The second is the presence within oneself of sciences acquired through experience, reflection, and acquisition.
This is like a treasure at one’s side; one may refer to it whenever one wishes. This is akin to a scribe who is able to write beautifully. Even if this person is not actually engaged in writing at the moment, he is still called a scribe because he possesses the ability. This is the highest degree of humanity.
However, even within this degree, there are countless levels. People differ from one another according to the abundance or scarcity of their knowledge. They also differ according to the importance of what they know. At the same time, they are distinguished by the means through which they acquire this knowledge. For some, these sciences are revealed to their hearts by way of unveiling (kashf) and inspiration (ilhām); for others, they are given through acquisition and learning. Some attain these sciences with ease and swiftness, while others acquire them with difficulty and hardship. Thus, in this station, the degrees of scholars, sages, prophets, and the friends of God (awliyāʾ) are distinguished from one another.
The degrees of ascent in this matter are innumerable, for the knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, is infinite. The highest of these ranks is the rank of prophethood (nubuwwa), for to it all realities are disclosed, and these are unveiled in the swiftest manner, without acquisition or hardship. Through this felicity, a person transcends space and distance…
[Note: The original text contains some garbled or unclear phrases in this paragraph, which have been rendered as faithfully as possible.]
IHYĀʾ ʿULŪM AL-DĪN — Volume 1 — The Quarter of the Destroyers (Rubʿ al-Muhlikāt)
Know that, in terms of meaning, attribute, and reality, one draws near to Allah. The degrees of these stations are the stopping places of those who journey toward Allah, and they are innumerable. Every wayfarer (sālik) can only know the stations he has reached and those he has left behind; he cannot know those ahead of him, but he believes that there are many more stations ahead. Just as we believe in prophethood (nubuwwa) and the Prophet, but cannot know the reality of prophethood—for only the Prophet himself knows its reality. This is like the child in the womb not knowing the state of the newborn, and the newborn not knowing the state of the older child. Likewise, a child at the threshold of reason cannot know the state of one who has attained intellectual maturity and acquired theoretical sciences; and even the rational person cannot know the doors of grace that Allah, the Exalted, opens to His friends (awliyāʾ) and prophets. No one can close the doors of mercy that Allah, the Exalted, opens to people. This mercy is abundant due to Allah’s generosity and grace; it is not exclusive to one or a few people, but manifests in the hearts that are presented to the breaths of Allah’s mercy.
As the Noble Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Truly, your Lord has, in the days of your life, outpourings of grace. So expose yourselves to them.”(4) Preparing for this is only possible by purifying and cleansing the heart from bad traits. Explanations regarding this will come in the section on bad character traits.
Regarding this generosity of Allah, the Exalted, the Noble Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Every night, Allah, the Exalted, descends to the lowest heaven (with the attribute of mercy) and says: ‘Is there anyone who calls upon Me, that I may answer him?’”(5) And again, the Noble Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) narrated from Allah, the Exalted, in a hadith qudsi: “The desires and wishes of the righteous to meet Me have increased, but My desire to meet them is even greater.”(6) And again, Allah, the Exalted, says: [The explanation of the hadith has been given above.]
(5) Al-ʿIrāqī, “al-Firdaus,” from Abū al-Dardāʾ.
(6) Mentioned in “Musnad al-Firdaus.”
“Whoever draws near to Me by a handspan, I draw near to him by an arm’s length.”(7) All these narrations indicate that the light of knowledge is not withheld from hearts due to Allah, the Exalted, withholding or being stingy in bestowing it. Allah, the Exalted, is far removed from such miserliness. The reason hearts remain closed to the light of knowledge is that they are preoccupied with other things. Hearts are like vessels; just as air cannot enter a vessel filled with water, so too the maʿrifa (experiential knowledge) of Allah’s majesty cannot enter hearts that are filled with other than Allah. The Noble Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated this when he said: “If the devils did not swarm around the hearts of the children of Adam, they would behold the dominion of the heavens.”(8)
From this brief explanation, it is understood that the distinguishing feature of the human being is knowledge and wisdom. The most honorable of the various branches of knowledge is to know the essence, attributes, and acts of Allah, the Exalted. Human perfection lies herein. Human felicity and drawing near to Allah, the Possessor of Majesty and Perfection, is also through this perfection. Thus, the body is the mount of the heart, and the heart is the seat of knowledge. What is sought in the human being, and his distinguishing feature, is knowledge, for he was created for this. Just as the horse, which shares with the donkey the ability to carry loads, is distinguished from the donkey by its ability to charge the enemy, flee, and its noble form and appearance—showing that it was created for this wisdom—so too, if the horse loses these qualities, it falls to the level of the donkey. Likewise, the human being, who shares many qualities with other animals, is distinguished from them by many unique attributes.
These distinguishing features are those given by Allah, the Exalted, to the angels who are brought near. The human being possesses a unique nature, standing between animals and angels. In terms of nourishment and reproduction, he is like a plant; in terms of sensation and voluntary movement, he is like an animal; in terms of form and appearance, he is like an image on a wall. His distinguishing feature is his knowledge of the realities of things. Whoever uses all his faculties and limbs in knowledge and action resembles the angels and deserves to be counted among them and to be called an angel. As Allah, the Exalted, informs in the Noble Qur’an, the women who saw Joseph (Yūsuf, peace be upon him) said: “This is no mortal; this is none other than a noble angel.” (Qur’an 12:31)
On the contrary, those who are devoted to bodily pleasures and spend all their efforts only on eating and drinking fall to the level of animals. They become either as foolish as an ox, as gluttonous as a pig, as aggressive as a dog, as vengeful as a camel, as arrogant as a lion, as cunning as a fox, or a corrupting devil who combines all these evils in his nafs (lower self). Each of his faculties and limbs is a means to draw near to Allah, the Exalted. As will be mentioned in the Book of Gratitude, this will be discussed further.
Whoever uses his faculties and senses as helpers on the path to Allah is saved; whoever deviates from this path is disgraced and ruined.
In summary, the essence of felicity in this matter is as follows: One must accept as his goal reaching Allah, the Exalted; as his abode, the Hereafter; as his temporary stopping place, this world; as his mount, his body; as the servants of his body, his limbs; and as the ruler in the midst of his realm, the heart, which is the center of the bodily kingdom. The “faculty of imagination” (quwwa ḥayāliyya) placed at the front of the brain should be regarded as an intelligence agent, for all sensory information is deposited there. The “faculty of memory” (quwwa ḥāfiẓa) located at the back of the brain should be regarded as the treasurer, for everything is stored there. The tongue should be considered the interpreter, the moving limbs as scribes, and the five senses as spies, each assigned a particular task.
For example, the eyes should be tasked with observing colors, the ears with hearing sounds, the nose with detecting smells; other limbs should be used in the tasks for which they are suited. For each of these faculties, the information they gather from their respective realms is first sent to the faculty of imagination, which then delivers it to the faculty of memory. The faculty of imagination is the messenger; the faculty of memory is the treasurer. The treasurer presents this information to the ruler (who is the heart, located at the center of the brain). The ruler governs his realm, takes from the treasury what he needs for his journey and to overcome his enemies and the bandits who would block his path. If the ruler acts in this way, he is among the happy and fortunate who show gratitude for Allah’s blessings. But if he neglects what we have described and uses these faculties for anger, lust, and other immediate desires, or to build palaces in the places where his journey passes—though his true homeland is not here but the Hereafter—then he becomes disgraced and ruined.
One who is ungrateful is a wicked person who does not use the army Allah has given him for Allah’s help, but instead scatters Allah’s army, and thus incurs Allah’s punishment. We seek refuge in Him from Allah’s wrath.
Kaʿb al-Aḥbār, alluding to the example we have described, said: I once visited ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and said to her: The eye shows the way to a person, the ear warns of impending danger, the tongue acts as interpreter, the hands serve as wings, the feet perform the duties of a courier, and the heart is a king. If the king is at peace, his subjects and army are also at peace. Upon hearing this, ʿĀʾisha said: “I heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) say this.”(9)
ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) also represented the heart as follows: “Allah, the Exalted, has vessels on earth, that is, containers in which He dwells. These are the hearts. The most beloved of hearts to Allah is the one that is the most delicate, soft, pure, and steadfast.” He then explained that this means a heart that is steadfast in religion, pure in iman (faith) and certainty (yaqīn), and gentle toward friends. He clarified this with the verse:
“Harsh against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves.” (Qur’an 48:29)
“The parable of His light is as if there were a niche and within it a lamp…” (Qur’an 24:35) — this verse is an indication and explanation of this.
Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allah be pleased with him), in his tafsir (Qur’anic exegesis) of this noble verse, said: “The verse refers to the heart of the believer, which is filled with the light of iman.”
“Or [their deeds] are like darknesses in a vast deep sea…” (Qur’an 24:40) — this noble verse, he said, represents the heart of the hypocrite.
Zayd ibn Aslam said, regarding Allah’s statement:
“Nay, but it is a glorious Qur’an, [inscribed] in a Preserved Tablet.” (Qur’an 85:21–22) — he said: “What is meant by the Preserved Tablet is the heart of the believer.”
Sahl al-Tustarī said: “The relation between the heart and the breast is like that between the Throne (ʿArsh) and the Footstool (Kursī).” Such are the characteristics of the heart.
Fifth Exposition: On the Places Where the Qualities of the Heart Are Gathered, and Their Parable
Know that the human being is composed of the combination of four elements. Therefore, four types of qualities are gathered in him: predatory, animalistic, satanic, and lordly (rabbānī). When anger and rage dominate, he becomes enraged like predatory animals, attacking those around him. When lust dominates, he becomes gluttonous and obsessed with food like animals. In terms of his lordly aspect, as Allah, the Exalted, says: “Say: The spirit (rūḥ) is of the command of my Lord.” (Qur’an 17:85) — he desires for himself divinity, independence, and uniqueness in mastery, seeking to distance himself from servitude and humility, aspiring to all forms of knowledge. He rejoices when called a scholar, and is saddened when called ignorant. Yet, encompassing all realities and being dominant over every power with might and subjugation are among the attributes of lordship (rubūbiyya). The human being ardently desires to be like this. Alongside the animal with which he shares anger and lust, the human being is distinguished by understanding and reflection, and also possesses a satanic quality, by which he is capable of evil. He uses his intellect and thoughts in evil ways, resorts to deception and trickery, and tries to make evil appear as good. This is the satanic character. In every person, there is a mixture of these four principles: lordly, satanic, predatory, and animalistic. All of these are gathered in the heart, and each takes its place according to the individual’s character. In some, all four are present; in others, one predominates and the others are less. Thus, it is as if within the human skin are gathered a pig, a dog, a devil, and a king. The pig represents lust. In reality, the pig is not condemned for its color, shape, or form, but for its greed and enmity. The dog is anger; predatory animals and biting dogs are not predatory or biting in form or color, but in their spirits. In the inner faculties of the human being, there is the aggression and biting of predatory animals, and alongside these, the lust of the pig. The pig, with its lustful sense, inclines to manifest evils and ugly deeds; the predatory animal quality inclines to anger, oppression, and inflicting harm; the satanic quality stirs up the lust of the pig and the anger of the predatory animal, inciting one against the other. They are rewarded with what they desire. The king, which is the intellect, with its innate radiant light and penetrating insight, exposes the filth of the devil…
[The text ends abruptly here. The translation has been rendered as faithfully as possible, including all citations and references.]