2. Al-Baqara

And believe in what I have revealed confirming that which is with you; and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And do not sell My signs for a small price; and fear Me. The allusion is to the fact that the belief of [the servant] is a combination of clear evidence bayān and his belief [that he reaches] through demonstra- tive proof burhān. The generality of believers believe through demon- strative proof based on reasoning istidlāl while the elite of the believers believe through clear evidence by virtue of being drawn near. The Real ������ has drawn near to them and so they believe in God. The final states of their belief are through eyewitnessing ʿiyān and that is for the elect of the elect. And be not the first to disbelieve in it: �Do not [be the ones to] introduce disbelief kufr as an ongoing practice sunna� for surely the responsi- bility of the initiator in what he practices is greater than the responsibility of the imitator in what he follows. And do not sell My signs for a small price: �Do not prefer your cheap worldly portion ḥaẓẓ over the grandeur of My truth ḥaqq.� And fear Me: Those who fear His punishment are many but those who are in awe of knowing and seeing Him are rare.

= And establish prayer and pay the alms and bow with those that bow. �Keep in mind the good manners of presence ḥaḌra for the preservation of good manners is the most perfect type of service khidma.� The allusion in giving alms zakāt is to the almsgiving of aspirations just as you fulfill the almsgiving of wealth. The one who spoke for them said: Everything has an almsgiving to be paid. The almsgiving of beauty is a mercy like Mine. Through the abundant increases in aspirations and the subtleties of vision He brings about in those who pursue and seek they are lifted up and their states become states of bewilderment. �And bow with those that bow following the traditions of the pious forefathers salaf in what they used to do avoiding the practice of isola- tion for being in a dense congregation ghumār is sounder than being separated from people.�

Will you bid others to piety and forget yourselves while you recite the Bookḍ Do you not understandḍ �Will you rouse others to be foremost while you are content to lag behindḍ� It is also said �Will you call created beings to Us while you hang back from Usḍ Will you give drink to the delegations while you yourselves hold back from the waterḍ Will you vie with others arguing with them over particulars content in your bankruptcy with externalsḍ� It is said �Do you look to the weight of a speck or the measure of a grain in people while you tolerate the mounds of sand and mountains in yourselvesḍ� The one who spoke for them said: Do you look to the mote in my eye when you do not see the beam in your ownḍ It is also said �Do you give the choicest drink while you do not drink in turnḍ� �While you recite the Bookḍ Then you persist obstinately with clandes- tine claims denying the shameful thoughts faḌīḥāt al-khawāṬir and the unmistakable driving cries [to blameworthy things] ṣarīḥāt al-zawājir hidden in your hearts. Do you not understand that these are blameworthy qualities dhamīmun min al-khiṣāl and ugly acts qabīḥun min al-fiʿālḍ�

And seek help in patience and the prayer, though it indeed is hard, except for the humble. The command came to him, “O Master, tell your community to have patience in their affairs so that they may reach what they desire. 'Patience is the key to relief.'” If someone does not have the patience of the Men, let him not come to the Men's playing field. You have not the legs of men-don't put on men's clothing! You have not the means of no means-don't brag of selflessness! [DS 491] Once that paragon of the world stepped into this playing field, he was not left for one hour without sorrow and grief. If he sat for a while cross-legged, the address came, “Sit like a servant!” If once he put a ring on his finger, the whip of rebuke would come down: “What, did you reckon that We created you aimlessly?” [23:115]. If once he placed his foot on the ground boldly, the command would come, “Walk not in the earth exultantly” [17:37]. When the work reached the limit and he was being tried from every corner, he sighed and said, “No prophet whatsoever has been tormented as I have been tormented.” The address came from the Exalted Presence, “O paragon! When someone's heart and spirit witness Me, will he complain of the burden of trial?” All the venom of grief in the treasuries of the Unseen was poured into one cup and placed in his hand, and then a curtain was lifted from his se- cret core: “O paragon! Drink all this venom while contemplating My beauty! And be patient with thy Lord's decree, for surely thou art in Our eyes [52:48].” The tongue of the state was saying, “Were the Beloved's hand to pour poison for me, poison from His hand would be sweet. * “Though Your hand is fire, it is my bed of roses. All that comes from You is sweet, whether healing or pain.” Though it indeed is hard, except for the humble. Humbleness is a stipulation of the prayer. It is a mark of the servant's need. The humble in the prayer are praised by the Real and chosen among the creatures. Prosperous are the faithful, those who are humble in their prayers [23:1-2]. Humble- ness in the prayer is both outward and inward.

who reckon yaẓunnūna that they shall meet their Lord and that to Him they are returning. It is said that the word �to think� ẓann is used here to mean �certainty� yaqīn which would be the most obvious [meaning]. What is meant by it is �reckoning� ḥusbān. Those who reckon with the reckoning of certainty ẓanna ẓann al-yaqīn are those who experience the communion [of lovers]. Those who reckon by the reckoning of guessing ẓanna ẓann al-takhmīn are those who experience separation. [The phrase] they shall meet their Lord mulāqū rabbihim is in a gram- matical form appropriate for the past present and future. Because the folk have recognized the truth of what will be according to the decrees of the unseen they have reached the point that it is as if the promise has already been determined for them and the unseen is present for them.

children of Israel remember My favor wherewith I favored you and that I have preferred you above all the worlds; He called the children of Israel to bear witness to the favor or bounty faḌl granted to them saying �and that I have preferred you faḌḌaltukum above all the worlds.� He called the Muslims from the community of Muḥammad ﷺ to bear witness to the favor or bounty of God Himself saying �Say: 'In the bounty of God and in His mercy in that let them rejoice'� [10:58]. What a difference between those who bear witness to the favor or bounty they receive and those who bear witness to the bounty of their Lord Himself! The servant's acknowledgment of the favor granted him implies gratitude but with the danger of self-conceit iʿjāb. But the servant's acknowledgment of the bounty of the Real-the One whose majesty is in His description and His beauty in the worthiness of His attribute-involves praise which leads to [God's] approval ījāb.

and fear the day when no soul for another shall give satisfaction and no intercession shall be accepted from it; nor any compensation ʿadl be taken neither shall they be helped. He causes fear in ordinary people by His acts for He said fear the day and fear the fire [2:24 3:131]. But He causes fear in the elect by His attributes for He said And say: �Act for God will surely see your actions and [so will] His Messenger� [9:105] and He said And you are not occupied with any busi- ness... but We are witnesses over you when you are engaged therein [10:61]. He causes fear in the elect of the elect by Himself for He said God warns you of His Self [3:28 3:30]. [The word] �compensation� ʿadl [here] means �ransom� fidāÌ. On the Day of the Resurrection no intercession will be heard except for the one whom the Real has commanded to intercede for Him. He has permitted it and He in actuality is the greatest intercessor even though the term �intercessor� is not applied to Him because it is without [divine] instruction tawqīf.133 It is said about it: Praise be to God in gratitude for everything good is with Him. The lover has become my intercessor to my intercessor to Him. The intercession of intercessors will not benefit those who have been hit by the calamity of fate. There will be no helpers for them nor ransom accepted from them even if they had the fill of the heavens and earths

And when We delivered you from the folk of Pharaoh who were visiting you with evil chastisement slaughtering your sons and sparing your women; and for you therein was a tremendous trial from your Lord. Whoever has patience in God with the affliction of His enemies aʿdāÌihi God will compensate him with the companionship of His friends awliyāÌihi and He will grant him His beautiful gift ʿaṬāÌihi. The children of Israel were patient in enduring injury from Pharaoh and his people so He appointed prophets from among them and made them kings. He gave them what He had not given anyone in all the worlds. And for you therein was a tremendous trial from your Lord: It is said that [it was] a great blessing niʿmatun ʿaẓīma and a severe trial miḥnatun shadīda. In truth what [came] from God was externally a trial miḥna but it was really for the one who recognized it a blessing niʿma and a kindness minna.

When We divided for you the sea and We delivered you and drowned Pharaoh's folk while you were beholding. The perceptive faculties baṣāÌir of the children of Israel had become diminished so He showed them miracles openly ʿayānan whereas the perceptive faculties of this community [Muslims] were sharp so He unveiled His signs to them secretly sirran. This is His ������ way sunna. For those who are sharper in the perceptive faculty the matter will be more subtle for them and the allusions within it more abundant. [The Prophet] ﷺ said �I was given the all-comprehensive words jawāmiʿ al-kalim and then the speech kalām was shortened for me.� When [the children of Israel] saw these manifest signs in the splitting of the sea and the drowning of the people of Pharaoh they were seized with doubt and said �They did not drown even though they were cast into the sea� but the children of Israel did see them drowning. On the other hand in this community because of their being foremost in their belief in the Messenger of God ﷺ and because of the power of their perceptive faculties one youth said �It is as if I was with the people of the garden exchanging visits and as if I was with the people of the fire clamoring to one another and as if I saw the throne of my Lord in plain sight.� What a difference [there is] between one who sees with his own eyes yet doubts and one who only hears [about something] and yet sees it like an eyewitness because of the power of his belief!