📘 �Surely in My presence the messengers do not fear,! except he who has wronged [others]�He said:There was never among the prophets and messengers an oppressor. However, this address to them is actually indirectly referring to their people, just as when He said to the Prophet : If you associate others [with God], your work shall surely fail [39:65], those who are intended are his nation (umma), for when they hear this admonition being addressed to the Prophet , they will be even more cautious [concerning themselves].His words, Exalted is He:

📘 �Surely in My presence the messengers do not fear,! except he who has wronged [others]�He said:There was never among the prophets and messengers an oppressor. However, this address to them is actually indirectly referring to their people, just as when He said to the Prophet : If you associate others [with God], your work shall surely fail [39:65], those who are intended are his nation (umma), for when they hear this admonition being addressed to the Prophet , they will be even more cautious [concerning themselves].His words, Exalted is He:

📘 �[And he said] �My Lord, inspire me to be thankful for the blessings You have granted me...� He said:The servant has no right to speak except with the command of his Master, nor strike except with His command, nor walk except with His command, nor eat, sleep or reflect except with His command. This is the best form of gratitude and it is the gratitude of servants to their Master.His words, Exalted is He:�and include me, by Your mercy, among Your righteous servants.He said:This means, �Grant me proximity to Your friends (awliyāʾ) so that I may be among their company,even though I have not reached their station (maqām).�His words, Exalted is He:

📘 So those, then, are their houses [lying] deserted because of the evil that they did�He said:Their houses are an allusion to hearts; for there are hearts which are inhabited (ʿāmir) through remembrance (dhikr), and there are those which are ruined (kharib) through heedlessness (ghafla). Whomsoever God, Mighty and Majestic is He, inspires with [His] remembrance, He has freed from oppression (ẓulm). His words, Exalted is He:

📘 [Say] �Praise be to God and peace be on His servants whom He has chosen...�He said:Peace from God attaches itself to the people of the Qurʾān in this life according to His saying, peace be on His servants; while peace [for them] in the next life [is indicated by] His saying �Peace!� the word from the Lord [who is] Merciful [36:58].His words, Exalted is He:

📘 Or [is] He who answers the destitute one when he calls to Him [better]...? [Sahl] was asked, �Who is the destitute one (muḍṭarr)?� He replied:It is the person who, when he raises his hands [in prayer], does not see himself having any good deeds other than the profession of [God�s] oneness (tawḥīd), and even considers himself in danger [of losing that]. On another occasion he said:The destitute person (muḍṭarr) is the one who has washed his hands of all power (ḥawl), strength (quwwa) and reprehensible means (asbāb madhmūma). Supplication (daʿwa) from mankind is of two kinds, and is answered, without doubt, whether it be from a believer or unbeliever: the supplication of the destitute (muḍṭarr) and the supplication of the oppressed (maẓlūm); for God says, Exalted is He: Or [is] He who answers the destitute one when he calls to Him� [better]?, and He also says, and who provides for you from the heavens and [from] the earth [27:64]. The supplication of the oppressed is raised above the veil, and God, Exalted is He, responds with the words; �By My glory and majesty, I will come to your aid though it may be after a while.� His words:

📘 Say, �No one in the heavens or on earth knows the unseen, except God...�He said:He [God] has concealed His unseen [mystery] (ghayb) from creatures (makhlūqūn) in His [realm of] dominion (jabarūt), lest any of His servants feel secure from His ruse (makr). Thus, no one knows what has been predestined for him by God, lest their concern be with deluding themselves (īhām) concerning the final outcomes (ʿawāqib) and predestined events (majārī al-sawābiq), and, lest they claim for themselves that of which they are not worthy, such as claims of [having attained the station of] love (maḥabba), gnosis (maʿrifa) and so on.He said:There were in Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis) a hundred thousand veracious ones (ṣiddīqūn) publicly known to people, such that the sound of water flowing from the roof gutters could not be heard due to the [noise] of those who were making their spiritual devotions at night [lit. spiritually striving (mujtahidūn)]. But when two things appeared [from them] they asked God, Exalted is He, and He caused them to die. They were: the claim to love (maḥabba) and claim to have trust [in Him] (tawakkul). He was asked about the saying of al-Ḥārith, who stated, �I stay up at night and thirst during the day.� He replied:He means, �I have no need for disclosure (kashf) for this is the lot of the disbelievers in this life, and I do not share with them their lot. This is why I said, �I am a believer��. He [Sahl] was asked about those who say something similar to that which was said by al-Ḥārith. He replied:Their claim is false. How can their claim be acceptable when Abū Bakr and ʿUmar y did not allow themselves to do such a thing, and a hair on their chests is better than al-Ḥārith. However, al-Ḥārith did not say that by himself, rather God brought that out [of him] as a test (fitna) for all those pretentious people (muddaʿūn) who came after him. So how then is it acceptable for these people to claim such things for themselves?His words, Exalted is He:

📘 And surely your Lord is bountiful to mankind�He said:His withholding (manʿ) is a bounty (faḍl), just as His giving (ʿaṭāʾ) is a bounty, but it is only the elite among the friends [of God] (awliyāʾ) who know the situations in which deprivation is a bounty.His words, Exalted is He:

📘 And you see the mountains, supposing them to be fixed�He said:Truly God, Exalted is He, has drawn the attention of His servants to the passing of time and their heedlessness of it. He made the mountains as a representation of the world (dunyā), which appears to the observer to be standing in support of him, when in actual fact it is taking its share from him. When time has run out, nothing will remain except sighs of regret over what is lost to the one who perceived it as standing in support of him, while in reality it was taking [its share from him]. His words, Exalted is He: