Sahl was asked about His words:

And give women their dowries as a free gift…

He said:

It means, give them the dowry (ṣadāq) as a gift to them from God, Mighty and Majestic is He. Indeed dowry (niḥla) is religion (diyāna).^{1The word niḥla can mean both a gift and a religion, so it is synonymous with dīn or diyāna.}

He continued:

The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘The basest of sins before God, Exalted is He, is to prevent a worker from being paid, and to stop a woman receiving her dowry (mahr).’^{2In this passage, three different words for payments due to women upon their marriage have been used: ṣadāq, niḥla and mahr. There does not appear to be any practical difference in the application of these words, though it is interesting to note that the first is derived from the root ṣ-d-q meaning to be sincere, which is said to indicate that the man in giving the dowry is showing his sincere intentions towards the woman he is marrying, while the word niḥla is derived from the root n-ḥ-l meaning to give a gift.}

His words, Exalted is He:

The repentance that God accepts is only of those who do evil in ignorance and repent shortly thereafter…

He said:

One who is repentant (tāʾib) keeps away from sin and observes obedience. One who is obedient (muṭīʿ) is wary of ostentation (riyāʾ) and persists in remembrance (dhikr). The one who is constant in remembrance (dhākir) is wary of conceit (ʿujb), and imposes upon himself [the sense of] his own deficiency (taqṣīr).

[Concerning this verse] he also said:

God most High revealed to David عليه السلام, ‘The wailing of sinners is more beloved to Me than the clamour of the veracious (surākh al-ṣiddīqūn)’.^{1This saying appears in Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-īmān, vol. 5, p. 452. A variant form of the tradition, which has ‘the murmuring of angels’ (zajl al-muqarrabīn) instead of ‘clamour of the veracious’ (surākh al-ṣiddīqīn), is cited in Maybudī’s Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, pp. 21 and 640, while another version listed in Munāwī, Fayḍ al-qadīr, vol. 5, p. 331, has ‘The groaning of sinners [is dearer] to God than the murmuring of those who glorify [Him]’ (anīn al-mudhnibīn [aḥabb] ilā’Llāhi min zajl al-musabbiḥīn). What is meant by the tradition is probably that the repentance and anguished remorse of sinners who acknowledge their sins and faults is dearer to God than the complacency of those who have confidence in their virtue and good works.}

His words:

…And kill not yourselves…

Do not destroy yourselves through transgressions (maʿāṣī) and persistence [in transgression], and by neglecting repentance (tawba) after returning to rectitude (istiqāma). Surely God is ever merciful to you [4:29] in that He forbade transgression to you, so that you might not perish, which is further expounded in His words, Exalted is He:

If you avoid the grave sins that you are forbidden, We shall absolve you of your [minor] misdeeds…

[Concerning that] he [Sahl?] said:

It was related that Ibn Masʿūd said, ‘The grave sins (kabāʾir) are those mentioned from the beginning of Sūrat al-Nisāʾ up to this verse.’

And Sahl added:

The major sins are those that carry God’s threat of the Fire within His Book, Exalted is He.

His words:

...to the neighbour who is close, and the neighbour who is a stranger, to the companion at your side, and to the wayfarer…^{1The context of this verse is a command for the believers to worship God and be kind to parents, near kindred, orphans and the needy as well as to neighbours.}

He said:

As for the outward meaning: the neighbour who is a stranger is the one who is not related to you and is foreign; the companion at your side is your fellow traveller, or it has also been said that it is your spouse; and the wayfarer (ibn al-sabīl) means the guest. As for its inner meaning: the neighbour who is near refers to the heart (qalb); the neighbour who is a stranger is the ⸢self in its natural state (al-nafs al-ṭabīʿī)⸣;^{2This is according to all three MSS: Z515, f. 35a, F638, f. 18a and F3488, f. 209b. The printed edition has simply ‘nature’ (tabīʿa). By al-nafs al-ṭabīʿī it is possible that Tustarī is referring to what he elsewhere terms the nafs al-ṭabʿ as opposed to the nafs al-rūḥ, and the use of these terms will be seen later in the commentary. These terms are also discussed in IT, pp. xxxviiiff.} and the companion by your side is the intellect (ʿaql), which is guided by the sharīʿa. The wayfarer refers to the bodily members (jawāriḥ) which are in a state of obedience to God. This is the inner meaning of the verse.

His words:

So how shall it be, when We bring forward from every community a witness, and We bring you as a witness against these?

Sahl said:

God, Exalted is He, has placed 360 angels in the service of each Muslim servant in accordance with the number of his veins.^{1Apparently the number of veins/arteries in the body was traditionally understood to be 360 (or some said 390). For example in the Rasāʿil of the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ the body is compared to a kingdom in which there are 390 rivulets, corresponding to the veins and arteries. See Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ, Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ wa khullān al-wafāʾ (Beirut, 1957), vol. 3, p. 380–2; and Seyyed H. Nasr, An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines (London, 1978), p. 100. See also Ghazālī, Kīmiyāʾ al-saʿādat, vol. 1, p. 42. On the Muslim discussions of the numerical symbolism of parts of the body, see Seyyed H. Nasr, Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study (London, 1976), pp. 162–4.} When he wants to do something good they assist him in that, but if he wants to do something bad they chide him about it. If he acts upon any of those [intentions] they record that action for him until the Day of Judgement, when they show it to him, and apprehend him for it.^{2Translating awqafūhu according to all three MSS (Z515, f. 35a, F638, f. 17a and F3488, f. 210a), instead of wāfaqūhu in the printed edition.} Then when he comes before God, Exalted is He, they will bear witness for him about the faithfulness of [his] obedience, and [against him] for the sins he committed. God said, Exalted is He, And every soul will come accompanied by a driver and a witness [50:21].

His words, Exalted is He:

…Before We obliterate faces…

This means that God turns them back from guidance and insight to their natural disposition (ṭabʿ al-jibilla).^{1There is some discrepancy among the MSS here with MSS Z515, f. 35b having their ‘natural disposition’ (ṭabʿ al-jibilla), which is what we have translated, while F638, f. 18a has ṭabʿ al-khaṭiyya, ‘sinful disposition’, and F3488, f. 210a has al-ṭabʿ al-jahala which might be translated as ‘foolish or licentious disposition’ or it could also be al-ṭabʿ al-jibilla without any tashdīd being marked. The published edition has ṭabʿ al-jahāla.}

His words, Exalted is He:

God forgives not that anything should be associated with Him. But He forgives other than that, to whomsoever He wills…

He said:

If no one has any grievance against him, and his sins are only between him and God, Exalted is He, indeed He forgives those sins, for He is the Magnanimous (al-Jawād), the Generous (al-Karīm). It has been related from the Prophet ﷺ that he said, ‘A slave may be brought forward on the Day of Resurrection and directed to the Fire, but then he will say, “This is not in accordance with what I supposed [my outcome would be].”^{1lit.. ‘This is not in accordance with my opinion (mā kadhā ẓannī).’} Then God, Mighty and Majestic, will ask, “What was your opinion of Me?”to which he will reply, “That You would forgive me”, upon which, God, Mighty and Majestic, will say, “Truly I have forgiven you”, and He will direct him to Paradise.’^{2The point being that his good opinion (ḥusn al-ẓann) of God had saved him. On the spiritual function of good opinion, see above Tustarī’s commentary on 2:241 and IT, pp. lii–liii.}

His words:

...and say to them regarding their souls a penetrating word.

That is, ‘conveying from Me with your tongue and with the best expression the essence of what is in your heart.’^{1That is, the Revelation.}

His words:

Those who believe fight in the way of God, and those who disbelieve fight in the way of a false deity...

He [Sahl] said:

The believers are [with] God, adversaries against their lower selves, but the hypocrites are [with] their lower selves, adversaries against God, Mighty and Majestic is He. They hasten to question, and are not content with what God chooses for them. This is the way of Satan (ṭāghūt), for the lower self is the greatest of devils if the servant consorts with it because it will incite him to transgression.

His words, Exalted is He:

Say: ‘The enjoyment of this world is trifling…’

He [Sahl] was asked, ‘What is this world?’ To which he replied:

This whole world consists of ignorance except for where knowledge is to be found.^{1lit. ‘save for the locus of knowledge’. What is meant is: ‘except for the people who have knowledge deposited in them’.} All knowledge is a testimony against [the one who possesses it], except for that which is acted upon. All action is futile except for that which is done with sincerity (ikhlāṣ), and sincerity is not achieved except through adherence to the Sunna.

Then he said:

Your world is your lower self (nafs). Thus, if you annihilate it, there will be no world for you.^{2That is, the world will no longer take you away from God.}

His words, Exalted is He:

…So turn away from them, and put your trust in God…

He was asked, ‘What is trust? (tawakkul)?’ He replied:

Trust is the submission of the body in servanthood, the attachment of the heart to the divine lordliness (rubūbiyya) and the disclaiming of all power (ḥawl) and strength (quwwa).

Then he was asked: ‘What is the reality (ḥaqīqa) of trust (tawakkul) in principle?’ He replied:

At its root, the reality of trust is the realisation of God’s oneness (tawḥīd), while its branch is the knowledge of the Last Day [lit. knowledge of the Hour] (ilm al-sāʿa); and through tranquil repose (sukūn) in it [trust] there is visual beholding (muʿāyana).

Then he said:

Do not be anxious about trust, for truly it is a means of livelihood for those who possess it.

He was asked, ‘Who are those who possess it?’ He replied:

They are those who have been privileged with a special quality.

Sahl was asked to clarify this further, and he said:

Truly all the sciences are the lowest categories of worship (taʿabbud). The sum of all worship is only the lowest category of scrupulous piety (waraʿ). The sum of all renunciation (zuhd) is the lowest category of the manifestation of divine omnipotence (ẓuhūr al-qudra). Furthermore, the divine omnipotence does not become apparent to anyone except the one who has complete trust (mutawakkil). Trust is not susceptible of any categorical definition, nor does it have a limit that would make it susceptible of comparison,^{1lit. so that similitudes might be coined for it. In other words, it cannot be compared to anything or explained by any metaphor.} nor does it have an utmost degree that can be reached.

Then he was asked, ‘Describe something of it to us’ and he replied:

Trust has a thousand ranks, the first of which is the ability to walk on air.^{2This is another indication that Tustarī did not hold much store by miracles or charismatic gifts (karāmāt). See IT, p. xx.}

He was then asked, ‘How does the servant reach that level?’ He answered:

The first thing is gnosis (maʿrifa), then affirmation (iqrār), then the realisation of God’s oneness (tawḥīd), then submission (islām), then the excellence in faith (iḥsān), then the committing of one’s affairs [to God] (tafwīḍ), then trust (tawakkul), and finally the state of tranquil repose (sukūn) in God, Mighty and Majestic is He, in every situation.^{3It is worth keeping in mind that the expression sukūn ilā also has a sense of reliance upon. On iḥsān, see IT, p. lviii, n 265.}

And he added:

Trust is not acceptable from anyone except one who is mindful of God (muttaqī).

He was asked, ‘What is mindfulness of God?’ He replied:

It is to refrain from all harm [to others] (adhā).^{4See above the commentary on 3:64 regarding the importance of not harming others (kaff al-adhā).}

His words, Exalted is He:

…Whoever intercedes with an evil intercession will receive a share of it…

That is, a portion of it. This is because it [the evil intercession] obstructs [that person’s access to] God’s good pleasure.

His words, Exalted is He:

When you are offered a greeting, respond with a better one, or [at least] return it…

This means that you should surpass the greeting that issued [from that person] by acting with sincere friendship (naṣḥ) for God’s sake, Exalted is He. The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Peace (salām) is one of the names of God which He made manifest on Earth, so spread it among yourselves.’^{1Bukhārī, Ṣahīḥ, ‘Kitāb Ṣifat al-ṣalāt’; Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-kabīr, vol. 10, p. 82.}

His words, Exalted is He:

…When God Himself has cast them back because of what they earned?...

That is, He returned them to the state of ignorance of Him which was the natural constitution of their souls.^{1lit. ‘to that to which their souls were naturally disposed’.} And the Prophet ﷺ also said: ‘Do not clean yourselves [after defecation] with bones or animal droppings, for these [undergo] a reversal’, meaning that these return from their former state to becoming the food of jinn. What, do you wish to guide him whom God has left to stray? Misguidance (iḍlāl) from God is His withdrawing His protection (ʿiṣma) [of a person] from that which is forbidden, and His withdrawing His assistance (maʿūna) [from a person] in what He has commanded.^{2On this aspect of Tustarī’s doctrine, see above IC, p. 2 and n. 6, Tustarī’s commentary on 2:3, and IT, pp. xxxiiiff.}

His words, Exalted is He:

…Or those who come to you with their breasts constricted…^{1These are among those who are excluded from being subject to the command in the previous verse (4:89): slay them wherever you find them; and do not take any of them as a patron or as a helper.}

That is, ‘They have become sick at heart because of fighting you and fighting their people, due to their love of safety, and their inclination towards their own well-being (ʿāfiya).’ This refers to the Banū Madlaj.^{2Reading ‘Banū Madlaj’, on the basis of MSS Z515, f. 37a, F638, f. 18b and F3488, f. 211a, instead of Banū Madraj in the printed edition. The Banū Madlaj were among the non-Muslim tribes to the south-west of Medina with whom the Prophet made a pact prior to the Battle of Badr.}

His words:

...so that you may judge between people by that which God has shown you…

That is, in accordance with the wisdom (ḥikma) that God, Exalted is He, has taught you within the Qurʾān and the laws of Islam.

His words, Exalted is He:

What they pray to instead of Him are but females.

That is, they [emit] sounds,^{1A reference to the sound that came from the hollowed out idols.} and they are of stone and iron.

His words Mighty and Majestic is He:

…And will find no refuge from it.

That is, no way out.

His words:

…Do they desire power with them?...

This refers to the hypocrites who were seeking power and protection from the Jews. Do you not [recall] the Prophet’s words ﷺ, ‘Nothing descended from the heavens mightier than certainty’?^{1Tirmidhī, Nawādir al-uṣūl, vol. 2, p. 169.} That is, there is nothing more indomitable or formidable.^{2In other words, there could be no refuge for them outside what was certain, i.e. the truth.}

His words:

…Did we not gain mastery over you?...

That is, conquer and overcome you.

His words:

The hypocrites try to deceive God, but it is He who causes them to be deceived…

This means that He hastens the recompense for their [outwardly] showing faith, and [inwardly] keeping secret their disbelief, by withdrawing His protection and grace from them, and by augmenting their wealth and offspring, and granting them access to the immediate [pleasures of] this world.^{1Thereby lulling them into a false sense of well-being. Again this is an instance of istidrāj, on which see Tustarī’s commentary on 2:41, p. 20, n. 48, his commentary on 3:8, and p. 42, n. 10.} But, their final destination is the Fire. This is what is meant by His words, [The hypocrites] try to deceive God, but it is He who causes them to be deceived. He meant by this the speed of delivering their recompense (jazāʾ) for what they perform and abstain from. This is as His saying, Nay, but you marvel while they engage in ridicule [37:12], by which He meant that He hastened their punishment for their persisting in denial [of the truth]. Thus were His words addressed in accordance with the name of their action. And indeed in [other] places He describes their being in a state of wonder (ʿajab); [for example,] in His words, [Say, ‘It has been revealed to me that a company of jinn listened and said], “We have heard a wondrous Qurʾān”’ [72:1]; and in Sūra Qāf, Nay, but they [the disbelievers] think it strange [50:2]; and in Sūra Ṣād: What an astonishing thing! [38:5]. So also [wonder] is mentioned in Sūra Ṣāffāt: Nay but you marvel while they engage in ridicule [37:12], that is, you see their recompense as immense (ʿaẓīm), And here He calls the immense recompense a marvel, for the one who marvels at something that has reached its utmost degree, and this is what is meant in His words, you marvel.

It has been related that Shaqīq read [the Qurʾānic words] to Sharīḥ as ‘I marvel (ʿajibtu)’ to which Sharīḥ replied, ‘[It should be] you marvel (ʿajibta)’, for truly God does not marvel at anything. The only one who marvels is one who does not know.’ Then Shaqīq said, ‘I informed Ibrāhīm of this, and he said, “For sure, Sharīḥ is pleased with his own knowledge. However, Ibn Masʿūd is more knowledgeable than him and he used to read it, I marvel with a ḍamma (ʿajibtu).”’^{2This is an example of the debates which occurred in the science of the variant readings (qirāʾa) of the Qurʾān, which are often cited in exoteric commentaries on the Qurʾān, and on which independent works have been written, such as the Muʿjam al-qirāʾāt al-Qurʾāniyya of Aḥmad Mukhtār ʿUmar and ʿAbd al-ʿĀl Mukarram (Cairo, 1997), in which this disagreement between the two scholars of qirāʾa, Shaqīq and Sharīḥ, is recorded, vol. 4, p. 197.}

…When they stand up to pray they do so lazily…

This is one of the signs of the hypocrites, and by this they betray the trust (amāna), which outwardly they appear to have taken upon themselves. Know that to God, Exalted is He, belong the trusts of your hearing, sight, tongue, private parts, your outward self and your inner self, which He presented to you. If you do not safeguard them, you betray God and God does not love the treacherous [8:58].

Ibn Ḥayyān^{3Corrected from Abū Ḥibbān on the basis of MSS Z515, f. 27b and MSF638, f. 19a. MS F3488 has Abū Ḥayyān.} related that he journeyed to Mecca and went to Saʿīd b. Jubayr and said to him, ‘I have come to you from Khurasan to ask you about the explanation of the words of the Prophet ﷺ, “The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when he promises, he breaks his promise; and when he is entrusted with something, he is treacherous.” I do not see any of these within myself.’ Then Saʿīd smiled and said, ‘The same thing occurred to my conscience that occurred to yours, so I went to ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and ʿAbd Allāh Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهم at the time of the afternoon nap, and I found them at the [Holy] House, so I asked them about the explanation for this ḥadīth. They smiled and replied:

We were also perplexed by what has perplexed you, so we went to the Prophet ﷺ at the

time of the afternoon nap, and he gave us permission [to enter], so we mentioned this to

him ﷺ, upon which he smiled and said, ‘Do you not uphold the testimony that there is

no god but God?’ We replied, ‘Yes, we do.’ He said, ‘Have you gone back on that?’ We said,

‘No, we have not.’ He said, ‘Indeed you have said it and confirmed it.’ Then he said, ‘Do

you not uphold what you affirmed with regard to your belief in God, His angels, Books,

messengers, Paradise, Hell and the Resurrection?’ We said, ‘Yes, as if we saw them with

our own eyes.’ He ﷺ said, ‘This is a [great] achievement.’ Then he said ﷺ ‘Do you not pray

and prostrate in prayer when you are alone?’ We replied, ‘Yes’. He said, ‘That is true fidelity

without a trace of treachery.’

Sahl said:

Truly, certainty (yaqīn) may be compared to mainstays (awtād) for the hearts of the mystics (ʿārifūn), and the souls of the yearning (mushtāqūn), just as the mountains of the world along with Mount Qāf, are the mainstays of the two earths (ʿarḍīn), and the backbone of the worlds.^{4Mount Qāf is the name of a mountain range which, according to Muslim cosmology, surrounds the earth. In mystical literature it came also to symbolise the end of the spiritual journey, as for example, in the epic poem of Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār, Manṭiq al-ṭayr, and the mystical-philosophical treatise of Shihāb al-Dīn Yaḥyā Suhrawardī, Qiṣṣat al-ghurbat al-gharbiyya, in Oeuvres philosophiques et mystiques, ed. H. Corbin (Tehran/Paris, 1952–77), vol. 2. See M. Streck [A. Miguel], ‘Ḳāf’ in EI2, vol. iv, pp. 400–2.} However, He made your heart even stronger, for He said, Exalted is He: ‘Had We sent this Qurʾān down upon a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbled, rent asunder by the fear of God [59:21]. Indeed, I sent it down to their hearts that they may preserve it and upon you as a command. You will not be harmed by keeping it [the Qurʾān] within you, because of My protection, benevolence and My watching over you.’

Then he [Sahl] said:

The intellects (ʿuqūl) of believers end up journeying to the Throne, where they are preserved and filled with the finest subtleties (ẓarāʾif) of His wisdom and diverse [manifestations] of His beneficence (birr). The intellects of the hypocrites on the other hand, journey until they reach [the threshold], and covet what is in the unseen, but are cast back rejected with heads bowed down (munkasa). And he whom God sends astray, you will never find for him a way [4:88, 143].

His words, Exalted is He:

O People of the Scripture do not go to excess in your religion…

That is, do not exceed the limits in your religion through innovations (bidaʿ), or by deviating from the truth, which is the Book, the Sunna and consensus (ijmāʿ), by inclining towards the desire of your lower selves.

And he [Sahl] said:

The backbone (qiwām) of religion and this world is in three things: knowledge (ʿilm), propriety (adab) and initiative (mubādara). However, the ruin of religion and this world comes from three things: ignorance (jahl), folly (khurq) and laziness (kasal).

On another occasion, I heard him say:

There are four things which are among the buttresses (daʿāʾim) of the religion: to uphold the truth even against your own self and others; to renounce falsehood in yourself or others; to love the people who are obedient to God and to detest those who disobey Him.