His words, Exalted is He:

Alif Lām Mīm Do people suppose they will be left to say, ‘We believe,’ without being put to the test?

He said:

That is, without their being beset by affliction (balāʾ). Truly affliction is a doorway between the people of gnosis (ahl al-maʿrifa) and God, Mighty and Majestic is He. It has been related that the angels say, ‘O Lord! Your disbelieving servant has had [the goods of] this world made available to him in abundance, while affliction has been kept away from him.’^{1The use of the passive here is according to all three MSS: Z515, f. 84a, F638 f. 39a and F3488, f. 257b.} Then He says to the angels, ‘Reveal his [the unbelieving servant’s] punishment to them [the other angels?].’ When they see it they say, ‘What he gets from the world is not a blessing for him.’ Then they say, ‘O Lord! You keep the world away from Your believing servant and expose him to affliction!’^{2The MS F638, f. 39a only maintains the passive construction here.} And He says to the angels, ‘Reveal to the others his [the believing servant’s] reward.’ When they see his reward they say, ‘Whatever he suffers in this world will not harm him.’^{3Ibn Abī Shayba, al-Muṣannaf, vol. 7, p. 166; Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, vol. 4, pp. 118, and 123.}

He [Tustarī] said:

Let your prayer (ṣalāt) be forbearance (ṣabr) in the face of suffering (baʾsāʾ), your fasting (ṣawm) be to observe silence (ṣamt), and your charity (ṣadaqa) be to refrain from doing harm [to anybody] (kaff al-adhā). Furthermore, forbearance in [times of] well-being (ʿāfiya) is more difficult than forbearance in [times of] affliction (balāʾ).^{4Ṣabr here has the meaning of patient perseverance.}

This saying is also related from him:

Seeking safety (salāma) is not exposing yourself to affliction.

His words:

…So seek your provision from God…

He said:

Seek provision (rizq) through trust (tawakkul) not through earning (kasb), for seeking provision through earning is the way of the generality (ʿawāmm).^{1See the commentary on 25:58 above for a discussion of tawakkul versus kasb, the former being the state of being (ḥāl) of the Prophet, and the latter being his Sunna.}

It was related of Jesus son of Mary عليه السلام that he said, ‘Truly I say to you, neither do you want the world, nor the Hereafter.’ They said, ‘Please explain that to us, O prophet of God, for we previously thought that we only wanted one of them.’ He said, ‘If you obey the Lord of the world, in whose hands are the keys to its coffers, He will give it to you. Likewise, if you obey the Lord of the Hereafter He will give it to you. However, neither do you want the latter nor the former.’^{2This principle, namely that the true mystic and lover of God should desire neither this world nor the Hereafter, but only God Himself, was taken up and developed in later Sufism. Indeed, the person who obeyed God for the sake of salvation from the Fire and the rewards of Paradise was known in Persian mysticism as a ‘mercenary’ (muzdūr). See Keeler, Sufi Hermeneutics, pp. 167–8, 194. The tradition is cited in Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, vol. 6, pp. 57–8.}

His words, Exalted is He:

He chastises whomever He wishes…

by [abandoning him] to follow innovation, and has mercy on whomever He wishes by [assisting him] in adherence to the Sunna.

His words, Exalted is He:

And such similitudes We strike for [the sake of] mankind, but none understands them except those who know.

He said:

The similitudes which God strikes for man are available for everyone [to see], since the evidences of [His] omnipotence (qudra) are [in themselves] proof of the [existence of] the Omnipotent. However, it is only His elect (khāṣṣa) who fully understand them. Thus, knowledge is rare and understanding granted by God (fiqh ʿan Allāh) even rarer.^{1lit. ‘even more of a special privilege’, i.e. for a select few (akhaṣṣ).} Whoever becomes acquainted with the knowledge ⸢of Him through the knowledge [acquired by]⸣ his natural self (bi-ʿilm nafsihi al-ṭabīʿiyya), will experience Him in a delusory manner.^{2Several corrections have been made on the basis of the MSS (Z515, f. 84b, F638, f. 39a; F3488, f. 258a), which have: fa-man ʿarafa ʿilmahu bi-ʿilm nafsihi al-ṭabīʿiyya instead of fa-man ʿarafa ʿilm nafsihi al-ṭabīʿiyya in the published edition. Also all MSS have wahman instead of wahm, and MS F638 has wajadahu which would then make sense of the accusative case for wahm. If, on the other hand, we follow the published edition and read it as: ʿilm nafsihi al-ṭabīʿiyya waḥda then it would be followed by the verb and translated as: ‘according to the knowledge [acquired by] his natural self alone, has deluded [himself]’.} But regarding the one who becomes acquainted with [God] through the knowledge of God, God knows what He willed from him for Himself (fa’Llāhu ʿarafa murādahu minhu li-nafsihi).^{3In other words, the extent of knowledge that is revealed by God is a matter of that which He has destined for that mystic.} The creature has no knowledge of God beyond that. This allusion (ishāra) [to similitudes in the verse] was made due to the fact that their hearts are truly far away from knowledge [of God]. Take note of ⸢his words, ﷺ ‘If you knew God with a true knowledge of Him (ḥaqq maʿrifatihi) then the mountain would cease to exist by [the power of] your supplication’⸣.^{4This ḥadīth, present in all three MSS (Z515, f. 84b, F638, f. 39a; F3488, f. 258a), is absent from the published edition. The ḥadīth is listed in Tirmidhī, Nawādir al-uṣūl, vol. 2, p. 103.}

His words:

[29:45] …Truly prayer guards against lewd acts and indecency…

This verse refers to the adornment (tazyīn) that [is derived from] shunning all lewd acts and indecency, and this [is attained] through one thing, namely, sincerity (ikhlāṣ) within the prayer (ṣalāt). Every prayer that does not restrain shameful and unjust deeds, and is devoid of the adornment of shunning of these deeds, is defective, and it is incumbent upon the person [in this case] to purify it [his prayer].

His words, Exalted is He:

…My earth is [indeed] vast, so worship Me and Me [alone].

He said:

This means: If transgressions and innovations are the practice in a particular land, then leave it for a land of obedient servants. Indeed the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘He who flees for [the sake of] his religion at a time when the community is in a state of corruption, will receive the reward of seventy martyrs in the cause of God, Mighty and Majestic is He.’