O Son
by
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
Translated into English by
George O' Schraer
THE TRANSLATION
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Praise unto Allah, the lord of the worlds and the good issue to the pious, and peace and blessings upon his prophet Mohammed and all of his family.
Know that a certain advanced student attended zealously to the service of the Shaykh, the Imam, the ornament of religion, the proof of Islam, Abu Hamid Muhammad bin Mohammed al-Ghazali, may Allah sanctify his soul, and labored in the acquisition and reading of sciences until he had assembled the minutes of the sciences and had perfected the virtues of the soul. Then one day he thought about his condition and he said to himself: Truly I have read varieties of sciences and have spent bloom of my life in learning and assembling them and now I ought to know which one will benefits me tomorrow and would cheer me in my grave and which will not benefit me so that I leave it, as the Apostle of Allah () said: “O Allah! I seek your refuge from knowledge which does not benefit". This thought persisted with him until he wrote to the honorable Shaykh, the proof of Islam, Mohammed al-Ghazali (the mercy of Allah upon him) seeking a "fatwa" and asked him questions and desired from him advice and supplications. He said, "Even though the writings of the shaykh like ‘Ihya’ and other works contain the answers to my questions, yet my purpose is that the Shaykh should write my requirements in a leaflet to remain with me whole of my life and I act according to it for my life, if Allah the Exalted wills. So the Shaykh wrote this booklet for him, and Allah knows best.
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Know O Son! the beloved and sincere beau, Allah prolong your life in his obedience and lead you to the path of his loved ones. -that the open letter 2 of advice is written from the mine of the Message (of the apostle), Allah bless him and give him peace; if it has reached you then what is the need of my advice ? and if has not reached, then tell me what you have gained in these past years.
O Son! from all that the Apostle of Allah() has advised his ummah, is his saying: From the signs of Allah's withdrawal from his worshipper is to make him busy into what does not concern him and if a man passes an hour of his life in anything other than for which he is created, then it is certainly fitting that his grief should be prolonged till the day of judgement, and whoever has passed the age of forty and his good deeds does not surpass his evil deeds, then let him prepare for the hell fire".
In this advice there is a sufficiency for the people of knowledge.
O Son! giving advice is easy but it is difficult to accept it, since it is bitter in the taste of the follower of passionate desires as prohibited things are cherished in their hearts; especially whoever is seeking formal (just for the sake of) knowledge and is busy in excellence of his soul and the praises of the world, for he thinks that knowledge alone will be a mean of his safety and salvation and that he can get along without deeds and this is the belief of the philosophers. Praise the Great God ! he does not know this that when he acquires knowledge and if he does not act according to it then the indictment against him is certain, as the Apostle of Allah() said: "The person most severely punished on the day of resurrection is the learned one whom Allah did benefit it (his knowledge). It is narrated that Junayd () appeared in a dream after his death and he was asked: "What is the news, O Abu Qasim! ?" He replied : "The explanations perished and allusions vanished, nothing benefited us except the prostrations which we made in the middle of the night."
O Son! do not be bankrupt of deeds and neither of states, be assured that knowledge alone does not strengthen the hand, like if a man has ten Indian swords with other weapons and the man is brave and a warrior and then a terrifying lion attacked him, what do you think ? would the weapons ward off the evil from him without using them and killing with them. It is obvious that they would not ward (it) off, except by the actions and hitting. Similarly, though a man has studied hundred thousand issues, understood them and taught them, still these will not benefit him except by acting on them.
Another example is that if a man has fever and jaundice, his cure is in oxymel and barley broth, and he will not regain his health except by using them.
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O Son! Though you have studied a hundred years and collected a thousand books, you would not be prepared for the mercy of Allah except by acting on your knowledge, as Allah:
وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ
And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives (53:39)
فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا
So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work (18:110)
جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ
recompense for what they used to earn.(9:82)
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتُ الْفِرْدَوْسِ نُزُلًا
Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - they will have the Gardens of Paradise as a lodging,(18:107)
إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا
Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work.(25:70)
And what do you say about this hadith: The foundation of Islam is upon five (pillars): the witnessing that there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the Apostle of Allah; and the instituting of prayers; and the giving of alms; and the fasts of Ramadan; and the pilgrimage to Mecca for who is able make the journey.
Iman is confession with the tongue, belief with the heart and acting on above stated five pillars.
The value deeds is greater than can be counted; and even though the worshipper will enter heaven only by the favor and grace of Allah the Exalted, but only if he prepares himself for his obedience and worship as the mercy of Allah is near to the doer of good deeds.
And if it said that he will attain heaven by Iman alone, We will reply :Yes, but when will he attain ? how many difficult obstacles he will meet before he arrives (at heaven)?
and the first of these obstacles is the obstacle of Iman, weather he will escape plunder (of his Iman) or not ? and when he arrives at heaven he will be poor.
Hasan Basari said: Allah the Exalted will say to his worshippers on the day of resurrection, "[Oh my worshippers,] enter into the heavens by my mercy and partake of it as per your deeds"
O Son! so long as you do not act, you do not find [a reward]. It is said that a man from bani Isra'eel worshiped Allah for seventy years. Allah desired to show him to the angels, hence Allah sent an angel to him to inform him that, with this worship (what he has been doing) he was not worthy of entering the heavens. When he heard this, the worshiper replied : "We are created for worship only, so we should just worship him."
When the angel returned, Allah asked : " what did my slave said?" The angel said: "O my Lord, You know the best what he said."
Allah said: "Since he did not withdraw from worshiping me, so I will also, by my grace, will not withdraw from him. Bear witness, oh my angels that I have forgiven him."
The Apostle of Allah said:"Reckon yourself (of your deeds) before you are reckoned with and weigh your deeds before you are weighed.''
Ali said: "Whoever thinks that without exertion he shall reach the heavens, is a (vain) Desiree, and whoever thinks that by great exertion he shall attain (heavens) is an acquirer."
Hasan said: "Seeking heavens without deeds is a sin from sins." He also said: "The sign of the real (worship) is in giving up showing of deeds and not in giving up the deed itself."
The Prophet said: "An intelligent man is the one who judges himself and works for what is coming after death and the stupid man is the one who follow his souls desires and (vainly) longs for Allah.
O Son! how many nights you have remained awake repeating subjects of knowledge and studying the books and have denied yourself of sleep? I do not know what was the purpose behind it. If your intention was to attain worldly assets, securing its vanities and acquiring position and surpassing your contemporaries and any other intentions like these. Then woe to you and again (really) woe to you.
But if your intention in doing so was to vitalize the Shariah of the Prophet and the training of your character, and breaking the soul of commanding to evils, then you are blessed and again, you are (really) blessed.
He spoke truly who said the couplet:
Wakefulness of eyes for other than thine own face is no gain
And weeping of eyes for other than thine own loss is all vain.
O Son! live as you wish as you will die one day, love whomsoever you wish as one day you will leave it and do what you wish to as one day you will be rewarded according to it!
O Son!what have you gained from the acquisition of knowledge of kalam (dogmatic theology), disputation, medicine, diwans, poetry, astronomy, prosody, grammatical syntax and morphology except wasting your life in going against the Lord. I have read in Bible that he said: "From the moment dead is placed in the bier until he is placed in the grave, Allah asks him 40 questions. The first one is, he would say: 'O my servant, you used to purified (yourself in) the sight of people for years but you did not purify yourself in my sight. Every day I used to look in your heart and say: why do you adorn yourself for others though you are encompassed by my goodness. Are you deaf that you don't hear?
O Son! knowledge without deeds is insanity and deeds without knowledge doesnt mean anything. Be aware that the knowledge which does not stop you today from sins and doesnt make you obedient, will not be able to remove you from the hell fire tomorrow. If you do not act today and do not rectify your past, Tomorrow, on the day of resurrection, you would be saying: "Send us back, we will do good deeds other than what we were accustomed to do"; and it will be told to you: "O you stupid one, thence thou comest !
O Son! make endevour on your sould and defeat the soul.The death in the body; for your abode is the grave and the people of the graves are awaiting you at every moment. Beware lest you, meet them without provision for the journey.
Abu Bakr said :"These bodies are (like) bird cages or a stable for animals, so think about where you belong? If you are from lofty birds, then when you hear the roll [of the drum] "Return to your Lord" You fly until you sit at the highest towers of the Jannah.
As said the Prophet of Allah said: "The throne of the Compassionate shook at the death of Sa'id bin Mu'adh".
And seek refuge in Allah if you (belong to) the beasts. Allah said: "These are like animals, but more astray." So do not consider yourself safe from removal from a corner of the court (of Paradise) to the depths of the fire.
It is told that Hasan al-Basri was given a drink of cold water, and when he took the cup he became unconcious and the cup fell from his hand. When he recovered he was asked: "What happened, O Abu Said ?" He replied, "I thought of the longing of the people of hell when they would say to the people of the Jannah " Pour upon us from the water (for from what. Allah has bestowed upon you) and they would reply that Allah had forbidden these for the infidels."
O Son!, if knowledge alone was sufficient for you and you did not need to act on it, then would his (Allah's ) summons :"Is there any who asks ? and, is there any who seeks forgiveness ? and, is there any who repents ?" be lost without profit.
It is related that a group of the Companions mentioned `Abdallah bin 'Umar, before the Apostle of Allah. He said, "An excellent man is the one who would pray at night."
He said to one of his companion: "Oh so and so, do not sleep more at night as much sleep will make a person poor on the day of resurrection."
O Son! "and during a part of the night, pray Tahajjud"(17:79) is command, "and in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness"(51:18) is praise and "and those who seek forgiveness before dawn"(3:17) is remembrance.
The Prophet said: "Three voices Allah loves are, the voice of the cocks, the voice of Qur'an recitor and voice of those seeking forgiveness in the early morning."
Sufyan al-Thawri said: "Allah has created a breeze which blows at the time of the dawn, which carries the invocations and the petitions for forgiveness to the Supreme Lord." He also said: "When it is the beginning of night, A herald announces from below the throne, "Let the worshipers wake up! pray what Allah wills; then the herald announces at midnight, "Up let the fully devoted wake up! and they arise and pray till dawn; and when it is dawn, the herald announces "Up ! let those asking forgiveness wake up ! and they arise and seek forgiveness; and when the day breaks, the herald announces, "Up! let the heedless wake up and they arise from their beds as the dead are resuscitated from their graves."
O Son!it is narrated in will of Luqman ,the wise, to his son that he said: "O my son, don't let cock more clever than you that he calls for dawn while you are sleeping."
Indeed someone said it well:
The pigeon cooed in the darkness of night
On a branch, in weakness, while I was asleep.
I lied; for I swear that were I (His) loved
Not the pigeons alone, but I too would weep;
I think I am lovesick, excessively lovelorn
For my Lord-but I weep not, though animals weep.
O Son! the summary of knowledge is to learn what are obedience and worship. Know that obedience and worship are conforming to the Islamic laws in commands and prohibitions with words and actions, that is, whatever you say and do and omit in word and deed must be followed as per the Islamic laws. Thus, if you fast on the Eid day and the days of "tashriq" you are sinner; or (if you) pray salah in a garment unjustly taken (from someone), though it has the form of worship, yet you are sinner.
O Son! so it is essential that your word and deed be in agreement with Shariah, since knowledge and work without emulation of the shariah is a delusion. It is essential that you be not deceived by the ecstatic utterances and vehement cries of the Sufis, because walking this road is by struggle, cutting off the lusts of the soul and killing its desires with the sword of discipline and not by vehement cries and idle words.
Know that the loosened tongue and the veiled heart filled with negligence and lust, is the sign of misery, until you don't kill the soul with sincere struggle, you will not make alive your heart by the lights of knowledge.
And know that certain of your questions which you asked me cannot be answered in writing and in speech; if you attain that state you will know what they are; and if not, knowing them is impossible; for they are known by experience, and whatever is known by experience cannot he described in words, as the sweetness of the sweet or the bitterness of the bitter cannot be known except by tasting.
As it is said that an impotent man wrote to a friend. "Tell me about the delight of sexual intercourse, how it is." And he wrote in answer, "Oh so and so, I have accounted you only impotent, but now I know that you are both impotent and foolish; as this delight is known by experience; if you attain it you will know it, and if not, it cannot be described in writing or speech."
O Son!, certain of your questions are of this sort; but the portion which can be answered we have mentioned in Ihya ul-Uloom and other books. I will mention here a portion of them and point them out.So we say: for the traveler in the way of truth seven things are necessary, the first is, true faith and belief that has in it no heresy; and the second, a sincere repentance, after which you do not return to sin; and third, the satisfaction of adversaries, so that there shall remain to no one a claim against you; and the fourth, the attainment of a knowledge of the Shariah, sufficient that by it you may perform the commands of Allah then of the sciences of Aakhirah, which is essential for salvation.
It is told that Shibli said: "I served four hundred teachers and read four thousand ahadith; then I selected from them a single hadith on which I acted, and left off the others as I meditated and found my salvation and safety in it, and all the knowledge of the ancients and the moderns was included in it, and I was content with it; and that haidth was, that the Prophet said to one of his companions: "Work for your world according to your position in it, and work for your other world according to the length of your remaining in it; work for Allah according to your need of him and work for the hell fire according to your endurance of it."
O Son! If you understand this hadith, there is no need of further knowledge; and think upon another story, that is, Hatim al-Asam was among the friends of Shaqiq al-Balkhi, he (Shaqiq) asked him one day and said: "These thirty years you have associated with me, what have you gained in them?" He replied, "I have gained eight benefits from knowledge and they suffice me with it, because I hope for my salvation and safety in them." And Shaqiq said, "What are they ?" And Hatim replied
"The first benefit is that I observed mankind and saw that everyone had a loved one and one passionately desired whom he loved and longed for; and certain of those loved accompanied him to the illness of death and others to the border of the tomb, then each returned and left him alone and lonely, and there did not enterwith him into the tomb and comfort him in it ] [one of them; so I considered and said, the most excellent beloved of man is what enters into the tomb and comforts him in it] } 3; and I found it to be nothing else than good works, so I took this as my beloved, [to be] a light for me in my grave, and to comfort me in it and not leave me alone.
"The second benefit is that I saw that mankind were following their lusts and hastening towards the desires of their souls, and I meditated on the saying of the Exalted-"But as for whoever has feared the majesty of his Lord, and has refrained his soul from lust, truly the Garden shall be his dwelling place." 4 And I was convinced that the Qur'an was sincere truth and so I hastened to deny my soul and hurried to combat it and refuse it its passionate desires so that it become trained to obedience to Allah the Exalted, and it became tractable.
"And the third benefit is that I saw that everyone of the people struggled to collect the vanities of the world, then he seized them, closing his hand upon them. So I reflected upon the saying of the Exalted, "What is with you vanishes, but what is with Allah abides." 5 So I gave freely my worldly possessions for the face of Allah 6 the Exalted and distributed them among the poor to be a treasure for me with Allah the Exalted.
"The fourth benefit is that I saw that certain of mankind thought their honor and their glory to be in the multitude of their family and their kinsfolk and they were beguiled by them, while others considered this to be in their wealth of riches and the multitude of children [and property] and they boasted [of this]; and a portion reckoned glory [and honor] to consist in seizing the riches of people by violence and oppressing them and shedding their blood; and a section believed that it lay in squandering riches and in dissipating them and in prodigality. And I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted, "The most worthy of you in the sight of Allah is he who fears him most. "7 So I chose reverent fear and was convinced that the Qur'an is sincere truth and their thoughts and reckonings were empty and fleeting.
"The fifth benefit is that I saw that certain of the people censured one another and slandered one another and I saw that this arose from envy in the matter of riches and rank and knowledge, and I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted: "It is we who divide their substance among them in this world's life." 8 And I knew that the division was from Allah the Exalted [in eternity, so I did not envy anyone and I was satisfied with the distribution of Allah the Exalted].
"The sixth benefit is that I saw the people treat one another with enmity for a motive or purpose; and so I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted: "Truly Satan is your enemy; for an enemy then hold him." 10 And so I knew that enmity was not permissible to any other than Satan.
"The seventh benefit is that I saw that everyone struggled energetically and endeavored excessively to seek provisions and a means of living, from which he fell into doubt and forbidden things and debased himself and diminished his worth. And I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted: "There is no moving thing on earth whose nourishment dependeth not upon Allah." 11 And so I knew that my provision depended on Allah and he had guaranteed it, so I busied myself in worshipping him, and cut off my covetousness of all else than He.
"The eighth benefit is that I saw that everyone relied on some created thing, some on the dinar 12 and dirhem, some on i [wealth and] ] property, some on trade and craft, and some on a similar created thing. And I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted: "Truly whosoever putteth his trust in Allah, He will be suffcient. Truly Allah will attain his purpose. He has made for everything a fixed period." 13 So I relied upon Allah and he is my sufficiency and an excellent guardian. 14
And Shaqiq said, "Allah grant you success; 15 [O Hatim verily I have considered the Torah and the Evangel {new testament} and the Psalms and the Qur'an and I have found that the four books turn upon these eight benefits, and whoever works according to them is working according to these four books."]
O Son! you have perceived from these two stories that you are not in need of multiplying knowledge, and now I will show you what is obligatory for the traveler in the path of truth.
Know that it is indispensable for the traveler to have a shaykh as guide and tutor, to expel from him the evil qualities by his training and to replace them with an excellent character; and the meaning of training resembles the act of the plowman who digs out the thorns and removes the wild plants [from among the sown] to stimulate its growth and make it thrive perfectly, for Allah the Exalted sent to his worshipper his Apostle for guidance to his path and when he, upon him peace, departed from the world he left behind him the Caliphs in his place, in order that they should guide mankind to Allah, because of this function.
And it is necessary for the traveller to have a shaykh to train him and guide him to, the path of Allah. And the sign of the shaykh who is fitted to be the substitute for the Prophet, upon him be blessing and peace, is that be learned, not that every learned one is fitted for it; and I will show you certain indications in a general way so that not every one shall pretend he is, a learned guide. We say, one who removes himself far from love of the world and love of rank, and has succeeded a discerning person who traces his successorship to the Lord of the apostles, and has excelled in disciplining himself in scarcity of food, sleep, speech and in abundance of prayer, alms and fasting, and who, in following the discerning shaykh, is making the good qualities of character his way of life, such, as endurance, thanksgiving, trustfulness, conviction, generosity, contentment, tranquility of soul, moderation, humility, knowledge, veracity, modesty, trustworthiness, gravity, quietness and staidness and similar traits and then he is light from the lights of the Prophet, upon him be blessing and, peace, and he is worthy to be imitated; but the presence of such as he is rare, more precious than red sulfur. Whomever fortune aids to find a shaykh such as we have mentioned and the shaykh accepts him, he must- honor him outwardly and inwardly.
Now outward honor is that he should not dispute with him and not labor in argumentation with him in every question even if he knows his (the shaykh's) mistake and should not put down his prayer mat before him except at the time of Salah, and when, he finishes should lift it up. He should not multiply the supererogatory prayers in his presence, and should do what the shaykh commands him according to his capacity and his ability.
Inner honor is that all he hears and accepts from him outwardly he should not deny inwardly, neither in deed nor in word, lest he be branded with hypocrisy; and if this be not possible, that he should desert his companionship until his inner life agrees with his outer; and he should guard against association with the evil man so that he may curtail the province of the devils from Jinns and humans from the court of his heart, and may be purified from the stain of satanic filth; and at all events he will prefer poverty more than wealth.
Then know that becoming a Sufi has two characteristics: uprightness with Allah the Exalted, and quietness with mankind; and whoever is upright, and improves his character among the people, and treats them with forbearance, he is a Sufi. And uprightness is that he offer the pleasures of his soul as a ransom for the sake of his soul; 8 and goodness of conduct among men is that you do not burden people according to your own desire, but burden yourself according to their desire so long as they do not violate the sacred law.
Then you asked me about devotion; it comprises three things; first, the careful observance of the command of the sacred law; second, satisfaction with decree and fate and the lot of Allah the Exalted; and third, forsaking pleasing yourself in order to seek the pleasure of Allah the Exalted.
And you asked me about trust, it is that you seek to fortify your belief in Allah the Exalted as to what he has promised; that is, that you believe that what he has fated for you will come to you without fail, although anyone in the world endeavors to prevent it; and what is not written for you, you shall not attain, though all the world help you. You asked me about sincerity, it is that all your works be done for Allah the Exalted, your heart not resting content with the praise of people nor despairing with their censure. Know that hypocrisy is born from exalting mankind and the cure is that you see them forced to labor under the decree (of Allah) and reckon them like inanimate objects in their inability to attain contentment and misery, in order to escape from hypocrisy in their sight; and as long as you reckon them as possessing power and free will, hypocrisy will not be far from you.
O Son! the remainder of your questions-a portion of them are covered in my (other) writings, so seek them there; and setting down others in writing is forbidden, work by what you know, there will be revealed to you what you do not know.
O Son! after today ask me what is obscure for you (only) by the tongue of the heart. The saying of the Exalted, "and had they waited patiently until you came forth to them, it had been better for them." Accept the admonition of Khidr "And do not ask me about anything until I mention it unto you." Do not be in a hurry to reach the time, when it shall be revealed to you. And have you seen, "I will show you my signs so do not be in a hurry." So do not ask me before the time. And be certain that you will not reach (that time) except by traveling. "Have they not traveled through the earth, and seen? "
O Son! by Allah, if you travel, you shall see the wonders in every station. Give your spirit unsparingly, for the core of this matter is in applying your spirit abundantly; as said Dhu'l-Nun al Masri, to one of the students, "If you are able to give your spirit without reserve, come; and if not, then do not busy yourself with the idle practices of Mysticism."
O Son! verily I admonish you for eight things; receive them from me lest your knowledge become your adversary on the day of resurrection. Perform four of them and avoid four of them.
These you are to avoid are,
first, do not argue with any one in any matter, as far as you are able, for in this is great mischief and its evil is greater than its benefit, as it is the source of every blameworthy quality: such as hypocrisy, envy, pride, malice, enmity, boasting and other such. Of course, if there arises a question between you and an individual or a group and it is your purpose in it that the truth should appear and not be lost, discussion is permissible. But there are two signs of such a desire,
first that it makes no difference whether the truth is revealed by your tongue or the tongue of another; and
second, that discussion in private is preferred by you rather than in public.
Listen! for here I call your attention to a helpful point: know that the question about obscure points is the presenting of the disease of the heart to a physician, and its answer is the attempt to cure his disease.
Know that the ignorant are diseased in their hearts and the learned are the doctors.
The partially learnt cannot perfect the treatment; and the perfectly learned does not treat every sick person, but every one who will, he hopes, accept the treatment and the cure. And if the weakness is chronic or fatal, (and) incurable, then he will not labor to give medicine, for this is a waste of time.
Then know that the sickness of ignorance is of four sorts, one curable and the others incurable. Of these which cannot be cured, [the first] is one whose question or objection arises from envy and hate, [and envy cannot be cured for it is a chronic weakness] and every time you answer him with the best or clearest or plainest answer, that only increases his rage and envy. And the way is not to attempt an answer. One hopes for the removal of every enmity except enmity arising from envy.
So you must depart from him and leave him with his disease. Allah the Exalted said, "Withdraw from whoever turns away from our warning and desires nothing except the present life." And the envious, both in all he says and in all he does, kindles [a fire] in the sowing of his deed as the Prophet said, Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Envy eats up excellences as fire eats up wood." 8
The second, whose weakness arises from stupidity, and he also is incurable. As 'Isa said, upon him be peace, "Indeed I did not fail in bringing the dead to life, but I failed in curing the stupid." 9 And be is the man who has busied himself in seeking knowledge a short time and has learned something of the sciences of the intellect and of the sacred law, and so he asks questions and raises objections in his stupidity before the very learned one who has spent his life in the sciences of the intellect and the sacred law, and so this very stupid fellow does not know, and thinks that what is obscure to him is also obscure to the highly learned; and since lie does not think this much, his question arises from stupidity, and you must not attempt to answer him.
And the third is one who is seeking guidance and whatever he does not understand of the speech of the great ones, he lays to the defects of his own understanding and his question is in order to seek benefit; but he is dull and cannot arrive at the truth of things. You must not attempt to answer him also, as the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said, "We, the company of the prophets have been commanded that we speak to the people according to their understanding. "10
But the sickness which is curable is that of the intelligent and understanding seeker of guidance, who is not overcome with envy and anger and the love of worldly vanities and wealth and honor, but is seeking the straight road; and his questions and objections do not arise from envy and a desire to cause trouble and to make trial. And he is curable, and it is permitted to attempt to answer him-nay, it is necessary.
And the second thing to avoid is to guard against and shun becoming a preacher and warner, since its mischief is much unless you practice what you preach first and then preach it to the people; and consider what was said to 'Isa, upon him be peace, "O Son of Maryam, preach to yourself, and when you have preached to yourself, then preach to others; and otherwise, be ashamed before your Lord." If you are impelled to try this work, then guard against two conditions: the first is affectation in speech in explanations and allusions and vehement cries and versification and poetry because Allah the Exalted hates pretension, and the person pretentious beyond bounds gives evidence of inner confusion and a heedless heart. The significance of warning is that the worshipper remember the fire of the future (world) so that he confine himself to the service of the Creator, and that he consider his past life which he dissipated in what did not concern him, and that he consider what is before him of obstacles to the security of faith at the end (of life) and what will be his condition in the grasp of the angel of death and will he be able to reply to Munkar and Nakir and that he be concerned with his condition in the resurrection and its stations, and will he pass across the bridge safely or fall into the pit; and the memory of these things will remain in his heart and disturb his tranquility; and stirring up these fires and lamenting over these afflictions is called "warning"; and giving notice to mankind and calling their attention to these things and warning them about shortcomings and omissions and causing them to see the defects of their souls, so that the heat of these fires touch the people of the assembly, and these afflictions make them impatient to rectify the past years according to their ability, and they feel regret over the days passed in other than obedience to Allah the Exalted-all this carried out in this way is called "preaching".
It is as though you saw that a torrent was rushing suddenly upon the house of someone and he and his family were in it and you cried, "Danger, danger, flee from the flood." Would your heart in such circumstances crave to give your message to the master of the house with pretentious explanations and witticisms and allusions? Certainly not at all. So is the condition of the preacher and he must avoid such things.
And the second condition (to avoid) is that your concern in preaching be not that mankind become wrought up in your assembly and show excitement and tear their clothes, so that it be said "What an assembly this was": for all this is an inclination to the things of the world, 16 3 [and is born from heedlessness; but your purpose and concern must be to call the people from this world] } to the future world and from apostasy to obedience, and from cupidity to abstinence, and from stinginess to" generosity, and from vanities to the fear of God, and to cause them to love the future life and to hate the world, and to teach them knowledge of worship and asceticism; because the predominating tendency in their nature is deviation from the plain road of the law and exertion in that in which Allah the Exalted does not take pleasure, and busying themselves with their evil characteristics. Cast fear into their hearts and frighten them and warn them about what they will meet of terrifying things; if perchance the qualities of their inner lives shall be changed and the deeds of their outer lives shall be transformed and there appear a craving and desire for obedience and a return from apostasy. And this is the method of preaching and of admonition, and all preaching which is not of this sort is a pest for both him who speaks and him who hears; nay, it is even said to be a ghul 17 and a satan, which carries off mankind on the road, and destroys them; and they must flee from it, because what this speaker corrupts of their religion, Satan himself is not able to do; and whoever has power and authority must bring him down from the pulpits of the Muslims and forbid him from what he has proclaimed,-on account of the word "enjoining fairness and forbidding evil." 18
And the third thing to avoid is not to mix with the princes and Sultans 19 and not to see them; for seeing them and sitting with them and mixing with them is great mischief; and if you are impelled to do this, avoid praising them and commending them, for Allah the Exalted is angered when an oppressor and an impious man is praised and whoever has called for the lengthening of their lives has delighted that Allah be disobeyed in his land.
And the fourth thing to avoid is not to accept anything of the gifts and presents of princes, 20 though you know it is permissible, because Coveting things from them corrupts religion, since there is born from it flattery and "kotowing" to them and approving of their oppression, and all this is corruption of religion; and the least of its evils is that if you accept their gifts and benefit from their world, you become fond of them; and whoever loves one necessarily loves the prolonging of his life and presence, and in loving the continuance of the life of the oppressor there is a willingness for the oppression of the worshippers of Allah the Exalted and a willingness for the ruination of the learned man. And what is more injurious than this to religion, and the future life ? Have a care have a care-lest the fascination of the Satan prove deceptive. Or some one will say to you that it is better and preferable to take the gold and silver from them and distribute it among the poor and needy; for they are disbursing it in profligacy and apostasy, and your spending it upon the weak among the people is better than their spending it; and verily the Cursed One has cut off the necks of many people by this evil whispering; 21 and its mischief is excessive. We have mentioned this in the Vitalizing of the Sciences of Religion, so seek it there.
Now the four things you must do are first: that you make your dealings with Allah the Exalted such that, if your servant acted thus with you, you would be pleased with him and you would not withdraw your good will from him nor become angry; and what you are not pleased with for yourself in your paid servant, Allah the Exalted is not pleased with in you, and He is your true Lord; second, in all your dealings with people, treat them as you would be pleased to he treated by, them, because the faith of a worshipper is not complete until he loves for other people what he loves for himself; third, if you read or study science, it must be a science which corrects your heart and purifies your soul; as if you knew that your life would not be prolonged more than a week, necessarily you would not busy yourself in it in the science of jurisprudence and argumentation and rudimentary principles and scholastic theology and such like, because you know these sciences would not enrich you, but you would busy yourself in guarding your heart and in apprehending the attribute of the soul, and removal from the entanglements of the world, and the purification of your soul from the blameworthy moral qualities, and you would busy yourself in the love of Allah the Exalted and his worship, and in being distinguished with good qualities; and not a single day or night passes upon the worshipper but that it is possible his death may occur in it. 22
O Son! hear from me another word and think about it until you find sincerity. If you were informed that within a week the Sultan would come to visit you, I know that in that time you would busy yourself only in the rectification of what you knew the sight of the Sultan would fall upon, in the matter of the clothing and the body and the house and the furnishings and other things.
And now consider to what I refer, for you have understanding and a single word suffices the clever. The Apostle of Allah said: "Verily Allah the Exalted does not look upon your appearance nor upon your deeds, but he looks upon your hearts and your intentions."
If you desire knowledge of the states of the heart, look in Ihya ul-Uloom and other of my writings. This knowledge is obligatory and other knowledge is required of some, except what fulfills the ordinances of Allah ; Allah grant you success that you attain it.
The fourth (thing to do) is that you do not gather from the world more than which is sufficient for a year, as the Apostle of Allah prepared for certain of his houses (of his wives) and he said: "O Allah, make the provision of the family of Mohammed sufficient." And he did not prepare that for every house, but he would prepare it for those in whose heart he knew there was weakness, but for those who were a steadfast companion, he would not prepare for her (except) the necessities of a day and a half.
O Son! I have written in this treatise what you have requested, so you must do what is in it and do not forget to remember me in your righteous supplications.
The supplications you asked from me I copy it from authentic books. Recite this supplication in your time especially at the end of every Salah:
O Allah, truly I seek from thee of grace the most perfect, and of protection the most abiding, and of mercy the most encompassing, and of forgiveness its attainment, and of living the most comforting, and of life the happiest, and of beneficence the most perfect, and of blessing the most general, and of favor the sweetest, and of kindliness the most beneficial.
O Allah, be for us and be not against us.
O Allah, seal with happiness our appointed time and confirm in excess our hopes, and unite in forgiveness our mornings and our evenings, and bring to thy mercy our final state and what is for us, and pour out the gift of thy pardon upon our transgressions, and bestow upon us the correction of our blemishes, and make piety our provision for the journey; in thy religion is our endeavor, and upon thee is our trust and our confidence.
O Allah, make us firm upon the path of uprightness and protect us in this world from acts necessitating regrets on the day of judgment and lighten on us the burden of the sins and bestow upon us the life of the righteous, and avert and dispel from us the evils and set free our necks and the necks of our fathers, our mothers and our teachers from the fire in thy mercy,
O thou Illustrious One, thou Cover-er of sins, thou Gracious One, thou Forgiving One, thou Benevolent One, thou Mighty One,
O Allah,O Allah, O Allah,O Allah, O Compassionate,O Compassionate, thou Most Compassionate of the Compassionate, and in Him we trust.
by
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
Translated into English by
George O' Schraer
THE TRANSLATION
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Praise unto Allah, the lord of the worlds and the good issue to the pious, and peace and blessings upon his prophet Mohammed and all of his family.
Know that a certain advanced student attended zealously to the service of the Shaykh, the Imam, the ornament of religion, the proof of Islam, Abu Hamid Muhammad bin Mohammed al-Ghazali, may Allah sanctify his soul, and labored in the acquisition and reading of sciences until he had assembled the minutes of the sciences and had perfected the virtues of the soul. Then one day he thought about his condition and he said to himself: Truly I have read varieties of sciences and have spent bloom of my life in learning and assembling them and now I ought to know which one will benefits me tomorrow and would cheer me in my grave and which will not benefit me so that I leave it, as the Apostle of Allah () said: “O Allah! I seek your refuge from knowledge which does not benefit". This thought persisted with him until he wrote to the honorable Shaykh, the proof of Islam, Mohammed al-Ghazali (the mercy of Allah upon him) seeking a "fatwa" and asked him questions and desired from him advice and supplications. He said, "Even though the writings of the shaykh like ‘Ihya’ and other works contain the answers to my questions, yet my purpose is that the Shaykh should write my requirements in a leaflet to remain with me whole of my life and I act according to it for my life, if Allah the Exalted wills. So the Shaykh wrote this booklet for him, and Allah knows best.
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Know O Son! the beloved and sincere beau, Allah prolong your life in his obedience and lead you to the path of his loved ones. -that the open letter 2 of advice is written from the mine of the Message (of the apostle), Allah bless him and give him peace; if it has reached you then what is the need of my advice ? and if has not reached, then tell me what you have gained in these past years.
O Son! from all that the Apostle of Allah() has advised his ummah, is his saying: From the signs of Allah's withdrawal from his worshipper is to make him busy into what does not concern him and if a man passes an hour of his life in anything other than for which he is created, then it is certainly fitting that his grief should be prolonged till the day of judgement, and whoever has passed the age of forty and his good deeds does not surpass his evil deeds, then let him prepare for the hell fire".
In this advice there is a sufficiency for the people of knowledge.
O Son! giving advice is easy but it is difficult to accept it, since it is bitter in the taste of the follower of passionate desires as prohibited things are cherished in their hearts; especially whoever is seeking formal (just for the sake of) knowledge and is busy in excellence of his soul and the praises of the world, for he thinks that knowledge alone will be a mean of his safety and salvation and that he can get along without deeds and this is the belief of the philosophers. Praise the Great God ! he does not know this that when he acquires knowledge and if he does not act according to it then the indictment against him is certain, as the Apostle of Allah() said: "The person most severely punished on the day of resurrection is the learned one whom Allah did benefit it (his knowledge). It is narrated that Junayd () appeared in a dream after his death and he was asked: "What is the news, O Abu Qasim! ?" He replied : "The explanations perished and allusions vanished, nothing benefited us except the prostrations which we made in the middle of the night."
O Son! do not be bankrupt of deeds and neither of states, be assured that knowledge alone does not strengthen the hand, like if a man has ten Indian swords with other weapons and the man is brave and a warrior and then a terrifying lion attacked him, what do you think ? would the weapons ward off the evil from him without using them and killing with them. It is obvious that they would not ward (it) off, except by the actions and hitting. Similarly, though a man has studied hundred thousand issues, understood them and taught them, still these will not benefit him except by acting on them.
Another example is that if a man has fever and jaundice, his cure is in oxymel and barley broth, and he will not regain his health except by using them.
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O Son! Though you have studied a hundred years and collected a thousand books, you would not be prepared for the mercy of Allah except by acting on your knowledge, as Allah:
وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ
And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives (53:39)
فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا
So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work (18:110)
جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ
recompense for what they used to earn.(9:82)
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتُ الْفِرْدَوْسِ نُزُلًا
Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - they will have the Gardens of Paradise as a lodging,(18:107)
إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا
Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work.(25:70)
And what do you say about this hadith: The foundation of Islam is upon five (pillars): the witnessing that there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the Apostle of Allah; and the instituting of prayers; and the giving of alms; and the fasts of Ramadan; and the pilgrimage to Mecca for who is able make the journey.
Iman is confession with the tongue, belief with the heart and acting on above stated five pillars.
The value deeds is greater than can be counted; and even though the worshipper will enter heaven only by the favor and grace of Allah the Exalted, but only if he prepares himself for his obedience and worship as the mercy of Allah is near to the doer of good deeds.
And if it said that he will attain heaven by Iman alone, We will reply :Yes, but when will he attain ? how many difficult obstacles he will meet before he arrives (at heaven)?
and the first of these obstacles is the obstacle of Iman, weather he will escape plunder (of his Iman) or not ? and when he arrives at heaven he will be poor.
Hasan Basari said: Allah the Exalted will say to his worshippers on the day of resurrection, "[Oh my worshippers,] enter into the heavens by my mercy and partake of it as per your deeds"
O Son! so long as you do not act, you do not find [a reward]. It is said that a man from bani Isra'eel worshiped Allah for seventy years. Allah desired to show him to the angels, hence Allah sent an angel to him to inform him that, with this worship (what he has been doing) he was not worthy of entering the heavens. When he heard this, the worshiper replied : "We are created for worship only, so we should just worship him."
When the angel returned, Allah asked : " what did my slave said?" The angel said: "O my Lord, You know the best what he said."
Allah said: "Since he did not withdraw from worshiping me, so I will also, by my grace, will not withdraw from him. Bear witness, oh my angels that I have forgiven him."
The Apostle of Allah said:"Reckon yourself (of your deeds) before you are reckoned with and weigh your deeds before you are weighed.''
Ali said: "Whoever thinks that without exertion he shall reach the heavens, is a (vain) Desiree, and whoever thinks that by great exertion he shall attain (heavens) is an acquirer."
Hasan said: "Seeking heavens without deeds is a sin from sins." He also said: "The sign of the real (worship) is in giving up showing of deeds and not in giving up the deed itself."
The Prophet said: "An intelligent man is the one who judges himself and works for what is coming after death and the stupid man is the one who follow his souls desires and (vainly) longs for Allah.
O Son! how many nights you have remained awake repeating subjects of knowledge and studying the books and have denied yourself of sleep? I do not know what was the purpose behind it. If your intention was to attain worldly assets, securing its vanities and acquiring position and surpassing your contemporaries and any other intentions like these. Then woe to you and again (really) woe to you.
But if your intention in doing so was to vitalize the Shariah of the Prophet and the training of your character, and breaking the soul of commanding to evils, then you are blessed and again, you are (really) blessed.
He spoke truly who said the couplet:
Wakefulness of eyes for other than thine own face is no gain
And weeping of eyes for other than thine own loss is all vain.
O Son! live as you wish as you will die one day, love whomsoever you wish as one day you will leave it and do what you wish to as one day you will be rewarded according to it!
O Son!what have you gained from the acquisition of knowledge of kalam (dogmatic theology), disputation, medicine, diwans, poetry, astronomy, prosody, grammatical syntax and morphology except wasting your life in going against the Lord. I have read in Bible that he said: "From the moment dead is placed in the bier until he is placed in the grave, Allah asks him 40 questions. The first one is, he would say: 'O my servant, you used to purified (yourself in) the sight of people for years but you did not purify yourself in my sight. Every day I used to look in your heart and say: why do you adorn yourself for others though you are encompassed by my goodness. Are you deaf that you don't hear?
O Son! knowledge without deeds is insanity and deeds without knowledge doesnt mean anything. Be aware that the knowledge which does not stop you today from sins and doesnt make you obedient, will not be able to remove you from the hell fire tomorrow. If you do not act today and do not rectify your past, Tomorrow, on the day of resurrection, you would be saying: "Send us back, we will do good deeds other than what we were accustomed to do"; and it will be told to you: "O you stupid one, thence thou comest !
O Son! make endevour on your sould and defeat the soul.The death in the body; for your abode is the grave and the people of the graves are awaiting you at every moment. Beware lest you, meet them without provision for the journey.
Abu Bakr said :"These bodies are (like) bird cages or a stable for animals, so think about where you belong? If you are from lofty birds, then when you hear the roll [of the drum] "Return to your Lord" You fly until you sit at the highest towers of the Jannah.
As said the Prophet of Allah said: "The throne of the Compassionate shook at the death of Sa'id bin Mu'adh".
And seek refuge in Allah if you (belong to) the beasts. Allah said: "These are like animals, but more astray." So do not consider yourself safe from removal from a corner of the court (of Paradise) to the depths of the fire.
It is told that Hasan al-Basri was given a drink of cold water, and when he took the cup he became unconcious and the cup fell from his hand. When he recovered he was asked: "What happened, O Abu Said ?" He replied, "I thought of the longing of the people of hell when they would say to the people of the Jannah " Pour upon us from the water (for from what. Allah has bestowed upon you) and they would reply that Allah had forbidden these for the infidels."
O Son!, if knowledge alone was sufficient for you and you did not need to act on it, then would his (Allah's ) summons :"Is there any who asks ? and, is there any who seeks forgiveness ? and, is there any who repents ?" be lost without profit.
It is related that a group of the Companions mentioned `Abdallah bin 'Umar, before the Apostle of Allah. He said, "An excellent man is the one who would pray at night."
He said to one of his companion: "Oh so and so, do not sleep more at night as much sleep will make a person poor on the day of resurrection."
O Son! "and during a part of the night, pray Tahajjud"(17:79) is command, "and in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness"(51:18) is praise and "and those who seek forgiveness before dawn"(3:17) is remembrance.
The Prophet said: "Three voices Allah loves are, the voice of the cocks, the voice of Qur'an recitor and voice of those seeking forgiveness in the early morning."
Sufyan al-Thawri said: "Allah has created a breeze which blows at the time of the dawn, which carries the invocations and the petitions for forgiveness to the Supreme Lord." He also said: "When it is the beginning of night, A herald announces from below the throne, "Let the worshipers wake up! pray what Allah wills; then the herald announces at midnight, "Up let the fully devoted wake up! and they arise and pray till dawn; and when it is dawn, the herald announces "Up ! let those asking forgiveness wake up ! and they arise and seek forgiveness; and when the day breaks, the herald announces, "Up! let the heedless wake up and they arise from their beds as the dead are resuscitated from their graves."
O Son!it is narrated in will of Luqman ,the wise, to his son that he said: "O my son, don't let cock more clever than you that he calls for dawn while you are sleeping."
Indeed someone said it well:
The pigeon cooed in the darkness of night
On a branch, in weakness, while I was asleep.
I lied; for I swear that were I (His) loved
Not the pigeons alone, but I too would weep;
I think I am lovesick, excessively lovelorn
For my Lord-but I weep not, though animals weep.
O Son! the summary of knowledge is to learn what are obedience and worship. Know that obedience and worship are conforming to the Islamic laws in commands and prohibitions with words and actions, that is, whatever you say and do and omit in word and deed must be followed as per the Islamic laws. Thus, if you fast on the Eid day and the days of "tashriq" you are sinner; or (if you) pray salah in a garment unjustly taken (from someone), though it has the form of worship, yet you are sinner.
O Son! so it is essential that your word and deed be in agreement with Shariah, since knowledge and work without emulation of the shariah is a delusion. It is essential that you be not deceived by the ecstatic utterances and vehement cries of the Sufis, because walking this road is by struggle, cutting off the lusts of the soul and killing its desires with the sword of discipline and not by vehement cries and idle words.
Know that the loosened tongue and the veiled heart filled with negligence and lust, is the sign of misery, until you don't kill the soul with sincere struggle, you will not make alive your heart by the lights of knowledge.
And know that certain of your questions which you asked me cannot be answered in writing and in speech; if you attain that state you will know what they are; and if not, knowing them is impossible; for they are known by experience, and whatever is known by experience cannot he described in words, as the sweetness of the sweet or the bitterness of the bitter cannot be known except by tasting.
As it is said that an impotent man wrote to a friend. "Tell me about the delight of sexual intercourse, how it is." And he wrote in answer, "Oh so and so, I have accounted you only impotent, but now I know that you are both impotent and foolish; as this delight is known by experience; if you attain it you will know it, and if not, it cannot be described in writing or speech."
O Son!, certain of your questions are of this sort; but the portion which can be answered we have mentioned in Ihya ul-Uloom and other books. I will mention here a portion of them and point them out.So we say: for the traveler in the way of truth seven things are necessary, the first is, true faith and belief that has in it no heresy; and the second, a sincere repentance, after which you do not return to sin; and third, the satisfaction of adversaries, so that there shall remain to no one a claim against you; and the fourth, the attainment of a knowledge of the Shariah, sufficient that by it you may perform the commands of Allah then of the sciences of Aakhirah, which is essential for salvation.
It is told that Shibli said: "I served four hundred teachers and read four thousand ahadith; then I selected from them a single hadith on which I acted, and left off the others as I meditated and found my salvation and safety in it, and all the knowledge of the ancients and the moderns was included in it, and I was content with it; and that haidth was, that the Prophet said to one of his companions: "Work for your world according to your position in it, and work for your other world according to the length of your remaining in it; work for Allah according to your need of him and work for the hell fire according to your endurance of it."
O Son! If you understand this hadith, there is no need of further knowledge; and think upon another story, that is, Hatim al-Asam was among the friends of Shaqiq al-Balkhi, he (Shaqiq) asked him one day and said: "These thirty years you have associated with me, what have you gained in them?" He replied, "I have gained eight benefits from knowledge and they suffice me with it, because I hope for my salvation and safety in them." And Shaqiq said, "What are they ?" And Hatim replied
"The first benefit is that I observed mankind and saw that everyone had a loved one and one passionately desired whom he loved and longed for; and certain of those loved accompanied him to the illness of death and others to the border of the tomb, then each returned and left him alone and lonely, and there did not enterwith him into the tomb and comfort him in it ] [one of them; so I considered and said, the most excellent beloved of man is what enters into the tomb and comforts him in it] } 3; and I found it to be nothing else than good works, so I took this as my beloved, [to be] a light for me in my grave, and to comfort me in it and not leave me alone.
"The second benefit is that I saw that mankind were following their lusts and hastening towards the desires of their souls, and I meditated on the saying of the Exalted-"But as for whoever has feared the majesty of his Lord, and has refrained his soul from lust, truly the Garden shall be his dwelling place." 4 And I was convinced that the Qur'an was sincere truth and so I hastened to deny my soul and hurried to combat it and refuse it its passionate desires so that it become trained to obedience to Allah the Exalted, and it became tractable.
"And the third benefit is that I saw that everyone of the people struggled to collect the vanities of the world, then he seized them, closing his hand upon them. So I reflected upon the saying of the Exalted, "What is with you vanishes, but what is with Allah abides." 5 So I gave freely my worldly possessions for the face of Allah 6 the Exalted and distributed them among the poor to be a treasure for me with Allah the Exalted.
"The fourth benefit is that I saw that certain of mankind thought their honor and their glory to be in the multitude of their family and their kinsfolk and they were beguiled by them, while others considered this to be in their wealth of riches and the multitude of children [and property] and they boasted [of this]; and a portion reckoned glory [and honor] to consist in seizing the riches of people by violence and oppressing them and shedding their blood; and a section believed that it lay in squandering riches and in dissipating them and in prodigality. And I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted, "The most worthy of you in the sight of Allah is he who fears him most. "7 So I chose reverent fear and was convinced that the Qur'an is sincere truth and their thoughts and reckonings were empty and fleeting.
"The fifth benefit is that I saw that certain of the people censured one another and slandered one another and I saw that this arose from envy in the matter of riches and rank and knowledge, and I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted: "It is we who divide their substance among them in this world's life." 8 And I knew that the division was from Allah the Exalted [in eternity, so I did not envy anyone and I was satisfied with the distribution of Allah the Exalted].
"The sixth benefit is that I saw the people treat one another with enmity for a motive or purpose; and so I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted: "Truly Satan is your enemy; for an enemy then hold him." 10 And so I knew that enmity was not permissible to any other than Satan.
"The seventh benefit is that I saw that everyone struggled energetically and endeavored excessively to seek provisions and a means of living, from which he fell into doubt and forbidden things and debased himself and diminished his worth. And I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted: "There is no moving thing on earth whose nourishment dependeth not upon Allah." 11 And so I knew that my provision depended on Allah and he had guaranteed it, so I busied myself in worshipping him, and cut off my covetousness of all else than He.
"The eighth benefit is that I saw that everyone relied on some created thing, some on the dinar 12 and dirhem, some on i [wealth and] ] property, some on trade and craft, and some on a similar created thing. And I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted: "Truly whosoever putteth his trust in Allah, He will be suffcient. Truly Allah will attain his purpose. He has made for everything a fixed period." 13 So I relied upon Allah and he is my sufficiency and an excellent guardian. 14
And Shaqiq said, "Allah grant you success; 15 [O Hatim verily I have considered the Torah and the Evangel {new testament} and the Psalms and the Qur'an and I have found that the four books turn upon these eight benefits, and whoever works according to them is working according to these four books."]
O Son! you have perceived from these two stories that you are not in need of multiplying knowledge, and now I will show you what is obligatory for the traveler in the path of truth.
Know that it is indispensable for the traveler to have a shaykh as guide and tutor, to expel from him the evil qualities by his training and to replace them with an excellent character; and the meaning of training resembles the act of the plowman who digs out the thorns and removes the wild plants [from among the sown] to stimulate its growth and make it thrive perfectly, for Allah the Exalted sent to his worshipper his Apostle for guidance to his path and when he, upon him peace, departed from the world he left behind him the Caliphs in his place, in order that they should guide mankind to Allah, because of this function.
And it is necessary for the traveller to have a shaykh to train him and guide him to, the path of Allah. And the sign of the shaykh who is fitted to be the substitute for the Prophet, upon him be blessing and peace, is that be learned, not that every learned one is fitted for it; and I will show you certain indications in a general way so that not every one shall pretend he is, a learned guide. We say, one who removes himself far from love of the world and love of rank, and has succeeded a discerning person who traces his successorship to the Lord of the apostles, and has excelled in disciplining himself in scarcity of food, sleep, speech and in abundance of prayer, alms and fasting, and who, in following the discerning shaykh, is making the good qualities of character his way of life, such, as endurance, thanksgiving, trustfulness, conviction, generosity, contentment, tranquility of soul, moderation, humility, knowledge, veracity, modesty, trustworthiness, gravity, quietness and staidness and similar traits and then he is light from the lights of the Prophet, upon him be blessing and, peace, and he is worthy to be imitated; but the presence of such as he is rare, more precious than red sulfur. Whomever fortune aids to find a shaykh such as we have mentioned and the shaykh accepts him, he must- honor him outwardly and inwardly.
Now outward honor is that he should not dispute with him and not labor in argumentation with him in every question even if he knows his (the shaykh's) mistake and should not put down his prayer mat before him except at the time of Salah, and when, he finishes should lift it up. He should not multiply the supererogatory prayers in his presence, and should do what the shaykh commands him according to his capacity and his ability.
Inner honor is that all he hears and accepts from him outwardly he should not deny inwardly, neither in deed nor in word, lest he be branded with hypocrisy; and if this be not possible, that he should desert his companionship until his inner life agrees with his outer; and he should guard against association with the evil man so that he may curtail the province of the devils from Jinns and humans from the court of his heart, and may be purified from the stain of satanic filth; and at all events he will prefer poverty more than wealth.
Then know that becoming a Sufi has two characteristics: uprightness with Allah the Exalted, and quietness with mankind; and whoever is upright, and improves his character among the people, and treats them with forbearance, he is a Sufi. And uprightness is that he offer the pleasures of his soul as a ransom for the sake of his soul; 8 and goodness of conduct among men is that you do not burden people according to your own desire, but burden yourself according to their desire so long as they do not violate the sacred law.
Then you asked me about devotion; it comprises three things; first, the careful observance of the command of the sacred law; second, satisfaction with decree and fate and the lot of Allah the Exalted; and third, forsaking pleasing yourself in order to seek the pleasure of Allah the Exalted.
And you asked me about trust, it is that you seek to fortify your belief in Allah the Exalted as to what he has promised; that is, that you believe that what he has fated for you will come to you without fail, although anyone in the world endeavors to prevent it; and what is not written for you, you shall not attain, though all the world help you. You asked me about sincerity, it is that all your works be done for Allah the Exalted, your heart not resting content with the praise of people nor despairing with their censure. Know that hypocrisy is born from exalting mankind and the cure is that you see them forced to labor under the decree (of Allah) and reckon them like inanimate objects in their inability to attain contentment and misery, in order to escape from hypocrisy in their sight; and as long as you reckon them as possessing power and free will, hypocrisy will not be far from you.
O Son! the remainder of your questions-a portion of them are covered in my (other) writings, so seek them there; and setting down others in writing is forbidden, work by what you know, there will be revealed to you what you do not know.
O Son! after today ask me what is obscure for you (only) by the tongue of the heart. The saying of the Exalted, "and had they waited patiently until you came forth to them, it had been better for them." Accept the admonition of Khidr "And do not ask me about anything until I mention it unto you." Do not be in a hurry to reach the time, when it shall be revealed to you. And have you seen, "I will show you my signs so do not be in a hurry." So do not ask me before the time. And be certain that you will not reach (that time) except by traveling. "Have they not traveled through the earth, and seen? "
O Son! by Allah, if you travel, you shall see the wonders in every station. Give your spirit unsparingly, for the core of this matter is in applying your spirit abundantly; as said Dhu'l-Nun al Masri, to one of the students, "If you are able to give your spirit without reserve, come; and if not, then do not busy yourself with the idle practices of Mysticism."
O Son! verily I admonish you for eight things; receive them from me lest your knowledge become your adversary on the day of resurrection. Perform four of them and avoid four of them.
These you are to avoid are,
first, do not argue with any one in any matter, as far as you are able, for in this is great mischief and its evil is greater than its benefit, as it is the source of every blameworthy quality: such as hypocrisy, envy, pride, malice, enmity, boasting and other such. Of course, if there arises a question between you and an individual or a group and it is your purpose in it that the truth should appear and not be lost, discussion is permissible. But there are two signs of such a desire,
first that it makes no difference whether the truth is revealed by your tongue or the tongue of another; and
second, that discussion in private is preferred by you rather than in public.
Listen! for here I call your attention to a helpful point: know that the question about obscure points is the presenting of the disease of the heart to a physician, and its answer is the attempt to cure his disease.
Know that the ignorant are diseased in their hearts and the learned are the doctors.
The partially learnt cannot perfect the treatment; and the perfectly learned does not treat every sick person, but every one who will, he hopes, accept the treatment and the cure. And if the weakness is chronic or fatal, (and) incurable, then he will not labor to give medicine, for this is a waste of time.
Then know that the sickness of ignorance is of four sorts, one curable and the others incurable. Of these which cannot be cured, [the first] is one whose question or objection arises from envy and hate, [and envy cannot be cured for it is a chronic weakness] and every time you answer him with the best or clearest or plainest answer, that only increases his rage and envy. And the way is not to attempt an answer. One hopes for the removal of every enmity except enmity arising from envy.
So you must depart from him and leave him with his disease. Allah the Exalted said, "Withdraw from whoever turns away from our warning and desires nothing except the present life." And the envious, both in all he says and in all he does, kindles [a fire] in the sowing of his deed as the Prophet said, Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Envy eats up excellences as fire eats up wood." 8
The second, whose weakness arises from stupidity, and he also is incurable. As 'Isa said, upon him be peace, "Indeed I did not fail in bringing the dead to life, but I failed in curing the stupid." 9 And be is the man who has busied himself in seeking knowledge a short time and has learned something of the sciences of the intellect and of the sacred law, and so he asks questions and raises objections in his stupidity before the very learned one who has spent his life in the sciences of the intellect and the sacred law, and so this very stupid fellow does not know, and thinks that what is obscure to him is also obscure to the highly learned; and since lie does not think this much, his question arises from stupidity, and you must not attempt to answer him.
And the third is one who is seeking guidance and whatever he does not understand of the speech of the great ones, he lays to the defects of his own understanding and his question is in order to seek benefit; but he is dull and cannot arrive at the truth of things. You must not attempt to answer him also, as the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said, "We, the company of the prophets have been commanded that we speak to the people according to their understanding. "10
But the sickness which is curable is that of the intelligent and understanding seeker of guidance, who is not overcome with envy and anger and the love of worldly vanities and wealth and honor, but is seeking the straight road; and his questions and objections do not arise from envy and a desire to cause trouble and to make trial. And he is curable, and it is permitted to attempt to answer him-nay, it is necessary.
And the second thing to avoid is to guard against and shun becoming a preacher and warner, since its mischief is much unless you practice what you preach first and then preach it to the people; and consider what was said to 'Isa, upon him be peace, "O Son of Maryam, preach to yourself, and when you have preached to yourself, then preach to others; and otherwise, be ashamed before your Lord." If you are impelled to try this work, then guard against two conditions: the first is affectation in speech in explanations and allusions and vehement cries and versification and poetry because Allah the Exalted hates pretension, and the person pretentious beyond bounds gives evidence of inner confusion and a heedless heart. The significance of warning is that the worshipper remember the fire of the future (world) so that he confine himself to the service of the Creator, and that he consider his past life which he dissipated in what did not concern him, and that he consider what is before him of obstacles to the security of faith at the end (of life) and what will be his condition in the grasp of the angel of death and will he be able to reply to Munkar and Nakir and that he be concerned with his condition in the resurrection and its stations, and will he pass across the bridge safely or fall into the pit; and the memory of these things will remain in his heart and disturb his tranquility; and stirring up these fires and lamenting over these afflictions is called "warning"; and giving notice to mankind and calling their attention to these things and warning them about shortcomings and omissions and causing them to see the defects of their souls, so that the heat of these fires touch the people of the assembly, and these afflictions make them impatient to rectify the past years according to their ability, and they feel regret over the days passed in other than obedience to Allah the Exalted-all this carried out in this way is called "preaching".
It is as though you saw that a torrent was rushing suddenly upon the house of someone and he and his family were in it and you cried, "Danger, danger, flee from the flood." Would your heart in such circumstances crave to give your message to the master of the house with pretentious explanations and witticisms and allusions? Certainly not at all. So is the condition of the preacher and he must avoid such things.
And the second condition (to avoid) is that your concern in preaching be not that mankind become wrought up in your assembly and show excitement and tear their clothes, so that it be said "What an assembly this was": for all this is an inclination to the things of the world, 16 3 [and is born from heedlessness; but your purpose and concern must be to call the people from this world] } to the future world and from apostasy to obedience, and from cupidity to abstinence, and from stinginess to" generosity, and from vanities to the fear of God, and to cause them to love the future life and to hate the world, and to teach them knowledge of worship and asceticism; because the predominating tendency in their nature is deviation from the plain road of the law and exertion in that in which Allah the Exalted does not take pleasure, and busying themselves with their evil characteristics. Cast fear into their hearts and frighten them and warn them about what they will meet of terrifying things; if perchance the qualities of their inner lives shall be changed and the deeds of their outer lives shall be transformed and there appear a craving and desire for obedience and a return from apostasy. And this is the method of preaching and of admonition, and all preaching which is not of this sort is a pest for both him who speaks and him who hears; nay, it is even said to be a ghul 17 and a satan, which carries off mankind on the road, and destroys them; and they must flee from it, because what this speaker corrupts of their religion, Satan himself is not able to do; and whoever has power and authority must bring him down from the pulpits of the Muslims and forbid him from what he has proclaimed,-on account of the word "enjoining fairness and forbidding evil." 18
And the third thing to avoid is not to mix with the princes and Sultans 19 and not to see them; for seeing them and sitting with them and mixing with them is great mischief; and if you are impelled to do this, avoid praising them and commending them, for Allah the Exalted is angered when an oppressor and an impious man is praised and whoever has called for the lengthening of their lives has delighted that Allah be disobeyed in his land.
And the fourth thing to avoid is not to accept anything of the gifts and presents of princes, 20 though you know it is permissible, because Coveting things from them corrupts religion, since there is born from it flattery and "kotowing" to them and approving of their oppression, and all this is corruption of religion; and the least of its evils is that if you accept their gifts and benefit from their world, you become fond of them; and whoever loves one necessarily loves the prolonging of his life and presence, and in loving the continuance of the life of the oppressor there is a willingness for the oppression of the worshippers of Allah the Exalted and a willingness for the ruination of the learned man. And what is more injurious than this to religion, and the future life ? Have a care have a care-lest the fascination of the Satan prove deceptive. Or some one will say to you that it is better and preferable to take the gold and silver from them and distribute it among the poor and needy; for they are disbursing it in profligacy and apostasy, and your spending it upon the weak among the people is better than their spending it; and verily the Cursed One has cut off the necks of many people by this evil whispering; 21 and its mischief is excessive. We have mentioned this in the Vitalizing of the Sciences of Religion, so seek it there.
Now the four things you must do are first: that you make your dealings with Allah the Exalted such that, if your servant acted thus with you, you would be pleased with him and you would not withdraw your good will from him nor become angry; and what you are not pleased with for yourself in your paid servant, Allah the Exalted is not pleased with in you, and He is your true Lord; second, in all your dealings with people, treat them as you would be pleased to he treated by, them, because the faith of a worshipper is not complete until he loves for other people what he loves for himself; third, if you read or study science, it must be a science which corrects your heart and purifies your soul; as if you knew that your life would not be prolonged more than a week, necessarily you would not busy yourself in it in the science of jurisprudence and argumentation and rudimentary principles and scholastic theology and such like, because you know these sciences would not enrich you, but you would busy yourself in guarding your heart and in apprehending the attribute of the soul, and removal from the entanglements of the world, and the purification of your soul from the blameworthy moral qualities, and you would busy yourself in the love of Allah the Exalted and his worship, and in being distinguished with good qualities; and not a single day or night passes upon the worshipper but that it is possible his death may occur in it. 22
O Son! hear from me another word and think about it until you find sincerity. If you were informed that within a week the Sultan would come to visit you, I know that in that time you would busy yourself only in the rectification of what you knew the sight of the Sultan would fall upon, in the matter of the clothing and the body and the house and the furnishings and other things.
And now consider to what I refer, for you have understanding and a single word suffices the clever. The Apostle of Allah said: "Verily Allah the Exalted does not look upon your appearance nor upon your deeds, but he looks upon your hearts and your intentions."
If you desire knowledge of the states of the heart, look in Ihya ul-Uloom and other of my writings. This knowledge is obligatory and other knowledge is required of some, except what fulfills the ordinances of Allah ; Allah grant you success that you attain it.
The fourth (thing to do) is that you do not gather from the world more than which is sufficient for a year, as the Apostle of Allah prepared for certain of his houses (of his wives) and he said: "O Allah, make the provision of the family of Mohammed sufficient." And he did not prepare that for every house, but he would prepare it for those in whose heart he knew there was weakness, but for those who were a steadfast companion, he would not prepare for her (except) the necessities of a day and a half.
O Son! I have written in this treatise what you have requested, so you must do what is in it and do not forget to remember me in your righteous supplications.
The supplications you asked from me I copy it from authentic books. Recite this supplication in your time especially at the end of every Salah:
O Allah, truly I seek from thee of grace the most perfect, and of protection the most abiding, and of mercy the most encompassing, and of forgiveness its attainment, and of living the most comforting, and of life the happiest, and of beneficence the most perfect, and of blessing the most general, and of favor the sweetest, and of kindliness the most beneficial.
O Allah, be for us and be not against us.
O Allah, seal with happiness our appointed time and confirm in excess our hopes, and unite in forgiveness our mornings and our evenings, and bring to thy mercy our final state and what is for us, and pour out the gift of thy pardon upon our transgressions, and bestow upon us the correction of our blemishes, and make piety our provision for the journey; in thy religion is our endeavor, and upon thee is our trust and our confidence.
O Allah, make us firm upon the path of uprightness and protect us in this world from acts necessitating regrets on the day of judgment and lighten on us the burden of the sins and bestow upon us the life of the righteous, and avert and dispel from us the evils and set free our necks and the necks of our fathers, our mothers and our teachers from the fire in thy mercy,
O thou Illustrious One, thou Cover-er of sins, thou Gracious One, thou Forgiving One, thou Benevolent One, thou Mighty One,
O Allah,O Allah, O Allah,O Allah, O Compassionate,O Compassionate, thou Most Compassionate of the Compassionate, and in Him we trust.
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