Abu 'l-Hasan, the master of Sumnun, said, "Sufism is neither a state nor a time; rather it is a sign which destroys, flashes which consume". Abu Hamid al- Istakhri related that he questioned Abu Ya'qub al-Zabuli concerning Sufism. He replied, "It is that the essence of humanity is obliterated from you, together with the signs of whereness". Yahya bin Mu'adh said, "Whoso sees along with the Beloved other than the Beloved has not seen the Beloved".
Abu Yazid said, "Almighty God looked down upon the world and said, 'O Abu Yazid, all of them are My servants, except you'. So He excepted me from servanthood". It is clear that if the critic should say, "The Messenger of God (God bless him and grant him peace) used to say, 'I am a servant,' and it is also mentioned of the other prophets that they said, 'And appoint me of Thy mercy among Thy servants'. How then is it admissible for one not a prophet to say, 'He excepted me from servanthood'?"; that would be only natural. The problem only exists for those who have not trodden the Sufi way. For the Sufis, its solution is clearer than the sun. Even clearer than Abu Yazid's words is the saying of al- Shibli, when he heard what Abu Yazid had said: "The Truth made revelation to me by means of less than that, saying, 'All creatures are My servants except you, for you are I'."
To the same order belongs another saying of al-Shibli; on being asked, "Do you know of any joy in your soul?" he replied, "Yes, when I do not find any commemorating God". If the critic should say, "This is unbelief, for all the prophets were sent to call men to God and to the remembrance of God. They only rejoiced when their call was answered; so how could al-Shibli say, 'My soul only rejoices when no one is recollecting God'?" that too would only be natural.
Again, al-Shibli used to say in his prayers, "O God, make my enemies to dwell in the garden of Eden, and do not deprive me of Thee for so much as the twinkling of an eye". If the critic said, "If God's Messenger (God bless him and grant him peace) used to say in his prayers, 'O God, I ask Thee for Paradise, and I take refuge with Thee from Hell', how should it be admissible for any other to say what al-Shibli said?", that also would only be natural.
It is similarly reported of more than one of the great Sufis that he said, "Whoever worships God for a recompense, that man is vile". Kulaib al-Sinjari, who was a man who knew affliction, said, "If Job were alive today, I would do battle with him". If the critic said, "The man saying that challenged the prophets regarding their prophethood, and that is unbelief", from the literal standpoint he would be in the right.
More astonishing still is what is related of Shaqiq al-Balkhi. He asked one of the shaikhs for a description of the gnostics. The shaikh said, "They are those who, when they are given anything, render thanks, and when they are denied, endure with fortitude". Shaqiq commented, "This is a description of what our dogs are like in Balkh". The shaikh thereupon asked him to describe the gnostics. Shaqiq said: "When they are denied, they render thanks, and when they are given anything, they prefer others to enjoy it." If anyone should say, "God in His Book has more than once praised the people of fortitude and thankfulness, so how could Shaqiq equate them with dogs?" he would have a great effect on men's hearts, except indeed with those who know the doctrines of the Sufis and the habitual manner of their addresses.
Al-Shibli said, "I wrote Traditions and Jurisprudence for thirty years, until the dawn broke and I came to every teacher under whom I wrote and said, 'I desire the jurisprudence of God Almighty'. Then not one of them spoke to me."
Al-Siddiq (God be well-pleased with him) said, "Glory be to Him Who has not appointed for creatures any way to know him, save by incapacity to know Him".
Abu 'l-Husain al-Nuri was asked, "How is it that He is not attainable by reason, and cannot be known save by reason?" He replied, "How should the limited attain the Unlimited?"
Abu 'l-'Abbas al-Dinawari was asked, "By what means did you know God?" He replied, "By the fact that I do not know him".
Dhu 'l-Nun said, "He has not known God who has known Him, and he has not found Him who has penetrated His essence; neither has he hit upon the reality of God who has represented Him".
The foregoing presents a confusion only for one who supposes that knowledge of God's existence, and the existence of His Attributes--knowledge, power, life, will, speech, hearing, sight--is the same as the gnosis of God, and the comprehension of His Reality. That is not the case. The Sufis make a great distinction between the knowledge of God and the gnosis of God. Knowledge of the existence of the Eternal One is a simple matter; God Almighty refers to it with the words, "Is there any doubt regarding God?" But as for the comprehension of the reality of the Essence, and real gnosis, that belongs only to God.
The gnostics do not regard God from things, rather they regard things in God. Thus Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may God be well-pleased with him) said, "I never looked on anything but that I saw God before it".
Abu Yazid said, "I sloughed off my self as a snake sloughs off its skin. Then I looked, and behold, I was He." He also said, "O God, adorn me with Thy Singleness, and clothe me in Thy Selfhood, and raise me to Thy Oneness, so that when Thy creatures see me they will say, 'We have seen Thee'; and Thou wilt be That, and I shall not be there".
There are many like sayings. This has also been expressed by them in verse. One of them said:
Between myself and Thee
An "I am" fights with me;
Proclaim the loud "Thou art"
And make "I am" depart.
It is related that a dove was being courted by her mate, and was repelling his advances. He told her, "If you give in to me, well; if not, I shall turn the kingdom of Solomon upside down". The wind carried his words to Solomon. He summoned the male dove, and asked him to explain himself. The bird replied, "O prophet of God, the words of lovers should not be bandied about". The answer pleased Solomon, on whom be peace.