so that He may question the truthful (ṣādiqīn) about their veracity. And he has prepared for those who disbelieve a painful chastisement. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Zayd said:Veracity (ṣidq) is being faithful (wafāʾ) to God in your act[s].Sahl was asked about veracity and said:Veracity is fear concerning [our] end (khātima), and patience (ṣabr) is the proof [lit. witness (shāhid)] of veracity. Truly, veracity is hard for the veracious (ṣiddīqūn), sincerity (ikhlāṣ) is hard for the sincere (mukhliṣūn), and repentance (tawba) is hard for the repentant (tāʾibūn), for these three require [extraordinary] exertion of the spirit (badhl al-rūḥ). Aḥmad b. Mattā was asked about its meaning [ṣidq] and said:It is that there no longer remains a share for a person’s lower self.Sahl said:No one will get a whiff of the fragrance of veracity as long as he panders to his lower self or to others. Rather, veracity is that a person feels in his innermost secret (sirr) that there is no one on the face of the earth from whom God has demanded servanthood besides him. Furthermore, his hope is his fear, and his fear is [of] his demise (intiqāl). Then when God, Exalted is He, sees them [the veracious] in this state, He takes upon himself the care of their affairs (tawallā umūrahum) and suffices for them (kafāhum), and every hair on their bodies speaks [as one] with God (maʿa’Llāh) in gnosis (maʿrifa). Thereafter God, Exalted is He, says to them on the Day of Judgement, ‘For whom did you work, and what did you desire?’ They will reply, ‘We worked for You, and You alone did we desire.’ He will say to them, ‘You have spoken the truth.’ And by His Might, His words of testimony affirming their veracity are a greater source of joy to them than the bliss of Paradise.Aḥmad b. Mattā was asked about the meaning of his [Sahl’s] saying, that the hope of veracity is his fear, and that his fear is [of] his demise (intiqāl). He said:It is because veracity (ṣidq) is their hope and what they seek, but they fear that they are not veracious in their quest (ṭalab), so that God will not accept it from them. He has said regarding this: and [those] who give what they give while their hearts tremble [with awe] [23:60], meaning that they are in trepidation while doing acts of obedience, for fear that they will suffer rejection.His words:
