His words, Exalted is He:

Truly in the heavens and the earth there are signs (āyāt) for those who believe.

He said:

The signs (ʿalāmāt) are for the one who has certainty (yaqīn) in his heart, and who is guided by their existence (kawn) to the One who has brought them into existence (mukawwin).

His words:

He has put at your disposal all that is in the heavens and the earth, [as a gift] from Him…

He said:

When the heart of the servant finds tranquil repose (sukūn) in its Master, the state of the servant becomes strong.^{1There is always, as has been seen in Tustarī’s comments above, a combined sense in the expression sakana ilā or sukūn of being peaceful or at rest with, and depending upon, God, especially His management of our affairs (tadbīr).} Subsequently everything is subjected to him, and indeed everything is on intimate terms with him, even the birds and the beasts.

It was related of al-Thawrī that he said, ‘I set off with Shaybān al-Rāʿī towards Mecca and on the way a lion appeared before us, so I said, “O Shaybān, do you not see this dog?” He replied, “Do not fear! It’s only that the lion heard the speech of Shaybān al-Rāʿī so he started to wag his tail.” Then Shaybān approached him and proceeded to take hold of his ear and twist it. Then I said, “O Shaybān what is this fame you have?” He answered, “And what sort of fame is it that you see, O Thawrī? I swear by God that if it wasn’t for the fear of fame I wouldn’t have carried my provisions for the journey to Mecca other than [loaded] on its back.”^{2This story is related in Ibn al-Jawzī, Ṣifat al-ṣafwa, vol. 4, p. 377, and in Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, vol. 7, pp. 68–9. Shaybān’s fear of fame could be seen as an early example of the teachings associated with the ‘School of Blame’ (malāmatiyya) in Islamic mysticism. The principle source work on the Malāmatiyya is Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī’s Risālat al-malāmatiyya wa’l-ṣūfiyya wa ahl al-futuwwa, ed. Abū al-ʿAlāʾ Afīfī (Cairo, 1945). Qushayrī’s Risāla and Hujwīrī’s Kashf al-maḥjūb also have chapters on malāma.} Shaybān was on his way to the Friday prayer when he caught sight of a wolf with his sheep, so he said to it, “Sit with the sheep until I return and I will give you a lamb.” When he returned from the Friday prayer, he found the wolf sitting down looking after the sheep, so he gave him a lamb to take away.’^{3See also the commentary on 10:62 and p. 90, n. 10 above regarding the relationship between mystics and wild beasts.}

Sahl used to say to a youth who kept his company, ‘If you are afraid of predatory beasts then do not keep my company.’ And he was asked, ‘How does a man reach the rank of charismatic gifts (karāmāt)?^{4On charismatic gifts (karāmāt) see above IT, p. xx, n. 52.} He replied:

‘Whoever abstains from (zahada) the world for forty days in veracity and sincerity (ṣādiqan wa mukhliṣan), will have charismatic gifts (karāmāt) manifested to Him from God, Mighty and Majestic is He. But if [such gifts] are not manifested to a person, it is due to the lack of true faith and sincerity in his renunciation’ — or words to that effect.

His words, Exalted is He:

and We gave them clear signs of the commandment…

He said:

We opened their ears so that they could understand Our discourse (khiṭāb), and We made their hearts (afʾida) as vessels (wiʿāʾ) for Our speech (kalām). We gave them true physiognomy (firāsa),^{1On firāsa see above p. 73, n. 11 and p. 105, n. 5.} by which they can make certain and truly-informed judgements concerning Our servants. These are the …clear signs of the commandment… on the inner path (ṭarīq al-bāṭin).

His words, Exalted is He:

Then We set you [Muḥammad] on a [clear] course (sharīʿa) of the commandment, so follow it…

He said:

That is, a way (minhaj) consisting of the established norms (sunan) of the prophets who came before you, for they [were following] the way of guidance; and the Law (sharīʿa) is the clear thoroughfare that extends to the path of salvation (ṭarīq al-najāt) and the way of right guidance (sabīl al-rushd).

His words, Exalted is He:

Assuredly they will not avail you in any way against God…

Whoever becomes wealthy without recourse to God will become needy through his wealth; and whoever gains honour without recourse to Him will be humiliated through his honour. Take note of how God says: Assuredly they will not avail you in any way against God…

His words, Exalted is He:

Do those who have perpetrated evil acts suppose that We shall treat them as those who believe and perform righteous deeds, equally in their life and in their death?...

He said:

The one who has been seated on the carpet of conformity (bisāṭ al-muwāfaqa) is not like the one who has been made to stand in the station of opposition (maqām al-mukhālafa); for the carpet of conformity brings the person [stationed] upon it to the ‘seats’ of true faith (maqāʿid al-ṣidq), whereas the station of opposition will plunge the person who holds it into a blazing fire.

His words, Exalted is He:

Have you not seen him who has taken as his god his [own] desire...?

He said:

That is to say, have you considered the one who is submersed in the delights that his lower self [is deriving] from this world, being neither scrupulous (wariʿ) nor mindful of God (taqī)? Hence, he pursues his own will (murād), and does not take the path of emulation (iqtidāʾ),^{1i.e. emulating the example of the Prophet and pious predecessors.} but prefers the lusts of this world over the bliss of the life to come. So, how will he be able to attain the high ranks and sublime stations (manāzil saniyya) in the Hereafter?

…and whom God led astray knowingly…?

He said:

That is, with God’s prior knowledge [concerning him] that He would withdraw from him His protection and aid.

His words:

Say: ‘God [is the One who] gives you life, then makes you to die, then gathers you to Day of Resurrection…’

He said:

He gives you life in the bellies of your mothers, then He causes you to die through ignorance, and then without doubt He gathers you together from the first to the last of you.

His words, Exalted is He:

And you will see every community crouching…^{1That is, on the Day of Resurrection.}

He said:

[Crouching] on their knees, each [community] contending for itself in the presence of [its] escort (murāfaqa). The one who is true in faith (ṣādiq) will strive to prove his veracity (ṣidq), and the denying unbeliever (jāḥid) will strive to defend himself. Each one will be judged according to what he recorded [for himself], his ink being his saliva, his pen his tongue and his parchment his bodily members.

His words:

To Him belongs all grandeur in the heavens and the earth…

He said:

Exaltedness (ʿuluww), omnipotence (qudra), majesty (ʿaẓama), power and strength (ḥawl wa quwwa) belong to Him in the entire dominion of creation (mulk). He will support with His power and strength whoever seeks His protection, whilst He will consign whoever relies on himself to his own care. But God, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows best.