The knower of God [1] is the one who sees the Real [2] in everything, and sees everything…

The knower of God [1] is the one who sees the Real [2] in everything, and sees everything from the Real [3].

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. And may Allah bless our master Muhammad and his family and companions and grant them peace. The Shaykh, my master al-Muʿṭā ¹, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Praise be to Allah, who placed the ḥamadiyya dot ² hidden in the treasuries of the concealed secret, and inscribed the Aḥmadiyya reality ³ on the pages of the known tablet of the unseen, and stamped it with the imprints of His merciful attributes, so that it became transcendent beyond being measured by a 'how' or grasped by understanding. And blessings and peace be upon our master and lord Muhammad, the link of the strung necklace of prophethood and the reality of realities, who is described and known by the great character, and upon his family and companions, the lamps of knowledge and the springs of understanding. To proceed: When I spoke in the preceding book about the meaning of the Basmala ⁴, the Fatiha ⁵, the disconnected letters of the surahs ⁶, and the benefits and precious sciences contained therein, I followed it in this book with this luminous flash from the presence of the One, the Self-Subsisting, and the brilliant lightning from the lights of the master of existence concerning the secrets of the meanings of the letters of 'Bismillah' and what they indicate of praise for his virtues—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—according to what is expressed and understood. So I say—and from Allah I hope to achieve the goal and attain the request—a fragrant handful in the scent of the flower, a subtle lightning in the salt of the news, and an exalted flash concerning what the letters of 'Bismillah' indicate of praise for the virtues of the master of mankind, the bride of the presence of Lordship, whose light outshines the light of the sun and the moon, our master and lord Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and upon his family, the masters of the desert and the settled, and his companions, distinguished by honor, victory, conquest, and triumph, a prayer by which You forgive our sins, past and future, and have mercy on those of our predecessors who have passed in bygone centuries and have perished, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. That is because all the secrets of Allah Almighty are revealed in the heavenly books, and all that is in the heavenly books is in the Quran, and all that is in the Quran is in the Fatiha, and all that is in the Fatiha is in 'Bismillah', and all that is in 'Bismillah' is in the Ba of 'Bismillah', and all that is in 'Bismillah' is in the dot under the Ba—end. And I have said concerning that, by way of allusion, what Allah caused to flow upon my tongue of what the letters of 'Bismillah' contain of praise for the virtues of the possessor of warning and glad tidings, our master and lord Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—interspersed with prayers of exquisite wording and expression, and they are these: O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, possessor of the great character, the right guidance, and the straight path, to the number of what the letters of 'Bismillah' contain of his attributes inscribed with glory and exaltation, and his beauties encompassed with veneration and magnification, and what lies beneath them of the secrets of the names of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, which He revealed to him in the clear verses of His wise Book, and opened for him with them the Seven Oft-Repeated ⁷ and the Mighty Quran, and made their letters—as some of the gnostics ⁸ said—indicate his noble virtues and the loftiness of his exalted rank. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a prayer by which You heal from us the sick and the ailing, and protect from us the traveler and the resident, and gather us with those upon whom You have bestowed favor in the highest paradises and the Garden of Bliss, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. For Allah has not created a perfect one * your supporter, ever, nor will He create Nor has Allah sent a messenger * who equals you in gentleness when you are gentle Nor has Allah adorned anyone with beauty * that rivals your beauty in its splendor Nor has any fearful one watched Allah * who approaches you in fear when you are cautious Nor has any knower known Allah * like you, who is absorbed in Allah And no master has ever ruled among people * like Ṭaha ⁹, whose lineage is known Upon him, his family, and his companions * peace, like a fragrant rose O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the choicest of the noble and pure, the desire of companions, tribes, and beloved ones, and the messenger of truth sent as a mercy to the distant and the near, to the number of what the letters of 'Bismillah' contain of indications to his attributes of glorious rank and stations, and his perfections that are not limited nor can any scribe enumerate. Among that is that the Ba of 'Bismillah' indicates his overflowing ocean of divine sciences ¹⁰, lordly secrets, gnoses, and gifts. The Sin indicates his secret that permeates the identity of the masters of hearts ¹¹ and the people of truthful states and attractions. The Mim indicates his dominion that prevails over the inhabitants of deserts and cities, non-Arabs and Arabs. Or you may say: The Ba indicates his manifest proof in the manifestations of those with growing secrets, high stations, ranks, and widespread brilliant miracles, the breaking of norms, and great merits. The Sin indicates the brightness of his lightning, illuminated by his light in the farthest East and West. The Mim indicates the wine of his love, mixed in the cups of the people of tastes and drinks. Or you may say: The Ba indicates his blessing that pervades all affairs, all times, and all earnings. The Sin indicates his approved conduct—whoever holds fast to it is safe from afflictions, evils, and perils. The Mim indicates his continuous aid flowing in the innermost beings of the people of obedience and acts of devotion, and the individuals striving to perform obligations, sunnas, and desirable acts. Or you may say: The Ba indicates his carpet, whose side is protected from the accidents of defect, the occurrences of deficiency, and all faults. The Sin indicates his curtain lowered over the people of seclusions, the frequenters of mosques and prayer niches. The Mim indicates the water of his Nisan ¹² flowing in the unseen of the innermost beings of those who inform of the unseen, the people of happy omens and experiences. Or you may say: The Ba indicates his extensive piety toward orphans, widows, and those in need.

and the demands. The sīn refers to his chain ¹³ connected to the sciences of the people of revelation and inspiration, the secrets of the unseen openings ¹⁴ and gnostic truths ¹⁵, and the principles of the schools. The mīm refers to his exalted station ¹⁶, the believer who enters it is safe from terrible horrors and all calamities. Or you say: The bā' refers to his greatest gate ¹⁷, open for petition, the heedless, and the fulfillment of affairs and needs. The sīn refers to his Muhammadan path ¹⁸; whoever follows it is safe from destructive perils and evil outcomes. The mīm refers to his widespread glory in the enclosures of the inhabitants of the highest plate ¹⁹ and among the servants of the veils, canopies, and lords of visions and processions. Or you say: The bā' refers to his kindness ²⁰ to those who belong to him, whether distant or near. The sīn refers to his piercing arrows ²¹ against those who deviate from his Muhammadan path and oppose him in heart, tongue, and all deeds. The mīm refers to his lighthouse ²² established on the foundations of piety, the highest ranks, stations, and degrees. So he—may God bless him and grant him peace—is the bā' of the vast sea of prophethood, the sīn of the secret of the great message, and the mīm of the station of the mighty and honored sainthood ²³. No one attains his rank on the carpet of belovedness, nor approaches him in the station of servitude, nor equals him in the degrees of special favor, nor precedes him in the means of desire, nor rivals him in the might of omnipotence and the visions of majesty, nor stands in his place in abundant humility and abasement before his Lord from His severity in the station of awe, nor obtains anything from the emotions of mercy and the secrets of the Self-Subsistent ²⁴ without his supreme mediation, nor kindles anything from the lights of Eternity ²⁵ without seeking intercession through his great rank and most exalted station, nor acknowledges anything from the seas of his holy gifts without seeking intercession through his beautiful names and radiant, beautiful attributes. For the Truth has raised the sun of his prophethood in the heaven of His divinity and lit the lamp of his message in the niches of the companions of His presence. Whatever appears in existence of wondrous creations is his secret; whatever shines in the heaven of high stations of guiding stars is his full moon; whatever emerges in the world of concealment and manifestation of the secrets of the unseen is his news and goodness; whatever penetrates from the decree of destiny and fate in the worlds of spirits and bodies, his tongue is its prohibition and command; whatever overflows from the divine secret into the streams of the people of the higher and lower worlds ²⁶ is his sea: "Say, 'If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it as a supplement.'" ²⁷ So the sea overflows with its water at the gushing of the secrets of his prophetic sea, and its drink becomes sweet when a drop from the surge of his chosen sea ²⁸ mixes with it, and the clashing of its waves calms at the sight of the rays of his lordly light ²⁹. He encompassed the worlds with forbearance and knowledge, so he is a sea that weariness does not weary. Virtues are hidden before him, and passions are dispelled by him from our minds. Do stars appear with the dawn, or does darkness remain with the sun? He is a miracle in word and deed, generous, and his creation and character are just and giving. Do not compare any creature to the Prophet in virtue, for he is the sea and mankind are rivers. Every virtue in the worlds is from the Prophet's virtue, a borrowing of the virtuous. So he—may God bless him and grant him peace—was a great sea of Qur'anic knowledge and Furqanic light, according to what pours upon his heart from the gifts of the All-Merciful opening ³⁰ and the subtleties of the holy secret, and what is poured upon his inner being from cups of the Eternal support ³¹ and the gnostic divine inspiration ³². He guides the servants to God, teaches them the way of reaching God, makes them know the etiquette of modesty with God, standing by God's command, and stopping at God's limits, and gives them to drink the fullest cup from the support of God's secret. So he is the law ³³ of the greatest secret, the lexicon ³⁴ of the most abundant divine support, the gate of God's greatest gate, the sīn of the complete glory and most magnificent honor, the mīm of the most luminous city of divine knowledge ³⁵, the lantern of the angelic secret and the most radiant light, and the sea overflowing into the innermost beings of the perfect ones ³⁶ from the treasuries of the unseen, and the knowledge inscribed on the pages of the hearts of the knowers from the engravings of the lines of the hidden tablet ³⁷. All seas gush forth from the eye of his essence and the core of the reality of his hidden secret. The sea of generosity and kindness flows from between his fingers; the sea of laws and wisdoms gushes from the eye of his tongue; the sea of tables and blessings flows from the basins of his heart; the sea of the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen is derived from the light of his heart; the sea of this world and the Hereafter flows from the gifts of his bounty and beneficence; the sea of bliss and felicity surges in the times of his era and age; the sea of the hidden secret emerges from the pocket of his shirt and the hem of his sleeves; the sea of the Greatest Name ³⁸ is derived from the secret of his blessings and the spring of his gnosis; the surrounding sea ³⁹ is agitated by the flashes of his signs and his mighty proof; and the pens of the trees of this world and the Hereafter write what

A gift from his Lord, of the abundant favors and proofs of His grace and beneficence. "And if whatever trees upon the earth were pens and the sea [were ink], replenished thereafter by seven [more] seas, the words of Allah would not be exhausted." * So glorified is He who adorned him in form and image * And illuminated his countenance, encompassing the worlds * The meanings of Allah's Book are the character of his essence * And from his explanation, his gentle traits narrate * He embodied the Qur'an, the descender of its treasure * So proofs from it stood for him * And he rendered all creation incapable with the shortest sura * So he laid low the obstinate disputant by implication * The proofs of truth were validated by his truth * And the morning of truth shone, and falsehood vanished * With swords of secrets contained in his words * Indeed, the Guide broke the ungrateful opponent * A beloved crowned with the lights of dignity * How many a tooth gnashed when an opponent observed him ⁴⁰ * Kind, merciful, benevolent, gracious * To us and upon us, from his bounty he continues * His fingers flowed with water like them * And from the sea of Allah's grace, springs flowed * O Messenger of Allah, O source of guidance * O mine of generosity that has no equal * O sea of Allah's grace, O one at whose door * The one entering the garden of excellence reaches * O one who has virtue over every virtuous one * And virtues overflowed to him in the worlds * Upon you be the prayer of Allah and all the Family * And your Companions, whose virtues followed Or you say: The ba of bismillah indicates his inward name, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; the sin indicates his name 'Sa'id' in the heavens and earths and all places; the mim indicates his name Muhammad, the praised one among the inhabitants of villages, cities, deserts, and all other places. So the mim of his name Muhammad is the mim of Allah's glory and praise; the ha is the ha of the protection of His preservation with which He guarded him from the harm of his enviers and enemies; the second mim is the gathering of his praises which He gathered in him and singled him out with, to the exclusion of His chosen ones and saints; the dal is the perpetuity of his honor through him and his self-sufficiency through witnessing Him from other than Him in His earth and heaven. So by his name Muhammad, Allah opened the treasuries of generosity and bounty for His beloved and pious ones; by his remembrance, He adorned the links of the chains of praise for His erring and noble ones; by His care, the elite of His messengers and prophets ascended to the peak of ascension, and He made them aware of the meanings of His attributes and names. And by his light, He opened the insights of the people of watchfulness and witnessing in the gardens of His pleasure and honored them. With the abundant favors and His highness; and by his rank, He raised the status of His scholars and gnostics, and through them manifested the landmarks of religion and opened for them the treasures of His gifts and grants. And the mim of his name Muhammad is the mim of Allah's love ⁴¹ for the elite of the elite and the connected poles; and the mim of His table which He sent down from the heaven of His nearness for the attracted wayfarers and the firmly rooted pegs; and the ha is the ha of His mercy which He granted to the drowsy ones who stay awake in His obedience and the devout worshippers; and the dal is the dal of His guidance which He gifted to His servants who trust in what is with Him, the reliant ones. So they became absent in the seas of Muhammadan love, and by it, bewildered by the light of His beauty. And by hearing His remembrances, they are yearning and ecstatic. So the wine of His love annihilated them from their annihilation, and the witnessing of His beauty revived them for the duration of their life and existence; and the influx of His longing made them absent from their senses, and distracted them from their loved ones, relatives, and their own kind; and nothing remained of them but hearts that find fragrance in the spirit of his Muhammadan youth, and tongues that cry out in praise of the virtues of his Ahmadine name, and eyes that stroll in the flowers of the gardens of his fragrant traits, and hearts that fly with the wing of longing to his station, surrounded by eternal glory and everlasting honor. So in the ba of his Mustafan splendor, the minds of the beloved lovers are bewildered; and in the sin of the radiance of his Ahmadine countenance, the eyes of the beholders among the cherubic beings and the proximate angels are dazzled; and toward the mim of his gifts, the eyes of the spiritual ones and the dominators yearn, and the elite of Allah's believing servants. So success in seeing his illuminated station is happiness, and annihilation in his love is martyrdom. And sacrificing oneself in his obedience and service bequeaths the station of excellence and increase. So the ba of bismillah is the ba of his inward, filled with the secrets of sciences and lordly gifts; the sin is the sin of his ladder by which the men of the unseen ascend to the lofty stations and high holy ranks; the mim is the mim of his watering-places from which the people of pure tastes and samadi drinks drink. So he is ⁴² the manifest in the manifestations of structures, and the hidden in the realities of meanings. So by his Muhammadan light, existences were illuminated, and by his Ahmadine manifestation, the hidden and manifested things appeared. Manifest you are, hidden * Revealer of the secret, concealed First you are, last * Clear light in darkness You decree today what you will * All from a decree of might O security for everything * And refuge from afflictions You are for Allah a manifestation * His house you are, and the sanctuary Allah's chosen among creation * You are, O pure of character Perfect in beauty and splendor * You are, O lofty of aspirations Infallibility of creation, a refuge * You are, O fulfiller of covenants Good you are, pure * Owner of glory and generosity Elite of the messengers, followed * Pearl of Arabs and non-Arabs Victory you are, victorious * Possessor of crown and banner Preceding you are, driving * Firm in might and antiquity Ahmad you are, praising * Source of praise and blessings O intercessor of great rank * O refuge and stronghold You are for Allah a mercy * His secret you are among the nations ⁴³ So prayers upon you from * The Creator, Originator of souls And peace and mercy * As long as the full moon appears in darkness And upon the Companions, as long as weeps * A yearning one for the House and the Sanctuary Or you say: The ba is the ba of his splendor with which Allah adorned the enclosures of holiness and illuminated the world of existence from the light of his radiance and brilliance; the sin is the sin of the sublimity of his glory with which Allah raised his rank in the highest assembly and his virtue over His angels, messengers, and prophets; the mim is the mim of his name Muhammad, by which Allah named him before the creation of the Tablet and the Pen and the establishment of the Throne and His settling upon it. Or you say: The ba is the ba of his door at which the beggars stand and unload their burdens in his courtyard; the sin is the sin of his dignified bearing and upright guidance, by which creatures follow in its beginning and end; the mim is the mim of his name Muhammad, the praiser, the praised, whose musk fragrance Allah diffused in the gardens of the kingdom and the dominion and all its regions. Or you say: The ba is the ba of his universal mission to the red and the black and everyone in His earth and heaven; the sin is the glories of the lights of his face, before which the lights of suns and moons are ashamed when witnessing his countenance and the beauty of his splendor; the mim is the mim of his name Muhammad, which Allah coupled with His name and His love.

For the people of His obedience among His male and female servants, He made the number of its letters four to correspond to the number of letters of His name, Allah, which consists of four letters. All the letters of His name, Allah, refer to the high Muhammadan stations ⁴⁴ and the lofty Ahmadian perfections ⁴⁵ of His beloved. The alif refers to His being unique in His beauty and beneficence; the first lam refers to his being the tongue of the Truth and the interpreter of His register ⁴⁶; the second lam refers to his being gentle in his actions, words, and all his states in his times and periods; and the ha refers to his being the guide of creation to Allah in his secret and public [affairs]. Or you may say: The alif of Allah refers to His names Ahad ⁴⁷ and Ahmad ⁴⁸; the first lam refers to the fact that there is no end to his perfections just as there is no end to the perfections of our Master, the One, the Unique; the second lam refers to the fact that there is no end to his immense station just as there is no end to the majesty of our Master, the Unique, the Eternal; and the ha refers to his identity ⁴⁹, whose reality no one knows except our Master, the Most High, the Great, who is transcendent above partner, consort, and child. Allah made the letters of the name Muhammad (peace be upon him) four, corresponding to the number of letters of His name Allah, as mentioned by some of the people of special characteristics ⁵⁰. In this noble name, Muhammad (peace be upon him), there are ten qualities: first, the creation of human beings in his form; second, his association with His name in the iqama ⁵¹ and adhan ⁵²; third, the delight of the houris ⁵³ through him in the abode of honor and the paradises of gardens; fourth, his being written on the leg of the Throne, on the trees of Paradise, and its gates; fifth, his correspondence with the name of Allah in the number of letters; sixth, the sailing of Noah's ark (peace be upon him) through him; seventh, the subjugation of the devils to Solomon (peace be upon him) through his mention; eighth, Allah's acceptance of Adam's repentance (peace be upon him) through seeking intercession by him; ninth, Adam's naming him as the most noble of his children; tenth, his derivation from His name Mahmud ⁵⁴. This is supported by the long hadith of Abu Marwan ⁵⁵ from him (peace be upon him) that he said: 'O Umar ibn al-Khattab, do you know who I am? I am one whose name Allah derived from His name. Allah is Mahmud, and I am Muhammad, and no pride.' In this meaning, Hassan ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "A radiant one upon whom is the seal of prophethood, from Allah, of light that shines and bears witness. Allah joined the Prophet's name to His name when the mu'adhdhin ⁵⁶ says in the five [prayers]: 'I bear witness.' And He derived for him from His name to honor him, so the Lord of the Throne is Mahmud, and this is Muhammad." Or you may say: The ba of 'Bismillah' ⁵⁷ refers to the house of his heart, which Allah made a treasury for His hidden sciences; the sin refers to the secret of what his Master clothed him with from the garments of proximity and belovedness; and the mim refers to his striving in supporting the religion and fulfilling the right of lordship. Or you may say: The ba of 'Bismillah' refers to the garden of his pure law, which perfumed the worlds with the fragrance of its scent; the sin refers to his beautiful conduct, in following which lies the rectification of the affairs of this world and the Hereafter and the attainment of Allah's pleasure on the day when one looks at what his hands have sent forth; and the mim refers to his birth, through which creation was blessed in its beginning and end. Or you may say: The ba of 'Bismillah' is the ba of his beginning, which Allah made the seed of existence and the foundation of its structure; the sin is the sin of his loftiness, through which Allah raised his rank in the sacred enclosures and magnified his station and highness; and the mim is the mim of his praises, through which Allah honored him above all other prophets and messengers, chose him, and brought him near to the presence of His proximity and selected him. In summary, all the letters refer to the perfection of his Muhammadan praise and commendation, and inform of what his Master has distinguished him with from the highest virtues and excellences and manifested him, and what He has honored him with from openings and gifts of good things and bestowed upon him, and announce that he is the point of its greatest secret ⁵⁸, the most famous banner of its guidance, and all of them are included within the enclosure of his circle illuminated by the light of his most radiant brilliance, and are derived from the secret of his Ahmadian supply and the flow of his most precious gift. Some scholars have said: 'All the secrets of Allah in the heavenly books revealed to His prophets, and all that is in the heavenly books is in the Quran revealed to His beloved Muhammad, and all that is in the Quran is in the Fatiha ⁵⁹, and all that is in the Fatiha is in 'Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim' ⁶⁰, and all that is in 'Bismillah' is in the dot under the ba.' In this there is a wonderful and amazing indication, a superior and strange subtlety, which the spirit of the secret cast into the identity of the secret of the secret, and the spirit of the command received it from the presence of Him to Whom belong creation and command. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I said in this meaning by way of allusion, abbreviating words and expressions, and Allah knows best what befits the glorification of the possessor of warning and glad tidings, my master and lord, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and upon his family singled out for the caliphate in the kingdom of Allah and the ministry, and grant him abundant peace. Know, O lover in the essence of Allah and desirous of hearing the praise of the qualities of my master, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), that the dot is a hidden secret and a line inscribed on the Preserved Tablet, which the masters of understanding are incapable of grasping its realities, and those possessing intellects knowledgeable in the secrets of letters and the subtleties of sciences fall short of unveiling its intricacies. It is a secret from the secrets of the One, the Self-Subsistent, whom neither slumber nor sleep overtakes. Or you may say: The dot is a mirror in which the Truth manifests Himself to the elite of His devoted servants, and His secret appears in it to the chiefs of the cherubim ⁶¹ and the holy ones, and the angels who are overwhelmed ⁶². Or you may say: The dot is a sacred enclosure ⁶³ beneath the leg of the Throne of Lordship, a comprehensive treasury of divine sciences and secrets of the realm of might ⁶⁴. Or you may say: The dot is a letter that no pen has written, a secret that no angel brought near nor inspired saint has been informed of. Or you may say: The dot is a jewel whose secret is contained within the word 'La ilaha illa Allah' ⁶⁵ and its light is sealed with 'Muhammadun Rasul Allah' ⁶⁶ (peace be upon him). Or you may say: The dot is a subtle form, a luminous noble jewel. By the radiance of its Muhammadan light, the gleams of lordship and honor appeared, and by the penetration of its Ahmadian secret, the banners of fame and distinction shone upon it. Whoever kindles a spark from its Muhammadan light, for him the customary [laws] are rent, and the hand of sovereignty, the hand of judgment and disposal, is extended. Or you may say: The dot is the prime matter ⁶⁷ of the luminous letters, the dark letters, the spiritual letters, the corporeal letters, the carried letters, and the placed letters.

And the scattered letters, and the gathered letters, and the rational letters, and the heard letters, and the connected letters, and the separated letters, and the linked letters, and the invented letters, and the existing letters, and the estimated letters, and the single letters, and the repeated letters, and the ambiguous letters, and the explained letters, and the erased letters, and the illuminated letters, and the neglected letters, and the initial letters, and the used letters, and the freed letters, and the fixed letters, and the omitted letters, and the known letters, and the described letters, and the indicative letters, and the conjoined letters, and the unknown letters, and the known letters, and the twisted letters, and the stopped letters, and the standing letters, and the spread letters ⁶⁸ (31) and the silent letters, and the inscribed letters, and the letters written on the edges of the veils and the canopies, and the letters inscribed on the hearts of the people of righteous deeds, and the letters drawn in the cups of the drink of the people of passion and love, and the letters blended in the glass of the people of ecstatic utterances and attraction, and the letters inscribed on the forelocks of the people of nearness and proximity, and the protective letters for whoever fortifies himself with them against the calamities of fear and terror, and the letters whose secret Allah has hidden in the openings of the surahs ⁶⁹, and the letters whose command Allah has manifested in the worlds of spirits and forms, and the letters with which Allah praised the master of mankind, and the letters with which Allah spread his fame in the desert and the city, and the letters with which He distinguished him in pre-eternity and honored his rank above all the higher and lower worlds until he became like a ruby among stones. Thus the ambiguous matter has become clear, and the witness of the hidden secret has testified, and the dawn of the garment of the marked truth has risen, and the special distinction of the master of Arabs and non-Arabs has appeared, and he whom Allah chose for His presence and distinguished with the supreme chosenness in the beginning and the end, and He extolled the loftiness of his rank and the greatness of his character in Surah Nun and the Pen ⁷⁰. So the letters of the openings of the surahs came to inform of his honor over those who came later or earlier, and the Qur'an was unable to declare his superiority over all the angels and all the prophets and messengers. Therefore, their prostration was to his light which appeared on the forehead of his father Adam. So Alif Lam Mim that Book is the essence of "Indeed, to Allah belongs [everything]. There is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence." 9 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. "Except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence." The title of al-Mass ⁷¹, and al-Mass is the secret of Kaf Ha Ya 'Ayn Sad ⁷², and Kaf Ha Ya 'Ayn Sad is the support of Ta Ha ⁷³, and Ta Ha is the spirit of Ta Sin Mim ⁷⁴, and Ta Sin Mim is the essence of Ta Sin ⁷⁵, and Ta Sin is the face of Ya Sin ⁷⁶, and Ya Sin is the heart of "Sad and the Qur'an" ⁷⁷, and "Sad and the Qur'an" is the light of Ha Mim 'Ayn Sin Qaf ⁷⁸ (32), and Ha Mim 'Ayn Sin Qaf is the perfection of "Qaf and the Qur'an" ⁷⁹, and "Qaf and the Qur'an" is the strength of "Nun and the Pen and what they inscribe. You are not, by the favor of your Lord, a madman. And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. And indeed, you are of a great character." ⁸⁰ So he, peace and blessings be upon him, is the confluence of the two seas of the Sharia and the Truth, and the imam of emulation for the people of spiritual wayfaring and the path, and the point of origin for the worlds of spiritual spirits and corporeal forms, before the formation of existents and the existence of knowledge inscribed in the Preserved Tablet with cosmic things. And that is because when Allah desired to create the spirit, it faced the light of the ray of the Basmala ⁸¹ and was affected without formation—I mean the spirit faced the world of command, and the world of command is formed in His knowledge—so its ray radiated before bodies, and from its ray arose the Throne, the Footstool, the Pen, the Tablet, Paradise, and Hellfire. Therefore, these things were exalted above annihilation and obtained permanence from the blessing of their origin from the Greatest Light, which is the spirit of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him—may Allah honor, magnify, and glorify him. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. The Prophet's spirit never was absent * From souls that by Allah have become pure They knew him in every lofty meaning * And called his spirit, and it answered A favor from him, and he is the secret of manifestation * A soul that purified itself toward him knew him Here he is the witness, the witness over us * And to him our hearts have turned in repentance Present, seeing, he manifested and unveiled * No soul ever doubted what is in him O most noble of creation in rank and glory * And he whose might the Chosroes feared O Mighty, O Kind, O Merciful * Indeed my soul from me to you has become firm (33) It shot the arrow of its resolve toward you until * It hit what you wished of meeting you It returned from other than you concerning you * And returned with you in its essence and became immersed So prayers, prayers toward you with peace * Seek with the good from you, and it found good And upon your noble family and companions * Who responded to your call of the Most Merciful from you And know, O beloved and loved one, O wayfaring devotee and attracted one, O aspirant desiring to be informed of the consciences of hearts and the secrets of the inscribed Tablet of Preservation, that this point which is under the Ba of Bismillah ⁸², indicating what its letters indicate of the attributes of Allah's perfections, was a guarded pearl in the Nun of "Be, and it is" ⁸³. When Allah desired to manifest what would be generated from it of the letters indicating the honor of the prophethood of the possessor of great character and the compassionate heart, Our master and lord Muhammad, who is known and described as being kind and merciful to the worlds, He manifested His secret in the Book, and the secret of the Book in the letters, and the secret of the letters in the Alif, and the secret of the Alif in the point, and the secret of the point in the Oneness, and the secret of the Oneness in the Unity, and the secret of the Unity in the letters indicating the Muhammadan Ahmadic Essence. So glorified is He who clarified the letters by the points and clarified the points by the letters, and made known the letters by the points and made known the points by the letters, and made the points for the forms like spirits for their bodies, and the forms for the points like bodies for their spirits. So bodies do not subsist except by spirits, and spirits do not subsist except by bodies, and the subsistence of all is by the Spirit of the Spirit, and the possessor of the Greatest Name, the Praised One, my master and lord, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him—may Allah honor, magnify, and glorify him—because he is the pole of its greatest sphere, the sea of its most magnificent secret, the element of its most generous virtues, the mountain of its most magnificent beauties, and the full moon of its most complete perfections. (34) So every point that the Pen of Power sprinkled in the world of dominion and the spiritual world is from the light of His attributes and names, and every blessing that appeared in the treasuries of mercy and might is from the gifts of His grace and giving, and every mercy that descended in the palaces of desire and awe is from his supplication in the darkness of the night and his seeking forgiveness for the community and his prayer. So he, peace and blessings be upon him, is the point of the greatest divine secret, the sea of the most abundant gifts of prophethood and messengerhood, the link

The letters and the dot ⁸⁴ through which whoever reaches God reaches Him and draws from the supply of His Most Penetrating Secret ⁸⁵. So, O God, bless him and his family with a blessing that guides us thereby to the purest and most sanctified path of his Law, clothes us thereby with the garment of his radiant and most luminous beauty, causes us to inhale thereby the fragrant breezes of his most aromatic musk, and gathers us thereby with those whom You have favored—the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous—under his ample shade and his most renowned banner of praise, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. It is said that when God Most High looked upon that dot which is under the Bā' of Bismillāh ⁸⁶, it became a luminous, holy mountain and a sea of secret, divine supply. When He poured upon it from the awe of His Majesty and the grandeur of His Self-Subsistence ⁸⁷, its original and subsidiary foundations trembled and moved, its sensory and spiritual forms changed color, its generic and specific states became agitated, and its empty and imaginary obstacles vanished. So He placed upon it the Bā' of His Great Name, surrounded by His Pre-existent Light, and it became still and witnessed that it is the foundation of the letters of the name of His Beloved, our Master Muḥammad (may God bless him and grant him peace), the possessor of the great character, the wise remembrance, the upright religion, and the straight path. It has preceded that all the secrets of God Most High in the heavenly books, and all that is in the heavenly books, are in the Qur'an; and all that is in the Qur'an is in the Fātiḥa ⁸⁸; and all that is in the Fātiḥa is in Bismillāh; and all that is in Bismillāh is in the Bā' of Bismillāh; and all that is in the Bā' of Bismillāh is in the dot that is under the Bā'. And ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (may God be pleased with them both) said: "Everything has a foundation, and the foundation of the Qur'an is the Fātiḥa; and the foundation of the Fātiḥa is Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm" ⁸⁹ to the end of the hadith. "Alif Lām Mīm. That is the Book" ⁹⁰. So the Alif is the Name of God, the Lām is the name of Gabriel, and the Mīm is the name of our Master Muḥammad (may God bless him and grant him peace), as some of the knowers ⁹¹ have said. And His saying: "That is the Book, there is no doubt in it" ⁹² means: in that secret which You have concealed in the isolated letters ⁹³ for the lordly and spiritual ones, there is no doubt. And it is said: That is the Book which was written in the pages of holiness from the symbols of My inspiration, so that the spirits of the truthful may read from it the realities of the Qur'an. "There is no doubt in it" means: there is no opposition to what the secrets of the knowers understand from the precious things of the unseen. And it is said: "There is no doubt in it" means: there is no doubt concerning the prophethood of Muḥammad (may God bless him and grant him peace) and his message and his calling the creatures to God and his guidance. "God, there is no god but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting" ⁹⁴. He sent down to you the Book with truth, O Muḥammad, that you may guide thereby the astray from his error and rescue thereby the ignorant from his ignorance and misguidance. "Alif Lām Rā'. This is a Book sent down to you" ⁹⁵. So let there be no constriction in your breast from it, that you may warn thereby those who turn away from complying with God's commands and obeying Him. "Alif Lām Rā'. These are the verses of the Wise Book. Is it a wonder to people that We revealed to a man from among them, 'Warn the people'?" ⁹⁶ The verse announces the specificity of his mission to the creatures, his glad tidings, and his warnings. "An insight" ⁹⁷ informs of his sufficiency with God, the perfection of His care, his truthfulness, and his trustworthiness. "Ṭā Hā. We have not sent down the Qur'an to you that you should be distressed" ⁹⁸ indicates the purity of his Law, its branch and its root, and his closeness to his Master and his sainthood. "Yā Sīn. By the Wise Qur'an" ⁹⁹ announces his good fortune, the elevation of his rank with God, and his great station. "Yā Sīn. By the Wise Qur'an. Indeed, you are among the messengers" ¹⁰⁰ the verse conveys his following the upright path and the straight way, and his guidance to the path of good. "Ṣād. By the Qur'an full of remembrance" ¹⁰¹ guides to the fact that he is infallible from lying and betrayal in his beginning and his end. "Ḥā Mīm. ʿAyn Sīn Qāf. Thus He reveals to you and to those before you" ¹⁰² the verse testifies that he is the messenger of the King, the Opener ¹⁰³. "Qāf. By the Glorious Qur'an" ¹⁰⁴ testifies that he is the model of the people of good and righteousness, and the direction of the people of guidance and success. "Nūn. By the Pen" ¹⁰⁵ testifies that he is the brilliant star of guidance, the light of the dawn of prophethood and messengership, and the beauty of bright faces. So it has become clear from this that everything God created, from the Throne to the dust, testifies that he is the spirit of spirits, the support of the structure of bodies, the means of opening and commencement, the pole of lordship, and the imam of beautiful secrets. So, O God, bless him and his family, possessors of eloquent tongues, and his companions, knights of battle and lions of combat, with a blessing that leads us to the path of salvation and the way of success, and makes us thereby among those whom You have accompanied with safety and removed from them blame and wing ¹⁰⁶, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O manifestation of destiny, O gathering of forms, O unique one of creation, O elite of humanity, You are the unique one in the report and the news, You are the foremost in coming and going, You are the one singled out for proximity and regard, It has appeared in the odd in eye and trace, Reciting upon forms from the noblest of forms, O sanctified one from the firm suras, In a countenance that dazzles, shining above the moon, Quivering in ink from the noblest of inks, The branch is not in garments of leaves and flowers, You are the one in whom my verse is always pearls, You are the one from whom appear always bright foreheads, You are the one whose union has become my desire. In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to God, the Affectionate, the Forbearing, the Compassionate, who created sounds and letters and breathed the spirits of meanings into the structures of containers, and planted the tree of their secrets in the garden of the curved Alif ¹⁰⁷, and removed the coverings of their veils for the masters of hearts and those of insight among the people of fasting, prayer, and devotion, and made the Alif the pole of their circle and the center of its well-known and recognized secret. As it has preceded: the secret of God Most High is in the Book; the secret of the Book is in the letters; the secret of the letters is in the Alif. So the Alif is the pole of the letters; the Bā' is the splendor of the Alif; the Tā' is the crown of the Alif; the Thā' is the praise of the Alif; the Jīm is the beauty of the Alif; the Ḥā' is the life of the Alif; the Khā' is the creation of the Alif; the Dāl is the permanence of the Alif; the Dhāl is the essence of the Alif; the Rā' is the spirit of the Alif; the Zāy is the adornment of the Alif; the Sīn is the secret of the Alif; the Shīn is the honor of the Alif; the Ṣād is the truthfulness of the Alif; the Ḍād is the light of the Alif; the Ṭā' is the goodness of the Alif; the Ẓā' is the outward of the Alif; the ʿAyn is the knowledge of the Alif; the Ghayn is the unseen of the Alif; the Fā' is the understanding of the Alif; the Qāf is the power of the Alif; the Kāf is the perfection of the Alif; the Lām is the gentleness of the Alif; the Mīm is the dominion of the Alif; the Nūn is the self of the Alif; the Hā' is the guidance of the Alif; the Wāw is the union of the Alif; the Yā' is the blessing of the Alif.

Some scholars said: The secret of every community is in its book, and the secret of its book is in its letters. Some of them said: The first thing God created was an ambiguous point ¹⁰⁸ before the Intellect ¹⁰⁹ and before the Throne ¹¹⁰; it is that which is referred to in His saying, exalted is He: "Mankind was one community" ¹¹¹ according to one of the scholars' interpretations, and His saying, exalted is He: "You see no discrepancy in the creation of the All-Merciful" ¹¹². That is because the point is a spherical thing with no discrepancy in length or width; likewise was creation there. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Khafif ¹¹³, author of "The Secrets of Letters," said: It is narrated from the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him) ¹¹⁴ that he said: "Indeed, God, exalted is He, the first thing He manifested from His creation was the point. When it looked upon its manifestation and formation, it showed humility through gratitude to God, exalted is He, for manifesting it. It saw prostration. When the Creator looked upon its humility and gratitude, He permitted it to prostrate. It scattered and became an alif ¹¹⁵, which is the place of the letter zāy ¹¹⁶. So the first thing that appeared in existence was the alif, and its manifestation descended upon the Oneness ¹¹⁷." Abu 'Umar al-Qanawi ¹¹⁸ (may God be pleased with him) said: "The form of a human when standing is like the form of the alif in its uprightness, due to its being alone from what is after it and before it. When he bows, he is like the form of the lām ¹¹⁹ in writing. When he prostrates, he is like the form of the mīm ¹²⁰. The beginning of the alif is a point, then it extends and becomes a line, and in pronunciation it is a hamza ¹²¹..." to the end of what was mentioned regarding the forms of letters and the configuration of their shapes. Then know that this luminous point and holy jewel was hidden in the treasuries of the concealed secret, inscribed on the pages of the known tablet of the unseen ¹²², and stamped with the stamp of the letters whose secret God hid in the symbols of His indication, established their matter in the tablets of His glad tidings, and unveiled the knowledge of its unseen to the elite whom God illuminated their hearts with the light of holy revelation, expanded their breasts with the secret of the lordly opening ¹²³, and made them understand the rule of the inner and outer aspects of letters, and taught them the sciences of their compounds and simples, and the types of their accidents and substances. They looked into the light of the nūn ¹²⁴ of that point and explained its quiddity and the realities of its names and attributes. They found that it encompassed every nūn that appeared to the eye, or was mentioned in the openings of the surahs ¹²⁵ and the verses of the Qur'an, or the light of its ray shone in the kingdom of the heavens ¹²⁶ of those who were characterized by the character of the All-Merciful and described with the perfection of truthfulness and pure faith. So He informed them of the secret of "Be, and it is" ¹²⁷, before the execution of the command and the meeting of the kāf ¹²⁸ with the nūn, because the point of the nūn of "Be, and it is" rules over the point of every nūn, and within the encompassment of its meanings is contained the light of every stored knowledge and protected secret. God informed of its reality the scholars, the prophets, and the messengers ¹²⁹, and the elite of the saints and the righteous, those from whose heaven of hearts God removed the cloud of nature, and they heard the call from their Lord in the presence of distinction and union ¹³⁰, and were guarded by the meteors of protection from the accidents of separation and prevention, and were given of witnessing what suffices from the sense of sight and hearing, and stopped at what He limited for them and weighed what came upon their hearts with the balance of reality and law ¹³¹. So their states became Sufi ¹³², their secrets Qayyumic ¹³³, their descents Holy ¹³⁴, their wisdoms prophetic, their aspirations throne-like ¹³⁵, their receptions Gabrielic ¹³⁶, their gifts Michaelic ¹³⁷, their dispositions Israfilic ¹³⁸, their awe Azraelic ¹³⁹, and the nūn of the preciousness of their states kingdomly ¹⁴⁰, and the breezes of their breaths Jabarutic ¹⁴¹. They borrowed from the point of every light its highest, from the point of every secret its most beneficial, from the point of every mercy its most expansive, and from the point of every grace its most comprehensive. In it is from a point from which the self of the Muhammadan essence ¹⁴² originated, and from which the seed of the Ahmadine tree ¹⁴³ was formed—a point whose form is subtle and whose station is lofty. Its reality cannot be grasped by the coverings of imaginary fancies nor by the measurements of rational arbitrations. Upon its lofty jewel and brilliant emerald have been struck a thousand veils of the light of Majesty and Beauty, a thousand veils of the light of Splendor and Perfection, a thousand veils of the light of Magnification and Exaltation, a thousand veils of the light of Proximity and Union, a thousand veils of the light of Intimacy and Familiarity, and a thousand veils of a light whose reality none knows except its Lord, the Great, the Most High. A point struck in the mold of belovedness, placed in pure and chaste loins, observed with the eye of perfection, secrecy, and particularity, gathered in the isthmuses ¹⁴⁴ of the Muhammadan Ahmadine essence, and named with the name of blessed and pure servitude. Then from it were stripped all the points before and after, and the forms of their sensory and spiritual shapes, and they were attracted to it, entered under its authority, and stood in its form as the standing of spirits in bodies ¹⁴⁵, and agreed with it as the agreement of twins in spirits and wombs. From its light were generated spiritual spirits and holy letter shapes, each letter pointing to that original luminous point, the sacred solitary pearl, which appeared in the shell of existence, and whose jewel was set in the strings of pure gold and precious necklaces, and whose nūn was adorned with the ornaments of beautiful description and praiseworthy action. Its nūn of care and its nūn of end point to the station of the Imam of the prophetic presence; its nūn of breath and its nūn of lineage point to the loftiness of rank, status, and honor of origin and progeny; its nūn of gift and its nūn of grace point to the attainment of the sea of his lordly sciences and the gathering of the realities of his Quranic secrets and the mount of his gracious self-disclosures. This Muhammadan point continued to grow, the lordly supply supplied it, and the Ahmadine secret assisted it, until its signs appeared in all created things, and the brilliant proofs of its miracles in all originated and invented things. Then its luminous rays emanated into all worlds, their high and low, their after and before, in the form of His decree as preceded in His prior will and knowledge. Then He, exalted is He, informed him of his prophethood and gave him glad tidings of his message. This, while Adam (peace be upon him) was only, as it is said, between spirit and body. Then from him (peace and blessings be upon him) burst forth the springs of spirits, and he appeared to them in the highest assembly, while he was in the most manifest sight. So through that they had the most delicious sweetest source, and the most complete highest honor. He (peace and blessings be upon him) is the highest genus over all genera, and the greatest father of all existents and people. When time, by the hidden name ¹⁴⁶ in his regard (peace and blessings be upon him), reached the existence of his body and the attachment of the spirit to it, the rule of time transferred to the manifest name, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) appeared in his entirety, body and spirit. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) ¹⁴⁷, though his clay was later, his value is known. He is the treasury of the secret, and the place of the execution of the command. No command is executed except from him, and no news is transmitted except about him.

Oh, by my father! He who was a king and a master, standing destitute between clay and water. That is the Prophet of the plain, Muhammad, who possesses in the heights an ancient and newly acquired glory. He brought the era of bliss at the end of time, and he had stations in every age. He came to mend the fracture of time, repairing its breach, and tongues and benefactions praised him. When he wills a thing, there is no opposition to it, and there is no repelling that thing in existence. It is said that this Point ¹⁴⁸, whose secret God has spread throughout the worlds, whose rank He has elevated above the nations of ages and times, and whose mention He has spread in the sanctuaries of holiness and the paradises of gardens—the intellects of those with insight cannot encompass it with knowledge, nor can the thoughts of those who inform of the unseen comprehend its reality, nor can the hearts of the eminent knowers, with their inner promptings, grasp its management and judgment. It is a subtle, unseen gift, a bestowed favor, with which the Truth was uniquely acquainted before the creation of originated things and the invention of invented things. He made its luminous form a spirit and body for the hearts of lovers, and made love for it a mark, sign, attribute, and name for the hearts of yearning ones, and praise of it a profit, trade, and gain for the lovers. It draws the hearts of lovers to God with its Muhammadan magnet ¹⁴⁹, and clothes them in a sanctified garment from the light of its Ahmadian beauty ¹⁵⁰. Thus their states become lordly, their character merciful, their secrets eternal, their unveilings ocular, and their sciences discriminative. They read what is inscribed on the tablets of effacement and establishment ¹⁵¹, and draw from the lights of the Names and Attributes, and hear the address of the Truth from all directions and sides, so they speak with all letters and languages, and understand the speech of inanimate objects and the glorification of animals. Their Master has made them forget themselves in Him in all states, and occupied them with His remembrance from all pleasures, and filled their innermost beings with His secret, so they become absorbed in Him in all states and all times, intoxicated with what they have received from the Spirit of the Essence, bewildered by what they have witnessed of the lights of the Perfect of Beauties and the Beautiful of Attributes, my Master and Lord Muhammad ibn Abdullah, the brilliant in generosities and miracles, sent as a mercy to those who have passed and those who are to come. So bless him, O God, and bless his family, the guiding stars, and his Companions, who illuminate hearts and selves, with a blessing that purifies us from all sins and evil deeds, magnifies for us the rewards, multiplies for us the good deeds, raises us to the highest ranks and loftiest degrees, and conveys us to the utmost goals of all good things in life and after death, by Your favor and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Master of the two worlds, O Banner of Guidance, O Chosen One with noble character, O Seal of Messengers, O Treasure of mankind, O Mine of forbearance and compassion, O Ahmad the Praised, O you whose glory has soared to the horizon of happiness, ascending. By your exalted and invincible rank, I turn to the Sovereign Lord, the High, the Everlasting. Perhaps He may, by His grace, loosen my bonds from the captivity of sins, errors, and faults, and I may attain a portion of your intercession that saves from burning and drowning. May God, whose majesty is exalted, bless you as long as the One Creator exists, and bless your excellent Companions, all of them, as long as branches remain with leaves. And al-Husayn ibn Ali, may God be pleased with them both, said: "The knowledge to which the Chosen One ¹⁵² called is the science of letters ¹⁵³, and the science of letters is in the Lam-Alif ¹⁵⁴, and the science of Lam-Alif is in the Alif, and the science of the Alif is in the Point, and the science of the Point is in the original knowledge, and the science of the original knowledge is in the science of the First, and the science of the First is in the Will, i.e., the known, and the science of the Will is in the science of the He-ness ¹⁵⁵." This is what His Prophet called to when he said: "Know that He is the sign"—the 'ha' refers to the science of the He-ness. And some scholars said: "The science of letters is among the miracles of Abraham, peace be upon him." Then Imam Ali, may God be pleased with him, inherited the science of letters from our Master, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and to this refers his saying, peace be upon him: "I am the repository of knowledge and Ali is its gate." So whoever desires knowledge, let him come to the gate. And he is the most incapable of the caliphs, just as the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was the most incapable of the prophets. He inherited the knowledge of the first and the last, and manifested the rules of speech by his saying: "The subject is in the nominative, the object is in the accusative, and the genitive is in the genitive." And he spoke of the rising, the middle, and the setting, and said: "Alchemy is the sister of prophecy, the mother of chivalry, and the safeguard of manliness." And he said: "Jurisprudence is for idols, medicine for bodies, geometry for buildings, grammar for the tongue, and astrology for times." End quote. And the masters of realities said: "Letters are a world among the intermediary worlds ¹⁵⁶; through them, what is in the inner is expressed and conveyed to the outer, and what is in the outer is expressed and conveyed to the inner." Know that letters are a community among communities, addressed and obligated, and among them are messengers of their own kind, and they have names of their own kind. They are the most eloquent of creation in speech and the greatest in expression, and they are divided according to the division of the known world among creatures. So blessed be God, Lord of the worlds. And no one knows this language except the masters of unveiling and gnosis. Letters are divided into luminous and dark, intellectual and numerical, single and paired, silent and speaking, manifest and hidden, loving and opposing, connected and disconnected, specific and general, spiritual and corporeal, high and low, beautiful and majestic, stable and falling, moving and still, simple and compound, masculine and feminine, solar and lunar, diurnal and nocturnal, western and eastern, southern and northern, rational and sensory, dominant and dominated, fortunate and unfortunate, opening and closing, odd and even, subtle and dense, animal and human, vegetable and mineral, active and passive, jinn and human, divine and omnipotent, angelic and sovereign, tablet and pen, light and heavy, delicate and strong, radiant and burning, creative and inventive, verbal and written, ambiguous and dotted, upright and supine, prone and open, attributive and essential, summer and autumn, winter and spring. They have forms in their worlds known to the people of unveiling and secrets. End quote. Then know that the secrets of letters are not grasped by any analogies, as with some sciences; rather, they are grasped by divine care, either through something of the secrets of inspiration, or through something of the secrets of revelation, or through something of the secrets of unveiling, or through a type of address. Other than these categories, no one knows them.

The four are self-talk ¹⁵⁷ with no benefit, end. Then I say: This point whose light has appeared in the pillar of unveiling and clarification, and whose secret has been hidden in the gleams of the masters of witnessing and direct vision, and whose command has penetrated the hearts of the masters of ecstatic utterances, attractions, spiritual states, and bewilderment—its nūn ¹⁵⁸ is the nūn of his Muhammadan Face mentioned in the Criterion ¹⁵⁹, and the nūn of the light of his aquiline nose, and the nūn of the light of his eyebrow arched with the light of modesty and faith, and the nūn of the light of his forelock upon which the light of bowing and prostrating has ever shone throughout the ages and times, and the nūn of "Nūn. By the Pen" ¹⁶⁰ by which He swore concerning His great creation, as the verses of revelation and the sciences of the Criterion testify. A point (45) scientific and practical, luminous, radiant, and exalted: its nūn is the Muhammadan fragrance of its scent, its qāf ¹⁶¹ is the Ahmadan ¹⁶² closeness, its ṭā ¹⁶³ is prophetic obedience, its tā ¹⁶⁴ is Muṣṭafawī ¹⁶⁵ support. A point of Meccan prophecy, of Tihāmah ¹⁶⁶ and Najd ¹⁶⁷; its nūn is a hidden spring, its qāf is a bestowed strength, its ṭā is a heart purity, its tā is an attraction of security. A point of desire and awe, of the Throne and Omnipotence; it vies with the shining stars in its surpassing beauty, and captivates the hearts of lovers with its concise and elegant wording. By virtue of its discourse, it has gathered the sciences of realities and the secrets of subtle intricacies. The pens of scribes have not written it, nor have the insights of the learned who act grasped its realities; rather, its command is sent down from God, and its secret is hidden in the treasuries of God's unseen. A point whose discourse is strange, its praise wondrous, its opening near, and its mention is both painful in mouths and pleasant. A point: its nūn is devotion and worship, its qāf is closeness and the strength of imparting benefit, its ṭā is purity inwardly and outwardly, circumambulation of the House of God, and seeking the best and increase, its tā is the attainment of the ranks of special favor, success, and felicity. A point: the tongue of revelation has spoken of its belovedness, and the unseen has witnessed its honors with God and its special favor. A point: its nūn is the holy, divine breaths of its zephyrs; its qāf is the lordly, omnipotent wisdoms of its law's foundations; its ṭā is the mighty, sovereign, merciful obedience to its commands; its tā is the goodly, majestic, eternal greetings. A point: its outward is mercy, its inward is mercy, its movement is mercy, its stillness is mercy, its life is mercy, its marks are mercy. A point chosen from pure loins, and a mercy bestowed upon creation, by which God honored the world of this life and the Hereafter. Its nūn of grace is spread over all creatures, and its qāf (46) of closeness has rent the veils and canopies and surpassed the seven heavens; its ṭā of fragrance perfumed the gardens of existence and the assemblies of the masters of sciences and realities; its tā of enumerating its virtues has disparaged all attributes of perfections and beautiful traits, as our Master informed us in His words: "And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds" ¹⁶⁸. So the first thing God created was the point of his Muhammadan light; then He created all creatures from the Throne to the earth from part of its Ahmadan light, for he is the cause of the existence of all, and the universal mercy for all—the disobedient and the obedient, the great and the small, the noble and the lowly. That is because the clay of the forms of creatures was cast in the space of power as a body without a soul and a soul without a body, awaiting his appearance, peace be upon him. When he appeared, the world was enlivened by his existence, its trees bore fruit, the leaves of its branches turned green, and the union of the former and latter was ordered by the blessing of his love and his arrival, for he is the spirit of all creatures, his reality is the gathering of realities, a drop from the oceans of the mercy of the All-Merciful, and a scoop from the scoops of the river of forgiveness. Some of the knowers have said: "God adorned Muhammad, peace be upon him, with the adornment of mercy, so he was entirely mercy; his glance at whomever he looked at was mercy; his anger, his pleasure, his drawing near, his giving insight, and all his traits, attributes, and states were mercy upon creation. Whoever receives something of his mercy is the saved one in both abodes from every admonition, and the one who attains in them every beloved. Do you not see that God says: 'And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds'?" * Mercy all of him, and resolve and determination, * and dignity, infallibility, and modesty. * Adversity does not befall the garment of his patience, * nor does prosperity make him light. * His soul is noble, so evil thought * does not occur to his heart, nor obscenity. (47) * Great is the grace of God upon him, * so the great are humbled by his mention. * His people were ignorant of him, so he overlooked; * the forbearing one's habit is overlooking. * He encompassed the worlds with forbearance and knowledge; * he is a sea that burdens cannot contain. * A sun of virtue, the opinion about him is realized: * he is the sun in loftiness and light. * Do not compare any creature to the Prophet in virtue; * he is the sea, and mankind are a small stream.

Every virtue in the worlds is from his virtue; the Prophet is the borrowing of the virtuous. A noble Muhammadan point ¹⁶⁹, and an exalted Ahmadine ¹⁷⁰ subtlety, which poets have excelled in praising its traits, and eloquent speakers have elaborated in extolling and exalting its worth and mentioning its virtues, and creatures have been blessed by the standing of its ends and beginnings, and the breasts of assemblies have been delighted by its noble mention in its mornings and evenings, and the doors of response have been opened by its prayer for good for the community and its means, and the drops of rain have been shamed by the generosity of its right hand and the perspiration of its fingers, and the seas of the generous and noble have drowned in its streams and the canals of its shores. A luminous, merciful point, and a lordly, eternal gift, and a lightning of light before which the lamps of shining stars are shamed, and minds are bewildered and eyes are dazzled by its beauty and splendor, and tongues are exhausted in its praise and commendation, and the jewels of sciences borrow from the light of its understanding and intelligence, and the souls of the truthful ascend in the ascents of its rising and elevation, and men boast of their affiliation to its high station and their belonging. A point: the nun ¹⁷¹ of its light erases the darkness of doubt from the hearts of the truthful disciples, and the qaf ¹⁷² of its law regulates the states of the attracted wayfarers and devout worshippers, and the ta ¹⁷³ of its charm captivates the minds of the yearning and the enamored lovers, and the ta ¹⁷⁴ of its support refines the morals of the firmly established pegs ¹⁷⁵ and the connected poles ¹⁷⁶. A human, angelic, royal, throne-like, and omnipotent point, by whose lordly effusion and gift the souls of lovers are ever revived, and the bodies of the beloved are enlivened by the sight of its face and the crescent of its new moon, and the men of the unseen ¹⁷⁷ are blessed by visiting it and seeing the phantom of its image, and the hearts of lovers always yearn to stand at its door and attain its union. A point at whose sight the clouds of mercies descend upon its landmarks and ruins, and necks bow to its great worth and awe of its majesty, and those who call to God are blessed by the mention of its name and its good omen, and those with afflictions seek healing by kissing the hem of its illuminated carpet and the form of its likeness, and the minds of lovers are bewildered by the splendor of its beauty, the balance of its worth, and its moderation, and the fragrant breezes humble themselves from the soil of its blessed land, its plains, and the peaks of its mountains, and the lights of prophethood shine from its front, its back, its right, and its left, and the eyes of the cherubim ¹⁷⁸ are dazzled in witnessing its exquisite beauties and the joy of its perfection, and the imams of spiritual wayfaring follow in their journey to God its words and deeds. A Meccan, Medinan, Hashimite, prophetic, chosen point, by whose spiritual breeze and the drink of its flowing wine the souls of lovers are revived, and the souls of the yearning find rest in the gardens of its blooming orchards and their shades, and by love for it the masters of realities attain the utmost of their goal and the limit of their hopes. A Tihami ¹⁷⁹, Najdi ¹⁸⁰, blessed, Zamzami ¹⁸¹, Sa'di ¹⁸², musky, ambergris-scented, dewy point, by whose beauty and lovely mole the hearts of lovers have been captivated, and the witness of truth has written with the pen of power on its mim, ha, and dal ¹⁸³: 'Muhammad is My servant and Messenger; I have entrusted him with the treasures of My kingdom and dominion, and placed in his hand the keys of its locks, and I will intercede for whoever prays upon him in this world and the Hereafter, and save him from the terrors of the grave, the trials of the Day of Resurrection, its earthquakes, and its horrors.' So, O Allah, bless him and his family with a blessing by which You save us from the worries of this world and its sorrows, the corruption of its states, and the punishment of the Hereafter, its disgrace, its torment, and its burden, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. ❖ No, by the might of Your exalted authority, ❖ my heart is not empty of You for an instant. ❖ How could it be empty, when at every moment ❖ You reveal in it that wonderful beauty? ❖ And I see that I have become all eyes, ❖ beholding You without any likeness. A Yemeni, lordly, spiritual, sensory, and spiritual point; the fragrant scent of its Muhammadan nun has diffused through all fragrant, sweet-smelling breezes and scents, and the drop of its dew has descended upon the garden of existence, preserved by its blessing from all afflictions and calamities, and the sea of its generosity has overflowed into the gardens of those who love God and those beloved to Him, so that by its irrigation the withered and the fruitful among them have flourished, and creatures have been guided by its guidance, so that their thoughts and limbs have become pure for obedience to their Lord. A point: the nun of its breeze is the refreshment of the praised remembrance of God in the endings and beginnings, and its wine surpasses the hidden wine of love for God, by which hearts and limbs find rest; the ta of its goodness is the servants' asking for the community to win salvation on the day when secrets are tested and scandals appear; the ta of its auspiciousness is a glad tiding for those who believe in it of forgiveness on the day when the faces of the good become white and the faces of the sinful, ugly ones become black. A point: the jasmine of its nun, from whose fragrance the noses of lovers inhale the sweetest breezes and most fragrant scents; the clove of its qaf, from which the masters of realities inhale the greatest exhortations and most beneficial advice; the goodness of its ta shines in the assemblies of those who remember God with the lights of the rising suns and the brightest gleams; the changing of its states increases faith in the hearts of believers and multiplies upon hearing praise of it with the most complete virtues and the loftiest commendations. A surpassing, majestic point, and a sufficient, abundant gift.

Its nūn ¹⁸⁴ is the nūn of majestic rank, lofty pride, swift victory, and penetrating command, for it is the locus of the manifest mystery ¹⁸⁵ and the reality of the high command, and it is the greatest nūn that God created in the spiritual world; its command penetrated the corporeal world, it cast its root in the Throne-essence ¹⁸⁶, and its branch beneath the depths of the lowest of the carpet-worlds ¹⁸⁷; it is the bearer and sustainer, the dense and shading shade; and to it refers his saying, peace be upon him: 'We shall shade its companion under the Throne on the day when there is no shade but His shade.' And in it is an indication of the control of the command and its pivot, i.e., by it He says to a thing 'Be!' and it is. Its qāf ¹⁸⁸ is the qāf of the reality of the Lordly command and the reality of the corporeal creation-world; thus, from the perspective of the solitary realities ¹⁸⁹, it is encompassment by power, and from the perspective of the luminous subtleties ¹⁹⁰, it is preparedness for entering the Presence; and it is the reality of the manifest creation-world by what has appeared from it of the realities of the Names, and the reality of the command-world, the hidden, by what has emerged from it of the meanings of the Attributes and Names; and it is also the mystery of the Throne, for the Throne was established by the command, and the command is the mystery of the qāf and the mystery of all the existents ¹⁹¹ from the qāf, kāf, nūn, and ṣād ¹⁹²; they are containers for the divine, predestined mysteries of God; and therefore in the lower world it is the mountain encompassing the earth, and likewise it encompasses the heart and the generative essence ¹⁹³; and therefore the mystery was from the letters of exaltation ¹⁹⁴. Its ṭā ¹⁹⁵ is a high, flying light that does not settle, and it flies throughout the entire world because it is a root in the first principles and the inventive formations, a mystery in the high sciences, a mystery in the lower knowledges, a root in the high layers, a root in the lower layers, a root in the natural composition, and a root in the holy mount ¹⁹⁶; and that is because the mount is the subtlety of hearing and the transcendent speech, and the valley is the subtlety of removing the sandals ¹⁹⁷ and the falling away of modality and place, which are expressed by the two sandals; and the light of the ṭā pervades these worlds entirely, in general and in detail; and since the qāf is a pole in the high world and is a mystery in exaltation, the ṭā is a pole in the composite world because of its position in the place of heat and its distance from dryness; and therefore their light pervades every world in the high and lower realms; thus the favor upon the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, in the saying of the Truth to him: 'Ṭā Hā' ¹⁹⁸, meaning: you are the one pervading the existents, and the existents are from you, by you, and of you; for your mystery has pervaded what your light has pervaded, so you are the gathering place of lights. And therefore Ṭā Hā is among his names, peace be upon him; its interpretation from the perspective of realities is an unceasing manifestation, from the perspective of subtleties is irresistible states, from the perspective of allusion is the return of causes in the unseen, and from the perspective of expression is a burden that does not grant you proximity, because it is an airy, dark letter, lower and corporeal, beautiful, speaking, paired, distinguished in the elite of the elite; its meaning is that it is a name for the reference of the high descent by the istiwā ¹⁹⁹ from which comes reward, and it is a letter of high rank; its apparent powers refer to His name, the Exalted, 'Originator' ²⁰⁰; and it is among the letters of conjugation; and in it is an indication that reward is from his names, peace be upon him. End. A point ²⁰¹: theological, majestic; human, beautiful; spirits witness it in the world of dominion ²⁰² and sovereignty ²⁰³, and the glorified persons ²⁰⁴ obey its command in the dominance of might and omnipotence; its beautiful remembrance and praise spread through the spiritual temples in the pavilions of desire and mercy; honor appears to it in the servants of the veils and canopies, above the above and beneath the depths; tongues tire of expressing the beauties of its name inscribed on the leg of the Throne, ever firm and established; and the pervasion of its mystery pervading the perceptions of those who listen to the word and follow the best of it—they are the masters of states who take its praise as emblem and garment, nourishment and sustenance. A point: when its radiance appears to the people of allusions and the masters of hearts, their spirits fly in longing for what they witness of the perfections of the treasure of the sought mystery; their bodies tremble with joy at what they see of the beauty of the essence of the Beloved, the Loved One, my Master and my Lord, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, the very reality of the veiled mystery; their minds become bewildered and they cry out, and perhaps their spirits overflow and they die, for it has been reported that audition ²⁰⁵ is the nourishment of spirits; when audition begins, the spirit moves in the head and the limbs tremble due to the thirst of the spirit and its purification from the turbidities of the ego; if it is thirsty and hears the melody, the spirit goes out seeking its nourishment; when it descends from the head to the face, he faints; when it descends to the chest, he swoons; when it descends from the chest, its owner dies. End. A point: noble in stations, illuminating the outward and inward, perfect in attributes and beauties; if trees were pens and seas were ink to write what is encompassed of the moisture of its dew from the secrets of openings and gifts, the subtleties of divine sciences and the roots of doctrines, and the stations of ascents to the highest degrees and the loftiest ranks, and the changing states of the masters of ecstatic utterances and attractions, and the annihilation of the masters of the spirits of lovers upon hearing the chanting of the praises of the Master of non-Arabs and Arabs, the seas would be exhausted, the pens and hands would cease, and its lofty perfections, glories, and merits would not be exhausted, nor would its dazzling signs and wonders, whose number no ink or pen can count, come to an end; for audition is the nourishment of spirits and the sustenance of bodies, especially the remembrances in praise of the bride of witnessed scenes and processions, the lamp of existents illuminated by his light in the farthest Easts and Wests; when the lover begins his pleasant remembrance of tastes and ways, and chants in audition of his praise, the spirit moves in the head and the limbs tremble due to the thirst of the spirit according to the longing that has befallen it for the vision of his high station of rank and positions, and its purification from the turbidities of the ego imprisoned in the cage of passion, which leads its owner to many hardships and toils; when the spirit is thirsty and hears that beautiful melody, it goes out seeking its nourishment; when it descends from the head to the face, the overwhelmed one cries out from the drink of love of the leader of the prophetic presence, noble in origin and suitability; when it descends to the chest, he swoons; when it descends from the chest, its owner dies from joy at what he has attained of reaching the goal and achieving the aims. End. A point: God adorned with it the forms of letters, the stable and the elided, the pausing and the confined, the conjoined and the conjoined-to; with its lamp He illuminated all regions and directions and the carpet of known might; with its breeze He perfumed the mountains of Tihama, Najd, Uhud, and Arafat, prepared for seeking salvation for those who stand in its witnessed scenes from the greatest terror on the Day of Presentation and Standing; for it is a prophetic point and a Muṣṭafawī ²⁰⁶ subtlety; the sun has not risen upon anything better than it in the spiritual and corporeal world, nor more beautiful in the flashes of the beneficent manifestation, nor more majestic in the gleams of the gnostic mystery, nor stronger in support for granting the Lordly opening, nor more abundant in meaning in the realities of the Furqān ²⁰⁷ science, nor greater in blessing in the openings of the surahs inscribed in the tablet of preservation, the Eternal; so blessed be God, the best of creators! For every letter of it indicates his station of prophethood and messengership, and his great rank with God and his majesty, for he is the Mother of the Book ²⁰⁸, the first, the mystery of the revealed revelation, and the reality of realities, the summarized and the detailed.

So all the single letters and compounds, the definite and indefinite, the feminine and masculine, the explained and ambiguous, the open and sealed, the paired and separated, the silent and speaking, the preceding and succeeding (54)—all of them seek His generosity and gift, and await His rising full moon and crescent, His radiant star and majesty, His beneficence, bounty, and favor. They borrow lights from the splendor of His countenance, and seek secrets from His blessing and the secret of His wisdom—a dot from the *Nūn* of whose light the lights split open, and from the *Qāf* of whose proximity the secrets were rent asunder. By the *Ṭā’* of whose purity the hearts of the righteous and the virtuous were purified, and by the *Tā’* of whose success the noble leaders and great masters were guided. Thus the lights multiplied, and the secrets overflowed, from the sea of the Master of the Righteous, the Imam of the Pure Imams. The thoughts and minds were bewildered, and the eyes and sights were dazzled, by the beauty of the light of lights, and the splendor of the adornment of the chosen messengers, and the most noble of those over whom night darkened and upon whom day shone— my Master and Lord, the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace), the chosen, the elect Prophet, for he is the lamp of radiance, the master of messengers and prophets, the mercy for the weak and the strong, the treasure of the needy and the rich, and the great luminous dot of immense station, from which the lineage was good, and by which glory was exalted, and by whose light the suns and moons were illuminated, and before the generosity of whose right hand the clouds and seas became insignificant. So it is a brilliant dot, beautiful in form and description, fragrant, pure, diffusing its breeze and scent, whose streams flow in the dot of the letter of every saint (walī) whom God created with His great creation, filled his breast with love, tenderness, and compassion, extended his hand in His kingdom, and made the hosts of the higher and lower spirits serve him, and informed him of the science of harmonies (al-awfāq) and the secret of the letter. And God has placed all the letters under this dot like the earth, while it is above them like a mountain, and all their secrets are deposited in it, just as it is said of the alphabetical letters that they are like the earth, and the dots above them are like mountains, and their secret is deposited in the dots, while their letters are moving but not effective, whereas the dots are fixed and effective, for the dots of the letters are like the instrument for them, and the letters are like the owner of the instrument. Do you not see that when the instrument is present without its teacher, nothing is valid (55) from it? Similarly, these letters are not valid for anything except with their dots, their raising (raf‘), their nasb, and their jarr. So whoever understands this wondrous style and follows this marvelous arrangement is correct. End. O Eye of God, O Secret of Guidance, * O Dot of the beautiful, most upright line, O Mine of Secrets, O Treasure of Wealth, * O Rising Place of Lights for the discerning, O Opener of the Great Command and Seal * of the wondrous creation, and a point not understood, O Gatherer of the scattered whole, whose manifestation * is in order, and before whose existence nothing was ordered, O Spirit of the highest spheres and their Mover, * and the Mover of the distant, greatest mass, May God bless you, O you whose light * is like the sun, clearing every dark night. A dot whose garment is the most renowned cloak of prophethood, and the breeze of whose breaths speaks of God’s blessings and favors that encompassed all worlds and all black and red, and whose garden is the Abode of Permanence and the highest ‘Illiyyīn, and gazing therein is upon the Face of God, the Most High, the Greatest, and whose pride is bearing the banner of praise among the great prophets and messengers on the Day of Regret and Remorse and the Terror of the Gathering. A dot of *Nūn*: its speech is the utterance of the remembrance of God; a *Nūn*: its attribute is the assumption of God’s character; a *Nūn*: its sleep is the roaming of thought in the dominion of God; a *Nūn*: its counsel is acting by what God has revealed; a *Nūn*: its victory is the fulfillment of God’s commands; a *Nūn*: its success is guiding creation to God; a *Nūn*: its salvation is clinging to the rope of God; a *Nūn*: its deliverance is guiding servants to God; a *Nūn*: its relation is the sincerity of servitude to God; a *Nūn*: its warning is cautioning creatures against God’s punishment; a *Nūn*: its expenditure is the sacrifice of soul and wealth in God’s pleasure; a *Nūn*: its devotion is contentment with the decree and entrusting the matter to God; a *Nūn*: its prohibition is stopping at God’s limits, and anger when (56) God’s sanctities are violated; a *Nūn*: its purity is abandoning what does not concern one of superfluities and occupying oneself with what pleases God; a *Nūn*: its delight is being self-sufficient with God and immersed in the love of God; a *Nūn*: its gaze is capturing hearts and drawing spirits to God; a *Nūn*: its end is the station of the spirit in the Highest Companion and joy at meeting God. So the totality of these sensory and spiritual *Nūns*, the original and derivative, the generic and specific, the collective divine (lāhūtī) barzakhs and the holy, throne-like presences, and their fragrances diffuse: the jasmine-like, rose-like, narcissus-like, clove-like, basil-like, jasmine-like, lily-like, water-lily-like, saffron-like, marjoram-like, violet-like, wallflower-like, spring-like, apple-blossom-like, apple-like, bitter-orange-like, citron-like, musk-like, ambergris-like, pure and fragrant musk-like, from the good scent of his luminous prophetic body, and the exudation of his fragrant, pure, chosen (Muṣṭafawī) sweat, as established from Umm Sulaym (may God be pleased with her), that she used to collect his sweat and put it in her bottle, saying, “It is the most fragrant of perfumes with us,” or as she said: ❖ His intrinsic fragrance—how great it is! ❖ The perfume of the earth and the most fragrant of horizons. ❖ And taking perfume from a body of his ❖ Umm Sulaym collected sweat. ❖ The best perfume, indeed, was for her ❖ The sweat of the Chosen One (al-Mukhtār) in it agreed. ❖ Soft-handed, broad-palmed, ❖ The costly perfumes from them will never part. ❖ O blessed is he who shook his hand! ❖ He was granted the sweetest perfume in a palm. ❖ He finds the perfume clinging to him ❖ After Ṭāhā, the truthful, bade farewell. ❖ Ṭāhā stood all night in devotion ❖ From his effort, with a truthful standing (57) ❖ The Master of servants, Ṭāhā al-Muṣṭafā, ❖ He truly feared God and was mindful of God. ❖ And may God bless him and ❖ His family and Companions, people of piety. And it is narrated in the hadith that: The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) slept in the house of Anas and sweated, so Umm Sulaym came with a bottle to collect his sweat in it. The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) asked her about that, and she said: “I put it in our perfume, and it is the most fragrant of perfumes with us.” And from Jābir ibn Samurah (may God be pleased with him): “The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) wiped his cheek with his noble hand. He said: ‘I found his hand cool and fragrant, as if he had taken it out of a perfumer’s chest.’” And the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) would shake hands with his generous hand, and the one who shook hands would feel its fragrance all day long. And when he placed his hand on a child’s head, the child would be recognized among other children by the fragrance of his hand. And when he slept and sweated, Umm Sulaym (may God be pleased with her) would come and collect his sweat, mix it with musk in her bottle, and then use it for healing. And one day he (may God bless him and grant him peace) entered her house and saw a water-skin hanging there containing water, and he desired...

Then he drank. When he came out, Umm Sulaym took the knife and cut a piece from the mouth of the waterskin, then wrapped it in a cloth and said: 'A provision for you to store.' It is narrated that Jabir said: 'The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, never passed along a path followed by anyone without it being known that he had taken that path because of his fragrance.' They recited: You are sweeter than wishes, You are sweeter than every perfume, And sweeter than water, You are the sweetest for people. It is narrated from Anas ibn Malik, may God be pleased with him, that he said: 'I never touched silk or brocade softer than the palm of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, nor did I ever smell musk or any fragrance sweeter than his sweat, may God bless him and grant him peace.' I never touched a hand whose scent was sweet, Nor did my soul find delight in a conversation that pleased it, Among people, except that touching your hand was sweeter ⁵⁸, Among people, except that your speech was sweeter. I have said concerning this meaning, by way of allusion—and God knows best what the outward meaning of the hadith contains in terms of the literal sense and explicit expression: Indeed, his fragrant sweat that exuded from his luminous body and his divine temple ²⁰⁹, as reported in the hadith of Jabir ibn Samura and others, is the sweat of divine revelation, which descended upon his illuminated and holy heart from the presence of his Compassionate and Merciful Lord, and the breeze of joy, happiness, and congratulations, whose fragrance he would inhale when Gabriel descended upon him with the command of his Exalted and Unique Lord, and his glad tidings to him of what He had honored him with—the gifts of contentment and the stations of proximity and nearness, and his greeting to him and his etiquette with him in the manner of hearing from him and receiving from him in the sciences of the secret and the gifts of the gracious manifestation. And His saying to him: 'Your Lord sends you greetings, and distinguishes you with the fragrance of greetings and honor, and says to you: You are My servant and My Messenger. I have sent down to you the jewels of My Furqanic revelation ²¹⁰ and distinguished you with the Mighty Quran and the Seven Oft-Repeated Verses ²¹¹.' At that, his forehead would sweat profusely, and he would tremble in awe, and he would say, at the rising of the gleams of lights and the successive flashes of secrets, and the blowing of the breezes of proximity and the assault of the incoming of the sovereignty of love from the carpet of the presence of the Lord: 'Cover me, cover me' ²¹²—to receive the sciences of the Essence with his heart and his heart, and to comprehend what was revealed to him of the secrets of the unseen and the discourse of his Lord. When he recovered from his divine intoxication and his ecstatic rapture ²¹³, and returned to the world of his senses and the places of his intimacy, he would proclaim praise and gratitude to his Lord, and persist in abundant supplication, recitation, and remembrance. Then the fragrances of the scent of proximity would waft from the collar of his shirt and his sleeves, and the gleams of love would stir at his witnessing of the gifts of his Lord's favor and grace, and the lights of the proofs of prophethood and messengership would shine on the forehead of his brow and the back of his seal ²¹⁴. The gardens of the universe were perfumed with the fragrance of his scent and the wafts ²¹⁵ of his generosity and kindness, and the clouds of mercy spread over the upper and lower worlds from his virtue and the blessing of his generosity and grace. Know from this that those fragrances with which God perfumed his noble essence before creation and formation, and distinguished him with them while creation was in the darkness of blindness when there was no Adam, no water, and no clay, are but merciful breaths and gracious zephyrs, whose pleasant fragrances blow from the presence of the All-Merciful, and the materials of their supplies gush forth from wines whose bottles have not been touched by the hands of temporal events, and whose realities have not been grasped by the unveilings of the insightful and the penetrating intellects. Rather, their ambergris-like fragrances are diffused from the unseen of the mercy of the Essence, and waft from the rising places of the lights of the Names and Attributes, and their fragrance blowing from the presence of witnessing and determination is more pungent than aloeswood, ambergris from Shihr ²¹⁶, musk from Darin ²¹⁷, and the musk pod—its scent is sweeter than the fragrance of costly perfumes and the scent of perfume found in the treasuries of kings and sultans, and the aroma of its fragrance is more fragrant than powdered sandalwood, Indian aloeswood, the flower gardens of the valleys, and all the sweet-smelling plants. Rather, the sweetest of perfumes settled in Taybah ²¹⁸ * From the scent of the one who dwelt there, sweetly. The light of existence, its secret and its perfection * Without him, existence would not have attained the desired goal. The spirit of the worlds, its spirit and its life * Its fragrant herb, inhaled, a sweeter meaning. The pole of realities, subtleties, and bonds * And precedents, how great the gift in them! The treasure of benefits, praises, and sources * Sweet in them as a drink. No one of noble, good origin in creation is good * Except that Taha ²¹⁹ is good. And that is only because the breeze of divine proximity never leaves him, and the incoming of merciful love—no one resembles him in the essence of his goodness ²²⁰ nor equals him. So every good perfume of the most precious sweet-smelling scent that noses have smelled—from his Muhammadan goodness it has diffused and spread. And every flower of the most fragrant flowers that fingers and palms have squeezed—from the scent of his Ahmadan fragrance ²²¹ it has become fragrant and emanated. And every ambergris that the depths of the seas have cast forth, and its fragrance has wafted in the assemblies of gatherings and hearts—from his Muhammadan goodness its diffusion has spread in the gardens of desired glory and the processions of joy and happiness. And every perfume that has appeared and been applied to the foreheads of the beloved behind veils and the plants of the secluded, or with which the partings of beautiful maidens and the ladies of tiaras, bridal chambers, rooms, and palaces have been smeared—from the radiance of his Ahmadan light its beauty has shone and acquired that splendor and light. And from the breeze of his scents, its fragrances have become perfumed and wafted in the gatherings of the people of veneration and piety. So by his goodness, his fragrance, the regions and directions have become perfumed, as well as the sleeves of garments and the flowers of the valleys and plants. So no perfume equals what God has perfumed with the fragrances of his noble, chosen essence and his good, pure, and holy character, and his great, intercessory, and singular virtues, and his illuminated, lofty, and desirable stations, and his blessed Tihami and Najdi places ²²², and his noble, sacred, and splendid states, and his praiseworthy, accepted, and pleasing actions, and his delightful, sweet, and honey-like hadiths. Good in essence, you are meaning and sense * From you, goodness shines over Medina. O blessed is Jabir when he kissed * A seal from you, from which he never gets enough. His mouth was musk, from which fragrance wafted * For a time after kissing it, it diffused. Your sweat, Umm Sulaym extracted * The best of perfume, with her it gathered. He who from you brought forth goodness truly * Brought forth water for the thirsty and followed ²²³. "Ta Ha. We have not sent down the Quran to you to cause you distress" ²²⁴ Rather, that your soul may ascend in the stations of proximity and nearness and rise, and wear the robes of contentment and pleasure and the garments of honor, nobility, and piety, and your community may find rest through your care in the garden of

Paradise (al-Firdaws), the Abode of Eternity and Permanence, and it intercedes for the disobedient and the sinful until none of them remains in the Abode of Disgrace, Calamity, and Misery. Ṭā Hā. O Muḥammad, the carpet of Might and Omnipotence. Remove your sandals in the enclosures of Holiness, the pavilions of Intimacy, and the stations of Desire and Awe. Let your gaze wander over what I have shown you of the wonders of My Dominion (Mulk) and My Sovereignty (Malakūt), and what is above the Throne and beneath the [mythical beast] al-Buhmūt. For the ṭā’ of your name is the joy of the people of Paradise, their festival of happiness and delight; the ṭā’ of their obedience, their honor, and their piety; the ṭā’ of the vanguards of their suns and their moons; the ṭā’ of their fragrance in their lives, after their deaths, and upon their emergence from their graves. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā has been sealed (ṭasima) with a seal (ṭas), for the circle of your ṭā’ has expanded until it encompasses all acts of obedience. The ṭā’ of your obedience has spread until all creatures have submitted to it. The ṭā’ of your fragrance has been humbled until all originated things and inventions are perfumed by its breeze. Ṭā Hā. The ṭā’ of purity (al-ṭuhr) is your origin, and from it are your root and your branch. The ṭā’ of the clay of generosity and nobility is your nature and your disposition. The ṭā’ of aspiration (al-ṭama‘) for God’s pardon and beneficence toward His servants is your known trait and your doing. The ṭā’ of the Mount (Ṭūr) of Divine Theophanies is the place of your intimate conversations, your separation, and your union. The ṭā’ of the flood (ṭūfān) of fear and humility before God is your weeping and your tears. The ṭā’ of the path (ṭarīq) of night and day is the time of your remembrances, your honor, your nobility, and your elevation. The ṭā’ of seeking (ṭalab) to act by God’s Book is your methodology and your law; and sincere counsel to God’s servants therein is your struggle and your benefit. The sacrifice of your soul for what pleases God is your giving and your withholding. Love for God’s sake and enmity for God’s sake are your connection and your severance. Fortification by God is your protection, your armor, and your shield. Annihilation in the contemplation of God’s Beauty is your connection, your prayer, your odd-numbered (witr) and your even-numbered (shaf‘). Absorption (al-istighrāq) (62) in the witnessing of God’s Essence is your speech, your sight, and your hearing. “Ṭā Hā. We have not sent down the Qur’an upon you to cause you distress.” (Qur’an 20:1-2) Ṭā Hā. You are pure (ṭayyib) in life and after death. You are pure in standing, sitting, movements, and stillness. You are pure in the pure loins and the wombs of mothers. You are pure in sleep and wakefulness. You are pure in the blink of an eye, the glance, and the moments. You are pure in thoughts and passing notions. You are pure in gatherings, assemblies, and presences. You are pure in hidden things and manifested things. You are pure in writings and inscriptions. You are pure in known things and unknown things. You are pure in ambiguous things and explained things. You are pure in existing things and decreed things. You are pure in directed things and originated things. You are pure in expended things and stored things. You are pure in purified things and cleansed things. “Ṭā Hā (1). We have not sent down the Qur’an upon you to cause you distress.” (Qur’an 20:1-2) Ṭā Hā. Pure and purified is Ṭā Hā. Beloved and made beloved is Ṭā Hā. A brought-near Messenger is Ṭā Hā. A proven antidote is Ṭā Hā. A refined saint is Ṭā Hā. A virtuous, chosen master is Ṭā Hā. The master of the nobles of the desert, the settled lands, the non-Arabs, and the Arabs is Ṭā Hā. Noble of origin and lineage is Ṭā Hā. Perfect in glory and honor is Ṭā Hā. Lofty in rank and station is Ṭā Hā. Eloquent in messages and sermons is Ṭā Hā. The spreading tree of knowledge and refinement is Ṭā Hā. The locus of acts of obedience and nearness is Ṭā Hā. The means of seeking and desire is Ṭā Hā. The remover of cares, sorrows, and distress is Ṭā Hā. The fulfiller of goals and needs for whoever seeks intercession through his standing. “Ṭā Hā (1). We have not sent down the Qur’an upon you to cause you distress (2), but only as a reminder for whoever fears [God].” (Qur’an 20:1-3) Ṭā Hā. Your fragrance (ṭayyibuka) that wafts in the enclosures of Holiness and the illuminated processions. Ṭā Hā. Your fragrance that diffuses in the corners of hearts, the treasuries of the unseen, and the venerated and respected places. Ṭā Hā. Your fragrance that clings in the place of prayer, the [Yemeni] corner, al-Ḥaṭīm, Zamzam, the honored House, and the mosques of prayers. Ṭā Hā. Your fragrant scent on al-Ṣafā (63) and al-Marwah, al-Ḥajūn, the stoning pillars, al-Mash‘ar al-Ḥarām, the Corner, the Station, and the prayer ground of ‘Arafāt. Ṭā Hā. Your fragrance that wafts in Mecca, Medina, and the place that enclosed your bones, making it the best of the earth’s regions, and what is above the highest and beneath the lowest, and all other illuminated places. May God bless you and your noble, eminent family, and your guided Imam companions, with a blessing by which our past and future sins are forgiven, and by which mercy is shown to our fathers, grandfathers, mothers, family, loved ones, spouses, and descendants, and grant abundant and exalted peace. And praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. No fragrance equals the earth that encloses his bones ❖ Blessed is he who inhales from it and kisses it His birthplace revealed the purity of his essence ❖ O pure beginning and end from him O best of those whose bones are buried in the dust ❖ And from their fragrance the plain and the hill became pure My soul be the ransom for a grave in which you dwell ❖ In it are chastity, generosity, and nobility Related to this meaning is what is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās, may God be pleased with them both, that he said: “When Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, was sent, the jinn were prevented [from eavesdropping] and were pelted with shooting stars. Before that, every tribe of jinn had a listening post where they would listen. When the matter was altered for them, Iblīs said: ‘This is an event that has occurred on earth. Bring me soil from every land.’ So soil was brought to him, and he would smell it and discard it, until the soil of Tihāmah was brought to him. He smelled it and said: ‘Here is the cultivation.’” End of abridged version. Did not God choose Ṭaybah (Medina) as a favor ❖ For the Beloved, it became a tomb and a home A spot that enclosed the Beloved within it ❖ It attained excellence and stood alone in pride All places, low and high ❖ Envied it for concealing the body of Ṭā Hā (64) A Messenger slept the sleep of a bride therein ❖ God was a forbidding and commanding one And the angels descend upon him ❖ Morning and evening, in devotion And they surround the tomb with light ❖ And dignity and sanctity, magnifying it They worship the Most Merciful at the grave of Ṭā Hā ❖ Devotedly clinging to his dust And they return with satisfaction and congratulations ❖ Having clothed themselves with the beauty of Ṭā Hā as a emblem O lover who has come to Medina, rejoice ❖ You have become, in Ṭaybah, a neighbor of Aḥmad The neighbor of Aḥmad is not wronged, even if he comes ❖ With sins filling the world, and transgresses Do not ask, if you come to him on the Day of Gathering ❖ And to him all creation remain in need You will see him at his Basin, smiling ❖ When he quenches the thirsty, tightening his waist-wrap The noble ones proceed in the grace of Ṭā Hā ❖ When they fear our Lord, the Compeller All of them seek intercession through the Messenger ❖ Of God, seeking intercession, seeing their burdens And blessings upon the Prophet and ❖ The Companions who attained high rank Its author—may God perpetuate his fortunes and continue his ascent and rise in high stations—said: When I came across in this noble ḥadīth the smelling of this Tihāmī, Najdī, pure soil,

From the fragrant ambergris ²²⁵, I inhaled the scents of the perfume of Muhammadan ²²⁶ and Ahmadian ²²⁷ lordship, and the lights of its prophetic and Mustafawian ²²⁸ beauties shone upon me. Then the factor of ecstasy ²²⁹, which repels none who come to it, and the motivator of love ²³⁰, which does not conceal its witness, moved me to mention what its fragrance diffuses from the blossoms of those fragrant and pure trees, and what its light reveals of the beauties of those splendid and exalted things. For from its Muhammadan perfume every perfume is perfumed, and from its Ahmadian radiance every wondrous splendor and strange beauty is acquired. So I say—and from God I hope to attain the goal and achieve the request—a fragrant, dewy garden, of jasmine ²³¹, narcissus, rose, carnation, lily, and basil; the cups of its blossoms are wondrously woven ²³² and silken ²³³, and the breezes of its fragrances are Mawlawian ²³⁴ and holy ²³⁵, from which emanate goodly and pure scents, and upon which shine prophetic and Mustafawian lights. From its perfume, all fragrant and sweet things are perfumed; from its light, both hidden and manifest lights shine; from its splendor, pure bodies and radiant faces are adorned; and in its beauty, intellects and seeing eyes are bewildered. ❖ O full moons in Quba ²³⁶ and al-‘Aqiq ²³⁷ ❖ My tears flow for you like carnelian ²³⁸ ❖ Have mercy on me, for weeping has wasted me ❖ Is there an end to my wailing or sighing? ❖ Remember me, you who are people of virtue ❖ Your remembrance of me is a cause for rights ❖ Your remembrance drove my heart to your sanctuary ❖ With a distressing longing, an intense yearning ❖ Everything yearns for you ❖ And is drawn, my masters, with attachment ❖ Everything longs for the beloved ❖ Of the radiant, shining countenance ❖ The master of messengers, lofty in rank ❖ Of noble station, kind to orphans ❖ Like Taha ²³⁹, merciful to creatures ❖ And to orphans and the drowning sinner ❖ With congratulations and the Mathani ²⁴⁰ he came to us ❖ So we gained every subtle meaning ❖ A full moon, his face when it appears ❖ How many a gazer has it captivated with its brilliance! ❖ A treasure of perfume, his essence is light ❖ How much has it bestowed its fragrance on the path! ❖ Taha is of medium stature, how sweet ❖ The beauty of a perfect, graceful figure ❖ How many an illness has his saliva cured! ❖ How sufficient for a suckling is the best of saliva! ❖ Honey does not match his saliva in taste ❖ Taha's saliva surpasses pure wine ❖ To him, in obedience, hastened ❖ A thicket above the earth with roots From whose hand flowers bloomed * Or from whose scent musk and fragrant breeze spread From him a neck, his nature of gold * Like the sun when it appears at sunrise A cheek of beauty, its rose red * In it the scent of fragrant rose is gathered How can his describers finish describing * The description of Taha beneath a deep sea? My aim is to spread a fragrant tale * Of a beloved, a pole ²⁴¹ of beauty and freshness And upon him be ever blessings * Like his Companions, his Family, and his group Taha, the pious, and the bamboo ²⁴² swayed your figure when it swayed in places of glorification and declaration of God's oneness; the sun and moon are your face when Gabriel descended upon you with the lights of revelation and sending down; pearls and coral are your teeth when they smiled with the coolness of praise and gratitude to our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic; roses and jasmine are your cheek when the cup of drink was clarified for you among the great prophets and messengers and the elite of the unique ones marked with lordship and preference; carnations and saffron are your soul when you whispered to your Lord in the darkness of the deep, long night; emerald and the brilliant star are your splendid appearance when you reflected on the creation of the heavens and the earth and what your Lord granted you of His abundant goodness and immense gift; the Nile and the Euphrates are your hand when the asker asked you and you gave him the gift of one who does not fear poverty nor check what flows from much or little; the khayri ²⁴³ and jasmine are the breeze of your fragrance when you heard from me 'my beloved, my beloved'—for you have with me the established glory and the noble honor; basil and lily are the perfume of your mouth's scent when you whispered to your Lord in His saying 'Seek Me, you will find Me, for I accept the little and give the much'; musk and camphor are the sweat of your limbs when you set them up in the mihrab ²⁴⁴ of gathering and stood them for worship before the Lord, the Reckoner, the Trustee; night and day are your mount for obedience and your procession. 'So when you have finished, strive' ²⁴⁵ And spread your hands for kissing and touching 'And to your Lord turn your desire' ²⁴⁶ For He has raised your station above the Chosen One ²⁴⁷ and the Interlocutor ²⁴⁸; the khabur ²⁴⁹ of fear and the khuzama ²⁵⁰ of awe are the perfume of your bed when you abandoned wives and beds and turned to your Lord with your illuminated face, which removes the rust from the heart and heals the burning thirst; the pomegranate blossom, the bahar ²⁵¹, and the red anemone are the color of your essence when the divine descents ²⁵² came upon you, and you became joyful and glad, defending the upright religion and repelling the sayings of the people of deviation, misguidance, doubts, and denial; the water lily and the ear of grain are your perfume when you returned from the journey of intimacy with God and began to tell people of the robes of prophecy and messengerhood that He bestowed upon you in the station of lordship and preference; the idhkhir ²⁵³ and the jaleel ²⁵⁴ are the scent of your fragrance when a visitor visited you and you gave him what he asked and more, so he boasted of that to the noble and the lowly, the group and the tribe; the myrtle and the myrtle ²⁵⁵ are your scent when a world returned to your pure spirit with the glance of sciences and wisdoms, awakening the heedless from his heedlessness and the straying from his intoxication, guiding him to the clear path of truth and the way; red sandalwood and the scent of aloes are the perspiration of your brow when you rested from night prayer and supplication before your Lord, and from weeping, sobbing, and wailing; the tamarisk and palm trees are your grove that answers your call when you call and conceals you when relieving yourself with the intertwined tree and its shady shade; the wormwood and the arak ²⁵⁶ are the grass of your illuminated land, in which it is good to stay and pleasant to settle for the visitor, the entrant, and the guest; the sarh ²⁵⁷, the ghada ²⁵⁸, and the ‘arar ²⁵⁹ of Najd are the scent of your lovers and the motivator of their longings to visit your illuminated tomb and see your magnificent station; the mandel ²⁶⁰ and the namam ²⁶¹ are from your perfume, they are good and their fragrance diffuses in the mornings and evenings; the citron and the apple acquired their splendor and the pure, beautiful scent of their perfume from the splendor of your paradise; honey and bee honey are your saliva when you began remembrance and recitation and mixed that with the sweetness of reflection and chanting; modesty and good manners are your nature, lowering the gaze from the sinner, succoring the distressed, helping the oppressed, the weak, the humble, and the lowly; fasting and prayer are your habit and the delight of your eye, doing good is your gift and your connection, obeying commands is your protection from alteration and change; asceticism and piety are your nature, turning away from the world is your occupation and your craft, not caring about its affairs is your aspiration, so you did not mind its much or little; knowledge of the Truth is your proof and your evidence, and in its garden is your eloquence and your resting place; entrusting the matter to God accompanies you in movements and stillness, in staying and traveling; love of God is your glory and your treasure, truthfulness with God is your veil and your fortress.

So supplicate with what is easy ²⁶². Whoever wishes to oppose you, his back is cut by the sword of Majesty, his belly is pierced by the spear of Might, and the arrow of Subjugation, the polished Indian ²⁶³. The winds of the east and south bear witness that your right hand is more generous than the sent winds, the pouring rains, and the dripping rainclouds. The flowers of Mecca and Medina, and all the hills ²⁶⁴ and valleys bear witness that your scent is sweeter than them, and your saliva is fresher than the waters of those places, and more delightful than the nectar of its flowing, sweet Kawthar ²⁶⁵. All the worlds bear witness that you are the Messenger of Mercy, and your mercy encompasses the higher and lower worlds in general and in detail. May God bless you and your family, possessors of veneration and glorification, and your Companions and all your Community, marked with the blaze and white feet ²⁶⁶, a blessing through which the sea of your bounty and abundant generosity flows upon us, and by which we are granted among your saints a rank without likeness or equal, and by which we become among those whose hearts do not deviate from the path of truth nor incline. And grant abundant peace, and praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. * His form was created unique * in beauty, majesty, and symmetry. * All the forms of the world serve * its radiance when it manifests and shines. * In his countenance, the suns of beauty * have shone, and the full moon from him has gleamed. * His forehead is a radiant morning * above it, dark hair like dusk. * After the hair was let down, * Gabriel came to him with the parting ²⁶⁷, parting. * His cheek is the dawn in its splendor; * in his two cheeks, twilight has met. * Or the jasmine in its whiteness, * and in its redness, a rose on a plate. * Of carnelian, the seal of hair is his, * and over pearls with honey it has closed. * His saliva contains sustenance and healing; * in it is what he intends for those who deserve it. * Bright of color, pleasant of complexion; * from his neck, pure gold has gleamed. * His black eye has a beauty spot; * with arrows of love, it pierces the heart ²⁶⁸. * You would think his body a flower * whose calyx has opened from him with the shade. You would think his perspiration pearls * and you would think the musk from him in his sweat. When he passes by a path after him, * fragrance from him wafts and clings. His stature is medium; if he walks, he sways * like a branch that bends with leaves. If a tall person walks with him, he surpasses him; * and the swift of step, Taha ²⁶⁹, has outrun. His fragrant hand resembles a garden * of blooming flowers in scent and basil. Whoever shook hands with him for a time, * his fragrance remained in his palm, inhaled. Like rods of pearl are his fingers, * in beauty and length they are matched. Glorified is He who placed in him awe * that the eyes could not fully perceive in his face. Whoever saw him by chance * almost perished from terror and fear. With perfection, dignity, modesty, * forbearance, and purity, he surpassed all groups. If he says 'no,' he does not say 'yes' after; * and when he says 'yes,' he immediately fulfills. Do not say 'sea' like the generosity of the Chosen One; * his generosity is a flood poured out among people. May God bless him and his family * and Companions, as long as the horizon gleams. "Ta Ha ²⁷⁰. We have not sent down the Qur'an to you to cause you distress." Ta Ha: Pure, purified, mighty, illuminated, king, victorious, supported, aided. Beloved, whose name is inscribed in the Preserved Tablet, and whose form in pre-eternity is praised and depicted. Nothing more beautiful than his dot has been written on the tablets of constancy, nor has anything better than his diacritical mark ²⁷¹ been mentioned in the wondrous sacred traditions, nor anything more beloved than his form in the marvels of creations and inventions, nor anything higher than his aspiration in the manifestations of theophanies, nor anything nobler than his relation in the ocular unveilings and human elements. That is because the letters of the alphabet are containers of the secrets of the Truth with His Beloved, and no one in reality knows them except him, and every tongue reports about them according to what has been opened in his heart of divine secrets. Some of the knowers ²⁷² have said: "God, exalted is He, informed about the emergence of the dot of His Beloved from pre-eternity to pre-eternity with this name. The Ta is the circumambulation of his spirit and the circumambulation of his secret in the dawn of His Ipseity ²⁷³ before the 'before,' when his spirit emerged from the light of the Unseen and flew in the air of Ipseity seeking the Eternal Essence and witnessing the Pre-Eternal Attributes until he reached through the Truth to the Truth and flew in the circle of the Ipseity of the Unseen. He found the Truth through the Truth and knew from the Truth through the Truth what is in the Truth, so he became sanctified by the Sanctity of the Essence, purified by the Purity of the Attributes, a 'ha' ²⁷⁴ guiding his servants to Him with the attribute of love and example, as if He said: 'O circumambulation of the deserts of Ipseity in the Unseen of Eternity, O purifier of the traces of the worlds and the two fields ²⁷⁵, O ha guiding My creation to Me, no one has trodden upon the carpet of My Ipseity better than you. I folded for you under the feet of your aspiration the deserts of pre-eternities and post-eternities until your secret reached the secret of My Ipseity. By My air you descend, and by My gentleness you are gentle. You descended, then your aspiration after its elevation in the air of My Oneness upon the carpet of My Kingdom and My Dominion, so you became fragrant with the fragrance of My union. O Talla ²⁷⁶, for that I swore by My saying, "By the star when it descends" ²⁷⁷. Blessed is he who is guided by your guidance and seeks the life of those who follow your path. O horizon of the heavens of Pre-Eternity, O diver in the lexicon of Generosity, minds are bewildered in grasping your subtleties, and hearts call out in the watering places of your love.'" The Master ²⁷⁸ said: "The Ta indicates the purity of his heart from any blemish of the fresh kingdom, and the Ha indicates the guidance of his limbs, protected from the accidents of betrayal and concealment." End ²⁷⁹. Glad tidings have covered the earth and sky * for a face by which we are watered when drought occurs. You appeared to us, O Master of Messengers, in Mina ²⁸⁰, * so we attained desires that no one else has ever attained. A path of guidance; no servant guided by it has failed, * so blessed are we for what sin descends. Long, wide, lofty is the rank of Ahmad ²⁸¹; * by it, glory rises and boasts extend. A physician for the diseases of sinners when they fester, * boil, rise with torment, and sink. A nature of generosity composed in his being; * in munificence, his hands are accustomed to open. Purity of ancestors and goodness of elements; * indeed, his origin, branch, and clan are good. We have stamped our hearts with love of the Beloved, * so a bond for him is folded within our livers. We are enraptured, intoxicated; we are a people who love him, * our beloved, until even the child and the miscarried fetus love him. We have cast off the garment of patience for him, so you see * only a tear on the cheek traced from his cheek. Ruins of Qiba ²⁸² have been perfumed by his fragrance, * and Tayyiba ²⁸³, where light from the Throne is intense. Cheerful of countenance, light precedes his face; * when he steps, light from his direction steps. Groups of brothers have turned to him, * and with longing, they have split the earth, and tears descend.

Ṭā Hā. Ṭā Sīn Mīm. The Ṭā indicates the purity of his heart from the desires of the soul and the share of Satan, and the Hā indicates his identity immersed in the seas of Oneness and the witnessing of grace and favor. The Sīn indicates the sublimity of his high glory, lofty station, and elevated rank, and the Mīm indicates God's love for him before his creation and manifestation to sight. Or you may say: The Ṭā indicates the purity of his blessed soul, created from the gifts of grace ²⁸⁴ and the clarity of the light of the All-Merciful; the Hā indicates his high aspiration, free from human follies and defects of imperfection; the Sīn indicates the flash of his lightning that dazzles the minds of the masters of states, ecstatic utterances, and solitaries immersed in the seas of longing, ecstasy, and rapture; and the Mīm indicates his lofty station and his special rank of proximity and nearness. Or you may say: The Ṭā indicates his clay molded in the mold of divine pleasure and contentment; the Hā indicates God's guidance by which He guided creation and saved them from the worship of idols and statues; the Sīn indicates his joy at what was revealed to him from his Lord of the opening verses of the chapters and the verses of the Qur'an; and the Mīm indicates the love whose secret permeates the hearts of angels, humans, and jinn. Or you may say: The Ṭā indicates the tranquility of his heart through the remembrance of his Mighty Lord, the King and Sovereign; the Hā indicates the blowing of the breezes of divine opening upon him from the presence of his Lord, the One, the Eternal, who has no partner in His kingdom and no second; the Sīn indicates the lights of His face that filled the Throne, the Footstool, and all the worlds; and the Mīm indicates his praises, the enumeration of which exhausts the masters of insight and penetrating minds. Or you may say: The Ṭā indicates his ambergris-like fragrance, by whose scent hearts, souls, and bodies revive; the Hā indicates his gift with which God honored His servants and made it a means for them to enter the Abode of Honor and the Paradises of Gardens; the Sīn indicates his secret that permeates the higher and lower worlds, birds, beasts, insects, and all animals; and the Mīm indicates his noble lineage, chosen from the most honorable tribes and the purest of the sons of Ma'd and Adnan. May God bless him and his noble family, and his companions with purified hearts and bodies, a blessing by which He may have mercy on the distant and the near among us, protect us from falling into the abysses of misery and abandonment, and seal for us with the two words ²⁸⁵ of the testimony and the seal of faith, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O my master, O Messenger of God, O my hope ❖ O my lord, O my refuge on the day I meet You Grant me, by your rank, forgiveness for my past sins ❖ Generously, and tip my scale with Your favor Hear my prayer and remove what besieges me ❖ Of calamities and a soul full of sorrows For you are the nearest whose kindness is hoped for ❖ From me, even if my home and homeland are far And by you, O son of the Friend of God, on the morrow ❖ I seek refuge from the evil of my slip and disobedience Your abundant bounty enfolds and unfolds me ❖ With honors, and the eye of kindness watches over me The rank of your face protects and defends me ❖ From the aggression of an envier or a gloating foe Then know that these letters by which God named His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and honored his names above all names, and magnified his rank in the sanctuaries of holiness and the manifestations of theophanies, are names whose mention is pleasant in mouths and ears, whose fragrance spreads in gatherings and assemblies, and whose benefit encompasses the inhabitants of seclusions, plains, deserts, and the monks of hermitages. Our Lord mentioned them in His clear, wise Book and named him by them in His eternal, ancient speech, saying: "Ṭā Hā, Ṭā Sīn Mīm." Some of the knowers among the scholars interpreted it by saying: Ṭā Hā: He folded away from the secret of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) the worlds and all they contain, and guided him to occupy himself with their existence. It is also said: Blessed is he who is guided by you and makes you the path to us. And I have said in this meaning, by way of allusion, and what God has cast into my heart of its meanings with beautiful words and subtle expression: That these Ṭās and Hās, Sīns and Mīms, and the forms of their letters, diverse and harmonious, preceding ²⁸⁶ and succeeding, were the jewels of their shells, beloved in the treasuries of the unseen; the shining lights of their letters were veiled in the mystery of the unseen and the treasury of the sought-after secret; and the reports of their traces were inscribed in the identities of consciences and the Preserved Tablet. When God willed to manifest them to the spiritual and physical world, the luminous body and the dark form, He expanded their great circle in the realm of dominion and sovereignty, and the halo of their supreme form in the precincts of mercy and omnipotence. Thus, the worlds of names and letters, the forms of shapes and dots, both ambiguous and known, entered under their authority. This is because they have traveling spirits and wings with which they fly around the Throne and circumambulate, and souls with which they ascend in the stations of obedience and acts of devotion and hover, since his Muhammadan spirit was breathed into them before the entry of spirits into bodies, and his Ahmadine care permeated them as the secret permeates the channels of pens. When his bride emerged into existence and through him the present and absent were perfected, these letters offered him their dots and forms, handed him the keys to their doors and locks, and cast before him their loads and burdens. They submitted to him with the submission of special devotion and servitude, and acknowledged his message with the acknowledgment of obedience and love. Thus, nothing of those higher and lower, prior and posterior acts of obedience falls outside the Ṭā of his obedience; none of those Hās is guided except by his guidance; none of those Sīns holds sway except through his sovereignty; and none of those Mīms is extended except from the materials of his beneficence. All are contained under the mountain of his dot, compelled within the fold of his grasp, subdued by the secret of his wisdom, molded upon his love and innate disposition, swimming in the seas of his care and love, turning in the ample robes of his grace, yearning for his vision and gaze, desiring to rub their faces in his illumined places and the musk of his soil. He is the pupil of the eye of Oneness, the Mother of the Book, the first, the sole drinker of the cups of the secrets of prophethood and messengership, the eye of divine mercies and the secret of the revealed revelation ²⁸⁷, the possessor of generosity, chivalry, and succor, the element of established honor and rooted glory. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā Sīn Mīm. Ṭā Sīn. Mount Sinai bows its head to your rank and sublimity. The Ṭā of Ṭūbā [a tree in Paradise] dances with joy at entering your circle and clinging to your honor. The Ṭā of Ṭayyiba [Medina] spreads its carpet for the dust of your sandals and your walk. The Ṭā of the rising of blessing and good fortune traces its lineage to you and adorns itself with your beauty. The Ṭā of your blessed bird calls the servants to God, makes known to them the path of reaching Him, and draws for them from His holy presence the gifts of your guidance and direction. The Ṭā of the peacock of the angels, the archangel Gabriel, the Trustworthy, seeks your pleasure and hastens in your love. You are the element of everything and its foundation, the opening of every remembrance and the secret of its meaning. The Ṭā of the circumambulation of every lover and his House, his Ṣafā and Marwa, his running, the Ascension of every wayfarer, the garden of his desire, the Lote Tree of his utmost boundary, and the wing...

Every bird flies with the wing of longing towards Him, His nest, and His abode. * The soldiers of God, truly, are the army of Taha ²⁸⁸ * By that, the Lord necessitated His uniqueness. * Upon a great character was Taha ²⁸⁸ * And its foundation upon the Qur'an He built. * In his fear, Taha ²⁸⁸ folded hope, * With all his attributes, he attained moderation. * And that is the ultimate perfection in him, * And that is in him from the time of birth. Until he said: * And He sent mercy to all creation, * And all of them to him are for visitation. * Taha ²⁸⁸ bestowed virtue upon the worlds, * And from his palms, benefit is sought. * Through him, existence turned with all generosity, * And we saw none other than him as generous therein. * He has a favor upon all that exists, rising * Eternally, just as the necklace rises. * Upon him and his family be the purest peace, * And upon companions who all preserved their love. (77) Ta Ha ²⁸⁹, Ta Sin ²⁹⁰, Ta Sin Mim ²⁹¹. The Ta is the Ta of the rapture of lovers with the breeze of arrival to Him, and the Ha is the Ha of the ecstasy of the beloved ones in the seas of His ecstatic states and the hearing of praise upon Him, and the Sin is the Sin of the joy of the yearning ones at seeing His landmarks and sitting before Him, and the Mim is the Mim of the desire of those who turn to Him with sincerity and those who desire what is with Him. That is because God Almighty created His love in the hearts of the birds of humans, jinn, and the proximate angels, and others among the known and unknown animals, the supported and the inspired. And each one flies according to its strength to his magnificent station and his illuminated, great, and glorious carpet, for they have wings of different colors, with which they fly to his presence, surrounded by contentment and satisfaction, and to his places, inhabited by the secret of revelation and the sciences of the Qur'an. The flight of the spiritual and corporeal world is love and longing, passion and taste, intoxication and drunkenness, intimacy and remembrance, and the roaming of thought in His dominion, illuminated by the light of praise and gratitude. The flight of the animal world and the dark physical temple is seeking refuge in Him in hardship and ease, clinging to his coattails in the deserts of dangerous places and wilderness, seeking protection through him from the vicissitudes of time and the assaults of compulsion, and seeking intercession through his status in every difficult matter and great affair. Ta Ha ²⁸⁹, Ta Sin ²⁹⁰, Ta Sin Mim ²⁹¹. The Ta is the Ta of his lofty mountain of rank and station, which the birds of the four elements cannot traverse even if they flew for the duration of the world's life, seven hundred thousand years. And the Ha is the Ha of his noble emigration, which he undertook in the pleasure of his Lord, the All-Knowing King. And the Sin is the Sin of the secret that his Lord confided to him in a station that the great elite and the special ones among the prophets and noble messengers have agreed upon. And the Mim is the Mim of his support that God made flow upon his tongue, by which he would revive the dead and heal those with ailments, diseases, and sicknesses. Or you say: The Ta is the Ta of his length, whose blessings encompassed relatives and strangers, and all the elite and commoners. And the Ha is the Ha of the agitation of the lovers' longings for him and the beloved ones with him in wakefulness and sleep. (78) And the Sin is the Sin of his journey in the ranks of high stations that minds cannot qualify and imaginations cannot perceive. And the Mim is the Mim of his miracles, whose light erased the traces of the worshippers of idols and statues. Or you say: The Ta is the Ta of his medicine, which suffices from incantations, spells, and the writing of pens. And the Ha is the Ha of his sleep, in which he would converse with his Lord in the darkness of night and the depths of gloom. And the Sin is the Sin of his lordship, of great rank, far from perception and attainment. And the Mim is the Mim of his magnificent virtues and his lofty, great merits. So may God bless him and his noble, eminent family, and his companions, the stars of guidance and the lamps of darkness, a blessing that pours down upon us abundant favors, suffices us against the evil of time's vicissitudes and the onslaught of nights and days, and forgives us for the major sins and great offenses we have committed, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. * The praise of the Chosen One ²⁹² is pre-eternal, ancient. * The frontiers of the religion smiled with Taha ²⁸⁸. * The heavy revelation visited the heart of Taha ²⁸⁸. * He turned the reins of guidance in the worlds. * The refuge of sinners, the greatest succor. * And as long as time continues to occur, * The good things are distinguished from the bad. * And in him is his beauty, radiant, without distress. * By conveying to us the best of inheritances. * For his community, and from them the best investigator. Ta Ha ²⁸⁹: The swords of travel were folded for those heading towards your bounty. Ta Sin Mim ²⁹¹: The eyes of the beholders soared towards the splendor of your beauty and loveliness. Ta Sin ²⁹⁰: The souls of the lovers became good with the deliciousness of your speech and the beauty of your discourse. Alif Lam Mim Sad ²⁹³: The states of those desiring to follow your sunna and all your actions became sound. Alif Lam Ra ²⁹⁴: The birds of those who have arrived were nurtured in (79) the cradles of your love and your shades. Ya Sin ²⁹⁵: The burning passion of the infatuated ones subsided at the sight of your dwellings and ruins. Alif Lam Mim ²⁹⁶: The speaking beings and the mute ones were shown mercy through your supplication, desire, and request. Kaf Ha Ya 'Ayn Sad ²⁹⁷: The nightingales of the yearning ones sang with the drinking of the wine of your love and the nectar of your flow. Alif Lam Mim ²⁹⁶: Your countenance made the tyrants submit and become humbled by the force of your compulsion and the awe of your majesty. "Sad. By the Qur'an" ²⁹⁸: The innermost secrets of the perfect ones became pure through assuming your noble character and your majestic purity. Ha Mim ²⁹⁹: The birds of the tasters circled around your presence and showed mercy in serving your carpet, thus attaining your pleasure and the flow of your bounty. Ha Mim ²⁹⁹: The hearts of the annihilated ones were revived by seeing your face in sleep and the phantom of your image. Ha Mim 'Ayn Sin Qaf ³⁰⁰: The minds of the praisers were bewildered by the beauties of your essence and the attributes of your perfection. "Nun. By the Qur'an" ³⁰¹: The faith of the knowers grew strong by drinking from the sweet springs of your sources and the purest of your water. "Nun. By the pen" ³⁰²: The longings of the lovers grew upon hearing your traits and the mention of your qualities. Hearts were attracted by witnessing the rising of your full moon and the halo of your crescent, and souls were disciplined by the etiquette of your servitude with your Lord in your movements, stillness, and all your states. O my master, O Messenger of God. Ta Ha ²⁸⁹: The Ta of every bird that attained contentment and achieved proximity to the Lord of the earths and heavens. Ta Ha ²⁸⁹: The Ta of every bird that ascended to the highest ranks, the loftiest degrees, and the noblest stations. Ta Ha ²⁸⁹: The Ta of every bird through whom God manifested various kinds of miracles and extraordinary acts. Ta Ha ²⁸⁹: The Ta of every bird that seeks forgiveness from his Lord and follows the paths of security and peace. Ta Ha ²⁸⁹: The Ta of every bird whom God chose for His presence and crowned with the crown of might and perfections.

Ṭā Hā. Ṭā’ of every bird for whom God has made piety his emblem and garment, and acts of obedience are his proofs and signs. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā’ of every bird whom God created with His great creation and made him taste from the cups of His love sweetnesses. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā’ of every bird who became accustomed to devotion ³⁰³ and worship, and filled all his times with remembrance and recitations. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā’ of every bird who left every distraction that distracts him from obeying his Lord, and cut himself off to Him in the depths of prayer niches, corners of mosques, and retreats. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā’ of every bird who calls the servants to God and teaches them the way of proper conduct with Him in movements and stillness, and the spreading of hands in supplication for the fulfillment of needs and the answering of prayers. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā’ of every bird who fears the station of his Lord and forbids the soul from caprice and falling into the arenas of pleasures and following desires. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā’ of every bird who stands at the boundaries, avoids prohibitions, complies with commands, observes the shadows, and preserves the times of prayers. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā’ of every bird who seeks deliverance for the Muḥammadan community and safety from evil outcomes and all calamities and afflictions. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā’ of every bird in whose hand God has placed binding and loosing, and has subjected to him the forms of spirits and bodies and the venerated places. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā’ of every bird who guards his tongue from uttering obscenity, falsehood, perjury, and engaging in what does not concern him of frivolities, falsehoods, and slips. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā’ of every bird who acts in the cosmos, and it is said to him: Do as you wish, for We have made you safety and removed from you blame in life and after death. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā Sīn Mīm. Ṭā Sīn. So you are the Ṭā’ of every bird who hunts the falcons ³⁰⁴ with the secret of his aspiration and returns them to God, and the Ṭā’ of every bird whose severity the birds of the unseen fear and guard themselves from by the remembrance of God, and the Ṭā’ of every bird at whose thunderbolt the birds of response tremble and seek protection from him through God’s care, and the Ṭā’ of every bird whose spiritual breeze the spirits find refreshing and are drawn to God, and the Ṭā’ of every bird who gives glad tidings to the servants of pardon and forgiveness and delights them with God’s good pleasure, and the Ṭā’ of every bird who makes creatures love the side of God and connects them to God, and the Ṭā’ of every bird who contends with destiny ³⁰⁵ through his supplication and repels from the servants what descends upon them of God’s wrath, and the Ṭā’ of every bird whom the eyes of felicity have observed, so he fears neither injustice nor humiliation, “On the Day when secrets are disclosed” ³⁰⁶ “And man looks at what his hands have sent forth” ³⁰⁷ And the Ṭā’ of every bird who says in his supplication: “My Lord, grant me wisdom and join me with the righteous” ³⁰⁸ “And grant me a tongue of truth in the later generations, and forgive my father, for he was among the astray, and do not disgrace me on the Day they are resurrected, the Day when neither wealth nor sons will avail, except him who comes to God with a sound heart.” ³⁰⁹ You differ from people in other than Him, * and all agree in His love. And any people who sought a secret, * they straightened us, they have none other than Him. For in meanings they have splendor, * whose radiance covers the eyes of mortals. Their guidance is the truth, paths of guidance, * were it not for their guidance, they would have strayed. Ṭā Hā. Ṭā Sīn Mīm. God has purified your body from the filth of impurity and faults, and made your mention sweet in mouths and beloved your name in gatherings, ears, and hearts, and named you with every name He loves, and wrote it on trees, stones, the edges of veils and canopies, and in the lines of the Preserved Tablet, and on the Tree of Ṭūbā ³¹⁰ which He planted with His own hand, breathed into it of His spirit, and made it the most beautiful tree that emerged from the treasures of belovedness and the treasuries of the unseen. And in the ḥadīth: “Ṭūbā is a tree in Paradise which God planted with His own hand and breathed into it of His spirit, and its branches are seen from behind the wall of Paradise, producing jewelry, garments, and fruits hanging over its lights.” And in another narration: “Ṭūbā is a tree in Paradise, a hundred years’ journey, and the garments of the people of Paradise come out of its buds.” Its author said: May God complete for me the planting of the gardens of knowledge and action, and mold ³¹¹ his limbs and soul to acts of obedience, and illuminate with the light of righteous deeds his grave and tomb. When I reached in this place this noble ḥadīth, and my thought roamed in its lofty and sublime meaning—namely the ḥadīth of the Tree of Ṭūbā which God planted with His own hand and breathed into it of His spirit, and mentioned its name on the parchment of His eternal precedents and the lines of His Tablet—the carrier of longing, whose arrival cannot be repelled nor its witness concealed, carried me to draw for it a form at the sight of which breasts expand, and at the contemplation of which the spirits of lovers are drawn to the presence of their Forbearing, Forgiving Lord. This is because in seeing forms of illuminated shapes and exquisite depicted likenesses there is rest for yearning spirits, healing for the people of ecstatic states, attractions, and constricted conditions, and delight for thoughts immersed in Muḥammadan love and longing eyes. I have drawn for this tree lines of various colors, and patterns of exquisite workmanship and precision, and an embroidered sign indicating what its Ṭā’ refers to from the ḥadīths of the Master of Beings, the Bride of the Paradises of Gardens, my Master and Lord, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace—honor and generosity—for it was planted in the heaven of the gifts of his Muṣṭafawī secrets, founded on the foundations of his Muḥammadan Law, and watered with the water of his religious sciences. So the root of this tree is knowledge, forbearance, and proper conduct; its head is acting according to the requirements of the Sunna and the Book; its spirit is sincerity, certainty, and compliance with commands in going and coming; its two wings are flying with the wings of longing to the stations of nearness and approach; and its ultimate end is the removal of the veil and the knowledge of the King, the Bestower, without doubt or uncertainty. And this is the description of the luminous Moulawī ³¹² tree, its sensory and spiritual roots ³¹³, and its branches containing what its Ṭā’ indicates from the Muṣṭafawī prophetic ḥadīths. How noble it is!

From a tree that God named Ṭūbā (blessedness), and under whose shade He gathered every bird that warbles in remembrance of Him, in the gardens and the hills; and every circumambulator (ṭā’if) who circumambulates the Ancient House (al-Bayt al-‘Atīq) and stands at ‘Arafāt and spends the night at the Mosque of Qubā’ has sought refuge. So blessed (ṭūbā) is he whose heart overflows with a flood of love for this noble Prophet, and for whom the wine and drink from the cups of its (the tree’s) effusion are sweet. And blessed (ṭūbā) is he who clings to a branch of its branches, and begins to pluck from its fruits the dates of witnessing (mushāhadah) and nearness (qurb). And blessed, then blessed (ṭūbā thumma ṭūbā) is he who inhales the breeze of its blossoms, casts off restraint, and follows the people of ecstatic utterances (shaṭaḥāt) and spiritual attraction (jadhb). And blessed, then blessed (ṭūbā thumma ṭūbā) is he who sleeps in its shade, so that the tresses of its veils are let down upon him, and he is made secure from what he fears of ruin and the accidents of deficiency and deprivation. For it is a tree good in root and origin, pure in witness and proof; its outward is Throne-like, celestial, lordly (mawlawī), and its inward is Muḥammadan, Aḥmadī, Muṣṭafawī. So every radiance and light that shines upon it appears from his light; and every subtlety and remembrance that blossoms in the forms of its shape issues from the precious gems of his sciences; and every pleasant fragrance that diffuses within it wafts and spreads from the sweetness of his scent; and every secret, benefit, and wisdom that it encompasses—its affair is established and renowned through him; and every prophetic tradition (ḥadīth) and authentic transmitted chain (isnād) to which its ṭā’ (the letter ṭā’ of Ṭūbā) alludes is inscribed and settled in the pages of books from him and through him. So what a goodly tree it is, whose roots are encompassed by divine pleasure and good pleasure (riḍā wa-riḍwān), whose blossoms are perfumed by the breeze of the Spirit (rūḥ) and basil (rayḥān), and whose signs shine with glad tidings of blessing and security. Its roots branched forth from the essence of the tree of his Muḥammadan prophethood; its branches were watered and ripened by the water of his Aḥmadī message; its lights shone from the flashes of his lordly (mawlawī) secrets; its birds warbled with his delightful remembrances; its lightnings flashed from the gleams of the lightnings of his theophanies; its breezes were fragrant with the sweet scents of its perfumes; its veins suckled from the veins of his limbs and his connection; its beauties were veiled by the attributes of his beautiful qualities; and the hearts of lovers were enamored with longing for it in pre-eternity. And that is because the Truth (al-Ḥaqq)—glorified and exalted is He—created its form in the heaven of His lordly (rabbāniyyah) unseen realms, planted its roots in His gardens encompassed by merciful (raḥmāniyyah) secrets and holy lights, established its foundations upon the realities of His discriminative (furqāniyyah) sciences and the meanings of His beneficial, luminous (nūrāniyyah) traditions, and mentioned its people in His Mighty Book, saying: “Those who believe and do righteous deeds—blessedness (ṭūbā) is for them and a beautiful return.” (Qur’an 13:29) And I have said concerning this meaning, by way of allusion, with brevity of expression and embellishment of phrasing: Know that God—glorified and exalted is He—created the heart of His believing servant and made it the house of His secret, his breast the garden of His remembrance, and his tongue the locus of His praise and gratitude. Then He caused to grow a goodly tree (85), whose root is firmly fixed in the soil of hearts, and whose branch is lofty in the heaven of unseen realms, yielding its fruit at every season by the permission of its Lord—that is, in all breaths and moments, in sleep and wakefulness—from the subtleties of servitude, the gnosis of lordship, and the gleams of the rising suns of belovedness. And He made its shade from the shades of beauty (jamāl), its light from the awe of majesty (jalāl), its secret from the gifts of perfection (kamāl), and clothed it in garments from the robes of His adornment, and encompassed it with the lights of His solemnity and beauty. And it never ceases to increase in beauty and splendor, in loftiness and ascent, because of what descends upon it from the gifts of secrets and what is sent down upon it from the gracious favors of the Master of the Righteous (sayyid al-abrār) and the Ornament of the Chosen Messengers (zayn al-mursalīn al-akhyār), my master and lord, the Messenger of God (ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam). And he said concerning it: “Verily, in Paradise there is a tree under whose shade a rider travels for a hundred years without cutting through it; its buds are of gold, and its fruits are like large pitchers. And there is no tree in Paradise whose trunk is not of gold.” And he used to say: “The Tree of Ṭūbā brings forth the garments of Paradise from its buds.” And Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr said: “It has reached me that the Tree of Ṭūbā is in the house of ‘Alī (raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhu), the neighbor of the Messenger of God (ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam).” And he (ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) used to say: “There is none among you who enters Paradise but is taken to Ṭūbā, and its buds open for him, and he takes from whatever he wishes: if he wishes, red; if he wishes, white; if he wishes, green; if he wishes, yellow; if he wishes, black—like anemones, and finer and more beautiful. And indeed, a man reclines in Paradise for seventy years before he moves, then his wife comes to him, wearing seventy garments, the most delicate of which is like the anemone from Ṭūbā, and his sight penetrates them until he sees the marrow of her shin from behind that. And upon her are crowns that cannot be described.” End of quote. Then, indeed, this luminous (nūrāniyyah) tree, the goodly, lordly (mawlawiyyah), eternal (ṣamadāniyyah) tree with which God has honored His saints (awliyā’) and singled out His chosen ones (aṣfiyā’) and His elect (akhṭiyā’), He caused it to grow in the station of nearness (qurb) and union (waṣlah), adorned it with every beautiful virtue and quality, guarded it with the eye of His gentleness from the accidents of severance in detail and in sum, and made its earth (86) divine support (ta’yīd) and success (tawfīq), its heaven unveiling (kashf) and verification (taḥqīq), its water love (maḥabbah), intention (niyyah), and affirmation (taṣdīq), and its fruit faith (īmān), witnessing (mushāhadah), the secret (sirr), and precision (tadqīq). It yields its fruit at every season by the permission of its Lord for the masters of states (aḥwāl) and stations (maqāmāt), the breaking of habits (kharq al-‘awā’id) and miracles (karāmāt), the hearing of address (khiṭāb), divine teachings (talqiyāt), inspirations (ilhāmāt), portents (irhāṣāt), unveilings (kushūfāt), and spiritual discernments (firāsāt), and for good conduct (ḥusn al-adab) with God in dealings (mu‘āmalāt), spiritual exercises (riyāḍāt), and self-disciplines (siyāsāt), and for preserving the station (ḥifẓ al-maqām) and observing sanctity (ri‘āyat al-ḥurmah) in guardianships (ri‘āyāt) and protections (ḥirāsāt). Its summer and winter fruits are not cut off with the passage of seasons and times, nor do the winds of temporal afflictions and the blights of places corrupt it, because God nourishes it with the gifts of His secret in the unseen realms of His heaven, waters it with the water of His life and the permanence of His might and eternity, delights it with the lights of His attributes and names, and lowers the fruits of its branches for the elite of His beloved and generous ones. So the branch flourishes through the permanence of the root, and the root grows through the permanence of the branch, and the branch guides to the root what it gathers from the fruits of obedience and struggle (mujāhadah), while the root bestows upon the branch what it acquires from the secrets of unveiling (mukāshafah) and witnessing (mushāhadah). Thus also is the heart of the believer and his innermost being (fu’ād), his limbs and his state with God, his intention and his belief, his submission to the obedience of his Lord, his surrender, and his compliance. Or you may say: The waters of that tree are from the seas of beautiful eternal care (ḥusn al-‘ināyah al-azaliyyah) and the ancient, lordly (mawlawiyyah) will (irādah). It yields its fruit—that is, the fruits of its theophany (tajallī)—to the spirits of the lovers and the gnostics (‘ārifīn), the unitarians (muwaḥḥidīn), at every season when the flood of its lights overflows upon the hearts of the truthful (ṣiddīqīn) and the intellects of the near ones (muqarrabīn), the verifiers (muḥaqqiqīn). So the fruit of that tree is the fruits of the theophany of all the attributes and the Essence (dhāt), by which He nurtures the hearts

The saints and the truthful ones, the fruit of witnessing the Essence bequeaths to the hearts of the monotheists tawhid ³¹⁴, tafrid ³¹⁵, tajrid ³¹⁶, fana' ³¹⁷, baqa' ³¹⁸, mahw ³¹⁹, sahw ³²⁰, hayra ³²¹, and walah ³²². And the fruit of the Attributes bequeaths to the hearts of the gnostics according to the measure of their manifestation; each Attribute bequeaths to them a reality from those Attributes. Thus, the inheritance of the Attribute of Majesty (87) is awe, fear, and veneration; the inheritance of Pride is astonishment, shame, and modesty; the inheritance of Splendor is reverence, humility, submission, and anxiety; and the inheritance of Beauty is love, passion, yearning, and tasting. Or you say: "It yields its fruit every season by the permission of its Lord" ³²³ There is no limit to the mixture of its secret and its bounty, nor any restriction to the overflowing of the seas of its goodness and generosity. The secrets of prophethood and messengership flow into its basins, and the light of glorification and majesty diffuses its fragrance in the gardens of its meadows. It has acquired from every color the most beautiful, from every beauty the most perfect, from every good the most excellent, and from every praise the most comprehensive and inclusive. Its fruit, at the time of its perfection, is raised upon the table of witnessing and proximity; none pluck its low-hanging clusters except the people of passion, yearning, and love, and the masters of states, ecstatic utterances, and attraction, for they have drunk the wine of its generosity in pre-eternity and become intoxicated by the breeze of its wine before partaking of the cups of drinking. Or you say: "It yields its fruit every season by the permission of its Lord" ³²³ From the rice of the sciences of the unseen, the emergence of bestowed openings, the grapes of holy secrets, the pledge of supernal lights, the fruit of jabaruti ³²⁴ realities, the apples of subtle graces and divine descents, the citrons of fragrant breezes blowing from the carpet of the prophetic presence, and the fertilizing winds descending upon the hearts of lovers from the heaven of theological gifts. For its roots have been watered from the spring of every Muhammadan name and the supply of every Ahmadi secret; He is its original element and the seed of its existence, both posterior and prior. Thus, the sensory and spiritual trees bear witness to the nobility of its goodly and pure tree, and all sweet and delicious fruits proclaim the superiority of its sacred fruits. The Muhammadian light, so blessed, then blessed is he who is named with his Muhammadan name, named Taha, al-Tahir, al-Tayyib, and similar names that begin with the letter Ta'. The meaning of Ta' is complete and encompassing deliverance from everything, i.e., one who is delivered from the weight of the worldly realm to the buoyancy of the spiritual world (88). Therefore, its letter runs in names that indicate deliverance from weight or avoidance in some way, such as its position in al-Ta'ir (the bird), al-Tahir (the pure), al-Tayyib (the good), al-Tali' (the rising), al-Tami (the overflowing), and the like. His Ta' (peace be upon him) is the most perfect of every Ta' whose letter occurs in a name containing it, and he is the most perfect of God's servants in deliverance from every aspect of weight and avoidances. Thus, he is most worthy to be the Ta' of the cosmos, for he is the pure, the good, whose purity and goodness encompass all good things, delivered from the weight of the cosmos and its avoidances, until he was as he said: "I was a subtle jewel, unknown, circling the Throne" ³²⁵ And that is the station of Ta', for Ta' is the station of the ninth rank, which is the rank of the Throne. Thus, he (peace be upon him) in his subtle jewelness was circling the Throne, realized in the form of his Ta'-ness. Likewise, he is the Ha' of the identity of the cosmos, for he is the inner aspect of its totality in contrast to the height of Ta'. This is combined in his name Taha (peace be upon him). So he (peace be upon him) is the inner Ha' of the cosmos and its outer, high Ta'. Hence, their combination is one of his names (peace be upon him), and their manifestation in him is a manifestation received by the possessor of intellect and knowledge with faith, and witnessed by the possessor of witnessing and unveiling with direct vision. Thus, every Ha' of his Ha's (peace be upon him) and every identity of his identity, just as every Ta' of his Ta's (peace be upon him). For him (peace be upon him) is the Ahmadity of the meanings of letters in the Malakut ³²⁶, just as he has the Ahmadity of the meanings of names in the world of dominion and direct vision. Thus, he is by that meaning, beyond which there is no limit in meaning and direct vision in unveiling. Master of masters, Taha the chosen, * the very essence of existences, the most excellent. His hand for prophets and saints * is a fountain of gifts and excellences. He is the full moon, except that * his face is more perfect than every moon. (89) The sun of the Prophet's face never sets * as long as suns set. And when the crown from him smiles * light encompasses heaven and earth. Glorified is He who brought him forth uniquely * no one equals him in beauty. The jewel of the cosmos is ordered by him * the necklace of existence is linked through him. Everything in the cosmos, from its atom * its origin in pre-eternity is not unknown. The most generous of people, he never said "no" * to a poor person who came asking. And to us Taha was sent as a mercy * there is no messenger like Taha. He is the door of God; whoever does not come to him * with the cloak of the Chosen One does not enter. And upon him be the blessings of God as long as * the north wind stirs the branches of flowers. So blessed, then blessed is he who clings to him and holds fast to his firm handhold. And blessed, then blessed is he who follows his footsteps and acts according to his Muhammadan hadiths, for he will not go astray nor be wretched. And blessed, then blessed is he who treads the path of his Ahmadi sunna, and soars by His care in the ranks of high stations. And blessed, then blessed is he who makes prayer upon him his constant habit and practice, until he attains through his love the most honorable stations in the abode of eternity and permanence. For he (peace be upon him) is the jewel of chosen excellences, the secret of the cosmos adorning the necks of lovers and beloved ones with the ornaments of obedience and piety. He is the veil of the cloak of protection, treating the yearning souls with their antidote that suffices against the judgment of physicians, and the secret of firm resolves and incantations. He is the Ta' of the forelock of the faces of the people of success and prosperity, through whose belovedness the spirit of every saint ascended to the station of "two bow-lengths or nearer" ³²⁷ and rose (90). He is the Ta' of the ranks of the elite, for whom divine care preceded and transgression did not harm them; they fear neither distance nor rejection on the day of arrival at their Lord and meeting. He is the Ta' of every rank whose hearts God has filled with the lights of faith and tawhid, and clothed with the ornaments of asceticism, piety, and tajrid. He has made them intimate with Him in the seclusions of withdrawal and tafrid, purified their threshing floor from illusions and doubts, and made their tongues speak with the sweetness of remembrance, recitation, and tajwid ³²⁸. He has brought them near to Him with the nearness of the beloved, and honored them with the honor of grace and abundant good. He is the Ta' of the ranks of the eminent scholars and the noble, discerning imams, concerning whom my master, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said—the most excellent prayer and purest peace:

The Ṭā’ of his name, Ṭā Hā, is the sublime, elevated honor, and the Hā’ of the identity of his secret is the specification with the highest perfections and the noblest excellences. His Muḥammadan clay possesses the growing virtue and the continuous good, and his Aḥmadī aspiration possesses the lofty rank and the precious worth. His Ṭā’—peace and blessings be upon him—is the Ṭā’ of the inner and outer cosmos, and his Hā’ is the identity of the dazzling secret and the radiant light of the Truth. Therefore, their combination is a name among his Muṣṭafawī names ³²⁹, and the secret of their virtue is a report among his prophetic tidings. For his Ṭā’—peace and blessings be upon him—is the Ṭā’ of the fragrance hidden in the chests of the hearts of the high and low spirits, and the Ṭā’ of the fragrance emanating from the light of his Muḥammadan-Aḥmadī tree, and the Ṭā’ of the fragrance blowing from the divine presences in the assemblies of those who invoke blessings upon him with love, longing, sincerity, and truthful intention, and the Ṭā’ of the fragrance that wafts from the breeze of his scent when he used to return the greeting to those who greeted him and shake their hands with his blessed, pure, and wholesome hand, and the Ṭā’ of the fragrance that was found on the heads of children when he would wipe over them, so they would be recognized among the children by the ambergris-like fragrance that clung to them, and the Ṭā’ of the fragrance that wafted from the mouths of children into which he would spit, making them more fragrant and sweeter than the sweetest musk-scented perfumes, and the Ṭā’ of the fragrance that was found in the alleys and streets of Medina, so that one would know that he had passed by them and they had been perfumed by his noble and lofty fragrances, and the Ṭā’ of the fragrance that clung to him on the night of the Ascension from the presence of his Lord when he returned and began to tell the people of what his Lord had honored him with—the accepted and pleasing intercession for his community, and the Ṭā’ of the fragrance that clung to his noble breaths when he would confide in his Lord, so that spirits would revive with his sweet and pleasant fragrances, and the Ṭā’ of every fragrance brought from India, Sudan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and all the eastern and western regions, and the Ṭā’ of every fragrance that exudes from the sweat of the elite whom God has qualified for His service, whose tongues He has made to speak with the secrets of His wisdom, whose faces He has adorned with the lights of His demeanor, and upon whom He has manifested the gifts of His generosity and the witnessing of His favor. Thus, it is the Lordly fragrance ³³⁰ to which the ultimate limit in fragrance has reached, surpassing the utmost bound and limited measure in fragrance. No fragrance equals his fragrance when it diffuses in the presence of Lordship and breathes in the gardens of intimacy and the abodes of the Eternal secrets ³³¹, and no identity resembles his identity when he sits before his Lord in the station of proximity and belovedness. How excellent is the fragrance whose scent wafts in the gardens of the people of the secret and speciality! And what an identity it is, in whose love the hearts of the people of ecstatic utterances ³³², attractions, and bestowed secrets are enraptured! And how delightful is the fragrance that diffuses in the assemblies of the people of illuminations ³³³ and unseen gifts! And how sublime is the identity that gathers the lights of divine realities, the realm of spiritual thoughts, and the heart's inspirations! Moreover, these Ṭā’s and Hā’s have spirits that serve them in the world of dominion and sovereignty, and phantoms that respond to their call in the treasuries of mercy and omnipotence, and persons who boast of them in the station of desire and awe, and worlds that are illumined by their light in distant regions and all the heavens, and individuals who constantly mention them above the Throne and beneath the Behemoth ³³⁴. This is because their luminous forms are the support of their structure and the confirmation of their soundness, and their holy letters are the elevation of their aspiration, the perfection of their connection and union, the sublimity of their rank, and the righteousness of their state. So every Ṭā’, even if its necks are long, submits to his Muḥammadan Ṭā’, and every Hā’, even if its perfections are ultimate, becomes small at the sight of the perfections of his luminous and radiant Hā’. And every fragrance that diffuses in the world of this life is from the fragrance of his luminous essence, and every flower that blooms on the hills and mounds is from the blowing of the breezes of his Lordly exhalations. He—peace and blessings be upon him—used to be fond of every fragrance in word and deed and avoid every foul thing ingrained in the natures of the people of deviation and error, because his essence is good, his soul is good, and his spirit is good. This is according to what limited intellects and uncovered eyes perceive. As for the fragrance with which his Lord perfumed him in the presence of witnessing and specification, and with which He delighted his essence among the elite of the prophets and the near ones, and through which He manifested his distinction in the enclosures of holiness and the highest ʿIlliyyīn ³³⁵, and with which He honored him when he was a light manifesting before Him in the manifestations of might and empowerment, and ascending in the ascents of proximity and nearness and the station of Qāba Qawsayn ³³⁶—none knows its reality except his Lord, who perfumed him with it before creation and formation, and singled him out with it when there was no fragrance, no water, and no clay. That is the bounty of God; He gives it to whom He wills, and God is the possessor of great bounty. * Who can rival the Chosen One in sublimity, * In virtue and beneficence, O possessor of intelligence? * In his beauty, he is exalted above any likeness; * A Knowing, Watchful One created him uniquely. * Light and fragrance his essence has encompassed; * Who can equal him in light and fragrance? * In his face, the full moon shines brightly, * And the sun, but it has no setting. His palm is like butter in softness, Nay, like silk, nay, like a fertile garden. How many a hand did it shake, and it became good In beauty and fragrance, nay, a fertile hand. With wiping and saliva for the healing of illness, There is none like the Chosen One among physicians. In him is healing, and from God, from every disease, With saliva he came, melting every sickness. He expanded the people with his character And his forbearance; his breast is spacious. O Master of masters, O Chosen One, O Beloved of God, the highest beloved, May God bless you as long as a turtledove sings From atop a fresh branch, And the Family and Companions, the people of loyalty, As long as a repentant servant stands with the Qur’an. Know, O sincere lover, O individual who proclaims the truth and speaks it, O intimate friend desiring to hear the praises of my master, the Messenger of God—peace and blessings be upon him—the passionate lover, that this Ṭā’ inscribed in his name—peace and blessings be upon him—has a great significance, a momentous matter, and a magnificent secret that the birds in the celestial kingdom do not speak of, nor does anyone whom God has specially enabled to see what is above the Throne and beneath the Behemoth. It is the Ṭā’ of: ﴾Ṭā Hā. We have not sent down the Qur’an to you﴿ ³³⁷ the verse. Thus, its meaning—and God knows best—is: O Muḥammad, spread the carpet of Our presence, and look upon the Preserved Tablet ³³⁸ for what We have specially given you in Our pre-eternity. For you are the bird of blessing and felicity, the rising star of good tidings for the people of watchfulness and witnessing, the fragrance of character, traits, and coolness, the manifest one among mothers, fathers, and grandfathers, the good, pure, beloved, loving, praiseworthy one, and the path of success and happiness for those who desire to reach the abode of honor and eternity. So the Ṭā’ is the Ṭā’ of the seal of prophethood with which He sealed you before your emergence and manifestation to existence, and the Ṭā’ of the purity of your heart, which He purified from the filth of ambiguities, desires, and everything that leads to rejection and turning away. And the Hā’ is the Hā’ of your lofty aspiration, which rose above the two heavens ³³⁹ and ascended to the highest ranks in the peak of ascent, and your awe, to whose majesty the lofty mountains and the great tyrants among Arabs and non-Arabs, red and black, submitted. ﴾Ṭā Hā. We have not sent down the Qur’an to you to cause you distress.﴿

O you whose Muhammadan stations ³⁴⁰ have confounded intellects, whose Ahmadine virtues ³⁴¹ have caused spirits to wander in valleys, and whose Mustafawian excellences ³⁴² have exhausted eloquent speakers—no fluent tongue can express the descriptions of your perfections, nor can clear expression encompass the secrets God has deposited in your essence. The inhabitants of the Supreme Horizon ³⁴³ have been dazzled by the lights of your theophanies that shone upon them and by the flashes of your signs that appeared to them. Blessed, then blessed, is he whose thought dives into the encompassing sea of your love; blessed, then blessed, is he whose secret travels in the world of your composite and simple meaning. For you are the secret of the secret, the eye of the secret, and the whole secret. "Ta Ha. We have not sent down the Qur'an upon you to cause you distress" ³⁴⁴—rather, that you may be a physician whose antidote suffices without treatment or incantation, and whose love bequeaths the stations of the righteous marked by piety and the ranks of the elect through whose prayers rain falls and who are sought for rain in times of drought. You are the father of spiritual spirits, the element of luminous and corporeal forms, the gathering of realities, and the secret of the human creature. Your essence appeared as a likeness-image, its witnessed aspect is ocular, its draughts are unseen, its garden is Edenic, its knowledges are heartfelt, its sciences are faith-based, its secrets are supportive, its spirits are spiritual, its lights are transcendent, its miracles are scriptural, and its clay is both human and angelic. Neither the imaginings of intellectual fantasies nor the domains of mental thoughts can grasp its reality or comprehend its meanings. So know your measure, O people of understanding and allusions, of elegant expressions and refined phrases, and know with certain knowledge, verification, and firm establishment that the Ṭā of Ṭā Hā ³⁴⁵—the truthful, the trustworthy, the Imam of the prophets, the bride of the cherubim—is the Ṭā of the flood of gifts and secrets, the Ṭā of the food of Paradise that never ceases as long as the dominion of our Lord, the One, the Subduer, endures, the Ṭā of the group of people of the dawns and lights ³⁴⁶, the Ṭā of the group of angels glorifying their Lord at evening and dawn, the Ṭā of the layers of those who sleep and stand in the depths of the night and the times of dawn, and the Ṭā of the fragrance of the elite enraptured by the remembrance of their Lord in the hours of the night and the ends of the day. He—may God bless him and grant him peace—is the Ṭā of their fragrance when they breathe, the Hā of their ecstasy when they descend into the station of proximity and sit, the light of their understandings when their thoughts dive into the subtleties of sciences and borrow, the seed of their gardens when they plant and cultivate the orchards of good deeds, the flow of their generosity when they are barren in times of drought and dryness, the path of their guidance when they roll up their sleeves for acts of piety and obedience and find comfort, the locus of their intimacy when they seclude themselves in remembrance of their Lord in their retreats and find solace, the dawn of their morning when they travel by night toward the stations of the secret and speciality and enter the darkness, the phantom of their imagination when they lie on the beds of their yearning and doze, the resting place of their mounts when they pitch camp in the abodes of proximity and nearness and halt, the shield of their protection when they seek refuge in His presence in the greatest hardships and arm themselves, the pillar of their structure when they build its foundations upon the principles of the Law and establish them, and the reliever of their worries and sorrows when their hope is cut off from every creature and they despair. Thus divine wisdom, sovereign dominion, and eternal bestowal necessitated that he be none other than the pupil of the eye of existence, the cause of every existent, the interpreter of the tongue of Oneness and Unity, the secret of the spiritual and corporeal creation, the source of the jewels of revelation and sending down, the element of rooted honor and ancient glory, the vizier of the Supreme Presence, the possessor of the perfect and most upright religion, and the rain of generous, mighty, and universal bestowal—he whose speciality the birds of spirits have proclaimed in the fields of felicity, and whose praise the nightingales of joys have sung in the gardens of love upon the pulpits of joy, expansion, and delight. The inhabitants of the Supreme Horizon have called out with their eloquent tongues: "This is the caller to success and prosperity; this is the Imam of the people of goodness, guidance, and righteousness; this is the pole of the beautiful paths and the blaze of radiant faces; this is the garden of spirit, basil, and comfort; this is the blessing of opening and commencement, and the gift of the King, the Opener; this is the treasure of the secret, wealth, and profits; this is the mine of grace, generosity, and magnanimity; this is my master and lord, the Messenger of God—may God bless him and his family; this is the temple of the divine composition and the secret of the human world; this is the most noble verse recited in the openings of the surahs, and the most beautiful bride manifested in the forms of images; this is the Beloved through whom the Self-Subsistent arranged its secrets, and the Loved One in whom the Eternal poured its lights; this is the Intimate through whom the inhabitants of the surrounding spheres adorned their remembrances, and the Refined through whom the book of eternity rejoiced in the registers of felicity its lines; this is a Prophet upon whose love the servants of the veils and pavilions fastened their buttons, and through whom the embroidery of the preservers of prophetic traditions was saved; this is a saint girded with the belt of patience, forbearance, and struggle, and a noble one who attained the ranks of glory and dominion until he reached the station of intimate conversation, speech, and witnessing; this is a chosen one whom his Lord selected, preferred, and elevated to the highest degree that none other has reached, and called out to him with His words:" ³⁴⁰ Muhammadan stations: The spiritual stations specific to the Prophet Muhammad. ³⁴¹ Ahmadine virtues: Virtues associated with the name Ahmad, another name of the Prophet. ³⁴² Mustafawian excellences: Excellences related to the name Mustafa, meaning "the Chosen One." ³⁴³ Supreme Horizon: The highest celestial realm, inhabited by the most exalted angels. ³⁴⁴ Quran 20:1-2. ³⁴⁵ Ṭā of Ṭā Hā: The first letter of the Quranic chapter Ṭā Hā, symbolically interpreted. ³⁴⁶ People of the dawns and lights: Spiritual adepts who experience divine illumination at dawn.

Ṭā Hā. We have not sent down the Qur'an upon you to cause you distress ³⁴⁷. Rather, that you may rest from the toil of worship, and know your rank with Me, and learn what I have granted you of the subtle sciences of ladunī knowledge ³⁴⁸ and the secrets of beneficence, and direct your face solely to Me, and realize what I have honored you with of My pure love and sincere affection, and what I have poured upon you from the oceans of My secrets and the flood of My succor and support. The purpose of that is not your worship; rather, it is to open the door of union, and to pave the way in the station of proximity and intimacy, and for you to sit before Me in the station of qāba qawsayn aw adnā ³⁴⁹, and to enjoy the vision of My great and most high Face. 'Ṭā Hā. We have not sent down the Qur'an upon you to cause you distress' (99). That is, to cause you distress over yourself for the sake of increasing guidance and attaining the ultimate degrees of honor and sainthood. Rather, you were guided in pre-eternity, and you were upright in the present and the future, so you have no need for excessive striving, because you are in the station of proximity and witnessing. But the lover finds rest in the speech of his Beloved, and becomes absent in it from the company of his brother, companion, and relative, and conceals his visitation from the eye of his envier and watcher. 'Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque' ³⁵⁰ because he is in the station of expansion and gathering, taking and giving, and benefit. So he has no need for a means or an intermediary, nor for a connection or a link. His connection is the tearing of habits, his link is the attainment of benefits, and his intermediary is the vision of the witnessing Truth. So blessed is the soul, O Muhammad, for Jibril is your guide, Israfil is your herald, the Qur'an is your proof and witness, and the truth of God is your supporter and strengthener. May God reward you on behalf of yourself and your community with good, for you have destroyed the houses of polytheism with the sword of your struggle for the truth, and erased the darkness of denial and falsehood with the light of faith and truth, and protected the egg of Islam ³⁵¹ through your mission from destruction, earthquake, and obliteration, until the truth became distinct from falsehood, and the adorned from the unadorned. You removed from them the crisis of hardship and distress, and straightened with the judgment of your law what was crooked in them from deviation from the path of truth, and led them through the paths of guidance to the best of ways and the clearest of methods. 'Ṭā Hā. We have not sent down the Qur'an upon you to cause you distress.' Rather, that you may tread with yourself and your community the paths of gentleness and alleviation, and lead them with a good conduct whose effects are praised by both the strong and the weak among them, and approved by the lowly and the noble. I have invited you to visit Me and folded between Me and you the distance of exertion, fatigue, and obligation, and tore between Me and you the veils of luminous screens, both transparent and dense. I have bestowed upon you the robes of success, support, and honor, and purified from psychic distractions and human follies (100) your illumined heart and pure body, and protected your infallible limbs from the accidents of idleness and laziness in obedience and procrastination. I have gathered in you the character traits of the prophets and messengers, and sent down upon you My Book, preserved from crookedness and distortion, and perfected through you the religion, and extended for you in My kingdom the hand of authority and disposal, and addressed you with My words: 'Ṭā Hā. We have not sent down the Qur'an upon you to cause you distress, but only as a reminder for those who fear [God].' So the one who fears remembers, and with him occur the majesty of veneration and awe, the motives of intimidation and fear, and the emotions of supplication and desire. Thus he increases thereby in fear of his Lord and humility, and in repelling the whisperings of breasts and hastening to perform acts of obedience and righteousness. His noble limbs become active in devotion and worship, and he takes piety, fear, and righteous deeds as his equipment and provision, and remembrance and reflection as his vigil, sleep, and repose, and the vision of his generous Lord's Face as his wish, desire, and goal. So the herald of truth called out to him, and the messenger of truth gave him glad tidings, saying: 'Ṭā Hā. We have not sent down the Qur'an upon you to cause you distress.' Rather, that you may delight in the abode of eternity and permanence, and be an imam for the people of righteousness, obedience, and piety, and an impregnable fortress for whoever clings to the hem of your forbearance, so that he neither strays nor is wretched. So give your soul rest from the burdens of servitude, the fear of the assaults of Lordship, and the jealousy of Belovedness. For you have stood the whole night, revived its least and most, and striven until your feet became swollen in My worship, and you sacrificed yourself for My pleasure and obedience. Your face was wounded, your front tooth was broken, and you were pelted with stones. Your people treated you harshly, casting at you that which is better than soft speech and gentlest expression. You did not care what you encountered in My path of harm, nor what the people of misguidance and error cast at you of evil speech. No lethargy overtook you in what I commanded you of establishing My religion and filling hearts with My love and sincere certainty. So blessed is he who believes in you and makes you the path to Us, and the means to open Our doors (101) and seek what is with Us. For you are the dearest of Our beloved, the secret of the opening of Our Book, the gate of Our Presence, and the locus of Our gaze. No one acts in the cosmos except by your permission, and nothing departs from obedience to your command and the sphere of your judgment. 'Ṭā Hā. We have not sent down the Qur'an upon you to cause you distress.' That is, to burden yourself with what I have charged you with of preserving My trust, and to distress yourself over what I have commanded you of conveying My message. Rather, that it may be easy and facilitated, and that you may warn and caution, and exhort and remind. For you have fulfilled the trust and conveyed the message, guided the ignorant and led from misguidance, and awakened from heedlessness the people of procrastination and idleness. You have shortened for your community the skirt of hardship and prolongation. So may you be rewarded on behalf of yourself and your community with good, and may they be protected by your blessing from harm and injury. The lights of prophethood and messengerhood were made to surround you and proceed with you in a journey. Then the beloved, the Beloved, became gentle toward his friend, the world, with the hidden things of consciences and the treasuries of the unseen. And he said: 'Shall I not be a grateful servant, rejoicing in obedience to my Lord, happy and delighted, because He has bestowed upon me from His bounty a blessed station and a praiseworthy endeavor, and an abundant reward, and clothed me with the robes of His prophethood, by which I am among His beloved, supported and victorious, crowned and delighted?' When he gave servitude its due, and pure freedom granted him its bondage, and fulfilled for him its emancipation and opened its closure, and granted him its fulfillment and truth, and clothed him with its covenant and necklace, faith grew in his heart, and he inhaled the fragrant breezes of mercy from his Lord, and rejoiced in His friendship and proximity, and realized that he is from the people of His affection and love, and knew that he is the master of beings, the bridegroom of the paradises of gardens, and the master of the children of Adam and 'Adnan. So he said: 'No one humbles himself except that God raises him.' And no one shows endearment before Him except that He turns to him, draws him near, and gathers him. So he stood on the leg of earnestness.

And he girded himself with the belt of giving glad tidings and warning, and abandoned the obstacles of choice and planning, and entrusted all matters, easy or difficult, to his Lord. He persisted in fulfilling His command without slackening, negligence, laziness, or weakness. He took from every matter its easiest, from every religion its purest, from every science its most renowned, from every deed its most luminous, from every secret its most insightful, and from every virtue its most abundant. Then a call came to him from the Presence of Gifts, Generosity, Contentment, Acceptance, and Abundant Blessings: "My servant, you are the opening of My hidden secret ³⁵² and the conclusion of My sealed command. Have you not read in My Book which I revealed to you, and My secret which I made obligatory upon you: 'Indeed, We have granted you a clear conquest ³⁵³, that Allah may forgive you your past and future sins, complete His favor upon you, guide you to a straight path, and grant you a mighty victory'? So no sin remains with the conquest, no doubt with the expansion ³⁵⁴, and no reproach after pardon and forgiveness. 'Inform My servants that I am the Forgiving, the Merciful.' Indeed, My mercy preceded My wrath and punishment, and My pardon and generosity preceded My reckoning and torment. I am the Most Generous of the generous, the Most Merciful of the merciful. I have named Myself the All-Merciful, the Compassionate, the Forbearing, the Generous, and I have named you the Kind, the Merciful, the Affectionate, the Forbearing. I made you a mediator between Me and My servants through kindness and mercy, and I manifested it through your hands by My saying: 'And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.' How can one fear who has entered between the All-Merciful, the Compassionate and the Kind, the Merciful? My sphere of forbearance and generosity is vast, the light of My words encompasses the meanings of the Names and Attributes, the resolutions of My forgiveness and mercy repel the causes of misery and abandonment, the evidences of My grace and care break the locks of rejection and estrangement, and the stars of My guidance and love shine in the sky of the intellects of the lovers. I am the Giver without cause, the Deliverer from the mire of sins and ruin through your intercession with Me. You are the most noble who ascended the pulpits of proximity and preached, the most honored who sought refuge in Our side and claimed kinship. No mercy is greater than your mercy bestowed upon Islam, no grace is superior to your grace which you favored upon all mankind, no rank is higher than your rank by which you were honored over all creatures before creation and the blowing of spirits into bodies, and no intercession is greater than your intercession which was specially granted to you over all other prophets, messengers, and noble angels. Your manifestation is a mercy to the higher and lower worlds, your mission is a mercy to the distant and near, your life is a mercy to the particular and universal. This is because the worlds were like clay thrown in the space of the Kingdom and the Dominion, and forms without spirits in the treasuries of the All-Merciful and the Almighty, awaiting your blessed arrival in the most honorable times and most blessed moments, your new season accompanied by felicity, joy, and good fortune, and the sight of your face, whose view suffices for green emerald, red gold, chrysolite, coral, and ruby, and your comprehensive Book whose address encompasses what is above the earth and beneath the Behemoth ³⁵⁵. When you arrived from the manifestations of beneficent self-disclosure, appeared in the holy light, emerged from the presences of the Sovereign King, and sat on the carpet of proximity and nearness, the spiritual and physical world came to life through your existence, the unity of Islam was organized by your arrival and delegation, its affair was rectified by the rising of your felicity and good fortune, and its status was elevated by acting according to your Sunnah and observing your limits. For you are the spirit of all creatures, the secret of the meanings of the sciences of revelation and the subtleties of intricacies, the light whose miracles dazzled the universes of the two worlds and their ultimate ends, the sciences of the two heavy ones ³⁵⁶, especially what was revealed to your heart of the jewels of revelation and sending down, and what you honored by solving the difficulties of its problems and knowing the realities of its clear and ambiguous verses and interpretation, and what you specially endowed your essence with of the gifts of lordship and preference, and what was cast upon your spirituality of openings, inspirations, and teachings that have no peer or likeness, and the divine sciences and holy secrets that cannot be defined by proof or evidence, and the affections and mercies whose cloak when spread covers the sins of the first and last in detail and in general. So upon you be the best prayer and purest peace from your Lord, the most noble greetings and highest glorification, a prayer by which we follow the path of your upright religion, traverse the highway of your straight path, find it a provision at the arrival of the grave, the trial of questioning, and the terror of the great standing, and by which we are gathered with family and loved ones in the highest paradises and the Garden of Bliss, forever and ever, forever. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

I yearn for Najd and those who dwell in Najd ❖ And what does my yearning avail or destroy? They have settled there in peace, leaving behind ❖ Their love as a pledge of longing and passion. The earth has become so narrow for me, as if it were ❖ A sash around a waist or a bracelet on a wrist. To God I complain of what I suffer from yearning ❖ And some of what I have suffered from yearning increases. The separation of my friends and the distance of my beloveds ❖ As if the vicissitudes of time were by appointment. The nights of Najd, the intimacy of the tree of hopes ❖ And we pluck the flower of union from the tree of aversion. Do you know what the heart endures due to your distance? ❖ Indeed, those from whom you are distant neither return nor perish. Perhaps God will bring joy and bring you near ❖ So that our gathering may appear, strung like a necklace. O God, I ask You, O my Master, by the sanctity of Your Beloved, our Master Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, the Master of the first and the last, the noble in qualities, virtues, and merits, and the generous in lineage, spouses, offspring, companions, and kinsfolk, that You look upon me with Your merciful glance with which You looked upon his family and companions, the shining stars, and bestow upon me Your compassionate mercies with which You favored them until their ranks rose in the highest assembly and the suns of Your care shone in the deserts and cities, and grant me Your gracious favor with which You favored them until they became the most beloved of the beloved to You and the nearest of the near to You and the most honored of those who come to You, whether arriving or departing, and honor me ¹⁰⁵ O God, with what You honored them with of the secret of his Ahmadic ³⁵⁷ particularity until in the gardens of the Kingdom and the Dominion ³⁵⁸ the breeze of their fragrant scent wafted and the perfume of their sweet aroma spread, and make me happy with that happiness with which You made them happy until they attained, through Your love and his love, the highest stations and became renowned among the eminent of the near ones ³⁵⁹ and the leaders of the great, and pour upon me from the overflowing sea of Your generosity and his generosity what will delight my eye among the elite of the lovers and the pure of the famous, and illuminate my heart with Your light and his brilliant, radiant light, and sustain me with Your secret and his clear, manifest secret, and gird me with the sword of Your victory and his victory that subdues Your enemies, the vanquisher, and grant me refuge through Your care and his care from the assault of every assailant and the tyranny of every tyrant, and repel from me through Your blessing and his blessing every distraction that distracts me from You and troubles my thoughts and reflections, and clothe me in the robes of Your gnosis ³⁶⁰ and Your favors a garment with which I may boast over the people of the inward and the outward ³⁶¹, and intercede through Your Beloved, our Master Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, the accepted intercessor for those guilty of great sins and enormities, and forgive me through his immense rank a forgiveness that leaves no sin in my record on the day when truths are realized and secrets are revealed, and grant me intercession for myself, my family, my children, my parents, my spouses, my loved ones, and my companions, both absent and present, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. My intercessor with my Lord is the Prophet Muhammad ❖ Indeed, he who has him as intercessor tomorrow has succeeded. Muhammad, who encompasses all praises, has always been ❖ A master for those in the seven heavens and the earth. My support, my master, my wealth, my refuge ❖ And the goal of my aim when I find no destination. With him I strengthen my resolve and unsheathe my weapon ❖ And I have prepared him as a helper in calamities. I have tied my hopes to him and to his love ❖ And whoever finds kindness a tie, becomes tied. ¹⁰⁶ Answer, O Messenger of God, the call of a praiser ❖ Who sees you as the goal of the good he hopes for. And may God bless you as long as a cloud pours rain ❖ And as long as a turtledove of the arák ³⁶² tree coos melodiously, A blessing that rivals the sun in light and elevation ❖ And remains through the passage of the two new moons ³⁶³ eternal, Distinguishing you, O Unique of Existence, and intoxicating ❖ Its radiance upon the noble Companions, repeated. It is finished, and praise be to God without end, and this seventh part of the parts of al-Dhakhīra ³⁶⁴ on the meaning of the numbers of prayers is completed, and it will be followed, God willing, by the eighth part on that meaning, concerning the waiting of the spiritual souls for his arrival, may God bless him and grant him peace, in the manifestations of the unseen secrets and the appearance of his light in the essence of his father Adam, peace be upon him, composed by the eminent Imam, the model of Islam and the good deeds of nights and days, Abu al-Makarim wa al-Mafakhir ³⁶⁵, possessor of virtues and merits, our Master and Patron Muhammad, known as al-Ṣāliḥ ³⁶⁶, may God perpetuate their support flowing in creation and their remembrance among people fragrant and lofty until the world rises for religion and God inherits the earth and whoever is upon it, and He is the best of inheritors. And may God bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, and grant them abundant peace. And praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. ¹⁰⁷

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1. al-Muʿṭā : The given name of the Shaykh, meaning 'the Giver' or 'the Bestowed'.
2. al-nuqṭa al-ḥamadiyya : The 'ḥamadiyya dot' refers to the dot under the letter Ba in the Basmala, symbolizing the primordial point of existence associated with praise (ḥamd).
3. al-ḥaqīqa al-aḥmadiyya : The 'Aḥmadiyya reality' is the spiritual reality of the Prophet Muhammad, considered the first creation and the source of all existence.
4. Basmala : The phrase 'Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim' (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful).
5. Fatiha : The opening chapter of the Quran.
6. ḥurūf fawātiḥ al-suwar : The disconnected letters that appear at the beginning of some Quranic chapters, e.g., Alif Lam Mim.
7. al-sabʿ al-mathānī : The 'Seven Oft-Repeated' refers to Surah al-Fatiha, which consists of seven verses and is frequently recited.
8. al-ʿārifīn : Gnostics or knowers of Allah, those who have attained spiritual knowledge.
9. Ṭaha : One of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, derived from the Arabic letters Ṭa and Ha.
10. al-ʿulūm al-ladunniyya : Divine sciences or knowledge directly from Allah, without intermediary.
11. arbāb al-qulūb : Masters of hearts, referring to spiritual guides or saints who have attained a high station.
12. māʾ Nīsān : The water of Nisan, a reference to the spring rains or a metaphorical source of life and blessing.
13. silsila : Spiritual chain or lineage of transmission in Sufism.
14. al-futūḥāt al-ghaybiyya : Unseen openings or divine disclosures granted to saints.
15. al-ḥaqā'iq al-'irfāniyya : Gnostic truths or esoteric realities known through spiritual insight.
16. maqām : Spiritual station or rank on the Sufi path.
17. bāb : Gate; here referring to the Prophet as a means of access to God.
18. sunnatuhu al-muḥammadiyya : The prophetic way or practice of Muhammad.
19. al-ṣafīḥ al-a'lā : The highest plate or celestial realm.
20. birr : Piety, kindness, or righteousness.
21. sihām : Arrows; metaphor for divine punishment or spiritual power.
22. manār : Lighthouse or beacon; symbol of guidance.
23. wilāya : Sainthood or spiritual authority.
24. al-qayyūmiyya : The attribute of Self-Subsistence, one of God's names.
25. al-daymūmiyya : Eternity or perpetual duration.
26. al-'ālam al-'ulwī wa al-siflī : The higher (celestial) and lower (terrestrial) worlds.
27. Qur'an 18:109 : Verse emphasizing the infinite nature of God's words.
28. al-baḥr al-muṣṭafawī : The sea of the Chosen One, i.e., the Prophet Muhammad.
29. al-nūr al-mawlawī : The lordly light; light pertaining to the Lord.
30. al-fatḥ al-raḥmānī : The All-Merciful opening; a divine grace or unveiling.
31. al-madad al-ṣamadānī : The Eternal support; divine aid from the Eternal.
32. al-ilhām al-ladunnī al-'irfānī : Gnostic divine inspiration; direct knowledge from God.
33. nāmūs : Law or canon; also used for the angel Gabriel in some contexts.
34. qāmūs : Lexicon or ocean; here meaning a comprehensive source.
35. madīnat al-'ilm al-ladunnī : City of divine knowledge; a reference to the Prophet as the city of knowledge.
36. al-kāmilūn : The perfect ones; spiritually accomplished saints.
37. al-lawḥ al-maḥjūb : The hidden tablet; the Preserved Tablet in Islamic cosmology.
38. al-ism al-mu'aẓẓam : The Greatest Name of God, believed to have special powers.
39. al-baḥr al-muḥīṭ : The surrounding or encompassing ocean; metaphor for divine knowledge.
40. اصْطَكَّ سِنًّا : An Arabic idiom meaning 'gnashed his teeth' in anger or frustration.
41. مَوَدَّة : Love, affection; here referring to divine love.
42. الظَّاهِرُ فِي مَظَاهِرِ الْمَبَانِي، وَالْبَاطِنُ فِي حَقَائِقِ الْمَعَانِي : A Sufi concept: the Prophet is the manifest in the forms of structures (outward) and the hidden in the realities of meanings (inward).
43. سِرُّهُ أَنْتَ فِي الْأُمَمِ : You are His secret among the nations; a Sufi expression of the Prophet as the hidden divine secret.
44. maqāmāt muḥammadiyya : Spiritual stations associated with the Prophet Muhammad.
45. kamālāt aḥmadiyya : Perfections associated with the name Ahmad, a name of the Prophet.
46. dīwān : Register or collection of divine decrees.
47. Aḥad : One of Allah's names meaning 'The One'.
48. Aḥmad : A name of the Prophet Muhammad meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
49. huwiyya : Essential identity or ipseity.
50. ahl al-khaṣā'iṣ : People of special characteristics, referring to those with knowledge of the Prophet's unique attributes.
51. iqāma : The second call to prayer, recited just before the prayer begins.
52. adhān : The call to prayer.
53. ḥūr : Beautiful companions in Paradise.
54. Maḥmūd : A name of Allah meaning 'The Praiseworthy'.
55. Abū Marwān : A narrator of hadith, possibly referring to a specific tradition.
56. mu'adhdhin : The one who calls the adhan.
57. Bismillah : The phrase 'In the name of Allah'.
58. nuqṭat sirrihā al-akbar : The point of its greatest secret, a mystical concept.
59. al-Fātiḥa : The opening chapter of the Quran.
60. Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm : The phrase 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'.
61. karūbiyyūn : Cherubim, a high rank of angels.
62. al-muhayminūn : Angels who are overwhelmed or absorbed in contemplation of Allah.
63. ḥaẓīra muqaddasa : A sacred enclosure or precinct.
64. jabarūt : The realm of divine might and power.
65. Lā ilāha illā Allāh : The declaration of faith: 'There is no god but Allah'.
66. Muḥammadun Rasūl Allāh : The declaration: 'Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah'.
67. hayūlā : Prime matter, the underlying substance of all things.
68. al-ḥurūf al-mafrūshah : The 'spread letters'—a term in Sufi letter symbolism referring to letters that are spread out or dispersed in a particular configuration.
69. fawātiḥ al-suwar : The 'openings of the surahs'—the disconnected letters (al-ḥurūf al-muqaṭṭaʿāt) that appear at the beginning of some chapters of the Quran.
70. Sūrat Nūn wa al-Qalam : Surah 68 of the Quran, which begins with the letter Nun and is known as 'The Pen'.
71. al-Maṣṣ : A term in Sufi letter mysticism, possibly referring to a specific combination or esoteric meaning of letters.
72. Kāf Hā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād : The disconnected letters (KHYAS) that open Surah Maryam (19).
73. Ṭā Hā : The disconnected letters (TH) that open Surah Ta Ha (20).
74. Ṭā Sīn Mīm : The disconnected letters (TSM) that open Surahs 26, 27, and 28.
75. Ṭā Sīn : The disconnected letters (TS) that open Surah 27.
76. Yā Sīn : The disconnected letters (YS) that open Surah Ya Sin (36).
77. Ṣād wa al-Qurʾān : Reference to Surah Sad (38), which begins with the letter Sad and mentions the Quran.
78. Ḥā Mīm ʿAyn Sīn Qāf : The disconnected letters (HMASQ) that open Surah 42.
79. Qāf wa al-Qurʾān : Reference to Surah Qaf (50), which begins with the letter Qaf and mentions the Quran.
80. Sūrat Nūn wa al-Qalam : Surah 68, verses 1-4, which praise the Prophet's character.
81. Basmala : The phrase 'Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim' (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful).
82. Bāʾ al-Basmala : The letter Ba in the Basmala, often symbolizing the point of origin in Sufi cosmology.
83. Nūn of 'Kun fa-yakūn' : The letter Nun in the divine command 'Be, and it is' (Quran 36:82), symbolizing the creative power.
84. al-ḥurūf wa al-nuqāṭ : The letters and dots refer to the Arabic alphabet and diacritical marks, considered in Sufi cosmology as vehicles of divine secrets.
85. al-sirr al-abhar : The Most Penetrating Secret; a term for the innermost divine mystery that permeates creation.
86. Bismillāh : The phrase 'In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' that begins the Qur'an and Islamic acts.
87. al-Qayyūmiyya : Self-Subsistence; a divine attribute meaning that God sustains all existence without need.
88. al-Fātiḥa : The opening chapter of the Qur'an, considered the essence of the scripture.
89. Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm : The full basmala: 'In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.'
90. Alif Lām Mīm : The first verse of Surah al-Baqara; these are 'disconnected letters' (ḥurūf muqaṭṭaʿāt) with esoteric meanings.
91. al-ʿārifīn : The knowers; Sufi gnostics who have direct experiential knowledge of God.
92. lā rayba fīh : There is no doubt in it; Qur'an 2:2.
93. al-ḥurūf al-mufrada : The isolated letters; the disconnected letters at the start of some Qur'anic chapters.
94. Allāhu lā ilāha illā huwa al-ḥayyu al-qayyūm : Qur'an 2:255 (Ayat al-Kursi).
95. Alif Lām Rā'. Kitābun unzila ilayka : Qur'an 7:1-2.
96. Alif Lām Rā'. Tilka āyātu l-kitābi l-ḥakīm... : Qur'an 10:1-2.
97. tabṣira : An insight; a term for spiritual illumination.
98. Ṭā Hā. Mā anzalnā ʿalayka l-qur'āna litashqā : Qur'an 20:1-2.
99. Yā Sīn. Wa l-qur'āni l-ḥakīm : Qur'an 36:1-2.
100. Yā Sīn... innaka lamina l-mursalīn : Qur'an 36:1-3.
101. Ṣād. Wa l-qur'āni dhī l-dhikr : Qur'an 38:1.
102. Ḥā Mīm. ʿAyn Sīn Qāf. Kathālika yūḥī ilayka... : Qur'an 42:1-3.
103. al-malik al-fattāḥ : The King, the Opener; a divine name meaning the One who opens doors of mercy and judgment.
104. Qāf. Wa l-qur'āni l-majīd : Qur'an 50:1.
105. Nūn. Wa l-qalami : Qur'an 68:1.
106. al-janāḥ : Wing; metaphorically, the burden of sin or blame.
107. al-alif al-maʿṭūf : The curved Alif; the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, symbolizing divine unity.
108. nuqṭa mubhama : An ambiguous point; a primordial dot symbolizing the first manifestation of existence in Sufi cosmology.
109. al-ʿaql : The Intellect; the first creation in some Sufi cosmologies, often identified with the Muhammadan Reality.
110. al-kursī : The Throne; a cosmic entity mentioned in the Quran (2:255), often interpreted as the seat of divine authority.
111. kāna al-nāsu ummatan wāḥidatan : Quran 2:213: 'Mankind was one community.'
112. mā tarā fī khalqi al-raḥmāni min tafāwut : Quran 67:3: 'You see no discrepancy in the creation of the All-Merciful.'
113. al-Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Khafīf : A Sufi master and author of 'Asrār al-Ḥurūf' (Secrets of Letters).
114. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib : The fourth caliph and cousin/son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, revered in Sufism for his esoteric knowledge.
115. alif : The first letter of the Arabic alphabet, often symbolizing the divine unity.
116. al-zabīr : The letter zāy (ز); here referring to its numerical value or position in the alphabet.
117. al-aḥadiyya : Oneness; the state of absolute unity of God.
118. Abū ʿUmar al-Qanawī : A Sufi figure; his name suggests origin from Qanaw (possibly a place in India).
119. lām : The Arabic letter L, whose shape resembles a bent form.
120. mīm : The Arabic letter M, whose shape is circular like a head in prostration.
121. hamza : A glottal stop in Arabic; the alif is often pronounced as hamza when initial.
122. lawḥ al-ghayb : The Tablet of the Unseen; the preserved tablet (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ) in Islamic cosmology.
123. al-fatḥ al-rabbānī : The lordly opening; a Sufi term for divine illumination or unveiling.
124. nūn : The Arabic letter N; also a Quranic abbreviation (e.g., in Surah 68).
125. fawātiḥ al-suwar : The disconnected letters (ḥurūf muqaṭṭaʿāt) at the beginning of some Quranic surahs.
126. malakūt : The realm of dominion; the spiritual world of angels and divine attributes.
127. kun fa-yakūn : Quranic phrase 'Be, and it is' (e.g., 2:117), denoting God's creative command.
128. kāf : The Arabic letter K; together with nūn forms the word 'kun' (Be).
129. al-anbiyāʾ wa al-mursalīn : Prophets and messengers; the former are those who receive divine revelation, the latter are sent with a message.
130. al-farq wa al-jamʿ : Distinction and union; Sufi terms for the states of seeing multiplicity and unity.
131. al-ḥaqīqa wa al-sharʿ : Reality and law; the inner spiritual truth and the outer religious law.
132. ṣūfiyya : Sufi; pertaining to Islamic mysticism.
133. qayyūmiyya : Qayyumic; relating to al-Qayyūm (the Self-Subsisting), one of God's names.
134. quddūsiyya : Holy; relating to al-Quddūs (the Holy), one of God's names.
135. ʿarshiyya : Throne-like; relating to the divine Throne (al-ʿarsh).
136. jibrāʾīliyya : Gabrielic; relating to the angel Gabriel (Jibrāʾīl), the bringer of revelation.
137. mīkāʾīliyya : Michaelic; relating to the angel Michael (Mīkāʾīl), the provider of sustenance.
138. isrāfīliyya : Israfilic; relating to the angel Israfil (Isrāfīl), who blows the trumpet on Judgment Day.
139. ʿizrāʾīliyya : Azraelic; relating to the angel of death, Azrael (ʿIzrāʾīl).
140. malakūtiyya : Kingdomly; relating to malakūt, the spiritual realm.
141. jabarūtiyya : Jabarutic; relating to jabarūt, the realm of divine power and might.
142. al-dhāt al-muḥammadiyya : The Muhammadan essence; the primordial reality of Prophet Muhammad in Sufi thought.
143. al-shajara al-aḥmadiyya : The Ahmadine tree; a symbol for the prophetic lineage or the Muhammadan Reality.
144. barāzikh : Isthmuses; intermediate realms between the spiritual and material worlds.
145. qiyām al-arwāḥ bi al-ajsām : The standing of spirits in bodies; the relationship between soul and body.
146. al-ism al-bāṭin : The hidden name; one of the divine names, referring to God's inward aspect.
147. wa in taʾakhkharat ṭīnatuhu : Though his clay was later; referring to the hadith that Muhammad was created later in time but was the first in divine intention.
148. al-nuqṭa : The 'Point' is a mystical concept in Sufism and Islamic esotericism, often symbolizing the primordial essence or the first emanation from the Divine, from which all letters and creation derive.
149. al-maghnaṭīs al-muḥammadī : The 'Muhammadan magnet' refers to the spiritual attraction of the Prophet Muhammad's essence, drawing hearts towards God.
150. al-jamāl al-aḥmadī : The 'Ahmadian beauty' refers to the spiritual beauty associated with the Prophet Muhammad, whose name Ahmad is one of his names.
151. alwaḥ al-maḥw wa al-thubāt : The 'tablets of effacement and establishment' are concepts in Islamic theology referring to the divine decree: one tablet where destinies are written and then effaced, and another where they are permanently established.
152. al-muṣṭafā : Al-Muṣṭafā, 'the Chosen One,' is an epithet of the Prophet Muhammad.
153. ʿilm al-ḥurūf : The 'science of letters' is an esoteric discipline in Islamic mysticism that studies the spiritual and metaphysical properties of the Arabic alphabet.
154. lām-alif : Lam-Alif is a ligature in Arabic script representing the combination of the letters lam and alif, often considered a single unit in mystical interpretations.
155. ʿilm al-huwiyya : The 'science of the He-ness' refers to the knowledge of the Divine Essence, often symbolized by the Arabic pronoun 'huwa' (He).
156. al-ʿawālim al-barzakhiyya : The 'intermediary worlds' are realms between the spiritual and material worlds in Islamic cosmology, often associated with the barzakh or isthmus.
157. ḥadīth nafs : Self-talk; inner speech or thoughts that arise in the mind, often considered blameworthy if not beneficial.
158. nūn : The Arabic letter ن; also a mystical symbol representing the 'point' or primordial light.
159. al-Furqān : The Criterion; a name for the Quran.
160. Nūn. Wa-l-qalam : Quran 68:1; an oath by the pen.
161. qāf : The Arabic letter ق; here symbolizing closeness (qurb).
162. Aḥmadī : Pertaining to Ahmad, another name of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
163. ṭā : The Arabic letter ط; here symbolizing obedience (ṭāʿa).
164. tā : The Arabic letter ت; here symbolizing support (taʾyīd).
165. Muṣṭafawī : Pertaining to al-Muṣṭafā, 'the Chosen One', a title of the Prophet Muhammad.
166. Tihāmah : A region in western Arabia, including Mecca.
167. Najd : A central region of Arabia.
168. Quran 21:107 : Verse: 'And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.'
169. nuqṭa muḥammadiyya : A spiritual point or essence associated with the Prophet Muhammad, often used in Sufi terminology to denote the primordial reality of the Prophet.
170. laṭīfa aḥmadiyya : A subtlety or spiritual reality related to the name Ahmad, another name of the Prophet Muhammad, indicating his praiseworthy essence.
171. nūn : The Arabic letter Nūn, often symbolizing light (nūr) or the inkwell of divine knowledge in Sufi symbolism.
172. qāf : The Arabic letter Qāf, symbolizing the divine power (qudra) or the mountain Qāf in Islamic cosmology, representing spiritual stability.
173. ṭā' : The Arabic letter Ṭā', often associated with purity (ṭahāra) or charm (ṭalāwa).
174. tā' : The Arabic letter Tā', representing divine support (ta'yīd) or perfection (tamām).
175. awtād : Spiritual 'pegs' or pillars, a rank in the Sufi hierarchy of saints who uphold the spiritual world.
176. aqṭāb : Spiritual 'poles' or axes, the highest rank in the Sufi saintly hierarchy, often referring to the Qutb.
177. rijāl al-ghayb : The 'men of the unseen,' a class of hidden saints in Sufism who are not known to the public.
178. karūbiyyūn : Cherubim, a class of angels in Islamic cosmology, often associated with nearness to God.
179. tihāmiyya : Relating to Tihama, the coastal region of Arabia including Mecca and parts of Yemen.
180. najdiyya : Relating to Najd, the central plateau of Arabia, including Medina.
181. zamzamiyya : Relating to the Zamzam well in Mecca, considered blessed and sacred.
182. sa'diyya : Relating to Sa'd, possibly a reference to a person or tribe, or meaning 'auspicious'.
183. mīm, ḥā, dāl : The letters Mīm, Ḥā, and Dāl, which spell the name Muhammad (M-H-M-D).
184. nūn : The Arabic letter ن; in Sufi cosmology, each letter has symbolic meanings; here it represents a spiritual reality or entity.
185. sirr jalī : The 'manifest mystery' or 'open secret'; a Sufi term for a divine secret that is apparent to those with insight.
186. dhāt al-ʿarshiyya : The 'Throne-essence'; the divine essence as associated with the Throne (al-ʿarsh), a symbol of divine sovereignty.
187. al-ʿawālim al-farshiyya : The 'carpet-worlds'; lower worlds or levels of existence, as opposed to the Throne.
188. qāf : The Arabic letter ق; often symbolizes the divine power or the 'pole' (quṭb) of existence.
189. al-ḥaqāʾiq al-fardāniyya : The 'solitary realities'; unique, individual realities in the divine order.
190. al-laṭāʾif al-nūrāniyya : The 'luminous subtleties'; spiritual faculties or subtle centers in the human being.
191. al-akwān : The 'existents' or 'worlds'; all created beings and realms.
192. qāf, kāf, nūn, ṣād : Arabic letters ق, ك, ن, ص; each has symbolic meanings; together they form the word 'kun' (Be) with an extra letter, indicating creative power.
193. al-dhāt al-takwīniyya : The 'generative essence'; the essence that brings things into existence.
194. ḥurūf al-istiʿlāʾ : The 'letters of exaltation'; Arabic letters that are pronounced with elevation of the tongue, symbolizing high spiritual states.
195. ṭā : The Arabic letter ط; often symbolizes divine light or a high spiritual station.
196. al-ṭūr al-qudsī : The 'holy mount'; reference to Mount Sinai, symbolizing a place of divine revelation.
197. khalaʿ al-naʿlayn : The 'removing of the sandals'; a reference to the Quranic command to Moses at the burning bush, symbolizing detachment from worldly attributes.
198. Ṭā Hā : The Arabic letters طه; a Quranic chapter title and a name of the Prophet Muhammad, symbolizing his spiritual station.
199. al-istiwāʾ : The 'establishing' or 'sitting' of God on the Throne; a theological concept of divine transcendence and immanence.
200. Munshiʾ : One of God's names meaning 'Originator' or 'Producer' of creation.
201. nuqṭa : A 'point'; in Sufi symbolism, the dot under letters, representing the essence or the Prophet Muhammad.
202. ʿālam al-mulk : The 'world of dominion'; the physical, visible world.
203. ʿālam al-malakūt : The 'world of sovereignty'; the spiritual, invisible world of angels and divine attributes.
204. al-ashkhāṣ al-sabbūḥiyya : The 'glorified persons'; exalted spiritual beings who constantly glorify God.
205. al-samāʿ : Spiritual audition or listening to music/poetry; a Sufi practice for inducing ecstatic states.
206. Muṣṭafawī : Pertaining to al-Muṣṭafā, 'the Chosen One', a title of the Prophet Muhammad.
207. al-Furqān : The 'Criterion'; a name for the Quran, distinguishing truth from falsehood.
208. Umm al-Kitāb : The 'Mother of the Book'; the heavenly prototype of the Quran, or the essence of divine knowledge.
209. haykal al-ṣamadānī : Divine temple; a Sufi term referring to the Prophet's spiritual body as a manifestation of divine attributes.
210. al-furqānī : Furqanic; referring to the Quran, which distinguishes truth from falsehood.
211. al-sabʿ al-mathānī : The Seven Oft-Repeated Verses; a reference to Surah Al-Fatiha or the seven long surahs.
212. zammilūnī : Cover me; a saying of the Prophet during revelation, asking to be wrapped.
213. sukrihi al-rabbānī wa wajdihi al-haymānī : His divine intoxication and ecstatic rapture; Sufi states of spiritual absorption.
214. ẓahīr ʿunwānih : The back of his seal; referring to the seal of prophethood between the Prophet's shoulder blades.
215. ʿawāṭif : Wafts; literally 'turns' or 'inclinations', here meaning the spreading of fragrance.
216. al-ʿanbar al-shaḥrī : Ambergris from Shihr; a region in Yemen known for ambergris.
217. misk dārīn : Musk from Darin; a port in the Persian Gulf known for musk trade.
218. ṭaybah : Taybah; a name for Medina, meaning 'good' or 'pleasant'.
219. ṭāhā : Ta Ha; one of the names of the Prophet, also the title of Surah 20.
220. nafs ṭayyibih : The essence of his goodness; a Sufi concept of the Prophet's intrinsic spiritual fragrance.
221. ʿirfihi al-aḥmadī : Ahmadan fragrance; referring to the Prophet's name Ahmad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
222. tihāmiyyah al-najdiyyah : Tihami and Najdi; regions in Arabia, Tihama near Mecca, Najd central Arabia.
223. wa atbaʿa : And followed; possibly a reference to the miracle of water flowing from the Prophet's fingers.
224. ṭāhā mā anzalnā ʿalayka al-qurʾāna litashqā : Ta Ha. We have not sent down the Quran to you to cause you distress; Quran 20:1-2.
225. al-‘anbariyya : Ambergris, a fragrant substance used in perfumery, symbolizing the Prophet's scent.
226. al-Muḥammadiyya : Pertaining to the Prophet Muhammad, often used to describe his spiritual qualities.
227. al-Aḥmadiyya : Pertaining to Ahmad, another name of the Prophet Muhammad, emphasizing his praiseworthy nature.
228. al-Muṣṭafawiyya : Pertaining to al-Muṣṭafā, 'the Chosen One,' a title of the Prophet Muhammad.
229. al-wajd : Ecstasy or spiritual rapture, a state of intense love and longing for God.
230. al-wudd : Love, affection, especially divine love.
231. nisrīniyya : Of jasmine, a fragrant flower.
232. ‘abqariyya : Wondrous, extraordinary, of high quality.
233. sindisiyya : Silken, from Sind, a region known for fine silk.
234. mawlawiyya : Pertaining to Mawlana (our Master), often used in Sufi contexts, especially referring to Rumi.
235. quddūsiyya : Holy, sacred, pertaining to the divine.
236. Qubā : A place near Medina where the Prophet built the first mosque.
237. al-‘Aqīq : A valley near Medina, known for its red stones.
238. al-‘aqīq : Carnelian, a red gemstone, symbolizing tears.
239. Ṭāhā : A name of the Prophet Muhammad, from the Quranic chapter Taha.
240. al-Mathānī : The Seven Oft-Repeated Verses, a reference to Surah al-Fatiha.
241. quṭb : Pole or axis, a spiritual master in Sufism.
242. al-khayzurān : Bamboo, symbolizing flexibility and grace.
243. al-khayrī : A type of fragrant plant, possibly a variety of jasmine.
244. miḥrāb : Prayer niche, indicating a place of worship.
245. fa-idhā faraghta fanṣab : Quranic verse (94:7), meaning 'So when you have finished, strive.'
246. wa-ilā rabbika farghab : Quranic verse (94:8), meaning 'And to your Lord turn your desire.'
247. al-Ṣafī : The Chosen One, a title of the Prophet Muhammad.
248. al-Kalīm : The Interlocutor, a title of Prophet Moses.
249. khābūr : A fragrant plant, possibly lavender or similar.
250. khuzāmā : Lavender, a fragrant herb.
251. bahār : Spring, or a type of flower, possibly a blossom.
252. al-tanazzulāt al-‘indiyya : Divine descents or spiritual revelations from God.
253. idhkhir : A fragrant grass, often used in perfumery.
254. jalīl : Majestic, or a type of fragrant plant.
255. al-rand wa’l-ās : Myrtle and myrtle, both fragrant shrubs.
256. arāk : A tree, Salvadora persica, used for toothbrushes.
257. sarḥ : A type of tree, possibly a tall palm.
258. ghaḍā : A desert shrub, Haloxylon persicum.
259. ‘arār : Juniper, a fragrant tree.
260. mandal : Sandalwood, a fragrant wood.
261. namām : A fragrant plant, possibly a type of basil.
262. فَاضْرَعْ بِمَا تَيَسَّرَ : A phrase meaning 'supplicate with what is easy,' i.e., use whatever simple or available means to pray.
263. الْهِنْدِ الصَّقِيلِ : Refers to a polished Indian sword, symbolizing sharpness and effectiveness.
264. الْهِضَابِ : Hills or highlands, possibly referring to specific locations in the Hijaz.
265. كَوْثَرِهَا الْمَعِينِ السَّلْسَبِيلِ : Kawthar is a river in Paradise; 'ma'in' means flowing water; 'salsabil' is a spring in Paradise, easy to drink.
266. الْغُرَّةِ وَالتَّحْجِيلِ : Terms describing the Prophet's Companions: 'ghurra' is a white blaze on a horse's forehead; 'tahjil' is white on the legs, symbolizing purity and honor.
267. الْفَرْقِ : The parting of the hair, a reference to the Prophet's hairstyle or the act of parting his hair.
268. رَشَقْ : Pierced or shot through, describing the effect of the beloved's glance.
269. طَهَ : Ta Ha, one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, also the title of Surah 20 of the Qur'an.
270. طه : Ta Ha, a name of the Prophet Muhammad, often interpreted as 'O pure one' or 'O man.'
271. شَكْلَتِهِ : Diacritical mark or form, referring to the unique shape or vowel marking of the Prophet's name.
272. الْعَارِفِينَ : The knowers or gnostics (arifun), those with deep spiritual knowledge in Sufism.
273. هُوِيَّتِهِ : Ipseity or He-ness, a Sufi term for the Essence of God in its absolute, unknowable aspect.
274. هَاوِيًا : A play on the letter Ha, meaning 'descending' or 'guiding,' linking to the Prophet's role.
275. الْحَرَثَانِ : The two fields, possibly referring to the two worlds (this world and the next) or the two harvests.
276. طَلَّةَ : A term of endearment or a name derived from 'talla,' meaning dew or freshness.
277. وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَى : Qur'anic oath: 'By the star when it descends' (Surah 53:1), interpreted as referring to the Prophet's ascension.
278. الْأُسْتَاذُ : The Master, a title for a spiritual teacher or scholar, possibly referring to a Sufi master.
279. انتهى : End, marking the conclusion of the quoted passage.
280. مِنَى : Mina, a valley near Mecca, a key site during the Hajj pilgrimage.
281. أَحْمَدُ : Ahmad, another name of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy.'
282. قِبًا : Qiba, a place near Medina, possibly referring to the Quba Mosque.
283. طِيبَةُ : Tayyiba, a name for Medina, meaning 'the good/pure city.'
284. al-minna : Divine favor or grace; a gift from God that is unearned.
285. kalimatay al-shahāda : The two phrases of the testimony of faith: 'There is no god but God' and 'Muhammad is the Messenger of God.'
286. al-sābiqāt wa al-lāḥiqāt : The preceding and succeeding; refers to the letters or spiritual realities that are prior or posterior in the divine order.
287. sirr al-waḥy : The secret of revelation; the inner, esoteric dimension of divine communication.
288. Taha : One of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, derived from the Arabic letters Ta and Ha, often interpreted as symbolizing his spiritual states.
289. Ta Ha : The Arabic letters Ta and Ha, which open Surah 20 of the Qur'an. In Sufi interpretation, they symbolize the Prophet Muhammad's spiritual attributes.
290. Ta Sin : The Arabic letters Ta and Sin, which open Surah 27 of the Qur'an. In Sufi interpretation, they symbolize spiritual secrets.
291. Ta Sin Mim : The Arabic letters Ta, Sin, and Mim, which open Surahs 26 and 28 of the Qur'an. In Sufi interpretation, they symbolize divine mysteries.
292. Al-Mustafa : The Chosen One, a title of the Prophet Muhammad.
293. Alif Lam Mim Sad : The Arabic letters Alif, Lam, Mim, and Sad, which open Surah 7 of the Qur'an. In Sufi interpretation, they symbolize spiritual states.
294. Alif Lam Ra : The Arabic letters Alif, Lam, and Ra, which open several Qur'anic surahs. In Sufi interpretation, they symbolize divine attributes.
295. Ya Sin : The Arabic letters Ya and Sin, which open Surah 36 of the Qur'an. Often considered the heart of the Qur'an and associated with the Prophet Muhammad.
296. Alif Lam Mim : The Arabic letters Alif, Lam, and Mim, which open several Qur'anic surahs. In Sufi interpretation, they symbolize divine names or attributes.
297. Kaf Ha Ya 'Ayn Sad : The Arabic letters Kaf, Ha, Ya, 'Ayn, and Sad, which open Surah 19 of the Qur'an. In Sufi interpretation, they symbolize spiritual mysteries.
298. Sad. By the Qur'an : Reference to Surah 38 of the Qur'an, which begins with the letter Sad and an oath by the Qur'an.
299. Ha Mim : The Arabic letters Ha and Mim, which open several Qur'anic surahs (40-46). In Sufi interpretation, they symbolize divine mercy or attributes.
300. Ha Mim 'Ayn Sin Qaf : The Arabic letters Ha, Mim, 'Ayn, Sin, and Qaf, which open Surah 42 of the Qur'an. In Sufi interpretation, they symbolize divine mysteries.
301. Nun. By the Qur'an : Reference to Surah 68 of the Qur'an, which begins with the letter Nun and an oath by the Qur'an.
302. Nun. By the pen : Reference to Surah 68 of the Qur'an, which begins with the letter Nun and an oath by the pen.
303. nusuk : Devotion, ritual worship, or pious practice, often referring to acts of worship like pilgrimage or sacrifice.
304. buzāh : Falcons; here used metaphorically for spiritual seekers or souls that are hunted and returned to God.
305. qadar : Divine decree or destiny; contending with it through supplication means seeking to change what is predestined through prayer.
306. Yawma tublā as-sarā’ir : Qur’anic phrase from Surah 86:9, meaning 'On the Day when secrets are disclosed.'
307. Wa yanẓuru al-mar’u mā qaddamat yadāh : Qur’anic phrase from Surah 78:40, meaning 'And man looks at what his hands have sent forth.'
308. Rabbi hab lī ḥukman wa alḥiqnī biṣ-ṣāliḥīn : Qur’anic supplication from Surah 26:83, attributed to Prophet Abraham.
309. Wa-j‘al lī lisāna ṣidqin fī al-ākhirīn... : Qur’anic supplication from Surah 26:84-89, attributed to Prophet Abraham.
310. Shajarat Ṭūbā : The Tree of Ṭūbā, a blessed tree in Paradise mentioned in Islamic tradition, often associated with bliss and reward.
311. Jabala : To mold or create; here meaning to shape or dispose one's limbs and soul towards obedience.
312. Mawlawiyya : Relating to the Mawlā (Lord) or a spiritual path; possibly a reference to the author's spiritual lineage or the tree's divine origin.
313. Uṣūluhā al-ḥissiyya wa al-ma‘nawiyya : Its sensory and spiritual roots; the tree has both physical and metaphysical aspects.
314. tawhid : The oneness of God; the foundational Islamic doctrine of God's unity.
315. tafrid : The state of isolating or singling out God in one's devotion.
316. tajrid : The state of stripping away all created attachments to focus solely on God.
317. fana' : Annihilation of the self in the divine presence.
318. baqa' : Subsistence or abiding in God after annihilation.
319. mahw : Effacement of the ego and its attributes.
320. sahw : Soberness or spiritual wakefulness after ecstasy.
321. hayra : Bewilderment or perplexity in the face of divine mysteries.
322. walah : Passionate love or intense longing for God.
323. Quran 14:25 : A verse describing a good tree, often interpreted as the Prophet Muhammad or the believer.
324. jabaruti : Pertaining to the realm of divine power and might (Jabarut).
325. Hadith : A prophetic tradition; the exact wording is not found in standard collections but is cited in Sufi works.
326. Malakut : The angelic or spiritual realm of sovereignty.
327. Quran 53:9 : Describes the Prophet's proximity to God during the Ascension.
328. tajwid : The art of proper Quranic recitation.
329. Muṣṭafawī : Relating to al-Muṣṭafā, 'the Chosen One', a title of the Prophet Muḥammad.
330. Mawlawī : Lordly; pertaining to the Lord (Mawlā).
331. Qayyūmiyya : Pertaining to al-Qayyūm, 'the Self-Subsisting', one of God's names.
332. Shaṭaḥāt : Ecstatic utterances; paradoxical sayings of Sufis expressing spiritual states.
333. Futūḥāt : Illuminations or openings; spiritual unveilings granted by God.
334. Bahmūt : Behemoth; a mythical creature supporting the earth in Islamic cosmology.
335. ʿIlliyyīn : The highest station in Paradise; the record of the righteous.
336. Qāba Qawsayn : The distance of two bow-lengths; a reference to the Prophet's proximity to God during the Ascension (Qur'an 53:9).
337. Ṭā Hā : The opening letters of Surah 20 of the Qur'an; interpreted as a name of the Prophet.
338. Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ : The Preserved Tablet; the heavenly tablet containing all divine decrees.
339. Samākayn : The two heavens; possibly referring to the lowest and highest heavens.
340. maqāmāt muḥammadiyya : Spiritual stations specific to the Prophet Muhammad.
341. makārim aḥmadiyya : Virtues associated with the name Ahmad, another name of the Prophet.
342. maḥāsin muṣṭafawiyya : Excellences related to the name Mustafa, meaning 'the Chosen One'.
343. ṣafīḥ al-aʿlā : The highest celestial realm, inhabited by the most exalted angels.
344. Ṭā Hā mā anzalnā... : Quran 20:1-2.
345. Ṭāʾ Ṭā Hā : The first letter of the Quranic chapter Ṭā Hā, symbolically interpreted.
346. ahl al-shawāriq wa-l-anwār : Spiritual adepts who experience divine illumination at dawn.
347. Ṭā Hā : The Arabic letters Ṭā and Hā, opening of Surah 20 of the Qur'an, often interpreted as a name of the Prophet Muhammad or as a divine address.
348. ladunī : Divine, direct knowledge from God, as opposed to acquired knowledge; often associated with Sufi gnosis.
349. qāba qawsayn aw adnā : Qur'anic phrase (53:9) meaning 'two bow-lengths or nearer,' referring to the Prophet's proximity to God during the Mi'raj (Ascension).
350. Glory be to Him who took His servant by night... : Qur'an 17:1, referring to the Isra' (Night Journey) of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem.
351. egg of Islam : Metaphor for the core or essence of Islam, protected from harm.
352. sirrī al-muktatam : My hidden secret: a Sufi term referring to the innermost divine mystery or the secret of predestination.
353. fatḥan mubīnan : Clear conquest: refers to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, considered a great victory in Islamic tradition.
354. sharḥ : Expansion: refers to the opening of the heart to faith and divine knowledge.
355. bahmūt : Behemoth: a mythical creature in Islamic cosmology, often associated with the earth's foundation.
356. al-thaqalayn : The two heavy ones: refers to humans and jinn, or sometimes to the Qur'an and the Prophet's family.
357. Aḥmadī : Referring to the Prophet Muhammad, whose name Aḥmad is derived from the same root as 'praise' (ḥamd), indicating his praiseworthy qualities.
358. al-Mulk wa al-Malakūt : The Kingdom and the Dominion: two realms in Islamic cosmology; al-Mulk refers to the physical world, while al-Malakūt refers to the spiritual or angelic realm.
359. al-Muqarrabūn : The 'near ones' or those brought near to God, a term for the highest rank of angels and saints in Sufi thought.
360. Maʿārif : Gnosis or divine knowledge, often used in Sufism to denote direct experiential knowledge of God.
361. al-Bawāṭin wa al-Ẓawāhir : The inward and outward: referring to the esoteric and exoteric aspects of religion or the inner and outer dimensions of human beings.
362. Arāk : A tree (Salvadora persica) native to the Arabian Peninsula, whose twigs are used as a toothbrush (miswak).
363. al-Jadīdayn : The two new moons: a poetic expression for the passage of time, referring to the lunar months.
364. al-Dhakhīra : The title of the work, meaning 'The Treasure' or 'The Storehouse'.
365. Abu al-Makarim wa al-Mafakhir : A honorific title meaning 'Father of Noble Deeds and Glories'.
366. al-Ṣāliḥ : Meaning 'the Righteous', a common epithet for a pious person.