Those who came with the slander are a band of you. Do not reckon it evil for you; rather, it is good for you. Against every man of them shall be the sin he has earned. Whosoever of them took upon himself most of it will have a great chastisement. Know that God is jealous over the hearts of His elect servants. So when two of them take repose in each other, God brings to pass what will repel each from his companion and push him back to Himself. Thus have they sung, When my spirit clings to a beloved and attaches to him, the changing of the days steal him away from me. Know, O chevalier, that the hearts of the Real's friends are inside the curtain of jealousy-today they listen inside the curtain of jealousy, and tomorrow they will see inside the curtain of jealousy. The Real does not show your heart to anyone, for He keeps it inside the curtain of jealousy. In the grip of the attributes it sees the Real face-to-face on the carpet of joy in the presence of witness- ing and seclusion, and the Real gazes upon it. If the heart looks back at another, at once it will see the courtesy-teaching whip. Thus it happened to a great one of his time: He was exceedingly happy in a tremendous desire for God. He had complete ecstasy and his work was in total conformity with Him. Then once he heard the call of a bird, and he looked back toward the call. He went beneath the tree and was wait- ing for the bird to call again. A voice spoke to him, “You have dissolved God's bond! You have given away the key to My covenant, for you have become intimate with another!” MuḤammad ibn Ḥassān said, “Once I was wandering in the mountain of Lebanon hoping to see one of the friends of the Real, one of the great ones who take up residence there. I saw a young man come out from a corner. The hot wind of summer had blown against him, and he was burnt and bedraggled. When he saw me, he turned away and entered in among the chestnut trees to conceal himself. I followed him. I said, 'O chevalier! Give me the benefit of some words, for I came in hope of that.
