From the evil of the slinking whisperer,Sahl was asked, ‘What is ‘a whispering’ (waswasa)? He replied:Everything besides God, Exalted is He, is a whispering. Truly, when the heart of a person is with God, Exalted is He, it speaks from God, Exalted is He, but if it is with other than Him, it speaks from other than Him.Then he said:Whoever desires this world will not be saved from whispering. The position of whispering in relation to the servant is that of the evil-inciting self (nafs ammāra bi’l-sūʾ) when it mentions [a suggestion] to the natural disposition (ṭabʿ). The whispering of the Enemy (ʿaduww) within the breasts is as in His words, ‘who whispers in the breasts of people —! whether they be of jinn or mankind [114:5, 6], meaning within the breasts of jinn and men alike. The whispering of the lower self is within the heart, for God, Exalted is He, has said: ‘We know what his soul whispers to him. We are closer to him than his aorta.’ [50:16]Knowledge (maʿrifa) of the lower self (nafs) is more elusive [lit. hidden, akhfī] than knowledge of the Enemy (ʿaduww), while knowledge of the Enemy is more apparent (ajlā) than knowledge of the world. The way to capture the enemy is through knowing him, for when you know him you have captured him, but if you do not know that he is the enemy then he has captured you.The similitude of the servant, the Enemy and the world is that of the hunter, the bird and the grain. The hunter is Satan (Iblīs), the bird is the servant and the grain is this world. There is not a [single] gaze (naẓar) that is not coveted by Satan. If you have been fasting [continuously] and wish to stop fasting he will say to you, ‘What will the people say? You, who are known for fasting, have given up fasting.’ If you respond with, ‘What do I care about people?’ he will say to you, ‘You have spoken rightly, so stop fasting for they will put the matter of the cessation of your fast down to good judgement and sincerity.’ Likewise, if you are known for seclusion and you leave your seclusion, he will say, ‘What will people say? You have left your seclusion.’ If yourespond by saying, ‘What do I care about people?’ He will say, ‘You have spoken rightly, so give up your seclusion, for they will put the cessation of your seclusion down to good judgement and sincerity.
