📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #43 لا تَصْحَبْ مَنْ لا يُنْهِضُكَ حَالُهُ، وَلا يَدُلُّكَ عَلَى اللهِ مَقَالُهُ. "Do not accompany him whose state does not lift you, nor his words guide you to Allah." Companionship (ṣuḥba) is a foundational principle of the spiritual path — the true benefit of a companion is twofold: that his very state elevates your aspiration toward Allah, and that his words point you back to Him. It is not required that he be perfect in every virtue; it suffices that his aspiration surpasses yours and his speech is more sound. Beware, though, of company that draws you into ostentation or a false front, for the sins of the heart are graver than the sins of the limbs. As the sages have said: a person's nature is quietly drawn from the nature of those around him. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #42 لَا تَرْحَلْ مِنْ كَوْنٍ إِلَى كَوْنٍ فَتَكُونَ كَحِمَارِ الرَّحَى؛ يَسِيرُ وَالْمَكَانُ الَّذِي ارْتَحَلَ إِلَيْهِ هُوَ الَّذِي ارْتَحَلَ عَنْهُ. وَلَٰكِنِ ارْحَلْ مِنَ الْأَكْوَانِ إِلَى الْمُكَوِّنِ، وَأَنَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ الْمُنْتَهَىٰ. "Do not travel from one created thing to another lest you be like the donkey at the millstone: he journeys, yet the place he journeys to is the very place from which he came. Rather, travel from created things to the Creator — 'And to your Lord is the final destination.' (Qurʾān 53:42)" To seek rewards, ranks, or spiritual stations is still to travel between created things — a subtle self-service dressed in sacred garb. The ego, though refined, still wants something for itself, and every "something" other than Him is merely another wall of the same mill. True hijra is not from one state to another but from all states to the One who states them into being. As the Prophet ﷺ said, the emigration is only ever to what one truly emigrated for. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #41 عَجَبًا لِمَنْ يَهْرُبُ مِمَّا لَا انْفِكَاكَ لَهُ عَنْهُ، وَيَطْلُبُ مَا لَا بَقَاءَ لَهُ مَعَهُ، إِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى الْأَبْصَارُ وَلَكِنْ تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ "Astonishing indeed is the act of him who tries to run away from the One Who is always with him and instead seeks the company of those things which are bound to never remain with him: 'For it is not the eyes that go blind; rather, it is the hearts in the breasts which go blind.' [Qur'an 22:46]" The servant flees his Master toward lusts and passing desires only because his heart has gone blind — he has traded the Everlasting for the perishing, the higher for the lower. Had true insight been present, he would have chosen as Pharaoh's magicians did, who, once their hearts were opened, spurned worldly honor and welcomed death rather than deny their Lord, declaring: "Allah is better and more lasting" (Qur'an 20:73). The wonder is not that vision fails — it is that the heart, meant for God, turns away from the only One who never departs. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #40 إِنْ لَمْ تُحْسِنْ ظَنَّكَ بِهِ لِأَجْلِ حُسْنِ وَصْفِهِ، فَحَسِّنْ ظَنَّكَ بِهِ لِوُجودِ مُعامَلَتِهِ مَعَكَ. فَهَلْ عَوَّدَكَ إلّا حَسَناً. وَهَلْ أَسْدى إلَيْكَ إلّا مِنَناً. "If you don't expect the best from Him due to the excellence of His attribute, expect the best from Him by seeing how He deals with you. For has He accustomed you to anything but good, or has He bestowed upon you anything but favors?" Ḥusn al-ẓann bi-Llāh — thinking well of Allah — is a station of certainty. The ʿārifūn hold it because they know His names and attributes; the rest are gently invited to hold it by simply looking back at their own lives. Has He ever fed you anything but kindness, or shown you anything but bounty? Even what you dislike is often better for you (Q 2:216), so let the constant flood of His favors outweigh the rare moment of trial. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #37 كَانَ اللهُ وَلَا شَيْءَ مَعَهُ، وَهُوَ الْآنَ عَلَى مَا عَلَيْهِ كَانَ. "Allah existed and there was nothing with Him, and He is now as He has always been." Time itself is a created veil, an imaginary frame with no reality of its own. Nothing stands beside the Real — the "now" and the "always" collapse before His overwhelming oneness. The universe is affirmed only through His affirming it, and effaced the moment the gaze turns fully toward Him. What you see with your eye, if the sight is true, is nothing but the trace of His. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #36 شُعاعُ البَصيرَةِ يُشْهِدُكَ قُرْبَهُ مِنْكَ. وَعَيْنُ البَصيرَةِ تُشْهِدُكَ عَدَمَكَ لِوُجودِهِ. وَحَقُّ البَصيرَةِ يُشْهِدُكَ وُجودَهُ، لا عَدَمَكَ وَلا وُجودَكَ. "Beams of insight make you witness His closeness to you. Insight itself makes you witness your non-existence in front of His existence. Finally, the core of insight makes you witness only His existence, making you disregard your non-existence or your existence." Three stations of the seer: the intellect glimpses the Divine nearness, knowledge dissolves the self before His reality, and the light of the Truth eclipses even the distinction between self and other. First the mind sees, then the heart forgets itself, then only He remains. Each stage is a deeper letting-go — until nothing witnesses but Him. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #35 أَصْلُ كُلِّ مَعْصِيَةٍ وَغَفْلَةٍ وَشَهْوَةٍ: الرِّضَا عَنِ النَّفْسِ، وَأَصْلُ كُلِّ طَاعَةٍ وَيَقَظَةٍ وَعِفَّةٍ: عَدَمُ الرِّضَا مِنْكَ عَنْهَا. وَلَأَنْ تَصْحَبَ جَاهِلًا لَا يَرْضَى عَنْ نَفْسِهِ خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنْ أَنْ تَصْحَبَ عَالِمًا يَرْضَى عَنْ نَفْسِهِ. فَأَيُّ عِلْمٍ لِعَالِمٍ يَرْضَى عَنْ نَفْسِهِ؟ وَأَيُّ جَهْلٍ لِجَاهِلٍ لَا يَرْضَى عَنْ نَفْسِهِ؟ "The origin of every act of disobedience, spiritual unmindfulness, and lust is being pleased with the self. The origin of every act of obedience, spiritual wakefulness, and abstinence is not being pleased with the self. To keep the company of an unlearned person who is not pleased with himself is better for you than to keep the company of a learned person who is pleased with himself." Reflection: Ibn ʿAbbād warns that self-satisfaction dims the sight — "the eye of contentment is dim-sighted concerning faults" — and lets base desires overrun the heart unnoticed. The one who suspects his own nafs stays awake, watchful over his thoughts, and abstinence follows. Hence Yūsuf's confession, *"I do not absolve my self"* (12:53), and Junayd's warning: don't find rest in your lower self even when it obeys you. A humble ignorant is a safer companion than a learned man in love with himself, because true knowledge that leaves no room for self-conceit is the only knowledge that saves. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #34 دَعْ عَنْكَ كُلَّ وَصْفٍ مِنْ أَوْصَافِكَ لَا يُطَابِقُ عُبُودِيَّتَكَ، لِتَكُونَ لِنِدَاءِ الْحَقِّ مُجِيبًا، وَمِنْ حَضْرَتِهِ قَرِيبًا "Leave every trait of your human nature that contradicts your slavehood so that you may answer the call of the Truth [Most High] and be close to His presence." Reflection: Ibn ʿAbbād distinguishes two theatres of the religious life — the outer, governed by fiqh, and the inner, tended by tasawwuf — and reminds us that the heart is the king whose soldiers are the limbs. Every blameworthy trait (pride, self-conceit, love of praise, envy, greed) traces back to a single root: the servant beholding himself as an existent thing pleasing in its own eyes. To be summoned near, one must lay these traits down. What remains — humility, reverence, contentment, mercy — is not something added to the self but the self restored to its true station of ʿubūdiyyah. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #33 اَلْحَقُّ لَيْسَ بِمَحْجُوبٍ عَنْكَ، وَإِنَّمَا الْمَحْجُوبُ أَنْتَ عَنِ النَّظَرِ إِلَيْهِ، إِذْ لَوْ حَجَبَهُ شَيْءٌ لَسَتَرَهُ مَا حَجَبَهُ، وَلَوْ كَانَ لَهُ سَاتِرٌ لَكَانَ لِوُجُودِهِ حَاصِرٌ، وَكُلُّ حَاصِرٍ لِشَيْءٍ فَهُوَ لَهُ قَاهِرٌ، وَهُوَ الْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِ "The Truth (Most High) is not veiled. Rather, it is you who is veiled from looking at Him. If anything veiled Him, it would cover Him up. If anything could act as a cover for Him, His existence would have a restrictor. But, everything that restricts another is in control of it while He is in control of all His servants." Reflection: Ibn ʿAbbād shows the impossibility of any veil upon the Truth through a simple logical proof — for any veil would imply a container, and any container implies dominion over what it contains, which is inconceivable for the One who is Qāhir above all. The veil, then, lies entirely on our side, arising from the servant's intrinsic nothingness — for there is no meeting point between non-existence and pure Existence. Yet by His will, He lifts this veil from whom He wills, when He wills, granting a vision of the One "unto whom nothing is like" (42:11). — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #32 حِرْصُكَ عَلَى مَا بَطَنَ فِيكَ مِنَ الْعُيُوبِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ حِرْصِكَ عَلَى مَا حُجِبَ عَنْكَ مِنَ الْغُيُوبِ. "Your eagerness to know the faults hidden within you is better for you than your eagerness to know the unseen world veiled from you." Ibn ʿAbbād reminds the seeker that discovering one's own inner defects is the true right of Allah upon the servant — for such awareness purifies the heart and refines one's works. Citing al-Ghazālī, he lists four means of seeing one's faults: sitting with an insightful shaykh, keeping a truthful friend, listening to one's enemies, and observing flaws mirrored in others. The craving to unveil hidden mysteries or witness miracles is but a portion of the ego; the true disciple pursues istiqāma — steady uprightness in Islam — for the Master seeks constancy from His slave, while the nafs seeks wonders. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #31 اهْتَدى الرّاحِلونَ إلَيْهِ بِأَنْوارِ التَّوَجُّهِ، وَالواصِلونَ لَهُمْ أَنْوارُ المُواجَهَةِ. فَالأَوَّلونَ لِلأَنْوارِ، وَهؤلاءِ الأَنْوارُ لَهُمْ، لِأَنَّهُمْ لِلهِ لا لِشَيْءٍ دُونَهُ. ﴿قُلِ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ ذَرْهُمْ فِي خَوْضِهِمْ يَلْعَبُونَ﴾ "Those journeying to Him are guided by the lights of turning toward Him, while those who have arrived have the lights of direct encounter. The first belong to the lights; for the second, the lights belong to them — for they are for Allah, and for nothing besides Him. 'Say: Allah — then leave them in their vain discourse, playing.' [Qur'an 6:91]" The traveler's lights (anwār al-tawajjuh) rise from his own striving — his worship, patience, and struggle — and he still needs them to reach the goal. The arrived one's lights (anwār al-muwājaha) descend upon him from Allah: nearness, intimacy, love. The first is owned by his lights because he depends on them; the second owns his because he needs nothing but Allah Himself. To witness anything other than Him is the "vain play" the verse dismisses — the reality of tawḥīd is to see Him alone. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #29 شَتَّانَ بَيْنَ مَنْ يَسْتَدِلُّ بِهِ أَوْ يَسْتَدِلُّ عَلَيْهِ. اَلْمُسْتَدِلُّ بِهِ عَرَفَ الْحَقَّ لِأَهْلِهِ وَأَثْبَتَ الْأَمْرَ مِنْ وُجُودِ أَصْلِهِ، وَالْاِسْتِدْلَالُ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ عَدَمِ الْوُصُولِ إِلَيْهِ، وَإِلَّا فَمَتَى غَابَ حَتَّى يُسْتَدَلَّ عَلَيْهِ، وَمَتَى بَعُدَ حَتَّى تَكُونَ الْآثَارُ هِيَ الَّتِي تُوصِلُ إِلَيْهِ؟ "What a difference there is between him who uses Allah to prove [the existence of others] and him who uses [others] to prove Allah's existence. The former knows reality for Whom it is; so, he affirms the matter from its origin. The latter hasn't yet reached (knowledge of) Him. Otherwise, when was He absent that His existence needed to be proved and when was He far that others would be needed to reach Him?" Ibn ʿAbbād contrasts two paths: the traveler who ascends through creation to reach the Creator, and the one drawn (majdhūb) whom Allah unveils Himself to directly — who then knows creation only through Him. The first uses the unknown to prove the Known, the non-existent to prove the Existent. But Allah was never absent to require proof, nor distant to require intermediaries. As the verse goes: "I am amazed at him who wants a witness for You, when it is You who have made him witness everything." — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #28 مَا أُودِعَ فِي غَيْبِ السَّرَائِرِ ظَهَرَ فِي شَهَادَةِ الظَّوَاهِرِ. "What is deposited in the unseen of the innermost self appears in the visible witness of the outward." The outward is a mirror of the inward: what fills the heart—whether nearness to Allāh or attachment to other-than-Him—inevitably shows through the limbs, manners, and bearing. Abū Ḥafṣ said, "Beautiful outward manners are signs of beautiful inward manners," and the Prophet ﷺ said, "If the heart of this one were humble, his limbs would be humble too." So do not deceive yourself: whoever claims love and knowledge of Allāh while none of its fruits appear on him is a claimant without proof. Watch the exterior—it testifies to the state of the interior. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #27 مَنْ أَشْرَقَتْ بِدَايَتُهُ أَشْرَقَتْ نِهَايَتُهُ "Whoever's beginning shines, his ending also shines." A luminous beginning is marked by turning to Allah in one's affairs and depending upon Him in trials. When the seeker orients his heart toward the Divine from the outset — with sincerity, reliance, and return — that same light illuminates the end of his path: nearness to Allah and arrival in His presence. The end mirrors the beginning; how one starts shapes where one arrives. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #25 مَا تَوَقَّفَ مَطْلَبٌ أَنْتَ طَالِبُهُ بِرَبِّكَ، وَلَا تَيَسَّرَ مَطْلَبٌ أَنْتَ طَالِبُهُ بِنَفْسِكَ. "No aim is halted that you seek through your Lord, and no aim is made easy that you seek through yourself." When you bring your needs to Allah in true reliance, you grasp the strongest cause — distant goals are drawn near and difficult matters are made light. But whoever leans on his own strength, cleverness, or striving is handed over to himself and left to his own weakness. This holds for every pursuit, but most of all for the path to Allah: the traveler who clings to his Lord finds the road opened, while the one who trusts his own effort finds every gate shut. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #24 لَا تَسْتَغْرِبْ وُقُوعَ الْأَكْدَارِ مَا دُمْتَ فِي هَذِهِ الدَّارِ، فَإِنَّهَا مَا أَبْرَزَتْ إِلَّا مَا هُوَ مُسْتَحِقٌّ وَصْفَهَا، وَوَاجِبٌ نَعْتَهَا. "Do not find the occurrence of troubles strange as long as you are in this world, for it only manifests what is befitting of its description and essential to its nature." Reflection: Allah appointed this world as an abode of trial, not of rest — troubles are not intrusions upon it but expressions of what it is. Ibn ʿAbbād reminds us that seeking ease here is like seeking safety in a house of snakes; even Junayd said he was unsurprised by hardship because the world's very nature is anxiety and sorrow. The believer's response is not shock but patience (ṣabr), contentment (riḍā), and submission to the divine decree — for patience is a mount that never stumbles, and after every hardship comes relief. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #23 لَا تَتَرَقَّبْ فُرُوغَكَ مِمَّا سِوَاهُ، فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ يَقْطَعُكَ عَنْ وُجُودِ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ لَهُ فِيمَا هُوَ مُقِيمُكَ فِيهِ. "Do not wait for freedom from your current condition, since that will prevent you from being mindful of Him where He has placed you." Wherever Allah has placed you — in hardship or ease, sickness or health — that state carries rights and obligations meant for you now. Longing to escape it robs you of the very presence and mindfulness demanded of you in this moment. The sincere disciple, as Sahl said, finds rest only when he sees no time but the one he is in. Patience in what you dislike, gratitude in what you love — both require you to be fully here. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #22 مَا مِنْ نَفَسٍ تُبْدِيهِ إِلَّا وَلَهُ قَدَرٌ فِيكَ يُمْضِيهِ "Not a breath you take, except He has a decree to pass over you." Every breath is a vessel carrying a divine decree — a moment already inscribed with what Allah wills to enact through you. Your successive breaths are not your own; they are an amāna (trust) belonging to al-Ḥaqq, each one carrying rights owed to Him. When the servant truly realizes this, there is no room left for tadbīr (self-planning) or the chasing of desires — only presence with the One who breathes life through him. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #21 طَلَبُكَ مِنْهُ اتِّهَامٌ لَهُ، وَطَلَبُكَ لَهُ غَيْبَةٌ مِنْكَ عَنْهُ، وَطَلَبُكَ لِغَيْرِهِ لِقِلَّةِ حَيَائِكَ مِنْهُ، وَطَلَبُكَ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ لِوُجُودِ بُعْدِكَ عَنْهُ. "Your asking Him is a charge against Him. Your asking for Him is [due to] your absence from Him. Your asking for other than Him is due to your lack of modesty in front of Him. Your asking from other than Him is due to being far from Him." Ibn ʿAbbād unpacks four subtle defects in how the seeker asks: to demand from Allah implies distrust of His care; to seek Him presumes distance from His presence; to want anything besides Him betrays a lack of ḥayāʾ before Him; and to lean on any other reveals estrangement from Him. Yet asking is not itself blameworthy — when done in worship, in obedience to His command to call upon Him (Qur'an 40:60), and as an expression of the servant's essential poverty, it carries no fault. The lesson is not to abandon duʿāʾ, but to purify the heart behind it. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality

📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #20 مَا تَوَقَّفَتْ مَطَالِبُ السَّائِرِ إِلَيْهِ إِلَّا نَادَتْهَا هَوَاتِفُ الْحَقَائِقِ: مَا تَطْلُبُهُ أَمَامَكَ، وَلَا تَبَرَّجَتْ لَهُ ظَوَاهِرُ الْأَكْوَانِ إِلَّا نَادَتْهُ حَقَائِقُهَا: إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ "The spiritual drive of the traveler does not will to stop with what is revealed to it except that the voices of higher reality call out to him, 'What you seek is still ahead of you.' Neither do created things show their beauty except that their realities call out to you, 'We are but a temptation, so disbelieve not.'" On the path to Allah, unveilings and spiritual openings are gifts — not the destination. The moment aspiration tries to settle into any station, reality itself protests: keep going, what you seek lies further ahead. And when the outward beauty of the world dazzles the wayfarer, its inner truth whispers a warning from Sūrat al-Baqarah — we are only a trial, do not be deceived. True arrival begins where even the seeker's own will falls away. — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality