Alif Lām Mīm

Sahl said:

Alif Lām Mīm is a name of God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and within it are meanings and attributes that people of understanding (fahm) know, not to mention the many meanings that it holds for the people of outward [knowledge].^{1Note that above, IC, p. 2, Tustarī had connected understanding (fahm) to the inner meanings of the Qurʾān.} If these letters are read separately, Alif stands for God’s assembling [things in their creation] (taʾlīf), Mighty and Majestic is He, for He brought together all things as He willed. The Lām stands for His pre-eternal grace (luṭfuhu al-qadīm) and the Mīm stands for His great glory (majduhu al-ʿaẓīm).

Sahl said:

Each book that God, Exalted is He, sent down contains a secret, and the secret of the Qurʾān is contained within the letters which open the sūras, because they are names and attributes, such as when He says Alif Lām Mīm [2:1; 3:1; 29:1 and 31:1], Ṣād [38:1], Alif Lām Rā [10:1; 11:1; 13:1; 14:1 and 15:1], Kāf Ḥā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād [19:1], Tā Sīn Mīm [26:1 and 28:1], Ḥā Mīm [41:1], ʿAyn Sīn Qāf.^{2The ‘disconnected letters’ (al-ḥurūf al-muqaṭṭaʿa), also referred to in English as the ‘mysterious letters’, with which some of the sūras begin, have been the subject of many traditional interpretations as well as modern theories. Traditional interpretations include the view that they represent names of Qurʾānic sūras, or names of God, as in the first tradition presented by Tustarī above, or that they have mystical significance, or a cryptic meaning, as in the second interpretation he presents above. They are also sometimes subject to interpretations based on the numerical values of the letters. See K. Massey, ‘Mysterious Letters’, EQ, vol. v, 412–4. For a discussion of one non-Muslim attempt to explain the significance of the detached letters, see Neal Robinson, Discovering the Qurʾān: A Contemporary Approach to a Veiled Text (Washington, D.C., 2003), pp. 260ff.} When these letters are brought together they make up the Greatest Name of God^{3In this instance, the Greatest Name is said to be al-Raḥmān, but below it is said to be Allāh.} — that is, if a letter is taken from each [group] of the opening letters of the sūras, one after the other in the order that the sūras were revealed, that is, Alif Lām Rā, Ḥā Mīm, and Nūn,^{4Sūra 68 (The Pen) commences with this letter.} they form the divine name al-Raḥmān.’ Ibn ʿAbbās and Ḍaḥḥāk, on the other hand, said that Alif Lām Mīm means ‘I am God and I know’; while ʿAlī رضي الله عنه said that these are names [in the form of] ‘disconnected’ [letters], but if a letter is taken from each of the opening groups of letters, on the condition that it is not the same as the letter adjacent to it, and then they are assembled, they form one of the names of the Merciful. If this name is known and used in supplication, it will be the mightiest name by which the prayer of the supplicant who uses it will be answered.

Sahl said:

In the words Alif Lām Mīm, That Book [2:1–2], Alif stands for God (Allāh), Lām stands for the servant (ʿabd), and Mīm stands for Muḥammad ﷺ. So, [through these letters] the servant may gain access to his Master from the position of affirming His oneness (tawḥīd) and by following the example of His Prophet.^{5See above, IC, p. 9, n. 38 and IT, p. xxiv, concerning Tustarī’s Risālat al-ḥurūf. In that treatise Tustarī ascribes special cosmological significance to the letters alif, waw and yā, with alif being assigned to the rational power (quwwa nāṭiqa), waw being assigned to the ‘animal force’ (quwwa ḥaywāniyya), and yā being assigned to ‘natural activity’ (quwwa ṭabīʿiyya) (trans. Gaafar, PhD thesis, pp. 97–8).}

Sahl further said:

I received [a tradition] on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās according to which he said: ‘God, Exalted is He, has sworn that this Book which was revealed to Muḥammad ﷺ is the book from God’s presence, Exalted is He. So He said: Alif Lām Mīm, That Book... [In these words], Alif stands for God (Allāh), Lām stands for Gabriel عليه السلام and Mīm stands for Muḥammad ﷺ, thus God, Exalted is He, has taken an oath by Himself, by the angel Gabriel عليه السلام and by Muḥammad ﷺ.’

He also said:

God, Exalted is He, extracted from His Greatest Name [Allāh]^{6See above, Tustarī’s commentary on the Basmala and 2:1, and the accompanying notes.} the letters Alif, Lām and Hāʾ and said: Indeed I am God, the Lord of the Worlds [28:30],^{7These are among the words spoken to Moses from the burning bush.} and for [His creatures’] sake He derived a name from among His names and made it the name of His Prophet ﷺ, and He derived from the end of the name of His Prophet ﷺ the name of His prophet Adam عليه السلام.^{8i.e. when the last two letters, mīm and dāl, are taken in reverse order. Here is an allusion to the doctrine that in pre-eternity, the existence of the Prophet Muḥammad preceded all creatures and all the other prophets derived their light from him, although he was the last to appear in the sublunary world. This is discussed by Tustarī in his commentary on 11:40. On this doctrine see IT, pp. xxxiff. A later discussion is presented by Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 10, p. 202.} Thus He says: That is because God is the Patron [or Friend] of those who believe, and those who disbelieve have no patron [47:11] — except the Devil, that is, Satan.

…In it there is no doubt (rayb)…

This means that there is no uncertainty (shakk) in it. A guidance for those who are mindful of God (muttaqūn) — that is, an explanation (bayān) for those who are mindful of God.^{1The words taqwā and muttaqī are derived from the verb w-q-y, which means to ‘be mindful, aware or wary of’ something, though these two derivatives are often translated as ‘fear of God’ and ‘God-fearing’, respectively. However, there are various words for different forms of fear [of God], such as khawf, khashy and waraʿ (these are discussed later in the commentary by Tustarī), and therefore we are translating the word taqwā in cases such as this as ‘mindfulness of God’, and muttaqī as the one who is mindful of God. The expressions ‘fear of God’ or ‘God-fearing’ will only be used in our translation of these words in those contexts where a particular emphasis is placed on the sense of wariness and awe towards God. On taqwā in Tustarī’s teachings see above IT, p. lvi.} The mindful of God are those who have freed themselves from the claim of possessing any power or strength except in God, Exalted is He, and who have resorted to taking refuge [in Him] and depending solely on His power and strength in every situation. So God has assisted them and provided for them whence they had no reckoning,^{2That is, from a source which they had not taken into account.} and made for them a source of relief and release from the trials to which He has subjected them.

Sahl [further] said:

God’s power (ḥawl) and strength (quwwa) are [manifest in] His act, His act is according to His knowledge, and His knowledge is among the attributes belonging to His essence.^{3We have seen above, p. 10, that God’s Knowledge is the ‘gate’, hence ‘prior’ to His Uncreated Will (mashīʾa), which precedes His Creative Will and Omnipotence, not in their existence but in their effects. But, as Gaafar explains, Tustarī also suggests that the Uncreated Will of God is an immediate stage that succeeds His Knowledge. In his Kitāb al-Muʿāraḍa, MS Köprülü 727, f. 212a, Tustarī outlines the stages of creation as being firstly Knowledge (that is, the divine Omniscience); secondly, the Book, comprising all the decrees of God, which are susceptible of effacement or affirmation (maḥw wa ithbāt, through mashīʾa); thirdly there is qaḍā, the affirmed Decree of God (ḥukm thābit); and fourthly, there is qadar, the actual manifestation of that which has been decreed. See Gaafar, PhD thesis, pp. 223–5.} The power and strength of the servant are but a temporary claim which lasts only until the last hour. The last hour is in the possession of God alone, Exalted is He.

The [ones who are] mindful of God are those who believe in the unseen…

God is the unseen and His religion is the unseen, and God, Mighty and Majestic is He, has ordered them to believe in the unseen, to free themselves from [any claim] to power and strength concerning that which they have been commanded to do and prohibited from doing, in faith, speech and action and to say, ‘We have no power (ḥawl) to keep ourselves from disobedience save through Your protection (ʿiṣma), and we have no strength (quwwa) to obey You save through Your aid (maʿūna).’ This is [a result of] of His compassion (ishfāq) towards them, and of His assisting them so that they do not claim power, strength and ability as did those who were damned from pre-eternity. When [these latter] saw the punishment with their own eyes, they disowned [their claim], but their disavowal did not avail them after they had actually seen the punishment. God has informed us about those who fit this description in His words But their faith was of no benefit to them when they (actually) saw Our punishment [40:85], and: Their only plea when Our might came upon them, was to say, ‘We were evildoers indeed’ [7:5]. Similarly, Pharaoh claimed to have power, strength and ability, and said, ‘Whenever I wish to believe, I will believe’, but when he actually came to believe it was not accepted from him, as God, Exalted is He, said, Now — when hitherto you have disobeyed and been of those who do corruption? [10:91]

…And spend out of what We have provided them:

Sahl said:

Truly God, Exalted is He, has described in this way those whom He has moulded with a certain nature, who are connected to Him by a certain link, and who never lapse in their heedfulness (murāqaba) of Him. They are those who never made a choice and desired nothing other than Him. Their only choice is that He should choose for them, even as He has chosen them for Himself.^{1That is according to all three MSS (Z515, f. 10b, F638, f. 6a and F3488, f. 188b), which have: kamā ikhtārahum lahu, as opposed to kamā ikhtārahu lahum.} They desire nothing that has any relation to another which will remove them from their dependence solely on Him, for they have freed themselves from other than Him.

Abū Bakr relates that it was said to Sahl: ‘Truly God has granted you wisdom (ḥikma)’, to which he replied:

Indeed, God willing, I have been granted wisdom (ḥikma) and [a knowledge of] the unseen (ghayb) which I was taught from the unseen of His secret (min ghayb sirrihi),^{2That is, perhaps, from the profound, secret link between man in his deepest being and God. This is explained by Tustarī in his commentary on 2:41. See also IT, p. xlviii.} and thus He sufficed me from the need for all other knowledge — and that the ultimate end is toward your Lord [53:42], and He completed what He had begun with me out of His grace and beneficence.

His words, Mighty and Majestic is He:

Those are upon guidance from their Lord…

That is, a clear explanation (bayān) from their Lord: by the light of His guidance hearts witness Him in confident abandonment to Him due to a light from His light, by which He singled them out in His prior knowledge.^{1There may be an allusion here both to 24:40 and to a ḥadīth, which reads ‘Verily God created the creatures in darkness, and then He cast upon them some of His light. Whosoever was touched by that light found guidance and whomsoever it missed went astray.’ Ibn Ḥanbal, al-Musnad (Cairo, 1895), vol. 2, pp. 176 and 197; Tirmidhī, Sunan, ‘Kitāb al-Īmān’, and Nawādir al-uṣūl, vol. 2, p. 413.} They do not speak except with guidance (hudā), and their inner perception is solely directed towards that guidance. So those who are guided by [this light] are never left by it; they are [constant] witnesses to it because they are never absent from it. If people were to ask them about it they would inform them, and if they were to will [something], it would quickly be brought about.^{2lit. ‘things would hasten to [fulfil] their wish’.} Thus …they are the ones who will prosper [2:5], and they are directed to guidance and success through His guidance. [It is they who will] remain (bāqūna) in Paradise with the permanent subsistence (baqāʾ) of God, Mighty and Majestic is He.^{3We shall see later that Tustarī describes the grace which God grants to those who have found guidance and success, beyond the blessings and delights of Paradise, as being: ‘life with Life itself’, and ‘permanent subsistence with Permanent Subsistence itself’.}

Then Sahl said:

It was transmitted to me that God, Exalted is He, revealed to David عليه السلام the words: ‘Make sure that I do not pass you by, for in that case you would forgo everything. Verily I created Muḥammad ﷺ for My sake, and I created Adam عليه السلام for his sake.^{4That is, so that the Muḥammadan Reality could become manifest. Again, see above, IT, pp. xxxiff.} I created My believing servants for My worship, and I created all other things for [the service of] the son of Adam.^{5That is, humanity in general.} So if he preoccupies himself with that which I have created for his service, I will veil him from that [for] which I created [him] for My sake.’^{6Or, ‘from that which I created for My sake,’ i.e. the Prophet.}

…So set not up compeers (andād) to God…

That is, adversaries (aḍdād),^{1The Qurʾānic word used is andād, which can mean ‘peer’, ‘partner’ or alternatively ‘antagonist’, ‘rival’. Tustarī had clearly understood it to mean the latter here.} and the greatest adversary is the self that incites to evil (al-nafs al-ammāra bi’l-sūʾ), which is only bent on its own pleasures (ḥuẓūẓ) and cravings (munā), without having any regard for guidance from God.^{2On the term nafs ammāra, or more fully, al-nafs al-ammāra bi’l-sūʾ and more generally on Tustarī’s teachings concerning the nafs, see above, IT, pp. xxxviiiff, and especially pp. xliff.}

Sahl was asked about God’s words:

…They shall be given it [the fruits] in perfect semblance; …and there for them shall be spouses, purified…,

He replied:

In Paradise there are no carpets, vessels, clothes, perfume, birds or plants, nor any fruits [as we know them]. Thus the semblance that the things of this world bear to those [mentioned in the verse] is no more than a coincidence in their names. So the pomegranate of this world does not in the least resemble the pomegranate in Paradise, except in name. The same is the case with resemblance of the date, the jujube and other such fruits [to those of Paradise]. What is intended in His saying in [perfect] semblance is only a likeness in colour, for there is a difference in taste. When in Paradise the angels bring an apple to the friends of God (awliyāʾ) during the day, and then they bring them another during the night, and they ask, ‘Is this one [like the other]?’ They are told, ‘Taste it’, and on tasting it they experience a different taste to that of the first one. It should not be discounted from God’s ability, Exalted is He, that He could make an apple taste like a pomegranate, almond or quince.’

Sahl continued:

Indeed I know one of the friends of God (awliyāʾ) who saw on the seashore a man who had before him the biggest pomegranate that there ever was. The friend of God (walī) asked him what he had before him, to which he replied, ‘It is a pomegranate that I saw in Paradise. I desired it so God granted it to me, but when He placed it before me I regretted my haste for having it while still in this world.’ That man [the walī] asked, ‘May I eat some of it?’ and the man responded, ‘If you have the capacity to eat it, then do so’;^{1If it is read in the passive (i.e. qudirta instead of qadarta), it could mean ‘if you are foreordained to eat it’, which is how Böwering translates it.} upon which he grabbed the fruit from him and ate most of it. When the man saw him eating the fruit he it was astounded and said, ‘Receive glad tidings of Paradise, for I did not know your [spiritual] rank before you ate it; no one eats of the food of Paradise in this life except the people of Paradise.’

Then Abū Bakr asked Sahl if the one who had eaten the pomegranate had informed him of its taste, to which he replied:

He did, and its taste brings together the tastes of all fruits, and in addition it has a smoothness and coolness which is unlike any of the tastes [experienced] in this world.

Then Abū Bakr commented, ‘I have no doubt, nor does anyone who heard this story from Sahl, that he himself was in fact both the possessor of that pomegranate and the one who ate it.’

Sahl was asked about His words:

…I am appointing on earth a vicegerent…

He answered:

God, Exalted is He, before he created Adam عليه السلام said to the angels I am appointing on earth a vicegerent, and He created Adam from the clay of might consisting of the light of Muḥammad ﷺ, and He informed him that his self which incites evil (al-nafs al-ammāra bi’l-sūʾ) would be his worst enemy,^{1Here and in his commentary on 2:22 above, Tustarī is alluding to a ḥadīth of the Prophet in which he is reported to have said: ‘Your greatest enemy is your lower self (nafs) which is between your two sides.’ This ḥadīth is listed in Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Bayhaqī’s Kitāb al-Zuhd al-kabīr (Kuwait, 1983), p. 190. Ghazālī cites the ḥadīth in the Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, Book 21: Kitāb Sharḥ ʿajāʾib al-qalb.} and that He had created it so that he conduct it [on the path] to Him, according to his knowledge of it, regarding notions (khawāṭir)^{2The word khāṭir (pl. khawāṭir) has the sense of a thought which is stirred up in the mind, or occurs unexpectedly to a person. Kalābādhī explains that there are four kinds of khaṭar: one that comes from God; one that comes from an angel; one that comes from the nafs; and one that comes from the Enemy (i.e. Satan). See his Kitāb al-Taʿarruf, pp. 90–1; English trans. Arberry, p. 80.} and impulses (himam) [which arise in it], and that he [Adam] conduct it in such a way as to remain utterly dependent on Him, seeking refuge in Him.^{3That is reading yuṣirrahā on the basis of MSS Z515, f. 12a, F638, f. 7a and F3488, f. 190a, instead of yaʾmurahā as in the printed edition. It is also possible to read God as the subject throughout the sentence, in which case it would translate as: ‘…and He created it so that He might conduct it to Himself, according to His knowledge of it, regarding notions and impulses which arise in it, and that He might conduct it in the state of utter dependence on Him…’.} If He shows it an act of obedience, it should respond by saying, ‘O help me!’, and if it is moved to an act of disobedience, it should cry out, ‘O protect me!’ If it is moved to a blessing, it should say, ‘Grant me a share of it!’ If He says to it, ‘Be patient in the face of tribulation’, it should respond saying, ‘O, grant me patience!’ His [man’s] heart should not entertain the slightest whispering (waswasa) of the self without abandoning it and returning to its Lord. God, Exalted is He, made the natural propensity (ṭabʿ) of the self such that it is passive when faced with commandments and active when faced with prohibitions. However, He commanded it to respond with passivity when inclined to activity, and to be active when inclined to passivity, with the words, ‘There is neither power nor strength except in God’, that is, there is no power to resist disobeying Him except through His protection, and no strength to obey Him except with His aid.

Then He ordered him [Adam] to enter the Garden and eat from it at ease wherever he wished, after which He decreed to him that he may not eat from the Tree. When he entered the Garden and saw what he saw there, he said, ‘If only we could stay here forever; yet, indeed, we have an appointed time that extends to a known limit.’ Then Satan approached him, on account of his heart’s accommodating itself (musākana)^{4It will be seen that Tustarī uses the term musākana in a very particular way for the lower self’s or heart’s accommodating itself to, or acquiescing in, a desire that arises, or a suggestion that concerns, other than God, or the disobeying of His command.} to the whispering of his lower self, and said, ‘Shall I lead you to the tree of eternity that you long for in this abode, which is the means to attain immortality and everlastingness?’, and he added, Your Lord only prohibited you both from this tree, lest you become angels or immortals [7:20]. His argument was just a form of deception. Thereby God, Mighty and Majestic is He, inflicted on [Adam] the Adversary’s whispering, in accordance with His pre-eternal knowledge concerning him, and in fulfilment of what He had preordained and justly decreed for him.^{5Concerning Tustarī’s doctrines of the dangers of the nafs, see Böwering, Mystical Vision, p. 258.}

The first instance of forgetfulness (nisyān) that took place in Paradise was the forgetfulness of Adam, and it was a deliberate forgetfulness, not accidental, that is, it signified his abandonment of the Covenant.^{6The covenant that is being referred to here is the pact that God took from Adam in Paradise that he would not eat of the tree (the Qurʾān does not, like the Bible, specify that it is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), and Tustarī’s words appear to be an allusion to 20:115: And We made a covenant with Adam before, but he forgot, and We did not find any constancy in him.}

Sahl said:

I was informed in an account of one of the Followers (tābiʿūn)^{7The tābiʿūn are the generation immediately after the Companions of the Prophet.} that he [the Prophet] said that forgetfulness in the Book of God, Mighty and Majestic is He, is of two kinds. [One is] abandonment, as for example in Sūrat al-Baqara, Or we cause to be forgotten [2:106], when it means: ‘We abandon it and we do not abrogate it’; and also in His words: Forget not kindness between you [2:237], meaning: ‘Do not abandon kindness between yourselves’; and likewise in Sūrat Ṭā Hā, but he [Moses] forgot [20:88], meaning: ‘He has abandoned the Covenant’. Another example occurs in Sūrat al-Sajda, in the words, Taste [now], for your having forgotten the encounter of this day of yours, and We [too] shall forget you [32:14], meaning: ‘We shall abandon you to your punishment as We lifted Our protection from you when you persisted in committing sin.’

He continued:

The other meaning of forgetfulness is when someone cannot remember because the information leaves his memory, exemplified by his [Moses’] words [narrated] in Sūrat al-Kahf, I did indeed forget the fish [18:63], meaning: ‘I couldn’t keep it in my memory’ — this is due to the fact that God, Exalted is He, has made Satan a partner with the natural self (nafs al-jibilla) regarding the desires that it has which have nothing to do with God, Exalted is He.^{8The construct here: nafs al-jibilla is similar to that of nafs al-ṭabʿ and Tustarī may here be using jibilla as more or less equivalent to ṭabʿ. On Tustarī’s teachings concerning different levels of the nafs, see IT, pp. xliff.} Another example is in Moses’ words to Khiḍr, Do not take me to task on account of that which I forgot [18:73], meaning: ‘That which escaped my memory’. Also He said in Sūra Sabbiḥ [Sūrat al-Aʿlā], We will have you recite [the Qurʾān], so you do not forget. [87:6] — that is: ‘We shall have you memorise [the Qurʾān], so that you do not forget it’.

So this [Adam’s forgetfulness and Satan’s access to him] was because of his preoccupation with his own devising (tadbīr).^{9i.e. his thinking about how much better it would be if he were to live forever in Paradise. In Sufi writings, human planning and contrivance (tadbīr) are often contrasted with divine determination and decree (taqdīr). The latter, of course, is always shown to overcome the former. In the course of his commentary, Tustarī frequently warns against having recourse to our own planning and attempts to manage our lives (tadbīr), which are both incompatible with true trust in God. On tadbīr and taqdīr see IT, pp. xxxivff.} His thought [for everlasting life] did not involve any considered reflection which might have made it a form of worship, but rather it was a kind of thinking that springs from a disposition (ṭabʿ) in his self (nafs al-jibilla). God, Exalted is He, decreed when He created the heavens and the earth, that if He sees in a person’s heart something in which he is acquiescing other than Himself, that person will be overpowered by Satan, who will whisper in his breast (ṣadr) to his lower self, by [generating] a desire, such that it [the nafs] will invite him to pursue it. Or he may turn back to his Lord seeking refuge in Him and clinging to His protection (iʿtiṣām). However, in his native land,^{10i.e. Paradise.} God concealed His remembrance from [Adam] until after he had committed that which was forbidden, so that His prior knowledge concerning that which He had forbidden him could be fulfilled; and Adam’s act [of disobedience] then became a habit^{11That is a habitual practice or norm (sunna). The published edition has ṣāra fiʿluhu ʿilm sunnatan, whereas MS 515, f. 13a omits the word ʿilm, which in any case should have been in the accusative.} among his progeny up until the Day of Resurrection. In reality, God did not mean by this the matter of eating [from the tree], but rather the acquiescence (musākana) of the desire (himma) in something other than Him. Phrased another way, [God is saying]: ‘He [man] should not concern himself with anything other than Me’. Adam عليه السلام was not protected from the desire (himma) and the act (fiʿl) in Paradise, so what befell him, befell him for that reason. Similarly, he who claims what is not his, while his heart appeases him by entertaining the desire of his lower self, will be afflicted with God’s abandonment (tark), Mighty and Majestic is He, notwithstanding the fact that God naturally disposed his lower self to it, unless He has mercy upon him by protecting him from his own devising (tadbīr), and helps him against his enemy, that is, his self that incites to evil.^{12MSS Z515, f. 13a and F3488, f. 191a both have nafs while F638, f. 7b has al-nafs al-ammāra bi’l-sūʾ. None of the MSS has Iblīs wa, which is in the printed edition.} The people of Paradise, when they are in Paradise, will be protected from the planning (tadbīr) that they were accustomed to in the abode of this world. Yet Adam, when he was placed in Paradise, was not protected from his heart’s acquiescence in the planning of his lower self for immortality. Do you not see that calamity (balāʾ) befell him because of the reliance (sukūn) of his heart upon what his lower self whispered to him? And so desire (hawā) and lust (shahwa) overwhelmed knowledge (ʿilm), the intellect (ʿaql), lucidity (bayān) and the light of the heart (nūr al-qalb), on account of that which God, Exalted is He, had preordained. Thus the end of the situation was as the Prophet ﷺ foretold when he said: ‘Truly passion and desire overwhelm knowledge and intellect’.^{13The editor of the Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya edition notes that this is not a prophetic ḥadīth, but a saying of Ḥārith b. Asad, which is cited in Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, vol. 10, p. 88.}

Sahl was asked about God’s words:

…Whilst we glorify You with praise and sanctify You…

It means ‘We purify ourselves for Your sake by saying what You inspired us to say through the favour that You bestowed upon us. Blessed are You, O our Lord!’

Thereafter Adam received certain words from his Lord, and He relented towards him...

Sahl was asked, ‘What were the words that Adam learnt from his Lord?’ He replied:

Muḥammad b. Sawwār informed me, [in a narration] from his father, from al-Thawrī, from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Rafīʿ, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmar رضي الله عنهم, that he [the latter] said: ‘When Adam عليه السلام recalled his error he said: “O Lord, do you see the act of disobedience by which I disobeyed You as something that You preordained for me before You created me, or something that I initiated?” He replied: “Indeed, it is something that I preordained for you, that you would do as a consequence of My lifting My protection from you, fifty thousand years before creating you.” Then Adam عليه السلام asked, “As you preordained it for me, then forgive me, for indeed We have wronged our own souls [7:23], through carrying out the lower self’s desire and relying on its devising, and we have repented from ever going back to that. If You do not forgive us — that is, in this life, and have mercy upon us, during what remains of our lives we shall surely be among the lost [7:23] — that is, among the damned and tormented in the Hereafter.”’ So these were the words which God, Exalted is He, was speaking about when He said: Thereafter Adam received certain words from his Lord, and his Lord relented towards him, truly He is the Relenting, the Merciful.

It was related from the Prophet ﷺ that he said: ‘Adam asked Moses, (peace be upon them both), “How many years before my creation do you find that my sin was destined for me?” He replied, “Forty thousand years.”’ The Prophet ﷺ then said, ‘Thus did Adam confute Moses (peace be upon them both).’^{1This is part of a tradition which relates how the prophet Moses rebukes Adam for being the one who had humankind exiled from Paradise. Adam’s response is to remind Moses that all this was predestined by God before his creation. For an account of this tradition, see Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad Samʿānī, Rawḥ al-arwāḥ fī sharḥ asmāʾ al-Malik al-Fattāḥ (Tehran, 1989), p. 156.}

…And be in awe of Me.

Sahl was asked, ‘What is this awe (rahba) that He commanded them to feel towards Him?’ He replied:

He meant by this, the [true] locating of the light of certainty (mawḍiʿ nūr al-yaqīn)^{1The words ‘light of certainty’ have been substituted here for light of the self (nūr al-nafs) on the basis of Böwering’s translation of this passage. We have found this only in MS F3488, f. 191b. The other two MSS (Z515, f. 14a, F638, f. 8a), as well as the printed edition, have nūr al-nafs.} in relation to the heart’s insight (baṣar al-qalb), and gnosis (maʿrifa) in relation to the entirety of the heart (kulliyat al-qalb). For endurance (mukābada) and struggle (mujāhada) are a part of faith ⸢for the sake of God (īmān li’Llāh)⸣. Then, when the heart ceases to have fear of all other than Him, the light of certainty is unveiled, and the servant who abides in faith for the sake of God, attains ⸢to faith in [or through] God (īmān bi’Llāh)⸣,^{2These two additions were made with reference to MSS Z515, f. 14a and F638, f. 8a.} with an unshakeable realisation of His oneness (tawḥīdan ʿalā tamkīn), by which I mean, his heart is in a state of tranquil and confident repose with his Master (sukūn qalbihi ilā mawlāhu).^{3Tustarī appears to be teaching that endurance and struggle remain at the level of faith ‘for God’, that is, while the aspirant is in a state of separation from God, believing from the point of view of duality. However, once he reaches the level of tamkīn in tawḥīd, that is, firmly and unshakeably in the realisation of the divine oneness, he will have attained the level of faith in or through God. At this level also there can be no fear or awareness (taqwā) of other than God, because he is not conscious of anything other than God. On faith and certainty, see also IT, above p. xlviii.} Consequently, the light of certainty unveils the knowledge of the eye of certainty (ʿilm ʿayn al-yaqīn),^{4The word ʿayn in this context was added from the MSS Z515, f. 14a and F3488, f. 192a. MS F638, f. 8a, however, has ʿilm al-yaqīn, like the published edition. On the expression ʿayn al-yaqīn, see above IT, p. xlix, n. 209.} and this is the attainment (wuṣūl) of God, Exalted is He. For this certainty, by virtue of the light of certainty (bi-nūr al-yaqīn) that leads to the eye of certainty, is not ⸢something that is brought into being (mukawwan)⸣,^{5‘Brought into being or existentiated (mukawwan)’ was added on the basis of the MSS: MS Z515, f. 14a, F638, f. 8a and F3488, f. 192a.} nor is it something created (makhlūq); rather it is a light from the light of the essence of God (dhāt al-Ḥaqq), not in the sense of an indwelling (ḥulūl), nor of conjoining (jamʿ), or conjunction (ittiṣāl). Rather, the meaning of the servant’s attainment (ittiṣāl)^{6Sic in all the MSS as well as the published edition. Perhaps it should have been wuṣūl here, as earlier in the passage. Alternatively, the previous ittiṣāl, should perhaps have been ittiḥād.} of his Master refers to the [true] locating (mawḍiʿ) of his realisation of the divine oneness, and his obedience to God and His Messenger.

So, according to the strength of his perception (baṣar) of God, he will attain full awareness (taqwā) and awe (rahba) of Him. The root of full awareness of God is in relinquishing the lower self (mubāyanat al-nafs),^{7Or it could mean ‘separating the self [from the unreal]’.} so let [the servant] relinquish [the lower self] for this, and not accommodate any of the pleasures [demanded by] its desire (hawā), nor any of those pleasures to which it [the lower self] is summoning him, and for which it has no excuse.^{8Tustarī has returned in his discourse to the level of awareness of the separation of the slave and his Master, perhaps to remind his listeners on the one hand that, aside from those moments when the mystic experiences union with God, when he attains the realisation of tawḥīd through God, and the envisioning or ‘eye’ of certainty (ʿayn al-yaqīn), the awareness of man’s slavehood and God’s lordship must remain. On the other hand, it is a reminder that the way to taqwā and rahba requires the purification of the self from its desires and from other than God.} Know that human beings will vary in rank on the Day of Resurrection according to the measure of the light of certainty that they possess. The weightier the certainty a person has the heavier will his scales weigh, even though there might [otherwise] be less in his scales.

He [Sahl] was asked, ‘How can you tell the soundness of someone’s certainty?’ To which he replied:

By the strength of his confidence (thiqa) in God, Exalted is He, and his good opinion (ḥusn al-ẓann) of Him.^{9The subject of good opinion [of God] ḥusn al-ẓann is discussed further by Tustarī later in his commentary on this sūra, and is also discussed above, IT, pp. lii–liii.} Trust in God is witnessing (mushāhada) through certainty (yaqīn), the eye of certainty (ʿayn al-yaqīn), and the wholeness [of its vision] (kulliyyatihi). Its perfection and goal is the attainment of God, Mighty and Majestic is He.

…And fear Me^{1Or we might translate this as ‘Be fully aware’ or ‘mindful of Me’. The Qurʾānic words are iyyāya fa’ttaqūn.}

When asked about this verse, Sahl replied:

What He means by this is [their being aware] of His prior knowledge concerning them, that is, ‘You should never feel secure from the [divine] ruse (makr),^{2The word makr is used in Sufism to refer to an illusion created by God to test the spiritual wayfarer.} nor of His act of giving respite (istidrāj),^{3The word istidrāj here means God’s drawing a person to destruction little by little, so that they are lulled into a sense of security and thinking that all is well.} such that your hearts become complacent in the observance of your security in this world while you persist in falling short [in good works]; nor should you rely upon My leniency towards you in the matter of [not] hastening your punishment, in that same [false] sense of security, and in your delusion (ightirār) and heedlessness (ghafla), lest you perish.’^{4Tustarī is here using iltifāt, the rhetorical feature of the Qurʾān, which involves shifts between the first person singular (or plural) and the third person singular.}

The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Had Jesus the son of Mary عليه السلام had greater certainty (yaqīn) he would have walked in the air as he walked on water.’^{5Bayhaqī, Kitāb al-Zuhd al-kabīr, p. 357.} And truly our Prophet ﷺ traversed the air on the Night Journey (Isrāʾ) due to the strength of the light of his certainty, [a certainty] which God, Exalted is He, granted to him from His light, as an increase in light to the light that he already possessed from God, Exalted is He. The Prophet ﷺ also said: ‘If gnosis (maʿrifa) had remained firmly rooted in the heart of David عليه السلام and he had not slipped into negligence, he would not have fallen into disobedience.’ By my life, truly gnosis (maʿrifa) was enclosed within its own abodes (udrijat fī awṭānihā),^{6That is to say, God decreed that it (gnosis) should not be available to the prophet David at that moment, just as we see further down in this same passage that God concealed from him the light of certainty.} in order that what was contained within God’s prior knowledge concerning him would befall him. This is because it [God’s prior knowledge] inevitably had to be manifested in his qualities, since God’s knowledge is a final decree that cannot change to other than what the All-Knowing knows, Mighty and Majestic is He. Indeed God, Mighty and Majestic is He, concealed [from David] عليه السلام in David’s realm, the light of certainty (nūr al-yaqīn) by which he could have perceived [with] the eye of certainty (ʿayn al-yaqīn) and the wholeness [of its vision],^{7lit. and its ‘entirety’ (kulliyya). See above, IT, p. xlix, and the commentary on 102:7 below.} in order that His decree could thereby be fulfilled, Exalted is He. Do you not see that in reality the servant only beholds God by means of a subtle ‘substance’ (laṭīfa) from God, through its connection to his heart (bi-wuṣūlihā ilā-qalbihi). This subtle substance pertains to the attributes of the essence of his Lord. It is neither brought into being (mukawwana), nor created (makhlūqa), neither conjunct [with God] (mawṣūla), nor cut off [from Him] (maqṭūʿa). It is a secret (sirr) from a secret to a secret, an unseen [mystery] (ghayb) from an unseen to an unseen.^{8This passage is closely related to, and helps to clarify, the passage cited above on the previous verse (2:40), which discussed attainment of the eye of certainty (ʿayn al-yaqīn). Both passages use different words derived from the root w-ṣ-l (here wuṣūl, in the previous passage ittiṣāl), indicating an indefinable connection and closeness to God, that nonetheless does not imply any conjunction, or indwelling on the part of God.} Certainty is through God, and the servant finds certainty due to a cause that comes directly from Him to the servant, according to the measure of the gifts that God has apportioned him, and the wholeness (jumla) of his innermost heart (suwaydāʾ qalbihi).

Faith has two abodes (waṭanān),^{9Sic in the published edition and all three MSS. Tustarī does not say what these two abodes are, though elsewhere he states that the locus of faith (īmān) is the heart (qalb), on which see above IT, p. xlii.} and it is that which settles and does not leave. The light of certainty, [however] comes in momentary [flashes] and when it settles and takes root, it becomes faith. Thereafter certainty comes in flashes and increases in this manner indefinitely.

And do not obscure the truth with falsehood, and do not conceal truth wittingly.

Sahl was asked about this verse, to which he replied:

This means, ‘Do not cover up a matter of the Hereafter because of a worldly concern.’ What [God] means is that it is not allowed for the people of truth to conceal the truth from the people of truth (ahl al-ḥaqq) in particular, or from those who long to be guided thereby to God. As for the people of truth, they will increase in insight (baṣīra) [through hearing it], and as for those who are not of the elite of the people of truth, the words of God are a source of guidance for them and of direction to God, Exalted is He.

Seek help in patience and prayer…

When asked about these words Sahl said:

Patience here [means] fasting, while prayer [means] the bond (waṣla) of gnosis (maʿrifa). He whose prayer — this being his bond [with God] — is sound, will be exempt from accusation (tuhma) before God; for interrogation (suʾāl) is a form of accusation, but with this bond there remains no interrogation. Do you not take note of His words [in the second part of this verse], It is hard indeed, except for the humble? ^{1That is to say that it (prayer) is burdensome to those who lack humility, according to the commentary of Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī and Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī, in Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, ed. ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Arnāʾūṭ and Aḥmad Khālid Shukrī (Damascus and Beirut: Dār Ibn Kathīr, 1998), trans. Feras Hamza (Louisville, KY: Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought and Fons Vitae, 2008).}

…and no intercession shall be accepted from it [the soul], nor shall compensation be taken, neither shall they be helped.

When asked about these words Sahl said:

It means that even if it [the soul] were to bring the sum of all good actions great and small, in abundance or just a few, none of this will be accepted from it on its arrival on the Day of Resurrection, nor anything from him [the servant]. Compensation (ʿadl) here means equivalence [or like, mathal]. Do you not note His words: Or its compensation in fasts [5:95] — that is, its equivalence and reward?

…and the thunderbolt took you even as you looked on^{1This verse refers to Moses’ people after they had been reprimanded for worshipping the calf in his absence (2:51–4). They then told him they would not believe him until they saw God openly, which is when they witnessed the thunderbolt.}

When asked about this verse Sahl said:

The thunderbolt (al-ṣāʿiqa) signifies death, and it also signifies every destructive punishment that God sends down upon whomever He wills of His servants, which they behold with their own eyes, whereby He shows to others among them a lesson and an admonishment.

…So we sent upon the transgressors a plague…

He said:

the plague being punishment.

…and without blemish…^{1This is among the qualities of the cow that was to be sacrificed by the Children of Israel, as commanded by God through Moses.}

When asked about this verse Sahl said:

This means that there should be no mark on it which blemishes it, nor a patch of colour which differs from the colour of the rest of its body. In this there is wisdom from its Maker and a lesson for the one who takes heed by it, and grows in certainty because of his faith and his profession of God’s oneness.

And when you killed a living soul and disputed thereon…

That is, you fell into discord concerning it. Why then did you slay them, if you speak the truth? [3:183]^{1The relevance of the commentary on the verse introduced here is Tustarī’s explanation that a matter may be addressed to a people concerning members of their community, even though what is being referred to may have occurred in the past. Likewise, a matter may be addressed to the community when it concerns the Prophet and vice versa.}

Sahl said regarding these words:

This is a reproach from God, Mighty and Majestic is He, to them [the Jews] with regard to those of their forefathers who were murderers of prophets. As you know, those who are addressed in this verse had not killed a prophet at the time of the Prophet ﷺ, nor was there at that time any other Prophet but him. However, God addressed them with reference to those who came before them among their kin, as He addressed the Prophet ﷺ with what was in reality directed to his nation [as a whole] with His words: O Prophet! When you [men] divorce women, divorce them by their prescribed period [65:1] The same [principle applies] to His words: About what are they questioning one another? About the awesome tidings [78:1, 2], [by which is meant], ‘For what reason do you question the Prophet ﷺ, when he is more knowledgeable concerning that’.^{2According to the commentaries, these verses are being addressed to the Quraysh.}

He was asked about His words, Exalted is He:

…Who know not the Book, but only [see therein their own] desires…

He said:

This means that they rest their hopes in God based upon falsehood, inclining towards the desire (hawā) of their lower selves without following guidance from God. This is referring to the Jews.^{1Most of the traditions cited by Ṭabarī on this verse state that these were illiterate people among the Jews, perhaps because much of this part of Sūrat al-Baqara relates to the Jews. However, a couple of traditions simply state that they were illiterate people.}

He was asked about His words:

…and confirmed him with the Holy Spirit…^{1The Arabic construction here is rūḥ al-quddūs meaning literally ‘spirit of the holy’.}

He replied:

The Holy (al-Quddūs) refers to God, that is, the One who is sanctified above having children, partners or a spouse.

…But they could not thus harm anyone except by God’s permission…

That is, save that it be in God’s prior knowledge, which precedes the occurrence of the act of the one doing it.

Nay, but whoever submits his purpose to God, being virtuous...

Concerning these words of God, Exalted is He, Sahl said:

That is, his religion, is as it is said in Sūrat al-Nisāʾ: Who is fairer in religion than one who submits his purpose to God? [4:125], meaning: ‘Than a person who dedicates (akhlaṣa) his religion purely to God’, that is, Islam and its laws.^{1The fourth form of the verb khalaṣa here also has the meaning of sincerity, as in the title of Sūra 112 (Al-Ikhlāṣ).} This meaning is reiterated in Sūra Luqmān: Whoever surrenders his purpose to God, and is virtuous [31:22], which means [whoever] devotes himself in religion purely to God.

…and of our progeny, a community submissive to You…

‘A community’ (umma) refers to a group of people, and ‘submissive’ (muslima) means they submit to Your commandments and prohibitions, thereby attaining Your good pleasure and acceptance.

He was asked about His words:

That is a community that has passed away. Theirs is what they have earned…

He replied:

That is to say, this was a community that passed away in accordance with God’s prior knowledge concerning them.

…a community of the middle [way] (wasaṭan)…

That is, they are just. In this way, a believer gives credence to God’s servants in accordance with His words, He believes in God, and has faith in the believers [9:61], which means that he affirms [the truth of] God and ascribes truth to the believers.

His words, Exalted is He:

…For God is gentle with people, merciful.

That is, He shows great [lit. intense, shadīd] mercy (raḥma) and kindness (raʾfa) towards them. This refers to the gentleness (rifq) and clemency (ḥilm) that He shows them due to His knowledge of their weakness and of the fact that they have no strength before Him, except through Him and from Him.

Every person has a direction to which he turns…

He means by this that God, Exalted is He, turns people of each religion in the direction that He wills.

…Yet give good tidings to those who are patient.

He [Sahl] said:

They are those for whom patience (ṣabr) has become a way of life (ʿaysh), a [source of] rest (rāḥa) and a homeland (waṭan). They find delight in practising patience for the sake of God, Exalted is He, in every situation.

They are those on whom [descend] blessings from their Lord, and mercy; it is they who are truly guided.

Sahl said:

What is implied by blessings (ṣalawāt) upon them is the bestowal of mercy (taraḥḥum) upon them, that is, a bestowal of mercy from their Lord. The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘May God bless the family of Abū Awfāʾ, when they brought him charitable donations, by which he meant ‘[May God] have mercy on them.’^{1Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitāb al-Zakāt’.}

He also said:

Muḥammad b. Sawwār told us on the authority of Abū ʿAmr b. ʿAlāʾ that he said: ‘Ṣalāt’ has three meanings, one of which is the prescribed prayer with its bowings and prostrations, which is referred to when God says: So pray to Your Lord and sacrifice [108:2], that is, grasp your left arm with your right hand in prayer, in self-abasement and in awe before God, Exalted is He. This is also reported from ʿAlī رضي الله عنه. The second meaning is to show mercy (taraḥḥum) [as discussed above], and the third meaning is supplication (duʿāʾ), as [for example] in the prayer over the dead. Indeed, the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘If any of you are invited for a meal, you should [accept the invitation]. But if [the one invited] is fasting he should pray’,^{2Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitāb al-Nikāḥ’; Tirmidhī, Sunan, ‘Kitāb al-Ṣawm’.} that is, he should make a supplication for them to be endowed with blessing. Furthermore, the Prophet ﷺ said in a ḥadīth, ‘…and may the angels pray over you’, meaning pray for mercy to be bestowed upon you. In this [same] ḥadīth the Prophet ﷺ went on to say, ‘And if someone eats at his house, the angels pray over him [the host] until eventide’, meaning the angels supplicate for him.^{3Ibn Ḥanbal, al-Musnad (Egypt, n.d.), vol. 3, p. 137. Both these traditions of the Prophet are indications of the importance in Muslim culture of both giving and receiving hospitality. All references in the text are to this edition, unless another is mentioned.}

Sahl continued:

Ṣalāt carries two meanings: one is the seeking of forgiveness (istighfār), and the other is forgiveness itself (maghfira). As for the meaning of ‘seeking forgiveness’, it is referred to in His words, And pray for them [9:103], that is, ask forgiveness for them; [and in His words], to [secure] the prayers of the Messenger [9:99], meaning asking for the Messenger’s supplication for forgiveness. As for its meaning of ‘forgiveness’, it is referred to in His words, Exalted is He, He it is who blesses you [33:43], meaning: ‘He forgives you’, and [again in His words]: as do His angels… [33:43], by which is meant: ‘They seek forgiveness for you’. In the same vein are His words: Indeed God and His angels bless the Prophet [33:56], which mean: ‘Truly God forgives the Prophet, and the angels seek forgiveness for him.’ Then He says, O you who believe, invoke blessings on him, and invoke peace on him in a worthy manner [33:56], meaning: ‘Seek forgiveness for him’. Also in Sūrat al-Baqara are His words: Blessings from their Lord [2:157], meaning: ‘Forgiveness from their Lord.’

…Upon them shall be the curse of God…

This means that their lot is banishment (ṭard) from the mercy of God, and alienation. In this manner, every accursed one is banished.

Concerning His words:

(Yet there are people who take to themselves idols), loving them as if loving God; but those who believe love God more ardently…

He said:

It means that they love idols (andād) in the way that they love God, Mighty and Majestic is He. Indeed, God, Exalted is He, described the intensity of their disbelief and their constancy (ṣidq) in the state of disbelief as ignorance (jahl). He then described the love of the believers and their constancy in the state of faith in God, as truth (ḥaqq). Then He accorded superiority to the believers due to their knowledge [or gnosis, maʿrifa],^{1Note that the term maʿrifa is not necessarily being used here in the particular manner of the Sufis to designate mystical/ experiential knowledge of God.} saying, those who believe love God more ardently. This is due to their knowledge (maʿrifa), and all the other things that cause the believing servant to advance towards God and establish His remembrance. This is the level of the loving mystics (ʿārifūn muḥibbūn), since love is the inclination (ʿaṭf) for the purest reality (khāliṣat al-ḥaqq), which God, Exalted is He, [produces] in them.

He was asked, ‘What is the sign of love?’ He replied:

It is the embracing of obedience and the relinquishing of [any sense] of need [for other than God] (mubāyanat al-fāqa). It has been related that God, Exalted is He, said in a revelation to Moses, ‘Do you know why I cast my love upon you?’,^{2An allusion to 20:39: I cast upon you love from Me.} to which he replied, ‘No, O Lord.’ He said, ‘Because you sought My delight (masarra). O Moses, [always] keep Me in mind, and don’t forget Me in any situation. Let your aspiration (himma) be for My remembrance (dhikr), for I will take care of your path.’^{3That is to say, if a person takes care of the remembrance of God, He will take care of the outer, material concerns of their existence.} But God, Transcendent and Exalted is He, knows best.

…and the cords are cut away before them^{1In its outward meaning this verse refers to those who were leaders and misled their followers in denying God. At the Resurrection, they will disown all their followers, denying that they misled them.}

This refers to the ties by which they were connected to each other in this world. For the sake of [these ties] mutual affections were cemented, without obedience to God and His Messenger, and without seeking God’s good pleasure.

…Ah! What boldness [they show] for the Fire!

When asked about these words, Sahl replied:

That is [boldness] in issuing legal ruling[s] (fatwā) without sufficient knowledge of the Sunna or the divine law (sharʿ), and [boldness] in servitude to the practice of the people of the Fire.

He was asked about His words:

…those who show fortitude in misfortune and hardship…

[Sahl said]

This means that to begin with [they show fortitude] in upholding the Sunna; and in hardship means in avoiding that which is forbidden, both outwardly and inwardly, and in eating [only] that which is legitimate. The outward meaning of misfortune (baʾsāʾ) is poverty (faqr), and that of hardship (ḍarrāʾ) is adversity (shidda); and times of peril, that is, in battle.

…and leaves behind some good…^{1Regarding the ordering of the verses in the Tafsīr, see above, Preface, p. xii.}

Concerning these words, he was asked, ‘In your opinion what is this good?’ He said:

It refers to legitimate wealth, just as God, Exalted is He, has said, Say, ‘Whatever you spend that is good’ [2:215] — that is, out of legitimate wealth, for His purposes (bi-wujūhihi) and desiring His good pleasure; and [elsewhere] He said, And whatever good you expend of legitimate wealth, shall be repaid to you in full [2:272],^{2Between these two phrases in verse 2:272 (Whatever good you expend, and shall be repaid to you in full) the following words intervene: is for yourselves, for then you are expending, desiring only God’s face, which recalls Sahl’s specifying that the spending should be for [God’s] purposes and desiring His good pleasure, in his allusion to 2:215 below.} meaning that you shall receive, from God, Exalted is He, the return and reward for your deeds, and for your purpose in doing them.

…So let them respond to Me…

He [Sahl] said,

[Let them respond] through supplication (duʿāʾ), …and believe in Me…, — that is, ‘Affirm Me as True (saddaqanī), for I am there whenever someone calls on Me with sincerity (mukhliṣan), without despondency (āyis) or despair (qanaṭ).’

And take provision, but the best of provisions is mindfulness of God...^{1This is part of the verse which describes some injunctions concerning the performance of the Hajj. Provision here firstly refers to bringing provisions (zād) to suffice for the journey.}

He [Sahl] said:

It [mindfulness of God, taqwā] is the [best travelling] companion (rafīq) leading to the remembrance (dhikr) of God, Exalted is He, in fear (khawfan); just as there is no [travelling] provision (zād) for the lover (muḥibb) save the Beloved (maḥbūb), and no provision for the possessor of mystical knowledge (ʿārif) save the Known (maʿrūf).^{2Interestingly, Tustarī seems here to be alluding to three approaches to, or dispositions in, the mystical way, namely those of fear (makhāfa), love (maḥabba) and [mystical] knowledge (maʿrifa).}

[Continuing on from this] Sahl explained that the words, If he is able to make his way there [3:97] are an allusion to the provision (zād) and the riding beast (rāḥila). He then asked, ‘Do you know what the provision and riding beast are?’ They replied: ‘No’. So he said, ‘The provision is remembrance (dhikr) and the riding beast is patience (ṣabr).’ Then he went on to relate how a man had accompanied him on the road to Mecca, and for two days had not found anything [to eat], so he said, ‘O teacher! I need sustenance!’ to which he [Sahl] replied, ‘Sustenance is God.’ The other man then said, ‘One cannot do without sustenance for the body to function.’ To which he replied, ‘All bodies exist [only] through God, Mighty and Majestic is He.’ Then he recited the following lines [in the basīṭ metre]:

O Beloved, replenish [my longing]!

May the water of longing pour down upon you from the rain cloud,

Whose pouring increases my sorrows and anguish.

An anguish remains in my heart, consuming me,

Truly as love increases, with it will increase my rapture.^{3Some reference has been made to Gaafar’s dissertation in the translation of these verses.}

After that, he said, ‘It is the world^{4i.e. in this case, concern for physical sustenance.} that severs those who are devoted to God from God, Mighty and Majestic is He.’ Finally, he said, ‘The livelihood (ʿaysh) of angels is in obedience (ṭāʿa); the livelihood of the prophets is in knowledge (ʿilm) and waiting for relief (intiẓār al-faraj);^{5i.e. from the suffering which they inevitably bear, according to the ḥadīth, ‘Those who suffer the most are the prophets and those most like them’ (al-anbiyāʾ wa’l-amthāl wa’l-amthāl). See Tirmidhī, Sunan ‘Kitāb al-Zuhd’; Ibn Māja, Sunan, ‘Abwāb al-fitan’; Ibn Ḥanbal, al-Musnad (Cairo, 1895), vol. 1, pp. 172 (the latter version of this ḥadith includes the virtuous (ṣāliḥūn) after the prophets), pp. 174, 180; vol. 4, p. 369. This teaching will be discussed by Tustarī again later.} and the livelihood of the veracious (ṣiddīqūn) is in emulation (iqtidāʾ).^{6Probably what is meant is emulation of the example of the Prophet. Tustarī often uses the term iqtidāʾ without specifying who is to be emulated. See IT above, pp. liiiff.} As for the rest, their livelihood is in food and drink.’

…So fear me,^{7The word used is ittaqūnī, from the same root as taqwā, and therefore could also mean: ‘Be fully aware, wary or mindful of Me!’ See above, p. 13, n. 9, regarding the translation of words derived from the root w-q-y.} O people of inner substance (ulū’l-albāb)!

[Sahl said] that this means:

‘O people of understanding (fahm)!’^{8All the MSS (Z515, f. 18a, F638, f. 10a and F3488, f. 195a) have the plural here (fuhūm), corresponding to the plural in the following ʿuqūl, though the plural would not be idiomatic in English.} That is, those who are possessed of sound intellects (ʿuqūl salīma). Truly God, Exalted is He, has commanded them to be aware of Him according to the capacity of their intellects, by virtue of that which He has specially allotted them, such as: the light of guidance by His essence;^{9Note that earlier Tustarī states that the eye of certainty is a light from the light of the essence of God. See his commentary on 2:40 above.} [their] receptivity to [that light] from Him; His having singled them out by depositing something (maʿnā) within them; and His knowledge of them prior to their creation. So [in this verse], He reminded them of that bounty He had granted to them, and summoned them by this antecedent bounty to recognise a second bounty after their pre-eternal gift, which is the reality of gnosis (maʿrifa), and to accept [that] knowledge by dedicating their actions to Him.

It was asked [of him], ‘What is the meaning and reality of mindfulness of God (taqwā)?’ He answered:

Its reality belongs to God, Mighty and Majestic is He, by virtue of the fact that you will be pressed on to death while in possession of few good deeds, and likewise [that you will be pressed on to the] punishment for your sins.^{10Note that the MSS Z515, f. 18a only has the following: wa kadhā khaṭāyā bi-asbāb al-ʿuqūba.} Thus [the one who is mindful of God] knows this and fears Him, and does not rely on anything save Him.

Someone said to him, ‘Truly, the reasons for people’s mindfulness of God vary.’ He affirmed this and added, ‘Just as their deeds vary.’ Abū Bakr [al-Sijzī] then said, ‘I mentioned that it is confirmed in the Qurʾān that the awareness that every man [has of God] is according to his capacity.’ He [Sahl] replied, ‘Yes, indeed. God, Exalted is He, has said, So be aware of God as much as you can; listen and obey... [64:16].’ Thus does He direct them to what is within their capability.’ So I [Abū Bakr] then said to him, ‘Truly God, Exalted is He, has said, Fear God as He should be feared [3:102]’, to which Sahl replied:

As for our companions, they say that this is addressed to a people distinguished by their eminence, because what was demanded of them was not [even] demanded of the prophets (عليهم السلام). And as both Abraham and Jacob said to their children: ‘My sons, God has chosen for you the [true] religion; see that you do not die save in submission’ [2:132]. So truly God requires His creatures to worship Him according to their [individual] capacities. For those who were told, ‘Fear God as He should be feared’, awareness of God (taqwā) was demanded of them in the measure of their knowledge (maʿrifa) of Him. What is meant here is ‘Fear God as He should be feared’, as much as you can. This does not, however, constitute permission to abandon awareness of God. [Note that] in the context of Sūra Āl ʿImrān, the words: See that you do not die save in submission [3:102] mean: submitting to God’s command in every condition and consigning [your affairs] to Him, while others are directed back to striving (ijtihād). So understand the difference between the two in this address, for although the wording is the same, the implication differs, the one [applicable] to the elect, and the other to the generality of people.^{11This is because the first instance of the command that they should die in submission [to God] [2:132] comes in the context of Abraham and Jacob addressing their sons and telling them that God has chosen for them the true religion, whereas the second instance of the command to die in submission to God [3:102] follows the rigorous command to fear God as He should be feared, which is said to be possible only for an elect among the believers, and which, Tustarī has suggested, was not even demanded of the prophets (i.e. the sons of Abraham and Jacob).}

Abū Bakr [al-Sijzī] then related that Sahl said:

If those who are mindful of God (muttaqūn) had supplicated against the transgressors, (musrifūn), they [the latter] would have perished, both those who came first and those who come last. However God made the mindful of God as a mercy for the oppressors (ẓālimūn), that by means of them He might save them, and indeed the most noble (akram) of creatures before God, Mighty and Majestic, are those who are [fully] mindful and aware of Him. As He has said, Truly the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one among you who is most mindful of Him.’ [49:13] So whoever hopes for God’s favour (karāma), Mighty and Majestic is He, should be mindful of Him, for truly it is through mindfulness of God that a person may attain God’s favour and admittance into Paradise, abide in His vicinity, and triumph with a tremendous victory. Indeed the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Whoever corrects his inner self [lit. secret, sarīra] will find that God puts right his public life and whoever fears God in his innermost secret, will find that God draws him nearer and brings him close [to Him].’^{12Ibn Abī Shayba, al-Muṣannaf (Riyadh, 1988), vol. 7, pp. 162 and 217.}

…Our Lord, give us good in this world…

These words refer to knowledge and sincere devotion, ...and good in the Hereafter…, refers to His good pleasure (riḍā), as He said: God is well-pleased with them and they are well-pleased with Him… [5:119].

His words:

…Yet he is the most stubborn in altercation.^{1According to Tafsīr al-Jalālayn this refers to al-Akhnas b. Sharīq, while Ṭabarī cites this as one view along with others which consider that the verse concerns the hypocrites more generally.}

That is, [he is] extremely contentious [on the basis of] what is false. Indeed, ʿĀʾisha رضي الله عنها narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘The most abhorrent of men before God, Exalted is He, are those who are stubborn and antagonistic.’^{2Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitāb al-Tafsīr’.}

He was asked about His words:

…he is seized by vainglory in his sin…

He replied:

This refers to [proud] fury (ḥamīya), just as He said in Sūra Ṣād, in vainglory and defiance [38:2], that is, in proud fury and dissension (ikhtilāf ).

His words:

…And were so shaken [in spirit]…^{1These words occur in the middle of a verse which describes a people (according to the commentaries, the early Muslim community in Mecca), who were suffering all sorts of trials and hardships.}

That is, their willing was through Him, they were fearful because of Him, and were wary of God’s ruse (makr), Mighty and Majestic is He; …that the Messenger and those who believed with him said, ‘When will God’s help come?’ Ah, but surely God’s help is nigh.

Sahl was asked concerning these words, ‘Did they ask this because they found that help slow in arriving?’ He replied:

No, but when they lost hope in their own devising (tadbīr) they said, ‘When will God’s help come?’ Hence, when God, Exalted is He, saw that they had given up on their own power (ḥawl), strength (quwwa) and devising (tadbīr), and saw their display of neediness for Him, and [their admission that] they had no means without Him, He responded to them with His words, Ah, but surely God’s help is nigh.

Sahl further said:

Affliction (balāʾ) and well-being (ʿāfiya) are from God, Mighty and Majestic is He. The command and prohibition are from Him; protection and the granting of success are from Him; and reward and punishment are from Him. However, actions are attributed (manṣūba) to the children of Adam, so whoever performs a good action must express gratitude to merit thereby an increase [in goodness]; and whoever performs a wicked act must seek forgiveness, so that he thereby merits forgiveness. Affliction from God is of two kinds: an affliction of mercy and an affliction of punishment. An affliction of mercy leads the afflicted person to show his utter need (iftiqār) for God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and leads him to the abandonment of devising (tadbīr). However, an affliction of punishment leads the afflicted person [to rely] on his own choice (ikhtiyār) and devising.

Sahl was then asked, ‘Which is more difficult, patience (ṣabr) in [a state of] well-being or patience during adversity?’ He replied:

Asking for safety (salāma) in times of security is more difficult than asking for safety in [a state of] fear.

[On the same subject] Sahl said regarding His words, And if anyone believes in God, [God] guides his heart [aright] [64:11], ‘[Whoever] believes in God and that his affliction comes from God, will find his heart guided by God to the expectation of relief (intiẓār al-faraj) from Him’.

Do not make God’s [name] an excuse in your oaths not to be righteous…

Sahl was asked concerning this verse, ‘What is this righteousness (birr)?’ He replied: ‘This means that you do not maintain your family ties [just] because of an oath.’ Then [in this connection] someone mentioned to him the verse: It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West [2:177], and he [Sahl] said:

This means: it is not righteousness that you do nothing other than this; [True] righteousness is [that of] the one who believes in God [2:177], to the end of that verse.^{12:177 is a long verse which outlines the tenets of Muslim belief as well as other requisite virtues. It reads as follows: It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East and to the West. True righteousness is [that of] the one who believes in God and the Last Day and the angels and the Book and the prophets, and who gives of his substance, however cherished, to kinsmen and orphans and the needy and the traveller and beggars, and sets slaves free, and who observes the prayer and pays the alms; and those who fulfil their covenant when they have engaged in a covenant, those who endure with fortitude misfortune, hardship and peril; these are the ones who are truthful, and these are the ones who are mindful of God.} Do you not notice how He says, Do you bid others to righteousness, while you forget [to practise it] yourselves? [2:44], which is a reference to Jews who were commanding their foster brothers to obey God, Exalted is He, and to follow the Prophet ﷺ, while they themselves did not do that.

…But do not make arrangements with them secretly…

That is, arrangements of marriage, …and know that God knows what is within yourselves, so be wary of Him…, by which is meant that He knew what was hidden within yourselves before He created you, namely, every single act^{1lit. every act (fiʿl) of motion (ḥaraka) and stillness (sukūn).} done in the way of goodness, that He was to command and the performance of which He would aid, and [likewise] every act [you would do], which He had forbidden, and from which He would not protect [you].^{2On this doctrine see above, IC, p. 2, and IT, pp. xxxiii–xxxiv.} He abandoned whom He willed to his desire, so that the act which He had forbidden would become manifest from that person, and He did not grant His protection, out of His justice and decree. The meaning of His words, what is within yourselves refers to that which you have not yet done, and within yourselves refers to that which you will do. So be wary of Him, that is to say, humbly implore Him concerning it,^{3i.e. the ‘latent’ acts of goodness and disobedience that are within us.} that He should be the one who takes care of your affairs by extending His aid and guaranteeing your success in the [realisation] of obedience, and by granting His protection from forbidden [acts] through [His] help and support. Do you not take heed of the words of ʿUmar and Ibn Masʿūd? رضي الله عنهم:

‘O God! If in the Mother of the Book that is with You,^{4i.e. what is preordained, before it is even written on the ‘Preserved’ or ‘Well-Guarded Tablet,’ on which see above IC, p. 5, n. 22. The ‘Mother of the Book’ (umm al-kitāb) appears in around forty ḥadīths and is interpreted in a number of ways. Most often it denotes the heavenly prototype of the Qurʾān, but it is also, as here, identified with the Preserved Tablet upon which the destiny of all creatures has been inscribed. In this meaning, it is found in the Qurʾān: God effaces what He will and confirms [what He will]. With Him is the Mother of the Book [13:39]. The term ‘Mother of the Book’ is also one of the many names given to Sūrat al-Fātiḥa, on account of the fact that it is said to contain the whole Qurʾān. See E. Geoffroy and F. Daftary, ‘Umm al-kitāb’, EI2, vol. x, p. 854.} we are among those who are wretched and deprived, then erase that from [our destiny] and appoint us to be among those of felicity who are encompassed by Your mercy. Truly You erase what You will and establish [what You will] and the Mother of the Book is with You.’

His words, Exalted is He:

Maintain the prayers…

That is, ‘Persist in upholding them’. However His words, And establish prayer and pay the alms. [24:56], have two aspects, one of which is establishing prayer without the affirmation [of faith], just as when He said in Sūra Barāʾa,^{1Sūra Barāʾa is otherwise known as Sūrat al-Tawba (or Repentance).} if they repent, [9:5] meaning, from idolatry (shirk), and establish regular prayers’ [9:5], that is, committing themselves to prayer and almsgiving, then let them be. In this regard, He also said: Yet if they repent, establish prayer, and pay the obligatory alms, then they are your brothers in religion [9:11] [and comrades].^{2Wa mawālīkum is absent from the MSS.} There is something similar to this in Sūrat al-Sajda.^{3There is no obvious verse with this meaning in Sūrat al-Sajda.} The second aspect of establishing [the prayers] (iqāma) is referred to when He says in Sūrat al-Mujādala, Then establish the prayer and pay the obligatory alms [58:13], as in Sūrat al-Muzzammil [73:20],^{4The same words are also to be found in Sūrat al-Ḥajj [22:78].} and again with His words in Sūrat al-Māʾida,^{5Corrected by the editor of the Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya from al-Baqara.} [believers who] establish the prayer [5:55], meaning that they fulfil it [that duty] completely.

…especially the middle prayer…^{6A term that is used for the ʿAṣr prayer, the time for which is between the middle of the afternoon and sunset.}

[Sahl] was asked about these words, and the reason why [the middle prayer] is singled out. He replied:

It is singled out due to a particular characteristic it possesses, even though it is not apart from the obligatory prayers as a whole, in the same way that Gabriel and others were singled out for mention among the host of the angels, due to a certain particularity.

He continued:

There is another reason, namely, that the times of the rest of the prayers are known by both the knowledgeable and the ignorant, because their signs are obvious.^{7For example, it is easy to see the time of the sun’s rising and setting, and the moment when it is at its zenith.} However, the time for the ʿAṣr prayer is less clear. Thus by mentioning [this prayer] in particular, He urged people to take care to observe it at its correct time.

His words [that follow in the same verse]:

…And stand before God in submission

That is, ‘Stand before God in prayer in a state of obedience, for many a worshipper is disobedient, such as the hypocrite and his like. The Prophet ﷺ was asked, ‘Which prayer is the best?’ He replied, ‘The longest in devotion (qunūt), that is, the prayer [for which] one stands the longest (ṭūl al-qiyām).^{8Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitab Ṣalāt al-musāfirīn wa-qaṣrihā’; Ibn Māja, ‘Kitāb al-Ṣalāt’.} And Zayd b. Arqam رضي الله عنه said that being devout (qunūt) is silence, for we used to speak during the prayer until God, Exalted is He, sent down the words, And stand before God in submission [2:238], after which we desisted from speaking [during prayer]. Muḥammad b. Sawwār said, ‘The qunūt is the witr,^{9The witr is the prayer cycle (rakʿa) which makes the sum of supererogatory prayers an odd number. It is the late-night prayer prescribed by the Prophet for after the ʿĪshāʾ prayers, and is usually prayed silently.} which was called a (qunūt) because of the supplication (duʿāʾ) which is offered in it whilst standing, aside from the recitation of Qurʾān.’ This is a kind of magnifying (taʿẓīm) [of God] through supplication.

[Concerning] His words:

Have you not seen the chiefs of the Children of Israel…

Sahl was asked who the chiefs were. He replied:

He [God] means by this the leaders. Take note of the saying of the Messenger of God ﷺ when he heard a man after the Battle of Badr say, ‘On the Day of Badr we only killed bald, old men’, to which the Messenger of God ﷺ replied, ‘They are the chiefs of Quraysh’, meaning the notables and leaders.^{1Tirmidhī, Nawādir al-uṣūl, vol. 1, p. 333.}

Sahl was asked about His words:

God, There is no god except Him, the Living, the Eternal Sustainer…

He replied:

This is the mightiest (aʿẓam) verse in God’s Book, Exalted is He. Within it is God’s Greatest Name, and it is written across the sky in green light in one line from East to West. This is how I saw it written on the Night of Great Merit (Laylat al-Qadr)^{1Laylat al-Qadr, variously translated as the ‘Night of Glory, ‘Night of Power’ ‘Night of Ordainment’, and here, ‘Night of Great Merit’, is mentioned in 97:1 as being the night during the holy month of Ramadan in which the Qurʾān was revealed in its entirety. Each year, Laylat al-Qadr is said to fall on an odd night during the last part of Ramadan, often the 27th night.} in ʿAbbādān: There is no god except Him, the Living, the Eternal Sustainer.

The Living, the Eternal Sustainer is the One who oversees everything pertaining to His creatures: their life spans, their actions, and their provision. He is the One who requites goodness (iḥsān) with goodness, and misdeeds with forgiveness (ghufrān), but He requites hypocrisy, disbelief and innovation with punishment. Whoever pronounces the saying: ‘There is no god except God’ has made a pact with God, so it is unlawful for him, after making a pact with God, to disobey Him in any of His commandments or prohibitions, in secret or public, or to support His enemy, or to show enmity towards a friend of His.

…No slumber can seize Him, nor sleep… Slumber (sina) here means sleepiness.

He [Sahl] also said:

Slumber is when the heart (qalb) is mingled with sleep.

God is the protector of the believers…

Concerning these words Sahl said:

That is, [He protects them with] the protection of [His] good pleasure (riḍā). He is their protector due to the former guidance He granted them, and His knowledge concerning them, of their affirmation of His oneness. This is due to His knowledge that they have freed themselves from every cause except their Creator.^{1Both editions and MSS Z515, f. 20b and F3488, f. 197b have khālif here rather than khāliq, though it is difficult to understand what could be meant by khālif in this context. There are no visible diacritics in F638, f. 11b.} Hence they were taken out of the darkness into the light, and from disbelief, error, disobedience and innovation to faith, which is the light that God, Mighty and Majestic is He, established in their hearts. This is the light of the insight of certainty (nūr baṣīrat al-yaqīn) by which they seek inner perception of the divine oneness (tawḥīd), and obedience to Him in that which He has commanded and forbidden. For anyone to whom God gives no light, there is no light! [24:40]

His words, Mighty and Majestic is He:

And the disbelievers — their protectors are false deities…

That is, Satan.

Sahl said:

The head of all devils is the evil-inciting self (nafs ammāra bi’l-sūʾ), for Satan cannot overpower man except through the desire (hawā) of his lower self. So if he [Satan] senses something that it desires, he casts temptation at it.

And when Abraham said, ‘My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead’…

[Sahl] was asked whether or not Abraham was in doubt concerning his faith, and was therefore asking his Lord to show him a sign or miracle in order to restore his faith. He replied:

His question was not out of doubt; he was merely asking for an increase in certainty (ziyādat al-yaqīn) to the faith he already had. Thus he asked for an unveiling of the cover of visual beholding with his physical eyes, so that by the light of certainty, his own certainty regarding God’s omnipotence might be increased, and [his certainty] regarding His creative [power] might be consolidated. Do you not notice how when He asked [him], ‘Why, do you not believe?’ he replied ‘Yes.’ If he had been in doubt he would not have said ‘Yes’. Furthermore, if God was aware of any doubt in him and had he given Him the answer ‘Yes’, [attempting to] conceal his doubt, God would definitely have disclosed that, Exalted is He, as such things cannot be concealed from Him. Therefore, this confirms that the request for [his heart’s] reassurance (ṭumaʾnīna) signified a request for an increase in his certainty.^{1The words ṭumaʾnīna and iṭmiʾnān have the meaning of a calmness and tranquillity that is associated with a deep sense of confidence, reassurance, trust and, as can be seen in this context, a level of certainty.}

Then it was asked, ‘Surely the people of the “Table Spread”^{2This is an allusion to Sūrat al-Māʾida [5:112–5], which relates how Jesus’ disciples asked if God would send a feast (lit. a table spread) down from heaven from which they could eat, so that this might act as a sign for them to know that what he was telling them was the truth. Jesus accordingly prayed to God to send down the feast. God agreed to do so, but warned that anyone who disbelieved after that would be punished.} sought profound peace of mind, through the sending down of the feast, and their [request] was out of doubt. So how does this correspond?’ He replied:

Abraham عليه السلام made it known that he was a believer, and he only asked for profound peace of mind in addition to faith in order to receive greater [certainty]. The people of the Table Spread, on the other hand, made it known that they would believe only after they had found calm reassurance in their hearts. As He said: and that our hearts may be reassured, and that we may know that you have spoken to us truthfully [5:113]. Thus they made it known that their knowledge of his [Jesus’] truthfulness, after they had been reassured by witnessing the feast, was to be the starting point of their faith.

Abū Bakr [al-Sijzī] said: I heard him say on another occasion:

…But so that my heart may be reassured… [2:260] — that is, ‘I do not feel secure against one of Your enemies challenging me if I should say, My Lord is He who gives life and death [2:258], and then [one of them] should ask, “Did you see Him give life and death?” In this way my heart would be at ease in being able to answer “Yes” to him, once I had witnessed that.’ This is why the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Hearing about something is not the same as seeing it.’

Sahl also said:

[Abraham’s request] might also have another meaning: he might have asked God to show him the reviving of the dead so that he could feel sure that he had [truly] been chosen as the friend (al-Khalīl).^{3Abraham is known by the honorary title ‘Friend of God’ (Khalīl Allāh) on the basis the words of 4:125, …and God took Abraham for a friend.}

Sahl then said:

Another aspect [of meaning] is the following: ‘What I have requested of You, I have no right to, save [for] that which You will realise for me’ — and this is the position of the elect of His creation — ‘So my request for You to show me the reviving of the dead was in order to put my own heart at rest.’ This was because he was called the ‘intimate friend’ (al-Khalīl) even in the ‘Time of Ignorance’ (Jāhiliyya).^{4i.e. before the coming of Muḥammad and the revelation of the Qurʾān in which God’s taking Abraham as a friend is mentioned.} And as we said, his words ‘that my heart may be reassured’ mean ‘[that it may be reassured] of my friendship [with You]. This, because I know that You give life and death’.

Sahl was asked: ‘If the servant reaches the face-to-face encounter of direct vision (kifāḥ al-ʿiyān), what signs of this will be manifest?’ He replied:

He [the servant] triumphs by repelling Satan, and this is because the lower self is extremely weak;^{5This is according to the MSS Z515, f. 21b, F638, f. 12a and F3488, f. 198a, which have bi-ghāyat al-hawān, as opposed to fī muʿāyanat al-hawān as in the published edition.} there is no way for him, when it comes to [dealing with] the lower self and Satan, and cutting them both off,^{6In order to make sense of this passage, it was necessary to ignore the words ʿan al-shayṭān, which follow bi-ʿazlihimā, and which are found in all the MSS and the published edition.} save the protection of the All-Merciful.

He [Sahl] then recited a poem [in wāfir metre]:

The abundant sufficiency^{7Kifāyāt, sing. kifāya derived from the verbal root k-f-y means to be sufficient, but by extension can mean to suffice for protection, to guard or protect. Thus Tustarī compares it in the next line to the spider’s web that protected the Prophet when he was hiding in the cave.} of direct encounter [with God] [attained] through my good

opinion of Him^{8The expression ḥusn al-ẓann is usually rendered in English as ‘good opinion’, which is perhaps adequate when it involves relations between human beings. However, ḥusn al-ẓann towards God involves an unequivocal, wholehearted trust in His goodness. For a discussion of Tustarī’s application of this term, see IT, pp. liiff.}

Is like the spider’s web covering the cave’s entrance^{9This is an allusion to the time when the Prophet was fleeing Mecca, accompanied by Abū Bakr, pursued by a party of the Quraysh who were intent on killing him. The two of them hid in a cave, and when their pursuers came by the cave and were about to enter it, they found a spider’s web over the cave’s entrance (also a dove’s nest, right next to the cave entrance), so they assumed that no one could be inside the cave and passed by without discovering its occupants. See Martin Lings, Muḥammad (Cambridge, 2005), p. 119.}

Good opinion has traversed every veil,

Good opinion has traversed beyond the fire’s light,^{10This is an allusion to the stations of the prophets Abraham and Moses, as will be seen in the commentary on the poem which follows.}

The signs of the one brought near are clear,

Near or far it is the same to the night voyager,^{11Here is another allusion to the Miʿrāj, the miraculous Night Journey and Ascension of the Prophet, as will also become clear from the commentary on the poem. For references on the Miʿrāj, see above IC, p. 4, n. 15.}

For the one who has beheld God directly,

There is no sleep to settle him until day.

Three times did God ask of them:

‘Is there anyone to ask for the kindness of the Maker?’

When did the lapping [of a dog] defile an ocean of love?

So ignore the barking of that wretched creature at my porch

O ego along with Satan! Be off!

And likewise the falsity of incitement and trouble.

In his saying,^{12If the poem was composed by Tustarī, then the lengthy commentary that follows it may be by his disciple and the main source of the Tafsīr, Abū Bakr al-Sijzī. However, if the poem was by some other anonymous author, then the commentary might be by Tustarī.} ‘The abundant sufficiency of direct encounter (kifāḥ) [with God] [attained] through my good opinion of Him’, it is as if he is alluding to His words: Is it not sufficient that your Lord is witness to all things? [41:53], to which the Messenger of God ﷺ replied, ‘Yes it is, O Lord.’ So it was, when the following verse was sent down: Is not God the fairest of all judges? [95:8], to which the Messenger of God ﷺ also replied, ‘Yes, O Lord.’ And from the way they understand the Qurʾān [this means]: Is it not sufficient that your Lord, O Muḥammad, has supported you in this world against your enemies through killing and defeating [them], and in the next life, by granting you the Praiseworthy Station (maqām maḥmūd) and the right to intercession, and in Paradise by granting you the encounter and the visitation (ziyāra)?^{13i.e. the visitation of God, His Throne. The ‘Laudable or Praiseworthy Station’ is, according to tradition, among the special blessings promised to Muḥammad in the Hereafter. It is said to be at the right hand of the Throne in Paradise. In the Qurʾān it is mentioned in 17:79.}

His saying, ‘Like the spider’s web covering the entrance of a cave’, [is an allusion to] the cave of mystics (ʿārifūn) [which is] the[ir] innermost secret (sirr), and the[ir] beholding (iṭṭilāʿ) of the Lord of the Worlds, when they reach the station of face-to-face encounter (maqām al-kifāḥ), that is, the immediate vision of direct witnessing (ʿiyān al-ʿiyān) beyond what has been [verbally] elucidated (bayān).^{14The word bayān is derived from the root b-y-n, meaning to become separate (as in the preposition bayn, ‘between’) or, by extension, to become clear by being distinct. Lane lists numerous meanings for bayān, including: ‘the means by which one makes a thing [distinct] apparent, manifest, evident clear or perspicuous’, which may be either a circumstantial or verbal indication, and hence it can mean ‘speech’, or ‘eloquent speech’. In this context, we may understand Tustarī to be using it to indicate that the mystic is taken beyond what he has come to know indirectly, for example through verbal communication, to experience it in a direct and unmediated way.} Then there is nothing between the servant and God except the veil of servanthood, due to his contemplation (naẓar) of the attributes of lordliness (rubūbiyya), ipseity (huwiyya), divinity (ilāhiyya), and [God’s being] Self-Sufficing and Besought of all, to eternity (ṣamadiyya ilā’l-sarmadiyya), without any obstacle or veil. One similitude among many might be that of a spider’s web when it encompasses his heart (qalb), his innermost secret (sirr) ⸢and⸣ his heart’s core (fuʾād),^{15The wāw has been added on the basis of Z515, f. 22a, F638, f. 11b and F3488, f. 198b.} through the grace of lordship (luṭf al-rubūbiyya) and complete compassion (kamāl al-shafaqa), such that there is no veil between him and God, Exalted is He.^{16That is, the innermost secret of the mystic is at this moment enclosed and protected in its being completely with God.} Just as through the spider’s web, which covered the entrance to the cave of the Messenger of God ﷺ, God turned away all the enemies among the leaders of the Quraysh who were being directed by Iblīs against him, so in the case of the people of gnosis, when they reach the station of direct witnessing (ʿiyān) beyond elucidation (bayān), the provocations of Satan and the sultan of the lower self are cut off and repelled, and their scheming becomes ineffectual, as is expounded in His words, Surely the plotting of Satan is ever feeble [4:76], meaning, that it had become ineffectual against them, just as He also said, Truly over My servants you [Satan] shall have no warrant… [15:42]. This is because, if the servant traverses all veils through his good opinion [of God], such that there remains no veil between him and God, thereafter the lower self, Satan and the world can have no access to his heart and mind by means of provocation. Thus did the Prophet ﷺ say, ‘Yesterday I saw an amazing thing; a servant between whom and God there was a veil, but then when his good opinion of God appeared, He drew him in from behind the veil’.

Regarding his saying [in the poem], ‘Good opinion has traversed beyond the light of fire’,^{17This is an allusion to Moses’ experience of hearing God speak from the burning bush, related in 20:10–66, 27:7–9 and 28:31–5.} it is as if this is alluding to the honour of following the Messenger ﷺ, due to his being given preference [by God] over the Friend of God [Abraham] and the Interlocutor of God [Moses],^{18While in Islamic tradition, Abraham has the honorific title of ‘Friend of God’ (Khalīl Allāh), Moses has the title of ‘Interlocutor of God’ (Kalīm Allāh), which is derived from the Qurʾānic words, ‘kallama ’Llāhu Mūsā taklīman’ [4:164], which is usually translated as: ‘God spoke to Moses directly’.} for in the station of perceiving fire and light prophets and saints are [accorded] different ranks (maqāmāt). The Friend [of God] saw the fire and it became for him a source of coolness and safety [21:69].^{19A reference to the story of Abraham, when his people (according to tradition, Nimrod and his followers) commanded that he should be thrown into a fire as a punishment for his destroying their idols, related in Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ (21:51–70). God commanded the fire Be coolness and safety for Abraham (21:69). Some traditions concerning this verse relate that Abraham sat a while in the midst of the fire, where there appeared a garden. See for example Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Thaʿlabī, Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ al-musammā bi’l-ʿArāʾis al-majālis (Cairo, n.d.), p. 85; English trans. by William M. Brinner as ʿArāʾis al-majālis fī qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ or: Lives of the Prophets as recounted by Abū Isḥāq Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm al-Thaʿlabī (Leiden and Boston, 2002), p. 133, who relates one such tradition from Suddī. The same tradition is cited in Maybudī’s Kashf al-asrār, vol. 6, pp. 267–8. The motif of the garden in the midst of a fire became a favourite motif in Persian mystic poetry.} The Interlocutor [of God] saw the fire as light as is expounded in His words, Wait, I see a fire in the distance’ [20:10; 28:29]. However, this [fire] was in origin light, as [is indicated] by His words, Blessed is he who is in the fire [27:8], which refer to Moses surrounded by [lit. in the midst of] light. But then [Moses] became preoccupied with the light, so God reprimanded him saying, ‘Do not preoccupy yourself with the light, for truly I am the Illuminator of light’, as expounded in His words, Indeed, I am your Lord. So take off your sandals [20:12]. However, when it came to the Beloved [of God] [Muḥammad ﷺ],^{20Just as the prophets Abraham and Moses have their honorific titles (Khalīl Allāh and Kalīm Allāh) so the Prophet Muḥammad came to be known as Ḥabīb Allāh, the ‘Beloved of God’.} God showed him the fire and the light, and took him beyond the veil of fire and light. Then He brought him near without fire or light until he saw in the closest proximity the Illuminator of lights, as is expounded in His words, The heart did not deny what he saw [53:11].^{21This is another allusion to the Miʿrāj, or Night Journey and Ascension of the Prophet Muḥammad. See above, IC, p. 4, n. 15.} Thus did He elevate [His] Beloved [Muḥammad] above the station of [His] Friend [Abraham] and [His] Interlocutor [Moses], and the stations of all of the prophets who were brought nigh, until he was addressed by God without the means of any revelation (waḥy) or interpreter (tarjumān), as is expounded in His words, Whereat, He revealed to His servant what He revealed [53:10], meaning, ‘The Beloved communicated with the beloved in secret, and taught him and honoured him by granting him the Opening of the Book (al-Fātiḥa) and the closing verses of Sūrat al-Baqara.^{22The importance of Sūrat al-Fātiḥa is evident because it is recited in every rakʿa of the canonical prayer (ṣalāt), and indeed the prayer is not acceptable without its recitation. But there are also hadīths attesting to its importance, such as those that are listed in the Ṣaḥīḥ of Bukhārī, ‘Kitāb al-Tafsīr’, in which the honorifics ‘Mother of the Book’ and ‘Seven Oft-repeated Verses’ are given for Sūrat al-Fātiḥa. Other ḥadīths mention the importance of reciting both al-Fātiḥa and the two last verses of Sūrat al-Baqara, such as one narrated on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, and listed in the Ṣaḥīḥ of Muslim, ‘Kitāb al-Ṣalāt’, which relates that an angel greeted the Prophet and gave him the message, ‘Rejoice in two lights given to you which have not been given to any prophet before you: Fātiḥat al-Kitāb and the concluding verses of Sūrat al-Baqara. You will never recite any letter from them for which you will not be given a reward.’ Another tradition narrated on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd states that if anyone recites the last two verses of Sūrat al-Baqara at night that will suffice him. The latter is also listed in the Ṣaḥīḥ of Muslim, ‘Kitāb al-Ṣalāt’, as well as in the Ṣaḥīḥ of Bukhārī, ‘Kitāb al-Tafsīr’.}

When he says [in the poem], ‘The signs of the one brought near are clear’, he means that all the prophets and angels have proximity [with God], but Muḥammad ﷺ is the closest in proximity (aqrab), following the form of afʿal^{23That is, the form of the adjective that makes it comparative, or in this case superlative.} — one says qarīb meaning close and aqrab meaning closer or closest. Now the one who is close (qarīb) [to God] has access to^{24lit. ‘enters into’ (yadkhulu).} understanding (fahm), conjecture (wahm) and interpretation (tafsīr). But the one who is closest (aqrab) is beyond understanding, conjecture and interpretation, and what is beyond that cannot be contained by expression (ʿibāra) or allusion (ishāra). Thus it was that Moses, when he heard the call of unicity (waḥdāniyya) from God, on the night of the fire, said, ‘O God! Are You near that I may whisper to You, or far away that I should call out to You?’^{25The ‘call of Unicity’ is a reference to the words spoken to Moses from the burning bush: Verily I am God, there is no God but Me (20:14, 27:9 and 29:30).} Then He [God] called out to Kalīm from a place that was both near and far, telling him that He was near. This, however, was not how the Messenger was described when [God] brought him near, such that He greeted him saying, ‘Peace be upon you!’ Furthermore, God, Exalted is He, praised his nation when He said, And the foremost, the foremost: they are the ones brought near [to God]’ [56:10, 11]. He did not say ‘they were near’ (qarībūn) [but they were ‘brought near’ (muqarrabūn)]. Thus the words [of the poem,] ‘The signs of the one brought near are clear’ refers to this nation.^{26i.e. the nation of Muḥammad.} The one who is near experiences bounty and honour from God, but the one who is far away experiences torment and punishment from Him. The one who is far away experiences from God veiling and severance [from Him], but the one who is brought near experiences from God the encounter [with Him] and [His] visitation (ziyāra).

As to his saying [in the poem], ‘For the one who has beheld God directly [there is no sleep to settle him until the day]’, [he is referring to] a sign of the people of longing (mushtāqūn), for they can enjoy neither sleep nor rest, by day or at night. Among those who were characterised by this trait are Ṣuhayb and Bilāl. Bilāl was one of the people of longing, and so was Ṣuhayb, for neither of them could sleep or find rest. Indeed it was narrated that a woman who had bought Ṣuhayb [as a slave] saw him in this condition and said, ‘I will not be satisfied until you sleep at night, for you are becoming so weak that you are not in a condition to perform the tasks you do for me.’ Thereupon Ṣuhayb wept and said, ‘Whenever Ṣuhayb thinks of the Fire, sleep flees from him, and when he thinks of Paradise, he is seized with longing, and when he remembers God his longing (shawq) is perpetuated’.

[When] he says [in the poem], ‘Three times did God ask them “Is there (hal)…?”, [the word] hal is an interrogative particle. Verily God, Mighty and Majestic is He, lifts the veil every night and says, ‘Is there (hal) anyone asking, so that I may grant him his request? Is there (hal) anyone seeking forgiveness, so that I may forgive him? Is there (hal) anyone supplicating, so that I may respond to his supplication?’^{27Reference is being made here to a ḥadīth listed in the Ṣaḥīḥ of Bukhārī in the ‘Kitāb al-Ṣalāt’, and in the Ṣaḥīḥ of Muslim, ‘Kitāb al-Ṣalāt’. The ḥadīth, in a version narrated on the authority of Abū Hurayra, reads as follows: ‘When half of the night or two thirds of it are over, God, Blessed and Exalted is He, descends to the lowest heaven and asks: “Is there any beggar to whom something might be given? Is there any supplicant that he might be answered? Is there anyone seeking forgiveness that he might be forgiven?” [And God continues asking this] till it is daybreak.’ In other versions of this ḥadīth God’s question begins with ‘Who is there (man)…?’} However, if it is the Night of Great Merit (Laylat al-Qadr), God lifts the first condition and says, ‘I have forgiven you even though you didn’t seek forgiveness. I have granted [it] to you even though you didn’t ask [it] of Me, and I have responded to you before you even supplicated to Me.’^{28Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitāb al-Mutahajjid’, ‘Kitāb al-Daʿwāt’, and ‘Kitāb al-Tawḥīd’; Ibn Ḥanbal, al-Musnad, vol. 2, p. 433, vol. 4, pp. 81, 217, 218.} This is the height of generosity (karam).

His saying [in the poem], ‘When did the lapping [of a dog] ever defile an ocean of love?’ is an allusion to the lapping of a dog in a vessel which [according to the divine law (sharīʿa)] then requires cleaning seven, or three, times [with water], depending on which of the different wordings of the sayings transmitted from the Prophet ﷺ are followed. However what if a thousand thousand [i.e. a million] dogs lapped [up water] from an ocean? There is no dispute within the community that in such a case the sea would not be defiled. So [it is] with the whisperings of Satan and his lapping in the hearts of the mystics and the lovers, for how can this cause defilement in the ocean of love (baḥr al-widād), when each time he laps there, a wave comes and washes over it.

Regarding his saying, ‘So ignore the barking of a wretched creature at my porch’, he means: ‘Leave Iblīs in his wretchedness, yelling at the door of this world with all his different kinds of incitement (wasāwis), for he does not harm me.’ As [God] says, when a visitation from Satan touches them they remember… [7:201] His oneness in accordance with His words, And when you mention your Lord alone in the Qurʾān, they turn their backs in aversion [17:46]. His saying: ‘Be off!’ means, ‘Get far away from me!’ ‘Be off!’ is said to dogs and signifies total expulsion and banishment. In this way did He punish them [the inhabitants of Hell] in the final punishment that He gave them. Thus He said, Begone into it! And do not speak to me!’ [23:108].^{29According to the commentaries, ‘it’ here refers to the Hellfire.}

Satan promises you poverty and enjoins you to indecency…

He was asked about these words and replied, ‘[He, Satan, does this] so that they should take something which is not lawfully theirs, and deposit it in other than its proper place.’^{1That is, Satan is trying to dissuade them from the almsgiving as prescribed in the previous verse [2:267]. The placing or depositing of something (probably wealth) in other than its proper place may mean avoiding giving it to those who have a right to it.}

…And he who is given wisdom has been given much good.

He was asked about these words and he said:

Abū Saʿīd al-Khuḍrī رضي الله عنه narrated from the Prophet ﷺ that he said: ‘The Qurʾān is God’s wisdom (ḥikma) among His servants. Whoever learns the Qurʾān and acts according to it, it is as if prophethood were incorporated within him, except that he does not receive revelation. He is called to account in the same way as the prophets except in the matter of conveying the message.’^{1Ibn Abī Ḥātim, ʿIlal al-ḥadīth (Beirut, 1985), vol. 2, p. 65.}

And Muḥammad b. Sawwār reported to me from ʿAqīl, from Ibn al-Musayyab, on the authority of Abū Hurayra رضي الله عنه that he stated that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘The Qurʾān is wisdom, and whoever learns the Qurʾān in his youth, it mingles with his flesh and blood.^{2Thus far, the ḥadīth is recorded in Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-īmān, vol. 2, pp. 330 and 553; and in Tirmidhī, Nawādir al-uṣūl, vol. 2, p. 96.} And surely the Fire cannot touch a heart which contains the Qurʾān, nor a body which avoids that which it prohibits (maḥārim), and keeps to what it permits (ḥalāl), believes in that which is clear [in it] (muḥkam), refrains from judgement in that which is ambiguous [in it] (mutashābih), and does not make innovations regarding it.’^{3See above IC, p. 6, nn. 23 and 24 regarding the categories of verses in the Qurʾān.} Mujāhid and Ṭāwūs said, ‘Wisdom is the Qurʾān, as He says in Sūrat al-Naḥl, Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom [16:125], meaning the Qurʾān. Ḥasan said, ‘Wisdom is the understanding of the Qurʾān, and wisdom is prophethood, as He says in Sūrat Ṣād, and gave him wisdom’ [38:20], meaning prophethood (nubuwwa). And God said [concerning] David عليه السلام, And God gave him kingship and wisdom [2:251] meaning prophethood, along with the Book.^{4That is, reading maʿa’l-kitāb as in all the MSS, Z515, f. 25b, F638, f. 13b and F3488, f. 201b, instead of min al-kitāb.}

Qatāda said, ‘Wisdom is understanding the religion of God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and following the Messenger of God ﷺ’; Suddī said: ‘Wisdom is prophethood’; Zayd b. Aslam said, ‘Wisdom is the intellect (ʿaql)’; while Rabīʿ b. Anas said, ‘Wisdom is the fear of God, Exalted is He’. Ibn ʿUmar said, ‘Wisdom is [to be found in] three things: a clear verse (āya muḥkama),^{5Given the interpretation that was made in the previous paragraph this probably means ‘a clear (i.e. unambiguous) verse’, as in the designation of the muḥkam and mutashābih verses given in 3:7, though it is also possible that it means a ‘clear sign’.} the Sunna put into practice and a tongue which is articulate with the Qurʾān.’

Abū Bakr stated that Sahl [himself] said, ‘Wisdom is the integration of the sciences, and its origin is the Sunna. God, Exalted is He, has said: And recite what is rehearsed to you in your houses of the revelations of God and His wisdom [33:34]. The revelations are that which is obligatory [according to the religious law] and the wisdom (ḥikma) is that which is Sunna.’ Sahl meant by this that the Arabs say that you restrain a man when you prevent him from falling into harm or leaving the truth.^{6It appears here that Sahl has attached to the meaning of wisdom the responsibility of commanding right and forbidding wrong.} [He was asked the meaning] of His words, wisdom that is far-reaching (bāligha) [54:5]. He replied:

It means perfect and complete (tāmma), as in His saying, We gave him [power of] judgement (ḥikma) and knowledge [21:74],^{7Said of Lot.} for it [wisdom] at that time was ⸢perfect and complete⸣^{8Tāmma is added on the basis of all three MSS: Z515, f. 25b, F638, f. 13b and F3488, f. 201b.} such that it reached those who were worthy of it without reaching others.^{9Here again, what Sahl seems to imply by wisdom is the Revelation and the Sunna.} In every situation they speak according to it. They resort to its rulings and reveal its meanings.

It has also been said, ‘Keep close to the wise, for certainly God revives dead hearts with wisdom just as He revives the barren land with a downpour of rain.’

Then he said:

The capital (raʾs al-māl) of wisdom consists of three things: the first is disciplining the lower self (riyāḍat al-nafs)^{10The MSS (Z515, f. 25b, F638, f. 13b and F3488, f. 201b) have the more likely riyāḍa instead of riyāḍ in the printed edition.} concerning things which are reprehensible (makrūhāt);^{11According to Islamic Law, the makrūhāt are things which, though not unlawful, are disapproved of, and should be avoided if possible.} the second is emptying one’s heart of any love for carnal lusts (shahawāt); and the third is standing guard (qiyām) over one’s heart by warding off [unwarranted] thoughts (khaṭarāt) which occur to it.^{12As noted above, p. 16, n. 24; khaṭar is something that occurs to the mind or comes to the heart, which may be undesirable or even evil.} Moreover, whoever is heedful (rāqib) of God when [unwarranted] thoughts [come upon] his heart, will have [God] protect him in his bodily acts.

ʿUmar b. Wāṣil said: ‘His words, Exalted is He, He grants wisdom to whomsoever He pleases… [2:269] mean that He bestows the correct understanding of His Book upon whomsoever He wills, just as He, Exalted is He, said while addressing the wives of the Prophet ﷺ, when they had been given bounties in abundance, And recite what is rehearsed to you in your houses, of the revelations (āyāt) of God and His wisdom’ [33:34]. [In this verse] the revelations are the Qurʾān, and wisdom is that which the Messenger ﷺ had extracted from it (mustanbaṭ),^{13The word mustanbaṭ, or istinbāṭ meaning literally ‘drawing water from a well’ came to be used by some Sufis to designate their elicitation of inner meanings from the Qurʾānic verses. See, for example, the chapters on mustanbaṭāt in Sarrāj, Kitāb al-Lumaʿ, pp. 105ff, and in Abū Saʿd Khargūshī’s Tahdhīb al-asrār, MS Ahlwardt 2819, fols. 2818ff; 98ff.} just as ʿAlī رضي الله عنه said, ‘The signs are [manifest in] a man to whom God has granted understanding of His Book.’^{14It should be borne in mind that the word aya (pl. āyāt) can mean a ‘sign’ or ‘revelation’ as well as ‘verse’.}

He was asked about His words:

[Charity is] for the poor, who are constrained in the way of God…

Sahl was asked about these words and the difference between the poor (fuqarāʾ) and the abject (masākīn).^{1Masākīn is the plural of miskīn, which according to Lane can mean ‘lowly, humble or submissive’, although it can also take the meaning of ‘low, abject, ignominious’. The word occurs in a ḥadīth of the Prophet: ‘O God, make me live lowly, die lowly and gather me [on the Day of Resurrection] in the congregation of the lowly (masākīn).’ The ḥadīth is listed in Ibn Māja, Sunan, ‘Abwāb al-zuhd’, and Khaṭīb al-Tibrīzī, Mishkāt al-maṣābīḥ, trans. by J. Robson (Lahore, 1975), vol. 2, Book 25, ‘Words that Soften the Heart’. However, Tustarī appears in this passage to be using the word in a pejorative sense, as will be seen from the latter part of the commentary on this verse.} He replied:

God, Exalted is He, described the poor (faqīr) in terms of destitution (ʿadam) due to their state of asking Him out of utter neediness (iftiqār) and resorting (lijāʾ) to Him. He also described them as having the qualities of contentment (riḍā) and satisfaction [with their lot] (qunūʿ), for He said, Exalted is He, …They do not beg from men importunately [2:273].

These are the People of the Bench (Ahl al-Ṣuffa) of the Messenger of God ﷺ who were about forty men.^{2The Ahl al-Ṣuffa, usually translated in English as the ‘People of the Bench’, were a group of Companions of the Prophet who, according to tradition, chose to live their lives in a portico or vestibule of the mosque in Medina, only leaving when they were commanded by the Prophet to go and fight. For Sufis in particular, they exemplified the ideal of a life of simplicity, poverty and piety.} They did not have any dwellings in Medina nor [did they belong to] any tribes. These were the circumstances of a group of people whom God, Exalted is He, praised for the high degree of their dependence on Him. They had no ability (istiṭāʿa), nor any strength (quwwa) except in Him and from Him. He was their power (ḥawl) and strength (quwwa). He uprooted from them the power for their hearts to depend (sukūn) on anything other than Him, which is the incitement (waswasa) of the lower self towards that which is other than God, Exalted is He. Because of this [quality] they are elevated in their [spiritual] state. But [this is unlike] the one whom God turns back to the acquiescence of his lower self (musākana nafsihi), [about whom] He said, It belonged to deprived people (masākin) who worked at sea [18:79].^{3This is a reference to part of the story of Moses and Khiḍr, which is narrated in 18:60–82. Moses was on a journey to the ‘meeting of the two seas’ (majmaʿ al-baḥrayn). Having reached there, he and his servant find that the fish that they had brought in a basket for their breakfast miraculously swims away. Retracing their steps, they encounter a mysterious person who has been endowed with ‘knowledge from the divine presence’ (ʿilm ladunnī), and who is identified in Islamic tradition with Khiḍr (or Khaḍir). Moses asks if he may accompany Khiḍr on his way, and Khiḍr agrees, on the condition that he (Moses) does not question him about anything he does. Khiḍr then proceeds to carry out three apparently shocking acts, at each of which Moses is unable to restrain himself from expressing his objection. The first is the sinking of a ship with people aboard (referred to here in Tustarī’s commentary); the second, is the killing of a youth; and the third is the rebuilding of a ruined wall without taking any payment. The third time Moses breaks the condition set for him, Khiḍr insists that they must part company, but not before he has given an explanation for the three actions he had carried out. Tustarī’s identifying the people in the ship, whom the Qurʾān describes as masākīn, with his pejorative use of this term is interesting, since Khiḍr’s explanation for the sinking of the ship and its company was that there was a king in pursuit of them, who was seizing every ship by force. Perhaps Tustarī is identifying the king with Satan.} He returned them to the situation in which they had acquiesced. However, as regards the poor and needy person (faqīr), whose want has made him surrender himself to God, Exalted is He, his action involves [combatting] the desire (hawā) of his lower self,^{4All the MSS (Z515, f. 26b, F638, f. 14a and F3488, f. 202a) here have la-inna ḥarakatahu fī hawā nafsihi. This would be in keeping with that which Tustarī advocated in his commentary on 2:30 above. The published edition, however, has: ḥarakatahu fi mawt nafsihi, that is: his action (lit. motion) is from the death of his lower self.} and thus he is in a better state than the one who acquiesces in whatever state he is in, due to following his lower self.

ʿUmar b. Wāṣil said, ‘If one needy of God (faqīr ilā’Llāh), Mighty and Majestic is He, is satisfied, [yet] does not depend on^{5None of the MSS (Z515, f. 26b, F638, f. 14a and F3488, f. 202b) have illā as in the published edition. The latter would imply that they depend only on their contentment (riḍā) and self-surrender (taslīm). But Tustarī has just criticised those who depend on any state which they have.} [his state of] contentment (riḍā) and self-surrender (taslīm), then both names are true for him: poverty (faqr) and lowliness (maskana).’^{6Here maskana is evidently being taken in a positive sense of only acquiescing in God.}

Abū Bakr [al-Sijzī] said that he heard Sahl say:

The poor person is [one who is both] poor [and] helpless (faqīr ʿājiz). Poverty ⸢is honour (ʿizz)⸣^{7Added on the basis of all the MSS (Z515, f. 26b, F638, f. 14a and F3488, f. 202a).} when it is the poverty of the heart’s being agitated [in its need]^{8There is a discrepancy between the MSS here, with Z515, f. 26b and F3488, f. 202a having bi-lablabat al-qalb (as in the printed edition) and F638, f. 14a having inābat al-qalb with the meaning of remorseful repentance.} for God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and the repose it finds in Him through obedience. Abjectness (maskana), however, is dishonour (dhull), for it is disobedience to God. Ḥasan related on the authority of Anas رضي الله عنه from the Prophet ﷺ that when this verse was revealed he said, ‘Treat the needy (fuqarāʾ) with kindness, until the day when they take possession.’ He was asked, ‘O Messenger of God! When is the day that they will take possession?’ He replied, ‘The Day of Resurrection.’^{9Sulaymān b. Aḥmad al-Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-ṣaghīr (Beirut/Amman, 1985), vol. 2, p. 13. The ḥadīth is related to convey the principle that the rich should treat the poor with consideration and kindness, because they will be answerable to the poor on the Day of Resurrection.}

[Sahl] was asked about His words:

And fear the Day wherein you shall be returned to God.

He replied:

This was the last verse to have been revealed, and with it God, Exalted is He, brought the Qurʾān to a close. The Messenger of God ﷺ passed away eighty days after it was revealed.

Then he said:

When the night before the [trial] arrives when [justice will be demanded] by people of this world for crimes committed against them by others of this world, sleep and rest vanishes from those who are imprisoned [for those crimes]. They do not know what will be done with them due to My curse^{1Assuming that the wāw has dropped out here, as is often the case with copyists who were native Persian speakers, so that it should have been written as daʿwatī.} on them, whether they will be killed or tortured, or let off and set free. This is the case for the offences committed by people of this world against others of this world, so how will it be for the people of the Hereafter when it comes to God’s grievances [against them]?

Concerning His words:

God charges no soul save to its capacity…

[Sahl said]:

That is, what it can bear; …for it, is what it has merited…, that is, its reward for righteous deed[s], …and against it, is what it has earned…, meaning, the burden of sins.’

Then he said:

Whoever is not concerned with his past sins will not be protected in the days that remain. Moreover, whoever is not protected in his remaining days will be among those who perish on their final return.

He was asked, ‘When does a man know his own sins?’ He replied:

When he preserves the lights of his heart and does not allow anything to enter it or depart from it without [first] weighing it up, then he will know his own sins. Furthermore, whoever opens for himself a door to goodness, will find that God opens for him seventy doors to divinely-bestowed success (tawfīq). On the other hand, whoever opens for himself a door to evil, will find that God opens to him seventy doors to evil whence the servant will not know. Every heart that preoccupies itself with that which does not concern it will be punished immediately by missing out on that which is its [genuine] concern at that moment (fī’l-ḥāl).^{1A reminder that the would-be mystic should be the ‘son of the moment’ (ibn al-waqt), and the word waqt is also used interchangeably with ḥāl to denote a person’s state in the immediate present. Thus, preoccupation with what is past and what is to come is also, in a way, not the heart’s business or concern.} No one knows this except those who know God.