Among ! them, ! God ! be ! pleased ! with ! them, ! are ! the ! ascetics ! ( zuhh ! d ) .!! They! are! the! ones!

who! relinquish! this! world! from! a! position! of! means.! Our! friends! disagree! about! the! person! who! does! not! have! in! his! hands! anything!of!this!world!while!he!has!the!means!of! pursuing!and!amassing!worldly!things;!except!he! doesnt!do!so!and!he!gives!up!the!pursuit.!Has!he! joined! the! ascetics! or! not?! Among! our! friends! there! is! a! proponent! who! argues! that! he! has! joined! the! ascetics,! and! among! them! someone! argues! that! there! is! no! abstaining! except! with! regard!to!what!has!been!acquired,!because!it!may! be! that! if! he! had! acquired! some! [wealth]! of! this! world,!he!would!not!have!abstained.! Among! their! leaders! is! Ibr"h#m! bin! Adham,! and! stories! about! him! are! well$known.! One! of! my! maternal!uncles!was!among!them.!He!had!been!a! malik! [king,! big! landowner]! in! the! city! of! Tlemcen! (tilmas!n),! called! Ya%y"! bin! Yugh"n.! In! his! day! there! was! a! man,! a! legal! scholar,! an! unmatched! devotee,! someone! of! Tunis! called! Ab&! 'Abd$All"h! al$T&nis#! who! lived! in! a! place! outside! of! Tlemcen! called! al"#ubb!d.1! He! had! removed! himself! to! a! mosque! to! worship! God! therein;!his!grave!is!famousoften!visited.2!! While!this!integrated!person!was!walking!toward! the! city! of! Tlemcen,! between! the! two! towns! of! Ag"d#r! and! the! Mad#nat! al$Wus(",! suddenly! he! met! my! uncle! Ya%y"! bin! Yugh"n,! the! malik! of! the! city,! amidst! his! servants! and! domestics.! He! was! told,! This! is! Ab&!'Abd$All"h! al$T&nis#,! the! devotee! of! his! age.! He! pulled! the! reins! of! his! horse! and! greeted! the! shaykh,! and! hepeace! be! upon! himreturned! the! greeting.! The! malik! had! ostentatious! clothes! on,! so! he! asked! him,! O! shaykh,!These!clothes!which!I!am!wearing,!is!the! prayer! permitted! to! me! in! them?! The! shaykh! burst! out! laughing.! The! malik! said! to! him,! Why! are! you! laughing?! He! replied,! Because! of! the! weakness!of!your!intellect!and!your!ignorance!of! yourself! and! your! situation.! To! me! you! just! like! a! dog! who! wallows! in! the! gore! of! a! carcass! and! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1

its! diseased! parts3! and! filth.! But! when! he! pees,! he! lifts! his! leg! so! that! the! urine! doesnt! hit! it.! You!are!a!container!full!of!the!unlawful;!and!you! ask! about! the! clothing! on! you,! while! the! things! wrongfully! appropriated! from! the! creatures! [your!people]!are!around!your!neck!! He! said,! The! malik! cried! and! got! down! from! his! ride! and! deserted! his! kingdom! at! that! moment! and! took! up! the! service! of! the! shaykh.! The! shaykh! kept! him! for! three! days! and! then! brought! up! the! covenant! [of! hospitality]! and! said! to! him,! O! malik,! the! [three]! days! of! hospitality! have! finished;!get!up!and!collect!firewood.!! He! used! to! come! with! the! firewood! on! his! head! and! enter! the! market! with! it,! and! the! people! would! look! at! him! and! cry.! He! would! barter! to! acquire! his! nourishment! and! give! away! the! rest! in! charity.! He! stayed! [295]! in! that! land! until! he! passed.!He!was!buried!outside!the!ground!(tomb)! of!the!shaykh!and!his!grave!is!visited!to!this!day.! The!shaykh!used!to!say,!when!people!sought!him! out! to! pray! for! them,! Take! your! prayer! (du#!h)! [instead]! to! Ya%y"! bin! Yugh"n,! because! he! owned! [as! a! king! does]! then! he! abstained.! If! I! were! tested! with! what! he! was! tested! with! of! kingly! riches,! perhaps! I! would! not! have! abstained.! One! of! the! kings! said! about! the! state! of! his! soulhe! had! become! an! ascetic! and! cut! himself! off!to!be!alone!with!God,!exalted!is!He:!
I!am!in!the!state!which!you!may!see!if!you! contemplate!the!state!of!the!finest!of!people.! My!mansion!is!wherever!I!wish,!in!any!resting! place!on!the!Earth,!fed!cool!water!from!an! acequia.! I!have!no!parent!and!no!child!I!see,!and!I!dont! see!myself!having!any!dependents.! I!take!the!right-hand!man!to!be!my!pillowy! cushion,!and!if!I!turn!over,!there!is!my!left.! I!was!delighted!for!a!long!time!with!things;! if! I! had! finally! thought! about! them! clearly,! they! would!have!been!as!a!dream.!

!2!km!southeast!of!Tlemcen,!home!of!the!tomb!of! Ab&!Madyan.! 2 !The!feminine!h!!of!bi"h!$yuz!r!refers!to!the!implicit! ziy!rat!or!maqbarat.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3

!The!carcasss!akl!is!the!part!eaten!away,!as!from! disease.!