Chapter on What Has Been Said About the Signs of Sincere Humility Before God
«so seek reward from God, Almighty and Glorious» — and if your state changes from the first condition, strive to conceal it from them. And beware of His displeasure (maqt) regarding that, and of the disgrace tomorrow that He expose your concealment before those who used to think well of you in sidq (truthfulness) and ikhlas (sincerity).
Listen to what Wahb narrated: that one of the three who debated with Ayyub, upon him be the peace and blessings of God, said:
"O Ayyub, did you not know that a servant may be led astray by his outward display through which he defends himself, while his secret departs from it?"
And among their sayings is the statement of some of them: "I seek refuge in You that people see me fearing You while You hold me in displeasure."
And among the supplications of al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him:
"O God, I seek refuge in You that my outward appearance be radiant to the eyes while my inner self (sarira) be ugly before You in what is hidden from me; that I preserve myself before people through ostentation (riya') while I squander that which You are aware of in me; that I display the good of my traces to people while I present to You the worst of my deeds — seeking nearness to people through my good deeds and fleeing from them to You with my evil deeds — so that Your displeasure settles upon me and Your anger descends upon me. Protect me from that, O Most Merciful of the merciful."
And beware of displeasure and disgrace in the Hereafter, the loss of standing before God, Almighty and Glorious, and the deprivation of rescue — for whoever treats lightly God's gaze upon him, Almighty and Glorious, becomes insignificant before God, Almighty and Glorious, regarding the answering of supplication.
Have you not listened to what Wahb ibn Munabbih, may God have mercy on him, narrates: that one of the three said to Ayyub: "O Ayyub, did you not know that those who preserved their outward appearance while they squandered their inner secrets (sara'ir) — when needs are sought before the Most Merciful, Almighty and Glorious, the faces of those people will be blackened with rejection?"
Chapter on What They Said Regarding the Sign of the Truthfulness of the One Humble Before God, Almighty and Glorious, When the Eyes of the Servants Observe Him
I say: What is the sign of the truthful one in what he manifests of khushu' (humility) and khawf (fear) when the eyes of the servants observe him?
He said: The truthful one, before their gazes overcome him, is not free from being in one of two states: either he is in a state of khushūʿ (humility) or he is not in a state of humility.
The sign of his truthfulness in that is that if all the servants were to observe him, he would not change from the state he is upon. He would not shift from a state in which he was not humble to humility, nor would he increase in his humility, nor would he be pleased by their observation of his humility, if he was humble before their gazes overcame him, on account of their observation — except that there is present in him a truthfulness from his qalb (heart) that bears witness that God, Almighty and Glorious, has already protected his heart from what stirs it: remembrance of God, Almighty and Glorious, or remembrance of the Hereafter, or wariness of them if they were among those he should be wary of. So he becomes humble, lest he look at them toward what distracts him; or he fears, if he does not show humility, a withdrawal from them, and if they become at ease with him and he becomes at ease with them, with a boldness that is not safe for his religion; or out of hatred for their sake for the sake of God, Almighty and Glorious, and out of awe of God, Almighty and Glorious, that he should look at them, since he knows them by disobedience to his Lord, Almighty and Glorious; or out of reverence and awe for them for the sake of God, Almighty and Glorious, if they were deserving of that.
And along with that, he finds a generosity in himself that if this remembrance that stirred from his heart had stirred without them seeing him, he would have been humble in it.
That, then, is a sign of the truthful one in his humility, and a sign of his truthfulness from his heart, along with wariness of himself that his heart might change, inclining him toward affectation after truthfulness. So wariness of himself is dominant over his heart, and when it is thus, humility comes from him as though no one observes him except God, Almighty and Glorious, turning about in his humility as though there is no one else on the earth — only passing thoughts that occur with weakness, which the heart repels with truthfulness, and it grows strong in reverence and fear of God, Almighty and Glorious.
When he is thus, he is not in obedience nor in a permissible act and yet changes; he shifts only for the sake of the observation of his Lord, Almighty and Glorious, seeking His good pleasure, and in aspiration for what is with Him of abundant reward, tranquil living, abundant blessings, and the abode of permanence.