Alif, Lām, Mīm. God! There is no god except Him, the Living, the Eternal Sustainer.

He [Sahl] said:

It [Allāh] is God’s Greatest Name, which is written across the sky in green light from East to West.^{1See the commentary on 2:255 above where Tustarī stated the words God! There is no God but Him, the Living, the Eternal Sustainer (Allāh lā ilāha illā hū al-Ḥayy al-Qayyūm) were written across the sky.}

…and He revealed the criterion…

That is, the Qurʾān, wherein is the way out of all doubt and error.

…As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow the allegorical part, desiring sedition…

That is, disbelief; …and desiring its interpretation, refers to its interpretation according to the desire of their lower selves. …But no one knows its interpretation except God.

Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهم said:

God sent down the Qurʾān according to four ways of reading (aḥruf):^{1Ṭabarī has included in his commentary several ḥadīths concerning the revelation of the Qurʾān according to a certain number of aḥruf (sing. ḥarf). Most of these traditions speak of seven aḥruf. Ṭabarī presents two main interpretations of the word ḥarf: one meaning ‘dialect’ or ‘tongue’, and the other equivalent to ‘aspect’ (wajh, plur. wujūh or awjuh). The above tradition exemplifies the second understanding of the word aḥruf. See Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl āy al-Qurʾān (Cairo, 1955–69), Tafsīr Introduction, pp. 21–72; trans. Cooper, pp. 34ff.} the lawful (ḥalāl) and the unlawful (ḥarām), ignorance of which nobody is excused; the interpretation (tafsīr) according to which the Arabs have interpreted it; the interpretation according to which scholars (ʿulamāʾ) have interpreted it; and the ambiguous (mutashābih), which none but God, Exalted is He, knows, and whoever claims knowledge of it other than God, Mighty and Majestic is He, is lying.^{2A similar tradition, also attributed to Ibn ʿAbbās and included in the introduction to Ṭabarī’s Jāmiʿ al-bayān, reads as follows: ‘The tafsīr of the Qurʾān falls into four categories (awjuh): that which can be understood by the learned; that of which the Arabs have knowledge; that which it is unforgivable not to know; and that, the interpretation of which if anyone should claim to have knowledge, he is lying.’ See Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 1, pp. 29–30; trans. Cooper, pp. 16–34. Note regarding the above, in this tradition the word awjuh has been used instead of aḥruf.}

His words:

…And those who are firmly rooted in knowledge (rāsikhūna fī’l-ʿilm)…

[Sahl] said:

It was reported from ʿAlī رضي الله عنه that he stated, ‘[Those rooted in knowledge] are the ones whom knowledge has protected from plunging [into the interpretation of the Qurʾān] according to some whim (hawā) or with set arguments (ḥujaj maḍrūba) without [awareness of] the unseen [mysteries] (ghuyūb).’ [This is] due to God’s guidance of them, and His disclosing to them His unseen secrets from within the treasure chests of knowledge. Thus they said, We believe in the Book; all of it is from our Lord [3:7]. So God, Exalted is He, acknowledged them [in this verse], and made them among the people of profound and far-reaching knowledge, as an increase granted to them from Him. Just as God has said, Exalted is He, But say: ‘O my Lord! Advance me in knowledge [20:114]’.

Sahl also said:

God, Blessed and Exalted is He, showed those who are firmly rooted in knowledge to be exceptional because of their saying all of it is from our Lord [3:7], by which they mean, the abrogating and the abrogated, the clear and the ambiguous. They are the ones who reveal three [ways of] knowing (ʿulūm), since those who know (ʿulamāʾ) may be [designated in] three [ways], namely: those [whose knowledge derives from] the divine lordliness (rabbāniyyūn), those [whose knowledge derives from] the divine light (nurāniyyūn); and those [whose knowledge derives from] the divine essence’ (dhātiyyūn).^{3Alternatively the terms rabbāniyyūn, nūriyyūn and dhātiyyūn might be translated as ‘those whose knowledge manifests the divine lordliness, light and essence, respectively.’ On these three designations in particular, see IT, pp. xlvii. On Tustarī’s teachings on knowledge in general, see IT, pp. xlv–xlviii.} [Those firmly rooted in knowledge reveal] in addition four [other kinds] of knowledge: revelation (waḥy), theophany (tajallī), knowledge directly bestowed by God (ʿindī) and knowledge from the divine presence (ladunnī),^{4See Böwering’s discussion of this passage Mystical Vision, p. 228 with reference to Baqlī’s ʿArāʾis al-bayān. See also an almost identical passage cited from Tustarī in Makkī (attrib.), ʿIlm al-qulūb, p. 81.} just as God has said, to whom We had given mercy from Us and We had taught him knowledge from Us [18:65], [and when He said], Yet none remembers but the people of inner substance [2:269], that is, none reflects^{5That is, translating lā yatafakkarūna, as in the MSS Z515, f. 28b and F3488, f. 204a, instead of mā yatadhakkaru in the printed edition. F638, f. 15a has neither lā yatafakkarūna nor yatadhakkaru.} save the people of understanding (fahm) and intellect (ʿuqūl), who say:

Our Lord, do not cause our hearts to deviate after You have guided us…

That is, ‘Do not let our hearts turn away from faith after You have guided us with guidance from Yourself’; …But grant us mercy from You, ⸢that is, stability (thabāt)⸣^{1Added on the basis of MSS: Z515, f. 28b and F638, f. 15a. F3488 204a appears to have thiyāb which must be a copyist’s error.} …You are the One who bestows, upon those who return to You in a state of neediness, entreaty and lowliness.

Then Sahl said:

The only stratagem (ḥīla) that the servant has is to establish the practice throughout his life of saying, ‘My Lord! Protect me! Protect me! Keep me safe! Keep me safe! Help me! Help me!’^{2lit. ‘Safety, Safety! Security, Security! Help, Help!’} God, Exalted is He, has said, As He brought you into being, so shall you return [7:29].

Every person who affirms God’s oneness should know for a certainty that not everyone who loves God (Ḥaqq) is loved by Him, for Iblīs encountered Him with the ⸢outward sign⸣^{3That is, reading ʿalāmat al-ḥubb according to all three MSS: Z515, f. 29a, F638, f. 15a and F3488, 204a, instead of aʿlā al-ḥubb as in the printed edition. This makes more sense because later Tustarī goes on to say that God perceives what is in the conscience (ḍamīr).} of love and said, ‘Shall I prostrate before one whom You have created from clay [17:61], when You are God, and it is not permissible to worship other than You?’ Consequently God cursed him. Therefore, not all those who try to draw close to God are accepted by Him. Nor does God accept the obedience (ṭāʿa) of all who obey Him. Truly He perceives what is in the conscience (ḍamīr) [of all His creatures]. Thus, no one can feel secure that God will not deal with him in the same way that He dealt with Iblīs. God cursed him with the lights of His protection (bi-anwār ʿiṣmatihi) such that he was always in reality under His curse, but God veiled him from what had been foreordained [for him] from Him, up until the time when He punished him by bringing it to realisation through him.^{4Here we have an example of the divine ruse (makr) that was discussed earlier, whereby God can delude a person into believing that all is well with them (here the lights of divine protection), until the reality of that which has been foreordained for them is manifested. See above the commentary on 2:41, p. 20, n. 47 and n. 48 on makr and istidrāj.} Thus, the servant can do nothing except continually [implore] help (ghawth) from God. Indeed the Messenger ﷺ said, ‘O You who make the steadfast firm, make me firm with Your firmness (thabāt)! O You whose oneness is unchanging, for there is no god except You, Glorified are You! Truly I have been among the wrongdoers.’^{5Sulaymān b. Aḥmad al-Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-awsaṭ (Cairo, 1995), vol. 1, p. 206.} He would also say: ‘O Lord and Protector (walī) of Islam and its people, make me firm in Islam until I encounter You!’^{6That is, according to all three MSS (Z515, f. 29a, F638, f. 15a and F3488, f. 204b), which do not have bihi following the ḥattā alqāka.}

[Sahl] said [on this matter], ‘The place of faith in God, Exalted is He, is the heart and the place of Islam is the breast, and it is subject to increase and decrease.’^{7Which is why the Prophet prayed for stability (thabāt) in it. Other Sufis have spoken of the breast being the locus of Islam and the heart the locus of faith (īmān). See for example, Nūrī, Maqāmāt al-qulūb, p. 130; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, p. 557 and vol. 5, p. 333; and the treatise attributed to al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī, Bayān al-farq, trans. Heer in Three Early Sufi Texts, pp. 24ff. On Tustarī’s view of faith and its locus in the inner constitution of the human being, see IT, p. xlii.}

His words:

…with spouses pure…

That is, purified from the defilements that they were subject to in this world, such as menstruation and the like. Do you not note His words, And their Lord will give to them a pure drink to drink [76:21], which means that He will purify them from the remaining blemishes of the world?

His words:

God bears witness…

He [Sahl] said:

That is, God knows and makes clear (bayyana) …that there is no god but He. He is witness to Himself by Himself; and this is particular to His essence. He called to witness those of His creatures whom He called to witness before their creation, according to His knowledge.^{1A reference to the Covenant of Alast, on which see the commentary on 7:172, and IT, pp. xxxiff and xxxv–xxxvi.} Consequently, the people possessed of His gnosis (maʿrifa) are made aware that He had full knowledge of everything that will be before it was actually brought into existence. Hence, [God’s] oneness (tawḥīd) is independent of existentiated beings (dūn al-akwān), just as God was a witness to Himself by Himself before the existence of creation.

ʿAbd al-Wāḥid^{2This is most probably Ḥasan al-Baṣrī’s student ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Zayd who died in the second century of the Hijra.} said:

I was with Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī when he saw a porter carrying wood. I asked him, ‘Do you have a Lord?’ to which he replied, ‘Is the likes of me questioned about his Lord?’ So I said to him, ‘If you have a Creator as you claim, why do you work with wood?’ Then the man indicated to the sky, and lo and behold, the wood became gold! We were both amazed by him on account of this. Then he said, ‘O God! I have no need for this’, so the gold turned back to wood just as it was before. So we said to him, ‘What led you to do this?’, to which he replied, ‘I am [God’s] slave, so I carry this in order that I should not forget who I am.’^{3In other words, he wishes to be reminded of his subservience to God. It will be recalled above that the only veil remaining for the person who is in a state of the direct witnessing of face-to-face encounter (ʿiyān al-kifāḥ) is the veil of servanthood (ʿubūdiyya), though in effect, all veils were removed at that moment. See above, the commentary on Tustarī’s poem, p. 32. See also the commentary on 2:41, p. 19, n. 44.}

His words:

Say: ‘O God! Master of the Kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will…

That is, the [kingdom (mulk) of] gnosis, the profession of divine oneness (tawḥīd), the codes of law of Your religion of Islam, and a praiseworthy end. [All] this [depends on] God’s taking care of the servant, and not relinquishing him to [reliance on] himself.

His words:

…God warns you to beware of Him…

He said:

That is, [beware of] His justice (ʿadl), because the Fire is His justice for the one that disobeys Him, and the Garden is His favour (faḍl) to the one who obeys Him. Have you not taken note of the words of the Prophet ﷺ ‘O You, whose bounty alone is hoped for, and whose justice alone is feared!’?

His words:

When the wife of ʿImrān said: ‘O Lord, I have consecrated what is in my womb solely to You…’^{1The child in her womb was Mary, the mother of Jesus, as will become clear from verses 37 and 43.}

That is, I have freed [what is in my womb], and emancipated it from enslavement to the world, from following its whim[s] and the desires (murādāt) of its lower self. I have committed it as a servant of the worshippers at the Temple of Jerusalem, and have dedicated it purely to God, Exalted is He.

His words:

Her Lord accepted her [the infant Mary] graciously…

That is, ⸢with [His] good pleasure (riḍā).⸣^{1Added on the basis of all three MSS: Z515, f. 30a, F638, f. 15b and F3488, f. 205a.}

And he said:

The Highest King took her into His special care, away from the shackles of the lower self and the world. And He made her grow in goodness, through righteous action, accompanied by the remembrance of God, Exalted is He, while all her bodily members were [engaged] in the service of God, and her heart was full of the knowledge of Him, Mighty and Majestic is He.

O Mary, be obedient to Your Lord…

That is, ‘Pray to God and worship Him alone with sincerity. Bow in submission before Him, in supplication and humble entreaty.’

His words:

…‘Even so. God creates what He will. When He decrees a thing, He says to it only: “Be” and it is.’^{1These words are said to Mary by one of the angels who bring her the tidings of the birth of Jesus, ‘a Word from [God], whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary.’ Mary asks, ‘My Lord, how can I have a son when no man has touched me?’ and the verse above is the answer that is given to her.}

He [Sahl] said:

When there is something in His pre-eternal knowledge that He wishes to bring to light, He says to it ‘Be’ and it is.^{2These words are also to be found in Sūra Yā Sīn, 36:82.} It has been said [in these lines of poetry]:

He decreed, before creating the creation, all that He would create:

Created beings, none of whose affairs are hidden from Him, [nor]

Their desires, [nor their] intimate secrets, [nor] that which their hearts enclose.

And [He decreed] what was [in] their minds prior to their desire.

His words:

…then let us humbly pray (nabtahil)

That is, ‘Let us invoke [God’s] curse, one upon the other.’^{1According to the Qurʾānic context, Muḥammad has been ordered that if anyone disputes the knowledge that has been revealed to him, he should gather all of them together, and command them to invoke God’s rejection upon whomsoever of them is lying. In his commentary, however, Tustarī focuses on the meaning of ibtihāl contrasting it with the act of glorifying God (taṣbīḥ).} The one who beseeches (mubtahil) is the supplicant (dāʿī), and the [act of] beseeching (ibtihāl) is supplication (duʿāʾ). The one who glorifies (musabbiḥ) is the one who remembers (dhākir), and this is not written down by the recording angels,^{2That is, omitting the word illā before al-ḥafaẓa, since it is absent from all three MSS: Z515, f. 30a and F638, f. 15b. F3488, f. 205b does not have either the lā or the illā.} for it is a witnessing of the One remembered in a remembrance that is through the One remembered.^{3i.e. it is something that is between God and the one who remembers Him, and to which the angels are not privy.} This is the meaning of His saying, ‘I keep company with the one who remembers Me, and when and wherever My servant seeks me out he will find Me.’^{4Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-īmān, vol. 1, p. 451. This same ḥadīth was cited earlier, in the Introduction to the Commentary when Tustarī was speaking of those who are ‘crazed or ecstatic’ in their remembrance of God.}

His words:

Say: ‘O People of the Scripture! Come to a word agreed upon (kalimatin sawāʾin) between us and you: that we worship none but God…’

That is, ‘[Let us] seek a just [agreement] (ṭamʿin ʿadlin) between us and you.’ This is because they affirmed that their Creator and the Creator of the heavens and the earth was God, Exalted is He, and [agreed]: ‘Let us declare His oneness and not worship anyone except Him.’

The basis of worship is the profession of God’s oneness (tawḥīd) along with living according to what is lawful, while avoiding the harm [of others] (kaff al-adhā). Furthermore, a person cannot accomplish living by what is lawful without abandoning the harm of others, and likewise he does not abandon causing harm save through living by what is lawful. If you know how to abide by what is lawful, how to abandon causing harm, and the [correct] intention (nīya) behind actions, as well as you know the Fātiḥa [Sūrat al-Fātiḥa], then your faith will become pure, as will your hearts and bodily members. Indeed, these are the fundamentals.

He continued:

Muḥammad b. Sawwār related from al-Thawrī that he said, ‘The degree of importance within the servant of [the reality] of “There is no god save God” is as water to the world.^{1This being the first of the two attestations of faith (shahādatayn), the second being ‘Muḥammad is His Messenger’.} God has said, And We produced from water every living thing [21:30].’ Thus, whoever is not benefited by his belief that ‘There is no god save God’ and his adherence to the Sunna of the Messenger of God ﷺ, is as a dead person.

Sahl added:

Truly I know a man among the friends of God, Exalted is He, who passed by a man who had been crucified (maṣlūb) with his head fixed in a direction away from the qibla. He said to him, ‘Where is that tongue with which you used to pronounce with all honesty: “There is no god save God?”’ Then he added, ‘Oh God grant me his sins!’

Through God’s Power [his head] was then turned towards the qibla.

His words:

…at the outset (wajh) of the day…

That is, at the beginning (awwal) of the day.

His words:

And He is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.

This means, He gives in abundance (kathīr al-ʿiṭāʾ). He is able, through His pre-eternal omnipotence (qudra), to give all that He is asked for. Furthermore He encompasses everything, as He has said [in the words of Abraham]: ‘My Lord encompasses everything in His knowledge [6:80]’.

He [Sahl] was asked about His words:

…Rather [he should say], ‘Be masters (rabbāniyyūn) by virtue of what you know of the Book and in what you study,^{1Verses 60-84 of Sūra Āl ʿImrān speak about, and admonish the People of the Scripture (also known as the People of the Book, i.e. the Jews and Christians) concerning their conduct and their responses to the Scripture. In full it reads: It belongs not to any mortal that God should give him the Book, the Judgement, prophethood, then that he should say to men, ‘Be servants to me instead of God.’ Rather, [he should say] ‘Be masters, by virtue of what you know of the Book and in what you study’ [3:79].}

He related:

Muḥammad b. Sawwār said, ‘The person [whose knowledge derives from the] divine lordliness (rabbānī) is the one who does not choose anyone over his Lord, and it [the name] is derived from the word rubūbiyya’.^{2See above, the commentary on 3:7, n. 34 below, and above IT, p. xlvii.}

Sahl continued:

People whose knowledge derives from the divine lordliness (rabbāniyūn) are those who are elevated^{3Translating ʿālūn according to all three MSS: Z515, f. 31a, F638, f. 16a and F3488, f. 206a, as opposed to ʿālimūn in the printed edition.} in the degree of [their] knowledge by virtue of [that] knowledge, just as Muḥammad b. Ḥanafiyya said on the death of ʿAbd Allāh Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهم, ‘Indeed, today one whose knowledge derived from the divine lordliness (rabbānī) in this community (umma) has died. Furthermore, he [the rabbānī] is associated with the Lord (rabb) because he is knowledgeable through His knowledge, just as He said, She asked, ‘Who told you this?’ He said, ‘I was told by the All-Knowing, the Aware’ [66:3].^{4The context of these words is indicated by the beginning of the verse: And when the Prophet confided a certain matter to one of his wives. However, when she divulged it and [then] God apprised him of it, he announced part of it [to her], and passed over part. So when he told her about it, she said, ‘Who told you this?’ He said, ‘I was told by the Knower, the Aware’. The commentaries name the person in whom the Prophet confided as Ḥafṣa, and the person to whom she divulged the confidence as ʿĀʾisha.} He [the Prophet] related it to prophethood (nubuwwa),^{5The word used in the verse for ‘told you’ is anbā from the root n-b-ʾ, from which the word for prophethood (nubuwwa) is derived.} because of that which God had taught him, Mighty and Majestic is He.^{6In his Qūt al-qulūb, Makkī cites a tradition of ʿAlī on the authority of Kumayl b. Ziyād, in which he defines the rabbānī as one who knows the divine lordliness (ʿālim bi’l-rubūbiyya), or who knows through the divine lordliness. He then describes the rabbāniyyūn as being of three kinds, each of which is connected to a different verse of the Qurʾān. There are those who have knowledge of the Qurʾān and teach it, on the basis of 3:79: Be masters (rabbāniyūn) by virtue of what you know (taʿlamūn, also read as tuʿallimūn, ‘you teach’) of the Book. Another designation of rabbānī is the one who knows and acts and teaches people the good (khayr), and this is connected to 5:63: Why do their rabbis (rabbāniyyūn) and priests not forbid them… The third designation equates the rabbāniyyūn with ribbiyyūn, who are described in 3:146: Many prophets have fought, with large bands of godly men (ribbiyyūn) beside them…, and Makkī observes that they are as the rest of the verse describes them, in standing firm with what is commanded, and showing strength in the religion and forbearance in the face of God’s decrees (i.e suffering that is destined for them). See Makkī, Qūt al-qulūb, vol. 1, pp. 257–8. We are grateful to Harith Bin Ramli for the reference to this citation.} Thus, anyone who informs you of something which conforms to the Book and the Sunna, is ‘an informant’ (munbiʾ).^{7Tustarī’s use of words here is subtle, since the word munbiʾ, like the word anbāʾ in the verse, derives from the root n-b-w, and according to Muslim doctrine there can be no prophet after Muḥammad, he being the Seal of Prophets and prophethood (Khatm al-Anbiyāʾ). Nonetheless, Tustarī appears to have chosen this word in order to maintain the link between the two words in the sense of knowledge coming directly from God, which is indicated by his citation of 66:3 and his comment on the Prophet’s words.} Those possessed of knowledge are of three kinds: there is the one whose knowledge derives from the divine lordliness (rabbānī), the one whose knowledge derives from the divine light (nūrānī), and the one whose knowledge derives from the divine essence (dhātī),^{8Knowing here being perhaps a state of realisation, being, or manifestation as was discussed in the note to the commentary on 3:7 above, p. 42, n. 4, IT, p. xlvii and n. 205.} [who has] no intermediary between him and God most High; within him is a ‘subsisting’ (baqiyya) of God, Mighty and Majestic is He.^{9We may understand from this that Tustarī sees the level of knowing manifested by the dhātiyyūn to be in some way analogous to the state of baqāʾ (subsisting in God) that is concomitant with fanāʾ (annihilation from self), which may be implied by Tustarī’s use of the the term baqiyya, though it should be added that in his Tafsīr he does not employ these two terms (fanāʾ and baqāʾ) as they are so often applied in later Sufism. Rather, he uses baqāʾ to refer to the everlastingness of Paradise. See above IT, p. lix, n. 269.} [On the other hand], ʿUmar b. Wāṣil said: those whose knowledge derives from the divine lordliness (rabbāniyyūn) are the collectivity of scholars. This resembles a saying of ʿAlī رضي الله عنه, ‘People are of three kinds: the knower whose knowledge derives from the divine lordliness (ʿālim rabbānī), the person acquiring knowledge (mutaʿallim) on the path to salvation, and the commoners and riff-raff, who follow every charlatan.^{10This saying appears in the Nahj al-balāgha of Imam ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, at the commencement of a section of advice given privately to his disciple Kumayl b. Ziyad al-Nakhāʿī. The passage is discussed and translated in full by James W. Morris in idem, ‘Surrender and Realisation: Imam ʿAli on the Conditions for True Religious Understanding’, Ruḥ ad-Din, vol. 1 (2000). In the Nahj al-balāgha, the saying has, in addition to that which is cited by Tustarī: ‘… the riff-raff and rabble who follow every screaming voice; those who bend with every wind, who have not sought to be illuminated by the Light of Knowing and who have no recourse to solid support.’ See the same article p. 27, n. 8 for a discussion of the word rabbāniyyūn.}

His words:

If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted of him…

He [Sahl] said:

Islam means the committing of one’s affairs [to God] (tafwīḍ) as in His words: Do not die except as Muslims [3:102], by which He means ‘as ones who have committed their affairs [to Him].’ The same is implied by His words: The Religion before God is Islam [3:19].

He was asked about His words:

You will not attain mindfulness of God until you expend of that which you love...

That is, he said:

It means, ‘You will not attain full mindfulness of God until you go to war with your lower selves and expend some of what you love.’ Furthermore, there is no spending (infāq) like consuming (infāq) the lower self by opposing it, and by seeking the good pleasure of God, Mighty and Majestic is He.

Then he related a story of Jesus عليه السلام:

Once he passed by three people whose bodies were emaciated and faces pale. He asked them, ‘What has brought you to this state I see you in?’ They said, ‘The fear (khawf) of our Creator and wariness (ḥadhr) of punishment for our disobedience.’ He responded, ‘God made it incumbent upon Himself to grant safety to the one who fears [Him].’ Then he moved on until he came to three other people who were even more emaciated. He asked them, ‘What has brought you to this state I see you in?’ They answered, ‘The yearning (shawq) for our Lord.’ He replied, ‘God made it incumbent upon Himself to grant you what you wish for.’ Then he moved on until he came to three people who were even more emaciated, whose faces were like full moons. He asked, ‘What has brought you to this state I see you in?’ They replied: ‘Love (ḥubb).’ He said, ‘You are the people of proximity [with God] (muqarrabūn)’,^{1lit. ‘those who have been brought near’. See above, the commentary on the poem forming part of Tustarī’s commentary on 2:241.} and he said it thrice.^{2This story was popular among Sufi writers. It may be found narrated twice in Rashīd al-Dīn Maybudī’s Qurʾān commentary, the Kashf al-asrār, vol. 7, p. 78; vol. 9, p. 91, and it also appears in Ghazālī’s Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-Dīn, Book 36: Kitāb al-Maḥabba, p. 182; idem., Kīmiyāʾ al-saʿādat (Tehran, 1985), vol. 2, p. 571.} Thus, whoever loves God, Exalted is He, is one of the people of proximity [with God], for if anyone loves something they hasten towards it.

So the first level is the rank of the repentant (tawwābūn); the second is that of the people of longing (mushtāqūn), and then the servant reaches the third rank which is that of love. Do you not see how they gave their all for the sake of the One who possesses all, turned their backs on all, and faced the direction of the One who possesses all?

[Concerning] His words:

The first House established for the people was that at Bakka, a blessed place…

[He said]:

That is, ‘The first house which was set down for men was the House of God, Mighty and Majestic is He, in Mecca.’ This is the outward meaning [of the verse]. However inwardly it implies the Messenger. The one who believes in him [the Messenger] is the one in whose heart God has made firm the profession of His oneness (tawḥīd).^{1See Böwering, Mystical Vision, p. 160, on Shāṭibī’s citation of the correct reading of Tustarī’s explanation ‘that the hidden meaning of the house (bāṭin al-bayt) is the heart of Muḥammad’, which may be found in Shāṭibī, al-Muwāfaqāt, vol. 3, p. 241.}

Concerning His words, Exalted is He:

…Fear God as He should be feared…

[Sahl said]:

That is, by the worship He has prescribed for you, and not by that which God merits in His essence (fī dhātihi).^{1Or ‘as He is in Himself’, because that would be beyond the capacity of a human being, just as the Prophet is reported to have said at the end of a prayer: ‘I cannot adequately encompass Your praise. You are as You have praised Yourself.’ This prayer is reported in a ḥadīth which is listed in many collections, including Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitāb al-Ṣalāt’, and in Tirmidhī, Nawādir al-uṣūl, vol. 2, p. 384.}

His words:

And hold fast, all together to the rope of God and be not divided among yourselves…

He said:

That is, ‘Adhere to your pact (ʿahd) with Him, which is that of professing His oneness (tawḥīd), just as He has said, Exalted is He, Or has he made a covenant with the Compassionate One? [19:78], meaning [a covenant of] professing His oneness. Hold fast to that which He has assigned to you, in terms of carrying out his obligations (farḍ) and the Sunna of His Prophet.’^{1The word for God’s assigning or granting possession to the believers used here (malakakum) derives from the same root as that for kingship used above in the commentary on 3:26, which went immediately before.} Likewise is the meaning of His words, Save a rope from God [3:112], meaning a covenant from God and His religion. He called it a rope because whoever holds fast to it reaches that in which he put his faith.^{2Note that in the Introduction to the Commentary (IC, p. 4), Tustarī identifies the Qurʾān as the ‘rope (ḥabl) of God’.}

His words:

On the Day when some faces are whitened…

This means, the faces of the believers will become white through the light of their faith; …and some faces are blackened…, namely, the [faces] of the disbelievers, due to the darkness of their disbelief.

He was asked about His words, Abasement and wretchedness were cast upon them [2:61]. He replied:

The purpose of these bodies is in the ‘deposits’ (waḍāʾiʿ) that God has placed within them, by which He puts His creatures to the test. Among [these deposits] is one from which the obedient (ṭāʾiʿūn) should draw admonitory lessons, namely, disbelief (kufr). [On the other hand], there are those which are proof against the heedless (ghāfilūn), namely, gnosis (maʿrifa) and affirmation (taṣdīq) through speech and actions, just as He has said, And He appointed darknesses and light [6:1]. The inner meaning of this verse is that light is knowledge (ʿilm) and darkness is ignorance (jahl), in accordance with His words, And he whom God has not granted any light has no light [24:40], that is, the heart [of such a person] has not [the light] by which to perceive faith in God.^{1The citation of these verses here seems to confirm that Tustarī sees disbelief (kufr) as well as gnosis (maʿrifa) and affirmation [of truth] (taṣdīq) as being deposits, and thus preordained by God.}

The light of faith is one of the greatest blessings (minan) of God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and tokens of His generosity (karāmāt). The second [blessing] is the ‘good word’ which is referred to in His words, Exalted is He, Come now to a word that is agreed upon between us and you [3:64]. The third [great blessing] is obedience (iṭāʿa) that the bodily members carry out purely for God’s sake, as when the prayers are maintained and obligatory alms (zakāt) are paid [in a spirit of] satisfaction (qunūʿ) and contentment (riḍā). Thus, [in this latter verse] He summoned them to the best speech, and the most excellent actions. If it had not been for faith in God and the Qurʾān, which is the knowledge of God, and which contains a call [for people] to affirm His lordship and to serve Him in fear, then the prophets, upon whom be blessings and peace, would not have known who among the people had responded to them.

His words:

And that God may prove the believers…

This means their being purified (takhlīṣ)^{1The verb khalaṣa, from which is derived the word takhlīṣ (above) and the key Sufi term ikhlāṣ, has both the meaning of becoming pure, and becoming free or being delivered from something.} from the blemishes of sins, just as they devoted themselves purely to Him (akhlaṣū lahu) in deed, which was [their] striving (jihād) in the way of God; …and efface the disbelievers. This means the destruction of the disbelievers through the affliction brought on by their sins.

His words:

…Yet now He has pardoned you…

This refers to the defeated army on the Day of Uḥud, when He did not eradicate them all. And God is bounteous to the believers, by His pardoning them and accepting their repentance.

His words:

Truly, those of you who turned back the day the two hosts met, truly, it was Satan who caused them to slip, because of some of what they had earned…

[Sahl] was asked about the meaning of that earning (kasb). He said:

It was the complacency that they felt because of their great numbers on the day of Ḥunayn and the glory they had gained on the Day of Badr.^{1For an account of the Battles of Badr, Uḥud and Ḥunayn, see Lings, Muḥammad, pp. 138–52, 177–88 and 306–9; Guillaume, Life of Muḥammad, pp. 289, 370 and 566 respectively.} This was due to Satan coming to associate with them, after [he saw] the acquiescence (musākana) of their hearts,^{2On the danger of the heart’s (or lower self’s) acquiescing (musākana) see above Tustarī’s commentary on 20:30 and 2:273, p. 16, n. 26 and IT, pp. xxxiv–xxxv.} and their regard for themselves, because of the complacency (iʿjāb) that their own lower selves had seduced them into. So God lifted His protection (ʿiṣma) from them as a punishment. Indeed, when the Prophet ﷺ heard his Companions say on the Day of Ḥunayn, ‘We shall not be overcome by so few’, he warned them, ‘Do not wish to encounter the enemy, rather ask for safety (ʿāfiya) from God, Exalted is He’,^{3Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitāb al-Jihād’; Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitāb al-Jihād wa’l-sayr’.} from dependency on your own devising (tadbīr) in any situation, and from [being unaware of your] neediness (dūn al-iftiqār) for God, Mighty and Majestic is He.

See how when David عليه السلام asked his Lord to join him with the ranks of Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, He replied, ‘You are not on that level, O David.’ He asked, ‘Why is that O Lord?’, to which God replied, ‘Because I tested them and they showed patience. Furthermore, they did not know the world and the world did not know them. But you have known the world and it has known you, and you adopted it as your kin.’ David عليه السلام said, ‘Show me one from among your servants who, if You tested him, would show patience.’ Then God, Mighty and Majestic is He, said, ‘I’m going to test you.’ Thus he [David] became the first to request affliction (balāʾ), ⸢and the one who exposed himself to⸣^{4That is translating wa’l-mutaʿarriḍ which is in Z515 f. 33a and F3488, f. 207b. F638, f. 17a has al-taʿarruḍ with more or less the same meaning.} testing (imtiḥān) from God, Exalted is He. That is to say, this was [of course] in accordance with God’s prior knowledge in the veiled unseen, which is solely known to Him. Then Iblīs came to him in the form of a pigeon and the story took place involving Uriah b. Ḥanān.^{5The story relates how God warned David that He would test him on a certain day. On the said day, David shut himself in a room and began to read the Book of Psalms. Then Satan came to him in the form of a golden dove. David reached out to pick it up and it flew a little distance from him. He went after it, and again he tried to catch hold of it, but it flew away from him a little further. So it went on until the dove led him to a place where he caught sight of a beautiful woman bathing on a roof. When David inquired about her he discovered that her husband was Uriah, who was absent at war in a particular garrison which had defeated the enemy. David commanded that Uriah be sent to fight a stronger enemy, and again they were victorious, whereupon David commanded that they should go and fight an even stronger enemy and yet again they were victorious. Finally, after the army had been sent to fight an even mightier and more powerful enemy, Uriah was killed and David married his wife. Then two angels appeared before David and asked him to judge between two brothers, one of whom owned ninety-nine ewes and the other only one. The brother with ninety-nine ewes wished to take the one from his brother to make up a hundred. David could see the injustice of this, upon which it was pointed out to him that he had ninety-nine wives, whilst Uriah had had one wife, and that David had had Uriah killed in battle in order to take his one wife. David became deeply repentant at this. This version of the story appears in Ṭabarī, History of al-Ṭabarī, vol. 3, trans. William Brinner, The Children of Israel (Albany, 1991), pp. 145–7.} God did not protect [David] from desire, intent or action. However, He protected Joseph from action, though He did not protect him from desire and intent.^{6A reference to part of the story of Joseph narrated in 12:23–34, in which the wife of ʿAzīz, who is Joseph’s master, attempts to seduce him. Verse 24 states: And she certainly desired him, and he would have desired her, had it not been that he saw the proof of his Lord. Tustarī was evidently among those commentators who considered that Joseph did desire her, and even added intent (qaṣd) to the desire, though unlike David, he was preserved though the divine protection (ʿiṣma) from committing the act. Again, see above regarding Adam, the commentary on 2:30, and IT, pp. xxxiv–xxxv.}

His words:

It was by the mercy of God that you [Muḥammad] were lenient with them…

This means, ‘Due to an act of sympathy (ʿaṭf ) from God you dealt gently with them’, And if you had been harsh, with [your] tongue, and fierce of heart, they would have dispersed from about you, that is, ‘They would have separated themselves from you’. So pardon them, that is, ‘Overlook their faults’, and ask forgiveness for them, for their defeat on the Day of Uḥud. Consult them in the matter, that is, ‘Do not distance them from yourself because of their disobedience, but accommodate them through your graciousness (faḍl), for it is through Us that you pardon, through Us that you seek forgiveness, and to Us that you turn for guidance’. Then, when you are resolved, that is, ‘If you wish to carry something out after consultation’, put your trust in God…, that is, ‘Rely on God notwithstanding that [consultation], consign all your affairs to Him, and depend on Him without regard for anyone else.’ He [the Prophet] did not leave this world before God, Exalted is He, had disclosed to his heart realms of knowledge which were between him and God, Exalted is He, without any intermediary, due to his love of pondering and reflection, in reverent awareness (iʿtibār) of the omnipotence of his Lord, so that he attained an increase from God most High, just as He was commanded in the words of God, Exalted is He, But say: ‘My Lord! Increase me in knowledge’ [20:114]. Furthermore, he enjoined this upon his nation (umma), as is related from the Prophet ﷺ in his words, ‘Consult those who are mindful of God (muttaqūn), who have preferred the Hereafter over this world, and who give you priority over themselves in your affairs.’ And he also said, ‘Consult the righteous scholars, and when you have made your resolve to carry something out, put your trust in God.’

He [Sahl] said [in this regard]:

Fraternise with brothers among the people who are mindful of God, and let the person whom you consult be one of those who fear God, Exalted is He. Let your word not be broken. And never be hostile to anyone until you know the states of his conduct with God, Exalted is He. If he has good conduct with God; then do not be hostile towards him, for certainly God, Exalted is He, will not forsake him for you. And if his conduct is bad, do not be hostile towards him [either] for his bad conduct will suffice him.^{1Because it will inevitably bring its own punishment from God.}

He also said:

Whoever is consulted and then gives advice that is contrary to his own opinion, God most High will strip him of his opinion, that is, He will dupe him into [believing] what he advised. [Moreover], whoever consults, puts his trust in God, carries out what he has resolved to do, but afterwards regrets [what has happened] has reproached God, Exalted is He.

Concerning His words:

If God helps you, then no one can overcome you; but if He forsakes you, then who is there who can help you after Him?...

He said:

To be forsaken (khidhlān) means to be utterly abandoned (ghāyat al-tark). As for abandonment itself (tark), that is for the sinner who recognises his sin. Being forsaken (khidhlān), however, is for the one who sins while believing that he is doing something good. This is God’s punishment to the one who is forsaken, for He upholds him in sin, having the knowledge both of his sin and of his subsequent procrastination of repentance. Do you not see how Iblīs, when he refused [to obey], and persisted in that refusal was forsaken by God due to His prior knowledge about him? This is because He willed from him that which was in accordance with His knowledge; He did not will from him that which was in accordance with His command.^{1On the divine mashīʾa and irāda, see above notes to Tustarī’s commentary on 1:5 and 2:2, and p. 10, n. 4.} However Adam عليه السلام, because he was not forsaken in his abandonment, confessed to his sin after committing it and returned to his Lord, Majestic and Mighty is He, and his repentance was accepted.

His words, Exalted is He:

…God is sufficient for us; an excellent guardian is He.

That is, He is the best guarantor of our provisions, and the best Lord. This is as in His words, Exalted is He, Do not take any guardian beside Me [17:2], that is, [do not take any] Lord [beside Me].

His words:

…But they rejected it behind their backs…^{1This is a reference to the rejection by the Children of Israel of the covenant they had made with God, according to which they were to expound the scripture to people, and not conceal it.}

That is, they did not act by the Book, and purchased with it some miserable gain, that is, they bought in exchange for the everlasting Hereafter, the goods of this transitory world.

His words, Exalted is He:

Those who remember God, standing, sitting, and [reclining] on their sides…

He [Sahl] said:

Whoever wishes to memorise the Qurʾān should complete three whole readings following the conditions stated in this verse: a reading completed while standing in prayer, a reading completed while sitting and studying it, and a reading completed while reclining on one’s side. Then, he will not forget [it], God willing, Mighty and Majestic is He. Moreover, whoever occupies himself with seeking knowledge with the full awareness of God, and with the recitation of the Qurʾān, the remembrance (dhikr) of God, Mighty and Majestic is He, adherence to the Sunna, and avoidance of all frivolity (lahw), will not be afflicted by disease or sickness. Furthermore, whoever obeys God with knowledge and sincere intention (nīya) will not lose his mind [lit. intellect, ʿaql].

The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Whoever obeys God, Mighty and Majestic is He, has truly remembered Him, but whoever disobeys Him has truly forgotten Him.’^{1ʿAlī Abū Bakr al-Haythamī, Majmaʿ al-zawāʾid wa manbaʿ al-fawāʾid (Cairo, 1933–4), vol. 2, p. 258; Sulaymān b. Aḥmad al-Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-kabīr (Mosul, 1983–90), vol. 22, p. 154. One is reminded of the admonition which Tustarī’s uncle gave him when in his childhood. See above, IT, p. xv.}

His words:

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

He said:

Faith has four pillars. The first is trust (tawakkul) in God, the second is complete submission (istislām) to His commands, the third is being content and satisfied (riḍā) with what He has preordained (qaḍāʾihi), and the fourth is gratitude (shukr) for His blessings along with mindfulness of Him (taqwā).

A Section on Faith

Certainty (yaqīn) is the heart of faith, patience (ṣabr) is the backbone of faith, and sincerity (ikhlāṣ) is the perfection of faith, for through sincerity the servant reaches true affirmation (taṣdīq). Furthermore, through true affirmation he attains realisation (taḥqīq), and through realisation he reaches God (al-Ḥaqq). Sincerity is the fruit of certainty, for certainty is witnessing (mushāhada) in the innermost secret (sirr).^{1On this level of certainty, and on the link between faith and certainty, see above Tustarī’s commentary on 2:40 and 2:41, and accompanying notes. See also IT, pp. xlviii–xlix.} Moreover, whoever does not experience witnessing in [his] innermost secret in the presence of his Lord ⸢and does not behold Him⸣,^{2Translating wa yarāhu, as being governed by the preceding negative, as in all three MSS: Z515, f. 34b, F638, f. 17b and F3488, f. 209a. One is reminded here of the ḥadīth of Gabriel, in which the three levels of islām, īmān and iḥsān are discussed. On this ḥadīth, see above IT, p. lviii, n. 265.} has not made his actions sincere.^{3Translating lam yukhliṣ ʿamalahu, on the basis of all three MSS: the MSS (Z515, f. 34b, F638, f. 17b and F3488, f. 209a). whereas the printed edition has lam yukhliṣ ʿamalahu li’Llāh, i.e. he has not dedicated his action, or made it sincerely for God.} But God knows best.