On Wujuud, Haqq, and Baathil

Salaam Allaah,

Consider the following equations:

Haqq = Good = Light (Beauty) = Existence

Baathil = Evil = Darkness = Non-Existence

None describes these more effectively and elegantly than Syaikh al-Akbar Ibn al-'Arabi (qaddas Allaahu sirrah) himself:

"Existence is Light, and Non-Existence is Darkness. We are in existence, so we are encompassed by Good."

Let's try to elaborate on this a little bit here. When the 'Aarif (Knower) says, "Al-Haqq alone exists," he means that on the highest level of Being, which is al-Ahadiyyah, there is only Allaah, al-Wujuud adz-Dzaatiyyah, such that His Existence is beyond definition, classification, and categorization. If this weren't so, both existence and non-existence would be absolutely impossible (see: http://sufi-horizon.blogspot.com/2008/09/al-misykaat-al-anwaar.html).

We say that Allaah Subhaana Huwa Ta'aalaa is Infinitely Merciful (Rahmaan) and Essentially Loving (Rahiim), because in His Necessary Oneness, there is no disintegration, divisibility, gradation, and particularity whatsoever. In other words, there is no substantial limitedness in His Being Him. That is, in His Being Him, Allaah Ta'aalaa singularly encompasses Perfect Harmony, Boundless Love, and Eternal Life. He is He (Huwa Huwa). He, the Self-Existent (al-Qayyuum), has no direct, substantial opposite ('otherness' which is 'non-existence'); none exists but He.

This is the primary, absolute level. Nothing whatsoever can be said to be exterior to it. The 'Aarif witnesses this Reality of Oneness (as a result of the Convergence of Witnessing (the State of Complete Gatheredness and Inclusiveness, al-Maqaam al-Jam', taking place in the domain of the Ruuh)) which is none other than al-Qalam (the 'Pen', the Total Intellect), which can be represented as the 'dot' in the total, boundless expansion of That-Which-Is (al-Maujuud), that-which-contains none but the Presence of Being (Hadhratullaah), that-which-spans it in the first place, called, al-Lauh (the 'Tablet' of Certainty and Existential Possibilities, Umm al-Kitaab al-Mubiin).

The Realm of Divine Essence, al-Laahuut, which is Qadiim (Essential, Uncreated) and Daa'im (Eternal), actually has two + one Presences:

1. Al-Ahadiyyah (al-Haahuut)
2. Al-Wahdat al-Muhammadiyyah (al-Haqiiqah al-Muhammadiyyah)
3. Al-Wahdaaniyyah ar-Rubuubiyyah al-Muhammadiyyah (al-'Aalam al-Asmaa' wa-sh Shifaat)

Nothing separates them whatsoever. The only 'difference' (which is not substantial at all (for none exists here but Allaah's 'He-ness' (Huwwiyyah, Essential Self)) is that al-Wahdat (al-Muhammadiyyah) is the 'Desired Self-Manifestation of Essence' within al-Ahadiyyah by what can only be termed as 'Sheer Love and Pure Longing'. Al-Wahdat, as the Absolute Spirit (ar-Ruuh al-A'zham), is the Substantial Source of Manifestation (Locus) of Essential Names (al-Asmaa') and Attributes (ash-Shifaat). In the threefold projective form of the First Intellect (al-Qalam), the First Heart (al-Lauh), and the Throne of Glory (al-'Arsy), this is called al-Wahdaaniyyah (ar-Rubuubiyyah al-Muhammadiyyah). That is why, (the Perfect) Man essentially shares the same attributes as Allaah; in fact all attributes and names come from Him. His exalted rank is his being the Unique, Total Manifestation of the Absolute Oneness of Essence (at-Tajalliyy adz-Dzaatiyyah al-Lathiif al-Ahadiyyah) which singularly encompasses the following ascending three stations of Unity (al-Wahdat):

1. The Station of the Unity of Witnessing and Action
2. The Station of the Unity of Names and Attributes
3. The Station of the Unity of Essence

Al-Wahdat is the Origin of the Muhammadan Reality (al-Haqiiqah al-Muhammadiyyah). The deeper meaning of the sacred Qur'anic initials Alif Lam Mim is that between Alif (Allaah) and Mim (Muhammad) there is no (La(m)) substantial separation whatsoever, because both are encompassed by Allaah alone, in Himself, by His own Essence. More concisely, this is written as Ha Mim. This Reality is called as-Sirr al-Qadr. Metaphorically, we can say that, when Allaah (al-Wujuud al-Aqdas) looks at Muhammad (al-Wujuud al-Muqaddas), He sees Himself, in Complete Love. As such, Muhammad sees only Allaah; none exists but Him. That is why Ibn al-'Arabi (qs) has implied that Mim (Muhammad) is the Mirror (al-Mir'aah) and Absolute Manifestation (at-Tajalliyy al-Muthlaq) of Essence (Dzaat).

As such, Imaam 'Ali ('alaihi salaam wa karram Allaahu wajhah), 'occupying' the Station of Origin (Absolute Beauty) of the Holy Prophet (s) in the state of Jalaal, once so beautifully proclaimed his great status as the Entirety of Essential Names and Attributes itself:

"Anaa Asmaa'-ul Husnaa."

Indeed, his exalted rank at the Great Muhammadan Station is such that he ('as) himself is a Unifying Name, or the Face of Convergence (al-Wajh al-Jam'iyyah), for all the Essential Names and Attributes. This is known as the Station of the Great Pole (al-Maqaam al-Quthbiyyah al-'Uzhmaa) and the Apex of Vicegerency (Khilaafat) of the Reality of the Seal of the Prophets (s). There is no station higher than this in the context of suluuk (one's individual journeying towards al-Haqq) of the Friends of Allaah (Awliyyaa' Allaah) by means of the Love-Embers of Divine Attraction and Unveiling (Mukaasyafah).

The correct knowledge of al-Wahdat al-Wujuud (the 'Unity of Being') expounded by Ibn al-'Arabi (qs) only pertains to this level, nothing else. It can only be correctly described in this context, not elsewhere. Still, it truly takes a perfected intellect and completely expanded heart to discern this sublime truth, while most people are still on the finite, evolutionary plane of expansion and contraction, on the islet of belief and disbelief. Note that Haqq-ul Yaqiin, Absolute Certainty, is not a belief (which substantially entails disbelief as its inseparable co-form) at all. Rather, it is the state of Seeing and Knowing Allaah by Totally Being with Allaah. The Holy Qur'aan describes this as the 'soothing water' because, while in the shadow of creation, nothing can be more certain and more comforting for a servant than knowing al-Haqq by al-Haqq.

Misunderstandings of Ibn al-'Arabi's teachings often arise from the fact that many people (with still imperfect, partial knowledge and tumultuous, unharnessed nafs) tend to claim the Essential Inseparability between Wujuud (Hu, Ha) and that-which-mirrors Himself (Mim, in Himself and by Himself) merely on the creational level. This is because they don't understand the other levels of existence and their subtleties.

The Creational Realm, an-Naasuut, sometimes also called the Realm of Witnessing, al-'Aalam asy-Syahaada, which is brought into being by Allaah from pure non-existence, has five intrinsic grades:

1. Al-Barzakh al-Kubraa (the Total Boundary)
2. Al-Arwaah (al-Malakuut, the realm of graded lights)
3. Al-Mitsaal (the realm of universal meanings and forms)
4. Al-Ajsaam (the material universe)
5. Azh-Zhulum (the realm of Utter Darkness)

In essence, the Total Boundary is the manifestation of the Face of Muhammadan Unity (al-Wajh al-Wahdat al-Muhammadiyyah), of the Entirety of Divine Names and Attributes; yet, with respect to creation (multiplicity, al-katsrah), it characteristically serves as the Veil of Majesty (al-Hijaab al-Jalaaliyyah) as well as the Point of Convergence in the Witnessing of Essential Oneness in phenomenal multiplicity (al-Musyaahada al-Wahdah fii al-Katsrah). The last four sub-realms, due to their specific creational nature, are subject to gradation, definition, classification, divisibility, disintegration, and hence temporality and perishment (extinction). Yet, Allaah, the Mighty Creator, al-Wujuud al-Khaliiqah, has not created them in their limitations purposelessly or for a limited purpose only. Glory be to Him, the Best Creator, from such vanity! Rather, Allaah Ta'aalaa has performed Creation as a sheer test ('play') in order that creational forms, through process and essentially inward journeying, might know (see) the difference between that which is Baqaa' (Ancient, Essential, Beginningless, Eternal) and that which is Fanaa' (New, Creational, Initiative, Perishing), so that they might know Allaah as Allaah by being stationed at the Station of Eternal Intimacy (al-Uns), which is known as al-Walaayah. And this did not take place other than by His Infinite Mercy alone since Allaah, the Self-Sufficient, had (and has) no need to create at all. But He did so, so that creation might know the Perfect Beauty and Majesty that He is.

Hu Rahmaan, Hu Rahiim!

Now, since to know the Perfect, in the total, existential sense, requires Being Perfect, and since none of His Ta'aalaa manifestations is Perfect other than Muhammad (shalla Allaahu Ta'aalaa 'alaihi wa aalih), His Only Absolute Self-Manifestation (in Himself), it is said that all things have been created for the sake of His Beloved (Muhammad (s)).

Sufi-claimers, out of ignorance, often loudly claim their 'oneness' with Allaah in this created, shadowy, sensory realm while not comprehending that it actually exists 'outside' Pure Being (al-Wujuud) by the act of creation. The word 'outside' here simply implies 'non-substantiality', and not spatiality and temporality. This claim can only be true in al-Laahuut, where the one desired by Allaah, and stationed at the Station of the Holy Prophet (s), is overcome by Essence. But it is absolutely impossible in an-Naasuut alone. Rather, it requires the 'lifting of the Great Boundary by His Hand of Mercy' (al-Kasyf), followed inevitably by 'Self-Effacement', which is the beginning of an-Nubuwwah (Prophethood) and al-Walaayah itself. Hadhrat Syaikh 'Abd al-Qaadir al-Jailaani (qs) once said, "The greatest veil (hijaab) is al-Makhluuq (the created being) itself," precisely because it (the created being) exists 'outside' Allaah's Oneness, in the realm of process, and simply does not share the Essential Self.

Since at the deepest, self-total, self-complete level (al-Ahadiyyah), nothing exists but Allaah, that which is said to be 'outside' Allaah does not substantially exist at all; it only exists as a naturally restricted appearance.

And so, finally, although we can say that the whole expansive cosmos is a Tajalliyy (Manifestation) of Allaah on the Creational Level, just as Muhammad (s) is Allaah's Tajalliyy on the Essential Level, what we call 'Evil' (Baathil), which apparently exists in this world, is only a particular display of creation whose status is like an insubstantial foam in the ocean's vastness. 'Evil' has no origin whatsoever in al-Laahuut. It has only been brought into being from pure nothingness as a test. Compared with the Absolute Reality (al-Ahadiyyah), it is but a mirage (illusion), yet human beings (other than 'Primordial Beings' who are 'ma'shuum', as they are direct manifestations of the Light (Nuur) of Muhammad (s), the Light of Essential Perfection (an-Nuur adz-Dzaat al-Kaamil)), when not dressing themselves with Purity (Shafaa') and Knowledge (Ma'rifat), can develop latent tendencies towards being illusory (insubstantial). This is what being blind is all about. And the end-point of being illusory (blind) is Ultimate Darkness (which is the Illusion of illusions, or 'total non-existence' (for, as we have seen, non-existence can only be as a created reality)), which is the fifth sub-realm of an-Naasuut.

We may recall this beautiful story in the Qur'aan about Hadhrat Muusaa ('alaihi salaam). He was given a 'Staff' ('Stick') and was ordered to strike a 'Rock' with it. Once he did this, 'Water' sprang forth from the 'Rock'. Know that the 'Staff' here, in the deepest sense, is none other than al-Ma'rifat adz-Dzaatiyyah (al-'Ilm at-Tauhiid or al-Ma'rifat al-Kull), the Knowledge of Allaah's Essential Oneness, which includes in itself the Knowledge of the Totality of Existences. The 'Rock' symbolizes creational (mental and phenomenal) self-limitations which are overcome (negated) by the Presence of Singularity (al-Hadhrah al-Ahadiyyah), while the 'Water' is a metaphor for Endless Life which 'flows' from the Station of Subsistence in Essence (al-Maqaam al-Baqaa' ba'd al-Fanaa' fii adz-Dzaat). Once Hadhrat Muusaa ('as) attained the Rank of Knowledge and became a Decisive Proof (al-Hujjah al-Kabiir), he went to face Pharaoh (Fir'aun) and his 'Magicians' who, in turn, manifested 'Snakes' before him ('as). Know, beloveds of Allaah, that the 'Magicians' alluded here represent the 'Philosophers', while the 'Snakes' represent their 'Futile, Divergent Philosophies'. (Note that this story is essentially similar to that of Hadhrat Ibraahiim ('as) and the 'Fire' of Namrood.) Such philosophies, no matter how eleborate they might seem, are infinitely far from the Convergence of Witnessing. This is given by Allaah alone, through the Sacred Muhammadan Intellect (al-'Aql al-Qudsiyyah al-Muhammadiyyah), to a Chosen Servant whom He Ta'aalaa intimately loves, as a Sign and Mercy. In fact, all Anbiyyaa' and Awliyyaa', so far as they attain such an exalted rank, must but drink the Living Water of Absolute Certainty (Maa' al-Hayaat) from the Fountain (al-Kautsar) of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s), for he (s) alone is the Absolute Prophet (an-Nabiyy al-Muthlaq) and the Absolute Saint (al-Waliyy al-Muthlaq).

May Allaah Jalla Jalaaluhu protect us all from the darkness of creation by drawing us towards Loving (Knowing) Him more and more.

"Yaa Rabbi, increase me in Knowledge."
(Suurah Tha Ha: 114)

Hu Allaahu Anaa Hu!

Alif Lam Mim

As'aluka Allaahumma antushalliya 'alaa Nuuri Ismika-l A'zhami-l Maktuubi min Nuuri Wajhika-l Mu'abbadi li kulli Maujuudi Sayyidinaa wa Mawlaanaa wa Mursyidinaa Muhammadin Dzi-l Maqaami-l Muthlaqi-l A'laa, wa Sirri Hayaati-l Wujuud

Yaa Hu, yaa Haqq!

End Note

Abuu 'Abd Allaah Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-'Arabi al-Haatimi ath-Thaa'i, known as Syaikh al-Akbar Ibn al-'Arabi, the 'Greatest Master'. May Allaah Ta'aalaa sanctify his soul. He is the Imaam and Hujjah of ath-Thariiqah al-Mu'tabara al-Khawwaash al-Wujuudiyyah (al-Ahadiyyah), which emphasizes both Purity of Heart and Sharpness of Intellect. By my soul, one has hardly ever seen a star of Divine Exposition more brilliant than him in the constellation of Allaah's Friends (Awliyyaa') among the Ummah of the Holy Prophet (s). He was empowered directly with the Prophetic Intellect (al-'Aql al-Qudsiyyah al-Muhammadiyyah) at the highest station of Witnessing (al-Musyaahada). In his al-Futuuhaat al-Makkiyyah, we learn that he reached this station, 'awake, not dreaming', in the Direct Presence (Hudhuur) of the Holy Prophet (s). He is the Inheritor of the Prophetic Station. He is known as the 'Red Sulfur' (the Rarity) among Ahl al-Haqiiqah. He is a Unique Diver in the Ocean of Oneness and is himself an Ocean of Gnosis without a shore. He is the Summit of Knowers and the Chosen Revealer of the Knowledge of Absolute Certainty. The 99 Secrets (al-Masyaahid al-Asraar) of the Muhammadan Reality are only available at his Blessed Fountain. May Allaah Ta'aalaa, for the sake of His Beloved (s), grant us someone like him among ourselves in the near future. Soon, yaa Allaah, soon.

Allaah's Most Unworthy Faqiir,

Dani

I Have No Other Cup

I Have No Other Cup


(1)

Allaah, Allaah, yaa Allaah,

This girl that I see blooming,
Enchantingly bright,
With Your Eyes in place of my
Blindness;

Oh, she is so beautiful to me,
My heart is sealed with throbs.

She journeys in my silence
As an ancient desire;

Yes, I touched her once,
Before being.

I understand no other beauty
Except Your own;

A beauty like this.

And this shyness of mine
That turns me yellow and red
Like autumn leaves;

Does she know it?

Does she know in what name
I call her loveliness
Among silent whispers at night?

Oh this shyness,
Isn't it just a hiding place for this
Burning Love?

Beautiful girl,
Seek me there, seek me there,

Even under the blanket of dust and snow,
Under dreams and leaves,

You know that I have no other place
To hide from Love.

(2)

Though I know that
The sun too longs to kiss her every morning,

Though I know that
The winds too long to caress her,

Though I know that
All the winged and thirsty too desire her
Sweetness,

Though I know that
The rain too keeps beating out its sentiments for her,

Though I know that
Some other hearts, like vacant chambers,
Yearn to resonate with her name
To fill the misty sanctuary of loneliness,

Day and night,
Let her find my heart alone,
Yaa Allaah.

(3)

Hu Allaahu,

O You Who loves
And makes me a cup of
Your Sweet Pain,

Never veil the beauty that she is
From these tearful eyes.

For, in a single flower that she is,
Is reflected the whole beauty of
Nurooz.

How can I not want her
With a heavy madness that tastes like
The honey of June?

With every wind that swirls
In the sky and
Sings,

How can I not want to
Kiss her greatly
In my knowing her?

(3)

Shall I not wake up singing?

For a mind that sees and knows,

For a heart that beats and burns,

For a soul that loves and inquires,

Not to want her like
Majnuun wants Laylaa
Is the greatest sin that can be.

(4)

When I see my Beloved,
I open Life itself.

She falls upon my heart
Like the morning dew upon the grass;

Who is awake to witness this?

And when she does fall,
Something starts to burn upon my lips,

As a song from afar is heard
In a vastness with infinite eyes.

(5)

How can I refuse Love,
And not be fractured by its denial,

When even the proud sky cannot help
Turning blue and crimson?

When even the vast sea
Sends its waves unto distant shores,
Like a vastness without content?

When even the shy mountain stream
Runs down unto the valley to give all its
Coolness and essence?

Dani, Little Cup,
How can you not
Desire her when all things
Move in secret to land their
Kisses?

(6)

Sweetheart,
Save me, save me;

Save me from my silent self,
That hides a greater voice,

Save me, save me,
From a thousand years of solitude.

The veil of the night is no more,
Though a lonely trail remains to be trodden;

I almost cannot hear myself shouting
Your name from a distance;

Sweetheart,
Allaah alone is calling your name
By the Nearness that He is.

Where is my place in His remembrance,
Loving, and desiring?

How shall I separate myself from this yearning heart?
This heart, oh this heart;

No, I shall not,
I am on my way with dust filling my breath.

Do my dreams have doors
Through which I can escape
From Love's Wakefulness?

No, I am on my way to learn the meaning of
A single desire.

Let me devour this Fire,

Let me capture the surge of feelings
And the ghosts of lovers before me,

Let me learn how Love shapes itself,
Out of itself.

With the depth of every pain,
I see the Beloved
In the height of Love's joy.

I just cannot guard
This maddening glitter
And Love's trouble;

Don't you see?
In its heart,
The sea is driven by a storm.

Nor can I bind my sanity;

Sweetheart,
Come down running,
Every beat of my heart is calling you.

(7)

So long as the sun rises and sets
To tell us a story,

So long as the waves cling to the shore
With innumerable longings,

So long as nocturnal whispers pass through space
And the flailing night,

Love's seasons shall plant and harvest
My soul in a certain garden,
In a certain destiny.

By Muhammad, by 'Ali,

What is to love
But to sheath your sword,
Which is Reason,
In honey?

By my soul, unbetrayed,

To love is to go into the wilderness
And to find yourself in all names,
Painful and sweet.

(8)

Allaah, Allaah, yaa Allaah,

Scatter the ashes of my heart in
Love's Path,

Every bit of them shall bear
The fragrance of my Sweetheart
For the winds to spread.

Torture me with time's
Thorny whip, if necessary;

With the hours that strike in their passing,
Just allow me to be mad for my Beloved,
Your Beloved.

We both know,
You have not created me with
The smoothness and calm of patience.

Is not my mother
A beauty shaken by separation?

I was born unconstellated,
That I might quiver like this
And become a story of
Love's stories.

I am made of rainfalls and
Hidden tumults.

I am fashioned of dust ablaze,
Like a certain banished sovereignty.

I am a hurricane of dreams,
Not a petal of stillness.

Other than this madness,
I have no other cup for Your Love-Wine
For Mina.

[For Mina Sayang. Wednesday, 24/09/2008]

Dani

Little Flower

Little Flower


I behold a little girl of seven,
Yes, with seven wonders,
Laughing in the embalming sunlight;

Chasing a butterfly with the swirling wind,
Which is but her own winged passion;

Gathering flowers in Beauty's own knowledge,
As she herself smells of jasmine and rosemary;

Jumping over running brooks,
Leaping upon her own soul.

What shall I do to carry you back
Into the Sea, Life's wide heart,
With me, and with
The torrents of spring in me,
My Love?

Tell me,
Daughter, Sister, Mother of my soul,

How can I not move as you move in
God's morning field,
Passing through my life like an
Implacable sweetness?

O you who hear my silence,
How can I not want to catch you,
As everything carries me unto you
Even in little, complicated, shy steps?

My heart is scarlet,
How can I not want to hold your hand
And place it there with its beat?

How can I not want to enfold you,
And all that is alive in you, in my arms
To tell you,
"I am also alive"?

How can I not want to bring you home
Upon my back and shoulders
And tell you of Love's desire?

Flower, little flower,
What lonely secrets have you to whisper
Unto the breeze and the ether
At the approach of this slow autumn?

A wayfarer and story-teller am I,
Who has moved from
Mist to mist,
From solitude to solitude.

What can I say of your
Rare beauty that I witness
At God's dawn-spanned window?

It delights me more than
My own knowledge of all silences,

It agonizes me more than
All the broken things in the path of time;

It befriends me more than
All the things that have ornamented my soul
With their shining dust and
Pricking memories.

I did not, at first, deliberately crave you like this,
Sweetheart;

Nor did I once try to attempt
To release a certain
Unsprung madness within me.

But, oh, I arrived at Love's door,
For your sake,
With a certain anxious fragility.

I was smashed by destiny's hand
To love you,
As if struck by a certain rare tempest.

Yet, tell me,
Of all the great things that we both know,
What can be more certain and ancient
Than such Might and Spontaneity?

For in it I have heard the voice of our lives,
And witnessed the eternal span of our dreams;
All within a single breath and heartbeat.

It is upon this thread of understanding,
That I have no choice other than
To know Love as Love,
And to love you like this.

Even if I have to burn all knowledge
Upon my sentimented lips,

Even if I have to pain my heart
With infinite tenderness and
Unbefriended understanding,

This heart shall always be inseparable
From you, my dear.

By the sun that slowly sets,
Whose faint reflection falls upon
The wind-caressed still water,
Without being imprisoned nor
Captured by it,

I do not seek your silence
Only to possess you in exchange of
Love's seasonal honey,

I do not wish to pluck you,
Not even with shyness and tenderness,
From the garden where you belong,
Where the roots of your loveliness are.

Rather, Sweetheart,
Place your heart in mine and
Listen:

I simply want your soft hand
To touch Life's own;

I long to have your fingers
Play Love upon the quivering strings
Of my soul.

I don't want Love's fleeting fragments,
Nor births and deaths;

I desire a certain Wholeness,
Like the rain upon my face,
And like the desert that burns unwitnessed.

I only long to caress you, Beloved,
To make your shyness resplendent.

I only yearn to touch you
To feel you rustling and living.

[For Mina. Saturday, 20/09/2008]

Dani

To Love This Way

TO LOVE THIS WAY

[This aphoristic piece is for Mina whose loveliness is the drink given unto me by Allaah in my shyness and solitude]

Blessed is he who hears this calling, between the two waves of the sea that caress each other, which bespeaks a tenderness and an endlessness far greater and more ancient than humanity's own journeying and way-finding.

Blessed is he who loves and does not hide it. Pity the lovers who say, "Let's hide somewhere and kiss." For hasn't this world hidden and covered much of the naked soul of man already? What can withhold a soul from another soul when, in the morning light, the shadows of the world are too shy to cover their nakedness and to race along with the Weightless and the Boundless in them?

Blessed is he who accepts the seasons of the heart and realizes that it takes a true Lover to place the light of the day in the bosom of the night. For to love is to know the difference between the Living and the Dead.

To love is to love the Living. It is to entrust Life unto its own Heart.

Blessed is he who exalts Reason in the heights of Passion and lets Passion direct his Reason. When journeying into the mid-sea whose waves are intricate feelings and whose vortices are confusions, neither Reason nor Passion should be left behind as an orphaned wing at the shore. For what is Reason but Love's Necessity that mirrors itself? And what is Passion but Love's Longing for itself?

To love this way is to love with the translucent height of the sky, the ancient depth of the sea, the empirean expanse of the ether, and the innocent swiftness of the winds.

Blessed is he who smiles for Love's sake; for a smile, like Dzikr, is the Fullness of Knowledge and the Vastness of Love made visible. For, among all the possessions of mankind, only Love and Trust and can be given in Whole, upon wings.

In this world of shadows, many things that sway with the winds look like Love, sound like Love, feel like Love, taste like Love. Yet True Love is only discovered in the fold of silence and stillness beyond our being in this world. It is a gift taken from a seemingly very distant shore, which is covered in morning mist, and brought unto the earth as a celestial celebration and a soothing serenade.

Love, whose only dress is nakedness, is the gift of the Unconditional and the Boundless unto this conditional, self-imprisoning world. It is a gift of Eternity unto this world's temporality, often encompassed in a single breath and heartbeat.

To love is to breathe and give your breath to the one you love. It is to admire, in Full Knowledge, she who mirrors naked Life in her shyness. It is to touch her spirit with the soft fingers of dream; and not to possess her image with the claws of time.

To love this way is to gaze at the Beloved with thankfulness and direct His Gaze with equal gratitude at the Reflection of Himself which resides in the mirror of another heart like the morning dew.

To love is to place the Desire and Longing of the Merciful Himself, like a candle in someone's presence, and like a heartbeat in someone's breath, without murdering the innocent in her. It is to kiss her the way the butterfly kisses the flower in the light of the day and sips its nectar at the enveloping hand of the sincere spring.

To love is to paint, with the water-colors of joy and sorrow, the Beauty of Being upon the soft canvas of Understanding. For, in the beating heart of a season lies hidden the curves and colors of all the other seasons.

Nothing done in the pure motion of Love's sentiments is futile. For to love is to grow in the lap of the seasons like a branch in the Silent Knowledge of the Tree.

Even if you have to paint your own painful understanding of Love with your blood and tears, Love's tenderness shall not be lost. For what is to love but to caress Life's days and nights with their own substance?

To love someone is not to measure her depth in space nor to claim her in the possession of time. It is to hold her hands in infinity and timelessness with the rarest delight, simply because Love precedes our breathing. For, unless Love is recognized instantaneously, free of attributes, how can such a singular beauty be expected to unfold after a thousand years?

To love this way is not to open a window only to shut it afterwards. It is not to open our eyes unto the sun only to close them. It is to discover Allaah at the Dawn of Certainty and to love with Allaah, in Allaah, and for Allaah alone. It is to release the Solitary Truth within each one of us, and, in our Silent Understanding of Life, share Allaah's secrets with another human being.

Verily, a song shared with another in Life's own heart shall be forever in flight as it lingers from dawn to dawn, beyond the night's boundary and possession. And the hours shall become wings that beat in Love's space.

Blessed is he who, having found his True Beloved beyond the narrow edges of the cosmos and beyond the intimidating darkness of a loner's abyss, says unto his sweetheart,

"I love you so much that I can't love you, dearest, with my limited, quivering self. Nor can I love you with my past, which was but a veil. I can love you only at the Present, only as Allaah Himself is Present, and as He Himself loves you."

Dani

Al-Misykaat al-Anwaar

Bismi-llaahi-r-Rahmaani-r-Rahiim


Hu Allaahu Nuurun 'alaa Nuur

Hu Allaahu Haqq-ul Wujuud

Haqq laa Huwa illaa Huwa

Haqq Allaah, Allaah, Allaahu Haqq


Salaam Allaah 'alaika

Yaa Nabiyyuhu, yaa Mujtabaa

Yaa Ha Mim, yaa Ruuh Allaah

Yaa Tha Sin, yaa Wajh Allaah

Yaa Sin, yaa Habiib Allaah

Shalawaat Allaah 'alaika


"Allaahu Nuur-us-samaawaati wa-l-'ardh. Matsalu Nuurihi kamisykaatin fii haa mishbaah-ul mishbaahu fii zujaajati-z-zujaajah. Ka'annahaa kaukabun durriyy-yuu qadu min syajarati-m-mubaarakat-uz-zaytuunati-llaa syarqiyyati-w-wa laa gharbiyyati-y-yakaadu zaytuhaa yudhii'. Wa law lam tamsas-hu naarun, Nuurun 'alaa Nuur. Yahdi-llaahu li Nuurihi may-yasyaa'. Wa yadhribu-llaahu-l amtsaala li-n-naasi wa Allaahu bi kulli syai'in 'aliim."

("Allaah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the Glass as it were a Brilliant Star: Lit from a Blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose Oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allaah guides whom He desires to His Light: Allaah sets forth Parables for men: and Allaah is the Knower of all things.")


Beloveds of Allaah,

Let us, with Allaah's Permission and by His Mercy, delve together into the Essence of this beautiful aayah (verse), Suurah al-Nuur: 35, in the Holy Qur'aan. For in this aayah are hidden all the essential truths and knowledge of our individual journeying towards al-Haqq, the Real.

Allaahu Nuur-us-samaawaati wa-l-'ardh. Here, Allaah, Subhaan Huwa Ta'aalaa, begins by emphasizing the Necessity and Primacy of His Being, over the totality of created, graded existences, which is encompassed by the metaphorical words 'Heavens' and 'Earth', including all the spiritual and material entities therein.

Know, my dearest, the meaning of His Being (Wujuud) here, which in itself points, beyond generality and particularity, to the Essential Light of Existence, which is His Essential 'He-ness', al-Huwwiyyah al-Haqiiqiyyah.

Without His Being Him (Allaah Being Allaah), the Unconditionally Living (al-Hayy), the Self-Existent (al-Qayyuum), in the first place, there would be absolutely nothing at all. There wouldn't even be non-existence! (The reason shall be clear below.)

Allaahu Jalla Jalaaluhu. Glory be to Him Whose Existence (Being) does not mingle with non-existence at all. In other words, in His Being, there is not a single bit of darkness (non-existence), for if it were so, the actuality (and potentiality (al-quwwah)) and being (in 'motions' and 'categories') of that-which-exists (that which has been brought into being) at all the subsequently lower realms would completely be equivalent to its non-actuality and non-being (despite on a secondary, creational, sensual level), which comes down to saying that movements (harakaat) would completely be equal to unconditional non-movements (stillness), while the absolute, necessary background of observation, which is the Whole Existence itself, existed in the first place beyond the requirement of classification and definition, and, if so, fullness would essentially be equal to emptiness. In other words, existence would completely be equivalent to non-existence in all perspectives and dimensions (categories). Certainly, such a condition has no meaning at all to the Intellect ('Aql) that sees, in its own actuality and potentiality, the difference between Light and Darkness, Substance and Shadow, Existence and Non-Existence. After all, our own individual existence, both in the spiritual and corporeal realms, is Proof that this absurdity does not and cannot take place, which, in turn, directly proves the existence of the One, the Singular, al-Waahid al-Ahad. Furthermore, in seeing (comprehending) the subtleties of existence, the Intellect transcends the different grades of existence (being) and non-existence (non-being), by means of its own inherent trans-substantiality.

At the same time, the recognition that Being does not at all mingle with (although it contains, in the sense described above) Non-Being shows the necessity that He is One, Singular, Indivisible, Unbounded such that no generality may particularize Him whatsoever.

"Qul Huwa Allaahu Ahad."

In the Light of this all, we therefore say that, Allaah, the Boundless, alone encompasses existences and non-existences (without being co-substantial at all with them (non-existences)). He both gathers creational forms towards Recognition of Him, towards the actualization of true existence, beyond need (necessity), and disperses them towards non-existence, according to their existential failure at fulfillment (for although a creature, say a human being, has been created (brought into existence from non-existence) as a potentiality, his perfection (fulfillment) generally depends on his potential-based movement in the realm of process (actuality) alone), as He wishes.

Indeed, Allaah Ta'aalaa's Greatest Name is none other than al-Wujuud al-Dzaatiyya, which reveals Himself in Himself, beyond the need for Him to 'mirror' Himself in creational mirrors 'outside' Himself (which are completely non-existent). This is Allaah as Nuurun 'alaa Nuur, Light upon Light, which again is His 'He-ness', which is the 'Light of His Face' (Wajh). This is the meaning of the Syahaada, "Syahid Allaahu Annahu laa ilaaha illaa Huwa," in which Allaah witnesses Himself as Himself, by Himself, in Himself, in His Absolute Oneness, in the Beginningless and Endless Light that He is. (And not as any 'otherness', for any direct 'otherness' (opposite) at this level would be, and could only be, total, absolute darkness (non-existence).)

Thus, the 'Aarif (Knower) who comprehends (witnesses) Allaah as Allaah and realizes that attributes cannot primarily describe Him (His Essence) is content with his saying "Allaah is Allaah (Huwa Huwa)." It is for this reason that Imaam 'Ali ('alaihi salaam wa karram Allaahu wajhah) has said,

"The Peak of Knowing Him is denying Him attributes."

At the same time, Allaah's Names (Asmaa') and Attributes (Shifaat) are none other than emanations of His Essence; each of which reflects Him by Himself.

Know, beloveds of Allaah, that Allaah's Names and Attributes were manifested, beyond necessity, from the Singularity of His Essence (Ahadiyyah) only for the sake His First Beloved, Muhammad (shalla Allaahu Ta'aalaa 'alaihi wa aalihi wa sallam), His First, Unique, Total Self-Image in His own Being. This Self-Image, revealed in the Qur'aan as Ha Mim, was manifested as the Locus for all His Names and Attributes with the 'intelligible' emphasis of Knowing Him as Him (Knowing Allaah as Allaah really is). This is the Reality of the First, Total, Universal Intellect, al-'Aql al-Awwal al-Kull, which is none other than the Light of Muhammad, al-Nuur al-Muhammadiyyah. This is the Reality of that which is called 'Ruuh'. For this reason, the Holy Prophet (s) has said,

"Allaah has not manifested anything dearer to Him than the Intellect."

Again, it is this Total Muhammadan Intellect which is the Light that sees Allaah as Allaah (as He truly is) by none other than Allaah's Seeing (Witnessing) Himself in His own Oneness. In other words, it mirrors Allaah as Allaah by His own Essence. By my soul, this is the Reality of the Holy Prophet (s), al-Haqiiqah al-Muhammadiyyah, Allaah's First Beloved. Allaah's Greatest, Primary, Total Manifestation.

Therefore, beyond phenomenal multiplicity and creationality, know that just as Allaah is One, so is His Primary, Absolute Manifestation (Tajalliyy al-Muthlaq). The Substantial Image of Allaah (al-Shuurah al-Dzaatiyyah) is but One, and that is the Holy Prophet (s), who is the First, and the Only, Primary Manifestation of Essence (Dzaat). Thus, Muhammad (s) is the Manifestation ('Incarnation') of all of Allaah's Names and Attributes, hidden and manifest; the One who encompassingly represents and mirrors Allaah by Allaah, and not by the shadow of creationality. As such, his historical manifestation in this lower world(s) did not particularize him (s) nor veil him (s) from the Totality of his Noble Reality as the 'Universal Spirit'. For this reason, Syaikh-ul Akbar Ibn al-'Arabi (qaddas Allaahu sirrah) has said,

"The most excellent, balanced and correct of mirrors is the Mirror of Muhammad (s), so Allaah's Self-Disclosure within it is more perfect than any other self-disclosure there may be. You should struggle to gaze on the Self-Disclosing Real in the Mirror of Muhammad (s) so that he may be imprinted in your mirror."

It is impossible to describe the Subtleties of Uniqueness (al-Lathaaif al-Ahadiyyah) of the Muhammadan Reality in the strict language of temporality and categorization. But, we can refer to the Reality of the Prophet (s) as the Absolute Manifestation (al-Maujuud al-Muthlaq) within Absolute Being (al-Wujuud al-Muthlaq). That is, between Ha (Allaah) and Mim (Muhammad), in contrast to that which is between Allaah and the created worlds (which were brought into being merely from the (non-)substance of non-existence), there is no separation whatsoever by 'Substance' (Essence); there is only 'Absolute Self-Inclusion'. This is the Reality of the Perfect Man, al-Insaan al-Kaamil, who is Self-Perfect and Self-Eternal (Baqaa', Qadiim) in Allaah; for, in Allaah, his being is Allaah's own Being.

The Muhammadan Perfection as Essentially Complete is also described by Allaah Himself in Suurah Shad in the Holy Qur'aan in the following phrase:

"...limaa khalaqtu bi Yadayya..."

("...whom I have fashioned with My Two Hands...")

In this context, the phrase 'Two Hands of Allaah' refers to the Endowment of Divine Love-Intimacy and Knowledge, in complete perfection (totality), upon the 'Archetypal Man' ('Aadam).

As we have said elsewhere, the manifestation of the Light of the Prophet (s) took place before the creation of the worlds, before the creation of the 'Pen' (al-Qalam), the 'Tablet' (al-Lauh), and the 'Throne' (al-'Arsy). Once 'Longing' (which is an eternal secret that can only be described as 'Pure Love's Longing') is conceived, it is subtly necessary for Allaah, the Perfect (al-Kaamil) and the Singular (al-Ahad), to also manifest the Perfect and Singular in Himself, for multiplicity (division and individual separability) does not and cannot exist at this level (the level of Kunhi al-Dzaat or al-Ahadiyyah).

The state of multiplicity is nothing but an attribute of 'otherness' (that which is new, creational, non-ancient; 'that which is not Allaah'), which exists only in created realms whose underlying substance is pure non-existence. As a result, the totality of the created worlds is characterized by temporality (perishment) and division (gradation), which is the only condition that globally supports perpetual appearance and disappearance; evolution and devolution; convergence and divergence. The worlds, therefore, are in need of continuous sustenance from Allaah, Whose Existence is the (Only) True Existence.

It should also be emphasized here that although creation does exist in its own right, despite decaying, it does so not just in a 'purely illusory state' as some Eastern philosophers and mystics have imagined, it exists only as a boundary (hijaab) for itself.

In recognition of the above, we can now proceed to reveal the meaning of the rest of the aayah:

"Matsalu Nuurihi kamisykaatin fii haa mishbaah-ul mishbaahu fii zujaajati-z-zujaajah. Ka'annahaa kaukabun durriyy-yuu qadu min syajarati-m-mubaarakat-uz-zaytuunati-llaa syarqiyyati-w-wa laa gharbiyyati-y-yakaadu zaytuhaa yudhii'. Wa law lam tamsas-hu naarun, Nuurun 'alaa Nuur. Yahdi-llaahu li Nuurihi may-yasyaa'. Wa yadhribu-llaahu-l amtsaala li-n-naasi wa Allaahu bi kulli syai'in 'aliim."

Here Allaah Ta'aalaa refers to the following Realities:

1. 'Nuurihi', His Light, which is none other than the Light of Muhammad (s), al-Nuur al-Muhammadiyyah. This Light is also called the Light of Lights, Nuur-ul Anwaar, and the Secret of Secrets, Sirr-ul Asraar, for the reason already given above. The number of its Primary Emanations is often said to be 144,000 which represents the total number of the (historical) Prophets (Anbiyyaa') and Saints (Awliyyaa'). Know that some of the Prophets and Saints are those who have not only been granted 'first-rank access' to the First, Universal (Muhammadan) Intellect, by which the Face of the Real (al-Haqq) is 'unveiled', but are also Direct Manifestations of the Light of Muhammad (s), from before the creation of the worlds.

This is like the poetic saying,

What do you say of those who have grown towards the Sun,

From the darkness of the Earth?

Don't be amazed,

They have long had their Eyes in the Sun.

These emanations are known as al-Arwaah al-Muqaddas, and are generally stationed at the Station (Maqaam) of 'Witnessing Allaah and Being Witnessed by Him', which is the Station of 'Two Bows' Length or Closer Still'.

2. 'Misykaat', the 'Niche', which is the domain of 'Being with Allaah in Allaah', which is known as al-Walaayah al-Muthlaq (Absolute Friendship-Intimacy with Allaah). From 'outside' (from within created realms), it may appear 'absolutely dark', as if 'non-existent', for it takes a perfected, totally expanded intellect, if not the Muhammadan Light itself, to see its Reality. Yet, this 'darkness' is what 'hides' the Light of Allaah: the Muhammadan Light, the Light-Source of all lights in existence. It is the Sacred Domain of Essence, and only True Lovers (Awliyyaa') and True Knowers ('Urafaa) of Allaah can dwell therein. After being veiled in creational realms, Allaah invites the Awliyyaa' ('Urafaa) to the Level of Direct Witnessing (al-Musyaahadah al-Hudhuuriyyah) and Eternal Being (al-Baqaa' bi Allaah) there, for the sake of His First Beloved, Muhammad (s), by means of His First 'Longing'.

3. 'Mishbaah-ul Mishbaah', 'Light within Light'. The first light here refers to the Inner, Most Hidden, Light, which is the Light of Muhammad (s), the Total Intellect, also known, in this sense, as the Sacred Intellect (al-'Aql al-Qudsiyyah), which is the Goal of Evolution and the Point of Convergence (which is denoted in the Qur'aan as the letter Ba') of all creational forms, while the second light refers to the Perfected, Creational, Expansive Intellect (al-'Aql al-Munbasith), which, in truth, is the level of the Angel Jibra'il ('alaihi salaam) who functions as the 'Expositor' for the Abstract, Universal Intellect. Prior to reaching this level, the intellect, in general, expands and contracts; evolves and devolves in the realm of process.

4. 'Zujaajati-z-Zujaajah', 'Glass within Glass' or 'Mirror within Mirror'. The first ('inner') Mirror here is again the Holy Prophet (s), Ha Mim, the Perfect, Universal Man who, in the first place, is the Absolute, Substantial Image of Allaah's Essence, who mirrors Allaah by His own Essence and exists endlessly in His Beginningless and Endlessness as His Absolute, Total Manifestation (Tajalliyy al-Muthlaq). Since, at this level, nothing exists but Allaah's Essence, this Absolute Mirror is said to be the 'Mirror without Glass'. The Reality experienced by the Perfected Sufi, who is the second ('outer') Mirror in this aayah, at this level, is called al-Wahdah al-Wujuud (often roughly translated as 'the Unity of Being'). After experiencing Annihilation (Fanaa'), which is the removal of restrictive, creational attributes at the Point of Unity of Witnessing (al-Wahdah al-Syahuud), the Sufi is said to be 'absorbed' eternally into the Reality of the Holy Prophet (s) and is therefore in the state of Inseparability and Total Intimacy with Allaah Himself. As such, he is referred to by Allaah Himself in this aayah as a 'Brilliant Star', or the Greatest, Resplendent Sign, al-Hujjah al-A'zham, for at this level, the Sufi, in Perfect Union with the Holy Prophet (s), is said to manifest Allaah's Face (Wajh), which is the totality of all of His Names and Attributes. This state is called al-Baqaa' ba'd al-Fanaa' fii al-Dzaat, which, again, is al-Wahdah al-Wujuud itself.

5. The phrase "syajarati-m-mubaarakat-uz-zaytuunati-llaa syarqiyyati-w-wa laa gharbiyyati-y-yakaadu zaytuhaa yudhii'" refers to the blessed Muhammadan Tree of Thu Ba, which is known as the Eternal Tree of Absolute Certainty (al-Syajarat al-Yaqiin), whose fruit is here called Zaytuun, which, in its perfected state, is the Universal Fruit (which is also represented by another fruit called al-Tiin) without any 'seed' or partiality, which represents the Fruit of Total, Impartial Knowledge (Ma'rifat al-Kull). Again, this represents the Goal of evolution of graded, creational forms towards Prophetic (Muhammadan) Intellect, towards knowing Allaah as He should be essentially known.

6. The phrase "neither of the East nor of the West" in this aayah refers to the Unique Ahmadan Reality of Gatheredness and Self-Completeness (al-'Ayn al-Jam' al-Muhammadiyyah). This is because of the exalted status of the Holy Prophet (s) as al-Ruuh al-A'zham, the 'Greatest, All-Encompassing Spirit', whose rank in the realm of Nubuwwah (Prophethood) and Walaayah (Sainthood) is like that of the Sun in a constellation of planets and stars. The Exalted Station of the Prophet (s) (al-Maqaam al-Mahmuud) therefore singularly encompasses both the East (the inward (baathin) realm of substantial meaning) and the West (the outward (zhaahir) realm of corporeal forms) while nothing; no station, no hierarchy, no directionality; whatsoever exists outside his blessed Reality. This is the significance of the letter Mim: nothing enters it and nothing comes out of it; it is Self-Complete (Self-Perfect) in Essence. Thus, the Holy Prophet (s) is also referred to as the 'Axis-Self of the worlds' (al-Waliyy al-Quthb al-Awaalim or al-Huwwiyyah al-'Aalam).

7. The phrase "whose Oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it" again refers to the Reality of Muhammad (s), al-Haqiiqah al-Muhammadiyyah, as Dzaatiyy (Essential), Self-Radiant in Essence, untouched by the 'fire' of 'otherness' (creationality). Its metaphorical description as the 'Substantial Fire' or the First Radiant Manifestation of Essence (al-Faydh al-Muqaddas) is given in Suurah al-Humaza as

"Naarullahi-l muuqadah. Allatii taththali'u 'alaa-l-af'idah."

("The Fire of Allaah kindled to a blaze, which reaches into the heart (substance) of being.")

8. 'Nuurun 'alaa Nuur', Light upon Light, again refers to Allaah's Essential 'He-ness' that pervades al-Insaan al-Kaamil (Muhammad (s)), al-Huwiyyah al-Haqiiqiyyah, as we have described above. This is the Light of Existence, the Reality that sees Himself in Himself by Himself.

9. The phrase "Allaah guides whom He desires to His Light", as we have also described, refers to the Attraction of a chosen servant (saalik) to the Station of Direct Witnessing, in Essence, by means of Allaah's own Desire or Longing for him, that he may know Him as Him (as He desires to be known). All this does not take place unless it is for the sake of Allaah's First, Primary Beloved, Muhammad (s), about whom (s) Allaah Himself has said,

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

10. By the phrase "Allaah sets forth Parables for men", Allaah means that all things, particular and general, in existence are united not in their perishing substance (which is but pure non-existence brought into being by His Infinite Power (Qudrat)), but in the Realm of Meaning which has always existed in Allaah's Timeless, Total Knowledge, and which is beyond creational gradation. Thus, since this has always existed from Pre-Eternity, all creational things are brought into being from non-existence only through the trans-substantial gatheredness of His Boundless Knowledge of that which is Wujuud (Existent) and that which is 'Aadam (Empty), which, with respect to creational reality, is the Manifest Book (al-Kitaab al-Mubiin), which is none other than the greater status of 'Aadam.

The meanings of things, whether ancient (qadiim) or new (huduuts), therefore necessarily converge towards Knowing the Necessary Being (al-Waajib al-Wujuud) which, in itself, guarantees creation to be non-futile, for "Allaah has not created the worlds in vain," because it is necessary for Him to manifest a generality, such as a systematic universe, which functions as an expansive mirror for His Presence and His Knowledge of Pre-Eternity itself. All this is related to what is known as al-Ma'rifat al-Rubuubiyyah whose beginning is al-Kasyf al-Ma'nawiyyah (Unveiling at the level of Universal, Substantial Meaning).


"Allaahumma shalli wa sallim wa baarik 'alaa Ruuh-il 'Azhiim, Sayyidinaa Muhammadin Nuuri-dz-Dzaatiyya. Nuur-il Anwaar wa Sirr-il Asraar. Sayyid-il Mursaliin wa-l Anbiyyaa'. Quthb-il Aqthaab wa Imaam-il Awliyyaa' wa Hujjat-il Ashfiyaa'. Sulthaan-il 'Arsy-il-'Azhiim. Ruuhullaah wa Wajhullaah wa Habiibullaah. Sayyid-il Wujuud wa Sabaab-il Maujuud. Sirri-s-Saarii fii Saair-il Asmaa' wa-sh-Shifaat. 'Ayn-il Ahadiyyatilladziin fataha bi hii kullu maqfuulin wa jabara bi hii kullu maksuurin wan 'ataqa bi hii kullu maqhuurin. Yaa Hu, yaa Hayy, yaa Haqq. Shalla Allaahu Ta'aalaa 'alaihi wa aalihi wa baarik wa sallim."


[Dedicated with affection to Mina Habiibatullaah; may the Morning in the Beloved's Eye always be yours...]

'Isyq,

Dani