to you, and that you would then leave me alone, I would certainly have done so.

Al-Dawraqī said: I also heard Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm say, “I heard Fudayl addressing his own soul: ‘I do not see that He took you out of the Ḥill only to hide you in the Ḥaram except to multiply your sin. Are you not ashamed to speak of dinars and dirhams while you are standing around the House? In former times only the penitent and those seeking refuge came here.’ ”

Fudayl also said: “The believer admires and does not begrudge. Commendable envy is part of faith, whereas malicious envy is part of hypocrisy.”

I say: This clarifies the Prophet’s words—may blessings and peace be upon him—“No envy is justified except in two cases: a man to whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it in the cause of truth, and a man to whom Allah has given the Qur’an, and he stands with it in prayer during the watches of the night and the edges of the day.” (1)

Thus, the “envy” meant here is benign admiration: that you wish to have the like of what Allah has granted your brother, not that you wish its removal from him—for that would be wrongdoing and malice.

Fudayl further said: “Among the traits of the prophets are forbearance, deliberation, and rising for prayer at night.”

Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī said: Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAbd Allah al-ʿAskarī narrated to us; the nephew of Abū Zurʿah narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh narrated to us; Abū ʿAmmār narrated from al-Faḍl ibn Mūsā, who said:

“Fudayl was a shāṭir (2)—a highwayman who robbed travelers,” and he then related the story, which has already been mentioned.