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. May Allah bless our master and lord Muhammad, his family, and his companions and grant them peace. Praise be to Allah, who has made the remembrance of the saints ¹ a delight for those of insight and discernment, and the recounting of their virtues and merits revives dead hearts and makes them yearn for the presence of gifts and secrets. Affiliation with them elevates the status of the obscure and raises him to a station of honor and pride. Joining their ranks instills detachment from this world and its familiar pleasures and heals sick bodies afflicted with the disease of carnal desires and the causes of delusion. Holding fast to their firmest handhold ² brings the servant near to Allah and tears apart ³ the veils and curtains between him and his Lord. Standing at their doors facilitates difficult matters, eases complex problems, and fulfills all needs and desires. Attending their gatherings teaches the servant what he did not know and grants him understanding of the symbolism of their allusions and the enigma of their expressions, and reveals to him wondrous divinely bestowed wisdoms that no books or volumes contain. Learning from them opens for the disciple a divine opening ⁴ and grants him a luminous intellect with which he reads what is written in the transcripts of the Preserved Tablet ⁵ of subtle forms and lines of script. Seeking refuge with them protects the resident and guards him from the evil he fears, and preserves him from the assault of aggressors, enemies, and evildoers. Clinging to their strong rope grants refuge to the seeker and makes him independent of carrying weapons and banners for victory through others. Attachment to their hem suffices for engaging in worldly means and bestows blessings that minds cannot encompass and thoughts cannot describe. Believing in their sainthood ⁶ removes intermediaries, populates the open spaces, and brings the servant near to the presence of his Forbearing, Forgiving Lord. Belittling their right is a crime that strips the denier of the light of faith and clothes him in the garment of humiliation, disgrace, and contempt. Slandering them is a misery that leads its possessor to Hell and settles him in the lowest depth of the Fire. Anointing the eyelids with the sight of them removes the covering of ignorance from hearts and protects them from falling into sins and persisting in wrongdoings and harms. Sacrificing one's soul in their service and seeking knowledge of them reveals eternal happiness and the attainment of Allah's greatest pleasure, and success in the abode of eternity and permanence. Prostrating one's face in the dust of their sandals opens the treasures of giving and pours forth oceans of openings ⁷ and abundant gifts of grace. Gnashing one's molars ⁸ in love for them produces in hearts the love of the Master of the Chosen Messengers and the Imam of the Righteous Paths. The kings of creation—their companion never suffers; they have white banners of highness in the stations. They loved, were singled out, were chosen, then drew near, and were appointed and elevated above all factions. Glory be to Him who made them taste the sweetness of obedience and the pleasure of intimate conversation, and occupied them with supplication before Him in the darkness of night and the hours of dawn, and singled them out with His favor, chose them for His presence, purified their innermost beings from the turbidity of afflictions and the onslaught of others, illuminated their hearts with the light of knowledge of Him, and gave them to drink from the cup of His love a wine by which they became intoxicated before the cup's rotation and the partaking of the drink. He manifested Himself to them, and they beheld His beauty; He showed them the wonders of His dominion and the treasures of His unseen; He moved them through the layers of the seven heavens ⁹ and all the cycles; He seated them on the carpet of His intimacy, brought near in the presence of His holiness, never ceasing from His remembrance at all times of night and day. Thus they became in truth kings—others have only the name of kingship and its consequences leading to heedlessness of Allah and lack of repentance and seeking forgiveness. Those are the people of His special sainthood; He loved them, chose them for Himself, praised them in the revealed books and authentic traditions, and admitted them into the gardens of gnosis and divine knowledge, so they plucked from its meadows the fruits of union and gathered from its orchards the blossoms of openings and the subtleties of secrets. They plucked from the gardens of union the apple of a gift in the meadow of Paradise, with rest and fragrance and a pleasant life in the shade of grace. You see them as kings within the gardens of gnosis. Alas, if I die one day in regret, having not tasted the state of its pleasant and easy life. To proceed: When I touched upon some descriptions of the righteous in the journey before this, I have followed it here with mention of some of their virtues reported in transmitted hadiths and authentic reports, and their praiseworthy qualities according to people of acumen, vigilance, and testing, prefacing this with these ten verses mentioned in the Mighty Book of Allah, of great status and worth, and ten noble hadiths with authentic chains and reports. I added to them other hadiths reported in the collections of learned gnostics and great scholars, interspersing them with prayers of exquisite craftsmanship and novelty, beneficial for people of worship and those with regular litanies and remembrances, and a means for people of nearness and ascent in the stages of reaching the presence of the Radiant Lights. I followed that with an explanation of the wording of a prayer ¹⁰ with which some of the excellent masters and noble virtuous pure ones prayed upon our master Muhammad, the Chosen One, may Allah bless him and grant him peace and his family—and he is the Imam of the Path and the Pupil of the Eye of Reality, my master Ahmad Zarruq, who mentioned it in some of his commentaries on the Hikam ¹¹, and it is his saying: "And I pray according to his saying to the end of it." And the decoding of symbols transmitted from his shaykh and benefactor, my master Muhammad ibn 'Uqba al-Hadrami, and they are his saying: "Whoever seeks supply from other than him, the prevention... to the end of it," and his saying: "I seek from myself two red wounds and two others of the depth of a pigeon... to the end of it," interspersing all with prayers that explain them in meaning and agree with their wording in style and structure, and fulfill for the reader the attainment of benefit and the highest secret, and guarantee for them the gleams of the Radiant Lights and the signs of the beautiful gnoses. So I say, and from Allah I hope to achieve the goal and attain the request: openings of lordly secrets, gifts of wisdom and gnostic sciences, mention of the virtues of saints reported in Furqanic ¹² surahs, authentic prophetic luminous hadiths, explanation of the wording of a prayer translated by the companions of a divine presence and the orators of noble stations of Paradise, and decoding of symbols written by luminous pens on the pages of the tablets of spiritual hearts, expressed by holy gnoses in the tongues of solitary truths, which none understand but the learned. So may Allah be pleased with them and grant them peace.

May Allah be pleased with them and make them pleased, and place us in their impregnable fortress and protection, amen, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved to whom You granted a lofty rank and magnificent standing, Your chosen one through whom You led his community ¹³ on a straight path and a right way, and Your prophet who informed in Your Book about what You mentioned of the virtues of Your saints by Your saying: ﴿ And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, those will be with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favor from among the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions. That is the bounty from Allah, and sufficient is Allah as Knower. ﴾ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, the kind and merciful, Your chosen one preferred over the chosen, the intimate friend, the beloved, and the generous, and Your prophet who informed in Your Book about what You mentioned of the virtues of Your saints by Your saying: ﴿ Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve. Those who believed and were fearing Allah. For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. No change is there in the words of Allah. That is the great attainment. ﴾ ¹⁴ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved whom You made a path and guide to salvation, Your chosen one whom You preferred over all creation in general and in detail, and Your prophet who informed in Your Book about what You mentioned of the virtues of Your saints by Your saying: ﴿ Indeed, My servants, no authority will you have over them, except those who follow you of the deviators. And sufficient is your Lord as Disposer of affairs. ﴾ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, the obeyed, the firmly established, Your chosen one supported by the seven oft-repeated verses and the clear Book, and Your prophet who informed in Your Book about what You mentioned of the virtues of Your saints by Your saying: ﴿ And those who strive for Us, We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good. ﴾ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, the fragrance of the sleeves and the breeze, Your chosen one distinguished ¹⁵ with compassion, tenderness, and great character, and Your chosen one whom You mentioned in Your Book about what You mentioned of the virtues of Your saints by Your saying: ﴿ He loves them, and they love Him, humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; they strive in the cause of Allah and do not fear the blame of a critic. That is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing. ﴾ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, the guarantor and leader of his community, and Your prophet who saves whoever seeks refuge with him from the heat of the blazing fire and the torment of Hell, and Your chosen one who informed in Your Book about what You mentioned of the virtues of Your saints by Your saying: ﴿ Indeed, those who have said, 'Our Lord is Allah' and then remained steadfast, the angels descend upon them, [saying], 'Fear not, nor grieve, but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised. We are your allies in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. And therein you will have whatever your souls desire, and therein you will have whatever you request, as accommodation from the Forgiving, the Merciful.' ﴾ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, ¹⁶ Your beloved sent as a mercy to the worlds, Your chosen one selected from among Your humble prophets and Your humble chosen ones, and Your prophet who informed in Your Book about what You mentioned of the virtues of Your saints by Your saying: ﴿ Among the People of the Scripture is a community standing, reciting the verses of Allah during the hours of the night, prostrating. They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and hasten to good deeds. And those are among the righteous. ﴾ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, truthful in insight and vision, Your chosen one distinguished with high station and lofty rank, and Your prophet who informed in Your Book about what You mentioned of Your saints by Your saying: ﴿ And keep yourself patient with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life. ﴾ ¹⁷ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, purified in essence, character, and attributes, Your chosen one submitted to obey Your commands with acceptance and fairness, and Your prophet who informed in Your Book about what You mentioned of the virtues of Your saints by Your saying: ﴿ For the poor who have been confined in the cause of Allah, unable to travel through the land; the ignorant suppose them to be rich because of their modesty. You will know them by their mark; they do not ask people importunately. ﴾ So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that grants us its blessings in the aspect of Your saints, love and harmony, and bestows upon us through it, regarding what they have reported from You, complete affirmation without doubt, hesitation, or disagreement, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. The motives of love for them called me to mention them ❖ by compiling a book containing the core of the core In it are tales of beauties, their beauty ❖ virtues of deeds and excellence of speech ¹⁸ And the merit of miracles and states of their people ❖ and lofty stations adorned with domes Domes of light at the pinnacle of highness ❖ rising in the sky of glory like a meteor They ascended to the heavens in elevation and loftiness ❖ to the presence of holiness in noble courtyards Their spirits find rest in longing and behold ❖ beauty when it appears through the unveiling of a veil Their stories revive hearts when heard ❖ and quench the thirst of the thirsty with sweet drink I selected from them and chose the virtues ❖ for the people of passion and lovers as reward And I gifted their fragrances to those who inhale their scent ❖ in the garden of the hearts' basil, a book A gift of a sincere lover of their beauty to one ❖ whose passion calls him to unveil the veil O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the treasure of virtue, gifts, and favor, the best of those who clarified the path of religion and righteousness and established its sunnah, from whom it is narrated regarding the virtues of Your saints who uphold the obligatory and the sunnah, and the attributes of Your beloved ones attested to by happiness and entry into Paradise, that You said: "Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I declare war against him. My servant does not draw near to Me ¹⁹ with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him. My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works until I love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask Me, I would surely give him; and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge."

I will surely give it to him, and if he seeks refuge with me, I will surely grant him refuge." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom You have received with acceptance, joy, and delight, and the most honored of those whom You have crowned with the crown of veneration, exaltation, and piety, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints ²⁰ who rescue those who seek refuge with them from every evil and harm, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones ²¹ who are purified from every ugly deed and disgrace, that he said: "Many a disheveled, dust-covered man, pushed away from doors, if he swore by Allah, He would fulfill his oath." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom his Lord brought near to Him and loved, the most beneficial of those who treated the heart of every lover with his medicine and cured it, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints who are distinguished with the highest honor and lofty rank, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones who are absent in the beauty of Your Essence ²² through longing and love, that when a man asked him: "Who is the best of people?" He said: "A believer who strives with his soul and his wealth in the way of Allah." He said: "Then who?" He said: "A man who withdraws to a mountain pass and worships his Lord." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom You have adorned with the jewels of Your sciences and wisdoms, the most excellent of those whom You have granted the gifts of Your bounty and generosity, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints upon whom Your goodness and abundant blessings flow, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones who are regarded for fulfilling Your rights and venerating Your sanctities, that he took Ibn 'Umar by the shoulders and said to him: "Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a wayfarer." And Ibn 'Umar used to say: "When you enter the evening, do not wait for the morning, and when you enter the morning, do not wait for the evening. Take from your life for your death, and from your health for your illness." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those who performed night prayers in the prayer niches of nearness ²³ and stood, and the most majestic of those who were sincere in his worship of his Lord and remained steadfast, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints, the noble leaders, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones who supplicate to You at night while people are asleep, that he said: "The poor will enter Paradise five hundred years before the rich." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those who donned the cloak of might and wore it, and the most beloved of those whose conduct the lover followed and forgot, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints who are devoted to Your remembrance morning and evening, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones, whoever intercedes through their rank, grief, worry, and sorrow depart from him, that he said: "Eight gates of Paradise were opened, and the poor and the people of affliction entered them, while you detain others, but the people of the Fire have been commanded to the Fire. And eight gates of Hell were opened, and the women entered them." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, the best of those who broke the idols and left them in pieces, and the strongest of those who scattered the assembly of the people of disbelief, both groups and individuals, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints to whom the gardens ²⁴ resort and seek refuge, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones through whom protection is sought in hardships and refuge is taken, that when a man passed by him, he said to a man sitting with him: "What is your opinion of this one?" He said: "A man from the noblest of people. By Allah, he is worthy that if he proposes, he will be married, and if he intercedes, his intercession will be accepted." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, remained silent. Then another man passed by, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him: "What is your opinion of this one?" He said: "O Messenger of Allah, this is a man from the poor Muslims. He is worthy that if he proposes, he will not be married, and if he intercedes, his intercession will not be accepted, and if he speaks, his words will not be heard." So the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "This one is better than an earthful of the likes of that one." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose praise has been uttered by mouths and tongues, and the most honored of those whose mention has honored places and locations, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints whose existence has delighted the ages and times, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones who proclaim Your worth with humble hearts and raised voices, that he said: "The example of a righteous companion and an evil companion is like that of a musk-carrier and a bellows-blower. The musk-carrier either gives you some, or you buy from him, or you find a pleasant smell from him. The bellows-blower either burns your clothes, or you find a foul smell from him." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the mercy to the near and the far, and the imam of the eminent ones who have attained Your pleasure and happiness, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints described with generosity and munificence, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones who rescue those who seek their help from the abysses of destruction and ruin, that he said: "Allah Almighty says: 'My love is obligatory for those who love each other for My sake, who sit together for My sake, who visit each other for My sake, and who give to each other for My sake.' And it is narrated: 'Those who love each other for Allah's sake are upon pulpits of light, envied by the prophets and martyrs.'" O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, the best of those whom You have purified with noble character, both his essence and his constitution, and the nearest of those whose rank and loftiness You have raised in the heaven of glory, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints who strive in His obedience and pleasure, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones who draw from the sea of Your generosity and munificence, that he said: "Seven people will be shaded by Allah in His shade on the day when there is no shade but His shade: a just imam, a youth who grew up in worship of Allah Almighty, a man whose heart is attached to the mosques, two men who love each other for Allah's sake, meeting for His sake and parting for His sake, a man who is called by a woman of position and beauty and says, 'I fear Allah,' a man who gives charity and conceals it so that his left hand does not know what his right hand spends, and a man who remembers Allah alone and his eyes overflow." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, by which You guide us with his guidance, and make us among those who are naturally disposed to love those who are perfumed with the fragrance of his Muhammadan scent and aroma, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. We have narrated a hadith in the two Sahihs ²⁵: "Seven whom the Lord will shade with the best of His shades, Allah will shade them in His shade on the day when there is no shade but His shade."

Other than His shadow, there is no shade—so take this saying: An Imam (Imām) with justice, and those who in worship Grew up in piety for God, not under shades. And whose heart ever yearns for the mosques, Clinging to them without cessation. And two persons who, for the sake of God the Generous, loved each other In a state of separation from them and union. And indeed I fear God from one who said, when I was called to a high station and beauty. And a giver of charity who concealed his almsgiving—never did His left hand know what his right hand spent. (22) And one who remembers the Lord, the Dominant, in solitude, * then his eyes overflow with tears for fear of punishment, And fear of aversion and abandonment after union, * and yearning for the vision of the beauty of Majesty. How noble they are, these seven, with praise folded, * and how noble are these seven traits among the people. And how noble is he, a pride that has risen above every boast, * and glory exalted above every high station. In a seat of truth beneath the Throne of their King, * who has manifested to them, radiant in the beauty of perfection. You see them as kings upon noble steeds of splendor, * and chambers of pearl like lofty stars, Upon couches of ruby, on carpets of silk brocade, * and houris (ḥūr) of radiant light, sublime, And all that the soul desires of every pleasure, * and of adornment, and every garment that follows in succession, And what no eye has seen, nor ear of any hearer heard, * nor has occurred to the mind of mankind. Blessings to them! Blessedness (ṭūbā) to them! Their fortune—indeed, They have been granted a gift, the best of every gift. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad, and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the best of those who directed their aspirations toward You and rose up, and the most perfect of those who fulfilled Your covenants and pledges and never broke them, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints (awliyā’), who lowered their eyes from the adornment (23) of this world and rejected its embellishments, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones who follow his sunnah (sunnah) and cling to it with their molars and grasp it, that he said: "The substitutes (abdāl) of my community are forty men: twenty-two in Syria (al-Shām) and eighteen in Iraq (al-‘Irāq). Whenever one of them dies, God replaces him with another. When God's command comes, they are all taken." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad, and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the best of those who came later or earlier, and the master of the children of our mother Eve and our father Adam, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints, marked with goodness in their mutual connection and compassion, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones, victorious in happiness through their seeking favor at their doors and compassion, that he said: "Indeed, God has on earth three hundred whose hearts are upon the heart of Adam, and He has forty whose hearts are upon the heart of Moses, and He has seven whose hearts are upon (24) the heart of Abraham, and He has five whose hearts are upon the heart of Gabriel, and He has three whose hearts are upon the heart of Michael, and He has one whose heart is upon the heart of Israfil. When the one dies, God replaces him from the three; and when one from the three dies, God replaces him from the five; and when one from the five dies, God replaces him from the seven; and when one from the seven dies, God replaces him from the forty; and when one from the forty dies, God replaces him from the three hundred; and when one from the three hundred dies, God replaces him from the hundred. Through them, God averts calamity from this community." And some of them said: The one mentioned in this hadith (ḥadīth) is the Pole (al-quṭb), and he is the Succor (al-ghawth). His station among the saints is like the point of the circle, which is its center; through him comes the rectification of the world. (25) O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad, and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the best of those who are guided by his guidance, the guided ones, and the most excellent of those who tread upon his path and follow his sunnah (sunnah), the imitators, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints, who are humble in their prayer, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones, who turn away from idle talk, that he said: "Indeed, God has elite ones whom He settles in the lofty parts of the Gardens, while people are heedless of them." The narrator said: "We said, 'O Messenger of God, how were they the most intelligent of people?' He said: 'Their aspiration is to race toward God Almighty, and to hasten to what pleases Him. They renounced high rank and its divisions, and its leadership and its bliss. So it became insignificant to them, and they endured a little and rested much and long.'" And from ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may God honor his face) that he said: "The substitutes (abdāl) are in Syria (al-Shām), the nobles (nujabā’) are in Egypt (Miṣr), the bands (‘aṣā’ib) are in Iraq (al-‘Irāq), (26) the chiefs (nuqabā’) are in Khurasan (Khurāsān), the pegs (awtād) are throughout the earth, and al-Khiḍr (al-Khiḍr) (peace be upon him) is the master of the people." And from al-Khiḍr (peace be upon him) that he said: "Three hundred are the saints (awliyā’), seventy are the chiefs (nuqabā’), forty are the pegs of the earth (awtād al-arḍ), ten are the nobles (nujabā’), seven are the overseers (‘urafā’), three are the chosen ones (mukhtārūn), and one is the Succor (al-ghawth)." And from Abū al-Dardā’ (may God be pleased with him) that he said: "Indeed, God has servants called the substitutes (abdāl). They did not attain what they attained through much fasting, prayer, humility, or good appearance, but they attained it through sincerity of piety (wara‘), good intention, purity of hearts, and mercy for all Muslims. God chose them through His knowledge and singled them out for Himself. They are forty men upon the heart of Abraham. No man among them dies until God has created one to succeed him. Know that they do not curse anything, nor revile it, nor belittle those beneath them, nor despise them, (27) nor envy those above them. They are the best of people in goodness, the gentlest in disposition, and the most generous in soul. Swift horses and raging winds cannot overtake them in what is between them and their Lord. Their hearts ascend to the highest heights, rejoicing toward God Almighty in hastening to good deeds. Those are the party of God (ḥizb Allāh). Indeed, the party of God—they are the successful." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad, and to the family of our master and lord Muḥammad, the best of those to whom You granted a lofty rank and a firm station, the most beautiful of those whom You brought near to You and to whom You gave perfect sincerity and certainty, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints, whose aspirations You gathered toward You and whom You established in the station of Your might with firm establishment, and the descriptions of Your beloved ones, whom You drew to the carpet of Your presence and gave to drink from the drink of Your love a full cup and a flowing spring (salsabīl), that the poor sent a messenger to him (28) and said to him: "O Messenger of God, I am the messenger of the poor to you." He said: "Welcome to you and to those from whom you have come. You have come from a people I love." He said: "O Messenger of God, the poor say to you: 'The rich have taken all the good,' and it is narrated that they have taken Paradise. They perform the pilgrimage (ḥajj) while we cannot afford it; they give charity while we cannot afford it; they free slaves while we cannot afford it. When they are ill, they compensate with the abundance of their wealth and their good deeds.'" The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said to him: "Convey to the poor from me that whoever among them is patient and seeks reward for three traits—the rich have no share in them— the first trait: Indeed, in Paradise there are chambers of red ruby, which the people of Paradise look at as the people of this world look at the stars. None enter them except a poor prophet, a poor martyr, or a poor believer. The second trait:

“Everything has a key, and the key to Paradise is love for the poor and the needy who are patient; they are my companions on the Day of Resurrection.” O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the master of slaves, kings, and sultans, and Your beloved whose fragrance perfumes the flowers of valleys and gardens, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints—whose merits are preserved in the pages of books and registers—and the descriptions of Your beloved ones whose righteous deeds have made their scrolls and scales heavy, that he said: “O Allah, let me live as a poor person, die as a poor person, and resurrect me among the company of the poor.” It was said—and sufficient ²⁶ is this honor for the poor—even if he, peace and blessings be upon him, had said, “And resurrect the poor in my company,” that would have been enough honor for them; so how about when he said, “And resurrect me among the company of the poor”? O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose foot Allah has established on the carpet of honor, and the greatest through whom Allah erased the religion of disbelief and demolished it, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Your saints—upon whom Allah has poured His gifts and generosity—and the descriptions of Your beloved ones through whose blessing He has gathered and organized the community of Islam, that he said: “When light enters the heart, it expands and opens up.” It was said, “O Messenger of Allah, is there any sign of that?” He said, “Yes: turning away from the abode of delusion ²⁷, returning to the abode of eternity ²⁸, and preparing for death before death descends.” It was said: Accordingly, the aforementioned light is only for a heart that is ascetic in this world. And Allah the Exalted revealed to Moses, peace be upon him: “O Moses, among My servants are those who, if they asked Me for Paradise with all its contents ²⁹, I would give it to them; but if they asked Me for a shoelace ³⁰ of this world, I would not give it to them. That is not because they are insignificant to Me, but rather I defer for them in the Hereafter from My honor, and I protect them from this world, just as a shepherd protects his sheep from harmful pastures.” So bless him, O Allah, and his family, with a blessing by which I may be among those whose mention opens with Your name and closes with it, and who magnify his noble carpet ³¹ with sincerity of intention, love, and service, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O lover of the beauty of their attributes, * and a state sweetened by their exquisite graces, And lofty stations and states of masters, * and radiant, great, miraculous wonders, And hidden secrets and brilliant gnoses, * and witnessed lights like dazzling lightning, And union with beloveds and the breeze of love, * which, when smelled in the west, reaches the east, They sway intoxicated by it throughout their lives— * how then for one who has been given to drink from its cups? They have in love many strange marvels, * and many subtle, delicate meanings. You hear tales whose hearing is delightful, * and sweet like the taste of honey on the tongue of the taster. ³² Radiant virtues of masters that none attain * except every hand sincere in love. O Allah, I ask You, O my Master, by the sanctity of Your righteous saints and the companions of Your Presence, the supreme poles ³³ who have attained union, the manifestations of the lights of Your Law, the knowledgeable scholars who act, the springs of the secrets of Your wisdom, the elite who are perfect, and by the sanctity of Your beloved, our master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, the most radiant branch of their tree, the most renowned sultan of their kingdom, whose stars shone in the heaven of his most luminous dominion, whose fragrances perfumed the breezes of his most fragrant gardens, whose basins overflowed from the flood of the supply of his most abundant secret—that You bless him and his family, possessors of majesty and veneration, and his companions, people of glory and exaltation, and that You honor me with what You have honored the people of his love with, from the gifts of openings ³⁴ and abundant good, and grant me what You have granted them in both abodes of everlasting bliss and immense reward, and that You carry me, O Allah, on the mounts of submission to Your command and surrender, along with those who act according to the Sunna of Your Prophet, to the Abode of Peace ³⁵, and establish my foot by Your grace upon the Path ³⁶ on the day when feet slip, and have mercy on me through the blessing of invoking blessings on Your beloved, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor, and thereby settle my heart and sight on the day when eyes swerve, when they gaze at the extension of the Path, the setting up of the Balance ³⁷, and the flying of the scrolls ³⁸, and become too weak to see. And meet me with Your pardon in this world and the Hereafter, for I am weak; and be gentle with me with Your hidden gentleness, for You are the Gentle; and open for me through invoking blessings on him the doors of mercy, for I am a thing, and Your mercy encompasses everything without mercy; and admit me into his intercession without asking or reckoning; and have mercy on me through the blessing of invoking blessings on him until You protect me thereby from every trial, punishment, and torment; and forgive me thereby every sin, great and small, for You are greater and Your beloved is more generous than that I should be taken to task for sins, few or many. For You are the Great, and Your Prophet is the Generous, and I am the weak, so I will not be lost between the Great and the Generous. O Forgiving, O Forbearing, O Compassionate, O Merciful, O Most Generous of the generous, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. And favor me with turning to You, listening to You, connection with You, understanding from You, insight into Your command, piety in Your service, and good manners in dealing with You. And treat me with Your gentleness, O Gentle, O Gentle, O Gentle, O He whose gentleness encompasses the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. I ask You, O Allah, to be gentle with me from the hidden of the hidden of the hidden of Your hidden gentleness, the hidden, the hidden, which, when You treat any of Your servants with it, suffices. For You have said—and Your word is truth— “Allah is gentle with His servants; He provides for whom He wills, and He is the Strong, the Mighty.” ³⁹ O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in religion, this world, and the Hereafter. O Allah, cover my faults and calm my fears. O Allah, protect me from before me, from behind me, from my right, from my left, and from above me, and I seek refuge in You from being treacherously attacked from below me. O Allah, grant me well-being in my body, well-being in my hearing, and well-being in my sight. There is no god but You. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from disbelief, poverty, and the torment of the grave. O Allah, I ask You for the sudden onset of good, and I seek refuge in You from the sudden onset of evil. My God, You are the most worthy of being remembered, the most worthy of being worshipped, the most helpful of those sought, the most compassionate of kings, the most generous of those asked, the most bountiful of those who give. You are the King, no partner have You; the Unique, no equal have You. Everything is perishing except Your Face. You are not obeyed except by Your permission, and You are not disobeyed except by Your knowledge. You are obeyed and You thank; You are disobeyed and You forgive. ⁴⁰ The nearest Witness, the closest Guardian. You intervene between souls, You hold forelocks, You record deeds, and You decree lifespans. Hearts are open to You, and the secret is manifest to You. The lawful is what You have made lawful, the forbidden is what You have forbidden, the religion is what You have legislated, the command is what You have decreed, the creation is Your creation, the servant is Your servant, and You are Allah, the Kind, the Merciful. I ask You by the light of Your Face, by which the horizons of the heavens and the earth shine, and by every right that is Yours, and by the right of those who ask of You, that You accept us this morning and that You protect us from the Fire by Your power, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds.

O Allah, whatever prayer You have prayed, it is upon whom You have prayed, and whomever You have cursed, You have cursed. You are my Protector in this world and the Hereafter. Cause me to die as a Muslim and join me with the righteous. O Allah, You created me, You guided me, You feed me, You give me drink, You cause me to die, and You give me life. O Living, Self-Subsisting ⁴¹, by Your mercy I seek help. So set right all my affairs, and do not entrust me to myself for the blink of an eye nor less than that, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. I have raised my affairs to the Creator of souls, and our existence after the precedence of non-existence. Upon Him I rely, to Him I seek support; with my back I have sought refuge in a stronghold. And I have entrusted my affair to Him, for my situation has become straitened and my matter is important. I have no judge but His decree; the judgment has passed from eternity and the Pen has written. So what He wills is, and what He does not will is impossible; as He wills, He rules. And He does in His judgment what He wills; exalted is God, and majestic is the Judge. If all of mankind were to unite upon a request without Him, it would not be completed. So never does a servant who relies on Him fail, nor is a servant lost who adheres to His protection. O my Master, grant me patience upon successive distresses and painful harm. Grant me therein contentment with the decree, and beautiful patience, abundant in portions. For whomever You are pleased with one day, he has attained pleasure and gained reward. And I am abundant in errors and sins, and my fear is what has been inscribed upon me. So O Owner of sovereignty, O my provision, and Remover of what has befallen me of afflictions, take care of servants great in sins, by Your pardon, my Lord, for what has been violated. And take my hand, for I am drowning; and here I am gnashing my teeth in regret. For if You do not take my hand, then what a slip of the foot! And if You do not grant me Your pleasure and forgive me, then I have no standing. So who is there for distresses, who for calamities, who for sins and what has concerned me, other than You, to remove and save from all worries and sickness? For hope has failed in other than You, and the rope of my hope other than You has been severed. Nothing remains but reliance on You, and I have no refuge but Your door. I have asked You, O my Creator, supplicating with a sound heart and a straight path, by something—and nothing is greater than You—O Possessor of Exaltation and Generosity. By what Adam called upon You, and Noah, so they returned with the attainment of protection. Likewise the Friend ⁴², and then the Sacrificed ⁴³, and Hud and Lot, guides of the nations. And Joseph also called upon You, and Jacob in his reunion was restored. And Job when harm touched him, and Dhul-Nun ⁴⁴ when he was swallowed. And Moses the Speaker ⁴⁵, You saved him and drowned his enemies in the sea. And Your Spirit Jesus, You delivered him and settled him in a place of bliss. By the supplication of the best of all creation, from all Arabs and non-Arabs, by the right of his loftiness, by the right of his beauty, by the light of his radiance that dispels darknesses: Muhammad, the Manifest, the Chosen, the Intercessor of creatures in the crowded place. By the right of the Quran and its verses, and what is deposited in it of wisdom. By Ta Ha ⁴⁶ and Ya Sin ⁴⁷, and with its Kaf ⁴⁸, by the greatness of Qaf ⁴⁹, then Nun ⁵⁰ and the Pen ⁵¹. By what has come of letters in which are deposited subtle meanings that have been emphasized by oath. By the sanctity of Mecca, the Mother of Cities, and the sanctity of its Kaaba and the Sanctuary, and what is there of a sacred site ⁵² in veneration of a status of ancient standing. By the dust of the best of creation, Ahmad, and his family, and those who are included among his kin. By the right of the Companions and the Followers, and the people of knowledge and the people of wisdom. And by all the saints, and those who, out of fear of sin, have regret. O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Generous One who loves generosity and munificence, be generous to me and grant me pleasure, and facilitate my deliverance from what concerns me. And then blessings upon the Chosen One, the Intercessor of creatures in the crowded place. Its author—may God grant him success in meeting Him and bestow upon him in both abodes the gifts of His generosity and pleasure, and make his abode and dwelling in the highest paradises—said: When I met in one of my travels with some of the eminent scholars and full moons ⁵³ in the presence of Marrakesh—may God protect it from every affliction, trial, and illness—he mentioned to me a prayer attributed to the gnostic ⁵⁴ Imam, the exemplary, the blessing, the valiant master, my master Ahmad Zarruq ⁵⁵—may God be pleased with him—which he mentioned in the introduction of some of his commentaries on the Hikam al-‘Ata’iyya ⁵⁶. It is his saying: "I seek from myself two red cloaks and two others of pigeon-neck color, inscribed with the Quran and other things." He asked me to record for him what appears to me concerning these words and what is opened to me of their meaning from the treasuries of the Lord of the earths and heavens. When I examined them with the eye of my insight and the mirror of my innermost being, I found them to contain magnificent Muhammadan wisdoms and sublime prophetic benefits of knowledge, which minds fall short of grasping their divine realities, and understandings become weary in the perceptions of their bestowed subtle meanings. So the precious gifts of their lofty expressions stirred the faculties of my ecstasy, and the delightful cadences of their pleasant rhymes kindled the fire of my flint, sending the diver of thought to plunge into the seas of their meanings, and the influx of the secret to extract from the pearls of the shell of expressions the foundations of their structures, and the light of knowledge to gather the scattered parts of their far and near. I recorded what appeared to me in solving their difficulties, facilitating their intricacies, and simplifying the understanding of their important points. So praise be to God for what He opened to us of understanding the beneficial wisdoms, and thanks to Him for what He brought us to the pure sources. Their expressions were adorned with excellent blessings containing wondrous and sublime rhymes, which God caused to flow upon my tongue by the secret of His wisdom, and cast into the core of my heart by the light of His knowledge, after I had presented before them a prayer that I found inscribed facing the noble grave and the lofty, exalted station, along with verses inscribed above the lattice of my master, the Messenger of God—may God bless him and grant him peace, and magnify, honor, and venerate him. When I collected what God opened to me of recording the solution of its noble expressions and explaining the abundant benefits of its wisdoms, a jurist ⁵⁷ of a master whose state is pleasing and whose confirmation supports the correctness of what we are engaged in, returned to me and said that he saw in a dream this shaykh, the imam, the learned, the valiant, the abundant in the processions of knowledge and sainthood, the banner of precedence among mankind, the reviver through his knowledge and action of what had decayed of the foundations of religion and the rites of Islam, my master Ahmad Zarruq, calling out in the regions of the earth, encompassing its length and breadth, saying: "You must visit Shaykh al-Mu‘ti ⁵⁸, and this permission is from the Messenger of God, from Gabriel, from the Lord of the worlds." So I say, and from God I hope to attain the goal and achieve the request, beginning with the introduction of this shaykh, saying: He is the shaykh, the imam, the succor of mankind, the beauty of nights and days, the greatest gnostic, the most famous saint, the seal of the verifiers, the interpreter of the renewers of the path of the people of precision, the knower of the branches and roots of sciences, and the one with a firm footing in their knowledge.

And its attainment, and the foremost hand in understanding and refining it, and the eloquent tongue in spreading and establishing it, possessor of beneficial compositions and glorious works, and the lordly secrets and merciful descents, Abu al-‘Abbas, my master Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa al-Barnusi al-Fasi, known as Zarruq—may Allah be pleased with him—was a beneficial rain and a succor preventing from the circles of calamities, a towering peak, and a mountain firmly rooted in sciences and gnosis, the master of the path (al-tariqa), and the unifier between the sacred law (al-shari‘a) (46). He removed the veil from every difficult matter of the sciences and brought understanding to the dull-natured in the shortest time. He never spoke on a matter without refining it, delivering it to its seeker in the most complete desired form, and establishing it, until he left no room for any speaker’s argument therein, and its seeker attained a benefit through the most eloquent expression and the subtlest allusion. Al-Shaykh al-Manawi said in his biographical work (Tabaqat) after mentioning his name, lineage, tribe, and epithet: He was called Zarruq because his grandfather had blueness (zurqa) in his eyes, so they said “Zarruq.” And there spread among his descendants a world of sainthood characterized by devotion and a worshiper acknowledging the praise of the unseen world. He adorned himself with the necklaces of protection, contentment, and chastity, and excelled in the knowledge of jurisprudence (fiqh), Sufism (tasawwuf), principles (usul), and legal disagreement (khilaf). The world courted him, but he courted other than it; positions were offered to him, but he rejected and refused them. He was born in Fez in the year eight hundred and forty-six (846 AH), and his parents died before the completion of his first week, so he grew up an orphan (47). He memorized the Qur’an and several books, and acquired sciences from al-Qawri, such as Ahmad al-Balawi, al-Hadrami, al-‘Abdusi, Ibn ‘Ajl, Abu al-‘Abbas al-Maknasi, Abu al-Hasan al-Anfasi, Ibn Hilal, Ibn Mandil, Ibn Rammat, Ahmad al-Ghaylani, Yahya Sahib al-Zahr, al-Rafrufi, Zaytun, and Ahmad al-Ghari. He traveled and roamed, enduring terrors, and adhered to worship while still among the number of children. He journeyed to Egypt, performed the pilgrimage (hajj), stayed as a neighbor in Medina, resided in Cairo for about a year, and occupied himself there with Arabic and principles under al-Jawhari and others. He took hadith from al-Sakhawi and jurisprudence from al-Nur al-Sanhuri. Then Sufism prevailed over him, so he wrote over thirty commentaries on al-Hikam, and on al-Qurtubiyya in Maliki jurisprudence, and on the Risala of Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani several commentaries, all beneficial and useful. He composed an urjuza (poem) on the Fusul of al-Sulami, and commented on the book (48) Sudur al-Tartib of his teacher Ibn ‘Aqaba al-Hadrami, and commented on Hizb al-Bahr of al-Shadhili, and commented on al-Asma’ al-Husna (the Beautiful Names), combining therein the method of outward and inward knowledge, and the book Qawa‘id al-Sufiyya, excelling greatly, while he was five years old, deducing evidence for tawhid (divine unity). One night he looked at a star and perceived from Allah’s command what he perceived. His mother, when pregnant with him, saw that she was given a banner of gold, and his grandmother saw that the sea took him, which was evidence of his qualification for what he undertook of outward and inward knowledge. He was quick in memorization, constantly pensive, highly respectful toward those who preceded him in the sunan (traditions), preserving compliance, and he used to visit the saints (awliya’) and frequent their shrines. He reported that when he visited Abu Madyan, he found mercy and sensed effusion (al-fayd), and the shaykh addressed him from his grave. Despite that, he was accused of heresy (ilhad), Judaism, and Christianity (49), and was beaten and robbed. Among his miracles (karama) was that he undertook to supplicate against a person when he went out for travel (siyaha); when he returned, the man died immediately. Another man came out to rob his belongings and was afflicted in his leg. This ends from al-Huri. And he said in Dawhat al-Nashir concerning the shaykhs of the tenth century in the Maghreb: He is the jurist Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Misbah al-Hasani, known as Ibn ‘Askar—may Allah Almighty have mercy on him. And among them is the learned, verifying shaykh, the Sufi, the saint, the knower of Allah and His rulings, possessor of lordly gifts and innate gnostic sciences, numerous works, and beneficial illuminating epistles, inheritor of the prophetic station, reviver of his sacred law, supporter of his sunna and religion, imam of the path (al-tariqa), spreader of its banners on the path of truth (al-haqiqa), Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa al-Barnusi (50) al-Fasi, known as Zarruq. He met the shaykhs, studied jurisprudence in the sciences, accompanied the Sufi shaykhs, and learned from them. My shaykh Abu al-Hajjaj Yusuf ibn ‘Isa and others told me that Shaykh Abu al-‘Abbas accompanied Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad al-Zaytuni, who was a blind man and among the men of Sufism. He delved deeply in his love and claimed precedence in it. Among his trials in that was that he came visiting him, knocked on the door, heard a voice granting permission, entered the house, found no one, ascended to an upper room, and found the shaykh sitting in the middle of the room, with a woman adorned on his right and another on his left, turning to this one sometimes, kissing her and attending to her, and returning to the other similarly. Abu al-‘Abbas said, “This man is among the heretics (zanadiqa),” and turned back. Al-Shaykh al-Zaytuni called out to him (51): “O Ahmad, the liar, come back!” So he returned and found no one with him, and he knew that he had been tested. Al-Zaytuni said to him: “As for the one you saw on my right, she is the Hereafter (al-akhira), and as for the one on my left, she is the world (al-dunya). You are lying in your claim, but you will not remain in the Maghreb even for an hour.” So Shaykh Abu al-‘Abbas left immediately and headed to the East (al-mashriq), fearing for himself. It happened that he reached the Egyptian lands and found the companions of Shaykh Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn ‘Aqaba al-Hadrami waiting for him on the bank of the Nile, because their aforementioned shaykh had ordered them to do so and informed them of his arrival. They greeted him, welcomed him, and took him with them. When they entered upon Ibn ‘Aqaba and greeted him, he said to him: “O Ahmad, my son, what happened to you with the blind viper? I am indeed fearful for you from her here.” So they carried him to a house near him, and he ordered him to adhere to (52) dhikr (remembrance). After three days, Shaykh Ibn ‘Aqaba heard a great crash while with his companions, so he cried out “Allah!” and raised his hand, then said: “Come with us to our companion.” They went and found that the house where Abu al-‘Abbas was had become rubble. Ibn ‘Aqaba said: “Dig for your companion.” They dug until they found him in a corner of the house, with the wood having fallen on him first. The debris was removed from him, and he was saved. When Shaykh Ibn ‘Aqaba reached near him, he said: “Praise be to Allah who protected you, O Ahmad. This is the last punishment from al-Zaytuni for you. He struck you with a blow from the farthest Maghreb, which I raised from you with my hand, and here it is broken from his strike.” He brought it out from under him, broken. Then he stayed with him until he parted from him. He said: “Advise me, my master.” He said to him, reciting (53): “Submit to Salma and go where she goes, and follow the winds of fate and leave where it turns.” And the jurist, judge Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Karasi al-Andalusi told me, saying: When Shaykh Zarruq arrived in Fez, coming from the Eastern lands, the jurists went out to meet him. He said: I was among those who went out with them. We greeted him and sat in his tent. He began asking the jurists about the means of their sustenance. Some said: “Most sustenance comes from endowments (awqaf) dedicated to the graves of the dead.” The shaykh said: “There is no power nor strength except with Allah. You live on the flesh of the dead.” The jurist Ibn al-Habbak replied to him, saying: “O my master, praise be to Allah who has made us subsist on the flesh of the dead, which is permissible under necessity in the sacred law, and has not made us subsist on the flesh of the living, which is forbidden in every way.” The shaykh cried out and fell unconscious, so we left him and departed. (54) Likewise. Then the author of al-Dawha said concerning his affair a strange thing: That Shaykh Ibn Ghani asked him to come to his home with a group of his companions, and sought his permission to prepare much food for him. He permitted him and said: “Wait for us after the night prayer (al-‘isha’ al-akhira).” When the time came, he stopped.

Shaykh Ibn Ghazi was at the door of his house waiting for the people until Shaykh Abu al-‘Abbas came alone. Ibn Ghazi said, "O my master, where are your companions? We have prepared much food and fear it will spoil." Shaykh Zarruq ⁵⁹ said, "It will keep, God willing, and will not spoil." Then he said to him, "Bring what food you have." Ibn Ghazi ordered it brought, and it was placed before him. Shaykh Abu al-‘Abbas said, "Clear these servants away from us until only I remain." So the servants left, and he rolled up his sleeves and began carrying the food with both hands, placing it behind him, and with each handful of food a piece of meat. Then Shaykh Ibn Ghazi heard a clamor behind Abu al-‘Abbas, and he looked and saw a great many creatures—weak ones, children, and women—each stretching out his hand and saying, "O my master, give me!" and they were in a single open space ⁶⁰ until he had distributed all that food among them. He said to Ibn Ghazi, "Is any of your food left?" He said, "No," and kissed his hands—may God Almighty have mercy on him. Ibn Ghazi marveled and said to him, "O my master, this is a miracle ⁶¹ from the miracles of the saints." He said to him, "Praise God who showed it to you." Ibn Ghazi said, "I ask you by God, O my master, who were those creatures and what was that open space?" He said, "They are the weak ones of the city of Tunis, whom need has touched, and that open space is the courtyard of the Great Mosque of al-Zaytuna ⁶²." Shaykh Ibn Ghazi—may God be pleased with them both and have mercy on them—related this. Then he said, "The matter of Shaykh Zarruq—may God be pleased with him—is famous, his rank is great, and his succor to creation continues until now, as he said in his second poem: 'If you are in worry, distress, and hardship, then call: O Zarruq, help quickly!' People still seek his aid until now, and the response and removal of distresses appear to them manifestly. Among that is what was related by the Imam, the knower of God ⁶³, my master Ahmad ibn Muhammad, the Imam, the knower of God, my master Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah Ma‘an—may God have mercy on them—that the knower of God, my master Ahmad ibn al-Yamani—may God be pleased with him—told him that when he came from his country heading to the Maghrib, thirst severely afflicted him one day in a desert until he was certain of destruction. While he was in that state, Shaykh Ahmad Zarruq—may God be pleased with him—and what he said in the aforementioned verse came to his mind. So he said, "O Shaykh Zarruq, where is what you said?" He had not finished his speech when a small farm appeared in the distance, and it kept approaching him until it arrived, and there was a Bedouin man riding a she-donkey. He greeted him, and he said to him, "The water is by that hill next to it." He said, "I started looking at that place, then I turned to the man and did not find him. So I went to the place and found water there." And many similar incidents. As for his speech—may God be pleased with him—on the path ⁶⁴, he has beneficial, concise, precious speech in counsels, epistles, and answers to questions, and even in the exoteric sciences ⁶⁵, his speech is that of a penetrating, critical, refined, and perfectly edited scholar, understood by the people of the beginning ⁶⁶, the intermediate, and the people of the end ⁶⁷. Among that is what he wrote to his master, the Imam, my master Ahmad ibn ‘Uqba al-Hadrami—may God be pleased with them both and benefit us through them, Amen—from the station of abasement and brokenness, the place of lowliness and necessity, to the station of the spirit and the healing of the wounded heart: "An enduring greeting, a fragrance whose wafts renew over the passage of days, and which inclines toward us with kindness and honor, from a heart that blazes and tears that surge, alone among brethren in every town—when the sought is great, the helper is few—a stranger even to himself, solitary among his kind, who has sought the Truth and realization in an age of falsehood, so his neck has become empty of acquisition, were it not for what he hopes for from the breaths of the men ⁶⁸ and the glances of the masters, the heroes, with whom there is no need to define the state nor to remind of the generosity of qualities. And how can one know from the state what is witnessed before him, or be reminded of his innate generosity and munificence? But movements of souls have comforts, and the world of the body finds rest in such matters, as it is said: 'When my abode became distant from you, and distance intervened between you and me, I wrote to you black on white to see you with something like my eye.' O master, whose love is fixed in the heart and whose affection is mingled in everything of the servant, the servant has no aspiration except toward you, and no reliance in existence except upon you. 'Do not kill me with aversion and harshness; I am your servant and counted among you. It is not your way to kill lovers nor to repel those who belong to you. But the fault is from us and to us, and the ill omen of our souls returns upon us.' Then I say, as it is said: 'Be gracious and kind to a lovesick one, be gentle and maintain ties; may God not disappoint one whose hope is your kindness. If I have sinned, kindness is your nature, and the custom of the Arabs is to forgive slips. There is no substitute for you among mankind, nor any replacement; may he not live, may he not live who inclines to a replacement.' God knows, and then you know, the reality of the state: I love the scent of the scent and kiss the dust of the sandals, and I am content in myself with a favor from a phantom of imagination without transition. Do not think me feigning in love; my attachment to you is a nature without affectation. Then I affirm and acknowledge the favor from your noble direction, and I hope from God through it every good and great favor. It is nothing but certainty in God's bounty and generosity, as it is said: 'Indeed, I hope in God until it is as if I see, through good opinion, what God will do.' Know that when the master opens, he perfects; when he bestows, he connects; when he knows, he beautifies; when he wills, he enriches; when he turns, he is here. So I say with the tongue of abasement and need, and the speaker of lowliness and necessity: 'O servants of God, servants of yours have sought refuge in your prestige with a strong pillar. Accept them by your favor, have mercy on them, and intercede for them with God the Most High.' Then I say: When the generous one turns his face, he pours forth; when he is pleased, hindrances and objections are removed. So everyone attached to his love has a share in what he possesses, and good things appear from his miracles at his hands. 'We drank and poured the excess on the ground, and the earth has a cup of the generous as its portion.' So I love for the companions what I have for myself, and for my beloved a share of my state, because all are cast at your door, and by your remembrance their heart and body are expanded. It is nothing but as it is said: 'Far be it from your bounty to cause a sinner to despair.'

The bounty is more abundant and the gifts are more vast. May God make you among His greatest doors and the keys of relation to His presence, and may He not deprive us of what you possess. May He make our hearts tender with inclination towards you, and open for us what we hope for from you. Then may He connect you, God willing, with what is found. The hoped-for from you is acceptance, and that is our expectation of you. The gift of the servant is according to his capacity; the bounty is that the master accepts it. Have you not seen the eye, despite its excellence, accepts when kohl is applied to it? You know that I am delighted with what has occurred, and my heart constantly expands with the movements of existence. There is no joy except in following the wind of destiny ⁶⁹ and receiving what issues forth with assistance and contentment. For every term there is a book ⁷⁰. Then we care not where we are, as long as He writes us among the beloved. (63) If journeys have caused distance between us, we meet through the eye of thought. Peace be upon you. Written on the twenty-third, truly, of the month, the month of God, say Rajab al-Fard ⁷¹, in the year six and eighty-odd after nine hundred, before in intent. The Lord on high is asked to incline your heart towards your servant, my master, in jest and earnest. Then I acknowledge, my master—may God honor you—along with what has been mentioned of matters, the rights that the servant owes. May God grant me deliverance from them, along with turning away from every creature. If there is no union with you, then promise it to me; my hope is not long if you promise, even if you do not fulfill. For a promise from you, even if meeting is rare, is sweet like the union of a gracious beloved. (64) Peace be upon your lofty station, and mercy and blessings. Shaykh Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ⁷² said in Nayl al-Ibtihaj ⁷³: As for his writings, they are very numerous. In them he tends toward conciseness and precision, and each one contains beneficial points and glorious verifications rarely found elsewhere, especially in Sufism ⁷⁴. He was unique in his knowledge and excellent authorship therein. Among them are two commentaries on al-Risala ⁷⁵, a commentary on al-Irshad ⁷⁶, a commentary on Mukhtasar al-Shaykh Khalil ⁷⁷—I have seen passages in his own handwriting—a commentary on al-Ghafiqiyya ⁷⁸, a commentary on al-Aqida al-Qudsiyya ⁷⁹, and more than twenty commentaries on al-Hikam ⁸⁰ of Ibn Ata Allah ⁸¹. I have seen the fifteenth and seventeenth of them. I heard my father, the jurist Ahmad—may God have mercy on him—say: Someone informed me that he has two commentaries (65) on Hizb al-Bahr ⁸², a commentary on al-Kabir ⁸³ of Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili ⁸⁴, a commentary on its difficulties, a commentary on al-Haqa'iq wa al-Raqa'iq ⁸⁵ of al-Muqri ⁸⁶, a commentary on the muqatta'at ⁸⁷ of al-Shushtari ⁸⁸, a commentary on al-Asma' al-Husna ⁸⁹, a commentary on al-Marassid fi al-Tasawwuf ⁹⁰ of his master Sidi Ahmad ibn Uqba al-Hadrami ⁹¹, the book al-Nasiha al-Kafiya ⁹² and its abridgment, Ighatha al-Mutawajjih al-Miskin ⁹³ on the path of opening and empowerment, and the book al-Qawa'id fi al-Tasawwuf ⁹⁴. These three are of utmost nobility and majesty in their composition; nothing like them has been authored. Among them are writings on innovations, such as the book al-Nush al-Anfa' ⁹⁵ and al-Janna li al-Mutaharrri min al-Bida' wa Mukhalafat al-Sunna ⁹⁶, and the book Umdat al-Murid al-Sadiq min Asbab al-Maqt fi Bayan al-Tariq wa Dhikr Hawadith al-Waqt ⁹⁷—a great book on its subject, containing one hundred chapters. As for al-Nush al-Anfa', I have not seen it. He also has (66) al-Usul wa al-Fusul ⁹⁸, the book al-Kunnasha ⁹⁹, and a commentary on the poem of Ibn al-Banna al-Malaqi ¹⁰⁰ on Sufism. I heard that he has a gloss on al-Bukhari ¹⁰¹. He has many epistles to his companions, all containing benefits, wisdoms, and subtleties with conciseness, rarely found in others. In short, he is beyond what can be mentioned, and he is the last of the Maliki Sufi masters ¹⁰². He performed the pilgrimage many times. End. In his words—may God be pleased with him—is what al-Manawi ¹⁰³ mentioned in his Tabaqat ¹⁰⁴: The believer seeks excuses, while the hypocrite pursues faults and stumbles. He said: They only recommended the litanies at morning and evening, being satisfied with the two ends instead of the middle, because they encompass it, or because the evidences of divine unity are clear in these two times due to the apparent change visible to everyone, and the causes of turning to God at that time are accompanied by presence due to the gathering of faculties (67). Therefore, the virtue of these times for remembrance and reflection is reported. He said: The station of prophethood is infallible from ignorance from the beginning of its affairs to eternity. He said: The claimants in this path have become many due to its strangeness, and understandings have become distant from it due to its subtlety. Denial of its people has become great due to its refinement, and the sincere advisors have warned against following it due to the frequency of error in it. The imams authored refutations against the people of misguidance in it, until Ibn al-Arabi ¹⁰⁵ said: Beware of the path, for most of the Kharijites ¹⁰⁶ only emerged from it. He said: What happened...

Two are never [found] in one thing from all aspects, even if they agree in the root of the matter or its branch or some of its aspects. For this reason they said: The paths to God are as numerous as the breaths of creatures. And he said: No heed is given to the manifestation of realities if no effect of any of them appears, because that which is not valid ¹⁰⁷ in the world of testimony, its witness is absent in the world of dominion; and that which inhabits the heart is effective in its aspects, its effect shining forth. And he said: The manifest in existence is Majesty, for the attribute of Beauty is filled with meanings of Beauty; none feels secure from God's plot except the losing folk. And he said: Within the fold of Majesty is an intense expansion such that its possessor scarcely feels the Fire, even if he were in the seventh depth. And he said: It is not said of the prophets that they are wayfarers, because wayfaring is the cutting of the obstacles of the ego, nor are they attracted, because attraction takes one away from that; rather, they are purified from the afflictions of the ego in the very origin of their constitution. And he said: Witnessing is founded upon love, precedence, and divine success accompanied by eternal care. And he said: Truthfulness is the sword of Truth; God has prepared it for the people of Truth; it is placed upon nothing but it cuts it. For this reason they said: Whoever seeks truthfully reaches it with the first step ¹⁰⁸. And he said: When faith is on the surface of the heart, the servant loves this world and the Hereafter, being sometimes with God and sometimes with his ego; but when it enters the interior of the heart, he abandons some of his worldly concerns and forsakes his passion. And he said: The outward aspects of deeds—their beauty and ugliness—are trusts of Truth in the limbs, and they are signs; a sign neither necessitates nor negates anything, but indicates its existence or negation. "Work, for each is facilitated for that for which he was created." And he said: From the vastness of divine Sufism is that two are never agreed in a single nature and from every aspect, nor have two ever walked in a single path, even if the way is one, because the foot of the second never falls exactly where the first stepped in all places. Glory be to the All-Encompassing, the All-Knowing. And he said: The direction of intention is conditioned without its condition, and He does not approve for His servants disbelief. So the realization of faith is necessitated by adherence to the practice of Islam; and there is no Sufism except ¹⁰⁹ with jurisprudence, for the outward rulings of God are known only through it; and no jurisprudence except with Sufism, for there is no action except with sincere intention; and neither of them except with faith, for neither is valid without it. So all are necessary due to their mutual necessity in judgment, like the mutual necessity of spirits for bodies. For this reason Imam Malik (may God have mercy on him) said: Whoever practices Sufism without learning jurisprudence becomes a heretic; and whoever learns jurisprudence without practicing Sufism becomes a transgressor. And he said: Attributing a thing to its origin and standing by its specific proof raises the denial of its reality. And he said: Knowledge without action is a means without an end; action without knowledge is a crime. And he said: Choosing the important in everything and always giving it precedence is the concern of the truthful. So whoever seeks the subtle sciences before knowing the general rulings of servitude and turns from the rulings ¹¹⁰ to their obscure aspects is deceived, especially if he does not judge by the outward jurisprudential rulings and does not distinguish between innovation and sunna. And he said: In every science there is what is specific and what is general; Sufism is not more entitled than others in its generality and specificity. Rather, it is necessary to apply God's rulings concerning transactions from every [science] generally; and what is beyond that is according to its speaker, not according to the measure of its speaker. "Speak to people according to what they know; do you wish that God and His Messenger be denied?" And he said: Sharing in the origin necessitates sharing in the judgment; jurisprudence and Sufism are twins in indicating God's rulings and rights, so they have the ruling of the single origin in perfection and deficiency, since neither is more complete than the other in its signification. And it is established that action is a condition for the perfection of knowledge, not a condition for its validity, since it is not negated by its absence. Then he said: Sufism is considered only with action upon it; so claiming it without action is deception ¹¹¹, even if action is a condition for its perfection. And it has been said: Knowledge calls out to action; if it responds, [it stays]; otherwise, it departs. And he said: Action upon anything is not valid except after knowing its ruling and aspect. So the saying of one who says, "I will not learn until I act," is like his saying, "I will not treat [my illness] until my ailment goes away"—he will neither treat nor will his ailment go away. And he said: No reality has appeared in existence except that it was confronted by a claim similar to it, the inclusion of what is not of it, and its denial, so that the merit of being singled out for it and the clarification of its reality through the benefit of its separation might appear. "God abrogates what Satan casts, then God confirms His verses." And what al-Manawi (may God have mercy on him) mentioned from his speech ends here. And from his correspondence (may God be pleased with him): "Hold fast to the fear of God, whom you must inevitably meet, and beware of disobeying His command in hardship and ease. For every sin, [make] a repentance; for every turning away, a fall. For man is not ¹¹² infallible from slips nor confident in himself regarding the continuity of action. Whoever holds his religion dear, all matters become easy for him; whoever abandons his ego, calamities revolve around him—he neither succeeds in this world nor prospers in the Hereafter. Whoever's concern from this world is what suffices him, the least of it suffices him; whoever seeks from this world what enriches him, nothing of it enriches him. Whoever's honor is through his deeds attains all his hopes; whoever's honor is through his lineage, his salvation is farther than his destruction. People are the children of their manners; whoever loves a people is among them. So beware of loving the unjust and befriending them; avoid the children of this world and mixing with them; and if you mix with them, be cautious of them, for they only want you to complete their worldly affairs and what suits their passions, thus causing you to fall into forbidden things."

of frankness, there is no voluntary compliance from one who cares about his reputation in achieving his goal. Beware of spying on matters and prying ¹¹³ into news, for whoever wants no good to escape him will not escape harm. Beware of ambiguity and concealment ¹¹⁴, and do not treat your subjects and those in their position as a master treats his slaves, for Allah is jealous for the poor even if they are disobedient. Seize the supplication of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: 'O Allah, whoever is put in charge of any affair of my community and causes them hardship, be gentle with him, O Allah; and whoever causes them difficulty, be compassionate with him, O Allah.' This includes generally anyone who has even the slightest authority. You must engage in remembrance ¹¹⁵, even if only a single glorification ¹¹⁶; in the Quran, even if only a verse; in fasting, even if only one day a month; in prayer, even if only one rak'a ¹¹⁷ in the middle of the night; and in charity, even if only a morsel for a dog or a cat, seeking thereby the Face of Allah. This is a book of sincere advice, not a book of blessing ¹¹⁸, so do not read it from a high shelf and put it in a chest, but rather remind yourself with it time after time. And if Allah decrees otherwise ¹¹⁹, it will be. His words, may Allah be pleased with him, are many in his counsels, which I have left due to their fame. His books and counsels all indicate his profound knowledge in both the exoteric and esoteric sciences ¹²⁰, along with eloquence, conciseness, and accuracy. It is fitting, by virtue of his inheritance from the one who was given the comprehensive words ¹²¹, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that he, may Allah be pleased with him, studied under a group of scholars of the exoteric and esoteric. He mentioned in his notebook ¹²² a large group, and he studied under them and read to them in the East and West. The author of al-Turfa fi Ikhtisar al-Tuhfa ¹²³ said: 'Among them, as far as we know, are ten: Shaykh Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Zamam Arka'; Shaykh Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Arus, buried in Tunis; Shaykh Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Zaytuni, buried in al-Masila, whom he served in Fez until he traveled to the East; Shaykh Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Uqba, to whom he traced his lineage and on whom he relied in the path and verification ¹²⁴, and he said: 'I benefited from him in a way not hidden to anyone,' and his companionship with him was about fifteen months in Cairo, as he himself mentioned; Shaykh Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Sanusi in Tlemcen; Shaykh Abu al-Abbas al-Jaza'iri al-Qasir; Shaykh Abu Zayd Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi, buried in Algiers; Shaykh Abu al-Abbas Ahmad al-Ghumari, buried in Tlemcen; Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Wazwal; and Shaykh Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli, they mentioned that he met him. End.' A group of shaykhs studied under him, may Allah be pleased with him, and a great multitude accompanied him in the East and West, and many imams graduated under him. Among them: Shaykh Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Rashidi, buried in Milyana; Shaykh Abu Ishaq Ibrahim Afham, buried in Zarhun, who had seen the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in a dream, and Allah opened for him at his noble hand, and he studied under him, then joined Shaykh Zarruq and accompanied him and traced his lineage to him ¹²⁵ for the purpose of spiritual training and refinement; Shaykh Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Kharubi, buried in Algiers; also studied under him Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz al-Qastantini, buried outside Tunis; also studied under him Shaykh Abu al-Jamal Zahir ibn Zayyan al-Qastantini; Shaykh Abu Abd Allah ibn Umar al-Mudghar, buried in Dar'a; Shaykh Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Hattab al-Makki; Shaykh Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ghalbun; also studied under him Shaykh Abu al-Abbas Ahmad al-Qastallani, author of al-Mawahib ¹²⁶; and his followers and his path ¹²⁷ spread throughout the regions of the earth, may Allah be pleased with him. Concerning him, the vizier said in his Maqsura ¹²⁸: 'Then the succor ¹²⁹ who revived from the path what had decayed, the seal of the verifiers ¹³⁰, Ahmad, called Zarruq, the chosen one. He had reality ¹³¹ as a emblem, and the law ¹³² became his garment and cloak. His remembrance flew and spread, and his secret ¹³³ traversed every land. He became a beneficial refuge for every distressed one, on land and sea, for those near and far. His disciple fears no sins, for whoever seeks refuge and protection in him is saved. He has disposal ¹³⁴ and a penetrating command, and his arrow hits everyone he aims at.' As for his shaykh, the imam, the knower of Allah ¹³⁵, the famous, the pure, the perfect, the verifier, the penetrating scholar, the remnant of the righteous predecessors, and the pearl of the necklace of the successors, my master Ahmad ibn Uqba al-Hadrami, he is among the greatest of the knowers and the most eminent of the righteous. He has righteous predecessors in sainthood ¹³⁶, from his father's side and his mother's side, a progeny one from another. It is said that righteousness resided in their house for nearly two hundred years, and this became well-known and established among the elite and commoners. His origin is from Yemen, from Hadramawt, and he finally settled in Egypt. There he met the seal of the verifiers and the imam of the pious, Abu al-Abbas, my master Ahmad Zarruq, who studied under him and benefited from him, as mentioned earlier.

Thus said Shaykh ‘Abd al-Ra’ūf al-Manāwī when he introduced him in his biographical work: Shaykh Aḥmad ibn ‘Uqbah al-Ḥaḍramī was a scholar of asceticism, a Sufi, and a gnostic (ʿārif) who drew from the sea of divine care. The people of Egypt turned to him, and the great imams learned from him, among them Shaykh Zurūq, who benefited greatly from him. He has many authored works, including *Ṣudūr al-Tartīb*. Among his sayings (may Allah be pleased with him): “A man is not one who knows the nature of the world (al-dunyā) so as to distribute it; rather, a man is one who knows the nature of holding it back, so he holds it back. That is because it is a snake, and the challenge is not in killing the snake, but in holding it alive.” And he said: “A man is not one who never enters darkness at all, nor one who enters darkness with darkness; rather, a man is one who enters darkness with light.” By “darkness” he meant the world and its causes. And he said: “The seeker (murīd) is overcome by his states, so he manifests (80) their lights outwardly, while the gnostic (ʿārif) has mastery over his states, so nothing appears from him except the existence of human nature. Therefore, souls incline more toward seekers than toward gnostics, and the manifestation of realization appears more upon them than upon the people of perfection.” And he said: “Servitude cannot resist Lordship, even in a single atom. When the Truth knew the incapacity of creation to fulfill His right, He addressed them from the carpet of desires: ‘Eat and drink and praise Allah, and guard against evil reaching people from you, and praise Allah.’” And he said: “Formal spiritual training (al-tarbiyah bi-al-iṣṭilāḥ) ceased from the year 824 AH; nothing remains but benefit through spiritual resolve (al-himmah) and state (al-ḥāl). So adhere to the Book and the Sunnah alone.” And he said: “Among people is a group who, when they perform seclusion (al-khalwah), nothing reaches them, and when they abandon it, it benefits them along with what is an opening for them from the strength of the inner self. That is because the soul of the gnostic takes (81) from everything according to its measure; when it settles on a single thing, it changes.” And he said: “I am amazed at one who says ‘my seeker’ or ‘my disciple’ and is not ashamed.” And he said: “Beware of Allah’s stratagem (makr Allāh) in everything, for in His power is that of which no one is aware. Whoever does not fear the stratagem will soon perceive the flaw and fall into sins and slips.” And he said: “How can you be arrogant toward one from whom you are not cut off, by saying ‘I am a servant of Allah, better than him’?” And he said: “If you find a sincere seeker, he will reach [the goal] in the shortest time without hardship.” His sayings (may Allah be pleased with him) are many. And he said: “Every knowledge that has no reality in the inner self is of no account, and every reality that shows no effect outwardly is of no benefit.” He often recited: “Submit to Salmā and go where she goes, * and follow the winds of fate and turn where they turn.” It ends in summary. Divine openings (futūḥāt rabbāniyyah), whose heralds foretell (82) the lights of lofty stations and gnosis, And eternal gifts (minaḥ ṣamadāniyyah), whose evidences shine with the subtleties of secrets and the gifts of grace and favor, And luminous words (kalimāt nūrāniyyah), whose proofs announce the perfection of monotheism and pure faith, And merciful benefits (fawā’id raḥmāniyyah), whose blossoms have been plucked from the gardens of sovereignty and dominion and the orchards of the sciences of our Lord, the King, the Judge, And precious holy prayers (nafā’is ṣalawāt qudsāniyyah), whose pearls of expression have been gathered from the seas of gnoses and spiritual knowledges and the appointed times of the Merciful’s descents, And have collected the foundations of their structures from the outcomes of understandings of sacred hadiths and the meanings of the sciences of the Qur’an, And have composed the rhymes of their cadences in the path of eloquence and adorned them with the jewels of rhetoric and the marvels of craftsmanship and perfection, And the springs of their sources have gushed forth from (83) the perceptions of the minds of the elite inspired by the light of revelation and the great ones of the eminent leaders, and the beloved ones immersed in the seas of the perfections of the Lamp of the Worlds, and the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, and my Master of the sons of Ma‘d and ‘Adnān. So bless, O Allah, him and his family, whose collars and sleeves are fragrant, and his Companions, who illuminate insights and minds, with a blessing by which You preserve us in secret and in public, and by which You save us from the deviation of fluctuations and the accidents of deprivation and deficiency, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. The relation of the highest honor is to you as perfection, And by your attribute, the description of perfection has become exalted, And by beauty, the love of the fair has become sweet, But by your face, all beauty has become sweet. The glory of glory is only that it be attributed to you, O you by whom every perfect description excels. (84) I have become the beloved of the masters of intellects because of the love I have for you amidst every assembly. O masters who, by loyalty, gave their love, Qualities whose gentleness has encompassed grace. Strip your witnessing and face their manifestations, They will clothe you with garments from the light of those ornaments. They are the beloved ones, my masters; whoever witnesses with his eyes my face sees their lights and manifests. Whoever is a servant, they are the masters of his mastery; The servant of the beloved ones is from them, O virtuous ones. Know that this great saint (walī) and perfect succor (ghawth), when the waves of his love surged and the wines of his cups of drink changed color, and he sought what would increase him in contentment and closeness to his Lord, and remove the rust from the mirror of his secret and the tablet of his heart, he looked into the world of spirits and bodies and the gifts of remembrances (85) and the means of opening. He saw no greater means than blessing upon His Beloved, our Master Muḥammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the Sultan of beauty and the Ascension of ascent for the people of sainthood and righteousness. Then he roamed with the eye of his thought over the meanings of the splendid and exalted word and the fields of its surpassing and pleasing suitability, and he found nothing that suited the majestic and lofty essence of his Lord in affirming His Oneness and acknowledging the right of Lordship except the perfect, chosen, and pure servitude of His Beloved, free from the bondage of soulful desires and human follies. Likewise, for His beautiful lordly attributes and His perfections, sanctified from modality and location, he found nothing that suited them except the universal, eternal mission of “may Allah bless him and grant him peace,” encompassing all higher and lower spirits (86) and corporeal and beneficent creation. Therefore, he blessed him with these words of harmonious meanings and splendid style and rhyme, which he composed from the marvels of his innate gifts and extracted from the treasuries of his secret and the unseen of his essences. May Allah reward him on our behalf and on behalf of the Muslims with good. Amen, amen, amen. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. A virtuous, celestial gift, And a comprehensive, merciful blessing, And radiant, sanctified lights, And surpassing, holy perfections.

And a prophetic Muhammadan servitude ¹³⁷ attached to a high divine Essence, and a glorious chosen prophethood ¹³⁸ attached to beautiful attributes, an Ahmadine universal mission ¹³⁹ attached to precious lordly names (87). "Glory be to Him who took His servant by night" ¹⁴⁰, "Those messengers—We favored some of them over others; among them were those to whom God spoke, and He raised some of them in degrees" ¹⁴¹, "Blessed be He who sent down the Criterion ¹⁴² upon His servant that he may be a warner to the worlds" ¹⁴³. I say: When the circle of Muhammadan love expanded upon the form of this saint, the knower of God, and the lights of Ahmadine prophethood and the moons of the chosen mission shone in the heart of this pole ¹⁴⁴ who points to God through his words and deeds, and he saw that the cosmos, in the sea of its secrets and the flood of its lights, is a desert, and the spiritual and physical worlds, in the enclosure of its cycles, are in a dungeon of cast-down things, this prayer was derived, encompassing the meanings of what his Muhammadan servitude, his prophethood, and his Ahmadine mission required from the high Essence of his Lord and the perfections of His attributes and His glorious and sublime names (88), so that he might draw near to his Lord thereby and take it as a means by which to seek His obedience and pleasure, and to implore the flow of His generosity and mercy. For he—God bless him and grant him peace—is the very eye of this human world and the center of the spiritual sphere; and concerning him it was said: "The first thing God created was the spirit of your Prophet, O Jabir" ¹⁴⁵ to the end of the hadith. So he said: "And I send blessings upon His servant and his family, and the prophet of His attributes, and the messenger of His names, our master Muhammad and his family." And if you wish, you may say that he requested blessings with his spirit upon his spirit by his spirit, and upon his attributes by his attributes, and upon his names by his names, so that servitude might vanish in fulfilling the duty of the right of lordship, and the prophetic secrets might be absorbed in the file (89) of the divine attributes, and the lights of the chosen mission might flow into the meanings of the passing of the self-subsistent names, so that servitude remains for its Owner, the attribute for its Qualified, and the names for their Named. "That is the bounty of God; He gives it to whom He wills, and God is the possessor of great bounty" ¹⁴⁶. I cannot enumerate praise of You; You are as You have praised Yourself. And if you wish, you may say: He attached his servitude to Him because of the abundance of his love for Him and his proximity to Him; and he attached his prophethood to His attributes because he is the mirror of His self-disclosures, and in him appeared the sciences of His Essence and the attributes of His perfections; and he attached his mission to His names because he is the locus of their realities and the manifestation of their subtleties, and the interpreter, by the tongue of revelation, of the secret of His unseen things and the flashes of His signs. And if you wish, you may say: He attached his servitude to Him because he was honored by it in all pre-eternity (90); and he attached his prophethood to His attributes because God praised him with the great character and commended him with what befits his station before every first; and he attached his mission to His names because God named him with them and mentioned them in His mighty revealed Book, and they are His true saying, the Witness: "The Peace, the Faithful, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Compeller, the Manifest, the Hidden, the Last, the First" ¹⁴⁷. My beloved manifested in the mirrors of His beauty, so in every pasture of the beloved there are harbingers. When His beauty appeared in diverse forms, He was named with names, and they are rising places. And He brought forth from Him in Him the traces of His attribute, and those traces are what He does. So His attributes, the name, and the trace which is the cosmos are the very Essence, and God is the Gatherer. So there is nothing besides God in creation (91), nor is there anything heard nor anything hearing. He is the Bringer-into-existence of things, and He is their existence, and the very essences of perfections, and He is the Gatherers. The lights of His sun appeared in the stars of creation, so the rule of the star did not remain, and the sun is rising. A merciful Essence manifested to a luminous servitude; and lordly attributes manifested to a spiritual prophethood; and self-subsistent names manifested to a mission of glorious Quranic secrets. And the Quran encompasses the meanings of all the Books and dominates them; therefore it is called Quran, because "qur'" means gathering. So he—God bless him and grant him peace—is the gatherer of every light, good, and blessing, and from him all worlds derive. Likewise, his mission—God bless him and grant him peace—is comprehensive and inclusive of that. And if you wish, you may say: He attached his noble servitude to the high (92) and lofty Essence of his Lord because none knows the reality of his servitude except his Lord, as he—God bless him and grant him peace—said: "None knows me truly except my Lord." And he would sometimes say: "I eat as a servant eats and sit as a servant sits," and sometimes say: "I have a time in which none but my Lord encompasses me." So understand. And he attached his prophethood to His attributes because He clothed him with the robes of His divinity, the majesty of His awe, and the beauty of His Essence, and created his noble essence in a manner that no human creation like him appeared before or after. And were it not that God veiled his outward beauty with awe and dignity, no one would be able to look at him with these eyes. As for his inward beauty and his holy character—God bless him and grant him peace—some of the creatures describe it, and the Lord of the worlds praised him, saying—mighty is He who speaks: "And indeed you are of a great character" ¹⁴⁸. So nothing is greater than what (93) God—mighty and majestic—has magnified. And creation is the attributes of His inward Essence, so his prophethood came in accordance with that. And Aisha—may God be pleased with her—said: "His character was the Quran." In this is a hidden symbol and a subtle allusion to the divine attributes. The divine presence was too modest to say: "He was characterized by the attributes of God Almighty," so she expressed this meaning by her words, out of modesty before the glories of majesty, and veiling the state with subtle speech. This is from the abundance of her intellect and the perfection of her etiquette. End. And he attached his Ahmadine mission to the names of God Almighty because he is the manifestation of His self-disclosures and the locus of the jewels of His descents, and because the Quran encompasses the divine names and attributes that subsist in all cosmic names. So God Almighty—transcendent above every meaning—created from the meanings of His eternal names and attributes new meanings which He spread in the worlds. Thus He created the light of Muhammad (94)—God bless him and grant him peace—and his inward essence from the meanings of the Quran. So his mission—God bless him and grant him peace—came encompassing all that and sealing what is there. * O One of essence in the eye of multiplicity, * O Finder of things, your beauty is widespread. * You manifested in things when You created them, * So here they are, veiled from You by the Buraq ¹⁴⁹. * You cut creation from Your own self as a piece, * And there was no connected nor severed excellence. * But they are rulings You arranged, requiring * Divinity for the opposite; in You is union. * So You are creation truly, and You are our Imam, * And You are what does not rise and what does not set. * And creation in the image is but like a snowball, * And You are the water that benefits it. * So the snow in our verification is nothing but water (95), * And two things in a ruling that the laws called. * But by the melting of the snow its ruling is lifted, * And the ruling of water is placed, and the matter is real. * The opposites gathered in the one of beauty, * And in him they vanished, so he shines from them. * Beauties from the One who originated him, all that, * So unify and do not associate with Him, for He is vast. * And the Truth is only God, nothing other than Him, * So smell his fragrance, for it is lost in creation. * And witness Him truly in you from you, for He is * Your identity by which you flourish. * And look in the heart at the image of His beauty, * In the form of the engraved, the stamp will appear. * For it is established in the text of the hadith: "Be characterized * By His attributes"—nothing prevents the reality. * And sufficient for you is what has come in creation: that he (96) is upon the form of the Merciful—a non-existent reality.

And from this meaning is what preceded in the saying of ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): "His character was the Qur’an." End quote. A Mighty Book, sent down from a Mighty Lord to every mighty one, by the tongue of a mighty angel, concerning a mighty matter, and the description of a mighty servant, and the prophethood of a mighty servant, and the message of a mighty servant: **{Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; a revelation from the Wise, the Praiseworthy.}** (Qur’an 41:42) So glorified is He Who gathered in it the secret of revelation (al-waḥy) and addressed it with the tongue of revelation, and named it with the spirit of revelation, and honored it by the descent of revelation, and illuminated it with the light of revelation, and gathered in it the sciences of the first and the last, and sealed with it the secrets of the prophets and messengers, and made his prophethood the origin of prophethoods and his message the most complete of messages, and extended his hand in His kingdom and His judgment over the inhabitants of the highest expanse, and delighted with him the ranks of the (97) near-stationed angels. So, O Allah, send blessings upon him and upon his noble, pure family and his eminent, guided Companions, a blessing by which You make us among the people of righteousness and religion, and by which You make us with those whom You have favored—the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous—by Your bounty and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. And if you wish, you may say: This pious saint, trusting in what is with his Great Master, when he swam in the seas of the sciences of the Essence (adh-dhāt) and the subtleties of the meanings of the Names and Attributes, and the shining lights of the Majestic and Beautiful, ascended with his spirit to the throne of nearness and intimacy, and to the Lote Tree of the utmost perfections and the highest stations. He heard the screeching of the pens of the wills writing upon the pages of receptions and inspirations what Allah had specially granted to His Beloved (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of the perfection of servitude and the most honorable of prophethoods (98) and messages. So he invoked blessings upon him with this prayer, which is his saying: "And I invoke blessings upon the servant of His Essence, the prophet of His Attributes, and the messenger of His Names, our master Muḥammad, and upon his family." His saying "the servant of His Essence" etc. He added his servitude (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to the High Essence because of the exclusivity of each of them to absolute unity. For just as His Essence (Exalted is He) is one, admitting neither sharing nor multiplicity, so too his servitude (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is one in its essence, admitting neither sharing nor multiplicity, even if it has a counterpart in existence of its kind, like the servitude of the prophets. The utmost of that counterpart is that it resembles it in some respects, and that it is the first servitude that issued from the Essence and was created from its light, while the servitude of others issues from it. So his servitude (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has no relation (99) or cause for anyone in it, neither sensibly nor conceptually, except the High Essence. Therefore, it was attributed to it in reality, unlike others. And he added his prophethood (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to His Attributes (Exalted is He) because the perfections of his prophethood are endless, just as His Attributes (Exalted is He) are endless, and they neither resemble nor are comparable. And he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is characterized by their character and described by their descriptions, and his prophethood bears witness to that. So whatever of His Attributes (Exalted is He) has appeared to existence, in him it appeared; and whatever has not appeared, his prophethood (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is capable of its appearance. This is witnessed by his saying (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): "I was sent to perfect noble character traits." And he added his message (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to His Essential Names (Exalted is He) because he is named by them, and their named meanings are true of him (100) in reality, unlike his brothers among the messengers. And because His Names (Exalted is He) are suitable for attachment and characterization, and his message (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) encompasses all the effects of those Names, is suitable for them, and is capable of acting upon their rulings due to the flow of his secret in them. Therefore, he added it to those Names, considering their generality for what issues from the effects of those Names upon the worlds, as He (Exalted is He) said: **{And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.}** (Qur’an 21:107) So the pronoun, in terms of its referent, is the reality of the Name of the Essence and its aggregate, considering the necessity of a Name or Names for manifestation. It is as if he observed a meaning from that, and Allah knows best. And Shaykh Mahdī al-Fāsī said in his gloss on *Dalā’il al-Khayrāt*, quoting from Shaykh al-‘Arabī al-Fāsī at his saying "and the messenger of the Lord of the worlds": "In the addition (101) of the messenger to the noble Name, which is 'Lord of the worlds,' there is an indication of the universality of his message (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), since the word 'messenger' is absolute, with no restriction regarding the one to whom he is sent; rather, it is restricted only by the addition to the sender, which necessitates the encompassing of lordship over all the worlds. So wherever lordship is determined, it entails the message, and lordship is a responsibility over all. Thus, the message follows it by directing to all, in a manner suitable to the constitution of each type of those under lordship. So each one is from Allah, his Lord, and Muḥammad is His messenger. So his message encompassed all the worlds—humans, jinn, angels, and all existent things, including the last of the Names and Attributes." End quote. O form whose meaning bewilders minds, O wonder whose origin astonishes the worlds! (102) O ultimate goal of the farthest end, and the last of what the rightly guided one receives, straying between your meanings. Upon you, as You have praised, from generosity, You have exalted in praise beyond a second or association. So no person attains his desire in you—far be it from you to have a limit in glory, far be it from you! So by deficiency is my recognition of you, my knowledge, and inability to grasp perception is perception itself. An eternal, luminous manifestation, and an ancient, merciful secret; a prophetic, eternal description, and a mighty, lordly, solitary Name; a great, supported, sovereign king, and an angelic, spiritual, human servant; a beloved messenger, upon whom his Lord and His angels invoke blessings in the decisive verses of His Furqanic Book. So He said: **{Indeed, Allah and His angels invoke blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, invoke blessings upon him and greet him with a greeting of peace.}** (Qur’an 33:56) And let us begin with the prayer (103) that I found written facing the noble grave, along with the verses that I found written in gold above the lattice of the Garden of the Chosen One (al-Muṣṭafā) (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), which were promised to be placed at the beginning of the book. I have mentioned this here for blessing with all of it, seeking help and support from Allah through them. The text of the verses: O my master, O Messenger of Allah, take my hand—I have none but you, nor do I turn to anyone. For you are the light of guidance in every event, and you are the secret of generosity, O best of those relied upon. And you are truly the succor of all creation, and you are the guide of mankind to Allah, the Possessor of steadfastness. And this is the prayer: O Allah, invoke blessings upon our master Muḥammad, the essential light whose secret permeates all the effects of the Names and Attributes, and upon his family and Companions, and grant peace. (104) End quote.

O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence ¹⁵⁰, the intimate and accepted one, to whom You manifested Yourself with an essential manifestation ¹⁵¹ in which names and attributes have no appearance; and the prophet of Your attributes, crowned with the crown of splendor and light, upon whom You bestowed from the attributes of Your perfections that which honored him above the inhabitants of the highest assembly ¹⁵² and the servants of the veils and coverings; and the messenger of Your names, the unique, the solitary, the manifest, the veiled, to whom You manifested Yourself by Your essential name the One ¹⁵³, so that he was immersed in the eye of the comprehensive gathering ¹⁵⁴ that encompasses the witnessing of Your Essence in absence and presence, so that he became in the eye of Your unification ¹⁵⁵ a luminous, merciful letter ¹⁵⁶ immersed in the splendors of majesty and the mantles of splendor and light, and a throne of majesty and beauty, and a manifest conscience in the Tablet of Preservation ¹⁵⁷ and the station of fame and manifestation. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, the First, the Last, the Opener of the secrets of existent beings and the subtleties of the station of servitude; and the prophet of Your attributes, realized by the essential descriptions and the lofty, merciful character traits; and the messenger of Your names, whose form is imprinted in the matter of luminous bodies and the mirrors of witnessed individuations ¹⁵⁸, who was an inner letter, erased in the rays of divine lights, and an outward light shining in the sphere of the secrets of the kingdom, and a hidden treasure beneath the throne of the establishment of Oneness ¹⁵⁹ and the majesty of Grandeur, and an honor inscribed in the scroll of the lofty lineage and the eternal gifts, and immersed and blended in the drinks of lordly love and the flashes of ecstatic attractions, and a foremost imam in the witnessing places of the divine presences ¹⁶⁰ and the prayer niches of the holy mosques, and a humble, submissive prophet on the carpet of desire and in the stations of awe, and a perfect human being chosen for mastery before the creation of spiritual souls and the formation of the human creature, and a perpetual veil before his Master in the manifestations of proximity and nearness and the stations of the secret and the special intimacy. Section: O Allah, upon him and upon his family, a blessing by which You make me witness him in his sensory and spiritual landmarks and worlds, and by which You elevate me in the ranks of his Muhammadan and Ahmadian perfections, until I behold him with the eye of certainty in the witnessing places of prophetic vision, and observe him with the insight of unveiling and clarification in his sublime, chosen stations, and praise him with heart and tongue for his beautiful attributes, as You praised him in the chapters of Your Wise Book and Your Furqanic verses, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, transcendent beyond parent and child; and the prophet of Your attributes, acknowledging Your lordship and the non-existence between spirit and body; and the messenger of Your names, whose secret permeates the innermost secrets of spiritual souls, and the people of the circle and number; Your eternal, everlasting blessing in the manifestations of Oneness and Unity, as long as eternity endures and Your manifestation is unique and the individual multiplies in number, and the lights of Your divine attributes shine with the succession of aid, and the circle of Your lordship expands, O Wise, O One, O Unique, and the splendors of Your Face are sanctified, O All-Knowing, O Individual, O Eternal, by the glorification of Your exaltation and praise with the tongue of pre-eternity in the eternity of eternities and the perpetuity of perpetuities, and the inclusion of Your attributive lights in the fields of modes and the angelic flights of perpetual glorification to You, O He who is distinguished by Oneness and is unique. How numerous are the ranks of his praiseworthy perfections in the unity of the ascents of his lofty degrees in the station of servitude, supported by complete righteousness and guidance, and the lights of his Ahmadian prophethood increased when the spiritual souls and luminous beings prostrated in the prayer niche of Adamhood, which encompasses the totality of his perfect, chosen humanity, encompassing the lights permeating the spirituality of everyone who prostrated to Allah and the servant of the recording angels with spiritual pens on the witnessed tablets with the ink of the intimate secrets that no one can grasp and no number can contain—a blessing and peace by which they are sanctified from contingent accidents due to the necessity of his being characterized by holy perfections and the universality of his infallibility in all heart thoughts and approved human states, preferred in the station of chosenness over everyone, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. His station is lofty and magnified, his rank noble and honored, a servant of the Essence, beloved and honored by his Master, and a prophet of attributes swimming in a sea of divine seas, overwhelming, and a messenger of names whose secret lies in the treasuries of knowledge from the sciences of lordship, concealed. Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His servant to be a warner to the worlds. "Indeed, there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful." ¹²⁸ Then I say and I send blessings upon the servant of His Essence, which He praised with the perfection of divinity in the clear verses of His Noble Book, saying: "And He is the One who is God in the heaven and God on the earth, and He is the Wise, the Knowing." And the prophet of His attributes, whose secret He concealed in the Tawasin and Hawamim ¹⁶¹, and the messenger of His names, which He mentioned in His saying: "Indeed, there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves..." Or you say: And I send blessings upon the servant of His Essence, veiled by His light, and the prophet of His attributes emanating from His light to His light, and the messenger of His names connected by His light from His light: "Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth" ¹⁶²—the verse. Or you say: And I send blessings upon the servant of His Essence, veiled by the veil of light from eyes and insights, and the prophet of His attributes, transcendent above likenesses and parallels, and the messenger of His names, by which He named Himself and named him, while creation was in the darkness of non-existence and the unseen of secrets, and they are the famous light, the Last, the Truth, the Manifest, the Truthful, the Protector, the Hidden, the Manifest. Or you say: And I send blessings upon the servant of His Essence, necessary of existence, and the greatest of His attributes, by which He brought forth creation from non-existence to existence, and the messenger of His names, by which He named Himself before the creation of every existent and named him, and they are the Kind, the Merciful, the Forbearing, the Generous, the Pardoner, the Oft-Forgiving, the Forgiving, the Loving, the Magnificent, the Opener, the All-Aware, the Compeller, the Appreciative, the All-Knowing, the Strong, the Firm, the Protector, the Guide, the Faithful, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Holy, the Peace, the Praiseworthy, and Ahmad and Muhammad in the sense of the Praised One. So He derived for him from His name to glorify him: thus the Possessor of the Throne is Mahmud (Praised) and this one is Muhammad (Praised). Or you say: And I send blessings upon the servant of His Essence, which does not accept union, incarnation, or participation, and the prophet of His attributes, whose perfections are exalted...

that the veils of illusions, imaginations, and perceptions encompass it, and the Messenger of His Names whose secret permeated the secrets of the spiritual and corporeal world, the Cherubim ¹⁶³, the Muhaymin ¹⁶⁴, and all the angels, and whose signs dazzled the inhabitants of the veils and pavilions, the inhabitants of the surrounding cycles, and the brides of the palaces of the spheres, and whose lamps illuminated the foreheads of the shining stars and the luminous planets, and dispelled the darkness of morals, and the veiled beauty is beloved, and she only befriends her own friend (113) when she manifests to a lover and bestows upon him a fragrance by which he knows her; attributes disappear and essences perish, by what beauty has manifested of her subtlety. If her lover aims a drop, and cannot avoid describing her, she lends him an eye by which he guards her, so he does not see her except by her eye, or you say: And I pray upon a servant whose essence is characterized by the perfection of Lordship, veiled by the veil of theophanic lights ¹⁶⁵, clad in the mantle of might, majesty, and grandeur, eternal by the permanence of everlastingness, transcendent above partner, likeness, and similitude, indicated by His saying: "There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing" ¹⁶⁶. And a prophet whose attributes, which He clothed him with from His ancient lights and magnificent secrets, are beyond the grasp of the intellects of spiritual spirits and the understandings of the luminous, supernal ¹⁶⁷ forms, and the Messenger of His glorious, self-subsistent ¹⁶⁸ Names, by which He honored him above (114) all the kingdoms of the physical and spiritual worlds, and poured upon him from the seas of His merciful ¹⁶⁹ and majestic ¹⁷⁰ effusions, which our Master mentioned in His Noble Book, saying: "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 thereof as a supplement" ¹⁷¹. That is, if the sea of existence from the Throne to the earth were ink for the words of my Lord, and the pens of all the first and last from eternity to eternity were writing His eternal words, the sea would be exhausted before encompassing them, and the words would remain unencompassed by the limitation of temporal things, and if the like of this sea were brought as ink, it too would be exhausted, and the pens and hands would cease, and those words would never end, because they subsist by the Essence, and the Essence is transcendent above the estimation of estimators and the calculation of those who imagine. Or you say: And I pray upon a servant whose essence is transcendent above indwelling and union, and a prophet (115) whose attributes are sanctified from likenesses, counterparts, and rivals, and the Messenger of His Names from which He poured upon him seas of secrets and made them the substance of supply and effusion, and made him know through them the reality of His Essence, and guided him to the path of truth and right guidance, and designated him by them in the prior determinations, and made him the mirror of His gaze for servants and the locus of His manifestation for the elite of the poles ¹⁷² and the pegs ¹⁷³. So his Muhammadan sea surged in the seas of those attributes and names, and drew from them without limit of the greatest openings and gifts, and the subtle sciences of divine inspiration ¹⁷⁴ and the jewels of heavenly revelation, until if every tree on earth were pens writing what his Lord poured upon him of those lordly gifts, and the physical sea were supplemented after it by seven seas, what his Ahmadic sea draws from (116) that which has no end and no beginning would not be exhausted, and the sea supplemented after it by seven seas, the words of God with which He confided in him and distinguished him by their secrets eternally would not be exhausted, and He gathered for him in them the sciences of the first and last of the prophets, messengers, saints, and righteous, and all the angels, in a station where no cherub nor sent prophet has rivaled him. Or you say: If all that is on earth—meaning the earth of the lords of hearts of sciences and gnosis—of trees, ripe with gardens and branches, bearing flowers of diverse colors, upon which shine the lights of "The Most Merciful taught the Qur'an, created man, taught him eloquence" ¹⁷⁵, whose fruits are gathered by the people of sincerity and certainty and those in whose hearts the lights of witnessing and vision have kindled—were pens writing what God bestowed upon His Beloved of the robes of good pleasure and satisfaction, the gifts of blessing and security, and the gifts (117) of grace and favor, and the grants of generosity, munificence, and beneficence, and the sea supplemented after it by seven seas, the words of God with which He honored His Beloved, our Master Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, the lamp of the worlds, and the bride of the paradises of gardens, would not be exhausted. Or you say: If all that is on earth of trees were pens in the hands of the noble scribes ¹⁷⁶ and the persons of the towers of light, writing what God granted to His intimate and blessed Beloved of abundant reward and wages, righteous deeds and praiseworthy effort, lofty station, and supported and victorious dominion, and the sea encompassing the world of concealment and manifestation, supplemented after it by seven seas that neither diminish nor dry up, the words of God with which He supported His intimate and blessed Beloved and honored him with their virtue in the inscribed Book would not be exhausted.

So bless him, O Allah, and his family ¹⁷⁷, the eminent full moons ¹⁷⁸, and his companions, the discerning leaders ¹⁷⁹, with a blessing that delivers us from the terror of the Day of Resurrection and Rising, and grants us from Your pleasure what will settle us in the abode of Your honor in the highest chambers and loftiest palaces, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Or you may say: Even if all the trees on earth were pens testifying to Allah's Oneness and to His Messenger's lofty station and mighty unique ranks, and the sea ¹⁸⁰ filled with divine effusions ¹⁸¹ was replenished after it by seven seas filled with eternal gifts ¹⁸² and merciful openings ¹⁸³, the words of Allah ¹⁸⁴ would not be exhausted, in which He gathered for His beloved Muhammad (peace be upon him) the secrets of the Furqanic descents ¹⁸⁵ and the comprehensive divine wisdoms ¹⁸⁶. Indeed, Allah is Mighty beyond grasping the realities of His gnostic sciences ¹⁸⁷, Wise in placing His luminous secrets in the essence of His beloved, the Imam of His sovereign kingdom ¹⁸⁸, the locus of His beneficent manifestations ¹⁸⁹, and the bride of His spiritual presence ¹⁹⁰. Or you may say: Even if all the trees on earth were pens, each pen writing the duration of the world's life for seven hundred thousand years and many multiples thereof over the passage of nights and days, Allah would not give to the Master of mankind, the Crown of noble messengers, and the Bride of the Abode of Peace, my master and lord Muhammad (upon him be the best of blessings and purest peace), and the sea replenished after it by seven seas filled with what confounds minds and bewilders understandings of the secrets of descents and the jewels of revelation and inspiration, the words of Allah would not be exhausted, encompassed as they are by veneration and glorification, and the glad tidings heralding healing from the greatest [ailment] and the pleasure of his Lord, the All-Knowing King. Or you may say: Even if all that is on earth—meaning in the earth of the hearts of the people of prophetic love and the presence of the Chosen One—of a blessed and lofty tree bearing the rose of prophetic knowledge, the narcissus of Muhammadan wisdom, the jasmine of angelic love, the jasmine of holy proximity, the lily of merciful witnessing, the basil of jabaruti benefits ¹⁹¹, the chamomile of desired happiness, the apple of beloved union, the citron of divine care's fragrances, and the clove of laduni sciences ¹⁹² and unseen sciences—pens writing without end the honor of Muhammadan lordship and the excellence of Ahmadic perfections ¹⁹³, and the sea replenished after it by seven seas of the effulgences of Qayyumi secrets ¹⁹⁴ and the gleams of the rays of Subbuhi lights ¹⁹⁵, the words of Allah would not be exhausted, which Allah made a means for acquiring the foundations of Islam and a translation of what is in the heart of the perfection of faith, opened with the two words of the acceptable testimony and sealed with the love of our master Muhammad (peace be upon him), the object of the eternal will and the antecedent of the antecedents of prophethood, observed with the loftiness of station and the might of eternity. Or you may say: Even if all that is on earth—meaning in the earth of the hearts of the gnostics, saints, righteous, acting scholars, the connected poles ¹⁹⁶, and the firmly rooted pegs ¹⁹⁷—of a goodly tree, pure in root and growth, its root firm and its branch in the sky, as narrated from Jabir from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "People are from various trees, but I and you are from one tree." Then he recited: "And in the earth are neighboring tracts..." until "irrigated with one water." Al-Hasan al-Basri said: This is a parable Allah struck for the hearts of the children of Adam. The earth was one clay in the hand of the All-Merciful; He spread it, extended it, and flattened it, so it became neighboring pieces. Water descends upon it, and this one brings forth its flower and tree, and that one brings forth its plant and fruit. And His saying: "pens, each pen" [refers to] what those trees bear of the essential attributes with which He distinguished His Prophet, the Master of the pious, and the lordly perfections with which He described him in His Mighty Book of station and measure, and the merciful gifts with which He gifted him, and the beautiful eternal morals with which He created him, and the widespread miracles, and the lofty ranks and stations, and the dazzling miracles, and the great growing merits, and the signs and glad tidings, and the perfections of majesty and beauty, and the inspirations and receptions, and the descents and ascents, and the hearing of the address from the station of "two bow-lengths or nearer" ¹⁹⁸, and the sciences with which his Lord secretly conversed with him in the station of nearness and intimacy, and gifted him with what expressions fall short of and symbols and allusions perish in grasping their realities—the words of Allah would not be exhausted, with which He addressed him when He showed him His lofty Essence with an eye-vision and spoke to him without how or where, with what delights the eye without doubt or falsehood, and made him the repository of His Furqanic revelation, the niche of His eternal light, the interpreter of the tongue of His holy unseen, the treasurer of the secret of His merciful knowledge, and adorned him with the adornment of the perfection of prophethood and messengership, crowned him with the crown of universal call to Allah and guidance, girded him with the sash of infallibility, dignity, and tranquility, distinguished him with the comprehensive words, honored him over all other places—Mecca and Medina—and supported him with Muhammadan attributes befitting his noble station, and beautiful essential morals indicating the majesty of his rank and the loftiness of his degree.

His lofty station, and His favor in the station of proximity through the secret of intimate discourse and speech, and the comprehensive qualities for the excellences of sovereignty and honor. And He singled him out with the Seven Oft-Repeated (al-sabʿ al-mathānī) and the Mighty Qur’an, and gathered for him therein the sciences of the first and the last, and informed him therein of the tidings of those who passed away from the past nations, the prophets, and the messengers. And He honored him with the Means (al-wasīlah), the excellence, the lofty rank, and the great intercession for the disobedient and the sinners. So send blessings, O Allah, upon him and upon his pure, virtuous family, and his Companions who supported the religion of Allah and aided it, a blessing by which You make us among Your servants who are praising and thankful, and among Your saints who are humble, patient, and mindful, by Your favor and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Or you say: And if (125) whatever is in the earth—that is, in the earth of hearts sanctified from the accidents of human nature and the necessities of human dispositions—were trees, beneath which is a divine wisdom and jabarūtian secrets, bearing witness to Allah for lordship and to His Messenger for the universal message to all the higher and lower worlds, the corporeal structures, and the spiritual souls—pens writing upon them the acknowledgment of pure servitude, the confession of fulfilling the rights of lordship, and the submission to the judgments of the praised sovereignty and the Aḥmadīan majesty—and the sea, filled with the secrets of sensory and spiritual realities, extended after it by seven seas whose waves surge with what was revealed to His Beloved in the decisive suras of the Furqān and the secrets of the sacred hadiths, the words of Allah would not be exhausted, which indicate His existence, Exalted is He, His pre-eternity, His everlastingness, (126) and that He is not a body, nor a substance, nor an accident, nor is a direction determined for Him, nor does He settle in a place, and that He is One in His essence, His attributes, and His actions, and that He will be seen in the Hereafter, and that He is Living, Knowing, Powerful, Hearing, Seeing, Speaking, transcendent beyond the way of temporal events, and that His Speech, His Knowledge, and His Will are all pre-eternal, and that the actions of His servants are created by Him, and that they are willed by Him and acquired by His servants, and that His creation of creation is by way of favor, and that He does what He wills, and does not burden beyond capacity, nor is He obligated to observe what is most beneficial, and that there is no obligation except by the Law, and that the sending of prophets, peace be upon them, is among the possibilities, and that the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah, Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is sound, established, supported by miracles, and that the Gathering, the Resurrection, the punishment of the grave, the questioning by the two angels, the Balance, the Bridge, and the creation of Paradise and the Fire—all of that is a confirmed truth, even if (127) one acquires the proof for that—and most of it is more freeing for him from considering those who see that the belief in the existence of Allah and His attributes cannot be purified by imitation. Or you say: And if whatever is in the earth—that is, in the earth of corporeal structures and the human creation—were trees of pens, and the sea existing in the world of determination, extended after it by seven seas overflowing with the materials of beneficent supplies and the gifts of gracious favor, the pre-eternal, everlasting words of Allah would not be exhausted, with which He addresses His servants in every moment, honors them with their secret in every glance, raises them thereby in every lofty station, addresses them thereby in every sublime station, and sanctifies them thereby in every radiant presence. And how could the words of the pre-eternal Truth be exhausted, when for the gnostic, from every breath of his from the Truth, Glorified is He, there are a thousand addresses, (128) and His address never ceases from him, and every address has a face, a unveiling, a vision, a proof, a tongue, a knowledge, a wisdom, a deed, a sincerity, an incapacity, and a perception. Ibn ʿAṭā’ said: “The words of Allah are knowledge of His Book and the wonders of His wisdom.” Abū Saʿīd al-Kharrāz said: “The speech of the wise never ceases from the springs of wisdom, for the wisdom of the wise is an inspiration from the Lord of the worlds from His treasures, and His treasures are not exhausted. Do you not see Him say: ‘And if whatever is in the earth of trees were pens, and the sea, extended after it by seven seas, the words of Allah would not be exhausted’?” Or you say: And if in the earth were a tree whose shade is dense, and whose rain of generosity is moist, to which the sun of prophethood and messengership lent its deep-rooted honor and ancient glory— pens writing what Allah granted to His Beloved, our Master Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, of stations of glorification (129) and veneration—and the sea, extended after it by seven seas, filled with the clamor of those who glorify and the breaths of the people of praise, magnification, and declaration of oneness, the words of Allah would not be exhausted, with which He addressed him in the sciences of revelation and sending down, and concealed their secret from others, and manifested it to him in summary and detail. Indeed, Allah is Mighty, Wise. His words, with which He honored His Prophet Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, are not finite, nor do they suffer deficiency or alteration, nor does change or transformation occur to them. And just as His majestic, sublime perfections are not finite, so too the perfections of His Beloved, our Master Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the best of creation, are not finite. And just as the treasures of His unseen sciences are not finite, so too what He granted to His Beloved of the gifts of His sacred secrets is not finite. So send blessings, O Allah, upon him and upon his family, a blessing by which You grant us the greatest share (130) of the gifts of his bestowed secrets, and by which You make us, on the Day of the Greatest Terror, under the shade of his prophetic, chosen tree, by Your favor and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. He is the Chosen One, sent to people as a mercy, And from His creation, the Qur’an has become exalted in greatness. He is the treasure; in it are knowledge, the secret, and purity, The light of guidance, forbearance, wisdom, and judgment. Allah preserved the prophecies in his heart, So he was a trustee for the prophets, whom he sealed. The Merciful encompassed the heart of Muḥammad, Therefore, in the secret of witnessing, he was annihilated. And He singled out his insight for the guarded unseen, So, by Allah, he did not sleep before the hearts of people. And the Chosen One did not associate partners, and Allah is Perfect, So the beauty of the Messenger of Allah, by Allah, was not divided. (131) And the Merciful did not create the like of Muḥammad, Beautiful, majestic in virtues and character. A beloved in whom the perfection of beauty is depicted, And in his form, the realities are inscribed. His inward is the secret of Allah and His unseen, And his outward is the authority of the Lord of the Throne and blessings. Were it not for the inwardness of the secret in him, as it appeared, And were it not for the manifestation of the secret from him, it would not have been obscure. The treasures of the names of the Dominant One are his spirit, To which the spirits prostrated in sanctity and breath. And in the world of the primordial covenant, addressed first, His reality said, “Yes,” before the Pre-Eternal.

And every address that was directed to mankind, the answer of the Chosen One ¹⁹⁹ preceded it, being binding. Kind, merciful to orphans, and supporter of widows, he does not turn away from neighbor or servant. (132) With pardon, forbearance towards people, and humility—so who can equal the master of Arabs and non-Arabs? Upon him be God's blessing and peace, and upon his family and companions, possessors of virtue and resolve. A preserved station ²⁰⁰: ﴿ Qaf, by the Glorious Qur'an, but they wonder that a warner has come to them from among themselves. ﴾ A miraculous speech ²⁰¹: ﴿ Nun, by the pen and what they inscribe, you are not, by the grace of your Lord, mad. And indeed for you is a reward never ending, and indeed you are of a great character. ﴾ A concise expression ²⁰²: ﴿ Ha Mim 'Ayn Sin Qaf. Thus does He reveal to you and to those before you, God, the Mighty, the Wise. ﴾ A fulfilled promise ²⁰³: ﴿ Ya Sin, by the Wise Qur'an, indeed you are among the messengers, on a straight path. ﴾ O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, (133) the servant of Your Essence ²⁰⁴, pure in relation to You and in servitude, the prophet of Your attributes ²⁰⁵, clothed in the garment of lordship and the beauty of divinity, the messenger of Your names ²⁰⁶, whose secret is preserved in the hidden realm of identities ²⁰⁷ and the inner depths of human hearts ²⁰⁸; whoever knows him has known You, whoever believes in him has believed in You, and whoever pledges allegiance to him has pledged allegiance to You in the station of proximity and particularity, for the light of his essence is the light of Your divine essence ²⁰⁹, the light of his attributes is the light of Your majestic attributes, and the light of his names is the light of Your noble, glorious, and holy names. Thus the lights of the Essence undulated with the Essence, the lights of the attributes with the attributes, and the lights of the divine, self-subsistent names ²¹⁰, due to the intensity of his annihilation ²¹¹ in belovedness, his proximity in pre-eternity, and his immersion in witnessing ²¹². So bless him, O God, and his family with a blessing (134) that creates in us his beautiful, merciful character ²¹³, and bestows upon us through it the acceptance of his supplications of desire ²¹⁴ and his accepted means of awe ²¹⁵, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, wearing from the robes of Your divinity the garments of faith and divine unity ²¹⁶; the prophet of Your attributes, adorned from Your perfections with beautiful character and praiseworthy description; the messenger of Your names, protected by the secret of Your care from the sayings of the people of deviation, error, doubt, illusion, and hesitation. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, annihilated in You from himself and his annihilation ²¹⁷; the prophet of Your attributes, described with Your perfections (135) indicating his honor and sublimity; the messenger of Your names, whose inward and outward aspects are illuminated by the vision of the beauty of his luminous face and its splendor. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, transcendent above structures and temporality ²¹⁸; the prophet of Your attributes, sanctified from likeness, similitude, and analogy; the messenger of Your names, by which things are affected through the secret of divine wisdom and perpetuity. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, sweet in character and speech; the prophet of Your attributes, possessing in the station of prophethood and messengership the degree of particularity and the foremost rank; the messenger of Your names, the supporter of Your upright religion (136) and the proclaimer of truth with truth. So bless him, O God, and his family with a blessing by which we traverse the paths of ease and gentleness, and by which You save us from sinking, earthquake, calamities, and trials, and by which You write for us with You the support of success, happiness, and emancipation, and by which You make us among those who speak the truth and fear not the blame of the blamer, nor the gloating of the enemy, nor the harm of creation, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. He appeared to you veiled, but by His description, nothing is hidden from you, and He bears witness through description. And from His humanity ²¹⁹ He manifested every form, sufficient for it is the divinity ²²⁰ of Your holiness watching. At times He appears through him, at times through His veil, and His veil is a disclosure sought and intended. His names are a vast sea, multiplied (137) with waves of surges, yet the sea is one. And here are the sciences of the unseen in a clear unveiling, whose lights the midday sun envies. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, whom You have attributed to Yourself with an attribution of specification and honor; the prophet of Your attributes, whose rank is magnified in the highest expanse ²²¹ and the station of lofty might; the messenger of Your names, whom You have informed of the inner reality of their truths and granted in them the beginnings of wisdom and disposal. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, whom You have attributed to Yourself with an attribution of realization and clarification; the prophet of Your attributes, created upon Your form ²²², transcendent above changes (138) and defects of deficiency; the messenger of Your names, from which his sublime name is derived, which You have coupled with the names of the call to prayer and the call to worship ²²³. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, the unique in station; the prophet of Your attributes, distinguished by the Great Qur'an and the Seven Oft-Repeated ²²⁴; the messenger of Your names, whose name You have made completing with the word of divine unity ²²⁵ and pure faith. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, strong in love for You and faith; the prophet of Your attributes, constantly engaged in Your remembrance in secret and in public; the messenger of Your names, sent as a mercy to angels, humans, and jinn, about whom 'A'isha, may God be pleased with her, said when asked (139) about his character: "His character was the Qur'an." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of

That unveiled ²²⁶ whose bride is in the station of proximity and nearness, and the Prophet of Your attributes, wrapped in the garments of contentment and good pleasure, and the Messenger of Your names, reviving with the spirit of his spirituality the hearts of the people of ecstasy and rapture. So bless, O Allah, upon him and upon his noble and eminent family, and his companions, the lions of battle and the brides of the paradises of gardens, a blessing by which You realize us with the realities of knowledge and gnosis, and by which You illuminate our insights with the lights of witnessing and vision, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. * The One narrated from the One * from the Presence of the Witnessed in the witness * from His secret coursing through His beloved ones (140) * from His greatest ecstasy in the one who has lost * from His most holy gathering in a separator * from His most precious intention in the seeker * from the Essence of the Command of the command, from an absent * from a present by the One, the Glorious * Indeed, the manifestation was realized for me absolutely * from multiplicity in the multiplicity of the visitor * And I became as He willed me * ruling over what emanates and what arrives * And I have been given in the return what * we choose therein the connection of the returning one * And I am the servant in whom * his Worshipped appears through the worshiper O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence through whom the pillar of the partial (141) and the universal was established, and the Prophet of Your attributes through whom the totality of the higher and lower worlds was ordered, and the Messenger of Your names through whose mission the distant and the near were blessed. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence who dazzled the totalities of the two worlds with the beauty of his essence, and the Prophet of Your attributes who delighted the body of the two weighty ones ²²⁷ with the excellences of his perfections, and the Messenger of Your names who astonished the persons of the towers of light with his miracles and the flashes of his signs. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence whose name is written upon the pillars of the Throne and the leaves of the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, and the Prophet of Your attributes who has attained from the descriptions of Your perfections that which has no limit or end, and the Messenger of Your names whose secret penetrates (142) into the mirror of the people of insight and the intellects of those possessed of understanding. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence whose station is magnified in the sanctuaries of holiness and the most exalted station, and the Prophet of Your attributes who revives with the best of greetings in the chambers of light and the station of "two bow-lengths or nearer" ²²⁸, and the Messenger of Your names, the treasured and hidden in the Kaf of "I was a hidden treasure" ²²⁹ and the subtle perfections, the most beautiful. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence carried upon the shoulder of majesty and glorification, and the Prophet of Your attributes clad in the robes of nobility and exaltation, and the Messenger of Your names upon whom was revealed: "And We have given you seven of the oft-repeated [verses] and the Great Quran" (143). O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, the guide to Your straight path, and the Prophet of Your attributes praised with beautiful descriptions and the great character, and the Messenger of Your names sworn by His message in Your saying: "Ya Sin. By the Wise Quran, indeed you are among the messengers on a straight path." O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence created from the purity of Your eternal light, and the Prophet of Your attributes walking upon the path of Your upright religion, and the Messenger of Your names conveying from You what You commanded him in the decisive verses of Your Wise Book. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence chosen for lordship before creation (144) and formation, and the Prophet of Your attributes whose foot is firmly established in the station of might and empowerment, and the Messenger of Your names who affirmed Your Oneness while Adam was between water and clay. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your majestic and glorified Essence, and the Prophet of Your beautiful and exalted attributes, and the Messenger of Your mighty and honored names. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence honored with the name of servitude, and the Prophet of Your attributes acknowledging the right of Lordship, and the Messenger of Your names informed of the unseen secrets of Self-Subsistence. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence transcendent beyond modality, incarnation, and union, and the Prophet of Your attributes that erase (145) with their lights the darkness of the people of polytheism, ignorance, and obstinacy, and the Messenger of Your names that attract with their secrets the intellects of the people of longing, love, and affection. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence manifest through You in the manifestations of witnessing and individuation, the Prophet of Your attributes hidden through You in the unseen of the Ipsseity of the people of ecstatic utterances and variegation, the Messenger of Your names whose secret is preserved in the hearts of the people of sincerity and certainty. So bless, O Allah, upon him and upon his family, those of firmness and empowerment, and his companions, the people of righteousness and religion, a blessing by which You quench our hearts from the Salsabil ²³⁰ of his pure drink, and by which You illuminate our insights with the light of his Ahmadine ²³¹ opening and the secret of his manifest Book, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. (146) O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence in the beginning and the end, and the Prophet of Your attributes regarded with the eye of veneration and glorification, and the Messenger of Your names whose mention is exalted in the sanctuaries of holiness and the stations of the noble messengers. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence who stood in Your servitude with the most perfect standing, and the Prophet of Your attributes preserved by Your infallibility in journeys and stays, and the Messenger of Your names distinguished by the universality of the message before the creation of originated things and the sketching of the form of Adam, peace be upon him. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence of lofty station and rank, and the Prophet (147) of Your attributes, the fragrance of collars and sleeves, and the Messenger of Your names who stood at night while people slept. O Allah, bless and grant peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence

Of the beautiful form and order, and the prophet of Your attributes, transcendent above imperfections and the fancies of illusions, and the messenger of Your names, who revives through the mission of the laws of the Sharia and the paths of Islam. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, submissive to You with the reins of contentment and surrender, and the prophet of Your attributes, surrounded by glorification, piety, and reverence, and the messenger of Your names, sent as a mercy to the black and the red, and to all of mankind. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, who is disciplined with the etiquette of the one who is absorbed in Your remembrance ²³² in wakefulness and sleep, and the prophet of Your attributes, who made a covenant between the Corner and the Station ²³³, and the messenger of Your names, who, through his appearance, erased the traces of the worshippers of idols and statues. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, who is disciplined with the etiquette of servitude in nursing and weaning, and the prophet of Your attributes, who commands the feeding of food and the spreading of peace, and the messenger of Your names, who struggled for Your Sunnah with the sword, spear, and arrows. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, who revives spirits and bodies through his remembrance, and the prophet of Your attributes, who is free from psychological follies and excessive speech, and the messenger of Your names, who repels from those who seek refuge with him the greatest of calamities and immense disasters. So bless him, O Allah, and his noble leaders ²³⁴, and his companions, the eminent guides, with a blessing by which You purify our innermost beings from the filth of sins and transgressions, and by which You illuminate our insights with the light of opening and inspiration, and by which You make us attain, through Your pleasure and his pleasure, the ultimate goal and aspiration, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, who precedes every possessor of feet, and the prophet of Your attributes, whose light is clear in darkness, and the messenger of Your names, who protects his community from the accidents of evils and punishments. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, who is faithful to covenants and pledges, and the prophet of Your attributes, pure in character and disposition, and the messenger of Your names, whose sea overflows with streams of sciences and wisdoms ²³⁴. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, lofty in rank and ambition, and the prophet of Your attributes, chosen for prophethood before the creation of the Tablet and the Pen, and the messenger of Your names, sworn by His great creation, by Nun and the Pen ²³⁵. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, the understood and known, and the prophet of Your attributes, the pious and infallible, and the messenger of Your names, whose dawn breaks through the thick darkness of polytheism and the accumulated darkness of ignorance. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, the opener of what was closed from the treasuries of the hidden secret, and the prophet of Your attributes, who is spoken to with the tongue of revelation on the carpet of intimacy and the known station, and the messenger of Your names, upon whom was revealed: "And be patient for the judgment of your Lord, for indeed you are in Our eyes; and exalt [Allah] with praise of your Lord when you arise ²³⁵ and in the night, so exalt Him and at the setting of the stars" ²³⁶. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, who is disciplined with the etiquette of servitude in answer and speech, and the prophet of Your attributes, who is characterized with the character of divinity in the station of gathering and separation, and the messenger of Your names, who proclaims the truth with the truth and crushes the armies of falsehoods with the swords of tawhid, the word of sincerity and truth. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence in the most luminous station and the ultimate station, and the prophet of Your attributes above the Throne of Istiwā and the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, and the messenger of Your names, whose lights of His glories snatched away the intellects of those of ecstatic utterances and attractions and the perceptions of those of understanding. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, ²³⁶ the servant of Your Essence in the station of two bow-lengths or nearer, and the prophet of Your attributes, adorned with divine perfections and the highest light, and the messenger of Your names, distinguished by the essential secret and the perfection of meaning. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence in ascents and descents, and the prophet of Your attributes in manifestations and theophanies, and the messenger of Your names in the revealed books and the texts of transmitted and rational sciences. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, pure in branches and roots, and the prophet of Your attributes, whose foot is firmly established in the presences of proximity and arrival, and the messenger of Your names, named the Reviver, the Savior, the Prophet, and the Messenger. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, ²³⁷ the servant of Your Essence, the guide to Your obedience for the astray and the ignorant, and the prophet of Your attributes, the benefactor to the elderly, the youth, and the middle-aged, and the messenger of Your names, who, through the secret of their blessing, makes easy the suns and the difficult and the docile. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, the connector and the connected, and the prophet of Your attributes, the accepted intercessor, and the messenger of Your names, whom You informed of what You have kept exclusively in the knowledge of Your unseen, and You do not inform anyone except those You have singled out for that, in Your saying: "He is the Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His unseen to anyone, except to a messenger He has chosen" ¹⁵⁴. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, whose collars and hems are fragrant, and his noble and generous companions, the eminent leaders, with a blessing by which You open for us the doors of happiness and acceptance, and by which You make us attain, through Your pleasure and his pleasure, the utmost of hopes and requests, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. ¹⁵⁴ O You who make the branches dance with the breezes, and incline the sides with the breaths, O You who put to shame the shining moon with his face, and the gazelle in his glance and his turns, O Qibla of beautiful beauty, to whom the kings of love have poured in the presences, You are the one who bewildered me and guided me, and left me and took me from self. You clothed the temple of his witness and my witness with the garment of beauty, and the inkpots shone. And You filled me with the wines of Your secret, so all my water-carriers began to draw from my overflow.

And to You alone I directed my intentions, and I found nothing but Your existence from all my directions. And the veils of my form were lifted from me, so I saw the very essence of intention as the secret of my attributes. And I rejoiced in You through a sacred melody, whose Davidic ²³⁸ strains are continuous in delight. So let him rejoice who hears the address and does not desire the unveiling of the veil, for he becomes the secret of the Essence. This is the existence of Muhammad and his station, and his affairs are unfurled banners. And God knows best where He places His secret, so submit to Him in all states. O God, bless and grant peace to our master Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence described with truthfulness and trustworthiness, the prophet of Your attributes infallible from falsehood and betrayal, and the messenger of Your Names (155) whoever believes in him and affirms his mission enters into the sanctuary of security, protection, and preservation. O God, bless and grant peace to our master Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence distinguished by perfection of intellect and eloquence, the prophet of Your attributes marked with right guidance, righteousness, and piety, and the messenger of Your Names who, through his truthful reports, erases the sayings of soothsayers and diviners. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence, great in rank and station, the prophet of Your attributes characterized by mercy, compassion, and tenderness, and the messenger of Your Names to whom You granted strength and assistance for the exaltation of His word. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, (156) the servant of Your Essence whom You honored through his mission and station, the prophet of Your attributes whose proof and evidence You made brilliant, and the messenger of Your Names whose rank and structure You elevated above the prophets and messengers. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence whose time You associated with blessing and felicity, the prophet of Your attributes whose tongue You made to speak with the jewels of sciences and wisdoms, and the messenger of Your Names whose heart You expanded with faith and divine unity. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence shaded by the cloud, the prophet of Your attributes wearing the best coat of mail and helmet from the robes of Your perfections, and the messenger of Your Names who leads his community on the path of salvation, success, and safety. (157) O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence of clear indication and sign, the prophet of Your attributes renowned for virtue and generosity, and the messenger of Your Names, the intercessor whose intercession is accepted on the Day of Resurrection. So bless him, O God, and his family with a blessing by which we become among those who have kept his covenants and pledges, and who have rubbed their cheeks in his illuminated lands and visited his station, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence whose secret penetrates the seas of the meanings of the sciences of the Essence and the springs of the traces of the Names and Attributes, the prophet of Your Attributes whose light shines in the wonders of created things, inventions, and all existents, and the messenger of Your Names who challenges with clear signs (158) and the gifts of secrets, and the messenger of Your Names who, through his forbearance, overlooks the people of crimes, sins, and burdens. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence who desires what is with You with the tongue of humility and brokenness, the prophet of Your Attributes who stands for You in the darkness of night and the depths of dawn, and the messenger of Your Names who conveys from You what You commanded him of the sciences of revelation and authentic reports. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence whose servitude is pure from the impurities of wills and the defilement of otherness, the prophet of Your Attributes in whom You manifested Your Majesty and Beauty to the hearts of the trustworthy, the truthful, the righteous, and the good, and the messenger of Your Names whom You made, through Your mercy, the intermediary of Your manifestation, and that is at the place of ambiguity from the manifestation of Your Self to those of insight (159) and discernment. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the servant of Your Essence through whom You made clear the rulings of lordship in his secret, the prophet of Your Attributes through whom the lights of the trace of his lordship appeared in his heart, and the messenger of Your Names whom You commanded to convey what You revealed to him of the rulings of the laws, not what You made known to him of the lights shining upon his inner being and the identity of his unseen. So bless him, O God, and his family with a blessing by which You honor us with his vision and proximity, and with which You quench our hearts from the flood of his Muhammadan ²³⁹ outpouring and the cups of his drink, and by which You make us, in this world and the next, among the people of his pure party and his group, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. You manifested but were not known, You shone but were not seen, You were hidden but were not perceived, so how can there be recognition? All the fields, their light shines through You, and Your light in the secrets is beyond description. (160) So what is shining from them? And is that shining? And do the veils of existence unveil for the eye? And what is the eye? What is its object of vision? And who is the one upon whose beauty the secrets in the unseen are honored? And what is the unseen? What is the radiance? What is beauty? What is the brilliance? A veil by which spirits are halted in differentiation. And what are the veils? What are the spirits? How exalted are Your affairs, and differentiation in union is more subtle. And what is union? What is differentiation? Far be it! Clouds that pour forth with Your secret have been sent to wash them away. So by God, what? Or by something of reality? In its garden, the nearest wishes are plucked. The singer sings with it, and a gazelle dances, and around it have circled wine and pure drink. My book is inscribed with every wonder, and the goals of people's books are but letters to me. (161) And my treasure is filled with every store, so whatever you wish from it I dispense to the lovers. The angels of secrets have hovered around me, fluttering with wings of light near me. On the night of the Ascension ²⁴⁰, a canopy descended to my heart from His fortified throne, a pavilion for unveiling. And it shook with my light where there is no 'where' in the heights, and no one knows me as I am. Glory be to Him who made the servitude of this noble prophet bequeath complete freedom, pride, and great honor; and freedom bequeaths pure divine unity free from the impurities of doubt and illusion; and divine unity bequeaths abstraction ²⁴¹ free from distractions that cut off from attaining the pleasure of our Lord, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing; and abstraction bequeaths individuation ²⁴² in the solitudes of intimacy.

And witnessing the Truth without qualification or anthropomorphism, and the singling out ²⁴³ bequeaths annihilation in the Light of the Essence, and sobriety in the meanings of the Names and Attributes, and the witnessing of the perpetuity of the Light of the Eternal Might. And with this are concerned the aspirations of the masters of the theophanic manifestations of the Names, and the relations of the people of the divine Attributes and the perfections of beneficence, for they have realized the reality of a certain Name among His Self-Sufficient Names ²⁴⁴ and have become characterized by the Attribute which is the reality of that Name and have been related to it through servanthood by witnessing the lordship of that Name. Thus one of them is called 'Abd al-Razzaq, another 'Abd al-'Aziz, likewise 'Abd al-Mun'im, and so on from all the Names. And all these Names are true of him, may God bless him and grant him peace, and he is named by them; but the particular Name for him is 'Abd Allah, and he is the servant to whom creation manifested through all the Names. So there is none among His servants higher in station or loftier in rank than him, because of his realization of the relation of this Name and his being characterized by all its Attributes. For this reason God distinguished him with it in His saying, Exalted is He: 'And when the servant of God ²⁴⁵ stood up calling upon Him' (Qur'an 72:19). So this Name in reality belongs only to him and to the poles ²⁴⁶ among his inheritors, by following him, though it may be applied to others metaphorically. Therefore this saint ²⁴⁷ attributed his servanthood, may God bless him and grant him peace, to the Essence, his prophethood to the Attributes, and his messengership to the Names. This is what God has facilitated of speech on this matter, and it suffices for one who looks at it with the eye of fairness and ponders it, and seeks for it the best interpretations and explains it. And whoever desires clarity on this beyond what is here, let him look into its foundations in the lengthy books. And whoever God removes the veil of heedlessness from his heart, and the Muhammadan lights shine upon his inward and the identity of his unseen, he will perceive the matter by witnessing and direct vision, and what we have mentioned will become clear to him as verification and explanation. We ask God, Exalted is He, to illuminate our inner sights with the light of divine knowledge, and to veil our hearts and innermost secrets from the darknesses of ignorance, and to forgive us for what we have dared to delve into what we are not fit for ²⁴⁸, and what we have spoken in this matter by reason and tradition. Indeed, He is the Guardian of that and the One able to do it. There is no power or strength for us in anything except through Him, from Him, and to Him. And may God bless our master and lord Muhammad, and his family and companions, and grant them peace abundantly. And praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. O God, I ask You, O my Master, by Your Name, the One, the Unique, the Single, the Self-Sufficient ²⁴⁹, with which You named Yourself before the creation of originated things, and by which You manifested Yourself in pre-eternity, and no one saw You, that You bless the servant of Your Essence, who stands in Your service as long as eternity endures, and the prophet of Your Attributes and the messenger of Your Names, our master Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, the substance of succor, the life of spirits, and the spirit of the body. And make me, O God, among those who stand before You in the states of servanthood, who submit before You to the decrees of lordship, who have given You obedience ²⁵⁰ and entrusted their affairs to You, so that no remnant of themselves remains. They realize that they are under Your command and in Your grasp, subject to the disposal of Your will and power. Nothing of worldly matters distracts them from Your obedience and service. Thus they become among the elite of Your beloved and the companions of Your presence, standing on the carpet of watchfulness in all states, and observing the Law in words and deeds. This yields for them the illumination of the innermost secret, the radiance of insight, and the extension of the rays of thought from the center of the secret to the space of pure understanding from God and reception from God. For serving Him, Exalted is He, by abandoning desires, opposing habits, not following whims, and purifying the substance of the spirit from accidents, yields the succession of His theophanies, the continuity of His witnessing and His determinations, the journeying of the sun of Oneness in the sphere of the heart, the release of the tongue of the spirit with propriety in intimate conversation with the Lord, the opening of the ear of the hearts to hear the address, the reception of the secret with cheerfulness ²⁵¹ and good manners, and the sitting with the Holy, the Mighty, the Odd ²⁵² where there is no preventer, no veil, and no screen. Thus the establishment of the foot of truth of their servanthood settles in the seat of 'with-ness' ²⁵³, and they delight in that witnessing by being characterized with the attributes of servanthood in a sense known to the heart and innermost, but which thought and tongue are incapable of expressing, for they are with their Master in every breath and state, with no deviation from His door and no removal, and no trade or wealth distracts them from His remembrance. For this reason their fear is great and their scrupulousness immense, since they are in the sight of their Master and Owner in all their fluctuations and states. So honor us, O God, with what You have honored them, inspire us with what You have inspired them, and distinguish us with what You have distinguished them, so that no distraction diverts us from Your obedience, no preventer or obstacle turns us away from turning to Your service. And support us in all that by following the Sunna of Your Beloved, our master Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, just as You supported Your beloved friends, the veracious ones ²⁵⁴, and Your chosen sincere ones, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. * I will surely cast off my reins in love for you * By your power, not by my power, nor by any stratagem * And I will leave the cosmos until I see it not, nor * Do I see glances, for leaving the leaving is not from me * Creation is your act, and the command is your command * So what thing am I? Would that I were not from the mud! The Truth I spoke, and in the monastery there is none but you * We seek refuge in God from my knowledge and my deeds * There is no place for the veil in your existence * Except through the secret of letters; look at the mountain * You guided to yourselves from yourselves to you * A perpetuity that expressed the obscure of pre-eternity * I knew you by you; this knower of you * You are they, and the life of love, O my hope! I said: When I completed the meaning of this luminous prayer and explained the brilliant expressions of its noble, gnostic words, I followed it with the decoding of the symbols of these transcendent, holy words received in the presence of the noble, lordly secrets and the heaven of the shining lights of the Self-Sufficient openings ²⁵⁵, attributed to the lordly master, my master Ahmad ibn 'Uqba al-Hadrami al-Yamani, may God be pleased with him and benefit us with his sciences, and the traces of the mirror of our insights and its polish with the lights of his understandings. And they are his words: 'Whoever draws from the wicked of the gathering ²⁵⁶ writes for her what was and what will be and what will not be, long long long, short short short, existence existence existence, non-existence non-existence non-existence,' to the end of these words, whose import is great and whose rank is esteemed among the elite of the elect and the greatest of the saints, as transmitted from him by his disciple, the gnostic lover, the succor of the West and the tongue of the sciences of the West, Abu al-'Abbas, my master Ahmad ibn Ahmad, known as Zarruq, may God be pleased with him. When I saw them ²⁵⁷, my soul yearned to unveil the realities of their hidden symbols, and my aspiration turned to plunge into the seas of their unseen meanings, to adorn the pages of this book with the pearls of their expressions, and to delight its lines with the unique gems of their wisdom, pure in structure and essence. When I pondered them, I found them rugged in path, distant in goal for the enraptured and the wayfarer; minds are bewildered in grasping their realities, and the masters of reason and tradition fall short of understanding their subtleties. None is guided to them except the hoopoe of gnosis, or one who has arrived, whose insight is illuminated by the lights of openings and the secrets of unveilings. None extracts the jewels of their subtle meanings from the shells of their radiant, exquisite benefits except an imam who is a gnostic in the principles of the Path, or a perfect one skilled in the sciences of the Law and the Truth, or a lover absorbed in the beauty of the Essence, or a passionate one annihilated in the lights of the Names and Attributes, or one inspired who has eaten from the tree of gnosis and drunk from the spring of ²⁵⁸ life, or one brought near who met al-Khidr and Moses in the seas of the God-given sciences and the rivers of the bestowed openings and the secrets of the unseen and the answering of prayers, or a pure one who performed ablution with the water of the unseen and prayed in the niche of acts of obedience and devotion, or a saint whose innermost was purified from human follies and found intimacy with his Lord in solitude and company. And what covers...

Upon explaining its lofty expressions and deriving the lights of its brilliant stars, except seeking the blessing of its speaker and obtaining the benefits of its virtues and excellences, I said—and God is the Helper, from Him I seek aid, and upon Him I rely; when He wills a thing, it is, and He subjugates the limbs and organs—praise be to Him who fills the hearts of the elite with the secrets of the unseen, adorns the brides of the divine presences with the reception of the jewels of revelation and the sciences of the Essence, and inspires the bestowed gnoses and holy wisdoms to whom He has chosen for His sainthood in pre-eternity ²⁵⁹, and causes to flow upon his tongue the springs of the sciences of the divine gift ²⁶⁰ and the subtleties of the divine indications ²⁶¹, and grants him success and correctness in what the spiritual intellect and the Pen have specified. And He is the effuser of the oceans of gifts upon the perceptions of the people of realities, and the revealer of the secrets of subtleties to the people of openings and delicacies, so that they speak by the gifts of His lordly gnoses, and utter by the sciences of His divine unveilings, and the inkwells of their hearts draw from the treasuries of the unseen of the guarded knowledge, and the pens of their expressions write the realities of what was, what will be, and what will not be. And His blessings and peace be upon our master and lord Muhammad, the treasure of the guarded secret, and the city of the stored knowledge, from whom the secrets of the gnostic receptions split, and the lights of the beneficent self-disclosures ²⁶² burst forth, and in whom the realities of the holy perfections gathered, and the sciences of the cosmic entities descended. Thus all existence is honored by his existence, and the entire cosmos draws from the flood of his bounty and generosity; the stars of guidance borrow from his luminous sun of illumination, and the essences of divine care draw from the sea of his overflowing secrets; the people of sainthood drink from the Salsabil ²⁶³ of the abundant Kawthar ²⁶⁴ of his love. The gnostics are guided by the beacon of his lordship, and those who have attained are led by the star of his guidance; all draw from the inkwell of his most holy and luminous gathering, just as the stars and moons draw from the light of the most essential sun. For in him gathered the states of the prophets and messengers, and the sciences of the ancients and the later ones. Thus the Muhammadan inheritor and the follower of the Ahmadine ²⁶⁵ path, when struck by the strike of the greatest self-disclosure, and he indicates, expresses, speaks, and utters, has no need of the intermediary of his prophetic spirituality, even if he is struck at the time of self-disclosure from witnessing his prophetic form. And this saint, the speaker of these words, when he attained this station, and the signs of the holy self-disclosure appeared to him from its side, and his aspiration attached to the gifts of holy secrets, the subtleties of bestowed sciences, and the grants of divine remembrances, and the influx of attraction ²⁶⁶ overcame his heart, and the meanings of the Names and Attributes surrounded the core of his intellect, he uttered the jewels of these words, whose secrets are extracted from the treasure of the guarded secret and the stored divine science. They are his saying: "Whoever draws from the inkwell of the gathering ²⁶⁷ writes what was and what will not be." The inkwell of the gathering is a metaphor for the secret of the luminous heart and the spirit of the spiritual secret, which is the locus of manifestation of the three self-disclosures: the self-disclosure of beauty ²⁶⁸ for the effusion of the sea of the secrets of the Attributes, the self-disclosure of majesty ²⁶⁹ for the effusion of the sea of the lights of the majesty of the Essence, and the self-disclosure of perfection ²⁷⁰, which is the isthmus ²⁷¹ separating them, and it is the gathering place of the secrets of receptions and the gifts of inspirations. Thus unveilings and visions are opened to him, and the lights of the sciences of the divine gift are cast into him, and all the worlds, the higher and the lower, are manifested in his mirror, such that nothing of them is absent from him, and nothing in them is hidden from him. So whoever draws from this inkwell, which encompasses the types of self-disclosures, the secrets of receptions, the gifts of inspirations, and the unveiling of the hidden things of existents, writes what will be of the creative commands ²⁷² that flow according to the divine will and the eternal precedents—and that is the irrevocable decree ²⁷³ by witnessing His saying "Blessed be the decree for the possessor"—and what will not be, i.e., what has preceded in God's knowledge that it will never be, and God has informed him of it so that he may have insight into it and learn from it and benefit from it. Or he writes what will be, such as the death of so-and-so in this year if he does not maintain family ties, and what will not be, i.e., his death in this year if he does maintain family ties, and it has preceded in the Mother of the Book ²⁷⁴ that he will maintain family ties, so he maintains them and is saved; thus his death in this year is erased from the tablets and his long life is established. Or he writes what will be of the occurrence of an evil death for so-and-so if he does not give charity, and what will not be of the occurrence of that if he gives charity, and it has preceded in the Mother of the Book that he will give charity, so he gives charity and is saved; thus his destruction is erased from the tablets and his safety is established. Or he writes what will be of the descent of calamity upon a certain town if they do not supplicate, and what will not be of its descent upon them if they supplicate, and it has preceded in the Mother of the Book that they will supplicate, so it is diverted from them; thus the descent of calamity upon them is erased from the tablets and its non-descent is established, as witnessed by His saying, exalted is He: "God erases what He wills and establishes, and with Him is the Mother of the Book" ²⁷⁵. And whoever examines examples of these meanings will find them many and clear, and they have witnesses from the verses and the story of al-Khidr ²⁷⁶ with the Word ²⁷⁷—upon our Prophet and upon them be peace. For al-Khidr, when God taught him from this inkwell that encompasses the sciences, knew what would be of the king's search for the ship and its seizure if it remained sound, and what would not be of its seizure if it were damaged, so he damaged it and it was saved. And he knew what would be of the boy's disbelief towards his parents and their transgression if he lived, and what would not be of their transgression and disbelief if he were killed, so he killed him. And he knew what would be of the treasure's appearance if the wall collapsed, and what would be of its appearance to other than the two orphans if he erected it, so he erected it. Thus he wrote what would be and what would not be, of knowledge and disposal. So the gnostic disposes in the cosmos; his words are the will of the Truth, and his acts are the will of the Truth. He informs of the Truth from the Truth, and writes the Truth from the Truth. His saying: "Long, long, long"—i.e., long is what you received in the carpet of the self-disclosure of majesty from the sciences of the divine gift and inspirations; long is what you granted in the station of the self-disclosure of perfection from the breaking of habits and miracles; long is what was manifested to my heart from the lights of the majesty of divinity; long is what I witnessed of the perfection of the might of lordship; long is what I came to know of the meanings of the secrets of the Self-Subsistent Attributes. And his saying: "Short, short, short"—when he recovered from the annihilation of his self and returned to the world of his senses, he said "short" three times, indicating the shortness of the station he was in relative to the station before it, which is higher than it. For the first station of length was one in which he was manifested with lordly perfections; the second length was in the stations of luminous witnesses; the third length was one in which he drew from the gifts of the secrets of the All-Merciful. And his state became short relative to those stations when he descended and witnessed himself with the attributes of temporal origination and the observance of human states. Therefore he said "short." And his saying: "Thing, thing, thing"—i.e., a great thing I witnessed in the station of subsistence ²⁷⁸ with the light of insight; a great thing whose eternal secret permeated the inner core of the secret; a great thing upon whose worlds of my secret the lights of His luminous Essence shone. And his saying: "No thing, no thing, no thing"—when he returned from his absence in the witnessing of the Essence, and recovered from his striking by the secrets of the Names and Attributes, he saw that everything other than that witnessed thing is vanishing and perishing. So he said: "No thing like that thing qualified with the attributes of perfection; no thing like that thing manifested with the lights of beauty; no thing like that thing exalted with the might of majesty and glory." And his saying: "Existence, existence, existence"—i.e., present in the hearts of the people of watchfulness and witnessing; existence: i.e., existing in all the particulars of the world of existence.

Existence: that is, by His customary manifestation, which pours forth the ocean of generosity and munificence. And his saying, 'Non-existence, non-existence.' This knower was certain that what he observed in his witnessing and proximity, and what was manifested upon his inner being and heart, would not perish in the permanence of its existence, nor would the sun of his witnessing be absent from him. When he recovered from bewilderment ¹⁷⁹ and astonishment, and descended to the station of stability and revived, he saw that everything other than that witnessing is non-existence. If he observes his self with the attributes of deficiency that he now possesses relative to the attributes of perfection with which he was supported in the state of witnessing, he says of himself and his attributes: non-existence. If he observes the station of descent ²⁷⁹ in which he now is relative to the station of ascent ²⁸⁰ in which he was singled out for the Most Holy Theophany ²⁸¹, he says of his state of descent: non-existence, because those are lordly perfections and luminous visions; lordly perfections are endless, and luminous visions are neither conditioned nor comparable, and these are originated attributes that lead to non-existence. And everything that leads to non-existence is non-existence. If you wish, you may say: Whoever draws from the inkwell of the Gathering ²⁸²—which is the point of the guarded secret and the stored-up innate knowledge ²⁸³, from whose heart the veil is lifted, who is singled out for subtle inspirations and allusions of address—he writes what was of the gifts of ocular unveilings and the realities of innate sciences ²⁸⁴, and what is not in the tablets of effacement and establishment ²⁸⁵, as witnessed by: {God effaces what He wills and establishes, and with Him is the Mother of the Book} ²⁸⁶. If you wish, you may say: Whoever draws from the inkwell of the Gathering—which is the light of insight and the mirror of the innermost secret—he writes what was, i.e., what was unveiled to him in the state of witnessing and cast into his heart of inspirations, and what does not appear at that time of the unseen matters and future events, as witnessed by: {God guides to His light whom He wills} ²⁸⁷. Glory be to Him who opened up meanings for those of insight, and informed them of the hidden things of innermost secrets and consciences: {Surely, to Him belongs creation and command; blessed be God, Lord of the worlds} ²⁸⁸; {Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His unseen to anyone, except to whom He is pleased of a messenger} ²⁸⁹—it is said: or a saint. If you wish, you may say: When the light of Majesty and Beauty ²⁹⁰ overcame this saint's inner being, and his worlds dissolved in the attributes of Splendor and Perfection, he trembled in awe and fell down thunderstruck, as witnessed by: {When his Lord manifested to the mountain, He made it crumble} ²⁹¹. When he recovered from his effacement ¹⁸¹ and returned to the witness of his sobriety ²⁹², the space of divulging secrets became too narrow for him, and he breathed in the isthmus ²⁹³ of the carpet of lights. He said: 'Glory be to Him who was before everything, and is the creator of everything, and is after everything. God was and nothing was with Him, and He is now as He was. I repent to You, and I am the first of the believers.' When the witness of his secret heard, 'I have chosen you,' he said: 'Whoever draws from the inkwell of the Gathering writes what was and what will not be.' Long is what shines upon the inner being from the lights of gnosis and appears on the pillars from the witnesses of grace. Long is what I describe to you of the gifts of the All-Merciful, and what He unveiled to me in the presence of witnessing and ocular vision. Long is what you encompass with the piercing of minds and what you deduce by proof and demonstration. Possessor of length: there is no god but He; to Him is the return. Short: and you do not encompass Him in knowledge. Short: and they do not encompass anything of His knowledge except what He wills ²⁹⁴. Short: none in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except God. Glory be to Him who encompasses everything in knowledge and counted everything in number. Thing: {Say: 'What thing is greatest in testimony?' Say: 'God'} ²⁹⁵; thing: {There is not a thing but glorifies His praise} ²⁹⁶; thing: {There is not a thing but with Us are its treasuries} ²⁹⁷; what thing: 'I was a hidden treasure, and I loved to be known, so I created creation that they might know Me' ²⁹⁸; what thing: {Say: 'God,' then leave them to play in their discourse} ²⁹⁹; {Wherever you turn, there is the Face of God} ³⁰⁰; what thing: 'Everything except God is false' ³⁰¹; 'My earth and My heavens do not contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant contains Me' ³⁰²; existence: {He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is Knower of all things} ³⁰³; existence: {He is God, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner; to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names; whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise} ³⁰⁴; existence: {Say: 'God is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the All-Subduer'} ³⁰⁵; (183) There is nothing in existence but God. 'I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him wherever he remembers Me; if he remembers Me in himself, I remember him in Myself; if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than it; and I am closer to him than his jugular vein' ³⁰⁶; non-existence: {Everyone upon it is perishing, and there remains the Face of your Lord, Possessor of Majesty and Honor} ³⁰⁷; non-existence: {Every soul shall taste death} ³⁰⁸; non-existence: {Everything is perishing except His Face} ³⁰⁹; {His is the judgment, and to Him you shall be returned} ³¹⁰; {Whose is the kingdom today? It is God's, the One, the All-Subduer} ³¹¹; Glory be to Him who gives wisdom to whom He wills; {And you have not been given of knowledge except a little} ³¹². If you wish, you may say: Whoever draws from the inkwell of the Gathering—and with Me is the heart of the believing servant, for His saying: 'My earth and My heavens do not contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant contains Me' ³¹³—and indeed the heart of the believer is the locus of the majesty of divinity and the grandeur of sovereignty and the unification of the supreme Essence and its description with the perfection of glory and praise. It is the rising place of the lights of Beauty and the mine of the effusion of the secrets of Perfection. So whoever draws from it writes what was, i.e., what God disclosed to him of bestowed sciences and subtle points of unseen unveilings, and realities of proximate descents ³¹⁴, and meanings of the holy Names and Attributes, and subtleties of divine secrets; and what will not be, i.e., what God concealed from the human world in the unseen of divine light, veiled by the awe of Majesty, hidden by the light of Beauty, and intended not to appear in existence, but disclosed its reality to the elite of the people of perfection. {Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His unseen to anyone, except to whom He is pleased of a messenger} ³¹⁵—or a saint. When the corporeal soul was thunderstruck by the manifestation of the light of the Self-Subsistent Essence, and the cloud of nature was dispelled by the shining lights of the Most Holy, and the worlds of the secret dissolved by the effusion of the Eternal secrets, {We have removed from you your covering, so your sight today is sharp} ³¹⁶. Then he breathed from the intensity of what he witnessed and cried out, and expressed what was manifested upon his heart and divulged, saying: 'Long...'

Long, i.e., what I witnessed and saw such that if from a ray ³¹⁷ of His manifestation ³¹⁸ the amount of a needle's eye appeared on the earth, it would burn; or the weight of an atom on the mountains, it would crush; and if a breeze from the wafts of His spirit blew upon dead spirits, they would live. "My servant continues to draw near to Me through supererogatory acts until I love him; and when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. If he draws near to Me by a span, I draw near to him by a cubit." So whoever hears with the hearing of the Truth ³¹⁹, sees with the sight of the Truth, and speaks with the speech of the Truth—how could his expression be limited, or his allusion vanish? How could his witnessing be qualified, or his unveilings be bounded? Then he said: "Short, short, short—inability to perceive is perception, and investigation into it is disbelief and association." He repeated "short" three times, indicating the variety of ascent and descent in the stations. When he ascends, he says "long" according to what he witnesses of perfection; when he descends, he says "short" according to what the state demands. Otherwise, there is neither short nor long, neither betweenness ³²⁰ nor indwelling ³²¹; that varies according to intoxication and sobriety, stability and effacement. His saying: "Thing, thing, thing"—i.e., what the spirit witnessed, what the spirit ascended to, and what the spirit taught. His saying: "No thing resembles that thing which the spirit witnessed; no thing equals that thing which the spirit understood; there is nothing but it is annihilated in the majesty of that thing which the spirit expressed"—"Everything is perishing except His Face" ³²². "Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence"—everything is obliterated by the majesty of His awe, annihilated by the might of His eternity. For in the manifestation of His greatness, signs and traces are erased, allusions and understandings become insignificant, the imagined thing is lifted, and the hidden secret appears: "Allah—there is no god but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting" ³²³. "Existence, existence, existence"—all existence is in His grasp, standing by the secret of His wisdom, proceeding in His will. Concerning this, some said: "I have not seen anything except that I saw Allah in it, or before it, or after it"—"He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is Knower of all things" ³²⁴. If you wish, you may say: Whoever draws from the inkwell of the gathering ³²⁵—which is the word of testimony ³²⁶, leading to the stations of success and felicity, radiating lights, encompassing all kinds of secrets—and it is called the inkwell of the gathering because it is the root of the tree of faith, Islam, and excellence ³²⁷, and the element of gifts, divine sciences ³²⁸, excellence, and gnosis. Whoever draws from it writes what is necessary for Allah Almighty of attributes of perfection, majesty of glory, necessity of existence—the Holy and Exalted—and what is not, of that which sanctifies that Supreme Presence and exalts His highest perfection, as the Truth described Himself in His words: "Indeed, we belong to Allah and indeed to Him we return" ³²⁹, and His words: "Allah—there is no god but He" ³³⁰, and "To Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names" ³³¹. So He affirmed for Himself, Mighty and Majestic, all attributes of perfections ³³², and negated from Himself their opposites, hidden and manifest. His saying: "Long"—i.e., long is what is necessary for Him of absolute perfection that is endless; long in what is not necessary for Him of true wealth that is unqualified and incomparable; long in what is necessary for Him, Exalted, of attributes of holy perfections which it is impossible for Him to be described with other than them. Then he extracted from "long" a "short" according to the requirement of sanctification and transcendence, by affirming perfection and negating opposite, peer, and likeness. So he said: "Short"—i.e., your praise of Him is short; i.e., what your minds perceive of the loftiness of His perfections is short; i.e., what you sanctify His high Essence with is short, as witnessed by the words of the rememberer: "Glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is Greatest." "Glory be to Allah" is sanctification and transcendence; "praise be to Allah" is praise and perfection; "there is no god but Allah" is unification and magnification; "Allah is Greatest"—i.e., Allah is higher, greater, and mightier than your sanctification of Him, greater and mightier than your praise of Him, and loftier and greater than your unification of Him. Therefore, the greatest gnostic ³³³ said: "O Allah, I cannot enumerate praise upon You; You are as You have praised Yourself." And He, Exalted, said: "They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal" ³³⁴. Thus, affirming the attributes of holy perfections for the Truth, Glorious is His Majesty, and negating their opposites from Him, Exalted is His perfection, is the spirit of the gnostic and his repose; in it his spirit perishes, his state dissolves, and his allusion vanishes. "Thing"—exalted above things, great in majesty and worth; thing that flows from His secret at the heart's presence in remembrance; thing that encompasses for him of perfections within this word what is endless and beyond enumeration. "No thing resembles it" in what it has of greatness, sanctification, and magnification; "no thing shares with it" in what is established for Him of attributes of divinity and perfection; "no thing is like it" in essence, attributes ³³⁵, and acts. "Existence" that does not perish, its eternal duration; "existence" that never ceases, its everlasting kingdom; in the existence of every existent that is dependent on His Self-Sufficient wealth. "Non-existence" of all essences other than His high Essence; "non-existence" of all attributes in existence other than His lofty attributes; "non-existence" of all acts other than His sublime acts. "Non-existence"—I say this gnostic metaphorically named this table ³³⁶ descending upon him from the heaven of the unseen, its vessel filled with subtleties of knowledges and gnoses and the gifted divine science ³²⁸, considering what settled in it of divine support and the merciful, divine secret. When he saw the breadth of its noble circle and the radiant lights of its lofty manifestations, the attractions of union seized him, the wafts of connection moved him, the witnesses of perfection surrounded him, and the gifts of the Possessor of Might and Majesty bewildered him ³³⁷. So his tongue became mute, his capacity and heart narrowed, and he feared divulging secrets in inappropriate places and giving wisdom to those unworthy. He knew the jealousy of the Truth for His saints and the brides of His presences, for their hearts are treasuries of His secrets and loci of His lights. He saw that the comprehension of insights cannot bear them, and the receptacles of consciences cannot encompass the reality of their essence. So he breathed these luminous words and found relief in the breeze of their divine wafts, entrusting the explanation of their meanings to the sciences of the gnostics and the unveiling of their hidden secrets to the understandings of the veracious ³³⁸. A group of gnostics have interpreted them in noble ways and derived subtle meanings from them, each according to what was opened to him and what his gnostic understanding reached. So the state of intense love compelled me to join the string of their unique necklace, and I sent my thought's scout to dive into the depths of its sea to extract from the shells of allusion the pearls of its gems. Then He opened ³³⁹...

God, that it bore subtle meanings and drew forth elegant implications, sweet on the tongues of the people of expressions and received with acceptance in the assemblies of the people of allusions ³⁴⁰. Then a divine opening came upon me, that it bore a burden whose secret return is infinite, and it drew forth by His saying: "Whoever draws from the inkwell of the gathering ³⁴¹ to the two words of the testimony ³⁴², from whose blazing stars all the lights of gnosis and spiritual knowledge are kindled." When I saw that it gathered the secrets of bestowed receptions ³⁴³ and the subtleties of benefit, and the secret of its support in spirits and hearts is of great diffusion, and by its frequent mention, habits are broken and springs of gnosis gush forth on his tongue. Therefore, when this great gnostic ³⁴⁴ multiplied its mention in the carpet of his gathering and proximity, and its influx took hold of his spirit and heart, and its wine mingled in the chambers of his taste and drink, and its secret blended with his flesh and blood, and its mention became sweet on his tongue and mouth (193), the lights of holy theophanies shone upon him, and the seas of the secrets of bestowed receptions overflowed upon him, and he began to say: "Whoever draws from the inkwell of the gathering"—that is, by virtue of what has settled in it of divine support and the all-comprehensive infinite secret—"he writes what was"—that is, what was unveiled to him of its lordly secret and its merciful support—"and what will not be"—when the Truth ³⁴⁵ reserved from His samadani ³⁴⁶ theophany and His ladunni ³⁴⁷ solitary knowledge. His saying: "Long, long, long" to the end of the words, with different types of expressions—that is only according to his taste and longing, his gathering and separation, his descent and ascent, his annihilation and subsistence, his taking and giving, his absence and presence, his joy and delight. That is the affair of lovers and the states of the veracious ³⁴⁸. For if the winds of awe blow upon them, they become bewildered; and if the breezes of proximity blow upon them, they live. So they fluctuate between the breeze of His intimacy and the gardens of His holiness (194). Sometimes the lightnings of attractions snatch them, sometimes the zephyrs of ecstatic utterances ³⁴⁹ move them, and sometimes the lights of theophanies cover them. Among them are those who weep and fall, among them are those who call out with the tongue of their state and cry, among them are those who say "Allah, Allah" until their joints are severed, and among them are those who say "Ah, ah, ah, Huwa, Huwa, Huwa" until their states calm down and their words breathe out what their breasts were constrained with. So they frolic in the gardens of the paradise of His gnosis, and they long and yearn for the paradises of His bliss and the vision of His face, as witnessed by His saying, exalted is He: "And for him who fears the station of his Lord are two gardens" ³⁵⁰ (55:46). One garden is immediate: it is the sweetness of obediences, the pleasure of intimate prayer, the familiarity with the varieties of unveilings, the support with various kinds of miracles, the ascent to the highest stations, the insight into the secrets of determined things, the informing of what was in what the Truth decreed in created things, and what will not be—that is, what the Truth willed not to occur in the past and future (195). And one garden is deferred: it is the varieties of rewards, the high degrees, and the vision of the face of the Lord of the earths and heavens. That is the noblest of blessings, which no blessing equals, and no mercy resembles. It is the greatest oasis of the gnostics and the ultimate hope of the yearners. Therefore, he said, peace and blessings be upon him: "There is no rest for the believer without meeting his Lord, and the gnostic has no solace except in intimate prayer to his Master on the carpet of His proximity and witnessing Him with the eye of his heart." And concerning that, he said, may God be pleased with him: "I would not inform of a Lord I had not seen." It was said to him: "How can He be seen whom eyes do not perceive?" He said: "By the purity of faith, not by witnessing and sight." Then he began to say: "I saw my Lord with the eye of my heart, and I said: 'No doubt, You are You. You are the one who possesses every 'where,' so 'where' is where You are. And there is no 'where' from You, so that 'where' may know where You are.'" (196) By the pen of inspiration and convention, and the proof of verification and certainty, and the return of reality and law—and there is no strangeness if he draws from the Muhammadan inkwell of the gathering and scoops from the sea of the prophetic secret, and the streams of angelic and malakuti ³⁵¹ secrets flow upon his heart, and the jewels of inspirations and meetings of the jabaruti ³⁵² and rahmuti ³⁵³ descend upon the throne of his essence. So he writes "what was"—that is, what appeared by the fingers of ocular unveilings on the tablets of the perceptions of the people of theophanies of excellence, and the pasture of the masters of insights of gnoses, spiritual knowledges, and discernment sciences, derived from the light of the lamp of the cosmic worlds, the substance of spiritual spirits, the corporeal templates, and "what will not be" in the unseen of the identity of the solitary ones who have reached, and the heaven of the intellects of the firmly rooted poles ³⁵⁴. Rather, it is an opening upon him by which he opened a special opening, unique to him among the great elite of the brought-near and the eminent individuals of the inspired, by the blessing of the Seal of the Prophets (197) and the Master of the Messengers, and the Imam of the Saints and the Chosen Honored Ones. And I say: I only carried the words of this gnostic to this highest meaning and pointed thereby to this most sublime and noble intent, because it was verified to me that his spirituality, peace and blessings be upon him, perpetually flows in the hearts of the perfect gnostics, and its light continuously shines in the innermost secrets of the elite of the elite and the saints who have reached. Therefore, I adorned the discourse on this greatest meaning with blessings upon him, peace and blessings be upon him, and I composed its structure flowing upon the meanings of these beautiful, radiant words, and founded upon the principles of its constructions that agree in wording and meaning, so that it may, God willing, guarantee the attainment of the goal and the achievement of wishes. "He captivated with his most sublime beauty, minds that do not comprehend the meaning, and brought us to what we desire, by him, to the most pleasant watering-place." And He gave us from gnosis a beneficence by which He granted us (198) Muhammadan zephyrs of flowers and fragrant breezes of his Ahmadan ³⁵⁵ miracles, and He solved the symbols of luminous, lofty words, and opened the treasures of secrets of lordly sciences, and the openings of existential, present descents, and the seas of samadani, holy supports, and the results of qayyumi ³⁵⁶ bestowed understandings, and the subtleties of allusions that indicate long, majestic things, and short, insignificant things, and fixed, sensory things, and surrounded, lofty things, and apparent, existential things, and abandoned, non-existent things, containing wonders of inner matters, details of essential sciences, and links of interpretive, interrogative understandings, traced by the pens of volition on the tablet of thought and the mirror of the secret. And they are the words of this saint: "Whoever draws from the inkwell of the gathering, he writes what was and what will not be (199): long, long, long; short, short, short; thing, thing, thing; what thing, what thing, what thing; existence, existence, existence; non-existence, non-existence, non-existence." So I say: When the sea of prophethood overflowed upon the heart of this great saint, and he witnessed what his Master granted him through the hand of His beloved, our master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, of the abundant flow of his support, he expressed the length of that abundant Muhammadan opening by his saying: "Long, long, long," meaning long in length with openings, gifts, blessings, and successive favors for the tribes and beloved ones.

To the distant and the near, his generosity encompasses non-Arabs and Arabs. When he promises, he does not break his promise, and when asked, he does not say no. Long, long, long of hands ³⁵⁷, he does not store food for tomorrow but gives what is in his hand to the weak and the poor, even if the mountains of Tihama were gold and silver (200), he would spend it on them and not fear from the Possessor of the Throne any diminishment. Long, long, long of generosity, his generosity never ceases nor perishes eternally. He continues to pour forth goodness and beneficence upon those who love him and those who are beloved, thereby increasing in the station of electness ³⁵⁸ honor, might, and perfection, and in the enclosures of the near ones ³⁵⁹ respect, veneration, and exaltation. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, long of silence, constant in reflection, who never parted from fear in all his moments, and remembers Allah at dawn and evening, not seeking any substitute for his delightful remembrance nor moving away from it. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, long of disposition in the world of spirits and bodies, who would become angry at Allah's anger and be pleased at Allah's pleasure (201), and would offer sincere advice to Allah's servants, and never listened to a blamer blaming him for doing good. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, long of spear in the path of Allah, who would strive with it against the enemies of Allah to elevate the word of Allah, and would struggle for the Muhammadan Sharia and the Hanifite religion, and would expend in the pleasure of his Lord his soul and wealth. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, long of standing ³⁶⁰ with Allah, who would guide the servants to Allah, call them to the worship of Allah, remind them of obedience to Allah, and warn them against opposing Allah's command, while at night the winds of desire play with them, increasing them thereby in error and misguidance. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, (202) long of guidance to Allah, whose lengthy call encompassed the East and the West, so they turned with their hearts and bodies to Allah, attaining eternal happiness and thereby gaining in the Abode of Honor joy and acceptance. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, long of reach in knowledge of Allah, whose lengthy knowledge renews faith in the hearts of believers and purifies them from the accidents of doubts and illusions, so they fear no break, no blemish, no cut, no separation. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by whose blessing we attain honor, nobility, and perfection, and by which we obtain pure states, praiseworthy morals, and virtues, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad (203) and to the family of our master Muhammad, long of beauty and excellences, whose length dazzles minds and confuses intellects; no one resembles him in length except that he surpasses him, and his stature excels the branches of the willow and bamboo in straightness and balance. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, long of splendor and beauty, whose lengthy beauty is from humans but he does not resemble them; no predecessor or successor has attained him; he has gathered all scattered excellences, so no one has seen in that a likeness, a peer, or an example. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, long of awe and majesty; whoever sees him suddenly fears him; proud souls submit to him, the necks of tyrants bow to him, and affairs are affected by him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad (204) and to the family of our master Muhammad, long of shining lights and illuminations, whose lengthy light of perfections captivates the minds of lovers; from his light the shining stars, bright planets, and radiant full moons are illuminated; their light shines and glitters. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, long of sacred lordly discourses, whose lengthy speech seizes the hearts and draws them to Allah, thereby obtaining for them in the station of proximity care and increasing them in intimacy and boldness. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, long of sciences and wisdoms, whose lengthy sciences open insights and illuminate hearts from the disease of ignorance and soulful follies, leaving in them no doubt, illusion, or possibility concerning knowledge of Allah. (205) So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by which You protect us from every affliction that weakens bodies and causes minds grief, illusion, and confusion, and by which You ward off from us the hand of every oppressor who seeks us with evil, and make him taste from Your great might disgrace, ruin, and punishment, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Your beauty, by Him who created beauty, * lent the moon beauty and the gazelle. You have put to shame the moons of darkness * with a radiant face more splendid and shining. You have robbed the minds with a spear of a fresh, swaying form * like a branch bending. You have gathered all noble traits * and perfected creation in form and balance. O you whose captivating glance shoots * when he looks at his lover directly. You have clothed in robes of beauty and joy * surpassing the sun in light and the crescent. In you, my blamers have not been fair to me * so I have not listened to my blamer's words. I said to them: Leave me, do not blame; * the fire of separation has increased my burning. Distance has made me restless and driven away my sleep, * and the cup of longing has made me taste madness. Oh my burning, oh my sorrow, when * he whom I had pledged union with shuns me. (206) Whoever loves and has no patience * with the tyranny of the beautiful will not attain. How many like me, sorrowful, have wandered in passion, * with tears flowing down the cheek. I spend the night with the stars, striving * that I might attain a prize. And I sing in praise of love with all my effort, * though he possesses gifts and perfection. His splendid virtues cannot be counted; * who can count stones and sand? A prophet whose religion is Islam truly, * brought us guidance and erased error. He strove in the path of Allah until * Islam rose in rank and became exalted. He surpassed those of ranks and high stations, * leaving them no scope therein.

O best of those who ride mounts, and those who set out journeys for his riches, and by whom the valley of Batha' ³⁶¹ wafted musk, and by whom the hills bloomed with beauty. I complained to you, out of my longing, of sins heavy upon my back, terrifying me. So take my hand and be for me on my return a intercessor on the day when I cannot speak well. And in my grave, before the two angels ³⁶², be for me when they intend to terrify me with punishment. For who else can dispel sorrows, O you whose lofty station will never cease? I have made your sublime praise my gain; besides it, I seek no earning or wealth. Sufficient is your generosity: your giving never ceases, and the rain of your hands pours forth unceasingly. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long mercies, whose long mercy encompassed the far and near, and the open door of Allah for the seeker and the supplicant. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long forbearance, whose long forbearance encompassed all creatures and beings in the darkness of non-existence, and the key to the doors of contentment and acceptance, who adorned himself with the sash of pardon and forgiveness and wrapped himself in the cloak of forbearance, generosity, and munificence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long generosity, whose long generosity encompassed Arabs and non-Arabs, and the noble of origins and branches, whom his Lord praised with the great character in Surah Nun and the Pen ³⁶³. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long truthfulness, whose long truthfulness is witnessed by the elite and the common, kings and servants, and the seal of every prophet and messenger, from whom no one is more free in saying 'no' or 'yes'. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long gifts, whose long gifts put to shame the Nile, the Euphrates, the Jaxartes, the Oxus, the surrounding sea, and the pouring rains, and the reminder of the heedless and forgetful, to whom the gazelle fled, the lizard spoke, and the camel complained of its affliction, and sought refuge at his honored court. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long insight, whose long unveilings perceive the hidden secrets of hearts and the treasuries of concealed mysteries, and the means of the people of proximity and attainment, whom his Lord dispatched in the circle of His kingdom and caused abundant blessings to flow through his hands. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long favor, from which encompasses the slave and the free, the young and the old, the child and the adult, and the guide of the astray and the ignorant, through whom Allah had mercy on the community and protected it from all evils and afflictions. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by which You heal us from every harm and sickness, and by which You restrain from us the tongue of every oppressor who confronts us in assemblies and harms us with a messenger's message or a pen's writing, by Your bounty and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long blessings, whose long blessing encompassed humans and jinn, and the fragrant breezes of his goodness perfumed the gardens of holiness and the paradises of the heavens. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long favors, whose long favors overwhelmed the inhabitants of the highest heaven and the much-frequented House ³⁶⁴ of firm construction and pillars, and by the secret of his spirituality opened the treasuries of mercy and omnipotence and the doors of contentment and good pleasure. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long bounty, whose long bounty encompassed the upper and lower worlds and all existences, and by his watering flourished the gardens of knowledge and action and the jewels of revelation and the sciences of the Quran. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long bounty, whose long bounty encompassed everything that emerged into existence and appeared to the eye, and whose reality is hidden from the people of illuminated insights and those of knowledge and gnosis. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one of long bounty, whose bounty has no end, just as the kingdom of our Lord, the King, the Judge, has no end, and whose merits and miracles are beyond count, just as the enduring blessings of Allah are beyond count by the permanence of His grace for ages and times. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing followed by comfort and fragrance, and followed by forgiveness and good pleasure, and grant him abundant peace forever, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the chosen one, long in his station in the seclusions of intimacy with Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the saint, long in his standing in humility and submission before Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the noble, long in his night prayer in the sanctuaries of Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the beloved, long in his weeping out of fear of Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the intimate, long in his supplication and entreaty to Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pure, long in his reach in the sciences of Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pure, long in his rank in the presence of Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pious, long in his devotion to the remembrance of Allah.

O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pure one whose striving in seeking Allah's pleasure is long. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the exalted one whose vigil in worship of Allah is long. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the luminous one whose journey in acquiring Allah's gifts is long. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the faithful one whose longing for meeting Allah is long. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the contented one whose sufficiency in Allah is long. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the generous one whose trust in Allah is long. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the prophet whose sword in fighting the enemies of Allah is long. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the fortunate one whose fame in the dominion of Allah is long. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the messenger whose discourse with what Allah revealed is long. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the lover whose yearning to behold the face of Allah is long. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the forbearing one whose seeking of pardon and forgiveness for Allah's servants is long. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, the devout one whose standing in the darkness of night in bowing, prostrating, and reciting the Book of Allah is long, addressed by His saying: "O you wrapped in garments, arise to pray the night except a little, half of it or reduce from it a little or add to it, and recite the Qur'an with measured recitation. Indeed, We will cast upon you a heavy word. Indeed, the rising of the night is more intense in tread and more upright in speech. Indeed, for you during the day is prolonged activity." ³⁶⁵ So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that becomes for us a path and guide to the way of happiness, and by which we may attain in the highest paradises a lofty rank and an honored station, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the brought-near one whose elevation Allah prolonged in the heaven of high stations and whose eternity and permanence He continued in the presence of selection and proximity. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the beloved one whose building Allah prolonged in the heaven of glory and might and whose praise and commendation He spread in the enclosures of holiness and gardens. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pride whose exaltation Allah prolonged in the heaven of loftiness and honor and whose request for good for his community He fulfilled. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the sultan whose banners and standards Allah prolonged in the heaven of victory and triumph and whose armies and troops He made victorious in performing obedience and righteousness. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom whose blessing and fortune Allah prolonged in the heaven of might and victory and whose garments and robes He perfumed with fragrant breezes of secrets and gifts. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the imam whose manifestation and existence Allah prolonged in the heaven of sainthood, and whose pure lineage honored his fathers and grandfathers. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the valiant one whose vigilance and witnessing Allah prolonged in the heaven of gnosis, and whose covenants and pledges He fulfilled. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the chosen one whose ascent and elevation Allah prolonged in the heaven of care, and whose root and lineage He selected from pure loins. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the elect one whose assemblies and foundations Allah prolonged in the heaven of guidance, and whose visitors and delegations He watered from the pure springs of his secrets. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, so bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by which we become among those who have kissed the fringe of his carpet, rubbed their cheeks in his pure dust, circumambulated his noble chamber, and witnessed his valleys and heights, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. ❖ The heart's spring is filled with his witnessing ❖ And his gift flows with his existence ³⁶⁶ ❖ His life is through gnosis, so his secrets ❖ Are connected to him from a speaker of his arrival ❖ He concealed sacred realities within his fold ❖ Through manifestation in his banners and standards ❖ Blessed are the assemblies of his effusion from the unseen ❖ The rising tides of his sea and fortunes have appeared ❖ He is the saint, son of the saint, without doubt ❖ He inherited sainthood from noble grandfathers ❖ So leave all friends for his love ❖ And preserve him in his words and covenants ❖ He drank from the springs of his holy assemblies ❖ How sweet is what is dictated and the beauty of his arrival O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the beloved who...

May Allah prolong in the heaven of prophethood his growing tree and raise in the highest assembly his lofty rank. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Mighty, for whom Allah prolonged in the heaven of messengership his precious honor and made all kings, freemen, and patrons serve him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Accepted, for whom Allah prolonged in the heaven of righteousness his praiseworthy effort and made his mentioned speech beloved in the hearts of listeners. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Well-Pleased, for whom Allah prolonged in the heaven of guidance his lofty might and magnified his sublime rank on the carpet of the near ones. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Magnified, for whom Allah prolonged in the heaven of high stations his firmly established foot and, by his blessing, had mercy on the writer and the copyist. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Honored, for whom Allah prolonged in the heaven of high stations his Muhammadan light and perfumed in the assemblies of the rememberers his fragrant flower. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Respected, for whom Allah prolonged in the heaven of high stations his eternal pride and dispelled the darkness of disbelief with the splendor of his Ahmadine beauty. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Glorified, for whom Allah prolonged in the heaven of high stations his beautiful remembrance and granted him from the flood of his succor the growing secret and abundant gift. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Foremost, for whom Allah prolonged in the heaven of high stations his magnificent station and, through him, laid out the paths and clarified the way. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Venerated, for whom Allah prolonged in the heaven of high stations his deep-rooted honor and made his lofty fame and ancient glory deeply rooted in the origins of lordship. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Supported, for whom Allah prolonged in the heaven of high stations his ample shade and, with his beneficial antidote, healed the sick and the ailing. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by which You support the humble among us, honor the lowly, enrich the poor, multiply the little for him, and pour down upon us the continuous clouds of His mercies and the refreshing rain of His favor, by Your bounty and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Muhammad, Muhammad the Effacer, by his law, the darkness of misguidance and the veils of disbelief were removed. Taha ³⁶⁷, the trustworthy, who brought the religion, its verses, the seven oft-repeated ³⁶⁸, and from him the elephant ³⁶⁹ shrank back. The essence of creation, the light of truth, his religion, its parsing in him is clarification and facilitation. Cheerful, noble of countenance, moon of his visage, no completion of exquisite beauty was missed by him. The attributes of perfection harmonized in him, so ask whatever you wish, for he is trustworthy and hoped for. His hand does not hold back wealth on the day of giving, except as sieves hold water. His radiant, dazzling forehead and his blaze are, in the comprehensive virtue, a mihrab ³⁷⁰ and a lamp. He walks, and his lights precede him, and he has, like a cloud, a shade wherever he goes. The worlds shone with his law and became clear, so his religion is a blaze and a white mark on them. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the full moon for whom Allah prolonged in the constellations of happiness his abode and station and raised above all the prophets and messengers his rank and station. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the master for whom Allah prolonged in the horizon of generosity his robes and respect and made his blessing and peace beloved in the hearts of the people of right guidance and righteousness. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the devout for whom Allah prolonged in the mihrabs of worship his sitting and standing and made his speech and words pleasant in the ears of the people of goodness. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the loving for whom Allah prolonged in the fields of the people of love his ecstasy and passion and poured into the cups of the yearning ones the succor of his secret and his wine. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the scholar for whom Allah prolonged in the recitation of the Mighty Book its beginning and end and made his occupation and concern the contemplation of the meanings of its verses. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the chosen for whom Allah prolonged in the station of electness his veneration and magnification and poured upon the servants of his luminous carpet his generosity and beneficence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ascetic for whom Allah prolonged in the carpet of acts of devotion his righteousness and right guidance and strengthened his faith, certainty, and belief therein. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the worshiper for whom Allah prolonged in the acquisition of acts of obedience his sleeplessness and wakefulness and made piety his nourishment, sustenance, and provision. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the wayfarer for whom Allah prolonged in the houses of perfection his tents and pillars and was pleased with his prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, and struggle. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that becomes for us a emblem among the lovers and a custom, a covering and a pillow at the time of entering the grave, by Your bounty and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds.

O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the noble one, whom Allah has prolonged in the heaven of high stations his branches of nobility and his generosities, and illuminated with the lights of guidance his paths and his landmarks. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the chaste one, whom Allah has prolonged in the heaven of high stations his festivals and his seasons, and multiplied in the struggle against the polytheists his spoils and his gains. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the beloved one, whom Allah has prolonged in the heaven of high stations his ranks and his positions, and manifested over all of creation his noble qualities and his virtues. (225) O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the noble of lineage one, whom Allah has prolonged in the heaven of high stations his gifts and his endowments, and purified from impurities his paths and his ways. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the well-born one, whom Allah has prolonged in the heaven of high stations his witnessed manifestations and his outward forms, and gazed with the lights of prophethood and messengership upon his innermost and his outward aspects. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the distinguished one, whom Allah has prolonged in the heaven of high stations his noble deeds and his glories, and joined with contentment and approval his beginnings and his endings. So send blessings, O Allah, upon him and upon his family, a blessing by which You quench our hearts from the overflowing seas of his outpourings, and by which You suffice us against the cares of this world and the torment of the Hereafter, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. (226) O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the chief of creation and the mine of reality and the noble of character and the clear of path, whose outward form corresponded to his inner meaning, so he was of medium height, though he was the tallest of the tall in stature, for Allah perfected him in creation and character and elevated him from the ranks of beauty and perfection to the highest ascent. He was neither conspicuously tall nor short, a tender branch between two branches, white in color tinged with redness. He was of medium stature among the people, with hair that reached between his shoulders, broad-shouldered, neither short nor tall, and this was because it is established that the best of matters are their middle ones. Yet despite that, no one could walk alongside him in height except that he surpassed them. So send blessings, O Allah, upon him and upon his family, a blessing by which we become among those whom You have rescued from the paths of error and misguidance, and whom You have guided to Your obedience, and made them among those who advise (227) Your servants and guide them, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Muhammad, the chosen one from the best of 'Adnan, Perfect in creation, possessing beauty and beneficence, His face veiled with lights, serving him Are angels walking behind him like attendants, With a light of holiness, amidst intimacy and divine pleasure. A face before which the Most Merciful manifested, radiant, A face before which the lote-tree prostrated in his presence, And it responded with affirmation and recognition. Ask not the sun about sickness or shame When he manifests with a face that has no second. Though he was of medium stature, the tall ones were surpassed when They walked with him in gait, while he was not hasty. It was as if, when he walked, he descended from a slope, Between two branches of his, a swaying of the willow. Glory be to Him who singled him out with beauty uniquely, So he became, in his beauty, the most majestic of sovereigns. Perfect in creation, his like has not been known, As if he were an angel in the form of a human. The prophets and the angels, in pre-eternity, Have affirmed him and submitted to him with faith. Prophethood was established for him before the messengers, With the firmness of a decree and its execution across times. And the noble prophets deputized for him when They were sent with Gospels and the Criterion (al-Furqan). Every prophet is a light for him afterwards, Except the Beloved, for by Allah, he has two lights: The light of his innermost is holiness; his outward aspects Guide humanity to awakening and certainty. (228) And the light of his outward is from the light of his innermost, Both are for the Messenger of Allah two seas. The title of his innermost is the lights of his outward; The title of his innermost—what a title! His like has never been among Arabs nor non-Arabs, Nor have two eyes, by Allah, seen his equal. Muhammad, the chosen one, praised is his standing On the Day of Intercession among humans and jinn. Were it not for intercession, his distinction would not be known * Before God tomorrow among his peers. O master of the messengers, O secret of existence, O * Treasure of congratulations for us, O essence of essences, O most perfect of creation in form and in character, * O most elevated of people in rank and in status, Upon you be the purest blessings of Allah, fragrant, * As long as the breeze touches the crowns of basil. [These are] particularities whose realities the intellects of the knowers fall short of grasping, and an indication at whose deciphering the great masters of the firmly rooted stakes (al-awtad ar-rasikhin) are bewildered, and unique meanings whose realities the understandings of the arriving poles (al-aqtab al-wasilin) are humbled before, and flashes of openings whose perfection is proclaimed by brevity, and the inability to explain their meanings is [itself] an explanation for those who reflect upon its words. {Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or gives ear while he is a witness.} (229) So I say: When this saint (wali) looked with the eye of his reflection upon the perfections of the master of the messengers and the beauties of the Beloved of the Lord of the worlds, he expressed the brevity of what the intellects grasp of that by saying: "Short, short, short" — that is, what the intellects grasp of the perfections of the Imam of the near-stationed ones, and the elite of the chosen, sincere ones is "short, short, short"; that is, what the rhymes of the praisers describe of the majesty of the leader of the white-forelocked ones (al-ghurr al-muhajjalin), and the Seal of the Prophets and the master of the messengers is "short, short, short"; what the eloquent express of the noble qualities of the firmly established Beloved, and his virtues and his abundant favors, which the great scholars among the practitioners have refrained from [fully describing], is "short, short, short." So every description that the describers express is short in his right, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, falling short of his true attributes, and his sensory and spiritual perfections, and his pure, approved states. And every praise with which the praisers praise him (230) and by which the lovers extol his rank is short in relation to what Allah has granted him of the hidden sciences and the divine gifts (al-mawahib al-ladunniyyah). And every beauty that the lovers mention of him and the yearning ones describe of him is short in relation to what Allah has specially distinguished him with of beauty, splendor, and adornment, and the perfections of beauty with which He created him free from every defect and blemish. And every perfection that the narrators relate about him and the inspired ones point to concerning him is short in relation to what our Lord has praised him with in His clear Book, and with which He has magnified him among the elite of the prophets and messengers. For this reason, the great scholars among the eloquent and the master poets among the articulate were incapable of enumerating his attributes, and they saw that to be among the most difficult things they attempt and the greatest things they undertake. For indeed, [all] attributes, even if complete, fall short of his beautiful description, and [all] stations, even if lofty, fall short of...

his magnificent station ³⁷¹, and the miracles, even if established, are less than his miracles which are supported by proof, for his Muhammadan cycle ³⁷² encompassed all gifts and secrets, and his Ahmadine essence ³⁷³ included the flashes of splendors and lights. He, may God bless him and grant him peace, was the most eloquent of God's creation in speech, the clearest in expression, the sweetest in words, the most evident in discourse, the swiftest in delivery, and the most comprehensive in phrasing, gathering all he intended and speaking with concise words ³⁷⁴, without excess or deficiency. He is the cause of existence and the reason for its manifestation after non-existence, and he whose lights illuminated the pre-eternal ³⁷⁵ by the bursting of his lights. The pure one through whose pure existence the world and all in it became pure, and hearts and ears became pure through what was and is granted of his immense grace and generosity. So bless him, O God, and his family, a blessing by which we become among those who fulfill their covenants and pledges, and attain through his blessing the ultimate goal of their hope and intention, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. For the grace of God's Messenger has no ❖ limit that a speaker could express with a mouth ³⁷⁶. If the greatness of his signs were matched in magnitude, ❖ his name, when invoked, would revive decayed bones. He did not test us with what minds cannot grasp, ❖ out of care for us, so we neither doubted nor strayed. The understanding of his meaning has exhausted creation, so no ❖ distinction between near and far is seen except bewilderment. Like the sun, which appears small from a distance ❖ but dazzles the eye when near. And how can people in this world grasp his reality, ❖ a people asleep, who have consoled themselves with dreams? The utmost knowledge about him is that he is a human ❖ and that he is the best of all God's creation. And every high station attained by the noble messengers ❖ is but connected from his light to them. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the luminous one ³⁷⁷, whose Muhammadan realities ³⁷⁸ the understandings of the knowers have fallen short of grasping, and the thoughts of the leading imams have been perplexed by the meanings of the subtleties of his Ahmadine sciences ³⁷⁹. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the spiritual one ³⁸⁰, whose Mustafawian pearls of wisdom ³⁸¹ the tongues of praisers have fallen short of extolling, and the eminent scholars have vied to hear the benefits of his prophetic hadiths. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the eternal one ³⁸², whose Mawlawian characteristics ³⁸³ the allusions of interpreters have fallen short of encompassing, and the minds of the most penetrating exegetes have become dull in explaining his physical and moral qualities. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the merciful one ³⁸⁴, whose sensory and spiritual premises the perceptions of the perfect have fallen short of deducing, and the great among the wayfarers have marveled at the results of the proofs of his prophethood, both sublime and bestowed. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the unique one ³⁸⁵, whose blessed and auspicious early signs the eloquent masters of eloquence have fallen short of recounting, and the knights of knowledge and transmission have wearied in recording the heavenly books and sacred hadiths that announced his virtues. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the gnostic one ³⁸⁶, whose divine openings and hidden gifts his Lord granted him, the memorizers of hadith have fallen short of exhausting, and the eyes of the cherubim ³⁸⁷ have been delighted by the sight of his face and the vision of his spiritual-human essence. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the lordly one ³⁸⁸, whose sublime and lofty stations the steps of the predecessors and successors have fallen short of attaining, and the most eminent of the near ones have refrained from venturing into the oceans of his divine and inspired knowledges and graces. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the loving one ³⁸⁹, whose noble and sublime rank the stations of the people of the highest carpet ³⁹⁰ have fallen short of, and the chiefs of the people of the most exalted secret have lagged behind in ascending to the heights of his lofty stations. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the perfect one ³⁹¹, whose exalted and lofty degree the degrees of the people of speciality have fallen short of, and the surrounding worlds have been perfumed by the breeze of his pure and fragrant scents. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the active one ³⁹², whose unique reality the knowledges of the perfect have fallen short of, and the great among the dominating angels ³⁹³ have been bewildered by what they witnessed of his beautiful attributes and praiseworthy morals, praised by the Quranic verses. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the excellent one ³⁹⁴, whose favor and station with God the aspirations of the noble messengers have fallen short of aspiring to, and their necks have bowed before what they saw of his immense rank and perfect care with God. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one who has attained ³⁹⁵, whose great signs the tongues of the servants of the veils and pavilions have fallen short of speaking about, and the companions of the divine presence have been dazzled by what they witnessed of his Ahmadine generosities and dazzling miracles. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the chief ³⁹⁶, whose knowledge of the unseen of his Lord, revealed to him on the Night of Ascension ³⁹⁷, the knowledge of every scholar has fallen short of, and the inhabitants of the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary ³⁹⁸, the known station, and the desired sight have been blessed by the places where his feet trod, though they did not see him. So bless him, O God, and his family, possessors of might and rank, and his companions, who sacrificed their lives and wealth for his love and pleasure, a blessing by which You grant us the vision of him in both worlds and meeting him, and by which we become among those who drink from the pure springs of his intimacy and from the delicious wine of his love, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Generous of the generous, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. ❖ May God's blessing followed by peace ❖ be upon the best of all creation. ❖ O sun of the messengers, your beauty has captivated me, ❖ O garden of lovers. ❖ I have never ceased praising you with my tongue, ❖ by your right, O imam of the pious. ❖ Forgive me, my passion has called me, ❖ and I am among deficient servants. ❖ Grant me to speak, for what can I do? ❖ Your beauty surpasses the words of speakers. ❖ What can servants say, and what can they do, ❖ when the Lord of the worlds has already praised you?

Were it not for longing overwhelming us, we would ❖ For Your glory, from praising You be silent. Bewildered in Your beauty at all times ❖ Intoxicated in Your union, hoping. And none knows but the All-Merciful truly ❖ Your beauty, O Imam of the God-fearing. And if beauty were to appear to us ❖ We would be lost in Your beauty. So glory be to Him who gave You a light ❖ Great in the eyes of the lovers. Your Lord has given You miracles ❖ Surpassing the reckoning of reckoners. All of You, and even part of You, contains signs ❖ Pointing to the constancy of the lovers. A sound taste ❖ And an ancient love And a firm affection ❖ And a great thing And an intelligent pride ❖ And a fragrant rose And clusters of low-hanging fruits ❖ And gardens and bliss And meadows of Muhammadan praises ❖ In which the lover roams among their beauties and is enraptured. So bless, O Allah, him and his family with a blessing that feeds us thereby from the abundant tables of his goodness, and bestows thereby upon us the vision of his radiant, comely face, which is more delightful than the sealed nectar and the drink of Tasnim ³⁹⁹, and more sublime than the lofty chambers, the fortified palaces, and the embellishments of bliss, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Many a time I secluded myself with a cup ❖ Witnessing, enjoying my intimate companion In the manifestation, in the garment of might and glory ❖ And the robe of majesty and honor The eloquent cannot describe the countenance ❖ Of his dazzling, lofty, great beauty. His radiant attributes addressed me with pearls ❖ In verse—I would ransom him from the poet! And the tongues of praise recited from him ❖ What goodness! with a melodious voice. I thought, when alone, that I alone ❖ Was blissful in the gardens of delight. If people saw my visitor when he came ❖ They would proclaim blessings and peace. How often I call him: "O my beloved!" and he calls: ❖ "O my beloved! my desire and my intimate!" May Allah water the hour when we exchange ❖ Every cup of ancient discourse Where there is no "where," and the enchanting maidens of hopes ❖ Mingle the wines with Tasnim ³⁹⁹. His saying: "Thing, thing, thing" means that this saint, when he glimpsed the lightning of Muhammadan lordship and the light of Ahmadine perfections, and witnessed what Allah granted His beloved Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) of sublime secrets and abundant stations, his breast became too narrow for expression through the tongue of speech, so he turned from it to the tongue of the state, because the words of the people of states are allusions and symbols ⁴⁰⁰, expressions and enigmas, and jewels of secrets and treasures. So he expressed that by saying "Thing, thing, thing" in awe of what he saw of divine gifts, openings, and holy secrets—i.e., a thing whose rank is great, whose pride is immense, whose glory is magnificent, whose station is lofty, whose goodness is abundant, whose religion is upright, whose path is straight, and the knowledge of his special qualities and virtues are gardens and bliss. Thing, thing, thing, thing: chosen by Lordship, selected by the precedents of eternal will from creation, placed in the station of chosenness and belovedness, and unveiled to him the intricacies of the Names and Attributes, the shining lights of the divine, holy, and transcendent ⁴⁰¹, the perceptions of spiritual souls, the openings of the scriptural, spiritual, and angelic souls ⁴⁰², the unveilings of the luminous, majestic veils ⁴⁰³, and the gnoses of the holy, mighty descents ⁴⁰⁴. Thing, thing, thing, thing: Allah favored him over luminous beings and human creatures, and made him the substance of prophetic, apostolic effusions and divine secrets, and the mirror of witnessing for the people of insight and ocular unveilings. Thing, thing, thing: i.e., a thing whose love the spiritual souls drank before creation and formation, and the structures of luminous beings and those between water and clay ⁴⁰⁵ prostrated to the perfection of his care. Thing witnessed by the people of ocular unveilings in the manifestations of witnessing and determination, and the companions of the divine presence, where there is no water nor clay, bowed in awe of his majesty. Thing whose light shone in the apertures of those possessing holy sciences and the people of firmness and establishment, and whose aspiration pierced the dense veils of darkness and filled them with the secrets of sincerity and certainty ⁴⁰⁶. Thing whose rank Allah exalted above all other prophets and messengers, and supported him with dazzling miracles and the verses of the clear Book. Thing whose fame spread in the sanctuaries of holiness and the highest 'Illiyin ⁴⁰⁷, and whose arrival rejoiced the inhabitants of the supreme horizon and the guardian angels. Through him Allah healed hearts from the disease of ignorance and guided them to the landmarks of righteousness and religion, seated him on the thrones of prophecies and messages, and gathered in him the sciences of the ancients and the later ones. So bless, O Allah, him and his noble, most generous family, and his guided, guiding companions, with a blessing by which we become among Your patient, striving servants, and Your beloved ones who guide to You and direct, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O best of those whose courtyard seekers of bounty approach ❖ Striving, atop the backs of worn-out she-camels And who is the greatest sign for the considerate ❖ And who is the supreme grace for the gainer You traveled by night from a sanctuary to a sanctuary ❖ As the full moon travels in the darkness of the night. And you spent the night ascending until you attained a station ❖ Of two bow-lengths ⁴⁰⁸, unattained and unaimed. All the prophets and messengers gave you precedence there ❖ The precedence of a served master over servants. And you pierced the seven heavens with them ❖ In a procession where you were the standard-bearer. Until, when you left no scope for any competitor ❖ In nearness, nor any ascent for any climber, You lowered every station in comparison, when ❖ You were addressed with elevation like a proper noun. So that you might win a union, how hidden ❖ From eyes, and a secret, how concealed! Thus you attained every glory unshared ❖ And surpassed every station uncrowded. Great is the measure of the ranks you were given ❖ And inaccessible is the grasp of the blessings you received. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad: the Thing before whose attributes and names all things dwindle, and whose praise, when heard in assemblies and eulogies, makes states pleasant. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad: the Thing before whose light of beauty and splendor the stars are abashed, and from whose oceans of generosity and giving the streams of secrets flow. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad: the Thing through whose blessing and supplication harms are healed, and sins are erased by rubbing cheeks on his pure soil and the courtyards of his building. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad: the Thing at whose prophetic traditions and recitation of Quranic verses things are affected, and veils are rent.

The benefits ⁴⁰⁹ when seeking intercession through his rank ⁴¹⁰ in requesting aid and support for those standing at his door, and donning the robes of acceptance and the garments of divine pleasure ⁴¹¹. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing ⁴¹² before whose radiance and the brilliance of whose brow all things diminish, and before whose vast generosity and the swiftness of his right hand's bounty the sent winds fall short. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing before whose precious wisdom and knowledge all things vanish, and minds are bewildered by the meanings of his realities and the depths of his understandings. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that none can rival in his lofty and sublime stations, nor can anyone equal him in what his Lord has specially granted him of great character and pleasing states. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose love the pens of divine will have inscribed in the core of the heart and on the pages of the spiritual tablets ⁴¹³, and sealed his love with blessedness, hopes, and eternal happiness. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose moons have shone in the sky of intellects and whose lights have appeared over all existences. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose flowers have bloomed in the gardens of the kingdom and the dominion ⁴¹⁴, and whose news has spread in the enclosures of holiness and the courtyards of paradise. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose rains have poured from the clouds of goodness, and whose abodes and regions have become beloved to those who come. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose ranks and degrees have been raised with Allah, and whose discourses and remembrances have become pleasant for the lovers. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose secrets You have unveiled to those with outer and inner sight ⁴¹⁵, and whose companions and supporters have agreed upon his love and service. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose branches and trees have grown tall in the sky of love, and whose nightingales and birds have sung his praise in the gardens of intimacy. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose thoughts and ideas have vanished in Your love, and whose forms and states have changed upon hearing Your address. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose likenesses and counterparts are rare among creatures, and whose mounts and visitors are honored by seeing his illuminated shrine. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, with a blessing by which his worth and measure are magnified in the highest assembly ⁴¹⁶, and by which his station and beacon are raised on the carpet of the most sublime mystery ⁴¹⁷, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Thing, thing, thing, thing—his Lord established him in the station of glory and magnificence, regarded him with the eye of respect, veneration, and exaltation, and praised him in His noble Book, saying: "And indeed, you are of a great character" ⁴¹⁸. Thing, thing, thing, thing—his rank is lofty, his beauty is wondrous, his fortress is impregnable, his victory is swift, his rain is abundant, and his rank ⁴¹⁰ with Allah is accepted and intercessory. Thing, thing, thing, thing—Allah testified to his special distinction and mentioned that in the decisive verses of His wise Book, saying: "Ta, Seen. These are the verses of the Qur'an and a clear Book, a guidance and good news for the believers" ⁴¹⁹. Thing, thing, thing, thing—Allah acknowledged his effort on the carpet of the near ones ⁴²⁰ and raised his rank above all the chosen ones, the saints, and the guardian angels, and addressed him, saying: "Ya Seen. By the wise Qur'an, indeed you are among the messengers, on a straight path" ⁴²¹. Thing, thing, thing, thing—Allah made his remembrance beloved in the hearts of the believers, adorned the ears of listeners and obedient ones with his praise, and manifested his excellence by saying: "O Muhammad, I have given you a light by which you see My beauty, and understanding by which you comprehend the attributes of My perfection, and intellect by which you witness the awe of My majesty and glory, and hearing by which you hear My speech, and knowledge by which you know the loftiness of My station. O Muhammad, I have addressed you with the tongue of the state ⁴²² and regarded you with the eye of reverence and veneration, and sent you to all people as a witness, a bearer of good news, a warner, a caller to Allah by His permission, and a luminous lamp." Thing, thing, thing, thing—he stood before his Lord with pure servitude, and acknowledged His perfect divinity and the might of His lordship. So He showed him His essence, which is sanctified from 'whereness', 'betweenness', 'howness', union, incarnation, and accompaniment. He witnessed Him in everything, with everything, above everything, beneath everything, near everything, and encompassing everything. He affirmed His description and His encompassing attribute, far from containment, limits, places, directions, companionship, proximity, distances, and reliance on creatures. He is the First, the Last, the Manifest, and the Hidden. Allah was and nothing was with Him, and He is now as He was. O form of the bewilderment of minds, your meaning! O astonishment that has stunned existences, your origin! Upon you, as You have praised, out of generosity, You have exalted in praise beyond any second or association. So man cannot attain his desire in you—far be it from you to have a limit in glory, far be it! So alas for the shortcoming of my confession in you, my knowledge, and my inability to grasp perception is my perception. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose light is the first of everything. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing manifest in everything. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing hidden in everything. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose secret permeates everything. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose light shines in everything. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose generosity has overwhelmed everything. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose blessing has encompassed everything. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose mercy has embraced everything. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose wisdom has benefited everything. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the foundation of everything. Thing, thing, thing, thing—his secret permeated the world of existence and spread, grew in the presence of divine pleasure and contentment, and flourished, trod with his sandals on the carpet of light and walked, heard the address from his Lord: "We have appointed you in Our kingdom, so do as you wish." My beloved ones, from this deviation that he has woven...

He sought the heart's departure from love of you, but Indeed the blamers and all people know That my heart in love of you was nurtured. I concealed my passion from them, but tears and sighs Betrayed its secret, rising from my depths. My talk of your love spread; so sweet to me Is the blame of my censurers: "This youth's affair has become public." How [could it be otherwise] when I have one whose beauty shames the sun, And the tender branch sways when he walks. The sand-gazelles love the blackness of his glance, And call to him: "Grant me [a look], O fawn, to a company." By his right hand, there is none among people like him, A beauty, whose eyes from sickness are in a daze. His King clothed him in robes of beauty, So glory be to Him who chooses for beauty whom He wills. A beauty who, when he kills a lover by abandonment, And the fragrant breeze of union blows, revives and enlivens. I offered him my soul to attain his union, But he said: "Behave; we do not accept bribery." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the body of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the spirit of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the core of every thing, Muhammad Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the essence of every thing, Muhammad Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the benefit of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the table of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the goal of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the end of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the treasure of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the key of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the lamp of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the righteousness of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the success of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the prosperity of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the blessing of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the support of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the protection of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the proof of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the path of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the result of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the spoils of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the delight of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the adornment of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the mercy of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the means of every thing, Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the intermediary of every thing, and every thing is dependent on him, for without the intermediary, the mediated would perish, as it is said. Thing, thing, thing, A thing through whose rank and highness the creatures seek intercession, and the insights are illuminated by the brilliance of his countenance and the light of his radiance. Thing, thing, thing, a thing from whose sea of generosity and giving the delegations draw, and the people of needs benefit from reciting his hadith and his supplication. Thing, thing, thing, A thing by whose beautiful attributes and names the spirits are revived, and the afflicted seek healing through kissing his noble palm and touching his limbs. Thing, thing, thing, A thing that testified to Allah's oneness before his appearance and creation, and acknowledged His perfect lordship before he was enclosed in the wombs of his mothers and fathers. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by which we become among those who are devoted to his praise and eulogy, and who frequently remember him in their night and day, morning and evening, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. What are the antelopes in the sandy plain And the beauties in the right side of the valley? They alighted at al-Aqiq ⁴²³, a blooming meadow Whose cloak the hand of rains wove. The heavy clouds visited it at dawn, and it smiled, Showing us the pearls of dew. What are the tents on the sand-hill and the prayer-ground, And the domes in the spacious quarter? What is the ascent from on high to a station Whose summit the stars of Gemini do not reach? The utmost wish and desire is to see him Manifest in attributes and names, Unveiling from their holy beauty the veil, Revealing their secrets without dispute. He captivated the earth with beauty until He stripped the heavens' people with majesty. I said: "O lady of beauties, and she in whose Love I have purified my heart and loyalty, I am the one you seek; whatever you wish, I execute, And how excellent is my request and my pleasure! My companions, if they oppose you, are my enemies, And my enemies, if they oppose my friends. O kings of beauty, I am a captive In your hands, and I have lost my heart."

Have mercy on me for my long captivity, for it is established ⁴²⁴ that God's mercy is the mercy of the merciful ⁴²⁵. My bliss is in nearness to you, and in distance is my hell; I am spared the evil of separation. My cure is the sweetness of union, and my ailment is from abandonment and longing. How often in your precincts have I wandered, my eye shedding tears, and in your love have I slept in my repose. So by the right of beauty, be compassionate—there is no shame upon you—and the mercy of the merciful. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing ⁴²⁶ that is the substance of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the essence of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the cream of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the core of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the pearl of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the eye of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the support of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the protection of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the might of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the treasure of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the fortress of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the security of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the refuge of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the shelter of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the care of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the protection of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing through which every thing is ordered: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing through which the affair of every thing is set right: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing through which the affair of every thing is perfected: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most perfect of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most excellent of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most beautiful of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most majestic of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the best of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most beloved of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the nearest of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the purest of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the noblest of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the cleanest of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most fearful of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most knowing of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the greatest of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most merciful of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most generous of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most knowledgeable of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most blessed of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most fortunate of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the purest of every thing: Muhammad. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing that is the most luminous of every thing, and from whose light the lights burst forth, and the suns and moons were illuminated. So bless him, O Allah, and his noble, pious family, and his illustrious, pure Companions, with a blessing by which You forgive us sins and offenses, and have mercy on us through its blessing in this abode and in that abode, by Your bounty and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Were you hidden from the glances of my beholder, blindness would become universal for the discerning of sights.

Or if minds were ignorant of You, You would be in darkness from the means of remembrance. Rather, You are manifest in the five senses ⁴²⁷, and You do not permeate the five inner senses ⁴²⁸. Thing, thing, thing, a thing whose fame spread in the sanctuaries of holiness ⁴²⁹ and the highest 'Illiyin ⁴³⁰, and whose fragrance wafted in the assemblies of the holy ones and the dominating angels, and by which the upper and lower worlds and the inhabitants of the heavens and the earths boasted, and his Lord addressed him with His saying: "Alif Lam Meem Sad. A Book sent down to you, so let there be no constriction in your breast from it, that you may warn thereby and a reminder to the believers." ⁴³¹ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, (265) the thing whose secret permeated every encompassing cycle and whose light radiated in every composite and simple point. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose secret permeated every noble presence and whose rank rose above every great station. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose secret permeated every comely form and whose full moon settled in every lofty rank. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose secret permeated every straight path and whose light shone in every magnificent forehead. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, (266) the thing whose secret permeated every noble lineage and whose bride ascended in every exalted station. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose secret permeated every comprehensive wisdom and whose proof appeared in every decisive argument. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose secret permeated every beneficial goal and whose blessings manifested in every swift response. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose secret permeated every exquisite word and whose speech uttered every surpassing wonder. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, (267) the thing whose secret permeated every yearning soul and whose succor flowed in every aspiration eager to attain lofty ranks. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose secret permeated every preceding mercy and whose fragrant scent wafted in every fragrant breeze. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose secret permeated every lofty tree and whose abundant rain watered every growing seed. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the thing whose secret permeated every tranquil, contented soul and whose miraculous wonders encompassed every dazzling miracle and widespread grace. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that feeds us from the abundant tables of His favors, (268) and quenches us from the pure springs of His secrets, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Muhammad is the master of the two worlds ⁴³² and the two weighty ones ⁴³³, and the two groups of Arabs and non-Arabs. Our Prophet, the commander and prohibitor, so no one is more righteous in saying "no" or "yes" than him. He is the Beloved whose intercession is hoped for in every terrifying horror. He called to Allah, and those who hold fast to him hold fast to an unbreakable rope. He surpassed the prophets in creation and character, and they did not approach him in knowledge or generosity. And all of them seek from the Messenger of Allah a handful from the sea or a sip from the rain. And they stand before him at their limit, from the point of knowledge or from the form of wisdom. So he is the one whose meaning and form were perfected, then the Creator of souls chose him as a Beloved. He is free from any partner in his beauties, for the essence of beauty in him is indivisible. Leave what the Christians claim about their prophet, and judge as you wish in praise of him and arbitrate. Attribute to his essence whatever honor you wish, and attribute to his rank whatever wisdom you wish. For the virtue of the Messenger of Allah has no limit that a speaker could express with a mouth. Glorious ranks and lofty stations (269) and growing gifts of holy secrets, and glories that the masters of widespread graces and virtues are incapable of grasping, and beauties of perfections that nothing approaches in their pure actions and pleasing, content states, and that resemble them in the materials of his flowing effusions from the spring of flowing life. Nothing, nothing, nothing, whatever Allah wills happens, and whatever He does not will does not happen. Nothing, nothing, nothing, "Your companion has not strayed, nor has he erred, nor does he speak from desire" ⁴³⁴, "The sight did not swerve, nor did it transgress; indeed, he saw of the greatest signs of his Lord" ⁴³⁵. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing is more beneficial for the heart than his remembrance, nothing is sweeter on the tongue than his intoxication, nothing is higher in ranks than his rank, nothing shone brighter in full moons than his full moon, nothing is more blessed in ages than his age, (270) nothing is more blessed in regions than his rain, nothing is nobler in lineages than his pride, nothing is more luminous in graves than his grave, nothing is more delicious in the ears of listeners than his news. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by which we become among those who are devoted to blessing him in their secret and public, and who fulfill his due right and obey his command, and who fill their times with his service for the duration of their life and the length of their age, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. You wish to interpret the sciences, but they are symbols pointing to the hidden meaning. And that is truly impossible, and its facilitation for description is difficult. By Allah, this is lengthy for you, and this is long while time is short. So do not be hasty, for the truth comes to its origin through its realization, and the cycles turn. And do not belittle the gnostics ⁴³⁶, for they are few, but in meaning they are many with you. They have carried in the physical world a divine wisdom at which minds are bewildered. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, (271) the one than whom nothing is greater in degree with Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one than whom nothing is higher in station with Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one than whom nothing is loftier in rank with Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one than whom nothing is more abundant in fortune of proximity with Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one than whom nothing is more majestic in worth with Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one than whom nothing is more perfect in honor with Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the one than whom nothing is more excellent in elevation with Allah.

Nothing is more beautiful in creation than him in the sight of Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, ⁴³⁷ he who has no greater rank than him in the sight of Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he whom nothing resembles in the loftiness of his station, nor equals in reverence and respect, nor approaches in veneration and magnification, nor parallels in the execution of his commands and judgments. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that overwhelms us with the abundance of his generosity and beneficence, and protects us from exposure to His displeasure, wrath, and vengeance, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Muhammad the Chosen, the most noble of those who called to Allah, and to whom the laws submitted. A messenger of the God of creation, his mind is with the truth, and in the chest of the religion of polytheism he proclaims with revelation. A noble, pure, and purified prophet, kind, merciful, humble, and modest. A bringer of good tidings, a warner, truthful and believed, a shining lamp in the darkness of error. The imam of creation, the qibla of religion and guidance, and the Kaaba of virtue gathering all beauties. ⁴³⁸ Upon him be the blessings of Allah as long as a shining sun rises and a dove coos in the treetops. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who has no greater fear of Allah than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who has no greater piety towards Allah than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who has no greater richness in Allah than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who has no greater modesty before Allah than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who has no greater swiftness in obeying Allah's commands than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who has no greater eagerness for obedience to Allah than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who has no greater generosity of soul in the path of Allah than him. ⁴³⁹ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who has no greater anger when the sanctities of Allah are violated than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who has no greater knowledge of Allah than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who has no greater proximity to Allah than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who is more beloved to Allah than anything else. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who is more honored by Allah than anything else. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who is more mighty in the sight of Allah than anything else. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who is greater in the sight of Allah than anything else. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, possessors of rank and status, and his companions, possessors of insight and attentiveness, with a blessing ⁴⁴⁰ through which we may be among those who follow his footsteps, are guided by his guidance, benefit from his blessing, and draw from the sea of his generosity and munificence, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the lofty of aspirations, whom nothing equals in his glories. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the robe of generosity, whom nothing parallels in his noble deeds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pure of character, whom nothing matches in his virtues. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the great of sanctity, whom nothing equals in his ranks. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the possessor of knowledge, whom nothing rivals in his processions. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the table of blessings, whom nothing resembles in his drinks. ⁴⁴¹ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the eraser of darkness, whom nothing shares in his gifts. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the fountain of wisdom, whom nothing resembles in his gifts. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, and in the covenants, whom nothing connects in his stations. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the intercessor of nations, whom nothing overtakes in the sublimity of his elevation and the loftiness of his side. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing through which You gather us with his family, offspring, and relatives, and through which we become among those who attain from You in both abodes the ultimate goal and the utmost of their desires, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ornament of ornaments, in whom souls do not perish like the beauty of his essence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, ⁴⁴² the delight of the eye, by which bodies are not revived like the mention of his names and attributes. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the book of the secret, from which the realities of knowledge and gnosis are not derived like his bestowed wisdom, his divine sciences, and the subtleties of his allusions. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the breeze of dawn, from which the wafts of secrets and benefits are not sought like the jewels of his sacred hadith and the delicacies of his expressions. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the fruit of remembrance, from which the clusters of blessing and grace are not gathered like his fruits. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the fragrance of diffusion, from which the wafts of gifts and goods are inhaled like the garden of his blossoms. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the rarity of the age, to whom the righteous and the good do not resort like his presences. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the lofty of rank, around which the mounts do not circumambulate like his Arafat. ⁴⁴³ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pouring rain, by which hearts do not live like the downpour of his mercies. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ever-cheerful.

He whose fragrant breaths perfume the horizons like nothing else. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the abundant reward, with which nothing delights visitors like kissing his chambers. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the eraser of sin, with which nothing forgives sins like kissing his walls. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the sword of victory, with which nothing repels calamities like answering his supplications. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the great in rank, with which nothing shelters creatures from temporal accidents like his sanctity. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the blessing of life, with which nothing gladdens the heart like seeing his face and enjoying the contemplation of the beauty of his essence. So bless him, O Allah, and his family (279) with a blessing by which we become among those who are refreshed by his Muhammadan spirit and the breeze of his breaths, and who persist in blessing him night and day, morning and evening, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. The inscription of beauty: before him are the scrolls of his heaven, and majesty recited upon him what attributes he has. He is the one who captivated minds with his beauty and enchanted people with his affairs and his traits. The spirit of witnessed realities, their secret and their bride, and their sustaining order in his presences. He is our unseen, rather our eye; from him, the secrets of the wisdom of his essence built us. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing has his Lord praised textually in pre-eternity except Muhammad. Nothing has his Lord chosen for lordship and messengership before the creation of the Tablet and the Pen except Muhammad. Nothing has Allah sent as a mercy to all nations except Muhammad. Nothing for whom the moon split, the stone spoke, and acknowledged his message and affirmed except Muhammad. Nothing upon whom his Lord sent blessings in the clear Book and commanded to bless and greet him except Muhammad. Nothing to whom the lizard, the wolf, the sheep, and the camel spoke (280), and food and pebbles glorified in his hand and spoke except Muhammad. Nothing who passed by a stone, a tree, or a mountain but it acknowledged his message and greeted him except Muhammad. Nothing for whom Allah subdued the lion for his friend when he met him with his letter, and it moved aside from the path and growled except Muhammad. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by which we become among those who have accepted his Yemeni corner and kissed it and sought refuge in his high and lofty side and honored it, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. And they recited: Sufficient for you among his proofs is a hadith transmitted by Safina ⁴⁴⁴ about his master: He escaped from his captivity and encountered a lion, whose fangs were a strong shield. The lion said to him: 'Pass on, do not transgress,' and after his visit it showed tenderness. It accompanied him for his safety and intimacy, its cubs with it, and it abandoned its den. Is it not among the wonders that a state you fear becomes a helper for the one who fears it? O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, (281) he whose brides are manifest on the carpet of might—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who preaches on pulpits—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who opens the doors of happiness—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he through whom the word of testimony is perfected—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who imparts the sciences of benefit—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who revives the rites of worship—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who builds the houses of glory—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he who bequeaths the station of lordship—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad (282) and to the family of our master Muhammad, he whom the pens of will have inscribed in the precedents of pre-eternity—there is none but him. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by which You have mercy on us in the beginning and the return, and seal for us with goodness and increase, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he at whose beauty the eyes of lovers gaze—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he whose virtues the tongues of the yearning utter—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he of whose birth the centuries boast—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he through whose blessing the fortresses are protected—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he by whose name the treasuries of the guarded secret are opened—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, (283) he for whom the hidden depths of concealed knowledge are unveiled—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he through whom breasts are expanded—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he of whose bright face the ages boast—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he with whose bride the palaces are adorned—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he whose praise the houris sing—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he whose beacon the nobles follow—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he whose imamate the guides emulate—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, he through whose love ranks are raised—there is none but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, (284) he by whose name blessings descend—there is none but him.

O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, through whose lamp darknesses are dispelled—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, through whose supplications distresses are relieved—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, at the vision of whose station limbs rejoice—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, through the supply of whose secret limbs are filled—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, by the breeze of whose fragrance scents are perfumed—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, for whose love fingers are clasped—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, by whose honor bonds are honored—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, for whose service waists are girded—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, whose rank the great proclaim—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, through whose preaching pulpits rise—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, in writing whose hadith ⁴⁴⁵ pens and inkwells rejoice—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, with the inscription of whose noble traits scrolls and notebooks are adorned—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, whose generosity the famous narrate—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, for transmitting whose sciences multitudes concur—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, to whom all praises and glories are attributed—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, for whom virtues and merits are mentioned—there is none other than him. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing that in the gardens of its beauties eyes find delight, and by hearing it thoughts and reflections are purified, and from its gatherings waft the fragrant breezes of sacred secrets and the perfumed zephyrs of openings ⁴⁴⁶, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. He is the idol of lovers, the secret of his beauty—nothing stirs the foundation of their hearts but him. He stirs longings from the fire of passion within them, and nothing quenches the burning but him. When he appears, he annihilates them with love for him—by Allah, nothing enraptures people but him. He bewilders minds and people of intellect—by essence, nothing robs reason but him. He is the treasure of all seekers among people—the treasure of seekers is nothing but him. He is the qibla ⁴⁴⁷ of hearts among the people of purity ⁴⁴⁸—they witness nothing in their utterance but him. He is their wish, their request, and their address—they ask nothing in their speech but him. He is our fortress in our death and our life, and in our gathering ⁴⁴⁹ nothing protects us but him. He is the weight of our deeds' scale, and on the path ⁴⁵⁰ we have nothing but him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, through whose mention assemblies shine—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, through whose knowledge the virtuous benefit—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, by whose service the eminent are honored—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whose station angels serve—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, by whose light characters are illuminated—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, around whose pole ⁴⁵¹ the celestial spheres revolve—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, through whose appearance polytheisms are erased—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whose magnet draws the hearts of lovers—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whose conduct the great ones of the near ⁴⁵² follow—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whose abodes natures befriend—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, by whose arrival regions are honored—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, to whose hem wild beasts cling—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, to whom the foreleg spoke ⁴⁵³—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whose speech ears find sweet—there is none other than him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, with whose praise rhymes and verses are adorned—there is none other than him. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by whose blessing the lover benefits to the utmost, and through whose mention he seeks healing from harms, ailments, and pains, and takes it as provision for the day when bodies emerge from graves swiftly, hastening to the Caller ⁴⁵⁴, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. He is the weight of our deeds' scale, and on the path we have nothing but him. He gives us our books in the right hand—none gives us this gift but him. He does not disappoint one who hopes for his favor—none heals the heart of the hopeful but him. He is the Concealer, the Mender, the Helper for them, and there is none for their weakness but him. He is the Giver to brothers of all their aims, and to Muslims, and what they hoped for is nothing but him. Nothing, nothing, nothing—Muhammad is but a Messenger. Nothing. Nothing. "Your companion has not strayed, nor has he erred, nor does he speak from desire" ⁴⁵⁵. "Allah would not punish them while you are among them" ⁴⁵⁶. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

There is nothing by which the opening verses of the Furqanic ⁴⁵⁷ surahs are opened except Muhammad. There is nothing whose name is inscribed in the spiritual forms ⁴⁵⁸ except Muhammad. There is nothing written upon the hearts of the masters of gnostic secrets ⁴⁵⁹ except Muhammad. There is nothing engraved in the pages of luminous bodies ⁴⁶⁰ except Muhammad. There is nothing that descends upon his heart of the jewels of the Furqanic verses except Muhammad. There is nothing upon which the glad tidings of the theophanies of beneficence ⁴⁶¹ shine except Muhammad. There is nothing whose mercies encompass all the cosmic worlds except Muhammad. There is nothing whose intercession is hoped for all the beneficent creatures except Muhammad. Nothing, nothing, nothing. There is nothing whose praise overwhelms thoughts except Muhammad. There is nothing in whose service the free ones vie except Muhammad. There is nothing by whose affiliation ranks are elevated except Muhammad. There is nothing around whose Ka'ba ⁴⁶² the pious circumambulate except Muhammad. There is nothing whose station the visitors occupy except Muhammad. There is nothing to whose abodes the chosen ones migrate except Muhammad. There is nothing by whose blessing the breezes of dawns are sweetened with prayers upon him except Muhammad. There is nothing by whose rank the chosen ones seek intercession except Muhammad. There is nothing by whose blessing harms are healed except Muhammad. There is nothing by kissing whose dust sins are forgiven except Muhammad. There is nothing by reciting whose hadith ⁴⁶³ sorrows are removed except Muhammad. There is nothing whose virtues and excellences have been transmitted through authentic chains of hadiths and reports except Muhammad. Muhammad is the master of my heart, Muhammad; and nothing dwells in my innermost except Muhammad. Muhammad is the delight of my eyes, my treasure; my fortress, my provision, my hope: Muhammad. Muhammad has captivated my intellect and my core; and nothing has stolen my mind except Muhammad. Muhammad, his face is a luminous moon; and nothing is the sun of the forenoon except Muhammad. Muhammad, how many men's intellects he has captivated; and nothing captivates people except Muhammad. Muhammad has rent the garment of my patience; and nothing has taken my strength except Muhammad. Muhammad is never absent from the eye of my heart; and nothing crosses my mind except Muhammad. Muhammad has illuminated my heart; and nothing grants light except Muhammad. Muhammad, I have no succor other than him; and nothing is hoped for tomorrow except Muhammad. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whose name is mentioned in the assemblies of the connecting poles ⁴⁶⁴ except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your intimate friend, whose hadith is recited on the carpet of the firmly rooted pegs ⁴⁶⁵ except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your prophet, whose law is upheld by the eminent acting scholars except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your interlocutor, whose sunna ⁴⁶⁶ is practiced by the very individuals of the perfect solitaries ⁴⁶⁷ except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your chosen one, from whose sciences the Tablet and the Pen ⁴⁶⁸ relate except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your saint, whose prophethood the spirits affirmed in pre-eternity except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your confidant, whose message encompassed all Arabs and non-Arabs except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your trustee, through whom Adam and creation sought intercession in the darkness of non-existence except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your chosen one, whom Allah honored in both abodes and whose community He preferred over all other communities except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your elect, whose name is inscribed on the doors of the veils and pavilions except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your favored one, whose name is engraved on the domes of the gardens and their lofty palaces except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your chosen one, whose name is written on the Tree of Tuba ⁴⁶⁹ and the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary ⁴⁷⁰ except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your blessing, whose name is inscribed on the gardens of Paradise and its desired meadows except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your mercy, whose name is written on the rose, the tree of Mary, and the thickets of flowers except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your secret, whose name is inscribed in the mantle of protection except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, by whose name the gardens of existence rejoice except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your treasure, whose name is written on the pillars of the Throne except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your light, by whose light the carpet of the earth is illuminated except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your servant, who is described in his beauty and excellences as the unique jewel ⁴⁷¹ except him. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your messenger, by whom the prophets and messengers are adorned as necks are adorned with the unique pearl of the necklace except him. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, the houses of honor and glory, and his companions, the stars of guidance and right conduct, with a blessing by which You remove from our hearts the darkness of desolation and poverty, and by which You cause us to attain, through Your pleasure and his pleasure, the utmost of wishes and aims, by Your bounty and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. People differ regarding other than him, but all agree in their love for him. And any people who seek a secret, our people have none other than him. For in meanings they have a brilliance that covers the eyes of people with its light. The Truth guided them to paths of truth; were it not for His guidance, they would have gone astray. Nothing, nothing, nothing. "Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor does He hate you" ⁴⁷². Nothing, nothing, nothing. "And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds" ⁴⁷³. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

And We have not sent you, O Muhammad, except comprehensively to all people as a bearer of good tidings and a warner. There is nothing that souls desire in love except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing by whose name scrolls are opened except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing that souls yearn for and hearts desire except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing by which the sought-after is obtained and the desired is fulfilled except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing by which praises and remembrances become sweet except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing in the beauty of whose essence thoughts are lost except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing to the veils of whose chamber the righteous cling except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing to whose sanctuary the birds [of souls] take refuge except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing by which the gifts of secrets are granted except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing from whose light the lights split forth except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing at the sight of whose face longings multiply except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing by the cups of whose drinks tastes become sweet except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing in the beauties of whose beauty eyes wander except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing by whose lineage lineages are honored except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing that has settled in the innermost heart and the core except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing by whose remembrance spirits and bodies revive except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing by whose gaze burning thirst is healed except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing that heals the sick with its antidote except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing that repels the great calamity by its rank except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing that strengthens the abased by its victory except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing that multiplies the little by its blessing except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing whose essence the souls of those who have attained witness in the barzakh of gathering except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing by which the hearts of those who remember are reassured in the assemblies of benefit and profit except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing in whose Mustafawi perfections the minds of lovers wander except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing at the sight of whose prophetic essence the souls of the yearning rest except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing at the hearing of whose lofty praises the states of the ecstatic are stirred except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing that the tongues of the overcome speak at the flashes of the lightning of his luminous raptures except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing that the masters of states witness in the ascents of elevations and descents except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing that the masters of insights read on the tablets of inspirations and receptions except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing that the masters of longings drink of his love in the cups of tastes except you, O Muhammad. There is nothing that the nostrils of lovers inhale of his fragrances when the breeze of his wafts blows from the presence of the King, the Creator, except you, O Muhammad. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by which You adorn us with precious traits, and by which You endow us with noble manners, and by which You bestow upon us the vision of his face, whose beauty shames the midday sun at the peak of its radiance, and his light that has covered the horizons, pierced the seven heavens, and encompassed all the cosmic worlds in totality and immersion, by Your favor and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. He possesses the perfection that all creation has failed to attain, so his glories cannot be matched nor counted. He possesses the majesty that no one has attained, so no great one or peer can rival him. He possesses the beauty whose excellences are sublime, so no beauty or loveliness can outshine him. There is no one in existence, nor in the celestial kingdom, nor among the noble prophets, who can vie with him. Nor among the chosen messengers, nor among the great elite, is there anyone who can compare to him. He is unique and singular in his grandeur, the peerless one of noble traits, whose equals are rare. The light of prophethood from the secret of His care has shone forth through him, bearing glad tidings to the prophets from ancient times. And Allah chose him from His light, as He selected him, and the Holy Spirit veiled him. And Allah originated him from the very essence of His mercy, a guidance whose luminous light shines forth. And Allah entrusted him with the secret of His prophethood while the cosmos was still enveloped in darkness. Glad tidings of blessing and felicity, and gifts of generosity and munificence, and precious blessings whose jewels are strung in the necklace of praises of the Master of Existence, and ever-increasing blessings that are constantly in ascent and elevation, and contemplation and witnessing, and radiant lights that have shone from the very eye of existence, covering lowlands and highlands, their rays appearing upon white, red, and black, and the fragrant breezes of Ahmad's mercies that quench their possessor from his delicious spring and his promised pool. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, the springs of generosity and munificence, and his companions, the rising stars of blessing and felicity, with a blessing that fulfills for us the promises, and by which You make us reach, from Your pleasure and his pleasure, the utmost of hopes and the ultimate of aims, and by which You suffice us against the evil of every oppressive tyrant, schemer, and envious one, by Your favor and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O chosen one of creation for whose sake existence came to be, and by whom the splendor of the worlds was illuminated. O opener of the secret of prophethood and guidance, O manifest one of lineages and sleeves. O selected one from the best lineage of 'Adnan, O elite of the righteous from 'Adnan. O best of those whose lineage is pure in its branch, and whose glory soars by his lordly rank. O he by whom the sun of guidance shone in the world of glad tidings and spirituality. O he whom all the cosmos testifies that he is the lord of beauties, with no second. Existence, existence! The point of existence has appeared, and the spirit of existence, and the human eye of existence, and the cause of every existent. The bearer of the banner of praise tied, and the owner of the promised pool and the great intercession on the promised day, O my master, O Messenger of Allah. Existence, existence! So you are the light of existence, the secret of existence, the splendor of existence, the elite of existence, the opening of existence, the mirror of the people of contemplation and witnessing, the owner of the praiseworthy station and the witnessed place, O my master, O Prophet of Allah. Existence, existence! So you are the full moon of existence, the whole of existence, the goal of existence, the circle of existence, the blessing of existence, the fruit of existence, and the first from whom the earth will split and who will enter the abode of honor and eternity, O my master, O Beloved of Allah. So you are the substance of existence, the support of existence, the tablet of existence, the throne of existence, the footstool of existence, and the manifestation of the secret of existence. For the circle of your forbearance has encompassed every existent, and the keys of your resolve have opened every closed and blocked door, O my master, O Chosen of Allah. Existence! So you are the sun of existence, the moon of existence, the pole of existence, the sphere of existence, the treasury of existence, and the mercy of existence. For your mercy has encompassed every existent, and your blessing has included every present and absent, O my master, O Confidant of Allah. Existence! So you are the garden of existence, the basil of existence, the flower of the meadows of existence, the abundant flowing river of existence, the result of the proof of existence, the wisdom of the secrets of existence, and the center of the circle of existence.

The worlds of existence, my master, O saint of Allah. Existence: you are the ruby of existence, the emerald of the meanings of existence, the jewel of the structures of existence, the unique pearl of the proof of the beauty of existence, the gold of the perfection of existence, the brocade of the garment of existence, the magnet of the spirits of the world of existence, the structure of the forms of existence, and the prophet of Allah sent to the red and the black. Every existent that appears to the eye is for your sake; every secret that flows in the innermost hearts of the prophets and noble messengers is from the point of your form; every knowledge that shines in the sky of the intellects of the masters of unveiling and inspiration is from the gifts of your grace; every law upon which the foundations of Islam are built is from your authentic hadith and your transmission; and every miracle ⁴⁷⁴ that Allah manifests at the hands of the saints, the righteous, and all the eminent leaders is from your generosity and your giving. And thus: And all of them from the Messenger of Allah seek a scoop from the sea or a sip from the rain. And they stand before him at their limit, from the point of knowledge or from the form of wisdom. And every inability that came to the noble messengers was only connected from his light to them. For he is the sun of grace, and they are its stars, showing its lights to people in the darkness. Until when it rises on the horizon, it encompasses the worlds and revives all nations. Existence, existence, existence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the opening of existence, the source of generosity and bounty, the pole of sovereignty, without whom no existent would have appeared to the eye, nor would any world have emerged from non-existence into existence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the secret of existence, the ascension of progression and elevation, the mountain of glory, without whom no obligations, traditions, or limits would have been established, nor would any distinction have been magnified for the people of unveiling, vigilance, and witnessing. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the light of existence, the star of might, blessing, and fortune, the path of happiness, without whom no trust would have been preserved, no promises fulfilled, no covenants completed, no oaths kept, and no pledges honored. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the master of existence, the noble of fathers and grandfathers, the locus of beneficence, without whose Muhammadan love no forms would have swayed, no figures would have inclined, no faces of those who stand at night would have blossomed, nor would the trace of bowing and prostration have appeared upon them. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the beauty of existence, the paradise of guests and visitors, the perfect of worship, without whom no banners or flags would have fluttered over the heads of the people of sainthood, nor would armies and troops have gathered for the doing of good. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the lamp of existence, the bride of the abode of honor and eternity, the seal of testimony, without whom no suns or moons would have shone, no lightning would have flashed, no thunder would have roared, no rains would have poured, no trees would have turned green, and no branch would have leafed. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pole of the circle of existence, the extended shadow of prophethood, the blessed of birth, without whom no seeker of guidance would have been guided to Islam, no scattered group would have been united, no fearful one would have been saved from Allah's punishment, and no outcast would have been secure. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the treasure of existence, the sword of truth cutting with the proof of the manifestation of the people of error and denial, the perfect of asceticism, without whom no fathers or grandfathers would have been known in faith in Allah, nor would the angels have bowed or prostrated to Adam. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the eye of existence, the possessor of the tied banner, the praiseworthy station, the core of acquired sciences, without whom no beautiful creation or praiseworthy attribute would have appeared in the world, nor would the aspirations of those who call to Allah have risen, nor would they have attained the fulfillment of hope and the achievement of the goal. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by which You give us to drink from the nectar of the Kawthar of the watered pool, and make it for us a treasure whose blessing we may profit on the day of coming to You and arriving, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Ahmad the Chosen, in the highness of radiant fathers and the most exalted grandfathers, the best of those who came with the clarification of guidance for creatures or with the determination of limits. He has precedence in creation and has gained the virtue of priority in the grace of existence. By him the Merciful ascended to the heights, possessing witnessing in the Holy Presence. By him all the worlds shone; by him the lowlands and highlands rejoiced. O Messenger of Allah, O you who brought us from Him in the revelation, fulfill the covenants. And upon you Allah bless, and upon your family ascending to the peak of elevation, and likewise the Companions and followers, as long as the warblers sing in a garden with a branch. Existence, existence, existence. Station, witnessing, a presence that ascends, and ascents of security and fortune, and openings of goodness and generosity. Existence. Existence, existence, existence. A watered pool, a tied banner, extended might, a praiseworthy station, a witnessed place, a master whose intercession is hoped for on the Day of Gathering and Resurrection and the Promised Day. Existence, existence, existence. A noble, blessed, fortunate prophet, an intimate beloved whose rank none can reach in existence. Rather, he is a light by which the lowlands and highlands are illuminated, a beauty by which the necklaces and collars are adorned, a perfection by which hopes and aims are attained, a fragrance by which hearts are perfumed and sleeves and garments are scented, a breeze of breaths by which spirits are stirred and forms and figures sway. What a pearl!

Of a noble Aḥmadī ⁴⁷⁵ lineage and an exalted Muḥammadī ⁴⁷⁶ sovereignty, a perfect prophetic care ⁴⁷⁷ and a great Muṣṭafawī ⁴⁷⁸ guardianship, which God has manifested from the treasuries of generosity and by which He has established the imbalances of existence ⁴⁷⁹, (308) and illuminated the lamps of existence, adorned the worlds of existence, blessed the people of existence, and honored every being and existent. No length can limit its merits, nor boundaries, nor can any shortcoming be attributed to it since God created its ḥamadī ⁴⁸⁰ origin and brought it forth into existence. * O Muṣṭafā ⁴⁸¹, for whose sake creation came into being, * And through whom the splendor of the worlds shone bright, * O you whom all the cosmos bears witness * Is unique in perfections, having no second. * God created you from His lights, * And manifested your sublimity through the lights of the human. * God took you by night to * The highest station of two bow-lengths or nearer ⁴⁸². * God joined your name with His own name, * As has come in the Remembrance ⁴⁸³ and the call to prayer. * God inscribed your name above His Throne, * And on the bosoms of the ḥūr ⁴⁸⁴ and the youths ⁴⁸⁵. * God Himself sent blessings upon you, * And granted you the tremendous character ⁴⁸⁶. * God praised you with His face; * Who can aspire to praise you with a tongue? * Who can express your noble qualities, * Which combine the highest beauty and beneficence? * Can any creature praise you after * The ultimate of the Qur’an ⁴⁸⁷ has praised you? * God and the angels send blessings upon you as long as * The lightning flashes and the two moons ⁴⁸⁸ alternate. (309) O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the pole ⁴⁸⁹ of the circle of existence, whose name is praised in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Criterion ⁴⁹⁰, the master of every parent and child, the noble one mentioned in the sanctuaries of holiness and the paradises of gardens. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the pupil of the eye of existence, whose name is renowned in the previous books and epistles, and the perfection of covenants and pledges, with whose name the supplications and means are opened. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the substance of the effusions of existence, whose name shines in the authentic reports and proofs, (310) and the unique pearl of contracts, whose mention is blessed in assemblies, clubs, and tribes. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the gathering place of the realities of existence, whose name is magnified in the openings and conclusions, the rising star of good fortune and felicity, mentioned in the Ḥawāmīm ⁴⁹¹ and Ṭawāsīn ⁴⁹². O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the interpreter of the tongue of existence, whose name is found in the verses and chapters, the ultimate of hopes and aims, whose love is embedded in the unseen of consciences, secrets, and thoughts. So bless him, O God, and his family, a blessing by which You preserve us in residence and travel, and cure us thereby from every ailment that weakens the heart and brings upon it onslaughts of misery and harm, by Your grace (311) and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Existence of existence of existence ⁴⁹³! Glory be to Him who gathered in you the secret of existence and made you in the covenants and pledges, and poured forth through your hands the rivers of generosity and munificence, O my master, O Messenger of God. Existence of existence of existence! Glory be to Him who clothed you with the mantle of veneration, respect, glorification, and exaltation, and made you a Ka‘ba ⁴⁹⁴ for visitors and delegations, and bestowed upon you the robes of splendor and beauty, and made you a watering-place for the people of longing and love in the breast and the arrival, O my master, O Messenger of God. Existence of existence of existence! Glory be to Him who gifted you with the gifts of might and honor, and raised you in the ranks of loyalty and perfection, and gave you the means ⁴⁹⁵ and the excellence, and singled you out (312) with the lofty station and the praiseworthy station ⁴⁹⁶, O my master, O beloved of God. For by beauty you have worn From them the wondrous robes. By majesty you have possessed Its reins in existence. By perfection you have ascended Through it the thrones of felicity. Return the nights of my union, Despite the envier’s nose. For I have perished in passion, And illness is part of witnessing. And your knowledge of me suffices. So enough of your turning away. How often you promised, so why Did you not fulfill the promises? How often you pledged union, While the pledge restrains straying. O light of the one who prays, Who will help me keep the covenants? Existence of existence of existence! O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the tongue of the sciences of the hidden allusions, whose name is found in the symbols of the subtle and delicate (313) and the result of the understandings of the bestowed expressions, whose secret permeates the foundations of structures and realities, and the gnostic gifts and the intricacies of subtleties. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the master of every noble and ennobled, whose name is found in the jewels of names and letters, the mark of every one renowned for good and known, the one followed in his imamate in the prayer niches, mosques, and rows, and the means of answered supplications and the raising of hands. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the light of everything and its guidance, whose name is found in the title of the outward and inward, the foundation of every existent and its structure, the one made known by his rank in the witnessed places and stations, and the prophet whose station (314) is exalted above all other regions and places. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the mirror of insights and witnesses, whose name is found in the sanctuaries of holiness and the courtyards of gardens, the breath of generosity and munificence, the chosen one from Muḍar ⁴⁹⁷ and the sons of Ma‘add ⁴⁹⁸ and ‘Adnān ⁴⁹⁹, and the messenger preferred over jinn, humans, and all worlds. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, the bridegroom of processions and presences, whose name is found in the domes of contentment and good pleasure, the key to the doors of good fortune and blessings, the trustee of the secrets of revelation and the jewels of the Criterion, and the one brought near, singled out

By the Mighty Quran and the Seven Oft-Repeated ⁵⁰⁰. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad (315) the Tablet of the Sciences of the Essence ⁵⁰¹, whose name exists upon the veils of light and radiance and the rising place of the lights of the Names and Attributes, engraved upon the bezels of the seals of the Messengers and Prophets, and upon the elite of the elect of the near-stationed ⁵⁰² and the choicest of the chosen. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, the manifestation of the lights of the Self-Disclosures ⁵⁰³, whose name exists among all the beloved and the pious, and the delight of the higher and lower realms, whose light shines upon the foreheads of the righteous and the saints, and upon the pages of the faces of the gnostics ⁵⁰⁴, the trustworthy, and the intelligent. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, the Prophet of Essential Mercy ⁵⁰⁵, whose name exists in the vistas of the holy spirits and the Sultan (316) of the Lordly Kingdom, betrothed upon the pulpits of the Mawlawi ⁵⁰⁶ care and upon the thrones of prophetic sainthood and the divine gifts ⁵⁰⁷. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, the Mount of the Ihsani ⁵⁰⁸ Self-Disclosures, whose name exists in the stations of proximity and nearness, and the supporter of the Most Holy Law, whose full moon rises in the sphere of joy, delight, and congratulations, and the stations of the openings ⁵⁰⁹ and the gifts of grace and favor. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, the noble chiefs, and his Companions, the lion-like brave ones, a blessing by which You seal for us with the seal of faith and gather us with him in the highest 'Illiyin ⁵¹⁰ and the paradises of gardens, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. (317) Existence, existence, existence. Glory be to Him who raised your rank in existence and magnified your status over every existent and singled you out for the Great Intercession on the Promised Day, O my Master, O Messenger of Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, Your Beloved whose name exists in the books of stories and reports, and Your Chosen One whose existence was announced by the great priests and rabbis. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, Your Beloved whose name exists upon the keys of the unseen and the treasuries of secrets, and Your Chosen One whose existence was announced by the people of ocular unveilings ⁵¹¹ and those of insight and discernment. (318) O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, Your Beloved whose name exists in the enclosures of the encompassing cycles and the manifestations of the shining lights, and Your Chosen One alluded to in the openings of the Surahs ⁵¹² and the beginnings of litanies and remembrances. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, Your Beloved whose name exists in the leaves of grass and the branches of trees, and Your Chosen One whose secret is preserved in the veils of might and the cloaks of curtains. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, Your Beloved whose name exists in the temples of the people of absence and presence, and Your Chosen One whose existence was announced by the Prophets in bygone times and past (319) ages. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad, and to the family of our Master Muhammad, Your Beloved whose name exists in the chambers of intimacy and the crowns of beauty and light, and Your Chosen One whose existence was announced by the monks, bishops, and the masters of insight. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, Your Beloved whose name exists upon the gates of the gardens, its chambers and palaces, and Your Chosen One at whose existence rejoiced the inhabitants of the Highest Horizon ⁵¹³ and the Much-Frequented House ⁵¹⁴. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, Your Beloved whose name exists in the Desired Station ⁵¹⁵ and the leaves of the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary ⁵¹⁶, and Your Chosen One whose name is written upon the Leg of the Throne ⁵¹⁷ and the perceptions of those of understanding. (320) O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, Your Beloved whose name exists in the charter of compassion and mercy, and Your Chosen One whose existence You announced to the scholars of every time and the notables of every nation. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by which You grant us the benefits of every secret and wisdom, and spread for us the tables of every generosity and grace, and protect us from every affliction, trial, and punishment, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Existence, existence, existence. So glory be to Him who opened with your Muhammadan pearl the closedness of existence and honored you over every existent, and deployed you in everything that emerged and appeared to existence, and placed in your hand the binding and loosing, and opened through you the treasuries of generosity and munificence, O my Master, O Messenger of (321) Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, the Pole ⁵¹⁸ of the circle of existence, the crescent of the blessed auspicious seasons, and the bride of the kingdom, who opens by the secret of his care the treasuries of generosity and munificence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our Master and Patron Muhammad and to the family of our Master Muhammad, the Master of every parent and child, the Messenger of Mercy sent with glad tidings and warning to the red and the black ⁵¹⁹, whose light preceded every existent that is sought, and when he came into existence, he began to transfer from pure loins to pure shining wombs, so his existence was never devoid of his preceding existing light and his secret permeating every atom of every existent, until there appeared from his command what appeared to existence, and was revealed concerning him from revelation (322), and the covenant was taken from whoever was or will be in existence, and the glad tidings came about him, and the promised matter was confirmed, which is what was announced by Taba' ⁵²⁰, Aus ibn Haritha, Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy, Sufyan ibn Muzahim, Quss ibn Sa'ida, and the masters of Arabs and non-Arabs, those absent and present among them. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by which we attain from Your pleasure our hopes and aims, and by which You have mercy on our children, fathers, and forefathers, and gather us with those upon whom You have bestowed favor from among the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous in the abode of honor and eternity, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Existence said to me: 'Witnessing has disappeared; you have ruled over all existence, and you have appeared in individuation ⁵²¹ as a servant (323) encompassing the unseen, honored by delegations. By you the roots of your origin were established until the decree of prostration was completed through your unveiling. A warbling dove sang: 'Through you we have opened, so listen in the space of existence to what witnessing!' Every cosmos you have become a king therein, a ruler of the time, a keeper of covenants. The rains of realities have now poured with lightning and fluttering thunders. Their secret is you in existence, and from you is the secret—what you have fulfilled is the worst of contracts. You are in the Essence in perpetual bliss and by the secret of joy in the abode of eternity.' Existence, existence, existence. So you are all existence, the choicest of existence, the quintessence of existence, existence, existence. (324) So you are the totality of existence, the intermediary of existence, the link of existence; no existent escapes the secret of the Mim ⁵²² of your kingdom, and no one reaches the presence of his Master, the King, the Worshipped, without your mediation. So you are the Ha ⁵²³ of mercy for every existent, your height is the indication of every intended guardian, and the Mim ⁵²⁴ of the ultimate hopes and the final aims.

O my master, O chosen one of Allah ⁵²⁵, O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the entire existence whose existence the prophets heralded before the dawn of his message and prophethood burst forth, and whose lights merged into the rays of his luminosity, the gleams of his signs, and the universality of his call. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the eye of existence ⁵²⁶ whose existence the spiritual souls heralded before his emergence and manifestation, and whom the holy worlds proclaimed in the palaces of intimacy and announced, and the bright star of his era. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the secret of existence whose existence the heavenly books heralded, and whose prophethood they announced, and whose names and attributes they honored, and whose abundant noble qualities and brilliant miracles they witnessed. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the elite of existence whose existence the auspicious and felicitous beginnings heralded—his conception and birth—and the inhabitants of the firmament ⁵²⁷ affirmed the loftiness of his rank with Allah and his glory. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the quintessence of existence whose existence the past nations heralded before his formation, and the Throne-dwelling and earth-dwelling spirits ⁵²⁸ prostrated to the might of his sovereignty before his existence and manifestation in the loci of proximity and his individuation. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the mercy of existence whose existence the tidings and monks heralded, and whose forms were veiled by the light of his rays and the garments of his coloration, and each of them drinks from the overflow of his bounty and the generosity of his right hand. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the seal of existence whose existence the openings of the surahs ⁵²⁹ heralded with the greatness of his sainthood and the purity of his religion, and the persons of forms were adorned with the light of his truthfulness, sincerity, and perfection of certainty. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that quenches us from the delightful fountain of his watering-place and the pure flowing water, and through it grant us success in clarifying the path of truth and making it evident. By Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the gathering place of virtues and excellences, the master of the later and earlier ones, the noble of clan and tribes, whose noble character was gentler than the blowing of the south and north winds, the blessed and comely generosity of his right hand was stronger than the sent winds and the pouring rain, and his majestic and magnificent attributes are the most sublime of beautiful attributes and the most generous of traits and qualities, as Tubba' ⁵³⁰ reported in his saying: "A noble prophet, Qurayshi, Arab, Harami ⁵³¹, from the sanctuary of Allah Most High, and to this city he will emigrate and take it as a refuge and abode. He is neither short nor tall; in his eyes there is redness; he saddles the camel and wears the cloak; his sword is on his shoulder; he cares not whom he meets, whether brother or cousin, until he manifests the command of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the morning breeze and the bright star of radiant faces, the pole of the most excellent and the beautiful nobles, whom Abu 'Amir ⁵³² described before his existence as radiant and luminous, neither tall and lanky nor short and squat; when he looks, he draws near and shines; when he is angry, he turns away and withdraws; in his eyes there is a wide-eyed beauty, and his command is a deterrent, and his prohibition is a lesson; he does not repeat victory; he brings the easy Hanifiyyah ⁵³³; and fortunate is he who follows his path. Thus my ears heard from the traveling monks and the righteous nobles. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that guides us thereby to the path of right guidance and righteousness, and through it we become among those upon whose face the light of his love has shone and gleamed. By Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the firmly rooted element of honor, the possessor of lofty rank and established glory, the most generous of those whom one seeks for help in hardships and relies upon for victory, whose existence was announced by 'Addas ⁵³⁴, Ghassan al-Himyari, Zayd ibn 'Amr ibn Nufayl, and Waraqah ibn Nawfal. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the choice of non-Arabs and Arabs, the mercy of the distant and the near, the best of those whose fame spread to the farthest East and West, whose existence was announced by Khanafir ⁵³⁵, the serpent of Najran, Jadhil al-Kindi, the elite of al-Dawsi, Shafi' ibn Kulayb, Shaqq and Satih, and Sawad ibn Qarib. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pole of sovereignty, precious in family and homeland, the mountain of glory, marked by compassion, mercy, and good character, whose existence was announced by Ibn Harithah and Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the light of the dawn of ascending prophethood, the unique star of the sphere of messengerhood, whose existence the prophets heralded to their people, and Jesus son of Mary, the most glorious, when Allah Most High said: {And giving good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad} ⁵³⁶. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, sweet in character and speech, Your chosen one, beautiful in nature and conduct, the best of those whom You mentioned in Your Book, thereby attaining the utmost elevation and precedence, whose existence Jesus announced, saying: "When the Paraclete comes, he will bear witness"—meaning the Spirit of Truth. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the musk of the seal, the brick of completion, the star of the sphere of prophethood, dispelling with his light the darkness of gloom, whose existence David announced and prayed for before his existence, saying: "O Allah, send him as the establisher of the Sunnah after the intermission" in a psalm of the psalms of the family of David, peace be upon him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom You granted favor, generosity, and bounty, the most excellent of those through whom You established limits and fulfilled covenants, whose existence David announced with a witnessed report, saying about him: "Allah will bring forth from Zion a praised crown."

O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, the rising of blessed and most auspicious good fortune, the pride of the unique and singular solicitude, the luminous and most blazing star of guidance, whom You informed of in Your words, quoting Jesus, peace be upon him: "And giving good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad" ⁵³⁷. So when he came, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, he was Ahmad because in his face shone the lights of pre-eternity, and by his existence appeared the dazzling lights of the first secret ⁵³⁸. Ibn 'Ata' said regarding His words: "His name is Ahmad"—that is, the most praising of those who praise Him with praise, the most obedient of those who obey Him with obedience, the most knowing of those who know Him with knowledge, and the most yearning of those who yearn for Him with yearning. Some exegetes said concerning the meaning of His words "His name is Ahmad": that is, he is the one who is not blamed. There are two interpretations: one is that all the prophets are praisers of Allah, and our Prophet, peace be upon them, is Ahmad, i.e., the most praising of them for Allah; the second is that all the prophets are praised, and our Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is the most praised, i.e., the one with the most merits. Ka'b said: The disciples said, "O Spirit of Allah, is there any nation after us?" He said: "Yes, the nation of Ahmad: wise, learned, pious, God-fearing, as if from jurisprudence they are prophets; they are content with Allah for the little provision, and Allah is content with them for the little deed." So when he brought them the clear proofs—which were the signs that he showed them—they said, "This is clear magic." And I said regarding this meaning, by way of allusion, in His words "His name is Ahmad": that is, he is the most praising of those who praise Allah with praise, the most numerous of those who journey to Him as delegates, the most successful of those who desire His love with intent, the most fulfilling of those who yearn for His vision with promise, the strongest of those who strive for His pleasure with effort, the highest of those who are affiliated with Him in glory, the most constant of those who hold fast to the rope of His love with ecstasy. Or you may say: He is the most praising of those who praise Allah, the strongest of believers in faith in Allah, the most abundant of those who reckon themselves in modesty before Allah, the most fortunate of the patient in portion with Allah, the greatest of the reliant in sufficiency through Allah, the most exalted of the certain in station before Allah, the swiftest of the humble in compliance with Allah's commands, the most perfect of the ascetic in contentment with what Allah has granted them, the most truthful of the preachers in counsel to Allah's servants, the most grateful of the workers to Allah. Or you may say: He is the praised one by the tongue of Truth and His praise, and the one specially distinguished by His proximity and selection; his ultimate goal is the Praiseworthy Station ⁵³⁹, his final end is the Great Intercession on the Promised Day, his reward is success through the pleasure of his Lord, the Worshipped King, and the vision of His Mighty Face in the Abode of Generosity and Eternity, and his increase is the bearing of the banner of praise that is tied, and the drink from the fullest cup and the pond that is visited, without alteration or change, without transition or transformation. That station is the nearness of nearness, and there is the station of special intercession, which encompasses the common and the elite without cause or reason, and that is specific to him to the exclusion of other messengers, prophets, righteous, saints, trustees, and chosen ones. Thus the superiority of the master of noble messengers has appeared, and the specificity of the master of mankind and the imam of the leading guides, my master the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him with the best of blessings and the purest of peace, as long as his bride ascends through the stages of piety and honor, and the world of his secret pierces the seven heavens and inhales the fragrant breezes of mercies from the presence of the All-Knowing King. He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was Ahmad in knowledge of what was, and therefore He named him Ahmad after making him praised by His praise and a luminous lamp by the light of His praise, and He derived his name from His Name: the Possessor of the Throne is Mahmud ⁵⁴⁰ and this one is Muhammad ⁵⁴¹; thus all praises vanished in the letter Ha of his praise, and glories appeared in the manifestations of the Mim of his kingdom and the beauties of his glory. Rather, the spirits of meanings and the roots of structures gathered in the Dal of his eternity and his naming as Ahmad. This is the supported might, the eternal kingdom, the established religion, the absolute honor unbound, and especially what our Lord mentioned about him in His Book, saying: "So when she brought them the clear proofs that they were rejecting" ⁵⁴²—and the clear address and its purport appeared to them—they said, "This is clear magic," recognizing it otherwise. That is, when he brought them the dazzling lights and decisive proofs that overwhelmed the understandings of their consciences, cut off the arguments of the hidden secrets of their innermost, dazzled the scope of their thoughts, belied the results of their denial, deemed foolish the sophistry of their words, changed the ugliness of their deeds, shook the foundations of their beliefs, deprived them of obtaining their benefits, and erased the traces of their scrolls, they said in denial, rejection, ignorance, and obstinacy: "This is clear magic," i.e., manifest, the like of which has not been seen in the capacity of the human world nor in the innate dispositions of the spiritual spirit. Their dreams went astray when they saw that, and their understandings became dull when they witnessed what was there, and they were heedless of what Allah swore concerning him in His words: "Ya Sin. By the Wise Quran, indeed you are among the messengers, on a straight path" ⁵⁴³, and "By the Mount, and a Book inscribed" ⁵⁴⁴, and "Sad. By the Quran containing reminder, but those who disbelieve are in pride and dissension" ⁵⁴⁵, and "Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe" ⁵⁴⁶—the verse. He manifested His secret in the beginnings of the surahs and displayed His light in the beginnings of the forms, and in the meaning of every verse that human intellects cannot grasp and the scope of thought cannot encompass. So our Lord replied to them with His words: "And who is more unjust than one who invents" ⁵⁴⁷—i.e., fabricates lies against Allah by denying Allah's signs while being called to Islam and not accepting it—"And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people" ⁵⁴⁸—i.e., those for whom the paths of guidance are blocked and the doors of misguidance are opened, and they did not support the lights of the Muhammadan dawn and the Ahmadan morning of truth, nor did they taste the sweetness of Islam, nor did they smell the fragrance of the religion of the master of mankind, nor did they awaken from the drink of the wine of desire and the delicious sleep, nor did their sides forsake the beds of passions and the arenas of confused dreams. How excellent is what al-Busiri said: "And how can they perceive his reality in this world, a people asleep who have consoled themselves with dreams about him?" ⁵⁴⁹ Or you may say: "So when she brought them the clear proofs"—it appeared to them in the manifestations of theophanies, and there overwhelmed them from the light of his prophethood and messengership that which removed from their hearts the darkness of doubt, illusions, and fantasies—"they said, 'This is clear magic'"—which we recognized otherwise, from the work of sorceries and the transformation of things through blasphemous words and all kinds of entertainments—"And who is more unjust than one who invents lies against Allah?"

And he relied on what his soul had prompted him of rational control and satanic whisperings of the heart, while he is called to Islam, which illuminates hearts with the light of knowledge of the truth of Lordship and pure servitude. ﴿ And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people. ﴾ Those whose inner disposition became corrupt, whose case was reversed, and who ignored the truth that came to them on the tongue of the truthful and believed, my master the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and they ignored it out of ignorance of it, and they sacrificed the results of their sterile forms ³⁴⁰ and the sophistry of their blameworthy words, and they denied what would make them happy in both abodes of sound judgments, and they negated and affirmed, made covenants and broke them, and relied on what they heard from their bishops and narrated and reported or they say, ﴿ And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah? ﴾ That is, people are more unjust than one whom his Lord calls, on the tongue of His Prophet, to Islam, by whose light one is guided in the darkness of gloom, and by which one is guided to the path of truth and the ways of Islam, but he abandons it and inclines to the worship of idols and statues, and replaces the call to truth with mockery, play, fabrication, and lying, and says: This is magic, falsehood, deception, invention, confusion, and foolishness, or he says while he is called to Islam, for which Allah has prepared for its people in the gardens lofty stations, high palaces ³⁴¹, raised couches, placed cups, arranged cushions, spread carpets, pure, pleasing, and contented spouses, adorned and blooming gardens, varied, delicious, and pure tables, fruits whose clusters are near, sweet flowing rivers, clear running waters, magnificent gifts, and successive bounties, especially the vision of the face of their Generous Lord in a garden whose width is the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous—are you awake or asleep or captives in the hand of satanic desires, and envy in wearing luxurious clothes, competing in the goods of this world, forgetting the Hereafter, desiring what is in people's hands, and acquiring the forbidden? Or he says while he is called to Islam, which elevates the station and whose blessing appears ³⁴² at the time of entering the grave and descending to the bath [of death], and the end of one who holds fast to it is good, and he attains the station in the Abode of Peace, and his neck is freed from the Fire by the blessing of the Master of Mankind and the Seal of the Prophets, my master and lord, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him with the best of prayers and the purest of peace. Or he says while he calls to Islam, by which Allah opened the doors of revelation and inspiration, and with its light He erased the darkness of doubts and illusions, and by it He raised the beacon of laws and judgments, and by it He established the religion and set right the affairs of the elite and the commoners. Or he says: And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah and blackens his face with the smoke of sins and offenses, and casts behind his back the trust he bore, and throws it into the dungeon of oppression and darkness, while he calls to Islam, which illuminates hearts and bodies with its light, purified from the impurities of the polytheists, worshippers of idols and statues? ³⁴³ And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people, those who strayed from the path of truth, and it was decreed in Allah's knowledge that they would not be guided to what is right nor follow the path of Islam. ﴿ Is he, then, to whom the evil of his deed is made attractive so he considers it good? Indeed, Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. ﴾ Allah, the Exalted, informed about their obstinacy and denial of the prophethood and message of His Beloved by His saying, ﴿ They want to extinguish the light of Allah ﴾ meaning that which emanates from the light of His Holy Essence, the attributes of His transcendent perfections, and the sciences of His jabarutic ⁵⁵⁰ descents. And Allah is the Perfecter of His light, which He veiled with the mantles of His majesty and grandeur, and hid it in the jewels of His attributes and names, and by it He raised the rank of His messengers and prophets, and adorned with it the mark of His beloved and chosen ones, and expanded with it the breasts of His erring and generous ones, and filled with it the hearts of His scholars and knowers, and corrected with it the beliefs ³⁴⁴ of His pious and righteous ones, and concealed it from the eyes of the hearts of the people of obstinacy and His enemies, and disclosed it to the elite of His poles ⁵⁵¹ and stakes ⁵⁵² and the companions of His presence and the great ones of His saints. Or he says, ﴿ They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light ﴾ which filled the pillars of His Throne and His heaven, and adorned the carpet of His footstool and the expanse of its regions. Glory be to Him, there is no god but Him, no one can reverse His decree, and no one can repel His judgment, even if the disbelievers dislike it—those whose mouths are filled with falsehood and lies, and whose tongues plunge into what does not concern them, uttering obscenity and engaging in false and slanderous sayings and play. Woe to them and away with them! How far they are from the path of truth and right! May they be obliterated and destroyed! How speechless they are from speaking the truth and giving the answer! They have stumbled like a blind she-camel with their opinions, and they have changed ³⁴⁵ what Allah commanded with their disbelief and polytheism. ﴿ Their example is that of one who kindled a fire... ﴾ ﴿ And when Allah intends evil for a people, there is no repelling it. ﴾ And how can the contingent extinguish the light of the Eternal with the moisture of his hidden polytheism and manifest clear disbelief, and his imitation in his words and deeds of Iblis, the accursed and erring one? This, while heedlessness has overcome their hearts, and the light of faith has been removed from the core of their hearts, innermost beings, and intellects, and they have become deeply entrenched in their disbelief until they denied the Messenger regarding what was revealed to him from his Lord, and that is His saying, ﴿ It is He who sent His Messenger... ﴾ the verse. Or he says regarding the meaning of His saying, ﴿ They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths ﴾ He is our master Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who lit his lamp with the oil of prophethood and messengership, and clarified his path by guiding the servants to the way of good and guidance, and forbidding them from the way of ³⁴⁶ error, corruption, and misguidance. And Allah is the Perfecter of his Muhammadan light, even if the disbelievers dislike it—those whose disbelief has covered faith, and Satan has taken hold of their hearts, causing them to forget the remembrance of their Master, the King, the Judge. Then He testified to that by His saying, ﴿ It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth ﴾ that is, the Hanifite ⁵⁵³ religion, to make it prevail, that is, to exalt it over religion, that is, over all religions opposed to it. By my life, there is no religion among the religions except that it is subdued and overcome by the religion of Islam, which is exalted and not exalted over, and no one among the honored servants of Allah practices religion except through it, and no one relies except on it. And according to Mujahid ⁵⁵⁴: When Jesus, peace be upon him, descends, there will be no religion on earth except the religion of Islam. ﴿ They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths ﴾ as it came in Surah Bara'ah ⁵⁵⁵. It is as if this lam ⁵⁵⁶ that is added with the verb of command ³⁴⁷ is for emphasis, because it contains the meaning of intention and extinguishing the light of Allah with their mouths, mocking them in their attempt to nullify the religion of Islam and support the religion of the worshippers of idols and statues by their saying, ﴿ This is clear magic. ﴾ Their state is like that of one who considers a swelling as fat, and blows on something that is not aflame. ﴿ But Allah refuses except ﴾ the verse. And that is because when their Master knew from them disbelief and turning away from what He called them to and urged them upon, He said, ﴿ Even if the disbelievers dislike it ﴾ those whose polytheism led them to enmity towards my master, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, so they removed the cloak of modesty from their faces, and the religion of disbelief nested in their hearts, and they confronted their Master with what would lead them to the lowest depth of the Fire. And it was recited [in another reading], ﴿ It is He who sent His Messenger ﴾ And I said in explaining that reading by way of allusion, according to what Allah opened to me—and Allah knows best His intent—that is, so that the light of the elite ³⁴⁸ may connect with the common, the ranks may be completed, the station may become unified, the rays of the prophetic lights may expand in the essence of the bride of the prophetic presences, and connection and union may appear, and the purpose and intent may be fulfilled in the substance of supply and the life of spirits and bodies—my master, the Messenger of Allah. And it was also recited, ﴿ It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth ﴾ Then He added another distinction by His saying,

That He may make it prevail over all religion. And He bestowed upon him a great station, by which He humiliated his enemies (arghama bihi anufa a‘dā’ihi) and manifested through it the perfection of His glory and sublimity. By His saying: "Although the polytheists dislike it." And He honored his rank by His saying to the believers: "O you who have believed..." (the verse). And He, glorified be He, continued to elevate him, choose him, and select him from among His messengers and prophets, and to draw him near and make him renowned in the presence of His holiness, while the tongue of revelation supported and strengthened him, addressing him with His words: "O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good tidings, and a warner." "O Messenger, convey (349) what has been revealed to you from your Lord." "Say, O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all." Until the lights of his prophethood shone within the lights of his messengership, and the lights of his messengership shone in the perfection of his infallibility and the fulfillment of his trust, and the lights of the perfection of his infallibility and the fulfillment of his trust shone in the brilliant signs and dazzling miracles, and the lights of the brilliant signs and dazzling miracles shone in the manifestations of his theophanies and the sciences of his essence, and the lights of the manifestations of his theophanies and the sciences of his essence shone in the positions of the stars of his descents and receptions, and the lights of the positions of the stars of his descents and receptions shone in the sciences of his ranks and the stations of his ascents and descents, and the lights of the sublimity of his ranks and the stations of his ascents and descents shone in the precedents of his felicity and the witnesses of his determinations, and the lights of the precedents of his felicity and the witnesses of his determinations shone in the inspirations of his chosenness and his spiritual refreshments, and the lights (350) of his chosenness and his spiritual refreshments shone in the states of his ecstasies and his variegations, and the lights of his ecstasies and his variegations shone in his hearing of the address from his Lord and his intimate conversations, and the lights of his hearing of the address from his Lord and his intimate conversations shone in his discourse and speech, and the lights of his discourse and speech shone in the glad tidings of his blessedness and felicity in his proximity to his Lord and the object of His will, and the lights of his proximity to his Lord and the object of His will shone in his being beloved and his acknowledgment of servitude to his Lord and his compliance with obedience to Him, and the lights of his being beloved and his acknowledgment of servitude to his Lord and his compliance with obedience to Him shone in his fear of Him and his acting according to the requirements of His Book and His Sunnah, seeking His pleasure, and the lights of his fear of his Lord and his acting according to the requirements of His Book and His Sunnah, seeking His pleasure, shone in the answering of his supplications and his desire (351) for his community and the acceptance of his intercessions, in his weeping in the darkness of the night and his supplications, and the lights of his weeping in the darkness of the night and his supplications shone in his tenderness, compassion, and love of good for those who believed in his prophethood and messages, and no one from the worlds of spirits and bodies departed from the circle of his forbearance and exposure to the blowing of his breezes and the outpouring of his mercies. Thus the pen ran, and the trains of generosity flowed, until all the prophets and messengers and all the nations entered under the banner of his might and glory. Perfect in creation, his like has not been known, As if he were an angel in the form of a human. The prophets and the angels, from eternity, Have affirmed him and submitted to him in faith. Prophethood was established for him before the messengers, As firmly as a decree and its execution in times. Every prophet is a light for him, after (352) Except the Beloved, who, by Allah, has two lights: A light whose inward is holiness, whose outward Guides mankind to awakening and certainty. And the light of his outward is from the light of his inward; Both are for the Messenger of Allah, two seas. The title of his inward is the lights of his outward; The title of the inward of Ṭāhā—what a title! No Arab or non-Arab has been his equal, Nor have two eyes seen his like, by Allah. Muḥammad, the Chosen, the Praised, his witness is On the Day of Intercession among humans and jinn. Were it not for intercession, his distinction would not be known Before Allah tomorrow among his peers. O Master of the Messengers, O Secret of Existence, O Treasure of congratulations for us, O Essence of essences! O most perfect of creation in form and character, (353) O most elevated of people in rank and status! Upon you be the most pure and fragrant blessings of Allah, As long as the breeze touches the crowns of basil. And upon the Family, the Companions, and all followers, As long as the meadow sways the sleeves of branches. These are openings of Muḥammadan and Aḥmadī secrets, and radiances of Medinan and Meccan lights, and gifts of Throne-borne and holy sciences, and meanings of Quranic and bestowed ends, by which Sufi inclinations were drawn forth and borne by chosen prophetic carriers, containing subtleties of Self-Subsistent sciences in the meaning of His statement, exalted be He: "O you who have believed, shall I guide you to a commerce..." (the verse). That is: O you whose hearts the light of faith has illumined, and the musk of Islam has diffused in the folds of your garments and the recesses of your bosoms, and the rose (354) of felicity has blossomed in the gardens of your hopes and the meadows of your desire—shall I guide you to a blessed, profitable commerce that expends righteous deeds in the spoils of successful felicity, a gift whose beneficence overflows with the highest good, a gift whose scales are heavy with the purification of good deeds and the erasure of evil deeds, outweighing them, that saves you from a painful chastisement that makes you taste the heat of the blazing fire and the fire of Hell, and blackens your faces on the day you stand before the Lord, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing? Or He says: Shall I guide you to a commerce that saves you from what distances you from My presence and deprives you of the perfections of My regard, and closes the doors of My Garden in your faces, and prevents you from witnessing My favor, and brings down My wrath upon you, and opens for you the doors of My chastisement and vengeance? It is: "That you believe in Allah and His Messenger" in what He has informed you of through me, by the mediation of Jibrīl, the Trustworthy Spirit, and that you affirm (355) what I have revealed upon his heart of the secrets of revelation and the jewels of the Clear Book. For he is the interpreter of the preserved knowledge of the Unseen and the treasurer of the gifts of My hidden secret. In the spirituality of his essence are gathered the sciences of the first and the last, and in the descriptions of his perfections the minds of thinkers and reflectors are bewildered, and in the dominion of his gnoses and cognitions the understandings of the saints, the righteous, and the angels brought near are integrated, and in the publication of the subtleties of his Book are inscribed the names of all named things, and it is placed above My strong, firm Throne, that he may peruse it.

With the eye of His mercy and compassion, He looks upon His grace, His intercession for the disobedient and sinners, and all the believing servants of God. Or you say: "O you who have believed, shall I guide you to a trade whose commodity never perishes, whose expenditure does not diminish by the sacrifice of souls and wealth ⁵⁵⁷, whose wisdom does not become void over the passage of ages and times, which saves you from a painful punishment that leads to regret and remorse, and prevents you from entering the abode of success and honor? Then He explains that blessed, profitable trade and its accepted virtue before God, truthful in His words: 'You believe in God and His Messenger' ⁵⁵⁸ who called you to Islam, clarified for you the lawful from the unlawful, forbade you from disbelief, immorality, disobedience, and committing sins, and taught you what brings you near to your Lord, the All-Knowing King, and by which your feet are made firm on the day when feet slip. Or you say: 'You believe in God and His Messenger' whose heart encompassed Me, for My earth and heavens did not encompass Me, but his heart did, because I made him the manifestation of My self-disclosures and the throne of My merciful essence, out of kindness to you, lest the lights of My glory burn you at night or the flashes of My breezes melt your bodies. For if a speck ⁵⁵⁹ of the light of My beauty or the measure of a needle's eye of My perfect attributes were to appear to you, you would be thunderstruck as Moses was when he sought to see Me, your mountains would become leveled as the mountains crumbled in fear of My awe, and you would say, as he said when he recovered from his annihilation and returned to his sobriety: 'I repent to You, and I am the first of the believers.' Or you say: 'You believe in God and His Messenger' because My happiness and care preceded you in eternity, when the first covenant was taken. That trade to which He guided you and inspired you does not carry its commodity on the mountains of intellects, nor do the greatest scholars grasp its reality, nor does he who fears death at the moment of advancing to cut through the stations of proximity and arrival trade in it. Or you say: 'You believe in God and His Messenger' who guides you to the straight path and clarifies for you the landmarks of right guidance and success. 'And you strive in the way of God with your wealth and your lives' ⁵⁶⁰ so that rewards and ranks may be multiplied for you, the doors of happiness and joy may be opened for you, you may marry the maidens confined in pavilions and the companions of equal age, life may be pleasant for you in this world and the Hereafter, and you may praise the outcomes. 'And God is better for you, if you but knew' ⁵⁶¹ what I have stored for you as reward in the treasuries of the unseen, and granted you thereby what you desire of gifts and presents in the abode of My honor, where neither fatigue nor weariness touches you. For I am the Giver of abundant gifts, the Guide of creatures to My obedience, and the Turner of hearts. If you seek Me, My servant, you will find Me. No preventer prevents Me, no veil or doorkeeper turns Me back from bestowing upon you enduring bliss, abundant good, and success in the great kingdom that suffers no removal or plunder. I complete that for you with forgiveness of sins, attainment of hopes, and achievement of the desired, and I grant you goodly dwellings in the Garden of Eden, the abode of joy, happiness, and bestowed generosity, spirit and fragrance, and security from perplexing calamities ⁵⁶² and overwhelming misfortunes. And I increase you another degree that you love: 'Victory from God and a near conquest' ⁵⁶³. God's victory is His eternal support that preceded for the knowers and the unitarians, and the near conquest is the unveiling of His beauty and the opening of the doors of His union. By His victory they overcame their souls and subdued them through His service, and by His conquest they witnessed every hidden and veiled mystery of the rulings of lordship and the lights of divinity. Ibn 'Ata' said: 'Victory is tawhid ⁵⁶⁴, faith, and knowledge; the near conquest is the vision of the Master.' And He gave glad tidings to the believers who held fast to God, purified their religion for God, and strove with their wealth and lives in the way of God, and the light of faith blazed in their hearts, mingled with their blood and flesh, and its musk spread in their sleeves and collars. Their Lord addressed them with His words: 'O you who have believed, be supporters of God' ⁵⁶⁵ the verse. And I said concerning this meaning, by way of allusion: O you who have believed, when you have finished the lesser jihad ⁵⁶⁶, occupy yourselves with the greater jihad, which is killing it [the soul] through fasting, worship, and opposing desire, which the knowers have called the red death and the ascetics have named the radiant time, and burying it in the graves of fear and hope, and covering it with the garments of neediness for God and seeking refuge. For you have given it entirely to God, He has purchased it from you, it is no longer yours, and judgment and will in that matter are surrendered to Him. You have entrusted the affair to Him in the beginning and the return. So He guided you to what you may attain through it the degree of success and happiness. Then He said: 'Be supporters of God' ⁵⁶⁷, i.e., O you whom God has adorned with the light of faith, made disbelief, immorality, and disobedience hateful in your hearts, and caused the Muhammadan lights ⁵⁶⁸ and the suns of Ahmad's ⁵⁶⁹ gnoses to shine upon your hearts, and made you inhale the clove of his prophethood and message, and clothed you in the garments of His majesty and grandeur, and removed for you the veils of His proximity and vision, and taught you the paths of His guidance and happiness, and girded you with the swords of His victory and struggle, and opened for you the fortresses of His religion and worship, and perfumed you with the fragrance of His honor and glory—be supporters of God, i.e., support His upright religion, follow His straight path, and act according to what He has inscribed in the clear verses of His wise Book, as Jesus son of Mary said to the disciples: 'Who are my supporters for God?' ⁵⁷⁰ So their spirits responded to what they heard from the Spirit of God, and they said: 'We are the supporters of God.' So a group believed, whom God supported in his time through Muhammad, peace be upon him, and a group disbelieved, whom the obstacle of wretchedness and abandonment came between them and him, and He sealed their hearts with the stamp of disbelief, expulsion ⁵⁷¹, and deprivation. 'Then We supported those who believed' ⁵⁷²—they are the companions of Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them—'and they became dominant' ⁵⁷³, i.e., victorious over their enemies, acting upon what they heard from their prophets, devoted to their love, guided by their guidance and conduct, not harmed by those who opposed the religion of Islam and followed the path of idol and statue worshippers. Or you say...

O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah ⁵⁷⁴, that is, ministers, princes, kings upon thrones, as Jesus son of Mary said to the disciples: 'Who are my supporters for Allah?' The disciples said: 'We are the supporters of Allah, complying with the commands of Allah, standing at the limits of Allah, acting according to what Allah has revealed, spending wealth and lives in the pleasure of Allah.' Then a faction of the Children of Israel believed, seeking the good pleasure of Allah, and a faction disbelieved, opposing the command of Allah, so He abandoned them and became angry with them and prepared for them a humiliating punishment. Then We gave those who believed victory over their enemy, and they became dominant ⁵⁷⁵, that is, overpowering the enemies of Allah Almighty, erasing with their swords the trace of those who disobeyed Allah, humiliating those who rebelled against obedience to Allah, cutting through the rocks of those who denied what Allah brought. Have you not seen those who exchanged the favor of Allah for disbelief and settled their people in the abode of ruin? Hell, they will burn therein, and wretched is the resting place. Or you say: O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah, who supported you with the clear conquest and established your hearts with the light of sincerity and certainty and strengthened your faith with the light of His manifest Book and poured upon your hearts the drink of His flowing love and adorned you with the sash of His victory and firm support, as Jesus son of Mary said to the disciples: 'Who are my supporters for Allah, the Strong, the Helper?' The disciples said: 'We are the supporters of Allah, who appointed us in the manifestations of determination and clothed us with the robes of righteousness and religion and created us with the character of the prophets and messengers and made us companions of Jesus, the Spirit of Allah, hearing and obeying his command and the command of the master of the messengers.' Then a faction of the Children of Israel believed, for whom happiness preceded before creation and formation, and a faction disbelieved, who adhered to the religion of the Jews and Christians and built their foundation on the bases of falsehood, conjecture, and guesswork. Then We gave those who believed victory over their enemy, and they became dominant, that is, victorious with the pleasure of Allah and supporters of His religion. 'O you who have believed, fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you' ⁵⁷⁶—the verse. Some of the gnostics said: 'The disbelievers who are near to you are the souls, which are the gathering place of passion and affliction, and the unveilings of the veils. Whoever knows them fights them and kills them through various spiritual exercises until no trace remains in the arena of his heart of the roots of the trees of desires. Then after that, the trees of gnosis and unveilings grow in it, along with the lights of wisdom, the basils of love, the rose of longing, and the jasmine of passionate love. And through these lights, he becomes the locus of the armies of secrets and the dwelling of the radiance of lights.' And Sahl said: 'The soul is disbelieving, so fight it by opposing its passion and compel it to obey Allah and strive in His path, eat lawful food, speak truthfully, and do what you are commanded regarding opposing it.' And from Ali ibn Musa al-Rida, from his father, from Ja'far: 'Its meaning is the struggle against the soul and its evils, for it is the nearest thing to you.' And the truthful one spoke truthfully when his statement agreed with the statement of my master, the most truthful ones—may the blessings of Allah be upon him. 'Your vein has incited your soul which is between your sides.' Or you say: O you who have believed, that is, look with the light of their inner sight and outer sight in the world of this life, and they found no supporter for the religion of Allah except Allah alone, and they reflected with their thoughts and secrets in the scenes of the highest assembly, and they found no rank higher than the rank of the Messenger of Allah, and in the manifestations of the most manifest secret, they found no station greater than the station of the Prophet of Allah, and in the pavilions of the highest station, they found no beloved lover closer than him to Allah, and on the carpet of 'two bow-lengths or nearer' ⁵⁷⁷, they found no intimate one spoken to with the tongue of revelation more noble than him before Allah, for he is the beginning of the matter and its end, its goal and its completion. Be supporters for Allah, as Jesus son of Mary, the Spirit of Allah, said to the disciples: 'Who are my supporters for Allah? The disciples said: We are the supporters of Allah.' So the fragrance of the Muhammadan nature wafted in the station of the Jesusan lordship, and the light of the Jesusan lordship shone in the temple of the Ahmadine pearl ⁵⁷⁸, so the lights intertwined with all lights, and the secrets resembled the secrets, and they said: 'We are the supporters of Allah.' So by the shining Muhammadan light we rose to Allah, and by the distinguishing Ahmadine sword we strove in the path of Allah, and by the transcendent Mustafan secret we overcame the enemies. Then a faction of the Children of Israel believed—his aid permeated the lights of their intellects and his secret in the jewels of their transmissions—and a faction disbelieved, who denied the message of their messenger and relied on the vain thoughts of their superfluities. So We supported those who believed against their enemy with conclusive proofs and dazzling, shining arguments, and they became dominant, their swords dripping with the blood of the enemies of Allah and their sleeves fragrant with the scent of Allah's goodness. May Allah reward them well on our behalf and increase their reward and recompense. They strove with their wealth and lives until they established the landmarks of the religion and founded its principles upon the stations of the straight path. Those are upon guidance from their Lord, and those are the successful. Or you say: O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah, and leave wealth, family, and children, abandon beds, couches, and sleep, travel with your selves to the presence of Allah, ride the waves of the sea of annihilation, and annihilate yourselves from your own annihilation in the beauty of Allah, hasten to obedience, leave every distraction that distracts you from Allah, direct your aspirations toward Him, strive your utmost in seeking His pleasure, seize the opportunity to support the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and place him among you as the soul in the body, and spend in his love wealth, life, family, and children, answer his caller, let no lethargy overtake you in the religion of Allah, and affirm upon yourselves that those who pledge allegiance to you are only pledging allegiance to Allah, and act according to the implication of Allah's words: 'We are the supporters of Allah.' Then his spirituality will blow into your spirituality, his secrets will permeate your inspirations and receptions, and his lights will shine in your beginnings and endings. Then a faction believed, witnessing the light of Truth by the light of Truth, and a faction disbelieved, denying what their Lord commanded them of following the Truth, and they occupied themselves with the pleasures of their souls that command evil and with the governance of creation to thereby attain their worldly goals and fulfill their worldly desires. So We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they became dominant over those who removed the noose of Islam from their necks and denied what Allah made obligatory upon them of His right, followed their own souls' passions, veiled themselves with the veil of ignorance and foolishness, wished for vain hopes from Allah, and did not follow the paths of the people of seriousness, intention, and truthfulness. Or you say: O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah, for the spirits have recognized one another with the spirits while creation was in the darkness of non-existence, and they gathered in the isthmus of gathering and the mihrab of Adam in pre-eternity. And praise Allah who sent among you a messenger from among yourselves, grievous to him is your suffering—the verse.

So he excused, warned, gave glad tidings, cautioned, and honored you through him above all other nations, and bestowed upon you through his hands abundant blessings. He sent him to you with compassion and mercy, and guided you through him to faith and submission. He legislated for you the best of laws and made clear to you the paths of rulings. So be helpers of Allah, stand firm in the stations of calling to Allah, and unsheathe your swords for the victory of Allah's religion, showing loyalty to those who are loyal to Him and enmity to those who are hostile to Him ⁵⁷⁹, as Jesus son of Mary said to the disciples: 'Who are my helpers towards Allah?' The disciples said: 'We are the helpers of Allah.' So their souls affirmed the oneness of Allah, their spirits testified to the victory of Allah's religion, and their bodies presented themselves seeking the breezes of Allah's good pleasure. Then a group of the Children of Israel believed—the light of faith penetrated their hearts and the love of Islam settled in the hidden depths of their innermost secrets—while another group disbelieved—the darkness of ignorance accumulated in their hearts and the cloud of envy and denial lurked within the core of their identity. So We supported those who believed against their enemy ⁵⁸⁰, meaning: We caused the blossoms of Muhammadan love to grow in their gardens, placed the jasmine of Ahmadic longings in their fragrant meadows, diffused the narcissus of manifest unveilings in the hiding places of their consciences, concealed the gifts of gracious descents in the unseen of their innermost secrets, inscribed the lines of realities on the scrolls of their registers, and traced the jewels of Quranic verses ⁵⁸¹ on the pages of their struggle and the swords of their right hands. Thus they became victorious over their enemy and the rebellious devils among them, meaning: they overcame them by the light of the Chosen One's power and subdued them through the care of Muhammadan lordship. How noble is that lordship! Our Master said concerning it: 'If you do not support him, Allah has already supported him' ⁵⁸². And how great is that struggle! He informed of its lofty rank and honored its matter in His words to his companion, his intimate in the cave, and his successor over his noble, righteous companions, our master Abu Bakr al-Siddiq: 'O Abu Bakr, what do you think of two when Allah is the third?' ⁵⁸³. And He made it independent through His eternal support from anyone else in His words: 'If you do not support him, Allah has already supported him' ⁵⁸². The meaning of that is: whoever is chosen by His eternal support has no need for the support of anyone other than Allah. And whoever Allah honors with His might, Allah makes him a supporter of Him, while He is independent of his support. So his support is honored by His support, for the support of creation is established by the support of the Truth. So whoever cuts himself off from creation, Allah helps him against every possessor of resolve and connects him to every blessing. And Allah described His support for His Prophet, peace be upon him, when He gave him refuge with his companion in the cave, and unveiled His beauty to him, and manifested His light from him to his companion, and made him victorious over all creation through what He gave him of the banners of eternal support and the standards of the state of messengership and prophethood of the Master. And Allah perfected His support for him by making him independent of your support, as He said: 'And Allah will protect you from the people' ⁵⁸⁴. Whoever is in the field of divine protection is independent of the support of creatures. Do you not see that when the matter became severe, he said: 'Through You I attack, for You are the Helper and the Succorer' ⁵⁸⁵? End. Or you say: 'O you who have believed, be helpers of Allah' ⁵⁸⁶, so that the banners of blessing and happiness may be raised over your heads, and the thrones of honor and felicity may be established for you, and you may be sealed with the two words of testimony, and attain the best and more ⁵⁸⁷ in the station that Allah has honored the people of devotion and worship with, and specially granted to groups who guarded the frontiers of jihad for the exaltation of Allah's word, abandoning sleep on beds and cushions, their resolves firmly set on hearing and obeying to comply with Allah's commands and strive in supporting Allah's religion and seeking the pleasure of Allah's Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, until that became their emblem and habit, and it was inscribed on the tablets of their foreheads with the light of revelation: 'Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Quran. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And that is the great attainment' ⁵⁸⁸. 'And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision, rejoicing in what Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty, and they receive good tidings about those [to be] after them who have not yet joined them—that there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve' ⁵⁸⁹. A prophet with dazzling proof—how often did his proof overcome the enemies! And how many he annihilated with the sword, striking and thrusting with spears in jihad! They are the slain, and they are the worst of captives, cast into the dust like the casting of 'Ad. It is as if the Companions are lions upon horses—their mouths are above the steeds. When the battle heats up, there arises from them a yearning for single combat and pursuit. They wade into battle violently and drive [the enemy] like driven sheep. How many fortresses of unbelief they stormed by force, and flew into strongholds like locusts! How many times they guarded the Beloved and protected him with their lives in severe calamities! How many times they fought the champions with patience, and how many times they were truthful in meeting after combat! Before the Messenger of Allah they cast the reins of forelocks and leadership. They obeyed commands and prohibitions; whenever he commanded, they flew in obedience. With beautiful manners they attended him, counting that as a great merit. They lowered their heads in reverence, and gathered around him with sharp minds. May our Lord reward them on our behalf with good on the Day of their right, the Day of Summoning. O master of the two worlds, O one who tomorrow is hoped for us as the strongest support! O one who never repels a lover who seeks refuge in his sanctuary after distance! O one whose praise is my work and treasure, my mount to my Lord and my provision! Enrich me with a glance that leaves me not a hostage to poverty, imprisoned in deprivation. Do not veil a heart that looks to You for a moment—my eye, by Allah, is my reliance. And my children and family, be a protector for them forever from recurring distress. Upon you and your family be blessings continuously, and upon your Companions, as long as a driver drives camels. A delightful, wondrous return, a superior, strange style, a pleasant, fertile garden, a turn that makes its mention sweet on the tongue and delightful—descriptions of perfections in whose beauties spirits wander and become absent. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pole of beauty, the beloved and loved, the matter of perfection, the desired saint, the locus of revelation of the Possessor of Might and Majesty, who by his light opened the closure of existence and the veil of the concealed essence, whose luminous form the pens of the Will traced on the Tablet of Preservation inscribed, where there is no witness nor witnessed.

There is neither non-existence nor existence, neither length nor shortness, neither limit nor limited, neither negation nor affirmation, neither denial nor knowledge nor action, neither accepted nor rejected, except our Master, the King, the Worshipped, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, the Kind, the Loving, who brought forth his Muhammadan light ⁵⁹⁰ from the purity of His light before the creation of every existent and the manifestation of every praised and sought-after being. Glory be to Him, there is no god but He, He alone possesses the encompassing attribute and is unique in His dominion and sovereignty, without father or son, without between or where or how, without present or absent. His mercy encompasses all things, and His grace covers the negated and the affirmed, the non-existent and the existent. His life is the very existence of existence, and His essence is the very self-subsistence of existence ⁵⁹¹. His self-sufficiency is absolute, so He needs neither servant nor worshipped. The encompassment of His power over things is like the encompassment of His knowledge over existence, and His knowledge of them is the locus of His sight, which perceives every absent and present. Thus, his Ahmadian light ⁵⁹² was the first light that issued from the Presence of Existence to the station of direct vision and witnessing. His Lord created him in His own all-merciful form ⁵⁹³ and adorned him with the attributes of His lordly perfections. So His gaze falls only upon him, and no act of generosity appears from Him to anyone except through his hands. Through his mission, the chosen honor was perfected, the prophetic secret was completed, and the sensory and spiritual excellence became manifest. Thus, no rays of God emanate to the heart of any person except through his mediation, and no atom acts in the world of creation except by his wisdom and the secret of his word. No hidden thing beneath the veil of protection appears except through the direction of his aspiration and the sweetness of his conversation and discourse. He is the treasurer of the hidden divine secret ⁵⁹⁴ and the interpreter of the eloquent tongue of the unseen, and the bride of the kingdom. The people of his intimate conversation are confident in what descends upon them therein, and his saying 'short, short, short' is insufficient relative to what they find of the sweetness of intimacy with God, the abundance of persistence in the remembrance of God, and the length of standing before God. Their mention of his saying 'short, short, short' refers to a night filled with long standing, or they become weary from the raising of hands and seeking beneficence and bestowing kindness, or the morning of familiarity with the vicissitudes of time dawns upon them, along with proximity to beings and wasting of life in what distracts them from the intimate conversation of their Master, the King, the Judge. This, by God, is the act of the idle and the state of the heedless of the warnings and exhortations of the Qur'an. Or you might say that this saint, when he looked with the eye of reflection upon the night of proximity and the day of union, said 'long, long, long,' considering what God bestows upon His beloved ones from the oceans of His generosity and bounty, and clothes them with the garments of His beauty and majesty, and brightens their faces with the light of His attributes, names, and perfections, and calls them to the presence of His nearness and union, and gives them glad tidings of the shining of the full moon of closeness and connection, and the rising of the sun of victory, joy, and acceptance. He alerted them by his saying 'short, short' so that they might consider as small the righteous deeds they had stored up and acquired for the Day of Presentation and Questioning. He indicated to them thereby an indication that urges them to worship the Great and Exalted Master, and informs them of the perfection of aspirations and the attainment of goals and hopes. This is His saying: 'Indeed, the rising of the night is more severe in tread and more upright in speech. Indeed, for you during the day is prolonged activity' [Qur'an 73:6-7]. So the night of love of my master, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, is entirely worship, and the day of his union is entirely worship. Reflection upon his traditions is entirely worship, and contemplation of his virtues is entirely worship. The rising of the day of his proximity is entirely worship. So the night of love of God is shortened by what descends upon the hearts of His beloved ones of gifts and secrets, and the day of His union is shortened by what shines upon the faces of His elect of radiances and lights, as evidenced by the hadith: 'My servant continues to draw near to Me through supererogatory acts until I love him.' Something that bore witness to God's oneness in the world of witnessing and determination, and the spirits acknowledged his prophethood and messengership while Adam was between water and clay. Something in which God gathered the morals of the prophets and messengers, and made him a qibla for the saints, the righteous, and the honored angels. Something, something, something. Something that possessed hearts through his spirituality and dominated their luminous perceptions, and God made the heavenly and earthly spirits love him on the day He said: 'Am I not your Lord?' They said: 'Yes' [Qur'an 7:172]. Something whose mention God spread in the sanctuaries of holiness and the highest assembly, and illuminated his outward and inward with His most holy light and his dazzling, most manifest secret. Something, something, something. Something by which the greatest of the near ones are addressed on the pulpits of closeness and election, and by which the spirits of the lovers are revived in the world of manifestation and concealment. Something by which souls are healed from the diseases of ignorance and harshness, and through love of him the faith of the people of sincerity, truth, and loyalty is perfected. So, O God, bless him and his noble, knowing family, and his companions, the imams and successors, a blessing that quenches us from the springs of affection and purity, and makes us among those whose deeds are pure for God and clear. Then bestow upon him through Your generosity and kindness, and pardon and forgive him through Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. What thing, what thing, what thing? What thing appears in the world of dominion and sovereignty like his Muhammadan spiritual form, and through the secret of his care the treasuries of mercy and power open like the prophetic, eternal one? What thing, what thing, what thing? What thing are the foundations of structures built upon its reality like the jewel of his chosen, unique virtues, and by whose mention the masters of allusions and meanings seek blessing like his name written on the Preserved Tablet with the light of the Furqanic revelation? What thing, what thing, what thing? What thing do the eyes of the insights of the people of direct witnessing gaze upon in the pillar of manifest unveiling like the temple of his luminous form, and by which the holy spirits address in the stations of proximity and closeness like his great gnostic imam and his divinely supported, merciful sultan? What thing, what thing, what thing? What thing did God seat in the station of 'two bow-lengths' [Qur'an 53:9] like his lordly bride, and exalted his rank in the highest 'Illiyin, and bestowed upon him the garments of His good-pleasure? So, O God, bless him and his family a blessing that crowns us with the crown of his Ahmadian love and ecstasy.

The Haymani ⁵⁹⁵, and through it You open for us the doors of joy, happiness, and congratulations, and honor us with it from Your pleasure and His pleasure in attaining the goal and achieving aspirations, (384) by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Gatherer of ranks, whose possessor is singled out ❖ O Point of the Essence in unveiling and concealment O Chosen one of the angelic realm, the Unique, and O ❖ Spirit of manifestation by supply and gnosis O Secret of our divinity, O Throne of our exaltation ❖ O Light of our countenance in human form O Unseen of our manifestation in whatever station ❖ We willed, and O One in the second manifestation O Eye of our vision, O Wine of our vineyard ❖ O Spirit of our presence, O Sanctuary of the sinner O Glance of our eternity, O Gazelle of our aim ❖ O Beauty of our countenance, O Delight of the now O Sura of the Secret, nay, O Form that appeared ❖ Its rays manifest the lights of the Criterion ⁵⁹⁶ Say what you will and speak of its gifts ❖ As you wish, for this is a low-hanging fruit And proclaim our attributes in rhymed prose on a branch ❖ That sways with the rhyme in pride among boughs And enter the paradises of the realization of witnessing through us ❖ And rejoice, for at its gate you will be met by Ridwan ⁵⁹⁷ A portion of benefits and wisdoms, and springs of grace, generosity, and bounty, and tables of beneficence, good things, and blessings, and precedents of happiness decreed by the Pen in the Mother of the Book ⁵⁹⁸, and a mercy (385) that prepared the way for all nations, and fragrant breezes that revive with their scent the dead hearts after non-existence, and shining Muhammadan lights—were it not for their existence, the world would not have emerged from non-existence—and gleaming Ahmadine ⁵⁹⁹ secrets whose secret permeated the worlds of spirits and all Arabs and non-Arabs. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, God created nothing in existence nobler than His beloved Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, sent as a mercy to all nations. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, Were it not for him, there would be no earth, no heaven, no Throne, no Footstool, no Tablet, no Pen. (386) Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, Were it not for him, the world would not have emerged from non-existence, Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, Were it not for him, no one from the two worlds, the two heavy ones ⁶⁰⁰, and the two groups of Arabs and non-Arabs would have existed. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, No one is more righteous in speech, without obligation or favor. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, No one has equaled him in knowledge or generosity. Muhammad is the master of the two worlds, the two heavy ones, and the two groups of Arabs and non-Arabs. Our Prophet, the commander and prohibitor—no one is more righteous in speech, without obligation or favor. He surpassed the prophets in form and character, and they did not equal him in knowledge or generosity. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, Everything before the existence of Muhammad was non-existence. And whoever does not believe in his prophethood and messengerhood, his religion is corrupt and his affair is non-existence. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence (387) Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, Every heart devoid of love for him is in dissolution, annihilation, and non-existence. And every ignorant person heedless of his remembrance is in distance, rejection, regret, and remorse. And every miser who withholds blessings upon him is in worry, grief, distress, and afflictions. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, Every deprived one from obedience to him is in desolation, loss, oppression, and darkness. And every sealed one who does not inhale the fragrant breezes of his mercies is in fatigue, ailment, and sickness. And every one who avoids his exemplary path is in disgrace, calamity, and the blaze of fire and flame. And every tongue that does not utter his name is in muteness, stammering, and dumbness. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, There is no spirit for the higher and lower worlds except you, O Muhammad. And no substance for the distant and near supply except you, O Muhammad. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, Your station has not been attained nor aimed for, O Muhammad. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, (388) There is no link for the partial and universal world except you, O Muhammad, and no foundation for the pillar of religion, verbal and practical, except you, O Muhammad, and no book for rational and transmitted knowledge except you, O Muhammad. So you are the spirit of all, the intermediary of all, the pillar of all, the beginning of all, the end of all, and through you all of all revived, and the pillar of all stood, and you are the one for whom everything was created, and I created you for Me, O Muhammad. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, No one reaches without your mediation, O Muhammad, and no meaning is perfected without your connection and link, O Muhammad, and no foot stands firm in the station of proximity without your care and precedence, O Muhammad. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, No door of good is opened except through your pleasure and perfect love, and no act of obedience is raised except through seeking intercession by your rank and great closeness, and no faith or Islam is perfected except by believing (389) in your messengerhood and prophethood. For by your Muhammadan existence, the wall of non-existence was demolished, and by the light of your Ahmadine secret, the glory of pre-eternity appeared, and by the light of your Ahmadine secret, the Muhammadan cycle turned upon all spiritual souls and cosmic worlds, and your Mustafawian ⁶⁰¹ virtues appeared like the fire of hospitality on a mountain at night. He is the Beloved whose intercession is hoped for every terrifying ordeal that is faced He called to God, and those who hold fast to him hold fast to an unbreakable rope He surpassed the prophets in form and character, and they did not equal him in knowledge or generosity And all of them seek from the Messenger of God a scoop from the sea or a sip from the continuous rain And they stand before him at their limit, from the point of knowledge or from the form of wisdom So he is the one whose meaning and form were perfected, then the Creator of souls chose him as a beloved He is free from any partner in his beauties, for the jewel of beauty in him is indivisible Leave what the Christians claim about their prophet, and judge as you wish in praise of him, and arbitrate (390) And attribute to his essence whatever honor you wish, and attribute to his rank whatever greatness you wish For the virtue of the Messenger of God has no limit that a speaking mouth could express Mankind has failed to comprehend his meaning, so no near or far is seen in him except bewilderment And how could people who are asleep, distracted from him by dreams, perceive his reality in this world? The utmost knowledge about him is that he is a human and that he is the best of all God's creation And every miracle that the noble messengers brought was only connected from his light through them For he is the virtue of a sun, and they are its stars, manifesting its lights to people in darkness Until when it rose on the horizon, it encompassed the worlds and revived all nations Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence, O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved without peer in beauties and perfections, and Your chosen one whose stations no one can reach.

the most exalted in the earths and the heavens. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, ⁶⁰² Your beloved, without peer in the outpouring of secrets, gifts, and reinforcements, and Your chosen one, whom none can equal in the dazzling miracles, wonders, and extraordinary acts. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, without peer in the universality of prophecies and messages, and Your chosen one, whom none can approach in the station of calling to Allah and in the signs. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, without peer in the stations of might, honor, and favors, and Your chosen one, whom none can ascend to his rank in the ascents of righteousness and sainthood. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, without peer among angels, jinn ⁶⁰³ and humans, and Your chosen one, whom none can resemble in his luminous form among the templates, spirits, and images. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, without peer in praiseworthy traits and dispositions, and Your chosen one, whom none can attain what he attained of noble morals and most honorable qualities and virtues. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, without peer in devotion and worship, and Your chosen one, whom none can rival in the field of sciences, wisdoms, and benefit. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, without peer in modesty, generosity, munificence, and nobility, and Your chosen one, whom none can approach ⁶⁰⁴ in beautiful attributes and purity of character and nature. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing through which the gifts of favors and abundant blessings flow upon us, and through which the onslaughts of harms and the occurrences of evils and punishments are lifted from us, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. How can the prophets ascend to your ascent, O sky that no sky has ever equaled? None has vied with you in your highness, for your rival is far from them and from glory. They only depicted your attributes to people as the image of stars in water. Yours are the sciences of the unseen, and from you Adam received the names. Non-existence, non-existence, non-existence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, for whom favor preceded in pre-eternity, and Your chosen one, through whom his father Adam and creation interceded in the darkness of non-existence. ⁶⁰⁵ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whom You advanced in the processions of might over one of antiquity, and Your chosen one, whoever does not believe in his prophethood and message becomes foul-souled, subject to wrath, in punishment, calamity, regret, and remorse. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whom You made a mercy for the weak, the clients, and the servants, and Your chosen one, whose virtue has no limit that a speaker could express with a mouth. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whom You adorned with the jewels of sciences and wisdoms, and Your chosen one, whom You moved within the circle of Your kingdom, so he acted according to what You commanded him and judged. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, ⁶⁰⁶ Your faithful to covenants and pledges, and Your chosen one, none is more innocent in word, neither 'no' nor 'yes' from him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whom You favored over all Arabs and non-Arabs, and Your chosen one, whom You praised with the great character in Surah Nun and the Pen. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing through which we become among those who sought refuge in his lofty side and honored, and held fast to the strong rope of his Sunnah and clung, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O best of those whose courtyard seekers of good seek, striving, and on the backs of worn-out she-camels, And who is the greatest sign for the considerer, and who is the greatest blessing for the gainer. You traveled from a sanctuary by night to a sanctuary, as the full moon travels in the dark of the night. And you continued ascending until you attained a station of two bow-lengths, unattained and unaimed. And all the prophets and messengers gave you precedence there, as a served one is given precedence over servants. ⁶⁰⁷ And you pierced the seven heavens with them, in a procession in which you were the standard-bearer. Until, when you left no goal for any competitor in nearness, nor any ascent for any seeker, You lowered every station by comparison, when you were addressed with elevation like a proper noun. So that you might win a union, how hidden from eyes, and a secret, how concealed! Thus you attained every glory without sharing, and surpassed every station without crowding. Great is the measure of the ranks you were given, and beyond comprehension are the blessings you were granted. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the beautiful in origin and structure, and by what it contains of the jewels of wisdom and the subtle beautiful indications, and by what it carries of the perfections of our master Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the possessor of the lofty degree and the highest station, that You bless him and his family with a blessing that adorns us with his beautiful and good morals, and sanctifies our souls in the chambers of his intimacy and the carpet of his sweet and most pleasant might, and make us, O Allah, among those whose essence is united with his essence, and whose spirituality ⁶⁰⁸ is blended with his spirituality, and whose worlds have vanished in the attributes of his perfections, and whose heart is filled with the gifts of his secrets and the jewels of his descents, and who has become unique in the manifestations of his self-disclosures and the witnessing of his individuations, attracted by the lights of love, snatched by the glad tidings of proximity, intoxicated from the outpouring of the cups of drink, secure from the occurrences of deficiency and deprivation, swimming in the seas of beauty, enraptured in the majesty of might and glory, raising the banner of the people of intimacy and boldness, regarded with the eye of veneration and exaltation, advanced in the presence of nearness and connection, opening for the people of attainment the stations of joy, expansion, and acceptance, hearing the call, drawing from the sea of generosity.

A preacher upon the pulpits of the people of rectitude and guidance, for I am the Essence in the eye of Reality, the consumer of states in the Imam of the Path ⁶⁰⁹, firmly rooted in the sciences of the Law and the Truth. I teach the children of the schools the principles of the schools of jurisprudence, and I elevate the masters of positions to the highest ranks, granting rare questions to the people of means, and unveil the hidden secrets of consciences to the people of insight, drawing from the treasury of the Assembly ⁶¹⁰, supported by proofs of divine success and decisive evidences, adorned with the sash of benefit and utility, advanced upon the carpet of the people of giving and withholding as a means for the people of attraction and repulsion, possessing the reins of the people of abasement and exaltation, combining the two stations of Separation and Union ⁶¹¹. In my hand is the pen of judgment and disposal; I write what was and what will not be with the ink of fame and definition, upon a scroll of sainthood and honor spread out, controlling the paths of traditions and narration, a knight in the sciences of verification and knowledge, crowned with the crown of might and care, guarded by the protection of preservation and guardianship. The imams of the Path move aside for me from their lofty pulpits and chairs, and the masters of states and stations submit to me in the courses of their ships and their anchorages. The steeds of high qualities and nobility yield to me the reins of their bridles and the forelocks of their foreheads, and the monks of seclusions present me for leadership in the prayer niches of their retreats and the domes of their fortresses. The lions of the thickets, the governors of victory, and the kings of compulsion, both obedient and rebellious, stand in awe of me. The domain of my thought encompasses the secrets of the subtle spiritual realities ⁶¹², both near and far. The suns of divine truths rise in the heaven of my secret, and their bestowed rays set in the eye of my reality and the identity of my thought. The lights of the subtleties of the sciences of divine grace ⁶¹³ shine forth when my aspiration turns to God and my breast expands. The gifts of holy secrets flow upon the recitation of my litanies and the jewels of my remembrance. The worlds of response hasten to facilitate my matters and comply with my command. I compete with the possessors of openings and gifts in their lofty stations and high ranks, and I vie with the masters of the secret and special proximity in their dazzling miracles and sublime virtues. The Throne is my aspiration, the Tablet my gaze, the Pen my will, the Footstool my innermost secret, the robe of might and majesty my awe, the witnessing of intimacy and beauty my direction of prayer, the perfection of certainty and sincerity my innate disposition, the Truth my witness and my orientation, my occupation with His remembrance my constant habit and craft, the vision of the face of my Beloved Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) the perfection of my desire and the utmost of my longing. O God, make the light of faith and knowledge of You in reaching You my mount, and abundance of patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and beneficence my character, and the Ahmadian Law and the Muhammadan Sunna my path. Grant me, O God, a witnessing accompanied by conversation, and open my hearing and sight to comprehend the discourse of dialogue and conversation. Remember me when I am heedless of You with the best remembrance You bestow upon me when I remember You. Grant me reception from You like Adam's reception of the words from You, and relent toward me as You relented toward him. Deal with me with purity of intentions and sincerity of innermost thoughts. Protect me in all that from the obstacles of the path, and accompany me in my journey to You with proofs of support and success, accompanied by the gleaming lights of Muhammad and the evidences of love and affirmation, taking the provision of piety as the best companion and finest friend. Protect me, O God, from the calamities of afflictions, grant me security from evil outcome in the places of bewilderment and fears, deliver me from all psychological ailments and subtle desires, and take care of me with Your hidden kindness, and guard me from evils, stumbles, and slips. Do not make me among those whom eloquence of tongues and subtlety of expressions please, and whom rare meanings and delicate allusions deceive. Be my companion and guide in my journey to You in the stations of descents and ascents. Support me when hearing the discourse and all inspirations and receptions. Seal my life with faith, and expiate for me major and minor sins and all consequences. Receive me with contentment upon entering the grave, and make me firm with the firm word in life and after death, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. ❖ To You I have raised my need ❖ And direct for me my happiness ❖ And grant me what I seek ❖ For You are the most exalted of my requests ❖ For You are my desire in my time ❖ And my goals and pleasures ❖ And from You comes the existence of my joys ❖ And my basil and my comforts ❖ My Beloved, my wish, my spirit ❖ And my cups and my glasses ❖ And my companions and my boon companions ❖ Upon the robes of ardent love ❖ Be kind, O desire of my heart ❖ Nay, proximity is my habit ❖ For You have not accustomed me to separation ❖ With kinds of cares ❖ And join me and bestow upon me ❖ All kinds of delights ❖ For my feast is the day You meet me ❖ My place of manifestation is Your essential Light ❖ And my unification is by making unique

Its author said—may Allah illuminate his heart with the light of faith, make his tongue utter the jewels of wisdom and the sciences of gnosis, unveil for him the obscure secrets of subtleties, and make him among the people of witnessing and direct vision—when I had completed the commentary on these words, whose mention and report are widespread (403) among the imams, I followed them with a commentary on other words also attributed to him, with which he addressed his disciple, my master Ahmad Zarruq. They are his saying: "Ask of me two red cloaks (jawkhatayni ḥamrāwayni), and two others of the color of a dove's neck ('unuqa ḥamāmin), and two inscribed with the Qur'an and other things (maktūbatayni bi-l-Qur'āni wa ghayrihi), and a gray mule (baghlatan shahbā'a) and another black (ukhrā sawdā'a)." I will mention what some of the leading imams and the noble, excellent masters have interpreted them with, and then I will follow that, Allah willing, with what Allah opens for me in explaining its enigma and solving its symbol, seeking blessing by joining the ranks of its people and seeking the breezes of its secret and the gifts of its bounty. So I say: His saying, "Ask of me two red cloaks, and two others of the color of a dove's neck, and two inscribed with the Qur'an and other things," to the end of his speech. My master Riḍwān al-Fāsī, may Allah be pleased with him, said: His saying "Ask" contains an incitement to seek the mentioned object of request, because of what is in the student's request from the scholar and the disciple's from his master of manifesting the superiority (404) of the higher over the lower, and manifesting need and poverty for the requested matter, along with the presence of humility and brokenness, and other things that necessitate the distinction between the two stations. And his saying "of me" because he is an intermediary between him and Allah Almighty, and this is of the category of requesting something from intermediaries. This is the way of the seekers (murīdīn), the people of beginnings, and in it is a reminder for the needy to ask for what he needs according to his state, and by his mentioning it to him. And "al-jawkhah" among the Easterners is an expression for a garment, such as a cloak (jubbah) and the like, and most often among the Easterners "al-jawkhah" is used for a fine garment made of wool (milf). He intended by the first two cloaks the garments of faith, and their description with redness is because of what is in them of the fires of striving (mujāhadah). And by the latter two, the garments of excellence (iḥsān), and their description as being of the color of a dove's neck is because of what is in the garments of excellence of variegation arising from the realities of excellence. And since the realities of excellence are not considered by the verifiers (405) unless the Book and the Sunnah support them, he said "inscribed with the Qur'an and other things." So "inscribed" means supported by the Qur'an and other things, and by "other things" he intended the Sunnah, consensus (ijmā'), and Allah, glorified is He. And his saying, "and a gray mule and another black," he intended by the gray one the Sacred Law (sharī'ah) and by the black one the Reality (ḥaqīqah). The meaning is that your journey in your spiritual wayfaring should be upon the path of the Sacred Law and the Reality, so that one of them supports the other. For the Sacred Law governs the wayfaring of his outward, and the Reality his inward. And since the wayfarer's journey is upon both, he called them two mounts, and called the first gray because of what is in the Sacred Law of leniency, and called the other black because of what is in the Reality of the obliteration of its realities and the concealment of its meanings. And Allah knows best." End of his speech. And the gnostic shaykh, my master Muḥammad ibn Sa'īd al-Habrī al-Ṭarābulusī, said concerning this meaning: Two questions came to me (406): the first about the saying of Abū al-'Abbās al-Ḥaḍramī: "Whoever draws from the inkwell of the gathering (jam') writes what is and what is not—long, long, long," to the end. The second about the saying of Shaykh Zarruq: "Our shaykh—meaning al-Ḥaḍramī—asked of me two red cloaks, and two others of the color of a dove's neck, and two inscribed with the Qur'an and other things, and a black mule and another gray," etc. of the answer. And with Allah is success. O Allah, O He who grants success to the people of good for good and aids them in it, grant us success for good and aid us in it. O Allah, make the truth clear to us as truth and grant us its following, and make falsehood clear to us as falsehood and grant us its avoidance. For we have intended to speak in this place, and it is a place of destruction for one who has no reality in it and no witness for it except the clear, explicit, manifest truth, which does not exclude the questioner from attaining knowledge of it through taste (dhawq). And we intended this matter only for your reform; otherwise, this speech would not be placed in a book (407) nor known through discourse. Ibn al-Jallā', may Allah be pleased with him, said about this knowledge in some papers written for him from a distant city, addressing the messenger who brought the book: "Say to the questioner: Let him come to me himself. This knowledge of ours is not conveyed by a messenger or a book, but rather from heart to heart, because natures defile it, words make it strange, allusions are ignorant of it, and the book distances it." So these are secrets, pure from the gatherings of divinity, to a lordly heart and a spiritual mine, the very essence of the radiance of the Omnipotent, drowned in the seas of magnification. So the open space became his house, and the vast expanse became his place, and the taste of the beholder became his ultimate goal. He runs between the two peaks of Majesty and Beauty, which are his purity and his manliness, and Perfection is his Ka'bah. So he circumambulated seven times with the perfection of attributes, and kissed the most fortunate Black Stone from his prostration to the Essence. As for the saying of Shaykh Zarruq: "Our shaykh asked of me two cloaks," to the end: As for the two red ones, they are a spiritual garment, not a physical one, and they are piety (taqwā) and patience (ṣabr). For whoever has no piety and no patience has no garment, even if he wears all the clothes of the world. Do you not see that Adam, peace be upon him, when he ate from the tree, the robes and garments flew off him, and no garment remained with him, so his nakedness was exposed to the angels until Allah covered him with repentance? So it is known that the garment is the garment of piety. Do you not see the saying of the people of knowledge with one tongue: "No one enters their station except after self-emptying (takhallī) and self-adornment (taḥallī)?" So they stipulated self-adornment in this path, which is assuming the character traits of Allah, the prophets, and the angels, and self-emptying from the attributes of the hypocrites, the polytheists, and the devils. He, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever adopts the dress of a people is of them, and whoever resembles the blackness of a people is of them. And the first adornment of the believer is patience, and upon it his evidences are built." Allah said to His Prophet, peace be upon him: "And be patient for the judgment of your Lord, for indeed you are in Our eyes" (Qur'an 52:48). So He established his affair upon patience so that the laws of revelation would descend upon him and he would be (409) an imam for the people of patience, the possessor of patience. Then He increased him: "So be patient with a beautiful patience" (Qur'an 70:5). Then He increased him: "And give glad tidings to the patient" (Qur'an 2:155). So He made clear to him the reality of patience and its fruits, and elevated his station for him, saying to him: "Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy" (Qur'an 2:157), the verse. The blessings are an attribute directed from the Truth to the patient as a reward for their patience, because He is the Patient (al-Ṣabūr) and they are the patient ones, so they adorned themselves with His name, and He rewarded them from the meaning of His name. And His mercy is an attribute for their perfection and a flood for their noble states, as a fitting reward. "And those are the rightly guided" (Qur'an 2:157), so they encountered the Truth in their patience and found Him near in their returns. So He completed His blessings upon them outwardly and inwardly, and lavished upon them His blessings outward and inward. And the second garment, which is piety, the pious ones draped themselves with it, and it became for them a protection from Allah's stratagem. So they adorned themselves with it in the assemblies of proximity, and its embroidery was the Book. His saying "two red ones" is because they liken it to death and the shedding of blood, for they are the return (410) upon...

Desire (al-hawā) is the killing of the soul (nafs). For this reason, the Sufis (al-Ṣūfiyyah)—may Allah be pleased with them—said: "The aspirant (murīd) must undergo four deaths. The first of them is the red death (al-mawt al-aḥmar)," which is [alluded to] in his saying—may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "We have returned from the lesser jihad (al-jihād al-aṣghar) to the greater jihad (al-jihād al-akbar)." The lesser jihad is striking with the sword and the shedding of blood. So what of the greater jihad? He—Exalted is He—said: "So fight your own souls (anfusakum), and Allah is better for you with your Creator" (Qur'an 2:54). Thus, physical killing (al-qatl al-ḥissī) was lifted from us in the lesser jihad, while the spiritual (al-ma‘nawī) remained. And He—Exalted is He—said: "And he who restrained the soul (nafs) from desire (al-hawā), then indeed Paradise (al-jannah) is the abode" (Qur'an 79:40-41). Paradise (al-jannah) is not the paradise of persons (ashkhāṣ) and desires (mushtahayāt); rather, it is the paradise of the Essence (al-dhāt) and the Attributes (al-ṣifāt). For this reason, He—Exalted is He—said: "Then enter among My servants, and enter My Paradise (jannatī)" (Qur'an 89:29-30). As for his saying: "And others, the neck of a pigeon (ʿunuq ḥamām)," they are contentment (al-riḍā) and scrupulousness (al-waraʿ), likened to redness (al-ḥumrah), blueness (al-zurqah), blackness (al-sawād), and greenness (al-khuḍrah), because they are states (aḥwāl), not stations (maqāmāt). Unlike patience (al-ṣabr) and piety (al-taqwā), which are two stations (maqāmān); thus, he (411) restricted them solely to the attribute of redness (al-ḥumrah). As for the states (aḥwāl), they are not restricted by any state; rather, they are [fluid]. How could the allusion (al-ishārah) not benefit him, nor the expression (al-ʿibārah) avail him? He—Exalted is He—said: "O people of Yathrib, there is no abiding (muqām) for you" (Qur'an 33:13). So He guided them to the station of the state (maqām al-ḥāl) and roused them from the station of the station (maqām al-maqām) to an increase of perfection (ziyādat al-kamāl). Thus, the Muḥammadans (al-Muḥammadiyyūn) never cease in their ascent (al-taraqqī), unlike others among all humans, contrary to the angels (al-malā’ikah), who have a known station (maqām maʿlūm). Their chief said: "And there is none among us except that he has a known station (maqām maʿlūm)" (Qur'an 37:164). For the angel (al-malak) has a single name (ism wāḥid), while the human (al-bashar) has many names (asmā’ kathīrah); thus, he ascends through them in this world and the next. For this reason, Ibn ʿAbd al-Salām affirmed that the angels (al-malā’ikah) do not see the Truth (al-Ḥaqq) in the Hereafter. Non-vision (ʿadam al-ru’yah) is a station (maqām) that confines its possessor, with no increase for him. As for the possessor of many names (al-asmā’ al-kathīrah) and many deeds (al-aʿmāl al-kathīrah), he unveils the vision of the Truth (mushāhadat al-Ḥaqq), and the Truth—there is no limit to Him, Possessor of vast length (dhū ṭūlin wāsiʿin). The angel (al-malak) has a single act (ʿamal wāḥid), while the believer (al-mu’min) has numerous deeds (aʿmāl mutaʿaddidah) beyond count in the varieties of acts of worship (al-ʿibādāt) and acts of drawing near (al-qurubāt), as a fitting recompense (jazā’an wifāqan). Ibn ʿAṭā’ Allāh (412) said: "The supply (al-imdād) is according to the preparedness (al-istiʿdād)." The preparedness of the believer (istiʿdād al-mu’min) is diverse, and his supply (imdāduhu) is diverse. For this reason, his vision (mushāhadatuhu) of the Essence (al-dhāt) and the Attributes (al-ṣifāt) is abundant, and no station (maqām) terminates for him. "For those who do good (aḥsanū) is the best (al-ḥusnā)" (Qur'an 10:26), and the increase (ziyādat al-ḥusnā) is restricted, while the increase (al-ziyādah) is not restricted, as a fitting recompense (jazā’an wifāqan). As for his saying: "And two kallahs (kallatayn) written in the Qur’an and elsewhere," they are the human nature (al-bashariyyah) and the spiritual nature (al-rūḥāniyyah), because they are the source of the acquisitions of good (makāsib al-khayr). The Book (al-kitāb) was revealed for their sake, and the laws (al-sharā’iʿ) were legislated for them. Thus, they became bearers of the character traits of the Truth (akhlāq al-Ḥaqq), and through them the Book (al-kitāb) and the Sunnah (al-sunnah) were preserved, and the divine rulings (al-aḥkām al-ilāhiyyah) were embroidered. For this reason, it was said to the angels (al-malā’ikah): "Indeed, I am placing on the earth a vicegerent (khalīfah)" (Qur'an 2:30), when Adam (Ādam) was spiritual (rūḥāniyyan), having no vicegerency (khilāfah). And when He sent him down to the earth, he became a vicegerent (khalīfah). And He said to his sons of his kind: "O David (Dāwūd), indeed We have made you a vicegerent (khalīfah) on the earth" (Qur'an 38:26). As for his saying: "And two kallahs (kallatayn)," they veil the Truth (al-Ḥaqq) from His manifestation to creation. So He said concerning the most perfect of them: "Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you (yubāyiʿūnaka) are only pledging allegiance to Allah" (Qur'an 48:10). Thus, He veiled Himself through the manifestation of Muḥammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. So Muḥammad became a substitute (badalan) for the Truth (al-Ḥaqq). And al-kallah (al-kallah) is al-kalālah (al-kalālah), meaning the soul’s (al-rūḥ) being alone with the wife (al-zawjah) and the mother (al-umm), the locus of nurturing (maḥall al-tarbiyah) and al-kalālah (al-kalālah). And the Truth (al-Ḥaqq) is the Nurturer of the nurturers (murabbī al-murabbīn), drawing them near in their essences (dhawātihim) through the core of His care (lubānat ʿināyatihi), until the Book (al-kitāb) reached its term (ajalahu). Then He weaned them (faṭamahum) and returned them to His creation as callers to Him: "Indeed, We have sent you as a witness (shāhidan), a bearer of good tidings (mubashshiran), and a warner (nadhīran), and a caller to Allah (dāʿiyan ilā Allāh) by His permission" (Qur'an 33:45-46). So His permission (idhnuhu) became in them: whoever reaches them reaches Him. Thus, the Shaykh’s intent from it is the human nature (al-bashariyyah) for transcendence (al-tanzīh) and the spiritual nature (al-rūḥāniyyah) for sanctification (al-taqdīs). So transcendence (al-tanzīh) in the human nature (al-bashariyyah) is from base absolutes (al-iṭlāqāt al-radiyyah), and sanctification (al-taqdīs) in the spiritual nature (al-rūḥāniyyah) is from stopping with other than Him (al-wuqūf maʿa al-ghayr). "So the water met (al-mā’u) on a matter already decreed, and We carried him upon a vessel of planks and nails, sailing under Our eyes" (Qur'an 54:12-14). And a gray mule (baghlah shahbā’) and another black (ukhrā sawdā’): they are the night (al-layl) and the day (al-nahār). So he likened the white (al-bayḍā’) to the day (al-nahār) (414) and the black (al-sawdā’) to the night (al-layl). He—Exalted is He—said: "Indeed, for you in the day (al-nahār) is prolonged movement (sabḥan ṭawīlan)" (Qur'an 73:7), and concerning the night (al-layl): "Arise at night (qumi al-layla) except a little" (Qur'an 73:2). So if you ride upon the two mules (al-baghlatayn) with perseverance (al-mudāwamah), you will reach the goal (al-munā), if Allah wills, and draw near to good (al-khayr), and witness the world of proximity (ʿālam al-qurb). Qays al-Majnūn said: "Laylā called to me: O Saʿd, tighten the mounts (al-rawākib)! We traverse the cosmos so that you may reach the obligations of the necessary (mūjibāt al-wājib)." The numerous mounts (al-rawākib al-ʿadīdah) do not tire from travel nor stop at fodder (al-kalā). Their life is patience (al-ṣabr) and their goal is union (al-waṣl). And the beautiful words (kalimāt) of your Lord were fulfilled upon the Children of Israel (Banī Isrā’īl) for what they endured patiently. And Allah knows best. I seek forgiveness from Allah—Glory be to Him—and may Allah bless our master Muḥammad, his family, and his companions until the Day of Judgment, by the number of breaths (al-anfās), manifestations (al-ẓuhūr), and confusions (al-iltibās), a blessing with no end without Your knowledge. Amen. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. End of his speech. And I said concerning that, by way of allusion (al-ishārah) and artistry in lofty matters (al-maʿālī) and delicate expressions (raqā’iq al-ʿibārah), (415) that when the lights of divine remembrance (anwār al-dhikr al-lāhūtī), the secrets of majestic might (asrār al-jalāl al-jabarūtī), the impact of the angelic state (ṣadmat al-ḥāl al-malakūtī), the gleams of merciful beauty (lawā’iḥ al-jamāl al-raḥamūtī), the influxes of awe-inspiring perfection (wāridāt al-kamāl al-rahbūtī), and the means of desirous opening (wasā’il al-fatḥ al-raghabūtī) overflowed upon the heart of this saint (walī), and the lights of unveilings and gnoses (anwār al-kawāshif wa al-ʿawārif) were disclosed to the eye of his insight (ʿayn baṣīratihi), and the flashes of attractions and raptures (bawāriq al-jadhabāt wa al-khawāṭif) became variegated for him, and the breezes of mercies and affections (nawāsim al-raḥamāt wa al-ʿawāṭif) blew upon him, and the entities of spiritual spirits and voices (aʿyān al-arwāḥ al-rūḥāniyyah wa al-hawātif) served him, and the persons of corporeal forms (ashkhāṣ al-hayākil al-juthmāniyyah) bowed in veneration of his awe, and they pledged allegiance to him in the most exalted witnessing-places (asnā al-mashāhid) and the noblest stations (ashraf al-mawāqif), and the tastes and draughts (al-adhwāq wa al-mashārib) became pleasant for him on the path of the folk (ṭarīq al-qawm), and the ways and doctrines (al-ṭuruq wa al-madhāhib) became clear for him in the sciences of the divine gift (al-ʿulūm al-ladunniyyah).

And the lights of openings and gifts shone upon his heart, and for him were raised in the highest world degrees and stations. The essences of the proximate ones and the men of the East and the West circumambulated his Kaaba ⁶¹⁴ and acknowledged his sovereignty and loftiness. (216) The brides of assemblies and processions praised his generosity, and he became an eye from the eyes of God, watering by his support the masters of states, ecstatic utterances, and attractions. He said to some of the elite of his presence and his companions, who were biting their molars in adherence to his companionship—and he is my master Ahmad Zarruq ⁶¹⁵: 'Ask from me two red cloaks ⁶¹⁶, dyed, for lack of proximities and affections, and two others, a pigeon's neck ⁶¹⁷, variegated with the tears of the people of recompenses and requitals.' And his saying: 'Written with the Qur'an and other invocations specific to healing for those with apparent and hidden illnesses and complete recoveries.' And he expressed by the first two the etiquettes of the path's conduct and striving in worship, and by the other two the path of destruction, variegation, and types of miracles and breaking of habits. And his saying 'two red ones'—he described them with redness for the flowing of the blood of the people of love upon their colors, both harmonious (417) and differing, and their secrets, both divergent and concordant. How excellent is the saying of one who said: "If shedding my blood is your utmost desire, then no glance has erred in shedding my blood." And his saying: 'And two others, a pigeon's neck'—he described them thus for their variegation with white, black, blue, red, and green, like the variegation of the states of those who have arrived and the forms of the knowers, and their change at the blowing of the breezes of mercies, the winds of attractions, and the flashes of ecstatic utterances. In that meaning, my master Abu Madyan ⁶¹⁸—may God be pleased with him—said: "The mention of traditions about you moves us; were it not for your love in the heart, we would not be moved. Our hearts tremble at hearing, even if we do not speak; the concealment of ecstasy has revealed us. So say to him who forbids ecstasy to its people: If you have not tasted the meaning of love's wine, leave us." (418) "Do you not look at the caged bird, O youth? When it remembers its homelands, it yearns for the abode. It relieves through chirping what is in its heart, so the limbs tremble with sense and meaning. Likewise, the spirits of lovers, O youth, are moved by longings for the highest world." And his saying: 'A gray mule ⁶¹⁹, surrounded by auspiciousness and blessings, accompanied by truthfulness, affirmation, and soundness of intentions; and another black one, with the blood of the people of humility and submission, and the outpouring of tears of weeping.' Or if you wish, say: When this saint became skilled in the sciences of the path's etiquettes, discipline, and training, and traversed the paths of seriousness and exertion in acting according to the requirements of the Sunna, the Book, the scientific principles, and the jurisprudential texts, and the lights of lordly theophanies and gifts of the secret and speciality overflowed upon his heart, he wanted to honor his disciple (419) with what God had bestowed upon him of the robes of sensory and spiritual secrets. So he said to him: 'Ask from me two red cloaks which I wore in the time of emptying and adorning ⁶²⁰, and which I clothed after I had passed the limit of childhood and reached the age of old age and maturity; and two others, a pigeon's neck, embroidered with the conduct of sincerity and certainty and the gifts of the secrets of presence and the throne's descents, written with the Qur'an and other than it from the biography of my master the prophets and messengers and his pure, virtuous, and pleasing states; and a gray mule which I rode in the prime of the arrivals of attractions and ecstatic utterances and the unveiling of the veil from the obscure sciences of the divine gift and the unseen secrets; and another black one which I possessed at the weaning of my soul from heart's desires, and reception in the stages of praiseworthy traits and lofty stations.' Or if you wish, say (420): He said to him: 'Ask from me two red cloaks, and I inherited them from the masters of disposal and the kings of hearts; and two others, a pigeon's neck, which I prepared for the seasons of joys and happiness and meeting the Beloved, written with the Qur'an and other than it from the indications heralding the attainment of the goal and the achievement of the sought; and a gray mule—that is, a state from the states of the men who purified themselves from the filth of impurity and faults; and another black one, whose edges were dyed between arrival and the musk of proximity and nearness, whose fragrance wafts from the enclosures of holiness and the treasuries of the unseen.' Or if you wish, say: He said to him: 'Ask from me two red cloaks, not from the work of Syria, Iraq, and ancient Egypt, but rather from the lights of guidance, rectitude, and success; and two others, a pigeon's neck, whose beauty shames the green of spring, the blue of violet, the white of narcissus, and the red of carnelian, (421) written with the Qur'an and other than it from the revelation of inspiration and the sciences of knowledge and verification; and a gray mule, preserved in its journey from the flashes of innovations and falsehood and the lightning of embellishment; and another black one—its blackness is the killing of the soul by obeying commands, avoiding prohibitions, and struggling against desire and the obstacles that prevent following the paths of salvation and pursuing the path.' Or if you wish, say concerning the meaning of his saying: 'Ask from me two red cloaks, not found in Sana'a, the Nile, the Euphrates, and beyond the two rivers; and two others, a pigeon's neck, brought by the precedents of will from the enclosures of holiness and the station of 'two bows' length' ⁶²¹, written with the Qur'an and other than it from the secrets of prophethood and messengership and the sciences of the two weighty things ⁶²²; and a gray mule, whose attributes were not changed by the accidents of plans and tests and departure from God in what He decreed and judged upon the two groups; and another black one, galloping in the landmarks (422) of the Sharia and the Truth, and no deficiency or defect resembles it. "The people of fidelity are for those who are faithful to them; they are the spirit of my heart and the secret of my love. The secret of secrets, the light of insights; in their love is a Holy, Transcendent Spirit. All creatures are their subjects; nothing is after them, nothing is without them is alive. Whoever faces them or speaks to them—if rejected, they revive; so enter their protection. What is the life of my companions except their love? So meet the veils and you will see them. Their sanctuary is open to whoever comes to them; the sea of gifts is from the flood of their generosity. So be sincere to them that you may attain their essence; nothing sweet in his taste other than them." Or if you wish, say: When this saint saw from his disciple sincerity of intention, perfection of love, and great desire for what pertains to God and is beloved by Him, he asked him for two red cloaks, which are the divestment of the ornaments of the world and disregard for its affairs and desires; and two others, a pigeon's neck, which are the adornment with the two ornaments of asceticism and piety, and the indication of obedience to (423) God and nearness. That is the meaning of his saying.

The Shaykh Zarruq requested from me, our master, two red cloaks (jawkhātayn ḥamrāwayn) and two others of the neck of a dove (‘unq ḥamām), and his saying: "And two coverings (kiltayn)," meaning from every veil (sitr) by which the saint (walī) veils himself to attain, in the presence of his Master, the elevation of station (raf‘a al-maqām) and the highness of rank (‘uluww al-rutba). And his saying: "Two inscribed ones (maktūbatayn) with the Qur’an and other than it, from the lights of majesty (anwār al-jalāl), glorification (al-ta‘ẓīm), and awe (al-hayba)." And if you wish, you may say: "Two red cloaks (jawkhātayn ḥamrāwayn) dyed with the lights of the openings (al-futūḥāt) and the miracles (al-karāmāt), and two others of the neck of a dove (‘unq ḥamām) that announce the raising of degrees (raf‘ al-darajāt) and the highness of stations (‘uluww al-maqāmāt)." And his saying: "Two coverings (kiltayn) by which the saint (walī) veils himself from the eyes of forms (rusūm) and signs (al-‘alāmāt)." And his saying: "Two inscribed ones (maktūbatayn) with the Qur’an and other than it from the sciences (al-‘ulūm) which the masters of states (arbāb al-aḥwāl) and allusions (al-ishārāt) have exclusively understood, and the etiquettes of remembrance (ādāb al-dhikr) and what is incumbent upon the rememberer (al-dhākir) of etiquette (al-adab) in every station (maqām) among the stations of the path (maqāmāt al-ṭarīq)." And they are two hundred thousand stations (mi’atā alf maqām), and forty-seven thousand stations (sab‘a wa-arba‘ūn alf maqām), and nine hundred and ninety-nine stations (tis‘ mi’a wa-tis‘a wa-tis‘ūn maqām) (424), and the knowledge of the number of the robes of honor (al-khila‘) that are bestowed upon the rememberers (al-dhākirīn) in every station (maqām) among these stations (al-maqāmāt). And what are the robes of honor (al-khila‘)? Are they garments (thiyāb) or sciences (ulūm)? And the knowledge of the etiquettes of the gaze of specification (adab naẓar al-ikhtiṣāṣ) towards God Most High? And what is incumbent in that of knowledge (al-‘ilm) and etiquette (al-adab)? And the knowledge of the number of His gazes (naẓarātihi) Most High upon His saints (awliyā’ihi) every day, and the number of His gazes (naẓarātihi) upon the world (al-‘ālam) likewise. And the knowledge of what those gazes (al-naẓarāt) produce for them of the knowledges (al-ma‘ārif). And the knowledge of what is specific to the gaze of the Truth (naẓar al-Ḥaqq) Most High towards His servants (al-‘ibād) among the prophets (al-anbiyā’) and the saints (al-awliyā’): does He gaze upon their hearts (qulūbihim) as the bodies (ajsād) of people, or does He gaze upon all of their bodies (ajsādihim), as has been reported in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim? "Indeed, God does not gaze upon your forms (ṣuwarikum), but He gazes upon your hearts (qulūbikum)" (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim). And from it is known the number of His turning (iqbālihi) Most High towards His creation (khalqihi) every day and night, and it is a vast science (‘ilm wāsi‘). And they are two coverings (kiltayn), meaning two robes of honor (khil‘atayn) by which the saint (walī) veils himself from the (425) blame (lam) of the masters of arbitrary judgments (arbāb al-taḥakkumāt) and expressions (al-‘ibārāt). And from that meaning is the saying of the Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī: "Indeed, for every saint (walī) there is a veil (sitr) or veils (astār) analogous to the seventy veils (sab‘īn ḥijāb) that have been reported concerning the Truth (al-Ḥaqq) Most High, in that He Most High is not known except from behind them. So likewise are the saints (al-awliyā’). Among them is one whose veil (sitr) is through causes (al-asbāb), and among them is one whose veil (sitr) is through the manifestation of might (al-‘izza), power (al-saṭwa), and domination (al-qahr), according to how the Truth (al-Ḥaqq) Most High manifests to his heart." To the end of his speech on this meaning. And the Shaykh Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-‘Arabī used to say: "From where can the common people (‘āmmat al-nās) know the secrets of the Truth (asrār al-Ḥaqq) Most High in His elect servants (khawāṣṣ ‘ibādihi) among the saints (al-awliyā’) and the scholars (al-‘ulamā’), and the radiance of His light (ishrāq nūrihi) in their hearts? And for that reason, He made them overcome (maghlūbīn) by the demands of His creation (maṭālib khalqihi) due to their majesty (jalālatihim) with Him. And if they were manifest (ẓāhirīn) among them, then they would be a human being (insān) who is a near offering (qurbān) of God Most High. So their veiling (satruhum) from creation (al-khalq) is a mercy (raḥma) to creation (al-khalq). And what has appeared from them to creation (al-khalq) has only appeared (426) to them from the aspect of the manifestation of their knowledge (ẓuhūr ‘ilmihi) and the existence of their indication (wujūd dalālatihi). But as for the aspect of the secret of their sainthood (sirr wilāyatihi), it is hidden (bāṭin), never ceasing to be so." And the Shaykh al-Wartajabī said concerning His saying Most High: "And let them not reveal their adornment (zīnatahunna) except what appears of it" (Qur’an 24:31). In it is a testimony that it is not permissible for the knowers (al-‘ārifīn) to reveal the adornment of the realities of their knowledge (zīna ḥaqā’iq ma‘rifatihim) and what God unveils to them from the world of the dominion (ālam al-malakūt) and the lights of the Essence (anwār al-dhāt) and the Attributes (al-ṣifāt), nor the ecstatic states (al-mawājid), except what appears from them through overpowering states (al-ghalabāt), gasps (al-shahaqāt), cries (al-z‘aqāt), harm (al-iḍrār), redness (al-iḥmirār), and what flows upon their tongues involuntarily (bi-ghayr ikhtiyārihim) of the words of ecstatic expression (kalimāt al-shaṭḥ) and problematic allusions (al-ishārāt al-mushkila). And these states (al-aḥwāl) are the most noble adornment (ashraf zīna) for the knowers (al-‘ārifīn). And some of them said: "The most beautiful adornment (azyan mā tazayyana bihi al-‘abd) with which the servant adorns himself is obedience (al-ṭā‘a). So if he reveals it (aẓharahā), he has removed its adornment (adhhaba zīnatahā)." And some of them said: "The wisdom (al-ḥikma) in this verse (al-āya) for the people of knowledge (ahl al-ma‘rifa) is that whoever reveals anything of their acts (af‘ālihim) except what appears from them without intention (qaṣd) on their part, then he has fallen from the vision of the Truth (ru’yat al-Ḥaqq) (427), because what the vision of creation (ru’yat al-khalq) has fallen upon is fallen from the vision of the Truth (ru’yat al-Ḥaqq)." End quote. And if you wish, you may say: "Two red cloaks (jawkhātayn ḥamrāwayn) dyed with the tears of the people of abasement (ahl al-dhull) and brokenness (al-inkisār), and spread in the gatherings of the litanies (majālis al-waẓā’if) and the remembrances (al-adhkār), and perfumed with the incense of repentance (tawba), return to God (rujū‘ ilā Allāh), and seeking forgiveness (al-istighfār), and polished in the mirrors of the people of insight (ahl al-baṣā’ir) and clear-sightedness (al-istibṣār). And they brought out the neck of a dove (‘unq ḥamām) that became colored with the tears of the people of intimate prayers (ahl al-munājāt) and supplication (al-taḍarru‘) in the dawn hours (al-asḥār), and they became green (ikhḍarratā), red (iḥmarratā), and yellow (iṣfarratā) with the precious breaths of those who reflect (tadhakkur) on the dominion of the heavens and the earth (malakūt al-samāwāt wa al-arḍ) and take heed (al-i‘tibār). And two coverings (kiltayn) that were let down upon the houses of the hearts (buyūt al-qulūb) that are inhabited with the remembrance of God (dhikr Allāh) in the hours of the night (ānā’ al-layl) and the ends of the day (aṭrāf al-nahār). And his saying: "Two inscribed ones (maktūbatayn) with the Qur’an and other than it from the traces of prophethood (āthār al-nubuwwa) and the message (al-risāla), the sound hadiths (al-aḥādīth al-ṣaḥīḥa) and reports (al-akhbār), and the secrets (al-asrār) stored up for the saints of God (awliyā’ Allāh), those who guide to Him and call to Him in all (428) directions (al-jihāt) and regions (al-aqṭār). And a gray mule (baghla shahbā) that carries the secrets of the trust (asrār al-amāna) which the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth (sukkān al-samāwāt wa al-arḍ), the islands (al-jazā’ir), and the seas (al-biḥār) were unable to bear. And another black one (ukhrā sawdā) brought forth by the hand of power (yad al-qudra) from beneath the canopies of intimacy (ḥijāl al-uns) and the densities of the veils (kathā’if al-ḥujub) and the curtains (al-astār). Or you may say: "And a gray mule (baghla shahbā) that God made the ultimate goal (ghāya) for the manifestation of the lights of His attributes (anwār ṣifātihi) in the garment of His signs (libās āyātihi), whose flashes (lawāmi‘uhā) shine with the lights of the day (anwār al-nahār). And another black one (ukhrā sawdā) that He manifested in the blackness of the night (sawād al-layl) so that through it He might make the lovers (al-‘āshiqīn) witness the radiance (sanā) and the union (wiṣāl) of His beauty (jamālihi), and grant them intimacy (yu’nisahum) through it in the seclusions of His intimate prayers (khalawāt munājātihi) by witnessing the perfections of His Essence (kamālāt dhātihi), which is exalted above the roaming of intellects (jawalān al-‘uqūl) and thoughts (al-afkār), as some of the knowers (al-‘ārifīn) alluded to the meaning of that in the interpretation of His saying Most High: "And among His signs are the night and the day" (Qur’an 41:37). So glory be to Him whose description of the firmly established ones (al-mutamakkinīn) from the high ones (al-sarawāt) who have attained (al-wāṣilīn), the perfect individuals (al-afrād al-kāmilīn), and the great masters (al-fuḥūl al-kibār) is that they are immersed in the seas of His Lordship (biḥār rubūbiyyatihi), swimming (429) through them with the delights of intimate prayers (ladhā’idh al-munājāt) and the subtleties of remembrances (laṭā’if al-adhkār), stripped of contingent beings (mujarradūn ‘an al-akwān), absent in the beauty of the All-Merciful (jamāl al-Raḥmān), finding intimacy with Him (yata’annasūn bihi), never wearying in all times (al-awqāt) and ages (al-a‘ṣār). "My spirit witnesses you, so I live truly through you, and I remain happy, neither straying nor wretched. When you are from me my place, I am described through you, my life from contingent beings in everything I encounter. You have dyed all my affairs in your beauty, so it necessitated for me in every state a love for you. Take charge of my affairs as you wish, for whatever you bring to my heart is the most enduring goal. I have realized from you encompassing, so my station with you became equal, whether called gathering or separation. Before you, wherever I am, I have never ceased, my spirit witnesses you, so I live truly through you." And if you wish, you may say: "Indeed, when this saint (walī) entered the houses of the sovereign kingdom (buyūt al-mamlaka al-sulṭāniyya) and opened the treasuries of the secrets of the All-Merciful (khazā’in al-asrār al-raḥmāniyya) and the chests of the holy gifts (ṣanādīq al-mawāhib al-qudsāniyya), and looked upon the robes of the essential lights (ḥulal al-anwār al-dhātiyya) and the perfections of the solitary attributes (kamālāt al-awṣāf al-fardāniyya) which God made as garments (malābis) for His saints (awliyā’ihi) who are marked by taking and giving (al-akhdh wa al-‘aṭā’) (430) and disposal (al-taṣarruf) in the spiritual souls (al-arwāḥ al-rūḥāniyya) and the corporeal structures (al-hayākil al-juthmāniyya), then he found two red cloaks (jawkhātayn ḥamrāwayn) and two others of the neck of a dove (ākharayn ‘unq ḥamām), inscribed (maktūbatayn) with the Qur’an and other than it from the eternal sciences (al-‘ulūm al-ṣamadāniyya) and the gnostic gifts (al-mawāhib al-‘irfāniyya). So he wore them to manifest through them what God had bestowed upon him of the lordly openings (al-futūḥāt al-rabbāniyya) and the gifts and garments of the perfections of beneficence (kamālāt al-iḥsāniyya). 'And as for the favor of your Lord, proclaim it' (Qur’an 93:11)." And he said to his disciple (murīdihi): "Request from me two red cloaks (jawkhātayn ḥamrāwayn)" to the end of it. And if you wish, you may say: "Request from me two red cloaks (jawkhātayn ḥamrāwayn) through which I witnessed the witnessing places of good (mashāhid al-khayr) with the acting scholars (al-‘ulamā’ al-‘āmilīn), and through which I entered the enclosures of remembrances (ḥaẓā’ir al-adhkār) with the solitary ones who have attained (al-afrād al-wāṣilīn), and through which I heard the call on the day of 'Am I not your Lord?' (alastu bi-rabbikum) (Qur’an 7:172)."

So I inscribed them both in the register of the felicitous, and my book was cast above the Throne of the Lord of the Worlds, and two others [were inscribed] upon the neck of a dove, inscribed with the Qur’an and other [scriptures]. In the first line of them [it is written] that the Friend of Allah (walī Allāh) (431) who sent down the Book, and He takes charge of the righteous: “Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment. You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have incurred [Your] wrath, nor of those who have gone astray.” And a gray mule I raised in the sanctuary of honor, which the eyes of the ignorant never beheld; and another, black, I bound with chains of praise and gratitude, and it came to graze in the gardens of the connecting poles (aqṭāb al-wāṣilīn). And if you wish, say: I request from myself two red cloaks (jūkhatayn ḥamrāwayn) with which I performed the prayer of those who know their Lord (al-‘ārifīn bi-rabbihim) at the meeting of the two seas (majma‘ al-baḥrayn), and with which I met al-Khiḍr and Moses, and attained from them what the great ones among the brought-near (al-muqarrabīn) attained from them and from my master of the two weighty ones (sayyidī al-thaqalayn). And two others [inscribed] upon the neck of a dove, sprinkled with the water of the Spring of Life (ʿayn al-ḥayāh); so whoever is touched by any of its moisture is granted disposal over the kingdom and the dominion (al-mulk wa al-malakūt), and becomes the bride of the two kingdoms (ʿarūs al-mulkayn). And his saying: “inscribed (432) with the Qur’an and other [scriptures]” from what Allah has granted to the great ones among the chosen (al-aṣfiyā’) and the friends (al-awliyā’) and the eminent ones among the companions of the two presences (julasā’ al-ḥaḍratayn). And a gray mule and another black, both flourishing in the pasture, differing in the two ranks and the two stations. So glorified is He who clothes His friends (awliyā’) with the garments of His attributes and names, and gives them to drink the wine of His love, and pours upon them the seas of His gifts and bestowals, and subjugates to them the spirits of the sanctified and the guardians (al-muhayminīn) and what is above His earth and beneath His heaven. And if you wish, say: I request from myself two red cloaks (jūkhatayn ḥamrāwayn) with which I entered into the state of consecration (iḥrām) in the secure sanctuary of Allah (ḥaram Allāh al-amīn), and with which I performed the circumambulation of arrival (ṭawāf al-qudūm), and with which I let my gaze roam in the station of “the measure of two bows” (qāba qawsayn) and the highest of the high (a‘lā ‘illiyyīn), and I washed them with the water of the unseen (mā’ al-ghayb), and with which I ran between the purity of election (ṣafā’ al-iṣṭifā’) and the manliness of guidance and following (murū’at al-hudā wa al-iqtifā’), and in them I sought the pleasure of our Master, the Strong, the Helper (al-qawī al-mu‘īn), and in them I heard the sermon (khuṭbah) and with them I answered the caller of truth (dā‘ī al-ḥaqq), and with the stones of distance and expulsion (433) I stoned the plots of the commanding soul (al-nafs al-ammārah) and the whisperings of the accursed Iblis, and in them I garlanded my sacrificial offering (hadyī) and marked it (ash‘artuhu) and sacrificed it at Minā of the acts of devotion (minā al-qurubāt), and I cast its necklaces with its blood, and left it for the weak and the poor. And two others [inscribed] upon the neck of a dove, inscribed with the Qur’an and other beneficial traditions (aḥādīth) for the rectification of this world and the religion. And a gray mule prepared for the benefit of the sincere and certain servants of Allah (ʿibād Allāh al-mukhliṣīn al-mūqinīn), and another black, which Allah subjugated for His friends (awliyā’) who devote themselves to His pleasure, and for the solitary ones (al-afrād) who strive in His obedience and exert themselves. And with them I smelled the lightning of the Muhammadan breezes (barq al-nawāfiḥ al-muḥammadiyyah) and drank with them from the sea of his overflowing and manifest aid (maddihi al-zākhir al-mu‘īn), and I asked Allah by his rank (jāhihi) to bring me near to Him in closeness (zulfā) and to sustain me with [divine] regard, support, and clear victory (al-fatḥ al-mubīn). And for our father, the knower (al-‘ārif), the sincere advisor, the scholar, the chosen one, the righteous one, our master Abū Muḥammad, called al-Ṣāliḥ, these verses are in supplication (al-tawassul) (434): My God, by the Clear Book (al-kitāb al-mustabīn) * And by him who recites it with a sorrowful heart, And by the poles (al-aqṭāb) and the pegs (al-awtād) all together * And by the Guide, Muḥammad the Trustworthy, Protect my body from the Fire, O He who * Is sanctified above a minister or helper, And grant me from You, O my Master, fear * And longing, from the misery of my heart, certainty. And if you wish, say: Indeed, this friend (walī), abundant in benefit and remedy, good in character, form, nature, and temperament, when Allah inherited him the secret of particularity (sirr al-khuṣūṣiyyah) safe from deviation from the path of truth and crookedness, said to his disciple: “Request from me two red cloaks (jūkhatayn ḥamrāwayn) from which the prophetic light shines in the world of existence like the light of a lamp (sirāj), and two others [inscribed] upon the neck of a dove, whose colors change with the lights of sainthood (anwār al-wilāyah) like the color of the midday sun in the clarity of glass, inscribed with the Qur’an (al-furqān) and other verses indicating the purity of the inner self and the clarity of the path, and a gray mule that looks in the whiteness of love and travels in the whiteness of obedience and nearness, whose reins the hands of the people of injustice (435) and defect never held, and another black, whose extremities were clothed with the garments of forbearance and patience, and which strutted in the green brocade of spiritual knowledges (sundus al-ma‘ārif) and the high silk (rafī‘ al-dībāj).” His saying—and Allah knows best—: “two red cloaks (jūkhatayn ḥamrāwayn) from which the prophetic light shines in the world of existence like the light of a lamp (sirāj),” is an allusion to what some of the knowers (al-‘ārifīn) said regarding the meaning of his name—peace and blessings be upon him—the illuminating lamp (al-sirāj al-munīr). That is because Allah, exalted, began His creation as a pair: a luminous light in its essence and a darkness obliterated in itself, and He manifested from each of the two pairs a clear effect. So the light shone and illuminated what was in the darkness, and the darkness was obliterated and covered what the light manifested, and He made from the ultimate end of their existence in the totality of the cosmos night and day. So the night is obliterating and obliterated, and the day is radiant and illuminating. And just as He ran the beginning of light and darkness in the outward creation, so too in the inner aspect of the matter there is light and darkness, and in every paired world there is arranged a light and a darkness, whether created or commanded. And what goes away (436) and what goes away by the obliteration of the darkness from what descends, if it was fiery, it was a blazing lamp (sirāj wahhāj), and what ascended, being high and commanded, it was an illuminating lamp (sirāj munīr). So the two lamps are a fiery blazing lamp (sirāj nārī wahhāj) and a luminous illuminating lamp (sirāj nūrī munīr). Thus the lamps are ranked according to what goes away of obliteration. And he—peace and blessings be upon him—the seal of existence (khātam al-kawn), was encompassing, so his commanded light (nūruhu al-amrī) was the perfect lamp in illumination (al-sirāj al-kāmil al-iḍā’ah) which illuminated the darkness of what is other than the clear truth (ghayr al-ḥaqq al-mubīn), and illuminated it with the light of Allah. And because of the lamp’s sharing between fire and light, this name in the Qur’an was followed by the attribute of illumination (al-inārah). So he—peace and blessings be upon him—is the lamp of lamps (sirāj al-suruj) which, when it illuminates with illumination, no remnant of the obliteration of darkness remains behind its illumination, until the lamp of his light erased all darkness from the hearts of the imams immediately, and from the outward earth finally, until it is filled—and that is the ultimate station of Muḥammad (al-maqām al-muḥammadī) in its end. So He called His beloved—peace and blessings be upon him—the ultimate over every (437) darkness. As for his name “the illuminating” (al-munīr), when his name “the lamp” (al-sirāj) declared his illumination in himself and implied his lighting of what is obliterated, He declared his name “the illuminating” for what his name “the lamp” implied. And every lamp has illumination according to its strength in its essence. And since he—peace and blessings be upon him—was the perfect lamp, he was the perfect illuminator (al-munīr al-kāmil) whose lamp’s light illuminated the darkness of what is other than the clear truth, so the essences (al-dhawāt) appeared to him as they are. And from the illumination of his lamp was the nullification of the essentialities (dhatiyyāt) of what is other than Allah, as he—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “The truest word spoken by Labīd is: ‘Indeed, everything except Allah is false.’” So his illumination nullified the darkness of what is other than Allah, and the light of the heavens and the earth began to appear as Allah’s light. Thus his name “the illuminating” (al-munīr) following his name “the lamp” (al-sirāj) was the most specific, most perfect, most complete, and most encompassing of his names. So from his illumination is what Allah, exalted, made the hearts of his community witness of the unseen (al-ghuyūb) (438) until they stood upon the promised, bringing them out from the darknesses of the unseen of faith (ghayb al-īmān) to the clear vision of the light of certainty (ḍiyā’ al-yaqīn), as He, exalted, said: “To bring those who believe and do righteous deeds out of the darknesses into the light.” And these darknesses, which are the darknesses of the unseen that remain in every rank of lamps below him and lights other than him, until He brings them out to the perfect, complete light. So he—peace and blessings be upon him—is the illuminator (al-munīr), whose lamp has no remnant of darkness beyond its illumination. End. And if you wish, say: When Allah informed this friend (walī) of the sciences of the divine essence (ʿulūm al-dhāt al-rabbāniyyah) and the secrets of the names and attributes of the All-Merciful (al-asmā’ wa al-ṣifāt al-raḥmāniyyah), and gave him the keys of the treasuries of the unseen (mafātīḥ khazā’in al-ghayb) and disposal (al-taṣarruf) in the cosmic worlds (al-‘awālim al-akwāniyyah), he said:

To his special disciple, entrusted with his secret, he said: 'Ask from me two red cloaks ⁶²³ and so on, and a gray mule ⁶²⁴ that gazes upon the whiteness of the sciences of discrimination ⁶²⁵, and another black one that carries whoever mounts its back to the abodes of the stations of divine pleasure ⁶²⁶.' And he has chosen ones distinguished by His love, * whom He selected in the prior ages. He chose them before the creation of their nature, * so they are deposits of wisdom and clarity. If you wish, you may say that this saint, when he examined the states of his companions and especially his beloved devotees who were secluded at the threshold of his door, said to some of them: 'Ask from me two red cloaks and others a pigeon's neck ⁶²⁷, because you are in the station of training and seeking knowledge through the truth of lordship and the removal of the garments of human pretensions.' By the first ones—and God knows best—is meant the realization of the manners of servitude and the fulfillment of the rights of lordship; by the others, the adornment with the attributes of belovedness and the inhalation of the breezes of mercies from the assemblies of the holy presences. His saying 'inscribed with the Qur'an and other gifts of the secret and speciality, and the subtle divine wisdoms and the jabarutic ⁶²⁸ allusions.' His saying 'and a gray mule and another black one'—the description of the two mules with whiteness and blackness is a metaphor for the states of the beloved ones and the forms of the attracted ones ⁶²⁹, for in their state of expansion, the entire cosmos cannot contain them, and in their state of contraction, they weep blood out of fear and awe of God. By the two mules is meant the whiteness of dawn and the blackness of dawn, because at dawn their spirits fly to their nests surrounded by gardens of inspirations and divine teachings, and to their specific abodes characterized by the gleams of secrets and the flashes of manifestations; and in the blackness of night, they unload the burdens of hope and turn to their Lord with sincerity of intentions and purity of innermost thoughts. If you wish, you may say: 'Two red cloaks and others a pigeon's neck' because they are the garments of the people of seclusion, detachment, ecstasy, and love for God, and intimacy with Him in the seclusions of withdrawal and solitude. His saying 'inscribed with the Qur'an and other types of divine knowledge and the perfection of tawhid ⁶³⁰.' His saying 'and a gray mule and another black one' means the functions of night and day, for they are the mounts of the saints and the righteous, and the riding beasts of the knowers among the scholars; upon them revolve the established pegs ⁶³¹; they are the objectives of the ascetics and worshippers who have reached [God]; and through them they attain the pleasure of their Mighty and Succoring Lord. So blessed are the people who wove their cloaks on the looms of realization and divine success, dyed them with the colors of asceticism, piety, and precision, carried them on the two mules of certainty and sincerity, led them with the reins of intention and affirmation, drove them on the paths of guidance and rectitude to the best way and the most upright path, halted them at the 'Arafa of gnosis, ran with them between Safa of proximity and Marwa of love, kissed with them the Black Stone of felicity, circumambulated with them the Ka'ba of arrival, and clung to the curtains of the House of their Ancient Lord. If you wish, you may say that this great saint, lofty in rank and renowned, said to his pure, loving disciple and friend, whose love had settled in the unseen of his identity and left no room for love of anyone else—and he is my master Ahmad Zarruq ⁶³²—: 'Ask from me two red cloaks dyed with the blood of lovers and the tears of yearners, and two others of pigeon's neck veiled with the sighs of those in ecstasy and the shedding of blood of those absent [from themselves] in love of God, the bewildered, inscribed with the Qur'an and other sacred hadiths and the sciences of realities and gnosis.' The description of the first two as red and the others as pigeon's neck is because when the sun of manifestation shines upon their varicolored garments and their many buttons of light and luster, and their forms engraved with clear signs and the sciences of the Qur'an, the spiritual souls are attracted to God through them from every place, and the luminous bodies fly to them without wings to await what God has granted them of the stations of proximity and nearness, and what He has clothed them with of the garments of blessing, felicity, and security, and what He has honored them with of the gifts of good things and the bestowals of grace and favor, and what He has prepared for them in the Abode of Honor of chambers, palaces, and beautiful houris. His saying 'and a gray mule and another black one'—by that he intended the mounts of acts of devotion by which the disciple reaches the stations of contentment and divine pleasure, and which the seeker takes as means to arrive at the presence of our Master, the King, the Judge—glory be to Him, there is no god but Him; He chooses for Himself whom He wills and singles out whom He wills; every day He is upon some matter. If you wish, you may say: 'Two red cloaks illuminated by the lights of the Names and Attributes, and two others of pigeon's neck inscribed with the Qur'an and other beneficial wisdoms and clear signs, and a gray mule'—that is, mounts of safety by which you traverse the abodes of bewilderment and the deadly deserts, and another black one in which you whisper to your Lord with supplication, entreaty, good words, and litanies. By the gray mule [he meant] the times when the call to prayer is given, and by the black [he meant] the places where you seclude yourselves and whisper to your Lord in solitude with the noblest of whispered prayers and the best of supplications. If you wish, you may say: The meaning of the Shaykh's—may God be pleased with him—saying to his disciple: 'Ask from me two red cloaks and two others of pigeon's neck inscribed with the Qur'an and other [things]'—by them he meant the garments of the lights of his luminous heart, his spiritual body, and his lordly state. His saying 'inscribed with the Qur'an and other [things]'—[meaning] inscribed with the Qur'an and other divine sciences and the realities of faith and the secrets of certainty.

Among the wonders of the secret of gnostic revelation ⁶³³ and the marvels of the witnessing of ocular unveiling ⁶³⁴ is His saying: "And a gray mule" ⁶³⁵—that is, his sublime and ideal path ⁶³⁶ and his pure and tolerant law ⁶³⁷, supported by the secret of His words: "Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed" ⁶³⁸. And His saying: "And another black one" ⁶³⁹—you pass by him, urging him to stand at night ⁶⁴⁰ and to abandon leaning toward rest and inclination, because in it movements diminish and the tables of secrets and blessings descend, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Keep to the night journey, for the earth is folded up at night" ⁶⁴¹. Especially for the people of devotion ⁶⁴² and worship, and for ascending in stations ⁶⁴³ and acquiring the unique pearls of sciences and benefit, and sitting on the chairs of mastery and striving, and reaching the places of triumph and happiness, and dwelling in the paradises with those whom God has blessed—the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous—and dying upon the two words of testimony ⁶⁴⁴. You have clothed souls with robes of perfection ⁶⁴⁵; you have raised suns of beauty within them. The intellects are bewildered by You—how could they not?—for You are manifest as the Holy One in everything. You have unveiled the veil from Your witnessing ⁶⁴⁶; You have deposited in it a Qabus ⁶⁴⁷ from His secret. Their forms stood to descend, dictating, while You had cloaked them with a Namus ⁶⁴⁸. You sent forth from them in Your domains a single one, whom people called the spy ⁶⁴⁹ for concealment. He saw You as the vision of the worlds, though a group counts a bell ⁶⁵⁰ for striking it. He saw a newly arisen veil of manifestations that shows him a Qarmus ⁶⁵¹ from its eye. And his lance said to his young ones: "O our presence, visit Moses ⁶⁵² concerning our affair!" And pour the wine of our speech for our interlocutor ⁶⁵³, and spread with the spirit of our pierced ⁶⁵⁴ hadith. Enter the domes of our witnessing in enjoyment, and unveil from their morning brides a bride. If you wish, you may say the meaning of the Shaykh's saying to his disciple: "Ask me for two red cloaks ⁶⁵⁵"—meaning the two with which I stood at the Arafa of gnosis ⁶⁵⁶ and performed the Tawaf al-Ifada ⁶⁵⁷, and two others—the neck of a dove ⁶⁵⁸—with which I bowed behind the Maqam ⁶⁵⁹ and wrapped myself in the time of struggle and service. And the spiritual discipline ⁶⁶⁰ is written with the Quran and other revelations commonly mentioned on the tongues of the masters of states and secrets that are widely transmitted. And a gray mule I rode when the dawn unveiled its completion and manifested its whiteness in the horizons; and another black one, by which I attained hopes and requests, and the Truth brought me into His gardens. If you wish, you may say: the gray mule is the Ascension ⁶⁶¹ upon which the spirits of the near ones ascend to the presence of opening and initiation, and the carpet of contentment, acceptance, affections, and expansion. If you wish, you may say: the gray mule is the Buraq ⁶⁶² upon which the great truthful ones ride to the station of "two bow-lengths or nearer" ⁶⁶³ and the enclosures of the desired sight and the highest abode. If you wish, you may say: the gray mule is the Buraq upon which the elite of the truthful travel to the presence of union and separation, and in which they hear the address from the Master, the True King. If you wish, you may say: the gray mule is the Buraq upon which the entities of the poles ⁶⁶⁴ travel to the supreme tablet, and the noble leaders take it as a means to obtain the gifts of generosity and the most sublime secret. And the black mule is the training of wakefulness ⁶⁶⁵ with which the eyes of the sleepers who stand at dawns are anointed, and by which they seek cure from the ailments of incapacity and laziness in obedience and all harms. If you wish, you may say: the black mule is the darkness by which the people of obscurity and fame conceal themselves from the obstacles that hinder them from reaching the stations of the righteous and the good. If you wish, you may say: the black mule is the twilight ⁶⁶⁶ in which the disciples prepare for the litanies and remembrances, and their illuminated aspirations tear through the veils and curtains. If you wish, you may say: the gray and black mules are the states that appear to the masters of seclusions at the breaking of the dawn of gifts and secrets, and the openings that come to them in the morning because of the hardships and dangers they undertook in the depths of darkness. They attain them from two mules that graze on the trees of purity in giving and receiving, and drink the water of asceticism and chastity from the springs of might and pride, and convey whoever rides their backs to the abode of bliss, eternity, and settlement. If you wish, you may say—and God knows best—that the Shaykh means by the gray mule the whiteness of the dawn of union, and by the black mule the sharpening of the file with the blackness of cutting off to God and seclusion. Thus opposites have gathered, union has occurred, spirits have connected with bodies, and the gifts of grace and cups of support and supply have diversified. "Say: He is God, the One, God the Eternal, He begets not nor was He begotten, and there is none like unto Him" ⁶⁶⁷. Glory be to Him whose divinity ⁶⁶⁸ shone in the shade of humanity ⁶⁶⁹ from His creation, and the symbol of concealment from His unseen appeared in the world of the unseen from His horizon. So all, in union, is a veil for Him; their essences are by the secret in His truth. And the secret is apparent in their covering; He has strengthened the matter for His distinction. Water, fire, and air are earth; by the unseen the clouds travel from His lightning. He sends down wisdom in its meadow as rain—exalted is God from such drizzle! So distinguish the meaning and be insightful: the later of the witnessed from its precedence. If you wish, you may say: when the wine of Muhammadan love coursed through this saint's heart, and the passion of Ahmadine supremacy settled in the core of his innermost being, and he was immersed in the beauty of the essence of his Beloved and the love of his God and His company, and he was characterized by His beautiful traits, becoming one of the people of His sainthood and party, he said to his disciple who desired his company and closeness: "Ask me for two red jewels ⁶⁷⁰ whose light almost snatches away sight, and by which the intellects of those with insight are bewildered; their vision unveils the face and reveals the cheek; attachment to their pyramids removes ailments and heals harms." They are: the vision of his essence, abundant in radiances and lights, and the assumption of his great traits of dignity and stature, by which the servant draws near to his Lord and which gather him with those whom God has blessed—the prophets and the noble leaders. Thus Aisha (may God be pleased with her) said: "I have not seen anyone with a lock of hair in a red cloak more beautiful than the Messenger of God (peace be upon him)." And his saying: "And others—the neck of a dove—whose beauty surpasses ruby, coral, and gold, and whose light puts to shame the light of the sun and moons; they are: following his sunna ⁶⁷¹, which leads to the stations of might and pride, and emulating his conduct, which saves from perils and destruction in this world and the next." And his saying: "Written with the Quran and other things"—by which the disciples learn the path of

Attaining to God refines them and purifies their innermost secrets from the follies of the ego and the impurities of otherness ⁶⁷², and brings them near in proximity to God, and gives them glad tidings of the good pleasure of their Lord, the Forbearing, the Oft-Forgiving. As He, exalted is He, said: "And whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it" ⁶⁷³, and "And those who strive in Us, We will surely guide them to Our ways" ⁶⁷⁴. And Aisha, may God be pleased with her, said: "His character, peace and blessings be upon him, was the Qur'an; he was pleased with its pleasure and angered with its anger, and my recitation to him was that his Lord had described him thus." So He said: "And indeed, you are of a great character" ⁶⁷⁵. His saying: "And a gray mule and another black one, saddled with the saddles of obedience and guidance, and bridled with the bridles of acting according to the Prophetic Sunna and following it; they are the followers of his Ahmadian ⁶⁷⁶ Sharia in ending and beginning, and holding fast to his firmest handhold from everything that leads to injustice and transgression. The seeker rides them to reach thereby the path of right guidance and to traverse thereby the paths of the martyrs and the blessed. And if you wish, you could say: two red cloaks ⁶⁷⁷ that the hands of time have not touched, from the robes of the secrets of the unseen, announcing the particularity of the course of the worlds; and two others of the neck of a dove, whose like is rare in the world of witnessing and direct vision. And his saying: 'and two written ones' means from the robe of the veil, written with the Qur'an and other beneficial benefits in secret and in public, and comprehensive wisdoms encompassing what thought has encompassed and the tongue has uttered. And the particularity of that is announced by a witness that is not in possibility more wondrous than what was. And his saying: 'a gray mule' means a state that emerged from outside his Muhammadan Sharia, by attaining which one reached God in the shortest time; and 'another black one' that drank from the eye of his reality, supported by proof and evidence. And if you wish, you could say: two red cloaks whose weaving the daughters of thoughts and brides of passing notions have not touched; and two others of the neck of a dove, not found in the treasuries of the kingdom, nor have the eyes of the humble and submissive glimpsed them in the darkness of the night when sighs ascend. And his saying: 'and two words written with the Qur'an and other sciences and unseen secrets that God has veiled from His creation and only reveals to whom He chooses among a messenger or a saint, whom He informs of the hidden things of consciences and the whisperings of thoughts.' And if you wish, you could say: this saint, when his love for my master the Messenger of God increased and his thought was immersed in the beauty of his essence and the splendor of his countenance, and his spirituality blended with his spirituality until he loved only what he loves and is pleased with, and the flashes of his holy secrets appeared upon him and the suns of his Mawlawi ⁶⁷⁸ lights shone upon him, and his spirit was stripped of human natures and became fragrant with the spirituality of luminous bodies, so he sat upon the throne of the Muhammadan vicegerency ⁶⁷⁹, crowned with the crown of Ahmadian care, and said to his disciple: 'Ask of me two red cloaks from the robes of the lights of prophethood and the flashes of his Mustafawian ⁶⁸⁰ secrets, resembling his garment, peace and blessings be upon him.' That is because he used to wear on Friday his red cloak and turban. And from Abu Hujayfa, may God be pleased with him, from his father, who said: 'I saw the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, wearing a red garment, as if I were looking at the shine of his shins.' And Aisha, may God be pleased with her, said: 'I have not seen anyone with flowing hair in a red garment more handsome than the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him.' And from Abu Ishaq, may God be pleased with him, who said: 'I have not seen anyone redder among people more handsome in a red garment than the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him; his hair would reach near his shoulders.' And his saying: 'and two others of the neck of a dove' likewise, because he, peace and blessings be upon him, wore two green cloaks. And from Abu Rimtha, that he said: 'I saw the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, wearing two green cloaks, and he had a black cloak that he wore; nothing was seen more beautiful than its blackness on his whiteness above him. And he had a turban that he wore, called al-Sahab ⁶⁸¹, which he gave to Ali, may God be pleased with him, and he would say: "Ali came to me in al-Sahab."' And his saying: 'written with the Qur'an and other than that' is an incitement from him to follow the Sunna of my master the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, and to emulate him in his words and deeds, and a desire from him to hold fast to the rope of his love and the love of his companions and his family. That is because the believer loves for his believing brother what he loves for himself, especially this saint whose spirituality blended with his spirituality and whose essence united with his essence, so he wanted to clothe him with what God had clothed him of the attributes of his perfections and to bequeath to him what God had bequeathed to him from my master the Messenger of God of the gifts of his openings and the secret of his supplies. And al-Qalshani ⁶⁸², may God be pleased with him, said: 'All the doors of good are locked except for the one who enters through the door of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. May God make us among the people of his party and his sainthood, and admit us under his fortress and the protection of his guardianship.' So the encompassing cycle has ended, the composite and simple forms have interpenetrated, the connections and intermediaries have been removed, the links and bonds have been eliminated, and the foundations and rules have vanished, leaving only the relationship of Muhammadan lordship and the mediation of Ahmadian excellence. O God, join me to his noble lineage and realize me in his exalted lineage, and make me know his reality with a knowledge by which I may be safe from the sources of ignorance and drink from the springs of virtue, and carry me to his Ahmadian presence with a carrying surrounded by his Muhammadan victory, and cast me upon falsehood so that I may crush it, and plunge me into the seas of Oneness with a plunge that drowns me in the seas of the Mustafawian lights, and rescue me from the mires of monotheism by following the Prophetic Sunna, and drown me in the eye of the sea of Unity so that I neither see nor feel nor hear except what is cast into my inner being from the subtle divine gnoses. And make the greatest veil the life of my spirit, his spirit, the secret of my reality, and his reality the gatherer of my worlds through the realization of the First Truth. O First, O Last, O Manifest, O Hidden, hear my call as You heard the call of Your servant Zachariah, and grant me victory through that, and unite me with You, and separate me from other than You. God, God, God. "Indeed, He who imposed the Qur'an upon you will surely return you to a place of return" ⁶⁸³. "Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance" ⁶⁸⁴.

Between the people of hearts ⁶⁸⁵ and the Truth there is a state that is a veil too subtle for speech. No person has a way to their heights, nor is there any scope in the beginning of their radiance. Beware, beware of the people of hearts and submit to their command, for they are stallions ⁶⁸⁶, men. Let not a single atom of denial come from you, for the swords of states ⁶⁸⁷ are whetted therein. Their likes kindle a fire of vengeance whose blaze, once ignited, is never extinguished. Delicate, sharp swords that cut and destroy, drawn by the young heroes of battle. So if you see something objectionable, interpret it favorably, so that denial and difficulty may cease. Do not restrict the breadth of speech by a state; many a state is too narrow for speech. If you saw the folk in the darkness, drunk, with the cup ⁶⁸⁸ passed around among them—every expansion from their expansion is gained, every inclination is due to their drunkenness. They witnessed the Truth through the mirrors of souls, too exalted for the lofty example to unveil. The eye, in reality, is for the eye; it manifested, so there is no illusion there. Beneath the lines of might and majesty, all else is rags. O for a people drunk with wine ⁶⁸⁹ of which the mind of the cup-companion has no notion! Bring it, bring it in every state, and give me to drink, for no one can blame you. Every sin of its drinkers is forgiven, and every fault of its imbibers is overlooked. Pay no heed to the blamer in love for it; he has not tasted it, so his words are vain. So the left hand becomes right with the cup, and the right hand becomes left when you take it from there.

And by adhering to his righteousness and service, by returning him to his state in obedience, hastening for the journey and the race, until he is seen in the arena of the race. That results from the admixture of hypocrisy, whose defect is the loss of the sweetness of action, among the ambiguous causes, or abandoning the Sunna and plunging into the self, in order to attain the soundness of the end ⁴⁶³. Its remedy is the correction of the beginning, and adherence to the Sunna and deliverance, and that is through tawhid ⁶⁹⁰ and ikhlas ⁶⁹¹, and eating little consistently, from the necessary consequences and rights. Excessive eating is the foundation of defect, so lightness of the stomach is the remedy of the heart. If you go hungry, it leads to lowering the gaze; if the stomach is full, the limbs go hungry. He witnesses from a witnessed station that has become great, from its defect is his hope for good through what, since his right in this is a distressing feeling, and that is from his heedlessness of his own self, for perhaps through his sin he harms them, for them because of his presence with them. It is better for him than his occupation with his own intimacy. Yes, and if he sees annihilation in his own self, how do you see the state of the people of the standing? It was said to one of the masters among the Salaf ⁶⁹²: 'I would hope that Allah would forgive them.' He said: 'Were it not that I was with them, in the accusation of the self with every accusation.' Thus is the state of the people of vigilance, because he sees himself in his sin. Its remedy is shame before his Lord. And there is an athar ⁶⁹³ from Fudayl ibn 'Iyad ⁶⁹⁴: 'And if my sins are forgiven, then...' And from his witnessing the greatness of His nearness, and that is from his magnifying his Lord, except through death in the present life. From its defect is the loss of the afterlife, and his abandonment of everything he was accustomed to ⁴⁶⁴, through hunger, abasement, and opposition. It does not live except through its death by the loss of creation, and it does not live by the existence of the Truth, and its ignorance of its own worth in its knowledge, and that is from its insolence and ill-omen. Its remedy in that is the very essence of its disease, by abandoning falsehood and rising above it, so it becomes imprinted with truth and following it. A most concise saying: Yahya ibn Mu'adh al-Razi ⁶⁹⁵ said: 'The servant's drawing near to his Lord is through the death of his self.'

By it, her piety and her glance ⁶⁹⁶ are strengthened, so she abandons the heart and her refusal appears. For every good that was in reality, and everything sought in the Path ⁶⁹⁷, its remedy is to weaken her through hunger and to occupy her without sleep. For in the hadith of the Exalted Chosen One ⁶⁹⁸: 'The stomach is the worst thing the human fills.' If it must be, then a third for food, a third for the soul, and the remainder for water. And the soul, if you neglect it, will not prosper; but if you increase its constraint, it may succeed. And use a stratagem against the soul, for perhaps a trick is more helpful in victory than its like. Among her faults is her excessive speech, and that stems from love of superiority among people, and ignorance of what is obligatory in speaking, and of the causes of hatred and dispersion. Its remedy is to prefer listening over speaking to the people of obedience ⁶⁹⁹. For in the hadith of the Truthful and Verified ⁷⁰⁰: 'Trial is entrusted to speech.' And what casts people into the Fire except the harvests of the tongue? And he said: 'Everything the human says is a cause for regret, except when he commands good or forbids an accustomed evil.' And the comprehensive command, upon scrutiny, is in His saying: 'There is no good in much of their secret talk.' And what has come concerning the writing of the guardians ⁷⁰¹ for the deed of the servant, upon preservation, for every word has a watcher who writes it, and He is near to us. So beware of the affliction of the tongue, for it is harmful to man. And the most difficult of the organs to watch over is the tongue; its consequence is upon people. Among her faults is exceeding the limits in pleasure and anger, with excessive praise for one you are pleased with, and its opposite, increasing in reproach. And that stems from ignorance of the right of Allah and seeking the pleasure of other than Allah. Its remedy in this is adherence to truthfulness until one becomes a preferrer of truth in both states, in pleasure and anger, for justice in both states is obligatory. And the best of mankind ⁷⁰² counted it among the saving deeds and the virtuous, pure qualities. And he said: 'Whoever seeks the pleasure of the created by displeasing Allah will end up in distress, for Allah, our Lord, becomes angry with him, and the creation becomes angry with him in this world.' So he never attains what he desired, while he has distanced himself from his Lord. And Allah has forbidden following what one has no knowledge of. And the best of those who came to the worlds said: 'Fill the mouths of the praisers with dust.' Among her faults is that he first seeks guidance ⁷⁰³ and then after it becomes displeased with what has occurred. And that stems from his suspicion of his Lord and his distance from the causes of nearness to Him. Its remedy is through his knowledge of his ignorance of his state, his origin, and his distinction. For he may love what is evil and dislike what is good. So the servant does not know what to choose, and his description is incapacity and need. And our Lord knows what is hidden from him, and is able over it while he is incapable. So let him rest from the toil of planning, worry, vexation, and disturbance, delegating to his Lord and being content with what He has decreed, high or low. Among her faults is his excessive wishing without stopping or deliberation, either for good he hopes to attain or for repelling evil he fears will occur. And that stems from plunging and planning, and his rejection of looking at the divine decree. Its remedy is his submission to his Lord and his knowledge, in his state, of His nearness. For whatever comes from the soul is not in his hands except what has been decreed to pass. So if he delegates in the fervor of his state, he attains what is decreed with his rest. And his soul tires him whenever he is displeased, for the decree passes while he is frustrated. The Messenger, who is the best of informants, said: 'When one of you wishes, let him look at what he wishes and what has been decreed for him, for he does not know what has been written for him.' And prohibition came against wishing for death at the time of harm's descent, for fear of loss. And let the servant say: 'Give me life as long as life is good for me, or cause me to die if death is good for me.' And that is delegation, in which there is supplication, silence, and allusion. Among her faults is plunging into every valley and taking up causes in the usual way. And that is the inheritance of the emptiness of his mind and the vacuity of his worldly concerns in his heart. Its remedy is his occupation with remembrance and leaving what does not concern him of my affairs. For it is good that a person's Islam includes leaving what does not concern him, as intended. Among her faults is his showing off obedience and his love of being seen by the group, to imitate their appearance for the sake of magnifying the one who sees him. Its remedy is his magnification of his Lord, for the lack of that is the root of his fault. Whoever knows the Truth sees Him alone, and the one who looks at other than Him deserves distance from Him. And salvation is sought through sincerity, for there is no escape from that. So Allah does not love a polytheistic heart, nor does He love a shared action. He is Self-Sufficient, having no partner, so He does not reward association in His right. And whoever has a partner in his intention, his action is left, and that partner is also left. Thus its meaning came in the hadith, and it is authentically transmitted to those of confirmation. Among her faults is his eating from people, and that is contrary to scrupulousness and truthfulness. And in it is the root of humiliation and lowliness, and serving slaves and freemen, and it leads to hypocrisy and affectation, and failure follows him in greed. And he loses the sweetness of deeds and rejects high aspirations. So the servant is free when content, and the free man is a slave to the one in whom he has greed. And its origin is from his doubt in what has been apportioned, and his lack of contentment with what has been decreed for him. Its remedy is through abandonment and turning away from every aspect that drags toward desires, either by being satisfied with what has been apportioned or by raising one's aspiration to what has been marked from noble, lofty character, and leaving what he fears of disgrace. The Chosen One sought refuge from greed—I mean that which leads to a base nature. And the servant's greed is without any gain, for it is humiliation and disgrace, so listen. And some of the Salaf of Islam said a sound saying, a maker of rulings: 'In a man's greed is present poverty, manifest in every state. If the rich man is greedy, he is poor; if the poor man is content, he is victorious. For the honor of this one and the humiliation of that one, since he did not take refuge in gain. For there is only toil and fear, well-being and humiliation, and dread.' Among her faults is greed with accumulation, hoarding and withholding with rushing. And that stems from ignorance of the state of this world and what its affair leads to in things.

Its remedy is the knowledge that gathering it distances him from what benefits him, even though it is prepared for decay, abandonment, transfer, and improvisation. There is no good in what leads to annihilation, with much misery and toil. O wonder at one who prefers his worldly life and abandons his preference for the Hereafter, despite his knowledge that this one is perishable and that one is everlasting and eternal. Among its defects is deeming good what he commits and adopting every matter that pleases him, and criticizing the action of whoever opposes him until he sees that his own action agrees with him. That is due to his heedlessness of his Lord and his witnessing of his self and his self-admiration. Its remedy is his accusation of his self and his good opinion of all his kind, and seeing the state with the eye of deficiency and mentioning his sin which is countless. Among its defects is his honoring his sensory self, and that is due to his forgetfulness of his grave. Its remedy is by little concern for his sensory affairs in every state. Ibn Najid said: Whoever is distressed by his self, his religion has led him ⁴⁷⁷. And whoever is favored by that honored one, in his religion, since he is characterized by righteousness. Among its defects is his victory for his self, and that is a root in the existence of his decline. Its remedy is seeing it with contempt and that it deserves every disgrace, for it is unjust, oppressive, treacherous, deceitful, and ill-omened. You see the truth with the eye of falsehood, occupied with amusement and falsehoods. So the best of mankind was not one who takes revenge for himself, but for a respected action. Among its defects is accepting people's praise and being occupied with provision with every breath. That is due to his delusion and heedlessness of his Lord in his action and state. Its remedy for the first is watchfulness and abandoning what he hopes from companionship, and for the last, strength of certainty and trust in Allah in tranquility. Imam Hatim al-Asamm said a story that is for their religion, so they: The devil says to me every day: 'From where do you eat, O weak one of the people? From where do you clothe? What do you dwell?' I say: 'My food is death, my clothing is the shroud, and my dwelling is the grave.' That is the ultimate end for those of resolve and people of intellect. So rest from the fatigue of enemies and all that you are accustomed to from misguidances. Among its defects is multiplying my sins until it stirs hardness of hearts ⁴⁷⁸. Its remedy is much seeking forgiveness and repentance that removes persistence, and companionship of the righteous and fasting, then attending remembrance and standing in the last part of the night and at dawn for remembrance, supplication, and seeking forgiveness. And remembrance of the assembly ⁷⁰⁴ does not benefit in it unless that is by the people of the assembly ⁷⁰⁵. And fasting without silence and seclusion, and standing without truthfulness and supplication. Then likewise, companionship of the righteous is only with respect and honoring. A man complained to the Chosen One ⁷⁰⁶ about hardness of heart, his state being disobedience. He said: 'He sinned to be reminded so that his state might disappear and he might acquire acceptance.' And he said: 'Whoever commits a sin, a dot is placed in his heart, its blackness is fixed. If he repents from that or seeks forgiveness, that which was dotted disappears or is forgiven. But if he persists in his error, the dot increases his blackness until the heart becomes such that it does not recognize the wrong and the right, but rather acts recklessly.' Then the Imam of the Knowers ⁷⁰⁷ recited to him what came in Surat al-Mutaffifin ⁷⁰⁸ about the mention of 'ran' ⁷⁰⁹ occurring in the heart, acquired from committing sin. Among its defects is mentioning delicate knowledge and delving into it with subtle understanding, to attract the souls of the ignorant, acquiring status continuously ⁴⁷⁹. That is due to his preference for his worldly life and abandoning what pleases his Lord. Its remedy is his acting upon his preaching for his benefit by his word and glance, until he becomes one who abandons his worldly life and prefers his Lord in his state. Allah commanded the Chosen Messiah ⁷¹⁰ to begin with himself if he preaches, so that his listener might be admonished by his preaching or desist and be ashamed of the sermon. And the Chosen One ⁷¹¹ on the Night of the Ascension ⁷¹² saw those who had fallen into error: their lips were cut with fire for commanding righteousness without doing it. 'Do you command...' came in Surat al-Baqara ⁷¹³ in a severe, reminding manner. Among its defects is its joy and happiness and seeking comfort while it frolics. That is due to its eternal contentment with itself. Its remedy is his awakening from his heedlessness and his mention of his shortcomings and slips, and his mention of what is before him that will come. The Messenger ⁷¹⁴ said: 'The believer's prison is the world, and the disbeliever's paradise is the world.' And the prison, know, has no joy in it. And Dawud al-Ta'i ⁷¹⁵ said a word of great import ⁴⁸⁰: 'The hearts of the knowers are cut forever by their remembrance of the One, eternity from tomorrow.' And Bishr ⁷¹⁶ said to one who asked him: 'Why do I see you always worried?' He replied: 'Because in my state I am required.' And that is a comprehensive, desired answer. Among its defects is following its desire and striving for what pleases it. That is due to ignorance of it and of the outcome. Its root is neglecting it in every state. Its remedy is preferring his Lord and occupying himself with everything that pleases Him, and accusing the self constantly and subduing it all the days, for it is commanding ⁷¹⁷, possessing desire, influencing every other. It has been narrated from one known as al-Qari ⁷¹⁸: 'Carving mountains with nails is easier than opposing its desire.' 'Have you seen...' came in Surat al-Jathiya ⁷¹⁹ as a sufficient indication of what we mentioned. So seek refuge in Allah from your desire, and seek refuge from the evil that has befallen you. Among its defects is preferring companionship and association with peers and support. That is due to familiarity with this world and lack of mention of the inevitable separation. Its remedy is the knowledge that the companion is departing, vanishing, and going. Gabriel came to the best of messengers ⁷²⁰ with three things that every intellect discerns ⁴⁸¹: 'Live as you wish, for you will die; love whom you wish, for you will be separated; and act as you wish, for you will be recompensed.' The sage ⁷²¹ said a confirmed wisdom regarding wealth, mixing, and friendship: 'Every enemy other than the one you have befriended, and wealth is regret except what you have spent.'

And mixing ⁷²² is the blending of ourselves in it, so let one confine oneself in the company of the righteous. Among its faults: his familiarity with his obedience, and that is due to his lack of insight ⁷²³. Its cure: his looking at his own defects, until he sees the contempt of what he has. And let him look at the divine assistance ⁷²⁴ from his Lord, and abandon pretensions and aims. Among its faults: its enabling of caprice ⁷²⁵, and that is due to his heedlessness and his lapse. Its cure: in preventing it from its desire, and taking it with firmness and compulsion. Abu Hafs ⁷²⁶ said—he is the blacksmith ⁷²⁷—: "Whenever it calls to a matter, take its opposite." Among its faults: security from whispering ⁷²⁸, since it seized him with it without end. Its cure: through soundness of faith, since the Generous Lord, the Most High, prevented it, and made wealth for whoever turns away, and he became in worship of idols. So let one seek refuge in Allah from whispering. Among its faults: showing off with humility, without realization and without spending. Its cure: in truthfulness and sincerity, for whoever pretends to have what he does not possess, the truthful Messenger came with its meaning. Among its faults: lack of reflection ⁷²⁹, unless one is a frequent visitor ⁷³⁰ and foolish. And beware of mixing with the wicked, and seeing deeds as one's own merchandise, and lack of realization in the secret ⁷³¹. And that is what he committed of his slips. So let him not rely constantly on it, and let him occupy himself with gratitude for what He has bestowed, and acquire aversion from his own self. Until it hinders the servant from what he intended, and his lack of awakening in his state, and his abandonment of what its readiness is for, along with avoiding all distractions. (482) A word for idle pursuits is intended, because it is the locus of every affliction, and heedlessness of what is in it of evil. And that is a sign of misery, as came in the clear Quran. From misguidance, a believer trusting, his devil, through his association, cast him down, while he thought he was worshipping the Merciful. So let one cling to Allah from whispering, avoiding all impurities. Among its faults: showing off with apparent piety, without realization and without spending, its possessor has no share. Its cure: in truthfulness and sincerity, and abandoning all sins. For whoever pretends to have what he does not possess, like one wearing a garment of falsehood associating, so act upon it if you are a truthful servant. That is due to his delusion by His forbearance. Its cure: his fear of his Lord, and that he see His delay as respite, not neglect. There must be his questioning in the end ⁷³²; if he is punished for his sin, woe and all evil he attains; if his Lord has mercy on him, by His grace and bounty He bestows. So let the servant lighten the scale of justice, and let him hope also for the scale of grace, for there are no small sins when justice comes to you, and no great sins when grace comes to you. A poet said a good saying: "Her delay by her Creator deluded her." Among its faults: divulging the secret of the companion, and that is from baseness and deficiency. Its cure: his return to himself, and his lack of disdain for what he did. Among its faults: his being pleased with it in action, and that is from his low aspiration. Its cure: in seeking increase, and abandoning the precious state, through research, eagerness, and acquisition. Ali al-Murtada ⁷³³, the Adnani ⁷³⁴, said: "They said: a person's constancy in his actions is an increase for him in his actions, because what he does tomorrow is a reinforcement for what has passed of number." Among its faults: his contempt for the Muslims, and that is from ignorance of the self, and pride over all the worlds, and evil action leading to misery. Its cure: return to humility, then respect for the sinner and the obedient, from everyone who professes Islam. And our Lord, His Prophet, commanded him, and the Messenger looked towards the Kaaba and said: "What is greatest for the believers?" Since Allah forbade for one world, and the believers have two additional [honors]. So that he may become soft to all creation, submissive to following the truth. And a person's anger for other than his Lord is from the breath of Satan in his heart. The Messenger said to the one who came to him: "Do not be angry," when he advised him, for a person's anger leads to destruction, dragging him with intent to perish. Among its faults: lying in reports, and that is from baseness and disgrace. Its cure: knowledge of the ugliness of lying, and that it leads to ruin in religion and world, and among people, to humiliation, degradation, and bankruptcy. And he may see it for seeking boasting, and abandoning it for the sake of Allah. And abandon addressing people, for it has come from the Master of Mankind: "Truthfulness leads to great piety, and piety leads to Paradise, so understand. And likewise, lying leads to wickedness, and that is the door of woe and pustules." (487) Among its faults: miserliness and also stinginess, and love of this world is the root of that. Its cure: knowledge of the state of this world, and that it is little in life, perishing; its lawful is accountability, its unlawful is punishment. And his stinginess is a great calamity, a vile, ugly, blameworthy trait. Its original source is fear of poverty and weakness of faith in the fundamental matter, and suspicion of the division of provisions, without being content with the One Creator. For he withholds what is present and available due to evil suspicion of the Worshipped. The Messenger said: "Spend, Bilal, and do not fear from our Lord impoverishment." And he said: "Every slip and sin comes from love of this world, so be understanding." So that you see in the ornament of the forerunner, with intent in giving and spending, for there is no good in extravagance or stinginess, nor piety and customary goodness. Among its faults: in its state after hope, and that is from its forgetfulness of the nearness of death. Its cure: constant remembrance of death, and seriousness and preparation for fear of loss. For whoever walks in the heedlessness of hopes, his life is in the form of terms. And you will see, when the dust clears, whether the horse is under you or a donkey. And some of the predecessors of mankind said a saying sound and clear in rulings. (488)

Abū Ḥafṣ said: And by persistence, * the servant’s negligence of the measure of the All-Mighty. Among its faults is that it does not fail willingly * in obedience, nor does it find a listening ear. And that is from a claim latent within it, * until it becomes one of general delusion. Its remedy is through hunger and travel, * and exertion in the night and the day, Until its thousand becomes a virgin, * and that truly ends [the state of] willingness. (490) Ṭayfūr, he who is al-Bisṭāmī, indeed said: * The most severe thing I encountered in my days Was from my self, when it did not love obedience * willingly, through abandoning water and hunger For a year of time, by complete fulfillment. * So these are the states of the one possessing loyalty. And thus is their path in the way, * or you will tempt me from piety and abandon. Your claim and illumination for the ranks * is considered; you have no [escape] from afflictions. Among its faults are gathering together and withholding, * and that is a harm with no benefit in it. Its origin is miserliness and fear of poverty, * and love of a world in which there is no good. Its remedy is his awareness of the nearness of death, * and that his wealth has passed to others. So he benefits others, and it does not benefit him, * since during his life he was withholding it, While he is held accountable for it, * with claims; so his right is with him. The Messenger said: All that you have sent ahead * is your wealth, and for others is what you left. And for you is what you wore if you wore it out, * or what you ate if you consumed it, Then what you gave in charity you spent, * and with our Lord tomorrow you will find it. So choose for yourself with insight, * and do not be among those who forgot their end. Among its faults is companionship with the dissenters, * and the people of desires from the allies, And that is from the remnant of inclination * from their action and the desire for return. (491) Its remedy is companionship with the people of obedience, * and those who follow the truth and the community. And that is from the remnant of inclination; for whoever accompanies other than his kind is ignorant of Allah, the measure of his own self. Better for a man is sitting alone, * and let no evil companion be with him. And one resembling the people, that one is of them, * and one increasing the multitude is counted among them. This is what I mentioned in the hadith * from the Master of creation, so take the hadith. And it was said that the companionship of the wicked * leads to suspicion of the righteous. And that the Lord of creation, by the outward, * commanded us truly, and by the inward. So this is not beneficial without that, * nor does that stand without this. And knowledge—the Chosen One said it is an obligation, * and it is with Him a vast presence. So seek knowledge throughout all time, * knowledge of the lawful and following the command. For if you are with that, you will be upright, * and Allah will open by His great bounty. For knowledge is a sea with no end, * nor to its limit is any final goal, Since above every possessor of knowledge is the All-Knowing, * and the ultimate end of knowledge is to Allah the Great. Among its faults is his deeming his giving great, * and his bestowal of favor upon the one he gave to. And that is from his seeing his own possession, * and his miserliness which decreed his destruction. Its remedy is seeing from Allah * in everything He gives without end, And that he is only a trustworthy guardian * over his wealth which he observes for Him, Delivering the command as commanded, * according to what He divided or decreed. And pride is not fitting for delivery, * nor for a division of what is necessarily obtained, Since everything he owns is from His bounty, * then His withdrawal of it is by His justice. And whoever does not own the affairs, * how can he see their giving as joy? (494) Among its faults is his display of poverty, * despite sufficiency and flowing provision. And that is from his greed and baseness, * and his lack of certainty along with his aspiration. Its remedy is his display of sufficiency, * with scarcity and his utmost patience. For Ibn Nujayd said concerning tasawwuf * a true saying, clear in its application: He who entered the path used to * build upon the truth with the reality, So he would become poor after wealth and conceal * himself with his present poverty so as not to become famous. But today the situation has become the opposite of the state, * as the wealthy man displays poverty. And this is a great calamity, * a vile, ugly, blameworthy [trait]. It has been combined with hypocrisy and ostentation, * stirring up the world and love of the wealthy. And a third of religion is lost by that, * since adornment overcomes him. Among its faults is his seeing his own merit * over a companion, a fellow from his people. And that is from ignorance of the origin, * and baseness attached in the matter. Its remedy is his seeing his own self * with its sin and fault and confusion, Then witnessing the merit of the brothers * due to the obligations of outward faith. And that is not valid without his view * that they are better than him always, That they are better than him always. (495) For he who sees in himself a virtue— * that is good, whatever harm is in him. And he who sees virtue for all people, * the advanced, pure scholar, And the like of this is the saying of al-Shajarī: * For you is virtue, and reverse the vice, As long as you do not see yourself with virtue, * with amusement, play, then joy. Among its faults is his seeking joy, * and abandoning fear of the soul's obligations. And that is from ignorance of the state of the time; * he loves one who rejoices, having been occupied. Its remedy is the knowledge that Allah— * His sorrow does not last with thoughts, And from the attributes of the Chosen, the Elect, * is that He loves a sorrowful heart. And in the hadith has come from our Lord * a word beneficial in its paths. Ibn Dīnār, the intelligent Mālik, said: * Like the ruin of a house, whenever it is ruined— If there is no sorrow in the heart, it is ruined, * while it is from the obligations of His gratitude. Among its faults is his seeing his patience, * and his lack of choice from his confusion, And that is from his error concerning himself * in every state of blessing and affliction. Its remedy is his seeing mercy, * as has come from our Lord in the report, Since His kindness is constant with the decree; * there is no decree for the servant from Allah Except that in it is His good, as has passed, (496) * and that He does not decree for the servant a decree Without his good in it, as has preceded, * with Allah in the station of truthfulness. Abū 'Uthmān said: All of creation, * and they think it is the station of patience— I mean truthfulness in the state of gratitude, * and abandoning what the evidence guides to. Among its faults is leniency and interpretation, * and lack of truth in the state of sincerity, And that is from reckless acts regarding the truth, * and abandoning every obligation of ambiguity. Its remedy in this is through attentiveness, * and his taking hold of the most trustworthy of matters, Due to what has come in it of warning, * and his deficiency in his state and his school, Since that is from his desire and his play.

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1. awliya' : Saints; friends of Allah, those who are close to Him through piety and devotion.
2. al-'urwa al-wuthqa : The firmest handhold; a Qur'anic term (2:256) referring to the covenant of faith or the bond with Allah.
3. yakhriqu : Tears apart; a Sufi term for the removal of veils between the servant and Allah.
4. fath rabbani : Divine opening; a Sufi term for spiritual illumination or unveiling granted by Allah.
5. al-lawh al-mahfuz : The Preserved Tablet; the heavenly tablet on which all destinies and divine decrees are inscribed.
6. wilaya : Sainthood; the state of being a saint (wali), denoting closeness to Allah and spiritual authority.
7. futuhat : Openings; spiritual illuminations or divine disclosures granted to saints.
8. al-'add bi al-nawajidh : Gnashing the molars; an idiom for firm determination and perseverance in love or devotion.
9. al-sab' al-samawat : The seven heavens; the celestial layers mentioned in the Qur'an.
10. salat : Prayer; here specifically a formula of blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad.
11. al-Hikam : Aphorisms; a famous Sufi text by Ibn 'Ata'illah al-Iskandari.
12. furqaniyya : Furqanic; relating to the Furqan (the Criterion), a name for the Qur'an.
13. ummah : The community of believers following a prophet.
14. awliya' Allah : The friends or saints of Allah; those who are close to Him due to their faith and piety.
15. makhsus : Specially distinguished or singled out for a particular honor.
16. al : Family or household; here referring to the family of the Prophet Muhammad.
17. ayat : Verse of the Quran.
18. milah : Beauties; here used metaphorically for spiritual beauties or virtues.
19. ‘abdi : My servant; referring to a devout worshiper of Allah.
20. awliya' : Saints or friends of God; those who are close to Allah through piety and devotion.
21. ahbab : Beloved ones; those who are loved by Allah due to their faith and good deeds.
22. dhat : Essence; refers to the Divine Essence of Allah, beyond attributes.
23. maharib al-qurb : Prayer niches of nearness; metaphorical places of intimate worship and closeness to God.
24. jannat : Gardens; often refers to Paradise or gardens of bliss.
25. Sahihayn : The two authentic hadith collections: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
26. ناهيك : An expression meaning 'sufficient' or 'enough', used to emphasize the greatness of something.
27. دار الغرور : The abode of delusion, referring to this worldly life which deceives people.
28. دار الخلود : The abode of eternity, referring to the Hereafter.
29. بحذافيرها : An idiom meaning 'with all its contents' or 'in its entirety'.
30. علاقة سوط : Literally 'the thong of a whip', meaning something insignificant or of little value.
31. بساطته الشريف : His noble carpet, a metaphor for the Prophet's station or presence.
32. ثغر ذائق : The mouth of the taster, a poetic expression for the sense of taste.
33. الأقطاب : The supreme spiritual poles or saints in Sufism, considered the highest ranking saints.
34. الفتوحات : Spiritual openings or illuminations granted by God to the saints.
35. دار السلام : The Abode of Peace, a name for Paradise.
36. الصراط : The bridge over Hell that all must cross on the Day of Judgment.
37. الميزان : The Balance or scale used to weigh deeds on the Day of Judgment.
38. الصحف : The scrolls or records of deeds that will be given to each person on the Day of Judgment.
39. اللَّهُ لَطِيفٌ بِعِبَادِهِ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْقَوِيُّ الْعَزِيزُ : Quran 42:19: 'Allah is gentle with His servants; He provides for whom He wills, and He is the Strong, the Mighty.'
40. تُطَاعُ فَتَشْكُرُ وَتُعْصَى فَتَغْفِرُ : A traditional phrase describing God's attributes: He thanks when obeyed and forgives when disobeyed.
41. Ḥayy Qayyūm : Two of the most beautiful names of God, meaning 'the Ever-Living' and 'the Self-Subsisting by Whom all subsist'.
42. al-Khalīl : The 'Friend' of God, referring to the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim).
43. al-Dhabīḥ : The 'Sacrificed', referring to the Prophet Ishmael (Isma‘il), whom Abraham was commanded to sacrifice.
44. Dhū al-Nūn : The 'One of the Fish', referring to the Prophet Jonah (Yunus), who was swallowed by a whale.
45. al-Kalīm : The 'Speaker' or 'One who spoke with God', referring to the Prophet Moses (Musa).
46. Ṭā Hā : The Arabic letters Ta and Ha, which are the opening of Surah Ta Ha (Chapter 20) of the Quran.
47. Yā Sīn : The Arabic letters Ya and Sin, which are the opening of Surah Ya Sin (Chapter 36) of the Quran.
48. Kāf : The Arabic letter Kaf, which is the opening of Surah Kaf (Chapter 50) of the Quran.
49. Qāf : The Arabic letter Qaf, which is the opening of Surah Qaf (Chapter 50) of the Quran.
50. Nūn : The Arabic letter Nun, which is the opening of Surah al-Qalam (Chapter 68) of the Quran.
51. al-Qalam : The Pen, referring to Surah al-Qalam (Chapter 68) of the Quran.
52. mash‘ar : A sacred site or place of ritual, often referring to al-Mash‘ar al-Haram in Muzdalifah during Hajj.
53. budūr ahillah : Literally 'full moons of crescents', a metaphorical expression for eminent scholars who are like full moons among lesser lights.
54. ‘ārif : A gnostic, one who has direct knowledge (ma‘rifa) of God through spiritual experience.
55. Aḥmad Zarūq : A renowned Sufi master and scholar from the 15th-16th century (d. 1493), known for his works on Sufism and Islamic law.
56. al-Ḥikam al-‘Aṭā’iyya : A famous collection of Sufi aphorisms by Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah al-Iskandari (d. 1309), widely commented upon.
57. faqīh : A jurist, one learned in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh).
58. al-Shaykh al-Mu‘ṭī : The 'Giving Shaykh', a title possibly referring to a specific saint or spiritual master.
59. Zarruq : Ahmad Zarruq (d. 899/1493) was a renowned Moroccan Sufi saint and scholar of the Shadhili order, known for his spiritual teachings and miracles.
60. barāḥ : An open space or courtyard, here referring to the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Tunis.
61. karāma : A miracle or supernatural act granted by God to a saint (walī) as a sign of divine favor.
62. Jāmi‘ al-Zaytūna : The Great Mosque of al-Zaytuna in Tunis, one of the oldest and most important mosques in the Islamic world.
63. al-‘ārif bi-llāh : A gnostic or knower of God, a Sufi term for one who has direct experiential knowledge of the Divine.
64. ṭarīq : The spiritual path (Sufi path) or method of spiritual realization.
65. al-‘ulūm al-ẓāhira : The exoteric or outward sciences, such as jurisprudence, theology, and other formal Islamic disciplines.
66. ahl al-bidāya : People of the beginning, i.e., beginners on the spiritual path.
67. ahl al-nihāya : People of the end, i.e., those who have reached advanced stages of spiritual realization.
68. nafaḥāt al-rijāl : The spiritual breaths or influences of the saints (the 'men of God').
69. rīḥ al-qaḍā' : The 'wind of destiny' refers to the divine decree or predestination, often understood as the flow of God's will.
70. kullu ajalin kitāb : Quranic phrase (13:38) meaning 'For every term there is a book,' indicating that everything has a predetermined time recorded in God's decree.
71. Rajab al-Fard : Rajab is the seventh month of the Islamic lunar calendar; 'al-Fard' (the Unique) is an epithet for Rajab, as it is one of the four sacred months and stands alone.
72. Aḥmad : Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Mahdi al-Wazzani (d. 1823), a Moroccan Sufi scholar and author of Nayl al-Ibtihaj.
73. Nayl al-Ibtihāj : A biographical dictionary of Maliki scholars by Ahmad al-Wazzani.
74. al-taṣawwuf : Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam.
75. al-Risāla : The Epistle of Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (d. 996), a foundational Maliki legal text.
76. al-Irshād : A work on Sufism by Abu al-Mawahib al-Shadhili (d. 1478).
77. Mukhtaṣar al-Shaykh Khalīl : A concise Maliki legal manual by Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi (d. 1365).
78. al-Ghāfqiyya : A work on Sufism by Ibn al-Ghafiq (d. 1165).
79. al-ʿAqīda al-Qudsiyya : A creedal work by Ibn al-Arabi (d. 1240).
80. al-Ḥikam : Aphorisms of Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari (d. 1309), a classic Sufi text.
81. Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh : Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari, a Shadhili Sufi master and author of al-Hikam.
82. Ḥizb al-Baḥr : A litany attributed to Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili, widely recited for protection.
83. al-Kabīr : A major work by Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili, possibly referring to his litanies or teachings.
84. Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī : Founder of the Shadhili Sufi order (d. 1258).
85. al-Ḥaqāʾiq wa al-Raqāʾiq : A work on Sufi realities and subtleties by al-Muqri.
86. al-Muqriʾ : Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Muqri (d. 1632), a Moroccan scholar and Sufi.
87. muqaṭṭaʿāt : Strophic poems or quatrains, often used in Sufi poetry.
88. al-Shushtarī : Abu al-Hasan al-Shushtari (d. 1269), a Sufi poet from Andalusia.
89. al-Asmāʾ al-Ḥusnā : The Beautiful Names of God.
90. al-Marāṣid fī al-Taṣawwuf : A work on Sufi stations and states by Ahmad ibn Uqba al-Hadrami.
91. Aḥmad ibn ʿUqba al-Ḥaḍramī : A Sufi master from Hadramawt (d. 1455).
92. al-Naṣīḥa al-Kāfiya : A work on spiritual counsel.
93. Ighātha al-Mutawajjih al-Miskīn : A work on spiritual assistance for the seeker.
94. al-Qawāʿid fī al-Taṣawwuf : A work on principles of Sufism.
95. al-Nuṣḥ al-Anfaʿ : A work on beneficial advice regarding innovations.
96. al-Janna li al-Mutaḥarrī min al-Bidaʿ wa Mukhālafat al-Sunna : A work on avoiding innovations and adhering to the Sunna.
97. ʿUmdat al-Murīd al-Ṣādiq min Asbāb al-Maqt fī Bayān al-Ṭarīq wa Dhikr Ḥawādith al-Waqt : A work on the path of Sufism and contemporary events.
98. al-Uṣūl wa al-Fuṣūl : A work on principles and sections, likely on Sufism.
99. al-Kunnāsha : A notebook or compilation of notes.
100. Ibn al-Bannā al-Mālaqī : A Sufi poet from Malaga (d. 1285).
101. al-Bukhārī : The Sahih al-Bukhari, a major collection of hadith.
102. al-Ṣūfiyya al-Mālikiyya : Maliki Sufis, those who follow the Maliki school of law and the Sufi path.
103. al-Manāwī : Abd al-Ra'uf al-Manawi (d. 1621), a Shafi'i scholar and Sufi, author of Tabaqat al-Sufiyya.
104. Ṭabaqāt : Biographical layers or classes of Sufi saints.
105. Ibn al-ʿArabī : Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-Arabi (d. 1240), the great Sufi philosopher.
106. al-Khawārij : Kharijites, an early Islamic sect known for extremism and rebellion.
107. lā yaṣiḥḥu : It is not valid; a technical term in Islamic jurisprudence and theology indicating that an act or state does not meet the conditions for validity.
108. qadam : Step; in Sufi terminology, a spiritual station or stage on the path to God.
109. lā taṣawwufa illā : There is no Sufism except; a phrase emphasizing the interdependence of Sufism and jurisprudence.
110. al-aḥkām : The rulings; refers to Islamic legal rulings derived from the Quran and Sunnah.
111. tadlīs : Deception; in Islamic ethics, it refers to concealing defects or misrepresenting oneself, especially in transactions or spiritual claims.
112. ghayru : Not; used here to negate the attribute of infallibility for humans.
113. tatal-lu' : Prying into hidden matters or seeking knowledge of others' secrets.
114. al-laff wa al-bathth : Ambiguity and concealment; possibly referring to deceitful or evasive speech.
115. al-dhikr : Remembrance of Allah, often through repetition of His names or formulas.
116. tasbiha : A single utterance of 'Subhan Allah' (Glory be to Allah).
117. rak'a : A unit of Islamic prayer, consisting of standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting.
118. kitab tabarruk : A book kept for blessing or as a talisman, rather than for study and practice.
119. in qadara Allah bi-ghayriha : If Allah decrees something other than what is advised; i.e., if one fails to act on the advice.
120. ilm al-zahir wa al-batin : Exoteric and esoteric sciences; outward religious knowledge and inner spiritual knowledge.
121. jawami' al-kalim : Comprehensive words; a reference to the Prophet Muhammad, who was given concise yet all-encompassing speech.
122. kunnash : A notebook or compilation of notes, often containing biographical and scholarly information.
123. al-Turfa fi Ikhtisar al-Tuhfa : A work abbreviating 'al-Tuhfa' (The Gift), likely a biographical or Sufi text.
124. al-tariq wa al-tahqiq : The spiritual path and verification of truth; Sufi terminology for the method and realization of divine realities.
125. intasaba ilayhi : Traced his lineage or affiliation to him, often as a spiritual disciple.
126. al-Mawahib : Probably 'al-Mawahib al-Laduniyya' (Divine Gifts), a famous work by al-Qastallani.
127. tariqa : A Sufi order or spiritual path.
128. Maqsura : A type of poem, often a panegyric, composed in a specific meter.
129. al-ghawth : The succor or spiritual pole; a high-ranking saint believed to be a source of divine help.
130. khatimat al-muhaqqiqin : Seal of the verifiers; the last great authority in spiritual verification.
131. al-haqiqa : Reality; the ultimate truth or divine essence, often contrasted with the law (shari'a).
132. al-shari'a : The Islamic law or exoteric dimension of religion.
133. sirr : Secret; a spiritual mystery or inner knowledge.
134. al-tasarruf : Spiritual disposal or authority; the ability to act in the world through divine permission.
135. al-arif bi-Allah : The knower of Allah; a gnostic or saint with direct experiential knowledge of God.
136. al-wilaya : Sainthood; the state of being a friend of Allah (wali).
137. ʿubūdiyya : Servitude; the state of being a servant of God, often implying complete devotion and submission.
138. nubuwwa : Prophethood; the office or function of a prophet.
139. risāla : Mission or message; specifically, the prophetic message or apostleship.
140. Sūrat al-Isrāʾ 17:1 : Quranic verse referring to the Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad.
141. Sūrat al-Baqara 2:253 : Quranic verse on the distinction among messengers.
142. al-Furqān : The Criterion; a name for the Quran, meaning that which distinguishes truth from falsehood.
143. Sūrat al-Furqān 25:1 : Quranic verse on the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet.
144. quṭb : Pole or axis; in Sufism, the highest spiritual authority of an age.
145. ḥadīth : A saying or tradition of the Prophet Muhammad; here referring to a well-known hadith about the creation of the Prophet's spirit.
146. Sūrat al-Jumuʿa 62:4 : Quranic verse on God's bounty.
147. Sūrat al-Ḥashr 59:23 : Quranic verse listing some of the divine names.
148. Sūrat al-Qalam 68:4 : Quranic verse praising the Prophet's character.
149. al-Burāq : The mythical steed that carried the Prophet during the Night Journey.
150. dhāt : Essence; the divine essence in itself, beyond attributes and names.
151. tajallī dhātī : Essential manifestation; a direct self-disclosure of the divine essence without mediation of attributes.
152. al-mala' al-a'lā : The highest assembly; the exalted spiritual beings, often angels or prophets.
153. al-ism al-aḥad al-dhātī : The essential name 'the One'; a name referring to the divine essence in its absolute oneness.
154. ‘ayn al-jam‘ : The eye of the comprehensive gathering; a state of spiritual unification where all multiplicity is seen as one.
155. tawḥīd : Unification; the doctrine of God's oneness, also the spiritual realization of that oneness.
156. ḥarf nūrānī raḥmānī : A luminous, merciful letter; a symbol of the Prophet as a manifestation of divine mercy and light.
157. lawḥ al-ḥifẓ : The Tablet of Preservation; the preserved tablet in Islamic cosmology where all destinies are recorded.
158. ta‘ayyunāt shuhūdiyya : Witnessed individuations; the particular forms or manifestations through which the divine is witnessed.
159. istiwā’ al-wāḥidiyya : The establishment of Oneness; a reference to the divine throne as a symbol of unity.
160. al-ḥaḍarāt al-‘indiyya : The divine presences; the various levels of divine manifestation or presence.
161. al-ṭawāsīn wa al-ḥawāmīm : Chapters of the Quran beginning with 'Ṭā Sīn' and 'Ḥā Mīm'; often associated with esoteric meanings.
162. āyat al-nūr : The Light Verse; Quran 24:35, a key verse for Sufi metaphysics on divine light.
163. الكروبين : Cherubim: a class of angels in Islamic cosmology, often associated with the highest ranks of angels who are immersed in the contemplation of God.
164. المهيمن : Al-Muhaymin: one of the names of God meaning 'The Guardian' or 'The Witness'; also refers to a specific angelic rank or a name of the Prophet Muhammad in some contexts.
165. الأنوار اللاهوتية : Theophanic lights: divine lights that manifest God's attributes, often used in Sufi cosmology to describe the intermediary realm between the divine and creation.
166. لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ : Qur'anic verse (42:11): 'There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.'
167. السبوح : Subbuh: a divine attribute meaning 'All-Glorious' or 'All-Holy'; here used to describe the luminous forms as 'supernal' or 'glorifying'.
168. القيومية : Qayyumiyya: the attribute of being Self-Subsistent, one of the divine names Al-Qayyum (The Self-Subsisting).
169. الرحموتية : Rahmutiyya: derived from Ar-Rahman (The Most Merciful), referring to the quality of mercy in its most comprehensive sense.
170. الجبروتية : Jabarutiyya: derived from Al-Jabbar (The Compeller), referring to the quality of divine majesty and power.
171. قُل لَّوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ مِدَادًا لِّكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي... : Qur'anic verse (18:109): '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 thereof as a supplement.'
172. الأقطاب : Aqtab (sing. Qutb): 'Poles' in Sufi hierarchy, the highest-ranking saints who are the spiritual axis of their time.
173. الأوتاد : Awtad (sing. Watad): 'Pegs' in Sufi hierarchy, saints who support the spiritual world, often four in number.
174. العلوم اللدنية : Ladunni sciences: divine knowledge granted directly by God without intermediary, often associated with mystical insight.
175. الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ... : Qur'anic verses (55:1-4): 'The Most Merciful taught the Qur'an, created man, taught him eloquence.'
176. السفرة الكرام : Safara kiram: 'noble scribes' referring to the recording angels or, in some contexts, the prophets and messengers who convey divine revelation.
177. Āl : Family or household of the Prophet, including his descendants and close relatives.
178. Budūr : Full moons; metaphor for the Imams or eminent figures among the Prophet's family who are sources of light.
179. Jahābidha : Discerning experts; here referring to the companions who were skilled in knowledge and leadership.
180. al-Baḥr : The sea; metaphor for vast knowledge or divine mercy.
181. Imdādāt rabbāniyya : Divine effusions or spiritual reinforcements from the Lord.
182. Mawāhib ṣamadāniyya : Eternal gifts; attributes of the Eternal (al-Ṣamad).
183. Futūḥāt raḥmāniyya : Merciful openings; spiritual unveilings from the All-Merciful.
184. Kalimāt Allāh : Words of Allah; can refer to His creative commands, revealed scriptures, or the Prophet himself as the Logos.
185. Tanazzulāt furqāniyya : Furqanic descents; revelations of the Qur'an (al-Furqān) in stages.
186. Jawāmiʿ al-ḥikam al-qudsāniyya : Comprehensive divine wisdoms; the all-encompassing wisdom from the Holy.
187. ʿUlūm ʿirfāniyya : Gnostic sciences; esoteric knowledge of divine realities.
188. Imām mamlakatihi al-sulṭāniyya : Imam of His sovereign kingdom; the Prophet as the leader of the divine dominion.
189. Ṭawr tajalliyātihi al-iḥsāniyya : Locus of His beneficent manifestations; the Prophet as the place where divine kindness is revealed.
190. ʿArūs ḥaḍratihi al-rūḥāniyya : Bride of His spiritual presence; the Prophet as the beloved of the divine court.
191. Jabarūt : The realm of divine power and might; one of the spiritual worlds.
192. ʿUlūm ladunniyya : Laduni sciences; knowledge directly from God, without intermediary.
193. Kamālāt aḥmadiyya : Ahmadic perfections; perfections specific to the Prophet Muhammad (Ahmad being another name).
194. Asrār qayyūmiyya : Qayyumi secrets; mysteries related to the Self-Subsistent (al-Qayyūm).
195. Anwār subbūḥiyya : Subbuhi lights; lights of the All-Glorious (al-Subbūḥ).
196. Aqṭāb : Poles; highest ranking saints in the Sufi hierarchy.
197. Awtād : Pegs; saints who are spiritual supports of the world.
198. Qāba qawsayn aw adnā : Two bow-lengths or nearer; Qur'anic reference to the Prophet's proximity to God during the Miʿrāj (53:9).
199. al-Muṣṭafā : The Chosen One, a title of Prophet Muhammad.
200. maqām muḥarraz : A preserved station; refers to a high spiritual rank or a verse of the Qur'an that is protected.
201. kalām muʿjiz : Miraculous speech; refers to the Qur'an as a miracle.
202. lafẓ mūjaz : Concise expression; refers to the Qur'anic style of brevity with profound meaning.
203. waʿd munjaz : Fulfilled promise; refers to God's promise of prophethood to Muhammad.
204. ʿabd dhātika : Servant of Your Essence; a Sufi term indicating the Prophet's perfect servitude to God's very Being.
205. nabī ṣifātika : Prophet of Your attributes; the Prophet as the manifestation of God's attributes.
206. rasūl asmāʾika : Messenger of Your names; the Prophet as the embodiment of God's names.
207. ghayb al-huwiyyāt : The hidden realm of identities; a Sufi term for the unseen dimension of divine essences.
208. bawāṭin al-qulūb al-nāsūtiyya : The inner depths of human hearts; refers to the human aspect of the Prophet's being.
209. al-dhāt al-lāhūtiyya : The divine essence; God's transcendent nature.
210. al-asmāʾ al-ilāhiyya al-qayyūmiyya : The divine, self-subsistent names; God's names that sustain existence.
211. fanāʾ : Annihilation; a Sufi concept of the ego's dissolution in God.
212. shuhūdiyya : Witnessing; a state of direct contemplation of God.
213. akhlāq al-raḥmūtiyya : Merciful character; the Prophet's character reflecting divine mercy.
214. daʿawāt al-raghbūtiyya : Supplications of desire; prayers motivated by longing for God.
215. wasāʾil al-marḥūtiyya : Accepted means of awe; the Prophet's intercession and means of approach to God.
216. tawḥīd : Divine unity; the oneness of God.
217. fanāʾ : Annihilation; see note 13.
218. ḥudūthiyya : Temporality; the quality of being created in time.
219. nāsūt : Humanity; the human nature of the Prophet.
220. lāhūt : Divinity; the divine nature.
221. al-bisāṭ al-aʿlā : The highest expanse; the highest spiritual realm.
222. ṣūratika : Your form; a reference to the hadith that God created Adam in His form, applied here to the Prophet.
223. asmāʾ al-iqāma wa al-adhān : The names of the call to prayer and the call to worship; refers to the testimony of faith in the adhan.
224. al-sabʿ al-mathānī : The Seven Oft-Repeated; refers to Surah al-Fatiha or the seven long surahs.
225. kalimat al-tawḥīd : The word of divine unity; the declaration 'La ilaha illa Allah'.
226. al-majlū : Unveiled; refers to the Prophet Muhammad in his spiritual reality, unveiled before God.
227. al-thaqalayn : The two weighty ones: humans and jinn.
228. qāba qawsayn aw adnā : Two bow-lengths or nearer; Quranic phrase (53:9) describing the Prophet's proximity to God during the Mi'raj.
229. kuntu kanzan : I was a hidden treasure; a famous hadith qudsi: 'I was a hidden treasure and loved to be known, so I created the creation that I might be known.'
230. Salsabīl : A spring in Paradise mentioned in Quran 76:18.
231. al-Aḥmadī : Relating to Ahmad, another name of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
232. al-lāhij : One who is absorbed or immersed in dhikr (remembrance of God).
233. al-rukn wa al-maqām : The Corner (al-Rukn) refers to the Black Stone corner of the Kaaba; al-Maqām refers to the Station of Abraham (Maqām Ibrāhīm).
234. al-sarāt al-kirām : Noble leaders or chiefs; here referring to the family of the Prophet.
235. Nūn wa al-qalam : Reference to Surah al-Qalam (68:1): 'Nūn. By the pen and what they inscribe.'
236. Qur'an 52:48-49 : The verse quoted is from Surah al-Tur (52:48-49).
237. Qur'an 72:26-27 : The verse quoted is from Surah al-Jinn (72:26-27).
238. Dāwūd : David, the prophet known for his beautiful voice and psalms; here referring to the melodious quality of the divine address.
239. Muḥammadī : Pertaining to the Prophet Muhammad, often used in Sufi contexts to denote the spiritual effusion or grace emanating from his reality.
240. Isrā' : The Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and his ascension through the heavens.
241. tajrīd : Abstraction or stripping away of all created attachments and concerns, focusing solely on God.
242. tafrīd : Individuation or singling out, a state of being uniquely devoted to God in solitude.
243. al-tafrīd : The state of being singled out for God alone, a Sufi term for exclusive devotion to the Divine.
244. al-asmā' al-ṣamadāniyya : The Self-Sufficient Names of God, those indicating His absolute independence and self-subsistence.
245. ʿabd Allāh : Literally 'servant of God'; here referring to the Prophet Muhammad as the perfect servant.
246. al-aqṭāb : The 'poles' or spiritual axis in Sufi hierarchy, the highest saints who are the inheritors of the Prophet.
247. hādhā al-walī : This saint; likely referring to the author or a specific Sufi master.
248. mā lastu lahu ahlan : A phrase indicating humility, acknowledging one's unworthiness to speak on such lofty matters.
249. al-wāḥid al-aḥad al-fard al-ṣamad : Names of God: the One, the Unique, the Single, the Self-Sufficient.
250. al-inqiyād : Submission or obedience, a key concept in Sufi servanthood.
251. al-bashāsha : Cheerfulness or joy, a state of the heart in receiving divine secrets.
252. al-witr : The Odd, one of God's names, indicating His uniqueness and singularity.
253. al-ʿindiyya : The state of being 'with' God, a Sufi term for intimate proximity to the Divine.
254. al-ṣiddīqīn : The veracious ones, a high rank of saints known for their truthfulness and sincerity.
255. al-futūḥāt al-ṣamadāniyya : The Self-Sufficient Openings, divine illuminations granted by God.
256. fujarat al-jamʿ : The wicked of the gathering; a cryptic phrase possibly referring to a specific spiritual state or group.
257. ra'aytuhā : When I saw them; referring to the words of the saint mentioned.
258. ʿayn : Spring or source, often used metaphorically for the source of life or knowledge.
259. sābiq al-qadam : Pre-eternity; refers to the timeless realm before creation.
260. al-ʿulūm al-ladunniyya : Sciences of the divine gift; knowledge directly bestowed by God without intermediary.
261. al-ishārāt al-ʿindiyya : Divine indications; subtle spiritual pointers from God.
262. al-tajalliyāt al-iḥsāniyya : Beneficent self-disclosures; manifestations of God's grace.
263. Salsabīl : A spring in Paradise; metaphor for spiritual drink.
264. Kawthar : A river in Paradise; abundance of spiritual blessings.
265. Aḥmadī : Pertaining to Prophet Muhammad, whose name Ahmad means 'most praiseworthy'.
266. wārid al-jadhb : Influx of attraction; a spiritual state of being drawn by God.
267. al-jamʿ : The gathering; a station of spiritual unity and concentration.
268. al-tajallī al-jamālī : Self-disclosure of beauty; manifestation of God's beautiful attributes.
269. al-tajallī al-jalālī : Self-disclosure of majesty; manifestation of God's majestic attributes.
270. al-tajallī al-kamālī : Self-disclosure of perfection; manifestation of God's perfect attributes.
271. al-barzakh : Isthmus; an intermediate realm or state.
272. al-awāmir al-takwīniyya : Creative commands; divine decrees that bring things into existence.
273. al-qaḍāʾ al-mubram : Irrevocable decree; the unchangeable divine decree.
274. umm al-kitāb : Mother of the Book; the heavenly archetype of all scriptures.
275. Qur'an 13:39 : Verse: 'God erases what He wills and establishes, and with Him is the Mother of the Book.'
276. al-Khiḍr : A mysterious figure in Islamic tradition, often associated with esoteric knowledge.
277. al-kalim : The Word; refers to Prophet Moses, who is called Kalim Allah (the one spoken to by God).
278. al-baqāʾ : Subsistence; a spiritual state of abiding in God after annihilation of the self.
279. tadallī : Descent; a station of spiritual descent after ascent, often associated with divine proximity and manifestation.
280. taraqqī : Ascent; spiritual elevation towards the divine.
281. al-tajallī al-aqdas : The Most Holy Theophany; a direct manifestation of the Divine Essence.
282. al-jam‘ : The Gathering; a Sufi term for the station of union or concentration of all spiritual states.
283. al-‘ilm al-ladunnī : Innate knowledge; knowledge directly bestowed by God without intermediary.
284. al-‘ulūm al-ladunniyyāt : Innate sciences; plural of al-‘ilm al-ladunnī.
285. al-maḥw wa al-ithbāt : Effacement and establishment; referring to the divine decree and the changing of destinies.
286. Umm al-Kitāb : Mother of the Book; the preserved tablet or the essence of divine knowledge.
287. Qur’ān 24:35 : Reference to the Light Verse.
288. Qur’ān 7:54 : Part of a verse.
289. Qur’ān 72:26-27 : Verse about the unseen.
290. al-jalāl wa al-jamāl : Majesty and Beauty; two divine attributes.
291. Qur’ān 7:143 : Verse about Moses and the mountain.
292. ṣaḥw : Sobriety; a state of spiritual awareness after intoxication.
293. barzakh : Isthmus; an intermediate realm or state.
294. Qur’ān 2:255 : Part of the Throne Verse.
295. Qur’ān 6:19 : Verse about testimony.
296. Qur’ān 17:44 : Verse about glorification.
297. Qur’ān 15:21 : Verse about treasuries.
298. Ḥadīth qudsī : Sacred hadith: 'I was a hidden treasure...'
299. Qur’ān 6:91 : Verse about leaving them.
300. Qur’ān 2:115 : Verse about the Face of God.
301. Ḥadīth : Prophetic saying: 'Everything except God is false.'
302. Ḥadīth qudsī : Sacred hadith about the heart of the believer.
303. Qur’ān 57:3 : Verse about the First and Last.
304. Qur’ān 59:24 : Verse about the Creator.
305. Qur’ān 13:16 : Verse about the Creator of all things.
306. Ḥadīth qudsī : Sacred hadith about divine proximity.
307. Qur’ān 55:26-27 : Verse about perishing.
308. Qur’ān 3:185 : Verse about tasting death.
309. Qur’ān 28:88 : Verse about perishing except His Face.
310. Qur’ān 28:88 : Continuation of the verse.
311. Qur’ān 40:16 : Verse about the kingdom.
312. Qur’ān 17:85 : Verse about little knowledge.
313. Ḥadīth qudsī : Sacred hadith about the heart containing God.
314. al-tanazzulāt al-‘indiyya : Proximate descents; divine manifestations near to the servant.
315. Qur’ān 72:26-27 : Verse about the unseen.
316. Qur’ān 50:22 : Verse about removing the covering.
317. shu‘ā‘ : Ray; a beam of light, often used in Sufi contexts to denote a trace of divine manifestation.
318. tajallī : Manifestation; the self-disclosure of God to the heart of the seeker.
319. al-Ḥaqq : The Truth; one of the names of God, often used in Sufi terminology to denote the Real.
320. bayn : Betweenness; a term indicating a state of separation or intermediacy between the creature and the Creator.
321. ḥulūl : Indwelling; the doctrine of God's incarnation or indwelling in creation, rejected in orthodox Islam.
322. Qur’an 28:88 : Qur’anic verse: 'Everything is perishing except His Face.'
323. Qur’an 2:255 : The Ayat al-Kursi (Throne Verse): 'Allah—there is no god but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting.'
324. Qur’an 57:3 : Qur’anic verse: 'He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is Knower of all things.'
325. makhbarat al-jam‘ : Inkwell of the gathering; a Sufi term for the word of testimony (shahada) as the source of all spiritual knowledge.
326. kalimat al-shahāda : Word of testimony; the Islamic declaration of faith: 'There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.'
327. iḥsān : Excellence; the highest level of faith, where one worships God as if seeing Him.
328. ‘ilm ladunnī : Divine science; knowledge directly bestowed by God, often associated with Sufi gnosis.
329. Qur’an 2:156 : Qur’anic verse: 'Indeed, we belong to Allah and indeed to Him we return.'
330. Qur’an 2:255 : Part of the Throne Verse.
331. Qur’an 7:180 : Qur’anic verse: 'To Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names.'
332. ṣifāt al-kamālāt : Attributes of perfections; the divine attributes that describe God's perfection.
333. al-‘ārif al-akbar : The greatest gnostic; often referring to the Prophet Muhammad or a major Sufi saint.
334. Qur’an 6:91 : Qur’anic verse: 'They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal.'
335. dhāt wa ṣifāt : Essence and attributes; theological terms for God's essence and His attributes.
336. mā’ida : Table; a metaphor for spiritual sustenance or a revealed truth.
337. ḥayyarathu : Bewildered him; a state of awe and confusion in the face of divine majesty.
338. ṣiddīqīn : Veracious; the highest rank of saints, those who are utterly truthful in their faith.
339. fataḥa : He opened; a reference to divine opening or illumination, often used in Sufi contexts.
340. ahl al-ishārāt : People of allusions; Sufis who understand spiritual symbols and subtle references.
341. mihbarat al-jam‘ : Inkwell of the gathering; a metaphor for the source of comprehensive spiritual knowledge, often associated with the Prophet Muhammad's station of union.
342. kalimatay al-shahādah : The two words of the testimony; i.e., 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh, Muḥammadun Rasūl Allāh' (There is no god but God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God).
343. talqiyyāt wahbiyyah : Bestowed receptions; divine inspirations granted directly by God without intermediary effort.
344. ‘ārif : Gnostic; a knower of God through direct spiritual experience.
345. al-Ḥaqq : The Truth; one of the names of God, often used in Sufi contexts.
346. ṣamadānī : Pertaining to al-Ṣamad (the Eternal, the Self-Sufficient); a divine attribute indicating absolute independence and eternity.
347. ladunnī : Divine, inspired knowledge granted directly from God, as in 'ilm ladunnī (knowledge from His presence).
348. ṣiddīqūn : Veracious ones; the highest rank of saints who have attained perfect truthfulness and verification.
349. shaṭaḥāt : Ecstatic utterances; paradoxical or seemingly blasphemous sayings uttered by Sufis in states of spiritual intoxication.
350. jannatān : Two gardens; a Quranic reference (55:46) interpreted by Sufis as the immediate garden of spiritual states and the deferred garden of paradise.
351. malakūtī : Pertaining to the malakūt (the angelic or spiritual realm).
352. jabarūtī : Pertaining to jabarūt (the realm of divine power and might).
353. raḥmūtī : Pertaining to raḥmūt (the realm of divine mercy).
354. awtād : Poles or supports; a rank of saints who are spiritual pillars of the universe.
355. Aḥmadī : Pertaining to Aḥmad, another name of the Prophet Muhammad, often associated with his spiritual essence.
356. qayyūmī : Pertaining to al-Qayyūm (the Self-Subsisting); a divine attribute indicating eternal self-existence.
357. ṭawīl al-ayādī : Literally 'long of hands,' meaning extremely generous and bountiful.
358. maqām al-iṣṭifā'iyya : The station of being chosen or elected by Allah, a high spiritual rank.
359. ḥaẓā'ir al-muqarrabīn : The enclosures or gardens of those brought near to Allah, referring to the highest ranks of saints and prophets.
360. ṭawīl al-jāh : Literally 'long of standing,' meaning having great honor and intercessory power with Allah.
361. al-Batha' : The valley of Mecca, often associated with the Prophet Muhammad.
362. al-malakayn : The two angels Munkar and Nakir, who question the dead in the grave.
363. Surah Nun and the Pen : Reference to Surah Al-Qalam (68) in the Quran, where Allah praises the Prophet's character.
364. al-Bayt al-Ma'mur : The much-frequented House, a celestial counterpart of the Kaaba in heaven, visited by angels.
365. al-Muzzammil : Qur'anic chapter 73, verses 1-7, addressing the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as 'the enwrapped one' and commanding him to stand in night prayer.
366. wujud : In Sufi terminology, 'existence' or 'being', often referring to the ontological presence of God or the saint's spiritual state.
367. Ṭāhā : One of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, derived from the Arabic letters Ṭā’ and Hā’, and also the title of Surah 20 of the Quran.
368. al-sab‘ al-mathānī : The seven oft-repeated verses, referring to Surah al-Fātiḥah (the Opening) of the Quran, which consists of seven verses and is recited repeatedly in prayers.
369. al-fīl : The elephant; a reference to the Year of the Elephant (c. 570 CE) when Abraha’s army, with elephants, attempted to destroy the Kaaba but was miraculously repelled, and the Prophet Muhammad was born that year.
370. miḥrāb : A niche in a mosque indicating the direction of prayer (qibla); also a place of worship or prayer chamber.
371. maqām : Station or spiritual rank in Sufi terminology, referring to a stage of spiritual development.
372. al-dawrah al-Muḥammadiyyah : The Muhammadan cycle, a concept in Sufism referring to the prophetic era of Muhammad encompassing all spiritual gifts.
373. al-dhurrah al-Aḥmadiyyah : The Ahmadine essence, referring to the spiritual reality of Muhammad, often associated with his name Ahmad.
374. jawāmiʿ al-kalim : Concise speech, a phrase describing the Prophet's ability to express much in few words.
375. al-qidam : Pre-eternity, a theological term for the timeless state before creation.
376. bi fam : With a mouth, a poetic expression emphasizing the inability to fully describe the Prophet's grace.
377. al-nūrānī : The luminous one, referring to the Prophet's spiritual light.
378. ḥaqāʾiq Muḥammadiyyah : Muhammadan realities, the essential truths associated with the Prophet's spiritual station.
379. ʿulūm Aḥmadiyyah : Ahmadine sciences, the esoteric knowledge related to the Prophet's inner dimension.
380. al-rūḥānī : The spiritual one, emphasizing the Prophet's spiritual nature.
381. ḥikam Muṣṭafawiyyah : Mustafawian pearls of wisdom, referring to the Prophet's wisdom, derived from his name al-Muṣṭafā (the Chosen One).
382. al-ṣamadānī : The eternal one, derived from ṣamad (eternal, self-sufficient), a divine attribute applied to the Prophet.
383. khaṣāʾiṣ Mawlawiyyah : Mawlawian characteristics, referring to the Prophet's unique attributes, from his title Mawlānā (our master).
384. al-raḥmānī : The merciful one, linking the Prophet to the divine attribute al-Raḥmān (the Merciful).
385. al-fardānī : The unique one, emphasizing the Prophet's singularity.
386. al-ʿirfānī : The gnostic one, referring to the Prophet's deep spiritual knowledge (maʿrifah).
387. al-karūbiyyūn : Cherubim, a class of angels in Islamic cosmology, often associated with nearness to God.
388. al-rabbānī : The lordly one, indicating the Prophet's connection to the divine (rabb).
389. al-muḥibb : The loving one, emphasizing the Prophet's love for God and creation.
390. al-bisāṭ al-aʿlā : The highest carpet, a Sufi term for the highest spiritual realm.
391. al-kāmil : The perfect one, referring to the Prophet's perfection (insān kāmil).
392. al-ʿāmil : The active one, emphasizing the Prophet's role as a doer of God's will.
393. al-malāʾikah al-muhayminūn : The dominating angels, a class of angels in Islamic tradition.
394. al-fāḍil : The excellent one, highlighting the Prophet's virtue.
395. al-wāṣil : The one who has attained, referring to the Prophet's spiritual union with God.
396. al-samīdaʿ : The chief, a term of honor for a leader.
397. laylat al-isrāʾ : The Night of Ascension, when the Prophet journeyed to Jerusalem and ascended to heaven.
398. sidrat al-muntahā : The Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, a celestial tree marking the end of the seventh heaven, beyond which no angel or prophet can pass.
399. Tasnīm : A spring in Paradise, the highest drink of the righteous, mentioned in Quran 83:27-28.
400. Ahl al-Aḥwāl : People of spiritual states; Sufis who experience direct divine manifestations and express them through symbolic language.
401. Lāhūtiyya subūḥiyya : Divine, transcendent lights; attributes of God's absolute transcendence and holiness.
402. Nufūs lawḥiyya malakūtiyya : Souls of the Preserved Tablet and the angelic realm; spiritual realities inscribed in the heavenly tablet.
403. Ḥujub nūrāniyya ʿaẓamūtiyya : Luminous veils of majesty; spiritual barriers of divine grandeur that veil the essence.
404. Tanazzulāt quddūsiyya jabariūtiyya : Holy, mighty descents; divine self-disclosures in the realm of power and sanctity.
405. Bayna al-māʾ wa al-ṭīn : Between water and clay; referring to the intermediate state of human creation before ensoulment.
406. Asrār al-ikhlāṣ wa al-yaqīn : Secrets of sincerity and certainty; inner realities of pure devotion and unshakable faith.
407. ʿIlliyyīn : The highest station in Paradise; the record of the righteous, mentioned in Quran 83:18-19.
408. Qāba qawsayn : Two bow-lengths; a reference to the Prophet's proximity to God during the Miʿrāj (Ascension), based on Quran 53:9.
409. al-ʿawāʾid : Benefits or returns, often referring to spiritual benefits or blessings obtained through the Prophet's intercession.
410. jāh : Rank, status, or prestige; here referring to the Prophet Muhammad's high station with Allah.
411. al-malābis al-riḍwāniyya : Garments of divine pleasure; metaphorical robes signifying Allah's acceptance and satisfaction.
412. al-shayʾ : Literally 'the thing'; a mystical term used in Sufi literature to denote the Prophet Muhammad as the primordial reality or the first creation.
413. al-alwāḥ al-qalbiyya : The spiritual tablets of the heart; a Sufi concept referring to the heart as a receptacle for divine knowledge.
414. al-mulk wa al-malakūt : The kingdom and the dominion; in Islamic cosmology, al-mulk refers to the physical world, while al-malakūt refers to the spiritual or angelic realm.
415. al-abṣār wa al-baṣāʾir : Outer sight (physical vision) and inner sight (spiritual insight).
416. al-malaʾ al-aʿlā : The highest assembly; the gathering of angels and prophets in the divine presence.
417. bisāṭ al-sirr al-ajallā : The carpet of the most sublime mystery; a Sufi term for the highest spiritual station of divine intimacy.
418. Qur'an 68:4 : Reference to the Quranic verse praising the Prophet's character.
419. Qur'an 27:1-2 : Reference to the opening verses of Surah an-Naml.
420. al-muqarrabūn : The near ones; a term for the highest-ranking angels and prophets who are brought near to Allah.
421. Qur'an 36:1-4 : Reference to the opening verses of Surah Ya Seen.
422. lisān al-ḥāl : The tongue of the state; a Sufi concept meaning communication through spiritual states rather than words.
423. al-Aqiq : A valley near Medina, often mentioned in Arabic poetry as a place of beauty and nostalgia.
424. ṣaḥḥa : It is authentically transmitted or established as a sound hadith.
425. raḥmat al-ruḥamā' : The mercy of the merciful; a reference to God's attribute of mercy, often cited in hadith.
426. al-shay' : Literally 'the thing'; in Sufi terminology, it refers to the primordial reality or essence of Muhammad (al-ḥaqīqa al-muḥammadiyya), the source of all creation.
427. al-mashā‘ir al-khams : The five external senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
428. al-khams al-bawāṭin : The five inner senses: common sense, imagination, reflection, memory, and estimation.
429. ḥaẓā’ir al-quds : Sanctuaries of holiness; refers to the highest spiritual realms.
430. ‘Illiyīn : The highest station in Paradise; a term from the Quran (83:18-19).
431. Sūrat al-A‘rāf : Quran 7:1-2, the opening of Surah Al-A‘raf.
432. al-kawnayn : The two worlds: this world and the Hereafter.
433. al-thaqalayn : The two weighty ones: humans and jinn.
434. Sūrat al-Najm : Quran 53:2-3.
435. Sūrat al-Najm : Quran 53:17-18.
436. al-‘ārifīn : Gnostics; those who have direct experiential knowledge of God.
437. Allahumma salli wa sallim : A formula of blessing and peace upon the Prophet Muhammad, commonly used in Islamic prayers.
438. qibla : The direction of prayer (towards the Kaaba in Mecca), symbolizing spiritual orientation.
439. muhja : Soul or lifeblood, often used metaphorically for utmost sacrifice.
440. salah : Blessing or prayer, specifically the divine benediction upon the Prophet.
441. masharib : Drinks or spiritual influxes, metaphor for divine gifts.
442. qurrat al-ayn : Delight of the eye, an idiom for something that brings joy and comfort.
443. Arafat : The plain near Mecca where pilgrims stand on the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah, a key ritual of Hajj.
444. Safina : Safina, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, known for a hadith about a lion that spoke to him and showed respect due to the Prophet's letter.
445. hadith : The sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad.
446. futuhat : Spiritual openings or illuminations granted by God to the saints.
447. qibla : The direction of prayer towards Mecca; here used metaphorically for the spiritual focal point.
448. ahl al-safa : People of purity; a term for sincere seekers of God.
449. hashr : The gathering of all creatures on the Day of Judgment.
450. sirat : The bridge over Hell that all must cross on Judgment Day.
451. qutb : The spiritual axis or pole; in Sufism, the highest saint of the age.
452. muqarrabun : Those brought near to God; the highest rank of saints.
453. dhira' : The foreleg of a sheep; a reference to the miracle where a roasted foreleg spoke to the Prophet, warning him of poison.
454. da'i : The Caller; refers to the angel Israfil or the call to resurrection.
455. Quran 53:2-3 : Verse affirming the Prophet's truthfulness and divine inspiration.
456. Quran 8:33 : Verse indicating that God's punishment is withheld due to the Prophet's presence.
457. Furqānī : Relating to the Furqān (the Criterion), a name for the Quran.
458. hayākil al-ṣuwar al-rūḥāniyya : Spiritual forms or templates; in Sufi cosmology, the archetypal forms of beings.
459. arbāb al-asrār al-ʿirfāniyya : Masters of gnostic secrets; advanced Sufi knowers of divine mysteries.
460. ṣafaḥāt al-ajsām al-nūrāniyya : Pages of luminous bodies; refers to the subtle, spiritual bodies of beings.
461. tajalliyāt al-iḥsāniyya : Theophanies of beneficence; divine self-disclosures of God's attribute of Iḥsān (excellence/beneficence).
462. Kaʿba : The sacred cube-shaped building in Mecca, direction of prayer; here metaphorically referring to Muhammad's spiritual station.
463. ḥadīth : A saying or tradition of the Prophet Muhammad.
464. aqṭāb al-wāṣilīn : The connecting poles; highest-ranking saints in the Sufi hierarchy who serve as spiritual axes.
465. awtād al-rāsikhīn : Firmly rooted pegs; a rank of saints who are spiritual supports of the world.
466. sunna : The established practices and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.
467. aʿyān al-afrād al-kāmilīn : The very individuals of the perfect solitaries; elite saints who have reached spiritual perfection.
468. al-Lawḥ wa al-Qalam : The Preserved Tablet and the Pen; in Islamic cosmology, the Tablet on which all destinies are written and the Pen that writes.
469. Shajarat Ṭūbā : The Tree of Tuba; a blessed tree in Paradise mentioned in the Quran.
470. Sidrat al-Muntahā : The Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary; a tree in the seventh heaven marking the end of angelic knowledge.
471. al-jawhar al-fard : The unique jewel; a term for the indivisible essence, here describing the Prophet's unique perfection.
472. Quran 93:3 : Quranic verse: 'Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor does He hate you.'
473. Quran 21:107 : Quranic verse: 'And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.'
474. karāma : A miraculous act granted by Allah to a saint (walī), distinct from a prophet's miracle (mu‘jiza).
475. Aḥmadī : Relating to Aḥmad, one of the names of the Prophet Muḥammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
476. Muḥammadī : Relating to Muḥammad, the Prophet of Islam, meaning 'praised one'.
477. prophetic care : Divine care and guidance associated with prophethood.
478. Muṣṭafawī : Relating to al-Muṣṭafā, 'the Chosen One', a title of the Prophet Muḥammad.
479. imbalances of existence : Metaphor for the disorders or deficiencies in the world that are rectified through the Prophet.
480. ḥamadī : Relating to praise (ḥamd); refers to the Prophet's primordial nature of praise.
481. Muṣṭafā : The Chosen One, a title of the Prophet Muḥammad.
482. two bow-lengths or nearer : Reference to Qur'an 53:9, describing the Prophet's proximity to God during the Mi‘rāj (Ascension).
483. Remembrance : Al-Dhikr, a term for the Qur'an.
484. ḥūr : Celestial maidens in Paradise, described in the Qur'an.
485. youths : Immortal youths (wildān) who serve in Paradise.
486. tremendous character : Reference to Qur'an 68:4, describing the Prophet's sublime morality.
487. ultimate of the Qur’an : The Qur'an itself, which praises the Prophet extensively.
488. two moons : The sun and moon, or day and night.
489. pole : Quṭb, the spiritual axis or highest saint in Sufi hierarchy.
490. Criterion : Al-Furqān, a name for the Qur'an.
491. Ḥawāmīm : Surahs in the Qur'an that begin with Ḥā Mīm (Surahs 40-46).
492. Ṭawāsīn : Surahs in the Qur'an that begin with Ṭā Sīn (Surahs 26, 27, 28).
493. Existence of existence of existence : A mystical phrase emphasizing the Prophet as the source or essence of existence.
494. Ka‘ba : The sacred shrine in Mecca, direction of prayer; metaphor for the center of spiritual pilgrimage.
495. means : Al-Wasīla, a station of intercession granted to the Prophet.
496. praiseworthy station : Al-Maqām al-Maḥmūd, the highest station of intercession on the Day of Judgment.
497. Muḍar : A major Arab tribe, ancestor of the Prophet.
498. Ma‘add : Ancestor of the Prophet, son of ‘Adnān.
499. ‘Adnān : Traditional ancestor of the northern Arabs, including the Prophet.
500. sab' al-mathānī : The Seven Oft-Repeated verses, referring to Surah al-Fatiha or the seven long surahs.
501. lawḥ 'ulūm al-dhāt : The Tablet of the Sciences of the Essence, a Sufi concept referring to the primordial tablet containing knowledge of the Divine Essence.
502. al-muqarrabūn : The near-stationed ones, a high rank of angels or saints close to God.
503. tajalliyāt : Self-disclosures or theophanies, manifestations of divine attributes.
504. al-'urafā' : Gnostics, those with direct knowledge of God.
505. al-raḥma al-dhātiyya : Essential Mercy, a Sufi term for the primordial mercy inherent in God's essence.
506. mawlawiyya : Mawlawi, referring to the spiritual path of Jalal al-Din Rumi or the concept of divine love.
507. al-mawāhib al-ladunniyya : Divine gifts or graces bestowed directly from God.
508. iḥsāniyya : Ihsani, relating to ihsan (excellence in worship), the station of witnessing God.
509. al-futūḥāt : Openings, spiritual illuminations or unveilings.
510. 'illiyyīn : The highest station in Paradise, mentioned in Quran 83:18-19.
511. al-kushūfāt al-'iyāniyya : Ocular unveilings, direct spiritual visions.
512. fawātiḥ al-suwar : The opening letters of Quranic surahs, such as Alif Lam Mim.
513. al-ṣafīḥ al-a'lā : The Highest Horizon, a reference to the highest celestial realm.
514. al-bayt al-ma'mūr : The Much-Frequented House, a celestial Kaaba in the seventh heaven.
515. al-maqām al-mushtahā : The Desired Station, a high spiritual station of the Prophet Muhammad.
516. sidrat al-muntahā : The Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, a tree in the seventh heaven marking the end of angelic knowledge.
517. sāq al-'arsh : The Leg of the Throne, a metaphorical expression for the foundation of the divine throne.
518. quṭb : Pole, the highest spiritual authority in Sufism, often identified with the Prophet.
519. al-ḥumr wa al-sūd : The red and the black, a phrase meaning all humanity, regardless of race.
520. Taba' : Taba', a pre-Islamic Yemeni king or prophet mentioned in Islamic tradition.
521. al-ta'ayyun : Individuation, the process by which the undifferentiated divine essence becomes manifest in specific forms.
522. mīm : The Arabic letter Mim, often symbolizing Muhammad or the divine attribute of kingship (mulk).
523. ḥā' : The Arabic letter Ha, symbolizing mercy (rahma) or the divine essence.
524. mīm : The Arabic letter Mim, here symbolizing the ultimate goal or end (muntahā).
525. ṣafiyy Allāh : The chosen one of Allah; a title for Prophet Muhammad.
526. ʿayn al-wujūd : The eye/essence of existence; a Sufi term referring to the Prophet as the source of creation.
527. sukkān al-ṣafīḥ : Inhabitants of the firmament; celestial beings.
528. al-arwāḥ al-ʿarshiyya wa-l-farshiyya : Throne-dwelling and earth-dwelling spirits; angels and earthly spirits.
529. fawātiḥ al-suwar : The openings of the surahs; the initial letters or verses of Quranic chapters.
530. Tubbaʿ : A title for Himyarite kings of Yemen; here referring to a specific king who prophesied about Muhammad.
531. Ḥaramī : One from the sacred precinct (Haram) of Mecca.
532. Abū ʿĀmir : A pre-Islamic figure who described the Prophet before his advent.
533. al-Ḥanīfiyya al-maysara : The easy monotheistic religion; Islam as the natural and lenient faith.
534. ʿAddās : A Christian slave from Nineveh who recognized the Prophet's prophethood.
535. Khanāfir : A pre-Islamic soothsayer or figure who foretold the Prophet's coming.
536. Aḥmad : Another name of Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'more praiseworthy'; mentioned in Quran 61:6.
537. Aḥmad : A name of the Prophet Muhammad, derived from the root ḥ-m-d (praise), meaning 'most praiseworthy' or 'one who praises most'.
538. al-sirr al-awwal : The 'first secret' in Sufi terminology refers to the primordial divine mystery or the first manifestation of God's knowledge.
539. al-maqām al-maḥmūd : The 'Praiseworthy Station' (Quran 17:79), a rank of high honor granted to the Prophet Muhammad on the Day of Resurrection.
540. Maḥmūd : A name of God meaning 'the Praised One'.
541. Muḥammad : The name of the Prophet, meaning 'the praised one'.
542. fa-lammā jā'athum bi-l-bayyināt : Quranic reference: 61:6, referring to Jesus bringing clear proofs to his people.
543. Yā Sīn : Quran 36:1-4.
544. wa-l-ṭūr : Quran 52:1-2.
545. Ṣād : Quran 38:1-2.
546. Nūn : Quran 68:1.
547. wa-man aẓlamu mimmani iftarā : Quran 61:7.
548. wa-llāhu lā yahdī l-qawma l-ẓālimīn : Quran 61:7.
549. al-Būṣīrī : Sharaf al-Din al-Busiri (1211–1294), Egyptian Sufi poet, author of the famous poem 'al-Burda' (The Mantle).
550. jabarutiyya : Relating to jabarut, the realm of divine power and might, often used in Sufi cosmology to denote the level of divine attributes.
551. aqtab : Poles (singular: qutb), the highest spiritual authorities in Sufi hierarchy, believed to be the axis of the spiritual world.
552. awtad : Stakes (singular: watad), a rank of saints in Sufism who are considered as supports of the spiritual realm.
553. Hanifite : Relating to the monotheistic religion of Abraham, often used to denote the pure, primordial faith of Islam.
554. Mujahid : Mujahid ibn Jabr (d. 722 CE), a prominent early Quranic exegete and student of Ibn Abbas.
555. Surah Bara'ah : Another name for Surah At-Tawbah (Chapter 9 of the Quran), meaning 'Repentance' or 'Immunity'.
556. lam : The Arabic letter 'l', used here as a prefix for emphasis or to indicate purpose.
557. بَذْلِ النُّفُوسِ وَالْأَمْوَالِ : Sacrifice of souls and wealth; a phrase indicating total dedication in the path of God.
558. تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ : You believe in God and His Messenger; Quranic verse 61:11.
559. ذَرَّةٌ : An atom or a tiny particle; used metaphorically for the smallest amount.
560. وَتُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ : And you strive in the way of God with your wealth and your lives; Quranic verse 61:11.
561. وَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ : And God is better for you, if you but knew; Quranic verse 61:11.
562. الدَّوَاهِي : Calamities or disasters; plural of dāhiyah.
563. نَصْرٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ : Victory from God and a near conquest; Quranic verse 61:13.
564. التَّوْحِيدُ : The oneness of God; the core Islamic doctrine of monotheism.
565. يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا أَنْصَارَ اللَّهِ : O you who have believed, be supporters of God; Quranic verse 61:14.
566. الْجِهَادِ الْأَصْغَرِ : The lesser jihad; often interpreted as external physical struggle, as opposed to the greater jihad against one's own soul.
567. كُونُوا أَنصَارَ اللَّهِ : Be supporters of God; Quranic verse 61:14.
568. الْأَنْوَارُ الْمُحَمَّدِيَّةُ : The Muhammadan lights; a Sufi concept referring to the primordial light of the Prophet Muhammad.
569. الْمَعَارِفِ الْأَحْمَدِيَّةِ : The Ahmadine gnoses; spiritual knowledge associated with the Prophet Muhammad (Ahmad being one of his names).
570. مَن أَنصَارِي إِلَى اللَّهِ : Who are my supporters for God?; Quranic verse 61:14, spoken by Jesus.
571. الطَّرْدِ : Expulsion or rejection; here referring to being cast away from divine mercy.
572. فَأَيَّدْنَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا : Then We supported those who believed; Quranic verse 61:14.
573. فَأَصْبَحُوا ظَاهِرِينَ : And they became dominant; Quranic verse 61:14.
574. أَنصَارَ اللَّهِ : Supporters of Allah; a term used for those who aid the cause of God, often in a spiritual or military sense.
575. ظَاهِرِينَ : Dominant, victorious; literally 'apparent' or 'manifest', indicating triumph over enemies.
576. قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ يَلُونَكُم مِّنَ الْكُفَّارِ : Quran 9:123: 'Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you.'
577. قَابِ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَى : Quran 53:9: 'two bow-lengths or nearer,' referring to the Prophet's proximity to God during the Ascension.
578. الدُّرَّةِ الْأَحْمَدِيَّةِ : The Ahmadine pearl; a Sufi term for the spiritual essence of the Prophet Muhammad (Ahmad being one of his names).
579. مُوَالَاةِ مَنْ وَالَاهُ وَمُعَادَاةِ مَنْ عَادَاهُ : A principle of loyalty and disassociation: showing loyalty to those who love Allah and His Prophet, and enmity to those who oppose them.
580. فَأَيَّدْنَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَى عَدُوِّهِمْ : Quranic reference (Surah as-Saff, 61:14): 'So We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they became dominant.'
581. جَوَاهِرَ الْآيَاتِ الْقُرْآنِيَّةِ : The jewels of Quranic verses, referring to the profound meanings and spiritual insights derived from the Quran.
582. إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللَّهُ : Quran 9:40: 'If you do not support him, Allah has already supported him...'
583. مَا ظَنُّكَ بِاثْنَيْنِ اللَّهُ ثَالِثُهُمَا : A famous saying of the Prophet to Abu Bakr in the cave during the Hijra: 'What do you think of two when Allah is the third?'
584. وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ : Quran 5:67: 'And Allah will protect you from the people.'
585. بِكَ أُصُولٌ فَإِنَّكَ النَّاصِرُ وَالْمُعِينُ : A supplication attributed to the Prophet: 'Through You I attack, for You are the Helper and the Succorer.'
586. يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا كُونُوا أَنصَارَ اللَّهِ : Quran 61:14: 'O you who have believed, be helpers of Allah.'
587. الْحُسْنَى وَزِيَادَةٍ : Quran 10:26: 'For those who have done good is the best [reward] and more.' In Sufi interpretation, 'more' refers to the vision of Allah.
588. إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُم... : Quran 9:111: 'Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise.'
589. وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَمْوَاتًا... : Quran 3:169-170: 'And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision...'
590. al-nūr al-muḥammadī : The Muhammadan Light, a concept in Sufism referring to the primordial light of the Prophet Muhammad, created before all creation.
591. qayyūmiyya : Self-subsistence, a divine attribute indicating that God is self-sustaining and the sustainer of all existence.
592. al-nūr al-aḥmadī : The Ahmadian light, another name for the Muhammadan Light, derived from the Prophet's name Ahmad.
593. ṣūratihi al-raḥmāniyya : His all-merciful form, a reference to the hadith that God created Adam in His image, here applied to the Prophet.
594. al-lāhūtiyya : Divinity, a term in Sufism for the divine nature or essence.
595. al-Haymani : A term referring to a specific prayer or litany, possibly derived from 'hayman' meaning 'guardian' or 'protector'.
596. al-Furqan : The Criterion, a name for the Quran, distinguishing truth from falsehood.
597. Ridwan : The gatekeeper of Paradise, also meaning 'pleasure' or 'satisfaction'.
598. Umm al-Kitab : The Mother of the Book, referring to the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz) or the essence of divine decrees.
599. Ahmadine : Relating to Ahmad, another name of Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
600. al-Thaqalayn : The two heavy ones, referring to humans and jinn.
601. Mustafawian : Relating to al-Mustafa, 'the Chosen One', a title of Prophet Muhammad.
602. Āl : Family or household, often referring to the Prophet's family and descendants.
603. Jinn : Spiritual beings created from smokeless fire, possessing free will, often mentioned in Islamic texts.
604. Yudānīhi : Approaches or equals in rank; a term indicating incomparability.
605. ʿAdam : Non-existence; the state before creation, often referring to the primordial state.
606. ʿUhūd wa al-dhimam : Covenants and pledges; refers to the Prophet's faithfulness to divine and human agreements.
607. Khadam : Servants; here referring to the prophets and messengers serving the Prophet Muhammad.
608. Rūḥāniyyatuhu : His spirituality; the spiritual essence or aspect of a person.
609. Imam al-Tariqa : The spiritual guide or leader of the Sufi path.
610. al-Jam‘ : The station of spiritual union or gathering with the Divine.
611. al-Farq wa al-Jam‘ : The stations of Separation (awareness of creation) and Union (awareness of the Divine).
612. al-Lata’if al-‘Irfaniyya : Subtle spiritual faculties or centers of mystical knowledge.
613. al-‘Ulum al-Ladunniyya : Divinely inspired sciences or knowledge granted directly by God.
614. Kaaba : The Kaaba is the sacred cube-shaped building in Mecca, the direction of prayer for Muslims. Here used metaphorically for the saint's spiritual center.
615. Ahmad Zarruq : Ahmad Zarruq (d. 1493) was a Moroccan Sufi saint and scholar, founder of the Zarruqiyya order.
616. red cloaks : Symbolic garments representing spiritual states or stages, often associated with love and sacrifice.
617. pigeon's neck : A metaphor for variegated colors, symbolizing the diverse spiritual states of the mystic.
618. Abu Madyan : Abu Madyan (d. 1198) was a renowned Andalusian Sufi saint, considered a master of the spiritual path.
619. gray mule : A symbol of a spiritual vehicle or state, often representing steadfastness and service.
620. emptying and adorning : Sufi terms: 'emptying' (takhliya) refers to purifying the soul from vices; 'adorning' (tahliya) refers to adorning it with virtues.
621. two bows' length : Reference to Quran 53:9, describing the Prophet's proximity to God during the Ascension; symbolizes the highest spiritual station.
622. two weighty things : Reference to the Quran and the Prophet's family (Ahl al-Bayt), as mentioned in a famous hadith.
623. jawkhatayn ḥamrāwayn : Two red cloaks; symbolic of spiritual states or garments of divine love and servitude.
624. baghlatan shahbā : A gray mule; metaphor for a spiritual mount or means of traversing spiritual stations.
625. al-ʿulūm al-furqāniyya : The sciences of discrimination; knowledge that distinguishes truth from falsehood, often associated with the Qur'an.
626. al-maqāmāt al-riḍwāniyya : The stations of divine pleasure; spiritual levels attained by the saints through God's good pleasure.
627. ʿunuq ḥamām : Pigeon's neck; a type of cloak or garment, symbolizing spiritual states of love and intimacy.
628. jabarūtiyya : Jabarutic; pertaining to the divine realm of Power and Majesty, a term in Sufi cosmology.
629. majdhūbīn : Attracted ones; Sufis who are drawn to God by divine attraction, often experiencing ecstatic states.
630. tawḥīd : The oneness of God; the central Islamic doctrine of monotheism.
631. al-awtād : The pegs; a rank of saints in Sufi hierarchy who are considered spiritual supports of the world.
632. Aḥmad Zarruq : Ahmad Zarruq (d. 1493 CE); a famous Sufi saint and scholar from Morocco, founder of the Zarruqiyya order.
633. al-waḥy al-ʿirfānī : Gnostic revelation: spiritual insight or unveiling of divine mysteries.
634. al-kashf al-ʿiyānī : Ocular unveiling: direct spiritual vision or witnessing of divine realities.
635. baghlah shahbāʾ : Gray mule: a symbol for the spiritual path or vehicle of ascension.
636. ṭarīqatuhu al-saniyyah al-muthlā : His sublime and ideal path: the spiritual method of the Prophet.
637. sharīʿatuhu al-ṭāhirah al-samḥā : His pure and tolerant law: the Islamic Sharia.
638. fa-awḥā ilā ʿabdihi mā awḥā : Quran 53:10: 'Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed.'
639. ukhrā sūdā : Another black one: a second mule symbolizing night vigil or struggle.
640. qiyām al-layl : Standing at night: the practice of night prayer (tahajjud).
641. al-duljah : Night journey: traveling at night, symbolizing spiritual progress.
642. ahl al-nusuk : People of devotion: those dedicated to worship and asceticism.
643. al-maqāmāt : Stations: spiritual stages on the Sufi path.
644. kalimatay al-shahādah : Two words of testimony: the Shahada (La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadun Rasul Allah).
645. khilaʿ al-kamāl : Robes of perfection: spiritual adornments or attributes of perfection.
646. shuhūdika : Your witnessing: the act of witnessing God's presence.
647. Qābūs : Qabus: a term possibly meaning a 'firebrand' or 'torch' from the root Q-B-S.
648. Nāmūs : Namus: a Greek-derived term for 'law' or 'divine law,' often associated with Gabriel.
649. jāsūs : Spy: one who secretly observes, here a spiritual term for the hidden knower.
650. nāqūs : Bell: a wooden clapper used by Eastern Christians to call to prayer.
651. Qarmūs : Qarmus: possibly a type of plant or a term for a 'veil' or 'covering.'
652. Mūsā : Moses: the prophet, symbolizing a spiritual interlocutor.
653. Kalīm : Interlocutor: one who speaks with God, a title of Moses.
654. al-marmūsh : Pierced: possibly meaning 'adorned' or 'embroidered.'
655. jawkhatayn ḥamrāwayn : Two red cloaks: symbols of spiritual states or garments.
656. ʿArafat al-ʿirfān : Arafa of gnosis: the station of spiritual knowledge, analogous to the plain of Arafat.
657. ṭawāf al-ifāḍah : Tawaf al-Ifada: the circumambulation of the Kaaba after returning from Mina.
658. ʿunuq ḥamām : Neck of a dove: a symbol of beauty or a specific spiritual garment.
659. al-Maqām : The Maqam: the Station of Abraham near the Kaaba.
660. al-riyāḍah : Spiritual discipline: ascetic practices and self-training.
661. al-miʿrāj : Ascension: the Prophet's night journey and ascent to heaven.
662. al-Burāq : Buraq: the mythical steed that carried the Prophet during the Mi'raj.
663. qāba qawsayn aw adnā : Two bow-lengths or nearer: Quran 53:9, describing proximity to God.
664. al-aqṭāb : Poles: the highest ranking saints in the Sufi hierarchy.
665. marūd al-sahar : Training of wakefulness: the practice of staying awake at night for worship.
666. al-ghalas : Twilight: the darkness before dawn, used for spiritual preparation.
667. Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad... : Quran 112:1-4: Sura al-Ikhlas.
668. lāhūt : Divinity: the divine nature or essence.
669. nāsūt : Humanity: the human nature or realm.
670. jawharatayn ḥamrāwayn : Two red jewels: symbols of spiritual realities or states.
671. sunnah : Sunna: the prophetic tradition and practices.
672. al-aghyār : Literally 'others'; in Sufi terminology, refers to everything other than God, including worldly attachments and distractions.
673. Qur'an 59:7 : Part of a verse emphasizing obedience to the Prophet.
674. Qur'an 29:69 : A verse promising guidance to those who strive in God's path.
675. Qur'an 68:4 : A verse praising the Prophet's character.
676. Aḥmadiyya : Derived from the Prophet's name Ahmad; refers to his spiritual reality or path.
677. jawkhata : A type of cloak or garment, often of fine material.
678. Mawlawī : Relating to the spiritual station of the Prophet as a master (mawlā).
679. khilāfa muḥammadiyya : The vicegerency or spiritual succession of the Prophet Muhammad.
680. Muṣṭafawiyya : Derived from the Prophet's name Mustafa (the Chosen); refers to his specific spiritual attributes.
681. al-Saḥāb : Meaning 'the cloud'; name of the Prophet's turban.
682. al-Qalshānī : A Sufi saint or scholar; possibly a reference to a specific figure.
683. Qur'an 28:85 : A verse promising return to God.
684. Qur'an 18:10 : A supplication for mercy and guidance.
685. ahl al-qulūb : Literally 'people of hearts'; refers to spiritual adepts or gnostics who have attained inner knowledge and purification.
686. fuḥūl : Literally 'stallions'; metaphor for spiritual masters who are strong, authoritative, and possess penetrating insight.
687. suyūf al-aḥwāl : Swords of spiritual states; refers to the sharp, decisive effects of divine interventions or mystical experiences that cut through ego and illusion.
688. al-jiryāl : A type of wine or cup; in Sufi poetry, symbolizes divine love or ecstatic spiritual intoxication.
689. mudām : Aged wine; in Sufi context, represents the eternal, undiluted essence of divine love or gnosis.
690. tawhid : The oneness of Allah; the core Islamic belief in the absolute unity and uniqueness of God.
691. ikhlas : Sincerity; purifying one's intention and action solely for the sake of Allah.
692. Salaf : The pious predecessors; the early generations of Muslims, especially the Companions, Followers, and their successors.
693. athar : A narration or report; often used for sayings of the Companions or early scholars.
694. Fudayl ibn 'Iyad : A renowned early Muslim ascetic and scholar (d. 187 AH/803 CE), known for his piety and wisdom.
695. Yahya ibn Mu'adh al-Razi : A famous Sufi master and preacher (d. 258 AH/872 CE), known for his sayings on spiritual states.
696. ḥaẓẓuhā wa laḥẓuhā : Her portion and her glance; refers to the soul's share and its gaze towards worldly desires.
697. al-ṭarīqa : The spiritual path or method in Sufism.
698. al-Muṣṭafā al-muʿaẓẓam : The Exalted Chosen One, a title for the Prophet Muhammad.
699. ahl al-ṭāʿa : People of obedience; those who are obedient to God.
700. al-Ṣādiq al-muṣaddaq : The Truthful and Verified, a title for the Prophet Muhammad.
701. al-ḥafaẓa : The guardian angels who record deeds.
702. khayr al-warā : The best of mankind, referring to the Prophet Muhammad.
703. yastakhīr : To seek guidance from God through the prayer of istikhara.
704. dhikr al-jam‘ : Remembrance performed in a group or assembly, often with collective recitation of divine names.
705. ahl al-jam‘ : People of the assembly; those who are qualified or spiritually attuned to participate in collective remembrance.
706. al-Mustafa : The Chosen One, a title for the Prophet Muhammad.
707. Imam al-‘Arifin : The Imam of the Knowers; a title for a leading Sufi saint, often referring to Ali ibn Abi Talib or another prominent figure.
708. Surat al-Mutaffifin : Chapter 83 of the Quran, 'The Defrauders,' which mentions the sealing of hearts due to sin.
709. ran : A rust or stain on the heart caused by sin, as mentioned in Quran 83:14.
710. al-Masih al-Murtada : The Chosen Messiah, referring to Jesus (peace be upon him), who is highly esteemed in Islam.
711. al-Murtada : The Chosen One, another title for the Prophet Muhammad.
712. Laylat al-Isra’ : The Night of the Ascension, when the Prophet Muhammad was taken from Mecca to Jerusalem and then ascended to the heavens.
713. Surat al-Baqara : Chapter 2 of the Quran, 'The Cow,' which includes verse 44: 'Do you command righteousness and forget yourselves?'
714. al-Rasul : The Messenger, referring to the Prophet Muhammad.
715. Dawud al-Ta’i : An early Sufi ascetic and scholar (d. 165/781-82), known for his piety and wisdom.
716. Bishr : Bishr al-Hafi (d. 227/841-42), a renowned early Sufi known for his asceticism and sayings.
717. ammara : The commanding self (nafs ammara), which incites to evil, as mentioned in Quran 12:53.
718. al-Qari : Possibly a reference to a reciter or scholar known for this saying; could be a specific figure like al-Qari’ al-Baghdadi.
719. Surat al-Jathiya : Chapter 45 of the Quran, 'The Kneeling,' which includes verse 23 about those who take their desires as their god.
720. khayr al-mursalin : The best of messengers, referring to the Prophet Muhammad.
721. al-Hakim : The sage; could refer to a specific wise figure like Luqman or a general term for a philosopher.
722. khilṭa : Mixing or association with others, often referring to spiritual companionship or social interaction.
723. baṣīra : Spiritual insight or inner vision, a term in Sufism for the ability to perceive divine realities.
724. tawfīq : Divine assistance or enabling grace from Allah to do good.
725. hawā : Caprice, base desire, or whims of the lower self (nafs).
726. Abū Ḥafṣ : Abu Hafs al-Haddad, a famous early Sufi master from Nishapur.
727. al-ḥaddād : The blacksmith; a title of Abu Hafs due to his profession.
728. waswās : Whispering or insinuation from Satan, causing doubt or evil suggestions.
729. iʿtibār : Reflection or taking heed from signs and experiences.
730. mazārī : Frequent visitor; possibly referring to one who visits spiritual teachers or graves for blessing.
731. sarīra : The secret or inner self; the hidden state of the heart.
732. al-ḥāfira : The end or the return; here referring to the afterlife or the final return to Allah.
733. ʿAlī al-Murtaḍā : Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph and cousin of the Prophet, often called al-Murtada (the one with whom Allah is pleased).
734. al-ʿAdnān : Adnan; a reference to the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad, as Ali is from the same tribe.