And honor—so seek it through that which is concealed within human knowledge (as in [Q]; in al-Hilyah: “through the knowledge of Islam”). “Before God there are two favors: love (maḥabbah) and nearness (zulfa). Know that one of these two prevents the other—or as he said, ‘the one will keep you from the other.’ ” (Reported by Abū Nu‘aym in al-Hilyah, 4/54.) Zāfir ibn Sulaymān narrated from Abū Sinān al-Shaybānī that he heard that Wahb ibn Munabbih reported Luqmān the Wise as saying to his son: “O my son, take obedience to God as your trade by which you increase your profit in this world and the Hereafter. Faith is your ship upon which you embark, and reliance on God (tawakkul) its sail. The world is your sea and the days its waves. Righteous deeds are your merchandise from which you hope for profit, and the nafl (supererogatory acts) are your gift by which you seek honor. Zeal for it is the wind that propels it, restraining the soul from its desires is its mooring, death its shore, and God its Owner and to Him its return. The most beloved merchants to God, the best and closest to Him, are those whose merchandise is greatest, whose intentions are purest, and whose gifts most sincere; the most disliked are those whose merchandise is least, whose gifts are poorest, and whose dispositions worst. Thus the better you conduct your trade, the more your profit; the more sincere your gift, the more honor you receive.” (Reported by Abū Nu‘aym in al-Hilyah, 4/54.) In another version it is said that Luqmān told his son: “O my son, make obedience to God your merchandise, from which profits come from every direction. Make your ship the fear of God (taqwā), its ballast reliance on God, and its sail faith in Him. Let your sea be beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds, so that perhaps you may be saved—though I see you among the doomed.” (Reported by Ibn al-Mubārak in al-Zuhd, p. 190, similar wording.) ‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak (in his Kitāb al-Zuhd, p. 19, no. 56) narrated from Rabāḥ ibn Zayd, from an unnamed man, that “knowledge can be as tyrannical as wealth.” Al-Ṭabarānī reported on the authority of ‘Ubayd ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣan‘ānī from Abū Qudāmah Hammām ibn Maslama ibn ‘Uqbah, from Ghawth ibn Jābir, from ‘Aqīl ibn Munabbih, who said: “I heard my uncle Wahb ibn Munabbih say: ‘The reward is presented by God, yet it is not due to one who does not act; it is not found by one who does not seek it; and it is not perceived by one who does not turn toward it. Obedience to God is near to him who desires it, far from him who shuns it. Whoever strives for it attains it; whoever does not love it does not find it. It does not come before the seeker, nor does it befall the laggard. Obedience to God ennobles its possessor and degrades him who neglects it. The Book of God points to it, and faith in God urges one to it.’” (Reported by Abū Nu‘aym in al-Hilyah, 4/54.) Imām Aḥmad narrated: “Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid told us, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān reported: I heard Wahb ibn Munabbih say that Dāwūd (peace be upon him) asked, ‘O Lord, which of Your servants is most beloved to You?’ He replied, ‘A believer of fair appearance and good deeds.’ He then asked, ‘O Lord, which of Your servants is most hateful to You?’ He answered, ‘A disbeliever of fair appearance who denied (kafar) or was ungrateful (shakara). Those two.’” (Reported by Abū Nu‘aym in al-Hilyah, 4/55; variant reading: “One disbelieved and the other gave thanks.”) In a version cited by Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal on the same authority: “Which of Your servants is most hateful to You? He said, ‘A servant who performed istikhāra (seeking guidance) about a governor, for which I honored him, yet he was not content.’” Ibrāhīm ibn al-Junayd related to me from Ibrāhīm ibn Sa‘īd, from ‘Abd al-Mun‘im ibn Idrīs, from ‘Abd al-Ṣamad ibn Mu‘ayqal, from Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: “There was a traveler (sāʾiḥ) devoted to the worship of God. Satan, appearing as a man, showed him that he too worshipped God and even outdid him in devotion, so the traveler admired his zeal. Then the devil said to him and the traveler in his place of prayer, ‘If we enter the city, mingle with the people, endure their harm, command and forbid, our reward will be greater.’ The traveler agreed. But when he put one foot outside the doorway of his place of worship to follow him, a voice cried out to him, saying:” (Text ends here.)