Original content

English translation

These are expressions whose sequence, when it is inverted within the very meaning intended, then appears contradictory, yet it is used and current among the masters of language and the people of inner meaning.

By 'presence' (hudur) is meant the presence of the heart through the guidance of certainty, so that the ruling of the unseen becomes for it like the ruling of the seen; and by 'absence' (ghayba) is meant the absence of the heart from all that is other than the Real, to such a degree that it becomes absent from itself, so that in its absence from itself it does not gaze upon itself through itself. The mark of this is turning away from the ruling of outward customs, just as the Prophet was preserved from the forbidden. Thus absence from oneself is presence with the Real, and presence with the Real is absence from oneself; for whoever is absent from himself is present with the Real, and whoever is present with the Real is absent from himself. So the owner of the heart is God, Mighty and Majestic. When an attraction from among the attractions of the Real, exalted be His majesty, overpowers the heart of the seeker, it makes absence for him like presence, and partnership and division fall away, and attribution to oneself is cut off, as one of the shaykhs (may God have mercy on them) said:

My heart is Yours, and You are its owner, without partner; so how can it be divided?

Since none but He owns the heart, whether He keeps it absent or present, it is under His disposal. And in the ruling of contemplating the essence, this whole is the proof of the way of the loved ones; but when a distinction is drawn, the shaykhs (may God be pleased with them) have discourse on this. One group gives precedence to presence over absence, and another group to absence over presence, just as we explained regarding intoxication (sukr) and sobriety (sahw); but sobriety and intoxication leave their mark upon the remainder of the attributes, while absence and presence pertain to the annihilation of the attributes. So this is more precious than that in true realization.

Those who give precedence to absence over presence are Ibn 'Ata, Husayn ibn Mansur, Abu Bakr al-Shibli, Bundar ibn al-Husayn, Abu Hamza al-Baghdadi, and Sumnun al-Muhibb (may God be pleased with them), and a company of the Iraqis. They say: The greatest veil on the path to the Real is you yourself. When you became absent from yourself, the calamities of your existence were annihilated within you, and the rule of your days was overturned. The stations of the disciples all became your veil, and the states of the seekers all became your place of affliction. The secrets became a girdle (zunnar); the affirmed things became lowly in your aspiration; the eye was sewn shut from self and from other; the attributes of humanity were burned in their own abode by the flame of nearness.

And its likeness is this: that God Most High, in the state of your absence, brought you forth from the loins of Adam, made you hear His precious speech, and singled you out with the robe of divine unity and the garment of witnessing, so that while you were absent from yourself you were present with the Real without veil; but when you became present through your own attribute, you became absent from nearness. So your destruction lies in your presence. This is the meaning of the saying of God, Mighty and Majestic: 'And now you have come to Us alone, just as We created you the first time' (al-An'am, 94).

And again, Harith al-Muhasibi, Junayd, Sahl ibn 'Abdullah, Abu Hafs al-Haddad, Hamdun, Abu Muhammad al-Jariri, al-Hasri, and the founder of the school, Muhammad ibn Khafif (may God be pleased with them all), together with another company, hold that presence takes precedence over absence, because all beauties are bound within presence, and absence from oneself is only a road to the Real. When the goal is reached, the road becomes an affliction. So whoever is absent from himself is inevitably present with the Real, and the fruit of absence is presence. Absence without presence is madness, or overpowering, or death and heedlessness. The aim of this absence must be presence, and when the aim is realized the cause falls away, as they have said: 'The absent one is not he who is absent from the lands; rather, the absent one is he who is absent from what is desired. And the present one is not he who has no desire; rather, the present one is he who has no heart until the object of desire settles within it.'

The absent one is not he who is absent from his city; the absent one is he who is absent from all willing, until the willing of the Real becomes his willing. And the present one is not he who has no desire for things; for the present one is he who has no wanton heart, so that there is in that no thought of this world or the next, and no rest in caprice. And on this meaning there are two verses, one from among the shaykhs (may God's mercy be upon them):

Whoever is not, through You, annihilated from his self, and from caprice and from intimacy with loved ones, is as though he stands among the stages, seeking to attain a share or a fair return.

And it is famous that one of the disciples of Dhu al-Nun set out for Bayazid. When he reached the door of his cell and knocked, Bayazid said: 'Who are you, and whom do you seek?' He said: 'Bayazid.' He said: 'Who is Bayazid, and where is he, and what thing is he? For a long time I have been seeking Bayazid and have not found him.' When that man returned and told the matter to Dhu al-Nun, he said: 'My brother Bayazid (may God's mercy be upon him) has gone away among those who go toward God.'

Someone came to Junayd (may God be pleased with him) and said: 'Be present with me for one moment, so that I may say a few words to you.' Junayd said: 'O young man, you seek from me a thing that I myself have long sought; for years I have wished to be present with myself for a single breath and have not been able. In this moment, how can I be present with you?'

So in absence there is the desolation of the veil, and in presence the comfort of unveiling; and in every state, unveiling is not like the veil. And on this meaning Shaykh Abu Sa'id (may God's mercy be upon him) says:

The cloud of separation has cleared from the moon of love, and the light of morning has dawned from the darkness of grief.

And in distinguishing this, the shaykhs have a subtlety of the state, and from the aspect of the outward saying these expressions are close to one another; for whether it be presence with the Real or absence from oneself, the one who is not absent from himself is not present with the Real, and the one who is present is absent — just as when the anguish of Job (blessings of God be upon him) at the moment of the descent of affliction was not through himself, for in that state he was absent from himself, God Most High did not separate the very essence of that anguish from patience, and He said: 'Affliction has touched me' (al-Anbiya, 83), and God Most High declared: 'Indeed We found him patient' (Sad, 24). And this ruling is manifest in its very essence in this story. Reflect well.

And it is related from Junayd (may God be pleased with him) that he said: 'There was a time when the people of heaven and earth wept over my bewilderment. Then it became such that I wept over their absence. Now it has become such that I have no news of them nor of myself.' And this is a fine indication of presence.

This is the meaning of absence and presence, which I have brought concisely, so that you may know the path of the Khafifiyya, and also know what this people intend by absence and presence. And if more exaggeration were to be made, it would lead to prolixity, and our method in this book is brevity.