Naṣīḥat al-murīd

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أنَّ الحق متجلياً في كل شيء،

^¹And also: know that the Real (al-Ḥaqq) is self-disclosing (mutajallī) in everything,

^²ولكن لا تجده إلاَّ في مَوْضع أيقنت أنَّ الحق فيه.

^²but you find Him only in a place where you are certain the Real is.

^³وذلك، لأنَّ الحق عند ظن عبده به.

^³That is because the Real is as His servant thinks of Him.

^⁴ما رأيت الحق إلاَّ وجدته حقاً، وما رأيت الباطل إلاَّ وجدته باطلاً، ولا زائدة.

^⁴You never see the real without finding it real, and you never see the false (al-bāṭil) without finding it false; and nothing beyond that.

^¹وأيضاً: أن هَذَا البَشَر، جعله الله تبارك وتعالى مادَّتين،

^¹And also: God, blessed and exalted, made this human being of two components (māddatān):

^²مادَّة نُسِبت للعبودية، ومادَّة نسِبتْ للرّبوبية،

^²a component ascribed to servanthood (ʿubūdiyya) and a component ascribed to lordship (rubūbiyya);

^³والكل من الله وإليه.

^³and all of it is from God and returns to Him.

^⁴المادَّة التي نُسِبت للرّبوبية، هي مادة العزِّ بالله، منها دخل على الله أهلُ الجذب.

^⁴The component ascribed to lordship is the component of might through God (al-ʿizz bi-llāh); through it the people of jadhb went in to God.

^⁵والمادَّة التي نُسِبَت للعبودية؛ هي الذلّ لله تعالى. منها دخل على الله أهْلُ السُلوك،

^⁵The component ascribed to servanthood is lowliness to God Most High (al-dhull li-llāh); through it the people of sulūk went in to God.

^⁶وهاتان المادَّتَانِ: مادَّة العزِّ بالله، ومادَّة الذّلِّ لله.

^⁶These two components, the component of might through God and the component of lowliness to God,

^⁷أبداً يتواردان على السالك وعلى المجذوب،

^⁷come by turns forever upon the wayfarer (sālik) and upon the one drawn (majdhūb),

^⁸بل ولا على كل أحدٍ.

^⁸indeed not upon everyone [?];

^⁹فالحقيقة أبداً.

^⁹for the reality [?] … forever.

^¹⁰لكن أهل الجذب غلبت ‖ عليهم شهودُ العزِّ لأجل ذلك نُسِبُوا إليه،

^¹⁰But in the people of jadhb the witnessing (shuhūd) of might prevailed, and for that they were named after it;

^¹¹وأهل السلوك غلب عليهم شهود الذّل لله تعالى، لأجل ذلك نسبوا إليه،

^¹¹and in the people of sulūk the witnessing of lowliness to God Most High prevailed, and for that they were named after it.

^¹²ولذلك تجد أهل الجذب بواطنهم عِزّاً وظواهرهم ذُلاً.

^¹²So you find the people of jadhb mighty within and lowly without,

^¹³وأهل السلوك بالعكس ظواهرهم عِزّاً وبواطنهم ذُلاً،

^¹³and the people of sulūk the reverse, mighty without and lowly within.

^¹⁴المجذوب مَلِك بالله، والسَّالك مملوك لله.

^¹⁴The majdhūb is a king through God; the sālik is owned by God.

^¹⁵رزقنا الله بَرَكَة الجميع.

^¹⁵May God grant us the blessing of them all.

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أنَّ الله تعالى، أوجد العزّ وجَعله مَنْبَع قدرتهِ، وأضافه إليه.

^¹And also: know that God Most High brought might (ʿizz) into being, made it the spring of His power, and ascribed it to Himself;

^²كما أوجد الذلّ وجعله مَنْبَع حكمته، وأضافه لخلقِهِ، والكلّ منه وإليه. ‖

^²just as He brought lowliness (dhull) into being, made it the spring of His wisdom, and ascribed it to His creatures; and all of it is from Him and returns to Him.

^³الرّبوبية قائمة بين قدرة وحِكمة، كذلك العبودية قائمة بين حكمة وقدرة.

^³Lordship stands between power and wisdom; likewise servanthood stands between wisdom and power.

^⁴صار العز منه نبعت قدرة جميع الخَلقِ. كما أنَّ الذلّ هو مَنْبَع حِكمتهم،

^⁴So might became the spring from which the power of all creatures flows, as lowliness is the spring of their wisdom;

^⁵والقدرة قدرته تعالى، كما أن الحِكمَة حكمته تعالى،

^⁵yet the power is His power, Most High, as the wisdom is His wisdom, Most High;

^⁶والكل هِبَةً منه وفضلاً على عبْدهِ.

^⁶and all of it is a gift from Him and a favour to His servant.

^¹حكمة الصّمت أسرع لقضاء الحوائجِ من الكلام،

^¹The wisdom of silence: [silence] is quicker than speech at getting needs met.

^²وذلك، لأنَّ الكلام أنت متصف به مجازياً عارياً لا حقيقة.

^²That is because speech is a quality you bear figuratively (majāzan), bare [?], not in reality;

^³والصَّمْت وصفك الحقيقي.

^³silence is your real quality.

^⁴الكلامُ عِزّ والعِزُّ وصف الحيّ،

^⁴Speech is might, and might is the quality of the Living (al-Ḥayy);

^⁵والصّمْت ذل، والذلّ وصفكَ،

^⁵silence is lowliness, and lowliness is your quality.

^⁶الكلام علوي، والصمت سفلي،

^⁶Speech is high (ʿulwī), silence low (suflī);

^⁷وإذا تلاقيا: واحد متكلم والآخر ساكت، الحكم للساكِتِ على كل حالٍ.

^⁷and when the two meet, one speaking and the other silent, the ruling goes to the silent one in every case.

^¹وأيضاً: وجدتُ في السعاية خصلتان: ليس في الوجود أشرفُ منهما:

^¹And also: I found in begging (siʿāya) two qualities than which there is nothing nobler in existence.

^²الأول: ذلّ النفس لله، واستضعافها إليه بين يدي الأقدار؛

^²The first is the self's lowliness to God and its making itself weak before Him in the face of the decrees (aqdār).

^³وهذه الخصلة هي أشرف الخِصَال، لقوله تعالى: ﴿وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ ٱلْوَٰرِثِينَ ۝ وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَنُرِىَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَـٰمَـٰنَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَحْذَرُونَ﴾ [القَصَص: الآيتان 5، 6].

^³This is the noblest of qualities, because of His word, Most High: "And We wished to favour those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them leaders and make them the heirs, and to establish them in the land, and to show Pharaoh and Hāmān and their hosts, from them, what they were dreading" [al-Qaṣaṣ 28:5–6].

^⁴والثانية، ذكر الله تعالى، وهي أيضاً أكبر الخصال كلها، لقوله تعالى: ﴿وَلَذِكْرُ ٱللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ﴾ [العنكبوت: الآية 45].

^⁴The second is the remembrance (dhikr) of God Most High, and it too is the greatest of all qualities, because of His word, Most High: "And the remembrance of God is greater" [al-ʿAnkabūt 29:45].

^⁵وهذانِ الخصلتان: ذكر الله والذلّ لله بين يدي عَبِيد الله.

^⁵These two qualities are remembrance of God and lowliness to God before God's servants.

^⁶لم نجدهما مجموعتين إلا في قول السَّاعي: «إمْتَاعَلَّهْ لِلّه».

^⁶We have found them joined only in the beggar's cry: «إمْتَاعَلَّهْ لِلّه» [DIALECT — needs a human reader] (hedged gloss, unverified: perhaps mtāʿ Allāh, li-llāh, "[something] of God's, for God's sake").

^⁷ولا شك أن ذكر الله ما قُرِن بشيء إلاَّ أفناهُ، ولا يَبْقى إلاَّ ذِكر الله.

^⁷There is no doubt that the remembrance of God is joined to nothing without annihilating it, until nothing remains but the remembrance of God.

^⁸وأما الذلّ لله بإجماع أهل التحقيق والتَّدْقيق وهم أرباب الحقيقة وأشياخُهَا وهو مفتاح الفتوحات كلها، ومنشأ الخيراتِ بأجمعها.

^⁸As for lowliness to God: by the consensus of the people of verification and precision (taḥqīq, tadqīq), who are the lords of ḥaqīqa (the inner reality) and its shaykhs, it is the key of all openings (futūḥāt) and the source of every good.

^⁹وأشياخ الحقيقة رضي الله عنهم: هم المشاهير، مثل أبي الحسن الشَّاذلي، وأبي العباس المرسي، وابن عطاء الله، ومنبع سرِّهم مولانا عبد السلام بن مشيش،

^⁹The shaykhs of ḥaqīqa, may God be pleased with them, are the famous ones: Abū l-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī, Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Mursī and Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh, and the spring of their secret, our master ʿAbd al-Salām b. Mashīsh;

^¹⁰وعبد القادر الجيلاني، وابن وفا، وأبو مدْين الغوث، وسيدي أحمد بن يوسف، ومولانا عبد الله الغزواني، والتبّاع، والجَزُولي، وسيدنا عبد الرحمٰن المجذوب، وسيدي يوسف الفاسي، والشيخ الغزَّالي، والإمام الششتري، والإمام الجُنَيْد، وأمثال هؤلاء الرجال

^¹⁰ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī, Ibn Wafā, Abū Madyan the Succour (al-Ghawth), Sīdī Aḥmad b. Yūsuf, our master ʿAbd Allāh al-Ghazwānī, al-Tabbāʿ, al-Jazūlī, our master ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Majdhūb, Sīdī Yūsuf al-Fāsī, Shaykh al-Ghazālī, Imām al-Shushtarī, Imām al-Junayd, and men like these.

^¹¹متّعَنَا الله بهم ورزقنا محبّتهم آمين.

^¹¹May God let us enjoy them and grant us love of them. Āmīn.

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أنَّ الجذب والسلوك مثلهما كالأشجار،

^¹And also: know that jadhb (being drawn by God, divine attraction) and sulūk (wayfaring, the disciplined path) are like trees.

^²شجرة الجذب لها عروق وفروع، وكذلك شجرة السلوك، لها عروق وفروعٌ،

^²The tree of jadhb has roots and branches, and so does the tree of sulūk;

^³وكل عِرْق وفرْع منهما له أثمار.

^³and every root and branch of the two bears fruit.

^⁴عروق الجذب هي العلوم اللَّدنية الغيبية،

^⁴The roots of jadhb are the ladunī sciences (knowledge given "from His presence"), the knowledges of the unseen.

^⁵وأثمار فروع الجذب، هي أن يكون صاحبها بأمر الله تعالى يقول للشي كُن فيكون

^⁵The fruits of the branches of jadhb are that their possessor, by the command of God Most High, says to a thing "Be," and it is.

^⁶والكل مواهب

^⁶And all of it is gifts (mawāhib).

^⁷وكذلك عروق شجر السلوك تثمر بالعلم الظاهر، وفروعه تثمر بالعمل الظاهري

^⁷Likewise the roots of the tree of sulūk bear fruit in outward knowledge, and its branches bear fruit in outward action.

^⁸وإن تفاوت أهل السلوك مع أهل الجذب إلاَّ أنَّ أهل السلوك عبادتهم من وراء حجابٍ،

^⁸The people of sulūk differ from the people of jadhb only in this: the people of sulūk worship from behind a veil,

^⁹وأهل الجذبِ ما بينهم وبين الله حجاب منه إليهم، ومنهم إليه.

^⁹while between the people of jadhb and God there is no veil, neither from Him to them nor from them to Him.

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أن المُلك على ثلاثة أقسام:

^¹And also: know that sovereignty (mulk) is of three kinds:

^²مُلك أرضي بشري، وملك سماوي روحاني، وملك عَرْشي ملكوتي.

^²an earthly, human sovereignty; a heavenly, spiritual sovereignty; and a sovereignty of the Throne, of the unseen kingdom (malakūt).

^³المُلك الأرضي: ملك العامَّة،

^³Earthly sovereignty is the sovereignty of the commons (al-ʿāmma);

^⁴والملك السماوي: ملك الخاصَّة، وهم أهل السلوك.

^⁴heavenly sovereignty is the sovereignty of the elect (al-khāṣṣa), who are the people of sulūk;

^⁵والملك العرشي: مُلك خاصَّة الخاصَّة، وهم أهل الجذب مع السلوك.

^⁵Throne sovereignty is the sovereignty of the elect of the elect, who are the people of jadhb together with sulūk.

^⁶وحُكم الجميع واحد.

^⁶The rule (ḥukm) of all of them is one,

^⁷إلاَّ أنَّ أهل الملك الأرضي حكمهم في الأرض فقط،

^⁷except that the people of earthly sovereignty rule on the earth only,

^⁸وأهل الملك السماوي حكمهم على أهل السماء والأرض.

^⁸the people of heavenly sovereignty rule over the people of heaven and earth,

^⁹وأهل الملك العرشي خلائف الحق، أمْرُهُم أمْره وفعلهم فِعله،

^⁹and the people of Throne sovereignty are the vicegerents (khalāʾif) of the Real: their command is His command and their act His act.

^¹⁰والكل فضله تعالى، وهو غني عن العالمينَ.

^¹⁰All of it is His favour, Most High, and He has no need of the worlds.

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أنَّ السالك يقرّه العامَّة، وينكره أهل الفَنَاء، يعني الخاصة

^¹And also: know that the commons accept the sālik, and the people of annihilation (fanāʾ), meaning the elect, reject him;

^²والمجذوب يقرّه الخاصة، وينكره العامة.

^²the elect accept the majdhūb, and the commons reject him;

^³والسَّالك المجذوب يقرّه العامَّة، كما يقرّه الخاصَّة.

^³and the sālik who is majdhūb, the commons accept him as the elect accept him.

^⁴ولما كان هو لا يُنكر أحداً، صار لا ينكره أحد،

^⁴Since he rejects no one, no one came to reject him.

^⁵والإنسان كله، جرت عادة الله فيه، أن وصفه يعود عليه،

^⁵With every human being God's custom runs that his own description comes back upon him.

^⁶قال جلَّ من قائلٍ: ﴿سَيَجْزِيهِمْ وَصْفَهُمْ إِنَّهُ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ﴾ [الأنعام: الآية 139].

^⁶He said, and majestic is He as a speaker: "He will recompense them for their describing; truly He is Wise, Knowing" [al-Anʿām 6:139].

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أنَّ الفقراء المُنتسبينَ ينقسمُونَ إلى خمسة أقسام:

^¹And also: know that the fuqarāʾ ("the poor", the Sufis) who claim affiliation [to the path] divide into five kinds.

^²القسم الأول: هم أهل الانتساب بمجرّدِ القول جاهلين لا يفقهون شيئاً، ولا يُفرقون بين ظاهر ولا باطن.

^²The first kind are affiliated by mere words: ignorant, understanding nothing, telling neither outward (ẓāhir) from inward (bāṭin).

^³والفرقة الثانيّة: أهل ظاهر، لم تَحْصُل لهم ثمرته، ولا يعرفون شيئاً من الباطنِ.

^³The second group are people of the outward who have not obtained its fruit and know nothing of the inward.

^⁴والفرقة الثالثة: أهل ظاهر مع حصول ثمرتهِ ولا يعرفون شيئاً من الباطن.

^⁴The third group are people of the outward who have obtained its fruit, and know nothing of the inward.

^⁵والفرقة الرابعة: حصل لهم الظاهر، وحصلت لهم ثمرته، وحصَّلوا الباطن، ولم تحصل لهم ثمرته.

^⁵The fourth group have obtained the outward and its fruit, and have acquired the inward but not obtained its fruit.

^⁶والفرقة الخامسة: حصلوا الظَّاهر، وحصَّلوا ثمرتَه كما حصَّلوا الباطن، وحصَّلوا ثمرته،

^⁶The fifth group have acquired the outward and its fruit as they have acquired the inward and its fruit;

^⁷ويكون بالعكس، حصَّلوا الباطن، وحصَّلُوا ثمرته، وحصلوا الظاهر، وحصَّلوا ثمرتهُ.

^⁷or it may be the reverse order: they acquired the inward and its fruit, then the outward and its fruit.

^⁸صاحب هذا المقام: هو الذي قالوا فيه، إنه برْزَخ بين بحرَيْن: بحر الشريعة، وبحر الحقيقة.

^⁸The one at this station is the one of whom they said that he is an isthmus (barzakh) between two seas, the sea of sharīʿa (the revealed law) and the sea of ḥaqīqa,

^⁹كما قال المجذوب:

أفقير وغنّي وامدخ ⁂ ولا نرفد الحال بيدي

يمْني وعسْري مسرخ ⁂ نضرب بهذي وهذي

^⁹as al-Majdhūb said:

[DIALECT — needs a human reader] (hedged gloss only, not a translation):

Poor and rich and … [?]; I do not carry the state in [one] hand [?].

My right hand and my left are let loose: I strike with this one and with that.

^¹وأيضاً: قال بعضهم: اجعل عملك ملحاً، وأدبَك دقيقاً.

^¹And also: one of them said: "Make your work salt and your manners (adab) flour."

^²العمل إشارة إلى الحسّ، والأدب إشارة إلى المعاني.

^²Work points to the sensible (ḥiss), and manners point to meanings (maʿānī).

^³الحسّ والمعنى حقيقتان لا يخلو منهما بَشَرٌ، جعلهما الله في كل إنسانٍ لكن لا بدَّ أن تكون واحدة غالبة على الأخرى.

^³The sensible (ḥiss) and the meant (maʿnā) are two realities that no human being is without. God put them in every person, but one of the two must prevail over the other.

^⁴العامَّة عندهم الحسّ غالب على المعنى، أمورهم كلها مبنية على الحِسِّ، والمعنى بحسَب التبع.

^⁴In the common people (al-ʿāmma) the sensible prevails over the meant: all their affairs are built on the sensible, and the meant comes after, by way of following.

^⁵والخاصَّة بخلاف ذلك، المعاني عندهم غالبة على الحسِّ، ‖ أمورهم كلها مبنية على المعاني والمحسوسات بحسب التبع.

^⁵The elect (al-khāṣṣa) are the reverse: in them meanings prevail over the sensible, and all their affairs are built on meanings, with sensible things following.

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أنَّ الحقائق كلها على قسمين: جمالية وجلالية،

^¹And also: know that the realities (ḥaqāʾiq), all of them, are of two kinds: of beauty (jamāliyya) and of majesty (jalāliyya).

^²وزيادات الوجود كلها عند اقترانِ الأضدادِ، يعني الجلال والجمال،

^²Every increase of existence comes at the conjoining of opposites, that is, majesty (jalāl) and beauty (jamāl);

^³وهذه الحقائق هي مظاهر الحقِّ.

^³and these realities are the loci of the Real's manifestation (maẓāhir).

^⁴وزيادة الوجود أيضاً، تنقسم إلى قسْمَيْنِ: زِيادة حسّية، وزيادة معنوية.

^⁴The increase of existence also divides into two: a sensory increase and an increase of meaning.

^⁵زيادة الحسِّ جمالية الظاهر، جلالية الباطن،

^⁵The increase of sense (ḥiss) is beauty outwardly, majesty inwardly;

^⁶وزيادة المعْنَى جلالية الظاهر، وجمالية الباطن.

^⁶the increase of meaning (maʿnā) is majesty outwardly and beauty inwardly.

^¹وأيضاً: أهل الأسباب سلكوا ذلّهم بالصفاتِ، وجَدوا عِزَّهم بالصفات.

^¹And also: the people of means (asbāb) travelled their lowliness through the attributes and found their might through the attributes.

^²وأهل ‖ التجريد بالعكس، سلكوا ذُلَّهُم بالذَّاتِ، وجدوا عِزَّهم بالذَّاتِ.

^²The people of stripping (tajrīd) are the reverse: they travelled their lowliness through the essence and found their might through the essence.

^³أهل الأسباب، لمّا كان ذُلّهم معنوي، صار اجتهادهم حِسّي.

^³The people of means, since their lowliness is inner (maʿnawī), their striving (ijtihād) is sensory;

^⁴وأهل التجريد، لما كان ذُلّهم حسّي، صار اجتهادهم معنوي.

^⁴the people of tajrīd, since their lowliness is sensory, their striving is inner.

^⁵وصاحب الاجتهادِ الحسّي مفروقٌ أبداً.

^⁵The one whose striving is sensory is always separated.

^⁶وصاحب الاجتهاد المعنوي مجموع أبداً، فلذلك دامَ سُرُورهُ وبَسْطه،

^⁶The one whose striving is inner is always united, and so his joy and expansion (basṭ) last;

^⁷وصاحب الاجتهاد الحسّي مفروق أبداً، فلذلك دام حُزْنُهُ وقَبْضهُ.

^⁷and the one whose striving is sensory is always separated, and so his sorrow and contraction (qabḍ) last.

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أنَّ الإنسان ما تجرَّد من الحسِّ إلاَّ واجهتْه المعنى، ولا تجرَّد من المعنى إلاَّ واجهتْه الحسّيات، أحبَّ أم كره، عَلِمَ أو جَهِلَ.

^¹And also: know that a person never strips himself (tajarrada) of the sensible (ḥiss) without meaning (maʿnā) coming face to face with him, and never strips himself of meaning without sensible things coming face to face with him, whether he likes it or not, whether he knows or does not know,

^²سواء كان تجرُّده قهراً أو اكتساباً.

^²whether his stripping (tajrīd) is by compulsion or by his own acquiring.

^³إلاَّ أنَّ من تجرَّد وهو عالم، أو إذن عالِمٍ، يحصُل على خير تجريده ويفوته شرُّه.

^³But whoever strips himself while knowing, or [with] the permission of one who knows, gets the good of his stripping and misses its evil;

^⁴ومن تجرَّد وهو جاهلٌ حُكْمَ تجرُّدِه، إذا أصابه خيره تلف، وإذا أصابه شرُّه تَلِفَ فيه.

^⁴and whoever strips himself while ignorant of the ruling of his stripping is destroyed if its good reaches him, and destroyed in it if its evil reaches him.

^⁵هذا حكم الظاهر.

^⁵This is the ruling of the outward.

^⁶وأما حكم الباطن، فهو: إذا طَلَبْتَ الحسّيات طلبتْك المعاني، وإذا طَلَبْتَ المعاني طلبتْك الحسّيات.

^⁶The ruling of the inward is this: when you seek the sensible things, the meanings seek you; and when you seek the meanings, the sensible things seek you.

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أن الحقيقة باطنية جمع، والشريعة ظاهرية فرْقٍ.

^¹And also: know that ḥaqīqa is inward and is union (jamʿ), and sharīʿa is outward and is separation (farq).

^²ومهما ظهرتِ الحقيقة بأقوالٍ أو بأفعالٍ، ينقلب جمعها فَرْقاً

^²Whenever ḥaqīqa shows itself in words or deeds, its union turns into separation,

^³حتى أنها تؤدي لافتراق الرجل مع أبيه. والرجل مع أخيه وزوجته وأصحابه،

^³so that it leads a man to part from his father, and from his brother, his wife and his companions;

^⁴وربما تفرقه حتى مع الأشياخ الذين أخذت الحقيقة عنهم

^⁴it may part him even from the shaykhs from whom he took ḥaqīqa,

^⁵وربما تُفرِّق له بين روحه وجسده.

^⁵and it may part his spirit from his body.

^⁶وانظر قول القائل:

بالسرِّ إن باحُوا تُبَاح دِمَاؤُهُمْ ⁂ وكذا دِمَاء البائحينَ تُباحُ

^⁶Consider the poet's words:

For the secret, if they divulge it, their blood is made lawful; and so the blood of those who divulge is made lawful.

^⁷وكذا الشريعة إذا بطنت بسكوت عن أقوالٍ، أو بهدنة عن أفعال، فإن فرقها ينقلب جمعاً

^⁷So too sharīʿa: when it goes inward, through silence from words or a truce (hudna) from deeds, its separation turns into union,

^⁸ليحصل لصاحبها التَّعْطيل عن جميع الخلائق.

^⁸so that its possessor is cut off (taʿṭīl) from all creatures,

^⁹حتى لا يَبْرأ منهم إلا إذا كانت له كَرَامات ظاهرة مثل الشمس،

^⁹to the point that he is not quit of them unless he has miracles (karāmāt) as plain as the sun;

^¹⁰وإن لم يكن ذلك لا يسلمون له أبداً، ولا يجد راحة في نفسه من الخلق أبداً،

^¹⁰and if he has not, they will never concede to him, and he will never find rest in himself from people:

^¹¹يُؤذونه بألسنتهم، وبأعينهم وبأيديهم وبأرجلهم حتى لا يجد الراحة إلاَّ إذا اعتزل منهم.

^¹¹they harm him with their tongues, their eyes, their hands and their feet, until he finds no rest except by withdrawing from them.

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أن الله تبارك وتعالى، ظهر في الأكوان كلها بحكمتِهِ وقدرته،

^¹And also: know that God, blessed and exalted, is manifest in all engendered things (al-akwān) through His wisdom and His power.

^²والحكمة فَرْق، وهي: كأنها ضِدّ القدْرة،

^²Wisdom (ḥikma) is separation (farq), as though it were the opposite of power;

^³والقدْرة جَمْعٌ، وهي كأنها ضِدّ الحِكمة.

^³power (qudra) is union (jamʿ), as though it were the opposite of wisdom.

^⁴وكل من دَخَلَ للحكمةِ، قبل علمهِ بالقدرَةِ فهو مخذول.

^⁴Whoever enters into wisdom before knowing power is forsaken (makhdhūl);

^⁵وكذلك من دخل للقدرة قبل علمه للحكمة، فهو معطول.

^⁵likewise whoever enters into power before knowing wisdom is held back (maʿṭūl).

^⁶والعارف الكامل في ساعة البُعْد يتصرف بالحكمة. فيكون ‖ في يده مثل المُوسَى: «السكين الماضي» أو مثل الورقة القصاصة يفتح بها كل شيءٍ.

^⁶The perfect knower (al-ʿārif al-kāmil), in the hour of distance (buʿd), acts (yataṣarraf) by wisdom, and it is in his hand like a razor ("the sharp knife") or a cutting blade, with which he opens everything.

^⁷وفي ساعة القرْب، يتصرف بالقدرة، فتكون في يده مثل الشَّاقُور الماضي الثقيل،

^⁷In the hour of nearness (qurb) he acts by power, and it is in his hand like a heavy, sharp cleaver:

^⁸كل ما ينزل عليه به يسحقه، حتى يصير رَمِيماً

^⁸whatever he brings it down on, he crushes until it becomes dust;

^⁹لو نزل به على الوجود بأسْرِهِ لانْقَلَب حُكْمه وفقَ إرادته،

^⁹were he to bring it down on the whole of existence, its order would be overturned to accord with his will,

^¹⁰كما قال بعضهم: أمري بأمْرِ الله، إن قلتُ كُن يكون.

^¹⁰as one of them said: "My command is by God's command: if I say 'Be,' it is."

^¹¹هذه بعض صفات الرجال، الذين استوى تصرفهم في الأحوال وفي أضدادِها،

^¹¹These are some of the qualities of the men whose action is the same in states (aḥwāl) and in their opposites.

^¹²نفعنا الله بهم، ورزقنا محبَّتهم. آمين.

^¹²May God benefit us through them and grant us love of them. Āmīn.

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أنَّ الفَرْق جلالي، والجمع جمالي.

^¹And also: know that separation (farq) belongs to majesty and union (jamʿ) to beauty.

^²وكل ما هو بظاهرك جمال ‖ جمع بباطنك جلال فَرْق.

^²Whatever is beauty and union in your outward is majesty and separation in your inward,

^³وكل ما بظاهرك جلال فَرْق بباطنك جمال جمع.

^³and whatever is majesty and separation in your outward is beauty and union in your inward.

^⁴هكذا جرت سنة الله في عباده.

^⁴Such is God's custom (sunna) with His servants.

^⁵وكلما أخذ الفرق الجلالي في ظاهرك والجمع الجمالي في باطنك، ينعكس الأمر حتى يأخذ الجمع الجمالي في ظاهرك. والفرْق الجلالي في باطنك،

^⁵Whenever majestic separation takes hold of your outward and beautiful union of your inward, the matter reverses, until beautiful union takes your outward and majestic separation your inward;

^⁶فباطنك مأخوذ ضده منك، وهو الحال الذي قبله.

^⁶so your inward has its opposite taken from you, namely the state that preceded it.

^⁷فمن وقع ذلك به قهراً ليس كلامنا عليه وإنما كلامنا على السالك اختياراً.

^⁷Whoever has this happen to him by compulsion (qahran) is not our subject; our subject is the wayfarer by choice (ikhtiyāran).

^⁸فالمجذوب: وهو من ملك نفسه، أو من ملَّكها لأحد من أرباب الفنّ،

^⁸The majdhūb [in this sense] is the one who owns his self, or who has handed its ownership to one of the masters of the art,

^⁹لأنَّ النفس إذا ملكها صاحبها، فإنها تصير مطاوعة في كل ما يفعل بها.

^⁹because when its owner owns the self, it becomes compliant in whatever he does with it.

^¹⁰وأما المملوكون في أيْدي نفوسهم، ليس كلامنا عليهم.

^¹⁰As for those owned in the hands of their selves, they are not our subject.

^¹¹والإنسان لا يَخْلُو، إمَّا أن تملكه نفسه، أو يملكها هو،

^¹¹A person is always in one of two cases: either his self owns him or he owns it.

^¹²وعلامة ملكتِها بِيَد صاحبها، هو أن يكون إن شاء ألبَسها الفرْق الجلالي في ظاهرها فيبقى أن يكون الجمع الجمالي حينئذٍ في باطنها، وإن شاء عكس.

^¹²The sign that it is held in its owner's hand is that, if he wishes, he clothes its outward in majestic separation, and beautiful union then remains in its inward; and if he wishes, he does the reverse:

^¹³لمّا يُلبِسها الجمع الجمالي في ظاهرها، فيبقى الفرق الجلالي في باطنها،

^¹³when he clothes its outward in beautiful union, majestic separation remains in its inward.

^¹⁴فتَصِيرُ نفسه مملوكة بِيَده، مثل الفرسِ المُرَيَّض المربى، عند الأمر والنَهي.

^¹⁴Then his self is owned in his hand like a trained, well-schooled horse at command and prohibition.

^¹⁵وكلّ من ادَّعى السلوك في الجذبِ، ولم يُرَيّض نفسه على لبْس الفَرْق الجلالي،

^¹⁵Whoever claims wayfaring within jadhb but has not trained his self to wear majestic separation

^¹⁶فإن الجلالة تبقى في ظاهرها زمناً طويلاً حتى يظهر صدق تهذيبها إليك، والخلق كلهم خصوصاً وعموماً،

^¹⁶(for majesty must stay on its outward a long time, until the truth of its refinement shows to you and to all creatures, elite and common),

^¹⁷كل من ادَّعاه فدعواه باطلة، وهو مخدوع خدعته نفسه، ولَعِبتْ به،

^¹⁷whoever claims it, his claim is false: he is deceived, his self has deceived him and played with him;

^¹⁸لأن النفس مجبولة على حُبّ الجمع الجمالي، فظواهرها عند أهل الطريقة حرام على المريد في بدايته.

^¹⁸for the self is made to love beautiful union, and so, for the people of the path, its outward displays are forbidden to the aspirant (murīd) at his beginning.

^¹⁹قال في القوانين⁽¹⁾: مَنِ ادَّعى شهود الجمالِ، قبل تأدُّبِهِ بالجلالِ، ارْفُضْهُ فإنَّه دَجَّال.

^¹⁹He said in al-Qawānīn: "Whoever claims to witness beauty before he has been schooled by majesty, reject him, for he is an impostor (dajjāl)."

^²⁰وانظر قول الشاذلي رحمه الله: اللَّهُمَّ إن القوم قد حكمت عليهم بالذّلّ حتى عَزُّوا، وحكمت عليهم بالفَقْدِ حتى وجَدُوا.

^²⁰And consider the words of al-Shādhilī, may God have mercy on him: "O God, You decreed lowliness for the folk until they became mighty, and You decreed loss (faqd) for them until they found (wajadū)."

^²¹صار من لا ذلَّ له لا عِزَّ له، ومن لا فقد له لا وجد له.

^²¹So whoever has no lowliness has no might, and whoever has no loss has no finding (wajd).

^²²ومن ادّعى العزَّ من غير ذلٍّ فهو مخدوع، ومن ادّعى الوجْد من غير فَقْدٍ فهو كاذبٌ.

^²²Whoever claims might without lowliness is deceived, and whoever claims finding without loss is a liar.

^²³هذه بعض الأصول، من أصول الطريقة؛ التي ليس للمريدين مسلك إلا عليها،

^²³These are some of the principles of the path, the only road the aspirants have.

^²⁴وإنَّ الكمال ليس هو في الفرق الظاهري ولا في الجمع الباطني، ولا بالعكس.

^²⁴Perfection is not in outward separation, nor in inward union, nor in the reverse;

^²⁵وإنما هو في استوائهما، حتى يكون سواء عند النفس، وجودها وفقدها.

(1) يشير إلى كتاب «قوانين حكم الإشراق» لأبي المواهب الشاذلي. (editor's footnote)

^²⁵it lies only in their being level, so that having and losing are the same to the self.

^¹وأيضاً: الناس على ثلاثة أنواع: العامة، وهم أهل حقائق، متعطشين للشرائع.

^¹Also: people are of three kinds. The common folk (al-ʿāmma) are people of realities (ḥaqāʾiq) who thirst for the revealed laws (sharāʾiʿ).

^²والخاصَّة: وهم أهل شرائع، متعطشين ⟨للحقائق⟩.

^²The elect (al-khāṣṣa) are people of the laws who thirst for the realities.

^³وخاصَّة الخاصَّة: وهم أهل حقائق متعطشين للشرائعِ.

^³The elect of the elect are people of realities who thirst for the laws.

^⁴وهذه الثلاثة مراتِب لا يحسب أحد أنه حاز واحدة منها إلّا إذا ظهر عليه أثر فِعْلها، لا قَوْلها.

^⁴These three are ranks, and no one should reckon that he has attained one of them unless the trace of its doing, not of its saying, appears on him.

^⁵وذلك لأنَّ الأقوال إخبار بالفنِّ والأفعال هو الفن بنفْسهِ.

^⁵That is because sayings are reports about the art, while deeds are the art itself.

^⁶العامَّة لمَّا حازوا الفِعل بالحقائق، وفعلهم بها عن تقليد، فبذلك صاروا عواماً.

^⁶The common folk came to act by the realities, but they act by them through imitation (taqlīd), and that is what makes them common.

^⁷والخاصة لما حازوا الفعل بالشريعة وفِعلهم بها عن أدِلَّة وبَرَاهين، فبذلك صاروا خصوصاً.

^⁷The elect came to act by the Law, and they act by it through proofs and demonstrations, and that is what makes them elect.

^⁸وخاصة الخاصة لما حازوا الفعل بالحقائق، وفِعلهم بها عن مشاهدة وعيانٍ، فبذلك صاروا خاصَّة الخاصة.

^⁸The elect of the elect came to act by the realities, and they act by them through witnessing and direct sight (ʿiyān), and that is what makes them the elect of the elect.

^⁹أهل هذه الحضرة، يعني حضرة العيَان رضي الله عنهم، إذا نظروا لحبيبهم، نظروا إليه بلا عِلَّةٍ، معششين في مقام الإحسان.

^⁹When the people of this presence look at their Beloved, they look at Him with no motive behind the look (ʿilla), nested in the station of excellence (iḥsān). (The presence meant is the presence of direct sight, may God be pleased with them.)

^¹⁰قال تعالى: ﴿قُلِ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ ذَرْهُمْ فِي خَوْضِهِمْ يَلْعَبُونَ﴾ [الأنعام: الآية 91].

^¹⁰He, exalted is He, said: "Say: God. Then leave them, playing in their idle talk" (Q 6:91).

^¹وأيضاً: العامَّة عندهم كل ما هو مليح فهو معروف، وكل ما هو قبيح فهو مُنكَر.

^¹And also: for the common people, whatever is pleasing is recognised (maʿrūf) and whatever is ugly is denied (munkar).

^²والخاصة عندهم كل ما يجمعهم على الله فهو معروف ولو ظهر للناس أنه مُنكَر. وكل ما يشغلهم عن الله فهو مُنكَر ولو ظهر للناس أنه معروف ولا مُنكَر.

^²For the elect, whatever gathers them upon God is recognised, even if it appears to people to be denied; and whatever occupies them with other than God is denied, even if it appears to people to be recognised, and nothing denied [?].

^³وذلك لأنهم عرفوا الله في كل حالٍ، فصاروا لا ينكرونه في جميع الأحوالِ.

^³That is because they knew God in every state, and so they come to deny Him in no state.

^¹وأيضاً إذا أنفقت على مولاك صفاتك، أباح لك التمتع بمشاهدة صفاتِهِ

^¹And also: if you spend your attributes (ṣifāt) on your Master, He grants you the enjoyment of contemplating His attributes;

^²وإذا أنفقت على مولاك ذاتَكَ، أباح لك التمتع بمشاهدة ذاته،

^²and if you spend your essence (dhāt) on your Master, He grants you the enjoyment of contemplating His essence.

^³صاحب الصفات، فناؤه في باطنِهِ ونتائجه في ظواهره،

^³The person of attributes has his annihilation (fanāʾ) in his inward and its results in his outward;

^⁴وصاحب الذَّات فناؤُهُ في ظواهره ونتائجه في بواطنِهِ.

^⁴the person of essence has his annihilation in his outward and its results in his inward.

^⁵صاحب الظاهر اعتماده على القدرة أو على الخلق وصاحب الباطن اعتمادُهُ على ذاتِ الحقِّ.

^⁵The person of the outward relies on power or on creatures; the person of the inward relies on the essence of the Real.

^⁶صاحب الظاهر مفروق بجمَعْه، وصاحب الباطن مجموع في فَرْقِهِ.

^⁶The person of the outward is separated by his union; the person of the inward is united in his separation.

^⁷صاحب الظاهر، مفروق عن حضرة ربّه، مجموع على حضرة نَفْسِهِ،

^⁷The person of the outward is separated from the presence (ḥaḍra) of his Lord and gathered upon the presence of his self;

^⁸صاحب الباطن مجموع على حضرة ربّه، مفروق عن حضرة نفسهِ.

^⁸the person of the inward is gathered upon the presence of his Lord and separated from the presence of his self.

^⁹والذات لا تظفر بها إلاَّ بفناءِ الصفات في الذَّاتِ

^⁹You do not attain the essence except by the annihilation of the attributes in the essence,

^¹⁰كما أنَّ الصفات لا تظفر بها إلاَّ بفناءِ الذاتِ في الصفاتِ،

^¹⁰just as you do not attain the attributes except by the annihilation of the essence in the attributes;

^¹¹وفناء الصفات لا يكون إلاَّ بفناءِ الذَّاتِ كما أنَّ فناء الذَّات، لا يكون إلا بفناءِ الصفات.

^¹¹and the annihilation of the attributes comes only through the annihilation of the essence, as the annihilation of the essence comes only through the annihilation of the attributes.

^¹وأيضاً: إعلم أنَّ أهل الظاهر لا يعبؤونَ بالباطن، ولا بِمَن أتى به. كما أنَّ أهل الباطن لا يعبؤُونَ بالظاهر ولا بمن أتى به.

^¹Also: know that the people of the outward (ahl al-ẓāhir) pay no heed to the inward, nor to whoever brings it, just as the people of the inward (ahl al-bāṭin) pay no heed to the outward, nor to whoever brings it.

^²قال تعالى: ﴿كُلُّ حِزْبٍ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُونَ﴾ [المؤمنون: الآية 53].

^²He, exalted is He, said: "Each faction rejoices in what it has" (Q 23:53).

^³والعارف الكامل ⟨يُعطي⟩ لكل ذي حقّ حقَّهُ، ويوفي كُلّ ذي قسْط قسْطهُ.

^³The perfect knower gives everyone who has a right his right, and pays everyone who has a share his share in full.

^⁴يلاحظ أهل الظواهر بظواهرهم حتى يملكهم بذلك، أحَبّوا أم كَرِهُوا، ويلاحظ أهل الباطن ببواطنهم حتى يملكهم بذلك أحبُّوا أم كَرِهوا.

^⁴He attends to the people of the outward through their outward, until by that he possesses them, whether they like it or not; and he attends to the people of the inward through their inward, until by that he possesses them, whether they like it or not.

^⁵فإذا فرغ منهم باثنين، فعند ذلك يَبْسط يده على الوجود بأسره فيحصره: علوي وسفلي.

^⁵When he has finished with both groups, he stretches his hand over the whole of existence and encompasses it, upper and lower.

^⁶العلوي يأخُذه بسَيْف العُلْويات، والسفلي يأخذه بسَيْفِ السفليات.

^⁶The upper he takes with the sword of upper things, the lower with the sword of lower things.

^⁷عند ذلك يصير بأمر الله تعالى خليفةً على تلك البلادِ والعباد. يدبِّر في مُلكه ما أرَاد.

^⁷At that point, by the command of God, exalted is He, he becomes a vicegerent (khalīfa) over those lands and servants, ordering in his kingdom whatever he wills.

^⁸قال الشاعر في هذا المعنى⁽¹⁾:

^⁸The poet said on this theme:¹

^⁹يا تَائِهاً في مَهْمَه عن سرِّهِ ✦ أنظُرْ تَجِدْ فِيكَ الوجودَ بأسْرِهِ

^⁹O you lost in a trackless waste, far from your own secret: look, and you will find in yourself the whole of existence.

^¹⁰أنت الكمال طريقة وحقيقة ✦ يا جامعاً سِرَّ الإلٰه بأسْرِهِ

⟨غيره:⟩

^¹⁰You are perfection, as path and as reality, O you who gather the secret of God entire.

[Another:]

^¹¹من لم يعش بين أقوام يسرّ بهم ✦ ⟨فدهرُه⟩ أبداً همٌّ وأحزان

^¹¹Whoever does not live among people who gladden him, his days are forever worry and sorrow.

^¹²فأخبثُ العيش ما للنَّاس فيه أذى ✦ وبَسْط الجِنان مع الأعداء نيران

^¹²The vilest life is one in which people do you harm; a spread of gardens among enemies is fire.

^¹³وأطيب العيْش ما للنفس فيه هوى ✦ سَمُّ الخياطِ مَعَ الأحْبَاب مَيدانُ

شِعر آخر:

^¹³The sweetest life is one in which the soul has its desire; the eye of a needle, with loved ones, is an open field.

Another poem:

^¹⁴لا يمرح النَّاسُ سِوَى بيْنَنا ✦ ومن نَهَى عنهم ومن بَانَا

^¹⁴People make merry only among us, and with whoever forbade them and whoever went away.

^¹⁵لو ماتَ إبليس على ظُلْمِهِ ✦ لقيل أحسَن ما كَانَا

شعر آخر:

^¹⁵Were Iblīs to die in his wrongdoing, it would be said: how fine he was! (sense tentative)

Another poem:

^¹⁶قَنَعْنَا بِنا عن كُلِّ ما لا يُرِيدُنا ✦ وإن كمَلت أخلاقه ونُعُوتهُ

شعر آخر:

^¹⁶We are content with ourselves, free of all who do not want us, even if his character and qualities be perfect.

Another poem:

^¹⁷لعداوة من ⟨عاقلٍ⟩ ذي فِطْنةٍ ✦ أحلَى وأعذبُ من صَدَاقة جاهلِ

شعر آخر:

^¹⁷Enmity from a man of sense and keen perception is sweeter and more pleasant than a fool's friendship.

Another poem:

^¹⁸سأكْتُمُ عِلْمِي عَن ذَوِي الجَهْلِ طَاقَتِي ✦ ولا أنْثُر ⟨الدُّرّ⟩ النفيس على البهم

^¹⁸I shall hide my knowledge from the ignorant as far as I am able, and not scatter precious pearls before cattle.

^¹⁹فإنْ قَدَّرَ اللهُ الكَريم بلُطْفِهِ ✦ ولاقيت أهلاً للعلوم ⟨و⟩للحِكَمِ

^¹⁹If God the Generous, in His kindness, decrees it, and I meet people fit for knowledge and for wisdom,

^²⁰بَذَلْت علومي واسْتفدتُ عُلُومَهُمْ ✦ وإلّا فَمَخْزونٌ لَدَيَّ ومَكتَتمُ

^²⁰I spend my knowledge freely and gain from theirs; if not, it stays stored with me and concealed.

^²¹فَمَنْ ⟨مَنَحَ⟩ الجُهّال عِلماً ⟨أضَاعَهُ⟩ ✦ ومَنْ مَنَعَ المُسْتوجِبينَ فَقَدْ ظَلَمْ

شعر آخر:

^²¹Whoever grants the ignorant knowledge wastes it; whoever withholds it from those who deserve it does wrong.

Another poem:

^²²تَقَدَّمت الأرْذال من طَبْعِهَا ✦ تَصُدُّ الأفَاضِل عَن نَفْعِهَا

شعر آخر:

^²²The base have pushed to the front by their nature, turning the excellent away from their benefit.

Another poem:

^²³إذا أنكر الجهّال حالي بِقَوْلِهِم ✦ وقالوا طروس الفقه تَشْهَد بالنَّقْلِ

^²³When the ignorant deny my state with their words, and say the pages of jurisprudence (fiqh) bear witness by transmitted texts,

^²⁴أقول لهُمْ: إنَّ العلومَ مواهبُ ✦ ⟨خصائصُها⟩ تغنِي عن الكتب والنقل

شعر آخر:

^²⁴I tell them: knowledge is gifts (mawāhib), whose special properties make books and transmission needless.

Another poem:

^²⁵ومقعد قوم قد مَشَى من شرابنا ✦ و⟨أعمَى⟩ سقيناهُ ثلاثاً فأبْصرا

^²⁵A people's cripple walked from our drink; a blind man we gave three draughts, and he saw.

^²⁶وأخرَس لم ينطق ثمانين حجة ✦ أدَرْنَا عليه الرَّاح يوماً فأخبرا

^²⁶A mute who had not spoken for eighty years: one day we passed the wine round to him, and he told.

^²⁷وآخر بَيْنَ النَّاس لا يعرفونَه ✦ سُقِي قطرَةً من خَمْرِنا فتحيَّرَا

^²⁷Another, unknown among the people, was given one drop of our wine, and was lost in wonder.

^²⁸وميّت دعا الساقي به فأجابهُ ✦ وسبَّح للصَّهباءِ طوعاً وكَبَّرَا

^²⁸A dead man: the cupbearer called him and he answered, and glorified God for the golden wine, freely, and cried "God is greatest".

^²⁹فَلَو عَايَنَ الرُّهْبَان سرعة بعثهِ ✦ لصلّوا له مثل المسيح أو أكثرا

^²⁹Had the monks seen how swiftly he rose, they would have prayed to him like the Messiah, or more.

^³⁰فخمرتنا التقوى وعاصِرها الحجا ✦ ولا تَحْسِبَنَّها خَمْرَ كِسْرَى وقيصَرَا

(1) ثبت في حاشية الأصل عبارة «الأبيات الأولى وجدتها ممحوة لا تقرأ فتركتها، وكتبت آخرها».

^³⁰Our wine is God-fearing (taqwā), and its presser is intellect; do not suppose it the wine of Chosroes and Caesar.

¹ In the margin of the base manuscript: "The first verses I found erased and illegible, so I left them and copied the last of them."

^¹وأيضاً: العارف بالله الكامل، هو الذي يَمْلِك الوجود وأهله بالأشياء، كما يملكه وأهله بأضدادها.

^¹Also: the perfect knower of God (al-ʿārif bi-llāh) is the one who possesses (yamliku) existence and its people through things, just as he possesses it and its people through their opposites.

^²إذا سكت يَمْلك الوجود بسكوتِهِ، وإذا تكلَّم يملك الوجود بكلامه، وإذا اجتمع يملك الوجود باجتماعه، وإذا تفرَّق يملكه بافتراقه.

^²When he is silent, he possesses existence by his silence; when he speaks, he possesses existence by his speech; when he gathers himself, he possesses existence by his gathering; and when he disperses, he possesses it by his dispersal.

^³ويملكه بالذّلِّ كما يَمْلكه بالعزِّ، ويملكه بالقرب كما يملكهُ بالبُعْدِ، ويملكه بالبسطِ كما يملكه بالقبضِ، ويملكه بالخير كما يملكه بالشرِّ، ويملكه بالعطاء كما يملكه بالمَنْع، ويملكه بالسكون كما يملكه بالحركة، ويملكه بأدنَى شيء كما يملكه بأعلى شَيْءٍ. إلى ما لا نهاية له من الأضداد.

^³He possesses it by lowliness (dhull) as he possesses it by might (ʿizz); by nearness as by distance; by expansion (basṭ) as by contraction (qabḍ); by good as by evil; by giving as by withholding; by stillness as by movement; by the lowest thing as by the highest; and so on, through opposites without end.

^⁴وكُلُّ مَنْ يملك الأشياء بحالٍ ولم يملكها بضدِّهِ فهو محتاج إلى خِدمة الرجال، وتقبيل الأرض بين أيديهم أحَبَّ أم كره.

^⁴Whoever possesses things by one state and does not possess them by its opposite still needs to serve the men (al-rijāl, the masters of the path) and to kiss the ground before them, whether he likes it or not.

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أنَّ الخلق كلهم محجوبون، وكلهم ليسوا بمحجوبين.

^¹And also: know that all creatures are veiled, and all of them are not veiled.

^²والعارف بالله الكامل هو الذي عرف مولاه في جميع الحالات، لأنَّ كل من تجلَّت له حالة لا بدَّ أن تحجبه عمَّا سواها.

^²The perfect knower of God is the one who knows his Master in every state, because whoever has a state disclosed (tajallat) to him must have it veil him from whatever else there is.

^³والحقُّ ظاهر في الأحوال وفي أضدادها كما هو باطن في الأحوال وفي أضدادها.

^³The Real is manifest in states and in their opposites, just as He is hidden in states and in their opposites.

^⁴ظهر حتى لم يَخْفَ، وخفي حتى لم يظهر، سبحانه وتعالى.

^⁴He appeared until He was not hidden, and was hidden until He did not appear, glory to Him, Most High.

^¹وأيضاً: مهما تركتَ الأمور لمولاها، يتصرف فيها كما يشاء، يردّها سبحانه إلَيْكَ ويمكِّنك من زمامها، وأمرها يكون عند أمرك ونهيك تتصرف فيها بمشيئتك حتى لا يكون منها إلاّ ما تريد.

^¹And also: whenever you leave matters to their Master, He disposes of them as He wills, [and] then, glory to Him, He gives them back to you and puts their reins in your hand; their command comes under your command and prohibition, and you act in them by your will until nothing comes of them but what you want.

^²ومهما تعرَّضتَ للأمور، وأردتَها أن تكون عند أمرك ونهيك، يردّك مولاك إليها، ويمكِّنها من زمامِكَ.

^²And whenever you put yourself in the way of matters, wanting them to be under your command and prohibition, your Master sends you back to them and puts your reins in their hands.

^³كانت الأمور خديمة لك، مملوكة لك، فصرتَ أنت خديماً لها، مملوكاً لها، تفعل بك ما أرادت، وشتَّان ما بين المالِك والمملوكِ.

^³Matters were servants to you, owned by you; now you have become their servant, owned by them, and they do with you what they will. How far apart are the owner and the owned!

^⁴سبب عبوديتك للوجود، هو حب عبودية الوجود إليك. وأنت والوجود عبيد الله، وسبب عبودية الوجود إليك هو عبوديتك لله.

^⁴The cause of your servitude to existence is your love that existence be a servant to you. You and existence are both servants of God, and the cause of existence's servitude to you is your servitude to God.

^⁵«يا دنيا أخدمي من خدمني، واتعبي من خدمك». الحديث القدسي.⁽¹⁾

(1) مسند الشهاب حديث رقم (888) [ج 2 ص 325]. (editor's footnote)

^⁵"O world, serve whoever serves Me, and tire whoever serves you": the ḥadīth qudsī.¹

¹ Musnad al-Shihāb, ḥadīth no. 888 [vol. 2, p. 325] (editor's footnote).

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أنَّ تصرُّفَ النَّفْسِ كتصرُّفِ الفِلْسِ، كما أنَّ صاحب الفِلْسِ يَمْلِكُ به ما يُرِيد، كذلك صاحب النفس، يملك بها ما يريد.

^¹And also: know that disposing of the self (nafs) is like disposing of a coin (fils): as the owner of a coin owns with it what he wants, so the owner of the self owns with it what he wants.

^²أهل الفلوس من يكون عبداً لِفِلْسِهِ، وهذا لا حُكْمَ له على الفِلْسِ، لأنَّ محبوبه هو فِلْسُهُ، ومن يقدر أن ⟨يَسْخى⟩ بمحبوبه.

^²Among the people of coins are those who are slaves to their coin, and such a one has no rule over it, because his beloved is his coin, and who can bring himself to be generous (yaskhā) with his beloved?

^³ومنهم أيضاً، أن يكون فلسه خديماً له، والكلام مع هذا لأنَّ هذا مالِكٌ ليس مملوكاً.

^³And among them also are those whose coin is a servant to them, and our discourse is with this one, because he is an owner, not owned.

^⁴فهذا يتصرف بفِلْسِهِ ويَجْلِبُ به كل شيءٍ.

^⁴This one disposes by means of his coin and brings in everything with it.

^⁵وأهل النفس أيضاً على فِرْقَتَيْنِ، فِرقة عبيد لنفوسهم، لا حُكْمَ لهم عليها، بل هي حاكمة عليهم.

^⁵The people of the self are likewise of two groups: a group who are slaves to their selves, with no rule over them, for the self rules them;

^⁶وفِرْقة نفوسُهم مملوكة في أيديهم، وليس الكلام إلاّ مع مَنْ مَلَكَ نَفْسَهُ حتى يتصرّف فيها كتصرّف أهل المالِ في المالِ.

^⁶and a group whose selves are owned in their hands. Our discourse is only with the one who owns his self, so that he disposes of it as the people of wealth dispose of wealth.

^⁷وهذا أيضاً مالِك، والكلام إنما هو مع الملوكِ.

^⁷This one too is an owner, and the discourse is only with the kings (al-mulūk), those sovereign over themselves.

^¹وأيضاً: سمعت الشيخ نفعنا الله به يقول: قولُ أهل الجنّات في زبيبِ الدَّوالي: «زَوِّلْ ما اطْلَعْ، وافرِقْ ما اجْتَمَعْ».

^¹And also: I heard the Shaykh, God benefit us by him, say: the saying of the people of the gardens about the raisin-vines [DIALECT — needs a human reader] is «زَوِّلْ ما اطْلَعْ، وافرِقْ ما اجْتَمَعْ». (Hedged gloss only, unverified: a vine-dresser's rule, perhaps "remove what has come up, and separate what has bunched".)

^²ونحن نقول كذلك في جنّات نفوسنا، لأنهم هم أهل جنّات الفلوس، ونحن أهل جنّات النفوس،

^²We say the same in the gardens of our selves, for they are the people of the gardens of coins (fulūs), and we are the people of the gardens of selves (nufūs);

^³وحكم النفس في عَوالِمِها كحكم الفلس في عَوالِمِهِ.

^³and the ruling of the self in its worlds is like the ruling of the coin in its worlds.

^¹وأيضاً: من أراد أن يَمْلك الوجود بأسره، فليَسْخَ بنفسه أو بِفِلْسه،

^¹Also: whoever wants to possess the whole of existence, let him be generous with his self or with his coin (fils).

^²إلّا أنَّ السَّاخي بنفسه يَملك التصرف بالمغيبات حتى يكون الغَيْب طوع يديه،

^²But the one generous with his self holds free disposal (taṣarruf) over hidden things, until the unseen obeys his hands;

^³والسَّاخي بفلسه يملك التصرف بظواهر الأشياء حتى يكون الخلْقُ تحت أمْرِهِ ونَهْيِهِ.

^³and the one generous with his coin holds free disposal over the outward side of things, until creatures are under his command and prohibition.

^¹وممّا قال لي الشيخ رحمه الله: عندي واحد من أولادي سخيّ النفس، وعندي آخر سخيّ الفلس.

^¹Among the things the Shaykh, God have mercy on him, said to me: "I have one of my children who is generous with himself, and another who is generous with coin.

^²وأردت أن أجعلهما عندي سواءً فلم أجد سبيلاً لذلك، ولا وجدت سخيّ النفس عندي إلاّ أعزَّ وأكرمَ وأقربَ وأرفعَ وأنفعَ من سخيّ الفلس.

^²I wanted to hold the two equal in my regard and found no way to do it; I never found the one generous with himself other than dearer, nobler, nearer, higher and more useful than the one generous with coin.

^³كأنَّ سخيّ النفس عزيزٌ عندي وليس بيني وبينه حجاب، وسخيّ الفلس، وإن كان عزيزاً عندي مثل الآخر وأعظم، ولكن كأنَّ بيني وبينه حجاباً.

^³It is as if the one generous with himself is dear to me with no veil between us; and the one generous with coin, though he is as dear to me as the other, and more, there is as it were a veil between us.

^⁴والذي بيني وبينه الحجاب غائبٌ عنّي، والذي ما بيني وبينه الحجاب حاضرٌ معي.

^⁴The one with a veil between us is absent from me, and the one with no veil is present with me.

^⁵وكيف يتمثَّل الحاضر مع الغائب؟ قال الشاعر:

^⁵And how can the present be likened to the absent?" The poet said:

^⁶رأيتُ الهلالَ ووَجْهَ الحبيبْ ✦ فكانَ هلالَيْنِ عِندَ النَّظَرْ

^⁶I saw the crescent and my beloved's face; to the eye there were two crescents.

^⁷فذاكَ يغيبُ وذا لا يغيبْ ✦ وهَلْ مَنْ يغيبُ كما مَنْ حَضَرْ

^⁷That one sets and this one does not set: is one who goes like one who is here?

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم أنَّ من رأى الناس كلهم على خطأ، فإنَّ الرائي هو الذي على خطأ.

^¹And also: know that whoever sees all people as wrong, the one seeing is the one who is wrong.

^²ومن رأى الناس كلهم على صواب فالرائي على صواب.

^²Whoever sees all people as right, the one seeing is right.

^³ومن رأى الناس تارة على صواب وتارة على خطأ فهو تارة على صواب وتارة على خطأ.

^³Whoever sees people sometimes right and sometimes wrong, is himself sometimes right and sometimes wrong.

^⁴وذلك لأنَّ الوجود مِرآة نفسك، ‖ ونفسك مِرآة الوجود.

^⁴That is because existence is the mirror of your self, and your self is the mirror of existence.

^⁵صِفاتك تظهر لك في مِرآة الوجود كما أنَّ صفات الوجود تظهر لك في مِرآتك.

^⁵Your qualities show themselves to you in the mirror of existence, just as the qualities of existence show themselves to you in your mirror.

^⁶يعني ما ظهر لك في الوجود فهو في نفسك، وما ظهر لك في نفسك فهو في الوجود ولا زائد.

^⁶That is: what shows itself to you in existence is in your self, and what shows itself to you in your self is in existence, and nothing more.

^⁷قال بعض الفقراء في هذا المعنى:

^⁷Some of the fuqarāʾ said on this theme:

^⁸قُلْ لِلَّذينَ رأَوْا ما يُنكرونَ فينا ✦ لِصفاءِ شُرْبِنا رَأَوْا صِفاتِهِمْ فينا

^⁸Say to those who saw in us what they deny: it was from the clarity of our drink that they saw their own qualities in us.

^¹وأيضاً، أوصاف الوليّ الكامل، ألاَّ يكون محتاجاً إلاّ إلى الحال الذي يقيمه مولاه فيه في الوقت.

^¹And also: the qualities of the perfect saint (walī) are that he needs nothing but the state in which his Master has set him at that time.

^²يعني ما له مراد، إلاّ ما يبرز من عُنْصُر القدرة، لا تشتهي نفسه غيره.

^²That is, he has no will except what emerges from the element of power (ʿunṣur al-qudra) [?]; his self desires nothing else.

^³كما قال الشيخ الكامل، سيدنا أحمد اليماني، نفعنا الله به، لأصحابه يوماً، قال لهم:

^³So the perfect shaykh, our master Aḥmad al-Yamānī, God benefit us by him, said to his companions one day (

^⁴وذلك عندما اختلفوا في حقيقة الولاية. كل واحد قال فيها ما ظهر له، ووقع الاختلاف بينهم في ذلك، ورفعوا أمرهم إلى الشيخ، وذكر له كل واحد منهم ما ظهر له في حقيقة الولاية. والشيخ لم يُقِرَّ لهم شيئاً من ذلك.

^⁴this was when they disagreed about the reality of sainthood: each said of it what had appeared to him, a disagreement arose among them, and they brought the matter to the shaykh, each telling him what had appeared to him of the reality of sainthood; and the shaykh conceded nothing of it to them).

^⁵فلما عجزوا عن الجواب، قالوا له: يا سيدي أردنا من الله ومنك أن تخبرنا أنت عن حقيقة الولاية.

^⁵When they could not answer, they said to him, "Master, we ask it of God and of you: tell us yourself about the reality of sainthood."

^⁶قال لهم: حقيقة الولاية هو إذا كان صاحبها جالساً في الظلّ لا تشتهي نفسه الجلوس في الشمس. وإذا كان جالساً في الشمس لا تشتهي نفسه الجلوس في الظلّ.

^⁶He said to them: "The reality of sainthood is this: when its owner is sitting in the shade, his self does not long to sit in the sun; and when he is sitting in the sun, his self does not long to sit in the shade."

^¹وأيضاً: اعلم، وفقني الله وإياكم يا إخوان، لا تنكروا فضل العوام،

^¹Also: know, brothers (may God grant success to me and to you), and do not deny the merit of the common folk.

^²والله ما فتح إليّ الباب إلّا على يد رجل عامي جاهل من عوام المسلمين فاتت له أيام كان يراقب فيها أحد العارفين.

^²By God, the door was opened to me only at the hand of a common, unlettered man, one of the ordinary Muslims, who had once spent some days attending on one of the knowers.

^³فلما اجتمعت مع ذلك العامي مُصادفة من غير قصد، وكنت ذلك الوقت واقفاً ملتصقاً بالباب، أدُق عليه ليلاً ونهاراً، صباحاً ومساءً،

^³I came together with that common man by chance, without intending it. At that time I was standing pressed against the door, knocking on it night and day, morning and evening.

^⁴فلمّا أراد الله أن يفتحه إليَّ، اجتمعت مع ذلك العامي بقرب الباب، وفي يده المفتاح، وهو لا يدري ما الباب وما المفتاح.

^⁴When God willed to open it to me, I met that common man near the door, and the key was in his hand, and he did not know what the door was or what the key was.

^⁵ألهمني الله، تبارك وتعالى، إليه، فمددت يدي إليه لنأخذه على أن أقيسَه على الباب هل تفتح أم لا، فدفعه إليَّ ذلك العامي؛ وهو زاهد فيه، لا يعرف له قدراً.

^⁵God, blessed and exalted is He, turned me towards him by inspiration, and I stretched out my hand to take it and try it in the door, to see whether it would open or not. That common man handed it to me, caring nothing for it and knowing nothing of its worth.

^⁶فأدخلت المفتاح في الباب، فانفتح الباب، فدخلت في الحين فكنت أول نهاري مع العوام، وآخر نهاري مع الخصوص،

^⁶I put the key in the door and the door opened, and I went in at once: at the start of my day I was among the common folk, and at its end among the elect.

^⁷فلما دخلت سجدت وقلت: ﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَذْهَبَ عَنَّا الْحَزَنَ إِنَّ رَبَّنَا لَغَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ﴾ [فاطر: الآية 34]

^⁷When I entered, I prostrated and said: "Praise be to God, who has taken sorrow from us; truly our Lord is Forgiving, Thankful" (Q 35:34).

^⁸فالمِنّة لله ورسوله ﷺ.

^⁸The favour is God's and His Messenger's, God bless him and grant him peace.

^⁹وأصل ذلك كله، أني كنت أُكثر زيارة الشيخ مولانا عبد السلام بن مشيش نفعنا الله به وبأمثاله،

^⁹The root of it all was that I used to visit the shaykh, our master ʿAbd al-Salām ibn Mashīsh, very often; may God benefit us through him and those like him.

^¹⁰وهذا الباب الذي ذكرنا هو باب الفناء، ليس للداخل عنه محيد،

^¹⁰This door we have spoken of is the door of annihilation (fanāʾ): whoever enters it has no turning away from it.

^¹¹ولا ننكر المربّي الذي ربّانا بعد الدخول، جزاه الله عنا خيراً.

^¹¹Nor do we deny the educator (al-murabbī) who trained us after the entry; may God reward him well on our behalf.

^¹²جَمَعَنا الله تبارك وتعالى به بعد الدخول،

^¹²God, blessed and exalted is He, brought us together with him after the entry.

^¹³ومما قال لي الشيخ رضي الله عنه، قال: يا ولدي، شتَّان بين من يُضيّق على نفسه الحقيقة، ويعيش دائماً بين الضيْق، وبين من يُوسِّع على نفسه الحقيقة ويعيش دائماً في السِّعة، بينهما فرق عظيم لا يعرفه إلّا الحكماء العارفون.

^¹³Among the things the shaykh, God be pleased with him, said to me was this: "My son, how far apart are the one who makes reality (al-ḥaqīqa) narrow for himself and lives always in narrowness, and the one who makes reality wide for himself and lives always in wideness! Between them is a great difference, which only the wise knowers recognise."

^¹⁴وتوسيع الحقيقة يُطلب من المتوجهين في الحسّ وفي المَعْنَى،

^¹⁴Widening reality is asked of those who turn towards [God], in the sensible and in meaning.

^¹⁵من ضيّق على نفسه الحقيقة، في الحسّ أو في المعنى تضيق عليه، ويعيش في ضيق وهَمّ ونكادٍ.

^¹⁵Whoever makes reality narrow for himself, in the sensible or in meaning, finds it narrowed upon him, and lives in narrowness, worry and misery.

^¹⁶ومن وسَّع على نفسه وُسِّع عليه، ويعيش في سعَة وهناءٍ وعيْش رغَدٍ.

^¹⁶Whoever makes it wide for himself, it is made wide for him, and he lives in wideness, ease and a pleasant life.