the All-Merciful: “To Him the whole affair is returned” [Hud 11:123].
Seek Abraham’s attributes, peace be upon him, and possess them: God may grant you his blessing. Through intimate friendship he possessed them; they did not necessitate intimate friendship for him. This is why we directed you to assuming God’s character. He, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “I was sent to complete noble character.”
This means that character was divided into noble and base. All noble character appeared in revealed laws through prophets and messengers, and everyone distinguished base from noble. Yet according to proof, unveiling, and gnosis, nothing in the world exists but God’s character traits. All are therefore noble; no base character is there. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, was sent to all people with the comprehensive word and given comprehensive utterances, while every preceding prophet followed a particular revealed law.
He reported being sent to complete noble character, for it is God’s character. He joined what was called base character to noble character, making all noble. For whoever knows revealed law’s purpose, he left no base character in the world whatsoever.
(The Outlets of Attributes and Noble Character)
He explained outlets for what is called base character: eagerness, envy, voracity, miserliness, alarm, and every blameworthy attribute. He gave us outlets which, when we apply these traits through them, return them to noble character. The name of blame disappears from them
Notlar
Translator’s note TN4786-1: The transformation of blameworthy traits is explicitly conditioned upon directing them through their proper outlets. The preceding passage also states that Abraham’s intimate friendship precedes his possession of its attributes, rather than being earned through them.
