1848.] Notice to the Ikhwan al mfd. 193 



and if a man was to believe and not to act up to his faith, he does not 

 do his duty, and if a man denies and disbelieves it, he is in ignorance. 

 " As to those who believe not in the life to come, their hearts deny the 

 plainest evidence and he proudly rejects the truth. There is no doubt 

 hut that the fire of hell is prepared for them, and that they shall be 

 sent thither before the rest of the wicked." Know that a man who pro- 

 fesses this doctrine, and reflects on it will find in his mind four qualities 

 which he had not before : — first, elevation of the mind above the body ; 

 secondly, readiness to seek for purity which is in harmony with the mind ; 

 third, hope for happiness after this life ; fourth, faith in God : on 

 all these subjects he is strengthened. 



Know that the believers in the Qoran and the books of the prophets 

 may be divided into four classes which only they themselves know : — first 

 some profess their faith by their tongue, but do not believe it with their 

 heart ; second, they profess their faith with their tongue, and believe it 

 with their heart, but they do not understand its meaning ; third, they 

 profess to believe and distinguish (understand), but do not act up to 

 their faith. The first class of these has but little knowledge and un- 

 derstanding, and therefore though they exert their ingenuity, and reflect 

 on the meaning of the books of the prophets, their intellect is insuffi- 

 cient to comprehend it, for they do not comprehend the literal meaning 

 nor the recondite sense. This is the reason why they disbelieve it in 

 their hearts and doubt on it. Those who profess and believe do reflect 

 and know that a doctrine on which the prophets, the Imams and the 

 first Khalifs and all righteous Moslems, and every distinguished man 

 agreed, must be true, yet their intellect is not strong enough to enter into 

 it, and to feel its truth. Those who fully understand it, but do not act 

 up to it, are guided by God, but they have not aid to enable them to do 

 their duty ; they stand alone, and every business cannot be performed 

 by one man, on the contrary in some instances a combination of many 

 individuals is necessary. This is particularly the case with the divine 

 laws and nomos. A man must possess at least forty qualifications and 

 there must be at least forty men united to attain this object. 



The rest of this chapter treats on the choice of a friend, and on the 

 choice of a Pyr or Teacher. The author is here even more verbose than 

 usual which renders a translation almost impossible. 



2 p 2 



