The Tha-Sin of the Muhammadan Light

The Tha-Sin of the Muhammadan Light

Of Asy-Syahid ar-Rabbani Husayn ibn Manshur al-Hallaj (r.a.)


Tha Sin
(Qur'an: 27.1)


"In Muhammad (MHMD), Allah's Most Hidden Essence (Dzat Allah) is the H in his M, and He witnesses Himself, in His own Uniqueness (al-Hadhrah al-Ahadiyyah al-Aqdas), in the M of his H. All in All is manifestly gathered in his D, ensuing from his being HM (Ha Mim) without otherness and precedence in Allah's Remembrance of Himself. Thus, if you know Allah as Allah, you shall know that Muhammad is Love's Only Meaning in all 70,000 vast oceans of secrets. Realizing this (al-Haqiqah al-Muhammadiyyah) is what Sufism (Tashawwuf) is all about. Everything else you may witness is like a pollen grain, a dispersing wave, or a shadow perceived in your own incapacity."


A Lamp appeared from the Light of the Absolute, the Unseen. It appeared and returned, and it surpassed the other lamps. It was a Ruling Moon, manifesting itself radiantly among the other moons. It was a star whose astrological house is in the Empyrean. Allah named him 'Indescribable' (Ummi) in view of the Unscaled Concentration of his Reality, which is his Desire in disguise, and also 'Consecrated' because of the Primeval Majesty of his Blessing, and 'Makkan' because of his Unique Domain in His Vicinity.

For your sake, He expanded his breast, and raised his power, and lifted from him the burden 'that had weighed down thy back,' and He imposed (on creation) his authority. As Allah made his Badr appear, his Full Moon rose from the cloud of Yamamah, and his Sun arose on the side of Tihamah (Makkah), and his Lamp shone from the Source of all Divine Munificence.

He did not report about anything except according to his inner vision, and he did not order the following of his example except according to the truth of his conduct. He (alone) was in the Presence of Allah, then he (alone) brought others into His Presence. He saw, then he related what he was (in Primacy). He was sent forth as a guide, so he defined the limits of conduct.

No one is capable of discerning his true significance, except the Sincere, since he confirmed its validity, and then accompanied him so that there would not remain any disparity between them.

No gnostic ever knew him who was not ignorant of his true quality. His quality is made clear only to those to whom Allah undertakes to disclose it. 'Those to whom We have given the Book, and they recognize their sons, even though a party of them conceal the Truth, and that wittingly.' (Qur'an: 2.46)

The lights of Prophethood issued from his Light, and his Light appeared from the Being of the Most Hidden Mystery, which is of himself, in himself, for himself. Among the lights, there is none more luminous, more manifest, or more uncreated-than-uncreatedness than the Light of the Master of Generosity.

His Aspiration preceded all other aspirations, his Existence preceded non-existence, his Name preceded the Pen because it existed before it. There was never on the horizons, beyond the horizons, nor below the horizons anyone more graceful, nobler, wiser, more just, kinder, more God-fearing, or more sympathetic than the holder of this role. His Title is 'Master of Existences', and his Name is Ahmad, and his Attribute is Muhammad. His Command is most certain, and his Essence is most excellent, and his Attribute is most glorious, and his Aspiration is most unique.

Oh marvel! What is more manifest, more visible, greater, more famous, more luminous, more powerful, or more discerning than him? He is and was, and was known before created things and existences and beings. He was and still is remembered before 'before' and after 'after', and before substances and qualities. His substance is completely light, his speech is prophetic, his knowledge is celestial, his mode of expression is Arabic, his tribe is 'neither of the East nor the West' (Qur'an: 24.35), his genealogy is patriarchal, his mission is conciliation, and he has the title of the 'Indescribable'.

Eyes were opened by his signs, secrets and selves perceived by his being there. It was Allah who made him articulate by His Word, and being the Proof, confirmed him as that which he (alone) is. It was Allah who sent him forth. He is the Proof and the Proven. He is the Truth by the Truth, and he is the Truth in the Truth, and he is the Truth for the Truth. It is he who quenches the thirst of the vehemently thirsty heart, it is he who brings the Uncreated Word that is not touched by what touches it, nor phrased by the tongue, nor made. His Reality is united with Allah without separation, as Uniqueness in Uniqueness, without shadow, and it surpasses the conceivable. It is he who announces the End, and the Ends, and the Ends of the End.

He lifted the cloud, and pointed to the Sacred House. He is the Limitation (Boundary), and he is a heroic warrior. It is he who received the order to break the idols, and it is he who was sent to mankind for the extermination of them.

Above him a cloud flashed bolts of lightning, and below him a bolt of lightning flashed, shone, caused rain, and fructified. All knowledge is but a drop from his Ocean, and all wisdom is but a handful from his Stream, and all times are but an hour from his Life.

Allah is with him, and with him is Reality. He is the First in Union and the Last to be commissioned as a prophet, the Inward by Reality, and the Outward by Gnosis.

No scholar ever attained his Knowledge, nor did any philosopher become cognizant of his Understanding. None, of the ancient, of the present, and of the future, can approach his Reality, either from within or from without, for he (alone) is he.

Allah did not surrender (His Reality) to His creation, because he (alone) is he, and his being there is He, and He (Alone) is He.

Nothing comes out of the M of MHMD, and none enters into his H, and his H is the same as his second M, and his D is as his first M. His D is his Universal Perpetuity, his M is his Singular Rank, his H is his Spiritual State (Inner Reality), as is his second M.

Allah made his Word manifest, and amplified his Mark, and made his Proof known. He sent down the Furqan to him, He made his Tongue adequate, and He made his Heart shine. He made his contemporaries incapable (of imitating the Qur'an). He established his Clarification and exalted his Glory.

With him, and him alone, Allah is pleased. He is the Most Certain of the Certain in the Plane of Glory, the Most Distinguished at the Peak of the Ascent, the Most Present at its Perimeter. He is the Truth, and he is the Witnessing Truth, and he is the Witnessed Truth.

He is the Most Solitary of the Solitary in the Divine Presence. He is the Singular Reality by the Singular Essence, and he is the Sign of Oneness, and he is the Sign for both (Absolute) Oneness and (Relative, Graded) Multiplicity. He is the Locus of Gathering and the Encompassment of Dispersion. His Certainty in Being, untouched by the whirling confluence of existences and non-existences encompassed by him, is his Light, which is of His Mercy. Light upon Light.

Where Beauty is sealed from within the Within, he is the Seal and the Secret. He is the Manifest Sea and the Hidden Pearl. And so, for his sake, Allah is indeed Allah.

If you flee from his domains, what route will you take without a guide, oh ailing one? The maxims of the philosophers are like a slipping heap of sand before his Wisdom.


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On Ibn 'Arabi and the Genuine Muhammadan Reality

On Ibn 'Arabi and the Genuine Muhammadan Reality


The women at Zulaikha's court cut their fingers when beholding Yusuf,
So shall you tear your only heart into pieces in awe of Muhammad,
In whom Beauty is sealed from within the Within.


Salam Allah,

Here's a quick, humble note on statements often falsely attributed to Syaikh al-Akbar Ibn al-'Arabi (q.s.). May Allah guide us with Pure Prophetic Light (al-'Aql al-Qudsiyyah al-Muhammadiyyah), that of the Seal of Prophets and Chieftain of Existence (s.a.w.s.), and deliver us from error, be it of philosophical or primitive nature, by means of His Clear Standards.

It is commonly known to the genuine, discerning Muslim scholars, specializing in 'Irfan (Ma'rifah) and truly cognizant of the in-depth nature of Islamic Sufism, that there have been lies attributed to the Great Syaikh, in the course of reproducing his works. These lies were originally inserted into the original works of Ibn 'Arabi by Bathini Zindiqs, from among the Isma'ilis, no doubt with the support of foreign (mason) agencies, after their systematic study of Ibn 'Arabi's doctrines, in their attempt to destroy the sinews of Islam from within (by creating division and slander) so that they might replace Allah's Verses and the Prophet's Words (Traditions) with their own neo-Platonic philosophical doctrines, on the ruins of Islam and in their ignorance of the true nature of Ultimate Prophethood.

These villainous mystics were called 'ghalis' by both Twelver (genuine) Shi'ites and Sunnis. They, in their blindness of the unique, self-complete, all-encompassing perfection of Islam, rejected the Noble Syari'ah. Indeed, they laughed at the whole religion of Islam itself, while ascribing divinity and absolute authority to their own adepts (loosely called 'imams'). They were pseudo-Shi'ites, with ultra-strong military tendency (associated with the Assassins), subscribing to the shallowest kind of theosophical extremism; and yes, they still exist today, especially in the Eastern Part of the Islamic World (such as Northern India and Pakistan), often misleading others in the name of Islamic Sufism and Illuminationist Philosophy (al-Hikmah al-Isyraq).

The great falsification of many of Ibn 'Arabi's doctrines took place immediately after the destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate by the razing Mongol forces. During the vacuum and impotence of both centralized, protective, secular power and authoritative religious scientists ('ulema, including genuine Sufi Syaikhs), many of these 'ghalis' aligned themselves with the Timurid Rulers and disguised themselves as 'sufis' and 'dervishes' in order to 'rebuild' Sufism (the culture of dervishes, later called 'haydaris' (the libertines), whom the great Mulla Shadra criticized openly), stamping it with their own mystical brand of heresy.

I'll just mention one of the contemptible fabrications they have attributed to Ibn 'Arabi (which, unfortunately, so often appears in modern prints of his books):

"...From one point of view, the Seal of Sainthood (who comes after Muhammad, in a cycle beginning with him) is inferior to Muhammad, for he is subject to the Syari'ah of the Seal of Prophethood; yet, from another point of view, he is indeed superior (to Muhammad) for the incidental sphere of activities of Muhammad was limited and its perfection depends on the activities of the Seal of Sainthood in the due course."

This is an absolute lie and greatly contradicts Ibn 'Arabi's own exposition of al-Haqiqah al-Muhammadiyyah (the Reality of Muhammad) as the Primacy, Completeness, and Sine Qua Non of Existence, without otherness (contingent multiplicity or 'shadow'), on all levels, Essential (Absolute, Eternal) and Expansive (Creational, Temporal), due to the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) being the First Self-Complete, Self-Inclusive, All-Encompassing Manifestation (Tajalli) of Allah's Essence (Dzat Allah) unto Allah Himself, which Allah subsequently displays, by means of creation, in the universes, which act as 'mirrors' for His Absolute Image (Muhammad), along with all the intelligible Names and Attributes emanating from him (s.a.w.s.). Just as Allah is Ahad, Muhammad is Ahmad, in perfect, unbroken, one-to-one correspondence, representing the Singular Station of the Universal, Absolute Seal. In his (Ibn 'Arabi's) own words, which have also been elaborated upon by his greatest genuine expositor, Sayyid 'Abd al-Karim al-Jilli al-Qadiri,

"His (Muhammad's) elemental sign is 'Mim', signifying al-Ahadiyyah al-Jam' (Total, Singular Self-Inclusiveness/Self- Uniqueness), nothing comes out of his Reality and nothing enters it; he gathers and manifests All in All, for he is Allah's Most Perfect Manifestation and Mirror. The Names and Attributes of Allah, as well as the different ranks of (incidental) prophets, emanate only from the Nature of his Sealness."

Also,

"He (Muhammad) is the Leader of all existences. Their atoms are permeated and sealed only with the Elementary Nature of his Primordial Perfection. None can approach his Primacy, either from within or from without, for his Reality is the Only Sign of Allah's Oneness, both for Allah, by His Own Essence and in His Own Essence, and for Creation, by their multiplicity-bearing creationality and in themselves."

This Muhammadan Perfection is indeed beyond temporality (spatial process), expansiveness, particularity, and directionality as the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) himself has said, "My Station is neither in the East (of something) nor in the West (of something)," and, "With me are All Names." Also, "We are the First, We are the Middle (Continuity), and We are the Last."

Indeed, Syaikh Ibn 'Arabi has repeatedly stated that the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) himself, and only he (s.a.w.s.), is both the Absolute Prophet (an-Nabi al-Muthlaq) and the Absolute Saint (al-Wali al-Muthlaq), the Archetypal Perfect Man (al-Insan al-Kamil) for whose sake the worlds came to be by the sublime act of creation and manifestation, which is a most sanctified recognition in the circle of genuine, intellectual Sufis who truly understand Ibn 'Arabi's theosophical system as it should be understood. He is the Absolute Image ((Ha) Mim) of Allah, and the Total Mirror (Dal) displaying that Image as well, i.e., the Reality of the Cosmos itself in its fundamental atomic and expansive exterior forms. For this reason, as we have presented elsewhere, the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) is as-Sayyid al-Wujud (Ya Sin) with respect to the totality of existences, as-Sabab al-Maujud in his capacity as the Isthmus (Barzakh) connecting the Hidden Essence and Manifest Causality (Creationality, Contingency of Multiplicity), and al-Huwiyyah al-'Alam at the heart of his splendid rank as the Universal Soul.

This way, Allah has essentially performed creation by the Order 'Kun', which is the Sign of Muhammadan Perfection, where the letter 'Kaf' stands for al-Kaf (Bahr) al-Qudrat (the Ocean of Power of the Muhammadan Reality) and where the letter 'Nun' stands for Nur Muhammad (the Muhammadan Light). Furthermore, the statement 'Kun faya kun' refers to the manifestation of Adam as a first-rank Image of Oneness (Singularity) of the Muhammadan Reality, so that he (Adam) may know Allah through his own Reality (within himself), thereby becoming the Locus of Tauhid (Existential-Essential Unity) itself. Adam's archetypal signature, Alif Dal Mim, reflects the fact that he, by his being fashioned of Muhammadan Reality, is the archetypal and manifest Entirety of the Universe itself, the Mirror-Expanse of Being (Dal) where Allah (Alif) beholds His Absolute Image, Muhammad (Mim), and vice versa.

By this genuine recognition, as strongly emphasized by traditional Poles (Aqthab) such as Hadhrat 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jailani (q.s.), Hadhrat Ahmad ar-Rifa'i, Hadhrat Abu-l Hassan asy-Syadzili, Hadhrat 'Umar as-Suhrawardi, Hadhrat Bayazid al-Busthami, Hadhrat Baha' ad-Din an-Naqsybandi, and Hadhrat Muhammad 'Abd al-Karim as-Saman al-Khalwati (as well as Imam al-Ghazali himself), it is absolutely false, in general, to raise the rank of Saints above that of Prophets: Sainthood remains general while Prophethood is a special, convergent (all-encompassing) intellectual rank within the vastness of that generality. Muhammadan Prophethood (Absolute Prophethood) is the Highest Noetic (Intellectual) Capacity/Presence, often likened to the Highest Established Mountain (Thur) in Witnessing (Musyahadah), representing Prophetic Intellectual Uniqueness with respect to Witnessing Allah's Essence, while Muhammadan Sainthood (Absolute Sainthood) is the Sea (Expanse) of Intimacy without a shore, signifying the Generality of Friendship-Intimacy with al-Haqq Ta'ala.

All the great historical Prophets (al-Hadhrah al-Anbiyya) have received their ranks directly from the Highest, All-Encompassing Muhammadan Presence (al-Hadhrah al-Ahmadiyyah al-Muhammadiyyah) without an intermediary, which is their actual uniqueness and superiority (over general Saints), while only a special kind of Saint (in whose person the Great Muhammadan Sealness (Khatmiyyah) appears) can reach their general rank, receiving the overflows (fuyudh) of Nur Muhammad (Muhammadan Reality-Light) directly from the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) without an intermediary.

In general, Saints are subject to a long, directive hierarchy of mediation (through a chain of Saints), instead of receiving Direct Endowment of the Muhammadan Reality. The most unique Saint is known as the Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood of the age. So long as the Appearance of Sealness takes place in such a person, Ibn 'Arabi himself once rightly claimed that he was indeed one; yet he realized that the Fullest Appearance was not for him; ultimately, it is the sole right of al-Qa'im al-Mahdi.

Also, there are two kinds of Muhammadan Sainthood with respect to expansiveness: Special-Legislative and General. The Seal of Special-Legislative Sainthood (al-Walayah al-Muhammadiyyah al-Khasha) is Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.), while the Seal of General Sainthood (al-Walayah al-Muhammadiyyah al-'Ammah) is the Prophet 'Isa (a.s.) who shall indeed descend again as a Muhammadan Saint, representing both the Syari'ah and the Haqiqah of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), lending his full support unto Imam al-Mahdi.

The story is much longer when it comes to the full elaboration of the types of Prophethood and Sainthood encompassed by the Muhammadan Reality; yet may this be enough for now to end all controversies regarding Syaikh al-Akbar.

It must also be noted though that, not withstanding the great intellectual capacity of Ibn 'Arabi, he was not 'ma'shum' (without fault) in his numerous secondary expositions (about the branches of his primary doctrine, al-Wahdah al-Wujud); at one point, he was simply too immersed in the expansive patterns, rather than the absolute depth, of the multiplicity of the reality of Sainthood, and once he did make an erroneous, unnecessary deduction concerning the superiority of Sainthood over Messengership (Risalah) in the Person of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.), who is the Ultimate Prophet, Messenger, and Saint at once. The truth is, only the Absolute Prophet, who is also the Absolute Saint at once, can bear the Manifest Rank of Final, Authoritative Messengership (which, from the point of view of the Syari'ah, is the locus of descent of the Qur'an), irrespective of the Risalah being described as an outward or inward task (in fact, it concerns both outward laws and inner mysteries). Comparing the apparent ranks here inherent in the Singular Person of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) appears to be misleading; it is like a superfluous oxymoronic statement, "The (Ideal) Ruler is inferior to the Best of Men." Rather, it is intuitively clear that (Ideal) Kingship is naturally reserved for the Best of Men alone.

Sometimes, it just takes a higher, or at least an equal, intellect (as long as it is also supported by a most unique, singular emanation/concentration of the Divine Essence) than that of Ibn 'Arabi to be able to genuinely assess him, apart from simply being mesmerized by his genius. For, although he was a great genius, almost beyond comparison for many, many centuries, we, Muslims, should expect a greater genius ('Arif) to supersede him, explaining the science of Haqiqah (Reality) perhaps with fresh emphasis and from hidden angles. Soon, insya Allah.

I shall close this note by quoting Ibn 'Arabi's words regarding Sufism and himself:

"The Most Perfect Saint is he who sees no other station in front of him, other than the Station of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.). In his capacity (as Watad, 'Pillar'), he does not even see the station of the Pole (Quthb)."

"My system of knowledge is entirely based on Kasyf (Unveiling), not as many (philosophers and jurists) imagine, for there is no rational direction in which this Station can be approached, nor can it be achieved merely by means of striving towards excellency. Rather, this is the reward of my fully following the Sunnah of the Prophet and a great bounty from Allah Himself; in fact, I have received the entirety of gnosis, including the Pillars and Explanations, directly from the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) himself, both in wakefulness and in sleep, as an 'Arif has said, 'By Allah, if the Messenger of Allah was veiled from me even for just a second, I would not consider myself as being among you (Muslims).'"


Mahabbah,

Dani