He was asked about the words:

Do not drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, desiring His countenance...

That is, they desire (arādū) the countenance of God and His good pleasure and they are not absent from Him for a moment.

Then he said:

The ‘most ascetic’ (azhad)^{1Azhad being the superlative of zāhid which is often translated as ‘ascetic’, though it means more precisely ‘one who renounces the world’. ‘The most renunciant’ would not quite be idiomatic here. On the term zuhd and its translation see above IT, p. xlvi, n. 201.} of people are those who have the purest source of food; the most devout (aʿbad) of people are those who are most earnest in their effort to uphold His commandments and prohibitions; and the most beloved (aḥabb) of them to God are those who are the sincerest (anṣaḥuhum) towards His creatures.^{2The verbal root n-ṣ-ḥ combines the meanings of being sincere and giving good advice, so this implies those who give good and sincere advice to God’s creatures.}

He was asked about life… He said, ‘He who wastes his life…’^{3This appears to be incomplete in the printed edition and all the manuscripts.}

His words, Exalted is He:

...Your Lord has prescribed for Himself mercy. Truly, whoever of you does evil in ignorance, and repents thereafter and makes amends — truly He is Forgiving, Merciful.

It has been reported that God, Exalted is He, revealed to David عليه السلام, ‘O David, whoever knows Me, desires Me;^{1The Arabic here is: man ʿarafanī arādanī. The former verb (ʿarafa) could also have the meaning ‘has gnosis of’, or ‘recognises’ or ‘acknowledges’ Me, while the second verb (arāda) could also imply ‘aspires towards’ God.} whoever desires Me, loves Me; whoever loves Me, seeks Me out; whoever seeks Me out, finds Me; and whoever finds Me, preserves Me [in his heart] (ḥafiẓanī)’. David عليه السلام replied [by asking], ‘O my Lord! Where can I find You when I wish to seek you out?’ He said, ‘With those whose hearts are broken from the fear of Me.’^{2This tradition appears in Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, vol. 4, pp. 31–2 and in the Ṣifat al-ṣafwa of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. al-Jawzī [Ibn al-Jawzī] (Beirut, 1979), vol. 2, p. 293. In the Ḥilya, vol. 2, p. 364, God is asked the same question by Moses. The tradition also appears in Ghazālī’s Kīmiyāʾ al-saʿādat, vol. 1, p. 421, where Moses prays: ‘O Lord! Where shall I seek Thee?’ and God replies: ‘With the broken-hearted’ (without ‘from the fear of Me’).} David then said, ‘O my Lord! I approached the doctors among Your servants for treatment, but they all directed me to You — Wretched are those who despair of Your mercy! Is there a chance of my being worthy of being cured by You?’ God, Mighty and Majestic is He, asked him, ‘Did all those you approached guide You to Me?’ He answered, ‘Yes’, and God said, ‘Then go and give the sinners good tidings, and give warning to the veracious (ṣiddīqūn).’ David was baffled and said, ‘Have I misunderstood or not?’ He replied, ‘You are not mistaken.’ David asked, ‘How is that?’ He said: ‘Give the sinners the good tidings that I am forgiving (ghafūr) and warn the veracious (ṣiddīqūn) that I am jealous (ghayūr).’^{3According to Sufi tradition there are two kinds of jealousy (ghayra) on the part of God towards His lovers, mystics, and veracious servants. The first kind of jealousy arises if they should ever turn their attention to any other than Him; and the second is a protective jealousy, which shields their innermost secret or their love for Him from any unworthy or uninitiated person, or even from their own lower selves. This latter form of jealousy also has the function of protecting the mystics from complacency, or from lassitude. For a discussion of divine jealousy in Sufi doctrine, see A. Keeler, Sufi Hermeneutics, pp 196–7; 233; 297–8.}

He [Sahl] was asked, ‘Who are veracious?’ He replied:

They are those who combat their lower selves through the glorification (taṣbīḥ) and veneration (taqdīs) [of God]. Furthermore, they are those who keep their bodily limbs and senses in check. Hence, they become veracious in speech and action,^{4lit. ‘their speech and acts become veracity’.} veracious outwardly and inwardly, veracious in their involvement in anything and likewise in their disengagement from anything. Consequently, their place of return is an abode of truth ⸢in the lofty rank of truth⸣^{5The words qadam ṣidq, lit. ‘a foot of veracity or truth’ were added on the basis of all three MSS: Z515, f. 41b, F638, f. 20b, F3488, f. 215b.} with the All-Powerful King.^{6The words, maqʿadi ṣidqin ʿinda Malīkin muqtadarin are mentioned in 54:55, where they are translated by both Yūsuf ʿAlī and Muḥammad Asad as: ‘In an Assembly of Truth in the presence of a Sovereign Omnipotent’; while qadami ṣidqin is mentioned in 10:2 where it is translated as: ‘…the lofty rank of truth…’ However, in the Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, the words qadami ṣidqin are glossed with a different meaning of a preceding [or pre-existing] promise, i.e. understanding qadam in its other meaning.}

His words, Transcendent and Exalted is He:

…but it is a reminder, so that they may be mindful of God^{1According to the exoteric commentaries, the verse from which these words are taken and the preceding verse [6:68] concern a warning to believers that they should not sit and converse with those who mock God’s signs. Those who are mindful (or fully aware) of God will not be accountable for such people; this is merely a reminder to them so that they should be wary of being involved in discourse with these people.}

[Concerning these words] he said:

Truly God, Exalted is He, placed on the shoulders of His friends (awliyāʾ) the duty of reminding His servants, just as He placed upon the shoulders of the prophets (may God’s blessings be upon them all) the duty of conveying [the Message]. Thus, it is incumbent upon the friends of God to guide [people] to Him, and if they desist from doing so they are falling short of their duty.

It was put to him, ‘Indeed, we have seen many who desist from doing this.’ He replied:

They only hold back from doing it when there is a lack of need for it, just as is the case with the commanding of what is right (amr bi’l-maʿrūf) and the forbidding of what is wrong (nahy ʿan al-munkar). There was a man with us in Basra who had a high [spiritual] station, and it was an imperative obligation on him that at a certain time he should do this [guide people]. When he set out to accomplish [this task] another man said to him, ‘Truly God most High ordered me to what you are resolved to do, and has exempted you from [that duty].’ So he returned home praising God, Exalted is He, for the goodness of that exemption. But God knows best.

His words, Mighty and Majestic is He:

When the night descended upon him, he saw a star and said, ‘This is my Lord...’

The whole of this speech is a form of allusion (taʿrīḍ) for the benefit of his people when their hearts are in a state of bewilderment, for he [Abraham] had already been granted right guidance (rushd) before [21:51], just as He said: And so We showed Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. [6:75]^{1Probably, the lesson here is that although believers will from time to time experience bewilderment, they should be aware that it will pass, since they have previously been guided and will find guidance again. In the case of the prophet Abraham, he had been guided as a child, then later called the star, the moon and the sun in turn his lord, but then realised that If my Lord does not guide me I shall surely be one of the folk who have gone astray [6:77], on which Tustarī comments next.}

He was asked about the meaning of His words:

…If my Lord does not guide me…?

He said:

It means: If my Lord does not continue to guide me I shall be one of the folk who go astray.^{1In this comment and the previous one, Tustarī appears to be following the way of many commentators who did not believe that Abraham could have actually mistaken the star, the moon and the sun for his Lord. On this issue in the exegesis on 6:76–80, see Norman Calder, ‘Tafsīr from Ṭabarī to Ibn Kathīr” in G. R. Hawting and A. K. Shareef, eds., Approaches to the Qurʾān (London and New York, 1993), pp. 101–40; and Keeler, Sufi Hermeneutics, pp. 74–9. On the doctrine of the prophets’ (and in Shīʿism, the Imams’) immunity from sin, see W. Madelung, ‘ʿIṣma’, EI2, vol. v, pp. 182–5.}

Then he said:

The religion of Abraham عليه السلام was generosity (sakhāwa), and [a state of] freedom (tabarrī) from everything save God, Exalted is He. Do you not see how when the angel Gabriel عليه السلام asked him, ‘Do you need anything?’ He replied, ‘From you, no.’ He did not depend on anyone save Him, in any situation.^{2According to tradition, this exchange between Gabriel and Abraham took place when Abraham had been cast into the fire by his people (i.e. Nimrod and his followers). See above, p. 32, n. 110.}

His words, Exalted is He:

…Then gave you a dwelling place and a repository…

A dwelling place, that is, in the wombs of women, and a repository, that is, as a drop in the loins of Adam عليه السلام.

His words:

And avoid committing sin, whether openly or in secret…

That is, give up the transgressions of the body, along with the desire for committing them within your heart, and [give up] persisting in doing them.

His words:

When God wishes to guide someone, He expands their breast to Islam…

Sahl said:

Truly God has distinguished between the one who seeks (murīd) and the one who is [divinely] sought (murād), even though they are both from Him (min ʿindihi).^{1That is, both states, or conditions, are from Him. This topic has probably arisen because of the word yurīdu (He wants or wishes) used in the verse; the murād is the one who is desired [by God]. This is an example of the kind of Sufi interpretation that arises from what Böwering has termed a ‘Qurʾānic keynote’, a ‘word or phrase of a particular verse which strikes the mind of the commentator’ and ‘is taken up as the focal point of the interpretation’. See Mystical Vision, p. 136 and IT, above p. xxix.} But He simply wanted to distinguish the elite (khuṣūṣ) from the generality (ʿumūm), and so He singled out the one who is sought (murād) in this sūra and others.^{2See Böwering, Mystical Vision, p. 232 for a discussion of Tustarī’s use of the terms murīd and murād.} He also mentioned the one who seeks (murīd), representing the generality, in this sūra in His words, Exalted is He: Do not drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His countenance [6:52].^{3Here the wanting is on the part of the believers who ‘seek’ or desire God’s countenance: yurīdūna, therefore Tustarī shows it to be a reference to those who are murīds. Many Sufis have defined the difference between the murīd and murād, in their treatises. For example, Kalābādhī defines the murīd as ‘the man whose toiling (ijtihād) preceded his unveilings (kushūf)’, whilst the murād is ‘he whose unveilings preceded his toiling.’ See Kitāb al-Taʿarruf, p. 107; English trans. Arberry, pp. 155–6, with a slight modification. Qushayrī, in his Risāla, p. 438, states that, according to the Sufis, the murīd is a novice (mubtadiʾ), whereas the murād is an adept (muntahin) and he goes on to observe that God’s way with His seekers differs: ‘most have to go through struggles and trials before they are brought to illumination, whereas some are given unveiling at the beginning, attaining to that which others do not reach even through their toiling. These latter nevertheless return from these graces to complete the disciplinary practices that they had passed by.’} This is the servant’s being intent (qaṣd) upon God in his every moment of activity and stillness (fī ḥarakātihi wa sukūnihi),^{4This being a literal translation. However, it might simply be understood as: ‘in everything he does’.} just as He also said: and those who hearken to their Lord and maintain the prayer… [42:38]. Thus, whoever finds that he has the state of both the seeker and the sought, that is due to a grace (faḍl) from God to him. Do you not see how He has brought them together in His words, Exalted is He: Whatever grace you have, it is from God [16:53]?

He was asked, ‘Why are they [murīd and murād] separated then?’ He said:

The seeker who makes an effort to direct himself towards (qaṣd) God, Exalted is He, and to worship Him, and seeks the way to Him, is still in the state of seeking (ṭalab). As for the sought, it refers to the establishment of worship for him by God, Exalted is He.^{5Qushayrī appears to have alluded to this state in his Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt in the context of his commentary on 2:3. See Qushayrī, Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt, pp. 56–7. The passage is discussed in A. Keeler, ‘Sufi tafsīr as a Mirror: Qushayrī the murshid in his Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt’, pp. 4–5.}

Man has within himself that which [shows him] to be both a seeker (murīd) and one who is sought (murād). At one time, ⸢he enters into his acts of obedience [applying to them] struggle (mukābada) and striving (mujāhada), and this is [when he is] at the level of the seeker (murīd), when he may be stirred [into action] (tuhayyijahu) by the inducement of hope (raghba), or by fear (rahba). Then at another time⸣,^{6The addition is made with reference to all three MSS: Z515, f. 42b, F638, f. 21a and F3488, f. 216b.} he finds himself carried through those acts without effort (taklīf) or striving (jahd),^{7lit. ‘he finds or experiences that which carries him (yaḥmiluhu) through those acts’. Interestingly, Maybudī equates the position of murīd with ‘bearing’ (mutaḥammil), whereas he describes the state of the murād as ‘being borne’ (maḥmūl). See Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, pp. 730–1. See also, Qushayrī, Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt, vol. 2, p. 406. This doctrine is explained in A. Keeler, Sufi Hermeneutics, pp. 260–1.} [and this is] a solicitude from God, Exalted is He, towards him.^{8Compare with the passage above in Tustarī’s commentary on 2:40 regarding different levels of certainty (yaqīn).} Then after that, he will move on to the highest stations (maqāmāt) and most elevated ranks (darajāt).

[At this point] he was asked about the meaning of the stations (maqāmāt), and he replied:

They are mentioned in the Book of God, Exalted is He, in the story about the angels, And there is not one of us but [that he] has a known station [37:164]. He has also said, All shall have degrees according to that which they have done [6:132].

Regarding the characteristic of the seeker (murīd), he said:

The occupation of the seeker is the performance of what is obligatory, seeking forgiveness for sins committed, and seeking safety (salāma) from people.

Sahl said:

Truly, God, Mighty and Majestic is He, looks at the hearts and the hearts are with Him; those that He finds to be the humblest towards Him, He selects for what He wishes. Then after that, come those [hearts] that are the quickest in turning back [to Him]. These are the two qualities [of hearts].

And he said:

Whenever God looks upon a heart and sees within it concern [or desire, hamm] for this world, He abhors it, and this abhorrence (maqt) is manifested through His abandoning it (tark) [the heart] along with [that person’s] soul.^{9On abandonment by God, see above Tustarī’s commentary on 3:160, also the latter part of his commentary on 2:30.} The heart is not owned by anyone except God most High, and it does not obey anyone except Him. So, if you are mindful [of] it, deposit your secret with God, for if you entrust it to anyone besides God, Mighty and Majestic is He, that person will divulge it.

His words:

Theirs shall be the abode of peace with their Lord…

He said:

That is, there he will be safe from the anxieties (hawājis) of his self and the whisperings (wasāwis) of his enemy.

His words, Exalted is He:

So, We let some evildoers have power over others because of what they were earning.

That is, God, Exalted is He, takes revenge on a wrongdoer by means of another wrongdoer, and then He Himself takes revenge on them.

His words, Exalted is He:

If they deny you, say, ‘Your Lord has all-encompassing mercy…’

Sahl said:

It was reported from the Messenger of God ﷺ, ‘Make whoever turns his back on you desirous of Me, for anyone who is desirous of Me is actually desirous of you, no other. Furthermore, give them hope of [My] mercy and do not cut your heart off from them — say, “Your Lord has all-encompassing mercy.”’

His words, Exalted is He:

…Do not draw near any acts of lewdness, whether openly or in secret...

Whether openly refers to that which it has been forbidden to do with the external bodily members. Or in secret means the persistence (iṣrār) in committing that act, and this is of two kinds: the first is that a person commits a sin and persists in committing it; the other is that he persists in sin through desiring it in his heart, but he is not able to do it when he finds the opportunity because of a weakness in his bodily members, even though he is intent upon doing it. This is one of the most serious forms of persistence.

Then Sahl said:

Whoever eats what is permissible (ḥalāl) with gluttony is persistent (muṣirr), and whoever preoccupies himself with what the morrow may bring before the morrow arrives is persistent.

He was asked about the prophets عليهم السلام, regarding whether they thought about that which did not concern them. He replied:

An act with their bodily members was allowed to them, considering that they repented to God, Exalted is He, afterwards, let alone a mere thought.

He was asked, ‘Is there a form of worship for the heart, which God requires of it, other than that which is performed by the bodily members?’ He replied, ‘Yes, it is the tranquil repose (sukūn) of the heart [in God].’^{1As was seen above (4:81 and p. 56, n. 16), the word sukūn has a number of different meanings in Tustarī’s commentary. Here it seems to mean a tranquil repose or acquiescence [in God], or serenity [with Him].} Then he was asked, ‘Is such tranquil repose [in God] obligatory (farḍ)^{2All the MSS (Z515, f. 43b, F638, f. 21b and F3488, f. 217b), clearly have farḍ rather than gharaḍ in the printed edition, and we may note that the word farīḍa is used in the Tustarī’s response to this question.} or the knowledge by which it is attained?’ He answered, ‘It is a [kind of] knowledge, which I am calling tranquil repose, and that tranquil repose [in God] leads to certainty (yaqīn). Furthermore, tranquil repose accompanied with certainty is an obligation (farīḍa).’

His words, Exalted is He:

…And if you speak, be just...

He said:

The people of veracity (ṣidq) speak in four ways: they speak in God, through God, for God or with God. There are other people who speak to themselves and for themselves, and so they are preserved from the evil of speech. Yet other people speak about others and forget themselves,^{1That is, they are busy criticising others without attending to the faults in themselves, as is explained in the saying of Rabīʿ b. Khuthaym which follows.} and so they innovate and go astray. Wretched is that which they have produced for themselves! So abandon speech for knowledge, and then only speak when it is necessary, and you will be preserved from the ills of speech. What is meant [by ‘when it is necessary’] is that you should not speak unless you are afraid that you will otherwise fall into sin.

Then he said:

Whoever makes a [false] assumption (ẓann) will be deprived of certainty,^{2The editor of the Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya edition has added the words ẓann al-sūʾ following after ẓann, on the basis of Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, vol. 10, p. 196. However this addition does not conform to any of the MSS.} and whoever speaks about that which does not concern him will be deprived of veracity. Furthermore, whoever occupies his bodily members for other than the sake of God, Exalted is He, will be deprived of scrupulous piety (waraʿ). If a servant is deprived of these three he is ruined. Furthermore, he will be set down in the records as being among the enemies [of God].

Truly, it was related from al-Rabīʿ b. Khuthaym, may God have mercy on him, ⸢that no one ever heard him speak about matters of the world (amr al-dunya). Someone asked him ‘Why do you not mention people (al-nās), may God have mercy on you?’⸣^{3The section in brackets is added on the basis of all three MSS: Z515, f. 44a, F638, f. 21b and F3488, f. 217b–218a.} He replied, ‘I am not satisfied with myself to the extent that I should be done with censuring myself, and turn to the the censure (dhamm) of others. [Yet people] fear God with regard to the sins of His servants, and leap into their own sins.’^{4Referring back to those who criticise others instead of correcting themselves, and those who busy themselves with what is not their concern, also mentioned above. This tradition is cited in Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, vol. 9, p. 52, and in Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-īmān, vol. 5, p. 312, and vol. 6, p. 87, with the difference that in the Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, vol. 9, p. 52 and in Shuʿab al-īmān, vol. 6, p. 57, the tradition ends with the words ‘they feel safe (āminū) regarding their own [sins]’. In Shuʿab vol. 5, p. 312, however, only the first part of the tradition is cited.}

His words, Mighty and Majestic is He:

And that this is My straight path (ṣirāṭ)…

He [Sahl] said:

⸢The path (ṣirāṭ) is⸣ the straight way (ṭarīq mustaqīm), and it is that which does not belong ⸢to the self which holds a share (ḥaẓẓ) or design (murād).^{1That is, the lower self, which wants to claim something (or everything) for itself. The term ḥaẓẓ could also be translated as ‘pleasure’, but Tustarī uses the pair of terms, ḥaẓẓ and murād below in the sense, perhaps, of the self having its own ‘vested interest’ in the heart.}

His words, Exalted is He:

As for those who have divided their religion and broken up into factions…

He [Sahl] said:

They are⸣^{1The section in brackets is added on the basis of MS Z515, f. 44a, F638, f. 21b and F3488, f. 218a. This addition means that verse 159 precedes verse 165, whereas in the printed addition it follows it.} the people of whims (ahwāʾ) and innovations (bidaʿ) in religion. For them there is no form of repentance. Thus, has it been related from the Prophet ﷺ that he said, ‘For every sin there is a form of repentance except for that of the people of whims and innovations, for truly I disown them just as they disown me, and God, Mighty and Majestic is He, has excluded them from repentance (tawba).’^{2Tirmidhī, Nawādir al-uṣūl, vol. 2, p. 245; Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, vol. 4, p. 138.} That is, He has made the way to repentance difficult for them.

His words, Exalted is He:

… Surely your Lord is swift in punishment, and surely He is Forgiving, Merciful.

He [Sahl] said:

This refers to the punishment of the heart which is a cover and veil, so that it [the heart] inclines to that which is other than Him. Furthermore, whenever God looks upon the heart of a servant and finds there that which is other than Him, He empowers his enemy over him. However, He is most forgiving to the one who repents for what he has done.

No harm (maḍār) can be considered a punishment, because it [acts as] a purification and an expiation (kaffāra), except for hardness (qaswa) of the heart, for that in itself is a punishment. External punishments are a torment (ʿadhāb), but the punishments of the heart have different levels,^{1This section had to be rearranged on the basis of the MSS (Z515, f. 44b, F638, f. 22a and F3488, ff. 218a and b). Note that F638 has mathal al-qalb instead of mathal mayl al-qalb.} for the lower self holds a share and a design with regard to the heart.^{2See above, p. 69, n. 29.} [As for the one whose] heart is veiled, God empowers his enemy over him. His heart does not orbit the celestial dominions (malakūt), nor does the divine omnipotence (qudra) manifest itself to him, nor does he witness (yushāhid) God. But as for the one whose heart is hardened, God leaves him to his own devices and means. Truly the tendency of the heart may be compared to the tongue; when a person speaks, he can speak of only one thing [at a time]. Similarly if a heart is full of concern [for something] there is no room for anything along with that. But God knows best.