Chapter Three: On the Doctrine of the Scholars of Truth and the Sages of Veracity Concerning the Spirit and the Soul

Wa-istighnāʼ ʻan al-makān wa-al-jism lā yastaghnī ʻan al-makān . fa-al-nafs ashraf min al-jism li-ḥājat al-jism wa-istighnāʼ al-nafs ʻan al-makān wa-al-sharaf bi-al-istighnāʼ . fa-kullamā kāna al-shayʼ aghná ʻan al-shayʼ kāna ashraf thumma (al-rūḥ) wa-huwa al-ʻaql ʻindahum lahu wujūd wa-qiyām bi-al-nafs wa-istighnāʼ ʻan al-makān wa-huwa yaʻmal ʻamalahu min ghayr ḥājah ilá ālah wa-al-nafs kull kamālātihā lā taḥṣul illā bi-ālātihā wa-hiya ajsām . fa-al-nafs fī fiʻlihā taḥtāj ilá jism wa-in kāna fī wujūdihā lā taḥtāj ilayhi . wa-al-rūḥ istaghná fī ʻamalihi ayḍan ʻan al-ajsām fa-huwa idhan ashraf .

Thumma Allāh mawjūd lā yaftaqir ilá maḥall wa-lā yaḥtāj ilá makān istaghná fī fiʻlihi ʻan al-ālāt kullihā wa-istaghná fī wujūdihi ʻan al-mūjid wa-al-rūḥ muftaqir ilá mūjid yūjiduhu fa-Allāh huwa al-ghanī al-muṭlaq al-Malik al-Ḥaqq alladhī istaghná ʻan kull shayʼ wa-iftaqara ilayhi kull shayʼ . fa-subḥāna man iʻtarafa al-muḥiqq wa-al-mubṭil bi-kamālihi wa-ʻarafa al-musīʼ wa-al-muḥsin waṣf jalālihi .

Hādhā madhhab al-qawm awradtuhu ʻalá sabīl al-iqtiṣār wa-dhakartuhu ʻalá ṭarīqat al-ḥikāyah wa-al-iqtiṣāṣ wa-lā yuwāfiq iʻtiqādī madhhabahum fī shayʼ mimmā dhakartuhu ʻanhum illā fī qawlihim Allāh ghanī ʻan kull shayʼ wa-kull shayʼ ilayhi faqīr wa-fī ḥājat al-aʻrāḍ ilá al-maḥall wa-al-ajsām ilá al-makān .

Al-Bāb al-thālith fī qawl ʻulamāʼ al-ḥaqq wa-ḥukamāʼ al-ṣidq fī al-rūḥ wa-al-nafs

Al-ʻulamāʼ al-muḥaqqiqūn wa-al-ḥukamāʼ al-muḥaqqiqūn fī al-rūḥ ʻalá madhhabayn aḥaduhumā wa-huwa aslamuhumā an lā yatakallamū fī māhīyatihi wa-lā yataḥaddathū ʻan ḥaqīqatihi qālū Allāh taʻālá lam yubayyinhu li-rasūlihi ﷺ wa-qāla ( qul al-rūḥ min amr Rabbī wa-mā ūtītum min al-ʻilm illā qalīlan ) ay antum khafiya ʻalaykum al-aẓhar min al-rūḥ wa-huwa aʻḍāʼukum wa-ajzāʼukum wa-jahiltum al-ahamm min hādhihi al-masʼalah wa-huwa al-risālah fa-mā bālukum tasʼalūn ʻan masʼalah lā yatawaqqaf ʻalayhā ṣiḥḥat al-Islām . fa-al-ishtighāluka bi-al-taftīsh ʻammā lam yubayyinhu Allāh li-rasūlihi ghuluww fī al-dīn wa-ʻinād wa-al-tawaghghul fīmā lam yarid bihi Qurʼān wa-lam yaqum ʻalayhi burhān ghuluww fī al-arḍ wa-fasād .

Wa-thānīhimā anna al-rūḥ jism nūrānī lā yurīd illā ṭāʻat Allāh wa-lā yakhtār illā al-ʻibādah Allāh lā yamnaʻuhu min al-dukhūl fī al-maḍāyiq faqd al-masāmm wa-lā yadfaʻuhu ʻan al-wuṣūl ilá al-khalāyiq buʻd al-maqām fa-huwa fī al-mumkināt ashraf al-aqsām wa-bihi yalīq an yuqāla huwa jism lā ka-hādhihi al-ajsām fa-innahu laṭīf lā ka-al-hawāʼ al-ḍaʻīf wa-qawī lā ka-al-ḥajar al-kathīf . wa-alladhī ʻindanā min al-ajsām in kāna laṭīfan kāna ḍaʻīfan . wa-in kāna qawīyan kāna kathīfan wa-al-rūḥ fī zamān wāḥid yūjad fī awwalihi fī al-maghrib wa-fī ākhirihi fī al-mashriq ḥattá yuẓann bihi annahu fī ān wāḥid kāna fī makānayn .

Thumma qālū hādhā ayḍan ṭarīq sālim li-annahu mustanbaṭ min kitāb Allāh mustakhraj min kalām Rasūl Allāh fa-innahu taʻālá qāla fī al-rūḥ ( fa-arsalnā ilayhā rūḥanā fa-tamaththala lahā basharan sawīyan ) wa-al-jism huwa alladhī yatalawwan bi-alwān wa-yatashakkal bi-ashkāl wa-yajūz fī al-jism al-wāḥid an yurá ʻalá alwān mukhtalifah fa-inna al-zujāj yurá abyaḍ idhā kāna mā fīhi abyaḍ . wa-aḥmar idhā kāna mā fīhi aḥmar . wa-ka-dhālika yajūz an yatashakkal bi-ashkāl mukhtalifah fa-inna al-bukhār yamtadd wa-yantashir ḥattá yamlaʼ al-jaww al-wāsiʻ wa-yajtamiʻ ḥattá yasaʻuhu mafḥaṣ qaṭāh wa-mā-lā yakūn jisman lā yumkin an yurá fī lawn wa-lā shakl wa-qāla taʻālá [nazala bihi al-Rūḥ al-Amīn] wa-al-nuzūl min awṣāf al-ajsām .

Fa-in qīla warada anna Allāh yanzil ilá samāʼ al-dunyā wa-taʻālá ʻan al-iḥtiyāj ilá makān naqūl al-taʼwīl lā yajūz illā ʻinda taʻadhdhur al-ḥaml ʻalá al-ḥaqīqah wa-illā lā yabqá wuthūq bi-akhbār al-mukhbirīn lākin al-nuzūl ḥaythu yabqá ʻalá ḥaqīqatihi yakūn al-nāzil jisman wa-kull mā kāna jisman kāna ḥādithan wa-Allāh qadīm fa-lā yakūn jisman fa-lā yakūn al-nuzūl ḥaqīqah lahu fa-yuḥmal ʻalá āthār raḥmatihi wa-khazanat niʻmatihi .

Wa-ammā al-rūḥ in kāna jisman kāna ḥādithan wa-huwa ka-dhālika fa-lā buʻd fīhi wa-lā muḥāl wa-qāla taʻālá [ yawma yaqūm al-Rūḥ wa-al-malāʼikah ṣaffan ] wa-huwa min ṣifat al-ajsām warada fī al-akhbār al-ṣaḥīḥah anna al-Nabī ﷺ jāʼahu Jibrīl ʻalayhi al-salām wa-huwa fī buyūt mughlaqat al-abwāb wa-annahu raʼāhu fī ṣūrah fa-hādhihi al-āyāt wa-al-akhbār dallat ʻalá mā dhakarnā min al-awṣāf wa-idhā kāna al-istinbāṭ min kalām Allāh taʻālá wa-khabar Rasūl Allāh fa-al-ṭarīq sālim .

Thumma inna Allāh taʻālá madaḥa alladhīna yastanbiṭūn al-umūr min kalām Allāh wa-jaʻalahum tilw rasūlihi ḥaythu qāla fīhim [ la-ʻalimahu alladhīna yastanbiṭūnahu minhum ] wa-ammā anna Allāh lam yubayyinhu li-nabīhi ﷺ fa-naqūl lam yubayyinhu ḥīna saʼalahu al-Yahūd ʻan al-rūḥ li-yujādilūhu fīhi fa-innahum kānū yaʻlamūn anna al-masʼalah maʻrakat al-nuẓẓār wa-fīhā aqāwīl mukhtalifah fa-saʼalūhu ʻanhā ḥattá idhā ajāba bi-jawāb yaqūlūn laysa al-jawāb ka-dhālika wa-yaʼtūn bi-aqwāl man taqaddama wa-lā yatimm al-jidāl illā fī maḥall al-khilāf alladhī lā yaqūm ʻalayhi burhān qāṭiʻ wa-lā yaṭliʻ ʻalayhi nūr sāṭiʻ fa-yatajādhab al-mutanāziʻūn aṭrāf al-kalām fa-qāla taʻālá lā tujibhum ʻammā yasʼalūnaka fa-innahu laysa bi-wājib ʻalayka bayānuhu wa-lā ʻalayhim maʻrifatuhu wa-mā saʼalūka illā li-yujādilūka wa-ka-dhālika fī ʻadad aṣḥāb al-kahf lam yubayyin fa-inna ʻadadahum kāna mukhtalifan fīhi fa-law bayyana lahum ʻadadan la-qālū laysa ka-dhālika bi-dalīl qawl fulān wa-fulān fa-bayyana mā qīla fīhim wa-lam yubayyin al-ḥaqq min dhālika maʻa annahu lā khaṭar fī dhikr ʻadad qawm wa-fī al-rūḥ rubbamā yūrith fasādan fī al-iʻtiqād fa-inna mā dhahaba ilayhi al-falāsifah fīhi khaṭar ʻaẓīm wa-fasād kabīr .

Fa-in qīla law kāna kamā zaʻamta la-bayyana aqwāl al-nās fī al-rūḥ kamā dhakarahā fī ʻadad aṣḥāb al-kahf naqūl al-aqwāl fī ʻadadihim kāna munḥaṣiran fī thalāthah . wa-al-aqwāl fī al-arwāḥ wa-anwāʻihā kāna muntashiran wa-ayḍan fī dhikr aqāwīl al-nās fī dhikr aṣḥāb al-kahf lā khaṭar wa-fī dhikr aqāwīl al-nās fī al-rūḥ khaṭar .

Fa-in qīla fa-lima sharaʻta anta fī dhikr aqāwīl al-awāʼil maʻa mā fīhi min al-khaṭar naqūl al-Nabī ﷺ laysa aḥadunā ka-hayʼatihi fa-innahu kāna yakhtār fī kull ḥīn mā huwa al-afḍal fa-mā yaqūl min al-kalām illā afḍalahu wa-lā kāna yafʻal min al-afʻāl illā akmalahā ḥattá annahu lammā nasiya min ṣalātihi mā nasiya kāna sahwuhu akthar maṣlaḥah min ʻadamihi li-annahu bi-sababihi nubayyin li-ummatihi mā yafʻalūnahu .

Wa-yumkin an yuqāla anna nawmahu fī firāshihi maʻa ahlihi fī waqt nawmihi kāna aṣlaḥ min tarkihi al-nawm wa-al-aṣl fīhi annahu ʻalayhi al-salām law kāna yajtanib al-nisāʼ wa-yatruk al-akl wa-al-shurb wa-yakhlū bi-nafsihi wa-lā yukhāliṭ al-nās thumma yukhbir ʻan al-ghuyūb wa-yaʼtī bi-al-gharāyib wa-yadhkur al-ḥikam kāna li-al-mubṭil an yaqūl annahu muktasib fa-lammā kāna yaqūl al-ḥikam wa-lam yataʻallam min kitāb wa-yaʼtī bi-al-ʻajāyib wa-huwa ʻalá ʻādat ghayrihi min al-nās ʻulima annahu lam yakun muktasiban li-mā kāna ʻalayhi bal kāna dhālika min ʻaṭāʼ Allāh wa-unẓur ilá ʻadam taʻallumihi fa-inna al-taʻallum li-kull aḥad faḍīlah wa-lam bakun li-al-Nabī ﷺ faḍīlah . wa-yaẓhar hādhā bi-an aḥadanā in ishtaghala bi-al-qirāʼah wa-al-tikrār aw baqiya fī al-tafakkur wa-al-adhkār thumma takallama bi-kalām ḥasan aw ṣanaʻa ṣunʻan ʻajīban qīla annahu athar al-taʻallum aw natījat al-tafakkur . wa-ammā in kāna ṭūl nahārihi fī al-lahw wa-al-laʻb wa-jamīʻ laylihi fī al-nawm wa-al-ghaflah thumma idhā jará kalām takallama fī ghāyat al-diqqah wa-idhā atá bi-ʻamal atá bihi ʻalá atqan mā yakūn ʻalima kull aḥad annahu min qūwat al-dhakāʼ aw zakāʼ al-qūwah .

Wa-lā khilāf bayna al-ʻuqalāʼ anna al-dhakāʼ laysa bi-muktasab wa-innamā huwa min ʻaṭāʼ Allāh taʻālá . wa-hādhā ḍarb mathal wa-li-Rasūl Allāh al-mathal al-aʻlá min hādhā wa-li-Allāh al-mathal al-aʻlá

Idhā ʻalimta hādhā aqūl anna zamānanā kathīran mā yanṣarif ilá laʻb aw kadhib wa-musammá bi-al-mudārāh fa-innā kathīran naqūl li-al-musīʼ muḥsin wa-li-al-jāhil annahu ʻālim wa-naqūl li-al-ʻaduww innī muḥibb thumma inna al-dīn amin min al-khalal wa-qadamu ahl al-sharʻ salimat ʻan al-zalal bi-rusūkh al-īmān wa-ḥuṣūl al-īqān fa-dhikr madhhabihim mimmā yūjib li-al-ʻulamāʼ shukr niʻmat Allāh ʻalayhim ḥaythu yaʻlamūn anna al-sharʻ aḥsan min ghayrihi wa-law-lam yudhkar kāna yuẓann anna fī madhhabihim ḥaqāyiq akmal mimmā fī al-sharʻ wa-lā ka-dhālika fī awwal zamān al-Islām fa-inna al-sharʻ baʻd lam yakun qad ẓahara fī al-majāmiʻ wa-balagha ilá al-masāmiʻ fa-dhikr kalām al-falāsifah fī awwal zamān al-nubūwah kāna yūrith wahman al-adhhān wa-wahnan fī al-īmān fa-lam yadhkurhu al-Nabī ﷺ wa-lā aṣḥābuhu

Wa-idhā ʻalimta al-rūḥ naqūl zayyana Allāh ẓāhir al-rūḥ wa-bāṭinahu wa-sharrafa mustaqarrahu wa-mawāṭinahu fa-ẓāhiruhu lahu min al-ṣuwar ajmaluhā wa-min al-ashkāl akmaluhā wa-min al-alwān aḥsanuhā wa-min al-rawāyiḥ aṭyabuhā ka-anna kull aʻḍāʼihi min al-ḥusn wajh wa-ka-anna jamīʻ ajzāʼihi fī al-ʻilm qalb laysa lahu sawʼah wa-lā fīhi ʻawrah .

Wa-al-arwāḥ al-munazzalah min ʻinda Allāh wa-Jibrīl ʻalayhi al-salām ʻalá hādhihi al-ṣifah .

Wa-ammā al-rūḥ al-insānī fa-huwa ayḍan ʻalá hādhihi al-ṣifah khalaqahu Allāh taʻālá qabla al-ajsād thumma nafakhahu fī al-jasad . wa-al-arwāḥ kānat ka-al-ajnād al-mujannadah wa-lammā nufikhat fī al-ajsād al-mujassadah iʼtalafa minhā mā taʻārafa wa-ikhtalafa mā tanākara wa-al-rūḥ lammā nufikha fī al-jasad ṣāra fīhi sāriyan wa-fī ʻurūqihi wa-aʻḍāʼihi jāriyan sarayān al-nār fī al-faḥm wa-jarayān al-māʼ fī al-ward wa-hādhā huwa al-aṣaḥḥ .

Wa-qāla baʻḍ al-ʻulamāʼ al-rūḥ fī al-ādamī juzʼ ṣaghīr lammā nufikha fīhi sakana qalbahu wa-al-awwal aḥsan fa-mā min juzʼ min al-badan illā wa-fīhi shayʼ min dhālika al-nūr ka-al-jamr mā min juzʼ minhu illā wa-fīhi shayʼ min al-nār . wa-ka-dhālika li-al-ḥayawānāt arwāḥ sāriyah fīhā ghayr anna nisbat al-arwāḥ al-insānīyah ilá al-arwāḥ al-bahīmīyah ka-nisbat al-afʻāl al-insānīyah ilá al-afʻāl al-bahīmīyah wa-sa-nadhkuruhā

Wa-al-rūḥ al-insānī kāna mawjūdan qabla jasadihi wa-lā ará anna al-rūḥ al-bahīmī kāna mawjūdan qabla jasad al-bahāyim wa-fīhi laṭīfah wa-hiya anna jasad al-insān khuliqa li-rūḥihi wa-rūḥ al-bahāyim khuliqa li-jasadihā . thumma inna al-rūḥ al-insānī kamā kāna mawjūdan qabla iltiʼām ajzāʼihi ka-dhālika yabqá mawjūdan baʻda infiṣām aʻḍāʼihi qāla ﷺ idhā māta aḥadukum rafrafa rūḥuhu fawq naʻshihi yaqūl yā ahlī wa-yā waladī lā talʻaban bikum al-dunyā kamā laʻibat bī . wa-ayḍan warada fī al-akhbār anna rūḥ al-muʼmin fī qindīl taḥt al-ʻarsh . wa-warada anna al-arwāḥ fī rawḍah min riyāḍ al-jinān aw fī ḥufrah min ḥufar al-nīrān . fa-al-arwāḥ tabqá baʻda mawt al-badan kathīran . fa-in māta ʻāsha maʻa iʻādat al-badan wa-in lam yamut uʻīda al-badan wa-ishtabaka bihi al-rūḥ kamā kāna wa-fī mawt al-rūḥ khilāf .

Wa-ammā al-nafs fa-hiya ayḍan jism laṭīf bihi yataḥaqqaq al-ʻaql alladhī ʻalayhi madār al-taklīf fa-al-nafs idhan ka-annahu al-rūḥ al-insānī

Wa-al-nafs lahā thalāth ḥālāt fī al-awwal hiya ammārah bi-al-sūʼ . wa-fī al-thāniyah hiya lawwāmah . wa-fī al-thālithah hiya muṭmaʼinnah .

Bayān hādhā anna Allāh taʻālá jamaʻa bayna al-badan al-kathīf wa-al-nafs al-laṭīf li-yukmil al-badan bi-al-nafs wa-al-nafs bi-al-badan wa-jaʻala al-takmīl awwalan min jānib al-nafs fa-hiya tukmil awwalan al-badan ḥattá yaqwá ʻalá al-aʻmāl thumma tukmil hiya bi-al-badan fa-yaqwá ʻalá al-khayrāt fa-al-insān fī awwal amrihi wa-ibtidāʼ ʻumrihi hammuhu tanmiyat juththatihi wa-taqwiyat minnatihi wa-shughluhu al-akl wa-al-shurb li-yamtadd ajzāʼuhu ṭūlan wa-ʻarḍan wa-daʼbuhu al-lahw wa-al-laʻb li-yashtadd aʻḍāʼuhu basṭan wa-qabḍan fa-idhā kabira umira bi-tazkiyat al-nafs bi-tark al-ʻādah wa-fiʻl al-ʻibādah wa-huwa yastamirr ʻalá ʻādat ṣibāhu wa-yakūn qad izdāda shahwah al-faraḥ fī hawāhu fa-tadʻūhu al-ḥājah wa-taḥmiluhu al-ʻādah ilá al-tahāwun fī al-ṭāʻah wa-al-taqṣīr fī al-ʻibādah kayfa wa-huwa fī ṣigharihi kāna fī kafālat al-ab fārighan min amr ghadihi wa-ʻinda al-bulūgh lazimahu taḥṣīl qūtihi li-mā jaʻala amrahu bi-yadihi fa-yaḥtāj ilá maʼkūl shahīy wa-mashrūb hanīy wa-mankūḥ bahīy wa-mutafakkih janīy . fa-yuḥaṣṣiluhu min ḥaythu kāna wa-yataghadhdhá wa-lā yubālī raḍiya ghayruhu aw taʼadhdhá fa-yastamirr ʻalá ghayyihi wa-yastamrī marʻī baghyihi fa-yakmul badanuhu bi-nafsihi wa-yablugh ḥadd awjihi . wa-lākin nafsahu tabqá nāqiṣah fī khidmat baṭnihi wa-farjihi fa-mā dāma al-nafs ʻalá hādhā fa-hiya ammārah bi-al-sūʼ fa-idhā tafakkara fī amrihi wa-tafakkara mā maḍá min ʻumrihi ʻalima anna al-amr ilá al-zawāl wa-ākhir al-ʻumr al-intiqāl wa-lā budda min al-irtiḥāl wa-ḥuʼūl al-ḥāl fa-yaqūl hab annī ʻishtu alf ʻaṣr wa-ḥaṣṣaltu mā lā yadkhul taḥt ḥaṣr fa-mādhā baʻda dhālika fa-yaqūl kull shayʼ hālik . thumma lā budda min iʻādah wa-baqāʼ fī saʻādah aw shaqāʼ fa-yaqūl yā miskīn tuḥaṣṣil qūt al-ghad bi-qūwat al-jadd wa-shiddat al-kadd maʻa annaka lā tadrī kayfa tajrī wa-qabla nafādh al-qūt fa-ishtighāluka bi-amr mālaka min ahamm ashghālika . wa-iqbāluka ʻalá al-ṣalāḥ li-istiqbālika khayr min iḥtifālika bi-shughl ḥālika fa-taṣīr al-nafs ʻinda hādhā lawwāmah . thumma idhā ishtaghalat bi-ʻibādat Allāh li-maʻādihi yunāziʻuhu al-badan bi-ṭalab muʻtādihi fa-yakūn fī awwal al-amr yuʻāriḍuhu al-aʻmāl al-badanīyah wa-tuzāḥimuhu al-ashghāl al-danīyah fa-yakūn fī ṣalāt al-layl wa-bi-qalbihi yusāmir al-ẓurafā . wa-fī wird al-nahār wa-bi-khāṭirihi yuqāmir al-ḥurafā fa-tarāhu bi-jasadihi fī al-masjid ʻākifan wa-yakūn bi-qalbihi fī al-sūq wāqifan fa-idhā amʻana fī al-ʻibārah ṣārat al-ṭāʻah lahu ka-al-umūr al-muʻtādah thumma yartafiʻ amruhu matá yataghadhdhá bi-al-ʻibādah aḥyānan wa-yataʼadhdhá bi-al-umūr al-muʻtādah ʻiyānan in afṭara yawman saqima . wa-in ṣāma dahran salima wa-ḥīnaʼidhin taṣīr muṭmaʼinnah wa-lahā fī kull ḥālah darajāt fa-hiya ʻinda kawnihā ammārah qad taʼmur bi-al-saraf fī al-mubāḥ wa-al-ẓarf wa-al-mizāḥ wa-lākin lā taʼmur bi-al-janaf wa-al-sifāḥ wa-qad taʼmur bi-akl al-ḥarām wa-taḥmil ʻalá qatl al-kirām wa-tadʻū ilá tark al-Islām wa-ʻibādat al-aṣnām . wa-hādhān ṭarafān wa-baynahā darajah man tadʻūhu nafsuhu ilá kabīrah aw iṣrār ʻalá ṣaghīrah wa-tandam ʻalayhā baʻda muddah yasīrah fa-taʼtī bi-al-tawbah ʻaqīb al-ḥawbah .