Hikam no. 1: not counting on one's works (Ibn 'Ata' Allah, commentary by Ibn 'Ajiba)

By Ibn 'Ajîba (trad. Nawfal Mac N.) · August 2, 2021 · 6 min read

The hikam (wisdom sayings) of shaykh Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah al-Iskandari, composed in the thirteenth century, constitute an inexhaustible source of reflection and meditation on the spiritual journey. This work was commented on by certain great Sufis, among them shaykh Ibn ’Ajiba, a Moroccan spiritual guide of the same shadhili brotherhood, who lived in the nineteenth century. We present here chosen extracts from his commentaries.

Hikma 1

If our hope diminishes when we commit a misstep, it means we are still at the stage of counting first and foremost on our actions.

When he travels through his inner states, the one engaged on the path must not rely on himself or on his own actions, nor on his spiritual states or his personal faculties. He must count on his Lord’s bestowal, on His grant of success, on His guidance and His direction. This is attested in the Qur’anic Revelation: ‘Your Lord creates what He wills and chooses; there is no choice for men’ (Qur’an XXVIII, 68). ‘Had God willed, He would have made of all men a single people. But they will not cease to differ among themselves, except those to whom God will have granted His mercy’ (Qur’an XI, 120). This last verse not only gives a spiritual explanation of the conflicts between peoples, it also informs men about the origin of their internal conflict, that is, the duality of the soul. He who realises the divine unicity in himself will have done so only by his Lord’s grace, and not thanks to the resources of his ego. A saying reported from the Prophet confirms this truth: ‘None of you will enter Paradise thanks to his works.’ The companions asked: ‘Not even you, O Messenger of God?’ He answered: ‘Not even I, unless God enfolds me in His mercy.’

A virtuous man was puzzled by the verse: ‘Enter Paradise, in reward for what you used to do’ (Qur’an XVI, 32), since the Prophet had affirmed that none would enter Paradise by his actions. The answer to this apparent contradiction is that the Qur’an and the sunna complement one another to provide either a prescription or a deeper illumination. On certain occasions, one may provide a prescription while the other evokes the spiritual reality, both treating the same subject. Thus the Qur’an legislates outwardly concerning a circumstance while the sunna explains its deep reality, and the reverse situation also occurs. The Qur’an attests that the Prophet Muhammad was sent in order to make the divine Revelation explicit: ‘… And to you We have sent down the Qur’an, so that you may set out clearly to people what has been sent down for them…’ (Qur’an XVI, 44). The verse ‘Enter Paradise, for what you used to do’ constitutes a legislation intended for scholars in religion and the outward sciences, whereas the Prophet’s word constitutes a teaching for those in quest of spiritual reality, to orient their mode of realisation. The situation is reversed if we consider the verse ‘But you cannot will unless God wills…’ (Qur’an LXXXII, 29), which relates a deep reality, whereas the Prophet’s word ‘When one of you does a good deed, a good deed is inscribed for him’ belongs to outward considerations.

Taken together, the sunna and the Qur’an provide an overall view of things. If the Qur’an legislates in one place, the sunna must contain a reality on that subject elsewhere, and conversely. There is no contradiction, no confusion, between a verse and a hadith, only a difference of point of view. Each one must therefore make use of his two eyes: one eye must observe spiritual reality and the other must look upon the sacred law.

Another explanation of these apparent contradictions can be given: when God called the creatures to pure monotheism, they could not respond without having effaced every trace of their personal desires. God therefore promised His creatures a reward for each of their actions. Once the first Muslims had grown firm in their practice, the Prophet gave the teachings allowing each one to move away from the desire for reward, so as to rise towards the purity of intentions and towards the spiritual realisation of the state of sincerity. Thus he could say: ‘None will enter Paradise by his actions.’

Counting on the fruit of one’s actions is the sign that one has not yet emerged from an individual consciousness separated from its Principle. Attaching oneself to charisms and spiritual states is the sign that one is not sufficiently in contact with the authentic people of God. When true abandonment to God is attained, hope is not diminished if one falls into a form of disobedience, and it is not increased when one acts in all excellence. Likewise, reverential fear of one’s Lord does not grow only when one commits an act of heedlessness, and hope does not increase when an inner awakening occurs. Reverential fear and hope are permanently balanced, since fear results from the contemplation of the divine majesty (jalal) and hope is born of the contemplation of God’s beauty (jamal). Thus what is received by the one who has reached this degree is not of the same nature as what is received by the one who hopes in his works. Indeed, for the latter, if his good deeds are weak his trust in God diminishes; and when his desires are numerous he nourishes a great hope, due to his illusion of being separated from his Lord.

The perfect spiritual guide delivers the disciple’s soul from its torments by making it dwell in repose through the vision of its Lord. He is therefore the one who procures repose after dismay, and not the one who guides towards dismay. If the one who guides the disciple towards his works exhausts him, and the one who guides him towards this world deceives him, by contrast the one who guides him to God will do so according to what Ibn Mashish described¹: ‘Guidance towards God is the guidance of self-forgetfulness. When you conceal yourself, you remember your Lord. God Most High says: “Remember God if you come to forget!” (Qur’an XVIII, 24). Thus affliction comes from the continual recalling of oneself and of the cares due to one’s own occupations. Well rested is the one who is a stranger to that!’

The verse ‘We created man in toil’ (Qur’an XC, 4) is addressed to the people ‘of the veil’, that is, to those who still believe they subsist by themselves. As for those who are extinguished in God, the following verses concern them: ‘He who is numbered among those nearest to God will enjoy repose, grace and the garden of delights’ (Qur’an LVI, 88), ‘No weariness will reach them there, and they will never be expelled from that abode’ (Qur’an XV, 48). Repose is tasted through union, perfumes through beauty, and gardens through perfection. However, repose is granted only after labour, and victory is obtained only after the quest.

Translation of the commentaries: Nawfal Mac N.

Further reading

• Wisdom of Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah: invocation without the heart’s presence
• The Hikam of Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah commented by Ibn ’Ajiba

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