"He kept repeating the phrase `God have mercy' over and over again," said 'Abd al-'Ali, continuing the account. "All the while his face was red, his neck muscles were bulging, and spit was flying everywhere. The naive folk who were listening kept following his words, but we all stood up as one man. We pointed out to this gross provocateur that he should beware of God's wrath by indulging in such patent slander and falsehood. We told him that the quotation he had cited involved a deliberate reversal of the consonants in one of the words in the text recited by our revered master; nothing more and nothing less. We had all memorized the text in question; it reads `In stating "there is no prophet after me," Ibn Amina, the Prophet Muhammad, was postulating [R-J-H], not exaggerating [H-J-R].
"With that," al-Sadiq now continued, "this jurist erupted with anger. He kept denying our version and uttering oaths, pointing to the text that he claimed to be in your handwriting. I snatched it from him so I could compare it with the handwriting on the copy that I had with me. Once it became clear that the handwriting was completely different, I showed it to some people standing around me and then proceeded to curse this deceitful and crooked jurist. His only way out was to claim that you could alter your handwriting because you were knowledgeable about alchemy, numerology, cryptography, and, he added, magic. With that, the entire mosque erupted in chaos, and people started pelting us with their sandals. We found ourselves expelled from God's own house. Heaven alone knows what might have happened if we hadn't decided to escape."
I gave them a friendly smile, hoping that I could calm their worries and make light of the whole thing.
"You did well,' I told them. "God's houses are intended for His worship, not for spreading dissent and schism among believers. There is a total of seven copies of the text. On each one I write that it is a certified copy. Tell the followers of this jurist al-Qabri to compare the handwriting so they can tell the difference between the genuine ones and the fakes. If they change their tune, then that's what we really want. However, if they persist in their errors, then God is the only true guide. Decide what it is you truly wish, then be neither afraid nor sorrowful..'
"It's not ourselves we're worried about," said a sturdy and athletic young man, his eyes agleam, "it's you, Sir. What frightens us is the thought that stupid people who are intent on distorting our religious faith are going to tighten the noose around you and even do you actual harm. We've actually thought about setting up a roster to guard your house and accompany you wherever you need to go."
All the others in the group showed that they agreed with what the young man had said. I asked him what his name was and what job he had. He told me his name was 'Amr from Cordoba. When Valencia had fallen to the Christians and his father had been treacherously murdered, he had left the city. He added that he was now working in Murcia as an itinerant bookseller. He was studying Sufi ethics and some mathematics.
I welcomed him among his new colleagues and congratulated him on his job and his course of studies.
"Young men," I replied, "our fight is not with jurists; after all, they are part of our religious community. No, the real fight is against the Christians who are trying to reconquer the Peninsula by force of arms. They want to defeat us, then expel us from Spain altogether. Just consider Cordoba, the priceless pearl in the necklace, and other cities and fortresses, the way they have been wrested from us, not to mention other cities that have been handed over to the Christians through treaties signed by our utterly corrupt and feckless Muslim rulers. We ask God's protection from their evil intentions and deeds! Then there are Murcia, Seville, and other cities in the far south, all of them up for grabs. The only way that they can be saved is by amassing a huge armed force like the one the original Almohads used when they first came to Spain. Through constant prayers to God and remembrance of his divine unity they were granted victory. In this ongoing struggle each of you has a role to play. It is up to you to do whatever you can. Where jurists are concerned, confront them with even better arguments. Then, if they persist in their erroneous and heretical ways, move away and ignore them. They are the ones that the Prophet Muhammad is referring to in his noble hadith: `Woe to my community when faced with evil scholars!' Beyond that, Abu Talib of Mecca* said things about such people that you have all memorized by heart."
At this point `Abd al and some of his companions chimed in as one voice: "`The scholars of this world are stalled in their progress toward the next. They have neither carved out a path forward, nor have they allowed believers to make their own way toward God."'
"But I have to tell you all," I responded by way of instruction and warning, "that any of you who respond to violence with violence may have no affiliation with me, nor will I follow their path…"
`Amr looked a bit depressed. "So are we supposed to offer them the other cheek," he asked, "the way the Christians say you should?"
I looked down for a moment, thinking of a way to answer. "The Prophet of God was once asked, `Wherein lies authority?' To which he replied, `The mind.' On that basis, any resort to violence implies a weakening and breach of the role of the intellect. That is precisely the kind of outrage that the later Almoravids* and their pseudo-legists committed when they burned Imam al-Ghazali's* great work, The Revival of the Religious Sciences. The same applies to Ibn Tumart* as well when he declared the Almoravids heretics and regarded the struggle against them as being more urgent and important than that of the Byzantines. To the extent possible try to avoid the evils of excess and blind fanaticism that are so prevalent within your own Muslim community. As you proceed on your way, invoke the virtues of patience, resolution, and lofty aspiration in order to cope with the muddy terrain you have to traverse. Our next meeting will be as usual at the noon prayer on Friday. Now go and drink from the sources of your chosen subjects and don't forget books and texts that I've recommended to you. Among them I can recall the speeches and aphorisms of Imam `Ali ibn Abi Talib,* The Divine Signs by al-Tawhidi,* al-Harawi's* Stations of the Wayfarer, and Ibn alArif al-Sanhaji's* Benefits of Sessions. Now go in peace whence you came."
The group of young men went on their way silently, and with heavy tread. I got on my horse and went my own way. I cut across fields and meadows where the end-of-summer sun was decorating their soil with glimmering patches of light. Eventually I reached a forest whose lofty trees covered the hillside all the way to the top. The tree branches were swaying in the east wind, exuding the dampness of water-wheels and rivers and the sweet scents of plants and crops.
I reached the very top of the hill on foot, with my horse behind me, and headed at once for the hidden cave to which I would resort as a safe refuge whenever need demanded. Ever since I had discovered it, I had decided to use it as a good omen and blessing by naming it "my own Hira'."* Once I was there, even my horse enjoyed the lush vegetation and pure air. Inside the cave I prayed the afternoon prayer, then sat watching through the entrance as the sun's violet rays colored the distant mountains on the horizon and announced the imminent arrival of sunset.