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

8 ʿĀʾishah al-Bāʿūniyyah, Dīwān Fayḍ al-faḍl, 326. 9 ʿĀʾishah al-Bāʿūniyyah, Dīwān Fayḍ al-faḍl, 73, 193. 10 ʿĀʾishah al-Bāʿūniyyah, Dīwān Fayḍ al-faḍl, 237–51, and Homerin, Emanations, 96–139. 11 For more on ʿĀʾishah’s views on remembrance, see Homerin, “Recalling.” 12 See Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions, 43. 13 Bly, Eight Stages, 13–49.

      كتاب

       المُنْتَخَب في أُصُول الرُتَب

       في علم التصوّف

      The Principles of Sufism

      0.1

      بسم الله الرحمٰن الرحيم وهو حسبي

      In the Name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate, Who suffices me.

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      الحمد لله المفيض مدده على أحبابه تخصيصًا ووفاء المرويّ قلوبهم من شراب التوحيد محبّة وصفاء المتجلّي على أسرارهم جلالًا وجمالًا المتفضّل عليهم بمنائح القرب شهودًا ووصالًا. أحمده حمد من عرّفه به فعرف وغمره بفضله فأقرّ بالعجز عن شكره واعترف وأشهد أن لا إله إلّا الله وحده لا شريك له شهادة من هام في بيداء التفريد وغرق في بحر التوحيد فانقطع نظره عن الخلق وشاهد الحقّ بالحقّ. وأشهد أنّ أخصّ الأخصّين مصطفى المصطفين وسيّد المرسلين وأشرف العالمين محمّده الأحمد ورسوله الأمجد وحبيبه الأقرب وخليله الأنجب صلّى الله عليه صلاة دائمة بدوامه الأبدي باقية ببقائه الصمدي صلاة تديم المدد لنا منه والتلقّي عنه وعلى إخوانه من النبيّين والمرسلين وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين وآل كلّ وسائر الصالحين وسلّم تسليمًا وكرّم تكريمًا.

      Praise God, who pours His aid upon His beloved ones as a special allotment and reward, quenching their hearts from the drink of oneness with love and purity, revealing Himself to their inner hearts in glory and beauty, and gracing them with gifts of proximity in contemplation and union. I praise Him with the praise of one to whom He made Himself known. Then she knew and was blessed with His grace, and confessed and acknowledged that this was beyond all thanks. I bear witness that there is no deity but God, alone without peer. This is the witness of one who roamed in the deserts of singularity and drowned in the ocean of oneness. Then she turned her gaze from creation and witnessed the True Reality by means of the True Reality. I bear witness that the most special of the special ones, the master of the messengers, the chosen of the chosen ones, the most eminent of creation is His most praiseworthy Muḥammad, His most glorious emissary, His dearest beloved, and His noblest friend. May God bless and cherish him with prayers for all eternity, abiding in perpetuity, with prayers that will continue to bring us aid and instruction from him. May God also bless his brethren among the prophets and emissaries, all of his family and companions, all progeny, and all the righteous. May He give them eternal peace and exalt them!

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      وبعد: فلمّا صحّ صدق طلب بعض الأحباب وظهرت ملازمته للباب وتوسّده على الأعتاب وكشف الله لنا عن صفاء سريرته وإخلاص نيّته وتحقّقنا أنّه بفضل الله ممن شملته ألطاف العناية الإلهيّة واختصّته الرحمة بحقيقة المحبّة الربّانيّة ورأيناه متشوّقًا إلى ما يفقّهه في شرع التحقيق ويَهديه إلى سواء الطريق فاستخَرنا الله سبحانه في تعليله بلسان القال حتّى يصل إن شاء الله تعالى إلى لسان الحال فأجبنا سؤاله بما تعلّقت به آماله ابتغاءً لوجه الله وطلبًا لرضاه ومن الله المدد وبه الرشد وهو حسبي {وَنِعْمَ ٱلْوَكِيلُ}.

      When the sincerity to seek grew strong in one of the dear friends, and he stood waiting at the door with his head on the doorsteps, God revealed to us the purity of his heart and the sincerity of his intention, and we observed that, thanks to the grace of God, he was one of those filled with the gifts of divine providence and marked by mercy for the realization of Lordly love. We saw him looking longingly for instruction in the way of realization and for guidance to the right path. So we sought God’s guidance, may He be glorified, for explaining things to him in the language of speech that he might, if the exalted God so wills, attain the language of the mystical state. Then we answered his request and fulfilled his hopes solely for the grace of God and His satisfaction, for all aid and right guidance are from Him. He is my sufficiency and «the best trustee»!¹

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      اعلَم رحمك الله أنّ مقامات القوم أهل الله لا تُحصى لكن لفروعها أصول يتفرّع عنها كلّ مقام وهي أربعة: التَوبة والإخلاص والذكر والمحبّة. فوجب الآن أن نتكلّم على كلّ أصل من هذه الأصول الأربع بما وجدناه في الكتاب والسنّة وبما وصل إلينا من حقائق القوم بلطيف إشاراتهم وسمّيته المُنْتَخَب فى أُصُول ِالرُتَب ومن الله العون وبه الصون والله يجعله خالصًا نافعًا بمنّه وكرمه.

      Know, may God show you mercy, that the stations of the Sufi folk, God’s people, are innumerable, but their branches have four roots from which each station spreads, namely: repentance (tawbah), sincerity (ikhlāṣ), remembrance (dhikr), and love (maḥabbah). We will discuss each of these four principles based on what we have found in the Qurʾān and in the prophetic traditions, as well as the knowledge we have acquired about the true state of affairs among the Sufi folk replete with subtle allusions. I have named this The Principles of Sufism. Assistance comes from God, and protection is with God. With His aid and care, may He keep this work free of errors, and may it be a benefit to