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8/12/2019 Zuhhad by Ibn al Arabi
1/1
Among them, God be pleased with them, arethe ascetics (zuhh!d) .They are the ones who relinquish this world
fromapositionofmeans.Our friendsdisagree
aboutthepersonwhodoesnothaveinhishands
anythingofthisworldwhilehehasthemeansofpursuingandamassingworldlythings;excepthe
doesntdosoandhegivesupthepursuit.Hashe
joined the ascetics or not? Among our friends
there is a proponent who argues that he has
joined the ascetics, and among them someone
argues that there is no abstaining except with
regardtowhathasbeenacquired,becauseitmay
bethatifhehadacquiredsome[wealth]ofthis
world,hewouldnothaveabstained.
AmongtheirleadersisIbr"h#mbinAdham,and
stories about him are well$known. One of my
maternaluncleswasamongthem.Hehadbeenamalik [king, big landowner] in the city of
Tlemcen (tilmas!n), calledYa%y" binYugh"n.
Inhisday therewasaman,a legal scholar,an
unmatched devotee, someone of Tunis called
Ab& 'Abd$All"hal$T&nis# who lived inaplace
outside of Tlemcen called al"#ubb!d.1 He had
removed himself to a mosque to worshipGod
therein;hisgraveisfamousoftenvisited.2
Whilethisintegratedpersonwaswalkingtoward
thecityofTlemcen,between the two townsof
Ag"d#r and theMad#nat al$Wus(", suddenly hemetmyuncleYa%y" binYugh"n, themalikof
thecity,amidsthis servantsanddomestics.He
was told,ThisisAb& 'Abd$All"hal$T&nis#, the
devotee of his age. He pulled the reins of his
horseandgreetedtheshaykh,andhepeacebe
uponhimreturnedthegreeting.Themalikhad
ostentatious clothes on, so he asked him, O
shaykh,TheseclotheswhichIamwearing,isthe
prayer permitted to me in them? The shaykh
burstoutlaughing.Themaliksaidtohim,Why
are you laughing? He replied, Because of the
weaknessofyourintellectandyourignoranceofyourselfandyoursituation.Tomeyoujustlike
adogwhowallowsinthegoreofacarcassand
12kmsoutheastofTlemcen,homeofthetombof
Ab& Madyan.2Thefeminineh!ofbi"h! yuz!rreferstotheimplicit
ziy!ratormaqbarat.
itsdiseasedparts3 and filth.Butwhenhepees,
he lifts his leg so that the urine doesnt hit it.
Youareacontainerfulloftheunlawful;andyou
askabout theclothingonyou,while the things
wrongfully appropriated from the creatures
[yourpeople]arearoundyourneck!
Hesaid,Themalikcriedandgotdownfromhis
ride and deserted his kingdom at that moment
and took up the service of the shaykh. The
shaykhkepthimforthreedaysandthenbrought
upthecovenant[ofhospitality]andsaidtohim,
O malik, the [three] days of hospitality have
finished;getupandcollectfirewood.
Heusedtocomewith thefirewoodonhishead
and enter the market with it, and the people
would lookathimandcry.Hewouldbarter to
acquirehisnourishmentandgiveaway the rest
incharity.Hestayed[295] in that landuntilhepassed.Hewasburiedoutsidetheground(tomb)
oftheshaykhandhisgraveisvisitedtothisday.
Theshaykhusedtosay,whenpeoplesoughthim
outtoprayforthem,Takeyourprayer(du#!h)
[instead] to Ya%y" bin Yugh"n, because he
owned [as a king does] then he abstained. If I
were tested with what he was tested with of
kingly riches, perhaps I would not have
abstained.
One of the kings said about the state of his
soulhehadbecomeanasceticandcuthimselfofftobealonewithGod,exaltedisHe:
Iaminthestatewhichyoumayseeifyoucontemplatethestateofthefinestofpeople.MymansioniswhereverIwish,inanyrestingplaceontheEarth,fedcoolwaterfromanacequia.IhavenoparentandnochildIsee,andIdontseemyselfhavinganydependents.Itaketheright-handmantobemypillowycushion,andifIturnover,thereismyleft.Iwasdelightedforalongtimewiththings;ifIhadfinallythoughtaboutthemclearly,theywouldhavebeenasadream.
3Thecarcasssaklistheparteatenaway,asfrom
disease.
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