The knower of God [1] is the one who sees the divine secrets [2] in all things.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. And may Allah bless our master and lord Muhammad, his family, and his companions, and grant them abundant peace. Its author—may Allah pardon him, grant him success in His obedience, cause him to die in the service of His beloved (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and make this among his accepted righteous deeds and precious wares—said: When I had finished speaking in the preceding journey about the spiritual souls that were awaiting his arrival (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the manifestations of unseen mysteries and the vistas of holy lights, and about the clay of Adam (peace be upon him) and the composition of his blessed and exalted essence, and the reason for the prostration of the angels before it when they perceived in it the light of the Muhammadan point of essence (nuqtat al-dhāt al-Muḥammadiyyah) and the jewel of the Aḥmadian reality (jawharat al-ḥaqīqah al-Aḥmadiyyah), I followed that with discourse in the journey on the superiority of the Adamic clay, the honor of its origin, the manner of its composition from that pure and pristine soil, and on the manner of the creation of the Iblisian essence, its refusal to prostrate to Adam in those lordly presences (al-ḥaḍarāt al-mawlawiyyah), and the manner of its exposure to the people of righteousness and goodness among the messengers, prophets, saints, and those who ascend in the lofty stations and high ranks. So I say—and by Allah I seek refuge from engaging in what does not concern me (1) of the sayings of the people of deviation and meddlesomeness: Know, O beloved one supported by the light of guidance and success, O brother desirous of traversing the path of the people of goodness upon the ways of truth and verification, that this Adamic clay, honored, blessed, and exalted, was honored by the Truth (al-Ḥaqq), exalted is He, with beauty and preference, and its mention on the tongue of His beloved (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was with glorification, honor, and veneration. Al-Bayhaqī narrated a tradition concerning it, saying: It is related that when Allah created Adam and his progeny, the angels said: "O Lord, You have created them eating, drinking, marrying, and riding; so assign to them the world and to us the Hereafter." Allah, exalted is He, said: "I make what I have created with My hand and breathed into it of My spirit as I said: 'Be,' and it was—more desirable." Ibn ʿAbbās said: "Adam was only named Adam because he was created from the surface (adīm) of the earth, i.e., its face, and composed from the types of its soil—its reds, blacks, whites, its plains, rugged lands, good, and bad. Therefore, his children are diverse in all colors and natures, among black, white, red, plain, rugged, good, and bad." In al-Tirmidhī, from Abū Dāwūd, from Abū Mūsā, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) say: "Indeed, Allah, exalted is He, created Adam from all the soil of the earth"—i.e., from a handful He took from all of it—so the children of Adam are according to the qualities of the earth: among them (2) the red, the white, the black, the plain, the rugged, the good, and the bad. He said: The scholars differed concerning the place of his creation. Some said: He was created in the heaven of this world. The author of *Bahjat al-Nufūs* transmitted from the majority of scholars that he was created in the Garden of Eden (Jannat ʿAdn), from which he was expelled and sent down to the earth. His height on the day Allah created him from clay was five hundred cubits. As for Eve (Ḥawwāʾ, peace be upon her), Imam Fakhr al-Dīn reported consensus that she was created from the rib of Adam (peace be upon him). They differed concerning the time when she was created—whether in Paradise or before entering Paradise—according to two opinions. One of them is that she was created before entering Paradise, based on the saying of Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both): "Allah sent a host of angels, and they carried Adam (peace be upon him) and Eve on a bed of gold adorned with pearls and rubies, and upon Adam was a belt adorned with pearls and rubies, until he was brought into Paradise." Imam Fakhr al-Dīn said: "This report indicates that Eve was created before entering Paradise." It is also said that she was created in Paradise, as Ibn Masʿūd and Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "When Allah created Paradise and settled Adam (peace be upon him) in it, he remained alone in it, with no one to keep him company. Allah cast sleep upon him, took a rib from his left side, and placed flesh in its place, then created Eve from it, as eternal wisdom required. When he awoke, he found her sitting at his head (3). He asked her, 'Who are you?' She said, 'I am a woman.' He said, 'For what purpose were you created?' She said, 'That you may find repose in me, and I in you.' The angels said to him, 'What is her name?' He said, 'Eve (Ḥawwāʾ).' They said to him, 'Why was she named Eve?' He said, 'Because she was created from a living being (ḥayy).'" As for her lifespan, in the histories it is nine hundred and ninety-seven years, and it is said seventy years, and she lived after Adam (peace be upon him) seven years and seven months. As for the lifespan of Adam (peace be upon him), some said: nine hundred and ninety years. The duration of their stay in Paradise was two hundred and fifty years of the years of this world. It is related that Adam did not separate from Eve in Paradise until he descended to the earth, and then the desire for marriage extended over him, which he had not felt in himself before, and he was inspired as to its place. As for the height of Adam (peace be upon him) after he was sent down from Paradise, the exegetes said that his height decreased.

Until he acknowledged [the length of] sixty cubits—Ahmad added to the width seven cubits of Ibn Hajar ¹, and the manifestation [was] with his own cubit. And in al-Zulfa ², [it is said] that Adam, peace be upon him, [was] between the Holy House ³ and the Rock of Abraham ⁴, peace be upon him—may the prayers and peace of God be upon our Prophet and upon them—his head at the House and his feet at the Rock, and between them [a distance of] thirteen miles. End. It is also narrated from some of the gnostics ⁵ concerning the creation of our father Adam, peace be upon him, and the beginning of the gradual process of his affair from the start to the end, that he said: Know that when God Most High desired to create our father Adam—upon our Prophet and upon him be the best of prayers and the purest peace—He gathered his blessed dust in ten days, left it in water for twenty full days, formed him in forty days, and left him for twenty days after formation until he transitioned from clay-ness to body-ness during the period of those days. So the total of that is three months, which are Rajab, Sha'ban, and Ramadan. Then God breathed into him of His spirit and raised him to the Garden of lofty rank and status. Then Eve was created from him while he was in the Garden, so her creation was in the Garden. When two months were completed for her, desire mounted in them, so Adam had intercourse with her, and she became pregnant and delivered her pregnancy in three months. Then he had intercourse with her again, and she became pregnant and delivered her pregnancy after descending to the earth, three months after her conception. The duration of her stay in the Garden was nine months. Then she became pregnant on earth and delivered her pregnancy at nine months, and that has continued until today. As for the dust from which Adam, peace be upon him, was created, it is the dust of all minerals: the mineral of gold, the mineral of silver, the mineral of copper, and the rest of the minerals. So a portion was taken from the dust of each mineral, all was gathered, and Adam was created from it. Those who undertook the gathering of that dust were the angels and whomever God willed with them, and the most active in gathering was our master Gabriel, peace be upon him. This is because God promised him that there would be a creature from dust, none more honored with God than him, who would be his companion, intimate, and associate, and from whom he would attain a great blessing—and that is our master Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, the Pole ⁶ of the circle of existence, the master of every parent and child. Therefore, he was eager to gather the dust, supposing that he was that promised creature. The amount of that dust was the amount of land that would be inhabited, about a mile or less—meaning they gathered a large amount of dust, the area of which was as previously mentioned. If it is said: Why did they need ten days to gather it, while God Most High is able to gather it in an instant? Before that, God is able to create the heavens and the earths in an instant, so why did He create them in six days? And He is able to create Adam without dust, so why did He create him from dust? But He Most High creates some things and arranges their creation over days, completing them little by little, because of the great tawhid ⁷ that results for the inhabitants of the highest assembly ⁸, and reflection upon God's dominion and sovereignty through the vision of the most sublime and luminous knowledge ⁹; and in the transition of that hadith ¹⁰ from stage to stage and from state to state, its manifestation to sight, and the appearance of its affair in existence to entities, little by little—something that cannot be described—from the gathering of the aspirations of the highest assembly to turning attention to it in wonder at God's command in that event, and reflecting on its state, how He creates it, what will become of it, and to what it will end. So they await the state in which it emerges, and when it occurs, they attain from the sciences of tawhid what cannot be described or enumerated. End. Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ibn 'Abbas, may God be pleased with them both, who said: The Lord of Might sent Iblis ¹¹, so he took from the surface of the earth, from its sweet and salty [parts], and from it He created Adam, peace be upon him. Hence Iblis said, "Shall I prostrate to one You created from clay?" and this clay I brought. From this it is known that Iblis—may God disgrace his effort—was present in the transport of that dust. This is attested by what Ibn Jabir narrated from Ibn 'Abbas, may God be pleased with them both, who said: Iblis was from a tribe of the angels called the jinn ¹², created from the fire of samum ¹³ among the angels. His name was al-Harith ¹⁴, and he was a treasurer among the treasurers of the Garden. All the angels were created from light except this tribe. The jinn were created from a smokeless flame of fire ¹⁵, which is the tongue of fire at its tip when it blazes. The first to inhabit the earth were the jinn; they caused corruption therein, shed blood, and killed one another. So God sent Iblis to them with a host of angels, and he fought them until he drove them to the islands of the seas and the mountain peaks. When Iblis did that, he became deluded and said, "I have done something that no one else has done." God Most High became aware of that from his heart, though the angels were not aware of it. So God said to the angels: "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a vicegerent" [Quran 2:30]. The angels said: "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood?" [Quran 2:30] as the jinn did. He said: "Indeed, I know that which you do not know" [Quran 2:30]. It is as if He said: I have become aware from the heart of Iblis of what they were not aware of—his pride and self-conceit. So God created Adam from sticky clay ¹⁶, and he remained for forty nights as a body cast down. Iblis would come to him, strike him with his foot, then enter through his mouth and exit from his rear, and enter from his rear and exit from his mouth, then say: "You are nothing, and for something you were created. If I am given power over you, I will surely destroy you; and if you are given power over me, I will surely disobey you." When God breathed into him of His spirit, He said to the angels: "Prostrate to Adam" [Quran 2:34]. So they prostrated, except Iblis; he refused and was arrogant [Quran 2:34] due to the pride that had arisen in his soul. He said: "I will not prostrate to him; I am better than him, older in age, and stronger in creation." So God caused him to despair of His mercy, cut him off from all good, and made him an accursed devil ¹⁷. Some of the imams said: Know that God Most High created the Muhammadan soul ¹⁸ from His essence and the essence of the Living, encompassing opposites; and He created the angels of the worlds from the attributes of beauty, light, and guidance from the soul of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace; and He created Iblis and his followers from the attributes of majesty, darkness, and misguidance from his soul as well. End. Iblis—may God curse him—his name was 'Azazil ¹⁹. He had worshipped God Most High for such and such thousands of years before the creation of creatures. The Truth had said to him: "O 'Azazil, worship none but Me." When He created Adam, peace be upon him, and commanded the angels to prostrate to him, the matter became confused for Iblis—may God curse him. He thought that if he prostrated to Adam, he would be worshipping other than God, and he did not know that whoever prostrates by God's command has prostrated to God. Therefore, he refrained from prostration. He was only called Iblis because of the point of this confusion ²⁰ in which he fell. So understand, for his name before that was 'Azazil, and his kunya ²¹ was Abu Murra ²². The Truth said to him: "O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant, or were you among the exalted?" [Quran 38:75]. And "the exalted" are the angels created from divine light, like the angel called al-Nur ²³.

And his likes and the rest of the angels are created from the elements, and they are those commanded to prostrate to Adam, peace be upon him. He said: "I am better than him; You created me from fire and created him from clay." ²⁴ This answer indicates that Iblis is among the most knowledgeable of creation regarding the etiquette of the Divine Presence ²⁵ and the most aware of them concerning the question and what the answer requires, because the Truth did not ask him about a reason; had it been so, His wording would have been "Why did you refuse to prostrate to what I created?" But He asked him about the reality of what prevented him, so he spoke about the secret of the matter and said: "Because I am better than him," meaning that the fiery reality—which is the fiery nature—is better than the clayey nature from which You created him. For this reason, the command necessitated that I not prostrate, because fire by its reality only necessitates elevation, and clay by its reality only necessitates lowness. Do you not see that if you take a candle and invert its head downward, its flame does not return except upward, unlike clay? For if you take a handful of dust and throw it upward, it returns descending faster than its ascent, due to what the realities necessitate. Therefore he said: "I am better than him; You created me from fire and created him from clay." And he did not reply to that, knowing that God is aware of his secret and that what He intended is what the realities necessitated, so there is no way to change it. Thus he realized that the matter was already decreed, and therefore he did not panic, nor regret, nor repent, nor seek forgiveness. So the Truth expelled him from the Presence of Proximity ²⁶ to the depth of natural distance, and said: "Get out of it, for you are accursed, and upon you is My curse until the Day of Judgment" ²⁷—meaning: get out from the high Presence to the lower center, for "rajm" ²⁸ is the throwing of something from high to low. End. And I said concerning that, by way of allusion and the suitability of the meaning of the word to the expression: Know that God Most High created the Muhammadan Self ²⁹ from the light of His Essence, clothed it with the garments of His Beauty and the attributes of His Perfections, and made it the meeting place of the two opposites, a substance from the substances of the two weighty ones ³⁰, the confluence of the two seas, and the garden of the two gardens. And He created the high angels from the aspect of the attributes of Beauty, and the sanctified and dominant ones from the awe of Majesty, and the luminous bodies and spiritual spirits from the precious breaths of His—upon him be the best of prayers and the purest peace. And Iblis and his followers from the darkness of the fire of wrath, deceit, corruption, falsehood, distress, treachery, and cunning. So the chief of the erring ones admired himself, was deluded by the dictates of his intellect and the conjectures of his intuition, and relied on what suited his nature and what he observed in his sensory world. His name was Azazil ³¹ and his patronymic was Abu Murra ³²; what is apparent from the title of his name and patronymic suffices for fame, for bitterness repels natures and ears reject it, and it bequeaths separation after union, and lowers the status of the high after elevation. When the Truth commanded him to prostrate and he refused, He said to him: "O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to what I created with My hands? Were you arrogant, or were you among the high ones?" ³³ So it became manifest that his evil tree grew in the land of obstinacy, corruption, pride, vanity, stubbornness, error, refusal, and abstinence, and was watered with the water of immorality, hypocrisy, and innovation, and bore the fruit of bitterness, useless harm and benefit, and the colocynth of false claim leading to abandonment, expulsion, and much argument and dispute. This evil tree, which we have expressed by his patronymic and made a proof of his baseness and the contemptibility of his lineage, was planted in the depth of natures by the hands of coercive forces, and watered with the water of error and the transgression of prohibitions. Its roots are the origin of hypocrisy, its trunk is the origin of disbelief and the commission of evil deeds, its leaves are the various desires of different colors, and their colors are illusions, doubts, polytheism, and lack of faith. Its taste is laziness, miserliness, evil, insolence, arrogance, and rebellion against obedience to the Merciful. Its fruit is backbiting, slander, greed, envy, falsehood, lying, calumny, lust, rancor, hatred, and all sins that disturb life and confuse minds. At every time and breath, its fruit is given to the people of denial, contempt, and negligence of the command of the King, the Judge. In the naming of him by the Truth Most High as Azazil, there is an indication that He will remove him from the Presence of His Lordship and prevent him from reaching the carpet of His Belovedness, because He knew his lack of satisfaction with the humiliation of servitude, his great security from His deception, his lack of fear of His severity and the overwhelming force of His Omnipotence, and his reliance on his abundant worship in the seven heavens and his precedence before the angels who hasten to obey their Lord, the Foremost, and his disregard for what He commanded him of prostration to Adam, His vicegerent in His earth, His heaven, and all horizons. And the wrongdoer did not think that flight would remove him from the bond of servitude and remove him from the presence of the noble ones described with the most beautiful attributes and noble morals. And he refused.

From prostration, he exercised control over what those cosmic realities required, and he did not observe what the reality of that noble, luminous form required—the form created from the purity of the essential lights ³⁴ compounded in the clay of Adam, peace be upon him, before the creation of creatures and the blowing of spirits into bodies, for which the noble angels prostrated to Adam. The accursed one claimed superiority for himself over it and declared that out of ignorance of the reality of the superiority attributed to it, and said when God commanded him to prostrate to Adam: 'I am better than him; You created me from fire and created him from clay.' At that moment, his eyes were darkened with the blindness of rebellion and ignorance, his heart was diseased with the sickness of discord, abandonment, and miserliness, the tidings were obscured to him, and desires enslaved him. He did not distinguish between the path of happiness and misery, and the Truth expelled him from His mercy, preventing him from entering the Garden of Eternity and Permanence. So he knew that the matter ³⁵ was already decided and that what had occurred could not be changed, because it was the will of the Truth that had preceded in His eternity, and what preceded in eternity cannot be altered. Therefore, no regret or distress occurred from him. When the wrongdoer despaired of God's mercy and realized that upon him was the curse of God, the angels, and all people, he began to show advice to God's believing servants, to remove ugly deeds from his followers—the losers and falsifiers—to constrict the spacious path for those turning to God—the successful—to make the difficult easy for those turning away from obedience to God—those drowning in the seas of their desires and engrossed in them—to encourage those who feel secure from God's scheme, to cause despair among those who rely on God, and to corrupt the faith of the sincere and certain believers in God. He says to those deceived by his words and drowning with him in the seas of his misguidance and ignorance: 'I was the imam of the ascetics and the head of the worshippers; there remained no place in the seven heavens except that I prostrated to God in it, obeyed His command, did not break His covenant, testified that He has no partner, and singled Him out for worship alone. But the precedents of will distanced me from His presence, and the causes of misery prevented me from His regard. There is no repeller of what God has decreed, no preventer of what God has given. The wretched is wretched in his mother's womb, and the happy is happy in his mother's womb. The pen has dried with what was and what will be, while creation was in the darkness of non-existence. So ingratitude for blessings ³⁶ brings calamities and leads to the accidents of afflictions and sickness. So take heed, O possessors of insight, and look with the eye of reflection and consideration at one who disobeyed his Master, the Almighty King, in whose hand are the hearts of His servants, turning them as He wills, and the servant has no choice. Patience is more beautiful for one whose regret is prolonged, and contentment with the decree is salvation for one whose stratagem is weak and whose slip is great. The servant is determined, not given choice; each is facilitated for what he was created for; every vessel exudes what is in it. That is a matter God has decreed and judged. I have regretted, if regret were of any use, and buried myself in the graves of the dead and wept over myself with blood, but I found God's decree had been executed and concluded. So neither repentance nor regret benefited me. How can I delude myself with repentance and the benefit of regret, when our Lord—exalted is He—has promised me the curse until the Day of Judgment, and He added nothing when He decreed His matter and judged it in His clear Book? How wretched you are, O 'Azazil ³⁷, head of the erring and the deceivers, plaything of boys, widows, and the barren, tongue of the people of lies, falsehood, and vanities, argument of the heedless against God, whom distractions and preoccupations have busied from His obedience, and the passing world has played with them until they neglected the obligatory and supererogatory acts, and the gatherings of remembrance and study and the seats of assemblies became empty of them. How base you are, O 'Azazil! Others dwell in lofty palaces ³⁸ and the noblest of dwellings, while you dwell in lavatories, toilets, filthy places, and garbage dumps. Others are in a pleasant life and a flourishing garden with low-hanging fruits, to whom it is said: 'Eat and drink for what you have sent ahead in the days past,' while your dwelling is inns, streets, markets, and wildernesses; your food is animal dung and bones thrown in the trash of houses and the ugliest of entrances; your drink is bitter water that tears the intestines and severs the joints. You have opposed what you were commanded—prostration to Adam, whose clay was compounded from the purest elements and virtues, and the Ahmadic light ³⁹, to which the inhabitants of the highest expanse and others of the nobles and notables prostrated.' When the wrongdoer saw that his ugly deed had landed him in insult, blame, scandals, evils, vile actions, and all abominations, and that what had befallen him could not be averted by many apologies and pieces of advice, he produced from himself a false witness and began to argue with the tongue of injustice and immorality, saying when it was said: 'Prostrate to Adam,' I addressed the Truth—exalted is He—and said: 'Raise the honor of prostration from anyone other than You, so that I may prostrate to him. If You have commanded me, You have also forbidden me.' He said to me: 'I will punish you with eternal punishment.' I said: 'Do You not see me ⁴⁰ in Your punishment of me?' He said: 'Yes.' I said: 'Your seeing me makes me see the punishment; do with me as You will.' He said to me: 'I will make you accursed.' I said: 'Is there not for me other than You? Do with me as You will.' So the wrongdoer submitted with a dialectical submission and apologized with the apology of one who was disobedient to his Master. In every word of his was hidden a deceit, and in every wisdom of his was a baseness. He said: 'The claim is disgraceful.'

Even if it were sound, base and miserly souls are only restrained by the rod and the descent of thunderbolts beyond count and number, and by dozens of tongues that expose a man's honor. Guarding the heart ⁴¹ bequeaths dwelling in the gardens of Paradise, while arrogance over peers destroys the edifice. So he began to scheme to free his neck, and to erase what he had inscribed on the pages of his scroll, and to cloak himself in the garment of apology for his disobedience and his grave slip. But the circumstantial evidence ⁴² exposed him, and the ugly deeds and words distorted him, and the ears of listeners rejected and cast him out. He was neither slain—for in death there is rest—nor was he granted favor so as to be set free. He kept objecting like a wicked liar, and hiding from what had befallen him like one who hides by night and goes forth by day, the fugitive, and he raged with the wine of his ignorance ⁴³ as a drunkard rages, despite his knowledge that nothing is hidden from God of what he altered and changed through his tricks and deceit of the rulings of the laws and the foundations of the schools. And he mentioned the curse that was sent down upon him until its fame spread throughout the surrounding regions and the farthest East and West. The wrongdoer was confounded and grew arrogant from what was forged in the register of his falsehoods of scandals and faults, and from what he inscribed in the margins of his notebooks of afflictions and calamities. His base deeds vanished in 'perhaps' and 'maybe' until the clouds of his error became like yesterday that has passed. The witnesses of truth rose against him, so tomorrow he will argue with falsehood like one whom the witnesses of trial and evil consequences have exposed, and whom the friend and companion have abandoned due to his evil deed. The worshiper and the monk marveled at his absurdity. The copyist and the scribe were exhausted by his tale. His faults surpassed those of the thief and the brigand. The hearts of distant and close people of religion despised him. He was prevented from ascending to heaven and was pelted with piercing meteors ⁴⁴ from the light of the stars. He never ceased striving toward what would lead him to the abysses of ruin and destruction, and he and his followers were restrained from rising to the highest ranks and loftiest stations. Nothing drove him—may God curse him—to that except the malady of pride, envy, obstinacy, self-conceit, hypocrisy ⁴⁵, seeking reputation, arrogance toward those whom God has singled out for righteousness, guidance, and rectitude, love of status and leadership, and failure to submit to obedience with utmost seriousness and effort. No one among the near ones ⁴⁶ and elite servants matched him in that. Sometimes he counted himself among the angels brought near, sometimes among God's righteous servants, sometimes his spirit among the spiritual souls and the acting scholars. Now he is sometimes pelted with piercing meteors, sometimes driven from reaching the most precious of witnessed scenes and processions, sometimes appearing to the deluded among his noble followers as possessing virtues and merits, and sometimes he says: 'The corruptions of satanic souls and the density of dark veils are what toyed with me until I became more audacious in what I was forbidden than the thieves of Hell, and I wade into the sea of every pleasant matter, and burn with the sparks of my disobedience the branches of every delightful garden, and I separate women and men at the contract of marriage and wedding, and I bring in those who flee from me through familiarity and gradualness until I make them forget God's remembrance through my misguidance, and through my temptation I cause them to fall into God's wrath. I have exhausted the guardian angels ⁴⁷ with the multitude of my evil deeds, and blackened the scrolls of those who followed me with the abundance of my sins and slips. I did not care about what I had presented of my faults, which indicated my state to others, until they began to act like me and entered my net. I presented his good deed before me, struck his coin on my die, and stamped it with my stamp until he answered my call and listened to my speech. So whoever seeks salvation for himself, let him strive to oppose me and beware of my cunning, my guile, and the force of my treachery. For love of status and leadership is what drove me to denial and rejection, and the disease of pride and envy is what cast me into the abysses of ruin until I disobeyed the Lord, the King, the Worshipped.' The accursed one—may God make his effort ugly—thought that eloquence of tongue and embellishment with the sciences of realities and elucidation would expiate the sins of those who confront God with lewdness and disobedience, and that lying and raving speech would raise the edifice and strengthen the pillars, and that seeking sympathy with beautiful words would magnify the matter and bring the pleasure of the Merciful. He did not know that he would be held accountable for the opposite of his intention in secret and in public, and would be called to account for what he had perpetrated of lies, falsehood, and slander, and would fall into the utmost of error, misguidance, and loss. Its author—may God forgive him—said: When I had finished speaking about the human clay ⁴⁸ and the manner of taking its collected dust from the noblest of pure, clear mines, and the light mixed therein from the light of the essence of the Ahmadian ⁴⁹ lordship, and speaking about the Iblisian reality ⁵⁰ and the creature ugly in essence and name, fiery in nature and body, I appended to that a discussion of the state of the accursed one named al-Harith ⁵¹, ugly in indication and motives, much given to spying on faults and investigations. So I say: This accursed one used to plow with his left hand and reap what he had sown with his left hand, and he looked at all he had done with his left eye. All his limbs were left, and he had no right, no share in good, and no religion. His deeds were all doubts and possibilities. His houses in which he placed his treasures were the hearts of the hypocrites.

And the ones who are perpetually and continuously deceitful. "And the good land – its vegetation comes out by the permission of its Lord. But that which is bad – nothing emerges except scantily, with difficulty." [Quran 7:58] "[This is] so that Allah may distinguish the wicked from the good and place the wicked some of them upon others and heap them all together and put them into Hell." [Quran 8:37] And this accursed one (al-la‘īn) was among the most knowledgeable of people in replying to questions and answers, and the most understanding among them in the intricacies of disputation and argumentation, and the most abundant in knowledge of the subtleties of deceit and trickery, and the greatest of the rebellious against Allah in his rebellion against performing obedience and compliance, and the strongest of those who have apostatized from the religion in his sickness with the disease of disbelief and misguidance, and the most notorious of those who persist in major sins, rejoicing in disobedience against the One of Might (22) and Majesty. And indeed, the wrongdoer (al-ẓālim) met ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah be pleased with him, and said to him: "O ‘Umar, you are the one who did not know the door, while I am the one who was followed by the angels, and they were my followers. Then a decree came that is not questioned about what it does, and it removed me and appointed you, O ‘Umar. So beware of the change of circumstances, for the sword is more desirable in the hand of the killer." And it is narrated that when the wrongdoer was cursed, he became agitated and wandered about from the intensity of joy until he filled the world with himself. It was said to him: "Do you do this when you have been expelled from the Divine Presence (al-ḥaḍrah)?" So he said: "It is a garment (ḥullah) with which the Beloved has singled me out; no angel brought near nor prophet sent will wear it." Then he called out to the Truth, as He, glorified is He, informed about him in His saying: "My Lord, grant me respite until the Day they are resurrected." [Quran 7:14] So He answered him with His saying: "Indeed, you are of those granted respite until the Day of the time well-known." [Quran 15:37-38] And I said, by way of allusion (ishārah) in the speech, on his tongue: I know that when the curse was drawn over this wrongdoer, he grieved inwardly with great grief, and his throne became inverted, his face frowning and gloomy, and his vision, due to what had befallen him of humiliation and curse, was downcast and weary, and his day was dark, in which he saw nothing but a burning sun and intense cold. He only said what he said out of obstinacy and falsification, and he only showed what he showed out of stubbornness, denial, and disbelief, when he realized that he had committed a grave matter and a deed that would lead him to what Allah has prepared for the disbelievers in Hell (23) from His saying: "Chains, shackles, and a Blaze." [Quran 76:4] And that joy which he displayed until he filled the world with himself, and by which he deceived his relatives, his clansmen, and his kind, he only did so to conceal the disgrace that was specific to him, apart from those who disbelieved in Allah from among His jinn and mankind. And he incited himself thereby to His anger, His wrath, His punishment, and His filth. And his saying, when it was said to him: "Do you do this when you have been expelled from the Divine Presence and prevented from the vision?" – "It is a garment with which the Beloved has singled me out, so it became for me a mark and a fame; no angel brought near, nor prophet sent, nor perfect saint (walī kāmil), nor chosen one from the people of knowledge and action has worn it." That is a true statement by which he expressed himself and clarified therein the reality of the truth of the speech and its opposite, and by it he indicated what his affair would lead to, from the abundance of his evil and misfortune. As for his call with his saying: "My Lord, grant me respite until the Day they are resurrected" [Quran 7:14], that is the consequence of what he used to seek in the world of his witnessing and his senses, and what he used to await in his day, his tomorrow, and his yesterday. End. Or you may say: When this wrongdoer’s curse and expulsion from the Divine Presence were established by the Book and the Sunnah, and his argument and claim were invalidated, he wandered about on the face of the earth, and his family and his clan shunned him, his market became stagnant, his trade and his merchandise became worthless, his color changed, his state and his form were altered, and he came out in the form of the angels. So he was distressed by that and let out a cry (rannah) by which his disgrace (24) became apparent and his shame was exposed. And every cry that has been uttered in the world until the Day of Resurrection is from that cry. And by that, his rank fell, his dignity was cast aside, and his elevation was lowered. And when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw him in Mecca, he let out another cry until his family and his offspring gathered around him. He said: "Despair of turning the nation of Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, back to polytheism. But lead them astray in their religion, and spread among them wailing and poetry, so that none of them may be free to obey Allah, and the obstacles of time and its trial will occupy them from that." And in the hadith, the accursed one said: "Three things – whoever possesses them, I have overcome him: whoever considers his deeds many, considers his sins small, and is impressed with his own opinion." End. Or you may say: When this accursed one was cursed, he became agitated and excited from the intensity of joy until he filled the world with himself – that is, with his corruption, his wickedness, and his filth – and he was deluded by those who came under his authority from among his followers and his kind. So it was said to him: "Do you do this when you have been expelled from the Divine Presence (al-ḥaḍrah), which is the manifestation of the light of the Most Merciful and the place of His holiness?" So he said: "It is a garment with which the Beloved has singled me out; no angel brought near nor prophet sent from among His people of nearness and places of intimacy has worn it." He only said that to confuse (25) those who had joined him from among the people of his wretchedness and impurity, and he donned the garment of his humiliation, his degradation, and his diminishment. And the Truth called out with His saying: "My Lord, grant me respite until the Day they are resurrected" [Quran 7:14], so He answered him according to the requirement of his desire, and that he would not leave a person until he enters his grave. End. Or you may say: When this accursed devil (al-shayṭān al-rajīm), the expelled one from the presence of his Lord, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, the one whose insight was obliterated by the darkness of doubt and illusion, the one who claimed precedence in the rank of honor and advancement, donned the cloak (burnus) of anger, curse, and blameworthy action, saturated with the water of zaqqūm, ghisleen, and scalding water, and was crowned with the crown of disgrace, expulsion, shame, and painful punishment, he began to console himself with various kinds of jesting, imagining that he was on a straight path, and to show to those who followed him that he was in a state of pride, delight, joy, happiness, perpetual bliss, and victory in what he had requested from his Lord, the Forbearing, the Generous – the postponement of the term until the Day of Resurrection, the great terror. And the cloak (burnus) referred to is the one mentioned in the upcoming hadith in his saying: "While Moses was sitting..." to its end. And that cloak has colors in which he changes at every time and moment, and by it he snatches away the eyesight of the dark ones who have apostatized from the religion, the transgressors (26), and by it he hunts the hearts of those who sell their religion for their worldly life and do not care about what they have broken of the covenant of their Lord, the Strong, the Firm. And by it he adorns himself for those who wade into the seas of their desires, the indulgent ones, and the tyrants whose service Allah is not pleased with, the expelled ones from the presence of their Lord, the banished ones. And the wording of the aforementioned hadith concerning the cloak is what Ibn Abī al-Dunyā narrated from ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Ziyād ibn An‘um al-Ifrīqī, that he said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "While Moses was sitting, Iblīs – may Allah curse him – approached, wearing a cloak (burnus) of his in which he changed colors. When he drew near to him, he took off the cloak and placed it, then came to him and said: 'Peace be upon you, O Moses.' He said to him: 'Who are you?' He said: 'Iblīs.' He said: 'May Allah not greet you. What has brought you?' He said: 'I came to greet you because of your rank with Allah and your station with Him.' He said: 'What is that which I saw upon you?' He said: 'With it I snatch away the hearts of the children of Adam.' He said: 'What is that which, if a person does it...'"

Has man brought something new upon himself? He said: When he is pleased with himself, considers his deeds many, and forgets his sins. And he told you three things that are not permissible for a woman: for no man is alone with a woman except that it becomes permissible for him, unless you are his companion, and among my companions until I tempt him with what... And he does not make a covenant with God except that I fulfill it, for there is no good that God rewards except that you are his companion until I cause a barrier between him and fulfilling it. And do not give charity ⁵² unless I have worn it out, for no man gives charity without completing it except that I am his companion and among my companions until I cause a barrier between him and fulfilling it. Then he turned away and shook, saying: 'Woe to me!' three times. Moses knew what the children of 'Umm' guarded themselves with. End. Or you say: When this oppressor donned the cloak of destruction and ruin and boasted with it among his troops, supporters, children, and all those who share with him in tribe, clan, and lineage, he rolled up his sleeves and said: 'Whoever kills a slain person, the spoils are his; and whoever leaves a destitute one frolicking in the garden of obedience and proximity, I will punish him with a severe punishment and bring him to the land of the evil end and bad outcome.' And Moses, peace be upon him, came while he was whispering to his Lord with the tongue of fear and awe. An angel said to him: 'Woe to you, what do you hope from him while he is in this state, whispering to his Lord with the best of requests?' He said: 'I hope from him what I hoped from his father Adam while he was in Paradise strutting in houses of gold, silver, and reed, and I did not leave him until I brought him out of it, whether he liked it or not, and separated him from what his Lord had honored him with of blessings and gifts.' As reported in a hadith narrated by Ibn Abi al-Dunya from Fudayl ibn 'Iyad, who said: One of our shaykhs told me that Iblis came to Moses while he was whispering to his Lord, may He be exalted. The angel said: 'Woe to you, what do you hope from him while he is in this state, whispering to his Lord?' He said: 'I hope from him what I hoped from his father Adam while he was in Paradise.' End. ⁵³ Ibn Abi al-Dunya also narrated in the Book of Blame of Anger, as did Ibn Jabir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Abi Hatim, from 'Abdullah ibn al-Harith, who said: A prophet among the prophets said to those with him: 'Which of you will guarantee for me not to get angry, and be with me in my rank, and after me in my station?' A young man from the people said: 'I will.' Then he repeated it, and the young man said: 'I will.' When he died, he stood after him in his station. Iblis came to him, having said to make him angry and provoke him, and said to a man: 'Go with him.' He came and told him that he saw nothing. Then he came again and sent another with him, and he came and said: 'I saw nothing.' Then he came and stood with him, took his hand, and slipped away from him. So he was called Dhu al-Kifl ⁵⁴ because he guaranteed not to get angry. End. So this accursed, wicked in origin and branch, corrupt in temperament and nature, causing great fear and terror to those who see him, wearing the garment of corruption and falsehood, of poor weave and make, embroidered with lies and tricks and lack of sincerity to God's servants and benefit, attacked this prophet Dhu al-Kifl but gained nothing from him, by the power of Him in Whose hand are abasement and exaltation, giving and withholding. End. Then, when this oppressor's argument was invalidated, his wisdom corrupted, his knot and bond undone, his trade and bargain lost, he ascended to heaven and sought power over God's prophet Ayyub ⁵⁵, the ascetic, patient, content, ⁵⁶ praiseworthy, thankful. He said: 'O Lord, give me power over Ayyub.' He, exalted, said to him: 'I have given you power over his wealth and children, but I have not given you power over his pure body.' So he descended and gathered his troops and armies, and said to them: 'I have been given power over Ayyub in his wealth and children, so show me your power that you reserve for occasions of coming and going.' So they became fires, then became water flowing like tears in the eye sockets. While they were in the east, they were in the west; while they were in the west, they were in the east, roaming in deserts and settled areas. He sent a group of them to his crops, a group to his camels, a group to his cattle, and a group to his sheep. They hastened to what he commanded them and departed like yesterday that has passed. He said to them: 'None can protect himself from you except through good deeds.' So they brought calamities upon him one after another until, when he extended his hand, he could hardly see it due to the intensity of trials inwardly and outwardly. The owner of the crops came and said: 'O Ayyub, have you not seen that your Lord sent a fire upon your crops, burning them and leaving nothing of them, first or last?' The owner of the camels came and said: 'O Ayyub, have you not seen that your Lord sent a number upon your camels and took them away?' The owner of the cattle and sheep came and said likewise, according to what the command of our Wise, Powerful Lord decreed. He [Iblis] singled out his elder and younger sons ⁵⁷ and gathered them in a house; the elders were eating and drinking when a wind blew, seized the corners of the house, and threw it upon them, so they became dead, lifeless, among the people of the graves. He came to Ayyub in the form of a young boy with two earrings in his ears and said: 'O Ayyub, have you not seen that your Lord gathered your sons in a house, the elders among them, and while they were eating and drinking, a wind blew, seized the corners of the house, and threw it upon them, joining the first of them with the last?' Ayyub said to him: 'Where were you?' He said: 'I was with them.' He said: 'How did you escape?' He said: 'I was in the sanctuary of God, the Mighty, the Subduer.' Ayyub said: 'You are the oppressive, wicked devil who argues with falsehood.'

**Job (Ayyūb):** "Today I am as I was on the day my mother bore me, without [anything]." And no preacher or restrainer can turn him back. Then Job said to him: "I know none other than my Lord, the All-Knowing of what is manifest and what is concealed by consciences." And he shaved his head and stood up to pray. At that, Iblīs (Satan) let out a cry that was heard by the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, and from which both the believer and the disbeliever were terrified. Then he ascended to heaven and said: "O my Lord, You gave me power over him, and he has sought refuge [in You]; so give me power over him, for I cannot overcome him except by the might of Your authority and the light of Your Face, which has filled the pillars of Your radiant Throne." The Truth (Allāh) said to him: "I have given you power over his body, but I have not given you power over his enlightened heart and his remembering tongue." So he descended to the earth and blew a breath under his foot, which filled [the space] between his foot and his horn, and it became a single sore, from which his body suffered pain, but his heart, absent in the beauty of the present Truth, did not suffer from it. Then the accursed one said at that: "I have not afflicted Job with anything except that when I heard his groaning, I knew I had caused him pain." So the wrongdoer retreated on his heels and grieved greatly over what had transpired, saying: "Whom Allāh protects needs no helper or supporter." And when he despaired of Job, he turned to his wife to attain from her what would lead him to harm her husband, the possessor of the heart filled with the remembrance of Allāh, the Ever-Active. He said to her: "What has afflicted you with what has afflicted you?" She said: "By the decree of Allāh." He said to her: "Then follow me." So she followed him, and he showed her all that had been lost from them in a valley that the thirsty one would think was water, until when he came to it, he found it to be nothing that would reassure the heart or calm the mind. Then he said to her: "Prostrate to me, and I will return to you what has perished of your wealth, both hidden and gone." She said: "I have a husband whom I must consult." So she informed Job of what had happened to her. He said: "A matter has occurred. Is it not time for you, if you knew, that that is the devil, the treacherous enemy? And if I am cured, I will surely strike you one hundred lashes for your listening to his loathsome, ruinous speech." Then after that, the accursed one sat on the road and took up a chest to treat people in it, like a healing physician and a skilled exorcist. The wife of Job said to him: "There is here an afflicted one, whose condition is such and such; would you treat him for what Allāh has decreed upon him and what destinies have brought upon him?" He said to her: "I will treat him on the condition that he says, 'You have healed me'; I want no other reward from him." So she came to Job and told him that. He said: "Woe to you! That is the accursed, ruinous devil. I swear by Allāh, if Allāh the Exalted heals me, I will strike you one hundred lashes. And beware of returning to him or speaking with him about my affair, for he will sway your heart with his bewitching speech and snatch your soul with a glance of his eye, which does to bodies what sharp swords do." And he—may Allāh curse him—continued to meddle in the affair of this prophet and mock his mention, until Allāh turned his plot back upon his own throat and subdued him with the sword of His subjugation, so he remained a lesson for the first and the last. End. He says: That narration is by meaning, and the text of what is in it of the hadiths in their wording is what Imām Aḥmad narrated in *al-Zuhd* and Ibn Abī Ḥātim from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allāh be pleased with them both): That Satan ascended to heaven and said: "O my Lord, give me power over Job." Allāh the Exalted said: "I have given you power over his wealth and his children, but I have not given you power over his body." So he descended, gathered his troops, and said to them: "I have been given power over Job, so show me your power." So they became fires, then they became water; while they were in the east, they were in the west, and while they were in the west, they were in the east. He sent a group of them to his crops, a group to his camels, a group to his cattle, and a group to his sheep, and said: "He cannot be protected from you except by righteousness." So they brought him calamities one after another. The owner of the crops came and said: "O Job, have you not seen your Lord? He sent fire upon your crops and burned them." Then the owner of the camels came and said: "O Job, have you not seen your Lord? He sent a number upon your camels and took them away." And the owner of the cattle and sheep came and said the same to him. Then he [Satan] singled out his sons, gathered them in a house—the eldest of them—while they were eating and drinking, when a wind blew, seized the corners of the house, and threw it upon them. Satan came to Job in the form of a boy with earrings in his ears and said: "O Job, have you not seen your Lord? He gathered your sons in a house—the eldest of them—while they were eating and drinking, when a wind blew, seized the corners of the house, and threw it upon them. If only you had seen them when their blood and flesh mixed with their food and drink!" Job said to him: "Where were you then?" He said: "I was with them." He said: "Then how did you escape?" He said: "I escaped." Job said: "You are Satan." Then Job said: "Today I am as I was on the day my mother bore me." So he stood, shaved his head, and stood up to pray. Iblīs let out a cry that was heard by the inhabitants of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth. Then he ascended to heaven and said: "O my Lord, he has sought refuge, so give me power over him, for I cannot overcome him except by Your authority." He said: "I have given you power over his body, but I have not given you power over his heart." So he descended and blew a breath under his foot, and what was between his foot and his horn came out, and it became a single sore. End. And Ibn Abī al-Dunyā and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad in the *Zawāʾid al-Zuhd* narrated from Ṭalḥa ibn Muṣarrif, who said: Iblīs said: "I have not afflicted Job with anything I rejoice in, except that when I heard his groaning, I knew I had caused him pain." And Ibn Abī al-Dunyā narrated from Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: Iblīs said to the wife of Job: "What has afflicted you with what has afflicted you?" She said: "By the decree of Allāh." He said: "Then follow me." So she followed him, and he showed her all that had been lost from them in a valley and said: "Prostrate to me, and I will return it to you." She said: "I have a husband, until I consult him." So she informed Job, and he said: "Is it not time for you to know that that is Satan? If I am cured, I will surely strike you one hundred lashes." End. And Aḥmad in *al-Zuhd*, ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd, and Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Iblīs sat on the road and took up a chest to treat people. The wife of Job said: "O servant of Allāh, there is here an afflicted one, whose condition is such and such; would you treat him?" He said: "Yes, on the condition that if I heal him, he says, 'You have healed me'; I want no other reward from him." So she came to Job and mentioned that. He said: "Woe to you! That is Satan. I swear by Allāh, if Allāh the Exalted heals me, I will strike you one hundred lashes." And Ibn Ḥātim narrated from Nawf al-Bikālī, who said: "The devil who touched Job is called Masūṭ." End. And similar to that is what happened to this wrongdoer, the erring one, of ugly clan and tribe, with little shame before the Majestic Lord, with the Prophet of Allāh, Ibrāhīm (Abraham), the Intimate Friend (al-Khalīl), who has no peer or equal, the one who remembers Allāh at dawn and evening. That is, when he was shown the slaughter of his son Isaac, the noble master, who was given of perfect glory what no equal can match, Satan said at that: "If I do not tempt these ones at this [moment], I will never tempt them, neither much nor little." When Ibrāhīm went out with his son to slaughter him, Satan went and entered upon Sarah and said to her: "Where is Ibrāhīm going with your noble, pure son?" She said: "He went with him for his need." He said: "He did not go with him for his need; rather, he went with him to slaughter him with his sharp sword." She said: "Why would he slaughter him?" He said: "He claims that Allāh the Exalted commanded him to do that." She said: "He has done well if he obeys his Lord. Such is knowledge of Allāh and entrusting the matter to Him in important affairs and great trials." So Satan left her and said to Isaac: "Where is your father taking you?" He said: "For some of his needs." He said: "He is not taking you for his need, but he is taking you to slaughter you, O possessor of the beautiful face." He said: "Why would he slaughter me?" He said: "He claims that Allāh the Exalted commanded him to do that." He said: "By Allāh, if Allāh commanded him to do that, then let him do what his Lord commanded him; He is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs." When he despaired of being obeyed in what he said to him, he bit his hands and said: "Offspring, some of them from others; I have not succeeded with them in what would satisfy the burning desire." So he became

He consoles them, and gives them glad tidings, and extinguishes their burning anguish with the rain-laden clouds of His downpour, and grants them patience, and says: "Seek your reward (iḥtasibū) and do not grieve, nor sorrow with prolonged sorrow." And when he saw that nothing of his affair with them was proceeding straight, he came to the (first) Jamrah (stoning pillar) and swelled up until he blocked the valley with his ugly, heavy body. And with Ibrahim (Abraham) was the angel, so the angel said: "Stone (رمِ), O Ibrahim!" So he stoned with seven pebbles, uttering the Takbir (saying Allāhu Akbar) with each pebble, with sanctification (37), magnification, and glorification. Then (the path) was cleared for him from the way. Then he proceeded until he came to the second Jamrah, and he swelled up until he blocked the valley. So the angel said to him: "Stone, O Ibrahim!" So he stoned with seven pebbles, uttering the Takbir after each pebble with the tongue of praise (taḥmīd) to his Master and of preference (tafḍīl). Then (the path) was cleared for him from the way. Then he proceeded until he came to the third Jamrah, and he swelled up until he blocked the valley against him. So the angel said to him: "Stone, O Ibrahim!" So he stoned with seven pebbles, uttering the Takbir after each pebble. Then (the path) was cleared for him from the way, and he (the devil) went away, disgraced and humiliated. When he reached the place of sacrifice (al-Manḥar), he sobbed a sob that choked his saliva from the abundance of weeping and wailing, and slapped his cheek violently, and tore his collar, and said: "Glory be to Him who saves the sought from the seeker, and is content with little, and gives abundantly!" Then he said: "Be patient, and I will not contend with destiny. For the angel belongs to Allah; He does what He wills, and all His action is beautiful." And he (the devil) kept confronting Ibrahim at the stoning of the Jamarāt until his limbs sank (i.e., plunged) into the lowest seventh earth, and the tale of his lie and falsehood remained, read upon tongues and recited, while his call is false and his argument refuted, with no proof or evidence (38) established for it, and his state is loss; he did not remain in any place, nor did any abode or resting place appear for him in any region. His dialogue with Ibrahim ended in meaning, and the text of what has been reported in the hadiths concerning it, in their wording, is what ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Ibn Jarīr, al-Ḥākim, and al-Bayhaqī in al-Shuʿab narrated from Kaʿb, who said: "Indeed, when Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was shown the sacrifice of his son Isḥāq (Isaac), and the devil said, 'If I do not tempt these at this (moment), I will never tempt them,' so Ibrahim went out with his son to sacrifice him. The devil went and entered upon Sarah and said: 'Where is Ibrahim going with your son?' She said: 'He went with him for his need.' He said: 'He did not go with him for his need; he only went with him to sacrifice him.' She said: 'And why would he sacrifice him?' He said: 'He claims that Allah the Exalted commanded him to do so.' She said: 'He has done well if he obeys his Lord.' So the devil went out and said to Isḥāq: 'Where is your father taking you?' He said: 'For some need of his.' He said: 'He did not take you for his need, but he is taking you to sacrifice you.' He said: 'And why would he sacrifice me?' He said: 'He claims that Allah the Exalted commanded him to do so.' He said: 'By Allah, if Allah commanded him to do so, then let him do it.' So he left him and went to Ibrahim and said: 'Where are you going with your son?' He said: 'For some need.' He said: 'You did not go with him for a need; you only went to sacrifice him.' He said: 'And why would I sacrifice him?' He said: 'You claim that Allah commanded you to do so.' He said: 'By Allah, if Allah commanded me to do so, I would do it.' So he left him and despaired of being obeyed." End. And Ibn Jarīr narrated from Qatādah that when Allah the Exalted commanded Ibrahim, peace be upon him, to sacrifice his son, he said to him: "O my son, take the knife." The devil said: "This is the time I attain my need from the family of Ibrahim." So he met Ibrahim, having taken the form of a friend of his, and said to him: "O Ibrahim, where are you heading?" He said: "For a need." He said: "By Allah, you are only going to sacrifice your son because of a dream you saw. Dreams can be wrong or right, and there is nothing in a dream you saw that requires you to sacrifice Isḥāq." When he saw that nothing was proceeding straight from Ibrahim, he met Isḥāq and said: "Where are you heading, O Isḥāq?" He said: "For Ibrahim's need." He said: "Ibrahim is only taking you to sacrifice you." Isḥāq said: "And what is his business with sacrificing me? Have you ever seen anyone sacrifice his son?" He said: "He sacrifices you for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic." He said: "If he sacrifices me for Allah, I will be patient. By Allah, He is worthy of that." When he saw that nothing was proceeding straight from Isḥāq, he came to Sarah and said: "Where is Isḥāq going?" She said: "He went with Ibrahim for his need." He said: "He only took him to sacrifice him." She said: "Have you ever seen anyone sacrifice his son (40)?" He said: "He sacrifices him for Allah." She said: "If he sacrifices him for Allah, then Ibrahim and Isḥāq belong to Allah. By Allah, He is worthy of that." When he saw that nothing was proceeding straight from them, he came to the Jamrah and swelled up until he blocked the valley. With Ibrahim was the angel, so the angel said: "Stone, O Ibrahim!" So he stoned with seven pebbles, uttering the Takbir after each pebble, and (the path) was cleared for him from the way. Then he proceeded until he came to the second Jamrah, and he swelled up until he blocked the valley. So the angel said to him: "Stone, O Ibrahim!" So he stoned with seven pebbles, uttering the Takbir after each pebble, and (the path) was cleared for him from the way. Then he proceeded until he came to the third Jamrah, and he swelled up until he blocked the valley against him. So the angel said to him: "Stone, O Ibrahim!" So he stoned with seven pebbles, uttering the Takbir after each pebble, and (the path) was cleared for him from the way. Then he reached the place of sacrifice." End of its wording. And Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Ibn Mardawayh, and al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿab al-Īmān narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "When Ibrahim was commanded with the rites (al-Manāsik), the devil appeared to him at the place of running (al-Masʿā) and raced him, but Ibrahim beat him. Then he beat him again. Jibrīl (Gabriel) took him to Jamrat al-ʿAqabah, and the devil appeared to him, so he stoned him with seven pebbles, and he sank. Then he took him to the middle Jamrah, and the devil appeared to him, so he stoned him

With seven pebbles, and he sank. Then he came to the farthest Jamrah ⁵⁸, and Satan appeared to him, so he stoned him with seven pebbles, and he sank. End. And among that also is the appearance of this oppressor, drowned in the sea of consequences and injustices, whom Allah has blocked from the paths leading to Allah and the landmarks, and preoccupied him with kindling strife among servants and violating sanctities and prohibitions, to the Prophet of Allah, Yahya ibn Zakariyya ⁵⁹, possessor of praiseworthy qualities, noble traits, and divine sciences ⁶⁰ that cut the backs of disbelief with their brilliant proofs and sharp swords. He said to him: "What do you want?" He said: "I want to advise you." He said: "You lie; you do not advise me. But tell me about the children of Adam and their state regarding the expiation of sins and misdeeds." He said: "They are with me in three categories. As for one category, they are the most severe category against us; we approach them until we tempt them and gain power over them, then they flee to seeking forgiveness and repentance, and they spoil for us everything we had attained from them. Then we return to them, and they return to seeking forgiveness and repentance, which expiate those sins and crimes. So we neither despair of them nor attain our need from them; thus we are in toil and obstinacy throughout all regions and all climes. As for the second, they are in our hands like a ball in the hands of your children; we catch them as we wish, because they have neglected the conditions and broken the covenants and obligations. As for the last category, they are like you, protected ⁶¹; we have no power over them, because they have freed themselves from us through steadfastness in religion and justice in divisions." Then Yahya said to him: "Have you had any power over me?" He said: "No, except once. You prepared food to eat, and I kept making it desirable to you until you ate more than you intended, and you slept that night and did not rise for prayer as you used to rise for it in the stillness of eyes and the sleep of sleepers." Yahya said: "By necessity, I will never be satiated with food ever again." And Iblis said: "By necessity, I will never advise any human after you, until he refrains from doubtful matters in drinks and foods." End. What we have mentioned regarding his dialogue with him is paraphrased. The text of the traditions ⁶² reported concerning it, in their wording, is what Ibn Abi al-Dunya ⁶³ narrated from Wahib ibn al-Ward ⁶⁴, who said: It has reached us that Iblis appeared to Yahya ibn Zakariyya and said: "I want to advise you." He said: "You lie; you do not advise me. But tell me about the children of Adam." He said: "They are with us in three categories. As for one category, they are the most severe category against us; we approach them until we tempt them and gain power over them, then they flee to seeking forgiveness and repentance, and they spoil for us everything we had attained from them. Then we return to them, and they return. So we neither despair of them nor attain our need from them; thus we are in toil. As for the second, they are in our hands like a ball in the hands of your children; we catch them as we wish; they have sufficed us concerning themselves. As for the last category, they are like you, protected; we have no power over them." Yahya said upon that: "Have you had any power over me?" He said: "No, except once. You prepared food to eat, and I kept making it desirable to you until you ate more than you intended, and you slept that night and did not rise for prayer as you used to rise for it." Yahya said: "By necessity, I will never be satiated with food ever again." Iblis said: "By necessity, I will never advise any human after you." End. And Ahmad ⁶⁵ narrated in al-Zuhd ⁶⁶ and al-Bayhaqi ⁶⁷ in Shu'ab al-Iman ⁶⁸ from Thabit al-Bunani ⁶⁹, who said: It has reached us that Iblis appeared to Yahya ibn Zakariyya, and he saw on him pendants of everything. Yahya said: "O Iblis, what are these pendants that I see on you?" He said: "These are the desires by which I afflict the children of Adam." He said: "Is there anything for me in them?" He said: "No." He said: "Do you then afflict me with anything?" He said: "Perhaps you become full, so we weigh you down from prayer and weigh you down from remembrance ⁷⁰." He said: "Anything else?" He said: "No." He said: "By Allah, I have vowed that I will never fill my belly with food ever again." Iblis said: "By Allah, I have vowed that I will never advise a Muslim ever again." End. And Ibn Abi al-Dunya narrated from Abdullah ibn Atiq ⁷¹, who said: Yahya ibn Zakariyya met Iblis in his form and said: "Tell me about the most beloved people to you and the most hateful people to you." He said: "The most beloved people to me is the miserly believer, and the most hateful to me is the generous sinner." Yahya said: "How is that?" He said: "Because the miser has sufficed me with his miserliness, and the generous sinner I fear that Allah may look upon him and accept him." Then he turned away saying: "Were it not that you are Yahya, I would not have told you." End. And among that also is the appearance of this oppressor, ignorant, his heart sick with the disease of spite and envy, cut off and banished from the presence of his Master, who is transcendent above union and incarnation ⁷², to the Spirit of Allah, Isa ibn Maryam ⁷³, the virgin, the pure. He said to him: "You are the one who is cut off?" He said to him: "You are the one whose Lordship has reached such greatness that you spoke in the cradle as a child, and no one before you among prophets or messengers spoke in it." The Spirit of Allah, the accepted prophet, said to him: "Lordship belongs only to Allah, who made me speak and supported me with the light of the revelation of His pure and perfect inspiration." He said: "Then you are the one who has reached from"

The greatness of Your Lordship that You give life to the dead. He said: Rather, Lordship belongs to God, who causes me to die and causes to die whom You gave life, then gives me life. There is none to take charge of my affairs other than Him—glory be to Him—slumber does not overtake Him, nor sleep, nor is He affected by forgetfulness, heedlessness, or absent-mindedness. Then he said: By God, You are truly a god in heaven and a god on earth; You cure the blind and the leper, make the healthy ill, and heal the afflicted. He said: Rather, the God in heaven and on earth is He who created me by the secret of His power, then causes me to die, then gives me life, as established in sound reason and transmitted tradition. Then Gabriel ⁷⁴, peace be upon him, struck him with his wing a blow, and he did not stop until he reached the sun's horn; then another blow, and he had no voice or sensation, and he did not stop until he reached the hot spring ⁷⁵ which is the place of the sun's setting and disappearance; then another blow, and he entered him into the depths of the seventh seas, far from perception and reach. He emerged from them with his private parts exposed and his head bare, saying: I have never met anyone from anyone as I have met from you, O son of Mary, for you are the unsheathed sword of God ⁷⁶ and the servant of His Presence, the Prophet and Messenger. Iblis ⁷⁷ also met Jesus son of Mary another time and said: O son of Mary, if you are truthful, throw yourself from this high mountain. Jesus said to him: Woe to you! Did God not say: O son of Adam, do not initiate your own destruction, for I do what I will, and in My hand is the forelock of the suns and the submissive? Also, Jesus was praying on a mountain top when Iblis came to him and said: Are you the one who claims that everything is by decree? He said: Yes. He said: Throw yourself from the mountain and say: It is decreed upon me. He said: O accursed of God, God tests His servants, but servants do not test God, who gives life and death and saves by His power whomever He wills absolutely and comprehensively. Then Jesus looked at Iblis once and said: This one has inclined to the world; to it he goes out, and from it he asks. I will not share with him anything of it except a stone I place under my head, and no more. In it I laugh until I leave it without trial or treachery. One day Iblis passed by him while he was using a stone as a pillow and had found the pleasure of sleep. He said to him: O Jesus, do you not claim that you desire nothing of the worldly goods that the intelligent renounce and the ignorant are deceived by their embellishments? He took the stone in his hand and threw it, saying: This is with the world ⁷⁸—the little provision of which a person does not expand except that he will be held accountable and questioned about it. Then he said to him: O Jesus, you claim that you give life to the dead. If that is so, then pray to God to turn this mountain into bread. Jesus said to him: Do all people live by bread? He said: If you are as you say, then leap from this place, for the angels will receive you. He said: My Lord has commanded me not to test myself, for I do not know whether He will deliver me or not, so I would throw myself into destruction while I am commanded to protect it from evils, calamities, and entering into excess. So the oppressor restrained his tongue and said: I do not know what to say. He fell severely ill, which led to emaciation and wasting. He said to his helpers and soldiers when they asked him about what he had encountered from the son of Mary: What has appeared to you from my face suffices you from asking. His dialogue with Jesus ended in meaning. The wording of the traditions reported about it includes what Ibn Abi al-Dunya ⁷⁹ narrated from Sufyan ibn Uyaynah ⁸⁰, who said: Jesus son of Mary met Iblis, and Iblis said to him: You have reached such greatness of Lordship that you spoke in the cradle as a child, and no one spoke in it before you. He said: Rather, Lordship and greatness belong to God, who made me speak, then causes me to die, then gives me life. He said: You have reached such greatness of Lordship that you give life to the dead. He said: Rather, to God, who causes me to die and causes to die whom I gave life, then gives me life. He said: By God, You are truly a god in heaven and a god on earth. So Gabriel struck him with his wing a blow, and he did not stop until he reached the sun's horn; then he struck him another blow with his wing, and he did not stop until he reached the hot spring; then he struck him a third blow, and he entered him into the seventh seas and sank him in them until he tasted the mud, and he emerged from them saying: I have never met anyone from anyone as I have met from you, O son of Mary. Ibn Abi al-Dunya also narrated from Tawus ⁸¹, who said: The devil met Jesus son of Mary and said: O son of Mary, if you are truthful, stand on this high mountain and throw yourself from it. He said: Woe to you! Did God not say: O son of Adam, do not initiate your own destruction, for I do what I will. Ibn Abi al-Dunya also narrated from Abu Uthman ⁸², who said: Jesus was praying on a mountain top when Iblis came to him and said: Are you the one who claims that everything is by decree? He said: Yes. He said: Throw yourself from the mountain and say: It is decreed upon me. He said: O accursed one, God tests His servants, but servants do not test God. Ibn Abi al-Dunya also narrated from Sa'id ibn Abd al-Aziz ⁸³ that Jesus son of Mary looked at Iblis and said: This one has inclined to the world; to it he goes out, and from it he asks. I will not share with him anything of it, not even a stone I place under my head, nor will I laugh much in it until I leave it. Ibn Asakir ⁸⁴ narrated from al-Hasan ⁸⁵ that Iblis passed by Jesus one day while he was using a stone as a pillow and had found the pleasure of sleep. He said to him: O Jesus, do you not claim that you desire nothing of the worldly goods? So Jesus stood up, took the stone, threw it, and said: This is with the world. Ahmad ⁸⁶ narrated from Wahb ⁸⁷ that Iblis said to Jesus: You claim that you give life to the dead. If that is so, then pray to God to...

This mountain returns bread, so Jesus said to him: 'Do all people live by bread?' He said: 'If you are as you say, then leap from this place, for the angels will receive you.' He said: 'My Lord commanded me not to test myself, so I do not know whether He will deliver me or not.' End. And also from that: this oppressive, Najdi ⁸⁸ accursed ⁸⁹ sheikh, cursed by the tongue of everything God created from the prior and posterior worlds, confronted the flower of the moist gardens of the Malakut ⁹⁰, the treasurer of the secrets of the Jabarut ⁹¹, the caller of servants to God, the Guide, the Mahdi ⁹², my master and lord, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. That is, he stood conversing intimately with his Lord when the stars had set in their orbits out of shyness from the radiance of his beautiful face and the rising of his auspicious moon, and he reflected on the creation of the heavens and the earth, and prayed for his community, and conversed intimately with his Master with the sweetness of his honeyed tongue, saying: 'I seek refuge in God from you; I curse you with the curse of God' three times, encompassing the paired and unpaired number. Then he extended his hand, may God bless him and grant him peace, as if he were taking something, as appeared to the eye and became manifest. It was said to him: 'O Messenger of God, we heard you say something in prayer that we had not heard you say before, and we saw you extend your hand as if you were granting or bestowing something.' He said: 'Indeed, the enemy of God, Iblis ⁹³, came with a flame of fire to place it in my face. I said, "I seek refuge in God from you," but he did not retreat. Then I said, "And to you," but he did not retreat. Then I intended to seize him. Were it not for the supplication of Solomon ⁹⁴, he would have been bound in the morning, with the children of the people of Medina playing with him, striking him with the bowstring and weakening him with the arrow. He confronted me to cut off my prayer and distract me from my witr ⁹⁵ and wird ⁹⁶. God gave me power over him, so I throttled him. I intended to tie him to a pillar until you would wake up and see him, but then I remembered the saying of Solomon: "My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as shall not belong to anyone after me" ⁹⁷. So God sent him back disgraced and repelled, and he did not attain anything beneficial to his affair.' In another narration: He, may God bless him and grant him peace, was praying when Satan came to him, seized him, threw him down, and choked him. He said: 'Until the saliva of his tongue flowed on my hand. Were it not for the supplication of Solomon, he would have been bound in the morning so that everyone present from the people of my love would see him.' In another: He, may God bless him and grant him peace, stood to pray the dawn prayer, but the recitation became confused for him. When he finished his prayer, he said: 'You saw me and Iblis; I struck with my hand and kept choking him until I felt the cold of his saliva between these two fingers (the thumb and the one next to it). Were it not for the supplication of my brother Solomon, he would have been bound in the morning to a pillar of the mosque pillars, with the children of Medina and every emigrant from Tihami ⁹⁸ and Najri ⁹⁹ playing with him.' End. What we have mentioned about this accursed one confronting our master Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, is in meaning. The text of the hadiths ¹⁰⁰ reported on that, in their wording, is what Muslim ¹⁰¹ and al-Nasa'i ¹⁰² narrated from Abu al-Darda' ¹⁰³, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, stood to pray, and we heard him say: 'I seek refuge in God from you,' then he said: 'I curse you with the curse of God' three times, then he extended his hand as if he were taking something. When he finished the prayer, we said: 'O Messenger of God, we heard you say something in prayer that we had not heard you say before, and we saw you extend your hand.' He said: 'Indeed, the enemy of God, Iblis, came with a flame of fire to place it in my face. I said, "I seek refuge in God from you," but he did not retreat. Then I said, "And to you," but he did not retreat. Then I intended to seize him. Were it not for the supplication of Solomon, he would have been bound in the morning, with the children of the people of Medina playing with him.' Al-Bukhari ¹⁰⁴ and Muslim narrated from Abu Hurayra ¹⁰⁵ from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, who said: 'Indeed, Satan confronted me and rushed upon me to cut off my prayer. God gave me power over him, so I pushed him away. I intended to tie him to a pillar until you would wake up and see him, but I remembered the saying of Solomon: "My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as shall not belong to anyone after me." So God sent him back disgraced.' Al-Nasa'i narrated from Aisha ¹⁰⁶ that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was praying when Satan came to him, seized him, threw him down, and choked him. He said: 'Until I felt the cold of his tongue on my hand. Were it not for the supplication of Solomon, he would have been bound in the morning so that people would see him.' Ahmad ¹⁰⁷ narrated from Abu Sa'id ¹⁰⁸ that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, stood to pray the dawn prayer, recited, but the recitation became confused for him. When he finished his prayer, he said: 'If you had seen me and Iblis, I struck with my hand and kept choking him until I felt the cold of his saliva between these two fingers, the thumb and the one next to it. Were it not for the supplication of my brother Solomon, he would have been bound in the morning to a pillar of the mosque pillars, with the children of Medina playing with him.' Abd ibn Humayd ¹⁰⁹ and Ibn Mardawayh ¹¹⁰ narrated from Ibn Mas'ud ¹¹¹, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: 'Satan passed by me, so I reached out, seized him, and choked him until the cold of his tongue flowed on my hand. He said, "Let me go!" Were it not for the supplication of Solomon, he would have been suspended in the morning from a pillar of the mosque pillars, with the children of the people of Medina looking at him.' Abd ibn Humayd narrated from al-Hasan ¹¹² that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: 'Satan confronted me in the night prayer, as if he were a cat. I seized him and intended to imprison him until morning, but I remembered the supplication of my brother Solomon, so I let him go.' Ibn Mardawayh narrated from Jabir ¹¹³, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: 'I entered the door, and behind the door was a devil. I choked him until the cold of his tongue flowed on my hand. Were it not for the supplication of the righteous servant, he would have been bound in the morning at al-Baqi' ¹¹⁴, with people seeing him.' The apparent meaning is that the story occurred multiple times. End. Also from that meaning is what Abu al-Shaykh ¹¹⁵ narrated in al-Azama ¹¹⁶ and Abu Nu'aym ¹¹⁷ in al-Hilya ¹¹⁸ from Mujahid ¹¹⁹, who said: Iblis gave four cries: when he was cursed, when he was cast down, when the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was sent, and when the Opening of the Book ¹²⁰ was revealed. End. Ibn Durays ¹²¹ narrated from Mujahid, who said: When "Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds" ¹²² was revealed, it was very hard on Iblis, and he gave a severe cry and a severe snort. End.

And I said concerning that, by way of allusion and expansion regarding the laughable matters of this oppressor who adorned his words and deeds with artifice in distress, embellishment of expression, and caution to his partisans and followers against submitting to obedience of the possessor of warning and glad tidings, my master and lord, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. That is because when he uttered the four preceding cries ¹²³ in the hadith, he repeated them with prolongation, tripling and quadrupling them, making them odd and even, and mixing them with the voice of the Mathani ¹²⁴ and its types, and built their ugly foundations upon the bases of base things and their branches, and adorned them with the seeds of his false hadiths and their patches, especially from what he saw of the lights of prophethood and messengership shining upon the face of the Beloved of God, the pure and most pious, and what he witnessed of the flashes of miracles and graces ¹²⁵ gleaming upon his luminous and most pure body, and what he beheld of the descent of Gabriel upon his heart with the light of revelation and the sending down that encompasses the meanings of the sciences of the Essence and the Greatest Secret ¹²⁶, and the extension of his hand in the sovereign kingdom, indicating that he is the possessor of the Great Intercession ¹²⁷ for angels, jinn, humans, black and white. And when there appeared to the eye what appeared to him of the care of my master, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and his honor before his Lord, and his nearness and proximity, the fury of his lewdness and disbelief intensified, and the dominion of his pride and arrogance overcame him, and he recalled his saying to God Almighty when he refused to prostrate to Adam: "This is whom You have honored above me"—that is, preferred him over me until the Day of Resurrection, and You did not destroy me—"I will surely beset his offspring"—that is, I will utterly destroy them by misguidance and I will dominate them—that is, his children—by leading them astray and following desires, except for a few—meaning the infallible ones whom God Almighty excepted in His saying: "Indeed, My servants—no authority will you have over them" ¹²⁸—that is, no proof in polytheism. And sufficient is your Lord as a Guardian for His friends, protecting them from you. End. The author—may God honor him with His pleasure and grant him happiness on the day of meeting Him—said: When I finished discussing the devil's confrontation with my master, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and his dialogue with those of his brothers among the prophets who preceded, and the weak sayings with which he addressed them, and I mentioned what occurred with him of confrontation when he wanted to tempt him in his prayer, which is a connection between him and his Lord, and a station of proximity in which he converses with Him on the carpet of His sublime presence and nearness, it occurred to my mind to mention the manner of his casting ¹²⁹ into the wishes of the prophets and messengers, peace be upon them, as God Almighty said: "And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he wished ¹³⁰, Satan cast into his wish"—the verse. And I will mention the hadith reported concerning that meaning, and the issue of those high cranes ¹³¹, and what the scholars have said about it, and what they mentioned in the interpretation of the verse and the hadith, and its correspondence to what is in their meanings. And I will support that with what God has opened to me as a source, with the wording of the hadith and the verse, and what the knowing scholars, the imams, and those firmly rooted in knowledge have mentioned concerning them. So I say—and from God I hope for support and acceptance: Know that this noble hadith, whose words are attached to the obscurities of difficulties and the links of intimidation, was narrated by Ibn Jabir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Mardawayh from Sa'id ibn Jubayr, and by al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani from Ibn 'Abbas, may God be pleased with them both, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, recited in Mecca: "By the Star" ¹³². When he reached the saying of God Almighty: "Have you considered al-Lat and al-'Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?" ¹³³, Satan cast into his wish: "Those are the high cranes ¹³¹, and their intercession is to be hoped for." So the polytheists rejoiced and said: "Muhammad has not mentioned our gods well before today." So he prostrated and they prostrated. Then Gabriel came after that and said: "Present to me what I brought you." When he reached this, Gabriel said to him: "I did not bring you this; this is from Satan." So God Almighty revealed: "And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he wished, Satan cast into his wish"—to the end of the verses. End. I say: Some of the knowers and learned scholars have said: God did not reveal in His clear Book any command that He commanded His servants except that Satan has two incursions into it: either toward excess or toward deficiency. Whichever of them he attains, he is content. So it is incumbent upon every speaker—unless overcome by the state of absorption—to be deliberate in his affair, to pause at the limit at which the people of knowledge have paused at the shore of its sea, and to be extremely cautious lest Satan cast into his wish something that impugns his secret and public [states], and not to be deceived by what appears upon his heart of flashes of ecstatic utterances ¹³⁴ and attractions, the predominance of states and the whisperings of incoming inspirations, and what is poured upon his secret from the seas of existential experiences ¹³⁵, preparatory signs ¹³⁶, and graces ¹²⁵, and what is cast into

His awe-inspiring state from the illuminations, inspirations, and divine disclosures, and he observes what Allah the Almighty said, narrating about His Prophet Muhammad the Chosen, the Noble, may the best prayers and purest peace be upon him: "This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me" ¹³⁷. And often the accursed Satan targets the people of righteousness, religion, sincerity, certainty, firmness, and establishment, to turn them away from the path of guidance and uprightness, and to tempt them with what appears at their hands of breaking norms and miracles ¹³⁸, which are safe from Allah's protection according to the Sunna and the Book, and free from his insinuations of doubt and suspicion, for he is a cunning one who steals the houses of the pillars ¹³⁹ and the noble ones, and casts his wishes into the unveilings of those who inform of the unseen and the secrets of the poles ¹⁴⁰. He was asked and answered that he knows all of them perfectly, to whisper to people contrary to what was commanded, and were it not for his knowledge of them, he would not have confused people regarding what the heavenly books and holy revelations informed. Among the strangest things is that he stands with people every year, but he stands at Arafa ¹⁴¹, and he only stands at Arafa, which is one of the Arafat, to look and weep over what he missed of obedience to his Lord, and to grieve and regret over what the people of the standing attain of forgiveness of sins and erasure of misdeeds. He stands at Arafa because he knows it is one of the Arafat, hoping that the general mercy might reach him from the door of grace, not from the door of righteous deeds. The angels drive him away from Arafa because they know that he has knowledge of Allah Almighty, and the entry of polytheists is permissible in general. End quote. Ibn al-Arabi ¹⁴² said in the Answers to the Questions of al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi ¹⁴³: Know that among the things Allah has distinguished the Muhaddithun ¹⁴⁴ of the people of Allah is that they know the discourse of the Truth ¹⁴⁵ with them in their souls due to their state of purity, while others do not know that. The chief of the Muhaddithun is Umar ibn al-Khattab ¹⁴⁶, may Allah be pleased with him, and all the people of the community are his inheritors in that. Then he said: If you say: When does the saint ¹⁴⁷ protect himself from deception ¹⁴⁸ in what comes to him of the inspiration of divine revelation? The answer: That is known by signs. Whoever has a clear sign in that, and Allah clarifies the custom of true, inspired, angelic revelation from false, satanic revelation, he is protected from deception. But the people of this station are few. He said in Chapter 283: Among the things in which a group of the people of Allah, such as Abu Hamid al-Ghazali ¹⁴⁹ and Ibn Sayyid ¹⁵⁰—a man in Wadi Asht—erred is their saying: When the saint ascends to the world of elements and the gates of heaven are opened to his heart, he is protected from deception. They said: That is because he is then in the realm of protection from the rebellious ones and devils, so everything he sees there is true. Then he said: What they said is not correct; that would only be valid if the ascension ¹⁵¹ were with their bodies and souls, if it is correct that anyone inherits the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in this ascension. As for one who ascends with his thought and spirituality without separation of death, while his body is in his house, for example, he is not protected from deception unless he has a sign in that, as mentioned. He elaborated on that, then said: Know that Satan constantly watches the hearts of the people of unveiling ¹⁵², whether one of them is among the people of signs or not, eager to tempt and deceive, knowing that Allah may abandon His servant and not protect him, so Iblis lives in hope, saying: "Perhaps" and "Maybe." If he sees the servant's inner self protected and the lights of the angels surrounding it, he moves to the body of that servant. If he finds no way to his inner self, he sits opposite his heart and watches his mind in a moment of heedlessness. When he fails to make him accept something from him without mediation, he looks at the state of that servant. If he sees that his habit is to take knowledge from the earth, he sets up for him an imaginary earth. If Allah Almighty supports that servant, he returns him disgraced, because he then discerns the difference between the imaginary and the real earth. The perfect one may take from Iblis what he cast to him as from Allah, not from Iblis, and thus returns him disgraced as well. Similarly, if Iblis sees that the state of that saint is to take from heaven, he sets up for him a heaven like the heaven from which he takes, and inserts into it deadly poisons as much as he can. The knower ¹⁵³ deals with him as we said regarding the imaginary and original earth. If he sees that the state of that saint is to take from the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary ¹⁵⁴ or from an angel, he imagines for him a similar lote tree or the form of an angel like that angel, names it with his name, and casts to him what is known that that angel casts to him from that station. If that person is among the people of deception, his enemy harms him; if he is protected, he is protected from him, drives Iblis away, and throws away what he brought, or takes it from Allah Almighty, not from Iblis, as mentioned, and thanks Allah Almighty for that. If Satan sees that the state of that saint is to take from the Throne ¹⁵⁵ or the Divine Names ¹⁵⁶, Satan casts to him according to his state, measure for measure. The Shaykh elaborated on that in Chapter 283, then said: If you say:

Is it valid that the Exalted Truth ¹⁵⁷ plots against Iblis ¹⁵⁸ outside his own path, making him a means for the arrival of good to some servants? The answer is yes, it is valid that Allah the Exalted plots against Iblis, as the Shaykh mentioned in the sixty-eighth chapter. His expression: Know that among the plots of Allah the Exalted against Iblis is that He inspires him with that by which good is done to the servants, without Iblis perceiving it. That is, he whispers into the heart of the servant through his touch ¹⁵⁹, and the servant opposes him and acts contrary to it, thereby obtaining reward from opposing Iblis. If Iblis knew that that servant would attain felicity from that whisper, he would not have cast anything to him. Then he said: I have never seen anyone from the People of Allah ¹⁶⁰ draw attention to this plot ever. End quote. Many of the knowledgeable scholars and deeply rooted imams have spoken about this issue, which is the issue of the high cranes ¹⁶¹, and have exerted their utmost effort in its interpretation and clarification, employed their intellect in its establishment and depiction, and delved deeply into its comparison and analogy. Among them are those who elaborated and expounded, among them are those who refrained and spoke what is more fitting and appropriate, among them are those who explicitly mentioned the words of some saints and interpreted it in a more beneficial and closer manner, and among them are those who refined, perfected, and excelled, working on it like one who heals for the beloved. I have lowered my bucket among them, hoping to obtain from the virtues of the Muhammadan side ¹⁶² what I seek and desire. So I say, and upon Allah is the attainment of the goal and the fulfillment of the request, beginning with the words of some of the great imams, the chief of the divan of the people of intellect and transmitted knowledge, the banner of the interpreting scholars, the head of the verifying sages, Shaykh al-Tha'labi ¹⁶³—may Allah be pleased with him and grant him contentment, and make his abode in the highest paradises. How excellent is his interpretation of this noble, great, and magnificent verse! For he brought forth what is appropriate to the noble hadith ¹⁶⁴ in its apparent meaning, and reconciles its beginning and end. Nothing compelled me to transmit his orthodox words and record his accepted and approved knowledge except to place my shoulder alongside his in service of the lofty Muhammadan station and to hold fast to the strong cord of Ahmad's ¹⁶⁵ love, and to repel what the strong devil cast into his wish ¹⁶⁶ and the falsehood and lies he clothed his community with. He—may Allah have mercy on him—said regarding the words of the Exalted: "And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he wished ¹⁶⁷, the devil cast into his wish" [22:52] the verse. Ibn 'Abbas, al-Qurazi, and other commentators said: When the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—saw the turning away of his people, it distressed him to see their distance, and he wished that Allah would bring him something to reconcile between him and his people. One day he sat among a gathering of them, and Surah al-Najm was revealed. He recited it to them. When he reached "Have you considered al-Lat and al-'Uzza" [53:19], the devil cast upon his tongue, due to what he was telling himself and wishing for that would reconcile between him and them, "Those are the high cranes, and their intercession is to be hoped for." The Quraysh rejoiced. Then the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—prostrated at the end of the surah, and the Muslims and polytheists prostrated, except al-Walid ibn al-Mughira and Abu Uhayha Sa'id ibn al-'Asi, for they raised a handful of dust to their foreheads and prostrated on it, because they were two old men who could not prostrate. The Quraysh said: Muhammad has mentioned our gods today with the best mention. They said: We know that Allah gives life and death, creates and provides, but these our gods intercede for us with Him. So if Muhammad gives them a share, we are with him. When evening came, Gabriel came to him and said: O Muhammad, what have you done? You have recited to the people what Allah did not bring to you, and you said what We did not say to you. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—became extremely sad and feared Allah greatly. Then this verse was revealed, abrogating what the devil had cast. The meaning of "wished" is he loved something and desired what he was not commanded to do; "the devil cast into his wish" means into his desire in that matter, and found a way to it. Most commentators say that by "wished" he means recited, and "the devil cast into his wish" means into his recitation and reading, analogous to "They do not know the Book except as wishes" [2:78], meaning reading without understanding. A poet said regarding the killing of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan: "He wished for the Book of Allah on the first night, and on the last he met the decree of fate." Al-Hasan al-Basri said: By "the high cranes" he meant the angels, i.e., intercession is hoped from them, not from idols. But this is not strong, due to the words of the Exalted: "Allah abolishes what the devil casts" [22:52], i.e., He nullifies it, then Allah establishes His verses and confirms them. And Allah is Knowing, Wise. If it is said: What is the justification for error in recitation on the part of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace? There are two answers: One is that it was due to forgetfulness and oversight, and a slip of the tongue, which does not last before Allah the Exalted alerts him and protects him. The second is that this was said by the devil on the tongue of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—in

During his recitation, he made it seem that it was from the Qur'an and that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was the one who recited it, in order to cause temptation thereby for those in whose hearts is disease and those whose hearts are hardened, as Allah the Exalted said: "That He might make what Satan casts a trial" (Qur'an 22:53). That is, a misguidance for those in whose hearts is disease—that is, hypocrisy—so that they might doubt concerning that, and for those whose hearts are hardened, so they do not soften to the command of Allah the Exalted. In the verse is evidence that prophets may experience inadvertence, forgetfulness, and error through the whisperings of Satan or when the heart is occupied, such that they err (66), then they become alert and return to what is correct. This is the meaning of His saying: "Then Allah abolishes what Satan casts; then Allah confirms His verses" (Qur'an 22:52). However, such error occurs only in the manner in which any one of us might err. As for what is attributed to him concerning those "high cranes" (gharānīq), that is a lie against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), for it involves glorifying idols, and that is not permissible for prophets, just as it is not permissible for a reciter to recite and then declaim poetry, saying: "I erred and thought it was Qur'an." And that the wrongdoers—that is, the disbelievers—are indeed in profound dissension. And so that those who have been given knowledge among the believers may know that it is the truth—meaning that what Allah has confirmed from the verses of the Qur'an is from your Lord—so that they may believe in it and their hearts may become humble, that is, humble and soften to it. And indeed, Allah is the Guide of those who believe to a straight path. And those who disbelieve will not cease to be in doubt—that is, skepticism—concerning what Satan cast upon the tongue of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Ibn Jurayj said: "From the Qur'an and other matters of religion, and it is the straight path, until the Hour comes upon them suddenly or there comes to them the punishment of a barren day." Al-Dahhak said: "The punishment of a day that has no night, and it is the Day of Resurrection." And it is said: "It is the day of Badr," and this is correct, because the Hour is the Resurrection. It was called the day of Badr "barren" because they did not see the night during it, but were killed before (67) the evening. Ibn Jurayj said this, and others said: "There was no compassion or mercy in it." And "barren" (ʿaqīm) means that which does not give birth. And it is said: "Because there is no equal to it in its great matter, due to the fighting of the angels in it." And the saying of the Exalted: "The sovereignty that Day is for Allah" (Qur'an 22:56) means on the Day of Resurrection, alone, without any disputant or claimant. Sovereignty (al-mulk) is the vastness of power, for Him to whom belongs the governance of affairs. He judges between them. Then He explained His judgment, saying: "Then those who have believed and done righteous deeds will be in Gardens of Pleasure" (Qur'an 22:56). And those who disbelieved and denied Our signs—for them there will be a humiliating punishment. And those who emigrated and left their homelands in the way of obedience to Allah, then were killed or died while in that state—Allah will surely provide for them a good provision in Paradise. And it is said: "Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision" (Qur'an 3:169). And indeed, Allah is the best of providers. He will surely admit them to an entrance with which they are pleased. And indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, Forbearing. End. And when I have transmitted the words of this renowned scholar, vast in his scope in the sciences of Hadith and Tafsir, I say, as some of the verifying imams and the expert scholars deeply rooted in the arts of Hadith and Tafsir, who are meticulous in knowledge, have said: Indeed, the evidences have concurred on the truthfulness of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the community (Ummah) has agreed that he is infallible (maʿṣūm) in what (68) pertains to the conveyance of reports concerning any of that, unlike what is done without intention, without deliberation, without inadvertence, and without error, due to His saying, the Exalted: "Nor does he speak from [his own] desire" (Qur'an 53:3), and His saying, the Exalted: "Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a Wise and Praiseworthy One" (Qur'an 41:42). And how could error in recitation be permissible for him (peace and blessings be upon him) when he is infallible from it? Then he said: The deeply rooted imams among the scholars have answered this difficulty with many responses. Among them are those who invalidated the story from its very foundation; among them are those who declared its narrators weak; and among them are those who accepted it. And the response, upon accepting it, is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite the Qur'an in a measured, distinct manner (tartīl) and to separate the verses clearly, as is authentically established from his recitation (peace and blessings be upon him). So it is possible that Satan lay in wait for him during those pauses and inserted into them what he had fabricated of those words, imitating his voice (peace and blessings be upon him). Those of the disbelievers who were near him heard it and thought it was from the Prophet's speech (peace and blessings be upon him), so they prostrated with him due to his prostration. And it is not authentically established, according to those who accepted the incident, that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) presented it to Gabriel, he said: "I did not teach you thus," among other variations (69) in its wording. End. And I have said concerning that meaning, by way of allusion and analogy—and the discourse of these masters, the people of verification and precise expression, in what befits that station, the perception of the reality of whose meaning is distant, upon the tongues of the people of allusion and interpretation, and the scope of the minds of the people of reflection, contemplation, and exposition—is: Know, O sincere lover in Allah, and O friend desiring to hear the perfections of your beloved, pure in faith in him and trusting, that this Prophet, the kind and merciful, praised in the clear verses of the Book of his Wise Lord, by the oath in His saying: "Nūn. By the pen and what they inscribe, you are not, by the grace of your Lord, a madman. And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. And indeed, you are of a great moral character" (Qur'an 68:1-4)—when Allah sent him as a mercy to the near and the far, the strong and the weak, the obedient and the disobedient, he was pious. His people and their turning away from following the clear path and way of the true religion weighed heavily upon him, and it distressed him what he saw of their distance from that and their deviation and crookedness. He wished that there would come to him from his Lord something that would bring him closer to them (70) and distance them from the path of the rabble and the ignorant. So one day he sat in their assembly, his face shining like the luminous full moon or the light of a lamp when it brightens. Then Surah "By the Star" (al-Najm) was revealed, and he recited it to them. When he reached: "Have you considered al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā" (Qur'an 53:19), Satan cast, during his pause—because of what he was thinking to himself and wishing for—those "high cranes" (gharānīq) and that their intercession is to be hoped for, as a presumption from him, may Allah curse him, that his speech would mix with the speech of prophethood and become blended. When Quraysh heard that, they rejoiced, and their souls and spirits were delighted. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prostrated at the end of the surah at His saying: "So prostrate to Allah and worship" (Qur'an 53:62), and the Muslims prostrated with him, as did the polytheists, except al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah and ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, for they raised a handful of pebbles (baṭḥāʾ) to their foreheads and prostrated upon it due to their old age, which prevented them from doing what those with them had done and followed. So Quraysh said at that: "Muhammad has mentioned our gods today with the best of remembrance," and they were pleased by that, thinking that it had come in agreement with their desire. They rejoiced, their worry left, and their distress was relieved. They said: "We know that Allah gives life and causes death."

And He creates and provides, and due to this capacity of hers, she intercedes for us with Him ¹⁶⁸, and through her mediation we attain what removes from us the crisis of hardships and brings relief. So when Muhammad assigned a share to her, we are with him, assuming that this prostration was among the greatest proofs and strongest arguments for what they claimed. When evening came, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was told by Gabriel: 'O Muhammad, what have you done? You have recited what was not brought to you from God, and said what He did not say to you.' The Prophet (peace be upon him) became extremely sad and greatly feared, but the support of infallibility ¹⁶⁹ that prevents standing in places of sin and difficulty reached him, and the verse was revealed: 'And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he recited [the revelation]' ¹⁷⁰—the verse—and it abrogated what Satan had cast into his recitation of statements indicating ugliness and evil. End. I also said regarding that meaning by way of allusion: Know that this accursed one, who is banished from his followers from the clear path of guidance and the way: When the Prophet (peace be upon him) found it hard to be distant from his people and wished that something would come from his Lord to bring him closer to them so that his love would take root in their hearts and raise them to the lofty ranks of high stations and degrees, he came wrapped in the garment of his falsehood and deception, which had taken hold of the looms of abominations and disgrace, and wove. He found the Prophet (peace be upon him) reciting Surah al-Najm ¹⁷¹ to his companions in his fragrant and perfumed gathering. When he heard him and his recitation reached His saying: 'Have you considered al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?' ¹⁷², he cast into his recitation what he cast, while the tongue of his rage was shattering itself like the roar of fire, grieving over what he had heard of the verses that had cut his throat and jugular vein. His people asked him about what had happened, so he buried his abominations in the dust and said: 'There is no blame on you for the disobedience you committed, nor any difficulty.' When God revealed the verse of abrogation and he heard it, he grieved for a long time, and his corrupt shames clashed like waves crashing over the sea, and he said: 'By God, I have been disgraced by what I cast into the Prophet's speech of error and confusion and inserted into it, but it did not blend. And that the high cranes ¹⁷³ are to be worshipped instead of God, who created everything that crawls on the earth and moves.' End. I say: When I finished the words of the eminent scholar, the unique one, Abu Ishaq Ahmad al-Tha'labi (may God have mercy on him) in his commentary on what he mentioned in Surah al-Najm regarding those high cranes and what the expressions of his lofty sciences and the precious gems of his noble transmitted knowledge contained, I followed that with the words of the sultan of hadith scholars and the imam of knowledgeable scholars, Abu al-Barakat al-Qastallani (may God be pleased with him) and what was mentioned in this hadith narrated from 'Ikrimah from Ibn 'Abbas (may God be pleased with them both) who said: The Prophet (peace be upon him) prostrated in [Surah] al-Najm, and the Muslims and polytheists prostrated with him, because it was the first prostration revealed. The polytheists wanted to oppose the Muslims by prostrating to their deity. As for the saying of those who said that this happened from them without intention, it is contradicted by what Ibn Mas'ud narrated: that the one who was exempted from them took a handful of pebbles and placed his forehead on it, for that is in silver ¹⁷⁴. Likewise, his saying that they feared in that gathering to oppose them, because at that time the Muslims were the ones who feared the polytheists, not the opposite. Then he said: The apparent reason for their prostration is what Ibn Abi Hatim, al-Tabari, and Ibn al-Mundhir narrated through chains from Shu'bah from Abu Bishr from Ibn Jubayr from Ibn 'Abbas who said: The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) recited in Mecca [Surah] al-Najm. When he reached 'Have you considered al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?', Satan cast—that is, his recitation—those high cranes and that their intercession is to be hoped for. So the polytheists said: 'He has not mentioned our gods with good before today,' and he prostrated and they prostrated. Then the verse was revealed: 'And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he recited [the revelation], Satan cast into his recitation' ¹⁷⁵—the verse. It has been narrated through weak and interrupted chains, but the abundance of the hadith indicates that it has a basis, even though it has two mursal ¹⁷⁶ chains whose narrators are on the condition of the sahih ¹⁷⁷, which are used as evidence by those who accept mursal, and also by those who do not accept it due to mutual support. In that case, what was mentioned must be interpreted. The best that has been said about this is that Satan said that imitating the tone of the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he (peace be upon him) was silent, such that those near him heard it. This supports Ibn 'Abbas's interpretation of 'tamanna' ¹⁷⁸ as 'recited'. As for al-Kirmani's saying that what was said and that this was the reason for their prostration has no validity rationally or narratively, it is based on the view that the story is false from its origin and that it is fabricated.

From its origin, what Imam al-Qastallani mentioned in this place has ended briefly. I say: When I paused in his speech at his statement in this hadith: "So the Prophet ﷺ prostrated, and the Muslims and the polytheists prostrated. The polytheists intended by their prostration to oppose the Muslims by prostrating to their deity." I inked the inkwell, sharpened the pen, and unsheathed the spear to engage in discourse with the people of obstinacy and oppression, and I spoke these words by way of allusion, and what the apparent wording and expression required ⁷⁵, so I said: Indeed, these oppressive, wicked ones, and these ignorant, disbelieving ones, when they saw the Prophet ﷺ, the intercessor whose intercession is accepted, prostrate at the end of the surah at His saying: "So prostrate to Allah and worship [Him]." And the Muslims prostrated with him in compliance with the command of their Most High, Exalted Lord. They prostrated, so may Allah disgrace them for those high “gharaniq” ¹⁷⁹ that harm and do not benefit, and are called but not heard, opposing the Muslims by prostrating to their deity, who is the refuge in hardships and the asylum. That was only due to the abundance of their denial and obstinacy, their transgression and corruption, and the dominance of ignorance over their hearts until they could no longer distinguish between truth and falsehood, nor perceive the corruption that had befallen them. And when the verse of abrogation ¹⁸⁰ was revealed, and uncovered what was in their consciences of alteration and distortion, they fled like startled donkeys fleeing from a lion, and returned to their obstinacy, error, and old denial, and disbelieved in what Allah revealed to His chosen, noble Prophet in the clear verses of His wise Book. Their colors changed to the colors of those white “gharaniq”, and their states transformed into the state of those [birds] carried on the edge of opposition, because birds settle according to their kinds ⁷⁶, and the wicked, with their lying tongue, bewitch minds and deceive. "Whoever thinks that Allah will never help him in this world and the Hereafter, let him stretch a rope to the sky, then cut it off." And they did not know that the Truth, glorified and exalted, protected the community of His Beloved ﷺ from striving in such matters and falling into the abysses of ruin and destruction, so that if it were said to one in whom the love of the Prophet has permeated his nature and mixed with his flesh and blood, "Prostrate to those high “gharaniq”," he would flee from that completely, fold his chest with censure and coals of fire, and say: "How can I prostrate to the name of a type of bird whose habitat is the bottoms of valleys and islands of seas, whose food is the insects of the earth and beasts of the deserts, and whose drink is the stagnant water of ponds when in need and necessity? They are names without named entities, and essences without souls, distinguishing not between life and death." But the oppressive deniers, the people of ignorance, transgression, obstinacy, oppression, insolence, and corruption, did not consider the types of changes that occur to them, nor did they heed the necessary attributes of created things and all their transformations. They did not know that they are dark forms; when one with a discerning nature sees them ⁷⁷, he realizes that their worship of them is among the basest of base things and ugly laughable matters. Their ignorance, obstinacy, disbelief, belief, oppression, and criticism led them to take them as gods worshipped besides the Lord of the earths and heavens, and as intercessors who would intercede for them with Him and bring them near to Him, and expiate all their sins and evil deeds. So woe to them and destruction! How quick they are to denial and rejection! May they be obliterated and annihilated! How blind their insights are to the path of truth, and how close they are to the causes of delusion! They have removed the veil of neutrality from their faces and cast the Book of Allah behind their backs, as if they do not know what is mentioned in the message of the Master of the Righteous, from the sacred hadiths and what the heavenly books and authentic traditions have brought. Would that they had awakened their eyelids from the sleep of heedlessness, and alerted their minds from indulging in illusions, doubts, and veils of fantasies, and known with certain knowledge and looked with unveiling and scrutiny that Allah Almighty protected the tongue of His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ from lying intentionally, forgetfully, mistakenly, or erroneously, before prophethood and after, due to the trustworthiness and truthfulness with which he was described, and the perfection of prophetic infallibility ⁷⁸ and chosen nobility with which he was distinguished. How could it be otherwise, when his illuminated heart is the House of Allah, about which He said: "My earth and My heavens do not contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant contains Me." What space can contain the vastness of his heart, which encompasses the entire cosmos and the treasuries of mercy and omnipotence through his knowledge and sciences, and the subjugation of the rebellious jinn and devils through his power and the secrets of his wisdom? The trustworthy Gabriel washed him with a basin of light and filled him with wisdom, faith, sincerity, and certainty, and removed from him the share of Satan secretly and openly, and removed the veil from him until he witnessed the Essence of his Lord face to face and openly. Thus, from him, light, beauty, and splendor increased, and the seal [of prophethood] increased in joy, pride, and radiance. Gabriel’s direct contact with him made him proud over the sanctified ones, the dominions, and the inhabitants of the Throne and the Footstool, and the people of the desired sight. Moreover, Allah made his tongue an interpreter of what was in his heart, and his heart filled with obedience to Allah and love for Him. Satan has no authority over his inner self and core, nor over what brings him closer to his Lord. If any distraction occurs that diverts him from his religion and the welfare of his community, he considers that a shortcoming in the sanctity of his noble status and honor, and hastens to seek forgiveness for any deficiency in the perfect obedience to his Lord ⁷⁹ and service. He ﷺ said: "Indeed, my heart is veiled, so I seek forgiveness from Allah more than seventy times a day and night." What is meant by that is that he was constantly ascending, so he would seek forgiveness from Allah for every station he transcended, because there is a high station and a higher station due to the greatness of his rank and the loftiness of his degree. From this, it is known that the lights of Muhammadan lordship obliterated the traces of the high “gharaniq”, which the accursed one wanted to make as morsels mentioned on the tongues of Muslims and recited. "Do they not see the birds subjected in the sky? None holds them but Allah." The secret behind that is the testing of His pure servant of servitude and worship, and testing him with what befits him of fulfilling the rights of Lordship, and manifesting the proofs of infallibility and the secret of specialness and belovedness with which He favored him. "To a Book We have revealed to you, to bring people out of darkness into light." "So proclaim what you are commanded and turn away from the polytheists. Indeed, We are sufficient for you against the mockers who set up another god with Allah. They will soon know." Thus, the secret of every verse is integrated with what precedes it, and the meaning of every surah is connected with what follows it. The truthful witness testified that he is the Messenger of the King of Truth, so there is no “gharnuq” ¹⁸¹ croaking in the sky of the horizon, nor a devil casting what guides to good ⁸⁰ and leads to the path of truth. “Gharaniq” are the males of water birds; singular: “gharnuq” and “ghirniq”, named so for their whiteness. “Ghirniq” is the crane or a bird resembling it. “Gharnuq” (with damma, like zunbur, qindil, sammul, firdaws, and qirtas). “Ala” means a young, white, soft youth. They used to claim that idols bring them near to Allah and intercede for them, so they likened them to birds that rise high in the sky and ascend, but they did not reflect.

In it, he withdrew from it the necessary attributes and accidents of corporeality and animality, and their blackness and whiteness. End. A summary of what the imams mentioned on this issue is that when this is established—meaning the interpretation of what occurred in it that will be denied, namely their statement: "Satan cast upon his tongue those high cranes ¹⁸² and that their intercession is to be hoped for"—then it is not permissible to take it at face value, because it is impossible for the Prophet (peace be upon him) to intentionally add to the Quran what is not in it, nor inadvertently if it contradicts the monotheism he brought, due to his infallibility ¹⁸³. End of what corresponds to the words of Imam al-Qastallani, may God have mercy on him. I say: When I concluded the words of those eminent imams and noble scholars ¹⁸⁴ whom God revived the rites of religion through and established the integrity of Islam through, concerning the issue of the high cranes, and I began with them because they are worthy of precedence and priority, I followed it with the words of the erudite scholar, the renowned genius, Abu al-Abbas Sayyidi Ahmad ibn Mubarak al-Sijilmasi on the issue and what he transmitted from his shaykh, the great saint, whose inner and outer being is illuminated, especially in the sciences of hadith and tafsir, Abu Faris Mawlay Abd al-Aziz, known as al-Dabbagh ¹⁸⁵—may God benefit us with his knowledge and grant us the secrets of his understanding. He spoke on this with words that quench the thirst, heal the ill, and overwhelm with their meaning the geniuses of scholars knowledgeable in the secrets of realities and the sciences of interpretation. He (may God be pleased with him) was illiterate, yet he brought forth on this issue what the understanding of a skilled scholar and noble genius falls short of. How excellent is the saying: "Were it not for the haste of denunciation from the scholars and those in authority against the people of God Almighty, they would have brought forth something similar to what the prophets brought of the attributes of God Almighty." Some laughed at the words of the saints and were amazed, while others rejoiced at what they saw and said: "This, by God ¹⁸⁶, is the sincere truth and the pure religion, the path and the creed." But how excellent are the scholars and how excellent are the saints in refraining from uttering what God has disclosed to them of the gifts of the sciences of the kingdom ¹⁸⁷ and the secrets of the dominion ¹⁸⁸ and the reports of what is above the Throne and beneath the earth ¹⁸⁹, because in their state of intoxication they have ecstatic utterances ¹⁹⁰, attractions ¹⁹¹, ecstasy ¹⁹², and intoxicated ravings ¹⁹³, allusions and explicit statements, symbols and indications, sciences and understandings, and reports of the unseen. The light of unveiling ¹⁹⁴ confirms that, and the station of expansion ¹⁹⁵ and disposal ¹⁹⁶ establishes what is there. That is the bounty of God; He gives it to whom He wills, and God is the possessor of great bounty. End. And the wording of the question of the aforementioned jurist is: "What is the correct view according to you regarding this verse, which is His statement: 'And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he recited ¹⁹⁷, Satan cast into his recitation ¹⁹⁸'?" And what do we take from you on this matter? He (may God be pleased with him) said to him: "The correct view in the story is with Ibn al-Harith ¹⁹⁹ and 'Iyad ²⁰⁰ and those who agree with them, not with Ibn Hajar ²⁰¹. Never did anything of the affair of the cranes occur to the Prophet (peace be upon him). Indeed, I am sometimes amazed at the words of some scholars, like this statement emanating from Ibn Hajar and those who agree with him. For if anything of that had occurred to the Prophet (peace be upon him), trust in the Sharia would be removed, the ruling of infallibility would be invalidated, and the Messenger would become like other ordinary people, since Satan would have authority over him and his speech, such that he could add to it what the Messenger (peace be upon him) does not intend, love, or approve. What trust would remain for the message with this grave matter? And it does not suffice in response that God abrogates what Satan casts and establishes His verses, because this speech from Satan could also be possible, for just as it is possible for him to have authority over revelation in the matter of the cranes by addition, so too it is possible for him to have authority over revelation by adding an entire verse, and then doubt would extend to all the verses of the Quran. The duty of the believers is to turn away from such hadiths that cause such doubt in religion, to throw them against the wall ²⁰², and to believe about the Messenger (peace be upon him) what is obligatory for him of complete infallibility and the elevation of his rank (peace be upon him) to a degree beyond which there is no degree. Moreover, based on what he mentioned in the very wording of His statement: 'And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet...' the verse implies that Satan has authority over the revelation of every messenger and every prophet, in addition to his authority over the Great Quran, because of His statement: 'And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he recited, Satan cast into his recitation.' So, according to their interpretation, the verse implies that this is the habit of devils with the prophets of God Almighty and His chosen ones from His creation. There is no doubt about the falsehood of that." I (may God be pleased with me) said about the shaykh: How precise is his insight, despite being illiterate! Nasir al-Din al-Baydawi ²⁰³ (may God Almighty have mercy on him) said: "It is said: 'tamanna' means 'recited,' and 'umniyyatihi' means 'his recitation,' and 'alqa al-shaytan' means 'he spoke about the cranes, raising his voice such that the listeners thought it was from the Prophet's recitation.'" And it was refuted by saying that it impairs trust and is not repelled by his saying: "Then God prevents what Satan casts and then God establishes His verses," because that too is possible. End of the intended purpose. And the shaykh (may God be pleased with him) elaborated on that in his book. I say: Moreover, the pronoun in 'tamanna' refers back to the general messenger and prophet mentioned before, and it is not possible that Satan cast into the recitation of each of them the affair of the cranes. And you know (may God have mercy on you) that infallibility is among the beliefs in which certainty is required. So a hadith that implies its violation and nullification is not accepted, no matter how it comes. The usul scholars ²⁰⁴ have counted a report that is of that nature as a report that must be deemed a lie. As for the statement of al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar: "The hadith is a proof for those who accept mursal ²⁰⁵ hadiths, and likewise for those who accept it due to its corroboration by being transmitted through three sound chains," the response is that that does not suffice, because probability ²⁰⁶ is not sufficient in matters of knowledge and belief. So a solitary report ²⁰⁷ is not beneficial for establishing them, so how can it be beneficial for negating them? Thus it becomes clear that what 'Iyad mentioned does not contradict the principles. Likewise, his statement in the interpretation of 'tamanna' as 'they recited' and 'umniyyatihi' as 'his recitation,' and that it is narrated from Ibn Abbas ²⁰⁸, and that that is better, more sublime, and higher than what has been said on the matter. The response is that the narration on that from Ibn Abbas is established in a copy from Ibn Abi Talha ²⁰⁹ from Ibn Abbas, and it was narrated by Ibn Abi Salih ²¹⁰, the scribe of al-Layth ²¹¹, and the verifiers ²¹² are of the opinion that it is weak. And God Almighty knows best. Then I said to the shaykh (may God be pleased with him and benefit us through him): "What is the correct view according to you regarding the interpretation of His statement: 'And We did not send before you any messenger...' the verse, and what is the light of the verse that you refer to?" He (may God be pleased with him) said: "Its light that you refer to is that God Almighty did not send any messenger nor raise any prophet among the nations except that that messenger would hope for ²¹³ faith for his nation, love that for them, and desire and strive for it."

Upon them with utmost eagerness and treats them with the severest treatment. Among them in this regard is our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said ²¹⁴ to him the Lord, glorified be He: "Perhaps you would kill yourself with grief over them if they do not believe in this discourse." He, exalted be He, said: "And most people, though you desire it, will not believe." And other verses containing this meaning. Then the community differs, as He, exalted be He, said: "Among them are those who believe and among them are those who disbelieve." As for the one who disbelieves, Satan casts into him insinuations that impugn the message, necessitating his disbelief. Likewise, the believer is not free from insinuations, for they are inherent in faith in the unseen for the most part, though they differ among people in frequency and according to the objects. When this is established, with the meaning of 'he wished'—that is, he wished for faith for his community and what he loves for them of good, righteousness, guidance, and success—this is the wish of every messenger or prophet. Satan's casting into it occurs through what he casts into the hearts of his called community of insinuations that necessitate the disbelief of some of them. And Allah has mercy on the believers, so He abrogates that from their hearts and establishes the verse indicating oneness and prophethood, while that remains in the hearts of the hypocrites and disbelievers so that they may be tested. From this it emerges that insinuations are cast first into the hearts of both groups together, except that they do not persist for the believers but persist for the disbelievers. This interpretation is, in my view, among the most wonderful things heard. End. The question of the jurist ²¹⁵ the erudite scholar my master Ahmad ibn Mubarak al-Sijilmasi to his master the supreme saint my master Abd al-Aziz al-Dabbagh and what he answered him regarding the matter. I said: And I recorded that for benefit through it by way of discussion for whomever Allah honors with His generosity and makes among the people of His sainthood and proximity. But resembling them is care, believing what they have reported is sainthood, and departing from their hands is a crime, and clinging to the rope of their love is a shield from the Fire and protection. We ask Allah, exalted be He, to make us follow their paths and lead us in their religious ways and methods. Amen, amen. Amen. And here I follow that with the words of the sultan of the gnostics, the interpreter of the verifying scholars, the firmly established pegs, Imam al-Wartaji, may Allah be pleased with him and benefit us with his sciences and pour upon us from the gifts of his blessings and the secrets of his understandings. For he said in the interpretation of this verse, which is His, exalted be He, saying: "And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet"—the verse—that Satan, Allah created him to test the prophets and saints. So he casts at every time into their remembrances and recitations insinuations of statements, but he burns by the light of their remembrances and is repelled by the assault of their lights and secrets. And that is from the Truth, exalted be He, a manifestation of His generosity and their miracles. The reality of the wisdom in that is the casting of shame upon them in the station of intimate conversations. Do you not see how Moses complained about him when the accursed one confronted him with his saying: "What I heard is my speech," and Moses almost melted from the awe of Allah and his shyness until the Truth, exalted be He, brought him ²¹⁶ to places of the favors of His protection and care and delivered him from the plot of his enemy and his misguidance. And Sahl, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Whoever recites the Qur'an while observing the Truth, he will be innocent and protected from Satan's casting. And whoever recites it while observing himself or witnessing creation, that is the place of Satan's casting." End of the words of al-Wartaji, may Allah, exalted be He, have mercy on him. When his words, may Allah be pleased with him, were transmitted along with the words of those who preceded him in this matter, whose comprehensive and detailed realities of knowledge exhausted the great scholars, and whose abbreviated and lengthy meanings were difficult for the major hadith scholars and exegetes to grasp, they spoke at length about it and excelled, and they varied in interpreting its meanings, presenting and repeating. So what excellent masters, leading scholars, guiding imams, and trustworthy just ones they are! They researched the principles and branches of knowledge, and spoke about the mursal ²¹⁷ and maqtu' of hadith, its musnad and marfu', its sahih and mawdu', until they untied the knots of obscurities and clarified the ambiguities of difficulties for whoever wishes to examine in exegesis the meanings of clear verses and the verification of the abrogated and established, the ambiguous and clear, the apparent and interpreted ²¹⁸ because the speech of Allah encompasses the knowledge of the inner and outer, and contains meanings that dazzle the minds of the first and last. Under every letter of its letters is a sea of the seas of secrets and a river of the rivers of lights, for it is the description of Allah, the Eternal, exalted above alteration, change, delay, and advancement. And just as His essence has no limit, His attributes have no limit. "And if whatever trees on earth were pens and the sea [were ink], replenished thereafter by seven seas, the words of Allah would not be exhausted." I have brought these words, elegant in wording and expression, superior in implication and allusion, taken from the meanings of the Mighty Book of Allah and summarized from its elegant wording and concise speech, and I have adorned with them the jewels of that hadith along with the verse, like the adornment of silver with pure gold. That is because the speech of Allah is a vast sea and an isthmus encompassing the knowledge of the inner and outer. Every scholar takes from it according to what Allah has poured upon his heart and what has been revealed to him from the gifts of his Lord. So I say: Know that these mentioned wishes, alluded to in the inscribed Book of Allah, are trusts that Allah deposited in the hearts of His messengers and prophets, and their secrets became in the treasures of His beloved and saints, and their lights shone ²¹⁹ in the niches of His gnosis and piety, and He manifested to them in the manifestations of His attributes and names. He placed their keys in His hand, so their fancies and imaginations are aligned, awaiting what comes to them from the presence of His bounty, generosity, and giving. So the Muhammadan light extended them, and the Ahmadine secret guided and directed them, for he is the comprehensive isthmus of the totalities of the two worlds, the sciences of the two weighty ones, and the happiness of the two abodes. Not a single atom in the cosmos moves except through him and at his hands, and no miracle or benefit issues except from him and to him. So he is the greatest vicegerent, the most noble beloved, the deputy of Allah in His kingdom and dominion, the opener of what was closed to the servants of Allah from the treasuries of His mercy and omnipotence. Among the wishes are those that turn to the presence of holiness, among them those that turn to the carpet of intimacy, among them those that turn to the world of witnessing and sense, among them those that are preserved, by Allah's permission, from the rebellious jinn and humans, among them those that are exalted above human follies and the whisperings of the soul, among them those that are drawn to Allah and thus safe from the afflictions of separation, rejection, and reversal, and among them those that are preserved from the contamination of others until they return to their station, saved from the incitements of Satan, evil in origin and kind. And they are alluded to as the individuals ²²⁰ purified from the afflictions of obscenity, evil, and impurity, and they are those described by His saying: "Except Your chosen servants among them."

He means those who have purified themselves from the darkness of natural dispositions and the density of obstacles through the sincerity of their worship to God, the perfection of their uprightness with God, and their adherence to God's limits. Satan was created only for trial and choice, to gain power over the chosen, elect servants, the virtuous, and to confront the pure imams and noble righteous ones. He has no power over any of them except by the permission of God, the One, the Subduer, the Agent of free choice, who creates what He wills and chooses. Then his power is of two kinds: the power of tricks, deceit, deception, and whispering, which is only over the people of error and misguidance. This is meant by His statement: "Indeed, his authority is only over those who take him as an ally and those who associate others with Him" [16:100]. And He gives him power over those whom God has led astray in pre-eternity, a power of incitement and increase in whispering. He is not able to lead anyone astray from God's creation without God's permission, for God Himself leads astray and guides, and He has no partner in either. The authority that God has given Satan over the people of misguidance is the attainment of his purpose from them. The second kind is the power of whispering and casting suggestions for trial, testing, and affliction upon those whom God has chosen in pre-eternity for faith and knowledge of Him. This is for the prophets, saints, the pious, and the pure. But God has not given him power over them, as is meant by His statement: "Indeed, there is no authority for him over those who have believed and rely upon their Lord" [16:99]. So God, glorified and exalted, informs in this verse that Satan does not overcome with disbelief and misguidance those whom God has chosen in pre-eternity for faith in Him and knowledge of His attributes, names, and descriptions, by negating rivals and opposites in His worship, certainty of His existence, submission to His disposal, and reliance upon Him in their trial. He has no power over them because they are under the care and attention of the Truth, the protection of His security and guardianship. He cannot whisper to them about doubt in faith, but he whispers to them concerning desires outside of that. When the lights of the sun of His majesty shine upon their faces, hearts, and spirits, Satan withdraws when he casts to them what they do not perceive. When they become aware, he returns to them with whispering. When they seek refuge in God from his evil and take shelter in Him by relying on Him, the accursed one is confined in his place and melts like salt melts in water. This is supported by God's statement to His beloved: "And if an evil suggestion from Satan should touch you, seek refuge in God" [41:36], and likewise His statement: "So when you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge in God from Satan, the expelled [from His mercy]. Indeed, there is no authority for him over those who have believed and rely upon their Lord" [16:98-99]. Abu Hafs said: Whoever wants Satan to have no way over him should perfect his faith in God and perfect reliance on God through faith. Faith in God is to return to none but Him in ease and hardship and to be content with none other than Him as a substitute. Reliance is trust in the guarantee of provision as you trust in what you know. End of the interpretation of His statement: "Indeed, there is no authority for him over those who have believed and rely upon their Lord" [16:99]. The meaning indicated by the aforementioned hadith and the verse, which is: "And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet" [22:52] and the following verses in brief. It has become clear to me from the purport of these noble, great, and magnificent verses, namely His statement: "And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet" up to His statement: "And indeed, God is Knowing and Forbearing" [22:52-59], a clear indication of the correspondence of each verse with its counterpart from His statement: "So when you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge in God from Satan, the expelled" [16:98] up to His statement: "That is because they preferred the life of this world over the Hereafter and that God does not guide the disbelieving people. Those are the ones upon whose hearts, hearing, and sight God has set a seal, and those are the heedless. No doubt that in the Hereafter they are the losers" [16:107-109]. As for His statement: "And those who emigrated for the cause of God and then were killed or died - God will surely provide for them a good provision. And indeed, God is the best of providers. He will surely cause them to enter an entrance with which they will be pleased, and indeed, God is Knowing and Forbearing" [22:58-59], its counterpart is His statement: "Then, indeed, your Lord, to those who emigrated after they had been compelled [to deny the truth] and thereafter fought and were patient - indeed, your Lord, after that, is Forgiving and Merciful" [16:110]. And there is much of this in the Book of God for those whom God has honored with understanding and illuminated their insight with the light of opening and illumination. End. I say: Another interpretation has become apparent to me in this aforementioned verse, which encompasses those whom God has distinguished with high status and elevated rank, crowned them with the crown of honor, care, and pride, and supported their aspirations with the support of infallibility during recitation and remembrance, and made all their affairs revolve between prohibition and command, and acting according to the revealed books that have no end to the stories and reports they contain, and no limit. It is His statement: "And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he recited [i.e., the revelation]" [22:52], meaning: when he wished to see the effect of My power in the pillar of unveiling and clarification, and to witness what the descriptions of My perfections indicate of the secrets of My unseen which I have veiled from others and unveiled their secret to the people of insight and those of knowledge, Satan cast into his recitation ²²¹ of whispering what the penetrating minds cannot grasp, and the intellects of the great scholars and eminent figures are bewildered in understanding its realities. Then God abrogates what Satan casts into his infallible wishes of accidental additions and deficiencies, and nullifies what he cast therein of his weak arguments that have no proof.

And no proof, then God judges it manifestly by the light of the inspired revelation, by which whoever holds fast is guided to the straight path in secret and in public, as He commanded His beloved in His saying: "So hold fast to that which is revealed to you; indeed, you are on a straight path." ²²² Ibn 'Ata' said: His Master commanded him to hold fast to the religion, even though he, peace be upon him, was the imam in it and never lacked holding fast to what he was commanded for a moment, but He addressed him thus because of his lofty degrees and great station, so that he might be adorned with the etiquette of holding fast, following, and uprightness. End quote. And it also became apparent to me another interpretation that God cast into the mirror of my secret and threw its meanings into the unseen of my identity and the roaming of my thought: that these wishes have spirits and forms that settle in the seats of the collective barzakhs ²²³, and breaths and stages that ascend to the stations of proximity and belovedness. So the wishes of the prophets, messengers, and righteous saints attend the hearing of the address from the carpet of might and the presence of Lordship; and the wishes of those who remember God much, male and female, stand in the scenes of desire and awe, seeking acceptance and satisfaction from the Lord of the earths and heavens, and hoping for pardon and forgiveness from Him and advancement to the highest degrees and loftiest stations. He, exalted, said: "To Him ascends the good word" ²²⁴ — not to other than Him — "and the righteous deed raises it." ²²⁵ So the righteous deed is the deed of the heart, which is love of God and longing for His meeting; and love and longing, when their source is the attribute of the Truth, become the good word. That is because the word, love, and longing emerged from the mine of divinity; from Him they appeared and to Him they return. As for the good word, Sahl said: its outward is supplication and charity, and its inward is acting according to knowledge and following the Sunna. And His saying "raises it" means it conveys it to sincerity. Therefore, nothing that would return them to human vanities and evil deeds is presented to them, and Satan has no power over them, because he was created from the world of force, while man was created from the world of gentleness and patience. Gentleness and force raced in pre-eternity, and gentleness preceded force, so it was accompanied by support, success, opening, and victory; and they coincided in the place of prohibition and command. Whoever opposes that, the outcome of his affair is punishment, regret, and loss; and whoever complies, for him is abundant reward and recompense on the day when No soul speaks except by His permission; among them are wretched and blessed. As for those who are wretched, they are in the Fire; for them therein is sighing and wailing, abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except what your Lord wills. Indeed, your Lord does what He intends. And as for those who are blessed, they are in Paradise, abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except what your Lord wills — a gift uninterrupted. End quote. So their wishes are preserved by the dispensation of certainty from its dominance over them, and the lights of their unveilings by the sciences of righteousness and religion from its reaching them. Thus the casting of the oppressor becomes as nothing, and his whispering returns upon him with grief and regret. Whenever an obstacle from his side appears to them, they counter it with its opposite. If an incoming from his castings comes upon them, they repel it with what restrains it in the swiftness of his assault and movement. If he presents to them the adornment and glitter of this world, they counter it with the swiftness of perishing. If he presents to them length of time, they counter it with the nearness of the term. If he presents to them stinginess, procrastination, and laziness, they counter it with generosity of soul and striving in knowledge and action. If he presents to them the beginning of winter's cold and summer's heat, they counter it with what distances them from the terrible matter in places of astonishment and fear. This is his state with the elite of God's believing servants and His chosen, sincere, and certain ones. None escapes him except those whom God protects with His protection and saves from his trial and assault. As for the common people of the ignorant, foolish, deprived, and wretched, they are under his command and within his grasp, offering themselves and their wealth for his pleasure and service, striving in his desire and the attainment of his lust, biting with their molars on his love and companionship, standing to obey his commands and support him, turning wherever he turns, and moving with him wherever he moves. He has possessed their hearts with this world and occupied them from obedience to God with its sweetness, and deluded them with its adornment, desires, and pleasures, because he and his tribe see them from where they do not see him nor suspect him, and he incites them to what is unbecoming for them with God of what they desire and love, and makes attractive to them the abominable deeds they do and commit. And our Lord, exalted, said: "Indeed, Satan is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy. He only invites his party to be among the companions of the Blaze." ²²⁶ And what enemy is greater than one whose enmity God has informed us of and warned us against following him in his trial and misery, because of what he leads them to of following the desires of this world and its adornment, which God has informed us is play and amusement in His saying: "Know that the life of this world is..." up to His saying: "...severe punishment and forgiveness from God and pleasure. And the life of this world is nothing but the enjoyment of delusion." ²²⁷ And in the hadith from Ibn Abi al-Hawari: I heard Abu Sulayman or someone else say: Iblis appeared to Qarun ²²⁸ — and he had stayed in a mountain for forty years worshipping God there, and he had surpassed the Children of Israel in worship — so he sent devils to him but they could not overcome him. Then he appeared to him and began to worship with him. Qarun would break his fast while he did not break his fast, and he would show such worship that Qarun could not match. So Qarun humbled himself before him. Iblis said to him: "I am pleased with this, O Qarun. Do not attend any funeral or congregation of the Children of Israel." He warned him about the mountain until he brought him into the church. They began to bring food for both of them. He said to him: "We are pleased with this, O Qarun. We have both become a burden on the Children of Israel." He said: "What is the opinion?" He said: "Let us earn a living one day and worship the rest of the week." He said: "Yes." Then he said: "We are pleased with this. Let us not give charity nor do such and such." He said: "What is the opinion?" He said: "Let us earn a living one day and worship one day." When he had done this to him, he withdrew from him and left him. Then the world was opened up to Qarun, and his affair became what it became. End quote. As for the people of God, they strive in racing him and fighting him, debating him and arguing with him, and opposing him, because he wants to turn their faces away from God, prevent their tongues and hearts from the remembrance of God, and their hearts and limbs from complying with God's commands, standing at God's limits, and acting according to what God has revealed. God, exalted, said: "And if an incitement from Satan incites you, then seek refuge in God." ²²⁹ He said: "And whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful, We appoint for him a devil, and he is to him a companion." ²³⁰

Indeed, those who fear God, when a touch of evil ²³¹ comes to them, remember [Him], and at once they see clearly. Al-Ruyani and Ibn 'Asakir narrated via Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Wa'ili that he heard his grandfather say: A man came [to him] in a dream, and it was said to him: "Go to 'Uqba ibn 'Amir, the Companion of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), and tell him: 'You are among the people of the Fire.'" He disliked saying that to him, but he said it to him three or four times. Then finally it was said to him: "If you do not do what I say, I will do something bad to you." So the man went to 'Uqba ibn 'Amir and told him the story. 'Uqba ibn 'Amir said: "Tell me what he said to you." He said: "He told me to say to 'Uqba ibn 'Amir: 'You are among the people of the Fire.'" So 'Uqba ibn 'Amir placed his palm on the ground, grabbed a handful of dust, threw it over his shoulder behind his back, and said: "The devil has lied." Then he grabbed a second handful, threw it behind his back, and said: "The devil has lied." Then he grabbed a third handful, threw it behind his back, and said: "The devil has lied." When the man went to sleep, the one who used to come to him every night in the dream came and said: "Did you tell 'Uqba what I commanded you?" The man said: "Yes." He said: "What did he say to you?" So he told him. He said: "He spoke the truth. Every time he threw a handful, it fell on my face and eyes." In the History of Ibn 'Asakir, from 'Ali ibn al-Jarud, he said: We set out in search of knowledge, and we passed by the evening of 'Arafa ²³², I and a companion of mine, through the city of the people of Lot ²³³. I said to my companion—or he said: "Let us enter and walk through these alleys and praise our Lord for having saved us from what He afflicted them with." He said: While we were walking through those alleys until sunset, suddenly we saw a man, beardless, disheveled, dusty, on a red camel. He stopped before us and asked us: "Who are you and where are you from?" We told him. When he was about to leave, we said to him: "Who are you?" He ignored us. We asked him a second time, and he ignored us. We said to him: "Perhaps you are Iblis ²³⁴." He said: "I am Iblis." We said: "O accursed one, where are you coming from?" He said: "This is my face from the Standing ²³⁵. I saw people who had been sinning for fifty years, until I had satisfied my desire from them, but today mercy was sent down upon them. I could not bear that, so I put dust on my face and came here to look at them, so that what is in me might calm down." End. It also became apparent to me another interpretation of this verse, which I borrowed from the Flower of the Gardens of Muhammadan Love and sought from the descriptions of the perfections of the Ahmadine ²³⁶ Lordship, namely His saying: "And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he wished ²³⁷"—that is, he wished to be present in your time and to enter under your authority and sovereignty, in body and spirit, and to follow your Book and your Criterion, witnessing to himself that he is your deputy and acknowledging your generosity and beneficence, and deriving his light from the shining of your lights and the gifts of your gnosis, and drinking the fullest cup from your sweet, delightful source and your bestowed gift, as is clarified by the hadith: "If Moses (peace be upon him) and Jesus were alive, they would have no choice but to follow [me]"—and the truth of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that if they were present in their bodies, and likewise other prophets from Adam (peace be upon him) until his own existence, by whose birth Abraham, Ishmael, and Noah boasted—the devil cast into his wish something contrary to that meaning found in the transmitted hadiths and the collections of the mothers [of the books] and commentaries, namely that every prophet and messenger enters under his Praiseworthy Law ²³⁸ and judges by what was revealed to him in the clear verses of his Book from the meanings of his holy and exalted verses. By that, the face of truth appears and becomes utterly clear, and God abrogates what the devil casts, just as He showed us abrogation in His law, with our consensus and agreement that he is the guide for God's sincere servants. In the meanings of these verses, their structures, and their details, there is a witness that testifies that he is the Messenger of the True King, and what he informed of is truth and sincerity. Therefore, God did not send a prophet to people in general except him (peace be upon him) specifically, for he is the sum of all the laws of the prophets, and his law abrogated every law, just as the light of the stars is abrogated by the brightness of day. So the abrogation of the earlier by the later is a mercy for God's servants, so that they may not incline or lean toward the worship of idols and statues. Supporting and confirming this is the fact that all prophets and messengers are his deputies (peace be upon him), and that Jesus (peace be upon him), when he descends at the end of time, will not judge by his own law that he followed before his ascension, but only by his law (peace be upon him) with which he was sent to his community and to all nations, both those who are easy for obedience and those who are recalcitrant. Similarly, the judgment concerning the people of the intervals ²³⁹ is that they are commanded to follow likewise, even if they were monotheists. Thus, he deserved precedence over all. And indeed, he has succeeded who holds fast to his Sunna and acts according to the requirements of his Ahmadine Law, and who looks much toward him and aspires.

O you who have believed in Allah and His Messenger and the Book which He sent down upon His Messenger, and the Book which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly strayed far astray. ²⁴⁰ End. I say: It has also become apparent to me in this verse another interpretation, novel in its construction and precision, splendid in its support and title, whose indications announce the mission of the Master of the Worlds ²⁴¹ and his being the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, as the prophets gave glad tidings of that in their books and the great scholars and monks reported, namely that His statement, exalted be He: {And We sent not before you any messenger or prophet except when he wished} ²⁴² To see what the prophets gave glad tidings of concerning his love and his coming, and the vision of his essence and the risings of his moons in the stations of felicity and its stars, and what the reports and monks informed of concerning the gleams of his secrets and the gifts of his sciences, and what they gave glad tidings to their people of concerning the descriptions of his perfections, as is established in the pages of the Preserved Tablet ²⁴³ and the lines of its inscriptions, for in the vision of his Muhammadan face ²⁴⁴ is the radiance of the lights of pre-eternity, and the gleams of the secrets of the revealed Book, and with his coming appeared the shining lights of post-eternity and he bestowed the sciences of the One, the Eternal ²⁴⁵. So the Truth named him Ahmad ²⁴⁶ after making him praised with His praise, and a lamp illuminated with the light of His laudation and glory. And that is a special, pre-eternal election, and a perfect, everlasting gift, whose ultimate end is the Praiseworthy Station ²⁴⁷ before the King, the Worshipped. And that station is the nearness of nearness, and the being described with the attributes of the Truth, and the vision of His face with the limit of uprightness without change or alteration, without removal or transformation. And there is the station of special intercession, encompassing all without cause or reason, and it is specific to him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to the exclusion of others, from the Throne to the earth. And he mentioned that according to his wish and knowledge, as Jesus, peace be upon him, gave glad tidings to his people of his blessed coming, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and our Master informed about him with His statement: {And giving glad tidings of a messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad} ²⁴⁸ Satan cast into his wish what did not accord with his desire, of what would turn his people to the path of slander, lying, and raving, and doubt concerning the clear signs he brought and the confirmation of his prophethood. And the perfection of faith is His statement, exalted be He: {But when he came to them with clear signs, they said, "This is manifest sorcery."} ²⁴⁹ So Allah abrogates what Satan casts of the wishes that guide to the path of transgression and disobedience, and cause one to fall into the abysses of ruin, discord, and abandonment, i.e., He nullifies it, then Allah establishes His verses, i.e., He confirms them in the hearts of His prophets and those who believe in them from the people of realities and gnosis, sincerity, witnessing, and certainty. And Allah is Knowing of what is sent down upon His prophets, Wise in what He has specially given him of the secrets of prophethood that raised his rank, and the gifts of belovedness that expanded his breast, and the lights of messengership that illuminated his full moon, and the perfection of trustworthiness concerning the revelation of heaven that supported his affair. And how could His light be extinguished by the speech of temporal beings and the sayings of the people of falsehood and slander, or could be established from Satan's casting into his wish what is unbefitting the station of his Master, the High in rank and status, the Great in dominion and sovereignty, Whose knowledge encompasses what the breasts whisper and the penetrating thoughts? End. And another interpretation also became clear to me, namely His statement: {And We sent not before you any messenger or prophet except when he wished} ²⁵⁰ Of the unseen matters whose secret is hidden from sight and observation, and whose affair is announced to the unveilers among the possessors of insight and gnosis, because wishes are from the world of the secret, and their motives are from the spirit of the command. So the intellects cannot comprehend the secrets of their divine descents and the lights of their holy radiances, and their indications testify that they are from the secrets of lordly prophethood, and the lights of the venerable, holy messengership, and the gifts of the divine stations and the prophetic presences. Allah knows best where to place His message. Satan cast into his wish what is not appropriate for that station, nor should it be mentioned in the presences of the Master, the King, the All-Knowing. So Allah abrogates what Satan casts into his wish, i.e., He removes it and nullifies it, and informs that it is from Satan. Then Allah establishes His verses, i.e., He confirms them and preserves them from the addition of Satan. And Allah is Knowing of what His prophet wished and what He revealed to him concerning that, Wise in the secret of His power in His disposal for him. Thus was repelled what the foolish attributed to him by the dazzling proofs of His Furqanic verses ²⁵¹, and nullified what the wretched imagined by the brilliant miracles and the secrets of His merciful graces. So He silenced the accursed Satan and did not establish for him anything of what he cast into the wish of His chosen, noble prophet, Because his wishes that he wishes proceed from him while his spirit is established in the highest assembly and the manifestation of his essence in the manifestations of "He drew near and descended" ²⁵², for he is the Beloved of the Master, and he is more worthy of that exalted station. So how could Satan approach his precinct or circle around his inviolable sanctuary, the Most High, the Mighty, and enter by casting addition or omission into the melody of the revelation that was repeated on his infallible tongue and recited? And how could satanic thoughts and psychic whisperings have power over his sanctified, lordly states? For Allah protected him from that by the secret of His Most Beautiful Names ²⁵³ and the materials of His effusions flowing to him from his illuminated, most sublime carpet. End. How can the prophets reach your rank, O heaven that no heaven has ever rivaled? They are not equal to you in your sublimity, for your radiance and loftiness have stood between them and you. They only represented your attributes to people, as water represents the stars. You are the lamp of every virtue, so lights only emanate from your light. To you belong the sciences of the unseen world, and from them Adam received the names. You have never ceased to be chosen in the consciences of existence, for you the mothers and fathers. No period of the messengers passed but their peoples were given glad tidings of you by the prophets. The ages boast of you and rise high through you, one eminence after another. And from you appeared to generosity a noble one, from noble ancestors, generous. A lineage whose ornaments the Pleiades would think their stars have adorned. How excellent is the necklace of lordship and pride, in which you are the unique, peerless pearl! And your face is the sun from you, shining, a radiant night having cleared from it. ²⁵⁴ And another interpretation also became clear to me in this verse, namely: {And We sent not} the verse, {And We sent not before you any messenger or prophet} Whom Allah brought forth into existence and manifested in the manifestations, and adorned with the highest virtues and the most beautiful attributes, and caused to shine in the forehead of His Beloved the lights of prophethoods and messengerships, and the gleams of the call to Allah and the proofs, except when he wished that Allah raise his rank above ranks, and give him

He wished, and beyond what he wished of guidance and uprightness and the answering of supplications, and He granted him what He granted to his brethren among the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous of dignity of station and elevation of ranks, and bestowed upon him what he desired for his community of perfection of faith and sincerity of dealings—which the devil, in his wish, disturbs in his soul and in what he wished for his community of perfection of tawhid ²⁵⁵ and pure faith that necessitates entry into Paradise, erasure of sins, and multiplication of good deeds. So Allah abrogates what the devil casts into his wishes of the non-attainment of what he wished for them and what disturbs his soul and causes it to fall into fear, despair, and great regrets. Then Allah decrees that He will bring it about by fulfilling his desire for them and granting him what befits them of gentleness, ease, and outpourings of mercy. And Allah is All-Knowing of what He has inscribed of His decree in the tablets of effacement and establishment ²⁵⁶, All-Wise in what the Pen has recorded of what He has stored for His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the first of first things and the precedents of pre-eternity, and mentioned him in His Wise Book, saying: "Those messengers—We favored some of them over others. Among them were those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degrees." ²⁵⁷ And no degree is greater than his degree by which Allah favored him over all the prophets, messengers, the angels brought near, and all existent things, especially what He confided to him on the Night of the Ascension ²⁵⁸ of the gifts of prophethood and messengerhood, and what He disclosed to him of the sciences of revelation and the secrets of the unseen. Therefore he said: "I have been favored over the prophets with six [things]: I have been given the comprehensive words ²⁵⁹, I have been aided with awe, spoils have been made lawful for me, the earth has been made a place of prayer and purification for me, I have been sent to all creation, and the prophets are sealed with me." May Allah's blessings and peace be upon them all. His saying "and He raised some of them in degrees" means that after their disparity in virtue, he was more virtuous than them by many degrees—and he is Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—because he was favored over them by being sent to all, and by being given what no one else was given of the many signs reaching a thousand or more, the greatest of which is the Qur'an, for it is the enduring miracle throughout time. In this ambiguity is a magnification of his status and a clarification that it is the knowledge that is not ambiguous to anyone and the distinction that is not confused. It is said that by it is meant Muhammad, Abraham, and others among the resolute messengers ²⁶⁰. Some said in this meaning: Allah favored His prophets, some over others, to gladden the hearts of His saints, for they are people of the jealousy of truth, and also so that they do not cease seeking increase of stations and degrees, and also so that some do not rely on others in the realities of love and knowledge. Abu Bakr al-Farisi al-Sufi said: Allah created nothing except that its measures are varying and disparate, even the messengers. Allah Almighty said: "Those messengers—We favored some of them over others" so that thereby the deficiency and perfection of creation may be known. End quote. And I said concerning the meaning of disparity and preference by way of allusion and what appears from the purport of the wording and expression, regarding the meaning of His statement: "Those messengers—We favored some of them over others. Among them were those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degrees." Know, O lover, that the degree of our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is the highest of degrees, his means is the greatest of means and acts of closeness, and his disposal in the worlds of dominion and sovereignty is among the most perfect of dispositions and the loftiest of commendable things. Therefore he is called the Exalted of Degrees. Paradise, despite the honor of its stature, beauty, comeliness, wondrous attributes, and spacious dwellings—his dwelling, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in it is the highest of dwellings, his palace the most splendid of palaces, his place the noblest of places. How could it not be, for he is the most merciful of the merciful, the most generous of the generous, and the beloved of the Lord of the worlds. In his wondrous, novel, and amazing Night Journey, he passed beyond the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary ²⁶¹, then passed beyond the station of Gabriel, then beyond the place of Michael, then beyond the place of Israfil, then beyond the place of the angel called al-Ruh ²⁶², who is a great angel above whom there is no angel among the great angels, and above whose place there is no place among the places of the noble messengers. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him: "This is your station, O Ruh." He said: "This is my station, O beloved of Allah. Since Allah created the heavens and the earth, the Throne, the Footstool, the Tablet, and the Pen, I do not go beyond it. Before me are lights and veils; if I drew near and passed them, the glories of Allah's majesty would burn me." So Allah strengthened His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and aided and supported him until he cut through those luminous veils and radiant screens and reached the lofty degree that no one else has reached, and attained the exalted station that every creature other than him falls short of, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

and all his family and companions. Therefore, there is no superiority or distinction between him and anyone else in what his Lord has specially granted him of miracles ²⁶³ and exalted stations ²⁶⁴ and highest degrees, especially his particularity of the Great Intercession ²⁶⁵ on the day of the awesome standing and regrets, and the removal of hardships and relief of distress. And the saying of Abu Bakr al-Farisi ²⁶⁶ is to know thereby the deficiency of creation and its perfection, and the preponderance of his scale and its uprightness and balance, and the utmost of his proximity to God and his union. So the Beloved, the Loved One, has nothing of that, because no one has paralleled him in what his Lord has adorned him with of the attributes of His perfection, and what He created him with of the morals of His Lordship, and clothed him with of the lights of His Majesty and Beauty, and what He honored him with of good manners in his sitting before Him and his attendance, and his mindfulness of Him in his movements and stillness and all his states, and his hastening to obey Him and his eagerness for His command and compliance, and acting according to the requirements of His Sunnah and His Book in his words and deeds, and the filling of his heart with His awe, veneration, and exaltation, and exposing himself to the downpour of His mercy in the ascent of his soul to Him and his transition, and his adab ²⁶⁷ with Him with the adab of servitude in his desire, response, and request. So he, may God bless him and grant him peace, is the model of the cosmos and the intended purpose of the Creator, and the veil of the cloak of protection, and the attraction of the sober one who changes colors. And the cosmos is the intended purpose of the Creator, not for itself but for his sake, and a witness to His favor upon him and His bounty. Indeed, God created and invented it for his sake, and the splendor of the light of his Muhammadan face ²⁶⁸ and the gifts of his grace, because everything in the cosmos is in him and more, and what has appeared in it of lights, secrets, sciences, and benefit is from him and to him. And that is a particularity with which the world of the unseen and the witnessed has distinguished him. And on this basis, what deficiency remains in the cosmos after his existence among us and his mission from the preciousness of our breaths, and the appearance of his Ahmadan light ²⁶⁹ that dispels the darkness of our veils? He, exalted, said: "Indeed, there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful." ²⁷⁰ And what perfection has not appeared after his coming with the Hanifite religion ²⁷¹ to us, and his arrival with clear signs and manifest methods upon us, and his bringing of abundant gifts and complete pure blessings to us? He, exalted, said: "This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion." ²⁷² So by his appearance, the order of the higher and lower worlds was arranged, and by his blessing, the distant and near were shown mercy, and by the secret of his wisdom, the result of the partial and the universal appeared, and by the benefit of his sciences, the traces and landmarks of Islam were revived, and by his existence, the face of time and its worlds rejoiced, and by his Furqanic Book ²⁷³, the methods of the religious laws, obligations, and supererogatory acts were clarified, and by his verses, the traces of disbelief and the marks of its stations were erased. ²⁷⁴ "It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although those who associate others with Allah dislike it." ²⁷⁵ So he, may God bless him and grant him peace, is firmly established in the witnessing of the Divine Essence ²⁷⁶, and a beloved absent from his own existence in the rising lights of the Most Holy ²⁷⁷. So there is no aspiration for spiritual souls to reach him, nor any aspiration for luminous bodies in what he was honored with from his Lord, and what He confided to him from Him to him, and informed him of from the treasures of His unseen, and made him witness it face to face and by sight, and addressed him with it secretly and openly. "Say, 'This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight.'" ²⁷⁸ "Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction." ²⁷⁹ "There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book. By which Allah guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out from darknesses into the light, by His permission, and guides them to a straight path." ²⁸⁰ So what misguidance remains among us while the light of Your Book is mixed with our flesh and blood, and Your prophetic secret flows in our souls, bodies, hearts, and limbs, and Your Ahmadan love resides in the core of our hearts, our outward and inward, and our innermost, and the mention of Your Muhammadan name runs on our tongues and is foremost in our means and the answering of our supplication? "Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah." ²⁸¹ And what favor appears after Your manifestation in our manifestations, and the drawing of Your image ²⁸² in our sights, and the settling of Your love in the blackness of our hearts and chests, and the flow of Your secret in our sources and destinations? "Indeed, Allah conferred a great favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from among themselves." ²⁸³ So what perfection has not been completed while You are the brick of our completion and the musk of our seal, and the result of our deeds and the spirit of our faith? And what religion has not been clarified while You are the light of our inspiration, the executor of our judgments, the fountain of our beneficence, and the pearl of the necklace of our order? And what blessing and mercy appears after Your blessing and mercy bestowed upon us? "And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds." ²⁸⁴ So there is no misery with Your love, nor abandonment with Your obedience and adherence to Your Sunnah, nor wrath after the sacrifice of souls in Your service and belonging to Your side and seeking refuge in Your inviolable sanctuary and the sanctity of Your sacred precinct, nor rejection nor abandonment after standing at Your door and secluding oneself at the portal of Your threshold, nor deprivation after clinging to Your most trustworthy handhold, and desiring and seeking intercession with God through Your eminent rank and the honor of Your lineage, O my master, O Messenger of God. For You are the door of God; whoever comes to Him through other than You does not enter. ²⁸⁵ It is my right concerning you to contend with a people from whom I have surrendered my bucket of allegiance. Indeed, I have jealousy, and the poets have crowded me in the meanings of your praise. And my heart has extremism in you, and my tongue has hyperbole in your praise. ²⁸⁶ So accept a thought that delights in your praise, despite the brilliance that has appeared from it. It wove, from the craft of the peer, robes for you whose embroidery Sana'a ²⁸⁷ has not imitated. The pearls have incapacitated its stringing, so the two hands of the craftsmen and the artisans have become equal. So be pleased with it, the most eloquent of a man who spoke the letter Dad ²⁸⁸, so the lights became jealous of it. Is it by mentioning the verses that I repay you with praise? Where is the repayment from me and from them? Or do I delude with them a people of a prophet? Evil is what the ignorant thought of me. And to you belongs the nation that was envied for it, by you, when the prophets came to it. We did not fear misguidance after you, while among us are inheritors, the scholars who inherited your guidance. So the verses of the prophets ended with you, and your signs are for the people; there is no end for me. And the miracles from them are wonders that the saints have obtained from your bounty.

Indeed, among Your miracles is the inability to describe You, for enumeration cannot limit You. How can speech encompass Your vastness, and can the seas be drained? There is no limit to describing You that I seek, while speech has a limit and an end. Your favor over time and Your signs are, in what we count, brotherhood. I have not prolonged my speech in enumerating Your praise, though my aim is thoroughness. But I am thirsty for ecstasy, and a small drink does not quench me. So peace be upon you, repeatedly from God, by which He decrees for you recompense. And peace be upon you from yourself, for none other than You is worthy of giving you peace. Thus Gabriel, the Holy Spirit, boasts before the cherubim ²⁸⁹ of his companionship and company with you, and his descent with revelation upon your illuminated heart, and his visitation to your pure places and your city, and his sitting before you, to acquire from the gifts of your sciences and the secrets of your wisdom. One of the leading scholars asked one of the gnostics ²⁹⁰ about the words of the author of the Iḥyā' ²⁹¹ in the book of reflection, where he said that our master Gabriel is more knowledgeable than the master of the first and the last. He answered, may God be pleased with him, saying: "If our master Gabriel lived a hundred thousand years upon a hundred thousand years, ad infinitum, he would not attain a quarter of the Prophet's, peace and blessings be upon him, knowledge of his Lord, nor of his knowledge of Him. How can it be that our master Gabriel is more knowledgeable, when he was created from the light of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him? He and all the angels are part of his light, peace and blessings be upon him, all of them. All creatures derive knowledge from him, peace and blessings be upon him. The Beloved, peace and blessings be upon him, was with his Beloved, Mighty and Majestic, where there was no Gabriel. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, derived from his Lord, Exalted, at that time what befits the majesty of the Generous and His Glory with His Beloved, peace and blessings be upon him. Then, after a long period, the Exalted created from his noble light Gabriel and other angels, peace be upon them." Then he said, may God be pleased with him: "Gabriel and all the angels and all the saints ²⁹², masters of unveiling ²⁹³, even the jinn, know that our master Gabriel attained stations of knowledge and others through the blessing of his companionship with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, such that if our master Gabriel, peace be upon him, lived his entire life without accompanying the master of existence, peace and blessings be upon him, and strove to attain them and exerted effort and energy, he would not attain a single station. So the benefit he obtained from the Prophet is immense." And whoever is granted unveiling ²⁹⁴, then he said, may God be pleased with him: "Our master Gabriel was created only to serve the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and to be among the guardians of his noble self, peace and blessings be upon him, and as a companion for him, for he, peace and blessings be upon him, is the secret of God in this existence, and all existents derive from him, so they need to witness him. His noble self was created from dust like the selves of the children of Adam, so it only finds familiarity with what resembles it. When it witnesses what does not resemble it, Gabriel, peace be upon him, keeps it company." Then he mentioned, may God be pleased with him, that the forms of the angels overwhelm this self and astonish it, because they are in a form unknown, with many hands, feet, heads, and faces, and of immense vastness, filling the space between east and west. Only those upon whom unveiling is bestowed know this. Thus our master Gabriel was a companion for the noble earthly self in such matters. As for his noble spirit, peace and blessings be upon him, it does not fear any of these forms or others, for it knows all. It was said to him: "Why was the noble spirit not sufficient for companionship?" He said, may God be pleased with him: "The self does not witness it separately from itself, and oneness belongs to God alone; none can endure it continuously except His Essence, Exalted. Others are pairs that love the pair and incline to it." Then he said, may God be pleased with him: "Our master Gabriel was a companion only in what his self could bear and know, which is beneath the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary ²⁹⁵. As for beyond that, of the seventy veils and the angels therein, he was not a companion in that, because he, i.e., our master Gabriel, cannot bear witnessing what is above the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary due to the intensity of the lights. Therefore, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, went alone to traverse those veils, and Gabriel did not go with him. He asked him to go with him, but he said, 'I cannot bear it; only you can, whom God has strengthened for it.'" End. And you pierce the seven heavens with them, until you leave no trace for any competitor. You preserved every station by relation, so that you might attain union with a hidden one from eyes and a secret concealed. Thus you attained every glory without partner, and exalted is the rank of what you were given of stations, and you traversed every station without crowding. Mighty is the attainment of what you were given of blessings.

I said: Among what supports and strengthens this statement is the hadith of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), where he said: One day, while we were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), a man appeared with extremely white garments and extremely black hair, with no trace of travel visible upon him, and none of us recognized him, until he sat before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), pressed his knees against his knees, placed his palms on his thighs, and said: O Muhammad, inform me about Islam. He said: That you bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish prayer, give zakah, fast Ramadan, and perform pilgrimage to the House if you are able to find a way. He said: You have spoken truthfully. So we were amazed at him—how he asks him and then affirms him. He said: Then inform me about faith—to the end of the well-known hadith. And in the sitting of the Master Jibril (peace be upon him) before him (peace and blessings be upon him) and his questioning of him like a learner with a teacher, and his affirmation of him thereafter, out of reverence for his majesty (peace and blessings be upon him)—since he came to him, comporting himself with his etiquette, and standing as a questioner stands at his door—how could that be, when He created him at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, and he reached a Presence that has no boundary, and sat where there is no "where" upon (123) the carpet of "two bow-lengths" (qāba qawsayn), and learned from the Teacher, so He revealed to His servant what He revealed? When he departed from the station of "or nearer" (aw adnā), my Lord perfected my interpretation. The foremost of the Trustworthy Spirit (ar-Rūḥ al-Amīn) met him, standing at a door which, had he advanced a finger's breadth, he would have been burned. So he called out to him with the humility of questioning and gentleness in speech: O Muhammad, I thought that I knew Allah before you, and that I was equal to you in rank. But now I have recognized your worth from my worth, and my excuse is to you and to Allah. So you are, in truth, the foremost, and here I am before you as a learner. Inform me: what is Islam? Inform me: what is faith? Inform me: what is excellence (iḥsān)? So Jibril is, in truth, the ancient root of this community, in the school of learning from the Prophet of Mercy (peace and blessings be upon him and his family and his Companions, supported by the light of success and the secrets of wisdom). End of quote. It also became apparent to me another interpretation of this verse, which is: "And We sent not before you any messenger or prophet except that when he wished" (wa mā arsalnā min qablika min rasūlin wa lā nabiyyin illā idhā tamannā)—that he might witness with the eye of his insight what shines upon the mirror of his secret from the lofty sciences of the Essence and the secrets of holy descents—Satan cast into his wish what contradicts that, from the accidents of human natures, the incitements of temporal matters, and the desires of the soul. Then Allah abrogates what Satan casts (124) of that, to strengthen their faith in what they sought from the gifts of beneficent manifestations, the subtleties of solitary secrets, and the meanings of the sciences of the Furqanic revelation. Then Allah establishes His verses which He inscribed upon the tablets of their knowledges and gnostic experiences, and which He confirmed in the sources of their unveilings, inspirations, and receptions. And Allah is All-Knowing of what brings them to knowledge of Him and what He discloses to them of the secrets of His wisdom, All-Wise in what guides them to witnessing His grace, and grants them success in hearing His words and sitting upon the carpet of His Presence. So if Satan found a way to them, he would interpose between them and what they wished for themselves, and he would lead them astray until they made them traverse the paths of error and misguidance, and those who followed them would be guided to the ways of doubts and deceptions, and he would distance him from the Presence of his Master, Possessor of Might and Majesty, and would make permissible for him what was forbidden to him from the incitements of disbelief, transgression, and following Satan in words and deeds. And how could that be, when our Master has said concerning them: "Indeed, over My servants, you have no authority" (inna ‘ibādī laysa laka ‘alayhim sulṭān)—the verse. And He also said, upon the tongue of Satan and his oath by His Might: "By Your might, I will surely mislead them all, except Your chosen servants among them" (fa bi-‘izzatika la-ughwiyannahum ajma‘īna illā ‘ibādaka minhum al-mukhlaṣīn)—that is, those who are sincere to You in their worship, and who have directed their focus solely to You through their faith (125) and purified their belief, and who have complied with Your command in all that You have commanded them in all their states, and who have observed You in all that You have enjoined upon them, because You are the ultimate goal of their intention and desire. Some of the exegetes (mufassirūn) said: From this meaning, the Accursed one erred in his claim of pure servitude and knowledge of Oneness and the separation of the Eternal from the temporal, because he thought that pure servitude is the form of prostration and bowing, and he did not know that following the command of one's Master, in whatever manner He commands, is pure servitude, and his sincerity is to follow the command of his Worshipped One, even if He commanded him, for example, to tie a belt. Then he may tie a thousand belts around his waist, because the true lover takes the command of his Beloved and does not oppose Him in all His desire, even if he is compassionate toward his Beloved, he makes his worship sincere to Him. So if he rejects His word and disputes His will, he has no compassion for Him. Would that the Accursed one had observed, in the place of the command, the majesty of the command, because Adam was the qibla of the outward, like the Ka‘ba, and prostration occurs only in the witnessing-places of Lordship, because Allah Almighty is its sole worthy recipient. And the station of command is the station of trial. The Accursed one thought that he was firm in his tawḥīd (Oneness) when he did not prostrate to other than Him, but there is no "other" there, because in the reality of the essence of union (ayn al-jam‘), there is none but Him. Had his vision been correct, he would not have paid attention to intermediaries, because in the essence of union, the proof and the proven are one in terms of reality, not in terms of (126) forms. So the Accursed one remained ignorant of the knowledge of the essence of union. He also erred in his separation from the temporal, because he was veiled by two views: he looked at Adam and he looked at himself. As for his view of Adam, it is his saying: "I was not to prostrate to a human whom You created from clay" (lam akun li-asjuda li-basharin khalaqtahu min ṣalṣāl). And as for his view of himself, it is his saying: "I am better than him" (anā khayrun minhu). Had his state been correct in his view of the essence of Oneness, the sight of the "other" in between would have fallen away from him. But he thought that he was knowledgeable of Allah and had reached the essence of reality, and he did not know that he had only reached the lowest of stations. Had he been in the place of verification (taḥqīq), the Truth would not have relegated him to the service of a temporal being among temporal things, and the Truth would have recognized him, because he was not even a beginner among the people of will (irāda) in the first degrees of servitude. Had he been truthful in his will, he would have eaten the dust of Adam's foot, because the aspirant (murīd) is yearning and distracted by his will and love for his exemplar. But what benefit would that have been to him, when he was a "willer" (murīd) not an "aspirant" (murīd)? For he was self-conceited, looking to himself. And whoever looks to himself in his will and worship, denial of his spiritual masters (mashāyikh) in his time befalls him, and he falls from the eye of the Truth and the eyes of His chosen ones into the abyss of leadership and misguidance. We seek refuge in Allah from turning back after having turned, from misguidance after guidance, and from hypocrisy after sincerity. Do you not see how his state will be forever (127), since he did not know the place of nearness from the place of distance, and how he wanders and is confounded in the valley of curse and expulsion, by His saying: "He said: Then get out of it, for you are accursed. And indeed, upon you is the curse until the Day of Judgment" (qāla fa-khruj minhā fa-innaka rajīm wa inna ‘alayka al-la‘nata ilā yawmi ad-dīn). End of quote. I love You with two loves: the love of passion, And a love because You are worthy of that. As for that which is the love of passion, It is remembrance with which I am occupied, to the exclusion of other than You. And as for that which You are worthy of, It is Your unveiling of the veils, until I see You. So praise is not mine in this or that, But to You belongs praise in this and that.

And I said concerning that, by way of allusion and what the apparent wording and expression required in this meaning: Indeed, when this accursed one heard the words of the Exalted: "So get out of it, for you are accursed ²⁹⁶. And indeed, upon you is the curse until the Day of Judgment" ²⁹⁷—the verse—he began to apologize with the humility of his servitude, to draw near with the tongue of his belovedness, to swear by the greatness of Lordship and the might of the majesty of Supreme Grandeur, and to say: "So by Your might, I will surely mislead them all, except Your chosen servants among them" ²⁹⁸. And he did not utter the word of truth in acknowledging his opposition, nor did he follow the paths of sincerity in failing to comply with the command of his Master and His obedience, nor did he submit to the matter of the decree, nor did he speak in what was uttered with justice and equity, while in himself there was enmity, hatred, persistence against the truth, violation, opposition to the command of his Master, and rejection. Had that apology from him been genuine, he would not have turned anyone away from the paths of truth and the way, nor would he have disputed the command of his Master by failing to comply with prostrating to Adam, the noble in creation and nature, because the prostration for compliance with God's command was for Adam in reality, and in his opposition to that there was a departure from the paths of the divine laws and the principles of the way. And the wrongdoer did not see what the great angels saw of the light of truth shining upon the face of Adam, lofty in rank and station, because God had distanced him—a creature from the world of force, veiled by the intrigue of envy and pride, and the garment of vanity, ostentation, and boasting—from seeing the beauty of the truth radiating upon the face of Adam, peace be upon him. Had he seen that, he would not have refrained from prostrating to him along with the noble angels. But the word of God the Exalted was fulfilled against him: "Except Iblis; he refused to be with those who prostrated" ²⁹⁹. And one of the gnostics said: The angels saw of Adam only his noble form and his person, and they did not witness what his Master honored him with beyond that and singled him out for, such as the addition of the spirit to him, the special creation of his form, the perfection of his proportioning, the teaching of the names, the supervision over the unseen. Had they witnessed those attributes granted to him from the carpet of the Divine Presence, they would have prostrated to him a thousand thousand times at every moment, and they would have recited: "If they heard as I heard her speech, they would fall down in humility, bowing and prostrating." And al-Wasiti said: The distinction between Adam and all other things is the proportioning of creation and the special addition, and by that the human being was singled out over others and honored, drew near to God and knew, became capable of His love and affirmed and acknowledged, was adorned with His creation and thus acquired virtuous traits and attributes, and learned through knowledge of His attributes and names and thus became refined and disciplined. So it was by Him that it spoke, and by His indication that it understood. This is the interpretation of His words: "So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My spirit" ³⁰⁰. End quote. And Abu Uthman said: God opened the eyes of the angels to the special qualities of Adam and blinded the eye of Iblis to that. So the angels returned to apology, while Iblis stood on the path of argument and denial with his words: "I am better than him" ³⁰¹—the verse. And Abu al-Husayn said: The angels looked at the spirit and at what Adam was singled out for of closeness and honor, so they submitted to His command and prostrated to him. But Iblis refused and was arrogant, because he was in his worship in a worse state than that, and because he never worshipped God; rather, he worshipped his own self and his desire. Then God the Exalted changed Iblis when he did not prostrate to him—that is, to Adam—with the angels, by His words: "O Iblis, what is the matter with you that you are not with those who prostrate?" ³⁰² That is, what is the matter with you that you are not among those who witness My witnessing by the attribute of the unveiling of My beauty and majesty, despite your claim to knowledge of Me and your servitude? For servitude is among the necessities of knowledge, and knowledge of Lordship requires that you see Me by the attribute of Lordship in servitude, and that you know Me through My command and what lies beyond My command of the secrets of My knowledge and My manifestation in the garment of My power. Then He informed of his response and his audacity in speaking in the presence of the Eternal and equating his own pride with the eternal pride, by his words: "Did I not [refrain] from prostrating to a human whom You created from clay, from molded mud?" ³⁰³—the verse. So the Truth translated him with the stones of force from the place of gentleness, because he was in it as a loan, and He singled him out for the curse until the Day of Judgment. Thus he was accursed in pre-eternity. And by His words "until the Day of Judgment" He meant that the curse is two: an ancient curse and a new curse, and Iblis was described by both. The ancient curse preceded God's will to distance him from His mercy, and that never changes because the ancient is the eternal, and that will is subsistent with Him. The new curse is an increase of forcefulness, in that He gave the reins of the disobedient into his hand so that he might do with them as he wills by God's permission. And his arrogance against His obedience, his commission of disobedience, and his misleading of His servants—that is the new curse, which is an increase of distance, and that ceases on the Day of Judgment when worship and disobedience are lifted. So he will be described by what he was described by in ancient knowledge forever. Oh, would that he were a man among men, seeking the truth in the valleys of His force so that He might show him things of the wonders of Lordship, as He shows the men from the mines of His gentleness! But how can I say that to him, when he is among the beasts of the stable, walking behind little girls, boys, and ignoramuses, and doing as they do, due to the baseness of his nature and the abundance of his ignorance? He seeks company from every solitary thing and is solitary from every sociable thing. This is not among the attributes of men. Then know that this devil has snares and traps by which he hunts the hearts of the people of passions, desires, and corrupt opinions, and the masters of false claims, and those immersed in forbidden foods, drinks, and dubious sustenance. Among them are those for whom he lies in wait at the sources of misery and abandonment; among them are those for whom he lies in wait on the paths of disbelief, immorality, and disobedience; among them are those for whom he lies in wait in the seas of oppression, misguidance, and tyranny; among them are those for whom he lies in wait in the assemblies of sleep, heedlessness, and delirium; among them are those for whom he lies in wait in the arenas of evil beliefs and lack of modesty before God in secret and in public; among them are those whom he makes love this transitory world and its ornaments and pleasures and sweetness until he makes them forget the remembrance of their Master, the Sovereign, the Judge; among them are those whom he buries in its graves and lets down upon them the curtains of its veils and covers, and prays over them the funeral prayer, and their intellect does not return to them until they meet God while He is angry with them. "Satan has overcome them and made them forget the remembrance of God. Those are the party of Satan. Indeed, the party of Satan are the losers" ³⁰⁴. Among them are those whom he casts into the seas of anger and impurity; among them are those whom he clothes in the garments of illusion, doubt, and confusion; among them are those whose eyes he lines with the kohl of blindness, veiling, and obliteration; among them are those into whose ears he casts disturbing words, both audible and whispered; among them are those whom he makes to fall into the traps of the world and its adornments, and the love of leadership and status, and the pursuit of praise and fame, and the desire for precedence and superiority, and the love of comfort and ease, and the avoidance of hardship and difficulty, and the preference for this world over the Hereafter, and the neglect of preparation for death and what comes after it. And among them are those whom he makes to fall into the traps of the soul and its desires, and the traps of Satan and his whispers, and the traps of the world and its deceptions, and the traps of people and their evils. So beware, O seeker of the truth, of these traps, and seek refuge in God from the accursed Satan, and hold fast to the rope of God, and follow the path of the righteous, and be among the successful.

And among them is one whom he distracts with the pleasures of women from that which would bring him to the wide-eyed houris (al-ḥūr al-ʿīn) and the untouched maidens (al-jawārī al-lums). And among them is one whom he covers with the garments of his deceit from the dawn prayer until the sun rises. And among them is one who brings him amusement during the days of his wedding feast until his wife becomes averse to him, and her days turn upon him with calamity, ill omen, and misfortune. And among them is one who deceives him until he sells his Hereafter for his worldly life, a sale of disgrace for a paltry price. And among them is one who attends for him in gatherings of recitation and study, and casts into his exhortations that which distracts people from what benefits them of righteous deeds at the time of entering the bath and the arrival of the grave. And in the hadith, it is reported in *al-Zuhd* from Ibn Masʿūd, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "Indeed, Satan lay in wait for the people of a gathering to tempt them, but he could not cause division among them. So he came to a circle where they were mentioning the world, and he stirred up discord among them until they dispersed. Then the people of remembrance arose and intervened between them, and they separated." End. And among them is one who makes easy for him the path of attainment and connection, and encourages him in seclusion and solitude until he abandons his family to ruin and flees to retreats and mountain peaks. And among them is one who teaches him the arts of disputation and argumentation until he silences with his flimsy proofs the champions of eloquence and the skilled masters of debate and contention. And among them is one who feeds him with the station of the people of intimacy and boldness, so he wastes his life in "perhaps" and "maybe," without attaining those hopes. And among them is one who clothes him in the robes of tricks and stratagems until he appears to people contrary to what he conceals of the kinds of deceit, error, and misguidance. And among them is one who afflicts him with the disease of madness and derangement until his state becomes corrupt, and he cannot distinguish in what issues from him of ugly words and vile deeds. And among them is one who says to him: "Be lenient with yourself, for you have attained the stations of the mighty men among people, and do not tire yourself, for what is decreed for you will reach you while you are sleeping with your family, children, and dependents." And among them is one who seduces him into committing ecstatic utterances and spiritual raptures and the changing of states, and when he has gained mastery over him, he disavows him and says: "You are among the people of the Fire and the brother of the Antichrist (al-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl)." And among them is one who accompanies him in his coming and going and his transitions, leading him to the middle of the path and the abodes of calamity, torment, disgrace, and punishment. And among them is one who prompts him with goodly speech in the station of supplication, humility, and entreaty, and when he has seized him, he says: "Do as you wish, for you have been forgiven, and I am your Lord, the Great, the Exalted." And among them is one who attends to him at the departure of the soul and the trial of the questioning, and says to him: "Do not bear witness to Allah's Oneness nor to the Messengers' message, and I will suffice you against the evil of that day of great quakes and terrors." And among them is one who confronts him when the breezes of pardon and safety blow from the Possessor of Might and Majesty, and casts into his ear from wishful thoughts that which leads him to the encompassing of fires of great heat and blaze. And among them is one who stands before him at the very sources of mercies, the manifestations of inspirations and receptions, and the hearing of the address from the Lord of the earths and heavens, so he seeks refuge in Allah from him, and the angels drive him away with piercing meteors, and he returns with the snares of his tricks around his neck, and his calamity returns upon him, fettered in the chains of shackles and fetters. And among them is one who encourages him to marry, and when he finds nothing to spend, he commands him to stand at the doors of the creation and makes him taste the bitterness of losing face and the humiliation of begging. And among them is one who stands at his door at dawn and dusk, and when he finds him unable to make up for missed obligations and fulfill liabilities before him, he sets it before his eyes and says: "Sit, this is your station where He has placed you; do not rise from it until the Majestic One says: 'These are for Paradise, and I care not, and these are for the Fire, and I care not.'" And among them is one who says to him: "I am your Lord, so do as you wish, for I have made lawful for you the forbidden things and have released for you the restraints of prohibitions." And a similar statement was made to Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī at his beginning. He said to him: "O ʿAbd al-Qādir, I am Allah, and I have made lawful for you the forbidden things, so do as you wish." So he said to him: "You have lied; indeed, you are Satan." When he was asked about that and it was said to him: "How did you know that it was Satan?" He said: "By the saying of Allah, Exalted and Majestic: 'Say, indeed Allah does not command immorality.' So when he commanded me with this, I knew that he was Satan, intending to lead me astray." End. I say: And among his feeble, counterfeit tales and his jesting, paired with his vile, amusing joke, embellished with his hideous sayings and ornate lies, is what one I trust among the people of religion narrated to us: that he used to recite in our time the *ḥizb* of Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī, may Allah be pleased with him, persevering in its recitation every day as part of his litanies. And when he reached the saying of the Shaykh, may Allah be pleased with him, "and the likeness of Iblis, the head of the misleaders," he would repeat it. Then when he slept one night, Iblis came to him in the form of an ugly-looking shaykh and said to him: "You keep repeating 'Iblis, the head of the misleaders,' and yet you admire your state, thinking that you will attain your desire thereby, while you are not..."

You will not attain it by that, but if you want to attain your goal, then leave that aside and roll up your sleeves ³⁰⁵ and apply yourself, and you will attain your goal. The first thing you attain of your goal is that I give you a bag filled with dirhams. When he took the bag from him and put his hand into it to take the dirhams, he woke up from his sleep and found his hand in his anus. End. And among that also is another story that someone told me orally, saying: I was neglecting the five prayers. When Friday came and I heard the call to prayer, I performed ablution and said, 'I will go to pray the Friday prayer.' When I went to pray, a man met me on the road and said to me, 'Where are you going?' I said, 'To pray the Friday prayer.' He said to me, 'When you were not praying, goodness was flowing upon you, and now that you intend to pray, see what flows upon you. Go back to your place, for the Friday prayer has passed you by.' He said: I suspected his words and went to the mosque, and found that the people had not yet prayed the Friday prayer. So I knew that it was Satan. End. These are the stories that came to my mind. Then know that this Satan, may God curse him, has manifestations ³⁰⁶ and varieties, and instruments by which he aids himself against creatures, and devils and offspring. In the hadith: Ibn Abi al-Dunya narrated from Mujahid who said: 'Indeed, Iblis has five of his offspring, each of whom he has placed over something: Thabr, al-A'war ³⁰⁷, Taswit, Wasim, and Zalanbur. As for Thabr, he is the one in charge of calamities, who commands wailing, tearing of garments, striking of cheeks, and the calls of Jahiliyyah ³⁰⁸. As for al-A'war, he is the one in charge of fornication, commanding it and beautifying it. As for Taswit, he is the one in charge of lies, who hears a man's report and informs him of the news, then the man goes to the people and says, 'I saw a man whose face I recognize but I do not know his name; he told me such-and-such.' As for Wasim, he is the one who enters with a man to his family, showing him faults in them and angering him against them. As for Zalanbur, he is the one in charge of the marketplace, who plants his banner in the marketplace.' End. As for his manifestations, they are according to the number of God's Most Beautiful Names ³⁰⁹, and he has varieties in those manifestations whose number cannot be counted, and it would take too long to fully explain all of them. So let us limit ourselves to seven manifestations, which are the mothers ³¹⁰ of all those manifestations, just as the seven psychic ³¹¹ of God's names are the mothers of all His Most Beautiful Names: The first manifestation is this world and what it is built upon, such as the stars, the elements ³¹², and so on. His appearance to the polytheists in this world and what it is built upon, such as the elements, the spheres ³¹³, and the climes ³¹⁴; he appears through these manifestations to the disbelievers and polytheists, and leads them astray first by the adornment ³¹⁵ of this world and its embellishments until he takes away their minds and blinds their hearts. Then he guides them to the secrets of the stars and the principles of the elements and the like, and says to them: 'These are the effective agents in existence.' So they worship the angels ³¹⁶ when they see the correctness of the judgments of the stars and when they witness the warming of the sun with its heat for the bodies of existence and when they observe the descent of rain according to the risings and settings. Thus no thought occurs to them about the lordship of the stars. When these principles have taken hold of them, he leaves them like cattle, hearing only about food and drink, and they do not believe in resurrection or anything else. So they kill one another and plunder one another, having drowned in the seas of the darkness of natures ³¹⁷, and there is no salvation for them ever. Similarly, he does with the people of the elements, saying to them through those commanded: 'The body is composed of substance, and substance is composed of heat, cold, moisture, and dryness. These are the gods upon which existence is based, and they are the effective agents in the world.' Then he does with them as he did with the first. Likewise, the fire-worshippers, for they say to them: 'Do you not see that existence is divided between darkness and light? Darkness is a god called Ahriman ³¹⁸, and light is a god called Yazdan ³¹⁹, and fire is the origin of light.' So they worship it, then he does with them as he did with the first. This is his action with all polytheists. The second manifestation ³²⁰ is nature, desires, and pleasures. He appears in it to the common Muslims and leads them astray first by love of lustful matters and desire for animal pleasures, as required by his dark nature, until he leads them astray. Then he shows them this world and tells them that these desired things are only obtained through this world, so they become engrossed in love of it and become reckless in seeking it. When he has done this to them, he leaves them, for after this he needs no further treatment; they have become his followers, not disobeying him in anything he commands them, due to the conjunction of ignorance with love of this world. If he commanded them to disbelieve, they would disbelieve. Then doubt and whispering enter into them concerning the unseen matters that God has informed about, and he causes them to fall into union ³²¹, and the matter is complete. End.

The third manifestation appears in the deeds of the righteous, beautifying what they do to instill self-admiration in them. When self-admiration enters their souls, he deludes them about their state, so they accept no advice from a scholar. When they reach this level, he says to them: 'It suffices that if others did a tenth of what you do, they would be saved. So reduce your deeds.' They then take to rest and become self-important. These things then cause them, along with the little they had, to develop bad character and suspicion of others, so they move to backbiting. Perhaps he ³²² brings sins upon them one after another and says: 'Do as you wish, for Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Allah will not punish anyone. Allah is shy of an old man. Allah is Generous, and far be it from the Generous to call His servant to account.' He thus moves them from the righteousness they were upon to wickedness. Then calamity befalls them—and we seek refuge in Allah from that. End. The fourth manifestation: intentions and the superiority of deeds. He appears in it over the martyrs ³²³, corrupting their intentions so that their deeds become corrupt. While one of them is working for Allah, he inserts a devil into his mind, saying: 'Improve your work so that people may see you and perhaps follow you.' This is if he cannot make it ostentation and reputation, so that it is said: 'So-and-so is such-and-such.' He thus enters upon him from the direction of good. Then he comes to him while he is, for example, reciting the Qur'an, and says: 'Why not go on pilgrimage to the Sacred House of Allah and recite on your way whatever you wish, thus combining the rewards of pilgrimage and recitation?' He thus brings him out to the road, then says: 'Be like others; you are now a traveler, you are not required to recite.' So he abandons recitation, and due to its ill omen, he may miss the obligatory duties, may not reach the pilgrimage, may be distracted from all its rites by seeking sustenance, and this may cause him miserliness, bad character, and narrowness of heart. Many such examples exist. End. The fifth manifestation: knowledge. He appears in it over the scholars ³²⁴. The easiest thing for Iblis is to misguide through knowledge. It is said that he says: 'By Allah, a thousand scholars are easier for me than an illiterate person of strong faith, for I am perplexed in misleading him, unlike the scholar.' He says to him and argues with him using what the scholar knows to be true, so he follows him and is thereby misled. For example, he comes to him with knowledge in the context of his desire, saying: 'Contract this marriage according to the school of Dawud ³²⁵'—while he is a Hanafi—'or according to the school of Abu Hanifa without a guardian ³²⁶'—while he is a Shafi'i. When he does that and the wife demands the dowry, maintenance, and clothing, he says to him: 'Swear to her that you will give her such-and-such and do such-and-such for her, even if you have not done so, for it is permissible for a man to swear to his wife to please her, even if falsely.' When time passes and she takes him to the judge, he says: 'Deny that she is your wife, for this contract is invalid in your school, so she is not your wife, and you need not provide maintenance or anything else.' So he swears and goes on. Many such types exist, beyond enumeration, and there is no limit to them. None is safe from him except those whom the individual men ³²⁷ have returned. End. The sixth manifestation appears in habits and seeking comfort over the sincere seekers ³²⁸. He takes them from the darkness of nature through habit and seeking comfort, until he strips them of the power of self-control in seeking and the intensity of desire in will. When they lose that, they return to their selves, and he does with them what he does with others who have no will. Nothing is more feared for the seekers than seeking comfort and inclining to habits. The seventh manifestation: divine gnoses. He appears in it over the truthful ones ³²⁹, the saints ³³⁰, and the gnostics ³³¹—may Allah Almighty protect them. As for the intimate ones ³³², he has no way to them. The first thing he appears to them with is concerning the divine reality: 'Is it not that Allah is the reality of all existence, and you are part of existence? The Real is your reality.' They say: 'Yes.' He says: 'Why do you tire yourselves with these deeds that are the cause of these imitators?' So they abandon deeds. When they abandon righteous deeds, he says to them: 'Do as you wish, for Allah is your reality, so you are He, and He is not questioned about what He does.' So they commit fornication, steal, and drink wine, until that leads them to remove the noose of faith from their necks through heresy and atheism. Some of them profess union ³³³, and some claim individuation ³³⁴ in that. Then, when they are called to account and asked about the evil deeds they have done, he says to them: 'Deny and do not let yourselves be caught, for you have done nothing; the doer was only Allah, and you are not He in people's belief, and the oath is according to the intention of the one who administers it ³³⁵.' So they swear that they have done nothing. He may even whisper to them in the guise of the Real, saying to one of them: 'I am Allah, and I have made lawful for you the forbidden things; do as you wish, and do such-and-such of the prohibited things; there is no sin upon you.' So he does it. All this is not a mistake.

Unless it is Iblis ³³⁶ who appears to them, otherwise the Truth, glorified be He, has between Him and His servants a specificity and secrets greater than that. And for those who face Him, the Truth has signs known to its people, not denied. Things are only confused for those who have no knowledge of them, along with ignorance of the principles. Otherwise, such things are hardly hidden from those who have knowledge of the principles. End. This much suffices for explaining the matter of Iblis and his diversity in his manifestations. But if we were to explain his diversity in a single one of these seven manifestations completely, we would fill many volumes, as appears, for example, for the highest levels—which are the levels of the gnostics ³³⁷—let alone the lower ones. For he is able to appear to the lower with everything he appears to the higher, but not vice versa. So he comes to some gnostics and appears to them from the perspective of the Divine Name, sometimes from the perspective of the Attribute, sometimes from the perspective of the Essence, sometimes from the perspective of the Throne, sometimes from the perspective of the Footstool, sometimes from the perspective of the Tablet, sometimes from the perspective of the Pen, sometimes from the perspective of the Cloud ³³⁸, and sometimes from the perspective of Divinity. And he appears (144) to them in every instrumental manifestation and high attribute, so that the individual saints do not recognize him. When the saint recognizes him, what he intended to mislead him with becomes guidance for the gnostic, by which he draws near to the exalted Divine Presence. And thus he continues to do with the saint until the appointed term and the decreed matter arrives. Then the saint becomes realized in the Divine realities and moves within them by the authority of establishment ³³⁹, thereby cutting off Iblis's authority over him at that time on the Day of Judgment. For the Day of Judgment is nothing but the Resurrection, and when the gnostic has annihilated in Allah the third annihilation ³⁴⁰ and has been effaced and crushed, his minor resurrection has occurred—that is the Day of Judgment. Let us suffice with clarifying this matter, for there is no way to divulge this secret. Then know that all the devils are children of Iblis—upon him be curse. That is because when he gained mastery over the natural soul, he married the fire of lust to the heart in animal habits, and from that the devils were generated, just as evil is generated between fire and plants. They are his offspring and followers, who cross the heart with soul-inspired thoughts. Through them he misleads people, and they are the whispering insinuator ³⁴¹. This is their partnership with the children of Adam, as He said: "And share with them in wealth and children" (Quran 17:64). Among these, some are dominated by the fiery nature, so they are attached to the elemental spirits. And among them (145) some are dominated by the plant-animal nature, so they appear in the form of the children of Adam, and they are pure devils. That is His saying: "Devils of mankind and jinn" (Quran 6:112). These who appear in the form of the children of Adam are his cavalry, for they are stronger than the devils attached to the spirits. These are the origins of his trials in this world, and these are his branches, and they are his foot soldiers, concerning whom Allah said: "And summon against them your cavalry and foot soldiers" (Quran 17:64). The five specific ones among his children have been mentioned: Thabir, al-A'war, Maswit, Damis, and Zalanbur. Some imams have versified them: "Five are the children of Iblis the accursed, Said Mujahid, the preferred trustworthy. Thabir is the first of them, al-A'war, Maswit, Damis, Zalanbur. Thabir is at times of distressing calamities, Commanding wailing and tearing of garments. Al-A'war, the outcast, is the companion of fornication, Adorning it in the eyes of the vile. Maswit, his obsession is lying, Damis kindles the fire of anger In the heart of one who enters his family, Magnifying their faults in his eyes. The companion of the market is Zalanbur the accursed, Because of him they clash constantly. And added is the devil of prayer, Khanzab, And al-Walhan watches for ablution." As for his tools—may Allah curse him—the strongest is the intellect, which is like a sword for him, cutting with it. Then lust, which is like an arrow, hitting the fatal spot. Then leadership, which is like fortresses and citadels, by which he prevents his removal. Then ignorance, which is for him (146) like a mount, moving the ignorant wherever he wishes. Then proverbs, poetry, wines, amusements, and the like are for him like the rest of war tools. As for women, they are his deputies and snares; through them he does whatever he wishes. There is nothing among his numbers more effective than women. These are the tools with which he fights. He has many tools and seasons. Among his seasons is the night, places of suspicion, times of conflict, and the like. This much is sufficient for one who has a heart or gives ear while being witness. This wrongdoer continues to cast people into the darkness of doubts and confusion, and incites his followers and offspring against them. He is the one referred to in Allah's saying: "Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the God of mankind, from the evil of the whispering insinuator" (Quran 114:1-4), to the end of the sura. Al-Qadi Abu Ya'la said: "Al-waswas ³⁴² may be a subtle speech perceived by the heart, and it is possible that it is what occurs during thought, and it involves the entry and movement into the parts of the human being, contrary to some theologians who deny the devil's entry into human bodies, claiming that two spirits cannot exist in one body." Evidence for this is His saying: "Who whispers in the breasts of mankind" (Quran 114:5), and his saying, peace be upon him: "Indeed, the devil flows through the son of Adam like the flow of blood" (Bukhari and Muslim), and "I feared that he might cast something into their hearts" (Bukhari). Ibn 'Aqil said: "If it is asked how the whispering occurs from Iblis and how he reaches the heart, it is said: It is a subtle speech to which souls and natures incline. It has been said that he enters the body of the son of Adam because he is a subtle body, and he whispers in it, i.e., he generates evil thoughts." Abu Bakr ibn Abi Dawud narrated in condemnation of whispering from Mu'awiya ibn Abi Talha: "It was among the supplications of the Prophet, peace be upon him: 'O Allah, flood my heart with the whisperings of Your remembrance and drive away from me the whisperings of the devil.'" Ibn Abi Dawud narrated from Ibn 'Abbas regarding His saying "the whispering insinuator": "The example of the devil is like that of a weasel placing its mouth on the mouth of the heart, whispering to it. When Allah is remembered, he withdraws; when he is silent, he returns. So he is the whispering insinuator." Sa'id ibn Mansur and Ibn Abi Dawud narrated from 'Urwa ibn Abi Ruwaym that Jesus son of Mary called upon his Lord to show him the place of the devil in the son of Adam. So it was revealed to him, and behold, his head was like the head of a snake, placing his head on the core of the heart. When the servant remembers Allah, he withdraws his head; when he leaves remembrance, he returns.

He narrated to him and related to him. Ibn Abi al-Dunya in *Maka'id al-Shaytan* (The Tricks of Satan), Abu Ya'la, and al-Bayhaqi in *Shu'ab al-Iman* (The Branches of Faith) reported from Anas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who said: "Verily, Satan places his snout upon the heart of the son of Adam. If he remembers Allah, he withdraws, and if he forgets Allah, he swallows his heart." Al-Suhayli mentioned from 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz that a man asked his Lord to show him the place of Satan within him. He was shown a body that was transparent, with its interior visible from the outside, and Satan in the form of a frog at the hollow of his shoulder, opposite his heart, having a proboscis like the proboscis of a mosquito, which he had inserted into his heart, whispering (waswasa). Al-Suhayli said: The Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) seal was placed at the hollow of his shoulder because he was protected from Satan's whispering, and that place is where Satan whispers to the son of Adam. End quote. Ibn Abi al-Dunya reported from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir who said: "Verily, whispering (al-waswas) has a door in the chest of the son of Adam from which it whispers." Ibn Abi al-Dunya reported from Abu al-Jawza' who said: "Verily, Satan clings to the heart such that its owner cannot remember Allah. Do you not see them in their gatherings and markets? A whole day passes over one of them without him remembering Allah except when swearing an oath. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, there is no expulsion of him from the heart except the saying 'La ilaha illa Allah' (There is no god but Allah)." Then he recited: "And when you mention your Lord alone in the Qur'an, they turn back in aversion." (Qur'an 17:46) Ibn Abi al-Dunya and Abu Nu'aym reported from 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar who said: "Verily, Iblis is bound in the lowest earth. When he stirs, every evil that occurs between two or more on the face of the earth is from his stirring." Ibn Abi Dawud reported from Jabir ibn 'Abdullah, from his father, who said: "I used to experience severe whispering (waswasa). So I asked al-'Ala' ibn Ziyad, and he said: 'O son of my brother, the example of that is like thieves passing by a house. If there is good in it, they take it; and if there is no good in it, they pass by it.'" Ahmad reported from 'A'ishah who said: "They complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about what they experienced of whispering (waswasa). He said: 'That is pure faith.'" Al-Bazzar reported from 'Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn 'Asim that the people asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about the whispering (waswasa) that one of them experiences, such that falling from the Pleiades would be more beloved to him than speaking it. He said: "That is clear faith. And verily, Satan comes to the servant regarding what has been mentioned. When he is protected from it, he falls into that which is there." Abu Dawud and al-Nasa'i reported from Ibn 'Abbas that a man said: "O Messenger of Allah, one of us finds within himself something that presents itself." He said: "Praise be to Allah, Who has turned his plot back to whispering." End quote. Among that also is the *qarin* (companion), which is that for every human, Allah has appointed a companion from the devils who whispers to him in the apparent and the hidden and in all places. In the hadith, Muslim reported from 'A'ishah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left her side one night. She said: "I felt jealous of him. He came and saw me and said: 'Has your devil come to you?' I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, do I have a devil with me?' He said: 'Yes, but my Lord helped me against him until he submitted.'" Muslim reported from Ibn Mas'ud who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'There is none among you except that his companion from the jinn and his companion from the angels have been appointed over him.' They said: 'Even you, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Even me, except that Allah helped me against him, so he submitted, and he commands me only to good.'" Ibn Hibban and al-Tabarani reported from Sharik ibn Tariq who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'There is none among you except that he has a devil.' They said: 'Even you, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Even me, but Allah helped me against him, so he submitted.'" Abu Nu'aym in *al-Dala'il* reported from Ibn 'Umar who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'I was favored over my nation by two traits: my devil was a disbeliever, and Allah helped me against him until he submitted, and my wives were a help to me; while Adam's devil was a disbeliever, and his wife was a help to him in his sin.'" This is clear regarding the submission of his *qarin*, so it is specific to that. Al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasa'i reported from Ibn Mas'ud who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Verily, Satan has a touch (*lammah*) upon the son of Adam, and the angel has a touch. As for Satan's touch, it is a promise of evil and a denial of truth. As for the angel's touch, it is a promise of good and a confirmation of truth. Whoever finds that, let him know that it is from Allah the Exalted, and let him praise Allah. And whoever finds the other, let him seek refuge with Allah from Satan.' Then he recited: 'Satan promises you poverty and commands you to immorality.'" (Qur'an 2:268) The verse. Ahmad and Ibn Abi al-Dunya reported from Abu Hurayrah who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Verily, the believer exhausts his devil just as one of you exhausts his camel on a journey.'" Ibn Abi al-Dunya reported from Ibn Mas'ud who said: "The devil of the believer is emaciated." Ibn Abi al-Dunya reported from Qays ibn al-Hajjaj who said: "My devil said: 'I entered into you when I was like a puppy, and today I am like a sparrow.' I said: 'Why is that?' He said: 'You have melted me with the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.'" Ahmad in *al-Zuhd* reported from Wahb ibn Munabbih: "There is no one among the children of Adam except that he has a devil appointed over him. As for the disbeliever, he eats with him from his food, drinks with him from his drink, and sleeps with him on his bed. As for the believer, he keeps away from him, waiting for when he might catch him in a moment of heedlessness or negligence, then he pounces upon him. And the most beloved of the children of Adam to Satan are the gluttonous and the sleepy." 'Abd al-Razzaq and Ibn al-Mundhir reported from Sa'id al-Jariri regarding the saying of the Exalted: "And whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful, We appoint for him a devil, and he is to him a companion." (Qur'an 43:36) He said: "It has reached us that when the disbeliever is raised from his grave on the Day of Resurrection, a devil will cling to his hand and will not leave him until Allah sends them both to the Fire. That is when he says: 'Between me and you is the distance of the two easts, and what an evil companion!' As for the believer, an angel is appointed over him until judgment is passed among the people and he enters Paradise." End quote. Some of the knowers (*'arifin*) said regarding the saying of the Exalted: "Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind" (Qur'an 114:1): Allah commanded His beloved to seek refuge with Him and explained that He is the Nurturer of mankind and the Adorner of Adam and his progeny with the adornment of the lights of His attributes. "The King of mankind" (Qur'an 114:2): meaning that He gave them knowledge of Him and possessed their hearts with the beauty of witnessing Him. "The God of mankind" (Qur'an 114:3): where He turned their spirits with the radiance of His holiness in the gardens of His intimacy. "From the evil of the whisperer" (Qur'an 114:4): Know that whispering (*waswasa*) has levels: the first is the promptings (*hawajis*) of the commanding soul (*al-nafs al-ammarah*); the second is the whispering of Satan; the third is the whispering of the troops of compulsion (*junud al-qahriyyat*). The places of these whisperings are the chest (*al-sadr*), because the heart (*al-qalb*) is the place of intellect, spirit, the subtle essence (*al-latifah*), manifestation (*al-tajalli*), address (*al-khitab*), and witnessing (*al-mushahadah*), and it is preserved by the care of the Truth. As for the whispering of the soul, it occurs in seeking desires and pleasures. As for the whispering of Satan, it occurs in disbelief, transgression, and innovations. As for the whispering of compulsion, it is the seed of the whispering of the soul and Satan, which the Truth casts into the ground of the chests to test His servants. And it is.

The jealousy of pre-eternity ³⁴³ prevented them through these whisperings from witnessing the All. When He wills, through His gentleness and their reaching Him, the veils of the beauty of His majesty are unveiled to their secrets, and He bestows upon the deserts of their hearts the north wind of His beauty, removing from their hearts and breasts the essence of whisperings and the darkness of passing thoughts. That is His saying: "The slinking whisperer who whispers into the breasts of mankind, from among the jinn and mankind" ³⁴⁴. Then He made clear that whispering comes from the devil sometimes without intermediary and sometimes with intermediary, when the accursed one is unable to whisper into his breast due to the predominance of the light of divine success, witnessing, purity of thought, and clarity of remembrance. He becomes jealous over him in his station, and some human devils attack him, calling him with their tongues to some desires, innovations, or whims, thus casting him into the veil. So God commanded His beloved to seek refuge in Him from the whispering of the devils of mankind and jinn, whom God described by His saying: "The devils of mankind and jinn inspire each other" ³⁴⁵. Beware, my companion, of these whisperings, and know their nature, origin, and branches. For whispering comes to you in all stations and in some spiritual states and conditions. You should know his plots, weapons, positions, and whisperings. Seek God's help in answering and treating it until you reach the station of witnessing the Truth through the Truth, and you become annihilated from your selfhood and its attributes, and you become illuminated by His light, sanctified by His holiness from every thought and accident. If you know the reality of what I have reminded you, you will become an imam for those who follow and a lamp for those who seek light. 'Amr al-Makki said: "Whispering comes from two sources: the self and the enemy. The whispering of the self concerns sins, and it whispers about all of them except two things: the self does not whisper about them: one is doubt, and the other is speaking about God without knowledge." ³⁴⁶ God said in describing the devil: "He only commands you to evil and indecency" ³⁴⁷. Yahya ibn Mu'adh said: "Whispering is the seed of the devil. If you do not give it land and water, his seed is wasted. If you give him land and water, he sows in it." He was asked: "What is the land and what is the water?" He said: "Satiety is his land, and sleep is his water." Yahya said: "Man is composed of body, spirit, heart, breast, core ³⁴⁸, and inner heart ³⁴⁹. The body is the sea of desires"—God Almighty said: "Indeed the soul commands to evil" ³⁵⁰—"the spirit is the sea of intimate conversation, the breast is the sea of whispering"—God Almighty said: "He whispers into the breasts of mankind" ³⁵¹—"the core is the sea of love"—God Almighty said: "He has filled her with love" ³⁵²—"the inner heart is the sea of vision"—God Almighty said: "The inner heart did not lie about what it saw" ³⁵³—"and the heart is the sea of action." Sahl said: "Whispering is the remembrance of natural disposition." He also said: "When the heart is occupied with God, whispering does not reach it at all." 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Makki said: "He whispers into the inner hearts of the common people and the hearts of the elite. If Iblis approached them, he would burn." The shaykh spoke truthfully, but in the secret of the secret, the unseen of the unseen, the light of light, the brilliance of brilliance, the gentleness of gentleness, the witnessing of witnessing, the nearness of nearness, the union of union, the permanence of permanence, and the vision of vision, the hearts of the knowers, lovers, unitarians, seekers, and believers are in the grasp of might, turning between the fingers of the attribute which is the lights of the eternities of eternities and the perpetuity of perpetuities, seeking union, knowledge, and the reality of reality ³⁵⁴, like moths around a candle, whose perfect longing is to burn in its fires. So too their hearts are burning there in the fires of majesty, annihilated in the overwhelming power of glory, remaining in the veils of beauty, protected from the stain of the veil, guarded from the onset of torment. How could the darkness of whispering, the passing thoughts of the self, and the inner speech penetrate them? Glory be to Him who purified them with attributes from every impurity, and absolved them through His holiness from every defect and necessity. Whispering is in the breasts and hearts, while immersion is in the presence, light, and joy. How can human movement reach one who is immersed in the seas of oneness? There is no harm if whisperings and passing thoughts occur to the breasts from the place of trial, for the spirits are in the right hand of the All-Merciful, and the hearts are between two fingers of the fingers of the All-Merciful. Praise be to God who relegated His command to whispering. Do you not see how the elite of the Companions complained about it to the Beloved of God and His chosen one? He said: "Praise be to God who relegated His command to whispering." They said: "We find in ourselves something that one of us considers too great to speak of." He said: "Have you found it?" They said: "Yes." He said: "That is clear faith." ³⁵⁵ Abu 'Amr and al-Bukhari said: "The origin and result of whispering come from ten things: first, greed—counter it with contentment and trust; second, hope—break it with the suddenness of death; third, enjoyment of worldly desires—counter it with the removal of blessing and the length of reckoning; fourth, envy—break it by seeing divine justice; fifth, affliction—break it with gratitude and lamentation; sixth, pride—break it with humility; seventh, belittling the sanctity of believers—break it by magnifying their sanctity; eighth, love of the world and praise from people—break it with sincerity; ninth, seeking elevation and high rank—break it with humility; tenth, withholding and miserliness—break it with generosity and munificence. Praise be to God with praise that has no end and no termination." Then the companion ³⁵⁶ is the one whom God appoints for whoever is heedless of the remembrance of God. He is referred to in His saying: "And whoever turns away from the remembrance of the All-Merciful, We appoint for him a devil, and he is to him a companion" ³⁵⁷. Some of the knowers said in its interpretation: "Whoever forgets God, abandons watchfulness of Him, does not feel shame before Him, and inclines to some share of his self, God appoints for him a devil who whispers to him in all his breaths and incites his self to seek its desires until he gains mastery over his intellect, knowledge, and eloquence." This is as the Commander of the Faithful, 'Ali (may God honor his face), said: "Desire and anger overcome intellect, knowledge, and eloquence." This is the recompense of one who turns away from following the Qur'an and following the...

of the Sunna. Sahl said: Allah the Exalted has decreed that He will not see the heart of a servant that inclines toward anything other than Him without turning away from him and empowering over him ³⁵⁸ Satan to lead him astray from the path of truth and to misguide him. Ibn 'Ata' said: Whoever does not persist in dhikr ³⁵⁹, then Satan is his companion; but whoever persists in it, Satan does not approach him at all. Al-Wasiti said: Whoever We turn his heart away from the admonitions of the Qur'an and veil him from it, We assign to him a Satan who accompanies him until he turns him away from the truth, and that is by Allah's permission and His abandonment. Allah the Exalted said: "And they are not harmful to anyone except by Allah's permission" ³⁶⁰. Ja'far said: Whoever makes the recognition of what Allah has bestowed upon him through His remembrance and does not give thanks for it, a Satan is assigned to him who does not leave him in all his actions and words. End. Peace, like the spreading of roses that the heavy rain has visited, ❖ revealing a fragrance surpassing musk when it clears, Upon your gathering from me, O best of communities, ❖ who have come to listen to dhikr, that they may bestow favor. Take from me the reins of love as a counsel, ❖ that grants, from the Bestower, praise that is pure. Upon you is the dhikr of Allah in every state, ❖ with the names of the Essence and attributes that are recited to Him. For the one of dhikr, the heart becomes illuminated, ❖ over all that pleases his Lord he prevails. And why not? Indeed, from the best of messengers came ❖ a hadith ³⁶¹ from ten sound ones that is dictated. So glad tidings that Allah remembers His servant, ❖ when the servant has followed the paths of remembrances. If the remembrance from him is hidden in the soul, ❖ then in His soul the Merciful remembers him constantly. And if the servant's remembrance is in a gathering, ❖ then the remembrance of the God of creation is in a higher gathering. So how do you see one whose Lord remembers him? ❖ Does he attain honor or fear humiliation? A station by which man's worth is magnified, ❖ a great station, how sublime and how sweet! So glory be to the Master, ever-bountiful, ❖ with His most excellent grace, so welcome, welcome! O Lord, grant us success to thank a blessing, ❖ whose souls have not considered small the giving. And make beloved to us the remembrances, that we may gain their merit, ❖ and beautify for us, from Your grace, speech and action. And send blessings upon the best of mankind, Muhammad, ❖ a messenger of great rank who outweighed the messengers. O Allah, I ask You by Your chosen Prophet and Your chosen Messenger and Your elect Beloved, Our master and lord Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that You not make my heart a pasture for Satan to graze in, nor my breast a garden for him to rest in, nor my tongue a tool for him to translate what he conceals in my innermost being of tricks and deceit, nor my intellect a place for his desires, so that he erases its light with the wind of his whim and extinguishes it, nor my body a garment for him to wear, so that he spreads it as he wishes in the field of heedlessness and folds it up, nor my physical form a playground for his pleasures, so that he makes it fall into what is not befitting with Allah and preoccupies it, and turns it away from the path of good until it finds no righteous deed to store up for the Hereafter and acquire. And protect me, O Allah, from the evil of his satanic whisperings and the thoughts of his soul's deceptions, so that he has no power over me in what he hides from me of his evil deeds or reveals. By Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, preserve me from the evil of trials, sensory and spiritual, and grant me well-being from all worldly and otherworldly afflictions, and rectify in me what is apparent and hidden of my affairs, prior and subsequent, and purify my heart from rancor and envy, and do not place upon me any liability for anyone. O Allah, illuminate my heart with knowledge, and employ my body in Your obedience, and free my innermost from trials, and occupy my thought with reflection, and protect me from the evil of Satan's whisperings, and grant me refuge from him, O Merciful, so that he has no power over me. O Allah, I ask You for the good of what You know, and I seek refuge in You from the evil of what You know, and I ask Your forgiveness for all that You know. Indeed, You know and we do not know, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, have mercy on me in this time of mine, and the trials, and the arrogance of the bold, and their belittling of me. O Allah, make me in a strong refuge with You and a fortified fortress from all Your creation, until You bring me to my end in well-being. O Allah, set me apart for what You created me for, and do not occupy me with what You have guaranteed for me, and do not deprive me while I ask You, and do not punish me while I seek Your forgiveness, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. May Allah bless our master Muhammad and his family and companions and grant them peace abundantly. Peace upon the people of repentance and guidance, * Peace upon the people of love and affection. Peace be upon you, you are the best of company, * who have come to listen to dhikr for the attainment of eternity. And the Lord of the worlds remembers our gathering, * to cut off time with praise and thanks. Come, let us wipe the edge of our hands, * and ask for Allah's grace in attaining the goal. And in erasing burdens whose weight the intellect bears, * because burdens, their bearer repels. So the judge of passion has burdened us with the weight of carrying them, * and passion prevails while intellect runs contrary. If intellects among us were to overcome passion, * they would be far from burdens. But a man's intellect is overturned by passion, * so it remains dull, neither benefiting nor finding. If a breeze of kindness blows from the side of gentleness, * it decrees the expulsion of passion in the realm of expulsion. And the affair of a man's intellect in the body is apparent, * a light from which the heart is freed from the darkness of opposition. O Hearer of whispered prayer, O Possessor of sublimity, * O Remover of affliction, O Support of the servant, I ask You by the Guide to You, Muhammad, * and Ta Ha, Ya Sin, the Hawamim ³⁶², and ar-Ra'd ³⁶³, Show kindness to me today with gentleness, for I, * by Your truth, from a state You know, am in hardship. And hardship is right for one like me, for I am disobedient, * and I have burdens, O Lord, such as I have. If forgiveness is from You, it is generosity, * otherwise, who am I to be dealt with by rejection? End of the ninth book of the number, which is generated from the meanings of the letters and the dot. It will be followed, Allah willing, by the tenth book of the number, and with it the books of the numbers of prayers from al-Dhakhira ³⁶⁴ are concluded. Authored by our master, the eminent Imam, Abu 'Abd Allah, our master al-Mu'ta ibn al-Imam al-'Arif bi-Allah ³⁶⁵, our master Muhammad al-Salih, may Allah illuminate his grave and grant him a spacious place in the Gardens, Amen. It was completed on Friday after the afternoon prayer, on the 22nd of the blessed Sha'ban of the year 1308 AH ³⁶⁶. The scribe is al-Mu'ta ibn al-Faqih al-Murabiti, may Allah forgive him, his parents, his teachers, and all Muslim men and women, believers, men and women, the living among them and the dead. O Allah, make the last of our speech at death: "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

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1. Ibn Hajar : A reference to the scholar Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (d. 1449), a famous hadith commentator.
2. al-Zulfa : A work or tradition; possibly a book or a term meaning 'nearness' or 'the place of nearness'.
3. the Holy House : Bayt al-Maqdis, i.e., the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
4. the Rock of Abraham : The Foundation Stone (al-Sakhrah) in the Dome of the Rock, associated with Abraham.
5. gnostics : ‘Ārifīn; those possessing ma‘rifa (gnosis), spiritual knowers of God.
6. Pole : Quṭb; the spiritual axis or highest saint in the Sufi hierarchy.
7. tawhid : The oneness of God; Islamic monotheism.
8. the highest assembly : Al-Mala’ al-A‘lā; the exalted assembly of angels and spiritual beings.
9. knowledge : Ma‘rifa; spiritual gnosis or direct knowledge of God.
10. hadith : Here meaning 'event' or 'account', not necessarily a prophetic tradition.
11. Iblis : The personal name of Satan in Islam; the devil who refused to prostrate to Adam.
12. jinn : A class of spiritual beings created from fire; here referring to a tribe of angels.
13. samum : A scorching wind or fire; a type of fire mentioned in the Quran.
14. al-Harith : An alternative name for Iblis before his fall, meaning 'the cultivator' or 'the one who plows'.
15. smokeless flame of fire : Mārij min nār; a flame of fire without smoke, as per Quran 55:15.
16. sticky clay : Ṭīn lāzib; a type of clay that is adhesive or viscous.
17. accursed devil : Shayṭān rajīm; a devil driven away from God's mercy.
18. Muhammadan soul : Al-Nafs al-Muḥammadiyya; the spiritual reality of Prophet Muhammad, considered the first creation.
19. 'Azazil : The original name of Iblis before his disobedience, meaning 'the beloved of God' or 'the strong one'.
20. confusion : Talbīs; a play on words: Iblis is derived from the root l-b-s meaning 'to confuse' or 'to clothe'.
21. kunya : A teknonym; an honorific name indicating 'father of' or 'mother of'.
22. Abu Murra : Iblis's kunya, meaning 'father of bitterness' or 'father of gall'.
23. al-Nur : An angel named 'the Light'; possibly a reference to a specific angelic being.
24. Iblis : The proper name of Satan in Islamic tradition, derived from Greek 'diabolos' meaning 'slanderer'.
25. Divine Presence : Al-Ḥaḍra al-Ilāhiyya: The spiritual court or presence of God, often used in Sufi terminology.
26. Presence of Proximity : Ḥaḍrat al-Qurb: The station of nearness to God.
27. Get out of it... : Qur'an 38:77-78, part of the story of Iblis's expulsion.
28. Rajm : Linguistically means 'stoning' or 'casting away'; here interpreted as expulsion from a high place.
29. Muhammadan Self : Al-Nafs al-Muḥammadiyya: The spiritual reality of Prophet Muhammad, considered the first creation in Sufi cosmology.
30. two weighty ones : Al-Thaqalayn: Refers to humans and jinn, or the Qur'an and the Prophet's family.
31. Azazil : The original name of Iblis before his fall, meaning 'separated' or 'removed'.
32. Abu Murra : Patronymic of Iblis meaning 'father of bitterness'.
33. O Iblis... : Qur'an 38:75, God's question to Iblis.
34. al-anwār al-dhātiyya : The essential lights; a Sufi term referring to the primordial luminous realities emanating from the Divine Essence.
35. al-amr : The matter; here referring to the divine decree or command that has been irrevocably determined.
36. kufrān al-niʿam : Ingratitude for blessings; a phrase indicating disbelief or denial of God's favors.
37. ʿAzāzīl : A name for Iblis (Satan) before his fall, often used in Islamic tradition to denote his original angelic or jinn status.
38. al-quṣūr : Palaces; here referring to the lofty dwellings of the blessed in Paradise.
39. al-nūr al-aḥmadī : The Muhammadan light; a Sufi concept of the primordial light of Prophet Muhammad, from which all creation was made.
40. tarānī : Do you see me?; a rhetorical question implying God's awareness of the speaker's state.
41. ḥifẓ al-jinān : Guarding the heart; a spiritual concept of protecting the inner self from evil inclinations.
42. qarāʾin al-aḥwāl : Circumstantial evidence; indicators derived from one's state or condition.
43. midām jahlihi : The wine of his ignorance; metaphor for intoxication with ignorance.
44. shuhub thāqib : Piercing meteors; refers to the stars used to drive away devils in Islamic cosmology.
45. al-ʿujb wa al-riyāʾ : Self-conceit and hypocrisy; spiritual vices.
46. al-muqarrabīn : Those brought near; a rank of angels or saints close to God.
47. al-ḥafaẓa : The guardian angels; angels who record deeds.
48. al-ṭīna al-ādamiyya : The human clay; the primordial substance from which Adam was created.
49. al-sayāda al-aḥmadiyya : Ahmadian lordship; refers to the spiritual reality of the Prophet Muhammad (Ahmad is one of his names).
50. al-ḥaqīqa al-iblīsiyya : The Iblisian reality; the essential nature of Iblis (Satan).
51. al-Ḥārith : Al-Harith; a name sometimes used for Iblis before his fall, meaning 'the cultivator' or 'the plowman'.
52. ابْنُ أَبِي الدُّنْيَا : Ibn Abi al-Dunya, a renowned Islamic scholar and traditionist (d. 894 CE).
53. فُضَيْلِ بْنِ عِيَاضٍ : Fudayl ibn 'Iyad, a famous early Sufi and ascetic (d. 803 CE).
54. ذَا الْكَفَلِ : Dhu al-Kifl, a prophet mentioned in the Quran (21:85-86); traditionally identified with Ezekiel or a righteous man who guaranteed not to get angry.
55. أَيُّوبَ : Ayyub (Job), the prophet known for his patience and suffering.
56. الْقَانِعِ : Content; satisfied with God's decree.
57. الْأَكَابِرِ وَالْأَصَاغِرِ : Elder and younger; referring to Ayyub's children of all ages.
58. Jamrah : A stone pillar representing Satan, stoned during the Hajj pilgrimage.
59. Yahya ibn Zakariyya : John the Baptist, a prophet in Islam.
60. divine sciences : Ladunni sciences, knowledge granted directly by God.
61. protected : Ma'sum, meaning divinely protected from sin.
62. traditions : Hadith, reports of the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.
63. Ibn Abi al-Dunya : A 9th-century Muslim scholar and author.
64. Wahib ibn al-Ward : An early Muslim ascetic and traditionist.
65. Ahmad : Ahmad ibn Hanbal, founder of the Hanbali school of jurisprudence.
66. al-Zuhd : A book on asceticism by Ahmad ibn Hanbal.
67. al-Bayhaqi : A 10th-11th century Shafi'i scholar and traditionist.
68. Shu'ab al-Iman : A work by al-Bayhaqi on the branches of faith.
69. Thabit al-Bunani : A tabi'i (follower of the Companions) known for asceticism.
70. remembrance : Dhikr, the remembrance of God.
71. Abdullah ibn Atiq : A narrator of hadith, possibly a companion or follower.
72. union and incarnation : Hulul and ittihad, concepts of God's indwelling or unity with creation, rejected in orthodox Islam.
73. Isa ibn Maryam : Jesus son of Mary, a prophet in Islam.
74. Jibrīl : The archangel Gabriel, who delivers revelation and assists prophets.
75. al-ʿayn al-ḥamiʾa : The hot spring or muddy spring, often identified as the place where the sun sets in Islamic cosmology.
76. sayf Allāh al-maslūl : The unsheathed sword of God, a title indicating a powerful instrument of divine will.
77. Iblīs : The name of Satan in Islam, the chief of the jinn who refused to bow to Adam and became the tempter of humanity.
78. al-dunyā : The worldly life, often contrasted with the afterlife; material possessions and temporal pleasures.
79. Ibn Abī al-Dunyā : A 9th-century Muslim scholar and traditionist, known for his works on asceticism and moral exhortation.
80. Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah : A prominent early Islamic scholar and hadith transmitter from the 8th century.
81. Ṭāwūs : Tawus ibn Kaysan, a prominent tabi'i (successor of the Companions) and scholar of Yemen.
82. Abū ʿUthmān : Possibly Abu Uthman al-Hiri, a Sufi mystic from the 9th century, or another traditionist.
83. Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz : A Syrian traditionist and scholar from the 8th century.
84. Ibn ʿAsākir : A 12th-century Syrian historian and hadith scholar, author of the History of Damascus.
85. al-Ḥasan : Al-Hasan al-Basri, a renowned early Islamic scholar, ascetic, and preacher from the 7th-8th century.
86. Aḥmad : Ahmad ibn Hanbal, founder of the Hanbali school of jurisprudence and compiler of the Musnad.
87. Wahb : Wahb ibn Munabbih, a Yemeni traditionist and storyteller from the 8th century, known for Isra'iliyat traditions.
88. Najdi : Referring to someone from Najd, a region in Arabia; often used pejoratively in Sufi contexts to refer to a strict literalist or opponent of Sufism.
89. accursed : A term of strong condemnation, implying divine curse.
90. Malakut : The realm of divine sovereignty or the angelic world in Islamic cosmology.
91. Jabarut : The realm of divine power and might, higher than Malakut.
92. Mahdi : The guided one, a messianic figure in Islam; here used as a title of praise for the Prophet Muhammad.
93. Iblis : The personal name of Satan in Islam, the devil who refused to bow to Adam.
94. Solomon : Prophet Sulayman in Islam, known for his wisdom and control over jinn and animals.
95. witr : An odd-numbered prayer performed after the night prayer, considered highly recommended.
96. wird : A regular portion of devotional recitation or prayer.
97. My Lord, forgive me... : Quran 38:35, Solomon's prayer for a unique kingdom.
98. Tihami : From Tihama, a coastal region of Arabia.
99. Najri : From Najran, a region in southern Arabia.
100. hadiths : Reports of the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.
101. Muslim : Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, a major hadith collector.
102. al-Nasa'i : Ahmad ibn Shu'ayb al-Nasa'i, a hadith scholar.
103. Abu al-Darda' : A companion of the Prophet known for his wisdom.
104. Al-Bukhari : Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari, the most famous hadith collector.
105. Abu Hurayra : A prolific companion of the Prophet, known for narrating many hadiths.
106. Aisha : The wife of the Prophet Muhammad, a source of many hadiths.
107. Ahmad : Ahmad ibn Hanbal, a major hadith collector and founder of the Hanbali school.
108. Abu Sa'id : Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, a companion of the Prophet.
109. Abd ibn Humayd : A hadith scholar and author of a musnad.
110. Ibn Mardawayh : A hadith scholar known for his tafsir and hadith collections.
111. Ibn Mas'ud : Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, a prominent companion and Quran reciter.
112. al-Hasan : Al-Hasan al-Basri, a famous early Muslim scholar and ascetic.
113. Jabir : Jabir ibn Abdullah, a companion of the Prophet.
114. al-Baqi' : The cemetery in Medina where many companions are buried.
115. Abu al-Shaykh : Abu al-Shaykh al-Isfahani, a hadith scholar.
116. al-Azama : A book on the greatness of God's creation by Abu al-Shaykh.
117. Abu Nu'aym : Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani, a hadith scholar and author of Hilyat al-Awliya'.
118. al-Hilya : Hilyat al-Awliya', a biographical work on saints and ascetics.
119. Mujahid : Mujahid ibn Jabr, a prominent Quran commentator among the Tabi'un.
120. the Opening of the Book : Surah al-Fatiha, the first chapter of the Quran.
121. Ibn Durays : Muhammad ibn Ayyub ibn Durays, a hadith scholar.
122. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds : The first verse of Surah al-Fatiha.
123. rannāt : Cries or sounds, possibly referring to specific utterances in a hadith.
124. al-Mathānī : A term for the Quran or its repeated verses; also a name for Surah al-Fatiha.
125. karāmāt : Miraculous favors or graces granted to saints by God.
126. al-Sirr al-Akbar : The Greatest Secret, a Sufi term for the innermost divine mystery.
127. al-Shafā‘ah al-Kubrā : The Great Intercession, referring to the Prophet Muhammad's intercession on Judgment Day.
128. Qur’an 15:42 : Reference to the Quranic verse: 'Indeed, My servants—no authority will you have over them.'
129. ilqā’ : Casting or throwing, referring to Satan's insertion of words into the recitation.
130. tamannā : Wished or recited; a term with dual meaning in this context.
131. al-gharānīq al-‘ulā : The high cranes; a reference to the so-called 'Satanic Verses' incident.
132. Sūrat al-Najm : Chapter 53 of the Quran, 'The Star.'
133. Qur’an 53:19-20 : Verses mentioning the three pre-Islamic goddesses.
134. shaṭaḥāt : Ecstatic utterances, often paradoxical, by Sufis in a state of spiritual intoxication.
135. mawājid : Existential experiences or spiritual states of finding God.
136. irhāṣāt : Preparatory signs or miracles preceding prophethood.
137. Surah Yusuf 12:108 : Quranic verse: 'Say, 'This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me.'
138. karama : A miracle or extraordinary act performed by a saint (wali) as a sign of divine favor, distinct from the miracles of prophets.
139. awtad : Literally 'pegs' or 'tent pegs'; in Sufism, refers to the highest-ranking saints who are the spiritual pillars of the world.
140. aqtab : Plural of qutb, meaning 'pole' or 'axis'; in Sufism, the highest spiritual authority, the 'pole' around whom the spiritual world revolves.
141. Arafa : The plain of Arafat near Mecca, where pilgrims stand on the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah during Hajj; a key ritual of pilgrimage.
142. Ibn al-Arabi : Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-Arabi (1165–1240), a renowned Andalusian Sufi philosopher and mystic, known for his extensive works on Sufi metaphysics.
143. al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi : Abu Abdullah al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi (c. 820–932), a Persian Sufi scholar and author, known for his works on sainthood and spiritual states.
144. Muhaddithun : Plural of muhaddith; in Sufi terminology, those who receive divine speech or inspiration directly from God, distinct from traditional hadith scholars.
145. al-Haqq : One of the names of God meaning 'The Truth'; in Sufism, often refers to God as the ultimate reality.
146. Umar ibn al-Khattab : The second Caliph of Islam (r. 634–644), known for his strong faith and spiritual insights; considered by Sufis as a model of inspired knowledge.
147. wali : A saint or friend of God; a person who has attained a high level of spiritual proximity to God.
148. talbis : Deception or confusion, especially spiritual deception caused by Satan or the lower self, making one mistake false inspiration for true divine guidance.
149. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali : Al-Ghazali (1058–1111), a prominent Persian theologian, jurist, and Sufi mystic, author of 'The Revival of the Religious Sciences.'
150. Ibn Sayyid : A lesser-known figure; possibly a Sufi scholar from Wadi Asht (a region in Spain or North Africa).
151. mi'raj : The ascension of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven; in Sufism, also refers to spiritual ascension of saints.
152. kashf : Unveiling or spiritual disclosure; a direct experiential knowledge of spiritual realities granted to saints.
153. arif : A gnostic or knower of God; one who has attained ma'rifa (divine knowledge) through spiritual experience.
154. Sidrat al-Muntaha : The Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary; a celestial tree marking the end of the seventh heaven, beyond which no angel or prophet can pass, mentioned in the Prophet's ascension.
155. al-Arsh : The Throne of God; the highest created entity, symbolizing divine sovereignty.
156. al-Asma' al-Ilahiyya : The Divine Names; the attributes of God as revealed in the Quran, which Sufis contemplate and seek to embody.
157. al-Ḥaqq Ta'ālā : The Exalted Truth, a name for God.
158. Iblīs : The personal name of Satan in Islam.
159. lammatuhu : His touch; refers to the devil's whisper or insinuation.
160. Ahl Allāh : People of Allah; often refers to saints or spiritual masters.
161. al-gharānīq al-'ulā : The high cranes; refers to the famous 'Satanic Verses' incident.
162. al-jānib al-Muḥammadī : The Muhammadan side; the spiritual station of Prophet Muhammad.
163. al-Tha'labī : A renowned Quran commentator (d. 1035).
164. al-ḥadīth al-sharīf : The noble prophetic tradition.
165. al-Aḥmadī : Relating to Ahmad, another name of Prophet Muhammad.
166. umniyyatihi : His wish; here refers to the Prophet's desire for reconciliation.
167. tamannā : Wished; also interpreted as 'recited' in this context.
168. ahliyyah : Capacity or qualification; here referring to the attribute of the entity that intercedes.
169. ismah : Infallibility or divine protection from sin and error, especially attributed to prophets.
170. tamanna : Recited; in this context, refers to the prophetic recitation of revelation.
171. Surah al-Najm : Chapter 53 of the Quran, 'The Star'.
172. al-Lat, al-Uzza, Manat : Pre-Islamic Arabian goddesses worshipped by the polytheists.
173. gharaniq : High cranes; a term used in the alleged 'Satanic verses' incident, referring to the goddesses as exalted beings.
174. fiddah : Silver; possibly a reference to a specific narration or a textual variant.
175. al-ayah : The verse; refers to Quran 22:52.
176. mursal : A hadith where the Companion is omitted from the chain, narrated directly from the Prophet by a Successor.
177. sahih : Authentic; a classification of hadith with a reliable chain of transmission.
178. tamanna : Recited; derived from the root 'm-n-y' meaning to recite or wish.
179. gharaniq : Plural of gharnuq or ghirniq, referring to a type of water bird, often identified as cranes. In the context of the 'Satanic Verses' incident, it refers to the alleged intercession of pagan goddesses, likened to these birds.
180. verse of abrogation : Refers to Quranic verses that abrogate or supersede earlier revelations. Here, it alludes to the abrogation of any alleged satanic interpolation.
181. gharnuq : Singular form of gharaniq, meaning a crane or similar water bird.
182. al-gharānīq al-ʿulā : The 'high cranes' or 'exalted swans'—a reference to a disputed story (ḥadīth al-gharānīq) about Satan allegedly casting words of praise for pagan goddesses onto the Prophet's tongue during recitation. Most scholars reject its authenticity.
183. ʿiṣma : Infallibility or prophetic protection from sin and error in conveying revelation.
184. al-jahābidha al-kirām : The noble geniuses or erudite scholars.
185. al-Dabbāgh : Title meaning 'the tanner'; a renowned Moroccan saint and scholar, d. 1719 CE.
186. hādhā wa-llāhi : Emphatic oath: 'This, by God...'
187. ʿulūm al-malakūt : Sciences of the kingdom or the unseen spiritual realm.
188. asrār al-jabarūt : Secrets of the dominion or the realm of divine power.
189. taḥta al-bahūt : Beneath the earth; possibly a reference to the lowest depths.
190. shaṭaḥāt : Ecstatic utterances or theopathic statements made by Sufis in a state of spiritual intoxication.
191. jadhabāt : Spiritual attractions or divine pulls toward God.
192. tawājud : Ecstasy or simulated ecstasy in Sufi practice.
193. ʿarabada : Intoxicated raving or frenzied speech.
194. nūr al-kashf : The light of unveiling or spiritual disclosure.
195. maqām al-basṭ : The station of expansion or spiritual openness.
196. al-taṣarruf : Spiritual disposal or the ability to act in the world by divine permission.
197. tamannā : Literally 'hoped' or 'wished'; here interpreted as 'recited' (qara'a) by some exegetes.
198. umniyyatihi : His recitation or his wish; the object of Satan's casting.
199. Ibn al-Ḥārith : Probably a scholar who held a particular view on the gharānīq story.
200. ʿIyāḍ : Qadi 'Iyad (d. 1149), a Maliki scholar known for his work on prophetic virtues.
201. Ibn Ḥajar : Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 1449), a renowned hadith scholar who accepted the gharānīq story as authentic.
202. yaḍribū bi-wajhihā ʿarḍ al-ḥā'iṭ : Idiom meaning to reject or dismiss something entirely.
203. Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Bayḍāwī : A prominent Quran exegete (d. 1286), author of 'Anwār al-Tanzīl'.
204. al-uṣūliyyūn : Scholars of uṣūl al-fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence).
205. mursal : A hadith where the Companion is omitted from the chain, narrated directly from the Prophet by a Successor.
206. al-ẓann : Probable opinion or conjecture, as opposed to certainty (yaqīn).
207. khabar al-wāḥid : A solitary hadith, not reaching the level of tawātur (mass transmission).
208. Ibn ʿAbbās : Abdullah ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet and a major early exegete.
209. Ibn Abī Ṭalḥa : A narrator from Ibn Abbas.
210. Ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ : A scribe of al-Layth ibn Sa'd.
211. al-Layth : Al-Layth ibn Sa'd (d. 791), a famous Egyptian scholar.
212. al-muḥaqqiqūn : The verifiers or critical scholars who authenticate hadith.
213. yatamannā : Hopes for or desires; here interpreted as a positive aspiration for faith.
214. صلى الله عليه وسلم : A formula of blessing and peace upon the Prophet Muhammad, commonly used after his name.
215. الفقيه : A jurist, a scholar of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh).
216. الحق تعالى : The Truth, exalted be He—a name for God.
217. المرسل : A type of hadith where the chain of narration is missing the Companion, i.e., a Successor narrates directly from the Prophet.
218. المؤولات : Verses that require interpretation (ta'wil) due to ambiguity.
219. المشاكي : Plural of mishkat, meaning niche or lamp niche, a symbol for the place of divine light.
220. الأفراد : The solitary ones—a term in Sufism for saints who are unique in their spiritual station.
221. umniyyatihi : Literally 'his wish' or 'his recitation'; here it refers to the moment when the prophet or messenger recites or wishes to see divine manifestations, and Satan casts suggestions into that state.
222. ṣirāṭ mustaqīm : The straight path; a Qur'anic term for the path of righteousness and guidance.
223. barzakh : Barrier or isthmus; in Islamic eschatology, the intermediate state between death and resurrection. Here used metaphorically for a realm of collective forms.
224. al-kalim al-ṭayyib : The good word; a Qur'anic phrase (35:10) referring to pure speech, often interpreted as declarations of faith or remembrance of God.
225. al-ʿamal al-ṣāliḥ yarfaʿuhu : The righteous deed raises it; a Qur'anic phrase (35:10) indicating that righteous actions elevate the good word to God.
226. aṣḥāb al-saʿīr : Companions of the Blaze; a Qur'anic term for the inhabitants of Hellfire.
227. matāʿ al-ghurūr : Enjoyment of delusion; a Qur'anic phrase (3:185, 57:20) describing the deceptive nature of worldly life.
228. Qārūn : Korah; a biblical figure known for his wealth and rebellion against Moses, mentioned in the Qur'an as an example of worldly pride and punishment.
229. istaʿidh bi-llāh : Seek refuge in God; a phrase used to invoke God's protection from Satan.
230. man yaʿshu ʿan dhikr al-raḥmān : Whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful; a Qur'anic phrase (43:36) describing those who ignore God's guidance.
231. ṭāʾif min al-shayṭān : A touch or visitation from Satan, referring to an evil suggestion or impulse.
232. ʿArafa : The Day of Arafah, the 9th of Dhul Hijjah, when pilgrims stand at Mount Arafat.
233. qawm Lūṭ : The people of Lot, destroyed for their sins, associated with the Dead Sea region.
234. Iblīs : The personal name of Satan in Islam, the jinn who refused to bow to Adam.
235. al-mawqif : The Standing at Arafat, a key ritual of Hajj.
236. Aḥmadī : Pertaining to the Prophet Muhammad, whose name Ahmad means 'most praiseworthy'.
237. tamannā : He wished or desired; here interpreted as wishing to be in the time of Muhammad.
238. sharīʿatihi al-ḥamadiyya : His Praiseworthy Law, i.e., the Islamic law of Prophet Muhammad.
239. ahl al-fatrāt : People who lived in intervals between prophets, without a revealed law.
240. ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا : Strayed far astray: a Quranic phrase indicating extreme deviation from the truth.
241. سَيِّدِ الْأَكْوَانِ : Master of the Worlds: a title for Prophet Muhammad, meaning the chief of all created beings.
242. إِلَّا إِذَا تَمَنَّىٰ : Except when he wished: Quran 22:52, referring to the prophets' aspirations or recitations.
243. اللَّوْحِ الْمَحْفُوظِ : Preserved Tablet: the heavenly tablet on which all destinies and divine decrees are inscribed.
244. وَجْهِهِ الْمُحَمَّدِيِّ : Muhammadan face: a Sufi term for the spiritual reality of Prophet Muhammad.
245. الْفَرْدِ الصَّمَدِ : The One, the Eternal: attributes of Allah, meaning the Unique and the Self-Sufficient.
246. أَحْمَدَ : Ahmad: another name of Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'more praiseworthy'.
247. الْمَقَامُ الْمَحْمُودُ : Praiseworthy Station: a high station of intercession granted to Prophet Muhammad on the Day of Judgment.
248. وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِن بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ : And giving glad tidings of a messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad: Quran 61:6, words of Jesus.
249. هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ : This is manifest sorcery: Quran 61:6, response of the people to Jesus.
250. إِلَّا إِذَا تَمَنَّىٰ : Except when he wished: Quran 22:52, same as note 3.
251. الْفُرْقَانِيَّةِ : Furqanic: relating to the Furqan, a name for the Quran meaning 'the Criterion'.
252. دَنَا فَتَدَلَّىٰ : He drew near and descended: Quran 53:8, describing the Prophet's ascension and nearness to Allah.
253. أَسْمَائِهِ الْحُسْنَى : His Most Beautiful Names: the 99 names of Allah.
254. لَيْلَةٌ غَرَّاءُ : A radiant night: a poetic description of the night of the Prophet's birth or ascension.
255. tawhid : The oneness of Allah; the foundational Islamic belief in the absolute unity and uniqueness of God.
256. tablets of effacement and establishment : Reference to the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz) and the concept of divine decree being subject to abrogation and confirmation.
257. Those messengers—We favored some of them over others... : Qur'an 2:253.
258. Night of the Ascension : The Isra and Mi'raj, the night journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and his ascension through the heavens.
259. comprehensive words : Jawami' al-kalim; the gift of expressing profound meanings in concise speech.
260. resolute messengers : Ul al-azm; the five major prophets: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.
261. Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary : Sidrat al-Muntaha; a celestial tree marking the boundary beyond which no creation can pass.
262. al-Ruh : A mighty angel, sometimes identified as the Holy Spirit or a specific angel of high rank.
263. muʿjizāt : Miracles performed by prophets as proof of prophethood.
264. marātib : Spiritual stations or ranks in the Sufi path.
265. al-shafāʿa al-kubrā : The Great Intercession of Prophet Muhammad on Judgment Day.
266. Abū Bakr al-Fārisī : A scholar or mystic; possibly a reference to a specific figure.
267. adab : Proper conduct, etiquette, and spiritual discipline.
268. al-wajh al-Muḥammadī : The Muhammadan Face, a Sufi term for the Prophet's spiritual reality.
269. al-nūr al-Aḥmadī : The Ahmadan Light, the primordial light of the Prophet.
270. Qur'an 9:128 : Verse describing the Prophet's compassion.
271. al-milla al-ḥanīfiyya : The monotheistic religion of Abraham, i.e., Islam.
272. Qur'an 5:3 : Verse on perfection of religion.
273. al-kitāb al-Furqānī : The Criterion, a name for the Qur'an.
274. Qur'an 9:33 : Verse on the triumph of Islam.
275. Qur'an 61:9 : Similar verse on manifesting the religion.
276. shuhūd al-dhāt al-lāhūtiyya : Witnessing the Divine Essence, a high spiritual state.
277. al-anwār al-subbūḥiyya : The lights of the Most Holy, referring to God's attributes.
278. Qur'an 12:108 : Prophet's statement on his way.
279. Qur'an 16:125 : Verse on inviting with wisdom.
280. Qur'an 5:15-16 : Verse on light and guidance.
281. Qur'an 4:80 : Verse on obedience to the Prophet.
282. rasm khayālika : Drawing of your image, a poetic expression.
283. Qur'an 3:164 : Verse on God's favor in sending the Prophet.
284. Qur'an 21:107 : Verse on the Prophet as mercy.
285. bāb Allāh : Door of God, a metaphor for the Prophet as means to God.
286. al-ghalwāʾ : Hyperbole or excess in praise.
287. Ṣanʿāʾ : City in Yemen known for its textile craftsmanship.
288. al-ḍād : The letter Ḍād, distinctive of Arabic; 'the language of Ḍād' refers to Arabic.
289. al-muqarrabīn : The cherubim or those brought near to God, a high rank of angels.
290. al-‘ārifīn : Gnostics, those who have direct experiential knowledge of God.
291. al-Iḥyā’ : Refers to Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) by Imam al-Ghazali.
292. al-awliyā’ : Saints or friends of God, those with spiritual proximity to Him.
293. arbāb al-fatḥ : Masters of unveiling or spiritual opening, those granted divine illumination.
294. man fataḥa : One who has been granted spiritual unveiling or opening.
295. Sidrat al-Muntahā : The Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, a celestial marker in the highest heaven beyond which no creation can pass.
296. rajīm : Accursed, stoned, or driven away from mercy; a term used for Satan in the Quran.
297. al-laʿnah ilā yawmi d-dīn : The curse until the Day of Judgment; a Quranic phrase referring to God's curse on Iblis.
298. al-mukhlaṣīn : The chosen or purified servants; those sincerely devoted to God.
299. Iblīs : The personal name of Satan in Islamic tradition, derived from Greek 'diabolos'.
300. nafkhatu r-rūḥ : The breathing of the spirit; refers to God breathing His spirit into Adam.
301. anā khayrun minhu : I am better than him; Iblis's argument of superiority over Adam based on being created from fire.
302. mā laka allā takūna maʿa s-sājidīn : What is the matter with you that you are not with those who prostrate?; God's question to Iblis.
303. ṣalṣāl min ḥamaʾin masnūn : Molded mud; refers to the clay from which Adam was created.
304. ḥizb ash-shayṭān : The party of Satan; those who follow Satan's whispers and are doomed to loss.
305. shammir thiyābak : Literally 'roll up your clothes', meaning to prepare for action or exertion.
306. maẓāhir : Manifestations or forms in which Satan appears or operates.
307. al-A'war : Literally 'the one-eyed', a name of one of Iblis's offspring.
308. Jahiliyyah : Pre-Islamic period of ignorance, often referring to pagan practices.
309. asmā' Allāh al-ḥusnā : The Most Beautiful Names of God, traditionally 99 names.
310. ummahāt : Literally 'mothers', meaning sources or origins.
311. al-sab'ah al-nafsāniyyah : The seven psychic (or soul-related) names of God, a Sufi concept.
312. al-'anāṣir : The classical elements: earth, water, air, fire.
313. al-aflāk : The celestial spheres in Ptolemaic cosmology.
314. al-aqālīm : The climes or geographical regions of the earth.
315. zīnah : Adornment or decoration, often used for worldly attractions.
316. al-amlāk : Angels; here possibly referring to celestial bodies worshipped as angels.
317. ẓulmat al-ṭabā'i' : Darkness of natures, referring to the material or natural realm.
318. Ahriman : The evil spirit in Zoroastrianism, opposed to Ahura Mazda.
319. Yazdan : God or the divine being in Zoroastrianism, often identified with Ahura Mazda.
320. al-maẓhar al-thānī : The second manifestation, referring to Satan's appearance through nature and desires.
321. al-ittiḥād : Union, possibly referring to pantheistic or monistic beliefs.
322. إِبْلِيس : Iblis, the proper name of Satan in Islam, the devil who refused to prostrate to Adam and leads humans astray.
323. الشُّهَدَاء : Al-Shuhadā': The martyrs, those who die in the cause of Allah, but here used metaphorically for those who strive in good deeds.
324. الْعُلَمَاء : Al-‘Ulamā': The scholars, those learned in Islamic religious sciences.
325. مَذْهَبِ دَاوُود : Madhhab Dāwūd: The school of Dawud al-Zahiri, a jurist known for his literalist (Ẓāhirī) approach.
326. بِغَيْرِ وَلِيٍّ : Bi-ghayri walī: Without a guardian, referring to marriage without a male guardian, which is invalid in many schools.
327. الرِّجَالَ الْأَفْرَاد : Al-Rijāl al-Afrād: 'The individual men,' a Sufi term for the highest rank of saints who are unique and independent in their spiritual station.
328. الْمُرِيدِينَ الصَّادِقِينَ : Al-Murīdīn al-Ṣādiqīn: The sincere seekers, disciples on the Sufi path who have a sincere intention.
329. الصِّدِّيقِينَ : Al-Ṣiddīqīn: The truthful ones, a high rank of saints who are extremely veracious and truthful in their faith.
330. الْأَوْلِيَاء : Al-Awliyā': The saints, friends of Allah, those who are close to Him.
331. الْعَارِفِينَ : Al-‘Ārifīn: The gnostics, those who have direct experiential knowledge (ma‘rifa) of Allah.
332. الْمُقَرَّبُونَ : Al-Muqarrabūn: The intimate ones, those brought near to Allah, a rank above the saints.
333. الِاتِّحَاد : Al-Ittiḥād: Union, the heretical belief in the unity of the human and divine, i.e., incarnationism.
334. الْإِفْرَاد : Al-Ifrād: Individuation, a heretical claim of being uniquely united with the divine.
335. الْيَمِينِ عَلَى نِيَّةِ الْمُسْتَحْلِفِ : Al-Yamīn ‘alā niyyat al-mustaḥlif: The oath is according to the intention of the one who administers it, a legal principle meaning the oath is interpreted based on the intention of the person demanding the oath.
336. Iblis : The proper name of Satan in Islam, derived from Greek 'diabolos'; often used to refer to the chief devil who refused to prostrate to Adam.
337. gnostics : Translation of 'al-‘ārifīn', those who have direct experiential knowledge (ma‘rifa) of God.
338. Cloud : Translation of 'al-‘amā', a term in Sufi cosmology referring to the primordial cloud or divine presence before creation.
339. establishment : Translation of 'al-tamkīn', a Sufi term for spiritual stability and authority granted by God.
340. third annihilation : Translation of 'al-fanā’ al-thālith', the third stage of annihilation in Sufism, where the self is completely effaced in God.
341. whispering insinuator : Translation of 'al-waswās al-khannās', a Quranic term for the devil who whispers and then withdraws.
342. al-waswas : The Arabic term for the whispering insinuation, often personified as the devil.
343. ghayrat al-azal : The 'jealousy of pre-eternity' refers to God's protective jealousy that prevents the unworthy from witnessing His essence.
344. al-khannās : The 'slinking whisperer' is a name for Satan who withdraws when God is mentioned.
345. shayāṭīn al-ins wa al-jinn : Devils from among mankind and jinn who inspire each other.
346. al-tashkīk : Doubt or skepticism, especially regarding religious matters.
347. al-sū’ wa al-faḥshā’ : Evil and indecency; sins and immoral acts.
348. shaghāf : The pericardium or core of the heart, associated with intense love.
349. fu’ād : The inner heart or intellect, associated with vision and spiritual insight.
350. al-nafs al-ammārah bi al-sū’ : The soul that commands to evil, the lower self inclined to sin.
351. yuwasiwisu fī ṣudūr al-nās : He whispers into the breasts of mankind.
352. shaghafahā ḥubbā : He has filled her with love; refers to the intense love of Zulaykha for Joseph.
353. mā kadhaba al-fu’ādu mā ra’ā : The inner heart did not lie about what it saw; refers to the Prophet's vision of the Divine.
354. ḥaqīqat al-ḥaqīqah : The reality of reality; the ultimate truth of the Divine essence.
355. ṣarīḥ al-īmān : Clear faith; the Prophet's response to the Companions' concern about whisperings.
356. qarīn : An inseparable companion, often a devil assigned to a person.
357. nuqayyiḍ lahu shayṭānan : We appoint for him a devil; divine punishment for turning away from remembrance.
358. sallata : Empowered over him, meaning given authority or control.
359. dhikr : Remembrance of Allah, often through repetition of His names or phrases.
360. Qur'an 2:102 : Reference to the Quranic verse about harm only by Allah's permission.
361. hadith : A saying or tradition of the Prophet Muhammad.
362. Hawamim : Surahs in the Quran that begin with the letters Ha Mim.
363. ar-Ra'd : Surah 13 of the Quran, meaning 'The Thunder'.
364. al-Dhakhira : The title of the work, meaning 'The Treasure' or 'The Store'.
365. al-'Arif bi-Allah : The gnostic of Allah, a title for a saint deeply knowledgeable of God.
366. 1308 AH : Year 1308 of the Islamic calendar, corresponding to 1890-1891 CE.