Thus We schemed for Joseph.... We raise in degree whomsoever We will. Ibn ʿAṬāÌ said, " We tried him with various sorts of trial until We conveyed him to exaltedness and eminence. " In terms of allusion He is saying, " We turned Joseph over to various sorts of trial and kept him for a long time in the station of bewilderment on the carpet of remorse until We conveyed him to the place of generosity and elevation and let him taste the wine of nearness and intimacy. In face of this blessing that tribulation was not heavy, and next to this nearness that remorse was no loss. " The wont of the Lord of the universe is this: The foundation of happiness is all suffering, and be- neath one disappointment lie a thousand treasures. If you want the wisdom of this clearer and an explication fuller, it means, " We ruled and decreed in the beginningless that Joseph would be king of Egypt. First We showed him the abase- ment of slavery so that he would be informed of the remorse of captives and slaves. Then We tried him with the trial of prison so that he would be aware of the burning and grief of prisoners. We threw him into the gloom of exile so that he would not be heedless of the helplessness of exiles. " Be a mother to orphans, nurture them with gentleness, be noble to askers, fulfill their requests. The generosity We showed to you in your poverty and orphanhood- you show the same, O generous in character, to Our creatures. [DS 36] We raise in degree whomsoever We will. First there is going straight, then unveiling, then con- templation: " We give whomsoever We want a high standing, and We lift up his degrees: first the success of obedience, then the realization of recompense; first the self-purification of deeds, then making states limpid; first the resoluteness of service in the station of the Shariah, then the finding of contemplation in the Haqiqah itself. " Going straight alludes to the Shariah, unveiling alludes to the Tariqah, and contemplation alludes to the Haqiqah itself. The Shariah is servanthood, the Tariqah is selflessness, and the Haq- iqah is freedom in the midst of both. Become free of everything in the realm of being- be that Heart-taker's " companion of the cave. "
