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English translation

Know that audition (sama') is an inrush from the Truth, and it is the purification of earnestness from jest and idle play; and in no case is the nature of the beginner capable of the discourse of the Truth, and upon the arrival of that divine meaning the nature is turned upside down, with burning and overpowering; so that some people become unconscious in audition and some perish, and there is no one whose nature does not pass beyond the bounds of moderation, and for this there is a clear proof.

It is well known that in Rum (Byzantium) they have made, in a hospital, something very wondrous which they call 'Angliyun'—and the Greeks call by this name anything that holds many wonders, just as they call the scriptures Angliyun (Evangelion), and the composition of Mani, and the like of it. The purpose here is not to explain its nature; it is one musical instrument among instruments. Two days a week they take the sick there and order it to be played, and according to the degree of the illness they let the patient hear its sound, then they bring him out. And when they wish to destroy someone, they keep him there longer until he perishes—for in truth the appointed times of death are written, yet death has its causes. Those physicians hear it constantly and it has no effect on them, because it agrees with their nature and is contrary to the nature of beginners.

And in India I saw that within a deadly poison a worm had appeared whose life was by it, because its whole being was that very poison. And in Turkestan, in a town on the frontier of Islam, I saw that a fire had fallen upon a mountain and was burning, and sal-ammoniac was bubbling out of its stones, and in that fire there was a mouse that, when it came out of the fire, would perish.

The purpose of all this is only this: that the agitation of the beginner upon the descent of the inrush of God Most High upon him arises because his sense is contrary to it; when it becomes continuous, he grows calm in it. Have you not seen that when Gabriel first came, the Prophet (peace be upon him) could not bear the sight of him, yet when it reached its end, if he came one breath later the Prophet would become distressed? There are many evidences for this, and this account is both a proof of the agitation of beginners and a proof of the stillness of the accomplished in audition.

It is well known that Junayd had a disciple who made much agitation in audition, and the dervishes were distracted by it and complained of him to the shaykh (may God be pleased with him). He said to him: 'After this, if you make agitation in audition, I will no longer keep company with you.' Abu Muhammad al-Jariri says: 'In an audition I was watching him. He had closed his lips and stayed silent until from every hair of his body a fountain opened, until consciousness left him and he lay unconscious for a day. So I do not know whether he was more sound in audition, or whether reverence for the elder was stronger upon his heart.'

And they say that a disciple gave a cry in audition. The elder said to him: 'Be silent.' He laid his head upon his knee, and when they looked, he was dead. And I heard from Shaykh Bu Muslim Faris ibn Ghalib al-Farisi (may God be pleased with him) who said: 'A dervish was making agitation in audition; someone laid a hand on his head, saying: Sit down. His sitting down and his departure from this world were one and the same.' And Junayd (may God be pleased with him) says: 'I saw a dervish who gave up his soul in audition.'

And Daqqi relates from Darraj, who said: I was walking with Ibn al-Futi on the bank of the Tigris, between Basra and Ubulla. We came upon a fine pavilion. A man was sitting at its door, and a slave-girl was sitting before him, singing to him and saying: 'For the sake of God, an affection that was offered to you from me; every day you change color—something other than this would be more becoming of you.' And I saw a young man standing beneath the wall of the pavilion, with a patched cloak and a water-vessel. He said: 'O slave-girl, by your God I adjure you, repeat this verse; for no more than one breath of my life remains, that at least my soul may depart while hearing this verse.' The slave-girl repeated it again. The young man gave a cry, and his soul separated from him. The owner of the pavilion said to the slave-girl: 'You are free.' He himself came down and busied himself with the young man's funeral, and all the people of Basra prayed over him. Then that man stood up and said: 'O people of Basra, I who am so-and-so son of so-and-so have given all my properties in charity and freed all my slaves.' And he departed from there, and no one had news of him.

The benefit of this account and story is that the disciple, in the overpowering of audition, must have such a state that his audition restrains the sinners from sin. In this age a group of lost ones attend the audition of the dissolute and say, 'We perform audition for the Truth's sake'; and the dissolute—know that they agree with these lost ones in performing audition, and grow the greedier for sin and debauchery, until they destroy both themselves and the others.

Junayd (may God be pleased with him) was asked: 'If we enter a church by way of taking heed (i'tibar)—is it permissible, our intention being nothing but to see the abasement of the unbelievers and to give thanks for the blessing of Islam?' He said: 'If you can go to the church in such a way that, when you come out, you can bring a number of them to the divine court, then go; if not, do not go.' So if a hermit goes to the tavern, the tavern becomes his monastery, and if a tavern-frequenter goes to the monastery, the monastery becomes his tavern.

And one of the great shaykhs says: I, with a dervish in Baghdad, heard the voice of a singer who was singing: 'My wish, if it be true, would be the best of wishes; and if not, we have at least lived by it a pleasant while.' That dervish gave a cry and departed from the world. And similar to this, Abu Ali al-Rudbari (may God be pleased with him) says: I saw a dervish absorbed in the voice of a singer; I too listened to hear what he was saying. That person was saying in a mournful voice: 'I stretch out my hand in humility to the One who was generous with kindness.' That dervish gave a cry and fell down; when I came to him, I found him dead.

And one says: I was walking along a road with Ibrahim al-Khawwas (may God have mercy on him); a joy arose in my heart, and I recited: 'It is confirmed among people that I am a lover, except that they do not know for whom my love is. There is nothing beautiful in man except that more beautiful than it is a beautiful voice.' He said to me: 'Repeat this verse.' I repeated it. By way of seeking ecstasy (tawajud) he stamped his feet several times upon the ground. When I looked, his feet were sinking into the stone as if into wax; then he fell unconscious. When he came to, he said to me: 'I was in the garden of Paradise—did you not see?' And of this kind of stories there are more than this book can contain.

And with my own eyes I saw a dervish in the mountains of Azerbaijan who was walking and reciting these verses in haste: 'By God, no sun has risen or set except that You are, from me, my heart and my obsession; nor have I breathed in grief or in joy except that Your remembrance is joined to my breaths; nor have I sat with a people, conversing with them, except that You are my discourse among my companions; nor have I resolved to drink water from thirst except that I saw an image of You in the cup.' He was transformed by hearing this. He leaned his back against a stone and gave up his soul.