no dread of tribulation. The individual is in prostration, the heart in finding, the spirit in witnessing; the individual is with loyalty, the heart with shame, and the spirit with limpidness. That chieftain of the Tariqah, Abū Yazīd BasṬāmī, was addressed in a dream: " 'O Abū Yazīd, Our storehouses are full of worship. Approach Us with brokenness and abasement.' In Our thresh- old, bowing and prostrating are of no use without brokenness of the heart and limpidness of the spirit, for the storehouses of Our exaltedness are already full of the bowing and prostrating of the lords of the heart. When you come to Our threshold, place the heart's pain in the spirit's cup and send it to the Presence of the Beloved, for the heart's pain has measure with Us. " The Pir of the Tariqah said, " The tawḤīd of the hearts of the faithful is in the measure of the heart's pain. The more a heart is burnt and the more complete its pain, the more it is familiar with tawḤīd and the closer it is to the Real. " Without the perfection of burning pain, don't mention religion's name. Without the beauty of yearning for union, don't lean on faith.

He sends down from heaven water, and the wadis flow in their measure, and the flood carries a swelling scum. And from that which they kindle in fire, wanting ornament or ware, arises a scum the like of it. Thus does God strike truth and falsehood. As for the scum, it van- ishes as jetsam, and what profits people abides in the earth. Abū Bakr WāsiṬī said that this verse is the pivot of knowledge of the Haqiqah and recognition. " The meaning is that He revealed from on high to the hearts and ears of the prophets and He in- spired the intellects and insights of the wise. " The majestic Unity, through the attribute of mercy and clemency, sent down from heaven to the messengers the true message and the pure revelation. They heard it with their ears and they perceived it with their hearts. In the same way He inspired the friends and threw the light of wis- dom into their hearts. And the wadis flow in their measure, that is, He made the hearts see in the measure of their capacity, life, and illumination. The hearts of the prophets became clear and bright through the light of revelation and messengerhood, and the hearts of the friends with the lamp of wisdom and recognition. In their measure, that is, each person in his own measure, in degrees and grades-one higher, one middling, one lower-the relative preference and disparity being apparent to everyone. About the messengers He says, " We made some of the prophets more excellent than others " [17:55]. About the friends He says, " They are degrees with God " [3:163]. One has messengerhood in ad- dition to prophethood, another has prophethood in addition to wisdom, another has recognition in addition to knowledge, another has tasting the Reality in addition to faith and bearing witness, another has the knowledge of certainty along with explication, another has the truth of certainty along with face-to-face vision. He gave to each person what was fitting, and He placed within each heart that for which there was room. And the flood carries a swelling scum, that is, He caused loss to those hearts with erroneous views, lowly lapses, and the wishes that Satan casts, what he steals from memory, his casting of slips.

Those who have faith and whose hearts are serene in the remembrance of God. The hearts of one group are serene in the remembrance of God, and the hearts of another group are serene in God's remembrance of them: And surely God's remembrance is greater [29:45]. In the tongue of the folk of allusion, this verse reports about two people, one the desirer and the other the desired. One keeps his hours immersed in the remembrance of the tongue, sometimes prayer, sometimes glorification, and sometimes recitation of the Qur'an. The other is joyful with the remembrance of the Real in the midst of the spirit because he is drowned in the ocean of face- to-face vision. He does not attend to the remembrance of the tongue, but keeps on saying, " O God, as long as I remember Your remembrance, my spirit laments at all remembrance. As long as my heart is happy with Your apparentness, the happiness of the two worlds is but wind. " The first travels on the road of the religion, kept in the bonds of his own remembrance, and it is said to him, " Preserve the remembrance and give ear to the commands and prohibitions. " The other is on the carpet of proximity, snatched away from causes and creation and singled out for the divine attraction, and it is said to the remembrance, " Give ear to him. " This is just like one group hop- ing for paradise, while paradise itself is hoping for another group. That is in the Prophet's words, " Surely the Garden yearns for four individuals: the one who fasts Ramadan, the one who recites the Qur'an, the one who protects the tongue, and the one who feeds the hungry. " It has also been narrated that the Garden yearns for Salmān. The desirer's eyes have come upon this: " Remember Me! " [2:152]. The desired has been shown this: " I will remember you " [2:152]. The desired is seeking remembrance, and remem- brance is seeking the desired. The desirer is seeking the present moment, and the present moment is seeking the desired. The desirer is seeking the heart, and the heart is seeking the desired. The field of the desirer's gaze is the world of setting forth in the wrap of createdness, and the field of the desired's gaze is the air of unity and the space of solitariness.

(� while they are disbelievers in the Beneficent�) [13:30]. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �This verse was revealed at the treaty of Hudaybiyyah when they were about to write the document of the treaty. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to �Ali: �Write in the Name of Allah, the Beneficent (al-Rahman), the Merciful�. Sahl ibn �Amr and the idolaters said: �We do not know anyone by the name of the beneficent (al-Rahman) except the ruler of al-Yamamah�, meaning Musaylimah the liar, �rather, write: in Your Name, O Allah!� This is how the people of the pre-Islamic period used to write. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed about them this verse�. Said ibn �Abbas, according to the report of al-Dahhak: �This was revealed about the unbelievers of Quraysh when the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to them (� Adore the Beneficent! They say; And what is the Beneficent? Are we to adore whatever thou (Muhammad) biddest us?) [25:60], and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse. He said (Say) to them, the Beneficent Whom you deny (He is my Lord; there is no god save Him�)�.

(Had it been possible for a Lecture to cause the mountains to move�) [13:31]. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Nahwi informed me> Abu 'Amr Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Hiri> Abu Ya'la> Muhammad ibn Isma'il ibn Salamah al-Ansari> Khalaf ibn Tamim> 'Abd al-Jabbar ibn 'Umar al-Ayli> 'Abd Allah ibn 'Ata'> his grandmother Umm 'Ata', the client of al-Zubayr> al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam who said: �The Quraysh said to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace: 'You claim that you are a prophet who receives revelation, and that Solomon was given the gift of wind and mountains, Moses the sea and Jesus brought the dead back to life. Pray Allah to move for us these mountains, and cause rivers to spring out from this land so that we can use it as plantations, and eat from them. Alternately, pray that Allah brings our dead ancestors to life so that we speak with them; or pray that Allah turns this rock beneath you into gold so that we can do without the winter and summer trips. Don't you claim that you are like these prophets?' We were around him, when the revelation came to him. After he regained his normal composure, he said: 'By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, He has given me all what you have asked, and if I wished it will all happen. However, He has made me choose between the gate of mercy, such that your believers will come to believe or to leave you to what you have chosen for yourselves such that you go astray from the gate of mercy, and your believers will not believe. I have chosen the gate of mercy and that your believers will come to believe. Allah also informed me that if He were to give what you asked for and you disbelieved after that, He would punish you with a chastisement the like of which He has never inflicted on anyone of His creation'. It was revealed (Naught hindreth Us from sending portents save that the folk of old denied them. And We gave Thamud the she-camel- a clear portent- but they did wrong in respect of her�) [17:59]. He read the next three verses and then the revelation came (Had it been possible for a Lecture to cause the mountains to move, or the earth to be torn asunder�)�.

(And verily We sent messengers (to mankind) before thee, and We appointed for them wives and offspring�) [13:38]. Said al-Kalbi: �The Jews insulted the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, saying: �This man has no aspiration except for women and marriage. If he was really a prophet, as he claims to be, the matter of prophethood would have preoccupied him from women�, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�.

He effaces whatsoever He will, and He affirms. Know that the highway of the Real's religion is three things: submission, the Sunnah, and self- purification. In submission be fearful, in the Sunnah be hopeful, and in self-purification be a lover. Submission has no escape from fear, the Sunnah must have hope, and self-purification is nothing but the foundation of the lover. To the fearful it is said, " Be afraid! " To the hopeful it is said, " Keep on seeking! " To the lover it is said, " Keep on burning! " In the end the address will come to the fearful, " Fear not! [41:30]. Do not fear, for the days of fear have come to an end. " To the hopeful will be said, " Grieve not! [41:30]. Have no sorrow, for your hope has been reached and the tree of joy has grown. " To the lovers will be said, " Rejoice! [41:30]. Be happy, for the night of separation has ended and the morning of union has come. " Each of these things has its own path of effacement and affirmation in the world. From the hearts of the fearful He erases eye-service and puts certainty, He erases stinginess and puts gen- erosity, He erases avarice and puts contentment, He erases envy and puts tenderness, He erases innovation and puts the Sunnah, He erases fright and puts security. From the hearts of the hopeful He erases free choice and deposits surrender, He erases disper- sion and deposits togetherness, He erases perplexity and deposits the precedent light. From the hearts of the lovers He erases the customs of human nature and deposits the marks bearing witness to the Haqiqah, He decreases the marks bearing witness to the servant and in- creases the marks bearing witness to Himself. Then, just as he was at first, so also he will be at last. The Pir of the Tariqah said, " O God, the majesty of Your exaltedness left no room for allu- sions. Your effacing and affirming took away the path of ascription-I lost all that I had in hand. O God, Yours kept on increasing and mine decreasing until at last there remained only what there was at first. " Tribulation lies only in the makeup of my water and clay.

God is He to whom belongs everything in the heavens and everything in the earth. WāsiṬī said, “The realm of being all belongs to Him. When someone seeks the realm of being, He is the Being-Bestower. When someone seeks the Real, he will find that He has subjected the realm of being to him along with everything within it.” Whenever someone gives himself over to the Being-Bestower and his heart busies itself with His companionship, the engendered beings and the newly arrived things will busy themselves entirely with serving him. He is saying, “My servant, the seven heavens, the seven earths, and all that is within them are My property and kingdom. All are My servants and servitors. If you bind your waist in loyalty to My covenant and, like serving-boys, bring your head into the collar of obedience, We will put the ring of serving you in the ear of all things and subject them to you. If you turn your head away from the circle of the command or busy your heart with others, We will set them all on their feet in antagonism toward you and We will make your standing place your prison. One day Solomon the prophet, with his high level and rank, was sitting on the throne of the kingdom. The carpet of the realm was spread and the jinn, mankind, and birds were lined up in ranks. He placed the crown of messengerhood on the head of his prophethood, and it occurred to his mind that today no one surpassed David's son in rank and elevation. Immediately the wind was commanded to take away the mantle from his head. Solomon's face darkened and he said to the wind in his anger, “Return my mantle to me!” The wind answered, “'Return to your heart!' O Solomon, bring your heart back to yourself so that I may bring your mantle back to you.”

And We sent Moses with our signs: “Bring thy people out from the darknesses into the light and remind them of the days of God.” “O My MuḤammad! I commanded Moses exactly as I command you. I said to all: 'Light up the lamp of the invitation, call people from the darknesses of doubt to the light of certainty, bring them from the shadow of ignorance to the brightness of knowledge, leave aside self-governance, see the Real's predetermination, do not set down or approve of innovation, and follow the path of the Sunnah and the congregation.'” Remind them of the days of God. These are the days when the servants were in the conceal- ment of nonexistence and the Real was saying with beginningless speech, “My servants!” “O MuḤammad, remind them of the days when you were not and I was there for you. Without you I took care of your work. I bound the compact of love and I wrote mercy against myself: Your Lord has written mercy against Himself [6:54].'” This is what the Pir of the Tariqah intimated in his whispered prayer: “O God, where will I find again the day when You belonged to me and I was not? Until I reach that day again, I will be in the midst of fire and smoke. If I find that day again in the two worlds, I will profit. If I find Your Being for myself, I will be pleased with my own nonbeing. “O God, where was I when You called me? I am not I when You remain for me. “O God, when You call someone, do not make manifest the offenses that You have concealed! “O God, You lifted us up and no one said, 'Lift up!' Now that You have lifted up, don't put down! Keep us in the shadow of Your gentleness! Entrust us to none but Your bounty and mercy!”

When your Lord proclaimed, “If you give thanks, I will surely increase you.” In other words: “If you give thanks for submission, I will increase you in faith. If you give thanks for faith, I will increase you in beautiful doing. If you give thanks for beautiful doing, I will in- crease you in recognition. If you give thanks for recognition, I will increase you in union. If you give thanks for union, I will increase you in contemplation. If you give thanks for the gifts that I bestow upon you, I will increase you in the encounter I have promised you.” It has been narrated that David said, “My Lord, how should I give thanks to You, for my giving thanks is a renewal of Your favor toward me.” He said, “O David, what you said now is giving thanks to Me.”

Those who have faith and do wholesome deeds were given entry into the Garden....Their greeting therein is “Peace!” The meaning is that tomorrow the faithful and the friends will be brought into paradise, the house of victory, subsistent bliss, and everlasting kingship. The outward meaning of the word were given entry is that this decree was issued on the first day at the Beginningless Covenant and that the faithful were brought into paradise on the day when the decree was issued. It is not a new want that He puts into effect; it is a beginningless deed that He makes appear. He does not caress them today, for He caressed them in the Beginningless and finished the work. The worshipper is always looking toward the Endless, fearing what will be done to him tomor- row. The recognizer is always looking toward the Beginningless, burning because of what may have been done to him then. He who looks toward the Endless sees only bowing and prostrating. He who looks toward the Beginningless sees only ecstasy and finding; absent from seeing himself, he sees neither self nor anything from himself. He sees only the Real and knows only the Real. He who looks at the Endless accepts what he is given and is content with it. He who looks at the Beginningless accepts nothing and is not content with any robe of honor. If he were adorned with every robe of honor in the two realms of being, he would be more naked with every robe. If the whole realm of being were made into a table placed before his heart, he would find no savor in the feast. Both realms of being were made a morsel and placed in Abū Yazīd's maw full of pain, but he gave no mark of surfeit. He kept on shouting out, “I am a captive of face-to-face vision, how can I be content with reports?! I am seeking hard cash, how can hope suffice me?!” Without You, O repose of my spirit, how can I live? If You are not in my embrace, how can I be happy? And those who have faith and do wholesome deeds were given entry into the Garden. They will be settled down tomorrow in the paradises. There is not just one paradise, for there are eight, and not just eight degrees but one hundred.

Hast thou not seen how God has struck a similitude? A goodly word is like a goodly tree. The pure words and true speech of a person of faith are like a pure tree that gives forth good fruit. A pure tree in fine soil and pleasing water gives forth only sweet fruit. This is why He says, “And the goodly land, its plants come forth by the leave of its Lord” [7:58]. The pure soil is the soul of the person of faith, the pure tree is the tree of recognition, the pleas- ing water is the water of regret, and the sweet fruit is the formula of tawḤīd. Just as a tree sends down roots into the earth, so also recognition and faith send down roots into the heart of the person of faith. Just as the branches bring forth fruit in the air, so also the tree of recognizing tawḤīd brings speech to the tongue and deeds to the limbs, and both rise up. This is why the Exalted Lord said, “To Him ascend the goodly words, and He uplifts the wholesome deed” [35:10]. A tree is sustained by three things: roots sent down into the earth, a trunk standing in place, and branches lifted in the air. The tree of recognition has three things perfectly: attesting in the heart, acting with the limbs, and speaking with the tongue. The Prophet said, “Faith is recognizing with the heart, assenting with the tongue, and acting with the body.” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, the water of Your solicitude reached stone and the stone bore fruit. The stone grew a tree, and the tree gave fruit and produce-a tree whose fruit is all happiness, whose flavor is all intimacy, whose scent is all freedom; a tree whose roots are in the earth of loyalty, its branches in the air of approval, its fruit recognition and limpidness, its outcome vision and encounter.”

It gives its fruit every season by the leave of its Lord. Ibn ʿAbbās said, “The tree that the Exalted Lord used as a likeness for the faith of the faithful is a tree in paradise whose fruit is neither cut off nor finished: neither cut off nor withheld [56:33].” In the same way the subtleties of the hearts of the recognizers are among the fruits of the tree of faith, neither cut off nor withheld, and the hearts of the folk of the realities are not turned away from them or veiled. At every moment and breath the subtleties are freely bestowed and not veiled.

And when Abraham said, “My Lord, make this land secure, and keep me and my sons away from worshiping idols.” In this verse Abraham asked two things from the Real: First, Mecca's security from mastery by enemies, and second, the heart's security from domination by the ruling power of caprice. He said, “Lord God, make this city of Mecca into a secure sanctuary far from the hand of any tyrant and free of fear for all the people.” The Lord of the Worlds responded to his supplication and made it into a blessed sanctuary and a place of security, as He says, “[And when We made the House] a place of gathering for the people, and a sanctuary” [2:125]. Never will the hand of any tyrant reach it; whoever goes into the sanctuary-whether Adamite or non-Adamite, wild prey or bird of the air-will have no fear. He asked for the heart's security in terms of allusion with his words, “Keep me and my sons away from worshiping idols.” Whenever something holds you back from the Real, that is your idol. Whenever your heart inclines and looks to something other than the Real, that is your caprice. The Exalted Lord says, “Hast thou seen him who has taken his caprice as his god?” [25:43]. One person looks to property and trade, another to wife and children, another to position and respect. One person has remained in the bonds of venerating piety and self-restraint and has not taken a step beyond that. Another has made obedience and worship his kiblah-looking at it and leaning on it have become the veil of his road. The Lord of the Worlds says, “And repent all together to God, O you who have faith! Perhaps you will prosper [24:31]. O you who have faith, if you want Me to make your hearts the sanctuary of My gaze and to keep you secure from the veil of severance, turn your faces totally to Me and turn away from everything else!” Sometimes He calls to His road with the tongue of the artifacts to make people realize familiarity. Sometimes He calls to Himself with the tongue of unveiling to confirm friendship. He is saying: “Turn away from yourself and totally to Him so as to recognize what is right- fully due to Him.

And therein We placed for you livelihoods. The cause of each person's livelihood is different. The livelihood of the desirers is the auspicious- ness of turning toward Him, the livelihood of the recognizers is the gentleness of His beauty, and the livelihood of the tawḤīd-voicers is the unveiling of His majesty. Each is connected to his own state, and each has a portion of His bounteousness. But the Real is incomparable with beautifying Himself through His acts.

Naught is there but its storehouses are with Us. God's storehouses in the earth are the hearts of the recognizers. God has storehouses in the earth, and those storehouses are the hearts of the recognizers and the secret cores of the desirers. They have storehouses of night-brightening pearls and precious deposits and are adorned and decorated by them. Some are adorned by the subtleties of knowledge, and these are the hearts of the knowers. Some are decorated with the realities of intelligence, and these are the hearts of the worshipers. Some are polished with the marvels of the secret core, and these are the hearts of the recognizers. Then the seal of lordhood's love is placed upon them and they are put into the oyster shell of eternity, for “The hearts of the servants are between two fingers of the All-Merciful.” Someone may ask what the mark of this is. I would reply that its mark is the glitter of the rays of the pearl shining on the servant's bodily members such that he is always serving God. He stays up at night in worship and fasts during the daytime. His heart always inclines toward obedience, he hurries to the good, and he does not stoop to concessions. He stays pure of doubtful things, far from the forbidden, and renounces the permitted. He is pained about the past, thoughtful in the present moment, trembling about the rest of his life, and fleeing from hell. He is content with a morsel and a tattered cloak. He has put aside the world for the world's folk and busied himself with serving God. His body burns in yearning, his heart reaches for the Friend, and his spirit is laughing with the Friend. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, everyone destitute has a portion of Your munificence, everyone in pain has a physician from Your generosity. Everyone has a portion from the all-em- bracingness of Your mercy and all the needy have the raindrops of Your kindness. On the head of everyone with faith is a crown from You, in the heart of every lover a lamp from You. Everyone entranced has business with You and everyone waiting will have wine and vision at day's end.”

And We sent forth the winds as pollinators. At the time of spring when the Real's gaze falls on the earth and the world is joyful, He sends down the pollinating wind. He loosens the fastened bonds, and the veins of the trees open their mouths so that their branches may pull water by way of the veins and bring forth subtle fruit. In the same way, the Exalted Lord gazes on the heart of the faithful servant with affection and love and sends down the wind of solicitude, opening up the road of hearing and obeying. Then he may become worthy of accepting admonition and turn back to the Real by repentance and peni- tence: eager in service, occupied with worship, constant in remembering the Real, and persevering in severity toward the soul; the call of kindness always in his ears, the blossom of hope grown up, the fruit of wanting tied to the branch of bounty. Here you have the traces of the wind of solicitude, here you have the pollinators of the breeze of generosity! God says, “We sent forth the winds as pollinators.” When the winds of generosity blow on the secret cores of the recognizers, they are liberated from the fanciful notions of their souls, the frivolities of their natures, and the corruptions of their caprices and desires. The effects of generosity appear in their hearts, so they hold fast to God, depend on Him, and cut off from everything other than Him. The mark of the servant's felicity is that all at once the wind of solicitude blows from the direc- tion of success-giving and piles up the clouds of practice. Then the clouds go down to the ocean of the eye of certainty and pick up the water of regret. The lightning of remembrance flashes, the thunder of desire laments, the rain of reflective thought falls, and the desert of the heart comes to life through that rain. Such are His words, “He gives life to the earth after its death” [30:19]. The servant returns entirely to the Real, with a soul dead in itself, a heart alive through the Real, a tongue let loose in remembrance, and a spirit alive through love. Neither in the heart nor in the mind is any place empty for other than the Beloved. “You are my beloved, my want, my desire!” In Him I live, my pleasure goodly, And when illness descends into my heart, none other than He is my physician.

Surely We give life and We make die. We give the hearts of the recognizers life through contemplation, and We make their souls die through struggle. We bring the hearts of the recognizers to life with contemplation, and We make their bodies die through struggle. The soul is the veil of the heart. As long as the veil is before the heart, the heart is deprived of contemplation. When the soul is killed by struggle according to the Shariah, the life of the heart begins. Guidance arrives, contemplation joins. Those who struggle in Us, We will guide them on Our paths [29:69]. It has also been said, “We give the desirers life through remembering Us and We make the heedless die through separation from Us.”

We indeed know those of you who go forward and We indeed know those of you who fall behind. It has been said that those who go forward are those who hurry to good deeds, and those who fall behind are those who are lazy in good deeds. It has also been said that its meaning is “We have recognized those who are eager in Us and those who have turned away from Us.”

Surely We created man of a dried clay of fetid mud. It has been narrated that Ibn ʿUmar had taken up the sessions. Kaʿb said to a man among those sitting with him, “Ask Ibn ʿUmar from what God created Adam.” Ibn ʿUmar said, “He created Adam from five things: clay, water, fire, light, and wind.” At Ibn ʿUmar's response, Kaʿb said, “Sit with him, for surely he is a man of knowledge.” What is understood from this report is that the Exalted Lord created Adam from five things: clay, water, fire, light, and wind. The wisdom in this is that the Exalted Lord created every one of His creatures from one kind. He created the angels from light and He created the jinn from fire. These are the light of exaltedness and the fire of exaltedness, which is why Iblis swore by exaltedness [38:82], for he was created from the fire of exaltedness and the angels from the light of exaltedness. God created the birds from wind, He created the beasts and the crawling things of the earth from dust, and He created the creatures of the sea from water. He created each from one kind, but He created Adam from all of these kinds so as to honor him and make him eminent. Thus he would be superior to all the creatures of the world. All are subjected to him, and he is given ruling power over all. This is why the Lord of the Worlds says, “We indeed honored the children of Adam, and We carried them on land and sea, and We provided them with goodly things, and We made them much more excellent than many of those We created” [17:70].

(And We remove whatever rancour may be in their breasts�) [15:47]. �Abd al-Rahman ibn Hamdan al-�Adl informed us> Ahmad ibn Ja�far ibn Malik> �Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal> Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Khalid al-Fahham> �Ali ibn Hashim> Kathir al-Nawwa� who said: �I said to Abu Ja�far: �So-and-so related to me that he related from �Ali ibn al-Husayn, may Allah be pleased with father and son, that this verse was revealed about Abu Bakr, �Umar and �Ali, may Allah be well pleased with them (And We remove whatever rancour may be in their breasts. As brethren, face to face, (they rest) on couches raised)�. He said: �By Allah, it was revealed about them; and about whom else would it be revealed if not about them�. I asked: �What rancour is that which is referred to here?� He said: �The rancour of the time of ignorance; there was rancour between the Banu Taym, the Banu �Adiyy and the Banu Hashim during the period of ignorance. When these people embraced Islam, they loved each other. In one occasion, Abu Bakr had pain in his waist, so �Ali warmed his hand and applied it on Abu Bakr�s waist. This verse was then revealed� �.

(Announce, (O Muhammad) unto My slaves that verily I am the Forgiving, the Merciful�) [15:49]. Ibn al-Mubarak reported through his chain of transmission from a Companion of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, that he said: �The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, came out to us from the door which the Banu Shaybah use and found us laughing. He said: 'I see that you are laughing!' He retreated but when he reached the buttress, he came back to us and said: 'When I left, Gabriel, peace be upon him, came to me and said: 'O Muhammad, Allah, glorious and majestic is He, says: Why are you driving my servants to despair? (Announce, (O Muhammad) unto My slaves that verily I am the Forgiving, the Merciful)' ' �.

(We have given thee seven of the oft-repeated (verses) and the great Qur'an�) [15:87]. Al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl said: �Seven caravans, belonging to the Jews of Qurayzah and al-Nadir from Busrah and Adhri'at, arrived in the same day. They brought different kinds of linen, stuff of perfumes and jewels and sea stuff. The Muslims said: 'Had these riches been ours, we would have derived some strength from them and spent them in the way of Allah'. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse. He said: 'I have given you seven verses which are better than these seven caravans'. The authenticity of this report is evidenced by what Allah, exalted is He, says after this verse (Strain not thine eyes toward that which We cause some wedded pairs among them to enjoin) [15:88]�.

The command of God is coming, so do not seek to hurry it. God's command is many-colored, and obeying Him is many-hued. The servant's outwardness was commanded one thing, his inwardness something else. The outwardness was commanded to stay with tightened belt on the threshold of worship in the way station of service. The inwardness was commanded to stay quiet on the carpet of recognition with the quality of veneration. The heart was commanded to be constant in watchfulness. The secret core was commanded to seek limpidness in the station of recognition. And the spirit was commanded to cling to the Presence in contempla- tion itself. So do not seek to hurry it. Do not hurry to find what is desired and do not go beyond the measure of the command, for everyone truthful will one day reach what he desires, and everyone obedient to the Real has the promise of vision.

He sends down the angels with the spirit from His command upon whomsoever He will of His servants: “Give warning that there is no god but I, so be wary of Me.” The reality of the spirit is that within which is the life of the heart and the life of the religion. It is the beauty of the Qur'an's exaltedness, which reached MuṣṬafā from the Divine Presence with the attribute of the message by the emissary Gabriel. Give warning that there is no god but I, so be wary of Me: “Report to My servants that I am the One Lord, I am without peer in attributes, I am separate from anything's resemblance to Me, and I am loyal to My assurances. Whenever someone says these words bearing witness and places the seal of tawḤīd on his heart, he has entered into the pavilion of the submission's exaltedness.” But you should know that this pavilion of the submission is set up only on the plain of god- wariness, for He says, “There is no god but I, so be wary of Me.” The reality of godwariness is the heart's purity of everything other than the Real. Just as submission is obligatory for the world's creatures, so also godwariness is obligatory. When the foundation of the religion was put down, it was put down on godwariness, for everyone who be- came a possessor of friendship became so through godwariness. “Surely His friends are only the godwary” [8:34]. Tomorrow the friendship of the next world will be assigned to those who are called godwary: “The outcome belongs to the godwary” [7:128]. The first condition of godwariness is that you be the guardian of your own heart and do three things: You do not give yourself over to wishing, you avoid everything that is not approved, and you not be heedless of the Real for one moment. On the day when Abū Bakr was buying Bilāl, Bilāl said, “O chief of the sincerely truthful! If you are buying Bilāl for the sake of the business of this world, do not buy him. He can perform no service that you will approve, for Bilāl has dedicated himself to the business of the afterworld.” God's mercy be upon those chevaliers who do not turn away from serving the Real to serving the creatures! Every single part of each of them is busy with service, and all their moments are im- mersed in observing the rightful dues of the Real. None of their parts is free to serve the creatures, none of their moments is wasted in antagonism toward the creatures. A great man was asked, “Do you love God?” He said, “I do.” He was asked, “Do you hate his enemy Iblis?” He said, “I am too busy with love for the Real to occupy myself with enmity toward someone else.”

(He hath created man from a drop of fluid, yet behold! he is an open opponent) [16:4]. This verse was revealed about Ubayy ibn Khalaf al-Jumahi when he brought decaying bones to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and then said: �O Muhammad, do you think Allah will bring this to life after its decay?�. Something similar to this verse is Allah�s words in Surah Yasin (Hath not man seen that We have created him from a drop of seed? Yet lo! He is an open opponent�) [36:77] up to the end of the Surah. This verse was revealed on the occasion of this incident.

And in them is beauty for you when you bring home to rest and drive forth to pasture. Some people attach beauty to possessions, some to states. The wealthy find beauty when they bring home to rest and drive forth to pasture, and the poor busy themselves with their Patron when they wake in the morning and rest in the evening. The rich consider the perfection of their beauty to lie in possessions, and possessions are one of two: permitted or forbidden. If they are permitted, they are a tribulation, and if they are forbid- den, they are a curse. The poor consider their status and beauty to lie in union with the Patron and see perfect intimacy in companionship with the Patron. It is said that Rābiʿa ʿAdawiyya was cut off from a caravan and was wandering lost in the desert. She sat down under a thorn tree and put her head on the knees of remorse. She heard a call from the air of exaltedness, “You feel terrified when I am with you?” On the night of the miʿrāj all the beauty and wealth of jinn and men were offered as ransom for one footstep of the Master of the Children of Adam, but he did not glance at it. His boast was this: “Replete one day, I praise Thee; hungry one day, I thank Thee.”

It is for God to point out the path; and some [paths] deviate. The straight road and approved path is that which goes toward the Real and passes over the Real. That road can be traveled with three things: first knowledge, second state, and third eye. Knowl- edge cannot be put in place without teacher, state cannot be put straight without conformity, and the eye is alone and does not get along with attachment. In knowledge there is fear, in state there is hope, and in eye there is straightness. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “None of His friends traveled this road without first seeing three things together: release from the ruling power of his soul, a heart joined with the Patron, and a secret core adorned with awareness.”

He it is who sends down water from heaven.... Surely in that is a sign for a people who reflect... signs for a people who use intellect... a sign for a people who remember. He is an allusion to the Essence, who is an intimation of the attributes, and sends down reports about the acts. Thus you will know that God has Essence, attributes, and acts. He is eternal in Essence, noble in attributes, wise in acts; without associate in Essence, without ambiguity in attri- butes, and without cause in acts. The servants gazes upon His artisanry, then flee from the artisanry to gaze upon the attributes, then flee from the attributes to gaze upon the Essence. These are the stations of the wayfarers' traveling and the degrees of the recognizers' recognition. One must have reflection in gazing upon the artisanry, knowledge in gazing on the attributes, and remembrance in gazing on the Essence. This is why the Lord of the Worlds says, “Surely in that is a sign for a people who reflect.” Then, after that, He says, “signs for a people who use intel- lect.” Then, after that, He says “a sign for a people who remember.” In other words, recognition will be gained in this order: first reflection, then knowledge, then, at that point, he will remember through the continuity of knowledge. First he reflects, putting his gaze in its place. If no defect falls into his gaze, then inevitably he gains knowledge; and in reality there is no difference between intellect and knowledge. Then, after that, the gaze becomes continuous, and the continuity of the gaze is the remembering of which He speaks. It has been said that He says “signs for a people who use intellect” in the plural only because someone gains many knowledges in order to become a recognizer, and every part of knowledge is gained through a different sign and indicator. The knower has signs and indicators before he becomes a recognizer of his Lord, because the indicator for one question is different from the in- dicator for another question. With one indicator he knows the necessity of gazing on Him, with many indicators he becomes a recognizer of his Lord, and with one indicator he knows that it is necessary to remember the various sorts of his knowledge.

He it is who sends down water from heaven.... Surely in that is a sign for a people who reflect... signs for a people who use intellect... a sign for a people who remember. He is an allusion to the Essence, who is an intimation of the attributes, and sends down reports about the acts. Thus you will know that God has Essence, attributes, and acts. He is eternal in Essence, noble in attributes, wise in acts; without associate in Essence, without ambiguity in attri- butes, and without cause in acts. The servants gazes upon His artisanry, then flee from the artisanry to gaze upon the attributes, then flee from the attributes to gaze upon the Essence. These are the stations of the wayfarers' traveling and the degrees of the recognizers' recognition. One must have reflection in gazing upon the artisanry, knowledge in gazing on the attributes, and remembrance in gazing on the Essence. This is why the Lord of the Worlds says, “Surely in that is a sign for a people who reflect.” Then, after that, He says, “signs for a people who use intel- lect.” Then, after that, He says “a sign for a people who remember.” In other words, recognition will be gained in this order: first reflection, then knowledge, then, at that point, he will remember through the continuity of knowledge. First he reflects, putting his gaze in its place. If no defect falls into his gaze, then inevitably he gains knowledge; and in reality there is no difference between intellect and knowledge. Then, after that, the gaze becomes continuous, and the continuity of the gaze is the remembering of which He speaks. It has been said that He says “signs for a people who use intellect” in the plural only because someone gains many knowledges in order to become a recognizer, and every part of knowledge is gained through a different sign and indicator. The knower has signs and indicators before he becomes a recognizer of his Lord, because the indicator for one question is different from the in- dicator for another question. With one indicator he knows the necessity of gazing on Him, with many indicators he becomes a recognizer of his Lord, and with one indicator he knows that it is necessary to remember the various sorts of his knowledge.

He it is who sends down water from heaven.... Surely in that is a sign for a people who reflect... signs for a people who use intellect... a sign for a people who remember. He is an allusion to the Essence, who is an intimation of the attributes, and sends down reports about the acts. Thus you will know that God has Essence, attributes, and acts. He is eternal in Essence, noble in attributes, wise in acts; without associate in Essence, without ambiguity in attri- butes, and without cause in acts. The servants gazes upon His artisanry, then flee from the artisanry to gaze upon the attributes, then flee from the attributes to gaze upon the Essence. These are the stations of the wayfarers' traveling and the degrees of the recognizers' recognition. One must have reflection in gazing upon the artisanry, knowledge in gazing on the attributes, and remembrance in gazing on the Essence. This is why the Lord of the Worlds says, “Surely in that is a sign for a people who reflect.” Then, after that, He says, “signs for a people who use intel- lect.” Then, after that, He says “a sign for a people who remember.” In other words, recognition will be gained in this order: first reflection, then knowledge, then, at that point, he will remember through the continuity of knowledge. First he reflects, putting his gaze in its place. If no defect falls into his gaze, then inevitably he gains knowledge; and in reality there is no difference between intellect and knowledge. Then, after that, the gaze becomes continuous, and the continuity of the gaze is the remembering of which He speaks. It has been said that He says “signs for a people who use intellect” in the plural only because someone gains many knowledges in order to become a recognizer, and every part of knowledge is gained through a different sign and indicator. The knower has signs and indicators before he becomes a recognizer of his Lord, because the indicator for one question is different from the in- dicator for another question. With one indicator he knows the necessity of gazing on Him, with many indicators he becomes a recognizer of his Lord, and with one indicator he knows that it is necessary to remember the various sorts of his knowledge.

He it is who sends down water from heaven.... Surely in that is a sign for a people who reflect... signs for a people who use intellect... a sign for a people who remember. He is an allusion to the Essence, who is an intimation of the attributes, and sends down reports about the acts. Thus you will know that God has Essence, attributes, and acts. He is eternal in Essence, noble in attributes, wise in acts; without associate in Essence, without ambiguity in attri- butes, and without cause in acts. The servants gazes upon His artisanry, then flee from the artisanry to gaze upon the attributes, then flee from the attributes to gaze upon the Essence. These are the stations of the wayfarers' traveling and the degrees of the recognizers' recognition. One must have reflection in gazing upon the artisanry, knowledge in gazing on the attributes, and remembrance in gazing on the Essence. This is why the Lord of the Worlds says, “Surely in that is a sign for a people who reflect.” Then, after that, He says, “signs for a people who use intel- lect.” Then, after that, He says “a sign for a people who remember.” In other words, recognition will be gained in this order: first reflection, then knowledge, then, at that point, he will remember through the continuity of knowledge. First he reflects, putting his gaze in its place. If no defect falls into his gaze, then inevitably he gains knowledge; and in reality there is no difference between intellect and knowledge. Then, after that, the gaze becomes continuous, and the continuity of the gaze is the remembering of which He speaks. It has been said that He says “signs for a people who use intellect” in the plural only because someone gains many knowledges in order to become a recognizer, and every part of knowledge is gained through a different sign and indicator. The knower has signs and indicators before he becomes a recognizer of his Lord, because the indicator for one question is different from the in- dicator for another question. With one indicator he knows the necessity of gazing on Him, with many indicators he becomes a recognizer of his Lord, and with one indicator he knows that it is necessary to remember the various sorts of his knowledge.

He it is who subjected the sea so that you may eat from it fresh flesh. Outwardly, He subjected the oceans of the earth to the creatures, ships running upon it and ben- efits appearing from it. Inwardly, He created oceans in the Adamic soul in which the Adamite is drowned: First is the ocean of preoccupation, second the ocean of sorrow, third the ocean of avarice, fourth the ocean of heedlessness, and fifth the ocean of dispersion. These oceans have ships. Whoever sits in the ship of trust on the ocean of preoccupation will reach the shore of detachment. Whoever sits in the ship of approval on the ocean of sorrow will reach the shore of security. Whoever sits in the ship of contentment on the ocean of avarice will reach the shore of renunciation. Whoever sits in the ship of remembrance on the ocean of heedlessness will reach the shore of wakefulness. Whoever sits in the ship of tawḤīd on the ocean of dispersion will reach the shore of togetherness.

Is He who creates like him who does not create? Will the created thing ever be like the Creator? Will the enacted thing ever be similar to the Enac- tor? In the seven heavens and seven earths, it is God who is one and unique. In Essence He is without similar, in measure without equal, in attributes without peer. Fancying that the Creator is like the created is an error, and the road of declaring similarity is disloyalty. But affirming at- tributes is not declaring similarity, and to declare holy by negating attributes is nothing but the position of Iblis. Declaring similarity does not come by way of saying that there is, but rather by saying that there is similarity. Whoever declares similarity is an unbeliever, just as whoever says that there is no similarity is an unbeliever. Whenever someone says that God is like himself has said that God has more than a thousand associates. Whoever declares God's attributes ineffectual has abased himself in the two worlds.

(And they swear by Allah their most binding oaths (that) Allah will not raise up him who dieth�) [16:38]. Al-Rabi� ibn Anas reported from Abu�l-�Aliyah: �A Muslim man had a debt with an idolater and he went to ask for it to be paid. As they were talking, the Muslim happened to say: �By Him in Whom I have hope after death�, and the idolater retorted: �And you claim you will be resurrected after death?� And he swore by Allah that Allah will not resurrect those who die. Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse [to confirm the dead will be resurrected]�.

Those who emigrate in God after they were wronged-We shall surely build for them something beautiful, and the wage of the next world will be greater. Anyone who emigrates from the homelands of heedlessness will be taken by the majesty of Unity to the witnessing places of union. When someone emigrates from the homelands of heedlessness, the majesty of Unity will con- vey him to the witnessing places of union. When someone emigrates from companionship with the created, the gentle favors of generosity will give him access to His companionship. When some- one emigrates from himself and is displeased with dwelling with himself, his heart will become the place where passion for the Haqiqah puts down its saddlebags. Today he will be delighted in the secluded solace of “I am the sitting companion of him who remembers Me,” and tomorrow he will take his ease on the carpet of the expansiveness of “The patient poor are the sitting companions of God on the Day of Resurrection.” This emigration has a beginning and an end. Its beginning is that his makeup becomes obe- dience itself, not from habit and not from wanting the reward, but rather from being drowned in contemplation itself. Thus it is recounted of the recognizer Sultan MaḤmūd that he never sat in a session of intimacy with any but Ayāz. The boon companions and special friends began to mutter. The sultan became aware of their jealousy, and he commanded that all the boon companions and special friends be present in a session. Then he had a goblet made of ruby-worth the taxes from one of his prov- inces-brought forth, along with an iron anvil, and put before him. He commanded the vizier to smash the goblet on the anvil. The vizier, “Protect me, O Sultan! Though the sultan's command is higher, I do not have the gall to be so bold.” In the same way, he commanded the other boon companions and special friends. All took off their hats, began to tremble, and did not have the gall to break it. Then he pointed at Ayāz. He said, “Slave, strike the goblet on the anvil and break it.” Ayāz struck the goblet on the anvil until it broke into tiny pieces. Then MaḤmūd said, “There are four thousand way stations between obeying the sultan's command and seclusion with him. When someone still avoids obeying MaḤmūd's command, how can he have the gall to talk of seclusion and seek companionship?” As for the end of emigration, it is three things: veneration in seclusion, being ashamed in service, and seeing nothing but shortcoming in oneself despite much obedience.

Ask the folk of remembrance if you do not know. This alludes to the fact that knowledge of the Shariah is to be learned and is not correct without an intermediary and teacher. Anyone who fancies that the intermediary is useless in knowledge of the Shariah has no portion of the religion. In short, know that knowledge is of three sorts: knowledge of the Shariah, knowledge of the Tariqah, and knowledge of the Haqiqah. The Shariah is to be learned, the Tariqah is to be prac- ticed, and the Haqiqah is to be found. Concerning knowledge of the Shariah He says, “Ask the folk of remembrance.” Concerning knowledge of the Tariqah He says, “Seek the means of approach to Him” [5:35]. Concerning knowledge of the Haqiqah He says, “We taught him knowledge from Us” [18:65]. He turned knowledge of the Shariah over to a teacher, He turned knowledge of the Tariqah over to a pir, and He turned knowledge of the Haqiqah over to Himself. When someone obtains these three knowledges, a light shines in his heart through which he recognizes the essence of prophethood. When he is given this recognition, he finds this eminence and special favor from the threshold of prophethood: “The men of knowledge are the heirs to the prophets.”

And God says, “And take not two gods. Surely He is only one God, so be in awe of Me.” This is an affirmation of tawḤīd. TawḤīd is the basis of the religion and the great pillar of the submission. Without tawḤīd obedience is not accepted, and along with associationism worship is useless. Know that the reality of tawḤīd is of two sorts: saying one and knowing one. Saying one is the beginning of all the sciences, the basis of all the recognitions, the foundation of the religion, and the partition between enemy and friend. It has three descriptions: first, testifying to God's oneness in Essence and His being pure of spouse, child, and peer. Next is testifying to God's oneness in attributes and to the fact that nothing is similar to or like Him. His attributes are not intelligible, nor is their howness understood, encompassed, or defined. They are outside imagination and no one knows how they are. Third is testifying to God's oneness in His true, beginningless names and the fact that for Him these names are realities and for others they are loaned and created. The names He has are His names in reality-eternal and beginningless as is fitting for Him. The names of the creatures are created and newly arrived as is fitting for them. “God” and “All-Merciful” are His names by which no one else is called. Dost thou know any named by His name? [19:65] As for knowing one, that is in service, practice, and aspiration. In service it is abandoning eye-service and observing self-purification. In practice it is to make the secret core limpid and to realize remembrance. In aspiration it is to lose everything other than Him and to be released through freedom of the heart from everything other than Him. Become free of everything in the realm of being- be that Heart-taker's “companion of the cave.” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “In all things expression is easy but finding is difficult. In tawḤīd finding is easy but expression is difficult. The expression of tawḤīd is outside of intellect, the es- sence of tawḤīd is safe against imagination, the newly arrived things are lost in the Beginningless. TawḤīd is that there is no more than one. There is the Recognized, but not the recognizer; there is the Intended, but not the intender.

And surely in the cattle there is a lesson for you: We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, between feces and blood, pure milk, delicious for the drinkers. Two impurities came together, one feces and the other blood. God with His power made pure milk appear between the two. In the same way, two drops came together in the womb. God's determi- nation and form-giving made a form of such beauty appear from the two! He formed you, so He made your forms beautiful [40:64]. He brings together two difficult tasks for the servant, one the burden of disobedience, the other shortcoming in obedience. Then God's bounty makes mercy and forgiveness appear between the two: He will make your deeds wholesome for you and forgive you your sins [33:71]. In what preceded all precedents and began all beginnings, the Pen wrote in the Tablet that the candle of the Shariah and the lamp of faith and certainty would light up in someone's breast. It does not matter if he falls asleep. When he wakes up he will see the lit candle next to his pillow. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, do You know what has made me happy? I did not fall to You by myself. You wanted-it was not I who wanted. I saw the Friend at my pillow when I woke up from sleep.” By way of allusion God is saying, “I took milk, which is your nourishment and your share, and passed it over feces and blood, preserving it from both. As for tawḤīd, it is My rightful due, so it is much more deserving of being preserved by Me. It will pass over this world and the afterworld and not receive any trace. Were the trace of this world or the afterworld to sit on tawḤīd, it would not be worthy of Me. TawḤīd is pure of this world and the afterworld. The light of tawḤīd is the destruction of water and dust. Turning the eye of the heart away from self is to perceive the finding of tawḤīd.”

And God has given more bounty in provision to some of you than others. The provision of the soul is one thing, the provision of the heart another, and the provision of the spirit still another. For some the provision of the soul is the success of obedience and for some it is abandonment to disobedience. For some the provision of the heart is the heart's presence with constant remembrance and for some it is the attribute of heedlessness with constant hardness. For some the provision of the spirit is the perfection of recognition and the limpidness of love and for some it is love for this world and occupation with attachments. Fuẓayl said, “The greatest thing provided to man is deeds that will lead him to rectitude and recognition that will bequeath on him contemplation of his Lord.” The Prophet said, “I spend the night at my Lord; He gives me to eat and drink.”

(Allah coineth a similitude: (on the one hand) a (mere) chattel slave, who hath control of nothing, and (on the other hand) one on whom we have bestowed a fair provision from Us, and he spendeth thereof secretly and openly. Are they equal? Praise be to Allah! But most of them know not. And Allah coineth a similitude: Two men, one of them dumb, having control of nothing, and he is a burden on his owner; whithersoever he directeth him to go, he bringeth no good. Is he equal with one who enjoineth justice and followeth a straight path (of conduct)?) [16:75-76]. Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya informed us> Abu Bakr ibn al-Anbari> Ja�far ibn Muhammad ibn Shakir> �Affan> Wuhayb> �Abd Allah ibn �Uthman ibn Khuthaym> Ibrahim> �Ikrimah> Ibn �Abbas who said: �This verse (Allah coineth a similitude: (on the one hand) a (mere) chattel slave�) about Hisham ibn �Amr who used to spend his wealth openly and in secret and his client Abu�l-Jawza� who used to bid him to stop doing so. As for the verse (And Allah coineth a similitude: Two men, one of them dumb, having control of nothing), the dumb who has control of nothing is Usayd ibn Abi al-�Is and the one who (enjoineth justice and followeth a straight path�) is �Uthman ibn �Affan�.

(Allah coineth a similitude: (on the one hand) a (mere) chattel slave, who hath control of nothing, and (on the other hand) one on whom we have bestowed a fair provision from Us, and he spendeth thereof secretly and openly. Are they equal? Praise be to Allah! But most of them know not. And Allah coineth a similitude: Two men, one of them dumb, having control of nothing, and he is a burden on his owner; whithersoever he directeth him to go, he bringeth no good. Is he equal with one who enjoineth justice and followeth a straight path (of conduct)?) [16:75-76]. Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya informed us> Abu Bakr ibn al-Anbari> Ja�far ibn Muhammad ibn Shakir> �Affan> Wuhayb> �Abd Allah ibn �Uthman ibn Khuthaym> Ibrahim> �Ikrimah> Ibn �Abbas who said: �This verse (Allah coineth a similitude: (on the one hand) a (mere) chattel slave�) about Hisham ibn �Amr who used to spend his wealth openly and in secret and his client Abu�l-Jawza� who used to bid him to stop doing so. As for the verse (And Allah coineth a similitude: Two men, one of them dumb, having control of nothing), the dumb who has control of nothing is Usayd ibn Abi al-�Is and the one who (enjoineth justice and followeth a straight path�) is �Uthman ibn �Affan�.

They recognize God's blessings, then they deny them. Some people say that this concerns the Muslims. For a time they occupy themselves with obedi- ence and undertake the path of discipline and struggle according to the Shariah. But in the end, self-admiration comes and ambushes them, destroying their obedience. Their self-admiration is that they consider their obedience and worship as service pleasing to God, and this brings them to exultation and happiness: “This is my attribute and my strength.” They remain heedless that it is God's blessings and bounty toward them. Then they do not fear the disappearance of the blessings and they go forth feeling secure. MuṣṬafā said, “A man's destruction lies in three things: One is niggardliness that he obeys, another is the soul's caprice that he follows, and the third is admiring himself.” One of the great ones of the religion said, “If I sleep all night and in the morning feel broken and fearful, I like that more than spending the night in prayer and admiring myself in the morning.” ʿAbdallāh ibn Masʿūd said, “The destruction of a man's religion lies in two things: self- admiration and despair.” He said this because anyone who loses hope will stop seeking and be overcome by lassitude, so he will not worship. So also, anyone who admires himself will fancy that he does not need to seek, for his work is right and he has been forgiven.

Surely God commands justice and beautiful doing and giving to kinsmen, and He pro- hibits indecency, the improper, and rebelliousness. And He admonishes you, that perhaps you may remember. In this verse the Creator of the world and the world's folk, the lovingly kind Lord, brings together in succession the foundations of service and the guideposts of interaction. He makes the faithful aware of the pleasing character traits and He honors them by letting them recognize the causes of His approval. He instructs them in beautiful worship of Him and in living with His creatures. We have already explained some of this in the tongue of unveiling according to the Shariah. In terms of the Haqiqah and the tongue of allusion, it is that God commands the servant to have justice in interaction with the Real, in interaction with people, and in interaction with the soul. Interaction with the Real is through acknowledgment, interaction with people through justice, and interaction with the soul through opposition. One must have conformity with the Real, sincerity with the people, and opposition to the soul. The meaning of conformity is for the servant to welcome the Real's decree before it appears and to leave aside free choice, such that he recognizes all of it without having perceived it and loves it not having seen it. The meaning of sincerity is that he walk straight with the people in word, deed, aspiration, and resoluteness. He is fair to them, he does not place his burden on them, he conceals their faults, he does not take back his tenderness no matter what states he sees, he does not hold back his good from them, he lives with character, he respects elders, and he is tender toward young people and merciful toward children. This is the meaning of justice in interaction with people. As for the reality of justice in interaction with the soul, it is to hold back the soul from that in which its destruction lies. God says, “As for him who fears the standing place before his Lord and prohibits the soul its caprice, surely the Garden shall be the shelter” [79:40-41]. Ibrāhīm Adham said, “In my whole life in this world, my heart was happy three times, and in those three times I was happy because I acted with severity toward my own soul.

What is with you runs out, but what is with God subsists. What is with you runs out is the attribute of this world, its annihilation; and what is with God sub- sists is the attribute of the afterworld and everlasting subsistence. Jesus was asked, “Why don't you make a house for yourself?” He said, “I have no stomach for busying myself with something that will not be my companion forever.” The Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī put a dinar in his hand and said, “'O yellow thing, make my face yellow. O white thing, make me white and delude other than me.' O world and O bliss of this world! Go, for you are an adorned bride, and you cannot break the claws of a lion with a bride's fingers. Go, delude someone else, for the son of Abū Ṭālib has no stomach for falling into the snare of your delusion.” The life of this world is nothing but the enjoyment of delusion [3:185]. What is with you runs out, but what is with God subsists. In other words, “What is with you, namely the yearning you have to encounter Me, is susceptible to disappearance and accepts cessa- tion. But My description of Myself subsists, namely in the tradition, 'Surely the yearning of the pi- ous to encounter Me has become protracted, but My yearning to encounter them is more intense.'” Whatever comes from the servant-obedience, service, affection, love-even if it is continu-ous, is susceptible to disappearance, for it is an attribute of newly arrived things, and annihilation has access to them. It is only the welcoming of the divine majesty and exaltation and the Lord's caressing of the servant that never finish and remain untouched by annihilation. Whatever comes from us is suited to us, infected by our own shares and described by dispersion. Whatever comes from God comes with the attribute of infinite exaltedness and majesty, for the reality of together- ness is that it is necessarily subsistent and permanent. These generous, gentle favors, infinite caresses, and lordly welcoming that set forth from the side of All-compellingness lodge only at the core of the friends' hearts. It is they whose life in this world is the goodly life and whose conduct and path are wholesome deeds along with faith; this is their attribute, for the Exalted Lord says,

Whoever does a wholesome deed, male or female, while having faith, We shall surely give him to live a goodly life. The wholesome deed is that which is worthy of acceptance, for it accords with the command. Then He says, while having faith, that is, assenting to the truth that his salvation is by God's bounty, not by his own deeds. He is saying that the goodly life is appropriate for him whose deeds are beautiful, whose conduct is pure, who has the togetherness of aspiration, and who believes that his salvation is by the divine bounty, not by the activity of servanthood. We shall surely give him to live a goodly life. Today there are the sweetness of obedience, the breeze of proximity, and the reminder of the Endless, and tomorrow there will be the Palisades of Holiness in the Presence of At-ness with blessedness, nearness, and the most beautiful.

(And when We put a revelation in place of (another) revelation�) [16:101-102]. This verse was revealed when the idolaters said: �Muhammad is mocking his Companions; one day he commands them to do something and the next day he forbids them from doing it, or brings instead something which is easier. He is nothing but a calumniator who says things of his own invention�, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse and the verse after it.

(And when We put a revelation in place of (another) revelation�) [16:101-102]. This verse was revealed when the idolaters said: �Muhammad is mocking his Companions; one day he commands them to do something and the next day he forbids them from doing it, or brings instead something which is easier. He is nothing but a calumniator who says things of his own invention�, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse and the verse after it.

(And We know well that they say: Only a man teacheth him. The speech of him at whom they falsely hint is outlandish�) [16:103]. Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Muzakki> Abu �Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Hamdan al-Zahid> �Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn �Abd al-�Aziz> Abu Hisham al-Rifa�i> Ibn Fudayl> Husayn> �Abd Allah ibn Muslim who said: �We owned two Christian youths from the people of �Ayn Tamr, one called Yasar and the other Jabr. Their trade was making swords but they also could read the Scriptures in their own tongue. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, used to pass by them and listen to their reading. As a result, the idolaters used to say: �He is being taught by them!� To give them the lie, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (The speech of him at whom they falsely hint is outlandish, and this is clear Arabic speech)�.

(Whoso disbelieveth in Allah after his belief�) [16:106]. Said Ibn 'Abbas: �This verse was revealed about 'Ammar ibn Yasir. The idolaters had taken him away along with his father Yasir, his mother Sumayyah, Suhayb [al-Rumi], Bilal [ibn Rabah], Khabbab [ibn al-Aratt] and Salim [the client of Hudhayfah] and tortured them. As for Sumayyah, she was tied up between two camels and stabbed with a spear in her female organ. She was told: 'You embraced Islam for the men', and was then killed. Her husband Yasir was also killed. They were the first two persons who were killed in Islam. As for 'Ammar, he was coerced to let them hear what they wanted to hear. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was told that 'Ammar has renounced faith, but he said: 'Never, 'Ammar is filled with faith from his head to his toes; faith is admixed with his flesh and blood!' 'Ammar then went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, crying. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, wiped his tears with his own hand and said: 'if they return to you, let them hear again what you told them'. Then, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Mujahid said: �This verse was revealed about some Meccans who accepted faith. The Muslims of Medina wrote to them urging them to migrate and told them that they did not consider them part of them unless they migrated. And so they left Mecca intending to migrate to Medina. The Quraysh caught up with them on the way and coerced them to renounce their faith. It is about them that this verse was revealed�.

Then surely thy Lord-toward those who emigrated after they were tormented, then struggled and were patient-surely thy Lord after that is forgiving, ever-merciful. The reality of emigration is that you emigrate from your own makeup, you abandon yourself and your desires, and you place the foot of nonbeing on top of your own attributes. Beginningless love may then lift the curtain and endless passion may show its beauty. How beautifully that chevalier spoke! Endless passion has nothing to do with a heart that stays firm in its own attributes. [DS 209] The paragon of the world and master of Adam's children, who was the goal of existent things and the center point in the circle of newly arrived things, always used to recite this supplication: “'O God, do not entrust us to our own souls for the blink of an eye, or less than that!' Lord God! Re- move from before us this makeup stamped by createdness and the relationships of opposition! Lift the burden of our souls away from us so that we may travel in the world of tawḤīd!” The command came, “O master, before you wanted, My want took care of your work and put aside the burden of you-ness from you. [Did We not] lift from thee thy burden? [94:2]. O MuḤammad! If anyone came by his own selfhood, you did not come by yourself, because I brought you: Who took His servant by night [17:1]. Nor did you come for yourself, because you came as a mercy for the world's folk: We sent thee only as a mercy to the worlds [21:107]. The state of Abraham was the same. Adam was still in the concealment of nonexistence when the Exalted Lord inscribed the stamp of bosom friendship on that paragon. He placed the fire of yearning for Him in his inwardness, and the beauty of beginningless passion toward him. He al- ludes to this with His words, “We gave Abraham his rectitude from before” [21:51]. Then, when he came into existence, on the day when he stood in the desert of bewilderment, his heart was lit up with love for the Eternal and his spirit was drunk with the wine of nonbeing. At the moment of the morning draft of the passionate, the shouting of the drunkards, and the uproar of the heart-lost, he was driven by craving the wine of nonbeing to say with the tongue of helplessness concerning whatever he looked upon, “This is my Lord” [6:76]. He saw himself consumed in witnessing the Real's majesty and beauty and was unaware of creation's being and his own being. Hence the Exalted Lord increased His caressing of him and counted him as one community:

Surely Abraham was a community, devoted to God and unswerving, not among the associaters, grateful for His blessings. He chose him and guided him to a straight path. Abraham said, “O Lord, You were all [that I saw], and You are all.” So God said, “The community is you yourself. You are the togetherness of all, and that's it.” Indeed, “When someone belongs to God, God belongs to him.” Then He says, “grateful for His blessings.” Abraham discharged gratitude for blessings, for he recognized the Patron of Blessings. He accepted the decree without protest and he approved of whatever came forth without unwillingness. He chose him and guided him to a straight path. He saw the road of servanthood and he went straight in servanthood. He knew that he did not see that road by himself, for it was shown to him, nor did he reach it by the effort of servanthood, for he was made to reach it. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, do You know what has made me happy? I did not fall to You by myself. O God, You wanted-it was not I who wanted. I saw the Friend at my pillow when I woke up from sleep.” Her love came to me before I knew love- it came across a carefree heart and took possession.

Surely Abraham was a community, devoted to God and unswerving, not among the associaters, grateful for His blessings. He chose him and guided him to a straight path. Abraham said, “O Lord, You were all [that I saw], and You are all.” So God said, “The community is you yourself. You are the togetherness of all, and that's it.” Indeed, “When someone belongs to God, God belongs to him.” Then He says, “grateful for His blessings.” Abraham discharged gratitude for blessings, for he recognized the Patron of Blessings. He accepted the decree without protest and he approved of whatever came forth without unwillingness. He chose him and guided him to a straight path. He saw the road of servanthood and he went straight in servanthood. He knew that he did not see that road by himself, for it was shown to him, nor did he reach it by the effort of servanthood, for he was made to reach it. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, do You know what has made me happy? I did not fall to You by myself. O God, You wanted-it was not I who wanted. I saw the Friend at my pillow when I woke up from sleep.” Her love came to me before I knew love- it came across a carefree heart and took possession.

Then We revealed to thee, “Follow the creed of Abraham, an unswerving man.” “O MuḤammad, go in the tracks of Abraham's creed.” Abraham's creed was upright character, generosity, largesse, and loyalty. So the Prophet followed him and surpassed him to the point that he gave away the two worlds in exchange for the Real. God says, “Surely thou hast a tremen- dous character” [68:4].

Invite to the path of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful admonition. In another place He says, “Say: 'This is my path. I invite to God upon insight, I and whosoever follows me'” [12:108]. Inviting to God's road is one thing, and inviting to God is something else. The former has an intermediary in the midst, and the latter has the Real as spokesman. The result of what He said with intermediary is obedience and abandoning opposition. The fruit of what He said without intermediary is solitariness and abandoning self-governance. Solitariness is to make the aspiration one-pointed in both remembrance and gazing. In remembrance it is that you want only Him in remembering Him and you fear none but Him in remembering Him. In gazing it is that at whatever you gaze you see Him and you put down your head before no one but Him. The secret of these words is that whenever He brings an intermediary on the path into the midst, of all His names He mentions Lord, for it is the portion of the common people, and its mean- ing is nurturing. Whenever the path has no intermediary, He says God-of Him the creatures have no portion, and in His beginningless majesty He is without need. O chevalier! Were it not for His intimacy with the spirits of the passionate, why did He dis- close the beauty of the name God in the unneediness of His majesty and exaltation to the spirits and hearts of the passionate? If not that it would be a salve for the pain of the burnt and a mercy on the weakness of the helpless, why did He say, “Invite to the path of thy Lord”? Yes, He calls and invites to see who is worthy to accept and answer the Real's call with heart and spirit. The world's folk are two groups: One group came forth and placed their own spirits and hearts like incense on the fire of love in the censer of recognition, and they burned. They are the ones who heard the Real's call, accepted and responded to the Messenger's invitation with spirit and heart, and came back to the loyalty of the day of Yes indeed [7:172]: They are loyal to God's covenant and do not break the compact [13:20].

(Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation�) [16:125-127]. Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mansuri informed us> 'Ali ibn 'Umar al-Hafiz> 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz> al-Hakam ibn Musa> Isma'il ibn 'Ayyash> 'Abd al-Malik ibn Abi Ghaniyyah> al-Hakam ibn 'Utaybah> Mujahid> Ibn 'Abbas who said: �When the idolaters retreated from those who were killed at the Battle of Uhud, The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, went there and saw a scene which he strongly disliked. And he also saw Hamzah with his stomach ripped open, nose burnt and ears cut off. He said: 'If it were not for the fear of causing more grief to the women or that it becomes a followed practice after me, I would leave him until Allah, exalted is He, resurrect him from the bellies of predatory animals and birds. I shall kill seventy men of them [of the disbelievers of Quraysh] in revenge', He then asked for a mantle to cover him with it. When he covered his face, his feet remained uncovered and so he covered them with some Bulrush. He then placed him forward and said 'Allah is the greatest' ten times. Then, all those Muslim dead were brought, one by one, while the body of Hamzah was unmoved from its place, and the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, prayed on them. And so He performed seventy prayers on Hamzah. There were seventy Muslims who died in this battle. When they were buried and finished with, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation) up to His words (Endure thou patiently (O Muhammad). Thine endurance is only by (the help of) Allah�) [16:127]. And so, he was patient and did not mutilate any one�. Isma'il ibn Ibrahim al-Wa'iz informed us> Abu'l-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Isa al-Hafiz> 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz> Bishr ibn al-Walid al-Kindi> Salih al-Murri> Sulayman al-Taymi> Abu 'Uthman al-Nahdi> Abu Hurayrah who said: �When the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, got closer to Hamzah, he saw that he was dead. Nothing that he ever saw was more painful to his heart than that sight. He said: �By Allah, I will kill seventy of them in return!� This verse was then revealed (If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted.

(Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation�) [16:125-127]. Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mansuri informed us> 'Ali ibn 'Umar al-Hafiz> 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz> al-Hakam ibn Musa> Isma'il ibn 'Ayyash> 'Abd al-Malik ibn Abi Ghaniyyah> al-Hakam ibn 'Utaybah> Mujahid> Ibn 'Abbas who said: �When the idolaters retreated from those who were killed at the Battle of Uhud, The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, went there and saw a scene which he strongly disliked. And he also saw Hamzah with his stomach ripped open, nose burnt and ears cut off. He said: 'If it were not for the fear of causing more grief to the women or that it becomes a followed practice after me, I would leave him until Allah, exalted is He, resurrect him from the bellies of predatory animals and birds. I shall kill seventy men of them [of the disbelievers of Quraysh] in revenge', He then asked for a mantle to cover him with it. When he covered his face, his feet remained uncovered and so he covered them with some Bulrush. He then placed him forward and said 'Allah is the greatest' ten times. Then, all those Muslim dead were brought, one by one, while the body of Hamzah was unmoved from its place, and the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, prayed on them. And so He performed seventy prayers on Hamzah. There were seventy Muslims who died in this battle. When they were buried and finished with, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation) up to His words (Endure thou patiently (O Muhammad). Thine endurance is only by (the help of) Allah�) [16:127]. And so, he was patient and did not mutilate any one�. Isma'il ibn Ibrahim al-Wa'iz informed us> Abu'l-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Isa al-Hafiz> 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz> Bishr ibn al-Walid al-Kindi> Salih al-Murri> Sulayman al-Taymi> Abu 'Uthman al-Nahdi> Abu Hurayrah who said: �When the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, got closer to Hamzah, he saw that he was dead. Nothing that he ever saw was more painful to his heart than that sight. He said: �By Allah, I will kill seventy of them in return!� This verse was then revealed (If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted.

Surely God is with those who are godwary and those who are beautiful-doers. This is one of the all-comprehensive verses of the Qur'an. All of God's caresses of His servant in the two worlds, the rewards and the generous gifts, are included in what He says: “Surely God is with.” Every sort of service, every type of obedience, and all the roots of worship that the servant performs for God come under godwary. All that is rightfully due to people from each other in the various sorts of interactions come under beautiful-doers. In reality the godwary and the beautiful-doers are such that the scent of love's breeze comes from the dust beneath their feet. If the tears of their eyes were to fall on the ground, the narcissus of desire would bloom. If the disclosure of their present moment were to fall on a stone, it would turn into a carnelian. If it fell on water, it would become wine. If the fire of their yearning were to flame up, the world would burn. If the light of their recognition were to shine, the universe would be radiant. They have no station in the cities, no ease with the people. The common people have two festivals in the year, but they have a festival with every breath. The common people have festivals because of seeing the moon, but they have their festival because of contemplating God. The common people have festivals because of the turning of the year, but they have their festival because of the bounteousness of the Possessor of Majesty. For thousands of years the moon-faced beauties of Firdaws and the houris of paradise have been standing in wait in that busy bazaar: When will they convey the fortunate procession of the godwary and beautiful- doers to High Chambers so that they, as hangers-on, may step into the pageant of good fortune in a seat of truthfulness, at an Omnipotent King [54:55].

Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from the Holy Mosque to the Farthest Mosque. At the beginning of this surah He praised Himself, then He disclosed the nobility of MuṣṬafā and uncovered his eminence over the creatures. First He testified to His own faultlessness and men- tioned His own purity. He Himself praised Himself and showed the creatures His perfect power. He turned over the Messenger's miʿrāj to His own act, not the Messenger's act, so that the faithful will not fall into uncertainty and there would be an argument against the deniers. Thus the faithful will know that the marvels of power have no limit and that this state is not strange given the perfect power of the Powerful. Another meaning is to display the nobility of MuṣṬafā and his eminence over the creatures of the world. Then the world's folk will know that his station is that of those snatched away on the carpet of companionship, not that of the travelers in the way stations of service. He who is snatched away is being pulled by the Real, but the traveler is traveling by himself. When someone is being pulled by the Real, he is in the way station of whispered secrets and joy and is fitting for generous bestowal and exaltation. But when someone is himself traveling, he keeps on wanting to gain access to the thresh- old of service and seeking for a rank to appear for himself. The former is the station of MuḤammad, the Real's beloved, and the latter is the station of Moses, the Real's speaking-companion. Do you not see that He said about Moses, “Moses came to Our appointed time” [7:143], but He said about MuṣṬafā, “who took His servant by night.” Moses was a comer, traveling by himself. MuḤammad was taken, snatched away from himself. He who walks with His feet is not like him who walks toward Him, and he to whose secret core revelation comes is not like him who is called to Him. The one who was traveling was absent through distance, so after separation he found union. The one who was taken was in the elevation of union at the outset, and he received the robe of bounty at the end. Then He says, “His servant by night.

And We gave Moses the Book, and We made it a guidance for the Children of Israel. God's many mentions of Moses in the Qur'an are among the signs of His honoring him and the marks of His love for him. When someone loves someone, he often mentions him. MuṣṬafā said, “When someone loves something, he mentions it much”: When someone loves something he is always mentioning its name and remembering it. Do you not see that the Lord of the world, the lovingly kind Enactor, said to Moses, “I cast upon thee love from Me” [20:39]. Hence you should look at how many times He mentioned Moses in the Qur'an: the promised time of Moses, the Mount of Moses, the promise to Moses, the exile of Moses, the whispered prayer of Moses, the brother of Moses, the sister of Moses, the mother of Moses, the traveling companion of Moses, the sea of Moses, the Pharaoh of Moses, the suffering of Moses, the caressing of Moses. He did not leave anything of the states and character traits of Moses without mentioning it in the Qur'an and making the faithful happy by hearing about it. Thus you will know that much mention is the fruit of the tree of friendship and the mark of the road of friendship.

And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Book: “You will surely work corruption in the earth twice and you will become high with great height.” “We ruled and decreed, bringing the work out from the Unseen, so as to show the creatures that all of that was We, and all are We. In the Beginningless were We, in the Endless are We. Good and bad are by Our desire, profit and loss are by Our predetermination, the engendered beings and the newly arrived things are ruled over by Our prescribing and subjugated by Our determin- ing. From the beginningless to the everlasting Our knowledge goes everywhere and We rule and command everything. The existence and nonexistence of you, who are creatures, are the same for the threshold of Our Majesty. We do not benefit from your existence nor are We harmed by your nonexistence. The perfection of Our exaltedness has no need for your obedience.”

If you do the beautiful, you will have done the beautiful for your own souls, and if you do the ugly, it will be against them. If you do the beautiful, you will earn your reward, and if you do the ugly, you will attract your punishment. The Real is more exalted than that ornament or stain should go back to Him from the acts of the servant. The exalted majesty of the Unity and the perfection of the Self-Sufficiency is more exalted and purer than that it should be adorned by the obedience of the obedient or stained by the disobedience of the disobedient. If you come as a good man, you yourself will profit, and if you come as a bad man, you will bring harm upon yourself. He is saying, “For the majesty of Our Unity, the beauty of Our Self-Sufficiency is enough.” Her own face had itself as a moon, her own eye had itself as collyrium. If you do the beautiful, you will have done the beautiful for your own souls. This is the degree of the generality of the faithful in their deeds. As for the degree of the elect in their deeds and states, it is as was said by Abū Yazīd concerning the allusion of this verse: “He who acts for his own soul does not act for God, and he who acts for God does not act for his own soul, nor does he see it.” Abū Sulaymān Dārānī said, “In this world the doers act in various ways, each of them seeking his own share in his deeds. Thus an ignorant person acts in heedlessness, a doer acts out of habit, a fearful man acts in fear, a trusting person acts while detached, a renunciant acts in seclusion, and a sincerely truthful man acts with love. Those who act in God are fewer than the few.”

Perhaps your Lord will have mercy upon you. And if you return, We will return. This verse is a strong handhold and a beautiful caress for the hopeful. In other words, “Perhaps He who nurtures you and feeds you with His bounty will have mercy upon you. There is hope that the Lord who created you gratis out of His bounty, who nourished you with His blessings, who kept you in His guarding and solicitude with His gentleness, and who preserved you from blights and disliked things will have mercy on you in the end and finish the work that He Himself began with bounty.” And if you return, We will return. Sahl ibn ʿAbdallāh said, “If you return to fleeing from Us, We will return to taking the path against you so that you will return to Us.” This is just like what MuṣṬafā said, recounting from God: “When I know that occupation with Me has overpowered My servant's heart, I put My servant's appetite into asking from Me and whispering to Me. When My servant is like that and he desires to be negligent of Me, I come between him and his negligence of Me.”

Man supplicates for evil just as he supplicates for good. Sahl said, “The safest of supplications is remembrance and the abandonment of choice in supplica- tion and asking, for in remembrance there is sufficiency, and perchance man will supplicate and ask for that within which is his destruction, while he is not aware. Do you not see that God says, 'Man supplicates for evil just as he supplicates for good.'” When someone remembers constantly and abandons choice in supplicating and asking, the best of his wishes will be freely given to him and the blights of asking and choice will fall away from him. The Prophet said, recounting from his Lord, “When someone's remembrance of Me keeps him too busy to ask from Me, I will give him the best of what I give to the askers.”

And every man, We have fastened his omen to his neck. And We shall bring forth for him, on the Day of Resurrection, a book he will meet wide open. What is appropriate for each person was fastened to his neck and written out for him in the Begin- ningless. One had the crown of felicity placed on his head, the tree of his hope filled with fruit, the bounties brought out, the night of separation taken away, the day of union brought forth. By the decree of wretchedness another had the blanket of ill fortune pulled over his head and he was wounded by the sword of deprivation and fastened down with the spikes of rejection. Yes, this ap- portioning happened in the Beginningless; nothing will be increased and nothing decreased. What can be done, for the Greatest Judge wanted it this way. The poor Adamite who has no awareness of his own Beginningless, and who sits heedless of his own Endless! Between what was and what will be, he has been taken by the sleep of heedlessness. He will awake from the sleep of heedless- ness on the day when he is handed the book of his deeds. And We shall bring forth for him, on the Day of Resurrection, a book he will meet wide open, a book whose pen is his tongue, whose ink is his saliva, whose paper is his bodily parts and joints, and which he himself has dictated from beginning to end. The angels are the scribes and the wit-nesses against him, and not one letter will be added or subtracted. It will be said to him,

Read thy book! Thy soul suffices thee today as a reckoner against thee. “Read your book and see your own deeds.” If you deny one letter of it, that very bodily member from which that deed went forth will testify against you, as God says: “On the day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet bear witness against them concerning what they were doing” [24:24]. This is why He says, “Thy soul suffices thee today as a reckoner against thee,” that is, as a witness of what came from you against you. It has been said that the books are two: One is written by the angel against the servant, and that is his words and deeds; the other is written by the Real against Himself, and that is His pardon and mercy toward the servant. If the beginningless solicitude takes the servant by the hand, His reckoning with him will be from the book of His own mercy, not the book of the servant's deeds. This is just like what has come in the traditions: When the servant's book is placed in his hands, it is said, “Read thy book!” The servant looks into the book and sees written on the first page, “In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.” He says, “Lord God, first dis-charge for me the account for this one line and issue its decree for me.” God says, “My servant! I have taken account of it and I have forgiven you through My bounty and mercy. In the Beginningless, I wrote mercy for you and said about Myself, 'Forgiver of sins and Accepter of repentance' [40:3].” Thy soul suffices thee today as a reckoner against thee. ʿUmar KhaṬṬāb said, “Take an account- ing of yourselves before you are brought to account, weigh your deeds before they are weighed, and prepare for the Greatest Exposure.” Anyone who is aware of the Tribunal of Wrongdoing and the calling to account at the resurrection, who has found a whiff of the recognition of the states and terrors of that day, should know that whatever was his companion during his days-little and much, spots and specks-its talk will be asked from him tomorrow and he will be called to account for it. Hence today he should lift the veil of heedlessness away from his road and keep his deeds and words straight in keeping with the yardstick of the Shariah.

And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and beautiful doing toward your parents. In this verse the wise Lord, the eternal Enactor, the lovingly kind and generous Beautiful-Doer commands the servants to servanthood. Servanthood is three things: seeing favor, striving in service, and fear of the end. Seeing favor belongs to Abraham the bosom friend, who said, “Who created me, so He is guiding me” [26:78]. Striving in service belongs to MuḤammad the beloved, to whom it was said, “We did not send down the Qur'an upon thee for thee to be wretched” [20:2]. Fear of the end belongs to Joseph the sincerely truthful, who said, “Receive me as a submitter” [12:101]. When someone stands in the field of servanthood in the row of service and sets his feet in the clay of what he desires, making the Exalted Presence the Kaabah of his wishes, God will put the folk of the empire into his service and will take care of his work in the two worlds without him. This is why MuṣṬafā said, “When someone belongs to God, God belongs to him.” When- ever someone has no watchfulness in servanthood, he will have no contemplation on the carpet of proximity. Know also that the wayfarers in the road of servanthood are three men: One is the worshiper, whose soul is subjugated by the fear of punishment. One is the recognizer, whose heart is subju- gated by the forcefulness of proximity. One is the lover, whose spirit is subjugated by the unveil- ing of the Haqiqah. Whenever the worshiper wants to lift away the bond of struggle from his days, at once he looks at the title-page of the Real's rebuke and throws down his head in the station of shame. Whenever the recognizer wants to make manifest the banner of happiness and expansiveness by virtue of proximity, at once the ruling power of the Real's awesomeness appears and he falls into the lowland of confoundedness. Whenever the lover gazes at majesty, at once he melts in awe, seeing only bewilderment in bewilderment. Whenever he gazes at beauty, he delights in happiness and revelry, seeing only light and joy. In the tongue of his state he says, “Your beauty is my pleasure, Your approval my delight, and among all the religions Your love is my religion.

(And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck�) [17:29]. Abu�l-Hasan Muhammad ibn �Abd Allah ibn �Ali ibn �Imran informed us> Abu �Ali ibn Ahmad al-Faqih> Abu �Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Isma�il al-Mahamili> Zakariyya ibn Yahya al-Darir> Sulayman ibn Sulayman al-Juhani> Qays ibn al-Rabi�> Abu Ishaq> Abu�l-Ahwas> �Abd Allah who said: �A boy came to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: �My mother asks you to give her this and that�. He said to him: �We do not have anything today�. The boy said: �She is asking you to give her your gown�. He took off his gown, gave it to him and remained in his house denuded. Allah, glorified and exalted is He, then revealed (And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with a complete opening�)�. Said Jabir ibn �Abd Allah: �As the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was sitting with his Companions, a boy came to him and said: �O Messenger of Allah, my mother asks you for a gown�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not have any gown except the one he was wearing, and so he said to the boy: �Things turn up from time to time, so come back to us another time�. He went to his mother and informed her but she said to him: �Tell him that my mother asks you for the gown you are wearing�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, went inside his house, took off his gown and gave it to the boy and remained there naked. When Bilal called for the prayer, people waited for the Prophet, Allah bless him and give, to emerge and lead them in prayer but he did not come out. The Companions became worried. One of them entered in on him and found him naked. Allah, glorious and exalted is He, then revealed (And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with a complete opening)�.

And say to My servants that they should say what is more beautiful. “O MuḤammad, say to My servants that the words they speak should be more beautiful, more true, and more pleasing. That is remembering and lauding God, mentioning Him on the tongue, and keeping His remembrance in the heart.” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O You who open the tongues of those who whisper in prayer, who increase the intimacy of the seclusions of the rememberers, and who are present in the souls of the keepers of the mystery! I have no traveling companion but the mention of You, no supplies but keeping Your remembrance, no guidepost and no one to show the road to You but You. O God, look upon the need of someone who has nothing other than one need!” It has also been said, “The most beautiful word of sinners is attesting to offenses, and the most beautiful word of recognizers is attesting to the incapacity to recognize. The Prophet said, 'I do not number Thy laudations: Thou art as Thou hast lauded Thyself.'” The most beautiful words that a sinful man may say is to attest to his own offense and ac- knowledge his own sin so that the Exalted Lord may bestow on him the success of repentance and complete the work of his repentance for him by forgiving his sins, for that is the promise He has given: “And others who have acknowledged their sins. They mixed a wholesome deed with another, an ugly deed. Perhaps God will turn toward them” [9:102]. And the most beautiful word that a recognizing man may say is to attest to his own incapacity to recognize the Real. He knows that no one recognizes Him, nor can anyone do so, as is worthy of Him in the reality of His rightful due and the limits of His exaltedness. This is why Abū Bakr ṣiddīq said, “Glory be to Him who made no path for the creatures to recognize Him save the incapacity to recognize Him!” Pure and faultless is the Lord, who considers the servant's incapacity to recognize Him as recognition! Abū ʿAlī Daqqāq said, “O God, he who recognizes You has not recognized You. What then about the state of him who in fact has not recognized You?!” Naṣrābādī and Shāh [Kirmānī] disagreed with each other.

And We made some of the prophets more excellent than others. The prophets have the generous gifts of states and the specific characteristics of proximity. One of them has chosenness [Adam], another bosom friendship [Abraham], another speaking with God [Moses], and still another the miʿrāj, intercession, and vision. Then He made some of them su- perior to others in specific characteristics. He made the prophets superior to the world's folk, He made the messengers superior to the prophets, He made the Possessors of Resoluteness superior to the messengers, and He made MuṣṬafā superior to the Possessors of Resoluteness. The furthest limits of the stations of all of them are the beginning of the station of MuṣṬafā; the furthest limits of their stations is apparent, but the end of his station is not apparent. He is aware of the secret core of all of them, but no one other than the Real is aware of his secret core. That is why he said, “'I am the master of the children of Adam, without boasting.' How should I boast of that? For I am separate from them in my state and I stand with the Real in beautiful courtesy. Were I to boast, I would boast of the Real, proximity, and closeness, for He says, 'Then He drew close, so He came down' [53:8]. If I do not boast about the place of closeness and proximity, how could I boast about being the master of all the races?” That paragon of the world was a sun whose eastern horizon was Mecca and whose western horizon was Yathrib. Its eclipse was in the cave, but that was an eclipse within which a hundred thousand deposits of gentle favor were unveiled. On his forehead was the splendor of By thy life [15:72], on the sleeve of his covenant the exalted embroidery of MuḤammad is God's mes- senger [48:29], on the door of the pavilion of his secret core this flag of rulership: Surely We have opened up for thee a clear opening [48:1]. The rug of that paragon's messengerhood was thrown from the east of the world to the west of the world, the carpet of his prophethood was spread from Qāf to Qāf, the shadowy banners of unbelief were overthrown with his appearance, the seat of his secret core's joy was set up higher than the throne of Ursa Major.

(Naught hindereth Us from sending portents�) [17:59]. Sa�id ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ja�far informed us> Zahir ibn Ahmad> Abu�l-Qasim al-Baghawi> �Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah> Jarir ibn �Abd al-Hamid> al-A�mash> Ja�far ibn Iyas> Sa�id ibn Jubayr> Ibn �Abbas who said: �The people of Mecca asked the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, to turn al-Safa hill into gold and remove the mountains [surrounding Mecca] for them so that they can engage in agriculture. It was said to him: �If you wish to wait for them until We may select people from them [to believe in you], or you can give them what they have asked for. But if they disbelieve after that, We will destroy them like We destroyed those before them�. He said: �No, I would rather wait�. And so Allah, glorious and majestic is He, revealed this verse (Naught hindereth Us from sending portents save that the folk of old denied them�)�.

(�and (likewise) the Accursed Tree in the Qur�an�) [17:60]. Isma�il ibn �Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad al-Wa�iz informed us> Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Faqih> Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Qattan> Ishaq ibn �Abd Allah ibn Zurayr> Hafs ibn �Abd al-Rahman> Muhammad ibn Ishaq> Hakim ibn �Abbad ibn Hunayf> �Ikrimah> Ibn �Abbas that he said: �When the tree of al-Zaqqum was mentioned in the Qur�an [37:62; 44:43 and 56:52], the Quraysh were threatened with it. Abu Jahl said: �Do you know what this Zaqqum, with which Muhammad threatens you, is?� They said: �No!� He said: �Meat and broth with cream. By Allah, if he let us put our hands on it we will devour it!� Allah, glorious and exalted is He, revealed (�and (likewise) the Accursed Tree in the Qur�an�) saying: this tree is repulsive (We warn them, but it increaseth them in naught save gross impiety)�.

We indeed honored the children of Adam, and We carried them on land and sea, and We provided them with goodly things, and We made them much more excellent than many of those We created. It was a great felicitation, a complete bestowal of eminence, and a tremendous honor that God gave to the faithful children of Adam. On the Day of the Compact, at the outset of the work and the com- mencement of existence, He gave them a place in the grasp of His attributes and addressed them with the quality of gentleness, binding them to the covenant and compact of friendship. Then, when they came into this world, He gave them a beautiful form, a lovely shape, and a complete robe of honor, adorning them with knowledge, intellect, speech, understanding, and ex- cellence. He did not hold them back from the outward success of struggle or the inner realization of contemplation and recognition. He opened the door of His mercy and generosity to them, and He kept them on the carpet of whispered prayer. Whenever they want, they call upon Him, ask from Him, and tell Him their secrets. It has been transmitted in one of the traditions that God said, “My servants, confide your secrets in Me. If you will not, then whisper and speak to Me. If you will not, then listen to Me. If you will not, then gaze upon Me. If you will not, then be at My door and lift up your needs before Me, for I am the most generous of the generous.” Part of the honor is that He bestowed before they asked and He forgave before they begged forgiveness, as has come in the report: “I bestowed upon you before you asked from Me, and I forgave you before you asked Me to forgive you.” Part of the honor is that among all the created things, He specified them for affection and love. That which He did not bestow on the angels and did not say about the cherubim and the spirituals of heaven, He said about them: “He loves them, and they love Him [5:54]. God approves of them and they approve of Him [9:100]. Those who have faith are more intense in love for God [2:165]. So remember Me; I will remember you [2:152]. ” Remember Me is the rivulet of your remembrance, and I will remember you is the ocean of the Real's remembrance. When the rivulet of the servant's remembrance reaches the ocean of the Real's remembrance, the water of the ocean of I will remember you enters the rivulet of Remember Me and all of it becomes the ocean's water. Nothing remains of the rivulet. This is exactly what the Pir of the Tariqah said: “When someone falls into the Real's grasp, he burns, and then the Real is his successor.” O God, You are the meaning of the call of the truthful, You light up the souls of the friends, You are the repose of the hearts of the exiles! You are present in the midst of the spirit, so it is with my lost heart that I say, “Where are You?” You are the life of the spirit and the mirror of the tongue. You Yourself are the spokesman for Yourself. By Your rightful due against Yourself, do not seat us in the shadow of delusion! Convey us to union with You! He said, “We indeed honored the children of Adam.” He did not say “the faithful,” or “the worshipers,” or “the strugglers.” Thus He declared this honoring pure of being the counterpart of activity, or being caused by a conformity with something, or being the result of a worthiness in some respect. The reason He did not tie His generosity and gentleness toward the servants to their deeds or struggle is so that you would know that His caressing has no cause and His honoring is not a com- pensation. He caresses because He wants to, not because of the servants' obedience. He bestows because of His bounty, not because of their effort. The servant who finds the Real's generosity does not find it because of his obedience. Rather, he has obedience because he has found the Real's generosity. It is not the servant's supplication that led to the response of the Real; rather, it is the Real's response that has led the servant to supplicate. The servant who finds the Real does not find from seeking; rather, he finds seeking from finding. Being carried is the act of him who was not; carrying is the bounty of Him who always was. And We carried them on land and sea. The mounts of the common people on land and sea are one thing, and the mounts of the elect something else.

(And they indeed strove hard to beguile thee (Muhammad) away from that wherewith We have inspired thee�) [17:73]. �Ata� reported that Ibn �Abbas said: �This was revealed about the delegation of Thaqif. They went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and asked for unacceptable things. They said: �Allow us to worship al-Lat for one year and make our valley inviolable � its trees, birds and wild animals � just as you have made Mecca inviolable�. They persisted and insisted but the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, rejected all their demands. They said: �We want the Arabs to know our merit over them. If you dislike what we say and you are afraid that the Arabs say, you have given them that which you did not give us, simply say that Allah has commanded you to do so�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not answer them and this raised their hope. But �Umar shouted in their faces: �Do you not see that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not answer you because he does not like what you have come for?� The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was on the verge of giving them what they wanted. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Said Sa�id ibn Jubayr: �The idolaters said to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace: �We will not leave you alone until you come close to our idols, even if you only have to touch them with your fingers�. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said in reply: �And what harm is there in me doing so, if Allah knows that I dislike it�. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse (And they indeed strove hard to beguile thee (Muhammad) away from that wherewith We have inspired thee) up to His words (� accepted thee as a friend)�. Said Qatadah: �It was mentioned to us that one night the Quraysh met the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, alone and their meeting lasted until morning. They talked to him, treated him as if he was one of their greats and chiefs and were agreeable to him. They said: �You have brought something that no human being has brought before; you are our master and the son of our master�, and they kept talking to him until he almost agreed to some of the things they wanted. But Allah, exalted is He, protected him. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed this verse�.

(And they indeed wished to scare thee from the land�) [17:76]. Said Ibn �Abbas: �The Jews resentfully envied the settling of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, in Medina, and so they said: �The Prophets were only sent in Syria; if you are truly a prophet, you should go over there. And if you go there, we will believe and have faith in you�. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, liked what he heard from them, since he was keen that they embrace Islam. He left Medina but when he had traversed a day�s journey, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. �Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghunm said: �The Jews went to see the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: �If you are truthful about being a prophet of Allah, then you should go to Syria, for the latter is the land of Resurrection and Mustering [on the Day of Judgement] as it is the land of prophets�. He believed what they said. And when he went for the Battle of Tabuk, he had the intention of going to Syria. But when he reached Tabuk, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (And they indeed wished to scare thee from the land)�. Mujahid, Qatadah and al-Hasan said: �The people of Mecca were on the verge of driving the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, out of Mecca, when Allah, exalted is He, commanded him to leave. He revealed this verse to inform him of what the people of Mecca intended to do�.

(And say: My Lord! Cause me to come in with a firm incoming�) [17:80]. Said al-Hasan: �When the unbelievers of Quraysh wanted to fetter the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and expel him from Mecca, Allah, exalted is He, wanted the survival of the people of Mecca and commanded His Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, to migrate to Medina. And He then revealed (And say: My Lord! Cause me to come in with a firm incoming and to go out with a firm outgoing�)�.

Say: “Each acts according to his own manner.” What comes from the Adamite other than disloyalty? What comes from water and clay other than error? What will be seen from the Lord's generosity other than loyalty? In the whole Qur'an, no verse offers more hope than this. He is saying, “Everyone does what comes from him, and from everyone comes what is worthy of him. The servant returns to sin and the Lord returns to forgiveness.” One of revealed books tells us that God said, “O child of Adam! You keep on returning to sins, and I keep on returning to forgiveness.” It was said to the abandoned one of the empire, the despairing Iblis, “Prostrate yourself before Adam!” He said, “I will not, for Adam is from dust, and I am from fire.” It was said to him, “O unlucky one! No doubt everyone does what is worthy of him, and from everyone comes what is inside him. When fire dies down, it becomes ashes, which can never be renewed. Dust, even if it is old, is renewed by sprinkling water on it. O Iblis, O you who are of fire, you left aside one command, so you will die and never come to life! O Adam, O you who are of dust, you let one tear of remorse fall from your eyes, so I have forgiven your sins and will caress you. O Iblis, what you did comes from fire. O Adam, what you saw is born of dust. Say: 'Each acts according to his own manner.'”

They ask thee about the spirit. Man is body, heart, and spirit. The body is the place of the Trust, the heart is the threshold of be- ing addressed, and the spirit is the center point of contemplation. All blessings are largesse for the body; its nourishment is food and drink. All favors are gifts for the heart; its nutriment is remem- bering and mentioning the Friend. All vision and contemplation are the portion of the spirit; its nourishment is seeing the Friend. The body is under the severity of power, the heart in the grasp of the attributes, and the spirit in the embrace of exaltedness-the carpet of intimacy spread, the candle of compassion lit, the beginningless Friend having lifted the veil.

(And they say: We will not put faith in thee till thou cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us) [17:90]. 'Ikrimah reported that Ibn 'Abbas related that 'Utbah, Shaybah, Abu Sufyan, al-Nadr ibn al-Harith, Abu'l-Bukhturi, al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah, Abu Jahl, 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy ibn Umayyah, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, and the chiefs of Quraysh gathered in front of the Ka'bah and said to each other: �Send for Muhammad, speak to him, and argue with him so that others do not blame you about him�. They sent to him with a message that the nobles of your people have gathered and want to speak with you. He came promptly, thinking that they had changed their mind about him, for he was keen to see them guided and was pained for their stubbornness. When he sat with them, they said: 'O Muhammad, by Allah we do not know of any man among the Arabs who has introduced to his people what you have introduced. You have insulted our forefathers, censored our religion, accused us of ignorance, slandered our idols, divided the community and you have not left anything revolting except that you have placed it between us and you. Now, if you have brought all this to seek wealth, we will collect from our wealth so that you become the richest among us; if you seek status, we will make you our chief; if you seek kingship, we will make you our king; and if the jinn that appears to you has completely overwhelmed you, we will spend our money to get you the right medicine to cure you or discharge our duty toward you'. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to them: 'I do not have what you accuse me of. I did not bring you what I brought to seek wealth, status or kingship. Rather, it is Allah, glorious and majestic is He, Who has sent me to you as a Messenger. He has revealed to me a Scripture and commanded me to be a carrier of good tiding as well as a warner. I have conveyed to you the message of my Lord and advised you well. If you accept that which I have brought you, it is your share in this world and in the next.

Say: “Have faith in it, or do not have faith.” Surely those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in prostration. The side of Unity, the exalted Majesty, is alluding to the fact that He has never had and will never have any need for an obedience that was not and then came into being. He is saying, “You have no worth, for nothing is worthy of Me. If you want, have faith, and if you do not want, do not. I have no need for your faith. Beginningless majesty and beauty gain no adornment from the obedi- ence of newly arrived things. I had still not written out existence for any existent thing when My majesty was contemplating My beauty and I was pleased with Myself in Myself. Today that I have created the creatures, I am what I was. I have no need in Myself for any causes and no need in My perfection for any seeking.”

They fall down on their faces weeping. Weeping is the state of the beginners and the attribute of the travelers-everyone according to his own state and every traveler in the measure of his own deeds. The repenter looks upon his own sin and weeps in fear of punishment. The obedient person looks upon his own lax obedience and weeps in fear of shortcoming. The worshiper weeps in fear of the outcome: “What will be done with me tomorrow?” The recognizer looks at the beginningless precedent and weeps: “What was done to me and decreed for me in the Beginningless?” All this happens to travelers on the path and is a mark of the weakness of their state. As for those who have been snatched away from themselves, the folk of stability, for them weeping is an imperfection and defect in their road. Thus it is related that Junayd was sitting with his wife and Shiblī entered. The wife wanted to cover herself, but Junayd said to her, “Shiblī is not aware of you, so sit.” Junayd kept speaking to her, and then Shiblī wept. When Shiblī began to weep, Junayd said to his wife, “Cover yourself, for Shiblī has come back from absence to awareness.”

(Say (unto mankind): Cry unto Allah, or cry unto the Beneficent�) [17:110]. Said Ibn �Abbas: �One night in Mecca, The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, stood up for the night vigil prayer. He kept saying in his prostration: �O Beneficent, O Merciful!� And so the idolaters said: �Muhammad used to call unto one Allah; now he is calling unto two gods: Allah and the Beneficent. We do not know of anyone by the name of the Beneficent except the beneficent of al-Yamamah (meaning Musaylimah the liar)�, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Said Maymun ibn Mihran: �At the beginning of revelation, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give peace, used to write �In Thy name, O Allah� until this verse was revealed (Lo! It is from Solomon, and lo, it is: In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful) [27:30], after which he always wrote �In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful�. The Arab idolaters then commented: �We know this Merciful but who is the Beneficent?� As a response, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Said al-Dahhak: �The people of the Book said to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace: �You mention very little the Beneficent and yet Allah mentions this name in the Torah in abundance�. Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse as a response to them�. (And thou (Muhammad), be not loud-voiced in thy worship nor yet silent therein, but follow a way between) [17:110]. Abu �Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya informed us> his father> Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Thaqafi> �Abd Allah ibn Muti� and Ahmad ibn Mani�> Hushaym> Abu Bishr> Sa�id ibn Jubayr> Ibn �Abbas who said regarding the words of Allah, exalted is He (And thou (Muhammad), be not loud-voiced in thy worship nor yet silent therein�): �This verse was revealed while the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was in hiding in Mecca. Whenever the unbelievers heard the Qur�an being recited, they reviled it and reviled the person who had brought it. Hence, Allah, glorious and majestic is He, said to His Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace (And thou (Muhammad), be not loud-voiced in thy worship) i.e. upon reciting the Qur�an in prayer, lest the idolaters hear it and revile the Qur�an, (nor yet silent therein) such that your Companions do not hear you, (but follow a way between)�.

Praise belongs to God who sent down the Book to His servant and placed no crookedness therein. Praise belongs to God. He praised Himself by Himself since He knew the incapacity of creatures to reach His praise. The majestic Lord, the perfectly powerful, the fount of bounteous bestowal, the one worthy of His own laudation, the one who gives thanks for His own giving-He Himself praises Himself and He Himself lauds Himself, for He Himself recognizes His exaltedness and He Himself knows His tremendousness and all-compellingness. He is exalted through His own majesty, holy through His own perfection, magnificent through His own magnificence. How will water and dust ever reach His description? How can that which was not, then came to be, know His measure? How can the attributes of newly arrived things match His attributes? That which was not, then came to be, is not. How can the recognition of that which is come from that which is not? The Exalted Lord brought the creatures into existence with His bounty and generosity. He clothed them in the garment of creation, nurtured them and preserved them from trials, accepted their obedience with all its shortcoming, and concealed their iniquity and disloyalty in the curtain of bounty. He gave them the success of obedience and adorned their hearts with faith and recogni- tion. Since He knew that the servants were incapable of discharging gratitude for these blessings, He uncovered His bounty and generosity, made the tongue of gentleness a deputy for the indigent and incapable, and praised Himself. He said “Praise belongs to God.” In the road of love it is a stipulation of friendship to act as deputy for friends. He said, “All those blessings that I gave I gave without you and I apportioned without you. Just as I apportioned without you, so also I praised without you. By virtue of friendship I acted as your deputy so as to complete My beautiful doing and beneficence toward you.” Who sent down the Book to His servant. Who is an allusion. Sent down the Book to His servant is an expression. Allusions are the portion of the spirits, and expressions are the portion of the [bodily] semblances. The spirits, on hearing who, were elated and came into revelry. The semblances, on hearing sent down the Book to His servant, began to struggle and took to the road of seeking.

They shall have a beautiful wage, remaining therein endlessly. It gives this warning to the strangers:

They shall have a beautiful wage, remaining therein endlessly. It gives this warning to the strangers:

They say nothing but a lie.

Perhaps thou art consuming thyself with grief in their tracks that they do not have faith in this talk. “O MuḤammad! Do not busy your secret core with their opposition. It is only for you to deliver the message; guidance comes from Us to whomsoever We will.”

Surely We have made all that is on the earth an adornment for it. The folk who recognize God, love Him, and yearn for Him are the adornment of the earth: its stars, moons, and suns. When the lights of tawḤīd shine in the secret cores of the tawḤīd-voicers, all of the horizons become radiant with their brightness. The adornment of the earth is the friends of God. The cosmos is decorated with them and the world painted with them. Their hearts are lit by the light of recognition, their secret cores are given access to the presence of proximity by the mediation of wisdom, their faces are turned toward the presence of proximity by the well-trodden path of rectitude, and the avenue of the Tariqah and the Sunnah has been placed before them. They are the signposts of the religion and the Pegs of the earth, the lamps of the world and the keys to the Gardens. They lay down the foundations of friendship and prop up the portico of truthfulness. God's gentleness toward the creatures comes through them and the goal in the creation of the realm of being is they. In name and mark they are the poor, and in reality they are the kings of the earth-kings in tatters. Anyone who wants to know their conduct and adornment should recite the story of the Companions of the Cave, for God displays them in the Qur'an:

When the chevaliers took refuge in the cave and said, “Our Lord, give us mercy from Thee and furnish us with right conduct in our affair.” It was said to them, “Go into this cave and sleep sweetly. Put down your heads on the pillow of security, for We will take sleep from you in place of the worship of the world's folk.” Listen to a beautiful, subtle point: The Exalted Lord made a cave appear to them in that moun- tain, and when the faithful servants leave this world He makes the four walls of the grave their cave. Just as He gave them security from enemies in that cave, so also He will give the faithful servants security from Satan in the grave, saying, “Fear not and grieve not” [41:30]. In that cave He showed mercy to them: Your Lord will unfold for you of His mercy [18:16]. In the same way, He will show mercy to the faithful in this cave of the grave: Repose and ease and a garden of bliss [56:89]. Just as He made that cave vast for them, for He says, “while they were in a broad space in it” [18:17], so also He will make this grave vast for the faithful servant with wholesome deeds. He says, “Whoever does wholesome deeds-for their own souls they are making provision” [30:44]. And a sound report has come, “His grave will be made spacious for him.” Just as He opened up the top of the cave for them so that fresh air and the breeze of the morning wind would not be cut off from them, so also He will open up a door from paradise to the faithful servants' garden-plots so that a sweet-smelling breeze will pass over them from the direction of the Gardens of Eden and keep their beds sweet.

We recount to thee their story in truth. Surely they were chevaliers who had faith in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance. Here we have great eminence, complete honor, and infinite caresses placed on these Companions of the Cave by the Lord of the Worlds, for He called them “chevaliers.” He said, “Surely they were chevaliers.” He bestowed on them the same honor that He gave to His bosom friend Abra- ham, whom He called a chevalier: “They said, 'We heard a chevalier mention them; he is called Abraham'” [21:60]. And concerning Yūshaʿ ibn Nūn He said, “When Moses said to his chevalier” [18:60]. About Joseph the sincerely truthful He said, “The governor's wife has been trying to se- duce her chevalier” [12:30]. The conduct and Tariqah of the chevaliers is what MuṣṬafā said to ʿAlī: “O ʿAlī, the chevalier is straight-speaking, loyal, discharger of trusts, ever-merciful in the heart, protector of the poor, full of bestowal, caresser of guests, beautiful-doer, and possessor of shame.” It has been said that the chief of all the chevaliers was Joseph the sincerely truthful, who saw from his brothers the various trials that he saw, but, when he had them in his own hand, he said to them, “No reproof is upon you today” [12:92]. It has been reported that the Messenger was seated when someone got up and asked for help. The Messenger turned toward his companions and said, “Be a chevalier toward him.” ʿAlī got up and went. When he returned, he had one dinar, five dirhams, and a loaf of bread. The Messenger said, “O ʿAlī, what is this state?” He said, “O Messenger of God! When the questioner asked, it occurred to my heart to give him a loaf. Then it came into my heart that I should give him five dirhams. Then it passed through my mind that I should give him one dinar. Now I do not consider it permissible not to do what has come into my mind and passed into my heart.” The Messenger said, “There is no chevalier but ʿAlī!” And We increased them in guidance. When there is a robe of honor built on the perfect good fortune of love, within which is the explication of beginningless solicitude, it should not be less than what was said about those chevaliers: “And We increased them in guidance.”

And We placed a tie on their hearts when they stood up and said, “Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth.” “We bound them with the tie of sinlessness, kept them on the carpet of recognition, and firmed them up with the cord of love. We lit the candle of kind favor for them in the streambed of solicitude. We taught them the courtesy of companionship in the grammar school of the Beginningless and they set forth in holiness itself, busying themselves in the cave with the mystery of the Haqiqah.” Whenever something has an exaltedness, it is masked by the veils of exaltedness so that not just any non-privy may gaze upon it and not just any drudge may reach it. Those chevaliers were precious in the Threshold of Unity, for they were lit up by the light of faith and the limpidness of tawḤīd, but the eyes of the folk of those days were tainted with the ooze of unbelief and associa- tionism. The jealousy of the religion took them into the veil of the cave so that those eyes tainted by ooze would not see them. The command came from the side of all-compellingness,

Take refuge in the cave. Your Lord will unfold for you of His mercy and furnish you with kindliness in your affair. “Go into this cave of jealousy in the shade of solicitude, the embrace of friendship, and the world of protection. Your Lord will unfold for you of His mercy and keep you in the curtain of sinlessness, clothing you in the garment of mercy, giving you a place in the embrace of exaltedness.” What a lovely day when someone is walking on a road and all at once the one entrusted with this talk comes down and throws the lasso of seeking around his neck and pulls! He fastened to them the word of godwariness [48:26]. “You are Mine and I am yours: 'Be for Me as you always were, and I will be for you as I always have been.'”

Thou wouldst have seen the sun, when it rose, turning aside from their cave to the right. When the lights of the beginningless secrets show their faces to someone's inwardness, how can the light of the sun of form have the gall to throw its rays upon him or exercise its ruling authority over him? The sun of form is for brightening creation, and the lights of the secret cores are for rec- ognizing the Real. The former is the light of form and the latter is the light of the secret core. The former is the world-brightening sun and the latter the heart-brightening light. The former keeps the world bright so that the creatures may gaze upon it, and the latter keeps the hearts of the friends bright so that the Real may gaze upon them. The lights of the secret cores of those chevaliers in the cave gave out the glittering rays of the lights of the secrets, and the shining sun rolled up its skirt, for it was turning aside from their cave to the right [18:17]. When someone's breast is made the place of the lights of the unseen secrets, his attribute is what the Exalted Lord said concerning these chevaliers:

Thou wouldst have thought them awake, but they were sleeping. And We turned them now to the right, now to the left. And their dog was stretching its paws at the doorstep. Hadst thou looked down upon them, surely thou wouldst have turned away from them fleeing, and thou wouldst have been filled with terror from them. When you look at their outwardness, you see them busy in the playing field of deeds. When you look at their secret cores, you see them detached in the garden of the gentleness of the Possessor of Majesty. Outwardly active, inwardly they gaze on the gentleness of the Beginningless. With Thee alone we worship [1:5] they have bound the belt of struggle, and with And Thee alone we ask for help [1:5] they have placed the crown of contemplation on their heads. On the inside they wear the undershirt of surrender, and on the outside they have covered themselves with the caftan of deeds. Their activity conforms to the command, and their vision conforms to the decree. A pir was asked, “Faith without deeds is incomplete, but the Companions of the Cave had no deeds, for when they began to travel, they immediately slept.” The pir answered, “Which deed is greater than what the Exalted Lord said about them-when they stood up [18:14]?” In the tongue of the folk of allusion the meaning is that they stood back from themselves. The outcome of the servants from their deeds comes down to their standing back from themselves. When they stand back from themselves, they reach the Real. The intermediary disappears and He exercises His determination over them, doing their work Himself, as He said concerning the cheva- liers, “And We turned them now to the right, now to the left.” In other words, “We turned them be- tween the states of annihilation and subsistence, unveiling and veiling, disclosure and curtaining.” The Pir of the Tariqah spoke a few words alluding to the levels of these states and the intima-tions of these realities: “O God, how much will You be hidden, how much apparent? For my heart is bewildered, the spirit distracted. How long this curtaining and self-disclosing? When at last will there be the everlasting self-disclosure? O God, how long will You call and drive away? I have melted in wanting the day in which You stay.

Now send one of you forth with this silver of yours to the city, and let him see which of them has the purest food. Here there are two allusions: One is that every faithful servant, though he may have reached the furthest limit in the Haqiqah, will be held to guarding the rulings of the Shariah, for any reality in which the outward Shariah is not witnessed is the deception and delusion of Satan. The root in this is that the chevaliers sent one of themselves to buy some food for them, and they commanded him to investigate and scrutinize its situation so that heedlessness would not make him fall into something forbidden. The second is what was said by Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥusayn to one of his companions when he took something to the poor or to the folk of recognition, or when he bought food for them: “Let it be the most goodly and the most subtle of things, for when someone reaches recognition, only subtle things conform with him and only delicate things become his intimate. The root here is His words, 'and let him see which of them has the purest food.'” Then he said, “When you buy for the renun- ciants and the worshipers, buy whatever you find, for they are still busy with abasing their own souls and holding them back from appetites.”

Say not of anything, “I will do it tomorrow,” but only, “If God wills.” And remember thy Lord when thou forgettest. When someone recognizes God, his free choice drops away before His will, and his decrees are enveloped by the witnessing of his Lord's decree. When someone sets foot in the street of recognizing God and comes to know that the creatures are all captive to His power in the prison of the Will on the passageway of the decree and the mea- suring out, he will no longer choose and will not prepare his own work, nor will he make his own rulings. He will throw his own work entirely over to God's will and not mix his own self-exertion with what God has taken care of. With the tongue of the state he will say, “O God, O He who was, is, and will be! I know not Your measure and am incapable of what is worthy of You. I wander in my misery, day by day in loss. How then is someone like me?! But such am I. I lament at gaz- ing into the darkness-will anything remain of me? I do not know. My eyes look to a day when You remain and I am not. Who will be like me if I see that day? And if I see it, I will sacrifice my spirit to it.” And remember thy Lord when thou forgettest. It has been said, “When you forget yourself, remember your Lord, and when you forget the creatures, remember the Creator.” He is saying, “Once you have brought your soul's caprice underfoot and removed your status with people from your heart, remember Me and make your spirit happy with this pure remem- brance.” The caprice of the soul is an idol and status with people is a sash of unbelief. As long as you have not disowned the idol, you will not become a tawḤīd-voicer, and as long as you have not undone the sash, you will not be a Muslim. There was a worshiper by the name of Abū Bakr Ishtanjī who had a great status. He feared that he would destroy the status. He got up and set off on a journey during the month of Ramadan and broke the fast in keeping with the ruling of the Shariah.

Say not of anything, “I will do it tomorrow,” but only, “If God wills.” And remember thy Lord when thou forgettest. When someone recognizes God, his free choice drops away before His will, and his decrees are enveloped by the witnessing of his Lord's decree. When someone sets foot in the street of recognizing God and comes to know that the creatures are all captive to His power in the prison of the Will on the passageway of the decree and the mea- suring out, he will no longer choose and will not prepare his own work, nor will he make his own rulings. He will throw his own work entirely over to God's will and not mix his own self-exertion with what God has taken care of. With the tongue of the state he will say, “O God, O He who was, is, and will be! I know not Your measure and am incapable of what is worthy of You. I wander in my misery, day by day in loss. How then is someone like me?! But such am I. I lament at gaz- ing into the darkness-will anything remain of me? I do not know. My eyes look to a day when You remain and I am not. Who will be like me if I see that day? And if I see it, I will sacrifice my spirit to it.” And remember thy Lord when thou forgettest. It has been said, “When you forget yourself, remember your Lord, and when you forget the creatures, remember the Creator.” He is saying, “Once you have brought your soul's caprice underfoot and removed your status with people from your heart, remember Me and make your spirit happy with this pure remem- brance.” The caprice of the soul is an idol and status with people is a sash of unbelief. As long as you have not disowned the idol, you will not become a tawḤīd-voicer, and as long as you have not undone the sash, you will not be a Muslim. There was a worshiper by the name of Abū Bakr Ishtanjī who had a great status. He feared that he would destroy the status. He got up and set off on a journey during the month of Ramadan and broke the fast in keeping with the ruling of the Shariah.

(Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord�) [18:28]. The judge Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Hiri related to us by dictation in Dar al-Sunnah on Friday after prayer, in the months of the year 410 a.h.> Abu'l-Hasan ibn 'Isa Ibn 'Abdawayh al-Hiri> Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Bushanji> al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Musarrih al-Harrani> Sulayman ibn 'Ata' al-Harrani> Maslamah ibn 'Abd Allah al-Juhani> his uncle Ibn Mashja'ah ibn Rub'i al-Juhani> Salman al-Farisi who said: �Those whose hearts were to be reconciled (al-mu'allafati qulubuhum) - 'Uyaynah ibn Hisn, al-Aqra' ibn Habis and their families - came to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, if only you could sit at the front of the assembly and remove these people - meaning: Salman al-Farisi, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari and other poor Muslims - and their smelly outer garments - because the only thing they had on them were these woollen outer garments - from us, then we could sit with you, talk to you and learn from you!' As a response, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (And recite that which hath been revealed unto thee of the Scripture of thy Lord. There is none who can change His words, and thou wilt find no refuge beside Him. Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His Countenance) [18:27-28] up to His words (Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers Fire...) [18:29], threatening them with hell. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, stood up and went looking for them. He found them at the back of the mosque making remembrance of Allah, exalted is He. He said: 'Praise be to Allah Who did not take away my soul until He commanded me to restrain myself with men of my community. It is with you that I live and with you that I die' �. (�and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance�) [18:28]. Abu Bakr al-Harithi informed us> Abu'l-Shaykh al-Hafiz> Abu Yahya al-Razi> Sahl ibn 'Uthman> Abu Malik> Juwaybir> al-Dahhak> Ibn 'Abbas who said regarding the words of Allah, exalted is He (�and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance�): �This verse was revealed about Umayyah ibn Khalaf al-Jumahi. He asked the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, to do something that he disliked. He asked him to chase away the poor from his assembly and draw to him, instead, the leaders of Mecca. Allah, exalted is He, revealed (�and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance), i.e. sealed his heart such that he will never believe in Allah's divine oneness (who followeth his own lust) i.e. idolatry�.

When Moses said to his chevalier, “I will continue on until I reach the meeting place of the two seas.” Moses had four journeys: One was the journey of flight, as God says recounting from Moses, “So I fled from you when I was afraid of you” [26:21]. The second was the journey of seeking on the night of the fire. That is His words, “He was called from the right bank of the watercourse” [28:30]. Third was the journey of revelry: “When Moses came to Our appointed time” [7:143]. Fourth was the journey of toil: “We have certainly met with weariness on this journey of ours” [18:62]. His journey of flight was at the beginning of the work. He fled from the enemy and turned his face toward Midian, having killed the Egyptian man, as the Exalted Lord says: “So Moses struck him and gave him the decree” [28:15]. When there is solicitude, how can prosperity and victory be ended? Since God had solicitude toward Moses' work, He excused him for that killing. He said, “Moses struck him and My decree reached him.” Then He said, “Moses had no sin in that. The sin belonged to the devil and the act was from the devil: He said, 'This is the work of Satan' [28:15].” In the same way, He will excuse the faithful servant with His bounty and convey His pardon to him. He says, “Satan made them slip for something they had earned, but God has surely pardoned them” [3:155]. God overlooked their sin. It was Satanic disquiet and the devil's work. The second was the journey of seeking on the night of the fire. Moses set out seeking fire. What sort of fire was it, for it placed the whole world on fire! Wherever talk of Moses' fire goes, the whole world takes on the scent of passion because of its turmoil. Moses set off in search of fire and found light. These chevaliers set off in search of light and find fire. If the sweetness of listen- ing to the Real's speech without intermediary reached Moses, what wonder is it that His friends catch a scent of that? If the fire of Moses was apparent, the fire of these chevaliers is hidden. If the fire of Moses was in a tree, the fire of these chevaliers is in the spirit.

And We taught him knowledge from Us. “When someone is able to sacrifice his attributes to the holy Shariah, We will engrave the secrets of the knowledges of the Haqiqah on his heart: And We taught him knowledge from Us.” The one who speaks of this knowledge is the realizer, who speaks from finding. Light is apparent from his words, familiarity on his face, and servanthood in his conduct. A lightning flash of the Greatest Light has shone in his heart, the lamp of his recognition has been lit, and the unseen secrets have been unveiled to him. Such was Khiẓr in the work of the ship, the boy, and the wall. Take care not to have the opinion that Khiẓr was greater than Moses the Speaking Companion, even if Moses was sent to Khiẓr's grammar school. No, of course not, for in the Court of Inac- cessibility, after MuṣṬafā no prophet has the same joyful expansiveness and proximity as Moses. Nonetheless, He made Khiẓr the furnace of Moses' discipline. Thus, when someone wants to take silver to pureness, he puts it in a fiery furnace. This is because of the superiority of silver over the fiery furnace, not because of the superiority of fire and furnace over silver. Then there are Khiẓr's words,

“Surely thou wilt not be able to bear patiently with me.” The meaning according to true understanding is this allusion: “O Moses, the secret core of your disposition has so much expansiveness from the marks giving witness to the Divinity that you say, 'Show me, that I may gaze upon Thee!' [7:143]. I who am Khiẓr do not have the power and strength to pass these words over my heart or to busy my thoughts with them. Your ruling author- ity will not be able to put up with the grief of my deprivation. Surely thou wilt not be able to bear patiently with me.” As for the breaking the ship in the sea, killing the boy, and repairing the wall, each of these, in keeping with the understanding of the Folk of Findings, alludes to a great principle. It is said that the sea is the sea of recognition. Each of the one hundred twenty-some thousand center points of sinlessness dove into that sea with his community and people in the hope that from that sea they would gather the pearls of tawḤīd in the skirt of seeking, for “He who recognizes himself has rec- ognized his Lord.” The ship is the ship of human nature. Khiẓr wanted to ruin and break that ship with the hand of tenderness, for the owners of the ship were “indigent” [miskīn], and their attribute was “tranquil- ity” [sakīna]. The Court of Eternity had addressed them with these words: “He it is who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the faithful” [48:4]. When MuṣṬafā saw the Real's self-disclosure of Majesty to the hearts of the indigent, he said, “O God, give me life as an indigent, give me death as an indigent, and muster me among the indigent!” When Khiẓr ruined the ship of mortal nature with the hand of tenderness, Moses saw that outwardly it was adorned and flourishing with the ornament of the Shariah and the Tariqah. He said, “Have you made a hole in it to drown its folk?” [18:71]. Khiẓr responded, “And behind them was a king [18:79]: Behind its flourishing was a king, a Satan who had prepared the ambush of severity in the neighborhood of the ship so that he might take the ship with his severity and deception and travel in it by night and day, for 'Satan runs in the children of Adam like blood.

(They will ask thee of Dhu�l-Qarnayn�) [18:83]. Said Qatadah: �The Jews asked the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, about Dhu�l-Qarnayn, and Allah, exalted is He, revealed these verses�.

(And they say: We will not put faith in thee till thou cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us) [18:90]. �Ikrimah reported that Ibn �Abbas related that �Utbah, Shaybah, Abu Sufyan, al-Nadr ibn al-Harith, Abu�l-Bukhturi, al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah, Abu Jahl, �Abd Allah ibn Ubayy ibn Umayyah, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, and the chiefs of Quraysh gathered in front of the Ka�bah and said to each other: �Send for Muhammad, speak to him, and argue with him so that others do not blame you about him�. They sent to him with a message that the nobles of your people have gathered and want to speak with you. He came promptly, thinking that they had changed their mind about him, for he was keen to see them guided and was pained for their stubbornness. When he sat with them, they said: �O Muhammad, by Allah we do not know of any man among the Arabs who has introduced to his people what you have introduced. You have insulted our forefathers, censored our religion, accused us of ignorance, slandered our idols, divided the community and you have not left anything revolting except that you have placed it between us and you. Now, if you have brought all this to seek wealth, we will collect from our wealth so that you become the richest among us; if you seek status, we will make you our chief; if you seek kingship, we will make you our king; and if the jinn that appears to you has completely overwhelmed you, we will spend our money to get you the right medicine to cure you or discharge our duty toward you�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to them: �I do not have what you accuse me of. I did not bring you what I brought to seek wealth, status or kingship. Rather, it is Allah, glorious and majestic is He, Who has sent me to you as a Messenger. He has revealed to me a Scripture and commanded me to be a carrier of good tiding as well as a warner. I have conveyed to you the message of my Lord and advised you well. If you accept that which I have brought you, it is your share in this world and in the next.

(Say: Though the sea became ink for the Words of my Lord�) [18:109]. Ibn 'Abbas said: �When the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, told them (� and knowledge ye have been vouchsafed but little), the Jews said: 'How can this be when we have been given the Torah? He who has been given the Torah has been given abundant goodness!' Upon which this verse was revealed (Say: Though the sea became ink for the Words of my Lord�)�.

Whoever hopes for the encounter with his Lord, let him do wholesome deeds. Sahl said, “The wholesome deed is a deed delimited by the Sunnah.” It has also been said, “The wholesome deed is the one toward which the soul has no regard and within which there is no seeking of reward or recompense.” It has also been said, “Here the wholesome deed is believing in the permissibility of vision and waiting for its time.” Whenever someone hopes for the vision of God, let him believe in his heart that God is seeable in face-to-face vision as a hidden mystery and an everlasting love. Whenever someone seeks the vision of God, he is promised that one day he will reach it: Whoever hopes for the encounter with his Lord, God's term is coming [29:5]. He is expecting a great thing and has a tremendous hope. His aspiration has reached such a high place that he hopes for the vision of God. Were there not this hope, what would be the worth of paradise with all its sweetness? Were there not this promise of vision, why would service rise up from the servant's heart? Everyone has a desire after which he runs, and the recognizer is waiting for the time of vision. People are all passionate for life, so death for them is difficult. The recognizer hurries to death in hope of vision. What harm if you suffer for a year so long as you see the Friend one day in vision.

Kāf HāÌ YāÌ ʿAyn ṣād Hearing these letters is a wine that the Real pours into the hearts of His friends. When they drink it, they seek; when they seek, they rejoice; when they rejoice, they fly; when they fly, they arrive; when they arrive, they depart; when they depart, they join; when they join, they acquire. Then their intellects are drowned in His gentleness, and their hearts absorbed by His unveiling. Listening to the disconnected letters at the beginning of the surahs and verses is a wine poured into the cup of joy and placed in the goblet of intimacy that is given by the majesty of the unity with the attribute of self-sufficiency to His friends. When the friends of the Real drink this wine of intimacy from the cup of holiness in the garden of gentleness, they rejoice. When they rejoice, they seek. They break the cage of being and fly on the wings of passion to the horizon of the Unseen, reaching the Kaabah of union. When they reach it, they reach themselves, their intellects drowned in gentleness, their hearts consumed by unveiling. The breeze of the Beginningless blows from the side of proximity. They lose themselves and find Him. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “For a long time I was seeking Him and finding myself. Now I seek myself and find Him. O Remembered in the proofs, O Reminder of intimacy! Since You are present, of what use is this seeking? O God, I seek the Found. I say to the Seen, 'What do I have, what should I seek, when will I see, what should I say?' I am entranced by this seeking, I am seized by this speaking. O You who are before each day and separate from everyone! In this celebration a thousand minstrels are not enough for me.” Kāf HāÌ YāÌ ʿAyn ṣād. This is the Real's laudation of Himself. With these letters He reminds His creatures of His names and attributes and He praises Himself. Kāf: He is saying, “I am the Great [kabīr], I am the Generous [karīm].” The Great is an allu- sion to the majesty and greatness of the Unity, the Generous is an allusion to the beauty and gener- osity of self-sufficiency. The recognizers are in the unveiling of majesty, the lovers in the contem- plation of beauty.

The mention of thy Lord's mercy to His servant Zachariah. Here you have the largesse of the Lord's mercy toward His servant. You have the utmost gentle- ness, perfection, and generosity that He shows through His loving kindness-a mercy that doubt does not reach, a gentleness that thought does not touch. This mercy is bestowed because of the divine bounty and lordly solicitude, not because of worship and the acquisitions of servanthood. As much as the servant strives in disobedience, God conceals it with His covering. As much as he strives for disgrace, He pours down His blessings upon him. This is why that pir of the Tariqah said, “I reached the point where I do not count God's blessings upon me when I have so many acts of disobedience. I do not know for what I should thank Him: for the beauty of that to which He eases me or the ugliness of what He conceals.” It has been reported that the followed verse was recited before the Messenger: “Say, 'O My servants who have been immoderate against yourselves, despair not of God's mercy. Surely God forgives the sins altogether'” [39:53]. The Messenger said, “Indeed He does, and He does not care.” Then he said three times, “May God curse those who make people flee,” that is, those who make people despair of God's mercy. It is told that in former times a renunciant worshiped in a monastery for one hundred years, but then caprice overcame him and he acted with disobedience. He regretted that, and he wanted to go back to his devotions in the niche of worship. When he stepped into the niche, Satan came and said to him, “Are you not ashamed that you did something like that and you now come before the Majestic Presence of the Real?” He wanted to make him despair of the Real, so that his despair would add to his sins. In that state he heard a call, “My servant, you have Me, and I have you. Say to this meddler, 'What do you have?'”

When he supplicated his Lord secretly. The mark of response to supplication is firm fixity in the supplication. If you are firmly fixed in supplication and you remain deprived of the response that is your portion, you will be given the eminence of the worship that is God's rightful due, and the latter step is beyond the former step. This station is greater than that station. The Prophet said, “Supplication is worship.” Know also that in supplication there must be distress, for the Real says, “He who responds to the distressed when he supplicates Him” [27:62]. There must be seeking aid, for He says, “When you sought the aid of your Lord” [8:9]. There must be pleading, for He says, “Supplicate your Lord in pleading and secret” [7:55]. There must be eagerness and dread, for He says “They were supplicating Us in eagerness and dread” [21:90]. It must be continuous, not cut off, for He says, “Those who sup- plicate their Lord morning and evening” [18:28]. There must be self-purification, for He says, “And supplicate Him, purifying the religion for Him” [7:29]. In a report has come, “God does not respond to the supplication of an inattentive heart.” There must be permitted morsels, for the Prophet said, “And his clothing is forbidden, his food is forbidden-so how should he receive a response?” The servant who has put the preconditions of supplication in place is like a caged bird whose voice is loved by the Lord of the Worlds. People have the custom of catching birds, making cages for them, and keeping them supplied with water and food so that in the morning they will sing. In the same way the Lord of the Worlds brought the worshipers and recognizers into existence, made this world their cage, and prepared benefits and wholesome things for them in this world. He set up their work and then said in the firm text of the Book, “And in the dawns they would ask for forgiveness” [51:18]. The servants lament and wail at their own incapacity at the time of dawn, and in His gentleness the Real hears and listens.

Warn them of the day of remorse. The Day of Remorse is the Day of Resurrection. Wretchedness preceded for one group without their having committing disobedience, and felicity for another group without their having done beautiful deeds. The Day of Remorse is the first day in the era of the Beginningless, when it was ruled and decreed that everyone would be given what was suited for him: One would be driven away without any offense, and the other caressed but not because of obedience. For one a robe of elevation was woven without bias, and the other was burned in the fire of severance without iniquity. One was full of joy on the carpet of gentleness and heard the address, “So rejoice in your sale!” [9:111]. The other was in the pit of abandonment with the attribute of deprivation and tasted the venom of “Die in your rage!” [3:119]. Yes, He put into effect the precedent as He knew it, and He laid down the outcome as He wanted it. He brought into existence a frail arrow compounded of mortal nature and put that arrow into the bow of the beginningless knowledge, firing it at the target of the decree. If it goes straight, the laudation and bravo belong to the shooter; if it goes crooked, the criticism and curse belong to the arrow. Bewilderment upon bewilderment, thirst upon thirst- sometimes supposition becomes certainty, sometimes certainty supposition. His presence is exaltation and majesty, His carpet unneediness- a hundred thousand caravans have been waylaid in this road.

(We (angels) come not down save by commandment of thy Lord�) [19:64]. Isma'il ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Hamawayh informed us> Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ma'mar al-Shami> Ishaq ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Rus'ani> his grandfather> al-Mughirah> 'Umar ibn Dharr> his father> Sa'id ibn Jubayr> Ibn 'Abbas who said: �The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said [to Gabriel, peace be upon him]: 'O Gabriel, what prevents you from visiting us more often than you do?' And so this verse was revealed (We (angels) come not down save by commandment of thy Lord. Unto Him belongeth all that is before us and all that is behind us and all that is between those two, and thy Lord was never forgetful). This was a response to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace�. This was narrated by Bukhari from Abi Nu'aym from 'Umar ibn Dharr. Mujahid said: �The angel [Gabriel] took quite a while to come to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. When he finally came to him he said: 'Did I take too long to come to you?' The Prophet said he did, upon which the angel said: 'Why should I not delay my coming when you [the community of the believers] do not polish your teeth by using small sticks (siwak), do not cut your nails and do not clean the joints of your fingers'. And then he added (We (angels) come not down save by commandment of thy Lord�)�. 'Ikrimah, al-Dahhak, Qatadah, Muqatil and al-Kalbi said: �Gabriel, peace be upon him, failed to come to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, when his people asked him about the people of the Cave, Dhu'l-Qarnayn and the Spirit. He did not know what to answer them and was hoping that Gabriel, peace be upon him, would come to him with an answer. When his coming was delayed, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was very aggrieved. When Gabriel, peace be upon him, finally came, the Prophet said to him: 'You delayed your coming so much that I had some misgivings, and I have missed you'. Gabriel, peace be upon him, said: 'I have missed you more but I am only a slave who obeys orders. When I am sent, I come; and when I am kept back, I remain where I am kept'. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (We (angels) come not down save by commandment of thy Lord�)�.

The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between the two. So worship Him, and be patient in His worship. The keeper of heaven and earth, of Throne and Carpet, of land and sea, is He. His command dominates over all, His will penetrates all. The world and the world's folk are all His servants and servitors. The seven heavens and the seven earths and everything within them are all His posses- sion and kingdom. This is a king whose kingship has no removal, whose exaltedness has no abasement, whose seriousness has no levity, whose decree has no rejection, and from whom there is no escape. He revealed to Moses, “'I am the remedy that clings to you, so cling to the remedy.' O Moses, I am unavoidable to you. Everything can be avoided, but there is no avoiding Me. Everything can be escaped, but there is no escaping Me. Be a servant, for a servant has no artifice better than servanthood.” This is why the Lord of the Worlds says in this verse, “So worship Him, and be patient in His worship.” The burden of servanthood is a heavy burden, and the road of the Law's prescription is difficult. Since you know who placed this burden and how to take care of the burden in this road, be patient and do not complain. Whenever someone recognizes the Real's majesty and knows the destination of this road, the hands of his self-determination will fall short of the two realms of be- ing and the feet of his passion will always be in the road. For him the bottom of a well will be like chieftainship and status. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, sometimes I say I'm in the devil's grasp, so much cover- ing do I see. Then at times a light shines next to which all mortal nature disappears. “O God, since the eyes are still waiting for face-to-face vision, what is this trial of the heart? Since this path is all trial, why is there so much pleasure? “O God, sometimes I spoke to You and sometimes I listened. In the midst of my offenses I thought of Your gentleness. I suffered what I suffered. All became sweet when I heard the voice of acceptance.”

(And man saith: When I am dead, shall I forsooth be brought forth alive?) [19:66]. Al-Kalbi said: �This verse was revealed about Ubayy ibn Khalaf when he held with his hand decaying bones and said: �Muhammad made a claim to you that we will be resurrected after we die!� �.

(Hast thou seen him who disbelieveth in Our revelations�) [19:77]. Abu Ishaq al-Tha'alibi informed us> 'Abd Allah ibn Humayd> Makki ibn 'Abdan> 'Abd Allah ibn Hashim> Abu Mu'awiyah> al-A'mash> Abu'l-Duha> Masruq> Khabbab ibn al-Aratt who said: �I had a debt with al-'As ibn Wa'il and I went to settle it with him. He said: 'By Allah, I will not pay you until you disbelieve in Muhammad'. I said: 'No, by Allah, I will not disbelieve in Muhammad until you die and be resurrected'. He said: 'In that case, when I die and am resurrected I will have children and wealth and I will be able to pay you'. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Ibrahim informed us> 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Zahid> al-Baghawi> Abu Khaythamah> 'Ali ibn Muslim> Waki'> al-A'mash Abu'l-Duha> Masruq> Khabbab who said: �I used to be a blacksmith and I had an unpaid debt with al-'As ibn Wa'il and so I went to him to ask for it to be paid. He said to me: 'I will not pay you until you disbelieve in Muhammad, peace be upon him'. I said: 'I will not disbelieve in him until you die and be resurrected'. He said: 'Will I be resurrected after death? In that case, I will pay you back when I return to my wealth [after the resurrection]'. This verse was then revealed (Hast thou seen him who disbelieveth in Our revelations and saith: Assuredly I shall be given wealth and children?)�. This was narrated by Bukhari from al-Humaydi from Sufyan and also by Muslim from al-Ashajj from Waki'; both Waki' and Sufyan related it from al-A'mash. Al-Kalbi and Muqatil said: �Khabbab ibn al-Aratt used to be a blacksmith working for al-'As ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi who used to delay his payment. One day, Khabbab went to him to ask him for his payment when al-'As said to him: 'I do not have anything today to pay you with'. Khabbab said: 'I am not leaving until you pay me'. Al-'As retorted: 'O Khabbab, what is wrong with you? You did not use to be like this; you used to ask nicely for your payment'. Khabbab said: 'That was because I was following your religion, as for now I have a different religion: I follow Islam'. Al-'As said: 'Do you not claim that there is gold, silver and silk in the Garden?' Khabbab said: 'Indeed!' Al-'As said: 'Then wait for me until I pay you in the Garden', he said this mockingly 'by Allah, if what you say is true, I will have a better share of it than you', and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Hast thou seen him who disbelieveth in Our revelations) meaning: al-'As�.

The day We shall muster the godwary to the All-Merciful in droves. He did not say, “to the Gardens in droves,” so as to mollify the hearts of the elect among the lovers, for they do not worship Him in hope of the Garden or fear of the Fire. Rather, they worship Him for His sake, for He has promised them that He will muster them to Him. The paradise-seekers are one thing, the God-seekers something else. He ascribed the paradise-seekers to paradise: “Surely the companions of the Garden today are in an occupation, rejoicing” [36:55]. Concerning the God-seekers He said, “The day We shall muster the godwary to the All- Merciful in droves.” Mamshād Dīnawarī was in the throes of death. A dervish was standing before him and sup- plicating: “Lord God, have mercy on him and grant him paradise.” Mamshād looked at him and shouted out, “O heedless man! It has been thirty years that paradise with its marvels and chambers, its houris and palaces, has been disclosing itself, but I have never glanced at it. Now that I am ar- riving at the drinking place of the Haqiqah, you intrude and want paradise and mercy for me!” O chevalier, this talk will not fit into just anyone's craw. It happens that in the pavilions of observation and the stations of generosity these chevaliers become seeking itself-sometimes in the robe of struggle, sometimes in the shirt of contemplation; sometimes in the intoxication of gratitude, sometimes in the sobriety of effacement; they both are and are not, they are both sober and drunk; their hearts are burnt by the fire of jealousy, their spirits drowned in the ocean of bewil- derment. They are runners standing still, silent speakers. When tomorrow people are mustered to the Presence of the Possessor of Majesty, everyone will have a mount. One will have the noble horse of obedience, another the Burāq of aspiration, but they will be in the grasp of Unity's exalt- edness. According to a report, “The spirits of the martyrs are in the craws of green birds.” When the spirits of the martyrs are commanded to depart from this world, they will be put into the craws of green birds and in lamps of light; or, it is said, in the meadows of paradise.

(Ta. Ha. We have not revealed unto thee (Muhammad) this Qur'an that thou shouldst be distressed) [20:1-2]. Muqatil said: �Abu Jahl and al-Nadr ibn al-Harith said to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace: 'You have become distressed because of leaving our religion'. They said this because they saw him immersed in worship for long times and striving hard. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Abu Bakr al-Harithi informed us> Abu'l-Shaykh al-Hafiz> Abu Yahya> al-'Askari> Abu Malik> Juwaybir> al-Dahhak who said: �When the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, he and his Companions stood up to pray. The unbelievers of Quraysh said: 'This Qur'an was only revealed to Muhammad to make him distressed'. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Ta. Ha), He says: O man (We have not revealed unto thee (Muhammad) this Qur'an that thou shouldst be distressed)�.

(Ta. Ha. We have not revealed unto thee (Muhammad) this Qur'an that thou shouldst be distressed) [20:1-2]. Muqatil said: �Abu Jahl and al-Nadr ibn al-Harith said to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace: 'You have become distressed because of leaving our religion'. They said this because they saw him immersed in worship for long times and striving hard. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Abu Bakr al-Harithi informed us> Abu'l-Shaykh al-Hafiz> Abu Yahya> al-'Askari> Abu Malik> Juwaybir> al-Dahhak who said: �When the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, he and his Companions stood up to pray. The unbelievers of Quraysh said: 'This Qur'an was only revealed to Muhammad to make him distressed'. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Ta. Ha), He says: O man (We have not revealed unto thee (Muhammad) this Qur'an that thou shouldst be distressed)�.

The All-Merciful sat on the Throne. In the Qur'an He mentioned seven times that He is sitting on the Throne. Shaykh al-Islām Anṣārī said, “The sitting of the Lord on the Throne is in the Qur'an, and I have faith in it. I do not seek interpretation, for interpretation in such topics is rebellion. I accept the outward meaning and surrender to the inner meaning. This is the belief of the Sunnis, whose path is to accept with the spirit what is not perceived. “My faith comes by hearing, my Shariah comes by reports, my recognition comes by find- ing. I assent to the reports, I realize the found, and I follow the heard with the tool of intellect, the witnessing of His artisanry, the evidence of light, the allusions of the revelation, the message of the Messenger, and the condition of surrender. “Nonetheless, I know for sure that He is not one who takes up place out of need, for He shows places for argument. The Throne does not elevate God, for God elevates and preserves the Throne. He made the Throne for seekers of God, not recognizers of God. The God-seeker is one thing, the God-recognizer something else. He says to the God-seekers, 'The All-Merciful sat on the Throne.' He says to the God recognizers, 'And He is with you' [57:4] on the Throne by Essence, in knowl- edge everywhere, through companionship with the spirit, and through nearness with the soul.” O chevalier, do not put down your bags in the seclusion of He is with you, for High indeed is God, the King, the Real [20:114] applies to Him. Do not relax on the carpet of We are nearer [50:16], for beneath it is They measured not God with the rightful due of His measure [22:74]. Do not be bold because of Faces that day will be radiant, gazing upon their Lord [75:22-23], for above it is Eyesights perceive Him not [6:103]. Whatever He is the First gives, He is the Last snatches away; whatever He is the Outward shows, He is the Inward [57:3] effaces. What is all this? This is so that the person of faith will circle around between fear and hope, and the recognizer between contraction and expansion. You cannot say that you cannot find, for the Shariah disputes that. Nor can you say that you can find, for the Exaltedness does not approve. He is exalted and tremendous, one whose measure is not recognized and whose rightful due is not perceived. He is gentle and loving, one who loves them, and they love Him [5:54].

Even if thou speakest aloud, yet surely He knows the secret and the most hidden. The soul is not informed of what is in the heart, the heart is not informed of the secrets of the spirit, and the spirit has no access to the realities of the secret. As for that which is most hidden, no one is aware of it but the Real. What does the soul know of what is placed in the treasure-house of the heart? What does the heart know of the subtleties inside the sanctuary of the spirit? What does the spirit know of the deposits in the pavilion of the secret core? What does the secret core know of the realities in the most hidden? The soul is the locus of the Trust, the heart the house of recognition, the spirit the target of contemplation, and the secret core the place where passion puts down its saddlebags. As for the most hidden, the Real knows what it is-people's imaginations and understandings are empty of knowing it.

God, there is no god but He. To Him belong the most beautiful names. Whenever a sultan is about to dismount at a house, a chamberlain must go beforehand and sweep the house. He cleans it of rubbish and refuse and puts down the sultan's royal seat. Then, when the sultan enters, the work will be finished and the house ready. When the exalted sultan of but God descends into the breast of the servant, the chamberlain of no god comes beforehand. It sweeps the courtyard of the breast with the broom of disengagement and solitariness and destroys the rubbish and refuse of mortal nature and satanity and throws them out. It sprinkles the water of approval and spreads the carpet of loyalty. It lights up the sandalwood of limpidness in the incense-burner of friendship. It puts down the royal seat of felicity and the cushion of mastery. When the sultan of but God arrives, it leans on the sofa of the secret core in the cradle of the Covenant. Depend upon My spirit-may it be your sacrifice!- Why do you depend on your corner of the world's house?

Hast thou received the story of Moses when he saw a fire? Fire is a mark of munificence and a proof of generosity. The Arabs would light up a fire to bring guests. But no one has ever found a banquet through a fire like Moses, and no one has seen a host from a fire like God. Moses was seeking a fire to light up a tent. He found a fire that burns spirit and heart. All fires burn the body, but the fire of friendship burns the spirit. No one can be patient with a spirit-burning fire. Fires are of different sorts: the fire of shame, the fire of yearning, the fire of love. The fire of shame burns away dispersion, the fire of yearning burns away patience, and the fire of love burns away the two worlds such that nothing remains but the Real. The evidence of having found friend- ship is that the two worlds are burned away. The mark of the realizer is that he does not attend to anything other than the Real. The mark of nonbeing is to reach oneself. When rain reaches the ocean, it has reached it. He who reaches the Patron reaches himself.

Hast thou received the story of Moses when he saw a fire? Fire is a mark of munificence and a proof of generosity. The Arabs would light up a fire to bring guests. But no one has ever found a banquet through a fire like Moses, and no one has seen a host from a fire like God. Moses was seeking a fire to light up a tent. He found a fire that burns spirit and heart. All fires burn the body, but the fire of friendship burns the spirit. No one can be patient with a spirit-burning fire. Fires are of different sorts: the fire of shame, the fire of yearning, the fire of love. The fire of shame burns away dispersion, the fire of yearning burns away patience, and the fire of love burns away the two worlds such that nothing remains but the Real. The evidence of having found friend- ship is that the two worlds are burned away. The mark of the realizer is that he does not attend to anything other than the Real. The mark of nonbeing is to reach oneself. When rain reaches the ocean, it has reached it. He who reaches the Patron reaches himself.

Surely I am thy Lord. Take off thy shoes! Moses had reached the head of tawḤīd's drinking place when he heard the words, “Surely I am thy Lord.” He was commanded to step into the world of solitariness. He placed his feet on the two worlds and made his aspiration one for the Patron. Take off thy shoes! That is, empty your heart of talk of the two worlds and become disengaged for the Real with the attribute of solitariness. O Moses, be one for the One, first in the disengagement of the intention, and second in the breeze of intimacy. Disown the two worlds so that the breeze of intimacy may begin to blow from the desert of the Endless. The veil of division has been lifted, and the call of gentleness has reached the spirit.

What is that in thy right hand, O Moses? When Moses heard the address, “Surely I am thy Lord,” the ruling power of awe began to attack and he fell into bewilderment and confoundedness. Because of the force of that awe, ease did not remain in its place. His body was not able to bear it with patience, and his heart was not able to busy itself with intellect. The Lord of the Worlds attended to his heart with the call of gentleness; He began speaking about his staff. He said, “What is that in thy right hand, O Moses?” He said, “It is my staff” [20:18]. The command came, “Throw it down, O Moses! [20:19]. Throw down this staff concerning which you say that it is your staff.” Moses threw it down and it became a snake. When he saw that the snake aimed to come after him, he was frightened and fled. The call came, “Take it, and fear not! [20:21]. O Moses, pick up the snake and do not fear. This is that very staff of which you spoke, claiming it was your staff. O Moses, what do you have to do with making claims? The men of the road make no claims and ascribe nothing to themselves.” It was the attribute of Moses' own being and the traces of his claim that turned toward him in that Presence, for the claims of mortal nature were still staining his innate disposition. The stain appeared with the claim my staff, so it was said to him, “O Moses, there is still something of ego- ism in you.” It was a mercy from the Real to Moses that He said, “What is that in thy right hand, O Moses?,” for the claim appeared from his makeup, and when he was made aware of it, he left the claim behind and shook the dust from the cloak of his sinlessness.

Clasp thy hand to thy side. It will come forth white without ugliness, as another sign. Moses had two miracles. One was outside of himself, namely the staff, and the other was within himself, namely the white hand. The staff was a sample of the signs of the horizons, and the white hand was a sample of the signs of the souls. The Lord of the Worlds built the road of tawḤīd on the recognition of these two. He says, “We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and in their souls until it is clear to them that He is the Real” [41:53].

That We may show thee some of Our greatest signs. The greatest sign was the witnessing and finding that came to him, the varieties of states perceived by the servant's tasting that do not derive from self-exertion and self-determination. In reality the greatest sign is that which is hidden from the eyes of the creatures and free of the servant's self-exertion and self-determination. Unasked for, a wine comes from the Unseen and reaches the servant's secret core, so he finds its taste in his spirit-a spiritual delight with a hundred thousand hidden drums, an everlasting resurrection. The soul is mixed with companionship, the spirit clinging to its desire, the heart drowned in the light of finding. Because of the drowning the servant does not discern the seeking from the finding. Because of the radiance of finding, it cannot be expressed. He burns in the fire of love and does not turn back from joy. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, when that which cannot be asked for comes to be found, who asked for it? When something is beyond reward, what is asking next to it? Everything that comes from the rain of favor is the springtime of that very moment, and everything that comes from undertaking and asking is aid sought by the servant. O God, knowledge and striving are the Adamite's tribulation, but everyone's portion from You is worthy of Your beginningless deed.”

And We tried thee with trials. In other words, “We cooked you well with trial until you became limpid and immaculate, then We took you totally to Ourselves, so that you would not belong to any other.” “O Moses, We took you to the oven of trial and put you into self-purification so that nothing would remain in your heart but My love and nothing on your tongue but My remembrance.” What were those trials and troubles that sat on his head? When he was first born he was born in secrecy, in a house without lamp, poor, without pleasures. His mother could not have a son be- cause of fear of Pharaoh, who was killing sons. She put him into the casket and threw it in the river. His first home was the river. His second home was the sword, the execution ground, and seeing the enemy. His third home was fear of the Egyptians, because he had killed one of them. Then he fled looking back at them, his heart upset, his spirit bewildered, his feet bare, and his stomach hungry. He did not know where to go, and then he reached Midian and became a wage-earner and a shepherd with Shuʿayb. In burning and remorse because of constant tribulation he said, “How long will You drive me to every street? How long will You make me taste every poison? First You toss me in the river, then You show me to the enemy. Then You throw me into exile working for Shuʿayb as a shepherd. How could a shepherd have the worth for You to call him without intermediary? Then You bring him to Mount Sinai, You speak with him countless words. And if he says, 'I want vision from You,' You say to him, 'Moses, thou shalt not see Me' [7:143].” Thus He threw him into trial mixed with gentleness, He adorned him with wounds mixed with tenderness, and He washed him with many sorts of trial. What was all this for? It was so that he would belong to Him, just as He says:

“I chose thee for Myself.” “O Moses! You were not worthy-you had little worthiness-for Me to choose you. That was not for you, but rather for Me.” This is why, when he seized his brother by the head and pulled him severely, He did not say, “Why did you do that?” When he punched out the eye of Azrael with his fist, He did not say, “Why did you do that?” When he threw the tablets of the Torah on the ground, He did not say, “Why did you throw them?” Yes, within the curtain of friendship things go on that outside the curtain of friendship would all be faults, but inside the curtain of friendship are tolerated. When the beloved comes with one sin, his beautiful traits come with a thousand interceders.

From it We created you and to it We shall return you. Know that the Adamite is two things: spirit and body. The spirit is from light, and light is celestial. The body is from dust, and dust is terrestrial. The spirit wants to go up because it is celestial. The body wants to go down because it is terrestrial. In the perfection of His power, the King bound the two together. The spirit was bound to the body, and the body was bound to the spirit, so both are in bonds. The spirit and the body settled down together. On the day of death, when the life of the servant comes to an end and the moment of death arrives, the bonds are loosened, as when a bird comes out of its cage. The spirit rises up from the body and goes skyward to its nest. The body takes the road of the earth to its center. The spirit is put into a lantern of light, which is hung from the tree of blessedness. The body is wrapped in a shroud and entrusted to the earth. This is why the Lord of the worlds says, “From it We created you and to it We shall return you.” After a few days pass, the spirit comes to gaze on the body. It sees the state of the body changed and it laments. It says, “O heed-taking eyesight, O narcissus-like eyes, where is your seeing? O wisdom-speaking tongue, where is your sweet talking? O painted, lovely face, where is your adornment and beauty? O you who came from dust, were supported by dust, were provided for by dust, were put back into dust, and became nothing in dust!” O father of dust, is not our creation from dust, and our return to dust? So what is the meaning of regret when we bury dust in dust, O father of dust! It is as if the King is saying, “Once I make dust the cause of being, and then again I make it the cause of nonbeing. Thus the world's folk will know that I am perfectly powerful, and I give being to all that is.” O chevalier! If you ever pass through a graveyard, be careful to look at that encampment with an eye to taking heed.

Whoever comes to his Lord as an offender will have Gehenna, wherein he will neither die nor live, and whoever comes to Him faithful, having done wholesome deeds-they will have the highest degrees. In the tasting of the lords of recognition and the chevaliers of the Tariqah, these two verses allude to two groups: The exalted threshold of the Possessor of Majesty will show its face to one group in the attribute of vengeance. It will lift away the curtain of splendor from their work by the de- cree of severity, pull back the mask of respect from the face of their status, write the inscription of abandonment on the hem of their present moment, and make them the kiblah of the whole world's rejection. Sometimes they will be bewildered in the claws of contraction, and sometimes they will be terrified by the fear of severity. There will be no caressing of the heart and no poison with which to kill the soul: wherein he will neither die nor live. He will not be bold enough to return, nor will he have the gall to go forward. With the tongue of misery he will say in his helplessness, “I am not drunk from the cup of my existence, neither am I not. I am not low beneath the kicks of the spheres, neither am I not. Neither the spirit's ease nor the heart's pain-woe is me! O Lord, who am I that I am not in being, neither am I not?” The self-disclosure of the beautiful gaze of the Real's gentleness will join with the other group. They receive one caress today, another tomorrow. Today they are on the carpet of expansiveness, taking their ease in the garden of intimacy and delight. At every moment and instant, overflowing cups are poured for them from the wine-house of love. Tomorrow in the Gardens of Refuge and the highest degrees, they will be wearing the waistcoat of endless subsistence and the robe of the everlasting kingdom, seated on the couch of prosperity in contemplation of the King, the Possessor of Majesty, the cups of union continuous, the robes of bounteousness successive, at each moment a caress and an acceptance, at each instant an opening and an arrival, for the Lord of the Worlds says,

Whoever comes to his Lord as an offender will have Gehenna, wherein he will neither die nor live, and whoever comes to Him faithful, having done wholesome deeds-they will have the highest degrees. In the tasting of the lords of recognition and the chevaliers of the Tariqah, these two verses allude to two groups: The exalted threshold of the Possessor of Majesty will show its face to one group in the attribute of vengeance. It will lift away the curtain of splendor from their work by the de- cree of severity, pull back the mask of respect from the face of their status, write the inscription of abandonment on the hem of their present moment, and make them the kiblah of the whole world's rejection. Sometimes they will be bewildered in the claws of contraction, and sometimes they will be terrified by the fear of severity. There will be no caressing of the heart and no poison with which to kill the soul: wherein he will neither die nor live. He will not be bold enough to return, nor will he have the gall to go forward. With the tongue of misery he will say in his helplessness, “I am not drunk from the cup of my existence, neither am I not. I am not low beneath the kicks of the spheres, neither am I not. Neither the spirit's ease nor the heart's pain-woe is me! O Lord, who am I that I am not in being, neither am I not?” The self-disclosure of the beautiful gaze of the Real's gentleness will join with the other group. They receive one caress today, another tomorrow. Today they are on the carpet of expansiveness, taking their ease in the garden of intimacy and delight. At every moment and instant, overflowing cups are poured for them from the wine-house of love. Tomorrow in the Gardens of Refuge and the highest degrees, they will be wearing the waistcoat of endless subsistence and the robe of the everlasting kingdom, seated on the couch of prosperity in contemplation of the King, the Possessor of Majesty, the cups of union continuous, the robes of bounteousness successive, at each moment a caress and an acceptance, at each instant an opening and an arrival, for the Lord of the Worlds says,

Therein dwelling forever; that is the recompense of those who purify themselves. As for the marks of the coming of this good fortune and the traces of finding this rank and way sta- tion, these are that the servant lifts the veil of heedlessness from his road and pulls back his cloak from the legs of seriousness. He disciplines his soul with the courteous acts of the Shariah and takes the rightful due of the religion from the days of intelligence. He strives to straighten out his deeds and words according to the yardstick of the Shariah and the requisites of the Haqiqah. He makes the decree of the following verse requisite on himself. He knows that the Exalted Lord says,

Surely I am all-forgiving toward the one who repents and has faith and does wholesome deeds, and then is guided. All-forgiving is an intensive form and requires manyness. In other words, God is vast in forgive- ness. Toward the one who repents is the act of the servant, and the act does not require manyness. The allusion of the verse is that if the servant should turn back to the Real once in regret, the Exalted Lord will turn to him many times in gentleness and mercy. From the servant there will be one step in the road of struggle, and from God a thousand generosities by virtue of solicitude. “My servant, from you a little obedience, from Me great mercy; from you a bit of service, from Me much blessing.” This is the same as what MuṣṬafā said, narrating from the Eternal Enactor: “When someone comes near to Me by a span, I come near to him by a cubit, and when someone comes near to Me by a cubit, I come near to him by a fathom.” Surely I am all-forgiving toward the one who repents and has faith. It is known that repen- tance without faith is not sound. So what is the profit here of and has faith? It means and has faith that his salvation does not come through his own repentance and obedience. His salvation comes only through His mercy. Ghaffār [all-forgiving] comes from ghafr, and the meaning of ghafr is to cover. It is to keep the servant concealed and to hold the curtain of pardon and mercy over his words and deeds, both obedience and disobedience. Not only do the servant's acts of disobedience need concealing, but also his obedience needs concealing. If the blights of the servant's obedience were brought for- ward, he would fear obedience more than he fears disobedience. ʿāÌisha narrated as follows: “I asked MuṣṬafā the meaning of the verse, Those who give what they give, their hearts quaking [23:60]. 'Are they the ones who fornicate, steal, and drink wine' “He replied, 'No, they are the ones who pray, fast, give alms, and then fear that these will not be accepted.'” Rābiʿa ʿAdawiyya often used to say, “I ask forgiveness from God for my lack of truthfulness in saying, 'I ask forgiveness from God.

“And what has made thee hurry from thy people, O Moses!” This is a rebuke of Moses, for he left his people behind and went on ahead of them. He hurried to the promised meeting with the Real, who said: “O Moses, do you not know that I love the weak and I caress the broken more than others? I am always looking into their hearts, and I love all those in whose hearts I look.” Then Moses offered an excuse:

He said, “They are close upon my footsteps, and I hurried to Thee, my Lord, that Thou mayest approve.” “They are close upon my footsteps. I did not leave them behind out of neglect, and I hurried to Thee, my Lord, that Thou mayest approve. O Lord, You Yourself know and You are aware of my secret core. With this hurry I did not want to neglect them, nor was I aiming to abandon attending to the rightful due of companionship with them. Rather, I wanted Your approval and I was seeking an increase in Your satisfaction.” He said, “O Moses, My approval lies in taking care of their hearts. 'I am with those whose hearts are broken for My sake.' 'I am the sitting-companion of him who remembers Me.' O Mo- ses, when you seek Me, seek Me in their hearts, for I sit with the rememberers in the solitariness of And He is with you [57:4]. I am the intimate of the hearts of the poor, the remembrance of the spir- its of the recognizers, present with the mystery of the lovers, the light of the eyes of the familiar, the resource of the frightened, the traveling supplies of the distressed, and the refuge of the weak. O Moses, wherever you see a poor man, thrown down by the iniquity of the days, wounded by the times, be his servitor. As long as you can, do not seek to be apart from him. Be the purchaser of his companionship, for his makeup is the storehouse of the secrets of the Beginningless and prepa- ration for the bazaar of the Endless.” He gave MuṣṬafā the same advice: “And let not thine eyes turn away from them [18:28]. O MuḤammad, be careful not to turn your eyes away from them. Do not sell them to others, for they are the ones pulled up by My remembrance, named by My bounty, adorned by My gentleness, lifted up by My will. They have come forth from knowledge, are displayed by predetermination, have found the mark of the desire, and were pulled up by the signet of the decree. “In the Beginningless they were made apparent by My knowledge, today they are existent by My command, tomorrow they will be kept by My decree. Knowledge has the rulership of the Beginningless, the command has the rulership of the present moment, the decree has the rulership of the Endless.

They ask thee about the mountains. Say, “My Lord will scatter them as ashes.” In the outwardness He is showing His awesomeness, forcefulness, and exaltation to the creatures. In the inwardness He is bestowing eminence on His servants and friends: “We turned this earth into your bedspread and made it your carpet. If you are not there, of what use is the carpet? We made the heaven your roof, the stars your indications, the sun your cook, the moon your burning candle. When you go, of what use is the candle, what will be done by the indications? When a carpet is prepared for a friend and he goes, it must be taken up. When you go, We will take up this carpet, for We will not create anyone else. He it is who created for you all that is in the earth [2:29]. Heaven and earth, moon and sun, unshakeable mountains and surging oceans-these are the go-betweens of your road. Each has a torch in its hand and holds it over your road. “Tomorrow at the time of gazing, We will lift away everything from before you. We will say, 'The reports have gone, the gaze has come.'” Proofs are needed when there is no face-to-face vision. When face-to-face vision comes, what good are proofs? Go-betweens are useful as long as the friend has not reached the friend. When the friend reaches the friend, what use are go-betweens? Since the days were the days of reports, the hoopoe was needed to give the reports [to Solomon]. But when the era of the gaze arrives, the hoopoe is of no use. As long as MuṣṬafā was in Mecca, Gabriel used to come and go. When he reached the Lote Tree of the Final End, Gabriel stood still. He said, “Now I have become a veil. The friend has reached the friend, and the intermediary is of no use, the go-between is nothing more than a veil.”

They ask thee about the mountains. Say, “My Lord will scatter them as ashes.” In the outwardness He is showing His awesomeness, forcefulness, and exaltation to the creatures. In the inwardness He is bestowing eminence on His servants and friends: “We turned this earth into your bedspread and made it your carpet. If you are not there, of what use is the carpet? We made the heaven your roof, the stars your indications, the sun your cook, the moon your burning candle. When you go, of what use is the candle, what will be done by the indications? When a carpet is prepared for a friend and he goes, it must be taken up. When you go, We will take up this carpet, for We will not create anyone else. He it is who created for you all that is in the earth [2:29]. Heaven and earth, moon and sun, unshakeable mountains and surging oceans-these are the go-betweens of your road. Each has a torch in its hand and holds it over your road. “Tomorrow at the time of gazing, We will lift away everything from before you. We will say, 'The reports have gone, the gaze has come.'” Proofs are needed when there is no face-to-face vision. When face-to-face vision comes, what good are proofs? Go-betweens are useful as long as the friend has not reached the friend. When the friend reaches the friend, what use are go-betweens? Since the days were the days of reports, the hoopoe was needed to give the reports [to Solomon]. But when the era of the gaze arrives, the hoopoe is of no use. As long as MuṣṬafā was in Mecca, Gabriel used to come and go. When he reached the Lote Tree of the Final End, Gabriel stood still. He said, “Now I have become a veil. The friend has reached the friend, and the intermediary is of no use, the go-between is nothing more than a veil.”

And We made covenant with Adam before, but he forgot, and We found in him no resoluteness. Until the end of this section is the story of Adam and the compact of his vicegerency. First he was addressed by awesomeness. He saw the whip of rebuke, and he stepped into the street of fear and wept. Then he was sat down on gentleness. The beginningless solicitude arrived, he saw the crown of chosenness, and he was happy on the carpet of hope. Yes, it was a work already done, a decree made ready in the Beginningless. Adam had not yet slipped when the tailor of gentleness sewed the waistcoat of his repentance, and Iblis had not yet stepped into disobedience when the druggist of severity mixed the draft of the poison of his curse. The beginning of the traces of the beginningless solicitude for Adam was that the exalted majesty of the Unity Itself in Its perfect self-sufficiency took a handful of dust from the earth: “Surely God created Adam from a handful taken from the entire surface of the earth.” Then He placed it in the mold of the stature, as He said: “Surely We created man in the most beautiful stature” [95:4]. Then He brought him into the ferment of bringing to be: “He fermented the clay of Adam in His hand for forty days.” Then He sat the spirit-king on the royal seat of his makeup: “I have blown into him of My spirit” [15:29]. Then He read out the edict of his vicegerency and sultanate in the kingdom of the beginningless: “Surely I am setting in the earth a vicegerent” [2:30]. He recorded the names of all existent things with the pen of the gentleness of Eternity on the tablet of his heart: “And He taught Adam the names, all of them” [2:31]. He commanded the glorifiers and hallowers of the Holy Pali-sades and the Gardens of Intimacy to prostrate themselves before the throne of his good fortune: “And when We said to the angels, 'Prostrate yourselves before Adam'” [2:34]. Know that this level, distinction, and rank was not for the clay. Rather, it belonged to the sultan of the heart. In the core of Adam's heart He deposited one of the divine subtleties, royal secrets, and unseen meanings, a secret concealed by the curtain of Say: “The spirit is of the command of my Lord” [17:85].

And Adam disobeyed his Lord, so went astray. Then his Lord chose him, so He turned toward him and guided. One of the pirs of the Tariqah was asked, “Given all the good fortune, rank, standing, and proxim- ity that Adam the chosen had with the Real, what wisdom is there in the call that went out concern- ing him, 'And Adam disobeyed'?” The Pir answered with the tongue of wisdom and the tasting of recognition: “The seed of love had been thrown into the earth of Adam's heart. Then the canal of his eyes was opened for the water of remorse, and the sun of And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord [39:69] shone forth on that good clay, receptive to the seed of pain. The tree of love grew up, and the air of But he forgot [20:115] nurtured it in the field of paradise. The sun of We found in him no resoluteness [20:115] dried it. Then He cut it down with the scythe of Then his Lord chose him. Then, with the wind of So He turned toward him and guided, He made it pure. Then He wanted to cook it with fire, so He heated an oven with the harshness of And Adam disobeyed and cooked that food of pas- sion in the oven. The flavor of that food had still not reached Adam's taste buds when he let loose the tongue of need and said, 'Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves' [7:23].” It has also been said that Adam had two existences. The first existence was in this world, not paradise, and the second was in paradise. The command came, “O Adam, come out of paradise and go into this world. Gamble away your crown, belt, and cap in the road of passion! Put up with pain and trial. Then tomorrow We will bring you back to this precious homeland and this domicile of subsistence with a hundred thousand robes of gentleness and every sort of honor, as the leader of the witnesses and in the presence of the one-hundred-twenty some thousand center points of prophecy, the possessors of purity and the sources of limpidness.” Tomorrow, you will see Adam go into paradise with his children. The angels of the Dominion will look with wonder and say, “This is that solitary man who moved out of paradise a few days ago in poverty and indigence!” “O Adam, bringing you out of paradise was a curtain over this business and a covering over the mysteries, for your loins were the ocean of the one-hundred-twenty some thousand center points of prophethood's pearls.

And Adam disobeyed his Lord, so went astray. Then his Lord chose him, so He turned toward him and guided. One of the pirs of the Tariqah was asked, “Given all the good fortune, rank, standing, and proxim- ity that Adam the chosen had with the Real, what wisdom is there in the call that went out concern- ing him, 'And Adam disobeyed'?” The Pir answered with the tongue of wisdom and the tasting of recognition: “The seed of love had been thrown into the earth of Adam's heart. Then the canal of his eyes was opened for the water of remorse, and the sun of And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord [39:69] shone forth on that good clay, receptive to the seed of pain. The tree of love grew up, and the air of But he forgot [20:115] nurtured it in the field of paradise. The sun of We found in him no resoluteness [20:115] dried it. Then He cut it down with the scythe of Then his Lord chose him. Then, with the wind of So He turned toward him and guided, He made it pure. Then He wanted to cook it with fire, so He heated an oven with the harshness of And Adam disobeyed and cooked that food of pas- sion in the oven. The flavor of that food had still not reached Adam's taste buds when he let loose the tongue of need and said, 'Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves' [7:23].” It has also been said that Adam had two existences. The first existence was in this world, not paradise, and the second was in paradise. The command came, “O Adam, come out of paradise and go into this world. Gamble away your crown, belt, and cap in the road of passion! Put up with pain and trial. Then tomorrow We will bring you back to this precious homeland and this domicile of subsistence with a hundred thousand robes of gentleness and every sort of honor, as the leader of the witnesses and in the presence of the one-hundred-twenty some thousand center points of prophecy, the possessors of purity and the sources of limpidness.” Tomorrow, you will see Adam go into paradise with his children. The angels of the Dominion will look with wonder and say, “This is that solitary man who moved out of paradise a few days ago in poverty and indigence!” “O Adam, bringing you out of paradise was a curtain over this business and a covering over the mysteries, for your loins were the ocean of the one-hundred-twenty some thousand center points of prophethood's pearls.

And whosoever turns away from My remembrance, he shall have a life of narrowness, and on the Day of Resurrection We shall muster him blind. Concerning this verse Jaʿfar ṣādiq said, “Had they recognized Me, they would not have turned away from Me. When someone turns away from Me, I will restore him to turning toward the kinds and colors appropriate for him.” Whoever recognizes Him remembers Him in every state and turns away from remembering everything except Him. Whoever knows Him will always be remembering Him and persevere in performing the obligatory and supererogatory acts, putting aside his own steps and seeking every- thing rightfully due to Him. Whenever someone turns aside from remembering the Real for one instant in his life and turns to remembering the creatures, the veiled virgin of recognition will con- ceal her face from him and he will never have a portion of her beauty. This is the case of someone who turns away from His remembrance for one instant in his whole life. How about someone who does not turn toward the remembrance of the Real for one instant in his whole life? The paragon of the world, the center point of the circle of newly arrived things, was addressed by the Compeller of the engendered beings, “O master! It does not please Me that in the two worlds you should rely on any but Me, that on your tongue should be the remembrance of any but Me, that in your heart should be love for any but Me. I will bring everyone out against you and make them all your antagonists so that you will remember none but Me in the two worlds.” The first He brought out against him were his family, tribe, and relatives so that, when he saw disloyalty from his near ones, he would not place his heart in his far ones. The Real wanted to turn his heart away from the creatures and unbind his secret core from the whole world and join it with Himself, “for conjunction with the Real is in the measure of disjunction from the creatures.” WāsiṬī said, “Whoever looks at Him does not look at himself. Whoever remembers Him for- gets to remember himself.” Remembrance of self and remembrance of creatures are the seeds of sorrows.

Extend not thine eyes to what We have given pairs of them to enjoy, the flower of this world's life so that We may entrance them thereby; and thy Lord's provision is better and more subsisting. This is another balm that He lays on the hearts of the poor. He is showing the insignificance and feebleness of this world to people, exposing its defects and blemishes, and holding His friends back from seeing and loving it. He is saying, “the flower of this world's life so that We may entrance them thereby”: This world is a blossom whose moisture, freshness, and comeliness will last a few days. Then it will wither and become nothing, but its entrancement will remain in the heart. Why are you in love with the loveless one who took Alexander's life? Why are you passionate for the friend to whom Darius lost his kingdom? [DS 53] “The rich turn back to this world and the poor turn back to the Patron. How far apart are these and those!” Whatever happens to the rich, they come back to this world. In every state the heart of the poor is with the Patron. From here is known the eminence of the poor over the rich. Junayd considered poverty more excellent than wealth. In contrast, Ibn ʿAṬāÌ considered wealth more eminent than poverty. One day there was a debate between the two. Junayd argued that God's Messenger said, “The poor of my community will enter the Garden one-half day before the rich, and that is five hundred years.” He said that someone who goes into paradise is more excellent than someone who remains five hundred years in the reckoning. Ibn ʿAṬāÌ said, “No, it is more excellent to remain in the reckoning, for the person in paradise has the pleasure of blessing, but the person in the reckoning has the pleasure of the Real's rebuke. Talking with the Friend, even in the station of rebuke, is beyond being occupied with other than the Friend, even if that is in the station of blessing. This is because being tried by the Friend is sweeter than being in the Friend's blessing without the Friend.” Junayd answered, “Even if the rich man has the pleasure of rebuke, the poor man will have the pleasure of apology.

And command thy family to the prayer, and have patience therein. We ask thee for no provision. We shall provide for thee. And command thy family to the prayer, and have patience therein. He is commanding the servant to teach and telling him to manifest servanthood and constancy in obedience. So long as the ser- vant is not worthy and approved, He will not accept him in service at His threshold and will not give him access in the prayer to the presence of secret whispering. There is no good fortune beyond the fact that five times a day, by the decree of bounty, He sends the baggage-steed of the court of union at the hand of the stirrup-holder of gentleness to the hut of the servant's incapacity and records this exalted sigil on the edict of his good fortune: “I have divided the prayer between Me and My servant into two halves. When the servant says, 'Praise belongs to God,' God says, 'My servant is praising Me,'” and so on. He kept Moses the speaking companion waiting for forty days at the promise of whispered prayer. When the turn of this community arrived, He took away the tablecloth of waiting and, five times a day, again and again, He placed the goblet of whispered prayer in the hand of the cupbearer of gentleness: “Prostrate thyself and draw near” [96:19]. This is not a bestowal of eminence on the communities over the prophets, but rather, “The weaker someone is, the gentler the Lord is to him.” The Lord of the Worlds takes care of the work of the weak such that all the strong are in wonder. A hundred thousand proximate angels dove into the ocean of bowing and prostrating, and no one talks about them. But this penniless beggar wakes up from sleep and says, “Oh, it's late.” In the splendorous scripture the Lord of the Worlds wrote this inscription of exaltation on the cape of his secret whispers: “Their sides shun their couches as they supplicate their Lord in fear and want” [32:16]. We ask no provision of thee, and it is We who shall provide thee. Whenever someone believes that the provider in reality is the Lord and that all provision comes from Him and that the second- ary causes are by His predetermination, his mark is that his heart trusts totally in Him and he cuts himself off from others.

To Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth. Those who are with Him are not too proud to worship Him, nor do they become weary. The newly arrived things belong to Him as a possession, and the engendered beings belong to Him by decree. He is too transcendent to be beautified by conformity or to be diminished by op- position. In earth and the heavens all the engendered beings and newly arrived things, the existent things and things coming to nothing, are His kingdom and possession, His servants, slaves, and serving boys. In the view of the lords of the meanings, the reality of kingship is power to originate and devise. This reality is His attribute, and worthy kingship is His kingship-without horse and ser- vants, without drums and flags, without army and retinue. When the kings of the world display their armies, they mount up their servants and retinue, they display their horse and chattel, and then they lift up the head of boasting of their kingship and possessions, blessings and self-indulgences, cavalry and infantry, royal court and audience hall. As for the Real, He strikes the fire of unneedi- ness in the vestiges and traces of the realm of being, He turns the world into scattered dust [25:23] and He shakes the dust of the others off the skirt of power. He puts the halter of destruction on the steed of existence and lets out this call in the world: “Whose is the kingdom today?” Then He Himself answers with His own exalted majesty: “God's, the One, the All-Subjugating” [40:16]. When a person of faith believes that everything is His rightful due and kingdom and that all exaltedness is His exaltedness, it is fitting for him to break the tablet of making claims, roll up the carpet of folly, put the delusion of egoism out of his head, and pull his skirt back from the two realms of being and the two worlds. He will be ashamed to bow his head before a created thing like himself, or to bind his heart to anyone. “He who aims for the ocean has no need for rivulets.” When a diver has a high aspiration and uses his own life for give-and-take with the ocean in order to gain the night-brightening pearl, why would he give himself over to a black bead? He said beautiful words, that exalted man of the era: “He who recognizes the Real will not put up with the abasement of the creatures.”

He will not be questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned. This is a rejection of the free-willers and a right guidance for the Sunnis. The free-willers say, “If we turn over all the newly arrived things to God, He would be defective.” They say, “Evil is from us and good from Him.” In the same way, the Zoroastrians say that good is from Yazdān and evil from Ahrīman. “The free-willers are the Magi of this community.” A free-willer said to a Zoroastrian, “Become a Muslim.” He said, “As long as He does not want it, how can I become a Muslim?” The free-willer said, “He wants it, but Iblis does not.” The Zoroastrian said, “Then I will stay with the stronger antagonist. What will I do with the weak one?” As for the right guidance of the Sunnis, it is that the Real is the absolute owner and is able to act upon His possession as He wants. MuṣṬafā said, “Were He to chastise me and the son of Mary, He would chastise us without wronging us.” Fear a God who does whatever He wants while no one has the gall to protest! “Have shame before God because of His proximity to you, and fear God because of His power over you.” Know also that this a work that is over and done with. He has taken each to his own domicile and made his place apparent, and then He has brought him back to the beginning of the road of interaction. When the prophets came, they did not bring any new work into this world, nor did they place any new report in your breast. Rather, they put into motion what was in your breast and they called you to what had been deposited for you. We would not have been guided had God not guided us [7:43]. ʿAlī was asked about the measuring out. He said, “It is God's secret, so do not disclose it; it is a tremendous ocean, so do not importune it.” Human knowledge does not have the capacity to carry it. Man's understanding and imagination will never reach it. He does not know that the more he goes forward, the more he becomes bewildered. The more he exercises self-determination, the more he falls. What is the spirit next to Your face other than a meddler? What is intellect next to Your lips other than a fool? [DS 902]

Or have they taken gods apart from Him? Say, “Bring your proof.” This alludes to true tawḤīd and the Lord's solitariness in the description of aloneness and the at- tribute of unity. The root of tawḤīd is to fly in the field of disengagement, to take up residence at His rulings through solitariness, to cut off fear and hope from both the near and the far, and to surrender the affair to God so that He may decree however He desires. Shiblī said, “The One suffices you against all, but all will not suffice you against the One.” He is saying, “The Real is One. If you have a thousand enemies and the Real is with you, He will suffice against all. And supposing you have a thousand friends and helpers but the Real is not with you, then nothing will be in your hand but wind.” God's Messenger said to Abū Bakr al-ṣiddīq in the cave, “Grieve not; surely God is with us” [9:40]. It was said to a spider, “We have concealed the paragon of the prophets and the head of the sincerely truthful in a cave. Go, prepare the corner of your incapacity and poverty in the door of that cave so that it may be their escort.” Nothing in the world is more incapable than a spider, and no house is weaker than its house. And surely the frailest of houses is the house of the spider [29:41]. When He wants to destroy an enemy like Nimrod, He destroys him with a gnat. He is a Lord who does whatever He wants and who shows His power however He wants. Take a look at His perfect power in the creation of heaven and earth, as He says:

Have not those who disbelieve seen that the heavens and the earth were all sewn up, then We unstitched them, and from water We made every living thing? And We made…, and We made…, and We made… [21:30-32]. Everything to the end of these verses is allusions to the perfection of His power and explanations of His wisdom. When you look at power, all nonexistent things take on the color of existence. When you look at exaltedness, all existent things take on the color of nonexistence. You should not have the opinion that whatever He knew, He said; whatever He could do, He did; and whatever He had, He showed. The existent things and the created things are a sample of His power. Revelations and inspirations are an iota of His knowledge. Just as He sent a few rul- ings of His knowledge to the creatures and the knowledge did not reach the bottom, so also He put together a few clods of earth and His power did not reach its end. If He were to create thousands of Thrones, Footstools, heavens, and earths, He still would not have made apparent an iota of His power. Your power is incapable and finite, but His power is transcendent and infinite. Whatever is impossible in the intellect, God is perfectly powerful over that. In power He uses no contriv- ances, in self-standing His state does not change, in Essence and attributes He is everlasting and transcendent.

And He it is who created night and day, and the sun and the moon, each swimming in a sphere. In the tasting of the folk of recognition, night and day are a mark of the contraction and expansion of the recognizers. Contraction and expansion are the divine decree and royal predetermination. Sometimes He puts them in the grasp of His contraction so that the ruling power of His majesty [wreaks havoc on them, and sometimes He gives them a place on the carpet of His expansion such that the ruling power of beauty] may caress them in virtue of bestowal. It is the stipulation of the man with pain that in the grasp of contraction he be rectified and not protest, and on the carpet of expansion he be courteous and not turn away, for the great ones of the religion have said, “The servant will not find the sweetness of faith until trial comes to him from everywhere.” And the sun and the moon, each swimming in a sphere. He created the sun and the moon in the constellations of heaven, and they travel on the peak of the spheres. He created the sun neither to increase nor to decrease and the moon to increase and decrease; sometimes it wanes, and some- times it shines forth. The sun is the mark of the possessor of tawḤīd, who says with the attribute of stability in the presence of stability, “Were the covering to be lifted, I would not increase in certainty.” The moon is the mark of the possessor of knowledge, who walks in the playing field of exertion. He comes by way of gazing and inference and keeps his eyes on obedience and good works, that they might add faith to their faith [48:4]. The possessor of tawḤīd is the lord of pain, and the possessor of knowledge is the lord of deeds. The possessor of deeds gazes on the secondary causes, and the possessor of pain gazes on the Causer and is detached from the secondary causes. The great ones of the religion have said, “Not seeing the secondary cause is ignorance, but remaining with the secondary cause is associationism.” A recognizer was seen on the shore of the Tigris, saying, “My Master, I am thirsty,” but he passed by without drinking. That exalted man was contemplating the Real and saw neither the Tigris nor its water. When someone is busy with a work, even if the houris of paradise pass by, he will not be aware. God only knows, sweetheart, if I know night from day- night and day passion has confounded and perplexed me.

We have not assigned everlastingness to any mortal before thee. If thou diest, will they be everlasting? Every soul shall taste death. When a speck of truthfulness appears in someone's heart, the reality of passion for death will show its head from his spirit, for the promise of encounter is there. What sort of spirit would forget the promise of encounter? What sort of heart would seek from someplace else the repose that comes only from contemplating the Real? “The person of faith has no ease without encoun- tering his Lord.” O dervish, no good fortune is more precious than death. Those who have the religion place the crown of magnificence and generosity on their heads at the gate of death. Those who reap the fruit of the Shariah will find the sigil of good fortune at the door of death. Death is the sanctuary of “There is no god but God.” Death is the doorstep of the kingdom of the resurrection and the passageway to the visitors of the Real. Death is the center of the exaltation of the recognizers, the place anticipated by the spirits of the proximate. Death is the vanguard of solicitude and the prelude to endless kind favor. In the two worlds no one has the ease that the tawḤīd-voicer has in the grave with the One. He took along with him into the dust the banner of the submission and the kettledrum of faith in the resurrection. At the resurrection he will come out of the dust with the banner of the submission and the kettledrum of faith, just as kings enter into their own city. Dāwūd ṬāÌī was one of the great jurists in outward knowledge. His truthfulness was such that on the night he left this world a call came from the middle of heaven: “O folk of the earth! Surely Dāwūd ṬāÌī has stepped forth to his Lord, and He approves of him.” One of his disciples said that he saw Dāwūd in the throes of death in a ruined house, intense heat, fallen flat on the earth with his head on a piece of brick, reciting the Qur'an. He said to him, “O Dāwūd, what if you were to go out into the open air?” What would happen if you were kind to yourself for an hour and go out into the open air, so this heat would have less effect on you? Dāwūd said, “My friend, I want to do that, but I am ashamed before my Lord-that I should move my feet in that in which my soul is at ease.

We have not assigned everlastingness to any mortal before thee. If thou diest, will they be everlasting? Every soul shall taste death. When a speck of truthfulness appears in someone's heart, the reality of passion for death will show its head from his spirit, for the promise of encounter is there. What sort of spirit would forget the promise of encounter? What sort of heart would seek from someplace else the repose that comes only from contemplating the Real? “The person of faith has no ease without encoun- tering his Lord.” O dervish, no good fortune is more precious than death. Those who have the religion place the crown of magnificence and generosity on their heads at the gate of death. Those who reap the fruit of the Shariah will find the sigil of good fortune at the door of death. Death is the sanctuary of “There is no god but God.” Death is the doorstep of the kingdom of the resurrection and the passageway to the visitors of the Real. Death is the center of the exaltation of the recognizers, the place anticipated by the spirits of the proximate. Death is the vanguard of solicitude and the prelude to endless kind favor. In the two worlds no one has the ease that the tawḤīd-voicer has in the grave with the One. He took along with him into the dust the banner of the submission and the kettledrum of faith in the resurrection. At the resurrection he will come out of the dust with the banner of the submission and the kettledrum of faith, just as kings enter into their own city. Dāwūd ṬāÌī was one of the great jurists in outward knowledge. His truthfulness was such that on the night he left this world a call came from the middle of heaven: “O folk of the earth! Surely Dāwūd ṬāÌī has stepped forth to his Lord, and He approves of him.” One of his disciples said that he saw Dāwūd in the throes of death in a ruined house, intense heat, fallen flat on the earth with his head on a piece of brick, reciting the Qur'an. He said to him, “O Dāwūd, what if you were to go out into the open air?” What would happen if you were kind to yourself for an hour and go out into the open air, so this heat would have less effect on you? Dāwūd said, “My friend, I want to do that, but I am ashamed before my Lord-that I should move my feet in that in which my soul is at ease.

Man was created of haste. I shall show you My signs, so seek not to hasten Me. Man was created of haste. Haste is one thing, hurry is something else. Haste is unapproved and blamed, and a prohibition has come concerning it: “so seek not to hasten Me.” Hurry is approved and praised, and a command has come in it: “Hurry!” [3:133]. Haste is to go forth to a work before its moment, and hurry is to rush to a work that is commanded at the beginning of its moment. Haste is the result of Satan's disquieting, and hurry is a requisite of success-giving and reverence for the command. From haste come regret and the heart's turmoil, and from hurry the joining of spirit and heart with tranquility: He it is who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the faithful [48:4]. God sends down repose on the hearts of the faithful so that they will recognize Him without having found Him and love Him without having seen Him. They turn away from their own work to His work, they come from remembering themselves to remembering Him, and they go from love for themselves to love for Him. All rememberings save remembering Him are negligence, all objects of desire save His object of desire are diversions, and all loves save love for Him are idle talk.

We said, “O fire, be coolness and safety!” For the companions of recognitions and the lords of realities, there is another intimation in this verse. They have said that this was a call to a fire that was made ready in the fireplace of Abra- ham's spirit. When Nimrod placed him in the mangonel, Abraham placed his own secret core in the mangonel of contemplation. As soon as he came near the fire of Nimrod, the burn of witnessing the Real made him want to sigh so as to extinguish Nimrod's fire. The call came, “O fire,” that is, “O fire of witnessing, be coolness. Be cold toward Nimrod's fire and do not exercise your ruling authority over it, for We have decreed that We will bring forth from the midst of the fire a scented garden full of flowers and blossoms to honor Our bosom friend and make manifest a miracle for him. If you extinguish it, it will not become a garden and the miracle will not appear. Be cold toward Nimrod's fire so that the garden may appear, and be safety for Abraham so that the miracle may appear.” Listen to another subtle point, more wonderful than that: Your soul is like Nimrod, the soul's caprice is fire, and your burnt heart is Abraham. The soul has lit up the fire of caprice, placed the heart in the mangonel of disobedient acts with the chains of deception and the fetters of appetite, and thrown it into the fire of caprice. Before it takes one step, intellect comes like someone dis- tracted, a servant-boy to the heart, and says, “Have you any need?” The heart responds, “'Of you, no.' O intellect, do you remember when it was said to you, 'Come!', and you came? It was said, 'Go!,' and you went? It was said, 'Who are you?', and you were at a loss? On that day you did not know your own road. How do you know what is right for me today?” When the heart enters the fire of caprice, the command arrives, “O fire, be coolness! O fire of caprice, be cold for the heart, for it is already burned by love for Me.” For in the lover's heart is the fire of love. The burnt one will not be burned again.

And David and Solomon, when they gave judgment about the tillage. David and Solomon shared with each other in terms of prophecy, but they were disparate in degree and excellence. Do you not see that in one question He gave Solomon superiority in knowledge? He singled out his understanding, for He said,

So We made Solomon understand this, and to both We gave judgment and knowledge. He gave Solomon such a tremendous kingdom, but He did not count it as a favor. Rather, He showed him its insignificance when He said, “This is Our gift, so bestow” [38:39], that is, “Give it to whomsoever you want because of its insignificance and meanness.” When He reached knowl- edge and understanding, He declared its eminence and counted it a favor toward him: “So We made Solomon understand this.” The knowledge of understanding is beyond the knowledge of commentary and interpretation. Commentary comes through teaching and instruction, interpretation comes through right guidance and success-giving, and understanding without intermediary comes through Lordly inspiration. Commentary without a master is useless, interpretation without exertion is incorrect, and the pos- sessor of understanding has no teacher other than the Real. Commentary and interpretation come through knowledge and striving, and understanding comes through finding and being pulled. Ḥasan Baṣrī said, “I asked Ḥudhayfa Yamān about knowledge of inwardness,” that is, under- standing. “Ḥudhayfa said that he asked God's Messenger, who said, 'a knowledge between God and His friends, of which no proximate angel or any of His creatures is aware.'” The understanding of these Men concerning the secrets of the Book and the Sunnah reached an inviolable sanctuary around which the imaginations of the lords of outwardness do not have the gall to circle. From each letter they have a station, from each word a message, from each verse a realm, from each chapter a burning and a celebration. In their road threats are promises, and in their case promises are hard cash. Paradise and hell are way stations on their road, and everything less than the Real is for them unreal. In the desert of their present moment this world and the next world are two miles. By day they are in the lodging of secret whispering, by night in the litter of joy. By day they gaze upon the artifacts, by night they contemplate the beauty of the Artisan. By day they are with the people in good character and by night with the Real in the footing of truthful- ness [10:2]. By day they are in the work, by night in drunkenness. By day they seek the road, by night they speak of the mysteries. My night is the forenoon sun from Your face- the darkness is only in the sky. The people are in the darkness from their night, but we are in brightness from Your face.

And Dhu'l-Nūn, when he went forth wrathful and thought that We would not have power over him. Then he called out in the darknesses, “There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee! Surely I am one of the wrongdoers.” So We responded to him and delivered him from sorrow. God has friends who would begin to lament from the lack of trial if for the blink of an eye the as- sistance of the army of trial were cut off from their days-just as the folk of the world grieve at the lack of blessings, they begin to wail from the lack of trial. The more they see the blows of the times and of trial, the more they are passionate for their trial. The hotter the flames of their passion, then, like moths, the more they are entranced by their trouble. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, may the pain I have never get better! This pain is right for me. When someone is in pain and content with pain, what is the reckoning? O God, my story is this that I recount. What is the answer to this poor wretch stricken by pain?” The tale they tell about the days and the state of that exalted one of the road, that chosen one of the King, Jonah the prophet, has exactly this attribute. He was a man cleansed by the crucible of trial, ground down by the millstone of tribulation, his head struck by the whip of rebuke without special favor. The more his liver was turned into kabob in the incense-burner of trial, the more he became passionate for his trial, for when he was shown the moon-like beauty of passion for the Haqiqah, he was shown it in the street of trial and the room of tribulation. The traditions narrate that “When God loves a servant, trial is poured down all over him.” Riẓwān and all the slave-boys are servants of the dust under the feet of the folk of trial. The beginningless welcome and the unseen request are prepared in the name of the folk of trial. The divine love is the food of the secret cores of the folk of trial. The lordly gentleness and mercy are trustees specific to the folk of trial.

And Dhu'l-Nūn, when he went forth wrathful and thought that We would not have power over him. Then he called out in the darknesses, “There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee! Surely I am one of the wrongdoers.” So We responded to him and delivered him from sorrow. God has friends who would begin to lament from the lack of trial if for the blink of an eye the as- sistance of the army of trial were cut off from their days-just as the folk of the world grieve at the lack of blessings, they begin to wail from the lack of trial. The more they see the blows of the times and of trial, the more they are passionate for their trial. The hotter the flames of their passion, then, like moths, the more they are entranced by their trouble. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, may the pain I have never get better! This pain is right for me. When someone is in pain and content with pain, what is the reckoning? O God, my story is this that I recount. What is the answer to this poor wretch stricken by pain?” The tale they tell about the days and the state of that exalted one of the road, that chosen one of the King, Jonah the prophet, has exactly this attribute. He was a man cleansed by the crucible of trial, ground down by the millstone of tribulation, his head struck by the whip of rebuke without special favor. The more his liver was turned into kabob in the incense-burner of trial, the more he became passionate for his trial, for when he was shown the moon-like beauty of passion for the Haqiqah, he was shown it in the street of trial and the room of tribulation. The traditions narrate that “When God loves a servant, trial is poured down all over him.” Riẓwān and all the slave-boys are servants of the dust under the feet of the folk of trial. The beginningless welcome and the unseen request are prepared in the name of the folk of trial. The divine love is the food of the secret cores of the folk of trial. The lordly gentleness and mercy are trustees specific to the folk of trial.

And Zachariah, when he supplicated his Lord, “My Lord, leave me not solitary.” In the tasting of the recognizers and the allusion of the realizers, the meaning is “Leave me not empty of Your protection from sin or turning away from Your remembrance or occupying myself with anything but You.” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “God has no use for treasuries and no need for anything. Whatever He has, He has it for the servants. Tomorrow He will give the treasury of mercy to the disobedient and the treasury of bounty to the helpless so that they may discharge what is rightfully due to Him from His treasuries, for the servants cannot discharge His rightful due with what they have of their own. When a sultan gives his daughter to a beggar, the beggar does not have a dower worthy of the sultan's daughter. From his own treasury the sultan sends the dower to the beggar so that the beggar may give the dower to the princess from his treasury.” When the servant obeys Him, he does so with His success-giving and protection from sin. He discharges what is rightfully due to Him with His confirmation and bestowal of strength. Then through His bounty He praises the servant for the excellence of his obedience and through His generosity He approves of him. What He shows to the world's folk is this:

They were vying in good works and they were supplicating Us in eagerness and dread, and they were reverent toward Us. “My servants are striving to obey Me and they call upon Me with eagerness and dread. They know only Me and they circle only around My door. They are the burned ones of My Presence, the ones lifted up by My gentleness.” “He guided them so that they would recognize them, He gave them success so that they would worship Him, He instructed them so that they would ask of Him, He illuminated their hearts so that they would love Him. He loves without bribery, He bestows without obligation, and He honors without a means of approach.” He scatters a hundred blessings on your head and counts it as a dust mote. He considers a straw of yours to be a mountain. Do you not see that He will give you a paradise with all that tremendousness and vastness, but He calls it an “upper chamber”? “It is they who will be recompensed with the upper chamber” [25:75]. Abraham the Bosom Friend placed a calf before his guests. The Exalted Lord approved of him, honored him, and displayed him to the world's folk: “He brought a roasted calf” [11:69]. He is a Lord who makes wealthy anyone who presents a need to Him, who exalts anyone who delights in Him. Supposing that the servant disobeys for a hundred years and then says, “I repent,” He will say, “I accept.” He it is who accepts repentance from His servants [42:25]. A bedouin was supplicating, and it was a marvelous supplication. He said, “O God, you will find someone other than me to chastise, but I will find no one other than You to have mercy on me.”

As for those to whom the most beautiful has preceded from Us. To them solicitude preceded at the beginning, so friendship became manifest at the end. One must have solicitude at the beginning for there to be friendship at the end. One iota of the beginningless solicitude is better than the bliss of the two worlds. He who is caressed was caressed in the Beginningless, and he who is called was called in the Beginningless. In the Beginningless His friends drank the cup of gentleness and put on the clothing of bounty. He did the work in the Beginningless, but He made it appear to be done today. He spoke the words in the Beginningless, but He makes what was spoken heard today. He sewed and made ready the robes of honor for the friends in the Beginningless, but today He hands them over. Each day He is upon some task [55:29]. He drives the predetermined things to their appointed times. For some time the mysteries have been spoken to you, but you hear them now. The majesty of His Exaltedness is eternal, but you know today. In the Beginningless the beginningless knowledge was your deputy in knowing the beginningless attributes. In the Beginningless the eternal hearing was your deputy in listening to the beginningless speech. When a guardian has a child's property in hand, he has it as his deputy. When the child reaches maturity, he gives it back to him. In terms of allusion, He is saying that you were the infants of nonexistence when the eternal gentleness took care of your work and acted as your deputy. What bounty and generosity is left that He did not do for you? With the eternal gentleness He conveyed the prescription of the Law to your hearing, He sent the decree to your heart, He spoke of mysteries to your spirit, and He inscribed obe- dience on your limbs. He made you anticipate arrivals from the Unseen: “O you who anticipate the arrival of Our gentleness! O you who look for the marks bearing witness to Our Unseen! Nothing drives friendship into your heart other than the ruling power of Our curtaining. No one strikes the knocker on the door of your heart other than the messenger of Our kindness.” This is the reality of the beginningless beauty, which preceded to the friends and with which the Exalted Lord favored them: those to whom the most beautiful has preceded from Us. The fruit of the most beautiful is endless, for the Exalted Lord has promised, saying, “Those who do the beautiful shall have the most beautiful and an increase” [10:26]. Then He explained the outcome and final end of the folk of felicity and He joined the beginningless precedent with the endless subsequent:

The greatest terror shall not make them sorrow, and the angels will receive them: “This is the day that you were promised.” On the Day of Resurrection in the greatest gathering place and most tremendous courtyard, they will not hear from the angels the call “no good news” [25:22], nor the address, “Stand apart today, O offenders!” [36:59], nor the harsh call, “Slink into it, and do not talk to Me!” [23:108]. They will not hear the call of separation's pain, nor will they despair of mercy. Rather the angels will keep on coming, company after company, and they will give the good news: “This is the day that you were promised,” that is, “This is the day in which you have the promised reward.” Among them are those who will be received by the angels, and among them are those who will be addressed and made known by the King. God will say, “My servants, have you been yearning for Me?” He will say “Peace” to a group by the intermediary of the angels, saying, “Peace be upon you! Enter the Garden for what you were doing” [16:32]. He will make another group hear without the intermediary and spokesmanship of the angels: Their greeting on the day they encounter Him will be “Peace” [33:44]. He will say, “'My servants, have you been yearning for Me?' My servants, have you been wishing for Me?” This is a generosity and caress that will reach the faithful servants tomorrow at the resurrection. As for today, their hearts are as that exalted man of the road said: “The hearts of the yearners are illuminated by God's light. When their yearning moves, the light brightens every- thing between heaven and earth. God presents them to the angels and says, 'These are those who yearn for Me. I bear witness to you that I yearn even more for them.'” He is saying, “The hearts of the yearners are illuminated by the divine light. When the fire of their yearning brightens heaven and earth and the Throne and Footstool, the Real will declare, 'O proximate ones of the Presence! These are the yearners for My beauty and majesty. I testify to you that My yearning for them is more than their yearning for Me.'”

We sent thee only as a mercy to the worlds. In the days of the interval between prophets, before MuṣṬafā the Arab was given his mission, the beauty of the submission had pulled its face behind the mask of exaltedness. They considered nature the effec- tor and originator. They had taken up a road whose end was nothing but blindness and misguidance. They considered intellect as God, they made nature its messenger, and they called the spheres the de- terminer. They made what intellect deemed beautiful their Shariah and they called what nature disliked “prohibited things.” They were busy with the celestial figures and guises and wasted their days with epicycles and falsifications. Suddenly the sun of the Muhammadan Shariah's good fortune appeared from the horizon of the unitary welcome: We sent thee only as a mercy to the worlds. Tubbaʿ, the king of Himyar, said to his diviner, “Do you find any kingdom whose kingdom is greater than mine?” The diviner said, “Yes, there is a prophet on the way whose kingdom will be greater than the kingdom of the world's folk. He will be a master, a paragon, a leader; on his forehead will be the light of prostration, on his eyebrows the light of humility, on his hair the light of beauty, in his eyes the light of heedfulness, in his face the light of mercy, between his shoulders the light of prophecy, in his heart the light of recognition, in his secret core the light of love, in his speech the light of wisdom, in his wisdom the light of jealousy, in his jealousy the light of the Presence. He will be pious and blessed, and aided by triumph. He is described in the Psalms, and his community is considered most excellent in the scriptures. He will dispel the darknesses with light. He is AḤmad the prophet. Blessed will be his community when he comes!” It has been sung, Surely the Messenger is a sword that brightens, Indian steel, a drawn sword of God. I have been told that God's Messenger threatened me, but pardon from God's Messenger is to be hoped. He was a man who came out from under the cloak of ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAbd al-MuṬṬalib. He passed by mortal loins, but he received help from the Unseen.

O people, be wary of your Lord-surely the quaking of the Hour is a tremendous thing. O people is a vocative, and O you have faith is a call of generosity. The vocative is for the common people, and the call of generosity is for the elect. The vocative is for striking fear and warning, and the call of generosity is for bestowing eminence and giving good news. Be wary of your Lord is two words, one severity, the other gentleness. Be wary is severity, which He drives home with His justice. Your Lord is gentleness, which He shows through His bounty. He keeps the servant between severity and gentleness so that he will live in fear and hope. When he is in fear, he looks at his own activity and weeps. When he is in hope, he looks at God's gentleness and is delighted. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, when I look at myself, I ask who is more miserable than I. When I look at You, I ask who is greater than I.” When the servant looks at his own activity, he says with the tongue of contempt and in beaten- ness and brokenness, “My two eyes full of water, my liver full of fire, my hands full of wind, my head full of dust!” When he looks at the divine gentleness and the lordly bounty, he says with the tongue of happiness and the blessing of gratitude, “What does the Throne do that it does not carry my saddlecloth? In my heart I carry the saddlecloth of Your ruling and decree. The scent of the spirit comes to my lips when I speak of You, the branch of exaltedness grows from my heart when I suffer Your trial.” Surely the quaking of the Hour is a tremendous thing. The quaking of the resurrection and the harshness of the resurrection-how can this be explained and what mark can be given of it? For the Exalted Lord says it is “a tremendous thing.” It is a day, and what a day! It is a work, and what a work! It is a day of the bazaar, and what a day of the bazaar! The pavilion of exaltedness will be raised in the desert of power, the carpet of tremendousness spread, the balance of justice hung, the path of straightness drawn out.

O people, if you are in doubt about the Uprising, surely We created you of dust, then of a sperm drop, then of a blood clot, then of a lump of flesh, fully created and not fully created, that We might make clear to you. The composition of the Adamic body in the first creation is a clear argument against the deniers of the Uprising. He is saying, “I am the Lord who created a body and figure with such comeliness, a stature and form with such beauty, from that feeble sperm drop in that firm settledness. He says, “Did We not create you of feeble water, then put it in a firm settledness?” [77:20-21]. If you ponder this body, you will find an exemplar of all the created and newly arrived things in the celestial and terrestrial worlds. Just as He arranged the seven spheres in heaven, so also He composed seven parts in this body-water and dust, and then flesh, skin, veins, sinews, and bones. Just as He divided the spheres into twelve constellations, so also He made twelve holes in this structure in the likeness of the twelve constellations: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, two breasts, the two well-known roads, the mouth, and the navel. Just as the angels travel in the layers of the heavens, so also the faculties of the soul travel in this Adamic composition. Just as some of the constellations in heaven are southern and some northern, some of these holes in the body are toward the right and some toward the left. Just as there are seven stars in the spheres of heaven called planets and, in the view of some, misfortune and felicity are tied to their forelocks, so also in your body there are seven faculties to which the wholesomeness of the body is tied: the faculty of eyesight, the faculty of hearing, and the faculties of taste, smell, touch, speech, and intellect. The root of these branches is in the heart, and to this the Prophet alluded with his words, “Surely in the body of Adam's child there is a lump of flesh. When it is wholesome, the rest of the body is also wholesome, and surely it is the heart.” This then is taking into account the celestial world.

(And among mankind is he who worshippeth Allah upon a narrow marge�) [22:11]. The commentators of the Qur'an said: �This verse was revealed about some Bedouins who used to travel from the desert to Medina to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. If one of them had, during such visits, good health, or his mare gave birth to seemly foals or his wife gave him a boy, such that his wealth and cattle multiplied - he would be pleased and well contended. He would say: 'Since I embraced this religion, I have not seen anything but good'. If, on the other hand, he fell ill, during such visits, or his wife gave birth to a girl, or his foals were stillborn, such that he lost his wealth, or such that the payment of alms to him was delayed - the devil would come to him and whisper: 'Since you embraced this religion, you have not gained anything but evil', and thus he would renounce his religion. Allah, exalted is, therefore, revealed (And among mankind is he who worshippeth Allah upon a narrow marge)�. 'Atiyyah reported that Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: �A Jewish man who had embraced Islam lost his sight, wealth and children. He thought that Islam was ill-omened and so he went to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: 'Discharge me!' The Prophet said: 'you do not get discharged from Islam'. The man said: 'I did not gain any good from this religion of mine!' The Prophet said: 'O Jew, Islam smelts men as fire smelts the dross of iron, silver and gold'. Then the verse (And among mankind is he who worshippeth Allah upon a narrow marge) was revealed�.

(These Twain (the believers and disbelievers) are two opponents who contend concerning their Lord�) [22:19]. Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Muzakki informed us> 'Abd al-Malik ibn al-Hasan ibn Yusuf> Yusuf ibn Ya'qub al-Qadi> 'Umar ibn Marzuq> Shu'bah> Abu Hashim> Abu Majlaz> Qays ibn 'Ubad who reported that he heard Abu Dharr say: �I swear by Allah that this verse (These Twain (the believers and disbelievers) are two opponents who contend concerning their Lord) was revealed about the following six: Hamzah, 'Ubaydah, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, 'Utbah, Shaybah, and al-Walid ibn 'Utbah�. This was narrated by Bukhari from Hajjaj ibn Minhal from Hushaym from Abu Hashim. Abu Bakr ibn al-Harth informed us> Abu'l-Shaykh al-Hafiz> Muhammad ibn Sulayman> Hilal ibn Bishr> Yusuf ibn Ya'qub>> Sulayman al-Taymi> Abu Majlaz> Qays ibn 'Ubad> 'Ali who said: �The words of Allah (These Twain (the believers and disbelievers) are two opponents who contend concerning their Lord) up to (Taste the doom of burning) [22:22] was revealed about us and about our duels on the Day of Badr�. Said Ibn 'Abbas: �This refers to the people of the Book. The latter said to the believers: 'We have a better right to Allah than you; our Scripture is older than yours and our prophet came before your prophet'. The believers said: 'It is us who have a better right to Allah than you; we believe in Muhammad and in your prophet as we believe in all revealed Scriptures. You have recognized our prophet but refrained from believing in him. You disbelieved in him only because you envied him resentfully'. This was their issue of contention regarding their Lord. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse about them�. This opinion is also the view of Qatadah.

They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearls, and their clothes therein will be silk. Just as today the folk of recognition are disparate in recognition and the faithful have more or less faith, tomorrow in the house of subsistence everyone will see caresses and generosity in keeping with his own state and in the measure of his own recognition. The worshipers will wear clothing of silk along with bracelets of gold and pearls and be with houris and palaces; the recognizers will have clothing of solitariness in the ocean of face-to-face vision, drowned in light. One group will be adorned with the ornaments of paradise, and another group will adorn paradise with the light of their beauty. Though pearls increase the beauty of faces, the beauty of your face adorns the pearl.

And they will be guided unto the goodly in speech. It has been said that this is to acknowledge one's sins and attest to His words, “Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves” [7:23]. True speech and pure words are free of making claims, far from pride, and near to need. They are to attest to one's own incapacity, to acknowledge one's own sins, and to emulate Adam with burning and need in saying “We have wronged ourselves.” Sahl Tustarī said, “I looked at this affair and saw no path closer to God than need, and no veil thicker than making claims.” Look closely at the road of Iblis and you will only see making claims. Look closely at the road of Adam and you will see only need. O Iblis, what do you say? “I am better” [38:76]. O Adam, what do you say? “Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves.” All the existent things were brought out from the concealment of nonexistence into the open space of the decree, but the plant of need grew from Adam's dust. He was made the object to whom the angels prostrated themselves. He was sat down on the throne of kingship and vicege- rency, and the proximate angels were made to stand before his throne, but he did not lose one iota of his need: “O Lord, this is all Your bounty. What is rightfully ours is this: Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves. The seat of vicegerency is Your bestowal, but the gift of our makeup is Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves.” A great man said, “One day I sinned. I repented 300,000 times but I still see myself walking in danger from that sin.” You poor wretch! The men of this road waged a war against their own souls. This war will never have a way to peace, for they found that their own souls are the enemy of the religion. How can a man of the religion make peace with the religion's opposite? O soul mean in aspiration and deranged, whatever touchstone I use, you come up false.

When We built for Abraham the place of the House: “Associate nothing with Me, and make My house pure for those who circumambulate, stand, and bow in prostration.” Ibn ʿAṬāÌ said, “We gave him the success to build the House, We gave him the ability to do so, We helped him with it, and We said to him, 'Associate nothing with Me,' that is, 'Do not have any regard for the House and do not look at the fact that you built it.'” He is saying, “We gave Abraham ability and We gave him means, tools, strength, skill, power, and help so that he could build the house of the Kaabah as We wanted and commanded. Then We said to him, 'Do not look at what you have done and what you have made. Look at Our success- giving and Our help. Do not look at your striving but see Our desire and solicitude.” O chevalier! The servant was given two eyes so that with one eye he would see the attributes of his own soul's blights and with the other eye the gentle attributes of the Real's generosity. With one eye he sees His bounty, with the other eye his own acts. When he sees His bounty, he boasts of it, and when he sees his own acts he shows poverty. When he sees the generosity of the Begin- ningless, he becomes joyful, and when he sees the footsteps of dust's nonexistence, he becomes needful. That distracted man of ʿIrāq [Shiblī], burnt by the fire of separation, used to say, “Would that I were fuel for the furnace and had not heard this tale!” Sometimes he would say, “Where are the proximate angels and residents of the Holy Pali- sades?! Let them spread their carpets before the throne of my good fortune and the chair of my exaltedness!” Sometimes my hands are full of silver, sometimes I'm poor. Sometimes my heart's elated, sometimes wounded. Sometimes I'm behind the people, sometimes ahead- I indeed am the chameleon of the days. And make My house pure. In the tongue of learning, this is the Kaabah, but according to the expla- nation by allusion, the meaning is, “Empty your heart of all things save the remembrance of God.” He is saying, “Occupy your heart totally with My remembrance and do not give any stranger or other access to it, for the heart is the container of the wine of My affection and love.

(Sanction is given unto those who fight because they have been wronged�) [22:39]. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �The idolaters from among the people of Mecca were in the habit of harming the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. These Companions used to come always either beaten or with their skulls bashed in. They complained to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, about this situation and he persistently told them: �Be steadfast, for I have not been commanded to fight�. This continued until the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, migrated, upon which Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Ibn �Abbas said: �When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was taken out of Mecca, Abu Bakr, may Allah be well pleased with him, said about him: �We are unto Allah, and unto Him we shall return; we shall surely perish�. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (Sanction is given unto those who fight because they have been wronged; and Allah is indeed Able to give them victory). Abu Bakr said: �I knew at that point that there will be fighting� �.

(Never sent We a messenger or a prophet before thee�) [22:52]. The commentators of the Qur'an said: �When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, saw that his people were shunning him, he was aggrieved by their rejection of the message he brought them and he secretly wished that Allah, exalted is He, reveals something to him which would bring him and his people closer to each other, keen as he was to see them accept faith. One day, he sat in one of the congregations of Quraysh which attracted a huge number of its members, and he wished that Allah, exalted is He, does not reveal to him on that day anything that might repel them from him. Allah, exalted is He, revealed to him then Surah al-Najm (By the star when it stetteth�) [Surah 53]. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, recited it but when he reached (Have ye thought upon al-Lat and al-'Uzza, and Manat, the third, the other) [53:19-20], the devil put on his tongue what he had secretly wished and hoped for and said: 'These are the mighty cranes (gharaniq) and their intercession is hoped for'. When the Quraysh heard this, they were very pleased. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, carried on reciting until the end of the Surah and then prostrated. All the Muslims followed suit and prostrated, and all the idolaters who were present prostrated too. All those who were present, whether Muslim or disbeliever, prostrated except al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah and Abu Uhyahah Sa'id ibn al-'As who were too advanced in age and could not prostrate, but they both grabbed a handful of dust and put their foreheads on it. The Quraysh then dispersed, happy with what they heard. They said: 'Muhammad has mentioned our idols with complimentary terms. We know that Allah gives life and takes it away, He creates and provides sustenance, but these idols of ours will intercede for us with Him. Now that Muhammad has associated them, we are all with him'. That evening, Gabriel, peace be upon him, went to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: 'What have you done? You recited to people that which I did not bring from Allah, glorified is He, and you said what I did not say to you'.

That is because God makes the night pass into the day and makes the day pass into the night, and God is hearing, seeing. This is an explication of power and its attribute of exaltedness in the creation of day and night, light and darkness.

That is because God is the Real and what they supplicate other than Him is the unreal, and because God is the high, the great. This is the affirmation of unity in the divine attributes and the nullification of associates and as- sociationism.

Hast thou not seen that God sends down water from heaven, and then the earth becomes green? The purport of this verse and the verses that follow is to remind of the blessings and to manifest the wisdom of creating benefits for creation. Whatever He created, He created as is worthy of Himself and as it should be created. Whatever He put, He put in its own place. Whatever He gave, He gave to its own folk. He is the powerful who does whatever He wants. And He is the wise who does not do whatever He can. In this world, He created even the foot of an ant and the wing of a gnat in keeping with the requirement of power, the requisite of wisdom, and according to His will. He gave wisdom and power each other's hands so that the work of the Divinity would go forth well- ordered. If wisdom had not been with power, the universe would have been disrupted. God has attributes that are the antagonists of the existence and acts of the creatures. These are the attributes of exaltedness, tremendousness, compulsion, magnificence, and endless unneedi- ness. He also has attributes that are the interceders for the existence and acts of the creatures, like wisdom, mercy, gentleness, clemency, munificence, and generosity. The attributes of mercy and wisdom hold back the reins of the attributes of exaltedness and unneediness so that this handful of hapless creatures may live out their lives in the shadow of gentleness and mercy in accordance with wisdom. Were it not for these interceders, everything-from the Throne and the Footstool down to the ant's foot and the gnat's wing-would become nothing and nonexistent. One word of the beginningless unneediness and independence showed itself to this world, and the day of deprivation came forth for the unbelievers and the estranged. Like strangers, they set their heads to their own thoughts and did not recognize God's measure or gain access to what is worthy of Him. They set up a helpless, inanimate idol without attributes as His partner, worshiping it and taking it as a friend, such that the Exalted Lord said of them,

Feeble are the seeker and the sought! Weak and helpless are both the worshiper and the worshiped.

They measured not God with the rightful due of His measure. Surely God is strong, exalted. WāsiṬī said, “Creatures do not recognize the rightful due of His measure-only the Real.” No one knows His measure save He. No one can recognize Him as is worthy of Him save He. Intellects are confounded and understandings bewildered at the beginnings of the shining of His majesty. Prophets and messengers came back on the feet of incapacity from the threshold of the reality of recognizing Him. O chevalier, tomorrow when the servants reach the exaltedness of union with Him and see the marks bearing witness to proximity, He will bestow the vision of Himself in the measure of your capacity, not in the measure of His tremendousness and majesty. This is why it has been said, “He spoke to Moses in respect of Moses. Had He spoken to Moses in respect of His tremendousness, Moses would have melted.”

O you who have faith, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord! In respect of understanding, the Pir of the Tariqah said in the tongue of allusion, “He commanded the faithful to bowing and prostrating. In saying 'and worship your Lord,' He means 'Put up with trials in the religion and this world since God has placed you among the folk of service and pro- vided you with the sweetness of the taste of being chosen by Him.'” He is saying, “If the trials of the passing days and the tribulation of this world are made into a draft and placed in the hand of your incapacity, do not make a sour face. Carry the load of tribulation with spirit and heart. Drink the draft in gratitude for the fact that He has commanded you to His service and kept you in the presence of prayer and the station of secret whispering.” Take care not to lay favors on Him with your obedience and worship. Know that in reality, all the acts of obedience and worship, the good deeds and words, of Adam's children from the begin- ning of existence to the end of the era, placed next to the divine perfection and beauty, are nothing but the noise of an old woman's spindle. Had He in His generosity and bounty not invited this handful of dust to the threshold of His eternity and, with His gentleness, spread out the carpet of bold expansiveness in the house of guidance, how could this woebegone of existence, this speck of impure dust, have the gall to take a step on the edge of the carpet of kings? What is suited for dust is to say with the attribute of brokenness and the tongue of incapacity and poverty, “We have come to shame at our own existence, we've encountered stone because of the decree. On the surface of the rug of misfortune, our black days have come in place of color.”

And struggle in God as is the rightful due of His struggle. He chose you, and He placed no hardship upon you in the religion-the creed of your father Abraham. He named you submit- ters from before.... He is your Patron, so what an excellent Patron and what an excellent Helper! Struggle is of three sorts: One with the soul, one with the heart, and one with possessions. Struggle with the soul is that you not rest from service and discipline, you do not look for concessions and interpretations, and you go forward in the commands and prohibitions with reverence. Struggle with the heart is that you do not give odious thoughts access to your self, you do not have deter- mined resoluteness in opposition, and you do not rest from meditation on blessings and bounties. Struggle with possessions is by giving away, generosity, munificence, and largesse. Generos-ity is that you give away some and you keep some for yourself. Munificence is that you give away most and keep a little for yourself. Largesse is that you give away all and live in poverty and want. This was the state of Abū Bakr, the greatest of the sincerely truthful, to whom MuṣṬafā said, “What remains for your family?” He said, “God and His Messenger.” It has been said that the rightful due of His struggle is that you do not slacken from struggle against the soul for a moment. Their speaker said, O Lord, my struggle is never over, so Your earth is all my front line and fortress. He chose you... He named you... He is your Patron. He chose you. When He chose you, He saw the faults, and He was pleased despite the faults. He named you. There was no heaven and no earth, no Throne and no Footstool, no Adam and no Eve, and you were Muslim in His knowledge. He placed the name of Muslim upon you and wrote for you the inscription of election: those to whom the most beautiful has preceded from Us [21:101]. He chose you through guidance, He named you with the name of friendship, and He is your Patron by manifesting solicitude. He chose you, not because of the excellence of your deeds, He named you with the name of the Substitutes, and He is your Patron in all states.

(Successful indeed are the believers) [23:1]. The judge Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Hiri informed us by dictation> the chamberlain of Ahmad al-Tusi> Muhammad ibn Hammad al-Abiwardi> �Abd al-Razzaq> Yunus ibn Sulayman> Yunus al-Ayli by dictation> Ibn Shihab> �Urwah ibn al-Zubayr> �Abd al-Rahman ibn �Abd al-Qari� who said: �I heard �Umar ibn al-Khattab say: �When the revelation came to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, one could hear at the level of his face buzzing like the buzzing of bees. Once, he remained in this state for a while and then turned toward the qiblah, raised his hands and said: �O Allah, give us more and do not take away from us; honour us and do not humiliate us; grant us and do not deprive us; prefer us and do not prefer anyone over us; make us pleased and be pleased with us�. Then he said: �Ten verses have just been revealed to me; whoever practises them will enter the Garden�. He then read: (Successful indeed are the believers) up to the tenth verse� �. This was narrated by al-Hakim Abu �Abd Allah in his Sahih from Abu Bakr al-Qati'i from �Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal> Ahmad ibn Hanbal from �Abd al-Razzaq.

(Who are humble in their prayers�) [23:2]. �Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad al-�Attar informed us> Muhammad ibn �Abd Allah ibn Nu�aym> Ahmad ibn Ya�qub al-Thaqafi> Abu Shu�ayb al-Harrani> his father> Isma�il ibn �Uliyyah> Muhammad ibn Sirin> Abu Hurayrah who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, used to look toward the sky in his prayer, and so this verse was revealed (Who are humble in their prayers).

(So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!) [23:14]. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn �Abd Allah al-Hafiz informed us> �Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Hayyan> Muhammad ibn Sulayman> Ahmad ibn �Abd Allah ibn Suwayd ibn Manjuf> Abu Dawud> Hammad ibn Salamah> �Ali ibn Zayd ibn Jud�an> Anas ibn Malik who reported that �Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be well pleased with him, said: �My words agreed with those of my Lord in four instances. I said: �O Messenger of Allah, why do we not pray behind the Maqam [were Abraham stood to pray]�, and Allah, exalted is He, revealed (� Take as your place of worship the place where Abraham stood (to pray)�) [2:125]. And I said: �O Messenger of Allah, why do you not put a curtain [to protect your wives from the gaze of men]?� And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed: (And when ye ask of them (the wives of the Prophet) anything, ask it of them from behind a curtain�) [33:53]. I also said to the wives of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace: �You had better take heed or Allah, glorious is He, will give the Prophet instead of you wives who are better than you�. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (It may happen that his Lord, if he divorce you, will give him in your stead wives better than you) [66:5]. And when the verse (Verily We created man from a product of wet earth) [23:12] up to His words (� and the produced it as another creation) [23:14] were revealed, I exclaimed: �So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!� and the end of the verse was revealed as: (So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!)� �.

We indeed created above you seven paths and We were not heedless of creation. In the allusion of the lords of recognitions and the deduction of the folk of understanding, the seven paths allude to the seven veils that the Exalted Lord created in the Adamic makeup. With them He keeps him veiled from seeing the subtleties and finding the realities. First is the veil of intel- lect, second the veil of knowledge, third the veil of the heart, fourth the veil of the soul, fifth sense perception, sixth desire, and seventh will. Intellect keeps the Adamite occupied with this world and with governing his livelihood so that he will be held back from the Real. Knowledge pulls him into the playing field of bragging with his peers so that he will stay in the valley of boasting and vying for increase. The heart puts him into the station of courage and stout-heartedness so that he will fall into temptation in the arenas of champi- ons by craving for fame in this world, so much so that he will have no concern for his religion or its victory. The soul is itself the greatest veil and the enemy of the religion. “Your worst enemy is the soul that is between your two sides.” If you gain the upper hand over it, you will win, but otherwise, you will fall such that you will never rise again. Here “sense perception” is appetite, “desire” is dis- obedience, and “will” is lassitude. Appetite and disobedience are the veil of the common people, and lassitude is the veil that keeps the elect of the Presence from the road of the Reality. Any talk that keeps you back from the road-let it be unbelief or faith. Any picture that holds you back from the Friend-let it be ugly or beautiful. [DS 51] He mentioned these seven veils. Then, after that, He said, “And We were not heedless of creation. Despite all these veils before the servant, We do not put him aside, nor are We heedless of him.” With the first part of the verse He threatens the servant with His severity and justice, and at the end He makes him hope for His bounty and generosity. The traveling of the wayfarers is built on this rule: first fear, then hope.

And We sent down from heaven water in a measure and settled it in the earth, and surely We are powerful over taking it away. He places a favor on the servants: “With perfect power We sent down from heaven the rain of mercy at the time of spring and the pollination of trees so that the dead earth will thereby come to life.” He gave forth hundreds of thousands of wonders and deposits that were made ready therein, namely the various sorts of plants, fruits, and herbs, as He says:

And therewith We made grow up for you gardens of palms and grape vines. The deducers of the Tariqah and the wayfarers of the road of the Haqiqah have said that the out- wardness of this verse alludes to the springtime of the common people, and the inwardness alludes to the springtime of the elect. “Every verse has an outwardness and an inwardness.” The spring- time of the common people is the signs of the horizons, and the springtime of the elect is the signs of the souls. God says, “We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and in their souls” [41:53]. If the springtime of the common people has raining clouds, the springtime of the elect has weeping eyes. If the springtime of the common people has violent thunder, the springtime of the elect has wailing and remorse. If the springtime of the common people has fiery lightning, the springtime of the elect has the light of perspicacity. In the springtime of the common people, you should open the eyes of taking heed so that you may see the roses. In the springtime of the elect, you should assign the eyes of reflection to seeing the heart. Someone saw a dervish at springtime, his head hung down, and said, “O dervish, lift up your head to see the roses!” He said, “O chevalier, hang down your head to see the heart.”

Surely this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord, so be wary of Me. By way of allusion he is saying, “The religion of the submission is the unique religion, you are My unique community, and I who am your Lord am the unique Lord. Beware of My anger if you choose another religion and take another god. This submission has the attribute of the All- Compeller. There should be someone with an all-compelling aspiration so that the beauty of the submission will welcome him. The one with an all-compelling aspiration is he who does not bow his head before this world or the afterworld.” It was said to Abraham, “O Abraham, submit! [2:131]. Belong to the submission and make do with the submission!” He said, “The submission has the attribute of all-compellingness and will not give me access to my attachments. Let me come out of the bonds of attachment.” He gave his property to visitors, his son to sacrifice, and his own soul to the burning fire. Then he said, “I submit to the Lord of the worlds [2:131]. Now that I have turned back from all, I have turned to You; having held back from all, I remain for You.”

Do they think that We aid them with possessions and children only that We may hurry good things to them? Why do the chieftains who possess this world, nurture the soul, and worship creation, having placed the mantle of pride on their shoulders and become drunk with appetite, fancy that this world is a generous gift for them, or that possessions and children are a felicity for them. No, of course not! They are not aware that when the vanguard of the army of blessings arrives, it always seeks the threshold of the estranged. It brings along the banner of wretchedness and puts down the brand of estrangement. Again, when the vanguard of the army of tribulation arrives, it always seeks the corner of the dear ones and wanders around the house of the friends. For in shape tribulation [محنة] and love [محبة] are companions and equals, like each other and differentiated only by the dot above and below. Otherwise, they are not separate in shape and form. God gave the miserable Pharaoh four hundred years of the well-being and blessings of this world and did not constrict him in anything. But, if for one hour he had wanted the pain and burning of Moses, He would not have given it to him, for he was not worthy of that pain's beauty. And if we suppose that someone had asked Zachariah what he wanted when the saw was placed on the crown of his head, the cries of passion would have come forth from his parts and motes saying, “I want them to saw me forever!” A report says, “When someone loves Us, let him put on an armor for trial, for trial comes faster to Our lovers than a flood to its resting place.” As long as I live, I will bind my servanthood to Your cloak and put all my safety into the work of Your trials.

Do they think that We aid them with possessions and children only that We may hurry good things to them? Why do the chieftains who possess this world, nurture the soul, and worship creation, having placed the mantle of pride on their shoulders and become drunk with appetite, fancy that this world is a generous gift for them, or that possessions and children are a felicity for them. No, of course not! They are not aware that when the vanguard of the army of blessings arrives, it always seeks the threshold of the estranged. It brings along the banner of wretchedness and puts down the brand of estrangement. Again, when the vanguard of the army of tribulation arrives, it always seeks the corner of the dear ones and wanders around the house of the friends. For in shape tribulation [محنة] and love [محبة] are companions and equals, like each other and differentiated only by the dot above and below. Otherwise, they are not separate in shape and form. God gave the miserable Pharaoh four hundred years of the well-being and blessings of this world and did not constrict him in anything. But, if for one hour he had wanted the pain and burning of Moses, He would not have given it to him, for he was not worthy of that pain's beauty. And if we suppose that someone had asked Zachariah what he wanted when the saw was placed on the crown of his head, the cries of passion would have come forth from his parts and motes saying, “I want them to saw me forever!” A report says, “When someone loves Us, let him put on an armor for trial, for trial comes faster to Our lovers than a flood to its resting place.” As long as I live, I will bind my servanthood to Your cloak and put all my safety into the work of Your trials.

Surely those who tremble in fear of their Lord… it is they who hurry to good deeds. When an intelligent man ponders the meaning of these verses, he will come to know that the obedi- ent are more fearful in their obedience than the disobedient are fearful in their disobedience. Just as the disobedient need His curtaining, so also the obedient need His curtaining. The Real says, “And repent all together to God, O you who have faith! [24:31]. O faithful, you who are obedient and you who are disobedient! All of you return to Our threshold with the attribute of pleading! In the state of poverty and brokenness ask for Our forgiveness, so that We may cover you with the curtain of Our mercy.” I wonder at the empty-headed Qur'an-reciter who makes two cycles of prayer at night and the next day knits the knot of self-seeing on his brow and places the favor of his own being on heaven and earth. All the motes of existence say to him, “What a simpleton you are! It is here that they make a Kaabah into an idol-temple, turn a seven hundred thousand-year worshiper into the forever accursed Satan, and bind Balaam son of Beor-who had God's greatest name in his breast and whose every prayer was answered-in a kennel for dogs. But you make two cycles of prayer one night and the next day you want the whole world to be full of talk of your prayer!” You poor wretch! The realizer fills the east and the west with prostrations of self-purification. Then he dips everything into the water of unneediness and returns with two empty hands to the end of the street of Muhammad MuṣṬafā's intercession and says, “O exalted man, harm has touched us and our folk, and we come with scant goods” [12:88]. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, I have come with two empty hands. I have burned in the hope of better days. What harm if You place a balm on this wounded heart of mine?”

Surely those who tremble in fear of their Lord… it is they who hurry to good deeds. When an intelligent man ponders the meaning of these verses, he will come to know that the obedi- ent are more fearful in their obedience than the disobedient are fearful in their disobedience. Just as the disobedient need His curtaining, so also the obedient need His curtaining. The Real says, “And repent all together to God, O you who have faith! [24:31]. O faithful, you who are obedient and you who are disobedient! All of you return to Our threshold with the attribute of pleading! In the state of poverty and brokenness ask for Our forgiveness, so that We may cover you with the curtain of Our mercy.” I wonder at the empty-headed Qur'an-reciter who makes two cycles of prayer at night and the next day knits the knot of self-seeing on his brow and places the favor of his own being on heaven and earth. All the motes of existence say to him, “What a simpleton you are! It is here that they make a Kaabah into an idol-temple, turn a seven hundred thousand-year worshiper into the forever accursed Satan, and bind Balaam son of Beor-who had God's greatest name in his breast and whose every prayer was answered-in a kennel for dogs. But you make two cycles of prayer one night and the next day you want the whole world to be full of talk of your prayer!” You poor wretch! The realizer fills the east and the west with prostrations of self-purification. Then he dips everything into the water of unneediness and returns with two empty hands to the end of the street of Muhammad MuṣṬafā's intercession and says, “O exalted man, harm has touched us and our folk, and we come with scant goods” [12:88]. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, I have come with two empty hands. I have burned in the hope of better days. What harm if You place a balm on this wounded heart of mine?”

Surely those who tremble in fear of their Lord… it is they who hurry to good deeds. When an intelligent man ponders the meaning of these verses, he will come to know that the obedi- ent are more fearful in their obedience than the disobedient are fearful in their disobedience. Just as the disobedient need His curtaining, so also the obedient need His curtaining. The Real says, “And repent all together to God, O you who have faith! [24:31]. O faithful, you who are obedient and you who are disobedient! All of you return to Our threshold with the attribute of pleading! In the state of poverty and brokenness ask for Our forgiveness, so that We may cover you with the curtain of Our mercy.” I wonder at the empty-headed Qur'an-reciter who makes two cycles of prayer at night and the next day knits the knot of self-seeing on his brow and places the favor of his own being on heaven and earth. All the motes of existence say to him, “What a simpleton you are! It is here that they make a Kaabah into an idol-temple, turn a seven hundred thousand-year worshiper into the forever accursed Satan, and bind Balaam son of Beor-who had God's greatest name in his breast and whose every prayer was answered-in a kennel for dogs. But you make two cycles of prayer one night and the next day you want the whole world to be full of talk of your prayer!” You poor wretch! The realizer fills the east and the west with prostrations of self-purification. Then he dips everything into the water of unneediness and returns with two empty hands to the end of the street of Muhammad MuṣṬafā's intercession and says, “O exalted man, harm has touched us and our folk, and we come with scant goods” [12:88]. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, I have come with two empty hands. I have burned in the hope of better days. What harm if You place a balm on this wounded heart of mine?”

Surely those who tremble in fear of their Lord… it is they who hurry to good deeds. When an intelligent man ponders the meaning of these verses, he will come to know that the obedi- ent are more fearful in their obedience than the disobedient are fearful in their disobedience. Just as the disobedient need His curtaining, so also the obedient need His curtaining. The Real says, “And repent all together to God, O you who have faith! [24:31]. O faithful, you who are obedient and you who are disobedient! All of you return to Our threshold with the attribute of pleading! In the state of poverty and brokenness ask for Our forgiveness, so that We may cover you with the curtain of Our mercy.” I wonder at the empty-headed Qur'an-reciter who makes two cycles of prayer at night and the next day knits the knot of self-seeing on his brow and places the favor of his own being on heaven and earth. All the motes of existence say to him, “What a simpleton you are! It is here that they make a Kaabah into an idol-temple, turn a seven hundred thousand-year worshiper into the forever accursed Satan, and bind Balaam son of Beor-who had God's greatest name in his breast and whose every prayer was answered-in a kennel for dogs. But you make two cycles of prayer one night and the next day you want the whole world to be full of talk of your prayer!” You poor wretch! The realizer fills the east and the west with prostrations of self-purification. Then he dips everything into the water of unneediness and returns with two empty hands to the end of the street of Muhammad MuṣṬafā's intercession and says, “O exalted man, harm has touched us and our folk, and we come with scant goods” [12:88]. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, I have come with two empty hands. I have burned in the hope of better days. What harm if You place a balm on this wounded heart of mine?”

Surely those who tremble in fear of their Lord… it is they who hurry to good deeds. When an intelligent man ponders the meaning of these verses, he will come to know that the obedi- ent are more fearful in their obedience than the disobedient are fearful in their disobedience. Just as the disobedient need His curtaining, so also the obedient need His curtaining. The Real says, “And repent all together to God, O you who have faith! [24:31]. O faithful, you who are obedient and you who are disobedient! All of you return to Our threshold with the attribute of pleading! In the state of poverty and brokenness ask for Our forgiveness, so that We may cover you with the curtain of Our mercy.” I wonder at the empty-headed Qur'an-reciter who makes two cycles of prayer at night and the next day knits the knot of self-seeing on his brow and places the favor of his own being on heaven and earth. All the motes of existence say to him, “What a simpleton you are! It is here that they make a Kaabah into an idol-temple, turn a seven hundred thousand-year worshiper into the forever accursed Satan, and bind Balaam son of Beor-who had God's greatest name in his breast and whose every prayer was answered-in a kennel for dogs. But you make two cycles of prayer one night and the next day you want the whole world to be full of talk of your prayer!” You poor wretch! The realizer fills the east and the west with prostrations of self-purification. Then he dips everything into the water of unneediness and returns with two empty hands to the end of the street of Muhammad MuṣṬafā's intercession and says, “O exalted man, harm has touched us and our folk, and we come with scant goods” [12:88]. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, I have come with two empty hands. I have burned in the hope of better days. What harm if You place a balm on this wounded heart of mine?”

We burden no soul save to its capacity. The highway of the religion has a beginning and an end. The beginning belongs to the folk of the Shariah and the end to the lords of the Haqiqah. The practice of the folk of the Shariah is service according to the Shariah, and the attribute of the lords of the Haqiqah is exile in contemplation. The foundation of the folk of the Shariah was built with easiness. MuṣṬafā said, “I was sent out with easy and indulgent unswervingness.” The weak and the folk of concessions do not have the capacity for heavy burdens. The Exalted Lord put concessions into the Shariah for their sake and set aside heavy burdens: We burden no soul save to its capacity. This is the same as saying, “He placed no hardship upon you in the religion [22:78]. God desires for you ease and does not desire for you hardship [2:185].” As for the traveling of the lords of the Haqiqah, God founded that on discipline and difficulty. They are addressed by the words, “Struggle in God as is the rightful due of His struggle [22:78]. Be wary of God as is the rightful due of His wariness [3:102]. Whether you show what is within your souls or you hide it, God will bring you to account for it [2:284].” The Pir of the Tariqah was asked about Sufism. He said, “It is nothing but throwing away the spirit; otherwise, do not busy yourself with the nonsense of the claimants.” Al-Jurayrī said, “God does not burden the servants with recognizing Him in His measure; He only burdens them in their measure, for He says, 'We burden no soul save to its capacity.' Were He to burden them in His measure, they would be ignorant of Him and would not recognize Him, for no one but He recognizes His measure and no one other than He recognizes Him in reality.” God burdened the servants with recognizing Him in the measure of their obedience and the extent of their ability, not in the measure of His majesty and exaltedness. Everyone can know Him in his own measure, but only He knows and recognizes how He is in Himself. God says, “They encom- pass Him not in knowledge [20:110]. The All-Merciful.

(Already have We grasped them with punishment, but they humble not themselves unto their Lord) [23:76]. Abu�l-Qasim ibn �Abdan informed us> Muhammad ibn �Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Dabbi> Abu�l-�Abbas al-Sayyari> Muhammad ibn Musa ibn Hatim> �Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Shaqiq> al-Husayn ibn Waqid> Yazid al-Nahwi> �Ikrimah> Ibn �Abbas who said: �Abu Sufyan went to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: �O Muhammad, I beseech you by Allah and our ties of kinship, we have eaten hair mixed with blood�, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Already have We grasped them with punishment, but they humble not themselves unto their Lord, nor do they pray)�. Ibn �Abbas said: �When Thumamah ibn Athal al-Hanafi was brought to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, as a prisoner and the latter embraced Islam, he set him free. Thumamah returned to al-Yamamah and prevented the people of Mecca from getting any provisions from al-Yamamah. Allah, exalted is He, sent upon Quraysh years of scarcity until they were forced to eat animal hair mixed with blood. Abu Sufyan went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: �I beseech you by Allah and our ties of kinship; do you not claim that you have been sent a mercy unto the worlds�. He said: �Indeed!� Abu Sufyan said: �But you have killed fathers with the sword and children with hunger�, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�.

Repel the ugly with what is more beautiful. In this verse the generous Lord, the wise and renowned Enactor, commands MuṣṬafā to noble char- acter traits and beautiful habits-a bright face, mild words, a soft heart, and a pleasant character; pardoning the bad-doers, hiding the defects of the defective, and doing good in place of bad. In the tongue of the Tariqah, the more beautiful is for the heart to give fatwas by the Real's dicta- tion. The ugly is for the soul to issue commands by its own caprice. He is saying, “O Master, repel what the soul commands by means of what the Real shows: Repel the ugly with what is more beautiful.” The Prophet always used to say, “'Our Lord, do not entrust us to our souls for the blink of an eye, or less than that.' O God, lift up this curtain of self from before our heart so that the bird of the heart may be completely delivered from the cage of the soul and fly in the air of the Patron's approval! O God, this burden of soul is the burden of selfhood. Lift this burden of selfhood away from us so we may be released from self and turn to You!” O chevalier, take care not to say that his blessed soul was like the souls of others, for if a speck of his soul's shining were to shine forth on the spirits and hearts of the world's sincerely truthful, all of them would go forth to the world of holiness and the gardens of intimacy and settle down in the seat of truthfulness [54:55]. Despite all this, he says, “O Lord, this is our veil on the road of the Haqiqah-lift it up from our road!” The command came, “O MuḤammad, unasked We put Ourself beside you: Did We not expand for thee thy breast and lift from thee thy burden? [94:1-2]. O MuḤammad, We put aside that bur- den of you-ness from you. Our desire took care of your work, Our solicitude lit up your lamp. You did not come by yourself, nor did you come for yourself. You did not come by yourself because We brought you: Who took His servant by night [17:1]. You did not come for yourself because you came as a mercy for the world's folk: We sent thee only as a mercy to the worlds” [21:107].

What, did you reckon that We created you aimlessly and that you would not be returned to Us? Abū Bakr WāsiṬī recited this verse and said, “He made manifest the colors and created the creatures to make manifest His existence, for had He not created, it would not be recognized that He exists; and to make manifest the perfection of His knowledge and power through the manifestation of His acts soundly arranged by wisdom; and to make manifest the signs of friendship on the friends and the signs of wretchedness on the wretched.” He is saying, “The majestic and perfectly powerful Lord, in His majesty and exaltedness and His perfect power, brought the engendered beings and newly arrived things into existence. Thereby they would know His Being, recognize His lordhood, and find evidence of His perfect knowledge and power from His artisanry. In keeping with His knowledge of them, He made ap- parent the mark of friendship on the friends and inscribed enmity on the enemies. He brought them from the concealment of nonexistence into existence in keeping with the knowledge, known in the Beginningless, that He would create creation. He wanted to make His creation come to be in exact correspondence with His knowledge.” David the prophet said in his whispered prayer, “O God, O endless Majesty described by the attribute of perfection and qualified by the description of unneediness! You have no need for anything and You subsist in Your own description. You require nobody and You take help and aid from no one. Why did You create these creatures? What wisdom is there in their existence?” The answer came, “'I was a hidden treasure, and I loved to be recognized.' I was a concealed treasure and no one knew or recognized Me. I wanted to be known and I loved to be recognized.” “I loved to be recognized” is an allusion to the fact that recognition is built on love. Wherever there is love, there is recognition, and wherever there is no love, there is no recognition. The great ones of the religion and the Tariqah have said, “No one recognizes Him save those to whom He has made Himself recognized, no one voices His tawḤīd save those to whom He has shown His tawḤīd, and no one describes Him save those to whose secret cores He has disclosed Himself.