1. Ḥabíb al-`Ajamí.
His conversion (tawbat) was begun by Ḥasan of Baṣra. At first he was a usurer and committed all sorts of wickedness, but God gave him a sincere repentance, and he learned from Ḥasan something of the theory and practice of religion. His native tongue was Persian (`ajamí), and he could not speak Arabic correctly. One evening Ḥasan of Baṣra passed by the door of his cell. Ḥabíb had uttered the call to prayer and was standing, engaged in devotion. Ḥasan came in, but would not pray under his leadership, because Ḥabíb was unable to speak Arabic fluently or recite the Koran correctly. The same night, Ḥasan dreamed that he saw God and said to Him: “O Lord, wherein does Thy good pleasure consist?” and that God answered: “O Ḥasan, you found My good pleasure, but did not know its value: if yesternight you had said your prayers after Ḥabíb, and if the rightness of his intention had restrained you from taking offence at his pronunciation, I should have been well pleased with you.” It is common knowledge among Ṣúfís that when Ḥasan of Baṣra fled from Ḥajjáj he entered the cell of Ḥabíb. The soldiers came and said to Ḥabíb: “Have you seen Ḥasan anywhere?” Ḥabíb said: “Yes.” “Where is he?” “He is in my cell.” They went into the cell, but saw no one there. Thinking that Ḥabíb was making fun of them, they abused him and called him a liar. He swore that he had spoken the truth. They returned twice and thrice, but found no one, and at last departed. Ḥasan immediately came out and said to Ḥabíb: “I know it was owing to thy benedictions that God did not discover me to these wicked men, but why didst thou tell them I was here?” Ḥabíb replied: “O Master, it was not on account of my benedictions that they failed to see thee, but through the blessedness of my speaking the truth. Had I told a lie, we both should have been shamed.” Ḥabíb was asked: “With what thing is God pleased?” He answered: “With a heart which is not sullied by hypocrisy,” because hypocrisy (nifáq) is the opposite of concord (wifáq), and the state of being well pleased (riḍá) is the essence of concord. There is no connexion between hypocrisy and love, and love subsists in the state of being well pleased (with whatever is decreed by God). Therefore acquiescence (riḍá) is a characteristic of God’s friends, while hypocrisy is a characteristic of His enemies. This is a very important matter. I will explain it in another place.
2. Málik b. Dínár.
He was a companion of Ḥasan of Baṣra. Dínár was a slave, and Málik was born before his father’s emancipation. His conversion began as follows. One evening he had been enjoying himself with a party of friends. When they were all asleep a voice came from a lute which they had been playing: “O Málik! why dost thou not repent?” Málik abandoned his evil ways and went to Ḥasan of Baṣra, and showed himself steadfast in repentance. He attained to such a high degree that once when he was in a ship, and was suspected of stealing a jewel, he no sooner lifted his eyes to heaven than all the fishes in the sea came to the surface, every one carrying a jewel in its mouth. Málik took one of the jewels, and gave it to the man whose jewel was missing; then he set foot on the sea and walked until he reached the shore. It is related that he said: “The deed that I love best is sincerity in doing,” because an action only becomes an action in virtue of its sincerity. Sincerity bears the same relation to an action as the spirit to the body: as the body without the spirit is a lifeless thing, so an action without sincerity is utterly unsubstantial. Sincerity belongs to the class of internal actions, whereas acts of devotion belong to the class of external actions: the latter are completed by the former, while the former derive their value from the latter. Although a man should keep his heart sincere for a thousand years, it is not sincerity until his sincerity is combined with action; and although he should perform external actions for a thousand years, his actions do not become acts of devotion until they are combined with sincerity.
3. Abú Ḥalím Ḥabíb b. Salím[[57]] al-Rá`í.
He was a companion of Salmán Fárisí. He related that the Apostle said: “The believer’s intentions are better than his acts.” He had flocks of sheep, and his home was on the bank of the Euphrates. His religious Path (ṭaríq) was retirement from the world. A certain Shaykh relates as follows: “Once I passed by him and found him praying, while a wolf looked after his sheep. I resolved to pay him a visit, since he appeared to me to have the marks of greatness. When we had exchanged greetings, I said: ‘O Shaykh! I see the wolf in accord with the sheep.’ He replied: ‘That is because the shepherd is in accord with God.’ With those words he held a wooden bowl under a rock, and two fountains gushed from the rock, one of milk and one of honey. ‘O Shaykh!’ I cried, as he bade me drink, ‘how hast thou attained to this degree?’ He answered: ‘By obedience to Muḥammad, the Apostle of God. O my son! the rock gave water to the people of Moses,[[58]] although they disobeyed him, and although Moses is not equal in rank to Muḥammad: why should not the rock give milk and honey to me, inasmuch as I am obedient to Muḥammad, who is superior to Moses?’ I said: ‘Give me a word of counsel.’ He said: ‘Do not make your heart a coffer of covetousness and your belly a vessel of unlawful things.’”
My Shaykh had further traditions concerning him, but I could not possibly set down more than this (andar waqt-i man ḍíqí búd ú bísh az ín mumkin na-shud), my books having been left at Ghazna—may God guard it!—while I myself had become a captive among uncongenial folk (dar miyán-i nájinsán) in the district of Laháwur, which is a dependency of Múltán. God be praised both in joy and sorrow!
4. Abú Ḥázim al-Madaní.
He was steadfast in poverty, and thoroughly versed in different kinds of self-mortification. `Amr b.[`Amr b.] `Uthmán al-Makkí, who shows great zeal on his behalf (andar amr-i way ba-jidd báshad), relates that on being asked what he possessed he answered: “Satisfaction (riḍá) with God and independence of mankind.” A certain Shaykh went to see him and found him asleep. When he awoke he said: “I dreamed just now that the Apostle gave me a message to thee, and bade me inform thee that it is better to fulfil the duty which is owed to one’s mother than to make the pilgrimage. Return, therefore, and try to please her.” The person who tells the story turned back and did not go to Mecca. This is all that I have heard about Abú Ḥázim.