Chapter on Refuting Those Who Say Envy Can Be in the Limbs
Chapter on the Refutation of Those Who Said That Hasad (Envy) Does Not Harm When It Is in the Qalb (Heart) So Long as One Does Not Manifest It Through an Act of the Limbs, and the Clarification of Its Contradiction to the Generality [of Scholars]
I said: What then is the meaning of al-Hasan's statement when he was asked about envy and said: "It will not harm you so long as you do not act upon it"?
He said: That meaning is correct, because when it grieves him and he counts it [against himself], he only refrains from manifesting it out of his abhorrence of it. So that is what I described to you of repelling [envy] through abhorrence, because the abhorrence is what prevented him from manifesting it. Were it the case that he did not care about manifesting it and it did not grieve him, but he simply found no place and no person to convey it to — as al-Hasan said — and yet he dislikes and is displeased by what God has bestowed upon [the envied person], and wishes for the removal of that from him, then that would be envy, for envy is only in the heart. And if he acts upon it with the tongue or the hand, he would be an even greater envier , as the brothers of Yusuf did to Yusuf.
So when he acts upon it through lying about him, backbiting him, or speaking against him, or falling upon him [with harm] in the presence of those who would accept it from him — depriving him of good from a teacher who instructs him, or a connection that reaches him thereby, or assistance that aids him thereby, or supplicating against him, or causing him harm through the limbs — all of that is not [itself] envy, but rather it is action prompted by envy. Envy impelled him to it until he employed his limbs in what God, Exalted and Majestic, detests regarding the one he envies.
Were this [action] itself the envy, then this act would have been from the servants [equally] out of desire, or fear, or seeking
Thus all of the servants' harm toward one another was envy — some of them toward others — «in the worldly life, all of it envy». So among the servants, some toward others were enviers. No one disobeys in this except with his body; no one speaks of it. As for envy in the qalb (heart), no one perceives it or comprehends it.
He said regarding the enviers: «If a good thing touches you, it grieves them» [Āl ʿImrān 3:120].
And He said: «Those who disbelieve among the People of the Book and the polytheists would not wish that any good be sent down to you from your Lord» [al-Baqara 2:105].
And He said: «A party of the People of the Book wished they could lead you astray» [Āl ʿImrān 3:69].
And He said: «Many of the People of the Book wish they could turn you back to disbelief after your faith, out of envy» [al-Baqara 2:109].
So envy is defined as: the heart's aversion to the good things by which the believers are favored — whether victory, or conquest, or other good — and the desire that their faith be removed from them. Thus God, Exalted and Majestic, attributed envy to the action of the heart, and described it thereby, so it is in the heart, not in the limbs.
If one's nafs (self) rejects acting upon it, and he restrains his limbs from his distress and refrains from manifesting it out of aversion to it, then he has successfully resisted it [TN: i.e., resisted envy] through his exertion against what his nature inclined toward. Even if he is unable to silence his enemy, his nature does not cease contending with him.
Likewise al-Ḥasan said: Because the servant is unable to change his nature nor to silence his enemy. So if his distress occurs and he refrains from indulging it, and refuses to accept it out of aversion to it, then he has negated envy from himself. The restraining of the limbs from employing it — when his self contends with him toward envy — is what God, Exalted and Majestic, prohibited him from.
I have only mentioned this because a group says: Envy only harms when the servant acts upon it.
And he argues with the hadith of al-Hasan — may this be his protection — that envy is of the limbs, not of the qalb (heart). Yet God, exalted and glorified, has indicated to us that it is of the heart, and that employing the limbs in acting upon it is action of the limbs apart from it. Do you not see that God, exalted and glorified, says: «and they find no need in their breasts for what they have been given» [59:9].
By this it is clear to you that envy is in the nafs (soul) apart from the limbs, and that employing the limbs in acting upon it is action of the limbs.
Chapter on the First Deception
Section on Whether Envy Constitutes a Wrong Against the Envied Person
for which accounting is demanded on the Day of Resurrection, when what is due to him is afflicted — or whether it is a sin between him and God, exalted and glorified.
I said: If what I have seen of blessings grieved me, and I wished for their removal, and there descends upon him calamity that removes them — such as wealth departing from him and poverty descending upon him, or health and sickness descending upon him, or well-being and ignorance befalling him, or divine protection and abandonment befalling him, or concealment and the tearing of his veil befalling him, exposing what was concealed — and I then regretted that: does the envied person hold a wrong against me for which I am obligated to seek absolution?
He said: As for what was a deed of the heart while your limbs did not act upon it, that is a sin between you and God, exalted and glorified — you disobeyed Him thereby among His servants, and He forbade you from it and censured it to you. The envied person has no claim in that, and you are not obligated to seek his absolution for it.
But if it went out to backbiting (ghiba) which your envy in your heart incited you toward, or you lied against him, or you plotted against him with a stratagem by which you deprived him of a benefit, or you brought harm upon him, or you took wealth from his property that is not lawful for you — then in such matters and their like, you are obligated to seek absolution.
does not follow the course of wrongs in which there is qisas (retaliatory redress) between the servants in the deeds of the bodily limbs concerning the self, wealth, and honor. And perhaps there is something in which there is no qisas, yet it is a grave sin. As for that which the qalb (heart) did not intend, it is far greater than much of what entails qisas.
And it has come in the hadith:
"Envy devours good deeds just as fire devours firewood."
So if it was by the heart alone, and his engaging in it was by the bodily limbs acting upon it — even if his engaging in it was through envy with the bodily limbs — then backbiting would be out of envy, and lying and striking out of envy, and killing out of envy [damaged]
And that is: all of it is sinful, yet it may be [damaged] [TN: the text appears severely damaged in the final lines; partial readings suggest discussion of ostentation (riya'), love, and related categories of sin, but full reconstruction is not possible from the source].
Book of the Ailing One [damaged] and His Vigilance and His Warning Against Trial (fitna) After His Guidance
I said: How should my conduct be during the hours of night and day, and how do I reckon myself upon [varying] states?
He said: Verily God, exalted and majestic, says: «God takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that have not died» — the verse [39:42].
Ibn Jurayj said: There is a spirit (ruh) and a self (nafs) within the human being, between them in the interior is like a ray of the sun. When God, exalted and majestic, takes the self (nafs), and God, exalted and majestic, withholds his self, the spirit exits from his interior. But if He has not taken it, He sends the self back, and it returns to its place before he awakens.
Ibn Abbas said likewise, except that he said: The self (nafs) is the intellect. Our Lord, exalted and majestic, informed us that He takes the souls during sleep, so wariness regarding that became incumbent upon us, and incumbent upon us in that wariness is purification from sins, and incumbent upon us in purification is that we intend thereby God alone, none other than Him, and our witness [in this is the verse].
And there, then, do not accept a passing thought that calls you to disobey Him, and [observe] the will of God that the veil of disobedience not be torn.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, when he wished to sleep, would say:
"In Your name, O God, I die and I live."
And my father, when he slept, would say upon lying down: "O God, if You have seized my self (nafs), then forgive it and have mercy upon it; and if You have released it, then protect it with that which You protect Your righteous servants."
He fears that he might die in his sleep, so he supplicates for forgiveness should God decree his death in his sleep, and for protection and guidance should he wake alive.
It is therefore incumbent upon the aspiring one who fears God, exalted and glorified, not to feel secure from the suddenness of death in every state, and at the time of his sleep when he sleeps, that he fears dying in his sleep and not rising from it.
When this fear (khawf) takes hold of his heart (qalb) for that reason, it is incumbent upon him to realize it through vigilance — that God, exalted and glorified, may seize his spirit in his sleep while he is persisting upon something God, exalted and glorified, detests: whether committing some of His prohibitions, or squandering some of His rights. So he gives God, glorified be He, regret over what has been from him, and firm resolve upon repentance (tawba), and that if he rises alive in the morning, he will avoid everything that God, exalted and glorified, detests, and fulfill what is obligatory upon him, and restore whatever he is able of wrongful seizures — whether of wealth or unlawful appropriation of honor — to their rightful owners.
If he dies in his sleep, he meets God, exalted and glorified, with his sins forgiven, God willing. And if he rises alive in the morning, his resolve upon repentance serves as an incitement for him toward modesty (haya') before God, exalted and glorified, for the closest a servant can be to the most intense modesty before God, exalted and glorified, is through [such] resolve.
And if he is wise, he should say to his self: "O self, you only made a covenant with God, exalted and glorified, yesterday — are you going to break it at the time of your sleep? Renew the repentance on the coming night if you live."
«Praise be to God who gave me life after He had caused me to die, and to Him is the resurrection» — he would say this when he awoke from his sleep.
«And to my Lord, who caused me to die in my sleep.»
You take hold of yourself with faithfulness, and you remind it of the nearness of the covenant, and you stir it to haya' (modesty) before the Lord, exalted and majestic.
So whenever you sleep, you renew your resolve, and you remember death as a lesson through sleep, for you are like the dead — and God, exalted and majestic, has called it a "passing away" (wafah). And you fear that God, exalted and majestic, may cause you to die in your sleep.
And when you awake in the morning, you remember the resurrection, the raising, and the presentation before God, exalted and majestic — for God, exalted and majestic, has called it a "sending forth" (ba'th), and it resembles it. And the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he awoke, would mention the resurrection and say: «O God, by You I live and by You I die, and to You is the resurrection.»
So when you awake, the first thing with which you begin is the praise of God, exalted and majestic, since He awakened you and did not cause you to die, and you remember the resurrection.
Then when you wish to rise, you take your garment, intending by it covering — as you have been commanded with covering — and out of modesty before God, exalted and majestic, and His angels, and as a concealment from the eyes of the jinn and whoever among humankind is present with you.
and in seeking the pleasure of your Lord, and in repentance. You purify yourself thereby, intending purification by it. Then you take a siwāk (tooth-stick) if you are able. Then you relieve yourself if you need to do so in order to remove discomfort from yourself, lest you pray while it is pushing against you. You follow thereby what was commanded.
When you enter the privy for your need, say as the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to say when he intended the privy: "In the name of God. I seek refuge in God from filth and foul things. I seek refuge in God from the accursed Satan."
When you come out, say as the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to say: "Praise be to God who removed from me what harms me and preserved for me what benefits me."
Then you perform ablution, and you wash your hands, following the sunna (practice) of your Prophet, peace be upon him. You perform istinjā' (cleansing) with your left hand, out of cleanliness, and following the love of your Lord, Mighty and Majestic, for He says: «God loves those who turn in repentance and loves those who purify themselves» [al-Baqara:222] — for it was revealed concerning the people of Qubā', when they performed istinjā' with water.
Then you wash your limbs in fulfillment of the obligation of ablution that your Lord, Mighty and Majestic, has made incumbent upon you, so that you may fulfill the obligation of prayer, which God, Mighty and Majestic, does not accept except with it, and which God, Mighty and Majestic, has made obligatory. And because of the Prophet's saying: "No prayer is accepted without purification." In this there is an indication that with purification it is accepted from one who hopes for the reward of God, Mighty and Majestic.
So let your heart hold fast, from the moment of your fulfilling the obligation, to rajā' (hope) and expectation that God, Mighty and Majestic, will accept your prayer and expiate the sins of your limbs, as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Indeed, what has afflicted the believing servant in the places of ablution of sins is expiated," because he said: "When he washes his hand, whatever sins he has committed are expiated."
[...] persisting in wudu' (ritual ablution), purifying oneself from sins. When you have finished
your ablution, you proceed to your mosque, intending by your coming to the mosque the performance of the prayer, following the sunna (prophetic practice) of your Prophet, in congregation, and assisting the Muslims in performing the obligatory duty, and hoping for the supplication of those who are present with you from among the believers. And [reflect] that you are a visitor to God, Mighty and Glorious, and contemplate by your visit what he said, peace be upon him:
"Whoever comes to the mosque is a visitor of God, and it is the right of the one visited to honor the visitor."
So let us hope that God, Mighty and Glorious, will honor you with His good pleasure toward you and His Paradise.
When you have completed your prayer, consider which is better or more incumbent: remaining in the mosque, or entering your home, or going out to your livelihood, or for an obligatory or voluntary act of righteousness — whichever of these is most fitting for you, then do it.
If you enter your home, then remember the ishfaq (anxious concern) with which God, Mighty and Glorious, described His awliya' (beloved allies) whom God, Mighty and Glorious, granted His nearness and admitted them into His abode. When they settled where they settled in the Abode, they were filled with joy regarding their anxious concern for their families: «Indeed, we were previously among our families, full of anxious concern» [52:26]. So fix anxious concern in your qalb (heart), in hope that God may grant you security through it, to be among those who are anxiously concerned among His awliya' in Paradise. And if anyone among your household requires it, carry out the command of God, Mighty and Glorious, regarding them — that you protect them from the Fire of Hell — as He, Exalted, said: «Protect yourselves and your families from a Fire» [66:6]. It was said in the commentary: discipline them and teach them.
If you wish to go out for a need or to your marketplace, then put forward your intentions before going out, and [resolve] that you will not leave undone anything you are able to do in which you hope to obey God, Mighty and Glorious, whether on your way, in your errand, or in your marketplace — intend it and do it, for your reward is according to your intention.
Have you not heard what Ka'b reported:
"The martyrs are three: A man who goes out in the way of God, expending his wealth, multiplying the congregation of the Muslims with his own self, neither killing nor intending to be killed. Then a stray arrow strikes him and kills him. For that, his sins are forgiven with the first drop that drips from his blood, and he intercedes for seventy of his household.
And a man who goes out in the way of God, expending his wealth, multiplying the congregation of the Muslims with his own self, intending to kill and intending to be killed, yet neither killing nor being killed. Then a stray arrow strikes him and kills him. For that, his rank is with the rank of Abraham, the intimate friend of the Most Merciful, in Paradise.
And a man who goes out in the way of God, expending his own self and his wealth, multiplying the congregation of the Muslims, intending to kill and to be killed. Then a stray arrow strikes him and kills him. For that, he stands in Paradise with his sword drawn, facing the Throne of God, Mighty and Exalted, interceding for whomever he wills—he is not disobeyed." A word, meaning: therein is a firm resolve.
So he equalized among them in their expenditure, their going forth, and the cause of their being killed—all of them were struck by a stray arrow that killed them—yet he favored the second over the first, because the first intended to kill but not to be killed, while the second intended to kill and not to be killed [TN: the text appears partially corrupted here; the intended contrast is in the degrees of willingness to fight and be killed]. And the third was favored over the second because the third intended to kill and to be killed.
And Ka'b said: These are three lines in the Book of God, Mighty and Exalted. He then informed that this is from God, Mighty and Exalted.
And it is also narrated that Ibn al-Mubarak was seen walking on the road to Mecca, and it was said to him, so he said: I ease the burden on the camel and give the mount rest.
So the more you intend, the greater the reward for you. When you go out, whatever you are able to do from what is within the niyya (intention)—if you do it, you are rewarded for your intention and your action; and if you do not do it, you are rewarded for your intention.
So if you go out to your marketplace, and you intend: if you pass by some gatherings, to greet them with peace; and if you see something objectionable (munkar), and you are able to change it, you change it; otherwise, you denounce it with your qalb (heart); and if you pass by something harmful in the road, to remove it from the path.
And you intend, if you meet companions and acquaintances, to greet them with peace and ask them about their condition, for the sake of God, Mighty and Exalted.
The sum of all that is the application of all the branches of faith through niyya (intention), and through action in what one is able to do.
That is to say, you intend for those whom you love for the sake of God, Exalted and Glorious, according to their ranks — whether out of kinship or otherwise —
that you ask him for care on his behalf from you by His command, so that you may be rewarded for your greeting, your inquiry, your attentiveness to him, and your praising God, Exalted and Glorious, for him, as a connection and maintaining of ties of kinship.
And whoever would be pleased that you give him glad tidings, if you were not already attending to him, you intend to greet him so that you may be rewarded for your greeting and your bringing joy upon him.
And whoever it was that you would not expect any pleasure from, and there was some acquaintance between you and him, you greeted him so that you might present him with the opportunity to praise God, Exalted and Glorious, when you ask him — for the sake of reward.
Likewise, it is narrated from Ibn ʿUmar that he said: "I would not go out except to greet and be greeted, and to praise God, Exalted and Glorious."
And al-Fudayl ibn ʿAmr narrated — though the hadith is not fully connected — he said: "The Messenger of God met a man and said: 'How have you arisen this morning?' He said: 'Well.' He said: 'How have you arisen this morning?' He said: 'Well.' He said: 'How have you arisen this morning?' He said: 'In goodness, I praise God.'
He said: 'This is what I wanted.'"
And ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, said to a man: "How are you?" He said: "In goodness, and praise be to God." ʿUmar said:
"This is what I sought from you."
He is informing you that what he desired from him was that he extol God, Exalted and Glorious.
And whoever would be vexed if you turned away from him, and you were not secure that he would disobey God, Exalted and Glorious, on your account — you intend to greet him so that the devil would have no path upon him. Thus you advance your intentions regarding them in this manner.
So whenever you meet any one of them, your qalb (heart) reminds you of whatever intention you had previously set forth. And if you do not recall the intention, the first [intention] suffices you as your recompense, so long as there does not arise in you fear of their blame, or love of their praise, or hope of gaining something from them. If any of that presents itself in your heart, you expel it from your heart and proceed upon your intention, having greeted solely for the sake of God, Exalted and Glorious, alone.
And know that this is a repetition for the sake of intention and a repetition for the sake of reward likewise.
So be cautious beforehand against the occurrence of objection through the promptings of riya' (ostentation), for the enemy, when you encounter someone you greet, causes it to cross your mind that he will look down upon you, or praise you, or treat you coldly. If you greet him, it rushes ahead to your heart to preoccupy you with reckoning the reward in your greeting and your inquiry, so you come to hold as conviction what crossed your mind. Therefore do not reckon impurity in your greeting nor in your inquiry.
So do not fail to intend by your spreading of the greeting of peace in gatherings among the common people the reward and recompense, as the Prophet ﷺ commanded you when he said:
"Spread the greeting of peace among yourselves."
And he said: "Three things, whoever combines them has combined faith: one of them is extending the greeting of peace to all people." And you intend that if someone greets you, you fulfill the obligation by responding,
And a man passed by the Prophet ﷺ and said: "Peace be upon you," and he said: "Ten good deeds." Then another passed and said: "Peace be upon you and the mercy of God," and he said: "Twenty good deeds." Then another passed and said: "Peace be upon you and the mercy of God and His blessings," and the Prophet ﷺ said: "Thirty good deeds." This is narrated by al-Hasan and Makhul from the Prophet ﷺ, except that Makhul said: The Messenger of God ﷺ said: "Thus do people surpass one another."
And you intend that if you are asked about your condition, you praise God, Exalted and Glorified; and if no one greets you and you are not asked about your condition, you will have been rewarded for the prior intention you had brought forward. And if they greet you and you respond, or they ask you about your condition and you answer, your prior intention of seeking reward through them is recalled to you, and so you are rewarded in both intention and action.
And among the detested matters of intentions is that one intends during the exchange of greeting with Muslims the binding of his heart with them along with the removal of what crosses the heart of the whisperings of ill opinion of others, since the greeting of peace facilitates all of that.
"seeking reward without being asked." So if you were heedless and then submitted, or you were asked about your condition and you responded without seeking reward, then [know] that "you are rewarded according to your prior intention," for the saying of God, exalted and majestic, and the statement of the Prophet, peace be upon him:
Whoever intends a good deed (hasana) but does not perform it, it is written for him as a good deed.
So when you are asked, answer with an intellect that reckons for reward. And do not be like one who answers without understanding, nor reckoning for the reward of God, mighty and exalted. For indeed people have let questions pass among themselves without care and without reckoning.
The questioner does not attend [to what he asks] and does not reckon, and the one questioned does not see that he is being asked out of care or reckoning, nor does he comprehend what he is asked about. For when he asks, if he supposed that the one asking him about his condition [does so] out of care for him, to know how his condition is, he would answer him about what he is asked concerning his condition. For if it were said to the sick person: "How did you spend last night?" or "How do we find you?", whatever he answers about his condition—whether by mentioning the blessing of God or by mentioning what he finds of pain—you would not [adequately] understand without that.
For if it were said to him: "How are you?"—and he said: "How [generous] of you to be content with what [little concern] you have shown me!"—that would be because their questioning of him was out of care for him.
As for those in good health, their questioning and their answering is generally without understanding or intellect. A man says to another man: "How have you awakened?" and he says to him: "May God reward you"—[merely acknowledging] the blessing of God, mighty and exalted, upon him. But if the one answering comprehended what he is asked about, he would answer him concerning what he is asked about, by mentioning the blessing [of God].
And God, exalted and glorified, deserves that from him." God, exalted and glorified, alone. So when it is said to you: "How did you wake?" or "How are you?" or "How did you spend your evening?" you say: "Well, and praise be to God."
It is reported from ʿĀ'isha, may God be pleased with her, that she said: "Whoever is asked 'How did you wake?' and replies: 'Well, and praise be to God,' has thereby fulfilled the gratitude (shukr) owed for that day."
And Abū al-Dardā' said: "When a man says in the morning: 'Well, and praise be to God.'"
So you intend to respond with understanding and intellect, seeking reward (muhtasiban) thereby for the recompense of God, exalted and mighty. If you are asked and you respond, your intention that you put forward — that you respond with intellect, seeking reward — suffices you. And if you are not asked, or you are asked and you respond without understanding, you draw upon the intention that you put forward at the time you wished to go out. You also intend that if you see a woman, you lower your gaze, and if you hear idle talk or disobedience to God, exalted and glorified, you do not incline toward it, and you raise your eyes away, and you hear with your ears and smell with your nose — and you are rewarded according to your intention, whether you actually do any of that or not.
And if you intend to come to your marketplace, you also intend, along with these intentions, that you come to your marketplace — whether it is for your livelihood through a craft, or an agency, or anything else — seeking the lawful (ḥalāl), and following the Prophet, peace be upon him, and seeking reward (thawāb) for yourself and your dependents in earning for them, and seeking independence from people, and showing compassion toward the brother and the neighbor, and paying the zakāh and every obligatory right therein. You hope thereby to meet God, exalted and glorified, with your face like the moon on the night of the full moon, as Abū Hurayra reported from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he said:
"Whoever seeks the lawful out of abstaining from begging, and likewise for his dependents, or out of compassion toward his neighbor, shall meet God, exalted and glorified, with his face like the moon on the night of the full moon."
and you intend wara' (scrupulous piety) and you leave every profit, reward, and gain that presents itself to you in your marketplace, even if it be the entire world, if what is presented to you therein involves what Allah, Exalted and Glorious, detests.
And you intend ikhlas (sincerity) in your scrupulousness in your trade, when it becomes apparent to the buyer from you and to the one from whom you buy, whether you deal with him in a craft or otherwise, or as an agent. And you intend helping the Muslim in your trade, if he seeks your assistance through your standing, or your insight, or by other than that, and through your taking heed of the people of the marketplace and what you see in them.
And that you remember Allah, Exalted and Glorious, in the marketplace, seeking reward, on account of what the hadith has conveyed, for indeed Allah, Exalted and Glorious, marvels at the one who remembers Him in the marketplace.
And the hadith also states:
"The one who remembers Allah among the heedless is like one brandishing his sword behind those who flee."
And whoever remembers Allah in the marketplace, he shall have of good deeds the number of every articulate and inarticulate being — meaning: every human and every mute creature.
And the hadith of 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet, peace be upon him, who said:
"Whoever comes to a marketplace and says: 'There is no god but Allah alone, He has no partner, to Him belongs sovereignty and to Him belongs praise, He gives life and causes death, and good is in His hand, and He has power over all things' — Allah shall record for him two million good deeds, and erase from him two million evil deeds, and build for him a house in Paradise."
You say that, and if you are passing through, you remember Allah, Exalted and Glorious, and you observe Him (muraqaba), and you feel shame before Him that anyone wrongs you in your marketplace, and that the effect of what He has distinguished you with from the common people — unlike the ignorant around you — should not be seen upon you. So do not be content with yourself that Allah, Exalted and Glorious, should not see you as one who is mindful of Him, remembering Him, at the time when those who wade [in vain talk] are wading.
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: «It is befitting for the bearer of the Quran to be known by his wara' (scrupulous piety) when people are heedless, by his silence when people engage in idle talk, and by his grief when people mix frivolously. So let the mark of knowledge be upon you before God.» And what is incumbent upon you from his proof is that you form the intention for all these good deeds, so that you profit many good deeds before you gain anything of this world — so that when you go out from your dwelling, you are rewarded for the resolve of your intentions. As Ka'b said regarding the third matter.
Likewise, if you go out in the morning to purchase something for your trade, or to collect a debt owed to you, or to fulfill an obligation upon you, or to buy something for your family, or to sell something you [damaged] — you did not go out except having intended, regarding everything you were able to do and had capacity for, to place your hope in God, Mighty and Glorious, and to beseech Him therein. For God, Mighty and Glorious, will give you according to your hisba (reckoning with God), your hope in Him, and your expectations of His reward.
Likewise, if you intend to go to a scholar, do not neglect what you are able of niyya (intention) and hisba (reckoning with God) regarding acts of obedience. You go out in the morning having intended thereby to follow the command of God, Mighty and Glorious, and His Messenger. Rather, you seek the scholar for that which benefits you in your religion — to seek guidance thereby toward good, or to forbid thereby from evil.
And you hope that God, Mighty and Glorious, will ease for you through your going a path to Paradise, as the hadith has come from the Prophet ﷺ:
"Whoever traverses a path seeking knowledge therein, God will ease for him a path to Paradise."
Likewise, you hope that the angels will lower their wings for you in approval of what you do, as Safwan ibn 'Assal narrated from the Prophet ﷺ, and that you will compete for the circles of dhikr (remembrance of God).
Likewise, you intend to graze in a meadow from the meadows of Paradise, as the hadith has come:
"When you pass by the meadows of Paradise, graze therein." It was said: "And what are the meadows of Paradise?" He said: "The circles of dhikr (remembrance)."
Likewise, giving the greeting of peace to those you meet, and asking of Him as much as you are able.
visiting the sick, or following a funeral procession, or fulfilling the need of a Muslim, or visiting a brother — and likewise.
Do not neglect any of the matters of intentions that knowledge has brought concerning them, so long as it is possible for you to hope in God, Exalted and Glorious, for nothing except what you have intended, reckoned for His reward, and hoped for. If all that you have intended is fulfilled for you, you proceed upon what you have put forward of intentions and reasons for your work. And if what you intended to act upon is not fulfilled for you, God, Exalted and Glorious, will reward you for all of your intentions, because the Prophet — reporting from his Lord, Exalted and Mighty — says:
"God, Exalted and Glorious, says: 'I am as My servant's opinion of Me, so let My servant think of Me whatever he wills.'" Reported from him by Wathila ibn al-Asqa'.
So according to the measure of your good opinion of Him — that He will bestow His grace upon you — you will find Him near and responsive.
Chapter on What the Servant Fears for Himself After His Upholding of God, Exalted and Glorious, Through Excellent Observance (ri'aya) in His Outward and His Inward
I said: So what do you fear after this from the path of working for other than God, Exalted and Glorious?
He said: As long as you remain occupied with yourself, watchfully examining it in light of what I have answered you with, I do not fear for you — except that you may be approached from the direction of sincere counsel and mercy.
For Iblis comes to you from that, and the soul (nafs) contends toward love of them, and its desire pulls you back to what you had abandoned of love of the praise of people and their commendation, from the direction of sincere counsel and mercy toward the servants — while it desires the establishment of status and the honor of leadership — and so it corrupts your work upon you.
Do you not hear what Ka'b ibn Malik narrated from the Prophet ﷺ that he said:
"Two hungry wolves let loose upon a flock of sheep are no more destructive to it than a man's love of wealth and honor are to his religion."
I said: And how is that?
He said: Indeed, the masters of the aspirants (muridun), when they have purified themselves from sins and avoided ostentatious display and nourished themselves
and prevented their hearts from desiring anything other than God, Exalted and Glorious,» he would find no place of covetousness through which ikhlas (sincerity) could be undermined, nor would the nafs (soul) find any place of comfort leading to this world.
So the servant is caught between his ikhlas (sincerity) and his strength,» for he has constricted upon his soul the inclination toward this world due to its desire for it, and the clinging to religion due to its desire for the adornments of the life of this world. So it finds no place of covetousness through which it might find relief toward this world, nor does the enemy find any place of covetousness through which to draw the servant toward this world. Thus the servant is upon resolve and strength,» and the soul, having been subdued, is obedient—without any reversal from its natural disposition—looking out: can it find any place of covetousness to incline toward what it loves? Meanwhile, the servant looks upon people who are struck down in their religion, buffeted by tribulations—bewildered, confused, intoxicated, sick, enfeebled, deaf, blind, dead in spirit.»
And he possesses guidance and knowledge of what God Most High opens for him: that through which He heals the sight of their hearts, and that through which they are cured of the sickness of their hearts, and that through which they are brought to life after their death—with no loss incurred upon him, but rather for him in that is the greatest gain from God, Exalted and Glorious.
His likeness is none other than the likeness of a man who had many ailments that kept him sleepless through his night and restless through his day—like cataracts in the eye, and ulcers in the body—and he is treated with a medicine in which there is no cost, without payment. He is cured of all that, and he recovers: he sleeps at night after long sleeplessness, and finds rest by day after long restlessness, and he arrives at health and well-being, so that his life becomes pleasant through it and his living becomes pure through it.
He then looks upon a number of the Muslims who suffer from ailments like those he had suffered—long in their sleeplessness, severe in their restlessness, their lives wretched. When he looks upon them, mercy stirs in his qalb (heart) toward them, and he recalls that the medicine by which God, Exalted and Glorious, heals their sickness is something he knows and is capable of, without cost or expense. So he resolves upon that and devotes himself to them.
Likewise is this desiring servant: when he looks upon the servants of God, Exalted and Glorious, who are turning away from God, Exalted and Glorious, whose hearts have grown sick and whose ailment is most grievous—while he knows that by which they may be brought to life and that by which they may be raised from their downfall and that by which they may be healed of the sickness of their hearts, by the permission of God, Exalted and Glorious—he resolves upon that and calls them to
them, and He knows their enemies and their enmity against them, and He is patient with them» — God, Exalted and Glorious.
So when the enemy saw that, he found an occasion to call toward the tribulation of leadership, seeking authority, and ostentation (riya') (showing off). And the soul (nafs) found relief, knowing that the servants would not refrain from venerating him, glorifying him, and honoring him. So he spread among them and counseled them against that, while his soul had grown strong, and it rejoiced and found comfort, and the enemy found an occasion to call the soul toward love of their veneration and their honoring. That is because when their repentance and the healing of the diseases of their hearts (qalb) were at his hands, he became more beloved to them than their fathers and their mothers. So they sacrificed for him their bodies and their wealth, and they became to him as servants in devoted service, seeking nearness to God, Exalted and Glorious, through that. They singled him out with the noblest of stations, and they venerated him in greeting, and they honored him and showed him reverence. All of that is the deception of his soul and his enemy, [both saying]: "You are drawing them and stirring their longing toward God, Exalted and Glorious," while the soul had already inclined to most of what it had abandoned of the worldly life. So it will never be free of trials, afflictions, and tests. If any of that is directed back at him — whether in speech or in [damaged] — [damaged].
...lest the disciples be cut off from him, and lest they cease to claim the path of truth.
So anger drove him to attack those who criticized him, lest they be truthful in exposing his fault, and he went out into disobedience against the servants through backslash (ghiba) (backbiting), after having abandoned most of the expansive lawful things.
And if he slackened with a lapse from night vigil prayer or daytime fasting, or if there occurred from him a slip of laughter or the like, the soul became anxious that they would discover his lapse and his negligence, until he forced himself to undertake some of the works. The enemy made it appear to him that he only intended by that that they not slacken and cut off from works. So his soul made him imagine that he was anxious lest they abandon the path by his abandoning it, since he was the path — and so he would abandon the path of the Hereafter.
(1) There is one condition that is not considered a deficiency, which is: that he take his share of refreshing the soul with what is permissible of jesting without excess, and that he restrain himself when facing the common people lest they disobey God through it. Ibrahim ibn Adham used to do this. He would command his students to restrain themselves from jesting, and when a knocker knocked at the door upon them, he jested. His students were amazed, and he said: "I would not like God to be disobeyed in my company and in yours while I remain silent." Al-Muhasibi alluded to this meaning in the chapter on "Bringing Joy to the Believer" from the book A'mal al-Qulub wa al-Jawarih (The Works of the Hearts and the Limbs — our critical edition).
that it is merely self-deception, so that their leadership over them is not disrupted, and they do not turn away from venerating them and honoring them. So he becomes anxious lest they perceive his lapse, until he makes excuses with both lies and truth, as though he was only working for himself, not for his Lord, Glorified and Exalted.
When he does this, he is cut off from God, Glorified and Exalted, and aid is lifted at His guidance, and His protection is withdrawn. He returns bewildered, seeking a way out for his nafs (the self) from where he does not realize, not examining what has appeared in him and the verification of what he calls to, lest his leadership be removed and his station be lost through pretense. So he returns to the disobediences of God, Glorified and Exalted, and thus the entirety of his acts of obedience become for other than God, Glorified and Exalted.
So he remains in this world a liar, calling the servants to God, Glorified and Exalted, while he himself is fleeing from Him, and remembering God while forgetting Him, Glorified and Exalted. He outwardly displays zuhd (renunciation) of this world while he has in fact desired it, and inwardly has devoted himself to building it up. He endears himself to them by what is apparent while making himself hateful to God, Glorified and Exalted, by what he conceals. He displays to the servants his devotion to God, Glorified and Exalted, while inwardly he is turned away from Him.
So we seek refuge in God from bewilderment after right guidance, from blindness after sight, and from turning away from God after turning toward Him. And we ask Him for safety and assistance upon what He loves and is pleased with.
I said: From where then is it correct for the aspiring servant to give sincere counsel to the servants, when the matter is as you have described?
He said: I fear for you if you are not truthful with God, Glorified and Exalted.
I said: When is it correct for me to give sincere counsel without deviation?
He said: When you have recognized for yourself that God, Glorified and Exalted, has power over you, and the affair of created beings has become small in your estimation, and the prevailing state upon you is the expulsion of thoughts of their praise and their blame, and covetousness for what is in their hands, and you have reproached your self for their faults in that for which God would praise you, without any disobedience to God, Glorified and Exalted, being in you — and yaqin (certainty) in the decreed prevailed upon your qalb (heart), and their covetousness departed from your heart, and you resolved upon
after knowledge from you of what rectifies them from the Book of your Lord, Mighty and Glorious, and sixty-some counsels of sincere advice. So counsel them sincerely, and beware that your natural disposition overwhelm you.
Every passing thought that calls you to aversion of blame, or love of praise, or covetousness for worldly gain — repel it from yourself, even if it is made to seem to you that you are thereby drawing them [to good]. For that is a deception: you seek their salvation through your own destruction while you suppose that you are safe. If you are strengthened with this strength and you examine these passing thoughts and do not accept them, and you do not become angry that someone belittles anything of your right, or that they rebuke you — then refer the matter to God, Mighty and Glorious, and be content with what has been decreed for you. Know that what you demand of the right of God, Mighty and Glorious, in praise and commendation — as a substitute for their praise and the removal of their blame, and covetousness for what is in their hands — along with the fact that they are unable to convey to you what He has not decreed for you, and they do not glorify you except by what God, Mighty and Glorious, casts into their hearts — [know that you should be] content with the sustenance of God, Mighty and Glorious, alone and with His glorification, unconcerned with their blame in that for which God, Mighty and Glorious, praises [you], not seeking from them reward or honor, content with what you hope for from God, Mighty and Glorious, of reward in this world and the Hereafter. So counsel them sincerely, and fear abandoning the realization by action of what you say. Beware, then beware again, and seek assistance from God, Mighty and Glorious, and place your trust in Him (tawakkul).
There is no power except through God, from Him is protection (ʿiṣma), and upon Him is reliance. We ask Him for the completion of His blessings upon us through His mercy.
The book is completed by the glory of God, His grace, His will, and His aid. May God send blessings upon the Unlettered Prophet Muhammad, his family, and grant peace. May God have mercy on whoever transcribed it, whoever reads it and acts by what is in it, and upon all the Muslims, by the mercy of God — indeed He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. The completion thereof was on the tenth of Dhū al-Qaʿda in the year nine hundred and [damaged].
Concluding Verification
In the name of God, His aid, and His good pleasure, the verification of the book al-Ri'āya li-Ḥuqūq Allāh (Observance of the Rights of God) has been completed, as the reader can see that the legacy of Imam al-Muḥāsibī represents a summit of Islamic thought in every matter of concern regarding the nafs (self) in pure Islam.
With this book, I will have encompassed the verified heritage of al-Muḥāsibī, with the exception of the book Fahm al-Qur'ān (Understanding the Quran) and Akhlāq al-Ḥakīm (The Ethics of the Wise), which we have not been able to locate. We beseech God Most High to guide us to their sources.
Likewise, there remain from his heritage several epistles whose sections we are investigating, that they may come to light, God willing, by the aid of God Most High.
And thereby — if God Most High wills — there shall appear in the Islamic library a complete body of work for a man who left his mark upon all of Islamic behavioral culture after him, such that you will not see any writer after him except that he revolves around his themes, expanding and deepening them — not least Imam al-Ghazālī.
His heritage is also considered a true standard for the Salafī Sufism that directs itself in a direct orientation toward the service of the rites of God and the service of true knowledge of Him, without excess or neglect.
We do not claim perfection in the work, so whoever sees a shortcoming, let him pardon. Likewise, we did not see it necessary to call for the verification of the chains of the hadiths cited in the book, for all of them do not depart from the sphere of soundness and excellence. Moreover, al-Muḥāsibī is among the early authorities to whom others trace their narrations, while his own narrations do not trace back to anyone.
Had we undertaken to trace his words and ideas back to their sources in the sayings of the preceding prophets, the Sunna of the Prophet ﷺ —
...the Book in the statements of the Companions and the Followers, then in any case one should refer to the book al-Zuhd (renunciation of the world) by Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, along with the additions of his son ʿAbd Allah, and al-Zuhd by ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubarak, which shows us the extent of al-Muhasibi's comprehensive absorption of the traditions of the prophets and the predecessors, his deep understanding of them, and his being influenced by them.
We ask God that He make it purely for His countenance, and that He pardon us for the passing thoughts that assail us when our inclination draws us toward love of the self (nafs), and that He benefit the lands and the servants through it.
...Indeed He is near, answering supplications.
ʿAbd al-Qadir Ahmad ʿAta