Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

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Other Related Pons Vitae Titles Three Early Sufi Texts: A

Treatise on the Heart Bayan aUFarq bayn aUSadr wa-aUQalb wa-
aUFu'ad wa-aULubb Attributed to Al-Hakim ALTirmidhi (D. C.
300/912) Introduced and Translated by Nicholas Hcer Stations of the
Righteous (Darajat aUsadiqin) & The Stumblings of those Aspiring
[Zalal al-fuqara'): TwoTexts on the Path of Blame by Abu abd Al-
Rahman ALSulami Al-Naysaburi (D. 412/1021) Introduced and
Translated by Kenneth L. Honerkamp Me and Rumi: The
Autobiography of Shems-i Tabrizi Translated, Introduced and
Annotated by William C. Chittick The Lives of Man-A Guide to the
Human States: Before Life, In the World, and After Death by Imam
Abdallah Ibn Alawi Al-Haddad, Translated by Mostafa Al-Badawi The
Degrees of the Soul by Shaykh Abd Al-Khaliq ALShabrawi, Tranlated
by Mostafa Al-Badawi The Book of Assistance by Imam Abdallah
Alawi Al-Haddad, Translated by Mostafa Al-Badawi Early Sufi Women
by Abu Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulami, Translated by Rkia E. Cornell The
Autobiography of a Moroccan Soufi: Ahmad Ibn Ajiba Translated by
Jean-Louis Michon and from the French by David Streight Al-
Ghazali's Path to Sufism-his Deliverance from Error al-Munqidh mm
al-Dalal Translated by RJ McCarthy with a Preface by David Burrell
and Introduction by William A. Graham Al Ghazali Faith in Divine
Unity & Trust in Divine Providence Translated with an Introduction by
David B, Burrell Letters of Sufi Master: The Shaykh ad-Darqawi
Translated by Titus Burckhardt with a Foreword by Martin Lings The
Name & the Named Compiled by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-
Halved with a Foreword by William C Chittick Ibn Arabi Divine
Governance of the Human Kingdom Interpreted by Shaykh Tosun
Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti Suhrawardi The Shape of Light
Interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halvctt CONTENTS
Translator's Preface vu Introduction * 7 1 On Certainty ' 2 On
Intention ™ 3 On Vigilance J3 4 On the Inner and the Outer Self 15
5 On Regular Devotions 17 6 On Reciting the Qur'an 24 7 On
Acquiring Knowledge 2° 8 On Remembrance 2° 9 On Reflection 31
10 On Following the Book and Sunna 36 11 On Doctrine 4^ 12 On
Religious Obligations 43 13 On Cleanliness 47 14 On Following the
Sunna 51 15 On Conduct in Mosques 60 16 On the Ritual Prayer 62
17 On Prayer in Congregation 64 18 On Zakat ^8 19 On Fasting 71
20 On Pilgrimage 21 On Scrupulousness 11 22 On Enjoining Good
and Forbidding Evil 82 23 On Social Duties |*6 24 On Kindness and
Charity 90 25 On Counsel Jjj 26 On Salutations and a Salutary
Opinion 101 27 On Repentance, Hope and Fear 1°5
 28 On Fortitude 29 On Gratitude 30 On Renunciation 31 On
Reliance on God 32 On Divine Love and Contentment Conclusion
Translator's Notes Glossary vi TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE The
Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him and upon
his family, prophesied that in every century God would raise up
amongst his nation a man who would renew its religion. Imam f
Abdallah al-Haddad was the renewer, or Mujaddid, of the twelfth
Islamic century. He was renowned, and deservedly so, for the
breadth of his knowledge and his manifest sanctity. The profundity
of his influence on Muslims is reflected by the fact that his books are
still in print throughout the Islamic world. He was born in Tarim, in
the hills of Hadramaut, one of the southerly regions of the Arabian
peninsula, and grew up in an environment where the accent was
upon piety, frugality, erudition, and an uncompromising thirst for
gnosis [marifa]. His lineage is traced back to the Prophet, may
blessings and peace be upon him, and his family, through Imam al-
Husayn. His illustrious ancestors, the rAlawi sadat, had for centuries
produced generation after generation of great scholars, gnostics,
and summoners to the Straight Path. Imam al-Haddad's writings, if
we except a few short treatises, and his volume of poetry, are mostly
concerned with establishing within his readers the firmest possible
foundations for faith and certainty. He recognised the signs of his
times, and of the times to come, and observed how people were
drawing away from religion, exhibiting a reluctance to study and a
diminishing inclination to seek spiritual growth. He therefore
endeavoured to produce concise, clear, and uncontroversial texts.
His concern for brevity is manifest throughout his books, many of
which are abbreviated adaptations of Imam al-Ghazalf s monumental
Revival of the Religious Sciences [Ihya 'Ulum al~Din\. Ghazali had
himself been the renewer of the sixth century. vii
 Imam al-Haddad died on the eve of the seventh of
Dhu'lQa'da, 1 132 AH, having spent his life bringing people to their
Lord through his oral and written teaching, and his exemplary life.
He was buried in a simple grave in the cemetery at Tarim. The
present translation is one of the works which he designed as guides
for Muslims who 'earnestly desire to tread the path of the Afterlife*,
and seriously follow the Sunna of the Prophet, may blessings and
peace be upon him and his family. In the original there are neither
chapter numbers, titles, nor annotations. We have therefore
numerated and titled every chapter, appended a glossary, and added
a few notes where this seemed appropriate. Quotations from the
Qur'an are based on Pickthall's translation, and are followed by sura
and verse numbers. Whenever difficulties arose in understanding the
text, or deciding between different possible interpretations, the help
of sayyid Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad was sought. Being the spiritual
heir of Imam al-Haddad, he is undoubtedly the best qualified person
to comment on his writings. It is entirely through their baraka and
assistance that the work was brought to completion; may God
reward them on our behalf as befits the exaltation of their spiritual
rank. MOSTAFA AL-BADAWI Al-Madina al-Munawwara, Ramadan
1408 viii THE BOOK OF ASSISTANCE, SUPPORT AND
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR SUCH BELIEVERS AS DESIRE TO FOLLOW
THE WAY OF THE AFTERLIFE In the Name of God, the Merciful and
Compassionate. Lord, make it easy and give assistance, O Generous
One! Grant us truth for You are the One Who Grants, the Knowing.
Transcendent are You! We have no knowledge save that which You
have taught us, You are indeed the Knowing, the Wise.1 All praise
belongs to God, the One, the Unique, the Munificent, the Bestower,
the Provider, the Solicitous, the Benevolent, Who did send
Muhammad, the Seal of His Prophets, with His Message to all men
and jinn, and revealed to him the Quran in which is guidance for the
people and clear indications for guidance and discernment,2 and
ordained for him and his Nation that which He had enjoined upon
Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus,3 and gave precedence to his
religion over all others, and made him the most honourable of all His
creation in His sight, and rendered his nation the best nation
brought out for mankind, which believed in God and the Last Day,
enjoined good and forbade evil,4 assisted each other in benevolence
and taqwd, refrained from helping each other in sin and
aggression,5 established the ritual prayer, gave the zakat, gave each
other counsels of truth and fortitude,6 and fought in the way of God,
fearless of the criticism of those who are devious and forsaken. For
only those in whom God's words of wretchedness, failure, disgrace
and humiliation were fulfilled attempt to drive people away from God
and denigrate those who give Him His due. And only those whom
God has destined for happiness, safety, triumph and felicity give
themselves totally 1
 I he tioote oj Assistance to counselling God's servants and
inviting them to His door. These are the Prophet's heirs, the leaders
of those who have taqwa, the best among believers in the sight of
the Lord of the Worlds. They are firmly grounded in knowledge,
have experienced the realities of faith, certainty and excellence, and
attained, through unveiling and contemplation, to the secrets of
God's Mulk and Malakut.1 They only attained to these merits and
achieved such ranks through the excellence of their following in the
footsteps of the Leader of Leaders whom God sent as a Mercy to the
Worlds, who is God's slave, His Messenger, Beloved, and Intimate
Friend, our lord Muhammad, may blessings and peace be upon him
and his house, and may these blessings be repeated in each instant
and perpetuated for as long as God, the Sovereign, the Requiter
abides. To proceed; the poor servant, confessing his shortcomings
and limitations, hoping for the pardon of his Able Lord, the shartf f
Abd Allah ibn ?Alawi al-Haddad Ba-'Alawi al-Husaym, may God
forgive him and his ancestors, says: This is a treatise which, by
God's Ability and Power, is comprehensive, containing counsels
which, by God's Grace and Mercy, will be beneficial. I was moved to
write it by the wish to obey the command of God and that of His
Prophet, and the desire for that which has been truthfully promised
to those who give guiding directions, invite to goodness and spread
knowledge. God the Exalted has said: Let there be among you a
community who invite to goodness, enjoin right conduct, and forbid
evil; those are the successful. [111:104] Summon to the way of your
Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation. [XXI: 125] Say: This is my
way; I summon to God, clear-sightedly, I and whoever follows me.
[XIL108] The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon
him, has said: 'Let those who are present inform those who are
absent; a carrier of knowledge may carry it to someone who has
more knowledge than he, and many men carry knowledge who are
not themselves knowledgeable.' And: 'Anyone who summons to
guidance will receive the same reward as those who follow him,
without this diminishing their reward in any 2 IMAM AL-HADDAD
way; and anyone who summons to error will have sinned as much as
all those who follow him without this diminishing their sins in any
way. ' And: 'The one who points out goodness obtains the same
reward as the one who does it.' And: 'When the son of Adam dies
his works come to an end except for three: a continuing charity,
knowledge of which use is made, and a righteous son who prays for
him.' And: 'The most generous of you after me will be a man who
acquires knowledge and spreads it; he will be resurrected on the
Day of Rising as a nation by himself.' And: 'All creatures pray for the
one who teaches goodness, even the fish in the water.' And: 'All
creatures are the children of God, and the dearest to God are those
who are most beneficial to His children.' And none can be of more
benefit to God's creatures than those who invite them to His door by
teaching them the necessary knowledge of Tawhid [Monotheism]
and obedience, remind them of His signs and graces, give them
tidings of His Mercy and warnings of His wrath which strikes those
who expose themselves to it, whether they be disbelievers or merely
transgressors. I was prompted to obey this formidable command and
was reinforced in my wish to attain to the generous promise given in
the aforementioned verses and hadiths, as well as others which I
have not mentioned, by a truthfully aspiring brother, a sayyid who
treads the path to felicity, who asked me to write to him with a
counsel to which he might firmly adhere. I have answered him
through the aforementioned desire to obey His commands, win His
reward, and obtain His assistance, hoping that He (Exalted is He)
will attend to my needs, as His Messenger, may blessings and peace
be upon him, has said: 'Whenever a man attends to the fulfilling of
his brother's need, God shall attend to the fulfilling of his need; and
God will assist His servant as long as the servant is assisting his
brother.' I seek God's forgiveness, and do not claim that my intention
in writing this treatise is confined to these good religious purposes;
how may I do so when I am aware of the hidden desires, egotistic
passions, and worldly wishes that I harbour? I do not claim
innocence for myself; the ego is indeed an inciter to evil, 3
 The Book of Assistance save when my Lord shows mercy;
my Lord is indeed Forgiving, Merciful* The ego is an enemy, and an
enemy should never be trusted. It is in effect the worst of enemies,
as the Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him,
has said: 'Your worst enemy is your ego which is between your
flanks. ' How inspired is the verse of the poet: Beware of your ego,
and trust not its mischief; The ego is worse than seventy devils. 0
God! I seek Your protection against my committing idolatry [shirk]9
knowingly, and Your forgiveness for that of which I am not aware! 1
have begun each chapter in this treatise by saying: 'You must do
such-and-such a thing!' this being addressed particularly to my own
self, my brother who was the cause for writing the treatise, and
generally to every Muslim who reads it. This expression has an effect
on the heart of those it is addressed to, and I hope that, having
used it, I will escape the reproaches and threats directed against
those who say but do not do, and who know but do not act. For if I
address myself saying: 'You must do this!' this indicates that the
thing has not yet become a reality through my practicing of what I
know, and that I am still at the stage of prompting myself to practice
what I preach. In this manner, I will neither be deceiving the
believers, nor forgetting myself, for this is how God has described
those who have no understanding: Do you exhort people to
goodness and forget yourselves, and you recite the Book? Have you
no understanding? [11:44] And I will thus be saved from the threats
directed at those who speak but do not act, as in the words of the
Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him: 'A scholar
['dlim] will be ordered to the Fire; his entrails will spill out and he
will drag them along as he moves round the Fire, just like a donkey
turning in a mill. The people in the Fire will gather around him and
say: "Why does this repudiated man make us suffer more than we
do already?" And he will say: "This repudiate enjoined good but did
not do 4 IMAM AL-HADDAD it, and forbade evil but committed it. "
And: 'When I was made to journey by night I passed by men whose
lips were being clipped with scissors of fire. I asked: "Who are you?"
and they said: "We enjoined good and did not do it, and forbade evil
and committed it. " ' These threats come true for those who
summon to God when their real intention is to acquire the things of
this world, and who exhort to good but persistently abandon it, who
warn against evil but persistently commit it, who fall into ostentation
and wish to make a reputation for themselves. As for those who
summon others to God's door while upbraiding their own selves,
forbidding them to be neglectful, and exhorting them to show zeal, it
is to be hoped that they will be saved. Anyway, the one who knows
and teaches [what he knows] but does not practice is in a better
state, a wiser way, and has a safer outcome than the one who
knows, but neither practices nor teaches. A man of little
understanding may perhaps say: 'There is already a sufficient
abundance of books, there is no benefit in compiling new ones in
this age. ' Such a man would be correct insofar as books are indeed
abundant and should be sufficient, but not in saying that no benefit
is to be gained from compiling further books now. People's hearts
are naturally attracted to everything new, and God gives them at
each time knowledge clothed in the form best suited to the age.
Books reach distant places and survive the scholar's death, who
receives the merit of spreading knowledge and is accounted by God
among the teachers and summoners to Him, even after he has
entered his grave. As the Messenger of God, may blessings and
peace be upon him, has said: 'The one whose tongue gives life to a
virtue that those who come after him practice continues to receive
its reward until the Day of Rising.' I have called the treatise The
Book of Assistance, Support, and Encouragement for such Believers
as Desire to Follow the Way of the Afterlife. I ask God to make me
and all other believers benefit from it and to render my compilation
of it purely for the sake of His Noble Countenance. 5
 The Book of Assistance It is now time to begin. Success is
from God; I seek His help, depend on Him entirely, and ask Him to
grant me success in being correct in my intentions and deeds. He is
Guardian of this and Able; He is my sufficiency, and He is the Best of
Patrons. 6 Chapter 1 On Certainty You must, beloved brother,
strengthen and improve your certainty. For when certainty prevails in
the heart and establishes itself therein the unseen becomes as if
seen and the man aided by providence says, as 'All, may God
ennoble his face, said: 'Were the cover to be removed, I would not
increase in certainty.' Certainty is power, firmness and stability of
faith so great that it becomes as a towering mountain which no
doubts can shake and no illusions rock. Rather, doubts and illusions
disappear completely, and when they come from outside are neither
listened to by the ear nor heeded by the heart. The Devil cannot
approach the possessor of such certainty; he flees from him, fears
his very shadow, and is content to keep at a safe distance. As the
Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said:
'Satan is afraid of the shadow of 'Umar, and 'Umar never takes a
road but that Satan takes another/ Certainty derives its power and
excellence from many things. The first, most essential and pivotal of
these is that the servant listen attentively with his heart as well as
his ears to verses and hadTths relating to God, His Majesty,
Perfection, Magnitude, and Grandeur, His Uniqueness in creating and
deciding, ruling and compelling; likewise to the truthfulness and
perfection of the Messengers, the miracles they were aided with,
and the sundry chastisements which befell those who opposed them.
That these are sufficient to bring about certainty is indicated by His
Word (Exalted is He!): Is it not enough 1
 The Book of Assistance for them that We have sent down
upon you the Book which is recited to them? [XXIX:51] The second
is to learn from looking at the kingdom of the heavens and the
earth, and the wondrous and astounding creatures that God made
them teem with. That this brings about certainty is indicated by His
saying (Exalted is He!): We shall show them Our signs on the
horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it
is the Truth. [XLI:53] The third is to behave according to what one
believes, outwardly and inwardly, zealously, and to the limits of one's
resources. That this brings about certainty is indicated by His saying
(Exalted is He!): Those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them
to Our ways. [XXIX:69] Proper certainty results in, among many
other things, acquiescence in God's promise, confidence in what He
has guaranteed, turning to God with pure longing, abandoning all
things which distract from Him, continuously returning to Him in all
circumstances, and spending all one's energy in seeking His good
pleasure. In sum, certainty is the essential thing, and all other noble
ranks, praiseworthy traits of character and good works are its
branches and results. Virtues and actions are strong or weak, sound
or unsound, according to the strength or otherwise of certainty.
Luqman, upon whom be peace, said: 'Action is possible only in the
presence of certainty; a servant acts in obedience only to the extent
that he has certainty, and a man becomes neglectful in his actions
only when his certainty diminishes.' This is why the Messenger of
God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: 'Certainty is
the whole of faith,' Believers have three degrees of certainty. The
first is that of the People of the Right Hand,10 this is firm belief but
with the possibility of becoming doubtful or shaky under certain
circumstances. This is called faith. The second is that of the Ones
Brought Nigh, which is the possession of the heart by faith and its
establishing itself therein so firmly that its opposite becomes no
longer possible 8 IMAM AL-HADDAD or even imaginable. In this
degree the unseen becomes as the seen. This is called certainty. The
third is that of the Prophets and the True Saints [siddiqun]u who are
their perfect heirs. Here the unseen becomes seen, which thing is
called unveiling [kashf] and contemplation [mushdhada]. There are
grades within each degree: all are good, but some better than
others. That is God's grace, He bestows it upon whom He will, and
God's grace is abundant. [LVIL29] 9
 Chapter 2 On Intention You must, O my brother, improve
the soundness and sincerity of your intentions, examine them, and
reflect well before embarking on your actions. For intentions are the
bases of deeds; according to them your deeds will either be good or
ugly, sound or unsound. The Prophet has said, may blessings and
peace be upon him: 'Deeds are only according to intentions; each
man has that which he intended.' You must, therefore, utter no
word, do no action, and decide no matter without the intention of
drawing nearer thereby to God and seeking the reward He has
assigned, through His beneficence and grace, to the intended act.
And know that drawing nearer to Him can only be done through the
obligatory and supererogatory devotions that He has indicated
through His Messenger, may blessings and peace be upon him. A
sincere intention may change the merely licit into the devotional, for
means are judged according to their ends. For example, one may
eat to get the strength to perform devotions, or sleep with one's
wife to obtain a son who would worship God. It is a condition of the
sincere intention that behaviour does not belie it. For instance, a
man who seeks knowledge claiming that his intention is to practice
and teach it will be proved insincere in his intention if, when he
becomes able to, he does not do so. Or a man who pursues the
world and claims that he is doing so only that he may be
independent of other people and be able to give charity to the needy
and help his relatives 10 IMAM AL-HADDAD will be proved ineffectual
in his intention should he not do so when able. Intentions do not
affect sins, just as purification does not affect that which is, by its
very nature, impure. A man who goes along with another who is
slandering a Muslim, then pretends that he only wanted to humour
him, is himself a slanderer. Anyone who refrains from the enjoining
of good and the forbidding of evil and pretends that he only did so
to protect himself against the culprit, is his partner in evil-doing. A
malicious intention attached to a good deed spoils it and renders it
malicious; likewise when one performs good deeds for the sake of
wealth and prestige. Strive, my brother, always to intend that your
obedience be solely for the sake of God, and that whatever licit
things you may use are only to help you to obey Him. Know that
many intentions can attach to a single act, and that each of them
will attract its full reward. An example of this in devotional activities
is when someone reads the Qur'an intending to commune with God
(which thing he will indeed do) but also to extract from it different
kinds of knowledge, (for the Qur'an is the very mine of knowledge),
to profit those who listen or [just happen to] hear, or any other good
intention. And an example in licit matters is to eat with the intention
of obeying the command of your Lord in His saying (Exalted is He!):
O you who believe! Eat of the good things with which We have
provided you, and give thanks to God. [11:172] Intend by so doing
to acquire strength for devotion, and to put yourself in a situation
where you must thank your Lord, for He says (Transcendent is He!):
Eat of your Lord's provision and thank Him. [XXXIV: 15] You can
apply these two examples in an analogous fashion to all other
devotional and licit activities; and always do your best to increase
your good intentions. The word 'intention' can have one of two
meanings. The first is the aim which made you decide, do, or say
something. Taken in this sense the intention is usually better than
the act when the act is good, and worse when the act is evil. He has
said, may blessings and peace be upon him: The intention of a 11
 The Book of Assistance believer is better than his action;'
notice how he specifically mentioned the believer. The second is your
decision and determination to act. Taken in this sense it is not better
than the act. A man, when he decides to do something, can only be
in one of three situations. [I] He decides and acts. [II] He decides
but fails to act while able to. The way to evaluate these two
situations can be clearly found in that which Ibn f Abbas, 12 may
God be pleased with them both, has transmitted to the effect that
the Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, said:
'God has written good and evil deeds, then rendered them clear;
anyone who intends a good deed but does not perform it, God
records it as one good deed, whereas should he intend and then
perform it, God records it as ten good deeds, up to seven hundred
fold, and to yet more multiplications. If he intends an evil deed and
does not do it, God records it as one full good deed; if he intends
and then does it, God records it as one evil deed/ [III] He
determines upon something which he is for the time being unable to
do and says: 'Were I able, I would do [such-and-such a thing]/ He
receives the same as the one who acts, whether this be for or
against him. The evidence for this is the Prophet's saying, may
blessings and peace be upon him: 'People are of four kinds: a man
to whom God has given knowledge and wealth, and who uses his
knowledge to manage his wealth; another who says: "Were God to
give me just as He has given so-and-so I would act like him," - their
rewards are equal. And a man to whom God has given wealth but no
knowledge, who mishandles his wealth through ignorance; while
another says: "Were God to give me as He has given so-and-so I
would act like him" - their burdens of sin are equal.' 12 Chapter 3 On
Vigilance You must, O my brothers, be mindful of God in all your
movements and times of stillness, at every moment, with every blink
of the eye, with every thought, wish or any other state. Feel His
nearness to you! Know that He looks and is Aware of you, that
nothing that you conceal is hidden from Him, nothing that weighs so
much as an atom is hidden from your Lord, whether on earth or in
heaven,13 when you speak aloud He knows your secret [thought]
and that which is even more hidden.^ He is with you wherever you
are,VD with His knowledge, awareness and power. If you are of the
righteous, He will guide, assist and protect you. Have modesty
before your Lord as you should; make sure that He never sees you
in a situation which He has forbidden you, and never misses you
where He has commanded you to be; worship Him as if you saw
Him, for even if you do not see Him, He sees you. Whenever you
notice in your soul any laziness in His worship or inclination to
disobedience, remind it that God hears and sees you and knows
your secrets and secret conversation. If this reminding does not
benefit it because of the inadequacy of its knowledge of the Majesty
of God, remind it of the two noble angels who record good and evil
deeds, and recite to it: When the two receivers receive, sitting on
the right and on the left; he utters no word but there is with him a
watcher, ready. [L:17, 18] If this reminding does not influence it,
remind it of the proximity of death, that it is the nearest of all hidden
and awaited things; frighten it of its sudden pouncing, whereby if it
does come when it is in an unsatisfactory 13
 The Book of Assistance state it will end up in endless
perdition. If this threat is of no use, remind it of the immense reward
which God has promised those who obey Him, and the painful
torment with which He has threatened those who disobey Him. Say
to it: 'O soul! After death there will be no opportunity to repent, and
there will be, after this life, only the Garden or the Fire. Choose, if
you will, obedience, the consequence of which is triumph,
contentment, immortality in vast gardens, and looking at the Face of
God, the Generous, the Beneficent; or else disobedience, the
consequence of which is degradation, humiliation, mockery,
deprivation, and imprisonment between layers of fire. ' Endeavour to
cure your soul with such reminders when it neglects obedience and
inclines to rebellion, for they are useful medicines for the heart's
diseases. If you find emerging in your heart, when you call to mind
the fact that God observes you, a shyness that prevents you from
disobeying Him and drives you to exert yourself in obeying Him, you
are in possession of something of the realities of vigilance
[muraqaba]. Know that vigilance is one of the most noble stations,
high positions, and lofty degrees. It is the station of excellence
[ihsdn] indicated in the Prophet's saying, may blessings and peace
be upon him: 'Excellence is to worship God as if you saw Him, for if
you do not see Him, He sees you.' Each believer has faith that
nothing on earth or in heaven is concealed from God, that God is
with him wherever he is, and that none of his movements or times
of stillness are concealed from Him. But the important thing is that
this awareness be permanent and that its results appear, the least of
which is that he does nothing, when alone with God, that he would
be ashamed of should a man of virtue see him. This is rare, and it
eventually leads to that which is rarer still, whereby the servant is
totally immersed in God, annihilated in Him and thus rendered
unaware of all else, absent from creation through his contemplation
of the True King, having arrived at a secure seat in the presence of
an Able Sovereign.16 14 Chapter 4 On the Inner and Outer Self You
must, O my brother, improve your inward aspect until it becomes
better than your virtuous outward appearance, for the former is
where the gaze of the Real obtains, while the latter is where the
envious gaze of creation is to be found. God never mentioned the
inward and the outward in His Book without beginning with the
inward. And the Prophet used to pray, may blessings and peace be
upon him: 'O God! Make my inward better than my outward, and
make my outward virtuous/ When the inward is good the outward is
also inevitably so, for the outward always follows the inward,
whether for good or evil. The Messenger of God, may blessings and
peace be upon him, has said: 'In the body there lies a small piece of
flesh; when it is good the rest of the body is good also, and when it
is corrupt the rest of the body becomes corrupt also: it is the heart.'
Know that the one who claims to have a thriving inward but whose
outward has been corrupted by his abandoning outward acts of
obedience is a pretender and a liar. The one who exerts himself in
the reform of his outward aspect by caring about the way he dresses
and appears, speaks, moves, sits, stands, and walks, but leaves his
inward full of repellent attributes and vile traits, is one of the people
of affectation and ostentation, who have turned away from the Lord.
Beware, O brother, of doing in secret that which if seen by people
would make you ashamed and worried about being 15
 The Book of Assistance censured. A gnostic once said: 'A
sufi is not a sufi unless, were everything that is in him to be exposed
on a plate in the marketplace, he would not be ashamed of anything
that came to light.' If you cannot make your inward better than your
outward, the least that you can do is to make them equal so that
you behave equally well privately and publicly in obeying God's
injunctions, avoiding His prohibitions, respecting what He has made
sacred, and hastening to please Him. This is the first step a servant
takes on the path of special knowledge Know this! Success is from
God. 16 Chapter 5 On Regular Devotions You must fill up your time
with acts of worship so that no period of time elapses, whether by
night or by day, without being used in some act of goodness. This is
how the baraka within time is made manifest, the purpose of life
fulfilled, and the approach to God the Exalted made constant. You
should allocate specific periods of time for your habitual activities
such as eating, drinking, and working for a livelihood. Know that no
state can be sound in the presence of neglect, and no wealth useful
in the presence of heedlessness. The Proof of Islam,17 may God
spread his benefit, said: 'You should structure your time, arrange
your regular devotions [awrad], and assign to each function a set
period of time during which it is given first priority but which it does
not overstep. For if you abandon yourself to neglect and
purposelessness, as the cattle do, andjust do anything that may
occur to you at any time it happens to occur to you, most of your
time will be wasted. Your time is your life, and your life is your
capital; it is the basis of your transactions [with God], and the
means to attain to everlasting felicity, in the proximity of God the
Exalted. Each of your breaths is a priceless (because irreplaceable)
jewel, and when it passes away it never returns.' You should not
occupy all your time with only one wird, even if it be the best, for
you would then miss the baraka of multiplying and varying your
awrdd. Each wird has a particular effect on the heart, a light, a flow
of assistance [madad], and a rank with God. Furthermore, when you
move from one wird 17
 The Book of Assistance to another you escape becoming
bored, indolent, impatient, or weary. Ibn 'Ata'illah al-Shadhili, may
God have mercy on him, has said: 'Because the Real knew of the
presence of boredom in you, He created a variety of acts of
obedience.* Know that awrad have a great effect in illuminating the
heart and controlling the senses, but these only appear and become
established with perseverance and repetition, and their performance
at specifically allocated times. If you are not one of those who fill all
their night and daytime hours with devotional activities, then assign
to yourself some awrad to persevere with at specific times that you
make up for if missed, so that your soul becomes accustomed to
keeping to them; when your soul despairs of your abandoning them
altogether when you miss them, it will hasten to perform them in
time. My master, shaykh ?Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf, may God be
pleased with him, has said: 'Whoever has no wird is a qird
[monkey]!' Another gnostic has said: The arrival of blessings
depends on the awrad; therefore, the man who outwardly has no
wird has no inward aspect [of any consequence].' Be moderate and
keep to the middle way in everything. Choose those acts which you
are capable of persevering in. The Messenger of God, may blessings
and peace be upon him, has said: The acts most pleasing to God are
the most constant, even if few.' And: 'Choose the acts of which you
are capable, for God will not grow weary before you. ' It is Satan's
way to entice the seeker [murid] at the beginning of his quest to be
excessive in his devotional activities, the purpose being to make him
retreat, either by giving up acts of goodness altogether, or
performing them incorrectly, and the accursed one does not care
with which of these two he afflicts a man. Awrad usually take the
form of supererogatory prayers, Qur'an recitations, the acquisition of
knowledge, invocation [dhikr] or reflection \fikr}. We shall now
mention some of the proprieties with which these religious activities
need to be performed. 18 IMAM AL-HADDAD You must have a wird
of supererogatory prayers, in addition 10 the textually established
ones, and should assign a definite nine for it and a definite number
which you can constantly sustain. Some of our virtuous
predecessors, may God have mercy on them, had a wird of one
thousand rak'as each day and night. Such, for instance, was eAli son
of al-Husayn, may ( iod be pleased with them both; others had a
wird of five hundred, three hundred, and so on. Know that the ritual
prayer has an outer form and an inner reality. You will not have
established the prayer and its outward proprieties, such as correct
standing, prostration, tasbih, recitation, bowing, and so forth until
you have established both its outer aspect and its reality. As for its
outer aspect, this constitutes those obligatory conditions set for it by
God, while its reality is that one be present with God, sincerely
intend it to be purely for His sake, approach Him with complete
resolution, and collect one's heart so that one's thought is restricted
to the prayer and nothing else, and maintain the courtesies
necessary for communing with God. The Prophet has said, may
blessings and peace be upon him: The man in prayer is communing
with his Lord.' And: 'When the servant rises to his prayer God turns
His Face toward him.' You should not occupy yourself with
unspecified supererogatory prayers at a time designated for a sunna
which the Messenger of God either did or spoke about until you have
completed the maximum designated number. An example of this is
the rak'as laid down before and after the obligatory prayers. These
are sufficiently well known as to need no further comment. Another
example is the witr prayer which is a well established and certain
prayer. Some scholars have been of the opinion that it is obligatory.
And the Prophet has said, may blessings and peace be upon him:
'God is witr [not an even number] and He likes what is witr:
therefore observe the witr.' And: 'Witr is truth.' Its maximum is
eleven rak'as and its appropriate minimum three. For those who
have an established habit of rising for prayer during the latter part of
the night it is better to perform it then. The Prophet has said, may
19
 The Book of Assistance blessings and peace be upon him:
'Make your night prayer the witr* But those who have no such habit
would do better to perform it after the night [Usha] prayer. A further
example is the mid-morning [duha] prayer which is a very useful and
blessed prayer. Its maximum is eight rak'as, though some have said
twelve, and its minimum two. The best time for it is when the sun is
high and about a quarter of the day has gone by. The Messenger of
God, may blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Morning comes
and on each of your fingers a charity is due. Each tasbiha
[glorification] is a charity, each tahmida [praise] a charity, each
tahlila [unification of God] a charity, each takbtra [magnification] a
charity, and enjoining good and forbidding evil is charity. Two rak'as
performed in the mid-morning would supply for all that.' If this
sound hadtth had been the only one transmitted concerning the
merit of this prayer it would have been sufficient. Yet another
example is the prayer between the sunset [maghrib] and night
[Usha] prayers. Its maximum is twenty rak'as and its average six.
The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has
said: 'God erects a palace in the Garden for the one who prays
twenty rak'as between the two night prayers.' And he has said, may
blessings and peace be upon him: The one who prays six rak'as after
the sunset prayer and does not speak ill in between will have them
equal the worship of twelve years.' It is a sunna to give life to the
period between the two night prayers with devotions. Many hadtihs
and other traditions have been transmitted regarding its merit. It
should be enough to know that when Ahmad ibn Abul-Hawari asked
his shaykh, Abu Sulayman, may God have mercy on them, whether
he should fast by day or give life to the period between the two
night prayers, he advised him to do both, to which he said: 'I
cannot, for if I fast I become occupied with breaking my fast at that
time.' He replied: 'If you cannot do both, then leave daytime fasting
and give life to the time between the night prayers.' fA'isha, may
God be pleased with her, has said: The Messenger of God, may
blessings and 20 IMAM AL-H ADD AD peace be upon him, never
entered my house after the late night prayer ['isha'] without praying
four or six rak'as.9 And he said, may blessings and peace be upon
him, Tour rak'as after the night prayer equal the same on the Night
of Destiny [laylatul-qadr]/ Pray at night, for he has said, may
blessings and peace be upon him: The best prayer after the
prescribed ones is the mghtime prayer.' And: The superiority of
nighttime over daytime prayers is like the superiority of concealed
over public charity.' (And it has been related that concealed charity is
seventy times better than public chanty.) He has said, may blessings
and peace be upon him: 'Keep rising in prayer at night, for it was the
way of the virtuous who came before you, it draws you nearer to
your Lord, atones for your sins, forbids you from evil, and protects
the body from sickness.' Know that the one who prays after the
night prayer has risen at night. Some of our predecessors used to
pray their wird early in the night; however, rising after some sleep
constitutes a defeat for the devil, an opposition to the ego, and
contains a wondrous secret. This is the tahajjud which God
commanded His Messenger to do in His saying: Perform tahajjud by
night, as an act of supererogation for you. [XVII: 19] It has been
related that God wonders at a servant who rises from his bed, from
his wife's side, to pray. He takes pride in him before His angels and
turns His noble Face towards him. Know that it is an ugly thing in
the seeker of the hereafter not to rise in the night; how [can he not]
when a seeker should always be asking for more and exposing
himself to His gifts at all times. For he has said, may blessings and
peace be upon him: There is in the night a time that no Muslim
servant [of God] encounters and in which he asks God for some
good of the world or of the hereafter but that He grants it him. This
happens every night.' (Tradition related by Muslim.) In one of God's
revealed scriptures it is said: 'He has lied who claims to Ipve Me but
who when night falls sleeps [and leaves] Me. Does not every lover
love to be alone with lm beloved?' 21
 The Book of Assistance Shaykh Isma'Il ibn Ibrahim al-
Jabartl, may God have mercy on him, has said: 'God has gathered
every goodness into the night, and no sainthood was ever
determined [i e formally granted] to a saint except by night.' My
master al- Aydarus Abd Allah ibn Abu Bakr 'Alawi has said- 'The one
who wishes for the Lordly Purity should break himself in the depths
of the night. ' The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be
upon him, has said: 'God descends every night to the Terrestrial
Heaven when only the last third of the night remains, and says: "Is
anyone praying, that I may answer him? Is anyone seeking
forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Is anyone asking, that I may
give to him?" until the break of day. Had this been the only hadith
exhorting to night vigils it would have sufficed, so how must it be
when both the Book and the sunna are full of encouragements and
exhortations to it? The gnostics have in their night vigils noble
unveilings and subtle experiences which they receive in their hearts,
of the felicity of nearness to God, the pleasures of intimacy with Him
and of communing and conversing with Him (Exalted is He') One of
them has said: 'If the people of the Garden are in a state similar to
ours, they are indeed living pleasantly!' Another has said: The
people of the night during their nights are as the people of pleasures
in their pleasures.' And another has saidfor the last forty years
nothing aggrieved me but the break of u Yi I ,7 °CCUrS °nIy after
enduring the bitterness and hardships which are in vigils, as 'Utba al-
Ghulam said- 'I endured the night for twenty years, then enjoyed it
for twenty more. 7 Should you ask: 'What should I recite during the
nieht prayers, and how many raVas should I pray?' then know that
the Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him had no
set recitation in his tahajjud. It is good to recite the Qur an, one part
after another, so that you complete it in a month, or less or more
according to your energy. As for the number of rak'as, the maximum
that has been related of the * Messenger of God, may blessings and
peace be upon him is thirteen; seven and nine are also reported, but
the most frequent figure is eleven. 22 IMAM AL-HADDAD The total
purport of all the relevant hadiths is that it is encouraged and
recommended, when you wake up, for you to rub sleep off your face
with your hands and say: 'Praised and thanked be God, Who gave us
life after causing us to die, and unto Whom is the resurrection. ' And
recite the last verses of sural Al-lmrdn (The Family of rImran.) Then
brush your teeth with the siwdk, perform a full ablution [wudu], pray
two short rak'as, then add to them eight long ones. You can pray
them in units of two, or four, or even do the full eight with only one
salutation [saldm], for all these have been reported. If you then find
that you still have energy, pray any additional prayers that you may
wish, then pray three Yak' as as witr, either with one salutation or
two. Recite in the first raVa sural al-A'la (The Most High) [LXXXVII],
in the second al-Kafirun (The Disbelievers) [CI], and in the third al-
Ikhlas (Sincerity) [CII], and the last two suras [CHI and CIV]. Do not
think that the wilr which is eleven rak'as is one thing and the rak'as
we have just mentioned another. Only that which we have
mentioned is reported of the Messenger of God's night prayers.
Know this! God is Vast and Knowing! 23
 Chapter 6 On Reciting the Qur'an You must have a wird of
recitation of the Mighty Book to be read every day. The least you
should do is read one juz [one thirtieth of the Qur'an] so that you
complete it once a month, and the most is to complete it every three
days. Know that great merit attaches to reciting the Qur'an, and an
influence in illuminating the heart. The Messenger of God, may
blessings and peace be upon him, has said: The best of my nation's
devotions is the recitation of the Qur'an ' And 'AIL may God ennoble
his face, has said: 'The one who recites the Qur'an while standing in
prayer receives one hundred rewards for each letter; the one who
recites it outside the prayer but in a state of ritual purity receives
twenty-five rewards for each letter; and the one who recites it
without ritual purity receives ten rewards for each letter.' Beware of
concentrating, while reciting, on reciting a large amount to the
exclusion of reflection and correct recitation. You must reflect and
comprehend while you recite; slow, melodious recitation will assist
you in this. Feel in your heart the Magnitude of the Speaker
(Transcendent and Exalted is He!) and that you are before Him,
reciting His Book to Him, in which He addresses His commands,
prohibitions, counsels and exhortations to you. When reading verses
on unification and glorification be full of reverence and awe, when
reading verses of promises and threats be full of hopeful expectation
and apprehension, and when reading the commands and
prohibitions be thankful, acknowledge your shortcomings, ask for
forgiveness and determine to show ardour. Know that the 24 IMAM
AL-HADDAD Qur'an is the ocean wherefrom the jewels of knowledge
and the treasures of understanding are extracted. Any believer who
is granted the way to understand it, his Opening [fath] 18 becomes
permanent, his light complete, his knowledge vast, and he never
tires of reading it night and day, for he has found therein his goal
and his purpose. This is the quality of the sincere seeker. Shaykh
Abu Madyan, may God be pleased with him, has said: 'A seeker is
not a seeker until he is able to find in the Qur'an everything that he
desires.' Be careful to read those suras and verses which are
recommended in the sunna at particular times; for example aU Sajda
(The Prostration) [XXXII], al-Mulk (The Kingdom) [LXVII], al-Waqi'a
(The Event) [LVI], and the last two verses o(al-Baqara (The Heifer)
[II] every night before going to sleep. Al-Dukhdn (Smoke) [XLIV] on
Sunday and Thursday evenings, and al-Kahf (The Cave) [XVIII] on
Thursday night and Friday. Read, if you can, the Seven Saving
Ones19 every night, for their merits are great. Also morning and
evening the first few verses of surat al-Hadtd (Iron) [LVII], the last
few verses of surat al-Hashr (The Mustering) [LIX], surat al-lkhlds
three times and the two refuge-taking suras three times each;
similarly, al-lkhlds and the last two suras together with the al-Kurst
verse (The Footstool) [II: 255], and surat al-Kdfirun (The
Disbelievers) immediately before going to sleep, making these the
last thing that you utter. And God says the truth, and He guides to
the way. 25