يَا هِشَامُ اعْرِفْ الْعَقْلَ وَ جُنْدَهُ وَ الْجَهْلَ وَ جُنْدَهُ تَكُنْ مِنَ الْمُهْتَدِينَ قَالَ هِشَامٌ فَقُلْتُ لَا نَعْرِفُ إِلَّا مَا عَرَّفْتَنَا فَقَالَ عليه السلام يَا هِشَامُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ الْعَقْلَ وَ هُوَ أَوَّلُ خَلْقٍ خَلَقَهُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الرُّوحَانِيِّينَ عَنْ يَمِينِ الْعَرْشِ مِنْ نُورِهِ فَقَالَ لَهُ أَدْبِرْ فَأَدْبَرَ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ أَقْبِلْ فَأَقْبَلَ فَقَالَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ وَ عَزَّ خَلَقْتُكَ خَلْقاً عَظِيماً وَ كَرَّمْتُكَ عَلَى جَمِيعِ خَلْقِي ثُمَّ خَلَقَ الْجَهْلَ مِنَ الْبَحْرِ الْأُجَاجِ الظُّلْمَانِيِّ فَقَالَ لَهُ أَدْبِرْ فَأَدْبَرَ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ أَقْبِلْ فَلَمْ يُقْبِلْ فَقَالَ اسْتَكْبَرْتَ فَلَعَنَهُ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ لِلْعَقْلِ خَمْسَةً وَ سَبْعِينَ جُنْداً فَلَمَّا رَأَى الْجَهْلُ مَا كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ بِهِ الْعَقْلَ وَ مَا أَعْطَاهُ أَضْمَرَ لَهُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَ قَالَ الْجَهْلُ يَا رَبِّ هَذَا خَلْقٌ مِثْلِي خَلَقْتَهُ وَ كَرَّمْتَهُ وَ قَوَّيْتَهُ وَ أَنَا ضِدُّهُ وَ لَا قُوَّةَ لِي بِهِ أَعْطِنِي مِنَ الْجُنْدِ مِثْلَ مَا أَعْطَيْتَهُ فَقَالَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى نَعَمْ فَإِنْ عَصَيْتَنِي بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ أَخْرَجْتُكَ وَ جُنْدَكَ مِنْ جِوَارِي وَ مِنْ رَحْمَتِي فَقَالَ قَدْ رَضِيتُ فَأَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ خَمْسَةً وَ سَبْعِينَ جُنْداً فَكَانَ مِمَّا أَعْطَى الْعَقْلَ مِنَ الْخَمْسَةِ وَ سَبْعِينَ جُنْداً الْخَيْرُ وَ هُوَ وَزِيرُ الْعَقْلِ الشَّرُّ وَ هُوَ وَزِيرُ الْجَهْلِ الْإِيمَانُ الْكُفْرُ التَّصْدِيقُ التَّكْذِيبُ الْإِخْلَاصُ النِّفَاقُ الرَّجَاءُ الْقُنُوطُ الْعَدْلُ الْجَوْرُ الرِّضَا السُّخْطُ الشُّكْرُ الْكُفْرَانُ الْيَأْسُ الطَّمَعُ التَّوَكُّلُ الْحِرْصُ الرَّأْفَةُ الْغِلْظَةُ الْعِلْمُ الْجَهْلُ الْعِفَّةُ التَّهَتُّكُ الزُّهْدُ الرَّغْبَةُ الرِّفْقُ الْخُرْقُ الرَّهْبَةُ الْجُرْأَةُ التَّوَاضُعُ الْكِبْرُ التُّؤَدَةُ الْعَجَلَةُ الْحِلْمُ السَّفَهُ الصَّمْتُ الحذر [الْهَذَرُ] الِاسْتِلَامُ الِاسْتِكْبَارُ التَّسْلِيمُ التَّجَبُّرُ الْعَفْوُ الْحِقْدُ الرَّحْمَةُ الْقَسْوَةُ الْيَقِينُ الشَّكُّ الصَّبْرُ الْجَزَعُ الصَّفْحُ الِانْتِقَامُ الْغِنَى الْفَقْرُ التَّفَكُّرُ السَّهْوُ الْحِفْظُ النِّسْيَانُ التَّوَاصُلُ الْقَطِيعَةُ الْقَنَاعَةُ الشَّرَهُ ١الْمُؤَاسَاةُ الْمَنْعُ الْمَوَدَّةُ الْعَدَاوَةُ الْوَفَاءُ الْغَدْرُ الطَّاعَةُ الْمَعْصِيَةُ الْخُضُوعُ التَّطَاوُلُ السَّلَامَةُ الْبَلَاءُ الْفَهْمُ الْغَبَاوَةُ الْمَعْرِفَةُ الْإِنْكَارُ الْمُدَارَاةُ الْمُكَاشَفَةُ سَلَامَةُ الْغَيْبِ الْمُمَاكَرَةُ الْكِتْمَانُ الْإِفْشَاءُ الْبِرُّ الْعُقُوقُ الْحَقِيقَةُ التَّسْوِيفُ الْمَعْرُوفُ الْمُنْكَرُ التَّقِيَّةُ الْإِذَاعَةُ الْإِنْصَافُ الظُّلْمُ النَّفْيُ ٢الْحَسَدُ النَّظَافَةُ الْقَذَرُ الْحَيَاءُ الْقِحَةُ

Hisham, know the intellect and its host, and ignorance and its host, and you will be among the rightly guided. Hisham said: So I said: We know only what you have made known to us. So he, peace be upon him, said: Hisham, God created the intellect — and it is the first creature God created among the spiritual beings — on the right of the Throne, from His light. He said to it: Go back — and it went back. Then He said to it: Come forward — and it came forward. So God, majestic and mighty, said: I have created you a great creation and honoured you above all My creation. Then He created ignorance from the bitter, dark sea. He said to it: Go back — and it went back. Then He said to it: Come forward — and it did not come forward. So He said: You have grown proud. And He cursed it. Then He appointed for the intellect seventy-five hosts. And when ignorance saw what God had honoured the intellect with and what He had given it, it concealed enmity towards it, and ignorance said: My Lord, this is a creature like me; You created it and honoured it and strengthened it, and I am its opposite and have no strength against it. Give me of the host the like of what You have given it. So He, blessed and exalted, said: Yes; but if you disobey Me after that, I shall drive you and your host out of My neighbourhood and out of My mercy. It said: I am content. So God gave it seventy-five hosts. And among what He gave the intellect of the seventy-five hosts was: good — and it is the vizier of the intellect; evil — and it is the vizier of ignorance. Faith, unbelief. Assent, denial. Sincerity, hypocrisy. Hope, despondency. Justice, injustice. Contentment, displeasure. Gratitude, ingratitude. Despair, covetousness. Trust, greed. Compassion, harshness. Knowledge, ignorance. Chastity, shamelessness. Abstinence, desire. Gentleness, roughness. Awe, boldness. Humility, pride. Deliberateness, haste. Forbearance, foolishness. Silence, babbling. Submission, haughtiness. Surrender, tyranny. Pardon, rancour. Mercy, hardness. Certainty, doubt. Patience, anxiety. Overlooking, vengeance. Sufficiency, poverty. Reflection, inadvertence. Retention, forgetfulness. Mutual joining, severance. Contentment, greed (1). Mutual sharing, withholding. Love, enmity. Fidelity, treachery. Obedience, disobedience. Submissiveness, overbearing. Safety, affliction. Understanding, obtuseness. Knowing, disavowal. Forbearing courtesy, open contention. Soundness in absence, guile. Concealment, divulging. Piety, undutifulness. Genuineness, procrastination. The good, the reprehensible. Prudent concealment, broadcasting. Equity, wrongdoing. Freedom from envy (2), envy. Cleanliness, filth. Modesty, impudence.