Chapter on What the Heart Must Hold Fast to from Self-Knowledge

Has it drawn near to you, and have you been tested by it?

And how can there come from it what you refuse and do not desire — except with the aversion and dislike of the Lord? For it is the one whose destruction came from the direction of its caprice, and that the One who entered it into opposition to the good counsel of its God

[damaged]

and the like of that — stubbornness and denial —

that he does not see in what lies ahead any trace of al-mann (bestowing favor), self-aggrandizement, and resting content in reliance upon the one who bestows such favor; and that the qalb (heart) must hold fast to despair of it, and the obligation of blaming it and being wary of it and suspecting it and abandoning tranquil reliance upon it;

because he has seen what has passed of its deeds, none of which merited that in his estimation after what he knew of it and saw of it. And he knew — exalted and majestic is his Lord — from the traces of His gracious favor what merited al-raja' (hope) and al-shukr (gratitude) and husn al-zann (good opinion) of Him, when the resolve of tawba (repentance) became sincere in his heart after objecting to his sins in what had passed of his life, and He removed self-admiration from his heart, and He made his heart hold fast to good opinion of his Lord. So at that point he is a repenter who has desisted, turning back in penitence, humble, confessing and acknowledging that his repentance was by the enabling grace of God, not by his own strength. And thereby he becomes deserving of increase from God Most High, for He said: «If you are grateful, I will surely increase you» [14:7].

And in the exegesis:

"I will increase you of My obedience."

Chapter on What the Heart Must Hold Fast to Regarding Knowledge of the Soul, and Knowledge of the Flaws from Which Comes the Breaking of the Resolve for Obedience, and Concern for Vigilance and Wariness through the Rectification of Repentance

I said:

And what is that which is most fitting for him to make his heart hold fast to after that?

[It is] that he know that God Most High is the one testing him in what lies ahead of his life, and that his enemy has not died, and that his natural disposition remains standing and has not changed or shifted, and that the world with its adornments and its detested things has not changed, and that he

He will never attain the fulfillment of observance of the rights of God Most High (ri'aya) along with these causes that remove one from obedience and bring about trial (fitna), except by awakening from heedlessness (ghafla), by remembrance (dhikr) against forgetfulness, and that this is not obtained except through attentiveness (ihtimam) and vigilance (hadhar).

I said: Attentiveness to what?

He said: Attentiveness to fulfilling one's resolve ('azm), and vigilance against the breaking of one's resolve.

I said: What is it that breaks one's resolve, such that there would be vigilance against it, and his qalb (heart) would hold fast to that vigilance?

He said: That his heart hold fast to vigilance against six traits (khilal), by which one's resolve is broken, and which are what remove him from fulfilling the resolve made to his Lord Most High. The avoidance of these is how fulfillment of the resolve made to his Lord Most High is achieved:

The first is that he be vigilant against returning to a sin he had resolved to abandon, out of fear that his nafs (soul) may overpower him with its caprice (hawa) during his heedlessness and forgetfulness, so that he returns to it because of whatever desire has been aroused . For indeed the servant may abandon what his soul craves for the sake of God, Mighty and Majestic, but then his desire for it brings him back to resuming it. Have you not heard the saying of Wahb: "Blessed is the one whose desire does not overpower him and whose craving does not draw him back!"

The second is that there be a sin that has passed in his lifetime, which caprice and desire had concealed from him during his state of repentance (tawba), and then he comes to recognize it regarding what lies ahead. So he is granted remorse over it and the resolve not to return to it, and he is vigilant lest the soul return to its habits and to the pursuit of its caprice and its pleasure during times of his heedlessness, while he has no awareness of it and thus inclines toward it. Rather, he watches for when the soul exposes itself to pursuit through the resumption of its habits, and he recognizes this when he is mindful and firmly established.

The third is that a sin he has not previously committed present itself to him from what lies ahead in his lifetime. For when the soul is prevented from certain doors of desires, it seeks other desires to which it may find comfort as a substitute for the desires and pleasures that have been cut off from it.

The fourth is the right of God, Mighty and Majestic, in that which He has made obligatory to act upon, toward which he had been humble, and God granted him the resolve to fulfill it for God Most High. So he is vigilant against squandering it in what lies ahead of his lifetime, in anticipation of

something disliked due to fatigue, or being occupied away from the comfort of this world, or one who lowers his standing among people, or their inferring from him frivolity — such as commanding the right (al-amr bi'l-ma'ruf) and forbidding the wrong (al-nahy 'an al-munkar), and such as seeking the lawful (halal) and the like, and upholding the rights of God Most High in what opposes the desires of the servants.

The fifth: That there may be a right belonging to God, Exalted and Majestic, that he has squandered — woe for what has passed of his life! — the nafs (soul) detesting to fulfill it, and its caprice seeking comfort in abandoning it. So whatever he comes to recognize during his state of tawba (repentance), let him beware that the soul will revert to its habit of squandering the right of its Lord. So let him put forth caution, that he may be attentive to any occasion for it.

The sixth: That he may be tested and tried with a right he was not previously afflicted with and which was not obligatory upon him — such as dependents. So when his heart commits itself to caution regarding these six matters, then concern awakens vigilance, and vigilance invites remembrance (dhikr), and by remembrance one attains steadfastness (tathabbut), and by steadfastness one attains discernment (tafaqqud), and by discernment through knowledge there becomes clear to him what God Most High dislikes of what he loved. And by discrimination together with khawf (fear), he distinguishes what his Lord, Exalted and Majestic, dislikes from what He loves. And by discrimination together with fear, he becomes one who is God-fearing (muttaqī), fulfilling his obligations.

A Chapter on Knowing Whether Caution and Concern Grant One What Lies Ahead in His Life

What is the proof of that?

I said: So caution and concern — if his heart commits itself to them, will they awaken him regarding what lies ahead of his life?

He said: Yes.

I said: What is the proof of that?

He said: The proof of that is that a servant may sleep many nights and not awaken except near the time of the dawn prayer or after it. But when a need from among worldly needs presents itself to him, he becomes concerned that he might sleep through it, and fears that it will pass him by if he does not rise early. So when he sleeps with concern for rising, and his heart has committed itself to caution lest sleep carry him away and he miss the early morning, he awakens multiple times during the night at times other than the time he had set for himself. The caution and concern that were in his heart stirred him even though he was asleep. So when concern and caution were

So it is more fitting that his intellect be awakened for the matter of the Hereafter while he is awake and not asleep, his intellect not having departed in sleep — rather than his intellect being awakened for the matter of this world and alerting him after he had slept and his intellect had departed.

What a difference between the two things sought! This one seeks something paltry, perishing, muddied by sorrows, griefs, and ailments; and what comes after it is concluded by death; and what comes after death, he looks into it after his pleasure and benefit have departed, and the questioning before God Most High regarding it remains — until he is asked about it: what did he do with it? Either the right is established against him or punishment is upon him. And with all these turbid causes in this world and the Hereafter, he will obtain from it only what was decreed for him.

And this one strives to seek what is abundant, remaining, never perishing, together with an excellent abode and a life in which there is no illness or ailment, and sorrows, griefs, and anxieties are lifted from him. It is never sealed with death ever, and there is no reckoning in it nor any consequence upon him, and the Master is pleased with him, and he is joyful, turning amid the blessings of the Hereafter, remaining therein forever. He does not wish for anything except that his wish is fulfilled therein. And blessings in which he never fears loss — a life in which there is no death. A neighbor of the Most High, the Holy King in His abode — he does not fear His displeasure after His good pleasure. Then what He was pleased to grant him through that is truly his due: He perfected that for him with the utmost honor, and drew him near to Himself in visitation, and fulfilled for him what He promised of the vision and gazing upon the noble Face of Him, Exalted and Majestic, for He, Majestic is He who says: «Indeed, the God-fearing shall be amid gardens and rivers, in a seat of truth, near an Omnipotent Sovereign».

How magnificent is the assembly with which He honored him! And how noble is what He bestowed upon him — visitor and visited, gazer and gazed upon, one approached and one approaching, turning amid His bliss and His delights, and gazing upon His Face, Exalted and Majestic. What a difference between the two concerns! And what a difference between the two ends!

If this sleeper is awakened by his concern for this perishing, diminished, turbid thing after the departure of his intellect, then one who possesses understanding for the remaining, sound thing — together with the caution against its loss along with the descent into painful punishment — is more fitting that his intellect be awakened for him, and it does not depart in sleep. So when he is concerned, he is cautious; and when he is cautious, he is awakened; and when he is awakened, he remembers; and when he remembers, he investigates; and when he investigates, he verifies; and when he verifies, he looks with light — and that is the blind one who has gained sight. And when

Chapter on Knowing When to Be Steadfast and at What Point

I said: At what point does one become steadfast?

He said: One becomes steadfast when the nafs (the self) and the enemy call him to an act, and he examines what they call him to — is it something that God, exalted and majestic, has disapproved of, or something that wara' (scrupulous piety) requires, or something He loves? — lest any one of these considerations be hidden from him. For these are the trials of the self that confront him through its contention toward them. If a sin presents itself to him that he was resolved to abandon for God's sake, he frightens his self so that it might turn back. «Whatever was abandoned for the sake of God, Most High» — God, Most High, would name him a betrayer and a breaker of covenants. He urges the self to abandon the sin that presented itself to it, so that God, exalted and majestic, would name him as one who fulfills [his covenant], and He would judge him accordingly — and the ruling of the truthful, the faithful, would apply to him: «those who fulfill their covenants» and who carry through «on their resolves». [33:23]

If his self then proves stubborn at that point, the remembrance of khawf (fear) stirs up concerning the consequence of the Hereafter — that he would meet God as a breaker of covenants, a liar, not a penitent — and he did not fulfill his resolve regarding what angers his Lord. He frightens his self with the judgment that will be rendered against it for that before God, Most High, and with His gaze upon it with contempt in that station. It is not long before the bitterness of remembering the punishment overwhelms, and the fear of contempt in the immediate present overwhelms the sweetness of the self's inclinations toward its comfort and its desires.

A servant may do this regarding the consequence of an evil worldly matter: the food most beloved to him is presented before him, and when he recalls harm in it — from heat, or cold, or something else — he refrains from it. If his self stirs and calls him to eat it, it reminds him of the evil of its consequence and the agitation of pain after its pleasure and sweetness have passed. The bitterness of remembering the evil consequence of that food extinguishes the sweetness of hastening toward its pleasure, and so he abandons it on account of the evil consequence of a few days of illness. If eating or leaving that food was decreed for him and destined, it would befall him; and if it was not decreed for him, it would not befall him — whether he ate it or left it.

So this which presented itself — the sin — and the remembrance of the evil consequence in the Hereafter is more fitting [to cause him to refrain].

The bitterness of evil consequences extinguishes the sweetness of the pleasure of desire, because he fears an evil consequence that is permanent, causing great harm that his body cannot endure and his patience cannot withstand, even if He spares him — he will not be saved from it. For the harm of this world may be averted without caution and without wariness, but the harm of the Hereafter is not averted except through wariness.

If the evil consequence of a day or two extinguishes the sweetness of hastening to the food most beloved to him, then the evil consequence of eternal punishment, together with shame before God (Most High) and His gaze upon him , is worthier of extinguishing the sweetness of the desire to sin.

And if a sin presents itself to him from what was hidden behind the veil of caprice (hawā) and desire (shahwa), such that he does not recognize it in the state of his tawba (repentance), he resolves to abandon it, since God alone alerted him to it before He takes his soul upon it. And if a sin presents itself to him while he is in his sin, let him consider the final outcome (khātima), for if it befalls him, it may be sealed for him as the seal of the wretched at the end of his life. He is not secure that it might be from him, and it would be sealed for him as the seal of wretchedness and perdition.

And if a right owed to God, Mighty and Glorious , presents itself to him — one he had previously neglected — he it and resolves to fulfill it. Let him frighten his soul against returning to its neglect, lest he break his promise and violate his resolve to fulfill it, and his name would then be before God, Mighty and Glorious, as a betrayer and a breaker of promises. And let him encourage his nafs (soul) to fulfill it by considering the gaze of God, Mighty and Glorious, with pleasure toward him, and that God, Mighty and Glorious, would name him faithful, and decree for him ṣidq (truthfulness).

For he has heard that God named with lying and breaking of promises, and made punishment incumbent upon the one who covenanted with Him and resolved upon His obedience but did not fulfill it. He said:

their hearts will never be free from nifāq (hypocrisy), because what He bestowed upon them came from His grace and would not have diminished [His grace], yet they were stingy with it.

«So when He gave them of His grace, they were stingy with it and turned away, being averse».

And in the exegesis, from Mujāhid: it was about two men who went out seeking sustenance among the people, and they said: "If God gives us of His grace, we shall surely give in charity."

And Ma'bad ibn Thābit said: "It is something they said within themselves" — have you not heard the saying of the Most High: «He knows their secrets and their private conversations»? So God, Blessed and Exalted, said: «So when He gave them of His grace, they were stingy with it and turned away, being averse» — to His saying, Most High: «and because they used to lie».

So God, Mighty and Glorious, named them thus, since they did not fulfill their resolve, breaking their promise, lying to Him. And He affixed hypocrisy to their hearts, and they remained upon that until they died. So He punished them with a punishment from which they would never succeed thereafter, and they would not attain repentance for what angers their Lord, Mighty and Glorious.

Now, when God, Mighty and Glorious, intends to grant a servant felicity, and that servant has broken a promise, He does not punish him at the end of his life, because He punishes whom He wills and pardons whom He wills, so He causes his soul to fear the punishment. And if he had previously made a covenant and then broken it, he hopes from his soul for repentance and pardon, and he renews his resolve toward faithfulness, and he reminds himself of what God, Mighty and Glorious, named him (by), and that is His saying — exalted is His praise: «Among the believers are men who were true to what they covenanted with God; among them are those who have fulfilled their vow».

He said: The first testimony that the Messenger of God ﷺ witnessed for him — I testify that there is no god but God — and he said regarding:

fighting alongside the Messenger of God ﷺ against Quraysh, after:

Today God Most High has made clear to us what I shall do.

And he said other than that.

Sa'd ibn Mu'adh said: "I went to face him." He said: "O Sa'd, where to? Indeed, by God, I find the fragrance of Paradise!" So he advanced and fought at Uhud until he was killed, and he was struck with some wounds — [between] a blow of the sword, a thrust of the spear, and a shot of an arrow — so that his sister could not recognize him except by his garments. Then the verse was revealed: «Among the believers are men who have been true to what they pledged to God. Among them are those who have fulfilled their vow» [33:23] — meaning his covenant — that is, sadiq (truthful), standing firm with the right of God, Mighty and Glorious, and one of them is he who waits for His encounter, so that he dies upon his sidq (truthfulness) and fulfillment of his covenant.

And the Prophet ﷺ passed by Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr while he was slain, fallen upon his face, and he recited: «Among the believers are men who have been true to what they pledged to God» [33:23].

Mujahid said: al-nahb is the covenant.

And it is also cited that the Prophet ﷺ passed by Talha, and he said: "This is one who has fulfilled his vow."

So he recalls to his nafs (self) what it has said, and what God Most High has said, and what has come to ill effect from its falsehood and failure to fulfill its resolve, and what has come to good effect from its truthfulness and fulfillment of its resolve.

And if the self holds back and standing firm in that right weighs heavy upon it, he reminds it of the reward of God Most High, and what he hopes for of the blessings of the Hereafter if he stands firm in that right, and the hope of the pleasure of God, Mighty and Glorious, and the joy, and security on the day of fears and sorrows, and the perpetuity of bliss that never ceases in the nearness of God, Mighty and Glorious, and gazing upon His Noble, Most High countenance — so that by the remembrance of the sweetness of reward he may extinguish the bitterness of standing firm.

lightens upon the soul what weighs heavy upon it of undertaking that through the right, and (the reward) lightens the remembrance of the sweetness of the reward through that right. This is well known among the people of this world: no worker among the works of this world, nor anyone else, and no merchant among the merchants of this world finds the toil and burden light upon him except for what he hopes of the reward. So the trial and its dust—his pleasure is in the toil and his grief is in rest, for the sweetness of the wages, and indeed the toil is painful to him and indeed rest is agreeable to him, but he chose exertion over rest because of what he hopes of the wages. Even if his wage were small while the one who hired him (were) faithful and generous, then when he remembers the smallness of the wage, he finds the work burdensome. But when he remembers that the one who hired him is generous and will not wrong him, the work becomes light upon him. And when the wage is great while the one who hired him is not safe from wronging him, then whenever he remembers what he fears of being wronged by him, he finds the work arduous. But when the wage is great and the one who hired him is [generous and faithful], the work becomes light upon him and no heaviness of it falls upon his heart, and he does his work with energy and lightness. There is no employer more generous than God, and no wage greater than Paradise.

Likewise the merchants among the people of this world: neither heat nor cold nor rains nor fear of thieves nor wild beasts cut them off from their travel, because of the sweetness of what they hope of profits.

So the worker for God and the merchant for Him—it is more fitting that the work become light upon him when he remembers the profit that does not cease, and He gives abundantly.

And this is in general, because the merchants of this world only hope for something of the kind of this world and its substance, while God—exalted and glorified—does not reward the works of religion from the kind of this world nor from its substance, and He is not pleased for them with a profit of dirhams and dinars, for that is of the kind of this world and its substance. Rather, they fall short of the rubies, emeralds, and pearls in the abode that does not perish, whose soil is musk and saffron, along with the passing away [of the two abodes]

sorrows never pass through their hearts, and griefs never occur to their hearts by any word ever, and joy and gladness never depart from their hearts ever.

When this servant recalls the sweetness of this reward, together with the remembrance of the gaze of the Generous, the Bountiful upon him — while he is one who struggles against his nafs (soul) in the throes of his desires — and he hopes that He will look upon him in that state and be pleased with him, this necessitates for him everlasting abode in His dwelling and security from His punishment. Thereby, standing in that truth becomes light upon him.

And if a right belonging to his Lord, Exalted and Majestic, is presented to him — one that he had already neglected, its neglect being concealed by the soul's aversion to fulfilling it and its desire for comfort in abandoning it —

when his discernment awakens him to it before he dies, while he is in a position to fulfill the right of his Lord, Mighty and Exalted, then His anger descends upon him thereby, and His punishment.

And if a right is presented to him with which he is tested at the end of his life, and it becomes incumbent upon him for God's sake what God had not previously made incumbent upon him, and fulfilling it weighs heavily upon his soul, he urges his soul to fulfill it, hoping that it may be something that He has stored up for him, and that He only made it incumbent upon him at the end of his life so that he may thereby merit the pleasure of God, and so that He may seal for him with the seal of the felicitous. But if the soul recoils from fulfilling it out of fear of the seal of the wretched — and that it was only delayed for that purpose — have you not heard the saying of Mutarrif: "Verily, the good deed is heaviest upon you while you are performing it, but when you finish it, its heaviness departs and its joy remains."

So let him recall the pleasure of God in standing to fulfill it, and when he reads it before God and sees its reward, and recalls His recompense, and fears His anger over its neglect, fulfilling it becomes light upon him.

When he is purified of these faults through tawba (repentance), then his repentance is sound, and he is equal to the one whose soul did not resist him at the time of repentance and who had no need to seek fear through intimidation. And none of his sins weigh upon him so as to become incumbent.