… a party from each group should go forth so that they may become learned in religionHe said:[That is], in order to learn what is necessary concerning their religion. It has been related from Ḥasan al-Baṣrī that he said, ‘The erudite (faqīh) is the one who has renounced this world (zāhid), who is desirous (rāghib) of the Hereafter, and who has insight (baṣīr) into religious affairs. Sahl was asked about the words of the Prophet , ‘Seeking knowledge is an obligation (farīḍa) for every Muslim’. He said, ‘This refers to the knowledge of [one’s] state (ḥāl).’He was asked, ‘What is the knowledge of [one’s] state?’ He replied:Inwardly it is sincerity (ikhlāṣ) and outwardly it is emulation (iqtidāʾ). Moreover, unless a person’s outward [self] (ẓāhir) is leading his inner [self] (bāṭin), and his inner self is the perfection(kamāl) of his outward self, he will merely be fatiguing his body. He was asked, ‘What is the explanation of this?’ He said:Truly God keeps watch over you, in what you keep secret and what you make known, in your [moments of] movement and stillness, and you are never absent from Him even for the blinking of the eye, just as He has said, Is He who stands over every soul [observing] what it has earned? [13:33], and He has said, There is not a secret consultation between three, but He makes the fourth among them [58:7]. He has also said, We are nearer to him than [his] aorta (ḥabl al-warīd) [50:16]. This is the artery located deep inside the heart, and He has informed us that He is closer to the heart than that artery. If you know this you should feel shame before Him. Furthermore, whenever some craving from the lower self stirs itself in the heart, and [at that moment] the servant remembers that God, Mighty and Majestic is He, is watching over him, and subsequently abandons [that craving], knowledge of his state will enter his heart, such that if what he is granted were to be distributed among the people of Medina, all of them would rejoice at it, and would triumph because of it. Mālik b. Anas http://www.aalalbayt.org) ® All Rights Reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, this work may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the Great Tafsirs Project, Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (aalalbayt@aalalbayt.org)
, ‘Seeking knowledge is an obligation (farīḍa) for every Muslim’. He said, ‘This refers to the knowledge of [one’s] state (ḥāl).’He was asked, ‘What is the knowledge of [one’s] state?’ He replied:Inwardly it is sincerity (ikhlāṣ) and outwardly it is emulation (iqtidāʾ). Moreover, unless a person’s outward [self] (ẓāhir) is leading his inner [self] (bāṭin), and his inner self is the perfection(kamāl) of his outward self, he will merely be fatiguing his body. He was asked, ‘What is the explanation of this?’ He said:Truly God keeps watch over you, in what you keep secret and what you make known, in your [moments of] movement and stillness, and you are never absent from Him even for the blinking of the eye, just as He has said, Is He who stands over every soul [observing] what it has earned? [13:33], and He has said, There is not a secret consultation between three, but He makes the fourth among them [58:7]. He has also said, We are nearer to him than [his] aorta (ḥabl al-warīd) [50:16]. This is the artery located deep inside the heart, and He has informed us that He is closer to the heart than that artery. If you know this you should feel shame before Him. Furthermore, whenever some craving from the lower self stirs itself in the heart, and [at that moment] the servant remembers that God, Mighty and Majestic is He, is watching over him, and subsequently abandons [that craving], knowledge of his state will enter his heart, such that if what he is granted were to be distributed among the people of Medina, all of them would rejoice at it, and would triumph because of it. Mālik b. Anas 
