And take provision, but the best of provisions is mindfulness of God... He [Sahl] said:It [mindfulness of God, taqwā] is the [best travelling] companion (rafīq) leading to the remembrance(dhikr) of God, Exalted is He, in fear (khawfan); just as there is no [travelling] provision (zād) for the lover (muḥibb) save the Beloved (maḥbūb), and no provision for the possessor of mystical knowledge (ʿārif) save the Known (maʿrūf). [Continuing on from this] Sahl explained that the words, If he is able to make his way there [3:97] are an allusion to the provision (zād) and the riding beast (rāḥila). He then asked, ‘Do you know what the provision and riding beast are?’ They replied: ‘No’. So he said, ‘The provision is remembrance (dhikr) and the riding beast is patience (ṣabr).’ Then he went on to relate how a man had accompanied him on the road to Mecca, and for two days had not found anything [to eat], so he said, ‘O teacher! I need sustenance!’ to which he [Sahl] replied, ‘Sustenance is God.’ The other man then said, ‘One cannot do without sustenance for the body to function.’ To which he replied, ‘All bodies exist [only] through God, Mighty and Majestic is He.’ Then he recited the following lines [in the basīṭ metre]:O Beloved, replenish [my longing]! May the water of longing pour down upon you from the rain cloud,Whose pouring increases my sorrows and anguish.An anguish remains in my heart, consuming me,Truly as love increases, with it will increase my rapture. After that, he said, ‘It is the world that severs those who are devoted to God from God, Mighty and Majestic is He.’ Finally, he said, ‘The livelihood (ʿaysh) of angels is in obedience (ṭāʿa); the livelihood of the prophets is in knowledge (ʿilm) and waiting for relief (intiẓār al-faraj); and the livelihood of the veracious (ṣiddīqūn) is in emulation (iqtidāʾ). As for the rest, their livelihood is in food and drink. …So fear me, O people of inner substance (ulū’l-albāb)![Sahl said] that this means:‘O people of understanding (fahm)!’ That is, those who are possessed of sound intellects (ʿuqūl salīma). Truly God, Exalted is He, has commanded them to be aware of Him according to the capacity of their intellects, by virtue of that which He has specially allotted them, such as: the light of guidance by His essence; [their] receptivity to [that light] from Him; His having singled them out by depositing something (maʿnā) within them; and His knowledge of them prior to their creation.
