Short introduction to Ibn Arabi's Fusus Al-Hikam ( Wisdom of the Prophets)

INTRODUCTION

TO IBN ARABI’S

FUSUS AL-HIKAMBESHARA SCHOOL WWW.BESHARA.ORG

Table of Contents

I. Concerning the Absolute Unknowable – ghayb-i-mutlak; the Unknowableness of Ipseity; Non-Manifestation; First Manifestation; the Presence of the ‘ama; degrees in the ‘ama; degree of Uniqueness.............................................................................3

II. Concerning the Arc of wujûb, and the Arc of imkân; kaba kawsayn; degrees of nafs-er-rahmân....................................................................................................................5

III. Concerning qâbil and fa’il..........................................................................................6

IV. Concerning the Names and Qualifications.................................................................7

V. Concerning the a’yân-i-thâbita...................................................................................9

VI. Concerning the five hadarât (hadarât-i-hamsa).......................................................10

VII. Concerning Being and the Perfect Man; the degree of ‘even less’ (aw adna)........11

VIII. Concerning the Name Allah......................................................................................14

IX. Concerning Envoyship, Prophethood and Sainthood (rasul, nabî, walî). ...............17

X. Concerning Manifest and Hidden Knowledge and the Union of the Manifest and Hidden Knowledge....................................................................................................19

XI. Concerning the Station of Love.................................................................................21

XII. Concerning the Way and the Seeker (salik)..............................................................22

XIII. Concerning the Reality of Realities – known also as the Reality of Mohammed – Total Spirit – Qualified Union..................................................................................24

XIV. Concerning tajallî.....................................................................................................25

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I. Concerning the Absolute Unknowable – ghayb-i-mutlak; the Unknowableness of Ipseity; Non-Manifestation; First Manifestation; the Presence of the ‘ama; degrees in the ‘ama; degree of Uniqueness.

Now let it be known, the Divine Unknowableness is divided into two tempers or natures. The first part of these two is Absolute and free from all qualification, from all law, from all regularisation and from all relativity (even collective relativity) and the reason why this is called a temper is not because It is a temper, for It is indescribable in Itself. It may only be described because Its second nature indicates the first, which is the origin. Consequently, this first Absoluteness is in His state of Uniqueness and away from all description, qualification, name, etc., and one cannot say anything about that state. One cannot even qualify It with Oneness, or call It Existence, or call It by Self Invention. One cannot even qualify It by ‘a Source from which everything comes out’; and cannot even qualify It by knowledge of Itself or knowledge of other things, and It is clear of all adjectives and Names which It later has. The Beautiful Names are at this point in non-existence (undifferentiation). At this point hu is hu and hu is not He, and we say this only to explain to you what It is, not as a qualification of the hu. And no relativity is possible, but It is with Ipseity fixed. The reason why we call It Unique is to be able to understand the situation. Even the word ‘Unique’ is not applicable although we use it to explain It by Uniqueness or Oneness, but there is not even a description of this situation, because there is no other explicability. In no way can one understand Him at this state, and It cannot be known or described or qualified. All manifestation then (subsequent to this) is knowable only from that point on, which proves that it must have existed in Him or it would not have come out of Him.

All the possibilities that might emanate from Him that we observe and all those that we do not observe – we call these possibilities a’yân-i-thâbita. And the collective name for all these infinite possibilities is the Immutable Possibilities. (They are immutable because they are fixed in His Ipseity. The quality of His Uniqueness, even though uniqueness is only at this stage a description of that which is indescribable, and the state of a self-subsistence Absoluteness cannot be expected to be subject to variability. If variability were possible, there would then ensue a state of relativity, as opposed to Absolute Self-Subsistence. However, the Ipseity in this state is completely, uniquely Absolute, therefore there is no question of variability, hence He is at this state fixed in His Ipseity, therefore all the possibilities therein contained are immutable.) The Existence of all other things emanating from this source, the expressions of these are the manifestation of the a’yân-i-thâbita, with the collusion of the nafs-er-rahmân (the Compassionate Ipseity). But we also see that the Compassionate Ipseity is an added ipseity to the Ipseity. “I have imposed upon myself nafs-er-rahmân.”

The second nature is the first ta’ayyun and this is the first devolution from the Absolute Unknowable, and it is the key and the Presence of the Names, because its interior is the ‘ama (the blindness) at which point is the concentration of the nafs-er-rahmân; and it is the interior on which is dependent the Uniqueness and the ‘ama, and this is the Presence of all the Names and Qualities. The first degree of the manifestation is the manifestation known as the

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ta’ayyun evvel, because in relation to the ghayb-i-mutlak it is manifestation and according to the rungs that come after it, it is Unknown. And this second nature – ta’ayyun evvel – is again divided into two parts: the first one of which is the Absolute Unknowableness which is the one face of it, and the second face is the relationship of this to the Name ‘Manifest’ (zâhir) which Name still remains in the Unknowableness; and because nothing that is empty can exist this proves the existence of the hidden interior (bâtin). But this relationship does not accept separation of the bâtin from the Unknowable, because this relationship is no other than a uniting link between zâhir and the Absolute bâtin, which is no other than a link between the two natures, and is no other than the Order (amr) which includes all this. This in fact is the reality of the link between the first and second parts of the second nature, between but prior to Oneness. Because of this being so and being nothing other than a conceptualisation of what is to come, therefore the ‘ayn here is not in manifestation.

This relationship is explicable thus – there is a face for the zâhir which is individuation and plurality and another face for the bâtin which is Unknowableness and Absoluteness, and this relationship which is the result of the two natures which in origin are one, is nothing other than a relationship, not of relativity – one to the other – consequently not a relationship of ‘order’ (amr), of existence, but a relationship of mentation and concept. It is a relationship of Intellect not of result. It also has another face and that face is Complete Truth and the station of the Complete Man which performs this barzakhiyya by virtue of its original Absoluteness. Again, this Truth is like a mirror in which is reflected (manifested) the relationship of Servant and Master – but not yet the Names – only the possibility. At this isthmuseity you must understand the Beautiful Names or qualifications are in two different modes – some of them are Names of Ipseity, some of them are Names of reciprocity. The complete collection of all that has gone before is reflected as the qualities of the Godhead (Oneness).

The second part of this second division is the idea of the relative individuation of the Possibilities which are in the mentation of the First Statement or Overflowing. Hence, God envisioned His Ipseity through His Ipseity at this level of His primal manifestation. Consequently His Ipseity became manifest to Him together with His Names of Ipseity and their principial relativity, which means that their manifestations are the manifestation consequent to the order of the position (place, degree) of the cumulative place of Uniqueness of Ipseity and manifestation of the totality. This station is the station of Uniqueness of Ipseity, and this station of the Uniqueness of Ipseity with the order implied in it of total manifestation is the ta’ayyun evvel. And the mentation of the relative plurality and the individuation which was in the principial relativity caused the subsequent individuations of manifestation: hence the Name Manifest. And the second manifestation was in the mentation of the first manifestation. Consequently it is at that point that the Principial relativity of the differentiation of Names became distinguishable one from the other and the Ipseity became manifest at Its own second degree and this is the second manifestation, ta’ayyun sani.

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II. Concerning the Arc of wujûb, and the Arc of imkân; kaba kawsayn; degrees of nafs-er-rahmân.

In this temper, by virtue of the multitude of images in the mentation appearing in the ta’ayyun sani, this temper is again divided into two parts. The first part includes the kawsi wujûb – the arc of what is necessarily intrinsically so, and this includes Divine Names and Qualities. The other part is the arc of Possibilities – kawsi imkân – and that one includes the Realities of Appearances and the manifestation and description of Possibilities. These two arcs are necessary for each other and qualify each other – therefore existence cannot be imagined without one or the other. Between the two arcs, what is manifested is the Perfect Man, who includes equally the Reality of Realities, the Truth of the Truth, the Reality of wujûb, the relativity of action, and the Names and Reality of Possibilities, and this is inscribed by the double truth of the two arcs and effective on all that is in the universe. He (Perfect Man) is the co-relator of both sides into one and joiner of the two seas, zâhir and bâtin, and this is the position of the manifestation of hu, the position (maqâm) of the joining of the two arcs – kaba kawsayn.

Let it be known thus that for the nafs-er-rahmân, degrees are established. The first degree is the concentration of the nafs-er-rahmân in the collective Unknowableness of the Heart, prior to the first ta’ayyun. The second degree is the prolongation of the nafs-er-rahmân from its centre of the pre-manifestation (i.e. without manifestation) into the heart of man. The third degree in the manifestation of the nafs-er-rahmân is the ta’ayyun evvel. (In the heart of man, the prolongation of this nafs is prior to the ta’ayyun evvel.) The fourth degree is the manifestation of the nafs-er-rahmân in its isthmuseity between the ta’ayyun evvel and non ta’ayyun and its joining of these two considerations – that is joining (collecting) between la ta’ayyun and ta’ayyun, and it is equally each of the two or both of the two, exactly as the zâhir is the same as the bâtin – exactly again as it happened in the ta’ayyun evvel, it was the bâtin that manifested as the zâhir. The fifth degree is the prolongation of the nafs-er-rahmân beyond the ta’ayyun evvel and into all other forms.

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III. Concerning qâbil and fa’il.

Qâbil and fa’il (receptive and active) – this is included in the source of Ipseity. Therefore this spiritual ‘steam’ became established in the images of light, and consequently the ‘ama (Great Blindness) became visible. After this the devolution of the Ipseity took a form which is Its prolongation in three ways. One of these ways is the supreme way, one of these is the low way, and the third of these ways is global, unique and isthmusing. Consequently, in the source of the Ipseity, all the reality of actions and the reality of receptions became obvious (established) – consequently the manifested (zâhir) images of the ‘ama also took place. The two images became obvious – one of which is the image of the Lord (rabb), the other of which is that which acknowledges Lordship (marbub). The first way includes all the realities of the ‘ama of the images of Lordship and its prolongation including all actions etc., the second one includes all the receiving, marbub, etc. The middle road of this is the combination of the two. The middle section is binding and combining. In this, high, low, manifest, secret, wujûb and imkân are combined. It is not differentiated from either side, but it is uniting the two sides in one global combination, and it is perhaps the addition into Uniqueness of each part. That which emerges in this middle section is obviously insan-i-kâmil, which unites both sides and is the link. God leads to proper direction whom He wishes.

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IV. Concerning the Names and Qualifications

Let this be understood that because they are in a state of annihilation in the Ipseity of Truth, all Names and Qualities are the same as the Ipseity Itself. At this point hu is hu and hu is not He; and Uniqueness of Ipseity and the Qualities and Names with It are at this stage the same as all the other Names and Qualities. Neither identification or individuality has yet taken place – there is no difference between any of them. It is like the tree in the seed – all the leaves, the bark, etc., are all in the same state as yet. But when there has been manifestation of the Ipseity, the forms of the Qualities which are the Realities of the Names appear and differentiate themselves one from the other – as do the leaves and the fruit etc. The differentiation happens because of the Qualities inherent in the Names and this first happens in the presence which is the Presence of Knowledge of the Ipseity. For each name there is a portion of manifestation which is delineated to that Name. Therefore some of the leaves are covering and large – which are in front – some of the leaves are small and hidden, some of the leaves are small and obvious, some of the leaves are large and hidden, some of the leaves overlap and some do not overlap and are not overlapped. Some of these Names are Names of the Ipseity and some of the Names are Names of Qualities and some of the Names are active, and of these are the three different categories of the Names. For each category of these Names the established order is individuated from the other established order for the other Names. And for each category of Names there is a completion expected: there is a Name in proposition, there is a Name in action, and there is a Name in completion, and for each Name this is different and peculiar and this peculiarity is its truth which is completely differentiated from the other ones. Therefore for each Name of this categorisation, in its completion there is a Lordship resultant for that Name, and the Lordship for that Name is not the same as that established for another Name. For example, for the Names Allah and rahmân there is the possibility either to be distinct, or to overlap, and indeed these two may overlap all other Names in such a way that this overlapping is peculiar to these Names, and no other Name has an overlapping which is equal to these two. Consequently, each name does not denote the Ipseity, but it does denote its Quality and separate truth without overlapping. Also, for each Name there are two aspects. One points to the Ipseity and the other points to its own meaning, for which it has been appointed, and it demands that Quality. This way one Name becomes different from another Name, and becomes different from what it is called and what is called after it, because it denotes the Ipseity. Then all the Names are results, because that which they name is One, therefore that One becomes called by all the Names and consequently becomes Itself the biggest Name (ism’u a’zam), and becomes the same as what it is called, which is the Ipseity.

All the Names are not known. Infinite in number, only the Names in actual manifestation are known. And all the Names that are not in actual manifestation, though they are not manifested, they are still manifested, and they remain in the state of thubut. Nobody knows about them unless God Himself engages somebody from among the rasul or the nabî or walî and takes him to know from the knowledge of His own Presence of Knowledge, and opens up to him from there, and lets him see the manifested Names there. Therefore all the Names known are Names of things that have been actually manifested. These Names are divided

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into two. They are Names that are required or Names that derive from some Quality. Those Names that are required are either Names of Realities, in which case there is no qualification in them – like hayy (Life) or mujib (Necessarily-so-ness) or they are Names of Qualifications, like being awwal (First) or âkhir (Last), or they are double qualifications that demand an object, like halik (Creator), or like Knowledge that needs a Knower, or irada that needs someone that acts upon it. Now the derivative Names are like ghanî (Richness) or quddus (Holiness); consequently they are Qualities of God, and are divided into two parts. One part is qualification – collective and complete and embracing Names – and these are called the seven imams (the Seven Leaders) – which are hayy (Life), alîm (Knowledge), murid (Willer), kadir (Able), sami’ (Hearer), basir (Seer), kelîm (Speaker). And the other part is Names other than these which are qualities of particles, not totalities, like halik (Creator), razak (Nourisher).

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V. Concerning the a’yân-i-thâbita

The a’yân-i-thâbita are the images of the Names and Qualities of God and their original happenings within the Presence known as the ‘Self-Knowledge of the Ipseity’. So that the Divine Ipseity in the Presence called Knowledge is manifest to Itself in these images and they are there immutable (thâbita – fixed, established) in eternity, and are not qualified by existence. They are mentations contained in the Presence (hadara) of Knowledge in the Ipseity, of images of infinite, immutable, fixed possibilities of Names, Qualities and happenings in the Ipseity, and which have no existence as yet, other than being simple mentations of possibilities. So that the Ipseity with intrinsic and inherent and particular manifestations is revealed to them in His hadara of Knowledge, in their image, determined by their possibility, and thereby they are immutable in eternity and are as such not qualified by existence. Equally, the a’yân-i-thâbita are the immutable realities of the possibilities in the Divine Knowledge. Consequently, for the a’yân-i-thâbita there are two aspects and one of them is this – that the a’yân-i-thâbita, because they are the images of the Names and Qualities, are the Divine Realities, and the other aspect is that they are the bases and the realities of all possibilities. Consequently, according to the first consideration, they are like the body to the spirit, and according to the second consideration, they are like the spirit for the body. And the a’yân-i-thâbita within the Divine Knowledge are manifest and resultant through the Most Holy Effusion (fayd al-aqdas). And the a’yân of possibilities are resultant in the exterior according to their subject and their necessity through the Holy Effusion ( fayd al-muqadas), but the a’yân-i-thâbita are not qualified by extension because they are not existent in the exterior, whereas a thing that is qualified by extension must also exist in the exterior. “The a’yân have not smelt even the scent of existence”.

What exists is this, what is manifested in the mirror of the a’yân through the agency of the Holy Effusion is the images of the a’yân. Hence all the images in the immanence and the manifestation of the World of Possibilities are nothing other than the images of the a’yân-i-thâbita of the images of the Names and Qualities.

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VI. Concerning the five hadarât (hadarât-i-hamsa).

Let it thus be known that there is no limit to the number of Divine Presences. However, because of the consideration of five universes, there are five presences. One of these is the Presence of Absolute Unknown – ghayb-i-mutlak - which is the Presence of the a’yân-i-thâbita and the Reality of Knowledge. The reverse of this hadara is the hadara of Sense and Witnessing (hiss-i-shuhud) which is also called the Universe of mulk – Possession and Containment – and the Universe of Immanence and Corruptability (fasad). Between these two hadarât is the Presence of Absolute Illusion, and between the hadara of Absolute Illusion and the hadara of Absolute Unknown is the hadara of the Spirits of the Necessarily-so-ness – that is to say – detached intelligences and suchnesses – and again between the hadara of Absolute Illusion and the hadara of Witnessing, there is the hadara of Relative Illusion, which is the Universe of Sleep, and these five hadarât all together are the hadara of completely englobing Perfect Man, and he is the result and total of all these hadarât. Hence the degree of the hadara of the insân-i-kâmil is the sixth hadara according to Ali (son-in-law of the Prophet). According to each of the propounders of such knowledge, the five hadarât are thus divided, either into five or six hadarât. Those who divide it into five rather than six hadarât give the following exegesis: the first hadara is in both cases the same – the Absolute Unknown – ghayb-i-mutlak. Equally, they enumerate as the second hadara the hadara of jebberût, but as the third hadara they enumerate the hadara of melekût – which in itself is divided into two sections, the first being the hadara of melekût proper, i.e. the Spirit (arwah), and the second part being the hadara of mithâl (Illusions). On the fourth hadara they are again in concord – which is called the hadara of shuhud. Under this consideration, which is equally described by and ascribed to by Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi, those who prefer to enumerate five hadarât in explanation of the hadarât-i-hamsa (five Presences) consider the hadarât of melekût and mithâl to be one hadara. The fifth is the hadara of insan-i-kâmil, which includes, contains and unites in itself all the other four.

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VII. Concerning Being and the Perfect Man; the degree of ‘even less’ (aw adna).

Now, let it be known that Being is One. For that Being there is manifestation and this is the Universe, and to that Being there is also the hidden part which is the esma’ (Names). There is also a uniting isthmus which connects the Universe to the esma’, so that because of this isthmus the interior becomes separated from the exterior and the exterior becomes separated from the interior. The manifestation becomes distinct from the interior and the interior from the exterior, and the link is the Perfect Man. The interior is the mirror for the manifestation and the manifestation is the mirror for the interior. What is in between is a global connection and is a mirror for an interior manifestation, in the same way as the Ipseity of Truth (God) is the Global Book and is the matrix of all union, and this before the globality as individuated in the Book. And the knowledge of haqq of Itself is the individuation of this Book, in which that which is global, in the Ipseity, is clarified and individuated. In the same way the Perfect Man is the Global Book and the matrix of all union and the individuations in the Book are the individuations of manifestation and Its own knowledge of Itself is this Book with all Its identification and Its individuations within Itself. That which is the result of will-power (action) and globality is clarified and individuated; consequently God’s knowledge of Himself is the mirror of Himself and the Ipseity is manifest in it and individuated in it.

Equally, the knowledge of the Perfect Man is for the Perfect Man its own mirror and it is manifest in it and is individuated by it. Consequently, between the insan-i-kâmil and the Ipseity of God from the point of view of completion and union and differentiation of things there is equality. Again, between the knowledge of God and knowledge of insan-i-kâmil from the point of view of manifestation there is equality, because that which is united in the insan-i-kâmil is the individuation of the Knowledge. Consequently, the Perfect Man is the complete mirror to the Ipseity of Truth, consequently because of this equality, from the point of view of the unification and the completion of the Ipseity concerning the interior and the exterior of manifestation there is equality, then the knowledge of the Perfect Man is the mirror of the knowledge of God because the knowledge of God is manifested into that mirror. Consequently everything that is in the Ipseity and included in the totality of Being, all that is included in the Perfect Man, in the totality and unification of Being. And in God all that is individuated as manifest relative existence is in the Perfect Man in the same way. Indeed, even God’s knowledge is Perfect Man’s knowledge that His Essence is the Perfect Man’s essence and this without union and without fusion because union and fusion are the result of two different beings, and this is not the case. Hulûl (infusion) is also consequent on there being two different beings and this also is not the case, because beings that exist, exist only in the existence of God and have no existence of their own. Therefore, between the Ipseity of God and the Ipseity of the Perfect Man, between God’s knowledge and the Perfect Man’s knowledge, there is equality from the point of view of union and individuation.

In the same way there is the same equality between the Most High ‘Pen’ and the spirit of the Perfect Man, equality between the Heart of the Perfect Man and the Guarded Tablets ( lawh-i-mahfuz), equality between the Throne (arsh) and the body of the Perfect Man, equality between the Chair and the soul of the Perfect Man. Also each of these things is a perfect

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mirror to that to which it is equal, so that all which is united in the Most High Pen is united in the Perfect Man, and each thing that is individuated in the Guarded Tablets is individuated in the heart of the Perfect Man, where all things that are united in the Throne are united in the body of the Perfect Man, and all that is individuated in the Chair is individuated in the soul of the Perfect Man. Hence the Perfect Man is the embracer of all the Divine and immanent Writings. As obviously God’s Knowledge of Himself requires His Knowledge of all things, and His Knowledge of Himself is the result of His Knowledge of every thing because the Ipseity of the Perfect Man completely, globally and individuatedly unites the Ipseity of everything, consequently: “He who has known himself has known his Lord.” As a result, the Most High Truth (God), the Universe and the Perfect Man together are the Book in which there is no possibility of doubt in any part.

Let it be known thus, that as it was mentioned before the degree of the Perfect Man is between the Ocean of wujûb (kawsi wujûb), which is the Divine Names, and the Truth of God; and between the Ocean of Possibilities and the Images of Immanence, and the Truth of Possibilities, and it is established by the two sides, and it controls and looks over both sides, and is the isthmuseity between the two Oceans. The person who has not reached this degree is in appearance a man but in reality is not a man. And in the Universes the person who appears as Viceregent manifests or appears from this degree. If a person is not established in reality in this degree, he has not reached the degree of completion or the degree of Viceregency and he is neither a Viceregent nor a complete murshid (teacher).

Above this degree is the degree of ‘even less’ which is the degree of superlative perfection and that is the degree of annihilation in Uniqueness and it is the degree of the Reality of Mohammed and this degree is by origination the degree of Mohammed and the degree of the Perfect Ones of his Heirs. However, let it be known thus that the Perfect Man – more complete and perfect of which there is not in all the universes – is the one that is in the degree of Expressive Self and people like Mohammed and his Heirs who are from this degree, are at the ‘degree of Spiritual Power’ and these are the degrees which come through the line of all the Prophets (nabî) and they are of the people who are in the ‘degree of Sensitivity’ (feeling) and these are the walî, who are the Heirs of the Prophets. What is left behind after all these, are people who are in the shape of people but in nature are of the realm of animals and are of the spirit of animals, and they give only the impression of growing. And looking on all that we have said, you can see that it is obvious that the universe is the Big Man (insâni azam), or the Perfect Man or the Macrocosm, which is prior in arrangement so that the Perfect Man can manifest in it, exactly as He first fashioned Adam out of mud and water and then blew of His Spirit in him and with this, the universe became the Complete Man. And in the image of the universe the spirits are like the images manifested in the illusion of man, and

In explanation of the‘Expressive Self’: If the Perfect Man is in annihilation in the Uniqueness which is the ghayb-i-mutlak – then how is he at this point in the Expressive Self? The ghayb-i-mutlak is the Presence of God in complete withdrawal from all manifestation, yet which contains all the possibilities and consequently the mentation of self-expression which is manifestation. It is at this point of mentation of self-expression and the conceptually consequent expression in facto and the link between the two i.e. the mentation of the self-expression of the Ipseity and its actual expression, (which is manifestation) which is the Station or Degree of the Expressive Self. Then the first initial ‘I’ in the sentence “I was a hidden treasure …” which we refer to equally as the degree or the station manifested by the sound ‘Hu’, where again the Hu is yet Hu and not He, and the link between the two, is the Expressive Self.

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the genii are also like the images of khayâl (illusion), hence there is no universe possible without that universe having in it the existence of the Perfect Man.

Therefore there cannot be the beginning of man unless there is the Perfect Man and there cannot be Perfect Man without the image of God, therefore the Perfect Man is the complete manifestation of the Divine Image. Consequently it so appears as if the body of the universe is animated by the spirit of the Image of God and the Perfect Man. However, the priority of the place of reflection for the image reflected in it is only conceptual because essentially there is neither before or after. Exactly as the two Names awwal (the First) and âkhir (the Last) are equally the Names of Him.

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VIII. Concerning the Name Allah.

… the Name Allah is the Name of the existent Ipseity individuated in the degree of Divinity and thereby It is qualified by such things as rabb, rububiyah (Lord, Lordship); by virtue of the fact that the Ipseity is unqualified, It is not Its Name. It is Its Name because It is the Ipseity, which brings into being the Names and Qualities and not by virtue of the fact again of Its Absolute Ipseity, which is ghanî, because at this point there can be no Name to It and It can have no other way of Name to It except the particularity of Ipseity. And the Name Allah is, by its internal and manifest letters, composed of six letters. One letter is alif and also perhaps the hamza by pronunciation and two lams and the second alif, which appears in pronunciation, after the second lam and ha and because of the two damma, which the ha carries, there appears as a waw; but this is only when the ulûhiyya, which is the Divinity, which is what this points to, becomes qualified.

At the degree of His Knowledge this word becomes seven letters, but the Sheikh al Akbar did not attach undue importance to this, because Divinity is the meaning of this Name and it is not because of its letters of interior and exterior. Now the first alif is the image of the first individuated ta’ayyun evvel and it is the first ismi-i-zâhir, because when the ta’ayyun evvel separated from la ta’ayyun (non-individuation), at that point the first Name of zâhir became individuated. Hence the ta’ayyun evvel in relation to la ta’ayyun is shahâdet-i-zâhir, that is manifested vision, and with respect to the degrees below it, it is both ghayb and interior. That means that the alif of nafs-er-rahmân, which extended from the interior of the ta’ayyun evvel and became individuated in the degree of the ta’ayyun evvel, became extended into the interior of the heart of man as the alif of insân. And in the degree of the heart, then it became individuated by the hamza, the hiatus, the fact that the hamza which is the alif, which is the image of the ta’ayyun evvel points that what will follow will divide itself from it. So that in the ta’ayyun evvel, nothing is yet attached, tied, to the haqq by virtue of the manifestation and individuation of the haqq; because in the ta’ayyun evvel the degree is that of “kan allahu wa la shay’a ma’ah” (“There is God and there is not with Him a thing”). There was God, and the Divine Name and the images of Immanence in multiplicity are there in potential and the existence of the haqq before dividing Itself by the manifestation of Its Names is in the degree of ghanî, because the plurality of the Divine Names is manifest by the manifestation of the Universe. But the Universe is not in it existent. The plurality of the Names is in mentation and are of relative plurality; they are not the plurality of existence and in the same way, because the alif of the Ipseity is individuated at that degree by the Quality of Ipseity and by this, consequently, haqq is ghanî from the Universes because the first ta’ayyun is the same as the second ta’ayyun. There is no difference between the two ta’ayyun except in the fact that in the la ta’ayyun there is no individuation and in the ta’ayyun there is individuation, but the Names in one are in annihilation and in the second case, they are actually present.

The first of the letters, lam, indicates the connection of the haqq to the Universes by virtue of the fact that the haqq is manifest through the Realities of the Universe, since the Realities of the Universe are mirrors to the Reality and that the Reality is manifest in them and they are

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hidden in the Reality. The second lam points at the relationship of the connection of the Universe of the haqq to the Reality by virtue of the fact that in the unknowable Reality, some of the Universes are apparent to the others. It so happens that the existence of Reality becomes a mirror to the Universe and in the existence of Reality, the Universe becomes manifest and the Reality is hidden. The second alif points at the relationship of the ‘Name of the interior’ (ism-i-bâtin); that alif is only apparent in pronunciation, but not in writing, exactly as ism-i-bâtin is apparent through its effect, but not apparent by itself. And the ha which refers to the unknowable (huwiyyah) Ipseity, which joins together, encompasses, both sides of the first and the last and the apparent and the hidden and the melekût and the ghayb and shahâda, this ha then, points to that which is upon the Throne of the ruh-i-idhafi, the Qualified Spirit, and that which was imprisoned in the Qualified Spirit, and that which was the revealed (nafas) in the heart of man and the alif which encompasses all these until it reaches the first alif which is the first alif of the unknown Divine Ipseity; because when the circle of the alif of the nafsi-insâni happens, its last point reaches its starting point and ha takes the form of a circle where the beginning is joined to the end. Which means that there is an alif which appeared in the shape of a ha there by joining its beginning to its end. Then the ha is the zâhir and the manifestation of the waw and the waw is the interior of the ha, because the beginning of the movement of the ha and its point of expression is from the inside of the chest, so that the nafsi-insâni reaches thereby the appearance of the manifest two lips through ha and after that it returns to the point of its origin, which is the interior of the chest, and it completes thereby its circle and this circular movement contains all the particularities of the point of exit of all the letters. Thus the movement of the ha is from the Universe of the Unknown to the Universe of Witnessing and then returns after that to its Source, which is the Universe of the Unknown, and waw and ha are one to the other compatible and one is not separate from the other. So then, waw having passed through all the exits of the letters and thus encompasses all the letters, equally ha with the Qualities passed through the exits of all the letters, then became manifested and thereby encompassed all the letters.

In the same way the alif of the nafs-er-rahmân at the beginning of the manifestation of existence extended from the heart of the interior of the ta’ayyun evvel and became encompassing in that Knowledge in the Ipseity, in the Presence of Uniqueness of Collectivity, which is the totality of things of the Ipseity and the a’yân of knowledges in the ghayb and the Realities of the Divine Actions and when extended until the end of the Presences of Possibilities and there being no place for the complete revelation of the individuation, other than itself, returned to itself and thus to the interior of the ta’ayyun evvel and thereby the circle of revelation has been completed. Also the alif of the nafs-i-rahmâni having encompassed the Reality of wujûb and possibility, tied the end of one to the other. Hence God encompassed everything by Knowledge and Existence. Consequently the alif which is only apparent in speech and which is joined to the second lam, became joined to the ha of the huwiyyah, which is the Ipseity and the alif appeared in the image of ha and this ha became the manifestation of the waw and this ha which is reflective of the unknowable of the huwiyyah became the manifestation (ha) of the waw, and the waw, which is reflective of the insân-i-kâmil, became, by being the bâtin of the ha, apparent after the ha because the order of Divinity is completed by the insân-i-kâmil and the interior and the result of Divinity is the Perfect Man. (Through equal and consequent considerations of one letter being the interior

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of the other and their prolongations and promulgations, the resultant is as follows): The mystery of the huwiyyah is the insân-i-kâmil having passed in its movement through the interior to the exterior, from the non-manifest to the manifest and finally in a circular movement, ended in the Ipseity. There is not a degree which this collective Name has not gathered in itself showing that all degrees of Divinity and immanence without any other degree being left outside of it, comes into manifestation and individuation in the Perfect Man, which is the meaning and the manifestation of that Name. Until it becomes the Mystery of the huwiyyah of Divinity, so that the orders of nafs-i-rahmâni and revelation of existence is completed and sealed by this. Therefore all mahamed, renderings of grace, refer to the meaning of the Name Allah. Consequently, according to the quote: “Invite Me and I shall answer you, remember Me and I shall remember you” (“ad’uni festejib lakun fazkaruni azkurkum”), zikr and da’wa (invitation) acts upon haqq in consequence of which, the haqq rememorates (zikr) the inviter and becomes attended and (muti) obedient to the inviter.

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IX. Concerning Envoyship, Prophethood and Sainthood (rasul, nabî, walî).

If a man is given Divine inspiration to become a prophet, unless he is also told to express this to people he is still a prophet but not manifested. If he is told that he is to conform according to certain laws but not express them he is again a Prophet and an Envoy, but only to himself, and he may follow a creed and law that is not the same as any other religion. Also there are Prophets and Envoys which may not give a new law; then there might be Prophets and Envoys which may have partial prophecy or a complete and all overriding envoyship and prophethood, and each of these degrees might be different according to the time in which they might be manifest, and according to the capacities of the people they are among. Then the inspiration of all these Prophets and people might be without a book and the institution of a new law and religion. Among these then there are again those who may be inspired by direct opening up of aspects and the showing of these to them. Or even others who might be taken to see certain of the unknown Divine mysteries included in the ghayb; those do not usually have a new law to give, but they are more like Khidr, because Khidr is between the state of Prophethood and Closeness. And this state is the state of Closeness and Singularity, and this is the station of Absolute Prophethood for which inspiration, or revelation, flows directly from God and this revelation is begotten by private Divine Inclination without any intermediary, and this can even happen among animals: “And We gave inspiration to the bee ...” (Koran). This is not peculiar only to animals but the same type of illumination and inspiration may take place in other existents, in which case they would not be called nabî or rasul, except in the case of an Archangel.

A law-giving envoyship is one of the degrees among the degrees of Sainthood of the Absolute Divinity, from which manifests these people who have a law-giving function, and this sort of prophethood is completed with Mohammed. After him there will not be a new law-giver, but Prophethood of explanation and Prophethood of re-adaptation and knowledge-giving will never be cut off. And this kind of Prophethood (Moses, Jesus, etc.) is higher in degree to other Prophethood because it includes the three degrees of Prophethood, Sainthood and Envoyship. In Envoys, the Prophethood and Sainthood is higher than the state of being an Envoy, because Sainthood is a Divine attribute, and Prophethood is like being a Ruler, by virtue of law-imposition, and an attribute of a ruler is ownership, and all ‘ownership’ is God’s; but messengers are to do with the human condition. On the other hand, a high degree of Envoyship is again higher than Sainthood, and an Envoy is higher in degree than a Prophet or a Saint, because in this case the Envoy is entrusted with a book which neither the Prophet nor the Saint has, and in law the Saint (walî) is subject to the book, and the subject cannot be higher than the imposer of the law.

The beginning of Prophethood is the end of the Sainthood and the end of the pinnacle of Intellect is the beginning of the pinnacle of Sainthood, but Sainthood, because it is an

1. Envoy = Messenger = rasul. An Envoy is greater than a Prophet or Saint if he has a book because the Prophet and Saint are subject to the laws of the Envoy. 2. Prophet = nabî. A Prophet is greater than an Envoy if he has direct inspiration; but at this time he is equally a Saint. 3. Saint = walî. A Saint is greater than an Envoy or a Prophet because he, the Saint, derives directly from a divine aspect.

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attribute of God, is permanent, eternal and all inclusive of universes and contains all the Divine and immanent degrees, whereas Prophethood is no other than one degree of these cumulation of degrees. But it is that servant’s annihilation and its fanâ in the Ipseity of God, and the Saint never manifests by his own person, and he is a hidden servant and he appears only if God makes him appear. If God makes him, he becomes an interior Saint and what is manifest, is manifested as servant, and if he is hidden he is hidden as a hidden servant and ‘abdullah’ (God’s servant) is never manifested or hidden by his own resolution. Then Sainthood has two faces – one face is Divine and global and interior Sainthood, and one face is manifested Sainthood which is individuated by human manifestation and this again is in two faces. One is the public Sainthood and the other is the special Sainthood. The public Sainthood also has two faces and one face is the Sainthood of all that have come between Adam and Mohammed, and the other face is the Sainthood of the other Saints and aqtab. Then there are other kinds of Saints and then private Sainthood is also divided into two parts. One is the Sainthood of all the degrees of the Divine Presences and they are called according to those, and there are the Saints who in every order of God are the Saints, and God is their director. Then there are the awlia’ (Saints) who are at the joining of the arcs that are the Perfect Man, and these are also divided into two. Some are the Saints that are closed, and there are the ones who are ‘sweet company’ (hoshiar) and some of them are annihilated and perfect, and some of them are overcome in contemplation, and some of them are drowned in the Uniqueness in the joining of the two arcs and are annihilated in the jamâl and jelâl of the Self-Subsistence (samad). They do not even know that they exist and do not worry about anybody else and they cannot tell other people about Him, and their constant lauding is Self-Subsistence. These people have no taste in the pinnacle of prophethood and they never ask people to learn anything, but on the other hand those who have been the hoshiar (sweet company) – they call people to understand the Truth and guide people and they give the cloak of Prophethood for others to wear.

The Sainthood that individuates itself in joining of the two arcs, is sealed by the Sainthood that is peculiar to the Mohammedian line. (As the manifestation of the archetypal Sainthood as comprehended in the Divine Name – walî – the Saint – the Perfect Saint.) The public Sainthood is sealed by the particular manifestation of Jesus as Perfect Saint. The Sainthood Divine, personal, Mohammedian, all-embracing, complete and supra-perfect, human Sainthood, which is the summum and private to the Uniqueness of the Ipseity and which is the link between Godhead and the Uniqueness, i.e. the barzakhiyya, is sealed by the most perfect heir of the Reality of Mohammed, who is the writer of the Fusus al Hikam. Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi wrote in one poem: “… and I am the Seal of the Mohammedian Sainthood.” And equally in another poem he wrote: “Indeed the Seals of Sainthood without doubt are the Heirs of Mohammed and Jesus.” Being the Seal of Sainthood only means that the person in himself combines and completes all the interior and possible expressions of the Sainthood. For the word Saint is a Divine quality and Name and therefore though it is qualified by both interior and exterior, it could not be sealed either by manifestation or by being hidden. And the Divine manifestation and the Perfection of Lordship is continuous and infinite, and can never stop; and the Sainthood deriving directly from Divine Sainthood without intermediary is forever existent in private aspects. And God leads to direct route whom He wants.

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X. Concerning Manifest and Hidden Knowledge and the Union of the Manifest and Hidden Knowledge.

As is known, God the Truth is both manifest and hidden. Manifestation is known through manifestation and the hidden is known through the hidden. Knowledge of manifestation divides itself into two. The first part of this knowledge of the manifestation is known from books which include laws, orders and beliefs that lead to perfection for everybody – and this knowledge is like the body to the knowledge of the hidden, and the second part of this knowledge of the manifestation is known through feelings and the senses of man and bodies and the five senses and through other members of the body and this is peculiar to man’s physical contact with manifestation and this includes sex. From all these grows out a knowledge which is the exterior action of the man. These two ways of knowledge expand into the horizons of the universe and therein witness the Acts of God. And taking this, they refer it to the hidden knowledge and the hidden knowledge itself divides itself into two parts.

The first part of this is knowledge which is drawn from the interior meanings of the Books, and this is the knowledge of Unity and this includes the Divine Secrets and the Truth of the Unknown and part of this is accomplished through the hidden senses and powers of the spirit together with the animal spirit, the intelligent spirit and the holy spirit in which these are mirrored, and the receiving heart. These reflect the acts of man – and having taken this from here, from the unknowable origin of man and the Reality of man, they relate it to the exterior. And this is like the knowledge of the spirit in comparison to the knowledge of manifestation. Exactly in the same way as the spirit does not manifest without the body, the hidden knowledge does not manifest without the knowledge of manifestation. Just as the body does not exist without the spirit, the knowledge of manifestation cannot exist without hidden knowledge. For the creature which comes into existence, as in the Divine image, it is necessary that there should be union of the two kinds of knowledge, so that he can observe the manifestation with the manifestation and the hidden with the hidden, so that he may unite the two, because for man perfection is the result of this state of union. Thus he does not, like some of the people concerned with manifestation, devote himself only to manifestation, and like some of the people on the other hand who devote themselves only to the interior, for he may not so devote himself. If this were done, then the sages of manifestation would be veiled from understanding what should be understood from the hidden knowledge. And they would resemble the people of Moses, who through the intellectual possibilities cannot or do not observe God in the degrees of Unknowableness (tanzîh). On the other hand, sages of the interior, equally by specialising in the knowledge of the interior, are veiled from that which is known through the manifest (zâhir), and they are like the people of Jesus who withdrew from the manifestation, and through their over-emphasis of the spiritual aspects do not observe God in the manifestation of immanence and senses.

That which the people of Mohammed were told to do is to combine both and to join the manifest and the hidden together, because this is the coming together of the two arcs and this degree is the degree of the Perfect Man and the degree of Viceregency. In these people the kaws-i-wujûb and kaws-i-imkân are united, and Perfect Man is existent in the joining of these

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two-sided arcs and is observant over both, and he is the isthmus between the two arcs. But from this point, the Perfect Man should neither give more importance to one or the other aspect, but direct himself to the super-perfection and pass beyond the station uniting in himself all the images of the senses, and all the inspirations of the intelligence, and of the Unknowable, and drawing from the realities of the Name of wujûb and with the realities of the manifested imkân (possibilities), and with the polished, reflecting heart, go towards the Presence of Uniqueness and make his heart the complete mirror of this. In this way he makes it the place of manifestation of everything and reaches the station of ‘even less’ (aw adna) and the Presence known as the Reality of Mohammed.

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XI. Concerning the Station of Love.

On the fact that the Station of Love is higher than all other stations whatever: because God’s Love is present in every possible station, and this is because He says: “I loved to be known ...” Consequently it is the highest possible station. The appearance of everything on earth and in the universes is due to Love. All stations which are reached before or after the Station of Love are meant for the Station of Love, and all these stations profit from the Station of Love because Love is the reality and the essence and the origin of Being and the beginning of manifestation, and from this Reality, all individuation takes place and consequently it is infused into every possible individuation. The reality of all the Stations of God is the Station of Love. The reality of all manifestation is the Station of Love. The reality of the Reality of Mohammed is Love; the existence of the Perfect Man is the cause and the result of Love and through the Perfect Man and its archetypal existence, Love permeates constantly in everything and all images. As all that emanates from “I was a hidden treasure ...” is through the action of Love, so reaching back into the ‘I’ is also through the action of Love. Love is the prime motive of all Being.

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XII. Concerning the Way and the Seeker (salik).

It is possible only by resolution to attain to the Uniqueness, and this is the Way of Oneness of the Ipseity, and the religion of all the envoys and prophets. Man in eternity is imaged upon that very same knowledge of Oneness, consequently all devolution into manifestation is equally based and established by that Oneness. “We gave you our laws like we gave to Noah and like we gave to those whom we have given inspiration, and we advised you like we advised Abraham and Moses and Jesus to establish these laws and advices and not to differentiate between any of them” (Koran). It is not possible in general to reach this degree of knowledge and height and go on this Universal Way which is the universally acknowledged Uniqueness of Ipseity, except through the agency of a Prophet or an Envoy or through the agency of a Viceregent i.e. a complete and perfect heir of someone who has acquired the degree of Viceregent of God. Though the envoyship and prophethood has stopped, that action continues and does not defect at any time from then on or ever, and the people who have reached these stations are aqtab and khulafa’. At any one moment, only one person reaches this degree of Divine Knowledge of Divinity and at that time all leadership to this way is in his hands and no other person is concerned with this at that time, because at that time this person is the Hand of God, and that person is the qutb. And through this qutb’s order or desire others which are his Viceregents, set and bring and guide people to this. Most of the people who are guided in this way are ignorant of the fact that though they are guided by other people who are Perfect Man, they are still being guided by this one man, and they think that any Saint can guide them, but really they are being guided by the qutb.

There are many Saints and men who have reached perfection in different stages – either through one Name including all other Names etc., but they are not equal to the person who has united in himself the Presence of Oneness. However, in every person or creature who guides to this, there is again the Hand and the Face of God. This person who is present at every instant is like the heart which is the abode of the spirit of God, and the other Saints and Viceregents are like members of His body; and the parts of the body are never like the whole body, because this person becomes the vision of God and in this respect in Uniqueness and Oneness is the state of the ‘complete knower’. What is necessary for the followers of this is to go from degree to degree and go through all the Names and possibilities to the Perfect Man who is the cumulation of this, and turn himself towards God reflected in the heart of Perfect Man. When you reach this point there remains only the love of God and everything else is secondary. Most of the awlia’ here come through exactly in this way, and they have withdrawn eventually from all the relative beingness and reached the Station of ‘even less’ and there become real with the Reality of Uniqueness.

And let it be known that men are of three kinds. One kind are the people of the left who are concerned with the things of the world. They turn their faces to the things of the world and their hearts are sealed by their own accord from willingness to know more than that. And the others are people of the right who are concerned with things of the other world and degrees of Paradise and they look upon this world only as much as necessary and these are the ‘believers’. The third category are the people who have been ‘brought close’. They are not

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of this world, nor of the other worlds because their hearts are mirrors and reflections of the Divine reflection. They are people of shuhud (witnessing) and people of kashf (insight) and taste and feeling and they are not veiled from witnessing the images of immanence and the beauty of Oneness. And their pleasure and the order they have received is to serve in leading people to the way of the One and to help the hearts of the people to relinquish more and more all the interests other than this. And they do not help people in the ways of the world which distance them from the circle of Dearness around the One. Their business is to remove all veils which prevent the union between God and servant and they lead to God. God has protected these people in the images of the world of immanence from the public and equally He protects them from the people who do good deeds in this world and equally protects them from the abdal who are the helpers of the qutb, who never appear with impotence in tassaruf (influence over destiny). They are exempt from the influence and power of the people of different degrees and stations and all the abdal and equally they are protected in the affairs of the immanence from the onslaught of the public. “My awlia’ are under My slippers. Nobody else knows who they are.” Only certain people of vision – people of kashf (insight) and knowledge accept and serve these people in no matter what manner these people appear to them, and they do not judge them by whatever their appearance is, but they watch the reflection of light from their hearts and they converse with them, and bring questions, and draw from them the light of knowledge.

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XIII. Concerning the Reality of Realities – known also as the Reality of Mohammed – Total Spirit – Qualified Union.

What all those Names together denote is this: the totality of God’s Names and Qualifications. And before the appearance of man they were in the Presence of Realities and Meanings as well as in the Presence of Spiritualities and ‘Heights’. At that point – the point before the appearance of man – this Reality of Realities acted upon all prophets, envoys and saints and believers concerning their own realities and spirits, through essential and spiritual means. Obviously this is another manifestation of the nafs-er-rahmân’s collusion, and again this imposition of the nafs-er-rahmân on Himself is the direct result of the cause; the prime motive of devolution, which is Love. After the manifestation of man and Adam in the same way to all the envoys, prophets and saints, it has through images of different immanences acted upon different individuated people, peoples, nations, their saints, prophets and envoys everywhere. And this Reality of Realities at the time of the appearance of Mohammed himself, has acted directly without agency of prophets etc. and after his death through his ‘himmah’ has gone on. It has never ceased to act, but during his time it acted directly through him and now it acts through his heirs, and the aqtab and the Saints. This agency which goes through all the aqtab and Saints in all infinity is forever existent, because without this agency being in action there cannot be manifestation nor the immanent world; because as is obvious, this agent is like the spirit to the body. As in the hadîth of the Prophet: “Indeed from my heirs and their heirs and their heirs, people from my ‘family’, men and women, will continue, and they shall go into the life beyond without reckoning.”

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XIV. Concerning tajallî.

The heart of the Perfect Man is made into sections like the bezels. The heart is the place of engraving and indication, and what is engraved is the Greatest Name (ism-i-a’zam). That is to say, the Ipseity is therein engraved with all the Names of God. This is the first Divine Order to be brought down, because this is the coming of the ism-i-a’zam and thereby the Divine manifestation, from the Holy Ipseity which is the ‘most ancient place’ (makâm-i-aqdam) meaning the ghayb, to the place of ‘engraving’, which are the hearts of the Words. And this is because of its manifestation and its manifestedness and also because the hearts of the Words already had the ability to accept the order and thereby become manifested, because in the hearts of the Words there is the Singularity of the Divine Plurality. That is to say the hearts of the Words are receptive to the order of completeness and totality of Singularity, and this book is for the recounting of the inclination, and the particular way of imbibing, of the people of completeness.

Now, know like this, in the ways of Reality the bringing down of orders was made in two different ways. These two ways include the innumerable ways, and the first is the way of orders of consequences, concatenations, one evolving from the other, and this way is from, (not from the ‘most ancient place’, but from) the ‘ancient place’ (qadim) which is the Presence of Godhead and Lordship. The second way is the way of mystery (sirr) which is the private face (wedjh-i-khass). In this second way there is absolutely no possibility of in-between or (inter)connection. Because the private face is that face which every existent has received due to his ‘ayn-i-thâbita, and because of that face he is attached to the Ipseity without a connection, with the connection of Itselfness. And this way of bringing down the order is from the ‘most ancient station’ (makâm-i-aqdam) which is the state of Ipseity of Uniqueness.

Let it be known that for everything there is an ‘ahadiyya’ (Uniqueness) which is private to it and this is from the Uniqueness of the ‘things’ of the Ipseity which are usually known as a’yân-i-thâbita or the Realities of Knowledge (haqaiq-i-ilmiye). And this is because for every instant that has been granted non nonconformity to the essence, there is a uniqueness which is running through every instant of the instants of the Ipseity, and this running throughness is the running throughness of the Ipseity. Therefore of all the instants, every instant is the same as the Ipseity of the Uniqueness, and of all the instants every instant is the same as every other instant in the Uniqueness in the Ipseity, because of the annihilation of the instants in the Ipseity. Equally, the Ipseity Itself is the same as all the instants because they have no monopoly. Then if the Reality which is the Ipseity manifests Itself in an instant or in an ‘ayn and if it has manifested therein according to a certain particularity whether it be in the instants or in the a’yân, and if the flowing of the Ipseity should flow out of the appearances of that instant, an appearance or an image of that instant will not be contrary to the image of Reality because every image is identical with the Ipseity with a particular individuality because of that individuation in which form or image the Reality has manifested. Consequently, that which has manifested in totality is Uniqueness and Its flowing through in this totality is the causeway of Unity. Hence, from the orders of mystery that which has been

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manifested from Ipseity into the hearts of completenesses, cannot be any other than that which comes through the way of Uniqueness which is the closest way ( tariq-i-aqrab). And this does not happen except through the way of private face which is the closest way because with a private connection ‘thing’ is attached to Reality and this face is in accordance to the general way, but in a way private (to each).

Now, know like this that as we have seen, the infinite number of ways are all within the two ways we have mentioned above, either according to the chain of consequences, or the way of mystery which is the way of private face. Equally, although the stations are infinite in variety corresponding to the infinite numbers of those who come to the stations, the totality of this infinite number is contained in two stations, one of which is more ancient than the other because of its degree and its Ipseity of primacy, not according to time. People of knowledge know these things. This station is the Presence of Uniqueness of the Ipseity which is far removed from the plurality of Names and Qualities and is named by the name of Uniqueness of the Totality of the Total Presences of Names. And this Presence is the position of the Reality of Mohammed of Uniqueness of Totality of Sealedness and Privateness; that is to say, with the collectivity of the Uniqueness of the Ipseity, It manifests through the closest way from the Presence of the Reality of Mohammed and in this way the order is brought down into the hearts of Complete People and the order is brought down in this way into the hearts of the Words. Which means that they have become the same as the manifestation of the Reality which is manifested to them in the image of the Reality and their hearts have been taken over, (inclined to), or established in the reality of all of the totality of the ‘things’ of the Ipseity, according to the reality of the ’ayn of that which is going to manifest in them, and their hearts consequently become turned by the totality of the ‘things’ of the Ipseity. This bringing down establishes between these people and the Presence of Uniqueness in Absoluteness a primordial infinitude of private principial essential interaction.

The reason why there is the ‘most ancient place’ (makâm-i-aqdam) and the ‘ancient place’ (makâm-i-qadim) and that one is in degree prior to the other, is because the Presences of the Names in their totality, though they are ‘ancient’ because they are qualities existent in the Ipseity, are in a position of secondaryness in comparison with the degree of Ipseity of Uniqueness, because the Presence of the Ipseity of the Uniqueness is the supreme degree, because in this degree, the plurality of relationship is cut off, and the multitude of the number of beings is annihilated and though the Presences of the Names which are in their totality ‘ancient’, here, even the Presence of the Names included in the Presence of Oneness is contrary to this state.

Know it like this, that the Totality of the Presences of the Divine Names although they be ‘ancient’ (qadim), because they are an essential relationship for the Ipseity of the Uniqueness, nevertheless the Presence of Uniqueness of Ipseity is in degree more ‘ancient’, because this is the makâm of the cutting away of relative plurality and the station of annihilation of the multiplicity of existence, thereby, even the Presence of Oneness which includes the Presences of the Names is against it. Because though the plurality of existence is not apparent in the Presence of Names, yet the relative plurality is established therein, thereby the Unique is more ‘ancient’ than the One, because in the Ipseity of the Uniqueness, the plurality of

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existents and the relative plurality are cut off and One is against the Unique, because if One is though One and in it the plurality of existents is not apparent, yet the relative plurality is therein conceptually realised.

Now as you have seen that the order into the hearts of the Completes are brought from two stations, and one of these ways is that it is brought from the ‘most ancient station’ and the other is from the station of Godhead, but even this second one comes originally from the first, the Presence of Singularity, taking on the quality in passing through the Godhead, and they come into the hearts of the anbia’ and awlia’; and the other way is that, again from the ‘most ancient place’ directly from the Uniqueness, it comes into the hearts of the anbia’ and awlia’, and this is also known as the order according to taste, or the Reality of Mohammed, and the way of Unity, and is according to the quality of Uniqueness and every nabî or walî who has this in them, is of one belief and from the Unity of Ipseity, though because of their speciality in appearance they are different, but in towhîd (union), there is no difference.

There is this however, that the people who receive from these Saints and anbia’ are different in receptivity, therefore they have different do’s and don’ts and in ordinary daily practices they vary.

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