al-Amīr ʿAbd al-Qādir b. Muḥyī al-Dīn al-Jazāʾirī · Kitāb al-Mawāqif fī baʿḍ ishārāt al-Qurʾān ilā al-asrār wa-l-maʿārif
المواقف
The Book of Stations
Mawqif 27 · “Made us laugh and weep” in this world
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 72, Damascus 1966, p. 73, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 82, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 83 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ أَضْحَكَ وَأَبْكَىٰ»
He, exalted is He, said: "And that it is He who makes laugh and makes weep" (Q 53:43).
كُنْتُ مُوَجِّهاً أَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ فِي خَلْوَتِي، فَأَخَذَنِي الْحَقُّ- تَعَالَى- عَنِ الْعَالَمِ وَعَنْ نَفْسِي،
I was turned in devotion, remembering God in my retreat, and the Real, exalted is He, took me away from the world and from myself,
فَسَمِعْتُ قَائِلاً يَقُولُ: اِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى- مَا أَضْحَكَنَا وَأَبْكَانَا فِي الدُّنْيَا: اِلَاّ لِيَضْحَكَ لَنَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ.
and I heard a speaker saying: "God, exalted is He, made us laugh and made us weep in this world only so that He may laugh to us in the next world."
فَلَمَّا رَجَعْتُ اِلَى نَفْسِي؛ عَلِمْتُ أَنَّ هَٰذَا تَسْلِيَةٌ وَبِشَارَةٌ،
When I returned to myself, I knew that this was a consolation and glad tidings,
فَاِنَّ السَّالِكَ السَّائِرَ تَتَلَوَّنُ أَحْوَالُهُ دَائِماً، فَتَارَةً قَبْضٌ، وَتَارَةً بَسْطٌ، وَتَارَةً ضَحِكٌ وَتَارَةً بُكَاءٌ،
for the journeying wayfarer's states are constantly changing colour: at one time contraction, at another expansion, at one time laughter and at another weeping.
وَالْمُوجِبُ لِذَٰلِكَ مُشَاهَدَتَانِ:
What brings this about is two beholdings:
الْأُولَى؛ مُشَاهَدَةُ مَا مِـنَ اللَّهِ- تَعَالَى- اِلَيْهِ مِنَ السَّتْرِ عَلَيْهِ وَالْاِحْسَانِ اِلَيْهِ،
The first is beholding what comes from God, exalted is He, to him: His covering over him and His kindness to him,
وَأَنَّهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ- تَعَالَى- وَأَنَّهُ سَائِرٌ اِلَيْهِ وَلِحَضْرَةِ قُرْبِهِ، وَلِحُسْنِ ظَنِّهِ، بِرَبِّـهِ بِأَنَّهُ سَيَرْحَمُهُ وَيَرْفَعُ حُجُبَهُ وَيُعَـرِّفُهُ بِنَفْسِهِ وَيُجْلِسُهُ مَجْلِسَ الرِّضَى مَـعَ الْأَحْبَابِ الْمَخْصُوصِينَ بِالْقُرْبِ وَالْكَرَامَةِ،
and that he is the servant of God, exalted is He, and that he is journeying to Him and to the presence of His nearness; and, owing to his good opinion of his Lord, that He will have mercy on him, lift his veils, make Himself known to him, and seat him in the seat of good pleasure with the beloved ones singled out for nearness and honour.
فَهَٰذِهِ مُشَاهَدَةٌ تُوجِبُ الْفَرَحَ وَالضَّحِكَ وَالْاِنْبِسَاطَ.
This is a beholding that brings joy, laughter and expansion.
وَالثَّانِيَةُ؛ مُشَاهَدَةُ مَا مِنْهُ اِلَى اللَّهِ- تَعَالَى- مِنْ سُوءِ الْأَدَبِ، وَالتَّقْصِيرِ فِي الْأَوَامِرِ، وَعَدَمِ شُكْرِ النِّعَمِ،
The second is beholding what goes from him to God, exalted is He: ill courtesy, falling short in the commands, and failure to give thanks for blessings,
مَعَ التَّفَكُّرِ فِى حَالَتِهِ الرَّاهِنَةِ، وَبُعْدِهِ مِنْ حَضْرَةِ الْأَحْبَابِ، وَتَرَاكُمِ الْحُجُبِ، وَغَلَبَةِ النَّفْسِ وَالْهَوَى•
together with reflecting on his present state, his distance from the presence of the beloved ones, the piling up of the veils, and the dominance of the ego and of passion,
وَاسْتِيلَاءِ حُبِّ الدُّنْيَا وَالشَّهَوَاتِ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ•••
and the love of this world and of desires gaining mastery over his heart.
فَمُشَاهَدَةُ هَٰذِهِ الْأُمُورِ؛ تُوجِبُ الْقَبْضَ وَالْحُزْنَ وَالْبُكَاءَ بَلْ تُوجِبُ اِزْهَاقَ الرُّوحِ لِمَنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ هِمَّةٌ سَنِيَّةٌ، وَنَفْسٌ اِنْسَانِيَّةٌ•
Beholding these things brings contraction, sorrow and weeping; indeed it brings the departing of the spirit for one who has a lofty aspiration and a human soul.
فَالسَّالِكُ لَا يَخْلُو مِنْ هَاتَيْنِ الْحَالَتَيْنِ أَبَداً، وَلَا تَظْهَرُ لَهُ مِنَ الْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- عَلَامَةُ الرِّضَى وَهُوَ الضَّحِكُ الْخَالِصُ، مَادَامَ فِى هَاتَيْنِ الْمُشَاهَدَتَيْنِ•
The wayfarer is never free of these two states, and the sign of good pleasure, which is pure laughter, does not appear to him from the Real, exalted is He, so long as he is in these two beholdings.
فَاِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ- تَعَالَى- رَحْمَتَهُ؛ أَظْهَرَ لَهُ عَلَامَةَ الرِّضَى بِرَفْعِ الْحِجَابِ، وَأَدْنَاهُ مِنْ حَضْرَةِ الْأَحْبَابِ وَعَرَّفَهُ بِنَفْسِهِ، وَخَلَعَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ خِلَعِ الْكَرَامَةِ، وَأَنْعَمَ عَلَيْهِ بِأَنْوَاعِ النِّعَمِ•
When God, exalted is He, wills to have mercy on him, He shows him the sign of good pleasure by lifting the veil, brings him near to the presence of the beloved ones, makes Himself known to him, bestows on him robes of honour, and favours him with every kind of blessing.
لِأَنَّ مِنْ عَادَةِ الْمَلِكِ اِذَا ضَحِكَ لِأَحَدٍ؛ فَعَلَ بِهِ أَنْوَاعاً مِنَ الْكَرَامَةِ•
For it is the custom of a king that, when he laughs to someone, he does him all kinds of honour.
وَيَكُونُ الْمُرَادُ بِقَوْلِهِ «فِى الدُّنْيَا» الْحَالَةَ الْقُرْبَى مِنَ السَّالِكِ وَهِيَ بِدَايَتُهُ فِى السُّلُوكِ وَالسَّيْرِ•
What is meant by his words "in this world" is the wayfarer's nearer state, which is his beginning on the path and the journey.
اِذِ الدُّنْيَا مَأْخُوذَهٌ مِنَ الدُّنُوِّ، وَهُوَ الْقُرْبُ لِكَوْنِهَا أَقْرَبَ اِلَيْنَا مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ•
For dunyā (this world) is derived from dunuww, which is nearness, since it is nearer to us than the next world.
وَيَكُونُ الْمُرَادُ بِالْآخِرَةِ؛ حَالَةَ السَّالِكِ الْمُتَوَجِّهِ حِينَ يَرْحَمُهُ اللَّهُ- تَعَالَي- بِحُلُولِ رِضْوَانِهِ عَلَيْهِ، وَكَشْفِ حِجَابِهِ، لِأَنَّهَا آخِرَةٌ بِالنِّسْبَةِ اِلَى حَالَتِهِ الْأُولَى•
And what is meant by the next world is the state of the wayfarer turned towards God when God, exalted is He, has mercy on him by making His good pleasure descend upon him and removing his veil, for it is "last" relative to his first state.
وَمَا سُمِّيَتِ الْآخِرَةُ آخِرَةً؛ اِلَاّ لِتَأَخُّرِهَا بِالنِّسْبَةِ اِلَى الدُّنْيَا•
The next world was called ākhira only because it comes later (taʾakhkhur) relative to this world.
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