On Silence
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
There are two kinds of silence: firstly, silence of the tongue, which consists of not speaking of other than God the Exalted with other than God the Exalted, altogether; and secondly, silence of the heart, which consists of refraining from all thought occurring in the soul that concerns any created thing at all. The one whose tongue is silent, even if his heart is not, lightens his burden. When someone’s tongue and heart are both silent, his inmost consciousness (sirr) is manifest and his Lord reveals Himself to him. The one whose heart is silent but whose tongue is not is a speaker with the tongue of wisdom. The one who does not possess either a silent tongue or a silent heart is under the domination of Satan and an object of his ridicule.
The silence of the tongue is one of the abodes of everyone and of all seekers (sālikūn). The silence of the heart is one of the [distinctive] qualities of those brought close (muqarrabūn), who are people of true contemplation. The state that silence brings the seekers is safety from all harm, while the state that it brings those brought close is intimate converse [with God]. He who maintains silence in all states has no speech except with his Lord. Complete silence of the tongue within is impossible for the human being: thus if he withdraws from talking with others in favour of converse with his Lord, he becomes delivered, brought close, one who is endorsed in his speech when he speaks, and does so according to what is proper and hits the mark, for he speaks “out of God” (‘an Allāh), exalted is He. God has said with regard to His Prophet: “And he does not speak out of passion.” Speaking according to what is proper is the fruit of silence, which is refraining from error. Conversing with other than God is an error in every case, and speaking of other than God is bad in every respect.
God says: “There is no good in much of their secret discourse, except for one who enjoins alms-giving or what is equitable or promotes reconciliation amongst people”, observing all their conditions. God also says: “They were given no order except to worship God, pure in devotion to Him.”
Connected to the state of silence is the station of Inspiration (wahy), in its various forms.
Silence bequeaths knowledge of God, exalted is He.
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الصمت على قسمين: صمتٌ باللسان عن الحديث بغير الله تعالى مع غير الله تعالى جملةً واحدةً، وصمت بالقلب عن خاطرٍ يخطرُ له في النفس في كون من الاكوان البتّة. فمن صمت لسانه ولم يصمت قلبه خف وزره، ومن صمت لسانه وقلبه ظهر له سرّه وتجلّى له ربّه، ومن صمت قلبه ولم يصمت لسانه فهو ناطق بلسان الحكمة، ومن لم يصْمت بلسانه ولا بقلبه كان مملكةً للشيطان ومسخرةً له.
فصمت اللسان من منازل العامّة وارباب السلوك، وصمت القلب من صفات المقرّبين اهل المشاهدات .وحال صمت السالكين السلامة من الآفات، وحال صمت المقرّبين مخاطبات التأنيس. فمن التزم الصمت من جميع الاحْوال كلّها لم يبق له حديثٌ الا مع ربّه. فانّ الصمت على الانسان مُحال في نفسه فاذا انتقل من الحديث مع الاغيار الى الحديث مع ربّه كان نجياً مقرّباً مؤيداً في نطقه اذا نطق بالصواب لانّه ينطِق عن الله. قال تعالى في حقّ نبيه عليه السلام: وما ينطق عن الهوى. فالنطق بالصواب نتيجة الصمت عن الخطاء. والكلام مع غير الله خطأ بكل حال، وبغير الله شرّ من كل وجْه. قال تعالى: لا خيْرَ في كثيرٍ من نجْواهم الا من أمر بصدقةٍ او معروفٍ او اصْلاحٍ بين الناس بكمال شروطها. قال الله تعالى: وما امروا الا ليعبدوا الله مخلصين له الدين. ولحال الصمت مقام الوحي على ضروبه. والصمت يورث معرفة الله تعالى.
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Shaykh Al-Akbar Ibn ‘Arabī (may God be satisfied with him)
from his Hilyat al-Abdāl wa Mā Yazharu ‘Anhā min al-Ma’ārif wa al-Ahwāl
(The Adornment of the Spiritually Transformed)
Translated by: Stephen Hirtenstein
