Fusus al-Hikam (Bezels of Wisdom)

Ishq bazt mi kunad ba kish tan Shud bahana darmiyan-t-mard wa zun He plays love with Himself And becomes a plea between man and woman. The prophets are sent to guide the people. They call the people, in general, towards good; though their efforts to call individuals to the right path have at times proved abortive. They give orders according to the commands in general of God, which have utility in view, and not according to the absolute Will of God, whichis dependent on the nature of ayan-i-thabita, for knowledge is dependent on the known; the knowledge of 4 triangle being as it were based on the nature of a triangle, not of a square or rhombus. Prophets have to look after communities ; their laws are therefore utilitarian. Doctors have to look after one patient at atime. The object is the same, methods are different. A prophet again has only a message, he works and produces good results, if the ayan are in his favour ; if not he leaves the people to themselves. Even if the ayan are in favour, prayer is necessary for without asking there isno granting. Hence the Quran enjoined Udwuni 2512726 lakum (Suratul Mumin XL: 60) ‘ Pray and the prayer will be granted’. The prayer may be in words or in state or in aptitude; the aptitudes of ayan were their prayer. The command to the Prophet (peace be on him) therefore was ; La tahdi mon ahbabta wula kinnallaha yahdi mon yashau,” (Suratul Qasas XXviul: 56). You cannot reclaim whomsoever you like, but God reclaims whomsoever He likes ’’, for God knows whatsoever is inayan. Hence the command in the Suratu'l Hud to the Prophet (peace be on him) was Fastagimu kama umirta (Suratu Hud X1: 112). “ Doyour duty without regards for consequences '’, and this made him prematurely old, as the Shayk has narrated.

THE WISDOM OF JOSEPH (FAsI-I-YOUSUFFIYYAH) 47 CHAPTER IX THE WISDOM OF JOSEPH (Fas-i-Yousuffiyyah) The wisdom of this Bezel consists in the dawning of light on the ‘limited thought’ (as opposed to unli. mited thought which is Alami-i-Mithal or world of similitudes) ; this dawning of light is the prelude to the descent of revelations. Ayesha said that it was with true dreams that revelations began to come to the Prophet (peace be on him); and these dreams were as clear as the early morning, and continued for six months, after which the angel came. Hence the Prophet said /zzan nasa niyamun fa tdha matu intabahu “People are asleep; and when they die, they awake.” Every thing seen in a dream requires interpretation; the life of man is a dream within dream. Things in dreams are in one form and they appear in another. Knowledge appeared in the form of milk; the Prophet (peace be on him) interpreted it accordingly. When revelation descended, the Prophet (peace be on him) was taken out of ordinary circumstances, and wrapped up in clothes; and he used to disappear from those who were with him. He felt these things in the world of thought and could not be said to be asleep and dreaming. The angel also came to him in the world of thought. He saw him with his own eyes and recognized him as Gabriel, with the eye of discernment.

Joseph said “I saw eleven stars. and the sun and moon bowing before me”; he saw his eleven brothers and father and aunt in these forms. This dream did not emanate from his will or from the will of those concerned in the dream. The latter therefore had no cognizance of their having appeared in the dream and were ignorant, and the former did not have cognizance of the transformation of forms, and referred the dream to his father Jacob, who having understood it forbade the divulging of it to his brothers. This dream subsequently translated itself from the thought-world (alami-mithali) to the causal world. The Prophet has said :—Axnasu uiyamun “ people are asleep’. Joseph finally said, when the dream came to pass, Haza 1202/11 ruyai min gablu gad Jaalaha Rabbi haggan (Suratu Yousuff xu: 100). “This is the interpretation of my dream of old, which God has made true” 2.6, materialized in the sense-world, after it had existed in the thought-world. This is like the interpretation that a man gives toa dream ina dream, and when he awakes says he had _ given such an interpretation to the dream and God had made it veridical in the sense-wor!ld. Butthe Prophet called this world a dream and the next world a reality. 1 shall explain how this is : - whatever goes by the name of world or whatever is called the ghazr of God has the same relationship with God that shadow has with the substance. It is the reflection of God. The reflection will either be potential (as tree in the seed) or kinetic. This reflection is the shadow of the light of God, which is His existence on the realities of Possible Existence. A mountain at a distance looms dark, although it is not really so; the sky appears blue on account of the distance. Ayan (our realities) are not illuminated, - because they are adum (nothingness). Although they

are stable in the knowledge of God, they have no ex: istence of their own. Existence itself is light ; God has said, Alam tara tla Rabbtka kayfa mudda zilla. (Surat- “ul Furgan, xxv: 45.) “Have you not seen how thy Lord has lengthened His shadow. Wa lau shaa lajalahu saakinan (ocd), “ And if He had willed, He would have made it stationary” i. e. withdrawn it into hiddeness in His Dhat. Thus all things that you see are ayan (realities of things in the knowledge of God), over which the existence of God isspread out. As regards existence, they are His existence; and they are ayan, so far as forms are concerned. So far as existence is concerned, they are reflections; and so far as forms are concerned, they are the world and _ other-than-God. Thus the world has no existence of its own, while it is not merely a fancy or thought. It is a fancy inas much as it is not an addition on God or extraneous to Him. Shadow cannot be separated from the person. Thus you know how you are God, and how you are the world (other-than-God). God is both the microcosm and macrocosm,—pure and purer. Light appears in the colour which the bottle possesses; it has no colour of its own. The light that appears is the reflection of the glass of the bottle. Ifa man cleanses his heart, the manifestations of God become clearer and more abundant in him. Thus there are amongst us those, to whom God becomes sight, hearing &c- Their ayn (reality), on which reflection or existence of God falls, remains intact for all that; for God has said samahu wa basrahu “\ become his hearing and قلط‎ sight ”. The pronoun ‘his’ refers to banda. Such a banda (servant or ‘limited’) becomes nearer to God than other bandas.

Thus you and your sensations, which you call other-than-God are mere thought ; and the world is thought within thought. Existence itself is God, so far as His Dhat is concerned; for it points to its reality, which is Dhat; and so far as His asma are concerned, it is not wholly Dhat, for asma are many and different from one another and also contrary and contradictory, e.g.the ism guffur (pardoner) is contradictory to the ism muntaqim (avenger) and so on with zahir (apparent) and batin (real), and awwal (first) and akhar (last). One ism (name) is the same as the other, so far as the ‘named’ is concerned, which is the Truth ; and it is the ghair (other or foreigner) of the other, so far as the thought is concerned 224, so far as God in one’s fancy is concerned. Thus the Dhat is holy and pure, and His Existence is His Dhat and Oneness. Whatever is in thought is multiplicity; whosoever stabilizes himself on the -latter becomes of the world, and whosoever stabilizes himself on the former, becomes nearer to God, who is independent of the world; but he will not be nearer to God, so far as His aspects (asma) are concerned for He is independent of these asma (names) which indicate other ‘named’ also. God is One so far His reality or the Dhat is concerned. QOul hu allahu ahad “ Say, (O Prophet) God is One”, Adllahus samad, ‘God is independent,” so far as our dependence on Him is concerned, Lamvalid, “ He does not beget’? Wa lum vulad, “He was not begotten”, Walam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad, He is non-pariel (Swratul [khlas cx: | to 4).

Thus His Dhat is one, and His attributes are many. When the Dhat is independent of us all, it is named Absolute Oneness; and when It manifests attributes and asma, It becomes Oneness in multiplicity. Boththese aspects are covered by the title Ahad (sameness in Oneness). Our ayan (realities) are His shadows or light reflected on Himself. As regards eXistence, He is our reality; and as regards limitations He is not our reality. ‘ Note.—This bezel is called hikmat-i-nuriyyah, the wisdom of light. When man is well stabilized in the ordinances of religion which the previous bezel explained, the light of alam-imithal (the world of similitudes) and the mysteries thereof dawn onhim. The prophet Joseph had attained to this stage, and become acquainted with its mysteries, and interpreted dreams; which were reflections from that world. Everything other-thanGod (masiwallah) isa reflection. from the light of God. “ Light perceives things and things do not perceive the light” Za tudrikuhul absar wa hua yudrikul absar. (Sura Iv: 104). Everything consists of light, only that some stages of devolutions (tanuzzulat) are brighter than others; e.g., the soul-world is brighter than the world of similitudes ; and the latter is more bright than the causal world. Those in the causal world see at times things of the alam-imuthal in their real dreams—dreams which have not been brought about by the workings of the corporal body. The forms that are seen in real dreams are either in their actual con dition or ina foreign condition, which requires an interpretation ; they are again emanations from the will of the dreamer, when they become falsidical or from the will of the thing in the dream, when they become veridical; or from the will of both, as the appearance of Gabriel before the Prophet (peace be on him) or without the will of both as the dream of Joseph about his brothers, father, and aunt.

The world is reflection (z2/) from the light of God. Light (nur) is one of the names of God. Allahu nurus samawati wal ara (Suratur Nur—xxiv: 35).—“God is the light of the heavens and earth”. The Jight of Dhat streamed forth on the forms in the thought of God, and manifested itself in and according to those forms, and became external existence. In the first four hypostases of the sufis, Im (knowledge) Nur (light) Wujud (existence) and Shahud (observance) are interchangeable states. The world is potential as a thought-form in that stage. ‘‘ Thought and the object of thought are one and the same “‘ said Parmenides, the earliest of Greek idealists; by which he meant that the truth of all things is the thinking intelligence. The earliest idealism is different from what was evolved by later idealists, like Berkeley, who held that “ when we do everything in our power to conceive the existence of external bodies, we are all the time doing nothing but contemplating our own ideas” (a). ‘‘ Berkeley not only regarded the supposition that a material world really exists is not strictly demonstrable but false ; we are immediately certain of the existence of our thought’’(b). ‘The object-world is a mere abstraction to which we have no right to give an independent existence’’ (c).

Lewis explains the idealism of Fitche, Schelling and Hegel in the following words (d). “Tseeatree. Certain psychologists tell me that there are three things implied in this one fact, viz., a tree, an image of that tree, and a mind that apprehends that tree. Fitche tells me that it is alone who exist; the tree and image of it are one thing and that is a modification of my mind. This is subjective idealism. Schelling tells me that both the tree and my ego (self) are existences equally really real or ideal; but they are nothing less than modifications of the absolute, the infinite or unconditioned. This is objective idealism. But Hegel tells me that all these (a) Ribot, English Psychology P. 279, (2) Ueberweg, His. of Phi. Il. 8 (c) Ryland, Hand-book 2. 87 (2) His. of Phi. III. 209, THE WISDOM oF JOSEPH (FAsI-I-vousurrivvan) 53 explanations are false. The only thing really existing (in this one fact of vision) is the idea, the relation. The ego and the tree are but two terms of the relation and owe their reality to it. This is absolute idealism, The only real existences are certain ideas or relations.” Sir William Hamilton (a) says. ‘If the subject is taken as the original and genetic ; and the object is evolved from it as the product, the Theory of Idealism is established. On the other hand, ifthe object be assumed as the original and genetic, and the subject evolved from it as its product, the theory of Materialism is established.”

The theory enunciated by the Shayk differs from all these theories, excepting perhaps that of Schelling to a certain extent and is suz generzs. He posits Dhat, in which all sifat (attributes) are hidden, much like a tree in a seed. This is Dhat-i-Bahat (Absolute Dhat). Then attributes become visible in this Dhat., the Dhat with attributes of perfection istermed Allah. Attributes give rise to asma(name). Some asma are conditional, and some categorical; under the first set come asma like creator, providence; and under the second set are asma like pure, holy. The first set of asma become rab (ruler, cherisher) and require their murburb (ruled, cherished), for without the latter, there can be no manifestation of their attributes; and hence they conceive of forms, which should be their counterparts. These forms are in thought alone and “have not smelt the smell of existence’ Ma shammat rahiyatul wujud (in the words of the Shayk). The arbab (plural of rab) have manifested themselves in these forms which are termed ‘ limited’ (banda). This banda by itself is adum (nothingness). Junaka miyyatun wa inhum miyyatun (Susatuz Zumar, XXXIXx: 30.) ‘‘Vou are dead and they are dead’’, says the Quran; and the asma of Allahalone are manifest in externality from below the stage of Arsh (the throne of God’) and this portion of the existence

(a) Metaphysics1: 296, 207. is called tashbih (similitude) and the existence above the Arsh is called tanzih (purity). But belowthe Arsh, there is at the same time, tanzih in tashbih and tashbih in tanzih; for there can be no attributes without the pervading Dhat; no iceberg or even icicle without the water pervading it. Thus while the world is illusory so far as thought forms are concerned, it is real and solid so far as manifestations of sifat are concerned ; and the sifat are as real as the Dhat itself, as they are aspects of the Dhat ; only at times they become hidden in the Dhat. The Islamic idealism, which is the result of revelation ora peep into alam-i-ghaib (the unseen world) is thus quite different from the speculations of philosophers, ancient or modern. CHAPTER X THE WISDOM OF HUD (Fasi-i-Huddiyyah) Ma min dabbathin illa hua akhizum 62 nastyattha inna Rabbi ala stratin ‘mustagim, (Suratu Hud xt: 56). “There is no living creature, whose forelock is not in the hands of its Rab. Surely my Rab is on the right path”. Thus every walker in the path is not a condemned person, nor is he one who has gone astray. Condemnation and anger of God are only temporary matters; for His mercy finally prevails over all; things which are maszwallah (other-than-God) do not move of their own accord, but are subservient tothe Rab, who is on the right path:

Oulum-i-dhouqi (the phases of -the knowledge of God obtained from observation of His manifestations) are differentin different persons according to their temperaments, although their source is one and the same, for God has said ; Kuntu samaahul ladhi yasmau bthi wa basarahul ladht vubsiru btht. ‘| become his hearing by which he hears, and I become his sight by which he sees”. From this, it is plain that God's ‘Is-ness’ is the reality of the banda’s organs, and each organ has its own ilm-i-dhouqi. Thus ‘Is-ness’ is one and organs are multifarious; and their perceptions are multitudinous, like water is one andits tastes are many according to soils. This is obtained froma knowledge of عطي‎ which literally means walking, and which gives food to the soul. God has said 7a xasugul mujramin “We will drive the sinners”, i.e. (from behind) to the place to which they are entitled, by the westerly wind (i.e. the wind which destroys) ; for the Prophet (peace on him) has said NVusiatu dis saba wa ahlakta Ad bidh dubur, ‘I became prosperous by the easterly windand the Addites were destroyed by the westerly wind”. The westerly wind is the emblem of sin. God takes the sinners by the forelock, and their worldly desires drive them to Jehannum (hell), and this Jehannum is the very remoteness from God, which they had conceived of. But there they secured nearness to God. They were guided by their Rab to this place, by their deeds;

and they were thus in the right path of their Rab, who had their forelock in His hand—they did not go of their own accord; they were driven there, and thus obtained nearness. God says Wa nahnu agrabu tlayhi minkum wa lakin la tubsirun (Suratul Wagiah ivi: 85). ‘‘ And we are nearer (to the deceased) than you are, but you do not see”. The deceased person sees, since veils have been lifted up. And no distinction is here made between the righteous and the wicked. For God ‘Is-ness’ pervades the organs of the banda and is its reality. Thus banda is God, and God is what is observed in the imaginary world. “God is what is sensed and the world is what is inferred.” Alhaggu mahsusun wal khalagu magulun. Believers (moumins) and the people of £as// (spiritual enlightenment) observe Him in this world. For those who are outside this group, God is the inferred and the world is the observed. God, however, referred to His ownnafs, as ‘His ghair’ (foreigner), and thus pronounced certain acts as wicked and haram (forebidden) ; for all wicked actions are the result of externalities which appear as مهتم‎ God is the real-

ity of things and the externalities are yourselves. The ghair (foreigner) says that hearing is Zyid’s, and the ariff (gnostic) says it is God’s, and so on with other faculties. When God made known to me the realities of ayan of His prophets from Adam to Muhammad (peace be on him), I was at Cordova in the year 586 of Hijra, and out of that assembly, it was only Hud that spoke to me, and announced to me the vazson de etre of that assembly. (Note—which as the Shayk informs us in his Futuhat-iMakkiyah was to announce his appointment as the last of the awliya of the limited Wilayat-i-Muhammadiyyah). I found him to be a sound and handsome man and a pleasant speaker and good ariff (gnostic). My proof that he was a good gnostic is the Quranic verse quoted on top of this chapter. ‘‘Thereis no living creature, whose forelock is not in the hands of its Rab. My Rab ison the right path”. There can be no better gospel than these words which have come ta us through the Holy Quran, and which the Prophet (peace on him) explained in detail in the Hadith, 82 annahu ayanus samt-t wa basavt wal yadi war ryt wal 2 “ 000 is the reality of the ears, eyes, hands, feet and tongue” i.e. He is the reality of all bodily and spiritual senses of His banda. ‘‘ Excepting kafirs, nobody gives a lie to my signs’ — Ma yajhadu 02 ayatina 21 أن‎ (Suratul Ankabat xxix: 17). Every sign refers to God either in tanzih or tashbih.

The first limitation of the unlimited was Ama. It was like “a cloud above which there was no air, and below which there was noair’. God was in it before the creation. The second limitation was the Arsh (the throne), on which He had taken His stand, Then He is said to have descended to the sky and to the earth; and He is said to be the reality of us all. The Quranic verse Laysa kamithlihi shayun. (Suratus Shura xtm:11) may mean “He is not like the likeness of anything ”, in which case a limitation is set up or it may mean “ He is not like anything” ie. He is the reality of all things. If He were not the reality, nothing would have existed. Everything in the world is His face. He is the seer and the seen, He is the soul of the world. He who sees God in himself with 9 sight is an ariff (gnostic) ; and he who expects to see God with his own eyes on the day of judgment is a jahil (ignoramus). God will manifest Himself to His devotee in the form of his belief. But you do not confine Him to any particular form; He is above limitations; so become a believer in’all forms of beliefs. Fa aynama tuwallu fa thamma wajhulla (Suratul Bagarah 11: 115). “ Wherever thou turnest thy face, there is the face of the Lord;

the face refers to the dhat of God, which is His reality, and which is everywhere and in everything. So God has warned gnostics not to become oblivious to the observance of this reality in this short span of life, for banda is not aware when he will breathe his last.. One who dies in this observation is quite different from one who dies without it. God’s own servants, however, turn their faces towards the sacred house of Mecca (masjidul haram)in their prayers, for they believe when praying, that there is God there. This also is an aspect of God’s aspects. You do not confine Him there, you simply show respect to that direction in your decernment,.

Thus everybody is on the right path. Those in this path will be rewarded; and the rewarded are blessed, although for a while they might suffer in the next world; for even prophets and good men suffer from diseases in the world, but they get over them. Thus good men will also be in Jehannum (hades) for a little while, but no one can say that they will be without consolation there also, for sufferings cease, when one’s state becomes one of pleasure. God knows the best. NOTE :—“The prophet Hud of the Quran,” says Sale (a), “‘is generally supposed to be Hiber, who was acknowledged by the Jews to have been a prophet.’ He is supposed to be the same as Eber mentioned in Genesis 10: 24, from whom the Israelites derived their name of Hebrews (Arabic, Yahud). “This prophet was sent to the Addites, a tribe of Arabs, which was descended from Ad, the great grandson of Shem, the son of Noah. The Addites lived in Al Ahfaq, a desert of winding sands in the province of Hadramut. Their first king was Shaddad, the son of Ad. God sent a hot and suffocating wind which blew seven nights and eight days, entering the nostrils and passing through the bodies of the Addites. The Prophet Hud was buried at Hesec in a place known as Qabar-i-Hud.” (4)

In this Fas (bezel), the Shayk deals with Tawhid-i-asmaiyyah (the unity of asma or Divine aspects). In spite of the multiplicity of asma (names or the aspects of God), there is the Unity of Dhat : which is to say that there is none existent except God Himself. The Shayk refers this Fas to what Hud principally preached viz. ‘‘that there is no creature on the earth whose forelock is not in the hands of its Rab” ie. God shews Himself in several and various aspects. Each aspect is an ism (name) of God and a Rab (ruler) of a particular attribute; and that Rab directs its own murbub (ruled) by holding the murbub’s forelock in its hand, and the self-same murbub is the approved of (@) Preli. Discourse, Sec. I. p. 4 (2) Ibid. its rab, who is in the right path (ala stvatin mustagim); while it may be the condemned of another rab e.g- one who takes revenge is the murbub of its rab muntaqim (the avenger) and is approved of by it, while it is the condemned of another rab, guffur (the pardoner). Both these arbab (plu-form of rab) finally merge in Allah who is Rab-ul arbab (Rab of the rabs). This is called the Doctrine of Indiraj—(a)

This is the doctrine also inculcated in the Gita, where the Atma is compared to a bird sitting on the top of atree, calm and serene, while its shadows or more exactly its reflections, the jiwas (avwah-t-mujarridah) move about on the branches and eat of the sweet and bitter fruits of the tree. The Shayk’s theory may be summed up thus..—God was in Ama (cloud) or first limitation before the creation of the World. Dhat is the name given to the reality of God. In Devolution (tanazzul), the Dhat manifests signs i.e. ayan or forms of thought and their relationship with Himself and amongst each other ; and the conglomeration of these signs and relationships is the manifest world ; and in ascension (ur) these signs disappear. God descended from Gunji-makhfi (the hidden treasure) into ama. In this ‘hidden treasure’ were the potential realities of the world (ayan). The realities prayed for their manifestation to the Dhat ; and the Dhat in its love and fondness for Itself granted their prayers. Itspread out Its existence on these ayan (realities) and breathed out a breath in a convulsion of love. This was the first tajalli. This was the universal benevolence of the Dhat, and therefore It got the name of Rahman (one who gives away for the mere asking). The breath of the Dhat is the noumenon that underlies all phenomena—the prima matrix of the world. Sifat (aspects or attributes) manifest themselves in the second tajalli ; and in the third, asma (individualized names) come into prominence. The conditional asma (as opposed to categorical asma) require their counterparts for manifestation. The

(a) Vide “ Studies in Tasawwuf” .م‎ 184. THE WisDOM OF HUD (FASI-I-HUDDIVVAH) 61 former become rabs (rulers) and the latter murbub (ruled) in the process of manifestation. Now the Shayk, basing his authority on the Quranic verse with which he begins the Fas, says ‘that each rab has the forelock of its murbub in its. hand and pulls it from before (which is called sowg) and keeps it steady on the path, while if the murbub‘is driven by the nafs, it is driven from behind (which is called quod). Suluk is of two kinds—formal (swwarz) and spiritual (maanawt). The former is the adoption of ceremonialism; and the latter is the attempt to realize the unity of the dhat, the unity of aspects (asma) of that Dhat and the unity of actions (a/aa/) of of the same; which implies that the actions performed by indivi* duals have Godas their prime agent and source; and then to merge in Fana (self-annihilation) and come out in Baqa (immortality). See the chapter on this subject in the author’s “Studies in Tasawwuf”. The Shayk calls the former ilm-ul-arjul (the science of walking) and the latter ilm-ul-dhowq (knowledge generated by zest and relish), and has instituted a comparison between the two and concludes that the former has the same goal as the latter.

The Addites believed in the ghair of God; and they were destroyed by Rih-i-dubur (westerly wind), and those who are driven by the westerly wind of their nafs, have their bodies similarly shattered i.e. they are driven by their nafs towards Jehannam (hell), that is, farthest away from God. CHAPTER XI THE WISDOM OF SALIH (Fasi-i-Salihiyyah) Minal aayati ayatur vakaytb Wa dhalika li tkhtilafin fil madhahio. Wa minhum gahtiwuna bthas sabasi6. Fa ammal gavimuna fa ahlu aynin Wa ammal gatiwuna hamul janaytb Riding animals are among the miracles of some prophets. The dtfference between the kinds (of animals) issues out of the nature of their paths (suluk). Some of the followers (of religion) ahhere to the Truth by these paths. Some traverse the plains of darkness (of bodies) by these riding vehicles. Those who adhere to God are people of observation (of God and ayan). Those who traverse the plains are the people who are screened. Know that the matter of manifestation is dependent on oddness (of number) which is Triuneness. Oddness in the beginning is three, and as you go upwards, triuneness pervades all. The world began with this triuneness. God has said /dha arada shayan an yagulalahu kun fayakun (Suratu Yasin xxxv1:82). “When We resolve (to create) a thing, We say unto it, ‘Be’ and It becomes.” Thus the Dhat is individuality with resolve or will or inclination to manifest a thing by means of the

THE WISDOM OF SALIH (FAsI-I-SALIHIYYAH) 63 word ‘Be’. The three aspects of God manifested themselves in the three aspects of shay (thing) which was composed of the ayn (reality) of the thing, its hearing the command and obeying the same to become manifest. Thus the three aspects of the ‘created’ become visa vis the three aspects of the Creator; viz, the reality of shay (thing) which was stabilized in adum, 225 a vts the dhat of its Creator; the hearing of the latter, 225 a vis the will of the Creator; obedience كنت‎ a vis the command. If the thing (s/av) had not these aptitudes, it could not have come into existence. Thus God created the thing which was edum (nothingness). The aptitude of appearance pertained to the shay and _ not to God; and what pertains to God is His command, and hence He said ‘“‘When we resolve upon a thing, we say unto it ‘Be’ and it becomes.” The master says to his slave ‘stand’ and he stands up. The master has nothing to do with the ‘standing up’ of the slave. The creation of a thing involve three things from the Creator and three from the created. The reality of the external and internal manifestations is triuneness and _ this was the bezel of Salih. God gave his followers three days, to fulfil a promise ; failing which they had to perish. First day they became pale; second day, red; ١ and the third day, black; and then perished.

The account of Salih is found in Chapter XI section 6 of the Holy Quran. Salih was sent to the tribe of Thamud. He lived between the times of Hud and Abraham. He brought forth a she-camel out of a rock which was his miracle. Some identify him with Mathusaleh. Rabbi Geiger * thinks ‘‘that the likeness of the name points to Shelah,” rather Salah, the father of Eber (Gen * Judaism and Islam p. 94 10: 24) Salih was the manifestation of the God’sism or name, Al-Fattah (the opener). In this Fas, the Shayk explains with what unseen convulsions, the alam (world) was brought forth. He deals with the suluk (pilgrimage on the upward arc) of the prophets. The suluk of some of them was oi the jalali kind, in which the glorzous altributes of God were sought for. Their riding animals were the emblems of their suluk. The she-camel of Hud, the fiery horse of Elijah, and for the matter of that, the Shiva’s bull of Sree Sankara Chary indicate the vehicle of suluk of these men of God. These prophets were, advancing towards tanzih (qualitylessness) of God. Jesus Christ’s vehicle was his ass the emblem of the jamal (beauty,) of God-—an advance towards tashbih (qualityedness) of God. Muhammad's vehicle (peace be on him) was a combination of jalaland jamal. The durag on which he rode on the night of Mairaj, had the beauty of a 5 face, and the body of a quadruped.

Sawar-tjehangir ek raan burag Ki bugh dhast az gasr-t-neeli ruwag (Sadz) The world conquering rider on his steed of Burag Crossed over the blue turrets of the (heavenly) palace. Prophets generally have done suluk in their bodies, the souls riding on the nafs and the nafs riding on the body; no journey could be performed without a vehicle. The vehicle of the body may, however, take one into forests of darkness. Suluk was in vogue amongst the Jews. There was systematic training in regular colleges for people who wanted to become prophets. There were half a dozen such colleges in Palestine at the time of David; one of these was at Naioth in Ramah. These are spoken of as companies of prophets (I Samuel 19: 19). The prophets were “those who bubbled forth in their language under inspiration”, and were trained in muragaba (meditation) after the manner of the Qadriyyah Order, and in singing hymns after the manner of the Chistiyyah Order of the Sufis; for we are told that when Saul went to the city, he met “a company of prophets with psaltery and a tabrel and a pipe and a harp” (I Samuel 1: 5). The Shayk says that the Dhat (individuality) of God is a fara (indivisible totality). When this Totality introspected into Itself, It found Itself z7zaze, the knower (the dhat), knowledge and the known (ayan),—all one whole (/ard). The knower issued the word of command Kuz (be) to ayan,and they ‘became’ according to their aptitudes.

The ayan by themselves are His thought-forms which are adum (nothingness):*they had the aptitudes, which are not found in the Dhat, viz: prayerfulness and obedience. They thus heard the command of ‘Kun’ and obeyed it (2). Whent a man issues a command to another man, the command may or may not be carried out; but when he issues it to himself, it is unfailingly carried out. The Dhat established His relationships with ayan, by expressing His sifat (attributes) through them. The ayan thus become His ayat (signs), and ‘limited existences’ (banda). So long as banda works to keep up this relationship, he is doing good; and when he does anything to wrench this relationship, he falls into evil.

According to the poet Jami, God addressed the ayan thus:— Her chi as zhin wa shin-t shumast Sur ba sar mukhtiza-t-ayn-t-shumast. Her chi ayn-t-shuma tagaza kard Shudi-t-azd-t-mon aan huwayda kard. Whatever is to your honor or disgrace, Is entirely out of the requirements of your ayn (reality). Whatever your ayn madea demand of, The bestowal of My Benevolence brought it into being. Thus God brought into existence whatever the ayan had prayed for, Ma asabaka min hasanatin min allaht wa ma asabaka min sayaatin min nafstka (Suratun Nisa \v:'79). “Whatever good you do is from God and whatever evil you dois from your self”. (2) Psalm 33 : 9 Thus although the motive power (existence) is from the Dhat, good and evil begin with banda, the manifestation of asma. The Dhat is above asma—Pure and Holy. Sudbhanahu wa taala ammayasifun (Suratul Anam 171: 101(. “Glory be to Him and highly exalted is He above what they ascribe to Him.” Even in asma (names), the asma-i-jamali (beautiful names) predominate over asmai-jalali (glorious names) Sabakta rahmati ala ghazabt- “My, mercy predominates over my wrath,” Wasiatkullu shayin rahmatan (Suratul Mumin Xi1:7.) ‘‘ My mercy surrounds all things”. Hence He may be said to be all goodness, so far as asma are concerned.

The relationships were called hypostases by the Nestorians ofthe Alexandrian School, and ztbavat (imaginary indications) by the Sufis. The fard is always fard (an indivisible whole) ; and itibarat are indications realized in mugad (devolution). St. John (Chap. 1: ]) starts with his Trinity of Logos; the Adwaitists have their Sat, Chit, Ananda. The Sufis have their quarternary of Ilm, (knowledge), Nur (light), Wujud (existence), Shuhud (observance). The Nur of Muhammed (peace be on him) is found in the message of the Sufis. The Shayk has discussed trinity or oddness in connection with the three days’ warning given by Salih to the tribe of Thamud. THE WISDOM OF SHUAIB (FAsi-L-sittarpprvan) 67 CHAPTER XII THE WISDOM OF SHUAIB (Fasi-i-Shuaibbiyah). The qalb (heart) of ariff (gnostic) is more extensive than the grace of God, for it contains God Himself: while grace does not contain Him; for God is one who bestows grace and not one on whom grace is bestowed. ‘This is according to the ordinary people; but according to adepts, His grace contains Him for Cod attributed His nafs (dhat) with nafas (breathing). His asma (names) are really His dhat in the stage of Ahdiyyat. *Uluhiyyat requires Mabuddiyyat and Rububiyat requires Marbupiy yat.

ghaniyun anil alamin. (Aalt-lmran 1: 96). Rububiyyat cannot be said to be independent though its reality is Dhat itself. When God established His relationship with ayan, it was through His rububiyyat (rulership) and by means of His love and grace- His first breathing was to get rid of the suppression occasioned by His pent-up love, His first breathing was his first tajalli, which is connected with His name Rahman (the merciful), thus mercy or grace surrounds all things ; thus also all asma-i-elahi require their manifestation. His grace surrounds all things and it surrounds God also whoisthe reality of all things, and it is more extensive than qalb or it is equivalent to it. (Nore.—Uluhiyyat is a term applied to the personal or categorical names of God like Living, Pnre, Holy, Everlasting, which require worship. This is the stage of Ahdiyyat. Rububiyyat is a term applied to His conditional names, like Providence, Merciful. It is the stage known as Wahidiyyat, the stage of Humanity in which asma-i-elahi require their counterparts, asmai-kiyani, for their - manifestation.) : God manifests Himself in form at the time of tajalli and transfers Himself from form to form as it is recorded in a hadith-i-sahih. When the heart of man contains God, there is no room in it for any created thing; which means that man’s heart becomes full of God, and man cannot attend to a created thing, when his attention is riveted to a tajalli of God.

Abu Yazid-i-Bistami has said that if in a corner of the ariff’s heart, the Arsh (the throne of God) and whatever is below it, is contained, or several crores the size of this is contained, he will not be sensible of the fact. When God manifests Himself in variety of forms, ariff’s heart also becomes expanded or contracted according to the requirements of these forms; for no part of the qalb remains unoccupied of the tajalli, the heart of the ariff being like the bezel of a ring; the bezel is of the same shape as the stone set in it, square or oblong or octagonal as the case may be.

This appears to be contrary to the theory that God manifests according to the aptitude of the banda; for banda manifests himself in the size of the form in which God shows His tajalli. But it is not, for God has two tajalliyat one of ghayb (internal), and the other of shahadat (external). The first is هج‎ tajalli of Dhat, in which God bestows through Faiz-i-Aqdas (Most sacred benevolence) that aptitude on banda in which his heart is being framed. In tajalli of shahadat the ariff’s galb becomes of the shape of tajalli, expanded or contracted through God’s Fazi-i-Muqaddas (Sacred benevolence); in this, banda sees God in the shape of His belief. This is what is meant by God being contained in the heart of the banda. He who restricts Him to any particular form, will not see Him in all forms. One who has sees Him absolute, will see Him in الج‎ forms and pray to Him in innumerable ways, as His tajalliyat are innumerable. The ariff of this sort always prays for more and more knowledge, 122002 2202722 tlman. (Suratu Ta Ha xx: 114). “O my God, increase my knowledge.” In this knowledge, the line of distinction between the Creator and the created is obliterated. God has said: Kunta rijlahul lati yast btha wa yadahul lat yabtis hu btha wa lisanahul ladhi yatakallimu biha “TY become the leg by which he walks, I become the hand by which he handles and the tongue by which he talks.” From this you can say, either that the External Existence is Him or that the External Existence is the created.

Thus Heis the Truth from one view-point or relationship, and He is the created from another ; although the Dhat is the same in every case. The face of the One who made the tajalli isthe face of the one who accepted the tajalli. He is the one who both makes the tajalli and accepts the tajalli. Consider therefore how mysterious is the Dhat in connection with His Existence and also in connection with the world through His Asam husana (beautiful names).

fama aynun stwat aynin, There is no Dhat (personality) except His Dhat; Light is His reality—He is also the darkness and grossness. God has said /nua fi dhahtka ladhikra iman kanalah galbun. “Inthis, (the Quran) is advice to the person who has got qalb” and not one who has reason. Qalb revolves itself in attributes and forms; reason limits a man to one attribute; and a man with reason refutes another man with reason. Man with qalb sees the One in different forms in this world, and sees the Dhat of God in his own dhat. God thus is ariff Himself ; and also He is jahil (ignoramus) Himself. The man of qalb is a man who possesses thought. The Prophet has said Ax tadudallaha kaannaka tarahu. “Pray to God as if you see Him.” This is the following out of thought, this is the science of thought ; and the Shayk has connected it with the prophet Shuaib. Every thought is a branch (siwéa). When the screen is lifted up, God will present Himself in each thought according to the belief of the believer. Sometimes He will present Himself contrary te the believer's beliefin matters of sarzat as He has said Wa. bada lahum min allaht ma lam yakunu. yahtastbun, ‘Whatever they did not conceive of, will manifest itself to them from God.’” The Mutazilites believe in unavoidable punishment to a sinner after death, if he died without repentance ; but contrary to this belief, the eternal grace may surround him and God’s blessing may descend on him, and whatever he never conceived of, might overtake him; and_ his original belief would dissolve. Man will ever be in progress on the upward course after death ; this progress will be so imperceptible from step to step, that the people of Paradise will exclaim when they get their spiritual food, ** We have had similar food before’, ‘and they shall be

given the like of it.” Wa wutu 62/2 mutashabthan (Suvatul Bagarah 11 25). The adept sees Unity in diversity; the asma (names) are many, their underlying Unity is the same. The banda’s vision of God will be one in all asma; the phenomena display one underlying noumenon ; all extensions display one essence; thus one who understood himself as an extension understood himself as the essence. Mon arafa nafsahu fagad arafa Rubbahu fa innahu ala surattht. ‘‘He who understood his nafs understood his God ze., that his nafs is in the image of God”. Banda _ is the reality of God. People are not aware of this, except pro- phets, awliya and great sufis. Contemplation does notend here. Extension is always in change. The world is extension, and it is in change every moment. Bal hum filabsin min khalgin gadid (Suratul-Qaf i: 15) ‘they are in doubt regarding a new creation”. The essence is a conglomeration of extensions. Extensions are only boundaries of Essence ; the people of Kashf (spiritual discernment) see that God sends out His tajalliyat every mement, and these do not repeat themselves. The disappearance of one tajalli is Aaa (disso- lution) and the appearance of another is 27204 (perma-

nence) ; Fana annihilates the world every moment and Baga rehabilitates it at the very moment. NOTE.—Shuaib is generally supposed to be another name for Jethro, the‘ priest of Median’ (Exodus 1: 16) a city of Hedjas (Sale’s note on page 15 Chapter VII of his discourse). Mediun or Median was asonof Abraham by his wife Keturah (Gen. XXv: 2). <A city of the same name grew up near the Red Sea, South-east of Mount Sinai. Shuaib was a descendant of Abraham inthe fifth generation. He was sent to Median to preach. He preached honesty inthe matter of weights and measures (Suratul Hud X1: 84 to 95). The word Shuaib comes from Shuba, a branch. The prophet Jethro was so called, either because he had seven daughters (his olive branches), or because His wisdom relates to the branches of Divine Knowledge. Rabbi Geiger says (2) ‘‘shuba means staff, Shuaib may be taken 5 the possessor of that staff’, which at a subsequent time, became a serpent in the hands of Moses. Yet another reason for this name was that his position was flxed in the OJd Dispensation at qalb (or heart) which has ramificationsof arteries and veins throughout the body. This prophet preached justice and the observance of God in all things, great and small. His philosophy is based on qalb which is the borderland between zahir (external world) and batin (internal world) ze., between asma and their externalization. The qalb of riff recognizes by its revolutions, the manifestations of Divine forms and the tanuzzulat (devolutions) of God.

It is not the qalb (6) or heart thatis in lower animals called gadb-2-sanubari (pine shaped heart) which does not recognise these forms. غ1‎ is itself the form of the collective asma in the state of Wahidiyyat, just as soul is the form of Ahdiyyat. In this qalb God is contained La yasani ardhi wa la samat, wa lakin yasant 02/162 abdul moumin. ‘ The Heavens and the earth could not contain Me, the heart of the true believer contains Me”. When the tajalli of God flashes on the qalb, it perceives it; and this is how it contains the tajalli and not in the sense of a vessel containing a liquid. The grace of God contains Him so far as asma are concerned. Through Nafs-i-Rahmaani(Holy Breath), He created or manifested the World, and so His Rahmat or grace surrounds or contains the asma, Rahmat: wastat kullu shayin, “My grace surrounds all things In the, word ‘things’, asma and ayan are included. Al/ahu raufulibbad “God is gracious towards His slaves”. Nadbbiya tbadi inni anal gafur ur rahim (Suratuy Hijr Xv :49) “Inform My servants that Iam the Forgiving and the Merciful”. So faras Dhat is concerned, the oneness of asma

(a) ‘Judaism and Islam’ pages 139 and 140. (2) ‘ The Phi, of Islam. .م‎ 45 and ‘Studies in Tasawwuf,’ p. 195, is the dhat itself, and so far as multiplicity of asma is concerned, they are ghazr (foreigner) to the Dhat. So faras the dhat is concerned, “it is independent,” ehantyun anil alamin ; (Alaj. Imran, 111: 96); and so far as asma are concerned, they have craving for their manifestation in ayan; this craving is satisfied by their being breathed out, just as the craving of a philanthropist is satisfied by his giving out a gift to a beggar at his door. This breathing-out gives the asma relief; the asma arein agitation till the demands of ayan are satisfied. Thus the grace of God is more extensive than qalb. God manifests Himself in tajalli, according to the aptitude of the gnostic, for the container is to adapt itself to the contained; and when the container is full, there is no room in it for containing more. When the tajalli of Ahdiyyat dawns on an ariff, he becomes fani (annihilated), z.e., become unconscious of self and others, and all things disappear from his sight: Dhat alone remaining ez evidence. When duality disappears, the consciousness remains that God 15 This is the state of Baga.

Qalb like the needle of a compass turns about from form to form of manifestation; and by this, the ariff recognizes God in all forms. God appears pious and knowing in the form of Muhammad (peace be on him), and selfish in the form of Abu Jehl. Contrary to one’s expectation, one will see God after death in two ways. He willseethe face of God in the form of his own face, for all forms are the forms of God. Man kana fi hazthil ama fahua fil akhiratil ama (Suratu Bant-[srael” xvil: 72). “ He who is blind here will be blind in the hereafter.” Or he will see God in some unexpected form; for whatever is sensed is God and whatever is inferred is alam (the world) ; which is the manifestation of asma. Al haqqu mahsusun wal khalqu magqulun. ‘‘ The truth is sensed, and the creation is inferred”. All things in this world and in the next, are forms of God’s asma (names). Theasmain His knowledge are called asmaielahi (Divine names). For their manifestation in zahir (externality), they required their counterparts, z¢., asmai-kiyani (mundane names). Then the asmai-kiyani accordingly appeared in knowledge ;; and prayed for their external manifestation. The tajalliyat of attributes shone on them, and they became things. This is the spiritual conjunction or marriage of forms and attributes, called Izdawaj by the Sufis, and Gamahea by the Greeks. These are the spiritual Adam and Eve.

The forms are, as it were, boundaries or borders in internality of the reality in the knowledge of the Reality. They are thus the Reality itself in one respect. ‘One who sees the Reality inthe forms sees the Reality itself, Wa raytu shayan illa raaylullah “YT do not see ‘things,’ but I see God only”, said Hazrat Ali; the beatific vision of the other three Khalifs was similar, but with a slight modification “Ido not see ‘thing’ but I see God along with it” said Hazrat Abu Bakr (fora fuller account, see “ Studies in Tasawwuf’’ .م‎ 73.) ‘‘ Talone ‘ exist ’ said Fitche, ‘‘ The tree and the image of it are one thing and this one‘is the modification of my own mind”. The Shayk, however, says, I ama form in the knowledge of God, 1 become ‘ thing,’ when God bestows His attributes on the form. الى‎ things are forms or boundaries of the Reality. From the aspect of externalization, things are separate from the Reality, z.2., they are banda; from the aspect of internality they are the Reality Itself (Haqq). The first form, that appeared to God, when He decended into His knowledge was Haqiqat-i-Muhammadi (Wahdat) ; this form is not liable to annihilation or disappearanc, it is His own wayh (face) that is ever present to Him, the forms of the conditional asma (names) are, however, liable to disappearance.

Kullu shayin halikun ila wajh-ha-hu. (Suratul Qasus xxvil: 88.) “Every shay or thing (z.e., form) is to be annihilated. except His face” says the Quran, CHAPTER XIil THE WISDOM OF LOT (Fasi-i-Lutiyyah) Malak means severity, and Malek means a tough or strong man. The Quran records the saying of Lot ; Law unna ti bikum quwaian au aawiy ela ruknin shadid “Would that I] had strength or would that I had taken protection in a strong nation.’ Our Prophet (peace be on him) therefore said ‘‘May God bless our brother Lot ; he had taken protection in the zs of God, which is shadid (mighty) This ‘might’ is Zzmmnzat (willpower). Every Prophet who came thereafter came under the protection of the mighty men of his nation, e.g., the Holy Prophet (peace be on him) had the protection of his uncle Abu Talib. ‘‘God created man a weak being and then made him mighty, and then turned him down into a.weak being andone of hoary hairs” Adlahulladhi khalagakum min zuwfin, thumma jaala min badi zufin gquwatan thumma jaala min badi quwatin zufan Wa shayba (Suratul Rum xxx: 54). That is to say, man does not know anything else, after he has had His knowledge of God. Every prophet was made a prophet alter his fortieth year, when bodily weakness had set in. When his gnosis of God increases, the prophet becomes disinclined to make use of his will-power ; for at that stage, he begins to serve as a slave of God, and secondly the object on which the will-power is exercised becomes the same as one who exercises it. Shayk Abu Abdilla bin Muhammad Fayad asked Shayk Abu Saud bin Shibli, why he was not making use of his will-power ; the latter said, that he

left God to do it as He willed, referring to the Quranic verses Lattakhizu wakila, ‘Make Him your agent” (Sz ~ atul Muzammil xxi: 9)—and Anfigu mimmajaalakum mustakh lafina fint. (Suratul Hadid wv: 7) “You spend out of the things over which you are His vicegerent”. How could, therefore, a person who observes these principles exercise his will-power? The gnostic who has a large measure of Divine knowledge finds himself a weak creature. In this state of Ubudiyyat (slaveship), the Prophet (peace be on him) has said Ma adrz ma yuf alu bt wala bikum in attaliwu illa ma yuha iliyya (Savratul Ahgaf تك‎ : 9) “I do not know how [ or you will be dealt with; Iam just following out what has been revealed to me”. He thus denied prescience (fore-knowledge) ; and acknowledged his weekness and humility. When he hada clear revelation to display supra-natural powers, he did so; and when he was leit to himseli, he refrained fromthem. One who is immature in gnosis has recourse to such powers and one who is advanced in it, intentionally gives them up. An ariff has recourse to them, only under compulsion. The office of a prophet requires this for his followers to be convinced ofhis mission. Thisis not the case with awliya. One who has the light of Zaz (belief) alone, accepts the prophet; and therefore a prophet refrains from working miracles. Hence God said in the case of Muhammad (peace on him) when he was aggrieved for not having converted his uncle Abu _ Talib. L[unaka la tahdi mon ahbabla wala kinnallaha yahdi mon yashua (Suratul Qasus, xxvii: 56) “you cannot guide whom you befriend, but God guides whom He pleases.” If will-power had any effect, he could have

done it. A prophet simply delivers the message and God alone converts the heart. Wa hua alamu bil muhtadin (Suratul Qasas, xxvii: 56.) “ God best knows those who will accept the message”. These are those who showed their aptitude for knowledge in the stage of ayan-i-thabita ; thus showing that knowledge is dependent on the known. Therefore God said:—‘ Wa ma ana bi zallamin lil abid. (Suratil Qafi.: 29.) “1 do not tyrannize over My created”. God creates them according to their desire. On the contrary He said Wu lakin kanu anfus sahum yazlimun, “they tyrannize over themselves ” NOTE.—Lot was a nephew of Abraham anda man without power or influence in the nation, amongst whom he had settled. It was a mischievous nation, noted for its social evils and highway robbery that did not listen to his preaching, Lot had the capacity, but did not resort to his spiritual power, Perfection in gnosis makes one indifferent to one’s will-power. Hence he prayed to God to send him azsars (helpers). Then God sent His messengers to protect him (Suvatu Hud x1: 171). These were the two angels who smote the men at Lot’s door with blindness (Gen. xIx: 1 and 11.)

In this Fas (bezel), the Shayk takes the occasion to discuss the origin of good and eviland the necessity for prophets to come into the world. Existence is God’s, the “‘ created’’ has no existence. The origin of the ‘created’ is weakness. AW/ahul ladhi khalaqgakum min zowfin (Suratur Rumxxx: 54.) “ God is one who has created you a weak creature’, Weakness and _ humility are - therefore inherent in man. For forty years, man’s powers wax strong, and with the advent of grey hairs on his head they wane. Lot was in the decadent stage of life and prayed to Godto send him helpers. Good and evil are inherent in ayan-t-thabita, (just as the three sides and the three angles and the latter being equal to two right angles are inherent facts in a triangle). Here knowledge is dependent on the known. Theayanarea fixture in knowledge (subuz-z/mz), just as the laws of thought are a fixture in the thinking faculty. When the form of an ayn wanted to find expression, it required a counterpart out of adum (nothingness). When for example, the conditional zs or name Providence (razzaq) wanted to express itself; the zsvz or name ‘ provided ’ (marzuq) had to come out into form from ‘ nothingness’. It wasa form that was brought into being out of the thought of the ism Providence; this form was really adum, while the form of Providence was a form of an zsm,(name) of God, which was the Dhat of God itself. In the one case the known and knowledge being oneand the same, knowledge is not dependent on the known ; while in the other, when ayan had to find a counterpart for self-expression, ayan-t-batint had to become ayan-t-zahirz, the known is as the knowledge required it to be, z.e., the known had no substratum and was adum (nothingness).

The actions of God find expression by means of agencies. God sends prophets to nations toshow them the distinction between right and wrong and not to compel anybody to adopt the one, and reject the other. The Prophet (peace on him) had simply to deliver his message to his uncle Abu Talib, and was not to be aggrieved at its ineffectiveness. The conduct of a man is according to the nature of his ayawthadzta(forms in God’s knowledge). Some ayan consist of good aptitudes and some of evil. God does not command contraryto the requirements of these aptitudes (although He has the power todo so); for then His zsam (name) Al-Hakim (the wise) will become null and void. Another object of sending prophets is to enable man to reach the perfection which his aptitude demands. Hence one with evil aptitudes, becomes still worse, for having good advice; and one with good aptitudes becomes all the better for the advice. By sending His Prophets, God also shows His love for His creatures. CHAPTER XIV THE WISDOM OF EZRA (Fasi-i-Uzariyyah) knowledge of things is according to and up to the nature of things. Qadr is the specification of time for the manifestation of things, as they are in their ayan-i-thabita. The commander who is dependent on the commanded is thus really the commanded. In virtue of prophetship, the prophets know the requirements of the nations to whom they are sent; and they have as much knowledge as these requirements demand.

The requirements of nations differ, hence also differ the ranks of the prophets and the degrees of their knowledge 77z/kar rusulu fazzalna bazahum ala bazzin (Suratul Bagarah 11 : 253.) ‘These are the mesengers, whom we have given preference one over another” Wa lagad fazzalna bazan nabtyyina ala basin (Suratu Bant Israel xvi: 55.) “We have given preference to one Nabi over another.” In the case of the created, God has said Wallahu fazzala bazakum ala basin fir 72202 (Suratul Nahl xvi: 171.) “And we have given preference among you, one over another in respect of food.’? Food is of two kinds; spiritual like knowledge and gnosis,and material like comestibles and drink. And again God has said Wa ma nunazziluhu tla bt gadrin malun (Surat ul Flair xn: 21.) “And we have not sent down food except in a known measure” and this known measure is what the ‘created’ deservedly demands. God commands what has been made known to Him by the created’. The fixing of time is done by the created

itself. Thus qaza, knowledge, and intention are dependent on qadr. The knowledge of this comes to the one who possesses perfect gnosis. One who possesses this perfect knowledge has perfect comfort (in the certainty of what is to come) and also great distress (in its inevitablity). When the prophets had this knowledge through Wahy (revelation), their minds became blank of all reason; for they knew that reason and cogitation could not make any headway in this knowledge, it is only dhoug (zest) and wazd (ecstacy) that could carry one onwards. Hence the perfect man has only tajalliyat (illumination) to depend upon ; for God does not uplift the veil from the physicial and mental eye. Eza was reprimanded, because he sought knowledge through cogitation, and not through kashf (spiritual discernment). He said in, surprise, Azza 2 hazthillahu bada mouttha (Suratul Bagarah 1: 259.) “How could God make them (the people of the village) alive after death.” This question was like that of Abraham, Rabéi arint kay fa tuhyel mouta (Suratul Bagavah 11: 260.) ‘Oh my Lord, show me how you resurrect the dead,” but in a spirit of enquiry for personal consolation. Such questions are answered by actions and not by words. God made Ezra dead for a hundred years and then raised him to life and said ‘‘Lo! how We adjust the bones and clothe them with flesh”. Ezra had asked a question that required an observation of the realites in ayan-i thabita; it is only God that could do this, for asma (names) are keys to ayan, and ayan are keys to unlock the unseen. God gives these keys only to a few of his servants whom He likes. When God was wrathiul towards Ezra,the Shayk says he

knew that it was owing to this reason, viz., that he was desirous of such a thing as was impossible to the ‘created.’ According to a hadith, God said to Ezra ‘“‘if you do not refrain from surprise, | shall remove your name from the ledger of prophets,” i.e. 1 shall cut off Wahy frem you, and send you tajalli according to your own capacity; and if you do not see this matter in this tajalli, you take it that you have not the capacity. Wilayat is the firmament that encircles both the prophets and the awliya ; wilayet therefore is never ending, prophetship is connected sharjat and ends with the coming of every fresh prophet. Hence the Prophet (peace be on him) said. Fa هل‎ nabii badi wa la rasuli ‘No nabi (messenger) after me, and also no rasul (messenger with a book).’ This hadith means that “there will be no perfect man after me’; and it crushed out the spirit of awliya. ‘One of God’s holy names is Wali and not rasul (messenger ) or nabi (prophet), which names are reserved for perfect men. The wilayet of a waliis superior to his own prophetship; but wilayet from an absolute point is not superior to nabuat. Wilayet isthe internal aspect of prophet, which is connected with kashf (spiritual discernment); it will never come to an end. Hence the prophet (peace be on him) prayed 2 gidant tlman (Suratu Ta Ha, xx: 114.) “O, my Lord, increase my knowledge.”

NOTE ‘—In his note to Chap. IX-30 of the Quran, Sale says that a story was current amongst the Jews of Madina that ‘Ezra having been raised to life, after عط‎ had been dead one hundred years, dictated the whole of the law anew to thescribes, out of his own memory” and “set forth a correct edition of the scriptures. It is not improbable that the fiction originally came from afew Rabbis.” There may, however, be a confusion amongst the commentators between the life of Ezra and_ that of Ezekiel (Hiskil) who had the vision of the valley of the dry bones (Ezekiel, Chap : 37). Suratul Baraat (x1:30) of the Quran simply refers to the fact that the Jews called Ezra the son of God; the story ofhis having been raised to life is based on the Jewish legends which were incorporated by the commentators. In this Fas, the Shayk discusses the result of attempting to pierce into the region ofthe unseen viz., the ayan-i-thabita, the knowledge of which is possessed by God alone and by those few of his servants, whom He condescends to give a glimpse of, This knowledge is called ser-z-gadr (secret of qadr). Ezra said in surprise when he passed by a village, Vuhzyi hazthi tlahu bada moutiha “How could God resurrect these people after their death.” The secret of gadr consists in having a knowledge of ayan and their aptitudes. Qazais the command of God to the created things according to their aptitudes ; Qadr is the application of a general principle to a specific case at a particular time.

In the stage of Ahdiyyat, knowledge and the hnown are in annihilation. When the known (aptitudes) appear, knowledge also appears. When aptitudes appear, they appear in forms, which are called asmat-elahz (Divine names). These latter wished to see themselves in forms, which are called asmat-kiyani (mundane names). With the process of asma-i-elahi taking forms, which was simultaneous with the process of asmai-kiyani taking forms, the act of creation began. A knowledge of Qadr gives relief to the knower, in as much as he knows what there is in store for him to know ; and it also gives distress, for there is no changing in what is already fixed in the knowledge of God. The question of Ezra exhibited surprise. and so he was dead for a hundred years and resurrected. The secret of Qadr is known only through tajalliyat and wahy, and not. through cogitation and contemplation. ; and hence the Prophet (peace be on him) prayed, ‘‘O Lord, increase my knowledge” i. e. my ‘tajalliyat’. Tajalliyat (a) are illuminations by means by which our knowledge of the Dhat in His name Huaz 26/27 (the manifest) increases, whether this zahir be in the causal, mithali or soul worlds; this enlighenment is of the kind that one obtains in his attempt to pierce to the realities of things, in whatever department of life these be. People attribute this enlightenment to their own research and cogitation; but it is not so—it comes from God at a certain stage of our research for the realities. The Dhat in Its name Hual atin (the unmanifest) always remains a sealed book.

~ (a) Futuhat-i-Makkiyah—Vol J, Part I, Chap. 19, Sec, 15. CHAPTER XV THE WISDOM OF JESUS (Fasi-i-Esawiyyah) An mat Mariyama au an nafkhi Jrbrinin, Fi suratil basharil mowsudi min trynin Ti akowwanur rule fi ahatin mutahharaun Allahu tahharahu jisman wanuzzahahu Rouhan wa styyavahu mislan bt takwinin From the moisture of Mary and the breathing-in of Gabriel, When he was in personation as man of clay, Appeared the spirit of Jesus in a holy body, The nature of which you call a prison; God made his body free {rom all bodily impurities And his spirit free {rom all imperfections like HimselfThe nature of spirit is 0 that when it touches a thing, it vivifies it. Knowing this, Samari (the Samaritan) took up a handful of dust from below the feet of the messenger, the Angel Gabriel, Aa gabaztu gabzatan min athariy rasul (Suratu Ta Ha xx : 96), and threw it into the mouth of the image of calf, whenit began to bellow. If he had put it intothe mouth of the image of any other animal, it would have produced that animal’s particular sound, e. g. neighing in the image of a horse or croaking in that of a frog. The portion of the life of God that is immanent in things goes by the name of Nasut. Nasut is the name of the place, in which the spirit is located. The same Nasut along with its spirit is also called spirit. Hence Jesus is called Ruhullah

(the Spirit of God). When Rasul-Amin (Gabriel) presented himself before Mary, she asked for the help of God against him, with all earnestness. This state of earnestness is called Ruhi-manawi. If Gabriel had then and there breathed unto her the word of God, Jesus would have appeared on the spot ; but then on account of the keenness and vehemence of his temperament, the world could not have borne with him. The restlessness of the mother would have permeated into him. The restlessness gave place to the solace of the heart, when the angel assured her that he was a messenger of God, and had come to give her a holy child. Her heart was opened; and Gabriel breathed unto her the word of God, just as the prophets breathe the word into the hearts of their followers; Jesus is thus the word of God thrown into Mary, and also His spirit; Wa Lahmatuhu algahu ela Maryama wa ruhun minhu. (Suratun Nisa xv: 111:(. The body of Jesus was thus a composite of the real moisture of Mary and thought moisture of Gabriel. Jesus was in human shape for two reasons:— one from the side of his mother and the other from the side of Gabriel, who had appeared in human shape. When he revived the dead, he was the spirit of God, for reviving is the work of God and not man’s; and breathing-in of life was the work of Jesus. Thus he truly represented the process of his birth. From his real source, it was Wa vuhil mouta (Suratu Alat Imran wt: 48). “He raised the dead”; and from his imaginary source, it was fa anfukhu fiht favakunu tayran bt idhnillah (Ibid) ‘He breathed into it (the clay-model) and it became a living bird by the command of God”; and he restored sight to the blind and cured lepers by the com-

mand of God. Two aspects, are involved in the life of Jesus:—one from his mother’s side, for he was full of humbleness, he commanded “ Turn thine left cheek when thou art slapped on the right”; and the other was from Gabriel’s, for he raised the dead. If Gabriel had appeared in any other form than man’s, then Jesus would have assumed that form, before he raised the dead. If he had appeared in his illuminated form, then Jesus would have assumed the form of the light of God. When Jesus raised a dead man, that man used to speak, so that this was not hypnotism; but this gave people room to say that God had incarnated in Jesus. And God therefore said ; Lagad kafaral ladhina galu innallaha hual Masthu cbnul Maryama. (Suratul Matda v: 17.) “Really those became hiders of the truth who said, God is Jesus the son of Mary”. ‘It would not be hiding the Truth, if they had said Jesus is God or that Jesus is the son of Mary” “a digowlihim huallahu wala bigowlihimibnul Maryam i.e. they confined Divinity only to the form of Jesus. Some restricted his birth to Mary, and called himthe son of Mary, and referredhim tothe similitude of Gabriel, when he breathed life into birds; and called him the word of God; and some others referring to his raising the dead called him Ruhullah (the spirit of God). These differences have arisen only inthe case of Jesus; for in the case of others, soul is breathed-in only when the body is matured. God has said. fa zdha sawwaytuhu wa nafakhtu fiht min ruht (Suratu Sad xxxviu: 72.) “When I matured the body (of Adam), 1 breathed My breath into him.” Inthe case of Jesus, the body became mature just as it was breathed-in. All created objects

are words of God, which are never annihilated; for they all come under the command Kuz (Be). God manifests Himself in the form of the object to which He says Auwn (Be), The Dhat of God is never manifest or known. Thus God is the speaker, creator and life-giver of the word Kuz. Some people say that the speaker was God, and banda was the created and lifegiver. This problem could be solved only by one, who has correct spiritual discernment, just as Abu Yazid had, when he revived an ant by blowing into it; and thus knew who was the reviver. This is the material aspect of raising the dead; the spiritual aspect is the revival of man by means of Divine knowledge. As the Quran has said Au mon kana mtyyatan fa ahyaynahu wa jaalna lahu nuran yamsht 02/2 finnas (Suratul Anam v1: 123.) “Was this man not dead, and We revived him and appointed for him alight by which he walks amongst men.” God’s nafs (individuality) is Nafas-i-Rahmani (Holy Breath). The world appeared in the form of its Creator, which is Nafas-i-Rahmani. The Creator used both His hands in creating; the effect of such acreation is apparent in the cosmos. The blessed hands are of opposite chararcters; and hence the opposition of attributes in man. Since God thus made man with both His hands, man is called Jdashar (the touched, the moulded). This was the special favour of God towards man. NHence God said to one who refused to bow before Adam, (i.e., Iblis) 114 manaaka an tusjuda lima khalagtu btyaddiyya astak barta am kantu minal alliyin (Suratu Sad xxxvit: 73.) “What prevented you from bowing before him, whom I creat-

ed with both My hands; you showed pride or are you superior to alliyin” Alliyin are the angels who are created out of light, whilst angels in the different spheres of skies are of the elements of those skies. Man is superior to all elemental creatures (including angels), as he was touched by both the hands of God,—jalal and jamal (glory and beauty). But he is inferior to za/a-2aala (alliyin) according tothe Quran. So whoever wants to understand the Breath of God (Holy Ghost) should understand the cosmos, Mon arafa nafsahu fagad arafa Rubbahu, ‘Whoever understood his nafs (individuality) understood his God,”; for cosmos externalized itself inthe Breath of God. The conditional names of God were in a state of agitation; and God removed that agitation by externalizing their effects. Thus God gave expression to their outward forms in Himself, by His Breath. He devolved Himself to lower stages in removing the agitation till Adam came into being. Thus all the creation extends in Nafasi Rahmani, as all light extends in the darkness that precedes the dawn. When the word, i. e., Jesus was thus placed in this position of eminence, God asked of that Word in regard to those matters which are referred to in Anta gulta linnas sttakhizunt wa ummi tlahint min duntllah (Suraiul Maida v: 116). “What did you ask the people to aceept you and your mother as two creators besides Me?” This question had to he answered with due respect, for when God illuminated Himself to Jesus, he had to resort to Tafriqa (servantship) in preference to Jam (oneness) and said Swéhanaka “Thou are Holy,” i.e. Thouart free from the decay and

degeneration of the created” Ma yakunu li an agulama lavsa lt bthaggin ‘It is not meet for me to say a thing, that Ido not deserve” /x kuntu qultahu fagad allimtahu. 11 | had said so, Thou wouldst have known it,” for Thou art the real speaker, Thou art the tongue by which I speak as our Prophet (peace be on him) had explained tous, Pagala kuntu lisan nahul ladhi yatakallimu btht. ‘I become the tongue of the banda, by which he talks.” In which saying, God has identified His dhat with the speech of the banda. Jesus concluded his speech by saying Zalamu ma fi nafst “Thou knowest what is in my nafs (individuality),” which is dum or nothingness Wa antal mutakallimu ala lisant wa anta lisant. ** Thou art the talker in my tongue and thou art my tongue” He therefore said Aadéz wa Rabbakum. (Suratul Maida v: 117.) “My God and your God.”(a) Thus here Jesus established his own separate individuality in the state of Tashbih, (qualit yedness). NOTE. In this Fas, the Shayk discusses what is called the theory of Virgin-birth of Jesus Christ (parthenogenesis) referred to in Isaiah vil: 14 and Jeremiah XxxI: 22. ‘““Nowhere is it said in the Quran” says Sir Saiyed Ahmed, that Jesus was born without a father’ (Tafsiri-Quran Vol. II. .م‎ 25.) “By word” according to this writer “is meant a fact that was to come to pass’ (p. 28 zdem). Mawlavi Muhamanad Ali in his commentary says that Kalima or word is equivalent to prophecy (Suratun nisa-1V:171). “Justin Martyr in A. D. 140 declared that the virgin-birth was the universal belief to be accepted by every one calling himself a Christian” (b).

The Ebionites denied the divinity of Christ; and the Docetists took the other extreme and denied him the real humanity. (a) St. John 20: 17. (b) A Scientific Man and the Bible. H. A. Kelly P. 85. The Shayk says that Jesus had three aspects; Bodily, Spiritual, and Divine. His bodily aspect had its origin trom being born of Mary- In his spiritual aspect, he raised the dead to life and put life into the images of birds of clay. This aspect he, owes to the breath or the thought-form of Gabriel, who had taken human shape, and the moisture of Mary; and in his divine aspect, the light of God had predominated in him. Jesus was @ form of Wahdat (the second stage of devolution of God) which in original was the first form of God called Haqiqat-i-Mahammadi. The Sufis believe that alam-i-ghayb (the unseen world), and alam-i-shahadat (the seen world), are all, aspects of God. Jesus was thus an aspect of God. The heresy here consists in making a logical fallacy. ‘That Jesus was God is correct enough’ says the Shayk specially as Christ had his transfiguration and became illuminated; but to say God _ was Jesus is a fallacy, in as much you confine God to a particular manifestation, just like the statement that Zayd is a manifestation of humanity is correct enough, but to say that Humanity is a manifestation of Zayd is a fallacy.

The Kalima or Word (Suratun Nisa tv: 171) is the word applied to Ruh or spirit which came under the command of £un (Be). Jesus was Kalimatulla or Ruhullah as he was the direct manifestation of kun, while inthe case of the rest of creation, the manifestation is through the stages of different asma. Mawlavi Muhamad Ali says that this word is simply equivalent to ‘prophecy’, while the word Ruh means mercy; inspiration, spirit. The Word is God Himselfin the stage of Wahdat like IIm (knowledge), Nur (light), Wujud (existence) Shuwud (observance of God by Himself); which are the aspects in which one aspect is identical with the other. In the case of the rest of the creation, forms were prepared through suc cessive stages, and then the breath was blown in; i, e. after the lamp was fully prepared and trimmed, it caught the light; but in this case, the trimming and light appeared at one and the same time. Hence Jesus is styled the word of God. The whole creation, for the matter of that, is a conglomeration of the words of God. His words are innumerable. Innamaamru idha arada shayun an yaqulu lahu hun fayakun (Alai Imran 111: 46.) “Truly when God determines a thing he says to it, ‘be’ and it becomes” The first benevolence of God was His Holy Breath blown into the forms of His names, which externalized themselves immediately they received it. If the Dhat is an ocean—the ocean of existence or knowledge, or light or observance (suhud), for each one of these is the other in the stage of Dhat, the ayan or realities of things are reflections of His own aptitudes appearing in that knowledge.

The ocean appears to itself in their forms. The external forms, so to say, disappear, the knowledge of them remaining after observance, and the ocean being the same as ever. A/ ana kama“ He is 5 he was’ “says the Quran. Kullu mon alayha fan wa 4 wajhu Rabbtka dhul jalali wal tkram (Suratur Rahman Lv : 26) “Everything on Him in annihilated. Everlasting is the face of thy Lord with His Glory and Beauty”.

Jesus raised the dead to life, as he was the direct inspiration of Gabriel. He raised Shem to life, (according to the Shayk,) and Shem spoke. 11 the latter had not spoken, the people would have made it out to be a case of magic. He made birds of clay and inspired them with life. The Quran mentions this; the Bible does not. Sale says that this miracle of Jesus is found in ‘the Gospel of Infancy of Christ’ written in the second century which he calls spurious. (p. 41 of the Preli. Discourse. The Quran says, luni akluqu lakun minat tint kahayat tat tyre fa anfukhu jihi faya kunu tyran bt idhnillah. (Alat Imran 1-48). “I determine for you out of dust, the form ofa bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird with Allah’s permission.’’ Mawlavi Muhammad Alithe commentator says that the word zyr (bird) is here used metaphorically, just as we use the word asad (lion’ mataphor ically, The apostles of Jesus were all men of humble origin (which is implied in the word ‘dust’); and they left the world for the master’s sake, and soared into higher spiritual regions and were not bound down to things earthly. The Shayk, however, refers to the Sufi doctrine of Qurbi Nawafil (a), in which abd, in his ascent journey, annihilates himself in the attributes of God. This process is likened by Gazuri-Ilahi to an ant walking with the legs of an elephant ora child dealing out a blow with a sword; in which process the agent is puny enough, but the result is tremendous. The instrumentality being supra-natural. the result also is supra-natural. Jesus was fani (or annihilated) in the knowledge of his own attributes, and baqi (permanent) with the attributes of God; and so performed supra-natural deeds with the powers of God.

(a) Vide “The Secret of Anal Haqq ” pp 200 and 201. CHAPTER XVI THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON (Fas‘i-Sulaimaniyy ah.) L[unahu min Silaimana wa innahu Bismillahir Rahman nir Rahim “Truly this (letter) is from Solomon, and truly its subject-matter is ‘In the name of God whose attributes are unconditional and conditional benevolences’.” Some people have objected to Solomon having indited his better to Bilgis, by putting his own name before that of God. Thisisnot so, for Bilqis herself characterized the letter as noble, 77072 ulgiya wltyya kitabun karim (truly the noble letter was thrown towards me). Solomon brought out two benevolences in _ his letter: the unconditional benevolence implied in the name Rahman and the conditional benevolence implied in Rahim; though as benevolence fey se, the latter is comprised in the former. The conditional benevolence is what God bestows on His banda for good works: Rataba ala nafsthir rahmata, “He has made _ benevolence compulsory on Himself’; the banda whoisina stage of spiritual development knows, who it is that does good works through his organs. Good works are distributed over eight organs of the human body. God has already informed us that He is the Is-ness and Reality of every organ, and therefore there is no actor besides Him. The form is for the banda and the ‘Isness’ and Reality of God is immanent in or is the same as the object, in its highest aspect (mandary). God is the Reality of the manifest object which is called khalq (the created). On account of this khalq, His names

become Az-zahir (the manifest) and al-Akhar (the last), which are retained for banda; since the manifestation of God depends on banda, and the Is-ness of banda’s actions on God. God’s names become Al-Batin (the interior) and Al-Awwal (the first); so when you see khalg, you see names. This is the wavrz/at (gnosticiasm) from which Solomon was not precluded. This gnosticism is from that kingdom, which was the particular gift for Solomon in Alam-i-shahadat (causal world). It was bestowed on Muhammad also (peace be on him), who however did not exhibit it in the world, as is related in the Hadith-i-Ifrit ; in which it is said that the prophet had caught one night an Ifrit of the species of Jinn and tied him to one of the pillars of the mosque at Mecca; so that the children of Mecca might play with him in the morning; but when God reminded him of the prayer of Solomon that the exhibition of this gift be reserved for him, he let him go. This explanation is intended to show that God reserves His gifts in particular cases. The conditional benevolence is for those who believe; and the unconditional for all, as in the Quranic statement Waszat kulla shayin rahmatan (Suratul Mumin x.:'7.) “Thou embracest all things in mercy,” which mercy embraces even His own asma (names), which are His own relationships and aptitudes. God manifested His benevolences in His own asma for the sake of the world. Thus God receives His own benevolences, for there is no ghar (other or foreigner).

Although reality is the same, gradations are necessary In appearances; so much so that we say one man is more knowing than another. Hence do not restrict Him to one appearance, do not ignore Him in another appearance, while you realize Himin the same. He has affirmed und negated Himself in the verse Lysa ةريهم‎ thiliht shayunwahuas samiul bastr (Suratul Shura xo: 11). “No thing is like the similar of Him. He is the hearer and seer.” God has thus identified Himself with every hearer and seer amongst the living, in this world and the next. All things in the world are instinct with life; but the life of some of them is hidden from the perception of some men; and in the next world their life will become perceptible to all men; for the next world is Darul hywan (abode of life). Thus one whose perception of the esoteric aspect of things is more penetrating will have a better perception of God than another of ordinary perception; that is, God will be more manifest to the one than to the other. Do not therefore ignore what I have shown you as variations in the asma of God,—there is no doubt that they are the reality of God. The named is God, in every case. Thus therefore do not refute those who say, that Mahiyat (what-ness or essence) of the ‘created is the reality of the Is-ness of God. How then could Solomon give preference to his name over God’s; as he is one of those whom the unconditional benevolence of God brought into being ; the benevolencer must necessarily have preference over the benevolenced.

The moment when we open our eyes is the moment when the light of the fixed stars is reflected in them. Asaf Barkhiya similarly reflected the picture of the throne of Bilqis in the eyes of Solomon. The moment he spoke about it, that very moment the throne disintegrated in its original place and reinte- grated itself before Solomon. One who understands the process of Tajaddud-i-amthal (revival of similitudes) will understand this better. Badhum fi labsin min khalgin jadid (Suratul Qaf L: \5.) “They are in doubt regarding the new creation (or they are clothed in new creation)” says the Quran. They see a new creation every moment, while they are not aware of the change. The moment of the disintegration (7adum) is the moment of its re-integration (7aw7ud). This supranormal action took place at the hands of a companion of Solomon; so that Bilqis might realize the greatness of the latter.’ When Bilgis said Ka annahu hu “It is similar to it (the throne)”, then Solomon told Bilqis udkhulis sarrah (enter into the palace). The floor of the palace was made of crystal. Bilqis thought it was a sheet of water and tucked up the skirts of her trousers and made bare her shanks to prevent the trousers getting wet. This was to explain to her that just as water is seen as the floor of the palace, owing to the clearness of the crystal, so the throne is seen at hand owing its re-integration in her front;

hence she had said ‘very like //’ She then brought faith in the Lord of the worlds (Rabbul Alamin). She did not confine herself to any particular Rab, like Pharoah who had brought faith in the Rab of Moses and Aaron, by which he negated the Absolutness of God. The Kingdom that was bestowed on Solomon-and not bestowed on the other prophets was the control of the wind. fas saakkharna lahur rtha tajrt bt amrthi(Suratul Sad xxx: 360). “We have given control of the wind to Solomon; by whose command it blows.” In the case of the ordinary run of mankind, God has given the

control of whatever is in heaven and on earth belonging to Him.” Wa sakkhara lakum ma fis samawati wa ma ful ardhi gamian minhu (Suratul Jastyahxxv ; 13). In the case of Solomon, the control was obtained without the exercise of his will-power; he desired and the thing was done. In the case of others, the exercise of will-power is required; for when souls attain the state of concentration, the atoms of the universe are influenced and acted upon by them. Solomon’s control was without the concentration of his will-force, such as is evidenced in the case of devotees and adepts. Solomon got what he wanted by merely uttering a word, i-e., without putting forth will-power. When such is the case, there will be no accountability for such workers in the next world. When, however, will-power has been put forth, there will be a deduction of their gifts, from the store of the next world. «In the case of Solomon, when’ will-power was not put forth, God said Hadha atawuna( Suratu Sad xxxvut : 39), “This is our gift’; so in the case of the Prophet’ (peace be on him) the command was Qu/ Rabéi zidini ilman (Suratu Ta Ha xx: 114), “Say, 0, God, increase my knowledge.” The Prophet (peace be on him) carried out the injunction so carefully that whenhe saw milk in dream, he interpreted it to mean knowledge. In the night of Mairaj, a cup of milk and one of wine were placed before him by the angel, he drank out of the former. When inthis world, milk was presented to him at any time, he considered it in the light of ‘knowledge concreted’; for his Hadith is Axnasu niyamin fa 20/2 matu intabahu “people are in a dream, and when they die, they will awake” In this, he has

informed us that the world is a dream and that it requires an interpretation. Innamal kawnu khtyalun Wa hua Haggun fil hagrgate. The world ts a mere thought, Which, in reality, ts the Truth. NoTE.—The letter of Solomon to Bilqis, the Queen of Saba (Sheba of the Holy Bible) is recorded by the commentator Jelaluddin as follows (a) :— “From the servant of God, Solomon the son of David, unto Bilgis, the Queen of Sheba. Inthe name of the Most Merciful God. Peace be onhim who followeth the true directions. Rise not against me, but come and surrender yourself to me.” Here theologians quarrel over the point that Solomon’s name precedes that of God. Some hold that “from the servant of God” is a quotation from a previous letter of Bilqis to Solomon; and the latter introduced it in his letter so that in case Bilqis tore it up as did the King of Persia at a subsequent time in the case of a letter from the Prophet (peace be on him), the indignity did not fall on the name of God. The letter virtually began with ‘In the name of God.” Rahman signifies the benevolence of God, which is bestowed on all creatures alike. It was first bestowed on our ayant thabita (our realities in His knowledge) without any deserving action on their part, and according to their aptitudes. This is the Divine inflatus or breath or the Holy Ghost that brought the cosmos into manifestation. This benevolence surrounds all things, even His own asma; Rahmati wastat kullu shayin(Suratul Mumin xu: 17.) “My benevolence extends over all things,” It is called Faiz-i Aqdas, (the Most Holy Benevolence) and is eternal. Rahim signifies the benevolence of God for duties performed in His name, according

(a) Sale’s note to Sura XXVII, to His ordinances. Bil mouminina rauff ur rahim (Suratul Baraat 1X: 128.) “ To the believers, he is benevolent.” The point of the Arabic letter day in Bismillah represents Dhat-i-Bhat ((Absolute Dhat); the name Allah is barzakh (partition) between this and the names Rahman and Rahim. The detailed account of Bismilla hir Rahman 1127 Rahim (In the name of God, the most benevolent and merciful) is the opening Sura of the Quran, viz., the Suratul Fatiha; and the detailed account of this latter is the whole Quran. The point of day is the seed from which the whole tree germinated and manifested itself. The name Allah is the conglomeration of all sifat (attributes) and asma-i-elahi (nam es signifying the named); just as abd (servant) is the manifestation of all asmai. kiyani (mundane names). When abd reaches the stage of Fana (annihilation in mundane asma), he attains Baga (permanance in God’s attributes) ; in which his heart becomes illuminated, and God becomes his sight, hearing and other faculties, by which he hears, sees, etc. In this case, abd becomes one of the names of God. Therefore the Shayk has said in his Fatuhat-i-Makkiyah (a), Al rabbu Huqqun wal abdu Huqqun,

Ya layta shari mon 21 mukalisf. God is the Truth and abd is the Truth. I do not understand who is restricted by shariat. The knowledge ofthis fact was the kingdom (mu/k) that was bestowed on Solomon. Some however consider that mu/k here means mere prophet-hood. Ifso, why is not this word used in the case of the other prophets. _ The detailed narrative about the throne of the Queen of Sheba and the building of Solomon’s palace is not given in the Bible, although it was known to the Jewish Rabbis. (a) Futuhat Vol, 1 Pp 39. A reference has been made in! Kings: 10, and II Chronicles: 9. The throne was brought down from Sheba to Jerusalem in the twinkling of an eye by Asaf bin Barkhiyya, the Minister of Solomon. Mawlavi Muhammad Ali (in his note 1851 to Sura XXVII: 38) considersthata throne similar to her throne was kept ready for the Queen at Jerusalem, specially she as said Kaannahu hu “St is similar to it.’ II Chronicle 9—17 says that ‘The King made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with gold.” The Shayk here referes to the doctrine of Tajaddud-i-amthal (revival of similitudes). Every moment, every particle or atom of of the world, and for the matter of that, the world itself as a whole is annihilated, and every moment it is replaced Bulhum fi labsin min khalgin jadid (Sura L: 15.) “They are in doubt regarding a new creation.”” Some asma (names) like A/ muhiyy (the lifegiver) show tendency towards existence, and some other asma (names) like A/ mumit (the destroyer) show tendency towards annihilation.

The play ofthese two at one and the same point of time keeps the-world intact and agoing to all appeatances; just as in a flame, every moment one drop of oil is burnt up, and another takes its place and the flame remains intact and agoing, all the same as ever. These asma are the 20,000, (i. رع‎ innumerable) angels that were observed by St. Anthony, the Christian Mystic Father as dancing a sarband on the point ofa needle. (a) The throne at Jerusalem was the identical throne of Sheba. This - was disintegrated at Sheba and reintegrated before Solomon at Jerusalem. Since Barkhiyya was an adept of his time and fani (annihilated) in God, he could do this in virtue of Kun fa yakun “ لصو ع8‎ Itwas” It might have been what F. W. H. Myers calls a case of Telaesthesia (b) or television, “ any direct sensation or perception of objects or conditions independently of the recognized channels of senses, and also under such circumstances that no known mind, external to the recipient’s, can be suggested as the source of knowledge thus gained.”

(a) Studies in Tasawwuf. p. 56, (b) Human Personality—Intro, p. 17, THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON (FASI-I-SULAIMANIvyaAH) 101 If this is considered as a phenomenon of television and not of Tajaddud-i-Amthal, it will be on a par with the vision of Hazrat Omar of the army of Sariyah who was fighting at the foot of a hill. Hazrat Omar was preaching from his minbar (pulpit) in the mosque of Madina and saw the army of Sariyah in the far off battlefield about to flee; and cried out in the midst of his sermon Sariyah al Jabal Sariyah al Jabal “Sariyah, towards the hill.” Sariyah hearing Omar’s voice directed his army towards the hill and was victorious. So far as Sariyah was concerned, it was a case of clazr-audience. After the return of the army to Madina, these facts were verified. The Prophet (peace be on him) was commanded to pray for increase of knowledge: Qul Rabbi dhidini tlman (Suratul Ta HaXx:114). He interpreted everything in this world in terms of Alam-i-mithal ; even the fluid milk, he interpreted as knowledge. Modern iuvestigations, for example of the Royal Psychical Society, have revealed the fact that our worldly consciousness is subliminal. Above this limen or threshold, there is a vaster and more lastingly permanent consciousness termed supraliminal, Wal akhiratu khatrun wa abga (Suratul Ala LXXXVI: 17). “The future world is better and more lasting.” And zt remains, after this consciousness disappears. Tzat is the reality and ¢hzs the shadow ; and so men alive in this world are in a dream, which disappears when the reality dawns. The Prophet (peace be on him) was therefore commanded to pray for the expansion of his supraliminal consciousness, which merges into Cosmic or Transcendental consciousness, which was his Mairaj ; and this was the only goal of his life.

God himself was manifest in the form of Solomon, who was then in annihilation, just as He was manifest in the flame of the burning bush before Moses. The He-ness (Zuyuyat) of God is immanent in all things in the cosmos, since sifat (attributes) cannot be separated from the Dhat; and since all sifat are inherent in every thing, (only most them are potential, one or a few of them alone being kinetic ata time). Adepts alone observe this fact. The Shayk says Wa ma thummal hywan. “ Everything is instinct withlife”. Wain min shayin tlla yusubbthu bi hamdahi (Suratu Bani Israel xvi: 44.) “ There is nothing that does not sing the praise of God’. To do this, all the seven attributes must be in it viz., knowledge, light, existence of self, hearing sight and speech. Hazrat Ali said “ 1 was with the Prophet (peace on him) on a journey and found every rock and tree salaming to him.” The house or palace referred to as having been built by Solomon is mentioned II Chro. 9:3; but the purpose of building it, is not mentioned therein. It was to prove to the Queen of Sheba, the ‘existence of God, for she wasa shammas (sunworshipper), and to make her a convert to Islam or a believer in God, the supporter of the world, The floor of the crystal palace appeared to be flowing like water ; whereas the water underneath was flowing. The world appears to be working and active, whereas it is the asa that are at work ; we are not independent of asma, they guide us as they like, Wa ma min dabbatin 4 hua akhidhizun bi nasiyatiha hadhi vabbi ala sivatin mustagim (xI: 56).

'“ Every creature that creeps on the earth has its forelock in the hand of its Rab and that Rab is on the right path.” Thus God is with us, every moment, Wa hua makun aynama kuntum. (Suratul Hadid, LVI: 4), “ He is with you wherever you are”’. Solomon had control of the wind, as he was in the stage of fana (annihilation) and thus could command the wind by uttering Kun ( be’). The ordinary explanation is that his ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram and brought gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks (II Ch. 9:21) ie-, he had control of the winds which “ made a month’s journey in the morning anda month’s journey in the evening "'"—(Sura 34: 12). THE WisboM OF DAvID (FASI-I-DAwooptyvan) 103 CHAPTER XVII THE WISDOM OF DAVID (Fas-i-Dawoodiyyah) Prophethood and messengership are particular blessings from God, i.e., there isno room for acquisition by the banda. Prophethood is that with which a shariat is associated. This is a mere gift, which is not given for any work, and for which God does not require gratitude: God said in the case of Abraham Wa wahabna lahu Ishagawa Yakuba (Suratul Anam vi: 85.١ "77 gave him a gift of Isaac and Jacob” ; in the case of Job, Wa wahabna lahu ahlahu wa mithlahum muahum rahmatan minna (Suratu Sad xxxvit: 43.) ‘We made him a gift of his people and the like of them as a mercy from Us”:

in the case of Moses Wa wahabna lahu min rahmatina aakhahu Haruna nabiyan (Suratul Maryam xix: 53.) ‘We made him. out of Our blessings a gift of Aaron the Prophet.” There is no other custodian of these gifts than the name Wahab (gift-giver) of God. Inthe case of David, it was said Wa lagad atayna Dawooda minna fazlan (Suratul Saba xxxiv: 10.) ‘‘Truly we gave greatness to David, from Ourselves” ; and God did not require anything in exchange for this. When an exchange was required, it was from his progeny ; for in the case of these latter it was a gift that they had prayed for, Aemalu aala Dawaoda shukran wa galilun min tbadt yasshakuru (Suratu Saba, xxxiv: 13.) “Do good works, O progeny of David, to express your gratitude. Few are my servants who are grateful.” Prophets used to express their grattiude, out of the fulness their hearts. To express his gratitude the Pro-

phet (peace be on him) used to stand up in_ prayer the whole night though his"feet swelled; and this was for the foregiveness of his past and future sins. When questioned, he said ‘“‘What, shall I not be His grateful servant? In the case of Noah, God said /xnahu kana abdan shakura, (Suratu Bani [srael xvi: 3.) “Truly he was a grateful servant.” The first gift to David was the bestowal of a name (Dawood) in which each letter composing the word is one of the detached letters (viz dal, alif, waw) which are never joined to a subsequent letter, when they occur at the beginning of a word. Thus God detached David from the world. The name of our Prophet consists of both a detached letter (da/,) and attached letters (727, haz). Thus God detached him from the world and attached him to Himself. So also is the case in the name Ahmad; af and da/ are detached letters, Zaz and mz are attached letters. The second gift to David was that mountains and birds sang the hallelujah (¢aséz) of God along with Him. The third gift was “the appointment of David as the Khalifa of God on earth to administer justice amongst Hiscreatures.” /ua7aalnaka khilifatan fil ardtJaahkum baynan nast bil hagg (Suratu Sad xxxvi: 26), In the case of Adam, God said nna jaalnaka khalifatan fil ard. “1 am going to create a khalifa on earth”. In this, it is not stated, “I am going to make Adam my khalifa. “Adam was the reality of the khalifa that subsequently appeared,” Annahuaynudh alikal khalifate, David's khilafat was with authority Aa ahkum baynun nast bil haggt. ‘Rule over people with justice.” Adam’s was not like this. It consisted in his being a successor to those who were before him on earth. Just as there is

THE WISDOM OF DAVID (FASI-I-DAWOoDIvyAH) 105 one God, His khalifa also is one. If there were two Gods, there would have been strife between them Laz kana fihima alihatun illallahu lafasadata(Suratul Anbtyya XX1: 22). ‘If there were in them (the heaven and earth) several gods besides God, they would have been ruined.” If the deities had agreed and issued an order, then the God whose order cancelled the order of the others would have been the real God, although that order was contrary to the ordinary principles called shariat. For whatever happens in the world, is according to the will of God. Thus according to Abu Talib, Will is the throne of God. There is nothing in existence outside this Will. Whatever happens contrary to this Will, as embodied in shariat, is called sin. The fourth gift to David was his softening of iron. Hard hearts are made soft by reprimand and holding out the threat of punishment. It is difficult to soften a stone, which goes to pieces and does not become soft. God also made iron soft for David, so that he could make armours out of it. From this,a lesson was taught that everything protects itself from itself; for because of armour made of iron, man protects himself from spikes, spears, and swords made of iron. This fact, the shariat of Muhammad (peace be on him) has put in the following words addi 271123 minka. ‘O my Lord, | seek protection of Thee from Thyself.” God is both avenging and merciful.

Note.—Human existence, i. رع‎ the collective existence of individuals is dependent on the existence of God ; it was bestowed on mankind asa gift from God. Adam was the first of the species of mankind. The khilafat (vicegerentship) in its early aspect manifested itself in him. just as risalat (messengership) in its early aspect manifested itselfin Noah. The one, (i. e-, kilafat) developing from stage, to stage found its fulness in David; and the other similarly in Muhammad (peace be on him). The aptitudes of God give rise to His characteristics called ayan-i-thabita which become prominent in His knowledge in the stage called Faizi.-Aqdas (Most sacred benevolence); the ayani-thabila pray for self-expression and give rise to ayani-zahira in the stage called Faizi Muqaddis (sacred benevolence). God thus gives to every creature what its ayan-ithabita require; khilafatship and prophet-hood are what the ayan of khilafa and prophet require These arenotthe result of acquisition by work. These are the gifts of God, pure and simple, in virtue of His name Wahab (gift-giver). The gifts are bestowed on a particular prophet, to reclaim the nation in which he is born. When the ayan ofa nation as a whole require the reclamation of that nation, a prophet arises among them. Thus the gift is intended for the nation asa whole. In this case, gratitude is not expected from the prophet, but is expected from the nation although prophets themselves give expression to their gratitude in the fulness of their hearts.

When gifts are bestowed on banda for the mere asking (prayer), he is expected to be grateful to God—giving expression to his gratitude by helping and doing service to His creatures, in which case his gifts revert to their places in Alam-i-mithal and await him there; ashe did not take advantage of them in this world—he only used them in the service of the Gift-giver. If he is not thus grateful, but uses them for selfish ends, he finds them disappearing there. God has apportioned gifts to all men, according to their ayan, some are granted in this world and some are in store for them in the next—The former are returned to their places, when man shows gratitude to his Maker, if not his store of them in the next world is found exhausted (vide p97 ante), as the Methnawi puts at. Ein khiyal ein ja nihan paydar athar Zhin khiyal aan ja huwayda shud suwar THE WisDOM OF DAvip (FASI-I-DAwooptyvaH) 7 This thought is hidden here, its effect is apparent; From this thought, forms are created there. The first gift to David was his own name, ‘Dawood,’ which consisted of all ‘detached letters’ (Aurifi munfasilah). The detached letters with orthographists are 17/ه‎ dal ray, hay. waw of the alphabet; and the rest are called ‘attached letters’ (hurufi-muttasilah) ; as in script they are joined to previous and subsequent letters in a word. The detached letters are not joined to subsequent letters when they occur at the beginning of a word.;

David was thus detached from the world. Another gift was that mountains and birds sang the praises of God along with him. Wa sakkharna maa Dawdoodal jibala yusabbthna wattayra (Suratul Anbiyya XxX1:'79.) “We made the mountains declaring glory (to Us) and birds subservient to David” Va jébalu awwwzbtmaahuwattayra wa alanna lahul hadid (Suratus Saba XXxwW : 10) ‘“O mountains repeat praises with him and the birds; and We made iron pliantto him.’ These statements appear to accord with Psalm XIX : 1. to 3 viz.,

“ The heavens declare the glory of God and the flrmament showeth his hand ywork.” “Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.” “There is no speech nor knowledge, when their voice is not heard.” Mawlavi Muhammad Ali (note 2022 to his edition of the Quran) says that ‘‘some think that mountains echoing of David's loud praises is meant.” Wahl (a) remarks, ‘‘ it owes its origin to David’s poetical address to all creatures, in which address he imagines them endowed with life and reason, and calls onthem to join with him in extolling the Almighty’ Anhlai-Tasawwuf, (i. e., Sufis) say that when David sang, the light of Godin him became reflexive on him, so that the very organs of his body and the ends of his (a) Rabbi Gerger’s ‘Judaism and Islam’ p. 147, hairs became reflexive of his voice and sang out when he was singing. He was a ‘perfect man’ (Insanul-kamil), the microcosm of the macrocosm. It is an ordinary observation that changes in the macrocosm produce changes in the microcosm, or to put it in ordinary language, changes in environments produce changes in man, i. e., the higher intelligences in the cosmos, the angels or the ‘‘celestial syrens’’ of Milton inhabiting the planets produce changes in man. The reverse of this istrue in the case of advanced men.

The changes in the perfect man (Insan-ul-kamil) react and bring about changes in the cosmos. When, therefore, Davidsang, not only his own organs but the mountains and birds around became reflexive of his voice. This was not a mere reverberation of sound or ventriloquism, or Finding tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones and good in everything. but a natural fact based on the impact of the microcosm on the macrocosm through the concentric circles of the cosmos —‘cycle upon epicycle, orb on orb.’ As explained in the previous note, everything on earth is instinct with life Wa thummal hiywan “There is nothing here but with life,”’ although that life is screened from the sight of most people, being as it is, mostly potential. Things being with life means, that they have the seven primary attributes in them viz., alm, (knowledge), zur (light), wajud (existence), shuhkua (observance of self), sama (hearing), dasar (sight) alam (speech); hence it is said Wa tn min shayin Ula yusubbthu bi hamidihi (Suratu Bant Israed 20711 : 44.) “There is nothing that does not sing the praise of God’. To sing this praise, all the seven primary attributes which are called Ummus sifat (mother of attributes) must be there. Ordinary people do not appreciate them. It is only the adepts that hear ‘the song of the spheres’, David being the khalifa of God on earth (which was his. third gift) could draw

tit WisDOM OF Davip (FAsi-I-pawoopivyan) 109 forth the singing of the celestial spheres, the mountains and birds, whenever he sang his psalms. As khalifa, he was to rule with justice. This justice is based on the shariat given to a prophet by revelation and not on that aspect of it whichis based on the inferences of the Ulema (theologians) which is called Shariat-i-ijtihadi. The shariat proper is based on the will of God. Since all actions proceed from the Will of God, the goal of all mankind is the happiness of salvation which will accrue after they have suffered for their deviation from the shariat. Hell therefore is a permanent place, although this is denied by writers like Conon Doyle; for sinners will have to enter into it everlastingly, Khaldina fiha abada ; (Suratul Maida V : 119); but happiness will accrue in it after expiation and after the benevolence or blessing of God has overshadowed it in the long run, according to the Quranic gospel Rahmati wastyat kullu shayin (Suratul Mumin XL :'7.) ‘ My benevolence spreads over all things.” CHAPTER XVIII THE WISDOM OF JONAH (Fas-i-Yunusiyyah.) The composition of man consists of three items :— soul, body, and nafs; and God made the form—in essence,—of man, in His own form; and no one could unravel the mystery of man’s formation except God Himself, and one who wishes to destroy that formation beyond the limits of shariat becomesa zalim (aggressor) over his own nafs.

He destroys that which God wishes to habilitate. To treat God’s creatures with kindness for their safe guarding is better than enforcing His shariat with severity. When David wanted to construct the Holy House at Jerusalem, he tried at it several times. The house used to collapse every time that it was raised. He complained about it to God when a revelation came tohim. Annabavtii hadha la yagumu ala yadt mon safakad dimaa “This my house will not stand at the hands of one who has spilled blood”. David said. My Lord, was not this blood-spilling in Thine way? The reply was “ Yes it was in My way, but were they not My creatures.” Then David prayed, “0 Lord, make it at the hands of one who will be in my progeny”; then the revelation came that his son Solomon would do it.

This story is brought in to show that leniency towards God’s creatures is far better than enforcing the severity oflaw. This was why it became a Farz to make peace with the enemies of religion and to simply levy Jezia, so that they are not exterminated. 11 they are inclined towards peace, you also become THE WISDOM OF JONAH (FAsI-I-yuNustvvan) 111 inclined towards it. In the case of murder, blood-money was to be accepted, if the heirs of the murdered person agreed to it. If they are several heirs, the opinion of the one who agrees is tobe given preference over the opinions of those who are recalcitrant. A person was killed by the lashing of a camel's leather-strap, the Prophet (peace on him) let go the accused, asa leather-strap was not a thing intended for killing. God has said /azau swyatin sayyatun mithluha “Retribution of evil is evil commensurate with it” Retribution, although sanctioned by shariat, is still an evil; God rewards those who give it up and tender pardon in exchange for blood-money ; for the murderer is in the image of God. Pardon is thus received by one who forms the image of the murderer, and therefore God rewards the pardoner.

The name of God, 4Az-Zahir became manifest from the existence of banda; and he, who respects Him, respects this name. Man is not blame-worthy in respect of his ayn (reality), but is blameworthy in respect of his action; which is not his reality. Action does not proced from anybody except God. A blameworthy action is intrinsically so and not from any cause. It is blameworthy because the shariat-giver has called it so in the fulness of his wisdom e.g. in regard to retribution, which is dictated by the consideration of the preservation of the human race. Wa lakum fil 2 hyatun ya ull albab(Suratul Bagarah uu: 179) “O Men of reason, there is preservation of life for you in retribution’. When God has the preservation of life of his creature in view, you should have the same in view, for by preserving life, you reach that acme of perfection, for which God has intended you. Instead of killing each other, you should resort to the dhikr (repetition of the name) of God. When you make this dhikr with tongue, organs and soul, God becomes your comrade. If the dhakir (dhikr-maker) does not observe Him, he is not His comrade; for dhikr permeates all organs of the body ; God does not become a comrade of him, who merely repeats His name with his tongue.

Man is heterogeneous in nature and God is homogeneous. God is heterogeneous in virtue of His names, and man is soin virtue of his organs. The dhikr by one organ does not become the dhikr of other organs. God becomes the comrade of the particular organ which performs the dhikr, the other organs gets their protection from that organ. God does not annihilate man, by what is known as Death, as He is the protector of all organs; as explained above. Death is, after all, a separation of the soul from the organs, and taking away the soul to Himself J/avhe yur jaul amru kualthu (Suratu Hud x1: 123.) “ All things return unto Him”. When He takes a man to Himself, He makes for him a body other than his present body ; and the body consists of the elements of the world to which he is taken; and that is the Everlasting World, where he will never die i.e. where the elements of that body will not disintegrate. The people of Hell will after the manifestation of the name Al-Mantaqim (the avenger) has worked itself out, get their heaven in Hell itself; for fire will become cold for them, like in the case of Abraham, who was at first troubled only by observing the flames; but when they felt cool, he was pleased. Thus the one and the same thing has different effects on different consti-

THE WISDOM OF JONAH (FAS-I-yuNuUSIyvAH) 113 tutions. Say, therefore, that God _ has illuminated Himself in this condition; or that the condition of the observer himself has changed. If one who dies, does not return to God, He would not have willed his death. God takes possession of him. Note :—There is no distinct mention of Jonah made in this chapter; the Shayk, however, connects it with him, as the chapter explains the wisdom of nafs. Man is composed of a causal body, nafs (desire-body), and soul. The nafs of man is the manifestation of the name of Allah which is conglomerate of all His names, which are signifieant of His attributes. La tudri kuhul absar wa hua yudrikul absar wa hual lateeful khabir (Suratul Anam V1: 104)—“Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends all vision, and He is subtle and aware’ —the world does not see the I-ness or personality of man, and he himself does not see it ; but to him the ‘I-ness’ is the only proof of his existence—in fact the most confirmed and tangible proof—intuitively recognized. Cogzto ergo sum )] think and therefore Iam), said Emmanual Kant. The ‘I-ness’ sees only objectively ; Mon arafa nafsahu fagad avrafa Rabbahu, ‘He who understood his ego, understood his God’’ says an oft-quoted hadith which is concretely illustrated in the following lines of the Methnawi :

Tan 22 jan wa jan zi tan mastur nist, Laykh kas ra dydi-jan dastur nist Body is not screened off from life and life from body, But it is not in one’s line to see the life. One perceives God inthe same way as he perceives his ego. Just as his own ego cannot be falsified by him, so the personality of God cannot be falsified. Hence the command to know one’s self. God is always “‘the unseen in the heavens and the earth’—Walillahi ghayb us samawati wal ard (Suratu Hud x1: 123). God created man, according to form-in-essence of Himself, ie. according to attributes in perfection that were hidden in Him. He addressed the Iblis thus :—Ma mannaka an tusjudu lima khalaga biyaddiyya ‘“‘ What prevented thee from bowing before him whom I created with both My hands.” Man is therefore the khalifa or vicegerent of God on earth. Just as God surrounds everything, man’s nafs surrounds causal and soul worlds. Just as Jonah was hidden in the belly ofa great fish, and was relieved out of it by prayer, the nafs hidden in matter finds its relief out of it by prayer. Some think that Jonah was simply carried away by a great fish and was not swallowed. لم‎ tagamal huta wa hua mulimun (Surat-us-Saffat XXXvu: 142.) “ The fish drew him, with its mouth while he did that for which he was blamed”.

Mawlavi Muhammud Ali Saheb is inclined to think that wtagama means “taking into the mouth” (see note 2123 to his edition of the Quran). In verse 144. Lala bitha fi batntht. ‘‘ He would certainly have tarried in its dazzn (internality),” batin might mean either a tribe or belly; and the Mawlavi Sahib is inclined to construe it as tribe. The generally accepted opinion is that he tarried in the belly of the fish ; some supposing it was a part ofa day, others three days and others forty ”’ (a); and on this latter explanation the Shayk bases his wisdom of Jonah. Jonah prayed. An Ja ilahailla anta subhanaka 211112 kuntu min az zalimin (Surat-ul Anbiyya XX1-87.) “There is no God but Thou, Glory be to Thee. Surely lam of those who make themselves suffer loss,’ oras the Book of Jonah puts it “I knew that Thou arta gracious God and merciful and slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repented thee of the evil’ (b) This prayer or dhikr of Jonah relieved him from the belly of the fish. God has said Axa jalisun mon dhikar ni, ‘1am comrade of one who prays to Me.” When one prays with all his heart and soul, his khatrat (affectations of heart) disappear. When he perseveres inthis, illuminations of God dawn upon him, first of His attributes and then of His asma (names); and then of His

(a) Al Baidawi. (b) Jonah IV-2. THE WISDOM oF JONAH (FAs-I-vuNUstvvaH) 115 Dhat; and then the dhakr (dhikr-maker) will be annthilated in God; and God will be saying the dhikr of His own nafs, in respect of jalal (glory) and jamal (beauty). The reality of banda is limited existence in Universal Existence. It is the outcome of attributes, playing on a point in Universal Existence. Hence the actions of banda have their origin in Universal Existence through limited existence, La fayla 2/1 Allah. “ There is no action which is not from God.” Fail-t-hartak ast wu taskin ust Wahdahu la illaha la aein ust. Actor in movement and quiescence is He, “One only and none besdes Him ’ is this. Good and evil appear in the devolution (tanazzu/) of the Dhat through the attributes of beauty (jamal) or glory (jalal). The shariat-maker knows this and lays down laws for the preservation of the race. These limitations disappear in the case of dhakir (prayer-maker), and the reality of Ahdiyyat (oneness) dawns on him. The illuminations, that will dawn, will be according to the aptitudes of the banda; thus God will appear in the mirror of the ayan (realities) of the banda; orthe ayan will display themselves in the mirror of God’s existence.

The Quran as quoted in the Fas says /layli ur gaul amran kullaha “ All things return into Him”—when man dies, he enters into a world of other elements— Youma tubaddalul ardu ghair al ard (Suratu Ibrahim XIV: 48). “On that day the earth should be changed into a different earth’’— The elements of that world will be the essence of the elements of this world. That world will be the avdul wasia (the expanded earth)—the “ new earth”, which St. John the Divine speaks of (Revelation 21: 1). CHAPTER XIX THE WISDOM OF JOB (Fas-i-Ayyubiyyah.) The secret of life or the ‘ is-ness’ of God permeates water, which is the origin of all elements. Wau jaalna minal maat kulla shayin hyyin (Suratul Anbiyya xxi: 30) ‘And we created all things living, out of water”. There is nothing in evidence which is not living; and there is not a thing existing which does give out the praise of God. Wedonot understand this expression of praise, except by spiritual discernment (kashf). The arsh or the Throne of God is on water; and water guards it, from below and from within. God created man; and man became proud and desired elevation; and God gave him elevation and guards him from beneath and from within. Hence the Prophet (peace be on him) said Law dalay-. tum bt hablin lahabata a’lallaht [] you let downa bucket with a rope (into a well), it will descend on God” Thus the relationship of God is from below, although it is from above also;

for Godhas said Yakafuna Radbahum min fowgthim, wa hual gahiru fowga thadthi (Suvatul Nahalxvi: 50,and Suratul Anamvt: 61) “They fear their God, who is above them.” ‘God is predominant over His creation”. This proves the latter statement. If the throne were not on water, its existence would not have been guarded. God said unto Job Urkuz bt vytika hadha mughtasalun baridun (Suratu Sad xxxvi: 42) “urge with thine foot, thine horse, this is the place for bathing (with cold water)”. His body had become heated on account of distress and calamities, God gave him rest by cold water. When

tHE wispoM oF [08 (fASI-I-AYYUBIVYAH) 117 banda is in distress, God also is in distress, in so far as His Is-ness pervades His creation which is inferential from the Quranic verse Wa dlavhi yurjaul amru kullahu (Suratu Hud x1: 123) “Everything returns unto Him”. And inso far.as His dhat is concerned, He is free and above all these, which pertain to the stages of His ¢axazzulat (devolutions). This world is mystical and transcendental, as it is the face of God. God's existence is manifest from the manifestation of the world, just as a man’s existence is manifest from his face. We—His creatures—are His face. In fact, Godis the soul of the world. Thus inso far as reality is concerned, He isthe first (awwal);and in so far as face is concerned, He is the last (akhar). In so far as changes and states (in the cosmos) are concerned, He is apparent (zahir) and in so far as the control of these is concerned, He is internal (batin)—J/unahu dckulli shaytn alim (Surutus Shura xt1:12) “ He is cognizant of everything” Axnahu kulli shayin shahid (Suratu Ha Min x1: 53). “He is witness over all things.” Therefore, He is present in and observant over everything. Thus God is realized from observation and not from reason and contemplation.

Job had to drink the water referred to, to remove the distress of thirst, since Satan had touched him, ie., the distance caused by the ignorance of the realities of things had involved him indistress. God has uttered praise in respect of the patience of Job, although the latter had prayed for the removal of his distress. This prayer did not militate against his patience, for God has said :—/unahu awwadb (Suratu Sad xxxvut: 44). «‘ He referred every thing (to God)”, and not to causes and manifestations. The cawsa causans or the reality of causes is one Dhat. To appeal to this one Dhat alone, which removes all calamities through instrumentalities is better than to appeal to the instrumentalities themselves ; for in most cases, these particular instrumentalities do not fit in with those in the knowledge of God. In such cases, the prayer is not answered asthe banda thinks; although in reality he had not prayed at all. Besides, the time of prayer has also to fit in with the time of manifestation of the particular instrumentality of the Ism (name) to which he prays. Patience is not the restraint—absolutely—of the nafs from complaint. But we consider that it is restraint from complaining to Ghair-ullah (other-than-God). Abd’s complaint to God does not militate against submission to His will. On the other hand, it is imperative that he should pray; otherwise he would he considering himself equal to thé wrath of God,—/xzzal ladhinayuhaddunallaha wa Rasulahu (Suratul Mujadt.

lah tv: 20). ‘Truly those are the people who oppose God and His messenger”. What is a greater opposition than that you do not appeal to God for the removal of your trouble in which He participates; for you are His face. God sends you the trouble on account of your negligence towards Himself. This trouble also proves to you your own helplesness; patience is therefore the restraint of nafs from praying to Ghair-ullah (otherthan-God). By Ghair-ullah, [1 mean a particular manifestation of God. God has, indeed, particularized one collective manifestation of al) His manifestations which is named Wajhullah or the face of Allah; so that creatures may appeal to it and not to sundry manifest-

ations, which are named causes, although these causes are the realities of His manifestations. Thusan ariff (or gnostic) isnot precluded from asking for the removal of his disabilities, although all causes for these are from God Himself. NOTE.—The Book of Job in the Holy Bible covers fortytwo chapters. It consists of an account of the life of Job, so for as it is concerned with his calamities and his relief therefrom, —an account of Satan’s conversation with God, his tempting of Job, conversation between his friends Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar add himself. Asa prosperous man, Job had seven sons and three daughters, who died by the collapse of a house (Job. 1-19), Finally after he was restored to prosperity, he begat the same number of children. The Book of Job might well have been the inspiration of Milton in the sketching out of his ‘Paradise Lost’ and “Paradise Regained.” Some, however, regard Job “as a type of the godly portion of the nation (a)’’. Luther “looked upon the book as a true book, but did not believe that all took place just as it was written, but pious and learned men brought it into its present form (b)."’ And Theodore Bishop of Mapsuastia “who lived in the 5th country A. D. rejected the entire historical view (c)”’.

The whole narrative is disposed of inthe Quran in Suratul Anbiyya Xx: 83 and 84, and Suratus Sad Xxxvilr: 41 to 44. Job was descended from the race of Esau and lived in the land of Uz which bordered on that of Edom. He undertook a journey through a waterless desert, where he found himself in an evil plight on account of the fatigue of the journey and _ thirst, which is called Shaitan-ul-Gila (Satan of the desert). He was asked perhaps by an inner voice to urge his horse to go further, Urkuz bi rajlika “Urge with thy feet thine horse.” He then reached a place, where he found water and refreshed himself and (a) Davidson quoted on p 4. of the Book of Jcb by the Rev. Canon Sell. (b) and (c) The Book of Job by the sume author p. 3, then his home, where he found his family safe. These incidents teach a lesson—not to despair under difficulties. To a sufi thinker, it meant that when a man is involved in doubts (this is his Shaitan), he must perform mujahada (spiritual practices of the sufi cult) to remove the rust from the mirror of his heart.

In Genesis 1-2 it is said that before the creation, ‘‘the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters’ These waters comprised the ocean that is known as Bahr-i-musjur (the full ocean), or ‘the deep’ referred to in this verse. This was the manifest Existence. The unmanifest Existence moved on the manifest Existence of forms in the knowledge of God, and the cosmos made.its appearance. This ocean consisted of Abihyat (water of life) and the abi-hyat is thus immanent in all things. Wa jaalna minal mat kullu shayin hyyin (Suratul Anbiyya, :نكت‎ 30.) “And we have made everything living by water’’; And this was the water, on which the Arsh (the Throne) of God was at first situated or on which His dominion extended, (for Arsh sometimes means dominion) ; water isthe noumenon out of which things are made. Water is. the manifestation of the name Hye (the living) of God. Job was asked to kick his foot against the ground, 2. ¢., to practise mujahada, so that abi-hyat might appear before him. Whena man does not visualize the realities of things, that is, the asma (names) of which things are manifestations, he is far removed from God; for it is the eye that brings things nearest to Him, the seen becomes nearest to the observer through sight. By realizing the realities of things, you become nearest to God. The Methnawi says.

Dar ghudhar kun jumla tan ra dar nazar. Dar nadhar rau dar nadhar rau dar nazar. Ignore all bodies in your sight, Go unto sight, go into sight and go into sight. Nearness and distance are imaginary terms ; they have no real existence just as nothingness or zero (adum) has no existence. Satan denotes distance from God. When Job failed to realize the realities of things, he was flung away from God, and was said to have been tempted by Satan; He therefore prayed against this temptation, and began “‘to refer everything and incident (to God)”, Iunahu awwab (Suratu Sdd 2557111: 44).When one prays, he must pray to God and not to the manifestation of any of His asma ; for in one aspect the asma are the ghair (other) of God; although in another, they are His ayn (realjty). There is no ghatr (“other”) of God, but His own asma (names) become His ghazr, when they are viewed without reference to His Dhat (reality). When appeal is made to His asma alone, such appeal becomes idolatry, though God grants‘ our prayer only through the manifestations of His asma, of which He is the internality. The Shayk has given two reasons, why prayers are not often heard, although God has said Udwuni astajib lakum, (Suratul Mumin XL:59). “Pray and I shall accept your prayer.”

The Seinitic mind had no conception of second causes or of general laws or ofa scheme of providence ; but regarded God as the immediate author of every single occurrence, while the descendants of Ham and Japheth were prone to refer to second causes and to become fetish-worshippers and idol-worshippers. Prayer to the causa causans does not militate against patience. It is only prayer to Ghair-ullah (manifestation of asma), that does this. Prayer to God shows the banda’s (creature’s), helplessness and humility. In this case, it may be objected that shz/aat (salvation) becomes out of the question. Since Allah isa term for Dhat, with all Its attributes and asma, Muhammad (peace be on him) is a term for the manifestation of all asma. It is the stage of Wahdat (the partition between Divinity and Humanity). He is Wajhulla (the face of God) or the conglomeration of all His attributes. In appealing through Wajhullah, you are appealing to all asma ; it is the same as a appealing to God and not to any particular ism (name). Hence it is commanded Ya ayyual ladhina amanut taquilaha wabtaghua tlayhil wasilata (Suratul Marda v: 35). “O believers, fear God and seek means to reach Him.” ;