His words, Exalted is He:

…And perfect His grace upon you…

This means, ‘By affirming the truth of the dream you had concerning yourself.’^{1That is to say, that the dream came true.}

His words, Exalted is He:

Yet, comely patience! ^{1The words said by Jacob when Joseph is taken from him by his brothers, who pretend he has been slain by a wolf.}

He said:

Patience with contentment (riḍā).

He was asked, ‘What is the sign of this?’ He replied, ‘It is not to regret what has happened.’ Then he was asked, ‘How can one attain comeliness of patience (tajammul bi’l-ṣabr)? He said:

By knowing that God, Exalted is He, is with you, and by the comfort of the [concomitant sense of] well-being (bi-rāḥat al-ʿāfiya). Patience may be compared to a bowl which has patience at the top and honey underneath.^{2In other words, patience comprises in itself the reward for patience, i.e. the honey, just as the knowledge that God is with us comprises in itself a sense of comfort and well-being.}

Then he said:

I am amazed at the one who is not patient. How can he not show patience whatever the situation might be (li’l-ḥāl), when the Lord of Might says: Surely God is with the patient [8:46]?

His words, Exalted is He:

…Give him an honourable place. Maybe he will be useful to us…^{1The words said by Potiphar to his wife Zulaykhā after they have purchased Joseph as a slave.}

That is, ‘Perhaps he will be an intercessor for us in the Hereafter.’

His words, Exalted is He:

And she certainly desired him, and he would have desired her [too], had it not been that he saw the proof of his Lord.

That is, with his natural self (nafs ṭabīʿiyya),^{1It is possible that Tustarī is here referring to what he elsewhere defines as nafs al-ṭabʿ. See above, IT, pp. xxxviiiff.} he desired and inclined towards her, but with his divinely supported and protected self (nafs al-tawfīq wa’l-ʿiṣma), he desired to escape from her and oppose her. This means that his Lord protected him, and if it had not been for the protection of his Lord, he would have desired her, inclining towards that to which his lower self called [him]. He was protected by witnessing the proof (burhān) of his Lord, Mighty and Majestic is He, this being that the angel Gabriel عليه السلام came in the form of Jacob عليه السلام biting on his finger, upon which Joseph headed for the door while seeking forgiveness.^{2An expression frequently used in Islamic literature is that a person ‘bites the finger’ of amazement, wonder, consternation or, in this case, horror. This is among several traditions relating the nature of the proof of his Lord that Joseph saw. See Ṭabarī’s commentary on 12:24, for example.}

His words, Exalted is He:

And there entered the prison with him two [chivalrous] youths (fatayān)…

He [Sahl] said:

God, Exalted is He, said [chivalrous] youths because neither of them was excessive in his claim.^{1The verbal root f-t-w, from which the word fatayān (dual form of sing. fatā) is derived, has the meaning ‘to be youthful’, but also ‘to compete with or surpass another in generosity’.} Rather they gave what was theirs over to their companion and for this He called them fatayān.

His words, Exalted is He:

‘…Mention me to your lord…’ ^{1Said by Joseph to one of his fellow prisoners who was about to be released, your lord being a reference to the king.}

He [Sahl] said:

It has been related that the angel Gabriel عليه السلام visited Joseph in prison and said to him, ‘O pure one, son of the pure one, verily God, Exalted is He, has honoured me through you and through your forefathers, and He says to you, “Joseph, did you not feel shame before Me for having sought intercession from someone other than Me? By My Might, I am going to make you remain in prison for several years more.”’ He [Joseph] asked Gabriel, ‘Is He pleased with me?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ So he said, ‘Then I do not mind.’

ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه, used to say: ‘I and my self are nothing but a shepherd and his flock, each time he gathers them in on one side, they disperse from the other.’

His words, Exalted is He:

That is so that he may know that I did not betray him behind his back...^{1These are the words spoken by Joseph, when he sets the condition before interpreting the king’s dream, that the king should first obtain the truth from the women of Egypt about what happened. The women then exonerate Joseph, while Zulaykhā admits that it was she who tried to seduce him, and that he was truthful.}

He [Sahl] said:

[That is], ‘I did not breach my contract, nor did I disclose a secret [of his] that was concealed.’

His words, Exalted is He:

‘Yet I do not exculpate my own soul; verily the soul is ever inciting to evil…’ ^{1These are words said by Joseph, after the king (on his insistence) has summoned the women of Egypt, who exonerate him. See also p. 96, n. 11 below.}

He [Sahl] said:

Truly, the [evil-]inciting self (nafs ammāra) is lust (shahwa), which is the role played by man’s [basic] nature (ṭabʿ); ‘…unless my Lord shows mercy’, is the role played by the [divine] protection (ʿiṣma). The self at peace (nafs muṭmaʾinna) is the self of gnosis (nafs al-maʿrifa).^{2For Tustarī’s discussion of nafs muṭmaʾinna see his commentary on 2:260. On the different levels of the nafs again see above, IT, pp. xli–xlii.} God, Exalted is He, created the self and made ignorance its nature (ṭabʿ) and made desire (hawā) the closest thing to it. He also made desire the door by which man’s ruin enters.

Sahl was asked about the meaning of [a person’s] nature (ṭabʿ) and how one might necessarily acquire protection from it. He said:

Human nature (ṭabʿ) comprises four natural dispositions (ṭabāʾiʿ): the first is the animal disposition (ṭabʿ al-bahāʾim), that of the stomach and genitals; the second is the satanic disposition (ṭabʿ al-shayāṭīn), that of play (laʿb) and diversion (lahw); the third is the sorcerous disposition (ṭabʿ al-saḥara), that of delusion (makr) and deception (khidāʿ); and the fourth is the devilish nature (ṭabʿ al-abālisa), that of refusal (ibāʾ) and arrogance (istikbār). [Divine] protection (ʿiṣma) against the animal disposition is through faith (īmān). Safety (salāma) from the satanic disposition is through glorification (tasbīḥ) and sanctification [of God] (taqdīs), which is the natural disposition of angels. Safety from the sorcerous disposition is through truthfulness (ṣidq), sincere counsel (naṣīḥa), equity (inṣāf) and graciousness (tafaḍḍul). Safety from the devilish nature is through taking refuge (iltijāʾ) in God, Exalted is He, by humbly imploring him (taḍarruʿ) and crying out to Him (ṣarākh). The nature of the intellect (ʿaql) is to have knowledge but the nature of the lower self (nafs) is ignorance. The natural disposition of [human] nature is [to make] pretentious claims (daʿwā).

His words, Exalted is He:

…On him I rely...^{1These are words that are said by Jacob when he sends his sons to fetch back Benjamin, whom Joseph has detained in Egypt.}

He [Sahl] was asked, ‘What is the reality of complete trust [in God] (tawakkul)? He replied, ‘It is to be at ease (istirsāl) with whatever God, Exalted is He, wants.’ Then he was asked, ‘What are the requisites of complete trust?’ He said, ‘The first is knowledge and its reality is acting [on it].’ Then he said:

Truly the person who has complete trust [in God] (mutawakkil), when he attains it in reality (ʿalā’l-ḥaqīqa), does not eat any food in the knowledge that there is someone who has more of a right to it than himself.^{2i.e. is more in need of it.}

His words, Exalted is He:

…The most senior of them said…

That is, in intellect, not age.

His words, Exalted is He:

…until you are consumed ^{1These are the words of warning spoken by Joseph’s brothers to Jacob, on account of the magnitude of his grieving over the absence of Joseph.}

It was related from ʿAlī رضي الله عنه that he said, ‘The word ḥaraḍ means affliction due to pain in the heart.’

Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهم said, ‘Ḥaraḍ is [severe sickness] close to death. Sahl said:

It means being impaired (fāsid) in body and in deed because of grief. His grief was only on account of Joseph’s religion and not for the sake of [Joseph] himself, for he knew that if he died upon his religion he would be united with him in the Hereafter that is everlasting, but if he changed his religion they would never be united ever again.^{2In other words, Jacob was not grieving for the loss of Joseph’s soul, but for the [potential] loss of Joseph’s religion. Tustarī is thus, among Sufi commentators, one of the early apologists for Jacob’s intense grieving in separation from Joseph. Several of the early comments included in Sulamī’s Ḥaqāʾiq al-tafsīr, for example, state that Jacob lost his sight because he was grieving for a human being. See A. Keeler, ‘Joseph, in Exegesis’ EIr, vol. xv, fasc. 1.} It was related from Sufyān that he said, ‘Verily when the one bringing good tidings [of Joseph] came to Jacob عليه السلام, he asked him, “What was his religion when you left him?” He replied, “It was the religion of submission to God (islām).” So Jacob said, “Now the blessing is complete.”’

His words, Exalted is He:

…I complain of my anguish and grief only to God…

That is, ‘My anxiety (hamm) and sorrow (ḥuzn)’.

Sahl said:

Jacob’s grief was not over Joseph, but it [his grief] was an expression of the deep emotion (wajd) he felt in his heart after being separated from Joseph. For he asked himself, ‘How great would be the feelings I would experience if I were to be separated from God, Mighty and Majestic is He, when separation from a creature had caused me to act in such a way?’ So he complained of his distraction and anguish to God, Exalted is He, and to no one else.

His words, Exalted is He:

…And do not despair of God’s [gracious] spirit…

The best and highest form of service (khidma) is waiting for relief (intiẓār al-faraj) from God, Exalted is He, as it has been related from Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهم that the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Waiting for relief with patience is worship (ʿibāda).’^{1Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-īmān, vol. 7, p. 204.} The relief for which one waits is of two kinds: one is close (qarīb) and the other distant (baʿīd). That which is close is in the secret that is between the servant and his Lord. That which is distant relates to [that which is between] people, and whoever looks to [relief that is] far away is veiled from what is close at hand.^{2The meaning here appears to be that people who look for relief from [other] people, are waiting for relief from afar, whereas the relief that is from God within the innermost secret of the human being is close at hand. People will be veiled from the relief from God that is within them if they look for relief elsewhere.}

His words, Exalted is He:

…They said, ‘O mighty Governor, misfortune has befallen us and our family.’…^{1Joseph’s brothers are appealing to him as the person in charge of the storehouse of Egypt on account of the famine they have been suffering in Canaan.}

That is, ‘O great king’, and its inner meaning is: ‘O you, the one who has conquered himself, just as God, Exalted is He, has said, And overpowered me with his words [38:23], meaning, he conquered me through them.^{2The word that has been translated in 12:85 as mighty Governor, in the Arabic ʿazīz, is variously translated as ‘Ruler’, ‘Court Officer’ and ‘King’. In order to explain the esoteric significance of the use of the word ʿazīz here, Tustarī has drawn on 38:23, in which the words wa ʿazzanī have the meaning of ‘he overpowered’ or ‘conquered me’.}

His words, Exalted is He:

‘…Take me [in death] in a state of submission [to You], and join me to the virtuous.’ ^{1This is part of Joseph’s prayer, with which the narration of the story of Joseph in Sūra 12 finishes. Tustarī’s comment appears to be referring more generally to prayer (supplication).}

Sahl said:

This entails three things: asking for what is necessary, manifesting one’s poverty, and choosing what is obligatory.^{2What Tustarī probably means here is: that we should ask only for what God deems necessary for us; that we should manifest our real situation of poverty and utter neediness for Him; and that we should choose only what is obligatory for us according to the religious law.} What is meant is: ‘Let me die as one who has committed his affairs over to You and handed over his concerns to You, so that I have no recourse to my lower self under any condition, and do not resort to managing things [for myself] (tadbīr) by means of any secondary cause (sabab) whatsoever.

His words, Exalted is He:

And most of them do not believe in God without ascribing partners [to Him].

He [Sahl] said:

This is referring to the association [of others with God] (shirk) by the self which incites to evil (nafs ammāra), as was [indicated] when the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Association [of others with God] (shirk) in my nation is more hidden than the creeping of an ant over a stone.’ ^{1Nīsābūrī, al-Mustadrak, vol. 2, p. 319; Tirmidhī, Nawādir al-uṣūl, vol. 4, p. 147; ʿAbd al-ʿAẓīm al-Mundhirī, al-Targhīb wa’l-tarhīb (Beirut, 1996), vol. 4, p. 16.} This is the inner meaning of the verse. However, the outer meaning of the verse refers to the fact that the polytheists among the Arabs believe in God, just as He has said, If you ask them, who created them, they will certainly say ‘God’…[43:87] Even so they are polytheists who believe in some of the messengers but do not believe in others.

His words, Exalted is He:

I call to God being upon sure knowledge…

That is, ‘I convey the message, but I am not in possession of guidance. The guidance is up to You.’^{1That is, I am not in control of it.} Sahl was asked about the words of the Prophet ﷺ: ‘The effort of a striving person cannot avail him against You.’ He said:

Whoever is assiduous in his quest, but finds his assiduity (jidd) is met by an impediment (manʿ) from You, will not be benefitted by striving in his quest.

And he said:

For sure, the inner truth [or secret, sirr] has not been revealed to people, for if it were disclosed to them then they would have perceived it. Nor have they witnessed [it], for if they had witnessed it, the whole matter would be over, and that is a grave matter.^{2This saying recalls one of the statements included in Ibn al-Farrāʾ’s refutation of the Sālimiyya, for which see above, IT, p. xxii, n. 72.}

Then he [Sahl] said:

The People of ‘There is no God but God’ are many but the sincere among them are few. But God knows best.