ShaD--Dal--Qaf

Salam AllaH,


ShaD--Dal--Qaf


Thaalama asykuu gharaamii yaa Nuura-l WujuuD, wa unadi yaa Habiibii, yaa Huu-MuHaMMaD, yaa Siraaja-l Anbiyaa'i, yaa Taaja-l Awliyaa'i, yaa Mahbuubii, inna qalbii dzaab. 'Alaika-AllaaHu Shallaa Rabbii Dzu-l Jalaali wa-l Ikraam; yakfii yaa Nuura-l 'ArsyiLlaaH, inna hajri thaal. Sayyidii wa-l 'umru walla juud bi-l washli juud.

AllaaHuMMa Shalli wa Sallim wa Baarik daa'iman abadan 'alaa RuuHi-l A'zhaM wa HuWiyati-l 'AalaM, Nuuri-l WujuuD Sayyidinaa MuHaMMaDin Nuuri Kunhi-dz Dzaati wa Nuuri Kulli Nuur; yaa Huu, yaa HaQQ.


O faqir! May AllaH Ta'ala grant you direct meeting with Sayyidina MuHaMMaD---the One who glorifies AllaH the most by that which is Himself, the way He really is in Himself, the One who is glorified by AllaH the most, by His own Essence (Dzat)---so that the highest of Ma'rifat and Mahabbat, the most unique of Unveiling (Mukasyafat al-Qulub al-Muqarrab) following the perfection of one's self-constitution by the All-Merciful, no longer needs to be poured down in chained, contingent forms (such as words) but shall be manifest directly in you and shall radiate through you.

May you be granted so much more than what has been granted upon this poor faqir, dearest. May you reach so high, that this faqir can see you no longer except in his humility! Amin, Amin! (AaMiiN, by the way, is the invisible Muhammadan Pillar that supports the Universe, just as Imam al-Mahdi is called AMiNalLaH.)


اللهُم يا هو يا حق

وجود الله حق الوجود


AlHaMDulillaH, despite all limitations on the side of creation, we witness how beautiful and merciful AllaHu Ta'ala, our Sweetheart, is. And I, a weak servant, ever seek refuge in HuWa Ta'ala from istidraj and bathil. Apparently, this shall be the conclusive end of our exposition concerning Ma'rifat and Mahabbat.

What praise can possibly land upon this faqir, beloved? All praise belongs to AllaHu Ta'ala, Rabbul 'Izzat, and Sayyidina wa Mawlana MuHaMMaD is the One praised the most by AllaH, beyond the shuwar (forms) of manifest existence, i.e., by AllaH's own Dzat (Essence).

HuWa AHaD wa HuWa AHMaD

Qul (AHMaD!) HuWa-AllaaHu AHaD

Qul (HuuM!) ur-RuH

It is sufficient that a faqir is hidden in the Two LaM's of AllaH (Alif--LaM--LaM--Ha) as HuWa Ta'ala, oh so secretly, loves him. These Two LaM's are like 'two endless theophanic vacua' for the general inhabitants of the Universe, including the Mala'ikat (Laa, Laa, Laa, ad infinitum; none can approach HuWa Ta'ala without being totally extinct here), but, for AhlullaH (Ahl al-Wushul ila-AllaH), salam AllaHu 'AlaiHiM, the two LaM's (with MiM fully manifest from AllaH's Most Hidden Essence) are the Two Muhammadan Bows of Reality, BaQa' wa FaNa'; WujuD wa SyuHuD.

Although you may already know what the story with Hadhrat Musa is about, beloved of my heart, what did Hadhrat Musa truly see at Mount Thur, in the valley of ThuWa?

Tha--WaW--Sin

Tha (Tha--Ha) is the Station of Ruku' of the Anbiya and Awliya. As we have noticed before, in the Shalat of a Perfect Muhammadan Mushalli, Ruku' is the Station of the First (Outer Bow) of the Two Bows of Reality (QaBa QaWasayn) or the Ahmadan 'Closer Still' ('ADNa)---where All the Shifat and Asma' of AllaH Ta'ala are brought unto the total transcendental Convergence of the QalaM and the LaWH (the two first Holy Emanations of RuH MuHaMMaDi), hence necessitating Annihilation (Fana' fi al-Musyahada al-Hudhuriya). This is the Entrance into the Dal (D, the Absolute Universe) of MHMD (HaQiQatu-l MuHaMMaDiya); and is equivalent to Laylatu-l QaDr, the Unveiling of Mount Qaf, where All the Power (Qudrat) of the Absolute Unseen (the Reality of MuHaMMaD) is 'gathered' and 'sealed' infinitely (due to Ha--MiM: none enters It, none comes out of It).

That Annihilation ends with QiYaMah (I'tiDal), WaHDat al-MuHaMMaDiya.

Hence, with the exception of the Ma'shumin al-'Alawiya of Ahl al-Bayt, including the primordial prophets and saints (numbering 124,000), none can gain Entrance into that Sealing Realm of Power from the lower worlds, including the Angelic realms; none except the closest Awliya under the Footstall of Sayyidina MuHaMMaD. These Awliya are the most loved servants of AllaHu Jalla JalaluH; HuWa Ta'ala showers them so secretly with His Ridha for the sake of Sayyidina MuHaMMaD, al-Habib al-Mahbub.

Such Awliya are mostly hidden from our sight nowadays. How can they not be, when all the 40 Maqamat of Sincerity, Witnessing, and Existence hide them and are hidden in them?

The Pen (QalaM) is 'split into Two' here, at the Apex of Sidratu-l Muntaha (the Furthermost Gnostic Tree). One Point touches upon the LaWH and its manifestation can be written down by way of syar'i revelation as well as (most categories of) ilham, while the other one does not touch upon it and is not touched upon by anything from above and below, existing as Pure Radiant Sublimity, which can descend only through Lathifa al-Akhfa (the Fifth of the Five Presences of the perfected heart). UMMi, uMMi---we cannot describe just what That is, which is the Ultimate Secret of the Pre-Eternal (Azali) Kalima Laa ilaaha illaa-AllaaHu---MuHaMMaDuN Rasuul AllaaH, except by the following Primordial Dzikr:

HuWa-AllaaHu laa HuWa illaa Huu--MuHaMMaD

HuuM ANAA HuuM

That is the experience of the Total Hudhur of Dzat AllaH in MHMD:

MiM---ANAA HuWa
(k)Ha---HuWa HuWa
MiM---HuWa ANAA
Dal---ANAA-l HaQQ

Again, the substantial actualization of this Muhammadan Secret is only for those Awliya of AllaH who have been granted Abode (Existence) in the Effusive Sealing Reality of Dal (D), of His Absolute Sweetheart, Shall-AllaHu Ta'ala 'AlaiHi wa AaliH.

Hence, if ordinary people, including fake teachers (pseudo-Sufis), merely imitate what We have alluded to here regarding the Muhammadan Reality, and if they think that the Muhammadan Reality, with Its subsequent 7 Tajalliyat (Manifestations), applies to just any creature without being self-perfected (through the Maqamat and Ahwal), they shall be repelled into thousand forms of illusion (wahm) and wander endlessly in the realm of cursed self-glorification, quite like Fir'aun. The Qur'an says,

"ShaD. By the Qur'an containing Reminder." (38:1)

"So when I have proportioned him ('ADaM) and breathed into him My RuH, then fall down before him in prostration." (38:72)

We see here that the noble Surah begins, and is sealed by, the Muhammadan ShaD (WaHDat al-WujuD al-MuHaMMaDiya; Muhammadan Existential Wholeness); which is a variant expression of the Hudhuri Power-Reality of Qaf and Dal, which is why we say that which AllaH Himself says,

MuHaMMaD (ShaD): Shall-AllaaHu Ta'ala 'AlaiHi wa sallaM (MiM--ShaD)

And so the Truth is that the RuH (RuH al-A'zhaM) belongs only to the First Tajalli of Dzat AllaH, who is Sayyidina MuHaMMaD, the Being of the (Most Hidden) Pupil of the Eye of Reality (al-Insan al-GhayN al-'AyN al-WujuD), whose RuH is the First Reality, whose 'AQl is the First Intellect (Monad, Logos-Form) and the First Eye-Determination ('AyN-QaDr) of Unity, whose QalB is the First World of Signs and the First Mirror of Unity, whose 'Arsy is the First Picture and Signature, whose Barzakh is the First Self-Dual Veil (where Jibra'il (the Muhammadan Isthmus-Intellect) resides), and whose Nafs is the First Ever-Ascending Expansiveness (the First Phenomenon, the Universal Dust-Stream) and the First Contractive-Noumenal Microcosm (the Motes of Universal Light-Truth)---weak servants like ourselves cannot even claim to have That (RuH), only souls (relatively called 'arwah' in imitation of the One (Singular) RuH, just as the term 'nas' (or 'insan') is often used in the same manner with respect to the real, perfect Insan (Insan al-Kamil)) with various forms of radiance. Only upon being Perfected (Resurrected), a servant is given a Majestic Epiphanic Spark (Faydh, Syarq, RuH al-QuDsiya) of RuH MuHaMMaDi by AllaH Jalla JalaluH. Only this way can he then be said to have been 'fully created' (perfected, resurrected). This way, he has become Insan al-Kamil at the level of TauHiD adz-Dzatiya, like Hadhrat 'ADaM; and the 7 Tajalliyat of Nur-Sirr-Dzat MuHaMMaDi truly appear in and through him---that is essentially MuHaMMaD al-MaHDi, for this Unity happens only in M--H--M--D, in the Dal (D) of Sayyidina MuHaMMaD. Other claimed unions---without perfection---are naught but illusory ones compared to the Absolute Muhammadan Union.

So, consider, beloved of my heart, how infinite AllaH's Love and Mercy is unto His servants (no matter how weak, like myself) for the sake of Sayyidina MuHaMMaD alone (the One and Only Habib AllaH), to whom belongs the Absolute Reality of all That. Alif--LaM--MiM--ShaD.

Even the highest of Awliya are simply 'weak servants' feeding on the mighty crumbs of Sayyidina MuHaMMaD at his Four-Pillared Square Table, just as all their miracles (karamat) only derive from him. AllaHu Akbar katsiran Kabira, HaQQ AllaHu HaQQu-l WujuD; MuHaMMaDuN Nur AllaH.

There is nothing else to confess except this! I am so weak indeed---all Glory is AllaH's and AllaH's Endless Most Hidden, Most Manifest Shalat upon Sayyidina MuHaMMaD!

Dearest, following Annihilation (FaNa') through the Unveiling (Mukasyafah) of the Divine Muhammadan Throne ('Arsy AllaH) in the presence of the perfected heart, 'Ayn--ShaD is the Furthest Station of the Wali in HaQiQatu-l MuHaMMaDiya---and so he is stationed within It right under the Rank of Absolute Sealness (Dal; D) emanating from the Most Singular Ahmadan-Muhammadan Dzat (M--H--M), whose Content no one among us has any share. However, this way, the Wali, by AllaH's Mercy, becomes the Radiant Locus, 'Ayn--NuN, of the Muhammadan Secret Itself, according to the following Hierarchy, i.e., the Five (One + Four) Holy Presences:

0. Dzat AllaH (Ghayb al-Ghayb al-AHaDiya adz-Dzatiya bila Ta'ayn)

1. Nur-Sirr-Dzat MuHaMMaD (MiM--Ha--MiM--Dal; Ha--MiM)

2. 'Ayn al-HaQiQa al-MuHaMMaDiya (Kaf--Ha--Ya--'Ayn--ShaD; 'Ayn--ShaD)
3. Mir'at al-HaQiQa al-MuHaMMaDiya (Tha--WaW--Sin; 'Arsy AllaH)

4. Mir'at Tsani (the 'Alamin, the 18,000 worlds)


***


How does one strive towards the Beloved's Cradle of True Love and Perfection?

Ideally, may AllaH so splendidly assist you, one shall completely encompass the three dimensions of Islamic learning: Bayan (textual Qur'anic/Prophetic knowledge, through seeking knowledge), Burhan (affirmative external reflection, through the expansive intellect), and 'Irfan ('Ilm Ladunni, through Muhammadan self-purification, which ultimately depends on His Favor and Mercy alone). There are a few symbols alluded to so beautifully in the Qur'an pertaining to this.

Consider the following verse concerning the Prophet Ibrahim:

When night came upon him, he saw a star, and he said, "This is my rabb;" but when the star set, he said to himself, "I do not like those who set." When he saw the shining moon he said, "This is my rabb," but when the moon also set, he said, "If my Rabb does not guide me, I am afraid I too will become one of those who have bone astray." Then, when he saw the sun he said, "This is my rabb; this is the biggest (of them all);" but when the sun also set, he cried out, "O my people, I disown all those whom you associate with God; I turn away from them all and towards Him who created the heavens and the earth, and I shall not be of those who associate others with Him." (Qur'an 6:77-80)

Beloved, know that the Sun here refers to the 'AQl (in this case, a mighty near-prophetic intellect, of course). The Shining Moon represents objects magnified and illuminated by the 'AQl. And the Stars refer to the potentialities of the 'AQl. Of course, Hadhrat Ibrahim was a prophet and ma'shum, so he could not easily mistake the sun, the moon, and the stars for God; but, apparently, he did undergo intense intellectual and spiritual trial this way, as if seeing the Tajalliyat of al-HaQQ in himself, nearly 'mistaking' them for AllaH's Essence. Only then then Mukasyafa Haqiqiya took place for him.

Next, into the subject of Suluk, the (archetypal) 'horse' in the Qur'an represents the soul of man 'galloping towards perfection'. It gallops as if an enemy carrying calamity was trying to take hold of it (reign it) from all perceivable directions, every second, with the breath. Hence it has to be constantly aware of both itself (its inherent power) and the danger, and its destination, and it proceeds swiftly, like an arrow of Absolute Certainty. It has four supports (four legs): Syari'at, Thariqat, Ma'rifat, Haqiqat with which it runs in order to fully encompass its nafs towards Absolute Sublimity.

The Qur'an calls horses 'steeds of war', referring to Jihad Akbar against the lower nafs, as if AllaH was saying, "Be ready with all your Might, by Our Might, for then your (Our) enemies (external and internal shaytan) shall be afraid of you."

The perfection (the encompassment) of the entirety of the horse is none other than the Buraq, when the Four Supports are brought beyond self-density and gathered back into, and led by, the First Tajalli of RuH MuHaMMaDi, called 'AQl al-Mujarrad, the perfect, pure Divine Intellect, which is One (as Direct Emanation) with the First, Original Muhammadan Intellect ('AQl al-MuHaMMaDiya al-Kulliya) and squarely encompasses the Universal Soul (Nafs al-Kauniya). For this reason, the Holy Prophet and Sayyidina 'Ali once said, "The Purpose of Ibadah is 'AQl," which refers to this 'AQl (in contrast to the shadowy, prevalent one)---referred to as Misykat al-Anwar and Mishbah al-Mishbah in the blessed Surah Nur.

To summarize the reality of the Mu'min (he, the Muslim, who has realized the Real for himself), the Buraq has two azali wings: Ma'rifat and Mahabbat, as if replacing the objective dense role of the legs in the running horse, for the Ground of Being of the perfected servant here is the Lahut---AHaDiyat fi Kulli MiM---no longer the Nasut.

As for the 'female cow' (al-Baqarah), it is the symbol for Nafs ar-Radhiyah (the Content Soul)---with universal feminine emphasis, while the color yellow represents Nafs al-Muthma'inah (the Pleased Soul).

The profound Qur'an indeed begins in composition by the Fatiha (though historically, by descent, it begins with Surah al-'Alaq) followed by al-Baqarah (of the surrendering self of Jihad Akbar, Nafs ar-Radhiyah; while the trappings of the nafs are also described and epitomized by the Bani Isra'il) and ends with an-Nas, that of the Insan Kamil---hence we are given the Ascending Migration (Minhaj) of the Salik.


***


As for the Universal Significance of number 7, such as in the 7 heavens and the 7 earths---and the 7 rounds of the Ka'ba, know that 7 is the number of Tanazzul Nur-Sirr-Dzat MuHaMMaDi, of the spheres of Tajalliyat of what is called Halat al-Muhammadiya or the Absolute Unseen (the First All-Encompassing Manifestation of AllaH's Stateless Essence, Ghayb al-Ghayb al-AHaDiya adz-Dzatiya, also often called the Greatest, Most Hidden Universal Element (Unshur al-A'zhaM)), which is the Ahmadan Content of RuH al-A'zhaM, that of Sayyidina MuHaMMaD---there is no letter, except MiM (Kulli AHaDiyat al-JaMi', the Allness of the Essence-Sealing One, which is the same as Alif; the One, the First), to represent it; and consequently its knowledge is not to be taught in written form but must be received through the most hidden locus of the perfected heart (Lathifa al-Akhfa), by AllaH's Power and Mercy alone. UMMi, uMMi, AllaHuMMa---cease using words!

Numerically, the Name MHMD is known to bear the value 92 (11). Besides 9 (MiM, Maliku-l HaQQu-l Mubin, ANAA MuHaMMaDuN Nurun 'Ala Nur) and 2 (QaBa QaWasayn aw 'ADNa), we have, among others, three primary sacred numbers here:

11 = 9 + 2 (HuWa; Taraqi bi Dzat AllaH)
7 = 9 - 2 (ANAA; Tanazzul bi Dzat AllaH)
4 = 11 - 7 (the Seal of WujuD; HaQQ; ShaD--Dal--Qaf)

AllaaHuMMa Shalli wa Sallim wa Baarik daa'iman abadan 'alaa Haa--MiiM, wa Yaa--Siin, wa Thaa--Haa Sayyidinaa MuHaMMaDiN Nuuril Anwaar wa Sirril Asraar wa Sayyidil Abraar; wa 'alaa AaliH, Ahli Thaa--Haa ajma'iin.

Subhan-AllaH, in addition to what this faqir has shared here regarding MHMD (which has caused my Pen to break), which is the actualized Secret of all Anbiya and Awliya of the highest rank, let us just listen to Syaikh al-Akbar Ibn 'Arabi regarding the Holy Prophet in his Naqsy al-Fushush al-Hikam:


In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate


The Wisdom of Singularity was dedicated to the Logos (Shurah) of Muhammad because he is the First Determination with which the One Essence determined Itself before It manifested Itself in any of the other infinite Self-determinations. And these Self-determinations are ranked according to genus, species, kind, and individual, some of them included under the others. So he encompasses all of the Self-determinations, and he is One and Singular in Existence, without parallel, for no Self-determination is equal to him in rank; and there is nothing above him but the Absolute One Essence, which is 'purified' from every determination, attribute, name, designation, definition, and description. So to him belongs the Absolute Singularity.

In addition, Singularity was actualized for the first time through his Immutable Archetype, since the first archetype to be effused by means of the Most Holy Emanation (al-Faydh al-Aqdas) was his. So he attained, through the Unique Essence, the Level of Divinity and his Immutable Archetype
the Supreme Singularity.

His miracle (mu'jiza), which proves his Prophethood, is the Qur'an, which is no different from his Self and his Reality in respect of its embracing all realities, or the verbal expression which is indicative of this All-Embracingness and which came to him (without a veil whatsoever) from Allah. In either case, the Qur'an is miraculous, for this All-Embracingness and Concentration is not possessed by any of the realities, because all of the realities are contained within the Muhammadan Reality as the part is contained in the whole; nor does any revealed book denote such an All-Embracingness and Concentration, for the Qur'an is the Comprehensive Unity of all the divine books.

Allah in His Essence is independent of the world and its inhabitants. But His
infinite Names require that each have a locus of manifestation, so that the effect of that Name will appear in that locus, and the Named---which is the Essence---will reveal Itself in that locus to him who professes the Divine Unity. For example, 'the Merciful', 'the Nourisher', and 'the Vanquisher' are each a Name of Allah, and their manifestation takes place through the Merciful and the Object of Mercy, the Nourisher and the Nourished, and the Vanquisher and the Vanquished. So as long as there is no Merciful or Object of Mercy in the world, Mercifulness will not become manifested; and, in the same way, Nourishing and Vanquishing.

Moreover, all of the Names must be judged analogously. Therefore, the reason for the manifestation of all particular beings is the demand of the Names of Allah. And all of the Names are under the sway of the Name ALLAH, which encompasses and comprehends them. Further still, this Name also necessitates a Universal Locus of Manifestation, which because of its All-Comprehensiveness would correspond to the All-Comprehensive Name and be the Vicegerent of Allah in conveying Effusion and perfections from the Name ALLAH to what is other than it.

That All-Comprehensive Locus-Substance is the Muhammadan Spirit (Ruh al-Muhammadiya), which is referred to by the hadits, "The first thing manifested by Allah was my Spirit," or "my Light."

The Root and the Origin of all creatures is the ontological level of the Reality of
Realities, which is the Muhammadan Reality or the Light of Ahmad, the Form of the One Unique Presence. That ontological level embraces all divine and cosmic
perfections and establishes the measure of all the levels of human, animal, and angelic harmonies. The world and its inhabitants are the forms and the parts of his Particularization, and 'Adam and his children are subjugated towards the goal of his Perfection. To this Reality refer the words of the hadits, "I am the Master of the children of 'Adam," and, "'Adam and those who come after him are under my Banner."


Indeed, HuWa AHaD wa HuWa AHMaD. All in All is but (manifest as) One Form, MiM, AllaH's First, Absolute Reality (as Essence unto Essence), Light-Form, and Truth-Secret (Haa--MiiM), with no otherness and shadow, besides whom there is no other true form for AllaH's Essence (Dzat), in whom HuWa Ta'ala can most uniquely witness and praise Himself in Being Himself.

There is a beautiful famous hadits related by Hadhrat Jabir ibn 'Abdillah in which the Prophet explained the First Tajalli of Dzat AllaH (his Nur, Nur MuHaMMaD; Nur Kunhi-dz Dzat) and the creation of the First Four (the First Multiplicity out of Muhammadan Singularity) from his Most Blessed Light (namely, the QaLaM, the LaWH, the 'Arsy, and the Pillars of the 'Arsy, while the rest of the Universe was created from the corresponding 'residual' Light), when there was naught in AllaH's Secret Manifestation but this Nur-Sirr-Dzat MuHaMMaD. This hadits is similar to that related by Imam 'Ali, which has more detailed elaboration as it speaks of the creation of the 12 Veils of Majesty and other manifestations (the creation of the subsequent realms).

In short, Ma'rifatulLaH is, for he who has been graced by Our Light:


هو الله لا هو الا هوُ محمدٌ نور سر الذات

هوُم أنا هوُم


هو }} محمد

م ح م د


أنا هو }} م
هو هو }} ح
هو أنا }} م
أنا الحق }} د


ح م

هو الله لا هو الا هو }} محمد

اللهم صل و بارك و سلم دائما ابدا علي نور كنه الذات سيدنا محمد نور كل نور

ع ص


Here ends the role of this faqir's Pen and comes the Silence of the Rising Fire, as HuWa Ta'ala wishes.

Salam AllaH. Salam MuHaMMaD.

AllaH's most needy servant,

Dal--NuN (Dani)



Dedicated, with Fatiha and Shalat Nur, to the Spirit of Syaikh al-Akbar Ibn 'Arabi