The Second Station of the Twenty-First Word

[This comprises five salves for the five wounds of the heart.]

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

رَبِّ اَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ ٭ وَاَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ اَنْ يَحْضُرُونِ1

O you afflicted with the sickness of waswasa! Do you know what your waswasa resembles? It resembles a calamity. The more you pay attention to it, the more it grows; if you do not pay attention, it fades away. If you consider it grave, it grows; if you consider it insignificant, it becomes small. If you fear it, it becomes heavier and makes you sick; if you do not fear it, it becomes light and remains hidden. If you do not know its essence, it persists and settles within you; if you know its essence and recognise it, it leaves you. Therefore, I shall explain only five of the most frequently occurring aspects of the many types of this calamitous waswasa so that it may be a remedy for you and for me. For indeed, waswasa is such a thing that ignorance invites it, while ‘ilm repels it. If you do not recognise it, it comes; if you do recognise it, it leaves you.

First Aspect - First Wound: Shaytan first casts doubt into the heart. If the heart rejects it, he shifts from doubt to sinful thoughts. He then depicts before the imagination filthy memories resembling sinful acts, alongside ugly states that are opposed to adab. This causes the heart to cry out, “Alas!” and fall into despair. The man afflicted with waswasa thinks that his heart is being disrespectful to his Rabb and feels dismaying anxiety and worry. To escape this, he flees from the presence of Allah and wants to plunge into ghaflah. The salve for this wound is this:

Look, O unfortunate man afflicted with waswasa! Do not be anxious! For the coming of that sinful thought to your mind is not a sinful act; it is mere imagination. Just as imagining kufr is not kufr, so too, imagining a sinful act is not a sinful act. Because, according to logic, an imagination cannot be subject to judgment, whereas a sinful act is subject to judgment. Furthermore, those ugly words are not the words of your heart, because your heart is grieved and regretful because of them. Rather, they come from lummah ash-shaytaniyyah which is near the heart.

The harm of waswasa is imagining it to be harmful. That is, by imagining it to be harmful, one is harmed in their heart. For he supposes an imagination, which is devoid of judgment, to be the haqiqah. He also attributes the work of shaytan to his own heart; he supposes the words of shaytan to be from his heart. He considers it harmful; therefore, he falls into harm. That is exactly what shaytan wants.

The Second Aspect is this: When meanings emerge from the heart, they enter the imagination bare of form; from there, they wear forms. As for the power of imagination, it always weaves different forms under the influence of a cause. It leaves the forms of what it values upon the path. Whatever meaning passes by that path, the power of imagination either dresses it with those forms or affixes them to that meaning or contaminates it with those forms or makes them veils to that meaning. If the meanings are pure and clean, but the forms are dirty and vile, there is no wearing, but there is contact. The man afflicted with waswasa confuses contact with being clothed. He says, “Alas! How corrupted my heart has become. This wretchedness, this vileness of the nafs, will cause me to be repelled!” Shaytan greatly exploits this vein of his. The salve for this wound is this:

Listen, O you unfortunate one! Just as the impurity (najasah) within your abdomen does not affect or invalidate your outward cleanliness (taharah), which is the means of pure adab for your salâh, so too, the proximity of the sacred meanings to the defiled forms does not harm them. For instance, while you are engaged in tafakkur on the âyahs of Allah, suddenly a sickness, a craving or an urgent need, such as the need to urinate, intensely affects your perception. Your power of imagination will undoubtedly perceive this and turn its attention to the means of healing that sickness and fulfilling that need. It will weave lowly forms suitable for them, and the sacred meanings that arise from your tafakkur will pass through them. There is no harm, no taint, no damage, nor peril for the meanings as they pass. The only peril lies in focusing on those forms and supposing them to be harmful.

The Third Aspect is this: There are certain hidden connections between things. Even in things you least expect, there are threads of connection. Either those connections actually exist within things, or your power of imagination has created those threads based on what it is occupied with, tying them to one another. It is due to this mystery of connection that sometimes, seeing a sacred thing reminds one of something foul. As stated in ‘Ilm al-Bayan2 , “Opposition, which is the cause of distance in materiality, is the cause of proximity in the imagination.” That is, a connection created by the power of imagination is the means of bringing together the images of two opposites. The recollection arising from this connection is called the tedâî'3 of ideas. For example, while you are performing salâh and du’â, facing the Ka'ba, in the presence of Allah and engaged in tafakkur on the âyahs, this tedâî’ of ideas grips you and leads you to the most distant, vile trivia. If your mind is afflicted by such a tedâî' of ideas, do not panic. Rather, at the moment you become aware of it, turn back. Do not investigate, saying, "What wrong have I done?", and do not get caught up in those thoughts lest that weak connection gain strength through your attention. For the more you display sorrow and the more importance you attach to it, that weak recollection of yours transforms into an acquired habit. It then becomes a sickness of the power of imagination. Do not fear; it is not a sickness of the heart. This type of recollection is mostly involuntary. It is particularly prevalent in sensitive and anxious individuals. Shaytan constantly digs the mine of this kind of waswasa. The salve for this wound is this:

The tedâî’ of ideas is mostly involuntary. There is no accountability for it. Moreover, there exists proximity in tedâî’ but no contact or intermingling. Therefore, the qualities of these ideas do not permeate or harm one another. Just as shaytan and the malâikah of ilham are in close proximity around the heart, or just as the proximity of the sinner and the pious and their presence within the same place cause no harm, so too, it causes no harm if involuntary filthy imaginings come and enter into your clean and pure thoughts through the tedâî’ of ideas, unless it is intentional or if one excessively preoccupies himself with them out of fear of harm. And sometimes, the heart grows weary. The mind occupies itself with a random thing to entertain itself. Shaytan seizes this opportunity, laying out and pushing filthy things before the mind.

Fourth Aspect: It is a waswasa that arises from the pursuit of the best form of an action (‘amal). As one becomes more stringent, supposing it to be taqwâ, the condition intensifies for him. It even reaches such a degree that, while searching for the better forms of an action (‘amal), he falls into haram. Sometimes, the pursuit of a Sunnah causes him to abandon a wâjib. He repeats that act (‘amal), saying, “Was my act (‘amal) sound (sahîh)?” This state persists, and he falls into great despair. Shaytan takes advantage of this state and wounds him. There are two salves for this wound:

The First Salve: Such a waswasa is worthy of the Mu'tazilites. For they say, “Actions and things, which are the causes of accountability, possess beauty and goodness in their essences in terms of the âkhirah; therefore, they were commanded as a consequence of that beauty and goodness. Or, they possess ugliness and badness; therefore, they were prohibited as a consequence of that ugliness and badness. This means that the beauty and goodness and ugliness and badness existing from the perspective of haqiqah and âkhirah are essential, and the command and prohibition of Allah depend upon them.” According to this madhab, the following waswasa comes to a person in every action (‘amal) he performs: “Was my action performed in that beautiful and good form that exists in the nafs ul-amr4 ?”

On the other hand, Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, which is the haqq madhab, states, “Janâb-i Haqq commands a thing; therefore, it becomes beautiful and good, and He prohibits a thing; therefore, it becomes ugly and bad.” This means that beauty and goodness are established through command and ugliness and badness are established through prohibition. The beauty, goodness, ugliness and badness depend upon the awareness (ittila’) of the mukallaf5 and are determined accordingly. Furthermore, this beauty, goodness, ugliness and badness do not exist in the outward face that looks to this world, but rather in the face that looks towards the âkhirah.

For example, you performed salâh or performed wudû. Suppose that, in the nafs ul-amr, there was a cause that invalidated your salâh and wudû, yet you had no knowledge of it. Your salâh and wudû are nevertheless both sound (sahîh) and beautiful. The Mu'tazilites say, “In haqiqah, it was ugly and invalid, but it is accepted from you because you were unaware, lacked knowledge and had an excuse.” Therefore, according to the madhab of Ahl al-Sunnah, do not fall into waswasa about an action (‘amal) that you performed in accordance with the explicit commandments of the Sharî'ah, saying, “Was it sound (sahîh)?” Instead, say, “Has it been accepted?” Do not be proud, and do not fall into conceit!

The Second Salve: لاَ حَرَجَ فِى الدِّينِ There is no difficulty in religion. Since all four madhabs are haqq, and since it is far better for a man afflicted with waswasa to perceive his flaws, which will lead him to istighfâr, rather than viewing his action (‘amal) as good, which will drag him into pride; that is, it is better if such a man afflicted with waswasa views his action (‘amal) as flawed and performs istighfâr, rather than falling into pride by considering it to be good.

Since it is thus, throw away the waswasa! Say to shaytan, “This state is a difficulty. It is difficult to be fully informed of the objective reality of the situation, and it is contrary to the ease in religion, contradicting the principle

اَلدِّينُ يُسْرٌ لاَ حَرَجَ فِى الدِّينِ6

Surely, this action (‘amal) of mine conforms to at least one haqq madhab, and that is sufficient for me. Furthermore, due to my inability to perform ‘ibâdah as it truly deserves, it serves as a means for me to admit my impotence, to take refuge in the mercy of Allah through istighfâr and beseeching and to offer a humble supplication for the acceptance of my flawed action (‘amal) and the forgiveness of my faults.”

Fifth Aspect: This is the waswasa that emerges in the form of doubt regarding matters of îmân. The unfortunate man afflicted with waswasa sometimes confuses imagining (tahayyul) with reasoning (taaqqul). That is, he mistakenly believes that a doubt emerging in the power of imagination is a doubt that has penetrated the mind, thereby supposing that his belief has been damaged. And sometimes, he mistakenly believes that a doubt he has imagined is a doubt that harms his îmân. And sometimes, he mistakenly believes that a doubt he has formed in his mind (tasawwur) has been confirmed by his mind. And sometimes, he assumes that to engage in tafakkur on a matter related to kufr is itself an act of kufr. That is to say, he wrongly believes that the exploration, investigation and impartial reasoning of the power of tafakkur — undertaken simply to understand the causes of dhalâlah — are contrary to îmân.

Thus, frightened by these suppositions, which are the results of the promptings of shaytan, he cries out, “Alas! My heart has been corrupted, and my belief has been harmed.” Since these states are mostly involuntary and cannot be amended by his juz' al-ikhtiyârî, he falls into despair. The salve for this wound is as follows:

Just as imagining (tahayyul) kufr is not kufr, neither is thinking (tawahhum) about kufr itself kufr. Just as forming ideas about dhalâlah in the mind (tasawwur) is not dhalâlah, neither is engaging intafakkur on dhalâlah itself dhalâlah. For imagining (tahayyul), thinking (tawahhum), forming ideas in the mind (tasawwur) and tafakkur are all entirely distinct from the affirmation (tasdîq) of the mind and idh'ân of the heart; they are completely disparate from one another. Imagining (tahayyul), thinking (tawahhum), forming ideas in the mind (tasawwur) and tafakkur are unrestricted to an extent; they do not heed the juz’ al-ikhtiyârî, nor can they be easily restricted by religious obligations.

However, affirmation (tasdîq) and idh'ân are not like that; they are subjected to a measurement, a balance. Just as imagining (tahayyul), thinking (tawahhum), forming ideas in the mind (tasawwur) and tafakkur are neither affirmation nor idh'ân, neither are they considered to be real doubt or uncertainty. However, if they become habitual through unnecessary repetition, then a kind of real doubt may be born of them. Under the guise of impartial reasoning or fairness, if he continually displays iltizâm to the opposing side, he ends up with involuntary iltizâm to that side. Consequently, the iltizâm of the haqq, which is wâjib upon him, is destroyed, and he falls into danger. A state that serves as an unjust representative of shaytan or the enemy becomes established in his mind.

The most important of this type of waswasa is this: The man afflicted with waswasa confuses imkân az-zâtî7 with imkân az-zihnî (aqlî)8. That is, if he sees something is possible in its essence, he mistakenly thinks that it is mentally possible and therefore doubtful. However, it is one of the foundational principles of ‘Ilm al-Kalâm that imkân az-zâtî does not contradict certain knowledge (yaqîn), nor does it oppose the necessities of reason.

For example, at this very moment, the Black Sea sinking into the earth is possible in its essence; it is entirely possible with such imkân az-zâtî. However, we firmly conclude with absolute certainty (yaqîn) that the sea is in its place; we undoubtedly know it. This hypothetical possibility — this imkân az-zâtî — does not induce any doubt, bring any suspicion, or harm our certainty (yaqîn).

And for example, it is possible in the essence of the sun that it may not set today or may not rise tomorrow. Yet, this essential possibility does not harm our certainty (yaqîn), nor does it cast any doubt. Just like this example, wahms emerging from the aspect of imkân az-zâtî regarding the setting of the life of this world and the rising of the life of the âkhirah, which are among the haqiqahs of îmân, do not harm the certainty (yaqîn) of îmân.

Furthermore, the well-known principle, لاَ عِبْرَةَ ِلْلاِحْتِمَالِ الْغَيْرِ النَّاشِئِ عَنْ دَلِيلٍ that is, “A possibility that does not arise from a proof is of no significance”, is a well-established principle in both Usûl ad-dîn and Usûl al-fiqh.

If you say: “For what hikmah does waswasa — which is harmful and troublesome for mu’mins to such an extent — pester us?”

The Answer: On the condition that it does not escalate to the level of ifrât and dominate a person, the essence of waswasa is actually a catalyst for vigilance. It leads to deliberate attention and serves as a means to achieve seriousness, eliminating laxity and repelling carelessness. Therefore, in this realm of trial, this arena of competition, the Absolute Hakîm has placed waswasa into the hands of shaytan as a whip of encouragement for us. He strikes it at the head of mankind. If it causes excessive pain, one must complain to Al-Hakîm, Who is Rahîm, and say:

اَعُوذُ بِاللّٰهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ9

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