In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Experts (ahl al-taḥqīq) have disagreed regarding the name Allāh. Is it derived in meaning [from some other word] or not? Many of them have said it is not derived in meaning and it belongs to Him سبحانه by way of exclusive possession, coined in the same manner as proper names describing others. When the utterance of this [word] reaches the ears^{1The translation follows the word “ears” (asmāʿ) from MS K117, fol. 32a rather than the word “names” (asmāʾ) from the Basyūnī edition.} of the people of deeper knowledge (ahl al-maʿrifa), their different understandings and types of knowledge do not lead to any meaning other than His existence (wujūd) and His reality (ḥaqq). The rightful due (ḥaqq) of this word^{2The word ḥaqq can be translated as “reality,” “truth” or “right.” When al-Qushayrī speaks of the ḥaqq of the name Allāh he is speaking both of its reality and what is due to it as its right.} is that is related to the witnessing (shuhūd) of the heart. Whether one says Allāh with the tongue or hears it with the ears, one is witnessing Allāh in the heart.

Just as this word does not indicate any meaning other than Allāh, what the speaker witnesses cannot be anything but Allāh. So he says Allāh with his tongue, knows Allāh with his heart (fuʾād), recognizes Allāh with his heart’s core (qalb),^{3According to Lane, the distinction between fuʾād and qalb, which are both usually translated as “heart,” is that the former refers to the pericardium, or more generally to the liver, lungs, and heart, while the latter refers only to the heart (Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, 2:2323–2324).} loves Allāh with his spirit (rūḥ), and witnesses Allāh with his innermost self (sirr). He submits with his outward self (ẓāhir) before Allāh, verifies the reality of Allāh in his innermost self (sirr), and devotes his states (aḥwāl) to Allāh and for Allāh. There is no part of him that is for anything other than Allāh. When he is on the verge of becoming effaced in Allāh, for Allāh, by Allāh, the Real سبحانه overtakes him in His mercy. Then He discloses the words the Compassionate, the Merciful to them, sparing the very lifeblood that would [otherwise] pass away and desiring that their hearts be pure. The kindness of His سبحانه way (sunna) is such that His friends (awliyāʾ) are not completely annihilated.

Alif Lām Mīm

His saying, “Alif,” alludes to His being sufficient for you in all of your states.^{1In connecting the letter alif to God’s sufficiency (a divine attribute mentioned in many Qurʾānic verses), al-Qushayrī is referring to its independent form in writing (that is, the fact that in the Arabic script the alif does not connect to letters that come after it). See his commentary on Qurʾān 2:1.} You are captive to heedlessness, and have not found the way to right action and thinking. He is the One who sets in motion what restores you, and is solely sufficient for you in what helps you. Without your asking—and even without you knowing your own state—He suffices for you even if you do not perceive it. He gives to you without your seeking. The Lām alludes to His kindness (luṭf) to you at the most subtle and hidden level, so much so that the locus of favor by which He strengthens you is not apparent to you. The Mīm alludes to the harmony (muwāfaqa) of the stream of the [divine] determination of events (taqdīr) with the circumstances requested by the friends. Nothing in the world moves, no particle appears unless it is an occasion of good pleasure with respect to them. It would not be going too far to say that in His words, “Every day He is upon some matter” [55:29], the “matter” is an actualization of what the friends desire.

It is said that by listening to these disconnected letters [Alif Lām Mīm], which are contrary to the ordinary customs of human discourse, every concept disappears from the hearts, whether it be a known, written, customary or imagined thing, and whether it arises from necessity (ḍarūra),^{2Al-Qushayrī is distinguishing between three different modes of acquiring knowledge. Knowledge can come from “necessity” (ḍarūra), that is, a priori or self-evident knowledge; from sense perception; and from the exercise of reason.} sensory perception (ḥiss) or independent reasoning (ijtihād). When the hearts are emptied of imagined and known concepts, and the innermost selves are purified of customary and familiar things, the name Allāh comes to a heart sanctified from everything other [than Him] and to an innermost self purified of every mode [of inquiry] (kayf).^{3Literally, “howness.”}

God! There is no god except Him, the Living, the Eternal.

He is the One who is not diverted so as to be too busy for you, nor is He inattentive so that you are left without Him. He is the attentive observer (raqīb)^{1God is described as watchful (raqīb) in Qurʾān 4:1, 5:117, 11:93, and 33:52.} over all of the states of your innermost self. If you are alone, He is watchful over you. If you are in the midst of human beings, He is watchful over you. In sum, however your states circle around you, He is your Beloved (ḥabīb).

He has revealed to you the Book, by the truth

“You did not know, O Muḥammad, what the Book was, nor the story of the lovers. But a matter of pre-eternal choosing came suddenly upon you, and cast you into an amazing affair, its proof sublime, its place of descent and occurrence precious.”

confirming what was before it

that is, verifying His promise to you in the books^{1The translation follows the plural form “books” (kutub) found in MS K117, fol. 32a rather than the singular “book” (kitāb) from the Basyūnī edition.} that came through the prophets عليهم السلام.

and He revealed the Torah and the Gospel

before as guidance to people, and He revealed the criterion.

That is to say, “Even though We revealed Our books to the messengers before you, We did not omit the remembrance (dhikr) of you from any book.” The one who spoke for them said:

With me from our absent beloveds

are pages.

The remembrance of you

is their title page.^{1Muṣṭafā cites a slightly different version of this verse attributed to Abū l-Fatḥ al-Bustī: When people forget their brothers and are disloyal to love’s friends / with me from our absent companions are pages. / The remembrance of you / is their title page (Muṣṭafā, no. 30, p. 119).}

“Just as We have extended the lights of the prophets through you, We have adorned all that We have revealed in remembrances with your remembrance.”

As for those who disbelieve in God’s signs, for them awaits a terrible chastisement.

[The chastisement] is the ignominy of the veil but they do not perceive [this].

God is Precious (ʿazīz)^{2The word ʿazīz, which is usually translated as “Mighty” in this Qurʾānic verse, also means “precious, cherished or valuable.”} to His friends, Lord of Retribution to His enemies. Everyone seeks what is precious but most do not find it.

Nothing whatever is hidden in heaven and earth from God.

A servant does not breathe a single breath without God سبحانه وتعالى counting it (muḥṣīhi). Not a particle exists in the heaven and earth unless He is its originator and creator (mubdiʿhi). No one has any quality or attribute except He is its governor (mutawallīhi). This is the view of ordinary people (ʿumūm). As for the elect (khuṣūṣ), no one presents a need to Him except He satisfies it (qāḍīhā) and no one has any resource in a calamity except He suffices for it (kāfīhā).

He it is who forms you in the wombs as He will.

[What has been formed] remains as it was created. It is He who determined your states in eternity as He willed—this remains as it was and is from the divine decree and destiny.

There is no god except Him, the Mighty (al-ʿazīz), the Wise (al-ḥakīm).

His decision is not followed by any reversal (fa-lā yuʿaqqabu ḥukmuhu^{1The word “decision” (ḥukm) is from the same root (ḥ-k-m) as the word “wise” (ḥakīm).} bi-l-naqḍ), nor can His ordaining be avoided by neglect or rejection (aw yuʿāraḍu taqdīruhu bi-l-ihmāli wa-l-rafḍ).

He it is who revealed to you the Book, wherein are verses [that are] clear, forming the Mother Book, and others [that are] allegorical. As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow the allegorical part, desiring sedition, and desiring its interpretation, and none knows its interpretation save God. And those firmly rooted in knowledge (al-rāsikhūn fī l-ʿilm) say, “We believe in it; all is from our Lord”; yet none remembers, but people of pith.

He classified the [divine] speech for them: In its exoteric sense its revelation is clear (fa-min ẓāhirin wāḍiḥu tanzīlihi) and in its obscure sense its interpretation is difficult (wa-min ghāmiḍin mushkilu taʾwīlihi). The first portion is for explaining the law and to guide the people of the exoteric sense. The second portion is to protect the disclosure of secrets from the view of outsiders.

The way of the scholars (ʿulamāʾ) is firmly rooted (rusūkh) in seeking its meaning in conformity with the basic foundations (uṣūl) [of the religion], and what is attained by [this type of] inquiry is accepted. They leave that which cannot be known by mental examination (fikr) to the world of the unseen.

The way of the people of allusion (ishāra) and understanding (fahm) is to listen with the presence of the heart (ḥuḍūr al-qalb). The glimmers of information that come to their understanding are based on the allusions of unveiling (ishārāt al-kashf). If they have been asked to maintain the veil and conceal the secret, they feign dumbness. If they have been commanded to reveal and disseminate, they give voice to the explanation of the Real and speak of the information of the unseen. Those who have been supported by the lights of insights are illuminated by the rays of the suns of understanding. Those who are clothed in the covering of doubt have been denied the subtleties of realization. Their states are fractured, conjectures assail them, and they are swept away in torrents of doubt and deception. Their ignorance only increases their denial^{1The translation follows the word “denial” (jaḥd) from MS K117, fol. 32b rather than the repetition of the word “ignorance” (jahl) found in the Basyūnī edition.} and their estrangement only increases their uncertainty.

And none knows its interpretation save God: The faith of those who find their knowledge from God will not suffer from meandering thoughts that permit [questionable interpretation]. Rather [their faith will be based] upon clear statements of plain meaning and sincere articulations of certainty. Those with clear intellects (aṣḥāb al-ʿuqūl al-ṣāḥiyya)^{2Al-Qushayrī seems to be referring to religious scholars rather than those who have deeper knowledge. See his comments on Qurʾān 3:18.} are among those who remember (ṣuḥbat al-tadhakkur)^{3Remembrance (tadhakkur) is the verbal noun from the verb tadhakkara found in this verse and many others in the Qurʾān, in phrases such as yet none remembers but people of pith [2:269, 3:7, 13:19, 14:52, 38:29, 39:9] and will you not remember? [6:80, 10:3, 11:24, 11:30, 16:17, 23:85, 32:4, 37:155, 45:23, 56:62].} because of the appearance of demonstrative proofs and the careful examination^{4The blank here in the Basyūnī edition has been completed with the word sabr found in MS K117, fol. 32b, which means “testing, probing or endeavoring to learn.”} of the principles of obtaining [knowledge].

Our Lord, do not cause our hearts to deviate after You have guided us; and give us mercy from You; You are the Bestower.

They do not increase in nearness unless they increase in refined behavior (adab). To take refuge in maintaining distance^{1To maintain distance means to remain conscious of servanthood, even after experiencing states of intimacy.} is the most powerful means for respecting proper behavior (adab).

It is said that when they sincerely call for help in a beautiful manner, they are assisted by the lights of [divine] sufficiency.

Our Lord, You shall gather mankind for a day of which there is no doubt; verily God will not fail the tryst.

Today is the gathering of the lovers on the carpet of approach (iqtirāb), and tomorrow will be the gathering of all in the place of reward (thawāb) and punishment (ʿiqāb). Today is the gathering of innermost selves (asrār) for the unveiling of [divine] Majesty (jalāl) and Beauty (jamāl), and tomorrow will be the gathering of human beings (abshār) to witness the terrors (ahwāl)^{1The translation follows the word “terrors” (ahwāl) from MS K117, fol. 32b rather than the word ‘states” (aḥwāl) from the Basyūnī edition.} and endure what has been told of these states (aḥwāl).

As for the disbelievers, neither their riches nor their children will avail them against God; those—they shall be fuel for the fire.

No ransom will benefit them (fa-lā fidāʾ yanfaʿuhum), no riches defend them (wa-lā ghanāʾ yadfaʿuhum). No wealth will be accepted from them, no veil will be raised from them, no statements heard regarding them. With them will blaze hellfire (al-jaḥīm), and for them is a painful banishment (al-ṭard al-alīm) and distance [from God] and boiling water (wa-l-buʿd wa-l-ḥamīm).^{1The boiling water of hell is mentioned in quite a few verses in the Qurʾān, for example verses 6:70 and 10:4: for them shall be a drink of boiling water and a painful chastisement because they disbelieved.}

As the way of Pharoah’s folk, and the people before them who denied Our signs; God seized them for their sins; God is severe in retribution.

“They persisted in insolence according to their way (sunna) and We brought them retribution according to Our way (sunna).”^{1The translation follows the word sunna found in MS K117, fol. 32b rather than the word sanan found in the Basyūnī edition.} They would not stop their persistent [insolence] (fa-lā ʿan al-iṣrār aqlaʿū) and did not strive to do anything good (wa-lā fī l-mabārri ṭamiʿū). By my life they are those who suffered regret and distress at what they put forward, but by that time they found the door blocked (wajadū l-bāba masdūdan) and their repentance rejected (wa-l-nadama ʿalayhim mardūdan).

Say to the disbelievers: “You shall be vanquished and mustered to hell—an evil resting place!

He informed them that the speech of the Real will elude them in the future (ājil),^{1Basyūnī adds a footnote stating that al-Qushayrī is referring to the Qurʾānic verse God shall not speak to them, nor look upon them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them and theirs will be a painful chastisement [3:77].} and they will have no delight in living in the present (ʿājil). In the hereafter what they will encounter will be from the severity of the punishment by burning (ḥurqa). What [already] afflicts them in this world is absence and separation (furqa) from God, but their faculties of insight have become weak and they do not perceive the pain of [that] punishment.

There has already been a sign for you in two hosts that met; one company fighting in the way of God; and another unbelieving; they saw them, twice the like of them; for God confirms with His help whom He will. Surely in that is a lesson for people of vision.

When God wants an affair to be accomplished, He makes many appear to be few in the eyes of one people and few to appear as many in the eyes of another people. If He covers the inner sight (baṣīra) of a people, the sharpness of their physical eyes (abṣār) will not benefit them. When He opens the innermost selves of others, the obstruction of their faculties of insight (baṣāʾir) will not harm them.^{1In a footnote Basyūnī points out the progression from physical eyes (abṣār) to the faculties of insight (baṣāʾir) to the opening of the innermost selves (fatḥ al-asrār).}

Beautified for mankind is love of lusts—of women, children, stored-up heaps of gold and silver, horses of high mark, cattle, and tillage. That is the comfort of the life of this world; but God—with Him is the more excellent abode.

He mentions a few examples of lusts without distinguishing between them; included in the category is whatever veils you from witnessing (shuhūd). The most difficult of obstacles on this path is hidden lust. According to them,^{1That is, the Sufis.} seeking pleasure by performing acts of obedience is counted in the category of hidden lust. Reliance on what comes to you from the various kinds of drawing near is among the problematic places of separation [on the path]. It is like the circumstance of someone confiding in you and flattering you. He describes and praises you with every pleasantry but beneath it there is a hidden deception. Felicity comes to you in the unveiling He grants to you through the witnessing (shuhūd) of His majesty and beauty. It does not come from His affirmation of [your] subtle states or what He chooses to grant [to you] in favors or drawing near..

Say: ‘shall I tell you of something better than that? For those that are fearful with their Lord are gardens underneath which rivers flow, abiding therein, and spouses purified, and beatitude from God; and God is Seer of His servants.

He explained the superiority of the people who have fear of God (taqwā) over the masters of the present world (dunyā). He said, “For these people are the following of desires (munā) and conforming to whims (hawā), and for those people are degrees of elevation (ʿulā), and God is Seer of His servants.” He has caused each people to alight in their rightful place and delivered each to what He has made most suitable for them.

Those who say: “O, Our Lord, we believe; so forgive us our sins, and guard us from the chastisement of the fire,”

that is, “they occupy themselves with Us entirely (bi-l-kulliya) and plead for help before Us at the mention of severe trials and afflictions (al-raziyya). Those obtain nearness and intimate friendship (al-qurba wa-l-khuṣūṣiyya) with Us, high degrees (wa-l-darajāt al-ʿuliyya) and pleasing fates (wa-l-qisam al-murḍiyya).”

the patient, sincere, obedient, expenders, imploring God’s pardon at daybreak.

Patience is restraint of the lower self (nafs) and consists of three levels: patience with what the servant has been commanded to do, patience with what has been prohibited him, and patience standing under the flow of [God’s] decree (ḥukm) according to what He desires, either in the loss of what you love or in onslaughts (hujūm)^{1In a footnote Basyūnī refers the reader to the section on “Unexpected raids and onslaughts” (al-Bawādih wa-l-hujūm) in al-Qushayrī’s Riṣala, 1:231.} outside your control. When you rise beyond this quality and your being is unaffected by any difficulty [faced] or comfort received, it is through contentment (riḍāʾ), not patience (ṣabr).^{2For the distinctions al-Qushayrī makes between patience (ṣabr) and contentment (riḍāʾ), see the sections on each in his Risāla, 1:397–404 and 2:421–428.}

It is said that the patient [refers to those patient] with the command of God, sincere in what they have promised God, obedient with their selves in pursuing the straight way in the love of God, imploring God’s pardon from all they have done because they see how much they have fallen short with God.

It is said that the patient [refers to those patient] in their hearts, sincere in their spirits, obedient in their lower selves, and imploring God’s pardon by their tongues.

It is said that the patient [refers to those patient] with the sincerity of seeking (quṣūd), sincere in contracts (ʿuhūd), obedient in protecting the limits (ḥudūd), and imploring God’s pardon for their acts and states when the authority of [divine] unity (sulṭān al-tawḥīd) takes over.

It is said the patient are those who are patient in seeking (ṭalab) and have no desire to flee (harab). They are not ashamed to face toil (taʿab) and renounce every comfort and intense emotion (ṭarab).^{3The translation follows the word ṭarab from MS K117, fol. 33a rather than the repetition of the word “seeking” (ṭalab) in the Basyūnī edition. Ṭarab is intense emotion, either joy or grief (Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, 2:1836).} They are patient in tribulation (wa-ṣabarū ʿalā l-balwā) and refuse to complain (wa-rafaḍū l-shakwā) until they come to the protector (ḥattā waṣalū ilā l-mawlā). Nothing deters them in this world and the world to come (al-dunyā wa-l-uqbā).

The sincere are those who are firm and bold (ṣadaqū)^{4The verb ṣadaqa means “to act sincerely” but also “to act with firmness and boldness.”} in seeking. They proceed with purpose (qaṣadū) and with firmness and boldness (ṣadaqū) until they arrive (waradū), then they are firm and bold until they witness (shahidū), then they are firm and bold until they find (wajadū), then they are firm and bold until they are destitute (faqadū). Their sequence is seeking (quṣūd), then arriving (wurūd), then witnessing (shuhūd), then finding (wujūd), then extinction (khumūd).

The obedient are those who stay at the door (bāb); [they] persevere in swallowing unhappiness (iktiʾāb). They abandon things which they love (maḥābb) and refuse companions (aṣḥāb) in order to realize the truth by drawing near (iqtirāb).

The expenders are those who give generously of themselves in their works (aʿmāl), then they give generously of their wealth (amwāl), then they give generously of their hearts in the sincerity of states (aḥwāl), then they give generously by abandoning every portion belonging to them in the present and the future (fī l-ʿājil wa-l-ājil). They are utterly consumed at the moment of drawing near and the communion (wiṣāl) [of lovers] through their experience of eradication (iṣṭilām) and extirpation (istiʾṣāl).^{5To explain the words “eradication” (iṣṭilām) and “extirpation” (istiʾṣāl), Basyūnī refers the reader to a passage in al-Qushayrī’s Risāla that compares the experience of the annihilation of the self in witnessing to intoxication from a potent drink: “A cup that eradicates, annihilates, and snatches them away so that nothing remains of them. A cup which neither spares nor leaves behind [75:28] but effaces them completely, leaving not even a sliver of carnal human traces.” This passage appears in the section on “Presence, unveiling, and witnessing” (al-Muḥādara wa-l-mukāshafa wa-l-mushāhada), Risāla, 1:227.}

Imploring God’s pardon from all of that, [that is, the intoxicating experience of communion], when they return to sobriety and wakefulness at daybreak (asḥār),^{6In other words, after experiencing intimacy, they return to servanthood.} which is the appearance of white dawn (isfār). This is the first light (fajr) of hearts, not a first light appearing in earthly regions (aqṭar).

God bears witness that there is no god, except Him,

that is, God knows, God informs, and God rules that there is no god, except Him. It is the bearing witness (shahāda) of the Real to the Real that He is the Real. The first one to bear witness that He is God is God and He bears witness in all His eternity without beginning (āzāl) by His words, His speaking, and His eternal address. He has given information about His singular existence, His unwavering being, His everlasting unseen,^{1The translation follows the word “unseen” (ghayb) in MS K117, fol. 33a rather than the word “succor” (ʿawn) found in the Basyūnī edition.} His continuous essence, His infinite majesty, and His endless beauty.

Then He said, God bears witness throughout all His eternity without end (ābād). God bears witness, that is, God makes things clear by what He demonstrates in proofs (barāhīn), establishes in indicators of certainty (dalāʾil al-yaqīn), makes manifest with signs (āyāt), and discloses with indisputable evidence (bayyināt). In all that He has created and brought forth, and made manifest from [what was previously] concealed^{2In the Basyūnī edition the word is “concealment” (katm) and in MS K117, fol. 33a it looks to be “treasure” (kanz).} in [the realm of] non-existence, and produced according to what He wills, from independent things that are perceived (aʿyān) and the vanishing traces [left by things, actions or attributes] (āthār), from the essential qualities of things (dhawāt) in their potentiality and the attributes (ṣifāt) which come to be in specific places—each part [of this whole] is a clear expression of His existence and a plain elucidation of His Lordship, a witness (shāhid) to His Eternity, and a notifier to the intellects that He is One (wāḥid), Mighty, and Glorious (mājid).^{3Al-Qushayrī expresses something similar to this passage in his commentary on Qurʾān 2:116.} He سبحانه bore witness to the majesty (jalāl) of His Measure and the perfection (kamāl) of His Might at the time when there was no denial, no ignorance,^{4The translation follows the word “ignorance” (jahl) from MS K117, fol. 33a rather than the word “effort” (juhd) found in the Basyūnī edition.} no knowledge of any created thing, no intellect, no conformity, no disbelief, no events, no other, no deviation, no idolatry, no understanding, no falsehood,^{5The translation follows the word “falsehood” (ifk) from MS K117, fol. 33a rather than the word “reflection” (fikr) from the Basyūnī edition.} no heaven, no space, no darkness, no light, no principles of what should be rejected (wa-lā uṣūl li-l-mardūdāt)^{6The translation follows the phrase found in MS K117, fol. 33b rather than the phrase found in Basyūnī: wa-lā wuṣūl li-l-mazdūjāt.} and no judgments on differences in the affairs of time (wa-lā fuṣūl bi-ikhtilāfi al-awqāt).^{7The translation follows the phrase found in MS K117, fol. 33b rather than the phrase found in Basyūnī: wa-lā fuḍūl bi-ikhtilāfi al-āfāt.}

and the angels,

He did not confirm His own bearing witness to His oneness (waḥdāniyya) by the bearing witness of the angels.^{8That is, the Real had no need for the angels to bear witness to His singularity.} Rather, He gladdened and strengthened them when He directed them to the right course of bearing witness to Him, and when He guided them to knowledge of His oneness.

and those of knowledge; upholding justice; there is no god except Him, the Mighty, the Wise.

They are the friends (awliyāʾ) from among the children of Adam because they know the majesty of His Power and they recognize the attribute of His Might. He honored them when He associated His bearing witness to their bearing witness. They bear witness from witnessing and discernment (shuhūdin wa-taʿyīnin), not from conjecture and guessing (ẓannin wa-takhmīnin). If they do not have knowledge of something at a given time by necessity^{9That is, self-evident knowledge.} or by sensory perception (ḍarūratan wa-ḥissan), they do not believe it by conjecture and surmise (ẓannan wa-ḥadsan). He makes Himself known to them so they come to know Him. He calls them to bear witness and because of that they bear witness. If He did not tell them who He is, they would not know. The religious scholars (ʿulamāʾ) bear witness by the clarity of their intellects (ʿuqūl) while those who have experienced God’s unity (muwaḥḥidūn) bear witness after their extinction (khumūd). They are as it is said:

Consumed by the force of the Real,

they have been extinguished.

After their being annihilated,

they are made to speak of God’s unity.^{10This verse could not be located in Muṣṭafā.}

The One who brings about what appears from them is other than them. The One who stands in for them in what they face is not them. They were, but became separate (kānū lakinnahum bānū).^{11Here al-Qushayrī echoes the words of Yaḥyā b. Muʿādh, who defines “the knower” (ʿārif) as a man who was, but became separate (kāna fa-bāna). “Section on knowledge of God” (Bāb al-maʿrifati bi-Llāh), Risāla, 2:608. The same quote is referenced in al-Qushayrī’s comments on Qurʾān 2:152.} The one who spoke for them said:

My book to you

was after my death by a night.

I did not know

I would write after my death.^{12Muṣṭafā states that he was unable to locate this verse in any other source (Muṣṭafā, no. 17, p. 28).}

Those of knowledge are on different levels: the knower whose quality is conformity [to God’s command and decree] and religious disciplines (rahbāniyya) and the knower whose attribute is annihilation because of^{13The translation follows the particle li from MS K117, fol. 33b rather than wa from the Basyūnī edition.} divine lordliness (rabbāniyya). [There is] the knower who recognizes the rulings of His permitted and prohibited things; the knower who knows His reports (akhbār), practices (sunan), and traditions (āthār);^{14In other words, someone who knows the aḥādīth.} the knower who knows His book and is aware of its exegesis (tafsīr) and interpretation (taʾwīl), its clear verses and revelation; the knower who knows His attributes and His qualities, and studies^{15The translation follows the word “studies” (yastaqriʾ) from MS K117, fol. 33b rather than the word yastaqwī in the Basyūnī edition.} His proofs and unity;^{16The Basyūnī edition has bi-ḥadīth yakhrujuhu followed by a blank. The translation follows MS K117, fol. 33b, which goes directly from “His unity” (tawḥīdihi) to the next category of knowers.} and the knower whom He treats with kindness until He brings him [into His presence], then He unveils Himself to him and overwhelms him so that the name (ism)^{17Here perhaps al-Qushayrī means that only the divine attributes remain as the perception of individual entities fades.} remains while the perceived entity (ʿayn) is effaced, and the decree (ḥukm) arrives while the servant fades away. The one who spoke for them said:

The sons of the ḥaqq

are nourished solely by the Real (al-ḥaqq),

so the attribute of the Real (al-ḥaqq)

is adopted within them.^{18Muṣṭafā states that he was unable to locate this verse in any other source (Muṣṭafā, no. 19, p. 62). The translation follows MS K117, fol. 33b: banū ḥaqqin ghadhū bi-l-ḥaqqi ṣirfān fa-naʿt al-ḥaqqi fīhim mustaʿārun.}

This only alludes to their annihilation from their sensory perceptions (iḥsās) and from^{19The translation follows the word ʿan from MS K117, fol. 33b rather than ʿinda from the Basyūnī edition.} the different types of knowledge^{20The translation follows the word ʿulūm from MS K117, fol. 33b rather than ʿilm from the Basyūnī edition.} [acquired] through their lower selves. As for their entities (aʿyān), they are created, and the states that will come to pass^{21The translation follows the word yaqūmu from MS K117, fol. 33b rather than the word yafamu from the Basyūnī edition.} through their essential natures (dhawāt) are predetermined. The essence of the Real is not characterized by any possible contingency, and the attributes of His essence cannot be connected to anything other [than Him], nor can they be separated from the essence. The Real is sanctified from every opposite and equal, union and division, gathering and separation, anything other^{22The translation follows the word “other” (ghayr) found in MS K117, fol. 33b instead of “entity” (ʿayn) in the Basyūnī edition.} and creation, dominion and celestial body, mark and trace (athar), servant and human being (bashar), sun and moon (qamar), individual person and dust (ghabar).^{23The word “dust” sounds a little odd in the translation, but follows al-Qushayrī’s rhyming pattern in the Arabic.}

Lo, the religion (dīn) with God is submission (islām) [to the One God].

Religion (dīn): The [religion] that He is pleased with, and the one whose follower He has determined to reward, elevate, and favor, is submission (islām). Submission (islām) is sincerity (ikhlāṣ) and the surrender of oneself (istislām). Anything else is rejected (mardūd) and the path to salvation for its follower is blocked (masdūd).

Those who were given the scripture differed only after the knowledge came to them through transgression among themselves. And whoever disbelieves in God’s signs, God is swift in reckoning.

Knowledge (ʿilm) came to them which was a proof (ḥujja) incumbent upon them—not [the deeper] knowledge (maʿrifa), which would be clear evidence (bayān) and a path (maḥajja) for them.^{1The translation follows lahum from MS K117, fol. 33b rather than lahā in the Basyūnī edition.} They persisted in denial (juḥūd) because they were veiled from the place of witnessing (shuhūd).

So if they dispute with you, say: “I have surrendered my countenance to God and whoever follows me”: and say to those who have been given the scripture, and to the uninstructed: “Have you submitted?” And so if they have submitted, they have been guided, but if they turn their backs, your duty is only to deliver; and God sees His servants.

“Look at them through the eye of [God’s] free disposal (taṣrīf)^{1Taṣrīf is a verbal noun of ṣarrafa. These words are used in the Qurʾān to describe the “turning about” of the winds [2:164 and 45:5] and the “turning about” of God’s signs in the world and in the Qurʾān (for example, 17:41 and 6:46). In a more general way, the word refers to God’s absolute freedom to act in manifold and flexible ways.} so that your state does not become unsettled at the differences and the disparity of their stages.^{2Perhaps al-Qushayrī is referring to Qurʾān 71:14: when verily He created you in stages (aṭwār).} One who looks at created beings through the eye of [God’s] deliberative power (qudra) knows that the One who determines for all, based on what He has chosen for each, is One. Call them publicly when in public and bear witness privately to Our free disposal (taṣrīf) with regard to them when in private.” Occupy your tongue by counseling them but empty your heart of their talk and separate your innermost self from witnessing them, for We have not charged you with their affairs, [but only] with deliver[ing] [the message]. The One who brings about affairs and originates is Us.”

Those who disbelieve in the signs of God and slay the prophets without right, and slay those who enjoin to equity. So give them good tidings of a painful chastisement.

“Those whom We have bound to disappointment (khidhlān) and branded with the state of deprivation (ḥirmān)—tell them that Our turning away from them is perpetual and that We have already determined their transference from one abode of disgrace (hawān)^{1The translation follows the word “disgrace” (hawān) from MS K117, fol. 33b rather than the word “gardens” (jinān) found in the Basyūnī edition.} to another, from disappointment (khidhlān) and deprivation (ḥirmān) to punishment and fires (nīrān).”

Those are the ones whose works have failed in this world and the hereafter; they have no helpers.

Those are the ones for whom no success is granted in their works (tawfīq bi-aʿmāl) today, nor realization of their hopes (taḥqīq li-āmāl) tomorrow. That is only because they have lost Our help in both abodes and did not bear witness to Our might and power.

Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Book, being called to the Book of God, that it might decide between them, and then a party of them turned away (yatawallā), opposed?

[This means] “We have tested you with calling those whom We already know will not answer. So be patient with what you have been commanded regarding them. Know the misfortune of their states. They are the people who turn away (ahl al-tawallī) from answering (ijāba) because they have been deprived of the beauty of divine self-disclosure (ḥusn al-tajallī)^{1For a discussion of the term “self-disclosure of God” (tajallī) see the section on “Veiling and disclosure” (al-Sitr wa-l-tajallī) in al-Qushayrī’s Risāla, 1:224–225.} by Our prior will (irāda).”

That, because they said, “the fire shall not touch us, except for a number of days”; and the lies they used to invent have deluded them in their religion.

We have punished them in this world, drawing them on by degrees (bi-l-istidrāj)^{1This echoes the wording in Qurʾān 7:182 and 68:44: We will draw them on by degrees (sa-nastadrijuhum), whence they do not know.} until they [presume to] determine salvation and the lessening of punishment for themselves, but they will come to know the doubling of affliction upon them. They think they understand something but they tell a lie. Those in error think that [what they have said] is a determination (ḥukm).

But how will it be when We gather them for a day of which there is no doubt, and every soul shall be paid in full what it has earned, and they shall not be wronged?

This address is remarkable because by it He gives information about the imposing grandeur and intensity of the [Day of Gathering], at which point the intellects [of those who turned away] will be perplexed, their innermost selves astonished, their pretensions cut off, their hearts torn from their hidden places, and [their souls] will rise to their collar bones. Then there will be what will meet them from the reckoning and censure (al-ḥisāb wa-l-ʿitāb), the torment and punishment (al-ʿadhāb wa-l-ʿiqāb), and the lack of honoring and approval (ʿadam al-ikrām wa-l-ījāb), etc.

The resurrection of the disbelievers will take place on the Day of Gathering, while the resurrection of the lovers takes place in the present moment; to explain this fully would take a long time.

Say: “O God (Allāhumma), Master of the kingdom,

Allāhumma: Its meaning is “O God (yā Allāh).” The letter mīm at the end (of the word) is a substitute for the vocative particle yā. This is a teaching of the Real on how to praise the Real, that is, “describe Me as I should be described in exalted measure,”^{1As opposed to those who have measured not God with His true measure (Qurʾān 6:91, 22:74, 39:67)} by saying: “O Master of the kingdom, there is no associate to You, no assistant, no helper, no companion, no partner to You in essence, no sharer in the kingdom, no competitor in creating.”

you give the kingdom to whom You will, and seize the kingdom from whom You will;

“... so that we will know that You are the King.”^{2The translation follows the wording (ḥattā naʿlama annaka al-malik) found in MS K117, fol. 34a rather than the phrase “the kingdom is Yours” (al-mulku laka) found in the Basyūnī edition.} Among created beings the king is he before whom one is humbled, and the kingdom that is seized is the kingdom of those who are haughty toward him. [In a similar manner] created beings are beautified (tajammul) by abasing themselves (tadhallul)^{3The verbal noun tadhallul is from the same root as the verb tudhillu found in this verse.} before the Real. Their honor and might (ʿizz)^{4The noun ʿizz is derived from the same root as the verb tuʿizzu found in this verse.} is in their effacement (maḥw) in Him and their remaining (baqāʾ) is in their annihilation (fanāʾ) in Him.

You exalt (tuʿizzu) whom You will,

by the might (ʿizz) of Your essence.

and You abase (tudhillu) whom You will; by Your forsaking.

You exalt whom you will, guiding him to witness You and declare Your oneness, and You abase whom You will such that he denies You and is deprived of You. You exalt whom you will with the good fortune of Your drawing near and You abase whom You will by the estrangement of Your turning away. You exalt whom You will by bringing him to intimacy with You and You abase whom You will by estranging him from You. You exalt whom You will by occupying him with You and You abase whom You will by distracting him from You. You exalt whom You will by eliminating the controlling elements of his lower self, and You abase whom You will by giving the upper hand to its clamor. You exalt whom You will by the gleams of the rising (ṭawāliʿ)^{5Al-Qushayrī discusses the “gleams of the rising” (ṭawāliʿ) in the section on “Glimmers, gleams of the rising, and flashes” (al-Lawāʾiḥ wa-l-ṭawāliʿ wa-l-lawāmiʿ), Risāla 1:228–230.} of his intimacy [with You] and You abase whom You will by the night visitors (ṭawāriq)^{6Al-Qushayrī uses a similar comparison of rising lights (shawāriq) and night visitors (ṭawāriq) in his commentary on Qurʾān 2:115.} of his lower self. You exalt whom You will by expanding (basṭ) him through You and You abase whom You will by constricting (qabḍ) him from You.

You give the kingdom to whom You will by tightening the belt of [his] service to You, and seize the kingdom from whom You will by excluding him from the carpet of worship to You. You give the kingdom to whom You will by causing his innermost self to be singularly devoted to You, and You seize the kingdom from whom You will by binding his heart to some created thing. You exalt whom you will by raising him up in spiritual desire (irāda) and You abase whom You will by sending him back to what the people of habit (ahl al-ʿāda) do.

in Your hand is good.

He did not mention evil, protecting the good manners (ādāb) of speech, auspiciously mentioning the beautiful, and avoiding the inauspicious mention of evil.

You are able to do all things.

[You do all things by] veiling and attracting, helping^{7Basyūnī adds “helping” (nuṣra) to contrast with the word “forsaking” (khidhlān). The manuscript he was working from had only the latter word. Neither word appears in MS K117, fol. 34a.} and forsaking, accepting and rejecting, separating and gathering, constricting and expanding.

You make the night pass into the day and You make the day to pass into the night; You bring forth the living from the dead, and You bring forth the dead from the living, You provide whom You will without reckoning.

You make the night pass into the day such that the authority of the light of unity (tawḥīd) prevails and nothing remains of the traces of the lower self and its darknesses. You make the day pass into the night so that it is as if the suns of the hearts were eclipsed, or as if the night continued and the morning never came.

You bring forth the living from the dead such that it is as if listlessness was no more and the pledge of union returned as a youth, and the promises of hearts became young and fresh. You bring forth the dead from the living such that it is as if the tree of discontent sprouted and blossomed thorns, and as if the hopeless found nothing good and could not smell [the fragrance], and their hearts and eyes were confounded, just as they did not believe in it the first time [6:110].

You provide whom You will without reckoning such that there is no labor (kadd),^{1The translation follows the word “labor” (kadd) found in MS K117, fol. 34a, rather than the word kadar found in Basyūnī. Basyūnī himself points out in a footnote that kadd would be preferable here.} no exertion (jahd),^{2The Basyūnī edition has juhd but al-Qushayrī probably had jahd in mind to rhyme with kadd.} no sweat on the brow (jabīn), and no toil of the right hand (yamīn). His night is refreshment and repose (rāḥa), and His day is joy and delight (bahja). His hours are special gifts (karāmāt) and His moments are ways of drawing near (qurubāt). The different kinds of acts of His favoring cannot be enumerated by the tongue (lisān) and the inquiry into their full depth cannot be given expression or explanation (bayān). But in the glimmers we have given here, there is some indication of how to speak of this.

It is said that when He said, “and seize the kingdom from whom You will” [3:26], anyone who thinks that he is a king [experiences] a rude awakening from [his] drunken intoxication because he now sees [that] his kingdom is vulnerable to extinction and [he] knows that abasing himself to [God] in preserving His kingdom is worthier than vainglorious delusion and pomposity.

It is said that the king—in the true sense of the word—is someone who is not distracted by anything from witnessing the One who is the real King.

Let not the believers take the disbelievers as patrons (awliyāʾ), rather than the believers—

Among the realities of faith is friendship (muwālāt) with God and enmity (muʿādāt) on behalf of God. From among the disbelievers, it would be best for you to renounce and turn away from your lower self. Its nature is Magian in that it says, “Mine, from me, and through me.”^{1Here al-Qushayrī attributes a way of thinking to the Magians; this speaks more generally to those who have not yet comprehended the reality of divine unity (tawḥīd). Basyūnī adds a footnote referring the reader to a similar passage in the “Section on Unity” (Bāb al-tawḥīd): “It is said that divine unity is the dropping of personal pronouns so that you do not say, ‘Mine, through me, from me or to me’” (al-Qushayrī, Risāla, 2:587). See also al-Qushayrī’s commentary on Qurʾān 4:78.} God most high said, O you who believe, fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you [yalūnakum]^{2The verb yalūna is from the same root as awliyāʾ and muwālāt.} [9:123].

Verily faith in this path (ṭarīqa) is rare and precious. Even if ordinary people (who have no faith in this path) were to wear themselves out with extreme asceticism and effort, they would not be among those people [who are] Your friends. It is more fitting that like be with like.

for whoever does that, does not belong to God in any way—unless you protect yourselves against them, as a safeguard. God warns you of His Self: and to God is the journey’s end.

Companionship (ṣuḥba) with the Real سبحانه and nearness to Him can by no means be combined with the companionship of adversaries and being close to them.

God warns you of His Self: This is an address to the elect among the people of deeper knowledge (ahl al-maʿrifa). As for those whose degree is less than that, He said to them, “And fear the fire that…” [3:131] and He said, “And fear a day wherein you shall be returned. . .” [2:281], and so on in other verses.

It is said that God warns you of His Self [means that while] you may be of the opinion that you have arrived, surely the imperceptible affairs of the divine deception (makr) can happen to the most respected. The one who spoke for them said:

I felt safe from him

but the safe place granted to me was a ruse.

Such it is for those

who feel safe from lovers.^{3Muṣṭafā states that he was unable to locate this verse in any other source (Muṣṭafā, no. 13, p. 28).}

It is said that God warns you of His Self because anyone who imagines that a created being can reach Him or that the feet of human aspiration can touch the carpet of might—Glory and Might be to the absolute oneness! And anyone who thinks that [God] has brought them near, in reality [God] has made them distant from Him.

Say: “Whether you hide what is in your breasts, or disclose it, God knows it and knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth; and God is Able to do all things.”

There is nothing that escapes His knowledge, so do not be grieved by any calamity that afflicts you. Soon He will bring you succor and response, and soon the affliction and trial will disappear. He will hasten [His] assistance and protection.

The day every soul shall find present before it what it has done of good, and what it has done of evil, it will wish that between it and that there were a great distance.

The people [of acts] of obedience (ahl al-ṭāʿāt) will wish that they had sought more of them. The people [of acts] of opposition (ahl al-mukhālafāt) will wish that they had curbed in their reins from galloping in the open fields. The one who spoke for them said:

Even if I had been given the object of my desire

in my time here on earth,

not everyone who is granted the object of his desire

is pointed in the right direction.

Then I would have said to the days gone by:

Will you not return?

And I would have said to the days to come:

Will you not keep your distance?^{1Muṣṭafā gives sources attributing these verses to Abū Bakr al-Khwārizmī and others (Muṣṭafā, no. 19, pp. 48–49).}

God warns you of His self, and God is kind to His servants.

The allusion from His words, God warns you of His Self, is for those with deeper knowledge (ʿārifūn) and the allusion from His words, and God is kind to His servants, is for novices. [The first] follow rigor and submit humbly and [the latter] follow [the way of] lightened burdens and ease.

And it is said that when He said, “God warns you of His Self,” those hearing the address are understandably frightened,^{2The translation follows the word tahwīl found in MS K117, fol. 34b rather than the word taḥwīl found in the Basyūnī edition.} so He said in combination with it, and God is kind to His servants in order to give them reason to hope. Thus His way (sunna) is to evoke desire and fear in them at the same time.

It is said that He annihilates you in His saying “God warns you of His Self,” then brings you back to life and causes you to remain by His saying “and God is kind to His servants.”

Say: “If you love God, follow me, and God will love you, and forgive you your sins; God is Forgiving, Merciful.

You love God is a separation (farq) and God loves you is a gathering (jamʿ).^{1For more information on how al-Qushayrī understands these terms, see the section on “Gathering and separation” (al-Jamʿ wa-l-farq), Risāla, 1:207–208.}

You love God [with a love] mixed with cause (ʿilla)^{2The word ʿilla means both “cause” and “infirmity”; al-Qushayrī may have both senses of the word in mind here.} but God loves you without cause; rather, He is the reality of communion. The love of the servant for God is a state of subtle kindness (laṭīfa) that he finds within himself and this state brings him into conformity (muwāfaqa) with [God’s] command out of [his own] pleasure (riḍāʾ),^{3For more on what al-Qushayrī means by this term, see the “Section on Satisfaction” (Riḍāʾ), Risāla, 2:421–427.} without any feeling of aversion. This state necessarily involves his preferring [God] سبحانه over everything and everyone.

The precondition of love is that there is no worldly concern (ḥaẓẓ) in any state. One who has not been entirely annihilated from his worldly concerns possesses not even a sliver of love.

The love of the Real for the servant is in His desire (irāda), His beneficence (iḥsān) and His kindness (luṭf) to him. It is a desire (irāda) to bestow favor, which may be [seen] in [the servant’s] praise and commendation of Him سبحانه, or it may be [seen] in [God’s] favoring [the servant], which would be [understood as] coming from the attributes of His acts.^{4Al-Qushayrī explains this in more detail in the “Section on love” (Bāb al-maḥabba) in his Risāla. In this section he explains that, according to one teaching, God’s love for human beings arises from the attributes of His essence (that is, the divine attributes that exist with God). In this view, God’s love for His servant is in the servant’s praise of Him because the servant’s speech is attributable to God’s eternal attribute of speech. According to another teaching, God’s love belongs to the attributes of His actions (that is, the attributes He produces with regard to His creation), and is seen in the favors He grants his servants. God’s “desire” or “will” (irāda) is one attribute (ṣifa) but is called by different names (that is, “wrath,” “mercy,” and “love”), depending on its object (Risāla, 2:611–612).}

It is said that the precondition of love is your entire effacement from yourself because you are consumed in your beloved. The one who spoke for them said:

What is love

until the eye is exhausted by weeping

and you lose your ability to talk

so that you cannot answer one who calls you.^{5In a somewhat different version Muṣṭafā traces the verse to Majnūn (Muṣṭafā, no. 5, p. 123).}

There is a difference between the beloved (al-ḥabīb)^{6That is, Muḥammad.} and the friend (al-khalīl).^{7That is, Abraham.} The friend [Abraham] said, “so whoever follows me, verily belongs with me” (minnī) [14:36], and the beloved [Muḥammad] said, “follow me and God will love you.” The follower of the friend belongs with him (minhu) in the favor conferred [on both of them by God], while the follower of the beloved is loved by the Real سبحانه—this suffices as a station of nearness and state.

It is said that for those who submit themselves, He cuts off their longing for anything other than their model and leader of the first and the last—Muḥammad ﷺ.

It is said that this verse alludes to the fact that love is not an effect (maʿlūl) and is not brought about by obedient acts or the avoidance of bad things, because He said, “God will love you, and forgive you your sins.” He explained that it is possible that a servant may have many sins,^{8The translation follows the word “sins” (dhunūb) from MS K117, fol. 35a, rather than the word funūn found in the Basyūnī edition.} but nonetheless he loves God and God loves him.

It is said that first He said, “God will love you,” and then He said, “and forgive your sins.” The [conjunction] “and” (wa) determines the order, such that it will be known that love is prior to forgiveness. First He loves them and they love Him [5:54], then He forgives them and they seek His forgiveness. Love leads to forgiveness; pardon does not lead to love.^{9The negative follows MS K117, fol. 35a. Instead of lā, the Basyūnī edition has li-anna.}

[The word] “love” (maḥabba) indicates the purest or most choice (ṣafāʾ) of states: the expression “shining teeth” (ḥabab al-asnān), which is their being bright and clear (ṣafāʾ), is derived from the same root.^{10In a similar passage in the “Section on love” (Bāb al-maḥabba) al-Qushayrī writes that some say that “love” (ḥubb) means “the purest states of affection” (ṣafāʾ al-mawadda) because the Arabs use the phrase ḥabab al-asnān to describe symmetrical teeth that are white and healthy (Risāla, 2:613).}

Love demands the complete devotion of the innermost self near the presence of the beloved.

It is said that the camel aḥabba when he kneels down and will not move even if he is struck.^{11This is another etymological comment. Al-Qushayrī states that the word aḥabba, a verb that means “to love,” also occurs in the expression aḥabba al-baʿīr, which refers to “a camel that kneels and will not stand up. Likewise the lover refuses to move from the remembrance of the beloved in his heart” (Risāla, 2:613).}

Love (ḥubb) consists of two letters, ḥāʾ and bāʾ. The ḥāʾ alludes to the spirit (rūḥ) and the bāʾ [alludes] to the body (badan). The lover does not hold back in either his heart or his body from his beloved.

Say: “Obey God, and the Messenger.” But if they turn their backs, God loves not the disbelievers.

He commanded them to obedience, and then He said, “But if they turn their backs,” that is, fall short in obedience by opposing [God’s command], then God loves not the disbelievers. He did not say “the disobedient” (ʿāṣūn) but rather “the disbelievers” (kāfirūn), so the address indicates that He loves the believers even if they are disobedient.

Lo! God preferred Adam and Noah and the house of Abraham and the house of ʿImrān above the worlds,

the seed of one another; God is Hearer, Knower.

Adam and his seed are made of the same substance, but the characteristic of being chosen (iṣṭifāʾ) is something that comes from [God], not through lineage or relation.

When the wife of ʿImrān said, “Lord, I have vowed to You what is within my womb as a consecration (muḥarraran). Accept this from me. Lo! It is You who are the Hearer, Knower.

And when she gave birth to her, she said, “Lord, I have given birth to a female”—and God knew very well what she had given birth to—the male is not as the female. “And I have named her Mary, and commend her to You with her seed to protect them from the accursed Satan.”

The one who is consecrated (muḥarrar)^{1The word muḥarrar literally means “one who is emancipated” but also refers to the contemporary practice of consecrating male children to service in a temple.} is someone who is not in bondage to any created being. The Real سبحانه, in His prior decree, has emancipated such a person from the bondage of preoccupation [with anything other than the Real] in all aspects and states. When the mother of Mary made this vow and gave birth to a female, she was ashamed.^{2Because she thought her vow was in vain.} When she saw her she said, “Lord, I have given birth to a female who cannot be consecrated.” God most high said, “and God knew very well what she had given birth to.” By my life, the male is not like the female outwardly, but when the Real سبحانه وتعالى accepted her every miracle appeared from her.

When she said, “I have vowed to You what is within my womb as a consecration,” she added, “Accept this from me.” He granted her request, and the effects of the acceptance appeared in [Mary] and her son. One set of beings was saved by their story, and another was destroyed and experienced a trial (fitna) because of the two of them.^{3The translation follows the wording and pronouns found in MS K117, fol. 35a rather than the Basyūnī edition.} She said, “And I have named her Mary, and commend her to You with her seed to protect them from the accursed Satan.” She sought protection from God from anything in her words that [might] belong to Satan.^{4In MS K117, fol. 35a the sentence ends here. The sentence in Basyūnī continues with a phrase which appears to have been mistakenly inserted into the text. This same text occurs in al-Qushayrī’s commentary on Qurʾān 3:94: “what is easiest in order to perfect what comes to them from the decrees of the hearts.”}

Her Lord accepted the child with gracious acceptance, and made her grow excellently, and Zachariah took charge of her.

He caused [Mary] to attain more than what her mother had wished for. It is said that [God] accepted her with a gracious acceptance (qabūl ḥasan) by making her unique in obedience to Him, and entrusting her with that which He entrusts His friends (awliyāʾ)—so much so that every person of her time was astonished by the excellence (ḥusn) of that which He had entrusted to her even though she was a girl.

It is said that the gracious acceptance was the excellence (ḥusn) of [God’s] care for her in spite of His سبحانه knowing what would be said about Him because of her, for He is not concerned with the shamefulness of the words of enemies.

I find blame in passion

for you sweet.

Out of love of hearing you mentioned,

let them blame me.^{1Muṣṭafā states that the verse is attributed to Abū l-Shīṣ, and gives numerous books in which it is cited. He also attributes it to ʿAlī b. ʿAbdallāh al-Jaʿfarī b. Abū Ṭālib (Muṣṭafā, no. 1, p. 103). al-Qushayrī cites the same verse in the introduction to his commentary on Sūrat al-Fātiḥa above.}

Just as it is said:

Let anyone

who wishes

say what he wishes.

I do not care!^{2Muṣṭafā cites a somewhat different version of this verse attributed to Mūsā ʿAbdallāh b. Ismāʿīl (Muṣṭafā, no. 6, pp. 92–93).}

It is also said that the gracious acceptance was His causing her to grow preserved [from sin and error] (ʿiṣma) until she said: Lo! I seek refuge in the Compassionate One from you! If you fear God [19:18].

And made her grow excellently until she stood straight in obedience and preferred His سبحانه good pleasure in every moment, and until the fruit from her was such a person as Jesus عليه السلام. This was the excellent growth. Zachariah took charge of her and it was part of [God’s] gracious acceptance and [His granting her] excellent growth that He made one such as Zachariah عليه السلام among the prophets her guardian, and the caretaker and protector of her affairs. God revealed to David عليه السلام, “If you see someone seeking me, become a servant to him (in raʾayta lī ṭāliban fa-kun lahu khādiman).”^{3Neither Basyūnī nor ʿAbd al-Raḥmān give the source for this saying. al-Qushayrī repeats it in his commentary on verse 4:93.}

Whenever Zachariah went into the sanctuary where she was he found her with provisions. “O Mary,” he said,”Whence comes this to you?” She said, “From God. Truly God provides for whomever He will without reckoning.”

Among the signs of [God’s] gracious acceptance was that she could never be found anywhere except in the sanctuary (miḥrāb). Whoever dwells and stays where He is worshiped, where the sanctuary is—that is a rare and precious servant.

It is also said that [God’s] gracious acceptance was that all of her affairs and concerns were not subject to Zachariah عليه السلام, so that when he came to her to bring her food, he found her [already] with provision. This was [done] so that those who labor might know that God سبحانه does not burden others with the concerns of His friends (awliyāʾ), and anyone who serves one of His friends is included in the kind companionship (rifq) of the friend—it should not be seen as an imposition. This alludes to the fact that one who serves the poor (fuqarāʾ) should [also] know that he has been included in [God’s] kind companionship of the poor.^{4Al-Qushayrī uses the word the “poor” (fuqarāʾ) to mean both the indigent and those who have attained the spiritual station of poverty. See his commentary on Qurʾān 2:273 and the “Section on poverty” (Bāb al-faqr), Risāla, 2:536–549. In his commentary on this verse, al-Qushayrī talks about the proper attitude (adab) in serving the friends of God and the fuqarāʾ: one should understand that one is being included in the compassion and kindness of those who are one’s superiors in spiritual rank. This compassion and kindness is part of their adab. Al-Qushayrī also tells a brief anecdote that questions whether we can know who has the higher status. See the “Section on companionship” (Bāb al-suḥba), Risāla, 2:574.}

Then Zachariah عليه السلام used to say, “Whence comes this to you?,” because he did not believe that she was worthy of this rank and he was afraid that someone other than him was taking the opportunity of caring for her and supplanting him in performing these duties. So he asked, “Whence comes this to you? Who gave it to you?” Mary said, “[It is] from God, not from any created being.” In this there were two things to comfort Zachariah. One was the witnessing of her station and her special gift (karāma) with God most high, and the second was [his knowing] that no one had supplanted him in serving her. In His words “Whenever (kullamā) Zachariah went into the sanctuary, where she was, he found her with provisions,” the word kullamā means “repeatedly,” and alludes to the fact that Zachariah عليه السلام did not cease caring for her, even though he found her with provision. Rather, every day and at every moment he studied her state because the special gifts (karāmāt) of the friends do not necessarily persist. God may make something appear in them indefinitely or He may not, so Zachariah عليه السلام did not rely on that and neglect to study her state. He questioned her again, saying, “O Mary, whence comes this to you?” because of the possibility that that which exists today may not be as it was yesterday—it is not something incumbent on God سبحانه [to continue this provision].

His words “Truly God provides for whomever He will without reckoning” is a clarification of the reality of divine unity (ʿayn al-tawḥīd). His provision and beneficence toward the servants is according to His will (mashīʾa), and does not result from their obedience and is not brought about by means of their acts of worship.

Then Zachariah prayed to his Lord, saying, “Lord, bestow upon me from You a goodly offspring, verily You are the Hearer of supplication.”

That is, when he saw the special gift (karāma) of God سبحانه with her, he grew increasingly certain, and ever more hopeful, so he asked for a son in spite of his advanced age. The granting of his request was a rupture of ordinary reality (naqḍ al-ʿāda).

It is said that Zachariah عليه السلام asked for a son to help him in obedience, and an heir from his progeny in prophethood, so that he might uphold the right of God (ḥaqq Allāh). So it was a request which deserved to be granted. When a request is for the right of the Real (ḥaqq al-ḥaqq) and not for the worldly concerns of the lower self (ḥaẓẓ al-nafs) He will not refuse it.

Zachariah عليه السلام saw Mary with summer fruits in the winter and winter fruits in the summer, so he asked for a son in his old age so that it might be a sign (āya) and a miracle (muʿjiza).

And the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary at worship

When the petitioner asks and remains at the door, the request is granted to him. This alludes to the fact that anyone who needs something from kings should remain at the door until the request is granted.

It is said that the ruling of God سبحانه is such that He only responds to the request of those who embrace service (khidma) to Him, and He casts those who turn away from obedience into the lowliness of estrangement.

that “God gives you good tidings of John, who shall confirm a word from God; a lord, and one chaste, and a prophet of the righteous.”

It is said that he named him John (Yaḥyā) because of the life (ḥayāt) of his heart through God. Exegetical writings tell us that the barrenness of his mother was brought to life (ḥayy) through him.

It is said that [the name means] the quickening of life in the heart of one who believes in Him.

His saying who shall confirm a word from God (Allāh) means his confirmation of the word Allāh, by which he worshiped Him, or that he was brought into being by the word of God.

His saying a lord: The lord is one who is not in bondage to any created thing. He has been freed (taḥarrara) from captivity to whims and from [captivity to] any created thing. It is said that the lord is someone who has actualized his servanthood (ʿubūdiyya)^{1The translation follows the word ʿubūdiyya found MS K117, fol. 35b rather than the word “sublimity” (ʿulwiyya) found in the Basyūnī edition.} to [God] سبحانه. It is said that the lord is the one who is superior to the people of his age, and John was such.

It is said lord because he did not seek any station for himself, nor did he view himself as having any worth. When he dedicated himself in humility to God in every way, [God] caused him to rise above the group and made him a lord to all.

His saying and one chaste, that is, liberated from passions and spared from carnal human properties despite being human. It is said that [it means] being protected from the demands of his lower self, restrained from that through [his] engagement in exaltation [of God] and seeking to draw near [to Him]. It is said his restraint came from being uprooted by the intuitions of realities coming to him, such that he no longer had any preference for worldly things.

And a prophet of the righteous, that is, he was worthy of attaining their rank.

He said, “My Lord! How shall I have a boy when old age has overtaken me, and my wife is barren?” He said, ‘so it will be.” “God does what He will.”

It is said that there was a long time between his petition and the reply, and because of that he said, “How shall I have a boy?”^{1According to some transmitted exegetical material related in al-Qurṭubī’s tafsīr, forty years were said to have elapsed between Zachariah’s prayer and the news of John’s impending birth. (Cited in Ayoub, The Qur’an and Its Interpreters, 2:113).}

It may mean that he said, “By what right would I receive a response [to my prayer], if not by Your favor?”^{2The explanations al-Qushayrī cites in this passage reflect the concern of commentators that Zachariah’s question not be understood as reflecting his doubt in the power of God to do whatever He wills. (See Ayoub, The Qur’an and Its Interpreters, 2:112–115).}

It may mean that he said, “How shall this be: by adoption or sexual procreation?”

It may mean that [he questioned] whether this was to be from a woman other than his wife since she was [also] of advanced age, [that is,] from taking a slave as a concubine. So it was said to him, “No, not through these means, for both (you and your wife) have suffered loneliness together, so the good news of the son is for both of you.”

He said, “My Lord! Appoint for me a sign.” He said, “Your sign is that you shall not speak to men, save by tokens for three days.

He sought the sign so that he might know when [his prayer] would be answered, not because of any doubt regarding the source of this response. [God] made the sign of His proof^{1Basyūnī notes that the word here is dalāla, which he says is acceptable in meaning, but he nonetheless changes it to walāya. The translation adheres to dalāla, since that is the word also found in MS K117, fol. 35b.} that [Zachariah’s] tongue was held [silenced] with created beings even as he was left free to glorify God. That is to say [God said], “do not refrain from speaking with Me for I do not deprive My friends of My intimate conversations (munājāt).”

and remember your Lord often

...in your heart and your tongue in every moment.

and glorify [Him] at evening and dawn”

...in persistent prayer (ṣalāt).

And when the angels said, “O Mary, God has preferred you, and made you pure; He has preferred you above all women of the worlds.”

It is possible that this was the beginning of a message from the angels to Mary elevating her state. It is possible that she may have heard their words and seen them, or that she did not see them but heard them as a voice calling out to her: “God has preferred you by your being favored and singled out from among your kind and peers, and made you pure from what is indecent and sinful, with a beautiful immunity and [pure] from having physical contact with men. He has preferred you above all women of the worlds in your time.”

The point of repeating the mention of her being preferred is first, “He has chosen you through special gifts, position, and an exalted state”; and second, “He has chosen you to bear Jesus عليه السلام without a father, and no woman can ever be compared to you until the Day of Resurrection.” Because of that He said, “above all women of the worlds.”

“O Mary, be obedient to your Lord, prostrating and bowing with those who bow.”

“Persevere on the carpet of worship and practice obedience continually. Do not fall short from continuous service (khidma). The Real has singled you out by your station, so be without equal in your time in your worship of Him.”

That is of the tidings of the unseen. We reveal it to you for you were not with them, when they were casting quills, which of them should have charge of Mary; nor were you with them, when they were disputing.

That is, “We have told you [Muḥammad] of these stories and have spoken with you about their meanings. Although We have related these stories to you, Our speech is rare and precious—it is more valuable and more perfect than if you yourself had been a witness to [these events].”

When the angels said, “O Mary, God gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, honored shall he be in this world, and the hereafter, and of those brought close.

He shall speak to mankind in the cradle, and in his manhood, and he is of the righteous.”

She was not given good tidings about her portion in this world, or her fortunes in the hereafter. Rather, she was given good tidings verifying that [she was receiving a] tremendous sign in [the birth of Jesus] and [that] he was a prophet of God—it was a confirmation of the miracle.

It is said that He informed her that whoever succumbs to the overwhelming force of the divine power (qudra) and ends up before His ruling (ḥukm) will encounter miracles of that power the likes of which no one has experienced. Mary had surely lived for a long time with an excellent reputation and was well-known as a chaste [woman], but then [God] caused confusion about her situation [when she] appeared in a state deemed blameworthy by people. In actuality it was not as the foolish thought. Their eyes were blocked from seeing the flow of the divine decree (jaryān al-taqdīr).

It is said that He informed her of what would happen to [her son]^{1The translation follows MS K117, fol. 36a.} step by step and in detail. He told her that he would live in such as way that he shall speak to mankind as a young child and in his manhood, and that the deception of [his] enemies would not affect him.

It is said in manhood [means] after his descent from the heavens.^{2Some Qurʾān commentators understood Jesus’s speaking to mankind in his manhood (kahl) as referring to the time after his return to this world (Ayoub, The Qur’an and Its Interpreters, 2:136).}

It is said that He fortified her heart by informing her that, while she herself would hold her tongue regarding her innocence [after the birth], God would cause Jesus عليه السلام to speak [as a child] as proof of her sincerity and exalted honor.

She said, “Lord, how shall I have a child when no mortal has touched me?” He said, “It is such. God creates what He will.

Just as you witnessed the appearance of things contrary to ordinary reality in the provision We gave [to you], likewise We will break with ordinary reality by creating a son without a man having touched [you].

When He decrees a thing,

that is, He desires a ruling (ḥukm) to come to pass

He says to it only: ‘Be’, and it is.”

Producing [things] from the beginning and bringing [them] forth are not difficult for Him.

When they began to blame her, God caused Jesus عليه السلام to speak when he was [only] one day old; [he] said, “I have come to you with a sign from your Lord” [3:49].

And He will teach him the Book, wisdom, and the Torah, and the Gospel.

To be a messenger to the children of Israel, “I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, I will create for you out of clay [something] like the shape of a bird then I will breathe into it, and it will be a bird by the leave of God. I will also heal the blind and the leper; and I bring the dead to life, by the leave of God. I will inform you too of what things you eat, and what you treasure up in your houses. Surely in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.”

These were His outward signs and dazzling, overpowering proofs: bringing life to the dead, healing the blind and the leper, telling [them] what they did secretly, and other miracles. [God] stated that [Jesus] confirmed what came before him in laws, but was chosen to abrogate part of what came before and to establish another part for them according to the details articulated in the Qurʾān.

Likewise, confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful for you some of that which was forbidden to you. I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: so fear God, and obey me.

Surely God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path.”

And when Jesus sensed their disbelief, he said, “Who will be my helpers [in the cause of] God?” The disciples said, “We will be helpers of God; we believe in God; witness that we have submitted.

When the message reached them and they differed—some of them believed him and some of them called him a liar, and they were the majority—he came to know that prophecy does not spare one from affliction and the oppression of enemies. So [Jesus] separated his heart from them and held to his goal (qaṣd). He said to his people, “Who will be my helpers [in the cause of] God so that they may help me in my exclusive devotion to His true reality and sincere dedication to His goal?”^{1That is to say the goal (qaṣd) God sets for humans. Qurʾān 16:9 says, Upon God it rests to show the right direction of the way (wa ʿalā Allāhi qaṣdu al-sabīli) (translation from Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, 2:2531).} Then those who were touched by the effects of [God’s] providence (āthār al-ʿināya) and chosen through the effects of [divine] selection (āthār al-takhṣīṣ) said, “We will be helpers of God; we believe in God; bear witness to us in truth and let nothing come from us that would cast doubt on you.”

Lord, we believe in what You have revealed, and we follow the Messenger; write us down therefore with those who bear witness.

As for the remainder, they worked to create dissension and intensified their enmity. They plotted and schemed against him, but God made them taste the evil of their scheming. They imagined that they had crucified and killed Jesus عليه السلام, but that was from their ignorance and confusion. God سبحانه raised Jesus عليه السلام as His prophet (nabī) and His friend (walī). Banishment and cursing was the rightful due of his enemies—this was [God’s] scheming with them.

And they schemed; and God schemed; and God is the best of schemers.^{1For a discussion of how classical commentators addressed the question of attributing the negative trait of scheming to God, see Ayoub, The Qur’an and Its Interpreters, 2:165–169.}

When God said, “O Jesus, I am gathering you and raising you to Me, and I am cleansing you of those who disbelieved,

The allusion in it: “I am gathering you from yourself, seizing you from yourself, raising you above the mortal human attributes, and purifying you from your own desire (irāda) completely so that you will act as Our agent (muṣarrif) through Us and for Us. You will have no free choice (ikhtiyār) in anything. In its place divine governorship (tawallī) will descend upon you and stand in for you.” By this quality, the dead were brought to life through the hands [of Jesus]. These were occurrences that could only happen by the divine deliberative power, may it be exalted.

It is said that He purified his heart from looking to others (aghyār), and from seeing simulacra and traces (al-amthāl wa-l-āthār) in all states and phases (al-aḥwāl wa-l-aṭwār).

and I am setting those who follow you above those who disbelieved until the Day of Resurrection

In help (nuṣra), force (qahr), and proof (ḥujja).

His followers—those who have not changed his religion (dīn) and those who follow his creed (ʿaqīda) in the declaration of oneness (tawḥīd)—are believers (muʾminūn). They are in the right until the Day of Resurrection, and they will be helped [by God] until the Day of Resurrection. Then God سبحانه will judge between them and their enemies on that day. The disbelievers will be in hellfire (ammā l-kuffār fa-fī l-jaḥīm) and the believers will be in felicity (wa-ammā l-muʾminūn fa-fī l-naʿīm).

Then to Me shall be your return, and I will decide between you, as to what you were at variance about.

As for the disbelievers, I will chastise them with a terrible chastisement in this world and the hereafter; they shall have no helpers.

But as for the believers, who do deeds of righteousness, He will pay them in full their wages. God loves not the evildoers.

This We recite to you of verses and wise remembrance.

“This We recite to you, O Muḥammad, to inform you of the meanings of what We have revealed to you. [These meanings do not reach you] through your exertion to attain knowledge, nor by your learning from parables, nor by your deduction by any sort of reasoning.”

Truly the likeness of Jesus in God’s sight, is as Adam’s likeness.

He chose to purify the spirit (rūḥ) in them from the act of passing from one body to another (tanāsukh) in the loins,^{1In other words, neither Adam nor Jesus had fathers, so the spirit (rūḥ) was “breathed into” them (see Qurʾān 15:29, 21:91, 32:9, 38:72, and 66:12).} but He singled out Adam as the first [of men], while He singled out Jesus عليه السلام for the special distinction of breathing the spirit into him^{2Qurʾān commentators note the different pronouns used in verses 21:91 (. . . We breathed into her of Our spirit) and 66:12 (. . . We breathed into it/him of Our spirit). The feminine pronoun is commonly understood to refer to Mary, and the masculine pronoun to either an opening in Mary’s shirt or Jesus in the womb. (See, for example, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Mafātiḥ al-ghayb/al-tafsīr al-kabīr at altafsir.com, in the commentary on Qurʾān 66:12).} in the most exalted way. But even though these two were weighty beings, the imperfection of being in time and being mortal was nonetheless unavoidable for them: He created him of dust, then He said to him, “Be,” and he was [3:59].

The truth is from your Lord; be not of those who waver.

[That is,] “The truth (al-ḥaqq) is from your Lord, O Muḥammad. Have no doubt that there is no one who resembles Him سبحانه in causing existence and no created being has any power over the establishment of His way.^{1The translation follows “His way” (sunnatihi) from MS K117, fol. 36b. Several Qurʾānic verses speak of God’s way or precedent (sunna): 33:38, 33:62, 35:43, 40:85, and 48:23.} The existence (wujūd) of existents (mawjūdāt) has been conferred^{2The blank in the Basyūnī edition has been completed with the word khuṣṣat found in MS K117, fol. 36b.} from the concealment of nonexistence (katm al-ʿadam)—their beginning is from God and to Him is their return.”

And whoever disputes with you concerning him after the knowledge that has come to you, say: “Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our wives and your wives, our selves and your selves, then let us humbly pray and invoke God’s curse upon those who lie.”

And whoever disputes with you concerning him^{1This verse is said to refer to a delegation of Christians from Najran who disputed with the Prophet concerning Jesus. For a discussion of the commentary on this verse see Ayoub, The Qur’an and Its Interpreters, 2:188–202.} means that “After you have sincerely proclaimed what you were told, and have come to know the truth of the knowledge We imparted to you in your heart, do not be reticent in challenging them to mutual cursing. Trust that you have the force (qahr) and help (nuṣra), and that We are protecting you and have sheltered you in the wing of Our nearness.” If they had sought this mutual cursing, the valley would have rained fire down upon them, but God سبحانه gave them respite because He knew of the believers [yet to come] of their progeny.

This verse alludes to those whose states are no longer those of the sincere (ṣiddīqūn). When the lights [of the sincere] appear, what remains in [the others] fades away completely.

This is the true story. There is no god but God, and assuredly God is Mighty, Wise.

This is the true story: The dust of confusion has no authority over the witnessings of divine unity. No delusion of any created being reaches the secret of His ruling (ḥukm). Nothing that is known in existence can come close to it, and nothing that is imagined can conceive of the divine decree (taqdīr).

And if they turn their backs, God knows the agents of corruption.

“And if they turn their backs, O Muḥammad, the confusion of those who talk falsely cannot withstand the rays of your light.”

God knows the agents of corruption: either He will sweep them away or He will forbear until their conjectures have become firmly established. Then He will seize them suddenly, and [then] they cannot be helped.

“O people of the scripture! Come now to a word (kalima) agreed upon between us and you,

The word (kalima) testifies to the divine unity (tawḥīd) and the singularity (ifrād) of the Real سبحانه in bringing forth everything.

that we worship none but God

Do not look in your innermost self to any created thing. There should be no object of worship for you other than Him. You should have no aim (maqṣūd) or object of witnessing (mashhūd) other than Him. This is the [best] protection against associating partners [with God] (shirk). You yourself are foremost among the “others” that should not be witnessed.

and that we do not associate anything with Him, and do not take each other for lords, beside God”;

The truth of this appears in abandoning praise and blame of them, removing any complaint or doubt about them, and cleansing the innermost self from taking into account even so much as a speck of effacement (maḥw) or affirmation (ithbāt) as coming from them.^{1In other words, one witnesses that only God effaces and affirms. In his use of the terms “effacement” (maḥw) and “affirmation” (ithbāt), al-Qushayrī has in mind Qurʾān 13:39: God effaces whatever He will and He affirms [whatever He will], and with Him is the Mother of the Book. See also the section on “Effacement and affirmation” (al-Maḥw wa-l-ithbāt), Risāla, 1:222–223.} [The Prophet] ﷺ said: The truest verse the Arabs sung was from Labīd:

Is not everything

other than God unreal?

Every blessing

is inevitably fleeting.^{2Labīd (d. 40/660–661) was a well-respected poet from the pre-Islamic period who converted during the lifetime of the Prophet. Muṣṭafā gives several sources for this verse (Muṣṭafā, no. 7, p. 93). ʿAbd al-Raḥmān gives several sources for the ḥadīth and the poetry, such as al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Ibn Māja, and Ibn Ḥanbal. There is a passage in the Basyūnī edition after the verse from Labīd that does not appear in MS117, fol. 37a. Because this same passage appears in the commentary on Qurʾān 3:94 and makes more sense in that context, it has been omitted here under the assumption that it is an error of the copyist or the edition.}

and if they turn their backs, say, “Bear witness that we have submitted.”

“O people of the scripture, Why do you argue about Abraham? when the Torah was not revealed, neither the Gospel, but, after him. What, do you not comprehend?

He put a cloak (niqāb) of possessiveness and a veil (ḥijāb) of jealousy over His friend عليه السلام, and severed his connection to all of them after their accusation about him and [thus he] decisively contradicted their confused arguments. How could Abraham عليه السلام belong to the religion of those who came after him? This makes no sense.

Lo! You are those who dispute about what you know; why do you then dispute concerning that of which you have no knowledge?; and God knows, and you know not.

That is, “Your scripture includes clear evidence (bayān) that should be a proof (burhān) for you. Regarding that [evidence or proof], you have chosen^{1The translation follows MS K117, fol. 37a.} either truly or falsely. As for that for which you have no definitive evidence (dalīl), or any way of knowing (maʿrifa), how can you begin to judge it or make claims to have comprehended it?”

No; Abraham in truth was not a Jew, neither a Christian, but he was a Muslim and a ḥanīf,

The ḥanīf is one who stands straight (mustaqīm) in truth, while the aḥnaf stands straight (mustaqīm) with curved legs—one who leans on a [twisted] foot is called mustaqīm optimistically.^{1The words aḥnaf and ḥanīf are from the root ḥ-n-f, which means “to incline.” Here al-Qushayrī explains that these words can also be understood in what seems to be the opposite meaning. The person who walks with an altered gait is called aḥnaf because he leans to one side physically, but also because one hopes he will be able to incline toward a straighter position. The ḥanīf is someone who inclines away from a false religion and becomes upright in the truth. (See Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, 1:658).} Abraham عليه السلام was a ḥanīf, not bending from the truth, not swerving from the law, and not stumbling this way and that with every promise of personal gain. He surrendered his wealth, his self, his son—everything altogether—to the decree of God and [stood in] a state of readiness for His command.

and he was never of the idolators.

Surely the people with the best claim, Abraham, are those who followed him, and this Prophet, and those who believe; and God is the Protector of the believers.

Whereas whims (ahwāʾ) and blameworthy innovations (bidaʿ) break up [a group] so that each faction ends up in error, the people of truth (ahl al-ḥaqq) in every era, and every time and moment, hold to the best proof and will be a single party. They will be those with the best claim [to Abraham] over others. Abraham was a companion of truth (ṣāḥib al-ḥaqq). Whoever professes his religion (dīn)—as in the example of our Messenger ﷺ and his community—belongs to the religion of Abraham عليه السلام, which is the declaration of the unity (tawḥīd) of God سبحانه وتعالى.

And God is the Protector (walī) of the believers because they have been entrusted^{1The verb tawallā (“to be entrusted or charged with”) comes from the same root as walī. See al-Qushayrī’s comments on Qurʾān 2:257 for his understanding of the reciprocal relationship of walāya.} with His religion (dīn) and they act in harmony with the declaration of His unity (tawḥīd). The protecting friendship (walāya) of God comes with aid (ʿawn), help (nuṣra), selection (takhṣīṣ), and nearness (qurba).

There is a party of the people of the scripture who yearn to make you go astray; yet they cause none to stray, except themselves; but they are not aware.

Those who had succumbed to discord, who had been afflicted by tribulation and seduced by temptation, wished for all people what had befallen them. Although [this party of] the people of the scripture wanted the believers to turn from the truth, God refused to do other than perfect His light^{1This is a reference to Qurʾān 9:32: They desire to extinguish God’s light with their tongues; but God refuses to do other than perfect His light, even though the disbelievers be averse.} and sent back upon them the evil consequences of their actions.

O people of the scripture! Why do you disbelieve in God’s verses, when you yourselves bear witness?

“[You bore witness] before his mission  ﷺ to the authenticity of his prophecy.^{1This refers to the understanding that Muḥammad’s arrival as a prophet was foretold in the previous scripture.} What is it that brings you to error so that you disavow what you know?”

O people of the scripture! Why do you confound truth with falsehood, and conceal the truth while you know?

“You conceal the truth regarding the affair of Muḥammad ﷺ while you know that he is the Prophet who speaks truly.” Can this be anything other than the divine ruling to forsake (ḥukm al-khidhlān) and the decision to deprive (qaḍiyyat al-ḥirmān) [those who confound and conceal the truth]? Then He informed them that among them there were some hypocrites. They wanted to forestall any trouble with the Muslims while also avoiding conflict with their brothers among the disbelievers. Thus they conspired to pretend to agree publicly with the Messenger ﷺ and the Muslims, while secretly to remain true, among themselves, to their corrupt beliefs.

A party of the people of scripture say, “Believe in what has been revealed to those who believe at the beginning of the day, and disbelieve at the end of it, so that they might then turn back.

[By this verse] God سبحانه showed that their hypocrisy was exposed to the Muslims and that it had not benefited them, either in this world, because God informed His Prophet عليه السلام and the believers of it, or in the hereafter, because [their hypocrisy] deprived them of sincere devotion [toward God].

And do not believe except in one who follows your religion. . .

This may refer to the beginning of a command from God سبحانه to the Muslims.^{1Or it may be a continuation of the speech of a party of the people of scripture from the previous verse. According to Ayoub, commentators have cited numerous readings and interpretations for this verse, which reads, in its entirety: And do not believe except in one who follows your religion. Say: “True guidance is God’s guidance—that anyone should be given the like of what you have been given, or that they should dispute with you before your Lord.” Say: “surely bounty is in God’s hand; He gives it to whomever He will; God is Embracing, Knowing. (Ayoub, The Qur’an and Its Interpreters, 2:219–225).} The allusion in it is that you should not associate on intimate terms with opponents, nor divulge your secrets to outsiders.

Say: “True guidance is God’s guidance—that anyone should be given the like of what you have been given, or that they should dispute with you before your Lord.” Say: “surely bounty is in God’s hand;

He is the One who singles out whom He will for the lights of instruction and singles out whom He will for abandonment and deprivation.

He gives it to whomever He will; God is Embracing, Knowing.

He singles out for His mercy whom He will; God is of bounty abounding.”

He singles out whom He will for different blessings. According to this [way of reading the verse] mercy is a means (sabab) for the singling out of blessing to those He wills to receive it.^{1In al-Fuṣūl fī l-uṣūl, al-Qushayrī writes that “The fundamental sense of ‘mercy’ is the act of willing the benefit” (translation by Frank, “Two Short Dogmatic Works,” ch. XV, 83). In the first interpretation of the meaning of this Qurʾānic verse, al-Qushayrī is speaking of “mercy” not as the blessings themselves, but as the divine “will or desire” (irāda) to give blessings.} But the wording is such that it is also possible that it means that He singles out mercy for whom He will—in this case it would mean mercy [itself], not mercy functioning as a means [to something else]. According to this interpretation, [His mercy] means prophecy (nubuwwa) and friendship (walāya).^{2In this interpretation, the “mercy” in this verse refers to the blessing of prophecy or friendship with God, not the divine will to give blessings.}

Included in His saying “He singles out for His mercy whom He will,” that is, [included] for His blessing, is preservation from error and sin (ʿiṣma), and all of the allotted good deeds that He singles out for any particular servant. He singles out some people for the blessing of moral qualities (akhlāq), some for the blessing of riches (arzāq), some for the blessing of devotional service (ʿibāda), others for the blessing of spiritual desire (irāda), others for success in external things, others with the gift of an easier life (bi-ʿaṭāʾi al-aysār),^{3The translation follows the word “easier life” (aysār) from MS K117, fol. 37b rather than the word abshār found in the Basyūnī edition.} and others for encountering secrets (bi-liqāʾi al-asrār). He said, “And if you were to count God’s blessing, you could never reckon it” [14:34, 16:18].

It is said that when they heard, He singles out for His mercy whom He will, they knew that [His mercy] is not related to any means of attainment.^{4The translation follows the wording in MS K117, fol. 37b: al-wasāʾil laysa bi-hā shayʾ.} Rather, the command comes by divine origination (ibtidāʿ) and divine will (mashīʾa).

It is said that He singles out for His mercy whom He will in [that person’s] comprehension of the secrets [God] reveals to him and the different types of information [God] gives to him.

And of the people of the scriptures is he who, if you trust him with a hundredweight, he will return it to you; and of them is he who, if you trust him with one dinar, will not return it to you; unless you keep standing over him. That is because they say, “We have no duty toward the Gentiles. They speak falsehood against God, while they are aware.

He relates that [the people of the scripture], notwithstanding their error and disbelief, vary in their moral qualities. All of them have broken the trust (amāna) of the religion (dīn), but among them are those who have regard for proper [human] interactions. Even though they interact with sincerity, it will not benefit them in receiving reward, but it will benefit them in lessening [their] punishment since disbelievers are held accountable in the details of the laws. If, in their disbelief they sinned less, they will suffer less punishment than those who have lost the most, even though their punishment will also be in perpetuity.

Then He explained that the judgment is not theirs, so that when they say, “We have no duty toward the Gentiles,” the situation is not as they would have it, nor will these words benefit them. Rather, the judgment belongs to God سبحانه.

Nay, but whoever fulfils his covenant, and has fear, for truly God loves the God-fearing.

Those who hold to the covenant are deserving of being united in friendship, honor, and the garden. Those who are in error are deserving of aversion, ignominy, and shame.^{1The Basyūnī edition does not have any commentary on Qurʾān 3:76. This paragraph has been added from MS K117, fol. 37b.}

Those that sell God’s covenant and their own oaths for a small price, there shall be no share for them in the hereafter; and God shall not speak to them, nor look upon them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them and theirs will be a painful chastisement.

Those who prefer their caprice (hawāhum) over their final outcome (ʿuqbāhum) and have given priority to their desires (munāhum) over harmonious agreement with their Protector (mawlāhum), will have no share in the hereafter. Because they have chosen to seek pleasure in the present, they have lost in the two abodes and they remain apart from the Real. The pleasure they sought in worldly things (ḥaẓẓ) has brought upon them all kinds of tribulations, but they are not aware of what has happened to them: God shall not speak to them, nor look upon them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them. Moreover, He will cause them to remain in the punishment beyond the count of time.

And there is a group of them who twist their tongues with the Book, so that you may suppose it as part of the Book; yet it is not part of the Book; and they say, “It is from God,” yet it is not from God, and they speak falsehood against God, while they know.

This verse alludes to those who are false in their claims on this path (ṭarīqa). They embellish what they say and let loose their tongues concerning what their hearts have no information or verification about. In this they deceive the foolish, ordinary people, and novices. They imagine that they have attained realization of what they say. In describing them, God most high said, so that you might suppose it is as part of the Book; yet it is not part of the Book.

In a similar manner, the lords of deception and fraud direct their talk to the weak so that the secrets of the people of realities (ahl al-ḥaqāʾiq) are exposed before them. God most high said, and they speak falsehood against God, while they know, that is, they know that they are speaking falsely. Thus the people of falsehood and deception on this way (ṭarīqa) speak from hearts (qulūb) that are ruined and innermost selves (asrār) that are veiled. We seek refuge in God from deserving wrath.

It belongs not to any mortal that God should give him the Book, the judgment, prophethood, then that he should say to men, “Be servants to me instead of God.” Rather, “Be masters, by virtue of what you know of the Book and in what you study.”

That is, “It is not a quality of anyone whom We have chosen for prophethood or selected for friendship (walāya) to call created beings to himself or to teach anything affirming himself or his worldly situation, because His سبحانه choosing them for prophethood includes protecting them from what is not permissible. To allow that as an attribute of theirs would be incompatible with their state. Rather, the messengers and the friends have called created beings to God سبحانه وتعالى and this is the meaning of God most high’s words, Rather, “Be masters,” which is to say that He directs them only to be masters (rabbāniyyūn) to created beings. [The word] (rabbānī) is related to [the word] “lord” or “master” (rabb) just as it is said, “so and so is bull-necked” (raqabānī)^{1The translation follows MS K117, fol. 38a with the word “bull-necked” (raqabānī) rather than what looks to be a typo in Basyūnī.} or “full of life” (ḥayyānī) and the like.^{2Al-Qushayrī is referring to the fact that the adjectival ending -ānī is an intensifier.} They are those who have knowledge of God, who are forbearing for the sake of God and stand firm through God^{3Bi-llāh is added here on the basis of MS K117, fol. 38a.} in their annihilation from anything other than God. With their worldly concerns withering away, they become immersed in the realities of His existence rather than their sensory perception of their own states. They speak, hear, and see by means of God, and so they are effaced from what is other than God.

It is said that the master (rabbānī) is one who has had the shadow of his lower self (nafs) lifted from him and he subsists in the shelter of God’s سبحانه shadow.

It is said the master is one who does not affirm anything other than his Lord as one; he does not acknowledge, even in the slightest way, any effacement or affirmation [in creation] as belonging to anything other than Him or coming from anything other than Him.^{4In the “Section of Effacement and affirmation” (al-Maḥw wa-l-ithbāt), al-Qushayrī writes, “The reality of effacement and affirmation is that they originate in the divine deliberative power. Effacement is what the Real conceals and negates, and affirmation is what the Real makes manifest and apparent. Effacement and affirmation are limited to the divine will (mashīʾa). God most high said, God effaces whatever He will and He affirms [whatever He will] [13:39] (Risāla, 1:222).}

It is said that the master is he who is obliterated (maḥq) in His سبحانه existence and effaced (maḥw) in witnessing Him, so the One who stands in for him is other than him and the One who acts on his account is other than him.

It is said that the master is he who is not affected by the vicissitudes of fortune in all their different forms.

It is said that the master is he who is not disturbed by tribulation (miḥna) or excited by blessing (niʿma).^{5The translation follows MS K117, fol. 38a: lā yastafizzuhu miḥna wa lā yahuzzuhu niʿma.} His condition is the same irrespective of what comes.

It is said that the master is he who is not affected by the appearance (wurūd) of any incoming (wārid) to him.^{6In the section “The incoming” (al-Wārid), al-Qushayrī explains that this can be something verbal or nonverbal that comes to one from God or from knowledge (Risāla, 1:245).} Anyone who is swayed by a tender heart, influenced by the attacks [of life], or finds imperfection in the dangers or risks of something that might happen^{7Al-Qushayrī may be indirectly referencing Qurʾān 67:3: You will not see in the Compassionate One’s creation any imperfection.} is not a master.

It is said that the master is he who is unconcerned in his heart and innermost self with anything that happens, and who does not neglect anything in the law in what he does.

By virtue of what you know of the book and in what you study “from My continuous beneficence to you and the doubling of My blessing for you.”

He would never order you to take the angels and the prophets as lords. Would He order you to disbelieve, after you have submitted?

That is, “do not attribute to them so much as an atom in the establishment of good and evil (ithbāt al-khayr wa-l-sharr).”

It is said that He is informing you of the boundary of human nature (ḥadd al-bashariyya) and the truth of lordship (ḥaqq al-rubūbiyya).

It is said that He orders you to respect (tawqīr) them with regard to the command and the law (sharīʿa) but to disdain (taḥqīr) the worth of created things in comparison to lordship (rubūbiyya). Would He order you to disbelieve, after you have submitted? “Would He order you to affirm (ithbāt) created things after bearing witness (shuhūd) to the Real?”

It is said: “Would He order you to look to outward appearances (ashkāl) and to attribute events to simulacra (amthāl) after the lights of unity (tawḥīd) have appeared in your innermost selves and after the suns of singular devotion (tafrīd) have arisen in your hearts?”

And when God made a covenant with the prophets: “What I have given you of the Book and wisdom; then there shall come to you a messenger confirming what is with you—you shall believe in him and you shall help him.” He said to them, “do you affirm? And do you take My load on you on that condition?” They said, “We affirm.” He said, “Then bear witness, and I shall be with you among the witnesses.”

God made a covenant regarding Muḥammad ﷺ, [that was] binding on all the [other] prophets عليه السلام, just as He made a covenant with them to agree to His سبحانه lordship. This is the utmost honoring of the Messenger ﷺ since He connected [Muḥammad’s] name with His own, and affirmed his worth just as He affirmed His own. So [Muḥammad] is singular in rank among all people and [God] has eased the way for all to know His majesty through the miracle^{1The translation follows the singular “miracle” (muʿjiza) found in MS K117, fol. 38a rather than the plural “miracles” in the Basyūnī edition. This corresponds with the singular form of the word in al-Qushayrī’s commentary on Qurʾān 3:82 that follows. Used in the singular, Muḥammad’s miracle refers to the Qurʾān.} that appeared to [Muḥammad].

Then whoever turns his back after that, they are the wicked.

This alludes to whoever abandons [the Prophet’s] way (sunna) or wanders [away] from following his path (ṭarīqa) after the appearance of [the Prophet’s] evidence and the clarity of his miracle. They are those whose condition has become corrupted. They have become deserving of wrath because of their denial and the breaking of their attachment to the divine solicitude.

What! Do they desire other than God’s religion, when to Him has submitted whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willing, or unwillingly, and to Him they shall be returned?

Anyone who pays attention to what is not real (ghayr al-ḥaqīqa) or looks to what is other than Him in imagining divinity (ilāhiyya)^{1The translation follows the word “divinity” (ilāhiyya) from MS K117, fol. 38a rather than the word ahliyya from the Basyūnī edition.} is like one who sees a mirage he thinks is water (māʾ) but when he comes to it, he finds only dust (habāʾ). The errors of mere suppositions cut one off and confuse; those who descend into them have entered a desolate wadi.

To Him has submitted whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly because of the lights of divine self-disclosure coming down continually to their innermost selves^{2The words li-isbāli anwāri al-tajallī ʿalā asrārihim appear in MS K117, fol. 38b but not in the Basyūnī edition.} or unwillingly because of the flow of the divine decree overpowering them.

Say: “We believe in God, and that which has been revealed to us, and that which has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael, and Isaac and Jacob, and the tribes; and in that which was given to Moses and Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord; we make no division between any of them; and to Him we submit.”

We believe in God, not our lower selves, nor our strength or our power. We believe through God in that which has been revealed to us and through God سبحانه we make no division between any of them—not through our own strength, choice, effort or acquisition. If He had not taught us who He is, we would never have known—for otherwise, how could we have learned this?

Whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him and in the hereafter he shall be among the losers.

Those who make their way without being extinguished under the flow of His decree—their feet will slip in the bottomless ravine of errors.

It is said that whoever seeks to gain favor with Him without clinging to [Islam], his loss will be greater than his gain.

It is said that whoever is not annihilated from witnessing everything will not reach the One through whom everything is.

It is said that whoever does not walk under the banner of Muṣṭafā ﷺ,^{1Muṣṭafā is an epithet for Muḥammad and means “the chosen one.”} the one who is exalted in his rank, sublime in his attributes—nothing, not even so much as an atom, will be accepted from him.

How shall God guide a people who have disbelieved after their belief, and bore witness that the Messenger is true, and after the clear signs had come to them? God guides not the evildoing folk.

Those whom He made unsuitable for the communion [of lovers] in His prior decree—how shall He draw them near to Him on the carpet of service through His favor^{1The translation follows “favor” (faḍl) from MS K117, fol. 38b rather than the word “act” (fiʿl) found in the Basyūnī edition.} now?

It is said [with regard to] those whom He made far removed in the pre-eternal decree—when would He bring them nearer to sincerity in [their] actions? God prevails over His affair.^{2In other words, why would God decree one thing in pre-eternity and then change His decree later?}

Those—their requital is that there shall rest on them the curse of God and of the angels and of men altogether.

Those—their state in the end is the same as it was from His decree in the beginning of their affair. The beginning for them is fate’s rejection (radd al-qisma) [of them], their middle part is being turned away from service (al-ṣaddu ʿan al-khidma), and then finally [their] outcome is banishment and abasement (al-ṭard wa-l-madhalla).

Abiding therein, the chastisement shall not be lightened for them and they shall not be reprieved.

Abiding in that abasement, [their] punishment will not abate for even a moment (lā yaftur ʿanhum al-ʿadhāb laḥẓatan), nor will the separation be lightened for them for even an hour (lā yukhaffafu dūnihim al-firāq sāʿatan).

But those who repent thereafter, and make amends, then truly God is Forgiving, Merciful.

[Those who repent] are those whom mercy reaches. They were not among the group [distanced by the prior decree] although people imagined them to be part of it.

Surely those who disbelieve after they have believed, and then increase in unbelief, their repentance shall not be accepted; those are the ones who go astray.

This alludes to those who return to the states of the people of habit (ahl al-ʿāda) after having traveled the path of spiritual desire (ṭarīq al-irāda). They prefer this world and to submit to their whims over seeking the Real سبحانه وتعالى. Then they renounce the people of the path (ahl al-ṭarīqa) and become ever more alone in their [inner] darknesses. Their repentance shall not be accepted; those are the ones who go astray from the path of the Real, for trust (amāna) cannot be regained once treachery (khiyāna) has been displayed. As the days pass, their punishment is the increasing estrangement of [their] hearts from the path, and they are not distressed by the felicitous state that has slipped away from them. If they had persevered, their repentance would have been accepted, but the Real سبحانه follows His way (sunna) with those who are listless on this path when they revert to habitual states (aḥwāl al-ʿāda)^{1The translation follows the word aḥwāl from MS K117, fol. 38b rather than the word uṣūl found in the Basyūnī edition.} and do not feel regret for the moments that have passed away from them. God most high said, “And We shall confound their hearts and eyes; just as they did not believe in it the first time” [6:110]. The apostate from Islam is a more powerful enemy to Muslims than the original disbeliever. Likewise, the one who reverts from this path is more powerful in rejecting it and more oppositional to its people than those who were always alien to it.

Surely those who disbelieve, and die disbelieving, the whole earth full of gold shall not be accepted from any one of them if he would ransom himself thereby; for them awaits a painful chastisement, and they shall have no helpers.

This alludes to the one who dies after becoming listless. Even if he had a beautiful beginning, he will not be gathered in the hereafter with the people of this story (ahl hādhi al-qiṣṣa), even if a thousand of those with deeper knowledge were to intercede for him. Indeed, the perfection of the ruse with him is that his image will be cast onto someone else in the hereafter, so that his acquaintances among the people of deeper knowledge (ahl al-maʿrifa) will think that it is him, but it will not occur to anyone that he should intercede for him.

You will not attain piety (birr) until you expend of what (mimmā = min mā) you love; and whatever thing you expend, God knows of it.

When the object of seeking is piety and goodness (birr),^{1The noun birr refers to dutiful but generous and ample acts of goodness and kindness.} [the preposition] min is used, which is [the particle of speech] for dividing something into portions. He said, “of what (mimmā = min mā) you love.” Whoever desires piety and goodness (birr) should expend some portion of what he loves, while whoever desires the One who is All-Goodness (al-bārr) should expend everything he loves. Whoever expends what he loves in this world will find what he seeks from the Real, most high. Whoever is attached to the fortunes of the lower self (man kāna marbūṭan bi-ḥuẓūẓi nafsihi) will not find fortune in nearness to his Lord (lam yaḥaẓẓu bi-qurbi rabbihi).

It is said that if you can only attain piety and goodness (birr) by expending what you love, how will you ever reach the One who is All-Goodness (al-bārr) so long as you prefer your worldly fortunes to Him?

And whatever thing you expend, God knows of it. There are those who expend looking for reward and compensation, those who expend looking to defend themselves from affliction and tribulations,^{2The translation follows “tribulation” (miḥan) from MS K117, fol. 39a over ḥazan in the Basyūnī edition.} and those who expend content with His knowing. One of them said:

He wishes to walk in a weak way

so that she might,

when she hears of his suffering,

send a message to him.

He trembles because of what has become known

in seeking the sublime,

that his qualities might be mentioned

one day before Salmā. ^{3The translation includes an additional line found in Muṣṭafā: yawaddu bi-an yamshī saqīman laʿallahā idhā samiʿat minhu bi-shakwā turāsiluhu. This line is not included in the Basyūnī edition or in MS K117, fol. 39a, but helps make sense of the second part cited in both. Muṣṭafā states that the verses are attributed in somewhat different versions to ʿAlī b. Bilāl and others (Muṣṭafā, no. 37, pp. 100–101).}

All food was lawful to the children of Israel save what Israel forbade for himself before the Torah was revealed. Say: “Bring the Torah now, and recite it, if you are truthful.”

Whoever invents falsehood against God after that, those are the evildoers.

[God] does not declare things permissible or prohibited in their original state; in [this state] there is no divine ordinance (ḥadd) regarding them. That is a liberality and kindness from the Real سبحانه [and this state exists] until such a [time] as a command or a law comes regarding it. God سبحانه has eased the precepts of religious obligation (aḥkām al-taklīf) for advanced disciples (ahl al-nihāya). Their way is to adopt what is easiest in order to perfect what comes to them from the precepts of the hearts (aḥkām al-qulūb)—surely the difficulties made incumbent on their hearts are harder for them. As for novices (ahl al-bidāya), the affair is made difficult for them with tasks and litanies—their way is to adopt what is more onerous and difficult [in these areas] so as to empty their hearts of thoughts.^{1Basyūnī identifies the ahl al-nihāya as ordinary people (ʿawāmm) and the ahl al-bidāya as the elect (khawāṣṣ) but it seems more likely that al-Qushayrī is referring to advanced disciples versus novices (see his commentary on Qurʾān 2:182, 2:184, and 3:78, where the term ahl al-bidāya is used quite clearly to indicate novices). The more advanced individuals on the path take on difficulties at a deeper level than supererogatory litanies and the like. On the other hand, these practices are helpful for novices. It is unlikely that al-Qushayrī is referring to core obligations such as the ritual prayer (ṣalāt), since he stresses the importance of these obligations even for those who experience the highest states. See, for example, his commentary on Qurʾān 2:45.} Whoever thinks otherwise is in error.

This verse also alludes, in His saying, “Whoever invents falsehood against God,” to the states of the people of false claims and errors. They absolve themselves and attribute to God سبحانه their false notions (hawājis) but God is free of these. It is a rare servant who can distinguish between [true] incoming thoughts (khawāṭir) and false notions (hawājis).

Say: “God has spoken the truth, therefore follow the creed of Abraham, a ḥanīf, and he was not an idolater.”

The creed (milla) of Abraham was complete abandonment to God (al-khurūju ilā Allāh bi-l-kulliya) and surrender to His decree without holding back in any way (wa-l-taslīmu li-ḥukmihi min ghayri an tabqā baqiyya). In truth, to affirm (ithbāt) anything [other than God] in accounting for what comes into being is idolatry (shirk).

The first house established for the people was that at Bakka, a blessed place, and a guidance to all the worlds.

Therein are clear signs, the station of Abraham; and whoever enters it is secure. It is the duty of people toward God to make the pilgrimage to the House, if he is able to make his way there. As for the one who disbelieves, God is independent of all the worlds.

The House is a bit of stone (ḥajara) and the servant is a bit of mud (madara).^{1The words madar (the generic collective form of the noun) and madara (the form indicating a specimen of the collective) refer to the mud or clay that is used between layers of stone to create solid stone structures (See Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, 2:2698–2699).} The bit of mud is bonded to the bit of stone (rabaṭa al-madara bi-l-ḥajara), so that mud (madar) is with stone (ḥajar) and the One who has always been is magnified and sanctified.

It is said that the House is the object of the circumambulation of bodily selves (nufūs) while the Real سبحانه is the object of the quest of hearts (qulūb).

The House consists of the remains and traces [of the past]. These are but relics and stones yet

These traces of ours

point to us.

So after we [are gone]

look to the traces.^{2Muṣṭafā states that this verse appears, but is not attributed, in Amālī l-Yazīdī (Muṣṭafā, no. 20, p. 62).}

It is said that the House is stone but not all stone is alike. [It is] stone but it causes the hearts of the lovers to awaken (muzʿij) and the souls^{3The Arabic is akbād, which literally means “livers” or “innards” but symbolically refers to the seat of emotions and passions. It is in this sense that the English word “souls” is used.} of the poor (fuqarāʾ) to leap (munfij). Indeed for the hearts of some it is cooling and pleasant (muthlij wa-mubhij) and for the hearts of others [it is] stimulating and arousing (munfij wa-muzʿij).

[What people see in the House depends on the] different types [of people]:

A House that is a place you go to seek out your loved ones and visit them (mazār), [or] where you hear news (akhbār) of them, and see the traces (āthār) [of their having been there].

A House—whoever looks to it with the eye of separation,^{4In other words, he looks to the House without seeking God.} returns with an innermost self laid waste (kharāb). Whoever observes it with the eye of connection^{5In other words, he looks to the House through His connection with God and not through his lower self.} wins every approach and approval (ījāb). As it is said:

Truly houses,

even when they are silent,

have a pact with Our lovers

since they stop at them.^{6This verse does not appear in Muṣṭafā.}

A House—whoever visits it with his bodily self finds His kindnesses, and whoever visits it with his heart finds His unveilings.

It is said that He said, “and purify My House” [2:125 and 22:26], attributing it to Himself. But here He said, “the first house established for the people,” and this is part of the allusion to the source of gathering together (ʿayn al-jamʿ) [in this verse].

It was named “Bakka” because of its being crowded with people.^{7One of the possible derivations of the word “Bakka” is said to be a verb meaning “to crowd around” (bakka), as reported in al-Ṭabarī’s tafsīr on this verse (Jāmiʿ al-bayān, altafsir.com).} Everyone vies with one another in rushing to it and they are crowded together in circumambulating it, and they exert their utmost in the path to reach it.

The House has not addressed anyone out of desire from the time that it was built, nor has it welcomed anyone as a favorite, nor sent anyone a line in a letter. If the House that He created from stone can be described with such majesty,^{8In other words, the House has no human characteristics and yet it is much more than stone.} what then do you think of the One to whom the House belongs? [The Prophet] ﷺ said, reporting from Him سبحانه, “Grandeur is My cloak and Majesty is My covering.”^{9ʿAbd al-Raḥmān cites the works of Ibn Ḥanbal and others as sources for this ḥadīth qudsī.}

It is said that reaching the House ascribed to Him involves the crossing of [difficult] deserts and desolate regions (matāhāt). How, then, can you hope to reach the Lord of the House easily, without bearing hardships (mashaqqāt) and leaving comforts (rāḥāt) behind?

It is said, “Do not attach your heart to the first house (awwal bayt) established for you, but rather devote your innermost self to the first Beloved (awwal ḥabīb) who chose you.”

It is said, “What a difference between a servant who remains in retreat (iʿtakafa) at the first house (awwal bayt) established for him and a servant who remains in the presence of the first Mighty One (awwal ʿazīz) to whom it belongs!”

It is said that the crowding of the poor (fuqarāʾ) by means of their aspirations (himam) around the House is not less than the crowding of those circumambulating on foot. The rich visit the House and circumambulate by foot while the poor are held back from it^{10That is, their poverty prevents them from making the pilgrimage.} yet circumambulate it with their aspirations.

It is said that the Kaʿba is the House of the Real سبحانه in stone and the heart is the House of the Real سبحانه in the innermost self. Their speaker said:

I am not

among the group of lovers if

I do not make the heart

His house and station.

And my circumambulation

is the circling of the innermost self in it.

It is my nook [of the black stone]

when I desire to touch it.^{11The final word in this line is istislām, which can mean to touch or reach the Black Stone of the Kaʿba, or to surrender or succumb to something. Muṣṭafā states that these verses are attributed to al-Shiblī, but with the word “journey” (sayr) instead of sirr in the second verse (Muṣṭafā, no. 6, pp. 104–105).}

The subtleties (laṭāʾif) circumambulate the hearts of those who have deeper knowledge (ʿārifūn). The realities (ḥaqāʾiq) are in retreat in the hearts of those who declare His unity (muwaḥḥidūn). The Kaʿba is what the servant seeks in pilgrimage and the heart is what the Real seeks when He singles [the heart] out for the proclamation of unity (tawḥīd) and ecstasy (wajd).^{12For more on what al-Qushayrī means by wajd, see the section on “Feigned ecstasy, ecstasy and ecstatic finding” (al-Tawājud wa-l-wajd wa-l-wujūd), Risāla, 1:201–206.}

A blessed place, and a guidance to all the worlds: Its blessings are the contact made with kindnesses and unveilings there.^{13“There” (hunāka) has been added on the basis of MS K117, fol. 39b.} Whoever seeks it through his aspiration (himma) and makes it his quest (qaṣd)—[God] guides such a person to the path of right direction (rushd).

Therein are clear signs, but these signs are not perceived with the physical eyes (abṣār) of the head but rather with the insights (baṣāʾir) of the heart.

The station of Abraham, in the outward sense [of the phrase], is the place where his feet left an imprint,^{14That is, the stone block next to the Kaʿba containing what is said to be the impressions left by the footprints of Abraham.} but the allusion here is to where the Friend عليه السلام^{15That is, Abraham.} stood with his aspirations (himam).

It is said that the nobility (sharaf) of the station of Abraham [refers to the way] it shows the trace (athar) of [the footprints of] Abraham and because the trace of the Friend عليه السلام possesses a weighty significance.

Whoever enters it is secure (kāna āminan): It is said that whoever enters the station of Abraham becomes and feels safe (kāna āminan),^{16This is an alternative translation of the phrase “is secure” (kāna āminan). Lane gives the original meaning of the verb amina as meaning “he was, or became, quiet, or tranquil, in heart, or mind” (Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, 1:100). Asad translates this phrase as “finds inner peace” (The Message of the Qurʾān, 82). The verb āmina (“to be faithful, to believe”) comes from the same Arabic root.} and the station of Abraham is surrender (taslīm). Whoever submits his affairs to God—no free choice (ikhtiyār) remains for him and he becomes and feels safe (kāna āminan). The opposite of feeling safe (āmin) is fear (khawf) and fear exists only when you do not get what you want (murād). When the servant has no desire (irāda) or choice (ikhtiyār), how can he be described as having fear?

It is said that the third person pronoun in His saying, enters it, refers to the House: whoever enters [God’s] House—in truth—is secure. Therefore his entry should be characterized by good manners (adab). Without a doubt the good manners for entering the House are to surrender one’s affairs to the Lord of the House. Those who do not surrender put themselves in an adversarial position in relation to the [divine] decree (taqdīr). Good manners for entering the House can only be through surrendering without resistance and strife; this refers back to the aforementioned meaning [of entering the station of Abraham].

If you take the allusion of the House to be the heart, then [it means that when] the authority of reality (sulṭān al-ḥaqīqa) enters someone’s heart, that person is secure (amina) from the divisive inclinations of human nature and the anxious clamor of the lower self. Surely there is no danger for those who take refuge in the shade of the King.

It is said that entering the House, in truth, can only [take place] by abandoning yourself, for when you have left yourself behind, you will enter the House on a sound footing. When you abandon yourself, you will find security (aminta).

It is said that entering His House will not be on a sound footing so long as you remain in your familiar territories and haunts, for a person cannot be in two places at the same time. Whoever enters the House of His Lord should abandon the familiar haunts of his lower self.

It is the duty of people toward God to make the pilgrimage to the House, if he is able to make his way there: The stipulation for the rich person is that he not hold back any of his wealth from the House. The stipulation for the poor person (faqīr) is that he not hold back even a breath of his spirit in reaching His House.

It is said that “being able” is of different types: [The first type] is one who is able by means of his own self and his wealth—he is healthy and unimpaired. [The second type] is one who is able [only] through others—he is chronically ill and hungry. The third [type] is one to whom most pay no heed. He is able through his Lord—this is the quality of every sincere (mukhlaṣ) and true person (mutaḥaqqaq),^{17The translation follows the word mutaḥaqqaq from MS K117, fol. 39b rather than the word “deserving one” (mustaḥiqq), as found in the Basyūnī edition. “One who has been proven true” (mutaḥaqqaq) is a better word to pair with mukhlaṣ. In the section on “Sincerity,” al-Qushayrī quotes Abū Bakr al-Daqqāq as saying that when God wants to purify someone’s sincerity (fa-idhā Allāh taʿālā an yukhliṣa ikhlāṣahu), he stops him from seeing his own sincerity so that he will be mukhlaṣ [through God], not mukhliṣ [seemingly by his own efforts or virtue] (Risāla, 2:445).} for his burdens^{18Literally “afflictions” (balāyā).} can only be born by [God’s] mounts.

It is said that the pilgrimage to the House is a [conditional] obligation for those who have the [necessary] wealth, while the pilgrimage^{19The word “pilgrimage” (ḥajj) does not occur in the Basyūnī edition, but has been filled in here from MS K117, fol. 39b.} to the Lord of the House is an unqualified obligation for the poor (fuqurāʾ). This is because the path to the House might be blocked, but the path to the Lord of the House is never blocked: the poor person (faqīr) cannot be deprived of Him.

It is said that the pilgrimage is the quest (qaṣd) to the One who is magnified, but there are those who seek to visit the House by means of their bodily selves and those who seek to witness the Lord of the House by means of their hearts. What a difference between one pilgrimage and another! Some remove their iḥrām^{20Iḥrām is the consecrated state pilgrims enter into during the pilgrimage; it involves wearing special garments and abstaining from the things that are prohibited until the last obligatory rites of the pilgrimage have been completed.} at the completion of the sacrifice and the performance of the acts fulfilling their obligation, while others remove their iḥrām at the witnessing of their Lord. Some pursue the quest through their bodily selves, entering into the consecrated state and leaving all that is designated as prohibited while in iḥrām, while others pursue the quest through their hearts, entering into the consecrated state of leaving behind familiar things and the witnessing of anything or anyone other [than God].

As for the one who disbelieves, God is independent of all the worlds: He has branded those who omit the pilgrimage to the House as disbelievers. Because of these words, the hearts of the scholars have fallen into the turmoil of rational interpretation (taʾwīl).^{21In his commentary on this Qurʾānic verse, al-Ṭabarī records a number of opinions regarding whether or not the phrase one who disbelieves refers to disbelievers in general, or specifically to those who neglect to perform the ḥajj or reject the obligation of the ḥajj (Jāmiʿ al-bayān, altafsir.com).} Then He said, “God is independent of all the worlds.” This is the intensification of a threat (ziyādat tahdīd)^{22The translation follows “threat” (tahdīd) from MS K117, fol. 39b rather than the word taḥdīd found in the Basyūnī edition.} that indicates the intensification of a selection (ziyādat takhṣīṣ).^{23Al-Qushayrī understands this verse as referring to those in Muḥammad’s community who neglect the obligation of the ḥajj, and seems to suggest that the phrase God is independent of all the worlds is an additional warning to this community that they will be held to a higher standard than other communities. See his commentary on Qurʾān 2:52.}

It is said that the way of the pilgrim to the House lies in the good manners (ādāb) of the pilgrimage: When someone knots the iḥrām in his heart, he must let go of every knot blocking him from this path (hātha al-ṭarīq) and undo every resolve that keeps him from this task of realization (hātha al-taḥqīq). When he performs the ablution, he purifies himself from every bit of dirt from the traces of anything other [than God] with the water of embarrassment, then the water of shame (ḥayāʾ), then the water of fidelity (wafāʾ), and then the water of pure clarity (ṣafāʾ). When he takes off his robe, he takes off the clothing of his blameworthy characteristics. When he calls out labbayka,^{24“Here I am, O God, here I am. . .” (labbayka Lllāhummā labbayk. . . ).} not one hair on his body should remain that has not already responded to God.

When he reaches the place of standing, he stands with his heart and his innermost self without choice or opposition to wherever the Real would have him stand. When he stands at ʿArafāt, he recognizes (ʿarafa) the Real (al-ḥaqq) and recognizes the right (ḥaqq) that belongs to Him most high over himself. He makes himself known (yataʿarrafa)^{25Al-Qushayrī is playing with different words from the root ʿa–r–f: ʿarāfat, ʿarafa, taʿarrafa.} to God most high by absolving himself of any strength and power (bi-tabarrīhi ʿan munnatihi wa-ḥawlihi), and the Real سبحانه makes Himself known (yataʿarrafa) to him with His grace and might (bi-minnatihi wa-ṭawlihi). When he reaches the sacred waymark (al-mashʿar al-ḥarām)^{26A phrase referring to Muzdalifa, a place between ʿArafāt and Minā. It is mentioned in Qurʾān 2:198: You would not be at fault if you should seek bounty from your Lord; but when you press on from ʿArafāt, then remember God at the sacred waymark; and remember Him as He has guided you, though previously you were astray.} he remembers his Protector by forgetting himself—his remembrance of his Lord is not sound if at the same time he is remembering himself. When he reaches Minā he removes every request and desire, every passion and fancy, from his heart. When he throws the pebbles, he throws every attachment in this world and the next from his heart. When he sacrifices, he sacrifices his own whims entirely, and seeks approach to the Real سبحانه with [the sacrifice].^{27The verb “to seek approach or nearness” (taqarraba) comes from the same root as the noun “sacrifice” (qurbān), which is an offering made to seek nearness to God.}

When he enters the ḥaram^{28The ḥaram refers to the area around the Kaʿba. The last stage of the pilgrimage is the return to this area and another circumambulation around the Kaʿba.} he resolves to distance himself from every prohibited thing (muḥarram) according to the language of the law (lisān al-sharīʿa) and allusion of true reality (ishārat al-ḥaqīqa).^{29Al-Qushayrī explains the relationship between “The law and the true reality” (al-Sharīʿa wa-l-ḥaqīqa) in his Risāla, 1:240.} When his glance falls on the House, he witnesses the Lord of the House in his heart, and when he circumambulates the House, his innermost secret circles the dominion (malakūt). When he runs between Ṣafā and Marwa, he purifies (ṣaffā)^{30Ṣafā and ṣaffā are derived from the same root: ṣ-f–y.} every bit of the turbidity of [his] mortal nature (bashariyya) and corruption of human nature (insāniyya). When he shaves his head, he cuts every attachment that remains to him. When he removes the iḥrām from himself and his journey to the House of his Lord, he renews [it with] a new iḥrām in his heart. Then, just as he leaves the house of himself for the House of his Lord, he leaves the House of his lord for his Lord most high. Whoever completes his sacrifice acts only for the sake of his own soul. Whoever is lazy, God is independent of all the worlds. [The Prophet] ﷺ said, “The pilgrim has matted hair and is dusty”^{31ʿAbd al-Raḥmān does not give sources for this ḥadīth.}—those who have not actualized the perfection of humility and vanishing from oneself do not have matted hair and are not dusty.

Say: “O people of the scripture, why do you disbelieve in God’s verses, when God is witness of what you do?”

The divine address in this verse is meant to confirm the obligation of the pilgrimage [for the people of the scripture]. With respect to the law, the pilgrimage is obligatory for them^{1This is added on the basis of MS K117, fol. 40a.} but with respect to the true state of affairs (ḥaqīqa) and [divine] subjugation (qahr), the pilgrimage is barred to them. They are called by the law and command (hum madʿuwūna sharʿan wa-amran), but banished by the decree and the subjugation (maṭrūdūna ḥukman wa-qahran).

Say: “O people of the scripture, why do you bar believers from God’s way, desiring to make it crooked, while you yourselves are witnesses. God is not heedless of what you do.”

How can one who is barred himself bar another? Surely in this is a secret belonging to the [divine] Lordship.

O you who believe, if you obey a party of those who have been given the scripture, they will turn you, after you have believed, into disbelievers.

Estrangement is not restricted to just the estranged, but also extends to anyone who becomes part of their circle. Whoever follows the enemy of God into this ruinous companionship will be cast down to the same level.

How can you disbelieve while you have God’s verses recited to you, and His Messenger is in your midst? Whoever holds fast to God, he is guided to a straight path.

It is not right that the shade of disbelief should pass over one whose heart [has seen] the rising suns of deeper knowledge (ʿirfān). For surely, when day comes, night slips away.

Whoever holds fast to God: The one who holds fast to God has [in truth] only found the holding fast from God. How could those who have not been guided by God hold fast to God? The guidance from Him in the beginning (bidāya) causes you [to] hold fast in the end (nihāya). Your holding fast does not cause the guidance (hidāya). The true state of affairs of holding fast is sincerity, taking oneself to Him, persevering in the flight to Him, and continuing to appeal for His help. Whoever has the covering of separation removed from his innermost self realizes that there is not an atom that belongs to, or comes from, anything other than God. The people who hold fast to Him are those who are held fast by Him. The leader of those who come first and those who come last ﷺ^{1That is, Muḥammad.} said, “I seek refuge in You from You.”^{2ʿAbd al-Raḥmān does not give any sources for this ḥadīth.}

Whoever holds fast to Him through himself^{3The translation follows MS K117, fol. 40a: man iʿtaṣama bihi bi-nafsihi.}—without being effaced from his own strength and power in his holding—his homeland is idolatry (shirk), but he is unaware.

O you who believe, fear God as He should be feared (ḥaqqa tuqātihi)

The proper manner (ḥaqq) of fearing God (taqwā) is to conform with the command, neither more nor less of one’s own accord. This is something that has been confirmed by teachings. His command (amr) has two aspects, one of obligation and one of recommendation. Likewise, what is said regarding prohibition (nahy) has two parts, a forbidding and an abstaining from what is blameworthy. Included in this is the proper manner of fearing Him: [it] is first to avoid error, then to avoid negligence, then to beware of any omission, then to cleanse every defect. When you fear looking to your fear of God (taqwā), after you have become characterized by it, then you will truly fear God as you should fear Him.

The proper manner of fearing God is to abandon disobedience (ʿiṣyān) and to remove forgetfulness (nisyān); to uphold contracts (ʿuhūd) and preserve the limits (ḥudūd); to bear witness to the divinity (al-ilāhiyya) and abandon the precepts of human nature (al-bashariyya); to be extinguished under the flow of the decree (ḥukm) after avoiding every sin and injustice; to feel disdain for seeking to gain access to Him based on anything related to your obedience rather than His pure generosity; and to realize that He does not accept or reject anyone for cause (ʿilla).

and do not die, except as Muslims.

Do not let death (wafāt) overtake you, unless you are in a condition of good faith (wafāʾ).^{1Wafāʾ and wafāt are from the same Arabic root, w–f–y. Wafā means to be faithful by fulfilling one’s agreement, promise, or vow. Wafāt is the fulfillment or completion of one’s life, that is, death.}

And hold fast to God’s bond, together, and do not scatter; remember God’s grace upon you when you were enemies, and He brought your hearts together so that by His grace you became brothers; and you were upon the brink of a pit of fire; but He delivered you from it. So God makes clear to you His signs that you might be guided.

Holding fast to His bond سبحانه is clinging to the traces of the intermediary (āthār al-wāsiṭa)—the noble one (ʿazīz) ﷺ.^{1That is, Muḥammad.} This [comes] from confirming what is true and right (taḥaqquq) and remaining devoted (taʿalluq) to the Book and the sunna.

It is rightly said that [the words] and hold fast to God’s bond are spoken to the elite (khawāṣṣ), while [the words] and hold fast to God [4:146 and 22:78] are spoken to the elect of the elect (khāṣṣ al-khāṣṣ). Whoever turns from His auspicious occurrences (sawāniḥ) back to his own choosing and devising (iḥtiyāl), his own thinking and reasoning (istidlāl), his own ways of knowing and behaving (ashkāl); and takes refuge in the shade of his own planning (tadbīr), seeking illumination by the light of his own intellect and speculation (tafkīr)—such a person is denied the shade of divine solicitude and is left with his unfortunate state.

And do not scatter: Scattering or separation (tafriqa) is the most intense punishment. It is the companion to associating others with God (shirk).

And remember God’s grace upon you when you were enemies: They were enemies when they remained with their worldly concerns, turning toward the narrowness of human nature, and competing with one another as befits the stinginess of [their] lower selves.

And He brought your hearts together through deliverance from the captivity of created things.^{2The more literal meaning of mukawwanāt is “things brought into existence.”} He drove away afflictions from their innermost selves. Then what they sought together became one thing. If a thousand people were to be brought together in one pursuit, they would, in truth, be one.

So that by His grace you became brothers: His grace is His safeguarding (ʿiṣma) of you as brothers united in aim and aspiration, annihilated from the worldly concerns of the lower self and the furtive impulses of stinginess and avarice.

And you were upon the brink of a pit of fire by your being held captive to the objects of your desire (munākum) and [being] bound by the shackles of your worldly concerns and whims (hawākum).

But He delivered you from it by the light of contentment (riḍāʾ) and by your being extinguished with the flow of the decree (qaḍāʾ), and this is, in truth, the greatest position (al-makānat al-ʿuẓmā) and the weightiest rank (al-darajat al-kubrā). Included in this is abandoning reliance on that which is from your own virtue and piety (tuqā), intellect and discernment (ḥijā), learning and understanding (nuhā); and fleeing to God, may He be glorified and exalted above everything other (siwā).

Let there be one community of you calling to good, and enjoining decency, and forbidding indecency; those are the successful.

This is an allusion to groups of people who have remained with God, for God. No blame of any blamer reaches them, and no reliance on any cause (ʿilla) cuts them off from God. All of them have sought awareness of the indicators (dalālāt) of His command, have restrained their lower selves,^{1The translation follows the word anfus from MS K117, fol. 40b rather than anfās from the Basyūnī edition.} and have devoted their lives to seeking His good pleasure. They have worked for God, have been sincere and faithful to the religion (dīn) of God, and have called the created beings of God to God. So their trade is profitable and their dealings produce no loss.

Be not as those who scattered and disputed after the clear proofs came to them, those will have a mighty chastisement.

He showed these groups of people the marks of seeking in the beginning (ibtidāʿ) but then branded them with the burning of separation in the end (intihāʾ). They passed the night with the party of lovers and then awoke with the group of outsiders.

The day when some faces are blackened, and some faces whitened. As for those whose faces are blackened, “did you disbelieve after you had believed? Then taste the chastisement for what you disbelieved!”

But for those whose faces are whitened, they shall be in God’s mercy, abiding therein.

The faces of the lords of pretensions (daʿāwā) will be blackened while the faces of the companions of meanings (maʿānī) will be whitened. The faces of the people of unveilings (kushūfāt) will be whitened through illumination. The faces of the companions of the veil (ḥijāb) will be blackened with shame,^{1The translation follows the word “shame” (khajla) from MS K117, fol. 40b rather than ḥijba or ḥajba from the Basyūnī edition.} covered with dust (taʿlūhā ghabara), and overcast with gloom (wa-tarhaquhā qatara).^{2Al-Qushayrī is rephrasing Qurʾān 80:40–41: And some faces on that day will be covered with dust (ʿalayhā ghabara), overcast with gloom (tarhaquhā qatara).}

It is said that whoever’s heart is white today, his face will be white in the future, and the one who is the opposite, his situation will be the reverse.

It is said that whoever turns away from created beings before His auspicious occurrences (sawāniḥ), his face will become white with the spirit of having committed his affairs [to God] (rūḥ al-tafwīḍ). Whoever’s heart is attached to what is other [than God] with wants and needs (ḥawāʾij), his heart will become black, [and] his face [will be] in the dust of covetousness. As for those whose faces have become white, they will be in intimacy and ease (rawḥ). As for those whose faces have become blackened, they will [experience] tribulations and lamentation (nawḥ).

Those are the verses of God which We recite to you in truth, and God desires not any injustice for the worlds.

To God belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth, and to Him all matters are returned.

We make our address to you continuous in all times, in all things small and large, a cultivation of the way of love (widād).

And God desires not any injustice for the worlds: How could it be possible to ascribe injustice to Him in the determining of events (taqdīr) and existence (wujūd), when all created beings are His creation and what has been determined for them is His wise determination (ḥukm)?

To God belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth by way of possession (milk) and to Him all matters are returned by way of determination (ḥukm).

You are the best community (khayra ummatin) brought forth to men, enjoining decency, and forbidding indecency, and believing in God.

Because Muṣṭafā ﷺ^{1Muṣṭafā is an epithet for Muḥammad and means “the chosen one.”} is the most honored of the prophets, his community is the best of communities. Because they are the best of communities, they are the most desiring (ashwāq) of communities.^{2Because of repetition that appears to be in error, the text in Basyūnī’s edition has been modified, with reference to MS K117, fol. 41a.} Because they are the most desiring of communities, their lives are the shortest of lives.^{3Presumably, al-Qushayrī means that Muḥammad’s community is the most desirous of the hereafter. See his commentary on Qurʾan 2:94–2:96.} He created them as the last of created beings so that their stay beneath the earth would not be long [before the resurrection]. Their goodness (khayriyya) has been obtained not by the abundance of their prayers and devotional acts, but by the intensity with which He has drawn them near and selected them. Surely the standing of the earlier ones at the door has been long, but when the permission comes to enter, the later ones will go first.

How many reach out

to connect to us

[yet] their palms receive

no share.^{4Muṣṭafā states that the verse is attributed to al-ʿAbbās b. al-Aḥnaf and to Ibn al-Muʿtazz (Muṣṭafā, no. 18, pp. 28–29).}

Enjoining decency, and forbidding indecency:

Decency is service to the Real and indecency is keeping company with the lower self.

Decency is to prefer what is due to the Real (ḥaqq al-ḥaqq) and indecency is to choose the worldly concerns of the lower self (ḥaẓẓ al-nafs).

Decency is what brings you close to Him and indecency is what veils you from Him.

In the command to decency you are bound to be characterized by decency and in forbidding indecency you are required to turn away from it.

Had the people of the scripture believed, it would have been better for them; some of them are believers; but most of them are wicked.

If everyone had been included under Our command, they would have attained true glory in this world and the hereafter, but they were kept away from acceptance in the choice already made—most of them were branded with associating partners with God (shirk).

They will not harm you, except a little hurt; and if they fight against you, they will turn their backs to you, then they will not be helped.

The Real سبحانه وتعالى does not give His enemies^{1“His enemies” (aʿdāʾuhu) has been added on the basis of MS K117, fol. 41a.} power over His friends, except as much as will prove the sincerity of the flight [of the friends] to God, for the reality of their flight (firār) is nobler before Him than their staying firm (qarār). If [the enemies] imagine themselves to be superior to the friends, in truth, they suffer lowliness and degradation.

Abasement shall be cast upon them, wherever they are found, save a rope of God, and a rope of the people; they have incurred anger from God, and poverty shall be cast upon them; that because they disbelieved in God’s signs, and slew the prophets without right; that because they disobeyed and used to transgress.

The sign of being exiled cannot be hidden, the mark of distance cannot be concealed, and the evidence of being cut off cannot be veiled. They are in the lowly state of having been banished and abased by rejection. Those who have eyes (ulū l-abṣar) learn from them, while those among the disbelievers and the profligates (al-kuffār al-fujjār) who are of their kind are deceived by them.

Yet they are not all alike; some of the people of the scripture are a community upright, who recite God’s verses in the watches of the night, prostrating themselves.

They believe in God and in the Last Day, enjoining decency and forbidding indecency, vying with one another in good works; those are of the righteous.

Just as the difference between light and darkness is one of contradiction, it has likewise been established that the states of the friends and the states of the enemies are mutually exclusive. How can illumination and darkness (ẓulma), certainty and suspicion (tuhma), communion and separation (furqa), distance and intimacy (ulfa), devotion on the carpet and turning from the door, being characterized by friendship (walāʾ) and departing from fidelity (wafāʾ) be considered equal? How can the two possibly come together? How can they be compatible or equal?

And whatever good they do, they shall not be denied it, and God knows the God-fearing.

One who is intent shall not be debarred from His door; one who does business shall not suffer loss on His account; one who desires companionship shall not be lonely with Him; and one who seeks shall not be contemptible before Him.

As for the disbelievers, their riches shall not avail them, neither their children, against God; those are the inhabitants of the fire, abiding therein.

There is no alternate for them in the situation, no substitute for them in the final outcome. They are in a state of loss in the here and now and in the future will be in separation and exile, affliction and hurt, punishment and rejection:

She changed and we changed.

Alas to anyone who

has sought but did not find a

replacement to let him forget.^{1There is an error in the Basyūnī edition which Muṣṭafā corrects to yaslū. The MS K117, fol. 41a has yuslī here. He notes a similar verse attributed to al-Mustaẓhir bi-Llāh: tabaddalū wa-tabaddalnā wa-akhsarnā man ibtaghā badalan minnā fa-lam yajid (Muṣṭafā, no. 14, p. 47). Al-Qushayrī cites the same verse in his commentary on Qurʾān 2:10.}

The likeness of what they expend in the life of this world is as the likeness of a wind wherein is a blast that smote the tillage of a people who have wronged themselves and destroyed it. God did not wrong them, but they wronged themselves.

They found no inheritance for what they spent for other than God except continuous affliction. They obtained nothing from their calculations except one tribulation after another. That is the recompense of those who reject and turn their backs.

O you who believe, do not take as intimates anyone apart from yourselves; such men spare nothing to ruin you; they would love for you to suffer. Hatred is revealed by their mouths; and what their breasts conceal is yet greater. Now We have made clear to you the signs; if you understand.

To trust the adversary, after difficulties have become apparent, is to further facilitate the deception of the enemy. The Real سبحانه advised the Muslims to be wary of the opposition, to declare themselves free of anyone other [than Him], and to continually persist in their devotion to the Real سبحانه in the heart and innermost self. He stated that, from the beginning, it was not unexpected that [there would be] opponents of the Messenger ﷺ among the people. How could it not be so when [Muḥammad] ﷺ [was] drawn near and they [were] turned away? How can night be combined with day?

Lo, there you are, you love them, but they love you not; you believe in the Book, all of it, and when they meet you they say, “We believe,” but when they are alone, they bite their fingertips at you in rage.

“Your hearts, in the matter of your magnanimity, are clear of impurities so sympathy predominates in you for them. But they, in their ferocious recalcitrance and antagonism, deceive you in what they are capable of doing. Because of their savageness you will not receive a drop of anything from them but their rage, so free your heart of them, O Muḥammad.”

Say: “Perish in your rage. God knows what is in the breasts.”

“Leave them alone in suffering the rage that is mixed up inside them,^{1The translation follows the verb mā yatadākhaluhum from MS K117, fol. 41a here rather than mā nudākhiluhum from the Basyūnī edition.} and find peace in your hearts [in relation] to what has happened to them, for God is nearer to His servants; He bestows what He will on whom He will.”

If good fortune befalls you, it is evil for them; but if evil befalls you, they rejoice thereat. Yet if you endure and fear [God], their guile will not hurt you at all; God encompasses what they do.

This verse alludes to those who abandon the path of spiritual desire (irāda), and return to the states of the people of habit (ahl al-ʿāda). They are not happy to see an aspirant (murīd) have a breakthrough (nafādh); rather they are glad when they see listlessness in a seeker (qāṣid). God in His favor and grace perfects His light for the people of His solicitude and He lets the evildoers stray from His path and their distance is punishment. He is not concerned with what comes to them.

And when you went forth at dawn from your family to assign the believers their places for battle, and God hears, knows.

He put [the Prophet] ﷺ in charge of assigning the places for battle, delegating His command to him. Then He made manifest in this matter the hidden things of His secret. The axis revolves around His determination and decree (fa-l-madār ʿalā qaḍāʾihi wa-qadarihi), and the crossing over is by means of what He brings about and chooses (wa-l-iʿtibār bi-ijrāʾihi wa-ikhtiyārihi).^{1“Crossing over” (iʿtibār) is a term used by al-Qushayrī to describe the way in which occurrences in this world can be understood as references to hidden realities. It also can be translated as “taking heed,” as in Qurʾān 59:2, so take heed (iʿtabirū), O you who have eyes! Some can see these correspondences and some cannot. See also al-Qushayrī’s use of this term in his commentary on Qurʾān 2:26 and 2:253.}

When two parties of you were about to lose heart; and God was their protector, and let the believers rely on God.

He brings forth everyone in the vest of free choice (ikhtiyār), as if their negation and affirmation, their acts and abstention from acting were at their [own] command. In truth, they are only turned about by the agency of (His) grasp (taṣrīf al-qabḍa) and the turning of (His) deliberative power (taqlīb al-qudra).

God already gave you victory at Badr, when you were contemptible. So fear God, in order that you might be thankful.

The reminder of favors granted in the past is an opening to the door of supplication to ask for similar things in the future.

When you were saying to the believers, “Is it not sufficient for you that your Lord should reinforce you with three thousand angels sent down?

Yea, if you are patient and fear, and they come against you instantly, your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand angels accoutred.”

The tranquility sent by the Real سبحانه to the heart of Muṣṭafā ﷺ was from God سبحانه, without intermediary, while the strengthening of the hearts of the believers was through the intermediary of the Messenger ﷺ. If not for [the doubt that] remained in them, he would not have replied to them, telling [them] of the help [that would] be sent in the angel (malak). Why tell of the angel when the affair is entirely in the hand of the King (malik)?

What God ordained was only as a good tiding to you and that your hearts might be at peace. Victory comes only from God, the Mighty, the Wise.

God سبحانه follows His practice (sunna) with His friends is such a way that, when their intentions (niyyāt) become weak, their spiritual desire (irāda) low, or their hearts are on the verge of listlessness (fatra), He shows them kindnesses (alṭāf) and special gifts (karāmāt). By these the ties of their deeper knowledge (ʿirfān) are strengthened and the realities of their certainty (yaqīn) are confirmed. He sent down this address according to this practice (sunna). Then He severed their hearts and innermost selves from anything other than Him entirely, saying, Victory comes only from God.

And that He might cut off a party of the disbelievers, or suppress them, so that they fall back, frustrated.

God does not let enemies gloat over the misfortunes of His friends. Even if the believer is struck by a catastrophic defeat (nakba), there is no doubt that God will cause His enemy to suffer trial and punishment.

It is no concern at all of yours, whether He relents to them or chastises them; for they are indeed evildoers.

To God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth; He forgives whom He wills and chastises whom He wills. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.

The deity is the One to whom belongs the command and the prohibition. Because there is no counterpart to Him in divinity, [the Prophet] ﷺ has nothing to do with the command and the prohibition.

It is said that in what He taught him and told him, He divested [the Prophet] of everything else and every share or claim inasmuch as He stated that the command was in no way his. If no part of the command is permitted for the leader of the first and the last, how can there be any part of the command for the one whose rank is lower in station?

It is said that He takes for Himself alone the secret^{1The word “secret” (sirr) is taken from MS K117, fol. 41b.} of His servants in His decree (ḥukm), saying, “I am the One who relents to whom I will among My servants and I punish whom I will. What happens in the end is hidden from you, O Muḥammad, and you are not aware of My secret regarding them.”

It is said that He raised [the Prophet] up at one time to a station in which He said, “and you threw not when you threw, but God threw” [8:17]. [The Prophet] threw a handful of earth and hit all the faces [of the enemy]. But in another time He said to him, “No part of the command is yours” [3:128], and then added in explanation, “To God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth” [3:129]. Therefore the right to possess is His right to possess (mulk), the command is His command (amr), and the decree is His decree (ḥukm). He punishes whom He will (fa-man shāʾa ʿadhdhabahu) and brings closer [to Him] whom He will (wa-man shāʾa qarrabahu). He guides whom He will (wa-man shāʾa hadāhu) and leads astray whom He will (wa-man shāʾa aghwāhu).

O you who believe, do not exact usury, doubled and redoubled. And fear God, so that you may prosper.

And fear the fire that has been prepared for the disbelievers.

[God] has prohibited usury for His servants; this includes loaning one amount and asking twice as much in return. But He has asked you for a loan which He will repay seven hundredfold, even up to an infinite repayment.^{1Al-Qushayrī is referencing Qurʾān 2:245, 57:11, and 64:17: Who is he that will lend God a loan that is good, and He will multiply it manifold? [2:245].} This alludes to the magnanimity (karam) that is not inherent in humans but rather is an attribute of the Real سبحانه.

And fear the fire that has been prepared for the disbelievers: These words indicate that the believer will not be chastised by [the fire]. If he is chastised by it for a time, he will not abide in it.

And obey God and the Messenger, so that you may find mercy.

[God] tied obedience to the Messenger ﷺ to obedience to Himself. This was to elevate [the Prophet’s] rank, and to make things easier for the community by handing them over to the company of an individual who was one of them. It is more reassuring to be with one’s own kind.

And vie with one another, hastening to forgiveness from your Lord, and to a garden as wide as the heavens and the earth that has been prepared for those who fear.

Who expend in prosperity and adversity, and restrain their rage, and pardon their fellow men; and God loves those who are virtuous.

The meaning here is vie with one another, hastening to act in ways that will bring about forgiveness for you. The hearts [of the believers] were overwhelmed, imagining that this was a difficult matter, so [the Prophet] ﷺ said, “Remorse is repentance” (al-nadmu tawba).^{1Neither Basyūnī nor ʿAbd al-Raḥmān give the sources for this ḥadīth.} Nothing but repentance brings about forgiveness because the one who disobeys is the one who is in need of it.

The people who vie with one another are of several types. Those who are worshipers (ʿābidūn) vie with one another by their feet in acts of obedience (bi-qadamihim fī l-ṭāʿāt). Those who have deeper knowledge (ʿārifūn) vie with one another with their aspirations, in acts of drawing near (bi-himamihim fī l-qurubāt). Those who are disobedient (ʿāṣūn) vie with one another with their remorse, by swallowing their grief (bi-nadamihim bi-tajarruʿi al-ḥasarāt). Whoever vies with others by his feet finds [God’s] recompense (wajada mathwabatahu). Whoever vies with others with his aspirations finds [God’s] nearness (wajada qurbatahu). Whoever vies with others with his remorse finds [God’s] mercy (wajada raḥmatahu).

When He mentioned the garden, He described it by the vastness of its width, and in that there is information about its height because the height is comparable to the width. But when He mentioned forgiveness, he did not mention height or width, so some people have said that forgiveness is from the [divine] attributes of the essence (ṣifāt al-dhāt) and is part of the meaning of mercy (raḥma). According to this (way of thinking), His forgiveness is His decree (ḥukm) in overlooking [the misdeeds of] the servant^{2The phrase We overlook their misdeeds occurs in Qurʾān 47:16.} and His speech (kalām). The quality of the essence is too holy for size and width. [On the other hand], those who say His forgiveness belongs with the [divine] attributes of actions (ṣifāt al-fiʿl) say that because of the abundance of sins, He did not describe forgiveness as having any end, thus indicating that it encompasses all sins.

Who expend in prosperity and adversity: They do not hoard anything from God and prefer Him over everything. They expend their bodies in acts of obedience and in various litanies and efforts. [They expend] their wealth in spreading good works and striving to draw near [to God] by various kinds of almsgiving. [They expend] their hearts in seeking and then continual observation. [They expend their spirits] in the purity of what they love and the fullness of their states. [They expend] their innermost selves in witnessing in all moments, waiting for the allusions to what has been sought, exerting their utmost to take advantage of the subtlety of what appears.

And restrain their rage: They overlook [the faults] of people because they regard them with the eye of kinship. Some people are forbearing with the sins of others, but they view them with an eye of superiority. Others restrain their rage in recognition that the Real سبحانه knows what they suffer and so bearing the burden becomes easy for them. Others have passed away from human properties (aḥkām al-bashariyya), and find the purest comforts^{3The translation follows the word “comforts” (rāḥāt) from MS K117, fol. 42a rather than the word “degrees” (darajāt) found in the Basyūnī edition.} in abasement because their lower selves have fallen away and have been annihilated. Others see not even an atom of anything other [than God] in bringing forth and executing [what appears on earth and in human interactions], since they know that the One who brings forth is God. Therefore their disputes and quarrels with anything other than God have disappeared, for when they have singled Him out as the sole cause of origination, they yield to His decree and they see no way other than submission to it. The Real سبحانه has conferred upon them the coolness of contentment (riḍāʾ) and they uphold for Him the condition of harmony (muwāfaqa).

And pardon their fellow men: They see it as an obligation on themselves, not a favor from them to their fellow men. Their speaker said:

Many have thrown stones of harm

meant for me.

I have not found any escape

except compassion for them.^{4Muṣṭafā adds another verse: “It may be that God will show me the most oppressive of people and then draw me near to Him.” He states that the verses have been attributed to Bahlūl b. ʿAmr (Muṣṭafā, no. 2, p. 120).}

God loves those who are virtuous: Virtuousness (iḥsān) is that you worship God as if you see Him, and this is the right conduct with the Real. As for right conduct with people, virtuousness is that you give up your right entirely, no matter what it is worth and to whomever; [you] receive his acceptance^{5There is a blank in the Basyūnī edition that has been completed from MS K117, fol. 42a: taqbalu bi-qubūlihi minhu.} gladly, and [do] not hold any favor against him.

And who when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember God, and pray forgiveness for their sins—and who shall forgive sins but God?—and who do not persist in what they did, knowing.

Those—their requital is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein; excellent is the wage of those workers!

God most high revealed to Moses عليه السلام, “say to those who do wrong, ‘Until such time as they do not remember Me, I have obliged Myself to remember those who remember Me and My remembrance of those who do wrong is the curse.’” But He said to those who do wrong in this community, [when] they wrong themselves, remember God, and then says in the last part of the verse: and who shall forgive sins but God? ^{1One of the occasions of revelation for this verse, cited by Abū l-Ḥasan al-Wāḥidī in his Asbāb nuzūl al-Qurʾān, describes a concern the Companions brought to the Prophet. They wondered if the children of Israel were more favored by God than them, because they were given specific and individual instructions on how to expiate their sins. When this verse was revealed, Muḥammad asked them whether they had not been given something better (al-Wāḥidī’s Asbāb al-nuzūl, trans. Guezzou; Ayoub, The Qur’an and Its Interpreters, 2:322).}

It is said that one’s indecency (fāḥisha) is according to one’s state (ḥāl) and station (maqām), as is true of one’s wrongdoing (ẓulm). The transgressions (mukhālafāt) that occur in the minds of the most respected people are like the actions of others. Their speaker said:

You are my eye.

Is it not right for my eye

to lower its eyelids

against the dust in the air?^{2Both Basyūnī and Muṣṭafā identify this verse as that of Ibn al-Rūmī (Muṣṭafā, no. 3, pp. 22–23).}

The crime on the carpet is not like the sin at the door.

It is said that they commit an indecency by relying on their [own] actions, or they wrong themselves by regarding their [own] states, so they seek forgiveness for their sins by declaring themselves free from what they do and do not do, knowing that there are no means to Him except through Him. He has purified them of the wrongdoings of their bodily and lower selves. Looking to states and actions when realities appear is wrongdoing. One whom God has purified by the light of solicitude is protected from entanglement in the delusions of people.

Those—their requital is forgiveness from their Lord in returning them to witnessing the Lordship and the best possible outcome and fate that was already theirs.

And gardens beneath which rivers flow in the future in paradise and in the here and now in the happiness of whispered conversations^{3The translation follows MS K117, fol. 42b in “whispered conversations” (munājāt) rather than “permitted things” (mubāḥāt) from the Basyūnī edition.} and the fullness of intimacy.

Ways of life have passed away before you; so travel in the land and behold how was the end of those who denied.

This is an exposition for mankind, and a guidance, and an admonition for such as are God-fearing.

It means “Take heed from those who came before. Consider how We acted with those who showed friendship, and how We took revenge on those who showed enmity.”

This is an exposition for mankind: an exposition to some people through rational proofs (adillat al-ʿuqūl), to others through unveilings of hearts (mukāshafāt al-qulūb), and to others through the self-disclosure of the Real in the innermost selves (tajallī l-ḥaqq fī l-asrār).

Faint not, neither grieve, for you shall prevail if you are believers.

[This] means when you support or launch an attack by means of [the help of] God, you should not be afraid of anything other than God. Nor should you faint or become weak, for surely help is from God and the One who prevails is God. Nothing is equal to God. Not even an atom or a particle [originates] from them.

His words if you are believers, that is, it is not right that the believer should be overshadowed by fear of anything other than God.

If a wound touches you, a like wound already has touched the other people. Such days We deal out in turn among mankind, and that God may know those who believe; and that He may take witnesses from among you, and God loves not the evildoers.

“If a difficulty has come to you for Our sake, they have faced something similar before you. They have been given something like what you have been given.” Those who are patient among them will be victorious (fa-man ṣabara minhum ẓafira), while those who suffer what comes with annoyance and anger will lose (wa man ḍajira min ḥamli ma laqiya khasira). Days come in turns (al-ayām nuwabun) and circumstances change (wa-l-ḥālāt duwalun), and nothing is hidden from the Real.

And that God may prove the believers, and efface the disbelievers.

The tests of the unseen are a kind of smelting^{1The translation follows Basyūnī’s suggestion that the word “smelting” (sabk) must be the intended word, even though the manuscripts he was working from and the manuscript used for this translation (MS K117, fol. 42b) have the word “entangling” (shabk). Sabk refers to the process of melting, refining, and shaping metal and is used metaphorically to speak of the testing and refining of human character.} for the servant. Through various stages, He purifies him from faults so that he becomes like pure gold without any dross. In this way, one becomes clear of defects and purified for God.

And efface the disbelievers in the wadis of dispersion (tafriqa). As for the scum, it passes away as dross [13:17].^{2Basyūnī suggests that this verse may have been placed here in error and belongs in the previous paragraph to explain the word “dross” (khabath). However, it occurs in this order as well in the MS K117, fol. 42b and has been left here in the translation.}

Or did you suppose that you should enter paradise without God knowing who among you have struggled and who are patient.

The wish of those who think they can arrive at a greatly esteemed place without enduring hardships casts them into the abyss of destruction. On the other hand, those who recognize the value of [the place] that is sought^{1That is, paradise.} will have the exertion of their pains made easy for them:

Time is not generous

with its pleasures

for those who are reluctant

to throw off restraints.^{2Basyūnī attributes the verse to Abū Nuwās and says it refers to his dispute with Muslim b. al-Walīd. The verse does not appear in Muṣṭafā.}

Their speaker said:

When youth is on the lookout

for the lightning of meanings (al-maʿānī),

the least valuable use of time

is the pleasantry of sleep.^{3Muṣṭafā gives two references for this verse, one attributed to ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and one to Abū l-Qāsim al-Saʿdī (Muṣṭafā, no. 20, p. 49).}

You were longing for death before you met it. Now you have seen it, looking on.

The pangs of longing come after being patient in enduring difficulties, yet

When tears

flow down cheeks

The one who is crying is distinguished

from the one who is only pretending.^{1Muṣṭafā cites a slightly different version of this verse attributed to Mutanabbī (Muṣṭafā, no. 7, pp. 90–91). Al-Qushayrī cites the same verse in his commentary on Qurʾān 2:88.}

Muḥammad is only a messenger: messengers have passed away before him. Why, if he should die or is slain, will you turn back on your heels. If any man should turn back on his heels, he will not harm God in any way, and God will requite those that are thankful.

The messengers were stationed wherever they were made to stand, and they spoke of what they had been told so far as they knew. When they were aided by the lights of insights, they came to know the hidden things of the innermost self to the degree that they were given illumination through the subtleties of allusion.^{1The translation of this sentence follows MS K117, fol. 42b.}

Why, if he should die or is slain, will you turn back on your heels: When Muṣṭafā ﷺ^{2That is, Muḥammad.} passed away, the eyes of discernment of all became weak, except those of [Abū Bakr] al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه. God aided him with the power of the spirit of peace (sakīna) and inspired him with the power of governorship (al-tawallī). [Abū Bakr] said, “Whoever worships Muḥammad, Muḥammad has died.”^{3ʿAbd al-Raḥmān states that this ḥadīth can be found in al-Bukhārī, Ibn Māja, and Ibn Ḥanbal.} Everyone was subdued by the authority of his words because the light of his state spread to them, just as the sun, by its rising, incorporates the light of the stars in its rays. The less intense rays of the stars are concealed by [the sun’s rays].

He said Why, if he should die or is slain because [the Prophet] ﷺ was slain. [The Prophet] said, “The meal of Khaybar comes to me yet again, but this time it has cut my aorta.”^{4The translation for this paragraph follows MS K117, fol. 42b. Al-Qushayrī explains the use of the word “slain” in the Qurʾānic verse as referring to the assertion the Prophet Muḥammad reportedly made on his death bed, that his illness was caused by poisoned food he had been given to eat some years previously. Basyūnī gives a version of this ḥadīth from al-Bukhārī.}

It is not for any soul to die, save by the leave of God, a prescribed term. And whoever desires the reward of this world, We will give him of it; and whoever desires the reward of the hereafter, We will give him of it; and We will requite the thankful.

The breaths have a set duration for which there is no increase or decrease.

And whoever desires the reward of this world, We will give him of it: The righteous have what comes in the end (ʿāqiba) and the others have heedlessness (ghafla).

And whoever desires the reward of the hereafter, We will give him of it: The reward of the hereafter is first of all forgiveness (ghufrān), then the gardens (jinān), then beatitude (riḍwān).

And We will requite the thankful: The requital for thankfulness is thankfulness.

How many a prophet has been killed and with him thousands manifold [fought], but they fainted not in the face of what afflicted them in God’s way; they neither weakened, nor did they humble themselves. And God loves the patient.

Those who proceeded in good faith (wafāʾ), who upheld what is appropriate for purity (ṣafāʾ), who did not withdraw from the path (ṭarīq), who applied themselves to realization (taḥqīq), and who restrained themselves through straitening (taḍyīq)^{1What al-Qushayrī means by “straitening” (taḍyīq) is probably best understood through the concept of “poverty,” which he explains in the chapter on “Poverty” (Bāb al-faqr), Risāla, 2:536–539.} and subtle examination (tadqīq) [of themselves]—they found the love (maḥabba) of the Real سبحانه as a legacy for their patience. The Real was the compensation for them at the end of their affair, since they did not swerve from the required effort (jahd), or from the protection of the pact (ʿahd). They submitted themselves utterly (sallamū taslīman), abandoning the present world. Every one of them was constant and abiding (muqīman mustadīman) in holding to the pact, straight and true (mustaqīman) in holding to the condition of service and love.

All that they said was, “Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our excesses in our affairs and make firm our feet and help us against the unbelieving folk.”

They realized the true realities of meaning (maʿnā) and held their tongues from making any claims (daʿwā). Then they spoke words seeking forgiveness and expressing shame, just as it has been said:

He avoided misdeeds

and then even became afraid of them.

Instead it was as if his good deeds

were misdeeds.^{1Muṣṭafā states that the verse is attributed to Abū Tammām, who recited it in praise of al-Maʾmūn (Muṣṭafā, no. 7, p. 105).}

And God gave them the reward of this world,

The least of that is contentment [with little] (qanāʿa), then satisfaction [with whatever God wishes] (riḍāʾ),^{1For a comparison of the terms “contentment” (qanāʿa) and “satisfaction” (riḍāʾ), see the sections on each in al-Qushayrī’s Risāla, 1:362–366 and 2:421–427.} then living one’s life with Him (al-ʿaysh maʿahu), then intimacy in sitting before Him, then the perfection of joy in meeting Him, then the independence of the innermost self [from all else] (istiqlāl al-sirr) through His existence.

and the fairest reward of the hereafter, and God loves the virtuous.

[This refers to] their entering (dukhūl) the garden. [But] they are emancipated from it, not entering (ghayru dākhilīna) into captivity to it. It is said that the reward of this world and the hereafter is absence (ghayba) from the two abodes, looking only to the Creator of them both.^{2See al-Qushayrī’s section on “Absence and presence” (al-Ghayba wa-l-ḥuḍūr), where he explains that absence from created things corresponds to presence with the Real (Risāla, 1:214–216).}

When He said, “the reward of this world,” He said regarding the hereafter, “and the fairest reward of the hereafter.” It must be, then, that the reward of the hereafter is superior to the reward of this world since He gave it the description the fairest. This superiority is [the hereafter’s] permanence, perfection and fruits; and [the reality] that it cannot be ruined by anything that is incompatible with it, nor can any harm occur within it.

O you who believe, if you obey the disbelievers, they will make you turn back on your heels, and you will revert as losers.

Nay, but God is your protector, and He is the best of helpers.

[This] means that if you obey the adversaries, they will pull you into their states and cast you into their darknesses. Nay, God is your protector, your helper, the One who aids you, Your Master, and the One who sets your affairs aright. And He is the best of helpers because He aids you against your lower selves, and protects you from their evil. Anyone other than Him adds to your afflictions when they help you because they aid your lower selves against you. And He is the best of helpers because anyone other than Him holds a favor over you in helping you, while He rewards you for your asking for His help.

It is said that when you ask someone for help, you need to give him something of value, and then he may or may not help you. But when you ask [God] سبحانه for help, He gives you every kindness, and takes no pleasure in not helping you.

We will cast terror into the hearts of the disbelievers; for that they have associated with God that for which He sent down no authority; their abode shall be the fire; evil is the abode of the evildoers.

God سبحانه designated our Prophet ﷺ to cast terror (ruʿb) from Him into the hearts of His enemies. [The Prophet] عليه السلام said: “I was helped by terror (ruʿb).”^{1ʿAbd al-Raḥmān gives al-Nasāʾī and Ibn Ḥanbal among other sources for this ḥadīth.} He also follows this way (sunna) with His friends. He puts fear (hayba) of them into hearts. Fear (hayba) and force (qahr) would hardly be right in hearts were it not from Him and used with those who follow falsehood, make false claims, and misrepresent [the truth].

God has been true to His promise, when you slew them by His leave, until you lost heart, and quarreled over the command; and you disobeyed after he had shown you what you longed for.^{1In the Basyūnī edition, this part of Qurʾān 3:152 is followed by a repetition of the paragraph above (in the commentary on 3:150) that begins “It is said that when you ask someone for help. . .” The repetition here appears to be an error and does not occur in MS K117, fol. 43a.}

This verse alludes to the fact that the Real (al-ḥaqq) raises His friends up (aqāma)^{2Literally, “causes them to stand up.”} in the right of His right (bi-ḥaqqi ḥaqqihi) and holds them back^{3Literally, “causes them to sit down.”} from attaining their worldly fortunes (ḥuẓūẓ). He سبحانه stands (qāma) as sufficient for them in every way. Whoever persists in the path of uprightness (istiqāma)^{4Note the occurrence of several words from the root q–w–m in this passage and the way in which al-Qushayrī makes use of their literal meanings.} will not deviate from His boundary, and [God] will not deviate from His pact, for God has been true to His promise to them with beautiful and continuous sufficiency. But whoever falls away from uprightness (istiqāma)^{5In the “Section on uprightness” (Bāb al-istiqāma), al-Qushayrī quotes Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. Fūrak as saying that the letter sīn in the verb istiqama is the sīn of seeking (a reference to one of the possible meanings of the tenth form of Arabic verbs). Read in this way, istiqāma means to ask God to make one upright (Risāla, 2:442). The passage here, then, might be understood as referring to stumbling from this request, rather than stumbling in any particular task.}—even if only a step—stumbles in his walking, and his state and ability is destabilized to the extent of his offense. Whoever has found increase has been increased from Him, and whoever suffers decrease has suffered decrease from Him.

Some of you desired this world; and some of you desired the hereafter. Then He turned you away from them, so that He might try you; yet now He has pardoned you, and God is bounteous to the believers.

The value of each person is his desire (irāda). Whoever’s aspiration (himma) is for this world, his value is base and paltry like this world. Whoever’s aspiration is for the hereafter, his rank is a noble one. Whoever’s aspiration is knowledge of divine lordship (rabbāniyya), he is the leader (sayyid) of his time.

It is said that whoever is purified of his [lower] desire reaches Him, and whoever reaches Him is drawn near to Him by His kindness, and is brought close to the place of intimate friendship (khuṣūṣiyya) in His presence.

Then He turned you away from them: This alludes to [the way] He has turned some people away from Him and distracted them from Himself by what is other than Him. Others He turned from any other thing, singling them out for Himself. He turned the ascetics (zāhidūn) away from this world (dunyā), the worshipers (ʿābidūn) from following whims (hawā), the aspirants (murīdūn) from lower desires (munā), and those who declare God’s oneness (muwaḥḥidūn) from everything other [than Him] (siwā).

When you were ascending, not turning around for anyone and the Messenger was calling you from your rear, so he rewarded you with grief for grief so that you might not grieve for what escaped you, neither for what befell you; and God is aware of what you do.

Then He sent down upon you, after grief, security—a slumber overcoming a party of you, and a party whose own souls distressed them, thinking wrongly of God, thoughts of the age of ignorance, saying, “Have we any part whatever in the affair?” Say: “The affair belongs entirely to God.” They conceal within their hearts what they do not disclose to you, saying, “Had we had any part in the affair, we would not have been slain here.” Say: “Even if you had been in your houses, those for whom it had been appointed that they be slain would have sallied forth to the places where they were to lie” that God might try what was in your breasts and that He might prove what was in your hearts; and God knows what is in the breasts.

The verse alludes to people for whom a period of slackening (fatra) occurs. The calls of the Real سبحانه come from within and without,^{1Literally, “from their selves and from all sides.”} so that it is as if the rocks in the streets and the bricks in the walls were crying out to such a one, “do not do it, O servant of God!” But he is resolved upon his crooked way (layy) and settled in his error (ghayy); [he] refuses to acknowledge what he knows would be more fitting and appropriate for his state. If he were to stay with his [original] aim and follow through with his aspiration, by all means he would rein himself in and hold himself back from galloping ahead. [But] he gets nothing but gasping breaths (anfās mutaṣāʿida) and continuous sorrows (ḥasarāt mutawātira)—the Real سبحانه has bequeathed him one lonely estrangement after another. Eventually, after he has been in this place of distress for a long time, the Real سبحانه will relieve him with His beautiful kindness and draw him near with His gracious affection. He will deliver him from the narrowness of his captivity to the spaciousness of His pardon and favor. Many of these [people] will reach the place of the most respected and thereupon become still by God for God when they have been negated from station and honor,^{2The Basyūnī edition is blank after “by God for God.” The sentence has been completed from MS K117, fol. 43b, with the words ḥīna ʿadimū l-maqām wa-l-ikrām.} and they will stand by God for God without waiting to be brought near and without looking to be welcomed.

He sent down upon you, after grief, security—a slumber overcoming a party of you, and a party whose own souls distressed them, thinking wrongly of God, thoughts of the age of ignorance: After the periods of their slackening (fatarāt), the people of realization and [those who] declare [God’s] unity (ahl al-taḥqīq wa-l-tawḥīd) reach the point where they declare [that they have] abandoned their lower selves. They wash their hands clean of them and raise their hearts from them, so they might live by God for God without regard for any craving or want, following instead the creed of despair (ʿaqīda al-yaʾs) from everything. They strengthen their pact with Him in exchange for their worldly concerns,^{3The translation follows MS K117, fol. 43b: wa-baddalū bihi al-ḥaẓẓ.} leaving every share and fortune behind. This is the quality of those to whom He sent down security.

As for the party whose own souls distressed them, they remain in the lonely estrangement of their lower selves. One way in which they are punished in this life is that they come to have evil convictions about the path, after having believed in it. God most high said, “And We shall confound their hearts and their eyes; just as they did not believe in it the first time” [6:110].

The allusion in God most high’s words, “Have we any part whatever in the affair?” is to those who are confused in their affair, neither drawing nearer in truth to what is right for them, nor turning away entirely. Their slackening (fatra) turns into bad choices even as they would give their best, if their hearts were in it, to their effort. They forget their Lord in both states and so do not see the way the Real سبحانه determines events. God most high said, say: “The affair belongs entirely to God.” Anyone who knows that the originator is God has cast off his own choice and states, like the removal of hair from dough,^{4The metaphor here comes from an Arabic expression referring to something that is easily done.} and has submitted his affairs to God entirely. The sign of the one who has actualized this is that he finds rest from the pains of his own planning (tadbīr) and lives in the spaciousness of witnessing His decree (taqdīr).

They conceal within themselves what they do not disclose to you: They have not been loyal to their convictions (ʿaqāʾid). They have hidden that which contradicts what they show outwardly, while publicizing something other than that which they keep secret. They assign existing things to causes which they have only imagined.

Say: “Even if you had been in your houses, those for whom it had been appointed that they be slain would have sallied forth to the places where they were to lie”: He has informed us that the decree cannot be pushed away (lā yuzāḥamu), and fate cannot be resisted (lā yukābaru). The things which exist have been determined and God prevails over His affair.

That God might try what was in your breasts: As for the people of realities (ahl al-ḥaqāʾiq), God most high removes every harm and hindrance from their hearts, and takes their innermost selves for Himself and draws [them] near, to intimacy [with Him]. So their hearts become pure of defects and clear of attachments, [they are] singled out for the Real, detached from created things, freed from worldly concerns and the lower self; the effects of drawing near appears to them, the beauty of divine governorship (tawallī) prevails over them, and the lights of disclosure (tajallī) become visible in them.

Truly, those of you who turned away the day the two hosts encountered each other—truly, Satan made them slip through some of what they had earned; but God pardoned them; God is Forgiving, Forbearing.

This verse alludes to the states of those whose spiritual desire (irāda) has become meager and their intentions (niyyāt) weak. Their whims (hawā) control them and listlessness (fatra) rules them. Face to face with the counsel of others, the call of desires, and the whispers of satans, they put their trust in false speech. They have preferred their whims over piety, and stayed back. But they do not find happiness in what they have chosen.

O you who believe, be not as the disbelievers, who say of their brothers, when they travel in the land, or are on raiding campaigns, “Had they been with us, they would not have died and would not have been slain”—so that God may make that anguish in their hearts. For God gives life, and He gives death and God sees what you do.

Whoever makes a habit of worrying about what is past and trying to control what will happen in his future and each new moment—the least of his punishment will be the constriction of his heart through disconcerting worries, and the waning of the quality of life within it because of his inattention and his saying “if only such and such” or “maybe such and such.” The result of this kind of thinking is estrangement and grief, the constriction of the heart and separation.

And if you are slain in God’s way, or die, forgiveness from God and mercy are better than what they amass.

And if you die or are slain, it is to God you shall be mustered.

To sacrifice the spirit (rūḥ) in God is better than life with anything other than God. Returning to God is better for one who knows God than staying behind with anything other than God. Whatever the servant prefers over God is not something that is blessed. If you want, there is this world and if you want, there is the final outcome.

And if you die or are slain, it is to God you shall be mustered: When the destination is to God, the journey is pleasant—surely when a journey to Him comes to an end, its hardships seem sweeter than honey!

It was by the mercy of God that you were lenient with them; had you been harsh and fierce of heart, they would have dispersed from about you. So pardon them, and ask forgiveness for them, and consult them in the matter. And when you are resolved, rely on God; for God loves those who rely [on Him].

[God] stripped [the Prophet] of his human attributes (awṣāf al-bashariyya), and singled him out to be clothed from the attribute of lordship (naʿt al-rubūbiyya). [God] said that what shone upon him was from the lights of divine governorship (tawallī), not from the traces of [human states of] agreement and confrontation (tabarrī). If not for the fact that He had selected him for what He clothed him in, how could he have that quality?!

It is said that among the particular properties of [God’s] سبحانه mercy to [the Prophet] was that He gave him strength to keep company with them and patience to convey the message to them in spite of what he had to endure from them in their arguing. He was utterly engaged at every moment with an authority from the Real that overwhelmed him—[even while] they were arguing with this authority. If not for the divine strength the Real chose for him alone, how could he have been able to keep company with them? When Moses عليه السلام had just returned from hearing [God’s] word, was he not unable to remain patient in speaking with his brother? He grabbed his head, pulling [Aaron] toward him.

It is said that if it were not for the fact that [the Prophet] ﷺ saw them effaced in what came to them from the decrees of [God’s] disposition (aḥkām al-taṣrīf) and his realization that the originator of these [decrees] was God, he would not have been able to keep company with them.

Had you been harsh and fierce of heart, they would have dispersed from about you: “If you had given them the pure drink of the declaration of unity (tawḥīd), undiluted with their worldly concerns, they would have separated from you, and wandered about, unable to stand still for even a moment. So pardon them for neglecting the right and respect due to you, and the negligence you have seen in them in serving Us and obeying Us—rise up [instead] as an intercessor (shafīʿ) to Us on their behalf.”

It is said, so pardon them—you pardon them, since your decree (ḥukm) is Our decree and you do not forgive except when We have forgiven. Then [God] brought [the Prophet] back from this attribute [of lordship] with that which settled him in the station of servanthood (ʿubūdiyya) and shifted him to the state of separation (tafriqa), saying, “Then stop in the place of humility, praying humbly to Us in seeking forgiveness for them.” Such is His way (sunna) with His prophets عليه السلام and friends; [He] returns them from gathering (jamʿ) to separation (farq) and from separation to gathering. His words, so pardon them, are a gathering and His words, and ask forgiveness for them, are a separation.^{1Al-Qushayrī distinguishes between the state in which God acts through His servant and the state in which the servant experiences his separateness from God and then makes supplication to Him. See the section on “Gathering and separation” (al-Jamʿ wa-l-farq), Risāla, 1:207–208.}

It is said, so pardon them and pay no attention to what they owe you. [Furthermore], do not be content with this—seek forgiveness for them to complete the act of generosity.” It was because of this that [the Prophet] used to say, “O God, guide my people since they do not know.”^{2ʿAbd al-Raḥmān does not give any sources for this ḥadīth.}

It is said: “What they neglected in your right is connected to two rights: your right and My right. So when you pardoned them, this was not sufficient. Rather, if I do not give up My right from them, they deserve punishment.” The condition of anyone whom He is content to have as His enemy will not be restored until God forgives him for neglecting His command.

And ask forgiveness for them, and consult them in the matter: that is, “Establish a place for them,” since the one who has been pardoned feels shame in his breast and does not see his position as a noble one. When you consult with them, their dejection will be removed from them and you will have put their hearts at ease.

It is said that there is a relationship between their states, for the one whose right has been neglected is commanded to pardon the other, and the one who has been the victim of another’s sins is commanded to seek forgiveness for him, and the one who himself obeys without fail is commanded to consult with him.

And when you are resolved, rely on God: that is, “do not rely on the opinion of any created being but trust your affairs to Me. I will release you from turning about in the grip of changing circumstances (taṣrīf al-qabḍati bi-ḥālin).” The real meaning of reliance (tawakkul) is witnessing the [divine] preordination (taqdīr) and the relief of hearts from the turbulence of self-direction (tadbīr).

For God loves those who rely [on Him]: He causes them to taste the coolness of [His] sufficiency in order to remove from them every fatigue^{3“Fatigue” (taʿab) follows MS K117, fol. 44a.} and hardship. He repays everyone with what they deserve, so He enriches some people for relying [only on God] by His gift (bi-ʿaṭāʾihi). Others He suffices for relying [only on God] by the encounter with Him (bi-liqāʾihi). Some people He makes content with the totality of their states so that they are satisfied that He alone remains (bi-baqāʾihi). They position themselves with Him, through Him, and for Him according to the shifting hues^{4Instead of the word “shifting hues” or “variegations” (talwīnāt) found in the Basyūnī edition, MS K117, fol. 44a has “formations” (takwīnāt).} of His preordination and decree (ʿalā talwīnāti qadarihi wa-qaḍāʾihi).

If God helps you, then none can overcome you; but if He forsakes you, then who is there who can help you after Him? Therefore on God let the believers rely.

He helps the believers by granting success to the bodily forms (bi-l-tawfīqi lil-ashbāḥ), and then by granting [spiritual] realization to the spirits (thuma bi-l-taḥqīqi lil-arwāḥ).

It is said that God helps you by supporting you in your outward circumstances (bi-taʾyīdi al-ẓawāhir) and by guiding the innermost selves (wa-tasdīdi al-sarāʾir).

It is said that while [He will] help [you] against the enemy, the worst enemy you have is the lower self within you. [His] help against [your] lower self comes when its claims of strength are routed by the guardians of His mercy and the armies of cravings (junūd al-shahawāt) scatter upon the attacks of the arriving hosts (wufūd al-munāzilāt). The protective friendship (walāya) of God will remain, purified from the confused clamoring of human qualities, and the cravings and desires of the lower selves which are the remaining effects of [what] veils and hinders [people] from nearness.

If He forsakes you: The forsaking is the abandonment of those who are disobedient. Those whom He helps He holds back from pursuing what is objectionable and those to whom He gives free rein and leaves to their own bad choices He forsakes. The state [of someone He forsakes] becomes unsettled in the torrents of cravings, so he sometimes wanders to the east without shame (fa-marratan yusharriqu ghayra muḥtashimin) and sometimes to the west without respect (wa-tāratan yugharribu ghayra mutaḥrimin). Surely, when the Real lets someone go and does not take him by the hand, leaving him to himself, there is no protector for him.

Therefore on God let believers rely in finding security through sincere supplication, and laying the robe of pardon over the defects of sin. [This is done] by devoutly seeking refuge and by rejecting any strength or power [other than God].

It is said that when the matter was that of [His] help, He said, “then none can overcome you.” In the matter of being forsaken, He did not say “then there is no helper for you,” but rather said more indirectly,^{1The word “reply” (radd) from MS K117, fol. 44b makes more sense than the word “symbol” (ramz) from the Basyūnī edition.} “then who is there who can help you after Him?” Here there is a subtlety regarding the finer properties of the [divine] address.

It is not for a prophet to be fraudulent; whoever defrauds [others] shall bring what he has defrauded on the Day of Resurrection; then every soul shall be paid in full what it has earned, and they shall not be wronged.

He has made the states of the prophets free of the stain of treacherous actions. “Those to whom We gave the message to bear to Our servants convey it to those who should receive it. They are not concerned with any affair of a close intimate without Our command, and they do not hold back, harboring malice, in passing on anyone’s share when We have commanded it.” Do you not see how [the Prophet] said of Abū Ṭālib, “Go and bury him” when the Commander of the Believers ʿAlī رضي الله عنه said to him, “Your erring uncle has died”?^{1Abū Ṭālib (d. ca. 620) was the uncle of Muḥammad and the father of ʿAlī. For a study of the accounts of his religious state upon his death, see Fred McGraw Donner, “The Death of Abū Ṭālib,” in Love and Death in the Ancient Near East, ed. John H. Marks and Robert M. Good (Guilford, CT: Four Quarters, 1987), 237–245. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān gives sources for the quote from ʿAlī from the works of al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Ḥanbal, and others.} Do you not see how [Muḥammad] accepted al-Waḥshī, the killer of Ḥamza, when he became a Muslim?^{2ʿAbd al-Raḥmān states that al-Waḥshī fought against the Muslims at the Battle of Uḥud, and killed the Prophet’s uncle Ḥamza there. Al-Waḥshī later became a Muslim.}

It is said, “It was not for any prophet ﷺ to give Our secrets to any but the people to whom they were meant. Rather, to each was revealed what they were meant to hear.” Thus, in the tradition, “We were commanded to reveal (yunzil) to the people [what is suitable, according to] their stations (manāzil).”^{3Neither Basyūnī nor ʿAbd al-Raḥmān give any sources for this ḥadīth.}

Is he who follows God’s beatitude like him who is laden with God’s anger, whose abode is hell? An evil journey’s end!

They are of degrees before God; and God sees what they do.

The one with whom He is well pleased^{1The Arabic here is raḍiya ʿanhu, a verb from the same root as “beatitude” (riḍwān).} throughout eternity (fī azālihi) is not equal to the one with whom He is displeased and has abandoned in his states (fī aḥwālihi) and left him to rely on his own actions (ʿalā aʿmālihi), oblivious to the witnessing of His favors (li-shuhūdi afḍālihi). To seek God’s beatitude [one must] separate oneself (mufāraqa) from what has been prohibited and embrace (muʿānaqa) what has been commanded. One who divests himself from the prohibited (mazjūr) and takes heart in embracing what has been commanded (maʾmūr) has followed God’s beatitude (riḍwān) and has become deserving of the gardens (jinān).

They are of degrees before God: that is, they possess degrees in the decree (ḥukm) of God—happy are those who have been brought close and wretched are those who have been kept at a distance.

Truly God was gracious to the believers when He sent to them a messenger from among their own to recite to them His verses, and to purify them, and to teach them the Book, wisdom, though before they were in clear error.

[God] gave goodness to them in abundance and favored them with generous blessings, for He sent someone like Muṣṭafā, the leader of mankind صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم to them. [The Prophet] taught them their religion and made their proofs clear to them. He belonged to them in every way but they were not grateful for his blessings, did not respect his right, and were not able to see what he guided them to, nor refrain from straying in error—this is a description of his enemies who denied and were arrogant. As for the believers, they were adorned with grace in the [divine] choice (ikhtiyār). They received the command to hear and obey to the utmost of their capacity (iqtidār), so they were happy in this world and the hereafter (ʿuqbā) and became deserving of generosity and nearness (zulfa) from God.

And why, when distress befell you, and you had afflicted twice the like of it, did you say, “How is this?” Say: “It is from yourselves. Surely God has power over everything.”

Human beings usually forget their own error and disobedience (ʿiṣyān), and turn instead to accuse God of what comes to them in trials, loss (khusrān), and all kinds of unpleasant and difficult things (iftitān). It would be better for those who pursue various crimes (ṣunūf al-ijrām)^{1The blank in the Basyūnī edition has been filled in with ṣunūf from MS K117, fol. 44b.} not to forget the requital to come (ḥulūl al-intiqām).

And what afflicted you, the day the two hosts encountered, was by God’s leave, and that He might know the believers.

And that He might also know the hypocrites when it was said to them, “Come now, fight in the way of God or defend [yourselves],” they said, “If we knew how to fight we would follow you.” That day they were nearer to unbelief than to belief, saying with their mouths that which was not in their hearts. And God knows best what they hide.

He lightened the grave calamity met by the believers and possessors of insight on the Day of Uḥud by saying that the encounter was by God’s leave. Surely a trial that afflicts [one] by God’s leave is sweeter than honey and more desirable than any blessing.

Then He spoke of those who were not sincere comrades, how they offered excuses and were lazy.

Similarly, when the one who is tired

wants to break things off,

he becomes weary of being together

and says, “That was that.”^{1This poem is also cited in the commentary on Qurʾān 2:19, but with a preceding line: “Truly when the noble one gives you his love / he veils the ugly and brings the beautiful to light.” Muṣṭafā found these lines in Muḥāḍarāt al-ʿudabāʾ but without attribution (Muṣṭafā, no. 5, p. 112).}

Saying with their mouths that which was not in their hearts: Verily they gave honey to drink [to their enemies] but He plotted to put poison in it for them.^{2The translation follows MS K117, fol. 45a with the phrase “He plotted to put poison in it for them” (dassa lahum fihi al-ḥanẓal).} And they schemed; and God schemed; and God is the best of schemers [3:54].

Those who said to their brothers, while they themselves stayed put, “Had they obeyed us, they would not have been slain.” Say: “Then avert death from yourselves, if you speak the truth.”

Those who relied upon their lower selves—having been seduced by them to prefer their own whims—and then opposed those who gave themselves over to the decrees of divine fate, said, “If only they had heeded the warning about going out to the battle, they would have been safe.” These thoughts are blameworthy and these hearts have retreated from witnessing the true nature of things. Say to them, O Muḥammad, “[Then] extend the life of your souls (istadīmū lil-anfusikum al-ḥayāt) and defend them from the attacks of death (wa-idfaʿū ʿanhā hujūma al-wafāt).” How would they be able to do that? How preposterous!

Count not those who were slain in God’s way, as dead, but rather, living with their Lord, provided for [by Him].

Rejoicing in what God has given them of His bounty, and rejoicing, for the sake of those who have not joined them but are left behind, that no fear shall befall them, neither shall they grieve.

Life in remembrance of the Real—after the lower selves have been annihilated in the good pleasure of the Real—is more perfect than remaining with the blessings of created beings and being veiled from the Real.

It is said that the one whose heir^{1God is described as heir to His creation in Qurʾān 15:23: Indeed it is We who give life and death, and We are the heirs.} is the Living is one who does not disappear and cannot die, even if he is killed:

Surely bodies

have been brought into existence for death,

so the slaying of a human being in God,

without doubt, is best.^{2The translation follows the word “bodies” (abdān) found in MS K117, fol. 45a rather than the word “worshipers” (ʿubdān) found in the Basyūnī edition. This is also the word found in the verse Muṣṭafā locates, which is attributed to al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī in one source and to ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib in another: “Surely bodies have been brought into existence for death / so the slaying of a human being by the sword in God is best” (Muṣṭafā, no. 8, p. 93).}

And rejoicing, for the sake of those who have not joined them but are left behind: Those who know that their loved ones are waiting for them while they are in comfort and ease [in the garden] would not take pleasure in living without being with them.

Joyful in grace and bounty from God, and [joyful in knowing] that God does not let the wage of believers go to waste.

The cause and reason for their being joyful is a bounty and grace from God. That is to say, how would they be joyful if not for His grace and bounty to them? Their being joyful in grace is only because they are His servants and He is their protector. If not for His grace and favor to them, they would not be in this state.

[For] those who responded to God and the Messenger after the wounds had afflicted them, those who did good among them and feared, shall be a great wage.

[The meaning of the tenth form verb] “to respond” (istijāba) has an element of merit and superiority over [the meaning of the fourth form verb] “to answer” (ijāba). This is an allusive distinction rather than [a distinction] required [linguistically] by the Arabic. It [means] that they respond willingly, not under compulsion. They respond to God without [their response] entailing the bearing of a difficulty. Rather, [they respond] by the directive of the heart’s core (ishārat al-qalb) and the love of the heart (fuʾād) and the choice of the spirit (rūḥ), and find delight in bearing [God’s] decree (ḥukm). So the response to the Real [comes] from recognizing the reality of His existence (bi-l-taḥaqquq bi-wujūdihi) and the response to the Messenger عليه السلام [comes] from taking on character traits as prescribed by [God’s] limits (bi-takhalluq bi-ḥudūdihi). The response of the Real [comes] from the quintessence of the truth of lordship (bi-l-ṣafāʾ fī ḥaqqi al-rubūbiyya) and the response of the Messenger عليه السلام [comes] from fidelity in upholding servanthood (bi-l-wafāʾ fī iqāmati al-ʿubūdiyya).^{1The translation in the last two sentences of this paragraph partly follows the Basyūnī edition and partly MS K117, fol. 45a in order to keep to the rhyming patterns al-Qushayrī seems to have had in mind.}

After the wounds had afflicted them: [This refers to] the beginning of their transactions before the appearance of the lights of disclosure to their hearts and the smiling of the realities in their innermost selves.

Those who did good among them: “Doing good is that you worship God as if you see Him”^{2ʿAbd al-Raḥmān gives references for this ḥadīth from al-Bukhārī, Ibn Kathīr, and others.}—and this is witnessing (mushāhada) and fear of God (taqwā)—”for if you do not see Him, He sees you”—and this is awareness [of God watching you] (murāqaba) in the state of spiritual struggle (mujāhada).

A great wage for novices later (li-ahli al-bidāyati muʾajjalan) and for adepts now (wa-li-ahli al-nihāyati muʿajjalan).

Those to whom people said, “The people have gathered against you, therefore fear them”; but that increased them in faith, and they said, “God is sufficient for us, an excellent Guardian is He.”

[Whenever] events in the present world confused them outwardly, the gleams from unveilings (ṭawāliʿ min al-kushūfāt)^{1Al-Qushayrī discusses the “gleams of the rising” (ṭawāliʿ) in the section on “Glimmers, gleams of the rising and flashes” (al-Lawāʾiḥ wa-l-ṭawāliʿ wa-l-lawāmiʿ), Risāla, 1:228–230.} opened up for them in their innermost selves (asrār), and they increased in one level of certainty after another. Among the signs of certainty is the reliance of hearts in God alone, with the severing of any hope of imagined aid and support from created beings.

So they returned with grace and bounty from God, and no evil touched them, and they followed the beatitude of God; and God is of bounty abounding.

Such is the way (sunna) of the Real سبحانه with those who are sincere in taking refuge with Him, in that He prepares a resting place in the shadow of His sufficiency. No affliction touches them, no pains distress them, and no hardships overcome them.

That is only Satan making fear his friends, therefore do not fear them; but fear Me, if you are believers.

The allusion in [God’s] granting power to the calls of Satan in the hearts of [His] friends is [to the test] that confirms their flight to God. This is like a child who has been frightened by one of those things that frighten children, and when he is afraid, he goes only to his mother. When he comes to her, she takes him to herself, hugs him and presses her cheek to his. Likewise, when the servant is sincere in beseeching God, and returns to Him from his oppositional tendencies, He takes him under the wing of His closeness and overtakes him with His beautiful kindness.

Let them not grieve you those that vie with one another in unbelief; they will not hurt God at all. God desires not to assign them any portion in the hereafter, and theirs is a mighty chastisement.

He strengthened [Muḥammad’s] heart by renewing the firmness of the pact, in that He would not allow any enemy to gloat over his misfortune,^{1This echoes the prayer of Moses in Qurʾān 7:150: Do not make my enemies gloat over my misfortunes.} nor allow any evil from them to reach him.

Those who purchase unbelief at the price of faith, they will not hurt God at all, and there awaits them a painful chastisement.

If they cause harm (aḍarrū), it is only to themselves. If they persist (aṣarrū), they persist only to their own loss.

We did not suffer from

the distance to their abodes,

nor did longings

drive us toward them.^{1Muṣṭafā states that he was unable to locate this verse in any other source (Muṣṭafā, no. 5, p. 77).}

And let not the disbelievers suppose that what We indulge them in is better for their souls. We grant them indulgence only that they may increase in sinfulness, and theirs is a humbling chastisement.

“Part of the perfection of the ruse against them and the intensification in their punishment is that We are punishing them even as they do not perceive it: We will draw them on by degrees, whence they do not know [7:182]. We indulge them and they think that it is an act of favor (inʿām); [they do] not consider that it might be an act of revenge (intiqām).” When the underlying forces of the divine preordination are made clear to them [in] their hiding places, they will know that they have lost (khusrān). It is already clear to anyone possessing insight that that which brings about disobedience (ʿiṣyān) or causes forgetfulness (nisyān) cannot be counted among the acts of favor (inʿām).

It is not God’s purpose to leave the believers in the state in which you are till He shall distinguish the evil one from the good. And it is not God’s purpose to apprise you of the unseen, but God chooses of His messengers whom He will. So believe in God and His messengers; and if you believe and guard [against evil], then yours shall be a great wage.

He has gathered [humankind] together in the here and now with respect to bodies and forms (mabānī) but has separated them in the deeper realities and meanings (maʿānī). Some of them are good (ṭayyib) in their natural disposition and some are evil (khabīth).^{1The translation follows the word “bad” (khabīth) from MS K117, fol. 45b rather than the word khabiʾa found in the Basyūnī edition.} Even if their constitutions are mixed, they are differentiated in the inner sight of the elect.

And it is not God’s purpose to apprise you of the unseen: Surely the secrets of the unseen do not appear to those who are sullied by the pollutions of mortal human nature (bashariyya). Only the Real سبحانه possesses knowledge of that which is great and small and He selects whomever He will among His prophets for knowledge of some of His secrets.

But as for those who are niggardly with what God has given them of His bounty, let them not suppose that it is better for them; nay, it is worse for them; what they were niggardly with, they shall have hung around their necks on the Day of Resurrection; and to God belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth. And God is aware of what you do.

Whoever prefers something to God, He will not bless him in that. No enjoyment (istimtāʿ) in that will last for him in this world and there will be no defense (difāʿ) from the punishment for it in the hereafter.

In the language of the scholars (ʿulamāʾ), “niggardliness” is the withholding of what is obligatory. According to the [people of] allusion (ishāra), it is holding back anything, even if only a particle of wealth or a breath from states.

Verily God has heard the saying of those who said, “Indeed God is poor, and we are rich.” We shall write down what they have said and their slaying the prophets without right, and We shall say, “Taste the chastisement of the burning.

That is for what your hands have sent before; for God is never unjust toward His servants.”

If this address were between created beings, it would be a complaint and the complaint to friends about enemies is the way of lovers (sunnat al-aḥbāb).

It is said that He knew that there were those among the believers who were slandering people and this was an ugly way to speak, but He exposed a greater ugliness. This was to show that the ugly speech of the believers was paltry in comparison to the ugliness of the speech of the disbelievers. It is as if He said, “Their speech has been ugly in its defamation but the speech of the disbelievers is even uglier since they have described Us in a way that is not appropriate for Us.”

[This verse] also alludes to the call to humankind and the [divine] forbearance with those who quarrel [with that call], for surely God سبحانه did not deprive them of what He had given them [in this world] in spite of their disregard for His rights.

We shall write down what they have said: These words are cause for embarrassment for the neglectful through the most delicate allusion. It means that even if they have forgotten their states and words, “We will resurrect for them what We have written against them.” Their speaker said:

I have pages

in which blame is buried.

One day they will be published

and the blame will linger.

I will be patient

until God brings us together

and if we meet one day

I will speak.^{1Muṣṭafā finds a slightly different version of the second verse in al-ʿAbbās b. al-Aḥnaf’s Dīwān: “I will be silent unless God brings us together / but if we meet one day I will speak. He states that the first verse is attributed to Yazīd b. Salma b. al-Ṭathriyya (Muṣṭafā, no. 9, p. 93).}

That is for what your hands have sent before: for God is never unjust toward His servants: If this were from one created being to another, it would be like absolving oneself of blame for what one has done. It is as if He سبحانه is saying, “My servant, the punishment that will come to you on that day is because of your sin. If you had not done it, We would not punish you.”

[They are the] same who said, “God has already made a covenant with us that we should not believe in any messenger until he brings us an offering to be devoured by fire.” Say: “Messengers have come to you before me with clear proofs, and with that which you said. Why did you slay them, then, if you are truthful?”

They fabricated lies about God سبحانه to excuse their lack of faith, saying, “Verily we have been commanded not to believe anyone if we do not see him with our own eyes bringing us an offering. He will offer it to the sky and then a fire will come down to take it.” God most high said, “say to them that those who have come before me among the prophets عليهم السلام have brought you what you have demanded of me in offering, but you did not believe. If I were to accede to you in this, you would once again not believe.” Whoever has been kept at a distance by what has already been decreed—if the sun were to speak to him with a clear tongue or the mountains prostrate before him, and he were to see all this in a moment of truth, deeper knowledge (ʿirfān) would still not enter his heart and he would only increase in doubt after doubt.

But if they deny you, so were denied messengers before you who came bearing clear proofs, and the scriptures, and the illuminating Book.

That is, the habitual practice of disbelievers is to deny the messengers. This is what their ancestors used to do (ʿalā hadhā l-naḥwi daraja salafuhum) and their descendants follow their way (wa-bi-hadyihi iqtadā khalafuhum).

Every soul shall taste of death; you shall surely be paid in full your wages on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever is moved away from the fire and admitted to paradise, will have triumphed, the life of this world is but the comfort of delusion.

That is, “The cup of death is placed in the palm of every living being. Whoever’s soul (nafs) finds it sweet and agreeable—I bequeath to him the intoxication of ecstatic finding (wajd). Whoever swallows it with a frowning face falls into the abyss of rejection (radd) and is branded by the burning of obstruction (ṣadd). Then [there is the Day] of the Resurrection. Whoever is protected from the fire reaches the greatest repose (waṣala ilā l-rāḥati al-kubrā) and whoever is made to burn in the blazing fire falls into the greatest tribulation (waqaʿa fī l-miḥnati al-kubrā).”

The life of this world is but the comfort of delusion because what is coming is nigh.

You shall surely be tried in your property; and in your selves, and you shall bear from those who were given the scripture before you, and from those who are idolaters, much hurt, but if you are patient, and fear—surely that is true resolve.

[God] spared [the believers] from what would have been even greater occasions of harm by alerting them before the attacks. He taught them two of the best precepts: to prefer patience and to choose to remain still under the streams of the decrees.

And when God made a covenant with those who had been given the scripture, “You shall expound it to people, and not conceal it.” But they rejected it behind their backs, and bought it with a small price; how evil is what they have bought!

[God] said that they had vowed to uphold their agreements, but broke the ties of the covenant in turning to disbelief. Then it became clear that what they took as cheap substitutes^{1The translation follows the word aʿwāḍ found in MS K117, fol. 46a rather than the word aʿrāḍ in the Basyūnī edition.} for leaving religion would have no blessings for them.

Do not reckon that those who rejoice in what they have brought, and who love to be praised for what they have not done—do not reckon them secure from the chastisement; there shall be a painful chastisement for them.

Surely those whose hearts look only to created beings and whose innermost secrets regard only [created beings]—do not think that their punishment will be delayed to the Day of Resurrection. No, they are not secure from the punishment in the here and now. What punishment is more intense than being thrown back to created beings (khalq) and veiled from the Real (ḥaqq)?

To God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and God has power over all things.

This verse alludes to [God’s] lack of need for anyone^{1The translation follows the word man found in MS K117, fol. 46a rather than the word mā in the Basyūnī edition.} in existence. How could He have any need of them? But they [on the other hand] will find no one to stand in for Him, and no substitute for Him.

Surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are signs for people of pith.

Those who remember God, standing and sitting and on their sides,

The signs which the Real سبحانه presents to ordinary people are from the lessons^{1As described, for example, in Qurʾān 16:66–67: And truly for you there is in the cattle a lesson. We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, from between the refuse and the blood, pure milk palatable to drinkers. / And of the fruits of date palms and vines from which you draw an intoxicant and goodly provision. Surely in that there is a sign for a people who understand.} and the vestiges [of people gone by]^{2Have they not traveled across the land to see the nature of the consequence for those before them? They were more powerful than them in might and in [their] vestiges on earth [Qurʾān 40:21 and 40:82].} in the regions [of the heavens and the earth]. The signs which He presents to the elect are within their souls. [God] سبحانه said, “We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and in their own souls” [41:53]. The outer signs lead to the knowledge of certainty (ʿilm al-yaqīn) while the inner signs lead to the eye of certainty (ʿayn al-yaqīn).^{3For more information on what al-Qushayrī means by the knowledge of certainty and the eye of certainty, see the section on “Knowledge of certainty, eye of certainty, and the truth of certainty” (ʿIlm al-yaqīn wa-l-ʿayn al-yaqīn wa-ḥaqq al-yaqīn), Risāla, 1:244. See also his commentary on Qurʾān 2:260.}

The alternation (ikhtilāf) of night and day alludes to the different responses (ikhtilāf)^{4The word ikhtilāf can mean “alternation” or “the state of being dissimilar or diverse” (Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, 1:795).} to the night among the servants. The nights of the people of communion are short and the nights of the people of separation are long. [Someone] said:

Months pass—

we have not noticed

their midpoints

nor their ends.^{5Muṣṭafā states that this verse is attributed to Majnūn Laylā and also to al-Ṣimma b. ʿAbdallāh al-Qushayrī (Muṣṭafā, no. 17, p. 62).}

And he said:

For you, morning is drunkenness

and the night a hangover.

You slept even as

the days of happiness were short.^{6Muṣṭafā states that he was unable to find this verse in any other source (Muṣṭafā, no. 21, pp. 62–63).}

A second [poet] said:

After they departed, the nights

were long in so many ways—

[once short], the night of the lovers

is [now] long.^{7Muṣṭafā corrects the verse as found in the Basyūnī edition, and identifies it as one of al-Mutanabbī’s (Muṣṭafā, no. 10, p. 94). The translation follows the version found in MS K117, fol. 46a, which matches the al-Mutanabbī version in Muṣṭafāʾ in all but one word.}

A third [poet] had nothing to say about the length or brevity of the night, for he said, because of what had overwhelmed him:

How should I know

whether the night was long or not?

How can one

who is on fire know that?

If I had paid attention

to the length of the night,

I would have been deprived

of watching the stars.^{8The translation follows the version in MS K117, fol. 46a, which matches the verses Muṣṭafā finds attributed to Abū Nuwās in two sources. He also gives sources that attribute the verses to Khālid al-Kātib and Abū Hilāl al-ʿAskarī (Muṣṭafā, no. 10, p. 24).}

For people of pith: The people of pith (ulū l-albāb) are those whose intellects have been kept sound from the drunkenness of forgetfulness and inattention. The sign of one like this is that his gaze will be through the Real. When he gazes from the Real to the Real, his gaze is in the right direction. But when he gazes from created beings and things to the Real, his thoughts are thrown into upheaval, which causes a state of confusion.

Those who remember God, standing and sitting: Remembrance (dhikr) permeates their every moment. If they stand, it is in remembrance of Him. If they sit or sleep or prostrate—all of their states are consumed with the rightful due and realities of remembrance (ḥaqāʾiq al-dhikr). They stand in the proper manner (ḥaqq) of remembering Him and they refrain from [literally, “sit from”] opposing His command. They stand by means of the purest and choicest of states but refrain from paying too much attention to them or claiming anything concerning them.^{9In the “Section on Remembrance” (Bāb al-dhikr), al-Qushayrī attributes these comments on the phrase those who remember God standing and sitting to Abū Bakr b. Fūrak: standing in the proper manner of remembering Him and sitting (or “refraining”) from claiming anything about it (Risāla, 2:467).} They remember God standing on the carpet of service, and then they sit on the carpet of nearness. Those who are not secure from negligence in their standing in the beginning will not be sound and secure in their sitting in the quality of presence (ḥuḍūr) in the end.^{10In the section on “Absence and presence” (al-Ghayba wa-l-ḥuḍūr), al-Qushayrī writes, “When it is said that someone is present, it means that he is present in his heart before his Lord, not neglectful or forgetful of Him, constantly engaged in remembering Him” (Risāla, 1:216)}

Remembrance is the path (ṭarīq) of the Real سبحانه. The aspirants (murīdūn) cannot travel a path that is more sound or clear than the path of remembrance. If there were only His words, “I sit among those who remember Me,”^{11In his footnote to the commentary on Qurʾān 2:222, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān gives al-ʿAjlūnī, al-Zabīdī, and al-Suyūṭī as sources for this ḥadīth.} concerning it, that would be sufficient.

Those who remember are of several types and this is because of the difference in their states. There is a remembrance which causes the contraction (qabḍ) of one who, by remembering [God], remembers his own prior failings, or something ugly that came from him. His embarrassment holds him back from remembering himself [in a positive way]; this is a remembrance of contraction (qabḍ). There is a remembrance that causes the expansion (basṭ) of the one who remembers; this is because of what he finds in the pleasures of remembrance and even more so [when] the Real draws him near in the most beautiful way. There is the one who remembers and is effaced in the witnessing of what is being remembered. The remembrance that flows from his tongue is a constant habit and, in what has appeared to it, his heart has become completely cut off [from anything else]. There is the one who remembers and who is in a place of the most intense veneration [of God]: he abstains from remembering Him and considers his praise of Him unclean. It is as if he finds himself too insignificant for [the remembrance of God], so he wants nothing to do in this world and the hereafter with praising, remaining, existing, and glory.^{12In the “Section on remembrance” (Bāb al-dhikr), al-Qushayrī relates a saying from al-Kattānī: “If it were not an obligation, I would not remember You because of the intense veneration due to You. How can someone like me remember [God] without washing one’s mouth out a thousand times in repentance for mentioning Him!” (Risāla, 2:468).} Their speaker said:

I cannot remember you—

not even once—

without my heart, my spirit, and my innermost self

cursing me.

It is as if a lookout from you

called out to me,

“Watch out!,” “Woe unto you!”

“Beware of this remembrance!”^{13Muṣṭafā notes that these verses can be found in a slightly different version in al-Qushayrī’s Risāla (2:468) where they are attributed to Abū ʿAlī l-Daqqāq. He also states that they are recited by Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Jaʿfar al-Kattānī in the Ṭabaqāt al-awliyāʾ (Muṣṭafā, no. 1, p. 89).}

Remembrance is the sign of friendship (walāya), the clear evidence of the communion [of lovers], the actualization of spiritual desire (irāda), the mark of the soundness of the beginning (bidāya), and the signifier of the purity of the end (nihāya). There is nothing beyond remembrance. All of the praiseworthy qualities return to remembrance and arise from it.

and reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth: “Our Lord, You have not created this in vain.

Reflection (tafakkur) is the attribute^{14The translation follows the word “attribute” (naʿt) from MS K117, fol. 46b rather than the word “blessing” (niʿma) found in the Basyūnī edition.} of every seeker and its fruit is union, provided there is knowledge. When reflection^{15The word “reflection” (fikr) from MS K117, fol. 46b makes more sense here than “remembrance” (dhikr) in the Basyūnī edition.} becomes free of defects, its possessor will arrive at the watering places of realization (taḥqīq). When he achieves witnessing (shuhūd) and presence (ḥuḍūr), he will rise from reflection to the boundaries of remembrance (ḥudūd al-dhikr) and remembrance is without beginning or end. The ascetics (zāhidūn), then, reflect on the ephemerality of the present world and the insignificance of its promise to those who seek it, and by that reflection they increase in their asceticism toward it. The worshipers (ʿābidūn) reflect on the beautiful reward, and they increase in their eagerness and longing for it. Those with the deepest knowledge (ʿārifūn) reflect on blessings and kindnesses, and they increase in their love for the Real سبحانه.

Glory be to You! So guard us against the chastisement of the fire.

The glorification (tasbīḥ) alludes to the swimming (sabḥ)^{16The word “to glorify God” (tasbīḥ) comes from the same root (s–b-ḥ) as the word “to swim” (sabḥ).} of the innermost selves in the sea of grandeur.

Our Lord, whomever You admit into the fire, You will have abased, and the evildoers shall have no helpers.

“Whomever You put to the test in the future by burning (ḥurqa), You will have abased him. And whomever you put to the test by separation (furqa) in the present, you will have made him miserable. Whomever you have entrusted with the good fortune of communion (wuṣla), You will have sheltered him and brought him close.”

“Our Lord, we have heard a caller calling to belief, saying, ‘Believe in your Lord!’ And we believed. So, our Lord, forgive us our sins and absolve us of our evil deeds, and take us [in death] with the pious.

It means “We have answered the caller (dāʿī) but You are the guide (hādī), so do not leave us to ourselves and do not raise the shadow of your care from us.” Faith (īmān) is entering into that which brings security (amān) and one only has faith in the Real from the Real granting him security. The security of the Real for the servant, which is His granting him protection, brings about the faith of the servant in the Real, which is his affirmation (taṣdīq) of Him and his deep recognition (maʿrifa) of Him.

And take us [in death] with the pious: They are those chosen for the proper ways of declaring oneness (ḥaqāʾiq al-tawḥīd), those who stand for God [according] to the conditions of utter devotion (sharāʾiṭ al-tafrīd), and stay with God by the special characteristics of disengaging [from anything other than Him] (khaṣāʾiṣ al-tajrīd).

“Our Lord, grant us what You have promised us through Your messengers, and abase us not on the Day of Resurrection. You will not fail the tryst.”

“Verify for us what You have promised us through the words of your intermediaries in the perfection of blessed happiness (nuʿmā) and the absolution of [our] evil [deeds] (sūʾā),^{1The blank in Basyūnī has been completed with the phrase takfīr al-sūʾā from MS K117, fol. 46b. God’s absolution of evil deeds is mentioned in Qurʾān 3:193 and 3:195.} and forgiveness for pursuing our own whims (hawā) in the past.”

And their Lord answers them, “I do not let the labor of any laborer among you go to waste, be you male or female—the one of you is as the other: and those who emigrated, and were expelled from their habitations, those who suffered hurt in My way, and fought, and were slain—them I shall surely absolve of their evil deeds, and I shall admit them to gardens underneath which rivers flow.” A reward from God! And God—with Him is the fairest reward.

How would He not respond to them when He is the One who urges them to supplicate and He is the One who makes Himself responsible for answering them? The beautiful reward He has promised them exceeds what they pray for in their supplications.

Those who emigrated [refers] to those [who forsake their] habitations and places of visitation (mazār), and all others (aghyār), whether they be in opposition or harmony.

And were expelled from their habitations: they were forced^{1“They were forced” (aḥwajū) has been added on the basis of MS K117, fol. 46b.} to leave their familiar places and things.

Those who suffered hurt in My way: they were condemned to poverty and blame (malām) and subjected to all kinds of trials and pains (ālām).

And fought, and were slain: they tasted different stages, the sweet and the bitter.

Them I shall surely absolve of their evil deeds means “We will give them more than what they hoped for and more than what their acts and states merit.”

Let it not delude you, that the disbelievers go to and fro in the land,

a little enjoyment; then their abode is hell—an evil cradling!

“Do not let any doubt seize you, thinking that they have any value or worth with Us. Rather, the days are few and breaths limited. Afterward there will be grief upon grief (ḥasarāt mutarādifa) and sorrow upon sorrow (aḥzān mutaḍāʿifa).”

But those who fear their Lord—for them shall be gardens underneath which rivers flow, abiding therein; a hospitality from God Himself. That which is with God is better for the pious.

“The state of those whom we have branded with the ignominy of separation is wretched while the state and intimacy of those whom We have raised in degrees for Our sake is blessed.” They attain the lasting reward (waṣalū ilā l-thawābi al-muqīm) and remain in communion and felicity (wa-baqū fī l-wuṣlati wa-l-naʿīm). What God has stored away for them is better than what they had hoped for by their own choosing.

Verily, there are some among the people of the scripture who believe in God, and what has been revealed to you, and what has been revealed to them, humble before God, not purchasing with the verses of God a small price. Those—their wage is with their Lord. God is swift at reckoning.

He means those who have been favored by a beautiful destiny—they are with the friends of God in being blessed (fa-hum maʿa awliyāʾ Allāh niʿmatan) just as they are with them in their destiny (kamā kānū maʿahum qismatan).

O you who believe, be patient and vie in patience, be steadfast; fear God so that you will prosper.

Patience (ṣabr) relates to the servant alone. Vying in patience (muṣābara) is with the enemy. Being steadfast (ribāṭ) is a type of patience with a particular objective.^{1According to some commentators on this verse, ribāṭ refers to the defense of the borders of the Muslim community or being assiduous in performing ablutions and prayers (see Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, 1:1013–1014 and Ayoub, The Qur’an and Its Interpreters, 2:415–418).}

It is said that the beginning of patience is acting as if one were patient (taṣabbur). Then it is being patient (ṣabr), then vying in patience (muṣābara), then [achieving] the utmost patience (iṣṭibār).^{2Here al-Qushayrī is comparing the different verb forms from the root ṣ-b–r. He defines the eighth form, iṣṭabara, as the most intensive form. See also his commentary on Qurʾān 19:65 and 20:132, where he says, “al-iṣṭibār ghāyati al-ṣabr” and “li-l-iṣṭibār maziyyatun ʿalā l-ṣabr.”}

It is said, “Be patient by [performing] acts of obedience (ṭāʿāt) and refraining from disobedient acts (mukhālafāt); vie in patience by leaving whims and desires (shahawāt) and cutting off desire and attachments (ʿalāqāt); and be steadfast, by holding to the path of companionship in all times (awqāt) and states (ḥālāt).”

It is said, “Be patient with your lower selves, vie in patience with your hearts, and be steadfast with your innermost selves.”^{3In the “Section on Patience” (Bāb al-ṣabr), al-Qushayrī writes, “It is said, Be patient with your lower selves in obeying God Most High, vie in patience with your hearts in bearing affliction for the sake of God, and be steadfast in your innermost selves in longing for God” (Risāla, 1:400).}

It is said, “Be patient looking to the reward, vie in patience by desiring nearness, and be steadfast in the place of proximity and nearness upon the witnessing of the [divine] beauty and might.”

The taste of patience is bitter when the servant gulps it in [the state of] absence. Its taste is pleasant when it is drunk in witnessing and vision.

Fear God so you will prosper: Prosperity is the conquering of desire. Their aspiration today is to gain victory over their lower selves, for in that their deliverance will be complete. When they have defeated their lower selves, they sacrifice them by the swords of [spiritual] effort (mujāhada) and crucify them on the trunks of toil (mukābada). After their annihilation (fanāʾ) from their lower selves, they will attain their subsistence (baqāʾ) through God.