Chapter III: On ṣúfiism

God, Almighty and Glorious, has said: “_And those who walk meekly on the earth, and when the ignorant speak to them answer ‘Peace’_,” (shall be rewarded with the highest place in Paradise).[31] And the Apostle has said: “He that hears the voice of Ṣúfís (_ahl al-taṣawwuf_) and does not say Amen to their prayer is inscribed before God among the heedless.” The true meaning of this name has been much discussed and many books have been composed on the subject. Some assert that the Ṣúfí is so called because he wears a woollen garment (_jáma´-i ṣúf_); others that he is so called because he is in the first rank (_ṣaff-i awwal_); others say it is because the Ṣúfís claim to belong to the _Aṣḥáb-i Ṣuffa_,[32] with whom may God be well-pleased! Others, again, declare that the name is derived from _ṣafá_ (purity). These explanations of the true meaning of Ṣúfiism are far from satisfying the requirements of etymology, although each of them is supported by many subtle arguments. _Ṣafá_ (purity) is universally praised, and its opposite is _kadar_. The Apostle—on whom be peace!—said: “The _ṣafw_ (pure part, i.e. the best) of this world is gone, and only its _kadar_ (impurity) remains.” Therefore, since the people of this persuasion have purged their morals and conduct, and have sought to free themselves from natural taints, on that account they are called Ṣúfís; and this designation of the sect is a proper name (_az asámi-yi a`lám_), inasmuch as the dignity of the Ṣúfís is too great for their transactions (_mu`ámalát_) to be hidden, so that their name should need a derivation. In this age, however, God has veiled most people from Ṣúfiism and from its votaries, and has concealed its mysteries from their hearts. Accordingly some imagine that it consists merely in the practice of outward piety without inward contemplation, and others suppose that it is a form and a system without essence and root, to such an extent that they have adopted the view of scoffers (_ahl-i hazl_) and theologians (_`ulamá_), who regard only the external, and have condemned Ṣùfiism altogether, making no attempt to discover what it really is. The people in general, blindly conforming to this opinion, have erased from their hearts the quest for inward purity and have discarded the tenets of the Ancients and the Companions of the Prophet. _Verily, purity is characteristic of the Ṣiddíq,[33] if thou desirest a true Ṣúfí_—because purity (_ṣafá_) has a root and a branch: its root being severance of the heart from “others” (_aghyár_), and its branch that the heart should be empty of this deceitful world. Both these are characteristic of the Greatest _Ṣiddíq_, (the Caliph) Abú Bakr `Abdalláh b. Abí Quḥáfa, with whom may God be well-pleased! He is the leader (_imám_) of all the folk of this Path.

Footnote 31:

Kor. xxv, 64.

Footnote 32:

See Chapter IX.

Footnote 33:

The name _zaddíq_ (an Aramaic word meaning “righteous”) was given to
the ascetics and spiritual adepts among the Manichæans. Its Arabic
equivalent, _siddíq_, which means “veracious”, is a term that is
frequently applied to Ṣúfís.

[The author then relates how, on Muḥammad’s decease, when `Umar
threatened to decapitate anyone who asserted that the Prophet was
dead, Abú Bakr stepped forth and cried with a loud voice: “Whoever
worships Muḥammad, let him know that Muḥammad is dead; but whoever
worships Muḥammad’s Lord, let him know that HE is living and dieth
not.” Those who regarded Muḥammad with the eye of mortality ceased to
venerate him as soon as he departed from this world, but to those who
regarded him with the eye of reality his presence and absence were
alike, because they attributed both to God; and looked, not at the
particular change which had come to pass, but at the Author of all
change; and venerated Muḥammad only in proportion as God honoured him;
and did not attach their hearts to anyone (except God); and did not
open their eyes to gaze upon mankind, inasmuch as “he that beholdeth
mankind waneth, but he that returneth unto God reigneth” (_man naẕara
ila ´l-khalq halak wa-man raja`a ila ´l-ḥaqq malak_). And Abú Bakr
showed that his heart was empty of this deceitful world, for he gave
away all his wealth and his clients (_mawálí_), and clad himself in a
woollen garment (_gilím_), and came to the Apostle, who asked him what
he had left for his family. Abú Bakr replied: “Only God and His
Apostle.” All this is characteristic of the sincere Ṣúfí.]

I said that _ṣafá_ (purity) is the opposite of _kadar_ (impurity), and _kadar_ is one of the qualities of Man. The true Ṣúfí is he that leaves impurity behind. Thus, human nature (_bashariyyat_) prevailed in the women of Egypt as they gazed, enraptured, on the wondrous beauty of Yúsuf (Joseph), on whom be peace! But afterwards the preponderance was reversed, until at last they beheld him with their human nature annihilated (_ba-faná-yi bashariyyat_) and cried: “_This is no human being_” (Kor. xii, 31). They made him their object and gave expression to their own state. Hence the Shaykhs of this Path—God have mercy on them!—have said: _Laysa ´l-ṣafá min ṣifat al-bashar li´anna ´l-bashar madar wa´l-madar lá yakhlú min al-kadar_, “Purity is not one of the qualities of Man, for Man is clay, and clay involves impurity, and Man cannot escape from impurity.” Therefore purity bears no likeness to acts (_af`ál_), nor can the human nature be destroyed by means of effort. The quality of purity is unrelated to acts and states, and its name is unconnected with names and nicknames—_purity is characteristic of the lovers_ (of God), _who are suns without cloud_—because purity is the attribute of those who love, and the lover is he that is dead (_fání_) in his own attributes and living (_báqí_) in the attributes of his Beloved, and their “states” resemble the clear sun in the opinion of mystics (_arbáb-i ḥál_). The beloved of God, Muḥammad the Chosen One, was asked concerning the state of Ḥáritha. He answered: _`Abd nawwara ´lláh qalbahu bi ´l-ímán_, “He is a man whose heart is illumined by the light of faith, so that his face shines like the moon from the effect thereof, and he is formed by the Divine light.” An eminent Ṣúfí says: _Ḍiyá al-shams wa´l-qamar idha ´shtaraká namúdhaj^{un} min ṣafá al-ḥubb wa ´l-tawḥíd idha ´shtabaká_, “The combination of the light of the sun and moon, when they are in conjunction, is like the purity of Love and Unification when these are mingled together.” Assuredly, the light of the sun and moon is worthless beside the light of the Love and Unification of God Almighty, and they should not be compared; but in this world there is no light more conspicuous than those two luminaries. The eye cannot see the light of the sun and moon with complete demonstration. During the sway of the sun and moon it sees the sky, whereas the heart (_dil_) sees the empyrean (_`arsh_) by the light of knowledge and unification and love, and while still in this world explores the world to come. All the Shaykhs of this Path are agreed that when a man has escaped from the captivity of “stations” (_maqámát_), and gets rid of the impurity of “states” (_aḥwál_), and is liberated from the abode of change and decay, and becomes endowed with all praiseworthy qualities, he is disjoined from all qualities. That is to say, he is not held in bondage by any praiseworthy quality of his own, nor does he regard it, nor is he made self-conceited thereby. His state is hidden from the perception of intelligences, and his time is exempt from the influence of thoughts. His presence (_ḥuḍúr_) with God has no end and his existence has no cause. And when he arrives at this degree, he becomes annihilated (_fání_) in this world and in the next, and is made divine (_rabbání_) in the disappearance of humanity; and gold and earth are the same in his eyes, and the ordinances which others find hard to keep become easy to him.

[Here follows the story of Ḥáritha, who declared that he had true
faith in God. The Prophet asked: “What is the reality of thy faith?”
Ḥáritha replied: “I have cut off and turned myself away from this
world, so that its stones and its gold and its silver and its clay are
equal in my sight. And I have passed my nights in wakefulness and my
days in thirst until methinks I see the Throne of my Lord manifest,
and the people of Paradise visiting one another, and the people of
Hell wrestling with one another”[34] (or, according to an alternative
reading: “making sudden attacks on one another”).[35] The Prophet
said, repeating the words thrice: “Thou knowest, therefore
persevere.”]

Footnote 34:

_Yataṣára`ún._ B. has _yata`ádawn_, and in marg. _yatasára`ún_. The
true reading is _yata`áwawn_, “barking (or ‘growling’) at one
another.” Cf. _Lisán_, xix, 343, 3.

Footnote 35:

_Yatagháwarún._ This is the reading of J., I. has _yata`áwarún_, L.
_yata`áwadún_, B. _yataghámazún_, and in marg. _yatafáwazún_.

“Ṣúfí” is a name which is given, and has formerly been given, to the perfect saints and spiritual adepts. One of the Shaykhs says: _Man ṣaffáhu ´l-ḥubb fa-huwa ṣáf^{in} wa-man ṣaffáhu ´l-ḥabíb fa-huwa Ṣúfiyy^{un}_, “He that is purified by love is pure, and he that is absorbed in the Beloved and has abandoned all else is a ‘Ṣúfí’.” The name has no derivation answering to etymological requirements, inasmuch as Ṣúfiism is too exalted to have any genus from which it might be derived; for the derivation of one thing from another demands homogeneity (_mujánasat_). All that exists is the opposite of purity (_ṣafá_), and things are not derived from their opposites. To Ṣúfís the meaning of Ṣúfiism is clearer than the sun and does not need any explanation or indication. Since “Ṣúfí” admits of no explanation, all the world are interpreters thereof, whether they recognize the dignity of the name or no at the time when they learn its meaning. The perfect, then, among them are called _Ṣúfí_, and the inferior aspirants (_ṭálibán_) among them are called _Mutaṣawwif_; for _taṣawwuf_ belongs to the form _tafa``ul_, which implies “taking trouble” (_takalluf_),[36] and is a branch of the original root. The difference both in meaning and in etymology is evident. _Purity (ṣafá) is a saintship with a sign and a relation (riwáyat)_, and _Ṣúfiism (taṣawwuf) is an uncomplaining imitation of purity (ḥikáyat^{un} li´l-ṣafá bilá shikáyat)._ Purity, then, is a resplendent and manifest idea, and Ṣúfiism is an imitation of that idea. Its followers in this degree are of three kinds: the _Ṣúfí_, the _Mutaṣawwif_, and the _Mustaṣwif_. The _Ṣúfí_ is he that is dead to self and living by the Truth; he has escaped from the grip of human faculties and has really attained (to God). The _Mutaṣawwif_ is he that seeks to reach this rank by means of self-mortification (_mujáhadat_) and in his search rectifies his conduct in accordance with their (the Ṣúfís’) example. The _Mustaṣwif_ is he that makes himself like them (the Ṣúfís) for the sake of money and wealth and power and worldly advantage, but has no knowledge of these two things.[37] Hence it has been said: _Al-mustaṣwif `inda ´l-Ṣúfiyyat ka-´l-dhubáb wa-`inda ghayrihim ka-´l-dhi´áb_, “The _Mustaṣwif_ in the opinion of the Ṣúfís is as despicable as flies, and his actions are mere cupidity; others regard him as being like a wolf, and his speech unbridled (_bé afsár_), for he only desires a morsel of carrion.” Therefore the _Ṣúfí_ is a man of union (_ṣáḥib wuṣúl_), the _Mutaṣawwif_ a man of principles, (_ṣáḥib uṣúl_), and the _Mustaṣwif_ a man of superfluities (_ṣáḥib fuḍúl_). He that has the portion of union loses all end and object by gaining his end and reaching his object; he that has the portion of principle becomes firm in the “states” of the mystic path, and steadfastly devoted to the mysteries thereof; but he that has the portion of superfluity, is left devoid of all (worth having), and sits down at the gate of formality (_rasm_), and thereby he is veiled from reality (_ma`ní_) and this veil renders both union and principle invisible to him. The Shaykhs of this persuasion have given many subtle definitions of Ṣúfiism which cannot all be enumerated, but we shall mention some of them in this book, if God will, who is the Author of success.

Footnote 36:

Examples of this signification of the form _tafa``ul_ are given in
Wright’s Arabic Grammar, vol. i, p. 37, Rem. _b_.

Footnote 37:

Viz., purity (_ṣafá_) and Ṣúfiism (_taṣawwuf_).

SECTION.

Dhu ´l-Nún, the Egyptian, says: _Al-Ṣúfí idhá naṭaqa bána nuṭquhu `an al-ḥaqá´iq wa-in sakata naṭaqat `anhu ´l-jawáriḥ bi-qaṭ` al-`alá´iq_, “The Ṣúfí is he whose language, when he speaks, is the reality of his state, i.e. he says nothing which he is not, and when he is silent his conduct explains his state, and his state proclaims that he has cut all worldly ties;” i.e. all that he says is based on a sound principle and all that he does is pure detachment from the world (_tajríd_); when he speaks his speech is entirely the Truth, and when he is silent his actions are wholly “poverty” (_faqr_). Junayd says: _Al-taṣawwuf na`t^{un} uqíma ´l-`abd fíhi qíla na`t^{un} li-´l-`abd am li-´l-ḥaqq faqála na`t al-ḥaqq ḥaqíqat^{an} wa-na`t al-`abd rasm^{an}_, “Ṣúfiism is an attribute wherein is Man’s subsistence.” They said: “Is it an attribute of God or of mankind?” He replied: “Its essence is an attribute of God and its formal system is an attribute of mankind;” i.e. its essence involves the annihilation of human qualities, which is brought about by the everlastingness of the Divine qualities, and this is an attribute of God; whereas its formal system involves on the part of Man the continuance of self-mortification (_mujáhadat_), and this continuance of self-mortification is an attribute of Man. Or the words may be taken in another sense, namely, that in real Unification (_tawḥíd_) there are, correctly speaking, no human attributes at all, because human attributes are not constant but are only formal (_rasm_), having no permanence, for God is the agent. Therefore they are really the attributes of God. Thus (to explain what is meant), God commands His servants to fast, and when they keep the fast He gives them the name of “faster” (_ṣá´im_), and _nominally_ this “fasting” (_ṣawm_) belongs to Man, but _really_ it belongs to God. Accordingly God told His Apostle and said: _Al-ṣawm lí wa-ana ajzí bihi_, “Fasting is mine,” because all His acts are His possessions, and when men ascribe things to themselves, the attribution is formal and metaphorical, not real. And Abu ´l-Ḥasan Núrí says: _Al-taṣawwuf tarku kulli ḥaẕẕ^{in}_ _li-´l-nafs_, “Ṣúfiism is the renunciation of all selfish pleasures.” This renunciation is of two kinds: formal and essential. For example, if one renounces a pleasure, and finds pleasure in the renunciation, this is formal renunciation; but if the pleasure renounces him, then the pleasure is annihilated, and this case falls under the head of true contemplation (_musháhadat_). Therefore renunciation of pleasure is the act of Man, but annihilation of pleasure is the act of God. The act of Man is formal and metaphorical, while the act of God is real. This saying (of Núrí) elucidates the saying of Junayd which has been quoted above. And Abu ´l-Ḥasan Núrí also says: _Al-Ṣúfiyyat humu ´lladhína ṣafat arwáḥuhum fa-ṣárú fi ´l-ṣaff al-awwal bayna yadayi ´l-ḥaqq_, “The Ṣúfís are they whose spirits have been freed from the pollution of humanity, purified from carnal taint, and released from concupiscence, so that they have found rest with God in the first rank and the highest degree, and have fled from all save Him.” And he also says: _Al-Ṣúfí alladhí lá yamlik wa-lá yumlak_, “The Ṣúfí is he that has nothing in his possession nor is himself possessed by anything.” This denotes the essence of annihilation (_faná_), since one whose qualities are annihilated neither possesses nor is possessed, inasmuch as the term “possession” can properly be applied only to existent things. The meaning is, that the Ṣúfí does not make his own any good of this world or any glory of the next world, for he is not even in the possession and control of himself: he refrains from desiring authority over others, in order that others may not desire submission from him. This saying refers to a mystery of the Ṣúfí’s which they call “complete annihilation” (_faná-yi kullí_). If God will, we shall mention in this work, for your information, the points wherein they have fallen into error.

Ibn al-Jallá[38] says: _Al-taṣawwuf ḥaqíqat^{un} lá rasm lahu_, “Ṣúfiism is an essence without form,” because the form belongs to mankind in respect to their conduct (_mu`ámalát_), while the essence thereof is peculiar to God. Since Ṣúfiism consists in turning away from mankind, it is necessarily without form. And Abú `Amr Dimashqí says: _Al-taṣawwuf ru´yat al-kawn bi-`ayn al-naqṣ, bal ghaḍḍ al-ṭarf `an al-kawn_, “Ṣúfiism is: to see the imperfection of the phenomenal world (and this shows that human attributes are still existent), nay, to shut the eye to the phenomenal world” (and this shows that human attributes are annihilated; because the objects of sight are phenomena, and when phenomena disappear, sight also disappears). Shutting the eye to the phenomenal world leaves the spiritual vision subsistent, i.e. whoever becomes blind to self sees by means of God, because the seeker of phenomena is also a self-seeker, and his action proceeds from and through himself, and he cannot find any way of escaping from himself. Accordingly one sees himself to be imperfect, and one shuts his eye to self and does not see; and although the seer sees his imperfection, nevertheless his eye is a veil, and he is veiled by his sight, but he who does not see is not veiled by his blindness. This is a well-established principle in the Path of aspirants to Ṣúfiism and mystics (_arbáb-i ma`ání_), but to explain it here would be unsuitable. And Abú Bakr Shiblí says: _Al-taṣawwuf shirk^{un} li´annahu ṣiyánat al-qalb `an ru´yat al-ghayr wa-lá ghayr_, “Ṣúfiism is polytheism, because it is the guarding of the heart from the vision of ‘other’, and ‘other’ does not exist.” That is to say, vision of other (than God) in affirming the Unity of God is polytheism, and when “other” has no value in the heart, it is absurd to guard the heart from remembrance of “other”. And Ḥusrí says: _Al-taṣawwuf ṣafá al-sirr min kudúrat al-mukhálafat_, “Ṣúfiism is the heart’s being pure from the pollution of discord.” The meaning thereof is that he should protect the heart from discord with God, because love is concord, and concord is the opposite of discord, and the lover has but one duty in the world, namely, to keep the commandment of the beloved; and if the object of desire is one, how can discord arise? And Muḥammad b. `Alí b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Alí b. Abí Ṭálib—may God be pleased with them all!—says: _Al-taṣawwuf khulq^{un} fa-man záda `alayka fi ´l-khulq záda `alayka fi ´l-taṣawwuf_, “Ṣúfiism is goodness of disposition: he that has the better disposition is the better Ṣúfí.” Now goodness of disposition is of two kinds: towards God and towards men. The former is acquiescence in the Divine decrees, the latter is endurance of the burden of men’s society for God’s sake. These two aspects refer to the seeker (_ṭálib_). God is independent of the seeker’s acquiescence or anger, and these two qualities depend on consideration of His Unity. And Abú Muḥammad Murta`ish says: _Al-Ṣúfí lá yasbiqu himmatuhu khaṭwatahu_, “The Ṣúfí is he whose thought keeps pace with his foot,” i.e. he is entirely present: his soul is where his body is, and his body where his soul is, and his soul where his foot is, and his foot where his soul is. This is the sign of presence without absence. Others say, on the contrary: “He is absent from himself and present with God.” It is not so: he is present with himself and present with God. The expression denotes perfect union (_jam` al-jam`_), because there can be no absence from self so long as one regards one’s self; when self-regard has ceased, there is presence (with God) without absence. In this particular sense the saying closely resembles that of Shiblí: _Al-Ṣúfí lá yará fi ´l-dárayn ma`a ´lláh ghayra ´lláh_, “The Ṣúfí is he that sees nothing except God in the two worlds.” In short, human existence is “other”, and when a man does not see “other” he does not see himself; and becomes totally void of self, whether “self” is affirmed or denied. And Junayd says: _Al-taṣawwuf mabniyy^{un} `alá thamán khiṣál al-sakhá wa ´l-riḍá wa ´l-ṣabr wa ´l-ishárat wa ´l-ghurbat wa-labs al-ṣúf wa ´l-siyáḥat wa ´l-faqr amma ´l-sakhá fa-li-Ibráhím wa-amma ´l-riḍá fa-li-Ismá`íl wa-amma ´l-ṣabr fa-li-Ayyúb wa-amma ´l-ishárat fa-li-Zakariyyá wa-amma ´l-ghurbat fa-li-Yaḥyá wa-amma labs al-ṣúf fa-li-Músá wa-amma ´l-siyáḥat fa-li-`Ísá wa-amma ´l-faqr fa-li-Muḥammad ṣalla ´lláhu `alayhi wa-sallama wa-`alayhim ajma`ín_, “Ṣúfiism is founded on eight qualities exemplified in eight Apostles: the generosity of Abraham, who sacrificed his son; the acquiescence of Ishmael, who submitted to the command of God and gave up his dear life; the patience of Job, who patiently endured the affliction of worms and the jealousy of the Merciful; the symbolism of Zacharias, to whom God said, ‘_Thou shalt not speak unto men for three days save by signs_’ (Kor. iii, 36), and again to the same effect, ‘_When he called upon his Lord with a secret invocation_’ (Kor. xix, 2); the strangerhood of John, who was a stranger in his own country and an alien to his own kin amongst whom he lived; the pilgrimhood of Jesus, who was so detached therein from worldly things that he kept only a cup and a comb—the cup he threw away when he saw a man drinking water in the palms of his hands, and the comb likewise when he saw another man using his fingers instead of a toothpick; the wearing of wool by Moses, whose garment was woollen; and the poverty of Muḥammad, to whom God Almighty sent the key of all the treasures that are upon the face of the earth, saying: ‘Lay no trouble on thyself, but procure every luxury by means of these treasures;’ and he answered: ‘O Lord, I desire them not; keep me one day full-fed and one day hungry.’” These are very excellent principles of conduct.

Footnote 38:

So J. The Lahore edition has Ibn al-Jalálí, I. Ibn al-Jullábí. See