The Kashf al-mahjúb: The oldest Persian treatise on SúfiismHujviri, ‘Ali ibn ‘Usman
Islamic
The Kashf al-mahjúb: The oldest Persian treatise on Súfiism
Hujviri, ‘Ali ibn ‘Usman
Sufism -- Early works to 1800
At present I am
engaged in preparing for the Resurrection.” When the men of Qaran came
home, they exhibited great respect for Uways. He left his native place
and came to Kúfa. One day he was seen by Harim b. Ḥayyán, but after that
nobody saw him until the period of civil war. He fought for `Alí, and
fell a martyr at the battle of Ṣiffín.
It is related that he said: “Safety lies in solitude,” because the heart
of the solitary is free from thought of “other”, and in no circumstances
does he hope for anything from mankind. Let none imagine, however, that
solitude (_waḥdat_) merely consists in living alone. So long as the
Devil associates with a man’s heart, and sensual passion holds sway in
his breast, and any thought of this world or the next occurs to him in
such a way as to make him conscious of mankind, he is not truly in
solitude; since it is all one whether he takes pleasure in the thing
itself or in the thought of it. Accordingly, the true solitary is not
disturbed by society, but he who is preoccupied seeks in vain to acquire
freedom from thought by secluding himself. In order to be cut off from
mankind one must become intimate with God, and those who have become
intimate with God are not hurt by intercourse with mankind.
2. HARIM B. ḤAYYÁN.
He went to visit Uways Qaraní, but on arriving at Qaran he found that
Uways was no longer there. Deeply disappointed, he returned to Mecca,
where he learned that Uways was living at Kúfa. He repaired thither, but
could not discover him for a long time. At last he set out for Baṣra and
on the way he saw Uways, clad in a patched frock, performing an ablution
on the banks of the Euphrates. As soon as he came up from the shore of
the river and combed his beard, Harim advanced to meet him and saluted
him. Uways said: “Peace be with thee, O Harim b. Ḥayyán!” Harim cried:
“How did you know that I am Harim?” Uways answered: “My spirit knew thy
spirit.” He said to Harim: “Keep watch over thy heart” (_`alayka
bi-qalbika_), i.e. “Guard thy heart from thoughts of ‘other’”. This
saying has two meanings: (1) “Make thy heart obedient to God by
self-mortification”, and (2) “Make thyself obedient to thy heart”. These
are two sound principles. It is the business of novices (_murídán_) to
make their hearts obedient to God in order to purge them from
familiarity with vain desires and passions, and sever them from unseemly
thoughts, and fix them on the method of gaining spiritual health, on the
keeping of the commandments, and on contemplation of the signs of God,
so that their hearts may become the shrine of Love. To make one’s self
obedient to one’s heart is the business of adepts (_kámilán_), whose
hearts God has illumined with the light of Beauty, and delivered from
all causes and means, and invested with the robe of proximity (_qurb_),
and thereby has revealed to them His bounties and has chosen them to
contemplate Him and to be near Him: hence He has made their bodies
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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