It has also been said that it is a vārid (spiritual influx). (Istilāh, 531-532; Futūḥāt, VI, 130)
These two ḥāl (spiritual states) are sometimes found in the people of tamkīn (spiritual stability). (Futūḥāt, II, 130)
The human being has many states in which the two ḥāl called qabḍ (constriction) and basṭ (expansion) come together. Whether you call these khawf (fear) and rajāʾ (hope), or wahsha (estrangement) and uns (intimacy), or hayba and taʾannus (finding intimacy), or something else, it is the same. Whether a person is an ʿārif (gnostic), a person of tamkīn, or a sahib of talwīn (one characterized by changing states), it is impossible for a murīd (aspirant, disciple) not to be characterized by these states at any time, regardless of the cause or necessity. (Rūḥ, 39)
Qabḍ is, in the present moment, the ḥāl of khawf. For regret is for something past, while fear and apprehension are for something in the future. Qabḍ, however, is for a meaning that occurs in the present moment. Some, looking at the results of qabḍ, have said: Qabḍ is a vārid that comes to the qalb (the heart). It occurs due to a sign of rebuke to the qalb or a situation that necessitates being disciplined by force. (ishāra)
Some Sufis have said: Qabḍ is a state that arises as a result of khawf. Sometimes khawf is perceived, sometimes it is not. May Allah help you! Know that qabḍ, in the divine maqām (spiritual station) from which qabḍ itself emanates in the world, is Allah, Glorified is He, being characterized by one of the attributes of His creation. (Futūḥāt, II, 498)
According to one group, basṭ is, in the present moment, the ḥāl of rajāʾ. Others have said that qabḍ and basṭ are to receive the vārid of the present moment. Some have said it is a manifestation of qahr (overpowering) and ghalaba. In our view, basṭ is a state that dominates its possessor such that he encompasses things, but things do not encompass him. The ḥaqīqa (inner reality) of basṭ belongs only to those of high degree. This state comes from the Real (al-Ḥaqq) to those of lower degree and elevates their rank. (Futūḥāt, II, 499-500)
The concern of the people of basṭ does not surpass the state of basṭ. However, basṭ is of many kinds: basṭ of action, basṭ of knowledge, basṭ of tajallī (divine manifestation), basṭ of murāqaba (spiritual vigilance). If you are in action: What? In knowledge: About whom? In tajallī: Who? In murāqaba: For whom? Thus, in every basṭ, such questions arise. If you are in the state of basṭ in action, you are asked: What did you intend? In knowledge: Who is your known? In tajallī: Whom do you see? In murāqaba: Whom did you observe? According to the answers you give to these questions, you will be addressed with question and answer. As long as you are in the state of basṭ, you do not witness anything other than what is appropriate to your state. If you answer according to the requirement of your state, you become a ruler by judgment. If you answer according to the Real, then you become as the truth is according to your belief. If you answer with your nafs (the lower self), you have answered with the answer of a servant. The ranks are various and distinct. (Futūḥāt, IV, 440)
Basṭ in the maqām of the servant's qalb is like rajāʾ in the maqām of the nafs. The state of basṭ is a vārid that indicates intimacy, mercy, grace, and acceptance. Just as the counterpart of khawf in the maqām of the nafs is rajāʾ, so too the counterpart of basṭ is the vārid of qabḍ. Basṭ in the maqām of the Real is Allah granting His servant outward basṭ (expansion) among people, and inwardly, due to His mercy for the people, granting qabḍ (constriction). He encompasses all things, but nothing encompasses Him. He affects all things, but nothing affects Him. (Kāshānī, 37; Jāmiʿ, 78)
Qabḍ (billāh) is when a vārid indicating estrangement, such as avoidance and distancing, dominates the qalb. Its counterpart, basṭ, was mentioned above. This state usually occurs as a result of an impropriety committed by the sālik (traveler) in the state of basṭ following basṭ. The difference between qabḍ and basṭ and khawf and rajāʾ is that khawf is related to something undesirable for the nafs, and rajāʾ is related to something desirable, while qabḍ and basṭ are related to the present moment and have no relation to what comes after. (Kāshānī, 143; Jāmiʿ, 92)
Qabḍ alludes to the elect among the people. Its first subtlety is the group who, being in the state of qabḍ as elevation, are veiled from the gaze of the worlds. The second is the group who, being in qabḍ, are clothed in the garment of talbīs (concealment) and are hidden from the sight of the world. The third is the group whom the Real has drawn to Himself, passed through the sieve of secrets, and thus made them His own.
The people of basṭ are the people of talbīs. The first subtlety among them are those who, being in the state of basṭ, have compassion for people. The people are illuminated by their light, but their secrets remain hidden. The second are those who are in the state of basṭ so that their meanings may be strengthened and their vision stabilized. Those who witness them do not interfere with what they witness, for in these states they are under the murāqaba of the Real. The third are those who are in the state of basṭ to indicate the path, to guide to hudā (guidance), and to illuminate the sāliks (travelers). (Rawḍa, 494)
States are given to those who possess them only from this heaven. Whether they are of jalāliyya (majesty), like qabḍ, hayba, and khawf, or of jamāliyya (beauty), like basṭ, uns, and rajāʾ, in reality they are one. (Asfār, 164)
There are three causes of qabḍ: either it is a sin you have committed; or it is the loss or decrease of dunyā (worldly possessions); or it is a wrongdoer who causes you harm in your wealth, nafs, honor, family, reputation, worldly or religious affairs, or other matters. When one of these causes befalls you, what is required of servanthood is to refer to the sharia (the sacred law). This is done, in the case of sin, by tawba (repentance), ināba (turning to the Real), and seeking forgiveness. In the case of loss or decrease of worldly things, it is by being in a state of submission and riḍā (contentment with God's decree), and expecting your reward from Allah. In the case of harm from a wrongdoer, you must be in a state of sabr (patient endurance), tranquility, and thabāt (steadfastness).
Beware of wronging your own nafs, lest you be overcome by it and sacrifice the right of the wrongdoer. Otherwise, in such a ḥāl, you will have wronged both another and yourself, and two injustices will be combined upon you. If you are able to fulfill the sabr and endurance required of you, Allah will grant your heart an expansion, and as a result, you will forgive and pardon. Perhaps you will be given something from the light of riḍā, and by it you will show mercy to the one who wronged you and make dua (supplication) for him, and your dua will be accepted. This is the rank of the ṣiddīqūn (the truthful) and the merciful.
Rely upon Allah. If a state of qabḍ comes to you for a reason you do not know—time is of two kinds, night and day—qabḍ is like the night, basṭ is like the day—there are three things you must do: remain calm in speech, action, and will. If you do this, soon either your day will dawn, or your guiding star, or the moon by which you are illuminated, or the sun by which you see will rise and you will be delivered from the night. The stars are the stars of knowledge, the moon is the moon of tawhid (the oneness of God), and the sun is the sun of maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God). If you move in the darkness of night, say: (O Allah) grant us safety, so that you may be saved from destruction.
The occurrence of basṭ is also not without causes. There are three causes of basṭ: first, abundant obedience or Allah's ihsan (spiritual excellence) such as knowledge and maʿrifa; second, the abundance of worldly possessions acquired through work, generosity, gift-giving, or other means; third, the praise and admiration of people, their turning towards you, their requests for dua, or their acts of reverence such as hand-kissing, etc.
If some of these causes come to you, ubūdiyya (servanthood) requires you to see that these blessings and favors are given to you by Allah to facilitate obedience and success. Do not let your nafs interfere. Compel your nafs to obey you so that these blessings are not taken away from you. Thus, you will be captivated by Allah's grace and encouragement to obedience.
As for the abundance of worldly possessions, this too is a blessing like the first. In terms of work, its hidden afflictions are lighter than those of other obligatory, recommended, or forbidden things. As for the praise and other forms of reverence from people, gratitude is required for the blessing of Allah covering the faults of servanthood. Fear lest Allah expose even an atom's weight of your hidden sin, for then even those closest to you would look upon you with aversion.
As for basṭ whose cause you do not know, I will say this: the right of ubūdiyya is to ask…