Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

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

Surely We have sent the Book down to thee with the truth, so worship God, purifying the religion for Him. “O MuḤammad, We sent this Qur'an down to you so that you may call the lost to the road of salva- tion, bring the deprived from the intrusion of deprivation to the comfort of union, bring the suffer- ing from the darkness of misfortune to the courtyard of prosperity, complete the noble character traits with this Qur'an, and arrange the Shariah in accordance with it. O MuḤammad, when a place does not have the light of your creed, all will be the darkness of associationism. When a place does not have the intimacy of your Shariah, all will be the intrusion of doubt. O MuḤammad, We have joined your exalted good fortune and your eminent messengerhood to the Endless. “So worship God, purifying the religion for Him. Now belong fully to Me, turning your secret core toward Me, your heart lifted up from all others, released from the bonds of yourself and your own controlling power.” With this command, the Messenger became so courteous that Gabriel came and said, “O MuḤammad! Have you chosen to be a prophet king, or a prophet servant?” He said, “O Lord, I want servanthood. I do not want kingship, for kingship is entirely turned over to You, and servanthood is entirely turned over to me. I have no refuge but Your gentleness and no shelter but Your exalted presence. If I were to choose kingship, I would stay with the king- ship and boast of my kingship. Rather, I choose servanthood so that I may be under Your kingship and boast of Your kingship.” This is why he said, “'I am the master of Adam's children without boasting': The boasting that I have is of the Friend, not of other than Him. When someone boasts, he boasts of something that is above him, not below him. In the two worlds, no one is above me except Him. If I were to boast of other than Him, I would have looked at other than Him and left aside the command, 'So worship God, purifying!' But there is no command to leave it aside, and no stipulation to look at other than Him. Hence there is no boasting in other than Him.” You name me “master,” but my master is the one You know. If You examine my heart, You will see Your remembrance in my breast.

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

Does not the pure religion belong to God? What is worthy of God is pure worship without hypocrisy and obedience along with self-purifica- tion and without eye-service. When the pearl of self-purification is found, it is found in the oyster shell of the heart and the ocean of the breast. This is why Ḥudhayfa said, “I asked that paragon of the engendered beings what self-purification is. He said that he asked Gabriel what self-purifica- tion is. Gabriel said that he asked the Exalted Lord what self-purification is. He replied, 'One of My secrets that I deposit in the hearts of those whom I love among My servants.'” He said, “It is a pearl that I have brought out from the treasury of My secrets and deposited in the core of the hearts of My friends.” This self-purification is the result of friendship and the trace of servanthood. When someone puts on the garment of love and takes off the robe of servanthood, he does whatever he does from the midst of the heart. Friendship for the Real does not come together with scattered desires in one heart. The obliga- tory acts of the body are prayer and fasting, and the obligatory act of the heart is friendship for the Real. The mark of friendship is that when something comes from the Friend that is disliked by your nature and makeup, you place it upon your very eyes. Were the Beloved's hand to pour poison for me, poison from His hand would be sweet. * The heart that You burn thanks You, the blood that You shed boasts. * The blood that You spill thanks You, the heart that You scare praises You. * The poison I drink in remembrance of You is sweet, the mad man who sees You comes to his senses.