🕋 تفسير سورة البقرة
(Al-Baqarah) • المصدر: EN-TAFSIR-AL-TUSTARI
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ الم
📘 Alif Lām MīmSahl said:Alif Lām Mīm is a name of God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and within it are meanings and attributes that people of understanding (fahm) know, not to mention the many meanings that it holds for the people of outward [knowledge]. If these letters are read separately, Alif stands for God�s assembling [things in their creation] (taʾlīf), Mighty and Majestic is He, for He brought together all things as He willed. The Lām stands for His pre-eternal grace (luṭfuhu al-qadīm) and the Mīm stands for His great glory (majduhu al-ʿaẓīm).Sahl said:Each book that God, Exalted is He, sent down contains a secret, and the secret of the Qurʾān is contained within the letters which open the sūras, because they are names and attributes, such as when He says Alif Lām Mīm [2:1; 3:1; 29:1 and 31:1], Ṣād [38:1], Alif Lām Rā [10:1; 11:1; 13:1; 14:1 and 15:1], Kāf Ḥā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād [19:1], Tā Sīn Mīm [26:1 and 28:1], Ḥā Mīm [41:1], ʿAyn Sīn Qāf. When these letters are brought together they make up the Greatest Name of God � that is, if a letter is taken from each [group] of the opening letters of the sūras, one after the other in the order that the sūras were revealed, that is, Alif Lām Rā, Ḥā Mīm, and Nūn, they form the divine name al-Raḥmān.� Ibn ʿAbbās and Ḍaḥḥāk, on the other hand, said that Alif Lām Mīm means �I am God and I know�; while ʿAlī said that these are names [in the form of] �disconnected� [letters], but if a letter is taken from each of the opening groups of letters, on the condition that it is not the same as the letter adjacent to it, and then they are assembled, they form one of the names of the Merciful. If this name is known and used in supplication, it will be the mightiest name by which the prayer of the supplicant who uses it will be answered.Sahl said:In the words Alif Lām Mīm,! That Book [2:1�2], Alif stands for God (Allāh), Lām stands for the servant (ʿabd), and Mīm stands for Muḥammad .
وَاتَّبَعُوا مَا تَتْلُو الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَىٰ مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ ۖ وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَٰكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَارُوتَ وَمَارُوتَ ۚ وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ ۖ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِ ۚ وَمَا هُمْ بِضَارِّينَ بِهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۚ وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنْفَعُهُمْ ۚ وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا لَمَنِ اشْتَرَاهُ مَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ ۚ وَلَبِئْسَ مَا شَرَوْا بِهِ أَنْفُسَهُمْ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ
📘 �But they could not thus harm anyone except by God�s permission�That is, save that it be in God�s prior knowledge, which precedes the occurrence of the act of the one doing it.Concerning His words, Exalted is He:�Fear God as He should be feared�[Sahl said]:That is, by the worship He has prescribed for you, and not by that which God merits in His essence (fī dhātihi).
بَلَىٰ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
📘 Nay, but whoever submits his purpose to God, being virtuous...Concerning these words of God, Exalted is He, Sahl said:That is, his religion, is as it is said in Sūrat al-Nisāʾ: Who is fairer in religion than one who submitshis purpose to God? [4:125], meaning: �Than a person who dedicates (akhlaṣa) his religion purely to God�, that is, Islam and its laws. This meaning is reiterated in Sūra Luqmān: Whoever surrenders his purpose to God, and is virtuous [31:22], which means [whoever] devotes himself in religion purely to God.He was asked about His words, Exalted is He:
رَبَّنَا وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِنَا أُمَّةً مُسْلِمَةً لَكَ وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَا ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
📘 �and of our progeny, a community submissive to You��A community� (umma) refers to a group of people, and �submissive� (muslima) means they submit to Your commandments and prohibitions, thereby attaining Your good pleasure and acceptance.He was asked about His words:
تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ ۖ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُمْ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ ۖ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
📘 That is a community that has passed away. Theirs is what they have earned�He replied:That is to say, this was a community that passed away in accordance with God�s prior knowledgeconcerning them.
تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ ۖ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُمْ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ ۖ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
📘 That is a community that has passed away. Theirs is what they have earned�He replied:That is to say, this was a community that passed away in accordance with God�s prior knowledgeconcerning them.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا ۗ وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِي كُنْتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا لِنَعْلَمَ مَنْ يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّنْ يَنْقَلِبُ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ ۚ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ
📘 �a community of the middle [way] (wasaṭan)�That is, they are just. In this way, a believer gives credence to God�s servants in accordance with His words, He believes in God, and has faith in the believers [9:61], which means that he affirms [the truth of] God and ascribes truth to the believers.His words, Exalted is He:�For God is gentle with people, merciful.That is, He shows great [lit. intense, shadīd] mercy (raḥma) and kindness (raʾfa) towards them. This refers to the gentleness (rifq) and clemency (ḥilm) that He shows them due to His knowledgeof their weakness and of the fact that they have no strength before Him, except through Him and from Him.
وَلِكُلٍّ وِجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيهَا ۖ فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ ۚ أَيْنَ مَا تَكُونُوا يَأْتِ بِكُمُ اللَّهُ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
📘 Every person has a direction to which he turns�He means by this that God, Exalted is He, turns people of each religion in the direction that He wills.
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ
📘 �Yet give good tidings to those who are patient.He [Sahl] said:They are those for whom patience (ṣabr) has become a way of life (ʿaysh), a [source of] rest (rāḥa) and a homeland (waṭan). They find delight in practising patience for the sake of God, Exalted is He, in every situation.
أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ
📘 They are those on whom [descend] blessings from their Lord, and mercy; it is they who are truly guided.Sahl said:What is implied by blessings (ṣalawāt) upon them is the bestowal of mercy (taraḥḥum) upon them, that is, a bestowal of mercy from their Lord. The Prophet said, �May God bless the family of Abū Awfāʾ, when they brought him charitable donations, by which he meant �[May God] have mercy on them.� He also said:Muḥammad b. Sawwār told us on the authority of Abū ʿAmr b. ʿAlāʾ that he said: �Ṣalāt� has three meanings, one of which is the prescribed prayer with its bowings and prostrations, which is referred to when God says: So pray to Your Lord and sacrifice [108:2], that is, grasp your left arm with your right hand in prayer, in self-abasement and in awe before God, Exalted is He. Thisis also reported from ʿAlī . The second meaning is to show mercy (taraḥḥum) [as discussed above], and the third meaning is supplication (duʿāʾ), as [for example] in the prayer over the dead. Indeed, the Prophet said: �If any of you are invited for a meal, you should [accept the invitation]. But if [the one invited] is fasting he should pray�, that is, he should make a supplicationfor them to be endowed with blessing. Furthermore, the Prophet said in a ḥadīth, ��and may the angels pray over you�, meaning pray for mercy to be bestowed upon you. In this [same] ḥadīth the Prophet went on to say, �And if someone eats at his house, the angels pray over him [the host] until eventide�, meaning the angels supplicate for him. Sahl continued:Ṣalāt carries two meanings: one is the seeking of forgiveness (istighfār), and the other is forgiveness itself (maghfira). As for the meaning of �seeking forgiveness�, it is referred to in His words, And pray for them [9:103], that is, ask forgiveness for them; [and in His words], to [secure] the prayers of the Messenger [9:99], meaning asking for the Messenger�s supplication for forgiveness.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَمَاتُوا وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ
📘 �Upon them shall be the curse of God�This means that their lot is banishment (ṭard) from the mercy of God, and alienation. In this manner, every accursed one is banished.
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَتَّخِذُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ أَنْدَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِلَّهِ ۗ وَلَوْ يَرَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا إِذْ يَرَوْنَ الْعَذَابَ أَنَّ الْقُوَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعَذَابِ
📘 (Yet there are people who take to themselves idols), loving them as if loving God; but those who believe love God more ardently�He said:It means that they love idols (andād) in the way that they love God, Mighty and Majestic is He. Indeed, God, Exalted is He, described the intensity of their disbelief and their constancy (ṣidq) in the state of disbelief as ignorance (jahl). He then described the love of the believers and their constancy in the state of faith in God, as truth (ḥaqq). Then He accorded superiority to the believers due to their knowledge [or gnosis, maʿrifa], saying, those who believe love God more ardently. This is due to their knowledge (maʿrifa), and all the other things that cause the believing servant to advance towards God and establish His remembrance. This is the level ofthe loving mystics (ʿārifūn muḥibbūn), since love is the inclination (ʿaṭf) for the purest reality (khāliṣat al-ḥaqq), which God, Exalted is He, [produces] in them.He was asked, �What is the sign of love?� He replied:It is the embracing of obedience and the relinquishing of [any sense] of need [for other than God] (mubāyanat al-fāqa). It has been related that God, Exalted is He, said in a revelation to Moses, �Do you know why I cast my love upon you?�, to which he replied, �No, O Lord.� He said, �Because you sought My delight (masarra). O Moses, [always] keep Me in mind, and don�t forget Me in any situation. Let your aspiration (himma) be for My remembrance (dhikr), for I will take care of your path.� But God, Transcendent and Exalted is He, knows best.
إِذْ تَبَرَّأَ الَّذِينَ اتُّبِعُوا مِنَ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوا وَرَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ وَتَقَطَّعَتْ بِهِمُ الْأَسْبَابُ
📘 �and the cords are cut away before them This refers to the ties by which they were connected to each other in this world. For the sake of [these ties] mutual affections were cemented, without obedience to God and His Messenger, and without seeking God�s good pleasure.
أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الضَّلَالَةَ بِالْهُدَىٰ وَالْعَذَابَ بِالْمَغْفِرَةِ ۚ فَمَا أَصْبَرَهُمْ عَلَى النَّارِ
📘 �Ah! What boldness [they show] for the Fire!When asked about these words, Sahl replied:That is [boldness] in issuing legal ruling[s] (fatwā) without sufficient knowledge of the Sunna or the divine law (sharʿ), and [boldness] in servitude to the practice of the people of the Fire.
۞ لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَالسَّائِلِينَ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَالْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُوا ۖ وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي الْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ ۗ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ
📘 �those who show fortitude in misfortune and hardship�[Sahl said]This means that to begin with [they show fortitude] in upholding the Sunna; and in hardship means in avoiding that which is forbidden, both outwardly and inwardly, and in eating [only] that which is legitimate. The outward meaning of misfortune (baʾsāʾ) is poverty (faqr), and that of hardship (ḍarrāʾ) is adversity (shidda); and times of peril, that is, in battle.He was asked about His words:
كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ إِنْ تَرَكَ خَيْرًا الْوَصِيَّةُ لِلْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ ۖ حَقًّا عَلَى الْمُتَّقِينَ
📘 �and leaves behind some good� Concerning these words, he was asked, �In your opinion what is this good?� He said:It refers to legitimate wealth, just as God, Exalted is He, has said, Say, �Whatever you spend that is good� [2:215] � that is, out of legitimate wealth, for His purposes (bi-wujūhihi) and desiring His good pleasure; and [elsewhere] He said, And whatever good you expend of legitimate wealth, shall be repaid to you in full [2:272], meaning that you shall receive, from God, Exalted is He, the return and reward for your deeds, and for your purpose in doing them.He was asked about His words:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
📘 �So let them respond to Me�He [Sahl] said,[Let them respond] through supplication (duʿāʾ), �and believe in Me�, � that is, �Affirm Me as True (saddaqanī), for I am there whenever someone calls on Me with sincerity (mukhliṣan), without despondency (āyis) or despair (qanaṭ).�
الْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌ مَعْلُومَاتٌ ۚ فَمَنْ فَرَضَ فِيهِنَّ الْحَجَّ فَلَا رَفَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ فِي الْحَجِّ ۗ وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ يَعْلَمْهُ اللَّهُ ۗ وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَىٰ ۚ وَاتَّقُونِ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ
📘 And take provision, but the best of provisions is mindfulness of God... He [Sahl] said:It [mindfulness of God, taqwā] is the [best travelling] companion (rafīq) leading to the remembrance(dhikr) of God, Exalted is He, in fear (khawfan); just as there is no [travelling] provision (zād) for the lover (muḥibb) save the Beloved (maḥbūb), and no provision for the possessor of mystical knowledge (ʿārif) save the Known (maʿrūf). [Continuing on from this] Sahl explained that the words, If he is able to make his way there [3:97] are an allusion to the provision (zād) and the riding beast (rāḥila). He then asked, �Do you know what the provision and riding beast are?� They replied: �No�. So he said, �The provision is remembrance (dhikr) and the riding beast is patience (ṣabr).� Then he went on to relate how a man had accompanied him on the road to Mecca, and for two days had not found anything [to eat], so he said, �O teacher! I need sustenance!� to which he [Sahl] replied, �Sustenance is God.� The other man then said, �One cannot do without sustenance for the body to function.� To which he replied, �All bodies exist [only] through God, Mighty and Majestic is He.� Then he recited the following lines [in the basīṭ metre]:O Beloved, replenish [my longing]! May the water of longing pour down upon you from the rain cloud,Whose pouring increases my sorrows and anguish.An anguish remains in my heart, consuming me,Truly as love increases, with it will increase my rapture. After that, he said, �It is the world that severs those who are devoted to God from God, Mighty and Majestic is He.� Finally, he said, �The livelihood (ʿaysh) of angels is in obedience (ṭāʿa); the livelihood of the prophets is in knowledge (ʿilm) and waiting for relief (intiẓār al-faraj); and the livelihood of the veracious (ṣiddīqūn) is in emulation (iqtidāʾ). As for the rest, their livelihood is in food and drink.�So fear me, O people of inner substance (ulū�l-albāb)![Sahl said] that this means:�O people of understanding (fahm)!� That is, those who are possessed of sound intellects (ʿuqūl salīma). Truly God, Exalted is He, has commanded them to be aware of Him according to the capacity of their intellects, by virtue of that which He has specially allotted them, such as: the light of guidance by His essence; [their] receptivity to [that light] from Him; His having singled them out by depositing something (maʿnā) within them; and His knowledge of them prior to their creation.
ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
📘 �In it there is no doubt (rayb)�This means that there is no uncertainty (shakk) in it. A guidance for those who are mindful of God (muttaqūn) � that is, an explanation (bayān) for those who are mindful of God. The mindful of God are those who have freed themselves from the claim of possessing any power or strength except in God, Exalted is He, and who have resorted to taking refuge [in Him] and depending solely on His power and strength in every situation. So God has assisted them and provided for them whence they had no reckoning, and made for them a source of relief and release from the trials to which He has subjected them.Sahl [further] said:God�s power (ḥawl) and strength (quwwa) are [manifest in] His act, His act is according to His knowledge, and His knowledge is among the attributes belonging to His essence. The power and strength of the servant are but a temporary claim which lasts only until the last hour. The last hour is in the possession of God alone, Exalted is He.
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
📘 �Our Lord, give us good in this world�These words refer to knowledge and sincere devotion,...and good in the Hereafter�, refers to His good pleasure (riḍā), as He said: God is well-pleased with them and they are well-pleased with Him� [5:119].
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يُعْجِبُكَ قَوْلُهُ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيُشْهِدُ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا فِي قَلْبِهِ وَهُوَ أَلَدُّ الْخِصَامِ
📘 �Yet he is the most stubborn in altercation. That is, [he is] extremely contentious [on the basis of] what is false. Indeed, ʿĀʾisha à narrated that the Prophet said, �The most abhorrent of men before God, Exalted is He, are those who are stubborn and antagonistic.� His words:
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُ اتَّقِ اللَّهَ أَخَذَتْهُ الْعِزَّةُ بِالْإِثْمِ ۚ فَحَسْبُهُ جَهَنَّمُ ۚ وَلَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ
📘 �he is seized by vainglory in his sin�He replied:This refers to [proud] fury (ḥamīya), just as He said in Sūra Ṣād, in vainglory and defiance [38:2], that is, in proud fury and dissension (ikhtilāf).Concerning His words:
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُمْ مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ ۖ مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ
📘 �And were so shaken [in spirit]� That is, their willing was through Him, they were fearful because of Him, and were wary of God�s ruse (makr), Mighty and Majestic is He; �that the Messenger and those who believed with him said, �When will God�s help come?� Ah, but surely God�s help is nigh.Sahl was asked concerning these words, �Did they ask this because they found that help slow in arriving?� He replied:No, but when they lost hope in their own devising (tadbīr) they said, �When will God�s help come?� Hence, when God, Exalted is He, saw that they had given up on their own power (ḥawl), strength (quwwa) and devising (tadbīr), and saw their display of neediness for Him, and [their admission that] they had no means without Him, He responded to them with His words, Ah, but surely God�s help is nigh.Sahl further said:Affliction (balāʾ) and well-being (ʿāfiya) are from God, Mighty and Majestic is He. The commandand prohibition are from Him; protection and the granting of success are from Him; and reward and punishment are from Him. However, actions are attributed (manṣūba) to the children of Adam, so whoever performs a good action must express gratitude to merit thereby an increase [in goodness]; and whoever performs a wicked act must seek forgiveness, so that he thereby merits forgiveness. Affliction from God is of two kinds: an affliction of mercy and an affliction of punishment. An affliction of mercy leads the afflicted person to show his utter need (iftiqār) for God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and leads him to the abandonment of devising(tadbīr). However, an affliction of punishment leads the afflicted person [to rely] on his own choice (ikhtiyār) and devising.Sahl was then asked, �Which is more difficult, patience (ṣabr) in [a state of] well-being or patience during adversity?� He replied:Asking for safety (salāma) in times of security is more difficult than asking for safety in [a state of] fear.[On the same subject] Sahl said regarding His words, And if anyone believes in God, [God] guides his heart [aright] [64:11], �[Whoever] believes in God and that his affliction comes from God, will find his heart guided by God to the expectation of relief (intiẓār al-faraj) from Him�.His words:[5:2] �Help one another to righteousness and mindfulness of God�That is, to the performance of the obligatory acts, for righteousness (birr) is faith (īmān), and the performance of obligatory acts is a branch (farʿ) of faith.
الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ فِرَاشًا وَالسَّمَاءَ بِنَاءً وَأَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ ۖ فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَنْدَادًا وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
📘 �So set not up compeers (andād) to God�That is, adversaries (aḍdād), and the greatest adversary is the self that incites to evil (al-nafs al-ammāra bi�l-sūʾ), which is only bent on its own pleasures (ḥuẓūẓ) and cravings (munā), without having any regard for guidance from God. Sahl was asked about God�s words:
وَلَا تَجْعَلُوا اللَّهَ عُرْضَةً لِأَيْمَانِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوا وَتَتَّقُوا وَتُصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ النَّاسِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
📘 Do not make God�s [name] an excuse in your oaths not to be righteous�Sahl was asked concerning this verse, �What is this righteousness (birr)?� He replied: �This means that you do not maintain your family ties [just] because of an oath.� Then [in this connection] someone mentioned to him the verse: It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West [2:177], and he [Sahl] said:This means: it is not righteousness that you do nothing other than this; [True] righteousness is [that of] the one who believes in God [2:177], to the end of that verse. Do you not notice how He says, Do you bid others to righteousness, while you forget [to practise it] yourselves? [2:44], which is a reference to Jews who were commanding their foster brothers to obey God, Exalted is He, and to follow the Prophet , while they themselves did not do that.
وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا عَرَّضْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْ خِطْبَةِ النِّسَاءِ أَوْ أَكْنَنْتُمْ فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ ۚ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ سَتَذْكُرُونَهُنَّ وَلَٰكِنْ لَا تُوَاعِدُوهُنَّ سِرًّا إِلَّا أَنْ تَقُولُوا قَوْلًا مَعْرُوفًا ۚ وَلَا تَعْزِمُوا عُقْدَةَ النِّكَاحِ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ الْكِتَابُ أَجَلَهُ ۚ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُ ۚ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ
📘 �But do not make arrangements with them secretly�That is, arrangements of marriage, �and know that God knows what is within yourselves, so be wary of Him�, by which is meant that He knew what was hidden within yourselves before He created you, namely, every single act done in the way of goodness, that He was to commandand the performance of which He would aid, and [likewise] every act [you would do], which He had forbidden, and from which He would not protect [you]. He abandoned whom He willed to his desire, so that the act which He had forbidden would become manifest from that person, and He did not grant His protection, out of His justice and decree. The meaning of His words, what is within yourselves refers to that which you have not yet done, and within yourselves refers to that which you will do. So be wary of Him, that is to say, humbly implore Him concerning it, that He should be the one who takes care of your affairs by extending His aid and guaranteeing your success in the [realisation] of obedience, and by granting His protection from forbidden [acts] through [His] help and support. Do you not take heed of the words of ʿUmar and Ibn Masʿūd? y:�O God! If in the Mother of the Book that is with You, we are among those who are wretched and deprived, then erase that from [our destiny] and appoint us to be among those of felicity who are encompassed by Your mercy. Truly You erase what You will and establish [what You will] and the Mother of the Book is with You.�His words:
حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَىٰ وَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ قَانِتِينَ
📘 Maintain the prayers�That is, �Persist in upholding them�. However His words, And establish prayer and pay the alms. [24:56], have two aspects, one of which is establishing prayer without the affirmation [of faith], just as when He said in Sūra Barāʾa, if they repent, [9:5] meaning, from idolatry (shirk), and establish regular prayers� [9:5], that is, committing themselves to prayer and almsgiving, then let them be. In this regard, He also said: Yet if they repent, establish prayer, and pay the obligatory alms, then they are your brothers in religion [9:11] [and comrades]. There is something similarto this in Sūrat al-Sajda. The second aspect of establishing [the prayers] (iqāma) is referred to when He says in Sūrat al-Mujādala, Then establish the prayer and pay the obligatory alms [58:13], as in Sūrat al-Muzzammil [73:20], and again with His words in Sūrat al-Māʾida, [believers who] establish the prayer [5:55], meaning that they fulfil it [that duty] completely.�especially the middle prayer� [Sahl] was asked about these words, and the reason why [the middle prayer] is singled out. He replied:It is singled out due to a particular characteristic it possesses, even though it is not apart from the obligatory prayers as a whole, in the same way that Gabriel and others were singled out for mention among the host of the angels, due to a certain particularity.He continued:There is another reason, namely, that the times of the rest of the prayers are known by both the knowledgeable and the ignorant, because their signs are obvious. However, the time for the ʿAṣr prayer is less clear. Thus by mentioning [this prayer] in particular, He urged people to take care to observe it at its correct time.His words [that follow in the same verse]:�And stand before God in submissionThat is, �Stand before God in prayer in a state of obedience, for many a worshipper is disobedient,such as the hypocrite and his like. The Prophet was asked, �Which prayer is the best?� He replied, �The longest in devotion (qunūt), that is, the prayer [for which] one stands the longest (ṭūl al-qiyām). And Zayd b. Arqam said that being devout (qunūt) is silence, for we used to speak during the prayer until God, Exalted is He, sent down the words, And stand before God in submission [2:238], after which we desisted from speaking [during prayer]. Muḥammad b. Sawwār said, �The qunūt is the witr, which was called a (qunūt) because of the supplication (duʿāʾ) which is offered in it whilst standing, aside from the recitation of Qurʾān.� This is a kind of magnifying (taʿẓīm) [of God] through supplication.
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الْمَلَإِ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مُوسَىٰ إِذْ قَالُوا لِنَبِيٍّ لَهُمُ ابْعَثْ لَنَا مَلِكًا نُقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۖ قَالَ هَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِنْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ أَلَّا تُقَاتِلُوا ۖ قَالُوا وَمَا لَنَا أَلَّا نُقَاتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَقَدْ أُخْرِجْنَا مِنْ دِيَارِنَا وَأَبْنَائِنَا ۖ فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقِتَالُ تَوَلَّوْا إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِنْهُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّالِمِينَ
📘 Have you not seen the chiefs of the Children of Israel�Sahl was asked who the chiefs were. He replied:He [God] means by this the leaders. Take note of the saying of the Messenger of God when he heard a man after the Battle of Badr say, �On the Day of Badr we only killed bald, old men�, to which the Messenger of God replied, �They are the chiefs of Quraysh�, meaning the notablesand leaders. Sahl was asked about His words:
وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ ۖ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا مِنْهَا مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ رِزْقًا ۙ قَالُوا هَٰذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ ۖ وَأُتُوا بِهِ مُتَشَابِهًا ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ ۖ وَهُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
📘 �They shall be given it [the fruits] in perfect semblance; �and there for them shall be spouses, purified�,He replied:In Paradise there are no carpets, vessels, clothes, perfume, birds or plants, nor any fruits [as we know them]. Thus the semblance that the things of this world bear to those [mentioned in the verse] is no more than a coincidence in their names. So the pomegranate of this world does not in the least resemble the pomegranate in Paradise, except in name. The same is the case with resemblance of the date, the jujube and other such fruits [to those of Paradise]. What is intended in His saying in [perfect] semblance is only a likeness in colour, for there is a differencein taste. When in Paradise the angels bring an apple to the friends of God (awliyāʾ) during the day, and then they bring them another during the night, and they ask, �Is this one [like the other]?� They are told, �Taste it�, and on tasting it they experience a different taste to that of the first one. It should not be discounted from God�s ability, Exalted is He, that He could make an apple taste like a pomegranate, almond or quince.�Sahl continued:Indeed I know one of the friends of God (awliyāʾ) who saw on the seashore a man who had before him the biggest pomegranate that there ever was. The friend of God (walī) asked him what he had before him, to which he replied, �It is a pomegranate that I saw in Paradise. I desired it so God granted it to me, but when He placed it before me I regretted my haste for having it while still in this world.� That man [the walī] asked, �May I eat some of it?� and the man responded, �If you have the capacity to eat it, then do so�; upon which he grabbed the fruit from him and ate most of it. When the man saw him eating the fruit he it was astounded and said, �Receive glad tidings of Paradise, for I did not know your [spiritual] rank before you ate it; no one eats of the food of Paradise in this life except the people of Paradise.�Then Abū Bakr asked Sahl if the one who had eaten the pomegranate had informed him of its taste, to which he replied:He did, and its taste brings together the tastes of all fruits, and in addition it has a smoothness and coolness which is unlike any of the tastes [experienced] in this world.Then Abū Bakr commented, �I have no doubt, nor does anyone who heard this story from Sahl, that he himself was in fact both the possessor of that pomegranate and the one who ate it.�Sahl was asked about His words:
۞ تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۘ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ ۚ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ ۗ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقْتَتَلَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَلَٰكِنِ اخْتَلَفُوا فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ آمَنَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَفَرَ ۚ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقْتَتَلُوا وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ
📘 �and confirmed him with the Holy Spirit� He replied:The Holy (al-Quddūs) refers to God, that is, the One who is sanctified above having children, partners or a spouse.
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
📘 God, There is no god except Him, the Living, the Eternal Sustainer�He replied:This is the mightiest (aʿẓam) verse in God�s Book, Exalted is He. Within it is God�s Greatest Name, and it is written across the sky in green light in one line from East to West. This is how I saw it written on the Night of Great Merit (Laylat al-Qadr) in ʿAbbādān: There is no god except Him, the Living, the Eternal Sustainer.The Living, the Eternal Sustainer is the One who oversees everything pertaining to His creatures: their life spans, their actions, and their provision. He is the One who requites goodness (iḥsān) with goodness, and misdeeds with forgiveness (ghufrān), but He requites hypocrisy, disbelief and innovation with punishment. Whoever pronounces the saying: �There is no god except God� has made a pact with God, so it is unlawful for him, after making a pact with God, to disobey Him in any of His commandments or prohibitions, in secret or public, or to support His enemy, or to show enmity towards a friend of His.�No slumber can seize Him, nor sleep� Slumber (sina) here means sleepiness.He [Sahl] also said:Slumber is when the heart (qalb) is mingled with sleep.
اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُمْ مِنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ ۗ أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
📘 God is the protector of the believers�Concerning these words Sahl said:That is, [He protects them with] the protection of [His] good pleasure (riḍā). He is their protectordue to the former guidance He granted them, and His knowledge concerning them, of their affirmation of His oneness. This is due to His knowledge that they have freed themselves from every cause except their Creator. Hence they were taken out of the darkness into the light, and from disbelief, error, disobedience and innovation to faith, which is the light that God, Mighty and Majestic is He, established in their hearts. This is the light of the insight of certainty (nūr baṣīrat al-yaqīn) by which they seek inner perception of the divine oneness (tawḥīd), and obedience to Him in that which He has commanded and forbidden. For anyone to whom God gives no light, there is no light! [24:40]His words, Mighty and Majestic is He:And the disbelievers � their protectors are false deities�That is, Satan.Sahl said:The head of all devils is the evil-inciting self (nafs ammāra bi�l-sūʾ), for Satan cannot overpower man except through the desire (hawā) of his lower self. So if he [Satan] senses something that it desires, he casts temptation at it.
وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ ۖ قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِنْ ۖ قَالَ بَلَىٰ وَلَٰكِنْ لِيَطْمَئِنَّ قَلْبِي ۖ قَالَ فَخُذْ أَرْبَعَةً مِنَ الطَّيْرِ فَصُرْهُنَّ إِلَيْكَ ثُمَّ اجْعَلْ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ جَبَلٍ مِنْهُنَّ جُزْءًا ثُمَّ ادْعُهُنَّ يَأْتِينَكَ سَعْيًا ۚ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
📘 And when Abraham said, �My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead��[Sahl] was asked whether or not Abraham was in doubt concerning his faith, and was therefore asking his Lord to show him a sign or miracle in order to restore his faith. He replied:His question was not out of doubt; he was merely asking for an increase in certainty (ziyādat al-yaqīn) to the faith he already had. Thus he asked for an unveiling of the cover of visual beholding with his physical eyes, so that by the light of certainty, his own certainty regarding God�s omnipotence might be increased, and [his certainty] regarding His creative [power] mightth be consolidated. Do you not notice how when He asked [him], �Why, do you not believe?� he replied �Yes.� If he had been in doubt he would not have said �Yes�. Furthermore, if God was aware of any doubt in him and had he given Him the answer �Yes�, [attempting to] conceal his doubt, God would definitely have disclosed that, Exalted is He, as such things cannot be concealed from Him. Therefore, this confirms that the request for [his heart�s] reassurance (ṭumaʾnīna) signified a request for an increase in his certainty. Then it was asked, �Surely the people of the �Table Spread� sought profound peace of mind, through the sending down of the feast, and their [request] was out of doubt. So how does this correspond?� He replied:Abraham made it known that he was a believer, and he only asked for profound peace of mind in addition to faith in order to receive greater [certainty]. The people of the Table Spread, on the other hand, made it known that they would believe only after they had found calm reassurance in their hearts. As He said: and that our hearts may be reassured, and that we may know that you have spoken to us truthfully [5:113]. Thus they made it known that their knowledge of his [Jesus�] truthfulness, after they had been reassured by witnessing the feast, was to be the starting point of their faith.Abū Bakr [al-Sijzī] said: I heard him say on another occasion:�But so that my heart may be reassured� [2:260] � that is, �I do not feel secure against one of Your enemies challenging me if I should say, My Lord is He who gives life and death [2:258], and then [one of them] should ask, �Did you see Him give life and death?� In this way my heart would be at ease in being able to answer �Yes� to him, once I had witnessed that.
الشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ وَيَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ ۖ وَاللَّهُ يَعِدُكُمْ مَغْفِرَةً مِنْهُ وَفَضْلًا ۗ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ
📘 Satan promises you poverty and enjoins you to indecency�He was asked about these words and replied, �[He, Satan, does this] so that they should take somethingwhich is not lawfully theirs, and deposit it in other than its proper place.�
يُؤْتِي الْحِكْمَةَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا ۗ وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّا أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ
📘 �And he who is given wisdom has been given much good.He was asked about these words and he said:Abū Saʿīd al-Khuḍrī narrated from the Prophet that he said: �The Qurʾān is God�s wisdom (ḥikma) among His servants. Whoever learns the Qurʾān and acts according to it, it is as if prophethood were incorporated within him, except that he does not receive revelation. He is called to account in the same way as the prophets except in the matter of conveying the message.� And Muḥammad b. Sawwār reported to me from ʿAqīl, from Ibn al-Musayyab, on the authorityof Abū Hurayra that he stated that the Prophet said, �The Qurʾān is wisdom, andwhoever learns the Qurʾān in his youth, it mingles with his flesh and blood. And surely the Fire cannot touch a heart which contains the Qurʾān, nor a body which avoids that which it prohibits (maḥārim), and keeps to what it permits (ḥalāl), believes in that which is clear [in it] (muḥkam), refrains from judgement in that which is ambiguous [in it] (mutashābih), and does not make innovations regarding it.� Mujāhid and Ṭāwūs said, �Wisdom is the Qurʾān, as He says in Sūrat al-Naḥl, Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom [16:125], meaning the Qurʾān. Ḥasan said, �Wisdom is the understanding of the Qurʾān, and wisdom is prophethood, as He says in Sūrat Ṣād, and gave him wisdom� [38:20], meaning prophethood (nubuwwa). And God said [concerning] David , And God gave him kingship and wisdom [2:251] meaning prophethood, along with the Book. Qatāda said, �Wisdom is understanding the religion of God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and following the Messenger of God �; Suddī said: �Wisdom is prophethood�; Zayd b.
لِلْفُقَرَاءِ الَّذِينَ أُحْصِرُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ ضَرْبًا فِي الْأَرْضِ يَحْسَبُهُمُ الْجَاهِلُ أَغْنِيَاءَ مِنَ التَّعَفُّفِ تَعْرِفُهُمْ بِسِيمَاهُمْ لَا يَسْأَلُونَ النَّاسَ إِلْحَافًا ۗ وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِهِ عَلِيمٌ
📘 [Charity is] for the poor, who are constrained in the way of God�Sahl was asked about these words and the difference between the poor (fuqarāʾ) and the abject (masākīn). He replied:God, Exalted is He, described the poor (faqīr) in terms of destitution (ʿadam) due to their state of asking Him out of utter neediness (iftiqār) and resorting (lijāʾ) to Him. He also described them as having the qualities of contentment (riḍā) and satisfaction [with their lot] (qunūʿ), for He said, Exalted is He, �They do not beg from men importunately [2:273].These are the People of the Bench (Ahl al-Ṣuffa) of the Messenger of God who were about forty men. They did not have any dwellings in Medina nor [did they belong to] any tribes. These were the circumstances of a group of people whom God, Exalted is He, praised for the high degree of their dependence on Him. They had no ability (istiṭāʿa), nor any strength (quwwa) except in Him and from Him. He was their power (ḥawl) and strength (quwwa). He uprooted from them the power for their hearts to depend (sukūn) on anything other than Him, which is the incitement (waswasa) of the lower self towards that which is other than God, Exalted is He. Because of this [quality] they are elevated in their [spiritual] state. But [this is unlike] the one whom God turns back to the acquiescence of his lower self (musākana nafsihi), [about whom] He said, It belonged to deprived people (masākin) who worked at sea [18:79]. He returned them to the situation in which they had acquiesced. However, as regards the poor and needy person (faqīr), whose want has made him surrender himself to God, Exalted is He, his action involves[combatting] the desire (hawā) of his lower self, and thus he is in a better state than the one who acquiesces in whatever state he is in, due to following his lower self.ʿUmar b. Wāṣil said, �If one needy of God (faqīr ilā�Llāh), Mighty and Majestic is He, is satisfied, [yet] does not depend on [his state of] contentment (riḍā) and self-surrender (taslīm), then both names are true for him: poverty (faqr) and lowliness (maskana).� Abū Bakr [al-Sijzī] said that he heard Sahl say:The poor person is [one who is both] poor [and] helpless (faqīr ʿājiz).
وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ
📘 And fear the Day wherein you shall be returned to God.He replied:This was the last verse to have been revealed, and with it God, Exalted is He, brought the Qurʾān to a close. The Messenger of God passed away eighty days after it was revealed.Then he said:When the night before the [trial] arrives when [justice will be demanded] by people of this world for crimes committed against them by others of this world, sleep and rest vanishes from those who are imprisoned [for those crimes]. They do not know what will be done with them due to My curse on them, whether they will be killed or tortured, or let off and set free. This is the case for the offences committed by people of this world against others of this world, so how will it be for the people of the Hereafter when it comes to God�s grievances [against them]?Concerning His words:
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ ۖ وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا ۚ أَنْتَ مَوْلَانَا فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
📘 God charges no soul save to its capacity�[Sahl said]:That is, what it can bear; �for it, is what it has merited�, that is, its reward for righteous deed[s], �and against it, is what it has earned�, meaning, the burden of sins.�Then he said:Whoever is not concerned with his past sins will not be protected in the days that remain. Moreover, whoever is not protected in his remaining days will be among those who perish on their final return.He was asked, �When does a man know his own sins?� He replied:When he preserves the lights of his heart and does not allow anything to enter it or depart from it without [first] weighing it up, then he will know his own sins. Furthermore, whoever opens for himself a door to goodness, will find that God opens for him seventy doors to divinely-bestowed success (tawfīq). On the other hand, whoever opens for himself a door to evil, will find that God opens to him seventy doors to evil whence the servant will not know. Every heart that preoccupies itself with that which does not concern it will be punished immediately by missing out on that which is its [genuine] concern at that moment (fī�l-ḥāl). No one knows this except those who know God.
الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ
📘 The [ones who are] mindful of God are those who believe in the unseen�God is the unseen and His religion is the unseen, and God, Mighty and Majestic is He, has ordered them to believe in the unseen, to free themselves from [any claim] to power and strength concerning that which they have been commanded to do and prohibited from doing, in faith, speech and action and to say, �We have no power (ḥawl) to keep ourselves from disobediencesave through Your protection (ʿiṣma), and we have no strength (quwwa) to obey You save through Your aid (maʿūna).� This is [a result of] of His compassion (ishfāq) towards them, and of His assisting them so that they do not claim power, strength and ability as did those who were damned from pre-eternity. When [these latter] saw the punishment with their own eyes, they disowned [their claim], but their disavowal did not avail them after they had actually seen the punishment. God has informed us about those who fit this description in His words But their faith was of no benefit to them when they (actually) saw Our punishment [40:85], and: Their only plea when Our might came upon them, was to say, �We were evildoers indeed� [7:5]. Similarly, Pharaoh claimed to have power, strength and ability, and said, �Whenever I wish to believe, I will believe�, but when he actually came to believe it was not accepted from him, as God, Exalted is He, said, Now � when hitherto you have disobeyed and been of those who do corruption? [10:91]�And spend out of what We have provided them:Sahl said:Truly God, Exalted is He, has described in this way those whom He has moulded with a certain nature, who are connected to Him by a certain link, and who never lapse in their heedfulness (murāqaba) of Him. They are those who never made a choice and desired nothing other than Him. Their only choice is that He should choose for them, even as He has chosen them for Himself. They desire nothing that has any relation to another which will remove them from their dependence solely on Him, for they have freed themselves from other than Him.Abū Bakr relates that it was said to Sahl: �Truly God has granted you wisdom (ḥikma)�, to which he replied:Indeed, God willing, I have been granted wisdom (ḥikma) and [a knowledge of] the unseen (ghayb) which I was taught from the unseen of His secret (min ghayb sirrihi), and thus He sufficed me from the need for all other knowledge � and that the ultimate end is toward your Lord [53:42], and He completed what He had begun with me out of His grace and beneficence.His words, Mighty and Majestic is He:
وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوا أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَنْ يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
📘 �I am appointing on earth a vicegerent�He answered:God, Exalted is He, before he created Adam said to the angels I am appointing on earth a vicegerent, and He created Adam from the clay of might consisting of the light of Muḥammad , and He informed him that his self which incites evil (al-nafs al-ammāra bi�l-sūʾ) would be his worst enemy, and that He had created it so that he conduct it [on the path] to Him, accordingto his knowledge of it, regarding notions (khawāṭir) and impulses (himam) [which arise in it], and that he [Adam] conduct it in such a way as to remain utterly dependent on Him, seeking refuge in Him. If He shows it an act of obedience, it should respond by saying, �O help me!�, and if it is moved to an act of disobedience, it should cry out, �O protect me!� If it is moved to a blessing, it should say, �Grant me a share of it!� If He says to it, �Be patient in the face of tribulation�, it should respond saying, �O, grant me patience!� His [man�s] heart should not entertain the slightest whispering (waswasa) of the self without abandoning it and returningto its Lord. God, Exalted is He, made the natural propensity (ṭabʿ) of the self such that it is passive when faced with commandments and active when faced with prohibitions. However, He commanded it to respond with passivity when inclined to activity, and to be active when inclined to passivity, with the words, �There is neither power nor strength except in God�, that is, there is no power to resist disobeying Him except through His protection, and no strength to obey Him except with His aid.Then He ordered him [Adam] to enter the Garden and eat from it at ease wherever he wished, after which He decreed to him that he may not eat from the Tree. When he entered the Garden and saw what he saw there, he said, �If only we could stay here forever; yet, indeed, we have an appointed time that extends to a known limit.
فَتَلَقَّىٰ آدَمُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
📘 Thereafter Adam received certain words from his Lord, and He relented towards him...Sahl was asked, �What were the words that Adam learnt from his Lord?� He replied:Muḥammad b. Sawwār informed me, [in a narration] from his father, from al-Thawrī, from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Rafīʿ, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmar y, that he [the latter] said: �When Adam recalled his error he said: �O Lord, do you see the act of disobedience by which I disobeyed You as something that You preordained for me before You created me, or somethingthat I initiated?� He replied: �Indeed, it is something that I preordained for you, that you would do as a consequence of My lifting My protection from you, fifty thousand years before creating you.� Then Adam asked, �As you preordained it for me, then forgive me, for indeed We have wronged our own souls [7:23], through carrying out the lower self�s desire and relying on its devising, and we have repented from ever going back to that. If You do not forgive us � that is, in this life, and have mercy upon us, during what remains of our lives we shall surely be among the lost [7:23] � that is, among the damned and tormented in the Hereafter.��So these were the words which God, Exalted is He, was speaking about when He said: Thereafter Adam received certain words from his Lord, and his Lord relented towards him, truly He is the Relenting, the Merciful.It was related from the Prophet that he said: �Adam asked Moses, (peace be upon them both), �How many years before my creation do you find that my sin was destined for me?� He replied, �Forty thousand years.�� The Prophet then said, �Thus did Adam confute Moses (peace be upon them both).� Sahl was asked about God�s words:[2:30]�Whilst we glorify You with praise and sanctify You�It means �We purify ourselves for Your sake by saying what You inspired us to say through the favour that You bestowed upon us. Blessed are You, O our Lord!�
يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ
📘 �And be in awe of Me.Sahl was asked, �What is this awe (rahba) that He commanded them to feel towards Him?� He replied:He meant by this, the [true] locating of the light of certainty (mawḍiʿ nūr al-yaqīn) in relationto the heart�s insight (baṣar al-qalb), and gnosis (maʿrifa) in relation to the entirety of the heart (kulliyat al-qalb). For endurance (mukābada) and struggle (mujāhada) are a part of faith ⸢for the sake of God (īmān li�Llāh)⸣. Then, when the heart ceases to have fear of all other than Him, the light of certainty is unveiled, and the servant who abides in faith for the sake of God, attains ⸢to faith in [or through] God (īmān bi�Llāh)⸣, with an unshakeable realisationof His oneness (tawḥīdan ʿalā tamkīn), by which I mean, his heart is in a state of tranquil and confident repose with his Master (sukūn qalbihi ilā mawlāhu). Consequently, the light of certainty unveils the knowledge of the eye of certainty (ʿilm ʿayn al-yaqīn), and this is the attainment (wuṣūl) of God, Exalted is He. For this certainty, by virtue of the light of certainty (bi-nūr al-yaqīn) that leads to the eye of certainty, is not ⸢something that is brought into being (mukawwan)⸣, nor is it something created (makhlūq); rather it is a light from the light of the essence of God (dhāt al-Ḥaqq), not in the sense of an indwelling (ḥulūl), nor of conjoining (jamʿ), or conjunction (ittiṣāl). Rather, the meaning of the servant�s attainment (ittiṣāl) of his Master refers to the [true] locating (mawḍiʿ) of his realisation of the divine oneness, and his obedience to God and His Messenger.So, according to the strength of his perception (baṣar) of God, he will attain full awareness (taqwā) and awe (rahba) of Him. The root of full awareness of God is in relinquishing the lower self (mubāyanat al-nafs), so let [the servant] relinquish [the lower self] for this, and not accommodate any of the pleasures [demanded by] its desire (hawā), nor any of those pleasures to which it [the lower self] is summoning him, and for which it has no excuse. Know that human beings will vary in rank on the Day of Resurrection according to the measure of the light of certainty that they possess. The weightier the certainty a person has the heavier will his scales weigh, even though there might [otherwise] be less in his scales.He [Sahl] was asked, �How can you tell the soundness of someone�s certainty?� To which he replied:By the strength of his confidence (thiqa) in God, Exalted is He, and his good opinion (ḥusn al-ẓann) of Him. Trust in God is witnessing (mushāhada) through certainty (yaqīn), the eye of certainty (ʿayn al-yaqīn), and the wholeness [of its vision] (kulliyyatihi). Its perfection and goal is the attainment of God, Mighty and Majestic is He.
وَآمِنُوا بِمَا أَنْزَلْتُ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا مَعَكُمْ وَلَا تَكُونُوا أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ ۖ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا وَإِيَّايَ فَاتَّقُونِ
📘 �And fear Me When asked about this verse, Sahl replied:What He means by this is [their being aware] of His prior knowledge concerning them, that is, �You should never feel secure from the [divine] ruse (makr), nor of His act of giving respite (istidrāj), such that your hearts become complacent in the observance of your security in this world while you persist in falling short [in good works]; nor should you rely upon My leniency towards you in the matter of [not] hastening your punishment, in that same [false] sense of security, and in your delusion (ightirār) and heedlessness (ghafla), lest you perish.� The Prophet said: �Had Jesus the son of Mary had greater certainty (yaqīn) he would have walked in the air as he walked on water.� And truly our Prophet traversed the air on the Night Journey (Isrāʾ) due to the strength of the light of his certainty, [a certainty] which God, Exalted is He, granted to him from His light, as an increase in light to the light that he already possessed from God, Exalted is He. The Prophet also said: �If gnosis (maʿrifa) had remained firmly rooted in the heart of David and he had not slipped into negligence, he would not have fallen into disobedience.� By my life, truly gnosis (maʿrifa) was enclosed within its own abodes (udrijat fī awṭānihā), in order that what was contained within God�s prior knowledge concerning him would befall him. This is because it [God�s prior knowledge] inevitably had to be manifested in his qualities, since God�s knowledge is a final decree that cannot change to other than what the All-Knowing knows, Mighty and Majestic is He. Indeed God, Mighty and Majestic is He, concealed [from David]
وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا الْحَقَّ وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
📘 And do not obscure the truth with falsehood, and do not conceal truth wittingly.Sahl was asked about this verse, to which he replied:This means, �Do not cover up a matter of the Hereafter because of a worldly concern.� What [God] means is that it is not allowed for the people of truth to conceal the truth from the people of truth (ahl al-ḥaqq) in particular, or from those who long to be guided thereby to God. As for the people of truth, they will increase in insight (baṣīra) [through hearing it], and as for those who are not of the elite of the people of truth, the words of God are a source of guidance for them and of direction to God, Exalted is He.
وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ ۚ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى الْخَاشِعِينَ
📘 Seek help in patience and prayer�When asked about these words Sahl said:Patience here [means] fasting, while prayer [means] the bond (waṣla) of gnosis (maʿrifa). He whose prayer � this being his bond [with God] � is sound, will be exempt from accusation (tuhma) before God; for interrogation (suʾāl) is a form of accusation, but with this bond there remains no interrogation. Do you not take note of His words [in the second part of this verse], It is hard indeed, except for the humble?
وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَا تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَنْ نَفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ
📘 �and no intercession shall be accepted from it [the soul], nor shall compensation be taken, neither shall they be helped.When asked about these words Sahl said:It means that even if it [the soul] were to bring the sum of all good actions great and small, in abundance or just a few, none of this will be accepted from it on its arrival on the Day of Resurrection, nor anything from him [the servant]. Compensation (ʿadl) here means equivalence[or like, mathal]. Do you not note His words: Or its compensation in fasts [5:95] � that is, its equivalence and reward?
أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًى مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
📘 Those are upon guidance from their Lord�That is, a clear explanation (bayān) from their Lord: by the light of His guidance hearts witness Him in confident abandonment to Him due to a light from His light, by which He singled them out in His prior knowledge. They do not speak except with guidance (hudā), and their inner perception is solely directed towards that guidance. So those who are guided by [this light] are never left by it; they are [constant] witnesses to it because they are never absent from it. If people were to ask them about it they would inform them, and if they were to will [something], it would quickly be brought about. Thus �they are the ones who will prosper [2:5], and they are directed to guidance and success through His guidance. [It is they who will] remain (bāqūna) in Paradise with the permanent subsistence (baqāʾ) of God, Mighty and Majestic is He. Then Sahl said:It was transmitted to me that God, Exalted is He, revealed to David the words: �Make sure that I do not pass you by, for in that case you would forgo everything. Verily I created Muḥammad for My sake, and I created Adam for his sake. I created My believing servantsfor My worship, and I created all other things for [the service of] the son of Adam. So if he preoccupies himself with that which I have created for his service, I will veil him from that [for] which I created [him] for My sake.�
وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَىٰ لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ نَرَى اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ وَأَنْتُمْ تَنْظُرُونَ
📘 �and the thunderbolt took you even as you looked on When asked about this verse Sahl said:The thunderbolt (al-ṣāʿiqa) signifies death, and it also signifies every destructive punishment that God sends down upon whomever He wills of His servants, which they behold with their own eyes, whereby He shows to others among them a lesson and an admonishment.
فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا قَوْلًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ فَأَنْزَلْنَا عَلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا رِجْزًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ
📘 �So we sent upon the transgressors a plague�He said:the plague being punishment.
قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَا ذَلُولٌ تُثِيرُ الْأَرْضَ وَلَا تَسْقِي الْحَرْثَ مُسَلَّمَةٌ لَا شِيَةَ فِيهَا ۚ قَالُوا الْآنَ جِئْتَ بِالْحَقِّ ۚ فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُوا يَفْعَلُونَ
📘 �and without blemish� When asked about this verse Sahl said:This means that there should be no mark on it which blemishes it, nor a patch of colour which differs from the colour of the rest of its body. In this there is wisdom from its Maker and a lesson for the one who takes heed by it, and grows in certainty because of his faith and his profession of God�s oneness.
وَإِذْ قَتَلْتُمْ نَفْسًا فَادَّارَأْتُمْ فِيهَا ۖ وَاللَّهُ مُخْرِجٌ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ
📘 And when you killed a living soul and disputed thereon�That is, you fell into discord concerning it. Why then did you slay them, if you speak the truth? [3:183] Sahl said regarding these words:This is a reproach from God, Mighty and Majestic is He, to them [the Jews] with regard to those of their forefathers who were murderers of prophets. As you know, those who are addressed in this verse had not killed a prophet at the time of the Prophet , nor was there at that time any other Prophet but him. However, God addressed them with reference to those who came before them among their kin, as He addressed the Prophet with what was in reality directed to his nation [as a whole] with His words: O Prophet! When you [men] divorce women, divorce them by their prescribed period [65:1] The same [principle applies] to His words: About what are they questioning one another?! About the awesome tidings [78:1, 2], [by which is meant], �For what reason do you question the Prophet , when he is more knowledgeable concerning that�.
وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا أَمَانِيَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ
📘 �Who know not the Book, but only [see therein their own] desires�He said:This means that they rest their hopes in God based upon falsehood, inclining towards the desire (hawā) of their lower selves without following guidance from God. This is referring to the Jews. He was asked about His words:
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِنْ بَعْدِهِ بِالرُّسُلِ ۖ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ ۗ أَفَكُلَّمَا جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ بِمَا لَا تَهْوَىٰ أَنْفُسُكُمُ اسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ فَفَرِيقًا كَذَّبْتُمْ وَفَرِيقًا تَقْتُلُونَ
📘 �and confirmed him with the Holy Spirit� He replied:The Holy (al-Quddūs) refers to God, that is, the One who is sanctified above having children, partners or a spouse.
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