Al-Hikmah al-Ilahiyyah

Bismillaah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem

Allaahu, Allaahu, Allaahu!


Another short reflection, insha Allaah Ta'ala.

Al-Hikmah al-Ilahiyyah (the Ultimate Wisdom) is called Ilm Ladunniyya
by the Sufis. Its acquisition is not through the rational mind alone
(al-'Aql al-Awam), but also through self-purity and selflessness,
which mirrors the Reality of True Love and absorbs its "Substance".
Sufis are said to be profound because of their level of primordial
("acausal") purity. Man's Primordial Purity which common Muslims call
"al-Fitrah" and which Sufis call "al-Shafa' al-Insan al-Muhammadiyyah"
is that beautiful surface that reflects the Light and Beauty of the
Beloved (al-Mahbub, Allaah Ta'ala). They are the ones who are able
to utter ecstatic utterings (syatahat) and speak of al-Fanaa'.

Al-Fanaa' consists of stations commonly known as red and black deaths.
"Red death" refers to the surrender of one's self before the Face of
al-Haqq Azza wa Jalla, in his attempt to disconnect himself totally
from the created worlds, relying on the "Taste" (al-Zauq) of Divine
Intimacy alone, until the state of al-nafs al-mutma'inah (the content
soul) is reached. However the ego, though purified, still remains as
an autonomous substance and often has to withstand all sorts of
ridicule perpetrated by the people of lesser knowledge. "Black death"
refers to the annihilation of one's functions (af'al) and attributes
(sifaat) at the most hidden Station of Witnessing. This is the death
of deaths.

Yet the highest, most rarified, most perfect Sufis are those who, by
means of the Muhammadan Transcendental Intellect, possess both the
Reality of of (inner) Purity and the Knowledge of Wujud (Allaah's
Being). They are those who have been granted al-Fanaa' and al-Baqaa'.
A Sufi of this kind is able to speak of both Ishq (Transcendental
Love) and the Hierarchy of Being, including Haqq al-Maujud (that which
exists through Allaah's Self-Manifest Being), Ahwal (States), Asrar
(Secrets), and Maqamat (Stations). Inwardly, he is a Shoreless Ocean
of Wisdom, a Foliage of Knowledge, a Mine of Secrets. Manifestly, he
is Wajh Allaah, the One representing the Face of the Beloved to
creation. Such a person is called "the Gatherer of the Muhammadan
Pearls", al-Jami' al-Jauhar al-Muhammadiyyah. This is the reality of
the Peak of Eloquence (al-Najh al-Balagha).

Al-Habib al-A'zham, Sayyidina wa Mawlana Muhammad (shalla Allaahu
alaihi wa alihi wa sallam) has said,

"The first thing which Allaah Ta'ala fashioned was the Reflective
Essence (al-Jauhar). He Ta'ala looked at it with Infinite Compassion
(in the State of Absolute Beauty), and half of the Essence became the
Water (Maul Hayat, the individual Ruh) and another half of it became
the Fire."

To Ahl al-Haqiqah, the People of the Essence, Allaah's "looking"
("gazing") at something means His placing the Knowledge of His own
He-ness (Huwayyah), which includes the Knowledge of His Name(s),
in its most hidden part, which is necessarily guarded by its exterior
purity. The Beloved Prophet (shalla Allaahu alaihi wa alihi wa sallam)
once told Hazrat 'Ali (karram Allaahu wajhah) to utter the Name "Allaahu"
silently in the heart with full knowledge as if replacing his heart
beat. This way, the wine of al-Haqq shall replace one's blood. Insha Allaah.
The "Fire" is the substance in the heart that burns, in the presence of
the witnessing Ruh, without having to be "touched" because its essence
is within Allaah's own Essence (Zaat).

***

I have something to say about the Perfection of Man, which refers to
the Reality of the Perfect Man, "Mim", Muhammad.

As a starting point, let us remind ourselves that in al-Qur'an
al-Karim, Allaah Ta'ala says to the angels, "Bow down to Adam" (QS.
2:34), after having perfected him with the Knowledge-Reality of His Names.

Know that perfection is of two kinds.

The first kind of perfection, the First and Primary Perfection, the
Absolute Perfection, belongs to Allaah Ta'ala alone. This is the
Absolute Simplicity of Him being Himself in the state of Ahadiyya.
It is Allaah as Allaah beyond the need of co-substatial attributes
(asma', af'al), and beyond the need and existence of the creation
to know Him. Allaah is Allaah, His own Essence. It is impossible to
speak of al-Zaat al-Ghayb al-Mutlaq (the Most Hidden Essence)
without reaching al-Fanaa' and, most importantly, al-Baqaa' first.
Ahl al-Ma'rifat, the People of Knowledge, often communicate with
each other only in self-manifest metaphors.

The second kind of perfection is the Reflective Perfection, the
Perfection of Man. This is the kind of perfection granted upon Adam
(the First Potentially Absolute Man, that which bears the Reality of
Muhammad), to whom the Angels were asked to bow as a gesture of
respect. Its source is the pre-eternal Realm of Names (al-Alm
al-Asma'). In this state, Allaah Ta'ala, al-Wajib al-Wujud (the
Primary, Necessary Existence), manifests Himself before particular
existences through the Mirror of the Perfect Man. This state is called
the "Seal", "Mim", nothing enters it and nothing comes out of it; it
is essentially self-complete simply because it is a manifestation the
first kind of perfection (the Perfection of Allaah's Zaat) without an
intermediary other than Man's created function-continuity as Allaah's
Representative (Khalifa) and Sign (Hujjah, Wali). Its substance is
said to be the "mirror without glass". This is indeed the goal of
Tajaliyya, the Act of Creation.

The relation between the two kinds of perfection has been described so
beautifully by Imam Rabbani (qaddas Allaahu sirrah):

"... I found that Allaah is the Essence of all matter, as it had been said
by the People of Sufism. Then I found Allaah in all matter without
incarnation (hulul). Then I found Allaah together with all matter.
Then I saw Him ahead of everything and then I saw Him following
everything. Finally I reached a state where I saw Him and I saw
nothing else. This is what is meant by the term, Witnessing the Oneness,
which is also the state of Annihilation (Fanaa'). That is the first step
in Sainthood (Walayah), and the highest state in the Beginning of the Way.
This vision appears first on the horizons, then secondly in the Self.
Then I have been lifted to the station of Subsistence (Baqaa') which is
the second step in Sainthood.

"In that state (the state of al-Baqaa') I found all creation another time,
but I found that the essence of all these creations is Allaah, and Allaah's
Essence is the Essence of Myself. Then I found Allaah in everything, but
in reality in myself. I was raised to a higher state, to find Allaah with
everything, but in reality He was with myself. Then I was lifted to see
Him preceding everything, but in reality He was preceding myself.
Then I was lifted to a state where He was following everything, but in
reality He was following myself. Then I saw Him in everything, but
in reality He was in myself. Then I saw everything and I didn't see Allaah.
And this is the end of the Stations by which They (Elevated Masters) had
brought me back to the beginning. In sum, they lifted me to the Station of
Annihilation, then to the station of Existence, then they brought me back
to be with people, in the Station of the common people. This is the
highest state in guiding people to the Presence of Allaah. It is the perfect
state of guidance, because it matches the understanding of human beings."

Space and time does not permit us to speak further of this. It is
enough that one approaches Allaah Ta'ala sincerely and relentlessly,
until knowledge becomes inevitable. And know that as a matter of fact
only we, humans, can approach Him to the furthest station!

The furthest, most central Ka'ba is known as al-Bayt al-Ma'mur. It is
said that truths revolve around it. And know that in reality this
Ka'ba is within Man. It is called the (perfected) Intellect (al-'Aql).
So Man's perfection is intimately related to his ability to ultimately
comprehend the Truth as the Truth, without having to refer to its
projections at all. This is the highest state of conscious beings. The
goal of evolution.

Allaah Ta'ala said,

"Had it not been for you, O Muhammad, I would not have created."

This is because in the Reality of the Perfect Man, the Names of Allaah,
which are none other than the Essential Attributes of His Being,
ultimately converge to the Greatest Name (al-Ism al-A'zham), which is
the Name of the Unifying Essence (al-'Ayn al-Jam).

Sufis like Shaykh Ibn 'Arabi (qaddas Allaahu sirrah) unveil the hidden
meanings of the Qur'an such as this by means of the Prophet's Light
(Nur-e-Muhammadi), which is the First, Universal, Transcendental
Intellect (al-'Aql al-Awwal al-Kull). The great Wali, Imam Ja'far
Shadiq (qaddas Allaahu sirrah), said,

"The Nun [letter "n"] at the beginning of Surah 68 of the Holy Qur'an
represents the Light of Pre-Eternity, out of which Allaah created all
creations, and which is Muhammad shalla Allaahu alaihi wa alihi wa
sallam. That is why He said in the same surah [verse 4]: "Truly you
art of a sublime nature" -- that is: "you are privileged with that
Light from Pre-Eternity"."

Ishq,

Dani