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English translation

That mujahid of the manly men, that warrior of the field of pain, that one accustomed to piety, that one nurtured in meaning, that cautious sincere one, Yusuf Asbat, may Allah's mercy be upon him, was among the ascetics and worshippers of this group, and among the successors there was none equal to him in asceticism, and he possessed perfection in self-observation and self-accounting, and he would keep his knowledge and state hidden, and he practiced self-discipline, and he was completely detached from the world, and he has healing words, and he had seen many great masters. It is narrated that he inherited seventy thousand dirhams and ate nothing of it; instead, he would find date palm leaves and make his sustenance from the wages thereof. And he said: 'Forty years passed over me during which I had no new shirt, except an old cloak.' Once he wrote a letter to Hudhayfah al-Mar'ashi: 'I have heard that you sold your religion for two grains, and that is because when you were buying something in the market, he said one dang, and you wanted it for three tasus; because he knew you, he showed leniency for the sake of your piety.' (This story has also been written conversely, but we found it thus in the reliable book.) And he also wrote to Hudhayfah: 'Whoever values virtues more than sins is deceived, and whoever reads the Quran and chooses the world has mocked it. And I fear that what appears of our deeds upon the tongue may be more harmful than our sins. And whoever has dirham and dinar greater in their heart than the greatness of the hereafter, how can they hope in God in their religion and their world?' And he said: 'If I spend a night in truthfulness with God, I love it more than wielding the sword in the path of God.' And he also wrote to Hudhayfah: 'To proceed: I advise you to fear God and act according to what He has taught you and me, and to observe self-inspection such that no one sees you where you inspect yourself except God Almighty, and to prepare for that which no one has any trick to ward off, and at the time of its descent, regret is of no benefit. Peace.' Shibli said: Yusuf Asbat was asked, 'What is the limit of humility?' He replied, 'It is that when you go out of your house, whomever you see, you deem them better than yourself.' And he said: 'A little piety is rewarded with much action, and a little humility is rewarded with much striving.' And he said: 'The sign of humility is that you accept the word of truth from whomever speaks it, and that you act gently with one who is lower than you, and honor the one who is above you in rank; and if you see a slip, you tolerate it, and swallow your anger, and wherever you are, you turn to God, and show pride towards the rich, and thank for whatever reaches you.' And he said: 'Repentance has ten stages: being distant from the ignorant, abandoning the false ones, turning away from the deniers, entering into beloved deeds, hastening to good deeds, perfecting repentance, being constant in repentance, redressing injustices, seeking spiritual spoils, and purifying sustenance.' And he said: 'The sign of asceticism is ten things: abandoning what is present, abandoning the desire for what is missing, serving the Worshipped, choosing the Master, purity of meaning, seeking honor through the Almighty, respecting the compassionate, asceticism in permissible things, seeking spiritual profits, and minimizing rest.' And he said: 'Among the signs of asceticism is that one knows that the servant cannot practice asceticism except by safety in God Almighty.' And he said: 'The sign of piety is ten things: hesitating in doubtful matters, emerging from doubts, examining sustenance, refraining from confusion, keeping watch over increase and decrease, constancy in the pleasure of the Compassionate, clinging to trusts in pure sincerity, turning away from places of corruption, staying far from the paths of affliction, and turning away from boastfulness.' And he said: 'The sign of patience is ten things: restraining the soul, stability in study, constancy in seeking intimacy, negating anxiety, dropping pretension, guarding acts of obedience, pursuing the details of obligatory traditions, truthfulness in dealings, long standing at night in strivings, and rectifying offenses.' And he said: 'Nothing erases desires from the heart except a fear that stirs a man involuntarily, or a longing that leaves a man restless.' And he said: 'Self-inspection has signs: choosing what God has chosen, having a good intention toward God Almighty, recognizing abundance and shortcoming from God's direction, the heart finding tranquility in God, and being detached from all creation for God Almighty.' And he said: 'Truthfulness has signs: keeping the heart aligned with the tongue, keeping speech equal to action, abandoning the pursuit of praise in this world, not seeking leadership, choosing the hereafter over the world, and conquering the soul.' And he said: 'Trust has ten signs: finding tranquility in what God Almighty has guaranteed, standing by what reaches you of high or low, submitting to what shall be, the heart holding on between the Kaf and Nun (meaning, one considers oneself to still be between Kaf and Nun, and Kaf has not yet joined Nun, so consequently whatever is between Kaf and Nun for you, trust is correct), stepping into servitude, leaving lordship (meaning, not claiming Pharaoh-like ego and selfhood, and abandoning choice), cutting ties, despairing of creation, entering into realities, and attaining subtle truths.' And he said: 'Act the action of a man who sees with his own eyes that nothing will save him except that action, and trust with the trust of a man who sees with his own eyes that nothing will reach him except what God Almighty wrote and decreed for him in eternity.' And he said: 'Intimacy has signs: constantly sitting in seclusion, long estrangement from socialization, finding pleasure in remembrance, finding comfort in striving, and clinging to the rope of obedience.' And he said: 'The sign of modesty is the contraction of the heart, the greatness of beholding the Lord, weighing speech before speaking, staying far from what you would have to apologize for, refraining from engaging in what would cause you shame, guarding the tongue, eyes, and ears, preserving the stomach and private parts, abandoning the adornment of the life of this world, and remembering the graveyard and the dead.' And he said: 'Longing has signs: loving death at the time of ease in the world, hating life at the time of health, desiring and finding intimacy in the remembrance of Truth, becoming restless when the blessings of Truth are spread, and rejoicing at the time of contemplation, especially in the hour when you are with the Truth.' It is narrated that someone asked him about union and separation. He said: 'Union is the gathering of the heart in knowledge, and separation is the dispersing in states.' And he said: 'Congregational prayer is not obligatory upon you, but seeking lawful sustenance is obligatory upon you.' May Allah's mercy be upon him, and Allah knows best.