Fighting the Ego (Jihad an-Nafs)

Imam Shafi`i said, may God have mercy on him:

"Only the sincere one (mukhlis) knows hypocrisy (riya')." This means that it is impossible to know the reality of hypocrisy and see its hidden shades except for one who resolutely seeks sincerity. That one strives for a long time (yajtahidu azmanan) searching and meditating and examining at length within himself until he knows or knows something of what hypocrisy is. This does not happen for everyone. Indeed, this happens only with the special ones (al-khawass). But for a given individual to claim that he knows what hypocrisy is, this is real ignorance on his part.

I shall mention in this book a chapter, God willing, in which you will see a type of wonder that will cool your eyes. To illustrate the great extent of the concealment of hypocrisy we only need relate the following from the Teacher and Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri [the sufi shaykh], may God have mercy on him, from his 'Risala' with our isnad previously mentioned.

He said:
"I heard Muhammad ibn al-Husayn say: I heard Ahmad ibn `Ali ibn Ja`far say: I heard al-Hasan ibn `Alawiyya say: Abu Yazid [al-Bistami], may God be well pleased with him, said: I was for twelve years the blacksmith of my ego, then for five years I became the mirror of my heart (mir'atu qalbi), then for a year I looked at what lay between the two of them and I saw around me a visible belt [i.e. of kufr]. So I strove to cut it for twelve years and then looked again, and I saw around me a hidden belt. So I worked to cut it for five years, looking to see how to cut. Then it was unveiled for me and I looked at creation and saw that they were all dead. So I recited the funeral prayer over them."

I (Imam Nawawi) say: That hypocrisy should be as inscrutable as this to the peerless master in this path [i.e. tasawwuf] is enough to show how greatly hidden it lies. His phrase: "I saw them dead" is the apex of worth and beauty, and seldom do other than the Prophet's words, Blessings and Peace be upon him, gather up such wealth of meanings. I shall touch upon its meaning briefly. It means that after he had struggled long and hard and his ego had been disciplined and his heart illumined, and when he had conquered his ego and subdued it and achieved complete mastery over it, and it had subjected himself to him totally, at that time he looked at all created beings and found that they were dead and completely powerless:

• they cannot harm nor can they benefit;
• they cannot give nor can they keep back;
• they cannot give life nor can they give death;
• they cannot convey nor can they cut off;
• they cannot bring near nor can they take away;
• they cannot make happy nor can they make sad;
• they cannot bestow nor can they deprive;
• they possess for themselves neither benefit nor harm,
• nor death, nor life, nor resurrection.

This, then, characterizes human beings as dead: they are considered dead in all of the above respects, they are neither feared nor entreated, what they have is not coveted, they are not shown off to nor fawned upon, one does not concern oneself with them, they are not envied nor disparaged, their defects are not mentioned nor their faults pursued and exposed, one is not jealous of them nor thinks much of whatever God-given favors they have received, and they are forgiven and excused for their shortcomings, although the legal punishments (al-hudud) are applied to them according to the Law. But the application of such punishment does not preclude what we have mentioned before, nor does it preclude our endeavoring to cover up their faults without disparaging them in the least.

This then is how the dead are viewed. And if someone mentions human beings in a dishonorable manner we forbid him from entering into that subject in the same way that we would if he were going to examine a person who died. We do not do anything for their sake nor do we leave Him for them. And we no more stop ourselves from fulfilling an act of obedience to God on their account than we do on account of a dead person, and we do not over-praise them. And we neither love their own praise for us nor hate their insults, and we do not reciprocate them.

In sum, they are as it were non-existent in all the respects we have mentioned. They are under God's complete care and jurisdiction. Whoever deals with them in such a way, he has combined the good of the next world with that of the lower world. May God the Generous grant us success towards achieving this. These few words are enough to touch upon an explanation for his [Abu Yazid al-Bistami's] saying -- May God be well pleased with him.

Blessings and Peace upon the Purified Prophet, his Family, and his Companions

Imam Nawawi's 'Bustan al-`arifin' (The Garden of Gnostics), Beirut: Dar al-kitab al-`arabi, 1405/1985 p. 53-54.

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Fiqh of Ahl-Allah: On Reflection (Imam al-Haddad)

On Reflection (FIKR)

Of: Imam 'Abdallah Ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad Rady Allahu 'Anhu

Translated by: Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi, Madina

You should have a wird of reflection in every twenty-four hours, for which you should set aside one or more hours. The best time for reflection is the one in which are the least pre-occupations, worries, and more potential for the heart to be present, such as the depths of the night. Know that the state of one's religious and worldly affairs depend upon soundness of one's reflection. Anyone who has a share of it has an abundant share of everything good. It has been said : 'An hour's reflection is better than a year's worship.' 'Ali, may God ennoble his face, has said: 'There is no worship like reflection.' And one of the gnostics; may God have mercy on them all, said: 'Reflection is the lamp of the heart; if it departs the heart will have no light.'

The ways of reflection are many. One, which is the most noble of them, is to reflect on the wonders of God's dazzling creation, the inward and outward signs of His Ability, and the signs He has scattered abroad in the Realm of the earth and the heavens. This kind of reflection increases your knowledge of the Essence, Attributes, and Names of God. He has encouraged it by saying:Say: Look at what is in the heavens and the earth! (10:101)

Reflect on the wondrous creations He has made, and on yourself. He has said: In the earth are signs for those who have certainty, and in yourselves; can you not see? (51:20-21)

Know that you must reflect on the favors of God, and His bounties which He caused to reach you.

Remember the favors of God, that you may succeed. (7:69)

Should you (attempt to) number the favors of God, you would not be able to do so. (16:18)

All good things that you possess are from God. (16:53)

This kind of reflection results in the heart filling with the love of God, and continuously rendering thanks to Him, inwardly and outwardly, in a manner that pleases and satisfies Him.

Know that you should reflect on God's complete awareness of you, and His seeing and knowing all about you.

We have created man, and We know what his soul whispers to him; and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. (50:16)

And He is with you wherever you are, and God sees what you do. (57:4)

Have you not seen that God knows what is in the heavens and the earth, and no three (persons) converse but that He is their fourth?(58:7)

This kind of reflection results in your feeling ashamed before God should He see you where He has forbidden you to be, or miss you where He has commanded you to be. Know that you must reflect on your shortcomings in worshipping your Lord, and your exposing yourself to His wrath should you do what He has forbidden you.

I created jinn and men only to worship Me. (51:56)

Do you think We created you in vain, and that to Us you will not be returned? (23:115)

O man! What is it that has deceived you concerning your Generous Lord? (82:6)

This kind of reflection increases your fear of God, encourages you to blame and reproach yourself, to avoid remissness and persevere in your zeal.

Know that you must reflect on this worldly life, its numerous preoccupations, hazards, and the swiftness with which it perishes, and upon the hereafter, and its felicity and permanence.

Thus does God render the signs clear to you, that you may reflect on this world and the hereafter. (2:119-220)

But you may prefer the life of this world, when the hereafter is better and more abiding. (87:16-17)

The life of the world is but distraction and play; while the Last Abode is indeed the Life, if but they knew. (29:64)

This kind of reflection results in losing all desire for the world, and in wishing for the hereafter.

Know that you should reflect on the imminence of death and the regret and remorse which occur when it is too late.

Say: The death that you flee will indeed meet you, and you will then be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will inform you of that which you had been doing.(62:8)

Until, when death comes to one of them he says: 'My Lord! Send me back that I may do good in that which I have left!' No! It is but a word he says. (23:99-100)

O you who believe! Let not your wealth or your children distract you from the remembrance of God! up to: But God will not reprieve a soul whose time has come. (63:9-11)

The benefit of this kind of reflection is that hopes become short, behavior better, and provision is gathered for the Appointed Day.

Know that you should reflect on those attributes and acts by which God has described His friends and His enemies, and on the immediate and delayed rewards which He has prepared for each group.

The righteous are in felicity, and the depraved are in hell.(82:13-14)

Is the one who is a believer like the one who is corrupt? They are not equal. (32:18)

As for the one who gave, had taqwa, and believed in goodness, We shall ease him into ease, (92:5-7)up to the end of the sura.

The believers are those who, when God is mentioned, their hearts tremble, up to: they will have degrees with their Lord, and forgiveness, and generous provision. (8:2-4)

God has promised those among you who have believed and done good works that He will make them rulers over the earth as He made those before them rulers. (24:55)

Each we took for their sin; on some we sent a hurricane, some were taken by the Cry, some We caused the earth to swallow, and some We drowned. It was not for God to wrong them, but they wronged themselves. (29:40)

Hypocrite men and hypocrite women proceed one from another; they enjoin evil and forbid good, up to: God curses them, and theirs is a lasting torment.(9:67- 68)

Believing men and believing women are helping friends to each other; they enjoin good and forbid evil. up to: and good pleasure from God which is greater; that is the supreme gain. (9:71-72)

Those who do not expect to meet Us, are content with the life of the world and feel secure therein, up to: and the end of their prayer is, Praised be God, the Lord of the Worlds! (10:7-10)

The result of this kind of reflection is that you come to love the fortunate, habituate yourself to emulating their behavior and taking on their qualities, and detest the wretched, and habituate yourself to avoiding their behavior and traits of character.

Were we to allow ourselves to pursue the various channels of reflection we would have to forgo the brevity which we intended. That which we have mentioned should suffice the man of reason.

You should with each kind of reflection, bring to mind those verses, hadiths and other narratives relating to it. We have given an example of this by quoting some of the verses related to each kind of reflection.

Beware of reflecting on the Essence of God and His Attributes in the wish to understand their nature and how they exist. No one ever became enamoured of this without falling into the abysses of negation (ta'til) or the traps of anthropomorphism (tashbih). The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: 'Reflect on the signs of God, and do not reflect on His Essence, for you will never be able to give Him His due.'

Source: Imam 'Abdallah Ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad, Risaalatu'l Mu'awanah(The Book of Assistance), translated by Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi, The Quilliam Press, UK, 1989, p31-34.

Hikam #2

Chapter 1:

He said (May God be well pleased with him)!:

Your desire for isolation,
even though God has put you in this world to gain a living,
is a hidden passion.
And your desire to gain a living in this world,
even though God has put you in isolation,
is a comedown from a lofty aspiration.

Commentary:
The word for isolation in Arabic is 'Tajrid' which carries with it the implication of withdrawing from society for contemplative aims, the one doing so is called muttajarrid, whereas the one one who carries on his contemplative life within society is the mutasabbib, that is to say he is also concerned with his livlihood (sabab) in the world.

The Alchemy of Happiness: Introduction

KNOW, O beloved, that man was not created in jest or at random, but marvellously made and for some great end. Although he is not from everlasting, yet he lives for ever; and though his body is mean and earthly, yet his spirit is lofty and divine. When in the crucible of abstinence he is purged from carnal passions he attains to the highest, and in place of being a slave to lust and anger becomes endued with angelic qualities. Attaining that state, he finds his heaven in the contemplation of Eternal Beauty, and no longer in fleshly delights. The spiritual alchemy which operates this change in him, like that which transmutes base metals into gold, is not easily discovered, nor to be found in the house of every old woman. It is to explain that alchemy and its methods of operation that the author has undertaken this work, which he has entitled, The Alchemy of Happiness. Now the treasuries of God, in which this

{p. 18}

alchemy is to be sought, are the hearts of the prophets, and he, who seeks it elsewhere will be disappointed and bankrupt on the day of judgment, when he hears the words, "We have lifted the veil from off thee, and thy sight to-day is keen."

God has sent on earth a hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets[1] to teach men the prescription of this alchemy, and how to purify their hearts from baser qualities in the crucible of abstinence. This alchemy may be briefly described as turning away from the world to God, and its constituents are four:

1. The knowledge of self.

2. The knowledge of God.

3. The knowledge of this world as it really is.

4. The knowledge of the next world as it really is.

We shall now proceed to expound these four constituents in order.

[1. This is the fixed number of the prophets according to Muhammadan tradition.]

TRANSLATED FROM THE HINDUSTANI BY CLAUD FIELD [1909]

Fear and Hope

To proceed. Hope and fear are two wings by means of which those who are brought near fly to every commendable station, and two mounts on which every steep ascent of the paths of the next world is traversed. And nothing but the reins of hope will lead to the vicinity of the Merciful and the joy of the Gardens the man who is distant from hoping and heavy with burdens, who is encompassed with what the heart abhors and with toils of members and limbs. And nothing shall avert from the fire of Gehenna and the painful punishment the man who is encompassed with the blandishments of lusts and the marvels of pleasures except the scourges of threatening and the assaults of violence. Consequently there is nothing for it but an exposition of the essence and merits of them both, as well as the way of arriving at a junction between the two of them, in spite of their polarity and mutual antipathy. And we join the mention of them in a single book which is comprised of two parts, the first part concerning hope and the second part fear. As for the first part it is made up of an exposition of the essence of hope and an exposition of its merit; and an exposition of the therapy of hope and the way in which hope is induced by it.

[Excerpt from IhyaUlumudin by Hujjatul Islam, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali - Translated by: William McKane]

The States of the Soul and Being Patient

Chapter Eleven: The States of the Soul and Being Patient

Know, disciple, that the beginning of the path is patience, and it's end is thankfulness. Its beginning is difficulty, and its end is bliss. Its beginning is toil and weariness, and its end is opening, unveiling and arrival at the ultimate goal which is the gnosis of God, arrival to Him, being comforted by Him and standing in His noble Presence with His angels standing before Him. The one who makes gracious patience the foundation of all his affairs attains to every goodness, reaching everything he hopes for, and wins all that he seeks.

[Excerpt from Good Manners by Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad -Trans. Mostafa Al-Badawi]

Hikam #1

Chapter One

Ibn'Ata'Illah said (May God be well pleased with him):

One of the signs of relying on one's own deeds is the loss of hope when downfall occurs.

Commentary:
One should be detached towards one's actions, not attached to their positive or negative fruits. We must rely on Divinity, not on our own actions and deeds. According to one of the commentators, the person who relies on God suffers no diminution of hope when he falls into disobedience nor does his hope increase when he performs a virtuous deed.

[The Book of Wisdom, Ibn'Ata'Illah- Translation & Notes by Victor Danner]