The story of Abu Yazid al-Bistami

One evening, he was in a hurry when he reached the bank of the Tigris.

The 2 banks of the river came together so that he would have been able to cross over. But Abu Yazid invoked God’s protection and said: “I will not sell my share in God for a farthing.”

So, he boarded a boat and crossed over with the ferrymen.

An innate ability for sorcery requires exercise, in order to be capable of transformation from potentiality into actuality.

Some (magical ability) which is not innate may be acquired, but such (acquired magical ability) is inferior to innate magical ability.

One (would, in any case, have to) exercise to (acquire magical ability), as one does on behalf of (innate magical ability). The (procedure of) such magical exercise is well known.

Its various kinds and the ways in which it is executed 830 are mentioned by Maslamah al-Majriti in the Kitab al-Ghayah and by Jabir b. Hayyan in his Treatises, as well as by others.

They are employed by many people who want to acquire magical ability and learn its norms and the conditions governing it.

However, 831 this magical exercise of early (practitioners) is full of matters of unbelief. For instance, it includes devotions directed to the stars and prayers to them, called qiyamat, for the purpose of attracting their spirituality.

It also includes the belief in influences by (beings) other than God, in that (one’s) actions are tied to magical horoscopes and the mutual aspects of the stars in the signs (of the zodiac), in order to obtain the desired results.

Many people who wished to be (magically) active in the world of existing things were arrested by this (fact). They wanted to obtain the (ability to be magically active) in a way that would have nothing to do with any involvement in unbelief and the practice of it.

They turned their exercise into one that was legal according to the religious law. It consisted of dhikr exercises and prayers (subuhat) from the Qur’an and the Prophetic traditions. They learned which of these things were appropriate for (their particular) need from the afore-mentioned division of the world with its essences, attributes, and actions according to the influences of the seven stars.

In addition, they also selected the days and hours appropriate to the distribution of (the influences of the stars). They used this kind of legal exercise as a cover, in order to avoid having anything to do with ordinary sorcery, which isunbelief or calls for unbelief.

They kept to a legal (kind of) devotion because of its general and honest character. That was done, for instance, by al-Buni in his Kitab alAnmat and other works of his, and by others.

They called this approach “letter magic,” since they were very eager to avoid the name of sorcery. In fact, (however,) they fall under the idea of sorcery, even though they have a legal (kind of) devotion.

They are not at all free from the belief in influences by (beings) other than God.

These people also want to be (magically) active in the world of existing things.

That is something forbidden by the Lawgiver (Muhammad). The miracles performed by the prophets were performed at God’s command. He gave the power to perform them.

The miracles of the saints were performed, because by means of the creation of a necessary knowledge, through inspiration or something else, they obtained (divine) permission to perform them.

They did not intend to perform them without permission.

Thus, the trickery of the people who practice letter magic should not be trusted. As I have made it clear, letter magic is a subdivision and kind of sorcery.

God guides toward the truth through His kindness.*

*Many people want to be (magically) active but want to avoid having anything to do with any involvement in sorcery and the name and technicalities of sorcery.

Therefore, they choose a special exercise consisting of prayers (subuhat) and dhikr exercises. They are legal according to the religious law and yet they correspond to magical exercise in the kind of devotion and the expressions used. They choose the time of certain ascendants, as is done by the people (the learned magicians).

They refrain from having any harmful intentions in their devotion, so that, in this manner, they may have nothing to do with sorcery.

But they are far off the mark in this (assumption). Any devotion in the intention of being (magically) active is the very same thing as sorcery.

Moreover, if one looks at it carefully, the exercise of these people evokes (the idea of) magical exercise in view of the expressions used in it, as (one finds them) in the Anmat and other works of al-Bum.

Now, if the assumption is erroneous that this is a legal way of obtaining the ability to be (magically) active, it should be avoided. One should realize that (magical) activity from the very beginning is not legal and that the great saints keep away from it. The (great saints) who practiced it did so because they had permission, through inspiration or something else.

Also, saints are (magically) active through faith (al-kalimah alimaniyah), and not through psychic power. This is the true character of letter magic.

As one can see, it is a subdivision and kind of sorcery.