Ch.2 The Divine Names

Fusus al-Hikam (Pearls of Wisdom)

Translation: Dr. Mukhtar Hussain Ali

Know that the Real, the Glorified and the Exalted, in accordance with the verse, "Every day He performs a task," (al-Rahman: 29) possesses manifestations and epiphanies at the degrees of divinity and He possesses, according to those manifestations and degrees, names and attributes. The attributes are either affirmative or privative. The former can be further divided into essential attributes that do not possess relation, such as life, necessity, and subsistence—according to one of its two meanings— or pure relatives, such as the first (al-awwal) and the last (al-akhir), and relative, such as lordship (al-rububiya), knowledge (al-'ilm), and will (al-irdda). The latter consist of needlessness (al-ghant), holy (al-quddus), and sanctified (al-subbuh).

Each has a type of existence, whether it be affirmative or privative since existence is in opposition to non-existence but is non-existence from another aspect. It is none other than the manifestations of the Essence in accordance with the degrees that are encompassed by the Degree of Divinity (al-martabat al-uluhiya), described in the language of revelation (shar’a) as the "Cloud" (al-'ama). It is the first multiplicity occurring in existence and an isthmus between the plane of Singularity of the Essence (al-hadrat al-ahadiyya al-dhdtiyya) and the manifestations in creation. This is because the Essence necessitates of itself, according to the degrees of divinity and lordship, various contrasting attributes such as gentleness and severity, mercy and wrath, satisfaction and displeasure, and others, collectively called the attributes of Beauty and Majesty (al-jalaliyya wa al-jamdliyya).

For every name that is connected to gentleness is a name of Beauty, while every name that is connected to severity is a name of Majesty. For every [aspect of] beauty there is [one of] majesty such as the awe resulting from divine beauty, since it is an expression of bewilderment of the intellect and its incapacity therein. Likewise, for every [aspect of] majesty there is [one of] beauty, which is the gentleness concealed in divine severity, as mentioned in the verse, "And there is life for you in retribution, 0 possessors of intellect" (al-Baqara: 179). Likewise, Amir al-Mu'minin says, "Glory be to the One who expands His mercy for His friends in the severity of His trial, and who intensifies His tribulation for his enemies in the expanse of His mercy." From this becomes clear the hidden meaning of Amir al-Mu'minin's, "Paradise is surrounded by trials and the fire is surrounded by lower desires," indicating that there is an isthmus between two contrasting attributes.

The Essence together with a specific attribute and under the aspect of its particular epiphanies is called a "name". "Merciful" is the Essence possessing [the attribute] of mercy, likewise "Severe", is the Essence possessing [the attribute] of severity. These verbal names are the names of the names. Thus, the meaning of "the name is identical with the Named" is made clear.

It may be said that the name applies to an attribute since the Essence is shared among all of the names, and multiplicity in it is due to the multiplicity of the attributes. That multiplicity exists from the point of view of the degrees of the unseen which are the Keys of the Unseen, (al-'An'am: 6) i.e., the noetic meanings in the unseen of [the divine] Being, the Exalted, through which epiphanies of the Real are realized. They are not individual existents nor do they enter existence at all. Rather, what enter existence are the names which are entified by existence of the Real at those degrees. For they exist as noetic and are non-existent in and of themselves. They have influence on and dominion over that which does not exist in and of itself, mentioned by the Shaykh (may God be pleased with him) in the first Fass, as will be explained forthcoming, God willing. From one point of view, multiplicity goes back to the knowledge of the Essence (al-'ilm al-dhdti), since His knowledge thereof, through Himself and for Himself, determined the knowledge of the perfections of the Essence at the degree of Singularity. Then, the divine love necessitated the manifestation of the Essence by each of them individually, possessing entiflcation in the plane of His knowledge, and finally in external existence, resulting in multiplicity therein.

The attributes can be divided into those that have complete and absolute inclusiveness, and those that do not possess such inclusiveness, even if they are inclusive of most things. The first category consists of the "Mothers of the Attributes," called the "Seven Imams," and they are: Life, Knowledge, Will, Power, Hearing, Vision, and Speech. His hearing consists of the epiphany of His knowledge connected to the reality of [His] essential speech in the station of total collectivity (jam al-jam) and of [His] archetypal speech in the station of collectivity (al-jam) and separation (al-tafsH), both inwardly and outwardly, and not by way of witnessing (shuhud). His seeing consists of the manifestation of His knowledge and its connection to realities by way of witnessing. His speech consists of the manifestation resulting from the connection [thereto] of His will and power so as to reveal what is in the unseen and engender it. He, the Exalted, says, "His only command, when He wills a thing, is to say to it, 'Be!' and it is" (Yasin: 82).

Although these attributes are the origins of all other attributes, still, some presuppose others for their realization. Knowledge presupposes life, and power presupposes both, as does will. Likewise, the other three presuppose the aforementioned four. The names are divided—by another classification— into four names, also called the Mothers. They are the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden, subsumed under the comprehensive name, Allah, and the Merciful. Allah says, "Say, call upon Allah, or call upon the Merciful, whichever you call upon, to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names" (al-Isra:110). That is, the Most Beautiful Names are subsumed under the dominion of these two.

Every name possesses its manifestation [both] in pre-eternity (azal) and in post-eternity (abadi). Pre-eternity is through name the First and post-eternity is through the name the Last. The manifestation of each is through the name the Manifest, and their hiddenness is through the name the Hidden. The names connected to engendering and originating are subsumed under the name the First, while the names connected with causing to return and retribution are subsumed under the Last. That which is connected with the manifestation and hiddenness is under the dominion of the Manifest and Hidden, respectively. Things cannot be devoid of these four, the First, the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden.

The names are divided by another classification, as names of the Essence, names of the attributes, and names of the acts, although all the names are names of the Essence. However, in light of the manifestation of the Essence in them, they are called the names of the Essence; in light of the manifestation of the attributes in them, they are called the names of the attributes; and in light of the manifestation of the acts in them, they are called names of the acts. Most, however, combine both perspectives or all three, since in them is that which indicates the Essence; that which indicates an attribute from another perspective; and that which contains an act from a third perspective. Such is the case with [the name], the Lord, (al-rabb), for it signifies "established" for the Essence, "sovereign" for the attribute, and "one who sets aright" for the act.

The names of the Essence are: Allah, the Lord (al-rabb), the King (al-malik), the Holy (al-quddus), the Peace (al-salam), the Faithful (al-mumin), the Guardian (d-muhaymin), the Almighty (d-'aziz), the Compeller (al-jabbar), the Proud (al-mutakabbir), the Exalted (al-ali), the Magnificent (al-'adhim), the Manifest (ad-dhhir), the Hidden (al-batin), the First (al-awwal), the Last (al-akhir), the Great (al-kabir), the Majestic (al-jalil), the Glorious (al-majid), the Truth (al-haqq), the Evident (al-mubin), He who has no wants (al-wajid), the Honorable (al-majid), the Eternal (as-samad), the Supreme (al-mutaali), the Sufficient (al-ghani), the Light (d-nur), the Inheritor (al-warith), the Possessor of Majesty (dhu al-jalal), the Guardian (al-raqib).

The names of the attributes are: the Living (al-hayy), the Grateful (al-shakur), the Subduer (al-qahhar), the Overcomer (al-qahir), the Omnipotent (d-muqtadir), the Strong (al-qawi), the Able (al-qadir), the Merciful (al-rahman), the Beneficent (al-rahim), the Generous (al-karim), the Forgiver (al-ghaffar), the Coverer of Sins (al-ghafur), the Loving (d-wadud), the Compassionate (al-rauf), the Forbearing (al-halim), the Patient (as-sabur), the Kind (al-birr), the Most Knowledgeable (al-alim), the Aware (al-khabir), the Encompasser (al-muhsi), the Wise (al-hakim), the Witness (al-shahid), the All-Hearing (al-samia), the All-Seeing (al-basir).

The names of the acts are: The Originator (al-mubdi), the Trustee (al-wakil), the Resurrector (al-ba’ith), the Responder (al-mujib), the All-encompassing (al-waasi'), the Sufficient (al-hasib), the Powerful (al-muqit), the Protector (al-hafidh), the Creator (al-khaliq), the Maker (al-bari), the Fashioner (al-musawwir), the Bestower (al-wahhab), the Provider (al-razzdq), the Opener (al-fattah), the Constrictor (al-qabid), the Expander (al-basit), the Subduer (al-khafid), the Exalter (al-rafi’a), the Bestower of Honor (al-muizz), the Abaser (al-mudhill), the Arbitrator (al-hakam), the Just (al-'adl), the Subtle (al-‘adl), the Returner (al-mu'id), the Giver of Life (al-muhyi), the Giver of Death (al-mumit), the Governor (al-wali), the Accepter of Repentence (al-tawwab), the Avenger (al-muntaqim), the Equitable (al-muqsit), the Gatherer (d-jami’a), the Enricher (al-mughni), the Inhibitor (al-mani’a), the Harmful (ad-darr), the Beneficial (al-nafi’a), the Guide (al-hadi), the Originator (al-badi’a), the Dispenser of Right Conduct (al-rashid).

Thus, the Shaykh has enumerated the names in his book, Insha d-Dawair, which I have related without modification or alteration in order to gain blessing and felicity from his sanctified words.

Among the names are those that are the Keys of the Unseen, which none knows except Him, and those among the poles and the perfected ones to whom He has manifested with the ipseity of the Essence, as mentioned in the verse, "Knower of the Unseen, He does not disclose His Unseen to anyone, except an apostle He approves of [for that purpose]." (al-Jinn: 26-27) The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) also referred to it in his supplication, "Or the names which You have reserved in the knowledge of Your Unseen."

All are subsumed under the name the First and the Hidden in one aspect; they are the origins of the names that are [in turn] the origins of the Immutable Archetypes, and are not connected to the contingent realms, as we will expound, God willing. The Shaykh has mentioned in the Futuhat al-Makkiyyah, "As for the names outside the scope of creation and relation, they are known only to Him since they do not have a locus in the contingent realm."

Among the names are those that are the Keys of the Visible, that is, the external, since they may be applied to and intended for the sensible, outward existence only. What is meant by it, however, may be more general, as He says, "Knower of the Unseen and Visible," (al-'An'am: 73) All of them are subsumed under the names the Last and the Manifest from yet another perspective. The Most Beautiful Names are the Mothers of all of the names.

Know that between two contrary names exists a name that possesses both aspects, born out of both of them, standing as an isthmus between them, just as out of two contrary qualities there arises a quality which possesses an aspect of each, born from both. Similarly, the combining of names engenders others, whether they are contrary or not, ad infinitum. Each of them possesses a locus of manifestation in existence both as it pertains to the divine knowledge and externally.

Remark

Know that the names of acts are subdivided in accordance with their governing properties. There are those whose properties exert governance eternally and whose effects are infinite, pre-eternally and post-eternally, such as the names governing the holy spirits, the angelic souls, and everything which, although originated (mubdaat), is not governed by time (zaman), even if it is governed by eternal time (ad-dahr).

There are those whose properties exert governance eternally though they fail to do so pre-eternally, such as the names governing the Hereafter, for they are everlasting in accordance with the verses that indicate their eternity and the perpetuity of their governance. They are not pre-eternal with respect to their manifestation since their appearance occurs only upon the termination of the worldly plane.

There are those whose properties do not exert governance either pre-eternally or post-eternally, such as the names governing everything subsumed under time and on the worldly plane, since it is neither pre-eternal nor post-eternal with respect to its manifestation, even though its outcome is eternal in the hereafter.

Those, whose governing properties are severed, are either severed absolutely and enter the governance of the divine Absolute Unseen, as in the case of the worldly dimension, or are concealed and hidden under the governance of another name whose scope is more comprehensive in the manifestation of its governance. This is because the names have terms of governance according to their manifestations and the manifestations of their properties, which is the basis for the orbits of the seven planets— whose term lasts for a thousand years each—and for the religious Laws (sharai). Since, every Law has a name and endures as long as that name endures, continues as long as its governance continues and is abrogated upon its waning. It is the same for the epiphanies of the attributes, since whenever a given attribute among them is manifested, the governance of another is concealed beneath it.

Each one of the divisions of the names necessitates a locus of manifestation, through which its properties are manifested; these are entities (al-a'ayan). If they [entities] are capable of manifesting the properties of all the names, such as the human individuals, they are at every moment a locus for the manifestation of one of their aspects, but if they are not capable of manifesting all the names, they are specific to one name or another, such as the individual angels.

The continuation of the names and their cessation thereof in the external world and in the hereafter is due to the continuation and cessation of the governance of their names, respectively. So understand! Thus, if you deepen your gaze and grasp what has been mentioned in this remark, great secrets will be revealed to you, and Allah is the Guide.

Another Remark

Just as He is identical with the Hidden, with respect to His hiddenness, and just as the Immutable Archetypes in His knowledge are His names, with respect to the Hidden, and the external entities are manifestations of those archetypes, similarly, the nature of entities in the external world are His names with respect to the manifest and the individual entities are their manifestations. Therefore, every external reality, whether it is a genus or type, is one of the Mother of the Names, given that their universality encompasses the particular individuals. In fact, every individual is a name from among the particular names, since an individual is identical with the reality [of a name] in addition to accidentals particular to it. This is due to the unity of the Manifest and the locus of manifestation in the external world.

As for their being separate conceptually, this is because the individuals are loci of manifestation of external realities in the same way that they are manifestations of the Immutable Archetypes, which are, in turn, manifestations of the names and attributes. So understand!

Another Remark

Furthermore, the First Intellect is contingent, originated, preceded by essential non-existence, and known by God, since whatever is not known cannot be endowed with existence. Knowledge of it necessarily precedes its coming into being. Therefore, it is other than Him, and its quiddity is necessarily other than the reality of [His] knowledge.

This is because [His] knowledge can be necessary by essence such as His knowledge of His Essence by His Essence, or it can be an attribute relative to the Essence or a relative entirely [to the thing known], without any change in its quiddity. So, if be said that His knowledge of His Essence is other than His knowledge of the objects [of His knowledge], and that this is what is called the First Intellect, my reply is that the reality of knowledge is one and the distinction among its instances is conceptual since their difference arises out of its objects to which is refers. This however does not undermine singularity of its reality. God knows things in the same way that He knows His Essence, and not by another means.

[Knowledge] being a relative attribute or a pure relative in certain forms precludes it from being identical with the First Intellect because the former is an accident and the latter is a substance. Its [First Intellect] being a substance, as mentioned earlier, is solely due to its permeation by the divine ipseity, which is in contravention [to the view the philosophers]; thus, it is not possible for [knowledge] to be a substance. Moreover, just as He is the knower of all things, He is also able. Were the [First Intellect] to consist of His knowledge to the exclusion of His power, it would entail preponderance without a preponderator, rather the converse is more appropriate, since, according to them His power encompasses all things beyond it, to the exclusion of His knowledge. Furthermore, saying that the First Intellect is identical with His knowledge negates the divine favor preceding all things. Similarly, the First Intellect does not consist of its being present with Him since presence is a quality for one who is present, which is the First Intellect, whereas His knowledge is an attribute for Him, and it [the First Intellect] is other than Him.

In addition, the presence [of the First Intellect] is subsequent to both the Essence and His knowledge because the knowledge with all of its perfections essentially precedes all existent things. Therefore, His knowledge cannot be explained as "presence."

In addition, it necessitates that [were this knowledge to consist of presence] the Essence would need that which is other than itself and arises from it for its most sublime attribute [knowledge], thereby making Him unaware of specifics and their states as particulars. He is exalted far beyond this limitation.

However, it might be said by the accomplished gnostic that [First Intellect] is identical with His knowledge, in that He is aware of the realities of all things, as well as universal meanings in summary and concise form, and that the locus of manifestation is identical with the Manifest so that it is the Real, and the First Intellect is His name, the All-knowing, as mentioned in an earlier remark, this is because its quiddity is the divine ipseity individuated in a specific entification called the "Intellect" at the outset.

However this is the case not only of the First Intellect, but also of the Universal Soul for its encompassing both universals and specifics. In fact, from this perspective every knower might be called All-knowing, and not solely the First Intellect. The philosopher does not recognize this since according to him, the First Intellect and other entities is distinct from God both in quiddity and existence, and an effect among His effects, so as to make Him needy of other than Himself for His most sublime attribute.

The truth of the matter that is self evident for every fair-minded person is that He who originated everything and brought forth its existence from non-being, whether it is from temporal or non temporal non-being, knows these things by their realities and concomitant forms, noetic and external, before bringing them into existence, otherwise it would not have been possible to endow them with existence as such. Thus, his knowledge of them is other than things.

Asserting the impossibility of His Essence and His knowledge—which is identical with His Essence—as the locus for instances of multiplicity is correct, if they are other than Him, as held by those who are veiled from the Real. However, if they are identical with Him from the aspect of Being and reality, and other than Him from the aspect of entification and limitation, then it would not follow [that the Essence becomes the locus for multiplicity].

In reality, there is neither a locus nor that which occupies a locus; rather there is but one thing, appearing in the form of a locus at times, and something occupying it at others. The "domain of factuality" (nafs al-amr) is the Essential knowledge encompassing the forms of all things, universal and particular, large and small, in collectivity and specificity, actual or noetic, "Not an atom's weight escapes your Lord, in the earth or in the sky"(Yunus: 61).

If it be said that knowledge is subsequent to the object of knowledge, which is the divine Essence and its perfections, how then can that be the domain of factuality? The reply is: The relative attributes possess two aspects, an aspect of non-separatedness from the Essence and as aspect of separatedness. In the first aspect, knowledge, will, power, and other attributes which are subject to relativity are not subsequent to the objects of knowledge, will and power, since they are identical with the Essence for which there is no multiplicity. In the second aspect, knowledge follows its object, just as will and power follow their objects.

Knowledge has another aspect, which is the occurrence of the forms of things within it. This does not mean that, "it is subsequent to them in actuality", rather that "the forms of things occur within it and consist of it." Its being subsequent can be expressed as [when one says], "The matter is in essence such and such," that is, the reality which is connected to knowledge, and is not other than the essence in and of itself.

Some of the gnostics were correct in placing the First Intellect as the "domain of factuality," because it is a locus of manifestation of the divine knowledge due to its encompassing of universals which include its particulars, and also because its knowledge corresponds with Allah's knowledge. In this respect the Universal Soul, referred to as the Guarded Tablet, is also considered the "domain of factuality."

None knows the reality of knowledge or its mode of connection with its objects except Allah. The claim that it is self-evident arises from the failure to distinguish between the shadow and the one casting it, since forms of knowledge possessed by created things are shadows, just as their modes of existence. Occurrence of it is indeed self-evident but the self-evidence of knowledge through the occurrence of a thing does not necessitate knowledge of its essence and quiddity should also be self-evident. And Allah is most knowledgeable of realities.

Qaysari's Commentary on Fusus al-Hikam

Shaykh Sidi Dawud al-Qaysari

"Matla' Khusus al-Kilam fi ma’ani Fusus al-Hikam"

By Dr. Mukhtar Hussain Ali

Know that the Real the Glorified and the Exalted, in accordance with the verse, "Every day He performs a task" (al-Rahman: 29), possesses manifestations and epiphanies at the degrees of divinity and He possesses, according to those manifestations and degrees, names and attributes. God discloses Himself in the divine degrees in the form of names and attributes. These attributes are initially divided into positive or privative attributes, the former denoting positive predications of the divine being such as, "God is Eternal," and the latter denoting negative predications such as, "God is Needless." As for the first category, the attributes are either essential or relative. Essential attributes are those that do not presuppose a relation either to each other or to contingent existence and are necessary for God, such as life, necessity and subsistence.

Pure relative attributes are those that take into consideration their opposites, such as the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden. Each attribute presupposes the existence of its opposite and is not conceived in relation to any object. Relative attributes are those that presuppose an object, such as the Knower, which is conceived in relation to objects of knowledge. These attributes relate also to contingent existence since God is known as the Creator only when creation takes place, whereas, life is essential to His Being and is conceived independently.

Each has a type of existence, whether it be affirmative or privative. Privative attributes that indicate transcendence are those that assume a negative relation to a quality that cannot be ascribed to God. Since poverty cannot be ascribed to God, He is needless and independent. In this sense, both positive and privative attributes are in reality positive since Being is the opposite of non-being, and every negative attribute is in fact an attribute that indicates transcendence. As mentioned in the hadith above, "God Almighty created the names..." or to use the terms of the gnostics, He manifested them in various modes of existence, collectively or individually. Their manifestation is the first multiplicity in existence that emanates directly from the plane of the Singularity.

For every name that is connected to gentleness is a name of Beauty, while every name that is connected to severity is a name of Majesty. One of the most important divisions of the names, especially for the wayfarers, is the division into the names of beauty (jamal) and those of majesty (jalal). The names of beauty represent God's mercy, kindness, intimacy, proximity, and immanence. The names of majesty represent awe, majesty, distance, severity, and transcendence.

The Names of Beauty and Majesty

Multiplicity arises from the intrinsic necessity of each divine name to become manifest in creation. That is, every name seeks to manifest the properties, governance and period of efficacy that are intrinsic to its reality. This multiplicity of relationships creates conflict in the cosmos because some names have contrary properties, for some are names of Beauty and some are names of Majesty. Ibn Arabi explains this in the following passage:

The properties of the divine names, in respect of being names, are diverse. What do Avenger, Terrible in Punishment and Overpowering have in common with Compassionate, Forgiving, and Gentle? For Avenger demands the occurrence of vengeance in its object, while Compassionate demands the removal of vengeance from the same object... So he who looks at the divine names will maintain that there is a divine conflict. That is why God said to His Prophet, "Dispute (jadal) with them in the most beautiful way (ahsan) (al-Nahl: 25). God commanded him to dispute in the manner demanded by the divine names, that is in the way that is "most beautiful."

Based on the following dictum the wayfarer understands his relationship with God as well as the realities of creation, and he sees that there is a divine duality at work: "For every [aspect of] beauty there is [one of] majesty such as the awe resulting from divine beauty, since it is an expression of bewilderment of the intellect and its incapacity therein, and for every [aspect of] majesty there is [one of] beauty, which is the gentleness concealed in divine severity." These attributes can be expressed in the most basic terms as the duality of transcendence and immanence. On the one hand he finds that God is absolutely unknowable, as expressed in the Quran, "There is nothing like Him" (Shura: 11), while at the same time he finds that "Wherever you look, there is the face of God" (al-Baqara: 115).

This duality is both polar in nature and mutually inclusive of its opposite. The very creation of man is an expression of names of beauty and majesty. From one perspective the spirit represents intimacy, proximity and nearness to God, through which the attributes of beauty are known, while the body represents distance, through which the attributes of majesty are known.

For example, the hardship of performing religious obligations (taklif) for the believer is a manifestation of the names of majesty, while the inner states, intimacy, and stations one achieves through them are the manifestation of the names of beauty. In the same way, the unbeliever experiences worldly pleasure, comfort and security in this realm, while inwardly he is distant from God, and the object of His wrath, which is the manifestation of the names of majesty. This is similar to a physician who prescribes medicine to cure his patient. Outwardly, the bitterness of the medicine is an expression of severity. Inwardly, however, the cure is an expression of mercy and compassion. Conversely, if the patient eats in contravention to the prescription of his physician, outwardly he experiences pleasure, whereas inwardly he causes harm to himself and experiences the severity and consequences of his negligence. In this way, every aspect of beauty possesses an aspect of majesty, and every aspect of majesty possesses an aspect of beauty.

The following passage in Hujayri’s Kashf al-Mahjub discusses the relationship of the two states of intimacy and awe that the wayfarer experiences:

Intimacy and awe are two states experienced by the dervishes who travel on the path to the Real. They are as follows: When the Real discloses Himself to the heart of the servant through the witness of majesty, his share in that is awe. When He discloses Himself to the servant's heart through the witness of beauty, his share in that is intimacy.

The body and spirit also possess this very inverse relationship, which is particularly important for the spiritual aspirant. Rumi refers to this duality in the following poem,

To the bodily frames, He spoke of Lordship. To the spirits, He spoke of love.

0 frames, I am God! 0 hearts I am the lover!

0 frames, you belong to Me! 0 hearts, I belong to you!

0 frames, toil! For that is what Lordship requires from servant hood. 0 hearts, rejoice! Have joy in Me and sing my remembrance. For this is what is demanded by unqualified love.

0 frames, stay within the realities of struggle! 0 hearts, stay within the gardens of witnessing!

0 frames, occupy yourselves with ascetic discipline! 0 hearts, dwell in the rosegardens of beginningless gentleness!

The human being then is the collectivity of the attributes of beauty and majesty, both ontologically and from the perspective of individual spiritual development. From the perspective of man's relationship to God, the spirit experiences nearness and intimacy to God, while the bodily frames undergo hardship and toil, the former being a manifestation of the names of beauty and the latter being a manifestation of the names of majesty. However, from the perspective of man's relation to himself, the spirit is the manifestation of the names of transcendence and majesty, while the body is the manifestation of the names of immanence and beauty, since the spirit is the transcendent aspect of man's being while man is most familiar with his bodily nature.

Thus, the wayfarer cannot neglect the aspect of his bodily nature, because of the manifestation of some names related to the visible world, but he must subject his lower nature to the governance of his spiritual, divine nature. In this way, each name will be given its due and there will be no injustice in the human kingdom, just as there is no imbalance in the manifestation of the names in creation.

The Essence together with a specific attribute and under the aspect of its particular epiphanies is called a "name". Since the Essence is undifferentiated and singular, multiplicity arises in the degree of the names. In light of this distinction, each name is a reality in itself but is not ontologically separate from the Essence, since each name is none other than the manifestation of the Essence. Therefore, when one conceives of a name, one must conceive both the attribute and the Essence, because in reality, they are one and the same. The name and the Named refer to a single reality.

It may be said that the name applies to an attribute since the Essence is shared among all of the names, and multiplicity in it is due to the multiplicity of the attributes. The Keys of the Unseen (mafatih al-ghayb) are specific forms in the presence of the divine knowledge while the Unseen is the level of the undifferentiated Essence that precedes specific forms. In other words, the Keys of the Unseen are noetic realities that do not possess realization in the external world, although their effects are present. In the same way that knowledge does not exist in the external world except by way of mental existence, its effects nonetheless are observed in the external world.

From one point of view, multiplicity goes back to the knowledge of the Essence. The essential knowledge of Himself engendered the knowledge of the perfections of His Essence at the degree of Singularity (martabat al-ahadiyya). After the realization of the knowledge of His perfections, the manifestation of the attributes of the Essence with respect to their individuation and entification was necessitated by the divine love. This manifestation is the first level of multiplicity emanating from the presence of the divine knowledge and is called degree of Unity (martabat al-wahidiyya), which in turn is the source of all multiplicity thereafter.

Governance of the Names

The attributes can be divided into those that have complete and absolute inclusiveness, and those that do not possess such inclusiveness. The divine names are divided in accordance with the comprehensiveness and inclusiveness of their individual properties and consequently of their effects in existence. This is what is known as the governance of the names (hukumat al-asma). All things in existence are subsumed under the governing properties of the names. For example, every living thing is under the dominion of the name, the Living, and every cognizant being is under the governance of the name, the Knower. In addition, the names possess a degree, rank, scope, and inclusiveness that are particular to each. Ibn Arabi mentions this in the Futuhat,

You should know that every divine name has a level not possessed by any other. And every form in the cosmos has a level not possessed by any other. So the levels are infinite, and they are the "degrees." Some degrees have been uplifted, and some degrees have been uplifted even more, whether they are divine or engendered, for the engendered levels are [in fact] divine. The divine names that are attributed to the Real have various levels in attribution. Some of them depend on others, some of them supervise others, and some have more inclusive connection to the cosmos and more effects within it than others. The whole cosmos is the loci of manifestation of these divine names.

The Mothers of the Names

The attributes can be divided into those that have complete and absolute inclusiveness, and those that do not possess such inclusiveness, even if they are inclusive of most things. The Mothers of the Names or the Seven Imams (leaders) are those that possess the greatest scope and inclusiveness. That is, their influence permeates all of creation including the other names that are subsumed under their governance. It is for this reason that these attributes are the foundation of all other attributes, for they are conditional for the realization of other attributes. Ibn Arabi clarifies this point in the following passage:

We know that the degree of the Alive (al-hayy) is the most tremendous degree among the names, since it is the precondition for the existence of the names. We also know that the knowledge of the Knowing (al-'alim) is more inclusive in connection and more tremendous in compass (ihata) than the Powerful (al-qadir) and the Desiring (al-mwid) since names like these have less inclusive connections that the Knowing. They are like gatekeepers (sadana) for the Knowing.

After enumerating the Mothers of the Attributes, Qaysari briefly defines the attributes of Hearing, Vision, and Speech. This is because the gnostic understanding of these names differs from that which is found in standard works of theology. The theologian defines the attribute of Hearing as God's knowledge of all things audible, Vision as God's knowledge of all things visible and Speech as God's ability to produce speech, whereas in the view of the gnostic all the names and attributes are epiphanies of the Essence and are identical with the Essence. God hears, sees and speaks both at the level of the Essence and at every other descending degree in existence. The attribute of hearing is the mode of His knowledge of His Essential Speech, that is, He hears His speech at the degree of the Essence. It may also be said that He hears the petition of the divine names to become manifest and to bring them forth from of the station of total collectivity to the station of differentiation, or it can be said that the divine hearing is the ontological receptivity of all things to hear the engendering command "Be!" which is none other than the epiphany of His knowledge in the station of separation.

When speech refers to the divine speech at the degree of the Essence, it is called Essential Speech. It is the mode of His engendering things, just as His words are the objects of creation, as mentioned in the previous chapter.

The names are divided—by another classification— into four names, also called the Mothers. They are the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden. Since these are all-inclusive names all other names are under their governance. Generally speaking, though, the names that are associated with engendering and creation are subsumed under the name the First, while the names associated with the return and recompense are under the governance of the name, the Last. Similarly, every name that is connected with the external world is subsumed under the name the Manifest, while every name associated with the unseen is under the governance of the name the Hidden. Therefore, the external world and all its concomitants are manifestations of the names the First and the Manifest, while the next world, given that it has yet to unfold, is governed by the names the Last and the Hidden. However, with the commencement of the hereafter, that which was under the dominion of the name the Manifest, such as the external world, falls under the governance of the name the Hidden, since it will no longer exist, and the hidden forms and inward realities of this world will become manifest.

Names of the Essence, Attributes and Acts

The names are divided by another classification, as names of the Essence, names of the attributes, and names of the acts. Although, in some sense all are names of the Essence, those that are particular to the Essence and are necessary for it, such as the Needless and the Eternal, are called the names of the Essence, while those whose aspect is more prominent as attributes and which are shared with creation are called the names of the attributes, such as the Powerful and the Knower, while those through which divine acts ensue are the names of the acts. However, most names fall in two categories or in all three, such as the names the Living (al-hayy), and the Knowledgeable (al-alim).

Among the names are those that are the Keys of the Unseen, which none knows except Him. The names can also be divided into the Keys of the Unseen, whose knowledge is only with God, or with those to whom the divine ipseity is disclosed, such as the perfected poles, and the Keys of the Perceptible, which are the names governing the external world. The former are subsumed under the names the First and the Hidden, and are the origin of the Immutable Archetypes, and the latter subsumed under the names the Last and the Manifest.

Engendering of the Names

Know that between two contrary names exists a name that possesses both aspects, born out of both of them, standing as an isthmus between them. Among the properties of the divine names, as mentioned by the gnostics, are the combining of contrary names and the existence of other names that stand between them. These intermediate names are isthmuses that possess some of the properties of each name, in the same way that a child possess the qualities of both parents, but still possesses an individual nature in its own right. Furthermore, these names combine with each other to engender other names because the divine relationships are infinite. It should be noted that names are engendered both from contrary names and from names that are not contrary to each other, since God's self-disclosure is perpetual and infinite and the names and attributes can combine in an infinite number of ways. Thus, these engendered names, which are also the particular names, are infinite, while the universal names are limited.

These secondary names combine with other names and engender other names, ad infinitum, since the divine manifestation is eternal, according to the verse, "Every day He performs a task" (al-Rahman: 29). This is also affirmed in the verse, "Say, Though all the trees in the earth were pens, and the sea—seven seas after it to replenish it—were ink, yet would the words of God not be spent'" (al-Kahf: 109). Therefore, the loci of manifestation of these names are also endless since every world is a mirror of the world from which it originates. Furthermore, one locus may manifest various names in the same way that a person at times may manifest the attribute of mercy and at other times the attribute of vengeance.

The Governing Properties of the Names

(Remark)

Know that the names of acts are subdivided in accordance with their governing properties. Everything in existence is under the governance of the divine names. The names the dominion of which extends in the phenomenal world are the names of the acts. Each class of contingent existence displays individual properties in accordance with the names for which it is a manifestation. Since eternal time (dahr) is a vessel for immaterial beings and time (zaman) is a vessel for material beings, the former is governed by the names the dominion of which extends to pre-eternity, and the latter is governed by the names the dominion of which is neither pre-eternal nor post-eternal, for the material world is both created in time and ephemeral. The hereafter is governed by the names the dominion of which extends post-eternally but not pre-eternally since it follows the term of the worldly plane. Furthermore, while the names of the material world have efficacy, they are also governed by the name, the Manifest, and the hereafter is under the dominion of the name, the Hidden. However, during the resurrection, the material world will be subsumed under the dominion of the name, the Hidden and the hereafter will become manifest.

Thus, each of the divine names of acts has a period or epoch in which its governance is efficacious, since the cosmos is in constant flux. Those things in existence that cease to exist recede, in fact, into the Absolute Unseen. Since non-being cannot be predicated of Being, nothing that has existence can cease absolutely; rather things are brought into the external world through the auspices of the name, the Manifest and removed from it through the name, the Hidden. Furthermore, their terms and conditions are determined through the names that actualize their essential nature in the divine knowledge. It is for this reason that throughout history, divine laws were efficacious only for a certain period and then abrogated by the appearance of another set of laws. Even the prophets who brought those laws were themselves governed by some names and not others, which does not contradict the fact that they were the vicegerents of God and the possessors of all the divine names. In the same way that that a king distributes his bounty in accordance with the needs of the time, the divine names manifest themselves in accordance with their governing properties and also in proportion to the existential capacity of their loci.

(Another Remark)

Know that all things in external existence are subsumed under the name the Manifest according to their external existence, and the Real is, with respect to His manifestations, identical with the Manifest. Previously it was mentioned that the entities in external existence are the loci of manifestation of the divine names and attributes. In this section Qaysari asserts that the entities are in fact the names themselves because of the unity between the names and the named. Although the former view is not in contravention of the gnostic understanding, Qaysari wishes to clarify the relationship between the entities and the names, but stating that the loci of manifestation are not ontologically separate from the realities of the names. This view rejects the notion that external realities are the individuals and external referents of the names in the same way that humans are the external referents (masadiq) of the quiddity of "humanness." It cannot be said that individual humans are the manifestations of humanness, since quiddity is a conceptual construct and applies to its individuals conceptually. The divine names, however, are ontological realities that are united with their individuals through manifestation, in the same way that the sun is united with its rays through emanation. From this perspective, the external realities are the names themselves from the perspective that they are identical with the name, the Manifest.

On the Knowledge of God

(Another Remark)

Some of the earlier philosophers said, "His knowledge of His Essence is identical with His Essence, and His knowledge of contingent entities consists of the existence of the First Intellect together with forms subsisting within it," in order to escape certain untenable implications. In this section, Qaysari discusses the subject of God's knowledge in relation to the contingent entities. God's knowledge has two aspects, one that refers to His knowledge of Himself and one that refers to His knowledge of creation. The former was discussed in the section of the previous chapter on the Immutable Archetypes. It can be said that there is general agreement among the theologians, philosophers and gnostics that the God's knowledge of Himself is His intrinsic to His Essence. As for the latter, there is disagreement among the three groups just mentioned concerning the view that His knowledge of particulars is identical to forms subsisting in the First Intellect. The philosophers have held this view to escape certain untenable implications, namely that His knowledge of particulars leads to multiplicity in the Essence since His knowledge is identical with His Essence. Qaysari refutes this position saying that the First Intellect is itself contingent, originated and preceded by essential non-existence, itself an object of God's knowledge, and therefore other than the reality of His knowledge.

The gnostics hold the view of philosophers to be partially admissible since it is possible to say that His knowledge is identical with the First Intellect insofar as His knowledge pervades all creation. This is tantamount to saying that His knowledge "descends" to the degree of the First Intellect. However, it is inadmissible since the divine knowledge is a singular graded reality that has three aspects, whereas the First Intellect neither possesses these aspects nor is a graded reality. The first aspect is to conceive His knowledge as being necessary by essence such as His knowledge of His Essence; the second is to conceive it as an attribute relative to the Essence, such as the name, the Knower; and the third is to conceive it as an attribute relative to an object, such as His knowledge of the contingent. These are, however, conceptual divisions while the reality of the divine knowledge is singular despite these divisions, and God knows the contingent as He knows His Essence. These distinctions do not apply to the First Intellect and are not contained in the quiddity of the First Intellect.

The First Intellect is considered "substance" in the view of the gnostics. As mentioned in the previous chapter, substance is the shadow of the Essence, also called Extended Being (al-wujud al-munbasit), the First Engenderer (al-sddir al-awwal), the Outstretched Parchment (al-riqq al-manshur), the Muhammadan Light (al-nur al-Muhammadi), or as Qaysari writes in his commentary on the Fusus, "If the Breath of the All-merciful is realized externally and entitled, it is called substance." God's knowledge is neither substance nor accident since it is identical with the Essence and therefore not identical with the First Intellect. Furthermore, the philosophers claim that substance and accident are predicated of knowledge, not of intellect. Therefore, claiming that the divine knowledge is identical with the First Intellect does not accord with their principles.

If it is said that that the First Intellect is identical with His knowledge, it would entail that it is also identical with His power, for God has power over all things. Based on this, it would be more appropriate to say that the First Intellect is identical with His power. However, the philosophers maintain that God has power over all things, including particulars, whereas His knowledge encompasses particulars only by way of the First Intellect. The reply is that just as He has power over particulars through His Essence, He also knows them through His Essence, not by means of the First Intellect.

It cannot be said the First Intellect—and consequently His knowledge—is "present" before Him since that which is "present" is other than Him, whereas His knowledge is an essential attribute for His Essence and not other than Him. As previously mentioned, the First Intellect is contingent and originated, whereas the divine knowledge is intrinsic to the Essence. Therefore, His knowledge precedes the First Intellect and is the source for its origination. Furthermore, the Essence would be in need of the very thing that arises from itself, namely the attribute of knowledge.

If, however, it be said that His knowledge is identical with the First Intellect in the same way that the divine ipseity permeates all existence, then His knowledge must be identical with the First Intellect, the Universal Soul, and every other descending degree of Being. This is in correlation with the gnostic view of emanation that every entity is a divine name and every divine name is identical with every other name. By contrast, the philosopher maintains that the First Intellect and other entities are effects of God and distinct from Him. The gnostic sees the pervasiveness of the oneness of Being, especially with respect to the sublime attributes of the Essence, and views multiplicity as the self-disclosure of Being insofar as the locus of self-disclosure is identical to the One who self-discloses. For this reason the divine knowledge is all-encompassing and "Not an atom's weight escapes your Lord, in the earth or in the sky" (Yunus: 61).

The "domain of factuality" (nafs al-'amr) is the plane where the occurrence of a thing is realized. For concepts, it is the mind, and for things that exert external effects, it is the external world. Here, it refers to the Essential knowledge since it is the plane that encompasses the occurrence of all things, universal or particular, actual or noetic.

The distinction between knowledge, knower, and the object of knowledge is only conceptual. That is why it can be said that at times knowledge is sometimes subsequent to the objects of knowledge and at other times not; that is, it is conceived only in relation to its object. The divine knowledge is on the one hand independent of its objects because knowledge of the Essence precedes them, and is not dependent on contingent existence; and on the other hand it is conceived in relation to the objects of creation.

When it is said that the "domain of factuality" is the First Intellect, it is the plane on which the manifestation of the divine knowledge—which encompasses all things-occurs. This presupposes the gnostic position that the First Intellect, the locus of divine knowledge, is not separate from the reality of Being.

The Divine Names and the Perfect Human

The divine names are the essential perfections of Being. They arise from divine effusion at the degree of Singularity but remain in a state of collectivity becoming distinct realities only at the degree of Unity. These names are the source of the infinite objects of existence given that each subsequent reality is a locus of manifestation of some divine name or another. The human being, however, is the comprehensive locus of all the divine names, the manifestation of the name "Allah," and the vicegerent of God in the worlds. Qaysari in the tenth chapter of the Muqaddima describes the relation between God, man and the cosmos in the following section:

If you know this then you will know that the realities of the world in both knowledge and actuality are manifestations of the reality of man, which is the manifestation of the Supreme Name, Allah. Thus, the spirits of the world are the particulars of the Supreme Human Spirit, whether they are among the heavenly spirits elemental, or animal. The forms [of these realities] as well as their concomitants are the forms of the human reality and its concomitants. It is for this reason the particularized world is called "the Great Human" by the people of Allah, due to the manifestation of the human reality and its concomitants in it. Because of his comprehensiveness and manifestation of the totality divine secrets in him exclusively, he deserved to be the [sole] vicegerent of God among creation.

For that reason, it is said that the Perfect Human must pervade all of creation in the same way the Real pervades all of creation. That occurs in the third journey which is from the Real to the creation by the Real, in which his perfections are completed. By this journey one obtains the truth of certainty (haqq al-yaqin) whereby it becomes clear that Last is identical to the First, as well as the secret of, "He is the First and the Last, the Hidden and the Manifest, and the Knower of all things" (al-Hadid: 3).

Division of the Imaginal Worlds

The Imaginal World (alam al-mithal) is a spiritual world that is divested from the corporeal world with respect to matter, but not with respect to form. That is, it resembles the corporeal world by virtue of being perceptible by the inner senses and its objects possess dimension and form. It is however, immaterial and of a luminous substance and therefore not perceptible by the outer senses. For this reason, it is called an isthmus (barzakh) between the corporeal world and the noetic realm, which does not possess any trace of corporeality such as dimension and form. An isthmus is an intermediate reality that possesses properties of both things it joins without being subsumed by either one of them. As mentioned by Ibn Arabi:

A barzakh is something that separates (fasil) two other things while never going to one side (mutatarrif), as, for example a line that separates a shadow from sunlight... Though sense perception might be incapable of separating the two things, the rational faculty judges that there is a barrier (hajiz) between them which separates them. The barzakh is something that separates a known from an unknown, an existent from a non-existent, a negated from an affirmed, an intelligible from a non-intelligible.

It is called the Imaginal World because it the first representation and appearance of the objects in the divine knowledge as form, since the root meaning of mithal is to resemble, imitate, and appear in the likeness of. This representation is called the Disconnected Imaginal World (alam al-mithal al-munfasil), since it is a reflection of the Immutable Archetypes in the Great World, and exists independently of the human soul. The Connected Imaginal World (alam al-mithal al-muttasil) is connected to the Small World, which is the human soul. Every reality in the Great World has a form in the Absolute Imaginal World because each realm is a reflection of the previous level of Being, which is a reflection of the Immutable Archetypes. In other words, the corporeal realm is a shadow of the Imaginal World, which is a shadow of the noetic realm.

The imagination, then, is one of the modes of perception in man, and one of the windows to the unseen dimension. In regard to this Ibn Arabi writes, "This is why the Presence of Imagination is the vastest of presences: it combines the two worlds, the World of the Unseen and the World of the Visible." Furthermore, one of its primary functions is described by Ibn Arabi as follows: "Part of the reality of imagination is that it embodies and gives form to that which is not a body or a form, for imagination perceives only in this manner. Hence it is a sensation that is non-manifest and bound between the intelligible and sensory."

In al-Hikmat al-'arshiya Mulla Sadra, writes that the soul's imaginal power is a substance that is essentially separate from the body, The Imaginal power in man—by which I mean the imaginal level of his soul—is a substance whose being is actually and essentially separate from this sensible body and tangible frame, as has already been mentioned. This power remains despite the decline and failure of this (bodily) frame.

Just as man possesses outer faculties of perception through which he acquires knowledge of the external world and interacts with it, he also possesses inner senses, which are considered by the gnostics as the real senses of perception. This is because the external world is a shadow of the unseen dimensions and lesser in strength and efficacy. The inner senses not only subsist directly by the spirit, they also do not depend on external organs for their activity. One of the initial stages of wayfaring, after having purified both external and internal organs, is to perceive inward realities by entering the Disconnected Imaginal World through one's faculty of imagination. One who perceives the meanings of spiritual forms in his imagination has done so by the light cast by the Disconnected Imaginal realm.

Everything in existence possesses an inward and outward form. When the wayfarer sees an object in external existence, whether it is an inanimate object, human or animal, he must perceive its inward reality and extrapolate its spiritual significance. This is what is known as reading the "signs in the self and on the horizons." Since each realm is a book of God, and the objects of existence are the speech of God, the wayfarer interacts with the world only in order to engage in the divine communication. The gnostic sees nothing in existence as happening by chance; rather, all occurrences have a spiritual significance and are part of God's perpetual self-disclosure. Ibn Arabi discusses the relationship between the manifest and non-manifest dimensions in the following passage:

God placed within each thing—and the soul of man is one of the things—a manifest dimension and a non-manifest dimension. Through the manifest dimension, man perceives things which are called "entities" and through the non-manifest dimension, he perceives things which are called "knowledge." God is the Manifest and Non-manifest, so through Him perception takes place. When God discloses Himself, either out of gratuitous kindness or in answering a request, He discloses Himself to the manifest dimension of the soul, and perception takes through sensation in a form within the barzakh of imaginalization.

Although imagination is one of the faculties of the human soul, not everyone is able to comprehend the spiritual meanings that they encounter either in their wakefulness or their dreams. Ibn Arabi writes, "The common people do not know imagination or enter into it, except when they dream and their sensory faculties return to it. The elite see it in wakefulness through their power of realizing it.

One can realize spiritual meanings only after the inner vision is purged of obfuscations that occur because of the soul's preoccupation with the body. This causes a certain disengagement of the soul (tajarrud al-nafs) and is the source of perspicacity through faith. In addition, one may also see spiritual meanings in dreams, because the soul's connection to the Imaginal World is closer in dreams and in dream-like states (nu’as) than in wakefulness." The only reason God placed sleep in the animate world was so that everyone might witness the Presence of the Imagination and know that there is another world similar to the sensory world."

Perspicacity Through Faith (Firasa)

One of the ways of reading the outer books of God is through perspicacity through faith (al-firasa al-imaniyya). Ibn Arabi defines it as the following:

Perspicacity through faith is a divine light which God gives to the person of faith in the eye of his insight just like the light which belongs to the eye of sight. When a person has this perspicacity, its mark is like the light of the sun through which sensory objects appear to sight.

The word firasa is derived from tafarrus, which means ascertainment or circumspection (tathabbut) or observation (nadhar). It is said, "He saw (tafarassa) in him virtue when he observed him carefully with penetrating vision." When a person observes something carefully, he is able to ascertain the existential reality of that thing and to realize the purpose of its being, whether it is a person, a plant, or an inanimate object. We are referring to firasa in the general sense, but the intent is both the firasa of the soul (anfusiya) or firasa of the "horizons" (afaqiya). Firasa in the meaning of nadhar is ascertaining the inner reality of a thing through its outer reality. This is because the inner and outer aspects of a thing are essentially one and the same. One who has dominion (hukm) over the inner aspect can perceive the outer and one who has dominion over the outer aspect can observe the inner. This is the case with saints such as Khidr whose dominion is the inner aspect and spiritual guardianship (wilaya) but who can see the outer aspects of things. They conduct themselves with the outer world in concordance with both their inner and outer aspects. One who has the power of firasa sees with the Light of God and is a manifestation of the names of God, the Light (al-nur). When the reality of this name is manifested in such a person, he is able to see the reality of all things. Hence, the Prophetic saying, "Safeguard yourselves from the believer's firasa, for he sees with the light of God." He sees not only with physical eyes, but also with, eyes that are empowered by his inner vision, and both are in unity.

Some of the possessors of perspicacity have reached a point where, upon seeing a person's footprint in the ground—though the person himself is not present—they are able to say that he is a felicitous person or a wretched person. This is similar to what is done by a tracker who follows footprints. The man of perspicacity says, for example, "The owner of this footprint was white and blind in one eye." Then he describes his character, as if he sees him, including various accidental matters connected to his character. He sees all this without seeing the person.

Dreams

One of the important Islamic sciences necessary for the wayfarer to acquire is dream interpretation. As mentioned previously, firdsa is a type of vision that is derived from the Unseen and witnessed by the light of God. The dream, however, is witnessing a reality in the Imaginal World through the faculty of imagination; it may or may not possess meaning. While the vision is seen behind the veil of the imagination, either in sleep, wakefulness or a state between the two, the dream is seen only when the bodily senses have ceased to function in sleep. In regard to this, Ibn Arabi writes:

Dreams have a place, a locus, and a state... Sleep is of two kinds, one is transferal within which there is a certain amount of rest, or the reaching of individual desire, or an increase of weariness. The second kind is only rest... As for the sleep which is transferal, that is the kind within which there are dreams. The instruments [of the soul] are transferred from the manifest side (dhahir) of sense perception to its non-manifest side (batin) in order to see what has become established in the Treasury of Imagination—to which the senses have lifted up what they have acquired from sensory objects—and what has been formed by the form-giving faculty which is one of the assistants of the Treasury.

Najm al-Din al-Razi describes two general categories of dreams in the following section:

The dream is that which occurs when the senses have ceased to function, the imagination has begun to operate, and a certain object becomes visible to the one overcome by sleep. There are two kinds of dream: the first is the confused dream, that which is perceived by the soul through the instrumentality of the imagination, and is derived from the temptations of Satan and the whisperings of the soul. These are infused in the dreamer by Satan and the soul; the imagination forms a suitable image of them and conveys that image to the gaze of the soul. Such confused and disorderly dreams are not liable to interpretation; one must seek refuge in God from them and not relate them to anyone. The second kind of dream is the good dream known as "sound," which the prophet defined as one of the forty-six parts of prophethood... The sound dream is of three kinds. Whatever is in the first kind has no need of explanation or interpretation: it comes to pass exactly as seen... The second kind of sound dream is that in which part needs interpretation and part comes true exactly... The third kind of sound dream is that which needs interpretation in its entirety, like the dream of the king ("I see seven fat ears of corn").

Likewise, Qaysari writes in the Muqaddima,

Witnessing of forms sometimes occurs during wakefulness, and sometimes during sleep, and just as sleep is divided into confused dreams and other types, likewise, whatever is seen in wakefulness is divided into true occurrences in the real world, and true imaginings—which have no reality—and are satanic. Satan may confound them making them [appear] as real, in order to misguide the observer. For that reason, the wayfarer needs a guide who guides him and saves him from ruin.

Thus, dream interpretation is one of the modes of acquiring knowledge in mysticism relating directly to the soul's relation with the Imaginal World. Because of the vast scope of this World, it has occurred for both prophets as well as initiate wayfarers.

The Posthumous Barzakh

What has been mentioned above relates to the Imaginal World as it pertains to the Arc of Descent. As for the Arc of Ascent, which is man's migration and return to God, man enters the Imaginal World after death and before the Day of Judgment. This stage is known as the barzakh as well, and the gnostics refer to them as having separate realities despite their having similar properties. Many gnostics, notably Mulla Sadra, have written extensively on the eschatological consequences of actions as well as the stages following physical death and the occurrences of that realm.

One aspect that relates to the barzakh is that of the corporealization of the soul's actions (tajassum al-a'mal) after death. During the period of one's life every action performed by an individual possesses an inward form and reality. Whatever takes place on the material plane will have a corresponding reality in every other realm. Every action will leave its imprint on the soul acquiring a secondary fundamental nature such that the form of the soul will continue to change in accordance with the beauty or ugliness of one's deeds. When the soul completes its term in the material world, shedding the body and transferring to its first destination, the barzakh, it becomes manifest in its final form, which is the sum total of its acquisitions on the earthly plane.

Imam Jaafar al-Sadiq declares, "Men will be raised up in accordance with the form of their actions,"—or in another version, "according to the form of their intentions." Since the Imaginal World possesses only form and not matter, what is hidden in the cloak of the body becomes apparent as Mulla Sadra explains in the following passage:

It is in these forms that they will be resurrected and rise up at the Awakening; that is, in another mode of being than this (physical) one. In this world, therefore, man stands between becoming an angel, a devil, a brute, or a predatory beast. If knowledge and reverence predominate in him, he will become an angel. Or if he is given over to hypocrisy, cunning, and compounded ignorance, then he will be a rebellious devil. If he surrenders to the effects of sensuous appetite, he will become a brute beast, and if overcome by the effects of irascibility and aggressiveness then he will be a predatory animal. Thus, according to the habits and states of character which predominate in a man's soul, so will he rise up in a corresponding form on the Day of Rising.

Likewise in the barzakh, the soul remains, in accordance with its acquired form, either in a state of bliss or in a state of suffering, as mentioned by the hadith, "The grave is either one of the gardens of Paradise or one of the pits of Hell." This is because the acquired forms of the soul are ontologically unified with it, insofar as what the soul experiences in the grave is its own reality. Moreover, since the Imaginal world is vast and not limited to the individual imaginal power in man, the soul is accompanied by either an angelic or a satanic host and is able to witness countless realities of the corresponding world. Mulla Sadra explains:

Above all you must not believe that what man sees after his death of the horrors of the grave and the various states of the Resurrection, are merely imagined things, without any being in concrete reality... Rather, the things (experienced in) the Rising and the states of the other world are more powerful in their being and more intensely real and actual than these forms existing in (earthly) matter, which are objects (generated from the elements) by means of motion and earthly time.

Those souls that have acquired a luminous transcendent essence incline toward the higher angelic realms because of their greater ontological receptivity and resemblance.

Since visionary experience is the essence of practical mysticism, the Imaginal World is the first destination in the Unseen for the wayfarer, joining the properties of the spirit and body together. The initiate wayfarer, after carrying out certain austerities, may begin to see more clearly spiritual meanings in dreams and create a certain taste for higher spiritual pleasures, those that are divested of form. Furthermore, because there is an intimate relationship between the inner powers of the soul and the body, these dreams and visions result from outward states and indicate certain realties of the external world. Since, the correctness of visions depends on the correctness of actions the spiritual wayfarer can assess his progress by understanding the significance of his dreams and visions. Qaysari explains this in the Muqaddima:

The reasons for the correctness [of visions] can sometimes be traced to the soul, or the body and sometimes both. As for the reasons stemming from the soul, they consist of the following: complete attention to God, habituating oneself to speaking the truth, one's inclination to the spiritual noetic realm, purification from faults, turning away from bodily preoccupations and adorning it with praiseworthy attributes, since these render the soul luminous and strengthen it. The extent to which the soul is luminous and strong, it is able to divest itself from the sensory realm and remove the darkness, which is the cause for the lack of vision. Likewise, the relationship between it [soul] and the immaterial spirits strengthens since it acquires their characteristics, so that there is an effusion of those [spiritual] realities causing an attraction by the spirits resulting in complete .

Unveiling and Witnessing

One of the most important subjects in mysticism is related to epistemology, the theory or science that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of knowledge. As mentioned in the preceding chapter, man possesses both outer and inner faculties of perception. It is through the latter that the gnostic perceives the inner realities of things and their spiritual significance. Since wayfaring is the inward journey of the soul from the self to the Real, it is necessary for the wayfarer to understand his spiritual experiences and visions, in accordance with the directive of the Prophet, "He who knows his soul knows his Lord."

This mode of perception is called unveiling and witnessing, and is of primary concern for the wayfarer. It may be said that unveiling is the essence of mysticism since wayfaring is through gnosis and not through discursive reasoning, since the exercise of reason is either for the elaboration of mystical experience for others, or for evaluating experience in light of the Quran and hadith. In addition, rational knowledge is a preparatory stage for the acquisition of transcendental knowledge, since the knowledge of universals prepares the soul to receive the realities it represents, as mentioned by Guenon, "Theoretical knowledge, which is only indirect and in some sense symbolic, is merely a preparation, though indispensable, for true knowledge." In fact, acquired knowledge ('Ilm iktisabi) is really a shadow of true knowledge, or marifa. There is value in it only insofar as it provides a roadmap for spiritual progress. However, since all knowledge is derived from God's knowledge, rational sciences and even the mundane ones that relate to this world are to some degree useful and can be acquired through unveiling.

Ibn Arabi clarifies further the distinction between rational knowledge and knowledge obtained by witnessing as follows:

The sciences are of three levels. [The first] is the science of reason...

The second is the science of states (ahwal) which cannot be reached except through tasting...

The third knowledge is the science of the mysteries (asrar). It is the knowledge which is "beyond the stage of reason."

...The knower of this last kind - the science of mysteries - knows and exhausts all sciences...So there is no knowledge more noble than this all-encompassing knowledge, which comprises all objects of knowledge...

Sound knowledge is only that which God throws into the heart of the knower. It is a divine light for which God singles out any of His servants whom He will, whether angel, messenger, prophet, friend, or person of faith."And, "He who has no unveiling has no knowledge (man la kashflah la ‘ilm lah.)"

Levels of Unveiling

The modes of acquiring transcendental knowledge in mysticism relate to the levels of unveiling (kashf) and witnessing (shuhud). Although the terms are often used synonymously Ibn Arabi makes a distinction between them:

"Witnessing" is [the witnessing of creation in the Real, which is] to see the things by the proofs of declaring His Unity (tawhid). It is also [the witnessing of the Real in creation, which is] to see the real within things. It is also the [witnessing of the Real without creation, which is] to see the reality of certainty (yaqin) without any doubt. Witnessing follows unveiling, or it may be said that it is followed by unveiling.

Acquiring transcendental knowledge is largely connected to the level of disengagement of the soul from the body. The greater the attachment to corporeal nature, the thicker the veils separating one's inner being from the higher realms of existence. This initial attachment is what the gnostics refer to as the veils of darkness. When the veils of darkness, which are the veils of sins relating to actions and states, are lifted through the process of purification of the different levels of man's being, the heart is then illuminated through its connection with the divine hosts; this is what is known as inspiration (ilham). If however, the heart is obscured through sins, inner and outer, either one remains on the level of beasts, or one is inspired by the lower spiritual realm occupied by the satans and Jinn. In order for the wayfarer to acquire any type of spiritual insight or awareness, he must remove the different veils that obscure his inner vision.

Sadr al-Din Qunawi mentions this in the following passage:

Thus, gaining a clear, direct, intuitive perception (basira) of the truth in its entirety requires, besides divine grace, which is the main factor, the disabling of all outer and inner faculties and a cleansing of the mind of all knowledge and belief. One must empty one's mind and soul from everything except the true goal and then turn wholeheartedly and with one's entire mind and soul toward God. The seeker must then unify his mind, purify his will and purpose, and rid his self of all worldly attachments, imitated and borrowed virtues, and superficial and illusory limitations in their various forms. By constantly meditating upon and nourishing such an inner, spiritual state, and by guarding against the least wavering and wandering, and through perseverance and steadfastness, he can create correspondence and harmony between his soul and the invisible sacred realm that is the source of all perfection and divine manifestation.

Unveiling in the terminology of the gnostics refers to the opening of the inner perceptual faculties to some divine reality or manifestation. If the divine manifestation takes into consideration its source, it is called epiphany or manifestation, but if it is in reference to the perceiver, insofar as it is a visionary experience for the gnostic, it is called unveiling or witnessing. That is, unveiling answers the epistemological question of how the gnostic realizes divine self-disclosure, whereas the former is in reference to the ontological underpinnings of Being and its manifestation. Najm al-Din al-Razi defines unveiling as follows:

Know that the true sense of unveiling is the emergence of something from the veil in such manner that the one to whom it is unveiled perceives it, whereas he had not perceived it before. Thus, God said, "We have removed from thee thy covering." That is, "We have removed the veil from in front of your gaze so that what you did not see previously is now uncovered to your gaze."

Al-Razi elaborates on this definition in more technical terms:

The veil consists of those obstacles that prevent the sight of the bondsman from attaining the beauty of the Glorious Presence. These obstacles are constituted by all the different realms of this world and the hereafter, which according to one tradition number eighteen thousand, according to another seventy thousand, and according to yet another three hundred and sixty thousand. Seventy thousand is most suitable since it conforms to an authentic tradition: 'God has seventy thousand veils of light and darkness.' These seventy thousand realms exist in man's own nature; he has an eye corresponding to each realm by means of which he beholds it, insofar as it is unveiled to him.

It can be gleaned from the hadith that there are in fact two types of veils: veils of darkness and veils of light. The former relates to the obscurity that occurs because of the soul's immersion in corporeal nature, whereas the latter are the veils of the names and attributes, which are encountered at the higher stages of wayfaring. The journey of the wayfarer culminates in his removal of these veils and he reaches The Fountainhead of Magnificence mentioned by Imam Ali in his supplication:

"My Lord, grant me perfect separation [from everything] but You. Illuminate the vision of our hearts by the luminosity of gazing upon you, so that the heart's vision pierces the veils of light and reaches the Fountainhead of Magnificence and our spirits become attached to the Splendor of Your Sanctity."

The Varieties of Unveiling

In the Muqaddima, Qaysari systematically enumerates the varieties of unveiling as they occur in ascending degrees of immateriality. That is, when the initiate wayfarer experiences unveiling, his visions are not divested completely of form, as these are remnants of his attachment to the material realm. These visions occur on the plane of the Imaginal World since the correspondence between the outer senses and inner senses remains intact on this plane. In the same way that a person may see a face or hear a voice in a dream, the initiate wayfarer may experience unveiling corresponding to the five outer senses that have their counterpart in the Imaginal World. Qaysari gives examples of this sort of unveiling that occurred even for the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him), except that they possessed spiritual significance in the case of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him). One may experience unveiling on the level of the outer senses as well, such as knowing an inner reality through palpation, such as the instance when the Prophet heard the invocation of the stones in his hand, or through olfaction, just the Prophet saying, "I smell the breath of the All-Merciful from the direction of Yemen," or through vision, such as the Prophet seeing the angel Jibrail in the form of a human. It may be in the form of audition, such as the ringing of a bell or the humming of a bee, etc. These are unveilings that are related to the physical senses. They may or may not correspond to some spiritual meaning. This is why some individuals may experience unveiling of form even if it relates to worldly matters. However, the gnostics do not value this sort of unveiling because it does not lead to the Real, rather they categorize it as divine deception and or as originating from satanic inspiration.

Unveiling at the level of the Imaginal World is an intermediary stage in which forms are represented indicating some spiritual meaning or other. Since the Imaginal World is an isthmus between the higher realm of the intellect and the lower corporeal world, these types of unveilings occur frequently in dreams or in a half-sleep state. In fact, it is often the starting point for wayfarers since it is the most accessible hidden realm, which may be the source of vast transcendental knowledge in itself.

These different types of unveiling occur in accordance with one's existential capacity and preparedness as well as the level of the soul's disengagement from the body. In this regard, there are unveilings that are connected to the Imaginal World which possess form, and may possess meaning, while there are those that are connected to the intellect, which do not possess form but possess meaning.

As for those that correspond to meaning without form, they consist of knowing intellectual or spiritual matters immediately without the use of intellection and drawing conclusions from premises. It is the intellect's connection with the Absolute Imaginai World which is divested of form. The lowest form of this is hads, or intuition.

Some of the gnostics in their wayfaring reach as far as the First Intellect and the Mother Book, or the Universal Soul and the Manifest Book, and they witness all that they encompass such as the Tablet and the Pen, the High Spirits, and the Book of Obliteration and Establishment, the Chair, Throne, and the seven heavens. The highest form is the unveiling of Immutable Archetypes.

As mentioned earlier, each realm, Kingdom, Dominion, Invincibility, and Divinity encompasses that which is below it, and that which is below it is a shadow of the previous realm. Thus, Kingdom is the shadow of Dominion, Dominion is the shadow of Invincibility which, in turn, is the shadow of Divinity, such that the divine attributes are expressed in each realm, either hidden or manifest. Unveiling that occurs at each of these degrees possesses spiritual significance for the wayfarer, each corresponding to a different level in his inner being.

Unveilings can also be categorized in accordance with the epiphany of the divine names to which they refer. Hearing a reality from the Unseen is the epiphany of the name the All-Hearing, just as knowing a reality is an epiphany of the name the All-Knowing. Some of these unveilings may be divested of form, including those obtained from the epiphanies of the name, the Most Knowledgeable, but others may possess form such as those obtained from the name, the Fashioner (al-musawwir). In fact, this categorization is particularly important in the journey through the divine names. One may refer to Ibn 'Arabfs book Kashf al-mand, which describes the stages of realization (tahaqquq), attachment (tdalluq), and acquisition (takhalluq) of the divine names, each being accompanied by witnessing the manifestations of each name.

It is important to note that in practical mysticism, unveiling does not merely accompany spiritual discipline; to a certain extent it is an end in itself. This is because gnosis is ontological realization of the spirit and the actual return of the spirit to the Real in the Arc of Ascent. Although unveiling is related to epistemology, it is precisely through "becoming" that the soul obtains true knowledge. Unveiling is both the means of spiritual advancement and its reality. However, the gnostics emphasize that one must pass beyond the veils of darkness and light and ultimately reach annihilation in the Real, which consists of paying no attention to even the highest degree of witnessing. There are, however, benefits for the wayfarer in seeing visions, as mentioned in the following passage by al-Razi:

The disclosure of visions to the gaze of the wayfarer has three benefits. The first is that through them he is made aware of his own states, whether excess or deficiency; motion, pause or interval; ecstasy, eagerness, or languor; delay or advancement. He is also informed of the stages and stations of the path, of degrees of ascent and descent, of elevation and depression, and of the true and the false.

The second benefit of visions is that, deriving from the heart, the spirit, and the angelic realm, they yield a certain taste. The soul gains from them such libation and nourishment, such joyous taste and ardor, that it annuls intimacy with creation, with all to which instinctual nature is accustomed, and with sensory delights and corporeal pleasures, and instead forms acquaintance with the unseen and the spiritual world, with subtle essences and inner meanings, with mysteries and realities. The third benefit is that it is only by virtue of vision deriving from the unseen that certain stations of the Path may be transcended.

Unveiling, therefore, allows one to access the higher realm directly without mediation, therefore, the fewer the intermediaries, the greater the accuracy of one's visions. This, however, does not negate the importance of understanding each world in its own right. Since each world is itself a book of God, reading the signs (ayat) in one book will invariably lead one to comprehend another book. At the same time, when one experiences unveiling in the higher realms, one understands all that it encompasses, since what is understood by way of collectivity (jam) is also understood by way of differentiation (tafsil).

Degrees of Unveiling in the Human Heart

Unveiling occurs at each degree of the human heart because the origin of unveiling is the human heart itself. After the sensory form of unveiling, one may experience unveiling in the outermost aspect of the heart, which is called the breast (sadr). If an angelic host inspires it, it is called inspiration (ilham), or if Satan or Jinn inspire it, it is called insinuation (waswas). However, it is more correct to say that inspiration occurs in the heart and insinuation occurs in the breast since Satan has access only to the plane of the breast, as in the verse, "From the evil of the whisperer who whispers in the breasts of men," whereas the heart is the locus of divine inspiration.

This knowledge occurs in the form of apparent meanings of unseen realities and is not accompanied with witnessing (shuhud). If it is accompanied by witnessing unseen realities themselves, it is called witnessing of the heart. It sometimes happens that the purity of the heart attains perfection, the veils become transparent, and the meaning of the verse, "We shall show them Our signs upon the horizons and in their own souls"is made apparent. If man looks into himself, he sees only God; and indeed, if he looks into all beings, wherever he looks he sees only God.

Unveiling at the degree of the spirit is higher than that of the heart, as al-Razi explains: When the light of God casts its reflection on the light of the spirit, man's witnessing of God becomes mingled with the taste of God's witnessing of Himself...When the spirit becomes entirely pure and is cleansed of all corporeal contamination, infinite worlds are unveiled and the circle of pre- and post-eternity becomes visible to the eye.

There are also levels of unveiling associated with the heart, which relate to meanings and correspond to the heart's faculty of vision, hearing, and other senses, such as God's saying, "Blind are the hearts within the breasts." Here the light cast by the spirits luminosity informs the heart of spiritual realities in the form of differentiation, since the heart is associated with the Universal Soul. Higher than the heart is its inner aspect, which is called the fu’ad, where God says, "The fu’ad did not lie what it saw."³²⁸ It is also said that unveiling at the level of the spirit is connected to the divine names directly, since the realm of the spirit is related to the First Intellect, and the Mother Book (umm al-kitab), both of which represent the realities of all things in a state of collectively. Realities in the higher realms are in a state of greater simplicity and are acquired through an unveiling that is often instantaneous and effortless. Whatever one expresses by way of words and descriptions is simply an elaboration through concepts. For example, if one were to describe an object to a blind man, the more concepts he brings, the more complex his description becomes, since for every concept one has to bring forth a new definition. If, however, the blind man were given vision for a moment, neither word nor description would be necessary, and he would be able to witness the object directly without the mediation of concepts.

Ch.2 The Divine Names

Qaysari's Commentary on Fusus al-Hikam

Tomb of the Lord of the Universe, the Reason of Existence, the Spring of Divine Mercy, Sidna Mohammed, Peace and Blessing be upon Him, His Family and Companions.