His words, Exalted is He:

By the sky and the night-visitor! ( The star of piercing brightness.)

He said:

The sky (samāʾ) linguistically means loftiness (sumuww) and elevation (ʿuluww). In its inner meaning it refers to the spirit of Muḥammad ﷺ, which subsists with the Lord of Might.^{1Böwering has ‘standing before the Lord of Might’ which he understands to be a reference back to Muḥammad’s pre-eternal time standing alone before God. See above the note to Tustarī’s commentary on 7:172 and 53:13.} And the night-visitor (ṭāriq) is the star of piercing brightness [86:3], which refers to his heart, that is resplendent (mushriq) with the realisation of God’s oneness (tawḥīd), the upholding of His Transcendence (tanzīh), constancy in practices of remembrance (mudāwamat al-adhkār), and in contemplative witnessing of the Compeller (al-Jabbār).

On another occasion he said:

That which is piercing is the heart of the believer, that is, it is resplendent (mushriq), purified of uncertainty (shakk), doubt (rayb) and misgiving which the whispering of the Enemy and the natural self (nafs al-ṭabʿ) might stir up in it.^{2That is, translating ḥarraka ʿalayhi according to all three MSS: Z515, f. 131b, F3488, f. 314a (in F638, f. 34b, the kāf is just visible), instead of jarat ʿalayhi in the published edition.}

His words, Exalted is He:

Over every soul there is a keeper.

That is, over the natural self there is a keeper [which comes from] God’s protection (ʿiṣma).

His words, Exalted is He:

on the day when [all] secrets are examined, whereat he will have no strength, nor any helper.

He said:

That is, He will reveal the intentions (nīyāt) with which they worshipped God by [performing] that which God made incumbent upon them, and [refraining] from that which He forbade them. Truly, [the value of] the deeds of all servants on the Day of Resurrection will wholly depend upon their aims (maqāṣid).^{1In other words, on their intentions. Compare the famous ḥadīth on the importance of intention (nīya): ‘Actions are but by intention and every man shall have but that which he intended. Thus he whose migration was for Allah and His Messenger, his migration was for Allah and His Messenger, and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his migration was for that for which he migrated’. See Nawawī, Forty Hadith, pp. 26–7.}

Rabīʿ used to say, ‘The secrets which are concealed from [other] people belong to God and are clearly visible [to Him]. So seek out their remedy!’ Then he added, ‘What is their remedy? It is to repent and never return [to that sin].’^{2The implication is that the secrets are sins which are to be concealed from others. See above the commentary on 83:1. The tradition is listed in Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-īmān, vol. 5, p. 459.}

Then Sahl said:

The weapon (āla) of the dervish is in three things: fulfilling his [religious] obligation[s] (farḍ), preserving his neediness [for God] (faqr), and keeping his secret (sirr).^{3It is not entirely clear what is meant by ‘secret’ here, but, given the context, it probably has the same meaning as that referred to in the previous footnote.}

His words, Exalted is He:

By the heaven and its returning, and [by] the earth that cracks open,

He said:

In its outward meaning it [vs. 11] means [the sky] which repeatedly brings forth rain after rain; and [by] the earth that cracks open [outwardly means] through [the growth of] plants (bi’l-nabāt). In its inner meaning, [vs. 11] refers to the heart which returns to a state of regret (nadam) after sinning, while the earth that cracks open [inwardly refers to] the ⸢lower self ⸣,^{1The addition was made on the basis of all three MSS: Z515, f. 132a, F638, f. 64b and F3488, f. 314b.} which is cracked open^{2i.e. subdued.} through acts of conformity, in deeds and words.

His words, Exalted is He:

and I [too] am devising a scheme.

He said:

In this world, His scheme (kayd) against them is His allowing them to descend, little by little (istidrāj),^{1On istidrāj see above Tustarī’s commentary on 2:41, and p. 20, n. 48 his commentary on 3:8 and p. 42, n. 10, 4:142 and p. 57, n. 26.} and to remain in their delusion (ightirār); and in the Hereafter, it is the bitter regret they will be made to feel when they look upon the generous treatment (ikrām) and honour (iʿzāz) that those who professed His oneness [enjoy].