Those who conceal what God has revealed of the scripture and sell it for a little price-they shall consume nothing in their bellies but the fire; God shall not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection neither purify them; and theirs is a painful chastisement. The scholars ʿulamāÌ are asked to spread the evidentiary proofs of knowl- edge while the friends awliyāÌ are commanded to preserve the trusts of the secret. If [the scholars] conceal the proofs of the different types of knowledge they will be bridled with a bridle of fire nār. By con- trast if [the friends] divulge even a sliver from the secret they [will be] immediately distanced from the secrets asrār and snatched away from the lights anwār they have been given. To each is a limit ḥadd and to each a command amr.
