His words, Exalted is He:

God has not placed two hearts inside any man…

He said:

The one who has directed himself to God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and is intent upon (qaṣdan) [Him], [does not] avert his gaze (iltifāt) [from Him]. For whoever pays attention to anything other than God is not truly intent upon his Lord. Indeed God, Exalted is He, says, God has not placed two hearts inside any man…

It has been said:

[That is, he does not have] one heart (qalb) with which he approaches God, and another heart with which he manages the affairs of this world. [On the other hand], the intellect (ʿaql) does have two natures (ṭabʿān): a nature which is orientated towards this world, and a nature which is orientated towards the Hereafter. The nature which is orientated to the Hereafter is in coalition (mūʾtalif) with the spiritual self (nafs al-rūḥ), whereas [the intellect’s] worldly-orientated nature is in coalition with the lustful self (nafs shahwāniyya). It was due to this that the Prophet ﷺ [prayed], ‘Do not leave me to my self for the blinking of an eye.’^{1Bayhaqī, Sunan, vol. 6, pp. 147 and 167; Haythamī, Majmaʿ al-zawāʾid, vol. 10, pp. 117, 137 and 181; Ibn Ḥanbal, al-Musnad, vol. 5, p. 42.} For truly the servant, ⸢as long as he is occupied with God, will be veiled from himself, and⸣^{2The section in brackets is added on the basis of MS, F638, f. 40b. However, the first part of the saying differs in MSS Z515, f. 87a and F3488, f. 260b, which have: ‘Truly the servant who does not cease to be occupied with God (mā zāla mushtaghilan bi’Llāh), will be veiled from himself.’} as long as he is occupied with himself will be veiled from God, Mighty and Majestic is He.

His words, Exalted is He:

The Prophet is closer to the believers than their [own] souls…^{1Or the verse could be translated, The Prophet has a greater right [or greater authority, awlā] over the believers than they have over their own selves.}

He said:

Whoever does not see himself [or his soul] as belonging to the Messenger ﷺ and does not see the patronage (wilāya) of the Messenger ﷺ in every situation, has in no way tasted the sweetness of his Sunna.^{2See above, IC, p. 2, n. 5 and p. 3, n. 14 regarding the different meanings of wilāya.} This is because the Prophet ﷺ is the closest to the believers, and the Prophet says, ‘None of you believes until I am dearer to him than his soul, his wealth, his children and everyone else.’^{3Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitāb al-Īmān’; Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitāb al-Īmān’.}

His words, Exalted is He:

so that He may question the truthful (ṣādiqīn) about their veracity. And he has prepared for those who disbelieve a painful chastisement.^{1This verse relates part of the covenant that was taken by God from the prophets at the same time that He took the covenant from the seed of all the children of Adam. On the Covenant of Alast see above Tustarī’s commentary on 7:172 and IT, pp. xxxi–xxxii and xxxv–xxxvi.}

ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Zayd said:

Veracity (ṣidq) is being faithful (wafāʾ) to God in your act[s].

Sahl was asked about veracity and said:

Veracity is fear concerning [our] end (khātima), and patience (ṣabr) is the proof [lit. witness (shāhid)] of veracity. Truly, veracity is hard for the veracious (ṣiddīqūn), sincerity (ikhlāṣ) is hard for the sincere (mukhliṣūn), and repentance (tawba) is hard for the repentant (tāʾibūn), for these three^{2That is translating hādhihi’l-thalātha according to MS Z515, f. 87b, F638, f. 40b and F3488, f. 262a, instead of al-talbiya in the published edition.} require [extraordinary] exertion of the spirit (badhl al-rūḥ).^{3Reading badl as badhl, while MS F638, f. 40b has nuẓūl al-rūḥ, which also might be translated here as ‘surrender of the spirit’.}

Aḥmad b. Mattā was asked about its meaning [ṣidq] and said:

It is that there no longer remains a share for a person’s lower self.

Sahl said:

No one will get a whiff of the fragrance of veracity as long as he panders to his lower self or to others. Rather, veracity is that a person feels in his innermost secret (sirr) that there is no one on the face of the earth from whom God has demanded servanthood besides him. Furthermore, his hope is his fear,^{4That is, presumably, that his hope is accompanied by fear. This is explained by Aḥmad b. Mattā below.} and his fear is [of] his demise (intiqāl).^{5That is, perhaps his fear is concerned with his state of veracity at his passing, which would be in accordance with his statement shortly before, that ‘Veracity is fear concerning [our] end (khātima)’. Another possibility might be: ‘his fear is of veracity’s disappearance from him, or his moving away from (intiqāl) veracity’. The meaning of intiqāluhu does not become clear from Aḥmad b. Mattā’s explanation either.} Then when God, Exalted is He, sees them [the veracious] in this state, He takes upon himself the care of their affairs (tawallā umūrahum) and suffices for them (kafāhum), and every hair on their bodies speaks [as one] with God (maʿa’Llāh) in gnosis (maʿrifa). Thereafter God, Exalted is He, says to them on the Day of Judgement, ‘For whom did you work, and what did you desire?’ They will reply, ‘We worked for You, and You alone did we desire.’ He will say to them, ‘You have spoken the truth.’ And by His Might, His words of testimony affirming their veracity are a greater source of joy to them than the bliss of Paradise.

Aḥmad b. Mattā was asked about the meaning of his [Sahl’s] saying, that the hope of veracity is his fear, and that his fear is [of] his demise (intiqāl). He said:

It is because veracity (ṣidq) is their hope and what they seek, but they fear that they are not veracious in their quest (ṭalab), so that God will not accept it from them. He has said regarding this: and [those] who give what they give while their hearts tremble [with awe] [23:60], meaning that they are in trepidation while doing acts of obedience, for fear that they will suffer rejection.

His words:

For Muslim men and women…

He said:

Faith (īmān) is superior to surrender (islām), but mindfulness of God (taqwā) within faith is superior to faith. Certainty (yaqīn) within mindfulness of God is superior to mindfulness of God, but veracity (ṣidq) within certainty is superior to certainty. Truly, you have taken a firm hold on the lowest (adnā) [of these],^{1i.e. Islam. MS 3488, f. 262b only has awlā instead of adnā.} so you must not by any means let that escape from you.

He also said:

Faith in God is established (thābit) in the heart, and certainty is firmly rooted (rāsikh) [in it] through veracity (ṣidq). Veracity of the eye is refraining from looking at all that is forbidden. Veracity of the tongue is relinquishing engagement in that which is meaningless. Veracity of the hand is not extending it to seize what is forbidden. Veracity of the feet is refraining from walking in quest of indecent acts. The truth of veracity (ḥaqīqat al-ṣidq) in ⸢the heart⸣^{2Added on the basis of all three MSS: Z515, f. 88a, F638, f. 41a and F3488, f. 262b.} is that it constantly reflects on the past and refrains from regarding what is to come. Verily, God, Exalted is He, has granted the veracious (ṣiddīqūn) so much knowledge that if they spoke of it, the ocean would dry up with their speech.^{3Sic in all the MSS as well as the published edition. Perhaps it means that the ocean would dry up in shame at the depth and breadth of their speech, an analogous metaphor to that of the sun and moon hiding their faces before the luminous beauty of the beloved, which one finds in Persian poetry. There may also be an allusion here to Sūra 18 (al-Kahf) verse 109: Say: ‘If the ocean were ink for the words of my Lord, the ocean would be dried up before the words of my Lord were exhausted.’} They are hidden and do not appear in public before people, except when it is [absolutely] necessary for them, and until a virtuous [servant] (ṣāliḥ) appears, at which point they make themselves known, and teach the learned (ʿulamāʾ) from their different branches of knowledge.

His words, Exalted is He:

…and the men who remember God often and the women who remember God often…

The one who observes true remembrance (al-dhākir ʿalā’l-ḥaqīqa) is he who is aware that God witnesses him. He perceives Him with his heart as being close to him, and therefore feels shame before Him. Then he gives Him priority over himself and over everything else in every situation.

On another occasion Sahl was asked, ‘What is remembrance (dhikr)?’ He said, ‘Obedience (ṭāʿa).’ Then someone asked, ‘What is obedience?’ He replied, ‘Sincerity (ikhlāṣ).’ Then he was asked, ‘What is sincerity?’ and he answered, ‘Witnessing (mushāhada).’ Someone then asked, ‘What is witnessing?’ He replied, ‘Servanthood (ʿubūdiyya).’ Then they asked: ‘What is servanthood?’ He answered, ‘Contentment (riḍā).’ Then they asked, ‘What is contentment?’ He replied, ‘Neediness (iftiqār).’ He was asked: ‘What is neediness?’ and he said, ‘It is humble entreaty (taḍarruʿ) and seeking refuge [in Him] (iltijāʾ). Submit! Submit, until death!’

Ibn Sālim said:

Remembrance is of three kinds: remembrance of the tongue, and that is a good deed (ḥasana) which is rewarded tenfold; remembrance of the heart, and that is a good deed which is rewarded seven-hundred fold; and a form of remembrance whose reward is beyond being weighed, and that is being filled with love [of God] (maḥabba).

His words:

…and God’s commandment is an inexorable destiny,

That is, it is known before it befalls you. Is anyone able to avoid what is determined [for him]? ʿUmar رضي الله عنه said after he was stabbed, ‘…And God’s commandment is an inexorable destiny. Indeed, the Messenger of God ﷺ informed me that they would do this to me.’ It was related from al-Ḍaḥḥāk that two angels descend from heaven, one of them carrying a scroll with writing on it and the other one carrying a scroll without any writing on it. [The latter] records the servant’s actions and what he leaves behind. When he [the latter] intends to ascend again, he says to his companion [carrying the scroll with writing on it], ‘Show me [what is in your scroll]’ and he shows him, [and he sees] that there are no mistakes, not even as to a letter.^{1The point being made here is that there is no contradiction between what God has predestined and what we do.}

His words:

He will rectify your deeds for you and forgive you your sins…

He said:

When God gives someone success in enabling him to perform good deeds, this is a sign that he is forgiven, for God, Exalted is He, has said: He will rectify your deeds for you and forgive you your sins. But God, Transcendent and Exalted is He, knows best.