The Book of Iḥsān — On Inward Knowledge
باب فی علم الباطن
كِتَابُ الْاِحْسَانِ — Kitāb al-Iḥsān: An Account of Iḥsān
بَابٌ فِيْ عِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ — Bāb fī ʿIlm al-Bāṭin: On Inward Knowledge
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَعَلَّمْنٰهُ مِنْ لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًا
(al-Kahf 18:65)
Vocabulary: wa-ʿallamnāhu — and We taught him; min ladunnā ʿilman — knowledge from Our presence.
Translation: Allah Most High says: And We taught him knowledge from Our own presence.
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: قَالَ الَّذِيْ عِنْدَهٗ عِلْمٌ مِّنَ الْكِتٰبِ اَنَا اٰتِيْكَ بِهٖ قَبْلَ اَنْ يَّرْتَدَّ اِلَيْكَ طَرْفُكَ
(al-Naml 27:40)
Vocabulary: qāla'lladhī ʿindahu ʿilmun mina'l-kitāb — a man who had knowledge of the Book said; anā ātīka bihi — I bring this (throne), I present it to you; qabla an yartadda — before it returns; ilayka ṭarfuka — your eye towards you, that is, in the twinkling of an eye, the blink of an eyelid.
Translation: Allah Most High says: A man who had some knowledge of the Book said: I will bring it to you before the twinkling of your eye.
This was Āṣaf ibn Barkhiyā, and he brings the throne of Bilqīs in the twinkling of an eye.
وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَالَّذِيْنَ جَاهَدُوْا فِيْنَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا
(al-ʿAnkabūt 29:69)
Vocabulary: wa'lladhīna jāhadū fīnā — and those people who took pains and endured hardship for Our sake, strove hard, waged jihād; la-nahdiyannahum subulanā — We shall surely show them Our way Ourselves.
Translation: Allah Most High says: And those who strive concerning Us — We shall surely guide them to Our paths.
Gentlemen! What a state people are in. Where they found peace and comfort, they forgot God. They began to regard others as unbelievers. Just reflect! Your enemies have surrounded you. Wherever they get the chance, they carry off the women. They kill the children and the old. Be firmly certain that the end of ingratitude is ruin. Those who strive in the way of God and hold sincerity (ikhlāṣ) in their hearts — Allah shows them His paths and teaches them ways to save themselves from the enemies. How long will the veils of heedlessness lie over your eyes? Wake up, become alert. Turn towards God; He will create the means for your rescue.
Rise, rise! How long this sleep of heedlessness? Wake, wake! Death lies in ambush.
[The name of Khiḍr (peace be upon him) is not in the Qurʾān Sharīf; it is in the ḥadīth. ʿIlm ladunnī (knowledge from the divine presence) is that knowledge which is cast (ilqāʾ) from Allah when outward means are cut off. — Academy]
عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ حَدِّثُوا النَّاسَ بِمَا يَعْرِفُوْنَ. اَتُحِبُّوْنَ اَنْ يُّكَذَّبَ اللّٰهُ وَرَسُوْلُهٗ.
(Reported by al-Bukhārī.)
Vocabulary: ḥaddithū'n-nās — tell people things; bi-mā yaʿrifūn — what they know, understand; a-tuḥibbūn — would you like, do you wish; an yukadhdhaba'llāhu wa-rasūluhu — that Allah and His Messenger be belied, be called liars.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he said: Tell people those things which they can understand. Do you wish that Allah and His Messenger be belied? (Al-Bukhārī recorded it.)
عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُوْدٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ اَنَّهٗ قَالَ: مَا اَنْتَ بِمُحَدِّثٍ قَوْمًا حَدِيْثًا لَا يَبْلُغُهٗ عُقُوْلُهُمْ اِلَّا كَانَ لِبَعْضِهِمْ فِتْنَةً.
(Recorded by Muslim.)
Vocabulary: mā anta bi-muḥaddithin — you are not one who tells such a thing; lā yablughuhu ʿuqūluhum — their intellects cannot reach it.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he said: You do not tell people a thing which their intellects cannot reach, except that it becomes a trial (fitna) for some of them. (Muslim recorded it.)
عن ابن مسعود رضى الله عنه قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ ﷺ اُنْزِلَ الْقُرْاٰنُ على سَبْعَةِ اَحْرُفٍ لِكُلِّ اٰيَةٍ مِّنْهَا ظَهْرٌ وَّ بَطْنٌ وَّلِكُلِّ حَدٍّ مُّطَّلَعٌ.
(Reported in Sharḥ al-Sunna — Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
Vocabulary: unzila — it was sent down; sabʿati aḥruf — seven ḥarfs (modes); muṭṭalaʿ — one who becomes acquainted [a place of access].
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: The Qurʾān has been sent down in seven ḥarfs (modes). Each of its verses has an outward (ẓāhir) and an inward (bāṭin), and each has a limit (ḥadd) of which some people are able to become aware (that is, they can come to know it). (Narrated in Sharḥ al-Sunna — Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
عَنِ الْحَسَنِ قَالَ اَلْعِلْمُ عِلْمَانِ. فَعِلْمٌ فِى الْقَلْبِ فَذَالِكَ الْعِلْمُ النَّافِعُ. وَ عِلْمٌ عَلَى اللِّسَانِ فَذَالِكَ حُجَّةُ اللّٰهِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ عَلَى ابْنِ اٰدَمَ.
(Reported by al-Dārimī — Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
Vocabulary: ʿilmān — two kinds of knowledge; al-ʿilm al-nāfiʿ — beneficial knowledge.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Ḥasan (may Allah have mercy on him) [the Urdu marks him with "raḍiya'llāhu ʿanhu"] [reading uncertain] that he said: Knowledge is of two kinds. One is the knowledge that is in the heart; that alone is the knowledge that is beneficial. And one is the knowledge that is upon the tongue; that is Allah's (Mighty and Majestic is He) proof against the son of Ādam.
عَنْ اَبِىْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ حَفِظْتُ مِنْ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ ﷺ وِعَائَيْنِ فَاَمَّا اَحَدُهُمَا فَبَثَثْتُهٗ فِيْكُمْ. وَاَمَّا الْاٰخَرُ فَلَوْ بَثَثْتُهٗ قُطِعَ هٰذَا الْبُلْعُوْمُ (يعنى مَجْرَى الطَّعَامِ).
(Reported by al-Bukhārī.)
Vocabulary: ḥafiẓtu — I have remembered, I have preserved; wiʿāʾayn — two vessels; bathathtuhu — I spread it; fīkum — among you; fa-law bathathtuhu — so if I were to spread it among you, narrate it; quṭiʿa hādhā'l-bulʿūm — then this throat would be cut, I would be killed.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I have preserved two vessels (that is, of knowledge) from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. One of them I have spread among you; and if I were to spread the other, this "bulʿūm" of mine (that is, the food-pipe, the throat) would be cut.
عن ابى هريرة رضى الله عنه وابى خَلَّادٍ رضى الله عنه اَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ﷺ قَالَ: اِذَا رَاَيْتُمُ الْعَبْدَ يُعْطٰى زُهْدًا فِى الدُّنْيَا وَقِلَّةَ مَنْطِقٍ فَاقْتَرِبُوْا مِنْهُ فَاِنَّهٗ يُلَقَّى الْحِكْمَةَ.
(Reported by al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿab al-Īmān — Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
Vocabulary: zuhdan — lack of desire for the world; qillata manṭiqin — speaking little, talking little; fa'qtaribū — then draw near to him; yulaqqā — he conveys [it] [reading uncertain].
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) and Abū Khallād (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: When you see a servant who has been given lack of desire for the world and little speech, then draw near to him, for he conveys wisdom (that is, he teaches it). (Al-Bayhaqī narrated it in Shuʿab al-Īmān — Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
عَنْ اُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عنه عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: قَامَ موسى النَّبِيُّ خَطِيْبًا فِىْ بَنِىْ اِسْرَائِيْلَ، فَسُئِلَ اَيُّ النَّاسِ اَعْلَمُ؟ فَقَالَ اَنَا اَعْلَمُ فَعَتَبَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ اِذْ لَمْ يَرُدَّ الْعِلْمَ اِلَى اللّٰهِ. فَاَوْحَى اللّٰهُ اِلَيْهِ اَنَّ عَبْدًا مِّنْ عِبَادِىْ
بِمَجْمَعِ الْبَحْرَيْنِ هُوَ اَعْلَمُ مِنْكَ. قَالَ يَا رَبِّ! وَكَيْفَ بِهٖ؟ فَقِيْلَ لَهُ احْمِلْ حُوْتًا فِىْ مِكْتَلٍ فَاِذَا فَقَدْتَّهٗ فَهُوَ ثَمَّ. فَانْطَلَقَ وَانْطَلَقَ بِفَتَاهُ يُوْشَعَ بْنِ نُوْنٍ وَحَمَلَا حُوْتًا فِىْ مِكْتَلٍ حَتّٰى كَانَا عِنْدَ الصَّخْرَةِ وَضَعَا رُءُوْسَهُمَا فَنَامَا، فَانْسَلَّ الْحُوْتُ مِنَ الْمِكْتَلِ فَاتَّخَذَ سَبِيْلَهٗ فِى الْبَحْرِ سَرَبًا، وَكَانَ لِمُوْسٰى وَفَتَاهُ عَجَبًا، فَانْطَلَقَا بَقِيَّةَ لَيْلَتِهِمَا وَيَوْمَهُمَا. فَلَمَّا اَصْبَحَ قَالَ مُوْسٰى لِفَتَاهُ اٰتِنَا غَدَاءَنَا لَقَدْ لَقِيْنَا مِنْ سَفَرِنَا هٰذَا نَصَبًا، وَلَمْ يَجِدْ مُوْسٰى مَسًّا مِّنَ النَّصَبِ حَتّٰى جَاوَزَا الْمَكَانَ الَّذِىْ اُمِرَ بِهٖ، فَقَالَ لَهٗ فَتَاهُ اَرَاَيْتَ اِذْ اَوَيْنَا اِلَى الصَّخْرَةِ فَاِنِّىْ نَسِيْتُ الْحُوْتَ، قَالَ مُوْسٰى ذَالِكَ مَا كُنَّا نَبْغِ، فَارْتَدَّا عَلٰى اٰثَارِهِمَا قَصَصًا، فَلَمَّا انْتَهَيَا اِلَى الصَّخْرَةِ اِذَا رَجُلٌ مُّسَجًّى بِثَوْبٍ اَوْ قَالَ تَسَجّٰى بِثَوْبِهٖ، فَسَلَّمَ مُوْسٰى، فَقَالَ الْخَضِرُ وَاَنّٰى بِاَرْضِكَ السَّلَامُ فَقَالَ اَنَا مُوْسٰى، فَقَالَ مُوْسٰى بَنِىْ اِسْرَائِيْلَ؟ قَالَ نَعَمْ. قَالَ هَلْ اَتَّبِعُكَ عَلٰى اَنْ تُعَلِّمَنِىْ مِمَّا عُلِّمْتَ رُشْدًا، قَالَ اِنَّكَ لَنْ تَسْتَطِيْعَ مَعِىَ صَبْرًا، يَا مُوْسٰى! اِنِّىْ عَلٰى عِلْمٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِ اللّٰهِ عَلَّمَنِيْهِ لَا تَعْلَمُهٗ اَنْتَ، وَاَنْتَ عَلٰى عِلْمٍ عَلَّمَكَهُ اللّٰهُ لَا اَعْلَمُهٗ. قَالَ سَتَجِدُنِىْ اِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰهُ صَابِرًا وَّلَا اَعْصِىْ لَكَ اَمْرًا، فَانْطَلَقَا يَمْشِيَانِ عَلٰى سَاحِلِ الْبَحْرِ لَيْسَ لَهُمَا سَفِيْنَةٌ. فَمَرَّتْ بِهِمَا سَفِيْنَةٌ فَكَلَّمُوْهُمْ اَنْ يَّحْمِلُوْهُمَا، فَعُرِفَ الْخَضِرُ فَحَمَلُوْهُمَا بِغَيْرِ نَوْلٍ. فَجَاءَ عُصْفُوْرٌ فَوَقَعَ عَلٰى حَرْفِ السَّفِيْنَةِ فَنَقَرَ نَقْرَةً اَوْ نَقْرَتَيْنِ مِنَ الْبَحْرِ. فَقَالَ الْخَضِرُ يَا مُوْسٰى! مَا نَقَصَ عِلْمِىْ وَعِلْمُكَ مِنْ عِلْمِ اللّٰهِ اِلَّا كَنَقْرَةِ هٰذَا الْعُصْفُوْرِ فِى الْبَحْرِ. فَقَالَ فَعَمَدَ الْخَضِرُ اِلٰى لَوْحٍ مِّنْ اَلْوَاحِ السَّفِيْنَةِ فَنَزَعَهٗ. فَقَالَ مُوْسٰى قَوْمٌ حَمَلُوْنَا بِغَيْرِ نَوْلٍ عَمَدْتَّ اِلٰى سَفِيْنَتِهِمْ فَخَرَقْتَهَا لِتُغْرِقَ اَهْلَهَا قَالَ اَلَمْ اَقُلْ اِنَّكَ لَنْ تَسْتَطِيْعَ مَعِىَ صَبْرًا. قَالَ لَا تُؤَاخِذْنِىْ بِمَا نَسِيْتُ وَلَا تُرْهِقْنِىْ مِنْ اَمْرِىْ عُسْرًا. فَكَانَتِ الْاُوْلٰى مِنْ مُّوْسٰى نِسْيَانًا. فَانْطَلَقَا فَاِذَا غُلَامٌ يَّلْعَبُ مَعَ الْغِلْمَانِ فَاَخَذَ الْخَضِرُ بِرَاْسِهٖ مِنْ اَعْلَاهُ فَاقْتَلَعَ رَاْسَهٗ بِيَدِهٖ. فَقَالَ مُوْسٰى اَقَتَلْتَ نَفْسًا زَكِيَّةً بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ. قَالَ اَلَمْ اَقُلْ لَّكَ اِنَّكَ لَنْ تَسْتَطِيْعَ مَعِىَ صَبْرًا. قَالَ اِنْ سَاَلْتُكَ عَنْ شَىْءٍ بَعْدَهَا فَلَا تُصَاحِبْنِىْ قَدْ بَلَغْتَ مِنْ لَّدُنِّىْ عُذْرًا. فَانْطَلَقَا حَتّٰى اِذَا اَتَيَا اَهْلَ قَرْيَةٍ اسْتَطْعَمَا اَهْلَهَا فَاَبَوْا اَنْ يُّضَيِّفُوْهُمَا. فَوَجَدَا فِيْهَا جِدَارًا يُّرِيْدُ اَنْ يَّنْقَضَّ فَاَمَالَ الْخَضِرُ بِيَدِهٖ فَاَقَامَهٗ. فَقَالَ مُوْسٰى لَوْ شِئْتَ لَتَّخَذْتَ عَلَيْهِ اَجْرًا. قَالَ هٰذَا فِرَاقُ بَيْنِىْ وَبَيْنِكَ. قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ يَرْحَمُ اللّٰهُ مُوْسٰى لَوَدِدْنَا لَوْ صَبَرَ حَتّٰى يُقَصَّ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ اَمْرِهِمَا.
(Al-Bukhārī.)
Vocabulary: khaṭīban — while giving a sermon; suʾila — he was asked; iḥmil ḥūtan — take a fish with you; fa-qadtahu — you lose it; thamma — there; fa'nsalla — it slipped out; saraban — making a hole, like a tunnel; ghadāʾanā — our breakfast; naṣab — fatigue; awaynā — we had stopped, taken shelter, taken refuge; kunnā nabghi — we were wanting; fa'rtaddā — so the two turned back; qaṣaṣan — searching step by step; musajjā — wrapped (in a cloth); rushdan — right guidance; ʿallamakahu — He taught you; satajidunī — you will find me; wa-lā aʿṣī laka amran — and I shall not disobey you in any matter; fa'nṭalaqā — then the two went on; fa-marrat — then there passed; fa-kallamūhum — then
they spoke with them; fa-ʿurifa — then he was recognised; nawl — fare, payment; naqra — pecking; fa-nazaʿahu — he pulled it out; kharaqtahā — you made a hole in it; nasītu — I forgot; lā turhiqnī — do not put me in difficulty; aʿlāhu — its top; iqtalaʿa — he pulled off; lā tuṣāḥibnī — do not keep me with you; istaṭʿamā — the two of them asked for food; an yuḍayyifūhumā — that those people should host the two of them; yurīdu an yanqaḍḍa — was about to fall; firāq — separation; la-wadidnā — we would surely have wished.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allah Most High be pleased with him), who narrates from the Prophet ﷺ, that he said: Mūsā (peace be upon him) was standing giving a sermon among the Banū Isrāʾīl when he was asked who among the people was the most learned. He said: I am the most learned. Allah Most High reproached him for not referring the knowledge back to Allah. So He revealed to him: One of My servants at the "Majmaʿ al-Baḥrayn" (the Meeting of the Two Seas) is more learned than you. He submitted: O my Lord! How shall I reach him? He was told: Take a fish with you in a basket; then, when you lose it, he will be right there. So he set off with his young man, Yūshaʿ ibn Nūn, carrying the fish in a basket, until, when they were beside a rock, the two of them laid down their heads and fell asleep. Then the fish slipped out of the basket and made its way into the sea like a tunnel. This was a wondrous thing for Mūsā and his young man. So they walked on for the rest of the night and the day. When morning came, Mūsā said to his young man: Bring us our breakfast; we have become very tired from this journey of ours. And until they had gone beyond the place they had been commanded to reach, Mūsā had felt no fatigue. His young man said: Did you see — when we took shelter by that rock, I forgot the fish. Mūsā said: That is the very place we were looking for. So the two of them turned back, tracing their footprints. At last, when they reached that rock, they saw a man wrapped in a cloth — or he said, "wrapping himself in his cloth." Then Mūsā gave the greeting of salām, and Khiḍr said: Where has salām come from in your land? He said: I am Mūsā. He asked: Mūsā of the Banū Isrāʾīl? He said: Yes! He said: May I stay with you on this condition, that you teach me too of the guidance you have been taught? He said: You will never be able to have patience with me. O Mūsā, I am upon one (such) knowledge out of Allah's knowledge, which He has taught me, which you do not know; and you are upon one (such) knowledge which He has taught you, which I do not know. (Mūsā) said: If Allah wills, you will find me patient, and I shall not disobey you in any matter. So the two of them walked along the shore of the sea; they had no boat. Then a boat passed by them. They spoke with the people of the boat
that they should take them aboard. Khiḍr was recognised, and they took both of them aboard without fare. Then a sparrow came and sat on the edge of the boat. It pecked once or twice in the sea, and Khiḍr said: O Mūsā, my knowledge and your knowledge have diminished nothing of Allah's knowledge except as much as this sparrow's pecking in the sea. Then Khiḍr intended (to take) one of the planks of the boat and pulled it out. Then Mūsā said: These people took us aboard without fare, and you intended (to damage) their boat and tore it open so that you might drown its people! (Khiḍr) said: Did I not say that you would not be able to have patience with me? (Mūsā) said: Do not take me to task for what I did in forgetfulness, and do not make difficulty for me in my affair. So this was Mūsā's first forgetting. Then the two of them set off. There a boy was playing with other boys, and Khiḍr took hold of his head from above with his hand and pulled it off. Then Mūsā said: Have you killed a pure soul without any retaliation (qiṣāṣ)? He said: Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me? He said: If after this I ask you anything, do not keep me with you; you have reached (the limit of) excuse on my part. Then the two of them went on, until they came to the people of a town and asked the people of that town for food; they refused to host them. In that town the two of them found a wall that was about to fall. Khiḍr moved it aside with his hand and set it straight. Then Mūsā said: If you had wished, you could have taken a wage for this work. (Khiḍr) said: This is the parting between me and you.
The Prophet ﷺ said: May Allah have mercy on Mūsā (peace be upon him). We wished that he had been patient, so that Allah would have related to us (more of) the affair of the two of them. (Al-Bukhārī.)