Here are some of the more common transgressions of the student. He might study with someone who is fond of having a great throng of followers, or against whom there is some evidence, or who allows reprehensible things to go unchecked in his classes. These latter may include slander, fighting, posturing, contentiousness, and shouting, either in the mosque or in the course of listening to Traditions of the Prophet, God bless him and give him peace. They may also include contradicting one of the religious scholars in a belligerent way, hurting a fellow student by false accusation, breach of propriety, refusing to abide by the view of the majority, and other things of this sort. In general terms, this includes unkind behavior by harassing him with questions or contradicting what he says, or lording it over one’s peers and fellow students, or mistreating in word or action those nearby in the class, or thinking badly of them, and so forth.

As for the teacher, he may fail by accepting students whose minds are clearly subject to impure intention or evil thoughts. Indeed it is precisely the lack of regard for this matter that accounts for much of the corruption in our time. The teacher may also err by seating himself in a place elevated above his companions without sufficiently cogent reason ; or by being indulgent with bad conduct, whether directed at the teacher or at another student; by failing to speak strictly at times and even ordering a student to leave the class, in accord with the teacher’s understanding of the requirements of the religion; or by favoring the wealthy and the children of this world with places nearest him, to the exclusion of the poor and indigent—an action that is in no way related to religious requirements.

The teacher may also be at fault for not giving students advice when it is appropriate; or for failing to include in his classes the recollection of God Most High, the recitation of verses from His Book and of the Traditions of the Prophet, God bless him and give him peace, and the tradition of the pious; or for not invoking blessing upon the Prophet, God bless him and give him peace, or not invoking God’s forgiveness and mercy and seeking refuge in Him—for these things are explicitly prescribed for all. In fact the teacher ought to make these things the foundation of the class, give careful attention to them, and consider them among the class’s greatest benefits.

Such matters are the surest index of the teacher’s alertness of heart and purity of soul. If he truly possesses an ample portion of the knowledge of certitude and a solid share in the spiritual states of the mystics and the spiritually successful, then he should speak to his students about this precious learning of his to the extent that they are able to grasp it. He should let them see some of his noble spiritual states so that theirs might thereby be strengthened. He should point out to them the interrelationship of the Revealed Law and the Mystic Truth and clarify their  understanding of the mysteries of the clearest Path, about which they would like to know. By his interest and by the way he speaks the teacher should prevent the students from giving their attention to all that is novel and ephemeral, and help them realize the meaning of the words of the Prophet, God bless him and give him peace: “The truest verse the poets ever spoke is this: ‘Are not all things empty that have not God in them?’ ”

Such was the way of our devout forefathers in faith and the counsel of our authoritative religious scholars. Anyone who emulates and follows them gains great success in his lifetime and attains everlasting righteousness as a last result in the presence of his Lord. Anyone who turns aside from following that exemplary conduct and parts company with our forefathers has bartered the next world for this world and will incur the wrath of his Master and be subject to the judgment of the word of God Most High: “Say: Shall We tell you who will be the greatest losers in their deeds? Those whose efforts in this life are wayward even while they believe they are doing good” (Qur’ān 18:104-5). And God is our refuge from that.

Shaykh Muhammad Ibn ‘Abbād ar-Rundī
Ar-Rasā’il as-Sughrā

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Sayyidinā Alī Ibn Abī Tālib
(karamAllāh wajhahu)

Cited by Shaykh Sadr al-Dīn Qūnawī, disciple of Shaykh Ibn al-’Arabī, in his book,
Mir’at al-’Ārifīn fī Multamas Zayn al-’Ābidīn.

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To get rid of envy, the envious person should remember that what he imagined about the object of his envy and the life he leads and the pleasures he enjoys are probably distorted. Man desires things always and thinks that those who have them are happy, riding the crest of pleasure’s wave. When he does achieve it, however, he is only happy for a moment before he thinks of the next thing to covet. The position which he longed for yesterday no longer seems worth wanting. The same happens when he achieves the next higher position; he is never happy, since he spends all his time planning his next ascent.

It is wrong to think that those who enjoy wealth and pleasure are commensurately happy. Those who have everything in the world lose the ability to enjoy them. They are too familiar with the pleasures. The good things in their hands which other people desire become the things that they regard as day-to-day essentials. The pleasure that they take is no greater than anyone takes in what he has. This is because they are always belittling what they have and longing for more; they are always tense and ambitious and have less relaxation than those below them.

If a thoughtful man remembers all this, and does not chase after every whim, he will know that happiness and relaxation is within his grasp; he only has to be happy with what he already has. Sufficient is enough.

It is useful to add some points to the context of the cure for envy. A prosperous person who attracts envy should not encourage the development of envy by spending extravagantly. He should be moderate in his lifestyle. He should not be arrogant towards the people he should try to soften their hearts so that they feel no grudge or envy. He should be charitable towards the needy and give alms from his wealth. This will safeguard him against envy and give him the strength to withstand misfortune. He should pray, invoking God’s name and seeking His assistance and protection. There are certain formulae of supplication in the Qur’ān and ahadīth which are designed to protect belongings. If he is a great scholar he should not boast of the fact; he should be humble, and cultivate the goodwill of his fellow scholars. Envy between scholars is proverbial.

If someone is beautiful or handsome, he or she should not boast of it, but always give thanks to God for it and seek His protection.

Imām Abū Muhammad Ibn Hazm al-Andalusī
Kitāb al-Akhlāq wa’s-Siyar

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The foundations of our path are five:

1. Taqwā – mindfulness of Allāh, privately and publicly
2. Adherence to the Sunnah in word and deed
3. Indifference to whether others accept or reject one
4. Contentment with Allāh in times of both hardship and ease
5. Turning to Allāh in prosperity and adversity.

The realization of mindfulness of Allāh is through scrupulousness and uprightness. The realization of adherence to the Sunnah is through caution and excellent character. The realization of indifference to others’ acceptance or rejection is through patience and trust in Allāh. The realization of contentment is through acceptance of what one is given and turning over the management of one’s affairs to Allāh. The realization of turning back to Allāh is through praise and gratitude in times of prosperity and taking refuge in Him in times of affliction.

Full article, translated by Shaykh Hamza Yūsuf, here.

Shaykh Abū’l-’Abbās Ahmad az-Zarrūq
Usūl at-Tarīqah

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Shaykh Muhammad al-’Arabī ad-Darqāwī
Rasā’il Mawlāy al-’Arabī ad-Darqāwī

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Likewise with the body: invoking removes from it impure substances which are due to intemperance in eating or result from consuming forbidden foods. As for what is obtained from lawful food, it does not affect it. When the injurious parts are burned away and the sound parts remain, every part will be heard invoking as if the trumpet had been blown (as on the Day of Judgment).

At first, remembrance occurs in the area of the head, so it is here that you will experience the sound of cymbals and horns. Invoking is powerful: when it descends into a place, it does so with its horns and cymbals, because the invocation is against everything except the Truth. When it settles in some place, it actively seeks to expel its opposite, as we find in the combination of water and fire. After these sounds, you hear various others, such as the rippling of water, the wind blowing, fire blazing, the sound of the windmill, horses galloping, and leaves rustling in the wind.

The reason for this is due to the fact that man is composed of every substance, both noble and base, from soil and water, fire and air, and heaven and earth; these sounds are between these pairs. Every element and basic nature belongs to these substances. Whosoever has heard something of these sounds glorifies God and declares Him holy with his whole tongue. That is the result of invoking with the tongue with the force of total absorption. Perhaps the servant will reach the stage where, if he should stop invoking orally, his heart will stir in his breast seeking remembrance, like the movements of an unborn child in the womb of his mother.

Some have said that the heart is like Jesus, son of Mary (may God grant him peace) and the remembrance his breast milk. When the heart grows and becomes strong, there arises in it a longing for the Truth as well as sighs and compulsive pangs of yearning for the invocation and the Invoked. The invocation of the heart is similar to the buzzing of a bee, neither a loud, disturbing sound, nor hidden and mysterious. When the Invoked takes possession of the heart and the invocation is effaced and disappears, the invoker should not pay attention to the remembrance or to the heart. If he should do so, then they would become a distracting veil.

This is self-extinction: that a man be extinguished from himself. Therefore, he does not feel anything in his limbs or anything exterior to himself not any inner phenomena. Rather he is oblivious to all that, and all that vanishes from him as he goes first to his Lord, then comes back again to himself. Should it occur to the invoker during that time that he is completely extinguished from himself, then that would be a flaw and opaqueness. For perfection is to be effaced from oneself and from the state of extinction. Hence, extinction is the beginning of the path: it is traveling to God Most High. Guidance comes afterwards. What I mean by guidance is the guidance of God, as described by the Friend of God, Abraham (may God grant him peace): ‘Lo! I am going unto my Lord Who will guide me’ (Qur’ān, 37:99).

This total absorption rarely remains or lasts. If the invoker perseveres, it will become a deeply-rooted habit and a permanent state by which he may ascend to the highest domains. In this state of absorption, he may look upon pure, real Being and be imprinted with the nature of the invisible Realm (al-Malakūt) and have the holiness of the Divinity (al-Lāhūt) revealed to him. The first thing that is manifested to the invoker in that domain is the essence of the angels and the spirits of the Prophets and saints, and this, in beautiful forms through which certain realities overflow upon him, That is the beginning, until his degree of realization is higher than the prototypal forms and he encounters the self-evidence of the Truth in everything.

This is the fruit of the essence of invoking. Its beginning is only with the tongue; then comes invocation with the heart with effort; then comes invocation with the heart naturally; then comes possession of the heart by the Invoked and the effacement of the invoker. This is the secret of the hadīth of the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) ‘Whosoever wishes to feast in the gardens of Paradise, then let him remember God frequently’ (Tirmīdhī, 45:87) as well as the hadīth : ‘Hidden remembrance is seventy-fold better than the remembrance which the guardian angels hear,’

The sign of the invocation’s reaching the innermost Self is the absence of the invoker from both the invocation and the Invoked. The invocation of the Self (dhikru’s-sirr) is ecstasy and drowning in it. Amongst the signs is that when you quit the invocation, it does not quit you. That is the exaltation of the invocation in you that rouses you from absence of mind to presence of mind. Another of its signs is the feeling that your head and limbs are bound as if you were shackled with chains. Still another sign is that its fires never abate nor do its spiritual lights disappear. Rather, you will always see lights ascending and others descending, while the fires are around you, pure, blazing and burning. When the invocation reaches the innermost centre of consciousness at the moment the invoker becomes silent, the invocation becomes like a needle piercing his tongue or as if his whole face were a tongue invoking through a profuse light.

Subtle point: Know that every remembrance that your heart is conscious of is heard by the guardian angels. Their awareness unites with your awareness. Herein lies a mystery: when your invocation is absent from your consciousness by your total absorption in the Invoked, your remembrance is also absent from the consciousness of the guardian angels.

Note: Invoking the letters of God’s Name without presence of mind is invocation of the tongue; invoking with presence of mind is invocation of the heart; and invoking with an absence of self-awareness because of absorption in the Invoked is the invocation of the Self – this is the hidden invocation!

Imām Ibn ‘Atā’ Allāh al-Iskandarī
Miftāh al-Falāh wa Misbāh al-Arwāh

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Those who give their worldly life and their Hereafter equal attention deserve this description because they do not differentiate between that which is better, more permanent, purer, and more spacious, and that which is lowlier, ephemeral, turbid, disturbing, and constricting. They are similar to the man who treats equally diamonds and dung, or pure gold and clay. They are even stranger and more extraordinary than that. Had the life-to-come nothing to its credit but perpetuity and freedom from flaws, these alone should suffice that it be given priority. As one of our virtuous predecessors once said, “Had the world been made of perishable gold and the Hereafter or permanent clay, we should have preferred permanent clay to perishable gold. What then when the reality is the reverse?” It is clearly evident that those who prefer the world to the Hereafter are doubt-ridden skeptics, while those who treat them equally are unintelligent fools. Only those who prefer the Hereafter are intelligent and resolute believers.

Graciousness belongs to God. He bestows His favors upon whomever He wills. Guidance is God’s; He guides whom He wills. He is the Wise, the Knowing.

Imām ‘Abdallāh Ibn ‘Alawī al-Haddād
Fusūs al-’Ilmiyyah wal-Usūl al-Hikamiyyah

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