Table Of ContentT hree Early
Sufi Texts
m m
A TREATISE ON THE HEART
Bayan al-Farq bayn al-Sadr wa-aUQalb
wa-aUFuad wa-aULubb
ATTRIBUTED tO AL-HAKIM AL-TIRMIDHI (d. C.300/912)
INTRODUCED and TRANSLATED by NICHOLAS HEER
STATIONS OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Darajdt aUsddiqtn
&
THE HUMBLE SUBMISSION OF THOSE ASPIRING
Kitdb baydn tadhallul aUfuqara
TWO TEXTS ON THE PATH OF BLAME
by ABU ABD AL-RAH MAN AL'SULAMI AL-NAYSABURI (d. 4I2/l02l)
INTRODUCED and TRANSLATED by KENNETH L, HONERKAMP
Three Early
Sufi Texts
Three Early
Sufi Texts
A TREATISE ON THE HEART
Bayan al-Farq bayn al-$adr wa-al-Qalb
wa-al-Fu’dd wa-al-Lubb
ATTRIBUTED to AL-HAKlM AL-TIRMIDHl (D. C. 300/912)
INTRODUCED and TRANSLATED by NICHOLAS HEER
STATIONS OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Darajat al-^adiqin
&
THE STUMBLINGS OF THOSE ASPIRING
Zalal al-fuqardf
TWO TEXTS FROM THE PATH OF BLAME
by ABO 'ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-SULAMl AL-NAYSABORI (D. 412/1021)
INTRODUCED and TRANSLATED by KENNETH L. HONERKAMP
FONS VITAE
LOUISVILLE 2003
First published in 2003 by
Fons Vitae
44 Mockingbird Valley Drive
Louisville, KY 40207
http://www.fonsvitae.com
Copyright Fons Vitae 2003
Library of Congress Control Number: 2003104822
ISDN 1-887752-51-x
No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form without prior permission of
the publishers. All rights reserved.
Tliis book was typeset by Neville Ulakemore, Jr.
Printed in Canada
Other Related Fons Vitae Titles
Early Sufi Women, by Abu lAbd ar-Rahman as-Sulami, Translated by
Rkia E. Cornell.
The Autobiography of a Moroccan Sotft: Ahmad Ibn Ajiba, Translated by
Jean-Louis Michon and from the French by David Streight.
A1 Ghazali's Faith in Divine Unify & Trust in Divine Providence, Translated
with an introduction by David B. Burrell.
Letters of Sufi Master; The Shaykh ad-Darqawi„ Translated by Titus
Burekhardt with a foreword by Martin Lings.
CONTENTS
Foreword vii
A TREATISE ON THE HEART
Introduction 3
The Manuscript 9
Translation: A Treatise on the Heart {Bayan al-Farq) 11
Notes 57
Appendix: Revisions to the Arabic Text 69
Bibliography 72
Biography of Nicholas Heer 75
Index of Arabic Words 76
STATIONS OF THE RIGHTEOUS &
THE STUMBLINGS OF THOSE ASPIRING
Acknowledgements 84
Preface 85
Introduction 87
The Manuscripts 111
T ranslations:
Stations of the Righteous (Darajat al-$adiqui) 119
The Stumblings of Those Aspiring (Zalal al-fuqanV) 129
Notes 155
Bibliography 173
Biography of Kenneth L. Honcrkamp 182
Index of Proper Names 183
Index of Qur’anic Verses and Hadith 188
Index of Arabic Words 189
Gnosis (ma'rifah) is a bounty which God gives to His servant when He
opens for him the door of blessings and favor, beginning without the servant’s
being worthy of that and then granting him guidance until he believes that
this is all from God, granted to him as a grace and a favor from Him Whom
he is unable to thank except by means of His assistance. And this, again, is
yet another favor to him from God.
From A Treatise on the Heart
Their |the malattu] inner state blames their outward appearance on account
of its complaisance in the world and its living according to the customs of the
common folk. Their outward appearance blames their inner state for though it
resides in proximity to divine Being, it ignores the duality' of outer manifesta
tion, Such are the states of the great masters of the Path.
From Stations of the Righteous
FOREW ORD
The three Sufi texts published in this volume all deal with some aspect of
the Sufi path to God. The Sufi path is marked by a number of different
stages or stations (maqdm/maqdmdt) which the Sufi traveller (sdlik) passes
through as he advances on the path. On his way the Sufi also experiences
various psychological and emotional states (hdl/ahwdf). These states differ
from the stations through which the Sufi passes in that the states are transi
tory experiences granted to him by God and over which he has no control,
whereas the stations are permanent stages on the path which he has achieved
through his own individual effort.
The enumeration of these states and stations and discussions of the dis
tinction between them may be found in such classical Sufi works as al-
KalabadhI’s Taarruf, al-Sarraj’s Luma\ al-Qushayri’s Risaldh and al-Huj win’s
Kashfal-Mahjub. There are, however, considerable differences among these
writers with respect to the enumeration and description of these stations
and states. The existence of such differences should not be surprising since
the descriptions of the stations and states found in these works are based on
knowledge gained through interior Sufi experiences rather than on knowl
edge gained through the external senses.
The Sufi path to God, however, is not an easy one. The Sufi’s progress
along the path is hindered by the machinations of the self (nafs), that is, the
ego-self or what is called in the Qur’an the self that incites or exhorts to evil
{al-tiafs al-ammdrah bi-al-su*). In order to maintain his progress along the
path to God the Sufi must be able to control the ego-self by disciplining it,
and by continually blaming and abasing it.
Of the three Sufi works included in this volume, the first two, Baydtt al-
Farq, attributed to al-Haklm al-Tirmidhi, and al-SuIamfs Darajat al-$ddiqitit
deal primarily with the stations and states of the Sufi traveller on the path to
God. The third, al-Sulaml’s Zalal al-Fuqard’, on the other hand, deals with
the disciplining and abasement of the ego-self or self that incites to evil. We
hope the publication of these three Sufi texts in English translation will
contribute to a greater appreciation of Islam and its mystical aspects.
One who has not died does not see the resurrection except that he die,
as the Messenger of God said: “When one dies, one’s resurrection has ar
rived.” Whoever dies, and the spirit of his self leaves and he is transported
by his spirit from this world to the Hereafter, beholds the Hereafter and
what is in it. Similarly one who has died in his [own| being, but is alive in
his Protector knows that he himself does not control harm or benefit, or
death or life, or resurrection. His heedlessness has been revealed to him, his
resurrection has arrived, and he has become alive through his Lord, for
God has embraced him, taken him under his protection as a friend, sup
ported his heart, and revived it. He has seen by the light of the truth (mlral-
haqq) what no one else has seen.
From A Treatise an the Heart (Bayan al-Farq)
A TREATISE ON THE HEART
Bay an al~Farq bayn al-$adr wa-al-Qalb
wa-al-Fufdd u>a-aFLttbb
ATTRIBUTED to AL-HAKlM AL-TIRMIDHl (D. C. 300/912)
INTRODUCED and TRANSLATED by NICHOLAS HEER
