Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

Then Satan made them slip therefrom. Look at this wonder: First He caressed the servant and put all his little jobs in order, then He sent him into tumult and overthrew what He had done for him, and then He rebuked him. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, You show your friends to the enemies and You turn the poor ones over to heartache and grief. You make them ill, and then You take care of them Your- self. You make them helpless, and then You heal them Yourself. “You made Adam out of dust, and then You acted so beautifully toward him. You placed his happiness at the top of the ledger and made him the guest in paradise. You sat him in the garden of approval, You made a compact with him not to eat the wheat, and in Your unseen knowledge You hid the fact that he would in fact eat the wheat. Then You put him in prison, and You made him weep for years. Your all-compellingness does the work of compellers, Your lordhood does the work of lords. All of Your rebukes and war are aimed at Your friends.” The Pir of the Tariqah was asked, “What do you say: Was Adam more complete in this world or in paradise?” He said, “He was more complete in this world, for in paradise he fell into suspicion because of himself, but in this world he fell into suspicion because of passion.” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “Take care not to have the opinion that Adam was taken out of paradise because of his lowliness. It was not that. Rather, it was because of the grandeur of his aspiration. The petitioner of passion came to the door of Adam's breast and said, 'O Adam, the beauty of meaning has been unveiled, but you have stayed in the abode of peace.' Adam saw an infinite beauty, next to which the beauty of the eight paradises was nothing. His great aspiration tightened its belt and said: 'If you ever want to fall in love, you must fall in love with that.'” If there's no escape from feeding passion to the spirit I'll suffer passion's grief for the likes of You. The command came, “Adam, now that you have stepped into the street of passion, leave paradise, for it is the house of ease.

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

Then Adam received from his Lord some words. Then He spoke with the lid on, not letting out the details, lest the secrets of love fall into the open and so that love's story would stay concealed. I said to her, “Halt [qifī].” She said, “Qāf.” She did not say, “I have halted,” thereby keeping the secret from the watchers. Nor did she say, “I will not halt,” thereby showing consideration for the lover's heart.3 Although the tongue of commentary does not speak of it, the folk of allusion say that it is likely that at the moment of farewell lovers say, “'When you depart from me, do not forget my covenant. Even if awareness of me dwindles one day, do not prefer another over me.'4 O Adam! Do not forget Our compact and do not choose anyone over Me.” The tongue of his state replied, “My heart is Your fellow-traveler and companion- how could it attach its love anywhere else? A heart for whom You are both spirit and awareness- how could it forget Your remembrance?”

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

O children of Israel! Remember My blessings with which I blessed you. And be loyal to My covenant; I will be loyal to your covenant. And of Me have dread. This is an allusion to the Real's gentleness, generosity, and loving kindness toward the servants. He reminds them of His favor toward them: “I am the generous Lord, the thankful, the forgiver of the servants. I have come forth with kindness despite every disloyalty, I invite the servants to praise Me despite all their offenses, and I ask them to be grateful for My blessings.” This is why He says to the children of Israel, “Remember My blessings! O children of Israel, be grateful for My blessings and recognize your duty toward Me so that you will be worthy of increase and have good name and good fortune.” There is a great difference between the children of Israel and this community. To them He said, “Remember My blessings!” To this community He said, “Remember Me!” [2:152]. He gave them blessings and He gave this community companionship. He kept those away from Himself by the witnessing of blessings, and He kept these with Himself by stipulating love. The tongue of this state says, “I traveled to you seeking the highest things, but others traveled seeking a good life.” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, the one who does the work is he who has work with You, the one who has a friend is he whose friend is the likes of You. How could he who has You in the two worlds leave You aside! The wonder is that he who has You weeps more than anyone else. He who has not found weeps at not having found-why then does he who finds also weep?” When the like of You is someone's friend, if he complains, that's disgraceful. And be loyal to My covenant; I will be loyal to your covenant. There are many verses like this in the Qur'an: “Supplicate Me; I will respond to you [40:60]. So remember Me; I will remember you [2:152]. My servant! Open a door so that I may open a door. Open the door of turning back so that I may open the door of good news: They turned back to God, and for them is good news [39:17].