The Infused Lights / Imam al-Sha'rani (10th Cen. Hijrah)

The Infused Lights of the Biographies of the Righteous
(Lawaqih al-Anwar fi Tabaqat al-Akhyar)

By Imam ‘Abdul-Wahhab ibn Ahmad al-Sha’rani

Translated by: Christopher ‘Khalil’ Moore
** Unpublished Rough Draft **
© 2005 C - K - M

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INTRODUCTION:

Praise be to God, who has bestowed upon His saints His immense blessings, for which they praise Him. He has chosen them for His love and has placed them in His service, and thus they guard their prayers. He has called them to His presence and has made their ranks apparent therein, thus “...the foremost will be the foremost. Such are they that shall be brought near” [Quran 56:10-11]. He has opened for them the doors of His presence and has lifted from their hearts the veils of His distance, thus they are in His court with perfect demeanor. He has been kind to them with His pure love and has made them safe from His rejection: “No doubt! Verily, the friends of God, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve” [Qur’an 10:62]. He has illuminated their insight through His grace, has purified their inner beings, and has shown them the preserved secret. He has protected them from the jealous ones, and has shielded them from the eyes of the immoral sinners. For they are the bridegrooms, and the bridegrooms are not to be seen by the wrongdoers.

     If one of God’s saints passes by such a people (i.e., the sinful) they accuse him of heresy and insanity. “You will see them looking at you while they see not!” [Quran 7:198] Among them is the one that denies their miracles, and among them is the one that belittles their spiritual stations. Among them is the one who attacks their honor, calls their spiritual states into question, and delves with ignorance into their utterances, all the while mocking them. “God does mock at them, leaving them to wander blindly in their rebellion” [Quran 2:15].

     Glory be to the One who has brought near some people, and has chosen them for His service, for which reason they never leave His door! Glory be to the One who has made them stars in the sky of sainthood and has made the people of Earth find guidance through them! Glory be to the One who has permitted them the presence of His closeness, while those who criticize them are far from it! It is the saints who are in the garden of nearness, obtaining bliss, and those who deny are in the fire of exile, with nothing but punishment: “He cannot be questioned as to what He does, while they will be questioned” [Qur’an 21:23].

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I have entitled this work: The Infused Lights of the Biographies of the Righteous. I have prefaced this work with an introduction about the Sufis that will increase the faith of those who examine it. It will also allude, from a subtler angle, to the fact that condemnation of this group (i.e., the Sufis) has persisted with them in every age. The reason for this is because the majority of minds cannot grasp the loftiness of their superior stations. Nevertheless, due to their wholeness, they are not affected, nor will they change, just as the mountain changes not from the ineffectual puff of the mosquito.

MORE IN THE PDF FILE HERE: Download infused_lights.pdf

Comments

[Shaik Abdul Khafid]

Salaam'alaik Brother Khalil,

Thank you for this translation. It's fantastic and much-needed. May Allah bless you for your efforts.