Words That Fell Upon the Heart from Abū’l-Ḥasan al-Kharaqānī
The wisdoms of Abū’l-Ḥasan al-Kharaqānī are a selection of short sayings that touch the heart, character, and inner discipline of a person. Although each saying may appear as a simple note on its own, behind it lie fundamental issues such as the discipline of the nafs (the lower self), awareness of mortality, knowledge, adab (proper conduct), and maturity of the qalb (the heart).
01
“The Truth, Exalted is He, has apportioned the shares of the servants, and each has taken his share. The share that has fallen to the chivalrous awliyāʾ (walī / awliyāʾ – friends of God) is sorrow. The sorrow of the chivalrous is that they wish to remember Him in a manner befitting Him, yet are unable to do so. If I were to tell you the story of those who are sorrowful, earth and sky would weep blood. If a spark from the oven were to fall upon your garment, you would hasten to extinguish it; so why are you content to let a fire that burns your dīn (religion)—the fire of arrogance, envy, and ostentation—remain in your qalb (the heart)?”
02
“Do not leave this world until one of three states appears: either your tears become blood out of your love for Allah, or your urine turns to blood out of fear of Him, or while you are awake you see your bones melt and become thin.”
03
“When the scholar rises from his bed in the morning, he desires an increase in his knowledge; the ascetic desires an increase in his zuhd (renunciation). As for me, I am concerned with filling the heart of a brother with joy and making him happy.”
04
“If you wait at someone’s door for a year, eventually one day he will say, ‘Come, let’s see, why are you standing there?’ Wait at the door of Allah for fifty years, and I will be your guarantor.”
05
“The brightest of hearts is the one in which there is no place for created beings. The best of deeds is the one in which there is no thought of creation. The most lawful of blessings is that which comes through your own effort. The best companion is the one who lives with the Truth.”
06
“For twelve years I was the blacksmith of my nafs (the lower self); I placed it in the furnace of ascetic discipline to make a mirror from my own nafs, branding it with the fire of spiritual struggle, then placed it upon the anvil of blame and struck it with the hammer of reproach. For five years I was my own mirror; with every kind of worship and obedience I polished this mirror. Then for one year I looked at myself with care; in myself (on my waist) I saw a zunnar (Christian belt) made of pride, self-admiration, arrogance, and being pleased with my own deeds. I strove for twelve years to cut it, and in the depths of the nafs I saw another zunnar; for five years I endured with effort to cut that one as well. I was looking for a way to cut it, and then an unveiling occurred. I looked at people (created beings) and saw them as dead, and I performed the funeral prayer for all of them. I returned from their funeral and entered Islam anew. When I looked at my own life, I saw all my seventy-three years of worship as if it were but an hour; but when I looked at my sins, I saw them as longer than the life of Nūḥ (Noah, peace be upon him).”
07
“Do not always seek things that bring joy. Sometimes turn towards things that will sadden you. Weep, let your tears flow. For Allah greatly loves those who shed tears.”