Kashf al-Maḥjūb (Persian Critical Edition)

...that which occurs from the stillness and movements of the servant is entirely the act and creation of God Almighty. Therefore, that power by which the servant performs obedience is called success tawfīq. This book is not the place for this issue, for the purpose here is something else. I return to your purpose, if God, Mighty and Majestic, wills. Before I return to the subject, I will first bring your question exactly as it is, and from there, I will connect to the beginning of the book. And in God is the success.

The Form of the Question: The seeker, who is Abu Sa'id al-Hujwiri, said: "Explain to me the reality of the path of Tasawwuf Sufism and the quality of their stations, and an explanation of their schools and doctrines. Reveal to me their symbols and signs, and the nature of the love of God, Mighty and Majestic, and the quality of its manifestation upon hearts, and the reason for the veiling of intellects from its essence and nature, and the aversion of the self from its reality, and the rest of the spirit with its purity, and what pertains to this from its dealings." The respondent, who is Ali bin Uthman al-Jullabi—may God have mercy on him—said: "Know that in this age of ours, this knowledge has truly become obsolete, especially in these lands where the people have all become occupied with desires and have turned away from the path of pleasure. The scholars of the age and the pretenders of the time have formed an image of this path contrary to its original essence. Therefore, bring effort to something that the hands of the people of the time have been short of, except for the elect of the court of Truth. The intent of all the people of desire has been severed from it, and the knowledge of all the people of knowledge has been dismissed from its existence, except for the elect of the court of Truth. The common and elite of the people have chosen its outward expression, and have become buyers of its veil with heart and soul. The affair has fallen from reality into imitation, and reality has hidden its face from their age. The commoners have been content with this, saying: 'We know the Truth.' The elite have been content that they find a longing in the heart, and a suggestion in the self, and an inclination in the breast toward that abode. Out of preoccupation, they say: 'This is the longing of vision and the burning of love.' The pretenders are left behind by all meanings due to their own claims..."