At this point some of the students joined with me in the recitation:
A voice was now raised-I could not tell where it came from, and other voices were raised to support it:
"These illuminations from Al-Shushtari, the imam of the Absolutists, are all the result of the influence of Shu'ayb Abu Madyan, the great Sufi leader, his blessings and generous gifts. Abu al-Hasan and all of us are disciples of that holy man. It is to him that we owe our Sufi allegiances. We still cling to the phrase that he constantly repeated until his dying moment: `God is the Truth.' We all aspire to the paradise of Eden with all its blessings, the very thing that our revered shaykh promised us."
Suppressing my anger, I stood up and addressed the assembled company:
"Young men," I said, "I happen to know about this pious holy man from the previous century. In his asceticism and devotion to God's unity, he certainly achieved some wonderful things, but the differences of opinion that exist about him are the consequences of transmitters of accounts and former disciples of his. There are some wonderful tales about him, including the one about the gazelle that sought refuge with him and stayed in his cave in the desert near Fez. And there are others as well, but it's not clear if they are authentic. They were almost certainly fabricated by recorders and followers. But, whatever the case may be, no human being, no matter how sage and pious he may be, may promise a human being entry to paradise, nor may he guarantee anyone a place there. In that context, Al-Hasan al-Basri* went too far in his invocation of God's own words in the Qur'an: `0 My servants, enter paradise through My mercy and apportion it according to your deeds.' No, no! To God alone belong the keys to paradise and access to the next world. To Him alone belongs what is in the heavens and the earth; He alone is to be worshipped, and it is toward His noble and splendid aspect that humans are to strive. If it is paradise that you are after, then by all means make your way to the person who is buried in the mausoleum in Al'Ubbad (in Spain). If on the other hand you aspire to the Lord of paradise, then come to me and to the absolute oneness of existence. You can use the phrase `God is the Truth' provided that you are well aware of the meaning and implications of the phrase. `God alone' is an alternative phrase that sits lightly on the tongue, yet weighs heavily in the scales of significance. Use it as a defense against noxious distortions and proclaim it in the face of every tyrant and every person who would try to provoke sectarian divisions. No other phrase can be more precious and effective during this era of petty kingdoms when our beloved Andalus is being torn apart by violent strife. Understand clearly what I am saying; if you do not, then the fault is yours. Those who warn others have their excuse."
Among the students some faces looked glum, while others were smiling. I made my way through the company in order to leave. Some of them followed me; they said nothing and were obviously thinking about what I had said. When we reached Abu al-Hasan's door, I suggested that they regard reading as an act of worship and thus to give it its due. I then said farewell to them one by one.
6
ONCE I GOT BACK TO MY ABODE, I spent some time thinking about the need to continue my journey and prepare my belongings. I was not willing to leave Bijaya under compulsion, nor did I wish to upset my distinguished host. However, Tunis was my next stop, followed by Egypt and Mecca the Venerable. In fact, Mecca was the place toward which I prayed and the direction toward which my gaze was directed now and always.
While I awaited Abu al-Hasan's return, I checked on my horse, who was obviously very pleased to see me, as was my host's dog. I gave them both something to eat and drink, and then checked on the cats and chickens and spent a bit of time with them as well. Turning to the garden, I watered the plants and picked such vegetables as were ripe and within reach.
While I was eating and collecting my belongings together, I heard the rustle of footsteps in Abu al-Hasan's room. I called out to him, and he came over at once. As he greeted me, he expressed the hope that he had not disturbed me in any way. I invited him to join me, and he did so. I was intending to tell him that I needed to move on from Bijaya either the next day or the day after. Instead he anticipated me by mentioning the Abu Madyan students who had attended my yesterday's session in the house as well as the second one up in the mountain retreat earlier that day. They had told him in the most fervid and eloquent terms that they were strongly attached to me. They had in fact asked him whether it was possible to be disciples of two shaykhs, one of whom had died some time agonamely Abu Madyan, and the other who was still alive and functioning, namely the Pinnacle of the Faith, 'Abd al-Haqq Ibn Sabin.
I realized that Abu al-Hasan had been informed about the way in which I had instructed the students to choose between the holy man of Tilimsan and myself.
"Abu al-Hasan," I told him, "the invitation I issued to the students up there in the mountains seems to me to be the same one I've been offering to you, albeit in a dream…"
"Yes indeed, you magnet of souls!" he interrupted me in sheer delight, "I have seen you in both my dreams and my waking hours, making me choose between paradise on the one hand and the Lord of paradise on the other. Now, and at a time more than at any previous one, I am proceeding in the direction of the absolute oneness of existence and the One and Eternal Lord. In that you are my companion and my guide."
We were both overcome, and not a word was spoken for a while. I noticed that this holy man who was undertaking so many praiseworthy activities was weeping copious tears. I asked him why.
"I am weeping," he replied, "because all around me I see so many people sound asleep and so few dreamers. I'm weeping because they're all huddled together in the dark like drug addicts, not experiencing the bright lights of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him!) nor those of my Lord, the imam of the negators and the complete unity of existence. I weep too because I have not been able to fully comprehend some of the materials in Escape of the Gnostic and have thus been incapable of explaining it to the students."
As I responded to his comment, his tears came close to affecting me as well.
"Imam of the Absolutists," I said, "You can do things with people that I am unable to do. You arouse their consciences to the maximum extent possible and bring charity and good works into their midst. When it comes to obscurities in what I write, the blame can be laid equally on the era of severe decline in which we all find ourselves and on me personally. If the things that I have encountered in my travels had not caused my pen to dry up, I'd certainly have composed something else as a way of justifying what I've already done and lightening the reader's load by offering useful clarifications and revelatory illustrations."
"My dear Sir," he replied, "my own pen and paper are at your beck and call."
After a moment's pause for thought, I started to dictate:
"Abu al-Hasan," I said, "whenever I've written anything, I've always tried to be as concise and terse as possible. The reason is that I've always had an urgent sense of a shortage of time, something that has been part of my makeup since I was young. It has made me feel as though I'm under constraint, working as best I can to rescue crucial items of property that are in imminent danger of loss and destruction. Could those crucial items actually be a figurative way of talking about our beloved Andalus whose very pillars are in the process of collapsing, leading to a slow but inevitable fall? That at least may well be the most likely explanation and the one that deserves the closest attention. For that reason, no one should wonder at the frequency with which the phrase, `For fear of prolixity,' occurs in all of my writings. The only justification I can offer is, as I've already suggested, my constant worry about the way in which collective time seems to be so restricted and claustrophobic. As a result, anyone with the requisite knowledge, insight, and understanding should not feel the need to indulge in excessive criticism of my dense and terse statements."