Haya’ in Sufism is more than shyness. In the chapter on haya’ in his Risala, Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri (d. 465 AH) treats it as a living awareness that Allah sees you. He opens the chapter with the verse “Does he not know that Allah sees?” (Qur’an 96:14) and the hadith الحياء من الإيمان, “Haya’ is part of faith” (al-Bukhari). This guide walks through that chapter in plain English, working from the Arabic text (al-Risala al-Qushayriyya, Arabic edition on archive.org).
Quick answer
Short answer: For Qushayri’s teachers, haya’ is the state born when you see Allah’s blessings on one side and your own shortcomings on the other. It is part of faith, and the Prophet explained true haya’ before Allah as guarding the head, the body and the heart’s attachments.
The Prophet’s explanation of true haya’
Qushayri cites the hadith of Ibn Mas’ud. The Prophet told his companions to have haya’ before Allah as He deserves. They said they did, praise be to Allah. He answered that true haya’ means guarding the head and what it holds, guarding the stomach and what it contains, remembering death and decay, and leaving the adornment of this world for the one who wants the Hereafter (al-Tirmidhi).
In other words, haya’ here is not a feeling in the face. It is a way of looking after what you think, see and hear, what you take in, and what you set your heart on.
Junayd’s definition
Asked about haya’, al-Junayd said it is seeing the blessings and seeing your own shortcoming, and from between the two a state is born that is called haya’. Qushayri’s teacher Abu Ali al-Daqqaq gave a shorter one: haya’ is giving up all claims before Allah. Another definition in the chapter calls it the heart drawing in out of reverence for the Lord.
The kinds of haya’
The chapter lists several kinds of haya’, each tied to an example. Some of them, in paraphrase:
- Haya’ over a wrong done: Adam, asked whether he was running away, answered that it was out of haya’ before his Lord.
- Haya’ over falling short: the angels who say, “Glory be to You, we have not worshipped You as You deserve.”
- Haya’ of reverence: Israfil, who wraps himself in his wing out of haya’ before Allah.
- Haya’ of generosity: the Prophet ﷺ, who felt shy to ask people to leave. Qushayri follows this with Qur’an 33:53.
- Haya’ of feeling small: Musa, who said a worldly need would come to him and he would feel shy to ask his Lord. He was told: ask Me even for the salt of your dough and the fodder for your sheep.
The last example is a gentle lesson in itself. Haya’ is not meant to stop you from asking Allah for small things. It makes you ask with humility.
Haya’ and the other stations
Al-Sari al-Saqati says that haya’ and intimacy with Allah knock at the heart. If they find renunciation (zuhd) and scrupulousness there, they stay. If not, they move on. Dhu al-Nun al-Misri contrasts three states: love makes you speak, haya’ makes you silent, and fear makes you restless (compare our guide to fear and hope). Ibn Ata calls awe and haya’ the greatest knowledge: when they leave, no good remains.
Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad warns from the other side. Among five signs of wretchedness (shaqa’) he names a hard heart, dry eyes, little haya’, desire for the world, and long hopes.
Admonish yourself first
Several reports in the chapter turn haya’ on the one who teaches it. The chapter relates that Allah said to Isa: admonish yourself, and if you take the admonition, then admonish people; otherwise, feel haya’ before Me for admonishing them. When someone told Abd Allah ibn Manazil that a preacher had spoken about haya’, he exclaimed: how can someone without haya’ before Allah speak about haya’?
A simple way to practise, drawn from Junayd’s definition: at the end of the day, name a few blessings you received, then a few ways you fell short. Sitting with both at once is where haya’ begins. For more on this kind of review, see our guide to muhasaba, and on character more broadly, good character.
FAQ
What does haya’ mean in Sufism?
Haya’ is modesty or shame before Allah. In the Risala, al-Junayd defines it as the state born from seeing Allah’s blessings and seeing your own shortcoming.
Is haya’ just shyness?
No. The Prophet called it part of faith, and in the hadith of Ibn Mas’ud he explained true haya’ before Allah as guarding the head, the stomach and the heart’s attachments, and remembering death.
Does haya’ mean I should not ask Allah for small things?
No. In the example of Musa in the Risala, he is told to ask even for the salt of his dough. Haya’ shapes how you ask, with humility.
Source: Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri, al-Risala al-Qushayriyya, Bab al-Haya’, Arabic text: archive.org.
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