The Principles of Sufism. 'A'ishah al-Ba'uniyyah

      they attained their desires.

      They had hopes,

      so He gave them their desires

      and protected them with His forgiveness,

      completely free of indecency and obscenity.

      The cupbearer of the folk

      circled among them with wine,

      and when they called out, “Who bears the cup?”

      He said to them, “I do!”

      “I am God, so call on Me,

      for I am your Lord!

      Mine are the glory and majesty,

      the praise and sovereignty!”⁴⁵

      1.28.3

      قال مالك: فقلتُ له: بٱلله أَطلِعني على أمرك كيف كان فقال: ما كان إلّا خيرًا. دعانى بفضله فأجبتُه وأعطاني منه كلّ ما طلبتُه وأنشأ يقول [الطويل]:

ولَمَّا دَعَانِي قُلْتُ أَهْلًا وَمَرْحَبَا	بِوَصْلِكَ ما أَحْلَى هَوَاكَ وَأَعْذَبَا
وحَقِّكَ أَنْتَ ٱلقَصْدُ وَٱلسُّؤلُ وَٱلمُنا	وَإنْ لامَنِي فيكَ ٱلعَذُولُ وَأَطْنَبَا
فَقَلْبيَ ما اشْتَاقَ ٱلأراكَ لِأجْلِهِ	وَلا أَرْضَ نَعْمانٍ وَلا خَيفَ مَع قُبا
وَإنْ عَرَضُوا يَوْمًا بِسُعْدَى وَزَينَبٍ	فَما ٱشْتَقْتُ سُعْدًا لا وَلا رُمْتُ زَينَبَا
لَإِنْ ذُكِرَتْ تِلكَ ٱلمَنَازِلُ سادَتي	فَقَصْدِيَ دُونَ ٱلكُلِّ ساكِنَةُ ٱلخِبَا

      قال مالك: ثمّ عاد إلى طوافه وتركني ومضى فلم أره ولم أجد له خبرًا.

      Mālik said:

      I said to him, “By God, tell me what’s happened to you,” and he replied, “It has only been good. God called me with His grace, and I answered Him, and so He gave me all that I sought from Him!” Then he recited:

      When He called me, I said, “Welcome! Come in!”

      In union with You, how sweet is Your love, how fresh!

      By Your reality, You are the goal, the wish, the desire,

      and when the blamer blames me for loving You and goes on and on,

      My heart does not long for the Arak trees of Naʿmān,

      nor for Khayf or Qubā’s land.

      If they appeared one day with Suʿdā or Zaynab,

      I would not long for Suʿdā, no, nor desire Zaynab.

      For whenever those encampments are recalled, O my masters,

      then my goal above all others is she who lives in the tent there.⁴⁶

      Mālik said, “Then he went back to his circumambulation of the Kaaba, and he left, and I never saw him again or heard news of him.”

      1.29

      وقال فُضَيل بن عِيَاض: رأيتُ بالموقف شابًّا ساكنًا وعليه أثر الذلّة والخشوع والناس يسألون الله الحوائج فقلتُ: يا فَتى أَخرِج يدك من جيبك وقُلْ حاجة فقال: يا شيخ وقعَت وحشةٌ وليس لي ثمّ وجهٌ. قلت: فإنْ كان كذلك فإنَّ الوقت يفوت فقال لي لابدَّ فقلتُ لا بدَّ فلمّا أراد أنْ يرفع يديه صاح صيحة وخرّ ميّتًا.

      Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ said, “While standing on the Plain of ʿArafāt during the Hajj, I saw a quiet young man marked by meekness and humility. As the people around us were praying to God to fulfill their needs, I said, ‘Young man, hold your hands before your heart and pray for your needs,’ and he replied, ‘Master, melancholy has come upon me, and now I have no time.’ ‘If this is so, it is too late,’ I replied, and he said to me, ‘Indeed.’ ‘Indeed,’ I agreed, and when he tried to raise his hands, he screamed and fell dead.”

      1.30

      ومن المشهور أنّ سبب توبة إبراهيم بن أَدْهَم أنّه كان من أبناء ملوك خراسان فخرج متَصيّدًا فأثار ثعلبًا وقيل أرنبًا فبينما هو في طلبه إذ هتف به هاتف الهدى: ما لهذا خُلِقتَ ولابهذا أُمِرتَ ثمّ هتف به من قَربوس سرجه: واللهِ ما لهذا خُلِقتَ ولا بهذا أُمِرتَ. فنزل عن دابّته وصادف راعيًا لأبيه فأخذ جُبَّته وكانت من صوف فلبسها وأعطاه ثيابه وقماشه وفرسه. ثمّ دخل مكّة وكان من أمره ما كان.

      The case of Ibrāhīm ibn Adham’s repentance is well known. He was a descendent of the kings of Khurasan. He went out to hunt, and flushed out a fox, or perhaps a rabbit, and as he pursued it, the voice of an invisible guide spoke to him: “You were not created for this; you were not commanded to do this!” Then a voice spoke from his saddle bow: “By God, you were not created for this; you were not commanded to do this!” So he dismounted his horse and came upon one of his father’s shepherds. Ibrāhīm took the shepherd’s cloak, which was made of wool, and put it on, and he gave the shepherd his clothes, gear, and horse. He then went to Mecca, and the rest is history.⁴⁷

      1.31

      ويُروى أنّ سبب توبة شقيق البَلْخيّ أنّه كان من أبناء الأغنياء فخرج إلى التجارة بأرض التُرك وهو شابّ فدخل بيت الأصنام فرأى خادمها فقال له شقيق: إنَّ لك إلهًا خالقًا حيًّا عالمًا قادرًا فاعْبُدْه ولا تَعْبُدْ هذه الأصنام التي لا تَضُرُّ ولا تنْفع. فقال الخادم: إنْ كان كما تقول فهو قادر على أنْ يرزقك ببلدك فلم تعنّيتَ إلى ههنا للتجارة. فانتَبه شقيق وأخذ في طريق الزهد بعد التوبة وكان أمره ما كان.

      The cause of Shaqīq al-Balkhī’s repentance has also been related. He was the scion of a wealthy family, who, as a young man, traded in the land of the Turks. There, he entered a temple full of idols, and when he saw