Pure Gold from the Words of Sayyidī ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Dabbāgh

Al-Dhahab al-Ibrīz min Kalām Sayyidī ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Dabbāgh

Around 1720 in Fez Aḥmad b. al-Mubārak al-Lamaṭī, a religious scholar, wrote down the words and teachings of the Sufi master ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Dabbāgh. Al-Dabbāgh shunned religious studies but, having reached illumination and met with the Prophet Muḥammad, he was able to explain any obscurities in the Qurʾān, ḥadīths and sayings of earlier Sufis. The resulting book, known as the Ibrīz, describes how al-Dabbāgh attained illumination and access to the Prophet, as well as his teachings about the Council of the godly that regulates the world, relations between master and disciple, the darkness in men’s bodies, Adam’s creation, Barzakh, Paradise and Hell, and much more besides. This ‘encyclopaedia’ of Sufism with its many teaching stories and illustrations provides a window onto social life and religious ideas in Fez a generation or so before powerful outside forces began to play a role in the radical transformation of Morocco.

Language: English

| Pure Gold from the Words of Sayyidī ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Dabbāgh |

 

On The Darkness That Enters Men’s Bodies And Works

CHAPTER THREE CONTENTS

[1] Pp. 520-27. The works of the ،dissolute’ and the works of the ،deprived’, i.e. those who worship out of habit and those who worship solely for their own benefit. But Quranic verses and hadiths explicitly promise rewards? Obedience must be with sincerity and not for reward.
[2] Pp. 528-31. Does the Prophet acquire profit from our invoking blessings on him? The deceptive sweetness experienced by someone who has the wrong attitude when invoking blessings on the Prophet.
[3] Pp. 531-42. Why do people seek help from the godly rather than from God? Members of the Diwan have brought this about. Twenty causes of being cut off from God, as well as things which increase one’s faith (pp. 533-37).
[4] Pp. 542-47. Nature of mortal sins and the hadlths that deal with them. Means of livelihood are on the level of begging bowls. Those who delight in planning. Four categories of people (pp. 545-47).
[5] Pp. 547-49. On the body sometimes becoming disturbed and crying out. The spirit contains three hundred and sixty-six secrets. Prayers of the heart and prayers of the body. Satans may penetrate the heart and disorient someone’s ،recollection’ of God, causing him to cry out. The blind man who saw Satan during the dhikr performance of certain fuqara3.
[6] Pp. 549-51. Tobacco forbidden because it harms the body. Odors that drive away the angels. But onions and garlic aren’t forbidden and contrain benefit for man.
[7] Pp. 551-52. Why it’s forbidden to enter a bathhouse where naked people don’t cover themselves. Satans inhabit the place because of its darkness and can corrupt a virtuous man who enters the premises.
[8] Pp. 552-53. Believers are familiar with Hell. Others mention the word but are then forgetful of it due to the effects of the blood and its vapors.
[9] p. 553. Why does forgetfulness disappear from the body if it hears ‘recollection’?
[10] Pp. 553-56. The nature of unveiling (kashf) and the fault that arises from it. The story of the Christian monk who turned his back on the cross. People of mercy and people of God’s vengeance. The
case of the dispossessed Friend of God who displayed miraculous powers in the area of medicine.
[11] Pp. 556-58. Major ritual impurity in the view of the Friends of God. The perfect Friend is capable of making a person reach God in one instant. But this depends on the death of the carnal soul (self). Then all one’s actions are purely for the sake of God.
[12] p. 559. Playing checkers is forbidden along with all things that cut one off from God. Views are divided about the game of chess.
[13] Pp. 559-62. Loving all believers without distinction causes repentance to become established in the bondsman’s body. It removes from the heart one of the greatest causes of sin: envy. Don’t hate the sinner but only his sinful actions. Those who stand out because of their mount, clothes, food or their house are shameless because they distract people from God.
[14] Pp. 562-69. The proper attitude when giving alms. Hypocrisy to be avoided at all cost. The story about the fool who wouldn’t accept as alms a garment that wasn’t given solely for the sake of God. The devoted worshipper who relied on his worship instead of God’s generosity and went to Hell. Even in the Makhzan there are people whose heart is attached to God. The reason for instituting the religious prescriptions. The remedy for death.
[15] Pp. 569-76. The story of aLDabbagh and Sayyidi Mansur miraculously transporting themselves to an island in the Atlantic where they met a pious recluse. ALDabbagh concludes that there are important benefits due to living among Muslims. What Sayyidl al- Hawwari perceived when he gazed into the interiors of people as they came forth from one of the city gates of Fez.

(441) CHAPTER THREE

On the darkness that enters the bodies and works of the bondsmen without their knowing it.

[1]

I heard aLDabbagh say—God be pleased with him: ،My shaykh, Sayyidi cUmar b. Muhammad aLHawwari, one day sent me to a garden Carsa) he owned to supervise the labor of people he hired to work there. He charged me to watch over their work and emphasized that I do this [attentively]. When it was time for the noon-day prayers, he joined US and accompanied us. He then remained there with us until the workers finished their work and he paid them their wages. When they left, I looked at him and behold, he was upset! His face showed signs of anger so that I was afraid of him. He said to me: “Did you see something today?” I replied: “I didn’t see anything. What thing?” He said: “Consider! Maybe you saw something.” I replied: “I didn’t see anything.” Then he said: “What did you see regarding the work of the workers?” I replied: “While you were absent—before you joined US—they were doing their work with very little effort but once you arrived and they saw you, they began to work beyond their ability.” He said to me: “Today you beheld the works of the dissolute and the works of the deprived.”

As for the dissolute, when they worship, their acts of devotion and obedience emerge from their bodies without intention and purpose. It’s no more than a habit of their body. What they do and omit to do when worshipping is out of habit and in accordance with their natural disposition, and not because of any purpose. Indeed, they have no purpose, neither righteous nor sinful. Their devotion isn’t for God or for anything other than God. Their devotion is purely due to habit and natural disposition. It’s like someone who’s sated with food and drink. He doesn’t want any food. He has no appetite for it and his body can’t support it. Then he’s present at a festivity with people. Now they set about eating and the man in question sets about accompanying them. But they set themselves in motion because of the food and the benefit to themselves, whereas he doesn’t accompany them because of the food. He has no desire for food. In fact it’s assumed he can’t support it. Nor does he act for the sake of helping (442) his brethren, the believers, as this would be an upright intention. Rather what causes him to move is that when he sees the people set about [eating], his body starts to move due to its nature and out of habit. Such are the works of the dissolute.

As for the deprived, they’re those whose works are for their own benefit and to attain their own goals. They aren’t for the sake of God—He is mighty and glorious! Works like this only increase [a person’s] distance from God—He is mighty and glorious—because they’re in opposition to the secret of the body’s reality. The secret of the body’s reality is that it’s a body created by God, fashioned by Him, owned by Him, and not attributed in any possible way to anyone but Him. So if the body’s actions occurred in accordance with this secret, they’d all belong purely to God. It’s as if the person says: “I don’t have any part in the body’s actions. They’re all created by God.” Thus, when the works come forth, they emerge from him in accordance with the secret of the body’s reality.

Now if he says: “My body belongs to God but its actions belong to me”, the intention behind his actions is for his own sake and for the sake of attaining his own goals. Here his action doesn’t take place in accordance with the secret of his body’s reality. It will never be possible for him to fulfill any of the rightful claims of God because he’s acting for his own purpose, not in order to undertake God’s right. Therefore, in his actions he’s cut off from God, and the gift from his Lord—He is mighty and glorious—is cut off from him. He now becomes one of the deprived.’

I said: ،Numerous Quranic verses and countless hadiths have arrived that give encouragement by mentioning reward and abundant recompense for whoever undertakes action. But if it’s as Sayyidi cUmar b. Muhammad al-Hawwari says, none of them would have mentioned this since it entails being cut off from God—He is mighty and glorious!’

He replied—God be pleased with him: ،What’s in the Quranic verses and the hadiths hasn’t come to US because God said: “Do works for yourselves and 1’11 reward you with abundant gifts for your works [done] in this state.” Rather He said: “Worship Me and be sincere toward Me in your obedience, and I’ll reward you.” And our intention in our actions is on behalf of God—He is mighty and glorious—and on behalf of His awesomeness and His majesty. When He confers on us great gifts, He rewards US for our actions—He is mighty and glorious—out of His generosity and grace. Verily, what’s in the Quranic verses and the hadiths comes to us because if obedience is with sincerity devoid of recompense and without the bondsman seeking reward, then what you’ve mentioned occurs. How wicked and ignorant the bondsman is if he thinks he accumulates good deeds and earns reward by his actions! For he knows that as far as his actions are concerned, he hasn’t acquired so much as a hair through them. So if the body was created by God and actions were created by God, how with regard to good deeds are we permitted to rely on our actions created by Him—(443) He is mighty and glorious—and not to rely purely on His generosity and His mercy? But unawareness of God renders [our faculty] of deeper vision (basd^ir) blind. God protect us from this!’

He said—God be pleased with him: ،There was a certain devoted worshipper (cabid) who worshipped God for his own personal benefit and so that God would give him what he wanted. He continued like this for twenty years and was obstinate in his demand. But then nothing he sought after was granted to him and he was perplexed by his situation. He said: “How can this be? For twenty years I’ve been asking God for something and He hasn’t given me anything and hasn’t shown me mercy in this regard.” Then God—He is mighty and glorious—conferred mercy on him and that very instant provided him with knowledge of his carnal soul and its actions.

The worshipper exclaimed: “What a fool I am! After all, if God—He is sublime—created the body and its actions, created health in me, created the place in which I worship Him, created the water I perform my ritual ablutions with, created the garment I cover myself with and created the time during which I worship Him—•what have I done in order to demand from Him a recompense for it and to deserve [His] attention because of it? No by God, I haven’t done anything! But I’ve relied on God’s actions in me and I’ve separated them from Him. Then I attributed them to myself and on the basis of them began to make demands on Him and to ask Him for wishes. Finally, I said: ،I’ve stood before His gate for twenty years and He’s bestowed nothing on me.’ Oh Lord, I turn to You in repentance! Oh Lord, I turn to You in repentance! Oh Lord, I turn to You in repentance!” When he turned to God in repentance and God the Sublime recognized his true repentance, God—He is exalted— showed him mercy and bestowed on him everything he wished including knowledge of Himself, which neither Paradise nor anything else can equal.’

I, al-Lamati, would add that something similar to this story is reported by the hafiz al-Suyuti in al-Budur al-safira in the chapter: ،He Who Has His Reckoning Examined Will Perish (Man nuqisha’l- hisab halakaf).1 There he relates a hadith from the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—who said: ،Among those who lived before you was a man who worshipped God the Sublime for six hundred years on an island in the sea. On the island God bestowed on him a sweet-water spring and caused a pomegranate- tree to grow which every day bore a pomegranate for him. This he ate and it was sufficient nourishment for him. And so he went on worshipping his Lord for the said amount of time, nor did he succumb to listlessness or slackening. When he died, his Lord—He is mighty and glorious—said to him: “Enter Paradise through My mercy and My generosity!” The man replied: “Oh my Lord, rather through my work and my worshipping You for six hundred years!” God the Sublime then went over the reckoning with him in detail. God—He is mighty and glorious—said to him: ،،Your worship for that period of time isn’t adequate thanks for [even] one of the favors I bestowed on you from among My favors. I caused a sweet-water spring to arise for you in the middle of the salty sea.

By what stratagem (444) could you have deserved this favor from Me? I caused a tree to grow for you which provided you with fruit every day but for others only bears fruit once a year. By what stratagem could you have deserved this? I lengthened your life this long length of time, whereas others besides you live less than this. I gave you strength to worship this amount of time, whereas others don’t have strength to do so. I drove off Satan from you and protected you from him. How many people apart from you he’s destroyed! I bestowed on you health during this long period and didn’t bestow it on others. And I created your body when you were nothing. I created all your movements and your states of repose, and I brought my favor to fulfilment for you. —Take him off to Hell!” The angels then set out with him for Hell.

When he saw that he was destroyed, he exclaimed: “Oh my Lord, have me enter Paradise through Your mercy and Your generosity.” God the Sublime said—and He’s the most merciful of the merciful and the most generous among the generous: “Bring him back and have him enter Paradise through My mercy!” And God the Sublime said: *،Enter Paradise through My mercy. How great a bondsman you were to Me!”’

This is what the hadith says, and I’ve known it for quite some time.

Then I asked our Shaykh—God be pleased with him: ،What’s worse, the worship of the dissolute or the worship of the deprived?’

He replied: ،The worship of the deprived is preferable and better for one particular reason, which is because God the Sublime is kind, merciful and benevolent. If He sees that the bondsman perseveres in his worship in order to attain his goals, He has mercy on him through His generosity and informs him of the reality of the situation concerning his body and his actions so that he comes back to God in repentance and turns toward Him—He is sublime—in his worship, as happened with the devoted worshipper for twenty years and countless human beings.’

And I said: ،Out of His mercifulness and His kindness He bestows on them the recompenses that are in the hadiths and Qur nic verses. In the same way He had mercy on them and informed them of Himself, He has mercy on them and bestows recompense upon them.’

He replied—God be pleased with him: ،If what you mean is that He bestows the recompense on them when He bestows on them knowledge of the reality of the situation, then yes. But if what you mean is that He bestows the recompense on them while they’re cut off from Him and consider action comes from themselves and that they have a right to a recompense from God—this you must never believe!’ (445) Then I asked: ،What about a man who hears in a hadlth that whoever does such-and-such will receive this and whoever abandons such-and-such will receive that, and he believes that he’s only set in motion through God the Sublime’s permission, and then upon hearing the hadith he takes the initiative to obey what’s in it, as well as to acquire the recompense it contains?’

He replied—God be pleased with him: ،If the freedom of his sight and his aim focuses on fulfilling the command of his Lord and the intention of the recompense is secondary such that if no recompense were mentioned in the hadlth he’d still do it, then there’s no harm for him in this، But if the freedom of his sight and his aim focus on acquiring the recompense and the intention of obedience is secondary such that if there were no recompense he wouldn’t do it, this is what we’re speaking about and this is what we condemn because he’ll forfeit this world as well as the hereafter، If, on the other hand, the freedom of his sight and his aim are focused on both of these together, he’ll be given his recompense on condition that he sees with two truthful eyes.

The first eye sees the action and that it’s obedience and that such- and-such a recompense is promised for it, and the one performing the action needs no encouragement in order to obey،

The second eye sees that God the Sublime is his creator and the creator of the action, that God the Sublime has promised him a reward, and that God the Sublime acts out of generosity, being under no obligation to promise anything He’s promised, and that despite this He’s free to choose—if He wishes He shows mercy, and if He wishes He punishes. But when the bondsman hears his Master’s command, he obeys it and reckons on recompense and benefit from his Lord، Thus, if the bondsman looks at his Lord with this excellent, friendly look, then his considering the reward does him no harm and his Lord bestows the recompense on him and rewards him with an abundance of good things،’

Then I said: ،The religious scholars disagree regarding this group، Al-Ghazzali—God have mercy on him—maintains in the book Minhaj al-abidin that they don’t receive a recompense and he places them in the category of associating partners [with God] in actions, and in his view this is equivalent to hypocrisy that nullifies action. Abu Bakr b. al-cArabi in the Sirdj al-muridm3 and al-Qarafi in al-Qawdcid wa’l-furuq4—God have mercy on them both— maintain that this group does receive recompense for it and that such associating of partners [with God] causes no harm and isn’t the equivalent of hypocrisy that nullifies action.’

Al-Dabbagh replied—God be pleased with him: ‘Ibn al Arabi and al-Qarafi are correct. Moreover: ،،God won’t let the recompense of him who does good works be lost” (18/30). And this person has done good works. (446) His work has a light when it comes forth from his body. And his upright intention and his looking at his Lord with the second eye have another light in addition to the light of the action. So how can he be deprived of the recompense? But more perfect than him is someone who didn’t look at the recompense, and he belongs to the first group. More perfect than both of them together is someone who detaches himself from the action after its intention and is unaware of the action except when he begins it. At that moment he knows it’s God Who’s intended it—He is mighty and glorious! He’s then absent from it in the vision (mushahada) of his Creator—He is exalted—and his thought is occupied with God’s greatness and His majesty—He is sublime! We beseech God to bestow this on us— through His grace and His generosity, His nobility and His goodness!’

He said—God be pleased with him: ،Now this vision imposes love of God the Sublime, and love of Him—He is exalted—imposes exclusive preoccupation with Him. Preoccupation with Him imposes [seeing] that the recompense is from Him, in accordance with what suits His rank He is exalted not in accordance with what suits the rank of the bondsman. Absence of the vision imposes forgetfulness of Him—He is exalted—and this imposes preoccupation with the body. Preoccupation with the body imposes that the recompense be in accordance with the rank of the bondsman, not in accordance with the rank of the Lord—He is exalted! That’s why you may see two men both of whom invoke blessings on the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—and a weak recompense comes forth for the one man, while for the other a recompense comes forth and calculation. The reason for this is what we’ve said.

Now the first man’s invocation of blessings on the Prophet— God’s blessings and peace be upon him—came forth in forgetfulness and with a heart filled with distractions and partitions. It was as if he pronounced it in the manner of a routine practice and a habit. So he was given a weak recompense.

The second man’s invocation of blessings on the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—was with love and veneration. As for love, its cause is that in his heart he visualizes the Prophet’s majesty and his greatness—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—and the fact that he’s the cause of all that exists and every light is from his light, that he’s a mercy conferred on mankind, and that he’s a mercy for the first and the last [of mankind], and right guidance for all people—indeed this comes from him and is because of him. Consequently, he invokes blessings on him because of this awesome rank, not because of any other reason based on his body’s benefit.

As for veneration, its cause is that he looks at this awesome rank, what it consists of, and what the qualities of its possessor must be, and he sees that all human beings are incapable of supporting any of its qualities because its realities have advanced in him—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—to an extent that can’t be described in thought, let alone be sustained in practice. Thus when the bondman’s invocation of blessings on the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—comes forth, the recompense for it is in accordance with the Prophet’s station—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—and in accordance with the nobility of the Lord—He is exalted! For (447) the motive and the incentive for this invocation of blessings is purely because of that awesome rank. And the recompense for the invocation is in accordance with the rank that provides the incentive for it. The motive for the first invocation was the allotment of his carnal soul and the purpose of his body. Thus the recompense for it was in accordance with its motive: ،،And your Lord will not wrong anyone” (18/49).

This is the way the bondsman’s action is between himself and his Lord. Thus if the motive for it is the Lord’s greatness and His majesty and the loftiness of His glory, the recompense is in accordance with the Lord’s greatness—He is exalted! But if the motive for it and the incentive to do it is solely the bondsman’s purpose and what’s based on his body, the recompense is in accordance with that. Peace!’

[2]

Then I asked: ،But does the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—acquire profit or not from our invoking blessings on him? Now when it comes to this question, the religious scholars are in disagreement—God be pleased with them!’

He replied—God be pleased with him: ،God the Sublime didn’t prescribe this for us with the intention of benefiting His Prophet— God’s blessings and peace be upon him! Rather God prescribed it for us with the intention of benefiting US in particular. It’s like someone who possesses slaves. He sees a fertile piece of land that no other land can equal for agriculture. He then has mercy on his slaves. He bestows this land on them with the understanding that all the cultivation will be their job and they’ll do it alone. He doesn’t bestow it on them in the manner of a partnership. This is how it is with our invocation of blessings on the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—and its recompense is entirely for us. If on some occasions the light of its recompense flares up and is united with his light—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—this is simply like something that returns to its origin, and nothing else. Now the recompenses established for the believers are all because of the faith found in the believers, and the faith in them comes from the Prophet’s light—God’s blessings and peace be upon him! So the recompenses established for us actually come from him—God’s blessings and peace be upon him! There’s no similitude for him among things perceived by the senses except the encompassing ocean along with the rains when they reach the ocean in torrents. The water of the rains in fact originates from the ocean. So when it returns to the ocean, one doesn’t talk of it as increasing the ocean.’

And I said: ‘There’s a religious scholar who presents arguments to the effect that the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—does benefit from blessings being invoked on him. He compares this to the benefit that the Prophet receives—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—from servants and youths when he’s in Paradise. Just as he benefits—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—from delicacies and fruits brought to him in vessels, so he benefits from lights and recompenses brought to him in the letters of the invocation. In the hereafter the conveyance occurs by means of the hands that carry the vessels; but in this world it occurs by means of the mouths that convey the letters. He says: ،،His situation in the House of existence—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—doesn’t exceed his situation in Paradise so that the comparison can’t be drawn.’”

(448) He said—God be pleased with him: ‘But where do these servants and youths come from? In fact, they’re from the Prophet’s light—God’s blessings and peace be upon him! Nay, even Paradise and everything in it is from his light—God’s blessings and peace be upon him! What this scholar says would be true if those servants were separate from the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—and if our faith were separate from him—God’s blessings and peace be upon him! But such isn’t the case!’

He said—God be pleased with him: ،And who knows how the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—is refreshed?’

He said—God be pleased with him: ‘You see a man recite the Dala’il al-khayrat. If he wishes to invoke blessings on the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—he pictures him in his thought and pictures the things desired for him, such as means (wasila), the lofty degree (al-daraja al-rafi’a), the praiseworthy station (al-maqam al-mahmud), and other things that are mentioned in every invocation of blessings. And he pictures himself demanding these from God the Sublime and supposes in his thought that, because of his effort, God answers him and grants him this for His Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him! It enters the imagination of the suppliant that the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—has obtained great benefit because of him. He rejoices and is delighted. He increases his recitation and takes his invocation of blessings to an extreme, raising his voice while doing so. He feels how his invocation comes forth from the arteries of his heart. Humility overwhelms him and great delicacy descends on him, and he thinks he’s in a state beyond which no higher state exists. In this imagining he’s greatly mistaken and he doesn’t attain anything from God the Sublime by means of this invocation of blessings on his part because his invocation is connected with what he imagined and what he pictured in his thought.

His imagining is false and the false isn’t connected with the True—He is exalted! What’s united with the True (al-Haqq}—He is exalted—is the truth (al-haqq) as it really is, the way that if a person opens his eyes, he sees the truth as it really is. Everything that’s like that is connected with the True— He is exalted! Everything that a human being doesn’t see if he opens his eyes is false and the false isn’t connected with the True—He is exalted! Let someone who invokes blessings on the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—be on guard against this great affliction. But most people don’t understand it and they imagine that this delicacy and sweetness that’s come over them is from God—He is exalted! Rather it’s from Satan, so that he may drive them away from the True—He is exalted—and greatly increase their distance [from God] by means of it. The incentive should be love of the Prophet—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—and veneration for him, not anything else. In that case the light of the invocation will flare up, as previously mentioned. On the other hand, if the incentive for it is the bondsman’s benefit, he’ll be veiled and his recompense will decrease, as previously stated. And the same is true if the incentive for it is the Prophet’s benefit—God’s blessings and peace be upon him—for in that case invoking blessings on him isn’t connected with the True—He is exalted—and won’t reach Him, as already mentioned. But God alone confers success!’

(449) And I heard him say—God be pleased with him: ،Recompenses accompany works, lights accompany recompenses, and today in the here and now lights are joined with the body. If works are purely for the sake of God the Sublime and they occur in accordance with the secret of the body’s reality—as previously described—then the recompenses of the lights shine upon the body and the body understands this. The body experiences humility, trembling, weeping and other things which that shining light brings about. Then the possessor of deeper vision (basira) knows by means of that light that the work has been accepted and that its recompense comes to such-and-such an amount.

But most people imagine that recompenses are only known in the hereafter. This is the case with those who are veiled. As for someone who isn’t veiled, this is disclosed to him and not hidden from him.’

He said: ‘On the other hand, if the works are for the sake of something other than God the Sublime and they don’t occur in accordance with the body’s reality, then they’re a hardship and a discomfort, and they receive no recompenses, and no light due to the latter shines on the body.’

He said—God be pleased with him: ،Let the one who does an action examine his heart when he acts. For every action—however small it is—there’s a recompense, and a shining light accompanies its recompense which the body understands without a doubt. Now if the heart is filled with distractions and partitions when the action is done, let him know that God has deprived him of its recompense. That’s why He filled his heart with distractions. But if the heart is devoid of distractions and concentrated on the True—He is exalted—then let him know that God the Sublime has granted him its recompense.’ He said—God be pleased with him: ،You see the seeker (student) travel from country to country to acquire science (religious learning) with the intention of attaining status, influence, worldly possessions and other things that are false goals. And he persists in this intention for many years. But God the Sublime deprives him of the light of science and he never becomes one of those firmly established in science, because a person only attains the reality of science if he turns toward it with his interior. But the interior of this person is filled with his goals and his distractions. What’s set in motion for science on his part is only his exterior, and science is one of the secrets and the exterior can’t attain it. This is how it is with the recompenses of actions which aren’t purely for the sake of God the Sublime. The bondsman will never attain them because the recompenses are from among God the Sublime’s secrets, and the external without the interior can never attain the secrets. But God alone gives success!’

[3]

(450) And I asked him—God be pleased with him: ،Why do people seek help by mentioning the godly (al-salihun) and not God—He is mighty and glorious—? When a person is keen in swearing an oath, you observe him say: “By Sayyidi So-and-so!”, i.e. someone like Sayyidi ٠Abd alQadir al-Jllani or Sayyidi Abu Ya aza or Sayyidi Abul-C Abbas al-Sabti and others—God give us profit through them! And if he wishes to have someone swear an oath and for the oath to be serious for the person, he says: “Swear to me by Sayyidi So-and-so!” And if he’s afflicted by some loss and he wishes to implore like those who undertake to beg from the people, he invokes the name of Sayyidi So-and-so. In all this they’re cut off from God—He is mighty and glorious—and if it’s said to them: “Call upon God as your intermediary or swear oaths in His name” or something to that effect, these words make no impression on them. So what’s the reason for this?’

He replied—God be pleased with him: ،The Friends of God who are members of the Diwan have brought this about on purpose because of the strength of the darkness in bodies and the great number of those cut off from God—He is mighty and glorious— whose bodies have become wicked. The Friends of God the Sublime want the bodies of those who recollect their Chief and Creator—He is exalted—to be pure because God the Sublime answers whoever supplicates Him if he fully concentrates his interior on Him at the Al-Munawi, Kaw. II, pp. 210٤. time of his prayer of supplicaton, and His answering is in one of two ways. Either He bestows on him what he asked for, or if He refuses him, He explains for him the secret of the divine decree (predestination) behind the refusal. The latter is only the case with the Friends of God and not with those who are far removed and veiled. For if the gloom-laden body were to turn toward God the Sublime with all its veins and all (451) its substances and it asked Him for something which He refused and He didn’t inform it about the secret of the divine decree behind the refusal, it might well experience doubt concerning God the Sublime’s existence and fall prey to something more calamitous and more bitter than not having its request fulfilled. It was actually a good thing that the members of the Diwan made people’s minds become attached to God’s upright servants. Should they then experience doubt about whether the upright are Friends of God, this wouldn’t cause the people any harm.’

He said—God be pleased with him: ،An indication for you of the large number of people cut off from God and the great amount of darkness in their bodies is that you observe, for example, a person leave his house with twenty mawzunas and he brings them to the tomb of one of the Friends of God the Sublime. He presents them to the Friend so that he’ll accomplish his request for him. How many a poor man in need meets him along the way and asks him for a divine gift—on the path of God for the sake of God’s face. He doesn’t give him one dirhem, however, but proceeds to the Friend of God and places the money by his head. Now this is one of the ugliest things that occur. The reason for this is that the alms didn’t come forth on behalf of God—He is mighty and glorious—and for His greatness and His glory, for His noble face and His awesome being. Had the alms been for this reason, their possessor would have paid them out to every person in need whom he met. But since the incentive for them and the motive for bestowing them was the intention of profit for himself and the fulfilment of his purposes and his allotments, he singled out one particular place for them because he imagined profit was attached to that place, whether it was or not.’

He said—God be pleased with him: ‘I’ve seen today what was bestowed upon the godly from the Bab Tilimsan to al-Saqiya al- Hama .8 As for dinars, eighty dinars were given. As for sheep, there were three hundred and sixty sheep. And as for cattle, seventy-two bulls were given. All this was brought forth in one day for the godly. On the other hand, during this day not ten dirhems were brought forth for God the Sublime!’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘This is one from among the causes of separation from God-He is mighty and glorious-which occur in this religious community without most people being aware of them. They consist of three hundred and sixty-six causes, all of which bring about the bondsman’s separation from his Lord-He is mighty and glorious!’9 Then I asked: ‘Are some of these present in your mind at the moment?’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘Write [this] down!

The first is giving donations to the godly in the way just described, Le. not for the sake of God-He is mighty and glorious! (452) The second is calling upon the godly as intermediaries with God-He is mighty and glorious-so that they fulfill one’s wish. The visitor to the tomb says: “I’ve come to you, oh Sayyidi So-and- so. By God’s glory, fulfill my wish for me!” The cause of separation from God is that the visitor to the tomb has distorted what’s required and reversed the matter. He should have invoked God-He is mighty and glorious-as an intermediary with His Friends and not the other way round.

The third is visiting [the graves of] the godly. Now there’s an obligation placed on the visitor such as the number of ritual prayers which it’s incumbent on him to perform. But he abandons the performance of these which is God’s right and contains the light of God and His secret-He is sublime-by means of which He has mercy on him. And he goes on a visit to the tomb of the godly man. It’s clear what separation from God and what darkness are in him!

The fourth is fear of the tyrant with regard to his life and his sustenance as well as other things. He says to himself: “I won’t disobey this tyrant because if I do, he’ll kill me or stop my sustenance”-or do other things that cause fear of him. But if he were convinced of God the Sublime’s presence with him and His power over him and over the tyrant, he’d realize that God alone is the agent and that neither the tyrant nor anyone else is His associate in any particular action. He’d then fear no one but God-He is exalted! The extent to which this view is strong in the bondsman indicates how close he is to his Lord-He is sublime! And the extent to which it’s slight or absent indicates his distance from God-He is mighty and glorious-and how much he’s cut off from Him.

The fifth is hope in the tyrant. He draws near to him in order to obtain sustenance from him. Were he convinced that God the Sublime is the provider of sustenance, he wouldn’t behave in this way.

The sixth is giving assistance to the infidels. He advises them as to their worldly interests by seeing a path for them, etc. This is one of the causes of being cut off from God-He is mighty and glorious!’

I, al-Lama!i, would add that we’ve never seen anyone who gave sincere advice to a tyrant without suffering loss in the end. Here we recall the story of Sufyan al-Thawri-God be pleased with him-and the person who wanted to wake up a guard for the ritual prayers. Sufyan said to him: ‘Don’t wake him. Leave him just now so we’re rid of him and his wickedness for the time being.’ 10 [He continued:] ‘The seventh is failure to give sincere advice to the Muslims. He sees what harms them but he doesn’t order them to be on guard against it. And he sees what benefits them but he doesn’t order them to prepare for it.

The eighth is finding hardship and trouble in the pursuit of worldly goods more sweet than worshipping God-He is mighty and glorious! Let whoever perceives this in himself know that he’s perpetrating one of the causes of separation from God. (453) The ninth is pursuit of the world by means of something more despicable, more base and more contemptuous than the world itself. The pious forefathers-God be pleased with them-pursued the world by means of something higher and more noble than the world, such as holy war, trade, agriculture and other licit things. As for someone who pursues the world by means of falsehood, deceit, immorality and broken oaths, he pursues it by means of sins that are more base than it, Le. than the world. Let whoever perceives this in himself tum to God in repentance-He is mighty and glorious! One only attains the world by means of something more noble than the world.

The tenth is that the bondsman’s works and acts of devotion are done with the intention that God will have mercy on him because of them, and with the intention of profit for himself and attaining his goals and pleasures. They aren’t done for the sake of God’s noble face and His magnificent being. This cause has affected most people except those whom God-He is mighty and glorious-has shown mercy. God include us among the latter-through His grace and His generosity! ‘

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘If God hadn’t created Paradise and Hell, it would be clear who does and who doesn’t worship Him. The worship of whoever worshipped Him would be for the sake of His noble face. In that case the person who worshipped Him-He is exalted-would require knowledge of Him in its perfect form. But once people heard mention of Paradise and Hell, their purposes scattered in the direction of the one or the other and they strayed from the path.’ [He continued:] ‘The eleventh is the sins committed in God’s sacrosanct places such as in mosques and similar places. But if the bondsman were really serious about assigning a house to his Lord and declared in his heart: “This is the house of God”, he wouldn’t then commit a sin there.

The twelfth is sodomy,11 the wickedness of which will be discussed later-if God is willing-and there’s no wickedness that exceeds this.

The thirteenth is a man beating his wife when she’s committed no sin. Beating her like this is a cause of being cut off from God because of the duties the man has toward her.

The fourteenth is putting one’s family and relatives under obligation by spending money and saying: “I’ve spent this and that amount on you”, for the sake of putting [them] under obligation. (454) The fifteenth is envy. The wicked deeds it entails will be discussed later-if God is willing-as well as the fact that most sins originate from it. 12 The sixteenth is engaging in sin in full knowledge of it. And this will be explained later-if God is willing-when those who’ll be most severely punished on the Resurrection are discussed. I3 The seventeenth is gathering worldly wealth from what’s forbidden. ‘

I, al-Lamati, would note that it’s clear this isn’t repeating what occurs in the ninth category. 14 ‘The eighteenth is disobeying one’s parents.’ And I heard al-Dabbagh-God be pleased with him-give an account about his shaykh, Sayyidi CUmar b. Mul.tammad al- Hawwari. He said he was seated with Sayyidi cUmar by the consecrated lote-tree which is outside the shrine of Sayyidi cAli b.Hirzihim. His son came to him to bid him farewell since he intended to set out on the pilgrimage to Mecca. But his father Sayyidi cUmar forbade him to do so. AI-Dabbagh said: ‘He disobeyed his father. He set out and his father was displeased with him. Sayyidi cUmar then said to me: “Four things result if someone disobeys his parents: The first is that the world abandons him and loathes him, the way the believer loathes Hell.

The second is that if he sits down in a particular place and begins to speak with those present about one thing or another, God directs their hearts away from listening to what he says. God the Sublime removes the blessing and the light from his speech and he becomes detested among them.

The third is that the Friends of God the Sublime, those who are members of the Diwan and possess the power of free disposal (ta~arruj), will never look upon him with a look of mercy and will never take pity on him.

The fourth is that the light of his faith will continue to decrease little by little. If God wishes someone’s wretchedness (damnation)- God watch over us-matters proceed like this until the light of his faith fades and disappears entirely. And so he dies an infidel-we beseech God for protection from this! If God hasn’t wished this for someone, he dies with diminished faith-God protect us from such an eventuality!” (455) And Sayyidi CUmar said: “If someone’s parents are pleased, four things result which are the opposite of what preceded. The world loves him, the way the believer loves Paradise. And his speech is pleasant among the people, the Friends of God the Sublime have sympathy for him, and his faith continues to grow little by little. But God alone gives success!

So look, my brother, at these four evils contained in disobedience to one’s parents, and at the four advantages contained in honoring one’s parents!'” 15 [He continued:] ‘The nineteenth is mixing with people who are veiled, such as those endowed with leadership. Now in the body of a believing bondsman there’s a thread of light that emerges through an aperture in the body. This light is connected with the gift of God- He is exalted! It increases if he associates with Friends of God the Sublime, and it becomes less if he doesn’t do so. But it’s to be feared that he’ll be cut off from the light completely and that the aperture will become blocked if he associates with those possessing leadership. The latter overpower his body with their leadership, their goods and their high rank. His body is their prisoner and subject to their power. He goes on listening to them with his heart and his bodily frame, and remains like this for a long time. God the Sublime doesn’t occur in his thought and in his mind.

Indeed, he continues like this, abandoning himself to his own purposes and his separation from God until the aperture becomes completely blocked. We seek refuge with God! This is an affliction that comes from those endowed with leadership. God afford us protection from it! 16 The twentieth is differentiating between the four caliphs-God be pleased with them-Leo Abu Bakr, cUmar, CUthman and cAli-God be pleased with them one and all!’ (456) He said-God be pleased with him: ‘The meaning of differentiating is that you love one of them but you detest another one, as the Kharijites17 and the RafiQites do. Now differentiating this way is a cause of being cut off from God-He is mighty and glorious-because each one of the caliphs inherited a particular quality from among the Prophet’s qualities-God’s blessings and peace be upon them-and loathing a caliph amounts to loathing the Prophet-God’s blessings and peace be upon him! That’s why it’s a cause of being cut off from God.’ 18 And I asked him: ‘Then what’s the particular quality in Abu Bakr-God be pleased with him-?’

He replied: ‘The quality of faith in God-He is mighty and glorious! Faith in God the Sublime on the part of the Prophet- God’s blessings and peace be upon him-is of a special nature. If it were placed upon people of the earth, the Companions or anyone else, they’d dissolve. Abu Bakr-God be pleased with him- inherited a small amount of this characteristic in accordance with what his body could support. Yet no one in the Prophet’s religious community-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-is a match for Abu Bakr in this respect and no one even comes close to him- neither among the Companions, nor among others who’ve received the great illumination. For the Prophet-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-attained secrets about divinity, higher truths about God’s lordliness, and subtle points of divine knowledge (Cirfiin), to an extent that can’t be described or supported, and he spoke to Abu Bakr about the oceans into which he delved-blessings and peace be upon him! Thus Abu Bakr ascended to the said place of ascent. Yet despite this, during his last three years the Prophet-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-didn’t speak to him about these higher realities out of fear that Abu Bakr would dissolve.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘As for the particular quality that was in cUmar-God be pleased with him-it was the quality of giving good advice to the believers, looking after them and preferring them above himself, organizing the affairs of their armies (457) and whatever was of benefit to the common people and the elite among them. And this was a particular quality among the qualities of the Prophet-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-, and cUmar-God be pleased with him-inherited it to the extent that his body could support it.

As for the particular quality that was in CUthman-God be pleased with him-it was the quality of kindness, compassion and the bond of kinship, and this is one of the Prophet’s particular qualities- God’s blessings and peace be upon him! Uthman inherited it to the extent that he could support it.

As for the particular quality that was in Ali-God be pleased with him-it was the quality of courage which was one of the Prophet’s particular qualities-God’s blessings and peace be upon him! Ali- God be pleased with him-inherited it to the extent that he was able to support it.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘And it’s the same with all the Companions-God be pleased with them! Each one of them inherited something from the Prophet-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-and hating a Companion, whatever Companion it might be, is a cause of being cut off from God-He is mighty and glorious!’

Then we separated and I didn’t hear the complete number of [causes] previously mentioned before he died-God be pleased with him! God disclose for us the full number by means of his blessing! 19 God be pleased with him! (458) And I heard him-God be pleased with him-enumerate the things which increase faith. He said-God be pleased with him: ‘1) One of them is visiting graves. 2) Another one is giving alms purely for the sake of God-He is exalted! 3) Another is to be on guard against breaking oaths. 4) Another is averting the eyes from the indecent parts of the body and not looking at them. 5) Another is disregarding people’s sins. If someone looks into people’s sins and pursues these, God the Sublime may afflict him with doubt concerning [the thought] that God the Sublime is graciously disposed to the sinner, doesn’t cease showing him favor, and is generous in conferring gifts on him. The one who observes his disobedience says: “It’s as if the person receives this favor because of his sin.”

Then Satan prompts him with regard to sin until he falls into sin or Satan prompts him in a different manner. He says: “Look how his Lord has shown him favor while he sins against Him. And you He refuses, though you obey Him. This isn’t what wisdom demands!”

And Satan presents him with other false doubts as well. God protect us from such an eventuality! 6) Another one is reverence for the religious scholars (Culamii:J) who are the ones who bear the sharfca-God be pleased with them! And revering them increases one’s faith. God include us among those who recognize their worth!’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘If the common people understood the worth of the religious scholars in God’s eyes-He is mighty and glorious-they wouldn’t allow them to walk upon the earth but the inhabitants of every neighborhood would take turns and carryon their shoulders the religious scholar who lived among them. But God the Sublime knows best!’

———-

And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘Verily, God has forbidden sodomy (luwiit) because a number of angels fall with a man’s semen, and if the semen enters the backside-which isn’t the place for sowing-they all die.’ And one time he said: ‘They’re like a pigeon’s chick. If it falls from a high nest onto a rock, do you think anything will be left of it?’

He said: ‘As for if the semen enters the vagina-which is the place for sowing-along with the semen there then remain two units of angels: the unit of angels of the father’s semen and the unit of angels of the mother’s semen. The total of this is three hundred and sixty- six angels, divided equally between them, except that the man has ten more because his angels are more numerous due to the secret behind Adam’s being the origin of Eve.’

He said: ‘Now if God the Sublime decrees that [a body] will be formed, the semen next becomes a clot of blood, then a lump of flesh and then the other stages that remain. Similarly, each one from the number of the angels grows just like the semen does, and when the child comes forth into the world, the angels accompany it. They’re the guardians of its body. Their chief is the guardian (459) on the right. In the same way the child is formed between the father and the mother, so these angels are formed between the angels of the father’s body-[their total being] three hundred and sixty-six-and the angels of the mother’s body.’

He said: ‘But if God the Sublime decrees that there’s to be no child from this semen, then the unit of angels comes down with it into the womb and they die there. No harm results for the bondsman because he has no share in this.’

He said: ‘On this occasion the angels resemble drops of oil dripping from the wick of a lamp when it’s been filled with more than its usual amount of oil. Thus they fall giving off light but by the time they reach the ground they’re extinguished.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘For this reason it isn’t permitted to cause the sperm to be extracted from the womb because we don’t know whether God intends a child from the semen or not, and we would bring about the destruction of a great number of angels.

As for the evil due to which fornication is forbidden, it isn’t because of the angels but because of the severance of lineage. In fact, on the Day of Resurrection the people will have an immense benefit from kinship ties. But in the hereafter a claim of kinship is only accepted on the basis of testimony. That’s why the Prophet-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-ordered witnessing in marriage, as well as its announcement and public declaration. A fornicator only pursues his activity furtively because if he made it public, he’d be subjected to legal punishment. Thus he brings about the severance of lineage and its confusion.21 This is what was referred to previously with regard to the evil of sodomy-God protect us from it!’

And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘Do you know which people will be most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection?’ I said to him: ‘Tell me, oh Sayyidi.’

He replied: ‘It’s the man whom God has given a perfect body, perfect reason and perfect health, and has facilitated for him his livelihood and his means of sustenance but then for one or two days, or longer still, the man pays no attention to his Lord-He is exalted!

And if it’s possible for him to commit a sin, he commits it with his perfect body and his perfect reason, and he finds it pleasant and approves of it, without a thought about the Lord-He is exalted- causing him any disturbance. You see him attached to sin with the utmost attachment and cut off from his Lord-He is exalted-in complete separation. He’s entirely inclined to sin and he delights in it with the utmost delight. This person’s recompense on the Day of Resurrection is that he’s devoted to punishment with the whole of his nature and he wholly anticipates it with longing. He falls into it all at once and he finds it sweet, the way someone with mange finds scratching sweet. But the more he scratches, the greater is the harm to him.’ (460) He said-God be pleased with him: ‘This is especially so in the case of a sin which is big and grave. If a believer commits a sin, he should know that he has a Master with power over him and he should experience fear and terror because of Him-He is exalted!

This way the severity of the punishment will be lessened, even if he isn’t entirely forgiven. But God alone confers success!’ Moreover, this was referred to previously in connection with committing a sin in full knowledge of it.

And I heard him recount a wondrous story-God be pleased with him-from Sayyidi CUmar b. Mu1)ammad al-Hawwari about visualizing the Creator during sin-He is exalted: ‘A man who was excessive in indulging his carnal soul and a committer of sins came to my shaykh while I was present, and said to him: “Oh Sayyidi, I’m a committer of sins. I persist in this and I can’t stop. What stratagem is there for [my] deliverance?” The shaykh replied to him: “Woe unto you! Do you sin against your Lord? Abandon sins and don’t return to them again!” The man said: “I can’t.” The shaykh replied: “Woe unto you! Return to your Lord in repentance.” He said: “I can’t.” The shaykh then ignored him, and the man resided with him for one or two days.

When he was about to take leave of the shaykh, the man said: “Oh Sayyidi, how can I find deliverance?” The shaykh replied to him: “When you’re about to sin against your Lord, visualize three things.

Then do as you wish. 1) Visualize the sin and its ugliness, as well as what it brings of God’s wrath. 2) Visualize your body, your carnal soul and your baseness, and your turning away from your Lord. 3) Visualize your Lord and His force, His power, and His omnipotence over you when He has His sights on you. And then visualize His forgiveness of you and what a friendly curtain he’s let hang down over you. Now when you’ve visualized these things the proper way, do what seems right to you.'”

He said: ‘The man then departed and a while later I met him. He greeted me and said: “But don’t you recognize me?” I said to him: “Who are you?” He replied: “I’m that sinner. And God took hold of my hand because of the blessing of the shaykh’s words. Indeed, I was about to commit a sin but I visualized the things the shaykh ordered me to visualize. I was then unable to sin and this was the cause of my return to God. But God knows best!”’22

[4]

And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘In my view a mortal sin (kabfra) is what you do when inwardly the heart is cut off from God the Sublime and from His angels, His books, His apostles and the Final Day, and even if a bondsman is attached to these things outwardly, it’s of no benefit to him. (461) In this situation the sin is great because in the state of being cut off from God a bondsman falls into sin with his heart and his bodily frame, with his love and his inner core, with both hands and both feet, indeed with his whole person. No restraint from his heart restrains him and no reminder from his Lord reminds him.

And a venial sin (~aghfra) is what you do while the heart is attached to the Lord-He is exalted-and to the things which convey one to Him such as His apostles, His angels, and His books. If a bondsman then falls into sin, he falls into it unintentionally with an admixture of loathing for it because of the hindrances that are in his heart. When he falls into sin, he feels shame before his Lord-He is exalted!’

Then I said: ‘With this division [of sins] the Prophet’s enumeration of mortal sins in the J:tadfth-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-becomes difficult to understand despite their being designated.

He didn’t restrict them to the state of being cut off from God-He is mighty and glorious! In the J:tadfth of the two $aJ:tfJ:ts the Prophet says-God’s blessings and peace be upon him: “The mortal sins are polytheism, magic, disobedience to one’s parents, and killing a person.” AI-Bukhari adds: “And a false oath.” And Muslim alters it to: “Telling a lie.” And in their two J:tadfths it also says: “Avoid the seven mortal sins: polytheism, magic, killing a person which God has forbidden except when it’s just, consuming the wealth of orphans, usury, running away in battle, and calumniating female believers who are chaste but inadvertent.'”

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘These sins aren’t committed by a bondsman unless he’s cut off from his Lord-He is mighty and glorious! If his heart is attached to the Lord-He is exalted-he won’t undertake polytheism and practice magic or indeed any of the other things mentioned in these two hadiths.’

Then he said-God be pleased with him: ‘But take a look at So- and-so. He’s going to be one of the Friends of God the Sublime. At the moment he’s a veiled person among the veiled. His heart is attached to God. Why is it he’s unable to commit any of these sins but fears them the way he fears Hell-fire? And then look at So-and- so. He isn’t one of those who’ve received illumination. His heart is cut off from God-He is mighty and glorious! Recollection purely with the tongue is of no use. Look at the shameful deeds he commits! We beseech God for protection from this-through His grace and His generosity!’

He said: ‘The sins of the people of estrangement (ahl al-qati’a) are clear and the sins of those who are connected [with God] (ahl al- wusla) are clear.’23

———-

(462) And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘Means of livelihood such as agriculture, trade, etc., are on the level of begging bowls (kashiikil) in the hands of beggars. It’s been God’s habitual practice-He is exalted-not to send down sustenance directly to the bondsman by giving him sustenance in his hand without some device, but He only gives it to him when the bondsman begs Him with one of the begging bowls of his means. So if he extends the begging bowl before Him, God, for his sake, will place in it what suits him and is of use for him. Therefore the one who makes use of a secondary cause must accord it its proper status, and his gaze when using it must be on his Lord-He is mighty and glorious-not on the means, just as someone undertaking begging looks at the people who give to him and doesn’t look at his begging bowl that’s in his hand.

If when receiving means his gaze is on his Lord-He is mighty and glorious-he’s attached to his Lord on the occasion of the means, and his means is a connection between himself and his Lord-He is exalted! Moreover, he doesn’t rely on his means but on his Lord. If his reliance is on his Lord, he won’t engage in any means except what his Lord permits him. In this case there’s no difference for him between God bestowing means frequently or infrequently. Indeed, the Giver is one-He is exalted-and He’s capable of bestowing on him in a single means what He bestows on others through numerous means. Let him feel pious fear toward God and his seeking from Him be in a proper manner. This then is the description of the means of those attached to God-He is mighty and glorious!

As for the others, they kill themselves on the occasion of the means through work. Any means they see they engage in, whether it’s permitted or not permitted. They believe that sustenance comes in accordance with their stratagems and their idle management.

These are the people who delight in planning worldly affairs and exhausting themselves in them, and in overcoming great hardships in pursuing them, instead of obeying God-He is mighty and glorious-and worshipping Him, because they’re completely cut off from Him24-He is exalted!’

Another time I heard him say on this subject-God be pleased with him: ‘These people are like persons with ropes tied around their waists. They’re then lowered from high mountain peaks so that they find themselves between the earth and the sky. They’re left suspended in mid-air and this situation they’re in drags on for a long time. Now the intelligent among them experience no repose and their carnal souls find no rest in anything else. In fact, their gaze is divided. Sometimes they look at the place where their feet will fall to see whether it’s far or near and whether the spot is soft or hard, and to see what it will be like for them if they fallon that (463) spot.

These views [are so frightening they] dissolve livers and the heart is shattered. Other times they look at the person who holds the rope to which they’re attached to see whether he’s about to release it from his hand or whether time still remains, and whether there’s any affection and compassion between them and him. Will he feel pity toward them when he lets them drop and will he set them down gently in the place where they’ll fall? Or is there no affection and pity between him and them, and is he unconcerned about how he’ll cast them down? In this case they strive to gain his contentment. But this is impossible for them by any stratagem. They can only act, by God, with a submissive heart and a humble tongue, and the eye’s gazing at him is the gaze of someone who fears him and seeks his sympathy. However, he has a free choice. If he wishes he can show mercy, or if he wishes he can inflict punishment. And their hearts bum out of fear for him and his punishment.

As for those among the suspended people who aren’t intelligent, they don’t look at the place where they’re going to fall, and they don’t look at the person with the rope in his hand. Rather they’re submerged in forgetfulness. They think the place they find themselves in is a place of residence and they’re busy with the means of residence. They build houses there and castles, and engage in agriculture and trade, despite their [hanging] in mid-air. They have no awareness of the matter of the rope. If it’s cut along with them, they find they’ve neglected the place they fall into since they never bothered to look at it. Nor have they taken the trouble to improve it, if only through supplication and beseeching. They’re unprepared for falling into it and unprepared for the one who holds the rope. Indeed, they’re unacquainted with him. And they certainly haven’t beseeched him and sought rescue and protection from him.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘Now this is the situation of someone who’s negligent of God and the hereafter, and of someone who’s mindful of both. The rope is a lifespan that’s severed by death. The place into which a person falls is either Paradise or Hell, and the one who holds the rope is God the Sublime. Those who know Him are in continual fear of these two matters, and God the Sublime rewards them with repose on the day that they meet. As for the negligent, the opposite of this is the case.25 But God the Sublime knows best!’

And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘Verily, God has sent His apostles to the bondsmen and ordered the bondsmen to comply with one characteristic which is that they acknowledge Him and profess His oneness and don’t associate anything as a partner with Him. When the bondsman attains this goal, he’s then loved and cherished by God.’

And what follows is also what he said-God be pleased with him: ‘Obedience is opening a door through which (464) the light of truth enters bodies, and prohibiting sins consists of blocking the doors through which the darkness of falsehood enters a sinner’s body. Thus whoever performs acts of worship and avoids offenses opens for his body the doors of truth’s light and obstructs for himself the doors of the darkness of falsehood. And whoever abandons acts of worship and commits offenses, opens for his carnal soul the doors of the darkness of falsehood and obstructs for his carnal soul the doors of the light of truth. He who obeys and sins, doing both of these together, opens both doors together for his carnal soul. Let the bondsman consider which station he’s in and which door he’s opened for his carnal soul, before he comes to feel regret but regret is of no avail. Most people, however, think that outwardly performing acts of worship is sufficient to open the doors of truth, just as committing offenses in public is sufficient to open the doors of wickedness. But it isn’t like that. Rather in this matter the exterior must be in agreement with the interior. Consequently, people are in four categories:

1) There’s the category in which a person’s exterior and his interior are with God. His exterior is with God by obeying His commands, and his interior is with God by the absence of negligence when performing worship and by the occurrence of contemplation (muriiqaba) and beholding (mushiihada). This is the person God loves-He is mighty and glorious!

2) And there’s the category-God protect us from it-in which a person’s exterior and his interior are with something other than God-He is exalted-and his exterior is engaged in offenses and his interior is filled with forms of negligence. This person is reprehensible.

3) And there’s the category in which a person’s exterior is with God and his interior is with something other than God. His exterior is engaged in acts of worship, while his interior is negligent. The reason why his worship doesn’t restore him to his Lord is that it, Le. his worship, has become a habit for him among his other habits. His body has become accustomed to it and he’s come to do it by virtue of the restraint of his nature, not by virtue of the restraint of religious law. And another reason may perhaps be added, namely that he’s known among the people for worship, asceticism and good behavior.

Thus he’s afraid that due to his slackness in his worship he may become lower in people’s sight. So you see him engaged in worship through his day and his night out of desire for his rank to increase among the people. But the only result of his worship is the increase of his distance from God the Sublime. And God the Sublime may bring together a person from this category with one of His great Friends from the people of the first category. The Friend will then see the person’s malady and want to cure him. He’ll order him to stop performing some of (465) the external worship he performs. But the person refuses him this because of the deep-seatedness of the malady. So he perishes with those who perish.’

I, al-Lamati, would add that this is like what happened to the disciple of Abu Yazid al-Bistami26-God be pleased with him! Abu Yazid ordered one of those with him who was in this situation-but God the Sublime knows best-to abandon supererogatory fasting.

But he disobeyed him. At that his companions and brethren in God said: ‘Woe unto you! Would you disobey your spiritual model?’ Abu Yazid said to them: ‘Abandon a person who’s fallen in God’s estimation-He is mighty and glorious!’ [He continued:] ‘

4) And there’s the category in which a person’s exterior is with something other than God, while his interior is with God-He is exalted! So his exterior is engaged in offenses but his interior is in contemplation of God the Sublime. Thus you see him sin while his Lord is before his eyes and not absent from his thought.

His disobedience is an intolerable burden on him. He feels it press down on him like a mountain. He’s forever sad and dejected. In the eyes of God this category is better than the preceding one by many degrees, because what God wants from His bondsmen is contrition and that they stand before Him-He is exalted-in humility and submissiveness. And that occurs in this category but not in the previous one.’27 I, al-Lamati, would note that earlier al-Dabbagh-God be pleased with him-made use of the similitude of the worship of the hypocrites who act hypocritically before the people and only recollect God very little. Consult this in the explanation of the hadith al-ihsan: ‘That you worship God as if you see Him.’28

[5]

And I heard al-Dabbagh respond-God be pleased with him- when he was asked about the body’s being disturbed at certain times and its crying out. The person who posed the question related that when he was engaged in recollecting God (dhikr) and worshipping, this would happen to him, and he was afraid it came from Satan- God curse him-and he noted that it would stop once he turned his attention to the world and occupied himself with it.

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘The spirit (ruh,) may scatter the light it contains upon (466) the body. Then that disturbance affects the body. Sometimes it provides the body with light during worship, and sometimes it provides it with light during disobedience. While a person is disobeying his Lord and engaged in his lust, the spirit then scatters that light upon the body. Humility comes over the body and a return to God the Sublime.’ He said: ‘Moreover, a person who experiences this during worship shouldn’t attribute it to his obedience and worship, lest pride enter into him. He should say: “If this were from obedience, it wouldn’t occur under any other circumstances.'”

He said: ‘This light that comes to the body from the spirit is like a bridle for the body. If it sees the body tum from the path and fears it will swerve, it appears to it, Le. to the body, in order to guide it to the path. This is only found in someone whom God wishes well since it’s one of the means of guidance. In another body that God doesn’t wish well there may be darkness that leads the body from the path and stops it from complying with the Apostle-God’s blessing and peace be upon him!’ He said: ‘And every body has a glow and only walks in its own glow. If its glow guides it to the path, it’s been given success. If its glow causes it to swerve-and that’s what we call darkness-then it’s forsaken. God protect us from this!’

Then he said-God be pleased with him: ‘Within the spirit there are three hundred and sixty-six secrets. Among them is a secret which if the spirit provides the body with it, the body weeps continually. And among them is a secret which if the spirit provides the body with it, the body laughs continually. And among them is a secret which if the spirit provides the body with it, the body cries out continually. But the spirit only provides the body with what’s been preordained.’

And one day I was with al-Dabbagh in a place-God be pleased with him-and a man sat down with us. While the Shaykh was speaking-God be pleased with him-the man suddenly began to let out abominable cries. He went on in this way for a long time.

Afterwards the Shaykh said to me-God be pleased with him: ‘This is a serious matter. Would that the satans weren’t playing about with him and corrupting his prayers for him!’

I said: ‘Oh Sayyidi, how is this?’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘The orientation of hearts toward God the Sublime constitutes the prayers of hearts, just as the body’s inclination and its prostration are the prayers of the body.

Indeed, ritual prayer and all acts of worship were prescribed by the law so that this orientation would occur. It’s the result of acts of worship and the benefit from them which is a cause of profit and (457) mercy for the bondsman. Now if the satans see a person who wishes to obtain this orientation through recollection of God (dhikr) or listening to fine words or other such things, they penetrate to his heart and corrupt his orientation for him—-out of jealousy toward the offspring of Adam and loathing for them. Thus this “crier out” is afflicted by evils. Among these is the corruption of the orientation which is a cause of his profit. Another is that he thinks he’s something important. And another is being cut off, which one fears for him because due to that crying out he thinks he’s something important, just as the people think he’s something important and point him out. But woe unto whomever fingers are pointed at.’

I, al-Lamati, would add that what supports this is the story that the shaykh Zarruq29 recounted-God be pleased with him! In summarized form it goes: ‘There was a group of fuqara who had a nighttime retreat in Fez. They talked an upright person into coming with them, and he was blind. So he went with them to the place.

Then while they were performing the recollection of God (dhikr), suddenly the blind shaykh said-God be pleased with him: “Oh people, Satan has entered among you in the form of a goat with horns.” And he said: “Who among you is the owner of the red headcloth? Verily, I see Satan sniffing him vigorously.” The blind man then let out a cry and said: “He’s butted him with his horns and the horns have penetrated him.” He’d scarcely said this when the owner of the headcloth let out a cry and lost consciousness. Then the blind man said: “And who among you is the owner of such-and-such an item of clothing? I’ve seen Satan go over to him and sniff him.”

He then cried out: “By God, he’s butted him an abominable butting with his home.” And the person who’d been sniffed let out a cry and lost consciousness.’ Take a look at the whole story. They were exposed by this upright man’s presence with them. Up till then they’d thought they were involved in something important but they were involved in compound ignorance.

It happened that a certain person let out a cry in the presence of a shaykh who was a knower of God (arif). The shaykh then said to him: ‘I followed your cry until it entered a grave in the such-and- such cemetery.’ The one who’d cried out-and he wasn’t one of this shaykh’s disciples-replied: ‘You’re right, oh Sayyidi. When I passed by you and found you [all] recollecting your beloved [performing the dhikr], I recollected my sweetheart. She was my cousin and has died. That’s her grave. When I thought of her, I cried out due to the pain of separation.’ But God the Sublime knows best!

[6]

And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘Tobacco- known as taba-is forbidden because it does harm to the body and because the passion of those attached to it distracts them from worshipping God and cuts them off from Him.3o Whenever we’re in doubt about whether something is forbidden (haram) or permitted (halal) and we don’t find a text from the Prophet that deals with it (468) God’s blessings and peace be upon him-we look to the people of the Diwan among the Friends of God the Sublime. They’re “the people of the circle and the number”.31 If we find that they engage in this matter, we know it’s permitted. If we find that they don’t engage in it but avoid it, we know it’s forbidden. If some of them engage in it and others don’t, we look to the majority, for the truth is with the majority. Now the people of the Diwan aren’t engaged with this tobacco. And [it’s forbidden] because the angels suffer harm from its odor.’

Then he told us a story about a city that reeked with the stench of human excrement and the dung of riding animals. And it had a shortage of water to deal with this. He gave a lengthy description of the city and the particulars of its appearance and its location. But our purpose is attained with what we’ve said. So we’ve omitted to record the details of his description. He said: ‘Abominable odors gathered together in the city, beyond what one can imagine.’ He went on: ‘Then one day eight Friends of God the Sublime from among those who possess the power of free disposal (ta~arru.f) entered the city.

When they reached its center, however, they left in great haste. The cause of their haste was that the angels of their bodies fled the abominable odors. The Friends of God then fled as well because only a person with deeper vision (ba~lra) knows the danger of the angels fleeing the body. The one thing comparable to this would be to take someone to an enemy’s place and the country of bandits and to strip him of his weapons. What could he then face the enemy with?’

Then I said to him: ‘Garlic and onions and things like that have a bad odor but it isn’t forbidden to eat them.’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘If a human being’s right and the right of an angel contradict one another, the human being’s right has precedence. This is because all things have been created for the sake of Adam’s offspring. Whatever contains a benefit for Adam’s offspring isn’t forbidden, even if it contains harm for an angel. And the benefits of garlic and onions are obvious, by contrast with tobacco. Tobacco contains no benefit. Indeed, smoking it causes harm to the body. And eventually tobacco comes to subjugate the body. It’s like someone who tears and patches. If the person attached to tobacco didn’t smoke it, he wouldn’t suffer a tear so that he needed to sew on a patch. Those who use it think it contains a benefit. But there’s nothing in it beyond this.’

I, al-Lamati, would add that I heard someone who’d been afflicted by tobacco say the same thing. Indeed, he heard it from a skilled Christian physician.

[7]

As for what he said-God be pleased with him-regarding the danger of angels fleeing the body, this is how (469) he answered me another time when I put questions to him. We were debating the views of the shaykh al-l:Iattab32 and the shaykh al-Mawwaq33-God the Sublime have mercy on them-about entering a bathhouse with naked people who don’t cover themselves. The shaykh al-l:Iattab says: ‘It’s forbidden to enter. And a person must perform ritual ablutions with sand if he’s afraid of [using] cold water.’ The shaykh al-Mawwaq says: ‘Let him enter. And let him cover himself and lower his eyes. Then it isn’t forbidden for him.’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘The shaykh al-l:Iattab is right. As for what the shaykh al-Mawwaq says, it contains an evil, even supposing the one who covers himself is very cautious and avoids at all costs gazing at the private parts of others. The evil here is that the sins and the violation of God the Sublime’s commands are accompanied by darkness. Between this darkness and the darkness of Hell there are threads and connections by means of which the wretchedness of Hell befalls him. No one knows this better than God the Sublime’s angels. Thus if some group gathers under the roof of a bathhouse, for instance, for the purpose of sin and they all commit sin, darkness pervades that place. The angels then shun them. And if the angels shun them, Satan and his soldiers come and inhabit the place. The lights of their faith, i.e. the faith of the sinners, become like lamps assailed by violent winds from every side. Sometimes you see their light going in this direction, sometimes in that direction, and other times it’s turned downwards so that you say it’s gone out and disappeared. That’s why “sins are the messenger of infidelity”.

God the Sublime protect us from this!

If the bathhouse and its people are as we described and if we suppose that a man who’s virtuous, devout, eminent and cautious, comes and enters the premises while covering himself, the light of his faith will suffer a disturbance because of the darkness he finds in the bathhouse. For that darkness is the opposite of faith, and his angels are disturbed by this as well. The satans, on the other hand, experience a hope in him. They join him and arouse in him lust for gazing at [people’s] private parts and tempt him. He continues to struggle with them. But they’re a match for him, and he’s weak in their presence so that he finds delight in lust and takes pleasure in gazing at [people’s] private parts. We beseech God to protect us from this!’34 (470) He said: ‘Let’s imagine a group who drink wine and take pleasure in it. They display the sins that accompany this and are shameless regarding them. They aren’t wary of anyone and fear no one. Then let’s imagine that a man comes to them with the Dala’il al-khayrat in his hand. He sits down among them and begins to recite from it. He’s seated with them a long time and sits with them till the end of the day. All the while he’s reciting and they engage in their sins. But not one day and a night elapses before the man comes over to them and becomes one of them due to the malady that we mentioned. For this reason it’s forbidden to keep company with people of iniquity and sin because there’s blood, lust and negligence within us and within them, except for someone God has shown mercy-and such persons are few.35 But God the Sublime knows best!’

[8]

I heard al-Dabbagh-God be pleased with him-describe Hell- God protect us from it! And he said things in his description of it that [minds] can’t sustain so that one of our brethren [in God] who were present said: ‘Dh Sayyidi, if people had knowledge of Hell, it would hold them back from food and drink, not to mention other things.’

Then he said-God be pleased with him: ‘Those who believe in God and in His apostles are all familiar with Hell. If one of them recollects Hell with his tongue, that recollection passes through his heart just as it passed over his tongue. If he hears it mentioned, that hearing passes through his heart just as it passed through his ear. His exterior and interior are on the same level regarding his belief in Hell. It’s present in his interior the same way it’s present in his exterior. But what counts is to make that presence last. Whoever does make it last, God will show him mercy. His negligence will disappear and his violations will be few. But whoever doesn’t make it last, the opposite of this will happen to him.’

I said to him: ‘What causes this presence not to last?’

He replied: ‘The blood that’s in the body and its vapor. This is what causes it. Now when the bondsman recollects Hell or hears it mentioned, if the recollection descends into his heart-as described-then the blood and its vapor depart.’

I said: ‘That’s why the face of someone who’s frightened turns pale. Then if the blood flees, its effect, which is forgetfulness, becomes suspended. If recollection-which is the cause of the blood’s flight-stops, the blood comes back to its channels and forgetfulness overwhelms the body. If the bondsman returns to recollection, the blood calms (471) down and forgetfulness disappears. But if he neglects recollection, the blood comes back to its place and forgetfulness takes possession of the bondsman until he returns to recollection and forgetfulness disappears. This then repeats itself again. And so it continues except with a person whom God has shown mercy.

People differ, however, with respect to the length of time between their returning to recollection and their neglecting it. Some return after an hour, others return after two hours. And there are those who return after one day and others who return after two days.

So consider, oh my brother, which category you belong to! “My success is only through God. In Him I put my trust and to Him I return in repentance” (11/8).’

[9]

Then I said: ‘Why does forgetfulness disappear from the body if it hears “recollection (dhikr)” and the blood flees from it, whereas if it doesn’t hear it, the opposite is the case?’

He replied: ‘Because if it hears recollection, wakefulness and awareness come over it and it’s like someone who regains consciousness and his actions take place the appropriate way. But if hearing leaves the body, it returns to its sleep which is forgetfulness.

In this case it’s like a sleeping person who fell asleep agreeably and with pleasure. If he’s spoken to and addressed, he answers the one speaking to him with reluctance and difficulty. As soon as the voice calling him ceases, he falls asleep again because sleep dominates him and precedes the call to his body. And so it is with forgetfulness.

It has precedence with the body and dominates it. But God the Sublime knows best!’

[10]

And I asked him-God be pleased with him-about unveiling (kashf) and vision by means of it, as well as the cause of the fault that arises from it.

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘Unveiling, good fortune and other things like these are all caused by the heart being cut off from God-He is mighty and glorious-and the interior’s desolation without His sway-He is exalted! If the bondsman introduces his Lord into his heart and realizes that God the Sublime does what He pleases (472) and commands what He wishes and that there’s no one who arranges matters but He and He has no partner in His dominion-He is mighty and glorious-and that God the Sublime is kind to His bondsmen giving them more than they desire and showing them mercy beyond what they imagine-in this case then the bondsman is content with his Lord as guardian and takes Him as a guide in all his affairs, relying on Him entirely and being devoted to Him in his innermost heart. He places his keys and all his reins in God’s hands and depends only on Him in all his affairs. Now he beholds good things his Lord and Master has done in him, things no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and that have never occurred in a human being’s heart. This is a matter of someone whose heart is filled with God-He is mighty and glorious!

As for someone whose heart is empty of his Lord-He is exalted-forgetfulness overwhelms him, he beholds nothing but his own body, and he only sees actions as issuing from himself. This is the person who engages in what was described earlier. He wishes to know about the Unseen in order to obtain more of the things that are good according to his darkened vision and unveiled sight. In this case, his Lord-He is exalted-gives him over to himself and brings about his destruction through his own arranging of matters (tadbfr).

He afflicts him with heavy losses and calamities, disappointment and failure to reach the goal-which is what one observes among those endowed with this skill. We beseech God for protection-through His grace and His generosity!

And this is actually little when it comes to someone who turned away from his Lord and wasn’t content with what came forth as his
lot (qisma).’

And he said: ‘Something very strange happened to one of the Christian monks. He was their leader and their overseer in the church. It was his practice when he left the church not to turn and present his back to the cross before he was outside the church.

Matters continued like this until one time his son went on a voyage while the sea was in a state of agitation and upheaval. For his son’s sake he was filled with fear beyond description. He was on the look- out and awaited news about him until he was informed that his son had returned safely. Overcome with joy, he omitted his usual practice when he left the church. He turned his back to the cross and went outside. Once he greeted his son, he remembered what he did regarding the cross and immediately went back. He told the monks: “Whip me a thousand times with the lash!” They asked: “Why?” He replied: “Because this day 1 turned my back to the cross.” They took his turning his back [to the cross] very seriously and set about whipping him until they completed the [full] number. He was spared none of the ordeal. At this point the people thought that because of the hardship he underwent from the whipping, his attitude toward the cross had altered and he’d renounced his religion. But before they knew it, he took hold (473) of a large knife and severed his feet from his ankles, saying: “This is the reward for someone who turns away
from his lord (sayyid).'”

AI-Dabbagh said-God be pleased with him: ‘Now if this occurred on the part of a group engaged in error and falsehood, what should the state of someone be like who follows the truth and worships God the Sublime?’ He said: ‘But God-He is blessed and exalted-had already decided in His pre-eternal knowledge and His pre-eternal will to create groups whom He made into people of His mercy, and others whom He made into people of His vengeance. And He makes whatever they do and refrain from doing comply with what’s been preordained.

As for the people of mercy, He’s attached their hearts to Him and directed their striving toward Him-He is exalted! Whatever they do and refrain from doing accords with this. Their ritual prayers are for Him, their fasting is for Him, their rising is for Him and their sitting is for Him, their wakefulness is for Him and their love is for Him.

And He continues to move them to do what pleases Him-He is exalted-until they reach Him and attain His mercy, and they receive the mercy that was preordained for them.

As for the people of His vengeance, He’s attached their hearts to what’s other than Himself and directed their concern to something more fragile than the spider’s thread-like the previously mentioned things. Whatever they do and refrain from doing accords with this.

Thus their rising is for something other than Him-He is exalted- so as not to become attached to Him-He is sublime! And their sitting is like this and their wakefulness is like this. All their effort is for something other than Him-He is exalted-until the previous threat is carried out and they attain the punishment that was preordained for them.’

And he told us a story about a godly man who said: ‘I sat alongside two men of advanced age from morning to noon. They were around seventy years old. They spoke about things of the world and there was no mention of God the Sublime on their tongues, nor of the Prophet-God’s blessings and peace be upon him!’ He said: ‘I then rose and renewed my ritual ablutions. Next I sat down alongside two youths who were keeping [a complete] fast or nearly so. And they spoke about God the Sublime’s unicity and the attributes He possesses. I heard things from them that [the mind] can’t sustain. I was amazed by their state and by the state of the two elderly shaykhs. “This is the preordaining of the All-powerful, the All- knowing” (36/38).’

Then he recounted a story for us-God be pleased with him-by way of confirming that if God the Sublime attaches a bondsman’s heart to something other than Himself-(474) He is exalted-He has immense forbearance toward him and assists him with what’s an infatuation for him so that he’s even seen to give information about the invisible realm and other such things. It’s a story that fills the heart with dread. It goes as follows: ‘There was a Friend of God whom God dispossessed. The light of truth was cut off from his heart. Before being dispossessed he displayed the thaumaturgic gifts of the Friends but after being dispossessed he exhibited a capacity in matters to do with medicine which caused him amazement-as an infatuation for him-and made him think that after being dispossessed he was doing something important. Everywhere people heard about him and they came to visit him in groups with great sums of money which he gathered together. He went on in this way for a period of nearly thirteen years and amassed seventy thousand dinars. He then died without leaving an heir and the exchequer (bayt aI-mal) inherited from him. The final outcome of his affair was loss. We beseech God for protection and well-being! But God the Sublime knows best!’

[11]

And I asked him-God be pleased with him-about the Friend of God’s awareness of major ritual impurity when it exists in a person who hasn’t purified himself with ritual ablutions.

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘Major ritual impurity in the view of the Friends of God is of many kinds and ritual ablutions are obligatory for anyone of them. The causes of impurity in the view of the Friends are multiple, whereas in the view of the religious scholars there’s a sole cause. Thus according to the Friends, ritual ablutions are obligatory with regard to all those causes, whereas according to the religious scholars they’re only obligatory because of a sole cause.’

Then I asked him about this matter for which there’s only one cause according to the religious scholars but multiple causes according to the Friends of God.

He replied: ‘It’s the body’s being cut off from God the Sublime in its vision, turning all of its eyes away from Him-He is exalted! Its veins become filled with joy and delight for something other than Him-He is exalted-and thought is enclosed in this “other”, as are all the body’s limbs and substances, in such a way that in this situation “the other” cuts it off from God-He is blessed and exalted! If the body then experiences this complete separation, the angels and the guardians take flight from it and consider the bondsman’s being cut off from his Lord-He is exalted-as something very grave. And in the view of the Sufis every decisive (cutting) cause that results in the body’s being cut off must be cleansed by major ritual ablutions. On the other hand, in the view of the religious scholars major ritual ablutions are only obligatory after sexual intercourse or what amounts to the same.’

He said: ‘The secret behind major ritual ablutions is purifying the body of this form of being cut off, considering it, i.e. being cut off, on the level of tangible uncleanliness. When the bondsman begins the ritual ablutions, the angels begin to return. Now the cause of the Friend of God’s awareness of major ritual impurity is that he sees the angels taking flight from the cut-off body. For he knows that the cause of this flight is the state of being cut off which results from major ritual impurity.’ (475) And I said: ‘If someone contemplates God the Sublime at the time of sexual intercourse does it mean-according to this explanation-that he isn’t obliged to perform a major ritual ablution?’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘This would be a rare exception, and there’s no rule for what’s rare. But God the Sublime knows best!’ And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘The Friend of God is capable of speaking to a person in his ear and before he gets up to go, that person and the Friend of God are on the same level regarding divine knowledge without any difference between them.

That means that the perfect Friend of God is capable of making the bondsman reach God the Sublime during this instant.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘But the whole matter depends on the adhesive that the secret sticks to. For if there’s no adhesive in the body, the secret will return to its origin. It’s like someone who dresses the air in a shirt, trousers and a turban. They won’t remain fixed in the air.’

I wanted to question him about the adhesive but it wasn’t possible on that occasion.

We separated toward evening and I went to sleep. But then I beheld him in a dream and I asked him about it. He replied to me: ‘It’s death of the carnal soul (the self).’ When I met with him in a waking state, I informed him of the answer in the dream. He said- God be pleased with him: ‘The answer is true.’

Then I asked: ‘What does death of the carnal soul mean?’

He replied one time: ‘It means all the bondsman’s actions are purely for God. If works are for the sake of something other than God, it’s a sign that the carnal soul is alive. Another indication is that if the bondsman experiences doubt from his carnal soul, this is a sign that the carnal soul is alive. The extent of the doubt depends on the amount of the carnal soul’s life. Whoever has no doubt has no carnal soul, whereas whoever has doubt has a living carnal soul. And whoever has a living carnal soul, his works aren’t for God the Sublime. Instead, he strives for the sake of his carnal soul and plans on its behalf.’

Then I asked: ‘What’s the antidote which, if applied to the carnal soul, will cause it to die and to dissolve the way salt dissolves in water? Tell us so we may apply the antidote to the carnal soul and be delivered from it.’
He replied: ‘There’s nothing except that the great mountain descend on it.’

I asked: ‘What’s the great mountain?’

He replied: ‘Knowledge of God the Sublime and beholding Him. If (476) the bondsman’s heart is filled with this, and he knows he’s seen and heard by his Lord-He is exalted-and that he doesn’t set about doing anything unless God moves him to do so-He is exalted-and that it’s God Who confers on him whatever blessings He wishes-He is exalted-and that his destiny is to come before his Lord in the hereafter and He’ll have him enter whichever house He wishes-if he thinks about this, he’ll surely realize that he’s unable to benefit himself or anyone else in this world or in the world to come unless his Lord bestows benefit upon him. It’s at this moment that he desires nothing but God, and his carnal soul dies. God give us success with the causes of its death-through His grace and His generosity! ‘

[12]

And I asked him-God be pleased with him-about the game called checkers (al-flama))6 We’d just passed some people playing the game and so I asked him for a judgement about playing checkers. He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘It’s forbidden.’

I asked: ‘Why is that?’

He replied: ‘All forbidden things are forbidden for one reason only which is because of what they contain that cuts one off from God the Sublime. Everything which cuts the bondsman off from God the Sublime and which the Lawgiver (Mu1)ammad) saw no purpose in, God forbids.’

He said: ‘And this game has only one use, namely to distract from God the Sublime. Indeed, you see that those who play it become absorbed in it heart and soul so that at that moment all the eyes of their bodies are obstructed from God the Sublime.’

I said: ‘The same is true of learning to shoot, horse riding and other such instruments of war. They entail being cut off from God the Sublime when one is engaged in them.’

But he replied: ‘These aren’t like the game just mentioned. Indeed, the Lawgiver saw no purpose in it and it doesn’t bring the bondsman any benefit to his body, by contrast to shooting, horse riding and other such instruments of war. Learning the latter is part of preparing one’s strength as commanded in God the Sublime’s words: “And prepare for them whatever strength and strings of horses you can” (8/60). And everything desired by the Lawgiver or suitable for him to desire doesn’t cut one off from God the Sublime.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘That’s why they disagree about chess. Some permit it in view of what it contains with regard to learning the nature of war and in view of other things it contains.

So it’s suitable to be desired by the Lawgiver. But some reject it, considering that the Lawgiver’s desire with regard to learning the nature of war and other things isn’t especially based on this method, but is achieved in another way which is clearer and easier than this.

That’s why chess is “lighter” than checkers. But God the Sublime knows best!’

[13]

(477) And I heard him relate-God be pleased with him-from one of the godly men that what causes repentance to become established in the bondsman’s body and to spread its branches and firmly plant its roots there and reach the utmost degree, is [the bondsman’s] love of all believers without distinction, just as he hates all infidels without distinction. He said: ‘If this love is in the bondsman, repentance will descend upon him from God. Even if he disliked it and wished to reject it, it would still descend without any doubt. The reason for this is that the bondsman only distinguishes in his love of the believers, so as to feel love for one but not another, because of the spiteful scheming in his heart that arises from envy or pride or suchlike. Thus his interior thoughts are wicked. Sincere repentance, however, will only descend on good soil and good interior thoughts. If he loves everyone of the believers, all machinations will disappear from his heart and repentance will descend on him.’

And one time he said: ‘Such a person has no need of repentance.

This general love is sufficient to eradicate all sins. It removes from the heart all the machinations that cause sins.’
He said: ‘One of the greatest of these machinations is envy but it can definitely not continue with this love. In fact, we say envy is the greatest of machinations because all sins and machinations branch out from it. Envy is the cause of them all. You only hate someone for having more wealth than you or more children and such things because of your envy of him. Similarly, you’re only overbearing toward him when you have more wealth and children than him and are more powerful in retainers, because you want to stop him from attaining your rank. This arises from the pride that makes you overbearing toward him. And this is simply because you don’t want him to possess that rank. Here is envy in its very essence. Such is the view that attributes all sins to envy.’

I, al-Lama!i, would note that the calamity of envy was mentioned earlier37 and that it’s one of the doors of darkness. There we referred to the present words. God the Sublime protect us from the evil of our carnal souls (selves) and from the evil of every person endowed with evil!

Then I asked the Shaykh-God be pleased with him: ‘If this man loves all the believers without distinction, where is love in God and hate in God, “both of which are one of the branches of the faith?

Indeed, the sinner deserves to be hated in God. For if we loved him in God, we’d be contravening what his disobedience requires.’ (478) He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘With regard to the sinner, one must direct one’s hate against his actions, not against his believing body, his pure heart and his constant faith. The things which impose love of him are “necessary”, whereas the sins which impose hate for him are “accidental and contingent”. Love of him resides in our hearts and hate for him is directed toward accidental things. Thus we may represent his sins before our eyes and in our thoughts as stones tied to his clothes on the outside of his body. We love his person but we hate the stones tied to his clothes. This is the amount which the Lawgiver ordered with regard to hating the sinner and not more than this. Most people don’t distinguish between hating the actions outside the body and hating the body. They want to hate the actions but don’t know how to hate them, and so they fall into hating the body. But we’ve [only] been ordered to hate the body in the case of the infidel. So we hate their bodies and everything that issues from them.

As for the believer who sins, we haven’t been ordered to hate him with a hate that extinguishes love of his body and love of his faith in God the Sublime and love of his faith in God’s Apostle-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-and love of his faith in all the apostles and love of his faith in all the prophets-peace be upon them-and love of his faith in all the celestial books and love of his faith in the Final Day and everything it contains of gathering and resurrection, Paradise and Hell, the bridge across Hell and the scales, and love of his faith in all the angels-blessings and peace be upon them-and love of his faith in divine foreordaining of his good and his evil. So in this way we love him for every praiseworthy characteristic in him. If our love of him has occurred in advance because of these praiseworthy qualities, it isn’t possible that hate for him will ever enter our hearts. Rather we hate his actions and we invoke blessings upon him, especially if we’ve looked at him with the eye of reality.

If they want to hate the sinner, most people firstly tum to him in hate-before anything else-and they ignore the qualities which cause love of him. They don’t visualize these in their minds and so hate settles in their hearts. This hate spreads to his body and the body becomes something hateful in their view. Now this isn’t permissible and allowed. But God the Sublime knows best!’

And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘Anyone who distinguishes himself from people through his mount and his clothes, his house and his food, is shameless.’

I asked: ‘What’s the cause of his shamelessness?’

He replied: ‘He occupies people’s hearts with paying attention to him and cuts them off from God the Sublime. Thus his distinguishing himself from them is a cause of their being cut off. ‘ (479) I said: ‘But the veiled who pay attention to this person are [already] cut off, and their paying attention to him does them no harm.’

He replied: ‘It increases their alienation more and more.’

He said: ‘Likewise, the spirit flees from the body engaged in this kind of distinction because such distinction causes abasement and wretchedness to come over the spirit. Thus the spirit abhors the body’s action and flees from it. It doesn’t direct the body and guide it to what’s proper for it with its creator. And this is the cause of the body’s destruction.’

I said: ‘Thus distinction entails two evils, an evil for the person himself and an evil for others.’

At that point one of those present-and he was a generous, liberal and openhanded person-said: ‘Oh Sayyidi, what’s your view-does love of giving alms, if it establishes someone in this form of distinction, cause him harm or not?’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘It doesn’t harm him, but he must conceal his almsgiving as much as he can.’

[14]

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘I know a man who, between the prayers of sunset and the evening prayers, bestowed alms amounting to twenty-five mithqiils upon countlessfuqarii:J, and none of them knew him.’

And the questioner asked: ‘Oh Sayyidi, if he conceals it, does his carnal soul still go on yearning for it and find delight in it?’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘Even if his yearning for it is such that he delights in it and the sight of it is great in his eye so that his carnal soul becomes conceited due to it, this shouldn’t hinder action and almsgiving because it may happen that the carnal soul of the person bestowing alms forgets this viewpoint, and the alms come forth unimpaired and God the Sublime accepts them.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘God lengthen our lives so that we come to live sixty and seventy years for the sake of this benefit, namely that we may attain acceptance [for our alms] one particular moment during a long life, because the carnal soul and lust dominate us so that our action and our work are scarcely ever pure and unadulterated. ‘

He said: ‘But this defect shouldn’t hinder action. However, if the carnal soul’s yearning for it is in the manner of hypocrisy based on it and the almsgiver does it for the sake of the people, this is a defect that hinders the action and makes it into a sin-even if its form in the eyes of the people has the form of obedience.’ (480) I, al-Lamati, would add that al-Dabbagh-God be pleased with him-indicated what the eminent authorities (imams) have said-God be pleased with them-that fear of conceit shouldn’t hinder action. Hypocrisy, on the other hand, is a hindrance. God be pleased with them and with this Shaykh-how broad is the scope of his knowledge! I’m greatly amazed at this, and what increases my amazement even further is the fact that he’s an ordinary person without a religious education (ummi), yet from him emerge these forms of knowledge that can’t be sustained or enumerated. Nor does he have need to reflect at all before he utters them. How sublime is He Who provides him with these religious sciences and insights concerning the Lord!

Then the questioner repeated his question to him, saying: ‘Oh Sayyidi, inform us how our work involving almsgiving and other things may be purely for the sake of God the Sublime.’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘Every work you do for the purpose of rewards and good deeds is done for the sake of something other than God the Sublime. Of necessity, doubt will arise concerning it. You’ll say to yourself (your carnal soul), if you bestow alms for the purpose mentioned: “Maybe the person being given the alms doesn’t deserve them. And if he does deserve them, maybe there’s someone worthier and more entitled to them than he is, and closer to God the Sublime when it comes to acceptance of the alms, but this person has escaped my notice.” Your doubt will finally reach the point where you say: “Has God accepted the alms from me or not?” Whatever work doubt enters into contains no portion for God the Sublime because doubt comes from Satan, and Satan can’t approach work that’s for the sake of God-He is sublime and exalted!’

And the questioner asked: ‘Oh Sayyidi, if I’ve given alms not for rewards and good deeds but in order to draw close to God the Sublime, is this a cause of harm or not?’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘Yes, it causes harm. The intention of drawing close is one of the defects, and work done for its sake comes forth for the sake of a particular interest.’

He said: ‘The meaning of work purely for the sake of God-in the view of those who perform such work-is that they know their Lord’s characteristics of magnificence, perfection, glory and awesomeness, as well as the favors they owe to Him that can’t be reckoned and counted. They consider that He’s worthy that they submit to Him, and that He’s deserving that they humble themselves before Him. No thought of any allotment of their carnal soul ever occurs to them, let alone that their work would be for the sake of such an allotment. Rather they consider that if they were to worship their Lord forever and obey Him everlastingly by means of the most difficult worship conceivable and the most burdensome imposition one can impose along with a lengthening of lifetimes and persistence in it as long as the ages went on-(481) they couldn’t accomplish anything with regard to our Master’s rightful claim-He is sublime-which is a duty upon the servant. Indeed, it’s imagined that the bondsman would do works for the allotments of his carnal soul if he were to finish fulfilling the rights of his Master. If he’s never been able to acquit himself in full regarding a single one of them, how does he hope to acquit himself in full of all of them? Or how does he hope to become free to do works for the allotments of his carnal soul?’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘When the people of Paradise enter Paradise and knowledge of their Creator is increased-He is sublime-they all feel remorse for their shortcomings toward God.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘If you reflect on what we’ve said, you’ll realize that work for rewards cuts one off from God the Sublime and from fulfilling His rightful claims. That’s why the one who does such work only increases his distance from God-He is mighty and glorious!’

He said: ‘And if you worship God the Sublime because He’s deserving of it, it will never be possible for doubt to enter your worship.’

I asked: ‘Oh Sayyidi, if the giver of alms, when bestowing the alms, sees that the wealth is God’s, not his, and that his body is God’s, not his, and that the miserable body of the one receiving the alms is God’s, and he sees that everything is God’s, and his alms come forth with this intention and he sees nothing at all as belonging to himself-then how is the almsgiving of someone of this description?’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘The best that there is!

We’ve spoken to you previously about the [divine] wisdom of the Prophet’s mission having been postponed-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-until he’d reached the age of forty. ‘

I, al-Lamati, would add that perhaps we’ll mention this in what follows-if God is willing!38 Then he recounted for us a story which involved himself and a man who was a fool. The gist of it is that he said-God be pleased with him: ‘I was acquainted with a person who was a fool and he was one of the godly men. During the cold season he had no garment to protect him from the cold. I was worried about his situation. I felt much compassion and pity for him.’ He said: ‘Sometimes one of the people would bestow on him as alms a garment to protect him from the cold. Then someone who knows no fear (481) of God-He is mighty and glorious-would come and remove it from him and go off.’

He said: ‘I came to him with a garment to protect him from the cold. He was spending nights in one of the mills where they ground [grain]. I came to this place and I found him there. I spoke to him and he responded to me. I said: “I’ve brought you a garment to put on.” He replied: “I won’t accept it and I won’t put it on.” I’d offered it to him as alms with the intention that God would fulfill such-and- such a wish for me. No one knew of this but God-He is sublime!

When I heard his refusal, I repeated what I said to him and reiterated it several times. At that he said: “I won’t wear a garment that’s been given for such-and-such a wish”-and he mentioned the wish itself. “I wear what’s purely for the sake of God!” I then went off and left the garment in his vicinity. I entrusted it to the people of the mill, telling them to dress him in it. But the garment remained there for days and he never wore it. Now if he was a human being and refused to accept what was for something other than God, how is it with the Creator-He is exalted-? But God the Sublime knows best!’

And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘There was a certain devoted worshipper (Ciibid) who’d received illumination through worship and he was ill with the malady dropsy. He felt [the arrival] of death and he was conscious, since most people suffering from the malady of dropsy remain conscious. When he beheld the agony of death and knew nothing like it had ever come over him in his life, this stirred in him a fear of God the Sublime and his heart filled with dread of meeting Him-He is mighty and glorious! The great amount of worship he’d previously performed entered his thought and he experienced joy in it and his heart became warm because of it. This he set over against that fear and it caused a sense of security and well-being in his heart. But when God realized he was relying on his worship, God dispossessed him-He is mighty and glorious-and he died dispossessed. God protect us from this!’

He said: ‘And how many devoted worshippers like him are in Hell, worshippers God sent to Hell because they relied on their works!’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘Without any doubt someone would only rely on his worship if he’d undertaken it for the sake of reward and the carnal soul’s allotment, whereas if it had been purely for God, it would be of use to them on this awesome day.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘On the other hand, the worship of the knowers of God the Sublime is for the sake of His noble being and His elevated Essence (dhlit). They perform it by way of showing honor and esteem, and indicating awe and reverence, and they realize that even if they worshipped during their whole life and struck their foreheads against solid rocks, continuously and forever, they wouldn’t fulfill any of the rightful claims of divine lordliness.

So how should they demand rewards for themselves. Only someone who thinks he’s fulfilled the claim and undertaken his duty would demand the reward. But they consider themselves to have fallen short-God be pleased with them-and not to have accomplished anything at all for God’s sake. Of course they observe the action which emerges from them but this is from Him-He is exalted-not from them. So how would they demand the reward for what someone other than themselves has done?’

(483) I said: ‘And what was this worshipper dispossessed of? As for divine knowledge, he didn’t have any. Had he actually had some, he wouldn’t have relied on his work. Thus he was either dispossessed of the faith or his good deeds.’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘He was dispossessed of the good deeds he’d done. Indeed, considering them and relying on them removed from him all the mercies that result from them, and one and all the good deeds turned into acts of disobedience and sins, for which he’ll be punished in Hell.’

I said: ‘Isn’t it enough as punishment that they become nullified by his considering them-without their turning into sins?’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘Considering them is what actually turns them into sins. Should you see a lance heading for you and know it will surely enter your side, if you want to protect yourself from it with a shield, you only protect yourself with it if you’re convinced and certain that the shield is stronger than the blow of the lance and will ward it off and ward off other things. If you knew the shield wouldn’t ward off the lance, you wouldn’t protect yourself with it. You’d seek refuge with the one brandishing the lance and enter his protection, hoping to please him so he might have mercy on you and tum his lance away from you.’

He said: ‘It’s the same with this worshipper. The only reason he set his worship over against that fear and his heart grew calm and a sense of security and well-being entered into him, was because he saw his worship as more powerful than God’s rightful claim on him, and more effective and productive, so that his worship would ward it off and ward off other things as well. Now this is the height of error.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘Moreover, all religious observances, all acts of devotion and the totality of religious prescriptions, were instituted by God in order that the word tawhid (God’s oneness) be established and that knowledge of their Lord occur in the hearts of mankind. For if this divine knowledge is attained, the goal is attained. If it isn’t attained, intercession with failure to attain the goal is of no consequence.’

He said: ‘Sins are forbidden because they entail the bondsman being cut off from God-He is mighty and glorious! So if acts of devotion cause the bondsman to be cut off, they’re sins without any doubt. But God the Sublime knows best!’

———-

(484) And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘Among the lords of the Makhzan and people of tyranny there’s the [occasional] believer whose heart is attached to his Lord-He is exalted-as well as the person who’s cut off from God-He is mighty and glorious!

The sign of this is constriction (inqibad) and expansiveness (inbisat).

The person among them who’s constricted [emotionally] and upset knows that he’s violating his Lord’s command and obeying someone other than Him, and he’s disturbed in his mind and perplexed. This then is the first of them. Moreover, he’s among those who are saved in the hereafter-after the reckoning and the punishment, the blame and the reproach. Nevertheless, God the Sublime pardons him. As for the second one, he finds disobedience and oppressing the worshippers sweet, the way the dung beetle finds that filth and eating garbage is sweet.’

I, al-Lamati, would add that it was previously stated39 that he’s among those who’ll be the most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection.

He spoke these words to a man who asked his advice about associating with the Makhzan. The man feared for his life if he didn’t associate with them. Al-Dabbagh directed him to do good [while in the Makhzan] and entrusted him with looking after the poor. He spoke the above words to him and added something further, saying: ‘The believer is like a bird that lands on filthy ground-he then constricts himself and draws in his wings-and on clean ground-and he then feels expansive and opens out his wings-and goes on seeking [for food].’

And he said to him: ‘The people cut off from God-God protect us from this-if they extort dirhems and put them in their pockets, upon these dirhems is a name from among God the Sublime’s names. If someone who’s attached to God the Sublime comes and acquires these dirhems with deceit, whether by a request or some other way, so as to take them from this cut-off person, he rescues angels dear to God the Sublime-He is mighty and glorious! This is so because upon every letter from among God the Sublime’s names there’s an angel. And upon every name among God the Sublime’s names there’s an angel who has the strength of seventy angels. As long as the dirhems that contain the names are with the person cut off from God, everyone of those angels is like a bird that’s been caught, bound and had its head brought out from under its wing.4o If a person attached to God comes and takes it with some form of deceit, the angel experiences joy and delight, and his dejection due to the dislike angels feel-blessings and peace be upon them-for people cut off from God disappears. But God the Sublime knows best!’

(485) And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘The weak bondsman is caught and his destruction (tadmfr) lies in his planning (tadbfr) since he isolates his body from God the Sublime. He looks after the body’s affair by planning and concern for it, spending his effort to fulfill its wishes. And while he does all this, he’s forgetful of God the Sublime. God the Sublime then consigns him to his carnal soul (self) and causes him to perceive other things than Himself, just as he’s devoted to other things than God. You see him experience pain from cold and heat, and wounds and other kinds of injuries inflict harm on him. Had he not isolated his carnal soul (self) from his Lord-He is mighty and glorious-but placed the soul’s reins in his Creator’s hands, sundered his sight from other than God and obliterated from his heart all that’s other than Him, he’d have experienced no kind of pain, even if he walked on thorns of iron and [sharp] roasting spits.’ But because of his forgetfulness of God-He is exalted-the burden upon the bondsman became great and religious duties were placed upon him. The apostles were sent with legal prescriptions in order to lead him back from forgetfulness to God-He is exalted! Were it not for forgetfulness of God the Sublime, human beings would be like the angels. They wouldn’t be obliged to support these burdensome religious duties. Were it not for forgetfulness of God the Sublime, Hell wouldn’t exist at all. And were it not for forgetfulness of God the Sublime, the bondsman would see that his actions are created by his Lord-He is exalted!

Then he wouldn’t have a carnal soul that he sees, much less attribute anything to it. Indeed, if he were like this, he’d be permanently extinguished (jlint). And how would someone such as this have religious duties placed upon him? But God the Sublime knows best!’

And I heard him say-God be pleased with him: ‘The most stupid of people is a person who’s attached to something that departs, i.e. something that passes away, namely the world and whatever is connected with it. And the most intelligent of people is a person who’s attached to what remains, namely God-He is exalted!

Indeed, if the transient is caught up in what’s transient, neither benefits the other. But if the transient is caught up in the eternal, what’s transient becomes eternal.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘The people say no remedy for death exists. Yet a remedy for it does exist. The remedy is what we mentioned. Nor is there any remedy other than what we mentioned.’

Then he swore an oath in the name of God. He expressed his oath with emphasis and repeated it several times. And he said: ‘If the bondsman attaches value to God-He is exalted-with extraordinary attachment, outwardly and inwardly, then he won’t pass away and he won’t die the death that people are familiar with.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘When most of the members of the Diwan die, it’s they who ritually wash themselves. On the bier you see a corpse as well as a corpsewasher, and the two are one. But God the Sublime knows best!’

[15]

(486) Let’s end this chapter with a wondrous story that I heard from al-Dabbagh-God be pleased with him! One day I was speaking with him and I mentioned the veneration people have for the worshippers (Cubblid) isolated in caves and on islands in the sea.

I praised them at length and said: ‘They’ve devoted themselves to worshipping God-He is exalted-and divested themselves of everything other than Him.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘I’ll tell you a story. Now listen to it! And God is my sufficiency and my interrogator if I’ve added anything in it.’

I said: ‘God protect us from such an idea entering our imaginations or occurring in our thoughts.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘One day I was in the Mu~alla (outdoor place of prayer) by the Bab al-FutuQ with Sayyidi Man~ur, i.e. the Pivot. It occurred to us to go to an island in the Great Ocean that washes against the city of Sala. So we went there. And behold, it’s an island a mile long and it contains two sweet-water springs.

There we found a man worshipping God the Sublime and he was about forty years old. On the island there were rooms cut into stone and in the middle of them were cubicles like the small rooms inside a bathhouse. I don’t know who hollowed them out because the place is very far from any inhabited area. No one comes here except perhaps ships on occasion.

There’s a kind of tree on the island whose fruit resembles the almond but it’s different as well. And there’s another kind of tree that resembles the tighiiz-tree41 which is known among us, except that it’s shorter. It has broad leaves that are always green. I looked at the man and behold, his food was the fruit of the tree that resembles the almond-tree, and the green leaves of the other tree resembling the tighiiz. This was his food all the time. We looked at his clothing and behold, he used branches from the tree resembling the tighiiz-and these were delicate branches he plaited together to make something like a girdle. He girded himself with it and so covered his private parts. The rest of him wasn’t covered.

We spoke to him and asked him: “How long have you been in this place?” He replied: “I’ve been here about forty years.” We said: “You seem to be no more than forty years old. When did you come here?” “I came here with my father when I was about five years old”, he replied. “I was just a small boy. I remained with my father for about twenty-five years until (487) he died. Then I buried him here.”

We said to him: “Show us his grave so we may visit it.” He showed us his [father’s] grave and we invoked God on his behalf.

Then we began to talk [further] with the man. We found his tongue was very heavy because of not having associated much with people when he was small. We found he spoke Arabic because he belonged to a tribe from the vicinity of Tunis and they speak Arabic. We questioned him about the faith and found that he knew of God but he believed He was in a place (al-jiha). We forbade him to do this and explained to him what’s correct. And we found that he knew of the Apostle-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-and that he’s the chief of the first and the last [of mankind]. Likewise, he knew Abu Bakr-God be pleased with him-and he knew Fa~ima, the daughter of the Prophet-blessings and peace be upon him! We asked him about her son, our lord I:Iasan, but we found that he didn’t know of him. And we asked him about the month of Ramadan but we found he didn’t know of it. He mentioned that he fasts for thirty days but the days are spread out over the year. So we explained to him the obligation to fast during RamaQan. And we specified for him its time in the year. Then we asked him what he knew by heart of the Qur~an.

But we found that the only thing he knew by heart was: “Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, the Compassionate, the Merciful-those on whom You’ve bestowed favors!” Thus he knew this much by heart but in distorted form.

And we asked: “What does your worship consist of?” He replied: “Bowing and prostration before God-He is mighty and glorious!”
We then asked him: “Do you sleep?” He said: “I sleep from when the sun starts to sink at sunset until it becomes completely dark. All the rest of the time consists of bowing and prostration.”

Then I asked: “Would you like to go to the land of Islam and live with its people, since you follow their religion and believe in their Prophet-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-?”

He replied: “Yes, I’m a Muslim among other Muslims but I won’t leave this place until I die.” And while we were speaking to him and drawing closer to him during the conversation, he was shying away because of his lack of familiarity with people.’

AI-Dabbagh said: ‘And he couldn’t support eating our food. His body couldn’t support it since he’d been accustomed to something different for so long.’

And he said: ‘We looked at him and behold, he had with him about one-eighth of a mudd42 of riyals [silver coins] and among them several mithqals of gold. We asked him: “Where did you get this from?”

He replied: “Ship captains sometimes come to the island. They see me and they give me some riyals and dinars by way of paying their respects and for blessings. And they make a request of me. I invoke God on their behalf and they depart.”

We said to him: “Give us these dinars and riyals. You have no need of them since you’re not going to spend them to build a house or arrange a marriage or clothe yourself. They’re of no use to you.

We’ll take them, (488) for we can make use of them.” But he refused. He said: “I won’t give you my money.'”

AI-Dabbagh said: ‘We stayed with him a long while for the purpose of teaching him the legal prescriptions of Islam. Then we bade him farewell and departed. When he saw us walk on the surface of the water with our feet and that the water didn’t reach us and we didn’t sink, he began invoking God’s protection against us and he thought we were demons.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘And he’s still alive on his island even now which is the 2nd of Dhu’I-l:Iijja, the last month of the year 1129/6 November 1717.’43 I, al-Lamati, would add that there are lessons contained in this story: The first lesson is recognition of the bounty we receive through association with the believers. For this is what leads us to knowledge of the legal prescriptions of Islam and the Prophet’s affairs-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-and to knowledge of his and his Companions’ way of life-God be pleased with them-as well as what his era and the era of his Companions was like and other such matters that increase one’s faith. Indeed, since this man lacked association with the people of Islam, he lacked knowledge of these matters, so that I said to our Shaykh-God be pleased with him: ‘His father did him harm by bringing him to this island and cutting him off from the people of Islam. Had he left him with them, it would have been better and more felicitous for him.’

He replied to me: ‘You’re right. Here the value of the believers is made known. Even if they were sinners, there’s nothing that can match their knowledge of religion and the legal prescriptions of Islam. Praise be to God for association with the people of Islam and for being in crowds with them in markets and other such places, but especially for being in crowds with them in places of goodness.

That’s why the shaykh, our lord CAbd aI-Qadir al-Jilani says-God be pleased with him: “Verily, looking at the faces of the believers increases one’s faith.”’44 The second lesson is recognition of the bounty God has bestowed on us with regard to food and drink, clothing, sleep and comfort, marriage and procreation, and other such things, which blessings this devout worshipper was deprived of. And just as he was deprived of recognition of this bounty, he was also deprived of these blessings.

Had he associated with the people of Islam, he’d have enjoyed these blessings and given God thanks for them. His thanks for them would have been the complete equivalent and replacement of his worship on that island during his lifetime.

The third lesson is how many people are deceived regarding recluses in the deserts and secluded places, and regarding the belief that the latter possess perfection, and that the station they reach isn’t reached by the Friends (489) who are knowers of God submerged among the people.45 And I heard the Shaykh say-God be pleased with him: ‘Sometimes I look at the lights of faith which come forth from bodies in order to be in contact with Barzakh. These lights vary as to their thinness and thickness. Thinness indicates weakness of faith, whereas thickness indicates its strength. Then we look at the worshippers (Cubbad) who are in caves and in deserts, and see that thinness prevails in their lights, except for a few of them. And we look at ordinary people and we see that their lights are better than those recluses, because ordinary people rely on God’s generosity- He is exalted-whereas the worshippers, for the most part, rely on their worship.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘The devout worshipper is only saved from his worship if inwardly he sees it as belonging to his Lord and this persists in his thought. If this is absent from his thought and he begins to see his worship as from himself, then he’s closer to perdition than to safety.’

And when I heard this story from our Shaykh-God be pleased with him-a feeling of shame and humility came over me due to awareness of the blessings that God has bestowed on us, though we’re forgetful of them.

Then I said to the Shaykh-God be pleased with him: ‘Why didn’t you grasp this man by the hand and take him from the island to one of the cities of Islam, so he might be happy and God the Sublime might show him mercy?’

He replied-God be pleased with him: ‘This is his station in which God has stationed him. Sublime is He Who possesses this dominion!’
He said-God be pleased with him: ‘A person who looks at the wonders on the face of the earth finds they’re sufficient for him and he has no need of anything else with regard to his Lord’s oneness (taw/:lid). Indeed, he sees on the face of the earth creatures gathered together, i.e. everyone who’s on the face of the earth, and among them is the intelligent and the unintelligent, a person living a life of ease and someone deprived. One person kills another, one shows mercy to another. One person’s thoughts are preoccupied with the affairs of the world, another with affairs of commerce. One is preoccupied with his neighbors’ affairs, another with the affairs of religious learning and another still with the affairs of the hereafter.’

He said-God be pleased with him: ‘My shaykh Sayyidi cUmar b.

Muhammad al-Hawwari informed me that he was sitting by the Bab al-MaQriiq46 on a Thursday and he began to look at the interiors of those coming out through the gate. A man came out and he looked at his interior. And behold, his interior was wholly preoccupied with concern for So-and-so, his beloved, (490) and how he might win her and how he should act in this regard. This thought dominated him and made him forget anything else. Then another person came out.

He looked at him and behold, his heart was just like the first one except he was attached to a youth. Then a third person came out. He looked at him and behold, his heart was attached to the world.

Thought of the world dominated him such that he’d become unaware of anything else. A fourth person then came out. He looked at him and behold, his interior was attached to love of drinking wine and desire for it. Nothing else was in his thoughts. Then a fifth person came out. He looked at him and behold, his thought was preoccupied with the hereafter and its affairs. This dominated him to the extent that it was visible in him. A sixth person then came out and behold, his heart was filled with love of religious learning and his Qur:>anic recitation. Nothing else occupied his thought. A seventh person came out. He looked at him and behold, his thought was only occupied with the love of riding horses. This dominated him so that it made him oblivious to anything else.

An eighth person came out and behold, his thought was only occupied with love of agriculture and how to pursue it. He thought of nothing else. A ninth person then came out and behold, his thought was filled with love of the lord of existence-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-and this dominated him so that his thought was only occupied with the Prophet’s affairs-God’s blessings and peace be upon him-i.e. how he was before his mission and how he was after it, and then what he was like after revelation had been sent down to him. He was preoccupied with his sojourn in Mecca and with his sojourn in Medina-God’s blessings and peace be upon him! Then a tenth person came out. He looked at him and behold, his heart was filled with love of God-He is mighty and glorious-Lord of the worlds and Creator of everything. The person occupied his thought with God’s awesomeness and His magnificence, and His transcendence and His sanctity, as well as the lofty attributes He possesses-He is sublime!’

The shaykh Sayyidi cUmar said-God be pleased with him: ‘Then I looked at the interior thing that governs them and arises from God the Sublime’s will concerning them. I perceived it inside their interiors like a rope that leads them to what God wishes-He is exalted-though they’re unaware of it. They think action comes from themselves and that the choice has been accorded them.’ He said: ‘This was a great lesson for me and I understood: “There is no god but He” and that God the Sublime has no partner in His sovereignty. He does what He pleases and passes judgement as He wishes. “No one repels His judgement, and He is swift in the reckoning” (13/41). And I understood that mankind is in [a state of] great unawareness and immense veiling.’

I, al-Lamati, would add that this is how the knowers of God think-God be pleased with them!

And I heard the Shaykh say-God be pleased with him: ‘Two men may pass through a particular place (491) and before they’ve gone very far, one of them is forgiven [by God].’

I asked: ‘Why is that?’ He replied: ‘Because he knows how to think about God’s creatures, whereas his companion who’s walking alongside him is absent-minded and heedless.’

———-

Here then-God give you success-is what seemed proper to us to write down of the Shaykh’s words-God be pleased with him-in the present chapter, this being the chapter about how darkness enters the bondsmen and their actions, and how the lights enter them. If this is added to what was dealt with previously concerning the ten degrees of darkness in dream interpretation, namely: 1) the degree of doing something reprehensible through negligence and 2) the degree of doing something forbidden through negligence, 3) the degree of doing something reprehensible on purpose and 4) the degree of doing something forbidden on purpose, 5) the degree of simple ignorance about light matters of religious belief and 6) the degree of compound ignorance about this, 7) the degree of simple ignorance about serious religious doctrine and 8) the degree of compound ignorance about this, 9) the degree of simple ignorance about his lofty eminence (the Prophet)-God’s blessings and peace be upon

him-and 10) the degree of compound ignorance about this-and if the reader understands what we related in that chapter as well as in this chapter, then he’ll acquire great knowledge. God give benefit by means of that knowledge to [all] who come and go, through the blessing (baraka) of the Shaykh-God be pleased with him-amen!

Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds!