Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty HARDWARE HACKING
Joe Grand Author of Stealing the Network
Ryan Russell Author of Stealing the Network and Hack Proofing Your Network, Second Edition
And featuring Kevin D. Mitnick Technical Reviewer
Foreword by Andrew “bunnie” Huang
Lee Barken Marcus R. Brown Job de Haas Deborah Kaplan
Bobby Kinstle Tom Owad Albert Yarusso
Syngress Publishing,Inc.,the author(s),and any person or firm involved in the writing,editing,or production (collectively “Makers”) of this book (“the Work”) do not guarantee or warrant the results to be obtained from the Work.
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PUBLISHED BY Syngress Publishing,Inc.
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Hardware Hacking: Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty
Page Layout and Art:Patricia LupienEditorial Assistant:Michael Rubin
Distributed by O’Reilly & Associates in the United States and Jaguar Book Group in Canada.
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge the following people for their kindness and support in making this book possible.
To Jeff Moss and Ping Look of Black Hat for being great friends and supporters of Syngress.
A special thanks to Kevin Mitnick for sharing his invaluable expertise and knowledge,and to Darci Wood for her support of this book and the Syngress publishing program.
Syngress books are now distributed in the United States by O’Reilly & Associates,Inc.The enthusiasm and work ethic at ORA is incredible and we would like to thank everyone there for their time and effort in bringing Syngress books to market:Tim O’Reilly,Laura Baldwin,Mark Brokering,Mike Leonard,Donna Selenko,Bonnie Sheehan,Cindy Davis,Grant Kikkert,Opol Matsutaro,Lynn Schwartz,Steve Hazelwood,Mark Wilson,Rick Brown,Leslie Becker,Jill Lothrop,Tim Hinton,Kyle Hart,Sara Winge,C.J.Rayhill,Peter Pardo,Leslie Crandell, Valerie Dow,Regina Aggio,Pascal Honscher,Preston Paull,Susan Thompson,Bruce Stewart,Laura Schmier,Sue Willing,and Mark Jacobsen.
The incredibly hard working team at Elsevier Science,including Jonathan Bunkell,Duncan Enright,David Burton,Rosanna Ramacciotti,Robert Fairbrother,Miguel Sanchez,Klaus Beran,and Rosie Moss for making certain that our vision remains worldwide in scope.
David Buckland,Wendi Wong,Daniel Loh,Marie Chieng,Lucy Chong,Leslie Lim,Audrey Gan,and Joseph Chan of STP Distributors for the enthusiasm with which they receive our books.
Kwon Sung June at Acorn Publishing for his support.
Jackie Gross,Gayle Voycey,Alexia Penny,Anik Robitaille,Craig Siddall,Darlene Morrow,Iolanda Miller,Jane Mackay,and Marie Skelly at Jackie Gross & Associates for all their help and enthusiasm representing our product in Canada.
Lois Fraser,Connie McMenemy,Shannon Russell,and the rest of the great folks at Jaguar Book Group for their help with distribution of Syngress books in Canada.
David Scott,Tricia Wilden,Marilla Burgess,Annette Scott,Geoff Ebbs,Hedley Partis,Bec Lowe,and Mark Langley of Woodslane for distributing our books throughout Australia,New Zealand,Papua New Guinea,Fiji Tonga, Solomon Islands,and the Cook Islands.
Winston Lim of Global Publishing for his help and support with distribution of Syngress books in the Philippines.
To all the folks at Malloy who have made things easy for us and especially to Beth Drake and Joe Upton.
Technical Editor & Contributor
Joe Grand;Grand Idea Studio,Inc. Joe Grand is the President and CEO of Grand Idea Studio,a product design and development firm that brings unique inventions to market through intellectual property licensing.Many of his creations,including consumer electronics, medical products,video games and toys,are sold worldwide.
A recognized name in computer security and electrical engineering,Joe’s pioneering research on product design and analysis,mobile devices,and digital forensics is published in various industry journals.He is a co-author of Hack Proofing Your Network,Second Edition (Syngress Publishing,ISBN 1-928994-70-9) and Stealing The Network:How to Own the Box (Syngress,ISBN 1-931836-87-6).
Joe has testified before the United States Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on the state of government and homeland computer security,and is a former member of the legendary hacker think-tank,L0pht Heavy Industries.He has presented his work at numerous academic,industry,and private forums,including the United States Naval Post Graduate School Center for INFOSEC Studies and Research,the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations,the USENIX Security Symposium,and the IBM Thomas J.Watson Research Center.Joe holds a BSCE from Boston University.
Joe is the author of Chapter 1 “Tools of the Warranty Voiding Trade,”Chapter 2 “Electric Engineering Basics,”Chapter 3 “Declawing Your CueCat,”and Chapter 13 “Upgrading Memory on Palm Devices.”
Contributors
Lee Barken (CISSP,CCNA,MCP,CPA) is the co-director of the Strategic Technologies and Research (STAR) Center at San Diego State University.He has worked as an IT consultant and network security specialist for Ernst & Young’s Information Technology Risk Management (ITRM) practice and KPMG’s Risk and Advisory Services (RAS) practice.Lee is the co-founder of the San Diego Wireless Users Group and writes and speaks on the topic of wireless LAN technology and security.He is the technical editor for Mobile Business Advisor Magazine, and the author of How Secure Is Your Wireless Network? Safeguarding Your Wi-Fi LAN (ISBN:0-13-140206-4).
“Let’s be grateful for those who give us happiness;they are the charming gardeners who make our soul bloom.”—Marcel Proust
With deepest appreciation for my charming gardeners,a special thank you to my love Stephanie,my mom and dad,Frieda and Israel,my brothers,Derren and Martin,my sister Randi and her husband Scott,my Uncle Harry and my Grandmother Sophie.Thank you for your support and love.
Lee is the author of Chapter 10 “Wireless 802.11 Hacks.”
Marcus R.Brown is a software engineer at Budcat Creations.His work includes writing low-level drivers and system-level programming such as resource management,file loading,and audio streaming.He is currently working on an unannounced title for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.Marcus lives in Las Vegas,Nevada.
Marcus is the author of Chapter 9 “Hacking the PlayStation 2.”
Job de Haas is Managing Director of ITSX BV,a Dutch company located in Amsterdam.ITSX BV provides security testing services in the broadest sense.Job is involved in testing,researching,and breaking security aspects of the latest technologies for corporate clients.In assignments for telecommunication operators and mobile phone manufacturers,Job gained experience with the internal operations of modern phones.
Job holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Delft Technical University.He previously held positions at the Dutch Aerospace Agency (NLR) as a robotics researcher and at Digicash BV as a developer of cryptographic applications.He lives in Amsterdam,The Netherlands.
Job is the author of Chapter 12 “Can You Hear Me Now? Nokia 6210 Mobile Phone Modifications.”
Deborah Kaplan (PCP) is an independent consultant focusing on revision control systems,system administration tools,release engineering,and open-source software. Deborah has developed enterprise-wide technology infrastructure,integrating telecommunications with heterogeneous Windows and UNIX environments.She specializes in building tools that automate repetitive tasks and monitor systems for performance tuning.
Deborah holds a bachelor’s degree from Haverford College and a master’s degree from Simmons.
Deborah is the author of Chapter 14 “Operating Systems Overview”and Chapter 15 “Coding 101.”
Bobby Kinstle works in the Reliability Engineering department at Apple Computer,Inc.where he performs destructive simulations of extreme use and abuse of the products.His specialties are performing voltage and frequency margin analysis as well as detailed thermal performance studies.He also performs environmental testing,mechanical shock and vibration,and repetitive stress testing.Bobby also designed and built the lab’s test network of over 600-switched Ethernet ports with 4-gigabit fiber optic backbones and NetBoot servers as well as the department data center.When projects are slow Bobby teaches Mac OS X Server training classes within the company.
ix
Bobby is the author of Chapter 4 “Terabyte FireWire Hard Drive Case Mod”and a coauthor of Chapter 5 “Macintosh Hacks.”
Tom Owad is the owner and Web master of Applefritter,www.applefritter.com,a community where the artist and the engineer meet.Applefritter provides its members with discussion boards for the exchange of ideas and hosts countless membercontributed hardware hacks and other projects.Tom is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and International Affairs from Lafayette College, Pennsylvania.
Tom is a co-author of Chapter 5 “Macintosh Hacks.”
Ryan Russell has worked in the IT field for over 13 years,focusing on information security for the last seven.He was the primary author of Hack Proofing Your Network,Second Edition (Syngress Publishing,ISBN 1-928994-70-9) and Stealing the Network:How to Own the Box,Syngress Publishing (ISBN:1-931836-87-6,and is a frequent technical editor for the Hack Proofing series of books.He is also a technical advisor to Syngress Publishing’s Snort 2.0 Intrusion Detection (ISBN:1-93183674-4).Ryan founded the vuln-dev mailing list,and moderated it for three years under the alias “Blue Boar.”He is a frequent lecturer at security conferences,and can often be found participating in security mailing lists and website discussions. Ryan is the Director of Software Engineering for AnchorIS.com,where he’s developing the anti-worm product,Enforcer.One of Ryan’s favorite activities is disassembling worms.
Ryan is the author of Chapter 6 “Home Theater PCs.”
Albert Yarusso is a principle of Austin Systems (www.austinsystems.com),an Austin, Texas-based firm that specializes in web design programming and hosting services. Albert’s background consists of a wide range of projects as a software developer,with his most recent experience focused in the game industry.Albert previously worked for Looking Glass Technologies and more recently for Ion Storm Austin,where he helped create the highly acclaimed PC game “Deus Ex.”
Albert co-founded AtariAge (www.atariage.com) in 2001,a comprehensive website devoted to preserving the history of Atari’s rich legacy of video game consoles and computers,which has become one of the busiest destinations on the web for classic gaming fans.In 2003,Albert helped bring the first annual Austin Gaming Expo (www.austingamingexpo.com) to Austin,an extremely successful event that drew over 2,000 visitors in its first year.
Albert is the author of Chapter 7 “Hack Your Atari 2600 and 7800,”Chapter 8 “Hack Your Atari 5200 and 8-Bit Computer,”and Chapter 11 “Hacking the iPod.”
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Foreword Contributor
Andrew “bunnie”Huang (PhD) is a staff engineer with Luxtera,and a part-time research staff with the California Institute of Technology.He also heads up a private consultancy firm,Xenatera LLC.bunnie is the author of Hacking the Xbox.bunnie has a broad background in electronics and firmware that comes in handy for various hardware hacking and reverse engineering projects.bunnie holds a PhD, M.Eng,and SB from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,and is a member of the IEEE.He lives in San Diego,CA,with his fiancée,Nicole Justis.
Technical Reviewer
Kevin D.Mitnick is a security consultant to corporations worldwide and a cofounder of Defensive Thinking,a Las Vegas-based consulting firm (www.defensivethinking.com).He has testified before the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs on the need for legislation to ensure the security of the government’s information systems.His articles have appeared in major new magazines and trade journals,and he has appeared on Court TV, Good Morning America, 60 Minutes,CNN’s Burden of Proof and Headline News,and has been a keynote speaker at numerous industry events.He has also hosted a weekly radio show on KFI AM 640,Los Angeles.Kevin is also author of the best-selling book, The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security.
Hacking—and in particular,hardware hacking—has experienced a bit of a renaissance recently.I am personally quite pleased about the increased interest in hacking.Your interest in this book, Hardware Hacking:Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty,is a testament to the increased demand for knowledge about hardware hacking.I’d like to take a few pages and a few minutes of your time to share with you why your interest in the topic makes me happy as a fellow hardware hacker.
First allow me to pontificate on the meaning of the word hack.The term has evolved quite dramatically over the years.Hacking has shaped technology perhaps as much as technology has shaped our perception of the hacker.According to The New Hacker’s Dictionary (a publicdomain lexicon of jargon created by hackers,www.jargon.8hz.com):
hack:1./n./ Originally,a quick job that produces what is needed,but not well.2./n./ An incredibly good,and perhaps very time-consuming,piece of work that produces exactly what is needed. 1
The second sense of the word is perhaps the closest to the definition I associate with the word hack.Thus,it follows that a hacker is one who labors to create good,typically innovative solutions to targeted problems.This book you are about to read was editted by a true hacker,Joe Grand,and it speaks mostly to the class of hacks that address the need to adapt and improve on existing consumer solutions.
As you can see,my view of hacking is a rather romantic and idealized one.I eschew the Hollywood stereotype of a hacker as a slovenly, socially maladept person with a bent for vengeance,data theft,or per-
haps a penchant to blithely play a game of deploy-the-nuke inside NORAD’s computers.Although there are certainly such elements in today’s hacker culture,I prefer to focus on promoting the more socially redeeming aspects of hacking.I believe that hacking is rooted in a desire to play with and understand technology,a modern manifestation of the values of exploration,passion,and hard work that date back to the first explorers and settlers of this country.Furthermore,hacking is a kind of grass-roots technology movement,in contrast to the kinds of technology movements that are forwarded by corporations and governments.As a result,hackers tend to play the part of proxy for the masses when it comes to sorting out the interplay of technology,society,and business.As technology continues to infuse our daily lives,it is becoming more important for society to bring its representatives to the technology direction table. It is interesting and perhaps informative to see how hardware hacking has evolved over the years.In the early days of electronics,common hobbyists—hackers of sorts,but the term wasn’t coined back then—could cobble together unique,useful,and sometimes outright impressive pieces of hardware that could match commercially available products in both performance and quality.In fact,some of the projects that hackers labored over in their garages went on to form the roots of today’s technology.
Roll the calendar back to 1938:A young Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard get together and invent,in their garage,a high-quality piece of audio test equipment,the HP200A resistance-capacitance audio oscillator. Hewlett and Packard continued on to found the company we know today, and its rich history of engineer-friendly products helped forge the technology base we now enjoy.Most people are familiar with HP as a manufacturer of computers and printers,but HP’s richest contributions to technology have been through enabling technologies,such as the tools engineers require to do their jobs.I myself use an HP48GX calculator,and I have an HP1650B logic analyzer on my desk,on top of my old HP8410C network analyzer.
Another well-recognized example of a company and technology with roots in the hacker community is Apple Computer.Roll back to 1976: Steve Wozniak debuts the Apple I at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto,California.The Apple I was designed over a period of years as a hobby machine,a true product of the hacking culture.Wozniak joined
forces with Steve Jobs,and the two went on to found the Apple Computer that brought us the Apple II and the now ubiquitous Macintosh computer.
The gritty grass-roots hacking culture in the early days of electronics technology served as a kind of incubator for innovation that has resulted in many of the products we enjoy today.Hewlett and Packard,Jobs and Wozniak are just two examples of the influence of the hacker spirit on our society.The basic values of hacking—creating a good thing that is exactly what is needed at a particular time—are a good match with innovation. Furthermore,hackers’independently motivated nature means that thousands of ideas are tested and built by hackers in the absence of venture capital or the risk constraints of investors.Hackers play an important part in the growth of technology,so I am always pleased to see a greater interest and awareness of hacking in the general public.
Recently,hacking has taken on more of a software-oriented bent.This is due in part to the steady pace of hardware improvement guaranteed by Moore’s Law.Hardware hacking is a time-consuming labor of love,and it is discouraging to know that almost any hack you can think of to double a computer’s performance will be obsolete within 12 months.It is much more rewarding to work in the instant-gratification world of software and let the performance of your programs ride the Moore’s Law wave.
Another factor working against hardware hackers is the barrier of entry that was created by the higher levels of integration that naturally followed as a result of Moore’s Law.The hackability of the desktop PC met a turning point in the evolution of the IBM PC-XT to the IBM PC-AT.The IBM PC-XT motherboard was chiefly composed of chips that were essentially naked logic gates.This was very hacker-friendly,since most of the core functionality was exposed at a human-friendly scale.The IBM PC-AT,on the other hand,was one of the first desktop computers to use VLSI chips for the processor support logic.I remember my first look at the PC-AT motherboard:I was hoping to be able to read the board like a book,with all the logic gates’part numbers gleaming in their fresh white silkscreen against the matte epoxy bodies of chips.What I saw instead was a closed book;there were perhaps three or four curious,high pin-count chips with part numbers and a manufacturer’s logo I had never seen before.These chips were proprietary,and any hope of a deeper level of understanding or hardware exploration seemed to be dashed.
I think perhaps a lot of prospective hardware hackers felt the same way around then,because since then hacking has taken on a distinct software-oriented slant.Some of the most famous hackers today are renowned for their software contributions.Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds are perhaps household names among the technological elite due to their fantastic contributions to free software through GNU and Linux.The best part about software hacking is its very low barrier of entry.Any willing youth with access to a computer and an Internet connection can plug into any of the various free software efforts and make a contribution to the technology collective.All the tools required to generate high-quality code are virtually free,and aside from the time investment,it costs nothing to use them.On the other hand,hardware hacking has a very real entry cost associated with the activity;there is a bare minimum set of tools that are needed on a daily basis,and an unfortunately large and diverse assortment of expensive,specialized tools is required to accomplish specific jobs.Furthermore,producing a hardware hack typically requires real materials in addition to time and energy,thereby placing creative and/or bold (read:risky) hardware-hacking projects beyond the financial horizon of most young folk.Given that human nature is to follow the path of least resistance,it is no surprise that hacking today is primarily a software affair.
In a twist of fate,recent macro-economic and social trends have worked to reverse the trend and bring more people into hardware hacking.The detritus of the dot-com bubble created fertile soil for sprouting hardware hackers.An overall reduction in demand for components,design,and manufacturing services has resulted from the economic slowdown.High-quality,used test equipment is trickling down into the ranks of hackers,either snatched off the shelf of dead companies or snapped up for pennies on the dollar at auction.Scrap components are also finding their way into distribution,driving down component prices.Combined with an overall soft demand situation,individual hackers are able to command the same level of service and component choice as large corporations.Furthermore,fabrication and assembly services have been forced to drive their prices down,to the point where hardware hackers could purchase high-tech,custom-built multilayer boards for under $50 per board.
Hardware design tool vendors also experienced a corresponding price adjustment due to the economic slowdown.Perhaps the most significant recent technological change for hardware hackers is the introduction of pro-
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Adam they would have seen the kingdom of heaven”. Ibn Umar reports that the Prophet was once asked as to where God is found either on earth or in heaven. “He is in the hearts of his faithful servants”, replied the Prophet.
It will not be out of place to throw some light here on the following terms which are often vaguely applied while dealing with the question of human nature.
1. Qalb (heart) has two meanings. (a) a conical shaped piece of flesh on the left side of the chest, circulating blood, the source of animal spirits. It is found in all animals. The heart thus belongs to the external world and can be seen with the material eyes. (b) A mysterious divine substance which is related to the material heart like the relation between the dweller and the house or the artisan and his implements. It alone is sentient and responsible.
2. Ruh (spirit) means (a) a vapoury substance which, issues from the material heart, and quickens every part of the body. It is like a lamp which is placed in a house and sheds its light on all sides. (b) The soul which is expressed in the Quran as ‘divine commandment’[17] and is used in the same sense as the second meaning of Qalb, mentioned above.
3. Nafs (self) which means (a) the substratum for appetite and passion. The Sufis call it the embodiment of vices. (b) The ego which receives different names in accordance with the qualities acquired from changes in its conditions. When in subjugating passions it acquires mastery over them and feels undisturbed, it is called the peaceful self (Nafsi mutmainna). The Quran says: “Nafs that art at rest. Return to thy Lord well pleased with Him, well pleasing.” When it upbraids man for his actions it is called conscience (Nafsi lauwama). When it freely indulges in the gratification of his passions, it is called theinordinateself(Nafsi ammara).
HUMAN FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY[18]
Actions are either voluntary or involuntary. The difference between them is not of kind but of degree. Analyse the process of an involuntary action and you will find that if, for example, a man intends to thrust a needle in your eye or draws a sword to strike on your head, your eye in the former case will at once close and in the latter your hand will suddenly be raised up to shield your head. This prompt action on the part of your eye and hand is due to your consciousness of the evil to be evaded, and this gives rise to volition which moves the eye and the hand without the least delay. There are, however, cases the desirability or rejection of which needs meditation, but the moment mind decides, the decision is carried out as promptly as in the above example. This meditation translated into choice or rejection constitutes will. Now will makes its choice between two alternatives and takes its cue either from imagination or reason. For example, a man may be unable to cut his own throat, not because his hand is weak or a knife is not available, but because will is lacking which would give the stimulus to suicide. For man loves his own life. But suppose he gets tired of his life, owing to having harrowing pains and unbearable mental sufferings. He has now to choose between two alternatives which are both undesirable. A struggle commences and he hangs between life and death. If he thinks that death which will put an end to his sufferings quickly is preferable to life with its lingering intolerable pains, he will choose death although he loves his life. This choice gives rise to will, the command to which, communicated through proper channels, would then be faithfully executed by his hand in the manner of suicide. Thus, though the process from the commencement of mental struggle for the choice between too alternatives down to the
stimulus to physical action is uniformly determinate there is at any rate a sort of freedom traceable in the will.
Man holds the balance between determinism and freedom. The uniform succession of events is on the lines of determination but his choice which is an essential element of will is his own. Our Ulamas have therefore coined a separate phrase: Kasb (acquisition), distinguishing it from Jabr (necessity) and Ikhtiyar (freedom) They say that fire burns of necessity (Jabr) but man may acquire fire through the appropriate methods, while in Almighty God is the ultimate cause of fire (Ikhtiyar). But it must be noted that when we use the word Ikhtiyar for God, we must exclude the notion of choice, which is an essential element of will in man. Let it be here recognised once for all as a general principle that all the words of man’s vocabulary when used for God’s attributes are similarly metaphorical.[19]
The question may be asked: If God is the ultimate cause why should there be a causal connection in the orderly succession of events? The answer to this lies in the correct understanding of the nature of causation. Nothing causes anything. Antecedents have consequents.[20] God alone is the efficient cause, but the ignorant have misunderstood and misapplied the word power. As to the orderly succession of events, let it be understood that the two events are conjoined like the relation between the condition and the conditioned. Now certain conditions are very apparent and can be known easily by people of little understanding, but there are conditions which are understood only by those who see through the light of intuition: hence the common error of miscalculating the uniformity of events. There is a divine purpose linking the antecedents to the consequents and manifesting itself in the existing orderly succession of events, without the least break or irregularity. “Verily”, says the Quran. “We did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them in sport. We did not create them both but with truth, but most of them do not know”.[21]
Surely, there is a set purpose pervading the universe. The uniform succession of events is not at random. There is no such thing as chance. Here again it may be asked: If God is the efficient cause, how will you account for actions attributed to man in the scriptures? Are we to believe that there are two causes for one effect? My answer to this will be that the word cause is vaguely understood. It can be used in two different senses. Just as we say that the death of A was caused by (1) B. the executioner, and (2) C the king’s order. Both these statements are correct. Similarly God is the cause of actions as He has creative power and efficiency. At the same time man is the cause of actions as he is the source of the manifestation of uniform succession of events. In the former case we have a real causal connection, while in the latter a relation of the antecedent to the consequent after the manner of the connection between the condition and the conditioned. There are passages in the Quran where the word cause is used in different senses.
“The angel of death who is given charge of you shall cause you to die: then to your Lord you shall be brought back”.[22] “Allah takes the souls at the time of their death”.[23]
“Have you considered what you sow?”[24] “We pour down the water, pouring it down in abundance. Then we cleave the earth; cleaving it asunder. Then we cause to grow therein the grain”.[25]
“Fight them: Allah will chastise them by your hands and bring them to disgrace”.[26] “So you did not slay them, but it was Allah who slew them, and thou didst not smite when thou didst smite, but it was Allah who smote, that he might confer upon the believers a good gift from himself”.[27]
These passages show that the word, cause, signifies creative power, and must be applied to God alone. But as man’s power is the image of God’s power the word was applied to him figuratively. Yet, just as the death of a culprit is caused by the actual killing by the hand of the executioner and not the king’s order, so the word cause actually applied to man is contrary to fact. God alone is the real
efficient cause, and the word must be applied to him in its root sense of power.
It may be asked then, why man should be rewarded for his good actions and punished for his misdeeds. Let us consider first the nature of reward and punishment. Experience tells us that things have natural properties and that physical laws operate in a uniform manner. Take, for example, the science of medicine. Certain drugs are found to possess certain qualities. If a man swallows poison of his own accord he has no right to ask why poison kills him. Its natural property has simply operated in his system and caused his death. Similarly actions make an impression on mind. Good and bad actions are invariably followed by pleasure and pain respectively. A good action is its own reward of pleasure and a bad one of pain. The former works like an elixir; the latter like poison. The properties of actions have been discovered, like discoveries in medicine, but by the physicians of the heart, the saints and the prophets. If you will not listen to them you must suffer the consequence. Now hear a parable:
A certain king sent a horse, a robe of honour, and travelling expenses to one of his suzerains in a distant land. Although the king had no need of his services, the royal gift was a favour shown to his suzerain, so that he might come to the king’s court and be happy in his presence. If the suzerain understands the king’s intention from the nature of the gift and utilizes it properly with a grateful heart, he will wait on the king and live happily, but if he misuses the gift or takes no heed of it, he will prove an ungrateful wretch.
It is thus that the boundless mercy of the omnipotent and omniscient God bestowed on us the gift of life, providing us with bodily organs, mental and moral faculties, so that we uplift ourselves by utilizing them properly, and be worthy of being admitted into his holy presence. If we misuse them or pay no regard to them, surely we shall be (Kafirs) (literally “ungrateful”) for his blessings bestowed on us for our good, and thus be doomed.
“Verily,” says the Quran, “we created man in the best make. Then we render him the lowest of the low. Except those who believe and do good, so they shall have a reward never to be cut off”.[28] . [29] .
The Allegory ofthe Pen
A certain devotee who was on the way to illumination saw a piece of paper with lines written on it. “Why”, said the devotee, “hast thou blackened thy bright face?” “It is not fair to take me to task”, replied the paper, “I have done nothing. Ask the ink why she has sallied forth from the inkstand where she was quite at ease, and forcibly blackened my face”. “You are right” said the devotee. Then he turned to the ink and enquired of her. “Why do you ask me”, she said, “I was sitting still in the inkstand and had no mind to come out but this truculent pen rushed at me, drew me out and scattered me over the page. There you see me lying helpless, go to the pen and ask him”. The devotee turned to the pen and interrogated him about his high-handedness. “Why do you trouble me”, answered the pen, “Look, what am I? an insignificant reed. I was growing by the banks of silvery streams amidst shady green trees, when lo: a hand stretched at me. It held a knife, which uprooted me, flayed me and separated my joints, hewed me, cleaved my head then, chopped it off. I was sent headlong towards the ink, and have to serve abjectly. Do not add insult to my injuries, go to the hand and ask him”. The devotee looked at the hand and said: “Is it true? Are you so cruel?” “Do not be angry, Sir” replied the hand “I am a bundle of flesh, bones, and blood. Have you ever seen a piece of flesh exerting power? Can a body move of itself? I am a vehicle used by one called vitality. He rides on me and forces me round and round. You see, a dead man has hands but cannot use them because vitality has left them. Why should I, a mere vehicle, be blamed? Go to vitality and ask him why he makes use of me.” “You are right”, said the devotee, and then questioned vitality. “Do not find fault with me”, answered vitality, “Many a time a censurer himself is reproved, while the censured is found faultless. How do you know that I have forced the
hand? I was already there before he moved, and had no idea of the motion. I was unconscious and the on-lookers were also unaware of me. Suddenly an agent came and stirred me. I had neither strength enough to disobey nor willingness to obey him. That for which you would take me to task I had to do according to his wish, I do not know who this agent is. He is called will and I know him by name only. Had the matter been left to me I think I should have done nothing.” “All right”, continued the devotee, “I shall put the question to will, and ask him why he has forcibly employed vitality which of its own accord would have done nothing”. “Do not be in too great a hurry”, exclaimed will, “perchance I may give you sufficient reason. His majesty, the mind, sent an ambassador, named knowledge, who delivered his message to me through reason, saying: ‘Rise up, stir vitality’. I was forced to do so, because I have to obey knowledge and reason, but I know not why. As long as I receive no order I am happy, but the moment an order is delivered I dare not disobey. Whether my monarch be a just ruler or a tyrant, I must obey him. On my oath, as long as the king hesitates or ponders over the matter I stand quiet, ready to serve, but the moment his order is passed my sense of obedience which is innate forces me to stir up vitality. So, you should not blame me. Go to knowledge and get information there”. “You are right,” consented the devotee, and proceeding, asked mind and its ambassador, knowledge and reason, for an explanation. Reason excused himself by saying he was a lamp only, but knew not who had lighted it. Mind pleaded his innocence by calling himself a mere tabularasa. Knowledge maintained that it was simply an inscription on the tabularasa, inscribed after the lamp of reason had been lighted. Thus he could not be considered the author of the inscription which may have been the work of some invisible pen. The devotee was puzzled by the reply, but collecting himself, he spoke thus to knowledge: “I am wandering in the path of my enquiry. To whomsoever I go and ask the reason I am referred to another. Nevertheless, there is pleasure in my quest, for I find that everyone gives me a plausible reason. But pardon me, Sir if I say that your reply, knowledge, fails to satisfy me. You say that you are a mere inscription recorded by a pen. I have seen pen, ink, and
tablet. They are of reed, a black mixture, and of wood and iron, respectively. And I have seen lamps lighted with fire. But here I do not see any of these things, and yet you talk of the tablet, the lamp, the pen and the inscription. Surely you are not trifling with me?” “Certainly not”, returned knowledge, “I spoke in right earnest. But I see your difficulty. Your means are scanty, your horse is jaded, and your journey is long and dangerous. Give up this enterprise, as I fear you cannot succeed. If, however you are prepared to run the risk, then listen. Your journey extends through three regions. The first is the terrestrial world. Its objects pen, ink, paper, hand etc. are just what you have seen them to be. The second is the celestial world, which will begin when you have left me behind. There you will come across dense forests, deep wide rivers and high impassable mountains and I know not how you would be able to proceed. Between these two worlds there is a third intermediary region called the phenomenal world. You have crossed three stages of it, vitality, will, and knowledge. To use a simile: a man who is walking is treading the terrestrial world: if he is sailing in a boat he enters the phenomenal world: if he leaves the boat and swims and walks on the waters, he is admitted in the celestial world. If you do not know how to swim, go back. For, the watery region of the celestial world begins now when you can see that pen inscribing on the tablet of the heart. If you are not of whom it was said: ‘O ye of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’[30] prepare thyself. For, by faith you shall not simply walk on the sea but fly in the air”. The wondering devotee stood speechless for awhile, then turning to knowledge, began: “I am in a difficulty. The dangers of the path which you have described unnerve my heart, and I know not whether I have sufficient strength to face them and to succeed in the end”. “There is a test for your strength”, replied knowledge, “Open your eyes and fix your gaze on me. If you see the pen which writes on the heart, you will in my opinion, be able to proceed further on. For he who crosses the phenomenal world, knocks at the door of the celestial world, then sights the pen which writes on hearts”. The devotee did as he was advised, but failed to see that pen, because his notion of pen
was no other but of a pen of reed or wood. Then knowledge drew his attention, saying: “There’s the rub. Do you not know that the furniture of a palace indicates the status of its lord? Nothing in the universe resembles God,[31] therefore his attributes are also transcendental. He is neither body nor is in space. His hand is not a bundle of flesh, bone, and blood. His pen is not of reed or wood. His writing is not from ink prepared from vitriol and gall. But there are many who ignorantly cling to an anthropomorphic view of Him, there are few who cherish a transcendentally pure conception of Him, and believe that He is not only above all material limitation but even above the limitation of metaphor. You seem to be oscillating between these two views, because on the one hand you think that God is immaterial, that His words have neither sound nor shape; on the other hand you cannot rise to the transcendental conception of His hand, pen and tablet. Do you think that the meaning of the tradition “Verily God created Adam in His own image”[32] is limited to the visible face of man? Certainly not: it is the inward nature of man seen by the inward sight which can be called the image of God. But listen: You are now at the sacred mount, where the invisible voice from the burning bush speaks: “I am that I am;”[33] “Verily I am thy Lord God, put off thy shoes”.[34] The devotee, who listening with rapture, suddenly saw as it were a flash of lightning, there appeared working the pen which writes on hearts-formless. “A thousand blessings on thee, O knowledge, who hast saved me from falling into the abysm of anthropomorphism (Tashbih). I thank thee from the bottom of my heart. I tarried long, but now, adieu”.
The devotee then resumed his journey. Halting in the presence of the invisible pen, politely he asked the same question. “You know my reply” answered the mysterious pen, “You cannot have forgotten the reply given to you by the pen in the terrestrial world”. “Yes, I remember,” replied the devotee, “but how can it be the same reply, because there is no similitude between you and that pen”. “Then it seems you have forgotten the tradition: Verily God created Adam in his own image”. “No, Sir”, interrupted the devotee, “I know it by
heart”. “And you have forgotten also that passage in the Quran: “And the heavens rolled up in his right hand.”[35] “Certainly not”, exclaimed the devotee, “I can repeat the whole of the Quran by rote”. “Yes, I know, and as you are now treading the sacred precincts of the celestial world I think I can now safely tell you that you have simply learnt the meaning of these passages from a negative point of view. But they have a positive value, and should be utilised as constructive at this stage.[36] Proceed further and you will understand what I mean”. The devotee looked and found himself reflecting upon the divine attribute omnipotence. At once he realised the force of the mysterious pen’s argument, but goaded by his inquisitive nature he was about to put the question to the holy being, when a voice like the deafening sound of thunder was heard from above, proclaiming: “He is not questioned for his actions but they shall be asked”. Filled with surprize; the devotee bent his head in silent submission.
The hand of the divine mercy stretched towards the helpless devotee; into his ear were whispered in zephyr tones: “Verily those who strive in our way we will certainly show them the path which leads to us”[37] . Opening his eyes, the devotee raised his head and poured forth his heart in silent prayer. “Holy art thou, O God Almighty: blessed is thy name O Lord of the universe. Henceforth I shall fear no mortal: I put my entire trust in thee: thy forgiveness is my solace: thy mercy is my refuge.”
(Light may be thrown on the matter by consideration of the unity of God.[38])
