Introduction
In the discussion of the importance of Sufism (taṣawwuf), mention was made of base and morally blameworthy traits. As clarified in the works of most scholars, it has also been emphasized that the removal of these traits is an individual obligation (farḍ ʿayn). However, these deficient traits cannot be eliminated by mere desire, by a perspective divorced from purification (tazkiya), or by reading books on ethics and Sufism (taṣawwuf). On the contrary, practical purification and struggle (mujāhada) are certainly necessary, as is severing oneself from the rebelliousness of the nafs (the lower self) and the strength of its desires.
In a poem:
“The nafs (the lower self) is like a child; if you give it time, it clings to its mother’s breast,
If you wean the child, it too will be weaned.”
(That is, if you sever the nafs from forbidden things, then, just as a child is weaned from milk, the nafs will lose hope in the forbidden.)
Definition of Mujāhada: Rāghib al-Isfahānī (may Allah have mercy on him), in his work “Mufradāt al-Gharīb al-Qur’ān,” states: “Jihād and mujāhada mean to exert one’s full strength in defense against the enemy. Jihād is divided into three: mujāhada against the outward enemy, mujāhada against Satan, and mujāhada against the nafs (the lower self). All three fall under Allah the Exalted’s statement in al-Ḥajj 22:78:
‘And strive for Allah with the striving due to Him.’
And in al-Tawba 9:41:
‘Strive in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives.’ The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) also said in a hadith: ‘Just as you strive against your enemies, strive also against your nafs (inclination, desire) and passions.’[1]
In struggling against the nafs, one must first cut off its desires and oppose it. Additionally, one must make the nafs accept Allah’s commands and prohibitions.
A. Evidences from the Book and the Sunnah
Allah the Exalted says in al-ʿAnkabūt 29:69:
‘But as for those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways.’[2]
Fudāla b. ʿUbayd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The mujāhid is the one who strives against his nafs (the lower self) in the path of Allah (in another narration: for Allah).’[3]
Legal Ruling
As stated, purification of the nafs is an individual obligation (farḍ ʿayn). This is only completed through mujāhada. Thus, we understand that the obligation of mujāhada is based on the principle: ‘It is obligatory to do that which leads to the fulfillment of an obligation.’
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ghanī al-Nābulusī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ‘Struggling against the nafs is an act of worship. This is only achieved in a person through knowledge, and it is an individual obligation (farḍ ʿayn) upon every morally responsible person.’[4]
The Capacity of the Nafs for Change
Undoubtedly, the human nafs is capable of transforming deficient traits and changing blameworthy habits. Otherwise, there would be no benefit in the sending of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Nor would there be a need for the scholars and reforming spiritual guides (murshids) who inherited from him and acted upon his legacy.
Given that it is possible to train birds of prey and wild animals and to change many of their traits, it is even more fitting for the human being, whom Allah has honored and created in the best form (ahsani taqwīm).
The aim in struggling against the nafs is not to uproot its traits entirely, but rather to bring it from evil to good, to direct it according to Allah’s will, and to seek Allah’s pleasure (riḍā).
When a person becomes angry for his nafs, the trait of anger is blameworthy. However, if one becomes angry for the sake of Allah, then anger is praiseworthy. Just as the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) became angry when Allah’s values were violated or a limit was neglected...
Yet, he did not become angry for himself when he was harmed and beaten at Ṭāʾif and his heel bled; rather, he prayed for the guidance (hudā) of those who harmed him. He excused them and said: ‘O Allah! Guide my people, for they do not know.’[5]
Pride is similar: when a Muslim shows arrogance toward fellow believers, it is blameworthy; but when he shows pride toward arrogant disbelievers, it is praiseworthy, for it is done in the path of Allah and within the scope of His sharia (the sacred law). Thus, many blameworthy traits are transformed through mujāhada into praiseworthy ones.
The Path of Mujāhada
The first stage in mujāhada is that a person is not content with his own nafs and believes, as the Creator and Originator has informed in Yūsuf 12:53: ‘Indeed, the nafs (the lower self) is ever commanding to evil.’
It should be known that the greatest thing that keeps a person from Allah is the nafs, and likewise, the greatest thing that brings one to Allah is the nafs. The nafs that commands evil (nafs al-ammāra) only delights in rebellion and opposition. After mujāhada and purification, it becomes content with Allah, and Allah becomes content with it. It then finds joy and happiness in acts of obedience, conformity, and intimacy with Allah.
When a Muslim sincerely seeks to train his nafs by exposing its faults, he does not waste his life by being preoccupied with the faults of others. Know that when you see someone heedless of his own faults and spending his time counting the faults of others, he is a foolish ignoramus.
Abū Madyan said in a poem:
‘While you believe, look at your own faults, which are hidden from others but clear to you; do not look at the faults of others!’
Others have said in their poetry:
‘When you commit a similar act and are attributed with it, do not blame the one who did it! Whoever blames another for what he himself does, this is a sign of his ignorance.’
Therefore, some have said: ‘As long as you have faults within yourself, do not look at the faults of others; a servant is never completely free from faults.’
When a Muslim knows this, he turns to his own nafs, cuts it off from misleading desires and deficient habits, and compels it to acts of obedience and deeds that bring one closer to Allah.
In mujāhada, if one proceeds step by step according to his spiritual journey (sulūk), he first abstains from the sins related to the seven organs: the tongue, ear, eye, hand, foot, stomach, and private parts.[6] Then, each of these seven organs is adorned with appropriate acts of obedience.[7]
These seven organs are windows to the heart (qalb). Either the darkness of sin pours over the heart and clouds it, making it sick, or the light of obedience enters it, healing and illuminating it. Then, one proceeds to struggle with the inner (hidden) traits, replacing deficient traits such as pride, ostentation, and anger with perfect traits such as humility, ikhlas (sincerity), and forbearance. Since the path of mujāhada and spiritual journey (sulūk) is arduous and multifaceted, and it is difficult for the seeker (sālik) to enter it alone, the companionship of a murshid (spiritual guide) who knows the ways of treatment and struggle and understands the faults of the nafs is beneficial in practice. The murīd (disciple) benefits from the company of a strong, experienced murshid who has tested the purification of his own nafs through various practices. From the sacred fragrance of his spirituality, the murīd acquires refinement, perfects his own nafs and character, and rises above deficiencies and reprehensible acts. Indeed, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) was the greatest purifier and the first murshid, who purified and nurtured the nafs of the noble Companions (ṣaḥāba) by his state and word. The Exalted Allah describes him in al-Jumuʿa 62:2:
‘It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom – although they were before in clear error.’[8] Just as a patient submits to his physician, so too the murīd must turn to the companionship of his shaykh, submit, and surrender to him for benefit. When Satan instills the disease of delusive pride, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, and disregard for the shaykh in the heart of the murīd, he becomes lax, thinks he is progressing, but remains stationary; thinks he has arrived, but is actually cut off.
Shaykh Ismāʿīl Ḥaqqī (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his tafsir: ‘Indeed, many of the intermediate Sufis, due to excessive ascetic discipline during their journey, become weary and bored with mujāhada. As a result, Satan whispers to them, and their nafs deceives them into thinking they have reached a spiritual station. Thus, they no longer feel the need for submission, spiritual management, or the companionship of their shaykh, and they begin to live according to their nafs. They resort to tricks and deception to separate, and become playthings of Satan.’[9]
B. Sayings of the Gnostics and Nurturing Murshids on Mujāhada
Abū ʿUthmān al-Maghribī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ‘If someone thinks he will attain certain openings and unveilings in the tariqa (Sufi path) without entering into the necessary mujāhada, he is mistaken.’[10]
Imam Junayd (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I heard Sarrī al-Saqaṭī say: ‘O youth! Strive before you reach the stage I have reached. Just as I became weak and fell behind, so too will you. Yet, at that time, the youth could not match him in worship.’[11]
Abū ʿUthmān al-Maghribī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ‘When a person sees his nafs as beautiful and admires it, he cannot see his own faults. Those who always accuse their nafs see its faults.’[12]
Abū ʿAlī al-Daqqāq (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ‘Whoever adorns his outward with mujāhada, Allah beautifies his inward with witnessing (mushāhada). Allah, in al-ʿAnkabūt 29:69, says: ‘But as for those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways.’ Know that whoever does not possess mujāhada at the beginning will not even smell the fragrance of this tariqa.’[13]
Imam Birgivī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ‘How swift is the destruction of one who does not know his own faults. Indeed, acts of disobedience are the heralds of kufr (disbelief).’[14]
Shaykh al-Islām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ‘The salvation of the nafs lies in the servant opposing its desires and compelling it to do what its Lord requires of it.’[15]
Imam Birgivī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ‘Mujāhada at all times is to end the whims and desires of the nafs and to make it act contrary to its inclinations. It is the merchandise of the worshippers and the capital of the ascetics. It is the foundation of the rectitude and humility of the nafs. It is the reinforcement and purification (tasfiya) of the spirits. It is the essence and substance of attaining the Majestic and Generous One. O seeker! If you seek guidance (hudā) from Allah, you must roll up your sleeves to restrain the nafs from its desires and to struggle against it.’
Allah the Exalted says in al-ʿAnkabūt 29:69:
‘But as for those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways.’ And in al-ʿAnkabūt 29:6:
‘Whoever strives, only strives for [the benefit of] himself. Indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.’[16] Ibn ʿAjība (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ‘When the murīd (disciple) enters the tariqa, the first thing required of him is mujāhada, to endure hardships, to be truthful, and to affirm the truth. This will ultimately bring him to light and radiance. Whoever’s beginning is radiant, his end will also be radiant. If we see someone who spends his nafs, wealth, soul, honor, and status in seeking the truth to attain servitude, we know his end will be radiant as he reaches his Beloved. If we see him lazy, we recognize his deficiency.’[17]
Muḥyiddīn Ibn ʿArabī (may Allah have mercy on him), in the chapter ‘Ascetic Disciplines, Retreats, Struggles, and Their Effects’ of his ‘al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya,’ says: ‘Indeed, the intellects of the people of iman (faith) came to know and see Allah the Exalted through rational proofs, but Allah wanted them to know Him with true gnosis (maʿrifa). The intellects realized that there is another path to Allah that cannot be reached by mere contemplation. The intellects began to use methods such as ascetic discipline, retreat, mujāhada, severing ties with the world, solitude, and keeping company with Allah, by emptying the place of worldly thoughts (the qalb) from all but Allah and purifying it from mixed thoughts. The intellects of the people of iman learned this path from the prophets and messengers. They heard that Allah would descend upon His servants with mercy and show them compassion.[18] They realized that turning toward the path to Allah is closer than the path of finding Allah through contemplation alone.
What is required of the people of iman is to know the exalted statement of Allah: ‘Whoever comes to Me walking, I will come to him running.’[19] For the heart (qalb) of the believer encompasses the majesty (ʿaẓama) and grandeur of Allah.
Thus, the intellect turns wholly to Allah and is cut off from all forces that distract from Him. During this turning, Allah bestows upon him knowledge from His light. This knowledge, through manifestation and witnessing, enables the person to know Allah. Some accept this knowledge from Allah, while others do not reject it. For this reason, Allah, in the verse ‘Indeed in that is a reminder’ in Qāf 50:37, alludes to knowing Allah through witnessing:
‘Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart (qalb) or who listens while he is present [in mind].’ He did not say that any force beyond the intellect brings the servant to his Lord.
Indeed, the qalb is known for its constant change of states. It does not remain in one state. The divine manifestations (tajalliyāt) are also like this. Whoever does not witness these manifestations with his qalb will deny them with his intellect. The intellect controls all other faculties, but because the qalb changes states rapidly, it cannot be controlled. For this reason, the Lawgiver (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Indeed, the qalb is between two fingers of the Merciful. He turns it as He wills.’[20] (This is among the anthropomorphic hadiths; take heed.)
The qalb changes with the change of manifestations; the intellect does not. The qalb is a faculty beyond the intellect. Allah, in Qāf 50:37, says: ‘Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a qalb or who listens while he is present [in mind].’ If by qalb He meant the intellect, He would not have specifically mentioned the qalb. Every human has an intellect. This faculty called the qalb, which surpasses the intellect, is not given to everyone.
C. Dispelling Doubts about Mujāhada
If someone says: ‘Those who practice Sufism (taṣawwuf) make lawful pleasures, wealth, and possessions forbidden, even though Allah has made them lawful,’ and cites as evidence Allah’s words in al-Aʿrāf 7:32:
‘Say, Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good [lawful] things of provision?’ and in al-Māʾida 5:87:
‘O you who have believed, do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful to you and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.’—then we reply: ‘The people of Sufism (taṣawwuf) did not make the lawful unlawful. Rather, their highest aim is to adhere to the sharia (the sacred law) of Allah. However, they did not neglect the fact that purification of the nafs is an individual obligation (farḍ ʿayn). Because the nafs possesses evil traits and carnal attachments that can drag its owner to ruin and prevent him from ascending to degrees of perfection (kamāl), the Sufis were strict in disciplining their nafs and freeing it from the prison of desire.’
The great Sufi Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī (may Allah have mercy on him) uttered words rejecting the suspicion that Sufis, in this sense, make the lawful unlawful. To those who use the above verses as evidence, he replied: ‘To use al-Aʿrāf 7:32 and al-Māʾida 5:87 as evidence is crude and a misapplication of the words. We did not intend, by the methods we use in purification (tazkiya), to make the lawful unlawful. We only sought to discipline the nafs until it acquires proper manners and acts as required.
In al-Aʿrāf 7:33:
‘Say, My Lord has only forbidden immoralities – what is apparent of them and what is concealed – and sin and oppression without right.’ Do you not see that Allah has forbidden unjust behavior even in lawful things? Just as arrogance and boasting are forbidden, so too are ostentation and extravagance. The reason for this temporary prohibition and strict control during purification is that the nafs inclines with its heart toward these forbidden evil things, and as a result, the heart becomes corrupted. I saw that the nafs takes lawful provision and the beautiful things Allah has created, but at the same time, it desires self-praise, boasting, and ostentation, mixing lawful provision with unlawful deeds and neglecting gratitude (shukr). Yet, man was provided for in order to show gratitude, not ingratitude. When I saw this bad behavior of the nafs, I imposed certain restrictions on it until it was humbled and controlled. My Lord saw me as a true struggler for His sake. As Allah promised, He guided me to His path. In al-ʿAnkabūt 29:69:
‘But as for those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good.’ When I performed mujāhada well in His sight, Allah’s help was with me. Whoever is with Allah has an invincible community, an unsleeping protector, and an infallible guide with him. Allah, even in this world, casts light upon the heart, and ultimately grants the reward of the Hereafter. Do you not see what has come from the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him)? ‘When light enters the heart of a servant, the heart expands, finds joy, and is gladdened.’ It was asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Is there a sign for this?’ He replied: ‘Yes! To turn away from the house of delusion (the world), to turn toward the eternal abode (the Hereafter), and to prepare for death before it comes.’ When light enters the heart, the faults, calamities, deceptions, and ruin of the world are shown to him. Therefore, he turns away from the house of delusion (the world and its love). Arrogance, ostentation, seeking fame, pride, boasting, and envy disappear from his heart. For all such evil traits originate from veneration of the world, its sweetness in the heart, and love for it. The reason for deliverance from these afflictions is to restrain the nafs from carnal desires through ascetic discipline.’[21]
Some people, without reflection, claim that mujāhada in Sufism (taṣawwuf) comes from Buddhism or Brahmanism, and that it is united with the aberrations in Christianity and other religions that accept tormenting the body as a way for the soul to shine and move. Others have seen Sufism as a tendency toward monasticism and cite the following hadith as evidence: ‘A group of three came and asked about the worship of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). When they were informed, they seemed to consider it insufficient. The first said: “I will fast all year and never break my fast.” The second said: “I will stand in prayer all night and never sleep.” The third said: “I will abstain from women and never marry.” When their situation was presented to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), he corrected their mistaken thinking and directed them to the straight, clear, and moderate path.’
In response: Sufism (taṣawwuf) has never been an independent sharia (path) or a new religion in any era. Rather, it is the practical application of the religion of Allah and complete conformity to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him).
The reason for the doubts of those who fall into confusion without thought is the emphasis in Sufism on the purification, training, and elevation of the nafs. Moreover, the struggle of the nafs is established upon the principles of the sharia and within the framework of the upright religion. Without examining these religious aberrations, they blindly and indiscriminately compared them to Sufism.
Thus, there is a great difference between mujāhada, which is bound to the legitimate religion of Allah, and excessiveness, aberration, making the lawful unlawful, and tormenting the body as the unbelieving Buddhists do. To judge that all who struggle against and purify their nafs derive from Buddhism or Brahmanism, as claimed by Orientalists and their followers, is injustice and slander. Or to base this on the three who considered the worship of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) insufficient is also unjust. Moreover, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) corrected their errors, and they returned to his path of guidance and sunnah.
If in Islamic history there are those who made the lawful unlawful or tormented the body as religious deviants did, they are innovators and far from the path of Sufism. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish between Sufism and the Sufi. Just as a Muslim does not represent Islam by his aberration, so too a person who resembles a Sufi but is in aberration is not a Sufi.
The objectors did not distinguish between the Sufi and Sufism, nor between the Muslim and Islam. They conflated them. Therefore, by comparing to the aberrant, they opposed the perfected ones.
After this, the ultimate goal and desire of the seekers (sāliks) is the advancement (taraqqī) of their nafs. If they achieve this, they attain their aim. Through mujāhada and ascetic discipline, the nafs rises from the commanding (ammāra) to the blaming (lawwāma), to the inspired (mulhima), to the content (raḍiyya), to the well-pleased (marḍiyya), to the tranquil (muṭmaʾinna), and beyond. Mujāhada is necessary for the sālik in all stages of the journey to Allah. It only ends by approaching the degree of infallibility (ʿiṣma), which is specific to the prophets and messengers (peace be upon them).
Thus, we understand that some sāliks do not properly fulfill the condition of their journey (struggle against the nafs), yet claim love for their nafs. They recite the words of those who are lovers (muḥibbūn). To support their school, they recite the following poem by Ibn al-Fāriḍ (may Allah have mercy on him):
‘My school is love; what need have I for any other school?
If ever I turn away from it, I am separated from my people (school).’
They do not know how Ibn al-Fāriḍ struggled with his nafs at the beginning. Here, we present some of his words that show the importance of mujāhada in his spiritual journey (sulūk) and describe his struggle. We know that Ibn al-Fāriḍ began his journey to Allah not from the commanding nafs (ammāra), but from the blaming nafs (lawwāma). In this poem, he explains that a sālik who does not struggle has neither journey nor love:
‘My nafs was formerly in the station of lawwāma (the blaming nafs),
Whenever I obeyed it, it rebelled against me,
Whenever I rebelled against it, it obeyed me,
I imposed upon it something worse than death,
And I wearied it so that I might find rest,
After good effort, it became upright,
It bore everything I imposed and became accustomed to it,
Whenever I lightened its burden,
It became disturbed (did not want me to lighten it),
Yet, I abandoned all pleasures for my sake, I distanced it from its former habits,
Until it became upright,
I realized it had attained tranquility (muṭmaʾinna),
It no longer feared anything except what I imposed upon it,
Nevertheless, I cannot testify to the purity of my nafs.’
Therefore, Ibn al-Fāriḍ (may Allah have mercy on him) alludes in another poem to those who claim love and passion without abandoning the shares of their nafs and struggling against it:
‘Some Sufis turned aside from the path in which I found health,
Excusing themselves, they sought divine love by a path other than that of the people of Sufism,
Therefore, their views are flawed and unsound,
They contented themselves with wishes and the pleasure of their nafs,
They claimed to have plunged into the sea of love without even wetting their feet,
They claimed to walk and become weary, though they had not taken a single step in the night journey.’
Thus, for every sālik, mujāhada is a fundamental condition at every stage of the spiritual journey (sulūk). However, mujāhada varies according to the state of the murīd on the ladder of advancement. For example: a student is first in elementary school, then in middle school, then in high school, and then at university. In all these stages, he is considered a student, but there is a great difference between an elementary student and a university student. Likewise, there is a great difference between the nafs al-ammāra, which inclines to evil, and the nafs al-muṭmaʾinna, which is content and returns to its Lord.
Summary
Mujāhada is one of the fundamental principles of the Sufi path. They said: ‘Whoever fulfills the principles attains union; whoever abandons the principles is deprived of union.’
They also said: Whoever does not have a burning beginning in mujāhada will not have a radiant end. Beginnings indicate the goodness of endings.
Footnotes
- Al-Mufradāt fī Gharīb al-Qur’ān, entry ‘jahd’, p. 101
- This verse was revealed in Mecca. It is known that fighting against disbelievers began in Medina. Thus, the jihad here refers to struggle against the nafs. In the tafsir of this verse: Allāma Ibn Juzayy said: ‘What is meant by jihad here is struggle against the nafs.’ Allāma Mufassir al-Qurṭubī said in his tafsir: ‘Suddī and others said this verse was revealed before jihad against the enemy was made obligatory.’
- Reported by al-Tirmidhī in Faḍāʾil al-Jihād, who graded it ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ. Al-Bayhaqī, with the narration of Fudāla, in Shuʿab al-Īmān: ‘The mujāhid is the one who strives against his nafs in obedience to Allah. The emigrant (muhājir) is the one who migrates from errors and sins.’ Also in al-Tirmidhī’s Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, Kitāb al-Īmān, no. 34.
- Al-Nābulusī, Sharḥ Ṭarīqat al-Muḥammadiyya, vol. 1, p. 323
- Reported by al-Bukhārī in Ṣaḥīḥ, Kitāb Ḥadīth al-Anbiyāʾ.
- Each of the seven organs has its own sins: Sins of the tongue: backbiting, tale-bearing, lying, and obscene speech. Sins of the ear: listening to backbiting, tale-bearing, obscenity, songs, and entertainment. Sins of the eye: looking at non-maḥram women and the private parts of men. Sins of the hand: harming Muslims, killing, unjustly taking their property, and shaking hands with non-maḥram women. Sins of the foot: walking to sinful and forbidden places. Sins of the stomach: eating unlawful wealth, pork, and intoxicants. Sins of the private parts: fornication and sodomy…
- The acts of obedience for these organs: The tongue: reciting the Qur’an, remembering Allah (dhikr), enjoining good and forbidding evil. The ear: listening to the Qur’an, hadiths of the Prophet, advice, and sermons. The eye: looking at the faces of scholars and the righteous, gazing at the noble Kaʿba, and contemplating Allah’s signs in creation.
- Here, purification (tazkiya) is distinct from teaching the Book and wisdom. Thus, Allah says: ‘Purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom…’ There is a great difference between the state of purification and the knowledge of purification, just as there is a clear difference between the knowledge of health and health itself. A skilled doctor may have knowledge of health but be afflicted with many diseases. Likewise, there is a clear difference between the knowledge of asceticism and the state of asceticism: a Muslim may have extensive knowledge of verses, hadiths, and testimonies related to asceticism, yet be deprived of the state of asceticism, characterized by greed and attachment to the fleeting world.
- Shaykh Ismāʿīl Ḥaqqī al-Bursawī, Tafsīr Rūḥ al-Bayān, vol. 2, p. 149
- Risālat al-Qushayriyya, pp. 48–50
- Risālat al-Qushayriyya, pp. 48–50
- Risālat al-Qushayriyya, pp. 48–50
- Risālat al-Qushayriyya, pp. 48–50
- Risālat al-Qushayriyya, pp. 48–50
- Shaykh Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī, Taʿlīqāt ʿalā Risālat al-Qushayriyya
- Al-Ḥadīqat al-Nadiyya Sharḥ Ṭarīqat al-Muḥammadiyya, vol. 1, p. 455
- Iḳāẓ al-Himam fī Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, vol. 2, p. 370
- This hadith is reported by al-Dārimī, Bāb al-Ṣalāt.
- The beginning of this hadith: ‘When the servant comes to Me a handspan, I come to him an arm’s length…’ Reported by al-Bukhārī from Anas, Abū Hurayra, and Abū ʿAwāna; al-Ṭabarānī from Sulaymān.
- Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, p. 443
- Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī, al-Riyāḍa wa Adab al-Nafs, p. 124