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English translation

The most worthy of things heard, for the heart in respect of its benefits, for the inner secret (sirr) in respect of its increase, and for the ear in respect of its delights, is the speech of God, mighty is His name. All believers are commanded, and all unbelievers among mankind and jinn are charged, to hear the speech of God the Exalted. And among the miracles of the Quran is that nature does not recoil from hearing and reciting it, because in it there is a tremendous tenderness (riqqat); to such a degree that the unbelievers of Quraysh would come by night in secret, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, would be at prayer and they would hear what he recited and marvel at it — such as Nadr ibn al-Harith who was the most eloquent of them, and Utba ibn Rabi'a who worked magic through eloquence, and Abu Jahl Hisham who gave ordered arrangement to proofs in his orations, and their like; to such a degree that one night the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was reciting a sura and Utba lost consciousness and said to Abu Jahl: 'It has become clear to me that this is not the speech of created beings.' And God the Exalted sent the jinn, so that they came troop by troop and heard the speech of God the Exalted from the Prophet, peace be upon him; for His saying, exalted is He: 'They said, indeed we have heard a wondrous Quran (72:1).' Then He informed us of the saying of the jinn, that this Quran is a guide for the sick heart to the way of righteousness; mighty is the Speaker: 'It guides to right conduct, so we believed in it, and we will never associate anyone with our Lord (72:2).' So its counsel is better than all counsels, its wording more concise than all wording, its command subtler than all commands, its prohibition more restraining than all prohibitions, its promise more heart-ravishing than all promises, its threat more soul-melting than all threats, its stories more satisfying than all stories, and its parables more eloquent than all parables. The audition of it has captured a thousand hearts and its subtleties have plundered a thousand souls; it abases the mighty of this world and ennobles the lowly of this world. Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, heard that his sister and brother-in-law had become Muslims. He set out against them with drawn sword, prepared to kill them, having emptied his heart of affection for them; until God the Exalted laid an ambush of a host of grace in the corners of Surat Ta-Ha; so that he came to the door of the house and his sister was reciting: 'Ta-Ha. We have not sent down the Quran to you that you be distressed, but only as a reminder to him who fears (20:1-3).' His soul became the prey of its subtleties and his heart became bound to its grace. He sought the way of peace, drew off the garb of war, and came from opposition to agreement. And it is well known that when there was recited before the Messenger, peace be upon him: 'Indeed with Us are shackles and a blazing fire, and food that chokes and a painful punishment (73:12-13)', he fell unconscious. And they say a man recited before Umar, may God be pleased with him: 'Indeed the punishment of your Lord will surely occur (52:7)', and he gave a cry and fell unconscious. They lifted him and carried him home, and for a whole month he was continuously ill, from dread and fear of God, mighty and exalted. And they say a man recited before Abdullah ibn Hanzala: 'For them from Hell is a bed and over them coverings (7:41).' Weeping came upon him to the point that they say they thought his soul had departed. Then he stood up; they said: 'Sit, O master.' He said: 'The awe of this verse keeps me from sitting.' And they say they recited before Junayd, may God be pleased with him: 'Why do you say what you do not do (61:2)?' He said: 'O my God, if we speak, we speak by You, and if we act, we act by Your enabling grace; so where are the speaking and the acting?' And from Shibli, may God be pleased with him, it is related that they recited before him: 'And remember your Lord when you forget (18:24).' He said: 'The condition of remembrance is forgetfulness, and the whole world remains in remembrance.' He gave a cry and consciousness left him. When he came to, he said: 'Wonder at that heart which hears His speech and remains in its place, and wonder at that soul which hears His speech and does not depart.' One of the masters says: once I was reciting the speech of God the Exalted: 'And fear a Day when you will be returned to God (2:281).' A voice (hatif) called out: 'Recite more gently, for four of the jinn have died from the awe of this verse.' And a dervish said: 'For ten years I have not recited or heard the Quran except in prayer, to the extent of what is permissible.' They said: 'Why?' He said: 'For fear that it become a proof against me.' One day I came in before Shaykh Abu'l-Abbas Shaqani, may God be pleased with him. I found him reciting: 'God sets forth a parable: a slave owned, having no power over anything (16:75)', weeping and crying out, until I thought he had departed from the world. I said: 'O Shaykh, what state is this?' He said: 'For eleven years my daily portion (wird) has reached this place; from here I cannot pass.' And Abu'l-Abbas Ata, may God be pleased with him, was asked: 'How many complete recitations does the Shaykh do each day?' He said: 'Before this I used to complete two in a day and night, but now for four years I have still today reached only Surat al-Anfal.' They say Abu'l-Abbas Qassab said to the reciter: 'Recite: No blame upon you today; God will forgive you, and He is the most merciful of the merciful (12:92)', and again said: 'Recite: O mighty one, adversity has touched us and our family, and we have brought scant merchandise (12:88)', and again said: 'Recite: They said, if he steals, a brother of his stole before (12:77).' Then he said: 'O my God, I am more given to wrongdoing than the brothers of Yusuf, and You are more given to generosity than Yusuf. Do with me what he did with his wronging brothers.' And with all this, all the people of Islam, obedient and disobedient, are commanded to listen to the Quran; for His saying, exalted: 'And when the Quran is recited, listen to it and be silent (7:204).' He commanded listening and silence to people in that state when someone recites the Quran. And He also said: 'So give good tidings to My servants who listen to the word and follow the best of it (39:17-18)', giving good tidings to the one who, during listening, follows the best of it; that is, he rises to fulfill its commands and hears it with reverence. And He also said: 'Those who, when God is mentioned, their hearts tremble (8:2)'; that is, the hearts of those who listen to the speech of the Truth are full of trembling. And His saying, exalted: 'Those who believe and whose hearts are made tranquil by the remembrance of God; unquestionably, by the remembrance of God hearts are made tranquil (13:28).' The rest and tranquility of hearts is in the remembrance of God, exalted and sanctified. And the like of this is much among the verses affirming this ruling. And again, on the contrary, He blamed that group who did not truly hear the speech of the Truth the Exalted and did not give it passage from the ear to the heart: His saying, exalted: 'God has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their vision is a covering (2:7)', the places of their hearing are sealed. And His saying, exalted: 'If only we had heard or reasoned, we would not be among the companions of the Blaze (67:10)', if we had heard in truth or known through verification, we would not have been caught in Hell. And His saying, exalted: 'And among them are those who listen to you, but We have placed over their hearts coverings, lest they understand it, and in their ears deafness (6:25)', and a group who hear you, over their hearts is a veil, or over their ears deafness, so that it is as though they did not hear', for His saying, exalted: 'And do not be like those who said, we have heard, while they do not hear (8:21)', by way of complaint He said: be not like that group who said, we have heard, while they did not hear; that is, they did not hear with the heart. And the like of these verses is much in the Book of God, exalted. And it is related from the Messenger of God, may God bless him, that he said to Ibn Mas'ud: 'Recite.' He said: 'Shall I recite to you while it was sent down upon you?' The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: 'I love to hear from another.' And this is a clear proof that the perfect listener is in a more excellent state than the reciter, for he said: 'I love better to hear from someone other than myself'; because the reciter either speaks from a spiritual state (hal) or from other than a state, while the listener hears only through a state; for in speaking there is a kind of pride, and in listening there is a kind of humility. And the Prophet, peace be upon him, also said: 'Surat Hud has aged me. The hearing of Surat Hud made me old.' And they say this was because in that sura is contained: 'So stand firm as you are commanded (11:112).' And man is incapable of steadfastness (istiqama) in the affairs of the Truth; because the servant without [divine enabling]...